■!    I    I" 


mm 


•>.?■■■:.  .:( 


■\  >!■; 


i  ;  ;■'  1 '   •'!■ 11111 fj ' '■/' '. m  ; :;' 

m  :  •  •■'  ' 

;'i  I--':!  ■    ''',■'>]  ''•.■■'■    '' 


■  ■■'•» ' 

ft    t    J* 


itFSfl 


t  tHi ' 11111  i^iiL^L'; 1 


^:i,::j:-'Y'  ill  .<''r;-.::;;> /!>''-: ■'..;> 
■Mi    I  , 


H 


\, 


LIBRARY 

CMVERSITV  OF  CALIFORNIA 

SA.NTA  BARBARA 


Encyclopaedia   Britannica. 
Vol.  i. — (a-ana). 

Total  number  of  Articles,  966. 

principal'  contents. 

ABBEY  and  ABBOT.     Rev.  Edmund  Venablbs,  Precentor  and  Canon  of  Lincoln. 

ABELARD.     G.  Croom  Robertson,  M.A.,  Professor  of  Logic,  University  College,  London. 

ABERDEEN.     Alex.  Cruickshank,  M.A. 

ABRAHAM.     Rev  Samuel  Davidson,  D.D.,  Author  of  "Introduction  to  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,"  &c. 

ABYSSINIA.     David  Eat,  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society. 

ACADEMY.     Francis  Storr,  M.A..  Author  of  "Tables  of  Irregular  Greek  Verbs." 

ACCENT.     John  M.  Ross,  LL.D.,  late  Editor  of  the  "Globe  Encyclopaedia." 

ACCLIMATISATION.    Alfred  R.  Wallace,  Author  of  "Theory  of  Natural  Selection  " 

ACHILLES.    A.  Stuart  Murray,  British  Museum,  London. . 

ACHIN.    Col.  Henry  Yule,  C.B.,  F.R.G.S.,  Anthorof  "The  Book  of  Marco  Polo." 

ACOUSTICS.     David  Thomson,  M.A.,  late  Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy,  University  of  Aberdeen. 

ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES.     Principal  Donaldson,  LL.D.,  Author  of  "  Early  Christian  Literature  and  Doctrine." 

ACTINOZOA.    T.  H.  Huxley,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.,' Professor  in  the  Royal  School  of  Mines,  London. 

ADAM.    Rev.  Samuel  Davidson,  D.D. 

ADDISON.     William  Spalding,  LL.D.,  late  Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  Bellas  Lettres,  University  of  Edinburgh. 

ADMIRAL  and  ADMIRALTY.     F.  W.  Rowseh,  C.B.,  Superintendent  orNaval  Contracts,  H.M.  Admiralty. 

ADULTERATION.     Dr  Henry  Lethf.by,  Ph.D.,  formerly  Medical  Officer  of  Health  to  the  City  of  London. 

AERONAUTICS.     James  Glaisher,  F.R.S.,  Superintendent  of  the  Meteorological  Section,  Greenwich  Observatory. 

^SCHYLUS.     J.  Stuart  Blackie,  late  Professor  of  Greek,  University  of  Edinburgh. 

.£SIR.    Miss  E.  C.  Otte,  Translator  of  Humboldt's  "  Cosmos." 

ESTHETICS.    James  Sully,  LL.D.,  Author  of  "  Sensation  and  Intuition." 

AFGHANISTAN.    Col.  Yule,  C.B. 

AFRICA.     Keith  Johnston,  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society. 

AGASSIZ.     W.  C.  Williamson,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.,  Professor  of  Natural  History,  Owens  College,  Manchester. 

AGRARIAN  LAWS.     George  Ferguson,  LL.D.,  formerly  Professor  of  Humanity,  University  of  Aberdeen. 

AGRICULTURE.    John  Wilson,  Member  of  Council,  Highland  and  Agricultural  Society,  and  W.  T.  Thornton, 

Author  of  "A  Plea  for  Peasant  Proprietors." 
ALCHEMY.    Jules  Andrieu. 

ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT.     Rev.  Sir  George  W.  Cox,  Baronet,  Author  of  "  A  History  of  Greece,"  &c. 
ALEXANDER  VI.     Richard  Garnett,  British  Museum,  Author  of  "  Idylls'  and  Epigrams  from  Greek  Anthology." 
ALFORD,  DEAN.     Charles  Kent,  Author  of  "  Charles  Dickens  as  a  Reader." 
ALGjE.     Dr  J.  Hutton  Balfour,  F.R.S.,  late  Professor  of  Botany  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 
ALGEBRA.     Philip  Kelland,  F.R.S.,  late  Professor  of  Mathematics,  University  of  Edinburgh. 
ALGERIA.     David  Kay,  F.R.G.S. 

ALPHABET.     John  Peile,  M.A.,  Fellow  and  Tutor  of  Christ's  College,  Cambridge. 
ALPS.    John  Ball,  F.R.S.,  late  President  of  the  Alpine  Club. 
ALTAR.     Rev.  G.  H.  Forbes. 

ALUM.    James  Dewar,  F.R.S.,  Jacksonian  Professor  of  Natural  Experimental  Philosophy,  Cambridge. 
AMAZON.     A.  Stuart  Murray,  British  Museum. 

AMBASSADOR.     Henry  Reeve,  C.B.,  D.C.L.,  Registrar  of  H.M.  Privy  CounciL 
AMBULANCE.     Thomas  Lonomore,  C.B.,  Professor  of  Army  Surgery,  Netley. 

AMERICA  (North  and  South).     Charles  Maclaren,  late  Fel.  of  the  Geolog.  Soc,  and  of  the  Royal  Society,  Edin. 
AMERICAN  LITERATURE.     John  Nichol,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  English  Language,  University  of  Glasgow. 
AMMON.     Samuel  Birch,  LL.D.,  D.C.L.,  Keeper  of  Department  of  Oriental  Antiquities,  British  Museum. 
AMMUNITION.     Capt.  C.  Orde  Browne,  R.A.,  Royal  Laboratory,  Woolwich. 
AMOS.     Rev.  Canon  T.  K.  Cheyne,  Oriel  Profassor  of  Exegesis,  University  of  Oxford. 
AMPHIBIA.     Prof.  T.  H.  Huxley.- 
AMPHITHEATRE.     Rev.  G.  H.  Forbes. 
ANALOGY  and  ANALYSIS.     Prcf.  Croom  Robertson. 

ANjESTHESIA.     Dr.  James  0.  Affleck,  Examiner,  Royal  College  of  Physicians,  Edinburgh. 
ANATOMY.     Sir  Wm.  Turner,  M.B.,  F.R.S.,  Professor  of  Anatomy  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 


PREFATORY  NOTICE. 


'"T'HE  ENCYCLOPAEDIA  BRITANNICA  has  long  deservedly  held  a  foremost  place  amongst 
-*-  English  Encyclopaedias.  It  secured  this  position  by  its  plan  and  method  of  treat- 
ment, the  plan  being  more  comprehensive,  and  the  treatment  a  happier  blending  of 
popular  and  scientific  exposition  than  had  previously  been  attempted  in  any  under- 
taking of  the  kind.  The  distinctive  feature  of  the  work  was  that  it  gave  a  connected 
view  of  the  more  important  subjects  under  a  single  heading,  instead  of  breaking  them 
up  into  a  number  of  shorter  articles.  This  method  of  arrangement  had  a  twofold 
advantage.  The  space  afforded  for  extended  exposition  helped  to  secure  the  services 
of  the  more  independent  and  productive  minds  who  were  engaged  in  advancing  their 
own  departments  of  scientific  inquiry.  As  a  natural  result,  the  work,  while  surveying 
in  outline  the  existing  field  of  knowledge,  was  able  at  the  same  time  to  enlarge  its 
boundaries  by  embodying,  in  special  articles,  the  fruits  of  original  observation  and  re- 
search. The  Encyclopaedia  Britannica  thus  became,  to  some  extent  at  ieast,  an  instru- 
ment as  well  as  a  register  of  scientific  progress. 

This  characteristic  feature  of  the  work  will  be  retained  and  made  even  more  promi- 
nent  in  the  New  Edition,  as  the  list  of  contributors  already  published  sufficiently 
indicates.  In  some  other  respects,  however,  the  plan  will  be  modified,  to  meet  the 
multiplied  reauirements  of  advancing  knowledge.  In  the  first  place,  the  rapid  progress 
of  science  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  necessitates  many  changes,  as  well  as  a 
considerable  increase  in  the  number  of  headings  devoted  to  its  exposition.  In  dealing 
with  vast  wholes,  such  as  Physics  and  Biology,  it  is  always  a  difficult  problem  how 
best  to  distribute  the  '  parts  under  an  alphabetical  arrangement,  and  perhaps  impossible 
to  make  such  a  distribution  perfectly  consistent  and  complete.  The  difficulty  of  dis- 
tribution is  increased  by  the  complexity  of  divisions  and  multiplication  of  details,  which 
the  progress  of  science  involves,  and  which  constitute  indeed  the  most  authentic  note 
of  advancing  knowledge.  This  sign  of  progress  is  reflected  in  extensive  changes  of 
terminology  and  nomenclature,  vague  general  headings  once  appropriate  and  sufficient, 
such  as  Animalcule,  being  of  necessity  abandoned  for  more  precise  and  significant 
equivalent* 


VI  PREFATORY    NOTICE. 

But,  since  the  publication  of  the  last  Edition,  science,  in  each  of  its  main  divisions, 
may  be  said  to  have  changed  as  much  in  substance  as  in  form.  The  new  conceptions 
introduced  into  the  Biological  Sciences  have  revolutionized  their  points  of  view,  methods 
of  procedure,  and  systems  of  classification.  In  the  light  of  larger  and  more  illumi- 
nating generalizations,  sections  of  the  subject,  hitherto  only  partially  explored,  have 
acquired  new  prominence  and  value,  and  are  cultivated  with  the  keenest  interest.  It  is 
enough  to  specify  the  researches  into  the  ultimate  structures,  serial  gradations,  and  pro- 
gressive changes  of  organic  forms,  into  the  laws  of  their  distribution  in  space  and  time, 
and  into  the  causes  by  which  these  phenomena  have  been  brought  about.  The  results 
of  persistent  labor  in  these  comparatively  new  fields  of  inquiry  will  largely  determine 
the  classifications  of  the  future.  Meanwhile  the  whole  system  of  grouping,  and  many 
points  of  general  doctrine,  are  in  a  transition  state ;  and  what  is  said  and  done  in  these 
directions  must  be  regarded,  to  a  certain  extent  at  least,  as  tentative  and  provisional. 
In  these  circumstances,  the  really  important  thing  is,  that  whatever  may  be  said  on 
such  unsettled  questions  should  be  said  with  the  authority  of  the  fullest  knowledge  and 
insight,  and  every  effort  has  been  made  to  secure  this  advantage  for  the  New  Edition 
of  the   Encyclopaedia. 

The  recent  history  of  Physics  is  marked  by  changes  both  of  conception  and  classi- 
fication almost  equally  great.  In  advancing  from  the  older  dynamic  to  the  newei 
potential  and  kinetic  conceptions  of  power,  this  branch  of  science  may  be  said  to  have 
entered  on  a  fresh  stage,  in  which,  instead  of  regarding  natural  phenomena  as  the  result 
of  forces  acting  between  one  body  and  another,  the  energy  of  a  material  system  is 
looked  upon  as  determined  by  its  configuration  and  motion,  and  the  ideas  of  configura- 
tion, motion  and  force  are  generalized  to  the  utmost  extent  warranted  by  their  defini- 
tions. This  altered  point  of  view,  combined  with  the  far-reaching  doctrines  of  the 
correlation  of  forces  and  the  conservation  of  energy,  has  produced  extensive  changes  in 
the  nomenclature  and  classification  of  the  various  sections  of  physics;  while  the  fuller 
investigations  into  the  ultimate  constitution  of  matter,  and  into  the  phenomena  and 
laws  of  light,  heat  and  electricity,  have  created  virtually  new  sections,  which  must  now 
find  a  place  in  any  adequate  survey  of  scientific  progress.  The  application  of  the 
newer  principles  to  the  mechanical  arts  and  industries  has  rapidly  advanced  during  the 
same  period,  and  will  require  extended  illustration  in  many  fresh  directions.  Mechanical 
invention  has,  indeed,  so  kept  pace  with  the  progress  of  science,  that  in  almost  every 
department  of  physics  improved  machines  and  processes  have  to  be  described,  as  well 
as  fresh  discoveries  and  altered  points  of  view.  In  recent  as  in  earlier  times,  invention 
and  discovery  have  acted  and  reacted  on  each  other  to  a  marked  extent,  the  instru 
ments  of  finer  measurement  and  analysis  having  directly  contributed  to  the  finding  out 
of  physical  properties  and  laws.  The  spectroscope  is  a  signal  instance  of  the  extent  to 
which  in  our  day  scientific  discovery  is  indebted  to  appropriate  instruments  of  obset 
vation  and  nna'vsis 


PREFATORY     NOTICE.  vil 

These  extensive  changes  in  Physics  and  Biology  involve  corresponding  changes  in 
the  method  of  their  exposition.  Much  in  what  was  written  about  each  a  generation 
ago  is  now  of  comparatively  little  value.  Not  only  therefore  does  the  system  of 
grouping  in  these  sciences  require  alteration  and  enlargement ;  the  articles  themselves 
must,  in  the  majority  of  instances,  be  written  afresh  rather  than  simply  revised.  The 
scientific  department  of  the  work  will  thus  be  to  a  great  extent  new.  In  attempting 
to  distribute  the  headings  for  the  New  Edition,  so  as  fairly  to  cover  the  ground  occu 
pied  by  modern  science,  I  have  been  largely  indebted  to  Professor  Huxley  and  Professor 
Clerk  Maxwell,  whose  valuable  help  in  the  matter  I  am  glad  to  have  an  opportunity 
of  acknowledging. 

Passing  from  Natural  and  Physical  Science  to  Literature,  History  and  Philosophy. 
it  may  be  noted  that  many  sections  of  knowledge  connected  with  these  departments 
display  fresh  tendencies,  and  are  working  towards  new  results,  which,  if  faithfully 
reflected,  will  require  a  new  style  of  treatment.  Speaking  generally,  it  may  be  said 
that  human  nature  and  human  life  are  the  great  objects  of  inquiry  in  these  depart- 
ments. Man,  in  his  individual  powers,  complex  relationships,  associated  activities  and 
collective  progress,  is  dealt  with  alike  in  Literature,  History  and  Philosophy.  In  this 
wider  aspect,  the  rudest  and  most  fragmentary  records  of  savage  and  barbarous  races 
the  earliest  stories  and  traditions  of  every  lettered  people,  no  less  than  their  developed 
literatures,  mythologies  and  religions,  are  found  to  have  a  meaning  and  value  of  their 
own.  As  yet  the  rich  materials  thus  supplied  for  throwing  light  on  the  central  prob 
lems  of  human  life  and  history  have  only  been  very  partially  turned  to  account.  It 
may  be  said,  indeed,  that  their  real  significance  is  perceived  and  appreciated,  almost  for 
the  first  time  in  our  own  day.  But  under  the  influence  of  the  modern  spirit,  they  are 
now  being  dealt  with  in  a  strictly  scientific  manner.  The  available  facts  of  humar 
history,  collected  over  the  widest  areas,  are  carefully  co-ordinated  and  grouped  together, 
in  the  hope  of  ultimately  evolving  the  laws  of  progress,  moral  and  material,  which 
underlie  them,  and  which,  when  evolved,  will  help  to  connect  and  interpret  the  whole 
onward  movement  of  the  race.  Already  the  critical  use  of  the  comparative  method 
has  produced  very  striking  results  in  this  new  and  stimulating  field  of  research.  Illus- 
trations of  this  are  seen  in  the  rise  and  rapid  development  of  the  comparatively  modern 
science  of  Anthropology,  and  the  successful  cultivation  of  the  assistant  sciences,  such  as 
Archaeology,  Ethnography  and  Philology,  which  directly  contribute  materials  for  its  use. 
The  activity  of  geographical  research  in  both  hemispheres,  and  the  large  additions 
recently  made  to  our  knowledge  of  older  and  newer  continents  by  the  discoveries  of 
eminent  travelers  and  explorers,  afford  the  anthropologist  additional  materials  for  his 
work.  Many  branches  of  mental  philosophy,  again,  such  as  Ethics,  Psychology*  anc 
-Esthetics,  while  supplying  important  elements  to  the  new  science,  are  at  the  same 
time  very  largely  interested  in  its  results,  and  all  may  be  regarded  as  subservient  to 
the  wider  problems  raised  by  the  philosophy  of   history.      In  the  New  Edition  of  the 


Vlii  PREFATORY    NOTICE. 

Encyclopaedia   full   justice   will,    it    is   hoped,  be   done   to   the   progress   made  in    these 
various  directions. 

It  may  be  well,  perhaps,  to  state  at  the  outset  the  position  taken  by  the  Ency- 
clopaedia Britannica  in  relation  to  the  active  controversies  of  the  time — Scientific,  Re- 
ligious and  Philosophical.  This  is  the  more  necessary,  as  the  prolific  activity  of  modern 
science  has  naturally  stimulated  speculation,  and  given  birth  to  a  number  of  somewhat 
crude  conjectures  and  hypotheses.  The  air  is  full  of  novel  and  extreme  opinions, 
arising  often  from  a  hasty  or  one-sided  interpretation  of  the  newer  aspects  and  results 
of  modern  inquiry.  The  higher  problems  of  philosophy  and  religion,  too,  are  being 
investigated  afresh  from  opposite  sides  in  a  thoroughly  earnest  spirit,  as  well  as  with  a 
directness  and  intellectual  power,  which  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  striking  signs  of 
the  times.  This  fresh  outbreak  of  the  inevitable  contest  between  the  old  and  the  new 
is  a  fruitful  source  of  exaggerated  hopes  and  fears,  and  of  excited  denunciation  and 
appeal.  In  this  conflict  a  work  like  the  Encyclopaedia  is  not  called  upon  to  take  any 
direct  part.  It  has  to  do  with  knowledge  rather  than  opinion,  and  to  deal  with  all 
subjects  from  a  critical  and  historical,  rather  than  a  dogmatic,  point  of  view.  It  cannot 
be  the  organ  of  any  sect  or  party  in  Science,  Religion  or  Philosophy.  Its  main  duty 
is  to  give  an  accurate  account  of  the  facts  and  an  impartial  summary  of  results  in 
every   department   of    inquiry   and    research.      This    duty   will,    I    hope,   be    faithfully 

performed 

T.  S.  BAYNES. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA   BRITANNICA. 


A 


A 


THE  first  symbol  of  every  Indo-European  alphabet, 
.  denotes  also  the  primary  vowel  sound.  This  coin- 
cidence is  probably  only  accidental.  The  alphabets  of 
Europe,  and  perhaps  of  India  also,  were  of  Semitic  origin, 
and  in  all  the  Semitic  alphabets  except  one,  this  same 
symbol  (in  modified  forms)  holds  the  first  place ;  but  it 
renresents  a  peculiar  breathing,  not  the  vowel  a, — the 
vowels  in  the  Semitic  languages  occupying  a  subordinate 
place,  and  having  originally  no  special  symbols.  When 
the  Greeks,  with  whom  the  vowel  sounds  were  much  more 
important,  borrowed  the  alphabet  of  Phoenicia,  they  re- 
quired symbols  to  express  those  vowels,  and  ased  for  this 
purpose  the  signs  of  breathings  which  were  strange  to 
them,  and  therefore  needed  not  to  be  preserved ;  thus  the 
Phoenician  equivalent  of  the  Hebrew  aleph  became  alpha; 
it  denoted,  however,  no  more  a  guttural  breathing,  but  the 
purest  vowel  sound.  Still,  it  would  be  too  much  to 
assume  that  the  Greeks  of  that  day  were  so  skilled  in 
phonetics  that  they  assigned  the  first  symbol  of  their  bor- 
rowed alphabet  to  the  a-sound,  because  they  knew  that 
sound  to  be  the  most  essential  vowel. 

This  primary  vowel-sound  (the  sound  of  a  in  father)  is 
produced  by  keeping  the  passage  through  which  the  air  is 
vocalised  between  the  glottis  and  the  lips  in  the  most  open 
position  possible.  In  sounding  all  other  vowels,  the  air- 
channel  is  narrowed  by  the  action  either  of  the  tongue  or 
the  lips.  But  here  neither  the  back  of  the  tongue  is 
raised  (as  it  is  in  sounding  o  and  other  vowels),  so  that  a 
free  space'  is  left  between  the  tongue  and  the  uvula,  nor 
is  the  front  of  the  tongue  raised  (as  in  sounding  e),  so  that 
the  space  is  clear  between  the  tongue  and  the  palate. 
Again,  no  other  vowel  is  pronounced  with  a  wider  opening 
of  the  lips;  whereas  the  aperture  is  sensibly  reduced  at 
each  side  when  we  sound  o,  and  still  more  when  we  sound 
u  (that  is,  yoo).  The  whole  channel,  therefore,  from 
the  glottis,  where  the  breath  first  issues  forth  to  be  modi- 
fied in  the  oral  cavity,  to  the  lips,  where  it  finally  escapes, 
is  thoroughly  open.  Hence  arises  the  great  importance  of 
the  sound,  by  reason  of  its  thoroughly  non-consonantal 
character.     All  vowels  may  be  defined  as  orjen  positions 


of  the  speech-organs,  in  which  the  breath  escapes  without 
any  stoppage,  friction,  or  sibilation  arising  from  the  con- 
tact of  those  organs,  whereas  consonants  are  heard  when 
the  organs  open  after  such  contact  more  or  less  complete. 
Now,  all  vowels  except  a  are  pronounced  with  a  certain 
contraction  of  the  organs ;  thus,  in  sounding  the  i  (the 
English  e-sonnd),  the  tongue  is  raised  so  as  almost  to 
touch  the  palate,  the  passage  left  being  so  close,  that  if 
the  tongue  were  suffered  for  a  second  to  rest  on  the  palate, 
there  would  be  heard  not  i  but  y;  and  a  similar  relation 
exists  between  u  and  w.  This  is  commonly  expressed  by 
calling  y  and  w  semi-vowels.  We  might  more  exactly  call 
i  and  u  consonantal-vowels ;  and  as  an  historic  fact,  t  does 
constantly  pass  into  y,  and  u  into  w,  and  vice  versa.  But 
no  consonant  has  this  relation  to  the  a-sound ;  it  has  abso- 
lutely no  affinity  to  any  consonant ;  it  is,  as  we  have  called 
it,  the  one  primary  essential  vowel. 

The  importance  of  this  sound  may  be  shown  by  histori- 
cal as  well  as  by  physiological  evidence.  We  find  by 
tracing  the  process  of  phonetic  change  in  different  lan- 
guages, that  when  one  vowel  passes  into  another,  it  is  the 
pure  a-sound  which  thus  assumes  other  forms,  whereas 
other  vowels  do  not  pass  into  the  a-sound,  though  some- 
times the  new  sound  may  have  this  symbol.  Roughly 
speaking,  we  might  express  the  gene- 
ral character  of  vowel  change  by  draw- 
ing two  lines  from  a  common  point, 
at  which  a  is  placed.  One  of  these 
lines  marks  the  progress  of  an  original 
a  (aA-sound)  through  e  (a-sound),  till 
it  sinks  finally  to  t  (e-sound) ;  the  other 
marks  a  similar  degradation,  through 
o  to  u  (oo-sound).  This  figure  omits  ; 
many  minor  modifications,  and  is  sub- 
ject to  some  exceptions  in  particular  languages.  But  it 
represents  fairly  in  the  main  the  general  process  of  vowel- 
change.  Now,  we  do  not  assert  that  there  ever  was  a 
time  when  a  was  the  only  existing  vowel,  but  we  do  main- 
tain that  in  numberless  cases  an  original  a  has  passed  into 
other  sounds,  whereas  the  reverse  process  is  excessively 


A  — A  A  It 


rare.  Consequently,  tlie  farther  wc  trace  back  the  history 
ef  language,  the  moro  instances  of  this  vowel  do  we  find; 
the  more  nearly,  if  not  entirely,  does  it  become  the  one 
starting  point  from  which  all  vowel-sound  is  derived. 

It  is  principally  to  the  effort  required  to  keep  this 
sound  pure  that  we  must  attribute  the  great  corruption  of 
it  in  all  languages,  and  in  none  more  than  our  own.  In- 
deed, in  English,  the  short  a-sound  is  never  heard  pure ;  it 
is  heard  in  Scotland,  e.g.,  in  man,  which  is  quite  different 
from  the  same  word  on  English  lips.  We  have  it,  how- 
ever, long  in  father,  <fcc,  though  it  is  not  common.  It  has 
passed  into  a  great  many  other  sounds,  all  of  which  are 
denoted  in  a  most  confusing  way  by  the  original  symbol, 
and  some  by  other  symbols  as  well.  Thus  a  denotes— (1.) 
The  English  vowel-sound  in  man,  perhaps  the  most  common 
of  all  the  substitutes,  dating  from  the  17th  century.  (2.) 
It  appears  in  want;  for  this  sound  o  is  also  employed,  as  in 
on.  (3.)  A  more  open  sound  is  heard  in  all  (also  denoted 
by  au  in  auk,  and  aw  in  awl).  (4.)  Very  commonly  it  re- 
presents the  continental  e,  as  in  ale  (here  also  we  have  the 
symbol  ai  in  ail).  (5.)  It  is  found  in  dare  and  many 
similar  words,  where  the  sound  is  really  the  e  of  den,  pro- 
longed in  the  utterance ;  hero  also  ai  is  sometimes  an 
equivalent,  as  in  air.  Then  (6)  there  is  a  sound  which  is 
not  that  of  a  either  in  man  or  in  father,  but  something 
between  the  two.  It  is  heard  in  such  words  as  ask,  pass, 
grant,  &c.  All  these  may  be,  and  often  are,  pronounced 
with  the  sound  either  of  man  or  of  father ;  still,  we  do  often 
hear  in  them  a  dearly  distinguishable  intermediate  sound, 
which  ought  to  have  a  special  symbol.  Lastly  (7),  there 
is  the  dull  sound  heard  in  final  unaccentuated  syllables,  e.g., 
in  the  word  final  itself.  It  is  that  to  which  all  unaccen- 
tuated syllables  tend ;  but  it  is  also  often  heard  even  in 
monosyllables,  where  it  is  represented  by  every  other  vowel- 
symbol  in  the  language,  e.g.,  in  her,  sir,  son,  sun.  This 
Protean  sound  is  commonly  called  the  neutral  vowel ;  it 
occurs  in  all  languages,  but  perhaps  in  none  so  frequently 
as  in  ErigUsh.  •  This  great  variety  of  sounds,  which  are  all 
denoted  among^us^by  one  symbol,  clearly  shows  the  in- 
sufficiency of  our  written  alphabet. 

As  in  English,  so  in  Sanskrit,  the  short  a^-sound  was 
lost,  and  was  replaced  regularly  by  the  neutral  sound. 
This  was  regarded  by  the  grammarians  as  inherent  in  every 
consonant,  and  therefore  was  only  written  at  the  beginning 
of  a  word;  in  fact,  it  is  the  smallest  amount  of  vowel- 
sound  requisite  to  float  a  consonant.  Long  a,  however, 
kept  its  sound  pure,  and  does  so  still  in  the  vernaculars  of 
India.  In  Latin  the  sound  was  probably  pure,  both  short 
and  long,  and  it  has  been  preserved  so  in  the  Romance 
languages  down  to  the  present  day.  In  Greek  there  was 
considerable  variation,  proved  in  one  case  at  least  by  a 
variation  of  symbol ;  in  Ionic  a  commonly  passed  into 
■q,  a  symbol  which  probably  denoted  the  modern  Italian 
open  e  ;  but  possibly  the  close  e,  that  is,  the  English  a  in 
ale.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  probable  that  the  Doric  a 
approximated  to  an  o,  being  sounded  as  a  in  our  word 
want;  and  it  is  likely  that  this  variation  was  the  wXaTeiaa-- 
/*o?  which  the  grammarians  attribute  to  the  Dorians.  This 
is  commonly  supposed  to  have  been  the  retention  of  a  where 
the  Tonic  had  rj ;  but  that  was  not  peculiar  to  the  Dorians, 
being  common  to  all  the  Greeks  except  the  Ionians.  In 
the  north  of  Europe  we  find  a  similar  tendency  to  give  to 
a  in  o-sound;  thus  in  Norse,  aa  is  sounded  as  an  open  o. 
By  a  further  extension  in  the  north  of  England,  at  least  in 
such  parts  as  have  been  specially  exposed  to  Norwegian 
influence,  au  has  the  sound  of  o  ;  e.g.,  law  is  pronounced  lo. 

A  is  frequently  used  as  a  prefix  in  lieu  of  some  fuller 
form  in  old  English.  Thus  it  stands  for  the  preposition 
on  (O.E.  an)  in  away,  again,  afoot,  asleep;  for  offmpdown 
(O.E.  of-dune);  and  seems  to  bo  intensive  in  athirst  (O.E. 


of-thirst).  Sometimes,  especially  with  verbs,  it  represents 
the  old  English  a,  which  in  old  High  German  appears  as 
ur  or  er,  and  in  modern  German  as  er,  which  signifies  tho 
completion  of  an  action,  as  in  erwachen,  to  which  awake 
corresponds.  Frequently  no  special  force  seems  to  be 
added  by  the  prefix,  as  in  abide,  arise,  iic.  Sometimes  a 
appears  as  the  representative  of  the  prefix  commonly  used 
in  past  participles,  which  has  the  form  ge  in  German,  and 
ge  and  y  in  old  English,  e.g.,  in  ago  or  agone;  compare 
aware  (O.E.  gewaere),  among  (O.E.  gemang),  <tc.  A  also 
stood  for  the  preposition  an  (on)  in  such  expressions  (now 
obsolete)  as  a-doing,  a-making,  where  doing  and  making  are 
verbal  nouns.  Lastly,  it  represents  the  prepositions  on  or 
of  in  the  phrases  now-a-days,  Jack-a-lantern,  and  others. 

The  place  that  A  occupies  in  the  alphabet  accounts  for 
its  being  much  employed  as  a  mark  or  symbol.  It  is  used, 
for  instance,  to  name  the  sixth  note  of  the  gamut  in  music; 
in  some  systems  of  notation  it  is  a  numeral  (see  Aeith- 
metic);  and  in'  Logic  it  denotes  a  universal  affirmative 
proposition  (see  Logic).  In  algebra,  a  and  the  first  letters 
of  the  alphabet  are  employed  to  represpnt  known  quanti- 
ties. AI  marks  the  best  class  of  vessels  in  Lloyd's  Re- 
gister of  British  and  Foreign  Shipping.  In  the  old  poets, 
"  Aper  se"  is  found,  meaning  the  highest  degree  of  excel- 
lence; as  when  Chaucer  calls  Creseide  "the  floure  and  A 
per  se  of  Troyo  and  Grece." 

A  was  the  first  of  the  eight  literm  nundinales  at  Rome, 
and  on  this  analogy  it  stands  as  the  first  of  the  seven  Domini- 
cal letters. 

It  is  often  used  as  an  abbreviation,  as  in  A.D.  for  mine 
domini,  A.M.  for  ante  meridiem,  A.B.  and  A.M.  for  artium 
baccalaureus  and  artium  magister.  a  In  commerce  A  stands 
for  accepted.  (j.  P.) 

AA,  the  name  of  about  forty  small  European  rivers. 
The  word  is  derived  from  the  old  German  aha,  cognate 
to  the  Latin  aqua,  water.  The  following  are  the  more 
important  streams  of  this  name  : — a  river  of  Holland,  in 
North  Brabant,  which  joins  the  Dommel  at  Bois-le-Duc ; 
two  rivers  in  the  west  of  Russia,  both  falling  into  tho 
Gulf  of  Livonia,  near  Riga,  which  is  "situated  between 
them;  a  river  in  the  north  of  France,  falling  into  the  sea 
at  Gravelines,  and  navigable  as  far  as  St  Omer;  and  a 
river  of  Switzerland,  in  the  cantons  of  Lucerne  and  Aargau, 
which  carries  the  waters  of  Lakes  Baldeker  and  Hallwylcr 
into  the  Aar. 

AACHEN.     See  Aix-la-Chapelle. 

AALBORG,  a  city  and  seaport  of  Denmark,  is  situated  on 
the  Liimfiord,  about  15  miles  from  its  junction  with  the 
Cattegat.  It  is  the  capital  of  the  district  of  the  same 
name,  one  of  the  subdivisions  of  the  province  of  Jutland. 
The  city  is  a  place  of  considerable  commercial  importance, 
and  contains  a  cathedral  and  a  school  of  navigation.  Soap, 
tobacco,  and  leather  are  manufactured ;  there  are  several 
distilleries ;  and  the  herring  fishery  is  extensively  prosecuted. 
Grain  and  herring  are  largely  exported,"  as  are  also  to  a 
smaller  extent  wool,  cattle,  skins,  tallow,  salt  provisions,  and 
spirits.  The  harbour,  which  is  good  and  safe,  though 
difficult  of  access,  is  entered  by  about  800  vessels  annually, 
and  there  is  direct  steam  communication  with  Copenhagen. 
The  district  is  celebrated  for  its  breed  of  horses.  Popula 
tion  (1870),  11,953. 

AALEN,  a  walled  town  of  Wiirtemberg,  pleasantly 
situated  on  the  Kocher.'at  the  foot  of  the  Swabian  Alps, 
about  50  miles  E.  of  Stuttgart.  Woollen  and  linen  goods 
are  manufactured,  and  there  are  ribbon  looms  and  tanneries 
in  the  town,  and  large  iron  works  in  fie  neighbourhood. 
Aalen  was  a  free  imperial  city  from  1BG0  till  1802,  when 
it  was  annexed  to  Wurtemberg.     Population  (1871),  5552. 

AAR,  or  Aake,  the  most  considerable  river  in  Switzer- 
land, after  the  Rhine  and  Rhone,  i  It  rises  in  the  glaciers 


A  A  K  — A  A  R 


of  the  Finster-aarhorn,  Schreckkorn,  and  Grimsel,  in  the 
canton  of  Bern;  and  at  the  Handeck  in  the  valley  of  Hash 
forms  a  magnificent  water-fall  of  above  150  feet  in  height. 
It  then  falls  successively  into  the  lakes  Brienz  and  Thun, 
and,  emerging  from  the  latter,  flows  through  the  cantons  of 
Bern,  Soleure,  and  Aargau,  emptying  itself  into  the  Rhine, 
opposite  WaldsTiut,  .after  a  course  of  about  170  miles. 
Its  principal  tributary  streams  are  the  Kandcr,  Saane,  and 
Thiele  on  the  left,  and  the  Einnien,  Surin,  Aa,  Rcuss,  and 
Limmat,  on  the  right.  On  its  banks  are  situated  Unterseen, 
Thun,  Bern,  Soleure  or  Solothurn,  Aarburg,  and  Aarau. 
The  Aar  is  a  beautiful  silvery  river,  abounding  in  fish,  and 
is  navigable  from  the  Rhine  as  far  as  the  Lake  of  Thun. 
Several  small  rivers  in  Germany  have  the  same  name. 

AARAU,  the  chief  town  of  the  "canton  of  Aargau  in 
Switzerland,  is  situated  at  the  foot  of  the  Jura  mountains, 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  river  Aar,  41  miles  N.E.  of  Bern. 
It  is  well  built,  and  contains  a  town-hall,  barracks,  several 
email  museums,  and  a  library  rich  in  histories  of  Switzer- 
land. There  is  a  cannon  foundry  at  Aarau,  and  among  the 
principal  manufactures  are  silk,  cotton,  and  leather ;  also 
cutlery  and  mathematical  instruments,  which  are  held  in 
great  repute.  The  slopes  of  the  neighbouring  mountains 
are  partially  covered  with  vines,  and' the  vicinity  of  the 
town  is  attractive.  About  ten  miles  distant  along  the 
right  bank  of  the  Aar  are  the  famous  baths  of  Schinzuach. 
Population,  5449. 

AARD-VARK  {earthing),  an  animal  very  common  in 
South  Africa,  measuring  upwards  of  three  feet  in  length, 
and  having  a  general  resemblance  to  a  short-legged  pig. 
It  feeds  on  ants,  and  is  of  nocturnal  habits,  and  very  timid 
and  harmless.  Its  flesh  is  used  as  food,  and  when  suitably 
preserved  is  considered  a  delicacy.  The  animal  is  the  only 
known  species  of  its  genus  \Orycteropus),  and  belongs  to 
the  order  Edentata  of  the  mammalia.  The  same  prefix 
Aard  appears  in  the  name  of  the  Aard-wolf  (Proteles 
Lalandil),  a  rare  animal  found  in  Caffraria,  which  is  said 
to  partake  of  the  characters  of  the  dog  and  civet.  See 
Mammalia. 

AARGAU  (French,  Argovia.,  one  of  fho  cantons  of 
Switzerland,  derives  its  name  from  the  rivei  which  flows 
through  it,  Aar-gau  being  the  province  or  district  of  the 
Aar.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Rhine,  which  divides 
it  from  the  duchy  of  Baden,  on  the  east  by  Zurich  and  Zug, 
on  the  south  by  Lucerne,  and  on  the  west  by  Bern,  Soleure 
or  Solothurn,  and  BaseL  It  has  an  area  of  502i  square  miles. 
By  the  census  of  1870,  the  number  of  inhabitants  was 
198,873,  showing  an  increase  during  the  preceding  ten  years 
of  4605.  Aargau  stands  sixth  among  the  Swiss  caDtons  in 
density  of  population,  having  395  inhabitants  to  the  square 
mile.  The  statistics  of  1870  show  that  of  the  inhabitants 
107,703  were  Protestants,  89,180  Catholics,  and  1541  Jews. 
German  is  the  language  almost  universally  spoken. 

Aargau  is  the  least  mountainous  canton  of  Switzerland. 
It  forms  part  of  a  great  table-land  to  the  north  of  the  Alps 
and  the*  east  of  the  Jura,  having  a  general  elevation  of 
from  1200  to  1500  feet.  The  hills  do  not  rise  to  any 
greater  height  than  1800  feet  above  this  table- land,  or 
3000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea  The  surface  of  the 
country  is  beautifully  diversified,  undulating  tracts  and 
well-woodtd  hills  alternating  with  fertile  valleys  watered 
by  the  Aar  and  its  numerous  tributaries,  and  by  the  rivu- 
lets which  flow  northward  into  the  Rhine.  Although 
moist  and  variable,  the  climate  is  milder  than  in  most 
parts  of  Switzerland. 

The  minerals  of  Aargau  are  unimportant,  but-remarkable 
pataacntological  remains  are  found  in  its  rocks.  ...The  soil  to 
the  left  of  the  Aar  is  a  stiff  clay,  but  to  the  right  it  is  light 
and  productive.  Agriculture  is  in  an  advanced  state,  and 
groat  attention  is  given  to  the  rearing  of  cattle*    There 


are  many  vineyards,  and  much  fruit  is  grown.  The  can- 
ton is  distinguished  by  its  industry  and  its  generally 
diffused  prosperity.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  are  employed 
in  the  fishings  on  the  Aar,  and  in  the  navigation  of  the 
river.  In  the  villages  and  towns  there  are  considerable 
manufactures  of  cotton  goods,  silk,  and  linen.  The  chief 
exports  are  cattle,  hides,  cheese,  timber,  raw  cotton,  yarn, 
cotton  cloths,  silk,  machinery,  and  wooden  wares ;  and 
the  imports  include  wheat,  wine,  salt,  leather,  and  iron. 
The  most  important  towns  are  Aarau,  Baden,  Zofingen,  and 
Laufeuburg,  and  there  are  mineral  springs  at  Baden,  Schiaa- 
nach,  Leerau,  and  KiederweiL  The  Swis3  Junction 
Railway  crosses  the  Rhine  near  Waldshut,  and  runs  south 
through  the  canton  to  Turgi,  whence  one  line  proceeds  S.E. 
to  Zurich,  and  another  S.W.  to  Aarau  and  Olben. 

Until  1798,  Aargau  formed  part  of  the  canton  of  Bern, 
but  when  the  Helvetic  Republic  was  proclaimed,  it  was 
erected  into  a  separate  canton.  In  1803  it  received  a 
considerable  accession  of  territory,  in  virtue  of  the  arrange- 
ment under  which  the  French  evacuated  Switzerland. 
Accordiug  to  the  law  whereby  the  cantons  are  represented 
in  the  National  Council  by  one  member  for  every  20,000 
inhabitants,  Aargau  returns  ten  representatives  to  that 
assembly.  The  internal  government  is  vested  in  a  legisr 
lative  council  elected  by  the  body  of  the  people,  while  a 
smaller  council  of  seven  members  is  chosen  by  the  larger 
body  for  the  general  administration  of  affairs*  The  re» 
sources  of  Aargau  are  stated  to  amount  to  about  a  million 
sterling;  its  revenue  in  18G7  was  nearly  £82,000,  and  the 
expenditure  slightly  greater.  There  is  a  public  debt  of 
about  £40,000.  The  canton  is  divided  into  eleven  districts, 
and  these  again  are  subdivided  into  forty-eight  circles.  There 
is  a  court  of  Law  for  each  district,  and  a  superior  court  for 
the  whole  canton,  to  which  cases  involving  sums  above  1  GO 
francs  can  be  appealed.  Education  is  compulsory;  but  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  districts  the  law  is  not  strictly  enforced.  By 
improved  schools  and  other  appliances  great  progress  has 
been  made  in  education  within  the  last  thirty  or  forty  years. 

AARHUUS,  a  city  and  seaport  of  Denmark,  situated 
on  the  Cattegat,  in  lat.  56°  9'  N.,  long.  10°  12'  E.  It  is 
the  chief  town  of  a  fertile  district  of  the  same  name,  one 
of  the  subdivisions  of  Jutland.  The  cathedral  of  Aarhuus 
is  a  Gothic  structure,  and  the  largest  church  in  Denmark. 
The  town  also  contains  a  lyceum,  museum,  and  library. 
Aarhuus  is  a  place  of  extensive  trade.  It  has  a  good  and 
safe  harbour,  has  regular  steam  communication  with 
Copenhagen,  and  is  connected  by  rail  with  Viborg  and  the 
interior  of  the  country.  Agricultural  produce,  spirits, 
leather,  and  gloves  are  <exported,  and  there  are  sugar  re- 
fineries, and  manufactures  of  wool,  cotton,  and  tobacco. 
Population  (1870),  15,020. 

AARON,  the  first  high-priest  of  the  Jews,  eldest  ton 
of  Amram  and  Jochebed,  of  the  tribe  of  Levi,  and  brother 
(of  Moses  and  Miriam.  When  Moses  was  commissioned  to 
conduct  the  Israelites  from  Egypt  to  Canaan,  A*ron  was 
appointed  to  assist  him,  principally,  it  would  appear,  on 
account  of  his  possessing,  in  a  high  degree,  persuasive 
readiness  of  speech.  On  the  occasion  of  Mosis'  absence 
in  Mount  Sinai  (to  which  he  had  gone  up  tc  receive  the 
tables  of  the  law),  the  Israelites,  regarding  Aaron  as  their 
leader,  clamorously  demanded  that  he  should  provide  them 
with  a  visible  symbolic  image  of  'Aeir  God  for  worship. 
He  weakly  complied  with  the  demand,  and  out  of  the 
ornaments  of  gold  contributed  for  the  purpose  cast  the 
figure  of  a  calf,  this  form  being  doubtless  chosen  in  recol- 
lection of  the  idols  of  Egypt.  In  obedience  to  instructions 
given  by  God  to  Moses,  Aaron  was  appointed  high -priest; 
his  sons  and  descendants,  priests  :  and  his  tribe  was  set 
apart  as  the  sacerdotal  caste.  The  office  of  high -priest  was 
held  by  Aaron  for  nearly  forty  years,  till  the  trrne  q£  Jus 


A  A  II  —  A  B  A 


death,  which  took  place  on  Mount  Hor,  when  he  was  123 
years  old. 

AAESSENS,  Fkancis  Van  (1572-1641),  one  of  the 
greatest  diplomatists  of  the  United  Provinces.  He  re- 
presented the  States-General  at  the  Court  of  Franco  for 
many  years,  and  was  also  engaged  in  embassies  to  Venice, 
Germany,  and  England.  His  great  diplomatic  ability 
\ppears  from  the  memoirs  he  wrote  of  his  negotiations 
in  1624  with  Richelieu,  who  ranked  him  among  the  three 
greatest  politicians  of  his  time.  A  deep  stain  rests  on  the 
memory  of  Aarssens  from  the  share  he  had  in  the  death  of 
Barneveldt,  who  was  put  to  death  by  the  States-General, 
after  the  semblance  of  a  trial,  in  1619. 

ABABDE,  an  African  tribe  occupying  tho  country  be- 
tween the  Ked  Sea  and  the  Nile,  to  the  S.  of  Kosseir, 
nearly  as  far  as  the  latitude  of  Derr.  Many  of  the  race 
havo  settled  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Nile,  but  the 
greater  part  still  live  like  Bedouins.  They  are  a  distinct 
race  from  the  Arabs,  and  are  treacherous  and  faithless  in 
their  dealings.  They  have  few  horses  ;  when  at  war  with 
other  tribes,  they  fight  from  camels,  their  breed  of  which 
is  famed.  They  possess  considerablo  property,  and  trade 
in  senna,  and  in  charcoal  made  from  acacia  wood,  which 
they  send  as  far  as  Cairo. 

ABACA  or  Abaka,  a  name  given  to  the  Musa  teztilis, 
the  plant  that  produces  the  fibre  called  Manilla  Hemp, 
and  also  to  the  fibre  itself. 

ABACUS,  an  architectural  term  (from  the  Gr.  o/?a|,  a 
tray  or  flat  board)  applied  to  the  upper  part  of  the  capital 
of  a  column,  pier,  ic.     The  early  form  of  an  abacus  is 

^P^*     ^&{.$%?      SIP 


«. 

Forms  of  tho  Ahacns. 

simply  a  square  flat  stone,  probably  derived  from  the 
Tuscan  order.  In  Saxon  work  it  is  frequently  simply 
chamfered,  but  sometimes  grooved,  as  in  tho  crypt  at 
Repton  (fig.  1),  and  in  the  arcade  of  the  refectory  at  West- 
minster. The  abacus  in  Norman  work  is  square  where 
the  columns  are  small;  but  on  larger  piers  it  is  sometimes 
octagonal,  as  at  Waltham  Abbey.  The  square  of  the 
abacus  is  often  sculptured,  as  at  the  White  Tower  and 
at  Alton  (fig.  2).  In  early  English  work  the  abacus  is 
generally  circular,  and  in  larger  work  a  continuation  of 
circles  (fig.  4),  sometimes  octagonal,  and  occasionally  square. 
The  mouldings  are 
generally  rounds, 
which  overhang 
deep  hollows.  The 
abacus  in  early 
French  work  is 
generally  square,  as 
at  Blois  (fig.  3). 
The  term  is  ap- 
plied in  its  diminu- 
tive form  (Abacis- 
cus) to  the  chequers 
or  squares  of  a  tes- 
sellated pavement. 

Abacus  also  signifies  an  instrument  employed  by  the 
undents  for  arithmetical  calculations ;  pebbles,  bits  of  bone, 
or  coins,  being  used  as  counters.  The  accompanying  figure 
(5)  ef  a  Roman  abacus  is  taken  from  an  ancient  monu- 
ment It  contains  seven. long  and  seven  shorter  rods  or 
hara,  the  former  having  four  perforated  beads  running  on 


5. — Roman  Abacus. 


them,  and  the  latter  one.  The  bar  marked  I  indicates 
units,  X  tens,  and  so  on  up  to  millions.  The  beads  on  the 
shorter  bars  denote  lives, — five  units,  five  tens,  Arc.  The  rod 
O   and   correspond-  r^MiiMjpiiMujpi >j 


ing  short  rod  are 
for  marking  ounces; 
and  the  short  quar- 
ter rods  for  fractions 
of  an  ounce. 

The  Swan-Pan,  of 
the  Chinese  (fig.  6 
closely  resembles  the 
Roman  abacus  in  its  ^>S-  6. — Chinese  Swan-Pan. 

construction  aud  use.  Computations  arc  made  with  it  by 
means  of  balls  of  bone  or  ivory  running  on  slondcr  bam 
boo  rods  similar  to  the  simpler  board,  fitted  up  with  beadw 
strung  on  wires,  which  is  employed  in  teaching  the  rudi- 
ments of  arithmetic  in  elementary  schools. 

AB^E,  a  town  of  ancient  •  Greece  in  the  E.  of  Phocis, 
famous  for  a  temple  and  oracle  of  Apollo.  The  temple  was 
plundered  and  burned  by  the  Persians  (b.c.  480),  and  again 
by  the  Boeotians  (b.c.  346),  and  was  restored  on  a  smaller 
scale  by  Hadrian.  Remains  of  the  temple  and  town  may 
still  be  traced  on  a  peaked  hill  near  Exarkiio.  See  Leake's 
Northern  Greece. 

ABAKANSK,  a  fortified  town  of  Siberia,  in  the  govern- 
ment of  Yeniseisk,  on  tho  river  Abakan,  near  its  confluence 
with  the  Yenisei.  Lat.  54°  N.;  long.  91°  14'  E.  This  is 
considered  the  mildest  and  most  salubrious  place  in  Siberia, 
and  is  remarkable  for  the  tumuli  in  its  neighbourhood,  and 
for  some  statues  of  men  from  eeven  to  nino  feet  high, 
covered  with  hieroglyphics.     Population  about  1000. 

ABANA  and  Pharpar,  "  rivers  of  Damascus  "  (2  Kings 
v.  12),  are  now  generally  identified  with  the  Barada  and 
the  Awaj  respectively.  The  former  flows  through  the  city 
of  Damascus ;  the  Awaj,  a  smaller  stream,  passes  eight 
miles  to  the  south.  Both  run  from  west  to  east  across  the 
plain  of  Damascus,  which  owes  to  them  much  of  its  fertility, 
and  lose  themselves  in  marshes,  or  lakes,  as  they  are  called, 
on  the  borders  of  the  great  Arabian  desert.  Mr  Macgregor, 
who  gives  an  interesting  description  of  these  rivers  in  his 
Hob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,  affirms  that  "  as  a  work  of 
hydraulic  engineering,  the  system  and  construction  of  the 
canals  by  which  the  Abana  and  Pharpar  are  used  for 
irrigation,  may  bo  still  considered  as  the  most  complete 
and  extensive  in  the  world." 

ABANCAY,  a  town  of  Peru,  in  the  department  of 
Cuzco,  65  jniles  W.S.W.  of  the  town  of  that  name.  It  lies 
on  the  river  Abancay,  which  is  here  spanned  by  one  of  the 
finest  bridges  in  Peru.  Rich  crops  of  sugar-cane  are  pro- 
duced in  the  district,  and  the  town  has  extensive,  sugar 
refineries.  Hemp  is  also  cultivated,  and  silver  is  found  in 
the  mountains.     Population,  1 200. 

ABANDONMENT,  in  Marine  Assurance,  is  the  surren- 
dering of  the  ship  or  goods  insured  to  the  insurers,  in  the 
case  of  a  constructive  total  loss  of  the  thing  insured. 
There  is  an  absolute  total  los3  entitling  the  assured  to 
recover  the  full  amount  of  his  insurance  wherever  the  thing 
insured  has  ceased  to  exist  to  any  useful  purpose, — and  in 
such  a  case  abandonment  is  not  required.  Where  the  thing 
assured  continues  to  exist  in  specie,  yet  is  so  damaged  that 
there  is  no  reasonable  hope  of  repair,  or  it  is  not  worth  the 
expense  of  bringing  it,  or  what  remains  of  it,  to  its  destina- 
tion, the  insured  may  treat  the  case  as- one  of  a  total  loss 
(in  this  case  called  constructive  total  loss),  and  demand 
the  full  sum  insured.  But,  as  the  contract  of  insurance  is 
one  of  indemnity,  the  insured  must,  in  such  a  case,  make 
an  express  cession  of  all  his  right  to  the  recovery  of  the 
-subject  insured  to  the  underwriter  by  abandonment.  Tho 
insured  must  intimate  his  intention  to  abandon,  within  a 


A  B  A— A  B  A 


reasonable  tin:?  after  "receiving  correct  miormation  as  to  I 
J  he  loss;  any  unnecessary  delay  being  held  as  an  indica- 
tion of  his  intention  not  to  abandon.  '  An.  abandonment 
when  once  accepted  is  irrevocable;  but  in  no  circumstances 
s  the  insured  obliged  to  abandon.  After  abandonment, 
khe  captain  and  crew  are  still  bound  to  do  all  in  their 
power  to  save  the  property  for  the  underwriter,  without 
prejudice  to  the  right  of  abandonment;  for  which  they  are 
Entitled  to  wages  and  remuneration  from  the  insurers,  at 
teast  so  far  as  what  is  saved. will  allow.  See  Arnould, 
Marshall,  and  Park,  on  the  Law  of  Insurance,  and  the 
judgment  of  Lord  Abinger  in  Roux  v.  Salvador,  3  Bing. 
N.C.  266,  Tudor's  Leading  Cases,  139. 

Abandonment  has  also  a  legal  signification  in  the  law 
of  railways.  Under  the  Acts  13  and  14  Vict.  c.  S3,  14 
and  15  Vict.  c.  64,  30  and  31  Vict.  c.  126,  and  32  and  33 
Vict.  c.  114,  the  Board  of  Trade  may,  on  the  application 
of  a  railway  company,  made  by  the  authority  and  with  the 
consent  of  the  holders  of  three-fifths  of  its  shares  or  stock, 
and  on  certain  couditions  specified  in  the  Acts,  grant  a  war- 
rant authorising  the  abandonment  of  the  railway  or  a  por- 
tion of  it.  After  due  publication  of  this  warrant,  the 
company  is  released  from  all  liability  to  make,  maintain, 
or  work  the  railway,  or  portion  of  the  railway,  authorised 
to  be  abaudoned,  or  to  complete  any  contracts  relating  to 
it,  subject  to  certain  provisions  and  exceptions. 

Abandoning  a  young  child  under  two  years  of  age,  so 
that  its  life  shall  be  endangered,  or  its  health  permanently ' 
iujured,  or  likely  to  be  so,  is  in  England  a  misdemeanour, 
punishable  by  penal  servitude  or  imprisonment,  24  and  25 
Vict.  c.  100,  §  273.  In  Scotland  abandoning  or  exposing 
an  infant  is  an  offence  at  common  law,  although  no  evil 
consequences  should  happen  to  the  child. 

ABANO,  a  town  of  Northern  Italy,  6  miles  S.W.  of 
Padua.  There  are  thermal  springs  in  the  neighbourhood, 
which  have  been  much  resorted  to  by  invalids  for  bathing, 
both  in  ancient  and  modern  times.  They  were  called  by 
the  Romans  Aponi  Fons,  and  also  Aquai  Patavina*.  Popu- 
lation of  Abauo,  3000. 

ABANO,  Pietro  d',  known  also  as  Petrus  de  Apono  or 
Aponensis,  a  distinguished  physician  and  philosopher,  was 
born  at  the  Italian  town  from  which  he  takes  his  name  in 
1250,  or,  according  to  others,  in  1246.  After  visiting  the 
east  in  order  to  acquire  the  Greek  language,  he  went  to 
study  at  Paris,  where  he  became  a  doctor  of  medicine  and 
philosophy.  In  Padua,  to  which  he  returned  when  his 
studies  were  completed,  he  speedily  gained  a  great  reputa- 
tion as  a  physician,  and  availed  himself  of  it  to  gratify  his 
avarice  by  refusing  to  visit  patients  except  for  an  exorbitant 
fee.  Perhaps  this  as  well  as  his  meddling  with  astrology 
caused  the  charge  to  be  brought  against  him  of  practising 
magic,  the  particular  accusations  being  that  he  brought 
back  into  his  purse,  by  the  aid  of  the  devil,  all  the  money 
he  paid  away,  and  that  he  possessed  the  philosopher's  stone. 
He  was  twice  brought  to  trial  by  the  Inquisition ;  on  the 
first  occasion  he  was  acquitted,  and  he  died  (1316)  before 
the  second  trial  was  completed.  He  was  found  guilty, 
however,  and  his  body  was  ordered  to  be  exhumed  and 
burned;  but  a  friend  had  secretly  removed  it,  and  the 
Inquisition  had,  therefore,  to  content  itself  with  the  public 
proclamation  of  its  sentence  and  the  burning  of  Abano  in 
effigy.  In  his  writings  he  expounds  and  advocates  the 
medical  and  philosophical  systems  of  Averrhoes  and  other 
Arabian  writers.  His  best  known  works  are  the  Con- 
ciliator differentiarum  qua?  inter  pkilosophos  et  7nedicos 
cersantur  (Mantua,  1472,  Venice.  1476),  and  De  venenis 
eorumque  remediis  (1472),  of  which  a  French  translation 
was  published  at  Lyons  in  1593. 

ABARIS,  tha  Hyperborean,  a  celebrated  sage  of  anti- 
quity, who  visited  Greece  about  570  B.C.,  or,  according  to 


others,  a  century  or  two  earlier.  The  particulars  of  his 
history  are  differently  related  by  different  authors,  but  all 
accounts  are  more  or  less  mythical.  He  is  said  to  have 
travelled  over  sea  and  land,  riding  on  an  arrow  given  him 
by  Apollo,  to  have  lived  without  food,  to  have  delivered 
the  whole  earth  from  a  plague,  &c.  Various  works  in  prose 
and  verse  are  attributed  to  Abaris  by  Suidas  and  others, 
but  of  these  we  have  no  certain  information. 

ABATEMENT,  Abate,  from  the  French  alattre,  abater, 
to  throw  down,  demolish.  The  original  meaning  of  the 
word  is  preserved  in  various  legal  phrases.  The  abatement 
of  a  nuisance  is  the  remedy  allowed  by  law  to  a  person 
injured  by  a  public  nuisance  of  destroying  or  removing  it 
by  his  own  act,  provided  he  commit  no  breach  of  the  peace 
in  doing  so.  In  the  case  of  private  nuisances  abatement 
is  also  allowed,  provided  there  be  no  breach  of  the  peace, 
and  no  damage  be  occasioned  beyond  vhat  the  removal  oi 
the  nuisance  requires. 

Abatement  of  freehold  takes  place  where,  after  the  death 
of  the  person  last  seised,  a  stranger  enters  upon  lands 
before  the  entry  of  the  heir  or  devisee,  and  keeps  the  latter 
out  of  possession.  It  differs  from  intrusion,  which  is  a 
similar  entry  by  a  stranger  on  the  death  of  a  tenant  for 
life,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  reversioner,  or  remainder  man ; 
and  from  disseisin,  which  is  the  forcible  or  fraudulent  ex- 
pulsion of  a  person  seised  of  the  freehold. 

Abatement  among  legatees  (defalcatis)  is  a  proportionate 
deduction  which  their  legacies  suffer  when  the  funds  out 
of  which  they  are  payable  are  not  sufficient  to  pay  them  in 
full. 

Abatement  in  pleading  is  the  defeating  or  quashing  of  a 
particular  action  by  some  matter  of  fact,  such  as  a  defect 
in  form  or  personal  incompetency  of  the  parties  suing, 
pleaded  by  the  defendant.  Such  a  plea  is  called  a  plea  in 
-abatement ;  and  as  it  does  not  involve  the  merits  of  the 
cause,  it  leaves  the  right  of  action  subsisting.  Since  1S52 
it  has  been  competent  to  obviate  the  effect  of  such  pleas 
by  amendment,  so  as  to  allow  the  real  question  in  contro- 
versy between  the  parties  to  be  tried  in  the  same  suit. 

In  litigation  an  action  is  said  to  abate  or  cease  on  the 
death  of  one  of  the  parties. 

Abatement^  or  Rebate,  is  a  discount  allowed  for 
prompt  payment;  it  also  means  a  deduction  sometimes 
made  at  the  custom-house  from  the  fixed  duties  on  certain 
kinds  of  goods,  on  account  of  damage  or  loss  sustained  in 
warehouses.  The  rate  and  conditions  of  such  deductions 
are  regulated  by  Act  16  and  17  Vict.  c.  107. 

ABATI,  or  Deix'Abbato,  Niccolo,  a  celebrated  fresco- 
painter  of  Modena,  born  in  1512.  His  best  works  are  at 
Modena  and  Bologna,  and  have  been  highly  praised  by 
Zanotti,  Algarotti,  and  Lanzi.  He  accompanied  Primaticck) 
to  France,  and  assisted  in  decorating  the  palace  at  Foutain- 
bleau  (1552-1571).  His  pictures  exhibit  a  combination  of 
skill  in  drawing,  grace,  and  natural  colouring.  Some  of 
his  easel  pieces  in  oil  are  in  different  collections ;  one  of  the 
finest,  now  in  the  Dresden  Gallery,  represents  the  martyr- 
dom of  St  T>eter  and  St  Paul  Abati  died  at  Paris  in 
1571. 

ABATTOIR,  from  alattre,  primarily  signifies  a  slaughter- 
house proper,  or  place  where  animp.ls  are  killed  as  distin- 
guished from  boucheries  and  elanx  ■publics,  places  where 
the  dead  meat  is  offered  for  sale.  Eut  the  term  is  also 
employed  to  designate  a  complete  meat  market,  of  which 
the  abattoir  proper  is  merely  part. 

Perhaps  the  first  indication  of  the  existence  of  aDattoira 
may  be  found  in  the  system  which  prevailed  under  the 
Emperors  in  ancient  Rome.  A  corporation  or  guild  of 
butchers  undoubtedly  existed  there,  which  delegated  to  its 
officers  the  duty  of  slaughtering  the  beasts  required  to 
supply,  the  city  with  meat     The  establishments  requisite 


6 


ABATTOIR 


for  this  purpose  were  at  first  scattered  about  the  various 
streets,  but  were  eventually  confined  to  one  quarter,  and 
formed  the  public  fncat  market.  This  market,  in  the  time 
of  Nero,  was  one  of  the  most  imposing  structures  in  the 
city,  and  some  idea  of  its  magnificence  has  been  transmitted 
to  us  by  a  delineation  of  it  preserved  on  an  ancient  coin. 
As  the  policy  and  customs  of  the  Romans  made  themselves 
felt  in  Gaul,  the  Roman  system  of  abattoirs,  if  it  may  be 
so  called,  was  introduced  there  in  an  imperfect  form.  A 
clique  of  families  in  Paris  long  exercised  the  special  func- 
tion of  catering  for  the  public  wants  in  respect  of  meat 
But  as  the  city  increased  in  magnitude  and  population,  tho, 
necessity  of  keeping  slaughter-houses  as  much  as  possible 
apart  from  dwelling-houses  became  apparent.  As  early  as 
Uio  time  of  Charles  IX.,  the  attention  of  the  French  author- 
ities was  directed  to  the  subject,  as  is  testified  by  a  decree 
passed  on  tht  25th  of  February  1567.  But  although  the 
importance  of  the  question  was  frequently  recognised,  no 
definite  or  decided  step  seems  to  have  been  taken  to  effect 
the  contemplated  reform  until  the  time  of  Napoleon  I. 
The  evil  had  then  reached  a  terribly  aggravated  form. 
Slaughter-houses  abutted  on  many  of  the  principal  thorough- 
fares ;  the  traffic  was  impeded  by  the  constant  arrival  of 
foot-sore  beasts,  whose  piteous  cries  pained  the  ear;  and 
rivulets  of  blood  were  to  be  seen  in  the  gutters  of  the  public 
streets.  The  constant  accumulation  of  putrid  offal  tainted 
the  atmosphere,  and  the  Seine  was  polluted  by  being  used 
as  a  common  receptacle  for  slaughter-house  refuse.  This 
condition  of  things  could  not  be  allowed  to  continue,  and 
on  the  9th  of  February  1810,  a  decree  was  passed  authoris- 
ing the  construction  of  abattoirs  iu  the  outskirts  of  Paris, 
and  appointing  a  Commission,  to  which  was  committed  the 
consideration  of  the  entire  question. 

The  result  of  the  appointment  of  this  Commission  was 
the  construction  of  the  five  existing  abattoirs,  which  were 
formally  opened  for  business  on  the  15th  of  September 
1818.     The  Montmartre  abattoir  occupies  8  \  English  acres ; 


METRES. 

1.  Menilmontant  Abattoir. 


A.  Residence  of  Officials. 

B.  Sheep  and  Cattle  Sheds, 

;hter-Hou3C3, 

D.  Yards  to  do. 

E.  Stores. 

P.  Tallow-melting  Houses. 


G.  Steam  Enfrlne. 

H.  Stable  with  Water  Tank* 

above. 

I.  Pong  Tits. 
I..  Privies. 

II.  Layers  for  Cattle. 


Menilmontant,  101  acres;  Grenelle,  7j ;  Da  Roule,  5| ; 
and  Villejuif,  5^.  '  The  first  two  contain  each  64  slaughter- 
nouses  and  the  same  number  of  cattle-sheds;  the  third,  48; 
and  each  of  the  others  32.  The  dimensions  of  each  of  the 
slaughter-houses  is  about  29 J  feet  by„13,     The  general 


arrangement  of  t  he  abattoirs  will  be  understood  from  th« 
preceding  plan  of  that  of  Menilmontant. 

The  component  parts  of  '  a  French  abattoir  arc — 1. 
Ecliaudoin,  whi^h  is  the  name  given  by  the  Paris  butcher 
to  the  particular  division  allotted  to  him  for  the  purpose  of 
knocking  down  his  beasts ;  2.  Boweries  el  Bcrgcries,  the 
places  set  apart  for  the  animals  waiting  ,to  be  slaughtered, 
where  the  animals,  instead  of  being  killed  at  once,  after  a 
long  and  distressing  journey,  when  their  blood  is  heated  aibd 
their  flesh  inflamed,  are  allowed  to  cool  and  rest  till  the 
body  is  restored  to  its  normal  healthy  condition ;  3.  Fun- 
dears,  or  boiling-down  establishments ;  and,  4.  Triperies, 
which,  are  buildings  sot  apart  for  the  cleaning  of  the  tripe 
of  bullocks,  and  tho  fat,  heads,  and  tripe  of  sheep  and 
calves.  Besides  these,  a  Paris  abattoir  contains  Loyenienlt 
des  atjens,  Magasins,  Reservoirs,  Vuiries,  Licux  d'aisance, 
Voiites,  Remises  ct  ecuries,  Pares  mix  Boeufs,  &c.,  and  is 
provided  with  an  abundant  supply  of  water.  All  the  abat- 
toirs are  under  the  control  of  the  municipal  authorities, 
and  frequent  inspections  are  made  by  person?}  regularly 
appointed  for  that  purpose. ' 

The  abattoirs  are  situated  within  the  barriers,  each  at  a 
distance  of  about  a  mile  and  three-quarters  from  the  heart 
of  the  city,  in  districts  where  human  habitations  are  still 
comparatively  few.  There  are  two  principal  markets  from 
which  the 'abattoirs  at  Paris  are  supplied,— the  -one  at 
Poissy,  about  13  miles  to  the  north-west,  and  the  other  at 
Sccaux,  about  5  miles  and  a  quarter  to  the  south  of  the 
city.  There  are  also  two  markets  for  cows  _and  calves, 
namely,  La  Chapelle  and  Lcs  Bernadins. 

The  Paris  abattoirs  were  until  recently  the  most  perfect 
specimens  of  their  class  ;  and  even  now,  although  in  soms 
of  their  details  they  have  been  surpassed  by  the  new 
Islington  meat  market,  for  their  complete  and  compact 
arrangement  they  remain  unrivalled. 

The  example  set  by  Paris  in  this  matter  has  been  fol- 
lowed in  a  more  or  less  modified  form  by  most  of  the  prin- 
cipal Continental  towns,  and  the  system  of  abattoirs  has 
become  almost  universal  in  France. 

The  condition  of  London  in  this  important  sanitary 
respect  was  for  a  long  period  little  more  endurable  thai 
that  of  Paris  before  the  adoption  of  its  reformed  system. 
Smithfield  market,  situated  in  a  very  populous  neighbour- 
hood, continued  till  1852  to  be  an  abomination  to  tho  towu 
and  a  standing  reproach  to  its  authorities.  No  fewer  than 
243,537"'cattle  and  1,455,249  sheep  were  sold  there  in 
1852,  to  be  afterwards  slaughtered  in  the  crowded  courts 
and  thoroughfares  of  the  metropolis.  But  public  opinion 
at  length  forced  the  Legislature  to  interfere,  and  the  corpora- 
tion was  compelled  to  abandon  Smithfield  market  and  to 
provide  a  substitute  for  it  elsewhere. 

The  site  selected  was  in  the  suburb  of  Islington,  and  the 
designs  for  the  work  were  prepared  by  Mr  Bunning.  The 
first  stone  was  laid  March  24;  1854,  and  the  market  was 
openea  Dy  Prince  Albert,  June  15,  1855.  The  Islington 
market  is  undoubtedly  the  most  perfect  of  its  kind.  It  occu- 
pies a  space  of  some  20  acres  on  the  high  laud  near  the  Pen- 
tonville  prison,  and  is  open  to  both  native  and  foreign  cattle, 
excepting  beasts  from  foreign  countries  under  quarantine. 

In  connection  with  the  Islington  cattle  market  are  a  few 
slaughter-houses,  half  of  which  were  originally  public,  and' 
half  rented  to  private  individuals ;  but  at  present  they  are 
all  practically  private,  and  the  majority  of  the  cattle  sold 
are  driven  away  and  killed  at  private  slaughter-houses.  In 
this  respect  the  London  system  differs  from  that  of  Paris ; 
and  it  may  be  said  for  the  former  that  the  meat  is  l»ss 
liable  to  be  spoiled  by  being  carted  to  a  distance,  and  is 
therefore  probably  delivered  in  better  condition  ;  but  the 
latter  secures  that  great  desideratum,  the  practical  extino. 
tion  of  isolated  slaughter-houses. 


A  B  A  — A  B  A 


The  Edinburgh  abattoir,  erected  in  1851  by  the  corpora- 
tion, from  designs  prepared  by  Mr  David  Cousin,  the  city 
irchitect,  is  the  best  as  regards  both  construction  and 
management  in  the  United  Kingdom.  It  occupies  an  area 
of  four  acres  and  a  quarter,  surrounded  by  a  screen-wall, 
from  which,  along  the  greater  part  of  its  length,  the  build- 
ings are  separated  by  a  considerable  open  space.    Opposite 


1 


••Bisissa 


-y..t 


A.  Central  Roadway. 

B.  Slaughtering  Booths. 

C.  Cattle  Sheds. 

D.  Enclosed  Yards. 

E.  Well. 

F.  Steam-Engtoe. 


2.  Edinburgh  Slaughter-Houses. 


G   Raised  Water  Tank. 

H.  Tripery. 

I.  Pig-slaushterins  House. 

K.  Court  tor  Cattle. 

L.  Sheds. 

M.  Blood  House,  now  Albumen  Factory. 


the  principal  gateway  is  a  double  row  of  buildings,  extend- 
ing in  a  straight  line  to  about  376  feet  in  length,  with  a 
central  roadway  (marked  AA  in  the  annexed  plan),  25  feet 
wide.  There  are  three  separate  blocks  of  building  on  each 
ride  of  the  roadway,  the  central  one  being  140  feet  in 
length,  and  the  others  100  feet  each — cross-roads  18  feet 
wide  separating  the  blocks.  These  ranges  of  building,  as 
well  as  two  smaller  blocks  that  are  placed  transversely 
behind  the  eastern  central  block,  are  divided  into  compart- 
ments, numbering  42  in  all,  and  all  arranged  on  the  same 
plan.  Next  the  roadway  is  the  slaughtering-booth  (BB),  18 
feet  by  24,  and  20  feet  in  height,  and  behind  this  is  a  shed 
(CC)  18  feet  by  22,  where  the  cattle  are  kept  before  being 
slaughtered.  All  the  cattle  are  driven  into  these  sheds  by 
a  back-entrance,  through  the  small  enclosed  yards  (DD). 
The  large  doors  of  the  booths  are  hung  by  balance  weights, 
and  slide  up  and  down,  so  as  to  present  nc  obstruction 
either  within  the  booth  or  outside.  By  a  series  of  large 
ventilators  along  the  roof,  and  by  other  contrivances,  the 
slaughtering-booths  are  thoroughly  ventilated.  Great  pre- 
cautions have  been  used  to  keep  rats  out  of  the  buildings. 
To  effect  this,  the  booths  are  laid  with  thick  well-dressed 
pavement,  resting  on  a  stratum  of  concrete  12  inches 
thick,  and  the  walls,  to  the  height  of  7  feet,  are  formed  of 
solid  ashlar;  the  roadways,  too,  are  laid  with  concreu, 
and  causewayed  with  dressed  whinstone  pavement;  and  the 
drainage  consists  entirely  of  glazed  earthenware  tubes. 

The  ground  on  which  the  abattoir  is  built  was  previously 
connected  with  a  distillery,  and  contains  a  well  100  feet 
deep  (E),  which,  with  the  extensive  system  of  tunnels 
attached  to  it,  provides  the  establishment  with  an  abundant 
Bupply  of  pure  water.  By  means  of  a  steam-engine  (F), 
introduced  in  1872,  the  water  is  pumped  up  into  a  raised, 
tank  (G),  whence  it  is  distributed  to  the  different  booths 
and  sheds,  as  well  as  for  scouring  the  roadways  and  drains. 
The  steam  from  the  engine  is  utilised  in  heating  water  for 
the  numerous  cast-iron  tanks  required  in  the  operations  of 
cleansing  and  dressing  the  tripery  (H)  and  pig  slaugh- 
tering-house (I).  By  an  ingenious  arrangement  of 
rotary  brushes  driven  by  the  steam-engine, — the  inven- 
tion of  Mr  Rutherford,  the  superintendent, — the  tripe  is  j 

fcsad  in  a  superior  manner,  and  at  greatly  less  cost  | 


than  by  the  tedious  and  troublesome  method  of  hand- 
cleaning. 

By  the  Edinburgh  Slaughter-Houses  Act  of  1850,  the 
management  is  vested  in  the  city  authorities.  Booths 
are  let  at  a  statutory  rent  of  £8  each  per  annum,  and,  in 
addition  to  thi3,  gate-dues  are  payable  for  every  beast 
entering  the  establishment.  The  present  rates  for  tenants 
of  booths  are  l^d  for  an  ox  or  cow,  |d.  for  a  calf  or 
pig,  and  -Jd.  for  a  sheep.  Common  booths  are  provided 
for  butchers  who  are  not  tenants,  on  payment  of  double 
gate-dues.  The  city  claims  the  blood,  gut,  and  manure. 
The  tripo  and  feet  are  dressed  for  the  trade  without  extra 
charge. 

The  blood  was  formerly  collected  in  large  casks,  and  dis- 
posed of  for  manufacturing  purposes.  This  necessitated 
the  storage  of  it  for  several  days,  causing  in  warm  weather 
a  very  offensive  effluvium.  It  even  happened  at  times, 
when  there  was  little  demand  for  the  commodity,  that 
the  blood  had  to  be  sent  down  the  drain3.  All  nuisance 
is  now  avoided,  and  the  amount  received  annually  for 
the  blood  has.  risen  from  between  £200  and  £450  to 
from  £800  to  £1200,  by  a  contract  into  which  Messrs 
Smith  and  Forrest  of  Manchester  have  entered  with 
the  city  authorities,  to  take  over  the  whole  blood  at 
a  fixed  price  per  beast.  They  have  erected  extensive 
premises  and  apparatus  at  their  own  cost,  for  extracting 
from  the  blood  the  albumen,  for  which  there  is  great 
demand  in  calico-printing,  and  for  converting  the  clot  into 
manure. 

In  connection  with  the  establishment  is  a  boiling-house, 
where  all  meat  unfit  for  human  food  is  boiled  down  and 
destroyed.  Tho  number  of  carcases  seized  by  the  inspec- 
tor, and  sent  to  the  boHing-honse,  during  the  5£  years 
ending  with  the  close  of  1872,  amounted  to  1449,  giving 
a  weight  of  upwards  of  400,000  pounds. 

Before  the  erection  of  these  buildings,  private  slaughter- 
houses were  scattered  all  over  the  city,  often  in  the  most 
populous  districts,  where,  through  want  of  drainage  and 
imperfect  ventilation,  they  contaminated  the  whole  neigh- 
bourhood. Since  the  opening  of  the  public  abattoir,  all 
private  slaughtering,  in  the  city  or  within  a  mile  of  it,  is 
strictly  prohibited. 

Few  of  the  provincial  towns  in  Great  Britain  have  as  yet 
followed  the  example  of  London  and  Edinburgh.  In  some 
instances  improvements  on  the  old  system  have  been 
adopted,  but  Great  Britain  is  still  not  only  far  behind  her 
foreign  neighbours  in  respect  of  abattoirs,  but  has  even 
been  excelled  by  some  of  her  own  dependencies.  In 
America  abattoirs  are  numerous,  and  at  Calcutta  and  other 
towns  in  British  India,  the  meat  markets  present  a  very 
creditable  appearance  from  their  cleanliness  and  systematio 
arrangement.  (c.  N.  B.) 

ABAUZIT,'  Fiesiin,  a  learned  Frenchman,  was  born 
ut  Protestant  parents  at  Uzes,  in  Langnedoc,  in  1679. 
His  Zither,  who  was  of  Arabian  descent,  died  when  he 
was  but  two  years  of  age  ;  and  when,  on  the  revocation 
of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  in  1685,  the  authorities  took  steps 
to  have  him  educated  in  the  Eoman  Catholic  faith,  his 
mother  contrived  his  escape.  For  two  years  his  brother 
and  he  lived  as  fugitives  in  the  mountains  of  the  Cevennos, 
but  they  at  last  reached  Geneva,  where  their  mother  after- 
wards joined  them  on  escaping  from  the  imprisonment  in 
which  sho  was  held  from  the  time  of  their  flight.  Abauzit's 
youth  was  spent  in  diligent  study,  and  at  an  early  age  he 
acquired  great  proficiency  in  languages,  physics,  and 
theology.  In  1698  ho  travelled  into  Holland,  and  there 
became  acquainted  with  Bayle,  Jurieu,  and  Basnage. 
Proceeding  to  England,  he  was  introduced  to  Sir  Isaao 
Newton,  who  found  in  him  one  of  the  earliest  defenders 
of  the  great  truths  his  discoveries  disclosed  to  the  world. 


A  B  B  — A  B  B 


Sir  Isaac  corrected  in  the  second  edition  of  his  Principia  an 
error  pointed  out  by  Abauzit.  The  high  estimate  Newton 
entertained  of  his  merits  appears  from  the  compliment 
he  paid  to  Abauzit,  when,  sending  him  the  Commercium 
Epistolicum,  he  said,  "You  are  well  worthy  to  judge 
between  Leibnitz  and  me."  The  reputation  of  Abauzit 
induced  .William  III.  to  request  him  to  settle  in  England, 
but  he  did  not  accept  the  king's  offer,  preferring  to  return 
to  Geneva.  There  from  1 7 1 5  he  rendered  valuable  assistance 
to  a  society  that  had  been  formed  for  translating  the  New 
Testament  into  French.  Ho  declined  the  offer  of  the 
chair  of  philosophy  in  the  University  in  1723,  but  ac- 
cepted, in  1727,  the  sinecure  office  of  librarian  to  the  city 
Df  his  adoption.  Here  he  died  at  a  good  old  age,  in  17G7. 
Abauzit  was  a  man  of  great  learning  and  of  wonderful 
versatility.  The  varied  knowledge  he  possessed  was  so 
well  digested  and  arranged  in  his  retentive  mind  as  to  be 
always  within  'his  reach  for  immediate  use.  Whatever 
chanced  to  be  discussed,  it  used  to  be  said  of  Abauzit,  as 
of  Professor  Whewell  of  our  own  times,  that  he  seemed  to 
have  mide  it  a  subject  of  particular  study.  Rousseau, 
who  was  jealously  sparing  of  his  praises,  addressed  to 
him,  in  his  Nouvelle  Beloise,  a  fine  panegyric ;  and  when  a 
stranger  flatteringly  told  Voltaire  he  had  come  to  see  a  great 
man,  the  philosopher  asked  him  if  he  had  seen  Abauzit. 
Little  remains  of  the  labours  of  this  intellectual  giant,  his 
heirs  having,  it  is  said,  destroyed  the  papers  that  came  into 
their  possession,  because  their  religious  opinions  differed 
from  those  of  Abauzit.  A  few  theological,  archaeological, 
and  astronomical  articles  from  his  pen  appeared  in  the 
Journal  Helvetique  and  elsewhere,  and  he  contributed 
several  papers  to  Rousseau's  Dictionary  of  Music.  A 
work  he  wrote  throwing  doubt  on  the  canonical  authority 
of  the  Apocalypse  was  answered — conclusively,  as  Abauzit 
himself  allowed — by  Dr  Leonard  Twells.  He  edited,  and 
made  valuable  additions  to  Spon's  History  of  Geneva.  A 
collection  of  his  writings  was  published  at  Geneva  in 
1770,  and  another  at  London  in  1773.  Some  of  them 
were  translated  into  English  by  Dr  Harwood  (1770,  1774). 
Information  regarding  Abauzit  will  be  found  in  Senebier's 
flistoireLittSraire  de  Geneve,  Harwood's  Miscellanies,  and 
Orme's  Biblloiheea  Biblica,  1834. 

ABB,  a  town  of  Yemen  in  Arabia,  situated  on  a  moun- 
tain in  the  midst  of  a  very  fertile  country,  73  miles  N.E. 
of  Mocha.  Lat.  13°  58'  N,  long.  44°  15'  E.  It  contains 
about  800  houses,  and  is  surrounded  by  a  strong  wall ; 
the  streets  are  well  paved  ;  and  an  aqueduct  from  a  neigh- 
bouring mountain  supplies  it  with  water,  which  is  received 
in  a  reservoir  in  front  of  the  principal  mosque.  The 
population  is  about  5000. 

ABBADIE,  James,  an  eminent  Protestant  divine, 
was  born  at  Nay  in  Bern  about  1657.  His  parents 
were  poor,  but  through  the  kindness  of  discerning  friends, 
he  received  an  excellent  education.  He  prosecuted  his 
studies  with  such  success,  that  on  completing  his  course 
at  Sedan,  though  only  seventeen  year."  of  age,  he  had  con-' 
ferred  on  him  the  degree  of  doctor  in  theology.  After 
spending  some  years  in  Berlin  as  minister  of  a  French 
Protestant  church,  ho  accompanied  Marshal  Schomberg, 
in  1688,  to  England,  and  became  minister  of  the  French 
church  in  the  Savoy,  London.  His  strong  attachment  to 
the  cause  of  King  William  appears  in  his  elaborate 
defence  of  the  Revolution,  as  well  as  in  his  history  of 
the  conspiracy  of  1696,  the  materials  of  which  werot. 
furnished,  it  is  said,  by  the  secretaries  of  state.  The 
king  promoted  him  to  the  deanery  of  Killaloe  in  Ireland. 
He  died  in  London  in  1727.  Abbadie  wa3  a  man  of 
great  ability  and  an  eloquent  prcach-r,  but  is  best  known 
by  his  religious  treatises,  several  of  which  were  translated 
from  the  original  French  into  other  languages  and  had  a 


wide  circulation  all  over  Europe.     The  most  important 
these  are  Traiti  de  la  Feriii  de  la  Religion  Chrhiemu 
its  continuation,   Traiti   de   la  Divinite  de  Jtsus-Chnst 
and  L' Art  de  se  connaitre  Sownhne. 

ABBAS  L,  suxnamed  THo  Great,  one  of  the  mot 
celebrated  of  tho  sovereigns  of  Persia,  was  the  youngc; 
son  of  Shah  Mohammed  Khodabendeh.     After  heading 
successful  rebellion  against  his  father,  and  causing  one  c 
his  brothers  (or,  as  some  say,  both)  to  be  assassinated,  h 
obtained   possession  of   tho  throne  at  the   early  ago  o 
eighteen  (1585).     Determined  to  raiso  the  fallen  fortune, 
of  his  country,  ho  first  directed  his  efforts  against  tin 
predatory  Uzbeks,  who  occupied  and  harassed  Khorasan 
After  a  long  and  severe  struggle,  he  defeated  them  in  £ 
great  battle  near  Herat  (1597),  and  drove  them  cut  of  hi.< 
dominions.     In  tho  wars  he  carried  on  with  the  Turk*- 
during  nearly  the  whole  of  his  reign,  his  successes  were 
numerous,  and  he  acquired  or  regained  a  large  extent  of 
territory.     By  the  victory  he  gained  at  Bassorah  (1605)', 
he  extended  his  empire  beyond  the  Euphrates ;  Achmcd  L 
was  forced  to  cede  Shirwan  and  Kurdistan  in  1611  ;  the, 
united  armies  of  the  Turks  and  Tartars  were  completely 
defeated  near  Sultanieh  in  1618,  and  Abbas  made  peace 
on  very  favourable  terms;  and  on  the  Turks  renewing  the  war, 
Baghdad  fell  into  his  hands  after  a  year's  siege  (1623). 
In  the  same  year  he  took  the  island  of  Ormuz  from  the 
Portuguese,  by  the  assistance  of  the  British.    When  he  died 
in  1 G28,  his  dominions  reached  from  the  Tigris  to  the  Indus. 
Abbas  distinguished  himself,  not   only  by  his  successes 
in  arms,  and  by  the  magnificence  of  his  court,  but  also  by 
his  reforms  in  the  administration  of  his  kingdom.     He 
encouraged  commerce,  and,  by  constructing  highways  and 
building  bridges,  did  much  to  facilitate  it.     To  foreigners, 
especially  Christians,  he  showed  a  spirit  of  tolerance  ;  two 
Englishmen,  Sir  Anthony  and  Sir  Robert  Shirley,  were 
admitted  to  his  confidence,  and  seem  to  have  had  much 
influence  over  him.     His  fame  is  tarnished,  however,  by 
numerous  deeds  of  tyranny  and  cruelty.     His  own  family, 
especially,  suffered  from  his  fits  of  jealousy ;  his  eldest  son 
was  slain,  and  the  eyes  of  his  other  children  were  put  out, 
by  his  orders. 

ABBAS  MTRZA  (6.  1785,  d.  1833),  Prince  of  Persia, 
third  son  of  the  Shah  Feth  Ali,  was  destined  by  his  father 
to  succeed  him  in  the  government,  because  of  bis  mother's 
connection  with  the  royal  tribe  of  the  Khadjars.  He  led 
various  expeditions  against  the  Russians,  but  generally 
without  success  (1803,  1813,  1826).  By  a  treaty  made 
between  Russia  and  Persia  in  1828,  the  right  of  Abbas 
to  the  succession  was  recognised.  When  the  Russian 
deputies  were  murdered  by  the  Persian  populace  in  1829, 
Abbas  was  sent  to  St  Petersburg,  where  he  received  a 
hearty  welcome  from  the  Czar,  and  made  himself  a 
favourite  by  his  courtesy  and  literary  tasre.  He  formed  a 
design  against  Herat,  but  died  shortly  after  the  siege  had 
been  opened  by  his  son,  who  succeeded  Feth  Ali  a3  the 
Shah  Mohammed  Mirza.  He  was  truthful — a  rare  quality 
in  an  Eastern — plain  in  dress  and  style  of  living,  and  fond 
of  literature. 

ABBAS9IDES,  the  caliphs  of  Bagndad,  the  most 
famous  dynasty  of  the  sovereigns  of  the  Mahometan  or 
Saracen  empire.  They  derived  their  name  and  descent 
from  Abbas  (b.  566,  d.  652  A.D.),  tho  uncle  and  adviser  of 
Mahomet,  and  succeeded  the  dynasty  of  the  Ommiads,  th< 
caliphs  of  Damascus.  Early  in  the  8th  century  the 
family  bi .  Abbas  had  acquired  greai  influence  from  their 
near  relationship  to  the  Prophet ;  and  Borah  im,  the  fourth 
in  descent  from  Abbas,  supported  by  tho  province  of 
Khorasan,  obtained  several  successes  over  the  Ommiad 
armies,  but  was  captured  and  put  to  death^by  the  Caliph 
Merwan  (747).     Ibrahim's  brother.  Abul-Abbas,  whom  h<: 


A  B  B- A  B  B 


9 


had  named  his  heir,  assumed  the  title  of  caliph,  and,  by  a, 
Jecisive  victory  near  the  river  Zab  (750),  effected  the  over- 
throw of  the  Ommiad  dynasty.  Merwan  fled  to  Egypt, 
but  was  pursued  and  put  to  death,  and  the  vanquished 
family  was  treated  with  a  severity  which  gained  for  Abul- 
A.bbas  the-  surname  of  Al-Saffah,  the  Blood-shedder. 
From  this  time  the  house  of  Abbas  was  fully  established 
\p.  the  government,  but  the  Spanish  provinces  were  lost  to 
flie  empire  by  the  erection  of  an*  independent  caliphate  of 
Cordova,  under  Abderrahman. 

On  the  death  of  Abul-Abbas,'Alm*ansur  succeeded  to 
(he  throne,  and  founded  Baghdad  as  the  seat  of  empire, 
fie  and  his  son  Mohdi  waged  war  successfully  against  the 
"Turkomans  and  Greeks  of  Asia  Minor;  but  from  this  time 
|ie  rule  of  the  Abbassides  is  marked  rather  by  the 
development  of  the  liberal  arts  than  by  extension  of 
territory.  The  strictness  of  the  Mohammedan  religion  was 
relaxed,  and  the  faithful  yielded  to  the  seductions  of  luxury. 
The  caliphs  Harun  Al-Rashid  (786-809)  and  Al-Mamun 
(813-833)  attained  a  world-wide  celebrity  by  their  gorgeous 
palaces,  their  vast  treasures,  and  their  brilliant  and  nume- 
rous equipages,  in  all  which  their  splendour  contrasted 
strikingly  with  the  poverty  of  European  sovereigns.  The 
former  is  known  as  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  Arabian 
Wights ;  the  latter  more  worthily  still  as  a  liberal  patron 
[»f  literature  and  science.  It  is  a  mistake,  however,  to 
look  in  the  rule  of  these  caliphs  for  the  lenity  of  modern 
civilisation.  "No  Christian  government,"  says  Hallam, 
"  except  perhaps  that  of  Constantinople,  exhibits  such  a 
series  of  tyrants  as  the  caliphs  of  Baghdad,  if  deeds  of 
blood,  wrought  through  unbridled  passion  or  jealous 
policy,  may  challenge  the  name  of  tyranny." 

The  territory  of  the  Abbassides  soon  suffered  dismem- 
berment, and  their  power  began  to  decay.  Bival  sove- 
reignties (Ashlabites,  Edrisites,  &c.)  arose  in  Africa,  and 
an  independent  government  was  constituted  in  Khorasan 
(820),  under  the  Taherites.  In  the  "West,  again,  the  Greeks 
encroached  upon  the  possessions  of  the  Saracens  in  Asia 
Minor.  Ruin,  however,  came  from  a  less  civilised  race.  The 
caliphs  had  continually  been  waging  war  with  the  Tartar 
hordes  of  Turkestan,  and  many  captives  taken  in  these  wars 
were  dispersed  throughout  the  empire.  Attracted  by  their 
bravery  and  fearing  rebellion  among  his  subjects,  Motassem 
(833-842),  the  founder  of  Samarah,  and  successful  oppo- 
nent of  the  Grecian  forces  under  Theophilus,  formed  body- 
guards of  the  Turkish  prisoners,  who  became  from  that 
time  the  real  governors  of  the  Saracen  empire.  Mota- 
wakkel,  son  of  Motassem,  was  assassinated  by  them  in  the 
palace  (861) ;  and  succeeding  caliphs  became  mere  puppets 
in  their  hands.  Kadhi  (934-941)  was  compelled  by  the 
disorganised  condition  of  his  kingdom  to-  delegate  to 
Mohammed  ben  Rayek  (93S  A.D.),  tinder  the  title  of  Emir- 
al-Omara,  commander  of  the  commanders,  the  government 
of  the  army  and  the  other  functions  of  the  caliphate. 
Province  after  province  proclaimed  itself  independent ; 
the  caliph's  rule  became  narrowed  to  Baghdad  and  its 
vicinity ;  and  the  house  of  Abbas  lost  its  power  in  the 
East  for  ever,  when  Hulagu.  prince  of  the  Mongols,  Bet 
Baghdad  on  fire,  and  slew  Motassem,  the  reigning  caliph 
(20th  Feb.  1258).  The  Abbassides  continued  to  hold  a 
semblance  of  power  in  the  merely  nominal  caliphate  of 
Egypt,  and  feebly  attempted  to  recover  their  ancient  seat. 
The  last  of  them,  Motawakkel  HE.,  was  taken  by  Sultan 
Selim  I.,  the  conqueror  of  Egypt,  to  Constantinople,  and 
detained  there,  for  some  time  as  a  prisoner.  He  afterwards 
returned"to  Egypt,  and  died  at  Cairo  a  pensionary  of  the 
Ottoman  government,  in  1638. 

ABBE  is  the  French  word  corresponding  to  Abbot,  but, 
from  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  to  the  time  of 
the  French  Revolution,  the  term  had  a  wider  application. 


The  assumption  by  a  numerous  class  of  the  name  and 
style  of  abbe  appears  to  have  originated  in  the  right  con- 
ceded to  the  King  of  France,  by  a  concordat  between  Pope 
Leo  X.  and  Francis  I.,  to  appoint  abbes  commendataires  to 
225  abbeys,  that  is,  to  most  of  the  abbeys  in  France. 
This  kind  of  appointment,  whereby  the  living  was  'com- 
mended to  some  one  till  a  proper  election  could  take 
place,  though  ostensibly  provisional,  really  put  the  nomi' 
nee  in  full  and  permanent  possession  of  the  benefice. 
He  received  about  one-third  of  the  revenues  of  the  abbey; 
but  had  no  share  in  its  government,  the  charge  of  the1 
house  being  intrusted  to  a  resident  officer,  the  prieul 
daustral.  The  abbes  commendataires  were  not  necessarily 
priests  ;  the  papal  bull  required  indeed  that  they  should 
take  orders  within  a  stated  time  after  their  appointment-, 
but  there  seems  to  have  been  no  difficulty  in  procuring 
relief  from  that  obligation.  The  expectation  of  obtaining 
these  sinecvires  drew  young  men  towards  the  Church  in 
considerable  numbers,  and  the  class  of  abbes  so  formed — 
abbes  de  cour'  they  were  sometimes  called,  and  sometimes 
(ironically)  abbes  de  sainte  esperance,  abbds  of  St  Hope — 
came  to  hold  a  recognised  position,  that  perhaps  proved  as 
great  an  attraction  as  the  hope  of  preferment.  The  con- 
nection many  of  them  had  with  the  Church  was  of  the 
slenderest  kind,  consisting  mainly  in  adopting  the  name 
of  abbcS,  after  a  remarkably  moderate  course  of  theo- 
logical study  ;  practising  celibacy ;  and  wearing  a  distinc- 
tive dress — a  short  dark-violet  coat  with  narrow  collar. 
Being  men  of  presumed  learning  and  undoubted  leisure, 
many  of  the  class  found  admission  to  the  houses  of  the 
French,nobility  as  tutors  or  advisers.  Nearly  every  great 
family  had  its  abbe\  As  might  be  imagined  from  the 
objectless  sort  of  life  the  class  led,  many  of  the  abbe's  were 
of  indifferent  character ;  but  there  are  not  a  few  instances 
of  abbes  attaining  eminence,  both  in  political  life  and  in 
the  walks  of  literature  and  science.  The  Abbe  Sieye»  may 
be  taken  as  a  prominent  example  of  the  latter  type. 

ABBEOKUTA,  or  Abeokuta,  a  town  of  West  Africa 
in  the  Toruba  Country,  'situated  in  N.  lat.  7°  8',  and 
E.  long.  3'  25',  on  the  Ogun  River,  about  50  miles  north 
of  Lagos,  in  a  direct  line,  or  81  miles  by  water.  It  lies 
in  a  beautiful  and  fertile  country,  the  surface  of  which  is 
broken  by  masses  of  grey  granite.  Like  most  African 
towns,  Abbeokuta  is  spread  over  an  extensive  area,  being 
surrounded  by  mud  walls,  18  miles  in  extent.  The  houses 
are  also  of  mud,  and  the  streets  mostly  narrow  and 
filthy.  There  are  numerous  markets  in  which  native  pro- 
ducts and  articles  of  European  manufacture  are  exposed 
for  sale.  Palm-oil  and  shea-butter  are  the  chief  articles  of 
export,  and  it  is  expected  that  the  cotton  of  the  country 
will  become  a  valuable  article  of  commerce.  The  slave 
trade  and  human  sacrifices  have  been  abolished ;  but  not- 
withstanding the  efforts  of  English  and  American  mission- 
aries, the  natives  are  still  idle  and  degraded.  The  state 
called  Egbaland,  of  which  Abbeokuta  is  the  capital, 
has  an  area  of  about  3000  square  miles.  Its  progress  has 
been  much  hindered  by  frequent  wars  with  the  king  of 
Dahomey.  Population  of  the  town,  about  150,000;  of  the 
state  or  adjacent  territory,  50,000.  (See  Burton's  Abbeo- 
kuta and  the  Cameroon  Mountains,  2  vols.) 

ABBESS,  the  female  superior  of  an  abbey  or  convent 
of  nuns.  ■"  The  mode  of  election,  position,  rights,  .and 
authority  of-  an  abbess,  correspond  generally  with  those 
of  an  abbot. '  The  office  was  elective,  the  choice  being  by 
the  secret  votes  of  the  sisters  from  their  own  body.  The 
abbess  was*  solemnly  admitted  to  her  office  by  episcopal 
benediction, "together  with  the  conferring  of  a  staff  and 
pectoral,  and  held  it  for  life,  though  liable  to  be  deprived 
for  misconduct.  The  Council  of  Trent  fixes  the  qualifying 
age  at  forty,  with  eight  years  of  profession.     Abbesses  had 


10 


A  B  B^ A  B  B 


a  right  to  demand  absolute  obedience  of  their  nuns,  over 
whom  they  exercised  discipline,  extending  even  to  the 
power  of  expulsion,  subject,  however,  to  the  bishop.  As 
a  female  an  abbess  was  iscapable  of  performing  the 
spiritual  functions  of  the  priesthood  belonging  to  an 
abbot.  She  could  not  ordain,  confer  the  veil,  nor  excom- 
municate. In  the  eighth  century  abbesses  were  censured 
for  usurping  priestly  powers  by  presuming  to  give  the 
veil  to  virgins,  and  to  confer  benediction  and  imposition 
of  hands  on  men.  In  England  they  attended  ecclesiastical 
councils,  e.g.  that  of  Becanfield  in  694,  where  they  signed 
before  the  presbyters. 

By  Celtic  usage  abbesses  presided  over  joint-houses  of 
monks  and  nuns.  This  custom  accompanied  Celtic  mon- 
astic missions  to  France  and- Spain,  and  even  to  Rome 
itself.  At  a  later  period,  a.d.  1115,  Robert,  the  founder 
of  Fontevraud,  committed  the  government  of  the  whole 
order,  men  as  well  as  women,  to  a  female  superior. 

Martene  asserts  that  abbesses  formerly  confessed  nuns, 
but  that  their  undue  inquisitiveness  rendered  it  necessary 
to  forbid  the  practice. 

The  dress  of  an  English  abbess  of  the  12th  century 
consisted  of  a  long  white  tunic  with  close  sleeves,  and  a 
black  overcoat  as  long  as  the  tunic,  with  large  and  loose 
sleeves,  the  hood  covering  the  head  completely.  The 
abbesses  of  the  14th  and  15th  centuries  had  adopted 
secular  habits,  and  there  was  little  to  distinguish  them 
from  their  lay  sisters.  (z.  V.) 

ABBEVILLE,  a  city  of  France,  in  the  department  of 
the  Somme,  is  situated  on  the  River  Somme,  12  miles 
from  its  mouth  in  the  English  Channel,  and  25  miles 
N.W.  of  Amiens.  It  lies  in  a  pleasant  and  fertile  valley, 
and  is  built  partly  on  an  island,  and  partly  on  both  sides 
of  the  river.  The  streets  are  narrow,  and  the  houses  are 
mostly  picturesque  old  structures,  built  of  wood,  with 
many  quaint  decaying  gables  and  dark  archways.  The 
town  is  strongly  fortified  on  Vauban's  system.  It  has  a 
tribunal  and  chamber  of  commerce.  The  most  remarkable 
edifice  is  the  Church  of  St  Wolfran,  which  was  erected  in 
the  time  of  Louis  XII.  Although  the  original  design  was 
not  completed,  enough  was  built  to  give  a  good  idea  of 
the  splendid  structure  it  was  intended  to  erect.  The 
facade  is  a  magnificent  specimen  of  the  flamboyant  Gothic 
style,  and  is  adorned  by  rich  tracery,  while  the  western 
front  is  flanked  by  two  Gothic  towers.  A  cloth  manufac- 
tory was  established  here  by  Van  Robais,  a  Dutchman, 
under  the  patronage  of  the  minister  Colbert,  as  early  as 
1669  ;  and  since  that  time  Abbeville  has  continued  to  be 
one  of  the  most  thriving  manufacturing  towns  in  France. 
Besides  black  cloths  of  the  best  quality,  there  are  produced 
velvets,  cottons,  linens,  serges,  sackings,  hosiery,  pack- 
thread, jewellery,  soap,  and  glass-wares.  It  has  also 
establishments  for  spinning  wool,  print-works,  bleaching- 
works,  tanneries,  a  paper  manufactory,  &c.  ;  and  being 
situated  in  the  centre  of  a  populous  district,  it  has  a  con- 
siderable trade  with  the  surrounding  country.  Vessels  of 
from  200  to  300  tons  come  up  to  the  town  at  high-water. 
Abbeville  is  a  station  on  the  Northern  Railway,  and  is  also 
connected  with  Paris  and  Belgium  by  canals.  Fossil 
remains  of  gigantic  mammalia  now  extinct,  as  well  as  the 
rude  flint  weapons  of  pre-historic  man,  have  been  dis- 
covered in  the  geological  deposits  of  the  neighbourhood. 
A  treaty  was  concluded  here  in  1259  between  Henry 
HI.  of  England  and  Louis  IX.  of  France,  by  which  the 
province  of  Guienne  was  ceded  to  the  English.  Popula- 
tion, 20,058. 

ABBEY,  a  monastery,  or  conventual  establishment, 
tnder  the  government  of  an  abbot  or  an  abbess.  A 
priory  only  differed  from  an  abbey  in  that  the  .superior 
Uore  the  name  of  vrior  instead  of  abbot.     This  was  the 


.case  in  all  the  English  conventual  cathedrals,  e.g.,  Cant*» 
bury,  Ely,  Norwich,  <fec,  where  the  archbishop  ox  bishop 
occupied  the  abbot's  place,  the  suDerior  of  ta»  monastery 
being  termed  prior.  Other  priories  were  originally  off- 
shoots from  the  larger  abbeys,  to  the  abbots  of  which  they 
continued  subordinate ;  but  in  later  times  the  actual  dia 
tinction  between  abbeys  and  priories  was  lost. 

Reserving  for  the  article  Monasticism  the  history  of  the 
rise  and  progress  of  the  monastic  system,  its  objects,  benefits, 
evils,  its  decline  and  fall,  we  propose  in  this  article  to  con- 
fine ourselves  to  the  structural  plan  and  arrangement  of 
conventual  establishments,  and  a  description  of  the  varivuj 
buildings  of  which  these  vast  piles  were  composed. 

The  earliest  Christian  monastic  communities  with  which 
we  are  acquainted  consisted  of  groups  of  cells  or  huts 
collected .  about  a  common  centre,  which  was  usually  the 
abode  of  some  anchorite  celebrated  for  superior  holiness  or 
singular  asceticism,  but  without  any  attempt  at  orderly 
arrangement.  Tha  formation  of  such  communities  in  the 
East  does  not  date  from  the  introduction  of  Christianity. 
The  example  had  been  already  set  by  the  Essenes  in  Judea 
and  the  Therapeutae  in  Egypt,  who  may  be  considered  the 
prototypes  of  the  industrial  and  meditative  communities  of 
monks. 

In  the  earliest  age  of  Christian  monasticism  the  ascetics 
were  accustomed  to  live  singly,  independent  of  one  another, 
at  no  great  distance  from  some  village,  supporting  them- 
selves by  the  labour  of  their  own  hands,  and  distributing 
the  surplus  after  the  supply  of  their  own  scanty  wants  to 
the  poor.  Increasing  religious  fervour,  aided  by  persecu- 
tion, drove  them  further  and  further  away  from  the  abodes 
of  men  into  mountain  solitudes  or  lonely  deserts.  The 
deserts  of  Egypt  swarmed  with  the  cells  or  huts  of  these 
anchorites.  Antony,  who  had  retired  to  the  Egyptian 
Thebaid  during  the  persecution  of  Maximin,  A.D.  312,  was 
the  most  celebrated  among  them  for  his  austerities,  hi» 
sanctity,  and  his  power  as  an  exorcist.  His  fame  collected 
round  him  a  host  of  followers,  emulous  of  his  sanctity. 
The  deeper  he  withdrew  into  the  wilderness,  the  more 
numerous  his  disciples  became.  They  refused  to  be  sepa- 
rated from  him,  and  built  their  cells  round  that  of  their 
spiritual  father.  Thus  arose  the  first  monastic  community, 
consisting  of  anchorites  living  each  in  his  own  little  dwell- 
ing, united  together  under  one  superior.  Antony,  as 
Neander  remarks  (Church  History,  voL  iii.  p.  316,  Clark's 
Trans.),  "without  any  conscious  design  of  his  own,  had 
become  the  founder  of  a  new  mode  of  living  in  common, 
Coenobitism."  By  degrees  order  was  introduced  in  tha 
groups  of  huts.  They  were  arranged  in  lines  like  the  tenta 
in  an  encampment,  or  the  houses  in  a  street.  From  this 
arrangement  these  lines  of  single  cells  came  to  be  knowD 
as  Laura,  Aavpai,  "  streets  "  or  "  lanes." 

The  real  founder  of  ccenobian  monasteries  in  the  modern 
sense  was  Pachomius,  an  Egyptian  of  the  beginning  of  the 
4th.  century.  The  first  community  established  by  him  was 
at  Tabennse,  an  island  of  the  Nile  in  Upper  Egypt.  Eight 
others  were  founded  in  his  lifetime,  numbering  3000  monks. 
Within  50  years  from  his  death  his  societies  could  reckon 
50,000  members.  These  ccenobia  resembled  villages, peopled 
by  a  hard-working  religious  community,  all  of  one  sex. 
The  buildings  were  detached,  small,  and  of  the  humblest 
character.  Each  cell  or  hut,  according  to  Sozomen  (H.  E. 
iii  14),  contained  three  monks.  They  took  their  chief 
meal  in  a  common  refectory  at  3  p.m.,  up  to  which  hour 
they  usually  fasted.  They*  ate  in  silence,  with  hoods  so 
drawn  over  their  faces  that  they  could  see  nothing  but  what 
was  on  the  table  before  them.  The  monks  spent  all  the 
time,  not  devoted  to  religious  services  or  study,  in  manual 
labour.  Palladius,  who  visited  the  Egyptian  monasteries- 
r.bout  the  close  of  the  4th  century,  found  among  the  300 


ABBEY 


II 


Santa 
Laura, 


members  of  the  Coenooium  of  Panopolis,  under  the 
Pacbomian  rule,  15  tailors,  7  smiths,  4  carpenters,  12 
camel-drivers,  and  15  tanners.  Each  separate  community 
had  its  own  ceconomus,  or  steward,  who  was  subject  to 
a  chief  ceconomus  stationed  at  the  head  establishment.  All 
the  produce  of  the  monks'  labour  was  committed  to  him, 
and  by  him  shipped  to  Alexandria.  The  money  raised  by 
the  sale  was  expended  in  the  purchase  of  stores  for  the 
support  of  the  communities,  and  what  was  over  was  devoted 
to  charity.  Twice  in  the  year  the  superiors  of  the  several 
ccenobia  met  at  the  chief  monastery,  under  the  presidency 
of  an  Archimandrite  ("  the  chief  of  the  fold,"  from  fjavSpa,  a 
fold),  and  at  the  last  meeting  gave  in  reports  of  their 
administration  for  the  year. 

The  ccenobia  of  Syria  belonged  to  the  Pachomian  institu- 
tion. We  learn  many  details  concerning  those  in  the 
vicinity  of  Antioch  from  Chrysostom's  writings.  The 
monks  lived  in  separate  huts,  Ka\vf3ai,  forming  a  religious 
hamlet  on  the  mountain  side.  They  were  subject  to  an 
abbot,  and  observed  a  common  rule.  (They  had  no  refec- 
tory, but  ate  their  common  meal,  of  bread  and  water  only, 
when  the  day's  labour  was  over,  reclining  on  strewn  grass, 
sometimes  out  of  doors.)  Four  times  in  the  day  they 
joined  in  prayers  and  psalms. 

The  necessity  for  defence  from  hostile  attacks,  economy 
of  space,  and  convenience  of  access  from  one  part  of  the 
community  to  another,  by  degrees  dictated  a  more  compact 
and  orderly  arrangement  of  the  buildings  of  a  monastic 
coenobium.  Large  piles  of  building  were  erected,  with 
strong  outside  walls,  capable  of  resisting  the  assaults  of  an 
enemy,  within  which  all  the  necessary  edifices  were  ranged 
round  one  or  more  open  courts,  usually  surrounded  with 
cloisters.  The  usual  Eastern  arrangement  is  exemplified 
in  the  plan  of  the  convent  of  Santa  Laura,  Mt  Athos 
(Laura,  the  designation  of  a  monastery  generally,  being 


Athos.  converte(j  jnt0  a  femaie  saint). 


A  Gateway. 

B.  Chapels. 

C.  Guest-house. 

D.  Church. 

E.  Clois-.er. 

F.  Fountain. 

G.  Refectory 
H.  Kitchen. 
I.  Cells. 

K.  Storehouses. 
L.  Postern  Gate 
M.  Tonrer. 


Monastery  of  Santa  Laura,  Mount  Athos  (Lenoir). 

_„,This  monastery,  like  the  Oriental  monasteries  generally 
is  surrounded  by  a  strong  and  lofty  blank  stone  wall, 
enclosing,  an  area  -of  between  3  and  4  acres.  The  longer 
side  extends  to  a  length  of  about  500  feet.  -  There  is  only 
one  mam  entrance,  on  the  north  side  (A),  defended  by 
three  separate  iron  doors.  ■■  Near  the  entrance  is  a  large 
tower  (M),  a  constant  feature  in  the  monasteries  of  the 
Levant.    .There  is  a  small  postern  gate   at  (L.)      The 


enceinte  comprises  two  lar^e  open  courts,  iurroundeel  with 
buildings  connected  with  cloister  galleries  of  wood  or  ston?. 
The  outer  court,  which  is  much  the  larger,  contains  tha 
granaries  and  storehouses  (K),  and  the  kitchen  (H),  and 
other  offices  connected  with  the  refectory  (G).  Imme- 
diately adjacent  to  the  gateway  is  a  two-storeyed  guest- 
house, opening  from  a  cloister  (C).  The  inner  court  is 
surrounded  by  a  cloister  (EE),  from  which  open  the  monks* 
cells  (II).  In  the  centre  of  this  court  stands  the  catholicoa 
or  conventual  church,  a  square  building  with  an  apse  of 
the  cruciform  domical  Byzantine  type,  approached  by  a 
domed  narthex.  In  front  of  the  church  stands  a  marble 
fountain  (F),  covered  by  a  dome  supported  on  columns. 
Opening  from  the  western  side  of  the  cloister,  but  actually 
standing  in  the  outer  court,  is  the  refectory  (G),  a  large 
cruciform  building,  about  100  feet,  each  way,  decorated 
within  with  frescoes  of  saints.  At  the  upper  end  is  a  semi- 
circular recess,  recalling  the  Triclinium  of  the  Laterau 
Palace  at  Rome,  in  which  is  placed  the  seat  of  the  Hegu- 
menos  or  abbot.  This  apartment  is  chiefly  used  as  a  hall 
of  meeting,  the  Oriental  monks  usually  taking  their  meals 
in  their  separate  cells.  St  Laura  is  exceeded  in  magnitude 
by  the  Convent  of  Vatopede,  also  on  Mount  Athos.  This 
enormous  establishment  covers  at  least  4  acres  of  ground, 
and  contains  so  many  separate  buildings  within  its  massive 
walls  that  it  resembles  a  fortified  town.  It  lodges  above 
300  monks,  and  the  establishment  of  the  Hegumenos  is 
described  as  resembling  the  court  of  a  petty  sovereign 
prince.  The  immense  refectory,  of  the  same  cruciform 
shape  as  that  of  St  Laura,  will  accommodate  500  guests  at 
its  24  marble  tables. 

The  annexed  plan  of  a  Coptic  monastery,  from  Lenoir 
shows  us  a  church  of   three 
aisles,  with  cellular  apses,  and 
two  ranges  of  cells  on  either 
side  of  an  oblong  gallery. 

Monasticism  in  the  West 
owes  its  extension  and  de- 
velopment to  Benedict  of 
Nursia  (born  a.d.  480).  His 
rule  was  diffused  with  miracul- 
ous rapidity  from  the  parent 
foundation  on  Monte  Cassino 
through  the  whole  of  Western 
Europe,  and  every  country  wit- 
nessed the  erection  of  monas- 
teries far  exceeding  anything  £•  qJJJ^J"' 
that  had  yet  been  seen  in  spaci-  c  corridor,  with  cells  on  each  aids, 
ousness  and  splendour.  Few  D- Stalrc''se- 
great  towns  in  Italy  were  without  their  Benedictine  convent, 
and  they  quickly  rose  in  all  the  great  centres  of  population  in 
England,  France,  and  Spain.  The  number  of  these  monas- 
teries founded  between  a.d.  520  and  700  is  amazing. 
Before  the  Council  of  Constance,  a.d.  1415,  no  fewer  than 
15,070  abbeys  had  been  established  of  this  order  alone. 
The  Benedictine  rule,  spreading  with  the  vigour  of  a  young 
and  powerful  life,  absorbed  into  itself  the  older  monastic 
foundations,  whose  discipline  had  too  usually  become  dis- 
gracefully relaxed.  In  the  words  of  Milman  (Latin 
Christianity,  -vol.  L  p.  425,  note  x.),  "  The  Benedictine 
ride  was  universally  received,  even  in  the  older  monas- 
teries of  Gaul,  Britain,  Spain,  and  throughout  the  West, 
not  as  that  of  a  rival  order  (all  rivalry  was  of  later 
date),  but  as  a  more  full  and  perfect  rule  of  the  monas- 
tic life."  Not  only,  therefore,  were  new  monasteries 
founded,  but  those  already  existing  were  pulled  down, 
and  rebuilt  to  adapt  them  to  the  requirements  of  the 
new  rule. 

The  buildings  of  a  Benedictine  abbey  were  unifornuy 
arranged  after  ono  plan,  modified  where  necessary  (as  at 


Plan  of  Coptic  Monastery. 


12 


ABBEY 


Durham  and  Worcester,  where  the  monasteries  stand  close 
to  the  steep  bank  of  a  river),  to  accommodate  the  arrange- 
ment to  local  circumstances. 

Wo  have  no  existing  examples  of  the  earlier  monasteries 
of  the  Benedictine  order.  They  have  all  yielded  to  tho 
ravages  of  tinio  and  the  violence  of  man.  But  we  have 
fortunately  preserved  to  us  an  elaborate  plan  of  the  great 
Swiss  monastery  of  St  Gall,  erected  about  a.d.  820,  which 
puts  us  in  possession  of  the  whole  arrangements  of  a 
monastery  of  the  first  class  towards  the  early  part  of  the 
Bth  century.  This  curious  and  interesting  plan  has  been 
made  the  subject  of  a  memoir  both  by  Keller  (Zurich, 
1844)  and  by  Professor  Willis  (Arch.  Journal,  1848,  vol. 
?.  pp.  86-117).     To  the  latter  we  are  indebted  for  the 


■J-.U. 

1 
-|-b  K 

i 

1 

M 


T3  mra 


Church. 
i    Blga  Ahar. 
B   A 'tar  of  St  Paul. 
C    Altar  of  St  Peter. 
D.  Nave. 
C  Paradise. 
rr.  Towers. 

Monastic  Bcildimoa 
G.  Cloister. 

H.  Calefactory,  with  Dormitory  ov«r 
L    Necessary. 
J.  Abbot's  house. 
K.  Refectory. 
U  Kitchen. 

M.  Bakehouse  and  Brcwhouse. 
N.  Cellar. 
0.  Parlour. 

Pi    Scriptorium,  with  Library  over. 
V2-  Sacristy  and  Vestry. 
«J.  House  of  Novices— 1.  Chapel;  1. 

Refectory;     3.    Calefactory;     4. 

Dormitory ;  5.    Master's    Boom  ; 

6.  Chambers, 
ft.  Infirmary — 1-fl  as  above  ID  the 

House  of  Novices. 
B.  Doctor's  House. 
T.  Phyalc  Garden. 


Gntruad-plan  of  St  Gnu. 


D.  House  for  blood-lalilr*. 

V.  School. 

W   Schoolmaster's  Lodgings. 

X1X1.    Guest-house    for   those    of 

superior  rank. 
XjX^.  Guest-house  for  the  poor. 
Y.  Guest-chamber  for  strange  monks. 

Menial  Detultkent. 
Z.  Factory. 
a.  Threshing-floor. 
4  Workshops. 
c,c  MlUa, 
4  Kiln. 

e.  Stables. 

f.  Cowsheds. 
q.  Qoatsheda. 

A.  ?lg-stlea.     i.  Sheep-folds. 

*,  i,  k.     Servants'    and     workmen's 

sleeping-  chjAbara. 
I  Gardener's  house. 
m,  m.  Hen  and  Duck  house, 
n.  Poultry-keeper's  bouse, 
o.  Gardea. 
■.  CemeUry. 

q.  Bakehouse  for  Sacramental  Bread 
r.  Unnamed  in  Plan. 
s.  s.s.  Kitchens. 
f,  (,  (.  Baths. 


substance  of  the  following  description,  as  well  as  for  the 
above  woodcut,  reduced  from  his  elucidated  transcript  of 


|_BENEPICTINE. 

the  original   preserved  in  the  arcliives  of  the  convent. 
The  general  appearance  of  the  convent  is  that  of  a  town  of 
isolated  houses  with  streets  running  between  them.     It  is 
evidently  planned  in  compliance  with  tho  Benedictine  rule, 
whichelijoined  that) if  possible,  themonastery  should  contain 
within  itself  every  necessary  of  life,  as  well  as  the  build- 
ings more  intimately  connected  with  the  religious   and 
social  life  of  its  inmates.     Tt  should  comprise  a  mill,  a 
bakehouse,  stables  and  cow-houses,  together  with  accom- 
modation for  carrying  on  all   necessary  mechanical   arts 
within   tho  walls,  so  as  to  obviate  the  necessity  of  tke 
monks  going  outside  its  limits.     Tho  general  distributiom 
of  tho  buildings  may  be  thus   described : — The  church, 
with  its   cloister   to  the  south,  occupies  the  centre  of  a 
quadrangular  area,  about   430  feet  square.     The  build- 
ings,   as    in   all   great   monasteries,   are   distributed   into 
groups.      The  church  forms  the  nucleus,  as  the  centre  of 
the  religious  life  of  the  community.     In  closest  connec; 
tion  with  the  church  is  the  group  of  buildings  appropriated 
to  the  monastic  life  and  its  daily  requirements — the  refec- 
tory for  eating,  the  dormitory  for  sleeping,  the  common 
room  for  social  intercourse,  the  chapter-house  for  religious 
and  disciplinary  conference.     These  essential  elements  of 
monastic  life  are  ranged  about  a  cloister  court,  surrounded 
by  a  covered  arcade,  affording  communication  sheltered  from 
the  elements,  between  the  various  buildings.    The  infirmary 
for  sick  monks,  with  tho  physician's  house  and  physic  gar- 
den, lies  to  the  east.    In  the  same  group  with  the  infirmary 
is  the  school  for  the  novices.     The  outer  school,  with  its 
head-master's  house  against  the  opposite  wall  of  the  church, 
stands  outside  the  convent  enclosure,  in  close  proximity 
to  the  abbot's  house,  that  ho  might  have  a  constant  eye 
over  them.    The  buildings  devoted  to  hospitality  aro  divided 
into  three  groups, — one  for  the  reception  of  distinguished 
guests,  another  for  monks  visiting  the  monastery,  a  third 
for  poor  travellers  and  pilgrims.     The  first  and  third  are 
placed  to  the  right  and  left  of  the  common  entrance  of  the 
monastery, — the  hospitium  for  distinguished  guests  being 
placed  on  the  north  side  of  the  church,  not  far  from  tho  ab- 
bot's house;  that  for  the  poor  on  the  south  sido  next  to  the 
farm  buildings.     The  monks  are  lodged  in  a  guest-house 
"built  against  the  north  wall  of  the  church.     The  group  o) 
buildings  connected  with  the  material  wants  of  the  esta- 
blishment is  placed  to  the  south  and  west  of  the  church, 
and  is  distinctly  separated  from  the  monastic  buildings. 
The  kitchen,  buttery,  and  offices,  are  reached  by  a  passage 
from  the  west  end  of  the  refectory,  and  are  connected  witi 
the  bakehouse  and  brewhouse,  which  are  placed  still  fur- 
ther away.     The  whole  of  the  southern  and  western  side* 
is  devoted  to  workshops,  stables,  and.  farm -buildings.    The 
buildings,  with  some  exceptions,  seem  to  have  been  of  one 
story  only,  and  all  but  the  church  were  probably  erected 
of  wood.     The  whole  includes  thirty-three" separate  blocks. 
The  church  (D)  is  cruciform,  with  a  nave  of  nine  bays,  and 
a  semicircular  apse  at  either  extremity.     That  to  the  west 
is  surrounded  by  a  semicircular  colonnade,  leaving  an  open 
"  Paradise"  (E)  between  it  and  the  wall  of  the  church. 
The  whole  area  is  divided  by  screens  into  various  chapels. 
The  high  altar  (A)  stands  immediately  to  the  east  of  the 
transept,  or  ritual  choir;  the  altar  of  St  Paul  (B)  in  the 
eastern,  and  that  of  St  Peter  (C)  in  the  western  apse.     A 
cylindrical  campanile  stands  detached  from  the  church  or 
either  side  of  the  western  apse  (FF). 

The  "cloister  court"  (G)  on  the  south  side  of  the  na» 
of  the  church  has  on  its  east  side  the  "  pisalis"  or  "  calefac- 
tory" (H),the  common  sitting-room  of  the  brethren,  warmer/ 
by  flues  beneath  the  floor.  On  this  .side  in  later  monas 
teries  we  invariably  find  the  chapter-house,  the  absence  ot 
which  in  this  plan  is  somewhat  surprising.  It  appears, 
however  from  the  inscriptions  on  the  plan  itself,  that  tha 


BENEDICTINB.J 


ABBEY 


13 


north,  walk  of  the  cloisters  served  for  the  purposes  ot  a  chap- 
ter-house, and  was  fitted  up  with  benches  on  the  long  sides. 
Above  the  calefactory  is  the  "  dormitory"  opening  into  the 
south  transept  of  the  church,  to  enable  the  monks  to  attend 
the  nocturnal  services  with  readiness.'  A  passage  at  the 
other  end  leads  to  the  "necessarium"  (I),  a  portion  of  the 
monastic  buildings  always  planned  with  extreme  care.  The 
southern  side  is  occupied  by  the  "refectory"  (K),  from  the 
west  end  of  which  by  a  vestibule  the  kitchen  (L)  is  reached. 
{Phis  is  separated  from  the  main  buildings  of  the  monastery, 
find  is  connected  by  a  long  passage  with  a  building  containing 
fixa  bakehouse  and  brewhouse  (M),*  and  the  sleeping-rooms  of 
the  servants.  The  upper  story  of  the  refectory  is  the  "ves- 
Harium,"  where  the  ordinary  clothes  of  the  brethren  were 
kept.  On  the  western  side  of  the  cloister  is  another  two 
story  building  (N).  The  cellar  is  below,  and  the  larder  and 
store-room  above.  Between  this  building  and  the  church, 
opening  by  one  door  into  the  cloisters,  and  by  another  to  the 
outer  part  of  the  monastery  area,  is  the  "  parlour"  for  inter- 
views with  visitors  from  the  external  world  (0).  On  the 
eastern  side  of  the  north  transept  is  the  "  scriptorium" 
•r  writing-room  (P,),  with  the  library  above. 

To  the  east  of  the  church  stands  a  group  of  buildings 
comprising  two  miniature  conventual  establishments,  each 
complete  in  itself.  Each  has  a  covered  cloister  surrounded 
by  the  usual  buildings,  i.e.,  refectory,  dormitory,  &c,  and 
a  church  or  chapel  on  one  side,  placed  back  to  back.  A 
detached  building  belonging  to  each  contains  a  bath  and  a 
kitchen.  One  of  these  diminutive  convents  is  appropriated 
to  the-,"oblati"  or  novices  (Q),  the  othei  to  the  sick  monks 
as  ah  "  infirmary  "  (R). 

The  "  residence  of  the  physicians"  (S)  stands  contiguous 
to  the  infirmary,  and  the  physic  garden  (T)  at  the  north-east 
corner  of  the  monastery.  Besides  other  rooms,  it  contains 
a  drug  store,  and  a  chamber  for  those  who  are  dangerously 
OL  The  "  house  for  blood-letting  and  purging"  adjoins  it 
on  the  west  (U). 

The  "  outer  school,"  to  the  north  of  the  convent  area,  con- 
tains a  large  school-room  divided  across  the  middle  by  a 
Bcreen  or  partition,  and  surrounded  by  fourteen  little  rooms, 
termed  the  dwellings  of  the  scholars.  The  head-master's 
house  (W)  is  opposite,  built  against  the  side  wall  of  the 
church.  The  two  "  hospitia"  or  "guest-houses"  for  the 
entertainment  of  strangers  of  different  degrees  (Xt  Xj) 
comprise  a  large  common  chamber  or  refectory  in  the 
centre,  surrounded  by  sleeping  apartments.  Each  is  pro- 
vided with  its  own  brewhouse  and  bakehouse,  and  that  for 
travellers  of  a  superior  order  has  a  kitchen  and  store-room, 
with  bed-rooms  for  their  servants,  and  stables  for  their 
horses.  There  is  also  an  "  hospitium"  for  strange  monks, 
abutting  on  the  north  wall  of  the  church  (Y). 

Beyond  the  cloister,  at  the  extreme  verge  of  the  con- 
vent area  to  the  south,  stands  the  "  factory"  (Z),  contain- 
ing workshops  for  shoemakers,  saddlers  (or  shoemakers, 
sellarii),  cutlers  and  grinders,  trencher-makers,  tanners,  cur- 
riers, fullers,  smiths,  and  goldsmiths,  with  their  dwellings 
in  the  rear.  On  this  sidg  we  also  find  the  farm-buildings, 
the  large  granary  and  threshing-floor  (a),  mills  (c),  malt- 
house  (d).  Facing  the  west  are  the  stables  (e),  ox-sheds 
(/),  goat-stables  (g),  piggeries  (k),  sheep-folds  (i),  together 
with  the  servants'  and  labourers'  quarters  (k).  At  the  south- 
east corner  we  find  the  hen  and  duck  house,  and  poultry- 
yard  (m),  and  the  dwelling  of  the  keeper  (n).  Hard  by  is 
the  kitchen  garden  (o),  the  beds  bearing  the  names  of  the 
vegetables  growing  in  them,  onions,  garlic,  celery,  lettuces, 
V°PPV>  carrots,  cabbages,  &c,  eighteen  in  all.  In  the  same 
way  the  physic  garden  presents  the  names  of  .'the  medicinal 
herbs,  and  the  cemetery  (p)  those  of  the  trees,  apple,  pear, 
plum,  quince,  &c,  planted  there. 

It  is  evident,  from  this  most  curious  and  valuable  docu- 


ment, that  by  the  9tn  century  monastic  establishments 
had  become  wealthy,  and  had  acquired  considerable  import- 
ance, and  were  occupying  a  leading  place  in  education, 
agriculture,  and  the  industrial  arts.  The  influence  such  an 
institution  would  diffuse  through  a  wide  district  would  be 
no  less  beneficial  than  powerful. 

The  curious  bird's  eye  view  of  Canterbury  Cathedral  and 
its  annexed  conventual  buildings,  taken  about  1165,  pre- 
served in  the  Great  Psalter  in  the  library  of  Trinity  College, 
Cambridge,  as  elucidated  by  Professor  Willis  with  such, 
admirable  skill  and  accurate  acquaintance  with  the  existing 
remains,1  exhibits  the  plan  of  a  great  Benedictine  monasr 
tery  in  the  12th  century,  and  enables  us  to  compare  it  witty 
that  of  the  9th,  as  seen .  at  St  Gall.  We  see  in  both  tha 
same  general  principles  of  arrangement,  which  indeed  be) 
long  to  all  Benedictine  monasteries,  enabling  us  to  deter* 
mine  with  precision  the  disposition  of  the  various  build- 
ings, when  little  more  than  fragments  of  the  walls  exist. 
From  some  local  reasons,  however,  the  cloister  and  monastic 
buildings  are  placed  on  the  north,  instead,  as  is  far  more 
commonly  the  case,  on  the  south  of  the  church.  There 
is  also  a  separate  chapter-house,  which  is  wanting  at 
StGalL 

The  buildings  at  Canterbury,  as  at  St  Gall,  form  separate 
groups.  The  church  forms  the  nucleus.  In  immediate  con- 
tact with  this,  on  the  north  side,  lie  the  cloister  and  the 
group  of  buildings  devoted  to  the  monastic,  life.  Outside 
of  these,  to  the  west  and  east,  are  the  "halls  and  chambers 
devoted  to  the  exercise  of  hospitality,  with  which  every 
monastery  was  provided,  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  as 
guests  persons  who  visited  it,  whether  clergy  or  laity,  tra- 
vellers, pilgrims,  or  paupers."  To  the  north  a  large  open 
court  divides  the  monastic  from  the  menial  buildings,  in- 
tentionally placed  as  remote  as  possible  from  the  conven- 
tual buildings  proper,  the  stables,  granaries,  barn,  bake- 
house, brewhouse,  laundries,  &c,  inhabited  by  the  lay  ser- 
vants of  the  establishment.  At  the  greatest  possible  distance 
from  the  church,  beyond  the  precinct  of  the  convent,  is 
the  eleemosynary  department.  The  almonry  for  the  relief  of 
the  poor,  with  a  great  hull  annexed,  forms  the  pauper's 
hospitium. 

The  most  important  group  of  buildings  is  naturally  that 
devoted  to  monastic  life.  This  includes  two  cloisters,  the 
great  cloister  surrounded  by  the  buildings  essentially  con- 
nected with  the  daily  life  of  the  monks, — the  church  to  the 
south,  the  refectory  or  frater-house  here  as  always  on  the 
side  opposite  to  the  church,  and  furthest  removed  from  it, 
that  no  sound  or  smell  of  eating  might  penetrate  its  sacred 
precincts,  to  the  east  the  dormitory,  raised  on  a  vaulted 
undercroft,  and  the  chapter-house  adjacent,  and  the  lodg- 
ings of  the  cellarer  to  the  west.  To  this  officer  was  com- 
mitted the  provision  of  the  monks'  daily  food,  as  well  as 
that  of  the  guests.  He  was,  therefore,  appropriately  lodged 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  refectory  and  kitchen,  and 
close  to  the  guest-halL  A  passage  under  the  dormitory 
leads  eastwards  to  the  smaller  or  infirmary  cloister,  appro- 
priated to  the  sick  and  infirm  monks.  Eastward  of  this 
cloister  extend  the  hall  and  chapel  of  the  infirmary,  resem- 
bling in  form  and  arrangement  the  nave  and  chancel  of  an 
aisled  church.  Beneath  the  dormitory,  looking  out  into 
the  green  court  or  herbarium,  lies  the  "pisalis"  or  "cale- 
factory," the  common  room  of  the  monks.  At  its  north- 
east corner  access  was  given  from  the  dormitory  to  the 
necessarium,  a  portentous  edifice  in  the  form  of  a  Norman 
hall,  1 45  feet  long  by  25  broad,  containing  fifty-five  seats.  It 
was,  in  common  with  all  such  offices  in  ancient  monasteries, 
constructed  with  the  most  careful  regard  to  cleanliness  and 

1  The  Architectural  History  of  the  Conventual  Buildings  of  A* 
Monastery  of  Christ  Church  in  Canterbury.  By  the  Rev.  Robert 
Willis.    Printed  far  the  liinl  Archseologicsl  Society,  1869. 


r.4 


ABBEY 


health,  a  stream  of  water  running  through  it  from  end  to 
end.  A  s*cond  smaller  dormitory  runs  from  east  to  west 
for  the  acc&mmodation  of  the  conventual  officers,,  who  were 
bound  io  sleep  in  tho  dormitory.  Close  to  the  refectory, 
biK.  outside  the  cloisters,  are  the  domestic  offices  connected 
with  it ;  to  the  north,  the  kitchen,  47  feet  square,  sur- 
mounted by  a  lofty  pyramidal  roof,  and  the  kitchen  court; 
to  the  west,  the  butteries,  pantries,  &c.  The  infirmary  had 
a  3inall  kitchen  of  its  own.  Opposite  the  refectory  door  in 
the  cloister  are  two  lavatories,  an  invariable  adjunct-  to  a 
monastic  dining-hall,  at  which  tho  monks  washed  before  and 
after  taking  food. 

The  buildings  devoted  to  hospitality  were  divided  into 
three  groups.  The  prior's  group  "  entered  at  the  south-east 
angle  of  the  green  court,  placed  uear  the  most  sacred  part 
of  the  cathedral,  as  befitting  the  distinguished  ecclesiastics  or 
nobility  who  were  assigned  to  him."  The  cellarer's  buddings, 
■were  near  the  west  end  of  the  nave,  in  which  ordinary 
■visitors  of  the  middle  class  were  hospitably  entertained. 
•The  inferior  pilgrims  and  paupers  were  relegated  to  the 
north  hall  or  almonry,  just  within  the  gate,  as  far  as  possible 
ffrom  the  other  two. 

_  Westminster  Abbey  is  another  example  of  a  great  Bene- 
dictine abbey,  identical  in  its  general  arrangements,  so  far  as 
they  can  be  traced,  with  those  described  above.  The  clois- 
ter and  monastic  buildings  lie  to  the  south  side  of  the  church. 
Parallel  to  the  nave,  on  the  south  side  of  the  cloister,  was 
the  refectory,  with  its  lavatory  at  the  door.  On  the  eastern 
side  we  find  the  remains  of  the  dormitory,  raised  on  a 
vaulted  substructure,  and  communicating  with  the  south 
transept.  The  chapter-house  opens  out  of  the  same  alley 
of  the  cloister.  The  small  cloister  lies  to  the  south-east  of 
the  larger  cloister,  and  still  farther  to  the  east  we  have  the 
remains  of  the  infirmary,  with  the  table  hall,  the  refectory 
of  those  who  were  able  to  leave  their  chambers.  The 
abbot's  house  formed  a  small  court-yard  at  the  west 
entrance,  close  to  the  inner  gateway.  Considerable  por- 
tions of  this  remain,  including  the  abbot's  parlour,  cele- 
brated as  "  the  Jerusalem  Chamber,"  his  hall,  now  used 
for  the  Westminster  King's  scholars,  and  the  kitchen 
and  butteries  beyond.  . 

St  Mary's  Abbey,  York,  of  winch  the  ground-plan  is 
annexed;  exhibits  the  usual  Benedictine  arrangements.  The 
precincts  are  surrounded  by  a  strong  fortified  wall  on  three 
sides,  the  river  Ouse  being  sufficient  protection  on  the 
fourth  side.  The  entrance  was  by  a  strong  gateway  (U) 
to  the  north.  Close  to  the  entrance  was  a  chapel,  where  is 
now  the  church  of  St  Olaf  (W),  in  which  the  new  comers  paid 
their  devotions  immediately  on  their  arrival.  Near  the 
gate  to  the  south  was  the  guest's-hall  or  kospitium  (T). 
The  buildings  are  completely  ruined,  but  enough  remains 
to  enable  us  to  identify  the  grand  cruciform  church  (A), 
the  cloister-court  with  the  chapter-house  (B),  the  refectory 
(I),  the  kitchen-court  with  its  offices  (K,  O,  O),  and  the 
other  principal  apartments.  The  infirmary  has  perished 
completely. 

Some  Benedictine  houses  display  exceptional  arrange- 
ments, dependent  upon  local  circumstances,  e.g.,  the  dormi- 
tory of  Worcester  runs  from  east  to  west,  from  the  west 
walk  of  the  cloister,  and  that  of  Durham  is  built  over  the 
west,  instead  of  a3  usual,  over  the  east  walk ;  but,  as  a 
general  rule,  the  arrangements  deduced  from  the  examples 
described  may  be  regarded  as  invariable. 

The  history  of  Monasticism  is  one  of  alternate  periods 
of  decay  and  revival.  With  growth  in  popular  esteem 
came  increase  in  material  wealth,  leading  to  luxury  and 
worldliness.  The  first  religious  ardour  cooled,  the  strict- 
ness of  the  rule  was  relaxed,  until  by  the  10th  century  the 
deciy  of  discipline  was  so  complete  in  France  .that  the 
roriDks  are  said  to  have  been  ireguently  unacquainted  jviih 


{^BENEDICTINE. 


the  rule  of  St  Benedict,  and  even  ignorant  that  they  were 
bound  by  any  rule  at  all.  (Robertson's  Church  History, 
ii.  p.  538.)  These  alternations  are  reflected  in  the  monastic- 
buildings  and  the  arrangement)!  of  the  establishment. 


coo  thai* 


^A.<w«^ 


■Cluu-ton'a  Motiast'c  linlii*. 
0.  Offices 
P.  Cellars. 
Q.  Uncertain 

R.  Passage  to  Abbot's  TTonso. 
S.  Passage  to  Common  Ilousa. 
T.  Hospitium. 
U.  Great  Gate. 
V.  Porter's  Lodge. 
W.  Church  of  St  Olaf. 
X.  Tower. 
V.  Entrance  from  Bootham 


St  Mary's  Abbey,  York  (Beuetlktiue') 

A.  Church. 

B.  Chapter-house. 

C.  Vestibule  to  do. 

E.  Library  or  Scrlotorlum. 

F.  Calefactory. 

G.  Necessary. 
H.  Parlour. 
I.    Refectory. 

K.  Great  Kitchen  and  Court. 
L.  Cellarer's  Office. 
M.  Cellars. 
N.  Passage  to  Cloister. 

The  reformation  of  these  prevalent  abuses  generally  took 
the  form  of  the  establishment  of  new  monastic  orders,  witb 
new  and  more  stringent  rules,  requiring  a  modification  of 
the  architectural  arrangements.  One  of  the  earliest  of 
these  reformed  orders  was  the  Cluniac.  This  order  took; 
its  name  from  the  little  village  of  Clugny,  12  miles  N.W. 
of  Macon,  near  which,  about  A.D.  90U,  a  reformed  Bene, 
dictine  abbey  was  founded  by  William,  Duke  of  Auvergnej 
under  Berno,  abbot  of  Beaume.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Odo,  who  is  often  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the  order. 
The  fame  of  Clugny  spread  far  and  wide.  Its  rigid  rula 
was  adopted  by  a  vast  number  of  the  old  Benedictine  ab* 
beys,  who  placed  themselves  in  affiliation  to  the  mother 
society,  while  new  foundations  sprang  up  in  large  nuin* 
bers,  all  owing  allegianee  to  the  "  archabbot,"  established 
at  Clugny!  By  the  end  of  the  12th  century  the  numbel 
of  monasteries  affiliated  to  Clugny  in  the  various  com> 
tries  of  Western  Europe  amounted  to  2000.  The  monasJ 
tic  establishment  of  Clugny  was  one  of  the  most  extensive" 
and  magnificent  in  France.  We  may  form  some  idea  of 
its  enormous  dimensit  _s  from  the  fact  recorded,  that  when, 
A.D/  1245 j.  Pope  Innocent  xV.,  accompanied  by  twelve 


CLOTOAC.] 


ABBEY 


15 


cardinals,  a  patriarch,  three  archbishops,  the  two  generals 
of  the  Carthusians  and  Cistercians,  the  king  (St  Louis), 
and  three  of  his  sons,  the  queen  mother,  Baldwin,  Count 
•f  Flanders  and  Emperor  of  Constantinople,  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  and  six  lords,  visited  the  abbey,  the  whole 
party,  with  their  attendants,  were  lodged  within  the 
monastery  without  disarranging  the  monks,  400  in  num- 
ber. Nearly  the  whole  of  the  abbey  buildings,  including 
the  magnificent  church,  were  swept  away  at  the  close  of  the 
last  century.  When  the  annexed  ground-plan  was  taken, 
shortly  before  its  destruction,  nearly  all  the  monastery,  with 
the  exception  of  the  church,  had  been  rebuilt.  The  church, 
the  ground-plan  of  which  bears  a  remarkable  resemblance 
to  that  of  Lincoln  Cathedral,  was  of  vast  dimensions.  It 
was  656  feet  by  ISO  feet  wide.  The  nave  was  102  feet, 
and  the  aisles  60  feet  high.     The  nave  (Q)  had  double 


Abbey  of  Clugny,  from  Viollet  le  Due 


A.  Gateway. 

B.  Narthex. 

C.  Choir. 

D.  High-Altar. 

E.  Retro-Altar. 


F.  Tomb  of  St  Hugh. 

G.  Nave. 
H.  Cloister. 

IC  Abbot's  House. 
L.  Guest-House. 


M.  Bakehouse. 
N.  Abbey  Buildings. 
O.  Garden. 
P.  Refectory. 


faulted  aisles  on  either  side.  Like  Lincoln,  it  had  an 
eastern  as  well  as  a  western  transept,  each  furnished  with 
apsidal  chapels  to  the  east.  The  western  transept  was  213 
feet  long,  and  the  eastern  123  feet  The  choir  terminated 
in  a  semicircular  apse  (F),  surrounded  by  five  chapels,  also 
semicircular.  The  western  entrance  was  approached  by  an 
ante-church,  or  narthex  (B),  itself  an  aisled  church  of  no  mean 
dimensions,  flanked  by  two  towers,  rising  from  a  stately 
flight  of  steps  bearing  a  large  stone  cross.  To  the  south 
of  the  church  lay  the  cloister-court  (H),  of  immense  size, 
placed  much  further  to  the  west  than  is  usually  the  case. 
On  the  south  side  of  the  cloister  stood  the  refectory  (P),  an 
immense  building,  100  feet  long  and  60  feet  wide,  accommo- 
dating six  longitudinal  and  three  transverse  rows  of  tables. 
It  was  adorned  with  the  portraits  of  the  chief  benefactors 
of  the  abbey,  and  with  Scriptural  subjects.  The  end  wall 
displayed  the  Last  Judgment.  We  are  unhappily  unable  to 
identify  anyotherof  the  principal  buildings(N).  The  abbot's 
residence  (K),  still  partly  standing,  adjoined  the  entrance- 
gate.     The  guest-house  (L)  was  close  by.     The  bakehouse 


(M),  also  remaining,  is  a  detached  ouuding  of  immense 
size.  The  first  English  house  of  the  Cluniac  order  was  that 
of  Lewes,  founded  by  the  Earl  of  Warren,  dr.  a.d.  1077. 
Of  this  only  a  few  fragments  of  the  domestic  buildings  exist. 
The  best  preserved  Cluniac  houses  in  England  are  Castle 
Acre,  Norfolk,  and  Wenlock,  in  Shropshire.  Ground-plans 
of  both  are  given  in  Britton's  Architectural  Antiquities. 
They  show  several  departures  from  the  Benedictine  arrange- 
ment In  each  the  prior's  house  is  remarkably  perfect 
All  Cluniac  houses  in  England  were  French  colonies,  go- 
verned by  priors  of  that  nation.  They  did  not  secure  their 
independence  nor  become  "  abbeys  "  till  the  reign  of  Henry 
VL  The  Cluniac  revival,  with  all  its  brilliancy,  was  but 
short  lived.  The  celebrity  of  this,  as  of  other  orders, 
worked  its  moral  ruin.  With  their  growth  in  wealth  and 
dignity  the  Cluniac  foundations  became  as  worldly  in  life 
and  as  relaxed  in  discipline  as  their  predecessors,  and  a 
fresh  reform  was  needed.  The  next  great  monastic  re- 
vival, the  Cistercian,  Arising  in  the  last  years  of  the  11th 
century,  had  a  wider  diffusion,  and  a  longer  and  more 
honourable  existence.  Owing  its  real  origin,  as  a  distinct 
foundation  of  reformed  Benedictines,  in  the  year  1098, 
to  a  countryman  of  our  own,  Stephen  Harding  (a  native  of 
Dorsetshire,  educated  in  the  monastery  of  Sherborne),  and 
deriving  its  name  from  Citeaux  (Cistercium),  a  >le-,olate 
and  almost  inaccessible  forest  solitude,  on  the  borders  of 
Champagne  and  Burgundy,  the  rapid  growth  and  wide 
celebrity  of  the  order  is  undoubtedly  to  be  attributed  to 
the  enthusiastic  piety  of  St  Bernard,  abbot  of  the  first  of 
the  monastic  colonies,  subsequently  sent  forth  in  such  quick 
succession  by  the  first  Cistercian  houses,  the  far-famed 
abbey  of  Clairvaux  (de  Clara  Valle),  aj>.  1116. 

The  rigid  self-abnegation,  which  was  the  ruling  principle  Cisterciat 
of  this  reformed  congregation  of  the  Benedictine  order, 
extended  itself  to  the  churches  and  other  buildings  erected 
by  them.  The  characteristic  of  the  Cistercian  abbeys  was 
the  extremest  simplicity  and  a  studied  plainness.  Only  one 
tower — a  central  one — was  permitted,  and  that  was  to  be  very 
low.  Unnecessary  pinnacles  and  turrjts  were  prohibited. 
The  triforium  was  omitted.  The  windows  were  to  be  plain 
and  undivided,  and  it  was  forbidden  to  decorate  them  with 
stained  glass.  All  needless  ornament  was  proscribed.  The 
crosses  must  be  of  wood;  the  candlesticks  of  iron.  The 
renunciation  of  the  world  was  to  be  evidenced  in  all  that 
met  the  eye.  The  same  spirit  manifested  itself  in  the 
choice  of  the  sites  of  their  monasteries.  The  more  dismal 
the  more  savage,  the  more  hopeless  a  spot  appeared,  the 
more  did  it  please  their  rigid  mood.  But  they  came  not 
merely  as  ascetics,  but  as  improvers.  The  Cistercian 
monasteries  are,  as  a  rule,  found  placed  in  deep  well- 
watered  valleys.  They  always  stand  on  the  border  of  a 
stream;  not  rarely,  as  at  Fountains,  the  buildings  extend 
over  it.  These  valleys,  now  so  rich  and  productive,  wore  a 
very  different  aspect  when  the  brethren  first  chose  them  as 
the  place  of  their  retirement.  Wide  swamps,  deep  mo- 
rasses, tangled  thickets,  wild  impassable  forests,  were  their 
prevailing  features.  The  "  Bright  Valley,"  Clara  Fallis  of 
St  Bernard,  was  known  as  the  "  Valley  of  Wormwood," 
infamous  as  a  den  of  robbers.  "  It  was  a  savage  dreary 
solitude,  so  utterly  barren  that  at  first  Bernard  and  his 
companions  were  reduced  to  live  on  beech  leaves." — (Mil- 
man's  Lat.  Christ,  vol.  iii  p.  335.) 

All  Cistercian  monasteries,  unless  the  circumstances  of 
the  locality  forbade  it,  were  arranged  according  to  one  plan. 
The  general  arrangement  and  distribution  of  the  various 
buildings,  which  went  to  make  up  one  of  these  vast  esta- 
blishments, may  be  gathered  from  that  of  St  Bernard's 
own  Abbey  of  Clairvaux,  which  is  here  given. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  abbey  precincts  are  surrounded 
by   a   strong   wall,    furnished   at    intervals   with    watch- 


16 


ABBEY 


CISTKKOtA.N 


CUirraui.  towers  and  other  defensive  works.  The  wall  is  nearly 
encircled  by  a  stream  of  water,  artificially  diverted  from  the 
Small  rivulets  which  flow  through  the  precincts,  furnishing 
the  establishment  with  an  abundant  supply  in  every  part, 
for  the  irrigation  of  the  gardens  and  orchards,  the  sanitary 
requirements  of  the  brotherhood,  and  for  the  use  of  the 
offices  and  workshops.  The  precincts  are  divided  across 
the  centre  by  a  wall,  running  from  N.  to  S.F  into  an 
outer  and  inner  ward. — tho  former  containing  the  menial, 
the  latter  the  monastic  buildings.  The  precincts  are 
entered  by  a  gateway  (P),  at  the  extreme  western  ex- 
tremity, giving  admission  to  the  lower  ward.  Here  the 
barns,  granaries,  stables,  shambles,  workshops,  and  work- 
men's lodgings  were  placed,  without  any  regard  to  sym- 


Clairvaux,  No.  1  (Cistercian),  General  Plan. 


A.   Cloisters, 
ft    Ovens,  and  Corn  and 
Oil-mills. 

C.  St  Bernard's  Cell. 

D.  Chief  Entrance. 

E.  Tanks  (or  Fish. 

F.  Guest  House.  J 
O.   Abbot's  noi^ 


II.  Stables. 

I.    Wine-press  and  Hay- 

cliambcr. 
K-  farlour. 
L.   WorkBhopsandwork- 

men's  Lodgings. 
M.  Slaughter-house. 
N.  Bams  and  Stables. 


0.  Public  Presse 

P.  Gateway 

R.  Remains  of    Old 

Monastery. 
S.  Oratory. 
V.  Tile-works. 
X.  Tile-kiln. 
Y.  Water-courses. 


metry,  convenience  being  the  only  consideration.  Ad- 
vancing eastwards,  we  have  before  us  the  wall  separating 
the  outer  and  inner  ward,  and  the  gatehouse  (D)  affording 
communication  between  the  two.  On  passing  through  the 
gateway,  the  outer  court  of  the  inner  ward  was  entered, 
with  the  western  fagade  of  the  monastic  church  in  front. 
Immediately  on  the  right  of  entrance  was  the  abbot's 
house  (0),  in  close  proximity  to  the  guest-house  (F).  On 
the  other  side  of  the  court  were  the  stables,  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  horses  of  the  guests  and  their  attendants  (H). 
The  church  occupied  a  central  position.  To  the  south 
were  the  great  cloister  (A),  surrounded  by  the  chief  monas- 
tic buildings,  and  further  to  the  east  the  smaller  cloister, 
opening  out  of  which  were  the  infirmary,  novices'  lodgings, 
and  quarters  for  the  aged  monks.  •  Still  further  to  the  east, 
divided  from  the  monastic  buildings  by  a  wall,  were  the 
▼egetable  gardens'  and  orchards,  and  tank  for  fish.     The 


large  fish-ponds,-  an  indispensable  adjunct  to  any  ecclesias- 
tical foundation,  on  tho  formation  of  which  tho  mocks 
lavished  extreme  care  and  pains,  and  which  often  remain 
as  almost  the  only  visible  traces  of  these  vast  establish- 
ments, were  placed  outside  the  abbey  walls. 

The  Plan  No.  2  furnishes  the  ichnography  of  the  dis- 
tinctly monastic  buildings  on  a  larger  scale.  The  usually 
unvarying  arrangement  of  the  Cistercian  houses  allows  us 
to  accept  this  as  a  typo  of  the  monasteries  of  this  order. 
The  church  (A)  is  the  chief  feature.  It  consists  of  a  vast 
nave  of  eleven  bays,  entered  by  a  narthcx,  with  a  transept 
and  short  apsidal  choir.  (It  may  be  remarked  that  the  easto  rn 
limb  in  all  unaltered  Cistercian  churches  is  remarkably 
short,  and  usually  square.)    To  the  east  of  each  limb  o(_ 


Clairvaux,  No.  2  (Cistercian),  Monastic  Buildings. 


A.  Church. 

B.  Cloister. 

C.  Chapter-House 

D.  Monks'  Parlour 

E.  Calefactory. 

F.  Kitchen  and  Court 

G.  Refectory. 
H.  Cemetery. 

I.   Little  Cloister. 


K.  Infirmary. 
L.  Lodgings  of  Novices. 
M.  Old  Guest-House. 
N.  OldAbbot'sLodgings. 
0.  Cloister  of  Supernu- 
merary Monks: 
P.  Abbot's  Hal).    - 
Q.  Cell  of  St  Bernard. 
R.  Stables. 


S.  Cellars  and  Store- 
houses. 

T.  Water-course. 

C.  Saw-mill  and  Oll-mia 

V.  Currier's  Workshops. 

X.  Sacristy. 

Y.   Little  Library 

Z.  Undercroft  of  Dor- 
mitory. 


the  transept  are  two  square  chapels,  divided  "according  to 
Cistercian  rule  by  solid  walls.  Nine  radiating  chapels, 
similarly  divided,  surround  the  apse.  The  stalls  of  the 
monks,  forming  the  ritual  choir,  occupy  the  four  eastern 
bays  of  the  nave.  There  was  a  second  range  of  stalls  in 
the  extreme  western  bays  of  the  nave  for  the  fratres  conversi, 
or  lay  brothers.  To  the  south  of  the  church,  so  as  to 
secure  as  much  sun  as  possible,  the  cloister  was  invariably 
placed,  except  when  local  reasons  forbade  it. .  Round  the 
cloister  (B)  were  ranged  the  buildings  connected  with  the 
monks'  daily  life.  The  chapter-house  (C)  always  opened 
out  of  the  east  walk  of  the  sloister  in  a  line  with  the 


CISTERCIAN.! 


ABBEY 


17 


south  transept.  In  Cistercian  housor,  this  was  quadran- 
gular, and  was  divided  -by  pillars  and  arches  into  two  or 
three  aisles.  Between  it  and  the  transept  we  find  the 
sacristy  (X),  and  a  small  book  room  (Y),  armariolum, 
where  the  brothers  deposited  the  volumes  borrowed  from 
the  library.  On  the  other  side  of  the  chapter-house,  to 
tho  south,  is  a  passage  (D)  communicating  with  the  courts 
and  buildings  beyond.  This  was  sometimes  known  as  the 
parlour,  colloquii  locus,  the  monks  having  the  privilege  of 
conversation  here.  Here  also,  when  discipline  became 
relaxed,  traders,  who  had  the  liberty  of  admission,  were 
allowed  to  display  their  goods.  Beyond  this  we  often  find 
the  cale/aclorium  or  day-room — an  apartment  warmed 
by  flues  beneath  the  pavement,  where  the  brethren,  half- 
frozen  during  the  night  offices,  betook  themselves  after  the 
conclusion  of  lauds,  to  gain  a  little  warmth,  grease  their 
sandals,  and  get  themselves  ready  for  the  work  of  the  day. 
In  tho  plan  before  us  this  apartment  (E)  opens  from  the 
south  cloister  walk,  adjoining  the  refectory.  The  place 
usually  assigned  to  it  is  occupied  by  the  vaulted  substruc- 
ture of  the  dormitory  (Z).  The  dormitory,  as  a  rule,  was 
placed  on  the  east  side  of  the  clofeter,  running  over  the 
calefactory  and  chapter-house,  and  joined  the  south  transept, 
where  a  flight  of  steps  admitted  the  brethren  into  the 
church  for  nocturnal  services.  Opening  out  of  the  dor- 
mitory was  always  the  necessarium,  planned  with  the 
greatest  regard  to  health  and  cleanliness,  a  water-course 
invariably  running  from  end  to  end.  The  refectory  opens 
out  of  the  south  cloister  at  (G).  The  position  of  the  refec- 
tory is  usually  a  marked  point  of  difference  between  Bene- 
dictine and  Cistercian  abbeys.  In  the  former,  as  at  Can- 
terbury, the  refectory  ran  east  and  west  parallel  to  the  nave 
of  the  church,  on  the  side  of  the  cloister  furthest  removed 
from  it.  In  the  Cistercian  monasteries,  to  keep  the  noise 
and  sound  of  dinner  still  further  away  from  the  sacred 
building,  the  refectory  was  built  north  and  south,  at  right 
angles  to  the  axis  of  the  church.  It  was  often  divided, 
sometimes  into  two,  sometimes,  as  here,  into  three  aisles. 
Outside  the  refectory  door,  in  the  cloister,  was  the  lavatory, 
where  the  monks  washed  their  hands  at  dinner  time.  The 
buildings  belonging  to  the  material  life  of  the  monks  lay 
near  the  refectory,  as  far  as  possible  from  the  church,  to 
the  S.W.  With  a  distinct  entrance  from  the  outer  court 
was  the  kitchen  court  (F),  with  its  buttery,  scullery,  and 
larder,  and  the  important  adjunct  of  a  stream  of  running 
water.  Further  to  the  west,  projecting  beyond  the  line  of 
the  west  front  of  the  church,  were  vast  vaulted  apartments 
(SS),  serving  as  cellarsand  storehouses,  above  which  was  the 
dormitory  of  the  conversi.  Detached  from  these,  and  sepa- 
rated entirely  from-  the  monastic  buildings,  were  various 
workshops,  which  convenience  required  to  be  banished  to 
the  outer  precincts,  a  saw-mill  and  oil-mill  (UU)  turned 
by  water,  and  a  currier's  shop  (V),  where  the  sandals  and 
leathern  girdles  of  the  monks  were  made  and  repaired. 

'  Returning  to  the  cloister,  a  vaulted  passage  admitted  to 
the  small  cloister  (I),  opening  from  the  north  side  of  which 
were  eight  small  cells,  assigned  to  the  scribes  employed  in 
copying  works  for  the  library,  which  was  placed  in  the 
upper  story,  accessible  by  a  turret  staircase.  To  the 
south  of  the  small  cloister  a  long  hall  will  be  noticed. 
This  was  a  lecture-hall,  or  rather  a  hall  for  the  religious 
disputations  customary  among  the  Cistercians.  From  this 
cloister  opened  the  infirmary  (K),  with  its  hall,  chapel, 
cells,  blood-letting  house,  aDd  other  dependencies.  At  the 
eastern  verge  of  the  vast  group  of  buildings  we  find  the 
novices'  lodgings  (L),  with  a  third  cloister  near  the 
novices'  quarters  and  the  original  guest-house  (M).  De- 
tached from  the  great  mass  of  the  monastic  edifices  was 
the  original  abbot's  house  (N),  with  its  dining-hall  (P). 
Closely  adjoining  to  this,  so  that  the  eye  of  the  father  of 


the  whole  establishment  should  be  constantly  over  those 
who  stood  the  most  in  need  of  his  watchful  care, — those 
who  were  training  for  the  monastic  life,  and  those  who  had 
worn  themselves  out  in  its  duties, — was  a  fourth  cloister 
(0),  with  annexed  buildings,  devoted  to  the  aged  and 
infirm  members  of  the  establishment.  The  cemetery,  the 
List  resting-place  of  the  brethren,  lay  to  the  north  side  of 
the  nave  of  the  church  (II). 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  arrangement  of  a  Cisterciiin 
monastery  was  in  accordance  with  a  clearly-defined  system, 
and  admirably  adapted  to  its  purpose. 

The  base  court  nearest  to  the  outer  wall  contained  the 
buildings  belonging  to  the  functions  of  the  body  as  agri- 
culturalists and  employers  of  labour.  Advancing  into  tho 
inner  court,  the  buildings  devoted  to  hospitality  arc  found 
close  to  the  entrance  ;  while  those  connected  with  tho 
supply  of  the  material  wants  of  the  brethren, — the  kitchen, 
cellars,  &c, — form  a  court  of  themselves  outside  the  cloister, 
and  quite  detached  from  the  church.  The  church  refec- 
tory, dormitory,  and  other  buildings  belonging  to  the 
professional  life  of  the  brethren,  surround  the  great 
cloister.  The  small  cloister  beyond,  with  its  scribes' 
cells,  library,  hall  for  disputations,  ic,  is  the  centre  of  the 
literary  life  of  the  community.  The  requirements  of  sick- 
ness and  old  age  are  carefully  provided  for  in  the  infirmary 
cloister,  and  that  for  the  aged  and  infirm  members  of  tho 
establishment.  The  same  group  contains  the  qaarters  of 
the  novices. 

Thi3  stereotyped  arrangement  is  further  illustrated  by  Cituu. 
the  accompanying  bird's  eye  view  of  the  mother  cstablish- 


Bird's  eye  View  of  Citeaux. 


A.  Cross, 

B.  Gate-House. 

C.  Almonry. 

D.  Chapel. 

E.  Inner  Gate-House. 

F.  Stable. 

G.  Dormitory  of  L.ay 

Brethren. 


II.  Abbot's  House. 

I.    Kitchen. 

C  Kefcctory. 

L.  StaircasetuL'onniloiy. 

M.  Dormitory. 

N.  Church. 

F.  Library. 


R-Iiiflmiary. 
S.  Door  to  the  Chmca. 
fortiittLay  Eiv.!.er» 
T.  Base  Court. 
V.  Great  Cloister. 
W.  Small  Cloister. 
X.  Boundaiy  WjX 


ment  of  Citeaux.     A  cross  i'A\  planted  on  the  high  rtwl 


1-2 


IB 


ABBEY 


[ciSTERCIAS. 


'directs  travellers  to  the  gate  of  the  monastery,  reached  by 
sn  avenue  of  trees.  On  one  side  of  the  gate-house  (B) 
is  a  long  building  (C),  probably  the  almonry,  with  a 
dormitory  above  for  the  lower  class  of  guests.  On  the  other 
side  is  a  chapel  (D).  ,As  soon  as  the  porter  heard  a  stranger 
knock  at  the  gate,  he  rose,  saying,  Deo  gratias,  the  oppor- 
tunity for  the  exercise  of  hospitality  being  regarded  as  a 
cause  for  thankfulness.  On  opening  the  door  he  welcomed 
the  new  arrival  with  a  blessing — Benedicitc.  lie  fell  on 
liia  knees  before  him,  and  then  went  to  inform  the  abbot. 
However  important  the  abbot's  occupations  might  be,  he 
it  once  hastened  to  receive  him  whom  heaven  had  sent. 
He  also  threw  himself  at  his  guest's  feet,  and  conducted 
him  to  the  chapel  (D)  purposely  built  close  to  the  gate. 
After  a  short  prayer,  the  abbot  committed  the  gnest  to 
the  care  of  the  brother  hospitaller,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
provide  for  his  wants,  and  conduct  the  beast  on  which  he 
might  be  riding  to  the  stablo  (F),  built  adjacent  to  the 
inner  gate-house  (E).  This  inner  gate  conducted  into 
the  base  court  (T),  round  which  were  placed  the  barns, 
stables,  cow-sheds,  <fcc.  On  the  eastern  side  stood  the 
dormitory  of  the  lay  brothers,  fratres  conversi  (G),  detached 
from  the  cloister,  with  cellars  and  storehouses  below.  At 
(H),  also  outside  the  monastic  buildings  proper,  was  the 
abbot's  house,  and  annexed  to  it  the  guest-house.  For 
these  buildings  there  was  a  separate  door  of  entrance  into 
(the  church  (S).  The  large  cloister,  with  its  surrounding 
arcades,  is  seen  at  V.  On  the  south  end  projects  the 
refectory  (K),  with  its  kitchen  at  (I),  accessible  from  the 
baso  court.  The  long  gabled  building  on  the  east  side  of 
the  cloister  contained  on  the  ground  floor  the  chapter- 
house and  calefactory,  with  the  monks'  dormitory  above 
(M),  communicating  with  the  south  transept  of  the  church. 
(At  (L)  was  the  staircase  to  the  dormitory.  The  small 
cloister  is  at  (JV),  where  were  the  carols  or  cells  of  the  scribes, 
with  the  library  (P)  over,  reached  by  a  turret  staircase. 
At  (R)  we  see  a  portion  of  the  infirmary.  The  whole  pre- 
cinct is  surrounded  by  a  strong  buttressed  wall  (XXX), 
pierced  with  arches,  through  which  streams  of  water  are 
introduced.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  choir  of  the  church 
is  short,  and  has  a  square  end  instead  of  the  usual  apse. 
The  tower,  in  accordance  with  the  Cistercian  rule,  is  very 
Jew.  The  windows  throughout  accord  with  the  studied 
simplicity  of  the  order. 
-.  The  English  Cistercian  houses,  of  which  there  are  such 
txtensive  and  beautiful  remains  at  Fountains,  Rievaulx, 
Kiikstall,  Tintern,  Netley,  ifcc.,  were  mainly  arranged  after 
the  same  plan,  with  slight  local  variations.  As  an  example, 
we  give  the  ground-plan  of  Kirkstall  Abbey,  which  is  one 
of  tho  best  preserved  and  least  altsred.  The  church  here 
is  of  the  Cistercian  type,  with  a  short  chancel  of  two 
squares,  and  transepts  with  three  eastward  chapels  to  each, 
divided  by  solid  walls  (2  2  2).  The  whole  is  of  the  most 
studied  plainness.  The  windows  are  unornamented,  and 
the  nave  has  no  triforium.  The  cloister  to  the  south  (4) 
occupies  tho  whole  length  of  the  nave.  On  the  east  side 
stands  the  two-aisled  chapter  house  (5),  between  which  and 
the  south  transept  is  a  small  sacristy  (3),  and  on  the  other 
side  two  small  apartments,  ono  of  which  was  probably 
the  parlour  (6).  Beyond  this  stretches  southward  the 
calefactory  or  day-room  of  the  monks  (14).  Above  this 
whole  range  of  building  runs  the  monks'  dormitory, opening 
by  stairs  into  the  south  transept  of  the  church.  At  the 
other  end  were  the  necessaries.  On  the  south  side  of  the 
cloister  we  have  the  remains  of  the  old  refectory  (11), 
running,  as  in  Benedictine  houses,  from  east  to  west,  and 
the  new  refectory  (12),  which,  with  the  increase  of  the 
inmates  of  the  house,  superseded  it,  stretching,  as  is  usual 
in  Cistercian  houses,  from  north  to  south.  Adjacent  to 
this  apartment  aro  the  remains  of  the  kitchen;  pantry,  and 


buttery.  The  arches  of  the  lavatory  are  to  be  seen  near 
the  refectory  entrance.  Tho  western  side  of  the  cloister 
is,  as  usual,  occupied  by  vaulted  cellars,  supporting  on  the 
upper  story  the  dormitory  of  tho  lay  brothers  (8).  Ex- 
tending from  the  south-east  anglo  of  tho  main  group  of 
buildings  are  the  walls  and  foundations  of  a  secondary 
group  of  considerable  extent  These  have  been  identified 
cither  with  the  hospitium  or  with  the  abbot's  house,  but 
they  occupy  the  position  in  which  the  infirmary  is  more 
usually  found  The  hall  was  a  very  spacious  apartment, 
measuring  83  feet  in  length  by  48  feet  9  inches  in  breadth 


ft—  B-  ft--  &--  o    a-  --&    a-a  -«      4 

.;."■•■■  .■•■■!  B;\lX:.-  ■.:■■■      Z 


ff™T8Bli*i 


Kivksthil  Abljt-r   Yorkshire  (Cistercian;. 


1.  Ctrnreh. 

2.  Chapels. 
S.  Sacristy, 

4.  Cloister. 

5.  Chapter-House. 
C.  Parlour. 

T.  Punishment  Cell  (?) 

8.  Cellars,  with  Dormitories  (or  con- 
versi over. 

9.  Guest-House. 


10.  Common  Room. 

11.  Old  llcfectory. 
11  .Ve>«  Rcfoct'Ty. 
11.  Kitchen  Court. 

14.  Calefactory  or  Ii-iy-Room. 

16.  VUcheo  inu  Offi"*. 

16-10.  Uncertain;  p^rha|'sO(Tlcttcan> 

ni-cicd  with  the  Infnniary. 
20.  Infirmary  or  Abbot's  House. 


and  was  divided  by  two  rows  of  columns.  The  fish-ponds 
lay  between  the  monastery  and  the  river  to  tho  south.  Tho 
abbey  mill  was  situated  about  80  yards  to  the  north-west 
The  mill-pool  may  be  distinctly  traced,  together  with  the 
gowt  or  mill  stream. 

Fountains  Abbey,  first  founded  A.D.  1132,  deserves 
special  notice,  as  one  of  the  largest  and  best  preserved 
Cistercian  houses  in  England.  But  the  earlier  buildings 
received  considerable  additions  and  alterations  in  the  later 
period  of  the  order,  causing  deviations  from  the  strict 
Cistercian  type.  The  church  stands  a  short  distance  to 
the  north  of  the  river  Skell,  the  buildings  of  the  abbey 
stretching  down  to  and  even  across  the  stream.  We  have 
the  cloister  (H)  to  the  south,  with  the  threo-aisled  chapter, 
house  (I)  and  calefactory  (L)  opening  from  its  eastern  walk, 
and  the  refectory  (S),  with  the  kitchen  (Q)  and  buttery  (T) 
attached,  at  right  angles  to  its  southern  walk.  Parallel 
with  the  western  walk  is  an  immense  vaulted  substructure 
(U),  incorrectly  styled  the  cloisters,  serving  as  cellars  and 
store-rooms,  and  supporting  the  dormitory  of  the  conversi 
above.     This  building  extended  across  the  river.     At  itn 


CISTEECIAJT.J 


ABBE   ^ 


19 


S.W.  corner  were  the  necessaries  (V),  also  built,  as  usual, 
above  the  swiftly  flowing  stream.  The  monks'  dormitory- 
was  in  its  usual  position  above  the  chapter-house,  to  the 
eouth  of  the  transept  As  peculiarities  of  arrangement 
may  be  noticed  the  position  of  thb  kitchen  (Q),  between  the 
refectory  and  calefactory,  and  of  the  infirmary  (W)  (unless 
there  ia  some  error  in  its  designation)  above  the  river  to 


Ground  Plan  of  Fountains  Able/,  Yorkshire. 


A.  Na»e  of  the  Church. 

B.  Tra'isept. 

C.  Chapels. 

D.  Tower. 

E.  Sacr  sty. 

F.  Cbolr. 

G.  Chape*  of  Kino 

Allan. 
H.  Cloister. 
L    Chapter-Horse. 
K.  Base  Court. 
L.  Calefactory. 
M.  Water  Course. 


N.  Cellar. 
O.  Brew  House. 
P.  Prisons. 
Q.  Kitchen. 
R.  Offices. 
S.   Refectory. 
T.  Buttery 
U.  Cellars  and  Store- 
houses. 
V.  Necessary. 
W.  Infirmary  (?) 
X.  Guest-Housea, 
Y.  Mill  Bridge. 


Z.  Gate-House. 
Abbot's  Hocss 

1.  Passage. 

2.  Great  HalL 

3.  Refectory. 

4.  Buttery. 

5.  Storehouse, 

6.  Chapel. 

7.  Kitchen. 
6.  Ashpit. 
9.  Yard. 

10.  Kitchen  Tana. 


thewest,  adjoining  the  guest-houses  (XX).  We  mayalso  call 
attention  to  the  greatly  lengthened  choir,  commenced  by 
Abbot  John  of  York,  1203-1211,  and  carried  on  by  his 
successor,   terminating,   like   Durham    Cathedral,  in   an 


eastern  transept,  the  work  of  Abbot  John  of  Keiu,  i220— ' 
1247,  and  to  the  tower  (D),  added  not  long  before  the  dis- 
solution by  Abbot  Huby,  149-1-1526,  in  a  very  unusual 
position  at  the  northern  end  of  the  north  transept.  The 
abbot's  house,  the  largest  and  most  remarkable  example  of 
this  class  of  buildings  in  the  kingdom,  stands  south  to 
the  east  of  the  church  and  cloister,  from  which  it  i3  divided 
by  the  kitchen  court(K),surroundedbythe  ordinary  domestic 
offices.  A  considerable  portion  of  this  house  was  erected 
on  arches  over  the  SkelL  The  size  and  character  of  this 
house,  probably,  at  the  time  of  its  erection,  the  most 
spacious  house  of  a  subject  in  the  kingdom,  not  a  castle, 
bespeaks  the  wide  departure  of  the  Cistercian  order  from 
the  stern  simplicity  of  the  original  foundation.  The  hall 
(2)  was  one  of  the  most  spacious  and  magnificent  apart- 
ments in  mediaeval  times,  measuring  170  feet  by  70  feet 
Like  the  hall  in  the  castle  at  Winchester,  and  Westminster 
Hall,  as  originally  built,  it  was  divided  by  18  pillars  and 
arches,  with  3  aisles.  Among  other  apartments,  for  the 
designation  of  which  we  must  refer  to  the  ground-plan, 
was  a  domestic  oratory  or  chapel,  46|  feet  by  23  feet,  and 
a  kitchen  (7),  50  feet  by  38  feet  The  whole  arrangements 
and  character  of  the  building  bespeak  the  rich  and  powerful 
feudal  lord,  not  the  humble  father  of  a  body  of  hard- 
working brethren,  bound  by  vows  to  a  life  of  poverty  and; 
self-denying  toil  In  the  words  of  Dean  Milman,  "  the 
superior,  once  a  man  bowed  to  the  earth  with  humility, 
ca»e-worn,  pale,  emaciated,  with  a  coarse  habit  bound 
with  a  cord,  with  naked  feet,  had  become  an  abbot  on  his 
curvetting  palfrey,  in  rich  attire,  with  his  silver  cross  before 
him,  travelling  to  take  his  place  amid  the  lordliest  of  the 
realm." — (Lat.  Christ,  voL  iii.  p.  330.) 

The  buildings  of  the  Austin  Canons  or  Black  Canons  "ftlaclt  o* 
(so  called  from  the  colour  of  their  habit)  present  few  Austin. 
distinctive  peculiarities.  This  order  had  its  first  seat  in  C*001** 
England  at  Colchester,  where  a  house  for  Austin  Canons 
was  founded  about  A.D.  1105,  and  it  very  soon  spread 
widely.  As  an  order  of  regular  clergy,  holding  a  middle 
position  between  monks  and  secular  canons,  almost  resem- 
bling a  community  of  parish  priests  living  under  rule, 
they  adopted  naves  of  great  length  to  accommodate  large 
congregations.  The  choir  is  usually  long,  and  is  some- 
times, as  at  Llanthouy  and  Christ  Church  (Twynham), 
shut  off  from  the  aisles,  or,  as  at  Bolton,  Kirkham,  <i:c.,  ii 
destitute  of  aisles  altogether.  The  nave  in  the  northern. 
houses,  not  unfrequently,  had  only  a  north  aisle,  as  at. 
Bolton,  Brinkburn,  and  Lanercost  The  arrangement  of 
the  monastic  buildings  followed  the~ordinary  type.  The 
prior's  lodge  was  almost  invariably  attached  to  the  S.W. 
angle  of  thenave.  .  The  annexed  plan  of  the  Abbey  of 
St  Augustine's  at  Bristol,  now-  the  cathedral  church  of 


HO 


St  Augustine's  Abbey,  Bristol  (Bristol  Cathedral). 


A.  Church. 

B.  Great  Cloister. 

C.  Little  Cloister. 

D.  Chapter-House. 

E.  Calefactory. 

F.  Refectory. 
C  Parlour. 


H.  Kitchen. 

L.   Kitchen  Court 

K.  Cellars. 

L.  Ahbofs  Hall 

P.  Abbot's  Gateway. 

R.  ln£naar-tv 


S.   Friars"  Loiglnt 
T.   King's  Hall 
V.  Guest-House. 
W.  Abbey  Gateway; 
X.  Bams.  Stables,  «ft 
T.  Lavatory. 


20 


that  city,  shows  tne  arrangement  of  the  buildings,  which 
departs  very  little  from  the  ordinary '  Benedictine  type. 
The  Austin  Canons'  house  at  Thornton,  in  Lincolnshire,  is 
remarkable  for  the  size  and  magnificence  of  its  gate-house, 
the  upper  floors  of  which  formed  the  guest-house  of  the 
establishment,  and  for  possessing  an  octagonal  chapter- 
house of  Decorated  date. 

The  Premonstratensian  regular  canons,  or  White  Canons, 
had  as  many  as  35  houses  in  England,  of  which  the  most 
perfect  remaining  are  those  of  Easby,  Yorkshire,  and 
Bayham,  Sussex.  The  head  house  of  the  order  in  England 
was  Welbeck.  This  order  was  a  reformed  branch  of  the 
Austin  canons,  founded,  a.d.  1119,  by  Norbert  (born  at 
Xanten,  on  the  Lower  Rhine,  c.  1080)  at  Premontr^,  a 
eecluded  marshy  valley  in  the  forest  of  Coucy,  in  the 
diocese  of  Laon.  The  order  spread  widely.  Even  in  the 
founder's  lifetime  it  possessed  houses  in  Syria  and  Pales- 
tine. It  long  maintained  its  rigid  austerity,  till  in  the 
course  of  years  wealth  impaired  its  discipline,  and  its 
members  sank  into  indolence  and  luxury.  The  Premon- 
stratensians  were  brought  to  England  shortly  after  A.D. 
1140,  and  were  first  settled  at  Newhouse,  in  Lincolnshire, 
near  the  Humber.  The  ground-plan  of  Easby  Abbey, 
owing  to  its  situation  on  the  edge  of  the  Steeply-sloping 
banks  of  a  river,  is  singularly  irregular.  The  cloister  is 
duly  placed,  on  the  south  side  of  the  church,  and  the 
chief  buildings  occupy  their  usual  positions  round  it. 
But  the  cloister  garth,  as  at  Chichester,  is  not  rectangu- 
lar, and  all  the  surrounding  buildings  are  thus  made  to 
6prawl  in  a  very  awkward  fashion..  The  church  follows 
the  plan  adopted  by  the  Austin  catroas  in  their  northern 
abbeys,  and  has  only  one  aisle  to  the  nave-;-that  to  the 
north ;  while  the  choir  is  long,  narrow,  and  aisleless. 
Each  transept  has  an  aisle  to  the  east,  forming  three 
chapels. 

The  church  at  Bayham  was  destitute  of  aisle  either  to 
«iave  or  choir.  The  latter  terminated  in  a  three-sided  apse. 
This  church  is  remarkable  for  its  exceeding  narrowness  in 
proportion  to  its  length.  Extending  in  longitudinal  dimen- 
sions 257  feet,  it  is  not  more  than  25  feet  broad.  To 
adopt  the  words  of  Mr  Beresford  Hope — "  Stern  Premon- 
Btratensian  canons  wanted  no  congregations,  and  cared 
for  no  processions ;  therefore  they  built  their  church  like  a 
long  room." 

The  Carthusian  order,  on  its  establishment  by  St  Bruno, 
about  a.d.  1084,  developed  a  greatly  modified  form  and 
arrangement  of -a  monastic  institution.  The  principle' of 
this  order,  which  combined  the  ccenobitic  with  the  solitary 
life,  demanded  the  erection  of  buildings  on  a  novel  plan. 
This  plan,  which  was  first  adopted  by  St  Bruno  and  his 
twelve  companions  at  the  original  institution  at  Chartreux, 
near  Grenoble,  was  maintained  in  all  the  Carthusian 
establishments  throughout  Europe,  even  after  the  ascetic 
severity  of  the  order  had  been  to  some  extent  relaxed,  and 
the  primitive  simplicity  of  their  buildings  had  been  ex- 
changed for  the  magnificence  of  decoration  which  charac- 
terises such  foundations  as  the  Certosas  of  Pavia  and 
.Florence.  According  to  the  rale  of  St  Bruno,  all  the 
members  of  a  Carthusian  brotherhood  lived  in  the  most 
absolute  solitude  and  silence.  Each  occupiei  a  small 
detached  cottage,  standing  by  itself  in  a  small  garden 
surrounded  by  high  walls  and  connected  by  a  common 
corridor  or  cloister.  In  these  cottages  or  cells  a  Carthusian 
monk  passed  his  time  in  the  strictest  asceticism,  only 
leaving  his  solitary  dwelling  to  attend  the  services  of  the 
Church,  except  on  certain  days  when  the  brotherhood 
assembled  in  the  refectory. 

The  peculiarity  of  the  arrangements  of  a  Carthusian 
monastery,  or  charter-house,  as  it  was  called  in  England, 
from  a  corruption  of  the  French  chartreux,  is  exhibited  in 


ABBEY  [CAETUUSIAH 

the  plan  of  that  of  Clernlont,  from  Viollet  le  Due.  Tha 
whole  establishment  is  surrounded  with  a  wall,  furnished 
at  intervals  with  watch  towers  (R).  The  enclosure  ia 
divided  into  two  courts,  of  which  the  eastern  court,  sur- 
rounded by  a  cloister,  from  which  the  cottages  of  tha 
monks  (I)  open,  is  much  the  larger     The  two  courts  are* 


A.  Church. 

II.   Monks  Choir, 

C.  Prior's  GardetJ 

D.  Crcnt  Cloister! 

E.  Chaptci  --Houasj 

P.  Passage. 

C.  Priors  Lode* 
Ings. 

II.  Dovecot. 

I.  Cells. 

K.  Chapel  of  r«n| 

gibaud. 
L.  Sacristy. 
SI.  Chapel. 
N.  Stables. 
0.  Gateway. 

V.  Gucst-Chanf 
I      bera. 

'Q.  Barns  and 
Granaiics. 

R.  Watch  Towert 

S.  Little  Cloister 

T.  Bakehouzs. 

V.  Kitchen. 

Xj  Refectory. 

V.  Cemetery. 

Z.  Trlsan. 

n\Cell  of  Sub- prior 

/•,  Garden  of  dr. 


Cftrtlmsioji  Monastery  of  Clermont 

divided  by  the  main  buildings  of  the  monastery,  including 
the  church,  the  sanctuary  (A),  divided  from  (B),  the  monks' 
choir,  by  a  screen  with  two  altars,  the  smaller  cloister  to 
the  south  (S)  surrounded  by  the  chapter-house  (E),  the 
refectory  (X) — these  buildings  occupying  their  normal 
position — and  the  chapel  of  Pontgibaud  (K).  The  kitchen 
with  its  offices  (V)  lies  behind  the  refectory,  accessible 
from  the  outer  court  without  entering  the  cloister.  To 
the  north  of  the  church,  beyond  the  sacristy  (L),  and  the 
side  chapels  (M),  we  find  the  cell  of  the  sub-prior  (a),  with 
its  garden.  The  lodgings  of  the  prior  (G)  occupy  the 
centre  of  the  outer  court,  immediately  in  front  of  the  west 
door  of  the  church,  and  face  the  gateway  of  the  convent  (0). 
A  small  raised  court  with  a  fountain  (C)  is  before  it.  This 
outer  court  also  contains  the  guest-chambers  (P),  the 
stables,  and  lodgings  of  the  lay  brothers  (N),  the  barns 
and  granaries  (Q),  the  dovecot  (H),  and  the  bakehouse  (T). 
At  (Z)  is  the  prison.  (In  this  outer  court,  in  all  the  earlier 
foundations,  as  at  Witham,  there  was  a  smaller  church  in 
addition  to  the  larger  church  of  the  monks.)  The  outer  and 
inner  court  are  connected  by  a  long  passage  (F),  wide 
enough  to  admit  a  cart  laden  with  wood  to  supply  the 
cells  of  the  brethren  with  fuel.  The  number  of  cells  sur- 
rounding the  great  cloister  is  1 8.  They  are  all  arranged 
on  a  uniform  plan.  Each  little  dwelling  contains  three 
rooms  :  a  sitting-room  (C),  wanned  with  a  stove  in  winter; 
a  sleeping-room  (D),  furnished  with  a  bed,  a  table,  a  bench, 
and  a  bookcase;  and  a  closet  (E).  Between  the  cell  and 
the  cloister  gallery  (A)  is  a  passage  or  corridor  (B),  cutting 
off  the  inmafe  of  the  cell  from  all  sound  or  movement 
which  might  interruDt  his  meditations      Tha  superior  hsd 


OA.RTHDSIAN.J 


ABBEY 


21 


free  access  to  this  corridor,  and  through  open  niches  was  able 
to  inspect  the  garden  without  being  seen.  At  (I)  is  the 
hatch  or  turn-table,  in  which  the  daily  allowance  of  food  was 
deposited  by  a  brother  appointed  for  that  purpose,  afford- 
iag  no  view  either  inwards  or  outwards.     (H )  is  the  garden, 


Hi 


A.  Cloister  Gallery 
By  Corridor. 

C.  Living  Room. 

D.  Sleeping  Room. 

E.  Closets. 

F.  Covered  Walk. 

G.  Xecessary 
U.  Garden. 
I.   Hatch. 

K.  Wood-hoose. 


Carthnsian  Cell,  Clermont 

cultivated  by  the  occupant  of  the  cell  At  (K)  is  the 
wood-house.  (F)  is  a  covered  walk,  with  the  necessary  at 
the  end.  These  arrangements  are  found  with  scarcely  any 
variation  in  all  the  charter-houses  of  Western  Europe. 
The  Yorkshire  Charter-house  of  Mount  Grace,  founded  by 
Thomas  Holland  the  young  Duke  of  Surrey,  nephew  of. 
Richard  II.,  and  Marshal  of  England,  during  the  revival 
of  the  popularity  of  the  order,  about  A.D.  1397,  is  the  most 
perfect  and  best  pressrved  English  example.  It  is  charac- 
terised by  all  the  simplicity  of  the  order.  The  church  is  a 
modest  building,  long,  narrow,  and  aisleless.  Within  the 
wall  of  enclosure  are  two  courts.  The  smaDer  of  the  two, 
the  south,  presents  the  usual  arrangement  of  church,  refec- 
tory, &c,  opening  out  of  a  cloister.  The  buildings  are 
plain  and  solid.  The  northern  court  contains  the  cells,  1-4 
in  number.  It  is  surrounded  by  a  double  stone  wall,  the 
two  walls  being  about  30  feet  or  40  feet  apart.  Between 
these,  each  in  its  own  garden,  stand  the  cells ;  low-built 
two-storied  cottages,  of  two  or  three  rooms  on  the  ground- 
floor,  lighted  with  a  larger  and  a  smaller  window  to  the 
side,  and  provided  with  a  doorway  to  the  court,  and  one  at 
the  back,  opposite  to  one  in  the  outer  wall,  through  which 
the  monk  may  have  conveyed  the  sweepings  of  his  cell  and 
the  refuse  of  his  garden  to  the  "  eremus  "  beyond.  By  the 
side  of  the  door  to  the  court  is  a  little  hatch,  through  which 
the  daily  pittance  of  food  was  supplied,  so  contrived  by 
turning  at  an  angle  in  the  wall  that  no  one  could  either 
look  in  or  look  out.  A  very  perfect  example  of  this  hatch 
— an  arrangement  belonging  to  all  Carthusian  houses — 
exists  at  Miraflores,  near  Burgos,  which  remains  nearly  as 
it  was  completed  in  1480. 

There  were  only  nine  Carthusian  houses  in  England. 
The  earliest  was  that  at  Witham  in  Somersetshire,  founded 
by  Henry  n. ,  by  whom  the  order  was  first  brought  into 
England.  The  wealthiest  and  .most  magnificent  was  that 
of  Shene  or  Richmond  in  Surrey,  founded  by  Henry  V. 
about  a.d.  1414.  The  dimensions  of  the  buildings  at 
Shenei  are  stated  to  have  been  remarkably  large.  The 
great  court  measured  300  feet  by  250  feet;  the  cloisters 
were  a  square  of  500  feet ;  the  hall  was  110  feet  in  length 
by  60  feet  in  breadth.  The  most  .celebrated  historically  is 
the  Charter-house  of  London,  founded  by  Sir  Walter  Manny 
A.D.  1371.  the  name  of  which  is  preserved  by  the  famous 


public  school  established  on  the  site  by  Thomas  Sutton, 
a.d.  1611. 

An  article  on  monastic  arrangements  would  be  incom- 
plete without  some  account  of  the  convents  of  the  Mendi- 
cant or  Preaching  Friars,  including  the  Black  Friars  or 
Dominicans,  the  Grey  or  Franciscans,  the  White  or  Carmel- 
ites, the  Eremite  or  Austin  Friars.  These  orders  arose  at 
the  beginning  of  the  13th  century,  when  the  Benedictines, 
together  with  their  various  reformed  branches,  had  termi- 
nated their  active  mission,  and  Christian  Europe  was  ready 
for  a  new  religious  revival.  Planting  themselves,  as  a  rule, 
in  large  towns,  and  by  preference  in  the  poorest  and  most 
densely  populated  districts,  the  Preaching  Friars  were 
obliged  to  adapt  their  buildings  to  the  requirements  of  the 
site.  Regularity  of  arrangement,  therefore,  was  not  pos- 
sible, even  if  they  had  studied  it.  Their  churches,  built 
for  the  reception  of  large  congregations  of  hearers  rather 
than  worshippers,  form  a  class  by  themselves,  totally  unlika 
those  of  the  elder  orders  in  ground-plan  and  character. 
They  were  usually  long  parallelograms  unbroken  by  tran- 
septs. The  nave  very  usually  consisted  of  two  equal  bodies, 
one  containing  the  stalls  of  the  brotherhood,  the  other  left 
entirely  free  for  the  congregation.  The  constructional 
choir  is  often  wanting,  the  whole  church  forming  one  unin- 
terrupted structure,  with  a  continuous  range  of  windows. 
The  east  end  was  usually  square,  but  the  Friars  Church  at 
Winchclsea  had  a~polygonal  apse.  We  not  unfrcquently 
find  a  single  transept,  sometimes  of  great  size,  rivalling  or 
exceeding  the  nave.  This  arrangement  is  frequent  in 
Ireland,  where  the  numerous  small  friaries  afford  admirable 
exemplifications  of  these  peculiarities  of  ground-plan.  The 
friars'  churches  were  at  first  destitute  of  towers;  but  in  tho 
14th  and  15th  centuries,  tall,  slender  towers  were  com- 
monly inserted  between  the  nave  and  the  choir.  The  Grey 
Friars  at  Lynn,  where-  the  tower  is  hexagonal,  is  a  good 
example.  The  arrangement  of  the  monastic  buildings  is 
equally  peculiar  and  characteristic.  We  miss  jntirely  the 
regularity  of  the  buildings  of  the  earlier  orders.  At  the 
Jacobins  at  Paris,  a  cloister  lay  to  the  north  of  the  long 
narrow  church  of  two  parallel  aisles,  while  tho  refectory — 
a  room  of  immense  length,  quite  detached  from  the  cloister 
— stretched  across  the  area  before  the  west  front  of  the 
church.  At  Toulouse  the  nave  also  has  two  parallel  aisles, 
but  the  choir  is  apsidal,  with  radiating  chapels.  The  refec- 
tory stretches  northwards  at  right  anglestothecloister,  which 
lies  to  the  north  of  the  church,  having  the  chapter-house 
and  sacristy  on  the  east.  As  examples  of  English  friaries 
the  Dominican  house  at  Norwich,  and  those  of  the  Dommi-  Norwich, 
cans  and  Franciscans  at  Gloucester,  may  be  mentioned.  The  Gloucestw 
church  of  the  Black  Friars  of  Norwich  departs  from  the 
original  typo  in  the  nave  (now  St  Andrew's  Hall),  in  having 
regular  aisles.  In  this  it  resembles  the  earlier  examples  of 
the  Grey  Friars  at  Reading.  The  choir  is  long  and  aisle- 
less  ;  an  hexagonal  tower  between  the  two,  like  that  exist- 
ing at  Lynn,  has  perished.  The  cloister  and  monastic 
buildings  remain  tolerably  perfect  to  the  north.  The 
Dominican  convent  at  Gloucester  still  exhibits  the  cloister- 
court,  on  the  north  side  of  which  is  the  desecrated  church. 
The  refectory  is  on  the  west  side,  and  on  the  south  the 
dormitory  of  the  1 3th  century.  This  is  a  remarkably  good 
example.  There  were  18  cells  or  cubiclc3  on  each  side, 
divided  by  partitions,  the  bases  of  which  remain.  On  the 
east  side  was  the  prior's  house,  a  building  of  later  date. 
At  the  Grey  or  Franciscan  Friars,  the  church  followed  the 
ordinary  type  in  having  two  equal  bodies,  each  gabled, 
with  a  continuous  range  of  windows.  There  was  a  slender 
tower  between  the  nave  and  choir.  Of  the  convents  of  the 
Carmelite  or  White  Friars  we  have  a  good  example  in  the 
Abbey  of  Hulme,  near  Alnwick,  the  first  of  the  order  in 
England,  founded  a.d.   1240.      The  church  is  a  narrow 


>•> 


ABB-ABB 


oblong,  destitute  of  aisles,  123  feet  long  by  only  26  feet 
wide.  The"  cloisters  are  to  the  south,  with  the  chapter- 
bouse,  &c,  to  the  east,  with  the  dormitory  over.  The 
prior's  lodge  is  placed  to  the  west  of  the  cloister.  The 
guest-houses  adjoin  the  entrance  gateway,  to  which  a  chapel 
was  annexed  on  the  south  side  of  the  conventual  area. 
The  nave  of  the  church  of  the  Austin  Friars  or  Eremites 
in  London  is  still  standing.  It  is  of  Decorated  date,  and 
has  wide  centre  and  side  aisles,  divided  by  a  very  light  and 
graceful  arcade.  Some  fragments  of  the  south  walk  of  the 
cloister  of  the  Grey  Friars  exist  among  the  buildings  of 
Christ's  Hospital  or  the  Blue-Coat  School.  Of  the  Black 
Friars  all  has  perished  but  the  name.  Taken  as  a  whole, 
the  remains  of  the  establishments  of  the  friars  afford  little 
warrant  for  the  bitter  invective  of  the  Benedictine  of  St 
Alban's.  J'atthew  Paris  : — "  The  friars  who  have  been 
founded  hardly  40  years  have  built  residences  as  the 
palaces  of  kings  These  are  they  who,  enlarging  day  by 
clay  their  sumptuous  edifices,  encircling  them  with  lofty 
walls,  lay  up  in  them  their  incalculable  treasures,  impru- 
dently transgressing  the  bounds  of  poverty,  and  violating 
the  very  fundamental  rules  of  their  profession."  Allowance 
must  here  be  made  for  jealousy  of  a  rival  order  just  rising 
in  popularity. 

Every  large  monastery  had  depending  upon  it  one  or 
more  smaller  establishments  known  as  cells.  These  cells 
were  monastic  colonies,  sent  forth  by  the  parent  house,  and 
planted  on  some  outlying  estate.  As  an  example,  we  may 
refer  to  the  small  religious  house  of  St  Mary  Magdalene's, 
a  cell  of  the  great  Benedictine  house  of  St  Mary's,  York,  in 
the  valley  of  the  Witham,  to  the  south-east  of  the  city  of 
Lincoln.  This  consists  of  one  long  narrow  range  of  build- 
ing, of  which  the  eastern  part  formed  the  chapel,  and 
the  western  contained  tho  apartments  of  the  handful  of 
monks  of  which  it  was  tho  home.  To  the  east  may  be 
traced  the  site  of  the  abbey  mill,  with  its  dam  and  mill- 
lead.  These  cells,  when  belonging  to  a  Cluniac  house, 
were  allied  Obediential. 

The  plan  given  by  Viollet  le  Due  of  the  Priory  of  St 
Jean  des  Boris  Hommes,  a  Cluniac  cell,  situated  between 
the  town  of  Avallon  and  the  village  of  Savigny,  shows  that 
these  diminutive  establishments  comprised  every  essential 
feature  of  a  monastery, — chapel,  cloister,  chapter-room, 
refectory,  dormitory,  all  grouped  according  to  the  recog- 
nised arrangement. 

These  Cluniac  obediential  differed  from  the  ordinary 
Benedictine  cells  in  being  also  places  of  punishment,  to 
which  monks  who  had  been  guilty  of  any  grave  infringe- 
ment of  the  rules  were  relegated  as  to  a  kind  of  peniten- 
tiary. Here  they  were  placed  under  the  authority  of  a 
prior,  and  were  condemned  to  severe  manual  labour,  ful- 
filling the  duties  usually  executed  by  the  lay  brothers,  who 
acted  as  farm-servants. 

The  outlying  farming  establishments  belonging  to  the 
monastic  foundations  were  known  as  villa;  or  granges. 
They  gave  employment  to  a  body  of  conversi  and  labourers 
Under  the  management  of  a  monk,  who  bore  the  title  of 
{Brother  Hospitaller — the  granges,  like  their  parent  in- 
stitutions, affording  shelter  and  hospitality  to  belated 
kravellers. 

Authorities: — Dugdale,  Monasticon;  Fosbrooke,  British 
Monachism;  Hclyot,  Dictionnaire  des  Ordres  Religieux; 
Ijenoir,  Architecture  Monastique;  Viollet  le  Due,  Diction- 
maire  Raisonnee  de  V Architecture  Francawe ;  Walcott, 
Conventual  Arrangement;  Willis,  Abbey  of  St  Gall;  Archaeo- 
logical Journal,  voL  t.,  Conventual  Buildings  of  Canter- 
burg  ;  Curzon,  Monasteries  of  the  Levant.  (&  v.) 

ABBIATE  GRASSO,  a  town  in  the  north  of  Italy,  near 
the  Ticino,  14  miles  W.S.W.  of  Milan.  It  has  Bilk  manu- 
factures, and  contains  about  5000  inhabitants. 


ABBON  of  Fleury.  or  Abbo  Floriacensis,  a  learned 
Frenchman,  born  near  Orleans  in  045.  He  distinguished 
himself  in  the  schools  of  Paris  and  Rheims,  and  was  a  profi- 
cient in  science,  as  known  in  his°tinie.  After  spending  two 
years  in  England,  assisting  Archbishop  Oswald  of  York  hi 
restoring  the  monastic  system,  he  returned  to  France,  and 
was  made  Abbot  of  Fleury  (070).  He  was  twico  sent 
to  Rome  by  Robert  the  Wise  (0SG,  096),  and  on  each  occa- 
sion succeeded  in  warding  off  a  threatened  papal  interdict. 
He  was  killed  in  1004,  in  endeavouring  to  quell  a  monkish 
revolt  He  wrote  an  epitome  of  the  Lives  of  the  Roman 
Pontiffs,  besides  controversial  treatises,  letters,  &c. 

ABBOT,  the  head  and  chief  governor  of  a  community 
of  monks,  called  also  in  the  East  Archimandrita,  irova\ 
mandra,  "  a  fold,"  or  Hegumcnos.  The  name  allot  is  derived 
from  the  Hebrew  ss,  Ab,  or  father,  through  the  Syriac 
Abba.  It  had  its  origin  in  the  monasteries  of  Syria, 
whence  it  spread  through  the  East,  and  soon  became 
accepted  generally  in  all  languages  as  the  designation  of 
the  head  of  a  monastery.  At  first  it  was  einplojtd  as  a 
respectful  title  for  any  monk,  as  wc  learn  from  St  Jerome 
(in  Epist.  ad  Gal.  iv.  6,  in  Matt,  xriii.  9),  but  it  was  soon 
restricted  to  the  Superior. 

The  name  abbot,  though  general  in  the  West,  wa3  not 
universal.  Among  the  Dominicians,  Carmelites,  Augus- 
tines,  &c,  the  superior  was  called  Prcepositits,  "  Provost,* 
and  Prior;  among  the  Franciscans,  Gustos,  "Guardian;" 
and  by  the  monks  of  Camaldoli,  Major. 

Monks,  as  a  rule,  were  laymen,  nor  at  the  outset  was 
the  abbot  any  exception.  All  orders  of  clergy,  therefore, 
even  the  "  doorkeeper,"  took  precedence  of  him.  For 
the  reception  of  the  sacraments,  and  for  other  religious 
offices,  the  abbot  and  his  monks  were  commanded  t» 
attend  the  nearest  church. — (Novella;,  133,  c.  ii.)  This  rule 
naturally  proved  inconvenient  when  a  monastery  was 
situated  in  a  desert,  or  at  a  distance  from  a  city,  and 
necessity  compelled  the  ordination  of  abbots.  This  innova- 
tion was  not  introduced  without  a  struggle,  ecclesiastical 
dignity  being  regarded  as  inconsistent  with  the  higher 
spiritual  life,  but,  before  the  close  of  the  5th  century,  at  least 
in  the  East,  abbots  seem  almost  universally  to  have  becom* 
deacons,  if  not  presbyters.  The  change  spread  more 
slowly  in  the  West,  where  the  office  of  abbot  was  commonly 
filled  by  laymen  till  the  end  of  the  7th  century,  and 
partially  so  up  to  the  11th.  Ecclesiastical  Councils  were, 
however,  attended  by  abbots.  Thus,  at  that  held  at  Con- 
stantinople, A.D.  448,  for  the  condemnation  of  Eutyches, 
23  archimandrites  or  abbots  sign,  with  30  bishops,  and, 
cir.  A.D.  690,  Archbishop  Theodore  promulgated  a  canon, 
inhibiting  bishops  from  compelling  abbots  to  attend 
councils..  Examples  are  not  uncommon  in  Spain  and 
in  England  in  Saxon  times.  Abbots  were  permitted 
by  the  Second  Council  of  Nicsea,  A.D.  787,  to  ordain 
their  monks  to  the  inferior  orders.  This  rule  was 
adopted  in  the  West,  and  the  strong  prejudice  against 
clerical  monks  having  gradually  broken  down,  eventually 
monks,  almost  without  exception,  belonged  to  some  grade 
of  the  ministry. 

Originally  no  abbot  was  permitted  to  rule  over  more 
than  one  monastic  community,  though,  in  some  exceptional 
cases,  Gregory  the  Great  allowed  the  rule  to  be  broken. 
As  time  went. on,  violations  of  the  rule  became  increasingly 
frequent,  as  is  proved  by  repeated  enactments  against  it. 
The  cases  of  Wilfrid  of  York,  cir.  A.D.  675,  who  held  the 
abbacy  of  the  monasteries  he  had  founded  at  Hexham  and 
Ripon,  and  of  Aldhelm,  who,  at  the  same  date,  stood  in 
the  same  double  relation  to  those  of  Malmesbury,  Frome, 
and  Bradford,  are  only  apparent  transgressions  of  the  rule. 
We  find  more  decided  instances  of  plurality  in  Hugh  oJ 
the  roval  Carlovingian  house,  cir.  720,  who  was  at  the  same 


ABBOT 


23 


lime  Bishop  of  Rouen,  Paris,  Bayeux,  and  Abbot  of  Fonte-> 
Welle  and  Jumie'ges ;  and  Sidonius,  Bishop  of  Constance, 
who,  being  already  Abbot  of  Rcichenau,  took  the  abbacy  of 
St  Gall  also.  Hatto  of  Mentz,  cir.  912,  annexed  to  his 
see  no  less  than  12  abbacies. 

In  Egypt,  the  first  home  of  monasticism,  we  find  abbots 
in  chief  orr  archimandrites  exercising  jurisdiction  over  a 
large  number  of  communities,  each  of  which  had  its  own 
abbot.  Thus,  Cassian  speaks  of  an  abbot  in  the  Thebaid 
who  had  500  monks  under  him,  a  number  exceeded  in 
other  cases.  In  later  times  also,  general  jurisdiction  was 
exercised  over  the  houses  of  their  order  by  the  abbots  of 
Monte  Cassino,  St  Dalmatius,  Clugny,  &c.  The  abbot  of 
Cassino  was  styled  Abbas  Abbatum.  The  chiefs  of  other 
orders  had  the  titles  of  Abbas  Generalis,  or  Magister,  or 
Minister  Generalis. 

Abbots  were  originally  subject  to  episcopal  jurisdiction, 
and  continued  generally  so,  in  fact,  in  the  West  till  the 
11th  century.  The  Codex  of  Justinian  (lib.  L  tit.'  iii.  de 
Ep.  leg.  xl.),  expressly  subordinates  the  abbot  to  epis- 
copal oversight  The  first  case  recorded  of  the  partial 
exemption  of  an  abbot  from  episcopal  control  is  that  of 
Faustus,  Abbot  of  Lerins,  at  the  Council  of  Aries,  A.D. 
456 ;  but  the  oppressive  conduct,  and  exorbitant  claims 
and  exactions  of  bishops,  to  which  this  repugnance  to 
episcopal  control  is  to  be  traced,  far  more  than  to  the 
arrogance  of  abbots,  rendered  it  increasingly  frequent, 
and,  in  the  6th  century,  the  practice  of  exempting  religious 
houses  partly  or  altogether  from  episcopal  control,  and 
making  them  responsible  to  the  Popo  alone,  received  an 
impulse  from  Gregory  the  Great.  These  exceptions, 
though  introduced  with  a  good  object,  had  grown  into  a 
wide-spread  and  crying  evil  by  the  12th  century,  virtually 
creating  an  imperium  in  imperio,  and  entirely  depriving 
the  bishop  of  all  authority  over  the  chief  centres  of  power 
and  influence  in  his  diocese.  In  the  12th  century  the 
abbots  of  Fulda  claimed  precedence  of  the  Archbishop  of 
Cologne.  Abbots  more  and  more  aped  -episcopal  state, 
and  in  defiance  of  the  express  prohibition  of  early  councils, 
and  the  protests  of  St  Bernard  and  others,  adopted  the 
episcopal  insignia  of  mitre,  ring,  gloves,  and  sandals.  A 
mitre  is  said  to  have  been  granted  to  the  Abbot  of  Bobbio 
by  Pope  Theodorus  I.,  a.d.  643,  and  to  the  Abbot  of  St 
Saviaius  by  Sylvester  II.,  A.D.  1000.  Ducange  asserts 
that  pontifical  insignia  were  first  assigned  to  abbots  by 
John  XVIII.,  A.D.  1004-1009  ;  but  the  first  undoubted 
grant  is  said  to  be  that  to  the  Abbot  of  St  Maximinian  at 
Treves,  by  Gregory  VII.  (Hildebrand),  A.D.  1073-1085. 
The  mitred  abbots  in  England  were  those  of  Abingdon, 
St  Alban's,  Bardney,  Battle,  Bury  St  Edmund's,  St  Augus- 
tine's Canterbury,  Colchester,  Croyland,  Evesham,  Glas- 
tonbury, Gloucester,  St  Benet's  Hulme,  Hyde,  Malmes- 
bury,  Peterborough,  Ramsey,  Reading,  Selby,  Shrewsbury, 
Tavistock,  Thorney,  Westminster,  Winchcombe,  St  Mary's 
York.  Of  these  the  precedence  was  originally  yielded  to 
the  Abbot  of  Glastonbury,  until  in  A.D.  1154  Adrian  IV. 
(Nicholas  Breakspear)  granted  it  to  the  Abbot  of  St 
Alban's,'  in  which  monastery  he  had  been  brought  up. 
Next  after  the  Abbot  of  St  Alban's  ranked  the  Abbot  of 
Westminster. 

To  distinguish  abbots  from  bishops,  it  was  ordained  that 
their  mitre  should  be  made  of  less  costly  materials,  and 
should  not  be  ornamented  with  gold,  a  rule  which  was 
soon  entirely  disregarded,  and  that  the  crook  of  their 
pastoral  staff  should  turn  inwards  instead  of  outwards, 
indicating  that  their  jurisdiction  was  limited  to  their  own 
house.  The  adoption  of  episcopal  insignia  by  abbots 
was  followed  by  an  encroachment  on  episcopal  functions, 
vliich  had  to  be  specially  but  ineffectually  guarded  against 
by  the  Lateran  Council,  A.D.  1123.     In  the  East,  abbots, 


if  in  priests'  orders,  with  the  consent  of  the  bisEop,  were, 
as  we  have  seen,  permitted  by  the  Second  Niceno  Council, 
a.d.  787,  to  confer  the  tonsure  and  admit  to  the  order  at 
reader ;  but  they  gradually  advanced  higher  claims,  until 
we  find  them  authorised  by  Bellarmine  to  be  associated 
with  a  single  bishop  in  episcopal  consecrations,  and  per- 
mitted by  Innocent  TV.,  A.D.  1489,  to  confer  both  the 
subdiaconate  and  diaconatc.  Of  course,  they  always  and 
everywhere  had  the  power  of  admitting  their  own  mOnks, 
and  vesting  them  with  the  religious  habit.  In  the  first 
instance,  when  a  vacancy  occurred,  the  bishop  of  the  diocese 
chose  the  abbot  out  of  the  monks  of  the  convent,  but 
the  right  of  election  was  transferred  by  jurisdiction  to 
the  monks  themselves,  reserving  to  the  bishop  the  con- 
firmation of  the  election  and  the  benediction  of  the  new 
abbot.  In  abbeys  exempt  from  episcopal  jurisdiction,  the 
confirmation  and  benediction  had  to  be  conferred  by  the 
Pope  in  person,  the  house  being  taxed  with  the  expenses 
of  the  new  abbot's  journey  to  Rome.  By  the  rule  of  St 
Benedict,'  the  consent  of  the  laity  was  in  some  unde- 
fined way  required ;  but  this  seems  never  to  have  been 
practically  enforced.  It  was  necessary  that  an  abbot 
should  be  at  least  25  years  of  age,  of  legitimate  birth,  a 
monk  of  the  house,  unless  it  furnished  no  suitable  can- 
didate, when  a  liberty  was  allowed  of  electing  from  another 
convent,  well  instructed  himself,  and  able  to  instruct  others, 
one  also  who  had  learned  how  to  command  by  having  prac- 
tised obedience.  In  some  exceptional  cases  an  abbot  was 
allowed  to  name  his  own  successor.  Cassian  speaks  of  an 
abbot  in  Egypt  doing  this ;  and  in  later  tinies  we  have 
another  example  in  the  case  of  St  Bruno.  Popes  and 
sovereigns  gradually  encroached  on  the  rights  of  the 
monks,  until  in  Italy  the  Pope' had  usurped  the  nomina- 
tion of  all  abbots,  and  the  king  in  France,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Clugny,  Prdmontrd,  and  other  houses,  chiefs  of 
their  order.  The  election  was  for  life,  unless  the  abbot 
was  canonically  deprived  by  the  chiefs  of  his  order,  or, 
when  he  was  directly  subject  to  them,  by  the  Pope  or  the 
bishop. 

The  ceremony  of  the  formal  admission  of  a  Benedictine 
abbot  in  mediaeval  times  is  thus  prescribed  by  the  consuetu- 
dinary of  Abingdon.  The  newly  elected  abbot  was  to 
put  off  his  shoes  at  the  door"  of  the  church,  and  proceed 
barefoot  to  meet  the  members  of  the  house  advancing  in 
a  procession.  After  proceeding  up  the  nave,  he  was  to 
kneel  and  pray  at  the  topmost  step  of  the  entrance  of  the 
choir,  into  which  he  was  to  be  introduced  by  the  bishop 
or  his  commissary,  and  placed  in  his  stall  The  monks, 
then  kneeling,  gave  him  the  kiss  of  peace  on  the  hand, 
and  rising,  on  the  mouth,  the  abbot  holding  his  staff  of 
office.  He  then  put  on  his  shoes  in  the  vestry,  and  a 
chapter  was  held,  and  the  bishop  or  his  commissary 
preached  a  .suitable  sermon. 

The  power  of  the  abbot  was  paternal  but  absolute, 
limited,  however,  by  the  canons,  of  the  church,  and,  until 
the  general  establishment  of  exemptions;  by  episcopal 
controL  As  a  rule,  however,  implicit  obedience  was  en- 
forced ;  to  act  without  his  orders  was  culpable  ;  whilo  it 
was  a  sacred  duty  to  execute  his  orders,  however  unrea- 
sonable, until  they  were  withdrawn.  Examples  among  the 
Egyptian  monks  of  this  blind  submission  to  the  commands 
of  the  superiors,  exalted  into  a  virtue  by  those  who  re- 
garded the  entire  crushing  of  the  individual  will  as  the 
highest  excellence,  are  detailed  by  Cassian  and  others, — e.g., 
a  monk  watering  a  dry  stick,  day  after  day,  for  months,  or 
endeavouring  to  remove  a  huge  rock  immensely  exceeding 
his  powers.  St  Jerome,  indeed,  lays  down,  as  the  principle, 
of  the  compact  between  the  abbot  and  his  monks,  that  thej 
should  obey  their  superiors  in  all  things,  and  perform  what- 
ever they  commanded. — (Ep.   2    ad  Eusto'ch.  de  custod 


24 


ABBOT 


virgin.)  So  despotic  did  the  tyranny  become  in  the  West, 
that  in  the  time  of  Charlemagne  it  was  necessary  to  re- 
strain abbots  by  legal  enactments  from  mutilating  their 
monks,  and  putting  out  their  eyes;  while  the  rule  of  St 
Columba  ordained  100  lashes  as  the  punishment  for  very 
alight  offences.  An  abbot  also  had  the  power  of  excom- 
municating refractory  uuus,  which  he  might  use  if  desired 
by  their  abbess. 

The  abbot  was  treated  with  the  utmost  submission  and 
reverence  by  the  brethren  of  his  house.  When  he  appeared 
either  in  church  or  chapter  all  present  rose  and  bowed. 
His  letters  were  received  kneeling,  like  those  of  the  Pope 
and  the  king.  If  he  gave  a  command,  the  monk  receiving 
it  was  also  to  kneel.  No  monk  might  sit  in  his  presence, 
or  leave  it  without  his  permission.  The  highest  place  was 
naturally  assigned  to  him,  both  in  church  and  at  table. 
In  the  East  he  was  commanded  to  eat  with  the  other  monks. 
In  the  West  the  rule  of  St  Benedict  appointed  him  a  sepa- 
rate table,  at  which  he  might  entertain  guests  and  strangers. 
This  permission  opening  the  door  to  luxurious  living,  the 
Council  of  Aix,  a.d.  817,  decreed  that  the  abbot  should 
dine  in  the  refectory,  and  be  content  with  the  ordinary 
fare  of  the  monks,  unless  he  had  to  entertain  a  guest. 
These  ordinances  proved,  however,  generally  ineffectual  to 
securo  strictness  of  diet,  and  contemporaneous  literature 
abounds  with  satirical  remarks  and  complaints  concerning 
the  inordinate  extravagance  of  tho  tables  of  the  abbots. 
When  the  abbot  condescended  to  dine  in  the  refectory,  his 
chaplains  waited  upon  him  with  the  dishes,  a  servant,  if 
necessary,  assisting  them.  At  St  Alban's  the  abbot  took 
the  lord's  seat,  in  the  centre  of  the  high  table,  and  was 
served  on  silver  plate,  and  sumptuously  entertained  noble- 
men, ambassadors,  and  strangers  of  quality.  When  abbots 
dined  in  their  own  private  hall,  the  .rule  ,of  St  Benedict 
charged  them  to  invite  their  monks  to  their  table,  provided 
there  was  room,  on  which  occasions  the  guests  were  to  ab- 
stain from  quarrels,  slanderous  talk,  and  idle  gossipping. 
The  complaint,  however,  was  sometimes  made  (as  by  Matt. 
Paris  of  Wulsig,  the  third  abbot  of  St  Alban's),  that  they  invited 
ladies  of  rank-to  dine  with  them  instead  of  their  monks.  The 
ordinary  attire  of  the  abbot  was  according  to  rule  to  be  the 
same  as  that  of  the  monks.  But  by  the  10th  century  the 
rule  was  commonly  set  aside,  and  wo  find  frequent  com- 
plaints of  abbots  dressing  in  silk,  and  adopting  great 
iumptuousness  of  attire.  Nay,  they  sometimes  laid  aside 
the  monastic  habit  altogether,  and  assumed  a  secular  dress.1 
Thiswasanecessary  consequenceof  their  following  the  chase, 
which  was  quite  usual,  and  indeed  at  that  time  only  natural. 
With  the  increase  of  wealth  and  power,  abbots  had  lost 
much  of  their  special  religious  character,  and  become  great 
lords,  chiefly  distinguished  from  lay  lords  by  celibacy. 
Thus  we  hear  of  abbots  going  out  to  sport,  with  their  men 
carrying  bows  and  arrows ;  keeping  horses,  dogs,  and 
huntsmen ;  and  special  mention  is  made  of  an  abbot  of 
Leicester,-  cir.  1360,  who  was  the  most  skilled  of  all  the 
nobility  in  hare-hunting.  In  magnificence  of  equipage  and 
retinue  the  abbots  vied  with  the  first  nobles  of  the  realm. 
They  rode  on  mules  with  gilded  bridles,  rich  saddles  and 
housings,  carrying  hawks  on  their  wrist,  attended  by  an 
immense  train  of  attendants.  The  bells  of  the  churches 
were  rung  as  they  passed.  They  associated  on  equal  terms 
with  laymen  of  the  highest  distinction,  and  shared  all  their 
pleasures  and  pursuits.  This  rank  and  power  was,  how- 
ever, often  used  most  beueficiaUy.  For  instance,  we  read 
of  Whiting,  the  last  Abbot  of  Glastonbury,  judicially  mur- 
dered by  Henry  VHI.,  that  his  house  was  a  kind  of  well- 
ordered  court,  where  as  many  as  300  sons  of  noblemen  and 

1  Walworth,  the  fourth  abbot  of  St  Alban's,  circa  930,  is  charged  by 
Matthew  Paris  with  adopting  the  attire  oX  a  sportsman. 


gentlemen,  who  had  been  sent  to  him  for  virtuous  educa- 
tion, had  been  brought  up,  besides  others  of  a  meaner  rank, 
whom  he  fitted  for  the  universities.  His  table,  attendance, 
and  officers  were  an  honour  to  the  nation.  He  would 
entertain  as  many  as  500  persons  of  rank  at  one  time, 
besides  relieviug  the  poor  of  the  vicinity  twice  a-week. 
Ho  had  his  country  houses  and  fisheries,  and  when  he 
travelled  to  attend  Parliament  his  rctiuue  amounted  to 
upwards  of  100  persons.  The  abbots  of  Clugny  and 
Yendome  were,  by  virtue  of  their  office,  cardinals  of  tLf 
Romish  Church. 

In  process  of  time  the  title  abbot  was  improperly  trans- 
ferred to  clerics  who  had  no  connection  with  the  monastic 
system,  as  to  the  principal  of  a  body  of  parochial 
clergy;  and  under  the  Carlovingians  to  the  chief  chaplain 
c-f  the  king,  Abbas  Curiae,  or  military  chaplain  of  the  em- 
peror, Abbas  Caslrensis.  It  even  came  to  be  adopted  by 
purely  secular  officials.  Thus  the  chief  magistrate  of  the 
republic  at  Genoa  was  called  Abbas  Populi.  Ducange,  in 
his  Glossary,  also  gives  us  Abbas  Campanilis,  Clockerii, 
Palatii,  Scholaris,  &c. 

Lay  abbots,  so  called,  had  their  origin  in  the  system  oJ 
commendation,  in  the  8th  century.  By  this,  to  meet  any 
{,Teat  necessity  of  the  state,  such  as  an  inroad  of  the  Sara- 
cens, the  revenues  of  monasteries  were  temporarily  com- 
mended, i.e.,  handed  over  to  some  layman,  a  noble,  or  even 
the  king  himself,  who  for  the  time  became  titular  abbot. 
Enough  was  reserved  to  maintain  tho  monastic  brother- 
hood, and  when  the  occasion  passed  away  the  revenues 
were  to  be  restored  to  their  rightful  owners.  Tho  estates, 
however,  had  a  habit  of  lingering  in  lay  hands,  so  that  in 
tho  9th  and  10th  centuries  most  of  the  sovereigns  and 
nobles  among  the  Franks  and  Burgundians  were  titular 
abbots  of  some  great  monastery,  the  revenues  of  which 
they  applied  to  their  own  purposes.  These  lay-abbots 
were  styled  Abbacomites  or  Abbates  Milites.  Hugh  Capet, 
before  his  elevation  to  the  throne,  as  an  Abbacomes  held 
the  abbeys  of  St  Denis  and  St  Germain  in  commendam. 
Bishop  Hatto,  of  Mentz,  a.d.  891-912,  is  said  to  have  held 
12  abbeys  in  commendam  at  once.  In  England,  as  wc  see 
from  the  Acts  of  the  Council  of  Cloveshoo,  in  the  8tb 
century,  monasteries  were  often  invaded  and  occupied  by 
laymen.  This  occurred  sometimes  from  the  monastery 
having  voluntarily  placed  itself  under  the  protection  of  n 
powerful  layman,  who,  from  its  protector,  became  its  op 
pressor.  Sometimes  there  were  two  lines  of  abbots,  one  ol 
laymen  enjoying  the  lion's  share  of  the  revenues,  another 
of  clerics  fulfilling  tho  proper  duties  of  an  abbot  on  a  small 
fraction  of  the  income.  The  gross  abuse  of  lay  commen- 
dation which  had  sprung  up  during  the  corruption  of 
the  monastic  system  passed  away  with  its  reformation  in 
the  10th  century,  either  voluntarily  or  by  compulsion, 
The  like  abuse  prevailed  in  the  East  at  a  later  period. 
John,  Patriarch  of  Antioch,  at  the  beginning  of  the  12th 
century,  informs  us  that  in  his  time  most  monasteries  had 
been  handed  over  to  laymen,  beneficiarii,  for  life,  "or  for 
part  of  their  lives,  by  the  emperors. 

In  conventual  cathedrals,  where  the  bishop  occupied 
the  place  of  the  abbot,  the  functions  usually  devolving  on 
the  superior  of  the  monastery  were  performed  by  a  prior. 
In  other  convents  the  prior  was  the  second  officer  next  to 
the  abbot,  representing  him  in  his  absence,  and  fulfilling 
his  duties.  The  superiors  of  the  cells,  or  small  monastic 
establishments  dependent  on  the  larger  monasteries,  were 
also  called  priors.  They  were  appointed  by  the  abbots, 
and  held  office  at  their  pleasure. 

Authorities : — Bingham,  Origines  ;  Ducange,  Glossary  ; 
Herzog,  Realwbrterbuch ;  Robertson,  Oh.  Hist.  ;  Martene, 
De  Antiq.  Monast.  Ritibus,  Montalembert,  Monks  of  ilte 
West 


ABBOT 


25 


ABBOT,  Charles,,  speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons 
&*>m  1802  to  1817,  afterwards  created  Lord'  Colchester. 
See  Colchester. 

ABBOT,  George,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  -was  born 
October  19,  15C2,  at  Guildford  in  Surrey,  where  his  father 
was  a  cloth-worker.  He  studied  at  Balliol  College,  Oxford, 
and  was  chosen  Master  of  University  College^  in  1597. 
He  was  thr^e  times  appointed  to  the  office  of  Vice-Chan- 
cellor of  the  university.  When  in  1604  the  version  of  the 
Bible  now  in  use  was  ordered  to  be  prepared,  Dr  Abbot's 
name  stood  second  on  the  list  of  the  eight  Oxford  divines 
to  whom  was  intrusted  the  translation  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, excepting  the  Epistles.  In  1G08  he  went  to  Scotland 
with  the  Earl  of  Dunbar  to  arrange-  for  a  union  between 
the  Churches  of  England  and  Scotland,  and  his  conduct  in 
that  negotiation  laid  the  foundation  of  his  preferment,  by 
attracting  to  him  the  notice  and  favour  of  the  king.  With- 
out having  held  any  parochial  charge,  he  was  appointed 
Bishop  of  Lichfield  and  Coventry  in  1609,  was  translated 
to  the  see  of  London  a  mouth  afterwards,  and  in  less 
than  a  year  was  made  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  This 
rapid  preferment  was  due  as  much  perhaps  to  his  flat- 
tering his  royal  master  as  to  his  legitimate  merits.  After 
his.  elevation  he  showed  on  several  occasions  firmness 
and  courage  in  resisting  the  king.  In  the  scandalous 
divorce  suit  of  the  Lady  Frances  Howard  against  the  Earl 
of  Essex,  the  archbishop  persistently  opposed  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  marriage,  though  the  influence  of  the  king  and 
court  was  strongly  and  successfully  exerted  in  the  opposite 
direction.  In  1618,  when  a  declaration  was  published  by 
the  king,  and  ordered  to  be  read  in  all  the  churches,  per- 
mitting sports  and  pastimes  on  the  Sabbath,  Abbot  had 
the  courage  to  forbid  its  being  read  at  Croydon,  where  he 
happened  to  be  at  the  time.  As  may  be  inferred  from 
the  incident  just  mentioned,  Abbot  was  of  the  Protestant  or 
Puritan  party  in  the  Church.  He  was  naturally,  therefore, 
a  promoter  of  the  match  between  the  Elector  Palatine  and 
the  Princess  Elizabeth,  and  a  firm  opponent  of  the  projected 
marriage  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  with  the  Infanta  of  Spain. 
This  policy  brought  upon  him  the  hatred  of  Laud  and  the 
court.  The  king,  indeed,  never  forsook  him  ;  but  Buck- 
ingham was  his  avowed  enemy,  and  he  was  regarded  with 
dislike  by  the  Prince  of  Wales,  afterwards  Charles  I. 
In  1622  a  sad  misfortune  befell  the  archbishop  while 
hunting  in  Lord  Zouch's  park  at  Bramzill.  A  bolt  from 
his  cross-brow  aimed  at  a  deer  happened  to  strike  one  of 
the  keepers,  who  died  within  an  hour,  and  Abbot  was  so 
greatly  distressed  by  the  event  that  he  fell  into  a  state  of 
settled  melancholy.  His  enemies  maintained  that  the  fatal 
issue  of  this  accident  disqualified  him  for  his  office,  and 
argued  that,  though  the  homicide  was  involuntary,  the 
sport  of  hunting  which  had  led  to  it  was  one  in  which  no 
clerical  person  could  lawfully  indulge.  The  king  had  to 
refer  the  matter  to  a  commission  of  ten,  though  he  said 
that  "  an  angel  might  have  miscarried  aftpr  this  sort."  A 
decision  was  given  in  the  archbishop's  favour;  but  to 'pre- 
vent disputes,  it  was  recommended  that  the  king  should 
formally  absolve  him,  and  confer  his  office  upon  him  anew. 
After  this  the  archbishop  seldom  appeared  at  the  council, 
chiefly  on  account  of  his  infirmities.  He  attended  the 
king  constantly,  however,  in  his  last  illness,  and  performed 
the  ceremony  of  the  coronation  of  Charles  I.  A  pretext 
was  soon  found  by  his  enemies  for  depriving  him  of  all  his 
functions  as  primate,  which  were  put  in  commission  by 
the  king.  This  high-handed  procedure  was  the  result  of 
Abbot's  refusal  to  license  a  sermon  preached  by  Dr  Sibthorp, 
in  which  the  king's  prerogative  was  stretched  beyond  con- 
stitutional limits.  The  archbishop  had  his  powers  restored 
to  him  shortly  afterwards,  however,  when  the  king  found 
it.  o^colutely  necessary  to  summon  a  Parliament.     His  pre- 


sence being  unwelcome  at  court,  he  lived  from  that  time 
in  retirement,  leaving  Laud  and  his  party  in  undisputed 
ascendency.  He  died,  at  Croydon  on  the  5th  August  1633, 
and  was  buried  at  Guildford,  his  native  plare,  where  he  had 
endowed  an  hospital  with  lands  to  the  value  of  £300  a  year. 
Abbot  wrote  a  large  number  of  works;  but,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  his  Exposition  on  the  Prophet  Jonah  (1600),  which 
was  reprinted  in  1845,  they  are  now  little  known.  His 
Geography,  or  a  Brief  Description  of  the  Whole  World, 
passed  through  numerous  editions. 

ABBOT,  George,  known  as  "  The  Puritan,"  has  been 
oddly  and  persistently  mistaken  for  others.  He  has  been 
described  as  a  clergyman,  which  he  never  was,  and  as  son 
of  Sir  Morris  Abbot,  and  his  writings  accordingly  entered 
in  the  bibliographical  authorities  as  by  the  nephew  of 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  One  of  the  sons  of  Sir 
Morris  Abbot  was,  indeed,  named  George,  and  he  was 
a  man  of  mark,  but  the  more  famous  George  Abbot 
was  of  a  different  family  altogether.  He  was  son  or 
grandson  (it  is  not  clear  which)  of  Sir  Thomas  Abbot, 
knight  of  Easington,  East  Yorkshire,  having  been  born 
there  in  1603-4,  his  mother  (or  grandmother)  being 
of  the  ancient  house  of  Pickering.  He  married  a 
daughter  of  Colonel  Purefoy  of  Caldecote,  Warwickshire, 
and  as  his  monument,  which  may  still  be  seen  in  the 
church  there,  tells,  he  bcavely  held  it  against  Prince 
Rupert  and  Maurice  during  the  civil  war.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Long  Parliament  for  Tamworth.  As  a 
layman,  and  nevertheless  a  theologian  and  scholar  of 
rare  ripeness  and  critical  ability,  he  holds  an  almost 
unique  place  in  the  literature  of  the  period.  His  Wltole 
Booke  of  Job  Paraphrased,  or  made  easy  for  any  to  under- 
stand (1640,  4to),  is  in  striking  contrast,  in  its  concinnity 
and  terseness,  with  the  prolixity  of  too  many  of  the  Puritan 
expositors  and  commentators.  His  Vindicice  Sabbathi(16H , 
8vo)  had  a  .profound .  and  lasting  influence  in  the  long 
Sabbatic  controversy.  His  Brief  Notes  upon  t/ce  Wliole  Book 
of  Psalms  (1651,  4to),  as  its  date  shows,  was  posthumous. 
He  died  February  2,  1648.  (MS.  collections  at  Abbey- 
ville  for  history  of  all  of  the  name  of  Abbot,  by  J.  T. 
Abbot,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  Darlington;  Dugdale's  Antiquities  of 
Warwickshire,  1656,  p.  791;  Wood's  Aihence  (Bliss),  s.  v.; 
Cox's  Literature  of  the  Sabbath;  Dr  James  Gilfillan  on 
The  Sabbath;  Lowndes,  Bodleian,  B.  Museum  Calal. 
s.  v.)  (a.  b.  g.) 

ABBOT,  Robert.  Noted  as  this  Puritan  divine  was  in 
his  own  time,  and  representative  in  various  ways,  he  has 
hitherto  been  confounded  with  others,  as  Robert  Abbot, 
Bishop  of  Salisbury,  and  bis  personality  distributed  over 
a  Robert  Abbot  of  Cranbrook;  another  of  Southwick, 
Hants;  a  third  of  St  Austin's,  London  ;  while  these  succes- 
sive places  were  only  the  successive  livings  of  the  one 
Robert  Abbot.  He  is  also  described  as  of  the  Archbishop's 
or  Guildford  Abbots,  whereas  he  was  in  no  way  related, 
albeit  he  acknowledges  very  gratefully,  in  the  first  of  his 
epistles-dedicatory  of  A  Hand  of  Fellowship  to  Helpe  Keepe 
ovt  Sinne  and  Antichrist  (1623,  4to),  that  it  was  from  the 
archbishop  he  had  "  received  all"  his  "  worldly  mainte- 
nance," as  well  as  ''best  earthly  countenance"  and  "fatherly 
incouragements."  The  worldly  maintenance  was  the  pre- 
sentation to  the  vicarage  of  Cranbrook  in  Kent,  of  which 
the  archbishop  was  patron.  This  was  in  1616.  He  had 
received  his  education  at  Cambridge,  where  he  proceeded 
M.A.,  and  was  afterwards  incorporated  at  Oxford.  In 
1639,  in  the  epistle  to  the  reader  of  his  most  noticeable 
book  historically,  his  Triall  of  our  Church-Forsakers. 
he  tells  us,  "  I  have  lived  now,  by  God's  gratious  dis- 
pensation, above  fifty  years,  and  in  tho  place  of  mj 
allotment  two  and  twenty  full."  The  former  date 
carries   us   back  to   1588-69.  or  ptrhaps   1587-88— tht 


26 


A  B  B  — A  B  B 


"Armada"  year — as  hia  birth-time;  the  latter  to  1616-17 
(ut  supra).  In  his  Bee  Thankfull  London  and  her  Sisters 
(1626),  he  describes  himself  as  formerly  "  assistant  to  a 
reverend  divine  ....  now  with  God,"  and  tho  name  on 
the  margin  is  "  Master  liaiward  of  Wool  Church."  This 
was  doubtless  previous  to  his  going  to  Cranbrook,  Very 
reniarkablo  and  effective  was  Abbot's  ministry  at  Cran- 
brook, where  the  father  of  Phineas  and  Giles  Fletcher  was 
the  first  "  Reformation"  pastor,  and  which,  relatively  6mall 
as  it  is,  is  transfigured  by  being  the  birth-place  of  the  poet 
of  the  "  Locustx"  and  "  Tho  Purple  Island."  His  parish- 
ioners were  as  his  own  "  sons  and  daughters"  to  him,  and 
by  day  and  night  ho  thought  and  felt,  wept  and  prayed,  for 
them  and  with  them.  He  is  a  noble  specimen  of  the  rural 
clergyman  of  his  age.  Puritan  though  ho  was  in  his  deepest 
convictions,  he  was  a  thorough  Churchman  as  toward  Non- 
conformists, e.g.,  the  Brownists,  with  whom  he  waged  stern 
warfare.  He  remained  until  1 G 13  at  Cranbrook,  and  then 
chose  the  very  inferior  living  of  Southwick,  Hants,  as  be- 
tween the  one  and  the  other,  the  Parliament  deciding 
against  pluralities  of  ecclesiastical  offices.  Succeeding  the 
"  extruded  "  Udall  of  St  Austine's,  Abbot  continued  there 
until  a  good  old  age.  In  1657,  in  the  Warning-piece,  he 
is  described  as  still  "  pastor  of  Austine's  in  London."  He 
disappears  silently  between  1657-8  and  1662.  Robert 
Abbot's  books  are  distinguished  from  many  of  the  Puritans 
by  their  terseness  and  variety.  (Brook's  Puritans,  iii 
182,  3;  Walker's  Sufferings;  Wood's  Athence  (Bliss);  Cata- 
logus  Impressorum  Librorum  in  Bibliotheca  Bodleiana,  s.v. ; 
Palmer's  Nonconf.  Mem.,  ii  218.)  (a.  b.  o.) 

ABBOTSFORD,  the  celebrated  residence  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  situated  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river  Tweed,  about 
three  miles  above  Melrose.  Tho  nucleus  of  the  property 
was  a  small  farm  of  100  acres,  with  the  "inharmonious 
designation"  of  Clarty  Hole,  acquired  by  Scott  on  the  lapse 
of  his  lease  (1811)  of  the  neighbouring  house  of  Ashestiel. 
It  was  gradually  increased  by  various  acquisitions,  the  last 
and  principal  being  that  of  Toftfield  (afterwards  named 
Huntlyburn ),  purchased  in  1 8 1 7.  The  present  new  house  was 
then  commenced,  and  was  completed  in  1824.  The  general 
ground-plan  is  a  parallelogram,  with  irregular  outlines — 
one  side  overlooking  the  Tweed,  and  the  other  facing  a 
courtyard ;  and  the  general  style  of  the  building  is  the 
Scottish  baronial.  Scott  had  only  enjoyed  his  new  resi- 
dence one  year  when  (1825)  he  met  with  that  reverse  of 
fortune  (connected  with  tho  failure  of  Ballantyne  and 
Constable),  which  involved  the  estate  in  debt.  In  1830, 
the  library1  and  museum  were  presented  as  a  free  gift  by 
the  creditors ;  and  after  Scott'3  death,  which  took  place  at 
Abbotsford  in  September  1832,  a  committee  of  friends 
subscribed  a  further  sum  of  about  £8000  towards  the  same 
object.  The  property  was  wholly  disencumbered  in  1847, 
by  Mr  Cadell,  the  publisher,  accepting  the  remaining 
claims  of  the  family  over  Sir  Walter  Scott's  writings  in 
requital  of  his  obligation  to  obliterate  tho  heritable  bond  on 
the  property.  The  result  of  tliis  transaction  was,  that  not 
only  was  the  estate  redeemed  by  the  fruit  of  Scott's  brain, 
but  a  handsome  re°idue  fell  to  the  publisher.  Scott's  only 
son  Walter  (Lieutenant-Colonel  15th  Hussars)  did  not  live 
to  enjoy  the  property,  having  died  on  his  way  from  India 
in  1847.  Its  subsequent  possessors  have  been  Scott's 
son-in-law,  J.  G.  Lockhart,  and  the  tatter's  son-in-law, 
J.  R.  Hope  Scott,  Q.C.,  whose  daughter  (Scott's  great- 
granddaughter)  is  the  present  proprietor.  Mr  Lockhart 
died  at  Abbotsford  in  1854. — See  Life  of  Scott,  by  J.  G. 
Lockhart;  Abbotsford  and  Newstead  Abbey,  by  Washing- 
ton  Irving;   Abbotsford  Notanda  in   Gentleman's  Mag., 

*  The  Catalogue  of  the  Library  at  Abbotsford  forms  vol.  lxi.  of  Aie 
*kumatyae  Club  publications. 


April  and  May  1869;  The  Lands  of  Scott,  by  James  P. 
Hunncwell,  cr.  8vo,  1871;  Scott  Loan  Exhibition  Cata 
logue,  4to,  1871. 

ABBOTSFORD  CLUB,  one  of  the  principal  printing 
clubs,  was  founded  in  1834  by  Mr  W.  B.  D.  D.  Turnbuil,  and 
named  in  honour  of  Sir  Walter  Scott.  Taking  a  wide* 
range  than  its  predecessors,  the  Bannatyno  and  Maitland 
Clubs,  it  did"  not  confine  its  printing  (as  remarked  by  Ml 
Lockhart)  to  works  connected  with  Scotland,  but  admitted 
all  materials  that  threw  light  on  the  ancient  history  ol 
literature  of  any  country,  anywhere  described  or  discussed 
by  the  Author  of  Waverley.  The  club,  now  dissolved,  con- 
sisted of  fifty  members ;  and  the  publications  extend  to,  3 1 
vols,  quarto,  issued  during  the  years  1835-1864. 

ABBREVIATION",  a  letter  or  group  of  letters,  takcD 
from  a  word  or  words,  and  employed  to  represent  them  for 
the  sake  of  brevity.  Abbreviations,  both  of  single  words 
and  of  phrases,  having  a  meaning  more  or  less  fixed  and 
recognised,  are  common  in  ancient  writings  and  inscrip- 
tions, and  very  many  are  in  use  at  the  present  time.  A 
distinction  is  to  be  observed  between  abbreviations  and  the 
contractions  that  are  frequently  to  be  met  with  in  old 
manuscripts,  and  even  in  early  printed  books,  whereby 
letters  are  dropped  out  here  and  there,  or  particular  collo- 
cations of  letters  represented  by  somewhat  arbitrary  symbol* 
Tho  commonest  form  of  abbreviation  is  the  substitution  for 
a  word  of  its  initial  letter ;  but,  with  a  view  to  prevent 
ambiguity,  one.or  more  of  the  other  letters  are  frequently 
added.  Letters  are  often  doubled  to  indicate  a  plural  or  a 
superlative. 

I.  Classical  Abbreviations. — The  following  list  con- 
tains a  selection  from  the  abbreviations  that  occur  in  the 
writings  and  inscriptions  of  the  Romans: — 

A. 
A.  Absolvo,   JEdilis,   jEs,   Ager,   Ago,  Aio,  Amicus,  Annua, 

Antiquo,  Auctor,  Auditor,  Augustus,  Aulas,  Aurum, 
Aut. 
A.  A.        jEs  alienum,  Ante  audita,  A  pud  agruni,  Aurum  argcutuin. 
AA.  Augusti.     AAA.  Augusti  tres. 

A.A.A.F.F.  Auro  argento  oereiiando  feriundo.1 
A.  A.  V.    Alter  ambove. 
A.C.        Acta  causa,  Alius  civis. 

AJ).        Ante  diem  ;  e.g.,  A.D.V.  Ante  diem  •luuituin. 
Art).  A.    Ad  dandos  agros. 
/ED.         iEdes,  jEdilis,  ^dilitas. 
/EM.  and  AIM.   .Emilias,  .Emilia. 
/ER.         iErarium.  •  ^EK.  P.  Mve  publico. 
A.  F.        Actum  fide,  Auli  filius. 
AG.         Ager,  Ago,  Agrinpa. 
A.  G.       Animo  grato,  Aulus  Gellius. 
A.  L.  JR.  and  A.  L.E.   Arbitrium  litis  uistiuiai.ax. 
A.  M.  and  A. MILL.     Ad  milliarium. 
AN.         Aniensis,  Annus,  Ante. 
ANN.      Annales,  Anni,  Annona, 
ANT.       Ante,  Antonius. 
A.  O.        Alii  omncs,  Amico  optimo. 
AP.         Appius,  Apud. 
A.  P.        Ad  pedes,  jEdilitia  potestate. 
A.  P.  F.      \uro  (or  argento)  publico  feriundo.  • 
A.  P.  M.    Amico  posuit  nionumen turn,  Annoruni  plus  minua. 
A.  P.  R.C.  Anno  post  Romam  conditam, 
ARG.        Argcntum. 

A  R.  V.  V.  D.  D.  Aram  votam  volens  dedicavit,  Anna  voti  va  douu  dedn, 
AT.         A  tergo.    Also  A  TE.  and  A  TER. 
A.T.M.D.O.  Aao  tc  mihi  dare  opertere. 
AV.  Augur,  Augustus,  Aurclius. 

A.  V.        Annos  vixit. 
A.  V.  C.    Ab  urbe  condita. 
AVG.       Augur,  Augustus. 

AVGG.    Augusti  (generally  of  two).     aVGGG.  August!  trea. 
AVT.PR.K.  Auctoritas  Drovinciae  Romanorum. 


15. 


B. 


Balbiua,  Balbus,  Beatus,  Bene,  Beneficiarius.  Beneficium, 
Bonus,  Brutus,  Bustum. 
B.  forV.  Berna,Bivus,  Bixit. 
15.  A.        Bixit  annos,  Bonis  auguriis,  Bonus  amabilis.   < 


1  Describing  the  function  of  the  triumviri  menitalcs. 


ABBREVIATION 


27 


RB.  erB.B    Bene  bene,  i.e.,  optime,  Optimus. 

B.  D.        Bonae  deae,  Bonum  datum. 

B.DD.     Bonis  deabus. 

B.  D.S.M.   Bene  de  so  mcrenti. 


B.F. 

H-.-T- 

li.H. 
It.  I. 

b.m. 

B.N. 
BN.H.I 
B.P. 
B.Q. 


Bona  femina,  Bona  tides,  Bona  fortuna,  Bonum  factum. 

Bona  femina,  Bona  filia. 

Bona  hereditaria,  Bonorum  heres. 

Bonum  judicium.  B.  1. 1.   Boni  judicis  judicium. 

Beatre  memoriae,  Beno  mereuti. 

Bona  nostra,  Bonum  nomen. 

Bona  hie  invenies. 

Bona  paterna,  Bonorum  potestas,  Bonum  publicnra. 

Beno  quiescat,  Bona  quaesita. 


B.RP.N.  Bono  reipublicav  natus. 

BRT.       Britannicus. 

B.T.        Bonorum  tutor,  Brevi  tempore. 

B.V.        Bene  vale,  Bene  vixit,  Bonus  vir. 

B.  V.  V.    Balnea  vina  Venus. 
BX.         Bixit,  for  vixit. 

C. 

C.  Caesar,  Cams,  Caput,  Causa,  Censor,  Civis,  Conors,  Colonia, 

Comitialis  (dies),  Condemno,  Consul,  Cum,  Curo, 
Custos. 

fj.  Caia,  Centuria,  Cum,  the  prefix  Con. 

C.  B.  Civis  bonus,  Commune  bonum,  Conjugi  benemerenti,  Cui 
bono. 

C.C.  C'alumnim  causa,  Causa  cognita,  Conjugi  carissimae,  Con- 
silium cepit,  Curiae  consulto. 

C.C.C.     Calumnice  cavendae  causa. 

C.C. F.     Caesar  (or  Caius)  curavit  faciendum,  Caius  Caii  filius. 

CC.VV.  Clarissimi  viri. 

CD.        C-esaris  decreto,  Caius  Decius.  Comitialfbus  diebus. 

CliS.        Censor,  Censores.     CESS.   Censores 

C.  F.         Causa  fiduciae,  Conjugi  fecit,  Curavit  faciendum. 

C.  H.        Custos  heredum,  Custos  hortorum. 

C.I.  Caius  Julius,  Consul  jussit,  Curavit  judex. 

CL.  Clarissimus,  Claudius,  Clodius,  Colonia. 

CL.  V.      Clarissimus  vir,  Clypeum  vovit 

C.  HI.       Caius  Marius,  Causa  mortis. 

CN.  Cnaeus. 

COH        Coheres,  Cohors. 

COL.        Collega,  Collegium,  Colonia,  Columnv 

COLL.     Collega,  Coloni,  Colonice. 

COM.       Comes,  Comitium,  Comparatum. 

CON.      Conjux,  Consensus,  Consiliarius,  Consul,  Consularis. 

COR.       Cornelia  (tribus),  Cornelius,  Corona,  Corpus. 

COS.        Consiliarius,  Consul,  Consulares.     COSS.  Consulcs. 

C.P.  Carissimus  or  Clarissimus  puer,  Civis  publicus,  Curavit 
ponendum. 

C.R.         Caius  Rufus,  Civis  Romanus,  Curavit  reddendum. 

CS.  Caesar,  Communis,  Consul. 

C.  V.        Clarissimus  or  consularis  vir. 
CVR.       Cura,  Curator,  Curavit,  Curia. 

D. 

D.  Dat,  Dedit,  &c,  De,  Deeimus,  Decius,  Decretnm,  Decurin, 

Deus,    Dicit,   If.,   Dies,    Divus,    Dominus,   Domus, 

Donum. 
D.C.        Decurio  colonise,  Diebus  comitialibus,  Divus  Caesar. 
D.  D.        Dea  Dia,  Decurionum  decreto,  Dedicavit  Deo  dedit,  Donn 

dedit. 
D.D.D.    Datum  decreto  decurionum,  Dono  dedit  dedicavit. 
D.E.R.    Deearo. 
DES.        Designates. 

D.  [.         Dedit  imperator,  Diis  immortalibus,  Diis  inferis. 
D.  I.M.     Deo  invicto  Mithrre,  Diis  inferis  Manibus. 
D.  M.        Deo  Magno,  Dignus  memoria,  Diis  Manibus,  Dolomalo. 

D.  0.  M.    Deo  Optimo  Maximo. 

D.P.S.  Dedit  proprio  sumptu,  Deo  pcrpetuo  sacrum,  De  pecuni.i 
sua. 

E. 

E.  Ejus,  Eques,  Erexit,  Ergo,  Est,  Et,  Etiam,  Ex. 
EG.  .Sger,  Egit,  Egregius. 

E.  M.      Egregiaj  memoriae,  Ejusmodi,  Erexit  monumentum. 
EQ.M.     Equitum  magister. 

E.  K.  A,    Ea  res  agitur. 

F. 

F.  Fabius,  Facere,  Feoit,  &c.,  Familia,  Fastus  (dies\  Felix. 

Femina,  Fides,  Filius,  Flamon,  Fortuna,  Trater,  Fuit, 

Functus. 
F.C.        Faciendum  curavit,  Fidei  commissnm,  Fiduciae  causa. 
F.  D.         Fidem  dedit,  Flamen  Dialis,  Fraude  donavit 
F.  F.  F.     Ferro  flamma  fame,  Fortior  fortuna  fato. 
FL.  Filius,  Flamen,  Flaminius,  Flavius. 

t.  L.        Favete  Unguis,  Fecit  libens,  Felix  liber. 
FR  Forum,  Fronte,  Frumentarius. 

F.R.        Forum  Romanum. 


G.  Gaius  (=Caius),  Gallia,  Gaudium,  Cellius,  Gemina,  Gen*, 

Gesta,  Gratia. 
G.  F.         Gemina  fidelis  (zpplied  to  a  legion).     SoG.P.F.  Genii  ns 

pia  fidelis. 
GL.  Gloria. 

GN.         Cenius,  Gens,  Genus,  Gnseu3  (=Cnams). 
G.P.R.     Genio  populi  Roniani. 

H. 
H.  ITabet,  j  feres,  Hie,  Homo,  Honor,  Hora. 

HER.       Heres,  Herennius.     HER.  and  HERC.  Hercnlen 
H.I,.        Hae  lege,  Hoc  loco,  Honesto  loco. 
H.M.       Hoc  monumentum,  Honesta  mulier,  Horamaia, 
H.S.E.     Hie  sepultus  est,  Hie  situs  est. 
H.  V.        Haec  urbs,  Hie  vivit,  Honeste  vixit  Honcstus  vir. 

I. 

I.  Immortalis,   Imperator,  In,  Infra,   Inter,  Invictns,  Ioa» 

Isis,  Judex,  Julius,  Junius,  Jupiter,  Justus. 
I  A.  Jam,  Intra. 

I.C.         Julius  Cirsar,  Juris  Consultum,  Jus  civile. 
ID.  Idem,  Idus,  Interdum. 

I.D.         Inferis  diis,  Jovi  dedicatum,  Jus  dicendum,  Jussu  Dei 
I.D. M.    «Tovi  deo  magno. 
I.F.         I&foro,  In  fronte. 
I.  H.       Jacct  hie,  In  honestatem,  Justus  homo. 
IM.  Imago,  Immortalis,  Immunis,  lmpensa. 

IMP.        Imperator,  Impcrium. 
1.031.    Jovi  Optimo  mnximo. 

LP.  In  publico,  Intra  prortneiam,  Justa  persona. 

I.S.V.P.  lmpensa  sua  vivus  posuit 

K. 

K.  Koeso,  Caia,  Calumnia,  Caput,  Carus,  Castra. 

K.,  KAL. ,  and  KL.  Kalendae. 

L. 
L.  Lxlius,  Legio,  Lex,  Libens,  Liber,  Libra,  Locus,  Lollins. 

Lucius,  Ludus. 
LB.  Libens,  Liberi,  Libertus.    . 

L.  D.  D.  D.  Locus  datus  docroto  decurionum. 
LEG. 
LIB. 
LL. 
Lit. 
L.S. 
LVD. 


Lcgatus,  Legio. 

Liber,  Liberalitas,  Libertas,  Libertus,  I.ibrarius. 

Leges,  Libentissime,  Liberti. 

Libens  merito,  Locus  monumrnti. 

Laribus  sacrum,  Libens  solvit,  Locus  saecr. 

Ludus. 


LV.P.F.  Ludos  publicos  fecit 


M. 


M. 


jr. 

M.D. 
MK3. 
M.F. 
M.I. 


jragister,  jragistratus,  Magnus,  Manes,'  Marcus,  Jtarins, 
Marti,  Mater,  Memoria,  Mcnsis,  Jliles,  Jlor.umeutuin, 
Mortuus,  JIucius,  Mulier. 

Manius. 

JIagno  Deo,  JTanibus  diis,  Matri  deum,  Merenti  dedit 

Mensis.     MESS.     Jlenses. 

Mala  fides,  Marci  filius,  Monumentum  fecit 

JIatri  Idacce,  Matri  Isidi,  JIaximo  JovL 


MNT.  and  MON.  Jloneta. 

M.P. 

M.S. 

MVN. 


JIale  positus,  Monumentum  posuit 
JIanibus  sacrum,  Wlemorire  sacrum,  Jlanu.  scriptum. 
Municeps,    or   municipium:    so    also    MN.,    MV.,    and 
MVNIC. 
M.V.S.    Marti  ultori  sacrum,  Jlcrito  votum  solvit 

N. 
N.  Natio,  Natus,  Nefastus  (dies),   Nepos,  Neptunus,   Nero, 

Nomen,  Non,  Nonae,  Noster,  Novus,  Numen,  Numo 

rius,  Numerus,  Nummus. 
NEP.       Nepos,  Neptunus. 
N.F.C.     Nostrae  fidci  commissum. 
N.L.        Non  licet,  Non  liquet,  Non  longe, 
N.  M.V.  Nobilis  memoriae  vir. 

NN.        Nostri.     NN.,  NNO.,  and  NNR.  Nostromm. 
NOB.      Nobilis.      NOB.,  NOBR.,  and  NOV.  Novcmbris. 
N.P.        Nefastus  primo  {i.e.,  priore  Darte  diei),  Non  potest 

O. 
0.  Ob,  Officium,  Omnis,  Oportet  Optimus,  Opns,  Ossa 

OB.         Okiit,  Obiter,  Orbis. 
O.C.S.     Ob  cives  servatos. 
O.H.F.    Omnibus  honoribus  functus. 
O.H.S.S.  Ossa  hie  sita  sunt 
OR.         Hora,  Ordo,  Omaroentum, 
O.T.B.Q.  Ossa  tua  bene  quiiscant 
P. 
P.  Pars,  Fossus,  Pater,  Patronus,  Pax,  Perpetuus,  Pes,  Pius, 

Tiebs,  Pondo,  Populus,  Post,  l'osuit,  Prases,  Proctor, 

Primus,  Pro,  Provincia,  Publicus,  Publius,  Puer. 
P.C.        Pactum  conventum,  Patres  conscripti,  Pccunia  constitute, 

Potenduni  curavit  Post  consiUatum,  rotestatecensorw. 


28 


ABBREVIATION 


P.F.  Pia  fidelis,  Tins  fellx,  Promissa  fides,  Publii  filius. 

P.  M.  Pia?  memoriae,  Plus  minus,  Pontifex  maximus. 

P.P.  Pater  patratus,  Pater  patriae,  Pecania  publics,  Pranpositus, 
Primipilus,  Proprietor.  > 

PR.  Prccses,  Prator,  Priaie,  I'rinceps. 

KR.  Permissu  reipublicse,  Populus  Romanus. 

P.K.C.  Post  Romam  conditnm. 

PR.  PR.  Pnefectus  prsetorii.  Proprietor. 

P.  S.  Pecunia  sua,  Plebiseitum,  Proprio  sumptu,  Publicie  saluti. 

P.V.  Pia  victrix,  Prxfcctus  urbi,  Praatantissimus  vir. 

Q- 

Q.  Quaestor,    Qnando,    Quantus,    Que,    Qui,    Quinquennalis, 

Quintus,  Quirites. 
Q.D.R     Quadere. 

Q.I.S.S.  Quae  infra  scripta  sunt ;  so  Q.  S.  S.  S.    Quae  supra,  &c 
QQ.  Quaecunque,  Quinquennalis,  Quoque. 

<J.  H.        Quaestor  reipubhese 

R. 
R.  Recte,  Res,  Respubliea,  Retro,  Rex,  Ripa,  Roma,  Romanus, 

Rufu9,  Rursu3. 
R.C.       /Romana  civitas,  Romanus  civis. 
RESP.  ojuj-RP.  Respubliea. 
RET.  P.  and  RP.  Retro  pedes. 

S. 
B  Sacrum,    Scriptus,    Semis,    Senatus,    Sepultus,    Scrvius, 

Scrvus,  Sextus,  Sibi,  Sine,  Situs,  Solus,  Solvit,  Sub, 

Suus. 
SAC      Bacerdos,  Sacrificium,  Sacrum. 
B.  1 1.         Senatus  consultum. 
S.DJ        Sacrum  diis,  Salutem  dicit,  Senatus  docrcto,  Sententiam 

dedit 
S.D.M.    Sacrum  diis  Manibus,  Sine  dolo  malo. 
S.ER.        Servius,  Servus. 
8.  E.T.L.  Sit  ei  terra  levis. 
SN.         Senatus,  Sententia,  Sine. 
S.  P.         Sacerdos  jrerpetua,  Sine  pecunia,  Sua  pecunia. 
S.  P.Q.R.  Senatus  populusque  Romanus. 
S.S.'  \  "  Sanctissimus  senatus,  Supra  scriptum. 
S.Y-B.E.E.Q.V.  Si  Tales  bene  est,  ego  quidem  valeo. 

T. 
TV  Terminus,   Testameiitum,   Titus.  Tribunus,  Tu,  Tunna, 

Tutor. 
7B.~,  TI„  and  TIB.  Tiberius? 
TB.,  TR.,  and  TRB.  Tribunus. 
T.  F.         Tcstamentum .  fecit,    Titi    filius,    Titulum    fecit,    Titus 

Flavhis. 
TM.        Terminus,  Testamentum,  Thermae. 
T.  P.         Terminum  posuit,  Tribunicia  pjlestato,  Tribunus  plebis. 
TVL.      Tullius,  Tullus.     " 

v.- 

V.  TJrbs,   TJsus,   Uxor,   Vale,  Verba,  Yestalis,  Tester,   Tir, 

Vivus,  Vixit,   Volo,  Votum. 

V.A  Teterano  assignatus,  Vixit  annos. 

V.C.  Vale  conjux,  virxlarissimus,  Vir  consularis. 

V.  E.  Verum  etiam,  Vir  egregius,  Visum  est. 

V.F.  TJsus  fructus,  Verba  fecit,  Virus  fecit 

V  P.  Urbis  praefectus,  Vir  peifectissimus,  Vivus  posuit 
V.R.  Urbs  Roma,  Uti  rogas,  Votum  reddidit. 

.  IL  Medleval  Abbreviations. — Of  the  different  kinds 
of  abbreviations  in  use  in  the  middle  ages,  the  following 
are  examples: — 

A.M.  Ave  Maria. 

B.  P.  Beatus  Paulus,  Beatus  Petros. 

CC.  Carissimus  (alsoplur.  Carissimi),  Clarissimus,.Circum. 

D.  Deus,  Dominicus,  Dux. 

1).  N.PP.  Dominus  noster  Papa. 

FF.  Felicissimus,  Fratrc3,  Pandect*  (prob.  for  Or.  H). 

l.C.  orl.X.  Jesus' Christus. 

1.  D.N.  In  Dei  nomine. 

KK.  Karissimus  (or  -mi). 

MM.  Magistri,  Martyres,  Matrimonium,  Meritissimus. 

O.S.  B.  Ordinis  Sancti  Benedict!. 

PP.  Papa,  Patres,  Piissimus. 

R.F.  Rex  Francorum. 

R.  P.  D.  Revcrendissimus  Pater  Dominus. 

'J.  Sacra  Caesarea  Majestas. 

S.M.E.  Sancta 

s.  M.  M.  Sancta  Mater  It 

S.  R.  I.  Sanctum  Romanum  Imperium. 

R.  V.  Sanctitas  Vestra,  Sancta  Virgo. 

V  Venerabilis,  Vcnerandus. 
V.R.P.  Vestra  Reverendissima  Patemitaa, 

in.  Abbreviations  now  in  use. — The  import  of  these 
will  often  he  readily  understood  from  the  connection  in 


which  they  occur.  Thero  is  no  occasfan  to  explain  here 
the  common  abbreviations  used  for  Christian  names,  booka 
of  Scripture,  months  of  the  year,  points  of  the  compass, 
grammatical  and  mathematical  terms,  or  familiar  titles, 
like  "  Mr,"  <fcc. 

The  ordinary  abbreviations,  now  or  recently  in  use,  may 
be  conveniently  classified  under  the  following  headings  :— 

1."  Abbreviated  Titles  and  Designations. 
A.  A.        Associate  of  Arts. 
A.  B.        Able-bodied  seaman. 
A.M.        (Arliwm  Maguier),  Master  of  Arts. 
A.  R.  A.'  Associato  of  the  Royal  Academy. 

A.  R.S. A.  Associate  of  the  Royal  Scottish  Academy. 
H.A.         Bachelor  of  Arts. 

II.  i .'.  L.  Bachelor  of  Civil  Law. 

B.D.  Bachelor  of  Divinity. 

B.  I.E.  Bachelor  of  Laws. 
B.Sc  Bachelor  of  Science. 

C.  Chairman. 

C.A.  Chartered  Accountant 

C.  B.  Companion  of  the  Bath. 

c.  ]■',.  Civil  Engineer. 

Oil.  (Chirurgioz  Mogistcr),  Master  in  Surgery. 

C.  M.  G.  Companion  of  St  M  ichaei  and  St  George. 
O.S.I.  Companion  of  the  Star  of  India. 

D.C.  L.    Doctor  of  Civil  Law, 

D.  D.        Doctor  of  Divinity 
D.  Lit.      Doctor  of  Literature. 

D.M.        Doctor  of  Medicino  [Oxford  ^ 

D.Sc.      Doctor  of  Science. 

Ebor.        (Eboracensis),  of  York.1 

F.C.S.     Fellow  of  the  Chemical  Society. 

F.D.         (Fidci  Defensor),  Defender  of  the  Faith. 

F.F.P.S.  Fellow  of  the  Faculty  of  Physicians  &  Surgeons  [Glasgow.] 

F.G.S.     Fellow  of  the  Geological  Society. 

F.K.Q. C.P.I.  Fellow  of  King  and  Queen's  College  of  Physician* 

in  Ireland. 
F.L.S.     Fellow  of  the  Linnffian  Society. 
?.  M.        Field  Marshal. 
F.P.S.      Fellow  of  the  Philological  Society. 
F.R.A.S.  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society. 
F.R.C.P.  Fellow  of  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians.     . 
F.R.C.P.E.  Fellow  of  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians  ef  Edin» 

burgh. 
F.R.C.S.  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Collcgo  of  Surgeons. 
F.R.G.S.  Fellow  of  tho  Royal  Geographical  Society. 
F.R.  S:      Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society. 
F.R.S.E.  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh. 

F.  B,  S.  L.  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Literature. 
F.S.A.     Fellow  of  tho  Society  of  Antiquaries. 
F.S.S.      Fellow  of  the  Statistical  Society. 

F.Z,  S.     Fellow  of  the  Zoological  Society. 
G.C.B.     Knight  Grand  Cross  of  the  Bath. 

G.  C.  H.    Knight  Grand'  Cross  of  H  anover. 

G.C.M.G.  Knight  Grand  Cross  of  St  Michael  and  St  George. 

G. C.S.I.  Knight  Grand  Commander  of  the  Star  of  India, 

1 1 .  R,  H.  His  (or  Her)  Royal  Highness. 

J.  P.         Justice  of  the  Peace. 

J.U.D.     (Juris  tUriusgue  Doctor),  Doctor  of  Civil  and  Canon  Ij»w. 

K. C.S.I.  Knight  Commander  of  the  Star  of  India. 

K.C.B.    Knight  Commander  of  the  Bath. 

K.  G.        Knight  of  tho  Garter. 

K.  P.        Knight  of  St  Patrick.  | 

K.T.        Knight  of  the  Thistle. 

L.  A .  IL    Licentiate  of  the  Apothecaries'  HalL 

L.C.J.     Lord  Chief  Justice. 

LL.B.      (Legum  Bacealaurtus),  Bachelor  of  Laws. 

LL.  D.      (Legum  Doctor),  Doctor  of  Laws. 

1,1..  M.      (Legum  Magistcr),  Master  of  Laws. 

L.R.C.P.   Licentiate  of  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians. 

L.R.C.S.  Licentiate  of  tho  Royal  College  of  Surgeons. 

L.S.A.     Licentiate  of  the  Apothecaries'  Society. 

M.A.        Master  of  Arts. 

M.B.        (Medicines  Baccalaureus),  Bachelor  of  Medicine. 

M.C.        Member  of  Congress. 

M.D.       (Medicines  Doctor),  Doctor  of  Medicine. 

M.P.        Member  of  Parliament. 

M.  R.  C.  P.  Member  of  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians. 

M.R.I.A.   Member  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy. 

Mus.  B.   Bachelor  of  Music. 

1  An  archbishop  or  bishop,  in  writing  his  signature,  substitutes  for 
his  surname  the  name  of  his  see ;  thus  thcprelates  of  Canterbury,  York, 
Oxford,  London,  &c.,  subscribe  themselves  A.  C.  Cantuar.,  W.  Ebor., 
J.  F.  Oxon.i  J.  London.  &c 


ABBREVIATION 


29 


Mnfl.  D.  Doctor  of  Music 

N.P.  Notary  Public. 

P.C.  Privy  Councillor. 

Ph.  D.  (Philosophic  Doctor),  Doctor  of  Philosophy, 

P.  P.  Parish  Priest. 

P.R.A.  President  of  the  Royal  Academy. 

Q.C.  Queen's  Counsel. 

R.  (Rex,  Regina),  King,  Queen. 

R.A.  Royal  Academician.     Royal  Artillery. 

R.A.M.  Royal  Academy  of  Music. 

R.  E.  Royal  Engineers. 

Reg.  Trof.   Regius  Professor. 

R.M.  Royal  Marines. 

R.N.  Royal  Navy. 

S.  or  St  Saint. 

S.S.C.  Solicitor  before  the  Supreme  Courts  [of  Scotland]. 

S.T.P.  (Sacrosanctee    Theologicc  Professor),    Profes-or  of  Sacred 

Theology. 

V.C.  Vice-Chancellor.     Victoria  Cross. 

V.  0.  Vicar-General. 

V.S.  Veterinary  Surgeon. 

W.  S.  Writer  to  the  Signet  [in  Scotland].  Equivalent  to  Attorney. 

2.  Abbreviations  denoting  Monies,  Weights,  and 
Measures  : — 1 

ac  acre.  L.,a   £,'    or   I.    (libra),    pound 

bar.  barrel.  (money). 

bus.  bushel.  lb.  or  lb.  (libra),  pound  (weight). 

c  cent.  m.  or  mi.  mile ;  minute. 

«.  (or  cub.)  ft.  &c.  cubic  foot, 

fee 

cwt  hundredweight 

A.  (denarius),  penny, 

deg.  degree. 

dr.  drachm  or  dram. 

dwt  pennyweight 

f.  franc. 

8.  florin, 

ft  foot. 

fur.  furlong, 

gal.  gallon, 

gr.  grain, 
b.  or  hr.  hour, 

hhd.  hogshead. 

in.  inch, 

kilo,  kilometre. 


3.  Miscellaneous  Abbreviations. 
A.        Accepted. 

A.C     (Ante  Christum),  Before  Christ, 
ace,  a/c,  or  acct.  Account 
A.  D.    (Anno  Domini),  In  the  year  of  our  Lord. 
A.  B.I.O.U.  Austrian  est  imperare  orbi  universo,3  or  Alles  Erdrei.-li 

1st  Oesterreich  Unterthan. 
Mt  or  Mtut  (jEtalis  [anno]),  In  the  year  of  his  age. 
A.H.    (Anno  Hegirce),  In  the  year  of  the  Hegira  (the  Mohammedan 

era). 
A.  M.    (Anno  Mundi),  In  the  year  of  the  world. 
A.M.    (Ante  meridiem),  Forenoou. 
Anon.  Anonymous. 
A.U.C.  (Anno  urbis  conditw),  In  the  year  from  the  buililin"  of  the 

city  (i.e.,  Rome.) 
B.C:     Before  Christ. 

C.  or  Cap.   (Caput),  Chapter. 

<S         Centigrade  (or  Celsius's)  Thermometer. 

tent4  (Centum),  A  hundred,  frequently  £100. 

l»"f.        (Confer),  Compare. 

Ch.  or  Chap.  Chapter. 

Co.       Company.     County. 

Cr.       Creditor. 

curt    Current,  the  present  month. 

D.G.    (Dei  gratia),  By  the  grace  of  God. 

Do.      Ditto,  the  same. 

P.O.M.  (Deo  Optimo  Maximo),  To  God  the  Best  and  Creatcst 

)>r.      Debtor. 

D.  V.    (Deo  volente),  God  willing. 

1  Characters,  not  properly  abbreviations,  are  used  in  the  same  way  ; 
e.g.,  '.  "  for  "degrees,  minutes,  seconds,"  (circular  measure) ;  5,  J,  3 
IVir  "ounces,  drachms,  scruples."  §  is  probably  to  be  traced  to*  tile 
written  form  of  Wie  x  in  "  oz." 

_a  These  forms  (as  well  as  $,  the  symbol  for  tho  American  dollar)  arc 
placed  before  their  amounts. 

8  It  is  given  to  Austria  to  rule  the  whole  earth.  The  device  of 
Austria,  first  adopted  by  Frederick  III. 

'  "  Per  cent"  is  often  signified  by  "/„,  a  form  traceable  to  "  100." 


m- 

minim. 

mo. 

month. 

na. 

nail. 

oz, 

ounce. 

pk. 

peck. 

po. 

pole. 

pt. 

pint. 

<1- 

(quadrans), 

farthing. 

qr.   * 

quarter. 

qt 

quart. 

ro. 

rood. 

Rs.» 

rupees. 

s.  or 

/  (solidus),  si 

tilling. 

3.  or  sec. -second. 

sc.  or  scr.  scruple 

sq.  f 

.  &c.  square 

oot,  &c. 

St. 

stone. 

yd. 

yard. 

e  g.      (Exempli  gratia),  For  example. 

ect.  orkc  (Et  coctcra),  And  the  rest ;  and  so  forth. 

Ex.       Example. 

F.  or  Fahr.  Fahrenheit's  Thermometer. 

Fee.      (Fecit),  He  made  (on  did)  it 

fl.         Flourished. 

Fo.  or  Fol.  Folio. 

f.o.b.   Free  on  board.  . 

G.P.O.  General  Po8t  Officn. 

H.M.S.  Her  Majesty's  Ship. 

lb.  or  I'bid.   (Ibidem),  In  the  same  place. 

Id.       (Idem),  The  same. 

i. e.       (Id  est).  That  is.' 

I..H.S.  (Jesus  Hominum  Salvalor),  Jesus  the  Saviour  of  men. 

Inf.      (Infra),  Below. 

inst.     Instant,  the  present  month. 

I.O.  IT.  I  owe  you. 

i.q.       (Idem  quod),  Tho  same  as. 

x.  t.x.   («k)  ri  \tiirx).  El  ccclcra,  and  the  rest, 

L.  or  Lib.  (Diber),  Book. 

Lat      Latitude. 

I.e.       (Loco  citato),  In  the  place  cited. 

Lon.  or  Long.   Longitude. 

L.S.     (Locus  sigillj),  The  place  of  the  seal. 

Mem.   (Memento),  Remember,  Memorandum. 

MS.      Manuscript     MSS.  Manuscript. 

N.  B.    (Nota  bene),  Mark  well ;  take  notice. 

N.B.    North  Britain  (i.e.,  Scotland). 

N.D.   No  date. 

nem.  con.  (Nemine  conlradiccnte),  No  one  contradicting. 

No.      (Numero),  Number. 

N.S.    New  Style. 

N.T.    New  Testament 

ob.        (Obiit),  Died. 

Obs.     Obsolete 

O.H.M.S.  On  Her  Majesty's  Service. 

O.S.     Old  Style. 

O.T.    Old  Testament 

P.        Page.-  Pp.  Pages. 

$.        (Per),  For  ;  e.g.,  $  lb.,  For  one  pound. 

Pinx.    (Pinxit),  He  painted  it. 

P.M.    (Post  meridiem),  Afternoon. 

P.O.     Post  Office.        P. O.O.  Post  Office  Older. 

P. P.C.  (Pour prendre  conge"),  To  take  leave. 

P.  R.     Prize-ring. 

prox.    (Proximo  [mensef),  Next  month. 

P.S.     Postscript. 

Pt.       Part. 

p.t  or  pro.  tem.  (Pro  tempore),  For  the  time. 

P.T.O.  Please  turn  over. 

Q.,  Qu.,  or  Qy.  Query  ;  Question. 

q.d.      (Quasi  dicat),  As  if  he  should  say  ;  as  much  as  to  say. 

Q.  E.D.  (Quod  erut  demonstrandum),  which  was  to  lie  demonstrate' L 

Q.E.F.  (Quod  erat  faciendum),  wliich  was  to  be  done. 

q.s.  or  quant  sutf.     (Qwntum  suj/icit),  As  much  as  is  sufficient 

q.v.      (Quod  vide),  Which  see. 

R.  or  R.  (Recipe),  Take. 

"S  (=  r.  for  radix),  the  sign  of  the  square  root 

R.I.  P.  (Requiescat  in  pace  I),  May  he  rest  in  peace  t 

sc.        (Scilicet),  Namely  ;  that  is  to  say. 

Sc.  or  Sculp.  (Sculpsit),  He  engraved  it. 

S.D.U.K.  Society  for  tho  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge. 

seq.  or  sq.,  seqq.  or  sqq.   (Sequent,  sequcntin),  The  following 

s.p.       (Sine  prole),  Without  olfspring. 

S.  P.G.  Society  for  the  Propagation  ol  tho  CospcL 

Sup.     (Supra),  Above. 

s.v.       (Sub  voce).  Under  the  word  lor  heading). 

T.C.D.  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 

ult       (Ultimo  [mense]),  Last  month. 

U.S.     United  States. 

v.  (Versui),  Against. 

v.  or  vid.  ( Vide),  See. 

viz.       ( Videlicet),  Namely. 

V.  R.   ( Victoria  Regina),  Victoria  tho  Queen. 

Xmas.  Christmas  [This  X  is  a  Creek  letter,  corresponding  to  Oil 

(See  Grarvius's  Thesaurus  Antiquitatum,  1C94,  sqq.; 
Nicolai's  Tractatus  da  Siylis  Vetentm  ;  Mominscn's  Corpus 
fnscriplionvm  Lalinarum,  18G3,  sqq. ;  Natalis  de  Wailly'a 
Palnographie,  Paris,  18.38;  Alph.  Ohassant's  Paleographies 
1854,  and  Diciionnaire  des  Abrcvialions,  3d  ed.,  1S66.  A 
manual  of  the  abbreviations  in  current  use  is  a  desideratum.) 

ABBREVJATOUS,  a  body  of .  writers  in  tho  Papal 
Chancery,  whose  business  is  to  sketch  out  and  prepare  in 
due  form  the  Pope's  bulls,  briefs,  and  consistorial  decreei 


30 


A  i5  D  — A  B  D 


They  are  first  mentioned  in  a  bull  of  Benedict  XIL,  early 
in  the  14th  century.  Their  number  is  fixed  at  seventy- 
two,  of  whom  twelve,  distinguished  as  de parco  mnjori,  hold 
prelatic  rank;  twenty-two,  de  parco  minori,  are  clergymen  of 
lower  rank ;  and  the  remainder, cxaminatorcs,ma.y  be  laymen. 

ABDALLATIF,  or  Abd-ul-Latif,  a  celebrated  physician 
and  traveller,  and  one  of  the  most  voluminous  ■writers  of 
the  East,  was  born  at  Baghdad  in  1162.  An  interesting 
memoir  of  Abdallatif,  -written  by  himself,  has  been  pre- 
served with  additions  by  Ibn-Abu-Osaiba,  a  contemporary.' 
From  that  work  we  learn  that  the  higher  education  of  the 
youth  of  Baghdad  consisted  principally  in  a  minute  and 
careful  study  of  the  rulc3  and  principles  of  grammar,  and 
in  their  committing  to  memory  the  whole  of  the  Koran,  a 
treatise  or  two  on  philology  and  jurisprudence,  and  the 
choicest  Arabian  poetry.  After  attaining  to  great  pro- 
ficiency in  that  kind  of  learning,  Abdallatif  applied  hirn- 
oelf  to  natural  philosophy  and  modicine.  To  enjoy  the 
society  of  the  learned,  he  went  first  to  Mosul  (1189),  and 
afterwards  to  Damascus,  the  great  resort  of  the  eminent 
men  of  that  age.  The  chemical  fooleries  that  engrossed 
the  attention  of  some  of  these  had  no  attraction  for  him, 
but  he  entered  with  eagerness  into  speculative  discussions. 
With  letters  of  recommendation  from  Saladin's  vizier,  he 
visited  Egypt,  where  the  wish  he  had  long  cherished  to 
converse  with  Maimonides,  "  the  Eagle  of  the  Doctors," 
was  gratified.  He  afterwards  formed  one  of  the  circle  of 
learned  men  whom  Saladin  gathered  around  him  at  Jeru- 
salem, and  shared  in  the  great  sultan's  favours.  He  taught 
medicine  and  philosophy  at  Cairo  and  at  Damascus  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  afterwards,  for  a  shorter  period,  at 
Aleppo.  His  love  of  travel  led  him  in  his  old  age  to  visit 
different  parts  of  Armenia  and  Asia  Jlinor,  and  he  was 
setting  out  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca  when  he  died  at 
Baghdad  in  1231.  Abdallatif  was  undoubtedly  a  man  of 
greit  knowledge  and  of  an  inquisitive  and  penetrating 
mind,  but  is  said  to  have  been  somewhat  vain  of  his  attain- 
ments. Of  the  numerous  works — most  of  them  on  medi- 
cine— which  Osaiba  ascribes  to  him,  one  only,  the  Account 
of  Egypt,  appears  to  be  known  in  Europe.  The  manuscript 
of  this  work,  which  was  discovered  by  Pococke  the  Orien- 
talist, is  preserved  in  the  Bodleian  Library.  It  was  trans- 
lated into  Latin  by  Professor  White  of  Oxford  in  1800,  and 
into  French,  with  very  valuable  notes,  by  De  Sacy  in  1810. 
It  consists  of  two  parts  :  the  first  gives  a  general  view  of 
Egypt ;  the  second  treats  of  the  Nile,  and  contains  a  vivid 
description  of  a  famine  caused,  during  the  author's  residence 
in  Egypt,  by  the  river  failing  to  overflow  its  banks.  The 
work  gives  an  authentic  detailed  account  of  the  state  of 
Egypt  during  the  middle  ages. 

ABD-EL-K  A  PER,  celebrated  for  his  brave  resistance  to 
the  advance  of  the  French  in  Algeria,  was  born  near 
Mascara,  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1807.  His  father 
was  a  man  of  great  influenco  among  his  countrymen  from 
his  high  rank  and  learning,  and  Abd-el-Kader  himself  at 
an  early  age  acquired  a  wide  reputation  for  wisdom  and 
piety,  as  well  as  for  skill  in  horsemanship  and  other  manly 
exercises.  In- 1831  he  was  chosen  Emir  of  Mascara,  and 
leader  of  the  combined  tribes  in  their  attempt  to  check  the 
growing  power  of  the  French  in  Africa.  His  efforts  were 
at  first  successful,  and  in  1834  he  concluded  a  treaty  with 
the  French  general,  which  was  very  favourable  to  his  cause. 
This  treaty  was  broken  in  the  succeeding  year;  but  as  the 
war  that  followed  was  mainly  in  favour  of  the  Arabs,  peace 
was  renewed  in  1837.  War  again  broke  out  in  1839, 
and  for  more  than  a  year  was  carried  on  in  a  very 
desultory  manner.  In  1841,  however,  Marshal  Bugeaud 
assumed  the  chief  command  of  the  French  force,  which 
numbered  nearly  100,000  mea  The  war  was  now 
carried  on  with  great  vigour,  and  ,-bd-el-K.ader,  after  a 


most  determined  resistance,  surrendered  himself  to  tha 
Due  d'Aumale,  on  tho  22d  December  1847.  The  promise, 
that  he  would  be  allowed  to  retire  to  Alexandria  or  St 
Jean  d'Acre.  upon  the  faith  of  which  Abd-el-Kader  had 
given  himself  up,  was  broken  by  the  French  government 
Ho  was  taken  to  France,  and  was  imprisoned  first  in  the 
castle  of  Pau,  and  afterwards  in  that  of  Amboise.  In  1852 
Louis  Napoleon  gave  him  his  liberty  on  condition  of  his  not 
returning  to  Algeria.  Since  then  he  resided  successively  at 
Broussa,  Constantinople,  and  Damascus.  Ho  is  reported 
to  have  died  at  Mecca  in  October  1873.     Seo  Algeria. 

ABDERA  (1.),  in  Ancient  Geography,  a  maritime  town  of 
Thrace,  eastward  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  Ncstus. 
Mythology  assigns  the  founding  of  tho  town  to  ncrcules ; 
but  Herodotus  states  that  it  was  first  "colonised  by  Timesias 
of  Clazomenoe,  whom  the  Thracians  in  a  short  time  expelled. 
Rather  more  than  a  century  later  (B.C.  541),  the  people  of 
Seos  recolonised  Abdera.  The  town  soon  became  one  of 
considerable  importance,  and  in  B.C.  408,  when  it  was  re- 
duced by  Thrasybulus  the  Athenian,  it  is  described  as  in  a 
very  flourishing  condition.  Its  prosperity  was  greatly  im- 
paired by  its  disastrous  war  with  the  Triballi  (circa  B.c 
37 G),  and  very  little  is  heard  of  it  thereafter.  The 
Abderits,  or  Abderitani,  were  proverbial  for  their  want  of 
wit  and  judgment;  yet  their  city  gave  birth  to  several 
eminent  persons,  as  Protagoras,  Democritus,  and  Anaxarchus 
the  philosophers,  Hecataeus  the  historian,  Nicametus  the 
poet,  and  others. 

ABDERA  (2.),  a  town  in  Uispania  B<etica,  founded  by 
the  Carthaginians,  on  the  south  coast,  between  Malaca  and 
Prom.  Cliaridemi.  It  is  probably  represented  by  the 
modern  Adra. 

ABDICATION,  the  act  whereby  a  person  in  office 
renounces  and  gives  up  the  same  before  the  expiry  of  the 
time  for  which  it  is  held.  The  word  is  seldom  used  except 
in  the  sense  of  surrendering  the  supreme  power  in  a  state. 
Despotic  sovereigns  are  at  liberty  to  divest  themselves  of 
their  powers  at  any  time,  but  it  is  otherwise  with  a  limited 
monarchy.  The  throne  of  Great  Britain  cannot  be  lawfully 
abdicated  unless  with  the  consent  of  the  two  Houses  of  Par- 
liament. When  James  II.,  after  throwing  the  Great  Seal 
into  the  Thames,  fled  to  France  in  1088,  be  did  not  formally 
resign  the  crown,  and  the  question  was  discussed  in  Parlia- 
ment whether  he  had  forfeited  the  throne  or  had  abdicated. 
The  latter  designation  was  agreed  on,  for  in  a  full  assembly 
of  the  Lords  and  Commons,  met  in  convention,  it  was  re- 
solved, in  spite  of  James's  protest,  "  that  King  James  II. 
having  endeavoured  to  subvert  the  constitution  of  the  king- 
dom, by  breaking  the  original  contract  between  king  and 
people,  and,  by  the  advice  of  Jesuits  and  other  wicked  persons, 
having  violated  the  fundamental  laws,  and  having  with- 
doawn  himself  out  of  this  kingdom,  has  abdicated  the 
government,  and  that  the  throne  is  thereby  vacant"  The 
Scotch  Parliament  pronounced  a  decree  of  forfeiture  and 
deposition.  Among  the  most  memorable  abdications  of 
antiquity  may  be  mentioned  that  of  Sulla  the  dictator,  B.C. 
79,  and  that  of  the  Emperor  Diocletian,  a.d.  305.  The  follow- 
ing  is  a  list  of  the  more  important  abdications  of  latitr  times: — 

A  P. 

1048 
1131 
1 1  '".9 
1207 
1200 
1355 
1415 
1439 


Benedict  IX.,  Pope 

Stephen  II.  of  Hungary, 

Albert  (the  Bear)  of  Brnndenburg, 

Eadislaus  III.,  Duke  of  Poland,       • 

John  Balliol  of  Scotland, 

John  Cantacuzene,  Emperor  of  the  K.ist 

John  XXIII.,  Pope 

Eric  VII.  of  Denmark  and  XIII.  of  Swud>-n, 


Amurath  IF.,  Ottoman  Emperor, 
Charles  V.fcEmperor,.     . 
Christina  oT  Sweden,  . 
John  Casimir  of  Poland, 
James  II.  of  England, 
Frederick  Augustus  of  Poland 


Mil  and  1445 
155(1 

:c>;8 

1X88 
I7U<f 


A  B  D  — A  B  E 


31 


ril4 


of  Sr 


Ull 


*-D. 

• 

1724 
1730 

n*. 

1730 

'"(,    « 

1759 

•  • 

1795 

June 

4, 

1S02 

Mar. 

19, 

1803 

June 

6, 

1808 

Mar. 

29, 

1809 

July 

2, 

1810 

and  June 

22, 

1815 

Mar. 

13, 

1S21 

Aug. 

2, 

1830 

April 

7, 

1831 

May 

26, 

1834 

Oct. 

7, 

1840 

Feb. 

-1, 

1848 

Mar. 

21, 

1848 

Dec. 

2, 

1843 

Mar. 

23, 

1819 

July 

21, 

1859 

June 

25, 

1870 

Feb. 

11, 

1873 

Philip  V.  of  Spain,  .        . 

Tictor  Amadeus  II.  of  Sardinia, 
Achmet  III.,  Ottomau  Emperor, 
Charles  of  Naples  (on  accession  to  th 
Stanislaus  II.  of  Poland, 
Charles  Emanuel  IV.  of  Sardiui 
Charles  IV.  of  Spain, 
Joseph  Bonaparte  of  Naples,    . 
Sustavu3  IV.  of  Sweden, 
Louis  Bonaparte  of  Holland,    M 
Napoleon  ot  Franco,  .         ,    £\ 

Victor  Emanuel  of  Sardinia,     , 
Charles  X.  of  Fiance,       . 
Pedro  of  Brazil,1     ... 
Don  Miguel  of  Portugal, 
William  I.  of  Holland, 
Louis  Philippe  of  France,        . 
Louis  Charles  of  Bavaria,         . 
Ferdinand  of  Austria,      .         ■ 
Charles  Albert  of  Sardinia,      , 
Leopold  1 1,  of  Tuscany,  , 

Isabella  II.  of  Spain,       .         . 
Amadeus  I.  of  Spain,      .        • 

ABDOMEN,  in  Anatomy,  the  lower  part  of  the  trunk  of 
the  body,  situated  between  the  thorax  and  the  pelvis.     See 

ANATOMY. 

ABDOMINALES,  or  Abdominal  Fishes,  a  sub-division 
of  the  Malacopterygious  Order,  whose  ventral  fins  are  placed 
behind  the  pectorals,  under  the  abdomen.  The  typical 
abdominals  are  carp,  salmon,  herring,  silures,  and  pike. 

ABDUCTION,  a  law  term  denoting  the  forcible  or 
fraudulent  removal  of  a  person,  limited  by  custom  to  the 
case  where  a  woman  is  the  victim.  In  the  case  of  men  or 
children,  it  has  been  usual  to  substitute  the  term  Kid- 
napping (q.v.)  The  old  severe  laws  against  abduction, 
generally  contemplating  its  object  as  the  possession  of  an 
heiress  and  her  fortune,  have  been  repealed  by  24-  and  25 
Vict.  c.  100,  s.  53,  which  makes  it  felony  for  any  one  from 
motives  of  lucre  to  take  away  or  detain  against  her  will, 
with  intent  to  marry  or  carnally  know  her,  &c,  any  woman 
of  any  age  who  has  any  interest  in  any  real  or  personal 
estate,  or  is  an  heiress  presumptive,  or  co-heiress,  or  pre- 
sumptive next  of  kin  to  any  one  having  such  an  interest ; 
or  for  any  one  to  cause  such  a  woman  to  be  married  or 
carnally  known  by  any  other  person ;  or  for  any  one  with 
such  intent  to  allure,  take  away,  or  detain  any  such  woman 
under  the  age  of  twenty-one,  out  of  the  possession  and  against 
the  will  of  her  parents  or  guardians.  By  s.  5  4,  forcible  taking 
away  or  detention  against  her  will  of  any  woman  of  any  age 
with  like  intent  is  felony.  Even  without  such  intent,  abduc- 
tion of  any  unmarried  girl  under  the  age  of  sixteen  is  a 
misdemeanour.  In  Scotland,  where  there  is  no  statutory 
adjustment,  abduction  is  similarly  dealt  with  by  practice. 

ABDUL  MEDJID,  Sultan  of  Turkey,  the  thirty-first 
sovereign  of  the  house  of  Othman,  was  born  April  23, 
1823,  and  succeeded  his  father  Mahmoud  IL  on  the  2d 
of  July  1839.  Mahmoud  appears  to  have  been  unable 
to  effect  the  reforms  he  desired  in  ths  mode  of  educating 
his  children,  so  that  his  son  received  no  better  education 
than  that  given,  according  to  use  and  wont,  to  Turkish 
princes  in  the  harem.  When  Abdul  Medjid  succeeded  to 
the  throne,  the  affairs  of  Turkey  were  in  an  extremely 
critical  state.  At  the  very  time  his  father  died,  the  news 
was  ou  its  way  to  Constantinople  that  the  Turkish  army 
had  been  signally  defeated  at  Nisib  by  that  of  the  rebel 
Egyptian  viceroy,  Mehemet  Ali;  apd  the  Turkish  fleet  was 
at  the  same  time  on  its  way  to  Egypt,  to  be  surrendered 
perfidiously  by  its  commander  to  the  sam»  enemy.  But 
through  the  intervention  of  the  great  European  powers, 
Mehemet  Ali  was  obliged  to  come  to  terms,  and  the  Otto- 
man empire  was  saved.  "  In  compliance  with  his  father's 

1  Pedro  had  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Portugal  in  1826,  but  abdi- 
cated It  at  ODce  in  favour  of  bis  daughter. 


express  instructions,  Abdul  Medjid  set  at  once  about  carry- 
ing out  the  extensive  reforms  to  which  Mahmoud  had  so 
energetically  unvoted  himself.  In  November  1839  was 
proclaimed  an  edict,  known  as  the  Hatti-sherif  of  Gulhane, 
consolidating  and  enforcing  these  reforms,  which  was 
supplemented,  at  the  close  of  the  Crimean  war,  by  a 
similar  statute,  issued  in  February  1856.  By  these  enact- 
ments it  was  provided  that  all  clajses  of  the  sultan's  sub- 
jects should  have  security  for  their  lives  and  property ; 
that  taxes  should  be  fairly  imposed  and  justice  impartially 
administered ;  and  that  all  should  have  lull  religious 
liberty  and  equal  civil  rights.  The  scheme  was  regarded 
as  so  revolutionary  by  the  aristocracv  and  the  educated 
classes  (the,  Ulema)  that  it  met  with  keen  opposition,  and 
was  in  consequence  but  partially  put  in  force,  especially  in 
the  remoter  parts  of  the  empire ;  and  more  than  one  con- 
spiracy was  formed  against  the  sultan's  life  on  accouut  of 
it.  Of  the  other  measures  of  reform  promoted  by  Abdul 
Medjid  the  more  important  were — the  reorganisation  of  the 
army  (1843-4),  the  institution  of  a  council  of  public  in- 
struction (1846),  the  abolition  of  an  odious  and  unfairly 
imposed  capitation  tax,  the  repression  of  slave  trading,  and 
various  provisions  for  the  better  administration  of  the  public 
service  and  for  the  advancement  of  commerce.  The  public 
history  of  his  times — the  disturbances  and  insurrections  in 
different  parts  of  his  dominions  throughout  his  reign,  and 
the  great  war  successfully  carried  on  against  Russia  by 
Turkey,  and  by  England,  France,  and  Sardinia,  in  .the 
interest  of  Turkey  (1853-56) — can  be  merely  alluded  to 
in  this  personal  notice.  When  Kossuth  and  others  sought 
refuge  in  Turkey,  after  the  failure  of  the  Hungarian  rising 
in  1849,  the  sultan  was  called  on  by  Austria  and  Russia  to 
surrender  them,  but  boldly  and  determinedly  refused.  It 
is  to  his  credit,  too,  that  he  would  not  allow  the  con- 
spirators against  his  own  life  to  be  put  to  death.  Ha  bore 
the  character  of  being  a  kind  and  honourable  man. 
Against  this,  however,  must  be  set  down  his  excessive 
extravagance,  especially  towards  the  end  of  his  life.  He 
died  on  the  25th  of  June  1861,  and  was  succeeded,  not  by 
one  of  his  sons,  but  by  his  brother,  Abdul  Aziz,  the  present 
sultan,  as  the  oldest  survivor  of  the  family  of  Othman. 

A  BECKET,  Thomas,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and 
Chancellor  of  England  in  the  12th  century,  was  born  in 
London  on  the  21st  of  December  1118.  His  father, 
Gilbert  Becket,  and  his  mother  Roesa  or  Matilda,  were 
both,  there  can  be  little  doubt,  of  Norman  extraction,  if 
indeed  they  themselves  were  not  immigrants  from  Normandy 
to  England.  Gilbert  Becket,  a  merchant,  and- at  one  time 
Sheriff  of  London,  a  man  of  generous  impulses  and  some- 
what lavish  hospitality,  provided  for  his  only  child  Thomas 
all  the  attainable  advantages  of  influential  society  and  a 
good  education.  At  ten  years  of  age  Thomas  was  placed 
under  the  tuition  of  the  canons  regular  of  Merton  on  th6 
Wandle  in  Surrey.  From  Merton  he  proceeded  to  study  in 
the  London  schools,  then  in  high  repute.  .At  Pevensey 
Castle,  the  seat  of  his  father's  friend  Richer  de  l'Aigle,  one 
of  the  great  barons  of  England,  he  subsequently  became  a 
proficient  in  all  the  feats  and  graces  of  chivalry.  From 
Pevensey  he  betook  himself  to  the  study  of  theology  in  the 
University  of  Paris.  He  never  became  a  scholar,  much. 
Ies3  a  theologian,  like  Wolsey,  or  even  like  some  of  the 
learned  ecclesiastics  of  his  own  day ;  but  his  intellect  was 
vigorous  and  original,  and  his  manners  captivating  to  his 
associates  and  popular  with  the  multitude.  His  father's 
failure  in  business  recalled  him  to  London,  and  for  three 
years  he  acted  as  a  clerk  in  a  lawyer's  office.  But  a  man 
so  variously  accomplished  could  not  fail  to  stumble  on 
preferment  sooner  or  later.  Accordingly,  about  1142, 
Archdeacon  Baldwin,  a  learned  civilian,  a  friend  of  the 
elder  Btckfct,  introduced  him  to  Theobald,  Archbishop  ol 


32 


A     BUCKET 


Canterbury,  who  ut  once  appointed  him  to  an  office  in  the 
Archiepiscopal  Court.  His  talents  speedily  raised  kiui  to 
the  archdeaconry  of  the  see.  A  Bccket's  tact  in  assisting 
to  thwart  an  attempt  to  interest  the  Popo  in  favour  of  the 
coronation  of  Stephen's  son  Eustace,  paved  the  way  to  the 
archdeacon's  elevation  to  the  Chancellorship  of  England 
under  Henry  II.,  a  dignity  to  which  he  was  raised  in  1150. 
As  he  had  served  Theobald  the  archbishop,  so  he  served 
Henry  the  king  faithfully  and  well.  It  was  his  nature  to 
be  loyal.  Enthusiastic  partisanship  is,  in  fact,  the  key  to 
much  that  is  otherwise  inexplicable  in  his  subsequent  con- 
duct towards  Henry.  AYheu  at  a  later  period  A  Becket  was 
raised  to  the  primacy  of  England,  a  dignity  not  of  his  own 
seeking,  he  must  needs  quarrel  with  Henry  in  the  interest 
of  the  Pope  and  "  for  the  honour  of  God."  As  Chancellor  of 
England  he  appeared  in  the  war  of  Toulouse  at  the  head  of 
the  chivalry  of  England,  and  "  who  can  recount,"  says  his 
attendant  and  panegyrist  Grim,  "  the  carnage,  the  desolation 
he  made  at  the  head  of  a  strong  body  of  soldiers  J  He 
attacked  castles,  and  razed  towns  and  cities  to  the  ground ; 
he  burned  down  houses  and  farms,  and  never  showed  the 
slightest  touch  of  pity  to  any  one  who  rose  in  insurrection 
against  his  master."  In  single  combat  he  vanquished  and 
made  prisoner  the  valiant  Knight  Engelram  de  Trie.  Nor 
did  A  Becket  the  chancellor-seek  to  quell  Henry's  secular  foes 
alone.  He  was  the  able  mouthpiece  of  the  Crown  in  its 
contention  with  the  Bishop  of  Chichester,  who  had  alleged 
that  the  permission  of  the  Pope  was  necessary  to  the  con- 
ferring or  taking  away  of  ecclesiastical  benefices ;  and  he 
rigorously  exacted  teutage,  a  military  tax  in  lieu  of  personal 
service  in  the  field,  from  the  clergy,  who  accused  him  of 
"  plunging  a  sword  into  the  bosom  of  his  mother  the 
church."  His  pomp  and  munificence  as  chancellor  were 
beyond  precedent.  In  1159  he  undertook,  at  Henry's 
request,  an  embassy  to  the  French  Court  for  the  purpose 
of  affiancing  the  king's  eldest  son  to  the  daughter  of  the 
king  of  France.  His  progress  through  the  country  was 
like  a  triumphal  procession.  "  How  wonderful  must  be 
the  king  of  England  himself  whose  chancellor  travels  in 
such  state  I"  was  on  every  one's  lips.  In  1162  he  was 
elected  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Gilbert  Foliot,  Bishop 
of  Herford,  alone  dissenting,  and  remarking  sarcastically, 
at  the  termination  of  the  ceremony,  that  "  the  king  had 
worked  a  miracle  in  having  that  day  turned  a  layman  into 
an  archbishop  and  a  soldier  into  a  saint."  Hitherto  A 
Becket  had  only  been  in  deacon's  orders,  and  had  made  no 
profession  of  sanctity  of  life.  At  the  same  time,  there  is 
nothing  to  show  that  his  character  was  stained  by  the  gross 
licentiousness  of  the  times.  KW,  however,  he  devoted 
himself  body  and  soul  to  the  scivice  of  the  church.  The 
fastidious  courtier  was  at  once  transformed  into  the  squalid 
penitent,  who  wore  hair-cloth  next  his  skin,  fed  on  roots, 
drank  nauseous  water,  and  daily  washed  the  feet  of  thirteen 
beggars.  Henry,  who  had  expected  to  see  the  archbishop 
completely  sunk  in  the  chancellor,  was  amazed  to  receive 
the  following  laconic  message  from  A  Becket : — "  I  desire 
that  you  will  provide  yourself  with  another  chancellor,  as 
I  find  myself  hardly  sufficient  for  the  duties  of  one  office, 
much  less  of  two."  From  that  moment  there  was  strife 
between  A  Becket  and  Henry,  A  Becket  straining  every 
nerve  to  extend  the  authority  of  the  Pope,  and  Henry 
doing  his  utmost  to  subject  the  church  to  his  own  will. 
Throughout  the  bitter  struggle  for  supremacy  which  ensued 
between  A  Becket  and  the  Jung,  A  Becket  was  backed  by 
the  sympathy  of  the  Saxon  populace,  Henry  by  the  support 
of  the  Norman  barons  and  by  the  greater  dignitaries  of  the 
church.  At  the  outset  A  Becket  was  worsted.  He  was 
constrained  to  take  an  oath.  "  with  good  faith  and  without 
fraud  or  reserve,  to  observe  the  Constitutions  of  Claren- 
don," which  subjected  clerks  guilty  of  crime  tii  the  ordinary 


civil  tribunals,  put  ecclesiastical  dignities  at  the  royal  dis 
posal,  prevented  all  appeals  to  Borne,  and  made  Henry  tht 
virtual  "  head  of  the  church."  For  his  guilty  compliance 
with  these  anti-papal  constitutions  he  received  the  special 
pardon  and  absolution  of  his  holiness,  and  proceeded  to 
anathematise  them  with  the  energy  of  a  genuine  remorse. 
The  king  resolved  on  his  ruin.  He  was  summoned  before 
a  great  council  at  Northampton,  and  in  defiance  of  justice 
was  called  on  to  account  for  the  sum  of  44,000  inarlu 
declared  to  have  been  misappropriated  by  him  during  his 
chancellorship.  "  For  what  happened  before  my  consecra- 
tion," said  A  Becket,  "  I  ought  not  to  answer,  nor  will  I. 
Know,  moreover,  that  ye  are  my  children  in  God  ;  neither 
law  nor  reason  allows  you  to  judge  your  father.  I  refer  my 
quarrel  to  the  decision  of  the  Pope.  To  him  I  appeal,  and 
shall  now,  under  the  protection  of  the  Catholic  Church  and 
the  Apostolic  See,  depart."  He  effected  his  escape  to  France, 
and  took  refuge  in  the  Cistercian  monastery  of  Pontigny, 
whence  he  repeatedly  anathematised  his  enemies  in 
England,  and  hesitated  not  to  speak  of  Henry  as  a  "  mali- 
cious tyrant."  Pope  Alexander  III.,  though  at  heart  a 
warm  supporter  of  Becket,  was  guarded  in  his  conduct 
towards  Henry,  who  had  shown  a  disposition  to  support  the 
anti-pope  Pascal  III.,  and  it  was  not  till  the  Archbishop  of 
York,  in  defiance  of  a  papal  bull,  had  usurped  the  functions 
of  the  exiled  primate  hy  officiating  at  the  coronation  of 
Henry's  son,  that  Alexander  became  really  formidable.  A 
Becket  was  now  resolute  for  martyrdom  or  victory.  Hci  ry 
began  to  tremble,  and  an  interview  between  him  and  Becket 
was  arranged  to  take  place  at  Fereitville  in  1170.  It  was 
agreed  that  A  Becket  should  return  to  his  see,  and  that  tin. 
king  should  discharge  his  debts  and  defray  the  expenses  ol 
his  journey.  A  Becket  proceeded  to  the  coast,  but  the  king, 
who  had  promised  to  meet  him,  broke  his  engagement  in 
every  particular.  A  Becket,  in  retaliation,  excommunicated 
the  Archbishop  of  York  and  the  Bishops  of  London  and 
Salisbury  for  officiating  at  the  coronation  of  the  king's  sou. 
The  terrified  prelates  took  refuge  in  Normandy  with  Henry, 
who,  on  hearing  their  tale,  accompanied  by  an  account  of 
A  Bccket's  splendid  reception  at  Canterbury,  exclaimed  in 
ungovernable  fury,  "  Of  the  cowards  who  cat  my  bread,  is 
there  not  one  who  will  free  me  from  this  turbulent  priest?" 
Four  knights,  Fitzurse,  Tracy,  Morville,  and  Eiito,  resolved 
to  avenge  their  sovereign,  who  it  appears  was  ignorant  of 
their  intention.  They  arrived  in  Canterbury,  and  finding 
the  archbishop,  threatened  him  with  death  if  he  would  not 
absolve  the  excommunicated  bishops.  "  In  vain,"  replied 
A  Becket,  "you  threaten  me.  If  all  the  swords  in  England 
were  brandishing  over  my  head,  your  terrors  could  not  move 
me.  Foot  to  foot  you  will  find  me  fighting  the  battle  of  the 
Lord."  He  was  barbarously  murdered  in  the  great  cathedral, 
at  the  foot  of  the  altar  of  St  Benedict,  on  the  20th  Decem- 
ber 1170.  Two  years  thereafter  ho  was  canonised  by  the 
Pope;  and  down  to  the  Reformation  innumerable  pilgrim- 
ages were  made  to  the  shrine  of  St  Thomas  of  Canterbury 
by  devotees  from  every  comer  of  Christendom,  So  numerous 
were  the  miracles  wrought  at  his  tomb,  that  Gervasc  ol 
Canterbury  tells  us  two  large  volumes  kept  in  the  cathedra) 
were  filled  with  accounts  of  them.  Every  fiftieth  year  a 
jubilee  wa3  celebrated  in  his  honour,  which  lasted  fifteen 
days;  plenary  indulgences  were  then  granted  to  all  who 
visited  his  tomb;  and  as  many  as  100,000  pilgrims  were 
registered  at  a  time  in  Canterbury.  The  worship  of  St 
Thomas  superseded  the  adoration  of  God,  and  even  that  of 
the  Virgin.  In  one  year  there  was  offered  at  God's  altar 
nothing;  at  that  of  the  Virgin  .£4,  ls.«  8d.;  while  St 
Thomas  received  for  his  share  X'Joi,  0s.  3d. — an  enormous 
sum,  if  the  purchasing  power  of  money  in  those  times  be 
considered.  Henry  VIII.,  with  a  just  if  somewhat  ludi- 
crous appreciation  of  the  issue  which  A  Becket  had  raided 


A  B  E  — A  B  E 


33 


with  his  royal  predecessor  Henry  H,  not  only  pillaged  the 
rich  shrine  dedicated  to  St  Thomas,  but  caused  the  saint 
himself  to  be  cited  to  appear  in  court,  and  to  be  tried  and 
condemned  as  a  traitor,  at  the  same  time  ordering  his  name 
to  be  struck  out  of  the  calendar,  and  his  bones  to  be  burned 
and  the  ashes  thrown  in  the  air.  A  Becket's  character  and 
aims  have  been  the  subject  of  the  keenest  ecclesiastical  and 
historic  controversy  down  to  the  present  time,  but  it  is  im- 
possible to  doubt  the  fundamental  sincerity  of  the  one  or 
the  disinterestedness  of  the  other,  however  inconsistent  his 
actions  may  sometimes  appear.  If  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit 
be  "  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness, 
faith,  meekness,  and  temperance,"  A  Becket  was  assuredly 
not  a  saint,  for  he  indulged  to  the  last  in  the  bitterest 
invectives  against  his  foes ;  but  that  he  fought  with 
admirable  courage  and  devotion  the  "  battle  of  the  Lord," 
according  to  the  warlike  ideas  of  an  age  with  which  he  was 
in  intense  sympathy,  is  beyond  dispute.  He  was  the 
leading  Ultramontane  of  his  day,  hesitating  not  to  reprove 
the  Pope  himself  for  lukewarmness  in  the  cause  of  the 
"  church's  liberty."  He  was  the  last  of  the  great  ecclesiastics 
of  the  type  of  Lanfranc  and  Anselm,  who  struggled  for 
supremacy  with  the  civil  power  in  England  on  almost  equal 
terms.  In  his  day  the  secular  stream  was  running  very 
strong,  and  he  might  as  chancellor  have  floated  down  the 
current  pleasantly  enough,  governing  England  in  Henry's 
name.  He  nevertheless  perished  in  a  chivalrous  effort  to 
stem  the  torrent.  The  tendency  of  his  principles  was 
to  supersede  a  civil  by  a  spiritual  despotism ;  "  but,  in 
point  of  fact,"  says  Hook,  in  his  valuable  Life,  "he  was 
a  high-principled,  high-spirited  demagogue,  who  taught 
the  people  to  struggle  for  their  liberties,"  a  struggle 
soon  to  commence,  and  of  which  he  was  by  no  means 
an  impotent  if  an  unconscious  precursor. — See  Dr  Giles's 
Vita  et  Epistolce  S.  Thomoe  Cantuariensis  ;  Canon  Morris's 
Life  of  St  Thomas  Becket ;  Canon  Robertson's  Life  of 
Becket ;  Canon  Stanley's  Historical  Memorials  of  Canter- 
bury;  J.  G.  Nichol's  Pilgrimages  of  Walsingkam  and 
Canterbury ;  Hook's  Lives  of  the  Archbishops  of  Canter- 
bury; and  Lord  Campbell's  Lives  of  the  Chancellors  of 
England. 

A'BECKETT,  Gilbert  Abbott,  a  successful  cultivator 
of  light  literature,  was  born  in  London  in  1811,  and  educated 
at  'Westminster  School.  He  wrote  burlesque  dramas  with 
success  from  his  boyhood,  took  an  active  share  in  the 
establishment  of  different  comic  periodicals,  particularly 
Figaro  in  London  and  Punch,  and  was  a  constant  contributor 
to  the  columns  of  the  latter  from  Its  commencement  till  the 
time  of  his  death  His  principal  publications,  all  over- 
flowing with  kindly  humour,  and  rich  in  quaint  fancies, 
are  his  parodies  of  living  dramatists  (himself  included), 
reprinted  from  Punch  (1844) ;  The  Small  Debts  Act,  with 
Annotations  and  Explanations  (1845) ;  The  Quizziology  of 
the  British  Drama  and  The  Comic  Blackslone  (1846V  J 
Comic  History  of  England  (1847);  and  A  Comic  History  of 
Home  (1852).  He  contributed  occasionally,  too,  to  the 
Timet  and  other  metropolitan  papers.  •  A'Beckett  was 
called  to  the  bar  in  1841,  and  from  1843  discharged  with 
great  efficiency  the  duties  of  a  metropolitan  police  magis- 
trate. He  died  at  Boulogne  on  the  30th  of  August 
1856. 

ABEL  (^z^l,  breath,  vanity,  transiloriness),  the  second 
son  of  Adam,  slain  by  Cain  his  elder  brother  (Gen.  iv 
1-16).  The  narrative  in  Genesis,  which  tells  us  that  "trip 
Lord  had  respect  unto  Abel  and  to  his  offering,  but  unto 
Cain  and  to  bis  offering  he  had  not  respect,"  is  supplemented 
by  the  statement  of  the  New  Testament,  that  "  by  faith 
Abel  offered  unto  God  a  more  excellent  sacrifice  than  Cain," 
(Heb.  xi.  4),  and  that  Cain  slew  Abel  "  because  his  own 
works  were  evil  and  his  brother's  rigkeous  "  (1  John  iii.  1 2). 

l-.'i 


In  patristic  theology  the  striking  contrast  between  the 
brothers  was  mystically  explained  and  typically  applied  in 
various  ways.  Augustine,  for  example,  regard*  Abei  as 
the  representative  of  the  regenerate  or  spiritual  man,  and 
Cain  as  the  representative  of  the  natural  or  corrupt  man. 
Augustine  in  his  treatise  De  Hmrtsibus,  c.  86,  mentions  a 
sect  of  Abelilae  or  Abelians,  who  seem  to  have  lived  in 
North  Africa,  and  chiefly  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Hippo- 
Regius.  According  to  their  tradition,  Abel,  though  married, 
lived  in  continence,  and  they  followed  his  practice  in  this 
respect,  so  as  to  avoid  the  guilt  of  bringing  sinful  creatures  i 
into  the  world. 

ABEL,  Karl  Fried-rich  (1726-1787),  a  celebrated  Ger- 
man musician.  His  adagio  compositions  have  been  highly 
praised,*but  he  attained  greater  distinction  as  a  performer 
than  as  a  composer,  his  instrument  being  the  Viola  digamia, 
which  from  his  time  has  given  place  to  the  violoncello. 
He  studied  under  Sebastian  Bach,  played  for  ten  years 
(1748-58)  in  the  band  formed  at  Dresden  by  the  Elector 
of  Saxony,  under  Hasse,  and  then,  proceeding  to  England, 
became  (1759)  chamber-musician  to  the  queen  of  George  III. 
His  life  was  shortened  by  habits  of  intemperance. 

ABEL,  Niels  Henrik,  one  of  the  ablest  and  acutest 
mathematicians  of  modern  times,  was  born  at  Findbe  in 
Norway  in  1802,  and  died  near  Arendal  in  1829.  Con- 
sidering the  shortness  of  his  life,  the  extent  and  thorough- 
ness of  his  mathematical  investigations  and  analyses  are 
marvellous.  His  great  powers  of  generalisation  were  dis- 
played in  a  remarkable  degree  in  his  development  of  the 
theory  of  elliptic  functions.  Legendre's  eulogy  of  Abel, 
"  Quelle  tele  celle  du  jeune  Norvegien ! "  is  the  more  forcible, 
that  the  French  mathematician  had  occupied  himself  with 
those  functions  for  most  of  his  lifetime.  Abel's  works, 
edited  by  M.  Holmboe,  the  professor  under  whom  he  studied 
at  Christiania,  were  published  by  the  Swedish  government 
in  1839. 

ABEL,  Thomas,  a  Roman  Catholic  divine  during  the 
reign  of  Henry  VELI.,  was  an  Englishman,  but  when  or 
where  born  does  not  appear.  He  was  educated  at  Oxford, 
where  be  passed  B.A.  on  4th  July  1513,  M.A.  on  27th 
June  1516,  and  proceeded  D.D.  On  23d  June  1530  ho 
was  presented  by  Queen  Catherine  to  the  rectory  of  Brad- 
well  in  Essex,  on  the  sea-coast.  He  had  been  introduced 
to  the  court  through  the  report  of  his  learning  in  elassical 
and  living  languages,  and  accomplishments  in  mnri ,  and 
he  was  appointed  domestic  chaplain  to  Queen  Catherine 
It  speaks  well  both  for  the  chaplain  and  his  royal  mistress, 
that  to  the  last  he  defended  the  outraged  queen  against 
"bluff  King  Hal."  '  The  Defence,  "Invicta  Veritas,"  was 
printed  at  Luneberge  in  1532.  This  pungent  little  book 
was  replied  to,  but  never  answered,  and  remains  the 
defence  on  Queen  Catherine's  part.  Abel  was  ensnared,  as 
greater  men  were,  in  the  prophetic  delusions  and  ravings  of 
Elizabeth  Barton,  called  the  "  Holy  Maid  of  Kent"  A» 
belonging  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  he  inevitably  opposed 
Henry  VIII. 's  assumption  of  supremacy  in  the  church 
Ultimately  he  was  tried  and  condemned  for  "  misprision 
of  treason,"  and  perished  in  the  usual  cruel  and  ignoble 
way.  The  execution,  as  described,  took  place,  at  Smith- 
lleld  oe  July  30,  1540.  If  we  may  not  concede  the  vene- 
rable and  holy  name  of  martyr  to  Abel — and  John  Foxe, 
is  passionate  in  his  refusal  of  it — yet  we  must  hold  that 
he  at  least  fell  a  victim  to  his  unsparing  defence  of  his 
queen  and  friend,  the  "  misprision  of  treason "  having 
been  a  foregone  conclusion.  In  stat.  25,  Henry  VIIL,  c 
12,  he  is  described  as  having  "caused  to  be  printed 
and  sot  forth  in  this  realme  diverse,"  books  against  the 
divorce  and  separation."  ,  Neither  the  Tractatus  nor  the 
"diverse  books"  are  known. — Dodd,  Church  History, 
Brussels,  1737,  folio,  voL  L  p.  208;  Bourchier,  Hut.  EccL 


34 


ABELARU 


de  Martyr.  Fratr.  minor.  (Ingolst.  1583);  Pitts,  Be 
Ulustr.  Angl.  Scrip.;  Tanner's  BM iotheca  Uibcrnico-Britan- 
hica,  p.  i. ;  Zurich,  Original  Letters  relative  to  the  English 
iUformation  (Parker  Society,  pt.  ii.  pp.  209-211,  1846); 
Foxe's  Acts  and  Monuments  (Cattle/s,  vol.  v.  pp.  438-440); 
Burnet,  Soames,  Biog.  Brit. ;  Wood's  At/tence  (Bliss),  s.  v. ; 
Stow,  Chron.  p.  581.  (a.  a  G.) 

ABELARD,  Peter,  born  at  Pallet  (Palais),  not  far 
from  Nantes,  in  10  79,  was  the  eldest  son  of  a  uoble  Breton 
house.  The  namo  Abalardus  (also  written  Abailardus, 
Abaielardus,  and  in  many  other  ways)  is  said  to  be  a  cor- 
ruption of  li abi  tardus,  substituted  by  himself  for  a  nick- 
name Bajolardus  given  to  him  when  a  student.-  As  a 
boy,  he  showed  an  extraordinary  quickness  of  apprehen- 
sion, and,  choosing  a  learned  life  instead  of  the  active 
career  natural  to  a  youth  of  his  birth,  early  became  an 
adept  in  the  art  of  dialectic,  under  which  name  philosophy, 
meaning  at  that  time  chiefly  the  logic  of  Aristotle  trans- 
mitted through  Latin  channels,  was  the  great  subject  of 
bberal  •  study  in  the  episcopal  schools.  Roscellin,  the 
famous  canon  of  Compiegne,  is  mentioned  by  himself  as 
his  teacher ;  but  whether  he  heard  this  champion  of 
extreme  Nominalism  in  early  youth,  when  he  wandered 
about  from  school  to  school  for  instruction  and  exercise, 
or  some  years  later,  after  he  had  already  begun  to  teach 
for  himself,  remains  uncertain.  His  wanderings  finally 
brought  him  to  Paris,  still  under  the  age  of  twenty.  There, 
in  the  great  cathedral  school  of  Notre-Dame,  he  sat  for  a 
while  under  the  teaching  of  William  of  Champeaux,  the 
disciple  of  St  Anselm  and  most  advanced  of  Realists,  but, 
presently  stepping  forward,  he  overcame  the  master  in 
discussion,  and  thus  began  a  long  duel  that  issued  in 
the  downfall  of  the  philosophic  theory  of  Realism,  till  then 
dominant  in  the  early  Middle  Age.  First,  in  the  teeth  of 
opposition  from  the  metropolitan  teacher,  he  proceeded  to 
set  up  a  school  of  his  own  at  Melun,  whence,  for  more 
direct  competition,  he  removed  to  Corbeil,  nearer  Paris. 
The  success  of  his  teaching  was  signal,  though  for  a  time 
he  had  to  quit  the  field,  the  strain  proving  too  great  for 
his  physical  strength.  On  his  return,  after  1 108,  he  found 
William  lecturing  no  longer  at  Notre-Dame,  but  in  a 
monastic  retreat  outside  the  city,  and  there  battle  was 
again  joined  between  them,  forcing  upon  the  Realist  a 
material  change  of  doctrine,  he  was  once  more  victorious, 
and  thenceforth  he  stood  supreme.  His  discomfited  rival 
still  had  power  to  keep  him  from  lecturing  in  Paris,  but 
soon  failed  in  this  last  effort  also.  From  Melun,  where  he 
had  resumed  teaching,  Abelard  passed  to  the  capital,  and 
set  up  his  school  on  the  heights  of  St  Gapevieve,  looking 
over  Notre-Dame.  When  he  had  increased  his  distinc- 
tion still  further  by-  winning  reputation  in  the  theological 
school  of  Anselm  of  Laon,  no  other  conquest  remained  for 
him.  He  stepped  into  the  chair  at  Notre-Dame,  being  also 
nominated  canon,  about  the  year  1115. 

Few  teachers  ever  held  such  sway  as  Abelard  now 
did  for  a  time.  Distinguished  in  figure  and  manners,  he 
was  seen  surrounded  by  crowds — it  is  said  thousands — of 
students,  drawn  from  all  countries  by  the  fame  of  his 
teaching,  in  which  acuteness  of  thought  was  relieved  by 
simplicity  and  grace  of  exposition.  Enriched  by  the  offer- 
ings of  his  pupils,  and  feasted  with  universal  admiration, 
he  came,  as  he  says,  to  think  himself  the  only  philosopher 
standing  in  the  world.  But  a  change  in  his  fortunes 
was  at  haud.  In  his  devotion  to  science,  he  had  hitherto 
lived  a  very  regular  life,  varied  only  by  the  excitement  of 
conflict:  now,  at  the  height  of  his  fame,  other  passions 
began  to  stir  within  hirn.  There  lived  at  that  time, 
within  the  precincts  of  Notre-Dame,  under  the  care  of  her 
uncle,  the  canon  Fulbert,  a  young  girl  named  Heloise,  of 
noble  extraction  and  born  about  1101.      Fair,  but  still 


more  remarkable  for  her  knowledge,  which  extended  beyond 
Latin,  it  is  said,  to  Greek  and  Hebrew,  she  awoke  a  feel- 
ing of  love  in  the  breast  of  Abelard;  and  with  intent  to 
win  her,  he  sought  and  gained  a  footing  in  Fulbert's  house 
as  a  regular  inmate.  Becoming  also  tutor  to  the  maiden, 
he  used  the  unlimited  power  which  he  thus  obtained  over 
her  for  the  purpose  of  seduction,  though  not  without 
cherishing  a  real  affection  which  she  returned  in  unparalleled 
devotion.  Their  relation  interfering  with  his  public  work, 
and  being,  moreover,  ostentatiously  sung  by  himself,  soon 
became  known  to  all  the  world  except  the  too-confiding 
Fulbert;  and,  when  at  last  it  could  not  escape  even  his 
vision,  they  were  separated  only  to  meet  in  secret.  There- 
upon Heloise  found  herself  pregnant,  and  was  carried  off 
by  her  lover  to  Brittany,  where  she  gave  birth  to  a  son. 
To  appease  her  furious  uncle,  Abelard  .low  proposed  a 
marriage,  under  the  condition  that  it  should  be  kept 
secret,  in  order  not  to  rnar  his  prospects  of  advancement  in 
the  church;  but  of  marriage,  whether  public  or  6ecret, 
Heloise  would  hear  nothing.  She  appealed  to  him  not  to 
sacrifice  for  her  the  independence  of  his  life,  nor  did  she 
finally  yield  to  the  arrangement  without  the  darkest  fore- 
bodings, only  too  soon  to  be  realised.  The  secret  of  the 
marriage  was  not  kept  by  Fulbert;  and  when  Heloise,  true 
to  her  singular  purpose,  boldly  then  denied  it,  life  was 
made  so  unsupportable  to  her  that  she  sought  refuge  in  the 
convent  of  Argenteuil  Immediately  Fulbert,  believing 
that  her  husband,  who  aided  in  the  flight,  designed  to  be 
rid  of  her,  conceived  a  dire  revenge.  He  and  some  others 
broke  into  Abelard's  chamber  by  night,  and,  taking  him 
defenceless,  perpetrated  on  him  the  most  brutal  mutilation. 
Thus  cast  down  from  his  pinnacle  of  greatness  into  an 
abyss  of  shame  and  misery,  there  was  left  to  the  brilliant 
master  only  the  life  of  a  monk.  Heloise,  not  yet  twenty, 
consummated  her  work  of  self-sacrifice  at  the  call  of  his 
jealous  love,  and  took  the  veil. 

It  was  in  the  Abbey  of  St  Denis  that  Abelard,  now 
aged  forty,  sought  to  bury  himself  with  his  woes  out  of 
sight.  Finding,  however,  in  the  cloister  neither  calm  ncr 
solitude,  and  having  gradually  turned  again  to  study,  La 
yielded  after  a  year  to  urgent  entreaties  from  without  ar.i 
within,  and  went  forth  to  reopen  his  school  at  the  Priory 
of  Maisoncelle  (1120).  His  lectures,  now  framed  in  a 
devotional  spirit,  were  heard  again  by  crowds  of  students, 
and  all  Ids  old  influence  seemed  to  have  returned ;  but  old 
enmities  were  revived  also,  against  which  he  was  no  longer 
able  as  before  to  make  head.  No  sooner  had  he  put  in 
writing  his  theological  lectures  (apparently  the  Introductio 
ad  Theologian  that  has  come  down  to  us),  than  his  adver- 
saries fell  foul  of  his  rationalistic  interpretation  of  the 
Trinitarian  dogma.  Charging  him  with  the  heresy  of 
Sabellius  in  a  provincial  synod  held  at  Soissons  in  1121, 
they  procured  by  irregular  practices  a  condemnation  of  his 
teaching,  whereby  he  was  made  to  throw  his  book  into  the 
flames,  and  then  was  shut  up  in  the  convent  of  St  Medard. 
After  the  other,  it  was  the  bitterest  possible  experience 
that  could  befall  him,  nor,  in  the  state  of  mental  desola- 
tion- into  which  it  plunged  him,  could  he  find  any  comfort 
from  being  soon  again  set  free.  The  life  in  his  own 
monastery  proving  no  more  congenial  than  formerly,  he 
fled  from  it  in  secret,  and  only  waited  for  permission  to 
live  away  from  St  Denis  before  he  chose  the  one  lot  that 
suited  his  present  mood.  In  a  desert  place  near  Nogent- 
sur-Seine,  he  built  himself  a  cabin  of  stubble  and  reeds, 
atid  turned  hermit.  But  there  fortune  came  back  to  him 
with  a  new  surprise.  His  retreat  becoming  known,  students 
flocked  from  Paris,  and  covered  the  wilderness  around  him 
with  their  tents  and  huts.  When  he  began  to  teach  again, 
ho  found  consolation,  and  in  gratitude  ho  consecrated  the 
new  oratory  they  built  tor  him  by  the  name  of  the  Paraclete 


A  B  E  — A  B  E 


35 


Upon  the  retnm  of  new  dangers,  or  at  least  of  fears, 
Abelard  left  the  Paraclete  to  make  trial  of  another  refuge, 
accepting  an  invitation  to  preside  over  the  Abbey  of  St 
Gildas-de-Rhuys,  on  the  far-off  shore  of  Lower  Brittany. 
It  proved  a  wretched  exchange.  The  region  was  inhospit- 
able, the  domain  a  prey  to  lawless  exaction,  the  house  itself 
savage  and  disorderly.  Yet  for  nearly  ten  years  he  con- 
tinued to  struggle  with  fate  before  he  fled  from  his  charge, 
yielding  in  the  end  only  under  peril  of  violent  death.  The 
misery  of  those  years  was  not,  however,  unrelieved  ;  for  he 
had  been  able,  on  the  breaking-up  of  Heloise's  convent  at 
Argenteuil,  to  establish  her  as  head  of  a  new  religious 
house  at  the  deserted  Paraclete,  and  in  the  capacity  of 
spiritual  director  he  often  was  called  to  revisit  the  spot 
thus  made  doubly  dear  to  him.  All  this  time  Heloise  had 
lived  amid  universal  esteem  for  her  knowledge  and  character, 
uttering  no  word  under  the  doom  that  had  fallen  upon  her 
youth;  but  now,  at  last,  the  occasion  came  for  expressing  all 
the  pent-up  emotions  of  her  soul.  Living  on  for  some  time 
in  Brittany  after  his  flight  from  St  Gildas,  Abelard  wrote, 
among  other  things,  Ms  famous  Eistoria  Calamitatum, 
and  thus  moved  her  to  pen  her  first  Letter,  which  remains 
an  unsurpassed  utterance  of  human  passion  and  womanly 
devotion ;  the  first  being  followed  by  the  two  other  Letters,  in 
which  she  finally  accepted  the  part  of  resignation  which, 
now  as  a  brother  to  a  sister,  Abelard  commended  to  her. 
He  not  long  after  was  seen  once  more  upon  the  field  of 
his  early  triumphs,  lecturing  on  Mount  St  Genevieve  in 
1136  (when  he  was  heard  by  John  of  Salisbury),  but  it 
was  only  for  a  brief  space  :  no  new  triumph,  but  a  last 
great  trial,  awaited  him  in  the  few  years  to  come  of  his 
chequered  life.  As  far  back  as  the  Paraclete  days,  he 
had  counted  as  chief  among  his  foes  Bernard  of  Clairvaux, 
in  whom  was  incarnated  the  principle  of  fervent  and 
unhesitating  faith,  from  which  rational  inquiry  like  his 
was  sheer  revolt,  and  now  this  uncompromising  spirit  was 
moving,  at  the  instance  of  others,  to  crush  the  growing  evil 
in  the  person  of  the  boldest  offender.  After  preliminary 
negotiations,  in  which  Bernard  was  roused  by  Abelard's 
steadfastness  to  put  forth  all  his  strength,  a  council  met 
at  Sens,  before  which  Abelard,  formally  arraigned  upon  a 
number  of  heretical  charges,  was  prepared  to  plead  his 
cause.  When,  however,  Bernard,  not  without  foregone 
terror  in  the  prospect  of  meeting  the  redoubtable  dialec- 
tician, had  opened  the  case,  suddenly  Abelard  appealed 
to  Rome.  The  stroke  availed  him  nothing;  for  Bernard, 
who  had  power,  notwithstanding,  to  get  a  condemnation 
passed  at  the  council,  did  not  rest  a  moment  till  a  second 
condemnation  was  procured  at  Rome  in  the  following  year. 
Meanwhile,  on  his  way  thither  to  urge  his  plea  in  person, 
Abelard  had  broken  down  at  the  Abbey  of  Clunir  and  there, 
an  nttorly  fallen  man.  with  spirit  of  the  humblest,  and 
only  not  bereft  of  his  intellectual  force,  he  lingered  but  a 
few  mouths  before  the  approach  of  death.  Removed  by 
friendly  hands,  for  the  relief  of  his  sufferings,  to  the 
Priory  of  St  Marcel,  he  died  on  the  21st  of  April  1142. 
First  buried  at  St-  Marcel,  his  remains  soon  after  were 
carried  off  in  secrecy  to  the  Paraclete,  and  given  over  to 
the  loving  care  of  Heloise,  who  in  time  came  herself  to 
rest  beside  them.  The  bones  of  the  pair  were  shifted 
more  than  once  afterwards,  but  they  were  marvellously 
preserved  even  through  the  vicissitudes  of  the  French 
Revolution,  and  now  they  lie  united  in  the  well-known 
tomb  at  Pere-Lachaise. 

Great  as  was  the  influence  exerted  by  Abelard  on  the 
minds  of  his  contemporaries  and  the  course  of  mediaeval 
thought,  he  has  been  little  known  in  modern  times  but 
for  his  connection  with  Heloise.  Indeed,'  it  was  not  till 
the  present  century,  when  Cousin,  in  1836  issued  the 
collection  entitled  Ouvrages  inediit,  cCAbilard^  that  hia 


philosophical  performance  could  be'  judged  at  first  hand : 
of  his  strictly  philosophical  works  only  one,  the  ethical 
treatise  Scito  te  ipsum,  having  been  published  earlier, 
namely,  in  1721.  Cousin's  collection,  besides  giving  ex- 
tracts from  the  theological  work  Sic  et  Non,  (an  assemblage 
of  opposite  opinions  on  doctrinal  points,  cilled  from  the 
Fathers  as  a  basis  for  discussion),  includes  the  Dialeclka, 
commentaries  on  logical  works  of  Aristotle,  Porphyry,  and 
Boethius,  and  a  fragment,  De  Generibus  et  Speciebus.  The 
last-named  work,,  and  also  the  psychological  treatise  De 
Intellectibus,  published  apart  by  Cousin  (in  Frvymeru 
Philosophiques,  vol.  ii.),  are  now  considered  upon  internal 
evidence  not  to  be  by  Abelard  himself,  but  only  to  have 
sprung  out  of  his  school.  A  genuine  work,  the  Glossulee 
super  Porphyrium,  from  which  M.  de  Remusat,  in  his 
classical  monograph  Abelard  (1845),  has  given  extracts, 
remains  in  manuscript. 

The  general  importance  of  Abelard  lies  in  his  having 
fixed  more  decisively  than  any  one  before  him  the 
scholastic  manner  of  philosophising,  with  it3  object  of 
giving  a  formally  rational  expression  to  the  received 
ecclesiastical  doctrine.  However  his  own  particular  inter- 
pretations may  have  been  condemned,  they  were  conceived 
in  essentially  the  same  spirit  as  the  general  scheme  of 
thought  afterwards  elaborated  in  the  13th  century  wkli 
approval  from  the  heads  of  the  church.  Through  him 
was  prepared  in  the  Middle  Age  the  ascendency  of  the 
philosophical  authority  of  Aristotle,  which  became  firmly 
established  in  the  half-century  after  his  death,  when  first 
the  completed  Organon,  and  gradually  all  the  other  works 
of  the  Greek  thinker,  came  to  be  known  in  the  schools  : 
before  his  time  it  was  rather  upon  the  authority  of  Plato 
that  the  prevailing  Realism  sought  to  lean.  As  regards 
the  central  question  of  Universals,  without  having  suffi- 
cient knowledge  of  Aristotle's  views,  Abelard  yet,  in 
taking  middle  ground  between  the  extravagant  Realism  of 
his  master,  William  of  Champeaux,  or  of  St  Anselm,  and 
the  not  less  extravagant  Nominalism  (as  we  have  it 
reported)  of  his  other  master,  Roscellin,  touched  at  more 
than  one  point  the  Aristotelian  position.  Along  with 
Aristotle,  also  with  Nominalists  generally,  he  ascribed  full 
reality  only  to  the  particular  concretes ;  while,  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  "  insana  sententia"  of  Roscellin,  he  declared 
the  Universal  to  be  no  mere  word  (vox),  but  to  consist,  or 
(perhaps  we  may  say)  emerge,  in  the  fact  of  predication. 
(sermoj.  Lying  in  the  middle  between  Realism  asd 
(extreme)  Nominalism,  this  doctrine  has  often  bees  spoken 
of  as  Conceptualism,  but  ighorantly  so.  Abelard,  pre- 
eminently a  logician,  did  not  concern  himself  with  the 
psychological  question  which  the  Conceptualist  aims  at 
deciding  as  to  the  mental  subsistence  of  the  Universal. 
Outside  of  his  dialectic,  it  was  in  ethics  that  Abelard 
showed  greatest  activity  of  philosophical  thought ;  laying 
very  particular  stress  upon  the  subjective  intention  as 
determining,  if  not  the  moral  character,  at  least  the  moral 
value,  of  human  action.  His  thought  in  this  direction, 
wherein  he  anticipated  something  of  modern  speculation, 
is  the  more  remarkable  because  his  scholastic  successors 
accomplished  least  in  the  field  of  morals,  hardly  venturing  to 
bring  the  principles  and  rules  of  conduct  under  pure  philo- 
sophical discussion,  even  after  the  great  ethical  inquries  ef 
Aristotle  became  fully  known  to  them.  (g.  c.  k.) 

ABENCERRAGES,  a  family  or  faction  that  is  said  to 
have  held  a  prominent  position  in  the  Moorish  kingdom 
of  Granada  in  the  1 5th  century.  The  name  appears  to  have 
been  derived  from  the  Yussuf  ben-Serragh,  the  head  of 
the  tribe  in  the  time  of  Mahommed  VlL,  who  did  that' 
sovereign  good  service  in  his  struggles  to  retain  tha 
crown  of  which  he  was  three  times  deprived.  Nothing 
is  known  of  the  family  with  certainty;  but  the  came  is 


36 


A  B  E  — A  B  E 


familiar  from  the  interesting  romance  of  Gines  Perez  de 
Hita,  Guerras  civiles  de  Granada,  which  celebrates  the 
feuds  of  the  Abencerrages  and  the  rival  family  of  the 
Zcgris,  and  the  cruel  treatment  to  wbich  the  former  were 
subjected.  Florian's  Gonsalvo  of  Cordova,  and  Chateau- 
briand's Last  of  the  Abencerrages,  are  imitations  of  Perez 
de  Hit&'ft  work.  The  hall  of  the  Abencerrages  in  the 
Alhambra  takes  its  name  from  being  the  reputed  scene  of 
the  massacre  of  the  family. 

ABENEZRA,  or  Ibn  Ezha,  is  the  name  ordinarily  given 
to  Abraham  ben  Heir  ben  Ezra  (called  also  Abenare  or 
Evenare),  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  Jewish  literati 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  lie  was  born  at  Toledo  about  1090;  left 
.Spain  for  Rome  about  1.10:  resided  afterwards  at  Mantua 
(1145),  at  Lucca  (1154),  at  Rhodes  (1155  and  11GG),  and 
in  England  (1159) ;  and  died  probably  in  1168.  He  was 
distinguished  as  a  philosopher,  astronomer,  physician,  and 
poet,  but  especially  as  a  grammarian  and  commentator. 
The  works  by  which  he  is  best  known  form  a  series  of  Com- 
mentaries on  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  have 
nearly  all  been  printed  in  the  great  Rabbinic  Bibles  of 
Bomberg  (1525-6),  Buxtorf  (1618-9),  and  Frankfurter 
(1724-7).  Abenezra's  commentaries  are  acknowledged  to 
be  of  very  great  value ;  he  was  the  first  who  raised  biblical 
exegesis  to  the  rank  of  a  science,  interpreting  the  text 
according  te  its  literal  sense,  and  illustrating  it  from  cognate 
languagos.  His  style  is  elegant,  but  is  so  concise  as  to  be 
sometimes  obscure;  and  he  occasionally  indulges  in  epigram. 
In  addition  to  the  commentaries,  he  wrote  several  treatises 
on  astronomy  or  astrology,  and  a  number  of  grammatical 
(Corks. 

ABENSBERG,  a  small  town  of  Bavaria,  18  miles  S.W. 
of  Regensburg,  containing  1300  inhabitants.  Here  Napo- 
leon gained  an  important  victory  over  the  Austrians  on 
the  20th  of  April  1809.  The  town  is  the  Abusina  of  the 
Romans,  and  ancient  ruins  exist  in  its  neighbourhood. 

ABERAVON,  a  parliamentary  and  municipal  borough 
of  Wales,  in  the  county  of  Glamorgan,  beautifully  situated 
on  the  Avon,  near  its  mouth,  8  miles  east  of  Swansea. 
The  town  and  adjacent  villages  have  increased  rapidly 
in  recent  yeaYs,  from  the  extension  of  the  mines  of  coal  and 
iron  in  the  vicinity,  and  the  establishment  of  extensive 
works  for  the  smelting  of  tin,  copper,  and  zinc.  The 
harbour,  Port  Talbot,  has  been  much  improved,  and  has 
good  docks ;  and  there  is  regular  steam  communication 
with  BristoL  Ores  for  the  smelting  furnaces  are  imported 
from  Cornwall,  and  copper,  tin,  and  coal  are  exported. 
Aberavon  unites  with  Swansea,  Kenfigg,  Loughor,  and 
Neath,  in  returning  a  member  to  Parliament.  In  1871  the 
population  of  the  parish  was  3396,  of  the  parliamentary 
borough,  11,906. 

ABERCONWAY.     See  Conway. 

ABERCROMBIE,  John,  an  eminent  physician  of  Edin- 
burgh, was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  George  Abercrombie  of 
Aberdeen,  in  which  city  he  was  born  in  1781.  After 
attending  the  Grammar  School  and  Marischal  College,' 
Aberdeen,  he  commenced  his  medical  studies  at  Edinburgh 
in  1800,  and  obtained  his  degree  of  M.D.  there  in  1803. 
Soon  afterwards  he  went  to  London,  and  for  about  a  year 
gave  diligent  attention  to  the  medical  practice  and  lectures 
in  St  George's  Hospital  In  1804  he  returned  to  Edin- 
burgh, became  a  Fellow  of  the  College  of  Surgeons,  and 
commenced  as  general  practitioner  in  that  city ;  where,  in 
dispensary  and  private  practice,  he  laid  the  foundation  of 
that  character  for  sagacity  as  an  observer  of  disease,  and 
judgment  in  its  treatment,  that  eventually  elevated  him  to 
the  head  of  his  profession.  In  1823,  be  became  a  Licen- 
tiate of  the  College  of  Physicians;  in  1824,  a  Fellow  of 
that  body;  and  from  the  death  of  Dr  Gregory  in  1822} 
he  was  considered  the  first  physician  in  Scotland.     Aber- 


crombie early  began  the  laudable  practice  of  preserving 
accurate  notes  of  the  cases  that  fell  under  his  care  ;  and  at 
a  period  when  pathological  anatomy  was  far  too  littlo 
regarded  by  practitioners  in  this  country,  ho  had  the 
merit  of  sedulously  pursuing  it,  and  collecting  a  mass  of 
most  important  information  regarding  the  changes  pro- 
duced by  disease  on  different  organs ;  so  that,  before  the 
year  1824,  he  had  more  extended  experience,  and  more 
correct  views  in  this  interesting  field,  than  most  of  his 
contemporaries  engaged  in  extensive  practice.  From  1816 
he  occasionally  enriched  the  pages  of  the  Edinburgh 
Medical  and  Surgical  Journal  with  essays,  that  display 
originality  and  industry,  particularly  those  "  on  tho  diseases 
of  the  spinal  cord  and  brain,"  and  "  on  diseases  of  the 
intestinal  canal,  of  the  pancreas,  and  spleen."  The  first 
of  these  formed  the  basis  of  his  great  and  very  original 
work,  Pathological  and  Practical  Researches  on  Diseases 
of  the  Brain  and  Spinal  Cord,  which  appeared  at  Edin- 
burgh in  1828.  In  the  same  year  he  published  also 
another  very  valuable  work,  his  Researches  on  t/ie  Diseases 
of  the  Intestinal  Canal,  Liver,  and  other  Viscera  of  the 
Abdomen.  Though  his  professional  practice  was  very 
extensive  and  lucrative,  he  found  time  for  ciier  specula- 
tions and  occupations.  In  1830  he  published  his  Inquiries 
concerning  the  Intellectual  Powers  of  Man  and  (he  Invests 
gation  of  Truth,  a  work  which,  though  less  original  ai.il 
profound  than  his  .medical  speculations,  contains  a  popular 
view  of  an  interesting  subject,  expressed  in  simple  language. 
It  was  followed  in  1833  by  a  sequel,  The  Philosophy  of 
the  Moral  Feelings,  the  object  of  which,  as  stated  in  tha 
preface,  was  "  to  divest  the  subject  of  all  improbable 
speculations,"  and  to  show  "  the  important  relation  which 
subsists  between  the  science  of  mind  and  the  doctrines  of 
revealed  religion."  Both  works  have  been  very  extensively 
read,  reaching  the  18th  and  14th  editions  respectively  in 
1869.  Soon  after  the  publication  of  Moral  Feelings,  the 
University  of  Oxford  conferred  on  the  author  the  honorary 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine,  and  in  1835  he  was  elected 
Lord  Rector  of  Marischal  College,  Aberdeen.  Dr  Aber- 
crombie was  much  beloved  by  his  numerous  friends  for 
the  suavity  and  kindness  of  his  manners,  and  was  uni- 
versally esteemed  for  his  benevolence  and  unaffected  piety. 
Ho  died  on  the  14th  of  November  1844  of  a  very  uncom- 
mon disease,  the  bursting  (from  softening  of  the  muscular 
substance)  of  the  coronary  vessels  of  the  heart. 

ABERCROMBY,  Davtd,  M.D.  This  Scottish  physi- 
cian was  sufficiently  noteworthy  hali  a  century  after  his 
(probable)  decease  to  have  his  Nova  Medicines  Praxis 
reprinted  at  Paris  in  1740;  while  during  his  lifetime  his 
Tuta  ac  efficax  luis  venerea;  satpe  absque  mercurio  ac  semper 
absque  salivatione  mercuriali  curando  methodus  (1684,  8vo) 
was  translated  into  German  and  published  at  Dresden  in 
1702  (8vo).  In  1685  were  published  De  Pulsus  Varin- 
tione  (London;  Paris,  1688,  12mo),  and  Ars  explorandi 
medicos  facultates  planiarum  ex  solo  sap.  (London).  His 
Opuscula  were  ■  collected  in  1687.  These  professional 
writings  gave  him  a  place  and  memorial  in  Haller's  Biblio- 
theca  Medicine  Pract.  (4  vols.  8vo,  1779,  torn.  iii.  p.  619); 
but  he  claims  passing  remembrance  rather  as  a  meta- 
physician by  his  remarkable  controversial  books  in  theo- 
logy and  philosophy.  Formerly  a  Roman  Catholic  and 
Jesuit,  he  abjured  Popery,  and  published  Protestan-cy 
■proved  Safer  than  Popery  (London,  1686).  But  by  far 
the  most  noticeable  of  his  productions  is  A  Discourse 
of  Wit  (London,  1685).  This  treatise  somehow  has  fallen 
out  of  sight— much  as  old  coined  gold  gets  hidden  away 
— so  that  bibliographers  do  not  seem  to  have  met  with 
it,  and  assign  it  at  hap-hazard  to  Patrick  Abercromby, 
M.D.  Notwithstanding,  the  most  cursory  examination 
of  it  proves  that  in  this  Discourse  of  Wit  are  contained 


A  B  E  — A  B  E 


37 


some  of  the  most  characteristic  and  most  definitely-put 
metaphysical  opinions  of  the  Scottish  philosophy  of  com- 
mon sense.  Of  this  early  metaphysician  nothing  biographi- 
cally  has  come  down  save  that  he  was  a  Scotchman 
("  Scotus") — born  at  Seaton.  He  was  living  early  in  the 
18th  century.  (Haller,  as  supra;  Lawrence  Charteris's 
M.S.,  s.  v.)  So  recently  as  1833  was  printed  A  Short 
Account  of  Scots  Divines  by  him,  edited  by  James  Maidment, 
Edinburgh.  (a.  b.  G.) 

ABERCROMBY,  James,  Loed  Dunfermline,  third  son 
of  the  celebrated  Sir  Ralph  Abercromby,  was  born  on  the 
7th  Nov.  1776.  Educated  for  the  profession  of  the  law, 
he  was  called  to  the  bar  at  Lincoln's  Inn  in  1801,  but  he 
was  prevented  from  engaging  to  any  considerable  extent  in 
general  practice  by  accepting  appointments,  first  as  commis- 
sioner in  bankruptcy,  and  subsequently,  as  steward  of  the 
estates  of  the  Duke  of  Devonshire.  He  commenced  his 
political  career  in  1807,  when  he  was  elected  member  of 
Parliament  for  the  borough  of  Midhurst.  His  sympathies 
with  the  small  and  struggling  Opposition  had  already  been 
declared,  and  he  at  once  attached  himself  to  the  Whig 
party,  with  which  he  consistently  acted  throughout  life. 
In  1812  he  was  returned  for  Calne,  which  he  continued  to 
represent  until  his  elevation  to  the  Scotch  bench  in  1830. 
During  this  lengthened  period  he  rendered  conspicuous  and 
valuable  services  to  his  party  and  the  country.  In  Scotch 
affairs  he  took,  as  was  natural,  a  deep  interest;  and,  by 
introducing,  on  two  separate  occasions,  a  motion  for  the 
redress  of  a  special  glaring  abuse,  he  undoubtedly  gave  a 
strong  impulse  to  the  growing  desire  for  a  general  reform. 
In  1824,  and  again  in  1826,  he  presented  a  petition  from 
the  inhabitants  of  Edinburgh,  and  followed  it  up  by  a 
motion  "  for  leave  to  bring  in  a  Bill  for  the  more  effectual 
representation  of  the  city  of  Edinburgh  in  the  Commons 
House  of  Parliament."  The  motion  was  twice  rejected, 
but  by  such  narrow  majorities  as  showed  that  the  monopoly 
of  the  self-elected  Council  of  thirty-three  was  doomed.  In 
1827,  on  the  accession  of  the  Whigs  to  power  under  Mr 
Canning,  Abercromby  received  the  appointment  of  Judge- 
Advocate-General  and  Privy  Counsellor.  In  1830  he  was 
raised  to  the  judicial  bench  as  Chief  Baron  of  the  Exche- 
quer in  Scotland.  The  office  was  abolished  in  1832;  and 
almost  contemporaneously,  Edinburgh,  newly  enfranchised, 
was  called  to  return  two  members  to  the  first  reformed 
Parliament.  As  the  election  marked  the  commencement 
of  a  new  political  era,  the  honour  to  be  conferred  possessed 
a  peculiar  value,  and  the  choice  of  the  citizens  fell  most 
appropriately  on  Francis  Jeffrey  and  James  Abercromby, 
two  of  the  foremost  of  those  to  whom  they  were  indebted 
for  their  hard-won  privileges.  In  1834  Mr  Abercromby 
obtained  a  seat  in  the  cabinet  of  Lord  Grey  as  Master  of 
the  Mint.  On  the  assembling  of  the  new  Parliament  in 
1835,  the  election  of  a  speaker  gave  occasion  for  the  first 
trial  of  strength  between  the  Reform  party  and  the  followers 
of  Sir  Robert  Peel.  After  a  memorable  division,  in  which 
more  members  voted  than  had  ever  before  been  known, 
Abercromby  was  elected  by  316  votes,  to  310  recorded  for 
Manners-Sutton.  The  choice  was  amply  justified,  not  only 
by  the  urbanity,  impartiality,  and  firmness  with  which 
Abercromby  discharged  the  public  duties  of  the  chair,  but 
also  by  the  important  reforms  he  introduced  in  regard  to 
the  conduct  of  private  business.  In  1839  he  resigned  the 
office,  and  received  the  customary  honour  of  a  peerage,  with 
the  title  of  Lord  Dunfermline.  The  evening  of  his  life  was 
passed  in  retirement  at  Colkiton,  near  Edinburgh,  where  he 
died  on  the  17th  April  1858.  The  courage  and  sagacity 
which  marked  his  entire  conduct  as  a  Liberal  were  never 
more  conspicuous  than  when,  towards  the  close  of  his  life, 
he  availed  himself  of  an  opportunity  of  practically  asserting 
his  cherished  doctrine  of  absolute  religious  equality.     The 


important  part  he  took  in  originating  and  supporting  the 
United  Industrial  School.in  Edinburgh  for  ragged  children, 
irrespective  of  their  religious  belief,  deserves  to  be  grate- 
fully acknowledged  and  remembered,  even  by  those  who 
took  the  opposite  side  in  the'  controversy  which  arose  with 
regard  to  it. 

ABERCROMBY,  Patrick,  M.D.,  was  the  third  son  of 
Alexander  Abercromby  of  Fetterneir  in  Aberdeenshire,  and 
brother  of  Francis  Abercromby,  who  was  created  by  James 
II.  Lord  Glasford.     He  was  born  at  Forfar  in  1656.     As 
throughout  Scotland,  he  could  have  had  there  the  benefits  of 
a  good  parish  school ;  but  it  would  seem  from  after  event3 
that  his  family  was  Roman  Catholic,  and  hence,  in  all  pro- 
bability, his  education  was  private.     This,  and  not  the  un- 
proved charge  of  perversion  from  Protestantism  in  subser- 
viency to  James  II.,  explains  his  Roman  Catholicism  and 
adhesion  to  the  fortunes  of  that  king.     But,  intending  to 
become  a  doctor  of  medicine,  he  entered  the  University  of 
St  Andrews,  where  he  took  his  degree  of  M.D.  in  1G85. 
From  a  statement  in  one  of  his  preface-epistles  to  his  mag- 
num opus,  the  Martial  Achievements  of  the  Scots  Nation, 
he  must  have  spent  most  of  his  youthful  years  abroad. 
It  has  been  stated  that  he  attended  the  University  of 
Paris.      The  Discourse  of  Wit  (16S5),  assigned  to  him, 
belongs  to  Dr  David  Abercromby,  a  contemporary.    On  his 
return  to  Scotland,  he  is  found  practising  as  a  physician  in 
Edinburgh,  where,  besides  his  professional  duties,  he  gave 
himself  with  characteristic  zeal  to  the  study  of  antiquities, 
a  study  to  which  he  owes  it  that  his  name  still  lives,  for 
he  finds  no  place  in  either  Haller  or  Hutchison's  Medical 
Biographies.    He  was  out-and-out  a  Scot  of  the  old  patriotic 
type,  and,  living  as  he  did  during  the  agitations  for  the 
union  of  England  and  Scotland,  he  took  part  in  the  war 
of  pamphlets  inaugurated  and  sustained   by  prominent 
men   on   both  sides   of  the  Border,      He  crossed  swords 
with  no  less  redoubtable  a  foe  than  Daniel  Defoe  in  his 
Advantages  of  the  Act  of  Security,  compared  with  those  oj 
the  intended  Union  (Edinburgh,  1707),  and  A  Vindication 
of  the  Same  against  Mr  De  Foe  (ibid.)      The  logic  and 
reason  were  with  Defoe,  but  there  was  a  sentiment  in  the 
advocates    of   independence  which  was  not   sufficiently 
allowed  for  in  the  clamour  of  debate ;  and,  besides,  tne 
disadvantages  of  union  were  near,  hard,  and  actual,  the 
advantages  remote,  and  contingent  on  many  things  and 
persons.     Union  wore  the  look  to  men  like  Abercromby 
and  Lord  Belhaven  of  absorption,  if  not  extinction.     Aber- 
cromby was  appointed  physician  to  James  II.,  but  the  Re- 
volution deprived  him  of  the  post.     Crawford  (in  his  Peer- 
age, 1716)  ascribes  the  title  of  Lord  Glasford  to  an  intended 
recognition  of  ancestral  loyalty;  its  bestowment  in  1685 
corresponding  with  the  younger  brother's  graduation  as 
M.D.,  may  perhaps  explain  his  appointment.     A  minor 
literary  work  of   Abercrbmby's  was  a  translation  of   M. 
Beague's  partizan  History  (so  called)  of  the  War  carried  on 
by  the  Popish  Government  of  Cardinal  Beaton,  aided  by  the 
French,  against  the  English  under  the  Protector  Somerset, 
which  appeared  in   1707.      The  work  with  which  Aber- 
cromby's  name  is  permanently  associated  is  his  already 
noticed  Martial  Achievements  of  tlie  Scots  Nation,  issued  in 
two  noble  folios,  vol.  i.  1711,  vol.  ii.   1716.     In  the  title- 
page  and  preface  to  vol.  i.  he  disclaims  the  ambition  of 
being  an  historian,  but  in  vol.  ii.,  in  title-page  and  preface 
alike,  he  is  no  longer  a  simple  biographer,  but  an  historian. 
That  Dr  Abercromby  did  not  use  the  word  "genuine  history" 
in  his  title-page  without  warrant  is  clear  on  every  page  of 
his  large  work.     Granted  that,  read  in  the  light  of  after 
researches,  much  of  the  first  volume  must  necessarily  be 
relegated  to  the  region  of  the  mythical,  none  the  less  was 
the  historian  a  laborious  and  accomplished  reader  and  inves- 
tigator of  all  available  authorities,  as  well  manuscript  aa 


38 


A  B  E  —  AB  E 


printed ;  while  the  roll  of  names  of  those  who  aided  him 
includes  every  man  of  note  in  Scotland  at  the  time,  from 
Sir  Thomas  Craig  and  Sir  George  Mackenzie  to  Mr  Alex- 
ander Nisbet  and  Mr  Thomas  Ruddiman.  The  Martial 
AcJiievernaits  has  not  been  reprinted,  though  practically 
the  first  example  of '  Scottish  typography  in  any  way 
noticeable,  vol.  ii.  having  been  printed  under  the  scholarly 
supervision  of  Thomas  Ruddiman.  The  date  of  his  death 
is  uncertain.  It  has  been  variously  assigned  to  1715, 
1716,  17i'0,  and  1726,  and  it  is  usually  added  that  he  left 
&  widow  in  gTeat  poverty.  That  he  was  living  in  1 7 1 6  is 
certain,  as  Crawford  speaks  of  him  (in  his  Peerage,  171 G) 
is  "my  worthy  friend."  Probably  he  died  about  1716. 
Memoirs  of  the  Abercrombys,  commonly  given  to  him,  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  published.  (Chambers's  Eminent 
Scotsmen,  s.  v. ;  Anderson's  Scottish  Nation,  s.  v. ;  Chalmers's 
Biog.  Diet.,  s.  v. ;  Chalmers's  Life  of  Ruddiman;  Haller's 
Bibliotheca  Medicinal  Pract.,  4  vols.  4to,  1779;  Hutchin- 
son's Biog.  Medical,  2  vols.  8vo,  1799;  Lee's  Defoe,  3  vols. 
8vo.)  (a.  b.  g.) 

ABERCROMBY,  Sik^Ralph,  K.B.,  Lieutenant-General 
in  the  British  army,  was  the  eldest  son  of  George  Aber- 
cromby  of  Tullibody,  Clackmannanshire,  and  was  born  in 
October  1734.  After  passing  some  time  at  an  excellent 
6chool  at  Alloa,  he  went  to  Rugby,  and  in  1752-53  he 
attended  classes  in  Edinburgh  University.  In  1754  he  was 
sent  to  Leipsic  to  study  civil  law,  with  a  view  to  his  pro- 
ceding  to  the  Scotch  bar,  of  which  it  is  worthy  of  notice 
that  both  his  grandfather  and  his  father  lived  to  be  the 
oldest  members.  On  returning  from  the  Continent  he 
expressed  a  strong  preference  for  the  military  profession, 
and  a  cornet's  commission  was  accordingly  obtained  for 
him  (March  1756)  in  the  3d  Dragoon  Guards.  He  rose 
through  the  intermediate  gradations  to  the  rank  of  lieu- 
tenant-colonel of  the  regiment  (1773),  and  in  1781  he 
became  colonel  of  the  103d  infantry.  When  that  regiment 
was  disbanded  in  1783  he  retired  upon  half -pay.  That 
up  to  this  time  he  had  scarcely  been  engaged  in  active 
service,  was  owing  mainly  to  his  disapproval  of  the  policy 
of  the  Government,  and  especially  to  his  sympathies  with 
the  American  colonists  in  their  struggles  for  independence; 
and  his  retirement"  is  no  doubt  to  be  ascribed  to  similar 
feelings.  But  on  France  declaring  war  against  England 
in  1793,  he  hastened  to  resume  his  professional  duties; 
and,  being  esteemed  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  intrepid 
officers  in  the  whole  British  forces,  he  was  appointed  to 
the  command  of  a  brigade  under  the  Duke  of  York,  for 
service  in  Holland.  He  commanded  the  advanced  guard 
in  the  action  on  the  heights  of  Cateau,  and  was  wounded 
at  Niineguen.  The  duty  fell  to  him  of  protecting  the 
British  army  in  its  disastrous  retreat  out  of  Holland,  in 
the  winter  of  1794-5.  In  1795  he  received  the  honour  of 
knighthood,  the  Order  of  the  Bath  being  conferred  on  him 
in  acknowledgment  of  his  services.  The  same  year  he 
was  appointed  to  succeed  Sir  Charles  Grey,  as  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  British  forces  in  the  West  Indies.  In  1796, 
Grenada  was  suddenly  attacked  and  taken  by  a  detach- 
ment of  the  army  under  his  orders.  He  afterwards 
obtained  possession  of  the  settlements  of  Demerara  and 
Essequibo,  in  South  America,  and  of  the  islands  of  St 
Lucia,  St  Vincent,  and  Trinidad.  He  returned  in  1797 
to  Europe,  and,  in  reward  for  his  important  services,  wa.? 
appointed  to  the  command  of  the  regiment  of  Scots  Greys, 
intrusted  with  the  governments  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  Fort 
George,  and  Fort  Augustus,  and  raised  to'  the  rank  of  lieu- 
tenant-generaL  He  held,  in  1797-8,  the  chief  command 
of  the  forces  in  Ireland.  There  he  laboured  to  maintain 
the  discipline  of  the  army,  to  suppress  the  rising  rebellion, 
and  to  protect  the  people  from  military  oppression,  with  a 
care  worthy  alike  of  a  great  general  and  an  enlightened 


and  beneficent  statesman.  When  he  was  appointed  to  the 
command  in  Ireland,  an  invasion  of  that  country  by  the 
French  was  confidently  anticipated  by  the  English 
Government.  He  used  his  utmost  efforts  to  restore  the 
discipline  of  an  army  that  was  utterly  disorganised;  and, 
as  a  first  step,  he  anxiously  endeavoured  to  protect  the 
people,  by  re-establishing  the  supremacy  of  the  civil  power, 
and  not  allowing  the  military  to  be  called  out,  except  when 
it  was  indispensably  necessary  for  the  enforcement  of  the 
law  and  the  maintenance  of  order.  Finding  that  he  received 
no  adequate  support  from  the  head  of  the  Irish  Govern- 
ment, and  that  all  his  efforts  were  opposed  and  thwarted 
by  those  who  presided  in  the  councils  of  Ireland,  he  resigned 
the  command.  His  departure  from  Ireland  was  deeply 
lamented  by  the  reflecting  portion  of  the  people,  and  was 
speedily  followed  by  those  disastrous  results  which  he  had 
anticipated,  and  which  he  so  ardently  desired  and  had  so 
wisely  endeavoured  to  prevent.  After  holding  for  a  short 
period  the  office  of  Commander-in-Chief  in  Scotland,  Sir 
Ralph,  when  the  enterprise  against  Holland  was  resolved 
upon  in  1799,  was  again  called  to  command  under  the 
Duke  of  York.  The  difficulties  of  the  ground,  the  incle- 
mency of  the  season,  unavoidable  delays,  the  disorderly 
movements  of  the  Russians,  and  the  timid  duplicity  of  the 
Dutch,  defeated  the  objects  of  that  expedition.  But  it 
was  confessed  by  the  Dutch,  the  French,  and  the  British 
alike,  that  even  victory  the  most  decisive  could  not 
have  more  conspicuously  proved  the  talents  of  this  distin- 
guished officer.  His  country  applauded  the  choice,  when, 
in  1801,  he  was  sent  with  an  army  to  dispossess  the 
French  of  Egypt.  His  experience  in  Holland  and  the 
West  Indies  particularly  fitted  him  for  this  new  command, 
as  was  proved  by  his  carrying  his  army  in  health,  in  spirits, 
and  with  the  requisite  supplies,  in  spite  of  vcrj  great  diffi- 
culties, to  the  destined  scene  of  action.  The  debarkation 
of  the  troops  at  Aboukir,  in  the  face  of  an  opposing  force, 
is  justly  ranked  among  the  most  daring  and  brilliant 
exploits  of  the  English  army.  A  battle  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Alexandria  (March  21,  1801)  was  the  sequel  of 
this  successful  landing,  and  it  was  Sir  R.  Abercromby's 
fate  to  fall  in  the  moment  of  victory.  He  was  struck  by 
a  spent  ball,  which  could  not  be  extracted,  and  died  seven 
days  after  the  battle.  The  Duke  of  York  paid  a  just 
tribute  to  the  great  soldier's  memory  in  the  general  order 
issued  on  the  occasion  of  his  death  : — "  His  steady  observ- 
ance of  discipline,  his  ever-watchful  attention  to  the 
health  and  wa"nts  of  his  troops,  the  persevering  and  un- 
conquerable spirit  which  marked  his  military  career,  the 
splendour  of  his  actions  in  the  field,  and  the  heroism  of 
his  death,  are  worthy  the  imitation  of  all  who  desire,  like 
him,  a  life  of  heroism  and  a  death  of  glory."  By  a  vote 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  a  monument  was  erected  in 
honour  of  Sir  Ralph  Abercrcmby  in  St  Paul's  Cathedral. 
His  widow  was  created  a  peeress,  and  a  pension  of  £2000 
a  year  was  settled  on  her  and  her  two  successors  in  the 
title.  It  may  be  mentioned  that  Abercromby  was  returned, 
after  a  keen  contest,  as  member  of  Parliament  for  his 
native  county  of  Clackmannanshire  in  1773;  but  a  parlia- 
mentary life  had  no  attractions  for  him,  and  he  did  not 
seek  re-election.  A  memoir  of  the  later  years  of  his  life 
(1793-1801),  by  his  son,  Lord  Dunfermline,  was  published 
in  1861. 

ABERDARE,  a  town  of  Wales,  it  tie  county  of 
Glamorgan,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river  Cynon,  four 
miles  S.W.  of  Merthyr-TydviL  The  district  around  is 
rich  in  valuable  mineral'  products,  and  coal  and  iron 
mining  are  very  extensively  carried  on  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. Important  tin-works,  too,  have  been'  recently 
opened.  Part  of  the  coal  is  used  at  the  Iroa  works,  and 
large  quantities  are  sent  to  Cardiff  for  exportation.     Aber- 


ABERDEEN 


39 


dare  is  connected  with  the  coast  by  canal  and  railway.  ' 
Owing  to  the  great  development  of  the  coal  and  iron 
trade,"  it  has  rapidly  increased  from  a  mere  village  to  a 
large 'and  flourishing  town.  Handsome  churches,  banks, 
and  hotels  have  been  erected,  a  good  supply  of  water  has 
been  introduced,  and  a  public  park  has  been  opened. 
Two  markets  are  held  weekly.  The  whole  parish  falls 
within  the  parliamentary-  borough  of  MerthyT-Tydvil 
The  rapid  growth  of  its  population  is  seen  by  the  fol- 
lowing figures  :  in  1841  the  number  of  inhabitants  was 
6471°  irT  1851,  14,999  j  in  1861,  32,299;  and  in  1871, 
37,774. 

ABERDEEN",  a  royal  burgh  and  city,  the  chief  part  of  a 
parliamentary  burgh,  the  capital  of  the  county  of  Aberdeen, 
the  chief  seaport  in  the  north  of  Scotland,  and  the  fourth 
Scottish  town  in  population,  industry,  and  wealth.  It  lies 
in  lat.  57°  9'  N.  and  long.  2°  6'  W.,  on  the  German  Ocean, 
n?ar  the  mouth  of  the  river  Dee,  and  is  542  miles  north 
of  London,  and  111  miles  north  c£  Edinburgh,  by  the 
bhortest  railway  routes. 


ABERDEEN 


Aberdeen,  probably  the  Devana  on  the  Diva  of  Ptolemy, 
was  an  important  place  in  the  12th  century.  William  the 
Lion  had  a  residence  in  the  city,  to  which  he  gave  a  char- 
ter in  1179  confirming  the  corporate  rights  granted  by 
David  I.  The  city  received  many  subsequent  royal 
charters.  It  was  burned  by  Edward  ELL  in  1336,  but 
it  was  soon  rebuilt  and  extended,  and  called  New  Aber- 
deen. The  houses  were  of  timber  and  thatched,  and 
many  such  existed  till  1741.  The  burgh  records  are  the 
oldect  of  any  Scottish  burgh.  They  begin  in  1398,  and  are 
complete  to  the  present  time,  with  only  a  short  break. 
Extracts  from  them,  extending  from  1398  to  1570,  have 
been  published  by  the  Spalding  Club.  For  many  centuries 
the  city  was  subject  to  attacks  by  the  barons  of  the  sur- 
rounding districts,  and  its  avenues  and  six  ports  had  to 
be  guarded.  The  ports  had  all  been  removed  by  1770. 
Several  monasteries  existed  in  Aberdeen  before  the  Re- 
formation.    Most  of  the  Scottish  sovereigns  visited  the 


city  and  received  gifts  from  the  authorities.  In  1497  % 
blockhouse  was  built  at  the  harbour  mouth  as  ft  protection 
against  the  English.  During  the  religious  struggle  in  the 
17th  century  between  the  Royalists  and  Covenanters  the 
city  was  plundered  by  both  parties.  In.  1715  Earl 
Marischal  proclaimed  the  Pretender  at  Aberdeen.  In  1745 
the  Duke  of  Cumberland  resided  a  short  time  in  the  city. 
In  the  middle  of  the  ISth  century  boys  were  kidnapped 
ir.  Aberdeen,  and  sent  as  slaves  to  America.  In  1817  the 
city  became  insolvent,  with  a  debt  uf  £225,710,  contracted 
by  public  improvements,  but  the  debt  was  soon  paid  off." 
The  motto  on  the  city  arms  is  Bon-Accord.  It  formed  the 
watchword  of  the  Aberdonians  while  aiding  King  Robert 
the  Bruce  in  his  battles  with  the  English. 

Of  eminent  men  connected  with  Aberdeen,  New  and 
Old,  may  be  mentioned — John  Barbour,  Hector  Boece  or 
Boethius,  Bishop  Elphinstone,  the  Earls  Marischal ;  George 
Jamesone,  the  famous  portrait  painter  ;  Edward  Raban,  the 
first  printer  in  Aberdeen,  1622 ;  Rev.  Andrew  Cant, 
the  Covenanter ;  David  Anderson  (Davie  do  a'  thing),  e 
mechanic;  James  Gregory,  inventor  of  the  reflecting 
telescope ;  Dr  Thomas  Reid,  the  metaphysician ;  Dr  George 
Campbell,  Principal  of  Marischal  College,  author  *f  several 
important  works,  and  best  known  by  his  Philosophy  of 
Rhetoric ;  Dr  James  Beattie ;  Lord  Byron ;  Sir  James 
Mackintosh;  Robert  Hall;  Dr  R  Hamilton,  who  wrote  on 
the  National  Debt. 

Till  1800  the  city  stood  on  a  z'ew  eminences,  and  had 
steep,  narrow,  and  crooked  streets,  but,  since  the  Improve- 
ment Act  of  that  year,  the  whole  aspect  of  the  place  has 
been  altered  by  the  formation  of  two  new  spacious  and 
nearly  level  streets  (Union  Street  and  King  Street,  meet- 
ing in  Castle  Street),  and  by  the  subsequent  laying  out  of 
many  others,  besides  squares,  terraces,  ic.,  on  nearly  flat 
ground.  The  city  is  above  eight  miles  in  circuit,  and  is 
built  on  sand,  gravel,  and  boulder  clay.  The  highest  parts 
are  from  90  to  170  feet  above  the  sea.  The  chief  thorough- 
fare is  Union  Street,  nearly  a  mile  long  and  70  feet  broad. 
It  runs  W.S.W.  from  Castle  Street,  and  crosses  the  Den- 
burn,  now  the  railway  valley,  by  a  noble  granite  arch  132 
feet  in  span  and  50  feet  high,  which  cost,  with  a  hidden 
arch  on  each  side,  £13,000. 

Aberdeen  is  now  a  capacious,  elegant,  and  well-built 
town,  and  from  the  material  employed,  consisting  chiefly  of 
light  grey  native  granite,  is  called  the  "granite  city." 
It  contains  many  fine  public  buildings.  The  principal  of 
these  is  Marischal  College  or  University  Buildings,  which 
stands  on  the  site  of  a  pre-Reformation  Franciscan  Convent, 
and  was  rebuilt,  1S36-1841,  at  a  cost  of  about  £30,000. 
It  forms  three  sides  of  a  court,  which  is  117  by  105  feet, 
and  has  a  back  wing,  and  a  tower  100  feet  high.  The 
accommodation  consists  of  twenty-five  large  class-rooms  and 
laboratories,  a  hall,"  library,  museums,  <tc 

The  University  of  Aberdeen  was  formed-  by  the  union 
and  incorporation,  in  1860,  by  Act  of  Parliament,  of  the 
University  and  King's  College  of  Aberdeen,  founded  in  Old 
Aberdeen,  in  1494,  by  William  Elphinstone,  Bishop  of 
Aberdeen,  under  the  authority  of  a  Papal  bull  obtained  by 
James  IT.,  and  of  the  Marischal  College  and  University  of 
Aberdeen,  founded  in  New  Aberdeen,  in  1593,  by  George 
Keith,  Earl  Marischal,  by  a  charter  ratified  by  Act  of  Parr 
liament.  The  officials  consist  of  a  chancellor,  with  rector 
and  principal;  there. are  21  professors  and  8  assistants. 
Arts  and  divinity  are  taught  in  King's  College,  and  medicine, 
natural  history,  and  law  in  Marischal  College.  The  arts 
session  lasts  from  the  end  of  October  to  the  beginning 
of  ApriL  The  arts  curriculum  of  four  years,  with  gradua- 
tion, costs  £36,  lis.  There  are  214  arts  bursaries,  29 
divinity,  and  1  medical,  of  the  aggregate  annual  value  of 
£3646,  £650,   and  £26,  respectively.      About  60  arts 


40 


ABERDEEN 


bursaries,  mostly  from  £10  to  £35  in  vaiue,  are  given 
yearly  by  competition,  or  by  presentation  and  examination. 
Two-thirds  of  the  arts  students  are  bursars.  Seventeen 
annual  scholarships  and  prizes  of  the  yearly  value  of  £758 
are  given  at  the  end  of  the  arts  curriculum.  The  average 
yearly  number  of  arts  students,  in  the  thirteen  years 
since  the  union  of  the  arts  classes  of  the  two  colleges  in 
18G0,  has  been  342,  while  in  the  separate  colleges  together 
for  the  nine  years  before  the  union,  it  was  431.  In  winter 
session  1S72-73  there  were  623  matriculated  students  in 
ill  the  faculties.  In  1872,  32  graduated  in  arts,  68  in 
medicine,  5  in  divinity,  and  1  in  law.  The  library  has 
above  80,000  volumes.  The  General  Council  in  1873  had 
2075  registered  members,  who,  with  those  of  Glasgow  Uni- 
versity, return  one  member  to  Parliament. 

The  Free  Church  Divinity  College  was  built  in  1850, 
at  the  cost  of  £2025,  in  the  Tudor-Gothic  style  It  has  a 
large  hall,  a  library  of  12,000  volumes,  and  15  bursaries  of 
the  yearly  value  of  from  £10  to  £25. 

At  the  east  end  of  Union  Street,  and  partly  in  Castle 
Street,  on  the  north  side,  are  the  new  County  and  Muni- 
cipal buildings,  an  imposing  Franco-Scottish  Gothic  pile, 
225  feet  long,  109  feet  broad,  and  64  feet  high,  of  four 
stories,  built  1867-1873  at  the  cv*c  of  £80,000,  including 
£25,000  for  the  site.  Its  chief  feature  is  a  tower  200 
feet  high.  It  contains  a  great  hall,  74  feet  long,  35  feet 
bro-td,  and  50  feet  high,  with  an  open  timber  ceiling  :  a 
Justiciary  Court-House,  50  feet  long,  37  feet  broad,  and 
31  feet  high;  a  Town  Hall,  41  feet  long,  25  feet  broad, 
and  15  feet  high,  and  a  main  entrance  corridor  60  feet 
long,  16  feet  broad,  and  24  feet  high.  A  little  to  the  west 
is  the  Town  and  County  Bank,  a  highly  ornamented  building 
inside  and  outside,  in  the  Italian  style,  costing  about 
£24,000. 

A  very  complete  closed  public  market  of  two  floors  was 
built  in  1842,  at  a  cost  of  £28,000,  by  a  company  incor- 
porated by  Act  of  Parliament.  The  upper  floor  or  great 
hall  is  315  feet  long,  1C6  feet  broad,  and  45  feet  high, 
with  galleries  all  round.  The  lower  floor  is  not  so  high. 
The  floors  contain  numerous  small  shops  for  the  sale  of 
meat,  fowls,  fish,  &c,  besides  stalls  and  seats  for  the  sale 
of  vegetables,  butter,  eggs,  &c.  The  galleries  contain  small 
shops  for  the  sale  of  drapery,  hardware,  fancy  goods,  and 
books.  On  the  upper  floor  is  a  fountain  of  polished  Peter- 
head granite,  costing  £200,  with  a  basin  1\  feet  diameter, 
cut  out  of  one  block  of  stone.  Connected  with  this  under- 
taking was  the  laying  out  of  Market  Street  from  Union 
Street  to  the  quay.  At  the  foot  of  this  street  is  being  built 
in  the  Italian  style  the  new  post  and  telegraph  office,  at  a 
cost  of  £16,000,  including  £4000,  the  cost  of  the  site. 
It  is  to  form  a  block  of  about  100  feet  square  and  40  feet 

high- 
Aberdeen  has  about  60  places  of  worship,  with  nearly 
48,000  sittings.  There  are  10  Established  churches;  20 
Free,  6  Episcopalian,  6  United  Presbyterian,  5  Congre- 
gational, 2  Baptist,  2  Methodist,  2  Evangelical  Union,  1 
Unitarian,  1  of  Roman  Catholic,  1  of  Friends,  and  1  of  Origi- 
nal Seceders.  There  are  also  several  mission  chapels.  In 
1843  all  the  Established  ministers  seceded,  with  10,000  lay 
members.  The  Established  and  Free  Church  denomina- 
tions have  each  about  11,000  members  in  communion. 
The  Established  West  and  East  churches,  in  the  centre  of 
the  city,  within  St  Nicholas  churchyard,  form  a  continuous 
building  220  feet  long,  including  an  intervening  aisle,  over 
which  is  a  tower  and  spire  140  feet  high.  The  West  was 
built  in  1775  in  the  Italian  style,  and  the  East  in  1834  in 
the  Gothic,  each  costing  about  £5000.  They  occupy  the 
site  of  the  original  cruciform  church  of  St  Nicholas,  erected 
In  the  13th,  14th,  and  15th  centuries.  One  of  the  nine 
bells  in  the  tower  bears  the  date  of  1352.  and  is  4  feet 


diameter  at  the  mouth,  3i  feet  high,  and  very  thick.  The 
Union  Street  front  of  the  churchyard  is  occupied  by  a 
very  elegant  granite  facade,  built  in  1 830,  at  the  cost  of 
£1460.  It  is  1 47 A  feet  long,  with  a  central  arched  gateway 
and  entablature  32J  feet  high,  with  two  attached  Ionic 
columns  on  each  side.  Each  of  the  two  wings  has  six 
Ionic  columns  (of  single  granite  blocks,  15  feet  2  inches, 
long),  with  basement  and  entablature,  the  whole  being  23  J 
feet  high.  The  following  are  the  style,  cost,  and  date  of 
erection  of  the  other  principal  Aberdeen  churches — St  An- 
drew's, Episcopal,  Gothic,  £6000,  1817;  North  Church, 
Established,  Greek,  £10,000,  1831;  three  churches  in  k 
cruciform  group,  Free,  simple  Lancet  Gothic,  with  a  line 
brick  spire  174  feet  high,  £5000,  1844  ;  Roman  Catholic, 
Gothic,  £12,000, 1859;  Free  West,  Gothic,  £12,856,  1669, 
with  a  spire  175  feet  high. 

In  1873  there  were  in  Aberdeen  about  110  schools,  with 
from  10,000  to  11,000  pupils  in  attendance.  About  2500 
students  attend  the  University,  Mechanics'  Institution,  and 
private  schools  for  special  branches. 

Five  miles  south-west  of  Aberdeen,  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Dee,  in  Kincardineshire,  is  St  Mary's  Roman  Catholic- 
College  of  Blairs,  with  a  president  and  three  professors. 

The  Aberdeen  Grammar  School,  dating  from  about  1263, 
is  a  preparatory  school  for  the  university.  It  has  a  rector 
and  four  regular  masters,  who  teach  classics,  English, 
arithmetic,  and  mathematics,  for  the  annual  fee  of  £4,  10a. 
for  each  pupiL  Writing,  drawing,  itc,  are  also  taught. 
Nearly  200  pupils  attend,  who  enter  about  the  age  of 
twelve.  Like  the  Edinburgh  High  School,  it  has  no 
elementary  department.  There  are  30  bursaries.  A  new 
granite  building  for  the  school  was  erected,  1861-1863, 
in  the  Scotch  baronial  style,  at  the  cost  of  £16,000,  in- 
cluding site.  It  is  215  feet  long  and  60  feet  high,  and 
has  three  towers. 

The  Mechanics'  Institution,  founded  1824,  and  re- 
organised 1834,  has  a  hall,  class-rooms,  and  a  library  of 
14,000  volumes,  in  a  building  erected  in  1846,  at  a  cost  of 
£3500.  During  the  year  1872-73,  there  were  at  the  School 
of  Science  and  Art  385  pupils;  and  at  other  evening  classes, 
538. 

Aberdeen  has  two  native  banks,  besides  branch  banks, 
and  a  National  Security  Savings  Bank  ;  three  insurance 
companies,  four  shipping  companies,  three  railway  com- 
panies, and  a  good  many  miscellaneous  companies.  There 
are  ten  licensed  pawnbroking  establishments,  with  about 
440,000  pledges  in  the  year  for  £96,000,  and  with  a 
capital  of  £27,000.  There  are  seven  incorporated  trades, 
originating  between  1398  and  1527,  and  having  charitable 
funds  for  decayed  members,  widows,  and  orphans.  They 
have  a  hall,  built  in  1847  for  £8300,  in  the  Tudor  Gothic 
style.  The  hall,  60  feet  long,  29  wide,  and  42  high,  con- 
tains curious  old  chairs,  and  curious  inscriptions  on  the 
shields  of  the  crafts. 

Among  the  charitable  institutions  is  Gordon's  Hospital, 
founded  in  1729  by  a  miser,  Robert  Gordon,  a  Dantzic 
merchant,  of  the  Straloch  family,  and  farther  endowed 
by  Alexander  Simpson  of  Collyhill  in  1816.  It  is 
.  managed  by  the  Town  Council  and  four  of  the  Established 
ministers  of  Aberdeen,  incorporated  by  royal  charters  of 
1772  and  1792.  The  central  part  of  the  house  was  built 
'in  1739,  and  the  wings  in  1830-1834,  the  whole  cosVing 
£17,300,  and  being  within  a  garden  of  above  four  acres. 
It  now  (1-873)  maintains  and  educates  (in  English,  writing, 
arithmetic,  physics,  mathematics,  drawing,  music,  French, 
&.c.)  180  boys  of  the  age  9  to  15,  the  eons  and  grandsons 
of  decayed  burgesses  of  guild  and  trade  of  the  city;  and 
next  those  of  decayed  inhabitants  (not  paupers).  Expendi- 
ture for  year  to  31st  October  1872,  £4353  for  164  boys. 
It  has  a  head-master,  three  regular,  and  several  visiting 


ABERDEEN 


41 


masters.  The  Boys'  and  Girls'  Hospital,  lately  built  for 
.£10,000,  maintains  and  educates  50  boys  and  50  girls. 

The  Female  Orphan  Asylum,  founded  by  Mrs  Elmslie, 
in  18-10,  and  managed  by  trustees,  maintains  and  educates, 
chiefly  as  domestic  servants,  46  girls  between  the  ages  of 
4  and  1G,  at  the  yearly  cost  for  each  of  about  £23,  13s. 
Those  admitted  must  be  legitimate  orphan  daughters  of 
respectable  parents,  who  have  lived  three  years  imme- 
diately before  death  in  Aberdeen  or  in  the  adjoining 
parishes  of  Old  Machar  and  Nigg.  The  Hospital  for 
Orphan  and  Female  Destitute  Children,  endowed  by  John 
Carnegie  and  the  trustees  of  the  Murtle  Fund,  maintains 
and  educates  50  girls,  chiefly  for  domestic  service.  The 
Asylum  for  the  Blind,  established  in  1843,  on  a  foundation 
by  Miss  Cruickshauk,  maintains  and  educates  about  10 
blind  children,  and  gives  industrial  employment  to  blind 
adults.  There  is  a  boys'  and  girls'  school  for  150  boys 
and  150  girla  on  Dr  Bell's  foundation.  The  Industrial 
Schools,  begun  by  Sheriff  Watson  in  1841,  and  the  Re- 
formatory Schools,  begun  in  1857,  having  some  600  pupils 
on  the  roll,  have  greatly  diminished  juvenile  crime  in  the 
district.  The  Murtle  or  John  Gordon's  Charitable  Fund, 
founded  in  1815,  has  an  annual  revenue  from  land  of  about 
£2400,  applicable  to  all  kinds  of  charity,  in  sums  from 
£5  to  £300.  The  Midbeltie  Fund,  founded  by  a  bequest 
of  £20,000,  in  1848,  by  James  Allan  of  Midbeltie,  gives 
yearly  pensions  ranging  from  £5  to  £15  to  respectable 
decayed  widows  in  the  parishes  of  St  Nicholas  and  Old 
Machar. 

The  two  parishes  in  which  Aberdeen  is  situated,  viz., 
St  Nicholas  and  Old  Machar,  have  each  a  large  poor-house. 
The  poor  of  both  parishes  cost  about  £20,000  a  year. 

The  Royal  Infirmary,  instituted  in  1740,  was  rebuilt 
1833-1840,  in  the  Grecian  style,  at  the  cost  of  £17,000. 
It  is  a  well-situated,  large,  commodious,  and  imposing 
building.  It  has  three  stories,  the  front  being  166  feet 
long  and  50  feet  high,  with  a  dome.  A  detached  fever- 
house  was  built  in  1872  for  about  £2500.  The  managers 
were  incorporated  by  royal  charter  in  1773,  and  much 
increased  in  number  in  1852.  The  institution  is  sup- 
ported by  land  rents,  feu-duties,  legacies,  donations,  sub- 
scriptions, church  collections,  &c.  Each  bed  has  on  an 
average  1200  cubic  feet  of  space.  There  are  on  the  average 
1 30  resident  patients,  costing  each  on  the  average  a  shilling 
daily,  and  the  number  of  patients  treated  may  be  stated  at 
1 700  annually,  besides  outdoor  patients  receiving  advice  and 
medicine.  The  recent  annual  expenditure  has  been  about 
£4300.     There  is  a  staff  of  a  dozen  medical  officers. 

The  Eoyal  Lunatic  Asylum,  opened  in  1800,  consists  of 
two  separate  houses,  valued  in  1870  at  £40,000,  in  an 
enclosure  of  40  acres.  It  is  under  the  same  management 
as  the  Infirmary.  The  recent  daily  average  of  patients  has 
been  about  420,  at  an  annual  cost  of  £13,000.  The  annual 
rate  for  each  pauper  is  £25,  10s.  The  General  Dispensary, 
Vaccine,  and  Lying-in  Institution,  founded  in  1823,  has 
bad  as  many  as  6781  c<\ses  in  one  year.  The  Hospital  for 
Incurables  has  a  daily  average  of  26  patients,  and  the  Oph- 
thalmic and  Auric  Institution  has  had  671  cases  in  a  year. 

The  Music  Hall,  built  in  1821  and  1859  at  the  cost 
of  £16,500,  has  a  front  90  feet  long,  with  a  portico  of  6 
Ionic  pillars  30  feet  high ;  large,  highly-decorated  lobbies 
and  looms;  and  a  hall  150  feet  long,  68  broad,  and  50 
high,  with  a  flat  ceiling,  and  galleries.  The  hall  holds  2000 
persons  seated,  and  has  a  fine  organ  and  an  orchestra  for 
300.  Here  H.R.H.  Prince  Albert  opened  the  British 
Association,  as  president,  14th  September  1859.  A  new 
Theatre  and  Opera  House  was  built  in  1872,  in  the  mixed 
Gothic  style,  for  £8400,  with  the  stage  52i  feet  by  29,  and 
the  auditorium  for  1700  to  1800  persons. "  The  front  wall 
is  of  bluish  granite  and  red  and  yellow  freestone,  with 

1-3* 


some  polished  Peterhead  granite  pillars,  the  rest  beinc 
built  of  concrete. 

In  Castle  Street,  the  City  Place  and  Old  Market  Stance, 
is  the  Market  Cross,  a  beautiful,  open-arched,  hexagonal 
structure  of  freestone,  21  feet  diameter,  and  18  feet  high. 
It  has  Ionic  columns  and  pilasters,  and  an  entablature  of 
twelve  panels.  On  ten  of  the  panels  are  medallions, 
cut  in  stone,  in  high  relief,  of  the  Scottish  sovereigns  from 
James  I.  to  James  VIE  From  the  centre  rises  a  com- 
posite column  121  feet  high,  with  a  Corinthian  capital,  on 
which  is  the  royal  unicorn  rampant.  This  cross  was  planned 
and  erected  about  1682  by  John  Montgomery,  a  native 
architect,  for  £100  sterling.  On  the  north  side  of  the 
same  street,  adjoining  the  municipal  buildings,  is  the 
North  of  Scotland  Bank,  a  Grecian  building  in  granite, 
with  a  portico  of  Corinthian  columns,  having  most  elabo- 
rately carved  capitals.  On  an  eminence  east  of  Castle 
Street  are  the  military  barracks  for  600  men,  built  in  1796 
for  £16,000. 

The  principal  statues  in  the  city  are  those  of  the  last 
Duke  of  Gordon — died  1836 — in  grey  granite,  10  feet  high; 
Queen  Victoria,  in  white  Sicilian  marble,  8 J  feet  high; 
Prince  Albert,  bronze,  natural-size,  sitting  posture;  and  a 
curious  rough  stone  figure,  of  unknown  date,  supposed  to 
be  Sir  William  Wallace. 

The  Dee  to  the  south  of  the  city  is  crossed  by  three 
bridges,  the  old  bridge  of  Dee,  an  iron  suspension  bridge, 
and  the  Caledonian  Railway  bridge.  The  first,  till  1832 
the  only  access  to  the  city  from  the  south,  consists  of 
seven  semicircular  ribbed  arches,  is  about  30  feet  high, 
and  was  built  early  in  the  16th  century  by  Bishops  Elphin- 
stone  and  Dunbar.  It  was  nearly  all  rebuilt  1718-1723, 
and  from  being  14J  feet  wide,  it  was  in  1842  made  26 
feet  wide.  From  Castle  Street,  King  Street  leads  in  the 
direction  of  the  new  bridge  of  Don  (a  little  east  of  the  old 
"  Brig  o'  Balgownie  "),  of  five  granite  arches,  each  75  feet 
span,  built  for  nearly  £13,000  in  1827-1832. 

A  defective  harbour,  and  a  shallow  sand  and  gravel  bar  at 
its  entrance,  long  retarded  the  trade  of  Aberdeen,  but,  under 
various  Acts  since  1773,  they  have  been  greatly  deepened. 
The  north  pier,  built  partly  by  Smeaton,  1775-1781,  and 
partly  by  Telford,  1810-1815,  extends  2000  feet  into  the 
German  Ocean.  It  is  30  feet  broad,  andj  with  the  parapet, 
rises  15  feet  above  high  water.  It  consists  of  large  granite 
blocks.  It  has  increased  the  depth  of  water  on  the  bar 
from  a  few  feet  to  22  or  24  feet  at  spring  tides,  and  to  17 
or  18  feet  at  neap.  The  wet  dock,  of  29  acres,  and  with 
6000  feet  of  quay,  was  completed  in  1848,  and  called 
Victoria  Dock,  in  honour  of  Her  Majesty's  visit  to  the 
city  in  that  year.  These  and  other  improvements  of  the 
harbour  and  its  entrance  cost  £325,000  down  to  1848. 
By  the  Harbour  Act  of  1868,  the  Dee  near  the  harbour 
has  been  diverted  to  the  south,  ac  the  cost  of  £80,000, 
and  90  acres  of  new  ground  (in  addition  to  25  acres 
formerly  made  up}  for  harbour  works  are  being  made  up  on 
the  city  or  north  side  of  the  river;  £80,000  has  been 
laid  out  in  forming  in  the  sea,  at  the  south  side  of  the 
river,  a  new  breakwater  of  concrete,  1050  feet  long,  against 
south  and  south-east  storms.  The  navigation  channel  is 
being  widened  and  deepened,  and  the  old  pier  or  break- 
water on  the  north  side  of  the  river  mouth  is  to  be 
lengthened  at  least  500  feet  seaward.  A  body  of  31  com- 
missioners manage  the  harbour  affairs. 

Aberdeen  Bay  affords  safe  anchorage  with  off-shore  winds, 
but  not  with  those  from  the  N.E.,  E.,  and  S.E.  On  the. 
Girdleness,  the  south  point  of  the  bay,  a  lighthouse  was. 
built  in  1833,  in  lat  57°  8'  N.,  and  long.  2°  3'  W.,  with 
two  fixed  lights,  one  vertically  below  the  other,  and  re- 
spectively 115  and  185  feet  above  mean  tide.-.  There  are 
also  fixed  leading  lights  to  direct  ships  entering  the  harbour 


42 


ABERDEEN 


at  night  In  fogs,  a  steam  whistle  near  tho  lighthouse  is 
Bounded  ten  seconds  every  minute.  Near  the  harbour 
mouth  are  three  batteries  mounting  nineteen  guns.  • 

The  water  supplied  to  the  city  contains  only  3J  grains 
Solid  mattoi-  in  a  gallon,  with  a  hardness  oi  about  2  degrees. 
It  is  brought  by  gravitation,  in  a  close  brick  culvert, 
from  tho  Dee,  21  miles  W.S.W.  of  the  city,  to  a  reservoir, 
whii-h  supplies  sine-tenths  of  the  city.  The  other  tenth, 
or  higher  part  of  the  city,  is  supplied  by  a  separate  reser- 
voir, to  wliich  pfirt  of  the  water  from  the  culvert  is  forced 
ap  by  a  hydraulic  engine.  Nearly  40  gallons  water  per 
h»ad  of  the  population  are  consumed  daily  for  all  purposes. 
The  new  water  works  cost  £160,000,  and  were  opened  by 
Her  Majesty,  ICth  October  18G6. 

The  gas  is  made  of  cannel  coal,  and  is  sent  through  71 
miles  of  main  pipes,  which  extend  5  miles  from  the  works. 

The  manufactures,  arts,  and  trade  of  Aberdeen  and 
vicinity  are  large,  and  flourishing.  Woollens  were  made  as 
early  as  1 703,  and  knitting  of  stockings  was  a  great  industry 
in  the  18th  century.  There  are  two  large  firms  in  the 
woollen  trade,  with  1550  hands,  at  £1000  weekly  wages, 
and  making  above  1560  tons  wool  in  the  year  into  yarns, 
carpets,  hand-knit  hosiery,  cloths,  and  tweeds.  The  linen 
trade,  much  carried  on  since  1749,  is  now  confined  to  one 
firm,  with  2G00  hands,  at  £1200  wages  weekly,  who  spin, 
weave,  and  bleach  50  tons  flax  and  60  tons  tow  weekly, 
&ud  produce  yarns,  floorcloths,  sheetings,  dowlas,  ducks, 
towels,  sail-canvas,  etc.  The  cotton  manufacture,  introduced 
in  1779,  employs  only  one  firm,  with  550  hands,  at  £220 
weekly  wages,  who  spin  5000  bales  of  cotton  a-year  into 
mule  yarn.  The  wincey  trade,  begun  in  1839,  employs 
400  hands,  at  £200  weekly  wages,  who  make  2,100,000 
yards  cloth,  27  to  36  inches  broad,  in  the  year.  Paper, 
first  made  here  in  1696,  is  now  manufactured  by  three 
firms  in  the  vicinity.  The  largest  has  2000  hands,  at 
£1250  weekly  wages,  and  makes  weekly  75  to  80  tons  of 
writing  paper,  and  6 J  millions  of  envelopes,  besides  much 
|  cardboard  and  stamped  paper;  another  firm  makes  weekly 
77  tons  coarse  and  card  paper;  and  a  third,  20  tons  print- 
ing and  other  paper.  The  comb  works  of  Messrs  Stewart 
<fe  Co.,  begun  in  1827,  are  the  largest  in  the  world,  em- 
ploying 900  hands,  at  £500  weekly  wages,  who  yearly 
convert  1100  tons  horns,  hoofs,  india-rubber,  and  tortoise- 
shells  into  11  millions  of  combs,  besides  spoons,  cups, 
scoops,  paper-knives,  «fec.  Seven  iron  foundries  and 
many  engineering  works  employ  1000  men,  at  £925 
weekly  wages,  and  convert  6000  tons  of  iron  a-year  into 
marine  and  land  Bteam  engines  and  boilers,  corn  mills, 
wood-preparing  machinery,  machinery  to  grind  and  pre- 
pare artificial  manures,  besides  sugar  mills  and  frames  and 
coffee  machinery  for  the  colonies. 

The  Sandilands  Chemical  Works,  Degun  in  1848,  cover 
(five  acres,  and  employ  over  100  men  and  boys,  at  £90  to 
£100  weekly  wages.  Here  are  prepared  naphtha,  benzole, 
weosote  oil,  pitch,  asphalt,  sulphate  of  ammonia,  sulphuric 
acid,  and  artificial  manures.  Paraffin  wax  and  ozokerite 
are  refined  An  Artesian  well  within  the  works,  421  feet 
deep,  gives  a  constant  supply  of  good  water,  always  at 
61°  Fahr.  Of  several  provision-curing  works,  -the  largest 
employs  SCO  hands,  chiefly  females,  in  preserving  meats, 
soups,  sauces,  jams,  jellies,  pickles,  <fec,  and  has  in  con- 
nection with  it,  near  the  city,  above  230  acres  of  fruit,  vege- 
table, and  farm  ground,  and  a  large  piggery.  The  products 
of  the  breweries  and  distilleries  are  mostly  comsumed  at 
home.  A  large  agricultural  implement  work  employs  70 
or  80  men  and  boys.  Nearly  200  acres  of  ground,  within 
three  miles  of  the  city,  are  laid  out  in  rearing  shrub  and 
forest-tree  seedlings.  In  1872  about  145  acres  of  straw- 
berries were  reared  within  three  miles  of  Aberdeen,  and 
by  Urns  of  this  fruit  are  said  to  have  been  exported. 


Very  durable  grey  granite  has  been  quarried  near  Aber- 
deen for  300  years,  and  blocked  and  dressed  paving,  kerb, 
and  building  granite  stones  have  long  been  exported  from 
the  district  In  1764,  Aberdeen  granite  pavement  was  first 
used  in  London.  About  the  year  1795,  large  granite  blocks 
were  sent  for  the  Portsmouth  docks.  Tho  chief  stones  of 
the  New  Thames  Embankment,  Loudon,  are  from  Kemnay 
granite  quarries,  16  miles  north-west  of  the  city.  Aber- 
deen is  almost  entirely  built  of  granite,  and  large  quantities 
of  the  stone  are  exported  to  build  bridges,  wharfs,  docks, 
lighthouses,  &c.,  elsewhere.  Aberdeen  is  famed  for  its 
polishing-works  of  granite,  especially  grey  and  red  They 
employ  about  1500  hands  in  polishing  vases,  taoles, 
chimney-pieces,  fountains,  monuments,  columns,  &c,  for 
British  and  foreign  demand  Mr  Alexander  Macdonald, 
in  1818,  was  the  first  to  begin  the  granite  polishing  trade, 
and  the  works  of  the  same  firm,  .the  only  ones  of  the  kind 
till  about  1850,  are  still  the  largest  in  the  kingdom. 

In  1820,  15  vessels  from  Aberdeen  were  engaged  in  the 
northern  whale  and  seal  fishing;  in  1860,  one  vessel,  but 
none  since.  The  white  fishing  at  Aberdeen  employs  some 
40  boats,  each  with  a  crew  of  5  men.  Of  tho  900  tons 
wet  fish  estimated  to  be  brought  to  market  yearly,  above  a 
third  are  sent  fresh  by  rail  to  England.  The  salmon 
caught  in  the  Dee,  Don,  and  sea  are  near.'^  all  sent  to 
London  fresh  in  ice.  The  herring  fishing  b?s  been  pro- 
secuted since  1836,  and  from  200  to  350  boats  are 
engaged  in  it. 

Aberdeen  has  been  famed  for  shipbuilding,  especially 
for  its  fast  clippers.  Since  1855  nearly  a  score  of  vessels 
have  been  built  of  above  1000  tons  each.  The  largest 
vessel  (a  sailing  one)  ever  built  here  was  one  in  lS55,if  2400 
tons.  In  1872  there  were  built  11  iron  vessels  oi'  9450 
tons,  and  6  wooden  of  2980  tons,  consuming  5900  tons 
iron,  and  costing  £252,700,  including  £70,700  for  engines 
and  other  machinery.  1400  hands  were  employed  in 
shipbuilding  in  that  year,  at  the  weekly  wages  of  about 
£1230. 

In  1872,  there  belonged  to  the  port  of  Aberdeen  236 
vessels,  of  101,188  tons,  twenty-four  of  the  vessels,  of  7483 
tons,  being  steamers.  They  trade  with  most  British  and 
Irish  ports,  the  Baltic  and  Mediter-anean  ports,  and  many 
more  distant  regions.  In  1872,  434,108  tons  shipping 
arrived  at  the  port,  and  the  custom  duties  were  £11 2,414. 
The  export  trade,  exclusive  of  coasting,  is  insignificant 
The  shore  or  harbour  dues  were  £126  in  1765,  and  £1300 
in  1800.  In  the  year  ending  30th  September  1872,  they 
were  £25,520;  while  the  ordinary  harbour  revenue  was 
£37,765,  expenditure  £28,598,  and  debt  £324,614.  The 
introduction  of  steamers  in  1821  greatly  promoted  in- 
dustry and  traffic,  and  especially  the  cattle  trade  of 
Aberdeenshire  with  London.  These  benefits  have  been 
much  increased  by  the  extension  of  railways.  Commodious 
steamers  ply  regularly  between  Aberdeen  and  London, 
Hull,  Newcastle,  Leith,  Wick,  Kirkwall,  and  Lerwick. 

The  joint  railway  station  for  the  Caledonian,  Great 
North  of  Scotland,  and  Deeside  lines,  was  opened  1867, 
and  is  a  very  handsome  erection,  costing  about  £26,000. 
It  is  500  feet  long,  and  102  feet  broad,  with  the  side  walls 
32  feet  high.  The  arched  roof  of  curved  lattice-iron  ribs, 
covered  with  slate,  zinc,  and  glass,  is  all  in  one  span,  rising 
72  feet  high,  and  is  very  light  and  airy. 

The  Medico-Chirurgical  Society  of  Aberdeen  was  founded 
in  1789.  The  hall  was  built  in  1820  at  a  cost  of  £4000, 
and  is  adorned  with  an  Ionic  portico  of  four  granite  columns, 
27  feet  high.  It  has  42  members,  and  a  library  of  5000 
volumes.  The  legal  practitioners  of  Aberdeen  have  been 
styled  advocates  since  1633,  and  received  royal  charters 
in  1774,  1779,  and  1862.  They  form  a  society,  called 
tho  Society  of  Advocates,  of  127  members  in  1873,  with  a 


ABERDEEN 


43 


tall  built  in  1871  for  £5075,  a  library  of  nearly  6000 
(volumes,  and  a  fund  to  support  decayed  and  indigent 
members,  and  their  nearest  relatives.  The  revenue  in 
1872  was  £2880/ 

Aberdeen  has  one  daily  and  three  weekly  newspapers. 
The  Aberdeen  Journal,  established  in  1748,  is  the  oldest 
Bewspaper  north  of  the  Forth. 

The  places  of  out-door  recreation  and  amusement  are 
chiefly  the  following: — The  Links,  a  grassy,  benty,  and 
eandy  tract,  2  miles  long  and  i  to  J  mile  broad,  along 
the  shore  between  the  mouths  of  the  Dee  and  the  Don. 
It  is  mostly  only  a  few  feet  above  the  sea,  but  the  Broad 
Hill  rises  to  94  feet.  Cattle  shows,  reviews,  4c,  are  held 
on  the  Links.  To  the  north-west  of  the  town,  a  Public 
Recreation  Park  of  13  acres  was  laid  out  in  1872,  at  the 
cost  of  £3000,  with  walks,  grass,  trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers. 
Daily  observations  from  1857  to  1872  show  the  mean 
temperature  of  Aberdeen  for  the  year  to  be  450,8  Fahr., 
for  the  three  summer  months  56°  Fahr.,  and  for  the  thjee 
winter  months  370-3.  The  average  yearly  rainfall  is  30'57 
inches.  Aberdeen  is  the  healthiest  of  the  large  Scottish 
towns.     East  winds  prevail  in  spring. 

Since  1867  £50,000.  has  been  spent  in  constructing 
main  sewers  throughout  the  city.  A  few  acjes  of  fann 
laud  have  been  irrigated  by  part  of  the  sewage. 

The  city  is  governed  by  a  corporation,  the  magistrates 
and  town  council,  consisting  of  twenty-five  councillors, 
including  a  provost,  six  bailies,  a  dean  of  guild,  a  trea- 
surer, &c.  The  corporation  revenue  in  the  year  1871-72 
was  £11,498.  The  police,  water,  and  gas  are  managed  by 
the  council.  The  municipal  and  police  burgh  has  an  area 
of  nearly  three  square  miles,  with  12,514  municipal  electors, 
and  with  assessable  property  valued  at  £230,000  in  1873. 
The  Parliamentary  burgh  has  an  area  of  nine  square  miles, 
including  Old  Aberdeen  and  Woodside,  with  14,253  Par- 
liamentary electors,  and  real  property  to  the  value  of 
£309,328  in  1873.  It  returns  one  member  to  Parliament. 
The  population  of  Aberdeen  in  1396  was  about  3000;  in 
1643,  8750;  in  1708,  5556;  in  1S01,  26,992;  in  1841, 
63,262;  and  in  1871,  88,125;  with  6718  inhabited 
houses,  292  uninhabited,  and  77  building. 

Aberdeen,  Old,  is  a  small,  quiet,  ancient  town,  a 
burgh  of  barony  and  regality,  a  mile  north  of  Aberdeen, 
and  as  far  south-west  of  the  mouth  of  the  Don.  It  mostly 
forms  one  long  street,  45  to  80  feet  above  the  sea.  The 
Don,  to  the  north  of  the  town,  runs  through  a  narrow, 
wooded,  rocky  ravine,  and  is  spanned  by  a  single  Gothic 
arch,  the  "  Brig  o'  Balgownia"  of  Lord  Byron.  The  bridge 
rests  on  gneiss,  and  is  67  feet  wide  and  34£  feet  high  above 
the  surface  of  the  river,  which  at  ebb  tide  ia  here  19  feet 
deep.  The  bridge  is  the  oldest  in  the  north  of  Scotland, 
and  i3  said  to  have  been  built  about  1305.  The  funds 
belonging  to  the  bridge  amount  to  £'24,000. 

The  town  was  formerly  the  see  of  a  bishop,  and  had  a 
large  cathedral  dedicated  to  St  Machar.  In  1137  David  L 
translated  to  Old  Aberdeen  the  bishopric,  founded  at 
Mortlach  in  Banffshire  in  1004  by  Malcolm  IL  in  memory 
of  his  signal  victory  there  over  the  Danes.  In  1153 
Malcolm  IV.  gave  the  bishop  a  new  charter. 

The  cathedral  of  St  Machar,  begun  about  1357,  occupied 
\  nearly  170  years  in  building,,  and  did  not  remain  entire 
fifty  yeiu-s.  What  is  still  left  is  the  oldest  part,  viz.,  the 
nave  and  side  aisles,  126  feet  long  and  62J  feet  broad, 
now  used  as  the  parish  church.  It  is  chiefly  built  of 
outlayer  granite  stones,  and  while  the  plainest  Scottish 
cathedral,  is  the  only  one  of  granite  in  the  kingdom.  On 
the  flat  pannelled  ceiling  of  the  nave  are  48  heraldic  shields 
of  the  princes,  noble?,  and  bishops  who  aided  in  its  erection. 
It  has  been  lately  repaired,  and  some  painted  windows 
inserted,  at  the  cost  of  £4280. 


The  chief  structure  in  Old  Aberdeen  is  the  stately  fabric 
of  King's  College  near  the  middle  of  the  town.  It  forma 
a  quadrangle,  with  interior  court  108  feet  square,  two 
sides  of  which  have  been  rebuilt,  and  a  projecting  wing  for 
a  library  added  since  1860.  The  oldest  part3,  the  Crown 
Tower  and  Chapel,  date  from  about  1500.  The  former 
is  30  feet  square  and  60  feet  high,  and  is  surmounted 
liy  a  structure  about  40  feet  high,  consisting  of  a  six-sided 
lantern  and  a  royal  crown,  both  sculptured,  and  resting  ou 
the  intersections  of  two  arched  ornamented  slips  rising  from 
the  four  corners  of  the  top  of  the  tower.  Tha  chapel,  120 
feet  long,  28  feet  broad,  and  37  feet  high,  still  retains  in 
the  choir  the  original  oak  canopied  stalls,  miserere  seat,  and 
.lofty  open  screen.  These  fittings  are  300  years  old,  in 
the  French  flamboyant  style,  and  are  unsurpassed,  in  taste- 
ful design  and  delicate  execution,  by  the  oat  carving  of 
any  other  old  church  in  Europe.  This  carved  woodwork 
owes  its  preservation  to  the  Principal  of  Reformation 
times,  who  armed  his  people,  and  protected  it  from  th« 
fury  of  the  barons  of  the  Jlearns  after  they  had  robbed 
the  cathedral  of  its  bells  and  lead.  The  chapel  is  still  used 
for  public  worship  during  the  University  session. 

Connected  with  Old  Aberdeen  is  a  brewery  in  the  town, 
and  a  brick  and  coarse  pottery  work  in  the  vicinity.  There 
are  also  a  Free  church,  two  secondary  schools,  and  two 
primary  schools.  Old  Aberdeen  has  its  own  municipal 
officers,  consisting  of  a  provost,  4  bailies,  and  13  councillors. 
The  town  is  drained,  lighted,  supplied  with  water,  and  is 
within  the  Parliamentary  boundary  of  New  Aberdeen. 
There  are  several  charitable  institutions.  Population  iu 
1871,  1857;  inhabited  houses,  233.  (a.  c.) 

ABERDEENSHIRE,  a  maritime  county  in  the  north- 
east of  Scotland,  between  56°  52'  and  57°  42'  N.  lat.  and 
between  1°  49'  and  3°  48'  long.  W.  of  Greenwich.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  north  and  east  by  the  German  Ocean  ;  on 
the  south  by  the  counties  of  Kincardine,  Forfar,  and  Perth  ; 
and  on  the  west  by  those  of  Inverness  and  Banff.  Its 
greatest  length  is  102  miles,  and  breadth  50  miles.  Its 
circuit  with  sinuosities  is  about  300  miles,  60  being  sea- 
coast.  It  is  the  fifth  of  Scotch  counties  in  size,  and  is  one- 
sixteenth  of  the  extent  of  Scotland.  Its  area  is  1970 
square  miles,  or  1,260,625  acres,  of  which,  in  1872,  366 
per  cent., or  585,299  acres,  were  cultivated,  93,339  in  woods 
(mostly  Scotch  fir  and  larch),  and  6400  in  lakes.  It  con- 
tains 85  civil  parishes  and  parts  of  6  others,  or  101  parishes, 
including  civil  and  quoad  sacra.  The  county  is  generally 
hilly,  and  mountainous  in  the  south-west,  whence,  near  the 
centre  of  Scotland,  the  Grampians  send  out  various  branches, 
mostly  to  the  north-east,  through  the  county.  The  run  of 
the  rivers  and  the  general  slope  of  the  county  is  to  the 
north-east  and  east.  It  is  popularly  divided  into  five 
districts: — First,  Mar,  mostly  between  the  Deo  and  Don, 
and  forming  nearly  th«  seuth  half  of  the  county.  It  is 
mountainous,  especially  Braemar,  its  west  and  Highland 
part,  which  contains  the  greatest  mass  of  elevated  land  in 
the  British  Isles:  Here  the  Dee  rises  amid  the  grandeur 
and  wildness  of  lofty  mountains,  much  visited  by  tourist?, 
and  composed  chiefly  of  granite  and  gneiss,  forming  many 
high  precipices,  and  showing  patches  of  snow  throughout 
every  summer.  Here  rises  Ben  Muichdhui,  the  second  highest 
mountain  in  Scotland  and  in  the  British  Isles,  4296  feet ; 
Braeriach,  4225 ;  Cairntoul,  4245  ;  Cairngorm  (famed  for 
"  Cairngorm  stones,"  a  peculiar  kind  of  rock  crystal),  4090  ; 
Ben-a-Buird,  3860;  Ben  Avon,  3826;  and  Byron's  "darlc 
Lochnagar,"  3786.  The  soil  on  the  Dee  is  sandy,  and 
on  the  Don  loamy.  The  city  of  Aberdeen  is  in  Mar. 
Second,  Formartinj  between  the  lower  Don  and  Ythan, 
with  a  sandy  coast,  succeeded  by  a  clayey,  fertile,  tilled 
tract,  and  then  by  low  hills,  moors,  mosses,  and  tilled  land. 
Third,  Buchan.  north  of  the  Ythan,  and  next  in  size  te 


44 


ABERDEENSHIRE 


Mar,  with  parts  of  tho  coast  bold  and  rocky,  and  with  the 
interior  bare,  low,  flat,  undulating,  and  in  parts  peaty.  On 
the  coast,  six  miles  south  of  Peterhead,  are  the  Bullers  of 
Buchan, — a  basin  in  which  tho  sea,  entering  by  a  natural 
arch,  boils  up  violently  in  stormy  weather.  Buchan  Ness 
ia  the  eastinost  point  of  Scotland.  Fourth,  Garioch,  a 
beautiful,  undulating,  loamy,  fertile  valley,  formerly  called 
the  granary  of  Aberdeen,  with  the  prominent  hill  Benachie, 
1676  feet  on  the  soutk  Fifth,  Strathbogie,  mostly  con- 
sisting of 'lulls  (The  Buck,  2211  feet;  Noath,  1830  feet), 
moors,  and  mosses.  The  county  as  a  whole,  except  the  low 
grounds  of  Buchan,  and  the  Highlands  of  Braemar,  consists 
mainly  of  nearly  level  or  undulating  tracts,  often  naked 
and  infertile,  but  interspersed  with  many  rich  and  highly 
cultivated  spots. 

The  chief  rivers  are  the  Dee,  96  miles  long;  Don,  78; 
Vtban,  37,  with  mussel  beds  at  its  mouth;  Ugie,  20;  and 
Deveron,  58,  partly  on  the  boundary  of  Banffshire.  The 
pearl  mussel  occurs  in  the  Ythan  and  Don.  A  valuable 
pearl  in  the  Scottish  crown  is  said  to  be  from  the  Ythaa 
Loch  Muick,  the  largest  of  the  few  lake*  in  the  county, 
1310  feet  above  the  sea,  is  only  2  \  miles  long  and  \  to  \ 
mile  broad.  The  rivers  have  plenty  of  salmon  and  trout. 
There  are  noted  chalybeate  springs  at  Peterhead,  Fraser- 
burgh, and  Pananich  near  Ballater. 

The  climate  of  Aberdeenshire,  except  in  the  mountainous 
districts,  is  comparatively  mild,  from  the  sea  being  on  two 
sides.  The  mean  annual  temperature  at  Braemar  is  43°'6 
Fahr.,  and  at  Aberdeen  45°-S.  The  mean  yearly  rainfall 
varies  from  about  30  to  37  inches.  The  summer  climate 
of  the  Upper  Dee  and  Don  valleys  is  the  driest  and  most 
bracing  in  the  British  Isles,  and  grain  is  cultivated  up  to 
1600  feet  above  the  sea,  or  400  to  500  feet  higher  than 
elsewhere  in  North  Britain.  All  the  crops  cultivated  in 
Scotland  ripen,  and  the  people  often  live  to  a  great  age. 

The  i-ocka  ore  mostly  granite,  gneiss,  with  small  tracts  of 
syenite,  mica  slate,  quartz  rock,  clay  slate,  grauwacke, 
primary  limestona,  old  red  sandstone,  serpentine,  and  trap. 
Lias,  greensand,  and  chalk  flints  occur.  The  rocks  are 
much  covered  with  boulder  clay,  gravel,  sand,  and  allu- 
vium. Brick  clay  occurs  near  the  coast  The  surface  of 
the  granite  under  the  boulder  clay  often  presents  glacial 
<smoothings,  grooves,  and  roundings.  Cairngorm  stone, 
beryl,  and  amethyst  are  found  in  the  granite  of  Braemar. 

The  tops  of  the  highest  mountains  have  an  arctic  flora. 
At  Her  Majesty's  Lodge,  Loch  Muick,  1350  feet  above  the 
sea,  grow  larches,  vegetables,  currants,  laurels,  roses,  <tc 
Some  ash  trees,  4  or  5  feet  in  girth,  are  growing  at  1300 
feet  above  the  sea.  The  mole  occurs  at  1800  feet  above 
the  sea,  and  the  squirrel  at  1400.  Trees,  especially  Scotch 
fir  and  larch,  grow  well  in  the  county,  and  Braemar  abounds 
in  natural  timber,  said  to  surpass  any  in  the  north  of 
Europe.  Stumps  of  Scotch  fir  and  oak  found  in  peat  in 
the  county  are  often  far  larger  than  any  now  growing. 
Grouse,  partridges,  and  hares  abound  in  the  county,  and 
rabbits  are  often  too  numerous.  Bed  deer  abound  in 
Braemar,  the  deer  forest  being  there  valued  at  £5000  a 
year,  and  estimated  at  500,000  acres,  or  one-fourth  the 
area  of  deer  forests  in  Scotland. 

Poor,  gravelly,  clayey,  and  peaty  soils  prevail  much  more 
in  Aberdeenshire  than  good  rich  loams,  but  tile  draining, 
bones,  and  guano,  and  the  best  modes  of  modern  tillage, 
have  greatly  increased  the  produce.  Farm-houses  and 
steadings  have  greatly  improved,  and  the  best  agricultural 
implements  and  machines  are  in  general  use.  About  two- 
thirds  of  the  population  depend  entirely  on  agriculture,  and 
oatmeal  in  various  forms,  with  milk,  is  the  chief  food  of 
farm-3ervants.  Farms  are  generally  small,  compared  with 
those  in  the  south-east  counties.  The  fields  are  separated 
br  dry-stone  dykes,  and  ab</)  by  wooden  and  wire  fences. 


Leases  of  19  or  21  years  prevail,  and  the  live,  six,  or  seven 
shift  rotation  is  in  general  use.  In  1872  there  were  11,642 
occupiera  of  land,  with  an  average  of  50  acres  each,  and 
paying  about  £536,000  in  rent.  Of  the  585,299  acres  of 
the  county  in  crop  in  1872,  191,880  acres  were  in  oats, 
18,930  in  barley  and  bere,  1633  in  rye,  1357  in  wheat, 
95,091  in  turnips  (being  one-fifth  of  the  turnips  grown  in 
Scotland),  8414  in  potatoes,  232,178  in  grasses  and  clover. 
In  1872  the  county  had  23,117  horses,  157,960  cattU 
(being  above  one-seventh  of  all  the  cattle  in  Scotland), 
123,308  sheep,  and  13,579«pigs.  The  county  is  unsui< 
passed  in  breeding,  and  unrivalkd  in  feeding  cattle,  aud 
this  is  more  attended  to  than  the  cultivation  of  grain-cro]*. 
About  40,000  fat  cattle  are  reared,  and  above  £1,000,000 
value  of  cattle  and  dead  meat  is  sent  from  the  county  to 
London  yearly.  The  capital  invested  in  agriculture  within 
the  county  is  estimated  at  about  £5,133,000. 

The  great  mineral  wealth  in  Aberdeenshire  is  its  long- 
famed  durable  granite,  which  is  largely  quarried  for  build- 
ing, paving,  causewaying,  and  polishing.  An  acre  of  land 
on  being  reclaimed  has  yielded  £40  to  £50  worth  of  cause- 
waying stones.  Gneiss  i3  also  quarried,  as  also  primary 
limestone,  old  red  sandstone,  conglomerate  millstone,  grau- 
wacke, clay  slate,  syenite,  and  hornblende  rock.  Iron  ore, 
manganese,  and  plumbago  occur  in  the  county. 

A  large  fishing  population  in  villages  along  the  coast 
engage  in  the  white  and  herring  fishery.  Haddocks  are 
salted  and  rock-dried  (speldings),  or  smoked  (finnans).  The 
rivers  and  coasts  yield  many  salmon.  Peterhead  was  long 
the  chief  British  port  for  the  north  whale  and  seal  fishery, 
but  Dundee  now  vies  with  it  in  this  industry. 

Tho  manufactures  and  arts  of  the  county  are  mainly 
prosecuted  in  or  near  the  town  tf  Aberdeen,  but  throughout 
the  rural  districts  thero  are  much  milling  of  corn,  brick  and 
tile  making,  stone-quarrying,  smith-work,  brewing  and 
distilling,  cart  and  farm  implement  making,  casting  and 
drying  of  peat,  timber  felling,  especially  on  Dceside  and 
Donside,  for  pit-props,  railway  sleepers,  lath,  barrel  staves, 
ic.  The  chief  imports  into  the  county  are,  coals,  lime,' 
timber,  iron,  slates(  raw  materials  of  textile  manufac- 
tures, wheat,  oattle-feeding  stuffs,  bones,  guano,  sugar, 
alcoholic  liquors,  fruits,  &c  The  chief  exports  are  granite 
(rough,  dressed,  and  polished),  flax,  woollen,  and  cotton 
goods,  paper,  combs,  preserved  provisions,  oats,  barley, 
live  and  dead  cattle,  <fcc  In  the  county  there  are  about 
520  fairs  in  the  year  for  cattle,  horses,  sheep,  hiring  ser- 
vants, &c 

Aberdeenshire  communicates  with  the  south  by  the 
Caledonian  Bailway,  and  five  macadamised  roads  across 
the  east  Grampians,  the  highest  rising  2200  feet  above  the 
sea.  About  188  miles  of  railway  rthe  Great  North  of 
Scotland,  Formartin  and  Buchan,  and  Deeside  lines),  and 
2359  miles  of  public  roads,  ramify  through  the  county. 
Tolls  over  the  county  were  abolished  in  1865,  and  the 
roads  are  kept  up  by  assessment.  The  railway  lines  in  the 
cou»ty  have  cost  on  the  average  about  £13,500  a  mile. 
Several  macadamised  roads  aud  the  Great  North  of  Scot- 
land Railway  form  the  main  exits  from  the  county  to  the 
north-west. 

The  chief  antiquities  in  Aberdeenshire  are  Picts'  houses 
or  weems;  stone  foundations  of  circular  dwellings;  mono- 
liths, some  being  sculptured;  the  so-called  Druid  circles; 
stone  cists;  stone  and  earthen  enclosures;  the  vitrified 
forts  of  Dunnideer  and  Noath ;  cairns;  crannoges;  earthen 
mounds,  as  the  Bass;  flint  arrow-heads;  clay  funeral  urns-, 
stone  celts  and  hammers.  Remains  of  Roman  camps  occur 
at  Peterculter,  Kintore,  and  Auchterless,  respectively  107  J, 
100,  and  115  acres.  Roman  arms  have  been  found.  Ruins 
of  ancient  edifices  occur.  On  the  top  of  a  Conical  hill  called 
Dunnideer.  in  the  Garioch  district,  are  the  remains  of  a 


ABERDEENSHIRE 


45 


eastlc,  supposed  to  be  700  years  old,  and  surrounded  by  a 
vitrified  wall,  which  must  be  still  older.  The  foundations 
oi  two  buildings  still  remain,  the  one  in  Braemar,  and  the 
other  in  th->  Loch  of  Cannor  (the  latter  with  the  remains 
of  a  wooden  bridge  between  it  and  the  land),  which  are 
supposed  to  have  belonged  to  Malcolm  Canmore,  King  of 
Scotland.  The  most  extensive  ruins  are  the  grand  ones  of 
Kildrummy  Castle,  evidently  once  a  princely  seat,  and  still 
covering  nearly  an  acre  of  ground.  It  belonged  to  David 
Earl  of  Huntingdon  in  1150,  and  was  the  seat  of  the  Earls 
of  Marr  attainted  in  1716.  The  Abbey  of  Deer,  now  in 
|ruins,  was  begun  by  Cunryn  Earl  of  Buchan  about  1219/ 

In  Roman  times,  Aberdeenshire  formed  part  of  Ves- 
pasiana  in  Caledonia,  and  was  occupied  by  the  Taixali,  a 
warlike  tribe.  The  local  names  are  mostly  Gaelic  St 
Columba  and  his  pupil  Diostan  visited  Buchan  in  the  Gth 
century.  In  1052  Macbeth  fell  near  the  Peel  Bog  in 
Lumphanan,  and  a  cairn  which  marks  the  spot  is  still 
shown.  In  1309  Bruce  defeated  Comyn,  Earl  of  Buchan, 
near  Inverurie,  and  annihilated  a  powerful  Norman  family. 
In  1411  the  Earl  of  Marr  defeated  Donald  of  the  Isles  in 
the  battle  of  Harlaw,  near  Inverurie,  when  Sir  Robert- 
Davidson,  Provost  of  Aberdeen,  was  killed.  In  1562 
occurred  the  battle  of  Corrichie  on  the  Hill  of  Fare,  when 
the  Earl  of  Murray  defeated  the  Marquis  of  Huntly.  In 
1715  the  Earl  of  Marr  proclaimed  the  Pretender  in  Braemar. 
In  1746  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  with  his  army  marched 
through  Aberdeenshire  to  Culloden.  In  1817  a  base  line 
of  verification,  5  miles  100  feet  long,  was  measured  in  con- 
nection with  the  Trigonometrical  Survey  of  the  British  Isles, 
on  the  Belkelvie  Links  5  to  10  miles  north  of  Aberdeen. 

Among  eminent  men  connected  with  Aberdeenshire  are, 
Robert  Gordon  Of  Straloch,  who  in  1648  published  the  first 
atlas  of  Scotland  from  actual  survey ;  the  Earls  Marischal, 
whose  chief  seat  was  Inverugie  Castle ;  Field-Marshal 
Keith,  born  at  Inverugie  Castle,  1696  ;  Dr  Thomas  Reid, 
the  metaplvysician,  minister  of  New  Machar  1737  to  1752  ; 
Lord  Pitsligo,  attainted  1745;  Sir  Archibald  Grant  of 
Monymusk,  who  introduced  turnips  into  the  county  1756, 
and  was  the  first  to  plant  wood  on  a  great  scale  ;  Peter 
Ga:den,  Auchterless,  said  to  have  died  at  the  age  of  132, 
about  1780;  Rev.  John  Skinner,  author  of  some  popular 
Scottish  songs  ;  Morrison  the  hygeist ;  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen, 
Prime  Minister  during  the  Crimean  war. 

The  native  Scotch  population  of  Aberdeenshire  are  long- 
Headed,  shrewd,  careful,  canny,  active,  persistent,  but 
reserved  and  blunt,  and  without  demonstrative  enthusiasm. 
They  have  a  phj-siognomy  distinct  from  the  rest  of  the 
Scottish  people,  and  have  a  quick,  sharp,  rather  angry 
accent.  The  local  Scotch  dialect  is  broad,  and  rich  in 
diminutives,  and  is  noted  for  the  use  of  e  for  oor  «,/ for 
k\,  d  for  th,  &c.     In  1 830  Gaelic  was  the  fireside  language 

almost  every  family  in  Braemar,  but  now  it  is  little  used. 

Aberdeenshire  has  a  Loid-Lieutenant  and  3  Vice  and  60 
Deputy-Lieutenants.  The  Supreme  Court  of  Justiciary  sits 
in  Aberdeen  twice  a-year  to  tiy  cases  from  the  counties  of 
Aberdeen,  Banff,  and  Kincardine.  The  counties  of  Aberdeen 
and  Kincardine  are  under  a  Sheriff  and  two  Sheriffs-Substi- 
tute. The  Sheriff  Courts  are  held  in  Aberdeen  and  Peter- 
head. Sheriff  Small-Debt  and  Circuit  Courts  are  held  at 
seven  places  in  the  county.  There  are  Burgh  or  Bailie  Courts 
in  Aberdeen  aud  the  other  royal  burghs  in  the  county. 
Justice  of  the  Peace  and  Police  Courts  are  held  in  Aberdeen, 
&c.  The  Sheriff  Courts  take  cognisance  of  Commissary 
business.  During  1871,  994  persons  were  confined  in  the 
Aberdeenshire  prisons.  In  the  year  1870-71,  74  parishes 
in  the  county  were  assessed  £53,703  for  7702  poor  on  the 
i  roll  and  1847  casual  poor. 

Aberdeenshire  contains  105  Established  churches,  99 
Free,  31   Episcopal,    15  United   Presbyterian,   9   Roman 


Catholic,  and  31   of  other  denominations.     This  includes 
detached  parts  of  the  two  adjacent  counties. 

By  the  census  of  1871,  84-83  per  cent,  of  the  children 
in  the  county,  of  the  ages  5  to  1 3,  were  receiving  education. 
Those  formerly  called  the  parochial  schoolmasters  of 
Aberdeenshire  participate  in  the  Dick  and  Milne  Bequests, 
which  contributed  more  salary  to  the  schoolmasters  in  some 
cases  than  did  the  heritors.  Most  of  the  schoolmasters  are 
Masters  of  Arts,  and  many  are  preachers.  Of  114  parochial 
schools  'in  the  county  before  the  operation  of  the  new 
Education  Act,  89  received  the  Milne  Bequest  of  £20  a 
year,  and  91  the  Dick  Bequest,  averaging  £30  a  year,,  and 
a  schoolmaster  with  both  bequests  would  have  a  yearly 
income  of  £145  to  £150,  and  in  a  few  cases  £250.  Tht 
higher  branches  of  education  have  been  more  taught  in  the 
schools  of  the  shires  of  Aberdeen  and  Banff  than  in  the 
other  Scotch  counties,  and  pupils  have  been  long  in  the 
habit  of  going  direct  from  the  schools  of  these  two  counties 
to  the  University. 

The  value  of  property,  or  real  rental  of  the  lauds  and 
heritages  in  the  county  (including  the  burghs,  except  that 
of  Aberdeen),  for  the  year  1S72-73,  was  £769,191.  The 
railway  and  the  water  works  in  the  city  and  county  were 
for  the  same  year  valued  at  £11,133.  For  general  county 
purposes  for  the  year  ending  15th  May  1872,  there  was 
assessed  £14,803  to  maintain  police,  prisons,  militia,  county 
and  municipal  buildings,  <fcc,  and  £19,320  to  maintain 
2359  miles  of  public  county  roads. 

The  chief  seats  on  the  proprietary  estates  are — Balmoral 
Castle,  the  Queen ;  Mar  Lodge  and  Skene  House,  Earl 
of  Fife ;  Aboyne  Castle,  Marquis  of  Huntly ;  Dunecht 
House,  Earl  of  Crawford  and  Balcarres ;  Keith  Hall,  Earl 
of  Kintore ;  Slains  Castle,  Earl  of  Errol ;  Haddo  House, 
Earl  of  Aberdeen ;  Castle  Forbes,  Lord  Forbes  ■;  Philorth 
House,  Lord  Saltoun ;  Huntly  Lodge,  the  Duke  of  Rich- 
mond. Other  noted  seats  are — Drum,  Irvine  ;  Invercauld, 
Farquharson  ;  Newe  Castle,  Forbes  ;  Castle  Fraser,  Fraser ; 
Cluny  Castle,  Gordon  ;  Meldrum  House,  Urquhart ;  Craigs- 
ton  Castle,  Urquhart ;  Pitfour,  Ferguson ;  Ellon  Castle, 
Gordon;  Fyvie  Castle,  Gordon.  Ten  baronets  and  knights 
have  residences  in  the  county.  Of  the  proprietors  many 
live  permanently  on  their  estates.  Their  prevailing  n3nses 
are  Gordon,  Forbes,  Grant,  Fraser,  Duff,  and  Farquharson. 

Aberdeenshire  has  one  city,  Aberdeen,  a  royal  parlia- 
mentary .burgh ;  three  other  royal  parliamentary  burghs, 
Inverurie,  Kintore,  and  Peterhead ;  and  seven  burghs  of 
barony,  Old  Aberdeen,  Charleston  of  Aboyne,  Fraserburgh, 
Huntly,  Old  Meldrum,  Rosehearty,  and  Turriff. 

The  county  sends  two  members  to  Parliament — one  for 
East  Aberdeenshire,  with  4341  electors,  and  the  other  for 
West  Aberdeenshire,  with  3942  electors.  The  county  has 
also  four  parliamentary  burghs,  which,  with  their  respective 
populations  in  1871,  are — Aberdeen,  8S,125;  Peterhead, 
8535 ;  Inverurie,  2S56 ;  and  Kintore,  659.  The  first 
sends  one  member  to  Parliament,  and  the  other  three  unite 
with  Elgin,  Cullen,  and  Banff,  in  sending  another. 

By  the  census  1801  the  county  had  121,065  inhabitants, 
and  by  that  of  1871,  244,603,  with  53,576  families,  111 
females  to  100  males,  34,5S9  inhabited  houses,  1052  unin- 
habited houses,  and  256  building.  In  1871  there  were  in 
eight  towns  (Aberdeen,  Peterhead,  Fraserburgh,  Huntly, 
Inverurie.  Old  Meldrum,  Turriff,  and  New  Pitsligo), 
111,978  inhabitants;  in  32  villages,  19,561;  and  in  rural 
districts,  113,064. 

(New  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland,  voL  xiL  ;  the  charters 
of  the  burgh;  extracts  from  the  Council  Register  down  to 
1625,  and  selections  from  the  letters,  guildry,  and  trea- 
surer's accounts,  forming  3  volumes  of  the  Spalding  Club; 
Collections  for  a  History  of  the  Shires  of  A.  and  Banf, 
edited  by  Joseph  Robertson,  Esq.,  4to,  Spalding  Club; 


46 


ABE-ABE 


llegi/trum  Episcopatus  Aberdonensis,  vols.  i.  and  ii,  by 
I'rof.  Cosmo  lanes,  4to,  Spalding  Club ;  The  History  of  A., 
by  Walter  Thorn,  2  vols.  12mo,  1811;  Buchan,  by  the  Rev. 
John  B.  Pratt,  12mo,  1859;  Historical  Account  and  Delinea- 
tion of  A.,  by  Robert  Wilson,  1822;  First  Report  of  Royal 
Com.  on  Hist.  MSS.,  1869;  The  Annals  of  A.,  by  William 
Kennedy,  1818;  Orem's  Description  of  the  Chanonry,  Cathe- 
dral, and  King's  College  of  Old  A.,  1724-25,  1830;'  The 
Castellated  Architecture  of  A.,  by  Sir  Andrew  Leith  Hay 
of  Rannes,  imp.  4to ;  Specimens  of  Old  Castellated  Houses 
of  A.,  with  drawings  by  Giles,  folio,  1838 ;  Lives  of  Eminent 
}fen  of  A.,  by  James  Bruce,  12mo,  1841).  (a.  c.) 

ABERDEEN,  George  Hamilton  Gordon,  Fourth 
Earl  of,  was  born  at  Edinburgh  on  the  28tli  January 
1784.  He  was  educated  at  Harrow  School,  and  at  St" 
John's  College,  Cambridge,  where  he  graduated  in  1804. 
He  succeeded  his  grandfather  iu  the  earldom  in  1801,  and 
in  the  same  year  ho  made  an  extended  tour  through 
Europe,  visiting  France,  Italy,  and  Greece.  On  his 
return  he  founded  the  Athenian  Club,  the  membership 
of  which  was  confined  to  those  who  had  travelled  in 
Greece.  This  explains  Lord  Byron's  reference  in  the 
English  Bards  and  Scotch  Reviewers  to  "the  travelled 
Thane,  Athenian  Aberdeen."  Soon  after  his  return  he 
contributed  a  very  able  article  to  the  Edinburgh  Review 
(vol.  vi),  on  Gell's  Topography  of  Troy.  Another 
literary  result  of  his  tour  was  the  publication  in  1822  of 
An  Inquiry  into  the  Principles  of  Beauty  in  Grecian  Archi- 
tecture, the  substance  of  which  had  appeared  some  years 
before  in  the  form  of  an  introduction  to  a  translation  of 
Vitruvius'  Civil  Architecture.  In  1806,  having  been 
erected  one  of  the  representative  peers  for  Scotland,  he 
took  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Lords  on  the  Tory.  side. 
He  was  already  on- terms  of  intimacy  with  the  leading 
members  of  tho  then  predominant  party,  and  in  particular 
with  Pitt,  through  the  influence  of  Ms  relative,  the  cele- 
brated Duchess  of  Gordon.  In  1813  he  was  intrusted 
with  a  delicate  and  difficult  special  mission  to  Vienna,  the 
object  being  to  induce  the  Emperor  of  Austria  to  join  the 
alliance  against  his  son-in-law  Napoleon.  His  diplomacy 
was  completely  su.  ^sful;  the  desired  alliance  was  secured 
by  the  treaty  of  To'plrtz,  which  the  Earl  signed  as  repre- 
sentative of  Great  Britain  in  September  1813.  On  his 
return  at  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  he  was  raised  to  a 
British-peerage,  with  the  title  of  Viscount  Gordon.  Lord 
Aberdeen  was  a  member  of  tho  Cabinet  formed  by  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  in  1828,  for  a  short  time  as  Chancellor  of  the 
Duchy  of  Lancaster,  and  then  as  Foreign  Secretary.  He 
was  Colonial  Secretary  in  the  Tory  Cabinet  of  1834-5,  and 
again  received  the  seals  of  the  Foreign  Office  under  Sir 
Robert  Peel's  administration  of  1841.  The  policy  of  non- 
intervention, to  which  he  stedfastly  adhered  in  his  conduct 
of  foreign  affairs,  was  at  once  his  strength  and  his  weakness. 
According  to  the  popular  idea,  he  failed  to  see  the  limita- 
tions and  exceptions  to  a  line  of  policy  which  nearly  all 
admitted  to  bo  as  a  general  rule  both  wise  and  just.  On 
tho  whole,  his  administration  was  perhaps  more  esteemed 
abroad  than  at  home.  It  has  been  questioned  whether 
any  English  minister  ever  was  on  terms  of  greater 
intimacy  with  foreign  courts,  but  there  is  no  substantial 
warrant  for  tho  charge  of  want  of  patriotism  which  was 
sometimes  brought  against  him.  On  the  two  chief  ques- 
tions of  homo  politics  which  were  finally  settled  during 
his  tenure  of  office,  he  wa3  in  advance  of  most  of  his 
party.  While  the  other  members  of  the  Government 
yielded  Catholic  Emancipation  and  the  repeal  of  the  Corn 
Laws  as  unavoidable  concessions,  Lord  Aberdeen  spoke 
and  voted  for  both  measures  from  conviction  of  their 
justice.  On  the  13th  June  1843,  he  moved  the  second 
raiding  of   his   bill    "to    remove   doubts   respecting    t'le 


admission  of  ministers  to  benefices  in  Scotland,"  and  it 
was  passed  into  law  in  that  Bession,  though  a  similar 
measure  had  been  rejected  in  1840.  As  tho  first  proposal 
did  not  prevent,  so  the  passing  of  the  Act  had  no  effect  in 
healing,  the  breach  in  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland 
which  occurred  in  1843.  On  the  defeat  of  Lord  Derby's 
government  in  1852,  the  state  of  parties  was  such  as  to 
necessitate  a  coalition  government,  of  which  Lord  Aber- 
deen, in  consequence  of  the  moderation  of  his  views,  was 
the  natural  chief.  He  had  been  regarded  as  the  leader  of 
the  Peel  party  from  the  time  of  Sir  Robert's  death,  but 
his  views  on  the  two  great  questions  of  home  policy  above 
mentioned  rendered  him  more  acceptable  to  the  Liberals, 
and  a  more  suitable  leader  of  a  coalition  government  than 
any  other  member  of  that  party  could  have  been.  Hia 
administration  will  chiefly  be  remembered  in  connection 
with  the  Crimean  war,  which,"  it  is  now  generally  believed, 
might  have  been  altogether  prevented  by  a  more  vigorous 
policy.  The  incompetence  of  various  departments  at 
home,  and  the  gross  mismanagement  of  the  commissariat 
in  the  terrible  winter  of  1854,  caused  a  growing  dissatis- 
faction with  the  government,  which  at  length  found 
emphatic  expression  in  the  House  of  Commons,  when  a 
motion  submitted  by  Mr  Roebuck,  calling  for  inquiry,  was 
carried  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  Lord  Aberdeen 
regarded  the  vote  as  one  of  no-confidence,  and  at  once 
resigned.  From  this  period  Lord  Aberdeen  took  little  part 
in  public  business.  In  recognition  of  his  services  he 
received,  soon  after  his  resignation,  the  decoration  of  the 
Order  of  the  Garter.  He  died:  December  13,  1860.  Lord 
Aberdeen  was  twice  married, — first  in  1805,  to  a  daughter 
of  the  first  Marquis  of  Abercorn,  who  died  in  1812,  and 
then  to  the  widow  of  Viscount  Hamilton.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded in  the  title  and  estates  by  Lord  Haddo,  his  son 
by  the  second  marriage. 

ABERDOUR,  a  village  in  the  county  of  Fife,  in  Scot- 
land, pleasantly  situated  on  the  north  shore  of  the  Firth 
of  Forth,  and  much  resorted  to  for  sea-bathing.  It  is  10 
miles  N.W4  of  Edinburgh,  with  which  there  is  a  frequent 
communication  by  steamer. 

ABERFE.LDY,  a  village  in  Perthshire,  celebrated  in 
Scottish  song  for  its  "  birks "  and  for  the  neighbouring 
falls  of  Muness.  It  is  the  terminus  of  a  branch  of  the 
Highland  Railway. 

ABERGAVENNY,  a  market  town  in  Monmouthshire, 
14  miles  west  of  Monmouth,  situated  at  the  junction 
of  a  small  stream  called  the  Gavenny,  with  the  river  Usk. 
It  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  Gobannium  of  the  Romans, 
so  named  from  Gobannio,  the  Gavenny.  The  town  was 
formerly  walled,  and  has  the  remains  of  a  castle  built 
soon  after  the  Conquest,  and  also  of  a  Benedictine  monas 
tery.  The  river  Usk  is  here  spanned  by  a  noble  stone 
bridge  of  fifteen  arches.  Two  markets  are  held  weekly, 
and  elegant  market  buildings  have  recently  been  erected. 
There  is  a  free  grammar  school,  with  a  fellowship  and 
exhibitions  at  Jesus  College,  Oxford.  No  extensive 
manufacture  is  carried  on  except  that  of  shoes  ;  the  town 
owe3  its  prosperity  mainly  to  the  large  coal  and  iron 
works  in  the  neighbourhood.  Abergavenny  is  a  polling 
place  for  the  eounty.     Population  of  parish  (1871),  6318. 

ABERNETHY,  a  town  in  Perthshire,  situated  in  the 
parish  of  the  same  name,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tay, 
7  miles  below  Perth.  The  earliest  of  the  Culdee  houses 
was  founded  there,  and  it  is  said  to  have  been  the  capitil  of 
the  Pictish  kings.  It  was  long  the  chief  seat  of  the  Epis- 
copacy in  the  country,  till,  in  the  9th  century,  the  bishopric 
was  transferred  to  St  Andrews.  There  still  remains  at  Aber- 
nethy  a  curious  circular  tower,  74  feet  high  and  48  feet 
in  circumference,  consisting  of  sixty-four  courses  of  hewn 
stone.     A  number  of  similar  towers,  though  not  so  wed 


A  B  E  —  A  B  E 


47 


built,  are  to  be  met  with  In  Ireland,  but  there  is  only  one 
ather  in  Scotland,  viz.,  that  at  Brechin.  Petrie  argues,  in 
his  Round  Towers  of  Ireland,  that  these  structures  have 
been  used  as  belfries,  and  also  as  keeps. 

ABERNETHY,  John, — a  Protestant  dissenting  divine  of 
Ireland,  was  born  at  Coleraine,  county  Londonderry,  Ulster, 
where  his  father  was  minister  (Nonconformist),  on  the 
19  th  October  1680.  In  his  thirteenth  year  he  entered  a 
student  at  the  University  of  Glasgow.  On  concluding  his 
course  at  Glasgow  he  went  to  Edinburgh  University, 
where  his  many  brilliant  gifts  and  quick  and  ready  wit — 
thought  born,  not  verbal  merely — struck  the  most  eminent 
of  his  contemporaries  and  even  his  professors.  Returning 
home,  he  received  licence  to  preach  from  his  Presbytery 
before  ho  was  twenty-one.  In  1701  he  was  urgently 
invited  to  acoept  the  ministerial  charge  of  an  important 
congregation  in  Antrim;  and  after  an  interval  of  two 
years,  he  was  ordained  there  on  8th  August  1703.  His 
admiring  biographer  tells  of  an  amount  and  kind  of 
work  done  there,  such  as  only  a  man  of  fecund  brain,  of 
large  heart,  of  healthful  frame,  and  of  resolute  will,  could 
have  achieved.  In  1717  he  was  invited  to  the  congrega- 
tion of  Usher's  Quay,  Dublin,  as  colleague  with  Rev.  Mr 
Arbuckle,  and  contemporaneously,  to  what  was  called  the 
Old  Congregation  of  Belfast.  The  Synod  assigned  him  to 
Dublin.  He  refused  to  accede,  and  remained  at  Antrim. 
This  refusal  was  regarded  then  as  ecclesiastical  high- 
treason;  and  a  controversy  of  the  most  intense  and  dis- 
proportionate character  followed.  The  controversy  and 
quarrel  bears  the  name  of  the  two  camps  in  the  con- 
flict, the  "  Subscribers"  and  the  "  Non-subscribers."  Out- 
and-out  evangelical  as  John  Abernethy  was,  there  can  be 
no  question  that  he  and  his  associates  sowed  the  seeds  of 
that  after-struggle  in  which,  under  the  leadership  of  Dr 
Henry  C6oke,  the  Arian  and  Socinian  elements  of  the  Irish 
Presbyterian  Church  were  thrown  out.  Much  of  what  he 
contended  for,  and  which  the  "  Subscribers  "  opposed  bitterly, 
has  been  silently  granted  in  the  lapse  of  time.  In  1726  the 
"  Non-subscribers,"  spite  of  an  almost  wofully  pathetic 
pleading  against  separation  by  Abernethy,  were  cut  off,  with 
due  ban  and  solemnity,  from  the  Irish  Presbyterian  Church. 
In  1730,  spite  of  being. a  "Non-subscriber,"  he  was  called 
by  his  early  friends  of  Wood  Street,  Dublin,  whither  he 
removed.  In  1731  came  on  the  greatest  controversy  in 
which  Abernethy  engaged,  viz.,  in  relation  to  the  Test  Act 
nominally,  but  practically  on  the  entire  question  of  tests 
and  disabilities.  His  stand  was  "against  all  laws  that,  upon 
account  of  mere  differences  of  religious  opinions  and  forms 
of  worship,  excluded  men  of  integrity  and  ability  from 
serving  their  country."  He  was  nearly  a  century  in 
advance  of  his  century.  He  had  to  reason  with  those  who 
denied  that  a  Roman  Catholic  or  Dissenter  could  be  a 
"man  of  integrity  and  ability."  His  Tracts — afterwards 
collected — did  fresh  service,  generations  later.  And  so 
John  Abernethy  through  life  was  ever  foremost  where  un- 
popular truth  and  right  were  to  be  maintained ;  nor  did  he, 
for  sake  of  an  ignoble  expediency,  spare  to  smite  the  highest- 
seated  wrongdoers  any  more  than  the  hoariest  errors  (as  he 
believed).  He  died  in  1740,  having  been  twice  married. 
(Kippis'  Biog.  Brit,  s.  v.;  Dr  Duchal's  Life,  prefixod  to 
Sermons;  Diary  in  MS.,  6  vols.  4to;  History  of  Irish  Pres- 
byterian Church).  (a.  b.  O.) 

ABERNETHY,  John,  grandson  of  Jbe  preceding,  an 
eminent  surgeon,  was  born  in  London  on  the  3d  of  April 
1764.  His  father  was  a  London  merchant.  Educated 
at  Wolverhampton  Grammar  School,  he  was  apprenticed 
in  1779  to  Sir  Charles  Blicke,  a  surgeon  in  extensive 
practice  in  the  metropolis.  He  attended  Sir  William 
Blizzard's  anatomical  lectures  at  the  London  Hospital, 
and  was  early  employed  to  assist  Sir  William  as  "  de- 


monstrator;"  he  also  attended  Pdtt's  surgical  lectures  at 
St  Bartholomew's  Hospital,  as  well  as  the  lectures  of  the 
celebrated  John  Hunter.  On  Pott's  resignation  of  the 
office  of  surgeon  of  St  Bartholomew's,  Sir  Charles  Blicke, 
who  was  assistant-surgeon,  succeeded  him,  and  Abernethy 
was  elected  assistant-surgeon  in  1787.  In  this  capacity 
ho  began  to  give  lectures  in  Bartholomew  Close,  which 
were  so  well  attended  that  the  governors  of  the  hospital 
built  a  regular  theatre  (1790-91),  and  Abernethy  thus 
became  the  founder  of  the  distinguished  School  of  St 
Bartholomew's.  He  hold  the  office  of  assistant-surgeon  of 
the  hospital  for  the  long  period  of  twenty-eight  years,  till,  in 
1815,  he  was  elected  principal  surgeon.  He  had  before  that 
time  been  appointed  surgeon  of  Christ's  Hospital  (1813), 
and  Professor  of  Anatomy  and  Surgery  to  the  Royal 
College  of  Surgeons  (1814).  Abernethy  had  great  fame 
both  as  a  practitioner  and  as  a  lecturer,  his  reputation  iu 
both  respects  resting  on  the  efforts  he  made  to  promote 
the  practical  improvement  of  surgery.  His  Surgical  Ob- 
servations on  the  Constitutional  Origin  and  Treatment  oj 
Local  Diseases  (1809) — known  as  "My  Book,"  from  the 
great  frequency  with  which  he  referred  his  patients  to  it, 
and  to  page  72  of  it  in  particular,  under  that  name — was 
one  of  the  earliest  popular  works  on  medical  science. 
The  views  he  expounds  in  it  are  based  on  physiological 
considerations,  and  are  the  more  important  that  the  con- 
nection of  surgery  with  physiology  had  scr.rccly  been 
recognised  before  the  time  he  wrote.  The  leading  prin- 
ciples on  which  he  insists  in  "My  Book  "  are  chiclly  these 
two  : — 1st,  That  topical  diseases  are  often  mere  symptoms 
of  constitutional  maladies,  and  then  can  only  be  removed 
by  general  remedies ;  and  2d,  That  the  disordered  state  of 
the  constitution  very  often  originates  in,  or  is  closely 
allied  to  deranged  states  of  the  stomach  and  bowels,  and 
can  only  be  remedied  by  means  that  beneficially  atfect  the 
functions  of  those  organs.  His  profession  owed  him 
much  for  his  able  advocacy  of  the  extension  in  this  way 
of  the  province  of  surgej-y.  He  had  great  success  as  a 
teacher  from  the  thoro'igh  knowledge  he  had  of  his 
science,  and  the  persuasiveness  with  which  he  enunciated 
his  views.  It  has  been  said,  however,  that  the  iufliienco 
he  exerted  on  those  who  attended  his  lectures  was  not 
beneficial  in  this  respect,  that  his  opinions  were  delivered 
so  dogmatically,  and  all  who  differed  from  him  were  dis- 
paraged and  denounced  so  contemptuously,  as  to  repress 
instead  of  stimulating  inquiry.  It  ought  to  be  mentioned, 
that  he  was  the  first  to  suggest  and  to  perform  the  daring 
operation  of  securing  by  ligature  the  carotid  and  the  exter- 
nal iliac  arteries.  The  celebrity  Abernethy  attained  in 
his  practice  was  due  not  only  to  his  great  professional 
skill,  but  also  in  part  to  the  singularity  of  his  manners. 
He  used  great  plainness  of  speech  in  his  intercourse  with 
his  patients,  treating  them  often  brusquely,  and  sometimes 
even  rudely.  In  the  circle  of  his  family  and  friends  he 
was  courteous  and  affectionate ;  and  in  all  his  dealings  he 
was  strictly  just  and  honourable.  He  resigned  his  surgery 
at  St  Bartholomew's  Hospital  in  1827,  and  his  professor- 
ship a '..the  College  of  Surgeons  two  years  later,  on  account 
of  failing  health,  and  died  at  his  residence  at  Enfield 
on  the  20th  of  April  1831.  A  collected  edition  of  his 
works  in  five  volumes  was  published  in  1830.  A  bio- 
graphy, Memoirs  of  John  Abernethy,  by  George  MacUwain, 
F.R.C.S.,  appeared  in  1853,  and  though  anything  but 
satisfactory,  passed  through  several  editions. 

ABERRATION,  or  (more  correctly)  the  Adequation 
of  Light,  is  a  remarkable  phenomenon,  by  which  stars 
appear  to  deviate  a  little,  in  the  course  of  a  year,  from 
their  true  places  in  the  heavens.  It  results  from  the  eye 
of  the  observer  being  carried  onwards  by  the  motion  of  the 
earth  on   its   orbit,  during  the   time  that  light  takes  to 


48 


A  B  E  — A  B  I 


travel  from  the  star  to  the  earth.     The  effect  of  this  com- 
bination of  motions  may  be  best  explained  by  a  familiar  illus- 
tration.    Suppose  a  rain-drop  falling  vertically  is  received 
in  a  tube  that  has  a  lateral 
motion.     In  order  that  the 
drop   may  fall  freely  down 
the   axis   of    the   tube,   the 
latter   must   be   inclined   at 
such  an   angle   as  to   move 
from  the  position  AD  to  BE, 
and    again    to    CF,   in    the 
times  the  drop  moves  from 
D  to  G,  and  from  G  to  C. 
The  drop  in  this  case,  since 
it  moves  down  the  axis  all 
the   way,    must    strike    the 
bottom   of    the   tube   at   C  — 
tn   the  direction   FC.      The 

light  proceeding  from  a  star  is  not  seen  in  its  true  direc- 
tion, but  strikes  tho  eye  obliquely,  for  a  precisely  similar 
reason.  If  hncs  be  taken  to  represent  the  motions,  so  that 
the  eye  is  carried  from  A  to  C  during  the  time  that  light 
moves  from  D  to  C,  tho  light  will  appear  to  the  eye  at  C 
to  come,  not  from  D,  but  from  F.  The  angle  DCF,  con- 
tained by  the  true  and  apparent  directions  of  the  star,  is 
the  aberration.  It  is  greatest  when  the  two  motions  are 
at  right  angles  to  each  other,  i.e.,  when  the  star's  longitude 
is  90°  in  advance  of,  or  behind,  the  heliocentric  longitude 
of  the  earth,  or  (which  amounts  to  the  same  thing)  90° 
behind,  or  in  advance  of,  the  geocentric  longitude  of  the 
sun.    (See  Astronomy.)   Now,  in  the  right-angled  triangle 

AO 
ACD,  tan  ADC  (i.e.,  DCF)  =  =r^  ;  whence  it  appears  that 

the  tangent  of  the  angle  of  aberration  (or,  since  the  angle 
is  very  small,  tho  aberration  itself)  is  equal  to  the  ratio, 
velocity  of  earth  in  orbit       _,  ,    ,  ,  , 

Vei0City  of  light The  rat0  of  the  earih3  motlon 

being  to  the  velocity  of  light  in  the  proportion  of  1  to 
10,000  nearly,  the  maximum  aberration  is  small,  amount- 
ing to  about  20  4  seconds  of  arc, — a  quantity,  however, 
which  is  very  appreciable  in  astronomical  observations. 

Aberration  always  takes  place  in  the  direction  of  the 
earth's  motion ;  that  is,  it  causes  the  stars  to  appear  nearer 
than  they  really  are  to  the  point  towards  which  the  earth 
is  at  the  moment  moving.  That  point  is  necessarily  on 
the  ecliptic,  and  90°  in  advance  of  the  earth  in  longitude. 
The  effect  is  to  make  a  star  at  the  pole  of  the  ecliptic 
appear  to  move  in  a  plane  parallel  to  the  ecliptic,  so  as  to 
form  a  small  ellipse,  similar  to  the  earth's  orbit,  but  having 
its  rnajo:  axis  parallel  to  the  minor  axis  of  that  orbit,  and 
vice  versd.  As  we  proceed  from  the  pole,  the  apparent 
orbits  the  stars  describe  become  more  and  more  elliptical, 
till  in  the  plane  of  tho  ecliptic  the  apparent  motion  is  in 
a  straight  line.  The  length  of  this  line,  as  well  as  of  the 
major  axes  of  the  different  ellipses,  amounts,  in  angular 
measure,  to  about  40"  8.  The  stars  thus  appear  to  oscil- 
late, in  the  course  of  the  year,  20" '4  on  each  side  of  their 
true  position,  in  a  direction  parallel  to  the  plane  of  the 
ecliptic,  and  the  quantity  20"-4  is  therefore  called  the 
constant  of  aberration. 

For  the  discovery  of  the  aberration  of  light,  one  of  the 
ilnest  in  modern  astronomy,  we  are  indebted  to  the  dis- 
tinguished astronomer  Dr  Bradley.  He  was  led  to  it,  in 
1727,  by  the  result  of  observations  he  made  with  the  vi«w 
of  determining  the  annual  parallax  of  some  of  the  stars ; 
thai  is,  the  angle  subtended  at  these  stars  by  the  diameter 
of  the  earth's  orbit.  He  observed  certain  changes  in  the 
positions  of  the  stars  that  he  could  not  account  for.  The 
deviations  were  not  in  the  direction  of  the  apparent  motion 
that  parallax  would  give  rise  to;  and  he  had  no  better 


I  success  in  attempting  to  explain  the  phenomenon  by  the 
nutation  of  the  earth's  axis,  radiation,  errors  of  observa- 
tion, <tc.  At  last  the  true  solution  of  the  difficulty  occurred 
t  •  him,  suggested,  it  is  said,  by  the  movements  of  a  vane 
on  the  top  of  a  boat's  mast.  Roemer  had  discovered,  a 
quarter  of  a  century  before,  that  light  has  a  velocity  which 
admits  of  measurement;  and  Bradley  perceived  that  the 
earth's  motion,  having  a  perceptible  relation  to  that  of 
light,  must  affect  the  direction  of  the  visual  rays,  and  with 
this  the  apparent  positions  of  the  stars.  He  calculated  tho 
aberration  from  the  known  relative  velocities  of  tho  earth 
and  of  light,  and  the  results  agreed  entirely  with  his 
observations. 

The  observed  effects  of  aberration  are  of  importance  as 
supplying  an  independent  method  of  measuring  the  velocity 
of  light,  but  more  particularly  as  presenting  one  of  the  few 
direct  proofs  that  can  be  given  of  the  earth's  motion  round 
the  sun.  It  is  indeed  the  most  satisfactory  proof  of  this 
that  astronomy  furnishes,  the  phenomenon  being  quite  in- 
explicable on  any  other  hypothesis. 

ABERYSTWITH,  a  municipal  and  parliamentary  bo- 
rough, market  town,  and  seaport  of  Wales,  in  the  county 
of  Cardigan,  is  situated  at  the  western  end  of  the  Vale 
of  Rhcidol,  near  the  confluence  of  tho  rivers  Ystwith 
and  Rheidol,  and  about  the  centre  of  Cardigan  Bay.  It 
is  the  terminal  station  of  the  Cambrian  Railway,  and  a 
line  to  the  south  affords  direct  communication  with  South 
Wah  9,  Bristol,  <kc.  Tho  borough  unites  with  Cardigan, 
Lampeter,  <fcc,  in  electing  a  member  of  Parliament.  Coal, 
timber,  and  lime  are  imported,  and  the  exports  are  lead, 
oak  bark,  flannel,  and  corn.  The  harbour  has  of  late  beca 
much  improved;  and  the  pier,  completed  in  18U5,  forma 
an  excellent  promenade.  There  are  many  elegant  build- 
ings, and  it  has  been  proposed  to  establish  here  a  Uni- 
versity College  of  Wales.  On  a  promontory' to  the  S.W. 
of  ths  town  are  the  ruins  of  its  ancient  castle,  erected  in 
1277,  by  Edward  I.,  on  the  site  of  a  fortress  of  great 
strength,  built  by  Gilbert  de  Strongbow,  and  destroyed  by 
Owen  Gwynedd.  From  its  picturesque  situation  and 
healthy  climate,  and  the  suitableness  of  the  beach  for 
bathing,  Aberystwith  has  risen  into  great  repute  as  a 
watering-place,  and  attracts  many  visitors.  Much  of  the 
finest  scenery  in  Wales,  such  as  the  Devil's  Bridge,  &c, 
lies  within  easy  reach.     Population  (1871),  6898. 

ABETTOR,  a  law  term  implying  one  who  instigates, 
encourages,  or  assists  another  to  perform  some  criminal 
action.     See  Accessory. 

ABEYANCE,  a  law  term  denoting  the  expectancy  of  an 
estate.  Thus,  if  lands  be  leased  to  one  person  for  life,  with 
reversion  to  another  for  years,  the  remainder  for  years  is 
in  abeyance  till  the  death  of  the  lessee. 

ABGAR,  the  name  or  title  of  a  line  of  kings  of  Edessa 
in  Mesopotamia.  One  of  them  is  known  from  a  corre- 
spondence he  is  said  to  have  had  with  Jesus  Christ.  Tho 
letter  of  Abgar,  entreating  Jesus  to  visit  him  and  heal  him 
of  a  disease,  and  offering  Him  an  asylum  from  the  wrath 
of  the  Jews,  and  the  answer  of  Jesus  promising  to  send  a 
disciple  to  heal  Abgar  after  His  ascension,  are  given  by 
Eusebius,  who  believed  the  documents  to  be  genuine.  The 
same  belief  has  been  held  by  a  few  moderns,  but  there  can 
be  no  doubt  whatever  that  the  letter  of  Jesus  at  least  ia 
apocryphal.  It  has  also  been  alleged  that  Abgar  possessed 
a  picture  of  Jesus,  which  the  credulous  may  see  either  at 
Rome  or  at  Genoa.  Some  make  him  the  possessor  of  the 
handkerchief  a  woman  gave  Jesus,  as  He  bore  the  cross, 
to  wipe  the  sweat  from  His  face  with,  on  which,  it  ia 
fabled,  His  features  remained  miraculously  imprinted. 

ABIAD,  Bahr-el-,  a  name  given  to  the  western  branch 
of  the  Nile,  above  Khartoum.  It  is  better  known  as  th« 
White  Nile.     See  Nile. 


AB1-ABI 


49 


ABIES.     See  Fib. 

ABILA,  a  city  of  ancient  Syria,  the  capital  of  the 
tetrarchy  of  Abilene,  a  territory  whose  limits  and  extent  it 
is  impossible  now  to  define.  The  site  of  Abila  is  indi- 
cated by  some  ruins  and  inscriptions  on  the  banks  of  the 
river  Barada,  between  Baalbec  and  Damascus,  about  twelve 
miles  from  the  latter  city.  Though  the  names  Abel  and 
Abila  differ  in  derivation  and  in  meaning,  their  similarity 
has  given  rise  to  the  tradition  that  this  was  the  scene  of 
Abel's  death. 

ABILDGAAKD,  Nikolaj,  called  "the  Father  of  Danish 
Fainting,"  was  born  in  1744.  He  formed  his  style  on 
that  of  Claude  and  of  Nicolas  Poussin,  and  was  a  cold 
theorist,  inspired  not  by  nature  but  by  art.  As  a  technical 
painter  he  attained  remarkable  success,  his  tone  being 
very  harmonious  and  even,  but  the  effect,  to  a  foreigner's 
eye,  is  rarely  interesting.  His  works  are  scarcely  known 
out  of  Copenhagen,  where  he  won  an  immense  fame  in  his 
own  generation,  and  where  he  died  in  1809.  He  was  the 
founder  of  the  Danish  school  of  painting,  and  the  master 
of  Thorwaldsen  and  Eckersberg. 

ABIMELECH  (m^"?*,  father  of  the  king,  or  rather 
perhaps  king-father),  occurs  first  in  the  Bible  as  the  name 
of  certain  kings  of  the  Philistines  at  Gerar  (Gen.  xx.  2, 
xxi.  22,  xxvi.  1).  From  the  fact  that  the  name  is  applied 
in  the  inscription  of  the  thirty-fourth  psalm  to  Achish,  it 
has  been  inferred  with  considerable  probability  that  it  wa3 
used  as  the  official  designation  of  the  Philistinian  kings. 
The  name  was  also  borne  by  a  son  of  Gideon,  judge  of 
Israel,  by  his  Shechemite  concubine  (Judges  viii.  31). 
On  the  death  of  Gideon,  who  had  refused  the  title  of  king 
both  for  himself  and  his  children,  Abimelech  set  himself 
to  obtain  the  sovereignty  through  the  influence  of  his 
mother's  relatives.  In  pursuance  of  his  plan  he  slew 
seventy  of  his  brethren  "  upon  one  stone "  at  Ophrah, 
Jotham,  the  youngest  of  them,  alone  contriving  to  escape. 
This  is  one  of  the  earliest  recorded  instances  of  a  practice 
exceedingly  common  on  the  accession  of  Oriental  despots. 
Abimelech  was  eventually  made  king,  although  his  election 
was  opposed  by  Jotham,  who  boldly  appeared  on  Mount 
Gerizim  and  told  the  assembled  Shechemites  the  fable  of 
the  trees  desiring  a  king.  At  the  end  of  the  third  year 
of  his  reign  the  Shechemites  revolted,  and  under  the 
leadership  of  Gaal  made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  throw 
off  the  authority  of  Abimelech.  In  Judges  ix.  there  is 
an  account  of  this  insurrection,  which  is  specially  interest- 
ing owing  to  the  full  details  it  gives  of  the  nature  of  the 
military  operations.  After  totally  destroying  Shechem, 
Abimelech  proceeded  against  Thebez,  which  had  also  re- 
volted. Here,  while  storming  the  citadel,  he  was  struck  on 
the  head  by  the  fragment  of  a  millstone  thrown  from  the 
wall  by  a  woman.  To  avoid  the  disgrace  of  perishing  by 
a  woman's  hand,  he  requested  his  armour-bearer  to  run 
him  through  the  body.  Though  the  immediate  cause  of 
his  death  was  thus  a  sword-thrust,  his  memory  was  not 
Baved  from  the  ignominy  he  dreaded  (2  Sam.  xi.  21).  It 
has  been  usual  to  regard  Abimelech's  reign  as  the  first 
attempt  to  establish  a  monarchy  in  Israel.  The  facts, 
however,  seem  rather  to  support  the  theory  of  Ewald 
(Gesch.  ii.  444),  that  Shechem  had  asserted  its  independ- 
ence of  Israel,  when  it  chose  Abimelech  as  its  king. 

ABINGDON,  a  parliamentary  and  municipal  borough 
and  market  town  of  England,  in  Berkshire,  on  a  branch 
of  the  Thames,  7  miles  south  of  Oxford,  and  51  miles 
W.N.W.  of  London.  It  is  a  place  of  great  antiquity,  and 
was  an  important  town  in  the  time  of  the  Heptarchy.  Its 
name  is  derived  from  an  ancient  abbey.  The  streets,  whi>:b 
are  well  paved,  converge  to  a  spacious  area,  in  which  the 
market  is  held.  In  the  centre  of  this  area  stands  the 
market-house,  supported  on  lofty  pillars,  with  a  largehall 


above,  appropriated  to  the  summer  assizes  for  the  county, 
and  the  transaction  of  other  public  business.  The  town 
contains  two  churches,  which  are  said  to  have  been  erected 
by  the  abbots  of  Abingdon,  one  dedicated  to  St  Nicholas 
and  the  other  to  St  Helena  ;  several  charitable  institutions, 
and  a  free  grammar  school,  with  scholarships  at  Pembroke 
College,  Oxford.  In  1864  a  memorial  of  Prince  Albert 
was  erected  at  Abingdon,  a  richly  ornamented  structure, 
surmounted  by  a  statue  of  the  Prince.  Abingdon  wai 
incorporated  by  Queen  Mary.  It  send3  one  member  td 
Parliament,  and  is  governed  by  a  mayor,  four  aldermen, 
and  twelve  councillors.  In  the  beginning  of  the  century 
it  manufactured  much  sail-cloth  and  sacking;  but  its  chief 
trade  now.  is  in  corn  and  malt,  carpets,  and  coarse  linen. 
It  is  a  station  on  a  branch  of  the  Great  Western  Railway. 
Population  (1871),  6571. 

ABIOGENESIS,  as  a  name  for  the  production  of  living 
by  not-living  matter,  has  of  late  been  superseding  the  less 
accurate  phrase  "Spontaneous  Generation."  Professor 
Huxley,*  who  made  use  of  the  word  in  his  presidential 
address  to  the  British  Association  in  1870,  distinguished 
Abiogenesis  from  "  Xenogenesis "  or  "  Heterogenesis," 
which  occurs,  or  is  supposed  to  occur,  not  when  dead 
matter  produces  living  matter,  but  when  a  living  parent 
gives  rise  to  offspring  which  passes  through  a  totally 
different  series  of  states  from  those  exhibited  by  the 
parent,  and  does  not  return  into  the  parent's  cycle  of 
changes.  When  a  "  living  parent  gives  rise  to  offspring 
which  passes  through  the  same  cycle  of  changes  as  itself,' 
there  occurs  "  Homogenesis."  "  Biogenesis  "  includes  both 
of  these.  Other  names  for  Abiogenesis  are  Generatia 
jEquivoca,  Generatio  Primaria,  Aixhigenesis  (Urzeugung), 
Archebiosis,  &c.  The  question  of  Abiogenesis — whether 
under  certain  conditions  living  matter  is  produced  by  not- 
living  matter — as  it  is  one  of  the  most  fundamental,  is  per- 
haps also  the  oldest  in  Biology;  but  within  recent  years — 
partly  because  the  means  of  accurate  experimentation  have 
been  increased  and  the  microscope  improved,  and  partly 
because  the  question  has  been  recognised  in  its  impor- 
tant bearings  on  evolution,  the  correlation  of  forces,  and 
the  theory  of  infectious  diseases— naturalists  have  been 
led  to  bestow  more  attention  upon  it  than  at  any  previous 
period.  While,  therefore,  the  doctrine  of  Abiogenesis 
cannot  be  said  to  be  either  finally  established  or  refuted, 
it  is  at  least  reasonable  to  believe  that  we  are  gradually 
advancing  to  a  solution.  Among  the  older  observers 
of  phenomena  bearing  on  the  question  may  be  named 
Aristotle,  who,  with  the  ancients  generally,  favoured 
Abiogenesis ;  Piedi,  the  founder  of  the  opposite  view ; 
Vallisnieri ;  Buffon ;  Needliam  ;  and  Spallanzani ;  among 
later  observers,  Schwann  and  Schulze,  Schrceder  and 
Dusch,  Pasteur,  Pouchet,  Haeckel,  Huxley,  Bastian,  and 
many  others.  The  experiments  and  observations  made  by 
these  naturalists,  and  their  results — the  ingenious  ex- 
pedients employed  to  prevent  inaccuracy — the  interesting 
and  often  marvellous  transformations  which  microscopists 
declare  they  have  witnessed — will  be  discussed  in  the 
article  Histology;  here  it  will  be  enough  to  note  the 
general  nature  of  the  reasonings  with  which  the  opponents 
and  defenders  of  Abiogenesis  support  their  views.  The 
opponents  maintain  that  all  trustworthy  observations 
have  hitherto  shown  living  matter  to  have  sprung  from 
pre-existing  living  matter  ;  and  that  the  further  we  search 
and  examine,  the  smaller  becomes  the  number  of  those 
organisms  which  we  cannot  demonstrate  to  have  arisen  from 
living  parents.  They  hold  that  seeming  instances  of 
spontaneous  generation  are  usually  to  be  explained  by  the 
germ-theory — the  presence  of  invisible  germs  in  the  air  ; 
and  they  call  to  their  aid- such  high  authorities  as  Pasteur 
and  TyndalL     The  defenders  of  Abiogenesis.  on  the  other 


50 


ABI-ABL 


hand,  while  interpreting  the  results  of  past  observation 
and  experiment  in  their  own  favour,  are  yet  less  disposed 
to  rest  on  these,  rather  preferring  to  argue  from  those 
wide  analogies  of  evolution  and  correlation  which  seem  to 
support  their  doctrine.  Thus  Haeckel  expressly  embraces 
Abiogenesis  as  a  necessary  and  integral  part  of  the  theory 
of  universal  evolution  ;  and  Huxley,  in  the  same  spirit, 
though  from  the  opposite  camp,  confesses  that  if  it  were 
given  him  to  look  beyond  the  abyss  of  geologically 
recorded  time  to  the  still  more  remote  period  when  the 
earth  was  passing  through  physical  and  chemical  con- 
ditions, he  should  expect  to  be  a  witness  of  the  evolution 
of  living  protoplasm  from  not-living  matter.  (Critiques 
and  Addresses,  p.  239.)  From  this  point  of  view,  of 
course,  any  microscopic  observations  that  have  been  made 
6eem  very  limited  and  comparatively  unimportant.  The 
Abiogenists,  indeed,  are  not  without  arguments  to  oppose 
the  results  of  past  observation  that  seem  unfavourable  to 
their  views;  they  argue  that,  as  yet,  all  the  forms 
observed  and  shown  to  be  produced  by  Biogenesis  are 
forms  possessing  a  certain  degree  of  organisation,  which 
in  their  case  makes  Abiogenesis  unlikely,  from  the  first ; 
whereas  it  has  not  been  shown  that  the  simplest  struc- 
tures— the  JUonera — do  not  arise  by  Abiogenesis.  But 
it  is  not  so  much  on  grounds  of  fact  and  experiment  the 
defenders  of  the  Abiogenesis  theory  are  convinced  of 
its  truth,  as  because  it  seems  to  gain  confirmation  from 
reasonings  of  much  wider  scope;  because  Abiogenesis  aids 
the  theory  of  evolution  by  tracing  the  organic  into  the 
inbrganic ;  because  it  fosters  the  increasing  unpopularity 
of  the  hypothesis  of  a  special  "  vital  force;"  and  because, 
if  this  theory  of  the  "  perpetual  origination  of  low  forms 
of  life,  now,  as  in  all  past  epochs,"  were  established,  it 
would  agree  well  with  the  principle  of  uniformity,  and  by 
disclosing  the  existence  of  unknown  worlds  of  material  for 
development,  would  relieve  natural  selection  with  its  assist- 
ing causes  from  what  many  consider  the  too  Herculean 
labour  of  evolving  all  species  from  one  or  a  very  few 
primary  forms.  The1  fullest  discussion  of  the  subject  of 
Abiogenesis,  from  the  Abiogenist's  point  of  view,  is  to  be 
found  in  Dr  Bastian's  Beginnings  of  Life.  Professor 
Huxley's  address,  already  referred  to,  contains  an  interest- 
ing historical  survey,  as  well  as  a  masterly  summary  of 
facts  and  arguments  in  favour  of  Biogenesis.  For  many 
interesting  experiments,  see  Nature,  1870-73. 

ABIPONES,  a  tribe  of  South  American  Indians,  inhabit- 
ing the  territory  lying  between  Santa  Fe  and  St  Iago. 
They  originally  occupied  the  Chaco  district  of  Paraguay, 
but  were  driven  thence  by  the  hostility  of  the  Spaniards. 
According  to  M.  Dobrizhoffer,  wio,  towards  the  end  of 
last  century,  lived  among  them  for  a  period  of  seven  years, 
they  have  many  singular  customs  and  characteristics. 
They  seldom  marry  before  the  age  of  thirty,  are  chaste 
and  otherwise  virtuous  in  their  lives,  though  they  practise 
infanticide,  and  axe  without  the  idea  of  God.  "  With  the 
Abipones,"  says  Darwin,  "  when  a  man  chooses  a  wife,  he 
bargains  with  the  parents  about  the  price.  But  it  fre- 
quently happens  that  the  girl  rescinds  what  has  been 
agreed  upon  between  the  parents  and  bridegroom,  obsti- 
nately rejecting  the  very  mention  of  marriage.  She  often 
runs  away  and  hides  herself,  and  thus  eludes  the  bride- 
groom." The  Abiponian  women  suckle  those  infants  that 
are  spared  for  the  space  of  two  years, — an  onerous  habit, 
which  is  believed  to  have  led  to  infanticide  as  a  means  of 
escape.  The  men  are  brave  in  war,  and  pre-eminently 
expert  in  swimming  and  horsemanship.  Numerically  the 
tribe  is  insignificant.  M.  Dobrizhoffer's  account  of  the 
Abiponians  was  translated  into  English  by  Sara  Coleridge, 
at  the  suggestion  of  Mr  Southey,  in  1822. 
ABJURATTON.     See  Alleoiancb,  Oath  of. 


ABKHASIA,  or  Abasia,  a  tract  of  Asiatic  Russia,  on 
the  border  of  the  Black  Sea,  comprehending  between  lat. 
42°  30'  and  44°  45'  N.  and  between  long.  37°  3'  and  40°  36' 
E.  The  high  mountains  of  the  Caucasus  ou  the  N  and 
N.E.  divide  it  from  Circassia;  on  the  S.E.  it  is  bounded 
by  Mingrelia;  and  on  the  S.W.  by  the  Black  Sea.  Though 
the  country  is  generally  mountainous,  there  are  some  deep 
well-watered  valleys,  and  the  climate  is  mild.  The  soil 
is  fertile,  producing  grain,  grapes,  and  other  fruits. 
Some  of  the  inhabitants  devote  themselves  to  agriculture, 
some  to  the  rearing  of  cattle  and  horses,  and  not  a  fen 
support  themselves  by  piracy  and  robbery.  Honey  is 
largely  produced,  and  is  exported  to  Turkey;  and  excellent 
arms  are  made.  Both  in  ancient  and  in  modern  times 
there  has  been  considerable  traffic  in  slaves.  This  country 
was  early  known  to  the  ancients,  and  was  subdued  by  the 
Emperor  Justinian,  who  introduced  civilisation  and  Chris- 
tianity. Afterwards  the  Persians,  then  the  Georgians,  and 
more  recently  the  Turks,  ruled  over  the  land.  Under 
the  Turks  Christianity  gradually  disappeared,  and  Moham- 
medanism wa3  introduced  in  its  stead.  By  the  treaties  of 
Akerman  and  Adrianople,  Russia  obtained  possession  of 
the  fortresses  of  this  territory;  but  till  the  insurrection  of 
1866,  the  chiefs  had  almost  unlimited  power.  The  prin- 
cipal town  is  Sukumkaleh.  The  population  of  Abkhasia 
is  variously  stated  at  from  50,000  to  250,000.  See  Pal- 
grave's  Essays  on  Eastern  Questions,  1872. 

ABLUTION,  a  ceremonial  purification,  practised  in 
nearly  every  age  and  nation.  It  consisted  in  washing  the 
body  in  whole  or  part,  so  as  to  cleanse  it  symbolically 
from  defilement,  and  to  prepare  it  for  religious  observances. 
Among  the  Jews  we  find  no  trace  of  the  ceremony  in  patri- 
archal times,  but  it  was  repeatedly  enjoined  and  strictly 
enforced  under  the  Mosaic  economy.  It  denoted  either — 
(1.)  Cleansing  from  the  taint  of  an  inferior  and  less  pure 
condition,  and  initiation  into  a  higher  and  purer  state,  as 
in  the  case  of  Aaron  and  his  sons  on  their  being  set  apart 
to  the  priesthood;  or  (2.)  Cleansing  from  the  soil  of 
common  life,  in  pi  eparation  for  special  acts  of  worship,  a3 
in  the  case  of  the  priests  who  were  commanded,  upon  pain 
of  death,  to  wash  their  hands  and  feet  before  approaching 
the  altar;  or  (3.)  Cleansing  from  the  pollution- occasioned 
by  particular  acts  and  circumstances,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
eleven  species  of  uncleanness  mentioned  in  the  Mosaio 
law;  or  (4.)  The  absolving  or  purifying  one's  self  from  the 
guilt  of  some  particular  criminal  act,  as  in  the  case  of 
Pilate  at  the  trial  of  the  Saviour.  The  sanitary  reasons 
which,  in  a  warm  climate  and  with  a  dry  sandy  soil,  ren- 
dered frequent  ablution  an  imperative  necessity,  must  not 
be  allowed  to  empty  the  act  of  its  symbolic  meaning.  In 
the  Hebrew  different  words  are  used  for  the  washing  of 
the  hands  before  meals,  which  was  done  for  the  sake^  of 
cleanliness  and  comfort,  and  for  the  washing  or  plunging 
enjoined  by  the  ceremonial  law.  At  the  same  time  it  is 
impossible  to  doubt  that  the  considerations  which  made 
the  law  so  suitable  in  a  physical  point  of  view  were  present 
to  the  mind  of  the  Lawgiver  when  the  rite  was  enjoined 
Traces  of  the  practice  are  to  be  found  in  the  history  of 
nearly  every  nation.  The  customs  of  the  Mohammedans, 
in  this  as  in  other  matters,  are  closely  analogous  to  those 
of  the  Jews.  With  them  ablution  must  in  every  case  pre. 
cede  the  exercise  of  prayer,  and  their  law  provides  that  in 
the  desert,  where  water  is  not  to  be  found  the  Arabs  may 
perform  the  rite  with  sand  Various  forms  of  ablution 
practised  by  different  nations  are  mentioned  in  the  sixth 
book  of  the  .^neid,  and  we  are  told  that  iEneas  washed 
his  ensanguined  hands  after  the  battle  before  touching  his 
Penates.  Symbolic  ablution  finds  a  place  under  the  New 
Testament  dispensation  in  the  rite  of  baptism,  which  is 
i  observed,  though  with  some  variety  of  form  and  circum- 


A  B  N  —  A  B  O 


51 


stances,  throughout  the  whole  Christian  Church.  By 
Roman  Catholics  and  Ritualists,  the  term  ablution  is 
applied  to  the  cleansing  of  the  chalice  and  the  fingers  of 
the  celebrating  priest  after  the  administration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper. 

ABNER  ("2*5,  father  of  light),  first  cousin  of  Saul 
(1  Sam.  xiv.  50)  and  commander-in-chief  of  his  army. 
The  chief  references  to  him  during  the  lifetime  of  Saul  are 
found  in  1  Sam.  xvii  55,  and  xxvi.  5.  It  was  only  after 
that  monarch's  death,  however,  that  Abner  was  brought 
into  a  position  of  the  first  political  importance.  David, 
who  had  some  time  before  been  designated  to  the  throne, 
was  accepted  as  king  by  Judr.1i  alone,  and  was  ex*)imei  At 
Hebron.  The  other  tribes  were  actuated  by  a  feeling 
hostile  to  Judah,  and,  as  soon  as  they  had  thrown  ?S  the 
Philistinian  yoke,  were  induced  by  Abner  to  recognise 
Ishbosbeth,  the  surviving  son  of  Saul,  as  their  king.  One 
engagement  between  the  rival  factions  under  Joab  and 
Abner  respectively  (2  Sam.  ii  12)  is  noteworthy,  inasmuch 
as  it  was  preceded  by  an  encounter  between  twelve  chosen 
men  from  each  side,  in  which  the  whole  twenty-four  seem 
to  have  perished.  In  the  general  engagement  which  fol- 
lowed, Abner  was  defeated  and  put  to  flight.  He  was 
closely  pursued  by  Asahel,  brother  of  Joab,  who  is  said  to 
have  been  "  light  of  foot  as  a  wild  roe."  .As  Asahel  would 
not  desist  from  the  pursuit,  though  warned,  Abner  was 
compelled  to  slay  "him  in  self-defence.  Thi3  originated  a 
deadly  feud  between  the  leaders  of  the  opposite  parties,  for 
Joab,  as  next  of  kin  to  Asahel,  was  by  the  law  and  custom 
of  the  countiy  the  avenger  cf  his  blood.  For  some  time 
afterwards  the  war  was  carried  on,  the  advantage  being 
invariably  on  the  side  of  David.  At  length  Ishbosheth 
lost  the  main  prop  of  his  tottering  cause  by  remonstrating 
with  Abner  for  marrying  Rizpah,  one  of  Saul's  concubines, 
an  alliance  which,  according  to  Oriental  notions,  implied 
pretensions  to  the  throne.  Abner  was  indignant  at  th'i 
rebuke,  and  immediately  transferred  his  allegiance  to 
David,  who  not  only  welcomed  him,  but  promised  to  give 
him  the  command  of  the  combined  armies  on  the  re-union 
of  the  kingdoms.  Almost  immediately  after,  however, 
Abner  was  slain  by  Joab  and  his  brother  Abishai  at  the 
gate  of  Hebron.  The  ostensible  motive  for  the  assassina- 
tion was  a  desire  to  avenge  Asahel,  and  this  would  be  a 
sufficient  justification  for  the  deed  according  to  the  moral 
standard  of  the  time.  There  can  be  little  doubt,  however, 
that  Joab  was  actuated  in  great  part  by  jealousy  of  a  new 
and  formidable  rival,  who  seemed  not  unlikely  to  usurp 
his  place  in  the  king's  favour.  The  conduct  of  David 
after  the  event  was  such  as  to  show  that  he  had  no  com- 
plicity in  the  act,  though  he  could  not  venture  to  punish 
its  perpetrators.  The  dirge  which  he  repeated  over  the 
grave  of  Abner  (2  Sam.  iii  33-4)  ha3  been  thus  trans- 
lated :— 

Should  Abner  die  &3  a  villain  dies  ? — 

Thy  hands — not  bound- 

Thy  feet — nnt  brought  u>to  fetters : 

As  one  falls  before  the  sons  of  wickedness,  fellest  thou. 

ABO,  a  city  and  seaport,  and  chief  town  of  the  district 
of  the  same  name  in  the  Russian  province  of  Finland,  is 
situated  in  N.  lat.  60°  26',  E.  long.  22°  19',  on  'Jae  avts- 
joki,  about  3  miles  from  where  it  falls  into  the  Gulf  oi 
Bothnia.  It  was  a  place  of  importance  when -Finland 
formed  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Sweden,  and  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  city  and  district  are  mostly  of  Swedish  descent. 
By  the  treaty  of  peace  concluded  here  between  Russia  and 
Sweden  on'17th  August  1743,  a  great  part  of  Finland  was 
ceded  to  the  former.  Abo  continued  to  be  the  capital  of 
Finland  till  1819.  In  November  1827,  nearly  the  whole 
city  was  burnt  down,  the  university  and  its  valuable  library 


being  entirely  destroyed.  Before  tLis  calamity  Abo  con. 
tained  1100  houses,  and  13,000  inhabitants;  and  it* 
university  had  40  professors,  more  tl.*n  COX)  student*,  \ad 
a  library  of  upwards  of  30,000  "volumes,  together  with  a 
botanical  garden,  an  observatory,  and  a  chemical  laboratory. 
The  university  has  since  been  removed  to  Helsingfors. 
Abo  is  the  seat  of  an  archbishop,  and  of  the  supreme  court 
of  justice  for  South  Finland;  and  it  has  a  cathedral,  a 
town-hall,  and  e.  custom-house.  Sail-cloth,  linen,  leather, 
and  tobacco  are  manufactui^d;  shipbuilding  is  carried  on, 
and  there  are  extensive  saw-mills.  There  is  also  a  large 
trade  in  timber,  pitch,  and  tar.  Vessels  drawing  9  or  10 
feet  come  up  to  the  town,  but  ships  of  greater  draught  are 
lad?n  and  discharged  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  which 
forms  an  excellent  harbour  and  is  protected.  Population 
in  1867,  18,109. 

ABOLITIONIST.     See  Suiveby. 

ABOMASUM,  caillette,  the  fourth  or  rennet  stomach  oi 
Ruminantia.  From  the  omasum  the  food  is  finally  depo- 
sited in  the  abomasum,  a  cavity  considerably  larger  than 
-eithei  the  second  or  third  stomach,  although  less  than  the 
first.  The  base  of  the  abomasum  is  furned  to  the  omasum. 
It  is  of  an  irregular  conical  form.  It  is  that  part  of  the 
digestive  apparatus  which  is  analogous  to  the  single  stomach 
of  other  Mammalia,  as  the  food  there  undergoes  the  process 
of  chymification,  after  being  macerated  and  ground  down 
in  the  three  first  stomachs. 

AEOMEY,  the  capital  of  Dahomey,  in  West  Africa,  is 
situated  in  N.  lat  7°,  E.  long.  2°  4',  about  60  miles 
N.  of  Whydah,  the  port  of  the  kingdom.  It  is  a  clay- 
built  town,  surrounded  by  a  moat  and  mud  walls,  and 
occupies  a  large  area,  part  of  which  is  cultivated.  The 
houses  stand  apart;  there  are  no  regular  streets;  and  the 
place  is  very  d:rty.  It  has  four  larger  market-places,  and 
trade  is  carried  on  in  palm-oil,  ivory,  and  gold,  Moham- 
medan traders  from  the  interior  resorting  to  its  markets. 
The  town  contains  the  principal  palace  of  the  king  of 
Dahomey.  It  is  the  scene  of  frequent  human  sacrifices, 
a  "  custom''  being  held  annually,  at  which  many  criminals 
jind  i&pti?*s  -»r*  slain;  while  on  tb?  death  of  a  king  a 
"grand  custom"  is  holi,  at  which  sometimes  as  many  as 
2000  victims  have  perished.  The  slave-trade  is  also  pro- 
secuted, and  the  efforts  of  the  British  Government  to  induce 
the  king  to  abolish  it  and  the  "  customs"  have  proved  un- 
successful    Population,  about  30,000.     See  Dahomey. 

ABORIGINES,  originally  a  proper  name  given  to  an 
Italian  people  who  inhabited  the  ancient  Latium,  or 
country  now  called  Campagna  di  Boma.  Various  deriva- 
tion? of  this  name  have  bfien  suggested;  but  there  can  be 
scarcely  any  doubt  that  the  usual  derivation  {ab  origine)  is 
correct,  and  that  the  word  simply  indicated  a  settled  tribe, 
whose  origin  and  earlier  history  were  unknown.  It  is  thus 
the  equivalent  of  the  Greek  autochthones.  It  is  therefore, 
strictly  speaking,  not  a  proper  name  at  all,  although,  from 
being  applied  to  one  tribe  (or  group  of  tribes),  it  came  to 
be  regarded  as  such.  Who  the  Aborigines  were,  or  whence 
they  came,  is  uncertain;  but  various  traditions  that  art 
recorded  seem  to  indicate  that  they  were  an  Oscan  oi 
Opican  tribe  that  descended  from  the  Apennines  inte 
Latium,  and  united  with  some  Pelasgic  tribe  to  form  the 
Latins.  The  stories  about  jEneas's  landing'  in  Italy  repre 
sent  the  Aborigines  as  at  first  opposing  and  then  coalescing 
with  the  Trojans,  and  state  that  the  united  people  then 
assumed  the  name  of  Latins,  from  their  king  Latinus. 
These  traditions  clearly  point  to  the  fact  that  the  Latins 
were  a  mixed  race,  a  circumstance  which  is  proved  by  the 
structure  of  thsir  language,  in  which  we  find  numerous 
words  closely  conpeaed  with  the  Greek,  and  also  numerous 
words  that  are  of  an  entirely  different  origin.  These  non- 
Greek  words  are  mostly  related  to  the  dialects  of  th* 


52 


ABO-ABR 


Opiean  tribes.  In  modern  times  the  term  Aborigines  has 
been  extended  in  signification,  and  is  used  to  indicate 
the  inhabitants  found  in  a  country  at  its  first  discovery,  in 
contradistinction  to  colonies  or  new  races,  the  time  of  "whoso 
introduction  into  the  country  is  known. 

ABORTION,  in  Midwifery  (from  aborior,  I  perish), 
the  premature  separation  and  expulsion  of  the  contents  of 
the  pregnant  uterus.  When  ocourring  before  the  eighth 
lunar  month  of  gestation,  abortion  is  the  term  ordinarily 
employed,  but  subsequent  to  this  period  it  is  designated 
premature  labour.  The  present  notice  includes  both  these 
terms.  As  an  accident  of  pregnancy,"  abortion  is  far  from 
uncommon,  although  its  relative  frequency,  as  compared 
with  that  of  completed  gestat'.on,  has  been  very  differently 
estimated  by  accoucheurs.  It  is  more  liable  to  occur  in 
the  earlier  than  in  the  later  months  of  pregnancy,  and  it 
would  also  appear  to  occur  more  readily,  at  the  periods 
corresponding  to  those  of  the  menstrual  discharge.  Abor- 
tion may  be  induced  by  numerous  causes,  both  of  a  local 
and  general  nature.  Malformations  of  the  pelvis,  acci- 
dental injuries,  and  the  diseases  and  displacements  to 
which  the  uterus  is  liable,  on  the  one  hand ;  and,  <J>n  the 
other,  various  morbid  conditions  of  the  ovum  or  placenta 
leading  to  the  death  of  the  foetus,  are  among  the  direct 
local  -causes  of  abortion.  The  general  causes  embrace 
certain  states  of  the  system  which  are  apt  to  exercise  a 
more  or  less  direct  influence  upon  the  progress  of  utero- 
gestation.  A  deteriorated  condition  of  health,  whether 
hereditary  or  as  the  result  of  habits  of  life,  certainly  pre- 
disposes to  the  occurrence  of  abortion.  Syphilis  is  known 
to  be  a  frequent  cause  of  the  death  of  the  foetus.  Many 
diseases  arising  in  the  course  of  pregnancy  act  as  direct 
exciting  causes  of  abortion,  more  particularly  the  eruptive 
fevers  and  acute  inflammatory  affections.  Prolonged 
irritation  in  other  organs  may,  by  reflex  action,  excite 
the  uterus  to  expel  its  contents.  Strong  impressions 
made  upon  the  nervous  system,  as  by  sudden  shocks  and 
mental  emotions,  occasionally  have  a  similar  effect.  Further, 
certain  medicinal  substances,  particularly  ergot  of  rye, 
borax,  savin,  tansy,  and  cahtharides,  are  commonly  be- 
lieved to  be  capable  of  exciting  uterine  action,  but  the 
effects,  as  regards  at  least  early  pregnancy,  are  very  un- 
certain, while  the  strong  purgative  medicines  sometimes 
employed  with  the  view  of  procuring  abortion  have  no 
effect  whatever  upon  the  uterus,  and  can  only  act  remotely 
and  indirectly,  if  they  act  at  all,  by  irritating  the  alimen- 
tary canaL  In  cases  of  poisoning  with  carbonic  acid, 
abortion  has  been  observed  to  take  place,  and  the  experi- 
ments of  Dr  Brown  Sequard  show  that  anything  inter- 
fering with  the  normal  oxygenation  of  the  blood  may 
cause  the  uterus  to  contract  and  expel  its  contents.  Many 
cases  of  abortion  occur  without  apparent  cause,  but  in 
such  instances  the  probability  is  that  some  morbid  condition 
of  the  interior  of  the  uterus  exists,  and  the  same  may  be 
said  of  many  of  those  cases  where  the  disposition  to  abort 
has  become  habitual.  The  tendency,  however,  to  the 
recurrence  of  abortion  'in  persons  who  have  previously 
miscarried  is  well  known,  and  should  ever  be  borne  in 
mind  with  the  view  of  avoiding  any  cause  likely  to  lead 
to  a  repetition  of  the  accident.  Abortion  resembles  ordi- 
nary labour  in  its  general  phenomena,  excepting  that  in 
the:  former  hemorrhage  often  to  a  large  extent  forms  one 
of  the  leading  symptoms.  The  treatment  of  abortion 
embraces  the  means  to  be  used  by  rest,  astringents,  and 
sedatives,  to  prevent  the  occurrence  when  it  merely 
threatens ;  or  when,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  inevitable,  to 
accomplish  as  speedily  as  possible  the  complete  removal 
of  the  entire  contents  of  the  uterus.  The  artificial  induc- 
tion of  premature  labour  is  occasionally  resorted  to  by 
Bocoucheurs  under  certain  conditions  involving  the  safety 


of  the  mother  or  the  foetus.  For  Criminal  Abortion,  see 
Medical  Jurisprudence. 

ABOUKIR,  a  small  village  on  the  coast  of  Egypt,  1 3 
miles  N.E.  of  Alexandria,  containing  a  castle  which  was 
used  as  a  state  prison  by  Mehemet  Ali.  Near  the  village, 
and  connected  with  the  shore  by  a  ch,ain  of  rocks,  is  a 
small  island  remarkable  for  remains  of,  ancient  buildings. 
Stretching  to  the  eastward  as  far  as  the  Rosetta  mouth  of 
the  Nile  is  the  spacious  bay  of  Aboukir,  where  Nelson 
fought  "the  Battle  of  the  Nile,"  defeating  and  almost 
destroying  the  French  fleet  that  had  conveyed  Napoleon 
to  Egypt.  It  was  near  Aboukir  that  tho  expedition  to 
Egypt,  under  Sir  Ralph  Abercromby,  in  1801,  effected  a 
landing  in.  the  face  of  an  opposing  force. 

ABRABANEL,  Isaac  (called  also  Abravanel,  Abarbanel, 
Barbanella,  and  Ravanella),  a  celebrated  Jewish  statesman, 
philosopher,  theologian,  and  commentator,  was  born  at 
Lisbon  in  1437.  He  belonged  to  an  ancient  family  that 
claimed  descent  from  the  royal  houso  of  David,  and  his 
parents  gave  him  an  education  becoming  so  renowned  a 
lineage.  He  held  a  high  place  in  the  favour  of  King 
Alphonso  V.,  who  intrusted  him  with  the  management  of 
important  state  affairs.  On  the  death  of  Alphonso  in 
1481,  his  counsellors  and  favourites  were  harshly  treated 
by  his  successor  John;  and  Abrabanel  was,  in  consequence, 
compelled  to  flee  to  Spain,  where  he  held  for  eight  years 
(1484— 1492),  the  post  of  a  minister  of  state  under  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella.  When  the  Jews  were  banished  from 
Spain'  in  1492,  no  exception  was  made  in  AbrabancFs 
favour.  Ho  afterwards  resided  at  Naples,  Corfu,  and 
Monopoli,  and  in  1503  removed  to  Venice,  where  he  held 
office  as  a  minister  of  state  till  his  death  in  1508.  Abra- 
banel was  one  of  the  most  learned  of  the  rabbis.  His 
writings  are  chiefly  exegetical  and  polemical ;  he  displays 
in  them  an  intense  antipathy  to  Christianity,  though  he 
lived  on  terms  of  friendship  with  Christians.  He  wrote 
commentaries  on  the  greater  part  of  the  Old  Testament, 
in  a  clear  but  somewhat  diffuse  style,  anticipating  much 
that  has  been  advanced  as  new  by  modern  theologians. 

ABRACADABRA,  a  meaningless  word  once  supposed 
to  have  a  magical  efficacy  as  an  antidote  against  agues  and 
other  fevers.  Ridiculously  minute  directions  for  the 
proper  use  of  the  charm  are  given  in  the  Pracepta  de 
Medicina  of  Serenus  Sammonicus.  The  paper  on  which 
the  word  was  written  had  to  be  folded  in  the  form  of 
a  cross,  suspended  from  the  neck  by  a  strip  of  linen  so  as 
to  rest  on  the  pit  of  the  stomach,  worn  in  this  way  for 
nine  days,  and  then,  before  sunrise,  cast  behind  the  wearer 
into  a  stream  running  to  the  east.  The  letters  of  this  word 
were  usually  arranged  to  form  a  triangle  in  one  or  other  of 
the  following  ways  : — 

ABRACADABRA  ABRACADABRA 


ABRACADABR 

BRACADABE 

ABRACADAB 

RACADAB 

ABRACADA 

ACADA 

ABRACAD 

CAD 

ABRACA 

A 

ABRAO 

ABSA 

ABR 

AB 

A 

ABRAHAM  or  ABRAM.  father"  of  the  Israelite  race, 
was  the  first-born  son  of  Terah,  a  Sbemite,  who  left  Ur 
of  the  Chaldees,  in  the  north-east  of  Mesopotamia,  along 
with  Abram,  Sarai,  and  Lot,  and  turned  westwards  in  the 
direction  of  Canaan.  Abram  had  married  his  half-sister 
Sarai,  who  was  ten  years  younger  than  himself;  and 
though  such  relationship  was  afterwards  forbidden  by  the 
law,  it  was  common  in  ancient  times,  both  among  other 


A  B  [{  A  H  A  M 


53 


peoples,  and  among  the  Hebrews  tbemscive3  at  least  before 
Moses.  lhe  cause  of  Tcrah's  removing  from  bis  native 
country  is  not  given.  Having  come  to  Haran,  be  abode 
tbere  till  his  death,  at  the  age  of  205.  According  to 
Genesis  xii.,  Abram  left  liaran  when  he  was  75  years  of 
age,  that  is,  before  the  death  of  his  father,  in  consequence 
of  a  divine  command,  to  which  was  annexed  a  gracious 
promise,  "  And  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation,  and  I 
will  bless  thee,  and  inake  thy  name  great ;  and  thou  shalt 
be  a  blessing.  And  I  will  bless  them  that  bless  thee,  and 
curse  him  that  curseth  thee ;  and  in  thee  shall  all  families 
of  the  earth  be  blessed"  (xii.  2,  3).  Another  tradition 
makes  him  leave  Haran  only  after  Terah's  decease  (Acts 
vii.  4).  The  later  account  is  that  Abram's  departure  was 
the  result  of  religious  considerations,  because  be  had 
already  become  emancipated  from  surrounding  idolatry. 
Perhaps  the  desire  of  a  nomadic  life,  the  love  of  migration 
natural  to  an  Oriental,  had  more  to  do  with  his  pilgrimage 
than  a  spiritual  impulse  from  within ;  but  it  is  likely  that 
his  culture  advanced  in  the  course  of  his  sojournings,  and 
that  he  gradually  attained  to  purer  conceptions  of  duty 
and  life.  Traditions  subsequent  to  the  Jehovistic  represent 
him  as  driven  forth  by  the  idolatrous  Chaldeans  (Judith 
v.  6,  &c.)  on  account  of  his  monotheistic  doctrines,  and 
then  dwelling  in  Damascus  as  its  king  (Josephus's  Anti- 
quities, i.  7).  The  true  cause  of  departure  may  be  sug- 
gested by  Nicplaus  of  Damascus  saying  that  he  came  out 
ef  Chaldea  with  an  army.  The  leader  of  a  horde,  worsted 
in  some  encounter  or  insurrection,  he  emigrated  at  the 
head  of  his  adherents  in  quest  of  better  fortunes.  The 
word  redeemed,  in  Isaiah  xxix.  22,  out  of  which  Ewald 
conjectures  so  much,  as  if  Abram  had  been  rescued  from 
great  bodily  dangers  and  battles,  does  not  help  the  portrait, 
because  it  means  no  more  than  the  patriarch's  migration 
from  heathen  Mesopotamia  into  the  Holy  Land.  Journey- 
ing south-west  to  Canaan  with  his  wife  and  nephew,  he 
arrived  at  Sichem,  at  the  oak  of  the  seer  or  prophet,  where 
Jehovah  appeared  to  him,  assuring  him  for  the  first  time 
ihat  his  seed  should  possess  the  land  he  had  come  to. 
He  travelled  thence  southward,  pitching  his  tent  east  of 
Bethel.  Still  proceeding  in  the  same  direction,  he  arrived 
at  the  Negeb,  or  most  southern  district  of  Palestine, 
whence  a  famine  forced  him  down  to  Egypt.  His  plea 
that  Sarai  was  his  sister  did  not  save  her  from  Pharaoh ; 
for  she  was  taken  into  the  royal  harem,  but  restored  to 
her  husband  in  consequence  of  divine  chastisments  inflicted 
upon  the  lawless  possessor  of  her  person,  leading  to  the 
discovery  of  her  true  relationship.  The  king  was  glad  to 
eend  the  patriarch  away  under  the  escort  and  protection 
of  his  men.  A  similar  thing  is  said  to  have  subsequently 
happened  to  Sarai  at  Gerar  with  the  Philistine  king 
Abimelech  (Genesis  xx.),  as  also  to  Rebekah,  Isaac's  wife 
(xxvi.)  The  three  narratives  describe  one  and  the  same 
event  in  different  shapes.  But  the  more  original  (the 
junior  Elohistic)1  is  that  of  the  20th  chapter,  so  that  Gerar 
was  the  scene,  and  Abunelech  the  offender;  while  the  later 
Jehovistic  narrative  (xii.)  deviates  still  more  from  veri- 
similitude. Though  this  occurrence,  however,  belongs  to 
the  southern  borders  of  Palestine,  we  need  not  doubt  the 
fact  of  Abram's  sojourn  in  Egypt,  especially  as  he  had  an 
Egyptian  slave  (Genesis  xvi.)  How  long  the  patriarch 
remained  there  is  not  related ;  nor  are  the  influences  which 
the  religion,  science,  and  learning  of  that  civilised  land 
had  upon  him  alluded  to.  That  they  acted  beneficially 
upon  his  mind,  enlightening  and  enlarging  it,  can  scarcely 
be  doubted.     His  religious  conceptions  were  transformed. 

1  Three  documents  at  least  are  traceable  in  the  Pentateuch ;  the 
Schistic,  the  junior  Elohistic,  and  the  Jehovistic.  These  were  put 
together  by  a  redactor.  Nearly  the  rtoie  cf  the  £ftt  book  was 
added  by  the  Dcuteronomiat. 


The  manifold  wisdom  of  Egypt  impressed  him.  Liter- 
course  with  men  far  advanced  in  civilisation  taught  him 
much.  Later  tradition  speaks  of  his  communicating  to 
the  Egyptians  the  xiences  of  arithmetic  and  astronomy 
(Josephus  i.  7) ;  but  this  is  founded  upon  the  notion 
entertained  at  the  time  of  the  civilised  Chaldeans  of 
Babylon,  whereas  Ur  of  the  Chaldees  was  a  district 
remote  from  the  subsequent  centre  of  recondite  knowledge. 
Abram  received  more  than  he  imparted,  for  the  Egyptians 
were  doubtless  his  superiors  in  science.  He  found  the 
rite  of  circumcision  in  use.  There,  too,  he  acquired  great 
substance — flocks  and  herds,  male  and  female  slaves. 
After  returning  to  Canaan,  to  his  former  locality,  Abram 
and  Lot  separated,  because  of  disputes  between  their 
herdsmen,  there  not  being  sufficient  room  for  all  their 
cattle  in  common.  After  this  separation  the  possession  of 
Canaan  was  again  assured  to  Abram  and  to  his  seed,  who 
should  be  exceedingly  numerous.  This  is  the  third 
theocratic  promise  he  received.  He  is  also  commanded 
by  Jehovah  to  walk  through  it  in  its  length  and  breadth 
as  a  token  of  inheritance, — a  later  Jehovistic  tradition  that 
must  be  judged  according  to  its  inherent  verisimilitude. 
Abram  settled  again  at  the»ak  of  Mamre  near  Hebron. 
This  was  his  headquarters.  After  Lot  had  been  taken 
prisoner  in  the  expedition  of  the  kings  of  Shinar,  Ellasar, 
Elam,  and  Goyim,  against  the  old  inhabitants  of  Basan, 
Ammonitis,  Moabitis,  Edomitis,  and  others  besides,  Abram 
gave  chase  to  the  enemy,  accompanied  by  his  318  slaves 
and  friendly  neighbours,  rescuing  his  nephew  at  Hobah, 
near  Damascus.  On  his  return,  the  royal  priest  Melchizedek 
of  Salem  came  forth  to  meet  him  with  refreshments,  blessed 
the  patriarch,  and  received  from  him  the  tithe  of  the  spoils. 
The  long  acted  generously  towards  the  victor,  and  was  still 
more  generously  treated  in  return. 

Jehovah  again  promised  to  Abram  a  numerous  offspring, 
with  the  possession  of  Canaan.  He  also  concluded  a 
covenant  with  him  in  a  solemn  form,  and  revealed  the 
fortunes  of  his  posterity  in  Egypt,  with  their  deliverance 
from  bondage.  In  consequence  of  the  .  barrenness  of 
Sarai,  she  gave  her  handmaid  Hagar  to  Abram,  who, 
becoming  pregnant  by  him,  was  haughtily  treated  by  her 
mistress,  and  fled  towards  Egypt.  But  an  angel  met 
her  in  the  desert  and  sent  her  back,  telling  of  a  numerous 
race  that  should  spring  from  her.  Having  returned,  she 
gave  birth  to  Ishmael,  in  the  86th  year  of  Abram's  age. 

Again  did  Jehovah  appear  to  the  patiiarch,  promising  as 
before  a  multitudinous  seed,  and  changing  his  name  in 
conformity  with  such  promise.  He  assured  him  and  his 
posterity  of  the  possession  of  Canaan,  and  concluded  a 
covenant  with  him  for  all  time.  At  the  institution  of 
circumcision  on  this  occasion,  Sarai's  name  was  also  changed, 
because  she  was  to  be  the  maternal  progenitor  of  the 
covenant  people  through  Isaac  her  sou.  Abram,  and  all 
the  males  belonging  to  him,  were  then  circumcised.  He 
had  become  acquainted  with  the  rite  in  Egypt,  and  trans- 
ferred it  to  his  household,  making  it  a  badge  of  distinction 
between  the  worshippers  of  the  true  God  and  the  idolatrous 
Canaanites — the  symbol  of  the  flesh's  subjection  to  the 
spirit.  Its  introduction  into  the  worship  of  the  colony  at 
Mamre  indicated  a  decided  advance  in  Abram's  religious 
conceptions.  He  had  got  beyond  the  cruel  practice  of  human 
sacrifice.  The  gross  worship  of  the  Canaanites  was  left 
behind;  and  the  small  remnant  of  it  which  he  retained  com- 
ported with  a  faith  approaching  monotheism.  Amid  pre- 
vailing idolatry  this  institution  was  a  protection  to  his 
family  and  servants — a  magic  circle  drawn  around  them. 
But,  though  powerful  and  respected  wherever  his  name 
was  known,  he  confined  the  rite  to. his  own  domestics, 
without  attempting  to  force  it  on  the  inhabitants  of 
the  land  where  he  sojourned.     The  punishment  of  death 


64 


ABRAHAM 


for  neglecting  it,  because  the  uncircumcised  person  "was 
thought  to  be  a  breaker  of  tho  covenant  and  a  despiser 
of  its  Author,  seems  a  harsh  measure  on  the  part  of 
Abram;  yet  it  can  hardly  be  counted  an  arbitrary  trans- 
ference of  the  later  Levitical  severities  to  the  progenitor  of 
the  race,  since  it  is  in  the  Elohist. 

Accompanied  Dy  two  angels,  Jehovah  appeared  again  to 
Abram  at  the-oak  of  JIamre,  accepted  his  proposed  hospi- 
tality, and  promised  him  a  son  by  Sarai  within  a  year. 
Though  she  laughed  incredulously,  the  promise  was  definitely 
repeated.  When  the  angels  left,  Jehovah  communicated 
to  Abram  the  divine  purpose  of  destroying  the  dwellers 
in  Siddim  because  of  their  wickedness,  but  acceded  to  the 
patriarch's  intercession,  that  the  cities  of  the  plain  should 
be  spared  if  ten  righteous  men  could  be  found  in  them. 
The  two  angels,  who  had  gone  before,  arrived  at  Sodom  in  the 
evening,  and  were  entertained  by  Lot,  but  threatened  with 
shameful  treatment  by  the  depraved  inhabitants.  Seeing 
that  the  vengeance  of  Heaven  was  deserved,  they  proceeded 
to  e ~ecute  it,  saving  Lot  with-  his  wife  and  two  daughters, 
and  sparing  Zoar  as  a  place  of  refuge  for  them.  Jehovah 
rained  down  fire  and  brimstone  from  heaven,  turning  all 
tho  Jordan  district  to  desolation,  so  that  when  Abram 
looked  next  morning  from  the  spot  where  Jehovah  and 
himself  had  parted,  he  saw  a  thick  smoke  ascend  from  the 
ruins. 

Abram  then  journeyed  from  Hebron  to  the  Negeb,  settled 
between  Kadesh  and  Shur  in  Gerar,  where  Sarai  is  said  to 
have  been  treated  as  a  prior  account  makes  her  to  have  been 
in  Egypt.  At  the  patriarch's  prayer  the  plague  inflicted  on 
the  king  and  his  wives  was  removed.  This  is  a  duplicate  of 
the  other  story..  Whatever  historical  truth  the  present  nar- 
rative has  belongs  to  an  earlier  period  of  Abram's  life.  His 
second  removal  to  Gerar  originated  in  the  former  journeying 
through  it  into  Egypt.  He  must  have  remained  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Hebron,  his  first  settlement,  where  Isaac  was 
born  according  to  the  Elobistic  account.  After  the  birth  of 
the  legitimate  heir,  succeeding  events  were  the  expulsion  of 
Hagar  and  Ishmael  from  the  paternal  home,  and  the  making 
of  a  covenant  between  Abimelech  and  Abram  at  Beersheba. 
Here  Abram  "  called  on  the  name  of  the  Lord,"  and  is 
said  to  have  planted  a  noted  ^tamarisk  in  commemoration 
of  the  event. 

Abram  was  now  commanded  by  God  to  offer  up  Isaac  in 
the  land  of  Moriah  Proceeding  to  obey,  he  was  prevented 
by  an  angel  just  as  he  was  about  to  slay  his  son,  and 
sacrificed  a  ram  that  presented  itself  at  the  time.  In 
reward  of  his  obedience  he  received  the  promise  of  a  numer- 
ous seed  and  abundant  prosperity.  Thence  he  returned  to 
Beersheba. 

Sarai  died  and  was  buried  in  the  cave  of  Machpelah  near 
Hebron,  which  Abram  purchased,  with  the  adjoining  field, 
from  Ephron  the  Hittite.  The  measures  taken  by  the 
patriarch  for  the  marriage  of  Isaac  are  circumstantially 
described.  His  steward  Eliezer  was  sent  to  the  country 
and  kindred  of  Abram  to  find  a  suitable  bride,  which  he 
did  in  Haran,  whither  he  was  divinely  conducted.  Rebekah 
appeared  as  the  intended  one;  she  parted  from  Bethuel 
and  her  family  with  their  full  approbation,  was  brought 
to  Isaac,  and  became  a  maternal  ancestor  of  the  chosen 
people. 

It  is  curious  that,  after  Sarah's  death,  Abram  should 
have  contracted  a  second  marriage  with  Keturah,  and 
begotten  six  sons.  The  Chronicles,  however,  make  her 
his  concubine  (1  Chron.  i  32),  so  that  these  children  may 
have  been  born  earlier.  Probably  the  narrative  intends 
to  account  for  the  diffusion  of  Abram's  posterity  in  Arabia. 
Keturah's  sons  were  sent  away  with  gifts  from  their  home 
into  Arabia,  and  all  the  father's  substance  was  given 
to  Isaac.      The  patriarch  died  at   the  age  of  175  years, 


and  was  buried  by  Isaac  and  Ishmael  beside  Sarai  in 
Machpelah.  The  book  of  Genesis  give3  two  lists  of  Arab 
tribes,  descended  partly  from  Abram  and  Keturah,  partly 
from  him  and  Hagar  or  Ishmael  These  dwelt  in  Arabia 
Dcserta  and  Petraja,  as  also  in  the  northern  half  of  Arabia 
Felix. 

1 .  We  cannot  adopt  the  opinion  of  Von  Bohlen  and  Dozy 
that  Abram  is  a  mythical  person.  He  must  be  regarded  as  a 
historical  character,  though  the  accounts  of  his  life  have 
mythical  elements  intermingled  with  much  that  is  tradi- 
tional or  legendary.  The  difficulty  of  separating  the  historic 
from  the  merely  traditional,  hinders  the  presentation  of  a 
natural  portrait.  Later  legends  have  invested  him  with  ex- 
traordinary excellence.  They  have  made  him  a  worshipper 
of  Jehovah,  a  prophet,  the  friend  of  God,  favoured  with 
visible  manifestations  of  His  presence,  a^d  receiving 
repeated  promises  of  the  most  fax-reaching  character.  He 
is  the  typical  ancestor  of  the  chosen  ro.ee,  living  under  the 
constant  guidance  of  God,  prospering  in  worldly  goods, 
delivered  from  imminent  perils.  A  superhuman  halo 
surrounds  him.  It  is  the  Jehovist  in  particular  who 
invests  him  with  the  marvellous  and  improbable,  con- 
necting him  with  altars  and  sacrifices — a  cultu3  posterior 
to.  both  his  time  and  mental  development — making  him 
the  subject  of  theophanies,  talking  familiarly  to  Jehovah 
himself,  and  feeding  angels  with  flesh.  The  Elohist's 
descriptions  are  simpler.  His  patriarchs  are  usually  colour- 
less men,  upright  and  plain.  .They  have  neither  char- 
acteristic features  nor  distinct  outline.  Abrain  stands 
out  an  honest,-  peaceable,  generous,  high-minded  patriarch; 
a  prince,  rich,  powerful,  and  honoured,  fitted  for  rule, 
and  exercising  it  with  prudence.  We  need  not  expect 
a  full  history  of  the  man  from  writers  long  posterior,  the 
representatives  of  popular  traditions.  Only  fragments 
of  the  life  are  given,  designed  to  show  his  greatness. 
Legend  assigned  ideal  lineaments  to  the  progenitor  whom 
a  remote  antiquity  shrouded  with  its  hoary  mantle,  and 
thus  he  became  a  model  worthy  of  imitation. 

2.  The  biblical  sources  of  his  biography  are  three  at 
least;  and  sometimes  all  appear  in  a  single  chapter,  as  in 
Gen.  xxii.,  which  describes  the  severest  trial  of  faith.  The 
oldest  or  Elohim-document  is  seen  in  verses  20-24,  which 
link  on  to  chap.  xxi.  2-5,  from  the  same.  The  rest  of  the 
chapter  belongs  to  the  junior  Elohist,  except  verses  14-18, 
added  by  the  Jehovist  to  connect  Abram's  sacrifice  with 
Jerusalem.  These  different  documents,  out  of  which  the 
general  narrative  was  finally  put  together  by  a  redactor, 
create  diversities  and  contradictions.  Thus  the  Elohist 
makes  Abram  laugh  at  the  announcement  of  a  son  by  Sarai 
(xvii.  17);  the  Jehovist,  jealous  for  th<2  patriarch's  honour, 
assigns  the  laughter  to  the  woman  as  a  sign  of  incredulity 
(xviii.  12). 

3.  The  account  of  the  change  of  names  given  to  Abram 
and  Sarai  when  circumcision  was  instituted,  cannot  be 
regarded  as  historical.  The  Elohist  says  that  Abram  became 
Abraham,  the  latter  meaning  father  of  much  people.  But 
the  Hebrew  tongue  has  no  word  rahdm,  and  no  root  with 
the  three  letters  om.  Hence  the  Jews  found  the  etymo- 
logy a  puzzle.1  The  old  reading  was  undoubtedly  Abram 
and  Sarai,  though  the  later  Jews  expressly  forbade  Abram 
either  in  speaking  or  writing.  The  difference  is  one  of 
mere  orthography.  The  forms  Dm  and  oil  are  cognate 
ones,  as  are  ryff  and  rnff-  The  etymologising  propensity 
of  the  Elohist  is  well  known.  The  names  signify  father  of 
height  and  princess  respectively. 

4.  The  religion  of  Abram  was  not  pure  Jehovism  Ac- 
cording to  Exodus  vi.  3,  the  name  Jehovah  was  unknown 
before  Moses.     Pure  Jehovism  was  a  growth  not  reached 

1  See  Beer's  Lelen  Alraham's,  pp.  150,  151. 


ABK-ABR 


55 


before  the  prophets.  It  was  a  late  development,  the  creed 
Of  the  most  spiritual  teachers,  not  of  the  people  generally. 
Abram  was  a  distinguished  Oriental  sheikh,  who  laid  aside 
the  grdssness  of  idolatry,  and  rose  by  degrees,  through  con- 
tact with  many  peoples  and  his  own  reflection,  to  the  con- 
ception of  a  Being  higher  than  the  risible  world,  the  God 
Of,  the  light  and  the  sun.  He  was  a  civilised  nomad, 
having  wider  and  more  spiritual  aspirations  than  the 
peoples  with  whom  he  livecL.  As  a  worshipper  of  God, 
his  faith  was  magnified  by  Liter  ages  throwing  back 
their  more  advanced  ideas  into  his  time,  because  he  was 
the  founder  of  a  favoured  i  race,  the  type  of  Israel  as 
they  were  or  should  be. 

5.  The  leading  idea  forming  the  essence  of  the  story  re- 
specting Abram's  sacrifice  of  Isaac,  presents  some  difficulty 
Of  explanation.  The  chapter  did  not  proceed  from  the 
earliest  writer,  but  from  one  acquainted  with  the  institu- 
tion of  animal  sacrifices.  That  the  patriarch  was  familiar 
with  human  sacrifices  among  the  peoples  round  about  is 
beyond  a  doubt.  Was  he  tempted  from  within  to  comply, 
on  one  occasion,  with  the  prevailing  custom;  or  did  the 
disaffected  Canaanites  call  upon  him.  to  give  such  proof 
of  devotion  to  his  God  ]  Perhaps  there  was  a  struggle  in 
his  mind  between  the  better  ideas  which  led  to  the  habitual 
renunciation  of  the  barbarous  rite,  and  scruples  of  the  uni- 
versal impropriety  attaching  to  it.  The  persuasion  that  it 
could  never  be  allowed  may  have  been  shaken  at  times. 
The  general  purport  of  the  narrative  is  to  place  in  a  strong 
light  the  faith  of  one  prepared  to  make  the  most  costly 
sacrifice  in  obedience  to  the  divino  command,  as  well  as 
God's  aversion  to  human  offerings. 

6.  It  is  impossible  to  get  chronological  exactness1  in 
Abram's  biography,  because  it  is  composed  of  different  tra- 
ditions incorporated  with  one  another,  the  product  of  dif- 
ferent times,  and  all  passing  through  the  hands  of  a  later 
redactor  for  whom  the  true  succession  of  events  was  not 
of  primary  importance.  The  writers  themselves  did  not 
know  the  accurate  chronology,  having  to  do  with  legends 
as  well  as  facts  impregnated  with  the  legendary,  which  the 
redactor  afterwards  altered  or  adapted.  The  Elohist  is 
much  more  chronological  than  the  other  writers.  It  is 
even  impossible  to  tell  the  time  when  Abram  lived.  Ac- 
cording to  Lepsius,  he  entered  Palestine  1700-1730  B.c. ; 
according  to  Bunsen,  2S86;  while  Schenkel  gives  2 130-2 140 
B.C.  In  Beer's  Leben  Abraham's  his  birth  is  given  1948 
A.M.,  i.e.,  2040  B.C. 

7.  The  Midrashim  contain  a  good  deal  about  Abram 
which  is  either  founded  on  biblical  accounts  or  spun  out 
ef  the  fancy.  Niinrod  was  king  of  Babylon  at  the  time. 
The  patriarch's  early  announcement  of  the  doctrine  of  one 
God,  his  zeal  in  destroying  idols,  including  those  worshipped 
by  his  father,  his  miraculous  escape  from  Nimrod's  wrath, 
his  persuading  Terah  to  leavo  the  king's  service  and  go 
with  him  to  Canaan,  are  minutely  told.  During  his  life 
he  had  no  fewer  than  ten  temptations.  Satan  tried  to  ruin 
him,  after  the  fieri  had  appearedat  the  great  feast  given 
when  Isaac  was  weaned,  in  the  form  of  a  poor  bent  old  man, 
who  had  been  neglected.  We  can  only  refer  to  one  speci- 
men of  rabbinic  dialogue-making.  God  appeared  to 
Abram  by  night,  saying  to  him,  "  Take  thy  son" — (Abram 
interrupting),  "Which]  I  have  two  of  them."  The  voice 
•f  God — "  Him  who  is  esteemed  by.  you  as  your  only  son." 
Abram — "  Each  of  them  is  the  only  son  of  his  mother." 
God's  voice — "  Him  whom  thou  lovest."  Abram — "  I  love 
both."  God's  voice — "  Him  whom  thou  especially  lovest" 
Abram—"  I  cherish  .my  children  with  like  love."  God's 
voice — "Now,  then,  take  Isaac."  Abram — "And  what 
ehall  I  begin  with  in  him?"  God's  voice — "  Go  to  the  land 
where  at  my  call  mountains  will  rise  up  out  of  valleys 
•  i  ...  to  Moriah,  and  offer  thy  son  Isaac  as  a  holocaust." 


Abram — "Is  it  a  sacrifice  I  shall  offer,  Lordl  Where  is  the 
priest  to  "prepare  it?"  "Be  thou  invested  with  that  dig- 
nity as  Shem  was  formerly."  Abram — "  But  that  land 
counts  several  mountains,  which  shall  I  ascend?"  "The 
top  of  the  mountain  where  thou  shalt  see  my  glory  veiled 
in  the  clouds,"  &c     (Beer,  pp.  59,  60.) 

The  Arabic  legends  about  Ibrahim  are  mostly  taken  from 
the  Jewish  fountain,  very  few  bein&  independent  and  pre- 
Islamite.  Mohammed  collected  all  that  were  current,  and 
presented  them  in  forms  best  suited  to  his  purpose.  His 
sources  were  the  biblical  accounts  and  later  Jewish  legends. 
Those  about  the  patriarch  building  the  Kaaba  along  with 
Ishmael,  his  giving  this  son  the  house  and  all  the  country 
in  which  it  was,  his  going  as  a  pilgrim  to  Mecca  every 
year,  seeing  Ishmael,  and  then  returning  to  his  own  land, 
Syria,  his  foot-print  on  the  black  stone  of  the  temple, 
and  similar  stories,  aie  of  genuine  AraDic  origin.  The 
rest  are  Jewish,  with  certain  alterations.  The  collected 
narratives  of  the  Arabic  historians  are  given  by  Tabari, 
constituting  a  confused  mass  of  legends  drawn  from  the 
Old  Testament,  the  Koran,  and  the  Rabbins.  (See 
Ewald's  Geschichte  des  Volkes  Israel,  vol  i.  pp.  440-484, 
third  edition;  Bertheau's  Zur  Geschichte  der  Israeliten, 
p.  206,  et  seq.~;  Tuch's  Kommentar  veber  die  Genesis, 
1838;  Knobel's  Die  Genesis,  1852;  Dozv"s  Die  Israeliten 
in  Mekka,  p.  16,  et  seq.;  B.  Beer's  Leben  Abraham's 
nach  Auffassung  der  jiidischen  Sage,  1859;  Chroniqus 
cCAbou  Djafar  Mohammed  Tabari,  par  L.  Dubeur,  tome 
premier,  chapters  47-60;  Chwolson's  Ssabier  vnd  der 
Ssabismus,  voL  ii)  (s-  i>.) 

ABRAHAM-A-SANCTA-CLARA.  was  born  at  Krahen- 
heimstetten,  a  village  in  Suabia,  on  the  4th  of  June  1642. 
His  family  name  was  Ulrich  Megerle.  In  1662  he  joined 
the  order  of  Barefooted  Augustinians,  and  assumed  the 
name  by  which  alone  he  is  now  known.  In  this  order  he 
rose  step  by  step  until  he  became  prior  provincialis  and 
definitor  of  his  province.  Having  early  gained  a  great 
reputation  for  pulpit  eloquence,  he  was  appointed  eourt 
preacher  at  Vienna  in  1669.  There  the  people  nocked  in 
crowds  to  hear  him,  attracted  by  the  force  and  homeliness 
of  his  language,  the  grotesqueness  of  his  humour,  and  the 
impartial  severity  with  which  he  lashed  the  follies  of  all 
classes  of  society.  The  vices  of  courtiers  and  court-life 
in  particular  were  exposed  with  an  admirable  intrepidity. 
In  general  he  spoke  as  a  man  of  the  people  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  people,  the  predominating  quality  of  his 
style,  which  was  altogether  unique,  being  an  overflowing 
and  often  coarse  wit  There  are,  however,  many  passages 
in  his  sermons  in  which  he  rises  to  loftier  thought,  and 
uses  more  refined  and  dignified  language.  He  died  at 
Vienna  on  the  1st  December  1709.  In  his  published 
writings  Abraham-a-Sancta-Clara  displayed  much  the  same 
qualities  as  in  the  pulpit.  Perhaps  the  most  favourable 
specimen  of  his  style  is  furnished  in  Judas  der  Erzschelnu 
"His  works  have  been  several  times  reproduced  in  whole 
or  part,  though  with  many  spurious  interpolations,  within 
the  last  thirty  years,  and  have  been  very  extensively  read 
by  both  Protestants  and  Catholics.  A  selection  was  issued 
at  Heilbronn  in  1845,  and  a  complete  edition  in  21  vols, 
appeared  at  Passau  and  Lindau,  in  1835-54. 

ABRANTES,  a  town  of  Portugal,  Estremadura  province, 
on  the  Tagus,  about  70  miles  N.E.  of  Lisbon,  delightfully 
situated  on  the  brow  of  a  hill,  of  which  the  slopes  are 
covered  with  olive  trees,  gardens,  and  vineyards.  It  has 
considerable  trade  with  Lisbon,  particularly  in  fruit, 
corn,  and  oik  The  town  is  strongly  fortified,  and  is 
an  important  military  position.  At  thp  convention  of 
Cintra  it  was  surrendered  to  the  British  Junot  derived 
from  it  his  title  of  Duke  of  Abrantes.  Population  about 
6000. 


56 


A  B  It  —  A  B  S 


ABRANTES,  Duke  and  Duchess  of.     See  Junot. 

ABRAXAS,  or  Abrasax,  a  word  engraved  on  certain 
antique  stones,  which  were  called  on  that  account  Abraxas 
stories,  and  were  used  as 'amulets  or  charms.  The  Basili- 
dSans,  a  Gnostic  sect,  attached  importance  to  the  word,  if, 
indeed,  they  did  not  bring  it  into  use.  The  letters  of 
ii/Jpafas,  in  the  Greek  notation,  make  up  the  number  3G5, 
and  the  Basilidians  gave  the  name  to  the  365  orders  of 
spirits,  which,  as  they  conceived,  emanated  in  succession 
from  the  Supreme  Being.  These  orders  were  supposed  to 
occupy  as  many  heavens,  each  fashioned  like,  but  inferior 
to  that  above  it;  and  the  lowest  of  the  heavens  was 
thought  to  be  the  abode  of  the  spirits  who  formed  the 
earth  and  its  inhabitants,  and  to  whom  was  committed 
the  administration  of  its  affairs.  The  Abraxas  stones, 
which  are  frequently  to  be  met  with  in  the  cabinets 
of  the  curious,  are  of  very  little  value.  In  addition  to 
the  word  Abraxas  and  other  mystical  characters,  they 
have  often  engraved  on  them  cabalistic  figures.  The  com- 
monest of  these  have  the  head  of  a  fowl,  and  the  arms 
and  bust  of  a  man,  and  terminate  in  the  body  and  tail  of 
a  serpent. 

ABRUZZO,  originally  one  of  the  four  provinces  of  the 
continental  part  of  the  kingdom  of  the  two  Sicilies,  after- 
ward subdivided  into  AbruziO  Ulteriore  I.,  Abruzzo  Ulte- 
riore  II.,  and  Abruzzo  Citeriore,  which  were  so  named  from 
their  position  relative  to  Naples,  and  now  form  three  of 
the  provinces  of  the  kingdom  of  Italy.  The  district, 
which  was  the  most  northerly  part  of  the  kingdom  of  the 
two  Sicilies,  is  bounded  by  the  Adriatic  on  the  E.,  and 
by  the  provinces  of  Ascoli  Piceno  on  the  N.,  Umbria  and 
Rome  on  the  W.,  and  Terra  di  Lavoro,  Molise,  and  Capi- 
tanata  on  the  S.  The  Abruzzi  provinces  have  an  area  of 
nearly  4900  English  square  miles,  and  extend  from  N.  lat. 
41°40'  to  42°55'.  Though  presenting  to  the  Adriatic  a  coast 
of  about  80  miles  in  length,  they  have  not  a  single  good 
•port.  This  territory  is  mostly  rugged,  mountainous,  and 
covered  with  extensive  forests,  but  contains  also  many 
fertile  and  well-watered  valleys.  The  Apennines  traverse 
its  whole  extent,  running  generally  from  N.W.  to  S.E.,  and 
here  attaining  their  greatest  elevation.  Near  Aquila  is 
Monte  Corno,  the  loftiest  peak  of  that  chain,  called  II  gran 
Sasso  d' Italia,  or  the  great  rock  of  Italy,  which  rises  to  the 
height  of  9S13  feet.  Monte  Majella  and  Monte  Velino 
attain  the  height  of  9500  and  8792  feet  respectively, 
from  the  main  range  of  the  Apennines  a  number  of  smaller 
branches  run  off  towards  the  west.  The  country  is 
watered  by  numerous  small  rivers,  most  of  which  fall  into 
the  Adriatic.  They  are  often  suddenly  swollen  by  the 
rains,  especially  in  the  spring,  and  thus  cause  considerable 
damage  to  the  lands  through  which  they  pass.  The 
principal  rivers  are  the  Tronto,  Trentino,  Pescara,  and 
Sangro.  In  Abruzzo  Ulteriore  IL  is  lake  Celano  or  Lago 
di  Fucino,  the  Lacus  Fucinus  of  the  Romans,  now  reduced 
to  about  one-third  of  its  former  extent.  The  climate  varies 
with  the  elevation,  but,  generally  speaking,  is  temperate 
and  healthy.  Agriculture  is  but  little  understood  or 
attended  to,  although  in  many  of  the  lower  parts  of  the 
country  the  land  is  fertile.  The  rivers  are  not  embanked, 
nor  is  irrigation  practised;  so  that  the  best  of  the  land  is 
frequently  flooded  during  the  rainy  season,  and  parched  in 
the  heat  of  summer.  The  principal  productions  are  corn, 
hemp,  flax,  almonds,  olives,  figs,  grapes,  and  chestnuts. 
In  the  neighbourhood  of  Aquila  saffron  is  extensively 
cultivated,  although  not  to  such  an  extent  as  formerly. 
The  rearing  and  tending  of  sheep  i3  the  chief  occupation 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  highlands;  and  the  wool,  which 
is  of  a  superior  quality,  is  an  important  article  of  com- 
merce, while  the  skins  are  sent  in  large  quantities  to  the 
Levant.     Be&rs,  wolves,  and  wild  boars  inhabit  the  moun- 


tain fastnesses ;  and  in  the  extensive  oak  forests  numerous 
herds  of  swine  are  fed,  the  hams  of  which  are  in  high 
repute.  The  manufactures  are  very  inconsiderable,  being 
chiefly  woollen,  linen,  and  silk  stuffs,  and  earthen  and 
wood  wares.  Abruzzo  was  of  great  importance  to  the 
kingdom  of  Naples,  being  its  chief  defence  to  the  north, 
and  presenting  almost  insurmountable  difficulties  to  the 
advance  of  an  enemy.  The  country  is  now  free  of  the 
daring  brigands  by  whom  it  was  long  infested.  The 
inhabitants  are  a  stout,  well-built,  brave,  and  industrious 
race.  Their  houses  are  generally  miserable  huts ;  their 
food  principally  maize,  and  their  drink  bad  wine.  The 
railway  from  Ancona  to  Brindisi  passes  through  Abruzzo 
Ulteriore  I.  and  Abruzzo  Citeriore,  skirting  the  coast;  and 
a  line  has  been  projected  from  Pescara,  by  Popoli,  the  Lago 
di  Fucino,  and  the  valley  of  the  Liris,  to  join  the  railway 
from  Rome  to  Naples,  and  thus  open  up  the  interior  of  the 
country.  The  line  is  open  for  traffic  between  Pescara 
and  Popoli. 

Abruzzo  Ulteriore  I.  is  the  most  northerly  of  the 
three  provinces,  and  has  an  area  of  1283  square  miles,  with 
a  population  in  1871  of  245,684.  The  western  part  of  the 
province  is  very  mountainous,  the  highest  crest  of  the  Apen- 
nines dividing  it  from  Abruzzo  Ulteriore  II.  The  valleys 
possess  a  rich  soil,  well  watered  by  rivulets  and  brooks  in 
the  winter  and  spring,  but  these  are  generally  dried  up  in 
the  summer  months.  The  streams  run  mostly  into  the 
Pescara,  which  bounds  the  province  towards  Abruzzo 
Citeriore,  or  into  the  Tronto,  which  is  the  northern 
boundary.  The  city  of  Teramo  is  the  capital  of  the 
province. 

Abruzzo  Ulteriore  IT.  is  an  inland  district,  nearly 
covered  with  mountains  of  various  heights,  one  of  which 
is  the  Gran  Sasso.  There  are  no  plains ;  but  among  the 
mountains  are  some  beautiful  and  fruitful  valleys,  watered 
by  the  various  streams  that  run  through  them.  None  of 
the  rivers  are  navigable.  The  province  has  an  area  of  2510 
square  miles,  and  in  1871  contained  332,782  inhabitants. 
Its  chief  town  is  Aquila. 

Abruzzo  Citeriore  lies  to  the  south  and  east  of  the 
other  two  provinces.  It  is  the  least  hilly  of  the  three,  but 
the  Apennines  extend  through  the  south-west  part.  They, 
however,  gradually  decline  in  height,  and  stretch  away  into 
plains  of  sand  and  pebbles.  The  rivers  all  run  to  the 
Adriatic,  and  are  very  low  during  the  summer  months. 
The  soil  is  not  very  productive,  and  agriculture  is  in  a 
very  backward  state  ;  the  inhabitants  prefer  the  chase 
Rnd  fishing.  The  province  contains  1104  square  miles, 
with  a  population  of  340,299  in  1871.  Its  ehief  town  is 
ChietL 

ABSALOM  (x/bri»,  father  of  peace),  the  third  son  of 
David,  king  of  Israel.  He  was  deemed  the  handsomest 
man  in  the  kingdom.  His  sister  Tamar  having  been 
violated  by  Amnon,  David's  eldest  sou,  Absalom  caused 
his  servants  to  murder  Amnon  at  a  feast,  to  which  he  had 
invited  all  the  king's  sons.  After  this  deed  he  fled  to  the 
kingdom  of  his  maternal  grandfather,  where  he  remained 
three  years ;  and  it  was  not  till  two  years  after  his  return 
that  he  was  fully  reinstated  in  his  father's  favour.  Absalom 
seems  to  have  been  by  this  time  the  eldest  surviving  son 
of  David,  but  he  was  not  the  destined  heir  of  his  father's 
throne.  The  '  suspicion  of  this  excited  the  impulsive 
Absalom  to  rebellion.  For  a  time  the  tide  of  public 
opinion  ran  so  strong  in  his  favour,  that  David  found  it  ex- 
pedient to  retire  beyond  the  Jordan.  But,  instead  of  adopt- 
ing the  prompt  measures  which  his  sagacious  counsellor 
Ahithophel  advised,  Absalom  loitered  at  Jerusalem  till  a 
large  force  was  raised  against  him,  and  when  he  took  the 
field  his  army  was  completely  routed.  The  battle  was 
fought  in  the  forest  of  Ephraim ;  and  Absalom,  caught  in 


A  B  S  — A  B  S 


57 


the  boughs  of  a  tree  by  the  superb  hair  in  which  he  gloried, 
■was  run  through  the  body  by  Joab.  The  king's  grief  for 
his  worthless  son  vented  itself  in  the  touching  lamentation 
— "  0  my  son  Absalom,  my  son,  my  son  Absalom  !  would 
God  I  had  died  for  thee,  O  Absalom,  my  son,  my  son!" 

ABSALON,  Archbishop  of  Lund,  in  Denmark,  was  bora 
in  1128,  near  Soroe  in  Zealand,  his  family  name  being 
Axel.  In  1148  he  went  to  study  at  Paris,  where  a  college 
for  Danes  had  been  established.  He  afterwards  travelled 
extensively  in  different  countries;  and  returning  to  Den- 
mark in  1157,  was  the  year  after  chosen  Bishop  of  Boes- 
kilde  or  Bothschild.  Eloquent,  learned,  endowed  with 
Uncommon  physical  strength,  and  possessing  the  confidence 
of  the  king,  Waldemar  I.,  known  as  the  Great,  Absalon 
held  a  position  of  great  influence  both  in  the  church  and 
state.  In  that  age  warlike  pursuits  were  not  deemed  in- 
consistent with  the  clerical  office,  and  Absalon  was  a 
renowned  warrior  by  sea  and  land,  as  well  as  a  zealous 
ecclesiastic,  his  avowed  principle  being  that  "  both  swords, 
the  spiritual  and  the  temporal  were  entrusted  to  the 
clergy."  To  his  exertions  as  statesman  and  soldier  Wal- 
demar was  largely  indebted  for  the  independence  and  con- 
solidation of  his  kingdom.  In  1177  he  was  chosen  by  the 
chapter  Archbishop  of  Lund  and  Primate  of  the  church, 
but  he  declared  himself  unwilling  to  accept;,  the  appoint- 
ment; and  when  an  attempt  was  made  to  install  him  by 
force,  he  resisted,  and  appealed  to  Borne.  The  Pope  de- 
cided that  the  choice  of  the  chapter  must  be  respected, 
and  commanded  Absalon  to  accept  the  Primacy  on  pain  of 
excommunication.  He  was  consecrated  accordingly  by  the 
papal  legate  Galandius  in  1178.  He  set  the  Cistercian 
monks  Of  Soroe  the  task  of  preparing  a  history  of  the 
country,  the  most  valuable  result  being  the  Danish 
Chronicle  of  Saxo  Grammaticus,  who  was  secretary  to 
Absalon  and  his  companion  in  an  expedition  against  the 
Wendish  pirates.  A  tower  or  castle  which  the  archbishop 
caused  to  be  built  as  a  defence  against  these  pirates,  was 
the  commencement  of  the  present  capital,  Copenhagen, 
which  from  this  circumstance  is  sometimes  known  in  his- 
tory as  Axelstadt.  The  archbishop  died  in  1201,  in  the 
monastery  at  Soroe,  and  was  buried  in  the  parish  church, 
where  his  grave  may  still  be  seen. 

ABSCESS,  in  Surgery  (from  abscedo,  to  separate),  a 
collection  of  pus  among  the  tissues  of  the  body,  the  result 
of  inflammation.  Abscesses  are  divided  into  acute  and 
chronic.     See  Surgery. 

ABSINTHE,  a  liqueur  or  aromatised  spirit,  prepared  by 
pounding  the  leaves  and  flowering  tops  of  various  species 
of  wormwood,  chiefly  Artemisia  Absinthium,  along  with 
angelica  root  (Archangelica  officinalis),  sweet  flag  root 
(Acorus  Calamus),  the  leaves  of  dittany  of  Crete  (Origanum 
Dtctamnus),  star-anise  fruit  (Illicium  anisalum),  and  other 
aromatics,  and  macerating  these  in  alcohol.  After  soaking 
for  about  eight  days  the  compound  is  distilled,  yielding  an 
emerald-coloured  liquor,  to  which  a  proportion  of  an 
essential-oil,  usually  that  of  anise,  is  added.  The  liqueur 
thus  prepared  constitutes  the  genuine  Extrait  d Absinthe 
of  the  French;  but  much  of  an  inferior  quality  is  made 
with  other  herbs  and  essential  oils,  while  the  adulterations 
practised  in  the  manufacture  of  absinthe  are  very  numerous 
and  deleterious.  In  the  adulterated  liqueur  the  green 
colour  is  uo".al)y  produced  by  turmeric  and  indigo,  but  the 
presence  of  even  cupric  sulphate  (blue  vitriol)  as  a  colour- 
ing ingredient  has  been  frequently  detected.  In  com- 
merce two  varieties  of  absinthe  are  recognised — common 
and  Swiss  absinthe — the  latter  of  which  is  prepared  with 
highly  co..cuutrated  spirit;  and  when  really  of  Swiss  manu- 
facture, is  of  most  trustworthy  quality  as  regards  the  herbs 
used  in  its  preparation.  The  chief  seat  of  the  manufac- 
ture is  in  the  canton  cf  Noufchatel  ia  Switzerland,  although 


absinthe  distilleries  are  scattered  generally  throughout 
Switzerland  and  France.  The  liqueur  is  chiefly  consumed 
in  France,  but  there  is  also  a  considerable  export  trade  to 
the  United  States  of  America.  In  addition  to  the  quan- 
tity distilled  for  home  consumption  in  France,  the  amount 
imported  from  Switzerland  in  recent  years  has  not  been 
less  than  2,000,000  gallons  yearly.  The  introduction  of 
this  beverage  into  general  use  in  France  is  curious.  Dur- 
ing the  Algerian  war  (1844-47)  the  soldiers  were  advised 
to  mix  absinthe  with  their  wine  as  a  febrifuge.  On  their 
return  they  brought  with  them  the  habit  of  drinking  it, 
which  is  now  so  widely  disseminated  in  French  society, 
and  with  such  disastrous  consequences,  th.H  the  custom  is 
justly  esteemed  a  grave  national  evil  A  French  physician, 
M.  Legrand,  who  has  studied  the  physiological  effects  of 
absinthe  drinking,  distinguishes  two  trains  of  results  accord- 
ing as  the  victim  indulges  in  violent  excesses  of  drinking 
or  only  in  continuous  steady  tippling.  In  the  case  of 
excessive  drinkers  there  is  first  the  feeling  of  exaltation 
peculiar  to  a  state  of  intoxication.  The  increasing  dose 
necessary  to  produce  this  state  quickly  deranges  the  diges- 
tive organs,  and  destroys  the  appetite.  An  unappeasable 
thirst  takes  possession  of  the  victim,  with  giddiness,  tingling 
in  the  ears,  and  hallucinations  of  sight  and  hearing,  followed 
by  a  constant  mental  oppression  and  anxiety,  loss  of  brain 
power,  and,  eventually,  idiocy.  The  symptoms  in  the 
case  of  the  tippler  commence  with  muscular  quiverings  and 
decrease  of  physical  strength;  the  hair  begins  to  drop  off,  the 
face  assumes  a  melancholy  aspect,  and  he  becomes  ema- 
ciated, wrinkled,  and  sallow.  Lesion  of  the  brain  follows, 
horrible  dreams  and  delusions  haunt  the  victim,  and  gradu- 
ally paralysis  overtakes  him  and  lands  him  in  his  grave. 
It  has  been  denied  by  a  French  authority,  M.  Moreau,  that 
these  symptoms  are  due  to  wormwood  or  any  of  the  essen- 
tial oils  contained  in  absinthe,  and  he  maintains  that  the 
strong  spirit  and  such  adulterations  as  salts  of  copper  are 
sufficient  to  account  for  the  effects  of  the  liqueur.  There 
is,  however,  no  doubt  that  proportionately  the  consumption 
of  absinthe  is  much  more  deleterious  to  the  human  frame 
than  the  drinking  of  brandy  or  other  strong  spirits.  The 
use  of  absinthe  has  been  prohibited  in  both  the  army  and 
navy  of  France. 

ABSOLUTE  (from  the  Latin  absolvere),  having  the 
general  meaning  of  loosened  from,  or  unrestricted,  in  which 
sense  it  is  popularly  used  to  qualify  such  words  as  "mon- 
archy" or  "  power,"  has  been  variously  employed  in  philo- 
sophy. Logicians  use  it  to  mark  certain  classes  of  names. 
Thus  a  term  has  been  called  absolute  in  opposition  to  attri- 
butive, when  it  signifies  something  that  has  or  is  viewed  as 
having  independent  existence ;  most  common!}',  however, 
the  opposition  conveyed  is  to  relative.  A  relative  name 
being  taken  as  one  which,  over  and  above  the  object 
which  it  denotes,  implies  in  its  signification  the  existence 
of  another  object,  also  deriving  a  denomination  from  he 
same  fact,  which  is  the  ground  of  the  first  name  (Mill), 
as,  e.g.,  father  and  son,  the  non-relative  or  absolute  name 
is  one  that  has  its  meaning  for  and  in  itself,  as  man. 
This  distinction  is  a  convenient  one,  although,  as  has  been 
observed,  it  can  hardly  in  perfect  strictness  be  maintained. 
The  so-called  rbsolute  name,  if  used  with  a  meaning,  does 
always  stand  in  some  relation,  however  variable  or  in- 
definite, and  the  meaning  varies  with  the  relation.  Thus 
man,  which  is  a  word  of  very  different  meanings,  as,  e.g., 
not  woman,  not  boy,  not  master,  not  brute,  and  so  forth, 
may  be  said  to  have  them  according  to  the  different 
relations  in  which  it  admits  of  being  viewed,  or,  as  it  has 
been  otherwise  expressed,  according  to  the  different  notions 
whose  "  universe "  it  composes,  along  with  its  different 
correlatives.  From  this  point  of  view  there  is  always  one 
relation  in  which  a  real  thing  must  btand,  namely,  the 


58 


A  B  S  — A  B  S 


t  elation  to  its  contradictory  (as  not  man)  within  the 
iniverse  of  being ;  the  correlatives,  under  less  general 
Lotions,  being  then  generally  expressed  positively  as  con- 
traries (woman,  boy,  master,  brute,  and  so  forth,  for  man). 
If  there  is  thus  no  name  or  notion  that  can  strictly  be 
allied  absolute,  all  knowledge  may  be  said  to  be  relative, 
or  of  the  relative.  But  the  knowledge  of  an  absolute  has 
also  been  held  impossible,  on  the  ground  that  knowing  is 
itself  a  relation  between  a  subject  and  an  object ;  what  is 
known  only  in  relation  to  a  mind  cannot  be  known  as 
absolute.  This  doctrine,  now  commonly  spoken  of  under 
the  name  of  the  Relativity  of  Knowledge,  may,  indeed,  be 
brought  under  the  former  view,  in  which  subiect-object 
marks  the  relation  of  highest  philosophical  significance 
within  the  whole  universe  of  things.  Keeping,  however, 
the  two  views  apart,  we  may  say  with  double  force  that 
of  the  absolute  there  is  no  knowledge, — (1),  because,  to  be 
kuown,  a  thing  must  be  consciously  discriminated  from 
other  things ;  and  (2),  because  it-  can  be  known  only  in 
relation  with  a  knowing  mind.  Notwithstanding,  there 
have  been  thinkers  from  the  earliest  times,  who,  in  dif- 
ferent ways,  and  more  or  less  explicitly,  allow  of  no  such 
restriction  upon  knowledge,  or  at  least  consciousness,  but, 
cm  the  contrary,  starting  from  a  notion,  by  the  latter 
among  them  called  the  absolute,  which  includes-  within  it 
th6  opposition  of  subject  and  object,  pass  therefrom  to 
the  explanation  of  all  the  phenomena  of  nature  and  of 
mind.  In  earlier  days  the  Eleatics,  Plato,  and  Flotinus, 
in  modern  times  Spinoza,  Leibnitz,  Fichte,  Schelling, 
Hegel,  and  Cousin,  all  have  joined,  under  whatever  dif- 
ferent forms,  in  maintaining  this  view.  Kant,  while 
denying  the  absolute  or  unconditioned  as  an  object  of 
knowledge,  leaves  it  conceivable,  as  an  idea  regulative  of 
the  mind's  intellectual  experience.  It  is  against  any  such 
absolute,  whether  as  real  or  conceivable,  that  Hamilton 
and  Mansel  have  taken  ground,  the  former  in  his  famous 
review  of  Cousin's  philosophy,  reprinted  in  his  Discussions, 
the  latter  in  his  Bampton  Lectures  on  Tlie  Limits  of 
Religious  Thought,  basing  their  arguments  indifferently  on 
the  positions  as  to  the  Relativity  of  Knowledge  indicated 
above.  For  absolute  in  its  more  strictly  metaphysical  use, 
see  Metaphysics.  (o.  c.  e.) 

ABSOLUTION,  a  term  used  in  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
law,  denotes  the  act  of  setting  free  or  acquitting.  In  a 
criminal  process  it  signifies  the  acquittal  of  an  accused 
person  on  the  ground  that  the  evidence  has  either  dis- 
proved or  failed  to  prove  the  charge  brought  against  him. 
It  is  now  little  used  except  in  Scotch  law,  in  the  forms 
assoilzie  and  absolvitor.  The  ecclesiastical  usage  of  the 
word  is  essentially  different  from  the  civil.  It  refers  to 
sin  actually  committed,  and  denotes  the  setting  of  a  person 
free  from  its  guilt,  or  from  its  penal  consequences,  or  from 
both.  It  is  invariably  connected  with  penitence,  and  some 
form  of  confession,  the  Scripture  authority,  to  which  the 
Roman  Catholics,  the  Greek  Church,  and  Protestants 
equally  appeal,  being  found  in  John  xx.  23,  James  v.  16, 
Ac.  In  the  primitive  church  the  injunction  of  James  was 
literally  obeyed,  and  confession  was  made  before  the 
whole  congregation,  whose  presence  and  concurrence  were 
reckoned  necessary  to  the  validity  of  the  absolution  pro- 
nounced by  the  presbyter.  In  the  4th  century  the  bishops 
began  to  exercise  the  power  of  absolution  in  their  own 
right,  without  recognising  the  congregations.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  the  practice  of  private  confession  (con/essio 
auricularis)  was  established,  and  became  more  and  more 
common,  unti  it  was  rendered  imperative  once  a  year  by 
a  decree  of  the  fourth  Lateran  Council  (1215).  A  dis- 
tinction, indeed,  was  made  for  a  time  between  peccata 
venialia,  which  might  be  confessed  to  a  layman,  and 
peccata  mortal  ia,  which  could  only  be  confessed  to  a  priest; 


but  this  was  ultimately  abolished,  and  the  Roman  Canon 
Law  now  stands,  -Vec  venialia  nee  mortalia  possumtu 
emflteri  sacramentaliter,  nisi  sacerdoti.  A  change  in  the 
f  f>rm  of  absolution  was  almost  a  logical  sequence  of  the 
change  in  the  nature  of  the  confession.  At  first  the  priest 
acted  ministerially  as  an  intercessory,  using  tho  formula 
absolutionis  precativa  or  deprecativa,  which  consisted  of  the 
words  :  Dominus  absolvat  te — Misereatur  tui  omnipotent 
Deus  et  dimittat  libi  omnia  peccata  tua.  This  is  still  the 
only  form  in  the  Greek  Church,  and  it  finds  a  plaoe  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  service,  though  it  is  no  longer  used  in 
the  act  of  absolution.  The  Romish  form  was  altered  in 
the  13th  century,  and  the  Council  of  Trent  decreed  the 
use  of  the  formula  absolutionis  indicativa,  where  the  priest 
acts  judicially,  as  himself  possessed  of  the  power  of  bind- 
ing and  loosing,  and  says,  Ego  absolvo  te.  Where  a  form 
of  absolution  is  used  in  Protestant  Churches,  it  is  simply 
declarative,  the  state  being  only  indicated,  and  in  no  sense 
or  degree  assumed  to  be  caused  by  the  declaration. 

ABSORPTION,  in  the  animal  economy,  the  function 
possessed  by  the  absorbent  system  of  vessels  of  taking  up 
nutritive  and  other  fluids.     See  Physiology. 

ABSTEMII,  a  name  formerly  given  to  such  persons  as 
could  not  partake  of  the  cup  of  the  eucharist  on  account 
of  their  natural  aversion  to  wine.  Calvinists  allowed  these 
to  communicate  in  the  species  of  bread  only,  touching 
the  cup  with  their  lip;  which  was  by  the  Lutherans 
deemed  a  profanation.  Among  several  Protestant  sects, 
both  in  Great  Britain  and  America,  abstemii  on  a  some- 
what different  principle  have  recently  appeared.  These 
are  total  abstainers,  who  maintain  that  the  use  of  stimu- 
lants is  essentially  sinful,  and  allege  that  the  wine  used 
by  Christ  and  his  disciples  at  the  supper  was  unf  ermented. 
They  accordingly  communicate  in  the  unfermented  "juice 
of  the  grape."  The  difference  of  opinion  on  this  point 
has  led  to  a  good  deal  of  controversy  in  many  congrega- 
tions, the  solution  generally  arrived  at  being  to  allow  both 
wine  and  the  pure  juice  of  the  grape  to  be  served  at  the 
-communion  table. 

ABSTRACTION,  in  Psychology  and  Logic,  is  a  word 
used  in  several  distinguishable  but  closely  allied '  senses. 
First,  in  a  comprehensive  sense,  it  is  often  applied  to  that 
process  by  which  we  fix  the.  attention  upon  one  part  of 
what  is  present  to  the  mind,  to  the  exclusion  of  another 
part;  abstraction  thus  conceived  being  merely  the  nega- 
tive of  Attention  (q.  v.)  In  this  sense  we  are  able  in 
thought  to  abstract  one  object  from  another,  or  an  attribute 
from  an  object,  or  an  attribute  perceived  by  one  sense 
from  those  perceived  by  other  senses.  Even  in  cases 
when  thoughts  or  images  have  become  inseparably 
associated,  we  possess  something  of  this  power  of  abstract- 
ing or.  turning  the  attention  upon  one  rather  than  another. 
Secondly,  tho  word  is  used,  with  a  more  special  significa- 
tion, to  describe  that  concentration  of  attention  upon  tho 
resemblances  of  a  number  of  objects,  which  constitutes 
classification.  And  thirdly,  not  to  mention  other  less 
important  changes  of  meaning,  the  whole  process  of 
generalisation,  by  which  the  mind  forms  the  notions 
expressed  by  common  terms,  is  frequently,  through  a 
curious  transposition  of  names,  spoken  of  as  abstraction. 
Especially  when  understood  in  its  less  comprehensive 
connection,  the  process  of  abstraction  possesses  a  peculiar 
interest.  To  the  psychologist  it  is  interesting,  because 
there  is  nothing  he  is  more  desirous  to  understand  than 
the  mode  of  formation  and  true  nature  of  what  are  called 
general  notions.  And  fortunately,  with  regard  to  the 
abstractive  process  by  which  these  are  formed,  at  least  in 
its  initial  stages,  there  is  little  disagreement ;  since  every 
one  describes  it  as  a  process  of  comparison,  by  which  the 
mind  is  enabled  to  consider  the  objects  confusedly  pre- 


A  B  S  — A  B  U 


59 


cented  to  it  in  intuition,  to  recognise  and  attend  exclusively 
to  their  points  of  agreement;  and  so  to  classify  them  in 
accordance  with  their  perceived  resemblances.  Further, 
this  process  is  admitted  without  much  dispute  to  belong 
to  the  discursive  or  elaborative  action  of  the  intellect ; 
although,  perhaps  —  should  the  view  of  some  modern 
psychologists  be  correct,  that  all  intelligence  proceeds  by 
the  establishment  of  relations  of  likeness  and  unliheness 
— abstraction  will  be  better  conceived  as  thus  related  to 
intelligence  in  general  and  typical  of  all  its  processes,  than 
as  the  action  merely  of  a  special  and  somewhat  indefinite 
faculty.  No  such  harmony,  however,  exists  regarding  the 
nature  of  the  product  of  abstraction;  for  that  is  the  subject- 
matter  of  Nominalism  and  Realism,  which  has  produced 
more  controversy,  and  stimulated  to  more  subtlety  of 
thought,,  than  any  other  subject  ever  debated  in  philo- 
sophy. The  concept  or  abstract  idea  has  been  represented 
in  a  multitude  of  ways  :  sometimes  as  an  idea  possessing 
an  objective  existence  independent  of  particulars,  even 
more  real  and  permanent  than  theirs;  sometimes  as  an 
idea  composed  of  all  the  circumstances  in  which  the  par- 
ticulars agree,  and  of  no  others ;  again,  as  the  idea  of  an 
individual,  retaining  its  individualising  qualities,  but  with 
the  accompanying  knowledge  that  these  are  not  the  pro- 
perties of  the  class ;  and  yet  again,  as  the  idea  of  a 
miscellaneous  assemblage  of  individuals  belonging  to  a 
class.  It  is  still  impossible  to  say  that  the  many-sided 
controversy  is  at  an  end.  The  only  conclusion  generally 
admitted  seems  to  be,  that  there  exists  between  the  con- 
cept and  the  particular  objects  of  intuition  some  very 
intimate  relation  of  thought,  so  that  it  is  necessary,  for  all 
purposes  of  reasoning,  that  the  general  and  particular  go 
hand  in  hand,,  that  the  idea  of  the  class — if  such  exists 
— be  capable  of  being  applied,  in  every  completed  act  of 
thought,  to  the  objects  comprised  within  the  class. 

To  the  student  of  ontology,  also,  abstraction  is  of 
special  interest,  since,  according  to  many  distinguished 
thinkers,  the  recognition  of  abstraction  as  a  powerful  and 
universal  mental  process  is  to  explain  all  ontology  away, 
and  give  the  ontologist  his  eternal  quietus.  The  thorough- 
going nominalist  professes  to  discover  in  the  mind  an 
inveterate  tendency  to  abstraction,  and  a  proneness  to 
ascribe  separate  existence  to  abstractions,  amply  sufficient 
to  account  for  all  those  forms  of  independent  reality  which 
metaphysics  defend,  and  to  exhibit  them  all  in  their  true 
colours  as  fictitious  assumptions.  In  reply,  the  ontologist, 
strengthened  by  the  instinct  of  self-preservation,  commonly 
contends  that  the  analogy  between  general  notions  and 
metaphysical  principles  does  not  hold  good,  and  that  the 
latter  are  always  more  than  simple  abstractions  or  mere 
names.  Only  after  abstraction  is  understood  can  the 
question  be  settled. 

In  like  manner  to  logic,  whether  regarded  as  the  science 
of  the  formal  laws  of  thought,  or,  more  widely,  as  the  science 
of  scientific  methods,  a  true  understanding  of  abstraction 
is  of  the  greatest  importance.  It  is  important  in  pure 
logic,  because,  as  we  have  seen,  every  act  of  judgment  and 
reasoning  postulates  a  concept  or  concepts,  and  so  pre- 
supposes abstraction.  Abstraction,  determining  the  possi- 
bility alikB  of  reason  and  speech,  creates  those  notions 
that  bear  common  names ;  it  is  indispensable  to  the 
formation  of  classes,  great  or  small;  and  just  according  as 
it  ascends,  increasing  the  extension  and  diminishing  the 
intension  of  classes,  the  horizon  visible  to  reason  and  to 
logic  gradually  recedes  and  widens.  And  to  logic  as  the 
science  of  the  sciences  a  true  doctrine  of  abstraction  is  not 
less  necessary  ;  because  the  process  of  extending  know- 
ledge is,  in  all  its  developments,  essentially  the  same  as 
the  first  rudimentary  effort  to  form  a  concept  and  think  of 
©articulars  as  members  of  a  class ;  a  "  natural  law "  at 


least  in  its  subjective  aspect,  is  invariably  an  abstraction 
made  by  comparing  phenomena — an  abstraction  under 
which  phenomena  are  classed  in  order  to  the  extension  of 
knowledge,  just  as  under  a  concept  are  grouped  the  par- 
ticulars presented  in  intuition.  As  proof  of  this  identity 
it  is  found  that  the  same  differences  exist  regarding  tha 
objective  or  subjective  nature  of  the  "  natural  law "  as 
regarding  that  of  the  concept.  Some  affirm  that  the  law 
is  brought  ready-made  by  the  mind  and  superinduced  on 
the  facts  -}  others,  that  it  is  never  in  any  sense  more  than 
a  mere  mental  conception,  got  by  observing  the  facts ; 
while  there  are  yet  others  who  maintain  it  to  be  such  a  sub- 
jective conception,  but  one  corresponding  at  the  same  time 
to  an  external  relation  which  is  real  though  unknowable. 

ABSURDUM,  Reductio  ad,  a  mode  of  demonstrating 
the  truth  of  a  proposition,  by  showing  that  its  contra- 
dictory leads  to  an  absurdity.  It  is  much  employed  by 
Euclid. 

ABU,  a  celebrated  mountain  of  'Western  India,  between 
5000  and  6000  feet  in  height,  situated  in  24°  40'  N.  lat, 
and  72°  48'  R  long.,  within  the  Rajputana  State  of  Sirohi. 
It  is  celebrated  as  the  site  of  the  most  ancient  Jain  temples 
in  India,  and  attracts  pilgrims  from  all  parts  of  the  country. 
The  Jains  are  the  modern  Indian  representatives  of  the 
Buddhists,  and  profess  the  ancient  theistic  doctrines  of  that 
sect,  modified  by  saint  worship  and  incarnations.  The 
elevations  and  platforms  of  the  mountain  are  covered  with 
elaborately  sculptured  shrines,  temples,  and  tombs.  On 
the  top  of  the  hill  is  a  small  round  platform  containing  a 
cavern,  with  a  block  of  granite,  bearing  the  impression  of 
the  feet  of  Data-Bhrigu,  an  incarnation  of  Vishnu.  This 
is  the  chief  great  place  of  pilgrimage  for  the  Jains,  Shrawaks, 
and  Banians.  The  two  principal  temples  are  situated  at 
Deulwara,  about  the  middle  of  the  mountain,  and  five  rniles 
south-west  of  Guru  Sikra,  the  highest  summit.  They  are 
built  of  white  marble,  and  are  pre-eminent  alike  for  their 
beauty  and  as  typical  specimens  of  Jain  architecture  in 
India.  The  following  description  is  condensed  from  Mr 
Fergusson's  History  of  Architecture,  voL  ii  pp.  623  to 
625  : — The  more  modern  of  the  two  was  built  by  two 
brothers,  rich  merchants,  between  the  years  1197  and 
1247,  and  for  delicacy  of  carving  and  minute  beauty  of 
detail  stands  almost  unrivalled,  even  in  this  land  of  patient 
and  lavish  labour.  The  other  was  built  by  another 
merchant  prince,  Bimala  Shah,  apparently  about  1032  A.D. 
and  although  simpler  and  bolder  in  style,  is  as  elaborate  as 
good  taste  would  allow  in  a  purely  architectural  object. 
It  is  one  of  the  oldest  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  complete 
examples  of  Jain  architecture  known.  The  principal  object 
within  the  temple  is  a  cell  lighted  only  from  the  door,,  con- 
taining a  cross-legged  seated  figure  of  the  god  Paresnath. 
The  portico  is  composed  of  forty-^ight  pillars,  the  whole 
enclosed  in  an  oblong  court-yard  about  140  feet  by  90 
feet,  surrounded  by  a  double  colonnade  of  smaller  pillars, 
forming  porticos  to  a  range  of  fifty-five  cells,  which  enclose 
it  on  aS  sides,  exactly  as  they  do  in  a  Buddhist  monastery 
(vihdra).  In  this  temple,  however,  each  cell,  instead  of 
being  the  residence  of  a  monk,  is  occupied  by  an  image  of 
Paresnath,  and  over  the  door,  or  on  the  jambs  of  each,  are 
sculptured  scenes  from  the  life  of  the  deity.  '  The  whole 
interior  is  magnificently  ornamented.  The  Emperor  Akbar, 
by  a  farman  dated  in  the  month  of  Rabi-ul-Aul,  in  the 
37th  year  of  his  reign,  corresponding  with  1593,  made  a 
grant  of  the  hill  and  temples  of  Abu,  as  well  as  of  the 
Other  hills  and  places  of  Jain  pilgrimage  in  the  empire,  to 
Harbijai  Sur,  a  celebrated  preceptor  of  the  Setdmbarf  sect 
of  the  Jain  religion.  He  also  prohibited  the  slaughter  of 
animals  at  these  places.  The  farman  of  this  enlightened 
monarch  declared  that  "it  is  the  rule  of  the  worshippers 
oi  God  to  preserve  all  religions." 


60 


ABU-ABU 


ABU-BEKK  [father  of  the  virgin),  was  originally  called 
Abd-el-Caaba  (servant  of  the  temple),  and  received  the  name 
by  which  ho  is  known  historically  in  consequence  of  the 
marriage  of  his  virgin  daughter  Ayesha  to  Mohammed.  He 
was  born  at  Mecca  in  the  year  573  A.D.,  a  Koreishite  of 
the  tribe  of  Benn-Taim.  Possessed  of  immense  wealth, 
which  he  had  himself  acquired  in  commerce,  and  held  in 
high  esteem  as  a  judge,  an  interpreter  of  dreams,  and  a 
depositary  of  the  traditions  of  his  race,  his  early  accession 
to  Islamism  was  a  fact  of  great  importance.  On  his  con- 
version ho  assumed  the  name  of  AbdAlla  (servant  of  God). 
His  own  belief  in  Mohammed  and  his  doctrines  was  so 
thorough  as  to  procure  for  him  the  title  El  Siddik  (the 
faithful),  and  his  success  in  gaining  converts  was  corre- 
spondingly great.  In  his  personal  relationship  to  the 
prophet  he  showed  the  deepest  veneration  and  most  un- 
swerving devotion.  When  Mohammed  fled  from  Mecca, 
Abu-Bekr  was  his  sole  companion,  and  shared  both  his 
hardships  and  his  triumphs,  remaining  constantly  with 
him  until  the  day  of  his  death.  During  his  last  illness 
the  prophet  indicated  Abu-Bekr  as  his  successor,  by  desir- 
ing him  to  offer  up  prayer  for  the  people.  The  choice 
was  ratified  by  the  chiefs  of  the  army,  and  ultimately  con- 
firmed, though  Ali,  Mohammed's  son-in-law,  disputed  it, 
asserting  his  own  title  to  the  dignity.  After  a  time  Ali 
submitted,  but  the  difference  of  opinion  as  to  his  claims 
gave  rise  to  a  controversy  which  still  divides  the  followers 
of  the  prophet  into  the  rival  factions  of  Sunnites  and 
Shiites.  Abu-Bekr  had  scarcely  assumed  his  new  position 
under  the  title  Khalifet-Besul- Allah  (s'uecessor  of  the  prophet 
of  God),  when  he  was  called  to  suppress  the  revolt  of  the 
tribes  Hedjaz  and  Nedjd,  of  which  the  former  rejected 
Islamism,  and  the  latter  refused  to  pay  tribute.  He  en- 
countered formidable  opposition  from  different  quarters, 
but  in  every  case  he  was  successful,  the  severest  struggle 
being  that  with  the  impostor  Mosailima,  who  was  finally 
defeated  by  Khaled  at  the  battle  of  Akraba.  Abu-Bekr's 
zeal  for  the  spread  of  the  new  faith  was  as  conspicuous  as 
that  of  its  founder  had  been.  When  the  internal  disorders 
had  been  repressed  and  Arabia  completely  subdued,  he 
directed  his  generals  to  foreign  conquest.  The  Irak  of 
Persia  was  overcome  by  Khaled  in  a  single  campaign,  and 
there  was  also  a  successful  expedition  into  Syria.  After 
the  hard-won  victory  over  Mosailima,  Omar,  fearing  that 
the  sayings  of  the  prophet  would  be  entirely  forgotten 
when  those  who  had  listened  to  them  had  all  been  re- 
moved by  death,  induced  Abu-Bekr  to  see  to  their  preserva- 
tion in  a  written  form.  The  record,  when  completed,  was 
deposited  with  Hafsu,  daughter  of  Omar,  and  one  of  the 
wives  of  Mohammed.  It  was  held  in  great  reverence  by  all 
Moslems,  though  it  did  not  possess  canonical  authority, 
and  furnished  most  of  the  materials  out  of  which  the 
Koran,  as  it  now  exists,  was  prepared.  When  the  authori- 
tative version  was  completed,  all  copies  of  Hafsu's  record 
were  destroyed,  in  order  to  prevent  possible  disputes  and 
divisions.  Abu-Bekr  died  on  the  23d  of  August  634, 
having  reigned  as  Khalif  fully  two  years.  Shortly  before 
his  death,  which  one  tradition  ascribes  to  poison,  another 
to  natural  causes,  he  indicated  Omar  as  his  successor,  after 
the  manner  Mohammed  had  observed  in  his  own  case. 

ABULFABAGIUS,  Gregor  Abulfaraj  (called  also 
Barhebrxus,  from  his  Jewish  parentage),  was  born  at 
Malatia,  in  Armenia,  in  1226.  His  father  Aaron  was  a 
physician,  and  Abulfaragius,  after  studying  under  him, 
also  practised  medicine  witn  great  success.  His  command 
of  the  Arabic,  Syriac,  and  Greek  languages,  and  his  know- 
ledge of  philosophy  and  theology,  gained  for  him  a  very 
high  reputation.  In  1244  he  removed  to  Antioch,  and 
shortly  after  to  Tripoli,  where  he  was  consecrated  Bishop 
of  Guba,  when  only  twenty  years  of  age.     He  was  subse- 


quently transferred  to  the  see  of  Aleppo,  and  was  elected 
in  1266  Maphrian  or  Primate  of  the  eastern  section  of 
the  Jacobite  Christians.  This  dignity  he  held  till  his 
death,  which  occurred  at  Maragha,  in  Azerbijan,  in  1286. 
Abulfaragius  wrote  a  large  number  of  works  on  various 
subjects,  but  his  fame  as  an  author  rests  chiefly  on  his 
History  of  the  World,  from  the  creation  to  his  own 
day.  It  was  written  first  in  Syriac,  and  then,  after  a 
considerable  interval,  an  abridged  version  in  Arabic 
was  published  by  the  author  at  the  request  of  friends. 
The  latter  is  divided  into  ten  sections,  each  of  which  con' 
tained  the  account  of  a  separate  dynasty.  The  historic 
value  of  the  work  lies  entirely  in  the  portions  that  treat  of 
eastern  nations,  especially  in  those  relating  to  the  Saracens, 
the  Tartar  Mongols,  and  the  conquests  of  Genghis  Kban. 
The  other  sections  are  full  of  mistakes,  arising  partly  na 
doubt  from  the  author's  comparative  ignorance  of  classical 
languages.  A  Latin  translation  of  the  Arabic  abridgement 
was  published  by  Dr  Pococke  at  Oxford  in  1663.  A  por- 
tion of  the  original  text,  with  Latin  translation,  edited,  by 
no  means  carefully  or  accurately,  by  Bruns  and  F.  W. 
Kirsch,  appeared  at  Leipsic  in  1788. 

ABULFAZL,  vizier  and  historiographer  of  the  great 
Mongol  emperor,  Akbar,  was  born  about  the  middle  of 
the  16th  century,  the  precise  date  being  uncertain.  His 
career  as  a  minister  of  state,  brilliant  though  it  was,  would 
probably  have  been  by  this  time  forgotten  but  for  the 
record  he  himself  has  left  of  it  in  his  celebrated  history. 
The  Akbar  Nameh,  or  Book  of  Akbar,  as  Abulfazl's  chief 
literary  work  is  called,  consists  of  two  parts, — the  first  being 
a  complete  history  of  Akbar's  reign,  and  the  second, 
entitled  Ayin-i-Akbari,  or  Institutes  of  Akbar,  being  an 
account  of  the  religious  and  political  constitution  and 
administration  of  the  empire.  The  style  is  singularly 
elegant,  and  the  contents  of  the  second  part  possess  a 
unique  and  lasting  interest.  An  excellent  translation  of 
that  part  by  Mr  Francis  Gladwin  was  published  in  Cal- 
cutta, 1783-6.  It  was  reprinted  in  London  very  in- 
accurately, and  copies  of  the  original  edition  are  dow 
exceedingly  rare  and  correspondingly  valuable.  Abulfazj 
died  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  while  returning  from  a 
mission  to  the  Deccan  in  1602.  Some  writers  say  that  the 
murderer  was  instigated  by  the  heir-apparent,  who  had 
become  jealous  of  the  minister's  influence. 

ABULFEDA,  Ismael  ben-Ali,  Emad-eddin,  the.  cele- 
brated Arabian  historian  and  geographer,  born  at  Damascus 
in  the  year  672  of  the  Hegira  (1273  A.r>.),  was  directly 
descended  from  Ayub,  the  father  of  the  emperor  Saladin. 
In  his  boyhood  he  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  the 
Koran  and  the  sciences,  but  from  his  twelfth  year  he  was 
almost  constantly  engaged  in  military  expeditions,  chiefly 
against  the  crusaders.  In  1285  he  was  present  at  the 
assault  of  a  stronghold  of  the  Knights  of  St  John,  and  he 
took  part  in  the  sieges  of  Tripoli,  Acre,  and  Rourn.  In 
1298  the  princedom  of  Hamah  and  other  honours,  origin- 
ally conferred  by  Saladin  upon  Omar,  passed  by  inherit- 
ance to  Abulfeda;  but  the  succession  was  violently  dis- 
puted by  his  two  brothers,  and  the  Court  availed  itself  of 
the  opportunity  to  supersede  all  the  three,  and  to  abolish 
the  principality.  The  sultan  Melik-el-Nassir  ultimately 
(1310)  restored  the  dignity  to  Abulfeda,  with  additional 
honours,  as  an  acknowledgment  of  his  military  services 
against  the  Tartars  and  Bibars,  the  sultan's  rival.  H» 
received  an  independent  sovereignty,  with  the  right  of 
coining  money,  &c,  and  had  the  title  Melik  Mowayyad 
(victorious  prince)  conferred  upon  him.  For  twenty  years, 
till  his  death  in  October  1331,  he  reigned  in  tranquillity 
and  splendour,  devoting  himself  to  the  duties  of  govern; 
ment  and  to  the  composition  of  the  works  to  which  he  is 
chiefly  indebted  for  his  fame.     He  was  a  munificent  patron 


A  B  U  — A  B  Y 


61 


of  men  of  letters,  who  repaired  in  large  numbers  to  his 
court.  Abulfeda's  chief  historical  work  is  An  Abridgement 
of  tlue  Bistort/  of  ike  Human  Race,  in  the  form  of  annals, 
extending  from  the  creation  of  the  world  to  the  year  1328. 
A.  great  part  of  it  is  compiled  from  the  works  of  previous 
writers,  and  it  is  difficult  to  determine  accurately  what  is 
the  author's  and  what  is  not.  Up  to  the  time  of  the  birth 
of  Mohammed,  the  narrative  is  very  succinct;  it  becomes 
more  full  and  valuable  the  nearer  the  historian  approaches 
his  own  day.  It  is  the  only  source  of  information  on 
many  facts  connected  with  the  Saracen  empire,  and  alto- 
gether is  by  far  the  most  important  Arabian  history  we 
now  possess.  Various  translations  of  parts  of  it  exist, 
the  earliest  being  a  Latin  rendering  of  the  section  relating 
tp  the  Arabian  conquests  in  Sicily,  by  Dobelius,  Arabic 
professor  at  Palermo,  in  1610.  This  is  preserved  in 
Muratori's  Rerum  llalicarum  Scripiores,  vol.  i.  The  his- 
tory from  the  time  of  Mohammed  was  published  with  a 
Latin  translation  by  Keiske,  under  the  title  Annates  Mos- 
lemici  (5  vols.,  Copenhagen,  1789-94),  and  a  similar 
edition  of  the  earlier  part  was  published  by  Fleischer  at 
Leipsic  in  1831,  under  the  title  Abulfedae  Historia  Ante- 
Islamitica.  His  Geography  is  cliiefly  valuable  in  the  his- 
torical and  descriptive  parts  relating  to  the  Moslem  empire. 
From  his  necessarily  imperfect  acquaintance  with  astro- 
nomy, his  notation  of  latitude  and  longitude,  though  fuller 
than  that  of  any  geographer  who  preceded  him,  can  in  no 
case  be  depended  on,  and  many  of  the  places  whose  posi- 
tion he  gives  with  the  utmost  apparent  precision  cannot 
be  now  identified.  A  complete  edition  was  published  by 
MM.  Reinaud  and  De  Slane  at  Paris  in  1840;  and  Reinaud 
published  a  French  translation,  with  notes  and  illustrations, 
in  1848.  MSS.  of  both  Abulfeda's  great  works  are  pre- 
served in  the  Bodleian  Library  and  in  the  National 
Library  of  France. 

ABULGHAZI-BAHADTJR  (1605-1663),  a  khan  of 
Khiva,  of  the  race  of  Genghis-Khan,  who,  after  abdicating 
in  favour  of  his  son,  employed  his  leisure  in  writing  a 
history  of  the  Mongols  and  Tartars.  He  produced  a 
valuable  work,  which  has  been  translated  into  German, 
French,  and  Russian. 

ABUNA,  the  title  given  to  the  archbishop  or  metropoli- 
tan of  Abyssinia. 

ABUSHEHR.     See  BrjSHntE. 

ABU-SDIBEL,  or  Ipsamrttl,  the  ancient  Aboccis  or 
Abuncis,  a  place  in  Nubia,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Nile, 


about  50  miles  S.W.  of  Derr,  remarkable  for  its  ancient 
Egyptian  temples  and  colossal  figures  hewn  out  of  the 
solid  rock.     For  a  description  of  these  see  Nubia. 

ABU-TEMAN,  one  of  the  most  highly  esteemed  of 
Arabian  poets,  was  born  at  Djacem  in  the  ye?r  1 90  of  the 
Hegira  (806  a.d.)  In  the  little  that  is  told  of  his  lileit 
is  difficult  to  distinguish  between  truth  and  fable.  He 
seems  to  have  lived  in  Egypt  in  his  youth,  and  to  have 
been  engaged  in  servile  employment,  but  his  rare  poetic 
talent  speedily  raised  him  to  a  distinguished  position  at 
the  court  of  the  caliphs  of  Bagdad  Arabian  historian^ 
assert  that  a  single  poem  frequently  gained  for  him  many 
thousand  pieces  of  gold,  and  the  rate  at  which  his  con- 
temporaries estimated  his  genius  may  be  understood  from 
the  saying,  that  "  no  one  could  ever  die  whose  name  had 
been  praised  in  the  verses  of  Abu-Teman."  Besides 
writing  original  poetry,  he  made  three  collections  of  select 
pieces  from  the  poetry  of  the  East,  of  the  most  important 
of  which,  called  Hamasa,  Sir  William  Jones  speaks  highly. 
Professor  Carlyle  quoted  this  collection  largely  in  his  Speci- 
mens of  Arabic  Poetry  (1796).  An  edition  of  the  text, 
with  Latin  translation,  was  published  by  Freytag  at 
Bonn  (1828-51),  and  a  meritorious  translation  in  German 
verse  by  Riickert  appeared  in  1846.  Abu-Teman  died 
845  a.d. 

ABYDOS  (1.),  in  Ancient  Geography,  a  city  of  Mysia 
in  Asia  Minor,  situated  on  the  Hellespont,  which  is  hert 
scarcely  a  mile  •  broad.  It  probably  was  originally  a 
Thracian  town,  but  was  afterwards  colonised  by  Milesians. 
Nearly  opposite,  on  the  European  side  of  the  Hellespont, 
stood  Sestos;  and  it  was  here  that  Xerxes  crossed  the 
strait  on  his  celebrated  bridge  of  boats  when  he  invaded 
Greece.  Abydos  was  celebrated  for  the  vigorous  resistance 
it  made  when  besieged  by  Philip  II.  of  Macedon;  and  is 
famed  in  story  for  the  loves  of  Hero  and  Leander.  The 
old  castle  of  the  Dardanelles,  built  by  the  Turks,  lies  a 
little  southward  of  Sestos  and  Abydos. 

ABYDOS  (2.),  in  Ancient  Geography,  a  town  of  Upper 
Egypt,  a  little  to  the  west  of  the  Nile,  between  Ftolemah 
and  Diospolis  Parva,  famous  for  the  palace  of  Memnon  and 
the  temple  of  Osiris.  Remains  of  these  two  edifices  aro 
still  in  existence.  In  the  temple  of  Osiris  Mr  Bankes 
discovered  in  1818,  the  tablet  of  Abydos,  containing  a 
double  series  of  twenty-six  shields  of  the  predecessors  of 
Rameses  the  Great  This  tablet  is  now  deposited  in  the 
British  Museum. 


ABYSSINIA 


ABYSSINIA  is  an  extensive  country  of  Eastern  Africa, 
the  limits  of  which  are  not  well  defined,  and  authorities 
are  by  no  means  agreed  respecting  them.  It  may,  however, 
be  regarded  as  lying  between  7°  30'  and  15°  40'  N.  lat,  and 
35° and  40°  30'  E.long.,  having,  N.  and  N.W.,  Nubia  ;E., 
the  territory  of  the  Danakils  ;  S.,  the  country  of  the  Gallas; 
and  W.,  the  regions  of  the  Upper  Nile.1'  It  has  an  area  of 

1  It  is  usual  to  iuclude  in  Abyssinia  the  flat  country  which  lies  between 
it  and  the  Red  Sea,  and  to  regard  the  latter  as  forming  its  boundary  on 
the  east.  This,  however,  is  not  stiictly  correct.  Abyssinia  proper  com- 
prises only  the  mountainous  portion  of  this  territory,  the  low  lying  por- 
tion being  inhabited  by  distinct  and  hostile  tribes,  and  claimed  by  the 
Viceroy  of  Egypt  as  part  of  his  dominions.  The  low  country  is  very 
unhealthy,  the  soil  dry  and  arid,  and  with  few  exceptions  uncultivated, 
whereas  the  highlands  are  generally  salubrious,  well  watered,  and  in 
many  parts  very  fertile.  This  arid  track  of  country  is  only  a  few  miles 
broad  at  Massowah,  in  the  north,  but  widens  out  to  200  or  300  miles  at 
Tujurrah,  in  the  south.  It  is,  in  a  gTeat  measure,  owing  to  Abyssinia 
being  thus  cut  off  from  intercourse  with  the  civilised  world  by  this  in- 
hospitable region,  which  has  for  three  centuries  been  in  the  hands  of 
enemies,  that  it  is  at  present  so  far  sunk  in  ignorance  and  barbarism. 


about  200,000  square  miles,  and  a  population  of  from 
3,000,000  to  4,000,000. 

The  name  Abyssinia,  or  more  properly  Habessinia,'  is 
derived  from  the  Arabic  word  Habesch,  which  signifies 
mixture  or  confusion,  and  was  applied  to  this  country  by 
the  Arabs  on  account  of  the  mixed  character  of  the  people. 
This  was  subsequently  Latinised  by  the  Portuguese  into 
Abassia  and  Abassinos,  and  henco  the  present  name.  The 
Abyssinians  call  themselves  Itiopyavan,  and  their  country 
Itiopia,  or  Manghesta  Jtiopia,  the  kingdom  of  Ethiopia. 

The  country  of  Abyssinia  rises  rather  abruptly  from  the 
low  arid  district  on  the  borders  of  the  Bed  Sea  in  lofty 
ranges  of  mountains,  and  slopes  away  more  gradually  to 
the  westward,  where  the  tributaries  of  the  Nile  have  formed 
numerous  deep  valleys.  It  consists  for  the  most  part  of 
extensive  and  elevated  table-lands,  with  mountain  ranges 
extending  indifferent  directions, and  intersected  bynumerous 
valleys.  The  table-lands  are  generally  from  6000  to  9000 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  but  in  the  south  there  art 


t>2 


ABYSSINIA 


lome  of  considerable  extent,  which  attain  a  height  of  moro 
than  10,000  feet.  The  mountains  in  various  parts  of  the 
country  rise  to  12,000  and  13,000  feet  above  the  sea,  and 
tome  of  the  peaks  of  Samen  are  said  to  reach  to  15,000 
feet,  and  to  be  always  covered  with  suow.  The  average 
height  of  the  range  which  divides  the  streams  flowing  to 
the  east  from  those  that  flow  westward  is  <ib»ut  S00O  feet, 
rising  to  10, QCH)  or  11,000  in  the  south,  and  sinking  in  the 
north.  The  whole  country  presents  the  appearance  of 
having  been  broken  up  and  tossed  about  in  a  remarkable 
manner,  the  mountains  assuming  wild  and  fantastic  forms, 
with  sides  frequently  abrupt  and  precipitous,  and  only 
accessible  by  very  difficult  passes.  The  Samen  range  of 
mountains  are  the  highest  in  Abyssinia,  and  together  with 
the  Lamalmon  and  J.eata  maintains  form  a  long  but  not 
continuous  chain,  running  from  north  to  south. 


Sketch  Chait  of  Abyssinia. 

The  principal  rivers  of  Abyssinia  are  tributaries  of  the 
Nile.  The  western  portion  of  the  coantry  may  be  Oi.idud 
into  three  regions,  drained  respectively  by  the  March,  the 
Atbara,  and  the  Abai.  The  most  northern  of  these  rivers 
is  the  Mareb,  which  rises  in  the  ^>ou."tii''n3  of  Taranta, 
flows  first  south,  then  west,  and  afterwards  turns  to  the 
north,  where  it  is  at  length,  after  a  coaree  o!  upwards  of 
500  miles,  lost  in  the  sand,  but  in  the  rainy  season  it  falls 
into  the  Atbara.  The  Atbara.  or  Takazra,  rises  in  the 
mountains  of  Lasta,  and  flowing  first  north,  then  west,  and 
again  turning  to  the  north,  at  length  ialls  into  the  Nile, 
after  a  course  of  about  800  miles.  The  Abai,  Bahr-el-Azrek 
or  Blue  River,  tht  caters  branch  of  the  Nile,  and  considered 
by  Bruce  to  be  the  main  stream  of  that  river,  rises  from 
two  mountains  near  Geesh,  in  lat.  10°  59'  25"  N.,  long. 
36°  55'  30"  E,  about  10,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea.  It  flows  first  north  to  the  Lake  of  Dembea  or  Tzana, 
then  takes  a  long  stn.icircular  sweep  round  the  province  of 
Godjam,  and  afterwards  flows  northward  to  about  the  15th 
degree  of  N.  lat.,  where  it  unites  with  the  Bahr-el-Abiad, 
which  has  now  been  ascertained  to  be  the  true  Nile.  The 
Hawash,  the  principal  river  of  eastern  Abyssinia,  rises  about 
lat.  9°  30'  N.,  long.  38°  E.,  and,  flowing  in  a  nurth-easterly 
direction  towards  the  Red  Sea.  is  lost  in  Lake  Aussa.  lat. 


1 1°  25'  N.,  long.  41°  40'  E.  The  principal  lake  of  Abyssfnf* 
is  the  Dembea,  which  lies  between  11°  3d'  and  12*  30'  N. 
lat,  and  37°  and  37°  35'  E.  long.,  boing  about  60  miles  in 
length  by  40  in  width,  and  containing  a  number  of  small 
islands.  It  is  fed  by  numerous  small  streams  T'.e  hike 
of  Ashangi,  in  lat.  12°  35'  N.,  long.  39°  40'  E.,  is  about  4 
miles  long  by  3  broad,  and  upwards  of  8000  feet  above  the 
sea. 

The  fundamental  rocks  of  Tigre,  and  probably  of  all 
Abyssinia,  are  metamuipLic.  They  compose  the  mass  of 
the  table-land,  and  while  they  occupy  i.o  inconsiderable 
portion  of  its  surface,  they  are  exposed,  in  Tigre  at  least,  in 
every  deep  valley.  The  metamorphics  vary  greatly  in 
mineral  character,  "every  intermediate  grade  being  found 
between  the  most  coarsely  crystalline  granite  and  a  slaty 
rock  so  little  altered  that  the  lines  of  the  origiual  bedding 
are  still  apparent.  Perhaps  the  most  prevalent  form  of 
rock  is  a  rather  finely  crystalline  gneiss.  Hornblende-echist 
and  mkv^hist  ara  met  with,  but  neither  of  tLu  minerals 
fivsn  whicL  Oey  are  name.)  appears  to  be  so  abundant  as 
in  some  metamorphic  tre.cts.  On  the  otLet  hand,  a  compact 
felspatldc  rock,  approaching  felsite  in  composition,  is  pre- 
valent in  places,  as  in  the  Sun  defile,  between  Komayli 
and  iSenafeV  There  are  a  few  exceptions,  bnt  as  a  general 
nuk  ':■■>  way  be  asserted  that  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
route  followed  by  the  British  army,  so  much  of  the  country 
as  is  more  than  8000  feet  above  the  sea  consists  of  bedded 
traps,  and  tliis  is  probably  the  case  in  general  over  Abys- 
siuia.  "  Between  the  traps  and  the  metamorphics  a 
;  e  IstOE  '■-  tad  limestones  intervene,  one  group  of 
tne  former  underlying  the  latter.     The  limestone  alone  is 

ilifanns, and  is  of  Jurassic  age."  ''On  the  route  to 
Magdala  volcanic  rocks  were  first  met  with  at  Senate,  where 
severe,!  hills  consist  of  trachyte,  passing  into  clnystone  and 
basalt.  T;-tp  hills,  chiefly  of  trachyte,  are  dotted  over  the 
country  to  the  southward  as  far  as  Fokada,  a  distance  of 
nearly  30  miles.  Here  a  great  range  of  bedded  traps  com- 
mences, and  extends  for  about  25  miles  to  the  south,  pass- 
ing to  the  west  of  Adigerat."  At  Mcsbek,  two  marches 
SOatil  ■/.  Antalo,  "the  route  entered  high  ranges  entirely 
composed  if  trap,  and  thence  no  other  rocks  were  seen  as 
far  as  Magdala."     "  The  trappean  rocks  belong  to  two  dis- 

t  ".ill  unconformable  groups.  The  lower  of  these  is 
much  inclined,  while  the  higher  rests  on  its  upturned  and 
denuded  edges.''  Denudation  has  evidently  been  going  on 
to  a  great  extent  in  this  country.  One  of  its  most  striking 
features  are  the  deep  ravines  which  have  been  worked  out 
by  the  action  of  the  streams,  sometimes  to  the  depth  of 
3000  or  4'ji)Q  feet.  "How  much  of  the  Abyssinian  high- 
lands has  been  removed  by  tb^se  great  torrents,  and  spread 
as  an  alluvial  deposit  over  the  bjsin  of  the  Nile  1"  "Probably 
over  the  whole  of  northern  Abyssinia  there  existed  at  least 
4000  feet  of  bedded  traps,  of  which  now  only  a  few  vestiges 
remain."—(F.  T.  Blanford. 

Abyssinia  is  said  to  enjoy  "probably  as  salubrious  a 
climate  as  any  country  on  the  face  of  the  globe."— 
Parkyns.  The  heat  is  by  no  means  oppressive,  a  fine 
light  air  counteracting  the  power  oi  the  sun ;  and  during 
the  rainy  season,  the  sky  being  cloudy,  the  weather  is 
always  agreeable  and  cool,  while  the  rain  itself  is  not  very 
severe.  In  certain  of  the  low  valleys,  bowvt-r,  malarious 
influences  prevail  before  and  after  the  rainy  season,  and 
bring  on  dangerous  fevers.  On  the  higher  parts  the  cold 
is  sometimes  intense,  particularly  at  night.  The  natural 
division  of  th»  seasons  is  into  a  cold,  a  hot,  and  a  rainy 
season.  The  cold  season  may  be  said  to  extend  from 
October  to  February,  the  hot  from  the  beginning  of  March 
to  the  middle  of  June,  and  the  wet  or  monsoon  period  from 
this  time  to  the  end  of  September.  The  rainy  season  is  of 
importance,  not  only  in  equalising  the  temperature,  increasing 


ABYSSINIA 


63 


Hie  fertility,  and  keeping  up  the  water  supply  of  the  country, 
bu'o,  as  Sir  S.  Baker  has  shown,  it  plays  a  most  important 
part  in  the  annual  overflow  of  the  Nile. 

On  the  summits  and  slopes  of  the  highest  mountains 
the  vegetation  is  of  a  thoroughly  temperate  and  even 
English  character;  the  plateaux  have  a  flora  of  the  same 
character;  while  on  the  lower  slopes  of  the  hills  and  in  the 
ravines  occur  many  trees  and  shrubs  of  warmer  climes. 
"The  general  appearance  of  the  plateaux  and  plains  is  that 
of  a  comparatively  bare  country,  with  trees  and  bushes 
thinly  jesttersd  over  it,  and  clumps  and  groves  only  occur- 
ring round  villages  and  churches.  But  the  glens  and  ravines 
in  the  plateau  sides,  each  with  its  little  bright  spring,  are 
often  thickly  wooded,  and  offer  a  delicious  contrast  to  the 
open  country." — Markham.  This  refers  more  particularly 
to  the  northern  portion  of  the  country,  that  drained  by  the 
Mareb;  the  central  and  southern  parts  are  much  more  fertile 
and  productive.  Here  the  fertility  is  so  great  that  in  some 
parts  three  crops  are  raised  annually.  Agriculture  receives 
considerable  attention,  and  large  quantities  of  maize,  wheat, 
barley,  peas,  beans,  &c,  are  grown.  Very  extensively 
cultivated  is  teff  (Poa  abyssinica),  a  herbaceous  plant  with 
grains  not  larger  than  the  head  of  a  pin,  of  which  is  made 
the  bread  in  general  use  throughout  the  country.  The  low 
grounds  produce  also  a  kind  of  corn  called  tocussa,  of 
which  a  black  bread  is  made,  which  constitutes  the  food  of 
the  lower  classes.  Coffee  grows  wild  on  the  western 
mountains,  and  the  vine  and  sugar-cane  are  cultivated  in 
favourable  localities.  Cotton  is  also  grown  to  a  consider- 
able extent.  •  Among  the  fruit-trees  are  the  date,  orange, 
lemon,  pomegranate,  and  banana.  Myrrh,  balsam,  and 
various  kinds  of  valuable  medicinal  plants  are  common. 

Most  of  the  domestic  animals  of  Europe  are  found  here. 
The  cattle  are  in  general  small,  and  the  oxeu  belong  to  the 
humped  race.  The  famous  Galla  oxen  have  horns  some- 
times four  feet  long.  The  sheep  belong  to  the  short  and 
fat-tailed  race,  and  are  covered  with  wooL  Goats  are  very 
common,  and  have  sometimes  horns  two  feet  in  length. 
The  horses  are  strong  and  active.  Of  wild  animals  the 
spotted  hyaena  is  among  the  most  numerous,  as  well  as  the 
fiercest  and  most  destructive,  not  only  roaming  in  immense 
numbers  over  the  country,  but  frequently  entering  the 
towns,  and  even  the  houses  of  the  inhabitants.  The 
elephant  and  rhinoceros  are  numerous  in  the  low  grounds. 
The  Abyssinian  rhinoceros  has  two  horns ;  its  skii,  which 
has  no  folds,  is  used  for  shields,  and  for  lining  drinking 
vessels,  being  regarded  as  an  antidote  to  poison.  Crocodiles 
and  hippopotami  are  plentiful  in  the  rivers ;  lions,  panthers, 
and  leopards  are  seen  occasionally,  and  buffaloes  frequently. 
Among  other  animals  may  be  mentioned  as  common  various 
species  of  antelopes,  wild  swine,  monkeys,  hares,  squirrels, 
several  species  of  hyrax,  jackals,  &c. 

The  birds  of  Abyssinia  are  very  numerous,  and  many  of 
them  remarkable  for  the  beauty  of  their  ph'mage.  Great 
numbers  of  eagles,  vultures,  hawks,  and  other  birds  of  prey 
are  met  with;  and  partridges,  snipes,  pigeons,  parrots, 
thrushes,  and  swallows  are  very  plentiful  Among  insects 
the  most  numerous  and  useful  is  the  bee,  honey  everywhere 
constituting  an  important  part  of  the  food  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, and  several  of  the  provinces  paying  a  large  proportion 
of  their  tribute  in  this  article.  Of  an  opposite  class  is  the 
locust,  the  ravages  of  which  here,  as  in  other  parts  of 
Northern  Africa,  are  terrible.  Serpents  are  not  numerous, 
but  several  species  are  poisonous. 

The  inhabitants  of  Abyssinia  form  a  number  of  different 
tribes,  and  evidently  belong  to  several  distinct  races.  The 
majority  are  of  the  Caucasian  race,  and  are  in  general  well- 
formed  and  handsome,  with  straight  and  regular  features, 
lively  eyes,  hair  long  and  straight  or  somewhat  curled,  and 
colour  dark  olive,  approaching  to.  black.     Buppell  regards 


them  as  identical  in  features  with  the  Bedouin  Arabs.  The 
tribes  inhabiting  Tigre,  Amhara,  Agow,  <fcc,  belong  to  this 
race.  The  Galla  race,  who  came  originally  from  the  south, 
have  now  overrun  the  greater  part  of  the  country,  consti- 
tuting a  large  portion  of  the  soldiery,  and,  indeed,  there  arc 
few  of  the  chiefs  who  have  not  an  intermixture  of  Gulla 
blood  in  their  veins.  They  are  fierce  and  turbulent  in 
character,  and  addicted  to  cruelty.  Many  of  them  are  still 
idolaters,  but  most  of  them  have  cow  adopted  the  Moham- 
medan faith,  and  not  a  few  of  them  the  Christianity  of  the 
Abyssinians.  They  are  generally  large  and  well-built,  of  a 
brown  complexion,  with  regular  features,  small  deeply-sunk 
but  very  bright  eyes,  and  long  black  hair.  A  race  of  Jews, 
known  by  the  name  of  Falaskas,  inhabit  the  district  of 
Samen.  They  affirm  that  their  forefathers  came  into  the 
country  in  the  days  of  Rehoboam,  but  it  seems  more 
probable  that  they  arrived  about  the  time  of  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem.  From  the  10th  century  they  enjoyed  theii 
own  constitutional  rights,  and  were  subject  to  their  own 
kings,  who,  they  pretend,  were  descended  from  King  David, 
until  the  year  1800,  when  the  royal  race  became  extinct, 
and  they  then  became  subject  to  Tigre. 

The  prevailing  religion  of  Abyssinia  is  a  very  corrupted 
lorm  of  Christianity.  This  is  professed  by  the  majority  of 
the  people,  as  well  as  by  the  reigning  princes  of  the  different 
states.  There  are  also  scattered  over  the  country  many 
Mohammedans,  and  some  Falashas  or  Jews.  Christianity 
was  introduced  into  this  country  about  the  year  330,  but 
since  that  time  if  has  been  so  corrupted  by  errors  of  various 
kinds  as  to  have  become  little  more  than  a  dead  formality 
mixed  up  with  much  superstition  and  Judaism.  Feasts 
and  fast-days  are  very  frequent,  and  baptism  and  the  Lord's 
supper  are  dispensed  after  the  manner  of  the  Greek  Church. 
The  children  are  circumcised,  and  the  Mosaic  command- 
ments with  respect  to  food  and  purification  are  observed. 
The  eating  of  animals  which  do  not  chew  the  cud  and  which 
have  not  cloven  hoofs  is  prohibited.  The  ecclesiastical  body 
is  very  numerous,  consisting  of  priests,  of  various  kinds, 
with  monks  and  nuns,  and  is  looked  upon  with  great  awe 
and  reverence.  If  a  priest  be  married  previous  to  his 
ordination,  he  is  allowed  to  remain  so;  but  no  one  can 
marry  after  having  entered  the  priesthood.  The  primate 
or  chief  bishop  is  called  Abuna  {i.e.,  our  father),  and  is 
nominated  by  the  patriarch  of  Cairo,  whom  they  acknow- 
ledge as  their  spiritual  father.  The  churches  are  rude 
edifices,  chiefly  of  a  circular  form,  with  thatched  roofs,  the 
interior  being  divided  into  three  compartments,— an  outei 
one  for  the  laity,  one  within  for  the  priests,  and  in  the 
centre  the  Holy  of  Holies,  exactly  after  the  manner  of  a 
Jewish  temple.  The  worship  consists  merely  in  reading 
passages  of  Scripture  and  dispensing  the  Lord's  supper, 
without  any  preaching.  Like  the  Greek  Church,  they  have 
no  images  of  any  kind  in  their  places  of  worship,  but  paint- 
ings of  the  saints  are  very  common — their  faces  always  in 
full,  whatever  may  be  the. position  of  their  bodies.  They 
have  innumerable  saints,  but  above  all  is  the  Virgin,  whom 
they  regard  as  queen  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  the  great 
intercessor  for  the  sins  of  mankind.  Their  reverence  for  a 
saint  is  often  greater  than  for  the  Almighty,  and  a  man 
who  would  not  hesitate  to  invoke  the  name  of  his  Maker  in 
witness  to  a  falsehood  may  decline  so  to  use  the  name  of 
St  Michael  or  St  George.  '  Legends  of  saints  and  works  of 
religious  controversy  form  almost  their  entire  literature. 
"At  preset,"  says  Bishop  Gobat,  "the  Christians  of 
Abyssinia  are  divided  into  three  parties,  so  mimical  to  eaoh 
other  that  they  curse  one  another,  and  will  no  longer  par- 
take of  the  sacrament,  together.  It  is  one  single  point  of 
theology  that  disunites  them — the  unceasing  dispute  con- 
cerning; the  unction  of  Jesus  Christ," 

In  manners  the  Abyssinians  are  ruae  and  barbarous 


64 


ABYSSINIA 


Engaged  as  they  are  in  continual  ware,  and  accustomed 
to  bloodshed,  human  life  is  little  regarded  among  them. 
Murders  and  executions  are  frequent,  and  yet  cruelty  is 
said  not  to  be  a  marked  feature  of  their  character ;  and  in 
war  they  seldom  kill  their  prisoners.  When  one  is  con- 
victed of  murder,  he  is  handed  over  to  the  relatives  of  the 
deceased,  who  may  either  put  him  to  death  or  accept  a 
ransom.  When  the  murdered  person  has  no  relatives,  the 
priest3  take  upon  themselves  the  office  of  avengers.  The 
Abyssinians  are  irritable,  but  easily  appeased ;  and  are  a 
gay  people,  fond  of  festive  indulgences.  On.  every  festive 
occasion,  as  a  saint's  day,  birth,  marriage,  &c,  it  is 
customary  for  a  rich  man  to  collect  his  friends  and  neigh- 
bours, and  kill  a  cow  and  one  or  two  sheep.  The  principal 
parts  of  the  cow  are  eaten  raw  while  yet  warm  and  quiver- 
ing, the  remainder  being  cut  into  small  pieces,  and  cooked 
with  the  favourite  sauce  of  butter  and  red  pepper  paste. 
The  raw  meat  in  this  way  is  considered  to  be  very  superior 
in  taste  and  much  tenderer  than  when  cold.  "  I  can 
readily  believe,"  says  Mr  Parkyns,"  that  raw  meat  would  be 
preferred  to  cooked  meat  by  a  man  who  from  childhood 
had  been  accustomed  to  it."  The  statement  by  Bruce 
respecting  the  cutting  of  steaks  from  a  live  cow  has  fre- 
quently been  called  in  question,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  Bruce  actually  saw  what  he  narrates,  though  it  would 
appear  to  have  been  a  very  exceptional  case  Mr  Parkyns 
was  told  by  a  soldier,  "  that  such  a  practice  was  not  un- 
common among  the  Gallas,  and  even  occasionally  occurred 
among  themselves,  when,  as  in  the  case  Bruce  relates,  a  cow 
had  been  stolen  or  taken  in  foray."  The  principal  drinks 
are  me.se,  a  kind  of  mead,  and  bousa,  a  sort  of  beer  made 
from  fermented  cakes.  Their  dress  consists  of  a  large 
folding  mantle  and  close-fitting  drawers ;  and  their  houses 
are  very  rude  structures  of  a  conical  form,  covered  with 
thatch.  Marriage  is  a  very  slight  connection  among  them, 
dissolvable  at  any  time  by  either  of  the  parties ;  and  poly- 
gamy is  by  no  means  uncommon.  Hence  there  is  little 
family  affection,  and  what  exists  is  only  among  children  of 
the  same  father  and  mother.  Children  of  the  same  father, 
but  of  different  mothers,  are  said  to  be  "  always  enemies  to 
each  other." — Gobat. 

Abyssinia  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  monarchies  in  the 
world,  and  has  been  governed  from  time  immemorial  by  an 
emperor.  For  many  years,  however,  until  the  accession  of 
the  late  Emperor  Theodore,  he  had  "been  a  mere  puppet  in 
the  hands  of  one  or  other  of  his  chiefs.  Each  chief  is 
entire  master  of  all  sources  of  revenue  within  his  territory, 
and  has  practically  full  power  of  life  and  death.  His  sub- 
jection consists  in  an  obligation  to  send  from  time  to  time 
presents  to  his  superior,  and  to  follow  him  to  war  with  as 
large  a  force  as  he  can  muster.  For  several  generations 
the  emperor  had  been  little  better  than  a  prisoner  in  his 
palace  at  Gondar,  his  sole  revenue  consisting  of  a  small 
stipend  and  the  tolls  of  the  weekly  markets  of  that  city, 
the  real  power  being'in  the  hands  of  the  ras  or  vizier  of 
the  empire,  who  was  always  the  most  powerful  chief  for  the 
time.  H  at  any  time  a  chief  "  has  found  himself  strong 
enough  to  march  upon  the  capital,  he  has  done  so,  placed 
upon  the  throne  another  puppet  emperor,  and  been  by  him 
appointed  ras  or  vizier,  till  a  rival  stronger  than  himself 
could  turn  him  out  and  take  his  place." — Dr  Beke. 

The  three  principal  provinces  of  Abyssinia  air  Tigri  in 
tho  north,  Amhara  (in  which  Gondar  the  capital  is  situated) 
in  the  centre,  and  Shoa  in  the  south.  The  governors  of 
these  have  all  at  different  times  assumed  the  title  of  Kas. 
Three  other  provinces  of  some  importance  are  Lasta  and 
Waag,  whose  capital  is  Sokota  ;  Godjam,  to  the  south  of 
Lake  Dembea ;  and  Kivara,  to  the  west  of  that  lake,  the 
birth-place  of  the  Emperor  Theodore  The  two  provinces 
of  Tigr6  and  Shoa  have  generally  been  in  a  state  of  rebellion 


from  or  acknowledged  independence  of  the  central  power  at 
Gondar.  The  geographical  position  of  Tigr<5  enhances  us 
political  importance,  as  it  lies  between  Gondar  and  the  sea 
at  Massowah,  and  thus  holds  as  it  were  the  gate  of  the 
capital  The  province  of  Shoa  is  almost  separated  from 
that  of  Amhara  by  the  Wolla  Gallas,  a  Mohammedan  tribe, 
and  for  a  long  time  the  former  had  been  virtually  indepen- 
dent, and  governed  by  a  hereditary  line  of  princes,  to  one 
of  whom  the  Indian  government  sent  a  special  embassy 
under  Major  Harris  in.  1841. 

The  principal  towns  are  Gondar  in  Amhara,  the  former 
capital  of  the  kingdom,  and  containing  about  7000  inhabit- 
ants, and  DebraTtilror  in  Aniliara,  formerly  a  small  village, 
but  which  rose  to  be  a  place  of  considerable  size  in  conse- 
quence of  the  Emperor  Theodore  having  fixed  upon  it  as 
his  residence,  and  near  it  was  Gaffat,  where  the  European 
workmen  resided.  It  was  burned  by  the  emperor  when  he 
set  out  on  his  fatal  march  to  Magdala.  Adowa  is  the 
capital  of  Tigre,  and  the  second  city  in  the  empire,  having 
about  6000  inhabitants.  Antalo  is  also  one  of  the  principal 
towns  of  Tigre,  and  the  capital  of  Enderta.  Near  Antalo 
is  Chelicut.  Sokota,  the  capital  of  Lasta  Waag,  is  a  town 
of  considerable  size.  The  capital  of  Shoa  is  Ankobar,  and 
near  it  is  Angolala,  also  a  place  of  considerable  size.  The 
capital  of  Agame^  is  Adigerat. 

The  language  of  the  religion  and  literature  of  the  country 
is  the  Geez,  which  belongs  to  the  Ethiopic  class  of  languages, 
and  is  the  ancient  language  of  TigriS;  of  this  the  modern 
Tigre  is'  a  dialect.  The  Amharic,  the  language  of  Amhara, 
is  that  of  the  court,  the  army,  and  the  merchants,  and  is 
that  too  which  travellers  who  penetrate  beyond  Tigr6  have 
ordinarily  occasion  to  use.  But  the  Agow  in  its  various 
dialects  is  the  language  of  the  people  in  some  provinces 
almost  exclusively,  and  in  others,  where  it  has  been  super- 
seded by  the  language  of  the  dominant  race,  it  still  exists 
among  the  lowest  classes.  This  last  is  believed  to  be  the 
original  language  of  the  people;  and  from  the  affinity  of  the 
Geez,  Amharic,  and  cognate  dialects,  to  the  Arabic,  it 
seems  probable  that  they  were  introduced  by  conquerors  ot 
settlers  from  the  opposite  shores  of  the  Bed  Sea.  The 
Gallas,  who  have  overrun  a  great  part  of  Abyssinia,  have 
introduced  their  own  language  into  various  parts  of  the 
country,  but  in  many  cases  they  have  adopted  the  language 
of  the  people  among  whom  they  have  come.  The  literature 
of  Abyssinia  is  very  poor,  and  contains  nothing  of  much 
value.  During  tho  late  war  the  libraries  in  connection 
with  the  religious  communities  were  found  to  contain  only 
modern  works  of  little  interest.  On  the  capture  of  Magdala, 
a  large  number  of  MSS.  were  found  there,  which  had  bee  n 
brought  by  Theodore  from  Gondar  and  other  parts.  Of 
these  359  were  brought  home  for  examination,  and  are 
now  deposited  in  the  British  Museum  The  oldest  among 
[hem  belong  to  the  15th  and  16th  centuries,  but  the  great 
bulk  of  them  are  of  the  17th  and  18th,  and  some  are  of 
the  present  century.  They  are  mostly  copies  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  canonical  and  apocryphal,  including  the  Book-of 
Enoch,  prayer  and  hymn  books,  missals,  lives  of  saints,  and 
translations  of  various  of  the  Greek  fathers. 

The  trade  and  manufactures  of  Abyssini.i  are  insignificant, 
the  people  being  chiefly  engaged  in  agriculture  and  pastoral 
pursuits.  Cotton  cloths,  the  universal  dress  of  the  country, 
aie  made  in  large  quantities.  The  preparation  of  leather 
and  parchment  is  also  carried  on  to  some  extent,  and  manu- 
factures of  iron  and  bras3.  "  The  Abyssinians  are,  I 
think,"  says  Mr  Markham,  "  capable  of  civilisation.  Their 
agriculture  is  good,  their  manufactures  are  not  to  be 
despised;  but  the  combined  effects  of  isolation,  Galla 
inroads,  and  internal  anarchy,  have  thrown  them  back  for 
centuries."  The  foreign  trade  of  Abyssinia  is  carried  on 
entirely  through  Massowah.  Its  principal  imports  are  lead, 


ABYSSINIA 


65 


tin,  copper,  silk,  gunpowder,  glass  wares.  Persian  carpets, 
and  coloured  cloths.  The  chief  exports  are  gold,  ivory, 
slaves,  coffee,  butter,  honey,  and  wax. 

Abyssinia,  or  at  least  the  northern  portion  of  it,"  was 
included  in  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Ethiopia.  The  conncc-' 
tion  between  Egypt  and  Ethiopia  was  in  early  times  very 
intimate,  and  occasionally  the  two  countries  were  under 
the  same  ruler,  so  that  the  arts  and  civilisation  of  the  one 
naturally  found  their  way  into  the  other.  In  early  times,' 
too,  the  Hebrews  had  commercial  intercourse  with  the 
Ethiopians ;  and  according  to  the  Abyssinians,  the  Queen 
of  Sheba,  who  visited  Solomon,  was  a  monarch  of  their 
country,  and  from  her  son  Mcnilek  the  kings  of  Abyssinia 
are  descended.  During  the  captivity  many  of  the  Jews 
settled  here,  and  brought  with  them  a  knowledge  of  the 
Jewish  religion.  Under  the  Ptolemies,  the  arts  as  well  as 
the  enterprise  of  the  Greeks  entered  Ethiopia,  and  led  to 
the  establishment  of  Greek  colonies.  A  Greek  inscription 
at  Adalis,  no  longer  extant,  but  copied  by  Cosmos,  and 
preserved  in  his  Topograpkia  Christiana,  records  that 
Ptolemy  Euergetes,  the  third  of  the  Greek  dynasty  in  Egypt, 
invaded  the  countries  on  both  sides  of  the  Red  Sea,  and, 
having  reduced  most  of  the  provinces  of  Tigre  to  subjection, 
returned  to  the  port  of  Adulis,  and  there  offered  sacrifices 
to  Jupiter,  Mars,  and  Neptune.  Another  inscription,  not 
so  ancient,  found  at  Axum,  and  copied  by  Salt  and  others, 
states  that  Aeizanas,  king  of  the  Axomites,  the  Home- 
rites,  <tc,  conquered  the  nation  of  the  Bogos,  and  returned 
thanks  to  his  father,  the  god  Mars,  for  his  victory.  The 
ancient  kingdom  of  Auxume  flourished  in  the  first  or 
second  century  of  our  era,  and  was  at  one  time  nearly 
coextensive  with  the  modern  Abyssinia.  The  capital 
Auxume  and  the  seaport  Adulis  were  then  the  chief 
centres  of  the  trade  with  the  interior  of  Africa  in  gold  dust, 
ivory,  leather,  aromatics,  ic.  At  Axum,  the  site  of  the 
ancient  capital,  many  vestiges  of  its  former  greatness  still 
exist ; '  and  the  ruins  of  Adulis,  which  was  once  a  seaport 
on  the  Bay  of  Anncslcy,  are  now  about  4  miles  from  the 
shore.  Christianity  was  introduced  into  the  country  by 
Frumentius,  who  was  consecrated  first  bishop  of  Abyssinia 
by  St  Athanasius  of  Alexandria  about  a.d.  330.  Subse- 
quently the  monastic  system  was  introduced,  and  between 
470  and  480  a  great  company  of  monks  appear  to  have 
entered  and  established  themselves  in  the  country.  Since 
that  time  Monachism  has  been  a  power  among  the  people, 
and  not  without  its  influence  on  the  course  of  events  In 
522  the  king  of  the  Homerites,  on  the  opposite  coast  of 
the  Red  Sea,  having  persecuted  the  Christians,  the  Emperor 
Justinian  requested  the  king  of  Abyssinia, .  Caleb  or 
Elesbaan,  to  avenge  their  cause.  He  accordingly  collected 
an  army,  crossed  over  into  Arabia,  and  conquered  Yemen, 
which  remained  subject  to  Abyssinia  for  67  years.  This  was 
the  most  flourishing  period  in  the  annals  of  the  countiy.  The 
Ethiopians  possessed  the  richest  part  of  Arabia,  carried  on  a 
large  trade,  which  extended  as  far  as  India  and  Ceylon,  and 
were  in  constant  communication  with  the  Greek  empire. 
Their  expulsion  from  Arabia,  followed  by  the  conquest  of 
Egypt  by  the  Mohammedans  in  the  middle  of  the  7th 
century,  changed  this  state  of  affairs,  and  the  continued  ad- 
vances of  the  followers  of  the  Prophet  at  length  cut  them 
off  from  almost  every  means  of  communication  with  the 
civilised  world ;  so  that,  as  Gibbon  says,  "  encompassed  by 
the  enemies  of  their  religion,  the  Ethiopians  slept  for  near  a 
thousand  years,  forgetful  of  the  world  by  whom  they  were 
forgotten."  About  a.d.  960,  a  Jewish  princess,  Judith, 
conceived  the  bloody  design  of  murdering  all  the  members 
of  the  royal  family,  and  of  establishing  herself  in  their  steal 
During  the  execution  of  this  project,  the  infant  king  was 
tarried  off  by  some  faithful  adherents,  and  conveyed  to  Shoa, 
where  his  authority  was  acknowledged,  while  Judith  reigned 


for  40  years  over  the  rent  of  the  kingdom,  and  transmitted 
the  crown  to  her  descendants.  In  1268  the  kingdom  was 
restored  to  the  royal  house  in  the  person  of  Icon  Iinlac. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  loth  century  the  Portuguese 
missions  into  Abyssinia  commenced.  A  belief  had  long 
prevailed  in  Europe  of  the  existence  of  a  Christian  kingdom 
in  the  far  oast,  whose  monarch  was  known  as  Prcstcr  John, 
and  various  expeditions  had  been  sent  in  quest  of  it. 
Among  others  who  had  engaged  in  this  search  was  Tcdro 
de  Covilham,  who  arrived  in  Abyssinia  in  1490,  and, 
believing  that  he  had  at  length  reached  the  far-faincd  king- 
dom, presented  to  the  Negus,  or  emperor  of  the  country,  a 
letter  from  his  master  the  long  of  Portugal,  addressed  to 
Prester  JMin.  Covilham  remained  in  the  country,  but  in 
1507  an  Armenian  named  Matthew  was  sent  by  the  Negus 
to  the  king  of  Portugal  to  request  his  aid  against  the  Turks. 
In  1520  a  Portuguese  fleet,  with  Matthew  on  board,  entered 
the  Red  Soa  in  compliance  with  this  request,  and  an 
embassy  from  the  fleet  visited  the  country  of  the  Negus, 
and  remained  there  for  about  six  years.  One  of  this 
embassy  was  Father  Alvarez,  from  whom  we  have  the 
earliest  and  not  the  least  interesting  account  of  the  country. 
Between  1528  and  1540  armies  of  Mohammedans,  under  the 
renowned  general  Mohammed  Gragn,  entered  Abyssinia  from 
the  low  country,  and  overran  the  kingdom,  obliging  the 
emperor  to  take  refuge  in  the  mountain  fastnesses.  In  this 
extremity  recourse  was  again  had  to  the  Portuguese,  and 
Bermudez,  who  had  remained  in  the  country  after  the 
departure  of  the  embassy,  was  ordained  successor  to  the 
Abuna,  and  sent  on  this  mission.  In  consequence  a 
Portuguese  fleet,  under  the  command  of  Stephen  de  Gama, 
was  sent  from  India  and  arrived  at  Massowah.  A  force 
of  450  musqueteers,  under  the  command  of  Christopher 
de  Gama,  younger  brother  of  the  admiral,  marched  into 
the  interior,  and  being  joined  by  native  troops  were  at  first 
successful  against  the  Turks,  but  were  subsequently  defeated, 
and  their  commander  taken  prisoner  and  put  to  death. 
Soon  afterwards,  however,  Mohammed  Gragn  was  shot  in 
an  engagement,  and  his  forces  totally  routed.  After  this, 
quarrels  arose  between  the  Negus  and  the  Catholic  primatu 
Bermudez,  who  wished  the  former  publicly  to  profess  him- 
self a  convert  to  Rome.  This  the  Negus  refused  to  do, 
and  at  length  Bermudez  was  obliged  to  make  his  way  out  of 
the  country.  The  Jesuits  who  had  accompanied  or  followed 
Bermudez  into  Abyssinia,  and  fixed  their  head-quarters 
at  Fremona,  were  oppressed  and  neglected,  but  not  actually 
expelled.  In  the  beginning  of  the  following  century  Father 
Paez  arrived  at  Fremona,  a  man  of  great  tact  and  judgment, 
who  soon  rose  into  high  favour  at  court,  and  gained  over 
the  emperor  to  his  faith.  He  directed  the  erection  of 
churches,  palaces,  and  bridges  in  different!  parts  of  tLe 
country,  and  carried  out  many  useful  worka.  His  successor 
Mendez  was  a  man  of  much  less  conciliatorymanners,andthe 
feelings  of  the  people  became  more  strongly  excited  against 
the  intruders,  till  at  length,  on  the  death  of  the  Negus,  and 
the  accession  of  his  son  Facilidas  in  1633,  they  were  all 
sent  out  of  the  country,  after  having  had  a  footing  there 
for  nearly  a  centuiy  and  a  half.  The  French  physician 
Poncet,  who  went  there  in  1698,  was  the  only  European 
that  afterwards  visited  the  country  before  Bruce  in  1769. 

It  was  about'  the  middle  of  the  loth  century  that  the 
Galla  tribes  first  entered  Abyssinia  from  the  south;  and 
notwithstanding  frequent  cfl'orts  to  dislodge  them,  they 
gradually  extended  and  strengthened  their  positions  till 
they  had  overrun  the  greater  part  of  the  country.  The  power 
of.  the  emperor  was  thus  weakened,  independent  chiefs  set 
themselves  up  in  different  parts,  until  at  length  he  becamt 
little  better  than  a  puppet  in  the  hands  of  the -most  power- 
ful of  his  chiefs.  In  1805  the  country  was  visited  by 
Lord  Valentia  and  Mr  Salt,  and  again  by  Sal'  in  1810.     In 


G6 


ABYSSINIA 


1829  Messrs  Gobat  and  Kugtcr  were  sent  out  as  missionaries 
by  the  Church.  Missionary  Society,  and  were  well  received 
by  the  Ras  of  Tigr6.  Mr  Kugler  died  soon  after  liis 
arrival,  and  his  place  was  subsequently  supplied  by  Mr 
Isenberg,  who  was  followed  by  Messrs  Blumhardt  and  Krapf. 
In  1830  Mr  Gobat  proceeded  to  Gondar,  where  he  also 
met  with  a  favourable  reception.  In  1833  he  returned  to 
Europe,  and  published  a  journal  of  his  residence  here.  In 
the  following  year  ho  went  back  to  Tigre,  but  in  1836  he 
was  compelled  to  leave  from  ill  health.  In  1838  other 
missionaries  were  obliged  to  leave  the  country,  owing  to 
the  opposition  of  the  native  priests.  Messrs  Isenberg  and 
Krapf  went  south,  and  established  themselves  at  Shoa. 
The  formor  soon  after  returned  to  Engjand,  and  Mr  Krapf 
remained  in  Shoa  till  March  1842.  Dr  Ruppel,the  German 
naturalist,  visited  the  country  in  1831,  and  remained 
nearly  two  years.  MM.  Combes  and  Tamisier  arrived  at 
Massowah  in  1835,  and  visited  districts  which  had  not  been 
traversed  by  Europeans  since  the  time  of  the  Portuguese. 
In  1839  the  French  Government  sent  out  a  scientific  com- 
mission under  M.  Lefebvre.  Its  labours  extended  over  five 
years,  and  have  thrown  great  light  on  the  condition  and 
productions  of  the  country.  In  1841  a  political  mission 
was  sent  by  the  Governor-General  of  India  to  Shoa,  under 
the  direction  of  Major  Harris,  who  subsequently  published 
an  account  of  his  travels.  One  who  has  done  much  to  ex- 
tend our  geographical  knowledge  of  this  country  is  Dr  Beke, 
who  was  there  from  1840  to  1843.  Mr  Mansfield  Parkyns 
was  there  from  1843  to  1846,  and  has  written  the  most 
interesting  book  on  the  country  since  the  time  of  Bruce. 
Bishop  Gobat  having  conceived  the  idea  of  sending  lay 
missionaries  into  the  country,  who  would  engage  in  secular 
occupations  as  well  as  carry  on  missionary  work,  Dr  Krapf 
and  Mr  Flad  arrived  in  1855  as  pioneers  of  that  mission. 
Six  came  out  at  first,  and  they  were  subsequently  joined  by 
others.  Their  work,  however,  was  more  valuable  to  Theodore 
than  their  preaching,  so  that  he  employed  them  as  work- 
men to  himself,  and  established  them  at  Gaffat,  near  his 
capital.  Mr  Stern  arrived  in  Abyssinia  in  1860,  but  re- 
turned to  Europe,  and  came  back  in  1863,  accompanied  by 
Mr  and  Mrs  Rosenthal. 

Lij  Kassa,  who  came  subsequently  to  be  known  as  the 
Emperor  Theodore,  was  born  in  Kuara,  a  western  province 
of  Abyssinia,  about  the  year  1818.  His  father  was  of  noble 
family,  and  his  uncle  was  governor  of  the  provinces  of 
Dembea,  Kuara,  and  Chclga.  He  was  educated  in  a  con- 
vent, but,  preferring  a  wandering  life,  he  became  leader  of 
a  band  of  malcontents.  On  the  death  of  his  uncle  he  was 
made  governor  of  Kuara,  but,  not  satisfied  with  this,  he 
seized  upon  Dembea,  and  having  defeated  several  generals 
sent  against  him,  peace  was  restored  on  his  receiving 
Tavavitch,  daughter  of  Has  Ali,  in  marriage.  This  lady  is 
said  to  have  been  his  good  genius  and  counsellor,  and  during 
her  life  his  conduct  was  most  exemplary.  He  next  turned 
his  arms  against  the  Turks,  but  was  defeated ;  and  the  mother 
of  Has  Ali  having  insulted  him  in  his  fallen  condition,  he 
proclaimed  his  independence.  The  troops  sent  against  him 
were  successively  defeated,  and  eventually  the  whole  of  the 
possessions' of  Ras  Ali  fell  into  his  hands.  He  next  de- 
feated the  chief  of  Godjam,  and  then  turned  his  arms 
against  the  governor  of  Tigr6,  whom  he  totally  defeated  in 
February  1855.  In  March  of  the  same  year  he  took  the 
title  of  Theodore  III.,  and  caused  himself  to  be  crowned 
king  of  Ethiopia  by  the  Abnna.  Theodore  was  now  in  the 
genith  of  his  career.  He  is  described  as  being  generous 
to  excess,  free  from  cupidity,  merciful  to  his  vanquished 
enemies,  and  strictly  continent,  but  subject  to  violent  bursts 
of  anger,  and  possessed  of  unyielding  pride  and  fanatical 
religious  zeal.  He  was  also  a  man  of  education  and  intelli- 
gence, superior  to  those  among  whom  he  lived,  with  natural 


talents  for  governing,  and  gaining  tne  esteem  of  others 
He  had  further  a  noble  bearing  and  majestic  walk,  a  frame 
capable  of  enduring  any  amount  of  fatigue,  and  is  said  t> 
have  been  "  the  best  shot,  the  best  spearman,  the  best 
runner,  and  the  best  horseman  in  Abyssinia."  Had  he 
contented  himself  with  what  he  now  possessed,  the  sove- 
reignty of  Amhara  and  Tigr(5,  he  might  have  maintained  hi; 
position ;  but  he  was  led  to  exhaust  his  strength  against 
the  Gallas,  which  was  probably  one  of  the  chief  causes  o) 
his  ruin.  Ho  obtained  several  victories  over  that  people 
ravaged  their  country,  took  possession  of  Magdala,  whict 
he  afterwards  made  his  principal  stronghold,  and  enlistee 
many  of  the  chiefs  and  their  followers  in  his  own  ranks. 
Ho  shortly  afterwards  reduced  the  kingdom  of  Shoa, 
and  took  Ankobar,  the  capital ;  but  in  the  meantime  hi 
own  people  were  groaning  under  his  heavy  exactions, 
rebellions  were  breaking  out  in  various  parts  of  his  pro- 
vinces, and  his  good  queen  was  now  dead.  He  lavished 
vast  sums  of  money  upon  his  army,  which  at  one  time 
amounted  to  100,000  or  150,000  fighting  men;  and  ii: 
order  to  meet  this  expenditure,  he  was  forced  to  exact 
exorbitant  'tributes  from  his  people.  The  British  consul. 
Plowden,  who  was  strongly  attached  to  Theodore,  having 
been  ordered  by  his  Government  in  1860  to  return  tc 
Massowah,  was  attacked  on  his  way  by  a  rebel  namec 
Garred,  mortally  wounded,  and  taken  prisoner.  Theodore 
attacked  the  rebels,  and  in  the  action  the  murderer  of  Mi 
Plowden  was  slain  by  his  friend  and  companion  Mr  Bell, 
but  the  latter  lost  his  life  in  preserving  that  of  Theodore. 
The  deaths  of  the  two  Englishmen  were  terribly  avenged  by 
the  slaughter  or  mutilation  of  nearly  2000  rebels.  Theodore 
soon  after  married  his  second  wife  Terunish,  the  proud 
daughter  of  the  late  governor  of  Tigrd,  who  felt  neithei 
affection  hot  respect  for  the  upstart  who  had  dethroned  hei 
father,  and  the  union  was  by  no  means  a  happy  one.  In 
1862  he  made  a  second  expedition  against  the  Gallas,  which 
was  stained  with  atrocious  cruelties.  Theodore  had  now 
given  himself  up  to  intoxication  and  lust.  When  the 
news'  of  Mr  Plowden's  death  reached  England,  Captain 
Cameron  was  appointed  to  succeed  him  as  consul,  and 
arrived  at  Massowah  in  February  1862.  He  proceeded  tc 
the  camp  of  the  king,  to  whom  he  presented  a  rifle,  a  paii 
of  pistols,  and  a  letter  in  the  Queen's  name.  In  Octobei 
Captain  Cameron  was  dismissed  by  Theodore,  with  a  letter 
to  the  Queen  of  England,  which  reached  the  Foreign  Office 
on  the  12th  of  February  1863.  For  some  reason  or  other 
this  letter  was  put  aside  and  no  answer  returned,  and  to 
this  in  no  small  degree  is  to  be  attributed  the  difficulties 
that  subsequently  arose  with  that  country.  After  forward- 
ing the  letter,  Captain  Cameron,  hearing  that  the  Chri 
of  Bogos  had  been  attacked  by  the  Shangallas  and  other 
tribes  under  Egyptian  rule,  proceeded  to  that  district,  and 
afterwards  went  to  Kassala,  the  seat  of  the  Egyptian  ad- 
ministration in  that  quarter.  Thence  he  went  to  Metemeh, 
where  he  was  taken  ill,  and  in  order  to  recruit  his  health 
he  returned  to  Abyssinia,  and  reached  Jcnda  in  August 
1863.  In  November  despatches  were  received  from 
England,  but  no  answer  to  the  emperor's  letter,  and  this, 
together  with  the  consul's  visit  to  Kassala,  greatly 
offended  him,  and  in  January  1864  Captain  Cameron  ane! 
his  suite,  with  Messrs  Stern  and  Rosenthal,  were  cast  intc 
prison.  .When  the  news  of  this  reached  England,  the 
Government  resolved,  when  too  late,  to  sendan  answer  tc 
the  emperor's  letter,  and  selected  Mr  Hormuzd  Rassam  tc 
be  its  bearer.  He  arrived  at  Massowah  in  July  1864,  and 
immediately  despatched  a  messenger  requesting  permission 
to  present  himself  before  the  emperor.  Neither  to  this  noi 
a  subsequent  application  was  any  answer  returned  UL' 
August  1865,  when  a  curt  ncte  was  received,  stating  that 
Consul  Cameron  had  been  released,  and  if  Mr  Rassam  still 


ABYSSINIA 


67 


desired  to  visit  the  king,  lie  was  to  proceed  by  the  route  of 
Metemeh.  They  reached  Metemeh  on  21st  November,  and 
five  weeks  more  were  lost  before  they  heard  from  the 
emperor,  whose  reply  was  now  courteous,  informing  them 
that  the  governors  of  all  the  districts  through  which  they 
had  to  march  had  received  orders  to  furnish  them  with 
every  necessary.  They  left  Metemeh  on  the  28th  December, 
and  on  25th  January  following  arrived  at  Theodore's  camp 
in  Damot.  They  were  received  with  all  honour,  and  were 
afterwards  sent  to  Kuarata,  on  Lake  Dembea,  there  to  await 
the  arrival  of  the  captives.  The  latter  reached  this  on  12th 
'.March,  and  everything  appeared  to  proceed  very  favourably. 
'A  month  later  they  started  for  the  coast,  but  had  not  pro- 
ceeded far  when  they  were  all  brought  back  and  put  into 
confinement.  Theodore  then  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Queen, 
requesting  European  workmen  and  machinery  to  be  sent  to 
him,  and  despatched  it  by  Mr  Flad.  The  Europeans, 
although  detained  as  prisoners,  were  not  at  first  unkindly 
treated ;  but  in  the  end  of  June  they  were  sent  to  Magdala, 
where  they  were  soon  afterwards  put  in  chains.  They 
suffered  hunger,  cold,  and  misery,  and  were  in  constant 
fear  of  death,  till  the  spring  of  1868,  when  they  were 
relieved  by  the  British  troops.  In  the  meantime  the  power 
of  Theodore  in  the  country  was  rapidly  waning.  In  order 
to  support  his  vast  standing  army,  the  country  was  drained 
of  its  resources :  the  peasantry  abandoned  the  fertile  plains, 
and  took  refuge  in  the  fastnesses,  and  large  fertile  tracts 
remained  uncultivated.  Rebellions  broke  out  in  various 
parts  of  the  country,  and  desertions  took  place  among  his 
troops,  till  his  army  became  little  more  than  a  shadow  of 
what  it  once  was.  Shoa  had  already  shaken  off  his  yoke ; 
Godjam  was  virtually  independent ;  Walkeit  and  Samen 
were  under  a  rebel  chief ;  and  Lasta  Waag  and  the 
country  about  Lake  Ashangi  had  submitted  to  Wagsham 
Gobaze,  who  had  also  overrun  Tigrd,  and  appointed  Dejach 
Kassai  his  governor.  The  latter,  however,  in  1867  rebelled 
against  his  master,  and  assumed  the  supreme  power  of  that 
province.  This  was  the  state  of  matters  when  the  English 
troops  made  their  appearance  in  the  country.  With  a  view 
if  possible  to  effect  the  release  of  the  prisoners  by  con- 
ciliatory measures,  Mr  Flad  was  sent  back,  with  some 
artisans  and  machinery,  and  a  letter  from  the  Queen, 
stating  that  these  would  be  handed  over  to  his  Majesty  on 
the  release  of  the  prisoners  and  their  return  to  Massowah. 
This,  however,  failed  to  influence  the  emperor,  and  the 
English  Government  at  length  saw  that  they  must  have 
recourse  to  arms.  In  July  1867,  therefore,  it  was  resolved 
to  send  an  army  into  Abyssinia  to  enforce  the  release  of 
the  captives,  and  Sir  Robert  Napier  was  appointed  com- 
mander-in-chief. A  reconnoitring  party  was  despatched 
beforehand,  under  Colonel  Merewether,  to  select  the  landing- 
place  and  anchorage,  and  explore  the  passes  leading  into 
the  interior.  They  also  entered  into  friendly  relations 
with  the  different  chiefs  in  order  to  secure  their  co-operation. 
The  landing-place  selected  was  Mulkutto,  on  Annesley  Bay, 
the  point  of  the  coast  nearest  to  the  site  of  the  ancient 
Adulis,  and  we  are  told  that  "  the  pioneers  of  the  English 
expedition  followed  to  some  extent  in  the  footsteps  of  the 
r.dventurous  soldiers  of  Ptolemy,  and  met  with  a  few  faint 
traces  of  this  old  world  enterprise." — C.  R.  Marhlmm. 
The  force  amounted  to  upwards  of  16,000  men,  besides 
'.12,640  belonging  to  the  transport  service,  and  followers, 
■making  in  all  upwards  of  32,000  men.  The  task  to  be 
accomplished  was  to  march  over  400  miles  of  a  mountainous 
and  little-known  country,  inhabited  by  savage  tribes,  to 
the  caiup  or  fortress  of  Theodore,  and  compel  him  to  deliver 
up  hi-,  captives.  The  commander-in-chief  landed  on  7th 
January  1S68,  and  soon  after  the  troop3  began  to  move 
forward  through  the  pass  of  Senafe\  and  southward  through 
the  districts  of  AgaintS,  Tera,  Endarta,  Wojcrat,  Lasta,  and 


Wadela.  In  tne  meantime  Theodore  had  been  reduced  to 
great  straits.  His  army  was  rapidly  deserting  him,  and  he 
could  hardly  obtain  food  for  his  followers.  He  resolved  to 
quit  hi3  capital  Debra  Tabor,  which  he  burned,  and  set 
out  with  the  remains  of  lus  army  for  Magdala.  During 
this  march  he  displayed  an  amount  of  engineering  skill  in 
the  construction  of  roads,  of  military  talent,  and  fertility 
of  resource,  that  excited  the  admiration  and  astonishment 
of  his  enemies.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  10th  of  April  a 
force  of  about  3000  men  suddenly  poured  down  upon  the 
English  in  the  plain  of  Arogie,  a  few  miles  from  Magdala. 
They  advanced  again  and  again  to  the  charge,  but  were 
each  time  driven  back,  and  finally  retired  in  good  order. 
Early  next  morning  Theodore  sent  Lieut.  Prideaux,  one  of 
the  captives,  and  Mr  Flad,  accompanied  by  a  native  chief, 
to  the  English  camp  to  sue  for  peace.  Answer  was  returned, 
that  if  he  would  deliver  up  all  the  Europeans  in  his  hands, 
and  submit  to  the  Queen  of  England,  ho  would  receive 
honourable  treatment.  The  captives  were  liberated  and 
sent  away,  and  along  with  a  letter  to  the  English  general 
was  a  present  of  1000  cows  and  500  sheep,  the  acceptance 
of  which  would,  according  to  Eastern  custom,  imply  that 
peace  was  granted.  Through  some  misunderstanding,  word 
was  sent  to  Theodore  that  the  present  would  be  accepted, 
and  he  felt  that  he  was  now  safe ;  but  in  the  evening  he 
learned  that  it  had  not  been  received,  and  despair  again 
seized  him.  Early  next  morning  he  attempted  to  escape 
with  a  few  of  his  followers,  but  subsequently  returned. 
The  same  day  (13th  April)  Magdala  was  stormed  and 
taken,  and  within  they  found  the  dead  body  of  the 
emperor,  who  had  fallen  by  his  own  hand.  The  inhabitants 
and  troops  were  subsequently  sent  away,  the .  fortifications 
destroyed,  and  the  town  burned.  The  queen  Terunish 
having  expressed  her  wish  to  go  back  to  her  own  country, 
accompanied  the  British  armyj  but  died  during  the  marchy 
and  her  son  Alam-ayahu,  the  only  legitimate  son  of  the 
emperor,  was  brought  to  England,  as  this  was  the  desire 
of  his  father.  The  success  of  the  expedition  was  in  no> 
small  degree  owing  to  the  aid  afforded  by  the  several  native 
chiefs  through  whose  country  it  passed,  and  no  one  did 
more  in  this  way  than  Prince  Kassai  of  Tigr6.-  In  acknow- 
ledgment of  thi3  several  pieces  of  ordnance,  small  arms, 
and  ammunition,  with  much  of  the  surplus  stores,  were 
handed  over  to  him,  and  the  English  troops  left  the  country 
in  May  1868.  Soon  after  this  Prince  Kassai  declared  his 
independence;  and  in  a  war  which  broke  out  between  him 
and  Wagsham  Gobaze,  the  latter  was  defeated,  and  his 
territory  taken  possession  of  by  the  conqueror.  In  1872 
Kassai  was  crowned  king  of  Abyssinia  with  great  ceremony 
at  Axam,  under  the  title  of  King  Johannes.  In  that  year  the 
governor  of  Massowah,  Munzinger  Bey,  a  Swiss,  by  com- 
mand of  the  Viceroy  of  Egypt,  marched  an  armed  force 
against  the  Bogos  country.  The  king  solicited  the  aid  of 
England,  Germany,  and  Russia  against  the  Egyptians,  whose 
troops,  however,  were  after  a  time  withdrawn.  Sir  Bartla 
Frere,  in  the  blue-book  published  respecting  his  mission  to 
Zanzibar,  is  of  the  opinion  that  England,  having  regard  to 
the  passage  to  India  by  the  Red  Sea,  should  not  have  wholly 
abandoned  Abyssinix  (d.  k.) 

(See  Travels  of  Bruce,  1768-73;  Lord  Valentia,  Salt, 
1809-10;  Combes  et  Tamisier,  1835-37;  Ferret  et  Galmier, 
1839-43;  Ruppell,  1831-33;  MM. Th. Lefebvre,  A  Petit,et 
Quartin-Dillon,  1839-43;  Major  Harris;  Gobat;  Dr  C. 
Beke;  Isenberg  and  Krapf,  1839-42;  Mansfield  Parkyns 
Von  Heuglin,  1861-62;  H.  A  Stern,  1860  and  1868 
Dr  Blanc,  1868;  A  Rassam,  1869;  C.  R  Markham,  1869. 
W.  T.  Blanford,  1870;  Recordof  the  Expedition  to  Abyssinia, 
compiled  by  order  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  War,  \>j 
Major  T.  J.  Holland  and  Captain  H.  Hozier,  2  vols.  4to, 
and  plates,  1870;  various  Parliamentary  Papers,  1867.-68.^ 


<?8 


A  C  A  — A  C  A 


ACACIA,  a  genus  of  shrubs  and  trees  Delonging  to 
the  natural  family  Leguuiinosoe  and  the  section  Mimosesj. 
The  flowers  are  small, 
arranged  in  rounded  or 
elongated  clusters.  The 
leaves  are  compound 
pinnate  in  general  In 
some  instances,  how- 
ever, more  especially  in 
the  Australian  species, 
the  leaf-stalks  become 
flattened,  and  serve  the 
purpose  of  leaves;  the 
plants  are  hence  call- 
ed leafless  Acacias,  and 
as  t'ta  leaf-stalks  are 
often  placed  with  their 
edges  towards  the  sky 
and  earth,  they  do  not 
intercept  light  so  fully 
as  ordinary  trees.  There  are  about  420  species  of 
Acacias  widely  scattered  over  tho  warmer  regions  of  the 
globe.  They  abound  in  Australia  and  Africa.  Various 
species,  such  as  Acacia  vera,  arabica,  Ekrenbergii,  and 
tortilis,  yield  gum  arabic ;  while  Acacia  Verek,  Seyal,  and 
Adansonii  furnish  a  similar  gum,  called  gum  Senegal.  These 
species  are  for  the  most  part  natives  of  Arabia,  the  north- 
•utern  part  of  Africa,  and  the  East  Indies.     The  wattles 


Leaf  of-  Acacia  heteropkylla. 


of  Australia  are  species  of  Acacia  with  astringent  barks. 
Acacia  dcalbata  is  used  for  tanning.  An  astringent 
medicine,  called  catechu  or  cutch,  is  piocured  from  several 
species,  but  more  especially  horn.' Acacia  Catechu,  by  boiling 
down  the  wood  and  evaporating  the  solution  so  as  to  get 
an  extract.  The  bark  of  Acacia  arabica,  under  the 
name  of  Babul  or  Babool,  is  used  in  Scinde  for  tanning. 
Acacia  formosa  supplies  the  valuable  Cuba  timber  called 
sabicu.  Acacia  Seyal  is  the  plant  which  is  supposed  to  be 
the  shittah  tree  of  the  Bible,  which  supplied  shittim-wuod. 
The  pods  of  Acacia  nilotica,  under  the  name  of  neb-neb,  are 
used  by  tanners.  The  seeds  of  Acacia  Niopo  are  roasted 
and  used  as  snuff  in  South  America.  The  seeds  of  all  tho 
varieties  of  Acacia  in  South  Australia  to  the  west  called 
Nundo,  are  used  as  food  after  being  roasted.  Acacia 
melanoxylon,  black  wood  of  Australia,  sometimes  called 
light  wood,  attains  a  great  size ;  its  wood  is  used  for 
furniture,  and  receives  a  high  polish.  Acacia  homalophylla, 
myall  wood,  yields  a  fragrant  timber,  used  for  ornamental 
purposes.  A  kind  of  Acacia  is  called  in  Australia  Bricklow. 
In  common  language  the  term  Acacia  is  often  applied  to 
species  of  the  genus  Robinia,  which  belongs  also  to  the 
Leguminous  family,  but  is  placed  in  a  different  section. 
Robinia  Pseudo-acacia,  or  false  Acacia,  is  cultivated  in 
the  milder  parts  of  Britain,  and  forms  a  large  tree,  with 
beautiful  pink  pea-like  blossoms.  The  tree  is  sometimes 
called  the  Locust  tree. 


ACADEMY 


ACADEMY,'  aKaSjJ/icta,1  a  suburb  of  Athens  to  the  north, 
forming  part  of  the  Ceramicus,  about  a  mile  beyond 
the  gate  named  Dypilum.  It  was.  said  to  have  belonged 
to  the  hero  Academus,  but  tho  derivation  of  the  word  is 
unknown.  It  was  surrounded  with  a  wall  by  Hipparchus, 
and  adorned  with  walks,  groves,  and  fountains  by  Cimon, 
the  son  of  Miltiades,  who  at  his  death  bequeathed  it  as  a 
public  pleasure-ground  to  bis  fellow-citizens.  The  Academy 
was  the  resort  of  Plato,  who  possessed  a  small  estate  in  the 
neighbourhood.  Here  he  taught  for  nearly  fifty  years,  till 
his  death  in  348  b.o.  ;  and  from  these  "groves  of  the 
Academy  where  Plato  taught  the  truth,"2  his  school,  as 
distinguished  from  the  Peripatetics,  received  the  name  of 
the  Academics. 

The  same  name  (Academia)  was  in  after  times  given  by 
Cicero  to  his  villa  or  country-house  near  Puteoli,  There 
was  composed  his  famous  dialogue,  The  Academic  Ques- 
tions. ' 

Of  the  academic  school  of  philosophy,  in  so  far  as  it 
diverged  from  the  doctrines  of  its  great  master  see  Plato), 
we  must  treat  very  briefly,  referring  the  reader  for  parti- 
culars to  the  founders  of  the  various  schools,  whose  names 
we  shall  have  occasion  to  mention. 

The  Academy  lasted  from  the  days  of  Plato  to  those  of 
Cicero.  As  to  the  number  of  successive  schools,  the  critics 
are  not  agreed.  Cicero  himself  and  Varro  recognised  only 
two,  the  old  and  the  new;  Sextus  Empiricus  adds  a, third, 
the  middlb;  others  a  fourth,  that  of  Philo  and  Charmida3  ; 
and  some  even  a  fifth,  the  Academy  of  Antiochus. 

Of  the  old  Academy,  the  principal  leaders  were  Speusip- 
pus, Plato's  sister's  son,  and  his  immediate  successor; 
Xenocrates  of  Chalcedon,  who  with  Speusippus  accompanied 
Plato  in  his  journey  to  Sicily;  Polemo,  a  dissolute  yo-ing 

The  bye-form  iMinpi'o,  which  occurs  in  Diogenes  Laertius,  is  pro- 
bably a  rationalistic  attempt  to  interpret  the  word,  such  as  we  com- 
monly meet  with  in  the  writings  of  Plato 
«  Horace,  Ep.  ii.  2,  4i. 


Athenian,  who  came  to  laugh  at  Xenocrates,  and  remained 
to  listen  (Horace,  Sat.,  ii.  3,  253);  Crates,  and  Crantor,  the 
latter  of  whom  wrote  a  treatise,  wept  xcVfovs,  praised  by 
Cicero.  Speusippus,  Like  the  Pythagoreans,  with  whom 
Aristotle  compares  him,  denied  that  tho  Platonic  Good 
could  be  the  first  principle  of  things,  for  (he  said)  the 
Good  is  not  like  the  germ  which  gives  birth  to  plants  and 
animals,  but  is  only  to  be  found  in  already  existing  things. 
He  therefore  derived  the  universe  from  a  primeval  indeter- 
minate unit,  distinct  from  the  Good;  from  this  unit  he 
deduced  three  principles — one  for  numbers,  one  for  magni- 
tude, and  one  for  the  soul.  The  Deity  he  conceived  as 
that  living  force  which  rules  all  and  resides  everywhere. 
Xenocrates,  though  like  Speusippus  infected  with  Pythx- 
goreanism,  was  the  most  faithful  of  Plato's  successors.  He 
distinguished  three  essences :  the  sensible,  the  intelligible, 
and  a  third,  compounded  of  the  other  two.  The  sphere  of 
the  first  is  all  below  the  heavens,  of  the  second  aLl  beyond 
the  heavens,  of  the  third  heaven  itself.  To  each  of  these 
three  spheres  one  of  our  faculties  corresponds.  To  the  sen- 
sible, sense;  to  the  int'elligible,  intellect  or  reason;  to  the 
mixed  sphere,  opinion  (S6$a).  So  far  he  closely  follows 
the  psychology  and  cosmogeny  of  his  master;  but  Cicero 
notes  as  the  characteristic  of  both  Speusippus  and  Xeno- 
crates, the  abandonment  of  the  Socratic  principle  of 
hesitancy. 

Of  the  remaining  three,  the  same  writer  (who  is  our  prin- 
cipal authority  for  the  history  of  the  Academic  school)  tells 
us  that  they  preserved  the  Platonic  doctrine,  but  emphasised 
the  moral  part.  On  the  old  Academy  he  pronounces  the 
following  eulogium  (De  Fin.  v.  3) ;  "  Their  writings  and 
method  contain  all  liberal  learning,  all  history,  all  polite 
discourse;  and  besides,  they  embrace  such  a  variety  of 
arts,  that  no  one  can  undertake  any  noble  career  without 
their  aid.  ....  In  a  word,  the  Academy  is,  as  it  were,  the 
workshop  of  every  artist."  Modern  criticism  has  not  en- 
dorsed this  high  estimate.     They  preserved,  it  is  true,  and 


ACADEMY 


63 


elaborated  many  details  of  the  Platonic  teaching,  which  wb 
couia  ill  have  spared;  but  of  Plato's  originality  and  specu- 
lative power,  of  his  poetry  and  enthusiasm,  they  inherited 
nothin";  "nor  amid  all  the  learning  which  has  been  pro- 
fusely lavished  upon  investigating  their  tenets,  is  there  a 
single  deduction  calculated  to  elucidate  distinctly  the 
character  of  their  progress  or  regression."1  '  There  is  a 
saying  of  Polemo's,  which  will  illustrate  their  virtual 
abandonment  of  philosophy  proper :  "  We  should  exercise 
ourselves  in  business,  not  in  dialectical  speculation." 

Arcesilaus,  the  successor  of  Crates,  the  disciple  of  Theo- 
phrastus  and  Polemo,  was  the  founder  of  the  second  or 
middle  Academy.  He  professed  himself  the  strict  fol- 
lower of  Plato,  and  seems  to  have  been  sincerely  of  opinion 
that  his  was  nothing  but  a  legitimate  development  of  the 
true  Platonic  system.  He  followed  the  Socratic  method 
of  teaching  in  dialogues ;  and,  like  Socrates,  left  no  writ- 
ings,— at  least  the  ancients  were  not  acquainted  with  any. 
But  we  have  no  evidence  that  he  maintained  the  ideal 
theory  of  Plato,  and  from  the  general  tendency  of  his 
teaching  it  is  probable  that  he  overlooked  it.  He  affirmed 
that  neither  our  senses  nor  our  mind  can  attain  to  any 
certainty;  in  all  we  must  suspend  our  judgment;  proba- 
bility is  the  guide  of  life.  Cicero  tells  us  that  he  was 
more  occupied  iu  disputing  the  opinions  of  others  than  in 
advancing  any  of  his  own.  Arcesilaus  is,  in  fact,  the 
founder  of  that  academic  scepticism  which  was  developed 
and  systematised  by  Carneades,  the  founder  of  the  third 
or  new  Academy.  He  was  the  chief  opponent  of  the 
Stoics  and  their  doctrine  of  certitude.  This  is  attested  by 
a  well-known  saying  of  his :  "If  there  had  been  no  Chry- 
sippus,  there  would  have  been  no  Carneades."  To  the 
Stoical  theory  of  perception,  the  tfravrao-ia.  KaTaXrprriK-rj,  by 
which  they  expressed  a  conviction  of  certainty  arising 
from  impressions  so  strong  as  to  amount  to  science,  he 
opposed  the  doctrine  of  o.KaToXr)[j,La,  which  denied  any 
necessary  correspondence  between  perceptions  and  the 
objects  perceived.  But  while  denying  the  possibility  of 
any  knowledge  of  things  in  themselves,  he  saved  himself 
from  absolute  scepticism  by  the  doctrine  of  probability  or 
verisimilitude,  which  may  serve  as  a  practical  guide  in  life. 
Thus  he  announced  as  his  criterion  of  truth  an  imagination 
or  impression  (<f>avTaa-ui)  at  once  credible,  irrefragable,  and 
attested  by  comparison  with  other  impressions.  The  wise 
man  might  be  permitted  to  hold  an  opinion,  though  he 
allowed  that  that  opinion  might  be  false.  In  ethics,  how- 
ever, he  appeared  as  the  pure  sceptic.  On  his  visit  to 
Rome  as  an  ambassador  from  Athens,  be  alternately  main- 
tained and  denied  in  his  public  disputations  the  existence 
of  justice,  to  the  great  scandal  of  Cato  and  all  honest 
citizens. 

On  the  fourth  and  fifth  Academies,  we  need  not  dwell 
long.  Philo  and  Antiochus  both  taught  Cicero,  and  with- 
out doubt  communicated  to  him  that  mild  scepticism,  that 
eclecticism  compounded  of  almost  equal  sympathy  with 
Plato  and  Zeno,  which  is  the  characteristic  of  his  philo- 
sophical writings.  The  Academy  exactly  corresponded  to 
the  moral  and  political  wants  of  Rome.  With  no  genius 
for  speculation,  the  better  Romans  of  that  day  were  con- 
tent to  embrace  a  system  which,  though  resting  on  no 
philosophical  basis,  and  compounded  of  heterogeneous 
dogmas,  offered  notwithstanding  a  secure  retreat  from 
religious  scepticism  and  political  troubles.  "  My  words," 
says  Cicero,  speaking  as  a  true  Academician,  "do  not 
proclaim  the  truth,  like  a  Pythian  priestess;  but  I  conjec- 
ture what  is  probable,  like  a  plain  man ;  and  where,  I  ask, 
am  I  to  search  for  anything  more  than  verisimilitude  ?" 
And  again :  "  The  characteristic  of  the  Academy  is  never  to 

>  Archer  Butler.  Led.  on  Anc.  PhiL  ii.  315. 


interpose  one's  judgment,  to  approve  what  scorns  most  pro- 
bable, to  compare  together  different  opinions,  to  see  what 
may  b*  advanced  on  either  sido,  and  to  leave  one's  listeners 
free  to  judge  without  pretending  to  dogmatise." 

Academy,  in  its  modem  acceptation,  signifies  a  society 
or  corporate  body  of  learned  men,  eotablished  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  science,  literature,  or  the  arts. 

The  first  institution  of  this  sort  we  read  of  in  history 
was  that  founded  at  Alexandria  by  Ptolemy  Soter,  which 
he  named  the  Museum,  pmailov.  After  completing  his 
conquest  of  Egypt,  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  letters  and  science,  and  gathered  about  him  a  large 
body  of  literary  men,  whom  he  employed  in  collecting 
books  and  treasures  of  art.  This  was  the  origin  of  the 
library  of  Alexandria,  the  most  famous  of  the  ancient  world. 
Passing  by  the  academies  which  were  founded  by  the 
Moors  at  Grenada.  Corduba.  and  as  far  east  as  Samarcand, 
the  next  instance  of  an  academy  is  that  founded  by  Charle- 
magne at  the  instigation  of  the  celebrated  Alcuin,  for 
promoting  the  study  of  grammar,  orthography,  rhetoric, 
poetry,  history,  and  mathematics.  In  order  to  equalise  all 
ranks,  each  member  took  the  pseudonj-m  of  some  ancient 
author  or  celebrated  person  of  antiquity.  For  instance, 
Cnariemagne  himself  wa3  David,  Alcuin  became  Flaccus 
Albums.  Though  none  of  the  labours  of  this  academy 
have  come  down  to  us,  it  undoubtedly  exerted  considerable 
influence  in  modelling  the  language  and  reducing  it  to  rules. 

In  the  following  century  Alfred  founded  an  academy  at 
Oxford.  This  was  rather  a  grammar  school  than  a  society 
of  learned  men,  and  from  it  the  University  of  Oxford 
originated. 

But  the  academy  which  may  be  more  justly  considered 
as  the  mother  of  modern  European  academies  is  that  of 
Floral  Games,  founded  at  Toulouse  in  the  year  1325,  by 
Clemens  Isaurus.  Its  object  was  to  distribute  prizes  and 
rewards  to  the  troubadours.  The  prizes  consisted  of 
flowers  of  gold  and  silver.  It  was  first  recognised  by  the 
state  in  1694,  and  confirmed  by  letters-patent  from  the 
king,  and  its  numbers  limited  to  thirty-six.  It  has,  except 
during  a  few  years  of  the  republic,  continued  to  the  present 
day,  and  distributes  annually  the  following  prizes  : — An 
amaranth  of  gold  for  the  best  ode,  a  silver  violet  for  a 
poem  of  sixty  to  one  hundred  Alexandrine  lines,  a  silver 
eglantine  for  the  best  prose  composition,  a  silver  marigold 
for  an  elegy,  and  a  silver  lily  presented  in  the  last  century 
by  M  de  Malpeyre  for  a  hymn  to  the  Virgin. 

It  was  the  Renaissance  which  was  par  excellence  the  era 
of  academies,  and  as  the  Italians  may  be  said  to  have  dis- 
covered anew  the  buried  world  of  literature,  so  it  was  in 
Italy  that  the  first  and  by  far  the  most  numerous  academies 
arose.  The  earliest  of  these  was  the  Platonic  Academy, 
founded  at  Florence  by  Cosmo  de  Medici  for  the  study  of 
the  works  of  Plato,  though  subsequently  they  added  the 
explanation  of  Dante  and  other  Italian  authors. 

Marsilius  Ficinus,  its  principal  ornament,  in  his  Theologica 
Platonica,  developed  a  system,  chiefly  borrowed  from  the 
later  Platonists  of  the  Alexandrian  school,  which,  as  it 
seemed  to  coincide  with  some  of  the  leading  doctrines  of 
Christianity,  was  allowed  by  the  church.  His  Latin  trans- 
lation of  Plato  is  at  once  bteral,  perspicuous,  and  correct; 
and  as  he  had  access  to  MSS.  of  Plato  now  lost,  it  has  in 
several  places  enabled  us  to  recover  the  original  reading. 
I  After  the  expulsion  of  the  Medici  from  Florence,  the 
Platonic  Academy  was  dissolved. 

In  giving  some  account  of  the  principal  academies  ol 
Europe,  which  is  all  that  this  article  professes  to  do,  we 
shall,  as  far  as  possible,  arrange  them  under  different  heads, 
according  to—  1st,  The  object  which  they  were  designed 
to  promote ,  2d,  The  countries  to  which  they  belong. 
This  classification,  though,  perhaps,  the  best  available,  it 


70 


ACADEMY 


necessarily  imperfect,  inasmuch  as  several  of  those  we  shall 
mention  were  at  once  literary  and  scientific,  and  many 
associations  for  similar  objects  -were  known  by  some  other 
na;ue.  Thus,  with  the  doubtful  exception  of  the  Royal 
Academy  of  Arts,  England  has  no  academies  in  the  proper 
sense  of  the  word.  For  those  institutions  in  England  which 
answer  to  Italian  academies,  we  must  refer  the  reader  to 
th°  article  Society. 

I  Scientific  Academies. — Italy. — The  first  society 
for  the  prosecution  of  physical  science  was  that  established 
at  Naples,  1560,  under  the  presidency  of  Bapti6ta  Porta. 
It  was  called  Acadcmia  Secrelorum  Naturae  or  de  Sccrcti. 
It  arose  from  a  meeting  of  some  scientific  friends,  who 
assembled  at  Forta's  house,  and  called  themselves  the  Olinn. 
No  member  was  admitted  who  had  not  made  some  useful 
discovery  in  medicine  or  natural  philosophy  The  name 
suggested  to  an  ignorant  public  the  prosecution  of  magic 
and  the  black  arts.  Porta  went  to  Rome  to  justify  himself 
before  Paul  III.  He  was  acquitted  by  the  Pope,  but  the 
academy  was  dissolved,  and  he  was  ordered  to  abstain  for 
the  future  from  the  practice  of  all  illicit  arts. 

At  Rome  he  was  admitted  to  the  Lincei,  an  academy 
founded  by  Federigo  Cesi,  the  Marcese  di  Monticelli.  The 
device  of  the  Lincei  was  a  lynx  with  its  eyes  turned  towards 
leaven  tearing  a  Cerberus  with  its  claws,  intimating  that 
they  were  prepared  to  do  battle  with  error  and  falsehood. 
Their  motto  was  the  verse  of  Lucretius  describing  rain 
dropping  from  a  cloud — "Redit  agmine  dulcL"  Besides 
Porta,  Galileo  and  Colonna  were  enrolled  among  its  mem- 
bers. The  society  devoted  itself  exclusively  to  physical 
science.  Porta,  under  its  auspices,  published  his  great  work, 
llagice  Naturalis  libri  xx.,  1589,  in  fol. ;  his  Phytogno- 
monica,  or,  the  occult  virtue  of  plants ;  his  Be  Humana  Phy- 
tiognomia,hoxa  which  Lavater  largely  borrowed ;  also  various 
works  on  optics  and  pneumatics,  in  which  he  approached 
the  true  theory  of  vision.  He  is  even  said  by  some  to 
have  anticipated  Galileo  in  the  invention  of  the  telescope. 

But  the  principal  monument  still  remaining  of  the  zeal 
and  industry  of  Cesi  and  his  academy  is  the  Phytobasanos, 
a  compendium  of  the  natural  history  of  Mexico,  written  by 
a  Spaniard,  Hernendez.  During  fifty  years  the  IIS.  had 
been  neglected,  when  Cesi  discovered  it,  and  employed 
Terentio,  Fabro,  and  Colcnna,  all  Lynceans,  to  edit  it  and 
enrich  it  with  notes  and  emendations.  Cesi's  own  great 
work,  Tlieatrum  Natural,  §was  never  published  The  MS. 
still  exists  in  the  Albani  Library  at  Rome.  After  Cesi's 
death,  1630,  the  academy  languished  for  some  years  under 
the  patronage  of  Urban  VI IL  An  academy  of  the  same 
name  was  inaugurated  at  Rome  1784,  and  still  flourishes. 
It  numbers  among  its  members  some  of  our  English  philo- 
sophers. But  the  fame  of  the  Lincei  was  far  outstripped 
1  y  that  of  the  Accademia  del  Cimento,  established  in 
l'lorence  1 657,  under  the  patronage  of  the  Grand  Duke 
Ferdinand  II.,  at  the  instigation  of  his  brother  Leopold, 
acting  under  the  advice  of  Viviani,  one  of  the  greatest 
geometers  of  Europe.  The  object  of  this  academy  was 
(as  the  name  implies)  to  make  experiments  and  relate  them, 
abjuring  all  preconceived  notions.  Unfortunately  for 
science,  it  flourished  for  only  ten  years.  Leopold  in  16G7 
was  made  a  cardinal,  and  the  society  languished  without 
its  head.  It  has,  however,  left  a  record  of  its  labours  in 
a  volume  containing  an  account  of  the  experiments,  pub- 
lished by  the  secretary  in  1667.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a 
beautifully  printed  folio,  with  numerous  full  print  pages  of 
illustrations.  It  contains,  among  others,  those  on  the 
supposed  inctrmpressibility  of  water,  on  the  pressure  of  the 
air,  and  on  the  universal  gravity  of  bodies.  Torricelli,  the 
inventor  of  the  barometer,  was  one  of  its  members. 

Passing  by  numerous  other  Italian  Academies  of  Science, 
we  come  to  those  uf  modern  times. 


The  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Turin  originated  In 
1757  as  a  private  society;  in  1759  it  published  a  volume 

of  Jfiseellanea  Pliilosoplaco-Mathemalica.  Huciitatis  pricaloe 
Taurinensis  ;  shortly  after  it  was  constituted  a  Royal 
Society  by  Charles  Emanuel  III.,  nnd  in  1783  Victor 
Amadous  III.  made  it  a  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences.  It 
consists  ol  40  members,  residents  of  Turin,  20  non- 
resident, and  20  foreign  members.  It  publishes  eaclt 
year  a  quarto  volume  of  proceedings,  and  has  crowned 
and  awarded  prizes  to  many  learned  works. 

France. — The  Old  Academy  of  Sciences  originated  in  mnch 
the  same  way  as  the  French  Academy.  A  privute  society 
of  scientific  men  had  for  some  thirty  years  been  accustomed 
to  meet  first  at  the  house  of  Montmort,  the  niaitro  dc* 
requites,  afterwards  at  that  of  Thcveuot,  a  great  traveller 
and  man  of  universal  genius,  in  order  to  converse  on  their 
studies,  and  commuuicate  their  discoveries.  To  this 
society  belonged,  among  others,  Descartcis,  Gasscudi, 
Blaise  Pascal,  and  his  father.  Hobbe.s,  the  philosn|ibvr 
of  Malmesbury,  was  presented  to  it  during  his  vi^it  to 
Paris  in  1640.  Colbert,  just  as  Richelieu  in  the  case 
of  the  French  Academy,  conceived  the  idea  of  giving  an 
official  status  to  this  body  of  learned  men.  Seven  eminent 
mathematicians,  among  whom  were  Huyglien.t  and  De 
Bessy,  the  author  of  a  famous  treatise  on  magic  squares, 
were  chosen  to  form  the  nucleus  of  the  new  society.  A 
certain  number  of  chemists,  physicians,  and  anatomists 
were  subsequently  added  Pensions  were  granted  by 
Louis  XIV.  to  each  of  the  members,  and  a  fund  for 
instruments  and  experimentations  placed  at  their  disposal 
They  commenced  their  session  the  22d  December  1GCG 
in  the  Royal  Library.  They  met  twice  a  week — the 
mathematicians  on  the  Wednesdays,  the  physicists  (as  the 
naturalists  and  physiologists  were  then  called)  on  th' 
Saturdays.  Duhamel  was  appointed  secretary  by  the 
king.  This  post  he  owed  more  to  his  polished  Latinity 
than  to  hi3  scientific  attainments,  all  the  proceedings 
of  the  society  being  recorded  in  Latin.  A  treasurer 
was  also  nominated,  who,  notwithstanding  his  pretentious 
title,  was  nothing  more  than  conservator  of  the  scientific 
instruments,  &c.  At  first  the  academy  was  rather  3 
laboratory  and  observatory  than  an  academy  proper 
Experiments  were  undertaken  in  common  and  results 
discussed.  Several  foreign  savants,  in  particular  the 
Danish  astronomer  Rcemer,  joined  the  society,  attracted 
by  the  liberality  of  the  Grand  Monarque;  and  the  German 
physician  and  geometer  Tschirnhausen  and  Sir  Isaac 
Newton  were  made  foreign  associates.  The  death  of 
Colbert,  who  was  succeeded  by  Louvois,  exercised  a  disas- 
trous effect  on  the  fortunes  of  the  academy.  The  labours 
of  the  academicians  were  diverted  from  the  pursuit  of 
pure  science  to  such  works  as  the  construction  of  fountains 
and  cascades  at  Versailles,  and  the  mathematicians  were 
employed  to  calculate  the  odds  of  the  games  of  lansquenet 
and  bassett.  In  1699  the  academy  was  reconstituted 
by  M.  de  Pontchartrain,  under  whose  department  as 
secretary  of  state  the  academies  came.  By  its  new  con- 
stitution it  consisted  of  ten  honorary  members,  men  of 
high  rank,  who  interested  themselves  in  science,  fifteen 
pensionaries,  who  were  the  working  members,  viz.,  three 
geometricians,  and  the  same  number  of  astronomers, 
mechanicians,  anatomists,  and  chemists.  Each  section  of 
three  had  two  associates  attached  to  it,  and  besides,  each 
pensionary  had  the  power  of  naming  a  pupil.  there  were 
eight  foreign  and  four  free  associates.  The  offjeers  were, 
a  president  and  a  vice-president,  named 'by  the  king  from 
among  the  honorary  memberc,  and  a  secretary  and  treasurer 
chosen  from  the  pensionaries,  who  held  their  offices  for 
life.  Fontenelle,  a  man  of  wit,  and  rather  a  populariser  of 
sciences  than  an  original  investigator,  succeeded  Duhamel  r 


ACADEMY 


71 


secretary.  The  constitution,  as  is  evident,  was  purely  aristc- 
cratical,  and  unlike  that  of  the  French  Academy,  in  which 
the  principle  of  equality  among  the  members  was  never 
violated.  Science  was  not  yet  strong  enough  to  dispense 
with  the  patronage  of  the  great.  The  two  leading  spirits 
of  the  academy  at  this  period  were  Clairaut  and  Reaumur. 
Clairaut  was  the  first  to  explain  capillary  attraction,  and 
predicted  within  a  few  days  of  the  correct  time  the  return 
of  113116/3  comet.  His  theory  on  the  figure  of  the  earth 
was  only  superseded  by  Laplace's  Mecanique  Celeste. 
Reaumur  was  principally  distinguished  by  his  practical 
discoveries,  and  a  thermometer  in  common  use  at  the 
present  day  bears  his  name. 

To  trace  the  subsequent  fortunes  of  this  academy  would 
far  exceed  our  limits,  being  equivalent  to  writing  the  history 
■of  the  rise  and  progress,  of  science  in  France.  It  has 
reckoned  among  its  members  Laplace,  BufTon,  Lagrange, 
D'Alembert,  Lavoisier,  and  Jussieu,  the  father  of  modern 
botany.  Those  of  our  readers  who  wish  for  further  informa- 
tion we  would  refer  to  M.  Alfred  Maury's  excellent  history. 

On  21st  December  1792,  the  old  Academy  of  Sciences 
met  for  the  last  time.  Many  of  the  members  fell  by  the 
guillotine,  many  were  imprisoned,  more  reduced  to  indi- 
gence. The  aristocracy  of  talent  was  almost  as  much 
detested  and  persecuted  by  the  Revolution  as  that  of  rank. 

In  1795  the  Convention  decided  on  founding  an  Insti- 
tute, which  was  to  replace  all  the  academies.  The  first 
class  of  the  Institute  corresponded  closely  to  the  old 
academy.     See  Institute. 

In  1816  the  Academy  was  reconstituted  a3  a  branch  of 
the  Institute.  The  new  academy  has  reckoned  among  its 
members,  besides  many  other  brilliant  names,  Carnot  the 
engineer,  the  physicians  FresneL  Ampere,  Arago,  Riot,  the 
chemists  Gay-Lussac  and  Thenard,  the  zoologists  G.  Cuvier 
and  the  two  Geoffroy  Saint-Hilaires. 

The  French  had  also  considerable  academies  in  most  of 
their  large  towns.  Montpellier,  for  example,  had  a  Royal 
Academy  of  Sciences,  founded  in  1706  by  Louis  XIV.,  on 
nearly  the  same  footing  as  that  at  Paris,  of  which,  indeed, 
it  was  in  some  measure  the  counterpart.  It  was  recon- 
stituted in  1847,  and  organised  under  three  sections — 
medicine,  science,  and  letters.  It  has  continued  to  publish 
annual  reports  of  considerable  value.  Toulouse  also  had 
an  academy  under  the  denomination  of  Lanternists;  and 
thore  were  analogous  institutions  at  Ximes,  Aries,  Lyons, 
Dijon,  Bordeaux,  and  other  places.  Of  these  several,  we 
believe,  arc  still  in  existence,  if  not  in  activity. 

Before  passing  on  to  German  academies,  we  may  here 
notice  a  private  scientific  and  philosophical  society,  the 
precursor  of  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences.  It  does  not 
appear  to  have  had  any  distinguishing  name;  but  the  pro- 
moter of  it  was  Eusebius  Renaudot,  Counsellor  and  Phy- 
siciar  in  Ordinary  to  the  King  of  France,  and  Doctor 
Regent  of  the  Faculty  of  Physic  at  Paris,  by  whom  a  full 
account  of  its  conferences  was  published,  translated  into 
English  by  G.  Havers,  1664.  In  the  preface  it  is  said  to 
be  "  a  production  of  an  assembly  of  the  choicest  wits  of 
France."  We  will  quote  a  few  of  the  subjects  of  these 
discussions  in  order  to  show  the  character  of  the  society : — 
" Why  the  loadstone  draws  iron;"  "Whether  the  soul's 
immortality  is  demonstrable  by  natural  reason ;"  "  Of  the 
little  hairy  girl  lately  seen  in  this  city."  On  subjects  of 
popular  superstition  their  views  were  far  in  advance  of  the 
time.  Of  judicial  astrology  it  is  said,  "Why  should  we 
seek  in  heaven  the  causes  of  accidents  which 'befall  us  if 
we  can  find  them  on  earth?"  Of  the  philosopher's  stone — 
"  This  most  extravagant  conceit,  that  it  is  the  panacea, 
Coined  to  the  other  absurdities  of  that  chimerical  art,  make3 
us  believe  that  it  is  good  for  nothing  but  to  serve  for 
imaginary  consolation  to  the  miserable." 


Germany. — The  .Collegium  Curioswn  was  a  scientific 
society,  founded  by  J.  C.  Sturm,  professor  of  mathematics 
and  natural  philosophy  in  the  University  of  Altorff,  in 
Franconia,  in  1672,  on  the  plan  of  the  Accademia  del 
Cimento.  It  originally  consisted  of  20  members,  and  con- 
tinued to  flourish  long  after  the  death  of  its  founder.  The 
early  labours  of  the  society  were  devoted  to  the  repetition 
(under  varied  conditions)  of  the  most  notable  experiments 
of  the  day,  or  to  the  discussion  of  the  results.  Two  volumes 
of  proceedings  were  published  by  Sturm  in  1676  and  1685 
respectively.  The  Programma  Invitalorium  is  dated  June 
3,  1672;  and  Sturm  therein  urges  that,  as  the  day  of  dis- 
putatious philosophy  had  given  way  to  that  of  experi- 
mental philosophy,  and  as,  moreover,  scientific  societies  had 
been  founded  at  Florence,  London,  and  Rome,  it  would 
therefore  seem  desirable  to  found  one  in  Germany,  for  the 
attainment  of  which  end.  he  requests  the  co-operation  of 
the  learned. 

The  work  of  1676,  entitled  Collegium  Experimentale  sivt 
Curiosum,  commences  with  an  account  of  the  diving-bell, 
"a  new  invention;"  next  follow  chapters  on  the  camera 
obscura,  the  Torricellian  experiment,  the  air-pump,  micro- 
scope, telescope,  &c.  The  two  works  have  been  pronounced 
by  a  competent  authority  J  to  constitute  a  nearer  approach 
to  a  text-book  of  the  physic3  of  tb.6  period  than  any  pre- 
ceding work. 

The  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Berlin  was  founded 
in  1700  by  Frederic  I.  after  Leibnitz'  comprehensive  plan, 
but  was  not  opened  till  1711.  Leibnitz  was  the  first  presi- 
dent. Under  Maupertuis,  who  succeeded  him,  it  did  good 
service.  Its  present  constitution  dates  from  January  24, 
1812.  It  is  divided  into  four  sections — physical,  mathe- 
matical, philosophical  and  historical  Each  section  is  under 
a  paid  secretary  elected  for  life ,  each  secretary  presides  in 
turn  for  a  quarter  of  a  year.  The  members  are — 1st,  Re- 
gular members  who  are  paid;  these  hold  general  meetings 
every  Thursday,  and  sectional  meetings  every  Monday.  2d, 
Foreign  members,  not  to  exceed  24  in  number.  .  3d,  Hon- 
orary members  and  correspondents.  Since  1811  it  has 
published  yearly,  Memoires  de  VAcademie  Eoyale  des  Science* 
et  Belles  Leltres  d  Berlin.  For  its  scientific  and  philoso- 
phical attainments  the  names  of  W.  and  A.  v.  Humboldt, 
Ideles,  Savigny,  Schleiermacher,  Bopp,  and  Ranke,  will 
sufficiently  vouch. 

The  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Mannlieim  was  established 
by  Charlc3  Theodore,  Elector  Palatine,  in  the  year  1755. 
The  plan  of  this  institution  was  furnished  by  Schaepflin, 
according  to  which  it  was  divided  into  two  classes,  the  his- 
torical and  physical  In  1780  a  sub-division  of  the  latter 
took  place  into  the  physical,  properly  so-called,*  and  the 
meteorological  The  meteorological  observations  are  pub- 
lished separately,  under  the  title  of  Ephemerides  Societatis 
Meteorological  PaJatince.  The  historical  and  physical  me- 
moirs are  published  under  the  title  of  Acta  Academic 
Theodoro-Palatince. 

The  Electoral  Bavarian  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Munich 
was  established  iu  1759,  and  publishes  its  memoirs  under 
the  title  of  Abhandlungen  der  Baieriscken  Akademie.  Soon 
after  the  Elector  of  Bavaria  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  king, 
tho  Bavarian  government,  by  his  orders,  directed  its  atten- 
tion to  a  new  organisation  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of 
Munich.  The  design  of  the  king  was,  to  render  its  labours 
more  extensive  than  those  of  any  similar  institution  in 
Europe,  by  giving  to  it,  under  the  direction  of  the  ministry, 
the  immediate  superintendence  over  all  the  establishments 
for  public  instruction  in  the  kingdom  of  Bavaria.  The  Privy- 
Councillor  Jacobi,  a  man  of  most  excellent  character,  and  of 
considerable  scientific  attainments,  was  appointed  president 

1  Mr  Q.  F.  RodwcH,  la  the  Chemical  yews.  June  21, 1867. 


72 


iCADilMY 


The  Electoral  Academy  at  Erfurt  was  established  by  the 
Elector  of  Mentz,  in  the  year  1754.  It  consists  of  a  pro- 
tector, president,  director,  assessors,  adjuncts,  and  asso- 
ciates. Its  object  is  to  promote  the  useful  sciences.  The 
memoirs  were  originally  published  in  Latin,  but  afterwards 
In  German.  The  Hessian  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Giessen 
publish  their  transactions  under  the  title  of  Acta  Philo- 
topkico-AIedica  Academim  Scientiarum  Principalis  Ilessiacm. 
In  the  Netherlands  there  are  scientific  academies  at  Flush- 
ing and  Brussels,  both  of  which  have  published  their 
transactions; 

Russia, — The  Imperial  Academy  of  Sciences  at  St 
Petersburg  was  projected  by  the  Czar  Peter  the  Great. 
Having  in  the  course  of  his  travels  observed  \he  advan- 
tage of  public  societies  for  the  encouragement  and  promo- 
tion of  literature,  ho  formed  the  •  design  ot  founding  an 
academy  of  sciences  at  St  Petersburg.  By  the  advice 
of  Wolff  and  Leibnitz,  whom  he  consulted  on  this  occasion, 
the  society  was  accordingly  regulated,  and  several  learned 
foreigners  were  invited  to  become  members.  Peter  him- 
self drew  the  plan,  and  signed  it  on  the  10th  of  February 
1724;  but  he  was  prevented,  by  the  suddenness  of  his 
death,  from  carrying  it  into  execution.  His  decease,  how- 
ever, did  not  prevent  its  completion;  for  on  the  21st  of 
December  1725,  Catharine  I.  established  it  according  to 
Peter's  plan,  and  on  the  27th  of  the  same  month  the  society 
assembled  for  the  first  time.  On  the  1st  of  August  1726, 
Catharino  honoured  the  meeting  with  her  presence,  when 
Professor  Bulfinger,  a  German  naturalist  of  great  eminence, 
pronounced  an  oration  upon  the  advances  made  in  the 
theory  of  magnetic  variations,  and  also  on  the  progress  of 
research  in  so  far  as  regarded  the  discovery  of  the  longi- 
tude., L  short  time  afterwards  the  empress  settled  a  fund 
of  £4982  per  annum  for  the  support  of  the  academy;  and 
15  members,  all  eminent  for  their  learning  and  talents, 
were  admitted  and  pensioned,  under  the  title  of  professors 
in  the  various  branches  of  science  and  literature.  The  most 
distinguished  of  these  professors  were  Nicholas  and  Daniel 
Bernoulli;,  the  two  De  Lisles.  Bulfinger,  and  Wolff. 

During  the  short  reign  of  Pet"-  U.  the  salaries  of  the 
members  were  discontinued,  and  the  academy  utterly 
neglected  by  the  Court;  but  it  was  again  patronised  by  the 
Empress  Anne,  who  even  added  a  seminary  for  the  educa- 
tion of  youth  under  the  superintendence  of  the  professors. 
Both  institutions  flourished  for ,  some  time  under  the 
direction  of  Baron  Korf ;  but  upon  his  death,  towards  the 
«nd  of  Anne's  reign,  an  ignorant  person  being  appointed 
president,  many  of  the  most  able  members  quitted  Russia. 
At  the  accession  of  Elizabeth,  however,  new  life  and  vigour 
were  infused  into  the  academy.  The  original  plan  was 
enlarged  and  improved ;  some  of  the  most  learned  foreigners 
were  again  drawn  to  St  Petersburg;  and,  what  was  considered 
as  a  good  omen  for  the  literature  of  Russia,  two  natives, 
Lomonosof  and  Rumovsky,  men  of  genius  and  abilities, 
who  had  prosecuted  their  studies  in  foreign  universities, 
were  enrolled  among  its  members.  Lastly,  the  annual 
income  was  increased  to  £10,059,  and  sundry  other  advan=- 
tages  were  conferred  upon  the  institution. 

The  Empress  (.Hitharine  II.,  with  her  usual  eeal  lor 
promoting  the  diffusion  of  knowledge,  took  this  useful 
society  under  her  immediate  protection.  She  altered  the 
court  of  directors  greatly  to  the  advantage  of  the  whole 
body,  corrected  many  of  its  abuse3,  and  infused  a  new 
vigour  and  spirit  into  their  researches.  By  Catharine's 
particular  recommendation  the  most  ingenious  professors 
visited  the  various  provinces  of  her  vast  dominions ;  and  as 
the  funds  of  the  academy  were  not  sufficient  to  defray  the 
whole  expense  of  these  expeditions,  tho  empress  supplied 
the  deficiency  by  a  grant  of  £2000,  which  was  renewed  as 
occasion  required. 


The  purpose  and  object  of  these  travels  will  -mppir  from 
the  instructions  given  by  the  academy  to  the  several  per- 
sons who  engaged  in  them.  They  wure  ordered  to  institute 
inquiries  respecting  the  different  sorts  of  earths  and  waters; 
the  best  methods  of  cultivating  barren  and  desert  spots; 
the  local  disorders  incident  to  men  and  animals,  together 
with  the  most  efficacious  means  of  relieving  them;  the 
breeding  of  cattle,  particularly  of  sheep;  the  rearing  of  bees 
and  silk-worms;  the  different  places  and  objects  for  fishing 
and  hunting;  minerals  of  all  kinds;  the  arts  and  trades; 
and  the  formation  of  a  Flora  Russica,  or  collection  of  indi- 
genous plants.  They  were  particularly  instructed  to  rectiiy 
the  longitude  and  latitude  of  the  principal  towns;  to  make 
astronomical,  geographical,  and  meteorological  obscrva 
tions;  to  trace  the  courses  of  rivers;  to  construct  the  most 
exact  charts ;  and  to  be  very  distinct  and  accurate  in  re 
marking  and  describing  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
different  races  of  people,  their  dresses,  languages,  anti- 
quities, traditions,  history,  religion;  in  a  word,  to  gain 
every  information  which  might  tend  to  illustrate  the  real 
state  of  the  whole  Russian  empire.  More  ample  instruc- 
tions cannot  well  be  conceived ;  and  they  appear  to  have 
been  very  zealously  and  faithfully  executed.  The  conse- 
quence was  that,  at  that  time,  no  country  could  boast, 
within  the  space  of  so  few  years,  such  a  number  of  excellent 
publications  on  its  internal  state,  its  natural  productions, 
its  topography,  geography,  and  history,  and  on  the  manners, 
customs,  and  languages  of  the  different  tribes  who  inhabit 
it,  as  issued  from  the  press  of  this  academy.  In  its  researches 
in  Asiatic  languages,  and  general  knowledge  of  Oriental 
customs  and  religions,  it  proved  itself  the  worthy  rival  of 
our  own  Royal  Asiatic  Society 

The  first  transactions  of  this  society  were  published  m 
1728,  and  entitled  Commcntarii  Academio?  Scientiarum 
Imperialis  Petropolitana;  ad  annum  1726,  with  a  dedica- 
tion to  Peter  TT.  The  publication  was  continued  -under 
this  form  until  the  year  1747,  when  the  transactions  woro 
called  Xovi  Commcntarii  Academics,  &c.  ;and  in  1777,  the 
academy  again  changed  the  title  into  Acta  Academics  Scitn- 
tiarum  Imperialis  Petropolitana;,  and  likewise  made  some 
alteration  in  the  arrangements  and  plan  of  the  work.  The 
papers,  which  had  been  hitherto  published  in  the  Latin 
language  only,  were  now  written  indifferently  either  in 
that  language  or  in  French,  and  a  preface  added,  entitled 
Partie  Historique,  which  contains  an  account  of  its  pro- 
ceedings, meetings,  the  admission  of  new  members,  and 
other  remarkable  occurrences.  Of  the  Commentaries,  14 
volumes  were  published:  the  first  of  the  New  Commen- 
taries made  its  appearance  in  1750,  and  the  twentieth  in 
1 776.  Under  the  new  title  of  Ada  Acadtmio?,  a  number  of 
volumes  have  been  given  to  the  public;  and  two  are  printed 
every  year.  These  transactions  abound  with  ingenious  and 
elaborate  disquisitions  upon  various  parts  of  science  and 
natural  history;  and  it  may  not  be  an  exaggeration  to  assert, 
that  no  society  in  Europe  has  more  distinguished  itself  for 
the  excellence  of  its  publications,  particularly  in  the  more 
abstruse  parts  of  pure  and  mixed  mathematics. 

Tho  academy  is  still  composed,  as  at  first,  of  15  pro- 
fessors, besides  the  president  and  director.  Each  of  these 
professors  has  a  house  and  an  annual  stipend  of  from  £200 
to  £600.  Besides  the  professors,  there  are  four  adjuncts, 
with  pensions,  who  are  present  at  the  sittings  of  the  society, 
and*  succeed  to  the  first  vacancies.  The  direction  of  the 
academy  is  generally  entrusted  to  a  person  of  distinction. 

The  buildings  and  apparatus  of  this  academy  are  on  a 
vast  scale.  There  is  a  fine  library,  consisting  of  36,000 
curious  books  and  manuscripts  ;  together  with  an  extensive 
museum,  in  which  the  various  branches  of  natural  history, 
&c,  are  distributed  in  different  apartments.  The  latter  is 
extremely  rich  in  native  productions,  having  been  comi- 


ACADEMY 


73 


derably  augmented  by  the  collections  made  by  Pallas, 
Smelin,  Guldenstaedt,  and  other  professors,  during  their 
expeditions,  through  the  various  parts  of  the  Russian  em- 
pire. The  stuffed  animals  and  birds  occupy  one  apartment. 
The  chamber  of  rarities,  the  cabinet  of  coins,  &c,  contain 
innumerable  articles  of  the  highest  curiosity  and  value. 
The  motto  of  the  society  is  exceedingly  modest ;  it  consists 
of  only  one  word,  Paulatim. 

Sweden. — The  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Stockholm,  or  the 
Royal  Swedish  Academy,  owes  its  institution  to  six  persons 
of  distinguished  learning,  among  whom  was  the  celebrated 
Linnaius.  They  originally  met  on  the  2d  of  June  1739, 
when  they  formed  a  private  society,  in  which  some  dis- 
sertations were  read ;  and  in  the  end  of  the  same  year 
their  first  publication  made  its  appearance.  As  the  meet- 
ings continued  and  the  members  increased,  the  society 
cttracted  the  notice  of  the  king;  and,  accordingly,  on  the 
31st  of  March  1741,  it  was  incorporated  under  the  name 
of  the  Royal  Swedish  Academy.  Not  receiving  any  pen- 
sion from  the  crown,  it  is.  merely  under  the  protection  of 
tho  king,  being  directed,  like  our  Royal  Society,  by  its  own 
members.  It  has  now,  however,  a  large  fund,  which  has 
chiefly  arisen  from  legacies  and  other  donationsj  but  a  pro- 
fessor of  experimental  philosophy,  and  two  secretaries,  are 
still  the  only  persons  who  receive  any  salaries.  Each  of 
the  members  resident  at  Stockholm  becomes  president  by 
rotation,  and  continues  in  office  during  three  months. 
There  are  two  kinds  of  members,  native  and  foreign ;  the 
election  of  the  former  take  places  in  April,  that  of  the  latter 
in  July;  and  no  money  is  paid  at  the  time  of  admission. 
The  dissertations  read  at  each  meeting  are  collected  and 
published  four  times  in  the  yoar  :  they  are  written  in  the 
Swedish  language,  and  printed  in  octavo,  and  the  annual 
publications  make  a  volume.  Thcfirst  40  volumes,  which 
were  completed  in  1779,  are  called  the  Old  Transactions. 

Denmark. — Tho  Royal  A<ademy  of  Sciences  at  Copen- 
hagen owes  its  institution  to  the  zeal  of  six  individuals, 
whom  Christian  VI.,  in  1 742,  ordered  to  arrange  his  cabinet 
of  medals.  These  persons  were  John  Gram,  Joachim  Fre- 
deric Ramus,  Christian  Louis  Scheid,  Mark  Woldickey, 
Eric  Pontopidan,  and  Bernard  Moelmanf  who,  occasionally 
meeting  for  this  purpose,  extended  their  designs ;  associated 
with  them  others  who  were  eminent  in  several  branches  of 
science;  and  forming  a  kind  of  literary  society,  employed 
themselves  in  searching  into,  and  explaining  the  history  and 
antiquities  of  their  country.  The  Count  of  Holstein,  the 
first  president,  warmly  patronised  this  society,  and  recom- 
mended it  so  strongly  td  Christian  VI.  that,  in  1743,  his 
Danish  majesty  took  it  under  his  protection,  called  it  the 
Royal  Academy  of  Sciences,  endowed  it  with  a  fund,  and 
ordered  the  members  to  join  to  their  former  pursuits' 
natural  history,  physics,  and  mathematics.  In  consequence 
of  the  royal  favour  the  members  engaged  with  fresh  zeal 
in  their  pursuits;  and  the  academy  has  published  15 
volumes  in  the  Danish  language,  some  of  which  have  been 
translated  into  Latin. 

England. — In  1616  a  scheme  for  founding  a  Royal 
Academy  was  started  by  Edmund  Bolton,  an  eminent 
scholar  and  antiquary.  Bolton,  in  his  petition  to  King 
James,  which  was  supported  by  George  Villiers,  Marquis  of 
Buckingham,  proposed  that  the  title  of  the  academy  should 
be  "  King  James,  his  Academe  or  College  of  honour." 
In  the  list  of  members  occurs  the  name  of  Sir  Kenelm 
Digby,  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Royal  Society. 
The  death  of  the  king  proved  fatal  to  the  undertaking. 
In  1635  a  second  attempt  was  made  to  found  an  academy, 
under  the  patronage  of  Charles  I.,  with  the  title  of 
"  Minerva's  Musajum,"  for  tho  instruction  of  young  noble- 
men in  the  liberal  arts  and  sciences,  but  the  project  was 
soon  dropped.  About  1 6 1 5  some  of  the  more  ardent  followers 

1-4* 


of  Bacon  used  to.  meet,  some  in  London,  Bomo  at  Oxford, 
for  the  discussion  of  subjects  connected  with  experimental 
science.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  Royal  Society,  which 
received  its  charter  in  1662.     See  Royal  Society. 

Ireland. — The  Royal  Irish  Academy  arose  out  of  a 
society  established  at  Dublin  about  the  year  1782,  and 
Consisting  of  a  number  of  gentlemen,  most  of  whom 
belonged  to  thc_  university.  They  held  weekly  meetings, 
and  read  essays  in  turn  on  various  subjects.  The  members 
of  this  society  afterwards  formed  a  more  extensive  plan, 
and,  admitting  only  such  names  as  might  add  dignity  to 
their  new  instilution,  became  the  founders  of  the  Royal 
Irish  Academy.  They  professed  to  unite  tho  advancement 
of  science  with  the  history.of  mankind  and  polite  literature. 
The  first  volume  of  their  transactions  (for  1787)  appeared 
in  1788,  and  Beven  volumes  were  afterwards  published 
A  society  was  formed  in  Dublin,  similar  to  tho  Royal 
Society  in  London,  a3  early  a3  the  year  1683;  but  the 
distracted  state  of  the  country  proved  unpropitious  to  the 
cultivation  of  philosophy  and  literature. 

Holland. — The  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Amsterdam, 
erected  by  a  royal  ordinance  1852,  succeeded  the  Royal 
Institute  of  the  Low  Countries,  founded  by  Louis  Napoleon, 
King  of  Holland,  1808.  In  1855  it  had  published  192 
volumes  of  proceedings,  and  received  an  annual  subsidy  of 
14,000  florins  from  the  state. 

Spain. — Tho  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Madrid,  founded 
1774,  after  the  model  of  the  French  Academy. 

Portugal. — The  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Lisbon  is  divided 
into  three  classes — natural  history,  mathematics,  and 
national  literature.  It  consists  of  24  ordinary  and  36 
extraordinary  members.  Since  1779  it  has  published 
Memorias  de  Letteratura  Portugueza;  Memorias  Economical; 
Colleccao  de  Livros  ineditos  di  Historia  Portugueza. 

II.  Academies  of  Belles  Lettees. — Italy.— rltex\y  in  the 
1 6th  century  was  remarkable  for  the  number  of  its  literary 
academies.  Tiraboschi,  in  his  History  of  Italian  Literature, 
has  given  a  list  of  171  ;  and  Jarkius,  in  his  Specimen 
Historia;  Academiarum  Conditarum,  enumerates  nearly 
700.  Many  of  these,  with  a  sort  of  Socratic  irony,  gave 
themselves  names  expressive  of  ignorance  or  simply  ludi- 
crous. Such  were  the  Lunatici  of  Naples,  the  Estravaganti, 
the  Fulminates,  the  Trapessati,  the  Drowsy,  the  Sleepers, 
the  Anxious,  the  Confused,  the  Unstable,  the  Fantastic, 
tho  Transformed,  the  jEtherial.  "  The  first  academies  of 
Italy  chiefly  directed  their  attention  to  classical  literature ; 
they  compared  manuscripts ;  they  suggested  new  readings,  or 
new  interpretations;  they  deciphered  inscriptions  or  coins; 
they  sat  in  judgment  on  a  Latin  ode,  or  debated  the  pro- 
priety of  a  phrase.  Their  own  poetry  had,  perhaps,  never 
been  neglected ;  but  it  was  not  till  the  writings  of  Bembo 
furnished  a  new  code  of  criticism  in  the  Italian  language, 
that  they  began  to  study  it  with  the  same  minuteness  as 
modern  Latin."  "  They  were  encouragers  of  a  numis- 
matic and  lapidary  erudition,  elegant  in  itself,  and  throw- 
ing for  ever  little  specks  of  light  on  the  still  ocean  of  the 
past,  but  not  very  favourable  to  comprehensive  observation, 
and  tending  to  bestow  on  an  unprofitable  pedantry  the 
honours  of  real  learning."1  The  Italian  nobility,  excluded 
as  they  mostly  were  from  politics,  and  living  in  cities, 
found  in  literature  a  consolation  and  a  career.  Such 
academies  were  oligarchical  in  their  constitution ;  they 
encouraged  'culture,  but  tended  to  hamper  genius  and 
extinguish  originality.  Of  their  academies,  by  far  the 
most  celebrated  was  the  Accademia  delta  Crusca  or  Fvr- 
furatorum;  that  is,  of  Bran,  or  of  the  Sifted  The  title 
was  borrowed  from  a  previous  society  at  Perugia,  the 
Accademia  degli  Scossi,  of  the  Well-shaken.      Its  device 

•  IlauWs  Int.  to  Lit.  of  Europe,  vol.  i.  05 1,  in.l  «ul  U.  50?. 


u 


ACADEMY 


was  a  sieve ;  it3  motto,  "  11  piu  bcl  fior  no  coglie,  it 
collects  the  finest  flour  of  it ;  its  principal  object  the  puri- 
fication of  tho  language.  Its  great  work  was  the  Yocabu- 
lario  della  Crusca,  the  first  edition  of  which  was  published 
1613.  It  was  composed  avowedly  on  Tuscan  principles, 
and  regarded  the  14th  century  as  the  Augustan  period  of 
the  language.  Beni  assailed  it  in  his  Anti-Crusca,  and 
this  exclusive  Tuscan  spirit  hae  disappeared  in  subsequent 
editions.  The  Accademia  della  Crusca  is  now  incorporated 
with  two  older  societies — the  Accademia  degli  Apatici 
(the  Impartials)  and  the  Accademia  Fiorentina. 

Among  the  numerous  other  literary  academies  of  Italy 
we  may  mention  the  Academy  of  Naples,  founded  about 
1  HO  by  Alfonso,  the  king;  the  Academy  of  /Vorracc, founded 
1540,  to  illustrate  and  perfect  the  Tuscan  tongue,  especially 
by  a  close  study  of  Petrarch  ;  the  Intronati  of  Siena,  1525; 
the  Infiammati  of  Padua,  1531;  the  Ho:zi  of  Siena,  sup- 
pressed by  Cosmo,  1568. 

The  Academy  of  Humourists,  Umoristi,  had  its^rigin  at 
Rome  in  the  marriage  of  Lorenzo  Marcini,  a  Roman  gentle- 
man, at  which  several  persons  of  rank  were  guests.  It 
was  carnival  time,  and  so  to  give  the  ladies  some  diversion, 
they  betook  themselves  to  the  reciting  of  verses,  sonnets, 
speeches,  first  extempore,  and.  afterwards  premeditately, 
which  gave  them  the  denomination  of  Belli  Humori. 
After  some  experience,  and  coming  more  and  more  into 
the  taste  of  these  exercises,  they  resolved  to  form  an 
academy  of  belles  lettres,  and  changed  the  title  of  Belli 
Humori  for  that  of  Humoristi. 

In  1690  the  Academy  or  Society  of  Arcadians  was 
established  at  Rome,  for  the  purpose  of  reviving  the  study 
of  poetry.  The  founder  Crescimbeni  is  tho  author  of  a 
well-known  history  of  Italian  poetry.  It  numbered  among  •' 
its  members  many  princes,  cardinals,  a:.d  other  ecclesias- 
tics; and,  to  avoid  disputes  about  pre-eminence,  all  appeared 
masked  after  the  manner  of  Arcadian  shepherds.  Within 
ten  years  from  its  first  establishment  the  number  of 
academicians  amounted  to  600. 

The  Royal  Academy  of  Savoy  dates  from  1719,  and  was 
mado  a  royal  academy  by  Charles  Felix  in  1848.  -Its 
emblem  is  a  gold  orange  tree  full  of  flowers  and  fruit;  its 
motto  "  Flore3  fructusque  perennes,"  being  the  same  as 
those  of  the  famous  Florimenlane  Academy,  founded  at 
Annecy  by  St  Francis  de  Sales.  •  It  has  published  valuable 
memoirs  on  the  history  and  antiquities  of  Savoy. 

Germany.  —  Of  the  German  literary  academies,  the 
most  celebrated  was  Die  Fruchtbringende  Gesdlscliaft,  the 
Fruitful  Society,  established  at  Weimar  1617.  Five 
princes  enrolled  their  names  among  the  original  members. 
The  object  was  to  purify  the  mother  tongue.  The  German 
academies  copied  those  of  Italy  in  their  quaint  titles  and 
petty  ceremonials,  and  exercised  little  permanent  influence 
on  the  language  or  literature  of  the  country. 

France. — The  French  Academy  was  established  Dy  order 
of  the  king  in  the  year  1 635,  but  in  its  original  form  it  came 
into  existence  some  four  or  five  years  earlier.  About  the 
year  1629  certain  literary  friends  in  Paris  agreed  to  meet 
weekly  at  the  house  of  one  of  their  number.  These  meet- 
ings were  quite  informal,  but  the  conversation  turned  mostly 
on  literary  topics;  and  when,  as  was  often  the  case,  one  of 
tho  number  had  composed  some  work,  he  read  it  to  the 
rest,  and  they  gave  their  opinions  upon  it.  The  place  of 
meeting  was  the  house  of  M.  Conrard,  which  was  chosen 
as  being  the  most  central.  The  fame  of  these  meetings, 
though  the  members  were  bound  over  to  secrecy,  reached  at 
length  the  ears  of  Cardinal  Richelieu,  who  conceived  so 
high  an  opinion  of  them,  that  he  at  once  promised  them 
his  protection,  and  offered  to  incorporate  them  by  letters 
patent.  Nearly  all  the  members  would  have  preferred  the 
<diarm3  of  privacy,  bit,  considering  the  risk  they  would  run  in 


incurring  the  cardinal's  displeasure,  and  that  by  the  letter 
of  the  law  all  meetings  of  any  sort  or  kind  were  prohibited, 
they  expressed  their  gratitude  for  the  high  honour  the 
cardinal  thought  fit  to  confer  on  them.  They  proceeded 
at  once  to  organise  their  body,  settle  their  laws  and  consti'u- 
tion,  appoint  officers,  and  choose  their  name.  Their  officers 
consisted  of  a  director  and  a  chancellor,  both  chosen  by 
lot,  and  a  permanent  secretary,  chosen  by  votes.  They 
elected  besides  a  publisher,  not  a  member  of  the  body. 
The  director  presided  at  the  meetings,  being  considered 
as  primus  inter  pares,  and  performing  much,  the  same  part 
as  the  speaker  in  the  English  Ilouse  of  Commons.  The 
chancellor  kept  tho  seals,  and  sealed  all  the  official  docu- 
ments of  the  academy.  The  office  of  the  secretary  explain 
itself.  The  cardinal  was  ex  officio  protector.  Tho  meet- 
ings were  weekly  as  before. 

The  letters  patent  were  at  once  granted  by  the  king,  but 
it  was  only  after  violent  opposition  and  long  delay  that  the 
president,  who  was  jealous  of  the  cardinal's  authority,  con- 
sented to  grant  tho  verification  required  by  the  old  con- 
stitution of  France. 

The  object  for  which  the  academy  was  founded,  as  set  forth 
in  its  statutes,  was  tho  purification  of  tho  French  language. 
"  Tho  principal  function  of  the  academy  shall  be  to  labour 
with  all  care  and  diligence  to  give  certain  rules  to  our 
language,  and  to  render  it  pure,  eloquent,  and  capable  of 
treating  the  arts  and  sciences"  (Art.  24).  They  proposed 
"  to  cleanse  the  language  from  the  impurities  it  has  con- 
tracted in  the  mouths  of  the  common  people,  from  the 
jargon  of  tho  lawyers,  from  the  misusages  of  ignorant 
courtiers,  and  the  abuses  of  the  pulpit" — Letter  of  Academy 
to  Cardinal  Jiichclieu. 

Their  numbers  were  fixed  at  forty.  The  original  members 
who  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  body  were  eight,  and  it  was 
not  till  1639  that  the  full  number  was  completed.  Their 
first  undertaking  consisted  of  essays  written  by  all  the 
members  in  rotation.  To  judge  by  the  titles  and  speci- 
mens which  have  come  down  to  us,  these  possessed  no 
special  originality  or  merit,  but  resembled  the  tVi8e('£«s  of 
the  Greek  rhetoricians.  They  next,  at  the  instance  of 
Cardinal  Richelieu,  undertook  a  criticism  of  Corueille's 
Cid,  the  most  popular  work  of  the  day.  It  was  a  rule  of 
the  academy  that  no  work  could  be  criticised  except  at  tho 
author's  request.  It  wa3  only  the  fear  of  incurring  the 
cardinal's  displeasure  which  wrung  from  Corneillc  an  un- 
willing consent.  The  critique  of  the  academy  was  re- 
written several  times  before  it  met  with  the  cardinal's 
approbation.  After  six  months  of  elaboration,  it  was  pub- 
lished under. the  title,  Sentiments  de  I 'Academic  Francoisa 
sur  le  Cid.  'This  judgment  did  not  satisfy  Corneille,  as  a 
saying  attributed  to  him  on  the  occasion  shows.  "  Hora- 
tius,"  he  said,  referring  to  his  last  play,  "  was  condemned 
by  the  Duumviri,  but  he  was  absolved  by  the  people." 
But  the  crowning  labour  of  the  academy,  commenced  in 
1639,  was  a  dictionary  of  the  French  language.  By  the 
twenty-sixth  article  of  their  statutes,  they  were  pledged  to 
compose  a  dictionary,  a  grammar,  a  treatise  on  rhetoric, 
and  one  on  poetry.  M.  Chapelain,  one  of  the  original 
members  and  leading  spirits  of  the  academy,  pointed  out 
that  the  dictionary  would  naturally  be  the  first  of  these 
works  to  be  undertaken,  and  drew  up  a  plan  of  the  work, 
which  was  to  a  great  extent  carried  out.  A  catalogue  wa3 
to  be  made  of  all  the  most  approved  authors,  prose  and  verse : 
these  were  to  be  distributed  among  the  members,  and  all 
words  and  phrases  of  which  they  approved  to  be  marked 
by  them  in  order  to  be  incorporated  in  the  dictionary. 
For  this  they  resolved  themselves  into  two  committees, 
which  sat  on  other  than  the  regular  days.     M.  de  Vaugelas1 


1  A  ban  mot  of  his  u  worth  recording.     When  returning  thanks  for 


ACADEMY 


75 


wa9  appointed  editor  in  chief.  To  remunerate  nim  for  his 
labours,  he  received  from  the  cardinal  a  pension  of  2000 
francs.  The  first  edition  of  this  dictionary  appeared  in 
1691,  the  last  Complement  in  1854. 

Instead  of  following  the  history  of  the  FrenchAcademy, — 
which,  like  its  two  younger  sisters,  the  Academy  of 
Sciences  and  the  Academy  of  Inscriptions,  was  suppressed 
in  1793,  and  reconstituted  in  1795,  as  a  class  of  the  Insti- 
tute,— a  history  which  it  would  be  impossible  to  treat 
adequately  in  the  limit  of  an  article,  we  will  attempt 
briefly  to  estimate  its  influence  on  French  literature  and 
language,  and  point  out  its  principal  merits  and  defects. 
To  begin  with  its  merits,  it  may  justly  boast  that  there  is 
hardly  a  single  name  of  the  first  rank  among  French 
litterateurs  that  it  has  not  enrolled  among  its  members. 
Moli-ere,  it  is  true,  was  rejected  as  a  player;  but  we  can 
hardly  blame  the  academy  for  a  social  prejudice  which  it 
shared  with  the  age;  and  it  is  well  known  that  it  has,  as 
far  as  was  in  its  power,  made  the  amende  honorable.  In 
the  Salle  des  Seances  is  placed  the  bust  of  the  greatest 
of  modern  comedians,  with  the  inscription,  "Rien  ne 
manque  k  sa  gloire  ;  il  manquait  a  la  notre."  Descartes 
was  excluded  from  the  fact  of  his  residing  in  Holland. 
Scarron  was  confined  by  paralysis  to  his  own  house. 
Pascal  is  the  only  remaining  exception,  and  Pascal  was 
better  known  to  his  contemporaries  as  a  mathematician 
than  a  writer.  His  Lcttres  Provunciales  were  published 
anonymously;  and  just  when  his  fame  was  rising  he 
retired  to  Port-Royal,  where  he  lived  the  life  of  a  recluse. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  fauteuils 
have  often  been  occupied  by  men  of  "no  mark  in  literature. 
Nor  is  the  academy  wholly  exonerated  by  M.  Livet's  in- 
genious defence,  that  there  are  but  eight  marshals  in  the 
French  army,  and  yet  the  number  has  never  appeared  too 
restricted  ;  for  its  most  ardent  admirers  will  not  assert  that 
it  has,  as  a  rule,  chosen  the  forty  most  distinguished  living 
authors.  Court  intrigue,  rank,  and  finesse,  have  too  often 
prevailed  over  real  merit  and  honest}  Though  his  facts 
are  incorrect,  there  is  much  truth  in  Courier's  caustic 
satire  : — "_Dans  une  compagnie  de  gens  faisant  profession 
d'esprit  ou  de  savoir,  nul  ne  veut  pros  de  soi  un  plus  habile 
que  soi,  mais  bien  un  plus  noble,  un  plus  riche  :  un  due 
et  pair  honore  l'Acadimie  Francaise,  qui  ne  veut  point  de 
Boilea-u,1  refuse  la  Bruyere,  fait  atteudre  Voltaire,  mais 
recoit  tout  d'abord  Chapelain  et  Conrart." 

We  have  next  to  consider  the  influence  of  the  French 
Academy  on  the  language  and  literature,  a  subject  on  which 
the  most  opposite  opinions  have  been  advanced.  On  the 
one  hand,  it  has  been  asserted  that  it  has  corrected  the 
judgment,  purified  the  taste,  and  formed  the  language  of 
French  writers,  and  that  to  it  we  owe  the  most  striking 
characteristics  of  French  literature,  its  purity,  delicacy,  and 
flexibility.  Thus  Mr  Matthew  Arnold,  in  his  well-known 
Essay  on  the  Literary  Influence  of  Academies,  has  pro- 
nounced a  glowing  panegyric  on  the  French  Academy  as  a 
hiirh  court  of  letters,  and  rallying  point  for  educated  opinion, 
as  asserting  the  authority  of  a  master  in  matters  of  tone 
and  taste.  To.  it  he  attributes  in  a  great  measure  that 
thoroughness,  that  openness  of  mind,  that  absence  of 
vulgarity  which  he  finds  everywhere  in  French  literature  ; 
and  to  the  want  of  a  similar  institution  in  England  he 
traces  that  eccentricity,  that  provincial  spirit,  that  coarse- 
ness, which,  as  he  thinks,  is  barely  compensated  by  English 
genius.  Thus,  too,  M.  Renan,  one  of  its  most  distinguished 
living  members,  say's  that  it  is  owing  to  the  academy  "qu'on 

liia  pension,  the  cardinal  remarked,  "  Tfell,  Monsieur,  you  will  not 
forget  the  word  pension  in  your  dictionary."  "No,  Monscigneur," 
replied.  Vaugelas,  "and  still  less  the  word  gratitude." 

1  Bnileau  was  elected  to  the  French  Academy  1C8-J,  La  Bruyere 


pent  tout  dire  earn  appa/cil  sfcholastique  avec  la  langue 
des  gens  du  monde."  'Ah  ne  dites,"  he  exclaims,  "  qu'ils 
n'ont  rien  fait,  ces  obscures  beaux  esprits  dont  la  vie  se 
passe  a  instruire  le  proces  des  mots,  a  peser  les  syllables, 
lis  ont  fait  un  chef-d'oeuvre — la  langue  francaise."  On  the 
other  hand,  its  inherent  defects  have  been  so  well  summed 
up  by  M.  Lanfrey,  that  we  cannot  do  better  than  quote 
from  his  recent  History  of  Napoleon.  "This  institution," 
he  says,  speaking  of  the  French  Academy,  "  had  never 
shown  itself  the  enemy  of  despotism.  Founded  by  the 
monarchy  and  for  the  monarchy,  eminently  favourable  to 
the  spirit  of  intrigue  and  favouritism,  incapable  of  any 
sustained  or  combined  labour,  a  stranger  to  those  great 
works  pursued  m  common  which  legitimise  and  glorify 
the  existence  of  scientific  bodies,  occupied  exclusively  with 
learned  trifles,  fatal  to  emulation,  which  it  pretends  to 
stimulate,  by  the  compromises  and  calculations  to  which  it 
subjects  it,  directed  in  everything  by  petty  considerations, 
and  wasting  all  its  energy  in  childish  tournaments,  in 
which  the  flatteries  that  it  showers  on  others  are  only  the 
foretaste  of  the  compliments  it  expects  in  return  for  itself, 
the  French  Academy  seems  to.  have  received  from  its 
founders  the  special  mission  to  transform  genius  into  bet 
esprit,  and  it  would  be  hard  to  produce  a  man  of  talent 
whom  it  has  not  demoralised.  Drawn  in  spite  of  itself 
towards  politics,  it  alternately  pursues  and  avoids  them ; 
but  it  is  specially  attracted  by  the-  gossip  of  politics,  and 
whenever  it  has  so  far  emancipated  itself  as  to  go  into 
opposition,  it  does  so  as  the  champion  of  ancient  prejudices. 
If  we  examine  its  influence  on  the  national  genius,  we 
shall  see  that  it  has  given  it  a  flexibility,  a  brilliancy,  a 
polish,  which  it  never  possessed  before,;  but  it  has  done 
so  at  the  expense  of  its  masculine  qualities,  its  originality, 
its  spontaneity,  its  vigour,  its  natural  grace.  It  has  dis- 
ciplined it,  but  it  has  emasculated,  impoverished,  and 
rigidified  it.  It  sees  in  taste,  not  a  sense  of  the  beautiful, 
but  a  certain  type  of  correctness,  an  elegant  form  of  medio- 
crity. It  has  substituted  pomp  for  grandeur,  school 
routine  for  individual  inspiration,  elaborateness  for  sim- 
plicity, fadeur  and  the  monotony  of  literary  orthodoxy  for 
variety,  the  source  and  spring  of  intellectual  life;  and  in 
the  works  produced  under  its  auspices  we  discover  the 
rhetorician  and  the  writer,  never  the  man.  By  all  its 
traditions  the  academy  was  made  to  be  the  natural  orna- 
ment of  a  monarchical  society.  Richelieu  conceived  and 
created  it  as  a  sort  of  superior  centralisation  applied  to 
intellect,  as  a  high  literary  court  to  maintain  intellectual 
unity,  and  protest  against  innovation.  Bonaparte,  aware  of 
all  this,  had  thought  of  re-establishing  its  ancient  privileges; 
but  it  had  in  his  eyes  one  fatal  defect — esprit.  Kings  of 
France  could  condone  a  witticism  even  against  themselves, 
a  parvenu  could  not." 

In  conclusion,  we  would  briefly  state  our  own  opinion. 
The  influence  of  the  French  Academy  has  been  conservative 
rather  than  creative.  While  it  has  raised  tho  general 
standard  of  writing,  it  has  tended  to  hamper  and  crush 
originality.-  It  has  done  much  by  its  example  for  style, 
but  its  attempts  to  impose  its  laws  on  language  have,  from 
the  nature  of  the  case,  failed.  For,  however  perfectly  a 
dictionary  or  a  grammar  may  represent  the  existing  lan- 
guage of  a  nation,  an  original  genius  is  certain  to  arise — a 
Victor  Hugo,  or  ai>  Alfred  de  Musset,  who  will  set  at  de- 
fiance all  dictionaries  and  academic  rules. 

Spain. — The  Royal  Spanish  Academy  at  3fadrid  held 
its  first  meeting  in  July  1713,  in  the  palace  of  its  founder, 
the  Duke  (TEscalona.  It  consisted  at  first  of  8  academicians, 
including  the  duke;  to  which  number  14  others  were 
afterwards  added,  the  founder  being  chosen  president  or 
director.  In  1714  the  king  granted -them  the  royal  con- 
firmation and  protection.      Their  device  is  a  crucible  in 


7ti 

the  middle  of  the  fire,  with  this  motto,  Limpia,  fixa,  y 
da  esplendor — "  It  purifies,  fixes,  ar.d  gives  brightness." 
The  number  of  its  members  was  limited  to  24;  the  Duke 
d'Escalona  was  chosen  director  for  life,  but  his  successors 
were  elected  yearly,  and  the  secretary  for  life.  Their 
object,  as  marked  out  by  the  royal  declaration,  was  to 
cultivate  and  improve  the  national  language.  They  were 
to  begin  with  choosing  carefully  such  words  and  phrases 
as  have  been  used  by  the  best  Spanish  writers;  noting 
the  low,  barbarous,  or  obsolete  ones ;  and  composing  a 
dictionary  wherein  these  might  be  distinguished  from  the 
former. 

Sweden. — The  Royal  Swedish  Academy  was  founded  in 
the  year  1786,  for  the  purpose  of  purifying  and  perfecting 
the  Swedish  language.  A  medal  is  struck  by  its  direction 
every  year  in  honour  of  some  illustrious  Swede  This 
academy  does  not  publish  its  transactions. 

Belgium. — Belgium  has  always  been  famous  for  its 
literary  societies.  The  little  town  of  Diest  boasts  that  it 
possessed  a  society  of  poets  in  1302,  and  the  Catheriuists 
of  Alost  date  from  1107.  Whether  or  not  there  is  any 
foundation  for  these  claims,  it  is  certain  that  numerous 
Chambers  of  Rhetoric  (so  academies  were  then  called) 
existed  in  the  first  years  of  the  rule  of  the  house  of  Bur- 
gundy. 

The  present  Royal  Academy  of  Belgium  was  founded  by 
the  Count  of  Coblenzl  at  Brussels,  17G9.  Count  Stahren- 
berg  obtained  for  it  in  1772  letters  patent  from  Maria 
Theresa,  who  also  granted  pensions  to  all  the  members, 
and  a  fund  for  printing  their  works.  All  academicians 
wero  ipso  facto  ennobled.  It  was  reorganised,  and  a  class 
of  fine  arts  added  in  1845  through  the  agency  of  M..Van 
de  Weyer,  the  learned  Belgian  ambassador  at  London.  It 
has  devoted  itself  principally  to  national  history  and  anti- 
quities. 

III.  Academies  of  Archeology  and  History. — 
Italy. — Under  this  class  the  Academy  of  Herculaneum  pro- 
perly ranks.  It  wa3  established  at  Naples  about  1755,  at 
which  period  a  museum  was  formed  of  the  antiquities 
found  at  Herculaneum,  Pompeii,  and  other  places,  by  the 
Marquis  Tanucci,  who  was  then  minister  of  state.  Its  ob- 
ject was  to  explain  the  paintings,  &c,  which  were  discovered 
at  those  places;  and  for  this  purpose  the  members  met 
every  fortnight,  and  at  each  meeting  three  paintings  were 
submitted  to  three  academicians,  who  made  their  report 
on  them  at  their  next  sitting.  The  first  volume  of  their 
labours  appeared  in  1775,  and  they  have  been  continued 
under  the  title  of  Antichita  °di  Ercolano.  They  contain 
engravings  of  the  principal  paintings,  statues,  bronzes, 
marble  figures,  medals,  utensils,  &c,  with  explanations. 
In  the  year  1807,  an  Academy  of  History  and  Antiquities, 
on  a  new  plan,  was  established  at  Naples  by  Joseph  Bo»a- 
parte.  The  number  of  members  was  limited  to  forty; 
twenty  of  whom  were  to  be  appointed  by  the  king,  and 
these  twenty  were  to  present  to  him,  for  his  choice,  three 
names  for  each  of  those  wanted  to  complete  the  full  num- 
ber. Eight  thousand  ducats  were  to  be  annually  allotted 
for  the  current  expenses,  and  two  thousand  for  prizes  to 
the  authors  of  four  works  which  should  be  deemed  by  the 
academy  most  deserving  of  such  a  reward.  A  grand  meet- 
ing was  to  be  held  every  year,  when  the  prizes  were  to  be 
distributed,  and  analyses  of  the  works  read.  The  first 
meeting  took  place  on  the  25th  of  "April  1807;  but  the 
subsequent  changes  in  the  political  state  of  Naples  pre- 
vented the  full  and  permanent  establishment  of  this  insti- 
tution. In  the  same  year  an  academy  was  established  at 
Florence  for  the  illustration  of  Tuscan  antiquities,  which 
published  some  volumes  of  memoirs. 

France. — The  old  Academy  of  Inscriptions  and  Belles 
Lettres  was  an  off-shoot  from  the  French  Academy,  which 


ACADEMY 


then  at  least  contained  the  elite  of  French  learning.  Louis 
XIV.  was  of  all  French  kings  the  one  most  occupied  with 
his  own  aggrandisement.  Literature,  and  even  science,  ha 
only  encouraged  so  far  as  they  redounded  to  his  own  glory. 
Nor  were  literary  men  inclined  to  assert  their  independence. 
Boileau  well  represented  the  spirit  of  the  age  when,  in 
dedicating  his  tragedy  of  Berenice  to  Colbert,  he  wrote — 
"  The  least  things  become  important  if  in  any  degree 
they  can  serve  the  glory  and  pleasure  of  the  king."  Thus 
it  was  that  the  Academy  of  Inscriptions  arose.  At  the 
suggestion  of  Colbert,  a  company  (a  committee  wc  should 
now  call  it)  had  been  appointed  by  tho  king,  chosen  from 
the  French  Academy,  charged  with  the  office  of  furnishing 
inscriptions,  devices,  and  legends  for  medals.  It  consisted 
of  four  academicians :  Chapelain,  then  considered  the  poet 
laureate  of  France,  one  of  the  authors  of  the  critique  on 
the  Cid  (see  above);  labb6  de  Bourzeis;  Francois  Cai- 
penticr,  an  antiquary  of  high  repute  among  his  contem- 
poraries ;  and  l'abbe  de  Capagnes,  who  owed  his  appoint- 
ment more  to  the  fulsome  flattery  of  his  odes  than  his 
really  learned  translations  of  Cicero  and  Sallnst.  This 
company  used  to  meet  in  Colbert's  library  in  the  winter, 
at  his  country-house  at  Sceaux  in  the  summer,  generally 
on  Wednesdays,  to  serve  the  convenience  of  the  minister, 
who  was  constantly  present.  Their  meetings  were  princi- 
pally occupied  with  discussing  the  inscriptions,  statues, 
and  pictures  intended  for  the  decoration  of  Versailles;  but 
M.  Colbert,  a  really  learned  man  and  an  enthusiastic  col- 
lector of  manuscripts,  was  often  pleased  to  converse  with 
them  on  matters  of  art,  history,  and  antiquities.  Their 
first  published  work  was  a  collection  of  engravings,  accom- 
panied by  descriptions,  designed  for  some  of  the  tapestries 
at  Versailles.  Louvois,  who  succeeded  Colbert  as  a  super- 
intendent of  buildings,  revived  the  company,  'which  had 
begun  to  relax  its  labours.  Felibien,  the  learned  architect, 
and  the  two  great  poets  Bacine  and  Boileau,  were  added 
to  their  number.  A  series_  of  medals  was  commenced, 
entitled  lledailles  de  la  Grande  Histoire,  or,  in  other  words, 
the  history  of  le  Grand  Monarque. 

But  it  was  to  M.  de  Fortchartrain,  comptroller-general 
of  finance  and  secretary  of  state,  that  the  academy  owed 
its  institution.  He  added  to  tho  company  llenaudot  ano 
Tourreil,  both  men  of  vast  learning,  the  latter  tutor  to  his 
son,  and  put  at  its  head  his  nephew,  l'abbe  Bignon,  librarian 
to  the  king.  By  a  new  regulation,  dated  the  lGth  July 
1701,  the  Royal  Academy  of  Inscriptions  and  iledals 
was  instituted, 'being  composed  of  ten  honorary  members 
ten  pensioners,  ten  associates,  and  ten  pupils.  On  its 
constitution  we  need  not  dwell,  as  it  was  an  almost  exact 
copy  of  that  of  the  Academy  of  Science.  Among  th» 
regulations  we  find  the  following,  which  indicates  clearly 
the  transition  from  a  staff  of  learned  officials  to  a  learned 
body : — "  The  academy  shall  concern  itself  with  all  that  can 
contribute  to  the  perfection  of  inscriptions  and  legends,  of 
designs  for  such  monuments  and  decorations  as  may  be 
submitted  to  its  judgment;  also  with  the  description  of  all 
artistic  works,  present  and  future,  and  the  historical  ex- 
planation of  the  subject  of  such  works:  and  as  the  know- 
ledge of  Greek  and  Latin  antiquities,  and  of  these  two 
languages,  is  the  best  guarantee  for  success  in  labours  of 
this  class,  the  academicians  shall  apply  themselves  to  all 
that  this  division  of  learning  includes,  as  one  of  the  most 
worthy  objects  of  their  pursuit." 

Among  the  first  honorary  members  we  find  the  indefa- 
tigable Mabillon  (excluded  from  the  pensioners  by  reason 
of  his  orders),  Pere  La  Chaise,  the  king's  .confessor,  and 
Cardinal  Kohan ;  among  the  associates  Fontenelle,  and 
Rollin,  whose  Ancient  History  was  submitted  to  the 
academy  for  revision.  In  1711  ixity  completed  L' Histoire 
Metallique  du  Roi,  of  which  Saint-Simon  was  asked  to 


ACADEMY 


77 


writo  the  preface.  In  1716  the  regent  changed  its  title 
to  that  of  the  Academy  of  Inscriptions  and  Belles  Lettres, 
a  title  which  better  f  uited  its  new  character. 

In  the  great  battle  between  the  Ancients  and  the  Moderns 
which  divided  the  learned  world  in  the  first  half  of  the 
18th  century,  the  Academy  of  Inscriptions  naturally 
espoused  the  cause  of  the  Ancients,  as  the  Academy  of 
Sciences  did  that  of  the  Moderns.  During  the  earlier 
years  of  the  French  Revolution  the  academy  continued 
its  labours  uninterruptedly;  and  on  the  22d  of  January 
1793,  the  day  after  the  death  of  Louis  XVI.,  we  find  in 
'the  Proceedings  that  M.  Brequigny  read  a  paper  on  the 
projects  of  marriage  between  Queen  Elizabeth  and  the 
Dukes  of  Anjou  and  Alencon.  In  the  same  year  were 
published  the  45th  and  4Cth  vols,  of  the  Memoires  de 
I' Academic  On  the  2d  of  August  of  the  same  year  the 
last  seance  of  the  old  academy  was  held.  More  fortunate 
than  its  sister  Academy  of  Sciences,  it  lost  only  three  of  its 
members  by  the  guillotine.  One  of  these  was  the  astro- 
nomer Sy'vain  Bailly.  Three  others  sat  as  members  of 
the  Convention ;  but  for  the  honour  of  the  academy,  we 
must  add  that  all  three  were  distinguished  by  their  mode- 
ration. 

In  the  first  draught  of  the  new  Institute,  October  25, 
1795,  no  class  corresponded  exactly  to  the  old  Academy 
of  Inscriptions ;  but  most  of  the  members  who  survived 
found  themselves  re-elected  either  in  the  2d  class  of  moral 
and  political  science,  under  which  history  and  geography 
were  included  as  sections,  or  more  generally  under  the  3d 
class  of  literature  and  fine  arts,  which  embraced  ancient 
languages,  antiquities,  and  monuments. 

In  1816  the  academy  received  again  its  old  name. 
The  Proceedings  of  the  Society  embrace  a  vast  field,  and 
are  of  very  various  merits.  Perhaps  the  subjects  on  which 
it  has  shown  most  originality  are  comparative  mythology, 
the  history  of  science  among  the  ancients,  and  the  geo- 
graphy and  antiquities  of  France.  The  old  academy  has 
reckoned  among  its  members  De  Sacy  the  Orientalist, 
Dansse  de  Villoison  the  philologist,  Du  Perron  the  traveller, 
Sainte-Croix  and  Du  Theil  the  antiquarians,  and  Le  Beau, 
who  has  been  named  the  last  of  the  Romans.  The  new. 
academy  has  already  inscribed  on  its  lists  the  well-known 
names  of  Cbampcllion,  A  Beinusat,  Baynouard,  Burnouf, 
and  Augustin  Thierry. 

Celtic  Academy.— In  consequence  of  the  attention  of 
several  literary  men  in  Paris  having  been  directed  to  Celtic 
antiquities,  a  Celtic  Academy  was  established  in  that  city  in 
the  year  1800.  Its  objects  were,  first,  the  elucidation  of  the 
aistory,  customs,  antiquities,  manners,  and  monuments  of 
the  Celts,  particularly  in  France;  secondly,  the  etymology 
of  all  the  European  languages,  by  the  aid  of  the  Celto-v 
British,  Welsh,  and  Erse ;  and,  thirdly,  researches  relating  to 
Druidism.  The  attention  of  the  members  was  also  parti- 
cularly called  to  the  history  and  settlements  of  the  Galatae 
in  Asia.  Lenoir,  the  keeper  of  the  museum  of  French 
monuments,  was  appointed  president.  The  academy  still 
exists  as  La  Societe  Koyale  des  Antiquaires  de  France. 

IV.  Academies  of  Medicine  and  Surgery. — Germany. 
t— The  Academy  of  Natural  Curiosi,  called  also  the  Leo- 
poldine  Academy,  was  founded  in  1692,  by  J.  L.  Bausch, 
a  physician  of  Leipsic,  who,  imitating  the  example  of  the 
English,  published  a  general  invitation  to  medical  men  to 
communicate  all  extraordinary  cases  that  occurred  in  the 
course  of  their  practice.  The  works  of  the  Nature  Curiosi 
were  at  first  published  separately ;  but  this  being  attended 
with  considerable  inconvenience,  a  new  arrangement  was 
formed,  in  1770,  for  publishing  a  volume  of  observations 
annually.  From  some  cause,  however,  the  first  volume 
did  not  make  its  appearance  until  1784,  when  it  came 
forth  under  the  title  of  Ephemerides.     In  1 687,  the  Emperor 


Leopold  took  the  society  under  his  protection,  and  estab- 
lished it  at  Vienna;  hence  the  title  of  Leopoldine  which  it 
in  consequence  assumed.  But  though  it  thus  acquired  a 
name,  it  had  no  fixed  place  of  meeting,  and  no  regular 
assemblies ;  instead  of  which  there  was  a  kind  of  bureau 
or  office,  first  established  at  Breslau,  and  afterwards  re- 
moved to  Nuremberg,  where  communications  from  corre- 
spondents were  received,  and  persons  properly  qualified 
admitted  as  members.  By  its  constitution  the  Leopoldine 
Academy  consists  of  a  president,  two  adjuncts  or  secretaries, 
and  colleagues  or  members,  without  any  limitation  as  to 
numbers.  At  their  admission  the  last  come  under  a  two 
fold' obligation — first,  to  choose  some  subject  for  discussion 
out  of  the  animal,  vegetable,  or  mineral  kingdom,  provided 
it  has  not  been  previously  treated  of  by  any  colleague  of 
the  academy;  and,  secondly,  to  apply  themselves  to  furnish 
materials  for  the  annual  Ephemerides.  Each  member  also 
bears  about  with  him  the  symbol  of  the  academy,  consist- 
ing of  a  gold  ring,  whereon  is  represented  a  book  open, 
with  an  eye  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  the  academical 
motto  of  Nunquam  otiosus. 

Tho  Academy  of  Surgery  at  Vienna  was  instituted  by 
the  present  emperor,  under  the  direction  of  the  celebrated 
Brambella  In  it  there  were  at  first  only  two  professors  ; 
and  to  their  charge  the  instruction  of  a  hundred  and  thirty 
young  men  was  committed,  thirty  of  whom  had  formerly 
been  surgeons  in  the  army.  But  latterly  the  number  both 
of  teachers  and  pupils  was  considerably  increased.  Gab- 
rielli  was  appointed  to  teach  pathology  and  practice : 
Boecking,  anatomy,  physiology,  and  physics;  Streit,  medical 
and  pharmaceutical  surgery;  Hunczowsky,  surgical  ope- 
rations, midwifery,  and  chirurgia  forensis ;  and  Plenk, 
chemistry  and  botany.  To  these  was  also  added  Beindel, 
as  prosesutor  and  extraordinary  professor  of  surgery  and 
anatomy.  Besides  tins,  the  emperor  provided  a  large  and 
splendid  edifice  in  Vienna,  which  affords  accommodatio.. 
both  for  the  teachers,  the  students,  pregnant  women, 
patients  for  clinical  lectures,  and  servants.  For  the  use 
of  this  academy  the  emperor  also  purchased  a  medical 
library,  which  is  open  every  day ;  a  complete  set  of  chirur- 
gical  instruments;  an  apparatus  for  experiments  in  natural 
philosophy ;  a  collection  of  natural  history ;  a  number  ot 
anatomical  and  pathological  preparations;  a  collection  of 
preparations  in  wax,  brought  from  Florence ;  and  a  variety 
of  other  useful  articles.  Adjoining  the  building  there 
is  also  a  good  botanical  garden.  With  a  view  to  encourage 
emulation  among  the  students  of  this  institution,  three 
prize  medals,  each  of  the  value  of  40  florins,  are  annually 
bestowed  on  those  who  return  the  best  answers  to  questions 
proposed  the  year  before.  These  prizes,  however,  are  not 
entirely  founded  by  the  emperor,  but  are  in  part  owing  to 
the  liberality  of  Brendellius,  formerly  protochirurgus  at 
Vienna. 

France. — Royal  Academy  of  Medicine. — Medicine  is  a 
science  which  has  always  engaged  the  attention  of  the 
kings  of  France.  Charlemagne  established  a  school  of 
medicine  in  the  Louvre,  and  various  societies  have  been 
founded,  and  privileges  granted  to  the  faculty  by  his  suci 
cessors.  The  Royal  Academy  of  Medicine  succeeded  to  the 
old  Boyal  Society  of  Medicine  and  the  Academy  of  Sur- 
gery. It  was  erected  by  a  royal  -ordinance,  dated  Decemben 
20,  1820.  It  was  divided  into  three  sections — medicinej 
surgery,  and  pharmacy.  In  its  constitution  it  closely 
resembled  the  Academy  of  Sciences  (vid.  sup.)  Its  function 
was  to  -preserve  or  propagate  vaccine  matter,  and  answer 
inquiries  addressed  to  it  by  the  Government  on  the  subjeci 
of  epidemics,  sanitary  reform,  and  public  health  generally. 
It  has  maintained  an  enormous  correspondence  in  ail 
quarters  of  the  globe,  and  published  extensive  minutes. 

V.  Academies    of    the  Fin?   Arts. — Rusaa. — Th< 


78 


ACADEMY 


academy  at  St  Petersburg  was  established  by  the  EmyreaB 
Kluabeth,  at'  the  suggestion  of  Count'  Ghuvaloff,  and 
annexed  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences.  The  fund  for  its 
support  was  £4000  per  annum,  and  the  foundation 
admitted  forty  scholars.  Catharine  It.  formed  ii  into  a 
separato  institution,  augmented  the  annual  revenue  to 
-DI-,000,  and  increased  the  number  of  scholars  to  three 
hundred;  she  also  constructed,  for  the  use  and  accommo- 
dation of  tho  members,  a  large  circular  building,  which 
fronts  tho  Neva.  The  scholars  are  admitted  at  the  age  of 
six,  and  continue  until  they  have  attained  that  of  eighteen. 
ure  clothed,  fed,  and  lodged  at  the  expense  of  the 
crown  ,  and  are  all  instructed  in  reading  and  writing, 
arithmetic,  the  French  and  German  languages,  and  draw- 
ing At  the  age  of  fourteen  they  are  at  liberty  to  choose 
any  of  the  following  arts,  divided  into  four  classes,  vfe., 
first,  painting  in  all  its  branches  of  history  portraits,  war- 
pieces,  and  landscapes,  architecture,  mosaic,  enamelling, 
Ax. ;  secondly,  engraving  on  copperplates,  seal-cutting,  &c, ; 
thirdly,  carving  on  wood,  ivory,  and  amber;  fourthly,  watch- 
making, turning,  instrument  making,  casting  statues  in 
bronze  and  other  metals,  imitating  gems  and  medals  in 
paste  and  other  compositions,  gilding,  and  varnishing. 
Prizes  are  annually  distributed  to  those  who  excel  in  any 
particular  art ;  and,  from  those  who  have  obtained  four 
prizes,  twelve  are  selected,  who  are  sent  abroad  at  the 
charge  of  the  crown.  A  certain  sum  is  paid  to  defray 
their  travelling  expenses ;  and  when  they  are  settled  in 
any  town,  they  receive  an  annual  salary  of  £60,  which  is 
continued  during  four  years.  There  is  a  small  assortment 
of  paintings  for  the  use  of  the  scholars ;  and  those  who 
have  made  great  progress  are  permitted  to  copy  the  pictures 
in  the  imperial  collection.  For  the  purpose  cf  design, 
there  are  models  in  plaster,  al!  done  at  Rome,  of  the  best 
«utique  statues  in  Italy,  and  of  the  same  size  with  the 
originals,  which  the  artists  of  the  academy  were  employed 
to  cast  in  bronze. 

France. — The  Academy  of  Painting  and  Sculpture  at 
Paris  was  founded  by  Louis  XIV.  in  1G48,  under  the  title  of 
Academic  Royale  des  Beaux  Arts,  to  which  was  afterwaids 
united  the  Academy  of  Architecture,  erected  1671.  The 
academy  is  composed  of  painters,  sculptors,  architects, 
engravers,  and  musical  composers.  From  among  the 
members  of  the  society,  who  are  painters,  is  chosen  the 
director  of  the  French  Aeademie  des  Beaux  Arts  at  Berne, 
also  instituted  by  Louis  XIV.  in  1G77.'  The  director's  pro- 
vince is  to  superintend  the  studies  of  the  painters,  sculptors, 
ic,  who,  having  been  chosen  by  competition,  are  sent  to 
Italy  at  the  expense  of  the  Government,  to  complete  their 
studies  in  that  country.  Most  of  the  celebrated  French 
painters  have  begun  their  career  in  this  way. 

The  Royal  Academy  of  Music  is  the  name  which,  by  a 
strange  perversion  of  language,  is  given  in  France  to  the 
grand  opera.  In  1571  the  poet  Baif  established  in  his 
house  an  academy  or  school  of  music,  at  which  ballets  and 
masquerades  were  given.  In  1645  Mazarin  brought  from 
Italy  a  troupe  of  actors,  and  established  them  in  the  Rue 
du  Petit  Bourbon,  where  they  executed  Jules  Strozzi's 
•■  Achille  in  Sciro,"  the  first  opera  performed  in  France. 
After  Moliere's  death  in  1673,  his  theatre  in  the  Palais 
Royal  was  given  to  Sulli,  and  there  were  performed  all 
Cluck's  great  operas ;  there  Vestris  danced,  and  there  was 
produced  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau's  "  Devin  du  Village." 

Italy. — In  1778  an  Academy  of  Painting  and  Sculp- 
ture was  established  at  Turin.  The  meetings- were  held 
in  the  palace  of  the  king,  who  distributed  prizes  among 
the  most  successful  members.  In  Milan  an  Academy  of 
Architecture  was  established  so  early  as  the  year  13S0,  by 
Galeas  Visconti.  About  the  middle  of  the  last  century  an 
Academy  of   the    Arts    was    established   there,  after  the 


example  of  those  at  Paris  and  Rome.  Tho  pupils  were 
furnished  with  originals  and  models,  and  prizes  were  dis- 
tributed annually.  The  prize  for  painting  was  a  gold 
medal,  and  no  prize  was  bestowed  till  all  the  competing 
pieces  had  been  subjected  to  the  examination  and  criticism 
of  competent  judges.  Before  the  effects  of  the  French 
Revolution  reached  Italy  this  was  one  of  the  best  establish- 
ments of  the  kind  in  that  kingdom.  In  the  hall  of  the 
academy  were  some  admirable  pieces  of  Correggio,  as  well 
as  several  ancient  paintings  and  statues  of  great  merit, — 
particularly  a  small  bust  of  Vitellius,  and  a  statue  of 
Agrippina,  of  most  exquisite  beauty,  though  it  wants  the 
bead  and  arms.  Tho  Academy  of  the  Arts,  which  had 
been  long  established  at  Florence,  fell  into  decay,  but  was 
restored  in  the  end  of  last  century.  In  it  there  are  halls 
for  nude  and  plaster  figures,  for  the  use  of  the  sculptor  and 
the  painter.  The  hall  for  plaster  figures  had  models  of  all 
the  finest  statues  in  Italy,  arranged  in  two  lines;  but  th* 
treasures  of  this  and  the  other  institutions  for  the  fine  art? 
were  greatly  diminished  during  the  occupancy  of  Italy  by 
the  French.  In  the  saloon  of  tho  Academy  of  the  Arts  at 
Modena  there  are  many  casts  of  antique  statues ;  but  after 
being  plundered  by  the  French  it  dwindled  into  a  petty 
school  for  drawings  from  living  models ;  it  contains  tho 
skull  of  Correggio.  There  is  also  an  Academy  of  the  Fine 
Arts  in  Mantua,  and  another  at  Venice. 

Spain. — In  Madrid  an  Academy  for  Painting,  Sculp- 
ture, and  Architecture,  was  founded  by  Philip  V.  The 
minister  for  foreign  affairs  is  president.  Prizes  are  dis- 
tributed _  every  three  years.  In  Cadiz  a  few  students 
are  supplied  by  Government  with  the  means  of  drawing 
and  modelling  from  figures ;  and  such  as  are  not  able 
to  purchase  the  requisite  instruments  are  provided  with 
them. 

Sweden. — An  Academy  of  the  Fine  Arts  was  founded  at 
Stockholm  in  the  year  1733  by  Count  Tessin.  In  its  hall 
are  the  ancient  figures  of  plaster  presented  by  Louis  XIV. 
to  Charles  XL  The  works  of  the  students  are  publicly 
exhibited,  and  prizes  are  distributed  annually.  Sucn  oi 
them  as  display  distinguished  ability  obtain  pensions  from 
Government,  to  enable  them  to  reside  in  Italy  for  some 
years,  for  the  purposes  of  investigation  and  improvement. 
In  this  academy  there  are  nine  professors,  and  generally 
about  four  hundred  students.  In  the  year  1705  an 
Academy  of  Painting,  Sculpture,  aud  Architecture  was 
established  at  Vienna,  with  tho  new  of  encouraging  and 
promoting  the  fine  arts.. 

England. — The  Jioyal  Academy  of  Arts  in  London  wa» 
instituted  for  the  encouragement  of  designing,  painting, 
sculpture,  &c,  in  the  year  1768,  with  Sir  J.  Reynolds 
for  its  president.  This  academy  is  under  t'">  immediate 
patronage  of  the  queen,  and  under  the  direction  of  forty 
artists  of  the  first  rank  in  their  several  professions.  It 
furnishes,  in  winter,  living  models  of  different  characters 
to  draw  after ;  and  in  summer,  models  of  the  same  kind 
to  paint  after.  Nine  of  the  ablest  academicians  are 
annually  elected  out  of  the  forty,  whose  business  it  is  to 
attend  by  rotation,  to  set  the  figures,  to  examine  the 
performance  of  the  students,  and  to  give  them  necessary 
instructions.  There  are  likewise  professors  of  painting, 
sculpture,  architecture,  anatomy,  and  chemistry,  who 
annually  read  public  lectures  on  the  subjects  of  their 
several  departments ;  besides  a  president,  a  council,  and 
other  officers.  The  admission  to  this  academy  is  free  to 
all  students  properly  qualified  to  reap  advantage  from  the 
studies  cultivated  in  it ;  and  there  is  an  annual  exhibition 
at  Burlington  House  of  paintings,  sculptures,  and  designs, 
open  to  all  artists  of  distinguished  merit. 

The  Academy  of  Ancient  Music  was  established  in  Lon- 
don in  1710,  by  several  persons  of  distinction,  and  othei 


/ 1 


A  — A  C  G 


79 


amateurs,  in  conjunction  with  the  most  eminent  masters  of 
the  time,  with  the  view  of  promoting  the  study  and  practice 
of  vocal  and  instrumental  harmony.  This  institution, 
which  had  the  advantage  of  a  library,  consisting  of  the  most 
celebrated  compositions,  both  foreign  and  domestic,  in 
manuscript  and  in  print,  and  which  was  aided  by  the  per- 
formances of  the  gentlemen  of  the  chapel  royal,  and  the 
choir  of  St  Paul's,  with  the  boys  belonging  to  each,  con- 
tinued to  flourish  for  many  years.  In  1731  a  charge  of 
plagiarism  brought  against  Bononcini,  a  member  of  the 
academy,  for  claiming  a  madrigal  of  Lotti  of  Venice  as 
his  own,  threatened  the  existence  of  the  institution.  Dr 
Greene,  who  had  introduced  the  madrigal  into  the  aca- 
demy, took  part  with  Bononcini,  and  withdrew  from  the 
°ociety,  taking  with  him  the  boys  of  St  Paul's.  In  1734 
Mr  Gates,  another  member  of  the  society,  and  roaster  of 
the  children  of  the  royal  chapel,  also  retired  in  disgust; 
so  that  the  institution  was  thus  deprived  of  the  assistance 
which  the  boys  afforded  it  in  singing  the  soprano  parts. 
From  this  time  the  academy  became  a  seminary  for  the 
instruction  of  youth  in  the  principles  of  music  and  the 
laws  of  harmony.  Dr  Pepusch,  who  was  one  of  its  foun- 
ders, was  active  in  accomplishing  this  measure;  ani  by 
the  expedient  of  educating  boys  for  their  purpose,  and 
admitting  auditor  members,  the  subsistence  of  the  aca- 
demy wa3   continued.       T>-e    Royal   Academy   of  Music 


was  formed  by  the  principal  nobility  and  gentry  of  th6 
kingdom,  for  the  performance  of  operas,  composed  by 
Handel,  and  conducted  by  him  at  the  theatre  in  the  Hay- 
market.  The  suWrl;,!lon  amounted  to  £50,000,  and  the 
king,  besides  subscribing  £1000,  allowed  the  society  to 
assume  the  title  of  Royal  Academy.  It  consisted  of  a 
governor,  deputy-governor,  and  twenty  directors.  A  con- 
test between  Handel  and  Senesino,  ono  of  the  performers, 
in  which  the  directors  took  the  part  of  the  latter,  occa- 
sioned the  dissolution  of  the  academy,  after  it  had  subsisted 
with  reputation  for  more  than  nine  years.  The  present 
Royal  Academy  of  Music  dates  from  1822,  and  was  incor- 
porated in  1830  under  the  patronage  of  the  queen.  Il 
instructs  pupils  of  both  sexes  in  music,  charging  33  guineas 
per  annum;  but  many  receive  instruction  free.  It  also 
gives  public  concerts.  In  this  institution  the  leading 
instrumentalists  and  vocalists  of  England  have  received 
their  education.  (See  Musical  Directory  published  by 
Rudall,  Carte,  and  Co.) 

Academy  is  a  term  also  applied  to  those  royal  collegiate 
seminaries  in  which  young  men  are  educated  for  the  navy 
and  army.  In  our  country  there  are  three  colleges  ci 
this  description — the  Royal  Naval  College  at  Portsmouth, 
the  Royal  Military  Academy  at  Woolwich,  acd  tl«  R„yal 
Military  College,  Sandhurst. 

(f.  a 


A  CADIZ,  or  Acadia,  the  name  Dome  by  Nova  Scotia 
while  it  remained  a  French  settlement. 

AGALEPHJ2  (from  6.Ka\ri<j>ri,  a  nettle),  a  name  given  to 
the  animals  commonly  known  as  jelly-fish,  sea-blubber, 
Medusa;,  sea-neltles,  ic. 

ACANTHOCETHALA  (from  <W0a,  a  thorn,  and 
Kc^aXrj,  the  head),  a  group 'of  parasitic  worms,  having  the 
heads  armed  with  spines  or  hooks. 

ACANTHOPTERYGU  (from  SKav9a,  a  thorn,  and 
Ttripv^,  a  wing),  an  order  of  fishes,  having  bony  skeletons 
with  prickly  spinous  processes  in  the  dorsal  fins. 

ACANTHUS,  a  genus  of  plants  belonging  to  the  natural 
order  Acanthacece.  The  species  are  natives  of  the  southern 
parts  of  Europe.  The  most  common  species  is  the  Acan- 
thus mollis  or  Brankursinc.  It  has  large,  deeply-cut,  hairy, 
sLimng  leaves,  which  are  supposed  to  have  suggested  the 
decoration  of  the  Corinthian  column.  Another  species, 
Acanthus  spiiwsus,  is  so  called  from  its  spiny  leaves. 

ACAPULCO,  a  town  and  port  in  Mexico,  on  a  bay  of 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  about  190  miles  S.S.W.  of  Mexico,  in 
N.  lat  16°  50',  W.  long.  99°  46'.  The  harbour,  which  is 
the  best  on  the  Pacific  coast,  is  almost  completely  land- 
locked. It  is  easy  of  access,  and  the  anchorage  is  so 
6ecure  that  heavily-laden  ships  can  lie  close  to  the  rocks 
which  surround  it.  The  town  lies  N.W.  of  the  harbour, 
and  is  defended  by  the  castla  of  San  Diego,  which  stands 
on  an  eminence.  During  a  part  of  the  dry  season  the  air 
is  infected  with  the  putrid  effluvia  of  a  morass  eastward  of 
the  town.  This,  together  with  the  heat  of  the  climate, 
aggravated  by  the  reflection  of  the  sun's  rays  from  the 
granite  rocks  that  environ  the  town,  rend.  ■  it  .very  un- 
healthy, especially  to  Europeans,  though  a  p-.  "e  cut 
through  the  rocks,  to  let  in  the  sea  breeze,  has  tentu..  *•» 
improve  its  salubrity.  Acapu'io  was  in  former  times  tLe 
great  depot  of  the  trade  of  Spain  with  the  East  Indies. 
A  gallenr  sailed  from  this  port  to  Manilla  in  the  Philippine 
Islands,  and  another  returned  once  a.  year  laden  with  the 
treasures  and  luxuries  of  the  East.  On  the  arrival  of  this 
galleon  a  great  fair  was  held,  to  which  merchants  rcc  rted 
fiom  all  parts  of  Mexico,     liid  trade  between  Acapulco 


and  Manila  was  annihilated  when  Mexico  became  mde 
pendent,  and,  from  'las  cause,  anu  a»so  on  account  of  the 
frequent  earthquakes  by  which  the  town  has  been  visited, 
it  had  sunk  to  comparative  insignificance,  when  the  dis- 
covery of  gold  in  California  gave  its  trade  a  fresh  impetus 
It  is  now  the  most  important  seaport  in  Mexico,  and  is 
regularly  touched  at  by  the  Pacific  mail  steamera  Beside? 
having  a  large  transit  trade,  it  exports  wool,  skins,  cocoa, 
cochineal,  and  indigo;  and  the  imports  include  cottons, 
silks,  and  hardware.     Population  about  5000. 

ACARNANLA.,  a  province  of  ancient  Greece,  now  called 
Carnia.  It  was  bounded  on  the  N.  by  the  Ambraciao 
gulf,  on  iii&  N.E.  by  Amphilochia,  on  the  W.  and  S.W. 
by  the  Ionian  Sea,  and  on  the  E.  by  iEtolia.  It  was 
a  hilly  country,  with  numerous  lakes  and  tracts  of  rich 
pasture,  and  its  hills  are  to  the  present  day  crowned  with 
thick  wood.  It  was  celebrated  for  its  exc<>ll»i:»  breed  of 
horses.  The  Ac&rnanians,  according  to  Mr  Grotc,  though 
admitted  as  Greeks  to  the  Pan-Hellenic  games,  were  more 
akin  in  character  and  manners  to  their  barbarian  neighbours 
of  Epirus.  Up  to  the  time  of  the  Peloponnesian  war,  they 
are  mentioned  only  as  a  race  of  rude  sheihwdo,  divided 
into  numerous  petty  tribes,  and  engaged  in  continual  strife 
and  rapine.  They  were,  however,  favourably  distinguished 
from  their  ^Etolian  neighbours  by  the  fidelity  and  stead- 
fastness of  their  character.  They  were  good  soldiers,  and 
excelled  as  slingers.  At  the  date  above  mentioned  they 
begin,  as  the  allies  of  the  Athenians,  to  make  a  more  pro 
minent  figure  in  the  history  of  Greece.  The  chief  town 
was  Stratos,  and  subsequently  Leucaa. 

ACARUS  (from  axapi,  a  mite),  a  genus  of  Arachnides, 
represented  by  the  cheese  mite  and  other  forms. 

ACCELERATION  is  a  term  employed  to  denote  gene- 
rally the  rate  at  which  tho  velocity  of  a  body,  whose 
motion  is  not  uniform,  either  increases  or  decreases.  As 
the  velocity  is  continually  changing,  and  cannot  therefore 
be  estimated  as  in  nniforrr-.  motion,  by  the  space  actually 
passed  over  in  a  certain  time,  its  value  at  any  instant  has 
to  be  measured  by  the  space  the  bndv  weald  describe  in 
the  iv'it  .£  lin.c,  ..uppcoiiig  that  at  ana  Ixom  tne  instant  in 


80 


A  C  C  — A  C  C 


question  the  motion  became  and  continued  uniform.  If 
the  motion  is  such  that  the  velocity,  thus  measured,  in- 
creases or  decreases  by  equal  amounts  in  equal  intervals  of 
time,  it  is  said  to  be  uniformly  accelerated  or  retarded. 
In  that  case,  if  /  denote  the  amount  of  increase  or  decrease 
of  velocity  corresponding  to  the  unit  of  time,  the  whole  of 
such  increase  or  decrease  in  t  units  of  time  will  evidently 
be  ft,  and  therefore  if  u  be  the  initial  and  v  the  final 
velocity  for  that  interval,  v  =  u  ±fl, — the  upper  sign  apply- 
ing to  accelerated,  the  lower  to  retarded,  motion.  To  find 
the  distance  or  space,  s,  gone  over  in  I  units  of  time,  let  t 
be  divided  into  n  equal  intervals.     The  velocities  at  the 

t  it 

end  of  the  successive  intervals  will  be  it  ±  /  -  ,  u  ±/  —  , 

'  n  J    n 

u  ±/  —  ,  &c.     Let  it  now  be  supposed  that  during  each 

of  these  small  intervals  the  body  has  moved  uniformly 
with  its  velocity  at  the  end  of  the  interval,  then  (since  a 
body  moving  uniformly  foi  x  seconds  with  a  velocity  of  y 
feet  per  second  will  move  through  xy  feet)  the  spaces 
described  in  the  successive  intervals  would  be  the  product 

of  the  velocities  given  above  by  -  ,  and  the  whole  space  in 

the  time  t  would  be  the  sum  of  these  spaces;  i.e., 

t                                                      t2 
t  =  «-(!  +  !....  repeated  n  times)  ±/--j(l  +  2  +  3 +n) 


—4"-^ 


-  at  =•= 


>H)- 


It  is  evident,  however,  that  as  the  increase  or  decrease  of 
velocity  takes  place  continuously,  this  sum  will  be  too 
large;  but  the  greater  n  is  taken,  or  (which  is  the  same 
thing)  tho  smaller  the  intervals  are  during  which  the 
velocity  is  supposed  to  be  uniform,  the  nearer  will  the 
result  be  to  the  truth.  Hence  making  n  as  large  as  pos- 
sible,  or  -  as  small  as  possible,  i.e.,  =  0,  we  obtain  as  the 

correct  expression  J  —  ut  *  -  ft*.  In  the  case  of  motion 
from  rest,  u'=  0,  and  the  above  formulae  become  v  =ft, 

2  ' 

We  have  a  familiar  instance  of  uniformly  accelerated 
and  uniformly  retarded  motion  m  the  case  of  bodies  fall- 
ing and  rising  vertically  near  the  earth's  surface,  where,  if 
the  resistance  of  the  air  be  neglected,  the  velocity  of  the 
is  increased  or  diminished,  in  consequence  of  the 
earth's  attraction,  by  a  uniform  amount  in  each  second  of 
time.  To  this  amount  is  given  the  name  of  the  accelera- 
■  of  .gravity  (usually  denoted  by  the  letter^),  the  value 
of  which,  in  our  latitudes  and  at  the  surface  of  the  sea,  is 
very  nearly  32 J-  feet  per  second.  Hence  the  space  a  body 
falls  from  rest  in  any  number  of  seconds  is  readily  found 
by  multiplying  16^  feet  by  the  square  of  the  number  of 
seconds.  For  a  fuller  account  of  accelerating  force, — ex- 
pressed in  the  notation  of  the  Differential  Calculus  by 
dv         ,  dri 


it 


a  , — the  reader  is  referred  to  the  article 


/=  *  Tt  or/ 

Dynamics. 

ACCENT,  in  reading  or  speaking,  is  the  stress  or 
pressure  of  tho  voice  upii  a  syllable  of  a  word.  The  deriva- 
tion of  the  term  (Lat.  aecentus,  quasi  adcanlus)  clearly  shows 
that  it  was  employed  by  the  classical  grammaiians  to- 
express  the  production  of  a  musical  effect.  Its  origin  is 
therefore  ty  be  sought  in  the  natural  desire  of  man  to 
gratify  the  ear  by  modulated  sound,  and  probably  no 
language  exists  in  which  it  does  not  play  a  more  pr  less 
important  part.  ■  "  Only  a  machine,"  says  Professor  Blackie 
(Tlace  and  Power  of  Accent  in  Language,  in  the  Transac- 
tion* of  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh,  1871),  "  could 


produco  a  continuous  series  of  sounds  in  undistinguished 
monotonous  repetitions  like  the  turn,  turn,  turn,  of  a  drum; 
a  rational  being  using  words  for  a  rational  purpose  to 
manifest  his  .thoughts  and  feelings,  necessarily  accents  both 
words  and  sentences  in  some  way  or  other."  That  tho 
accentuation  of  some  languages  is  more  distinct,  various, 
and  effective  than  that  of  others  is  beyond  question,  but 
there  are  none,  so  far  as  we  know,  in  which  its  power  is 
not  felt.  The  statement  sometimes  made,  that  the  French 
have  no  accent  in  their  words,  can  only  mean  that  their 
accent  is  less  emphatic  or  less  variously  so  than  that 
of  certain  other  nations.  U  it  means  more,  it  is  not 
merely  an  error,  but  an  absurdity.  From  this  conception 
of  the  subject,  it  is  obvious  that  accent  must  be  funda- 
mentally the  same  thing  in  all  languages,  and  must  aim 
more  or  less  successfully  at  the  same  results,  however 
diverse  the  rules  by  which  it  is  governed.  But  there  are, 
nevertheless,  important  differences  between  the  conditions 
under  which  accent  operated  in  the  classical,  and  those  in 
which  it  operates  in  modern  tongues.  It  did  not  wholly 
determine  the  rhythm,  nor  in  the  least  affect  the  metre  of 
classical  verse  ;  it  did  not  fix  the  quantity  or  length  of 
classical  syllables.  It  was  a  musical  element  superadded 
to  the  measured  structure  of  prose  and  verse. 

Passing  over  the  consideration  of  the  accentual  system  of 
the  Hebrews  with  the  single  remark,  that  it  exhibits,  though 
with  more  elaborate  and  complicated  expression,  most  of 
the  characteristics  both  of  Greek  and  English  accent,  wo 
find  that  the  Greeks  employed  three  grammatical  accents, 
viz.,  the  acute  accent  ('),  which  shows  when  the  tone  of  the 
voice  is  to  be  raised ;  the  grave  accent  ('),  when  it  is  to  be 
depressed  ;  and  the  circumflex  accent  (A),  composed  of  both 
the  acute  and  the  grave,  and  pointing  out  a  kind  of  undula- 
tion of  the  voice.  The  Latins  have  made  the  same  use  as  tho 
Greeks  of  these  three  accents,  and  various  modern  nations, 
French,  English,  ia,  have  also  adopted  them.  As  to  the 
Greek  accents,  now  seen  both  in  manuscripts  and  printed 
books,  there  has  been  great  dispute  about  their  antiquity 
and  usa  But  the  following  things  seem  to  be  undoubtedly 
taught  by  the  ancient  grammarians  and  rhetoricians: — (1.) 
That  by  accent  (TrpoauSia,  toVos)  the  Greeks  understood  the 
elevation  or  falling  of  the  voice  on  a  particular  syllable 
of  a  word,  either  absolutely,  or  in  relation  to  its  position 
in  a  sentence,  accompanied  with  an  intension  or  remission 
of  the  vocal  utterance  on  that  syllable  (c-n-iTao-ii,  awo-is), 
occasioning  a  marked  predominance  of  that  syllable  over 
the  other  syllables  of  the  word.  The  predominance  thus 
giten,  however,  had  no  effect  whatever  on  the  quantity 
- — long  or  short — of  the  accented  syllable.  The  accented 
syllable  in  Greek  as  in  English,  might  be  long  or  it  might 
be  short ;  elevation  and  emphasis  of  utterance  being  one 
thing,  and  prolongation  of  the  vocal  sound  quite  another 
thing,  as  any  onn  acquainted  with  the  first  elements  of 
music  will  at  once  perceive.  The  difficulty  which  many 
modern  scholars  have  experienced  in  conceiving  how  a 
syllable  could  be  accented  and  not  lengthened,  has  arisen 
partly  from  a  complete  want  of  distinct  ideas  on  the  nature 
of  the  elements  of  which  human  speech  is  composed,  and 
partly  also  from  a  vicious  practice  which  has  long  pre- 
vailed in  the  English  schools,  of  reading  Greek,  not  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  of  its  own  accentuation,  but  according  to 
the  accent  of  Latin  handed  down  to  us  through  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  For  the  rules  of  Latin  accentuation  are, 
as  Quintilian  and  Cicero  and  the  grammarians  expressly 
mention,  very  different  from  the  Greek ;  and  the  long  syllable 
of  a  word  has  the  accent  in  Latin  in  a  hundred  cases,  where 
the  musical  habit  of  the  Greek  ear  placed  it  upon  the  short. 
There  is,  besides,  a  ^ast  number  of  words  in  Greek  accented 
on  tho  last  syllable  (like  voluntee!r,  ambuscade,  in  English), 
of  which  not  a  single  instance  occurs  in  the  Latin  lau- 


ACCENT 


81 


,Tiago.  Partly,  however,  from  ignorance,  partly  from  care- 
lessness, and  partly  perhaps  from  stupidity,  our  scholars 
transferred  the  pronunciation  of  the  more  popular  learned 
language  to  that  which  was  less  known;  and  with  the 
help  of  time  and  constant  usage,  so  habituated  themselves 
to  identify  the  accented  with  the  long  syllable,  according 
to  the  analogy  of  the  Latin,  that  they  began  seriously 
to  doubt  the  possibility  of  pronouncing  otherwise.  Eng- 
lish scholars  have  long  ceased  to  recognise  its  existence, 
and  persist  in  reading  Greek  as  if  the  accentual  marks 
meant  nothing  at  all  Even  those  who  allow  (like  Mr 
W.  G.  Clark  and  Professor  Munro)  that  ancient  Greek 
Accent  denoted  an  elevation  of  voice  or  tone,  are  still  of 
opinion  that  it  13  impossible  to  reproduce  it  in  modern 
times.  "  Here  and  there,"  says  the  former  (Cambridge 
Journal  of  Philology,  vol.  L  1868),  "a  person  may  be 
found  with  such  an  exquisite  ear,  and  such  plastic  organs 
>f  speech,  as  to  be  able  to  reproduce  the  ancient  distinction 
between  the  length  and  tone  of  syllables  accented  and 
unaccented,  and  many  not  so  gifted  may  fancy  that  they 
reproduce  it  when  they  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  For  the 
mass  of  boys  and  men,  pupils  as  well  as  teachers,  the  dis- 
tinction is  practically  impossible."  But,  in  spite  of  such 
pessimist  views,  it  may,  on  the  whole,  be  safely  asserted 
that  since  the  appearance  of  a  more  philosophical  spirit  in 
philology,  under  the  guidance  of  Hermann,  Boeckh,  and 
other  master-minds  among  the  Germans,  the  best  gram- 
marians have  come  to  recognise  the  importance  of  this 
element  of  ancient  Hellenic  enunciation,  while  not  a  few 
carry  out  their  principles  into  a  consistent  practice.  The 
only  circumstance,  indeed,  that  prevents  our  English 
scholars  from  practically  recognising  the  element  of  accent 
in  classical  teaching,  is  the  apprehension  that  this  would 
interfere  seriously  with  the  practical  inculcation  of  quantity; 
an  apprehension  in  which  they  are  certainly  justified  by 
the  practice  of  the  modern  Greeks,  who  have  given  such  a 
predominance  to  accent,  as  altogether  to  subordinate,  and 
in  many  cases  completely  overwhelm  quantity;  and  who 
also,  in  public  token  of  this  departure  from  the  classical 
habit  of  pronunciation,  regularly  compose  their  verses  with 
a  reference  to  the  spoken  acceat  only,  leaving  the  quantity 
— as  in  modern  language  generally—  altogether  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  poet.  But,  as  experiment  will  teach  any 
one  that  there  is  no  necessity  whatever  in  the  nature  of 
the  human  voice  for  this  confusion  of  two  essentially 
different  elements,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  English  scholars 
will  soon  follow  the  example  of  the  Germans,  and  read 
Greek  prose  at  least  systematically  according  to  the  laws 
of  classical  speech,  as  handed  down  to  us  by  the  gram- 
marians of  Alexandria  and  Byzantium.  In  the  recitation 
of  classical  verse,  of  course,  as  it  was  not  constructed  on 
accentual  principles,  the  skilful  reader  will  naturally  allow 
the  musical  accent,  or  the  emphasis  of  the  rhythm  to  over- 
bear, to  a  great  extent,  or  altogether  to  overwhelm,  the 
accent  of  the  individual  word ;  though  with  regard  to  the 
recitation  of  verse,  it  will  always  remain  a  problem  how  far 
the  ancients  themselves  did  not  achieve  an  "  accenluum 
am  quantitate  apta  conciliatlo,"  such  as  that  which  Her- 
mann (Be  emendanda  ratione,  etc.)  describes  as  the  per- 
fection of  a  polished  classical  enunciation.  A  historic 
survey  of  the  course  of  learned  opinion  on  the  subject  of 
accent,  from  the  age  of  Erasmus  down  to  the  present  day, 
forms  an  interesting  and  important  part  of  Professor 
Blackie's  essay  quoted  above.  See  Pennington's  work  on 
Greek  Pronunciation,  Cambridge,  1844  ;  the  German  work 
on  Greek  Accent  by  Gottling  (English),  London,  1.S31 ;  and 
Blackie's  essay  on  the  Place  and  Power  of  Accent,  in  the 
Transactions  of  tlie  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh,  1S70-71. 
If  there  is  any  perplexity  regarding  the  nature  or  influ- 
ence of  classical  accent,  there  is  none  about  English,     fi 


does  not  conflict  or  combine  with  the  modulations  of  quan- 
tity. It  is  the  sole  determining  element  in  our  metrical 
system.  Almost  the  very  earliest  of  our  authors,  the 
Venerable  Bede,  notices  this.  In  denning  rhythm  he 
say3 — "It  is  a  modulated  composition  of  words,  not 
according  to  the  laws  of  metre,  but  adapted  in  the  number 
of  its  syllables  to  the  judgment  of  the  ear,  as  are  the  verses 
of  our  vulgar  poets"  (Bede,  Op.  voL  i.  p.  57,  ed.  1553). 
We  have,  of  course,  long  vowels  and  short,  like  the  Greeks 
and  the  Romans,  but  we  do  not  regulate  our  verse  by 
them;  and  our  mode  of  accentuation  is  sufficiently  despotic 
to  occasionally  almost  change  their  character,  so  that  a 
long  vowel  shall  seem  short,  and  vice  versa.  In  reality 
this  is  not  so.  The  long  vowel  remains  long,  but  then  its 
length  gives  it  no  privilege  of  place  in  a  verse.  It  may 
modify  the  enunciation,  it  may  increase  the  roll  of  sound, 
but  a  short  vowel  could  take  its  place  without  a  violation 
of  mstre.  Take  the  word  far,  for  example;  there  the 
vowel  a  is  long,  yet  in  the  Una 

"  0  Moon,  far-spooming  Ocean  bows  to  thee, 

it  is  not  necessary  that  the  a  in  far  should  be  long;  a 
short  vowel  would  do  as  well  for  metrical  purposes,  and 
would  even  bring  out  more  distinctly  the  accentuation  of 
the  syllable  spoom. 

Originally  English  accent  was  upon  the  root,  and  not 
upon  inflectional  syllables.  Gottling  finds  the  same  prin- 
ciple operating  in  Greek,  but  in  that  language  it  certainly 
never  exercised  the  universal  sway  it  does  in  the  earlier 
forms  of  English.  In  the  following  passage  from  Beowulf, 
the  oldest  monument  of  English  literature,  belonging,  in  its 
first  form,  to  a  period  even  anterior  to  the  invasion  of 
Britain  by  the  Angles  and  Saxons,  we  shall  put  the 
accented  or  emphatic  syllables  in  italics : — 

Strdel  waes  sMn-fah    .     .  The  street  was  of  variegated  stonft 

stig  wisode    •     .     •     •     •  the  path  directed 

gumum  aet-y<Ka*ero     .     .  the  men  together ; 

yid-'byme  scan  ....  the  war- corselet  shone 

heard,  AonaMocen  •     •     •  hard,  hand-locked ; 

hring-iien  scir  ....  the  ring-iron  bright 

song  hi  searwum    ...  sang  in  their  trappings, 

pa  hie  t6  *ele  furduiu       .  when  they  to  the  hall  forward 

in  hyra  grj/re-gcatvram    .  in  their  terrible  armour 

gangan  cwomon     ...  came  to  go. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  these  verses  the  accent  (not  to 
be  confounded  with  the  mark  which  is  used  in  Anglo-Saxon 
to  show  that  the  vowel  over  which  it  is  placed  is  long)  is 
invariably  on  a  monosyllable,  or  on  the  root  part  of  a 
word  of  more  than  one  syllable.  The  passage  is  also  a 
good  illustration  of  what  has  previously  been  stated,  that 
the  metre  or  rhythm  in  English  is  determined  not  by  the 
vowel-quantity  of  a  syllable,  but  by  the  stress  of  the  voice 
on  particular  syllables,  whether  the  vowels  are  long  or 
short.  In  the  older  forms  of  English  verse  the  accent  i>; 
somewhat  irregular;  or,  to  put  it  more  accurately,  the 
number  of  syllables  intervening  between  the  recurrent 
accents  is  not  definitely  fixed.  Sometimes  two  or  more 
intervene,  sometimes  none  at  all.  Take,  for  example,  the 
opening  lines  of  Langland's  poem,  entitled  the  Vision  oj 
Piers  the  Plowman: — 


"In  a  somer  sesort 

Whan  soft  was  the  sonne, 

I  skope  me  in  shroudes, 

As  I  a  shept  were, 

In  habit  as  an  Eremite 

UnAoly  of  workes, 

Went  wide  in  this  world 

JFcmdere  to  here. 

Ac  on  a  May  mornyngo 

On  JAiZuerne  hulles, 


Meby/cJa/frly, 
Of /airy,  me  thonghte  ; 
I  was  way  {orwandted, 
And  went  me  to  rate 
Under  a  brode  tanke 
By  a  comes  side. 
Aid  as  I  lay  and  lened, 
And  lohti.  in  the  waters, 
I  sfombred  in  a  slepyvg, 
It  siceyuei  so  merye," 


But  no  matter  how  irregular  the  time  elapsing  between  the 


82 


ACCENT 


recurrence  of  the  accents,  they  are  always  on  the  root- 
syllables. 

The  Norman  Conquest,  however,  introduced  a  different 
system,  which  gradually  modified  the  rigid  uniformity  of 
the  native  English  accentuation.  The  change  is  visible  as 
early  as  the  end  of  tho  12th  century.  By  the  middle  of 
the  14th,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  age  of  Chaucer,  it  is  in  full 
operation:  Its  origin  is  thus  explained  by  Mr  Mirsh,  in 
his  Origin  and  History  of  the  English  Language  (Lond., 
1862): — "  The  vocabulary  of  the  French  language  is  de- 
rived, to  a  great  extent,  from  Latin  words  deprived  of  their 
terminal  inflections.  The  French  adjective^  mortal  and 
fatal  are  formed  from  the  Latin  mortalis  and  fatalis,  by 
dropping  the  inflected  syllable ;  the  French  nouns  nation 
and  condition  from  the  Latin  accusatives  nationem,  condi- 
tioncm,  by  rejecting  the  em  final.  In  most  cases,  the  last 
syllable  retained  in  the  French  derivatives  was  prosodically 
long  in  the  Latin  original ;  and  either  because  it  was  also 
accented,  or  because  the  slight  accent  which  is  perceivable 
in  the  French  articulation  represents  temporal  length,  tho 
stress  of  the  voice  was  laid  on  the  final  syllable  of  all  these 
words.  When  we  borrowed  such  words  froin  the  French 
■we  took  them  with  their  native  accentuation ;  and  as  ac- 
cent is  much  stronger  in  English  than  in  French,  the  final 
syllable  was  doubtless  more  forcibly  enunciated  in  the 
former  than  in  the  latter  language."  The  new  mode  of  ac- 
centuation soon  began  to  affect  even  words  of  pure  English 
origin — e.g.,  in  Robert  of  Gloucester  we  find  iaishede  instead 
of  falshcde,  tidinge  instead  of  tidinge,  treweA«fe  instead 
of  treweh.ede,  gladrfore  instead  of  gladdove,  wisliche  instead 
of  wisliche,  hegynnyng  instead  of  begynrcyng,  endyng  in- 
stead of  endjag.  In  the  Proverbs  of  Hendyng  we  have  no- 
tkyng  for  noting,  hab&era  for  habhen,  iomon  for/omon  ;  in 
Robert  of  Brunne,  halycforo  for  Aafydom,  clothy?!<7  for  cloth- 
ing, gcetand  for  preiand.  Chaucer  furnishes  numerous  in- 
stances of  the  same  foreign  influence  revolutionising  the 
native  accent;  fredom  for/redom,  hethenesse  for  A^Aenesse, 
worthinesse  for  wortAinesse,  lowly  for  louAj,  wynnynge  for 
tvynnynge,  weddynge  for  weddynge,  cotnynge  for  comynge ; 
and  it  is  traceable  even  in  Spenser.  On  the  other  hand, 
a  contrary  tendency  must  not  be  overlooked.  We  see  an 
effort,  probably  unconscious,  to  compel  words  of  French 
origin  to  submit  to  the  rule  of  English  accentuation.  It  is 
noticeable  in  the  century  before  Chaucer :  in  Chaucer  him- 
self it  begins  to  work  strongly ;  mortal  becomes  mortal ; 
tempest,  tempest;  substance,  suostance;  amyaWe,  amyable; 
nionsdL  morsel ;  servise,  servise  ;  duchesse,  duchesf.e  ;  cosyn, 
cosyn,  &c. ;  while  a  multitude  of  words  oscillate  between 
the  rival  modes  of  accentuation,  now  following  the  French 
and  now  the  English.  Before  and  during  the  Elizabethan 
period,  the  latter  began  to  prove  the  Stronger,  and  for  the 
last  300  years  it  may  be  said  to  have,  for  the  most  part, 
Anglicised  the  accent  and  the  nature  of  the  foreign  additions 
to  our  vocabulary.  Nevertheless,  many  French  words  still 
retain  tlieir  own  accent.  Morris  (Historical  Outlines  of 
English  Accidence,  p.  75)  thus  classifies  these : — 

"  (1.)  Nouns  in  -ade,  -ier  (-eer),  -e',  -ee,  or  -con,  -ine,  (-in),  asms- 
cade',  crusade',  &c. ;  cavalier',  chandelier',  &c  ;  gazetteer',  pioneer', 
&c  (in  conformity  with  these  we  say  harpoonetr1,  mountaineer',)  ; 
legatee1,  payee",  &c.  ;  balloon',  cartoon',  &c  ;  chagriA',  violin',  4c  ; 
routine1,  marine',  &c 

"Also  the  following  words: — cadet',  brunette',  gazette',  cravat', 
canaV,  control',  gazelle,  amateur1 ',  fatigue' ',  antique',  police',  &c 

"(2.)  Adjectives  (a)  from  Lat.  adj.  in  us,  as  august!,  benign',  ro- 
bust', &c. ;  (b)  in  -ose,  as  morose',  verbose",  &c  ;  (c)  -esque,  as  bur- 
lesque ',  grotesque!,  &c. 

"  (3.)  Some  verbs,  as  baptize1,  cajole',  caress1,  carouse',  chastise', 
escape',  esteem',  &c" 

To  these  may  be  added  the  Greek  and  Latin  -words 
which  have  been  introduced  into  English  for  scientific  and 
other  learned  purposes,  and  which,  not  having  been  altered 
in  form,  retain  their  original  accentuation — as  aurora, 


coro'na,  colos'sus,  ide'a,hypoth'esis,  exsu'ra,  dice'resis,  diag- 
nosis, diluvium,  diploma,  efilu'vium,  elys'ium,  ore. ;  besides 
the  still  larger  number  that  have  suffered  a  slight  modifi- 
cation of  form,  but  no  change  of  accent,  as  dialectic,  diag- 
nostic, efflorescent,  elliptic,  emersion,  emol'lient,  ic.  The 
Italian  contributions  to  our  tongue  retain  their  original 
accent  when  the  form  is  untouched,  as  mulat'to,  sona'ta,  vol- 
cano, but  lose  it  when  the  form  is  shortened,  as  bandit 
(It.  bandi'to). 

A  change  in  the  position  of  the  accent  serves  a  variety 
of  purposes  in  English.  It  distinguishes  (1.)  a  noun  from 
a  verb,, as  ac'cent,  accent';  augment,  augment';  torment, 
torment';  com'ment,  comment';  con'sort,  consort';  contest, 
contest';  contrast,  contrast';  digest,  digest';  dis'count,  dis- 
count'; in'sult,  insult',  &c. ;  (2.)  an  adjective  from  a  verb, 
as  ab'sent,  absent';  fre'queut,  frequent';  pre'sent,  present'; 
com'pound,  compound',  &c. ;  (3.)  an  adjective  from  a  noun, 
as  ex'pert,  expert';  com'pact,  compact'.  It  also  denotes  a 
difference  of  meaning,  e.g.,  conjure,  conjure':  in 'cense, 
incense';  au'gust,  august';  supine,  supine'. 

Accent  has  exercised  a  powerful  influence  in  changing 
the  forms  of  words.  The  unaccented  syllables  in  tho 
course  of  time  frequently  dropped  off.  This  process  was 
necessarily  more  rapid  and  thorough  in  English  than  in 
many  other  languages  which  were  not  subjected  to  equal 
strain.  The  Norman  Conquest  made  havoc  of  the  English 
tongue  for  a  time.  It  was  expelled  from  the  court,  the 
schools,  the  church,  and  the  tribunals  of  justice ;  it  ceased 
to  be  Bpoken  by  priests,  lawyers,  and  nobles ;  its  only 
guardians  were  churls,  ignorant,  illiterate,  indifferent  to 
grammar,  and  careless  of  diction.  Who  can  wonder  if, 
in  circumstances  like  these,  it  suffered  disastrous  eclipse  1 
The  latter  part  of  tho  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  furnishes 
melancholy  evidence  of  the  chao3  into  which  it  had  fallen, 
yet  out  of  this  chaos  it  rose  again  into  newness  of  life, 
reforming  and  re-accenting  its  half-ruined  vocabulary,  and 
drawing  from  the  very  agent  of  its  destruction  the  elements 
of  a  richer  and  more  plastic  expression.  For  it  cannot  be 
doubted  that  the  irregularities  now  existing  in  English 
accent,  though  perplexing  to  a'  foreigner,  copiously  vary 
the  modulation,  and  so  incrftise  the  flexibility  and  power 
of  the  language.  Tho  older  forms  of  English,  those  in  uso 
before  the  Conquest,  and  down  to  the  period  of  Chaucer, 
are  stiff,  monotonous,  and  unmusical  A  hard  strength  is 
in  the  verso,  but  no  liquid  sweetness  or  nimble  grace. 
Now,  it  is  possible,  in  spite  of  our  deficiency  in  vowel 
endings,  to  produce  the  noblest  melody  in  accent  words 
known  to  the  modern  world.  Almost  every  kind  of  metre, 
swift  or  slow,  airy  or  majestic,  has  been  successfully 
attempted  since  the  age  of  the  Canterbury  Tales.  When 
we  compare  the  drone  of  Caedmon  with  the  aerial  melody 
of  the  Skylark,  the  Cloud,  and  the  Arethusa  of  Shelley, 
we  see  what  an  infinite  progress  has  been  made'  by 
the  development  of  accent  in  the  rhythm  of  our  native 
tongue. 

See  Lectures  on  the  English  Language,  by  G.  P.  Marsh 
(Lond.  1S61);  the  Origin  and  History  of  the  English 
L  t.fjiiage,  &c,  by  G.  P.  Marsh  (Lond.  1862);  Historische 
Grammalik  der  Englisclie  Sprache,  von.  C.  Friedrich  Koch 
(18G3-69);  Tlie  English  Language,  by  R.  G.  Latham 
•  (1855) ;  Philological  Essays,  by  the  Eev.  Richard  Garnett 
(Lond.  1859);  On.  Early  English  Pronunciation,  with 
especial  reference  to  Sha&spere  and  Chaucer,  by  A.  J.  Ellis 
'Lond.  1SG7-71);  Historical  Outlines  of  English  Accidence, 
by  Dr  R.  Morris  (Lond.  1872).  (j.  M.  R.) 

ACCEPTANCE  is  the  act  by  which  a  person  binds 
himself  to  comply  with  the  request  contained  in  a  bill  of 
exchange  addressed  to  him  by  the  drawer.  In  all  cases  it 
is  understood  to  be  a  promise  to  pay  the  bill  in  money,  the 
law  not  recognising  an  acceptance  in  which  the  promise  is 


A  C  C-AC  C 


83 


to  pay  in  some  other  way,  as,  for  example,  partly  in  money 
and  partly  by  another  bill  Acceptance  may  be  absolute, 
conditional,  or  partial.  Absolute  acceptance  is  an  engage- 
ment to  pay  the  bill  strictly  according  to  its  tenor,  and  is 
made  by  the  drawee  subscribing  his  name,  with  or  without 
-tho  word  "  accepted,"  at  the  bottom  of  the  bill,  or  across 
•the  face  of  it.  Conditional  acceptance  is  a  promise  to  pay 
■on  a  contingency  occurring,  as,  for  example,  on  the  sale  of 
vertain  goods  consigned  by  tlie  drawer  to  the  acceptor.  No 
•contingency  is  allowed  to  be  mentioned  in  the  body  of  the 
bill,  but  a  contingent  acceptance  is  quite  legal,  and- equally 
binding  with  an  absolute  acceptance  upon  the  acceptor 
when  the  contingency  has  occurred.  Partial  acceptance  is 
where  the  promise  is  to  pay  only  part  of  the  sum  mentioned 
in  the  bill,  or  to  pay  at  a  different  time  or  place  from 
those  specified.  In  all  cases  acceptance  involves  the 
iigna'ture  of  the  acceptor  either  by  himself  or  by  some 
person  duly  authorised  on  his  behalf.  A  bill  can  be 
accepted  in  the  first  instance  only  by  the  person  or  persons 
to  whom  it  is  addressed ;  but  if  he  or  they  fail  to  do  so,  it 
may,  after  being  protested  for  non-acceptance,  be  accepted 
by  another  "  supra  protest,"  for  the  sake  of  the  honour  of 
one  or  more  of  the  parties  concerned  in  it. 

ACCESSION  is  applied,  in  a  historical  or  constitutional 
■sense,  to  the  coming  to  the  throne  of  a  dynasty  or  line  of 
sovereigns,  as  the  accession  of  the  House  cf  Hanover.  The 
corresponding  term,  when  a  single  sovereign  is  spoken  of, 
is  "  succession."  In  law,  accession  is  a  method  of  acquiring 
property,  by  which,  in  things  that  have  a  close  connection  with 
or  dependence  on  one  another,  the  property  of  the  principal 
draws  after  it  the  property  of  the  accessory,  according  to  the 
principle,  accessio  cedet  principali,  or  accessorium  sequitur 
principale.  Thus,  the  owner  of  a  cow  becomes  likewise  the 
owner  of  the  calf,  and  a  landowner  becomes  proprietor  of 
what  is  added  to  his  estate  by  alluvion.  Accession  produced 
by  the  art  or  industry  of  man  has  been  called  industrial 
accession,  and  may  be  by  specification,  as  when  wine  is  made 
out  of  grapes,  or  by  Confusion  or  commixture.  Accession 
■sometimes  likewise  signifies  consent  or  acquiescence.  Thus, 
in  the  bankrupt  law  of  Scotland,  when  there  is  a  settlement 
by  a  trust-deed,  it  is  accepted  on  the  part  of  each  creditor 
by  a  deed  of  accession. 

ACCESSORY,  a  person  guilty  of  a  felonious  offence, 
net  as  principal,  but  by  participation ;  as  by  advice,  command, 
aid,  or  concealment.  In  treason,  accessories  are  excluded, 
every  individual  concerned  being  considered  as  a  principal. 
In  crimes  under  the  degree  of  felony,  also,  all  persons 
concerned,  if  guilty  at  all,  are  regarded  as  principals.  (See 
24  and  25  Vict.  c.  04.  s.  8.)  There  are  two  kinds  of 
accessories — before  the  fact,  and  after  it.  The  first  is  he 
-who  commands  or  procures  another  to  commit  felony,  and 
is  not  present  himself ;  for  if  he  be  present,  he  is  a  principal 
The  second  is  he  who  receives,  assists,  or  comforts  any 
man  that  has  done  murder  or  felony,  whereof  he  ha3 
knowledge.  An  accessory  before  the  fact  is  liable  to  th  > 
same  punishment  as  the  principal ;  and  there  is  now  indeed 
no  practical  difference  between  such  an  accessory  and  a 
principal  in  regard  either  to  indictment,  trial,  or  punishment 
(24  and  25  Vict.  c.  94).  Accessories  after  the  fact  are  in 
g-oneral  punishable  with  imprisonment  for  a  period  not 
exceeding  two  years  (ib.  s.  4).  The  law  of  Scotland  makes 
no  distinction  between  the  accessory  to  any  crime  (called 
art  and  part)  and  the  principal.  Except  in  the  case  of 
treason,  accession  after  the  fact  is  not  noticed  by  tho 
law  of  Scotland,  unless  as  an  element  of  evidence  to  Drove 
previous  accession. 

ACCIAJUOLI,  Donato,  was  born  at  Florence  in  1428. 
lie  was  famous  for  his  learning,  especially  in  Greek  and 
mathematics,  and  for  his  sendees  to  his  native  state. 
Having  previously  been  intrusted  with  several  important 


embassies,  he  became  Gonfalonier  of  Florence  in  1 473.  He 
died  at  Milan  in  1478,  when  on  his  way  to  Paris  to  ask  the 
aid  of  Louis  XL  on  bshalf  of  the  Florentines  against  Pope 
Sixtus  IV.  His  body,  was  taken  back  to  Florence,  and 
buried  in  the  church  of  tho  Carthusians  at  the  public 
expense,-  and  his  daughters  were  portioned  by  his  fellow- 
citizens,  the  fortune  he  left  being,  owing  to  his  probity  and 
disinterestedness,  very  smalL  He  wrote  a  Latih  transla- 
tion of  some  of  Plutarch's  Lives  (Florence,  1478);  Com- 
mentaries on  Aristotle's  Ethics  and  Politics ;  and  the  lives 
of  Hannibal,  Scipio,  and  Charlemagne.  In  the  work  on 
Aristotle  he  had  the  co-operation  of  his  master  Argyropylus. 

ACCIDENT.  An  attribute  of  a  thing  as  class  of  things, 
which  neither  belongs  to,  nor  is  in  any  way  deducible  from, 
the  essence  of  that  thing  or  class,  is  termed  its  accident. 
An  accident  may  be  either  inseparable  or  separable  :  tho 
former,  when  we  can  conceive  it  to  be  absent  from  that 
with  which  it  is  found,  although  it  is  always,  as  far  as  we 
know,  present,  i.e.,  when  it  is  not  necessarily  but  is  uni- 
versally present ;  the  latter,  when  it  is  neither  necessarily 
nor  universally  present.  It  is  often  difficult  to  determine 
whether  a  particular  attribute  is  essential  or  accidental  to  the 
object  we  are  investigating,  subsequent  research  frequently 
proving  that  what  we  have  described  as  accidental  ought  to 
be  classed  as  essential,  and  vice  versa.  Practically,  and 
for  the  time  being,  an  attribute,  which  neither  directly  nor 
indirectly  forms  part  of  the  signification  of  the  term  used 
to  designate  the  object,  may  be  considered  an  accident ; 
and  many  philosophers  look  upon  this  as  the  only  intelligible 
ground  for  the  distinction.  Propositions  expressing  the 
relation  between  a  thing  or  class  and  an  accident,  and  also 
between  a  thing  or  class  and  its  property  (i.e.,  something 
deducible  from,  but  not  strictly  forming  part  of,  its  essence), 
are  variously  styled  "accidental,"  "synthetical,"  "real," 
"  ampliative,"  in  contradistinction  to  "  essential,"  "  analy- 
tical," v-verbal,"  and  "  explicative"  propositions.  The 
former  give  us  information  that  we  could  not  have  dis- 
covered from  an  analysis  of  the  subject  notion — e.g.,  "man 
is  found  in  New  Zealand  ;"  the  latter  merely  state  what  we 
already  know,  if  we  understand  the  meaning  of  the  languago 
employed,  e.g.,  "  man  is  rational." 

ACCIUS,  a  poet  of  the  lGth  century,  to  whom  is 
attributed  A  Parapkrase  of  JEsop's  Fables,  of  which  Julius 
Scaliger  speaks  with  great  praise. 

ACCIUS  (or  Ainus),  Lucius,  a  Latin  tragic  poet,  was 
the  son  of  a  freedman,  born,  according  to  St  Jerome,  in 
the  year  of  Rome  583,  though  this  appears  somewhat 
uncertain.  He  made  himself  known  before  the  death  of 
Pacuvius  by  a  dramatic  piece,  which  he  exhibited  the  same 
year  that  Pacuvius  brought  one  on  the  stage,  the  latter  being 
then  eighty  years  of  age,  and  Accius  only  thirty.  We  do 
not  know  the  name  of  thij  piece  of  Accius's,  but  the  titles 
of  several  of  his  tragedies  are  mentioned  by  various  authors. 
Ho  wrote  on  the  most  celebrated  stories  which  had  been 
represented  on  the  Athenian  stage;  but  he  did  not  always 
take  his  subject  from  Grecian  story;  for  he  composed  at 
least  one  dramatic  piece  wholly  Roman,  entitled  Brutus, 
and  referring  to  the  expulsion  of  the  Tarquins.  Only 
fragments  of  his  tragedies  remain.  Ho  did  not  confine 
himself  to  dramatic  writing,  having  left  other  productions, 
■  urticularly  his  Annals,  mentioned  by  Macrobius,  Priscian, 
Festus,  and  Nonniua  Marcellu?.  He.  has  been  censured 
for  the  harshness  of  his  style,  but  in  other  lespects  he  has 
been  esteemed  a  great  poet.  He  died  at  an  advanced  age ; 
and  Cicero,  who  evidently  attaches  considerable  weight  to 
his  opinions,  speaks  of  having  conversed  with  Lim  in  his 
youth. 

ACCLAMATION,  the  expression  of  the  opinion,  favour- 
able or  unfavourable,  of  any  assembly  by  means  of  tho 
voice.     Applause  denotes  strictly  a  similar  expression  by 


84 


A  C  C  — A  C  C 


clapping  of  hands,  but  this  distinction  in  the  usage  of  the 
words  is  by  no  meai)3  uniformly  maintained.  Among  the 
Romans  acclamation  was  varied  both  in  form  and  purpose. 
At  marriages  it  was  usual  for  the  spectators  to  shout  Io 
Hymen,  Ilymen&e,  or  Talassio;  a  victorious  army  or  general 
was  greeted  with  Io  triumphe ;  in  the  theatre  acclamation 
was  called  for  at  the  close  of  the  play  by  the  last  actor, 
who  said,  Plaudite ;  in  the  senate  opinions  were  expressed 
and  votes  passed  by  acclamation  in  such  forms  as  Omnes, 
omnes,  jEquum  est,  Justum  est,  &c ;  and  the  praises  of  the 
emperor  were  celebrated  in  certain  pre-arranged  sentences, 
which  seem  to  have  been  chanted  by  the  whole  body  of 
senators.  The  acclamations  which  authors  and  poets  who 
recited  their  works  in  public  received  were  at  first  spon- 
taneous and  genuine,  but  in  time  became  very  largely 
mercenary,  it  being  customary  for  men  of  fortune  who 
affected  literary  tastes  to  keep  applauders  in  their  service 
and  lend  them  to  their  friends.  When  Nero  performed  in 
the  theatre  his  praises  were  chanted,  at  a  given  signal,  by 
five  thousand  soldiers,  who  were  called  Augustals.  The 
whole  was  conducted  by  a  music-master,  mesochorus  or 
pausarius.  It  was  thi3  case  of  Nero  which,  occurring  to 
the  recollection  of  the  French  poet  Dorat,  may  be  said  to 
have  originated  the  well-known  Paris  claque.  Buying  up 
a  number  of  the  tickets  for  a  performance  of  one  of  his 
plays,  he  distributed  them  gratuitously  to  those  who  pro- 
mised to  express  approbation.  From  that  time  the  claque, 
or  organised  body  of  professional  applauders,  has  been  a 
recognised  institution  in  connection  with  the  theatres  of 
Paris.  In  the  early  age3  of  the  Christian  church  it  was  by 
no  means  uncommon  for  an  audience  to  express  their  appro- 
bation of  a  favourite  preacher  during  the  course  of  his 
sermon.  Chrysostom  especially  was  very  frequently  inter- 
rupted both  by  applause  and  by  acclamations.  In  eccle- 
siastical councils  vote  by  acclamation  is  very  common,  the 
question  being  usually  put  in  the  form,  placet  or  non  placet. 
This  differs  from  the  acclamation  with  which  in  other 
assemblies  a  motion  is  said  to  be  carried,  when,  no  amend- 
ment being  proposed,  approval  is  expressed  by  shouting 
such  words  as  A  ye  or  Agreed. 

ACCLIMATISATION  is  the  process  of  adaptation  by 
wliich  animals  and  plants  are  gradually  rendered  capable 
of  surviving  and  flourishing  in  countries  remote  from  their 
original  habitats,  or  under  meteorological  conditions  dif- 
ferent from  those  which  they  have  usually  to  endure,  and 
which  are  at  first  injurious  to  them. 

The  subject  of  acclimatisation  is  very  little  understood, 
and  some  writers  have  even  denied  that  it  can  ever  take 
place.  It  is  often  confounded  with  domestication  or  with 
naturalisation;  but  these  are  both  very  different  pheno- 
mena. A  domesticated  animal  or  a  cultivated  plant  need  not 
necessarily  be  acclimatised  ;  that  is,  it  need  not  be  capable 
of  enduring  the  severity  of  the  seasons  without  protection. 
The  canary  bird  is  domesticated  but  not  acclimatised,  and 
many  of  our  most  extensively  cultivated  plants  are  in  the 
same  category.  A  naturalised  animal  or  plant,  on  the 
other  hand,  must  be  able  to  withstand  all  the  vicissitudes 
of  the  seasons  in  its  new  home,  and  it  may  therefore  be 
thought  that  it  must  have  become  acclimatised.  But  in 
many,  perhaps  most  cases  of  naturalisation,  there  is  no 
evidence  of  a  gradual  adaptation  to  new  conditions  which 
were  at  first  injurious,  and  this  is  essential  to  the  idea  of 
acclimatisation.  On  the  contrary,  many  species,  in  a  new 
country  and  under  somewhat  different  climatic  conditions, 
seem  to  find  a  more  congenial  abode  than  in  their  native  land, 
and  at  once  flourish  and  increase  in  it  to  such  an  extent  as 
often  to  exterminate  the  indigenous  inhabitants.  Thus  Agassiz 
(in  his  work  on  Lake  Superior)  tells  us  that  (he  road-aide 
weeds  of  the  north-eastern  United  States,  to  the  number  of 
130  species,  are  all  European,  the  native  weeds  having  dis- 


appeared westwards ;  while  in  New  Zealand  there  are, 
according  to  Mr  T.  Kirk  (Transactions  of  the  New  Zealand 
Institute,  vol.  ii.  p.  131),  no  less  than  250  species  of 
naturalised  plants,  more  than  100  of  which  spread  widely 
over  the  country,  and  often  displace  the  native  vegetation. 
Among  animals,  the  European  rat,  goat,  and  pig,  are 
naturalised  in  New  Zealand,  where  they  multiply  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  injure  and  probably  exterminate  many 
native  productions.  In  neither  of  these  cases  ia  there 
any  indication  that  acclimatisation  was  necessary  or  ever 
took  place. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  fact  that  an  animal  or  plant 
cannot  be  naturalised  is  no  proof  that  it  is  not  acclimatised. 
It  has  been  shown  by  Mr  Darwin  that,  in  the  case  of  most 
animals  and  plants  in  a  state  of  nature,  the  competition  of 
other  organisms  is  a  far  more  efficient  agency  in  limiting 
their  distribution  than  the  mere  influence  of  climate.  We 
have  a  proof  of  this  in  the  fact  that  so  few,  comparatively, 
of  our  perfectly  hardy  garden  plants  ever  run  wild;  and 
even  the  most  persevering  attempts  to  naturalise  them 
usually  fail.  Alphonse  de  Candolle  (Geography  Botanique, 
p.  798)  informs  us  that  several  botanists  of  Paris,  Geneva, 
and  especially  of  Montpellier,  have  sown  the  seeds  of  many 
hundreds  of  species  of  exotic  hkrdy  plants,  in  what  appeared 
to  be  the  most  favourable  situations,  but  that  in  hardly 
a  single  case  has  any  one  of  them  become  naturalised. 
Attempts  have  also  been  made  to  naturalise  continental 
insects  in  this  country,  in  places  where  the  proper  food- 
plants  abound  and  the  conditions  seem  generally  favour- 
able, but  in  no  case  do  they  seem  to  have  succeeded. 
Even  a  plant  like  the  potato,  so  largely  cultivated  and  so 
perfectly  hardy,  has  not  established  itself  in  a  wild  state 
in  any  part  of  Europe. 

Different  Degrees  of  Climatal  Adaptation  in  Animals  and 
Plants. — Plants  differ  greatly  from  animals  in  the  closeness 
of  their  adaptation  to  meteorological  conditions.  Not  only 
will  most  tropical  plants  refuse  to  live  in  a  temperate 
climate,  but  many  species  are  seriously  injured  by  removal 
a  few  degrees  of  latitude  beyond  their  natural  limits.  This 
is  probably  due  to  the  fact,  established  by  the  experiments 
of  M.  Becquerel,  that  plants  possess  no  proper  temperature, 
but  are  wholly  dependent  on  that  of  the  surrounding 
medium. 

Animals,  especially  the  higher  forms,  are  much  less 
sensitive  to  change  of  temperature,  as  shown  by  the  exten- 
sive range  from  north  to  south  of  many  species.  Thus, 
the  tiger  ranges  from  the  equator  to  northern  Asia  as  far 
as  the  river  Amour,  and  to  the  isothermal  of  32°  Fahr.  The 
mountain  sparrow  (Passer  montana)  is  abundant  in  Java 
and  Singapore  in  a  uniform  equatorial  climate,  and  abo 
inhabits  this  country  and  a  considerable  portion  of  northern 
Europe.  It  is  true  that  most  terrestrial  animals  are 
restricted  to  countries  not  possessing  a  great  range  of 
temperature  or  very  diversified  climates,  but  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  this  is  due  to  quite  a  different  set  of  causes, 
such  as  the  presence  of  enemies  or  deficiency  of  appropriate 
food.  When  supplied  with  food  and  partially  protected 
from  enemies,  they  often  show  a  wonderful  capacity  of 
enduring  climates  very  different  from  that  in  which  they 
originally  flourished.  Thus,  the  horse  and  the  domestic 
fowl,  both  natives  of  very  warm  countries,  flourish  without 
special  protection  in  almost  every  inhabited  portion  of  the 
globe.  The  parrot  tribe  form  one  of  the  most  pre-eminently 
tropical  groups  of  birds,  only  a  few  species  extending  into 
the  warmer  temperate  regions ;  yet  even  the  most  exclu- 
sively tropical  genera  are  by  no  means  delicate  birds  as 
regards  climate.  In  the  Annals  and  Magazine  of  Natural 
History  to*  1868  (p.  381)  is  a  most  interesting  account,  by 
Mr  Charles  Buxton,  M.P.,  of  the  naturalisation  of  parrots 
at  Northreps  HalL  Norfolk.     A  considerable  number  of 


ACCLIMATISATION 


85 


African  and  Amazonian  parrots,  Bengal  parroquete,  four 
species  of  white  and.  rose  crested  cockatoos,  and  two  species 
of  crimson  lories,  have  been  at  large  for  many  years. 
Several  of  these  birds  have  bred,  and  they  almost  all  live 
in  the  woods  the  whole  year  through,  refusing  to  take 
shelter  in  a  house  constructed  for  their  use.  Even  when 
the  thermometer  fell  6°  below  zero,  all  appeared  in  good 
spirits  and  vigorous  health.  Some  of  these  birds  have 
lived  thus  exposed  for  nearly  twenty  years,  enduring  our 
cold  easterly  winds,  rain,  hail,  and  snow,  all  through  the 
winter, — a  marvellous  contrast  to  the  equable  equatorial 
temperature  (hardly  ever  less  than  70°)  which  many  of  them 
had  been  accustomed  to  for  the  first  year  or  years  of  their 
existence. 

Mr  Jenner  Weir  records  somewhat  similar  facts  in  the 
Zoologist  for  1865  (p.  9411).  He  keeps  many  small  birds 
in  an  open  aviary  in  his  garden  at  Blackheath,  and  among 
these  are  the  Java  rice  bird  {Padda  oryzivora),  two  West 
African  weaver  birds  (Hyphantornis  tcztor  and  Euplectes 
sanguinirostris),  and  the  blue  bird  of  the  southern  United 
States  (Spiza  cyanea).  These  denizens  of  the  tropics  prove 
quite  as  hardy  as  our  native  birds,  having  lived  during 
the  severest  winters  without  the  slightest  protection 
against  the  cold,  even  when  their  drinking  water  had  to  be 
repeatedly  melted. 

Hardly  any  group  of  Mammalia  is  more  exclusively 
tropical  than  the  Quadrumana,  yet  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that,  if  other  conditions  are  favourable,  some  of  them  can 
withstand  a  considerable  degree  of  cold.  The  Semnopithecus 
ichistaceus  was  found  by  Captain  Hutton  at  an  elevation  of 
11,000  feet  in  the  Himalayas,  leaping  actively  among  fir- 
trees  whose  branches  were  laden  with  snow-wreaths.  In 
Abyssinia  a  troop  of  dog-faced  baboons  were  observed  by 
Mr  Blandford  at  9000  feet  above  the  sea.  We  may  there- 
fore conclude  that  the  restriction  of  the  monkey  tribe  to 
warm  latitudes  is  probably  determined  by  other  causes  than 
temperature  alone. 

Similar  indications  are  given  by  the  fact  of  closely  allied 
species  inhabiting  very  extreme  climates.  The  recently 
extinct  Siberian  mammoth  and  woolly  rhinoceros  were 
closely  allied  to  species  now  inhabiting  tropical  regions 
exclusively.  •>  Wolves  and  foxes  are  found  alike  in  the 
coldest  and  hottest  parts  of  the  earth,  as  are  closely  allied 
species  of  falcons,  owls,  sparrows,  and  numerous  genera  of 
waders  and  aquatic  birds. 

A  consideration  of  these  and  many  analogous  facts  might 
induce  us  to  suppose  that,  among  the  higher  animals  at 
least,  there  is  little  constitutional  adaptation  to  climate, 
md  that  in  their  case  acclimatisation  is  not  required.  But 
there  are  numerous  examples  of  domestic  animals  which 
show  that  such  adaptation  does  exist  in  other  cases.  The 
yak  of  Thibet  cannot  long  survive  in  the  plains  oi  India, 
or  even  on  the  hills  below  a  certain  altitude ;  and  that  this 
is  due  to  climate,  and  not  to  the  increased  density  of  the 
atmosphere,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  same  animal 
appears  to  thrive  well  in  Europe,  and  even  breeds  there 
readily.  The  Newfoundland  dog  will  not  live  in  India,  and 
the  Spanish  breed  of  fowls  in  this  country  suffer  more 
from  frost  than  most  others.  When  we  get  lower  in  the 
scale  the  adaptation  is  often  more  marked.  Snakes,  which 
are  so  abundant  in  warm  countries,  diminish  rapidly  as 
we  go  north,  and  wholly  cease  at  lat.  62°.  Most  insects  are 
also  very  susceptible  to  cold,  and  seem  to  be  adapted  to 
very  narrow  limits  of  temperature. 

From  the  foregoing  facts  and  observations  we  may  con- 
clude, firstly,  that  some  plants  and  many  animals  are  not 
constitutionally  adapted  to  the  climate  of  their  native 
country  only,  but  are  capable  of  enduring  and  flourishing 
under  a  more  or  less  extensive  range  of  temperature  and 
other  climatic  conditions ;  and,  secondly,  that  most  plants 


and  some  animals  are,  more  or  less  closely,  adapted  to 
climctes  similar  to  those  of  then:  native  habitats.  In  order 
to  domesticate  or  naturalise  the  former  clas3  in  countries 
not  extremely  differing  from  that  from  which  the  specie* 
was  brought,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  acclimatise,  in 
the  strict  sense  of  the  word.  In  the  case  of  the  latter 
class,  however,  acclimatisation  is  a  necessary  preliminary 
to  naturalisation,  and  in  many  cases  to  useful  domestica- 
tion, and  we  have  therefore  to  inquire  whether  it  is 
possible. 

Acclimatisation  by  Individual  Adaptation. — It  is  evi- 
dent that  acclimatisation  may  occur  (if  it  occurs  at  all)  in 
two  ways,  either  by  modifying  the  constitution  •  of  the 
individual  submitted  to  the  new  conditions,  or  by  the 
production  of  offspring  which  may  be  better  adapted  to 
those  conditions  than  their  parents.  The  alteration  of  the 
constitution  of  individuals  in  this  direction  is  not  easy  to 
detect,  and  its  possibility  has  been  denied  by  many  writers. 
Mr  Darwin  believes,  however,  that  there  are  indications 
that  it  occasionally  occurs  in  plants,  where  it  can  be  best 
observed,  owing  to  the  circumstance  that  so  many  plants 
are  propagated  by  cuttings  or  buds,  which  really  continue 
the  existence  of  the  same  individual  almost  indefinitely. 
He  adduces  the  example  of  vines  taken  to  the  West  Indies 
from  Madeira,  which  have  been  found  to  succeed  better 
than  those  taken  directly  from  France.  But  in  most  cases 
habit,  however  prolonged,  appears  to  have  little  effect  on 
the  constitution  of  the  individual,  and  the  fact  has  no 
doubt  led  to  the  opinion  that  acclimatisation  is  impossible. 
There  is  indeed  little  or  no  evidence  to  show  that  any 
animal  to  which  a  new  climate  is  at  first  prejudicial  cau 
be  so  acclimatised  by  habit  that,  after  subjection  to  it  for  a 
few  or  many  seasons,  it  may  live  as  healthily  and  with  a.5 
little  care  as  in  its  native  country ;  yet  we  may,  on  general 
principles,  believe  that  under  proper  conditions  such  accli' 
matisation  would  take  place.  In  his  Principles  of  Biology 
(chap,  v.),  Mr  Herbert  Spencer  has  shown  that  every  organ 
and  every  function  of  living  beings  undergoes  modification 
to  a  limited  extent  under  the  stimulus  of  any  new  con- 
ditions, and  that  the  modification  is  almost  always  such  as 
to  produce  an  adaptation  to  those  conditions.  We  may  feel 
pretty  sure,  therefore,  that  if  robust  and  healthy  individuals 
are  chosen  for  the  experiment,  and  if  the  change  they  are 
subjected  to  is  not  too  great,  a  real  individual  adaptation 
to  the  new  conditions — that  is,  a  more  or  less  complete 
acclimatisation — will  be  brought  about.  H  now  animals 
thus  modified  are  bred  from,  we  know  that  their  descendants 
will  inherit  the  modification.  They  will  thus  start  more 
favourably,  and  being  subject  to  the  influence  of  the  same 
or  a  slightly  more  extreme  climate  during  their  whole  lives, 
the  acclimatisation  will  be  carried  a  step  further;  and 
there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  that,  by  this  process  alone, 
if  cautiously  and  patiently  carried  out,  most  animals  which 
breed  freely  in  confinement  could  in  time  be  acclimatised 
in  almost  any  inhabited  country.  '  There  is,  however,  a 
much  more  potent  agent,  which  renders  the  process  of 
adaptation  almost  a  certainty. 

Acclimatisation  by  Variation. — A  mass  of  evidence  exists 
showing  that  variations  of  every  conceivable  kind  occur 
among  the  offspring  of  all  plants  and  animals,  and  that,  in 
particular,  constitutional  variations  are  by  no  means  un- 
common. Among  cultivated  plants,  for  example,  hardier 
and  more  tender  varieties  often  arise.  The  following  cases 
are  given  by  Mr  Darwin  : — Among  the  numerous  fruit-trees 
raised  in  North  America,  some  are  well  adapted  to  the 
climate  of  the  Northern  States  and  Canada,  while  others 
only  succeed  well  in  the  Southern  States.  Adaptation  of 
this  kind  is  sometimes  very  close,  so  that,  for  example,  few 
English  varieties  of  wheat  will  thrive  in  Scotland.  Seed- 
wheat  from  India  produced  a  miserable  crop  when  planted 


86 


ACCLIMATISATION 


by  the  liev.  M.  J.  Berkeley  on  land  which  would  have 
prodoced   a  good   crop   of   English   wheat.     Conversely, 
French  wheat  taken  to  the  West  Indies  produced  only 
barren  spikes,  wliile  nativo  wheat  by  its  side  yielded  an 
enormous  harvest.     Tobacco  in  Sweden,  raised  from  home- 
grown seed,  ripens  its  seeds  a  month  earlier  than  plants 
grown  from  foreign  seed.     In ,  iLily,  as  long  as  orange 
trees  were  propagated  by  grafts,  they  were  tender ;  but 
fitter  many  of  the  trees  were  destroyed  by  the  severe  frosts 
of  1709  and  17C3,  plants  were  raised  from  seed,  and  these 
were  fuund  to  be  hardier  and  more  productive  than  the 
former  kinds.     Where  plants  are  raised  from  seed  in  large 
quantities,  varieties  always  occur  differing  in  constitution, 
tm  well  as  others  differing  in  form  or  colour  ;  but  the  former 
:annot  be  perceived  by  U3  unless  marked  out  by  their 
behaviour  under  exceptional  conditions,  as  in  the  following 
cases.     After  the  severe  winter  of  1 860-6 1 ,  it  was  observed 
'hat  in  a  large  bed  of  araucarias  some  plants  stood  quite 
•luhurt  among  numbera  killed  around  them.   In  Mr  DaTwin's 
garden  two  rows  of  scarlet  runners  were  entirely  killed  by 
.'rest,  except  three  plants,  which  had  not  even  the  tips  of 
their  leaves  browned.     A  very  excellent  example  is  to  be 
found  in  Chinese  history,  according  to  M.  Hue,  who,  in 
his  L 'Empire  Chinois  (torn.  ii.  p.  359),  gives  the  following 
extract  from  the  Afcmoirs  of  lite  Emperor  Kltang : — "On 
the  1st  day  of  the  6th  moon  I  was  walking  in  some  fields 
where  rice  had  been  sown  to  be  ready  for  the  harvest  in 
the   9th  moon.     I   observed   by   chance  a   stalk   of   rice 
which  wa3  already  in  ear.     It  was  higher  than  all  the  rest, 
and  w^s  ripe  enough  to  be  gathered.     I  ordered  it  to  be 
brought  to  me.     The  grain  was  very  fine  and  well  grown, 
which  save  me  the  idea  to  keep  it  for  a  trial,  and  see  if  the 
following  year  it  would  preserve  its  precocity.     It  did  so. 
Ail   the   stalks  which  came  from   it  showed  ear  before 
the  usual  time,  and  were  ripe  in  the  6th  moon.     Each  year 
has  multiplied  the  produce  of  the  preceding,  and  for  thirty 
years  it  is  this  rice  which  has  been  served  at  my  table.     The 
grain  is  elongate,  and  of  a  reddish  colour,  but  it  has  a  sweet 
smell  and  very  pleasant  taste.     It  is  called  Yu-mi,  Imperial 
rice,  becauso  it  was  first  cultivated  in  my  gardens.     It  is 
the  only  sort  which  can  ripen  north  of  the  great  wall, 
where  the  winter  ends  late  and  begins  very  early ;  but  in 
the  southern  provinces,  where  the  climate  is  milder  and  the 
land  more  fertile,  two  harvests  a  year  may  be  easily  ob- 
tained, and  it  is  for  me  a  sweet  reflection  to  have  procured 
this  advantage  for  my  people."     M_Huc  adds  his  testimony 
that  this  kind  of  rice  flourishes  in  Mandtchuria,  where  no 
other   will   grow.      We   have   here,    therefore,    a   perfect 
example  of  acclimatisation  by  means  of  a  spontaneous  con- 
stitutional variation. 

That  this  kind  of  adaptation  may  be  carried  on  step  by 
step  to  more  and  more  extreme  climates  is  illustrated  by 
v-he  following  examples.  Sweet-peas  raised  in  Calcutta 
(rom  seed  imported  from  England  rarely  blossom,  and  never 
yield  seed ;  plants  from  French  seed  flower  better,  but  are 
still  sterile ;  •  but  those  raised  from  Darjeeling  seed  (originally 
imported  from  England)  both  flower  and  seed  profusely.  The 
peach  is  believed  to  have  been  tender,  and  to  have  ripened 
its  fruit  with  difficulty,  when  first  introduced  into  Greece;  so 
that  (as  Darwin  observes)  in  travelling  northward  during 
two  thousand  years  it  must  have  become  much  hardier. 
Dr  Hooker  ascertained  the  average  vertical  range  of 
flowering  plants  in  the  Himalayas  to  be  4000  feet,  while  in 
«nme  cases  it  extended  to  8000  feet.  The  same  species  can 
thus  endure  a  great  difference  of  temperature;  but  the 
important  fact  is,  that  the  individuals  have  become  accli- 
matised to  the  altitude  at  which  they  grow,  so  that  seeds 
gathered  near  the  upper  limit  of  the  range  of  a  species  will 
'•«■  more  hardy  than  those  gathered  near  the  lower  limit. 
This  was  Droved  by  JJr   Hooker  to  be  the   case  with 


Himalayan   conifers  and  rhododendrons,   raised  in  this, 
country  from  seed  gathered  at  different  altitudes. 

Among  animals  exactly  analogous  facts  occur.  M.  Roulin 
states  that  when  geese  wero  first  introduced  into  Bogota, 
they  laid  few  eggs  at  long  intervals,  and  few  of  the  young 
survived.  By  degrees  the  fecundity  improved,  and  in. 
about  twenty  years  became  equal  to  what  it  is  in  Europe. 
Tlie  same  author  tells  us  that,  according  to  Garcilaso, 
when  fowls  were  first  introduced  into  Peru  they  were  not- 
fertile,  whereas  now  they  are  as  mur:h  so  as  in  Europe. 
Mr  Darwin  adduces  the  following  exan.ples.  Merino  sheep- 
bred  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  have  been  found  far  better 
adapted  for  India  than  those  imported  from  England ;  and 
while  the  Cliineso  variety  of  the  Ailanthus  silk-moth  is- 
quite  hardy,  the  variety  found  in  Bengal  will  only  flourish 
in  warm  latitudes.  Mr  Darwin  also  calls  attention  to  the 
circumstance  that  writers  of  agricultural  works  generally 
recommend  that  animals  should  be  removed  from  one 
district  to  another  as  little  as  possible.  Tliis  advice  occurs 
even  in  classical  and  Chinese  agricultural  books  as  well 
as  in  those  of  our  own  day,  and  proves  that  the  close- 
,ultpt;ition  of  each  variety  or  breed  to  the  country  in  which 
it  originated  has  always  been  recognised. 

Constitutional  Adaptation  often  accompanied  by  External 
Dfodijkatien. — Although  in  some  cases  no  perceptiblo  altera- 
tion of  form  or  structure  occurs  when  constitutional  adapta- 
tion to  climate  has  taken  place,  in  others  it  is  very  marked 
Mr  Darwin  has  collected  alargenumber  of  cases  iahisAnimal* 
and  Plants  under  Domestication,  (vol  ii.  p.  277),  of  which  the 
following  are  a  few  of  the  most  remarkable.  Dr  Falconer 
observed  that  several  trees,  natives  of  cooler  climates, 
assumed  a  pyramidal  or  fastigiate  form  when  grown  in  the 
plains  of  India ;  cabbages  rarely  produce  heads  in  hoi 
climates ;  the  quality  of  the  wood,  the  medicinal  products, 
the  odour  and  colour  of  the  flowers,  all  change  in  many 
cases  when  plants  of  one  country  are  grown  in  another. 
One  of  the  most  curious  observations  is  that  of  Mr  Meehan, 
who  "compared  twenty-nine  kinds  of  American  trees^ 
belonging  to  various  orders,  with  their  nearest  European; 
allies,  all  grown  in  close  proximity  in  the  same  garden,  and 
under  as  nearly  as  possible  the  same  conditions.  In  the 
American  species  Mr  Meehan  finds,  with  the  rarest  excep- 
tions, that  the  leaves  fall  earlier  in  the  season,  and  assume 
before  falling  a  brighter  tint;  that  they  are  less  deeply- 
toothed  or  serrated ;  that  the  buds  are  smaller ;  that  the 
trees  are  more  diffuse  in  growth,  and  have  fewer  branchlets ;. 
and,  lastly,  that  the  seeds  are  smaller ; — all  in  comparison 
with  the  European  species."  Mr  Darwin  concludes  th-l 
there  is  no  way  of  accounting  for  these  uniform  difference.* 
in  the  two  series  of  trees  tlian  by  the  long-continued  action- 
of  the  different  climates  of  the  two  continents. 

In  animals.,  equally  remarkablo  changes  occur.  In 
Angora,  not  only  goats,  but  shepherd-dogs  and  cats,  have 
fine  fleecy  hair ;  the  wool  of  sheep  changes  its  character  in 
the  West  Indies  in  three  generations;  M.  Costa  states 
that  young  oysters,  taken  from  the  coast  of  England, 
and  placed  in  the  Mediterranean,  at  once  altered  their 
maimer  of  growth  and  formed  prominent  diverging  rays, 
like  those  on  the  shells  of  tho  proper  Mediterranean 
oyster. 

In  his  Contributions  to  Hue  Tlwory  of  Natural  Selection 
(p.  167),  Mr  Wallace  has  recorded  cases  of  simultaneous- 
variation  among  insects,  apparently  duo  to  climate  or  other 
strictly  local  causes.  He  finds  that  the  butterflies  of  the- 
family  Papilionidx,  and  some  others,  become  similarly 
modified  in  different  islands  and  groups  of  islands.  Thus, 
the  species  inhabiting  Sumatra,  Java,  and  Borneo,  are 
almost  always  much  smaller  than  the  closely  allied  species- 
of  Celebes  and  the  Moluccas;  tho  species  or  varieties  of 
the  small  island  of  Amboyna  are  iar^-ir  than  the  same 


ACCLIMATISATION 


b7 


Bpccica  or  closely  allied  forms  inhabiting  the  surrounding 
islands ;  the  species  ftund  in  Celebes  possess  a  peculiar 
form  of  wing,  quite  distinct  from  that  of  the  same  or 
closely  allied  species  of  adjacent  islands;  and,  lastly, 
numerous  species  which  have  tailed  wings  in  India  and  the 
western  islands  of  the  Archipelago,  gradually  lose  the  tail 
a3  wo  proceed  eastward  to  New  Guinea  and  the  Pacific. 

Many  of  these  curious  modifications  may,  it  is  true,  be 
due  to  other  causes  than  climate  only,  but  they  serve  to 
show  how  powerfully  and  mysteriously  local  conditions 
affect  the  form  and  structure  of  both  plants  and  animals ; 
and  they  render  it  probable  that  changes  of  constitution 
are  also  continually  produced,  although  we  have,  in  tt>3 
majority  of  cases,  no  means  of  detecting  them.  It  is  aiso 
impossible  to-  determine  how  far  the  effects  described  are 
produced  by  spontaneous  favourable  variations  or  by  the 
direct  action  of  local  conditions;  but  it  is  probable  that  in 
every  case  both  causes  are  concerned,  although  in  constantly 
varying  proportions. 

The  Influence  of  Heredity. — Adaptation  by  variation 
would,  however,  be  a  slow  and  uncertain  process,  and  might 
for  considerable  periods  of  time  cease  to  act,  did  not  heredity 
come  into  play.  This  is  the  tendency  of  every  organism  to 
produce  its  like,  or  more  exactly, to  produce  a  set  of  newforms 
varying  slightly  from  it  in  many  directions — a  groupof  which 
the  parent  form  is  the  centre.  If  now  one  of  the  most  ex- 
treme of  these  variations  is  taken,  it  is  found  to  become  the 
centre  of  a  new  set  of  variations ;  and  by  continually  taking 
the  extreme  in  the  same  direction,  an  increasing  variation  in 
that  direction  can  be  effected,  until  checked  by  becoming 
so  great  that  it  interferes  with  the  healthy  action  of  the 
organism,  or  is  in  any  other  way  prejudicial  It  is  also 
found  that  acquired  constitutional  peculiarities  are  equally 
hereditary;  so  that  by  a  combination  of  those  two  modes  of 
variation  any  desired  adaptation  may  be  effected  with 
greater  rapidity.  The  manner  in  which  the  form  or 
constitution  of  an  organism  can  be  made  to  change  con- 
tinuously in  one  direction,  by  means  of  variations  which 
are  indefinite  and  in  all  directions,  is  often  misunderstood. 
It  may  perhaps  be  illustrated  by  showing  how  a  tree  or 
grove  of  trees  might,  by  natural  causes,  be  caused  to  travel 
during  successive  generations  in  a  definite  course.  The 
tree  has  branches  radiating  out  from  its  stem  to  perhaps 
twenty  feet  on  every  side.  Seeds  are  produced  on  the 
extremities  of  all  these  branches,  drop  to  the  ground,  and 
produce  seedlings,  which,  if  untouched,  would  form  a  ring 
of  young  trees  around  the  parent.  But  cattle  crop  off 
every  seedling  as  soon  as  it  rise3  above  the  ground,  and 
none  can  ever  arrive  at  maturity.  If,  however,  one  side  is 
protected  from  the  cattle,  young  trees  will  grow  up  on  that 
side  only.  This  protection  may  exist  in  the  case  of  a  grove 
of  trees  which  we  may  suppose  to  occupy  the  •  whole  space 
between  two  deep  ravines,  the  cattle  existing  on  the  lower 
side  of  the  wood  only.  In  this  case  young  trees  would 
reach  maturity  on  the  upper  side  of  the  wood,  while  on  the 
lower  side  the  trees  would  successively  die,  fall,  and  rot 
away,  no  young  ones  taking  their  place.  If  this  state  of 
things  continued  unchanged  for  some  centuries,  the  wood 
might  march  regularly  up  the  side  of  the  mountain  tiH  it 
*  occupied  a  position  many  miles  away  from  where  it  once 
stood ;  and  this  would  have  taken  place,  not  because  more 
seed  was  produced  on  one  side  than  the  other  (there  might 
even  be  very  much  less),  nor  because  soil  or  climate  wero 
better  on  the  upper  side  (they  might  be  worse),  nor  because 
any  intelligent  being  chose  which  trees  should  be  allowed 
to  livo  and  which  should  be  destroyed; — but  simply  because, 
for  a  series  of  generations,  the  conditions  permitted  the 
existence  of  young  trees  on  one  side,  and  wholly  prevented 
it  on  the  other.  Just  in  an  analogous  way  animals  or 
plants  aro  caused  to  vary  in  definite  directions,  either  by 


the  influence  of  natural  agencies,  which  render  existence 
impossible  for  those  that  vary  in  any  other  direction,  01 
by  the  action  of  the  judicious  breeder,  who  carefully  selects 
favourable  variations  to  be  the  parents  of  his  future  stock  ; 
and  in  either  case  the  rejected  variations  may  far  outnumber 
those  which  are  preserved. 

Evidence  has  been  adduced  by  Mr  Darwin  to  show  that 
the  tendency  to  vary  is  itself  hereditary;  so  that,  so  far 
from  variations  coining  to  an  end,  as  some  persons  imagine, 
the  more  extensively  variation  has  occurred  in  any  species 
in  the  past,  the  more  likely  it  is  to  occur  in  the  future. 
There  is  also  reason  to  behove  that  individuals  which  havo 
varied  largely  from  their  parents  in  a  special  direction  will 
have,  a  greater  tendency  to  produce  offspring  varying  in 
that  direction  than  in  any  other ;  so  that  the  facilities  for 
adaptation,  that  is,  for  the  production  and  increase  of 
favourable  variations  in  certain  definite  directions,  are  far 
greater  than  the  facilities  for  locomotion  in  one  direction  in 
the  hypothetical  illustration  just  given. 

Selection  and  Survival  of  the  Fittest  as  Agents  in  Natura- 
lisation.— We  may  now  take  it  as  an  established  fact,  that 
varieties  of  animals  and  plants  occur,  both, in  domesticity  and 
in  a  state  of  nature,  which  are  better  or  worse  adapted  to- 
special  climates.  There  is  no  positive  evidence  that  the 
influence  of  new  climatal  conditions  on  the  parents  has  any 
tendency  to  produce  variations  in  the  offspring  better  adapted 
to  such  conditions,  although  some  of  the  facts  mentioned, 
in  the  preceding  sections  render  it  probable  that  such  may 
be  the  case.  Neither  does  it  appear  that  this  class  ^of 
variations  are  very  frequent.  It  is,  however,  certain  that 
whenever  any  animal  or  plant  is  largely  propagated  con- 
stitutional variations  will  arise,  and  some  of  these  will  be 
better  adapted  than  others  to  the  climatal  and  other 
conditions  of  the  locality.  In  a  state  of  nature,  every 
recurring  severe  winter  or  otherwise  unfavourable  season, 
weeds  out  those  individuals  of  tender  constitution  or 
imperfect  structure  which  may  have  got  on  very  well  during 
favourable  years,  and  it  is  thus  that  the  adaptation  of  the 
species  to  the  climate  in  which  it  has  to  exist  is  kept  up. 
Under  domestication  the  same  thing  occurs  by  what  Mr 
Darwin  has  termed  "unconscious  selection."  Each  culti- 
vator seeks  out  the  kinds  of  plants  best  suited  to  his  soil 
and  climate,  and  rejects  those  which  are  tender  or  otherwise 
unsuitable.  The  farmer  breeds  from  such  of  his  stock  83 
he  finds  to  thrive  best  with  him,  and  gets  rid  of  those 
which  suffer  from  cold,  damp,  or  disease.  A  more  or  less- 
close  adaptation  to  local  conditions  is  thus  brought  about, 
and  breeds  or  races  are  produced  which  are  sometimes 
liable  to  deterioration  on  removal  even  to  a  short  distance 
in  the  same  country,  as  in  numerous  cases  quoted  by  Mr 
Darwin  (Animals  and  Plants  under  Domestication,  voL  ii. 
p.  273). 

The  Method  of  Acclimatisation. — Taking  into  considera- 
tion the  foregoing  facts  and  illustrations,  it  maytbe  con- 
sidered as  proved — lit,  That  habit  has  little  (though  it 
appears  to  have  some)  definite  effect  in  adapting  the 
constitution  of  animals  to  a  new  climate ;  but  that  it  has  a 
decided,  though  still  slight,  influence  in  plants  when,  by 
the  process  of  propagation  by  buds,  shoots,,  or  grafts,  the 
individual  can  be  kept  under  its  influence  for  long  periods ; 
2d,  That  the  offspring  of  both  plants  and  animals  vary 
in  their  constitutional  adaptation  to  climate,  and  that 
this  adaptation  may  be  kept  up  and  increased  by  means 
of  heredity;  and,  3d,  That  great  and  sudden  changes 
of  climate  often  check  reproduction  even  when  the  health 
of  the  individuals  does  not  appear  to  suffer.  In  order, 
therefore,  to  have  the  best  chance  of  acclimatising  any 
animal  or  plant  in  a  climate  very  dissimilar  from  that  of 
its  native  country,  and  in  which  it  has  been  proved  that 
the  species  in   question  cannot  live  and  maintain  itself 


88 


ACCLIMATISATION 


without  acclimatisation,  we  must  adopt  some  such  plan 
as  the  following  : — 

1.  We  must  transport  as  large  a  number  as  possible  of 
adult  healthy  individuals  to  some  intermediate  station, 
and  increase  them  as  much  as  possible  for  some  years. 
Favourable  variations  of  constitution  will  soon  show  them- 
selves, and  these  should  be  carefully  selected  to  breed  from, 
the  tender  and  unhealthy  individuals  being  rigidly  elimi- 
nated. 

2.  As  soon  as  the  stock  has  been  kept  a  sufficient  time 
to  pass  through  all  the  ordinary  extremes  of  climate,  a 
number  of  the  hardiest  may  be  removed  to  the  more  remote 
station,  and  the  same  process  gone  through,  giving  protection 
if  necessary  while  the  stock  is  being  increased,  but  as  soon 
as  a  largo  number  of  healthy  individuals  are  produced,  sub- 
jecting them  to  all  the  vicissitudes  of  the  climate. 

It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  in  most  cases  this  plan  would 
succeed.  It  has  been  recommended  by  Mr  Darwin,  and  at 
one  of  the  early  meetings  of  the  Society  Zoologique  d'Acclim- 
atisation,  at  Paris,  M.  Geoffroy  St  Hilaire  insisted  that  it  was 
the  only  method  by  which  acclimatisation  was  possible. 
But  in  looking  through  the  long  series  of  volumes  of  Reports 
published  by  this  Society,  there  is  no  sign  that  any  systematic 
attempt  at  acclimatisation  has  even  once  been  made.  A 
number  of  foreign  animals  have  been  introduced,  and  more  or 
less  domesticated,  and  some  useful  exotics  have  been  culti- 
vated for  the  purpose  of  testing  their  applicability  to  French 
agriculture  or  horticulture ;  but  neither  in  the  case"  of 
animals  nor  of  plants  has  there  been  any  systematic  effort 
to  modify  the  constitution  of  the  species,  by  breeding  largely 
and  selecting  the  favourable  variations  tliat  appeared. 

Take  the  case  of  the  Eucalyptus  globulus  as  an  example. 
This  is  a  Tasmanian  gum-tree  of  very  rapid  growth  and 
great  beauty,  which  will  thrive  in  the  extreme  south  of 
France.  In  the  Bulletin  of  the  Society  a  large  number  of 
attempts  to  introduce  this  tree  into  general  cultivation  in 
other  parts  of  France  are  recorded  in  detail,  with  the  failure 
of  almost  all  of  them.  But  no  precautions  such  as  those 
above  indicated  appear  to  have  been  taken  in  any  of  these 
experiments;  and  we  have  no  intimation  that  either  the 
Society  or  any  of  its  members  are  making  systematic 
efforts  to  acclimatise  the  tree.  The  first  step  would  be,  to 
obtain  seed  from  healthy  trees  growing  in  the  coldest 
climate  and  at  the  greatest  altitude  in  its  native  country, 
sowing  these  very  largely,  and  in  a  variety  of  soils  and 
situations,  in  a  part  of  France  where  the  climate  is  some- 
what but  not  much  more  extreme.  It  is  almost  a  certainty 
that  a  number  of  trees  would  ba  found  to  be  quite  hardy. 
As  soon  as  these  produced  seed,  it  should  be  sown  in 
the  same  district  and  farther  north  in  a  climate  a  little 
more  severe.  After  an  exceptionally  cold  season,  seed 
should  be  collected  from  the  trees  that  suffered  least,  and 
should  be  sown  in  various  districts  all  over  France.  By 
such  a  process  there  can  be  hardly  any  doubt  that  the  tree 
would  be  thoroughly  acclimatised  in  any  part  of  France, 
and  in  many  other  countries  of  central  Europe  ;  and  more 
good  would  be  effected  by  one  well-directed  effort  of  this 
kind  than  by  hundreds  of  experiments  with  individual 
animals  and  plants,  which  only  serve  to  show  us  which  are 
the  species  that  do  not  require  to  be  acclimatised. 

Acclimatisation  of  Man. — On  this  subject  we  have,  un- 
fortunately, very  little  direct  or  accurate  information.  The 
general  laws  of  heredity  and  variation  have  been  proved  to 
apply  to  man  as  well  as  to  animals  and  plants ;  and  nume- 
rous facts  in  the  distribution  of  races  show  that  man  must,  in 
remote  ages  at  least,  have  been  capable  of  constitutional 
adaptation  to  climate.  If  the  human  race  constitutes  a  single 
species,  then  the  mere  fact  that  man  now  inhabits  every 
region,  and  is  in  each  case  constitutionally  adapted  to  the 
climate,  proves  that  acclimatisation  has  occurred.     But  we 


have  the  same  phenomenon  in  single  varieties  of  man,  such  at 
the  American,  which  inhabits  alike  the  frozen  wastes  of 
Hudson's  Bay  and  Terra  del  Fuego,  and  the  hottest  regions 
of  the  tropics, — the  low  equatorial  valleys  and  the  loft) 
plateaux  of  the  Andes.  No  doubt  a  sudden  transference 
to  an  extreme  climate  is  often  prejudicial  to  man,  as  it  is 
to  most  animals  and  plants ;  but  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that,  if  the  migration  occurs  step  by  step,  man  can 
be  acclimatised  to  almost  any  part  of  the  earth's  surface 
in  comparatively  few  generations.  Some  eminent  writers 
have  denied  this.  Sir  Ranald  Martin,  from  a  consideration 
of  tho  effects  of  the  climate  of  India  on  Europeans  and 
their  offspring,  believes  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
acclimatisation.  Dr  Hunt,  in  a  report  to  the  British 
Association  in  1861,  argues  that  "time  is  no  agent,"  and 
— "  if  there  is  no  sign  of  acclimatisation  ii  one  generation, 
there  is  no  such  process."  But  he  entirely  ignores  the 
effect  of  favourable  variations,  as  well  us  the  direct  in- 
fluence of  climate  acting  on  the  organisatio  a  from  infancy. 

Professor  Waitz,  in  his  Introduction  ti  Anthropology, 
adduces  many  examples  of  the  comparatively  rapid  con- 
stitutional adaptation  of  man  to  new  climatic  conditions. 
Negroes,  for  example,  who  have  been  for  three  or  four 
generations  acclimatised  in  North  Americ  on  returning  to 
Africa  become  subject  to  the  same  local  diseases  as  other 
unacclimatised  individuals.  He  well  remarks,  that  the 
debility  and  sickening  of  Europeans  in  many  tropica) 
countries  are  wrongly  ascribed  to  the  climate,  but  are 
rather  the  consequences  of  indolence,  sensual  gratification, 
and  an  irregular  mode  of  life.  Thus  the  English,  who 
cannot  give  up  animal  food  and  spirituous  liquors,  are  leaf 
able  to  sustain  the  heat  of  the  tropics  than  the  more  sobe> 
Spaniards  and  Portuguese.  The  excessive  mortality  o' 
European  troops  in  India,  and  the  delicacy  of  the  children 
of  European  parents,  do  not  affect  the  real  question  of 
acclimatisation  under  proper  conditions.  They  only  show 
that  acclimatisation  is  in  most  cases  necessary,  not  that  it 
cannot  take  place.  The  best  examples  of  partial  or  com- 
plete acclimatisation  are  to  be  found  where  European  races 
have  permanently  settled  in  the  tropics,  and  have  maintained 
themselves  for  several  generations.  There  are,  however, 
two  sources  of  inaccuracy  to  be  guarded  against,  and  these 
are  made  the  most  of  by  the  writers  above  referred  to,  and 
are  supposed  altogether  to  invalidate  results  which  are 
otherwise  opposed  to  their  views.  In  the  first  place,  we 
have  the  possibility  of  a  mixture  of  native  blood  having 
occurred ;  in  the  second,  there  have  almost  always  been  a 
succession  of  immigrants  from  the  parent  country,  who 
continually  intermingle  with  the  families  of  the  early 
settlers.  It  is  maintained  that  one  or  other  of  these 
mixtures  is  absolutely  necessary  to  enable  Europeans  to 
continue  long  to  flourish  in  the  tropics. 

There  are,  however,  certain  cases  in  which  the  sources 
of  error  above  mentioned  are  reduced  to  a  minimum,  and 
eannot  seriously  affect  the  results ;  such  as  those  of  the 
Jews,  the  Dutch  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  in  the 
Moluccas,  and  the  Spaniards  in  South  America. 

The  Jews  are  a  good  example  of  acclimatisation,  because 
they  have  been  established  for  many  centuries  in  climates 
very  different  from  that  of  their  native  land ;  they  keep 
themselves  almost  wholly  free  from  intermixture  with  the 
people  around  them ;  and  they  are  often  so  populous  in  a 
country  that  the  intermixture  with  Jewish  immigrants  from 
other  lands  cannot  seriously  affect  the. local  purity  of  the 
race.  They  have,  for  instance,  attained  a  population  of  near 
two  millions  in  such  severe  climates  as  Poland  and  Russia ; 
and  according  to  Mr  Brace  (Races  of  the  Old  World,  p.  185), 
"  their  increase  in  Sweden  is  said  to  be  greater  than  that 
of  the  Christian  population ;  in  the  towns  of  Algeria  they 
are  the  only  race  able  to  maintain  its  numbers :  and  in 


ACCL1M  A.TISATION 


80 


Cochin  China  and  Aden  they  succeed  in  rearing  children 
and  forming  permanent  communities." 

In  some  of  the  hottest  parts  of  South  America  Europeans 
are  perfectly  acclimatised,  and  where  the  ract  is  kept  pure 
it  seems  to  be  even  improved.  Some  very  valuable  notes 
on  this  subject  have  been  furnished  to  the  present  writer 
by  the  well-known  botanist  Dr  Richard  Spruce,  who  resided 
many  year3  in  South  America,  but  who  has  hitherto  been 
prevented  by  ill  health  from  giving  to  the  world  the  results 
of  his  researches.  As  a  careful,  judicious,  and  accurate 
observer,  both  of  man  and  nature,  he  has  few  superiors. 
He  says — 

"The  white  inhabitants  of  Guayaquil  (lat.  2°  13'  S.)  are 
kept  pure  by  careful  selection.  The  slightest  tincture  of 
red  or  black  blood  bars  entry  into  any  of  the  old  families 
who  are  descendants  of  Spaniards  from  the  Provincias 
Vascongadas,  or  those  bordering  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  where 
the  morals  are  perhaps  the  purest  (as  regards  the  intercourse 
of  the  sexes)  of  any  in  Europe,  and  where  for  a  girl,  even 
of  the  poorest  class,  to  have  a  child  before  marriage  is  the 
rarest  thing  possible.  The  consequence  of  this  careful 
breeding  is,  that  the  women  of  Guayaquil  are  considered 
(and  justly)  the  finest  along  the  whole  Pacific  coast.  They 
are  often  tall,  sometimes  very  handsome,  decidedly  healthy, 
although  pale,  and  assuredly  prolific  enough.  Their  sons 
are  big,  stout  men,  but  when  they  lead  inactive  lives  are 
apt  to  become  fat  and  sluggish.  Those  of  them,  however, 
who  have  farms  in  the  savannahs,  and  are  accustomed  to 
take  long  rides  in  all  weathers,  and  those  whose  trade 
obliges  them  to  take  frequent  journeys  in  the  mountainous 
interior,  or  even  to  Europe  and  North  America,  are  often  as 
active  and  as  little  burdened  with  superfluous  flesh  as  a 
Scotch  farmer. 

"  The  oldest  Christian  town  in  Peru  is  Piura  (lat.  5°  S.), 
which  was  founded  by  Pizarro  himself.  The  climate  is 
very  hot,  especially  in  the  three  or  four  months  following 
the  southern  solstice.  In  March  1813  the  temperature 
only  once  fell  as  low  as  83°,  during  the  whole  month,  the 
usual  lowest  night  temperature  being  85°.  Yet  people  of 
all  colours  find  it  very  healthy,  and  the  whites  are  very 
prolific.  I  resided  in  the  town  itself  nine  months,  and  in 
the  neighbourhood  seven  months  more.  The  population 
(in  1863-4)  was  about  10,000,  of  which  not  only  a 
considerable  proportion  was  white,  but  was  mostly  descended 
from  the  first  emigrants  after  the  conquest.  Purity  of 
descent  was  not,  however,  quite  so  strictly  maintained  as 
at  Guayaquil  The  military  adventurers,  who  have  often 
risen  to  high  or  even  supreme  rank  in  Peru,  have  not  seldom 
been  of  mixed  race,  and  fear  or  favour  has  often  availed  to 
procure  them  an  alliance  with  the  oldest  and  purest-blooded 
families." 

These  instances,  so  well  stated  by  Dr  Spruce,  seem  to 
demonstrate  the  «omplete  acclimatisation  of  Spaniards  in 
some  of  the  hottest  parts  of  South  America.  Although 
we  have  here  nothing  to  do  with  mixed  races,  yet  the  want 
of  fertility  in  these  has  been  often  taken  to  be  a  fact 
inherent  in  the  mongrel  race,  and  has  been  also  sometimes 
held  to  prove  that  neither  the  European  nor  his  half-bred 
offspring  can  maintain  themselves  in  the  tropics.  The 
following  observation  is  therefore  of  interest : — 

"  At  Guayaquil  for  a  lady  of  good  family — married  or 
unmarried — to  be  of  loose  morals  is  so  uncommon,  that 
when  it  does  happen  it  is  felt  as  a  calamity  by  the  whole 
community.  But  here,  and  perhaps  in  most  other  towns 
in  South  America,  a  poor  girl  of  mixed  race — especially  if 
good-looking — rarely  thinks  of  marrying  one  of  her  own 
class  until  she  has — as  the  Brazilians  say — '  approveitada 
de  sua  mocidade'  (made  the  most  of  her  youth)  in  receiving 
presents  from  gentlemen.  If  she  thus  bring  a  good  dowry 
to  her  husband,  he  does  not  care  to  inquire,   or  is  not 


sensitive,  about  the  mode  in  which  it  was  acquired.  The 
consequences  of  this  ^discriminate  sexual  intercourse,  espe- 
cially if  much  prolonged,  is  to  diminish,  in  some  cases  to 
paralyse,  the  fertility  of  the  female.  And  as  among  people 
of  mixed  race  it  13  almost  universal,  the  population  of 
these  must  fall  off  both  in  numbers  and  quality." 

The  following  example  of  divergent  acclimatisation  of 
the  same  race  to  hot  and  cold  zones  is  very  interesting, 
and  will  conclude  our  extracts  from  Dr  Spruce's  valuable 
notes  : — 

"  One  of  the  most  singular  cases  connected  with  this 
subject  that  have  fallen  under  my  own  observation,  is  the 
difficulty,  or  apparent  impossibility,  of  acclimatising  the 
Bed  Indian  in  a  certain  zone  of  the  Andes.  Any  person 
wlro  has  compared  the  physical  characters  of  the  native 
races  of  South  America  must  be  convinced  that  these  have 
all  originated  in  a  common  stirps.  Many  local  differences 
exist,  but  none  capable  of  invalidating  this  conclusion. 
The  warmth  yet  shade-loving  Indian  of  the  Amazon ;  the 
Indian  of  the  hot,  dry,  and  treeless  coasts  of  Feru  and 
Guayaquil,  who  exposes  his  bare  head  to  the  sun  with  as 
much  zest  as  an  African  negro ;  the  Indian  of  the  Andes, 
for  whom  no  cold  seems  too  great,  who  goes  constantlj 
bare-legged  and  often  bare-headed,  through  whose  rude 
straw  hut  the  piercing  wind  of  the  paramos  sweeps,  and 
chills  the  white  man  to  the  very  bones ; — all  these,  in  the 
colour  and  texture  of  the  skin,  the  hair,  and  other  important 
features,  are  plainly  of  one  and  the  same  race. 

"  Now  there  is  a  zone  of  the  equatorial  Andes,  ranging 
between  about  4000  and  6000  feet  altitude,  where  the  very 
best  flavoured  coffee  is  grown,  where  cane  is  less  luxuriant 
but  more  saccharine  than  in  the  plains,  and  which  is 
therefore  very  desirable  to  cultivate,  but  where  the  red 
man  sickens  and  dies.  Indians  taken  down  from  the  sierra 
get  ague  and  dysentery.  Those  of  the  plains  find  the 
temperature  chilly,  and  are  stricken  down  with  influenza 
and  pains  in  the  limbs.  I  have  seen  the  difficulty 
experienced  in  getting  farms  cidtivated  in  this  zone,  on 
both  sides  of  the  Cordillera.  The  permanent  residents  are 
generally  limited  to  the  major  domo  and  his  family ;  and 
in  the  dry  season  labourers  are  hired,  of  any  colour  that 
can  be  obtained — some  from  the  low  country,  others  from 
the  highlands — for  three,  four,  or  five  months,  who  gather 
in  and  grind  the  cane,  and  plant  for  the  harvest  of  the 
following  year;  but  a  staff  of  resident  Indian  labourers, 
such  as  exists  in  the  farms  of  the  sierra,  cannot  be  kept  up 
in  the  Tungas,  as  these  half-warm  valleys  are  called. 
AThite  men,  who  take  proper  precautions,  and  are  not 
chronically  soaked  with  ca'ae-spirit,  stand  the  climate 
perfectly,  but  the  Creole  whites  are  still  too  much  caballeros 
to  devote  themselves  to  agricultural  work. 

"In  what  i3  now  the  lepublic  of  Ecuador,  the  only 
peopled  portions  are  the  central  valley,  between  the  two 
ridges  of  the  Andes— height  7000  to  12,000  feet — and  the 
hot  plain  at  their  western  base;  ncr  do  the  wooded  slopes 
appear  to  have  been  inhabited,  except  by  scattered  s 
hordes,  even  in  the  time  of  the  Incas.  The  Indians  of  the 
highlands  are  the  descendants  of  others  who  have  inhabited 
that  region  exclusively  for  untold  ages;  and  a  similar 
affirmation  may  be  made  of  the  Indians  of  the  plain.  Now 
there  is  little  doubt  that  the  progenitors  of  both  these 
sections  came  from  a  temperate  region  (in  North  America) ; 
so  that  here  we  have  one  moiety  acclimatised  to  endure  ex- 
treme heat,  and  the  other  •  extreme  cold ;  and  at  this  day 
exposure  of  either  to  the  opposite  extreme  (or  even,  as  wc 
have  seen,  to  the  climate  of  an  intermediate  zone)  is  always 
pernicious  and  often  fatal.  But  if  this  great  difference  has 
been  brought  about  in  the  red  man,  might  not  the  same 
have  happened  to  the  white  man  1  Plainly  it  might,  time 
being  given ;  for  one  cannot  doubt  that  the  inherent  adapta- 


<K) 


A  C  C  — A  C  (J 


bility  is  the  same  in  both,  or  (if  not)  that  the  white  man 
possesses  it  in  a  higher  degree." 

The  observations  of  Dr  Spruce  are  of  themselves  almost 
conclusive  as  to  the  possibility  of  Europeans  becoming  ac- 
climatised in  the  tropics ;  and  if  it  is  objected  that  this 
evidence  applies  only  to  the  dark-haired  southern  races,  we 
are  fortunately  able  to  point  to  facts,  almost  equally  well 
authenticated  and  conclusive,  in  the  case  of  one  of  the  typi- 
cal Germanic  races.  At  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  the  Dutch 
have  been  settled  and  nearly  isolated  for  about  200  years, 
and  have  kept  themselves  almost  or  quite  free  from  native 
intermixture.  They  are  described  as  being  still  perfectly 
fair  in  complexion,  while  physically  they  are  the  finest  body 
of  men  in  the  colony,  being  very  tall  and  strong.  They 
marry  young,  and  have  large  families.  The  population, 
according  to  a  census  taken  in  LZ98,  was  under  22,000. 
Id  1 66o  it  was  near  182,000,  the  majority  being  (according 
to  the  Statesman's  YearJJookior  1873)  of  "  Dutch,  German, 
or  French  origin,  mostly  descendants  of  original  settlers." 
We  have  here  a  population  which  has  doubled  itself  every 
twenty-two  years  ;  and  the  greater  part  of  this  rapid  in- 
crease must  certainly  be  due  to  the  old  European  immi- 
grants. In  the  Moluccas,  where  the  Dutch  have  had  settle- 
ments for  nearly  250  years,  some  of  the  inhabitants  trace 
their  descent  to  early  immigrants ;  and  these,  as  well  as 
iuost  of  the  people  of  Dutch  descent  in  the  East,  are  quite 
as  fair  as  their  European  ancestors,  enjoy  excellent  health, 
and  are  very  prolific.  But  the  Dutch  accommodate  them- 
selves admirably  to  a  tropical  climate,  doing  much  of  their 
work  early  in  the  morning,  dressing  very  lightly,  and  living 
a  quiet,  temperate,  and  cheerful  life.  They  also  pay  great 
attention  to  drainage  and  general  cleanliness.  In  addition 
to  these  examples,  it  may  be  maintained  that  the  rapid  in- 
crease of  English-speaking  populations  in  the  United  States 
and  in  Australia,  only  a  comparatively  small  portion  of 
which  can  be  due  to  direct  immigration,  is  far  from  support- 
ing the  view  of  Dr  Knox,  that  Europeans  cannot  per- 
manently maintain  themselves  in  those  countries.  .Mr 
Brace  expressly  denies  that  the  American  physique  has 
degenerated  from  the  English  type.  He  asserts  that  manu- 
facturers and  others  find  that  "  for  labours  requiring  the 
utmost  physical  endurance  and  muscular  power,  such  as 
iron-puddling  and  lumbering  in  the  forests  and  on  the 
streams,  and  pioneer  work,  foreigners  are  never  so  suitable 
as  native  Americans.  The  reports  of  the  examining  sur- 
geons for  volunteers — such  as  that  of  Dr  W.  H.  Thomson 
to  the  Surgeon-General  in  18G2,  who  examined  9000  men 
— show  a  far  higher  average  of  physique  in  the  Americans 
examined  than  in  the  English,  Germans,  or  Irish.  It  is  a 
fact  well  known  to  our  life  insurance  companies,  that  the 
average  length  of  life  here  is  greater  than  that  of  the 
English  tables."— The  Races  of  the  Old  World,  p.  375. 
Although  the  comparisons  here  instituted  may  not  be  quite 
fair  or  conclusive,  they  furnish  good  arguments  against  those 
who  maintain  that  the  Americans  are  physically  deteriorat- 
ing. 

On  the  whole,  we  seem  justified  in  concluding  that,  under 
favourable  conditions,  and  with  a  proper  adaptation  of  means 
to  the  end  in  view,  man  may  become  acclimatised  with  at 
least  as  much  certainty  and  rapidity  (counting  by  generations 
rather  than  by  years)  as  any  of  the  lower  animals,  (a.  e.  w.) 

ACCOLADE  (from  collum,  the  neck),  a  ceremony  an- 
ciently used  in  conferring  knighthood ;  but  whether  it  was 
an  embrace  (according  to  the  use  of  the  modern  French  word, 
accolade),  or  a  slight  blow  on  the  neck  or  check,  is  not 
agreed.  Both  these  customs  appear  to  be  of  great  antiquity. 
Gregory  of  Tours  writes  that  the  early  kings  of  France,  in 
conferring  the  gilt  shoulder-belt,  kissed  the  knights  on  the 
left  cheek ;  and  William  the  Conqueror  is  said  to  have 
made  use  of  the  blow  in  conferring  the  honour  of  knight- 


hood on  his  son  nenry.  At  first  It  wus  givea  with  the 
naked  fist,  a  veritable  box  on  the  ear,  but  for  this  was 
substituted  a  gentle  stroke  on  the  shoulder  with  the  fiat  of 
the  sword.  A  custom  of  a  similar  kind  is  still  followed  in 
..  mg  the  honour  of  knighthood. 

ACCOLTI,  Benedict,  was  born  in  1415  at  Arezzo,  in 
Tuscany,  of  a  noble  family,  several  members  of  which  wer* 
distinguished  like  himself  for  their  attainments  in  law. 
He  was  for  some  time  professor  of  jurisprudence  in  the 
University  of  Florence,  and  on  the  death  of  the  celebrated 
o  in  1459  became  chancellor  of  the  Florentine  re- 
public. He  died  in  1466.  In  conjunction  with  his  brother 
Leonard,  he  wrote  in  Latin  a  history  of  the  first  crusade, 
entitled  Be  Hello  a  Christianis  contra  Barbaros,  pro  Christi 
Stvulchro  et  Judwa  recuperandis,  libri  tres,  which,  though 
itself  of  little  interest,  furnished  Tasso  with  the  historie 
basis  for  his  Jerusalem  Delivered.  This  work  appeared  at 
Venice  in  1432,  and  was  translated  into  Italian  in  1543> 
and  into  French  in  1620.  Another  work  of  Accolti's — Be 
Prwdaiiiia  7irorv.m  sui  JEvi — was  published  at  Parma  in 
1689. 

ACCOLTI,  Berxaed  (1465-1535),  son  of  the  preced- 
ing, known  in  his  own  day  as  I'Unico  Aretino,  acquired  great 
fame  as  a  reciter  of  impromptu  verse.  He  was  listened  to  by 
large  crowds,  composed  of  the  most  learned  men  and  the  most 
distinguished  prelates  of  the  age.  Among  others,  Cardinal 
Bembo  has  left  on  record  a  testimony  to  his  extraordinary 
talent.  His  high  reputation  with  his  contemporaries  seems 
scarcely  justified  by  the  poems  he  published,  though  they 
give  evidence  of  brilliant  fancy.  It  is  probable  that  he 
succeeded  better  in  his  extemporary,  productions  than  in 
those  which  were  the  fruit  of  deliberation.  His  works, 
under  the  title  Virginia,  Comedia,  Capitoli  e  Slrambotti  di 
Messer  Bernar/lo  Accolti  Aretino,  were  published  at  Florence 
in  1513,  and  have  been  several  times  reprinted 

ACCOLTI,  Pietro,  brother  of  the  preceding,  was  born 
at  Florence  in  1455,  and  died  there  in  1549.  He  was 
abbreviator  under  Leo  X.,  and  in  that  capacity  drew  up 
in  1520  the  famous  bull  against  Luther.  In  1527  he  was 
made  a  cardinal  by  Clement  VII.,  who  had  employed  him 
as  hie  secretary. 

ACCOMMODATION,  a  term  used  in  Biblical  interpre- 
tation to  denote  the  presentation  of  a  truth  not  absolutely 
as  it  is  in  itself,  but  relatively  or  under  some  modification, 
with  the  view  of  suiting  it  either  to  some  other  truth  or  to 
the  persons  addressed.  It  is  generally  distinguished  into 
formal  and  material, — the  accommodation  in  the  one  case 
being  confined  to  the  method  of  teaching,  and  in  the  other 
being  extended  to  the  matter  taught.  To  the  former  head 
may  be  referred  teaching  by  symbols  or  parables,  by  pro- 
gressive stages  graduated  according  to  the  capacity  of  the 
learner,  by  the  application  of  prophecy  to  secondary  fulfil- 
ments, ifcc.  To  the  latter  head  are  to  be  referred  the  alle- 
gations of  the  anti-supranaturalistic  school,  that  Christ  and 
the  writers  of  Scripture  modified  or  perverted  the  truth 
itself  in  order  to  secure  wider  acceptance  and  speedier 
success,  by  speaking  in  accordance  with  contemporary  ideas 
rather  than  with  absolute  and  eternal  truth. 

ACCOMMODATION,  in  commerce,  denotes  generally 
temporary  pecuniary  aid  given  by  one  trader  to  another,  or 
by  a  banker  to  his  customers,  but  it  is  a-ted  more  par- 
ticularly to  describe  that  class  of  bills  of  eichange  which 
represents  no  actual  exchange  of  real  value  between  the 
parties. 

ACCORAMBONI,  Vittoeia,  an  Italian  lady  remark- 
able for  her  extraordinary  beauty  and  her  tragic  history. 
Her  contemporaries  regarded  her  as  the  most  captivating 
woman  that  had  ever  been  seen  in  Italy.  She  was  sought 
in  marriage  by  Paolo  Giordano  Orsini,  Duke  of  Bracciano, 
who,  it  was  generally  believed,  had  murdered  his  wife, 


A  C  C  — A  C  C 


tfl 


fsabellar  de  Medici,  with  his  own  hand;  but  her  father 
gave  her  in  preference  to  Francesco  Peretti,  nephew  of 
■Cardinal  Montalto.  Teretti  was  assassinated  (1581),  and 
a  few  dnya  afterwards  Vittoria,  fled  from  the  house  of  the 
Cardinal,  where  she  had  resided,  to  that  of  the  Duke  of 
Bracciano.  The  opposition  of  Pope  Gregory  XIIL,  who 
even  went  so  far  as  to  confine  Vittoria  to  Fort  St  Angelo 
for  nearly  a  year,  did  not  prevent  her  marriage  with  the 
duke.  On  the  accession  of  Montalto  to  the  papal  throne 
as  Sixtus  V.  (1585),  the  duke  thought  it  prudent  to  take 
refuge  with  his  wife  in  the  territory  of  the  Venetian 
republic.  After  a  few  months'  residence  at  Salo,  on  the 
Lake  of  Garda,  he  died,  bequeathing  nearly  the  whole  of 
Lis  large  fortune  to  his  widow.  This  excited  the  anger  of 
Ludovico  Orsini,  a  relative,  who  caused  Vittoria  to  be 
murdered  in  her  residence  at  Padau  (Dec.  22,  15S5).  The 
.history  of  this  beautiful  and  accomplished  but  imfortuuate 
-woman  has  been  written  by  Adry  (1S00),  and  recently  by 
•Count  Gnoli,  and  forms  the  basis  of  Webster's  tragedy,  The 
White  Devi/,  and  of  Tieck's  romance,  Vittoria  Accoramboni. 

ACCORDION  (from  the  French  accord),  a  small  musical 
instrument  iu  the  shape  of  a  bellows,  which  produces  sounds 
"by  the  action  of  wind  on  metallic  reeds  of  various  sizes. 
It  is  played  by  being  held  in  both  hands  and  puDed  back- 
wards and  forwards,  the  fingers  being  left  free  to  touch 
•the  keys,  which  are  ranged  along  each  side.  The  instru- 
ment is  akin  to  the  concertina,  but  differs  from  it  in  having 
•the  chords  fixed  by  a  mechanical  arrangement.  It  is  manu- 
factured chiefly  in  Paris. 

ACCORSO  (in  Latin  Accursius),  Fkancis,  an  eminent 
lawyer,  born  at  Florence  about  11S2.  After  practising 
■for  some  time  in  his  native  city,  Le  was  appointed  professor 
■at  Bologna,  where  he  had  great  success  as  a  teacher  He 
■undertook  the  great  work  of  arranging  into  one  body  the 
almost  innumerable  comments  and  remarks  upon  the  Code, 
-the  Institutes,  and  Digest s,  the  confused  dispersion  of  which 
among  the  works  of  different  writers  caused  much  obscurity 
*ind  contradiction.  When  he  was  employed  in  this  work, 
it  is  said  that,  hearing  of  a  similar  one  proposed  and  begun 
by  Ovlofred,  another  lawyer  of  Bologna,  he  feigned  indis- 
position, interrupted  his  public  lectures,  and  shut  himself 
■up,  till  he  had,  with  the  utmost  expedition,  accomplished 
lis  design.  His  work  has  the  vague  title  of  the  Great  Gloss, 
and,  though  written  in  barbarous  Latin,  has  more  method 
than  that  of  any  preceding  writer  on  the  subject.  The 
"best  edition  of  it  is  that  of  Godefroi.  published  at  Lyons  in 
1589,  in  6  vols,  folio.  Accursms  was  greatly  extolled  by 
the  lawyers  of  his  own  and  the  immediately  succeeding  age, 
and  he  was  even  called  the  Idol  of  Jurisconsults,  but  those 
-of  later  times  formed  a  much  lower  estimate  of  his  merits. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  has  disentangled  with 
much  skill  the  sense  of  many  laws ;  but  it  is  equally  un- 
deniable that  his  ignorance  of  history  and  antiquities  has 
•often  led  him  into  absurdities,  and  been  the  cause  of  many 
•defects  in  his  explanations  and  commentaries.  He  died  at 
Bologna  in  1260.  His  eldest  son  Francis,  who  filled  the 
■chair  of  law  at  Bologna  with  great  reputation,  was  invited 
to  Oxford  by  King  Edward  I.,  and  in  1275  or  1276  read 
lectures  on  law  in  that  university.  In  1280  he  returned  to 
Bologna,  where  he  died  in  1293. 

ACCORSO  (or  Accuesius).  if  artaxgzlo.  a  learned  and 
ingenious  critic,  was  born  at  Aquila,  in  the  kingdom  of 
Naples,  about  1490.  He  was  a  great  favourite  with 
Charles  V.,  at  whose  court  he  resided  for  thirty-three  years. 
and  by  whom  he  was  employed  on  various  foreign  missions. 
To  a  perfect  knowledge  of  Greek  and  Latin  he  added  an- 
intimate  acquaintance  with  several  modern  languages.  In 
■discovering  and  collating  ancient  manuscripts,  for  which  hi« 
travels  abroad  gave  him  special  opportunities,  he  displayed 
■wncommon    dibgence.     His    work    entitled    Dialritirr    in 


Ausonntm,  Soh'num,  et  Ovidium,  printed  at  Rome,  in  folio, 
in  1524,  is  a  singular  monument  of  erudition  and  critical 
skill.  He  bestowed,  it  is  said,  unusual  pains  on  Claudian, 
and  made,  from  different  manuscripts,  above  r  even  hundred 
corrections  on  the  works  of  that  poet.  Unfortunately  these 
criticisms  were  never  pubbshed.  He  was  the  first  editor 
of  the  Letters  of  Cassiodoncs,  with  hi3  Treatise  on  the  Soul; 
and  his  edition  of  Ammianus  Marcellinm  (1533)  contains 
five  books  more  than  any  former  one.  The  affected  use  of 
antiquated  terms,  introduced  by  some  of  the  Latin  writers 
of  that  age,  is  humorously  ridiculed  by  him,  in  a  dialogue 
published  in  1531  (republished,  with  his  name,  in  1574), 
entitled  Osco,  Vo/sco,  Jiomanaque  Eloqueutia  Inlerlocv- 
toribug,  Dialogue  Ludis  Romania  actus.  Accorso  was 
accused  of  plagiarism  in  his  notes  on  Ausonius ;  and  the 
determined  manner  in  which  he  repelled,  by  a  most  solemn 
oath,  this  charge  of  literary  theft,  presents  us  with  a  singular 
instance  of  anxiety  and  care  to  preserve  a  literary  reputa- 
tion unstained. 

ACCOUNT,  a  Stock  Exchange  term:  e.g.,  "To  Buy  or 
Sell  for  the  Account,"  &c.  The  word  has  different,  though 
kindred,  significations,  all  derived  from  the  making  up  and 
settling  of  accounts  on  particular  days,  in  which  stricter 
sense  the  word  "  Settlement"  is  more  specially  used. 

The  financial  importance  of  the  Account  may  be  gathered 
from  the  Clearing  House  returns.  Confining  ourselves  to 
the  six  years,  from  the  30th  of  April  1S67  to  the  30th  of 
April  1873,  we  have  the  following  figures,  furnished  by 
the  Clearing  House  to  Sir  John  Lubbock,  and  communi- 
cated by  him  to  the  Times: — 

On  fourths  On  Stock  Exchange        On  Consols 

April         April  of  the  Month.  Account  liti\  Settling  Darg. 

1867tol!>GS  £147,113,000  £444,443,000      £132,21'3,U00 

186S  to  1869  161,801,000  550,622.000  142,270,0'  0 

1869tolS70  163,523,000  594,763,000  148,822,000 

1870tolS71  186,517,000  635,946,000  169,141,000 

1871  to  1S72  229,629,000  942,446,000  233,843,000 

1872  to  1S73  265,965,000  1,032,474,000  243,561,000 

During  the  year  ending  April  30,  1S73,  the  total  amount  of  hills, 
cheeks,  kc,  paid  at  the  Hearing  House  showed  an  increase  of 
£6t3,S13,<i00  during  the  &ime  period  ending  April  1872,  and  of 
£2,74"5.924,000  over  1868.  The  amounts  passing  through  on  thn 
Aths  nf  the  month  amounted  to  i'265, 965,000,  showing  an  inereasi) 
of  £36,336,000  over  1872.  The  payments  on  Slock  Erclunyt 
Account  Days  formed  n  sum  of  £1,032,474,600,  heing  an  increase 
of  £90.02S,000  over  1872.  The  pigments  on  Consols  Account  Days 
for  the  same  period  amounted  to  £243,561,000,  giving  an  increase 
of  £9,718,000  over  1872. 

In  English  and  Indian  Government  Securities,  the  settle- 
ments are  monthly,  and  for  foreign,  railway,  and  other 
securities,  generally  speaking,  they  are  fortnightly.  It 
follows  therefore  that  in  1867-1868,  an  ordinary  Stock 
Exchange  Account  Day  involved  'payments,  on  Stock 
Exchange  accounts  only,  averaging  about  £10,000.000 
sterling,  and  in  1872-3  something  like  £25,000.000  ster- 
ling; and  these  sums  again,  enormous  as  they  are,  repre- 
sent for  the  most  part  only  the  balance  of  much  larger 
transactions.  The  London  Account  is,  in  fact,  probably 
the  greatest  and  most  important  periodical  event  in  tho 
financial  world.  The  great  European,  centres  have  their 
own  Account  Days  and  methods  of  settlement,  but  the 
amounts  dealt  in  are  very  much  less  than  on  the  London 
market.  The  leading  cities  in  the  United  Kingdom  have 
also  their  Stock  Exchanges,  but  their  practice  follows  more 
or  less  that  of  London,  where  the  bulk  of  their  business  ia 
transacted  by  means  of  post  and  telegraph. 

The  Account  in  Consols  or  other  English  Government 
Securities,  or  in  the  securities  of  the  Government  of  India, 
or  in  Bank  of  England  Stock,  or  other  Stocks  transferable 
at  the  Bank  of  England,  extends  over  a  month,  the  settle- 
ments being  monthly,  and  in  them  the  committee  of  the 
Stock  Exchange  does  not  take  cognisance  of  any  bargain 
for  a  future  account   if  it  shall  have  been  effected  more 


92 


A  C  C  -  A  0  E 


than  eight  days  previously  to  the  close  of  the  existing 
account. 

The  Account  in  Securities  to  Bearer,  and,  with  the  above 
exceptions,  in  Registered  Securities  also,  extends  over  a 
period  of  from  twelve  to  nineteen  days.  This  period  is  in 
each  case  terminated  by  the  "settlement,"  which  occurs 
twice  in  each  month  (generally  about  the  middle  and  T.d), 
on  days  fixed  by  the  committee  for  general  purposes  of  tho 
Stock  Exchange  in  the  preceding  month. 

This  "  settlement"  occupies  three  continuous  days,  which 
are  all  termed  Account  days,  but  the  third  day  is  the  true 
Account,  Settling,  or  Pay  Day. 

Continuation  or  Carrying-over  is  the  operation  by  which  the 
settlement  of  a  bargain  transacted  for  money,  or  for  a  given  account, 
may  for  a  consideration  (called  either  a  "Contango"  or  a  "back- 
wardation") be  deferred  for  the  period  of  another  account.  Such 
a  continuation  is  equivalent  to  a  sale  "for  the  day,"  and  a  repur- 
chase for  the  succeeding  account,  or  to  a  purchase  "  for  thp  day." 
and  a  re-sale  for  the  succeeding  account.  The  price  at  which  such 
transactions  are  adjusted  is  the  "Makirg-Up"  price  of  the  day. 

Contango  is  a  technical  term  which  expresses  the  rate  of  in- 
terest charged  for  the  loan  of  money  upon  the  security  of  stock- 
transferred  for  the  period  of  an  account  or  otherwise,  or  the  rate  of 
interest  paid  by  the  buyer  to  the  seller  to  be  allowed  to  defer  paying 
for  the  stock  purchased,  until  the  next  settlement  day. 

Backwardation,  or,  as  it  is  more  often  called,  Back  (for  brevity), 
in  contradistinction  to  contango,  is  the  amount  charged  for  the 
loan  of  stock  from  one  account  to  the  other,  and  it  is  paid  to  the 
purchaser  by  the  seller  in  order  to  allow  the  seller  to  defer  the  deli- 
eery  of  the  stock. 

A  Bull  Account  is  one  in  which  either  the  purchases  have  pre- 
dominated over  the  sales,  or  the  disposition  to  purchase  has  been 
more  marked  than  the  disposition  to  sell. 

A  Bear  Account  is  one  in  which  either  the  sales  have  preponderated 
over  the  purchases,  or  in  which  the  disposition  to  sell  has  been 
more  strongly  displayed  than  the  disposition  to  buy. 

Sometimes  the  Bull  or  the  Bear  disposition  extends  to  the  great 
majority  of  securities,  as  when  there  are  general  falls  or  general 
rises.  Sometimes  a  Bull  Account  in  one  set  of  securities  is  con- 
temporaneous with  a  Bear  Account  in  another. —  Vide  Cracroft's 
Stock  Exchange  Manual. 

ACCOUNTANT,  earlier  form  Accomftant,  in  the 
most  general  sense,  is  a  person  skilled  in  accounts.  It  is 
applied  to  the  person  whe  has  the  charge  of  the  accounts 
in  a  public  office  or  in  the  counting-house  of  a  large  private 
business.  It  is  also  the  designation  of  a  distinct  profession, 
which  deals  in  any  required  way  with  mercantile  accounts. 

ACCOUNIANT-GLNERAL,  an  officer  in  the  English 
'Tourt  of  Chancery,  who  receives  all  monies  lodged  in  court, 
ind  by  whom  they  are  deposited  in  bank  and  disbursed. 

ACCRA  or  Acra,  a  town,  or  rather  a  collection  of 
forts,  in  a  territory  of  the  same  name,  on  the  Gold  Coast  of 
Africa,  about  75  miles  east  of  Cape  Coast  Castle.  Of  the 
forts,  Fort  St  James  is  a  British  settlement,  Creveceeur 
was  established  by  the  Dutch,  and  Christianborg  by  the 
Danes  ;  but  the  two  last  have  since  been  ceded  to  Britain — 
Christianborg  in  1850,  and  Creveceeur  in  1871.  Accra 
is  considered  to  be  one  of  the  healthiest  stations  on  the  west 
coast  of  Africa,  and  has  some  trade  in  the  productions  of 
the  interior, — ivory,  gold  dust,  and  palm-oil ;  while  cotton 
goods,  tobacco,  rum,  and  beads  are  imported  in  exchange. 
It  is  the  residence  of  a  British  civil  commandant. 

ACCRINGTON,  an  important  manufacturing  town  of 
England,  in  Lancashire,  lies  on  the  banks  of  a  stream  called 
the  Hindburn,  in  a  deep  valley,  19  miles  N.  from  Man- 
chester and  5  miles  E.  of  Blackburn.  It  has  increased  rapidly 
in  recent  years,  and  is  the  centre  of  the  Manchester  cotton- 
printing  trade.  There  are  large  cotton  factories  and  print- 
works, besides  bleach-fields,  4c.,  employing  many  hands. 
Coal  is  extensively  wrought  in  the  neighbourhood.  The 
town  has  a  good  appearance,  and  among  the  more  handsome 
buildings  are  a  fine  church,  in  the  Gothic  style,  erected  in 
1 838,  and  the  Peel  Institution,  an  Italian  structure,  contain- 
ing an  assembly  room,  a  lecture  room,  ore,  The  sanitary 
arrangements  generally  are  good,  and  a  reservoir  capable 


of  containing  140,000,000  gallons  has  been  constructed  for 
the  water  supply  of  the  town.  Accrington  is  a  station  ou 
the  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire  Railway.  The  population  of 
the  two  townships  of  Old  and  New  Accrington  was  in  180}, 
17,688;  and  in  1871,  21,788. 

ACCUM,  Frederick,  chemist,  born  at  Biickeburg  in 
1709,  came  to  London  in  1793,  and  was  appointed  teacher 
of  chemistry  and  mineralogy  at  the  Surrey  Institution  in 
1801.  While  occupying  this  position  he  published  several 
scientific  manuals  (Chemistry,  1803;  Mineralogy,  1808; 
Crystallography,  1813),  but  his  name  will  bo  chiefly  re- 
membered in  connection  with  gas-lighting,  the  introduction 
of  which  was  mainly  due  to  him  and  to  the  enterprising 
printseller,  Ackermann.  His  excellent  Practical  Treatise 
on  Gaslight  appeared  in  1815;  and  lie  tendered  another 
valuable  service  to  society  by  his  Treatise  on  Adulterations 
of  Food  and  Culinary  Poisons  (1820),  which  attracted 
much  notice  at  the  time  it  appeared.  Both  works,  as  well 
as  a  number  of  his  smaller  publications,  were  translated 
into  German.  In  consequence  of  charges  affecting  his 
honesty,  Accum  left  London  for  Germany,  and  in  1822 
was  appointed  professor  in  the  Industrial  Institute  and 
Academy  <»f  Architecture  at  Berlin.    He  died  there  in  1838. 

ACCUMULATOR,  a  term  applied  frequently  to  a 
powerful  electrical  machine,  which  generates  or  accumu- 
lates, by  means  cf  friction,  electric  currents  of  high  ten- 
sion,— manifested  by  sparks  of  considerable  length. 
Accumulators  have  been  employed  in  many  places  for 
exploding  torpedoes  and  mmes,  for  blasting,  &c.  An 
exceedingly  powerful  apparatus  of  this  kind  was  employed 
by  the  Confederate  authorities  during  the  civil  war  in 
America  for  discharging  submarine  and  river  torpedoes. 
Whatever  the  nature  of  the  materials  employed  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  accumulator,  or  the  form  which  it  may 
assume  mechanically,  it  is  simply  a  modification  of,  or  an 
improvement  upon,  the  ordinary  cylindrical  or  the  plate- 
glass  frictional  electrical  machine,  —  the  .fundamental 
scientific  principles  being  the  same  in  nearly  every  case.  The 
exciting  body  consists  generally  of  a  large  disc  or  circular 
plate  of  vulcanite, — more  frequently  termed  by  electricians 
"  ebonite,"  in  consequence  of  its  resemblance,  in  point  of 
hardness  and  of  polish,  to  polished  ebony, — the  vulcanite 
disc  taking  the  place  of  the  ordinary  circular  plate  of 
thick  glasa. 

ACE,  the  received  name  for  the  single  point  on  cards  or 
dice — the  unit.  Mr  Fox  Taibot  has  a  speculation  {English 
Etymologies,  p.  262)  that  the  Latins  invented,  if  not  the 
game  of  dice,  at  least  the  name  for  the  single  point,  which 
.they  called  mius.  The  Greeks  corrupted  this  into  6V05, 
and  at  length  the  Germanic  races,  learning  the  game  from 
the  Greeks,  translated  the  word  into  ass,  which  has  now 
become  ace.  The  fact, -however,  is,  that  the  root  of  the 
word  lies  in  the  Latin  as,  the  monetary  unit,  which  is  to 
be  identified  with  the  Greek  €*s;  Doric,  at?  or  as. 

ACEPHALA,  a  name  sometimes  given  to  a  section  of 
the  molluscous  animals,  which  are  divided  into  encephala 
and  acephala,  according  as  they  have  or  want  a  distinctly 
differentiated  head.  The  Acephala,  or  Lamellibranchiala, 
as  they  are  also  called,  are  commonly  known  as  bivalvo 
shell-fish. 

ACEPHALI  (from  a  privative,  and  Kc<j>a\rj,  a  head),  a 
term  applied  to  several  sects  as  having  no  head  or  leader; 
and  in  particular  to  a  sect  that  separated  itself,  in  the  end 
of  the  5th  century,  from  the  rule  of  the  patriarchs  of  Alex- 
andria, and  remained  without  king  or  bishop  for  more  than 
300  years  (Gibbon,  c.  xlvii.) 

Acephali  was  also  the  name  given  to  the  levellers  i;i 
the  reign  of  Henry  I,  who  are  said  to  have  been  so  poor 
as  to  have  no  tenements,  in  virtue  of  which  .they  might- 
acknowledge  a  superior  lord. 


A  C  E  — A  C  H 


93 


Acephali,  or  Acepnalous  Persons,  fabulous  monsters, 
described  by  some  ancient  naturalists  and  geographers  as 
having  no  heads. 

ACER.     See  Maple. 

ACERBI,  Giuseppe  (Joseph),  an  Italian  traveller,  born 
at  Castel-Goffredo,  near  Mantua,  on  the  3d  May  1773, 
studied  at  Mantua,  and  devoted  himself  specially  to  natural 
science.  *  In  1798  he  undertook  a  journey  through  Den- 
mark, Sweden,  Finland,  and  Lapland;  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year  he  reached  the  North  Cape,  which  no  Italian  had 
previously  visited.  He  was  accompanied  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  journey  by  the  Swedish  colonel  Skioldebrand,  an 
excellent  landscape-painter.  On  his  return  Acerbi  stayed 
for  some  time  in  England,  and  published  his  Travels 
through  Sweden,  &c.  (London,  1802),  which  was  translated 
into  German  (Weimar,  1803),  and,  under  the  author's  per- 
sonal superintendence,  into  French  (Paris,  1S04).  The 
French  translation  received  numerous  corrections,  but  even 
in  this  emended  form  the  work  contains  many  mistakes. 
Acerbi  rendered  a  great  service  to  Italian  literature  by 
starting  the"  B'Mioteca  Italiana  (1816),  in  which  he 
opposed  the  pretensions  of  the  Academy  della  Crusca. 
Being  appointed  Austrian  consul-general  to  Egypt  in 
1826,  he  entrusted  the  management  of  the  Billioteca  to 
Gironi,  contributing  to  it  afterwards  a  series  of  valuable 
articles  on  Egypt.  While  in  the  East  he  obtained  for  the 
museums  of  Vienna,  Padua,  Milan,  and  Pavia  many 
objects  of  interest.  He  returned  from  Egypt  in  1836, 
and  took  up  his  residence  in  his  native  place,  where  he 
occupied  himself  with  his  favourite  study  till  his  death  in 
August  1846. 

ACEKNUS,  the  j_,atinised  name  by  wnich  Sebastian 
Fabian  Klonowicz,  a  celebrated  Polish  poet,  is  generally 
known,  was  born  at  Sulmierzyce  in  1551,  and  died  at 
Lublin  in  1608.  He  was  for  some  time  burgomaster  and 
president  of  the  Jews'  civil  tribunal  in  the  latter  town, 
where  he  had  taken  up  his  residence  after  studying  at 
Cracow.  Though  himself  of  an  amiable  disposition,  his 
domestic  life  was  very  unhappy,  the  extravagance  and 
misconduct  of  his  wife  driving  him  at  last  to  the  public 
hospital  of  Lublin,  where  he  ended  his  days.  He  wrote 
both  Latin  and  Polish  poems,  and  the  genius  they  dis- 
played won  for  him  the  name  of  the  Sarmatian  Ovid. 
The  titles  of  fourteen  of  his  works  are  known;  but  a 
number  of  these  were  totally  destroyed  by  the  Jesuits  and 
a  section  of  the  Polish  nobility,  and  copies  of  the  others 
are  for  the  same  reason  exceedingly  rare.  The  Victoria 
Deornm  nbi  continelur  Veri  Herois  Educatio,  a  poem  in  forty- 
four  cantos,  cost  the  poet  ten  years'  labour. 

ACERRA,  in  Antiquity,  a  little  box  or  pot,  wherein  were 
put  the  incense  and  perfumes  to  be  burned  on  the  altars  of 
the  gods,  and  before  the  dead.  It  appears  to  have  been 
the  same  with  what  was  otherwise  called  ihuiibvlum  arid 
pyxis.  The  censers  of  the  Jews  were  ar.errm ;  and  the 
Romanists  still  retain  the  use  of  aceirce,  under  the  name 
of  incense  pots. 

The  name  acerra  was  also  applied  to  an  altar  erected 
among  the  Romans,  near  the  bed  of  a  person  recently  de- 
reused,  on  which  his  friends  offered  incense  daily  till  his 
burial.  The  real  intention  probably  was  to  fumigate  the 
apartment.  The  Chinese  have  still  a  somewhat  similar 
custom. 

ACERRA,  a  town  of  Italy,  in  the  province  of  Terra 
di  Lavoro.  situated  on  the  river  Agno,  7  miles  N.E.  of 
Naples,  with  which  it  is  connected  by  rail.  It  is  the  an- 
cient Acerrae.  the  inhabitants  of  which  were  admitted  to 
•he  privileges  of  Roman  citizenship  so  early  as  332  B.C., 
and  which  was  plundered  and  burnt  by  Hannibal  during 
the  second  Punic  war.  A  few  inscriptions  are  the  only 
traces  time  has  left  of  the  ancient  city.     The  town  standi 


in  a  fertile  district,  but  is  rendered  very  unhealthy  by  the 
malaria  rising  from  the  artificial  watercourses  of  the  sur- 
rounding Campagna.  .  It  is  the  scat  of  a  bishop,  and  has  a 
cathedral  and  seminary.  Flax  is  grown  in  the  neighbour- 
hood.    Population,  11,717. 

ACETIC  ACID,  one  of  the  most  important  orgaiuc  acids. 
It  occurs  naturally  in  the  juice  of  many  plants,  aud  in  cer- 
tain animal  secretions ;  but  is  generally  obtained,  on  the 
large  scale,  from  the  oxidation  of  spoiled  wines,  or  from  the 
destructive  distillation  of  wood.  In  the  former  process  it 
is  obtained  in  the  form  of  a  dilute  aqueous  solution,  in  whicli 
also  the  colouring  matters  of  the  wine,  salts,  &c,  arc  dis- 
solved ;  and  this  impure  acetic  acid  is  what  we  ordinarily 
term  vinegar.  The  strongest  vinegar  sold  in  commerce 
contains  5  per  cent,  of  real  acetic  acid.  It  is  used  as  a 
mordant  in  calico-printing,  as  a  local  irritant  in  medicine, 
as  a  condiment,  and  in  the  preparation  of  various  acetates, 
varnishes,  &c.  Pure  acetic  acid  is  got  from  the  distillation 
of  wood,  by  neutralising  with  lime,  separating  the  tarry 
matters  from  the  solution  of  acetate  of  lime,  evaporating 
off  the  water,  and  treating  the  dry  residue  with  sulphuric 
acid.  On  applying  heat,  pure  acetic  acid  distills  over  as 
a  clear  liquid,  which,  after  a  short  time,  if  the  weather 
is  cold,  becomes  a  crystalline  mass  known  by  the  name  of 
Glacial  Acetic  Acid.  For  synthesis,  properties,  ice,  Bet" 
Chemistry. 

ACHAIA.  in  Ancieni  Geograpny,  a  name  differently 
applied  at  different  periods.  In  the  earliest  times  the  name 
was  borne  by  a  small  district  in  the  south  of  The.ssaly,  and 
was  the  first  residence  of  the  Achaeans.  At  a  later  period 
Achaia  Propria  was  a  narrow  tract  of  country  in  the  north 
of  the  Peloponnesus,  running  65  miles  along  the  Gulf  of 
Corinth,  and  bounded  by  the  Ionian  Sea  on  the  W.,  by 
Elis  and  Arcadia  on  the  S.,  and  by  Sicyonia  on  the  E. 
On  the  south  it  is  separated  from  Arcadia  by  lofty  moun- 
tains, but  the  plains  between  the  mountains  and  the  sea  are 
very  fertile.  Its  chief  town  was  Patrse.  The  name  of 
Achaia  was  afterwards  employed  to  denote  collectively  the 
■  states  that  joined  the  Achasan  League.  When  Greece  was 
subdusd  by  the  Romans,  Achaia  was  the  name  given  to  the 
most  southerly  of  the  provinces  into  which  they  divided  the 
country,  and  included  the  Peloponnesiis,  the  greater  part  of 
Greece  Proper,  and  the  islands. 

Achceans  and  the  Achccan  League. — The  early  inhabitants 
of  Achaia  were  called  Achaans.  The  name  was  given  also 
in  those  times  to  some  of  the  tribes  occupying  the  eastern 
portions  of  the  Peloponnesus,  particularly  Argos  and  Sparta. 
Afterwards  the  inhabitants  of  Achaia  Propria  appropriated 
the  name.  This  republic  was  not  considerable,  in  early  times, 
as  regards  either  the  number  of  its  troops,  its  wealth,  or 
the  extent  of  its  territory,  but  was  famed  for  its  heroic 
virtues.  The  Crotonians  and  Sybarites,  to  re-establish 
order  in  their  towns,  adopted  the  laws  and  customs  of 
the  Achaeans.  After  the  famous  battle  of  Leuctra,  a  dif- 
ference arose  betwixt  the  Lacedaemonians  and  Thebant, 
who  held  the  virtue  of  this  people  in  such  veneration,  that 
they  terminated  the  dispute  by  their  decision.  The  govern- 
ment of  the  Achseans  was  democraticaLi  They  preserved 
their  liberty  till  the  time  of  Philip  and  Alexander;  but  in 
the  reign  of  these  princes,  and  afterwards,  they  were  either 
subjected  to  the  Macedonians,  who  had  made  themselves 
masters  of  Greece,  or  oppressed  by  domestic  tyrants.  The 
Achaean  commonwealth  consisted  of  twelve  inconsiderable 
towns  in  Peloponnesus.  About  280  years  before  Christ  the 
republic  of  the  Achaeans  recovered  its  old  institutions  and 
unanimity.  This  was  the  renewal  of  the  ancient  confede- 
ration, which  subsequently  became  so  famous  under  the 
name  of  the  Achjian  League — having  for  it3  object,  not 
as  formerly  a  comn.on  worship,  but  a  substantial  political 
uni^n.     Though  dating  from  the  year  B.c.  2S0.  its  import- 


94 


A  C  H  — A  C  H 


ance  maybe  referred  to  its  connection  with  Aratus  of  Sicyon, 
about  30  years  later,  as  it  was  further  augmented  by  the 
splendid  abilities  of  Philopcemen.  Thus  did  this  people,  so 
celebrated  in  the  heroie  age,  onco  more  emerge  from  com- 
parative obscurity,  and  become  the  greatest  among  the  states 
of  Gieece  in  the  last  days  of  its  national  independence.  The 
inhabitants  of  Patrre  and  of  Dyme  wero  the  first  assertors  of 
ancient  liberty.  The  tyrants  wero  banished,  and  the  towns 
again  made  one  commonwealth.  A  public  council  was  then 
h  Id,  in  which  affairs  of  importance  wero  discussed  and  deter- 
mined; and  a  register  was  provided  for  recording  the  trans- 
actions of  the  council.  This  assembly  had  two  presidents, 
who  were  nominated  alternately  by  tho  different  towns. 
But  instead  of  two  presidents,  they  soon  elected  but  one. 
Many  neighbouring  towns,  which  admired  the  constitution 
of  this  republic,  founded  on  equality,  liberty,  the  love  of 
justice,  and  of  the  public  good,  were  incorporated  with  the 
Achajans,  and  admitted  to  tho  full  enjoyment  of  their 
laws  and  privileges.  The  Achaean  League  affords  the  most 
perfect  example  in  antiquity  of  the  federal  form  of  govern- 
ment; and,  allowing  for  difference  of  time  and  place,  its 
resemblance  to  that  of  tbe  United  States  government  is 
very  remarkable.  (See  Arts.  Amphictyony  and  Federal 
Government;  also  Freeman's  Federal  Government,  2  vols. 
8vo.  1863,  and  Comparative  Politics,  8vo.  1873;  Droysen, 
Geschichte  des  Uellenismus,  2  vols. ;  Helwing,  Geschichte 
des  Afha'inchen  Bundes.) 

ACHAN,  the  son  of  Carmi,  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  at 
the  taking  of  Jericho  concealed  two  hundred  shekels  of 
silver,  a  Babylonish  garment,  and  a  wedge  of  gold,  con- 
trary to  the  express  command  of  God.  This  sin  proved 
fatal  to  the  Israelites,  who  were  repulsed  -at  the  siege  of 
Ai.  In  this  emergency  Joshua  prostrated  himself  before 
the  Lord,  and  begged  that  he  would  have  mercy  upon  his 
people.  Achan  was  discovered  by  casting  lots,  and  he 
and  his  children  were  stoned  to  death.  This  expiation 
being  made,  Ai  was  taken  by  stratagem.     (Josh.  vii.  viii.) 

ACHARD,  Franz  Carl,  a  Prussian  chemist,  born  at 
Berlin  on  the' 28th  April  1753,  was  the  first  to  turn 
MarggrafFs  discovery  of  the  presence  of  sugar  in  beet-root 
to  commercial  account.  He  erected  a  factory  on  an  estate 
in  Silesia,  granted  to  him  about  1800  by  the  king  of  Prussia, 
and  produced  there  large  quantities  of  sugar  to  meet 
the  scarcity  occasioned  by  the  closing  of  the  West  Indian 
ports  to  continental  traders.  In  1812  a  similar  establish- 
ment was  erected  by  Napoleon  at  Rambouillet,  although 
the  Institute  of  France  in  1800,  while  honouring  Achard 
for  his  researches,  had  declared  his  process  to  have  little 
practical  value.  At  the  close  of  the  war  the  manufacture 
of  beet-root  sugar  was  protected  by  duties  on  other  sugars 
that  were  almost  prohibitive,  so  that  the  real  worth  of 
Achard's  discoveries  could  not  be  tested.  Achard  was  a 
frequent  contributor  to  theMemoirs  of  the  Academy  of  Berlin, 
and  published  in  1780  ChymiscltrPhysisclie  Schriften,  con- 
taining descriptions  and  results  of  his  very  numerous  and 
carefully  conducted  experiments  on  the  adhesion  of  bodies. 
He  died  in  1821. 

ACHARIUS,  Erik,  a  Swedish  physician  and  botanist, 
born  at  Gefle  in  1757.  The  son  of  a  comptroller  of 
customs,  he  studied  first  in  his  native  town,  and  then  in 
1773  at  the  University  of  Upsal,  where  Linnreus  was  one 
of  his  teachers.  In  1782  he  took  the  degree  of  M.D.  at 
the  University  of  Lund,  and  practised  thereafter  in  various 
districts  of  Sweden.  But  the  direction  of  his  studies  had 
been  determined  by  his  contact  with  Linnxus,  and  he 
found  his  appropriate  sphere  when  he  was  appointed 
Professor  of  Botany  at  the  Wadstena  Academy  in  1801. 
Five  years  before  he  had  been  admitted  a  member  of  the 
Academy  at  Stockholm.  He  devoted  himself  to  the  study 
of  the  cryptogamic  orders  of  plants,  and  especially  of  the 


family  of  lichens.  '  All  his  publications  were  connected? 
with  this  subject,  the  Lichenographia  Universalis  (Got- 
tingen,  1801)  being  the  most  important.  Acharius  died, 
of  apoplexy  in  1819.  His  name  ha3  been  given  by- 
botanists  to  more  than  one  species  of  plants. 

ACHATES,  the  faithful  friend  and  companion  of  ^Eneas, 
'celebrated  in  Virgil's^MeM  aafdus  Acltates. 

ACIIEEN.     See  Acuta 

ACHELOUS,  the  largest  river  in  Greece,  rises  in  Mount 
Pindus,  and  dividing  A'tolia  from  Acarnania,  falls  iuti- 
the  Ionian  Sea.  In  the  lower  part  of  its  course  the  river 
winds  in  an  extraordinary  manner  through  very  fertile  but 
marshy  plains.  Its  water  descends  from  the  mountains,, 
heavily  charged  with  fine  mud,  wliich  is  deposited  along 
its  banks  and  in  the  sea  at  its  mouth,  whero  a  number  of 
small  islands  have  gradually  been  formed.  It  was  formerly 
called  T/toas,  from  its  impetuosity  in  its  upper  portion,  and 
Homer  gave  it  the  name  of  king  of  rivers.  It  has  a  course 
of  130  miles.  The  epithet  Acheloius-ls  used  for  aqucus 
(Virgil),  the  ancients  calling  all  water  Achelolis,  according 
to  Ephorus.     The  river  is  now  called  Aspro  Potamo. 

ACHENWALL,  Gottfried,  a  German  writer,  cele- 
brated as  having  formulated  and  developed  the  science 
( Wissenschaft  der  Staatcn),  to  which  he  was  the  first  to- 
apply  the  name  scientia  stalislica,  or  statistics.  Born  at 
Elbing,  in  East  Prussia,  in  October  1719,  he  studied  at 
Jena,  Halle,  and  Leipsic,  and  took  a  degree  at  the  last- 
named  university.  He  removed  to  Marburg  in  1746, 
where  for  two  years  he  read  lectures  on  history,  and  on  the 
law  of  nature  and  of  nations.  Here,  too,  he  commenced 
those  inquiries  in  statistics  by  which  his  name  became 
known  In  1748,  having  been  invited  by  Miinchhausen, 
the  Hanoverian  minister,  to  occupy  a  chair  at  the  univer- 
sity, he  removed  to  Gbttingen,  where  he  resided  till  his 
death  in  1772.  His  chief  works  were  connected  with 
statistics.  The  Staalsverfassungen  der  europdischen  Eeiche 
appeared  first  in  1752,  and  revised  editions — corrected 
from  information  which  he  travelled  through  England, 
France,  and  other  countries  to  collect — were  published  in 
1762  and  1768.  He  was  married  in  1752  to  a  lady 
named  Walther,  who  obtained  some  celebrity  by  a  volume 
of  poems  published  in  1750,  and  by  other  writings. 

ACHERON,  in  Classical  Mythology,  the  son  of  Ceres, 
who,  for  supplying  tho  Titans  with  drink  when  they  were 
in  contest  with  Jupiter,  was  turned  into  a  river  of  Hades, 
over  which  departed  souls  wero  ferried  on  their  way  to 
Elysium.  The  name  eventually  was  used  to  designate  the 
whole  of  the  lower  world. 

ACIIILL,  or  "Eagle"  Island,  off  the  west  coast  of  Ire- 
land, forms  part  of  the  county  of  Mayo.  It  is  of  triangular 
shape,  and  extends  15  miles  from  east  to  west,  and  12 
from  north  to  south,  its  total  area  being  51,521  acres. 
The  island  is  very  mountainous;  its  extreme  western  poiut, 
Achill  Head,  is  a  bold  and  rugged  promontory  rising  to  a 
height  of  2222  feet  above  the  sea.  Large  bogs,  incapable 
of  cultivation,  alternate  with  the  hills  of  this  desolate  isle, 
of  whose  extensive  surface  not  more  than  500  acres  have 
been  reclaimed.  The  inhabitants  earn  a  scanty  subsistence 
by  fishing  and  tillage ;  their  dwellings  are  miserable 
hovels.  There  is  a  mission-station  on  the  island,  and 
remains  of  ancient  churches  are  still  extant. 

ACHILLES  ('AxiAAtuj's).  Wheu  first  taken  up  by  the 
legendary  history  of  Greece,  the  ancestors  of  Achilles  were 
settled  in  Phthia  and  in  yKgina.  That  their  original  seat, 
however,  was  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Dodona  and  the 
Achelous  is  made  out  from  a  combination  of  the  following 
facts:  That  in  the  Iliad  (xvi.  233)  Achilles' prays  to  Zeus 
of  Dodona;  that  this  district  was  the  first  to  bear  the 
name  of  Hellas;  that  the  followers  of  Achilles  at  Troy  were 
the  only  persons  named  Hellenes  in  the  time  cf  Homer 


A  C  H— A  C  H 


95 


(Thucyd.  i  .3  ;  of.  Iliad,  ii.  6S4,  where  the  more  usual  name 
of  Myrmidones  also  occurs);  that  in  jEgina  Zeus  was  styled 
,"  Helianios j"  and  that  the  name  of  Selloi,  applied  to  the 
priesthood  at  Dodona,  is  apparently  identical  with  the  name 
Hellenes.  Whether  from  this  local  connection  the  derivation 
of  the  name  of  Achilles  from  the  same  root  as  'A^tAiuos 
should    be    preferred    to    the    other  .derivations,   such    as 
'A^i-X fvs  =  'Ex£'Aao5,  "ruler,"  or  'A^-iXcu';,  =  " the  bane  of 
the  Hums,"  remains  undecided.    But  this  is  gained,  that  we 
see  in  what  manner  the  legend  of  Achilles  had  its  root  in 
the  earlier  Pelasgic  religion,  his  adherence  to  which  in  the 
prayer  just  cited  would  otherwise  appear  very  strange  on 
the  part  of  a  hero  who,  through  the  influence  of  Homer  and 
his  successors,  is  completely  identified  with  the  Olympian 
system  of  gods.     According  to  the  genealogy,  ./Eacus  had 
two  sons,  Peleus  and  Telamon,  of  whom  the  former  became 
the  father  of  Achilles — the  latter,  of  Ajax ;  but  of  this 
relationship  between  Achilles  and  Ajax  there  is  no  sign  in 
the  Iliad.     Peleus  ruled  in  Phthia ;  and  the  gods  remark- 
ing his  piety,  rewarded  him  with,  among  other  presents,  a 
wife  in  the  person  of  the  beautiful  nereid  Thetis.     After 
her  son  was  born,  Thetis  appears  to  have  returned  to  her 
life  in  the  sea.     The  boy  was  placed  under  his  father's 
friend,  tho  centaur  Cheiron.     Wh<?n  six  years  old  he  slew 
lions  and  boars,  and  could  run  down  a  stag.     When  nine, 
he  was  removed  fiom  his  instruction  to  the  island  of  Scyrus, 
whe>-e,  dressed  as  a  girl,  he  was    to  be  brought  up  among 
the   daughters  ot   Lycoraedcs,  his   mother  preferring   for 
him  a  long  inglorious  life  to  a  brief  but  splendid  career. 
The  samo  desire  for  his  safety  is  apparent  in  other  legends, 
which  describe  her  as  trying  to  make  him  invulnerable 
when  a  child  by  placing  him  in  boiling  water  or  in  a  fire, 
and  then  salving  him  with  ambrosia ;  or  again,  in  later 
story,  by  dipping  him  in  the  river  Styx,  from  which  ho 
came  out,  all  but  the  heel  which  she  held,  proof  against 
wounds.   When  the  aid  of  Achilles  was  found  indispensable 
to  the  expedition  against  Troy,  Odysseus  set  out  for  Scyrus 
as  a  pedlar,  spread  his  wares,  including  a  shield  and  spear, 
before  the  king's   daughters,  among  whom  was  Achilles 
in  disguise.     Then  he  caused  an  alarm  of  danger  to  be 
sounded,  upon  which,  while  the  girls  fled,  Achilles  seized 
the  arms,  and  t.hu3  revealed  himself.     Provided  with  a 
contingent  of  50   ships,   and  accompanied   by  the  aged 
Phcenix  and  Patroclus,  he  joined  the  expedition,  which 
after  occupying  nine  years  in  raids  upon  the  towns  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Troy  and  in  Mysia,  as  detailed  in  the 
epic  poem  entitled  the  Cypria,  culminated  in  the  regular 
siege  of  Troy,  as  described  in  the  Iliad,  the  grand  object 
of  which  is  the  glorification  of  our  hero.     Estranged  from 
his  comrades,  because  his  captive  Briseis  had  been  taken 
from  him,  Achilles  remained  inexorable  in  his  tent,  while 
defeat  attended  the  Greeks.     At  length,  at  their  greatest 
need,  he  yielded  so  far  as  to  allow  Patroclus  to  take  his 
chariot  and  to  assume  his  armour.     Patroclus  fell,  and 
the  news  of  his  death  roused  Achilles,  who,  now  equipped 
with  new  armour  fashioned  by  Hephaestus,  drove  back  the 
Trojans,  slew  Hector,  and  after  dragging  his  body  thrice 
round  the  Trojan  walls,  restored  it  to  Priam.     With  the 
I  funeral  rites  of  Patroclus  the  Iliad  concludes,  and  the  story 
( is  taken  up  by  the  JZl'iiopis,  a  poem  by  Arctinus  of  Miletus, 
in  which  is  described  the  combat  of  Achilles  first  with  the 
ainazon  Penthesilea,  and  next  with  Memnon.     When  the 
latter  fell,  Achilles  drove  back  the  Trojans,  and,  impelled 
by  fate,  himstlf  advanced  to  the  Screan  gate,  where  an 
arrow  from  the  bow  of  Paris'  struck  his  vulnerable  heel, 
and  he  fell,  bewailed  through  the  whole  camp.    (a.  s.  ii.) 

ACHILLES  TATIUS,  a  Greek  writer,  born  at  Alexan- 
dria. The  precise  time  when  he  flourished  is  uncertain,  but 
it  cannot  have  been  earlier  than  the  5th  century,  as  in  his 
principal  work  he  evidently  unit-iUs  Helioduiua.      Suidas, 


wno  calls  him  Achilles  Statius",  says  that  he  was  converter! 
from  heathenism  and  became  a  Christian  bishop,  but  this 
is  doubtful,  the  more  so  that  Suidas  also  attributes  to  him 
a  work  on  the  sphere  (-repi  o-^at'pos)  which  is  referred  to 
by  Firmicus  (330-50),  and  must,  therefore,  have  been 
written  by  another  person.  The  erotic  romance  of  Achilles 
Tatius,  entitled  T/ie  Loves  of  Clitophon  and  Leucippe,  is 
almost  certainly  the  work  of  a  heathen  writer.  The  style 
of  the  work  is  ornate  and  rhetorical,  while  the  story  is 
often  unnatural,  and  sometimes  coarse,  and  the  develop- 
ment of  the  plot  irregular  and  frequently  interrupted.  Its 
popularity  at  the  time  it  appeared  is  proved  by  the  many 
manuscripts  of  it  which  still  exist,  and  the  value  attached 
to  it  by  modern  scholars  and  critics  is  seen  in  the  frequency 
with  which  it  has  been  reprinted  and  translated.  A  Latin 
translation  by  Annibal  Crucceius  was  published,  first  in 
part  at  Leyden  in  1544,  and  then  complete  at  Basel  in 
1554.  The  Greek  text  was  first  printed  by  Coimnelin,  at 
Heidelberg,  in  1601.  Other  editions  by  Salmasius  (Leyden, 
1640K  Mitscherlich  (Biponti,  1792),  and  Jacobs  (Leipsic, 
1821),  have  been  superseded  by  the  editions  of  Hirschig 
(Paris,  1S56),  and  Hercher  (Leipsic,  1857).  An  English 
translation  by  A.  H.  (Anthony  Hodges)  appeared  at 
Oxford  in  1638. 

ACHILLLNI,  Alexander  (1463-1512),  a  native  of 
Bologna,  was  celebrated  as  a  lecturer  both  in  medicine  and 
in  philosophy,  and  was  styled  the  second  Aristotle.  -  He  and 
Mundinus  were  the  first  at  Bologna  to  avail  themselves  of 
the  permission  given  by  Frederick  IL  to  dissect  dead 
bodies.  His  philosophical  works  were  printed  in  one 
volume  folio,  at  Venice,  in  1508,  and  reprinted  with  con- 
siderable additions  in  1545,  1551,  and  1568.  He  also 
wrote  several  medical  works,  chiefly  on  anatomy. 

ACHIN  (pronounced  A  tcheen),.  a  town  and  also  a  state  of 
Northern  Sumatra;  the  one  state  of  that  island  which  has 
been  powerful  at  any  time  since  the  discovery  of  the  Cape 
route  to  the  East,  and  the  only  one  that  still  remains  indepen- 
dentof  the  Dutch,  though  that  independence  is  nowmenaced. 
De  Barros  names  Achin  among  the  twenty-nine  states 
that  divided  the  sea-board  of  Sumatra  when  the  Portuguese 
took  Malacca.  Northern  Sumatra  had  been  visited  by 
several  European  travellers  in  the  Middle  Ages,  such  as 
Marco  Polo,  Friar  Odorico,  and  Nicolo  ContL  Some  of 
these  as  well  as  Asiatic  WTiters  mention  Lambri,'a  stato 
which  must  have  nearly  occupied  the  position  of  Achfn. 
But  the  first  voyager  to  visit  Achin,  by  that  name,  was 
Alvaro  Tellez,  a  captain  of  Tristan  d'Acunha's  fleet,  in 
1506.  It  was  then  a  mere  dependency  of  the  adjoining 
state  of  Pedir;  and  the  latter,  with  Pasei,  formed  the  only 
states  on  the  coast  whose  chiefs  claimed  the  title  of  Sultan. 
Yet  before  twenty  years  had  passed  Achfn  had  not  only 
gained  independence,  but  had  swallowed  up  all  other  states 
of  Northern  Sumatra.  It  attained  its  climax  of  power  in 
the  time  of  Sultan  Iskandar  Muda  (1607-1636),  under 
whom  the  subject  coast  extended  from  Aru  opposite 
Malacca  round  by  the  north  to  Padang  on  the  west  coast, 
a  sea-board  of  not  less  than  1100  miles  ;  and  besides  tiiis, 
the  king's  supremacy  was  owned  by  the  large  island  of 
Nyas,  and  by  the  continental  Malay  states  of  Johor, 
Pahang,  Quedah,  and  Perak. 

The  present  limits  of  Achin  supremacy  in  Sumatra  are 
reckoned  to  be,  on  the  east  coast  the  River  Tamiang,  in 
about  4°  25'  N.  lat.,  which  forms  the  frontier  of  territories 
tributary  to  Siak;  and  on  the  west  coast  a  line  in  about 
2°  48'  N.,  the  frontier  of  Trumon,  a  small  modern  state 
lying  between  Achin  and  the  Dutch  government  of  Tadang. 
Even  within  these  limits  the  actual  power  of  Achin  is  pre- 
carious, and  the  interior  boundary  can  be  laid  down  only 
from  conjecture.  This  interior  country  is  totally  unex- 
plored.    It  is  believed  to  be  inhabited  by  tribes  kindred 


96 


A  C  H  I  N 


to  the  Battas,  that  remarkable  race  of  anthropophagi  who 
adjoin  on  the  south.  The  whole  area  of  Achfn  territory, 
defined  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  'will  contain  about  16,400 
English  square  miles.  A  rate  of  20  per  square  mile,  per- 
haps somewhat  too  ■  largo  an  average,  gives  a  probablo 
population  of  328,000. 

The  production  of  rice  and  pepper  forms  the  chief 
industry  of  the  Achin  territory.  From  Pedir  and  other 
ports  on  the  north  coast  large  quantities  of  betel-nut  are 
exported  to  continental  India,  to  Burmah,  and  to  Penang 
for  China.  Some  pepper  is  got  from  Pcdir,  but  the  chief 
export  is  from  a  number  of  small  ports  and  anchorages  on 
the  west  coast,  where  vessels  go  from  port  to  port  making 
up  a  cargo.  Achin  ponies  are  of  good  repute,  and  are 
exported.  Minor  articles  of  export  are  sulphur,  iron, 
s.ippan-wood,  gutta-percha,  damvier,  rattans,  bamboos, 
benzoin,  and  camphor  from  the  interior  forests.  The 
camphor  is  that  from  the  Dryabalanops  camphora,  for 
which  so  high  a  price  is  paid  in. China,  and  the  whole  goes 
thither,  the  bulk  of  that  whole  being,  however,  extremely 
small.  Very  little  silk  is  now  produced,  but  in  the  lGth 
century  the  quantity  seems  to  have  been  considerable. 
What  is  now  wanted  for  the  local  textures,  which  are  in 
some  esteem,  is  imported  from  China. 

The  chief  attraction  to  the  considerable  trade  that  existed 
at  Achin  two  centuries  ago  must  have  been  gold.  No 
place  in  the  East,  unless  Japan,  was  so  abundantly  sup- 
plied with  gold.  We  can  form  no  estimate  of  the  annual 
export,  for  it  is  impossible  to  accept  Valentyn's  statement 
that  it  sometimes  reached  80  bahars  (512,000  ounces  !). 
Crawford  (1820),  who  always-reckoned  low,'  calculated  the 
whole  export  of  Sumatra  at  35,530  ounces,  and  that  of 
Achin  at  10,450;  whilst  Anderson  (182G),  who  tends  to 
put  figures  too  high,  reckoned  the  whole  Achin  export 
alone  at  32,000  ounces.  The  chief  imports  to  Achin  are 
opium  (largely  consumed),  rice  (the  indigenous  supply 
being  inadequate),  salt,  iron  ware,  piece-goods,  arms  and 
ammunition,  vessels  of  copper  and  pottery,  China  goods  of 
sorts,  and  a  certain  kind  of  dried  fish. 

The  great  repute  of  Achin  at  one  time  as  a  place  of 
trade  is  shown  by  the  fact,  that  to  this  port  the  first  Dutch 
(1599)  and  first  English  (1602)  commercial  ventures  to 
the  Indies  were  directed.  Lancaster,  the  English  com- 
modore, carried  letters  from  Queen  Elizabeth  to  the  king 
of  Achin,  and  was  well  received  by  the  prince  then  reign- 
ing, Alauddin  Shah.  Another  exchange  of  letters  took 
place  between  King  James  I.  and  Iskandar. Muda  in  1613. 
But  native  caprice  and  natural  jealousy  at  the  growing 
force  of  the  European  nations  in  those  seas,  the  reckless 
rivalries  of  the  latter  and  their  fierce  desire  for  monopoly, 
•were  alike  destructive  of  sound  trade;  and  the  English 
factory,  though  several  times  set  up,  was  never  long  main- 
tained. The  French  made  one  great  effort  under  Beaulieu 
(1621)  to  establish  relations  with  Achin,  but  nothing 
came  of  it. 

Still  the  foreign  trade  of  Achin,  though  subject  to  spas- 
modic interruptions,  was  important.  Dampier  and  others 
speak  of  the  number  of  foreign  merchants  settled  there, — 
English,  Dutch,  Danes,  Portuguese,  Chinese,  Banyans 
from  Guzerat,  &c.  Dampier  says  the  roads  were  rarely 
without  ten  or  fifteen  sail  of  different  nations,  bringing 
vast  quantities  of  nee,  as  well  as  silks,  chintzes,  muslins, 
and  opium.  Besides  the  Chinese  merchants  -settled  at 
Achin,  others  used  to  come  annually  with  the  junks,  ten 
or  twelve  in  number,  which  arrived  in  June.  A  regular 
fair  was  then  established,  which  lasted  two  months,  and 
was  known  as  the  China  camp, — a  lively  scene,  and  great 
resort  of  foreigners. 

The  Achinese  are  not  identical  with  the  Malays  proper 
either  in  asrject  or  language.     They  are  said  to  be  taller, 


handsomer,  and  darker,  as  if  with  a  mixture  of  blood  from 
India  proper.  Their  langimge  is  little  known;  but  though 
it  has  now  absorbed  much  Malay,  the  original  part  of  it  is 
said  to  have  characteristics  connecting  it  both  with  the 
Batta  and  with  the  Indo-Chinese  tongues.  The  Achin 
literature,  however,  is  entirely  Malay;  it  embraces  poetry, 
a  good  deal  of  theology,  and  several  chronicles. 

The  name  of  the  state  is  properly  A~chch.  This  the 
Portuguese  made  into  Ackem;  whilst  we,  with  the  Dutch, 
learned  to  call  it  Achin.  The  last  appears  to  have  been  a 
Persian  or  Indian  form,  suggested  by  jingling  analogy  with 
M4cMn  (China). 

The  town  itself  lies  very  near  the  north-west  extremity 
of  Sumatra,  known  in  charts  as  Achin  Head.  Here  a 
girdle  of  ten  or  twelve  small  islands  affords  protection  to 
the  anchorage.  This  fails  in  N.W.  winds,  but  it  is  said 
that  vessels  may  find  safe  riding  at  all  seasons  by  shifting 
their  berths.  The  town  lies  between  two  and  three  miles 
from  the  sea,  chiefly  on  the  left  bank  of  a  river  of  no  great 
size.  This  forms  a  swampy  delta,  and  discharges  by  three 
mouths.  The  central  and  chief  mouth  is  about  100  yards 
wide,  and  has  a  depth  of  20  to  30  feet  within  the  bar. 
But  the  latter  has  barely  4  feet  at  low  tide;  at  high  tide 
it  admits  native  craft  of  20  or  30  tons,  and  larger  craft  in 
the  rainy  season.  The  town,  like  most  Malay  towns,  con- 
sists of  detached  houses  of  timber  and  thatch,  clustered  in 
enclosed  groups  called  karnpongs,  and  buried  in  a  forest  of 
fruit-trees.  The  chief  feature  is  the  palace  of  the  Sultan, 
which  communicates  with  the  river  by  a  canal,  and  is 
enclosed,  at  least  partially,  by  a  wall  of  cut  stone. 

The  valley  or  alluvial  plain  in  which  Achin  lies  is  low, 
and  subject  to  partial  inundation;  but  it  is  shut  in  at  a 
short  distance  from  the  town,  on  the  three  landward  sides, 
by  hills.  It  is  highly  cultivated,  and  abounds  in  small 
villages  and  kampongs,  with  white  mosques  interspersed. 
The  hills  to  the  eastward  are  the  spurs  of  a  great  volcanic 
mountain,  upwards  of  6000  feet  in  height,  called  by  natives 
Yamuria,  by  mariners  "  the  Golden  Mountain." x  Of  the 
town  population  we  find  no  modern  estimate. 

The  real  original  territory  of  the  Achinese,  called  by 
them  Great  Achin  (in  the  sense  of  Achin  proper),  consists 
of  three  districts  immediately  round  the  city,  distinguished 
respectively  as  the  26,  the  25,  and  the  22  miliums2  (or 
hundreds,  to  use  the  nearest  English  term). 

Each  of  these  three  districts  has  two  heads,  called  pang- 
hmas;  and  these,  according  to  some  modern  accounts, 
constitute  the  council  of  state,  who  are  the  chief  adminis- 
trators, and  in  whose  hands  it  lies  to  depose  the  sovereign 
or  to  sanction  his  choice  of  a  successor.  Late  notices 
speak  of  a  chief  minister,  apparently  distinct  from  these; 
and  another  important  member  of  the  government  is  the 
Shabandar,  who  is  over  all  matters  of  customs,  shipping, 
and  commerce. 

The  court  of  Achin,  in  the  1 7th  century,  maintained  a 
good  deal  of  pomp;  and,  according  to  Beaulieu,  the  king 
had  always  900  elephants.  These  animals,  though  found 
throughout  Sumatra,  are  now  no  longer  tamed  or  kept. 

Hostilities  with  the  Portuguese  began  from  the  time  of 
the  first  independent  king  of  Achin;  and.  they  had  little 
remission  till  the  power  of  Portugal  fell  with  the  loss  of 
Malacca  (1G41).  Not  less  than  ten  times  before  that 
event  were  armaments  despatched  from  Achin  to  reduce 
Malacca,  and  more  than  once  its  garrison  was  very  hard 
pressed.  One  of  these  armadas,  equipped  by  Iskandar 
Muda  in  1615,  gives  an  idea  of  the  king's  resources.  It 
consisted  of  500  sail,   of  which  250  were  galleys,  and 

1  Several  other  great  volcanic  cones  exist  in  the  Achin  territory,  and 
two  visible  from  seaward  rise  to  a  height  of  11,000  feet  or  more  in  t!:f 
unexplored  interior. 

*  A  mukim  is  said  properly  to  embrace  44  households., 


A  C  H  —A  C  L 


97 


'among  these  a  hundred  were  greater  than  any  then  used  in 
Europe.  60,000  men  were  embarked,  with  the  king  and 
hJ8  women. 

On  the  death  of  Iskandar's  successor  in  1641,  the  widow 
was  placed  on  the  throne ;  and  as  a  female  reign  favoured 
the  oligarchical  tendencies  of  the  Malay  chiefs,  three  more 
queens  were  allowed  to  reign  successively.  Though  this 
series  of  female  sovereigns  lasted  only  fifty-eight  years  alto- 
gether, so  dense  is  apt  to  be  the  ignorance  of  recent  history, 
that  long  before  the  end  of  that  period  it  had  become  ^n 
accepted  belief  among  foreign  residents  at  Acbin  that  there 
never  had  been  any  sovereigns  in  Achin  except  females; 
and  hence,  by  an  easy  inference,  that  the  Queen  of  Sheba 
had  been  Queen  of  Achin  ! 

In  1699  the  Arab  or  fanatical  party  suppressed  female 
government,  and  put  a  chief  of  Arab  blood  on  the  throne. 
The  remaining  history  of  Achin  is  one  of  rapid  decay. 
Thirty  sovereigns  in  all  have  reigned  from  the  beginning 
of  the  16th  century  to  the  present  day. 

After  the  restoration  of  Java  to  the  Netherlands  in  1816, 
a  good  deal  of  weight  was  attached  by  the  neighbouring 
English  colonies  to  the  maintenance  of  our  influence  in- 
Achin;  and  in  1819  a  treaty  of  friendship  was  concluded 
with  the  Calcutta  Government,  which  excluded  other 
European  nationalities  from  fixed  residence  in  Achin. 
When  the  home  Government,  in  1824,  made  a  treaty  with 
the  Netherlands,  surrendering  our  remaining  settlements 
in  Sumatra  in  exchange  for  certain  possessions  on  the  con- 
tinent of  Asia,  no  reference  was  made  in  the  articles  to  the 
Indian  treaty  of  1819;  but  an  understanding  was  exchanged 
that  it  should  be  modified  by  us,  whilst  no  proceedings 
hostile  to  Achin  should  be  attempted  by  the  Dutch. 

This  reservation  was  formally  abandoned  by  our  Govern- 
ment in  a  convention  signed  at  the  Hague,  November  2, 
1871;  and  little  more  than  a  year  elapsed  before  the 
government  of  Batavia  declared  war  tpon  Achin.  Doubt- 
less there  was  provocation,  as  there  always  will  be  between 
such  neighbours;  but  the  necessity  for  war  has  been 
greatly  doubted,  even  in  Holland.  A  Dutch  force  landed 
at  Achin  in  April  1873,  and  attacked  the  palace.  It  was 
defeated  with  considerable  loss,  including  that  of  the 
general  (Kbhler).  The  approach  of  the  south-west  mon- 
soon was  considered  to  preclude  the  immediate  renewal  of 
the  attempt ;  but  hostilities  were  resumed,  and  Achin  fell 
in  January  1874. 

(De  Barros;  Faria  y  Souza;  Valentyn,  voL  v.;  Beaulieu 
(in  Thevenot's  Collection);  Dampier;  Marsden;Crawfurd's 
Hist,  and  Decl.  of  the  Ind.  Archip.;  J.  of  Ind.  Archip.; 
Dulaurier  in  J.  Asiatique,  3d  s.  vol  viii.;  Anderson's  Acheen, 
1840;  Veth,  Atchin,  <fec.  Leyden,  1873,  <tc.)  (h.  y.) 

ACHMET,  or  Ahmed,  the  name  of  three  emperors  or 
sultans  of  Turkey,  the  first  of  the  name  reigning  from  1C03 
to  1617,  the  second  from  1691  to  1695.  Achmet  III. 
succeeded  his  brother  Mustapha  II.,  whom  the  Janissaries 
deposed  in  1703.  After  the  battle  of  Pultowa  in  1709, 
Charles  XH.  of  Sweden  took  refuge  with  him,  and  incited 
him  to  war  with  Peter  the  Great,  Czar  of  Russia,  Achmet 
recovered  the  Morea  from  the  Venetians  (1715);  bui.'  his 
expedition  into  Hungary  was  less  fortunate,  his  army  being 
defeated  at  Peterwardein  by  Prince  Eugene  in  1716,  and 
again  near  Belgrade  the  year  after.  The  empire  was  dis- 
tracted uuring  his  reign  by  political  disturbances,  which 
were  occasioned,  in  part  at  least,  by  his  misgovernment ; 
/and  the  discontent  of  his  soldiers  at  last  (1730)  drove  him 
from  the  throne.     He  died  in  prison  in  1736. 

ACHRAY,  a  small  picturesque  lake  in  Perthshire,  near 

Loch  Katrine,  20  miles  W.  of  Stirling,  which  has  obtained 

botoriety  from  Scott's  allusion  to  it  in  the  Lady  of  the  Lake. 

ACHROMATIC  GLASSES  are  so  named  from  being 

Specially  constructed  with  a  view  to  prevent  the  confusion 

1-5 


of  colours  and  distortion  of  images  that  result  from  the 
use  of  lenses  in  optical  instruments.  When  white  light 
passes  through  a  lens,  the  different-coloured  rays  that  con- 
stitute it  are  refracted  or  bent  aside  at  different  angles,  and 
so  converge  at  different  foci,  producing  a  blurred  and 
coloured  image.  To  remedy  this  compound  lense3  havo 
been  devised,  which  present  a  well-defined  image,  unsur- 
rounded  by  coloured  bauds  of  light.  To  instruments  fitted 
with  lenses  of  this  kind  has  been  given  the  name  achromatic, 
from  d  privative,  and  xpw,.ia,  colour.  The  celebrated  opti- 
cian, John  Dollond,  was  the  first  to  surmount  this  practical 
difficulty,  about  the  year  1757,  by  the  use  of  a  combination 
of  crown  and  flint  glass.     See  Optics,  Microscope,  &c. 

ACI  REALE,  a  city  and  seaport  of  Sicily,  in  the 
Italian  province  of  Catania,  near  the  base  of  Mount  Etna. 
It  stands  on  solidified  lava,  which  has  here  been  deposited 
by  different  streams  to  a  depth  of  560  feet.  The  town, 
which  has  been  almost  entirely  re-erected  since  the  earth- 
quake of  1693,  is  built  of  lava,  contains  many  handsome 
edifices,  and  is  defended  by  a  fortress.  Linen,  silks,  and 
cutlery  are  manufactured,  and  the  trade  in  cotton,  flax, 
grain,  and  wines  is  considerable.  The  place  is  celebrated 
for  its  cold  sulphurous  mineral  waters.  Near  Aci  Reale 
is  the  reputed  scene  of  the  mythical  adventures  of  Acis  and 
Galatea;  and  on  this  account  several  small  towns  in  the 
neighbourhood  also  bear  the  name  of  Aci,  such  as  Aci 
Castello,  Aci  Terra,  &c.  Aci  Reale  has  a  population  of 
24,151. 

ACID,  a  general  term  in  chemistry,  applied  to  a 
group  of  compound  substances,  possessing  certain  very 
distinctive  characteristics.  All  acids  have  one  essential 
property,  viz.,  that  of  combining  chemically  with  an  alkali 
or  base,  forming  a  new  compound  that  has  neither  acid 
nor  alkaline  characters.  The  new  bodies  formed  in  this 
way  are  termed  salts.  Every  acid  is  therefore  capable  of 
producing  as  many  salts  as  there  are  basic  substances  to  be 
neutralised;  and  this  salt-forming  power  is  the  best  de- 
finition of  an  acid  substance. 

The  majority  of  acids  possess  the  following  contingent 
properties : — 

1.  When  applied  to  the  tongue,  they  excite  that  sensation 
which  is  called  sour  or  acid. 

2.  They  change  the  blue  colours  of  vegetables  to  a  red. 
The  vegetable  blues  employed  for  this  purpose  are  generally 
tincture  of  litmus  and  syrup  of  violets  or  of  radishes,  which 
have  obtained  the  name  of  re-agents  or  tests.  If  these 
colours  have  been  previously  converted  to  agreen  by  alkalies, 
the  acids  restore  them. 

All  these  secondary  properties  are  variable;  and  if  we 
attempted  to  base  a  definition  on  any  one  of  them,  many 
important  acids  would  be  excluded.  Take  the  case  of  a 
body  like  silica,  so  widely  diffused  ill  nature.  ■  Is  pure 
silicious  sand  or  flint  an' acid  or  a  neutral  substance?  When 
it  is  examined,  it  is  found  to  be  insoluble  in  water,  to  be 
devoid  of  taste,  and  to  possess  no  action  on  vegetable  colour- 
ing matters;  yet  this  substance  is  a  true  acid,  because  when 
it  is  heated  along  with  soda  or  lime,  it  forms  the  new  body 
commonly  called  glass,  which  is  chemically  a  salt  of  silicie 
acid.  Many  other  acids  resemble  silica  in  properties,  and 
would  be  mistaken  for  neutral  bodies  if  the  salt-forming 
power  was  overlooked. 

Another  method  of  regarding  an  acid,  which  is  found  of 
great  importance  in  discussing  chemical  reactions,  is  to  say 
an  acid  is  a  salt  whose  base  is  water.  This  definition  is 
very  apparent  if  we  regard  what  takes  place  in  separating 
the  acid  from  a  salt  In  this  decomposition  the  acid  would 
appear  to  be  left  without  having  any  substitute  for  the 
removed  alkali.  This  is  not  however  the  case,  as  water  is 
found  to  enter  into  union  instead  of  the  base.  Thus  every 
true  acid  must  contain  hydrogen;  and  if  this  is  displaced 


D8 


A  C  I  — A  C  O 


by  a  metal,  salts  are  formed  directly,  -n.il  acid  is  there- 
fore a  salt,  whose  metal  is  hydrogen.  The  full  importance 
of  the  definition  of  an  acid  will  be  learned  under  the  head- 
ing Chemistry. 

ACIDALIUS,  Vaxeits,  a  very  distinguished  scholar 
and  critic,  born  in  15G7  at  Wittstock,  in  Brandenburg.' 
After  studying  at  Rostock  and  Helmstaedt,  and  residing 
about  three  years  in  Italy,  he  took  up  his  residence  at 
Breslau,  where  he  professed  the  Roman  Catholic  religion. 
His  excessive  application  to  study  was  supposed  to  have 
caused  his  untimely  death,  which  occurred  in  1595,  when 
he  had  just  completed  his  twenty-eighth  year.  Ho  wrote 
notes  on  Tacitus  and  Curtius,  a  commentary  on  Plautus, 
and  a  number  of  poems,  which  are  inserted  in  the  Delicice 
of  the  German  poets.  Baillet  gave  him  a  place  among  hi3 
Enfana  Celebres,  and  tells  that  he  wrote  the  commentary 
on  Plautus  and  several  of  the  Latin  poems  when  he  was 
only  seventeen  or  eighteen  years  of  age. 

ACINACES,  an  ancient  Persian  sword,  short  and 
straight,  and  worn,  contrary  to  the  Roman  fashion,  on  the 
right  side,  or  sometimes  in  front  of  the  body,  as  shown  in 
the  bas-relief3  found  at  Persepolis.  Among  the  Persian 
nobility  they  were  frequently  made  of  gold,  being  worn  as 
a  badge  of  distinction.  The  acinaces  was  an  object  of 
religious  worship  with  the  Scythians  and  others  (Herod. 
ir.  62). 

ACIS,  in  Mythology,  the  son  of  Faunus  and  the  nymph 
Symcethis,  was  a  beautiful  shepherd  of  Sicily,  who  being 
beloved  by  Galatea,  Polyphemus  the  giant  was  so  enraged 
that  he  crushed  his  rival  with  a  rode,'  and  his  blood  gush- 
ing forth  from  under  the  rock,  was  metamorphosed  into 
the  river  bearing  his  name  (Ovid,  Met.  xiii.  750;  SiL  Ital. 
xiv.  221).  This  river,  now  Fiume  di  Jaci,  orAcque  Grandi, 
rises  under  a  bed  of  lava  on  the  eastern  base  of  Etna,  and 
passing  Aci  Reale,  after  a  rapid  course  of  one  mile,  fall3 
into  the  sea.  The  waters  of  the  stream,  once  celebrated 
for  their  purity,  are  now  sulphureous. 

ACKERMANN,  John  Christian  Gottlieb,  a  learned 
physician  and  professor  of  medicine,  born  at  Zeulenroda, 
in  Upper  Saxony,  in  1756.  At  the  early  age  of  fifteen  he 
became  a  student  of  medicine  at  Jena,  where  he  soon 
attracted  the  favourable  notice  of  Baldinger,  who  undertook 
the  direction  of  his  studies.  When  Baldinger  was  trans- 
ferred to  Gottingen  in  1773,  Ackermann  went  with  him, 
and  afterwards  studied  for  two  years  at  Halle.  A  few 
years'  practice  at  Stendal  (1778-99),  where  there  were 
numerous  factories,  enabled  him  to  add  many  valuable 
original  observations  to  his  translation  of  Ramazzini's 
Treatise  of  the  Diseases  of  Artificers  (1780-83).  In  1786 
he  became  professor  of  medicine  at  the  university  of 
Altorf,  in  Franconia,  occupying  first  the  chair  of  chemistry, 
and  then,  from  1794  till  his  death  in  1801,  that  of  patho- 
logy and  therapeutics,  Dr  Ackermann's  knowledge  of  the 
history  of  medicine  may  be  estimated  by  his  valuable  con- 
tributions to  Harless's  edition  of  Fabricius'  Bibliotheca 
Grceca.  He  wrote  numerous  original  works,  besides  trans- 
lations. 

ACCEMET^E  (aKo'/x-rp-os,  sleepless),  an  order  of  monks 
instituted  by  Alexander,  a  Syrian,  about  the  middle  of 
the  5th  century.  Founding  on  the  precept,  Pray  without 
ceasing,  they  celebrated  divine  service  uninterruptedly  night 
and  day,  for  which  purpose  they  divided  themselves  into 
three  sections,  that  relieved  each  other  in  turn.  The 
chief  seat  of  the  Accemetae  was  the  cloister  Studium  at 
Constantinople,  whence  they  were  sometimes  called  Studites. 
Having  adopted  the  monophysite  heresy,  they  were  put 
under  the  Papal  baD  about  the  year  536. 

ACOLYTE  (from  &k6Kov0os,  an  attendant),  one  of  a 
minor  order  of  clergy  in  the  ancient  church,  ranking 
next  to  the  sub-deacon.     We  Jearn  from  the  canons  of  the 


fourth  Council  of  Carthage  that  the  archdeacon,  at  their 
ordination,  put  into  their  hands  a  candlestick  with  a  taper 
and  an  empty  pitcher,  to  imply  that  they  were  appointed 
to  light  the  candles  of  the  church  and  to  furnish  wine 
for  the  eucharist.  Their'  dress,  was  the  cassock  and  sur- 
plice.    The  name  and  office  still  exist  in  the  church. 

ACONCAGUA,  a  province  of  Chile,  South  America,  ia 
about  100  miles  long  by  40  miles  wide,  and  lies  between 
31°  30'  and  33°  20'  S.  lat.,  and  70°  and  71°  30'  W.  long., 
between  the  provinces  of  Valparaiso  and  Santiago  on  the  N. 
and  Coquimbo  on  the  S.  A  large  part  of  the  province 
is  mountainous,  but  it  contains  several  rich  and  fertile 
valleys,  which  yield  wheat,  maize,  sugar-cane,  fruits,  and 
garden  produce  in  abundance.  In  the  agricultural  dis- 
tricts there  are  raised  from  50  to  60  fanegas  of  wheat  for 
every  quadra,  equal  to  about  35  bushels  per  English  acre. 
The  province  "has  also  mineral  resources,  but  not  to  such 
extent  as  Coquimbo  or  Atacama.  Its  chief  town  is  San 
Felipe.  The  mountain  Acbncagua,  one  of  the  loftiest 
peaks  of  the  Andes,  rises  to  the  height  of  23,910  feet 
above  the  sea  on  the  frontier  between  this  province  and 
Mendoza,  a  department  of  the  Argentine  Republic.  A 
river  of  the  same  name  rises  on  the  south  side  of  the 
mountain,  and  after  a  course  of  230  miles  falls  into  the 
Pacific  12  miles  N.  of  Valparaiso.  Population  (1870), 
134,178. 

ACONITE,  Aconitum,  a  genus  of  plants  commonly 
known  as  Aconite,  Monkshood,  Friar's  Cap,  or  Helmet 
flower,  and  embracing  about  18  species,  chiefly  natives  o! 
the  mountainous  parts  of  the  northern  hemisphere.  They 
are  distinguished  by  having  one  of  the  five  blue  or  yellow 
coloured  sepals  in  the  form  of  a  helmet ;  hence  the  English 
name.  Two  of  the  petals  placed  under  the  hood  of  the 
calyx  are  supported  on  long  stalks,  and  have  a  hollow 
spur  at  their  apex.  The  genus  belongs  to  the  natural 
order  Ranunculacece,  or  the  Buttercup,  family.  Aconitum 
Napellus,  common  monkshood,  is  a  doubtful  native  of 
Britain.  It  is  an  energetic  irritant  and  narcotic  poison. 
It  causes  death  by  a  depressing  effect  on  the  nervous  system, 
by  producing  palsy  of  the  muscles  concerned  in  breathing,  and 
by  fainting.  A  tincture  prepared  oy  the  action  of  spirit 
on  the  roots  is  used  medicinally  to  allay  pain,  especially 
in  cases  of  tic.  Its  roots  have  occasionally  been  mistaken 
for  horse-radish.  The  Aconite  has  a  short  underground 
stem,  from  which  dark-coloured  tapering  roots  descend.  The 
crown  or  upper  portion  of  the  root  gives  rise  to  new  plants. 
When  put  to  the  lip,  the  juice,  of  the  Aconite  root  pro- 
duces a  feeling  of  numbness  and  tingling.  The  horse- 
radish root,  which  belongs  to  the  natural  order  Cruci- 
fenc,  is  much  longer  than  that  of  the  Aconite,  and  it  is 
not  tapering ;  its  colour  is  yellowish,  and-  the  top  of  the 
root  has  the  remains  of  the  leaves  on  it.  It  has  a  pun- 
gent taste.  Many  species  of  Aconite  are  cultivated  in 
gardens,  some-  having  blue  and  others  yellow  flowers. 
Aconitum  Lycoctonum,  Wolfsbane,  is  a  yellow-flowered 
species  common  on  the  Alps  of  Switzerland.  One  species, 
Aconitum  heterophyllum,  found  in  the  East  Indies,  and 
called  Butees,  has  tonic  properties  in  its  roots.  The  roots 
of  Aconitum  ferox  supply  the  famous  Indian  (Nipal) 
poison  called  Bikh,  Bish,  or  Nabee.  This  species  is  con- 
sidered by  Hooker  and  Thomson  as  a  variety  of  Aconitum 
Napellus.  Aconitum  palmatum  yields  another  of  the 
celebrated  Bikh  poisons.  Aconitum  luridum,  of  the  Hima- 
layas, also  furnishes  a  poison. 

ACONTIUS,  the  Latinised  form  of  the  name  of  Giacomo 
Aconcio,  a  philosopher,  jurisconsult,  engineer,  and  theolo- 
gian, born  at  Trent  on  the  7th  September  1492.  He  em- 
braced the  reformed  religion;  and  after  having  taken  refuge 
for  a  time  in  Switzerland  and  Strasburg,  he  came  to  Eng- 
land about  1558.     He  was  very  favourably  received  by 


A  C  0 


A  C  0 


99 


Queen  Elizabeth,  at  whose  court,  it  is  said,  though  on 
doubtful  authority,  that  he  resided  for  a  considerable  period. 
With  the  sanction  of  Parliament,  he  carried  on  for  several 
years  extensive  works  for  the  embankment  of  the  Thames, 
and  so  reclaimed  a  large  quantity  of  waste  land,  part  of 
which  was  bestowed  upon  him  by  way  of  recompense.  His 
gratitude  to  Queen  Elizabeth  was  expressed  in  the  dedica- 
tion to  her  of  his  celebrated  Collection  of  the  Stratagems  of 
Satan,  which  has  been  often  translated,  and  has  passed 
through  many  editions.  Various  opinions  have  been  given 
of  this  work,  which  advocated  toleration  to  an-  extent  that 
many  considered  indifference.  The  nature  of  its  doctrine 
may  perhaps  be  best  gathered  from  the  fact  that  it  gained 
for  the  author  the  praise  of  Arminius,  and  the  strong  con- 
demnation of  the  Calvinists.  Acontius  also  wrote  a  treatise, 
De  Methodo,  which  was  published  at  Basel  in  1558.  He 
died  in  London  about  the  year  1566. 

ACORUS,  a  genus  of  monocotyledonous  plants  belonging 
to  the  natural  order  Aroidese,  and  the  sub-order  Orontiaceae. 
Acorns  Calamus,  sweet-sedge  or  sweet-flag,  is  a  native  of 
Britain.  It  has  an  agreeable  odour,  and  has  been  used  as 
a  strengthening  remedy,  as  well  as  to  allay  spasms.  The 
starchy  matter  contained  in  its  running  stem  or  rhizome 
is  associated  with  a  fragrant  oil,  and  it  is  used  as  hair- 
powder.  Confectioners  form  a  candy  from  the  rhizomes 
of  the  plant,  and  it  is  also  used  by  perfumers  in  preparing 
aromatic  vinegar. 

ACOSTA,  Cekistoval  d',  a  Portuguese  naturalist,  born 
at  Mozambique  in  the  early  part  of  the  1 6th  century.  On 
a  voyage  to  Asia  he  was  taken  captive  by  pirates,  who 
ezacted  from  him  a  very  large  ransom,  ^iter  spending 
some  years  in  India;  chiefly  at  Goa,  a  Portuguese  colony, 
he  returned  home,  and  settled  as  a  surgeon  at  Burgos. 
Here  he  published  his  Tratado  de  las  drogas  y  medecinas 
de  las  Indias  orientates  (1578).  This  work  was  translated 
into  Latin,  Italian,  and  French,  became  well  known  through- 
out Europe,  and  is  still  consulted  as  an  authority.  Acosta 
also  wrote  an  account  of  his  travels,  a  book  in  praise  of 
women,  and  other  works.     He  died  in  1580. 

ACOSTA,  Joseph  d',  a  celebrated  Spanish  author,  was 
born  at  Medina  del  Campo  about  the  year  1539.  In  1571 
he  went  to  Peru  as  a  provincial  of  the  Jesuits ;  and,  after 
remaining  there  for  seventeen  years,  he  returned  to  his 
native  country,  where  he  became  in  succession  visitor  for 
his  order  of  Aragon  and  Andalusia,  superior  of  Valladolid, 
and  rector  of  the  university  of  Salamancas  in  which  city  he 
died  in  February  1600.  About  ten  years  before  his  death 
he  published  at  Seville  his  valuable  Historia  Natural  y 
Moral  de  las  Indias,  part  of  which  had  previously  appeared 
in  Latin;  with  the  title  De  Nalura  Novi  Orbis,  libri  duo. 
This  work,  which  has  been  translated  into  all  the  principal 
languages  of  Europe,  gives  exceedingly  valuable  informa- 
tion regarding  the  condition  of  South  America  at  the  time. 
On  the  subject  of  climate  Acosta  was  the  first  to  propound 
the  theory,  afterwards  advocated  by  Buffon,  which  attri- 
buted the  different  degrees  of  heat  in  the  old  and  new  con- 
tinents to  the  agency  of  the  winds.  He  also  contradicted, 
from  his  own  experience,  the  statement  of  Aristotle,  that 
the  middle  zone  of  the  earth  was  so  scorched  by  the  sun  as 
to  be  destitute  of  moisture,  and  totally  uninhabitable.  Even 
after  the  discovery  of  America  this  Aristotelian  dogma  was 
an  article  of  faith,  and  its  denial  was  one  ground  of  the 
charge  of  scepticism  and  atheism  brought  against  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh.  Acosta,  however,  boldly  declared  that  what  he 
had  seen  was  so  different  from  what  he  had  expected,  that 
he  could  not  but  "laugh  at  .ArrsTOTOs  meteors  and  his 
philosophy."  In  speaking  of  the  conduct  of  his  country- 
men, and  the  means  they  employed  for  the  propagation  of 
their  faith,  Acosta  is  in  no  respect  superior  to  the  other 
prejudiced  writers  of  his  country  and  age.     Though  he 


acknowledges  that  the  career  of  Spanish  conquest  was 
marked  by  the  most  savage  cruelty  and  oppression,  he  yet 
represents  this  people  as  chosen  by  God  to  spread  the  gospel 
among  the  nations  of  America,  and  recounts  a  variety  of 
miracles  as  a  proof  of  the  constant  interposition  of  1  leaven 
in  favour  of  the  merciless  aiid  rapVions  invaders.  Besides 
his  History,  Acosta  wrote  the  following  works  : — 1.  De  Pro- 
mulgation Evangelii  apud  Barbaras  ;  2.  De  Christo  Eeve- 
lato;  3.  De  Temporibus  Novissimis,  lib.  vL;  4.  Concionum 
tomi  Hi. 

ACOSTA,  Uriel  d',  a  Portuguese  of  noble  family,  was 
born  at  Oporto  towards  the  cli*e  of  the  ICth  century. 
His  father  being  a  Jewish  convert  to  Christianity,  he  was 
brought  up  in  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  and  strictly  ob- 
served the  rites  of  the  church  till  the  course  of  his  inquiries 
led  him,  after  much  painful  doubt,  to  abandon  the  religion 
of  his  youth  for  Judaism.  Passing  over  to  Amsterdam,  he 
was  received  into  the  synagogue,  having  his  tame  changed 
from  Gabriel  to  Uriel.  He  soon  discovered,  however,  that 
those  who  sat  in  Moses'  seat  were  shameful  perverters  of 
the  law ;  and  his  bold  protests  served  only  to  exasperate 
the  rabbis,  who  finally  punished  his  contumacy  with  the 
greater  excommunication.  Persecution  seemed  only  to 
stimulate  his  temerity,  and  li6  soon  after  published  a  de- 
fence, Examen  das  tradicoens  Pliariseas,  jfcc,  in  which  he 
not  merely  exposed  the  departures  of  the  Jewish  teachers 
from  the  law,  but  combated  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life, 
holding  himself  supported  in  this  position  by  the  silence  of 
the  Mosaic  Books.  For  this  he  was  imprisoned  and  fined, 
besides  incurring  public  odium  as  a  blasphemer  and  atheist. 
Nothing  deterred,  he  pursued  his  speculations,  which  ended 
in  his  repudiating  the  divine  authority  of  the  law  of  Moses. 
AVearied,  however,  by  his  melancholy  isolation,  and  longing 
for  the  benefits  of  society,  he  was  driven,  in  the  inconsis- 
tency of  despairing  scepticism,  to  seek  a  return  to  the  Jewish 
communion.  Having  recanted  his  heresies,  he  was  re- 
admitted after  an  excommunication  of  fifteen  years,  but 
was  soon  excommunicated  a  second  time.  After  seven 
years  of  miserable  exclusion,  he  once  more  sought  admis- 
sion, and,  on  passing  through  a  humiliating  penance,  was 
again  received.  These  notices  of  his  singular  and  unhappy 
life  are  taken  from  his  autobiography,  Exemplar  Uumanat 
Vita,  published,  with  a  "  refutation,"  by  Limborch,  and 
republished  in  18-17.  It  has  been  said  that  he  died  by 
his  own  hand,  but  this  is,  to  say  the  least,  doubtful.  Hi  a 
eventful  history  forms  the  subject  of  a  tale  and  of  a  tragedy 
by  Gutzkow. 

ACOTYLEDONES,  the  name  given  to  one  of  the  Classes 
of  the  Natural  System  of  Botany,  embracing  flowerles3 
plants,  such  as  ferns,  lycopods,  horse-tailsy  mosses,  liverworts, 
lichens,  sea-weeds,  and  mushrooms.  The  name  is  derived 
from  the  character  of  the  embryo,  which  has  no  cotyledon. 
Flowering  plants  have  usually  one  or  two  cotyledons,  that 
is,  seed-leaves  or  seed-lobes  connected  with  their  embryo ; 
while  in  ilowerless  plants  the  body  representing  the  embryo 
consists  of  a  cell,  called  a  spore,  without  any  leaves.  Th« 
plants  have  no  flowers,  and  their  organs  of  reproduction  are 
inconspicuous,  hence  they  are  called  by  Linnaeus  crypto- 
gamous.  Some  flowering  plants,  such  as  dodders,  have  nc 
cotyledons ;  and  some  have  the  cotyledons  divided  intc 
more  than  two,  as  in  conifers.  Some  acotyledonou3  spores, 
when  sprouting,  produce  a  leaf-like  expansion  catted  a  pro. 
thallns,  on  which  the  organs  of  reproduction,  consisting 
of  antherldia  and  archegonia,  are  produced.  This  is  weO 
seen  in  the  case  of  ferns.  In  the  interior  of  the  antheri 
dian  cells,  moving  filamentous  bodies,  called  spermatozoids, 
have  been  observed.  These  fertilise  the  archegonial  cells, 
■whence  new  plants  are  produced.  In  the  article  Botjlxy 
these  plants  will  be  noticed  under  Class  III.  of  the  Natural 
System. 


100 


ACOUSTICS 


I.  A  UOUST1US  (from  &kov<j>,  to  hear)  is  that  branch  of 
XX  Natural  Philosophy  which  treats  of  the  nature  of 
sound,  and  the  laws  of  its  production  and  propagation,  in  so 
far  as  these  depend  on  physical  principles.  The  description 
of  the  mechanism  of  the  organ  of  voice  and  of  the  ear,  and 
the  difficult  questions  connected  with  the  processes  by 
•which,  when  sound  reaches  the  drum  of  the  ear,  it  is  trans- 
mitted to  the  brain,  must  be  dealt  with  in  separate  articles 
of  this  work.  It  is  to  the  physical  part  of  the  science  of 
acoustics  that  the  present  article  is  restricted. 

Taut  L 

General  notions  as  to  Vibrations,  Waves,  <&c. 

Sound  is         2.  We  may  easily  satisfy  ourselves  that,  in  every  in- 

iue  to         stance  in  which  the  sensation  of  sound  is  excited,  the  body, 

notations.  wnence  the  sound  proceeds,  must  have  been  thrown,  by  a 

blow  or  other  means,  into  a  state  of  agitation  or  tremor, 

implying  the  existence  of  a  vibratory  motion,  or  motion  to 

and  fro,  of  the  particles  of  which  it  consists. 

Thus,  if  a  common  glass-jar  be  struck  so  as  to  yield  an 
audible  sound,  the  existence  of  a  motion  of  this  kind  may 
be  felt  by  the  finger  lightly  applied  to  the  edge  of  the 
glass ;  and,  on  increasing  the  pressure  so  as  to  destroy  this 
motion,  the  soand  forthwith  ceases.  Small  pieces  of  cork 
put  in  the  jar  will  be  found  to  dance  about  during  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  sound ;  water  or  spirits  of  wine  poured  into 
the  glass  will,  under  the  same  circumstances,  exhibit  a 
ruffled  surface.  The  experiment  is  usually  performed,  in  a 
more  striking  manner,  with  a  bell-jar  and  a  number  of 
EKall  light  wooden  balls  suspended  by  silk  strings  to  a 
fixed  frame  above  the  jar,  so  as  to  be  just  in  contact  with 
the  widest  part  of  the  glass.  On  drawing  a  violin  bow 
across  the  edge,  the  pendulums  are  thrown  off  to  a  con- 
siderable distance,  and  falling  back  are  again  repelled, 
<tc. 

It  is  also  in  many  cases  possible  to  follow  with  the  eye 
the  motions  of  the  particles  of  the  sounding  body,  as,  for 
instance,  in  the  case  of  a  violin  string  or  any  string  fixed 
at  both  ends,  when  the  string  will  appear,  by  a  law  of 
optics,  to  occupy  at  once  all  the  positions  which  it  suc- 
cessively assumes  during  its  vibratory  motion. 

3.  It  is,  moreover,  essential,  in  order  that  the  ear  may 
be  affected  by  a  sounding  body,  that  there  be  interposed 
between  it  and  the  ear  one  or  more  intermediate  bodies 
(media),  themselves  capable  of  molecular  vibration,  which 
shall  receive  such  motion  from  the  source  of  sound,  and 
transmit  it  to  the  external  parts  of  the  ear,  and  especially 
to  the  membrana  tympani  or  drum  of  the  ear.  This  state- 
ment is  confirmed  by  the  well-known  effect  of  stopping  the 
ear  with  soft  cotton,  or  other  substance  possessing  little 
elasticity. 

The  air  around  us  forms  the  most  important  medium  of 
communication  of  sound  to  our  organs  of  hearing  ;  in  fact, 
were  air  devoid  of  this  property,  we  should  practically  be 
without  the  sense  of  hearing.  In  illustration  of  the  part 
thus  assigned  to  the  atmosphere  in  acoustics,  an  apparatus 
has  been  constructed,  consisting  of  a  glass  receiver,  in  which 
is  a  bell  and  a  hammer  connected  with  clock-work,  by' 
which  it  can  be  made  to  strike  the  bell  when  required. 
The  receiver  is  closed  air-tight  by  a  metal  plate,  through 
which  passes,  also  air-tight,  into  the  interior,  a  brass  rod. 
By  properly  moving  this  rod  with  the  hand,  a  detent  is 
released,  which  checks  the  motion  of  the  wheel-work„and 
the  hammer  strikes  the  bell  continuously,  till  the  detent  is 
pushed  into  its  original  position.     As  long  as  the  air  in 


the  receiver  is  of  the  usual  atmospheric  density,  the  sound 
is  perfectly  audible.  But  on  rarefying  the  air  by  means' 
of  an  air-pump  (the  clock-work  apparatus  having  been 
separated  from  the  plate  of  the  pump  by  means  of  a  pad- 
ding of  soft  cotton),  the  sound  grows  gradually  fainter, 
and  at  last  becomes  inaudible  when  the  rarefaction  of  the 
air  has  reached  a  very  low  point.  If,  however,  at  this 
stage  of  the  experiment,  trie  metal  rod  be  brought  into 
contact  with  the  bell,  the  sound  will  again  bo  heard 
clearly,  because  now  there  is  the  necessary  communication 
with  the  ear.  On  readmitting  the  air,  the  sound  recovers 
its  original  intensity.  This  experiment  was  first  performed 
by  Ilawksbee  in  1705. 

4.  Inasmuch,  then,   as  sound   necessarily  implies   the  Laws  of 
existence  in  the  sounding  bcdy,  in  the  air,  &c,  and  (we  vibraton 
may  add)  in  the  ear  itself,  of  vibratory  motion  of  the  par-  mo-iOQ 
tides  of  the  various  media  concerned  in  the  phenomenon, 
a  general  reference  to  the  laws  of  such  motion  is  essential 
to  a  right  understanding  of  the  principles  of  acoustics. 

The  most  familiar  instance  of  this  kind  of  motion  is 
afforded  by  the-  pendulum,  a  small  heavy  ball,  for  instance, 
attached  to  a  fine  string,  which  is  fixed  at  its  other  end. 
There  is  but  one  position  in  which  the  ball  will  remain  at 
rest,  viz.,  when  the  string  is  vertical,  there  being  then 
equilibrium  between  the  two  forces  acting  on  the  body, 
the  tension  of  the  string  and  the  earth's  attractive  force  or 
gravity.  Thus,  in  the  adjoining  fig.,  if  C  is  the  point  of 
suspension,  and  CA  the  vertical  through  that  poiut  of 
length  I,  equal  to  the  string,  A  is  the  equilibrium  position 
of  the  particle. 

Let  now  the  ball  be  removed  from  A  to  P,  the  string  being 
kept  tight,  so  that  P  describes 
the  arc  AP  of  a  circle  of  radius 
equal  to  I,  and  let  the  ball  be 
there  dropped.  The  tension  of 
the  string  not  being  now  directly 
opposite  in  direction  to  gravity 
(g),  motion  will  ensue,  and  the 
body  will  retrace  the  arc  PA. 
In  doing  so,  it  will  continually 
increase  its  velocity  until  it 
reaches  the  point  A,  where  its 
velocity  will  be  a  maximum,  and 
will  consequently  pass  to  the 
other  side  of  A  towards  Q. 


Fig.l 


But  now  gravity  tends  to 
draw  it  back  towards  A,  and  hence  the  motion  becomes 
a  retarded  one ;  the  velocity  continually  diminishes,  and 
is  ultimately  destroyed  at  some  point  Q,  which  would  be 
at  a  distance  from  A  equal  to  that  of  P,  but  for  the 
existence  of  friction,  resistance  of  the  air,  &c,  which  make 
that  distance  less.  From  Q  it  will  next  move  down  with 
accelerated  motion  towards  A,  where  it  will  have  its  greatest 
velocity  in  the  direction  from  left  to  right,  and  whence  it 
will  pass  onwards  towards  P,  and  so  on.  Thus  the  body 
will  vibrate  to  and  fro  on  either  side  of  A,  its  amplitude  of 
vibration  or  distance  between  its  extreme  positions  gradually 
diminishing  in  consequence  of  the  resistances  before  men- 
tioned, and  at  last  being  sensibly  reduced  to  nothing,  the 
body  then  resuming  its  equilibrium-position  A. 

L*  the  amplitude  of  vibration  is  restricted  vithin  incon- 
siderable limits,  it  is  easy  to  prove  that  the  motion  takes 
place  just  as  if  the  string  were  removed,  the  ball  deprived 
altogether  of  weight  and  urged  by  a  force  directed  to  the 
point  A,  and  proportional  to  the  distance  from  that  point 
For  then,  if  m  be  any  position  of  the  ball,  the  chord  mA 
may  be  regarded  as  coincident  with  the  tangent  to  the 


ACOUSTICS 


101 


'circle  at  m,  and  therefore  as  being  perpendicular  to  Cm. 
Hence  g,  acting  parallel  to  CA,  being  resolved  along  Cm 
and  toA,  the  former  component  is  counteracted  by  the 
tension  of  the  string,  and  there  re-mains  as  the  only  effec- 
tive  acceleration,  the   tangential   component   along   mA, 

•which,  by  the  triangle  of  forces,  is  equal  to^r-— -  or  j-  Am, 

and  is  therefore  proportional  to  A?a. 

On  this  supposition  of  indefinitely  small  vibrations,  the 
pendulum  is  isochronous;  that  is,  the  time  occupied  in 
passing  from  one  extreme  position  to  the  other  is  the  same, 
for  a  given  length  I  of  the  pendulum,  whatever  the  extent 
of  vibration. 

We  conclude  from  this  that,  whatever  may  be  the  nature 
of  the  forces  by  which  a  particle  is  urged,  if  the  resultant 
of  those  forces  is  directed  towards  a  fixed  point,  and  is 
proportional  to  the  distance  from  that  point,  the  particle 
will  oscillate  to  and  fro  about  that  point  in  times  which 
are  independent  of  the  amplitudes  of  the  vibrations,  pro- 
vided these  are  very  small. 

5.  The  particle,  whose  vibratory  motion  we  Lave  been 
considering,  is  a  solitary  particle  acted  on  by  external 
forces.  But,  in  acoustics,  we  have  to  do  with  the  motion 
of  particles  forming  a  connected  system  or  medium,  ir 
which  the  forces  to  be  considered  arise  from  the  mutual 
actions  of  the  particles.  These  forces  are  in  equilibrium 
with  each  other  when  the  particles  occupy  certain  relative 
positions.  But,  if  any  new  or  disturbing  force  act  for  a 
short  time  on  any  one  or  more  of  the  particles,  so  as  to  i 
cause  a  mutual  approach  or  a  mutual  recession,  on  the 
removal  of  the  disturbing  force,  the  disturbed  particles 
will,  if  the  body  be  elastic,  forthwith  move  towards  their 
respective  positions  of  equilibrium.  Hence  arises  a  vibra- 
tory motion  to  and  fro  of  each  about  a  given  po.nt, 
annlogous  to  that  of  a  pendulum,  the  velocity  at  that  point 
being  always  a  maximum,  alternately  in  opposite  directi  ms. 
Thus,  for  example,  if  to  one  extremity  of  a  pipe  contain- 
ing air  were  applied  a  piston,  of  section  equal  to  that  of  • 
the  pipe,  by  pushing  in  the  piston  slightly  and  then  remov- 
ing it,  we  should  cause  particles  of  air,  forming  a  thin 
section  at  the  extremity  of  the  pipe,  to  vibrate  in  directions 
parallel  to  its  axis. 

In  order  that  a  medium  may  be  capable  of  molecular 
vibrations,  it  must,  as  we  have  mentioned,  possess  elasticity, 
that  is,  a  tendency  always  to  return  to  its  original  condi- 
tion when  slightly  disturbed  out  of  it. 

6.  We  now  proceed  to  show  how  the  disturbance  where- 
by certain  particles  of  an  elastic  medium  are  displaced  from 
their  equilibrium-positions,  is  successively  transmitted  to 
the  remaining  particles  of  the  medium,  so  as  to  cause  these 
also  to  vibrate  to  and  fro. 

Let  us  consider  a  line  of  such  particles  y.  x,  a,  6,  fcc. 


y   j:  a1  a  a_  6    c    d    e  f  g    h    i    h    I   m   n 


o  p 


equidistant  from  each  other,  as  above ;  and  suppose  one  of 
them,  say  a,  to  be  displaced,  by  any  means,  to  a1.  As  we 
have  seen,  this  particle  will  swing  from  o,  to  a.,  and  back 
.again,  occupying  a  certain  time  T,  to  complete  its  double 
.  vibration.  But  it  is  obvious  that,  the  distance  between  a 
and  the  next  particle  b  to  the  right  being  diminished  by 
I  the  displacement  of  the  former  to  av  a  tendency  is  gene- 
rated in  b  to  move  towards  o,,  the  mutual  forces  being 
no  longer  in  equilibrium,  but  having  a  resultant,  in  the 
direction  6a,.  The  particle  6  will  therefore  also  suffer 
displacement,  and  be  compelled  to  swing  to  and  fro  about 
the  point  6.  For  similar  reasons  the  particles  c,  d  .  .  . 
will  all  likewise  be  thrown  into  vibration.  Thus  it  is,  then, 
that  the  disturbance  propagates  itself  in  the  direction  under 
consideration.      There  is  evidently  alio,  in  the  case  sup- 


posed, a  transmission  from  a  lo  *,  y,  &c,  i.e.,  in  the  opposite 

direction. 

Confining  our  attention  to  pr*,jagation  in  the  direction 
abc  .  .  .,  we  have  next  to  remark  that  each  particle  in  that 
line  will  be  affected  by  the  disturbance  always  later  than 
the  particle  immediately  preceding  it,  so  as  to  be  found  in 
the  same  stage  of  vibration  a  certain  interval  of  time  after 
the  preceding  particle. 

7.  Two  particles  which'  are  In  the  same  stage  of  vibra- 
tion, that  is,  are  equally  displaced  from  their  equilibrium- 
positions,  and  are  moving  in  the  same  direction  and  with 
equal  velocities,  are  said  to  be  in  the  same  phase.  Hence 
we  may  express  the  preceding  statement  more  briefly  thus . 
Two  particles  of  a  disturbed  medium  at  different  distances 
from  the  centre  of  disturbance,  are  in  the  same  phase  at 
different  times,  the  one  whose  distance  from  that  centre  is 
the  greater  being  later  than  the  other. 

8.  Let  us  in  the  meantime  assume  that,  the  interval* 
ab,  be,  cd  .  .  .  .  being  equal,  the  intervals  of  time  which 
elapse  between  the  like  phases  of  b  and  a,  of  c  and  6  . . . . 
are  also  equal  to  each  other,  and  let  us  ooiitider  wiiat  at 
any  given  instant  are  the  appearances  presented  by  the 
different  particles  in  the  row. 

T  being  the  time  of  a  complete  vibration  of  each  particle, 

T 
let  —  be  the  interval  of  time  requisite  for  any  phase  of  a 

to  pass  on  to  b.  If  then  at  a  certain  instant  a  is  displaced 
to  its  greatest  extent  to  the  right,  b  will  be  somewhat  short 
of,  but  moving  towards,  tts  corre»pon<ljng  position,  c  still 
further  short,  and  so  on.  Proceeding  in  tins  way,  we  shil] 
come  at  length  to  a  particle  p,  for  which  the  distance 
ap=p.  ab,  which  therefore  lags  in  its  vibrations  behind  a 

T 

by  a  time  =;jx--=  T,  and  is  consequently  precisely  in 

the  same  phase  as  a.  And  between  these  two  particles 
a,  p,  we  shall  evidently  have  particles  iu  «.i  tiiu  jiossible 
phases  of  the  vibratory  motion.  At  /(,  which  is  at  distance 
from  a  =  hip,  the  difference  of  phase,  compared  with  o, 
will  be  JT,  that  is,  h  will,  at  the  given  instant,  be  dis- 
placed to  the  greatest  extent  on  the  opposite  side  of  its 
equilibrium-position  from  tbnt.  in  which  a  is  displaced;  ia 
other  words,  h  is  in  the  exactly  opposite  phase  to  a. 

9.  In  the  case  we  have  just  been  considering,  the  vibra- 
tions of  the  particles  have  been  supposed  to  take  place  in 
a  direction  coincident  with  that  in  which  the  disturbance 
passes  from  one  particle  to  unother.  The  vibrations  are 
then  termed  longitudinal. 

But  it  need  scarcely  be  observed  that  the  vibrations  may 
take  place  in  any  direction  whatever,  and  may  even  be 
curvilinear.  H  they  take  place  in  directions  at  right 
angles  to  the  line  of  progress  of  the  disturbance,  they  are 
said  to  be  transversal. 

10.  Now  the  reasoning  employed  in  the  preceding  case 
will  evidently  admit  of  general  application,  and  wii),  in 
particular,  hold  for  transversal  vibrations.  Hence  if  we 
mark  (as  is  done  in  fig.  2)  the  positions  nx  blci  .  .  .,  occupied 
by  the  various  particles,  when  swinging  transversely,  at  the 
instant  at  which  a  has  its  maximum  displacement  above  its 
equilibrium-position,  and  trace  a  :ontinuous  line  running 
through  the  points  so  found,  that  line  will  by  its  ordinate's 
indicate  to  the  eye  the  state  of  motion  at  the  given  instant. 

i  rrxfi-— ^.  "^fTF" 


0   o  d 


f*Tt  (.,1^/' 


U^V  7  r  s 


Fig.  2. 
Thus  a  and  p  are  in  the  same  phase,  as  are  also  b  and 
</,  c  and  r,  <fec.     a  and  h  are  in  opjxisite  phases,  as  are  also 
0  and  t,  c  and  k,  <fcc. 


102 


ACOUSTICS 


Distances  ap,  bq,  &c,  separating  particles  in  tbe  same 
phase,  and  each  of  which,  as  we  have  seen,  is  passed  over 
by  the  disturbance  in  the  time  T  of  a  complete  vibra- 
tion, include  within  them  all  the  possible  phases  of  the 
motion. 

Beyond  this  distance,  tie  curve  repeats  itself  exactly, 
that  is,  the  phases  recur  in  tbe  same  order  as  before. 

Now  tbe  figure  so  traced  offers  an  obvious  resemblance 
to  the  undulating  surface  of  a  lake  or  other  body  of  water, 
after  it  has  been  disturbed  by  wind,  exhibiting  a  wave 
with  its  trough  AA,B,  and  its  crest  B/>,C.  Hence  have 
been  introduced  into  Acoustics,  as  also  into  Optics,  the 
terms  wave  and  undulation.  The  distance  ap,  01 
or  A  C,  which  separates  two  particles  in  same^phase, 
or  which  includes  both  a  wave-crest  and  a  wave-trough, 
is  termed  the  length  of  the  wave,  and  is  usually  denoted 
by  X. 

As  the  curve  repeats  itself  at  intervals  each  =  X,  it 
follows  that  particles  are  in  the  same  phase  at  any  given 
moment,  when  the  distances  between  them  in  the  direction 
of  transmission  of  the  disturbance  =  X,  2X,  3X . . .  and  gene- 
rally =  n\,  where  n  is  any  whole  number. 

Particles  such  as  a  and  h,  b  and  i,  etc.,  which  are  at 

distances  =  -\ ,  being  in  opposite  phases,  bo  will  also  be 

1  3 

particles  separated  by  distance,  -X  +  X  =  rX,or,  in  general, 

by  -X  +  mX  =?  (2m  +  1)-  ,  that  is,  by  any  odd  multiple  of  3  . 

Wave  of  11.  A  like  construction  to  the  one  just  adopted  for  tbe 

velocities  displacements  of  the  particles  at  any  given  instant,  may  be 
also  applied  for  exhibiting  graphically  their  velocities  at 
the  same  instant.  Erect  at  the  various  points  a,  b,  c,  ic, 
perpendiculars  to  the  line  joining  them,  of  lengths  pro- 
portional to  and  in  the  direction  of  their  velocities,  and 
draw  a  line  through  the  extreme  points  of  these  perpendi- 
culars; this  line  will  answer  the  purpose  required.  It  is 
indicated  by  dots  in  the  previous  figure,  and  manifestly 
form3  a  wave  of  the  same  length  as  the  wave  of  displace- 
ments, but  the  highest  and  lowest  points  of  the  one  wave 
correspond  to  the  points  in  which  the  other  wave  crosses 
the  line  of  equilibrium. 
Waves  for  12.  In  order  to  a  graphic  representation  of  the  displace- 
loagitu-  ments  and  velocities  of  particles  vibrating  longitudinally, 
diD»l  vibra-  jj  jg  convenient  to  draw  tbe  lines  which  represent  those 
quantities,  not  in  the  actual  direction  in  which  the  motion 
takes  place  and  which  coincides  with  the  line  ab  c . . .,  but 
at  right  angles  to  it,  ordinates  drawn  upwards  indicating 
displacements  or  velocities  to  the  right  (i.e.,  in  the  direc- 
tion of  transmission  of  the  disturbance),  and  ordinates 
drawn  downwards  indicating  displacements  or  velocities  in 
the  opposite  direction.  When  this  is  done,  waves  of  dis- 
placement and  velocity  are  figured  identically  with  those 
for  transversal  vibrations,  and  are  therefore  subject  to  the 
same  resulting  laws. 

13.  But  not  only  will  the  above  waves  enable  us  to  see 
at  a  glance  the  circumstances  of  the  vibratory  motion  at 
the  instant  of  time  for  which  it  has  been  constructed,  but 
U*o  for  any  subsequent  moment.     Thus,  if  we  desire  to 

T 

consider  what  is  going  on  after  an  interval  — ,  we  have 

simply  to  conceive  the  whole  wave  (whether  of  displace- 
ment or  velocity)  to  be  moved  to  the  right  through  a  dis- 
tance =a  b.  Then  the  state  of  motion  in  which  a  was 
before  will  have  been  transferred  to  b,  that  of  b  will  have 
been  transferred  to  c,  and  so  on.  At  the  end  of  another 
such  interval,  the  state  of  the  particles  will  in  like  manner 
be  represented  by  the  wave,  if  pushed  onward  through 
another  equal  space.  In  short,  the  whole  circumstances 
may  be  pictured  to  the  eye  by  two  waves  (of  displacement 


lions 


and  of  velocity)  advancing  continuously  in  the  line  abe  ... 
with  a  velocity  V  which  will  take  it  over  the  distance  ab  in 

the  time  — ,V  being  therefore  =  ^  =^-  =  -^-  or  V  =  ^ . 

T 
This  is  termed  the  velocity  of  propagation  of  the  wave, 

and,  as  we  see,  is  equal  to  the  length  of  the  wave  divided 

by  the  time  of  a  complete  vibration  of  each  particle. 

If,  as  is  usually  more  convenient,  we  express  T  in  terms 

of  the  number  n  of  complete  vibrations  performed  in  11 

given  time,  say  in  the  unit  of  time,  we  shall  have  -„  =  n  . 


and  hence 


V  =  n\. 


14.  There  is  one  very  important  distinction  between  the 
two  cases  of  longitudinal  and  of  transversal  vibrations  which 
now  claims  our  attention,  viz.,  that  whereas  vibrations  of 
the  latter  kind,  when  propagated  from  particle  to  particle 
in  an  elastic  medium,  do  not  alter  the  relative  distances  of 
the  particles,  ^r,  in  other  words,  cause  no  change  of  density 
throughout  the  medium;  longitudinal  vibrations,  on  tho 
other  hand,  by  bringing  the  particles  nearer  to  or  further 
from  one  another  than  they  are  when  undisturbed,  are 
necessarily  accompanied  by  alternate  condensations  and 
rarefactions. 

Thus,  in  fig.  2,  we  see  that  at  the  instant  to  which  that 
fig.  refers,  the  displacements  of  the  particles  immediately 
adjoining  a  are  equal  and  in  the  same  direction ;  hence  at 
that  moment  the  density  of  the  medium  at  a  is  equal  to 
that  of  the  undisturbed  medium.  The  same  applies  to  the 
point3  h,  p,  ic,  in  which  the  displacements  are  at  thcil 
maxima  and  the  velocities  of  vibration  =  0. 

At  any  point,  such  as  c,  between  a  and  A,  the  displace- 
ments of  the  two  adjoining  particles  on  eithei  side  sre  both 
to  the  right,  but  that  of  the  preceding  particle  is  now  the 
greater  of  the  two,  and  hence  the  density  of  the  medium 
throughout  aA  exceeds  the  undisturbed  density.  So  at 
any  point,  such  as/,  between  A  and.A,  the  same  result  holds 
good,  because  now  the  displacements  are  to  the  left,  but 
are  in  excess  on  the  right  side  of  the  point  /.  From  a 
to  h,  therefore,  the  medium  is  condensed. 

From  h  to  B,  as  at  k,  the  displacements  of  the  two 
particles  on  either  side  are  both  to  the  left,  that  of  the  pre- 
ceding particle  being,  however,  the  greater.  The  medium, 
therefore,  is  here  in  a  state  of  rarefaction.  And  in  like 
manner  it  may  be  shown  that  there  is  rarefaction  from  B 
to  p;  so  that  the  medium  is  rarefied  from  h  to  p. 

At  A  the  condensation  is  a  maximum,  because  the  dis- 
placements on  the  two  sides  of  that  point  are  equal  and 
both  directed  towards  A.  At  B,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is 
the  rarefaction  which  is  a  maximum,  the  displacements  on 
the  right  and  left  of  that  point  being  again  equal,  but 
directed  outwards  from  B. 

It  clearly  follows  from  all  this  that,  if  we  trace  a  curve 
of  which  any  ordinate  shall  be  proportional  to  the  differ- 
ence between  thedensity  of  the  corresponding  point  of  the 
disturbed  medium  and  the  density  of  the  undisturbed 
medium — ordinates  drawn  upwardsindicating  condensation, 
and  ordinates  drawn  downwards  rarefaction — that  curve 
will  cross  the  line  of  rest  of  the  particles  abc.  ..  in  the 
same  points  as  does  the  curve  of  velocities,  and  will  there- 
fore be  of  the  same  length  X,  and  will  also  rise  above  that 
liiie  and  dip  below  it  at  the  same  parts.  But  the  connec- 
tion between  the  wave  of  condensation  and  rarefaction  and 
the  wave  of  velocity,  is  still  more  intimate,  when  the 
extent  to  which  the  particles  are  displaced  is  very  small,  ^a 
is  always  the  case  in  acoustics.  For  it  may  be  shown  t'nat 
then  the  degree  of  condensation  or  rarefaction  at  any  point 
of  the  medium  is  proportional  to  the  velocity  of  vibration 
at  that  point     The  same  ordinates,  therefore,  will  rcpre» 


ACOUSTICS 


103 


eeut  the  degrees  of  condensation,  which  represent  the 
a  elocities,  or,  in  other  words,  the  wave  of  condensation  and 
rarefaction  may  be  regarded  as  coincident  with  the  velocity 
wave. 

Part  EL 

Velocity  of  propagation  of  waves  of  longitudinal  disturbance 
through  any  elastic  medium. 

!  15.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  was  the  first  who  attempted  to  de- 
termine, on  theoretical  grounds,  the  velocity  of  sound  in 
air  and  other  fluids.  The  formula  obtained  by  him  gives, 
however,  a  numerical  value,  as  regards  air,  falling  far  .short 
of  the  result  derived  from  actual  experiment;  and  it  was 
not  till  long  afterwards,  when  Laplace  took  up  the  ques- 
tion, that  complete  coincidence  was  arrived  at  between 
theory  and  observation.  We  are  indebted  to  the  late  Pro- 
fessor Kankine,  of  Glasgow  (Phil.  Trans.  1870,  p.  277)1, 
for  a  very  simple  and  elegant  investigation  of  the  question, 
which  we  will  here  reproduce  in  an  abridged  form. 

Let  us  conceive  the  longitudinal  disturbance  to  be  pro- 
pagated through  a  medium  contained  in  a  straight  tube 
having  a  transverse  section  equal  to  unity,  but  of  indefinite 
length. 

Let  two  transverse  planes  A1  A,  (fig.  3)  be  conceived 
as  moving  along  the  in- 
terior of  the  tube  in  the 
eame  direction  and  with 
the  same  velocity  V  as  the 
disturbance-wave  itself. 


*>", 


Fig.  3. 


Let  «,  u„  be  the  velocities  of  displacement  of  the  particles 
of  the  medium  at  ^  Aj  respectively,  at  any  given  instant, 
estimated  in  the  same  direction  as  V;  and  px  p2  the  corre- 
sponding densities  of  the  medium. 

The  disturbances  under  consideration,  being  such  as 
preserve  a  permanent  type  throughout  their  propagation, 
it  follows  that  the  quantity  of  matter  between  A,  and  A2 
remains  constant  during  the  motion  of  these  planes,  or  that 
as  much  must  pass  into  the  intervening  space  through  one 
of  them  as  issues  from  it  through  the  other.'  Now  at  Aj 
the  velocity  of  the  particles  relatively  to  \  itself  is  V  -  «, 
inwards,  and  consequently  there  flows  into  the  space  Aj  A^ 
through  A,  a  mass  (V  —  u1)pl  in  the  unit  of  time. 

Forming  a  similar  expression  as  regards  A;,  putting  m  for 
the  invariable  mass  through  which  the  disturbance  is  pro- 
pagated in  the  unit  of  time,  and  considering  that  if  p  de- 
note the  density  of  the  undisturbed  medium,  m  is  evidently 
equal  to  Vp,  we  have — 

T-«1)Pl=(V-«J)A=Vp=i».        .    (1.) 

Now,  px  p3  being  the  pressures  at  Aj,  A,  respectively, 
and  therefore  p,  -pl  the  force  generating  the  acceleration 
«,  -  «„  in  unit  of  time,  on  the  mass  m  of- the  medium,  by  the 
second  law  of  motion, 

Pi-P^m^-Ut)        .        .        .        (2.) 

Eliminating  uv  ut  from  these  equations,  and  putting  for 

—  ,  —  ,  -  the  symbols  s„  s,,  s  (which  therefore  denote  the 

»olumes  of  the  unit  of  mass  of  the  disturbed  medium  at 
Au  A,,  and  of  the  undisturbed  medium),  we  get : 

m*  =  ?T2±  andV^s*  ^h 

Sj  —  S2  5j  —  £g 

Now,  if  (as  is  generally  the  case  in  sound)  the  changes 
of  pressure  and  volume  occurring  during  the  disturbance  of 
the  medium  are  very  small,  we  may  assume  that  these 
changes  are  proportional  one  to  the  other.  Hence,  denot- 
ing the  ratio  which  any  increase  of  pressure  bears  to  the 
diminution  of  the  unit  of  volume  of  the  substance,  and 

•  See  also  Maxwell    Theory  of  Heat,  p.  203. 


which  is  termed  the  elasticity  of  the  substance,  by  e,  we 
shall  obtain  for  the  velocity  of  a  wave  of  longitudinal  dis- 
placements, supposed  small,  the  equation: 
V  = 


16.  In  applying  this  formula  to  the  determination  of 
the  velocity  of  sound  in  any  particular  medium,  it  is 
requisite,  as  was  shown  by  Laplace,  to  take  into  account 
the  thermic  effects  produced  by  the  condensations  and 
rarefactions  which,  as  we  have  seen,  take  place  in  the  sub- 
stance. The  heat  generated  during  the  sudden  compres- 
sion, not  being  conveyed  away,  raises  the  value  of  the 
elasticity  above  that  which  otherwise  it  would  have,  and 
which  was  assigned  to  it  by  Sir  Isaac  Newton. 

Thus,  in  a  perfect  gas,  it  is  demonstrable  by  the  prin, 
ciples  of  Thermodynamics,  that  the  elasticity  e,  which,  in 
the  undisturbed  state  of  the  medium,  would  be  simply 
equal  to  the  pressure  p,  is  to  be  made  equal  to  yp,  wher* 
y  is  a  number  exceeding  unity  and  represents  the  ratio  ol 
the  specific  heat  of  the  gas  under  constant  pressure  to  its 
specific  heat  at  constant  volume. 

Hence,  as  air  and  most  other  gases  may  be  practically 
regarded  as  perfect  gases,  we  have  for  them: 


V=  Jfii=  J 


W 


(II) 


17.  From  this  the  following  inference  may  be  dra<vn: — 
The  velocity  of  sound  in  a  given  gas  is  unaffected  by 
change  of  pressure  if  unattended  by  change  of  temperature. 

For,  by  Boyle's  law,  the  ratio  -  is   constant  at  a  given 

temperature.     The  accuracy  of  this  inference  has  been  con- 
firmed by  recent  experiments  of  Eegnault. 

18.  To  ascertain  the  influence  of  change  of  temperature 
on  the  velocity  of  sound  in  a  gas,  we  remark  that,  by  Gay 
Lussac's  law,  the  pressure  of  a  gas  at  different  tempera- 
tures varies  proportionally  both  to  its  density  p  and  to 
1  +  a  t,  where  t  is  the  number  of  degrees  of  temperature 
above  freezing  point  of  water  (32°  Fahr.),  and  ais  the  expan- 
sion of  unit  of  volume  of  the  gas  for  every  degree  above. 
32°. 

If,  therefore,  p,  p„  p,  p0  denote  the  pressures  and  densities 
corresponding  to  temperatures  32°  +  t°  and  32°,  we  have: 

L=L  (l  +  at) 

Po     H 
and  hence,  denoting  the  corresponding  velocities  of  sound 
by  V,  V0,  we  get: 

vo 
whence,  a  being  always  a  very  small  fraction,  is  obtained 
very  nearly: 


Velocity  ef 
sound  in 
air  is  inde- 
pendent 
of  the 
pressure. 


Effect  of 
change  of 
temper*- 
tare. 


^-=1  +-s»andV-V, 


■-tV 

2        "• 


The  velocity  increases,  therefore,  by  -  V0  for  every  de- 
gree of  rise  of  temperature*  above  32°. 

19,  The  general  expression  for  V  given  in  (II.)  may  be  Another 
put  in  a  different  form  :  if  we  introduce  a  height  H  of  the  ^j?*1" 
gas,  regarded  as  having  the  same  density  p  throughout  and 
exerting  the  xjressure  p,  then  p^gpS.,  where  g  is  the 
acceleration  of  gravity,  and  there  results : 

V=  J^B         .  •  •        (HL> 

Now  JgR  or  a/2^.—  is  the  velocity  U  which  would 

.        E 

be  acquired  by  a  body  falling  t»  vacuo  from  a  height  — 

Hence  V  =  UVy- 


104 


ACOUSTICS 


If  y  were  equal  to  1,  V  =  TJ,  which  is  the  result  obtained 
by  Newton,  and  would  indicate  that  the  velocity  of  sound 
iu  a  gas  equals  the  velocity  of  a  body  falling  from  a  height 
equal  to  half  of  that  of  a  homogeneous  atmosphere  of  the 
gas. 

20.  In  common  dry  air  at  32"  Fahr.,  g  being  32-2  ft.,  and 
the  mercurial  barometer  30  ins.  or  2-5  ft.,  the  density  of 
air  i3  to  that  of  mercury  as  1:  10,485-6;  hence  H«» 
10,458-6x2-5  ft -26,214  ft 

A!*r>  y=l-408 

Hence  V,  =  ,^1,403  x  32,2  x  26,214  =  1090  ft. 

md,  by  §  IS,  the  increase  of  velocity  for  each  degree  of  rise 

/    .   .         1  \  .    1090        645      .  _-n  -, 
of  temperatare  [a  being  —J  is  —  or  -j^j  -1  lll>  ft. 

1-  ft  very  nearly. 

21.  If  the  value  of  y  were  the  same  for  different  gases, 

it  is  obvious  from  form'Ua  Y=  A  /y  -  that)  at  a  given 

V  '  p 
temperature, thevelocities  of  soundin those  gases  would  be  to 
each  other  inversely  as  the  square  roots  of  their  densities. 
Eegnault  has  found  that  this  is  so  for  common  air,  carbonic 
acid,  nitrous  oxide,  hydrogen  and  ammoniacal  gas  (though 
less  so  as  regards  the  two  lost). 

22.  The  experimental  determination  of  the  velocity  of 
lound  in  air  has  been  carried  out  by  ascertaining  accurately 
the  time  intervening  between  the  Sash  and  report  of  a  grin 
as  observed  at  a  given  distance,  and  dividing  the  distance 
by  the  time.  A  discussion  of  the  many  experiments  con- 
ducted on  this  principle  in  various  countries  and  at  various 
periods,  by  Yan  Der  Kolk  (Lond.  and  Edin.  Phil.  Mag., 
July  1865),  assigns  to  the  velocity  of  sound  in  dry  air  at 
S2°  Fahr.,  1091  ft.  8  in.  per  second,  -with  a  probable  error 
of ±3-7  ft.;  and  still  more  recently  (in  1871)  Mr  Stone, 
the  Astronomer  Eoyal  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  has 
found  1090'6  as  the  result  of  careful  experiments  by  him- 
eelf  there.  The  coincidence  of  these  numbers  'with  that 
we  have  already  obtained  theoretically  sufficiently  estab- 
lishes the  general  accuracy  of  the' theory. 

23.  Still  it  cannot  be  overlooked  that  the  formula  for 
V  is  founded  on  assumptions  which,  though  approximately, 
ere  not  strictly  correct.  Thus,  the  air  is  not  a  perfect  gas, 
nor  is  the  variation  of  elastic  force,  caused  by  the  passage 
through  it  of  a  -wave  of  disturbance  always  very  small  in 
comparison  with  the  elastic  force  of  the  undisturbed  air. 
Earnshaw  (1S5S)  first  drew  attention  to  these  points,  and 
came  to  the  coi.clusion  that  the  velocity  of  sound  increases 
with  its  loudness,  that  is,  with  the  violence  of  the  disturb- 
ance. In  confirmation  of  this  statement,  he  appeals  to  a 
singular  fact,  viz.,  that,  during  experiments  made  by 
Captain  Parry,  in  the  North  Polar  Regions,  for  determin- 
ing the  velocity  of  sound,  it  was  invariably  found  that  the 
report  of  the  discharge  of  cannon  was  heard,  at  a  distance 
of  2  J  miles,  perceptibly  earlier  than  the  sound  of  the  word 
fire,  which,  of  course,  preceded  the  discharge. 

As,  in  the  course  of  propagation  in  unlimited  air,  there 
Is  a  gradual  decay  in  the  intensity  of  sound,  it  would  fol- 
low that  the  velocity  must  also  gradually  decrease  as  the 
sound  proceeds  onwards.  This  curious  inference  has  been 
verified  experimentally  by  Eegnault,  who  found  the  velocity 
of  sound  to  have  decreased  by  2 -2  ft.  per  second  in  passing 
from  a  distance  of  4000  to  one  of  7500  feet 

24.  Among  other  "interesting  results,  derived  by  the 
a«uraie  methods  adopted-  by  Eegnault,  but  which  want  of 
•pace  forbids  us  to  describe,  may  be  mentioned  the  de- 
pendence of  the  velocity  of  sound  on  its  pitch,  lower  notes 
being,  cast,  par.,  transmitted  at  a  more  rapid  rate  than  higher 
ones.  Thus,  the  fundamental  note  of  a  trumpet  travels 
(aver  than  it<  harmonica. 


25.  The  velocity  of  sound  in  liquids  and  Bollib  (the  rKs 
placements  being  longitudinal),  may  be  obtained  by  formula 
(I.),  neglecting  the  thermic  effects  of  the  compressions  and 
expansions  as  being  comparatively  inconsiderable,  and  may 
be  put  in  other  forms : 

Thus,  if  we  denote  by  •  the  change  in  length  of  cne  foot 
of  a  column  of  the  substance  produced  by  its  own  weight 

w,  then e  being  =  -  or  — ,  we  have  -  =  -  and  hence: 
ii  si 

7-y«.     .     .     .  <iv,> 

or,  replacing  -  (which  is  the  length  in  feet  of  a  coluum 

that  would  be  increased  1  foot  by  the  weight  of  1  cubia 
foot)  by  /, 

v-  ^r  (v.) 

which  shows  that  the  velocity  is  that  due  to  a  fall  through 
I 
2* 

Or,  again,  in  the  case  of  a  liquid,  if  >;  denote  the  change 
of  volume,  ■which  would  be  produced  by  an  increase  of 
pressure  equal  to  one  atmosphere,  or  to  that  of  a  columB 
H  of  the  liquid,  since  «  is  the  change  of  Tolume  due  to 

weight  of  a  column  1  of  the  liquid,  and  \ 


11       a   l 
—   and    - 


H 

=  — ,  we  get 


,</H 


(VI 


Ex.  1.  For  water,   —    •=  20,000  very  nearly;  H=34  ft 
n 
and  hence  V  =  4680  feet. 

This  number  coincides  very  closely  with  the  value  ob- 
tained, whether  by  direct  experiment,  83  by  Colladon  and 
Sturm  on  the  Lake  of  Geneva  in  1826,  who  found  4708, 
or  by  indirect  means  which  assign  to  the  velocity  in  the 
water  of  the  Eivcr  Seine  at  59°  Fahr.  a  velocity  of  4714  ft 
(Wertheim). 

Ex.  2.  For  iron.    Let  the  weight  necessary  to  dot.  Me 

the  length  of  an  iron  bar  be  4^30  millions  of  VjS.  on  :he 

square  foot     Then  a  length  I  will  bo  extended  to  M- 1  by 

.  4260  millions  lbs.         ,,  ,        m,  •      i\.a.a(  „ 

a  force  of  — j on  the  sq.  ft.     This,  tneref  ,re, 

by  our  definition  of  I,  must  be  the  weight  of  a  cubic  toot 
of  the  iron.  Assuming  the  density  of  iron  to  bo  78,  and 
62-32  lbs.  as  the  weight  of  a  cubic  foot  of  water,  we  ge* 
7-8  x  62-32  or  486  lbs.  as  the  weight  of  an  equal  buli  o» 

millions. 


iron. 


4260  millions      .„-        ,  ;_4260 
Hence ; 486  and  I  =  -— 


/oo-q  x  4260 

which  gives  V=  Jgl  =  ^  — ^ —  millions 

=     /H22  x  1000  =  1000.7284 
V    15 
or  V  =  17,000  feet  per  second-  nearly. 
As  in  the  case  of  water  and  iron,  so,  in  general,  it  may 
be  stated  that  sound  travels  faster  in  liquids  than  in  air, 
and  still  faster  in  solids,  the  ratio  °-  being  least  in  gases 

and  greatest  in  solids.  # 

26.  Biot,  about  50  years  ago,  availed  himself  of  the  Exp€rt. 
great  difference  in  the  velocity  of  the  propagation  of  sound  mental  a. 
through  metals  and  through  air,  to  determine  the  ratio  of  ten™* 
the  one  velocity  to  the  other.     A  bell  placed  near  one  ex-  ^  goUda 
tremity  of  a  train  of  iron  pipes  forming  a  joint  length  of 
upwards  of  3000  feet,  being  struck  at  the  same  instant  as 
the  same  extremity  of  the  pipe,  a  person  placed  at  the 
other  extremity  heard  first  the  sound  of  the  blow  oa  tha 
pipe,  conveyed  through  the  iron,  and  then,  after  an  interval 


ACOUSTICS 


105 


t>i  time,  -which  was  noted  as  accurately  as  possible,  the 
sound  of  the  bell  transmitted  through  the  air.  The 
result  was  a  velocity  for  the  iron  of  105  times  that  in  air. 
Similar  experiments  on  iron  telegraph  wire,  made  more 
recently  near  Paris  by  Wertheim  and  Brequet,  have  led  to 
an  almost  identical  number.  Unfortunately,  owing  to 
the  metal  in  those  experiments  not  forming  a  continuous 
whole,  and  to  other  causes,  the  results  obtained,  which  fall 
6hort  of  those  otherwise  found,  cannot  be  accepted  as  correct. 
Other  means  therefore,  of  an  indirect  character,  to  which 
we  will  refer  hereafter,  have  been  resorted  to  for  deter- 
mining the  velocity  of  sound  in  solids.  Thus  Wertheim, 
from  the  pitch  of  the  lowest  notes  produced  by  longitudinal 
friction  of  wires  or  rods,  has  been  led  to  assign  to  that 
velocity  values  ranging,  in  different  metals,  from  16,822 
feet  for  iron,  to  4030  for  lead,  at  temperature  68°  Fahr., 
and  which  agree  most  remarkably  with  those  calculated  by 

means  of  the  formula  V  =     /  - .    He  points  out,  however, 

that  these  values  refer  only  to  solids  whose  cross  dimensions 
are  small  in  comparison  with  their  length,  and  that  in  order 
to  obtain  the  velocity  of  sound  in  an  unlimited  solid  mass, 
*  it  is  requisite  to  multiply  the  value  as  above  found  by 
J  f  or  J  nearly.  For  while,  in  a  solid  bar,  the  extensions 
and  contractions  dueio  any  disturbance  take  place  laterally 
as  well  as  longitudinally ;  in  an  extended  solid,  they  can 
only  occur  in  the  latter  direction,  thus  increasing  the 
value  of  e. 

27.  To  complete  the  discussion  of  the  velocity  of  the 
propagation  of  sound,  we  have  still  to  consider  the  case  of 
transversal  vibrations,  such  as.  are  executed  by  the  points 
of  a  stretched  wire  or  cord  when  drawn  out  of  its  position 
of  rest  by  a  blow,  or  by  the  friction  of  a  violin-bow. 


r 

m 

&r 

1 

a 

i 

f 

Bg.4 
docity  of     i^ej  ox  (gg  4)  De  tne  position  of  the  rtring  when  nndis- 
jfjf k"     turbed,  map  when  displaced.     We  will  suppose  the  amount 
aisversal  °f  displacement  to  be  very  small,  so  that  we  may  regard 
irations.  the  distance  between  any  two  given  points  of  it  as  remain- 
ing the  same,  and  also  that  the  tension  P  of  the  string 
is  not  changed  in  its  amount,  but  only  in  its  direction, 
which  is  that  of  the  string. 

Take  any  origin  0  in  or;  and  06  =  6c—  ix  (a  very  small 
quantity),  then  the  perpendiculars  am,  bn,  cp,  are  the  dis- 
placements of  abc.  Let  k,  I  be  the  middle  points  of  ran, 
np;  then  Id  (which  =  ran  or  ab  very  nearly)  may  be  re- 
garded as  a  very  small  part  of  the  string  acted  on  by  two 
forces  each  —  P,  and  acting  at  n  in  the  directions  np,  nrn. 
These  give  a  component  parallel  to  ac,  which  on  our  sup- 
position is  negligible,  and  another  F  along  nb,  such  that 

F  =  P  (sin  6  -  sin  ff\  =  P.  (0*  _£\  =  p.  VSfE . 
\mn    nq;  to 

Now  if  e  «  a  length  of  string  of  weight  equal  to  P,  and 

the  string  be  supposed  of  uniform  thickness  and  density, 

P  P 

the  weight  of  U~>-.kl  =  -.  Sx,  and  the  mass  m  of  jU  = 

c  c 


p. 

ge 


Sx. 


Hence  the  acceleration  /  in  direction  nb  i 


is— 


/ 


=  -=9c 


nq-pr 


U  we  denote  ma  by  y,  oa  by  x,  and  the  time  by  t,  we 
shall  readily  see  that  this  equation  becomes  ultimately, 
dry  dry 

which  is  satisfied  by  putting 

y  =  4>  (x  +•  jg~c~.  t)  +  f  (*~  Jge.  t) 

where  <f>  and  \p  indicate  any  functions. 

Now  we  know  that  if  for  a  given  value  of  t,  x  be  in- 
creased by  the  length  A  of  the  wave,  the  value  of  y  remains 
unchanged;  hence, 

4>{z+  Jgc.t)  +  &,c  =  tj>(x  +  ).+  Jgc.  t)  &c 

But  this  condition  is  equally  satisfied  for  a  given  value  of 

x,  by  increasing    Jgc  t.  by  X,  i.e.,  increasing  (  by  j?= . 

This  therefore  must  =  T  (the  time  of  a  complete  vibration 
of  any  point  of  the  string).     But  V= =.     Hence, 

v°JJc (vn.) 

is  the  expression  for  the  velocity  of  sound  when  due  to 
very  small  transversal  vibrations  of  a  thin  wire  or  chord, 
which  velocity  is  consequently  the  same  as  would  be 
acquired  by  a  body  falling  through  a  height  equal  to  one 
half  of  a  length  of  the  chord  such  as  to  have  a  weight 
equal  to  the  tension. 

The  above  may  also  be  put  in  the  form — 


-=   /si 

\/     ID 


where  P  is  the  tension,  and  w  the  weight  of  the  unit  of 
length  of  the  chord. 

28..  It  appears  then  that  while  sound  is  propagated  by 
longitudinal  vibrations  through  a  given  substance  with  the 
same  velocity  under  all  circumstances,  the  rate  of  its  trans- 
mission by  transversal  vibrations  through  the  same  sub- 
stance depends  on  the  tension  and  on  the  thickness.  The 
former  velocity  bears  to  the  latter  the  ratio  of  «/7 :  «/c , 
(where  I  is  the  length  of  the  substance,  which  would  be 
lengthened  one  foot  by  the  weight  of  one  foot,  if  we  take 

the  foot  as  our  unit)  or  of     I  -  :  1,  that  is,  of  the  square 

root  of  the  length  which  would  be  extended  one  foot  by 
the  weight  of  c  feet,  or  by  the  tension,  to  1.  This,  for 
ordinary  tensions,  results  in  the  velocity  for  longitudinal 
vibrations  being  very  much  in  excess  of  that  for  transversal 
vibrations? 

29.  It  is  a  well  known  fact  that,  in  all  but  very  excep- 
tional cases,  the  loudness  of  any  sound  is  less  as  the  dis- 
tance increases  between  the  source  of  sound  and  the  ear. 
The  law  according  to  which  this  decay  takes  place  is  the 
same  as  obtains  in  other  natural  phenomena,  viz.,  that  in 
an  unlimited  and  uniform  medium  the  loudness  or  intensity 
of  the  sound  proceeding  from  a  very  small  sounding  body 
(strictly  speaking,  a  point)  varies  inversely  as  the  square 
of  the  distance.  This  follows  from  considering  that  the 
ear  AC  receives  only  the  conical  portion  OAC  of  the  whole 
volume  of  sound  emanating  from  0,  and  that  in  order  that 
an  ear  BD,  placed  at  a 
greater  distance  from  O, 
may  admit  the  same 
quantity,  its  area  must  be 
to  that  of  AC :  as  OB*  : 
OA2.  But  if  A'  =  AC 
be  situated  at  same  dis-  ^i-  5- 

tance  as  BD,  the  amount  of  sound  received  by  it  and  by 
BD  (and  therefore  by  AC)  will  be  as  the  area  of  A1  or 
AC  to  that  of  BD.     Hence,  the  intensities  of  the  sound  a* 


Compare 
son  of  V 
for  trans 
versal  aiv 
for  longi- 
tudinal 
vibritiot 


Law  of 

decay,  of 

intensi^J 

sounds 

with  ia- 

creas«> 

tance. 


1—5* 


106 


ACOUSTICS 


heard  by  the  same  car  at  the  distances  OA  and  OB  are  to 

each  other  as  OB2  to  OA-. 

hnnenoeof      30.  In  order  to  verify  the  above  law  -when  the  ntmo- 

Hmini»heJ  sphere  forms  the  intervening  medium,  it  would  be  necessary 

lensity  of   ^  ^st  jt  at  a  considerable  elevation  above  the  earth's 

t  "slvof  snrface)  tne  ear  aQd  tno  80urce  °f  sound  being  separated 

ioumL         by  air  of  constant  density.     As  the  density  of  the  air 

diminishes,  we  should  then  find  that  the  loudness  of  the 

"sound  at  a  given  distance  would  decrease,-  as  is  the  case  in 

the  air-pump  experiment  previously  described.     This  arises 

from  the  decrease  of  the  quantity  of  matter  impinging  on 

the  ear,  and  the  consequent  diminution  of  its  vis-viva. 

The  decay  of  sound  due  to  this  cause  is  observable  in  tho 

rarefied  air  of  high  mountainous  regions.    De  Saussure,  the 

celebrated  Alpine  traveller,  mentions  that  the  report  of  a 

pistol  at  a  great  elevation  appeared  no  louder  than  would 

a  small  cracker  at  a  lower  leveL 

But  it  is  to  be  remarked  that,  according  to  Poisson, 
when  air-strataof  different  densities  are  interposed  between 
the  source  of  sound  and  the  ear  placed  at  a  given  distance, 
the  intensity  depends  only  on  the  density  of  the  air  at  the 
source  itself;  whenco  it  follows  that  sounds  proceeding 
from  the  surface  of  the  earth  may  be  heard  at  equal  dis- 
tances as  distinctly  by  a  person  in  a  floating  balloon  as  by 
one  situated  on  tho  surface  itself;  whereas  any  noise  origi- 
nating in  the  balloon  would  be  heard  at  the  surface  as 
faintly  as  if  the  ear  were  placed  in  the  rarefied  air  on  a 
level  with  the  balloon.  This  was  exemplified  during  a 
balloon  ascent  by  Qlaisher  and  Coxwell,  who,  when  at  an 
elevation  of  20,000  feet,  heard  with  great  distinctness  the 
whistle  of  a  locomotive  passing  beneath  them. 

Part  EX 
Reflexion  and  Refraction  of  Sound. 
,31.  When  a  wave  of  sound  travelling  through  one 
medium  meets  a  second  medium  of  a  different  kind,  the 
vibrations  of  its  own  particles  are  communicated  to  the 
particles  of  the  new  medium,  so  that  a  wave  is  excited  in 
the  latter,  and  is  propagated  through  it  with  a  velocity  de- 
jwndent  on  the  density  and  elasticity  of  the  second  medium, 
and  therefore  differing  in  general  from  the  previous  velocity. 
The  direction,  too,  in  which  the  new  wave  travels  is  dif- 
ferent from  the  previous  one.  This  change  of  direction  is 
termed  refraction,  and  takes  place  according  to  the  same 
laws  as  does  the.  refraction  of  light,  viz.,  (1.)  The  new 
direction  or  refracted  ray  lies  always  in  the  plane  of 
incidence,  or  plane  which  contains  the  incident  ray  (i.e., 
the  direction  of  the  wave  in  the  first  medium),  and  the 
normal  to  the  surface  separating  the  two  media,  at  the 
point  in  which  the  incident  ray  meets  it;  (2.)  The  sine  of 
the  angle  between  the  normal  and  the  incident  ray  bears  to 
the  sine  of  the  angle  between  the  normal  and  the  refracted 
ray,  a  ratio  which  is  constant  for  the  same  pair  of  media. 

For  a  theoretical  demonstration  of  these  laws,  we  must 
refer  to  the  art.  Oracs,  where  it  will  be  shown  that  tho 
ratio  involved  in  the  second  law  is  always  equal  to  the 
ratio  of  the  velocity  of  the  wave  in  the  first  medium  to  the 
velocity  in  the  second ;  in  other  words,  the  sines  of  the 
angles  in  question  are  directly  proportional  to  the  velocities. 

32.  Hence  sonorous  rays,  in  passing  from  one  medium 
Into  another,  are  bent  in  towards  the 
normal,  or  the  reverse,  according  as  the 
velocity  of  propagation  in  the  former 
exceeds  or  falls  short  of  that  in  the  latter. 
Thus,  for  instance,  sound  i3  refracted 
towards  the  perpendicular  when  passing 
into  air  from  water,  or  into  carbonic  acid 
gas  from  air;  the  converse  is  the  case  when 
the  passage  takes  place  the  opposite  way. 

33.  It  further  follows,  as  in  the  analogous  case  of  light, 


Laws  of 

refraction. 


Be  fraction 
Is  to  or 
from  the 
normal  ac- 
cording to 
relative 

Tklut  |  Of 

the  t  elo- 
crUea. 

limiting 
an^le  and 
total  re- 
flexion. 


that  there  is  a  certain  .angle  termed  the  limiting  angle, 
whoso  sine  is  found  by  dividing  the  less  by  the  greater 
velocity,  such  that  all  rays  of  sound  meeting  the  surface 
separating  two  different  bodies  will  not  pass  onward, 
but  suffer  total  reflexion  back  into  the  first  body,  if 
the  velocity  in  that  body  is  less  than  that  in  the  other 
body,  and  if  the  angle  of  incidence  exceeds  tho  limiting 
angle. 

The  velocities  in  air  and  water  being  respectively  1090 
and  4700  feet,  the  limiting  angle  for  these  media  may  be 
easily  shown  to  be  slightly  above  15J°.  Hence,  rays  of 
sound  proceeding  from  a  distant  source,  and  therefore 
nearly  parallel  to  each  other,  and  to  PO  (fig.  0),  the  angle 
POM  being  greater  than  15  j°,  will  not  pass  into  tho  water 
at  all,  but  suffer  total  reflexion.  Under  such  circumstances, 
the  report  of  a  gun,  however  powerful,  would  be  inaudible 
by  an  ear  placed  in  the  water. 

34.  As  light  is  concentrated  into  a  focus  by  a  convex 
glass  lens  (for  which  the  velocity  of  light  is  less  than  for 
the  air),  so  sound  ought  to  be  made  to  converge  by  passing 
through  a  convex  lens  formed  of  carbonic  acid  gas.  On 
the  other  hand,  to  produce  convergence  with  water  or 
hydrogen  gas,  in  both  which  the  velocity  of  sound  exceeds 
its  rate  in  air,  the  lens  ought  to  be  concave.  These  results 
have  been  confirmed  experimentally  by  Sondhaus  and 
Hajech,  who  also  succeeded  in  verifying  the  law  of  the 
equality  of  the  index  of  refraction  to  the  ratio  of  the 
velocities  of  sound. 

35.  When  a  wave  of  sound  falls  on  a  surface  separating 
two  media,  in  addition  to  the  refracted  wave  transmitted 
into  the  new  medium,  which  we  have  just  been  consider- 
ing, there  is  also  a  fresh  wave  formed  in  tho  new  medium, 
and  travelling  in  it  in  a  different  direction,  but,  of  course, 
with  the  same  velocity.  This  reflected  wave  is  subject  to 
the  same  laws  as  regulate  the  reflexion  of  light,  viz.,  (1.) 
the  coincidence  of  the  planes  of  incidence  and  of  reflexion, 
and  (2.)  the  equality  of  the  angles  of  incidence  and 
reflexion,  that  is,  of  the  angles  made  by  the  incident  and 
reflected  rays  with  the  normal. 

3C.  As  in  an  ellipse  (fig.  7),  the  normal  PG  at  any  point 
bisects  the  angle  SPH  (S,  H 
being  the  foci),  rays  of  sound 
diverging  from  S,  and  falling  on 
the  spheroidal  surface  formed  by 
the  revolution  of  the  ellipse  about 
the  longest  diameter  AB,  will  be 
reflected  to  H,  Also,  since  SP 
+  PH  is  always  =  AB,  the  times  in  which  the  different  rays 
will  reach  H  will  all  be  equal  to  each  other,  and  hence  a 
crash  at  S  will  be  heard  as  a  crash  at  H. 

37.  At  any  point  P  of  -a  parabola  (fig.  8)  of  which  S  is 
tho  focus,  and  AX  the  axis,  the  normal. PG  bisects  the 
angle  SPX,  PX  being 
drawn  parallel  to  AX. 

Hence  rays  of  sound 
diverging  from  S,  and 
falling  on  the  paraboloid 
formed  by  the  revolution 
of  the  parabola  about  its 
axis,  will  all  be  reflected 
in  directions  parallel  to 
the  axis.  And  vice  ver;a 
rays  of  sound  XP,  XQ, 
<fec,  from  a  very  distant  source,  and  parallel  to  the  axis  of 
a  paraboloid,  will  be  reflected  into  the  focus.  Con 
sequently,  if  two  reflecting  paraboloids  be  placed  at  a 
considerable  distance  from  and  opposite  to  each  other, 
with  their  axis  coincident  in  direction  (fig.  9),  tho  tick  of 
a  watch  placed  at  the  focus  S  of  one  will  be  heard  di* 
tinctly  by  an  ear  at  S'  the  focus  of  the  other. 


Acoustic 

lmse, 


Lows  of 

rctiexion. 


P.cJlexioa 
by  a  spba 
roid. 


TteflexMn 
by  para- 
bolic ra*< 
faces. 


Fig.  8. 


ACOUSTICS 


107 


Fig.  9. 


38.  As  a  luminous  object  may  give  a  succession  of 
images  when  placed  between  two  or  more  reflecting  sur- 
faces, so  also  in  like  circum- 
stances may  a  sound  sulfur 
repetition. 

To  these  principles  are 
easily  traceable  all  the  pecu- 
liarities of  echoes.  A  vail 
or  steep  cliff  may  thus  send 
back,  somewhat  reduced  in 
intensity,  a  shout,  the  report 
of  a  pistol,  &c.  The  time 
which  elapses  between  the  sound  and  its  echo  may  be 
easily  deduced  from  the  known  velocity  of  sound  in  air, 
if  the  distance  of  the  wall  be  given.  Thus,  for  a  distance 
of  37  yards,  the  interval  will  be  found  by  dividing  the 
double  of  that  or  74  yards  by  370  yards,  the  velocity  of 
Bound  at  50°Fahr.,  to  amount  to  y  of  a  second.  Hence,  if 
wo  assume  that  the  rate  at  which  syllables  can  be  distinctly 
uttered  is  five  per  second,  the  wall  must  be  at  a  distance 
exceeding  37  yards  to  allow  of  the  echo  of  a  word  of  one 
syllable  reaching  the  ear  after  the  word  has  been  uttered. 
74  yards  for  a  word  of  two  syllables,  and  so  on. 

If  the  reflecting  surface  consists  of  one  or  more  walls, 
cliffs,  &,c,  forming  together  a  near  approach  in  shape  to 
that  of  a  prolate  spheroid  or  of  a  double  parabolic  surface, 
then  two  points  may  be  found,  at  one  of  which  if  a  source 
of  sound  be  placed,  there  will  be  produced,  by  conver- 
gence, a  distinct  echo  at  the  other.  As  examples  of  this 
may  be  mentioned  the  whispering  gallery  in  St  Paul's, 
London,  and  the  still  more  remarkable  case  of  the 
Cathedral  of  Girgenti  in  Sicily  mentioned  by  Sir  John 
fierschel. 

39.  On  similar  principles  of  repeated  reflexion  may  be 
explained  the  well-known  fact  that  sounds  may  be  con- 
veyed to  great  distances  with  remarkably  slight  loss  of 
intensity,  on  a  level  piece  of  ground  or  smooth  sheet  of 
water  or  ice,  and  still  more  so  in  pipes,  chimneys,  tunnels, 
<tc.  Thus,  in  one  of  Captain  Parry's  Polar  expedi- 
tions, a  conversation  was  on  one  occasion  carried  on, 
at  a  distance  of  \\  mile,  between  two  individuals  sepa- 
rated by  a  frozen  sheet  of  water.  M.  Biot  heard  distinctly 
from  one  end  of  the  train  of  pipes  f  of  a  mile  long, 
previously  referred  to.  a  low  whisper  proceeding  from 
the  opposite  end. 

Practical  illustrations  are  afforded  by  the  system  of 
communication  by  means  of  tubing  now  so  extensively 
adopted  in  public  and  private  buildings,  and  by  the  speak- 
ing trumpet  and  the  far  trumpet. 

40.  The  prolonged  roll  of  thunder,  with  its  manifold 
varieties,  is  partly  to  be  ascribed  to  reflexion  by  moun- 
tains, clouds,  &c. ;  but  is  mainly  accounted  for  on  a  diffe- 
rent acoustic  principle,  viz.,  the  comparatively  low  rate  of 
transmission  of  sound  through  air,  as  was  first  shown 
by  Dr  Hooke  at  the  close  of  the  1 7th  century.  The  ex- 
planation will  be  more  easily  understood  by  adverting 
to  the  case  of  a  volley  fired  by  a  long  line  of  troops.  A 
person  situated  at  a  point  in  ^hat  line  produced,  will  first 
it  is  evident  hear  the  report  of  the  nearest  musket,  fol- 
lowed by  that  of  the  one  following,  and  so  down  to  the 
last  one  in  the  line,  which  will  close  the  prolonged  roll 
thus  reaching  his  ear;  and  as  each  single  report  will  appear 
to  him  less  intense  according  as  it  proceeds  from  a  greater 
distance,  the  roll  of  musketry  thus  heard  will  be  one  of 
gradually  decreasing  loudness.  But  if  he  were  to  place 
himself  at  a  relatively  great  distance  right  opposite  to 
the  centre  of  the  line,  the  separate  reports  from  each  of 
the  two  wings  would  reach  him  nearly  at  the  same  moment, 
and  hence  the  sound  of  the  volley  would  now  approach 
more  nearly  to  that  of  a  single  loud  crash.     If  the  line  of 


soldiers  formed  an  arc  of  a  circle  having  its  centre  in  his 
position,  then  the  distances  gone  over  by  the  separata 
reports  being  equal,  they  would  reach  his  ear  at  the  same 
absolute  instant  of  time,  and  with  exactly  equal  intensi- 
ties; and  the  effect  produced  would  be  strictly  the  same 
as  that  of  a  single  explosion,  equal  in  violence  to  the  sum 
of  all  the  separate  discharges,  occurring  at  the  same  dis- 
tance. It  is  easy  to  see  that,  by  varying  the  form  of  the 
line  of  troops  and  the  position  of  the  observer,  the  sonorous 
effect  will  be  diversified  to  any  extent  desired.  If  then 
we  keep  in  view  the  great  diversity  of  form  exhibited  by 
lightning-flashes,  which  may  be  regarded  as  being  lines,  at 
the  points  of  which  are  generated  explosions  at  the  same 
instant  of  time,  and  the  variety  of  distance  and  relative 
position  at  which  the  observer  may  be  placed,  we  shall 
feel  no  difficulty  in  accounting  for  all  those  acoustic  pheno- 
mena of  thunder  to  which  Hooke's  theory  is  applicable. 

PahtIV. 
The  Principles  of  Musical  Harmony. 

41.  A  few  words  on  the  subject  of  musical  harmony 
must  be  introduced  here  fon  the  immediate  purposes  of 
this  article,  further  details  being  reserved  for  the  special 
article  on  that  subject. 

Sounds  in  general  exhibit  three  different  qualities,  so 
far  as  their  effect  on  the  ear  is  ooncerned,  viz.,  loudness, 
pitch,  and  timbre. 

Loudness  depends,  ccet.  par.,  on  the  violence  with  which  Loudnesi 
the  vibrating  portions  of  the  ear  are  excited;  and  there-  »»epends« 
fore  on  the  extent  or  amplitude  of  the  vibrations  of  the  ^rationf 
body  whence  the  sound  proceeds.     Hence,  after  a  bell  has 
been  struck,  its  effect  on  the  ear  gradually  diminishes  as 
its  vibration  becomes  less  and  less  extensive.      By  the 
theory  of  vibrations,  loudness  or  intensity  is  measured  by 
the  vis-viva  of  the  vibrating  particles,  and  is  consequently 
proportional  to  the  square  of  their  maximum  velocity  or 
to  the  square  of  their  maximum  displacement.     Helm- 
holtz,  however,  in  his  remarkable  work  on  the  perception 
of  tone,  observes  that  notes  differing  in  pitch  differ  also  in 
loudness,  where  their  vis  viva  is  the  same,  the  higher  note 
always  exhibiting  the  greater  intensity. 

42.  Difference  of  pitch  is  that  which  finds  expression  in  Pitch  de- 
the  common  terms  applied  to  notes :  Acute,  shrill,  high,  pend*  °* 
sharp,  grave,  deep,  low,  flat.    TTe  will  point  out  presently  in  ^['^-^ 
what  manner  it  is  established  that  this  quality  of  sound  de- 
pends on  the  rapidity  of  vibration  of  the  particles  of  air  in 
contact  with  the  external  parts  of  the  ear.     The  pitch  of 

a  note  is  higher  in  proportion  to  the  number  Of  vibrations 
of  the  air  corresponding  to  it,  in  a  given  time,  such  as  one 

second.    If  n  denote  this  number,  then,  by  §  13,  n  =— , 

and  hence,  V  being  constant,  the  pitch  is  higher  the  less 
the  length  X  of  the  wave. 

43.  Timbre,  or,  as  it  is  termed  by  German  authors,  Timbf*. 
klang-farbe,  rendered  by  Tyndall^into  clang-colour  or  clang- 
tiui,h\xt  fo'i  which  we  would  substitute  the  expression  acoustic 
colour,  denotes  that  peculiarity  of  impression  produced  on 

the  ear  by  sounds  otherwise,  in  pitch,  loudness,  &c,  alike, 
whereby  they  are  recognisable  as  different  from  each  other. 
Thus  human  voices  are  readily  interdistinguishable ;  so 
are  notes  of  the  same  pitch  and  intensity,  produced  by 
different  instruments.  The  question  whence  arises  this  dis- 
tinction muot  be  deferred  for  the  present. 

44.  Besides  the  three  qualities  above  mentioned,  there 
exists  another  point  in  which  sounds  may  be  distinguished 
amon"  each  other,  and  which,  though  perhaps  reducible  to 
difference  of  timbre,  requires  some  special  remarks,  viz., 
that  by  which  sounds  are  characterised,  either  as  nours  oi 
as  musical  notes.     A  musical  note  is  the  result  of  icjgular, 


108 


ACOUSTICS 


periodic  vibrations  of  the  air-particles  acting  on  the  car, 
and  therefore  also  of  the  body  whence  they  proceed,  each 
particle  passing  through  the  same  phase  at  stated  intervals 
of  time.  On  the  other  hand,  the  motion  to  which  noise  is 
due  is  irregular  and  flitting,  alternately  fast  and  slow, 
»nd  creating  in  the  mind  a  bewildering  and  confusing 
effect  of  a  more  or  less  unpleasant  character.  Noise  may 
also  be  produced  by  combining  in  an  arbitrary  manner 
several  musical  notes,  as  when  one  leans  with  the  fore-arm 
against  the  keys  of  a  piano.  In  fact,  the  composition  of 
regular  periodic  motions,  thus  effected,  is  equivalent  to  an 
irregular  motion. 

45.  We  now  proceed  to  state  the  laws  of  musical  har- 
mony, and  to  describe  certain  instruments  by  means  of 
which  they  admit  of  being  experimentally  established. 
The  chief  of  these  laws  are  as  follow  : — 

(1.)  The  notes  employed  in  music  always  correspond 
to  certain  definite  and  invariable  ratios  between  the  num- 
bers of  vibrations  performed  in  a  given  time  by  the  air 
when  conveying  these  notes  to  the  ear,  and  these  ratios 
are  of  a  very  simple  kind,  being  restricted  to  the  various 
permutations  of  the  first  four  prime  numbers  1,  2,  3,  5, 
and  their  powers. 

(2.)  Two  notes  are  in  unison  whose  corresponding  vibra- 
tions are  executed  exactly  at  the  same  rate,  or  for  which 

(denoting  by  n,  nx  the  numbers  per  second)  -»  =  1.    This 

fctio  or  interval  (as  it  is  termed)  is  the  simplest  possible. 

(3.)  The  next  interval  is  that  in  which  —  =  2,  and  is 
termed  the  octave. 

(4.)  The  interval  —  =  3  is  termed  the  twelfth,  and  if 

we  reduce  the  higher  note  of  the  pair  by  an  8'*,  i.e.,  divide 
its  number  of  vibrations  by  2,  we  obtain  the   interval 

—  o  -,  designated  as  the  interval  of  the  fifth. 

(5.)  The  interval  -l  =  5  has  no  particular  name  at- 
tached to  it,  but  if  we  lower  the  higher  note  by  two 
8™  or  divide  r\  by  4,  we  get  the  interval  --  =  ;:■  or  the 
interval  of  the  major  third. 

(6.)  The  interval  —  =  -  is  termed  the  major  sixth. 

CI.)  The  interval  -1  =  — —  =  -  is  termed  the  minor 
n  5  5 

third. 

(8.)  The  interval  ^  =  — -  =  -  is  termed  the  fourth, 
n  o  3 

3      3 

being  =  -  x  g/may  be  re- 

garded  as  formed  by  taking  in  the  first  place  a  note  one- 
fifth  higher  than  the  key-note  or  fundamental,  i.e.,  higher 

than  the  latter  by  the  interval  '-,  thence    ascending    by 


(9.)  The  interval  -  which, 


another  fifth,  which  gives 
an  octave,  which  results  in  - 


US  r   X   t 

2      2 


and  lowering  this  by 

which  is  called  the  second. 
-o 

(10.)  The  interval  —  or  5  x  -  may  be  regarded  as  the 

major  third]  f-J  of  the  fifth  (Aand  is  called  the  interval 

of  the  seventh. 

46.  If  the  key-note  or  fundamental  be  denoted  by  C, 
and  the  notes,  wiose  intervals  above  C  are  those  just 
enumerated,  by  D,  E,  F,  G,  A,  B,  C,  we  form  what  is 


known  in  music  as  the  natural  or  diatonic  scale,  in  whici 
therefore  the  intervals  reckoned  from  C  are  successively 
9    5    4    3    5    15 
8'  4'  3'  2'  3'    8'      ' 
and  therefore  the  intervals  between  eacn  note  and  the 
one  following  are 

9   10   16   0   10   9   16 
8'    9'  Lb'  8'    9'  8'  15 

Of  these  last  intervals  the  first,  fourth,  and  sixth  are 

9 
each  =  -,  which  is  termed  a  major  tone.     The  second  and 


8' 


10 


fifth  are  each  =  — ,  which  is  a  ratio  slightly  less  than ' 
the  former,  and  hence  is  called  a  minor  tone.  The  third 
and  seventh  are  each  =  — ,  to  which  is  given  the  name  of 

15 

semi-tone. 

By  interposing  an  additional  note  between  each  pair  of 
notes  whose  interval  is  a  major  or  a  minor  tone,  the  result- 
ing series  of  notes  may  be  made  to  exhibit  a  nearer  ap- 
proach to  equality  in  the  intervals  successively  separating 
them,  which  will  be  very  nearly  semi-tones.  This  sequence 
of  twelve  notes  forms  the  chromatic  scale.  The  note  inter- 
posed between  C  and  D  is  either  C  sharp  (C#)  or  D  flat 
(Db),  according  as  it  is  formed  by  raising  C  a  semi-tone  or 
lowering  D  by  the  same  amount. 

47.  Various  kinds  of  apparatus  have  been  contrived  with 
a  view  of  confirming  experimentally  the  truth  of  the  laws 
of  musical  harmony  as  above  stated 

Savart's  toothed  wheel  apparatus  consists  of  a  brass  gaTarti,, 
wheel,  whose  edge  is  divided  into  a  number  of  equal  pro-  tooths- 
jecting  teeth  distributed  uniformly  over  the  circumference,  wheel  », 
and  which  is  capable  of  rapid  rotation  about  an  axis  per-  param* 
pendicular  to  its  plane  and  passing  through  its  centre,  by- 
means  of  a  series  of  multiplying  wheels,  the  last  of  which 
is  turned  round  by  the  hand.  The  toothed  wheel  being 
set  in  motion,  the  edge  of  a  card  or  of  a  funnel-shaped 
piece  of  common  note  paper  is  held  against  the  teeth, 
when  a  note  will  be  heard  arising  from  the  rapidly  suc- 
ceeding displacements  of  the  air  in  its  vicinity.  The  pitch 
of  this  note  will,  agreeably  to  the  theory,  rise  as  the  rat9 
of  rotation  increases,  and  becomes  steady  when  that  rota- 
tion is  maintained  uniform.  It  may  thus  be  brought  into 
unison  with  any  sound  of  which  it  may  be  required  to 
determine  the  corresponding  number  of  vibrations  per 
second,  as  for  instance  the  note  A3,  three  8ve*  higher  than 
the  A  which  is  indicated  musically  by  a  small  circle  placed 
between  the  second  and  third  bines  of  the  G  clef,  which 
A  is  the  note  of  the  tuning-fork  usually  employed  for 
regulating  concert-pitch.  As  may  be  given  by  a  piano. 
Now,  suppose  that  the  note  produced  with  Savart's  appa- 
ratus is  in  unison  with  A3,  when  the  experimenter  turns 
round  the  first  wheel  at  the  rate  of  60  turns  per  minute  or 
one  per  second,  and  that  the  circumferences  of  the  various 
multiplying  wheels  are  such  that  the  rate  of  revolution  of 
the  toothed  wheel  is  thereby  increased  44  times,  then  the 
latter  wheel  will  perform  44  revolutions  in  a  second,  and 
hence,  if  the  number  of  its  teeth  be  80,  the  number  of 
taps  imparted  to  the  card  every  second  will  amount  to 
44  x  80  or  3520.  This,  therefore,  is  the  number  of  vibra- 
tions corresponding  to  the  note  A3.  If  we  divide  this  by 
23  or  8,  we  obtain  440  as  the  number  of  vibrations  answer- 
ing to  the  note  A.  This,  however,  tacitly  assumes  that 
the  bands  by  which  motion  is  transmitted  from  wheel  to 
wheel  do  not  slip  during  the  experiment.  If ,  as  is  always 
more  or  less  the  case,  slipping  occurs,  a  different  mode  for 
determining  the  rate  at  which  the  toothed  wheel  revolves, 
such  as  is  employed  in  the  syren  of  De  la  Tour  {vide  below), 
must  be  adopted 


ACOUSTICS 


109 


If,  for  the  single  toothed  wheel,  be  substituted  a  set 
of  four  with  a  common  axis,  in  which  the  teeth  are  in 
the  ratios  4:5:6:8,  and  if  the  card  be  rapidly  passed 
along  their  edges,  we  shall  hear  distinctly  produced  the 
fundamental  chord  C,  E,  G,  C'j  and  shall  thus  satisfy  our- 
selves that  the  intervals  C,  E ;  Ct  G,  and  C  Cx  are  (as  they 

5   3 

ought  to  be)  -,  -,  and  2  respectively. 

48.  The  syren  of  Seebeck  is  the  simplest  form  of  appa- 
ratus thus  designated,  and  consists  of  a  large  circular  disc 
of  pasteboard  mounted  on  a  central  axis,  about  which  it 
may  be  made  to  revolve  with  moderate  rapidity.  This  disc 
is  perforated  with  small  round  holes  arranged  in  circles 
about  the  centre  of  the  disc.  In  the  first  series  of  circles, 
reckoning  from  the  centre,  the  openings  are  so  made  as  to 
divide  the  respective  circumferences,  on  which  they  are 
found,  in  aliquot  parts  bearing  to  each  other  the  ratios  of 
the  numbers  2,  4,  5,  6,  8,  10,  12,  16,  20,  24,  32,  40,  48, 
64.  The  second  series  consists  of  circles  each  of  which  is 
formed  of  two  sets  of  perforations,  in  the  first  circle  arranged 
as  4  :  5,  in  the  next  as  3:4,  then  as  2  :  3,  3  :  5,  4  :  7. 
In  the  outer  series  is  a  circle  divided  by  perforations  into 
four  sets,  the  numbers  of  aliquot  parts  being  as  3  :  4  :  5  :  6, 
followed  by  others  which  we  need  not  further  refer  to. 

The  disc  being  started,  then  by  means  of  a  tube  held  at 
one  end  between  the  lips,  and  applied  near  to  the  disc  at 
the  other,  or  more  easily  with  a  common  bellows,  a  blast 
of  air  is  made  to  fall  on  the  part  of  the  disc  which  con- 
tains any  one  of  the  above  circles.  The  current  being 
alternately  transmitted  and  shut  off,  as  a  hole  passes^on 
and  off  the  aperture  of  the  tube  or  bellows,  causes  a  vibra- 
tory motion  of  the  air,  whose  rapidity  depends  on  the 
number  of  times  per  second  that  a  perforation  passes  the 
mouth  of  the  tube.  Hence  the  note  produced  with  any 
given  circle  of  holes  rises  in  pitch  as  the  disc  revolves 
more  rapidly;  and  if,  the  revolution  of  the  disc  being  kept 
as  steady  as  possible,  the  tube  be  passed  rapidly  across  the 
eircles  of  the  first  series,  the  notes  heard  are  found  to  pro- 
duce on  the  ear,  as  required  by  theory,  the  exact  impres- 
sion corresponding  to  the  ratios  2:4:  &c,  i.e.,  of  a  series 
of  notes,  which,  if  the  lowest  be  denoted  by  C,  form  the 
sequence  C  C\  E,  G,  C2  &c,  &c.  In  like  manner,  the  first 
circle  in  which  we  have  two  sets  of  holes  d'viding  the  circum- 
ference, the  one  into  say  8  parts,  and  the  other  into  10,  or 
in  ratio  4  :  5,  the  note  produced  is  a  compound  one,  such 
as  would  be  obtained  by  striking  on  the  piano  two  notes 

separated  by  the  interval  of  a  major  third  (-).     Similar 

results,  all  agreeing  with  the  theory,  are  obtainable  by 
means  of  the  remaining  perforations. 

A  still  simpler  form  of  syren  may  be  constituted  with  a 
good  spinning  top,  a  perforated  card  disc,  and  a  tube  for 
blowing  with. 

49.  The  syren  of  Cagnard  de  la  Tour  is  founded  on  the 
same  principle  as  the  preceding.  It  consists  of  a  cylindrical 
chest  of  brass,  the  base  of  which  is  pierced  at  its  centre 
with  an  opening  in  which  is  fixed  a  brass  tube  projecting 
outwards,  and  intended  for  supplying  the  cavity  of  the 
cylinder  with  compressed  air  or  other  gas,  or  even  liquid. 
The  top  of  the  cylinder  is  formed  of  a  plate  perforated  near 
its  edge  by  holes  distributed  uniformly  in  a  circle  concen- 
tric with  the  plate,  and  which  are  cut  obliquely  through 
the  thickness  of  the  plate.  Immediately  above  this  fixed 
plate,  and  almost  in  contact  with  it,  is 
another  of  the  same  dimensions,  and 
furnished  with  the  same  number,  n,  of 
openings  similarly  placed,  but  passing 
obliquely  through  in  an  opposite  direction 
from  those  in  the  fixed  plate,  the  one  set 


FiB.  10. 


being  inclined  to  the  left,  the  other  to  the  right 


This  second  plate  is  capable  of  rotation  about  a  steel 
axis  perpendicular  to  its  plane  and  passing  through  its 
centre.  Now,  let  the  movable  plate  be  at  any  time  in  a 
position  such  that  its  holes  are  immediately  above  those  in 
the  fixed  plate,  and  let  the  bellows  by  which  air  is  forced 
into  the  cylinder  (air,  for  simplicity,  being  supposed  to  be 
the  fluid  employed)  be  put  in  action ;  then  the  air  in  its 
passage  will  strike  the  side  of  each  opening  in  the  mov- 
able plate  in  an  oblique  direction  (as  shown  in  fig.  10),  and 
will  therefore  urge  the  latter  1,0  rotation  round  its  centre. 

After  -th  of  a  revolution,  the  two  sets  of  perforations  will 

again  coincide,  the  lateral  impulse  of  the  air  repeated,  and 
hence  the  rapidity  of  rotation  increased.  This  will  go  on 
continually  as  long  as  air  is  supplied  to  the  cylinder,  and 
the  velocity  of  rotation  of  the  upper  plate  will  be  accelerated 
up  to  a  certain  maximum,  at  which  it  may  be  maintained 
by  keeping  the  force  of  the  current  constant. 

Now,  it  is  evident  that  each  coincidence  of  the  perfora- 
tions in  the  two  plates  is  followed  by  a  non-coincidence, 
during  which  the  air-current  is  shut  off,  and  that  con- 
sequently, during  each  revolution  of  the  upper  plate,  there 
occur  n  alternate  passages  and  interceptions  of  the  current. 
Hence  arises  the  same  number  of  successive  impulses  of 
the  external  air  immediately  in  contact  with  the  movable 
plate,  which  is  thus  thrown  into  a  state  of  vibration  at  the 
rate  of  n  for  every  revolution  of  the  plate.  The  result  is 
a  note  whose  pitch  rises  as  the  velocity  of  rotation  increases, 
and  becomes  steady  when  that  velocity  reaches  its  constant 
value.  If,  then,  we  can  determine  the  number  m  of  revolu- 
tions performed  by  the  plate  in  every  second,  we  shall  at 
once  have  the  number  of  vibrations'  per  second  correspond- 
ing to  the  audible  note  by  multiplying  m  by  n. 

For  this  purpose  the  steel  axis  is  furnished  at  its  upper 
part  with  a  screw  working  into  a  toothed  wheel,  and  driv- 
ing it  round,  during  each  revolution  of  the  plate,  through 
a  space  equal  to  the  interval  between  two  teeth.  An 
index  resembling  the  hand  of  a  watch  partakes  of  this 
motion,  and  points  successively  to  the  divisions  of  a 
graduated  dial.  On  the  completion  of  each  revolution  of 
this  toothed  wheel  (which,  if  the  number  of  its  teeth  be 
100,  will  comprise  100  revolutions  of  the  movable  plate), 
a  projecting  pin  fixed  to  it  catches  a  tooth  of  another 
toothed  wheel  and  turns  it  round,  and  with  it  a  correspond- 
ing index:  which  thus  records  the  number  of  turns  of  the 
first  toothed  wheel.  As  an  example  of  the  application  of 
this  syren,  suppose  that  the  number  of  revolutions  of  the 
plate,  as.  shown  by  the  indices,  amounts  to  5400  in  a 
minute  of  time,  that  is,  to  90  per  second,  then  the  number 
of  vibrations  per  second  of  the  note  heard  amounts  to 
90re,  or  (if  number  of  holes  in  each  plate  =  8)  to  720. 

50.  Dove,  of  Berlin,  has  produced  a  modification  of  the  Do70' 
syren  by  which  the  relations  of  different  musical  ma£es  sJTOn- 
may  be  more  readily  ascertained.     In  it  the  fixed  and 
movable  plates  are  each   furnished  with  four  concentric 
series  of   perforations,  dividing  the   circumferences    into 
different  aliquot  parts,  asp.  ex.,  8,  10,  12,  16.     Beneath 

the  lower  or  fixed  plate  are  four  metallic  rings  furnished 
with  holes  corresponding  to  those  in  the  plates,  and  which 
may  be  pushed  round  by  projecting  pins,  so  as  to  admit 
the  air-current  through  any  one  or  more  of  the  series  of 
perforations  in  the  fixed  plate.  Thus,  may  be  obtained, 
either  separately  or  in  various  combinations,  the  four  notes 
whose  vibrations  are  in  the  ratios  of  the  above  numbers, 
and  which  therefore  form  the  fundamental  chord  (CEGCj). 
The  invenvor  has  given  to  this  instrument  the  name  of  the  _ 
many-voiced  syren. 

51.  Helrnholtz  has  further  adapted  the  syren  for  more  ll(l™* 
extensive  use,  by  the  addition  to  Dove's  instrument  of  jo^k 
another  chest  containing  its  own  fixed  and  movable  per-  syren. 


110 


ACOUSTICS 


fig.  n. 


forated  piates  and  perforated  rings,  both  the  moveable  plates 
being  driven  by  the  same  current  and  revolving  about  a  com- 
mon axia     Annexed  is  a  figure  of  this  instrument  (fig.  11). 

Vibro-  52.  The  palatum  between  the  pitch  of  a  note  and  the 

graphs,  frequency  of  the  correspond- 
ing vibrations  has  also  been 
studied  by  graphic  methods. 
Thus,  if  an  elastic  metal  slip 
or  a  pig's  bristle  be  att a 
to  one  prong  of  a  tuning- 
fork,  and  if  the  fork,  while 
in  vibration,  is  moved  rapidly 
over  a  glass  plate  coated  with 
lamp  black,  the  attached  slip 
touching  the  plate  lightly,  a 
va\-y  line  will  be  traced  on 
:he  plate  answering  to  the 
vibrations  to  and  fro  of  the 
fork.  The  same  result  wiH 
be  obtained  with  a  stationary 
fork  and  a  movable  glass 
plate;  and,  if  the  time  oc- 
cupied by  the  plate  in  moving 
through  a  given  distance  can 
be  ascertained,  and  the  number  of  complete  undulations  ex- 
hibited on  the  plate  for  that  distance,  -which  -is  evidently 
the  number  of  vibrations  of  the  fork  in  that  time,  is 
reckoned,  we  shall  have  determined  the  numerical  vibra- 
tion-value of  the  note  yielded  by  the  fork.  Or,  if  the  same 
plate  be  moved  in  contact  -with  two  tuning-forks,  we  shall, 
by  comparing  the  number  of  sinuosities  in  the  one  trace 
with  that  in  the  other,  be  enabled  to  assign  the  ratio  of 
the  corresponding  numbers  of  vibrations  per  second.  Thus, 
if  the  one  note  be  an  octave  higher  than  the  other,  it  will 
give  double  the  number  of  waves  in  the  same  distance.  The 
motion  of  the  plate  may  be  simply  produced  by  dropping 
it  between  two  vertical  grooves,  the  tuning-forks  being 
properly  fixed  to  a  frame  above. 

53.  Greater  accuracy  may  be  attained  with  the  so-called 
Yibrograph  or  Phonautograph  (Duhamcl's  or  Kcenig's), 
consisting  of  a  glass  cylinder  coated  with  lamp-black,  or, 
better  still,  a  metallic  cylinder  round  which  a  blackened 
sheet  of  paper  is  wrapped.  The  cylinder  is  mounted  on  a 
horizontal  axis  and  turned  round,  while  the  pointer  attached 
to  the  vibrating  body  is  in  light  contact  with  it,  and  traces  ! 
therefore  a  wavy  circle,  which,  on  taking  off  the  paper  and 
flattening  it,  becomes  a  wavy  straight  line.  The  superiority 
of  this  arrangement  arises  from  the  comparative  facility 
with  which  the  number  of  revolutions  of  the  cylinder  in  a 
given  time  may  be  ascertained.  In  Kcenig's  phonauto- 
graph, the  axis  of  the  cylinder  is  fashioned  as  a  screw, 
which  works  in  fixed  nuts  at  the  ends,  causing  a  sliding  as 
well  as  a  rotatory  motion  of  the  cylinder.  The  linen  traced  , 
out  by  the  vibrating  pointer  are  thus  prevented  from  over- 
lapping when  more  than  one  turn  is  given  to  the  cylinder. 
Any  sound  whatever  may  be  made  to  record  its  trace  on 
the  paper  by  means  of  a  large  parabolic  cavity  resembling 
a  speaking-trumpet,  which  is  freely  open  at  the  wider  ex- 
tremity, but  is  closed  at  the  other  end  by  a  thin  stretched 
membrane.  To  the  centre  of  this  membrane  is  attached  a 
small  feather-fibre,  which,  when  the  reflector  is  suitably 
placed,  touches  lightly  the  surface  of  the  revolving  cylinder. 
Any  eound  (such  aa  that  of  the  human  voice)  transmitting 
its  rays  into  the  reflector,  and  communicating  vibratory 
motion  to  the  membrane,  will  cause  the  feather  to  trace  a 
sinuous  line  on  the  paper.  If,  at  the  same  time,  a  tuning- 
fork  of  known  number  of  vibrations  per  second  be  made  to 
trace  its  own  line  close  to  the  other,  a  comparison  of  the 
two  lines  gives  the  number  corresponding  to  the  sound 
aader  consideration. 


•Past  V. 

Stationary  Waves. 

54.  We  have  hitherto,  in  treating  of  the  propagation  of  Stationary 
waves  of  sound,  assumed  that  the  medium  through  which  T.-aves  P"*" 
it  took  place  was  unlimited  in  all  directions,  and  that  the  ^acei  b-" 
source  of  sound  was  single.     In  order,  however,  to  under-  j^^i^pro 
stand  the  principles  of  the  production  of  60und  by  musical  p-esaWo 
instruments,  we  must  now  direct  our  attention  to  the  case  vavea. 
of  two  waves  from  different  sources  travelling  through  tho 
same  medium  in  opposite  directions.     Any  particle  of  the 
medium  being  then  affected  by  two  different  vibrations  at 
the  same  instant  will  necessarily  exhibit  a  different  state 
of  motion  from  that  due  to  cither  wave  acting  separately 
from  the  other,  and  we  have  to  inquire  what  is  the  resuli  of 
this  mutual  interference  (as  it  is  termed)  of  the  two  given 
waves.     Supposing,  as  sufficient  for  our  purpose,  that  the 
given  waves  are  of  equal  lengths  and  of  equal  amplitudes, 
in  other  words,  tha*,  the  corresponding  notes  are  of  the 
same  pitch  and  equally  loud ;  and  supposing,  further,  that 
they  are  advancing  in  exactly  opposite  directions,  we  shall 
now  show  that  the  result  of  the  mutual  interference  of  two 
such  waves  is  the  production  of  a  stationary  wave,  that 
is,   taking  any  line   of   particles  of  the  medium  along 
the  direction  of  motion  of 

the  component  waves,  cer-  1 S 1 •; ' 

tain  of  them,  such  as  a,  c, 

«  ...   at  intervals  each  F'S-  12- 

=  -,  will  remain  constantly  in  their  usual  undisturbed  poai 

tions.  All  the  particles' situated  between  a  and  c  will 
vibrate  (transversely  or  longitudinally,  as  the  case  may 
be)  to  and  fro  in  tho  same  direction  as  they  would  if 
affected  by  only  one  of  the  interfering  waves,  but  with 
different  amplitudes  of  vibration,  ranging  from  zero  at  a  to 
a  maximum  at  6  and  thence  to  zero  at  c.  Those  between  < 
and  e  will  vibrate  in  like  manner,  but  always  in  an  opposite 
direction  to  the  similarly  placed  particles  in  ac,  and  so  on 
alternately. 

The  annexed  figures  will  represent  to  the  eye  tne  states  of 
motion  at  intervals  of  time  =  \  of  the  timeT  of  a  complete 
vibration  of  the  ^articles.     In  fig.  13,  1,  the  particiea  in 


Fig.  13. 

ac  are  at  their  greatest  distances  from  tneir  undisturbed 
positions  (above  or  to  the  right,  according  as  the  motion  is 
transversal  or  longitudinal).  In  fig.  13,  2,  they  are  all  in 
their  undisturbed  positions.  In  fig.  13,  3,  the  displace* 
ments  are  all  reversed  relatively  to  fig.  13,  1.  In  fig.  13, 
4,  the  particles  are  again  passing  through  their  equilibrium 
positions,  resuming  the  positions  indicated  in  fig.  13,  1, 
after  the  time  T. 

The  points  ace,  &c,  wnicn  remain  stationary  are  termed  Nodes  arl 
nodes,    and    the    vibrating   parts    between    them    ventral  '^'""-l 
segments.  segment!. 

54a.  Proof.     In  fig.  14, 1,  the  full  curved  line  represents  Proof 
the  two  interfering  waves  at  an  instant  of  time  such  that,' 


ACOUSTICS 


111 


in  their  progress  towards  each  other,  ttiey  are  then  coinci- 
dent. It  is  obvious  that  the  particles  of  the  medium  will 
at  the  moment  in  question  be  displaced  to  double  the  ex- 
tent of  the  displacement  producible  by  either  wave  alone, 
so  that  the  resultant  wave  may  be  represented  by  the  dotted 
curve.  In  fig.  14,  2,  the  two  interfering  waves,  repre- 
sented by  the  full  and  dotted  curves  respectively,  have  each 


Fig.  14. 

passed  over  a  distance  =  J  A,  the  one  to  the  right,  the  other 
to  the  left,  and  it  is  manifest  that  any  disturbance  of  the 
medium,  producible  by  the  one  wave,  is  completely  neutra- 
lised by  the  equal  and  opposite  action  of  the  other.  Hence, 
the  particles  of  the  medium  are  now  in  their  undisturbed 
positions.  In  fig.  14,  3,  a  further  advance  of  the  two 
waves,  each  in  its  own  direction,  over  a  space  =  \  A,  has 
again  brought  them  into  coincidence,  and  the  result  is  the 
wave  represented  by  the  dotted  line,  which,  it  will  be  re- 
marked, has  its  crests,  where,  in  fig.  1,  are  found  troughs. 
In  fig.  14,  4,  after  a  further  advance  =  \  A,  we  have  a  repeti- 
tion of  the  case  of  fig.  14,  2,  the  particles  are  now  again  un- 
affected by  the  waves.  A  still  further  advance  of  \  A,  or 
of  A  reckoned  from  the  commencement,  brings  us  back  to 
the  same  state  of  things  as  subsisted  in  fig.  14,  1.  An  in- 
spection and  inter-comparison  of  the  dotted  lines  in  these 
figures  are  now  sufficient  to  establish  the  accuracy  of  th^ 
laws,  before  mentioned,  of  stationary  waves. 

Pakt  VI 
Musical  Strings. 
teal  55.  We   have  in  musical  string3   an  instance    of    the 

**■       occurrence  of  stationary  waves. 
Let  AB  (fig.  15)  be  a  wire  or 


string,  supposed  meanwhile  to 


neanwniie  to  ^ ..   ^ — ^   -j> 

be  fixed  only  at  one  extremity  B,    £y\^ y\r 7^7? 

and  let  the  wire  be,  at  any  part;  ft 

excited  (whether  by  passing  a 
violin  bow  across  or  by  friction  g- 

along  it),  so  that  a  wave  (whether  of  transversal  or  longi- 
tudinal vibrations)  is  propagated  thence  towards  B.  On 
reaching  this  point,  which  is  fixed,  reflexion  will  occur, 
in  consequence  of  which  the  particles  there  will  suffer  a 
complete  reversal  of  velocity,  just  as  when  a  perfectly 
elastic  ball  strikes  against  a  smooth  surface  perpendi- 
cularly, it  rebounds  with  a  velocity  equal  and  opposite  to 
diat  it  previously  had.     TIence,  the  displacement  due  to 


the  incident  wave  being  BM,  the  displacement  after  re- 
flexion will  be  BN. equal  and  opposite  to  BM,  and  a 
reflected  wave  will  result,  represented  by  the  faint  lino 
in  the  fig.,  which  will  travel  with  the  same  velocity,  but 
in  the  opposite  direction  to  the  incident  wave  fully  lined  in 
the  fig.  The  interference  of  these  two  oppositely  pro- 
gressing waves  will  consequently  give  rise  to  a  stationary 

wave  (tig.  16),  and  if  We  ^ ^ ^ 

take  on  the  wire  distances     •"  ~~- e         z/~ "C"         2 

BC,  CD,  DE,  &c.  =  J  A,  Fig.  16. 

the  points  B,  C,  D,  E,  .  .  .  will  be  nodes,  each  of  which 
separate  portions  of  the  wire  vibrating  in  opposite  direo. 
tions,  i.e.,  ventral  segments. 

56.  Now,  it  is  obvious  that,  inasmuch  as  a  node  is  a  point 
which  remains  always  at  rest  while  other  parts  of  the 
meaium  to  which  it  belongs  are  vibrating,  such  point  may 
be  absolutely  fixed  without  thereby  interfering  with  the 
oscillatory  motion  of  the  medium.     If,  therefore,  a  length 

AB  of  wire  be  taken  equal  to  any  multiple  of  - ,  A  may  bo 

fixed  as  well  as  B,  the  motion  remaining  the  same  as 
before,  and  thus  we  shall  have  the  usual  case  of  a  musical 
string.  The  two  extremities  being  now  both  fixed,  there 
will  be  repeated  reflexions  at  both,  and  a  consequent 
poisistence  of  two  progressive  waves  advancing  in  opposite 
directions  and  producing  together  the  stationary  wave 
above  figured. 

57.  We  learn  from  this  that  a  musical  string  is  suscep^-  Fun?.-r 
tible  of  an  infinite  variety  of  modes  of  vibration  corre-™en      . 
sponding  to  different  numbers,  of  subdivision  into  'ventral 
segments. 

Thus,  it  may  have  but  one  ventral  segment  (fig.  17),  or 
but  two  nodes  formed   by  its 

fixed  extremities.     In  this  case,      —  . 

the  note  emitted  by  it  is  the  ° 

lowest  which  can  possibly  be  Fig.  17. 

obtained  from  it,  or,  as  it  is  called,  its  fundamental  nota 
If  I  denote  the  length  of  the  wire,  by  what  has  been  already 


1=  r,and  therefore  the  length  of  the  wave  A  = 


proved, 

21.     Hence,  V  being  the  velocity  of  propagation  of  the  wave 
through  the  wire,  the  number  nx  of  vibrations  performed 

in  the  unit  of  time  with  the  fundamental  note  is  — . 

The  next  possible  sub-division  of  the  wire  is  into  two 
ventral     segments,     the     three 

nodes    being    the    two    fixed     ^ —  ""-y  c 

end3    A,   B,    and  the    middle    ^  ^ ^* 

point  C  (fig.  18).    Hence,  l  =  \,  F,g  is. 

and  the  number  of  vibrations  nt 

V 
=  -j   or  double  of  those  of  the  fundamental     The  note, 

therefore,  now  is  an  8™  higher. 

Reasoning  in  a  like  manner  for  the  cases  of  three,  four, 
&c,  ventral  -segments,  we  obtain  the  following  general 
law,  which  is  applicable  alike  to  transversely  and  to  longir 
tudinally  vibrating  wires: 

A  wire  or  string  fixed  at  both  ends  is  capable  of  yielding,  in 
addition  to  its  fundamental  note,  any  one  of  a  series  of  nota 
corresponding  to  2,  3,  4  times,  &c,  the  number  of  vibration* 
per  second  of  the  fundamental,  viz.,  he  octave,  twelfth,  double 
octave,  &c. 

These  higher  notes  are  termed  the  harmonics  or  (by  the 
Germans)  the  overtones  of  the  string. 

It  is  to  be  remarked  that  the  overtones  are  in  general 
fainter  the  higher  they  are  in  the  series,  because,  as  the.- 
number  of  ventral  segments  or  independently  vibrating 
parts  of  the  string  increases,  the  extent  or  amplitude  of  jr;17-jj 
the  vibrations  diminishes.  -i  t<» 

58.  Not  only  may  the, fundamental  and  its  harmonics  gather. 


112 


ACOUSTICS 


Jampart- 
idd  of  fun- 
iamentals 
af  6trings 
rtbrating 
transverse- 
bj  and  Ion  • 
rftudinally, 


be  obtained  independently  of  each  other,  but  they  are  also 
to  bo  heard  simultaneously,  particularly,  for  the  reason 
just  given,  those  that  are  loner  in  the  scale.  A  practised 
ear  easily  discerns  the  coexistence  of  these  various  tones 
when  a  pianoforte  or  violin  string  is  thrown  into  vibration. 
It  is  evident  that,  in  such  case,  the  string,  while  vibrating 
as  a  whole  between  its  fixed 
extremities,    is    at    the    same      ^--~~^::r'-=:::=:::::;:::^^ 

time  executing  subsidiary  oscil-   a     ~~ jj 

lations  about  its  middle  point, 
its  points  of  bisection,  &c,  as  F!E- 19- 

shown  in  fig.  19,  for  the  fundamental  and  the  first  har- 
monic. 

59.  The  easiest  means  for  bringing  out  the  harmonics  of 
a  string  consists  in  drawing  a  violin-bow  across  it  near  to 
one  end,  while  the  feathered  end  of  a  quill  or  a  hair-pencil 
is  held  lightly  against  the  string  at  the  point  which  it  is 
intended  shall  form  a  node,  and  is  removed  just  alter  the  bow 
is  withdrawn.  Thus,  if  a  node  is  made  in  this  way,  at  ^ 
of  AB  from  A,  the  note  heard  will  be  the  twelfth.  If 
light  paper  rings  be  strung  on  the  cord,  they  will  be 
driven  by  the  vibrations  to  the  nodes  or  points  of  rest, 
which  will  thus  be  clearty  indicated  to  the  eye. 
V 

60.  The  formula  n^  =  —  shows  that  the  pitch  of  the  funda- 
mental note  of  a  wire  of  given  length  rises  with  the  velocity 
of  propagation  of  sound  through  it.  Now  we  have  learned 
(§  28)  that  this  velocity,  in  ordinary  circumstances,  is 
enormously  greater  for  a  wire  vibrating  longitudinally  than 
for  the  samo  wire  vibrating  transversely.  The  fundamental 
note,  therefore,  is  far  higher  in  pitch  in  the  former  than  in 
the  latter  case. 

As,  however,  the  quantity  V  depends,  for  longitudinal 
vibrations,  solely  on  the  nature  of  the  medium,  the  pitch  of 
the  fundamental  note  of  a  wire  rubbed  along  its  length 
depends — the  material  being  the  same,  brass  for  instance — 
on  its  length,  not  at  all  on  its  thickness,  &c. 

But  as  regards  strings  vibrating  transversely,  such  as 
are  met  with  in  our  instrumental  music,  V,  as  we  have 
6een  (§  27),  depends  not  only  on  the  nature  of  the  sub- 
ttance  used,  but  also  on  its  thickness  and  tension,  and  hence 
the  pitch  of  the  fundamental,  even  with  the  same  length 
of  string,  will  depend  on  all  those  various  circumstances. 

^  61.  If  we  put  for  V  its  equivalent  expressions  before 
given,  we  have  for  the  fundamental  note  of  transversely 
vibrating  strings : 


21 


^-.      or 


•4*/?- 


whence  the  following  inferences  may  be  easily  drawn: 
If  a  string,  its  tension  being  kept  invariable,  have  its 

length  altered,  the  fundamental  note  will  rise  in  pitch  in 

exact  proportion  with  its  diminished  length,  that  is,  n 

varies  then  inversely  as  I. 

Hence,  on  the  violin,  by  placing  a  finger  successively  on 

any  one  of  the  strings  at-,  -,  -,  -,  -,  -,  -,  we  shall  ob- 
tain notes  corresponding  to  numbers  of  vibrations  bearing 
to  the  fundamental  the  ratios  to  unity  of  the  following, 
.  934  3  15  „  ,. 
VU"'  6'  4'  3'  2'  IT'  *  w'uc"  notes  form,  therefore,  with 
the  fundamental,  the  complete  scale. 

62.  By  tightening  a  musical  string,  its  length  remaining 
unchanged,  its  fundamental  is  rendered  higher.  In  fact, 
then,  n  is  proportional  to  the  square  root  of  the  tension. 
Thus,  by  quadrupling  the  tension,  the  note  is  raised  an 
octave.  Hence,  the  use  of  keys  in  tuning  the  violin,  the 
pianoforte,  Sec. 

63.  Equal  lengths  of  strings  of  the  same  density  and 
equally  stretched,  but  of  different  thicknesses,  give  funda- 


VwelgbtS 

given 

length. 


Vdensity. 


Meldo's  ex- 
perimental 
illustra- 
tion. 


mentals  which  are  higher  in  pitch  in  proportion  to  diml 
nution  of  thickness  (i.e.,  n  varies  inversely  as  the  thickness^ 
Thus,  of  two  strings  of  same  kind  of  gut,  same  length  anc 
same  tension,  if  one  bo  twice  as  thick  as  the  other,  its 
fundamental  will  be  an  octave  lower.  Hence,  three  of  th* 
strings  of  the  violin,  though  all  of  gut,  have  differen 
fundamentals,  because  unequally  thick. 

64.  Equally  long  and  equally  stretched  strings  or  wires 
of  different  thickness  and  different  material,  have  funda- 
mentals higher  in  pitch  the  less  the  weights  of  the  strings; 
n  here  varies  inversely  as  the  square  root  of  the  weight  w 
of  a  given  length  of  the  string. 

65.  H,  in  last  case,  the  thicknesses  of  the  strings 
which  are  to  be  compared  together  are  equal,  then  n  varies 
inversely  as  the  square  root  of  the  density. 

Hence,  in  the  violin  and  in  the  pianoforte,  the  lower 
notes  are  obtained  from  wires  formed  of  denser  material. 
Thus,  the  fourth  string  of  the  violin  is  formed  of  gut 
covered  with  silver  wire. 

66.  A  highly  ingenious  and  instructive  method  for 
illustrating  the  above  laws  of  musical  strings,  has  been 
recently  contrived  by  II.  Melde,  and  consists  simply  m 
attaching  to  the  ventral  segment  of  a  vibrating  body, 
such  as  a  tuning-fork  or  a  bell-glass,  a  silk  or  cotton  thread, 
the  other  extremity  being  either  fixed  or  passing  over  a 
pulley  and  supporting  weights  by  which  the  thread  may  be 
stretched  to  any  degree  required.  The  vibrations  of  the 
larger  mass  are  communicated  to  the  thread  which,  by 
proper  adjustment  of  its  length  and  tension,  vibrates  in 
unison  and  divides  itself  into  one  or  more  ventral  segments 
easily  discernible  by.  a  spectator.  H  the  length  of  the 
thread  be  kept  invariable,  a  certain  tension  will  give  but 
one  ventral  segment;  the  fundamental  note  of  the  thread 
is  then  of  same  pitch  as  the  note  of  the  body  to  which  it 
is  attached.  By  reducing  the  tension  to  ^  of  its  previous 
amount,  the  number  of  ventral  segments  will  be  seen  to  be 
increased  to  two,  indicating  that  the  first  harmonic  of  the 
thread  is  now  in  unison  with  the  solid,  and  consequently 
that  its  fundamental  is  an  octave  lower  than  it  was  with 
the  former  tension;  thus  confirming  the  law  that  n  varies 
as  ,/P.  In  like  manner,  on  further  lowering  the  tension 
to  \,  three  ventral  segments  will  be  formed,  and  so  on. 

The  law  that,  coet.  par.,  n  varies  inversely  as  the  thick- 
ness may  be  tested  by  forming  a  string  of  four  lengths  of 
the  single  thread  used  before,  and  consequently  of  double 
the  thickness  of  the  latter,  when,  for  the  same  length  and 
tension,  the  compound  thread  will  exhibit  double  the  num- 
ber of  ventral  segments  presented  by  the  single  thread. 

The  other  laws  admit  of  similar  illustration. 

Part  VEL 
Stiff  Rods,  Plates,  dte. 

67.  If,  instead  of  a  string  or  thin  wire,  we  make  use  of  Rod,  flre4 
a  rod  or  narrow  plate,  sufficiently  stiff  to  resist  flexure,  we  *t,°_^.™<^ 
may  cause  it  to  vibrate 
transversely  when  fixed 
at  one  end  only.  In  this 
case  the  number  of  vi- 
brations corresponding  to 
the  fundamental  note 
varies  as  the  thickness 
directly,  and  as  the  square 
of  the  length  '"nversely. 
The  annexed  figures  re- 
present the  modes  of  vi- 
bration corresponding  to 
the  fundamental  and  the 
first  two  overtones,  the- 
rod  passing  to  and  fro 
between  the  positions  AGKC  and  AHLD. 


")  b-ating 
trans- 
versely. 


In  all  cases  A 


ACOUSTICS 


113 


being  fixed  is  necessarily  a  node,  and  B  being  free  is  the 
middle  of  a  ventral  segment.  We  have  thus  a  succession 
of  cases  in  which  the  rod  contains  ^,  $ ,  -f ,  &c.  ventral  seg- 
ments. The  numbers  of  vibrations  per  second  are  as  the 
squares  of  these,  or,  as  1  :  9  :  25  :  &c.  The  reason  of  this 
is,  that  (taking  the  case  of  fig.  20,  3)  the  part  FB,  which 
may  be  regarded  as  an  independent  rod  fixed  at  the  end 
F,  is  evidently  y  of  the  length  of  AB,  and  consequently, 

since  noc    -,    has  a  proper  note  of  52  or  25   times  the 

rapidity  of  vibration  in  fig.  20,  1. 

By  attaching,  with  a  little  bees'  wax,  stiff  hog's  bristles 
tojone  prong  of  a*tuning-fork,  or  to  the  edge  of  a  bell- 
glass,  or  even  a  common  jar,  and  clipping  them  on  trial  to 
suitable  lengths,  we  shall  find  that,  on  drawing  a  note  in 
the"  usual  way  from  the  tuning-fork  or  glass,  the  bristles 
will  divide  into  one  or  more  separately  vibrating  segments, 
as  in  the  above  figs. 

68.  The  tuning-fork  itself  may  be  re- 
garded as  belonging  to  the  class  of  stiff 
rods.  When  emitting  its  fundamental 
note,  it  vibrates,  as  in  fig.  21,  with  nodes 
at  b  and  d  and  extreme  positions  abcde 
and  fbgdh. 

69.  The  transversal  vibrations  of  thin 
square,  circular,  and  other  plates  of  metal 
or  glass,  are  interesting,  because,  if  these  are 
kept  in  a  horizontal  position,  light  dry  sand 
or  powder  sifted  over  the  upper  surface,  will  be  thrown  off 
the  ventral  segments  to  the  nodal  lines,  which  will  thus  be 
rendered  manifest  to  the  eye,  forming  what  are  termed 
Chladni's  figures.  As  in  the  case  of  a  musical  string,  so 
here  we  find  that  the  pitch  of  the  note  is  higher  for  a  given 
plate  the  greater  the  number  of  ventral  segments  into 
which  it  is  divided;  but  the  converse  of  this  does  not  hold 
good,  two  different  notes  being  obtainable  with  the  same 
number  of  such  segments,  the  position  of  the  nodal  lines 
being,  however,  different. 

r  70.  The  upper  line  of  annexed  figures  shows  how 
the  sand  arranges  itself  in  three  cases,  when  the  plates 
are  square.     The  lower  line  gives  the  same  in  a  sort  of 


1 


\ 

( 

J 

Fig.  22. 

idealised  form,  ana  as  usually  to  be  found  in  acoustical 
works.  Fig.  22,  1  corresponds  to  the  lowest  possible  note 
of  the  particular  plate  used;  Fig.  22,  2  to  the  fifth 
higher;  Fig.  22,  3  to  the  tenth  or  octave  of  the  third, 
the  numbers  of  vibration  in  the  same  time  being  as  2 
to  3  to  5. 

If  the  plate  be  small,  it  is  sufficient,  in  order  to  bring 
out  the  simpler  sand-figures,  to  hold  the  plate  firmly 
between  two  fingers  of  the  same  hand  placed  at  any  point 
where  at  least  two  nodal  lines  meet,  for  instance  the  centre 
in  (1)  and  (2),  and  to  draw  a  violin  bow  downwards  across 
the  edge  near  the  middle  of  a  ventral  segment.  But  with 
larger  plates,  which  alone  will  furnish  the  more  complicated 
figures,  a  clamp-screw  must  be  used  for  fixing  the  plate,  and.  I 


Fig.  23. 


at  the  same  time,  one  or  more  other  nodal  points  ought 
to  be  touched  with  the  fingers  while  the  bow  is  being 
applied.  In  this  way,  any  of  the  possible  configurations 
may  be  easily  produced. 

71.  By  similar  methods,  a  circular  plate  may  be  made  Circular 
to  exhibit  nodal  lines  dividing  the  surface  by  diametral  flatea- 
lines  into  four  or  a  greater,  but  always,  even,  number  of 
sectors,  an  odd  number  being  incompatible  with  the  general 

law  of  stationary  waves  that  the  parts  of  a  body  adjoining 
a  nodal  line  on  either  gide  must  always  vibrate  oppositely 
to  each  other. 

Another  class  of  figures  consists  of 
circular  nodal  lines  along  with  dia- 
metral (fig.  23). 

Circular  nodal  lines  unaccompanied 
by  intersecting  lines  cannot  be  pro- 
duced in  the  manner  described ;  but  may  be  got  either 
by  drilling  a  small  hole  through  the  centre,  and  draw- 
ing a  horse-hair  along  its  edge  to  bring  out  the  note,  or 
by  attaching  a  long  thin  elastic  rod  to  the  centre  of  the 
plate,  at  right  angles  to  it,  holding  the  rod  by  the  middle 
and  rubbing  it  lengthwise  with  a  bit  of  cloth  powdered 
with  resin,  till  the  rod  gives  a  distinct  note;  thft  vibra- 
tions are  communicated  to  the  plate,  which  consequently 
vibrates  transversely,  and  causes  the  sand  to  heap  itself 
into  one  or  more  concentric  rings. 

72.  The  theory  of  the  vibrations  of  plates  has  not  yet  Theory 
been  put  on  a  quite  satisfactory  basis.     The  following  law  ofChladni"* 
may,  however,  be  regarded  as  confirmed  by  experiment,  fiSures- 
viz.,  that  when  two  different  plates  of  the  same  substance 
present  the  same   nodal   configuration,   the   numbers   of 
vibrations  are  to  each  other  directly  as  the  thicknesses,  and 
inversely  as  the  superficial  areas. 

73.  Paper,   parchment,   or   any  other   thin    membrane  Vibrations^ 
stretched  over  a  square,  circular,  ifec,  frame,  when  in  the  °f  mem- 
vicinity  of  a  sufficiently  powerful  vibrating  body,   will,    raEes" 
through  the  medium  of  the  air,  be  itself  made  to  vibrate 

in  unison,  and,  by  using  sand,  as  in  previous  instances, 
the  nodal  lines  will  be  depicted  to  the  eye,  and  seen  to 
vary  in  form,  number,  and  position  with  the  tension  of  the 
plate  and  the  pitch  of  the  originating  sound.  The  mem- 
brana  tympani  or  drum  of  the  ear  has,  in  like  manner  and 
on  the  same  principles,  the  property  of  repeating  the 
vibrations  of  the  external  air  which  it  communicates  to  the 
internal, parts  of  the  ear. 

74.  Kods  vibrating  longitudinally  are,  as  we  have  already  Longitn- 
remarked,  subject  to  the  laws  of  stationary  waves.     If,  for  j.lnal  ^>r* 
instance,  a  wooden  rod  fixed  at  one  end,  be  rubbed  near  ro(is_ 
the"  top  between  the  finger  and  thumb  previously  coated 

with  powdered  resin,  it  will  yield  a  fundamental  note  when 

it  so  vibrates  as  to  have  only  one   node   (at  the  fixed 

extremity)  and  half  a  ventral  segment  reaching  from  that 

extremity  to  the  other,  that  is,  when  the  length  I  of  the 

V 
rod  is  \  A,  or  X  =  M,  and  therefore  n  —  -j.     But  it  may 

also  give  overtones  corresponding  to  2,  3,  <fec.  nodes,  (he 
free  end  being  always  the  middle  of  a  ventral  segment, 

and  for  which  therefore  the  lengths  of  waves  are  — ,  — , 

o      o 

&c. -(as  will  be  easily  seen  by  referring  to  figs,  in  §  67, 
which  may  equally  represent  transversal  and  longitudinal 
displacements).  Hence,  tho  fundamental  and  harmonics 
of  a  rod  such  as  we  are  now  considering,  have  vibrations 
whose  rates  are  as  the  successive  odd  numbers. 

A  series  of  like  rods,  each  fixed  at  one  end  into  a  block 
of  wood,  and  of  lengths  bearing  to  each  other,  the  ratios 
1  :  f  *  &c.  (as  in  §  61),  will  give  the  common  scale  when 
rubbed  in  the  manner  already  mentioned.     This  follows 

V  i 

from  the  f  ondameutal  having  n  -  — ,  and  therefore  noc  -r 

4t  i 


114 


ACOUSTICS 


■Open  pipe 


Pipe 

stopped  at 
one  end 

only 


Glass  rods  or  tubes  may  also  be  made  to  vibrate  longi- 
rodinally  by  means  of  a  moist  piece  of  cloth ;  but  it  is 
idvisable  to  clamp  them  firmly  at  the  centre,  when  each 
naif  will  vibrate  according  to  the  same  laws  as  the  wooden 
fod3  above.  The  existence  of  a  motion  of  the  particles  of 
Jlass  to  and  fro  in  the  direction  of  its  length  may  be  well 
txhibited,  by  allowing  a  small  ball  of  stone  or  metal 
mspended  by  a  string  to  rest  against  one  extremity  of  the 
rod,  when,  as  soon  as  the  latter  i3  made  to  sing  by  friction, 
the  ball  will  be  thrown  tiff  with  considerable  violence. 


Past  VIIL 

Theory  of  Pipes. 

75.  The  longitudinal  vibrations  of  air  enclosed  in  pipes 
are  of  greater  practical  importance  than  those  of  other 
bodies,  because  made  available  to  a  very  great  extent  for 
musical  purposes.  In  the  flute,  horn,  trumpet,  and  other 
wind  instruments,  it  is  the  contained  air  that  forms 
the  essential  medium  for  the  production  of  sound,  the  wood 
or  metal  enclosing  it  having  no  other  effect  but  to  modify 
the  timbre  or  acoustic  colour  of  the  note. 

76.  In  dealing  with  the  theory  of  pipes,  we  must  treat 
the  air  precisely  in  the  same'  manner  as  we  have  dealt  with 
elastic  rods  vibrating  lengthwise,  a  pipe  stopped  at  both 
ends  being  regarded  as  equivalent  to  a  rod  fixed  at  both 
ends,  a  pipo  open  at  both  ends  to  a  rod  free  at  both  ends, 
and  a  pipe  stopped  at  one  end  and  open  at  the  other  to  a 
rod  fixed  at  one  end  and  free  at  the  other.  When  there- 
fore the  air  within  the  pipe  is  anywhere  displaced  along 
the  length  of  the  pipe,  two  waves  travel  thence  in  opposite 
directions,  and  being  reflected  at  the  extremities  of  the 
pipo,  there  results  a  stationary  wave  with  one  or  more 
fixed  nodal  sections,  on  one  side  oi  which  the  air  is  at  any 
moment  being  displaced  in  one  direction,  while  on  the 
other  side  it  is  displaced  in  the  opposite.  Hence,  when 
the  air  on  both  sides  of  the  node 
is  moving  in  towards  it,  there  is 
condensation  going  on  at  the 
node,  followed  by  rarefaction  on 
the  reversal  of  the  motion  of  the 
air.  The  full  lines  in  annexed 
figs,  are  curves  of  displacements, 
the  dotted  lines  curves  of  velocity 
»nd  density  (vid.  §  10  and  14). 

As  a  stopped  end  prevents  any 
.notion  of  the  air,  a  nodal  section 
«•  always  found  there.  And  as, 
it  the  open  end,  we  may  conceive  the  internal  air  to  be 
maintained  at  the  iame  density  as  the  external  air,  we  may 
issume  that  such  end  coincides  with  the  middle  of  a  ven- 
iral  segment. 

From  these  assumptions,  which  form  the  basis  of 
Bernouilli's  Theory  of  Pipes,  we  infer  : 

77.  That  in  a  pipe  stopped  at  both  ends,  as  in  a  rod 
fixed  at  both  ends,  the  fundamental 
sote  (fig.  25, 1),  corresponds  to  X  =  21, 

and  therefore  to  n  =  ^j ,  V  denoting 

the  velocity  of  sound  in  air,  and  the 
overtones  to  numbers  of  vibrations 
=  2n,  3n,  and  so  on.  Fig.  25,  2, 
represents  the  octave. 

78  That  in  a  pipe  open  at  both  ends  the  same  holds 
good  as  in  the  previous  case.  For  (fig.  26,  1)  AC  =  \  X 
.-.  X  =  4  AC  =  21,  and  in  fig.  26,  2,  AD  =  $  X,  and  also 
■=  \  I .  \  X  =  I,  or  I  its  value  for  the  fundamental;  and 
similarly  for  the  other  harmonics. 

79.  That  in  a  pipe  open  at  one  end  and  stopped  at 


Fig.  24. 


Fig.  25. 


T^r ■" 


Fig.  26 
Similarly  for  the 

a   given   pipe 


Fig.  27. 


the  other  (or,  as  it  is  usually  termed,  a  slopped  pipe,  case  § 
77,  being  purely   imaginary), 
the  fundamental  note  has  n  = 


vr,  and  the  overtones  corres- 

pond  to  3ra,  5ra.  .  .  . 

For,  in  fig.  27,  1,  AB  or 
l  =  \\  and  in  fig.  27,  2,  CB 
or  \  X  is  evidently  =  \  AB  or 
\  I,  whence  X  =  £?,  which  being 
j  of  value  of  X  in  previous 
case,  shows  that  the  number 
of  vibrations  is  three  times  greater, 
other  overtones. 

80.  It  follows  from  the  above,  that 
(whether  open  or  stopped)  may 
be  made  to  emit,  in  addition 
to  or  in  combination  with  its 
fundamental,  a  series  of  over- 
tones, which,  in  an  open  pipe, 
follow  the  natural  numbers, 
and  hence  are  *he  octave, 
twelfth,  &c,  but,  in  a  stopped 
pipe,  follow  the  odd  numbers, 
so  as  to  want  the  octave  and 
other  notes  represented  by  the 
even  numbers.  The  succession  of  overtones  may  be 
practically  obtained  by  properly  regulating  the  force 
of  the  blast  of  air  by  which  the  air-column  is  put  into 
vibration. 

81.  If  the  fundamental  notes  of  two  pipes  of  equal  NoU€  <■  _ 

lengths,  but  of  which  one  is  open,  the  other  stopped,  be  °Pen  •* 

compared  together,  they  will  be  found  to  differ  in  pitch  by  L"^^ 

an  octave,  the  stopped  being  the  lower.     This  fact  is  in  equal 

keeping  with  the  theory,  for  the  numbers  of  vibrations  length- 

V         V 
being  respectively  tt  and  -j,  are  in  the  ratio  of  2  to  1 

82.  By  altering  the  length  of  the  same  pipe,  we  can 
vary  the  pitch  of  the  fundamental  at  pleasure,  since  n 
varies  inversely  as  I.  This  is  effected  in  the  flute  and 
some  other  wind  instruments  by  means  of  openings  along 
part  of  the  pipe,  which,  being  closed  or  opened  by  means 
of  keys  and  of  the  fingers,  increase  or  diminish  the  length 
of  the  vibrating  air-column.  In  this  manner  the  successive 
notes  of  the  scale  are  usually  obtained  within  the  range  of 
an  octave.  The  scale  is  further  extended  by  bringing  into 
play  the  higher  harmonics. 

V  V 

83.  Since  in  an  open  pipe  n  =  xr,  and  therefore  I  =  — , 

if  for  V  we  'put  1090  ft.,  and  for  n  264,  which  is  the 
number  of  vibrations  per  second  usually  assigned  to  the 
note  C,  we  get  I  =  2  ft.  very  nearly.  This,  accordingly,  is 
the  length  of  the  so-called  C  open  pipe.  The  C  stopped 
pipe  must,  by  what  has  been  stated  above,  be  4  feet  in 
length. 

84.  Conversely  it  is  obvious  that  the  velocity  V  of  sound 
in  air,  and  generally  in  any  gas,  may  be  deduced  from  the 
equation  V  =  2nl,  and  that  if  two  pipes  of  equal  length 
contain  respectively  air  and  any  other  gas,  the  velocities 
in  the  two  media  being  to  each  other  directly  as  the 
number  of  vibrations  of  the  notes  they  respectively  emit, 
we  may,  from  the  well-ascertained  value  of  the  velocity  ia 
air,  determine  in  this  way  the  velocities  in  other  gases, 
and  thence  the  values  of  their  coefficients  y  (vid.  §  21). 

85.  While  the  inferences  drawn  by  means  of  Bernouilli's 
theory  agree,  to  a  certain  extent,  with  actual  observation, 
there  are  discrepancies  between  the  two  which  point  to 
the  existence  of  some  flaw  in  one  or  both  of  the  hypotheses 
on  which  the  theory  rests.  In  truth,  the  condition* 
assumed  by  Bernouilli  are  such  as  do  not  fully  occur  ia 


Lengtn 
C  pipe 


ACOUSTICS 


115 


practice.  The  stopped  extremity  of  a  pipe  is  always  to 
some  extent  of  a  yielding  nature,  and  does  not  therefore 
exactly  coincide  with  a  nodal  surface;  nor  can  the  internal 
air  immediately  adjoining  the  open  end  be  perfectly  free 
from  variation  of  density  during  the  'vibrations  of  the 
whole  mass,' particularly  so  at  the  embouchure,  where  the 
blast  is  introduced  by  which  the  tone  is  originated  It 
would  appear  from  recent  experiments  that  the  pitch  of  a 
pipe  is  somewhat  lower  than  the  above  theory  would 
i  indicate. 

I  86.  The  reed-pipe  differs  in  many  respects  from  the 
simple  pipe  which  we  have  been  considering.  A  small 
elastic  strip  of  metal,  fixed  at  one  extremity  (the  reed), 
lies  over  a  slit  of  the  same  shape,  and  is  set  in  transverse 
vibration  by  a  current  of  air  acting  underneath.  If,  as  is 
the  case  in  the  accordion  and  harmonium,  the  reed  is  un- 
provided with  a  pipe,  the  pitch  of  its  note  is  regulated 
altogether  by  the  dimensions  of  the  reed,  in  conformity 
with  the  law  of  tranversely  vibrating  plates ;  although,  it 
is  to  be  remarked,  the  note  is  really  due  to  the  vibrations 
of  the  air  which  alternately  escapes  through  the  slit  of  the 
reed,  and  is  prevented  doing  so  exactly  as  often  as  the 
reed  executes  a  movement  to  and  fro.  The  proper  note  of 
the  reed  itself  is  very  poor  and  faint. 
eof  87.  In  the  reed-pipe  there  is  added  above  the  reed  r  pipe 
the  air  in  which  partakes  of  the  vibratory  motion,  and  im- 
proves the  quality  of  the  sound.  The  pitch  is,  however, 
not  affected  by  this  pipe,  unless  it  exceed  a  certain  length 
I,  when  the  pitch  begins  to  fall,  and  continues  to  do  so  as 
/  is,  increased,  till,  when  the  length  of  pipe  is  21,  the  note 
is  again  restored  to  its  original  pitch,  &c. 

88.  M.  Weber,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  these  and 
'■  other  curious  facts  respecting  reed  pipes,  has  explained 
,e'    them  thus: — If  the  reed  be  exactly  at  that  part  of  the 

vibrating  air-column  where  the  air-displacements  are  at 
their  maximum,  and  where  consequently  the  air  suffers  no 
variation  of  density  during  the  vibratory  motion  of  the 
column,  the  oscillations  of  the  reed  are  not  at  all  affected 
by  the  air-vibrations,  and  consequently  the  pitch  of  the 
reed-pipe  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  reed  itself.  But  if  the 
reed  be  situated  at  any  other  part  of  the  air-column,  and 
especially  at  a  nodal  section,  where  the  air  is  undergoing 
alternate  condensation  and  rarefaction,  then,  when  the  air- 
blast  from  the  wind  chest  pushes  in  the  reed,  the  air  in 
the  pipe  is  i"  the  act  of  rarefaction,'  and  consequently  tends 
to  accelerate  the  reed  inwards,  whereas  the  elasticity  of 
the  reed  tends  in  an  opposite  direction.  When,  again,  the 
reed  is  passing  to  the  other  extreme  of  its  vibration,  the 
air  in  the  pipe  is  in  the  act  of  condensation,  and  tends  to 
accelerate  the  reed  outwards  or  in  the  opposite  direction  to 
the  elasticity  of  the  reed.  Hence  the  reed  is  affected  just 
as  if  its  elasticity,  and  therefore  the  rapidity  of  its  vibra- 
tions, were  diminished,  and  thus  the  pitch  is  lowered. 

Pakt  IX. 

Singing  Flames. 

89.  The  chemical  or  gas  harnumicon,  which  consists  of 
a  small  flame  of  hydrogen  or  of  coal  gas,  burning  at  the 
lower  part  of  the  interior  of  a  glass  tube,  and  giving  out  a 
very  distinct  note,  exhibits  considerable  analogy  with  the 
reed-pipe.  For,  as  Sondhaus  seems  to  have  established, 
the  primary  cause  of  the  note  lies  in  the  oscillations  of  the 
gas  within  the  burner  and  the  feeding-pipe,  which  there- 
fore play  exactly  the  same  part  as  does  the  reed  portion  of 
the  reed-pipe.  The  air  in  the  glass  tube  being  heated  by 
the  flame  ascends,  and  the  pressure  above  the  flame  being 
thence  diminished,  the  flame  is  forced  upwards  by  the  gas 
beneath,  until  an  influx  of  atmospheric  air  at  the  top  of 
the  tube  forces  the  flame  back.     Thus  a  periodic  agitation 


I  of  the  flame  ensues,  accompanied  by 'a  corresponding  dis- 
turbance of  the  air-column  in  the  glass  tube.  The  size  of 
the  flame  and  its  position  within  the  tube  must  be  so 
regulated  as  to  bring  out  the  best  possible  note,  which  will 
then  be  found  to  be  the  same  as  the  air  in  the  tur«  would 
itself  emit,  according  to  the  laws  of  pipes,  allowance  being 
made  for  the  high  temperature  of  flie  air.  A  series 
of  tube3  may  thus  be  arranged  of  suitable  lengths  to  give 
the '  common  scale.  It  sometimes  happens,  particularly 
with  short  tubes,  that  the  note  wiL  not  come  out  spontane- 
ously, all  that  is  required,  then,  is  either  by  blowing  gently 
at  the  top  of  the  tube,  or  by  singing  in  unison  with  the 
expected  note,  to  give  to  the  air  the  requisite  initial  move- 
ment. 

The  flame,  which  burns  steadily  with  a  yellowish  light 
before  the  tube  sounds,  will,  as  soon  as  the  note  is  heard, 
be  seen  to  flicker  up  and  down,  changing  rapidly  from 
yellow  to  blue  and  blue  to  yellow,  its  intensity  also  chang- 
ing periodically.  These  fluctuations  are  best  seen  by  view- 
ing the  image  of  the  flame  reflected  by  a  small  plane  miiTor, 
held  in  the  hand  and  moved  to  and  fro.  Before  the  note 
is  heard,  the  image  of  the  then  quiescent  flame,  being  im- 
pressed on  different  points  of  the  retina,  appears  as  a  con- 
tinuous lominous  strip;  but,  when  the  harmonicon  speaks, 
the  various  images  become  quite  detached  from  one  another, 
showing  that  the  portion  of  the  retina  over  which  the 
reflected  light  passes  is  sensibly  affected  only  at  certain 
points  of  it,  which  evidently  correspond  to  the  instants  of 
time  at  which  the  flame,  in  its  periodical  fluctuations,  is  at 
its  brightest. 

90.  Naked  flames,  that  is,  flames  unaccompanied  by  tubes,  Naked 
may  also  give  out  musical  notes,  and  many  singular  in-  flames. 
stances  are  mentioned  by  Tyndall  and  others  of  their 
sensitiveness  to  external  sounds. 

91.  Koenig  of  Paris  has  constructed  an  apparatus  in-  Flame 
tended  to  indicate  the  modes  of  vibration  of  the  different  rn»»o"»etor. 
parts  of  vibrating  bodies,  such  as  columns  of  eir,  <fcc,  by 

means  of  flames,  and  to  which  he  has  given  the  name  of 
the  Flame  Manometer.  We  will  here  describe  its  applica- 
tion to  the  case  of  organ-pipes.  An  open  pipe  has  three 
apertures  along  one  side,  one  at  the  middle,  o  (fig.  28),  i.e., 
at  a  node  of  the  fundamental  tone,  and  the  two  others,  a,  b, 

half  way  between  o  and  the  extremities  of  the       „ .. 

pipe,  and  coinciding  therefore  with  the  nodes  of 
the  first  overtone  or  octave.     These  openings  are 
closed  by  thin  flexible  membranes  forming  the 
ends  of  small  boxes  or  capsules,  the  spaces  within 
which  communicate  by  caoutchouc  tubes  with  a 
coal-gas  reservoir,  and  also  by  separate  tubes  with 
small  gas  burners  arranged  on  a  vertical  stand. 
The  pas  being  introduced,  and  the  three  flames 
kindled  and  adjusted  to  equal  heights  of  about  f 
of  an  inch ;  if  the  pipe  be  made  now  to  utter  its  first  over- 
tone, the  flame  connected  with  o  will  remain  stationary 
and  of  the  same  brightness  as  before,  but  those  communi- 
cating with  a  and  b  will  become  longer  and  thinner,  and 
assume  a  bluish  and  faint  luminosity.     But,  if  the  funda- 
mental be  brought  out  of  the  pipe,  then  it  is  o's  flame 
that -is  violently  affected,  while  those  of  a  and  b  are  scarcely 
affected  at  alL     If  the  flames  be  originally  made  less  in 
height  (say  J  inch),  those  of  a  an<!  6  in  the  former  case,  and 
of  o  in  the  latter,  will  be  extinguished.     These  results  are 
due  to  the  condensations  and  rarefactions  of  the  air  in  the 
pipe  which  are  at  their  maximum  at  a  node,  causing  the 
membrane  placed  there  to  vibrate  outwards  and  inwards, 
.and  hence  to  force  more  or  less  of  the- gas  into  the  burner. 
In  order  to  compare  together  the  notes  of  different  pipes, 
four  plane  reflecting  surfaces  are  connected  together  in  the 
form  of  a  cube,  which  is  mounted  on  a  vertical  axis  about 
which  it  is  capable  of  being  turned  round.     Each  pipe  if 


Fig.  28. 


116 


ACOUSTICS 


furnished  with  one  opening,  a  memDraue,  <kc.  (as  above), 
at  its  middle.  As  pointed  out  (§  87),  if  any  of  the  pipes 
be  made  to  sound,  the  reflector  being  at  the  same  time  put 
in  motion,  a  series  of  separate  images  will  be  seen.  On 
Bounding  another  pipe,  whose  fundamental  is  an  octave 
higher,  we  shall  have  a  second  line  of  images  separated 
from  each  other  by  half  the  interval  of  those  in  the  former 
series.  This  is  best  observed  when  the  two  flames  are  placed 
in  the  same  vertical  lin<3.  If  the  note  of  the  second  pipe 
is  a  fifth  higher  than  the  first,  and  consequently  its  vibra- 
tions to  those  of  the  first  as  3  to  2,  then  the  same  space 
which  contains  two  images  of  the  lower  note  will  contain 
three  of  the  higher,  and  so  on,  for  other  combinations. 
When  more  complicated  ratios  are  to  be  tested,  it  is  pre- 
ferable to  connect  both  capsules  with  the  same  burner, 
either  with  or  without  the  reflector. 

Part  X. 
Communication  of  VibratiottS. 

92.  The  communication  of  sonorous  vibrations  from  one 
body  to  another  play3  so  essential  a  part  in  acoustics  that 
a  few  words  must  here  be  given  to  the  subject.  It  appears 
to  be  well  established  that  while  the  vibrations  of  a  solid 
are  in  general  most  readily  communicated  to  other  solids 
in  .contact  with  it,  they  are  not  so  to  ]iquids,  and  still  less 
so  to  air  and  other  aeriform  fluids.  Thus,  a  tuning-fork 
is  inaudible  at  any  moderate  distance  unless  applied  to  a 
table,  by  whose1  extended  surface  the  air  can  be  more 
intensely  affected.  So  likewise  a  musical  string  sounds 
very  poorly  unless  connected  with  a  resonant  cavity  or 
wooden  chest,  to  the  wood  of  which  it  first  imparts  its 
vibratory  motion,  which  then  produces  stationary  waves  in 
the  continued  air. 

93.  A  few  years  ago  M.  Kundt  made  known  a  method 
founded  on  the  communicability  of  vibration,  by  which 
the  velocities  of  sound  in  different  media  may  be  compared 
together  w^ith  great' facility.  Take  a  glass  tube  3  feet  or  up- 
wards in  length,  drop  into  it  a  small  quantity  of  the  fine 
powder  of  the  club-moss  cr  lycopodium,  and  turn  the  tube 
round  so  as  to  spread  the  powder  over  the  internal  surface 
>f  the  tube.  Stop  both  ends  of  the  tube  with  corks,  clamp 
it  at  its  centre,  and  nib  one  of  its  halves  lengthwise  with 
a  moist  cloth,  so  as  to  cause  the  glass  to  sound  a  note.  It 
will  then  be  found  that,  the  air  within  the  tube  taking  up 
the  motion,  and  a  stationary  wave  being  formed  in  it,  the 
powder  is  driven  off  from  tho  ventral  segments  and  forms 
little  heaps  at  the  nodes.  The  dust-heaps  are,  by  the  laws 
of  stationary  waves,  separated  therefore  from  each  other 
by  intervals  each  equal  to  half  the  length  of  an  air-wave,  or 

- .     If,  then,  the  number  of  heaps  =  m,  and  the  length 

"I 
of  the  tube  =  I  •  A  =  —  . 
m 

But,  by  the  laws  of  longitudinal  vibrations  of  rods,  thf 

length  V  of  the  glass-wave  =4(5]  =  2/.     Hence  —  =  m, 

that  is,  the  number  of  dust-heaps  is  equal  to  the  ratio  of 
the  lengths  of  a  wave  of  sound  in  glass  and  in  air,  and 
consequently  to  the  ratio  of  the  velocities  of  sound  in  those 
media.  (For  the  vibrations  being  in  unison,  their  number 
in  a  given  time  must  bo  the  same  for  the  class  and  the 

.     .       V      V 
*"■»  *•«•!  -^  =  ^7  ;  V,  V  being  the  velocities). 

Kundt  found  16  to  bo  the  number  of  heaps;  prior 
experiments  of  a  different  kind  had,  as  we  have  before 
mentioned,  given  this  as  the  number  of  times  that  the 
velocity  of  sound  in  glas3  exceeds  its  velocity  in  air. 

Instead  of  producing  the  air-vibrations  by  friction  of  the 
tube  containing  the  air,  it  is  preferable  to  make  use"  of  a 
smaller  tube  or  rod,  furnished  with  a  cork  at  one  end,  which 


tits  like  a  piston  into  the  tube,  and  projecting  at  its  outer 
end  through  an  opening  in  the  cork  which  closes  the  air- 
tube.  The  rod  thus  inserted  is  the  one  which  is  rubbed 
longitudinally  and  ccjmmunicates  its  vibrations  to  the  air 
in  the  enclosing  tube.  By  means  of  an  apparatus  of  this 
kind,  Kundt  determined  the  ratio  to  the  velocity  of  sound 
in  air  of  its  velocity  in  various  solids,  and  also  (replacing 
the  air  in  the  tube  by  different  gases)  of  its  velocity  in 
these  gases. 

Part  XI. 

Interference  of  Sound. 

94.  When  two  or  more  sonorous  waves  travel  through 
the  same  medium,  each  particle  of  the  air  being  simultane- 
ously affected  by  the  disturbances  dhe  to  tho  different 
waves,  moves  in  a  different  manner  than  it  would  if  only 
acted  on  by  each  wave  singly.  The  waves  are  said  mutually 
to  interfere.  We  shall  exemplify  this  subject  by  consider- 
ing the  case  of  two  waves  travelling  in  the  same  direction 
through  the  air.  We  shall  then  obviously  be  led  to  the 
following  results : — 

95.  If  the  two  waves  are  of  equal  length  A,  and  are  in  Two  w 
the  same  phase  (that  is,   each  producing  at  any  given  ot  eqm 
moment  the  same  state  of  motion  in  the  air-particles),  th  sir  '">«tlu 
combined  effect  is' equivalent  to  that  of  a  wave  of  the  same 
length  A,  but  by  which  the  excursions  of  tho  particles  are 
increased,  being  the 
sum   of '  those  due 
to    the    two    com- 
ponent   waves    re- 
spectively. 

If  the  two  inter- 
fering waves,  being 
still  of  same  length 
A,  be  in  opposite 
phases,  or  so  that 


Fig.  29. 


one  is  in  advance  of  the  other  by  -,  and  consequently  one 

produces  in  the  air  the  opposite  state  of  motion  to  the 
other,  then  the  resultant  wave  is  one  of  the  same  length 
A,  but  by  which  the  excursions  of  the  particles  are  de- 
creased, being  the  difference  between  those  due  to  the 
component  waves.  If  the  amplitudes  of  vibration  vhich 
thus  mutually  interfere  are  moreover  equal,  the  effect  is 
the  total  mutual  destruction  of  the  vibratory  motioD 

Thus  we  learn  that  two  musical  notes,  of  the  same  pitch, 
conveyed  to  the  ear  through  the  air,  will  produce  the  effect 
of  a  single  note  of  the  same  pitch,  but  of  increased  loudness, 
if  they  are  in  the  same  phase,  but  affect  the  ear  very 
slightly,  if  at  all,  when  in  opposite  phases.  If  the  differ- 
ence of  phase  be  varied  gradually  from  zero  to  n\,  the  result. 

ing  sound  will  gradually  decrease  from  a  maximum  to  a 
minimum, 

96.  Among  the  many  experimental  confirmations  which  Ejtr»ri 
may   be   adduced   of   these  proportions.  mes.ul 

we  will  mention  the  following: — 

Take    a   circular   plate,    such    as    is 
available  for  the  production  of  Chladni's 
figures  (§  71),  and  cut  out  of  a  sheet 
of    pasteboard    a    piece    of    the  shape 
ABOCD    (fig.    30),    consisting   of    two 
circular  quadrants  of  the  same  diameter 
as  the  plate.      Let,  now,  the  plate  be         *''S-  30i 
made  in  the  usual  manner  to  vibrate  so  as  to  exhibit  two 
nodal  lines  coinciding  with  two  rectangular  diameters.     If 
the  ear  be  placed  right  above  the  centre  of  the  plate,  the 
sound  will  be  scarcely  audible.     But,  if  the  pasteboard  be 
interposed  so  as  to  intercept  the  vibrating  segments  AOB, 
DOC,  the  note  becomes  much  more  distinct.     The  reason! 


Vibrati 
plate. 


ACOUSTICS 


117 


of  this  is,  that  the  segments  of  the  plate  AOD,  BOC 
always  vibrate  in  the  same  direction,  but  oppositely  to 
the  segments  AOB,  DOC.  Hence,  when  the  pasteboard 
is  in  its  place,  there  are  two  waves  of  same  phase  starting 
from  the  two  former  segments,  and  reaching  the  ear  after 
equal  distances  pf  transmission  through  the  air,  are  again 
in  the  same  phase,  and  produce  on  the  oar  a  conjunct  im- 
pression. But  when  the  pasteboard  is  removed,  then  there 
is  at  the  ear  opposition  of  phase  between  the  first  and  the 
second  pair  of  waves,  and  consequently  a  minimum  of  sound. 
97.  A  tubular  piece  of  wood  shaped  as  in  fig.  31,  and 
having  a  piece  of  thin  membrane  stretched  over 
the  opening  at  the  top  C,  some  dry  sand  being 
strewn  over  the  membrane,  is  so  placed  over  a 
circular  or  rectangular  vibrating  plate,  that  the 
ends  A,  B  lie  over  the  segments  of  the  plate, 
such  as  AOD,  COB  in  the  previous  fig.,  which 
are  in  the  same  state  of  motion.  The  sand  at  C  will 
be  set  in  violent  movement.  But  if  the  same  ends 
A,  B,  be  placed  over  oppositely  vibrating  segments  (such  as 
AOD,  COD),  the  sand  will  be  scarcely,  if  at  all,  affected, 
ig  98.  If  a  tuning-fork  in  vibration  be  turned  round  before 

the  ear,  four  positions  will  be  found  in  which  it  will  be 
inaudible,  owing  to  the  mutual  interference  of  the  oppo- 
sitely vibrating  prongs  of  the  fork.  On  interposing  the 
hand  between  the  ear  and  either  prong  of  the  fork  when 
in  one  of  thoss  positions,  the  sound  becomes  audible,  be- 
cause then  one  of  the  two  interfering  waves  is  cut  off  from 
the  ear.  This  experiment  may  be  varied  by  holding  the 
fork  over  a  glass  jar  into  which  water  is  poured  to  such  a 
depth  that  the  dir-columri  within  reinforces  the  note  of 
the  fork  when  suitably  placed  and  then  turning  the  fork 
round. 
,1s  99.  Helmholtz's  double  syren  (§  51)  is  well  calculated 

i.  for  the  investigation  of  the  laws  of  interference  of  sound. 

For  this  purpose  a  simple  mechanism  is  found  in  the  in- 
strument, by  means  of  which  the  fixed  upper  plate  can  be 
turned  round  and  placed  in  any  position  relatively  to  the 
lower  one.  If.  now,  the  apparatus  be  so  set  that  the  notes 
from  the  upper  and  lower  chest  are  in  unison,  the  upper 
fixed  plate  may  be  placed  in  four  positions,  such  as  to 
cause  the  air-current  to  be  cut  off  in  the  one  c|jest  at  the 
exact  instant  when  it  is  freely  passing  through  the  other, 
and  vice  versa.  The  two  waves,  therefore,  being  in  opposite 
phases,  neutralise  one  another,  and  the  result  is  a  faint 
sound.  On  turning  round  the  upper  chest  into  any  inter- 
mediate position,  the  intensity  of  the  sound  will  increase 
up  to  a  maximum,  which  occurs  when  the  air  in  both  chests 
is  being  admitted  and  cut  off  contemporaneously. 
„  100.  If  two  pipes,  in  exact  unison,  and  furnished  with 

ometer.  flame  manometers,  are  in  communication  with  the  same 
wind-chest,  and  the  two  flames  be  placed  in  the  same 
vertical  line,  on  introducing  the  current  from  the  bellows, 
we  shall  find  that  the  two  lines  of  reflected  images  will  be 
60  related  that  each  image  in  one  lies  between  two  images 
in  the  other.     This  shows  that  the  air-vibrations  in  one 
pipe  are  always  in  an  opposite  phase  to  the  other,  or  that 
condensation  is  taking  place  in  the  one  when  rarefaction 
occurs  in  the  other.     This  arises  from  the  current  from  the 
lrfer.     bellows  passing  alternately  into  the  one  and  the  other  pipe, 
s  of  two  There  will  also  be  a  remarkable  collapse  of .  the  sound 
of        when  both  pipes  communicate  with  the  wind-chest  com- 
■ationa   pare(j  with  that  produced  from  one  pipe  alone. 

101.  If  the  two  interfering  waves  are  such  as  produce 
vibrations  whose  numbers  per  second  are  n,  ri  respectively, 
these  being  to  each  other  in  the  ratio  of  two  integers  m,  m 
when  expressed  in  its  lowest  terms,  then  the  lengths  of  the 
waves  X,  X'  being  inversely  as  n  to  n,  will  be  to  each 
other  as  m  :m,  and  consequently  ctX  =  to'X'.  Particles 
therefore  of  the  air  separated  by  this  distance  from  each 


wliica 


other  will  be  in  the  same  phase,  that  is,  the  length  of  tha 
resultant  wave  will  be  m  X  or  m'  X',  and  if  N  denote-the 

n        n' 
corresponding  number  of  vibrations  N  =  —  or  — ,. 

Thus,  for  the  fundamental  and  its  octave  -^  =  \,   and 

therefore  N  =  re  or    j;  that  is,  the  note  of  interference 

is  of  the  same  pitch  as  the  fundamentaL 

For  the  fundamental  and  its  major  third,  —  =-.   Sencemeata,  ^ 
.  majorthird. 

N  =    -  or  — ,  that  is,  the  resulting  sound  is  two  octaves 

lower  than  the  fundametaL 

For  the  fundamental  and  its  major  sixth,  -7=7;    ^mental  in* 

n         n'  .    niaior 

therefore  =  -  or  — ,  and  the  resulting  sound  is  a  twelfth  sixth. 

below  the  lower  of  the  two  interfering  notes. 

If  m  and  m  differ  by  1,  then  N  =  »-»';   for  m  —  ml 

or  1=^--  %-.     Hence,  if  the  ratio  of  the  vibrations Case  °f   . 

of  two  interfering  sounds  is  expressible  in  its  lowest  terms 
by  numbers  whose  difference  is  unity,  the  resulting  note 
has  a  number  of  vibrations  simply  equal  to  the  difference 
of  those  of  the  interfering  notes. 

The  results  stated  in  this  section  may  be  tested  on  a  har- 
'  monium.  Thus,  if  the  notes  B,  C,  at  the  extreme'  right  of 
the  instrument  be  struck  together,  there  will  be  heard  an 
interference  note  four  octaves  lower  in  pitch  than  the 
above  C,  because  the  interval  in  question  being  a  semi- 
tone, is  -ff ,  and,  consequently,  by  last  case,  the  interferenco 
note  is  lower  than  the  C  by  interval  -fa. 

Other  notes  may  be  heard  resultiug  from  the  mutual 
interference  of  the  overtones. 

102.  When  two  notes  are  not  quite  in  tune,  the  resultingBeas*. 
sound  is  found  to  alternate  between  a  maximum  and  mini- 
mum of  loudness  recurring  periodically.  To  these  periodical 
alternations  has  been  given  the  name  of  Beats.  Their 
origin  is  easily  explicable.  Suppose  the  two  notes  to  cor- 
respond to  200  and  203  vibrations  per  second;  at  some 
instant  of  time,  the  air-particles,  through,  which  the  waves 
are  passing,  will  be  similarly  displaced  by  both,  and  con- 
sequently the  joint  effect  will  be  a  sound  of  some  intensity. 
But,  after  this,  the  first  or  less  rapidly  vibrating  note  will 
fall  behind  the  other,  and  cause  a  diminution  in  the  joint 
displacements  of  the  particles,  till,  after  the  lapse  of  ^  of 
a  second,  it  will  have  fallen  behind  the  other  by  i  a  vibra- 
tion. At  this  moment,  therefore,  opposite  displacements 
•  will  be  produced  of  the  air-particles  by  the  two  notes,  and 
the  sound  due  to  them  will  be  at  a  minimum.  This  will 
be  followed  by  an  increase  of  intensity  until  the  lapse  of 
another  sixth  of  a  second,  when  the  less  rapidly  vibrating 
note  will  have  lost  another  half-vibration  relatively  to  the 
other,  or  one  vibration  reckoning  from  the  original  period 
of  time,  and  the  two  component  vibrations  will  again  con- 
spire  and  reproduce  a  maximum  effect.  Thus,  an  inter 
val  of  £  of  a  second  elapses  between  two  successive  maxima 
or  beats,  and  there  are  produced  three  beats  per  second. 
By  similar  reasoning  it  may  be  shown  that  the  number  of. 
beats  per  second  is  always  equal  to  the  difference  between 
the  numbers  of  vibrations  in  the  same  time  corresponding 
to  the  two  interfering  notes.  The  more,  therefore,  these 
are  out  of  tune,  the  more  rapidly  will  the  beats  follow  each 
other. 

Beats  are  also  heard,  though  less  distinctly,  when  other 
concprds  such  as  thirds,  fifths,  <tc,  are  not  perfectly  in  tune ; 
thus,  200  vibrations  and  303  vibrations  per  second,  which 
form,  in  combination,  an  imperfect  fifth,  produce  beats 
occurring  at  the  rate  of  three  per  second. 


118 


ACOUSTICS 


103.  The  phenomena  of  beats  maybe  easily  observed 
with  two  organ-pipes  put  slightly  out  of  tune  by  placing 
the  hand  near  the  open  end  of  one  of  them,  with  two 
musical  strings  on  a  resonant  chest,  or  with  two  tuning- 
forks  of  same  pitch  held  over  a  resonant  cavity  (such  as  a 
glass  jar,  rid.  §  (J7),  one  of  the  forks  being  put  out  of  time  by 
loading  one  prong  with  a  small  lump  of  bees'-wax.  In  the 
last  instance,  if  the  forks  are  fixed  on  one  solid  piece  of  wood 
which  can  be  grasped  with  the  hand,  the  beats  will  be 
actually  felt  by  the  hand.  If  one  prong  of  each  fork  be 
furnished  with  a  small  plain  mirror,  and  a  beam  of  light 
from  a  luminous  point  be  reflected  successively  by  the  two 
mirrors,  so  as  to  form  an  image  on  a  distant  screen,  when 
one  fork  alone  is  put  in  vibration,  the  image  will  move  on 
the  screen  and  be  seen  as  a  line  of  a  certain  length.  If 
both  foTks  are  in  vibration,  and  are  perfectly  in  tune,  this 
line  may  either  be  increased  or  diminished  permanently  in 
length,  according  to  the  difference  of  phase  between  the 
two  sets  of  vibrations.  But  if  the  forks  bo  not  quite  in 
tune,  then  the  length  of  the  image  will  be  found  to  fluc- 
tuate between  a  maximum  and  a  minimum,  thus  making  the 
beats  sensible  to  the  eye.  The  vibrograph  (§  52,  53)  is 
also  well  suited  for  the  same  purpose,  and  so  in  an  especial 
manner  is  Helmholtz'  double  syren  (§  51),  in  which,  by 
continually  turning  round  the  upper  box,  a  note  is  pro- 
duced by  it  more  or  less  out  of  tune  with  the  note  formed 
by  the  lower  chest,  according  as  the  handle  is  moved  more 
or  less  rapidly,  and  most  audible  beats  ensue.  .The  gas 
harmonica  and  the  flame  manometer  also  afford  excellent 
illustrations  of  the  laws  of  beats. 
Tb«  iram-  104.  Advantage  has  been  taken  of  these  laws  for  the 
ber  of  vi-  purpose  of  determining  the  absolute  number  of  vibrations 
bntkme  of  per  second  corresponding  to  any  given  note  in  music, 
?"■?.  whence  may  be  derived  the  number  for  all  the  other  notes 
^^  (§  45).     The  human  ear  may  be  regarded  as  most  correctly 

appreciating  two  notes  differing  by  an  octave.  Two  tuning- 
forks  then  are  taken,  giving  respectively  the  note  A  and 
its  lower  octave,  and  a  number  of  other  forks  are  prepared 
intermediate  in  pitch  to  these,  say  54,  and  by  means  of 
bees'-wax  these  are  so  tuned,  that  the  first  gives  four  beats 
with  the  A  fork,  the  second  four  beats  with  the  fourth,  and 
60  on  up  to  the  last,  which  also  gives  foiir'beats  with  the 
A_,  fork.  Now,  if  n  —  the  unknown  number  of  vibrations 
for  the  note  A,  n  -  4,  n  -  8  ...  n  -  55  x  4,  will  be  the 
numbers  for  all  the  successive  forks  down  to  the  A_t  fork, 

which  being  an  octave  below  A,  we  have =  J  and 

n  * 

consequently  n  =  440. 
Tuning  by       105.  Beats  also  afford  an  excellent  practical  guide  in  the 
iwato.  tuning  of  instruments,  but  more  so  for  the  higher  notes  of 

the  register,  inasmuch  as  the  same  number  of  beats,  that 
is,  the  same  difference  between  the  numbers  of  vibrations, 
for  two  notes  of  high  pitch,  indicates  greater  deviation 
from  perfect  unison,  than  it  does  for  two  notes  of  low 
pitch.     Thus,  two   low  notes  of   32  and   30  vibrations 

32       16 

respectively,  whose  interval  is  therefore  —  or—  i.e.,  a.  semi- 

tone,  give  two  beats  per  second,  while  the  same  number  of 
vbeats  are  given  by  notes  of  32  x  16  (four  octaves  higher 
than  the  first  of  the  preceding)  or  512  and  514  vibrations, 
which  are  only  slightly  out  of  tune. 

106.  As  the  interval  between  two  notes,  and  con- 
sequently the  number  of  beats  increases,  the  effect  on  the  car 
becomes  more  and  more  unpleasant,  and  degenerates  at  last 
into  an  irritating  rattle.  With  the  middle  notes'  of  the  musical 
register,  this  result  occurs  when  the  number  of  beats  comes 
up  to  20  or  30  per  second,  the  musical  interval  between 
the  two  interfering  notes  being  then  between  half  and 
a  whole  tone.  Helmholtz  attributes  the  disagreeable  im- 
pression of  beats  on  the  ear.  to  the  same  physiological  cause 


to  which  is  due  the  painful  effect  on  the  eye  of  a  faint- 
flickering  light,  as,  for  instance,  the  light  streaming  through, 
a  wooden  paling  with  intervening  openings  when  the 
individual  affected  is  passing  alongside.  In  this  c?se,  the- 
retina,  which,  when  continuously  receiving  the  same  amount 
of  light,  thereby  loses  its  sensitiveness  in  a  great  degree,  is 
unable  to  do  so. 

It  is,  however,  remarked  by  the  above-mentioned  author 
that  the  same  number  of  beats,  which  has  so  irritating  an 
effect  when  due  to  two  notes  in  the  middle  of  the  register, 
is  not  attended  by  the  same  result  when  due  to  notes  of 
much  lower  pitch.  Thus,  the  note3  C,  D  forming  a  tone 
give  together  33  beats  per  second,  while  a  note  two  octaves 
lower  than  C  also  gives  33  beats  with  its  fifth;  yet  the 
former  combination  forms  a  discord,  the  latter  a  most 
pleasing  concord. 

107.  When  the  number  of  beats  reaches  to  132  oi  Dintren 
upwards  per  second,  the  result  is  a  continuous  and  not  tones, 
unpleasing  impression  on  the  ear,  and  it  was  formerly  held 

that  the  effect  was  always  equivalent  to  that  of  a  note 
having  that  number  of  vibrations.  Helmholtz  has  shown 
that  this  opinion  is  inaccurate,  except  when  the  interfering 
tones  are  very  loud,  and  consequently  accompanied  by 
very  considerable  displacements  of  the  particles  of  the 
vibrating  medium.  These  resultant  tones  being,  as  to 
their  vibration-number,  equal  to  the  difference  between  the 
numbers  corresponding  to  the  two  primaries,  are  termed 
difference-tones,  and  may  be  best  observed  with  the  double 
syren.  The  same  author  was  led  also,  on  theoretical 
grounds,  to  surmise  the  formation  of  summation-tones  by  Summi 
the  interference  of  two  loud  primaries,  the  number  of  tion-toi 
resultant  vibrations  being  then  equal  to  the  sum  of  tho 
numbers  for  the  two  components,  and  appealed  for  experi- 
mental proof  to  Kis  syren.  But,  at  the  last  meeting  of  the 
British  Association  (1872),  Koenig,  the  celebrated  Pari  ian 
acoustician,  maintained  that  the  notes  of  the  syren,  thus 
held  to  be  summation-tones,  were  in  reality  the  difference- 
tones  of  the  harmonics. 

108.  By  reference  to  the  lavs  of  the  interference  of  Helm- 
vibrations,  Helmholtz  has  been  enabled  to  offer  a  highly  holu's 
satisfactory  explanation  of  the  cause  whence  arises  dif-  l,'anatl< 
ference  of  quality  or  timbre  or  acoustic  colour  between  ^o^ 
different  sounds.     He  has  shown  conclusively  that  there 

are  but  few  sounds  which  are  of  a  perfectly  simple  character, 
that  is,  in  which  the  fundamental  is  not  accompanied  by 
one  or  more  overtones.  Now,  when  a  note  is  pimple,  there 
can  be  no  jarring  on  the  ear,  because  there  is  on  room  for 
interference  of  sound.  Hence,  the  softness  of  the  tuning- 
fork  when  its  fundamental  is  reinforced  by  a  resonant 
cavity,  and  also  of  the  flute.  The  same  character  of  soft- 
ness belongs  also  to  those  instruments  in  which  the  powerful 
harmonics  are  limited  to  the  vibration  ratios  2,  3  ...  6 
(§  57,  80);  because  the  mutual  interference  of  the  funda- 
mental and  their  harmonics  give  rise  to  concords  only. 
The  piano,  the  open  organ  pipe,  the  violin,  and  the  softer 
tones  of  the  human  voice,  are  of  this  class.  But  if  the  odd 
harmonics  alone  are  present,  as  in  the  narrow  stopped 
organ  pipe,  and  in  the,  clarionet^  then  the  sound  is  poor, 
and  even  nasal;  and  if  the  higher  harmonics  beyond  the 
sixth  or  seventh  are  very  marked/  the  result  is  very 
harsh  (as  in  reed-pipes). 

109.  The  human  voice  (for  a  description  of  the  organ  in 
which  it  originates,  we  refer  to  Art.  Physiology —  Voice  and 
Speech)'i3  regarded  by  the  best  authorities  as  being  analogous 
to  a"  reed-pipe,  the  vocal  chords  forming  the  reed,  and  the 
cavity  of  the  mouth  the  pipe,  and,  like  th^  reed,  is  rich  in 
harmonics,  as  many  as  sixteen  having  been  detected  in  a  basa 
voice.  But  their  number  and  relative  intensities  differ  much 
in  different  individuals,  or  even  in  the  same  person  at  dif- 
ferent times ;  and  it  is  on  this  variety  that,  agreeably  to  Helnv 


ACOUSTICS 


11» 


boltz's  theory  of  timbre,  the  peculiarities  depend  by  -which 
any  one  voice  may  be  unmistakably  distinguished  from 
every  other.  Voices  in  which  overtones  abound  ure  sharp, 
and  even  rough;  those  in  which  they  are  few  ox  faint;  are 
soft  and  sweet.  In  every  voice,  however,  the  number  and 
relative  intensity  of  the  overtones  depend  on  the  form 
assumed  by  the  cavity  of  the  mouth,  which  acts  relatively 
to  tue  vocal  chords  precisely  as  a  resonator  does  to  a 
tuning-fork,  or  a  pipe  to  a  reed.  This  may  be  easily  tested 
by  holding  a  tuning-fork  before  the  open  mouth,  when, 
by  giving  to  the  cavity  a  suitable  form,  the  fundamental 
or  somo  overtone  of  the  fork  may  bo  heard  distinctly 
reverberated  from  the  interior  of  the  mouth.  Each  vowel 
sound,  as  Helmholtz  ha!s  shown,  is  simply  the  result  of 
the  reinforcements  by  the  air  in  the  cavity  of  the  mouth, 
and  its  prolongation  towards  the  larynx,  of  one  or  in  some 
cases  two  overtones  of  determinate  pitch,  contained  in  the 


sound  which  proceeds  from  the  vocal  chords, 
assigns  the  following  notes  as  characteristic  of  thr 
simpler  vowel  sounds  (adopting  the  foreign  pro- 
nunciation):— To  U,  the  note  Bb  below  the  line 
in  the  G  clef,  corresponding  to  225  vibrations 


Koenig 


te- 


per  second ;  to  O,  the  next  higher  octave,  consequently  of 


double  the  number  of  vibrations,  and  thenco  ascending 
by  octaves  for  A,  E,  and  I,  the  last  of  which  is  therefore 
characterised  by  a  note  of  3000  vibrations  per  second. 

The  above  theory  of  vowel  sounds  may  be  satisfactorily 
confirmed  by  means  of  tuning-forks,  vibrating  in  front  of 
resonant  cavities,  which  can,  by  suitable  combination,  be 
made  to  utter  any  vowel  sound. 

Works  on  Acoustics. 

Chladni,  TrailS  d" Acoustique.     Paris,  1809. 

Herschel,  Sir  John.  Encycl.  Metrop.,  art  "  Sound."    Lou 

don,  1830. 
Tyndall,  Lectures  on  Sound,  2d  edit.     London,  18G9. 
Helmholtz,  Die  Lehre  von  der  Tonempflndungen,  3d  edit. 
Braunschweig,  1870,  of  which  there  is  a  French  trans- 
lation, and  an  English  one  is  promised. 
Besides  the  above,  some  account  of  the  subject  is  to  \x 
found  in  such  general  works  on  Physics  as  Ganot's,  14tt 
edit.,  Paris,  1870,  of  which  a  translation  is  published  bj 
Longmans,    London ;    Deschanei's    Natural    Philosophy, 
translated  by  Prof.  Everett,  London,  1873;  Jamin,  Court 
ds  Physique,  3d  edit.,  Paris,  1871;  Wulner,  Physik,  2d 
edit,  Leipzig,  1870.  (d.  t.) 


Air,  essential  for  hearing, 

velocity  of  sound  in,      .         17,18,22 

Amplitude  of  vibrations,        .        .  4 

Beats,  how  produced,    .        .        .  102 

examples  of,       .         .        .  103 

application  to  finding  n  for 

any  note,         .        .         .  104 
tuning  by,          .        .        .  105 
rapid  effect  of,  on  ear,        .  106 
Bell  m  vacuo,       ....  3 
Chemical  harmonicon,  ...  87 
Chladni's  figures,           .         .         .  69  to  71 
Communication  of  vibrations,        .  92,  93 
Do  la  Tour's  syren,        ...  49 
Density,  variations  in,  by  longitu- 
dinal vibrations,       ...  14 

Diatonic  scale 46 

Difference  tones,  ....  106 

Dove's  syren 50 

Echoes, 38 

Elasticity, 15 

Flames,  singing,  .        .         .        .  89,  90 
Flame  manometer,         .        .         .91,  103 

Fundamental  note,        ...  57 

Gas  harmonica 87.  103 

Gases,  velocity  of  sound  in,  .         .21, 84, 93 

Harmonics  in  strings,   .        .         .  57  to  CO 

rods,       .        .        .  67 

pipes,      .        .         .  77  to  80 

Harmony,  laws  of,  45,  46 

Helmholtz,  his  double  syren,         .  51,  99 

on  resultant  tones,      .  107 

on  timbre,          .        .  103 

Intensity  of  sound — 

at  different  distances,         .         .  29 

in  air  of  different  densities,        .  30 

Sruujotedby  sheet  of  water,  &c,  89 
epend3  on  amp?itude  of  vibra- 
tions,       41 

Interference  of  sound — 

laws  of, 04,  95 

examples  of,      .         .         .         .93  to  100 

Intervals,  musical,        ...  45 

Eoenig's  phor.autograph,       .        .  53 

flame  manometer,    .         .  91,  100 

denial  of  summation-tones,  107 

Knndt's  experiments,   ...  93 

Laplace's    corrected    velocity    of 

sound  in  air,      ....  16 

Lenses,  acoustic 34 

Liquids,  velocity  of  sound  in,        .  25 

Longitudinal  vibrations,       .         .  0,  28 


ALPHABETICAL    INDEX. 

Tlie  numerals  refer  to  the  sections. 

Loudness  (vid.  intensity). 
Mclde's  experiments  on  vibrating 

strings, 66 

Membranes,  vibratipns  of,     .        .  72 

Musical  6ounds  and  noises,   .        .  44 

notes,  vibration-ratios  of,  45 
Newton's  investigation  of  velocity 

in  air, 15 

Nodes,          .....  54 

Noises  and  musical  sounds,  .        •  44 
Overtones  (vid.  harmonics). 

Parabolic  reflectors,       ...  37 

Phase 7 

rhonautograph,    ....  60 

Pipes,  Bernouilli's  theory  of,         .  75 
stopped  (at  both,  ends)        • 

open,           ....  78 

stopped,     ....  79 

harmonics  in,              .        .  SO 
open  and  stopped,  of  equal 

lengths, ....  81 

influence  of  length  of,  on  pitch,        82 

length  of  C  pipe,        .  fB 

is  of  theory,        .        .  S5 

illustrations  by  manometer,  91 

Pitch,  depends  on  n,     .         .         .  42 

Plates,  square,  vibrations  of,         .  69,  70 

circular,          do.        .        .  71 

interference  in,          .        .  96,  97 

Rankine's  investigation  of  velocity 

of  sound 15 

Reeds  and  reed-pipes,    .        .        .  86  to  88 

Reflexion,  laws  of,        .        .        .  35  to  39 

total 33 

Refraction,  laws  of,  31  to  34 

Rods,  transversal  vibrations  of,     .  67 

longitudinal  vibrations  of,  .  74 

Savart's  toothed  wheel  apparatus,  47 

.  diatonic  and  chromatic,     .  46 

Seebeck's  syren 48 

Solids,  velocity  of  sound  in  (longi- 
tudinal)   23,  20 

Solids,  velocity  of  sound  in  (trans- 
versal)   2",  2S 

Solid  ;,  velocity  of  sound  in,  Kundt'g 

method 92 

Stationary  waves,         ...  54 

Strings,  musical,  laws  of,      .        .  55  to  65 
fundamental  and 

overtones  of,  ■  57,  58 
overtones      how 

obtained  from.  59 


Strings,  musical,  comparison  of  fun- 
damental notes 
due    to    trans- 
versal and  Ion 
gitudinal    vib 
rations,   . 
influence  on  pitch 
of  length,  ten- 
sion, &c, 
Melde's      erpen 
mental     ill  us 
trations. 
Spheroidal  reflectors,    . 
Summation  tones,        . 
Syren  of  Seebeck, 

of  De  la  Tour,    . 
of  Dove,     .        .        . 
of  Helmholtz,     . 
Thunder,  roll  of,  . 

Timbre 

Tones,  major,  minor,  and  seiui, 
Transversal  vibrations, 
Tuning  by  beats,  . 
Tuning-forks,  mode  of  vibration, 
interference  in 
heats  in, 
Ventral  segments,         .        . 
Vibrations,  sound  due  to, 
laws  of, 
of  pendulum, 
transmission  of, 
longitudinal  and  trans 

versal,    . 
relation   between   fre 
quency  of,  and  length 
of  wave, 
communication  of, 
number  of,  for  any  note 
determined  by  beats, 
Vibrograph, 

Voice,  its  seat  in  vocal  chords, 
Vowel  sc  jnds,  how  accounted  for, 
Water,  velocity  of  sound  in, 
Waves  of  displacement, 
of  velocity, 
of  condensation  and  rare 

faction,  .        . 

lengths  of, 

relation  of,  to  n, 
propagation  of,  . 
Weber's  theory  of  reed-pipes, 


60 
61 


*66 

36 

106 

43 

49 

50 

51 

40 

43,  108 

46 

9,  23 

105 

68 

97 

103 

54 

2 

4,5 

4 

6 


13 

92,  93 

104 

52 

109 

109 

30 

10,  12 

11,  12 

14 
10 
13 
18 
88 


120 


A  C  Q  — A  C  R 


AGQUT,  a  town  of  Northern  Italy,  in  the  province,  of 
iSessandria,  18  miles  S.S.W.  of  the  city  of  that  name,  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Bormida.  It  is  a  place  of  great 
antiquity;  and  its  hot  sulphur  baths,  which  are  still  much 
frequented,  were  known  to  the  Romans,  who  gave  the  place 
the  name  of  Aqua  Statielloe.  There  are  still  to  be  found 
numerous  ancient  inscriptions,  and  the  remains  of  a  Roman 
aqueduct  The  town  is  the  seat  of  a  bishop,  and  has  a  fine 
cathedral,  several  convents,  and  a  royal  college.  Good 
wine  is  produced  in  the  vineyards  of  the  district,  and  great 
attention  is  given  to  the  rearing  of  silk -worms.  There  are 
also  considerable  silk  manufactures.     Population,  8600. 

ACRE,  a  measure  of  surface,  being  the  principal  deno- 
mination of  land-measure  used  in  Great  Britain.  The 
word  (akin  to  the  Saxon  acer,  the  German  acker,  and  the 
Latin  ager,  a  field)  did  not  originally  signify  a  determinate 
quantity  of  land,  but  any  open  ground.  The  English 
standard  or  imperial  acre  contains  4810  square  yards,  0i 
10  square  chains,  and  is  also  divided  into  roods,  of  which 
it  contains  4,  the  rood  s^ain  being  divided  in  40  perches. 
The  imperial  acre  has,  by  the  Act  5  Geo.  IV.  c  74,  super- 
seded the  acres,  of  very  different  extent,  that  were  in  use 
in  different  parts  of  the  country. '  The  old  Scottish  acre 
was  equal  to  1 '26118345  imperial  acres.  The  Irish  acre 
contains  7840  square  yards.  The  acre  is  equivalent  to 
•40467,  i.e.,  about  fths,  of  the  French  hectare  (now  the  basis 
of  superficial  measurement  in  Germany,  Italy,  and  Spain, 
as  well  as  in  France),  '7  of  the  Austrian  joch,  -37  of  the 
Russian  desdtine,  and  1  62  ancient  Roman  jugera.  The 
hectare  corresponds  to  2  acres  1  rood  35 '38  perches. 

ACRE,  A k k  a,  or  St  Jean  D'Acre,  a  town  and  seaport 
of  Syria,  and  in  ancient  times  a  celebrated  city.  No  town 
has  experienced  greater  changes  from  political  revolutions 
and  the  calamities  of  war.  According  to  some  this  was  the 
Accho  of  the  Scriptures;  and  its  great  antiquity  is  proved 
by  fragments  of  houses  that  have  been  found,  consisting  of 
that  highly  sun-burnt  brick,  with  a  mixture  of  cement  and 
sandj  which  was  only  used  in  erections  of  the  remotest 
ages.  It  was  known  among  the  ancients  by  the  name  of 
Ace,  but  it  is  only  from  the  period  when  it  was  taken  posses- 
sion of  by  Ptolemy  Soter,  king  of  Egypt,  and  received 
from  him  the  name  of  Ptolemais,  that  history  gives  any 
certain  account  of  it.  When  the  empire  of  the  Romans 
began  to  extend  over  Asia,  Ptolemais  came  into  their  pos- 
session. It  is  mentioned  by  Strabo  as  a  city  of  great 
importance;  and  fine  granite  and  marble  pillars,  monu- 
ments of  its  ancjent  grandeur,  are  still  to  be  seen.  During 
the  Middle  Ages  rtolemais  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
Saracens.  They  were  expelled  from  it  in  1110  by  the 
Crusaders,  who  made  it  their  principal  port,  and  retained 
it  until  1187,  when  it  was  recovered  by  Saladin.  In  1191 
it  was  retaken  by  Richard  L  of  England  and  Philip  of 
France,  who  purchased  this  conquest  by  the  sacrifice  of 
100,000  troops.  They  gave  the  town  to  the  knights  of  St 
John  of  Jerusalem,  from  whom  it  received  the  name  of  St 
Jean  D'Acre.  In  their  possession  it  remained  for  a  century, 
though  subject  to  continual  assaults  from  the  Saracens. 
It  was  at  this  time  a  large  and  extensive  city,  populo-is  and 
wealthy,  and  contained  numerous  churches,  convents,  and 
hospitals,  of  which  no  traces  now  remain.  Acre  was  finally 
lost  to  the  Crusaders  in  1291,  when  it  was  taken  by  the 
Saracens  after  a  bloody,  siege,  during  which  it  suffered 
severely.  From  this  time  its  prosperity  rapidly  declined. 
In  1517  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Turkish  sultan,  Selim 
L;  and  in  the  beginning  of  the  18th  century,  with  the 
exception  of  the  residences  of  the  French  factors,  a  mosque, 
and  a  few  poor  cottages,  it  presented  a  vast  scene  of  ruin. 
Towards  the  end  of  that  century  Acre  was  much  strength- 
ened and  improved  by  the  Turks,  particularly  by  Djezzar 
Pacha,  and  again  rose  to  some  importance.     It  is  memor- 


able in  modern  historj  for  the  gallantry  with  which  it  was 
defended  b  1799  by  the"  Turks,  assisted  by  Sir  Sydney 
Smith,  against  Bonaparte,  who,  after  spending  sixty-one 
days  before  it,  was  obliged  to  I  It  continued  to 

enjoy  an  increasing  degn  e  of  prosperity  till  I  832.  Though 
fettered  by  imposts  and  monopolies,  it  carried  on  a  con- 
siderable foreign  trade,  and  had  resident  consuls  from  most 
of  the  great  states  of  Europe.  On  the  revolt  of  Mchemet  Ali, 
the  pacha  of  Egypt,  Acre  was  besieged  by  his  son,  Ibrahim 
.  in  the  winter  of'  1831-32  The  siege  lasted  five 
months  and  twenty-one  days,  and,  before  the  city  was 
taken,  its  public  and  private  buildings  were  mostly  destroyed. 
Its  fortifications  were  subsequently  repaired  and  improved 
by  the  Egyptians,  in  whose  hands  it  remained  until  3d  Nov. 
1S40,  when  the  town  was  reduced  to  ruins  by  a  three  hours' 
bombardment  from  the  British  fleet,  acting  aa  lae  allies  of 
the  sultan.  The  Turks  were  again  put  in  possession  of  it 
in  1841. 

Acre  is  situated  on  a  low  promontory,  at  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  Bay  of  Acre.  The  bay  affords  no  shelter 
in  bad  weather;  and  the  port  is  scarcely  capable  of  contain- 
ing a  dozen  boats.  Vessels  coming  to  this  coast,  therefore, 
generally  frequent  the  anchorage  of  Caiffa,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  bay.  Acre  is  80  miles  N.N.W.  of  Jerusalem, 
and  27  S.  of  Tyre.     Population,  10,000. 

ACROBAT  (from  aKpofiariui,  to  walk  on  tiptoe),  a  rope- 
dancer.  Evidence  exists  that  there  were  very  skilful  per- 
formers on  the  tight-rope  (funambuli)  among  the  ancient 
Romans.  Modern  acrobats  generally  >se  a  long  pole, 
loaded  at  the  ends,  and  by  shifting  (Jus  are  enabled  to 
maintain,  or  readily  to  recover,  their  eauilibrium.  By  an 
extension  of  the  meaning  of  the  term,  acrobatic  feats  now 
include  trapeze  leaping  and  similar  performances. 

ACROCERAUNIA,  in  Ancient  Geography,  a  promon- 
tory in  the  N.W.  of  Epirus,  which  terminates  the  Montes 
Ceraunii,  a  range  that  runs  S.E.  from  the  promontory 
along  the  coast  for  a  number  of  miles,  and  is  supposed  to 
have  derived  its  name  from  being  often  struck  withjight- 
ning.  The  cape  (now  called  Glossa  by  the  Greeks,  and  Lin- 
guetta  by  the  Italians)  is  in  lat  40°  25'  N. 

ACROGEN^E  is  the  name  applied  to  a  division  of  acoty 
Icdonous  or  cryptogamous  plants,  in  which  leaves  are  pre- 
sent along  with  vascular  tissue.  In  the  higher  divisions  of 
Acrogens,  as  ferns  and  lycopods,  the  tissue  consists  of  scalari- 
form  vessels,  while  in  the  lower  divisions  spiral  cells  are 
observed,  which  take  the  place  of  vessels.  The  term  Acro- 
gen  means  summit-grower,  that  is,  a  plant  in  which  the 
stem  increases  specially  by  the  summit  This  is  not,  how- 
ever, strictly  accurate. 

ACROLITH  (<ucpo.kv?o(),  statues  of  a  transition  period 
in  the  history  of  plastic  art,  in  which  the  trunk  of  the 
figure  was  of  wood,  and  the  head,  hands,  and  feet  of 
marble.  The  wood  was  concealed  either  by  gilding  or, 
more  commonly,  by  drapery,  and  the  marble  parts  alone 
were  exposed.  Acroliths  are  frequently  mentioned  by 
Pausanias,  the  best  known  specimen  being  the  Minerva 
Areia  of  the  Plataeans. 

ACRON,  a  celebrated  physician,  born  at  Agrigentum 
in  Sicily,  who  was  contemporary  with  Empedocles,  and 
must  therefore  have  lived  in  the  5th  century  before  Christ, 
The  successful  measure  of  lighting  large  fires,  and  purify- 
ing the  air  with  perfumes,  to  put  a  stop  to  the  pestilence 
that  raged  in  Athens  (430  b.c),  is  said  to  have  originated 
with  him;  but  this  has  been  questioned  on  chronological 
grounds.  Pliny  is  mistaken  in  saying  that  Acron  was  the 
founder  of  the  sect  of  the  Empirici,  which  did  not  exist 
until  the  3d  century  before  Christ.  The  error  probably 
arose  from  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  sect  to  establish  for 
itself  a  greater  antiquity  than  that  of  the  Dogmatici. 
Suidas  gives  the  titles  of  several  works  written  by  Acron. 


ACE-ACT 


121 


on  medical   subjects,  In  the  Doric  dialect,  but  none  of 
these  now  exist 

ACROPOLIS  ('A(cpoVo\«),  a  word  signifying  the  upper 
town,  or  chief  place  of  a  city,  a  citadel,  usually  on  the 
summit  of  a  rock  or  hill.  Such  buildings  were  common  in 
Greek  cities;  and  they  are  also  found  elsewhere,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  Capitol  at  Rome,  and  the  Antonia  at  Jerusalem ; 
but  the  most  celebrated  was  that  at  Athens,  the  remains  of 
which  still  delight  and  astonish  travellers.  It  was  enclosed 
by  walls,  portions  of  which  show  traces  of  extreme  antiquity. 
It  had  nine  gates;  the  principal  one  was  a  -splendid  struc- 
ture of  Pentelican  marble,  in  noble  Doric  architecture, 
which  bore  the  name  of  Propylaia.  Besides  other  beauti- 
ful edifices,  it  contains  the  Hapdev&v,  or  temple  of  the 
virgin  goddess  Athene,  the  most  glorious  monument  of 
ancient  Grecian  architecture. 


Ground  plan  of  the  Acropolis  of  Athens. 


a,  Pedestal  of  Rome  and  Augustas. 

b,  c,  d,  Sites  of  temples  of  Minerva, 
Diana,  and  Venua\ 

e,  Erectheium. 
/,  Dionysiac  theatre. 
g,  Odeon  of  Herodes. 
A  and  o.  Grottoes. 
i,  Ruined  mosque. 


it,  I,  Gate  and  portico, 
m,  Choragic  monument  of  Thrasyclet, 
dow  church  of  our  lady  of  the  grotto, 
n,  n,  Remains  of  Peiasgic  wall. 
p.  «,  Walls  of  outworks,  <fcc. 
«,  Gate  to  Propylasa. 
o,  r,  f.  Forts. 
u,  c,  Ancient  walla. 


ACROSTIC  (from  uKpos  and  0-7-9(05,  meaning  literally 
fhe  extremity  of  a  verse),  is  a  species  of  poetical  composi- 
tion, so  constructed  that  the  initial  letters  of  the  lines, 
taken  consecutively,  form  certain  names  or  other  particular 
words.  This  fancy  is  of  considerable  antiquity,  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  examples  of  it  being  the  verses  cited  by 
Lactantius  and  Eusebius  in  the  4th  century,  and  attri- 
buted to  the  Erythraean  sibyl,  the  initial  letters  of  which 
form  the  words  'Ljo-oCs  Xpto-ros  ©eou  vtos  o-iunjp:  "Jesus 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour,"  with-  the  addition, 
according  to  some,  of  oravpo's,  "  the  cross."  The  initials 
of  the  shorter  form  of  this  again  make  up  the  word  l\S^, 
to  which  a  mystical  meaning  has  been  attached  (Augustine, 
De  Civitate  Dei,  18,  23),  thus  constituting  another  kind 
of  acrostic.  The  arguments  of  the  comedies  of  Plautus, 
with  acrostics  on  the  names  of  the  respective  plays,  are 
probably  of  still  earlier  date.  Sir  John  Davies  (1570- 
1G26)  wrote  twenty-six  elegant  Hymns  to  Astrcece,  each  an 
acrostic  on  "  Elizabetha  Regina;"  and  Mistress  Mary  Fage, 
■in  Fame's  Roule,  1G37,  commemorated  420  celebrities  of 
her  time  in  acrostic  verses.  The  same  form  of  composition 
is  often  to  be  met  with  in  the  writings  of  more  recent 
versifiers.  Sometimes  the  lines  are  so  combined  that  the 
final  letters  as  well  as  the  initials  are  significant.  Edgar 
Allan  Poe,  with  characteristic  ingenuity,  worked  two 
names — one  of  them  that  of  Frances  Sargent  Osgood — into 
▼erses  in  such  a  way  that  the  letters  of  the  names  corre- 
sponded to  the  first  letter  of  the  first  line,  the  second  letter 
of  the  second,  the  third  letter  of  the  third,  and  so  on. 


Generally  speaking,  acrostic  verse  is  not  of  much  value, 
and  is  held  in  slight  estimation.  Dr  Samuel  Butler  says, 
in  his  "  Character  of  a  Small  Poet,"  "  He  uses  to  lay  the 
outsides  of  his  verses  even,  like  a  bricklayer,  by  a  line  of 
rhyme  and  acrostic,  and  fill  the  middle  with  rubbish." 
Addison  {Spectator,  No.  60)  found  it  impossible  to  decide 
whether  the  inventor  of  the  anagram  or  the  acrostic  were 
the  greater  blockhead ;  and,  in  describing  the  latter,  sayp, 
"I  have  seen  some  of  them  where  the  verses  have  not  only 
been  edged  by  a  name  at  each  extremity,  but  have  had  the 
same  name  running  down  like  a  seam  through  the  middle 
of  the  poem."  And  Dryden,  in  Mac  Flechwe,  scornfully 
assigned  Shadwell  the  rule  of 

"  Some  peaceful  province  in  acrostic  land." 

The  name  acrostic  is  also  applied  to  alphabetical  or 
"abecedarian"  verses.  Of  these  we  have  instances  in  some 
of  the  Hebrew  psalms  {e.g.,  Ps.  xrv.  and  xxxiv.),  the 
successive  verses  of  which  begin  with  the  letters  of  the 
alphabet  in  their  order.  The  structure  of  Ps.  cxix  is  still 
more  elaborate,  each  of  the  verses  of  each  of  the  twenty- 
two  parts  commencing  with  the  letter  which  stands  at  the 
head  of  the  part  in  our  English  translation.  Alphabetical 
verses  have  been  constructed  with  every  word  of  the  suc- 
cessive bines  beginning  with  the  successive  letters  of  the 
alphabet. 

By  an  extended  use  of  the  term  acrostic,  it  is  applied 
to  the  formation  of  words  from  the  initial  letters  of  •  other 
words.  'Ix^us,  referred  to  above,  is  an  illustration  of  this. 
So  also  is  the  word  "  Cabal,"  which,  though  it  was  in  use 
before,  with  a  similar  meaning,  has,  from  the  time  of 
Charles  II.,  been  associated  with  a  particular  ministry, 
from  the  accident  of  its  being  composed,  of  Clifford,  Ashley, 
Buckingham,.  Arlington,  and  Lauderdale.  Akin  to  this 
are  the  names  by  which  the  Jews  designated  their 
Rabbis;  thus  Rabbi  Moses  ben  Maimon  (better  known 
as  Maimonides),  was  styled  "  Rambam,"  from  the  initials 
R.  M.  B.  M.;  Rabbi  David  Kimchi  (R.  D.  K.),  "  Radak,"  &c. 

A  species  of  puzzle,  scarcely  known  twenty  years  ago, 
but  very  common  now  (see  English  Catalogue,  1863-71,  s.  v. 
Acrostics),  is  a  combination  of  enigma  and  double  acrostic, 
in  which  words  are  to  be  guessed  whose  initial  and  final 
letters  form  other  words  that  are  also  to  be  guessed.  Thus 
Sleep  and  Dream  may  have  to  be  discovered  from  the  first 
and  last  letters  of  Sound,  Lover,  Europe,  Elia,  and  Palm, 
all  expressed  enigmatically. 

ACT,  in  Dramatic  Literature,  signifies  one  of  those 
parts  into  which  a  play  is  divided  to  mark  the  change  of 
of  time  or  place,  and  to  give  a  respite  to  the  actors  and  to 
the  audience.  In  Greek  plays  there  are  no  separate  acts, 
the  unities  being  strictly  observed,  and  the  action  being 
continuous  from  beginning  to  end  If  the  principal  actors 
left  the  stage  the  chorus  took  up  the  argument,  and  con- 
tributed an  integral  part  of  the  play,  though  chiefly  in  the 
form  of  comment  upon  the  action.  When  necessary, 
another  drama,  which  is  etymologically  the  same  as  an  act, 
carried  on  the  history  to  a  later  time  or  in  a  different  place, 
and  thus  we  have  the  Greek  trilogies  or  groups  of  three 
dramas,  in  which  the  same  characters  reappear.  The 
Roman  poets  first  adopted  the  division  into  acts,  and  sus- 
pended the  stage  business  in  the  intervals  between  them. 
Their  number  was  usually  five,  and  the  rule  was  at  last 
laid  down  by  Horace  in  the  Ars  Poetica — 

"  Keve  minor,  neu  sit  quinto  productior  acta 
Fabula,  qu»  posci  vult,  et  spectata  reponi." 

"  If  you  would  have  your  play  deserve  success, 
Give  it  five  acta  complete,  nor  more  nor  less." 

— Francis. 

On  the  revival  of  letters  this  rule  was  almost  universally 
observed  by  dramatists  and  that  there  is  vu  inherent  con- 


122 


A  C  T  — A  C  T 


venianoe  and  fitness  in  the  number  five  is  evident  from  the 
fact  that  Shakespeare,  who .  refused  to  be  trammelled  by 
merely  arbitrary  rules,  adopts  it  in  all  his  plays.  Some 
critics  have  laid  down  rules  as  to  the  part  each  act  should 
sustain  in  the  development  of  the  plot,  but  these  are  not 
essential,  and  are  by  no  means  universally  recognised.  In 
comedy  the  rule  as  to  the  number  of  acts  has  not  been  so 
strictly  adhered  to  as  in  tragedy,  a  division  into  two  acts 
or  three  acts  being  quite  usual  since  the  time  of  iloliere, 
who  first  introduced  it. 

It  may  be  well  to  mention  here  Milton's  Samson  Agoniste* 
as  a  specimen  in  English  literature  of  a  dramatic  work 
founded  on  a  purely  Greek  model,  in  which,  consequently, 
there  is  no  division  into  acts. 

ACT,  in  Law,  is  an  instrument  in  writing  for  declaring 
or  justifying  the  truth  of  anything;  in  which  sense  records, 
decrees,  sentences,  reports,  certificates,  <tc,  are  called  acts. 
The  origin  of  the  legal  use  of  the  word  Act  is  in  the  acta 
of  the  Roman  magistrates  or  people,  of  their  courts  of  law, 
or  of  the  senate,  meaning  (1)  what  was  done  before  the 
magistrates,  the  people,  ov  the  senate;  (2)  the  records  of 
such  public  proceedings. 

ACT  OF  PARLIAMENT.  An  Act  of  Parliament  may 
be  regarded  as  a  declaration  of  the  Legislature,  enforcing 
certain  rules  of  conduct,  or  defining  right3  and  conferring 
them  upon  or  withholding  them  from  certain  persons  or 
classes  of  persons.  The  collective  body  of  such  declara- 
tions constitutes  the  statutes  of  the  realm  or  written  law 
of  the  nation,  in  the  widest  sense,  from  Anglo-Saxon  times 
to  the  present  day.  It  is  not,  however,  till  Magna  Charta 
that,  in  a  more  limited  constitutional  sense,  the  statute- 
book  is  generally  held  to  open,  and  the  Parliamentary 
records  only  begin  to  assume  distinct  outlines  late  in  the 
reign  of  Edward  L  The  maladministration  of  the  common 
law  by  the  royal  judges  had  gradually  taught  the  people 
the  necessity  of  obtaining  written  declarations  of  their 
rights — often  acknowledged,  still  oftener  violated.  Insen- 
sibly almost,  the  Commons,  whose  chief  function  it  origin- 
ally was  to  vote  supplies  to  the  crown,  began  to  couple 
their  grant3  with  petitions  for  the  redress  of  grievances. 
The  substance  of  these  petitions  and  of  the  royal  responses 
was  in  time  made  the  groundwork  of  Acts  which,  as  framed 
by  court  redactors,  and  appearing  annexed  to  proclamation- 
writs  after  the  dissolution  of  Parliament,  were  frequently 
found  seriously  to  misrepresent  its  wilL  To  check'  this 
evil  an  Act  was  passed  (8  Henry  IV.),  authorising  the 
Commons  to  be  represented  at  the  engrossing  of  the  Par- 
liament roll;  but  even  this  surveillance  was  not  enough, 
for  in  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Henry  V.  it  was  enacted, 
at  the  instance  of  the  Commons,  that  in  regard  to  their 
petitions  the  royal  prerogative  should  in  future  be  limited 
to  granting  or  refusing  them  simpliciter.  In  this  way.it 
became  a  fixed  constitutional  principle  that  an  Act  of  Par- 
liament, to  be  valid,  must  express  concurrently  the  will  of 
the  entiro  Legislature.  It  was  not,  however,  till  the  reign 
of  Henry  VL  that  it  became  customary,  as  now,  to  intro- 
duce bills  into  Parliament  in  the  form  of  finished  Acts;  and 
the  enacting  clause,  .regarded  by  constitutionalists  as  the 
first  perfect  assertion,  in  words,  of1  popular  right,  came  into 
general  use  as  late  as  the  reign  of  Charles  LT.  It  is  thus 
expressed : — "  Be  it  enacted  by  the  King's  most  excellent 
Majesty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Lords 
Spiritual  and  Temporal  and  Commons  in  this  present  Par- 
liament assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same." 
The  use  of  the  preamble  with  which  Acts  are  usually  pre- 
faced, is  thus  quaintly  set  forth  by  Lord  Coke,—"  The 
rehearsal  or  preamble  of  the  statute  is  a  good  meane  to 
find  out  the  meaning  of  the  statute,  and,  as  it  were,  a  key 
to  open  the  understanding  thereof."  Originally,  the  col- 
lective Acta  of  each  session  formed  but  one  statute,  to 


which  a  general  title  was  attached,  and  for  this  reason  an 
Act  of  Parliament  is  always  cited  as  the  chapter  of  a  par- 
ticular statute— e.g.,  24  and  25  Vict,  c  101.  Titles  were, 
however,  prefixed  to  individual  Acts  us  early  as  1488. 
Since  33  Geo.  IIL  c.  13,  an  Act  of  Parliament  is  com- 
plete whenever  it  receives  the  royal  assent,  and  takes  effect 
from  that  date,  unless  the  Act  itself  fix  some  other.  British 
Act3  require  no  formal  promulgation,  for  it  is  presumed  that 
every  subject  of  the  realm  is  cognisant  of  the  resolutions 
of  Parliament,  either  by.  himself  or  hi3  representative 
therein. 

Modem  Acts  of  Parliament  are — I.  Public.  These  are  binding  on 
all  citizens,  and  are  ex  officio  cognisable  by  the  judges.  Since  1860 
every  Act  is  held  to  be  public  unless  the  contrary  be  expressly  declared. 
2.  Private  Acts.  These  relate  to  particular  classes,  persons,  or  places. 
Private  Acts  are  (1.)  Personal,  viz.,  those  which  relate  to  name, 
naturalisation,  estate,  &c,  of  particular  persons.  (2.)  Local,  affect- 
ing bridges,  canals,  docks,  turnpikes,  railways,  4c  TopreveLt  such 
Acts  from  being  unduly  passed,  the  promoters  of  private  bills  are 
required  to  comply  with  the  standing  orders  of  the  two  Houses,  by 
which  privato  bill  procedure  is  regulated.  Acts  of  Parliament,  for 
convenience  of  reference,  are  classified  as  Public  General  Acts,  Local 
and  Personal  Act3  declared  Public,  Private  Acts  printed,  and  Private 
Acts  not  printed.  Public  General  Acta  (if  no  exception  be  expressed), 
extend  to  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  exclusively  only  of  the  Channel 
Islands  and  tho  Isle  of  Man. 

The  first  complete  edition  of  English  Acts  of  Parliament  published 
by  state  authority  appeared  between  the  years  1810  and  1824.  It 
includes  the  early  charters,  and  ends  with  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne. 
Many  private  editions*of  the  statutes  had  appeared  previous  to  that 
of  the  Record  Commissioners.  The  practice  of  printing  Acts  of  Par- 
liament commenced  in  the  reign  of  Richard  III.  The  charters  and 
Acts  were  written  in  Latin  till  the  Slatutum  de  Scaccario,  51  Henrv 
III.  (1266),  which  is  in  French.  Tho  Acts  of  Edward  I.  are  indis- 
criminately in  Latin  or  French ;  but  from  the  fourth  year  of  Henry 
VII.  Acts  are  exclusively  in  English. 

Scotch  Acts. — The  earliest  attempts  at  a  written  record  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Parliament  of  Scotland  consisted  of  detached  instru- 
ments or  indentures,  and  the  next  step  was  the  entering  of  these 
detached  instruments  on  a  roll  for  more  permanent  preservation. 
No  such  record,  however,  is  preserved  before  the  disputed  succes- 
sion, which  commenced  in  1?S9.    The  earliest  roll  of  placiia  in 
parliammto  is  dated  1292 ;  but  the  Blak  Buik,  containing  a  series 
of  proceedings  in  Parliament  from  1357  to  1402,  is  the  most  im- 
portant of  the  earliest  records  of  Parliament.     The  original  books  of 
Parliament  of  the  reigns  of  James  I.  and  James  II.  are  not  preserved, 
but  fron,  the  year  1466  down  to  the  Union  a  voluminous,  but  not 
unbroken,  series  has  been  preserved.     Down  to  the  reign  of  James 
V.,  scarcely  any  Act  in  the  original  registers  is  distinguished  by  a 
title  or  rubric;  and  even  after  that  period  the  practice  has  not  in 
this  respect  been  uaifonn.     In  like  manner  there  is  no  numeration 
of  the  Acts  of  Parliament  during  this  period.     The  language  of  tho 
earliest  Scotch  records  is  in  Latin ;  but  as  early  as  1398  some  of  the 
proceedings  of  Parliament  or  the  Council-General  were  written  in 
Scots,  and  subsequently  to  1 424  always  in  that  language.    Unlike  the 
English  Acts,  French  was  never  used  in  Scotch  legislation.    In  1541 
a  selection  of  the  Acts  of  James  V.  was  printed.  .  The  first  edition  ol 
the  Acts  was  published  in  1566,  the  second  in  1597,  the  third  in 
1681 ;  and  the  great  national  work,  the  complete  record  of  Parlia- 
ment, has  just  been  completed,  with  a  general  index  to  the  whole 
Acts  from  1124  to  1707,  which  forms  the  great  repertory  of  tha 
legal,  constitutional,  and  political  history  of  Scotland.     In  1540  an 
Act  was  passed  requiring  all  the  Acts  of  Parliament  to  be  pronounced 
in  presence  of  the  king  and  the  estates, — the  assent  of  the  king 
being  indicated  by  his  touching  them  with  the  sceptre;  and  in  1641  it 
was  ordained  that  the  Acts  passed  in  1640  be  published  in  the  king's 
name,  and  with  the  consent  of  the  estates.     But  during  the  civil 
war  the  Acts  of  Parliament  were  passed  in  name  of  the  estates  alone. 
These  Acts,  however,  were  rescinded  after  the  restoration  of  Charles 
II.  by  Act  1661,  c.  126,  because  "the  power  of  making  laws  is  an 
essential  privilege  of  the  royal  prerogative."     In  1457  an  Act  was 
passed  for  proclaiming  tho  Acts  of  Parliament  in  the  shires  and 
burghs,  that  none  be  ignorant;  and  in  1581  it  was  ordained  that 
Acts  need  not  be  proclaimed  at  the  market-cross  of  the  head  burgh 
of  each  shire,  but  at  the  market-cross  of  Edinburgh  only,  the  lieges 
obeying  theni  forty  days  thereafter.     The  clerk  of  register  was 
always  bound  to  give  extracts  of  Acts  to  the  lieges  in  their  parti- 
cular  affaire.     In  1425  a  committee,  consisting  of  an  equal  number 
of  each  estate,  was  appointed  to  amend  the  books  of  law ;  and  in 
1567  a  commission  was  issued  to  codify  the  laws,  civil  and  muni- 
cipal, dividing  them  into  heads  like  the  Roman  law, — the  heads  as 
they  are  ready  to  be  brought  to  Pariiament  to  be  confirmed.     Lord 
Bacon  recommended  the  Scotch  Acts  for  their  "exceLent  brevity." 
His  lordship's  praise  applies  very  properly  to  the  Acts  down  to  the. 


A  C  T-r-A  C  T 


123 


reign  of  Queen  Mary  and  the  early  part  of  the  reign  of  Jame3  VI. ; 
but  the  logomachy  of  subsequent  legislation  is  intolerable  to  the 
consul  ter. 

Irish  Acts  may  be  said  to  commence  A.D.  1310,  in-  the  reign  of 
Edward  II.,  and  to  close  with  the  union  with  the  British  Parlia- 
ment in  1801.  .  From  the  former  date,  however,  there  i3  a  break 
till  1429.  In  1495  Poyning's  Law  provided  that  no  bill  should 
be  introduced  into  the  Irish  Parliament  which  has  not  pre- 
viously received  the  royal  assent  in  England;  and  till  1782  the 
Parliament  of  Ireland  remained  in  tutelage  to  that  of  England. 
Since  1801  it  has  been  incorporated  with  the  Parliament  of  Great 
Britain. 

ACT  OF  SEDERUNT,  in  Scotch  Law,  an  ordinance  for 
regulating  the  forms  of  procedure  before  the  Court  of 
Session,  passed  by  the  judges  in  virtue  of  a  power  con- 
ferred by  an  Act  of  the  Scotch  Parliament,  1540,  c  93.  In 
former  times  this  power  was  in  several  instances  clearly 
exceeded,  and  such  Acts  of  Sederunt  required  to  be  rati- 
fied by  the  Scotch  Parliament;  but  for  more  than  a  century 
and  a  half  Acts  of  Sederunt  have  been  almost  exclusively 
confined  to  matters  relating  to  the  regulation  of  judicial 
procedure.  Many  recent  statutes  contain  a  clause  empower- 
ing the  court  to  make  the  necessary  Acts  of  Sederunt.  A 
quorum  of  nine  judges  is  required  to  pass  an  Act  of 
Sederunt. 

ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES,  the  fifth  among  the 
canonical  books  of  the  New  Testament.  What  has  to  be 
said  on  this  book  will  naturally  fall  under  the  following 
heads  :  The  state  of  the  text;  the  authorship;  the  object 
of  the  work ;  the  date  and  the  place  of  its  composition. 

The  State  of  the  Text. — The  Acts  is  found  in  two  MSS. 
generally  assigned  to  the  4th  century,  the  Codex  Sinai- 
ticus,  in  St  Petersburg,  and  the  Codex  Vaticanus,  in  Rome; 
in  one  MS.  assigned  to  the  5th  century,  the  Codex  Alex- 
andrinus,  in  the  British  Museum ;  in  two  MSS.  belonging 
to  the  6th  century,  the  Codex  Bezce,  in  Cambridge,  and 
the  Codex  Laudianus,  in  Oxford ;  and  in  one  of  the  9th 
century,  the  Codex  Palimpsest  us  Porflrianus,  in  St  Peters- 
burg, with  the  exception  of  chapter  first  an.d  eight  verses 
of  chapter  second.  Large  fragments  are  contained  in  a 
MS.  of  the  5th  century,  the  Codex  Ephrcevii,  in  Paris. 
Fragments  are  contained  in  five  other  MSS.,  none  of  which 
is  later  than  the  9th  century.  These  are  all  the  uncial 
MSS.  containing  the  Acts  or  portions  of  it. 

The  MSS.  in  Oxford  and  Cambridge  differ  widely  from 
the  others.  This  is  especially  the  case  with  the  Cambridge 
MS.,  the  Codex  Bezos,  which  is  said  to  contain  no  less 
than  six  hundred  interpolations.  Scrivener,  who  has  edited 
this  MS.  with  great  care,  says,  "  While  the  general  course 
of  the  history  and  the  spirit  of  the  work  remain  the  same 
as  in  our  commonly  received  text,  we  perpetually  encounter 
long  passages  in  Codex  Bezce  which  resemble  that  text 
only  as  a  loose  and  explanatory  paraphrase  recalls  the 
original  form  from  which  it  sprung;  save  that  there  is  no 
difference  in  the  language  in  this  instance,  it  is  hardly  an 
exaggeration  of  the  facts  to  assert  that  Codex  D  [i.e., 
Codex  Beza;]  reproduces  the  textus  receptus  of  the  Acts 
much  in  the  same  way  that  one'  of  the  best  Chaldee 
Targums  doe3  the  Hebrew  of  the  Old  Testament,  so  wide 
are  the  variations  in  the  diction,  so  constant  and  inveterate 
the  practice  of  expanding  the  narrative  by  means  of  inter- 
polations." Scrivener  here  assumes  that  the  additions  of 
the  Codex  Bezce  are  interpolations,  and  this  is  the  opinion 
of  nearly  all  critics.  There  is  one,  however,  Bornemann, 
who  thinks  that  the  Codex  Bezos  contains  the  original 
text,  and  that  the  others  are  mutilated.  But  even  sup- 
posing that  we  were  quite  sure  that  the  additions  were 
interpolations,  the  Codex  Bezce  makes  it  more  difficult,  to 
determine  what  the  real  text  was.  Scrivener,  with  good 
reason,  supposes  that  the  Codex  Bezce  is  derived  from  an 
original  which  would  most  likely  belong  to  the  third  cen- 
tury at  the  latest 


Aut/iorship  of  the  Work. — In  treating  this  subject  we 
begin  with  the  external  evidence. 

The  first  mention  of  the  authorship  of  the  Acts  in  a  well- 
authenticated  book  occurs  in  the  trea.ise  of  Irenasus  against 
heresies,  written  between  the  yeare  182  and  188  A.D. 
Irenaeus  names  St  Luke  as  the  author,  as  if  the  fact  were  well 
known  and  undoubted.  He  attributes  the  third  Gospel  to 
him,  and  calls  him  "  a  follower  and  disciple  of  apostles  "  (II. 
iii.  10,  1).  -  He  states  that  "he  was  inseparable  from  Paul 
and  was  his  fellow-worker  in  the  gospel"  (H.  iii  14,  1). 
The  next  mention  occurs  in  the  Stromata  of  Clemens 
Alexandrinus,  written  about  195  a.d.,  where  part  of  St 
Paul's  speech  to  the  Athenians  is  quoted  with  the  words, 
"  Even  as  Luke  also,  in  the  Acta  of  the  Apostles,  records 
Paul  as  saying"  (Strom,  v.  xii.  82,  p.  696,  Pott).  The 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  is  quoted  by  Tertullian  as  Scripture, 
and  assigned  to  St  Luke  (Adv.  Mar.  v.  2  and  3).  Origen 
speaks  of  "  Luke  who  wrote  the  Gospe)  and  the  Acts " 
(Eus.  H.  E.  vi.  25) ;  and  Eusebius  includes  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles  in  his  summary  of  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament  (Hist.  Eccl.  iii.  25).  The  Muratorian  canon, 
generally  assigned  to  the  end  of  the  second  or  beginning  of 
the  third  century,  includes  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  assigns 
it  to  St  Luke,  and  says  that  he  was  an  eye-witness  of  the 
facts  recorded.  Theie  is  thus  unanimous  testimony  up  to 
the  time  of  Eusebius  that  St  Luke  was  the  author  of  the 
Acts.  This  unanimity  is  not  disturbed  by  the  circum- 
stance that  some  heretics  rejected  the  work,  for  they  did 
not  deny  the  authorship  of  the  book,  but  refused  to 
acknowledge  it  as  a  source  of  dogmatic  truth. 

After  the  time  of  Eusebius  we  find  statements  to  the 
effect  that  the  Acts  was  little  known.  "  The  existence 
of  this  book,"  Chrysostom  says,  "  is  not  known  to  many, 
nor  the  person  who  wrote  and  composed  it."  And  Fhotius, 
in  the  ninth  century,  says,  "  Some  maintain  that  it  was 
Clement  of  Rome  that  was  the  writer  of  the  Acts,  others 
that  it  was  Barnabas  and  others  that  it  was  Luke  the 
Evangelist." 

Irenaeus  makes  such  copious  quotations  from  the  Acta 
that  we  can  feel  sure  that  he  had  before  him  substantially 
our  Acts.  We  cannot  go  further  back  than  Irenaeus  with 
certainty.  H,  as  we  shall  see,  the  writer  of  the  Acts  was 
also  the  writer  of  the  third  Gospel,  we  have  Justin  Martyr's 
testimony  (about  150  a.d.)  for  the  existence  of  the  third 
Gospel  in  his  day,"and  therefore  a  likelihood  that  the  Acts 
existed  also.  But  'We  have  no  satisfactory  evidence  that 
Justin  "used  the  Acts,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  Apostolic 
Fathers,  nor  in  any  work  anterior  to  the  Letter  of  the 
Churches  of  Vienne  and  Lyons,  written  probably  soon  after 
177  A.D.,  to  prove  the  existence  of  the  Acts. 

The  weight  of  external  evidence  therefore  goes  entirely 
for  St  Luke  as  the  author  of  the  Acts.  But  it  has  to  be 
noticed,  that  the  earliest  testimony  is  more  than  a  hundred 
years  later  than  the  events  described  in  the  Acts.  We 
have  also  to  take  into  account  that  Irenaeus  was  not 
critical.  We  find  him  calling  the  Pastor  of  Hermas  Scrip- 
ture; Clemens  Alexandrinus  also  calls  the  Pastor  inspired; 
and  Origen  not  merely  attributes  inspiration  to  the  work, 
but  makes  the  author  of  it  the  Hennas  mentioned  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans.  AH  scholars  reject  the  testimony 
of  Irenaeus,  Clemens  Alexandrinus,  and  Origen  in  this 
matter.  The  question  arises,  How  far  are  we  to  trust 
them  in  others  of  a  similar  nature  1 

We  turn  to  the  internal  evidence.  And  in  the  very 
commencement  we  find  the  author  giving  himself  out  as 
the  person  who  wrote  the  third  GospeL  This  claim  haj 
been  almost  universally  acknowledged.  There  is  a  remark- 
able similarity  of  style  in  both.  The  same  peculiar  modes 
of  expression  continually  occur  in  both;  and  throughout 
I  both  there  exist  continual  references  backward  and  for 


f24 


ACTS    OF    THE    APOSTLES 


■ward,  which  imply  the  same  authorship.  There  are  some 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  this  conclusion.  Two  of  these 
deserve  special  notice.  If  we  turn  to  tha  last  chapter  of 
tho  Gospel,  we  find  it  stated  there  (ver.  13)  that  two  dis- 
ciples met  Jesus  on  the  day  of  the  resurrection,  as  they 
were  going  to  Emmaus.  Towards  nightfall  (ver.  29)  he 
entered  the  village  with  them;  and  as  he  reclined  with 
them,  he  became  known  to  them,  and  disappeared. 
Whereupon  "  at  that  very  hour"  (ver.  33)  they  rose  up  and 
returned  to  Jerusalem.  They  found  the  eleven  assembled, 
and  told  them  what  had  happened  to  them.  "  While  they 
were  saying  these  things,  he  himself  stood  in  the  midst  of 
them"  (ver.  36)  Tho  apostles  gave  him  a  piece  of  fish, 
and  he  ate  it  "But  he  said  to  them"  (ver.  44),  so  the 
narrative  goes  on,  and  it  then  relates  his  speech;  and  at 
ver.  50  it  says,  "  He  led  them  out  to  Bethany,"  and  then 
disappeared  from  them.  This  disappearance  was  final; 
and  if  the  words  used  in  the  Gospel  make  us  hesitate  in 
determining  it  to  bo  his  ascension,  such  hesitation  is 
removed  by  the  opening  words  of  the  Acts.  According 
to  the  Gospel,  therefore,  all  the  events  now  related  took 
place,  or  seem  to  have  taken  place,  on  the  day  of  the 
resurrection,  or  they  may  possibly  have  extended  into  the 
next  morning,  bat  certainly  not  later.  Tho  Acts,  on  the 
contrary,  states  that  Jesus  was  seen  by  the  disciples  for 
forty  days,  and  makes  him  deliver  the  speech  addressed  to 
his  disciples  and  ascend  into  heaven  forty  days  after  the 
resurrection.  The  other  instance  is  perhaps  still  more  sin- 
gular. In  the  Acts  we  have  three  accounts  of  the  conversion 
of  St  Paul — the  first  by  the  writer  himself,  the  other  two  by 
St  Paul  in  bis  speeches.  The  writer  states  that  (ix.  4,  7) 
when  the  light  shone  round  Paul,  he  fell  to  the  ground, 
"  but  the  men  who  were  journeying  with  him  stood  dumb." 
St  Paul  himself  says  (xxvi.  14)  that  they  all  fell  to  the 
ground.  The  writer  says  (ix.  7)  that  St  Paul's  com- 
panions heard  the  voice,  but  saw  no  one.  St  Paul  himself 
says  (xxii.  9)  that  his  companions  saw  the  light,  but  did 
not  hear  the  voice  of  him  who  spake  to  him.  And  finally, 
all  these  accounts  differ  in  their  report  of  what  was  said 
on  the  occasion.  Notwithstanding  these  differences,  even 
these  very  accounts  contain  evidence  in  them  that  they  were 
written  by  the  same  writer,  and  they  do  not  destroy  the  force 
of  the  rest  of  the  evidence.  The  case  would  be  quite  different 
if  Baur,  Schwegler,  and  Wittichen  were  right  in  supposing 
that  the  Gospel  of  Luke  contained  documents  of  opposite 
tendencies.  It  would  then  be  necessary  to  assume  different 
authors  for  the  different  parts  of  the  Gospel,  and  still  an- 
other for  the  Acts.  But  this  theory  falls  to  the  ground  if 
the  Tubingen  theory  of  tendencies  is  rejected. 

The  Acts  itself  claims  to  be  written  by  a  companion  of 
St  Paul.  In  chap.  xvi.  10,  the  writer,  without  any  previous 
warning,  passes  from  the  third  person  to  the  first.  St  Paul 
had  reached  the  Troad.  There  he  saw  a  vision  inviting 
him  to  go  to  Macedonia.  "  But  when  he  saw  the  vision, 
straightway  we  sought  to  go  out  into  Macedonia."  The 
use  of  the  "we"  continues  until  Paul  leaves  Philippi.  In 
chap.  xx.  Paul  returns  to  Philippi,  and  the  "we"  is 
resumed,  and  is  kept  up  till  the  end  of  the  work.  Irenteus 
(//.  iii.  14,  1)  quotes  these  passages  as  proof  that  Luke, 
the  author,  was  a  companion  of  the  apostle.  The  minute 
character  of  the  narrative,  the  accurate  description  of  the 
various  journeyings,  the  unimportance  of  some  of  the 
details,  and  the  impossibility  of  contriving  all  the  inci- 
dents of  the  shipwreck  without  experiencing  them,  are 
strong  reasons  for  believing  that  we  have  the  narrative  of 
an  eye-witness.  And  if  we  allow  this  much,  we  can 
scarcely  help  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  this  eye-witness 
was  the  author  of  the  work;  for  the  style  of  this  eye-witness 
is  exactly  the  style  of  the  writer  who  composed  the  previous 
portions.     Some  have  supposed  that  we  have  here  the  per- 


sonal narrative  of  Timothy  or  of  Silas;  hut  this  supposition 
would  compel  us  to  believe  that  tho  writer  of  tho  Acts  was 
so  careless  as  to  tack  documents  together  without  remem- 
bering to  aner  thtir  form.  Such  a  procedure  on  tho  part 
of  tL  j  skilful  writer  of  the  Acts  is  unlikely  in  the  highest 
degree  The  "we"  is  introduced  intentionally,  and  can 
be  accounted  for  only  in  two  ways:  either  by  supposing 
that  the  writer  was  an  eye-witness,  'or  that  ho  wislled  to 
be  thought  an  eyewitness,  and  borrowed  the  narrative  of 
an  eye-witnes3  to  facilitate  the  deception.  Zellcr  has 
adopted  this  latter  alternative;  and  this  latter  alternative 
is  the  only  possible  one  for  those  who  assign  a  very  late 
date  to  the  Acts. 

We  may  test  the  writer's  claim  to  be  regarded  as  a  com- 
panion of  St  Paul  by  comparing  his  statements  with  those 
of  tho  other  books  of  the  New  Testament.  As  might  be 
expected,  the  great  facts  recorded  in  the  Gospels  are  repro- 
duced accurately  in  the  Acts.  There  is  only  one  marked 
difference.  St  Matthew  says  (xxvii.  £>,  7)  that  Judas  cast 
the  traitor's  money  into  the  temple,  and  the  priests  bought 
with  it  a  field  for  the  burial  of  strangers.  St  Peter  ill  Acts 
(i.  18)  says,  that  Judas  himself  purchased  a  field  with  the 
reward  of  his  iniquity.  St  Matthew  says  that  he  went  and 
hanged  himself,  St  Peter  that  he  fell  headlong  and  burst  in 
the  middle.  St  Matthew  says,  or  rather  seems  to  say,  that 
the  field  was  called  the  field  of  blood,  because  it  was  pur- 
chased with  blood-money;  St  Peter  seems  to  attribute  the 
name  to  the  circumstance  that  Judas  died  in  it. 

The  Acts  is  divided  into  t-r-o  distinct  parts.  The  first 
deals  with  the  church  in  Jerusalem,  and  especially  narrates 
the  actions  of  St  Peter.  We  have  no  external  means  of 
testing  this  portion  of  the  narrativo  The  Acts  is  the  only 
work  from  which  information  i3  got  in  regard  to  these 
events.  The  second  part  pursues  the  history  of  tho  apostle 
Paul;  and  here  we  can  compare  the  statements  made  in  the 
Acts  with  those  made  in  the  Epistles.  Now  here  again  we 
have  a  general  harmony.  .  St  Paul  travels  in  the  regions 
where  lm  Epistles  show  that  he  founded  churches.  The 
friends  of  St  Paul  mentioned  in  the  Acts  are  also  the 
friends  acknowledged  in  the  Epistles.  And  there  aro 
many  minute  coincidences.  At  the  same  time,  we  learn 
from  thi3  comparison  that  St  Luko  is  not  anxious  to  give 
minute  details.  Timothy  probably  visited  Athens  while 
St  Paul  was  there.  This  wo  learn  from  1  Thess.  iii  1,  but 
no  mention  is  made  of  this  visit  in  the  Acts.  Again,  we 
gather  from  the  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians  that  St  Paul 
paid  a  visit  to  Corinth,  which  is  not  recorded  in  the  Acts. 
Moreover,  no  mention  ifl  made  of  Titus  in  the  Acts.  These, 
however,  are  slight  matters;  and  it  must  be  allowed  that 
there  is  a  general  agreement.  But  attention  has  been 
drawn  to  two  remarkable  exception  These  are  the  ac- 
count given  by  St  Paul  of  his  visits  to  Jerusalem  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Galatians  and  that  given  by  St  Luke;  and 
the  character  and  mission  of  the  apostle  Paul,  as  they 
appear  in  his  letters  and  as  they  appear  in  the  Acta. 

In  regard  to  the  first  point,  St  Paul  himself  says  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  that  after  his  conversion  straight- 
way he  held  no  counsel  with  flesh  and  blood,  nor  did  he 
go  up  to  Jerusalem  to  the  apostles  who  were  before  him ; 
but  he  went  away  to  Arabia  and  returned  to  Damascus;  that 
then  after  three  years  he  went  up  to  Jerusalem  to  seek  for 
Cephas,  and  he  remained  with  him  fourteen  days.  He  at 
that  time  saw  only  two  apostles, — Peter,  and  James  the 
brother  of  the  Lord.  He  then  went  away  to  Syria  and 
Cilicia,  and  was  unknown  by  face  to  the  churches  of  Judea. 
He  says  that  fourteen  years  after  this  he  went  up  to  Jeru- 
salem with  Barnabas,  taking  Titus  with  him.  On  this 
occasion  he  went  up  by  revelation.  St  Paul  introduces 
these  facts  for  a  purpose,  and  this  purpose  is  that  he 
might  prove  his  independence  as  an  apostle.     He  bad  acted 


/ACTS    OF    THE    APOSTLES 


125 


solely  on  the  revelation  given  to  himself.  He  had  neither 
required  nor  obtained  sanction  from  the  other  apostles.  - 
He  was  an  apostle,  not  sent  forth  from  men  nor  through 
men,  but  through  Jesus  and  God.  When  we  turn  to  the 
Acts,  we  find  that  no  mention  is  made  of  the  journey  to 
Arabia.  He  stays  some  days  at  Damascus,  and  then 
begins  to  preach  the  gospel.  He  continues  at  this  work  a 
considerable  time;  and  then,  in  consequence  of  the  plots 
sf  the  Jews,  he  secretly  withdraws  from  Damascus  and 
proceeds  to  Jerusalem.  The  brethren  there  are  suspicious 
in  regard  to  him,  and  their  fears  are  not  quieted  until 
Barnabas  takes  him  to  the  apostles;  and  after  this  intro- 
duction he  goes  in  and  out  amongst  them,  and  holds  dis- 
cussions with  the  Hellenists.  Finally,  when  the  Hellenists 
ittempt  to  kill  him,  the  brethren  send  him  to  Tarsus.  In  the 
Epistle  to  the  Galatians  St  Paul  does  everything  for  him- 
self, instigated  by  his  inward  feelings.  In  the  Acts  he  is 
forced  out  of  Antioch,  and  sent  by  the  brethren  to  Tarsus.  In 
the  Galatians  St  Paul  stays  only  a  fortnight,  and  sees  only 
St  Peter  and  St  James  of  the  apostles,  and  was  unknown  by 
face  to  the  churches  of  Judea.  In  the  Acts  Barnabas  takes 
(urn  to  the  apostles,  and  he  continues  evidently  for  a  period 
much  longer  than  a  fortnight,  going  in  ana  out  amongst 
them.  Then  in  chap.  xi.  30,  he  goes  up  a  second  time  to 
Jerusalem, — a  visit  which  seems  inconsistent  with  the  narra- 
tive in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians.  And  finally,  when  he 
goes  up  to  Jerusalem,  the  Acts  does  not  represent  him 
going  up  by  an  independent  revelation,  but  as  being  sent 
up;  and  it  says  nothing  of  his  taking  an  independent  part, 
but  represents  him  as  submitting  to  the  apostles. 

This,  however,  leads  us  to  the  treatment  of  the  character 
of  St  Paul  by  the  writer  of  the  Acts.  Some  of  the 
Tubingen  critics  assert  that  the  writer  shows  ill-will  to  St 
Paul,  but  they  are  evidently  wrong.  On  the  contrary,  the 
character  of  the  apostle  as  given  in  the  Acts  is  full  of  grand 
and  noble  traits.  Yet  still  there  are  some  singular  pheno- 
mena in  the  Acts..  St  Paul  claimed  to  be  an  apostle  by  the 
will  of  God.  He  had  as  good  a  right  to  be  an  apostle  as 
St  Peter  or  St  James.  Yet  the  writer  of  the  Acts  never 
palls  him  an  apostle  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term.  He 
is  twice  called  an  apostle,  namely,  in  Acts  xiv.  4  and 
14.  On  both  occasions  his  fellow-apostle  is  Barnabas; 
but'  Barnabas  was  not  one  of  the  twelve,  and  not  an 
apostle  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term.  And  even  .  in 
these  verses  the  reading  is  doubtful  The  Codex  Bezce 
omits  the  word  apostle  in  the  14th  verse,  and  makes 
the  4th  liable  to  suspicion  by  inserting  an  addition  to  it. 
St  Luke  ako  brings  prominently  forward  as  the  proper  mark 
pf  an  apostle,  that  he  should  have  companied  with  the  Lord 
frum  his  baptism  to  his  ascension,  and  describes  the  filling 
np  of  the  number  of  the  twelve  by  the  election  of  Matthias. 
And  if  St  Luke's  narrative  of  St  Paul's  conversion  be 
minutely  examined,  it  will  be  perceived  that  not  only  does  he 
uot  mention  that  St  Paul  saw  Jesus,  but  the  circumstances 
is  related  scarcely  permitted  St  Paul  to  see  Jesus.  He 
was  at  once  dazzled  by  the  light,  and  fell  to  the  ground. 
[n  this  prostrate  condition,  with  his  eyes  shut,  he  heard  the 
voice;  but  at  first  he  did  not  know  whose  it  was.  And 
when  he  opened  his  eyes,  he  found  that  he  was  blind.  The 
words  of  Ananias  imply  that  St  Paul  really  did  see  Jesus, 
%ut  St  Luke  abstains  from  any  such  statement.  And  St 
Paul  is  not  treated  by  the  Jewish  Christians  in  the  Acts  as 
in  independent  apostle.  He  is  evidently  under  submission 
to  the  anostles  at  Jerusalem. 

Furthermore,  the  point  on  which  St  Paul  specially  insists 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  is,  that  he  was  appointed  the 
ipostle  to  the  Gentiles  as  St  Peter  was  to  the  circumcision, 
ind  that  circumcision  and  the  observance  of  the  Jewish  law 
were  of  no  importance  to  the  Christian.  St  Paul's  words  on 
Vhis  point  in  all  his  letters  are  strong  and  decided.     But  in 


the  Acts  it  is  St  Peter  that  opens  up  the  way  for  the  Gentiles. 
In  St  Peter's  mouth  occurs  the  strongest  language  in  regard 
to  the  intolerable  nature  of  the  law.  Not  a  word  is  said  of 
the  quarrel  between  St  Peter  and  St  Paul  The  brethren  in 
Antioch  send  St  Paul  and  Barnabas  up  to  Jerusalem  to  ask 
the  opinion  of  the  apostles  and  elders.  St  Paul  awaits  the 
decision  of  the  apostles,  and  St  Paul  and  Barnabas  carry- 
back the  decision  to  Antioch.  And  throughout  the  whole 
of  the  Acts  St  Paul  never  stands  forth  as  the  champion 
of  the  Gentiles.  He  seems  continually  anxious  to  reconcile 
the  Jewish  Christians  to  himself,  by  observing  the  law  of 
Moses.  He  circumcises  Timothy,  and  he  performs  his 
vows  in  the  temple.  And  he  is  particularly  careful  in  his 
speeches  to  show  how  deep  his  respect  for  the  law  of 
Moses  is  In  this  regard  the  letters  of  St  Paul  are  very 
different  from  his  speeches  as  given  in  the  Acts.  In  the 
Epistle  to  the  Galatians  he  claims  perfect  freedom  for  him- 
self and  the  Gentiles  from  the  observance  of  the  law;  and 
neither  in  it  nor  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  does 
he  take  any  notice  of  the  decision  to  which  the  apostles 
are  said  to  have  come  in  their  meeting  at  Jerusalem.  And 
yet  the  narrative  of  St  Luke  implies  a  different  state  of 
affairs  from  that  which  it  actually  states  in  words;  for  why 
should  the  Jews  hate  St  Paul  so  much  more  than  the  other 
apostles  if  there  was  nothing  special  in  his  attitude  to- 
wards them  t 

We  may  add  to  this,  that  while  St  Luke  gives  a  rather 
minute  account  of  the  sufferings  of  St  Peter  and  the  church 
in  Jerusalem,  he  has  not  brought  prominently  forward  the 
perils  of  St  Paul  St  Paul  enumerates  some  of  his  suffer- 
ings in  the  second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  (chap,  xi 
23-28).  St  Luke  has  omitted  a  great  number  of  these. 
Thus,  for  instance,  St  Paul  mentions  that  Le  was  thrice 
shipwrecked.  St  Luke  does  not  notice  one  of  these  ship- 
wrecks,  that  recorded  in  the  Acts  having  taken  place  aftei 
the  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians  were  written.  Some  also 
think  that  St  Luke  details  several  occurrences  which  are 
scarcely  in  harmony  with  the  character  of  St  Paul  They 
say  that  the  dismissal  of  John  Mark,  as  recorded  in  the 
Acts,  is  a  harsh  act.  St  Paul's  remark,  "  I  wist  not  that 
he  is  the  high  priest"  (xxiii  5),  they  regard  as  doubtful  in 
point  of  honesty.  And  the  way  by  which  he  gained  the 
Pharisees  to  his  side,  in  opposition  to  the  Sadducees,  thev 
describe  as  an  expedient  unworthy  the  character  of  this 
fearless  apostle  (xxiiL  6). 

St  Luke  occasionally  alludes,  in  the  Acts,  to  events  which 
took  place  outside  of  the  church.  We  can  test  his  accu- 
racy in  recording  these  events  by  comparing  his  narrative 
with  the  narratives  of  historians  who  treat  of  the  same 
period.  These  historians  are  Josephus,  Tacitus,  and 
Suetonius.  Now,  here  again  we  find  that  the  accounts  in 
the  Acts  generally  agree.  Indeed,  Holtzmann  has  noticed 
that  all  the  external  events  mentioned  in  the  Acts  are  also 
to  be  found  in  Josephus.  We  may  therefore  omit  Tacitus 
and  Suetoniug,  and  confine  ourselves  to  Josephus.  Three 
narratives  deserve  minute  examination.  The  first  is  the 
death  of  Herod  Agrippa.  Josephus  says  (Ant.  xix.  8,  2) 
that  Herod  was  at  Csesarea  celebrating  a  festival  in  honour 
of  the  Caesar.  On  the  second  day  of  the  spectacle,  the 
king  put  on  a  robe  made  entirely  of  silver,  and  entered  the 
theatre  early  in  the  day.  The  sun's  rays  fell  upon  the 
silver,  and  a  strong  impression  was  produced  on  the  people, 
so  that  his  flatterers  called  out  that  he  was  a  god.  He 
did  not  check  their  impiety,  but  soon,  on  looking  up  he 
saw  an  owl  perched  above  his  hes.J  ,on  a  rope.  He  at 
once  recognised,  in  the  bird  the  harbinger  of  evil  Imme- 
diately he  was  attacked  by  violent  pains  in  the  bowels,  and 
after  five  days'  illness  died.  The  Acts  says  that  Herod 
was  addressing  a  deputation  of  Tyrians  and  Sidonians  in 
Caesarea,  seated  on  the  tribunal  and  arrayed  in  a  royal 


126 


ACTS    OF    THE    APOSTLES 


robe.  The  people  called  out,  "  The  voice  of  a  god,  and  not 
of  a  man."  "  Immediately  an  angel  of  the  Lord  struck  him 
because  he  gavo  not  God  tho  glory,  and  becoming  worm- 
eaten,  he  died"  (xii.  ^1-23).  Both  accounts  agrco  in 
representing  Herod  as  suddenly  struck  with  disease  be- 
cause ha  did  not  check  the  impiety  of  his  flatterers,  but 
they  agree  in  almost  nothing  else;  and  it  is  difficult  to 
ive  that  the  one  writer  knew  the  account  of  the  other. 
Which  account  is  most  to  be  trusted,  depends  upon  the 
answer  given  to  the  question  which  is  the  more  credible  his- 
torian. 

The  second  case  relates  to  the  Egyptian  mentioned  in 
the  question  of  the  tribune  to  St  Paul,  in  Acts  xxi  38, 
"  \  ou  are  not  then  the  Egyptian  who,  some  time  ago,  made 
a  disturbance,  and  led  into  the  wilderness  the  four  thousand 
of  the  sicarii?"  Josephus  mentions  this  Egyptian,  both  in 
his  Antiquities  (xx.  8,  6)  and  in  the  Jewish  War  (ii  13,  5). 
In  the  Jewish  War  (ii.  13,  3),  Josephus  describes  the  sicarii, 
and  then  passes  on,  after  a  short  section,  to  the  Egyptian. 
He  states  that  he  collected  thirty  thousand  people,  led  them 
out  of  tho  wilderness  "  to  the  mount  called  tho  Mount  of 
Olives,  which,"  he  says.(4»i  xx.  8,  6)  in  words  similar  to 
those  in  Acts  L  12,  "lies  opposite  to  the  city  five  furlongs 
distant."  On  this  Felix  attacked  him,  killed  some,  cap- 
tured others,  and  scattered  the  band.  The  Egyptian, 
however,  escaped  with  some  followers.  Hence  the  question 
in  the  Acts.  There  are  some  striking  resemblances  between 
the  words  used  by  both  writers.  The  numbers  differ;  but 
St  Luke  gives  the  numbers  of  tho  sicarii,  Josephus  the 
numbers  of  the  entire  multitude  led  astray. 

The  third  case  is  the  one  which  has  attracted  most 
attention.  In  the  speech  which  Gamaliel  delivers,  in  Acts 
v.  35-39,  it  is  said,  "  Some  time  before  this,  Theudas  rose 
ap,  saying  that  he  was  some  one,  to  whom  a  number  of 
about  four  hundred  men  attached  themselves,  who  was  cut 
off,  and  all  who  followed  him  were  broken  up  and  came  to 
nought.  After  him  rose  up  Judas  the  Galilean,  in  the  days 
of  the  registration,  and  he  took  away  people  after  him; 
and  he  also  perished,  and  all  that  followed  him  were  scat- 
tered." On  turning  to  Josephus  we  find  that  both  Theudas 
and  Judas  the  Galilean  are  mentioned.  The  circumstances 
related  of  both  are  the  same  as  in  the  Acts,  but  the 
dates  are  different.  According  to  Josephus,  Theudas 
gave  himself  out  as  a  prophet,  in  the  reign  of  Claudius, 
more  than  ten  years  after  the  speech  of  Gamaliel  had  been 
delivered,  while  Judas  appeared  at  the  period  of  the 
registration,  and  therefore  a  considerable  time  before 
Theudas.  To  explain  this  difficulty,  some  have  supposed 
that  there  may  have  been  another  Theudas  not  men- 
tioned by  Josephus,  or  that  Josephus  is  wrong  in  his 
chronology.  Others  suppose  that  St  Luke  made  a  mis- 
take in  regard  to  Theudas,  and  is  right  in  regard  to 
Judas.  K  im  maintains  that  St  Luke  has  made  the  mis- 
take, and  suggests  that  possibly  it  may  be  based  upon  the 
passage  of  Josephus;  and  Holtzmann  has  gone  more 
minutely  into  this  argument.  Holtzmann  draws  attention 
to  the  nature  of  the  sections  of  Josephus  which  contain  the 
references  to  Theudas  and  Judas  (Ant.  xx.  5,  1,  2).  He 
says  that  nearly  all  the  principal  statements  made  in  these 
short  sections  emerge  somewhere  in  the  Acts :  the  census 
of  Quirinus,  the  great  famine,  Alexander  as  a  member  of  a 
noble  Jewish  family,  and  Ananias  as  high  priest.  More- 
over, St  Luke  has  preserved  the  order  of  Josephus  in  men- 
tioning Theudas  and  Judas;  but  Josephus  says  "  the  sons 
of  Judas,"  whereas  St  Luke  says  "  Judas."  "  Is  it  not 
likely,"  Holtzmann  argues,  "  that  St  Luke  had  before  his 
mind  this  passage  of  Josephus,  but  forgot  that  it  was  the 
sons  of  Judas  that  were  after  Theudas,  and  not  the  father?" 
He  adds  also,  that  in  tho  short  passage  in  the  Acts  thpre 
are  five  peculiar  expressions,  identical  or  nearly  identical 


with  the  expressions  used  by  Josephus,  and  comes  to  the 
conclusion  that  St  Luke  knew  the  works  of  Josepnus.  He 
finds  further  traces  of  this  knowledge  in  tho  circumstance 
that,  in  Acts  xiii.  20-21,  St  Luke  agrees  in  his  statements 
with  Josephus  where  both  differ  from  the  0;d  Testament 
Ho  also  adduces  certain  Greek  words  which  he  supposes 
St  Luke  derived  from  bis  reading  of  Josephus.  Max 
Krenkel,  in  making  an  addition  to  this  argument,  tries  to 
show,  from  a  comparison  of  passages,  that  St  Luke  had 
Josephus  before  liis  mind  in  the  narrative  of  tho  childhood 
of  Christ;  and  he  supposes  that  the  expedient  attributed 
to  tho  apostle  Paul, -of  setting  tho  Pharisees  against  tho 
Sadducees  (Acts  xxiii.  6),  is  based  upon  a  similar  narrative 
given  in  Josephus  (Bell.  Jud.  ii.  21,  3,  and  Vita,  20  ff.). 
The  importance  of  this  investigation  is  great;  for  if  Holtz- 
mann and  Exenkel  were  to  prove  their  point,  a  likelihood 
would  be  established  that  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  or  at 
least  a  portion  of  it,  was  written  after  93  A.D.,  the  year 
in  which  the  Antiquities  of  Josephus  was  pubhshed,  accord- 
ing to  a  passago  occurring  in  the  work  itself.  Meanwhile, 
the  fact  that  important  portions  of  the  narrative  must  have 
been  written  by  an  eye-witness  of  tho  events  recorded, 
combined  with  tho  unity  of  style  and  purpose  in  the  book, 
are  cogent  arguments  on  the  other  side. 

The  speeches  in  the  Acts  deserve  special  notice.  Tho 
question  occurs  here,  Did  St  Luke  follow  the  plan  adopted 
by  all  historians  of  his  age,  or  is  he  a  singular  exception! 
The  historians  of  his  age  claimed  the  liberty  of  working 
up,  in  their  own  language,  the  speeches  recorded  by  them. 
They  did  not  dream  of  verbal  accuracy ,  oven  when  they 
had  the  exact  words  of  the  speakers  before  them,  they 
preferred  to  mould  the  thoughts  of  the  speakers  into  their 
own  methods  of  presentation.  Besides  this,  historians  do 
not  hesitate  to  give  to  the  characters  of  their  history  speeches 
which  they  never  uttered.  The  method  of  direct  speech  is 
useful  in  producing  a  vivid  idea  of  what  was  supposed  to 
pass  through  the  mind  of  the  speaker,  and  therefore  is 
used  continually  to  make  the  narrative  lively.  Now  it  is 
generally  believed  that  St  Luke  has  followed  the  practice 
of  his  contemporaries.  There  are  some  of  his  speeches 
that  are  evidently  the  summaries  of  thoughts  that  passed 
through  the  minds  of  individuals  or  of  multitudes.  Others 
unquestionably  claim  to  be  reports  of  speeches  really 
delivered.  But  all  these  speeches  have,  to  a  large  extent, 
the  same  style  as  that  of  the  narrative.  They  have  passed 
to  a  large  extent  through  the  writer's  mind,  and  are  given 
in  his  words.  They  are,  moreover,  all  of  them  the  merest 
abstracts.  The  speech  of  St  Paul  at  Athens,' as  given  by 
St  Luke,  would  not  occupy  more  than  a  minute  and  a  half 
in  delivery.  The  longest  speech  in  the  Acts,  that  of  the 
martyr  Stephen,  would  not  take  more  than  ten  minutes  to 
deliver.  It  is  not  likely  that  either  speech  lasted  so  short 
a  time.  But  this  circumstance,  while  destroying  their 
verbal  accuracy,  docs  not  destroy  their  authenticity;  and 
it  must  strike  all  that,  in  most  of  the  speeches,  there  is  a 
singular  appropriateness,  there  is  an  exact  fitting-in  of 
the  thoughts  to  the  character,  and  there  are  occasionally 
allusions  of  an  obscure  nature,  which  point  very  clearly  to 
their  authenticity.  The  one  strong  objection  urged  against 
this  inference,  is  that  the  speeches  of  St  Peter  and  St 
Paul  show  no  doctrinal  differences,  such  as  are  said  to 
appear  in  the  Epistles;  but  the  argument  has  no  force, 
unless  it  be  proved  that  St  Paul's  doctrine  of  justification 
is  different  from  the  creed  of  St  Peter  or  St  James. 

Not  the  least  important  of  the  questions  which  influence 
critics  in  determining  the  authorship  of  the  Acts  is  that  of 
miracles.  Most  of  those  who  think  that  miracles  are  im- 
possible, come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  narratives  con- 
y  them  arc  legendary,  and  accordingly  they  maintain 
that  the  first  portion  of  the  Acts,  relating  to  the  early 


ACTS    OF    THE    APOSTLES 


127 


church  in  Jerusalem  and  to  tit  Feler,  is  in  the  highest 
degree  untrustworthy.  The  writer,  it  is  maintained,  had 
no  personal  knowledge  of  those  early  days,  and  received 
the  stories  after  they  had  gone  through  a  long  process  of 
transmutation.  They  appeal,  for  instance,  to  the  account 
of  the  Pentecost,  where  the  miracle  of  speaking  with  tongues 
is  described.  They  say  that  it  is  plain,  on  a  comparison  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  with  the  Acts,  that  St  Paul 
meant  one  thing  by  the  gift  of  tongues,  and  the  writer  of 
the  Acts  another.  And  the  inference  is  at  hand  that,  if 
'the  writer  had  known  St  Paul,  he  would  have  known  what 
the  gift  of  tongues  was;  and  the  possibility  of  such  a 
mistake,  it  is  said,  implies  a  considerable  distance  from  the 
time  of  the  apostles  and  the  primitive  church.  They 
point  also  to  the  curious  parallelism  between  the  miracles 
of  St  Peter  and  those  of  St  Paul  St  Peter  begins  his 
series  of  miracles  by  healing  a  lame  man  (iii.  2);  so  does  St 
Paul  (xiv.  8).  St  Peter  exorcises  evil  spirits  (v.  •  1 6 ;  viii.  7) ; 
so  does  St  Paul  (xix.  15;  xvi.  18).  If  St  Peter  deals  with 
the  magician  Simon,  St  Paul  encounters  Elymas.  If  St 
Peter  punishes  with  death  (v.  Iff.),  St  Paul  punishes  with 
blindness  (xiii.  6ff.).  If  St  Peter  works  miracles  by  his 
shadow  (v.  15),  not  less  powerful  are  the  aprons  and  nap- 
kins of  St  Paid  (xix.  12).  And,  finally,  if  St  Peter  can 
raise  Tabitha  from  the  dead  (ix.  36),  St  Paul  is  equally 
successful  in  the  case  of  Eutychus  (xx.  9).  It  is  easy  to 
see,  also,  that  since  there  is  no  contemporary  history  with 
which  to  compare  the  statements  in  the  Acts,  and  since 
many  of  the  statements  are  of  a  summary  nature,  and  very 
few  dates  are  given,  a  critic  who  believes  the  narratives 
legendary  will  have  no  difficulty  in  finding  many  elements 
in  the  narratives  confirmatory  of  his  belief.  But  to  those 
who  believe  in  miracles  the  rest  of  the  narrative  seems 
plain  and  unvarnished.  The  parallelism  between  the 
miracles  of  St  Peter  and  St  Paul  is  accounted  for  by  the 
fact  that  they  acted  in  similar  circumstances,  and  that 
actual  events  were  at  hand  on  which  to  base  the  paral- 
lelism. At  the  same  time,  some  who  believe  in  the  possi- 
bility of  miracles  think  that  the  Acts  presents  peculiar 
difficulties  in  thi3  matter.  They  say  that  the  healing  by 
means  of  shadows  and  aprons  is  of  a  magical  nature;  that 
the  death  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  and  the  other  destruc^ 
tive  miracles,  are  out  of  harmony  with  the  rest  of  the 
miracles  of  the  New  Testament;  and  that  the  earthquakes 
that  release  St  Peter  and  St  Paul  seem  purposeless.  The 
difficulties  on  this  head,  though  real,  are  not  however  of 
great  importance,  nor  do  they  tell  very  seriously  against 
the  received  opinion  that  St  Luke  is  the  author  of  the  work. 
We  haTe  thus  given  a  general  summary  of  the  questions 
which  come  up  in  investigating  the  authorship  of  the  Acts, 
and  of  the  arguments  used  in  settling  this  point.  The 
conclusions  based  upon  this  evidence  are  very  different. 
Some  join  the  traditional  opinion  of  the  ch  xch  to  the 
modern  idea  of  Inspiration,  and  maintain  th  it  St  Luke 
was  the  author  of  the  work,  that  every  d  screpancy  is 
merely  apparent,  and  that  every  speech  cont  ins  the  real 
and  genuine  words  of  the  speaker.  Others  .jaintain  that 
St  Luke  is  the  writer,  and  that  the  book  is  justly  placed 
in  the  canon;  that  the  narrative  is,  on  the  whole,  thoroughly 
trustworthy,  and  that  neither  its  canonicity  nor  credibility 
is  affected  by  the  existence  of  real  discrepancies  in  the 
narrative.  Others  hold  that  St  Luke  is  the  author,  but 
that  we  have  got  in  the  book  an  ordinary  narrative,  with 
portions  credible  and  portions  incredible;  that  for  the 
early  portions  of  the  work  he  had -to  trust  mainly  to  his 
memory,  dulled  by  distance  from  the  scene  of  action  ard 
by  lapse  of  time,  and  that  he  has  given  what  he  knew 
with  the  uncritical  indifference  to  minute  accuracy  in  time, 
circumstance,  and  word,  which  characterises  all  his  con-, 
temporaries.     Others  maintain  that  St  Luke  is  the  author,  | 


but  that,  being  a  credulous  and  unscientific  Christian,  he 
recorded  indeed  in  honesty  all  that  he  knew,  but  that  he 
was  deluded  in  his  belief  of  miracles,  and  is  offen  inaccu- 
rate in  his  statement  of  facts.  Others  tliink  that  St  Luko 
was  not  the  author  of  the  work.  He  may  have  been  the 
original  author  of  the  diary  of  the  Apostle  Paul's  travels 
in  which  the  "  we "  occurs;  but  the  author  of  the  Acts 
did  not  write  the  diary,  but  inserted  it  into  his  narrative 
after  altering  it  for  a  special  purpose,  and  the  narrative 
was  written  long  after  St  Paul  and  St  Luke  were  dead. 
Others  think  that  in  the  Acts  we  have  the  work  of  Timothy 
or  of  Silas,  or  of  some  one  else.  A  conc'derable  number 
imagine  that  St  Luke  had  different  written  documents 
before  him  while  composing,  and  a  very  few  think  that  the 
work  is  the  work  of  more  than  one  writer.  But  as  we 
have  intimated,  the  weight  of  testimony  is  in  favour  of  ,St 
Luke's  authorship. 

Purpose. — \Te  have  seen  that  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
is  the  work  of  one  author  possessed  of  no  inconsiderable 
skill  This  author  evidently  omits  many  things  that  he 
knew;  he  gives  a  short  account  of  others  of  which  he 
could  have  supplied  accurate  details,  and,  as  in  the  case  of 
St  Paul,  he  has  brought  forward  one  side  of  the  character 
prominently,  and  thrown  the  other  into  the  shade.  'What 
motive  could  have  led  him  to  act  thus?  What  object  had 
he  in  inserting  what  he  has  inserted,  and  omitting  what  he 
has  omitted?  Most  of  the  answers  given  to  these  questions 
have  no  important  bearing  on  the  question  of  the  author- 
ship of  the  Acts.  But  the  case  is  different  with  the  answer 
of  the  Tubingen  school.  The  Tubingen  school  maintains 
that  St  Paul  taught  that  the  law  was  of  no  avail  to  Jew 
and  Gentile,  and  that,  therefore,  the  observance  of  it  was 
unnecessary ;  that  St  Peter  and  the  other  apostles  taught 
that  the  observance  of  the  law  was  necessary,  and  that 
they  separated  from  St  Paul  on  this  point ;  and  that  the 
early  Christians  were  divided  into  two  great  classes — those 
who  held  with  St  Paul,  or  the  Gentile  Christians,  and 
those  who  held  with  St  Peter,  or  the  Jewish  Christians. 
They  further  maintain  that  there  prevailed  a  violent  con- 
troversy between  these  two  parties  in  the  church,  until  a 
fusion  took  place  towards  the  middle  of  the  second  half  of 
the  second  century,  and  the  Catholic  Church  arose.  At  what 
stage  of  this  controversy  was  the  Acts  written  ?  is  the  ques- 
tion they  put.  St  Peter,  we  have  seen,  is  represented  in 
the  Acts  as  opening  the  church  to  the  Gentiles.  St  Peter 
and  the  rest  of  the  apostles  at  Jerusalem  admit  the 
Gentiles  on  certain  gentle  conditions  of  refraining  from 
things  offered  to  idols,  from  animals  suffocated,  from  blood, 
and  from  fornication.  What  could  be  the  object  of  xsuch 
statements  but  to  convince  the  Jewish  Christians  that 
they  were  wrong  in  pertinaciously  adhering  to  their  entire 
exclusion  of  the  Gentiles,  or  insisting  on  their  observance 
of  the  entire  law  ?  But  St  Paul  is  represented  as  observ- 
ing the  law,  as  sent  forth  by  St  Peter  and  the  other 
apostles,  as  going  continually  to  the  Jews  first,  and  as 
appearing  in  the  temple  and  coming  up  with  collections 
for  the  Jerusalem  church.  Was  not  this  also  intended  to 
reconcile  the  Jewish  Christians  to  St  Paul?  Then  the 
great  doctrines  of  St  Paul  all  but  vanish — free  grace,  justi- 
fication by  faith  alone,  redemption  through  the  blood  of 
Christ, — all  that  is  characteristic  of  St  Paul  disappears,  except 
his  universalism,  and  that  is  modified  by  the  decree  of  the 
apostles,  the  cireumcision  of  Timothy,  and  St  Paul's  observ- 
ance of  the  law.  The  object  of  all  this,  they  affirm,  must  be 
to  reconcile  the  Jewish  party  by  concessions.  But  there  is 
said  to  be  also  another  object,  of  minor  importance  indeed, 
but  still  quite  evident  and  falling  in  with  the  other. 
Throughout  the  Acts  St  Paul  is  often  accused  of  turning 
the  world  upside  down  and  causing  disturbances.  The 
Jewish  Christians  may  have  thought  that  St  Paul  was  to 


128 


ACT-ACT 


Mame  in  this  matter,  and  that  St  Paul's  opinions  were 
peculiarly  calculated  to  stir  up  persecution  against  the 
Christians.  The  stories  in  the  Acts  were  devised  to  con- 
vince them  that  they  were  mistaken  in  this  supposition. 
On  every  occasion  in  which  St  Paul  is  accused  before 
magistrates,  and  especially  Roman  magistrates,  he  is  ac- 
quitted. Gallio,  the  town-clerk  of  Ephesus,  Lysias,  Felix, 
and  Festus,  all  declare  that  St  Paul  has  done  nothing  con- 
trary to  the  law.  And  while  the  Romans  thus  free  him 
from  all  blame,  it  is  the  Jews  who  are  always  accusing  him. 

We  have  here  reproduced  the  argument  of  Zeller,  who 
has  given  the  most  thorough  exposition  of  an  opinion  held 
also  by  Baur,  Schwegler,  and  others.  The  argument  fails 
to  have  effect  if  the  assumption  that  St  Paul  and  St  Peter 
differed  radically  is  rejected.  It  also  suffers  from  the  cir- 
cumstance, that  there  is  no  historical  authentication  of  the 
church  being  in  such  a  state  in  the  first  half  of  the  second 
century,  that  this  attempt  at  reconciliation  could  take 
place  within  it.  Moreover,  the  writing  of  a  fictitious 
production  seems  an  extraordinary  means  for  any  one  to 
employ  in  order  to  effect  reconciliation,  especially  if,  as 
Zeller  imagines,  the  church  in  Rome  was  specially  con- 
templated. The  church  in  Rome  and  the  other  Christian 
churches  had  St  Paul's  Epistles  to  the  Romans,  Corinthians, 
and  Galatians  before  them  They  could  be  in  no  doubt  as 
to  what  were  hi3  sentiments.  They  must  also  have  had 
some  history  of  his  career ;  and  no  object  could  be  effected 
by  attempting  to  palm  upon  them  a  decree  of  apostles 
which  never  existed,  or  a  history  of  St  Peter  and  St  Paul 
contradicted  by  what  they  knew  of  both. 

Overbeck,  finding  this  solution  of  Zeller  unsatisfactory, 
thinks  that  the  object  of  the  Acts  is  to  help  the  Gentile- 
Christian  Church  of  the  first  half  of  the  second  century,  now 
far  removed  from  Paulinism  and  strongly  influenced  by 
Judaism,  to  form  a  clear  idea  of  its  own  past,  especially  of 
its  own  origin  and  of  its  founder  St  PauL  It  is  thus,  he 
maintains,  an  historical  novel,  somewhat  like  the  Clemen- 
tinea,  devised  to  realise  the  state  of  the  church  at  an  earlier 
period. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  enumerate  all  the  other  objects 
which  have  been  set  forth  as  the  special  aim  of  the  Acts. 
Some  think  that  it  was  a  work  written  for  the  private  use  of 
Theophilus,  and  aimed,  therefore,  at  giving  him.the  special 
information  which  he  required.  Others  think  that  it  is 
intended  to  describe  the  spread  of  the  gospel  from 
Jerusalem  to  Rome.  Others  believe  that  tho  writer  wished 
to  defend  the  character  of  the  Apostle  PauL  Some  of  the 
more  recent  members  of  the  Tubingen  school  think  that 
it  was  intended  to  distort  the  character  of  St  Paul,  and 
that  the  image  of  him  given  in  the  Acts  is  an  intermediate 
stage  between  the'  real  Paul  and  the  caricature  supposed 
by  them  to  be  made  of  him  under  the  name  of  Simon  in 
the  Clementines. 

Date. — There  are  no  sure  data  for  determining  the  date. 
Appeal  used  to  be  made  to  Acts  viii  26,  "  Unto  the  way 
which  goeth  down  from  Jerusalem  to  Gaza,  which  is 
desert."  But  most  probably  it  is  the  way  which  is  here 
said  to  be  desert  or  lonely.  But  even  if  the  word  "  desert " 
or  "  lonely  "  be  applied  to  Gaza,  we  get  nothing  out  of  it. 
Accordingly,  in  the  absence  of  data  very  various  dates 
have  been  assigned.  Some  think  that  it  was  written  at 
the  time  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter  of  Acts,  when  St 
Paul  had  been  two  years  in  Rome.  Some  think  that  it 
must  have  been  written  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  as  they 
believe  that  the  gospel  was  written  after  that  event. 
Tremens  though*-  that  it  was  written  after  the  death  of  St 
Peter  and  St  Paul  (H.  iii.  1).  Others  think  that  St  Luke 
must  have  written  it  at  a  late  period  of  his  life,  about  the 
year  80  a.d.  The  Tubingen  Bchool  think  that  it  was  writ- 
ten some  time  in  the  second  century,  most  of  them  agree- 


ing on  the  second  or  third  decade  of  that  century,  about 
1 25  A.D.  They  argue  that  a  late  date  is  proved  by  the 
nature  of  tho  purpose  which  occasioned  the  work,  by  the 
representation  which  it  gives  of  the  relation  of  the  Christians 
to  the  Roman  state,  and  by  the  traces  of  Gnosticism  (xx. 
29),  and  of  a  'hierarchical  constitution  of  the  church 
(L  17,  20;  viii  14,  ff.;  xv.  28 ;  xx.  17,  28)  to  be  fouDd 
in  the  Acts. 

Place. — There  is  no  satisfactory  evidence  by  which  to 
settle  the  place  of  composition.  Later  fatheis  of  the 
church  and  the  subscriptions  of  late  MSS.  mention  Achaia, 
Attica,  Alexandria,  Macedonia,  and  Rome.  And  these 
places  have  all  had  their  supporters  in  modern  times. 
Some  have  also  tried  to  show  that  it  was  written,  in  Asia, 
Minor,  probably  at  Ephesus.  The  most  likely  supposition 
is  that  it  wa3  written  at  Rome;  Zeller  has  argued  with 
great  plausibility  for  this  conclusion. 

There  is  a  largo  literature  on  the  subject  of  this  article, 
but  the  most  important  treatises  are  those  of  Schwanbeck, 
Schneckenburger,  Lekebusch,  Zeller,  Trip,  Klostermann, 
and  (ErteL  Zeller's  work  deserves  special  praise  for  its 
thoroughness.  Various  other  writers  have  discussed  the  sub- 
ject in  works  dealing  with  this  among  others ;  as  Baur  in  his 
Paulus;  Schwegler  in  his  NachaposlolischesZeitalter  ;  Ewa)d 
in  his  History  of  Israel ;  Renan  in  his  Apostles;  Hausrath 
in  his  New  Testament  History;  and,  in  a  more  conservative 
manner,  Nftsmder,  Baumgarten,  Lechler,  Thiersch,  and 
Lange.  Of  commentaries,  the  best  on  the  Tubingen  side 
is  -that  of  De  Wette,  remodelled  by  Overbeck,  and  that  of 
the  more  conservative.  Meyer  is  especially  good.  In  English 
we  have  an  able  treatment  of  the  subject  in  Dr  Davidson's 
Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  New  Testament;  we  have  com- 
mentaries by  Biscoe,  Humphry,  Hackett,  Cook,  Words- 
worth, Alford,  and  Gloag ;  and  dissertations  by  Paley, 
Birks,  Lewin,  Conybeare,  and  Howson. 

There  are  various  other  treatises  claiming  to  be  Acts 
of  Apostles.  One  or  two  of  these  must  have  existed  at  an 
early  date,  though,  no  doubt,  they  have  since  received 
large  interpolations.  But  most  of  them  belong  to  C  late 
period,  and  all  of  them  are  acknowledged  to  be  apocryphal 
They  are  edited  by  Tischendorf  in  his  Acta  Apostolorum 
Apocrypha  (Lipsia?,  1851),  and  have  been  translated,  with 
an  introduction  giving  information  as  to  their  origin  and 
dates,  by  Mr  Walker,  in  vol.  xvi.  of  the  Ante-Nicene 
Library.  (j.  D.) 

ACTA  CONSISTORIL  the  edicts  of  the  consistory  or 
council  of  state  of  the  Roman  emperors.  These  edicts  were 
generally  expressed  in  such  terms,  as  these :  "  The  august 
emperors,  Diocletian  and  Maximian,  in  council  declare,  That 
the  children  of  decurions  shall  not  be  exposed  to  wild  beasts 
in  the  amphitheatre." — The  senate  and  soldiers  often  swore, 
either  through  flattery  or  on  compulsion,  upon  the  edicts 
of  the  emperor.  The  name  of  a  senator  was  erased  by 
Nero  out  oi  the  register,  because  he  refused  to  swear  upon 
the  edicts  o<  Augustus. 

ACTA  DJ  URNA,  called  also  Ada  Populi,  Acta  Publico, 
and  simply  i  :ta  or  Diurna,  was  a  sort  of  Roman  gazette, 
containing  an  authorised  narrative  of  the  transactions  worthy 
of  notice  which  happened  at  Rome — as  assemblies,  edicta 
of  the  magistrates,  trials,  executions,  buildings,  births, 
marriages,  deaths,  accidents,  prodigies,  <fcc.  Petronius  has 
given  us  an  imitation  specimen  of  the  Acta  Diurna,  one  or 
two  extracts  from  which  may  be  made  to  show  their  style 
and  contents.  The  book-keeper  of  Trimalchio  pretends  to 
read  from  the  Acta  Urbis: — "On  the  30th  of  July,  on  the 
Cuman  farm,  belonging  to  Trimalchio,  wero  born  30  boys 
and  40  girls ;  there  were  brought  into  the  bam  from 
the  threshing-floor  125,000  bushels  of  wheat;  600  oxen 
were  broken  in. — On  the  same  day  the  slave  Mithridates 
was  crucified  for  having  slandered  the  tutelar  deity  of  onr 


A  C  T  — A  C  T 


129 


friend  Gaius. — On  the  same  day  100,000  sesterces,  that 
could  not.  be  invested,  were  put  into  the  inoney-box. — On 
the  same  day  a  tire  broke  out  in  the  gardens  of  Ponipey, 
which  arose  in  the  steward's  house,"  &c.  The  Acta  differed 
from  the  Annals  (which  were  discontinued  in  n.c.  133)  in 
ihis  respect,  among  others,  that  only  the  greater  and  "more 
important  matters  were  given  in  the  latter,  while  in  the 
former  things  of  less  note  also  were  recorded.  The  origin  of 
the  Acta  is  attributed  to  Julius  Cresar.  who  first  ordered  the 
keeping  and  publishing  of  the  acts  of  the  people  by  public 
officers.  Some  trace  them  back  as  far  as  Servius  Tullius, 
who  it  was- believed  ordered  that  the  next  of  kin,  on  occa- 
sion of  a  birth,  should  register  the  event  in  the  temple  o'f 
Venus,  and  on  occasion  of  a  death,  should  register  it  in 
the  temple  of  Libitina.  The  Acta  were  drawn  up  from  day 
to  day,  and  exposed  in  a  public  place  to  be  read  or  copied 
by  all  who  chose  to  do  so.  After  remaining  there  for  a 
reasonable  time  they  were  taken  down  and  preserved  with 
other  public  documents. 

ACTA  SENATUS,  among  the'  Komans,  were  minutes 
of  the  discussions  and  decisions  of  the  senate.  These  were 
also  called  Commentarii  Senatus,  and,  by  a  Greek  name, 
uTro/xvy'ifiaTa.  Before  the  consulship  of  Julius  Caesar, 
minutes  of  the  proceedings  of  the  senate  were  written  and 
occasionally  published,  but  unofficially.  Caesar  first 
ordered  the  minutes  to  be  recorded  and  published  autho- 
ritatively. The  keeping  of  them  was  continued  by 
Augustus,  but  the  publication  was  forbidden.  Some  pro- 
minent senator  was  usually  chosen  to  draw  up  these  Acta. 
ACT/EON,  in  Eabulous  History,  son  of  Aristasus  and 
Autonoe,  a  famous  hunter.  He  was  torn  to.  pieces'  by  his 
own  dog's.  Various  accounts  are  given  of  this  occurrence; 
but  the  best  known  story  is  that  told  by  Ovid,  who  re- 
presents him  as'  accidentally  seeing  Diana  as  she  was 
bathing,  when  she  changed  him  into  a  stag,  and  he  was 
pursued  and  killed  by  his  dogs. 

ACTIAN  GAMES,  in  Roman  Antiquity,  solemn  games 
instituted  by  Augustus,  in  memory  of  bis  victory  over 
Antony  at  Actium.     See  Actium. 

ACTINIA,  a  genus  of  coelenterate  animals,  of  which  the 
sea-anemone  is  the  type.     See  Actinozoa 

ACTINISM  (from  ixrU,  a  ray),  that  property  of  the 
solar  rays  whereby  they  produce  chemical  effects,  as  in 
photography.  The  actinic  force  is  greatest  in  the  blue  and 
violet  rays  of  the  spectrum. 

ACTINOMETER  (measurer  of,  solar  rays),  a  thermo- 
meter with  a  large  bulb,  filled  with  a  dark-blue  fluid,  and 
enclosed  in  a  box,  the.  sides  of  which  are  blackened,  and 
the  whole  covered  with  a  thick  plate  of  glass.  It  was  the 
invention  of  the  late  Sir  John'  Herschel,  and  was  first 
described  in  the  Edinburgh  Journal  of  Science  for  1825. 
It  is  used  for  measuring  the  heating  power  of  the  sun's 
rays,  the  amount  of  which  is  ascertained  by  exposing  the 
bulb  for  equal  intervals  of  time  in  sunshine  and  shade 
alternately. 

ACTINOZOA,  a  group  of  animals,  of  which  the  most 
familiar  examples  are  the  sea-anemones  and  "  coral  insects" 
of  the  older  writers.  The  term  was  first  employed  by 
de  Blainville,  to  denote  a  division  of  the  Animal  Kingdom 
having  somewhat  different  limits  from  that  to  which  its 
application  is  restricted  in  the  present  article';  in  which  it 
is  applied  to  one  of  the  two  great  divisions  of  the  Cielen- 
terata,  the  other  being  the  Hydrozoa. 

The  Actinozoa  agree  with  the  Hydrozoa  in  the  primitive 
and  fundamental  constitution  of  the  body  of  two  membranes, 
an  ectoderm  and  an  endoderm, — between  which  a  middle 
layer  or  mesoderm  may  subsequently  arise,— in  the  absence 
of  a  -completely  differentiated  alimentary  canal,  and  in 
possessing  thread  'cells,  or  nematocysts ;  but  they  present  a 
somewhat  greater  complexity  of  structure. 

1-6 


I  'J  his  is  manifest,  in  the  first  place,  in  their  visceral  tube, 
i  or  '•  stomach,''  ax  it  is  often  called,  which  is  continued  from 
the  margins  of  the  mouth,  for  a  certain  distance,  into  the 
interior  cavity  of  the  body,  but  which  is  always  open  ut  its 
fundus  into  that  cavity.  And.  secondly,  in  the  position  of 
the  reproductive  elements,  which,  in  the  Hydrozoa,  are 
always  developed  in  parts  of  the  body  wall  which  are  in 
immediate  relation  with  tho  external  surface,  and  generally 
form  outward  projections:  while,  in  the  Actinozoa,  they  are 
as  constantly  situated  in  the  lateral  walls  of  the  chambers 
into  which  the  body  cavity  is  divided.  In  consequence  of 
this  arrangement,  the  ova,  or  sexually  generated  embryos, 
of  the  Actinozoa  are  detached  into  the  interior  of  the  body, 
and  usually  escape  from  it  by  the  oral  aperture;  while  thoso 
of  the  Hydrozoa  are  at  once  set  free  on  the  exterior  surface 
of  that  part  of  the  body  in  which  they  are  formed. 

The  Actinozoa  comprise  two  .groups,  which  are  very 
different  in  general  appearance  and  habit,  though  really 
similar  in  fundamental  structure.     These  are — ■ 

1.  The  Coralligcna  or  sea-anemones,  coral  animals,  and 
sea-pens;  and  2.  The  Ctenophora. 

(1.)  The  Coralligcna. — A  common  sea-anemone  presents 
a  subeylindrical  body,  terminated  at  each  end  by  a  disk. 
The    one  of   these   discoidal   ends   serves  to  attach   tho 
ordinarily  sedentary  animal ;   the  other   exhibits  in  the 
centre  a  mouth,  which  is  usually  elongated  in  one  direction, 
and,  at  each  end,  presents  folds  extending  down  into  the 
gastric  cavity.     This  circumstance  greatly  diminishes  the 
otherwise'  generally  radial  symmetry  of  the  disk,  and  of  tho 
series   of   flexible    conical  tentacles  which  start  from  it; 
and,  taken  together  with  some  other  circumstances,  raises 
a  doubt  whether  even  these  animals  are  not  rather  bilater- 
ally, than  radially,  symmetrical     Each  tentacle  is  hollow, 
and  its    base   communicates   with   one   of   the  chambers 
into  which  the  cavity  of  the  body  is  divided,  by  thin 
membranous    lamellae,    the    so-called    mesenteries,   which 
radiate  from  the  oral  disk  and  the  lateral  walls   of  the 
body  to  the  parietes  of  the  visceral  tube.     The  inferior 
edges  of  the  mesenteries  are  free,  and-  arcuated  in  such 
a  manner   as  to  leave  a  central  common   chamber,   into 
the  circumference  of  which  all  the  intermesenteric  spaces 
open,   while   above,    it    communicates    with  the-  visceral 
tube.     The  tentacles  may  be  perforated  at  their  extremi- 
ties, and,  in  some  cases,  the  body  wall  itself  exhibits  aper- 
tures leading  into  the  intermesenteric  spaces.  The  free  edges 
of  the  mesenteries  present  thickenings,  like  the  hem  of  a 
piece  of  linen,  each  cf  which  is  much  longer  than  the  distance 
between  the  gastric  and  the  parietal  attachment  of  the 
mesentery,  and  hence  is  much  folded  on  itself.     It  is  full 
of  thread  cells.     The  mesoderm,  or  middle  layer  of  the 
body,  which  lies  between  the  ectoderm  and  the  endoderm, 
consists  of  a  fibrillated  connective  tissue,  containing  fusi- 
form or  stellate  nucleated  cells,  and  possesses  longitudinal  and 
circular  muscular  fibres.   These  are  prolonged  into  the  mesen- 
teries, and  attain  a  great  development  in  the  disk  of  attach- 
ment, which  serves  as  a  sort  of  foot  like  that  of  a  limpet. 

The  question  whether  the  Coralligcna  possess  a  nervous 
system  and  organs  of-  s"ense,  hardly  admits  of  a  definite 
answer  at  present.  It  is  only  in  the  Actinidae  that  the 
existence  of  such  organs  has  been  asserted;  and  the  nervous 
circlet  of  Actinia,  described  by  Spix,  has  been  seen  by  no 
later  investigator,  and  may  be  safely  assumed  to  be  non- 
existent. But  Professor  P.  M.  Duncan,  F.R.S.,  in  a  paper 
"  On  the  Nervous  System  of  Actinia,"  recently  communi- 
cated to  the  Royal  Society,  has  affirmed  the  existence  of  a 
nervous  apparatus,  consisting  of  fusiform  ganglionic  cells, 
united  by  nerve  fibres,  which  resemble  the  sympathetic 
nerve  fibrils  of  tho  Vcrtcbrata,  and  form  a  plexus,  which 
appears  to  extend  throughout  the  pedal  disk,  and  very 
probably   into   other   parts   of   the   body.    '  In   some  of 


130 


ACTINOZOA 


the  ActinidcB  {e.g.,  Adinia  mesemhryanthemum),  brightly 
coloured  bead-like  bodies  are  situated  on  the  oral  disk  out- 
side the  tentacles.  The  structure  of  these  "chromato- 
phorcj,"  or  "  bourses  calicinales."  has  been  carefully  investi- 
gated by  Schneider  and  Rbttekem,  and  by  Professor 
Duncan.  They  are  diverticula  of  the  body  wall,  the  sur- 
face of  which  is  composed  of  close-set  "bacilli,"  beneath 
which  lies  a  layer  of  strongly-refracting  spherules,  followed 
by  another  layer  of  no  less  strongly  refracting  cones.  Sub- 
jacent to  these  Professor  Duncan  finds  ganglion  cells  and 
cerve  plexuses.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  these  bodies 
are  rudimentary  eyes. 

At  the  breeding  season  the  ova  or  spermatozoa  are 
evolved  in  the  thickness  of  the  mesenteries,  and  are  dis- 
charged into  tho  intermesenteric  spaces,  the  ova  undergo- 
ing their  development  within  tho  body  of  tho  parent.  The 
yelk,  usually,  if  not  always,  enclosed  in  a  vitelline  membrane, 
undergoes  complete  division,  and  tho  outer  wall  of  the 
ciliated  blastodermic  mass  which  results  becomes  invagi- 
nated,  the  embryo  being  thereby  converted  into  a  double 
walled  sac — the  external  aperture  of  which  is  tho  future 
mouth,  while  the  contained  cavity  represents  the  body  cavity. 
In  this  stage  the  larval  Actinia  represents  the  Oastrula  con- 
dition of  sponges  and  Hydrozoa.  The  edges  of  the  oral 
aperture  grow  inwards,  giving  rise  to  a  circular  fold,  which 
i's  the  rudiment  of  the  visceral  tube.  This  is  at  first  con- 
nected with  the  body  wall  by  only  two  mesenteries,  which  are 
seated  at  opposite  ends  of  one  of  the  transverse  diameters  of 
the  body.  As  the  mesenteries  increase  in  number,  the  ten- 
tacles grow  out  as  diverticula  of  the  intermesenteric  spaces. 

In  all  the  Coralligena,  the  development  of  which  has 
been  observed,  the  embryo  is  converted  into  a  simple 
actinozoon  in  a  similar  manner;  but  from  this  point  they 
diverge  in  two  directions.  In  one  great  group,  the  mesen- 
teries, and  the  tentacles  which  arise  from  the  intermesen- 
teric chambers,  increase  in  number  to  six ;  and  then,  in  the 
great  majority  of  cases,  the  intermesenteric  spaces  undergo 
subdivision  by  the  development  of  new  mesenteries,  accord- 
ing to  curious  and  somewhat  cpmplicated  numerical  laws, 
until  their  number  is  increased  to  some  multiple  of  five 
or  six.  In  these  Uexacoralla  (as  they  have  been  termed 
by  Haeckel)  the  tentacles  also  usually  remain  rounded  and 
conical.  In  the  other  group,  tho  Octocoralla,  the  mesen- 
teries and  the  tentacles  increase  to  eight,  but  do  not  sur- 
pass that  number;  and  the  tentacles  become  flattened  and 
serrated  at  the  edges,  or  take  on  a  more  or  less  pennatifid 
character. 

There  are  no  Octocoralla  which  retain  the  simple  indivi- 
duality of  the  young  actinozoon  throughout  life :  but  all  in- 
crease by  gemmation,  and  give  rise  to  compound  organisms, 
which  may  be  arborescent,  and  fixed  bv  the  root  end  of  the 
common  stem,  as  in  the  Alcyonidce  and  Qoraonidoy:  or  may 
possess  a  central  stem  which  is  not  fixed,  and  gives  off 
lateral  branches  which  undergo  comparatively  little  sub- 
division, as  in  the  Pennatulidoe. 

The  body  cavities  of  the  eob'ids  of  these  compound 
Octocoralla  are  in  free  communication  with  a  set  of  canals 
which  ramify  through  the  ccenosarc.  or  common  fabric  of 
the  stem  and  branches  by  which  they  are  borne,  and  which 
play  the  part  of  a  vascular  system. 

Except  in  the  case  of  Tubipora,  the  zobids  and  the  super- 
ficial ccenosarc  give  rise  to  no  continuous  skeleton :  but  the 
deep  or  inner  substance  of  the  coenosaro  may  be  converted 
into  a  solid  rod-like  or  branching  stem. 

In  the  Uexacoralla.  on  the  other  hand,  one  large 
group,  that  of  the  Aclinidce.  consists  entirely  of  simple 
organisms, — organisms  that  is.  in  which  the  primitive 
actinozoon  attains  its  adult  condition  without  budding  or 
fission;  or  if  it  bud  or  divide,  the  products  of  the  operation 
separate  from  one  another     No  true  skeleton  is  formed. 


all  are  to  some  extent  locomotive,  and  some  (Minyas)  <W> 
freely  by  tho  help  of  their  contractile  pedal  regipn.  The 
most  remarkable  form  of  this  group  is  the  genus  Cereanthxu, 
which  has  two  circlets,  each  composed  of  numerous  tentacles, 
one  immediately  around  the  oral  aperture,  the  other  at 
the  margin  of  the  disk.  The  foot  is  elongated,  subcorneal, 
and  generally  presents  a  pore  at  its  apex.  Of  the  diametral 
folds  of  the  oral  aperture,  one  pair  is  much  longer  than  the 
other,  and  is  produced  as  far  as  the  pedal  pore.  >  The  larva 
is  curiously  like  a  young  hydrozoon  with  free  tentacles, 
and  at  first  possesses  four  mesenteries,  wheuce  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  Cereanthut  does  not  rather  belong  to  t_._ 
Octocoralla. 

The  Zoanthidm  differ  from  tho  Actinidce  in  little  more 
than  their  multiplication  by  buds,  which  remain  adherent, 
either  by -a  common  connecting  mass  or  ccenosarc  or  by 
stolons;  and  in  the  possession  of  a  rudimentary,  spiculai 
skeleton. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  proper  stone-corals  (as  contra- 
distinguished from  the  red  coral)  are  essentially  Actinice, 
which  become  converted  into  compound  organisms  by 
gemmaticn  or  fission,  and  develope  a  continuous  skeleton. 

The  skeletal  parts1  of  the  Aclinozoa,  to  which  reference 
has  been  made,  consist,  cither  of  a  substance  of  a  homy 
character;  or  of  an  organic  basis  impregnated  with  earthy 
salts  (chiefly  of  lime  and  magnesia),  but  which  can  be 
isolated  by  the  action  of  dilute  acids;  or  finally,  of  cal- 
careous salts  in  an  almost  crystalline  state,  forming  rods 
or  corpuscles,  which,-  when  treated  with  acids,  leave  only 
an  inappreciable  and  structureless  film  of  organic  matter. 
The  hard  parts  of  all  the  Aporosa,  Perforata,  and  Tabu- 
late of  Milne  Edwards  are  in  the  last-mentioned  condition; 
while,  in  the  Octocoralla  (except  Tubipora)  the  Antipathido), 
and  Zoantlridtx,  the  skeleton  is  either  horny,  or  consists,  at 
any  rate,  to  begin  with,  of  definitely  formed  spicula,  which 
contain  an  organic  basis,  and  frequently  present  a  laminated 
structure.  In  the  organ  coral  [Tubipora),  however,  the 
skeleton  has  the  character  of  that  of  the  ordinary  stonc- 
corals,  except  that  it  is  perforated  by  numerous  minute 
canals. 

The  skeleton  appears,  in  all  cases,  to  be  deposited  within 
the  mesoderm,  and  in  the  intercellular  substance  of  that 
layer  of  the  body.  Even  the  definitely  shaped  spicula  of 
the  Octocoralla  are  not  the  result  of  the  metamorphosis 
of  cells.  In  the  simple  aporose  .corals  the  calcification 
of  the  base  and  side  walls  of  the  body  gives  rise  to 
the  cup  01' theca;  from  this  the  calcification  radiates  in- 
wards, in  correspondence  with  the  mesenteries,  and  gives 
rise  to  as  many  vertical  septa,  the  spaces  between  which 
are  termed  loculi;  while,  in  the  centre,  either  by  union  of 
the  septa  or  independently,  a  pillar,  the  columella,  grows 
up.  From  the  sides  of  adjacent  septa  scattered  processes 
of  calcified  substance,  or  synapticulce,  may  grow  out 
toward  one  another,  as"  in  the  Fungidce;  or  the  interrup- 
tion of  the  cavities  of  the  loculi  may  be  more  complete  by 
the  formation  of  shelves  stretching  from  septum  to 
septum,  but  lying  at  different  heights  in  adjacent  loculi. 
These  are  interseptal  dissepiments.  Finally,  in  the  Tabutata, 
horizontal  plates,  which  stretch  completely  across  the  cavity 
of  the  theca,  are  formed  one  above  the  other  and  constitute 
tabular  dissepiments. 

In  the  Aporosa  the  theca  and  septa  are  almost  invariably 
imperforate;  but  in  the  Perforata  they  present  apertures, 
and  in  some  madrepores  the  whole  skeleton  is  reduced 
to  a  mere  network  of  dense  calcareous  substance.  When 
the  Uexacoralla  multiply  by  gemmation  or  fission,  and 
thus  give  rise  to  compound  massive  or  aborescent  aggre- 
gations, each  newly-formed  coral  polype  developes  a  skeleton 

•  See  KoUiker's  hona  Histoloaitx.  1866k 


AOTINOZOA 


131 


of  its  own,  which  is  either  confluent  with  that  of  the 
others,  or  is  united  with  them  by  calcification  of  the  con- 
necting substance  of  the  common  body.  This  intermediate 
skeletal  layer  is  then  termed  ccenenehyma. 

The  Octocoralla  (excepting  Tubipora)  give  rise  to  no  thecce 
and  their  dependencies,  the  skeleton  of  each  polype,  and 
of  the  superficial  portion  of  the  polyparium,  being  always 
composed  of  loose  and  independent  spicula.  But  in  many, 
as  the  Gorgonidae,  Pennatulidce  (and  in  the  Antipalhidce 
among  the  Hexacoralla),  the  central  part  of  the  common 
stem  of  the  compound  organism  becomes  hardened,  either 
by  conversion  into  a  mere  horny  axis  (which  may  be  more 
or  less  impregnated  with  calcareous  salts)  without  spicula; 
or  the  cornification  may  be  accompanied  by  a  massive 
development  of  spicula,  either  continuously  or  at  intervals; 
or  the  main  feature  of  the  skeleton  may,  from  the  first,  be 
the  development  of  spicula,  which  become  soldered  together 
by  a  subcrystalline  intermediate  deposit,  as  in  the  red 
coral  of  commerce  (Corallium  rubrum). 

It  has  seemed  advisable  to  say  thus  much  concerning  the 
hard  parts  of  the  Actinozoa  in  this  place,  but  the  details 
of  tho  structure  and  development  of  the  skeleton  of  the 
Coralligena  will  be  discussed  under  Corals  and  Coeax 
Reefs. 

The  Tabulata,  or  Millepores,  and  the  Rugosa,  an  extinct 
and  almost  exclusively  Palaeozoic  group  of  stone-.coral  form- 
ing animals,  are  usually  referred  to  the  Coralligena.  Judg- 
ing by  the  figures  given  by  Agassiz1  of  living  Millepores,  the 
polypes  which  cover  its  surface  are  undoubtedly  much  more 
similar  to  coryinform  Hydrozoa  than  they  a're  to  any 
Actinozoon.  But  it  is  to  be  observed,  firstly,  that  we  have 
no  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  intimate  structure  of  the 
polypes  thus  figured;  and,  secondly,  that  the  figures  show 
not  the  least  indication  of  the  external  reproductive  organs 
which  are  so  conspicuous  in  the  Hydrozoa,  and  which 
surely  must  have  been  present  in  some  one  or  other  of  the 
Millepores  examined,  were  they  really  Hydrozoa.  As  re- 
gards the  Rugosa,  the  presence  of  septa  is  a  strong 
argument  against  their  belonging  to  any  group  but  the 
Actinozoa,  though  it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  a  tendency 
to  the  development  of  septiform  prominei.ee  is  visible  in 
the  walls  of  the  gastric  passages  of  certain  calcareous 
sponges. 

Phenomena  analogous  to  the  "alternation  of  generations," 
which  is  so  common  among  the  Hydrozoa,  are  unknown 
(\mong  the  great  majority  of  the  Actinozoa.  But  Semper2 
has  recently  described  a  process  of  sexual  multiplication 
in  two  species  of  Fungiw,  which  he  ranks  under  this  head. 
The  Fungice  bud  out  from  a  branched  stem,  and  then 
become  detached  and  free,  as  is  the  habit  of  the  genus. 
To  make  the  parallel  with  the  production  of  a  Medusa 
from  a  Scyphistoina  complete,  however,  the  stem  should  be 
nourished  by  an  asexual  polype  of  a  different  charactor  from 
the  forms  of  Fungiaz  which  are  produced  by  gemmation. 
And  this  does  not  appear  to  be  the  case. 

Dimorphism  has  been  observed  by  KSlliker  to  occur 
extensively  among  the  Pennatulidw.  Each  polypary  pre- 
sents at  least  two  different  sets  of  zooids,  some  being 
fully  developed,  and  provided  with  sexual  organs,  while 
the  others  have  neither  tentacles  nor  generative  organs,  and 
exhibit  some  other  peculiarities.3  These  abortive  zooids 
•are  either  scattered  irregularly  among  the  others  {e.g., 
Sarcophyton,  Veretillum),  or  may  occupy  a  definite  position 
(e.g.,  Virgularia). 

(2.)  The  Ctenophora. — These  are  all  freely  swimming, 

1  Contributions  to  the  Natural  History  of  the  United  States,  j  Vc). 
lii.     Plate  xv.  *  ■ 

*  Ueber  Generations-Wechsel  bei  Steinkorallm.     Leipzig,  1872. 
'  Abbandlungen    der    Senkenberyisr-hen    Naturforschenden    Oesell- 
'viaft,  >>d.  vu.  viii. 


actively  locomotive,  marine  animals,  whicn  do  not  multiply 
by  gemmation,  nor  form  compound  organisms  such  as 
the  polyparies  of  the  Coralligena.  Like  the  latter  they 
are  composed  of  a  cellular  ectoderm  and  endoderm,  between 
which  a  mesoderm,  containing  stellate  connective  tissue 
corpuscles  and  muscular  fibres,  i3  interposed.  But,  in  most 
parts  of  the  organism,  the  mesoderm  acquires  a  great  thick- 
ness and  a  gelatinous  consistency;  so  that  the  body  of  one 
of  these  animals  diffeis  in  this  respect  from  that  of  an 
Actinia  in  the  same  way  as  the  body  of  a  Cyancea  differs 
from  that  of  a  Hydra.  The  bilateral  symmetry,  which 
is  obscure  in  most  of  the  Coralligena,  becomes  obvious  in 
the  (Stenopliora,  in  which  the  parts  are  disposed  symmetri- 
cally on  each  side  of  a  vertical  plane  passing  through 
the  longitudinal  axis  of  the  body.  The  oral  aperture 
is  situated  at  one  end  of  this  axis  (or  its  oral  pole),  while 
at  the  opposite  extremity  (or  aboral  pole)  there  is  very 
generally  situated  a  sac  containing  solid  mineral  particles — 
the  lithocyst. 

The  oral  aperture  leads  into  a  visceral  tube,  which 
undoubtedly  performs  the  functions  of  a  stomach.  Never- 
theless, as  in  the  Coralligena,  it  is  open  at  its  aboral  end, 
and  its  cavity  is  thus  placed  in  direct  communication  with 
a  chamber,  whence  canals  are  given  off  which  penetrate  the 
gelatinous  mesoderm.  Of  these  canals,  one  continues  the 
direction  of  the  axis  of  the  body,  and  usually  ends  by  two 
apertures  at  the  aboral  pole.  The  others  take  a  direction 
in  a  plane  more  or  less  at  right  angles  with  the  axis ;  and 
after  branching  out,  terminate  in  longitudinal  canals, 
which  lie  beneath  the  series  of  locomotive  paddles,  or 
come  into  relation  with  the  tentacles  when  such  organs 
are  developed.  In  addition  to  these,  two  canals  frequently 
extend  along  the  sides  of  the  stomach  towards  the  oral  pole. 
The  paddle-like  locomotive  plates  are  disposed  in  eight  longi- 
tudinal series  (ctenophores)  on  the  outer  surface  of  the  body. 
They  are  thick  at  the  base;  thin  and,  as  it  were,  frayed  out 
into  separate  filaments,  at  their  free  edges;  and  each  plate 
is  set  transversely  to  the  long  axis  of  the  series  of  which  it 
forms  a  part.  The  ovaria  and  testes  are  developed  in  the 
side  walls  of  the  longitudinal  canals.  It  is  clear,  therefore, 
that  these  canals  answer  to  the  intermesenteric  spaces  of 
an  Actinia;  that  the  common  cavity  into  which  they  and 
the  stomach  open  answers  to  the  common  cavity  of  the 
body  of  the  Actinia;  that  the  apertures  at  the  aboral  pole 
answer  to  the  terminal  aperture  of  Cereanthus;  and  that 
the  wide  interspaces  between  the  longitudinal  canals  repre- 
sent the  mesoderm  of  the  Actinian  mesenteries  immensely 
thickened. 

In  their  development  the  Ctenophora  resemble  the 
Coralligena  in  all  essential  respects,  though  they  differ 
from  them  in  some  details.  Thus  the  process  of  yelk 
division  goes  on  at  a  different  rate  in  the  two  moieties  of 
the  egg,  so  that  the  vitellus  becomes  divided  into  one  set 
of  small  and  another  set  of  large  cells,  whereof  the  latter 
become  overlaid  by  the  former,  and  give  rise  to  a  large- 
celled  hypoblast,  enclosed  within  a  small-celUd  epiblast. 
But  in  the  manner  in  which  the  body  cavity  is  formed,  and 
the  visceral  tube  (which  becomes  the  stomach)  is  developed, 
the  Ctenophora  resemble  the  Aclinice.  The  paddles  make 
their  appearance  at  four  points  of  the  circumference  of  the 
body,  in  the  form  of  elevations  beset  with  short  cilia;  but 
each  of  these  divides  into  two,  and  thus  the  eight  defini- 
tive series  are  constituted. 

There  is  a  general  agreement  among  anatomists  respect- 
ing the  structure  of  the  Ctenophora  thus  far;  but  the 
question  whether  they  possess  a  nervous  system  and  sensory 
organs  or  not,  is,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Coralligena,  one 
upon  which  there  exists  great  diversity  of  opinion.  Grant 
originally  described  s>  nervous  ganglionated  ring,  whence 
longitudinal    cords   proceed   in    Cydippe  (Pleurobrachia)} 


132 


ACT-AC  T 


but  his  observation  lias  not  been  verified  by  subsequent 
investigations.  According  to  Milne  Edwards,  followed  by 
others  (among  whom  I  must  include  myself),  the  nervous 
system  consists  of  a  ganglion,  situated  at  the  aboral  pole 
of  the  body,  whence  nerves  radiate,  the  most  conspicuous 
of  which  are  eight  cords  which  run  down  the  correspond- 
ing series  of  paddles;  and  a  sensory  organ,  having  the 
characters  of  an  otolithic  sac,  is  seated  upon  the  ganglion. 
Agassiz  and  Kolliker,  on  the  other  hand,  have  denied  that 
the  appearances  described  (though  they  really  exist)  are 
justly  interpreted.  And  again,  though  the  body,  described 
as  an  otolithic  sac,  undoubtedly  exists  in  the  position  indi- 
cated in  all,  or  most,  of  the  Ctenophora,  the  question  has 
been  raised  whether  it  is  an  auditory  or  a  visual  organ. 

These  problems  have  been  recently  reinvestigated 
with  great  care,  and  by  the  aid  of  the  refined  methods 
of  modorn  histology,  by  Dr  Eimer,1  who  describes  a  ner- 
vous system,  consisting  of  extremely  delicate  varicose  ulti- 
mate nerve  fibrils,  which  traverse  the  mesoderm  in  all 
directions,  and  are  connected  here  and  there  with  gan- 
glionic corpuscles.  These  nerves  are  only  discernible  with 
high  magnifying  powers,  as  they  are  for  the  most  part 
isolated,  and  are  collected  into  bundles  only  beneath  the 
longitudinal  canals.  The  mass  which  lies  beneath  the 
•ithocyst  is  composed  of  cells,  but  these  have  none  of  the 
special  characters  of  nerve  cells.  Eimer  states  that  he  has 
traced  the  filaments,  which  he  considers  to  bo  nerves,  into 
direct  continuity  with  muscular  fibres;  and,  around  the 
mouth,  into  subepidermal  bodies,  which  he  regards  as 
rudimentary  forms  of  tactile  corpuscles.  Tho  lithocyst  is 
recognised  as  an  auditory  organ,  and,  in  addition,  eye-spots 
are  described. 

With  a  fundamental  similarity  of  organisation,  the  form 
of  the  body  varies  extraordinarily  in  tho  Ctenophora.  One 
of  the  genera  which  is  commonest  on  our  coasts — Cydippe 
(Pletobrachia) — is  spheroidal;  others (Beroe) are  more  ovate; 
others  are  provided  with  large  lobular  processes  (Eitcharis), 
while  an  extreme  modification,  in  which  tho  body  is 
ribbon  shaped,  is  seen  in  Cesium. 

Tho  Ctenopkora  are  divisible  into  two  very  unequal  groups  :* 
I.  Eurystomala,  in  which  the  large  oral  aperture  occupies  the  trun- 
cated extremity  of  the  oval  body. 

1.  Bcroicke. 

IL  Slcnoatomala,  in  which  the  oral  aperture  and  the  gastric  sac  are 
small  relatively  to  the  size  of  the  body. 

2.  Saccatcc 
8.  Lobatce, 
4.  Tamiatae. 

1.  Beroidce. 

The  body  is  ovate,  truncated  at  tho  oral  pole,  the  aboral  being 
more  or  less  acuminate  and  mobile.  The  diges'.ive  cavity  occupies 
a  large  portion  of  the  body.  The  oral  margin  u  simple  in  Beroe  and 
Idijia;  but  in  Rangiaihc  interradial  spaces  an.  notched,  and  in  each 
a  short  process  projects.  The  radial  canals  are  connected  by  a 
circumoral  canal.  No  tentacles  are  present.  The  ctenophores  of 
Paiidora  do  not  extend  over  more  than  half  the  body,  as  in  the 
embryos  of  Cydippe.  The  development,  of  the  Beroidce  is  unac- 
companied by  metamorphosis. 

2.  Saccatae. 

The  circumoral  canal  is  absent.  The  oral  aperture  is  laterally 
compressed,  its  long  axis  being  at  right  angles  to  the  plane  of  the 
tentacles,  which  aro  present  in  all  the  genera,  and  which  are  either 
simple  (Cydippe),  or  furnished  with  lamellar  and  filamentous 
appendages  illormiphora).  The  ctenophores  arc  equal  in  length,  or 
the  lateral  ones  are  fully  developed,  while  the  intermediate  are  shorter. 

3.  Lobata. 

The  oral  and  aboral  pole,  tfr  the  oral  only,  bear  lobato  appendages. 
Bolir-d  has  a  pair  of  oral  lappets,  into  which  the  radial  canals  are  pro- 
longed. The  ctenophores  corresponding  to  these  lobes  are  the  longest, 
while  the  middle  ones  are  much  shorter,  and  are  prolonged  on  to  an 
anriele  or  finger-like  lobe.  The  tentacles  are  represented  by  a  tuft 
of  short  processes  on  cither  side  of  the  mouth.  The  young  Bolind 
has  the  form  of  Cydippe,  and  like  it  bears  a  pair  of  long-fringed 

1  Zoolo^itche  Slitdien  a\if  Capri.     1873. 
•  I'..v»^kcl,  "  Qeiuiclle  Morphologic,"  ii.  lx 


tentacles.  The  aboral  region,  bearing  tho  lateral  ctenophon*,  g/ftfi 
more  rapidly  than  the  oral,  so  as  ultimately  to  project,  in  two 
■principal  lobes,  by  which  the  similar  outgrowth  of  the  mediaD 
alioral  regions  with  its  ctenophores  is  aiTested,  tho  auricljs  bMne  the 
dwarfed  representatives  of  these  regions.  Those  auricles  in  Euaiarit 
are  longer,  so  that  tho  ctenophores  are  all  of  equal  length.  ']'].• 
tentacles  ot  this  genus  are  placed  at  the  oral  pole ;  thu  oral  lobes  are 
equivalent  to  the  median  ctenophores  of  Cydippe.  Eurkamphaa 
has  tho  oral  lobes  small,  the  body  elongated,  terminated  by  two 
conical  projections,  on  which  tho  median  ctenophores  are  prolonged. 

4.   Tccniatce. 

The  body  of  Ccsttim  is  laterally  compressed  and  elongated  in  a 
direction  which  corresponds  to  one  of  the  transverse  diameters  ol 
Cydippe,  the  ribbon-like  band  thus  formed  being  sometimes  three 
or  even  four  feet  long.  The  tentacles  are  near  the  oral  pole  ;  the 
canals  aro  ten  in  number;  tho  medio-lateral  canals  terminate  in 
trunks  which  follow  tho  oral  margin  of  the  ribbon,  and  thus 
correspond  to  the  circular  canal  of  Bcrol. 

Many  Actinozoa  (Pcnnalulido?,  Ctenophora)  are.  phos- 
phorescent; but  the  conditions  which  determine  the  evolu- 
tion of  light  have  not  been  determined. 

All  Actinozoa  are  marine  animals,  and  the  distribution 
of  many  of  the  families  (Actinida;,  Turbinolidm,  Pennatu- 
lidaj,  Beroidce)  is  extremely  wide,  and  bears  no  ascertain- 
able relation  to  climate.  (t.  h.  H.) 

ACTION,  in  Law,  is  the  process  by  which  redress  is 
sought  in  a  court  of  justice  for  the  violatio.n  of  a  legal 
right  Tho  word  is  used  by  jurists  in  three  different  senses. 
Sometimes  it  is  spoken  of  as  a  right — tho  right,  namely, 
of  instituting  the  legal  process;  sometimes,  and  more  pro- 
perly, it  means  the  legal  process  itself ;  and  sometimes  the 
particular  form  which  it  assumes.  The  most  universally 
recognised  division  of  actions  is  the  division  established 
by  the  Roman  lawyers  into  actions  in  rem  and  in  personam. 
An  action  in  rem  asserts  a  right  to  a  particular  thing  as 
against  all  the  world ;  an  action  in  personam,  asserts  a  right 
only  as  against  a  particular  person.  For  the  sake  of  con- 
venience, the  law  relating  to  actions  ought  to  form  s 
separate  section  by  itself  in  a  properly  constructed  code. 

In  Roman  law  the  action  passed  through  three  historical 
stages — 

In  the  first  period,  which  was  brought  to  an  end  by  the  Lex  jEbiilia, 
about  673  A.u.c,  the  system  of  legis  actioncs  prevailed.  These 
were  five  in  number, — the  actio  sacramenti,  per  judicw  poshila- 
tionem,  per  condictionem,  per  vxanus  injectiortem,  per  pignoris  cap- 
lioncm.  The  first  was  tho  primitive  and  characteristic  action  of  the 
Roman  law,  and  Hie  others  were  littlo  more  than  modes  of  applying 
it  to  cases  not  contemplated  in  the  original  fonn,  or  of  carrying  the 
result  of  it  into  execution  when  the  action  had  been  decided. 

Action,  in  English  Law,  means  the  form  of  civil  pro- 
cess hitherto  observed  in  the  Courts  of  Common  Law.  The 
procedure  in  the  Court  of  Chancery  is  totally  distinct,  but 
some  account  of  the  former  may  be  desirable  in  order  to 
explain  the  new  form  of  action  introduced  for  all  the  civil 
courts  by  the  Judicature  Act  of  1873: — 

Actions  at  law  aro  divided  by  Dlackstone  into  three  classes, 
according  to  the  relief  which  they  are  respectively  intended  tc 
obtain.  Heal  actions  are  those  "whereby  the  plaintiff  claims  title 
to  have  any  lands  or  tenements,  rents,  commons,  or  other  heredita- 
ments." lnpersonal  actions  tho  claim  is  "for  debt  or  personal  duty, 
or  damages  in  lieu  thereof,"  or  for  "satisfaction  in  damages  foi 
some  injury  done  to  person  or  property."  Mixed  actions  were  sup- 
posed to  partake  of  the  nature  of  both  of  *hese ;  that  is  to  say,  there 
was  a  demand  both  for  real  property  and  for  personal  damages,  as  in 
the  case  of  an  action  for  waste.  The  distinction  has  long  ceased  to  be 
of  any  value.  Blackstone  speaks  of  real  actions  as  being  in  his  time 
pretty  generally  laid  aside,  and  successive  enactments  have  oblite- 
rated the  distinctions  altogether.  The  statute  3  &  4  Will.  IV.  c.  27, 
abolished  all  the  real  and  mixed  actions,  except  three  real  actions, 
and  ejectment,  which  was  a  mixed  action.  The  Common  Law  Pro- 
cedure Act  of  1860  has  assimilated  the  procedure  in  the  former  to 
an  ordinary  action,  and  the  Common  Law  Procedure  Act  of  1852 
now  .regulates  the  proceedings  in  ejectment.  In  these  .\nd  other 
respects  the  three  Common  Law  Procedure  Acts  of  1812,  1854,  and 
1860,  very  greatly  simplified  the  proceedings  in  an  action  at  law. 
The  first  of  these  rendered  it  unnecessary  any  longer  to  select  a 
form  of  action  in  prosecuting  n  claim,  and  abolished  many  of  the 
teclunicalities  which  had  accompanied  tho  older  forms.    The  divi. 


A  C  T— A  D  A 


133 


lions  now  observed  may  be  regarded  as  indicating,  not  so  much 
<orms  of  action  in  the  old  sense,  as  the  character  oi  the  injury  sus- 
tained and  the  relief  sought. 

Action  (under  the  Supreme  Court  of  Judicature  Act, 
1873).  By  this  Act,  which  establishes  one  supreme  court 
ii  place  of  the  Superior  Courts  of  Common  Law  and  tne 
High  Court  of  Chancery,  action  is  the  name  given  to 
t  le  proceeding  in  the  High  Court  of  Justice,  which  takes 
the  place  of  the  old  actions  at  common  law,  suits  insti- 
tuted by  bill  or  information  in  the  Court  of  Chancery, 
causes  in  rem  in  the  Court  of  Admiralty,  or  by  citation  in 
the  Court  of  Probate.  For  these  various  modes  of  obtain- 
ing redress  the  Act  substitutes  one  uniform  proceeding, 
tvhich  retains  most  of  the  essential  features  of  the  common 
law  action.  The  form  of  action  established  by  the  Act  is  in 
some  measure  a  compromise  between  the  old  action  at  law 
and  Chancery  suit.  It  may  be  described  as  putting  an  end 
to  the  unintelligible  and  even  misleading  formulas  of  the 
one  and  reducing  the  prolixity  and  redundance  of  the 
other.  (e.  r.) 

ACTIUM,  in  Ancient  Geography,  a  promontory  in  the 
north  of  Acarnania,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sinus  Ambracius, 
opposite  the  town  of  Nicopolis,  built  by  Augustus  on  the 
north  side  of  the  strait.  Eastwards  from  the  promontory 
the  strait  widens  out  and  forms  a  safe  harbour.  On  the 
promontory  was  an  ancient  temple  of  Apollo  (who  is  hence 
called  by  Virgil  Actius),  which  was  enlarged  by  Augustus. 
Actium  became  famous  on  account  of  Augustus's  victory 
over  Antony  and  Cleopatra  (b.c.  31),  and  for  the  quin- 
quennial games  he  instituted  there,  called  Actio,  or  Ludi 
Actiaci.  Actiaca  j£ra  was  a  computation  of  time  from  the 
battle  of  Actium.  There  was  on  the  promontory  a  small 
town,  or  rather  village,  also  called  Actium. 

ACTON,  a  large  village  in  Middlesex,  about  eight  miles 
west  of  St  Paul's.  It  was  once  much  frequented  because 
of  its  saline  springs,  but  these  have  long  lost  their  repute. 
Acton  being  neat  the  metropolis  .and  easily  accessible  by 
the  Great  Western  Railway,  and  the  price  of  building  land 
being  low,  numerous  villas  have  been  erected  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. The  population  of  the  parish  increased  from 
3151  in  1861  to  8306  in  1871. 

ACTON,  Sir  John  Francis  Edward,  son  of  Edward 
Acton,  who  practised  as  a  physician  at  Besaneon,  was  born 
therein  1736,  and  succeeded  to  the  title  and  estates  in  1791, 
on  the  death  of  his  cousin  in  the  third  degree,  Sir  Richard- 
Acton.  He  served  in  the  navy  of  France,  and  afterwards 
in  that  of  Tuscany,  and  commanded  a  frigate  in  the  joint 
expedition  of  Spain  and  Tuscany  against  Algiers  in  1774. 
His  gallantry  in  rescuing  three  or  four  thousand  Spanish 
soldiers  from  slavery  led  to  his  advancement.  Entering 
the  Neapolitan  service,  he  gained  the  favour  of  Queen  Mary 
Caroline,  became  commander-in-chief  of  the  land  and  sea 
forces,  then  minister  of  finance,  and  ultimately  prime 
minister.  His  policy  was  devised  in  concert  with  the 
English  ambassador  Hamilton,  and,  of  course,  was  hostile 
to'  France  and  to  the  French  party  in  Italy.  He  has  been 
Leld  responsible  for  the  arbitrary  and  despotic  measures- 
which,  in  1798-99,  filled  the  prisons  of  Naples  with  poli- 
tical prisoners,  and  even  brought  some  of  them  to  the 
scaffold.  In  1803  Acton  was  for  a  short  time  deprived  of 
the  reins  of  government  at  the  demand  of  France ;  but  he 
was  speedily  restored  to  his  former  position,  which  he  held 
till,  in  Feb.  1806,  on  the  entry  of  the  French  into  Naples, 
he  had  to  flee  with  the  royal  family  into  Sicily.  -He  died 
at  Palermo  on  the '12th  Aug  1811,  leaving  by  his  wife 
(eldest  daughter  of  his  brothpr,  General  Joseph  Edward 
Acton,  whom  he  had  married  by  papal  dispensation)  three 
children,  of  whom  the  second,  Charles  Januarius  Edward, 
was  made  Cardinal  Santa  Maria  d^lla  Pace  in  1842.  It 
may  be  well  -to  state  that  Sir  John  has  very  frequenJj 


been  confounded  with  his  above-mentioned  brother,  born 
in  1737,  who  was  also  employed  in  the  Neapolitan  service. 
ACTUARY,  in  ancient  Rome,  was  the  name  given  to  the 
clerks  who  recorded  the  Acta  Publico,  of  the  Senate,  and  also 
to  the  officers  who  kept  the  military  accounts  and  enforced 
the  due  fulfilment  of  contracts  for  military  supplies.  In  its 
Englioh  usage  the  word  has  undergone  a  gradual  limitation 
of  meaning.  At  first  it  seems  to  have  denoted  any  clerk 
or  registrar;  then  more  particularly  the  secretary  and 
adviser  of  any  joint-stock  company,  but  especially  of  an 
insurance  company;  and  it  is  now  applied  specifically  to 
one  who  makes  those  calculations  as  to  the  probabilities  of 
human  life,  on  which  the  practice  of  life  assurance  and  the 
valuation  of  reversionary  interests,  deferred  annuities,  <fec, 
are  based.  The  first  mention  of  the  word  in  law  is  in  the 
Friendly  Societies  Act  of  1819,  where  it  is  used  in  the  vagus 
sense,  "  actuaries,  or  persons  skilled  in  calculation."  The 
word  has  been  used  with  precision  since  the  establishment 
of  the  "  Institute  of  Actuaries  of  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land" in  1848.  The  "Faculty  of  Actuaries  in  Scotland" 
"was  formed  at  Edinburgh  in  1856,  and  incorporated  by 
royal  charter  in  1868.  The  registrar  in  the  Lower  House 
of  Convocation  is  also  called  the  actuary. 

ACUNA,  Christoval  d',  a  Spanish  Jesuit,  born  at 
Burgos  in  1597.  He  was  admitted  into  the  society  in  1612, 
and,  after  some  years  spent  in  study,  was  sent  as  a  mis- 
sionary to  Chili  and  Peru,  where  he  became  rector  of  the 
College  of  Cuenja.  In  1639  he  was  appointed  by  the 
Jesuits  to  accompany  Pedro  Texeira  in  his  second  explora- 
tion of  the  Amazon,  in  order  to  take  scientific  observations, 
and  draw  up  a  report  that  might  be  sent  to  Spain.  The 
journey  lasted  for  ten  months;  and,  on  their  arrival  at 
Peru,  no  ship  being  ready  to  convey  the  explorer  to  Spain, 
Acuna  employed  himself  in  the  preparation  of  a  narrative 
of  his  journey.  This  was  published  at  Madrid  in  1641, 
under  the  title  Nuevo  Descubrimicnto  del  Gran  Bio  de  las 
Amazonas,  &c.  The  King  of  Spain  received  Acuna  coldly, 
and,  it  is  said,  even  tried  to  suppress  his  book,  fearing 
that  the  Portuguese,  who  had  revolted  from  Spain,  would 
avail  themselves  of  the  information  which  it  contained. 
A  translation  into  French  was  published  by  Gomberville  in 
1682;  and  a  translation  from  the  French  into  English 
appeared  in  1698.  Aiter  occupying  the  positions  of  procu- 
rator of  the  Jesuits  at  Rome,  and  calificador  (censor)  of  the 
Inquisition  at  M»drid,  Acuiia  returned  to  South  America, 
where  he  died,  probably  soon  after  the  year  1675. 

ACUPRESSURE,  in  Surgery  (acus,  a  needle,  premo,  I 
press),  a  method  of  restraining  haemorrhage,  introduced  in 
1869  by  the  late  Sir  J.  Y.  Simpson.  The  closure  of  the 
vessel  near  the  bleeding  point  is  attained  by  the  direct 
pressure  of  a  metallic  needle,  either  alone  or  assisted  by  a 
loop  of  wire.  The  advantages  claimed  by  the  originator  of 
this  method  over  the  old  silk  ligature  were,  that  the  needles 
can  be  removed  within  forty-eight  hours  after  introduction, 
allowing  the  wound  to  heal  rapidly;  and  that,  being  metallic 
and  non-porous,  they  do  not  cause  irritation  and  suppura- 
tion like  the  silk  ligature.  The  catgut  ligature,  which  is 
rapidly  absorbed,  is  gradually  superseding  both  the  silk 
ligature  and  the  acupressure  needle.  A  volume  entitled 
Acupressure,  by  Sir  J.  Y.  Simpson,  was  published  in  1864. 
ACUPUNCTURE,  the  name  of  a  surgical  operation 
among  the  Chinese  and  Japanese,  which  is  performed  by 
pricking  the  part  affected  with  a  silver  needle.  They 
employ  this-operation  in  headaches,  lethargies,  convulsions, 
colics,  (fee;  and -it  has  more  lately  been  introduced  into 
British  practice  for  the  cure  of  some  forms  of  neuralgia. 

ADAFUDIA,  a  large  town  of  Western  Africa,  in  the 
country  of  the  Felattahs,  in  13°  6'  N.  lat.,-1"  3'  E.  long., 
about  400  miles  S.E  of  Timbuctoo.  It  is  surrounded  by 
a   mud   wall      The    neighbouring   country  is    rich   and 


134 


ADA-ADA 


fertile.  -  The  trade  in  native  merchandise  is  said  to  oe 
ria  great  as  that  of  Abomey,  the  capital  of  Dahomey ;  and 
thero  is  also  a  considerable  traffic  iu  elavos.  Population, 
about  24,000. 

ADAL,  a  region  in  Eastern  Africa,  with  a  coast  line 
ding,  between  11°  30'  and  15?  40'  N.  lat.,  from  the 
Culf  of  Tajurrah  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Massowah.  For 
about  300  miles  it  borders  on  the  Red  Sea,  the  coast  of 
^vhich  is  composed  of  coral  rock.  It  stretches  inland  to 
the  mountain  terraces,  to  the  west  of  which  lie  the  Abys- 
sinian table-lands  of  Shoa  and  Tigre,  with  a  breadth  near 
Massowah  of  only  a  few  miles,  but  widening  towards  the 
south  to  200  or  300  miles.  The  northern  portion  of  this 
region,  known  as  the  Afar  country,  is  traversed  by  two 
routes  to  Abyssinia — the  one  from  Zulla  near  Massowah, 
and  the  other  from  Amphilla  Bay.  The  former  of  these 
■was  selected  for  the  British  Abyssinian  expedition  of  1868, 
Annesley  Bay  being  the  place  of  debarkation  and  base  of 
operations.  There  is  a  third  route  to  Abyssinia  through 
Adal,  that  from  Tajurrah  to  Ankobar,  the  capital  of  Shoa, 
6aid  to  be  preferred  for  trading  purposes,  as  being  less 
steep  than  the  others.  The  river  Hawash  flows  through 
the  southern  district  of  Adal  in  a  N.E.  direction,  but  is 
lost  in  Lakes  Abbebad  and  Aussa.  Near  this  river  is 
Aussa,  the  chief  town  of  the  country.  Volcanic  rocks 
occur  in  various  parts  of  this  district;  and  two  mountains, 
4000  feet  high,  are  mentioned,  which  have  sent  down 
streams  of  lava  on  all  sides  to  the  distance  of  30  miles. 
The  country  contains  two  great  6alt  plains  or  basins, — that 
of  Asali  iu  its  northern  portion,  and  Aussa  in  the  south. 
The  remarkable  salt  lake  of  Bahr  Assal,  near  Tajurrah,  is 
570  feet  below  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  country 
as  a  whole  is  barren  and  uncultivated.  A  little  barley 
is  reared  on  the  higher  terraces,  and  some  districts 
afford  pasturage  for  domestic  animals,  large  quantities  of 
butter  being  annually  sent  to  Massowah.  In  some  parts 
of  Adal  the  elephant  is  not  uncommon.  The  salt  of  Asali 
and  Aussa  is  a  valuable  article  of  commerce.  There  is  no 
fixed  government,  the  country  being  inhabited  by  various 
independent  tribes,  all  speaking  the  Afar  language  and 
professing  the  Mahometan  religion,  and  most  of  them  of 
nomadic  habits. 

ADALBERT,  Saixt,  one  of  the  founders  of  Christianity 
in  Germany,  known  as  the  Apostle  of  the  Prussians,  was 
bom  of  a  noble  family  in  Slavonia,  about  955 ;  was  educated 
at  the  monastery  of  Magdeburg;  and,  in  983,  was  chosen 
Bishop  of  Prague.  The  restraints  which  he  tried  to  impose 
on  the  newly-converted  Bohemians'  by  prohibiting  poly- 
gamy, clerical  incontinency,  and  similar  sins,  raised  against 
him  so  strong  a  feeling  of  hatred,  that  he  was  forced,  in 
988,  to  retire  to  Rome,  where  he  resided  at  the  monasteries 
of  Monte'  Basino'  and  St  Alexis.  In  993  hi  returned  to 
his  flock,  in  obedience  to  the  command  of  the  Pope.  Find- 
ing little  amendment,  however,  in  their  course  of  living,  he 
soon  afterwards  went  again  to  Rome,  and  obtained  permis- 
sion from  the  Pope  to  devote  himself  to  missionary  labours, 
which  he  carried  on  chiefly  in  North  Germany  and  Poland. 
While  preaching  in  Pomerania  (997),  he  was  thrust  through 
the  heart  by  a  heathen  priest. 

ADALBERT,  Archbishop  of  Bremen  and  Hamburg, 
born  of  the  noble  Saxon  family  of  the  Counts  of  Wettin, 
was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  ecclesiastics  of  the  11th 
century.  Through  the  friendship  of  the  emperor  Henry 
HI.  he  was  elevated  in  1043,  when  only  about  thirty 
years  old,  to  the  see  of  Bremen  and  Hamburg,  which 
included  the  whole  of  Scandinavia,  and  he  accompanied 
the  monarch  in  his  journey  to  Rome  (1046)."  'Here  it  is 
said  that  he  was  offered  and  that  he  refused  the  papal 
throne.  The  refusal  certainly  cannot  have  arisen  from 
lack  of  ambition;  for  on  his  return  in  1050,  with  a  com- 


mission as  legate  to  the  nortuern  courts  irora  Pope  Leo 
IX.,  he  immediately  set  about  carrying  out  the  emperor's 
wishes  by  establishing  himself  in  an  independent  patri- 
archate of  the  north.  For  this  purpose  he  sought  by  every 
means  to  augment  liis  already  great  influence,  he  adorned 
hi3  two  cathedrals,  and  enlarged  and  fortified  the  town  of 
Bremen  bo  that  it  might  rival  Rome.  There  was  much  in 
hia  favour,  and  ho  might  even  have  succeeded  in  entirely 
separating  the  church  of  the  north  from  the  see  of  Rome, 
had  it  not  been  for  the  death  of  Henry  IIL,  and  the  oppo- 
sition of  Cardinal  Hildebrand.  Henry  IV.  being  a  minor 
at  the  time  of  his  father's  death,  Adalbert  was  associated 
with  Archbishop  Hanno  of  Cologne  as  guardian  and  regent; 
and  during  the  absence  of  the  latter  on  a  mission  to  Rome, 
he  sought,  by  granting  every  indulgence,  to  gain  the 
favour  of  the  young  prince,  and  so.  to  be  able  to  exercme 
an  absolute  power  in  the  state  (1062-65).  The  Archbishops 
of  Mayence  and  Cologne  secured  his  bauishment  from 
cuurt  after  the  government  had  been  assumed  by  Henry  in 
person  (1066);  and  about  the  same  time  bL>  dioceso  was 
invaded  by  the  "natural  enemies"  of  Bremen,  the  Saxou 
nobles.  In  1069.  however,  he  was  recalled,  and  reinstated 
in  his  former  position.  He  died  at  Goslar  in  1072,  having 
done  much  during  his  last  years  to  inflame  the  Saxons'  hatred 
of  Henry,  which  resulted  soon  afterwards  in  their  revolt. 

AD  Ail,  o-k,  an  appellative  noun,  meaning  the  first  man. 
In  Genesis  ii.  7,  25,  iii.  8,  20,  iv.  1,  ic,  it  assumes  the  nature 
of  a  proper  name,  and  has  the  article,  the  Hunt,  the  <>idy 
one  of  his  kind ;  yet  it  is  appellative,  correctly  sptaking. 
In  Genesis  i  26,  27,  v.  2,  it  is  simply  appellative,  being 
applied  to  both  progenitors  of  the  human  race ;  not  to 
the  first  man  alone  as  iu  the  second,  third,  aud  fourth 
chapters.  The  etymology  of  the  word  is  uncertain,  but 
it  is  probably  connected  with  a  root  signifying  red,  so  that 
the  idea  is  one  red  or  ruddy. 

The  early  part  of  Genesis  contains  two  accounts  ol 
man's  creation.  These  narratives  need  not  be  examined 
at  present  farther  than  man's  origin  is  concerned.  In 
Genesis  i.  26,  27,  we  read,  "And  God  said,  Let  us  make 
man  in  our  image;  after  our  likeness  ;  and  let  them  have 
dominion  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  aud  over  the  fowl  of 
the  air,  and  over  the  cattle,  and  over  all  the  earth,  aud 
over  every  creeping  thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth. 
So  God  created  man  in  his  own  image ;  in  the  image  of 
God  created  he  him  ;  male  aud  female  created  be  them," 
At  the  end  of  the  sixth  day  of  creation  man  appears,  the 
noblest  of  earth's  inhabitants.  In  Genesis  ii  7,  8,  we  also 
read,  "  And  the  Lord  formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the 
ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life ; 
and  man  became  a  living  soul.  And  the  Lord  God 
planted  a  garden  eastward  in  Eden  :  and  there  he  put  the 
man  he  had  formed."  The  woman's  creation  is  thus 
narrated  in  subsequent  verses  of  the  same  chapter — 20,  21, 
22,-23,  "And  Adam  gave  names  to  all  cattle,  and  to  the 
fowl  of  the  air,  and  to  every  beast  of  the  field  :  but  for 
Adam  there  was  not  found  an  help  meet  for  him.  And 
the  Lord  God  caused  a  deep  sleep  to  fall  upon  Adam, 
and  he  slept :  and  he  took  oue  of  his  ribs,  and  closed  up 
the  flesh  instead  thereof.  And  the  rib,  which  the  Lord 
God  had  taken  from  man,  made  he  a  woman,  and  brought 
her  unto  the  man.  And  Adam  said,  This  is  now  bone  of 
my  bones,  and  flesh  of  my  flesh:  she  shall  be  called 
Woman,  because  she  was  taken  out  of  man."  Between 
these  accounts  some  discrepancy  exists.  The  first  repre- 
sents the  man  and  woman  to  have  been  created  together, 
after  the  various  creatures  which  the  earth  sustains  on  its 
surface;  the  second  makes  Adam  to  have  been  created 
first,  then  the  various  animals,  with  the  woman  last  of  all. 
The  creation  of  animals  separates  the  origin  of  the  man 
and  the  woman.     The  first  narrator  states  that  man  was 


ADAM 


135 


made  in  the  image  and  form  of  God,  without  explaining 
his  meaning  more  particularly.  Hence  interpreters  differ 
in  attempting  to  define  it.  The  language  need  not  be 
restricted  either  to  man's  spirit  or  to  his  body,  but  may 
refer  to  his  united  whole,  including  spiritual  qualities  and 
bodily  form.  The  ancient  Hebrew  did  not  thank  of  God 
without  a  certain  form,  but  transferred  the  human  one  to 
him,  divesting  it  of  grossness,  and  giving  it  an  ethereal 
luminuusuess  of  surpassing  glory.  The  image  of  God, 
therefore,  in  which  Adam  is  said  to  have  been  created, 
includes  the  whole  man,  with  special  reference  to  the 
spiritual  nature  within  him.  We  cannot  tell  whether  the 
writer  thought  of  immortality  as  involved  in  the  God- 
Jikoness.  He  may  have  done  so.  But  the  second  account 
teaches  that  man  was  only  mortal  at  first,  because  he  is 
sent  out  of  Paradise  lest  he  should  become  immortal  by 
eating  of  the  tree  of  life. 

The  narrative  in  the  first  chapter  is  arranged  according 
to  a  definite  plan.  Six  days  are  allotted  to  the  creation  of 
the  heavens  and  earth,  with  all  their  furniture  animate 
and  inanimate.  After  due  preparation  had  been  made 
by  the  formation  of  light,  atmosphere,  and  land  separated 
from  water,  life  is  called  into  ^existence,  first  vegetable, 
then  animal,  terminating  in  man  the  lord  of  this  lower 
world.  The  narrative  in  chapters  ii.-iv.  does  not  present 
such  orderly  progress.  In  it  man  is  the  central  figure, 
to  whom  all  is  subordinated.  He  is  created  first.  For 
him  plants  and  trees  are  made  to  spring  up.  He  is  placed 
in  a  delightful  garden.  The  Lord  God  perceiving  his 
solitary  condition  creates  the  beasts  of  the  field  and  the 
fowls  of  the  air ;  but  when  brought  to  the  protoplast, 
they  were  insufficient  to  supply  his  mental  void,  so  that 
woman  was  made,  in  whom  he  found  a  suitable  partner. 
A  number  of  questions  connected  with  the  first  pair,  not 
necessarily  entering  into  the  writer's  main  purpose  in 
describing  man's  origin,  but  complementary  and  new, 
are,  the  means  by  which  the  ground  yielded  vegetable  pro- 
ductions, the  materials  from  which  the  man  anil  the  woman 
•were  formed,  the  cause  of  their  intimate  union,  the  place 
of  their  abode,  the  simplicity  of  their  condition,  and  the 
tvay  in  which  animals  first  received  their  names.  By  these 
traits  preparation  is  made  for  the  history  of  what  befell 
the  protoplasts  in  their  primitive  abode. 

According  to  the  second  narrative,  Jehovah  planted  a 
garden  in  Eden,  eastward,  and  put  the  first  man  there. 
A  spring  or  stream  rising  in  Eden,  and  flowing  through 
the  garden,  supplied  it  with  water.  In  issuing  from  the 
garden  it  divided  itself  into  four  rivers,  each  having  its 
own  course.  The  writer  gives  their  names,  and  the 
countries  washed  by  three  of  them.  This  garden,  usually 
termed  Paradise  after  the  Septuagint  and  Vulgate,  has 
been  eagerly  sought  for;  but  it  has  baffled  curiosity. 
Though  two  of  the  rivers,  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  are 
well  known,  the  other  two,  Pison  and  Gihon,  can  only  be 
identified  with  difficulty.  They  seem  to  be  rivers  of 
Northern  India.  The  Tigris  and  Euphrates  took  their 
rise  in  the  high  land  of  Northern  Armenia ;  the  Pison,  i.e., 
Indus,  rises  iu  the  Himalayas;  and  the  Gihon,  i.e.,  Oxus, 
is  conuected  v.ith  Ethiopia  or  Cnsh.  The  writer  appears 
to  have  considered  them  all  as  having  their  source  in  the 
northern  highlands  of  Asia,  and  flowing  south,  and  there- 
fore he  placed  Eden  somewhere  in  the  north  of  Asia. 
The  names  of  two  rivers  belonging  to  a  foreign  tradition, 
and  little  known  to  the  Hebrews  because  intercourse  with 
India  was  then  remote,  were  associated  with  those  of  two 
known  ones  incorporated  in  the  national  tradition.  If  the 
interpreter  had  to  do  with  pure  history,  it  might  not  be 
amiss  to  sea.ch  for  Eden  in  some  definite  locality;  but,  as 
tho  case  stands,  the  examination  would  probably  be  fruitless. 
The  garden  his  two  remarkable  productions — the  tree 


of  life,  and  the  tiee  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil.  The 
former  derives  its  name  from  the  virtue  of  its  fruit  to 
impart  perpetual  life  or  immortality.  The  fruit  of  the 
latter  communicates  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil.  It 
awakens  moral  consciousness.  The  one  had  to  do  with 
physical,  the  other  with  spiritual  life.  Such  were  the 
miraculous  powers  of  the  two  trees  in  the  midst  of  t'x 
garden. 

The  third  chapter  gives  an  account  of  the  first  pair  failing 
away  from  the  state  in  which  they  were  created.  What 
that  state  was  may  be  clearly  gathered  from  the  words.  It 
was  one  of  innocent  simplicity.  The  protoplasts  had  a  child- 
like unconsciousness  of  evil ;  no  knowledge  of  right  and 
wrong,  virtue  and  vice.  They  were  in  the  happy  condition 
of  infancy.  Their  moral  existence  had  not  begun.  Perfec- 
tion, uprightness,  righteousness,  could  not  be  predicated 
of  them.  But  the  world  presents  vice  and  its  concomitant 
misery  in  strong  colours.  Misery  and  evil  abound.  The 
eyes  of  an  Oriental  especially  must  have  been  vividly 
struck  with  the  phenomena  of  toilsome  woik,  the  pains  of 
child-bearing,  the  slavery  of  woman,  and  the  inevitable 
necessity  of  death.  The  Hebrews,  accordingly,  meditated 
on  the  cause.  The  writer  seeks  to  connect  with  the  problem 
incidental  phenomena,  as  the  love  of  man  and  wife,  the 
form  of  the  serpent  different  from  that  of  other  animals, 
the  mutual  hatred  of  man  and  serpents,  ic.  It  is  an  old 
question,  the  introduction  of  evil  into  the  world.  As  all 
the  posterity  of  the  first  pair  participate  in  sin  and  suffer- 
ing, the  cause  must  be  looked  for  in  connection  with 
these.  Yet  it  must  not  proceed  from  themselves.  God 
had  made  them  innocent  and  happy.  The  origin  of  evd 
must  come  from  without.  A  serpent  becomes  the  instru- 
ment of  their  temptation.  That  cunning  and  mischievous 
animal  seduces  them.  The  writer  thought  of  nothing  but 
the  creature  itself.  Those  who  suppose  that  the  devil 
employed  the  serpent  as  his  instrument,  or  that  the  devil 
alone  is  spoken  of,  are  confronted  by  the  fact  that  tho  idea 
of  Satan  was  of  later  introduction  among  the  Hebrews 
than  the  age  of  the  writer.  The  curse  pronounced  on  the 
tempter  sufficiently  shows  that  npne  but  the  agent  expressly 
named  was  thought  of. 

Are  these  narratives  of  the  creation,  primal  abode,  and 
fall  of  man,  literal  history  ?  So  some  have  always  believed, 
with  Augustine  and  the  Reformers.  The  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  this  interpretation  are  great.  As  it  cannot 
be  carried  out  consistently,  its  advocates  resort  to  various 
expedients.  They  forsake  the  literal  for  the  figurative 
wherever  necessity  demands.  Thus  they  put  a  figurative 
construction  on  the  language  of  the  curse,  because  they 
allege  that  a  literal  one  would  be  frigid,  utterly  unworthy 
of  the  solemn  occasion,  highly  inconsistent  with  the 
dignity  of  the  speaker  and  the  condition  of  the  parties 
addressed.  Sometimes  they  even  incline  to  regard  the 
narrative  as  a  sort  of  poem,  or  give  it  a  poetical  character. 
The  atmosphere  in  which  the  accounts  move  is  different 
from  the  literal  one.  Instead  of  assuming  that  God 
created  the  world  and  all  it  contains  in  a  moment  of 
time,  and  in  harmonious  arrangement,  the '  first  writer 
attributes  creation  to  six  successive  'days,  represents  the 
Almighty  as  addressing  the  newly-formed  existences,  look- 
ing upon  them  with  satisfaction,  pronouncing  them  good, 
and  resting  on  the  seventh  day.  >He  naturally  chose 
the  six  days  of  the  Hebrew  week,  with  which  he  was 
familiar,  for  successive  gradations  of  the  creative  power. 
In  the  second  account  we  find  a  speaking  serpent,  God 
walking  in  a  human  way  in  the  cool  of  the  day  through 
the  garden,  his  jealousy  of  the  aspiring  Adam  who  had 
attained  a  higher  knowledge,  his  cursing  the  serpent,  and 
cherubim  with  a  flaming  sword.  To  explain  all  this  as 
.  literal  history,  were  to  attribute  other  perfections  to  the 


136 


A   D  A  M 


Deity  than  infinite  power,  spirituality,  and  wisdom.  Hence 
the  Church  of  England,  according  to  Horaley,  does  not 
demand  the  literal  understanding  of  the  document  con- 
tained in  the  second  and  third  chapters,  as  a  point  of 
faith. 

Are  the  narratives  allegorical?  So  Phflo1  interprets 
them,  followed  by  the  Greek  fathers  of  Alexandria, 
Clement  and  Origen,2  as  well  as  by  Ambrose.  In  modern 
times  Coleridge  read  the  whole  as  an  allegory.3  So  did 
Donaldson  in  his.  Jashar.  There  is  no  indication,  how- 
ever, that  allegories  were  intended.  Had  this  been  the 
case,  the  truths  meant  to  be  conveyed  would  have  been  easily 
discovered.  The  embarrassment  and  capriciousness  of  the 
allegorical  interpreters  prove  that  they  have  followed  a 
wrong  method.  The  outward  fonn  is  set  aside,  and  an 
idea  discovered  beneath  it  with  which  the  envelope  has 
no  necessary  connection.  Both  should  be  retained ;  the 
shell  suggesting  the  kernel,  and  the  kernel  showing  itself 
to  be  the  necessary  evolution  of  central  ideas. 

According  to  another  interpretation,  mure  commonly  ac- 
oepted  among  scholars  at  the  present  day,  both  accounts  are 
supposed  to  be,  like  the  early  records  of  other  nations,  tradi- 
tional and  mythical.  This  does  not  imply  that  they  are  fables 
or  fictions;  far  from  it.  It  is  true  that  the  oldest  traditions 
of  peoples  are  mainly  subjective,  the  result  of  the  national 
mind  ;  but  they  are  nevertheless  real.  Variable,  developed 
in  different  forms,  influenced  by  the  characteristics  of  the 
people  and  by  their  intercourse  with  others,  they  are  all  that 
constitutes  the  earliest  history  of  nations,  the  shapings  of 
oral  tradition  before  written  records  appeared.  A  mythologi- 
n\  ige  stands  at  the  head  of  all  national  histories  ;  and  that 
of  tho  Hebrews  seems  to  be  no  exception.  The  two  narra- 
tives present  philosophical  mythi  in  a  historical  form.  They 
represent  the  best  ideas  of  the  Hebrews  at  a  certain  stage 
of  their  history  in  explanation  of  the  creation  of  man,  his 
primeval  abode  and  state,  and  the  cause  of  his  degeneracy. 
The  first  account  is  plain  and  simple.  It  assigns  a  high 
dignity  to  man,  and  traces  all  human  beings  to  a  single 
pair,  in  harmony  with  the  best  evidence  of  modern 
science  that  points  to  unity  of  origin,  rather  than  to  dif- 
ferent centres  of  creation.  There  is  a  naturalness  in  the 
narrative  that  cannot.be  mistaken,  while  the  writer  adheres 
to  generalities.  (Sec  Gabler's  Einleilunff  to  Eichhorn's 
Urgeschickte,  vol.  i.  p.  11,  &c. ;  and  '  Gesenius's  article 
"  Adam,"  in  Ersch  und  Gruber's  Encyklopoedie,  vol.  i.) 

On  the  other  hand,  the  narrator  in  the  second,  third,  and 
fourth  chapters  manifests  a  more  reflective -spirit,  seeking  to 
explain  causes,  and  to  trace  connections.*  Supplying  particu- 
lars wanting  in  the  older  narrative,  and  correcting  others,  he 
enters  into  details,  and  though  more  anthropomorphic,  has 
a  finer  perception  of  circumstances  associated  with  the 
protoplasts.  Tholuck  himself  admits  his  narrative  to  be  a 
mrthus.  It  is  usual  to  designate  the  first  "writer  the 
Elohist ;  the  second,  the  Jchovist ;  because  the  one  com- 
monly uses  Elohim  as  the  name  of  God ;  the  other 
Jehovah,  or  Jehovah  Elohim  in  the  second  and  third 
chapters. 

The  Adam  in  the  second  and  third  chapters,  according  to 
this  view,  is  the  progenitor  and  representative  of  humanity, 
who  brought  misery  into  the  world  by  self- will.  He  is  ideal 
man,  becoming  historical  in  every  individual  who,  as 
soon  as  his  moral  nature  is  awakened,  feels  the  power  and 
possibility  of  rising  higher  through  reason  and  per- 
ception. Adam's  procedure  repeats  itself  in  each  indivi- 
dual, who  has  his  paradise,  eats  of  the  tree  of  knowledge; 
-r<i  feela  within  him  the  roots  of  apostasy  from  God.     On  I 


1  De  mundi  Opificio,  p.  37,  vol.  i.  ed.  Mangey. 

8  Philocalia,  cap.  1,  and  contra  Cel». 

8  Aids  to  Reflation,  p.  241,  note  (Burlington  edition  of  1840;. 


the  other  hand,  his  restoration  and  happiness  are  supposed 
to  be  in  his  own  power.  His  salvation  is  practicable  through 
•the  victory  of  reason  over  instinct,  of  faith  over  sense.4 

The  traditions  of  ancient  nations  preseut  analogies  to  the 
creation  of  man  given  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis.  The 
Etrurian  cutnes  nearest  to  the  Hebrew.  There  creation 
takes  place  in  six  periods  of  a.  thousand  years  each,  and 
men  appear  in  the  last,  after  the  earth,  sun,  moon,  and  stars, 
with  all  living  things  on  the  surface  of  the  globe,  had  been 
brought  into  existence  by  God.5  The  Persian  mythology, 
in  like  manner,  makes  Ormuzd,  the  god  of  light,  create  by 
his  word  Hotiover  the  visible  world  in  six  periods  of  a 
thousand  years  each,  and  man  is  formed  last.  The  name  of 
the  first  man  is  Kaiomorts.4  The  Chaldee  myth,  given  by 
Berosus,  presents  little  resemblance  to  the  Hebrew  narra- 
tive. Bel,  the  highest  god,  divided  the  darkness,  and  cut 
the  woman,  who  ruled  over  the  monstrous  creatures  found  at 
first  in  theall,  into  two  halves,  out  of  which  heaven  and  earth 
were  formed.  After  that  he  cut  off  his  own  head.  The  blood 
trickling  down  was  taken  by  other  gods  and  mixed  with 
earth,  from  which  men  were  formed,  who  are  therefore  wise, 
and  partakers  of  the  divine  intelligence.7  The  Pheniciau 
myth  is  still  more  unlike  the  Hebrew  account.8  But  Ovid's 
teaching  is  that  man  was  made  in  the  imago  of  the  gods, 
and  was  intended  to  be  ruler  of  the  earth.9  The  Egyptian 
theology  has  no' point  of  contact  with  the  Hebrew.10  The 
Indian  accounts  are  very  numerous,  but  often  discrepant. 
Their  likeness  to  the  Hebrew  narrative  is  remote;  for  the 
play  of  imagination  appears  in  them  to  excess  and  absur- 
dity. Among  those  myths  in  which  the  formation  of  men 
is  described  without  allusion  to  any  primordial  distinction 
of  castes,  we  may  quote  two.  Prajapati,  i.e.,  tho  universe 
which  was  soul  and  only  one,  formed  animals  from  his 
breaths,  a  man  from  his  soul.  The  soul  is  the  first  of  the 
breaths.  Since  he  formed  a  man  from  hid  soul,  therefore 
they  say.  "man  is  the  first  of  the  animals,  and  the  strongest." 
The  soul  is  all  the  breaths :  for  all  the  breaths  depend  upon 
the  soul.  Since  he  formed  man  from  his  soul,  therefore 
they  say,  "  man  is  all  the  animals;"  for  all  these  arc  man's.11 
Manu's  account  of  the  creation  is  that  men  of  the  four 
castes  proceeded  separately  from  different  parts  of  Brahma's 
body  prior  to  the  division  of  that  body  into  two  parts.  The 
doctrine  of  emanation  appears  in  the  Indian  cosmogonies,  as 
also  that  of  absorption.  Thus  Brahma  is  reabsorbed  into 
the  supreme  spirit,  according  to  Manu.12  According  to  the 
Bamians  in  India,  God  having  made  the  world  and  tho 
creatures  belonging  to  it,  created  man,  who  came  forth  from 
the  earth  at  the  divine  voice,  his  head  appearing  first,  then 
his  whole  body,  into  whom  life  was  conveyed.  God  gave 
him  for  companion  a  woman,  and  the  two  lived  together  as 
man  and  wife,  feeding  on  the  fruits  of  the  ground.  Tbey 
had  four  sons  of  different  temperaments,  for  whom  God 
made  four  women,  and  the  four  quarters  bf  the  earth  were 
peopled  by  their  progeny.13 

The  paradisiacal  state  of  the  first  pair,  and  their  loss  of 
it  as  described  in  tho  second  and  third  chapters  of  Genesis, 
have  their  parallels  in  the  myths  of  ancient  nations.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Persian  traditions,  Meschia  and  Meschiane, 
the  progenitors  of  mankind,  were  created  for  happiness  in 

4  Pee  Tuch's  Kommcntar  ueber  die  Genesis,  p.  50. 

*  Suidns,  8.  v.  Titffntlm,  vol.  ii.  pp.  1248-9,  ed.  Bernhardy. 

*  Kleuker,  I  19,  20;  iii.  59,  Ac 

7  Eusebiug's  Chron.  Bipariitum,  vol.  i.  p.  24,  ed.  Aucher. 

8  See  Sanchoniatfto,  translated  by  Cory,  in  the  Phenvc,  p.  185,  Ac, 
ed.  New  York 

*  Mstamorphos.  L  76,  4c. ;  Opera  ed.  Burmann,  torn.  ii.  p.  20 

10  Roeth's  Gachichte  der  Philos.  L  p.  131,  Ac. 

11  Muir'j  Sanskrit  Texts,  voL  i.  p.  24,  2d  ed. 
M  Ibid.  p.  53,  Ac. 

u  See  Lord'g  Display  of  two  Foreign  Sects  in  the  East  Indies,  chap 
ter  L  p.  1,  Ac 


ADAM 


137 


this  world  and  (he  next,  on  condition  that  they  were  good, 
and  did  not  worship  Dews.  At  first  they  acted  according  to 
their  original  nature,  acknowledging  that  all  beings  were 
derived  from  Ormuzd.  But  they  were  seduced  by  an  evil 
spirit,  and  clothed  themselves  in  black  for  thirty  days. 
After  that  they  went  out  to  hunt,  and  found  a  white  goat, 
of  whose  milk  they  drank.  In  this  they  sinned  against 
their  body,  and  were  punished.  The  evil  spirit  or  Dew 
presented  himself  to  them  again,  giving  them  fruits  to  eat, 
by  which  they  forfeited  a  hundred  enjoyments.  At  first 
they  covered  themselves  with  the  skins  of  dogs,  and  ate 
the  flesh  of  these  animals.  They  hunted  and  made  them- 
selves clothing  of  the  skins  of  deer.1 

Abriman  is  represented  as  a  poisonous  serpent,  and 
springs  in  this  form  from  heaven  to  earth.2  Dews  often 
take  the  same  form.3 

The  tree  Horn,  among  them  is  similar  to  the  tree  of  life. 
It  imparts  immortality,  and  is  called  the  king  of  trees.* 

The  holy  mountain  or  paradise  of  Persian  tradition  is 
Albordj,  the  abode  of  Oxmuzd  and  the  good  spirits,  which 
sends  forth  great  rivers.5  This  means  the  Hindu  K'oosh 
mountains  where  was  Airjana  veedjo,  the  first  seat  of  the 
Aryan  race.  Here  we  have  mention  of  a  district  Heden; 
and  Zoroaster  is  said  to  have  been  born  in  Ifedenesch,  but 
elsewhere  in  Airjana  veedjo.6 

According  to  the  religion  of  Lama  or  the  Calmucks,  men 
lived  in  the  first  age  of  the  world  80,000  years.  They 
were  holy  and  happy.  But  their  happiness  came  to  an  end. 
A  plant,  sweet  as  honey,  sprang  out  of  the  earth,  of  which  a 
greedy  man  tasted,  and  made  others  acquainted  with  it.  A 
sense  of  shame  was  awakened,  and  therefore  they  began  to 
make  themselves  coverings  of  the  leaves  of  trees.  Their 
age  and  siz9  decreased.  Virtue  fled,  and  all  manner  of  vice 
prevailed.7  The  paradisiacal  state  of  Thibetan  mythology 
is  one  of  perfection  and  spirituality.  But  the  desire  to  eat 
of  a  sweet  herb,  schima,  put  an  end  to  that  condition. 
Shame  sprang  up  within  the  fallen;  the  need  of  clothing 
was  felt.  They  were  driven  to  agriculture  by  necessity. 
Virtue  fled,  murder,  adultery,  and  all  other  vices  suc- 
ceeded.8 

Among  the  Indians,  the  holy  mountain  of  the  north,  the 
seat  of  the  gods,  and  the  source  of  the  great  rivers,  was 
Aferu.9  The  tree  Parijata,  brought  from  heaven  to  earth 
by  Krishna,  with  its  heavenly  flower  and  fruit,  scares  away 
hunger,  thirst,  disease,  old  age,  <fcc.10 

The  Greek  myths  are  remotely  parallel.  Hesiod  describes 
the  primitive  state  as  one  free  from  toil,  sickness,  and  all 
kinds  of  evil  Mortals  were  contented  with  easily  obtained, 
though  poor,  sustenance.  But  cunning  Prometheus  de- 
ceived Zeus,  and  stole  fire  from  heaven.  The  latter,  by 
way  of  punishment,  sent  a  beautiful  woman,  Pandora,  whom 
Epimetheus  accepted  as  a  gift.  Having  with  her  a  vessel 
into  which  all  sorts  of  misery  had  been  put,  she  opened  it 
out  of  curiosity,  and  evils  flew  forth  in  abundance,  filling 
the  earth.     Hope  alone  remained  at  the  bottom.11 

The  story  is  supplemented  and  modified  in  the  Theogony. 
There  Prometheus  is  twice  punished,  and  woman  becomes 
the  source  of  man's  evils,  merely  as  the  original  mother  of 
the  race.  There  is  also  a  reconciliation  between  Zeus  and 
Prometheus.13 

In  jEschylus  mankind  are  presented  in  the  ignorance  of 

1  Kleuker's  Zend-Avesta,  part  iii.  pp.  84,  85. 

»  Ibid.  iii.  62.  »  Ibid.  ii.  192. 

«  Ibid.  iii.  p.  105. 

«  Ibid.  iii.  70,  91.  «  Ibid.  ii.  277,  299;  iii  118. 

7  Staudlin  in  Archiv.  fur  Kirchengeschichte,  i.  3,  p.  14: 

'  See  Staudlin's  Archiv.  i.  3,  p.  15. 

•  Von  Bohlen's  Das  alte  Indien,  i.  12 ;  ii.  210. 
10  Wilson's  Vishnu  Purana,  pp.  586,  613:  and  Langlois's'  translation 
ef  the  Harivansa,  tome  ii.  p.  3. 
"   Opera  et  Lies.  40-105.  u  Ibid.  506-616. 

1—  !5" 


infancy  till  Prometheus  implanted  in  tliem  the  power  of 
intellect,  and  the  capability  of  knowledge.  The  fire  from 
heaven  is  not  the  cause  of  the  evils  that  broke  in  upon 
them;  rather  is  it  the  teacher  of  every  art,  and  the  opener 
up  of  infinite  resources;  but  Prometheus  himself  must 
endure  fearful  punishment  for  his  self-will,  in  paying  too 
much  regard  to  mortals.  Still  there  is  an  intimation  of 
future  reconciliation  between  the  opposing  powers,  Zeus 
and  Prometheus. 

The  points  of  similarity  between  the  Old  Testament  and 
this  Greek  representative  of  man's  fall  are  tolerably  plain. 
In  both  there  is  an  original  state  marked  by  freedom  from 
sorrow,  by  complete  earthly  enjoyment  and  undisturbed 
peace  with  God.  Both  attach  the  origin  of  evil  to  the  act 
of  a  free  being  putting  himself  in  opposition  to  God — 
evil  being  the  punishment  of  that  act,  arising  by  means  of 
a  woman.  As  the  Old  Testament  narrative  implies  that 
the  step  taken  by  man  was  not  a  mere  degeneracy,  so 
^Eschylus's  description  admits  that  it  was  for  humanity 
the  beginning  of  a  richer  and  higher  life,  since  man's 
proper  destiny  could  not  be- worked  out  in  a  condition  of 
childlike  incapacity.  Pandora  reminds  us  of  Ei  e ;  Epi- 
metheus of  Adam.  Prometheus  and  the  serpent  both  wish 
to  make  men  like  God  in  knowledge  and  happiness.13  The 
tragic  poet  seems  to  regard  Prometheus  as  the  archetype  of 
man,  so  that  his  fate  is  theirs.  Like  every  strong-willed 
mortal,  Prometheus  flounders  on  the  rock  of  presumption. 
He  persists  in  acting  contrary  to  the  commands  of  Deity, 
and  endures  torture  till  he  submits  to  a  higher  will,  accept- 
ing the  symbols  of  repentance  and  restraint  within  certain 
limits.  Thus,  like  Adam,  he  is  the  representative  of 
humanity. 

The  fundamental  difference  between  the  Hebrew  and 
Greek  narratives  is,  that  the  distinction  between  God  and 
the  world,  spirit  and  nature,  maintained  with 'all  sharpness 
in  the  one,  is  not  carried  out  in  the  other.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  Greek  myth  mixes  the  two  spheres,  so  that  the 
world  appears  as  the  original,  independent  element,  of 
which  spirit  and  deity  are  mere  products.  In  the  Hebrew 
narrative  the  spiritual  features  are  presented  clearly  and 
simply;  in  the  Greek  they  are  indistinct,  because  transferred 
to  the  sensuous  world  and  covered  with  a  luxuriant  growth 
of  outer  nature.14 

Ovid  paints  the  golden  age  in  the  manner  of  Hesiod,  but 
with  more  details.  It  was  pervaded  by  innocent  simplicity, 
and  the  successive  ages  became  still  worse,  till  moral  corrup- 
tion reached  such  a  height  in  the  last  or  iron  age  that 
Jupiter  sent  a  flood  to  destroy  all  mankind.15 

Plato  in  his  'Symposium ls  explains  the  serual  and  ama- 
tory inclination  of  the  man  and  the  woman  by  the  fact 
that  there  were  at  first  androgynous  beings,  whom  Zcua 
separated  into  men  and  women.  The  two  sexes  were 
originally  united. 

In  Corrodi's  Beitrage  (xviii.  p.  14),  the  Indian  Ezoui 
Vedam  is  quoted,  in  which  the  first  man  is  called  Aditno, 
from  whose  body  came  Brahma,  Vishnu,  and  Schiva.  This 
statement  is  repeated  by  Knobel  and  others.  But  the 
Ezour  Vedam  (a  corrupt  pronunciation  of  Yajur  Veda)  is  a 
spurious  Veda  from  the  pen  of  some  Jesuit  missionary.17 
Though  it  mentions  Adimo  (which  simply  means  the  first) 
in  vol.  i.  p.  195,  &c,  and  vol.  ii.  205,  genuine  Indian 
mythology  recognises  no  such  name  of  the  first  man. 

The  second  narrative,  in  some  of  its  ideas,  seems  de> 


13  See  Buttmann's  Mythologies,  Band  i.  p.  48,  &c. 

14  See  G.  Baur  in  the  Studien.  und  Kritiken  for  1848,  p.  320,  elsecf, 

16  Metamorphos.  i.  89,  &c. ;  vol.  ii.  p.  14,  kc,  ed.  Bunnann. 
"  Cap.  xv.  ed.  StaUbaum,  1827. 

17  The  Ezour  Vedam  was  print? d  at  Paris  in  1778.  See  Mr  Ellis,  in 
the  Asiatick  Researches,  vol.  xiv.  p.  2,  &c,  and  Dr  Muir  in  th»; 
Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh,  vol.  xxiii.  part  2,  p. 
255,  ka. 


138 


A  D  A  -A  D  A 


rived  from  Eastern  Asia.  Several  features  disclose  this ; 
auch  as  the  covering  of  fig  leaves,  the  springing  of  four 
rivers  from  a  common  source,  and  the  names  of  two  of 
them  which  point  to  India.  The  tree  of  life  and  the 
seducing  spirit  have  their  place  in  the  Persian  and  Tndian 
religions.  But  its  essence  is  adapted  to  the  Hebrew 
theology,  and  contains  genuine  Hebrew  traits ;  though  it 
stands  tolerably  isolated  in  the  circle  of  ideas  which  the 
Old  Testament  presents.  Not  till  the  Book  of  Wisdom 
do  we  rind  express  reference  to  it  (chap.  ii.  23,  24), 
though  the  tree  of  life  is  spoken  of  in  the  Proverbs.  Yet 
there  ia  diversity  amid  similarity.  As  elaborated  by  the 
Hebrew  mind,  the  narrative  is  a  profound  theory,  with  noble 
features  worthy  of  the  subject.  Its  verisimilitude  is 
apparent.  It  shows  a  thoughtful  contemplation  of  human 
nature,  a  fine  sense  of  its  capacities  and  weakness,  of  its 
aspirations  and  needs.  Its  lines  aro  drawn  with  great  dis- 
cernment. The  problem  need  expect  no  better  solution  in 
this  life ;  for  its  depths  cannot  be  fathomed  by  the  sound- 
ing-line of  a  finite  understanding.  Here  is  the  one  philo- 
sophy of  the  subject  that  has  taken  the'  deepest  hold  of  the 
human  mind,  engrafting  itself  on  the  religious  systems  of 
very  different  races,  and  enlisting  the  sympathies  of  the 
most  civilised  nations.  Originating  in  the  East,  it  has  been 
transferred  to  the  West,  where  it  lives  in  pristine  vigour. 
It  is  the  essence  of  the  best  ideas  and  traditions  of 
Eastern  Asia,  improved  and  enlarged  by  the  Hebrew  mind 
at  a  certain  period.  The  more  the  narrative  is  examined, 
the  more  clearly  will  it  appear  the  result  of  enlightened 
reason.  It  embodies  national  traditions  of  Hebrew  reflec- 
tiveness. Free  from  the  pantheism  and  dualism,  inherent 
in  the  mythologies  of  other  peoples,  the  monotheism  which 
distinguished  the  Hebrews  as  the  depositaries  of  a  divine 
truth  pervades  it.  The  tradition  has  two  sides.  It  repre- 
sents the  transition  of  man  to  freedom  and  humanity,  as 
Schiller  describes  it ;  bis  elevation  by  the  av/akening 
exercise  of  reason ;  his  advance  from  nature's  cradling- 
season  to  a  consciousness  of  the  divine  within  him  ;  but  it 
represents  at  the  same  time  the  inclination  to  follow  his 
own  will,  to  aspire  to  the  forbidden  contrary  to  his  better 
conviction,  to  push  reason  beyond  the  limits  within  which 
alone  it  can  be  legitimately  used  ;  in  short,  to  break  away 
from  the  will  of  Ood  in  self-sufficient  independence.  While 
the  fact  was  one  of  the  most  fortunate  in  man's  history,  it 
was  also  one  of  the  saddest.  When  moral  good  was  made 
possible,  moral  evil  was  introduced.  A  knowledge  of  the 
one  brings  that  of  the  other.1 

After  Adam  fell,  God  drove  him  from  paradise,  whose 
gates  were  guarded  by  cherubim  to  prevent  access  to  the 
tree  of  life.  The  protoplasts  had  first  three  sons — Cain, 
Abel,  Seth ;  then  other  sons  and  daughters.  Adam  died 
at  the  age  of  930.  Accor.iing  to  the  Elohist,  the  later 
race  of  men  descended  from  Seth,  the  first  born  (Gene?:n  v. }  ; 
according  to  the  Jehovist  from  Cain,  who  was  the  first  born 
(Genesis  iv.)  A  Jewish  tradition  represents  him  as  buried 
in  Hebron  with  the  patriarchs ;  a  Christian  one  makes 
Golgotha  las'  resting-place. 

A  number  of  absurd  fables,  the  fancies  of  Jewish  writers, 
have  gathered  round  the  simple  narratives  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  are  incorporated  in  the  Talmud.  In  these 
Adam  is  said  to  have  been  made  as  a  man-woman  out  of 
dust  collected  from  every  part  of  the  earth;  his  head 
reached  to  heaven,  and  the  splendour  of  his  face  surpassed 
the  sun.  The  very  angels  feared  him,  and  all  creatures 
hastened  to  pay  him  devotion.  The  Lord,  in  order  to 
display  his  power  before  the  angels,  caused  a  sleep  to  fall 
upon  him,  took  away  something  from  all  his  members,  and 

'  See8chellings  Uuijislerdisserlution  in  .vol.  i.  of  his  SUmmtliche 
Werke,  p.  3,  &c 


when  he  awoke  commanded  the  parts  that  had  been  re 
■moved  to  bo  dispersed  over  the  globe,  that  the  whole  earth 
might  be  inhabited  by  his  seed.  Thus  Adam  lost  his  size, 
but  not  his  completeness.  His  first  wife  was  Lilith, 
mother  of  the  demons.  But  she  flew  away  through  the 
air;  and  then  the  Lord  created  Eve  from  his  rib,  brought 
her  to  Adam  in  the  most  beautiful  dress,  and  angels  descend- 
ing  from  heaven  played  on  heavenly  instruments;  sun,  moon, 
and  stars  dancing.  He  blessed  the  pair,  and  gave  them  a 
feast  upon  a  table  of  precious  stonei  Angols  prepared  the 
most  costly  viands.  But  Adam's  glory  was  envied  by  the 
angels;  and  the  seraph  Sammael  succeeded  in  seducing 
him.  The  pair  were  driven  out  of  paradise  into  the  place 
of  darkness,  and  wandered  through  the  earth.2 

According  to  the  Koran,  God  created  man  of  dried  claj 
like  an  earthen  vessel,  animating  the  figure,-  and  enduing 
it  with  an  intelligent  soul.  When  he  had  placed  him 
in  paradise,  he  formed  Eve  out  of  bis  left  side.  All 
the  angels  worshipped  the  new  man  except  Eblis,  who 
refused  and  became  an  unbeliever.  Satan  caused  them  to 
forfeit  paradise,  and  turned  them  out  of  their  state  of 
happiness.  On  Adam's  repentance,  God  pitied  him,  and 
had  him  taught  the  divine  commandments  by  the  arch 
angel  Gabriel ;  whereupon  he  was  conducted  to  Arafat,  s 
mountain  near  Mecca,  and  found  Eve  after  a  leparation  of 
200  years.  He  was  buried  on  Mount  Abukais,  near  Mecca.* 
Many  other  fables  of  the  later  Jews  respecting  Adam  are 
collected  by  Eisenmenger,  and  those  of  the  Mahometans 
by  Herbelot. 

In  the  emanation  systems  of  tho  Christian  Gnostics  and 
Manichseans,  as  well  as  in  the  gnosis  of  the  Mandseans, 
Adam  is  represented  as  one  of  the  first  and  holiest  aeons. 
Both  catholic  and  heretical  literature  indulged  in  fictions 
respecting  Adam.  A  Life  of  Adam  was  translated  from  the 
Ethiopic  into  German  by  Dillmann,  in  Ewald's  Jahrbuch, 
y.  The  Testament  of  Adam,  current  in  Syriac  and  Arabic, 
was  published  by  Renan  in  the  Journal  Asialique,  se'rie  v. 
torn.  2.  Both  these  seem  to  be  derived  from  the  Spelunca 
T/iesaurorum,  which  exists  in  MS.  in  the  Syriac  tongue. 
The  Sethi tes,  a  Gnostic  sect,  had  Apocalypses  of  Adam; 
other  Gnostics  had  a  Gospel  of  Eve.  A  Book  of  the  Repent- 
ance of  Adam  and  A  Book  concerning  the  Daughters  of 
Adam,  are  condemned  in  the  decree  of  Gelasius.  George 
Synccllus  cites  'a  Greek  Life  of  Adam ;  and  a  fragment 
from  T/ie  Greek  Book  of  Adam,  in  a  Florentine  MS.,  is 
given  in  the  Literaturblalt  des  Orients  for  1850.  Thus 
the  Adam-literature  is  copious.4  The  Book  of  Adam,  pub- 
lished by  Norberg  in  1816,  is  improperly  so  termed.  It 
is  a  Mandaean  or  Sabian  work,  Sidra  Rabba,  which  is  now 
better  known,  since  Pctermann's  critical  edition  of  1867, 
and  Noldeke's  researches  into  the  language.  (s.  d.) 

ADAM  of  Bremen,  ecclesiastical  historian,  was  born  in 
Upper  Saxony,  and  in  1067,  probably  on  the  invitation  of 
Archbishop  Adalbert,  came  to  Bremen,  where  he  was 
appointed  canon  and  magister  scholarum.  He  died  in 
1076.  His  GestA  Ilammaburgensis  Ecclesim  Pontificum, 
containing  a  history  of  the  diocese  of  Hamburg  and 
Bremen  from  788  till  the  death  of  Adalbert  in  1072,  is  of 
great  importance  as  the  chief  source  of  information  in 
regard  to  the  state  of  the  northern  kingdoms  during  the- 
period  of  which  it  treats.  It  is  supposed  to  have  been  com- 
piled partly  from  written  documents  and  partly  from  the 
oral  communications  of  the  Danish  king,  Svend  Estrithson. 
Its  statements  are  generally  trustworthy,  though  the  chrono- 
logy is  sometimes  confused,  and  the  geographical  informa- 


*  Elscnmenger's  Entdeklts  Judent/ium,  Amsterdam.  1700,  Ho. 

*  D'Herbelot's  BiblioUuipie  Oricntalr.  s.  v.  "  Adam,"  p.  6"i.   fee., 
cd.  1G97,  Paris. 

*  tiee  iHUmann  in  Uerzog's  EncyklojwJic,  xu.  p.  SI  9. 


A  D  A  —  A  D  A 


139 


tion  dftcn  erroneous.  The  style  is  clear  and  interesting, 
though  somewhat  prolix.  It  was  first  published  from  MSS. 
at  Copenhagen  in  1079.  The  best  edition  is  that  of 
Lappenberg  in  Pertz's  Jlfonnmenta  Germaniie.  A  supple- 
ment to  the  Gesla,  a  geographical  work  of  considerable 
ralue,  entitled  De  Situ  Daniie  et  Reliquarum  qiice  trans 
Daiiiam  sunt  Regionum  Natura,  was  published  at  Stock- 
holm in  1615,  and  at  Leyden  in  1629. 

ADAM,  Alexander,  Rector  of  the  High  School,  Edin- 
burgh, was  born  on  the  24th  of  June  1741,  near  Forres,  in 
Morayshire.  From  his  earliest  years  ho  showed  uncommon 
diligence  and  perseverence  in  classical  studies,  notwith- 
standing many  difficulties  and  privations.  In  1757  he 
went  to  Edinburgh,  where  -he  studied  at  the  Umversity 
with  such  success  that  in  eighteen  months  he  was  appointed 
head-master  of  Watson's  Hospital,  being  at  the  time  oidy 
nineteen.  He  was  confirmed  in  the  office  of  Rector  of  the 
High  School  on  the  8th  of  June  1768,  on  the  retirement  of 
\Ir  Matheson,  whose  substitute  he  had  been  for  some  time 
oefore.  From  this  period  he  devoted  himself  entirely  to 
'.he  duties  of  his  office,  and  to  the  preparation  of  the 
numerous  works  he  published  in  classical  literature.  His 
popularity  and  success  as  a  teacher  are  strikingly  illustrated 
in  the  facts  that  his  class  increased  more  than  fourfpld  dur- 
ing his  incumbency,  and  that  an  unusually  large  proportion 
'jf  his  pupils  attained  to  eminence,  among  them  being  Sir 
Walter  Scott,  Lord  Brougham,  and  Jeffrey.  He  succeeded 
m  introducing  the  study  of  Greek  into  the  curriculum  of 
die  school,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  the  University 
•leaded  by  Principal  Robertson.  In  1780  the  University 
■jf  Edinburgh  conferred  upon  Mr  Adam  the  honorary  degree 
>f  Doctor  of  Laws.  He  died  on  the  18th  December  1809, 
•*fter  an  illness  of  five  days,  during  which  he  occasionally 
imagined  himself  still  at  work,  his  last  words  being, — 
"  But  it  grows  dark ;  you  may  go."  Dr  Adam's  first  pub- 
lication was  his  Principles  of  Latin  and  English  Grammar 
(1772).  This  was  followed  by  his  Roman  Antiquities  (1791), 
'lis  Summary  of  Geography  and  History  (1794),  and  his 
Latin  Didliuiiary' (]805).  The  MS.  of  a  projected  larger 
L,atin  dictionary,  which  he  did  not  live  to  complete,  lies  in 
-he  library  of  the  High  School. 

ADAM,  Melchior,  German  divine  and  biographer,  was 
Sorn  at  Grottkaw  in  Silesia  after  1550,  and  educated  in 
die  college  of  Brieg,  where  he  became  a  Protestant.  He 
*as  enabled  to  pursue  his  studies  there  by  the  liberality  of 
■»  person  of  quality,  who  had  Lft  several  exhibitions  for 
young  students.  In  1598  he  went  to  Heidelberg,  where, 
niter  holding  various  scholastic  appointments,  he  became 
jinrector  of  the  gymnasium.  In  1615  he  published  the 
•irst  volume  of  his  Vita}  Germanorum  Philosojihorum,  &c. 
This  volume  was  followed  by  three  others;  that  which 
treated  of  divines  was  printed  in  1619;  his  lives  of  lawyers 
and  of  physicians  were  pubL'shed  in  1G20.  All  the  learned 
men  whose  history  is  contained  in  these  four  volumes  lived 
in  the  16th  or  beginning  of  the  17th  century,  and  are 
either  Germans  or  Flemings;  but  he  published  in  1618  the 
lives  of  twenty  divines  of  other  countries  in  a  separate 
•olume,  entitled  Decades  duce  continentes  Vitas  Theologorum 
Exterorum  Principum.  All  his  divines  are  Protestants. 
His  industry  as  a  biographer  is  commended  by  Bayle,  who 
acknowledges  his  obligations  to  Adam's  labours.  Lutherans 
and  Catholics  accuse  him  of  unfairness,  but  the  charge  is 
at  least  exaggerated.     He  died  in  1622. 

ADAM,  Robert,  architect,  the  second  son  of  William 
Adam  of  Maryburgh,  in  Fife,  was  born  in  1728.  He 
Studied  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and  probably 
received  his  first  instruction  in  architecture  from  his  father, 
who,  whether  a  professional  architect  or  not,  gave  proofs  of 
his  skill  and  taste  in  the  designs  of  Hopetoun  House  and 
the  Edinburgh  Royal  Infirmary.    In  1754  young  Adam 


visited  the  Continent,  and  spent  fhrco  years  in  Italy  foi 
the  purpose  of  examining  the  ruins  of  Roman  architecture. 
The  magnificence  of  the  public  baths  erected  at  Rome  in 
the  time  of  Diocletian  having  impressed  him  with  the  idea 
that  there  had  been  a  marked  revival  of  architectural  art 
during  that  emperor's  reign,  he  resolved  to  visit  the  ruins 
of  the  private  palace  Diocletian  had  erected  at  Spalatro  in 
Dalmatia.  In  company  with  Clerisseau,  a  French  architect, 
he  sailed  from  Venice  in  July  1754,  and  in  a  few  weeks, 
with  the  help  of  two  experienced  draughtsmen,  had  com- 
pleted plans  and  views  of  the  fragments,  from  which  he 
was  afterwards  able  to  execute  a  design  of  the  entire  build- 
ing. The  results  were  published  in  the  Ruins  of  the  Palace 
of  Diocletian,  &C.  (1764).  After  his  return  to  England  he 
rose  to  the  highest  eminence  in  his  profession,  and  was 
appointed  architect  to  the  king  in  1762.  Six  years  later 
he  entered  Parliament  as  representative  of  the  county  of 
Kinross,  but  he  still  continued  to  devote  himself  to  the 
duties  of  his  profession,  resigning  only  his  court  appoint- 
ment In  1773-78  he  and  his  brother- James,  also  an 
architect  of  considerable  note,  published  from  time  to  time 
large  folio  engravings  with  letterpress  description  of  their 
designs,  the  most  important  being, — Lord  Mansfield's 
house  at  Caen  wood;  Luton  House,  Bedfordshire;  the 
Register  House,  Edinburgh,  &c.  Among  their  later  works 
may  be  mentioned  the  buildings  erected  in  London  by  the 
two  brothers,  and  hence  called  the  Adelphi  (aSe\<poi),  which 
proved  an  unsuccessful  speculation;  Portland Place.Londnn; 
and  the  Infirmary  of  Glasgow.  The  leading  characteristics 
of  all  these  designs  are  lightness  and  elegance;  and,  though 
grave  faults  may  be  found  with  his  style,  it  cannot  be  denied 
that  English  architecture,  especially  that  of  the  streets  of 
London,  owes  very  much  to  Robert  Adam.  He  continued 
actively  engaged  in  his  profession  until  his  death  in  1792. 
James,  his  brother  and  associate  in  labour,  died  in  1794. 

ADAM,  Right  Hon.  William,  nephew  of  the  preced- 
ing, eldest  son  of  John  Adam,  Esq.  of  Blair-Adam,  Kin- 
ross-shire, was  born  on  the  2d  August  1751,  studied  at 
the  Universities  of  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  and  passed  at 
the  Scotch  bar  in  1773.  Soon  after  he  removed  to  England, 
where  he  entered  Parliament  in  1774,  and  in  1782  was 
called  to  the  Common-law  bar.  He  withdrew  from  Parlia- 
ment in  1795,  entered  it  again  in  1806  as  representative 
of  the  united  counties  of  Clackmannan  and  Kinross,  and 
continued  a  member,  though  with  some  interruptions,  til] 
1811.  A  popular  though  not  an  eloquent  speaker,  Mr 
Adam  soon  took  a  prominent  place  in  the  House,  making 
himself  of  importance  by  his  sound  judgment  and  firm 
general  adherence  to  the  Whig  party.  A  duel  in  1779 
between  him  and  Mr  Fox,  in  which  the  latter  was  slightly 
wounded,  did  not  interrupt  their  close  and  steady  friend- 
ship. They  both  belonged  to  the  small  but  noble  band 
that  opposed  the  encroachments  of  the  Government  on  the 
Constitution  during  the  period  of  the  French  Revolution. 
One  of  Mr  Adam's  most  valuable  parliamentary  efforts  was 
the  agitation  which  he  successfully  raised,  in  March  1794, 
against  the  severe  punishment  awarded  in  the  Scotch 
criminal  court  to  certain  persons  who  had  been  convicted 
of  sedition.  At  the  English  bar  he  was  as  successful  as 
any  one  can  be  who  does  not  devote  himself  entirely  to  the 
profession.  Though  known  to  be  much  engaged  in  Parlia- 
ment, and  with  the  management  of  the  pecuniary  affairs  of 
the  Prince  of  Wales  and  the  Duke  of  York,  he  obtained  a 
very  considerable  practice.  He  was  successively  Attorney 
and  Solicitor  General  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  one  of  the 
managers  of  the  impeachment  of  Warren  Hastings,  and 
one  of  the  counsel  who  defended  the  first  Lord  Melville 
when  impeached  (as  Mr  Dundas).  During  his  party's 
brief  tenure  of  office  iu  1806  he  was  Chancellor  of  the 
Duchy  of  Cornwall,  and  was  afterwards  a  privy  councilloi 


140 


A  D  A  — A  D  A 


nnd  lord-lieutenant  of  Kinross-shire.  In  1814  he  became 
a  baron  of  Exchequer  in  Scotland,  and  in  the  following 
year  was  appointed  chief  commissioner  of  the  newly- 
established  Jury-Court  for  the  trial  of  civil  causes,  over 
which  he  presided  with  much  ability  and  acceptance  till 
1830,  when  it  ceased  to  exist  as  a  separate  court,  and 
became  merged  in  the  permanent  supreme  tribunal. 
Though  little  versed  in  the  technicalities  of  law,  he  was  in 
all  practical  matters  an  able  manager;  he  was  a  shrewd 
observer  of  all  that  passed  around  him,  and  a  most  agree- 
able companion.  Ho  died  at  Edinburgh  on  the  17th 
February  1839. 

ADAM'S  BRIDGE,  or  Rama's  Bridge,  a  chain  of  sand- 
banks, extending  from  the  island  of  Manaar,  near  the  N.  \'\ . 
coast  of  Ceylon  to  the  island  of  Rameseram,  off  the  Indian 
coast,  and  lying  between  the  Gulf  of  Manaar  on  the  S.W. 
and  Palk  Strait  on  the  N.E.  It  is  more  than  30  miles 
long,  and  offers  a  serious  impediment  to  navigation.  Some 
of  the  sandbanks  arc  dry;  and  no  part  of  the  shoal  has  a 
greater  depth  than  3  or  4  feet  at  high  water,  except  three 
tortuous  and  intricate  channels,  a  few  feet  deep,  which  in 
calm  weather  permit  the  passage  of  boats  and  small  vessels. 

ADAMS  PEAK,  a  lofty  mountain  in  Ceylon,  about  45 
miles  E.  from  Colombo,  in  N.  lat.  G°  55',  E.  long.  80°  30'. 
It  rises  steeply  to  a  height  of  7240  feet,  and  commands  a 
magnificent  prospect.  Its  conical  summit  terminates  in  an 
oblong  platform,  74  feet  by  21,  on  which  there  is  a  hollow, 
resembling  the  form  of  a  human  foot,  5  feet  4  inches  by  2 
feet  G  inches;  and  this  has  been  consecrated  as  the  foot- 
print of  Buddha.  The  margin  of  this  supposed  footprint 
is  ornamented  with  gems,  and  a  wooden  canopy  protects  it 
from  the  weather.  It  is  held  in  high  veneration  by  the 
Cingalese,  and  numerous  pilgrims  ascend  to  the  sacred 
spot,  where  a  priest  resides  to  receive  their  offerings,  and 
bless  them  on  their  departure.  By  the  Mahometans  the 
impression  is  regarded  as  that  of  the  foot  of  Adam,  who 
here,  according  to  their  tradition,  fulfilled  a  penance  of  one 
thousand  years,  while  the  Hindoos  claim  it  as  that  of  their 
god  Siva. 

ADAMAWA,  a  country  of  Central  Africa,  lies  between 
7°  and  11°  N.  lat.,  and  11°  and  10°  E.  long.,  about  mid- 
way on  the  map  between  the  Bight  of  Biafra  and  Lake 
Chad.  Its  boundaries  cannot  be  strictly  defined;  but  it 
stretches  from  S.W.  to  N.E.  a  distance  of  200  miles,  with 
a  width  of  from  70  to  80  miles.  This  region  is  watered 
by  the  Benuwe  and  the  Faro.  The  former,  which  ulti- 
mately unites  with  the  Niger,  flows  through  Adamawa, 
first  in  a  northerly,  then  in  a  westerly  direction;  and  is 
joined  by  the  Faro,  which  rises  in  the  south,  22  miles  from 
Yolla,  the  capital  of  the  country.  Near  their  confluence 
the  Benuwe  is  800  yards  wide,  with  a  depth  of  about  1 1 
feet;  the  Faro  has  a  breadth  of  600  yards,  but  is  generally 
very  shallow.  Both  rivers  are  subject  to  extraordinary 
floods,  beginning  in  the  end  of  September,  and  lasting  forty 
days,"  during  which  the  swamps  of  the  adjacent  country  are 
covered  for  a  great  distance  on  both  sides,  and  the  Benuwe 
rises  at  least  30  feet.  The  most  fertile  parts  of  the  country 
are  the  plains  near  the  Benuwe,  about  800  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea.  Further  from  that  river  the  land  rises  to 
an  elevation  of  1500  feet,  and  is  diversified  by  numerous 
hills  and  groups  of  mountains.  Mount  Alantika,  about  25 
miles  S.S.E.  of  Yolla,  is  the  loftiest  mountain  in  Adamawa, 
and  rises  from  the  plain,  an  isolated  mass,  to  the  height  of 
9000  feet.  The  country,  which  is  exceedingly  rich,  and  is 
covered  with  luxuriant  herbage,  has  many  villages,  and  a 
considerable  population.  The  grain  known  as  IIolcus 
sorghum  or  durra,  ground-nuts,  yams,  and  cotton  are  the 
principal  products;  and  the  palm  and  banana  abound. 
Elephants  are  very  numerous,  and  ivory  is  largely  ex- 
ported.      In   the  eastern  part   of  the  country   the  rhino- 


ceros is  met  with,  and  the  rivers  swarm  with  crocodiles, 
and  with  a  curious  mammal  called  the  ayu,  bearing  some 
resemblance  to  the  seal.  Yolla,  the  capital  of  Adamawa, 
is  situated,  in  N.  lat.  9°  28',  E.  long.  12°  13',  in  the  fertile 
plain  between  the  Benuwe  and  the  Faro.  The  houses  are 
built  of  clay,  and  surrounded  by  court-yards,  in  which 
grain  is  grown;  so  that  the  town,  though  containing  only 
about  12,000  inhabitants,  is  spread  over  a  large  extent  of 
ground,  and  is  3  miles  long  from  east  to  west  Turkedi 
(a  dark-coloured  cotton  cloth),  beads,  salt,  and  Calico  are 
the  principal  articles  exposed  in  the  markets.  Here  and 
throughout  Adamawa  cotton  is  generally  used  as  a  medium 
of  barter.  A  very  large  proportion  of  the  population  are 
slaves,  many  private  individuals  holding  as  many  as  1000, 
while  the  governor  is  said  to  receive  annually  about  5000  ill 
tribute.  The  government  of  Adamawa  is  in  the  hands  of  a 
Mahometan  ruler,  who  owns  a  nominal  allegiance  to  the 
Sultan  of  Sokoto,  but  is  in  reality  an  independent  sove- 
reign. Formerly  the  country  was  called  Fuiubina,  and 
was  possessed  by  various  African  tribes,  until  it  was  over- 
run by  the  Fulbe,  a  Mahometan  people.  It  has  not  been 
entirely  subjected  by  them,  but  they  have  detached  settle- 
ments at  various  places;  and  numerous  governors,  as  well 
of  the  Fulbe  as  of  outlying  pagan  tribes,  are  in  subjection 
to  the  ruler  of  Yolla.  (See  Barth's  Travels  in  Central 
Africa,  vol.  ii.) 

ADAMITES,  or  Adamians,  a  sect  of  heretics  that 
flourished  in  North  Africa  in  the  2d  and  3d  centuries. 
Basing  itself  probably  on  a  union  of  certain  gnostic  and 
ascetic  doctrines,  this  sect  pretended  that  its  members  were 
re-established  in  Adam's  state  of  original  innocency.  They 
accordingly  rejected  the  form  of  marriage,  which,  they 
said,  would  never  have  existed  but  for  sin,  and  lived  in 
absolute  lawlessness,  holding  that,  whatever  they  did,  theii 
actions  could  be  neither  good  nor  bad.  During  the  Middle 
Ages  the  doctrines  of  this  obscure  sect,  which  did  not  at 
first  exist  long,  were  revived  in  Europe  by  the  Brethren 
and  Sisters  of  the  Free  Spirit,  who  in  the  14th  century 
were  better  known  throughout  Germany  as  Beghards.  This 
name  was  originally  borne  by  a  religious  party  that  was 
formed  in  the  Netherlands  a  century  earlier.  The  two 
sects  came  into  contact  on  the  Rhine  frontier,  associated 
with  .each  other,  gradually  approximated  in  doctrine,  and 
were  at  last  identified  by  the  application  to  both  of  the  one 
name;  though  a  distinct  sect  of  Beghards,  free  from  the 
excesses  of  the  brethren,  continued  to  exist  in  the  Nether- 
lands. Picard  is  simply  another  form  which  Begliard 
assumed  in  the  harsh  pronunciation  of  the  Bohemians,  and 
the  common  method  of  accounting  for  it  by  supposing  a 
leader  Picard  has  no  sufficient  warrant.  The  principal 
seat  of  the  Picards  in  Bohemia  was  a  small  island  in  the 
river  Luschnitz,  where  they  lived  in  a  state  of  nature,  and 
had  wives  in  common.  In  1421  they  were  almost  exter- 
minated by  Ziska,  the  leader  of  the  Hussites,  who  com- 
mitted many  of  them  to  the  flames.  La  1849  it  appeared 
that  the  sect  existed  in  a  district  of  Austria,  though  small 
in  number,  and  not  ostentatious  of  its  peculiar  practices. 
(Rudinger  de  Eccl.  Fiat,  in  Bo) 'em.,  &c;  Bossuet's  Varia- 
tions of  Protestant  Churches.) 

ADAMNAN  or  Adomnan,  Saint,  born  in  Ireland  about 
the  year  624,  was  elected  Abbot  of  Iona  in  679,  on  the 
death  of  Failbhe.  While  on  a  mission  to  the  court  of  King 
Aldfrid  of  Northumberland  (700-1),  he  was  led  to  adopt 
the  Roman  rule  in  regard  to  the  time  for  the  observance  of 
Easter;  and  on  his  return  to  Iona  he  tried  to  enforce  tin 
change  upon  the  monks,  but  without  success.  It  is  said 
that  the  disappointment  caused  his  de.-.th,  which  occurred 
in  703  or  704.  Adamnan  wrote  a  Life  of  St  C'Aumha, 
which,  though  abounding  in  fabulous  matter,  is  of  great 
interest  and  value.      The  best  edition  is  that  of  Reeves 


ADA  -A  D  A 


I  So  2, 


141 


published  by  tlie  Irish  Aiclijeological  and  Celtic  Society  in 
1857.  Adamnan's  other  well-known  work,  Be  Situ  Terrce 
Sanctce,  was  based,  according  to  Bede,  on  information 
received  from  Arculf,  a  French  bishop,  who,  on  his  return 
from  the  Holy  Land,  was  wrecked  on  the  west  coast  of 
Britain,  and  was  entertained  for  a  time  at  Iona.  This  was 
first  published  by  Gretser  at  Ingolstadt  in  1619.  {Kalen- 
dars  of  the  Scottish.  Saints,  by  Bishop  Forbes,  1872.) 

ADAMS,  Johx,  a  distinguished  statesman  of  the  United 
States  of  North  America.  He  was  born  on  the  1 9th  or  (new 
style)  30th  of  October  1735,  in  that  part  of  the  township  of 
Braintree,  in  Massachusetts,  which  on  a  subsequent  division 
was  called  Quincy.  His  parents  were  of  that  class,  then 
abounding  in  New  England,  who  united  the  profession  of 
agriculture  with  that  of  some  one  of  the  mechanic  arts.  His 
ancestor  Henry  had  emigrated  from  Devonshire  in  the  year 
1632,  and  had  established  himself  at  Braintree  with  six 
sons,  all  of  whom  married :  from  one  descended  the  subject 
of  this  memoir,  and  from  another  that  Samuel  Adams  who, 
with  John  Hancock,  was  by  name  proscribed  by  an  Act  of 
the  British  Parliament,  for  the  conspicuous  part  he  acted  in 
the  early  stages  of  the  opposition  to  the  measures  of  the 
mother  country.  When  about  fifteen  years  of  age,  his 
father  proposed  to  his  son  Tohn  either  to  follow  the  family 
pursuits,  and  to  receive  in  due  time,  as  his  portion,  a  part 
of  the  estate  which  they  had  cultivated,  or  to  have  the  ex- 
pense of  a  learned  education  bestowed  upon  him,  with  which, 
instead  of  any  fortune,  he  was  to  make  his  way  in  future 
life.  The  son  chose  the  latter  alternative;  and  having 
received  some  preparatory  instruction,  was  admitted  a 
student  at  Harvard  College  in  the  year  1751.  After 
graduating  in  1755,  he  removed  to  the  town  of  Worcester, 
where,  according  to  the  economical  practice  of  that  day  in 
New  England,  he  became  a  tutor  in  a  grammar  school,  and 
at  the  same  time  was  initiated  into  the  practice  of  the  law 
in  the  office  of  Mr  Putnam,  then  an  attorney  and  a  colonel 
of  militia,  and  subsequently  a  general  of  some  celebrity  in 
the  revolutionary  war.  A  letter  he  wrote  at  the  early  age 
of  nineteen,  shows  a  degree  of  foresight  which,  like  many 
>ther  predictions,  may  have  led  to  its  own  accomplishment. 
It  is  dated  12th  October  1754,  and  says — "Soon  after  the 
Reformation,  a  few  people  came  over  to  this  New  World  for 
conscience'  sake.  Perhaps  this  apparently  trivial  incident 
may  transfer  the  great  seat  of  empire  to  America.  It  looks 
likely  to  me;  for  if  we  can  remove  the  turbulent  Gallic 
(the  French  in  Canada),  our  people,  according  to  the 
exaetest  computation,  will  in  another  century  become  more 
numerous  than  England  itself.  Should  this  be  the  case, 
since  we  have,  I  may  say,  all  the  naval  stores  of  the  nation 
in  our  hands,  it  will  be  easy  to  obtain  the  mastery  of  the 
seas,  and  then  the  united  force  of  all  Europe  will  not  be 
able  to  subdue  us.  The  only  way  to  keep  us  from  setting 
up  for  ourselves  is  to  disunite  us." 

He  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  year  1758,  and 
gradually  rose  to  the  degree  of  eminence  which  a  local  court 
can  confer;  and  obtained  distinction  by  some  essays  on  the 
subject  of  the  canon  and  feudal  law,  which  were  directed 
to  point  to  the  rising  difference  which  commenced  between 
the  mother  country  and  the  colonies,  soon  after  the  peace 
of  1763  had  delivered  the  latter  from  all  disquietude  re- 
specting the  establishments  of  France  in  the  adjoining  pro- 
vince of  Canada.  His  character  rose,  both  as  a  lawyer  and 
a  patriot,  so  as  to  induce  Governor  Barnard,  who  wished 
to  gain  him  over  to  the  royal  party,  to  offer  him  the  office 
of  advocate-general  in  the  Admiralty  Court,  which  was 
deemed  a  sure  step  to  the  highest  honours  of  the  bench. 
Two  years  after,  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  representatives 
of  his  native  town  to  the  congress  of  the  province.  His 
first  prominent  interference  in  political  affairs  was  at  a 
meeting  at  Braintree  in  1765,  to  oppose  the  Stamp  Act 


The  resolutions  he  proposed  were  not  only  carried  unani- 
mously, but  were  afterwards  adopted  verbatim  by  morj 
than  forty  other  towns.  In  1768  he  found  it  necessary 
to  remove  to  Boston,  owing  to  the  increase  of  his.  legal 
practice. 

His  professional  integrity  was  soon  after  exhibited  in  the 
defence  of  Captain  Preston  and  some  soldiers,  who  were 
tried  before  a  Boston  jury  on  a  charge  of  murder,  April 
1770.  In  this  case  Adams  was  counsel  for  the  defence; 
and  being  considered  by  the  people,  then  in  an  inflamed 
state  against  the  troops,  as  a  determined  friend  of  liberty, 
his  eloquence  obtained  a  verdict  of  acquittal  without  lessen- 
ing his  popularity. 

When  it  was  determined,  in  1774,  to  assemble  a  general 
congress  from  the  several  colonies,  Mr  Adams  was  one  of 
those  solicited  for  the  purpose  by  the  people  of  Massa- 
chusetts. Before  departing  for  Philadelphia  to  join  the 
congress,  he  parted  with  the  friend  of  his  youth,  his  fellow- 
student  and  associate  at  the  bar,  Jonathan  Sewall,  who  had 
attained  the  rank  of  attorney-general,  and  was  necessarily 
opposed  to  his  political  views.  Sewall  made  a  powerful 
effort  to  change  his  determination,  and  to  deter  him  from 
going  to  the  congress.  He  urged,  that  Britain  was  deter- 
mined on  her  system,  and  was  irresistible,  and  would  be 
destructive  to  him  and  all  those  who  should  persevere  in 
opposition  to  her  designs.  To  this  Adams  replied  •  "  I 
know  that  Great  Britain  has  determined  on  her  system, 
and  that  very  fact  determines  me  on  mine.  You  know  I 
have  been  constant  and  uniform  in  opposition  to  her  mea- 
sures; the  die  is  now  cast;  I  have  passed  the  Rubicon;  to 
swim  or  sink,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish  with  my  country 
is  my  unalterable  determination."  The  conversation  was 
then  terminated  by  Adams  saying  to  his  friend,  "  I  see  we 
must  part ;  and  with  a  bleeding  heart,  I  say,  I  fear  for  ever. 
But  you  may  depend  upon  it,  this  adieu  is  the  sharoest  thorn 
on  which  I  ever  set  my  foot." 

When  the  continental  congress  was  assembled  Mr  Adams 
became  one  of  its  most  active  and  energetic  leaders.  He 
was  a  member  of  that  committee  which  framed  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  and  one  of  the  most  powerful  advo- 
cates for  its  adoption  by  the  general  body;  and  by  his  elo- 
quence obtained  the  unanimous  suffrages  of  that  assembly. 
Though  he  was  appointed  chief -justice  in  1776,  he  decliued 
the  office,  in  order  to  dedicate  his  talents  to  the  general 
purpose  of  the  defence  of  the  country. 

In  1777  he,  with  three  other  members,  was  appointed  a 
commissioner  to  France.  He  remained  in  Paris  about  a 
year  and  a  half,  when,  in  consequence  of  disagreements 
among  themselves,  in  which  Adams  was  not  implicated,  all 
but  Franklin  were  recalled.  In  the  end  of  1779  he  was 
charged  with  two  commissions, — one  as  a  plenipotentiary  to 
treat  for  peace,  the  other  empowering  him  to  form  a  commer- 
cial treaty  with  Great  Britain.  When  he  arrived  in  Paris, 
the  French  Government  viewed  with  jealousy  the  purpose  of 
the  second  commission;  and  Count  de  Vergennes  advised 
him  to  keep  it  secret,  with  a  view  to  prevail  on  the  congress 
to  revoke  it.  Mr  Adams  refused  to  communicate  to  the 
count  his  instructions  on  that  subject;  and  an  altercation 
arose,  from  a  claim  made  by  France  for  a  discrimination  in 
favour  of  French  holders  of  American  paper  money  in  the 
liquidation  of  it.  The  count  complained  to  Congress,  trans- 
mitted copies  of  Mr  Adams's  letters,  and  instructed  the 
French  minister  at  Philadelphia  to  demand  his  recall  The 
demand  was  rejected,  but  afterwards  four  others  were  joined 
with  him  in  the  commission.  Whilst  these  negotiations 
were  in  progress  he  went  to  Holland,  and  there,  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  influence  and  talents  of  the  British  minister, 
Sir  Joseph  Yorke,  succeeded  both  in  negotiating  a  loan,  and 
in  procuring  the  assistance  of  that  country  in  the  defence 
against  Great  Britain.     He  formed  a  commercial  treaty  with 


142 


A  D  A  — A  D  A 


that  republic,  and  joined  in  the  ephemeral  association  called 
"  the  armed  neutral  i  I 

In  178">  Mr  Adams  -was  appointed  ambassador  to  the 
court  of  his  former  sovereign,  where  his  conduct  was  such 
as  to  secure  the  approbation  of  his  own  country,  and  the 
respect  of  that  to  which  he  was  commissioned.  Whilst  in 
London,  he  published  his  work  entitled  Defence  of  the 
American  Constitution,  in  which  he  combated  ably  the 
opinions  of  Turg.it,  Mably,  and  Price,  in  favour  of  a  single 
legislative  assembly;  and  thus  perhaps  contributed  to  the 
division  of  power  and  the  checks  on  its  exercise,  which 
became  established  in  the  United  States.  At  the  close  of 
1787  he  returned,  after  ten  years  devoted  to  the  public 
service,  to  America.  He  received  the  thanks  of  Congress, 
and  was  elected  soon  after,  under  the  presidency  of  Wash- 
ington, to  the  office  of  Vice-President.  In  1790  Mr  Adams 
gave  to  the  public  his  Discourses  on-Davila,  in  which  he 
exposed  the  revolutionary  doctrines  propagated  by  France 
and  her  emissaries  in  other  countries.  On  the  retirement 
of  Washington,  the  choice  of  President  fell  on  Mr  Adams, 
who  entered  on  that  office  in  May  1797.  At  that  time  the 
Government  was  entangled  by  the  insolent  pretensions  of  the 
French  demagogues,  and  by  their  partisans  in  many  of  the 
states.  Great  differences  of  opinion  arose  between  the 
individuals  at  the  head  of  affairs :  one  party,  with  Mr 
Hamilton  at  their  head,  was  disposed  to  resist  the  preten- 
sions of  France  by  open  hostilities;  whilst  Mr  Adams  was 
disinclined  to  war,  so  long  as  there  was  a  possibility  of 
avoiding  it  with  honour.  Owing  to  this  division  of  his 
own  friends,  rather  than  to  a  want  of  public  confidence,  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  four  years  for  which  the  President  is 
chosen,  Mr  Adams  was  not  re-elected.  Perhaps  this  was 
in  some  measure  owing  to  the  preponderance  of  the  slave 
states,  in  which  Mr  Jefferson,  his  rival,  and  a  proprietor  of 
slaves,  had  a  fellow-feeling  among  the  chief  of  the  people. 

He  retired  with  dignity,  at  65  years  of  age,  to  his  native 
place,  formed  no  political  factions  against  those  in  power, 
but  publicly  expressed  his  approbation  of  the  measures 
which  were  pursued  by  him  who  had  been  his  rival,  who 
had  become  his  successor  in  power,  but  had  never  ceased 
to  be  his  firmly-attached  friend. 

The  last  public  occasion  on  which  Mr  Adams  appeared, 
was  as  a  member  of  the  convention  for  the  revision  of  the 
constitution  of  Massachusetts,  in  which  some  slight  altera- 
tions were  requisite,  id  consequence  of  the  province  of 
Maine  being  separated  from  it. 

He  seems  to  have  enjoyed  his  mental  faculties  to  the 
close  of  his  protracted  life;  and  even  on  the  last  day  of  it, 
two  hours  only  before  its  final  close,  on  the  4th  July  1826, 
the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  Act  of  Independence,  he 
dictated  to  a  friend,  as  a  sentiment  to  be  given  at  the 
public  dinner  of  the  day,  "  Independence  for  ever."  By  a 
very  singular  coincidence  Jefferson,  his  rival  and  friend, 
died  a  few  hours  earlier  on  the  same  day. 

Mr  Adams  was  considered  a  sound  scholar,  well  versed 
in  the  ancient  languages,  and  in  many  branches  of  general 
literature.  His  style  in  writing  was  forcible  and  perspicu- 
ous, and,  in  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  remarkably  elegant. 
In  person  he  was  of  middling  stature;  his  manners  spoke 
the  courtesy  of  the  old  school ;  and  his  address,  at  least  when 
he  was  in  England,  was  dignified  and  manly. 

ADAMS,  John  Qui.vcy,  eldest  son  of  the  preceding, 
was  born  at  Braintree  on  tie  1 1th  July  1 7G7.  The  greater 
part  of  hi3  education  was  received  in  Europe,  which  he 
visited  in  company  with  his  father  in  1778,  and  again  in 
1780,  when  he  attended  for  a  time  the  university  of  Ley- 
den.  When  only  fifteen  years  old  he  went,  as  secretary, 
with  Francis  Dana  on  his  unsuccessful  mission  to  St 
Petersburg.  Returning  home  after  an  interval  spent  in 
Holland,  London,  and  Paris,  he  graduated  at  Harvard  in 


1788;  and,  after  spending  three  years  in  a  lawyer's  office, 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1791.  Three  successive  scries 
of  letters,  on  political  subjects,  contributed  to  a  Boston 
per,  attracted  much  attention,  and  Washington 
appointed  him  ambassador  to  the  Hague  in  1794.  An 
appointment  to  a  similar  post  in  Portugal,  made  just  before 
the  expiry  of  Washington's  presidency,  was  set  aside  by 
his  father,  who  sent  him  instead  to  Prussia,  giving  him  the 
promotion  by  the  express  advice  of  Washington.  During 
his  residence  as  ambassador  at  Berlin,  he  succeeded  in  nego- 
tiating a  commercial  treaty  with  Prussia.  On  Jefferson 
becoming  President  (1801),  Adams  was  recalled,  and 
resumed  the  practice  of  law  in  Boston.  In  1802  Suffolk 
county  returned  him  a  member  of  the'  Massachusetts 
Senate,  and  in  the  following  year  he  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress. Indebted  for  his  position  to  the  Federal  party, 
Adams  supported  their  views  for  four  years,  but  separated 
from  them  by  voting  for  Jefferson's  proposed  embargo. 
This  course  involved,  him  in  much  controversy,  and  cost 
him  his  seat  in  the  Senate.  During  his  retirement  he 
added  to  the  employment  arising  from  his  profession  the 
duties  of  the  professorship  of  rhetoric  and  belles  lettres 
at  Harvard  University,  which  he  held  for  three  years 
(1806-9).  His  lectures — the  first  ever  read  in  an  American 
university — were  published  in  1810,  and  were  much  thought 
of  at  the  time,  though  now  almost  forgotten.  In  the 
winter  following  the  resignation  of  his  professorship,  he 
visited  Washington;  and,  in  an  interview  with  Jefferson, 
brought  a  charge  against  some  of  the  Federal  leaders  of  a 
design  to  dissolve  the  union,  and  form  a  separate  confedera- 
tion for  the  north.  The  charge  was  afterwards  repeated 
in  the  newspapers;  and,  though  resting  on  slender  grounds, 
greatly  affected  the  confidence  of  the  other  6tates  in  the 
New  England  representatives.  In  1809  Madison,  having 
obtained  after  some  delay  the  concurrence  of  the  Senate, 
entrusted  Adams  with  the  embassy  to  St  Petersburg, — an 
appointment  which  the  latter  accepted  against  the  wish"-") 
of  his  father,  and  continued  to  hold,  though  offered  a  seat 
on  the  judicial  bench  of  New  England  some  time  after 
his  arrival  in  Russia.  When  war  broke  out  between 
England  and  the  United  States,  Adams  induced  the 
Czar  to  make  an  offer  of  intervention,  which,  however, 
the  English  Government  declined  to  accept.  Independent 
negotiations  were  thereupon  carried  on  for  six  months  at 
Ghent  (the  representatives  of.  America  being  Adams, 
Russell,  and  Clay),  and  resulted  in  the  treaty  of  peace 
which  was  signed  24th  December  1814.  After  serving  for 
two  years  (1815-17)  as  minister  in  London,  he  again 
entered  the  arena  of  home  politics  as  secretary  of  state 
under  Monroe.  In  this  office  he  distinguished  himself 
specially  by  his  arrangement  of  the  treaty  with  Spain,  which 
defined  the  boundaries  of  the  ceded  territories  of  Florida 
and  Louisiana.  An  elaborate  report  on  weights  and  mea- 
sures gained  for  him  also  a  name  for  scientific  acquirements. 
In  1825  the  election  of  a  President  fell,  according  to  the 
constitution  of  the  States,  w>  the  House  of  Representatives, 
since  no  one  of  the  candidates  had  secured  an  absolute' 
majority  of  the  electors  chosen  by  the  States,  and  Adams, 
who  had  stood  second  to  Jackson  in  the  electoral  vote,  was 
chosen  in  preference  to  Jackson,  Clay,  and  Crawford.  The 
administration  of  Adams  was  marked  by  the  imposition  of 
a  high  tariff  on  foreign  goods,  with  the  view  of  promoting 
internal  industry,  and  by  the  unsuccessful  attempt  to  pur- 
chase Cuba  from  Spain.  Notwithstanding  the  efforts  of 
Clay,  and  the  special  claim  he  himself  made  on  the  voters 
of  Virginia  on  account  of  his  discovery  of  the  so-called 
New  England  "plot"  twenty  years  before,  Adams  failed 
to  secure  his  re-election  in  1829.  De:eated  by  Jackson, 
who  had  178  votes  to  his  83,  he  retired  v  Quincy,  where 
his  father's  fortune,  increased  by  his  own  efforts,  afforded 


A  D  A  — A  D  A 


143 


nim  an  ample  competency."*'  Two  years  later  he  was  re- 
turned to  Congress  by  the. district  in  which  he  lived,  and 
which  he  continued  to  represent  untd  bis  death.  Having 
been  chosen  merely  on  account  of  his  determined  resistance 
to  secret  societies,  his  position  was  independent  of  party 
politics,  and  correspondingly  strong.  He  stood  for  the 
office  of  governor,  and  then  for  that  of  senator,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, but  was  on  both  occasions  defeated  by  Davis.  As 
chairman  of  the  committee  ou  manufactures,  he  strove  to 
<levise  a  middle  policy  in  regard  to  tariffs,  but  his  greatest 
effort  at  this  period — perhaps  the  greatest  service  of  his 
whole  political  life — was  in  connection  with  the  abolition 
of  slavery.  In  every  form  which  the  question  took,  he 
v.-a3  the  bold  and  determined  advocate  of  abolition,  gradually 
gathering  an  influential  party  around  him,  and  so  preparing 
for  the  triumphs,  most  of  which  have  been  won  since  his 
death.  He  himself  witnessed,  in  1815,  the  abolition  of 
the  "  gag-ride,"  restricting  the  right  of  petition  to  Congress 
on  the  subject  of  slavery,  which  he  had  persistently  opposed 
during  the  nine  years  it  was  in  force.  He  died  of  paralysis 
on  23d  February  1848,  having  been  seized  two  days  pre- 
viously while  attending  the  debates  of  Congress.  Adams 
wrote  a  trunber  of  works,  which  are  now  of  little  import- 
ance. Tne  style  is  fluent,  but  has  none  of  the  vigour  and 
•elegance  of  his  father's.  During  his  whole  lifetime  he 
kept  a  very  voluminous  journal,  some  portions  of  which 
have  been  published. 

ADAMS,  Richard,  M.A.,  divine.  'Two  contemporaries 
of  the  same  name  are  frequently  confounded  with  each  other. 
The  more  -eminent  was  son  of  the  Rev.  Richard  Adams, 
rector  of  Worrall,  in  Cheshire.  The  family  records  seven 
clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England  in  succession.  The 
present  worthy  was  born  at  Worrall,  but  the  loss  of  the 
registers  leaves  the  date  uncertain.  It  is  usually,  but  erro- 
neously, stated  that  he  studied  at  Cambridge  University. 
lie  was  admitted  a  student  of  Brazenose  College,  Oxford, 
March  24,  1646,  and  became  a  fellow,  having  proceeded 
through  the  usual  degrees.  It  was  at  Brazer.ose  he  formed 
his  life-long  friendship  with  John  Howe,  who  had  a  pro- 
found veneration  for  Adams.  In  1655  he  was  appointed 
to  the  rectory  of  St  Mildred's,  Bread  Street,  London — John 
Milton  being  a  parishioner.  From  this  he  was  ejected  by 
the  Act  of  Uniformity  of  1662.  Thereupon  he  continued 
Lis  ministry  as  opportunity  offered,  and  at  length  was 
settled  as  pastor  of  a  congregation  in  Southwark.  This 
Richard  Adams  is  a  typical  example  of  the  consistent  and 
meek  labourers  of  the  early  and  struggling  period  of  Non- 
conformity. His  holy  and  beautiful  life  inspired  Howe's 
noblest  eloquence  in  his  funeral  sermon.  He  died  in  a 
ripe  old  age,  on  7th  Feb.  1698.  His  principal  literary 
work  is  his  contribution  of  annotations  on  Philippjans  and 
Colossians  to  Pool's  celebrated  Annotations.  Along  with 
Veal  he  edited  the  works  of  .Chamock.  (a.  b.  g.) 

ADAMS,  Sajiuel,  American  statesman,  born  at  Boston, 
Sept.  27,  1722,  was  second  cousin  to  John  Adams.  He 
studied  at  Harvard,  but,  owing  to  his  father's  misfortunes 
in  business  in  connection  with  a  banking  speculation, — the 
*'  manufactory  scheme," — he  had  to  leave  before  complet- 
ing his  course,  and  to  relinquish  his  intention  of  becoming 
a  Congregational  clergyman.  He  received  his  degree, 
however,  and  it  is  worthy  of  note,  as  showing  ;he  tendency 
of  bis  political  opinions,  that  his  thesis  was  a  defence  of 
the  affirmative  reply  to  the  question,  "  Whether  it  be  law- 
ful to  resist  the  supreme  magistrate,  if  the  commonwealth 
cannot  otherwise  be  preserved  1"  The  failure  of  the  bank- 
ing scheme  above  referred  to,  in  consequence  of  the  limita- 
tions imposed  by  English  law,  made  Adams  still  more 
decided  in  his  assertion  of  the  rights  of  American  citizens, 
and  in  his  opposition  to  Parliament.  He  gave  up  hi3 
bvainess,  in  which  he  had  little  success,  and  became  tax- 


collector  for  the  city  of  Boston,  whence  he  was  called  by 
his  political  opponents,  "  Samuel  the  publican."  In  all  the 
proceedings  which  issued  at  last  in  the  declaration  of 
independence  Adams  was  a  conspicuous  actor.  He  took 
part  in  the  numerous  town  meetings,  drafted  the  protest 
which  was  sent  up  by  Boston  agaiust'the  taxation  scheme 
of  Grenville  (May  1764);  and,  being  chosen  next  year  a 
member  of  the  general  court  of  Massachusetts,  soon  became 
one  of  the  leaders  in  debate.  Upon  his  entry  into 
House  he  was  appointed  clerk,  and  had  thus  much  influ- 
ence in  arranging  the  order  of  business  and  in  drawing  up 
papers.  Attempts  were  more  than  once  made  by  the 
English  governor  to  win  him  over  by  the  offer  of  a  place, 
but  Adams  proved  inflexible.  His  uncompromising  resist- 
ance to  the  British  Government  continued;  he  was  a 
prominent  member  of  the  continental  Congress  at  Phila- 
delphia, and  was  one  of  '.jose  who  signed  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  in  1776.  He  was  a  member  of  the  con- 
vention which  settled  the  constitution  of  Massachusetts, 
and  became  president  of  its  Senate.  From  1789  to  1704 
he  was  lieutenant-governor  of  the  State,  and  governor 
from  1794  to  1797,  retiring  in  the  latter  year  partly  on 
account  of  age,  but  partly  also  because  the  Federalists  were 
then  in  the  ascendant,  and  he  himself  was  inclined  to  the 
Jefferson  or  Republican  party.  He  died  on  the  3d  Oct. 
1803.  In  an  oration  on  American  independence,  delivered 
in  Philadelphia,  1st  Aug.  1776,  Adams  characterises  the 
English  as  "a  nation  of  shopkeepers."  The  oration  was 
translated  into  French,  and  published  at  Paris ;  and  it  is 
therefore  not  unlikely  that  Napoleon's  use  of  this  phrase 
was  not  original 

ADAMS,  Thomas — "  the  prose  Shakzpeare  of  Puritan 
theologians,"  as  Southey named  him — has  left  as  few  personal 
memorials  behind  him  as  the  poet  himself.  The  only  facts 
regarding  the  commonplaces  of  his  biography  are  furnished 
by  epistles-dedicatory  and  epistles  to  the  reader,  and  title- 
pages.  From  these  we  learn  that  he  was,  in  1612,  "a 
preacher  of  the  gospel  at  Willington,"  in  Bedfordshire, 
where  he  is  found  on  to  1614,  and  whence  issued  his 
Heaven  and  Earth  Reconciled,  The  DeviCs  Banquet,  and 
other  works;  that  in  1614-15  he  was  at  Wingrave,  in 
Buckinghamshire,  probably  as  vicar,  and  whence  a  number 
of  his  works  went  forth  in  quick  succession;  that  in  1618 
he  held  the  preachership  at  St  Gregory's,  under  St  Paul's 
Cathedral,  and  was  "observant  chaplain"  to  Sir  Henrie 
Montague,  the  Lord  Chief-Justice  of  England j  that  during 
these  years  his  epistles  show  him  to  have  been  on  the 
most  friendly  terms  with  some  of  the  foremost  men  in 
state  and  church;  and  that  he  must  have  died  before  the 
Restoration  of  1660.  His  "  occasionally"  printed  sermons, 
in  small  quartos,  when  collected  in  1630,  placed  him  beyond 
all  comparison  in  the  van  of  the  preachers  of  England. 
Jeremy  Taylor  does  not  surpass  him  in  brilliance  of  fancies, 
nor  Thomas  Fuller  in  wit.  His  numerous  works  display 
great  learning,  classical  and  patristic,  and  are  unique  in 
their  abundance  of  stories,  anecdotes,  aphorisms,  and  puns. 
He  was  a  Puritan  in  the  church,  in  distinction  from  the 
Nonconformist  Puritans,  and  is  evangelically,  not  dry- 
doctrinally,  Calvinistic  in  his  theology.  His  works  have 
been  recently  collected  by  Drs  Joseph  Angus  and  Thomas 
Smith  (3  vols.  8vo,  1862):  (a.  b.  g.) 

ADAMSON,  Patrick,  a  Scottish  prelate,  Archbishop  of 
St  Andrews,  was  born  in  the  year  1543,  in  the  town  of 
Perth,  where  he  received  the  rudiments  of  his  education. 
He  afterwards  studied  philosophy,  and  took  his  degree  of 
master  of  arts  at  the  University  of  St  Andrews.  In  1564 
he  set  out  for  Paris  as  tutor  to  the  eldest  son  of  Sir  Wil- 
liam MacgilL  In  the  month  of  June  of  the  same  year, 
Mary  Queen  of  Scots  being  delivered  of  a  son,  afterwards 
James  VL  of  Scotland  and  L  of  England,  Mr  Adamson 


144 


A  D  A  — A  D  A 


wrote  a  Latin  poem,  in  which  he  gave  the  prince  the  title 
of  king  of  France  and  England.  This  proof  of  his  loyalty 
involved  him  in  difficulties.  The  French  court  was  offended, 
and  ordered  him  to  be  arrested;  and  he  was  confined  for  six 
months.  He  was  released  only  through  the  intercession  of 
Queen  Mary  and  some  of  the  principal  nobility,  who  inte- 
rested themselves  in  his  behalf.  As  6oon  as  he  recovered 
his  liberty,  he  retired  with  his  pupil  to  Bourges.  He  was  in 
this  city  during  the  massacre  at  Paris;  and  the  same  perse- 
cuting spirit  prevailing  among  the  Catholics  at  Bourges  as 
at  the  metropolis,  he  lived  concealed  for  seven  months  in  a 
public-house,  the  aged  master  of  which,  in  reward  for  his 
charity  to  heretics,  was  thrown  from  the  roof,  and  had  his 
brains  dashed  out.  Whilst  Mr  Adamson  lay  thus  in  his 
sepulchre,  as  he  called  it,  he  wrote  his  Latin  poetical  version 
of  the  book  of  Job,  and  his  tragedy  of  Herod  in  the  same 
language.  In  the)rear  1573  he  .eturned  to  Scotland,  and, 
having  entered  into  holy  orders,  became  minister  of  Paisley. 
In  the  year  1575  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  commis- 
sioners, by  the  General  Assembly,  to  settle  the  jurisdiction 
and  policy  of  the  church;  and  the  following  year  he  was 
named,  with  Mr  David  Lindsay,  to  report  their  proceedings 
to  the  Earl  of  Morton,  then  regent.  About  this  time  the 
earl  appointed  him  one  of  his  chaplains;  and,  on  the  death 
of  Archbishop  Douglas,  promoted  liim  to  the  archiepiscopal 
see  of  St  Andrews.  This  gave  rise  to  a  protracted  con- 
flict with  the  Presbyterian  party  in  the  Assembly.  Soon 
after  his  promotion,  he  published  a  catechism  in  Latin  verse, 
dedicated  to  the  king,  a  work  highly  approved  even  by  his 
enemies,  who  nevertheless  still  continued  to  persecute  him 
with  great  vulence.  In  1578  he  submitted  himself  to  the 
General  Assembly,  which  procured  him  peace  but  for  a  very 
little  time;  for,  the  year  following,  fresh  accusations  wene 
brought  against  him.  A  Provincial  Synod  was  held  at  St 
Andrews  in  April  1586;  the  archbishop  was  here  accused 
and  excommunicated.  He  appealed  to  the  king  and  the 
states,  but  this  availed  him  little.  At  the  next  General 
Assembly,  a  paper  being  produced  containing  the  arch- 
bishop's, submission,  he  was  absolved  from  the  excommuni- 
cation. In  1588  fresh  accusations  were  brought  against 
liim.  The  year  following  he  published  the  Lamentations 
of  the  prophet  Jeremiah  in  Latin  verse,  which  he  dedicated 
to  the  king,  complaining  of  his  hard  usage.  Towards  the 
end  of  the  same  year  he  published  a  translation  of  the 
Apocalypse  in  Latin  verse,  and  a  copy  of  Latin  verses. 
The  king  was  unmoved  by  his  application,  and  granted  the 
revenue  of  his  see  to  the  Duke  of  Lennox,  so  that  the 
prelate  and  his  family  were  literally  reduced  to  the  want  of 
bread.  During  the  remaining  part  of  his  unfortunate  life 
he  was  supported  by  charitable  contributions,  and  died  in 
1592.  He  had  previously  made  a  written  recantation  of 
his  alleged  errors  in  regard  to  Episcopacy,  though  the 
genuineness  of  this  is  doubted  by  Spottiswoode.  (See 
Cunningham's  Church  History  of  Scotland,  vol.  i.)  The 
character  of  this  prelate  has  been  variously  represented, 
according  to  the  sentiments  of  religion  and  politics  which 
prevailed.  But  there  is  little  doubt  that  he  encouraged 
and  supported,  under  the  authority  of  the  king,  oppressive 
and  injurious  measures.  The  panegyric  of  the  editor  of 
his  works,  Mr  Wilson,  is  extravagant  and  absurd.  He 
says  that  "  he  was  a  miracle  of  nature,  and  rather  seemed 
to  be  the  immediate  production  of  God  Almighty  than 
born  of  a  woman." 

ADANA,  a  city  of  Asia  Minor,  the  capital  of  the  pro- 
vince of  the  same  name,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Sihtm, 
about  30  miles  from  the  sea,  in  N.  lat.  37°  1',  E.  long. 
35°  1 8'.  It  is  built  on  the  site  of  the  ancient  Antiockia 
ad  Sarum.  Its  position,  commanding  the  passage  of  the 
mountains  to  the  north  of  Syria,  rendered  it  important  as 
a  military  station  in  the  contest  between  the  Egyptians  and 


the  Turk3  in  1832.  After  tho  defeat  of  the  Turkish  army 
at  Konieh,  it  was  taken  possession  of  by  Ibrahim  Pacha, 
and  continued  to  be  held  by  the  Egyptians  till  the  treaty 
of  July  1840  restored  it  to  the  Porte.  In  the  streets  of 
the  town  there  are  numerous  beautiful  fountains,  supplied 
with  water  from  the  river,  which  is  here  spanned  by  a 
stately  bridge  of  fifteen  arches,  said  to  have  been  erected 
by  Justinian.  In  winter  the  climate  is  mild  and  healthy, 
but  in  summer  the  heat  is  so  great  that  the  principal 
inhabitants  betake  themselves  to  various  cool  retreats  in 
the  neighbouring  mountains.  The  adjoining  plain  of 
Adana  is  rich  and  fertile.  The  chief  productions  of  the 
province  are  cotton,  corn,  sesame,  and  wool,  which  are 
largely  exported.     The  population  of  the  town  is  20,000 

ADANSON,  Michel,  a  celebrated  French  naturalist, 
descended  from  a  Scottish  family  which  had  at  the  Revolu 
tion  attached  itself  to  the  fortunes  of  the  house  of  Stuart, 
was  born  the  7th  of  April  1727,  at  Aix,  in  Provence,  where 
his  father  was  in  the  service  of  M.  de  Vintimille,  arch- 
bishop of  that  province.  On  the  translation  of  this  prelate 
to  the  archbishopric  of  Paris,  about  the  year  1730,  the 
elder  Adanson  repaired  thither  with  his  five  children,  who 
were  all  provided  for  by  their  father's  patron.  A  small 
canonry  fell  to  the  lot  of  Michel,  the  revenue  of  which 
defrayed  the  expenses  of  his  education  at  the  college  of 
Plessis.  While  there  he  was  distinguished  for  great  quick- 
ness of  apprehension,  strength  of  memory,  and  mental 
ardour;  but  his  genius  took  no  particular  bent,  until  he 
received  a  microscope  from  the  celebrated  Tuberville  Need- 
ham,  who  was  struck  with  admiration  of  the  talents  and 
acquirements  he  displayed  at  a  public  examination.  From 
that  time  to  the  last  hour  of  his  life  he  persevered  with  a 
zeal  almost  unexampled"  in  the  observation  and  study  of 
nature.  On  leaving  college,  his  youthful  ardour  was  well 
employed  in  the  cabinets  of  Reaumur  and  Bernard  de 
Jussieu,  as  well  as  in  the  Jardin  des  Plantes.  Such  was 
his  zeal,  that  he  repeated  the  instructions  of  the  professors 
to  his  less  apt  fellow-students;  and  before  completing  his 
nineteenth  year  he  had  actually  described  (for  his  own 
improvement)  4000  species  of  the  three  kingdoms  of 
nature.  In  this  way  he  soon  exhausted  the  rich  stores  of 
accumulated  knowledge  in  Europe;  and  having  obtained  a 
small  appointment  in  the  colony  of  Senegal,  he  resigned 
his  canonry,  and  embarked  on  the  20th  of  December  1748 
for  Africa.  Senegal,  from  the  unhealthiness  of  its  climate, 
was  a  terra  incognita  to  naturalists;  and  this  determined 
his  choice  of  that  country  as  a  field  for  exploration.  His 
ardour  remained  unabated  during  the  five  years  of  his 
residence  in  Africa.  He  collected  and  described,  in  greater 
or  less  detail,  an  immense  number  of  animals  and  plants; 
collected  specimens  of  every  object  of  commerce;  delineated 
maps  of  the  country;  made  systematic  meteorological  and 
astronomical  observations;  and  prepared  grammars  and 
dictionaries  of  the  languages  spoken  on  the  banks  of  the 
Senegal.  On  his  return  to  Paris  in  February  1754  he 
found  himself  without  resources,  but  fortunately  secured 
the  patronage  of  M.  de  Bombarde,  who  encouraged  him  in 
the  publication  of  the  scientific  results  of  his  travels.  In 
his  Histoire  Naturelle  du  Senegal  (Paris,  1757)  he  made 
use  of  a  small  portion  of  the  materials  at  his  disposal ;  and 
the  work  has  a  special  interest  from  the  essay  on  Shells, 
printed  at  the  end  of  it,  where  Adanson  proposed  his 
■universal  method,  a  system  of  classification  distinct  from 
those  of  Buffon  and  Linnaeus.  He  founded  his  classifica- 
tion of  all  organised  beings  on  the  consideration  of  each 
individual  organ.  As  each  organ  gave  birth  to  new  rela- 
tions, so  he  established  a  corresponding  number  of  arbitrary 
arrangements.  Those  beings  possessing  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  similar  organs  were  referred  to  one  great  division, 
and  the  relationship  was  considered  more  remote  in  pro- 


A  U  A  — A  D  D 


145 


portion  to  the  dissimilarity  of  organs.     The  chief  defect  of 
this  method  consists  in  presupposing  a  knowledge  of  species 
and  their  organisation  altogether  beyond  the  existing  stage 
of  knowledge.     It  gives,  however,  distinct  ideas  of  the 
degree   of  affinity  subsisting   between   organised   beings, 
independent  of  all  physiological  science.     Until  the  appear- 
ance of  this  work,  the  Testacea  had  scarcely  been  made  the 
subject  of  serious  study.     Adanson's  methodical  distribu- 
tion, founded  on  not  less  than  twenty  of  the  partial  classi- 
fications already  alluded  to,  is  decidedly  superior  to  that  of 
any  of  his  predecessors.     For  the  first  time  there  was  pre- 
sented in  this  department  of  natural  history  a  classification 
of  the  animals  themselves,  and  not  merely  of  the  shells 
which  contain  them.     Like  every  first  attempt,  however,  it 
had  its  imperfections,  which  arose  chiefly  from  ignorance  of 
the  anatomical  structure  of  the  animals.     It  was  owing  to 
this  that  he  omitted,  in  his  arrangement  of  the  Mollusca,  all 
molluscous  animals  without  shells.      He  abandoned  his 
original  plan  of  publishing  his  Senegal  observations  in  eight 
vclumes,  and  applied  himself  entirely  to  his  Families  des 
Planter,  which  he  published  in  1763.     Here  he  developed 
the  principle  of  arrangement  .above  mentioned,  which,  in 
its  adherence  to  natural  botanical  relations,  was  based  on 
the  system  of  Tournefort,  and  had  been  anticipated  to 
some  extent  nearly  a  century  before  by  Eay.     The  success 
of  this  work  was  hindered  by  its  innovations  in  the  use  of 
terms,  which  were  ridiculed  by  the  defenders  of  the  popular 
sexual  system  of  Linnaeus;  but  it  did  much  to  open  the 
way  for  the  establishment,  by  means  principally  of  Jussieu's 
Genera  Plantarum  (1789),  of  the  natural  method  of  the 
classification  of  plants.     In  1774  Adanson  submitted  to  the 
consideration  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  an  immense  work, 
containing  what  may  be  called  the  universal  application  of 
his  universal  meihod;'ioT  it  extended  to  all  known  beings 
and  substances.     This  work  consisted  of  27  large  volumes 
of  manuscript,  employed  in  displaying  the  general  relations 
of 'all  these  matters,  and  their  distribution;  150  volumes 
more,  occupied  with  the  alphabetical  arrangement  of  40,000 
species;   a  vocabulary,   containing   200,000   words,   with 
their  explanations;  and  a  number  of  detached  memoirs, 
40,000  figures,  and  30,000  specimens  of  the  three  king- 
doms- of  nature.     The  committee  to  which  the  inspection 
of  this  enormous  mass  was  intrusted  strongly  recommended 
Adanson  to  separate  and  publish  all  that  was  peculiarly  his 
own,  leaving  out  what  was  merely  compilation.     He  obsti- 
nately rejected  thi3  advice;  and  the  huge  work,  at  which 
he  continued  to  labour,  was  never  published.     He  had  been 
elected  a  member  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  in  1 759,  and  he 
latterly  subsisted  on  a  small  pension  it  had  conferred  on' him. 
Of  this  he  was  deprived  on  the  dissolution  of  the  Academy 
by  the  Constituent  Assembly,  and  wa3  consequently  reduced 
to  such  a  depth  of  poverty  as  to  be  unable  to  appear  before 
the  French  Institute  when  it  invited  him  to  take  his  place 
among  its  members.      Government   afterwards   conferred 
upon  him  a  pension  sufficient  to  relieve  the  simple  wants 
of  the  great  naturalist.     He  died,  after  months  of  severe 
suffering,  on  the  3d  of  August  1806,  requesting,  as  the  only 
decoration  of  his  grave,  a  garland  of  flowers  gathered  from 
the  58  families  he  had  differentiated — "  a  touching  though 
transitory  image,"   says    Cuvier,   "of   the   more   durable 
monument  which  he  has  erected  to  himself  in  his  works." 
His  zeal  for  science,  his  unwearied  industry,  and  his  talents 
as  a  philosophical  observer,  are  conspicuous  in  all  his  writ- 
ings.    The  serenity  of  his  temper,  and  the  unaffected  good- 
ness of  his  heart,  endeared  him  to  the  few  who.  knew  him 
intimately.     On  his  return  from  Africa  in  1754,  he  laid 
before  the  French  Indian  Company  a  scheme,  for  the  settle- 
ment of  a  colony  in  Senegal,  where  articles  of  African 
produce  might  be  cultivated  by  free  negroes.     His  proposi- 
tions were  "uheeded  by  his  countrymen,  and  by  a  mis- 


directed patriotism  he  refused  to  present  them  to  the 
Abolitionists  of  England.  A  similar  feeling  led  him  to 
refuse  to  settle  in  Austria,  Russia,  or  Spain,  on  the  invita- 
tion of  the  sovereigns  of  those  countries.  His  most  im- 
portant works  are  his  Natural  History  of  Senegal  and  his 
Families  of  Plants.  He  contributed  a  number  of  papers  to 
the  Memoirs  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  on  the  Ship-worm, 
the  Baobab  tree  (the  largest  tree  known,  to  which,  in  hon- 
our of  Adanson, Linnaeus  gave  the  name  Adansonia  digitata), 
the  origin  of  the  varieties  of  cultivated  plants,  gum-producing 
trees,  and  the  Oecillatoria  Adansonia,  an  animal  regarded 
by  him  as  a  spontaneously  moving  plant.  TJcsides  *hese 
essays,  he  contributed  several  valuable  articles  in  natural 
history  to  the  earlier  part  of  the  Supplement  to  the  first 
Encyclopedic ;  and  he  is  also  the  reputed  author  of  an  essay 
on  the  Electricity  of  the  Tourmxtline  (Paris,  1757),  which 
bears  the  name  of  the  Duke  of  Koya  Caraffa. 

ADAPTATION',  in  Biology,  is  the  process  by  which  an 
organism  or  species  of  organisms  becomes  modified  to  suit 
the  conditions  of  its  life.  Every  change  in  a  living,  organ- 
ism involves  adaptation;  for  in  all  cases  life  consists  in  a 
continuous  adjustment  of  internal  to  external  relations. 
The  term  is  usually  restricted,  however,  to  imply  such 
modifications  as  arise  during  the  life  of  an  individual,  when 
an  external  change,  directly  generates  some  change  of  func- 
tion and  structure.  Thus,  sirjee  the  adjustments  of  organ- 
isms arise  partly  in  direct  response  to  causes  acting  on  the 
individual,  and  partly  in,  response  to  causes  acting  not 
directly  on  the  individual  but  on  the  species  as  a  whole, 
adaptation  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  complement  of  natural 
selection.  While  natural  selection  acts  primarily  on  the 
species,  adaptation  acts  only  indirectly,  through  the  in- 
heritance of  modifications  directly  generated  in  the- indi- 
vidual.- All  adaptation  is  limited,  since  an  organ  can  only 
vary  to  a  certain  limited  extent  from  its  congenital  struc- 
ture. Adaptations  are  sometimes  distinguished  as  indirect 
(for  instance,  byHaeckeL  Generelle  Morphologic,  voL  ii), 
which  are  directly  generated  in  an  organism,  but  only 
become  apparent  in  its  offspring.  These  form  an  im- 
portant class,  and  seem  to  suggest  that  the  phenomena 
of  adaptation,  thoroughly  understood,  would  go  far  to 
explain  all  the  difficult  cases  of  so-called  spontaneous 
variation. 

ADDA,  the  ancient  Addua,  a  river  of  Northern  Italy, 
formed  by  the  union  of  several  small  streams,  near  the  town 
of  Bormio,  in  the  Rhaetian  Alp3,  flows  westward  through 
the  Valtellina  into  the  Lake  of  Como,  near  its  northern 
extremity.  Issuing  from  the  Lecco  "arm  of  the  lake,  it 
crosses  the  plain  of  Lombardy,  and  finally,  after  a  course 
of  about  150  miles,' joins  the  Po,  8  miles  above  Cremona. 
The  Adda  -was  formerly  the  boundary  between  the  terri- 
tories of  Venice  and  Milan;  and  on  its  banks  several  im- 
portant battles  have  been  fought,  notably  that  of  Lodi, 
where  Napoleon  defeated  the  Austrians  in  1796. 

ADDER,  the  common  viper  ( Vipera  communis).  The 
death  adder  (Acanthopis  tortor)  of  Australia,  and  the  puff 
adder  (Clotho  arietani)  of  South  Africa,  are  both  highly 
poisonous. 

ADDLNGTON,  Hejtet,-  Viscount  Sidmottth,  prime 
minister  of  England,  eldest  son  of  Dr  Anthony  Addington, 
was  born  at  Reading  on  the  30th  May  1757.  He  -was 
educated  at  Winchester  and  at  Brazenose  College,  Oxford. 
In  1784  he  was  called  to  the  bar  at  Lincoln's.  Inn,  but 
being  elected  about  the  same  time  member  of  Parliament 
for  Devizes,  he  did  not  enter  on  legal  practice.  He  was 
already  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  the  younger  Pitt,  his 
father  having  been  Lord  Chatham's  medical  adviser  (a 
circumstance  that  secured  for  young  Addington  the  nick- 
name in  Parliament  of  "the  Doctor");  and  he  attached 
himself,  as  was  natural,  to  the  party  of  the  great  commoner. 


146 


A  D  D  — A  D  D 


His  fidelity  to  Pitt  received  a  speedy  and  ample  acknow- 
ledgment when  he  was  elected,  in  May.  1789,  speaker  of 
the  House,  in  succession  to  Gronville.  For  a  period  of 
t -reive  years  he  discharged  the  duties  of  the  chair  to  the 
general  satisfaction  of  all  parties,  if  with  no  very  marked 
ability.  In  1801,  when  Pitt  resigned  on  the  question  of 
Catholic  emancipation,  Addington  succeeded  him  in  the 
■l  dices  of  prime  minister  and  chancellor  of  the  exchequer. 
Ho  was '.head  of  the  party  that  had  come  to  be  known  as 
•"  the  king's  friends,"  and  took  office,  it  is  said,  on  the 
-urgent  personal  solicitation  of  his  majesty.  The  most 
memorable  event  of  his  brief  administration  was  the  nego- 
tiation of  the  peace  of  Amiens,  which  was  concluded  on 
terms  that  were  considered  very  favourable.  It  proved, 
however,  but  a  short-lived  truce,  the  ambition  of  the  First 
Consul  necessitating  a  renewal  of  hostilities  in  May  1803. 
From  this  period  Pitt  assumed  a  critical  attitudo  towards 
the  ministry,  and  at  length  he  joined  Fox  and  the  opposi- 
tion in  demanding  more  vigorous  measures  for  the  defence 
■of  the  country.  The  result  was  that  Addington  was  com- 
pelled to  resign,  and  Pitt  was  restored  to  power  in  May 
1804.  Addington  abstained  from  all  factious  opposition, 
and  indeed  gave  a  general  support  to  the  Gjvernment. 
In  January  1805  he  joined  the  cabinet  as  president  of  the 
•council,  accepting  at  the  same  time  the  dignity  of  a  peer- 
age, which  he  had  previously  declined.  He  resigned  office, 
however,  in  July  of  tho  same  year,  in  consequence  of  the 
share  he  took  in  the  prosecution  of  Lord  Melville  having 
estranged  him  from  Pitt.  After  the  death  of  the  latter  in 
1806,  he  became  lord  privy  seal,  and  subsequently  lord 
president  in  the  cabinet  of  Fox  and  Grenville,  but  resigned 
•office  in  1807.  He  became  a  third  time  lord  president 
tinder  Mr  Perceval  in  1812,  and  in  June  of  the  same  year 
received  the  seals  of  the  Home  Office  under  the  adminis- 
tration of  Lord  LiverpooL  He  held  this  position  for  ten 
eventful  years,  during  which  he  received  his  full  share  of 
the  hostile  criticism  to  which  home  secretaries  are  pecu- 
liarly exposed.  His  administration  had  the  merit  of  being 
-vigorous,  fearless,  and  consistent;  but  it  frequently  occa- 
sioned great  irritation,  and  all  but  provoked  rebellion. 
The  policy  of  repression  which  he  pursued  in  regard  to  the 
reform  meeting  at  Manchester  in  1819,  was  not  justifiable 
even  according  to  the  limited  ideas  of  liberty  prevalent  at 
that  time.  Lord  Sidmouth  resigned  office  in  1822,  retain- 
ing his  seat  in  the  cabinet,  however,  until  1824.  He  died 
on  tho  loth  Feb.  1844,  at  the  advanced  age  of  87.  (Life 
and  Correspondence  of  Lord  Sidmouth,  by  Dean  Pellew, 
3  vols.  8vo,  1847;  Life  of  William  Pitt  by  Lord  Stan- 
hope, 4  vols.  p.  8vo,  1867.) 

ADDISON,  Joseph,  was  the  eldest  son  of  Lancelot 
Addison,  Dean  of  Lichfield,  and  was  bom  at  his  father's 
rectory  of  Milston  in  Wiltshire,  on  the  1st  day  of  May 
1672  Afcer  having  passed  through  several  schools,  the 
last  of  which  was  the  Charter-house,  he  went  to  Oxford 
when  he  was  about  fifteen  years  old.  He  was  first  entered 
of  Queen's  College,  but  after  two  years  was  elected  a  scholar 
of  Magdalen  College,  having,  it  is  said,  been  recommended 
by  his  skill  in  Latin  versification.  He  took  his  master's 
degree  in  1693,  and  held  a  fellowship  from  1609  till  1711. 
The  eleven  years  extending  from  1693,  or  his  twenty-first 
year,  to  1704,  when  he  was  in  his  thirty -second,  may  be 
wn  as  the  first  stage  of  his  life  as  a  man  of  letters. 
During  this  period,  embracing  no  profession,  and  not  as  yet 
entangled  in  official  business,  he  was  a  student,  an  observer, 
and  an  author;  and  though  the  literary  works  which  he 
then  produced  are  not  those  on  which  his  permanent  cele- 
brity rests,  they  gained  for  him  in  his  own  day  a  high 
reputation.  He  had  at  first  intended  to  become  a  clergy- 
man ;  but  his  talents  having  attracted  the  attention  of 
loading  statesmen  belonging  to  the  Whig  party,  he  was 


speedily  diverted  from  his  earlier  vievfs  oy  thj  countenance 
which  these  men  bestowed  on  him.*  His  first  patron  (to 
whom  he  seems  to  have  been  introduced  by  Congreve)  was 
Charles  Montague,  afterwards  Earl  of  Halifax,  who  was 
himself  a  dabbler  in  literature,  and  a  protector  of  literary 
men;  and  he  became  kuown  afterwards  to  the  accomplished 
and  excellent  Somers.  While  both  of  them  were  quite  able- 
to  estimate  justly  his  literary  merits,  they  had  regard  mainly 
to  the  services  which  they  believed  him  capable  of  render 
ing  to  the  .nation  or  the  parly;  and  accordingly  they 
encouraged  him  to  regulate  his  pursuits  with  a  view  to 
public  and  official  employment.  For  a  considerable  time, 
however,  he  was  left  to  his  own  resources;  which  cannot 
have  been  otherwise  than  scanty. 

His  first  literary  efforts  were  poetical  In  1693  a  short 
poem  of  his,  addressed  to  Dryden,  was  inserted  in  the  third 
volume  of  that  veteran  writer's  Miscellanies.  The  .next 
volume  of  this  collection  contained  his  translation,  in  toler- 
able heroic  couplets,  of  "  all  Virgil's  Fourth  Georgic,  except 
the  story  of  Aristaeus."  Two  and  a  half  books  of  Ovid 
were  afterwards  attempted;  and  to  his  years  of  early  man- 
hood belonged  also  his  prose  Essay  on  Virgil's  Georgics,  a 
performance  which  hardly  deserved,  either  for  its  style  or 
lor  its  critical  excellence,  the  compliment  paid  it  by  Dryden, 
in  prefixing  it  to  his  own  translation  of  the  poem.  The  most 
ambitious  of  those  poetical  assay-pieces  is  the  Acwunt  of 
(lie  Greatest  English  Poets,  dated  April  1694,  and  addressed 
affectionately  to  Sacheverell,  the  poet's  fellow-collegian,  who 
afterwards  became  so  notorious  in  the  party  quarrels  of  tho 
time.  This  piece,  spirited  both  in  language  and  in  versi- 
fication, is  chiefly  noticeable  as  showing  that  ignorance  of 
old  English  poetry  which  was  then  universal.  Addison 
next,  in  1695,  published  one  of  those  compositions,  celebrat- 
ing contemporary  events,  and  lauding  contemporary  great 
men,  on  which,  during  the  half-century  that  succeeded  the 
Revolution,  there  was  wasted  so  much  of  good  writing  and 
of  fair  poetical -ability.  His  piece,  not  very  meritorious  even 
in  its  own  class,  was  addressed  "  To  the  King,"  and  com- 
memorates the  campaign  which  was  distinguished  by  Wil- 
liam's taking  of  Naniur.  Much  better  than  the  poem  itself 
are  the  introductory  verses  to  Somers,  then  lord  keeper. 
This  production,  perhaps  intended  as  a  remembrancer  to 
the  writer's  patrons,  did  not  at  once  produce  any  obvious 
effect :  and  we  are  left  in  considerable  uncertainty  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  about  this  tune  Addison  contrived  to 
support  himself.  He  corresponded  with  Tonson  the  book- 
seller about  projected  works,  one  of  these  being  a  Trans- 
lation of  Herodotus.  It  was  probably  at  some  later  time 
that  he  purposed  compiling  a  Dictionary  of  the  English 
Language.  In  1699  a  considerable  collection  of  his  Latin 
verses  was  published  at  Oxford,  in  the  Musm  Avglicanw. 
These  appear  to  have  interested  some  foreign  scholars ; 
and  several  of  them  show  curious  symptoms  of  his  charac- 
teristic humour. 

In  the  same  year,  his  patrons,  either  having  still  no  office 
to  spare  for  him,  or  desiring  him  to  gain  peculiarly  high 
qualifications  for  diplomatic  or  other  important  business, 
provided  for  him  temporarily  by  a  grant,  which,  though 
bestowed  on  a  man  of  great  merit  and  promise,  would  not 
pass  unquestioned  in  the  present  century.  He  obtained, 
on  the  recommendation  of  Lord  Somers,  a  pension  of  £300 
a  year  Addison  himself  afterwards  said  in  a 

memorial  addressed  to  the  crown)  to  enable  him  "  to  travel, 
and  qualify  himself  to  serve  His  Majesty."  In  the  summer 
of  1699  he  crossed  into  France,  where,  chiefly  for  the  pur- 
pose of  learning  the  language,  he  remained  till  the  end  of 
1700;  and  after  this  he  spent  a  year  in  Italy.  In  Switz- 
erland, on  his  way  home,  he  Was  stopj>ed  by  receiving 
notice  that  he  was  to  be  appointed  envoy  to  Prince  Eugene, 
then  engaged  in  the  war  in  Italy.     Cut  his  "tVhig  friends 


ADDISON 


147 


-were  already  tottering  in  their  places;  and,  in  March  1702, 
the  death  of  King  William  at  once  drove  them  from  power 
and  put  an  end  to  the  pension.  Indeed  Addison  asserted 
that  he  never  received  but  one  year's  payment  of  it,  and 
that  all  the  other  expenses  of  his  travels  were  defrayed  by 
himself.  He  was  able,  however,  to  visit  a  gTeat  part  of 
Germany,  and  did  not  reach  Holland,  till  the  spring  of 
1703.  His  prospects  were  now  sufficiently  gloomy:  he 
entered  into  treaty,  oftener  than  once,  for  an  engagement 
as  a  travelling  tutor;  and  the  correspondence  in  one  of 
these  negotiations  has  been  preserved.  Tonson  had  recom- 
mended him  as  the  best  person  to  attend  in  this  character 
the  son  of  the  Duke  of  Somerset,  commonly  called  "  The 
Proud."  The  duke,  a  profuse  man  in  matters  of  pomp, 
wa3  economical  in  questions  of  education.  He  wished 
Addison  to'  name  the  salary  he  expected;  this  being 
declined,  he  announced,  with  great  dignity,  that  he  would 
give  a  hundred  guineas  a  year;  Addison  accepted  the 
munificent  offer,  saying,  however,  that  he  could  not  find 
Ms  account  in  it  otherwise  than  by  relying  on  his  Grace's 
future  patronage;  and  his  Grace  immediately  intimated 
that  he  would  look  .out  for  some  one  else.  Towards  the 
end  of  1703  Addison  returned  to  England. 

Works  which  he  composed  during  his  residence  ou  the 
Continent  were  the  earliest  that  showed  him  to  have  attained 
maturity  of  skill  and  genius.  There  is  good  reason  for  be- 
lieving that  his  tragedy  of  Cato,  whatever  changes  it  may 
afterwards  have  suffered,  was  in  great  part  written  while  he 
lived  in  France,  that  is,  when  he  was  about  twenty-eight 
years  of  age.  In  the  winter  of  1701,  amidst  the  stoppages 
and  discomforts  of  a  journey  across  the  Mount  Cenis,  he 
composed,  wholly  or  partly,  his  Letter  from  Italy,  which  is 
by  far  the  best  of  his  poems,  if  it  is  not  rather  the  only  one 
among  them  that  at  all  justifies  his  claim  to  the  poetical 
character.  It  contains  some  fine  touches  of  description, 
and  is  animated  by  a  noble  tone  of  classical  enthusiasm. 
While  in  Germany  he  wrote  his  Dialogues  on  Medals,  which, 
Jaowever,  were  not  published  till  after  his  death.  These 
lave,  much  liveliness  of  style,  and  something '  of  the  gay 
tumour  which  the  author  was  afterwards  to  exhibit  more 
•strongly;  but  they  show  little  either  of  antiquarian  learning 
or  of  critical  ingenuity.  In  tracing  out  parallels  between 
passages  of  the  Roman  poets  and  figures  or  scenes  which 
■appear  in  ancient  sculptures,  Addison  opened  the  easy  course 
of  inquiry  which  was  afterwards  prosecuted  by  Spence;  and 
this,  with  the  apparatus  of  spirited  metrical  translations  from 
the  classics,  gave  the  work  a  likeness  to  his  account  of  his 
travels.  This  account,  entitled  Remarks  on  Several  Parts 
of  Italy,  &.C.,  he  «ent  home  for  publication  before  his  own 
return.  It  wants  altogether  the  interest  of  personal  narra- 
tive: the  author  hardly  ever  appears.  The  task  in  which 
he  chiefly  busies  himself  is  that  of  exhibiting  the  illustra- 
tions which  the  writings  of  the  Latin  poets,  and  the  anti- 
quities and  scenery  of  Italy,  mutually  give  and  receive. 
Many  of  the  landscapes  are  sketched  with  great  liveliness, 
and  there  are  not  a  few  strokes  of  arch  humour.  The 
statistical  information  is  very  meagre;  nor  are  there  many 
observations  on  society;  and  politics  are  no  further 
meddled  with  than  to  show  the  moderate  liberality  of  the 
writer's  own  opinions. 

With  the  year  1 704  begins  a  second  era  in  Addison's  life, 
which  extends  to  the  summer  of  1710,  when  his  age  was 
thirty-eight.  This  was  the  first  term  of  his  official  career; 
and,  though  very  barren  of  literary  performance,  it  not  only 
raised  him  from  indigence,  but  settled  definitively  his  posi- 
tion as  a  public  man.  His  correspondence  shows  that,  while 
on  the  Continent,  he  had  been  admitted  to  confidential  inti- 
macy by  diplomatists  and  men  of  rank ;  immediately  on  his 
return  he  was  enrolled  in  the  Kitcat  Club,  and  brought  thus 
and  otherwise  into  communication  with  the  gentry  of  the 


Whig  party.  Although  all  accounts  agree  in  representing 
him  as  a  shy  man,  he  was  at  least  saved  from  all  risk  ol 
making  himself  disagreeable  in  society,  by  his'  unassuming 
manners,  his  extreme  caution,  and  that  sedulous  desire  to 
oblige,  which  his.  satirist  Pope  exaggerated  into  a  positive 
fault.  His  knowledge  and  ability  were  esteemed  so  highly, 
es  to  confirm  the  expectations  formerly  entertained  of  his 
usefulness  in  public  business ;  and  the  literary  fame  he  had 
already  acquired  soon  furnished  an  occasion  for  recommend- 
ing him  to  public  employment.  Though  the  Whigs  were 
out  of  office,  the  administration  which  succeeded  them  was, 
in  all  its  earlier  changes,  of  a  complexion  so  mixed  and  un- 
certain, that  the  influence  of  their  leaders  was  not  entirely 
lost  Not  long  after  Marlborough's  great  victory  at  Blen- 
heim, it  is  said  that  Godolphin,  the  lord  treasurer,  expressed 
to  Lord  Halifax  a  desire  to  have  the  great  duke's  fame 
extended  by  a  poetical  tribute.  Halifax  seized  the  oppor- 
tunity of  recommending  Addison  as  the  fittest  man  for  the 
duty;  stipulating,  we  are  told,  that  the  service  should  not 
be  unrewarded,  and  douhtless  satisfying  the  minister  that 
his  protege"  possessed  other  qualifications  for  office  besides 
dexterity  in  framing  heroic  verse.  The  Campaign,  the 
poem  thus  written  to  order,  was  received  with  extraordinary 
applause;  and  it  is  probably  as  good  as  any  that  ever  was 
prompted  by  no  more  worthy  inspiration.  It  has,  indeed, 
neither  the  fiery  spirit  which  Dryden  threw  into  occasional 
pieces  of  the  sort,  nor  the  exquisite  polish  that  would  have 
been  given  by  Pope,  if  he  had  stooped  to  make  such  uses 
of  his  genius;  but  many  of  the  details  are  pleasing;  and  in 
the  famous  passage  of  the  Angel,  as  well  as  in  several  others, 
there  is  even  something  of  force  and  imagination. 

The  consideration  covenanted  for  by  the  poet's  friends 
was  faithfully  paid.  A  vacancy  occurred  by  the  death  of 
another  celebrated  man,  John  Locke;  and  in  November 
1704,  Addison  was  appointed  one  of  the  five  commissioners 
of  appeal  in  Excise.  The  duties  of  the  place  must  have  been 
as  light  for  him  as  they  had  been  for  his  predecessor;  for  he 
continued  to  hold  it  with  all  the  appointments  he  subse- 
quently received  from  the  same  ministry.  But  there  is  no 
reason  for  believing  that  he  was  more  careless  than  other 
public  servants  in  his  time ;  and  the  charge  of  incompetency 
as  a  man  of  business,  which  has  been  brought  so  positively 
against  him,  cannot  possibly  be  true  as  to  this  first  period 
of  his  official  career.  Indeed,  the  specific  allegations  refer 
exclusively  to  the  last  years  of  his  life;  and,  if  he  had  not 
really  shown  practical  ability  in  the  period  now  in  question, 
it  is  not  easy  to  see  how  he,  a  man  destitute  alike  of  wealth, 
of  social  or  fashionable  liveliness,  and  of  family  interest, 
could  have  been  promoted,  for  several  years,  from  office  to 
office,  as  he  was,  till  the  fall  of  the  administration  to  which 
he  was  attached.  In  1706  he  became  one  of  the  under- 
secretaries of  state,  serving  first  under  Hedges,  who  belonged 
to  the  Tory  section  of  the  Government,  and  afterwards  under 
Lord  Sunderland'  Marlborough's  son-in-law,  and  a  zealous 
follower  of  Addison's  early  patron,  Somers.  The  work  of 
this  office,  however,  like  that  of  the  commvssionership,  must 
often  have  admitted  of  performance  by.  deputy.  For  in 
1707,  the  Whigs  having  become  stronger,  Lord  Halifax 
was  sent  on  a  mission  to  the  Elector  of  Hanover;  and, 
besides  taking  Vanbrugh  the  dramatist  with  him. as  king- 
at-arms,  he  selected  Addison  as  his  secretary.  In  1708  he 
entered  Parliament,  sitting  at  first  for  Lostwithiel,  but 
afterwards  -for  Malmesburj,  which,  being  six  times  elected, 
he  represented  from  1710  till  his  death.  Here  unquestion- 
ably he  did  fail.  What  part  he  may  have  taken  in  the 
details  of  business  we  are  not  informed;  but  he  was  always 
a  silent  member,  unless  it  be  true  that  he  once  attempted 
to  speak  and  sat  clown  in  confusion.  In  1709  Lord 
Wharton,  the  father  of  the  notorious  duke,  having  been 
named    lord-lieutenant   of   Ireland,   Addison   became  his 


148 


ADDISON 


secretary,  receiving  also  an  appointment  as  keeper  of  records. 
This  event  happened  only  about  a  year  and  a  half  before 
the  dismissal  of  the  ministry;  and  the  Irish  secretary  would 
seem  to  have  transacted  the  business  of  his  office  chiefly  in 
London.  But  there  are  letters  showing  him  to  have  made 
himself  acceptable  to  some  of  the  best  and  most  distin- 
guished persons  in  Dublin;  and  he  escaped  without  having 
any  quarrel  with  Swift,  his  acquaintance  with  whom  had 
begun  some  time  before.  In  the  literary  history  of 
Addison  those  seven  years  of  official  service  are  almost  a 
Slank,  till  we  approach  their  close.  He  defended  the 
Tovernnient  vc  in  anonymous  pamphlet  on  The  Present 
State  of  the  War;  he  united  compliments  to  the  all-powerful 
Marlborough  with  indifferent  attempts  at  lyrical  poetry  in 
his  opera  of  Rosamond;  and,  besides  furnishing  a  prologue 
to  Steele's  comedy  of  The  Tender  Husband,  he  perhaps 
gave  some  assistance  in  the  composition  of  the  play.  Irish 
administration,  however,  allowed  it  would  seem  more 
leisure  than  might  have  been  expected.  During  the  last 
few  months  of  his  tenure  of  office  Addison  contributed 
largely  to  the  Taller.  But  his  entrance  on  this  new  field 
does  nearly  coincide  with  the  beginning  of  a  new  section  in 
his  history. 

Even  the  coalition-ministry  of  Godolphin  was  too  Whig- 
gish  for  the  taste  of  Queen  Anne;  and  the  Tories,  the 
favourites  of  the  court,  gained,  both  in  parliamentary  power 
and  in  popularity  out  of  doors,  by  a  combination  of  lucky 
accidents,  dexterous  maaagement,  and  divisions  and  double- 
dealing  among  their  adversaries.  The  real  failure  of  the 
prosecution  of  Addison's  old  friend  .Sacheverell,  completed 
the  ruin  of  the  Whigs;  and  in  August  1710  an  entire 
revolution  in  the  ministry  had  been  completed.  The  Tory 
administration  which  succeeded  kept  its  place  till  the 
queen's  death  in  1714,  and  Addison  was  thus  left  to  devote 
four  of  the  best  years  of  his  life,  from  his  thirty-ninth  year 
to  his  forty-third,  to  occupations  less  lucrative  than  those  in 
which  his  time  had  recently  been  frittered  away,  but  much 
more  conducive  to  the  extension  of  his  own  fame,  and  to 
the  benefit  of  English  literature.  Although  our  information 
as  to  his  pecuniary  affairs  is  very  scanty,  we  are  entitled  to 
believe  that  he  was  now  independent  of  literary  labour.  He 
speaks,  in  an  extar.t  paper,  of  having  had  (but  lost)  property 
in  the  West  Indies ;  and  he  is  understood  to  have  inherited 
several  thousand  pounds  from  a  younger  brother,  who  was 
governor  of  Madras.  In  1711  he  purchased,  for  £10,000, 
the  estate  of  Bilton,  near  Rugby, — the  place  which  after- 
wards became  the  residence  of  Mr  Apperley,  better  known 
by  his  assumed  name  of  "  Nimrod." 

During  those  four  years-  he  produced  a  few  political 
writings.  Soon  after  the  fall  of  the  ministry,  he  con- 
tributed five  numbers  to  the  Whig  Examiner,  a  paper  set 
up  in  opposition  to  the  Tory  periodical  of  the  same  name, 
which  was  then  conducted  by  the  poet  Prior,  and  after- 
wards became  the  vehicle  of  Swift's  most  vehement  invec- 
tives against  the  party  he  had  once  belonged  to.  These  are 
certainly  the  most  ill-natured  of  Addison's  writings,  but 
they  are  neither  lively  nor  vigorous.  There  is  more  spirit 
in  his  allegorical  pamphlet,  the  Trial  and  Conviction  of 
Count  Tariff. 

But  from  the  autumn  of  1710  till  the  end  of  1714  his 
principal  employment  was  the  composition  of  his  celebrated 
Periodical  Essays.  The  honour  of  inventing  the  plan  of 
such  compositions,  as  well  as  that  of  first  carrying  the  idea 
into  execution,  belongs  to  Richard  Steele,  who  had  been  a 
Rchool-fellow  of  Addison  at  the  Charter-house,  continued  to 
l)e  on  intimate  terms  with  him  afterwards,  and  attached 
liimself  with  his  characteristic  ardour  to  the  same  political 
party.  When,  in  April  1709,  Steele  published  the  first 
number  of  the  Tatler,  Addispn  was  in  Dublin,  and  knew 
nothing  of  the  design.    He  is  said  to  have  detected  his 


friend's  authorship  only  by  recognising,  in  one  of  the  early 
papers,  a  critical  remark  which  he  remembered  having  him- 
self communicated  to  Steele.  Ho  began  to  furnish  essays 
in  a  few  weeks,  assisted  occasionally  while  he  held  office, 
and  afterwards  wrote  oftener  than  Steele  himself.  He  thus 
contributed  in  all,  if  his  literary  executor  selected  his  con- 
tributions correctly,  more  than  60  of  the  271  essays  which 
the  work  contains.  The  Tatler  exhibited,  in  more  ways 
than  one,  symptoms  of  being  an  experiment.  The  pro- 
jector, imitating  the  news-sheets  in  form,  thought  it  prudent 
to  give,  in  each  number,  news  in  addition  to  the  essay;  and 
there' was  a  want,  both  of  unity  and  of  correct  finishing,  in 
tho  putting  together  of  the  literary  materials.  Addison's 
contributions,  in  particular,  are  in  many  places  as  lively  aa 
anything  he  ever  wrote;  and  his  style,  in  its  more  familiar 
moods  at  least,  had  been  fully  formed  before  he  returned 
from  the  Continent.  But,  as  compared  with  his  later  pieces, 
these  are  only  what  the  painter's  loose  studies  and  sketches 
are  to  the  landscapes  which  he  afterwards  constructs  out  ol 
them.  In  his  invention  of  incidents  and  characters,  one 
thought  after  another  is  hastily  used  and  hastily  dismissed, 
as  if  he  were  putting  his  own  powers  to  the  test,  or  trying 
the  effect  of  various  kinds  of  objects  on  his  readers ;  his  most 
ambitious  flights,  in  the  shape  of  allegories  and  the  like,  are 
stiff  and  inanimate;  and  his  favourite  field  of  literary  criti 
cism  is  touched  so  slightly,  as  to  show  that  he  still  wanted 
confidence  in  the  taste  and  knowledge  of  the  public. 

The  Tatler  was  dropped  at  the  beginning  of  1711,  but 
only  to  be  followed  by  the  Spectator,  which  was  begun  on 
the  1st  day  of  March,  and  appeared  every  week-day  till  the 
6th  day  of  December  1712.  It  had  then  completed  the 
555  numbers  usually  collected  in  its  first  seven  volumes. 
Addison,  now  in  London  and  unemployed,  co-operated  with 
Steele  constantly  from  the  very  opening  of  the  series;  and 
the  two,  contributing  almost  equally,  seem  together  to  have 
written  not  very  much  less  than  five  hundred  of  the  papers. 
Emboldened  by  the  success  of  their  former  adventure,  they 
devoted  their  whole  space  to  the  essays.  They  relied,  with 
a  confidence  which  the  extraordinary  popularity  of  the  work 
fully  justified,  on  their  power  of  exciting  the  interest  of  a 
wide  audience  by  pictures  and  reflections  drawn  from  a 
field  which  embraced  the  whole  compass  of  ordinary  life 
and  ordinary  knowledge,  no  kind  of  practical  themes  being 
positively  excluded  except  such  as  were  political,  and  all 
literary  topics  being  held  admissible,  for  which  it  seemed 
possible  to  command  attention  from  persona  of  average 
taste  and  information.  A  seeming  unity  was  given  to  the 
undertaking,  and  curiosity  and  interest  awakened  on  behalf 
of  the  conductors,  by  the  happy  invention  of  the  Spectator's 
Club,  in  which  Steele  is  believed  to  have  drawn  all  the 
characters.  The  figure  of  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley,  however,- 
the  best  even  in  the  opening  group,  is  the  only  one  .that 
was  afterwards  elaborately  depicted;  and  Addison  was  the 
author  of  all  the  papers  in  which  his  oddities  and  amia- 
bilities are  so  admirably  delineated.  To  hiin,  also,  the 
Spectator  owed  a  very  large  share  of  its  highest  excellences. 
His  were  many,  and  these  the  most  natural  and  elegant,  if 
not  the  most  original,  of  its  humorous  sketches  of  human 
character  and  social  eccentricities,  its  good-humoured  satires 
on  ridiculous  features  in  manners,  and  on  corrupt  symptoms 
in  public  taste;  these  topics,  however,  making  up  a  depart- 
ment in  which  Steele  was  fairly  on  a  level  with  his  more 
famous  coadjutor.  But  Steele  had  neither  learning-,  nor 
taste,  nor  critical  acuteness  sufficient  to  qualify  him  for 
enriching  the  series  with  such  literary  disquisitions  as  those 
which  Addison  insinuated  so  often  into  the  lighter  matter 
of  his  essays,  and  of  which  le  gave  an  elaborate  specimen 
in  his  celebrated  and  agreeable  criticism  on  Paradise  Lost. 
Still  further  beyond  the  powers  of  Steele  were  those  specu- 
lations on  the  theory  of  literature  and  of  the  processes  of 


ADDISON 


140 


thouslit  analogous  to  it,  which,  in  the  essays  "  On  the  Plea- 
sures of  the  Imagination,"  Addison  prosecuted,  not,  indeed, 
with  much  of  philosophical  depth,  but  with  a  sagacity  and 
comprehensiveness  which  we  shall  undervalue  much  unless 
we  remember  how  little  of  philosophy  was  to  be  found  in 
any  critical  views  previously  propounded  in  England.     To 
Addison,  further,  belong  those   essays  which   (most   fre- 
quently introduced  in  regular  alternation  in  the  papers  of 
Saturday)  rise  into  the  region  of  moral  and  religious  medi- 
tation, and  tread  the  elevated  ground  with  a  step  so  grace- 
ful as  to  allure  the  reader  irresistibly  to  follow ;  sometimes, 
as  in  the  "  Walk  through  Westminster  Abbey,"  enlivening 
solemn  thought  by  gentle  sportiveness ;  sometimes  flowing 
on  with  an  uninterrupted  sedateness  of  didactic  eloquence; 
and  sometimes  shrouding  sacred  truths  in  the  veil  of  in- 
genious allegory,  as  in   the  majestic  "  Vision  of  Mirza." 
While,  in  a  word,  the  Spectator,  if  Addison  had  not  taken 
part  in  it,  would  probably  have  been  as  lively  and  humorous 
as  it  was,  and  not  less  popular  in  its  own  day,  it  would  have 
wanted  some  of  its  strongest  claims  on  the  respect  of  pos- 
terity, by  being  at  once  lower  in  its  moral  tone,  far  less 
abundant  in  literary  knowledge,  and  much  less  vigorous 
and  expanded  in  thinking.     In  point  of  style,  again,  the 
two  friends  resemble  each  other  so  closely  as  to  be  hardly 
distinguishable,  when  both  are  dealing  with  familiar  objects, 
and  writing  in  a  key  not  rising  above  that  of  conversation. 
But  in  the  higher  tones  of  thought  and  composition,  Addi- 
son showed  a  mastery  of  language  raising  him  very  de- 
cisively, not  above  Steele  only,  but  above  all  his  contem- 
poraries.    Indeed,  it  may  safely  be  said,  that  no  one,  in 
any  age  of  our  literature,  has  united,  so  strikingly  as  he  did, 
the  colloquial  grace  and  ease  which  mark  the  style  of  an 
accomplished  gentleman,  with  the  power  of  soaring  into  a 
strain  of  expression  nobly  and  eloquently  dignified. 

On  the  cessation  of  the  Spectator,  Steele  set  on  foot  the 
Guardian,  which,  started  in  March  1713,  came  to  an  end 
in  October,  with  its  175th  number.  To  this  series  Addison 
gave  53  papers,  being  a  very  frequent  writer  during  the 
latter  half  of  its  progress.  None  of  his  essays  here  aim 
so  high  as  the  best  of  those  in  the  Spectator;  but  he  often 
exhibits  both  his  cheerful  and  well-balanced  humour,  and 
nis  earnest  desire  to  inculcate  sound  principles  of  literary 
judgment.  In  the  last  six  months  of  the  year  1714,  the 
Spectator  received  its  eighth  and  last  volume;  for  which 
Steele  appears  not  to  have  written  at  all,  and  Addison  to 
have  contributed  24  of  the  80  papers.  Most  of  these  form, 
in  the  unbroken  seriousness  both  of  their  topics  and  of 
their  manner,  a  contrast  to  the  majority  of  his  essays  in 
the  earlier  volumes;  but  several  of  them,  both  in  this  vein 
and  in  one  less  lofty,  are  among  the  best  known,  if  not  the 
finest,  of  all  his  essays.  Such  are  the  "  Mountain  of 
Miseries;"  the  antediluvian  novel  of  "  Shallum  and  Hilpa;" 
the  "  Reflections  by  Moonlight  on  the  Divine  Perfections." 
In  April  1713  Addison  brought  on  the  stage,  very  reluc- 
tantly, as  we  are  assured,  and  can  easily  believe,  his  tragedy 
of  Calo.  Its  success  was  dazzling;  but  this  issue  was 
mainly  owing  to  the  concern  which  the  politicians  took  in 
the  exhibition.  The  'Whigs  hailed  it  as  a  brilliant  mani- 
festo in  favour  of  constitutional  freedom.  The  Tories 
echoed  the  applause,  to  show  themselves  enemies  of  despot- 
ism, and  professed  to  find  in  Julius  Csesar  a  parallel  to  the 
formidable  Marlborough.  Even  with  such  extrinsic  aid", 
and  the  advantage  derived  from  the  established  fame  of  the 
author,  Cato  could  never  have  been  esteemed  a  good 
dramatic  work,  unless  in  an  age  in  which  dramatic  power 
and  insight  were  almost  extinct.  It  is  poor  even  in  its 
poetical  elements,  and  is  redeemed  only  by  the  finely 
solemn  tone  of  its  moral  reflections,  and  the  singular  refine- 
ment and  equable  smoothness  of  its  diction. 

The  literary  career  of  Addison  micbt  almost  be  held  as 


closed  soon  after  the  death  of  Queen  Anne,  which  occurred 
in  August  1714,  when  he  had  lately  completed  his  42d 
year.  His  own  life  extended  only  five  years  longer;  and 
this  closing  portion  of  it  offers  bttle  that  i3  pleasing  or 
instructive.  'We  see  him  attaining  the  summit  of  his 
ambition,  only  to  totter  for  a  little  and  sink  into  an  early 
grave.  We  are  reminded  of  his  more  vigorous  days  by 
nothing  but  a  few  happy  inventions  interspersed  in  political 
pamphlets,  and  the  gay  fancy  of  a  trifling  poem  on  Kneller's 
portrait  of  George  I. 

The  lord  justices  who,  previously  chosen  secretly  by  the 
Elector  of  Hanover,  assumed  the  government  on  the  Queen's 
demise,  were,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  leading  Whiss. 
They  appointed  Addison  to  act  as  their  secretary.     He 
next  held,  for  a  very  short  time,  his  former  office  under 
the    Irish   lord-lieutenant;    and,    early   in   1715,   he   was 
made  one  of  the  lords  of  trade.      In  the  course   of  the 
same  year  occurred  the  first  of  the  only  two  quarrels  with 
friends,  into  which  the  prudent,  good-tempered,  and  modest 
Addison  is  said  to  have  ever  been  betrayed.     His  adversary 
on  this  occasion  was  Pope,  who,  only  three  years  before, 
had  received,  with  an  appearance  of  humble  thankfulness, 
Addison's  friendly  remarks  on  his  Essay  on  Criticism;  but 
who,  though  still  very  young,  was  already  very  famous, 
and  beginning  to  show  incessantly  his  literary  jealousies, 
and  his  personnl  and  party  hatreds.     Several  little  mis- 
understandings had  paved  the  way  for  a  breach,  when,  at 
the  same  time  with  the  first  volume  of  Pope's  Iliad,  there 
appeared  a  translation  of  the  first  book  of  the  poem,  bear- 
ing the  name  of  Thomas  Tickell.     Tickell,  in  his  preface, 
disclaimed  all  rivalry  with  Pope,  and  declared  that  he  wished 
only  to  bespeak  favourable  attention  for  his  contemplated 
version  of  the  Odyssey.     But  the  simultaneous  publication 
was  awkward;  and  Tickell,  though  not  so  good  a  versifier 
as  Pope,  was  a  dangerous  rival,  as  being  a  good  Greek 
scholar.     Further,  he  was  Addison's  under-secretary  and 
confidential  friend;  and  Addison,  cautious  though  he  was, 
does  appear  to  have  said  (quite  truly)  that  Tickell's  trans- 
lation was  more  faithful  than  the  other.     Pope's  anger 
could  not  be  restrained.     He  wrote  those  famous  lines  in 
which  he  describes  Addison  under  the  name  of  Atticus; 
and,  as  if  to  make  reconciliation  impossible,  he  not  only 
circulated  these  among  his  friends,  but  sent  a  copy  to 
Addison  himself.     Afterwards,  he  went  so  far  as  to  profess 
a  belief  that  the  rival  translation  was  really  Addison's  own. 
It  is  pleasant  to  observe  that,  after  the  insult  had  been 
perpetrated,  Addison  was  at  the  pains,  in  his  Freeholder. 
to  express  hearty  approbation  of  the  Iliad  of  Pope;  who, 
on  the  contrary,  after  Addison's  death,  deliberately  printed 
the   striking  but  malignant   bnes  in  the  Epistle  to   Dr 
Arbuthnot.     In  1715  there  was  acted,  with  bttle  success, 
the  comedy  of  The  Drummer,  or  the  Haunted  House,  which, 
though  it  appeared  under  the  name  of  Steele,  was  certainly 
not  his,  and  was  probably  written  in  whole  or  chiefly  by 
Addison.     It  contributes  very  little  to  his  fame.     From 
September  1715  to  June   1716,  he  defended  the   Hano- 
verian succession,  and  the  proceedings  of  the  Government 
in  regard  to  the  rebellion,  in  a  paper  called  the  Freeholder, 
which  he  wrote  entirely  himself,  dropping  it  with  the  fifty- 
fifth  number.     It  is  much  better  tempered,  not  less  spirited, 
and  much  more  able  in  thinking,  than  his  Examiner.     The 
finical  man  of  taste  does  indeed  show  himself  to  be  some- 
times weary  of  discussing  constitutional  questions;  but  he 
aims  many  enlivening  thrusts  at  weak  points  of  social  llfo 
and  manners;  and  the  character  of  the  Fox  hunting  Squire, 
who  is  introduced  as  the  representative  of  the  Jacobites,  is 
drawn  with  so  much  humour  and  force  that  we  regret  not 
being  allowed  to  see  more  of  him. 

In  August  1716,  when  he  had  completed  his  44th  year, 
Addison  married  the  Countess-Dowager   of   Warwick,    a 


150 


1DE-ADE 


widow  of  fifteen  years'  standing.     She  seems  to  liavo  i'ot- 
feited  her  jointure  by  the  marriage,  and  to  nave  brought 
her  husband  nothing  but  the  occupancy  of  Holland  HouLe 
at  Kensington.     We  know  hardly  anything  positively  in 
regard  to  the  affair,  or  as  to  tho  origin  or  duration  of  his 
acquaintance  with  the  lady  or  her  family.     But  the  current 
assertion  that  the  courtship  was  a  long  one  is  very  probably 
erroneous.      There  are  better  grounds  for  believing  the 
assertion,  transmitted  from  Addison's  own  time,  that  the 
marriage  was  unhappy.     The  countess  is  said  to  have  been 
proud  as  well  as  violent,  and  to  have  supposed  that,  in  con- 
tracting the  alliance,  sho  conferred  honour  instead  of  receiv- 
ing it.  °  To  the  uneasiness  caused  by  domestic  discomfort, 
the  most  friendly  critics  of  Addison's  character  have  attri- 
buted those  habits  of  intemperance,  which  are  said  to  have 
grown  on  him  in  his  later  years  to  such  an  extent  as  to  have 
broken  his   health   and  accelerated  his  death.      His  bio- 
grapher, Miss  Aikin,  who  disbelieves  his  alleged  waut  of 
matrimonial  quiet,  has  called  in  question,  with  much  in- 
genuity, the  whole  story  of  his  sottishness;  and  it  must  at 
any  rate  be  allowed  that  all  the  assertions  which  tend  to  fix 
such  charges  on  him  in  the  earlier  parts  of  his  life,  rest  on 
no  evidence  that  is  worthy  of  credit,  and  are  in  themselves 
highly  improbable.     Sobriety  was  not  the  virtue  of  the 
day;  and  the  constant  frequenting  of  coffee-houses,  which 
figures  so  often  in  the  Spectator  and  elsewhere,  and  which 
was  really  practised  among  literary  men  as  well  as  others, 
cannot  have  had  good  effects.     Addison,  however,  really 
appears  to  have  had  no  genuine  relish  for  this  mode  of  life ; 
and  there  are  curious  notices,  especially  in  Steele's  corre- 
epondence,  of  his  having  lodgings  out  of  town,  to  which  he 
retired  for  study  and  composition.     But,  whatever  the  cause 
may  have  been,  his  health  was  shattered  before  he  took  that 
which  was  the  last,  and  certainly  the  most  unwise  step,  in 
his  ascent  to  political  power. 

For  a  considerable  time  dissensions  had  existed  in  the 
ministry;  and  these  came  to  a  crisis  in  April  1717,  when 
those  who  had  been  the  real  chiefs  passed  into  the  ranks  of 
the  opposition.  Townshend  was  dismissed,  and  Walpole 
anticipated  dismissal  by  resignation.  There  was  now 
formed,  under  the  leadership  of  General  Stanhope  and  Lord 
Sunderland,  an  administration  which,  as  resting  on  court- 
influence,  was  nicknamed  tho  "  German  ministry."  Sun- 
derland, Addison's  former  superior,  became  one  of  the  two 
principal  secretaries  of  state;  and  Addison  himself  was 
appointed  as  the  other.  His  elevation  to  such  a  post  had 
been  contemplated  on  the  accession  of  George  I,  and  pre- 
vented, we  are  told,  by  his  own  refusal;  and  it  is  asserted, 
on  the  authority  of  Pope,  that  his  acceptance  now  was 
owing  only  to  the  influence  of  his  wife.  Even  if  there  is 
no  ground,  as  there  probably  is  not,  for  the  allegation  of 
Addison's  inefficiency  in  tho  details  of  business,  his  unfit- 
ness for  such  an  office  in  such  circumstances  was  undeni- 
able and  glaring.  It  was  impossible  that  a  Government, 
whose  secretary  of  state  could  not  open  his  lips  in  debate, 
should  long  face  an  "opposition  headed  by  Robert  Walpole. 
The  decay  of  Addisbn'3  health,  too,  was  going  on  rapidly, 
being,  we  may  readily  conjecture,  precipitated  by  anxiety, 
if  no  worse  causes  were  at  work.  HI  health  was  the  reason 
assigned  for  retirement,  in  the  letter  of  resignation  which 
he  laid  before  the  king  in  March  1718,  eleven  months 
after  his  appointment  He  Teceived  a  pension  of  £1500 
a  year. 

Not  long  afterwards  tho  divisions  in  the  Whig  party 
alienated  him  from  his  oldest  friend.  The  Peerage  Bill, 
introduced  in  February  1719,  was  attacked,  on  behalf  of 
the  opposition,  in  a  weekly  paper,  which  was  called  the 
Pleheian,  and  written  by  Steele.  Addison  answered  it 
temperately  enough  in  tho  Old  Wliig;  provocation  from 
the  Plebeian  brought  forth  angry  retort  from  the  Whig; 


Steele  charged  Addison  with  being  so  old  a  Whig  as  to 
have  forgotten  his  principles;  and  Addison  sneered  at  Grub 
Street,  and  called  his  friend  "Little  Dicky."1  How  Addi- 
son felt  after  this  painful  quarrel  we  are  not  told  directly  ; 
but  tho  Old  Whig  was  excluded  from  that  posthumous 
collection  of  his  works  for  which  his  executor  Tiekell  had 
received  from  him  authority  and  directions.  In  that  collec- 
tion was  inserted  a  treatise  on  the  evidences  of  tho  fidth,. 
entitled  Of  the  Christian,  Religion.  Its  theological  value  ia 
very  small;  but  it  is  pleasant  to  regard  it  as  tho  last  effort 
of  one  who,  amidst  all  weaknesses,  was  a  man  of  real  good« 
ness  as  well  as  of  eminent  genius. 

The  disease  under  which  Addison  laboured  appears  t0> 
have  been  asthma.  It  became  more  violent  after  his  retire- 
ment from  office,  and  was  now  accompanied  by  dropsy. 
His  deathbed  was  placid  and  resigned,  and  comforted  by 
those  religious  hopes  which  he  had  so  often  suggested  to> 
others,  and  the  value  of  which  he  is  said,  in  an  anecdote 
of  doubtful  authority,  to  have  now  inculcated  in  a  parting; 
interview  with  his  stepson.  He  died  at  Holland  House  ou. 
the  17th  day  of  June  1719,  six  weeks  after  having  com- 
pleted his  '17th  year.  His  body,  after  lying  in  state,  wa» 
interred  in  tho  Poets'  Corner  of  Westminster  Abbey. 

The  Biographia  Brilannica  gives  an  elaborate  memoir 
of  him;  particulars  are  well  collected  in  the  article  under 
his  name  in  the  Biographical  Dictionary  of  tlie  Society  for 
the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge;  and  a  good  many  new- 
materials,  especially  letters,  will  be  found  in  The  Life  of 
Joseph  Addison,  by  Lucy  Aikin,  1843.  (w.  S.) 

An  edition  of  Addison's  works,  in  four  volumes  quarto,  was  pub- 
lished by  Baskerville  at  Birmingham  in  1761.  Dibdin  characterises, 
this  as  a  "glorious  performance.  A  complete  edition  in  six  volumes, 
with  note9,  by  Kichard  Hurd,  appeared  in  1811.  An  American 
edition  (New  York,  1854),  in  six  volumes,  with  notes,  by  G.  YV. 
Greene,  contains  several  pieces  collected  for  the  first  time.  An  edi- 
tion of  the  S^ctator,  with  valuable  notes  by  Henry  Morlcy,  appeared. 
in  1871. 

ADEL  or  Somactli,  an  extensive  tract  of  country,  stretch- 
ing eastward  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Tajurrah  to  Cape 
Guardafui,  between  43°  and  51°  E.  long.,  with  a  breadth 
not  accurately  ascertained.  Zeila  and  Berbera  are  the 
chief  port  on  the  coast,  and  have  some  trade  with  the 
opposite  shores  of  Arabia,  exporting  spices,  ivory,  gold 
dust,  cattle,  and  horses,  and  receiving  Indian  commodities! 
in  exchange.  The  country,  which  is  marshy  and  unhealthy, 
is  inhabited  by  the  Somauli,  -wjio  are  governed  by  an  Iman, 
and  are  Mahometans. . 

ADELAAR,  Cort  Sivartsen,  surnamed  the  Eagle,  a 
famous  naval  commander,  was  born  at  Brevig  in  Norway 
in  1622.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  became  a  cadet  in  the 
Dutch  fleet  under  Van  Tromp,  and  after  a  few  year* 
entered  the  service  of  tho  Venetian  Republic,  which  was 
engaged  at  the  time  in  a  war  with  Turkey.  In  1G45  he- 
had  risen  to  the  rank  of  captain;  and  after  sharing  in 
various  victories  as  commander  of  a  squadron,  he  achieved 
his  most  brilliant  success  at  the  Dardanelles,  on  the  13th 
May  1654,  when,  with  his  own  vessel  alone,  he  broke 
through  a  line  of  37  Turkish  ships,  sank  15  of  them,  and 
burned  others,  causing  a  loss  to  the  enemy  of  5000  men. 
The  following  day  he  entered  Tenedos,  and  compelled  the 
complete  surrender  of  the  Turks.  On  returning  to  Venice 
he  was  crowned  with  honours,  and  became  admird-lieu- 
tenant  in  1060.  Numerous  tempting  offers  were  made  tr> 
him  by  other  naval  powers,  and  in  1661  he  left  Venice  to- 
return  to  the  Netherlands.  Next  year  he  was  induced,  by 
the  offer  of  a  title  and  an  enormous  salary,  to  accept  the 
command  of  the  Danish  fleet  from  Frederick  III.  Under 
Christian  V.  he  took  the  command  of  the  combined  Danish 
fleets  against  Sweden,  but  died  suddenly  (5th  November 

1  On  this  point,  however,  see  Macaulay's  Essay  on  The  Life  and 
Writings  of  Addison. 


A  D  E  —  A  D  E 


151 


1 G75)  at  Copenhagen,  before  the  expedition  set  out.  When 
in  the  Venetian  service,  Adelaar  wa3  known  by  the  name 
of  Curzio  Suffrido  Adjlborst. 

ADELAIDE,  the  capital  of  the  British  colony  of  South 
Australia  and  of  the  county  of  the  same  name,  situated  or" 
the  Torrens,  seven  miles  from  Port  Adelaide,  with  which  it 
is  connected  by  railway.  The  river,  which  is  spanned  at 
this  point  by  several  bridges,  divides  the  city  into  two  parts 
— North  Adelaide,  the  smaller  of  the  two,  but  containing 
the  chief  private  houses,  occupying  a  gentle  slope  on  the 
right  bank;  and  South  Adelaide,  the  commercial  centre  of 
the  town,  lying  on  a  very  level  plain  on  the  left.  The 
streets  of  Adelaide  are  broad,  and  regularly  laid  out. 
Among  its  public  buildings  are  the  Government  offices  and 
the  governor's  house,  the  post  office,  the  jail,  five  banks, 
the  railway  station,  and  a  theatre.  It  is  the  seat  of  a 
Protestant  Episcopal  and  also  of  a  Roman  Catholic  bishop, 
and  contains  places  of  worship  belonging  to  these  bodies, 
as  well  as  to  the  Presbyterians,  the  Methodists,  the  Uni- 
tarians, the  Baptists,  and  other  denominations.  Adelaide 
possesses  a  botanical  garden,  and  is  surrounded  by  exten- 
sive public  grounds,  known  as  the  "  Park  Lands,"  contain- 
ing over- 1900  acres.  It  is  lighted  with  gas,  and  is  sup- 
plied with  water  from  a  reservoir  some  miles  up  the  Torrens. 
The  corporation  consists  of  a  mayor  and  eight  councillors, 
two  from  each  of  the  four  wards;  and  there  are  also  two 
auditors,  a  town  clerk,  and  other  officials.  The  chief 
manufactures  are  woollen,  starch,  soap,  beer,  flour,  leather, 
earthenware,  and  iron  goods.  There  is  a  good  retail  trade  in 
European  produce;  and  in  the  vicinity  are  iron  and  copper 
mines.  Adelaide  was  founded  in  1S36,  and  incorporated 
in  1842.  It  received  its  name  in  honour  of  Queen  Adelaide. 
Population,  27,208.     Lat.  34°  55'  S.,  long.  138°  38'  E. 

Port  Adelaide  is  situated  in  a  low  marshy  position,  on 
a  small  inlet  of  the  Gulf  of  St  Vincent.  Its'  harbour  is 
safe  and  commodious;  but  a  bar  at  the  mouth,  where  the 
depth  of  water  varies  with  the  tide  from  8  to  16  feet,  pre- 
vents large  vessels  from  entering.  It  is  a  free  port,  and  has 
good  wharfs  and  warehouse  accommodation.  In  1867, 
364  vessels  of  119,654  tons  arrived  at,  and  376  of  125,559 
tons  departed  from,  Port  Adelaide.  The  chief  imports 
were  drapery,  iron  goods  and  machinery,  beer,  wine,  spirits, 
and  paper;  and  the  exports,  grain,  copper  and  lead  ores, 
wool,  tallow,  and  other  native  products.    Population,  2482. 

ADELSBERG,  a  market  town  of  Austria,  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Carniola,  26  miles  SW.  of  Laibach,  and  about  the 
same  distance  E.  of  Trieste.  About  a  mile  from  the  town 
is  the  entrance  to  the  famous  stalactite  cavern  of  Adelsberg, 
the  largest  and  most  magnificent  in  Europe.  The  cavern 
is  divided  into  four  grottoes,  with  two  lateral  ramifications 
which  reach  to  the  distance  of  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  entrance.  The  river  Poik  enters  the  cavern  60 
feet  below  its  mouth,  and  is  heard  murmuring  in  its 
recesses.  In  the  Kaiser-Ferdinand  grotto,  the  third  of  the 
chain,  a  great  ball  is  annually  held  on  "Whitmonday,  when 
the  chamber  is  brilliantly  illuminated.  The  Franz-Joseph- 
Elisabeth  grotto,  the  largest  of  the  four,  and  the  farthest 
from  the  entrance,  is  665  feet  in  length,  640  feet  in  breadth, 
and  more  than  100  feet  high.  Besides  the  imposing  pro- 
portions of  its  chambers,  the  cavern  is  remarkable  for  the 
variegated  beauty  of  its  stalactite  formations,  some  resem- 
bling transparent  drapery,  others  waterfalls,  trees,  animals, 
or  human  beings,  the  more  grotesque  bein^  called  by 
various  fanciful  appellations.  These  subterranean  wonders 
were  known  in  the  Middle  Ages,  but  the  cavern  remained 
undiscovered  in  modern  times  until  1816,  and  it  is  only  in 
still  more  recent  times 'that  its  vast  extent  has  been  fully 
ascertained  and  explored. 

ADELUNG,  Friedeich  von,  a  distinguished  philo- 
logist, nephew  of  John  Christoph  Adelung,  was  born  at 


Stettin  on  the  25th  February  1768.  After  studying  philo- 
sophy and  jurisprudence  at  Leipsic  he  accompanied  a. 
family  to  Italy,  where  he  remained  for  several  years.  At 
Rome  he  obtained  access  to  the  Vatican  library,  a  privilege, 
which  he  utilised  by  collating  and  editing  some  valuable 
old  German  MSS.  that  had  been  taken  from  Heidelberg. 
On  his  return  he  became  private  secretary  to  Count  Pahlen, 
whom  he  accompanied  from  Riga  to  St  Petersburg.  In 
1803  he  became  instructor  to  the  younger  brothers  of  the 
Czar,  the  arch-dukes  Nicholas  and  Michael,  and  gave  such 
satisfaction  to  the  empress-mother  that"  she  entrusted  him. 
with  the  iare  of  her  private  library.  In  1824  he  became 
director  of  the  Oriental  Institute  in  connection  with  the 
foreign  office,  and.  in  the  year  following  president  of  the 
Academy  of  Sciences.  He  died  on  the  30th  January  1843. 
Adelung's  chief  literary  works  were — a  Biography  of  Baron 
Eerberstein  (St  Petersburg,  1817),  a  Biography  of  Baron 
de  Meyerberg  (1827),  a  treatise  on  the  Relations  between  the 
Sanscrit  and  the  Russian  Languages  (1815),  and  an  Essay 
on  Sanscrit  Literature  (1830),  a  second  edition  of  which 
appeared  in  1837,  under  the  title  Bibliotheca  Sanscrita. 

ADELUNG,  Johann  Christoph,  a  vory  eminent  Ger- 
man grammarian,  philologist,  and  general  scholar,  was  bom 
at  Spantekow,  in  Pomerania,  on  the  8th  August  1732,  and. 
educated  at  the  public  schools  of  Anclam  and  Closter- 
bergen,  and  the  university  of  Halle.  In  the  year  1759  he 
was  appointed  professor  at  the  gymnasium  of  Erfurt,  but 
relinquished  this  situation  two  years  after,  and  went  t» 
reside  in  a  private  capacity  at  Leipsic,  where  he  continued 
to  devote  himself  for  a  long  period  to  the  cultivation  of 
letters,  and  particularly  to  those  extensive  and  laborious 
philological  researches  which  proved  so  useful  to  the 
language  and  literature  of  his  native  country.  -In  1787  he 
received  the  appointment  of  principal  librarian  to  the 
elector  of  Saxony  at  Dresden,  with  the  honorary  title  of 
Aulic  Counsellor.  Here  he  continued  to  reside  during  the 
remainder  of  his  life,  discharging  with  diligence  and  in- 
tegrity the  duties  of  his  situation,  and  prosecuting  his 
laborious  studies  to  the  last  with  indefatigable  industry 
and  unabated  zeal.  Possessing  -a  naturally  robust  consti- 
tution, he  was  able  to  devote,  it  has  been  said,  fourteen 
hours  daily  to  literary  toil,  down  even  to  the  period  of  his 
death.  He  died  at  Dresden  on  the  10th  of  September 
1806.  The  life  of  a  mere  scholar  is  generally  destitute  of 
interest ;  and  that  of  Adelung,  which  was  spent  entirely 
in  literary  seclusion,  presents  no  variety  of  incident  to  the 
pen  of  the  biographer.  Of  his  private  character  and 
habits  few  memorials  have  been  preserved,  but  in  these 
few  he  is  represented  as  the  man  of  an  amiable  disposition. 
He  was  a  lover  of  good  cheer,  and  spared  neither  pains 
nor  expense  in  procuring  a  variety  of  foreign  wines,  of 
which  his  cellar,  which  he  facetiously  denominated  his 
Bibliotheca  Selectissima,is  said  to  have  contained  no  less  than, 
forty  different  kinds.  His  manners  were  easy  and  affable, 
and  the  habitual  cheerfulness  of  his  disposition  rendered, 
his  society  most  acceptable  to  a  numerous  circle  of  friends. 
The  writings  of  Adelung  are  very  voluminous,  and  there 
is  not  one  of  them,  perhaps,  which  does  not  exhibit  some 
proofs  of  the  genius,  industry,  and  erudition  of  the  author. 
But  although  his  pen  was  usefully  employed  upon  a 
variety  of  subjects  in  different  departments  of  literature 
and  science,  it  is  to  his  philological  labours  that  he  is 
principally  indebted  for  bis  great  reputation  ;  and  no  man 
ever  devoted  himself  with  more  zeal  and  assiduity,  or  with 
greater  success,  to  the  improvement  of  his  native  language. 
In  a  country  subdivided  into  so  many  distinct  sovereign 
states,  possessing  no  common  political  centre,  and  •*>*■ 
national  institution  whose  authority  could  command  d« 
ference  in  matters  of  taste, — in  a  country  whose  indigenous 
Literature  was  but  of  recent  growth,  and  where  the  dialcA 


\b2 


A  D  E  — A  D  E 


of  the  people  was  held  in  contempt  at  the  several  courts, 
it  was  no  easy  task  for  a  single  writer  to  undertake  to  fix 
the  standard  of  a  language  which  had  branched  out  into  a 
variety  of  idioms,  depending  in  a  great  measure  upon  prin- 
ciples altogether  arbitrary.  Adelung  effected  as  much  in 
this  respect  as  could  well  be  accomplished  by  the  persever- 
ing labours  of  an  individual.  By  means  of  his  excellent 
grammars,  dictionary,  and  various  works  on  German  style, 
he  contributed  greatly  towards  rectifying  'the  orthography, 
refining  the  idiom,  and  fixing  the  standard  of  his  native 
tongue.1  Of  all  the  different  dialects  he  gave  a  decided 
preference  to  that  of  the  margraviate  of  Misnia,  in  Upper 
Saxony,  and  positively  rejected  everything  that  was  con- 
trary to  the  phraseology  in  use  among  the  best  society  of 
that  province,  and  in  the  writings  of  those  authors  whom 
it  had  produced.  In  adopting  this  narrow  principle  he  is 
generally  thought  to  have  been  too  fastidious.  The  dialect 
of  Misnia  was  undoubtedly  the  richest,  as  it  was  the 
earliest  cultivated  of  any  in  Germany;  but  Adelung  pro- 
bably went  too  far  in  restraining  the  language  within  the 
limits  of  this  single  idiom,  to  the  exclusion  of  others  from 
which  it  might  have,  and  really  has,  acquired  additional 
richness,  flexibility,  and  force.  His  German  dictionary  has 
been  generally  regarded  as  superior  to  the  English  one  of 
Johnson,  and  certainly  far  surpasses  it  in  etymology.  In- 
deed, the  patient  spirit  of  investigation  which  Adelung  pos- 
sessed in  so  remarkable  a  degree,  together  with  his  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  ancient  history  and  progressive  revolutions 
of  tie  different  dialects  on  which  the  modern  German  is 
based,  peculiarly  qualified  him  for  the  duties  of  a  lexico- 
grapher. No  man  before  Jacob  Griiiim  did  so  much  for  the 
language  of  Germany.  Shortly  before  his  death  he  issued 
the  very  learned  work,  at  which  he  had  been  labouring 
quietly  for  years,  entitled  Mithridates ;  or,  a  General  History 
of  Languages,  with  the  Lord's  Prayer,  as  a  specimen,  in 
nearly  Jive  hundred  languages  and  dialects.  The  hint  of 
this  work  appears  to  have  been  taken  from  a  publication, 
with  a  similar  title,  published  by  the  celebrated  Conrad 
Gesner  in  1555  ;  but  the  plan  of  Adelung  is  much  more 
extensive.  Unfortunately  he  did  not  live  to  finish  what 
he  had  undertaken.  The  first  volume,  which  contains  the 
Asiatic  languages,  was  published  immediately  after  his 
death ;  the  other  three  were  issued  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  Professor  Vater  (1809-17).  Of  the  very 
numerous  works  by  Adelung,  in  addition  to  translations, 
the  following  are  of  greatest  importance : — 

Geschithle  der  StreiligTceittn  zicischen  Ddntmarlc  und  dtn  Htrzogtn 
von  Bolstein-Gottorp.  Frankf.,  Leipsic,  1762,  4to. — Pragmaiische 
Staatsgcschiclitc  Etrropens  von  dem  Ableben  Kaiser  Karls  (Us  6'"*  an. 
Vols.  i.-ix.  Gotha,  1762-9,  4to. — Mineralogische  Btlustigungtn. 
Vols.  i.-vi.  Copenhagen  and  Leipsic,  1767-71,  8vo. — Glossarium 
Manuale  ad  Scriptores  media;  et  infimce  LalinUatis,  ex  magnis  Glos- 
sariis  Caroli  du  Frtsne  Domini  Ducange  el  Carpentaria,  in  com- 
pendium rtdactum.  Tomi  vi.  Halle,  1772-84. — Versuch  tints 
vollstandigen  grammatisch-kritischen  Worttrbuchs  der  Hoch  Ttut- 
schen  Mundart.  1774-86,  6  vols.  4to. — Utber  die  Qcschichle  der 
Teutschen  Sprache,  iiber  Teulsche  Mundarten  und  Teutsche  Sprath- 
lehre.  Leipsic,  1781,  8vo. — Utber  den  Ursprung  der  Sprache  und 
den  Bau  der  Worter.  Ibid.  1781,  8vo. — Teutsche  Sprachlehre,  sum 
Otbrauch  der  Schulcn  in  den  Konigl.  Prcuss.  Landtn.  Berlin,  1781. 
— Lehrgebdude  der  Teutschen  Sprache. —  Versuch  einer  Geschirhte 
der  Cultur  des  Mcnschlichen  Gcschltchts.  1782,  8vo. — Beytrdge  zur 
Biirgerlichen  Geschichie,  zur  Gesthichte  der  Cultur,  zur  Natur- 
geschichle,  Naiurlthre,  und  dem  Fcldbaue.  Leipsic,  1783,  8vo. — 
Fortsetzung  und  Ergdnzungen  zu  Christ.  Gottl.  Jothers  allgcmeinem 
Gelehrten  Lexico.  Leipsic,  1784,  2  vols.  4to. — Ueber  den  Teutschen 
Styl.  Berlin,  1785,  3  vols.  8vo. —  Vollstdndige  Anwcisung  zur 
Teutschen  Orthographic.  Leipsic,  1786,  2  vols. — Auszug  aus  dem 
Grammatisch-kritischen  Worterbuch  der  Bohtn  Teutschen  Mundart. 
Leipsic,  1793,  1  vol. ;  1795,  2  vols.  8vo.—  Mithridates,  oder  Allge- 
meine  Sprachenkunde.     3  vols.     Berlin,  1806-1812. 

1  The  period  in  which  High  German  as  a  written  language  ap- 
proached nearest  perfection  is,  according  to  him,  the  short  interval 
between  1740  and  1760. 


ADEN,  a  town  and  seaport  of  Yemen  in  Arabia,  belong- 
ing to  Britain,  situated  on  a  peninsula  of  the  same  name, 
100  miles  east  of  the  strait  of  Bab  -el-Mandeb.  The  penin- 
sula of  Aden  consists  chiefly  of  a  mass  of  barren  and  deso- 
late volcanic  rocks,  extending  five  miles  from  east  to  west, 
and  three  from  its  northern  shore  to  Ras  Sanailah  or  Cape 
Aden,  its  most  southerly  point,  it  is  connected  with  the 
mainland  by  a  neck  of  flat  sandy  ground  only  a  few  feet 
high;  and  its  greatest  elevation  is  Jebel  Shamshan,  1776 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  town  is  built  on  the 
eastern  coast,  in  what  is  probably  the  crater  of  an  extinct 
volcano,  and  is  surrounded  by  precipitous  rocks  that  form 
an  admirable  natural  defence.  There  are  two  harbours,  an 
outer,  facing  the  town,  protected  by  the  island  of  Sirah, 
but  now  partially  choked  with  mud;  and  an  inner,  called 
Aden  Back-bay,  or,  by  the  Arabs,  Bander  Tuway yi,  on  the 
western  side  of  the  peninsula,  which,  at  all  periods  of  the 
year,  admits  vessels  drawing  less  than  20  feet.  On  the  whole, 
Aden  is  a  healthy  place,  although  it  suffers  considerably  from 
the  want  of  good  water,  and  the  heat  is  often  very  intense. 
From  its  admirable  commercial  and  military  position, 
Aden  early  became  the  chief  entrepot  of  the  trade  between 
Europe  and  Asia.  It  was  known  to  the  Romans  as  Arabia 
Felix  and  Attancv,  nnd  was  captured  by  them,  probably  in 
the  year  24  B.c.  At  the  commencement  of  the  16th. century 
it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Portuguese,  who,  however,  were 
expelled  by  the  Turks  in  1538.  In  the  following  century 
the  Turks  themselves  relinquished  their  conquests  in  Yemen, 
and  the  Sultan  of  Senna  established  a  supremacy  over  Aden, 
which  was  maintained  until  the  year  1730,  when  the  Sheik 
of  Lahej,  throwing  off  his  allegiance,  founded  a  line  of 
independent  sultans.  In  1837  a  •Ship  under  British  colours 
was  wrecked  near  Aden,  and  the  crew  and  passengers 
grievously  maltreated  by  the  Arabs.  An  explanation  of 
the  outrage  being  demanded'  by  the  Bombay  Government, 
the  Sultan  undertook  to  make  compensation  for  the  plunder 
of  the  vessel,  and  also  agreed  to  sell  his  town  and  port  to 
the  English.  Captain  Haines  of  the  Indian  navy  was  sent 
to  complete  these  arrangements,  but  the  Sultan's  son,  who 
now  exercised  the  powers  of  government,  refused  to  i.Jfil 
the  promises  that  his  father  had  made.  A  combined 
naval  and  military  force  was  thereupon  despatched,  and 
the  place  was  captured  on  the  16th  January  1839.  It 
became  an  outlying  portion  of  the  Presidency  of  Bombay. 
The  withdrawal  of  the  trade  between  Europe  and  the 
East,  caused  by  the  discovery  of  the  passage  round  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  the  misgovernment  of  the  native 
rulers,  had  gradually  reduced  Aden  to  a  state  of  compara- 
tive insignificance;  but  about  the  time  of  its  capture  by  the 
British,  the  Red  Sea  route  to  India  was  re-opened,  and 
commerce  soon  began  to  flow  in  its  former  channel.  Aden 
was  made  a  free  port,  and  was  chosen  as  one  of  the  coaling 
stations  of  the  Peninsular  and  Oriental  Steamship  Company; 
and  at  present  its  most  valuable  import  is  coal  for  the  use 
of  the  steamers.  It  has,  however,  a  considerable  trade  in 
the  products  of  Arabia — coffee,  gum,  feathers,  dyes,  pearls, 
and  ivory;  and  in  return  receives  silk  and  cotton  goods, 
grain,  and  provisions.  In  1871-72  the  value  of  its  im- 
ports was  £1,404,169;  and  of  its  exports,  £885,919.  In 
the  same  year  535  steamers  (643,982  tons),  94  sailing 
vessels  (90,516  tons),  and  898  native  craft  visited  the  port. 
The  town  has  been  fortified  aud  garrisoned  by  the  British; 
and  its  magnificent  water-tanks,  which  had  been  permitted 
to  fall  into  ruins,  have  been  partially  restored.  It  contains 
nearly  30,000  inhabitants,  as  compared  with  less  than 
1000  in  1839.    Lat  12°  46'  N. ;  long.  45°  10'  E. 

ADERNO,  a  city  of  Sicily,  in  the  province  of  Catania, 
near  the  foot  of  Mount  Etna,  17  miles  N.W.  of  Catania. 
It  is  built  on  the  site  of  the  ancient  Adranum,  portions  of 
the  massive  walls  of  which  are  still  \isibl<?,  and  numerous 


A  D  E  — A  D  I 


153 


Roman  sepulchres  have  been  found  in  the  vicinity.  The 
modern  city  has  a  clean  appearance,  but  the  situation  is 
unhealthy.  It  is  remarkable  for  the  number  of  its  con- 
vents and  nunneries,  and  has  several  churches,  the  chief  of 
which  is  supported  by  beautiful  pillars  of  polished  lava. 
On  the  river  Simeto,  near  the  town,  there  is  a  series  of 
beautiful  cascades.     Population,  12,999. 

ADERSBACH  ROCKS,  a  remarkable  group  of  isolated 
columnar  rocks  in  a  valley  of  the  Riesengebirge,  on  the 
frontier  of  Bohemia  and  Prussian  Silesia,  9  miles  W.N.W.  of 
Braunau.  The  mountain,  for  several  miles,  appears  divided 
into  detached  masses  by  perpendicular  gaps,  varying  in 
depth  from  600  to  1200  feet.  These  masses  are  from  a 
few  feet  to  several  hundred  yards  in  diameter.  The  part 
called  the  labyrinth  consists  of  smaller  masses  of  columnar 
form,  oonfusedly  piled  on  one  another,  and  rising  to  heights 
of  from  100  to  200  feet.  From  their  fantastic  shapes  the 
rocks  have  received  various  fanciful  appellations.  Some 
geologists  have  supposed  that  their  remarkable  structure  is 
the  result  of  subterranean  commotion;  but  the  generally- 
received  opinion  is,  that  the  whole  area  had  once  been  a 
tabular  mass  of  sandstone  of  unequal  hardness,  and  that 
the  soft  part3,  which  formed  perpendicular  seams,  have 
been  worn  away  by  water  and  atmospheric  changes,  leaving 
the  harder  portions  in  their  natural  position.  The  recesses 
of  this  wild  region  frequently  afforded  a  place  of  refuge  to 
the  distressed  inhabitants  of  the  district  during  the  Thirty 
Years'  War. 

ADHESION",  a  term  used  to  denote  the  physical  force 
in  virtue  of  which  one  body  or  substance  remains  attached 
to  the  surface  of  another  with  which  it  has  been  brought 
into  contact.  It  is  to  be  distinguished  from  cohesion, 
which  is  the  mutual  attraction  that  the  particles  of  the  same 
body  exert  on  each  other;  and  it  differs  from  chemical 
attraction  or  affinity,  since  the  properties  of  the  substances 
it  affects  remain  unchanged  after  it  takes  place.  It  is  a 
force  that  the  molecules  of  the  adhering  bodies  exert  on 
each  other,  and  must  not  be  confounded  with  a  contact 
which  is  due  to  mere  mechanical  pressure,  such  as  that 
which  a  piece  of  caoutchouc  tubing  exerts  by  its  elasticity 
on  a  body  that  distends  it.  A  very  familiar  instance  of 
adhesion  occurs  in  the  wetting  of  solid  bodies.  It  often, 
indeed  generally,  happens  that,  when  a  solid  and  a  liquid 
touch  each  other,  a  film  of  the  latter  adheres  to  the 
former,  and  neither  falls  nor  can  be  shaken  off.  This 
arises  from  the  adhesion  of  the  liquid  to  the  solid  being  a 
stronger  force  than  the  cohesion  of  the  particles  of  the 
liquid.  It  is  also  stronger  than  the  force  of  gravitation ; 
and  the  liquid  can  only  be  removed  by  being  forcibly 
rubbed  off,  or  by  the  process  of  evaporation.  The  force  of 
adhesion  may  be  determined  by  poising  a  plate  of  metal 
on  a  balance,  and  afterwards  ascertaining  what  additional 
force  will  be  required  to  detach  it  from  the  surface  of  a 
liquid.  But  this  can  only  be  done  in  the  few  cases  in 
which  the  liquid  does  not  wet  the  solid  (otherwise  the 
measurement  would  be  that  of  the  cohesive  force  of  the 
liquid),  and  does  not  act  on  it  chemically.  The  phenomena 
of  Capillary  Attraction  (q.v.)  depend  on  adhesion. 
Sometimes,  when  a  solid  and  a  liquid  are  brought  into 
contact,  the  adhesive  force  overcomes  the  cohesion  of  the 
particles  of  the  solid,  so  that  it  loses  its  solid  form,  and  is 
dissolved  or  held  in  solution.  Solid  bodies,  too,  as  well  as 
liquids,  adhere  to  solids.  Smooth  surfaces  (of  lead,  for 
instance,  or  of  dissimilar  metals)  will  adhere ;  and  if  two 
plates  of  polished  glass  be  laid  together,  it  will  scarcely  be 
possible  to  separate  them  without  breaking  them.  If  the 
solids  are  pressed  together,  the  adhesive  force  is  generally 
greater;  but  it  has  been  shown  to  be  dependent  to  a  very 
slight  extent  only  on  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere.  To 
a  looser  kind  of  adhesion,  whereby  one  body  is  prevented 


from  moving  smoothly  on  the  surface  of  another,  we  give 
the  name  of  friction.  The  force  of  this  increases  with 
pressure,  which  may  be  the  effect  of  gravitation  or  the 
result  of  mechanical  appliances.  If  it  be  desired  that 
solids  should  adhere  permanently,  this  is  commonly  eflected 
by  the  intervention  of  other  substances — the  cements, 
mortars,  and  solders — in  a  liquid  or  viscid  state,  nhich, 
when  they  "set"  or  become  solid,  adhere  closely  to  the 
bodies  united  by  means  of  them.  The  principle  of  the 
processes  of  plating,  gilding,  &c,  is  similar  to  this.  The 
adhesive  force  of  cements,  <fec,  is  sometimes  very  great.  The 
common  experiment  of  splitting  a  thin  sheet  of  paper  into 
two  is  an  illustration  of  it.  The  paper  is  pasted  carefully 
between  two  pieces  of  cloth,  which  are  pulled  asunder 
after  the  paste  has  dried.  The  adhesion  of  the  paste  to 
the  paper  and  to  the  cloth  is  so  strong  that  the  paper  is 
thus  separated  into  two  sheets,  which  can  easily  be  de- 
tached from  the  cloth  by  wetting  it.  Again,  air  and  other 
gases  adhere  to  solids.  A  dry  needle,  placed  carefully  on 
the  surface  of  still  water,  will  float,  resting  on  a  cushion 
of  air;  and  when  thermometer^  are  filled  with  mercury, 
the  liquid  has  to  be  boiled  in  them  to  expel  the  air  that 
adheres  to  the  glass. 

ADIAPHORISTS  (d8ia<£opos,  indifferent),  a  name  ap- 
plied to  Melancthon  and  his  supporters  in  a  controversy 
which  arose  out  of  the  so-called  Leipsic  Interim  (1548;, 
and  raged  until  1555.  In  1547  Charles  V.  had  drawn  up 
the  Augsburg  Interim,  with  a  view  to  provide  for  the  tem- 
porary government  of  the  Church  until  a  general  council 
could  be  called.  This  gave  great  dissatisfaction  both  to 
the  more  advanced  and  to  the  more  moderate  reformers; 
and  the  object  of  Melancthon's  Leipsic  Interim  was  to 
reconcile  all  parties,  if  possible,  by  declaring  that  certain 
rites  and  observances  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Roman  Catholic  bishops  being 
adiaphora  (things  indifferent),  might  be  lawfully  recognised. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Catholics  were  required  to  accept 
the  Protestant  formula  of  the  doctrine  of  justification, 
leaving  out  the  words  sola  fide,  which,  it  was  said,  might 
belong  to  the  adiaphora.  In  the  controversy  that  fol- 
lowed, Melancthon's  chief  opponent  was  his  former  col- 
league, Matth.  Flacius,  on  whose  removal  from  Wittenburg 
to  Magdeburg  the  latter  place  became  the  head-quarters  of 
the  extreme  Lutherans. 

ADIGE  (German,  Etsch),  the  ancient  Athesis,  a  large 
river  of  Italy,  formed  by  several  rivulets  which  rise  in  the 
Rhsetian  Alps,  and  unite  near  Glarus.  After  flowing 
eastward  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Botzen,  it  receives  the 
Eisach,  and  becomes  navigable.  It  then  turns  to  the 
south,  and  leaving  the  Tyrol,  enters  Lombardy  1 3  miles  S. 
of  Roveredo.  After  traversing  Northern  Italy  in  a  coursi 
first  southerly,  but  then  easterly,  it  falls  into  the  Adriatic 
at  Porto-Fossone,  a  few  miles  N.  of  the  Po.  The  most 
considerable  towns  on  its  banks  are  Trent  and  Roveredo 
in  the  Tyrol,  and  Verona  and  Legnago  in  Italy.  It  is 
navigable  from  the  heart  of  the  Tyrol  to  the  sea,  and  has  in 
Lombardy  a  breadth  of  200  yards  and  a  depth  of  from  10 
to  16  feet,  but  the  strength  of  the  current  renders  its  navi- 
gation very  difficult,  and  lessens  its  value  as  a  means  of 
transit  between  Germany  and  Northern  Italy.  The  Adige 
has  a  course  of  about  220  miles. 

ADIPOCERE  (from  adeps,  fat,  and  cera,  wax),  a  sub- 
stance into  which  animal  matter  is  sometimes  converted, 
deriving  its  name  from  the  resemblance  it  bears  to  both  fat 
and  wax.  When  the  Cemetery  of  the  Innocents  at  Paris 
was  removed  in  1786-87,  great  masses  of  this  substance 
were  found  where  the  coffins  containing  the  dead  bodies 
had  been  placed  very  closely  together.  At  the  bottom  of 
the  coffin,  in  these  cases,  there  appeared,  loosely  enveloped 
in    linen,    a    shapeless   mass,    of   a   dingv   white    colour, 

L   —  =o 


154 


A  D  I  — A  D  M 


flattened  as  though  it  had  undergone  great  pressure.  The 
whole  body  had  been  converted  into  this  fatty  matter, 
except  the  bones,  which  remained,  but  were  extremely 
brittle.  Fourcroy,  who  had  observed  the  substance 
before,  and  had  given  it  the  name  of  adipocere,  read  a 
paper  on  the  subject  before  the  Academy  of  Sciences  in 
1789.  •Chemically,  adipocere  is  found  to  consist  principally 
of  margarate  of  ammonia.  A  similar  substance,  found  in 
peat,  is  known  as  bog-butter. 

ADIPOSE  (adept,  fat),  a  term  in  Anatomy,  signifying 
fattv ;  as  adipose  tissue,  adipose  cell,  <tc. 

ADIRONDACK  MOUNTAINS,  a  group  of  mountains 
in  the  N.  of  the  state  of  New  York,  North  America,  lying 
between  Lakes  Champlain  and  Ontario.  They  rise  from 
an  extensive  plateau  about  2000  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  and  are  chiefly  of  granite  formation.  Mount  Marcy, 
the  highest  summit,  has  an  altitude  of  5337  feet,  and 
others  of  the  group  are  from  4000  to  5000  feet  high.  The  two 
principal  streams  which  take  their  rise  in  this  region — the 
Hud.-on  flowing  south,  and  the  Richelieu  flowing  northwards 
from  Lake  Champlain — afford  abundant  means  of  convey- 
ing from  the  mountains  the  valuable  timber,  chiefly  pine, 
with  which  they  are  covered.  Extensive  deposits  of  mag- 
netic iron  ore,  of  great  value,  have  been  discovered;  and  a 
village,  called  Adirondack,  has  recently  sprung  up,  where 
smelting  is  extensively  prosecuted.  Emerson,  in  his  poem 
Adirondack,  has  familiarised  the  literary  world  with  the 
scenery  of  these  mountains. 

ADIT  (from  adire,  to  go  to),  a  passage  or  door.  The 
doors  of  porticoes  in  ancient  theatres  were  called  adits.  In 
mines  the  name  is  given  to  a  gallery  or  passage,  nearly  hori- 
zontal, by  which  water  is  carried  off.  Ores  also  are  sometimes 
removed  by  the  adit.  Some  works  of  this  kind  are  of 
great  magnitude.  The  great  Cornish  adit  at  Gwennap, 
near  Falmouth,  extends,  with  its  branches,  to  from  30  to 
40  miles  in  length,  and  drains  a  tract  of  5500  acres. 

ADJUDICATION,  in  Scottish  Law,  the  name  of  that 
action  by  which  a  creditor  attaches  the  heritable,  i.e.,  ths 
real,  estate  of  his  debtor,  or  his  debtor's  heir,  in  order  to 
appropriate  it  to  himself  either  in  payment  or  security  of 
bis  debt.  The  term  is  also  applied  to  a  proceeding  of  ths 
same  nature  by  which  the  holder  of  an  heritable  right, 
labouring  under  any  defect  in  point  of  form,  gets  that 
defect  supplied  by  decree  of  a  court. 

Adjudication  in  Bankruptcy,  in  English  Law,  is  equi- 
valent to  the  Scotch  award  of  sequestration. 

ADJUSTMENT,  in  Commerce,  the  settlement  of  a  loss 
incurred  at  sea  on  insured  goods.  If  the  policy  be  what  is, 
called  an  open  one,  and  the  loss  of  the  'goods  be  total,  the 
insurer  must  pay  for  them  at  the  value  of  prime  cost, 
which  includes  not  only  the  invoice  price  of  the  goods,  but 
all  duties  paid,  the  premium  of  insurance,  and  all  expenses 
incurred  on  them  when  put  on  board.  If  the  policy  be  a 
valued  one,  and  a  total  loss  be  incurred,  then  they  are 
settled  for  at  the  valuation  fixed  at  the  time  of  the  insur- 
ance, unless  the  insurers  can  prove  that  the  insured  had 
not  a  real  interest  in  the  goods,  or  that  they  were  over- 
valued. In  case  of  a  partial  loss,  the  value  of  the  goods 
must  be  proved.     (See  Arnould  On  Marine  Insurance.) 

ADJUTAGE,  a  short  tube  or  nozzle,  inserted  in  an 
orifice,  by  means  of  which  liquids  flow  from  a  vessel  more 
freely. 

ADJUTANT,  a  military  officer  whose  duty  it  is  to  assist 
the  commanding  officer  of  a  regiment  or  battalion.  Every 
Dattalion  of  infantry,  regiment  of  cavalry,  and  brigade  of 
artillery,  has  an  adjutant,  who  keeps  the  regimental  books, 
records,  and  correspondence;  acts  as  the  commanding 
officer's  representative  in  matters  of  regimental  detail; 
superintends  the  drill  of  recruits;  keeps  the  roster  (i.e., 
register  of  order  of  service)  for  all  duties;  details  the  guards, 


piquets,  detachments,  4c,  that  are  furnished  by  the  regi- 
ment; and  is  responsible  for.  the  receipt  of  the  daily  divi- 
sional or  brigade  order  from  the  superior  staff-officer,  and 
the  preparation  and  issue  of  regimental  orders.  The  Adju- 
tant-General is  the  staff-officer  specially  charged  with  all 
matters  relating  to  the  discipline  and  drill  of  the  army. 

ADJUTANT,  the  Ciconia  Argala,  or  Leploptilos  Argala, 
a  species  of  stork  found  in  tropical  India.  It  is  of  great 
sue,  sometimes  six  or  even  seven  feet  in  height,  the  body  and 
legs  bearing  nearly  the  same  proportion  as  in  the  common 
stork.  The  bill  is  long  and  large;  while  the  head,  neck, 
and  pouch  are  bare,  or  covered  only  with  a  few  scattered 
hairs.  At  the  back 
of  its  neck  there  is 
a  second  pouch-like 
appendage,  which 
the  hird  inflates 
during  flight.  The 
general  colour  of  tho 
body  is  an  ashen 
gray  above  and  white 
below.  The  adjutant 
is  extremely  vora- 
cious, and,  feeding 
on  offal,  reptiles,  and 
other  vermin,  acts 
the  part  of  a  scaven- 
ger. It  is  often  to 
be  seen  in  camps 
and  parade-grounds; 
hence  its  name.  A 
similar  bird,  which, 
however,  has  been 
differentiated  as 
Ciconia  Marabou,  occurs  in  different  parts  of  Africa— 
Marabou  being  the  native  Senegal  name.  The  brilliant 
white  marabou  feathers  of  commerce  are  the  under  feathers 
of  the  tail  and  wings  of  both  species,  but  those  of  the  C. 
Argala  are  the  most  valuable. 

ADJTGURH,  a 'town  and  fort  of  India,  in  the  presi- 
dency of  Bengal,  130  miles  S.W.  of  Allahabad.  The  fort 
is  situated  on  a  very  steep  hill,  more  than  800  feet  above 
the  town;  and  contains  the  ruins  of  temples  adorned  with 
elaborately-carved  sculptures.  It  was  captured  by  the 
British  in  1809.  The  town  i3  a  neatly-built  place,  but 
subject  to  malaria.     Population,  5000. 

ADMINISTRATOR,  in  English  Law,  he  to  whom  the 
ordinary  or  judge  of  the  ecclesiastical  court,  now  the  Court 
of  Probate,  acting  in  the  queen's  name,  commits  the 
administration  of  the  goods  of  a  person  deceased,  in  default 
of  an  executor.  The  origin  of  administrators  is  derived 
from  the  civil  law.  Their  establishment  in  England  is 
owing  to  a  statute  made  in  the  31st  year  of  Edward  HI. 
Till  then  no  office  of  this  kind  was  known  besides  that  of 
executor;  in  default  of  whom,  the  ordinary  had  tho  dis- 
posal of  goods  of  persons  intestate,  <tc. 

Admimstrator,  in  Scottish  Law,  a  person  legally  em- 
powered to  act  for  another  whom  the  law  presumes  incap- 
able of  acting  for  himself,  as  a  father  for  a  pupil  child. 

ADMIRAL,  a  great  officer  or  magistrate,  who  has  the 
government  of  a  navy  and  the  hearing  of  all  maritime 
causes. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  of  the  Asiatic  origin  of  the 
name  given  to  this  officer,  which  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  known  in  the  languages  of  Europe  before  the  time 
of  the  Holy  Wars.  Amir,  in  Arabic,  is  a  chief  or  com- 
mander of  forces ;  it  is  the  same  word  as  the  ameer  of  the 
peninsula  of  India  (as  ameer  al  omrah,  the  chief  of  lords 
or  princes),  and  the  emir  of  the  Turks  or  Saracens,  who 
hr  d  and  still  have  their  emir  or  ameer'l  dureea,  commander 


ADMIRAi 


155 


of  the  sea,  amir' I  asker  dureea,  commander  of  the  naval 
armament  The  incorporation  of  the  article  with  the  noun 
appears,  we  believe,  for  the  first  time  in  the  Annals  of 
Euiychius,  patriarch  of  Alexandria,  in  the- 10th  century, 
who  calls  the  Caliph  Omar  Amirol  munumim,  ie.,  Im- 
■perator  fiddium.  Spelman  says,  "In  regno  Saracenorum 
quatuor  praetores  statuit,  qui  admiralli  vocabantur."  The 
d  is  evidently  superfluous,  and  is  omitted  by  the  French, 
who  say  Amiral.  The  Spanish  write  Almirante;  the 
Portuguese  the  same.  Milton  would  seem  to  have  been 
aware  of  the  origin  of  the  word  when  he  speaks  of  "  the 
.mast  of  some  great  ammiral."  It  is  obvious,  then,  that 
the  supposed  derivations  of  aX/ivpos  from  the  Greek,  aumer 
from  the  French,  and  aen  mereal  from  the  Saxon,  are 
fanciful  and  unauthorised  etymologies. 

Anciently  there  were  three  or  four  admirals  appointed 
for  the  English  seas,  all  of  them  holding  the  office  durante 
heneplacito,  and  each  of  them  having  particular  limits 
onder  his  charge  and  government,  as  admiral  of  the  fleet 
of  ships  from  the  mouth  of  the  Thames,  northward,  south- 
ward, or  westward.  Besides  these,  there  were  admirals 
of  the  Cinque  Ports.  We  sometimes  find  that  one  person 
had  been  admiral  of  all  the  fleets — Sir  John  de  Beau- 
champ,  34  Edw.  ILL,  being  the  first  who  held  the  post; 
but  the  title  of  Admiralis  Anglice  does  not  occur  till  the 
reign  of  Henry  TV.,  when  the  king's  half-brother,  Sir 
Thomas  Beaufort  (created  Earl  of  Dorset  5th  July  1411), 
a  natural  son  of  John  of  Gaunt,  was  made  admiral  of  the 
fleet  for  life,  and  admiral  of  England,  Ireland,  and  Aqui- 
taine  for  life.  It  may  be  observed  that  there  was  a  title 
above  that  of  admiral  of  England,  which  was  locum  tenens 
regis  super  mare,  the  king's  lieutenant-general  of  the  sea. 
This  title  is  first  mentioned  in  the  reign  of  Richard  II. 
Before  the  use  of  the  word  admiral  was  known,  the  title  of 
custos  maris  was  made  use  of. 

Of  the  rank  of  admiral  there  are  three  degrees — admiral, 
■vice-admiral,  rear-admiral  Each  of  these  degrees  formerly 
comprised  three  grades,  distinguished  by  red,  white,  and 
blue,  flags — the  red  being  the  highest  degree  in  each  rank 
of  admiral,  vice-admiral,  and  rear-admiral. 

It  may  be  remarked  that  for  nearly  a  century  there  was 
no  admiral  of  the  red  squadron.  According  to  a  vulgar 
«rror,  that  flag  had  been  taken  from  us  by  the  Dutch  in  one 
of  those  arduous  struggles  for  naval  superiority  which  that 
nation  was  once  able  to  maintain  against  the  naval  power  of 
England.  But  the  fact  is,  the  red  flag  was  laid  aside  on 
the  union  of  the  two  crowns  of  England  and  Scotland,  when 
the  union  Sag  was  adopted  in  its  place,  and  wa3  usually 
boisted  by  the  admiral  commanding  in  chief.  The  red  flag 
was  revived  on  the  occasion  of  the  promotion  of  naval  officers 
in  November  1805,  in  consequence  of  the  memorable  vic- 
tory off  Trafalgar.  The  three  degrees  of  red,  white,  and 
blue  flag-officers  were  abolished  by  order  in  council  ou  5th 
August  1864,  and  the  white  ensign  was  thenceforward 
adopted  as  the  sole  flag  for  the  ships  of  the  royal  navy 
proper.  Captains  are  now  promoted  to  be  rear-admirals, 
rear  -admirals  to  be  vice-admirais,  and  vice-admirals  to  be 
admirals  simpliciter — the  numbers  of  each  rank  being 
regulated  by  orders  in  council  passed  on  and  subsequently 
to  22d  February  1870.  (See  Navy.)  For  biographical 
information,  see  Campbell's  Lives  of  the  British  Admirals, 
8  vols.  8vo,  1817;  O'Byrne's  Naval  Biographical  Dic- 
tionary, 8vo,  1849. 

Admiral  of  the  Fleet  is  a  mere  honorary  distinction, 
which  gives  no  command,  but  merely  an  increase  of  half -pay, 
his  being  £3,  7s.  a-day,  and  that  of  an  admiral  £2,  2s.  The 
title  has  been  sometimes  conferred  on  the  senior  admiral 
on  the  List  of  naval  officers,  and  was  a  short  time  held  by 
the  Duke  of  Clarence,  afterwards  William  IV.  In  1851 
■vere  appointed,  for  the  first  time,  two  admirals  of  the  fleet, 


Sir  Thomas  Byam  Martin,  G.C.B.,  and  Sir  George  Cock- 
bum,  G.C.B.,  the  last  having  been  appointed  for  his  long 
and  highly-distinguished  services.  The  number  of  admirals 
of  the  fleet  now  (1874)  authorised  to  be  borne  i3  three.  If 
the  admiral  of  the  fleet  should  happen  to  serve  afloat,  he  is 
authorised  to  carry  the  union  flag  at  the  main-top-gallant- 
mast  head,  which  was  the  case  when  the  Duke  of  Clarence 
escorted.  Louis  XVIII.  across  the  Channel  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  throne  of  France. 

The  comparative  rank  of  flag-officers  and  officers  in  the 
army  has  been  settled  as  follows  by  his  Majesty's  order  in 
council,  in  the  reign  of  George  IV  :- 

The  admiral  and  commander-in-chief  of  the  fleet. has  the 
rank  of  a  field-marshal  in  the  army ;  admirals  with  flags  at 
the  main  take  rank  with  generals  of  horse  and  foot;  vice- 
adruirals  with  lieutenant-generals;  rear-admirals  with  major- 
generals;  commodores  of  the  first  and  second  class  with 
broad  pendants  with  brigadier-generals. 

On  the  active  List  of  admirals  there  were  in  1873  three 
admirals  of  the  fleet,  thirteen  admirals,  fifteen  vice-admirals, 
and  twenty-five  rear-admirals. 

La  addition  to  these,  there  were  on  the  reserved  list  forty 
admirals  and  thirty-four  vice-admirals;  on  the  retired  list 
forty-three  admirals,  fifty-five  vice-admirals,  and  sixty-two 
rear-admirals.  As  to  the  numbers  to  be  borne  permanently 
on '  these  lists,  and  the  regulations  according  to  which 
admirals  are  retired  and  reserved,  under  Mr  Childers'  retire- 
ment scheme,  see  Navy. 

Admiral  (the  Lord  High)  op  England,  an  ancient 
officer  of  high  rank  in  the  state,  who  not  only  is  vested 
with  the  government  of  the  navy,  but  who,  long  before  any 
regular  navy  existed  in  England,  presided  over  a  sovereign 
court,  with  authority  to  hear  and  determine  all  causes 
relating  to  the  sea,  and  to  take  cognizance  of  all  offences 
committed  thereon. 

The  period  about  which  this  officer  first  makes  his  appearance  in 
the  governments  of  European  nations  corroborates  the  supposition 
of  the  office  having  been  adopted  in  imitation  of  the  Mediterranean 
powers  at  the  return  of  the  Christian  heroes  from  the  Holy  Wars. 
According  to  Moreri,  Florent  de  Varenne,  in  the  year  1270,  was  the 
first  admiral  known  in  France  ;  but  by  the  most  approved  writers 
of  that  nation  the  title  was  unknown  till,  in  1 2  S 1,  Enguerand  de 
Coussy  was  constituted  admiral.  The  first  admiral  by  name  that 
we  know  of  in  England  was  W.  de  Leyboume,  who  was  jppointed 
to  that  office  by  Edward  I.  in  the  year  12S6,  under  the  title  of 
Admiral  de  la  mer  du  Hoy  cC  Angleterre.  Mariana,  in  his  History 
of  Spain,  says  that  Don  Sancho,  having  resolved  to  make  war  on 
the  barbarians  (Moors),  piepared  a  great  fleet ;  and  as  the  Genoese 
were  at  that  time  very  powerful  by  sea,  and  experienced  and  dex- 
terous sailors,-  he  sent  to  Genoa  to  iDvite,  with  great  offers,  Benito 
Zacharias  into  his  service;  that  he  accepted  those  offers,  and  brought 
with  him  twelve  ships;  that  the  king  named  him  his  admiral 
(almirante),  and  conferred  on  him  the  office  for  a  limited  time. 
This  happened  in  the  year  12S4.  Several  Portuguese  authors  ob- 
serve that  their  office  of  almirante  was  derived  from  the  Genoese, 
who  had  it  from  the  Sicilians,  and  these  from  the  SaraceDS ;  and  it 
appears  from  Souza's  Historia  Gtncalogka  da  Caza  Real,  that  in 
1322  Micer  Manuel  Picagow  was  invited  from  Genoa  into  Portugal, 
and  appointed  to  the  office  of  almirant'.,  with  a  salary  of  3000  pounds 
(livras)  a  year,  and  certain  lands,  &c,  on  condition  that  he  should 
furnish  on  his  part  twenty  men  of  Genoa,  all  experienced  in  sea 
affairs,  and  qualified  to  be  alcaidis  (captains)  and  arraiscs  (masters) 
of  ships :  all  of  which  terms,  almirante,  alcaidi,  and  arrats,  are 
obviously  of  Arabic  derivation. 

Edward  I.,  who  be?an  his  reign  in  1272,  went  to  the  Holy  Land, 
and  visited  Sicily  on  his  return.  He  must  therefore  have  had  an 
opportunity  of  informing  himself  concerning  the  military  and  naval 
science  of  the  various  countries  bordering  on  the  Mediterranean— an 
opportunity  which  so  able  and  warlike  a  prince  would  not  neglect, 
but  whether  the  title  and  office  of  admiral  existed  in  England  before 
his  time,  as  some  are  inclined  to  think,  or  whether  W.  de  Ley- 
bourne  was  first  created  to  that  office  in  1286,  as  before  mentioned, 
we  believe  there  is  no  authentic  record  to  enable  us  to  decide.  Sup- 
posing him,  however,  to  be  the  first,  Edward  may  either  have 
adopted  the  office  and  title  from  the  Genoese,  or  the  Sicilians,  or 
the  Spaniards,  cr  the  French ;  or  even  had  it  directly  from  the 
Saracens,  against  whom  he  had  fought,  and  with  whom  he  had 
afterwards  much  amicable  intercourse.     It  would  seem.  how.  v  e- 


156 


ADMIRAL 


that  the  office  was  in  Edward  s  time  to  some  extent  honorary ;  for 
that  monarch,  in  1307,  orders  the  lord  mayor  of  London,  at  his 
peril  and  without  delay,  to  provide  a  good  ship,  well  equipped,  to 
cany  his  pavilions  and  tents ;  and  in  the  same  year  another  order 
is  addressed  to  the  I'icccomes  Kantios  to  provide  for  immediate 
passage  across  the  seas  tot  et  tales  pontes  it  cluias,  as  the  constable 
of  Dover  Castle  should  demand,  without  one  word  being  mentioned 
of  the  admiral.  (Rymer,  vol.  iii.  p.  32.)  It  is  to  be  observed,  how- 
ever, that  at  this  time  the  royal  lleets  were  made  up  of  royal  and 
private  ships,  and  that  the  admiral  would  not  be  charged  witli  the 
transport  of  such  things  as  those  mentioned  unless  the  fleet  was 
intended  to  co-cperate  with  the  land  forces.- 

From  the  34th  Edward  II.  we  have  a  regular  and  uninterrupted 
succession  of  admirals.  In  that  year  Edward  Charles  was  appointed 
admira'  of  the  north,  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  Thames  north- 
ward, ■  and  Gervase  Allard  admiral  of  the  west,  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Thames  westward ;  and  these  two  admirals  of  the  north  and  the 
west  were  continu'd  down  to  the  31th  Edward  III.,  when  Sir  John 
de  Beauchamp,  1<  rd  warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports,  constable  of  the 
Tower  of  London  and  of  the  Castle  of  Dover,  was  constituted  High 
Admiral  of  Eng.  and.  Nine  years  afterwards  the  office  was  again 
divided  into  north  and  west,  and  so  continued  until  the  10th  Richard 
II.,  when  Richard,  son  of  Alain,  Earl  of  Arundel,  was  appointed 
Admiral  of  England.  Two  years  after  this  it  was  ajjain  .in 
before ;  *nd  in  the  15th  year  of  the  same  reign,  Edward,  Earl  of 
Eutland  and  Cork,  afterwards  Duke  of  Albemarle,  was  constituted 
Sigh  Admiral  of  the  North  and  West;  and  after  him  the  Marquis 
of  Dorset  and  Earl  of  Somerset,  son  of  John  of  Gaunt,  Duke  of 
Lancaster.  Percy,  Earl  of  Winchester"  next  succeeded  to  the  same 
title,  which  once  more  was  dropped  in  the  2d  of  Henry  IV.,  and 
divided  as  before.  Sir  Thomas  Beaufort  was  twice  appointed  by 
Henry  IV.  admiral  of  England;  and  on  the  accession  ot  Henry  V. 
he  was  reappointed  by  letters  patent  dated  3d  June  1413.  In  the 
14th  Henry  VI.,  John  Holland,  Duke  of  Exeter,  was  created 
admiral  of  England,  Ireland,  and  Aquitaine,  for  life;  and  in  the 
third  year  ofEdward.VL,  John  Dudley,  Earl  of  Warwick,  was 
constituted  high  admiral  of  England,  Ireland,  Wales,  Calais, 
Boulogne,  the  marches  of  the  sair:,  Normandy,  Gascony,  and 
Aquitaine,  also  captain-general  of  the  navy  and  seas  of  the  king, 
&c.  In  the  27th  Elizabeth,  Charles,  Lord  Howard,  had  all  the 
aforesaid  titles,  with  the  addition  of  captain-general  of  the  navy 
and  seas  of  the  said  kingdoms. 

On  the  20th  November  1632  the  office  of  high  admiral 
was  for  the  first  time  put  in  commission,  all  the  great 
officers  of  state  being  the  commissioners.  During  the 
Commonwealth  a  committee  of  Parliament  managed  the 
affairs  of  the  Admiralty.  At  the  Restoration,  in  1600,  the 
Duke  of  York  was  constituted  Lord  High  Admiral  of  Eng- 
land. The  commission  was  revoked  in  1673,  and  King 
Charles  II.  held  the  Admiralty  in  his  own  hands,  and  managed 
it  by  the  great  officers  of  his  privy  council  till  1684,  when 
the  Duke  of  York  was  re-instated.  Charles  took  this  occa- 
sion of  reserving  for  his  own  use  all  the  droits  and  per- 
quisites claimed  by  the  lord  high  admiral. 

Annexed  is  a  list  of  lord  high  admirals  and  first 
lords  of  the  Admiralty  from  the  time  of  Charles  the 
Second  to  the  year  1874  : — 

FIRST  LORDS  Of  THE  ADMIRALTY  FROM  1660. 

Date  of  Appointment 

6,  16G0. 
14,  1673. 

9,  1673. 
14,  1679. 
1  I,  1880. 
20,  1681. 
17,  1684. 
17,  I'M. 

s,  i.;-;>. 

Jan.      20,  1690. 


James  Duke  of  York,* June 

Ring  Charles  the  Second, June 

Prince  Rupert July 


May 

Feb. 

Jan, 
April 

May 
March 


Sir  Henry  Capell,  Kt., 

Daniel  Finch,  Esq., 

Daniel  Lord  Finch 

Daniel  Earl  of  Nottingham, 
James  Duke  of  York  (and  as  James  II.),r  . 
Arthur  Herbert,  Esq.,         .... 
Thomas  Earl  of  Pembroke  and  Montgomery, 

Charles  Lord  Comwallis March  10,  1692. 

Anthony  Viscount  Falkland April  15,  1693. 

Edward"  Russell,  Esq May  2,  1694. 

Edward  Earl  of  Orford June  5,  1697. 

John  Earl  of  Bridgewater May  31,  1699. 

Thomas  Earl  of  Pembroke  and  Montgomery,       .  April  4,1701. 

George  Prince  of  Denmark,;       ....  May  20,1702. 

Thomas  Earl  of  Pembroke  and  Montgomery,!     .  Nov.  29,1708. 

Edward  Earl  of  Orford, Nov.  8,1709. 

Sir  John  Leake,  kt,           Oct.  4,1710. 

Thomas  Earl  of  Strafford Sept  30,1712. 

Edward  Earl  of  Orford Oct  14   1714. 

James  Earl  of  Berkeley March  19,  1717. 

Lord  Viscount  Torrington, ...                 .  Aug.  2,  1 727. 


Sir  Charles  Wager,  Kt.,     .... 
Daniel  Earl  of  Winchelsea  and  Nottingham, 

John  Duke  of  Bedford, 

John  Earl  of  Sandwich,      •        .        .        .        . 

George  Lord  Anson 

Richard  Earl  Temple, 

Daniel  Earl  of  Winchelsea  and  Nottingham,       . 

George  Lord  Anson, 

George  Dank  Earl  of  Halifax     .... 
George  Grenville,  Esq.,      .        .        .        .        , 

John  Ear1  "f  Sandwich, 

John  Earl  of  Egmont, 

Sir  Charles  Saunders,  K.B 

Sir  E.i.vard  Hawke,  K.15 > 

John  Earl  of  Sandwich 

Hon.  Augustus  Keppcl,      ..... 

Augustus  Viscount  Keppel 

Richard  Viscount  Howe 

Augustus  Viscount  Keppel,         .        .        .        . 

Richard  Viscount  Howe, 

John  Earl  of  Chatham,       .... 
George  John  Earl  Spencer,  .        .        .        . 

John  Earl  of  s;  Vincent,  K.B. 

Hi  nry  Lord  Viscount  Melville,  .         .         . 

Charles  Lord  I'.niram,       .        .        .        .        . 

Charles  Grey,  Esq., 

Thomas  Grenville,  Esq. 

Henry  Lord  Mulgrave,  . 

Ilun.  Charles  Yorke,         .        .         .        . 
Right  Hon.  Robert  Viscount  MelviBV, 
H.  R.  H.  William  Henry  Duke  of  Clarence,* 
Right  Hon.  Robert  Viscount  Melville,  K.T., 
Right  Hon. .Sir  James  R.  G.  Graham,  Bart, 
Right  Honi  George  Baron  Auckland,  .        . 
Thomas  Philip  Earl  de  Grey,  . 

Right  Hon.  George  Baron  Auckland,  . 

Gilbert  Earl  of  Minto,  G.C.B. 

Thomas  Earl  of  Haddington 

Hight  Hon.  Edward  Earl  of  Ellenhorough, 
Right  Hon.  George  Earl  of  Auckland  (died  1st 
January  1S49),    ...... 

Right  Hon.  Sir  Francis  T   Baring,  Bart,    . 
Algernon  Percy  Duke  of  Northumberland,  K.G., 
Right  Hon.  Sir  James  R.  G.  Graham,  Bart, 
Right  Hon.  Sir  Charles  Wood,  Bart., 
Right  Hon.  Sir  John  Pakington,  Bart,       .        . 
Edward  A.  St  Maur  Duke  of  Somerset,  K.G., 
Right  Hon.  Sir  J.  S.  Pakington,  Bart,  G.C.B., 
Right  Hon.  Henry  Thomas  Lowry  Corry,    . 
Right  Hon.  Hugh  Culling  Eardley  Childers,       . 
Right  Hon.  George  Joachim  Goschen,  .         . 


Dato  of  Appointment 
June  21,  1738. 
March  19,  1741. 
Dec.      27,  1744. 

16,  1748. 

22,  1751. 

17,  1756. 
6,  1757. 
2,  1757. 

17,  1762. 
13,  1762. 

April    20,  1763. 
Sept.    10,  1763. 

15,  1766. 

11,  1766. 

12,  1771. 

1,  1782. 

18,  1782. 

30,  1783. 
10,  1783. 

31,  1783. 

16,  1788. 

19,  1794. 
19,  1801. 
15,  1804. 

2,  1805. 

10,  1806. 
29,  1806. 

6,  1807. 

24,  1809. 
March  25,  1812. 
May   2,  1827. 

19,  1823. 

25,  1830. 

11,  1834. 

23,  1834. 
25,  1835. 
19,  1835. 

8,  1811. 

13,  1846. 


Feb. 
June 

Nov. 
April 
July 
June 
Oct. 


Sept. 

Dec, 

Jan. 
April 

July 

Jan. 

April 

Dec. 

July 

Dec. 

Feb. 

May 

May 

Feb. 

Sept. 

April 

Nov. 


Sept 

Nov. 
June 
Dec. 
April 
Si  pt 

Sept. 
Jau. 


July  24, 
Jan.  18, 
Feb.  28, 
Jan.  5, 
March  8, 
March  9, 
June  28, 
July  13, 
March  8, 
Dec.  18, 
March  13, 


1846. 
1849. 
1852. 
1853. 
1855. 
1858. 
1868. 
18*6. 
1867. 
1868. 
1871. 


*  Lord  High  Admiral  of  England. 

+  Lord  High  Admiral  and  Lord  General. 

J  Lord  High  Admirals  of  Great  Britain. 

Prince  George  of  Denmark,  when  lord  high  admiral, 
having  surrendered,  by  a  formal  instrument,  all  the  rights, 
profits,  perquisites,  and  advantages  whatsoever,  appertaining 
to  the  office,  for  the  benefit  and  use  of  the  public,  with  the 
exception  of  the  sum  of  £2500  a-year,  to  be  disposed  of  in 
such  manner  and  for  such  particular  uses  as  her  Majesty, 
under  her  sign  manual,  should  direct;  and  the  salary  of  tho 
lord  high  admiral,  which  had  hitherto  been  no  more  than 
300  marks,  was  now  fixed,  by  warrant  under  privy  seal,  at 
£7000  a-year.  This  sum,  by  1st  George  II.,  was  divided 
equally  among  seven  commissioners,  an  arrangement  which 
continued  from  that  time,  except  that  the  pay  of  the  com- 
missioner who  stood  first  in  the  patent  was  made  up  from 
other  funds  to  £3000  a-year,  and  in  the  year  1806  was 
further  increased  to  £5000  a-year.  Since  the  surrender 
above  mentioned,  all  the  droits  of  admiralty,  as  they  are 
called,  with  all  the  fees,  emoluments,  and  perquisites  what- 
soever, have  been  taken  from  the  admiral  and  applied  to 
public  purposes. 

These  droits  and  perquisites  are  by  no  means  inconsider- 
able. As  enumerated  in  the  patent,  they  consist  of  flotsam, 
jetsam,  ligan,  treasure,  deodands,  derelicts,  found  within  the 
admiral's  jurisdiction;  all  goods  picked  up  at  sea;  all  fines, 
forfeitures,  ransoms,  recognisances,  and  pecuniary  punish- 
ments;   ail   sturgeons,   whales,   porpoises,   dolphins,   and 


aDMIKAL 


157 


grampuses  and  all  sucn  large  fishes;  all  ships  and  goods  of 
the  enemy  coming  into  any  creek,  road,  or  port,  by  stress  of 
weather,  mistake,  or  ignorance  of  the  war;  all  ships  seized  at 
sea,  salvage,  &c,  together  with  his  shares  of  prizes;  which 
shares  were  afterwards  called  tenths,  in  imitation  probably  of 
the  French,  who  gave  theiradmiral,  forsupportingthe  dignity 
of  his  office,  son  droit  de  dixieme.  All  prizes  are  now  wholly 
given  up  by  the  crown  to  the  captors,  and  such  share  of  the 
droits  as  from  circumstances  may  be  thought  proper  The 
lord  high  admiral  also  claimed  and  enjoyed  as  his  due  the 
cast  ships;  and  the  subordinate  officers  of  the  navy,  as 
their  perquisites,  all  other  decayed  and  unserviceable  stores. 

Though  by  Act  of  2  William  and  Mary,  stat.  2,  c.  2 
(extended  by  the  1  Geo.  TV.  c.  90,  and  7  and  8  Geo. 
TV.  c.  65),  the  lords  commissioners  of  the  admiralty 
are  vested  with  all  and  singular  authorities,  jurisdictions, 
and  powers  which  have  been  and  are  vested,  settled,  and 
placed  in  the  lord  high  admiral  of  England  for  the  time 
being,  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  if  the  said  commis- 
sioners were  lord  high  admiral  of  England,  yet  there  is 
this  remarkable  difference  in  the  two  patents  by  which 
they  are  constituted,  that  the  patent  of  the  lord  high 
admiral  mentions  very  little  of  the  military  part  of  his 
office,  but  chiefly  details  his  judicial  duties  as  a  magistrate; 
whilst,  on  the  contrary,  the  patent  to  the  lords  commis- 
sioners of  the  admiralty  is  very  particular  in  directing  them 
to  govern  the  affairs  of  the  navy,  and  is  almost  wholly 
silent  as  to  their  judicial  powers. 

These  powers,  as  set  forth  in  the  patent  to  the  Earl  of 
Pembroke  in  1701,  are,  the  power  to  act  by  deputy;  to  take 
cognisance  of  all  causes,  civil  and  maritime,  within  his  juris- 
diction ;  to  arrest  goods  and  persons ;  to  preserve  public 
streams,  ports,  rivers,  fresh  waters,  and  creeks  whatsoever 
within  his  jurisdiction,  as  well  for  the  preservation  of  the 
ships  as  of  the  fishes;  to  reform  too  strait  nets  and 
unlawful  engines,  and  punish  offenders;  to  arrest  ships, 
mariners,  pilots,  masters,  gunners,  bombardiers,  and  any 
other  persons  whatsoever  able  an~d  fit  for  the  service  of  the 
ships,  as  often  as  occasion  shall  require,  and  wheresoever 
they  shall  be  met  with;  to  appoint  vice-admirab,  judges, 
and  other  officers,  durante  beneplacito;  to  remove,  suspend, 
or  expel  them,  and  put  others  in  their  places,  as  he  shall 
see  occasion ;  to  take  cognisance  of  civil  and  maritime  laws, 
and  of  death,  murder,  and  mayhem. 

It  was  by  no  means  necessary  that  the  lord  high  admiral 
should  be  a  professional  man.  Henry  VIII.  made  his 
natural  son,  tie  Duke  of  Richmond,  lord  high  admiral  of 
England  when  he  was  but  six  years  old.  When  the  high 
admiral,  however,  went  to  sea  in  person,  he  had  usually  a 
commission  under  the  great  seal  appointing  him  admiral 
and  captain-general  of  the  fleet,  sometimes  with  powers  to 
confer  knighthood,  and  generally  to  punish  with  life  and 
limb.  Such  a  commission  was  granted  by  Henry  VIII.  to 
Sir  Edward  Howard,  who  executed  indenture  with  the 
king  to  furnish  3000  men,  18  captains,  1750  soldiers,  1232 
mariners  and  gunners;  his  own  pay  to  be  10s.  and  that  of 
a  captain  Is.  6d.  a-day.  The  rest  had  5s.  per  mensem  as 
wages,  and  5s.  for  victuals  each  man,  together  with  certain 
dead  shares. . 

It  appears,  from  Mr  Pepys'  Naval  Collections,  that  the 
lord  high  admiral  did  anciently  wear,  on  solemn  occasions, 
a  gold  whistle,  set  with  precious  stones,  hanging  at  the  end 
of  a  gold  chain. 

The  salary  of  the  first  lord  commissioner  is  £4500  a-year, 
and  of  each  of  the  naval  lords  £1500;  in  addition  to  the 
half-pay  of  their  rank,  fhe  civil  lord  gets  £1000,  and  the 
parliamentary  secretary  £2000  a-year. 

The  opening  paragraph  of  the  Black  Booh  of  the  Admiralty 
has  the  following  noteworthy  instruction  as  regards  the  depu- 
ties and  officers  to  be  chosen  by  the  lord  high  admiral : — 


"  When  one  is  made  admirall,  hee  must  first  ordaine  and  substi- 
tute for  his  lieutenants,  deputies,  and  other  officers  under  him, 
some  of  the  most  loyall,  wise,  and  discreete  persons  in  the  maritime 
law  and  auncient  customes  of  the  seas  which  hee  can  any  where 
find,  to  the  end  that  by  the  helpe  of  God  and  their  good  and  just 
government,  the  office  may  be  executed  to  the  honour  and  good  of 
the  realme." 

Had  this  precept  been  always  acted  on,  there  would 
probably  have  been  less  occasion  than  has  presented  itself 
for  the  many  reorganisations  which  the  administration  of 
the  lord  high  admiral's  administrative  office  has  under- 
gone. As  it  has  been,  the  necessity  for  periodical  changes 
has  been  urgent  and  unavoidable.  From  the  time  of 
which  Macaulay  wrote,  that  the  king  (James  II.)  was  the 
only  honest  man  in  his  dockyards,  down  to  the  present 
date,  the  need  has  been  incumbent  on  successive  first 
lords  and  high  admirals  to  lay  the  axe  to  the  root  of  a 
tree  which,  in  some  shape  or  other,  has  not  ceased  to  bring 
forth  evil  fruit.  The  soil  favoured  corruption,  and  no 
efficient  means  were  employed  to  prevent  its  growth.  A 
root  and  branch  reformation  was  urgently  needed,  though 
it  was  not  applied  except  in  particular  instances.  Till  the 
great  French  war  of  1793-1815  led  to  the  formation  of 
a  navy  board  of  commissioners  to  superintend  the  work 
and  management  of  the  dockyards;  of  a  victualling  board, 
to  see  to  the  provisioning  of  the  fleet;  and  of  sick  and 
hurt  commissioners,  to  look  after  the  sick  and  wounded 
— the  administrative  departments  of  the  navy  were  left 
to  nominees  of  the  lord  high  admiral  or  first  lord,  the 
said  nominees  deriving  "  no  small  advantage "  from 
the  arrangement.  Under  the  departmental  boards  things 
certainly  improved  from  -  what  they  were  in  the  time 
of  Charles  II.;  but  they  fell  far  short  of  what  was 
desirable,  and,  by  the  vagueness  of  their  administra- 
tive principle,  opened  a  door  for  irresponsible  wrong- 
doing, which  in  the  end  made  them  exceedingly  bad 
instruments  of  government.  These  boards  continued  till 
1832,  when  Sir  James  Graham,  then  first  lord  of  the 
admiralty,  introduced  sweeping  changes.  He  abolished 
the  several  intangible  boards  which  administered  under 
the  shelter  of  the  board  of  admiralty,  and  appointed  in 
their  stead  five  principal  officers  of  the  navy,  who  were 
afterwards  included  in  the  admiralty  patent.  These  officers 
were — a  surveyor  or  architect  and  constructor  of  the  navy; 
a  storekeeper-general,  charged  with  oversight  and  purchase 
of  the  material  for  dockyards  and  ships;  an  accountant- 
general,  charged  with  the  duty  of  seeing  »that  all  wages 
and  cash  paid  were  duly  brought  to  account;  a  comp- 
troller of  victualling  and  transport  services,  charged  with 
the  maintenance  of  the  victualling  establishments  of  the 
navy,  and  of  sufficient  supplies  of  provisions  and  clothing 
for  the  fleet,  and  with  the  oversight  of  the  transport 
arrangements  for  men  and  stores;  and  a  physician  of  the 
navy,  afterwards  called  medical  director-general,  charged 
with  the  oversight  of  all  hospitals  and  of  all  sanitary 
arrangements  of  the  navy.  Each  of  these  officers  adminis- 
tered the  department  entrusted  to  him  in  every  particular, 
not  only  in  respect  of  stock,  but  of  replenishment  and 
account  of  stock.  A  lord  of  the  admiralty  was  told  off 
to  supervise  the  permanent  head  and  to  represent  his 
'department  at  the  board.  These  alterations  were  in  many 
respects  very  beneficial  Altered  circumstances  required 
some  modification  of  the  original  scheme  of  duties;  and 
the  addition  of  three  principal  officers — the  director  of 
works,  the  director  of  transports  (who,  after  the  Crimean 
war,  relieved  the  comptroller  di  victualling  of  his  trans- 
port duties),  and  the  registrar  of  contracts.  In  1860  the 
office  of  surveyor  of  the  navy  was  abolished,  and  that 
of  controller  of  the  navy,  with  larger  powers  over'  dock- 
yard management,  was  revived.  In  1869,  Mr  Childers, 
first  lord  of  the  admiralty,  made  changes  which  tended 


158 


A  D  M  —  A  D  M 


to  subordinate  the  members  of  the  board  of  admiralty 
more  effectually  to  the  first  lord,  constituting  him  in 
effect  minister  of  marine;  and  to  render  departmental 
officers  at  once  more  individually  responsible  and  more 
intimate  with  the  controlling  members  of  the  board.  '  He 
increased  the  power  and  functions  of  the  controller  of  the 
navy,  giving  him  a  seat  at  the  board,  and  charging  him 
with  the  stock-keeping  attributes  of  the  storekeeper-gene- 
ral, whoso  purchasing  functions  were  transferred  to  a  new 
officer — the  superintendent  of  contracts,  the  head  of  the 
contract  and  purchase  department,  and  his  accounting 
functions  to  the  accountant-general.  The  office  of  store- 
keeper-general was  abolished.  The  offico  of  comptroller 
of  victualling  was  also  abolished — the  storekeeping  func- 
tions being  transferred  to  a  new  officer,  the  superin- 
tendent of  victualling — the  purchasing  function  to  the 
head  of  the  purchase  department,  the  accounts  to  the 
accountant-general.  The  other  officers  remained;  but  in 
the  case  of  each  this  modification  of  business  ensued,  viz., 
that  all  stores  whatever  required  by  any  of  them  were 
to  be  obtained  through  the  agency  of  one  supply  or 
purchase  department;  that  all  accounts  whatever  were  to 
be  rendered  to  the  accountant-general.  The  departmental 
officers  of  the  admiralty  at  the  present  time  (1874)  are — 
the  controller  of  the  navy,  without  a  seat  at  the  board 
(who  has  on  his  staff  a  chief  naval  architect,  a  chief 
engineer,  a  surveyor  of  dockyards,  a  superintendent  of 
naval  stores,  and  a  director  of  ordnance) — the  director- 
general  of  the  medical  department,  the  director  of 
works,  the  director  of  transports,  the  hydrographer, 
the  superintendent  of  contracts,  the  superintendent  of 
■victualling.  The  department  of  the  two  permanent  secre- 
taries of  the  admiralty  (one  a  naval  officer,  the  other  a 
civilian)  undertakes  the  conduct  of  all  business  relating 
to  the  personnel  of  the  navy  and  the  ordering  of  the  fleets. 

To  control  the  departmental  officers,  and  to  advise  the 
responsible  first  lord,  there  are  the  following  members  of 
the  board  of  admiralty,  viz.,  the  parliamentary  or  finan- 
cial secretary,  who  has  oversight  of  all  business  relating 
to  finance,  estimates,  expenditure,  and  accounts,  and  who 
is  the  alter  ego  of  the  first  lord  in  Parliament;  the  first 
naval  lord,  who,  assisted  by  two  other  naval  "lords," 
takes  oversight  of  the  personnel  and  of  all  executive  func- 
tions of  the  fleet;  and  a  civilian  lord,  who  assists  the 
financial  secretary,  and  has  particular  oversight  also  of 
naval  civil  .establishments  and  of  the  works  department 

A  list  of  secretaries  of  the  admiralty  from  1684  to  the 
present  time  is  given  below : — 


FIRST  SECRETARIES  TO  THE  ADMIRALTY. 


Samuel  Pepys,  Esq.,  .  .  . 
Phineas  Bowles,  Esq.,    .     .    . 

James  Sotherne,  Esq 

Josiah  Barchctt,  Esq 

Thomas  Corbet,  Esq.,  .  .  . 
John  Cleveland,  Esq.,  .  ,  . 
Philip  Stevens,  Esq.  (then  one  j 

of  the  Board), j 

F.van  Nepean,  Esq.,  .... 
William  Marsden,  Esq.,      .     . 

Hon.  W.  W.  Pole 

John  Wilson  Croker,  Esq., 
Captain  the  Hon.  George  Elliott, 
Right  Hon.  George  R.  Dawson, 
Charles  Wood,  Esq.,  M.P.,      . 
R.  More  O'Ferrall,  Esq.,     .     . 
John  Parker,  Esq.,  M.P.,   .     . 
Hon.  Sidney  Herbert,    . 
Ki=-ht  Hon.'H.  T.  L.  Cony,  M.P., 
Hen~y  G.  Ward,  Esq.,  M.I'., 
John  Parker,  Esq.,  M.P.,    .     , 
Aug l'tns  Stafford,  Esq.,     .     , 
Bernal  Osborne,  Esq.,  M.P.,    . 
Bight  Hon.  H.  T.  L.  Curry,  JI.P., 


From 
Mav  1684 

March  1689 
Dec.  25,  1689 
Sept  25,  1694 
Oct      10,  1741 


Feb. 
Dec. 
Sept. 
Oct 


To 

1G89. 

1689. 
24.  1694. 
10,  1741. 


From 


June     18,  1763    March    3,  1795. 


March  S,  1795 
Jan.  21,  1804 
24,  1807 
9,  1809 
29,  1830 
24,  1834 
27,  1835 
4,  1839 
9,  1841 
10,  1841 
1845 
13,  1846 
21,  1849 
March  3,  1852 
Jan.  6,  1853 
March    9,  1858 


June 

Oct 

Nov. 

Dec. 

April 

Oct 

June 

Sept 

Feb. 

July 

May 


Jan. 

Jui.e 

Oct 

Nov. 

Dec. 

April 

Oct. 

Jane 

Sept 

Feb. 

July 

May 

March 


21,  1804. 
24,  1807. 

8,  1809. 
29,  1830. 
24,  1834. 
27,  1835. 

4,  1839. 

9,  1841. 
10,  1841. 

1845. 
13,  1846. 
1,  1849. 
3,  185! 


tfju^J?1*. c: G'Paset:  | June  80> 1859 


Rear 
C. 
Hon.  Thomss  G.  Baring,  M.P.,'  April'  30,  1866 
Lord  Henry  G.  Lennox,  M.P.,     July     16,  1866 
W.  E.  Baxter,  Esq.,  M. P.,      .    Dec.     18,1808 


T« 

April    29,  1868. 

July  15,  1868. 
Dec  17,  1868. 
March  16,  1871. 


Jan.  6,  1853. 
March  8,  1858. 
June     SO,  1859. 


Geo.  J.  ShawLcfevre,  Esq.,  M.P.,  March  17,  1871 

As  regards  the  navies  of  foreign  countries,  their  govern- 
ment is  in  the  hands  of  ministers  or  departments  variously 
constituted.  The  Russian  Admiralty  is  a  highly-organised 
bureau,  divided  into  departments  after  the  English  manner, 
and  under  the  supreme  control  of  a  high  admiral,  usually 
a  Grand  Duke  of  the  Imperial  House.  The  Germao. 
Admiralty  was,  till  1872,  a  branch  of  the  War  Office, 
though  governed  by  a  vice-admiral  under  a  naval  prince 
of  the  reigning  family.  In  1872  it  was  severed  from  the 
War  Office,  though  remaining  an  appanage  thereof,  and  a 
general  of  the  army  was  placed  at  its  head.  The  French 
minister  of  marine,  assisted  by  a  permanent  staff,  controls 
the  navy  of  France  on  a  highly  centralised  system  of 
administration;  but  the  departments  are  well  organised, 
and  work  well.  The  Italian  fleet  is  governed  on  principle* 
analogous  to  the  French,  but  with  a  large  admixture  of 
the  English  representative  element.  The  American  navy 
is  governed  by  a  secretary  of  the  navy,  a  cabinet  minister, 
to  whom  the  departmental  heads  are  responsible,  and 
under  whose  orders  they  work.  (f.  w.  r.) 

ADMIRALTY,  High  Court  of.  This  is  a  court  of  law, 
in  which  the  authority  of  the  lord  high  admiral  is  exercised 
in  his  judicial  capacity.  Very  little  has  been  left  on  record 
of  the  ancient  prerogative  of  the  admirals  of  England.  For 
some  time  after  the  first  institution  of  the  office  they 
judged  all  matters  relating  to  merchants  and  mariners, 
which  happened  on  the  main  sea,  in  a  summary  way, 
according  to  the  laws  of  Oleron  (so  called  because  pro- 
mulgated by  Richard  I.  at  that  place).  These  laws,  which 
were  little  more  than  a  transcript  of  the  Rhodian  laws, 
became  the  universally-received  customs  of  the  western 
part  of  the  world.  "  All  the  seafaring  nations,"  says  Sir 
Leoline  Jonkins,  "  soon  after  their  promulgation,  received 
and  entertained  these  laws  from  the  English,  by  way  of 
deference  to  the  sovereignty  of  our  kings  in  the  British  ocean, 
and  to  the  judgment  of  our  countrymen  in  sea  affairs." 

In  the  patents  granted  to  the  early  admirals  between  the  latter 
years  of  the  reign  of  Henry  III.  and  the  close  of  that  of  Edward 
1 1 1. 1  no  mention  is  made  of  marine  perquisites  or  of  civil  power,  nor 
does  it  appear  that  the  admirals  enjoyed  either ;  but  after  the  death 
of  the  latter,  new  and  extraordinary  powers  were  granted  to  them, 
and  it  would  appear  that  they  usurped  other9.  The  preamble  to  the 
13  Richard  II.  stat.  1,  c.  5,  sets  forth  that  "a  great  and  common 
clamour  and  complaint  hath  been  oftentimes  made  before  this 
time,  and  yet  is,  for  that  the  admirals  and  their  deputies  hold 
their  sessions  within  divers  places  of  this  realm,  as  well  within 
the  franchise  as  without,  accroaching  to  them  greater  authority 
than  belongeth  to  their  office,  in  prejudice  of  our  lord  the  king 
and  the  common  law  of  the  realm,  and  in  diminishing  of  divers 
franchises,  and  in  destruction  and  impoverishing  of  the  common, 
people;"  and  the  statute  therefore  directs  that  the  admirals  and 
their  deputies  shall  not  meddle  from  henceforth  of  any  thing 
done  within  the  realm,  but  only  of  a  thing  done  upon  the  sea. 
Two  years  afterwards  (15  Rich.  II.  c.  3),  in  consequence,  as 
stated  in  the  preamble  of  the  statute,  ",of  the  great  and  grievous 
complaint  of  all  the  commons,"  it  was  ordained  that  the  admiral's 
court  should  have  no  cognisance  of  any  contracts,  pleas,  or  quarrels, 
or  of  any  thing  done  or  arising  within  the  bodies  of  counties, 
whether  by  land  or  by  water,  nor  of  wreck  of  the  sea ;  but  that  the 
admiral  should  have  cognisance  of  the  death  of  a  man,  and  ot 
mayhem  done  in  great  ships  being  and  hovering  in  the  main  stream 
of  great  rivers,  yet  only  beneath  the  bridges  of  the  same  rivers  nigh 
to  the  sea.  He  may  also  arrest  ships  in  the  great  flotes  for  the  great 
voyages  of  the  king  and  of  the  realm,  saving  always  to  the  king  nil 
manner  of  forfeitures  and  profits  thereof  coming,  and  have  jurisdic- 
tion over  the  said  flotes,  but  during  the  said  voyages  only.  But  if 
the  admiral  or  his  lieutenant  exceed  that  jurisdiction,  then,  by  2 
Henry  IV.  c.  11,  the  statute  and  the  common  law  may  be  holden 
against  them;  and  if  a  man  pursues  wrongfully  in  the  admiralty 
court,  his  adversary  may  recover  double  damages  at  common  law, 


ADMIRALTY 


r>y 


und  the  pursuant,  if  attainted,  shall  incur  the  penalty  01  £10  to  the 


The  place  which,  according  to  Spelman,  is  absolutely  subject  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  admiral  is  the  sea;  which,  however,  compre- 
hends public  rivers,  fresh  waters,  creeks,  and  all  places  whatsoever, 
within  the  ebbing  and  flowing  of  the  sea,  at  the  highest  water,  the 
shores  or  banks  adjoining,  from  all  the  first  bridges  to  the  seaward ; 
and  in  these,  he  observes,  the  admiralty  hath  full  jurisdiction  in  all 
causes,  criminal  and  civil,  except  treasons  and  the  right  of  wreck. 
Lord  Coke  observes  (5  Rep.  107),  that  between  the  high- water  mark 
and  the  low-water  mark  the  admiral  hath  jurisdiction  super  aquam, 
ad  pleniludinem  maris,  and  as  long  as  it  flows,  though  the  land  be 
infra  corpus  comitalus  at  the  refiow,  so  as  of  one  place  there  is 
divisum  imperium  interchangeably. 

But  though  the  statute  restraineth  the  lord  high  admiral  that  he 
shall  not  hold  plea  of  a  thing  rising  in  the  body  of  a  county,  he  is 
not  restrained  from  making  execution  upon  the  land,  but  is  em- 
powered to  take  either  body  or  goods  upon  the  land ;  otherwise  his 
t'urisdiction  would  often  prove  a  dead  letter.  "  He  also  can  and  does 
lold  his  court  in  the  body  of  a  county.  So,  likewise,  the  civil 
power  may  apprehend  and  try  persons  who  may  have  been  guilty  of 
offences  cognisable  at  common  law,  though  committed  in  the  fleet, 
in  any  port  or  harbour  of  Great  Britain,  or  at  sea,  provided  such 
persons  have  not  already  been  tried  for  such  offences  either  by 
court-martial  or  in  the  admiralty  court ;  and  in  all  ports,  harbours, 
creeks,  &c,  lying  in  any  county,  the  high  admiral  and  the  sheriff, 
or  coroner,  as  the  case  may  be,  have  concurrent  jurisdiction. 

By  the  6  and  7  Will.  IV.  c.  53  the  admiralty  jurisdiction 
is  extended  to  Prince  of  Wales'  Island,  Singapore,  and  Malacca; 
and  under  the  3  and  4  Vict.  c.  65,  the  court  has  jurisdiction  in 
the  following  cases :  — 

Whenever  a  vessel  is  arrested  by  process  issuing  from  the  said 
court,  or  the  proceeds  of  any  vessel  are  brought  into  the  registry,  to 
take  cognisance  of  all  claims  in  respect  of  any  mortgage  of  such  vessel. 

To  decide  all  questions  as  to  the  title  to,  or  ownership  of,  such 
vessel,  or  the  proceeds  thereof  remaining  in  the  registry,  arising  in 
any  cause  of  possession,  salvage,  damage,  wages,  or  bottomry,  insti- 
tuted in  the  said  court. 

To  decide  all  claims  and  demands'  whatsoever  in  the  nature  of 
salvage,  or  in  the  nature  of  towage,  or  for  necessaries  supplied  to 
any  foreign  vessel,  and  enforce  the  payment  of  the  same,  whether 
such  vessel  may  have  been  in  the  body  of  the  county  or  upon  the 
high  seas  at  the  time  when  the  service  was  rendered,  or  damage 
received,-  or  necessaries  furnished,  in  respect  of  which  claim  is  made. 

To  decide  all  matters  and  questions  concerning  booty  of  war  en 
shore,  or  the  distribution  thereof,  which  it  shall  please  her  Majesty, 
by  the  advice  of  the  privy  council,  to  refer  to  the  judgment  of 
the  said  court,  who  shall  proceed  therein  as  in  cases  of  prize  of 
war. 

And  under  §  40  of  the  9  and  10  Vict.  c.  99,  to  decide  on  all 
claims  and  demands  whatsoever  in  the  nature  of  salvage  for  seryices 
performed,  whether  on  sea  or  land. 

The  high  court  of  Admiralty  has  jurisdiction  upon  chs 
high  seas  all  over  the  ■world.  It  has  an  instance  jurisdic- 
tion which  is  civil,  and  a  prize  jurisdiction  in  time  of  war. 
The  latter  jurisdiction  does  not  extend  to  the  admiralty 
courts  of  Ireland  or  Scotland,  -which  never  had  prize  com- 
missions sent  to  them.  It  is  of  the  highest  importance  in 
war  time,  when  questions  of  seizure  or  detention  of  neutral 
ships  arise,  to  have  but  one  court  of  which  to  inquire 
concerning  all  causes,  so  as  to  expedite  the  action  of  the 
Foreign  Office  in  dealing  with  representations  from  neutral 
powers.  The  causes  which  arise  in  time  of  peace  are  causes 
of  collisions,  of  seamen's  wages,  bottomry,  wearing  unlawful 
colours,  salvage,  and.  causes  of  possession,  where  one  part 
owner  or  minor  claims  to  have  security  from  those  other 
owners  who  are  going  to  send  the  ship  on  a  foreign  voyage 
that  the  ship  shall  return  again.  Causes  under  the  Slave 
Act  treaties  are  also  cognisable  here.  The  evidence  is  all 
documentary.  In  1803  there  were  1125  prize  cases  before 
the  court;  in  1804,  1144;  in  1806,  2286;  in  1807,  2789; 
and  so  on,  above  1000  eauses  each  year,  down  to  the  year 
1811. 

The  criminal  jurisdiction,  which  formerly  comprehended 
all  crimes  whatever  committed  at  sea,  from  larceny  to 
homicide,  which  were  triable  at  common  law  at  the  assizes 
if  committed  on  shore,  was  much  modified  upon  the  report 
of  the  select  committee  on  the  high  court  of  admiralty  in 
1833.  Such  offences  are  now  triable  at  common  law  on 
eurrender  to  the  jurisdiction;  but  the  judge  of  the  admi- 


ralty court  may  still  sit  with  othfii'  cocimiisiouers  of  oyer 
and  terminer.  He  has  no  longer  any  independent  criminal 
jurisdiction. 

The  instance  jurisdiction  is  permanent;  the  prize  juris- 
diction is  by  virtue  of  a  special  commission,  'pro  re  natd. 
Its  issue  is  one  of  the  first  acts  done  on  the  outbreak  of 
war.  Appeals  formerly  lay  from  the  civil  decisions  to  the 
high  court  of  delegates  or  specially-appointed  commis- 
sioners; from  the  prize  decisions  to  the  prize  commissioners. 
By  the  Aets  2  and  3  WilL  IV.  c.  92,  and  3  and  4  Will  IV". 
c.  41,  all  appeals  from  admiralty  court  decisions  of  any 
kind  lie  to  the  sovereign,  who  is  authorised  to  refer  them 
to  the  judicial,  committee  of  the  privy  council. 

The  lord  high  admiral  was  assisted  in  his  judicial 
functions  by  the  following  principal  officers: — I.  The  vice- 
admiral;  2.  The  judge;  3.  The  registrar;  4.  The  advocate- 
general;  5.  The  counsel  and  judge-advocate;  6.  The  soli- 
citor; 7.  The  procurator;  8.  The  marshal, — which  officers 
are  continued. 

1.  The  Yice-Admiral,  This  officer  is  the  admiral's  deputy 
or  lieutenant  mentioned  in  the  statutes  of  13th  and  loth 
Richard  II.,  and  was  the  person,  most  probably,  who  pre- 
sided in  the  court.  At  present  the  office  of  vice-admiral  of 
England  is  a  perfect  sinecure,  generally  conferred  on  seme 
naval  officer  of  high  rank  and  distinguished  character  in  the 
service.  The  salary  of  £434,  Is.  9d.  per  annum;  attached 
to  it  in  addition  to  half-pay,  was  abolished  by  order  in 
council,  22d  February  1870.  The  salary  and  office  of. 
rear-admiral  of  England  were  abolished  by  the  same  order 
in  council  The  salary  was  £342,  9s.  per  annum.  Each 
county  of  England  has  its  vice-admiral,  which  is  little 
more  than  an  honorary  distinction,  though  the  .  patent 
gives  to  the  holder  all  the  powers  vested  in  the  admiral 
himself.  Similar  powers  were  also  granted  to  the  judges 
of  the  admiralty  county  courts;  but  this  was  found  so 
inconvenient  and  prejudicial  to  those  who  had  suits  to 
commence  or  defend  before  them,  that  the  Duke  of  York, 
when  lord  high  admiral,  in  1663  caused  instructions  to 
be  drawn  up  in  order  to  assign  to  each  his  province, 
whereby  the  whole  judicial  power  remained  with  the  judge, 
and  the  upholding  of  the  rights  of  the  admiral,  and  levy- 
ing and  receiving  the  perquisites,  &c,  appertained  to  the 
vice-admiral 

Each  of  the  four  provinces  of  Ireland  has  its  vice-admiral. 
There  is  one  vice-admiral  for  all  Scotland,  and  one  for  the 
Shetland  and  Orkney  Islands.  The  governor  of  most  of 
our  colonies  had  a  commission  of  vice-admiral  granted  to 
him  by  the  lord  high  admiral  or  lords  commissioners  of 
the  admiralty,  and  generally  a  commission  from  the  king 
under  the  great  seal,  grounded  on  the  11  and  12  William 
III.  c.  7,  and  further  confirmed  by  46  Geo.  TTT.  c.  54, 
by  which  he  was  authorised  to  try  all  treasons,  piracies, 
felonies,  robberies,  murders,  conspiracies,  and  other  offences, 
of  what  nature  or  kind  soever,  committed  on  the  seas,  where 
the  parties  were  taken  into  custody  in  places  remote  from 
England.  The  court  consisted  of  seven  .persons  at  the  least, 
of  whom  the  governor,  the  lieutenant-governor,  the  vice- 
admiral,  the  flag-officer,  or  commander-in-chief  of  the  squa- 
dron, the  members  of  the  council,  the  chief-justice,  judge 
of  the  vice-admiralty  court,  captains  of  men-of-war,  and 
secretary  of  the  colony,  were  specially  named  in  the  com- 
mission; but  any  three  of  these,  with  four  others  selected 
from  known  merchants,  factors,  or  planters,  captains,  lieu- 
tenants, or  warrant  officers  of  men-of-war,  or  captains, 
masters,  or  mates  of  merchant  shi~>s,  constituted  a  legal 
court  of  piracy.  By  the  12  and  13  Vict.  c.  96,  all  per- 
sons charged  in  any  colony  with  offences  committed  on 
the  sea  may  be. dealt  with  in  the  same  manner  as  if  the 
offences  had  been  committed  on  waters  within  the  local 
jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of  the  colony. 


160 


ADMIRALTY 


The  vice-admiralty  courts  in  the  colonies  are  of  two  de- 
scriptions. The  one  has  power  to  inquire  into  the  causes 
of  detention  of  enemies  or  neutral  vessels,  to  try  and  con- 
demn tho  same  for  the  benefit  of  the  captors,  as  well  as  to 
take  cognisance  of  all  matters  relating  to  the  office  of  the 
lord  high  admiraL  The  other  has  only  power  to  institute 
inquiries  into  misdemeanours  committed  in  merchant  ves- 
sels, and  to  determine  petty  suits,  (fee,  and  to  guard  the 
privileges  of  the  admiraL  The  former  are  usually  known 
by  the  name  of  prize  courts,  the  latter  by  that  of  instance 
courts.  Appeals  from  vice-admiralty  courts  abroad  lay 
formerly  to  tho  high  court  of  admiralty  in  England,  and 
from  that,  if  need  were,  to  the  high  court  of  ■  delegates,  or 
in  prize  cases  to  the  prize  commissioners.  By  an  Act  of 
her  present  Majesty,  all  such  appeals  lie  direct  to  the 
sovereign,  who  refers  them  to  the  judicial  committee  of  the 
privy  council. 

The  following  are  the  colonies  and  foreign  possessions  in 
which  vice-admiralty  courts  are  now  (1874)  established. 
Others  are  constituted  as  occasion  may  require,  in  case  of 
war : — 


Aden.     (Slave  trade  juris- 
diction only. ) 

Antigua,  Montserrat,  and 
Barbuda. 

Australia,  South. 

Australia,  West. 

Bahamas. 

Barbadoes. 

Bermuda. 

Bombay. 

British  Columbia. 

British  Guiana. 

Calcutta. 

Canada. 

Cape  of  GJood  Hope. 

Ceylon. 

Dominica. 

Falkland  Islands. 

Gambia. 

Gibraltar. 

Gold  Coast 

Grenada. 

Halifax,  Nova  Scotia. 

Honduras. 

Hong  Kong. 

Jamaica. 

Labuan. 

Lagos. 


Malta. 

Mauritius. 

Montserrat 

Natal. 

Nevis. 

New  Brunswick. 

Newfoundland. 

New  South  Wales. 

New  Zealand. 

Prince  Edward's  Island. 

Quebec. 

Queensland. 

St  Christopher. 

St  Helena. 

St  Lucia. 

St  Vincent 

Sierra  Leone. 

The  Straits  Settlements. 
(Prince  of  Wales'  Island, 
Singapore,  and  Malacca.) 

Tasmania. 

Tobago. 

Tortola  and  Virgin  Islands. 

Trinidad. 

Vancouver's  Island. 

Victoria. 

Zanzibar.       (Limited    slave 
trade  jurisdiction  only.) 


Madras. 

By  the  provisions  of  the  Vice-admiralty  Courts  Act  of  1863,  The 
governor  of  a  colony  is  ex  officio  vice-admiral,  and  the  chief-justice 
ex  officio  judge  of  the  vice-admiralty  court. 

In  none  of  the  patents  to  the  lord  high  admiral,  vice- 
admiral,  or  judge,  is  any  mention  made  of  prize  jurisdiction. 
Lord  Mansfield  had  occasion  to  search  into  the  records  of 
the  court  of  admiralty  in  Doctors'  Commons,  to  ascertain 
on  what  foundation  this  jurisdiction  was  exercised  by  the 
judge  of  the  admiralty;  but  he  could  not  discover  any 
prize-act  book3  farther  back  than  1643;  no  sentences  far- 
ther back  than  1648.  The  registrar  could  go  no  farther 
back  than  1690.  "The  prior  records,"  says  his  lordship, 
"are  in  confusion,  illegible,  and  without  index."  The 
prize  jurisdiction  may  therefore  be  considered  as  of  modern 
authority,  and  distinct  altogether  from  the  ancient  powers 
given  to  the  admiral.  To  constitute  the  authority  for  trying 
prize  causes,  a  commission  under  the  great  seal  issues  to 
the  lord  high  admiral  at  the  commencement  of  every  war, 
to  will  and  require  the  court  of  admiralty,  and  the  lieu- 
tenant and  judge  of  the  said  court,  his  surrogate  or  surro- 
gates, to  proceed  upoi.  all  manner  of  captures,  seizures,  and 
reprisals,  cf  all  ships  and  goods  that  are  or  shall  be  taken ; 
and  to  hear  and  determine  according  to  the  course  of  the 
admiralty,  or  the  law  of  nations;  and  a  warrant  issues  to 
the  judge  of  the  admiralty  accordingly. 

The  admiralty  court  being  in  this  respect  a  court  in 


which  foreigners  of  all  nations  may  become  suitors,  an 
appeal  may  be  had  from  its  decisions  to  a  committee  of 
the  lords  of  the  privy  council,  who  hear  and  determine 
according  to  the  established  laws  of  nations. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  a  war,  the  lord  high  admiral  also 
receives  a  special  commission  from  the  crown,  under  tho 
great  seal,  to  empower  him  to  grant  letters  of  marque  and 
reprisals  against  the  enemy,  he  having  no  such  power  by 
his  patent.  These  letters  are  either  general  or  special: 
general,  when  granted  to  private  men  to  fit  out  ships  at 
their  own  charge  to  annoy  the  enemy;  special,  when  in  ^e 
case  of  any  of  our  merchants  being  robbed  of  their  estates 
or  property  by  foreigners,  the  king  grants  them  letters  of 
reprisal  against  that  nation,  though  we  may  be  in  amity 
with  it.  Before  the  latter  can  be  sued  for,  the  complainant 
must  have  gone  through  the  prosecution  of  his  suit  in  the 
courts  of  the  state  whose  subjects  have  wronged  him;  where, 
if  justice  be  denied,  or  vexatiously  delayed,  he  must  first 
make  proof  of  his  loses  and  charges  in  the  admiralty  court 
here;  whereupon,  if  the  Crown  is  satisfied  he  has  pursued 
all  lawful  means  to  obtain  redress,  and  his  own  interceding 
should  produce  no  better  effect,  special  letters  of  reprisal 
are  granted;  not,  however,  as  must  be  evident,  until  a  very 
strong  case  has  been  made  out.  This  custom,  which  wo 
may  now  consider  as  obsolete,  seems  to  be  a  remnant  of  the 
law  of  ancient  Greece,  called  androlepsia,  by  which,  if  a 
man  was  slain,  the  friends  and  relations  of  the  deceased 
might  seize  on  any  three  citizens  of  the  place  where  the 
murderer  took  refuge,  and  make  them  slaves,  unless  he 
was  delivered  up.  Both  Oliver  Cromwell  and  King  Charles 
II.  granted  letters  of  reprisal.  In  1 G38  the  Due  d'Epernon 
seized  on  the  ship  "  Amity"  of  London,  for  the  service  of 
the  French  king  against  the  Spaniards,  promising  full  satis- 
faction ;  but  none  being  made,  the  owners  obtained  letters  of 
reprisal  from  the  Protector,  and  afterwards,  in  1665,  from 
Charles  II.  In  1666  Captain  Butler  Barnes  had  letters  of 
reprisal  against  the  Danes.  The  Dutch  having  burnt  six 
English  merchant  vessels  in  the  Elbe,  within  the  territories 
of  Hamburg,  which  city,  instead  of  giving  any  assistance 
or  protection,  hindered  the  English  from  defending  them- 
selves, letters  of  reprisal  were  granted  to  the  sufferers 
against  that  city.  Lastly,  one  Justiniani,  a  noble  Genoese, 
being  indebted  in  a  large  sum  to  Joseph  Como,  a  merchant 
in  London,  which  he  had  several  years  solicited  for  with- 
out obtaining  satisfaction,  Captain  Scott,  commander  of 
his  Majesty's  ship  the  "Dragon,"  stationed  at  that  time  in 
the  Mediterranean,  received  orders  to  make  reprisals  upon 
the  ships  of  that  republic;  upon  which  the  debt  was  paid. 

2.  The  Judge. — The  patents  to  the  judge  of  the  admiralty 
and  vice-admiralty  courts  run  pretty  nearly  in  the  same 
manner  as  those  of  the  lord  high  admiral,  and  point  out  tho 
several  matters  of  which  he  can  take  cognisance.  The  Par- 
liament of  1640  established  the  office  of  judge  of  the  admi- 
ralty court  in  three  persons,  with  a  salary  of  £500  a-year 
to  each.  At  the  Restoration  there  were  two  judges  of  the 
high  court  of  admiralty,  which  sometimes  proved  incon- 
venient; for  when  they  differed  in  opinion,  no  judgment 
could  be  had.  These  judges,  before  the  Revolution,  held 
their  appointment  only  during  pleasure.  At  that  period, 
and  under  the  provisions  of  the  Bill  of  Rights,  Sir  Charles 
Hedges  was  constituted  judge  under  the  great  seal  of 
England,  quamdiu  se  bene  gesserit,  with  a  salary  of  £400  a- 
year,  and  an  additional  £400  out  of  the  proceeds  of  prizes 
and  perquisites  of  the  admiralty;  but  in  the  year  1725  the 
latter  sum  was  diminished  from  the  ordinary  estimate  by  the 
House  of  Commons.  The  salary  of  Sir  James  Marriott, 
from  1778  to  1782,  during  the  American  war,  was  £800 
a  year,  and  £3700  added  for  fees.  From  1794  to  1798, 
the  salary  was  £1 780,  and  £2500  for  fees.  During  the  six- 
teen years  that  Sir  William  Scott  (Lord  Stowell)  was  judge, 


A  D  M  I  ft  A  L  T  Y 


161 


»tom  1793  to  1814,  the  salary  was  £2500,  and  the  fees 
averaged  £2800  a-year.  Under  the  3  and  4  Vict.  c.  66, 
$  1,  the  salary  is  fixed  at  £4000  per  annum.  All  fees  of 
whatever  kind,  formerly  payable  to  the  judge,  are  now 
paid  to  the  consolidated  fund. 

The  court  of  admiralty  is  at  present  (1S73),  and  pend- 
ing the  erection  of  the  new  law  courts,  held  in  Westminster. 
la  the  time  of  Henry  IV.  it  was  held  in  Southwark,  either 
at  a  quay  on  the  south  side  of  the  Thames,  or  in  the  ere- 
while  church  of  St  Margaret-on-HiU,  most  likely  the  former. 
Stow,  in  his  Survey  (a.d.  1598),  says — "A  part  of  this 
parish  church  of  St  Margaret  is  now  a  court,  wherein  the 
assizes  and  sessions  be  kept;  and  the  court  of  admiralty  is 
also  there  kept."  Pepys  also,  in  his  Diary  (17th  March 
1663),  describes  the  court  as  sitting  there.  But  it  is  pro- 
bable that  the  sittings  in  St  Margaret's  Church  were  com- 
menced shortly  before  Stow's  time;  for  in  the  Rolls  of  Par- 
liament, 11  Hen.  IV.  No.  61,  the  Commons  complain  that 
people  are  summoned  by  the  officers  of  the  admiral  <i 
Loundres  a  le  Key  de  William  Hortou, Suthwerke.  Further, 
it  would  appear  from  an  appeal  made  to  the  king,  Henry 
IV.,  that  the  rule  then  was  for  the  admiral's  court  to  be 
held  upon  some  wharf  or  quay  within  the  flux  and  reflux 
of  the  tide.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  Horton's  Quay, 
near  Loudon  Bridge,  is  mentioned  in  the  records  of  the 
high  court  of  admiralty  (3d  Nov.  1541)  as  its  usual  place 
of  sitting. 

The  judges  of  the  vice-admiralty  courts  in  certain  of  the 
colouies,  limited  by  41  George  III.  c.  96,  are  allowed  a 
salary  not  exceeding  to  each  the  sum  of  £2000  a-year,  to 
be  paid  out  of  the  consolidated  fund  of  Great  Britain;  to- 
gether with  profits  and  emoluments  not  exceeding  to  each 
the  further  sum  of  £2000  per  annum,  out  of  the  fees  to  be 
taken  by  the  said  judges,  of  which  a  table' is  directed  to  be 
hung  up  in  some  conspicuous  place  in  the  court;  and  no 
judge  is  to  take  any  fee  beyond  those  specified,  directly  or 
indirectly,  on  pain  of  forfeiture  of  his  office,  and  being  pro- 
ceeded against  for  extortion;  and  on  his  retirement  from 
office  after  six  years'  service,  or  from  some  permanent  infir- 
mity, the  Crown  may,  "by  authority  of  the  Act  above  men- 
tioned, grant  unto  such  judge  an  annuity  for  the  term  of  his 
life  not  exceeding  £1000  per  annum.  This  liberal  provi- 
sion puts  the  judges  of  the  colonial  courts  of  vice-admiralty 
aboye  all  suspicion  of  their  decisions  being  influenced  by 
unworthy  motives — a  suspicion  they  were  not  entirely  free 
from  when  their  emoluments  depended  mainly  on  their  fees. 

During  the  war  of  1793-1815  a  session  of  oyer  and  ter- 
miner to  try  admiralty  causes  was  held  at  the  Old  Bailey, 
now  the  central  criminal  court,  twice  a-year.  The  commis- 
sion for  this  purpose  was  of  the  same  nature  with  those  which 
are  granted  to  the  judges  when  they  go  on  circuit;  that  is  to 
say,  to  determine  and  punish  all  crimes,  offences,  and  mis- 
demeanours, and  abuses;  the  end  of  both  being  the  same, 
their  limit*  different;  the  one  relating  to  things  done  upon 
the  land,  the  other  to  things  done  upon  the  water.  The 
lords  commissioners  of  the  admiralty,  all  the  members  of  the 
privy  council,  the  chancellor  and  all  the  judges,  the  lords 
of  the  treasury,  the  secretary  of  the  admiralty,  the  treasurer 
and  commissioners  of  the  navy,  some  of  the  aldermen  of 
London,  and  several  doctors  of  the  civil  law,  were  the  mem- 
bers of  this  commission ;  any  four  of  whom  made  a  court. 

The  proceedings  of  the  court,  now  probably  obsolete, 
were  continued  de  die  in  diem,  or,  as  the  style  of  the  court 
was,  from  tide  to  tide. 

3.  The  Registrar  of  the  Admiralty  formerly  held  his 
place  by  patent  from  the  Crown.  The  patent  was  issued 
under  the  great  seal  of  the  court  of  admiralty,  and  the 
appointment  was  afterwards  confirmed  by  patent  under  the 
great  seal  of  the  United  Kingdom  The  appointment  was 
for  life,  and  was  often  granted  in  re\  ersion.     The  registrar 

1-7 


had  no  salary,  the  amount  of  his  emoluments  depending 
on  the  captures,  droits,  &c,  condemned  by  the  court, 
which  during  the  war  of  1793-1815  were  so  enormous  that 
in  1810  an  Act  was  passed  for  regulating  the  offices  of 
registrars  of  admiralty  and  prize  courts,  by  which  it  is 
enacted  "that  no  office  of  registrar  of  the  high  court  of 
admiralty,  or  of  the  high  court  of  appeals  for  prizes,  or  high 
court  of  delegates  in  Great  Britain,  shall,  after  the  expira- 
tion of  the  interest  now  vested  in  possession  or  reversion 
therein,  be  granted  for  a  longer  term  than  during  pleasure, 
nor  be  executed  by  deputy;  that  an  account  be  kept  in  the 
said  offices  respectively  of  all  the  fees,  dues,  perquisites, 
emoluments,  and  profits  received  by  and  on  account  of  the 
said  registrars,  out  of  which  all  the  expenses  of  their  offices 
are  to  be  paid ;  that  one-third  of  the  surplus  shall  belong 
to  the  registrar  and  to  his  assistant  (if  an  assistant  should 
be  necessary),  and  the  remaining  two-thirds  to  the  consoli- 
dated fund  of  Great  Britain,  to  be  paid  quarterly  into  the 
exchequer;  the  account  of  such  surplus  to  be  presented  to 
the  court  at  least  fourteen  days  before  each  quarter-day, 
and  verified  on  oath."  Under  the  3  and  4  Vict.  c.  66, 
§  2,  a  yearly  salary  of  £1400  is  substituted  for  "  all  fees, 
dues,  perquisites,  emoluments,  and  profits,"  and  which  may 
be  increased  in  time  of  war  to  £2000.  The  duties  of  the 
registrar  are — 1.  To  keep  a  public  registry,  to  give  attend- 
ance therein,  and  to  preserve  in  a  regular  manner  the 
registers,  acts,  records,  and  documents  belonging  to  the 
office;  2.  To  attend  all  sittings  of  the  court  of  admiralty, 
and  to  attend  the  judge  at  chambers;  3.  To  draw  and 
sign  all  warrants,  monitions,  commissions,  &c,  issuing  from 
the  court;  to  attend  other  courts  with  minutes,  &c,  of  the 
admiralty  court  when  required :  4.  To  have  the  custody  of 
all  moneys  paid  into  court  or  paid  ont  of  court. 

4.  The  Advocate-General. — This  officer  is  appointed  by 
warrant  of  the  lords  commissioners  of  the  admiralty.  His 
duties  are — to  appear  for  the  lord  high  admiral  in  his  court 
of  admiralty,  court  of  delegates,  and  other  courts;  to  move 
and  debate  in  all  causes  wherein  the  rights  of  the  admiral 
are  concerned;  for  which  he  had  anciently  a  salary  of  20 
marks  (£13,  6s.  8d.)  a-year.  In  May  1803,  Dr  William 
Battine,  who  was  appointed  in  1791,  had  an  addition  of 
£200  to  his  salary,  ''for  his  extraordinary  trouble  and 
attendance  during  the  present  hostilities."  His  salary  was 
continued  to  him  and  his  successor,  Dr  Arnold,  till  1816; 
since  that  time  the  allowance  has  been  reduced  to  its 
original  amount  of  £13,  6s.  8d.  Formerly  the  ad^miral's 
advocate  was  always  retained  as  leading  counsel,  but  after 
the  droits  were  transferred  to  the  crown,  he  was  gradually 
supplanted  by  the  king's  advocate,  who  was  generally 
retained  in  all  cases,  the  admiralty  advocate  acting  only  as 
junior  counsel;  and  while  the  former  during  the  war 
made  sometimes  •  from  £15,000  to  £20,000  a-year,  the 
latter  rarely  received  from  his  professional  duties  more 
than  from  £1500  to  £2000  a-year. 

5.  The  Counsel  and  Judge-Advocate  for  the  affairs  of  the 
Admiralty  and  Xavy  is  the  law  officer  who  is  chiefly  con- 
sulted on  matters  connected  with  the  military  duties  of  the 
lord  high  admiral.  He  advises  also  on  all  legal  questions. 
His  salary  is  £100  a-year,  besides  his  fees,  which  in  time 
of  war  may  be  reckoned  to  amount  to  from  £1200  to 
£1800  a-year.  Till  the  present  reign  the  offices  of  counsel 
of  the  admiralty  and  judge-advocate  of  the  fleet  were  sepa- 
rate and  distinct,  the  latter  being  a  sinecure  appointment, 
with  a  salary  of  £182,  10s.  attached  to  it  The  salary  is 
now  abolished.  The  duties  are  very  light,  the  veritable 
work  of  the  office  being  discharged  by  deputy  judges- 
advocate  appointed  on  each  occasion  of  a  court-martial, 
and  by  resident  law  agents  at  Portsmouth  and  Plymouth, 
who  receive  salaries  in  lieu  of  all  fees  and  charges. 

6.  The  Solicitor  to  the  Admiralty  is  also  an  officer  ap 


162 


A  D  M  — A  D  O 


pointed  during  pleasure  by  the  lords  of  the  admiralty. 
He  is  the  general  legal  adviser,  in  the  first  instance,  of  the 
lords  commissioners;  and  since  1869  there  have  been 
added  to  his  other  functions  those  of  registrar  of  public 
securities  and  custodian  of  all  public  secur'ies  and  bonds 
belonging  to  the  admiralty.  His  salary  is  £1600  a-year 
(n  lieu  of  all  fees,  bills,  and  disbursements,  with  an  allow- 
ance of  £1300  a-year  for  assistance  of  clerks.  His  office 
is  provided  for  him. 

7.  The  Procurator. — The  admiralty's  proctor  stands  pre- 
cisely in  the  same  situation  to  the  queen's  proctor  that  his 
advocate  docs  to  that  of  the  queen,  though  there  is  not  quite 
so  great  a  difference  in  their  emoluments.  They  act  as  the 
attorneys  or  solicitors  in  all  causes  concerning  the  queen's 
and  the  lord  high  admiral's  affairs  in  the  high  court  of 
admiralty  and  other  courts.  All  prize  causes  are  conducted 
by  the  queen's  proctor.  It  is  supposed  that  in  some  years 
of  war,  in  the  ear-ly  part  of  the  century,  the  proctor  did 
not  receive  less  than  £20,000  a-year. 

8.  The  Marshal. — This  officer  receives  his  appointment 
from  the  lord  high  admiral  or  lords  commissioners  of  the 
admiralty.  His  appointment  is  under  the  seal  of  the  high 
court  of  admiralty  during  pleasure,  and  is  confirmed  by 
letters  patent  from  the  Crown.  His  duties  are  to  arrest 
ships  and  persons;  to  execute  all  processes  or  orders  issuing 
from  the  court;  to  attend,  in  person  or  by  deputy,  the  judge 
with  the  silver  oar  (the  ancient  emblem  of  maritime  jurisdic- 
tion); and  formerly  also  to  attend  executions.  It  is  also 
the  duty  of  the  marshal  or  his  deputy  to  arrest,  under 
warrant  from  the  admiralty,  any  officer  not  beneath  the 
rank  of  post  captain  who  may  be  ordered  for  trial  by  court- 
martial;  and  to  see  to  the  delivery  of  sentenced  prisoners 
to  their  place  of  punishment.  His  emoluments  formerly  de- 
pended on  the  number  of  prizes  brought  into  port  for  con- 
demnation, and  the  number  of  ships  embargoed,  and  might 
probally'be  reckoned  in  time  of  war,  communibus  annis, 
from  £1500  to  £2000  a-ycar,  out  of  which  he  had  to  pay 
about  £400  a-year  to  a  deputy.  He  had  no  salary.  The 
office  can,  however,  be  no  longer  performed  by  deputy, 
except  in  case  of  illness,  §  9  of  the  3  and  4  Vict  c.  66. 
The  marshal  is  now  paid  by  a  salary  of  £500,  in  addition 
to  his  travelling  expenses. 

(See  Orders  in  Council  since  February  1870;  Camp- 
bell's Lives  of  the  British  Admirals;  O'Byrne's  Naval 
Biographical  Dictionary;  Eymer's  Foedera;  Pepys'  Naval 
Collections,  and  Pepys'  Diary;  The  Black  Book  of  the 
Admiralty  (republished  by  the  Master  of  the  Rolls); 
Stephen's  Commentaries  on  the  Law*  of  England;  Stow's 
Survey  of  London ;  Rolls  of  Parliament;  Report  of  Com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  Treasury  in  1836  to  inquire  into 
the  fees  and  emoluments  of  public  offices;  Sir  Harris 
Nicolas'a  History  of  Britiih  Navy).  (f.  w.  r.) 

Admiralty,  Ireland.  —  For  all  executive  functions 
Ireland  is  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  and  orders  of  the  lord 
high  admiral,  or  lords  commissioners  for  executing  the 
office,  of  Great  Britain.  For  judicial  purposes,  however, 
an  admiralty  court  sits  in  tho  Four  Courts,  Dublin,  having 
a  judge,  a  registrar,  a  marshal,  and  other  officers.  In  peace 
time  and  war  time  alike  it  exercises  only  an  instance  juris- 
diction.    No  prize  commission  has  ever  issued  to  it. 

Admiralty,  Scotland.  At  the  Union,  while  the 
national  functions  of  the  lord  high  admiral  were  merged 
in  the  English  office,  there  remained  a  separate  court  of 
admiralty,  with  subsidiary  local  courts,  having  civil  and 
criminal  jurisdictions  in  maritime  questions.  The  separate 
courts  were  abolished  in  1831,  and  their  powers  merged  in 
the  courts  of  session  and  justiciary,  and  the  local  courts. 
_  ADMIRALTV  CHARTS  These  useful  aids  to  naviga- 
tion are  constructed  in  the  hydrographic  department  of  the 
British  Admiralty,  by  specially-apoointed  surveyors   and 


draughtsmen,  and  they  are  issued  to  the  public  by  order  of 
the  lords  commissioners  of  the  admiralty.  They  are  divided 
into  various  sections  as  follows  : — 1.  English  and  Irish 
Channels  and  coasts  of  the  United  Kingdom;  2.  North 
Sea  and  adjacent  coasts;  3.  Baltic  Sea;  4.  North  and  west 
coasts  of  Franco,  Spain,  and  Portugal;  5.  Mcditen  i 
Black  Sea,  and  Sea  of  Azov;  6.  Atlantic  Ocean  and  Islands ; 
7.  Arctic  Sea  and  north  and  east  coasts  of  America ;  8. 
West  Indies,-  Gulf  of  Mexico,  <kc;  9..  South  America, 
east  coast;  10.  West  coasts  of  South  and  North  Ame- 
rica; 11.  Africa,  Madagascar,  Mauritius,  Eed  Sea,  &c; 
12.  East  Indies,  Arabian  coast,  <5ic;  13.  Indian  Archi- 
pelago, China  Sea,  Japan,  &c ;  14.  Australia,  New  Zealand, 
<tc. ;  15.  Pacific  Ocean  islands.  Thfy  are  about  3000  in 
number,  of  various  sizes  and  scales,  and  the  prices  vary 
from  6d.  to  10s.  Accompanying  the  charts  there  are 
books  of  sailing  directions,  tables,  and  lists  of  lights. 
Similar  charts  as  those  of  the  British  Admiralty  are  issued 
by  the  United  States  Coast  Survey,  as  well  as  by  the 
Russian  and  French  governments.  The  superintendent 
of  tho  United  States  Coast  Survey  issues  an  annual  report, 
showing  the  progress  of  the  survey,  and  containing  much 
valuable  information. 

ADMIRALTY  ISLAND,  an  island  belonging  to  the 
United  States,  about  90  miles  long  from  N.  to  S.,  and  25 
miles  broad,  lying  between  King  George  III.  Archipelago 
and  the  mainland,  in  58°  N.  lat,  134°  W.  long.  Its 
coasts,  which  are  generally  steep  and  rocky,  are  indented 
with  several  accessible  and  commodious  bays.  The  island 
has  abundance  of  good  water,  and  is  covered  with  pines, 
which  grow  there  to  a  very  large  size. 

ADMIRALTY  ISLANDS,  a  group  of  about  forty 
islands  lying  to  the  N.E.  of  New  Guinea,  between  2°  and 
.3°  S.  lat,  and  146°  18'  and  147°  46'  E.  long.  The  largest 
is  about  50  miles  in  length ;  the  others  are  very  small,  and 
all  rise  but  little  above  the  sea-leveL  Their  exuberant 
vegetation,  and  in  particular  the  groves  of  cocoa-nut  trees, 
give  them  a  very  beautiful  appearance.  The  islands  were 
discovered  by  the  Dutch  in  1616,  but  have  seldom  been 
visited,  access  being  difficult  on  account  of  the  surrounding 
reefs.     The  natives  are  tall,  and  of  a  tawny  colour. 

ADOLPHUS,  John,  historian  and  barrister,  was  bom 
in  London  on  the  7th  August  1768.  He  was  educated 
under  the  care  of  a  grand-uncle,  and  after  making  a  voyage 
to  the  West  Indies  was  enrolled  as  an  attorney  about  the 
year  1790.  Called  to  the  bar  in  1807,  he  devoted  him- 
self to  practice  in  criminal  causes,  and  in  a  few, years 
attained  a  leading  position  among  Old  Bailey  counsel.  His 
masterly  defence  of  Thistlewood  and  the  Cato  Street  con- 
spirators, for  which  he  had  been  retained  only  a  few  hours 
before  the  trial,  did  much  to  extend  his  reputation.  He 
was  very  skilful  in  the  management  of  his  cases,  but  his 
hastiness  of  temper  frequently  led  to  unseemly  altercations 
with  other  counsel.  He  held  a  good  position  in  society, 
and  was  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  the  leading  literary 
men  of  the  day.  The  History  of  England  from  tlie  Acces- 
sion of  George  HI.  to  1783,  which  he  published  in  1802, 
was  favourably  noticed  in  the  Edinburgh  Review  for  its 
impartiality  and  accuracy.  A  new  and  enlarged  edition 
of  thi3  work,  in  eight  volumes,  was  in  preparation,  but 
only  seven  volumes  were  completed  when  the  author  died, 
16th  July  1845.  His  other  literary  works  were — Bio- 
graphical Memoirs  of  the  French  Revolution  (1799);  The 
British  Cabinet  (1799);  History  of  Fiance  from  1790  to 
1802  (1803) ;  Memoirs  of  John  Bannister. 

ADOLPHUS,  John  Leycester,  son  of  the  above,  also 
a  distinguished  barrister  (died  1862),  was  the  first  to 
pierce  the  mask  of  the  author  of  Waverley,  in  a  series  of 
critical  letters  addressed  to  Richard  Heber,  which  he  pub- 
lished in  1821. 


A  D  O  — A  D  0 


JG3 


ADONIS,  according  to  some  authors,  the  son  of  Theias, 
king  of  Assyria,  and  his  daughter  Smyrna  [Myrrha],  was 
the  favourite  of  Venus.  He  was  fond  of  hunting;  and 
Venus  often  warned  him  not  to  attack  the  larger  wild 
beasts ;  but  neglecting  the  advice,  he  was  killed  by  a 
wild  boar  he  had  rashly  wounded  Venus  wa3  incon- 
solable, and  turned  him  into  a  flower  of  a  blood  colour, 
supposed  by  some  to  be  an  anemone.  Adonis  had  to 
spend  half  the  year  in  the  lower  regions,  but  during  the 
other  half  he  was  permitted  to  revisit  the  upper  world, 
and  pass  the  time  with  Venus.  No  grief  was  ever  more 
celebrated  than  that  of  Venus  for  Adonis,  most  nations 
round  the  Mediterranean  having  perpetuated  the  memory 
of  it  by  anniversary  ceremonies.  "  The  tale  of  Adonis 
(Keightley's  Mythology)  is  evidently  an  eastern  myth. 
His  own  name  and  those  of  his  parents  refer  to  that  part 
of  the  world.  He  appears  to  be  the  same  with  the 
Thammuz  mentioned  by  the  prophet  Ezekiel  (via.  14),  and 
to  be  a  Phoenician  personification  of  the  sun,  who  during 
part  of  the  year  is  absent,  or,  as  the  legend  expresses  it, 
with  the  goddess  of  the  under  world;  during  the  remainder 
with  Astarte,  the  regent  of  heaven."  Among  the  Egyptians, 
Adonis  is  supposed  to  have  been  adored  under  the  name 
of  Osiris,  the  husband  of  Isis  ;  but  he  was  sometimes  called 
by  the  name  of  Ammuz  or  Thammuz,  the  concealed,  to 
denote  probably  his  death  or  burial  It  has  been  thought 
it  is  he  the  Hebrews  call  the  dead  (Ps.  cvL  28,  and 
Lev.  xix.  28),  because  his  worshippers  wept  for  him,  and 
represented  him  as  one  dead;  and  at  other  times  they 
call  him  the  image  of  jealousy  (Ezek.  viiL  3,  5),  because  he 
was  an  object  of  jealousy  to  other  gods.  The  Syrians, 
Phoenicians,  and  Cyprians  worshipped  Adonis;  and  Calmet 
was  of  opinion  that  this  worship  may  be  identified  with 
that  of  the  Moabitish  Baal-peor.  Modern  critics  plausibly 
connect  the  divine  honours  paid  to  Adonis  with  the 
mysterious  rites  of  phallic  worship,  which,  in  some  shape 
or  other,  prevailed  so  extensively  in  the  ancient  world. 

ADONIS,  in  Ancient  Geography,  a  small  river  rising 
in  Mount  Lebanon,  and  falling  into  the  sea  at  Byblus. 
When  in  flood  its  waters  exhibit  a  deep  red  tinge;  hence 
the  legend  that  connects  it  with  the  wound  of  Adonis. 

"."While  smooth  Adonis  from  his  native  rock, 
Ban  purple  to  the  sea,  suppos'd  with  blood 
Of  Thammuz  yearly  wounded." — Milton. 

ADONIS,  a  genus  of  ranunculaceous  plants,  known 
commonly  by  the  names  of  Pheasant's  Eye  and  Flos 
Adonis.  There  are  ten  or  twelve  species  given  by  authors, 
but  they  may  be  probably  reduced  to  three  or  four.  There 
are  two  indigenous  species,  Adonis  autumnalis  and  Adonis 
aestivalis.  They  are  commonly  cultivated.  An  early  flower- 
ing species,  Adonis  vernalis,  is  well  worthy  of  cultivation. 

ADOPTIAN  CONTROVERSY,  a  controversy  relating 
to  the  sonship  of  Christ,  raised  in  Spain  by  Elipandus, 
archbishop  of  Toledo,  and  Felix,  bishop  of  Urgel,  towards 
the  close  of  the  8th  century.  By  a  modification  of  the 
doctrine  of  Nestorius  they  maintained  that  Christ  was 
really  the  Son  of  God  in  his  divine  nature  alone,  and  that 
in  his  human  nature  he  was  only  the  Son.  of  God  by  adop- 
tion. It  was  hoped  that  this  view  would  prove  more 
acceptable  to  the  Mahometans  than  the  orthodox  doc- 
trine, and  Elipandus  especially  was  very  diligent  i^  pro- 
pagating it.  Felix  was  instrumental  in  introducing  it  into 
that  part  of  Spain  which  belonged  to  the  Franks,  and 
Charlemagne  thought  it  necessary  to  assemble  a  synod  at 
Ratisbon  (792),  before  which  the  bishop  was  summoned  to 
explain  and  justify  the  new  doctrine.  Instead  of  this  he 
renounced  it,  and  confirmed  his  renunciation  by  a  solemn 
oath  to  Pope  Adrian,  to  whom  the  synod  sent  him.  The 
recantation  was  probably  insincere,  for  on  returning  to  his 
diocese  he  taught  adoptianism  as  before.     Another  synod 


was  held  at  Frankfort  in  794-,  by  which  the  new  doctrine 
was  again  formally  condemned,  though  neither  Felix  nor 
any  of  his  followers  appeared.     A  friendly  letter  from 
Alcuin,  and  a  controversial  pamphlet,  to  which  Felix  re- 
plied, were  followed  by  the  sending  of  several  commissions 
of  clergy  to  Spain  to  endeavour  to  put  do%vn  the  heresy. 
Archbishop  Leidrad  of  Lyons  being  on  one  of  these  com- 
missions,  persuaded  Felix  to  appear  before  a  synod  at 
Aix-la-Chapelle  in  799.     There,  after  six  days'  disputing 
with  Alcuin,  he  again  recanted  his  heresy.    The  rest  of  his 
life  was  spent  under  the  supervision  of  the  archbishop  at 
Lyons,  where  he  died  in  816.    Elipandus,  secure  in  his  see 
at  Toledo,  never  swerved  from  the  adoptian  views,  which, 
however,  were  almost  universally  abandoned  after  the  two 
leaders  died.    The  controversy  was  revived  by  solitary  advo- 
cates of  the  heretical  opinions  more  than  once  during  the 
Middle  Ages,  and  the  questions  on  which  it  turns  have,  in 
one  form  or  another,  been  the  subject  of  frequent  discussion. 
ADOPTION,  the  act  by  which  the  relations  of  paternity 
and  filiation  are  recognised  as  legally  existing  between 
persons  not  so  related  by  nature.     Cases  of  adoption  were 
very  frequent  among  the, -Greeks  and  Romans,  and  the 
custom  was  accordingly  very  strictly  regulated  in  their  laws. 
In  Athens  the  power  of  adoption  was  allowed  to  all  citizens 
who  were  of  sound  mind,  and  who  possessed  no  male  off- 
spring of  their  own,  and  it  could  be  exercised  either  during 
Lifetime  or  by  testament.     The  person  adopted,  who  re- 
quired to  be  himself  a  citizen,  was  enrolled  in  the  family 
and  demits  of  the  adoptive  father,  whose  name,  however,  he 
did  not  necessarily  assume.     In  the  interest  of  the  next  of 
kin,  whose  rights  were  affected  by  a  case  of  adoption,  it 
was  provided  that  the  registration  should  be  attended  with 
certain  formalities,  and  that  it  should  take  place  at  a  fixed 
time — the  festival  of  the  Thargelia,     The  rights  and  duties 
of  adopted  children  were  almost  identical  with  those  of 
natural  offspring,  and  could  not  be  renounced  except  in  the 
case  of  one  who  had  begotten  children  to  take  his  place  in 
the  family  of  his  adoptive  father.     Adopted  into  another 
family,  children  ceased  to  have  any  claim  of  kindred  or 
inheritance  through  their  natural  father,  though  any  rights 
they  might  have  through  their  mother  were  not  similarly 
affected.     Among  the  Romans  the  existence  of  the  patria 
potestas  gave  a  peculiar  significance  to  the  custom  of  adop- 
tion.    The  motive  to  the  act  was  not  so  generally  child- 
lessness, or  the  gratification  of  affection,  as  the  desire  to 
acquire  those  civil  and  agnate  rights  which  were  founded 
on  the  patria  potestas.    It  was  necessary,  however,  that  the 
adopter  should  have  no  children  of  his  own,  and  that  ho 
should  be  of  such  an  age  as  to  preclude  reasonable  expec- 
tation of  any  being  born  to  him.     Another  limitation  us  to 
age  was  imposed  by  the  maxim  adoptio  imitatur  nataram, 
which  required  the  adoptive  father  to  be  at  least  eighteen 
years  older  than  the  adopted  children.     According  to  the 
same  maxim  eunuchs  were  not  permitted  to  adopt,  as  being 
impotent  to  beget  children  for  themselves.     Adoption  was 
of  two  kinds  according  to  the  state  of  the  person  adopted, 
who  might  be  either  still  under  the  patria  potestas  (alieni 
juris),  or  his  own  master  (sui  juris).     In  the  former  case 
the  act  was  one  of  adoption  proper,  in  the  latter  case  it  was 
styled  adrogation,  though  the  term  adoption  was  also  used 
in  a  general  sense  to  describe  both  species.     In  adoption 
proper  the  natural  father  publicly  sold  his  .child  to  tho 
adoptive  father,  and  the  sale  being  thrice  repeated,  tho 
maxim  of  the  Twelve  Tables  took  effect,'  Si  pater  JUium  ter 
venunduit,  filius  a  palre  liber  esto.     The  process  was  rati- 
fied and  completed  by  a  fictitious  action  of  recovery  brought 
by  the  adoptive  father  against  the  natural  parent,  which  the 
latter  did  not  defend,  and  which  was  therefore  known 'as  the 
cessio  in  jure.     Adrogation  could  be  accomplished  origin- 
ally only  by  the  authority  of  the  people  assembled  in  the. 


164 


A   D  O  — A  D  R 


Comitia,  but  from  the  time  of  Diocletiau  it  was  effected  by 
an  imperial  rescript.  Females  could  not  be  adrogated, 
and,  as  they  did  not  possess  the  patria  potestas,  they  could 
not  exercise  the  right  of.  adoption  in  either  kind.  The 
whole  Roman  law  on  the  subject  of  adoption  will  bo  found 
ill  Justinian's  Institutes,  lib.  i.  tit.  1 1.  In  Hindoo  law, 
as  in  nearly  every  ancient  system,  wills  are  almost  un- 
known, and  adoptions  take  their  place.  The  strict  law 
of  adoptiou  in  Iudia  has  been  relaxed  to  the  extent 
that  a  Hindoo  widow  may  adopt  when  her  deceased 
husband  has  not  done  so.  Adoption  is  not  recognised 
in  the  laws  of  England  and  Scotland,  though  there 
are  legal  means  by  which  one  may  be  enabled  to  assume 
the  name  and  arms  and  to  inherit  the  property  of  a 
stranger.  In  France  and  Germany,  which  may  be  said 
to  have  embodied  the  Roman  law  in  their  jurispru- 
dence, adoption  is  regulated  according  to  the  principles 
of  Justinian,  though  with  several  more  or  less  important 
modifications,  rendered  necessary  by  the  usages  of  these 
countries  respectively.  The  part  played  by  the  legal 
fiction  of  adoption  in  the  constitution  of  primitive  society 
and  the  civilisation  of  the  race  is  so  important,  that  Sir 
Henry  S.  Maine,  in  his  valuable  work  on  Ancient  Law, 
expresses  the  opinion  that,  had  it  never  existed,  the  primi- 
tive groups  of  mankind  could  not  have  coalesced  except  on 
terms  of  absolute  superiority  on  the  one  side,  and  absolute 
subjection  on  the  other.  With  the  institution  of  adoption, 
however,  one  people  m\<$itfeign  itself  as  descended  from  the 
same  stock  as  the  people  to  whose'sacra  yentilicia  it  was  ad- 
mitted; and  amicable  relations  were  thus  established  between 
stocks  which,  but  for  this  expedient,  must  have  submitted 
to  the  arbitrament  of  the  sword  with  all  its  consequences. 

Adoption,  as  a  Biblical  term,  occurs  only  in  the  New 
Testament.  In  Old  Testament  history  the  practice  was 
unknown,  though  cases  approximating  to  it  have  been 
pointed  out.  In  the  New  Testament  vloOfcria.  occurs  in 
several  passages,  on  which  is  founded  one  of  the  leading 
doctrines  of  theology. 

ADORATION(from  os,  oris,  the  mouth,  or  from  uro,  to 
pray),  an  act  of  homage  or  worship  which,  among  the 
Romans,  was  performed  by  raising  the  hand  to  the  mouth, 
kissing  it,  and  then  waving  it  in  the  direction  of  the 
adored  object.  The  devotee  had  his  head  covered,  and 
after  the  act  turned  himself  round  from  left  to  right. 
Sometimes  he  kissed  the  feet  or  knees  of  the  images  of  the 
gods  themselves,  and  Saturn  and  Hercules  were  adored 
with  the  head  bare.  By  a  natural  transition  the  homage 
that  was  at  first  paid  to  divine  beings  alone  came  to  be 
paid  to  men  in  token  of  extraordinary  respect.  Those 
who  approached  the  Greek  and  Roman  emperors  adored  by 
bowing  or  kneeling,  laying  hold  of  the  imperial  robe,  and 
presently  withdrawing  the  hand  and  pressing  it  to  the  lips. 
In  eastern  countries  adoration  was  performed  in  an  attitude 
still  more  lowly.  The  Persian  method,  introduced  by 
Cyras,  was  to  bend  the  knee  and  fall  on  the  face  at  the 
prince's  feet,  striking  the  earth  with  the  forehead,  and 
kissing  the  ground.  Homage  in  this  form  was  refused  by 
Conon  to  Artax£rxes,  and  by  Callisthenes  to  Alexander  the 
Great  In  England  the  ceremony  of  kissing  the  king's  or 
queen's  hand,  and  some  other  acts  which  are  performed 
kneeling,  may  be  described  as  forms  of  adoration.  Adora- 
tion is  applied  in  the  court  of  Rome  to  the  ceremony  of 
kissing  the  Pope's  foot,  a  custom  which  is  said  to  have 
been  introduced  by  the  popes  after  the  example  of  the 
Emperor  Diocletian.  In  the  Romish  Church  a  distinction 
is  made  between  Latria,  a  worship'due  to  God  alone,  and 
Dulia  or  Bypevdtdia,  the  adoration  paid  to  the  Virgin, 
saiate,  martyrs,  crucifixes,  the  host,  d-c. 

ADOUR,  the  ancient  Aturus,  a  river  of  France  which 
rises  near  Barege,  in  the  department  of  Upper  Pyrenees, 


and,  flowing  first  northwards,  then  with  a  circuit  to  the 
west,  passes  through  the  departments  of  Gers  and  Landes, 
and  falls  into  the  Bay  of  Biscay  3  miles  below  Bayonne. 
Its  length  is  about  180  miles,  and  it  is  navigable  for  about 
70  miles,  as  far  as  St  S6ver.  Bagneres-de-Bigorre,  Tarbes, 
and  Dax  are  the  other  important  towns  on  its  banks. 

ADOWA,  the  capital  of  Tigrd,  in  Abyssinia,  is  situated 
in  14°  12'  N.  lat.,  39°  3'  E.  long.,  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  River  Hasam,  145  miles  N.E  of  Goudar.  It  is  built 
on  the  eastern  declivity  of  a  hill  overlooking  a  small  plain, 
and  has  regular  streets,  ornamented  with  trees  and  gardens. 
The  town  derives  its  chief  importance  from  its  situation  on 
the  route  between  Massowah  and  Goudar,  which  has  caused 
it  to  become  the  great  entrepot  of  traffic  between  the  ex- 
tensive table-land  of  Tigre'  and  the  coast  Gold  and  ivory 
are  included  in  its  transit  trade,  and  hardware  is  manu- 
factured, as  well  as  the  coarse  cotton  cloth  which  circulates 
in  Abyssinia  as  the  medium  of  exchange  in  ulace  of  money. 
Population  about  C000. 

ADR  A,  the  ancient  Abdera,  a  seaport  of  Spain  on  the 
Mediterranean,  in  the  province  of  Alineria,  60  miles  S.E. 
of  Grenada.  Lead  is  extensively  wrought  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, and  exported  to  Marseilles.  The  other  exports 
include  wheat  and  sugar.     Population,  7400. 

ADRASTUS,  in  Legendary  History,  was  the  son  oi 
Talaus,  king  of  Argos,  and  Lysianassa,  daughter  of  Polybus, 
king  of  Sicyon.  Being  driven  from  Argos  by  Ainphiaraus, 
Adrastus  repaired  to  Sicyon,  where  he  became  king  on  the 
death  of  Polybus.  After  a  time  he  was  reconciled  to 
Amphiaraus,  to  whom  he  gave  his  sister  in  marriage, 
returned  to  Argos,  and  occupied  the  throne.  He  acquired 
great  honour  in  the  famous  war  against  Thebes,  which  he 
undertook  for  the  restoration  of  his  son-in-law  Polynices, 
who  had  been  deprived  of  his  rights  by  his  brother  Eteocles, 
notwithstanding  the  agreement  between  them.  Adrastus, 
followed  by  Polynices  and  Lydeus,  his  two  sons-in-law, 
Amphiaraus,  his  brother-in-law,  Capaneus,  Hippomedon, 
and  Parthenopasus,  marched  against  the  city  of  Thebes,  and 
on  his  way  is  said  to  have  founded  the  Nemean  games. 
This  is  the  expedition  of  the  Seven  Worthies  against  Thebes 
which  the  poets  have  made  nearly  as  famous  as  the  siege 
of  Troy.  As  Amphiaraus  had  foretold,  they  all  lost  their 
lives  in  this  war  except  Adrastus,  who  was  saved  by  tho 
speed  of  his  horse  Arion.  Ten  years  after,  at  the  insti- 
gation of  Adrastus,  the  war  was  renewed  by  the  sons  of 
the  chiefs  that  had  fallen.  This  expedition  was  called 
the  War  of  the  Epigoni,  and  ended  in  the  taking  and 
destruction  of  Thebes.  None  of  the  followers  of,  Adrastus 
perished  in  it  except  his  son  iEgialeus.  The  death  of 
this  son  affected  Adrastus  so  much  that  he  died  of  grief 
at  Megara,  as  he  was  leading  back  his  victorious  army. 

ADRIA,  a  city  of  Italy,  in  the  province  of  Rovigo, 
between  the  rivers  Po  and  Adige.  It  is  a  place  of  great 
antiquity,  and  was  at  an  early  period  a  seaport  of  such 
importance  and  celebrity  as  to  give  name  to  the  sea  on 
which  it  stood.  Originally  an  Etruscan  colony,  it  enjoyed 
for  a  time  remarkable  prosperity;  but  under  the  Romans 
it  appears  never  to  have  been  of  much  importance,  and 
after  the  fall  of  the  Western  Empire  it  rapidly  declined. 
The  dykes  which  protected  the  surrounding  country  from 
inundation  were  neglected,  the  canals  became  choked,  and 
the  mud  and  other  deposits  brought  down  by  the  waters  oi 
the  Po  and  Adige  caused  a  gradual  extension  of  the  land 
into  the  Adriatic,  so  that  Adria  ceased  to  be  a  seaport,  and 
is  now  16  miles  from  the  sea,  on  whose  shores  it  formerly 
stood.  By  the  draining  of  the  neighbouring  lands,  the 
modern  town  has  been  much  improved.  It  has  some  trado 
in  grain,  cattle,  fish,  wine,  and  earthenware,  is  the  seat  of 
a  bishopric,  and  has  a  museum  of  Greek  and  Roman  anti- 
quities.    A  little  to  the  south,  extensive  remains   of  the 


A  D  R— A  D  R 


165 


ancient  city  have  been  discovered  deeply  imbedded  in  the 
accumulated  soiL     The  population  of  Adria  is  10,000. 

ADRIA  (6  'A8/nas — Acts  xxvii.  27)  in  St  Paul's  time 
meant  all  that  part  of  the  Mediterrane.-.n  between  Crete 
and  Sicily.  This  fact  is  of  importance,  as  it  relieves  us 
from  the  necessity  of  finding  the  island  of  Melita,  on  -which 
Paul  was  shipwrecked,  in  the  present  Adriatic  Gulf. 

ADRIAN,  a  town  of  the  United  States,  capital  of 
Lenawee  co.,  Michigan,  situated  on  a  branch  of  the  Eaisin 
river,  and  on  the  Michigan  Southern  Railway,  73  miles 
W.S.W.  of  Detroit.  Adrian  is  the  centre  of  trade  for  the 
surrounding  district,  which  is  chiefly  grain-producing.  Its 
extensive  water-power  is  employed  in  mills  of  various  kinds. 
It  has  several  line  churches  and  other  public '  buildings. 
Population  in  1870.  8438. 

ADRIAN,  Publius  jEuus,  Roman  emperor.  See 
Hadrian  and  Roman  History. 

ADRIAN  (sometimes  written  Hadrian)  was  the  name 
of  six  popes  : — 

Adrian  I.,  son  of  Theodore,  a  Roman  nobleman,  occupied 
the  pontifical  chair  from  772  to  795.  Soon  after  his 
accession  ■  the  territory  that  had  been  bestowed  on  the 
popes  by  Pepin  was  invaded  by  Desiderius,  king  of  the 
Longobards,  and  Adrian  found  it  necessary  to  invoke  the 
aid  of  --Charlemagne,  who  entered  Italy  with  a  large  army, 
and  repelled  the  enemy.  Th2  pope  acknowledged  the 
obligation  by  conferring  upon  the  emperor  the  title  of 
Patrician  of  Rome,  and  Charlemagne  made  a  fresh  grant  of 
the  territories  orginally  bestowed  by  his  father,  with  the 
addition  of  Ancona  and  Benevento.  The  friendly  relations 
thu3  established  between  pope  and  emperor  continued 
unbroken,  though  a  serious  difference  arose  between  them 
on  the  question  of  the  worship  of  images,  to  which  Charle- 
magne and  the  Gallican  Church  were  strongly  opposed, 
while  Adrian  favoured  the  views  of  the  Eastern  Church, 
and  approved  the  decree  of  the  Council  of  Nicsea  (787), 
confirming  the  practice  and  excommunicating  -  the  icono- 
clasts. It  was  in  connection  with  this  controversy  that 
Charlemagne  wrote  the  so-called  Libri  Carolini;  to  which 
Adrian  replied  by  letter,  anathematisiDg  all  who  refused 
to  worship  the  images  of  Christ,  or  the  Virgin,  or  saints. 
Notwithstanding  this,  a  synod,  held  at  Frankfort*  in  794, 
anew  condemned  the  practice,  and  the  dispute  remained 
unsettled  at  Adrian's  death.  An  epitaph  written  by 
Charlemagne  in  verse,  in  which  he  styles  Adrian  "  father," 
proves  that  his  friendship  with  the  pontiff  was  not  dis- 
turbed by  the  controversy  in  which  they  were  so  long 
engaged. 

Adrian  IX,  born  at  Rome,  became  pope  in  867,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-six.  He  faithfully  adhered  to  the  ambi- 
tious policy  of  his  immediate  predecessor,  Nicholas  I.,  and 
used  every  means  to  extend  his  authority.  His  persistent 
endeavours  to  induce  Charles  the  Bald  to  resign  the  king- 
dom of  Lorraine  to  the  emperor  were  unsuccessful. 
Hincmar,  archbishop  of  Rheims,  who.  had  crowned  Charles, 
denied  the  pope's  right  to  interfere  in  the  matter,  and 
maintained  that  the  threatened  excommunication  of  the 
king's  adherents  would  have  no  validity.  Adrian  was  for 
the  time  more  successful  in  his  contest  with  the  patriarch 
of  Constantinople — the  sentence  of  deposition  he  passed 
upon  Photius  being  confirmed  by  a  council  of  the  Eastern 
Church  held  in  869-70.  His  arrogant  measures  were, 
however,  the  immediate  occasion  of  the  schism  between  the 
Greek  and  Latin  churches.  Adrian  had  himself  been 
married,  but  put  away  his  wife  on  ascending  the  papal 
throne,  and  a  council  called  by  him  at  Worms  in  868 
decreed  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy.     He  died  in  872. 

Adrian  HI.,  born  at  Rome,  succeeded  Martin  II.  in 
884,  and  died  in  885  on  a  journey  to  Worms. 

Adrian   IV.    whose  name  Was  Nicholas  Breakspeare, 


was  born  before  1100  A.D.  atXangley,  near  St  Albans,  in 
Hertfordshire,  and  is  the  only  Englishman  who  has  occupied 
the  papal  chair.  His  request  to  be  allowed  to  take  the 
habit  of  the  monastery  of  St  Albans  having  been  refused 
by  Abbot  Richard,  he  proceeded  to  Paris,  where  he  studied 
with  diligence,  and  soon  attained  great  proficiency,  espe- 
cially in  theology.  Being  admitted,  after  a  period  of  pro- 
bation, a  regular  clerk  in  the  monastery  of  St  Rufus,  in 
Provence,  he  distinguished  himself  so  much  by  his  learning 
and  strict  observance  of  the  monastic  discipline  that  he  was 
chosen  abbot  when  the  office  fell  vacant.  Tfta  merit  became 
known  to  Pope  Eugenius  III.,  who  created  him  cardinal- 
bishop  of  Alba  in  1146,  and  scut  him  two  years  later  as  his 
legate  to  Denmark  and  Norway.  On  this  mission  he  con- 
verted many  of  the  inhabitants  to  Christianity,  and  erected 
Upsal  into  an  archiepiscopal  see.  Soon  after  his  return  to 
Rome,  Anastasius,  successor  of  Eugenius,  died,  and  Nicholas 
was  unanimously  chosen  pope,  against  his  own  inclination, 
in  Nov.  1154.  On  hearing  of  the  election,  Henry  IL  of 
England  sent  the  abbot  of  St  Albans  and  three  bishops  to 
Rome  with  his  congratulations,  which  Adrian  acknowledged 
by  granting  considerable  privileges  to  the  monastery  of  St 
Albans,  including  exemption  from  all  episcopal  juris- 
diction except  that  of  Rome.  The  bestowal  by  Adrian  of 
the  sovereignty  of  Ireland  upon  the  English  monarch  was 
a  practical  assertion  of  the  papal  claim  to  dispose  of  king- 
doms. The  act,  besides  facilitating  and  hastening  the 
subjection  of  Ireland  to  England,  was  also  the  means  of 
inducing  Henry  to  yield  the  long-contested  point  of  lay 
investiture  to  ecclesiastical  offices.  The  beginning  of 
Adrian's  pontificate  was  signalised  by  the  energetic 
attempts  of  the  Roman  people  to  recover  their  ancient 
liberty  under  the  consuls,  ibut  the  pope  took  strong 
measures  to  maintain  his  authority',  compelling  the  magis- 
trates to  abdicate,  laying  the  city  under  an  interdict,  and 
procuring  the  execution  of  Arnold  of  Brescia  (1155).,  In 
the  same  year  he  excommunicated  William,  king  of  Sicily, 
who  had  ravaged  the  territories  of  the  church,  but  the  ban 
was  removed  and  the  title  of  King  of  the  Twe  Sicilies 
conferred  on  William  in  the  following  year,  on  the  promise 
of  a  yearly  tribute  to  the  Holy  See.  With  Adrian  com- 
menced the  long  and  bitter  conflict  between  the  papal 
power  and  the  house  of  Hohenstaufen  which  ended  in  the 
humiliation  of  the  latter.  Frederick  Barbarossa  having 
entered  Italy  at  the  head  of  a  large  army  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  the  crown  of  Germany  from  the  hands  of  the 
pope,  Adrian  met  him  at  Sutri.  The  demand  that  he  should 
hold  the  pope's  stirrup  as  a  mark  of  respeet  was  at  first 
refused  by  Frederick,  whereupon  the  pope  on  his  part  with- 
held from  the  emperor  the  osculum  pacts,  and  the  cardinals 
ran  away  in  terror.  After  two  days1  negotiation,  Frederick 
was  induced  to  yield  the  desired  homage,  on  the  representa- 
tion that  the  same  thing  had  been  done  by  his  predecessors. 
His  holiness  then  conducted  the  emperor  to  Rome,  where 
the  ceremony  of  coronation  took  place  in  the  Church  of  St 
Peter's.  It  was  in  these  transactions  that  the  quarrel 
originated.  A  letter  addressed  by  the  pope  to  Frederick 
and  the  German  bishops  in  1157  asserted",  on  the  ground 
of  the  ceremonies  that  had  taken  place,  that  the  emperor 
held  his  dominions  as  a  beneficium.  The  expression,  being 
interpreted  as  denoting  feudal  tenure,  stirred  up  the  fiercest 
indignation  of  Frederick  and  the  Germans,  and  though 
explanations  were  afterwards  given  with  the  view  of  show- 
ing that  the  word  had  not  been  used  in  an  offensive  sense, 
the  breach  could  not  be  healed.  Adrian  was  about  to 
pronounce  the  sentence  of  excommunication  upon  Frederick 
when  he  died  at  Anagni  on  the  1st  Sept.  1159. 

Adrian  V.,  a  Genoese,  whose  name  was  Ottoboni  Fiescl, 
occupied  the  papal  throne  for  only  five  weeks  in  1276. 
When  congratulated  on  his  accession  he  replied  in  the 


10(5 


A  D  II  —  A  1)  U 


well-known  words,  "~I  wish  you  had  found  me  a  healthy 
cardinal  rather  than  a  dying  pope." 

Al-rian  VI.,  bor:i  of  humble  parentage  at  Utrecht  in 
1459,  studied  at  the  university  of  Louvain,  of  which  he 
became  vice-chancellor.  He  was  chosen  by  the  Emperor 
Maximilian  to  be  tutor  to  his  grandson,  the  Archduke 
Or^rles,  through  whoso  interest  as  Charles  V.  he  was  after- 
wards raised  to  the  papal  throne.  In  1517  he  received  the 
cardinal's  hat  from  Leo  X.,  and  in  1519  he  was  made 
bishop  of  Tortosa.  After  the  death  of  Ferdinand  he  was  for 
a  time  regent  of  Spain.  He  was  chosen  pope  Jan.  9,  1522; 
but  the  election  was  very  displeasing  to  the  people  of  Rome, 
is  the  new  pope,  in  contrast  with  his  predecessor  Leo,  was 
kDOwu  to  be  very  rigid  in  discipline  and  frugal  in  his  mode 
of  living.  On  his  accession,  contrary  to  the  usual  custom, 
lio  did  not  change  his  name,  and  he  showed  his  dislike  to 
ttstentation  in  many  other  ways.  In  regard  to  the  great 
Tact  with  which  he  had  to  deal — the  Reformation — Adrian's 
fonduct  showed  that  he  did  not  fully  estimate  the  gravity 
6f  the  crisis.  Acknowledging  the  corruptions  of  the  church, 
jie  did  his  utmost  to  reform  certain  external  abuses;  but 
when  his  proposed  measures  failed  to  win  back  Luther  and 
the  other  reformers,  he  immediately  sought  to  suppress 
their  doctrines  by  force.  He  died  on  the  14th  September 
1523.  So  little  did  the  people  care  to  conceal  their  joy  at 
the  event  that  they  wrote  on  the  door  of  his  physician's 
house  the  words  "  the  saviour  of  his  country." 

ADRIAN,  Cardinal,  was  born  at  Cometo,  in  Tuscany, 
and  studied  at  Rome.  He  was  sent  by  Innocent  VIII.  as 
nuncio  to  Britain,  to  endeavour  to  reconcile  James  III.  of 
Scotland  and  his  subjects.  That  king  having  died,  Adrian 
remained  in  England,  where  Henry  VII.  presented  him  to 
the  bishopric  of  Hereford,  and  afterwards  to  that  of  Bath 
and  Wells;  but  he  never  resided  in  either  of  these  dioceses. 
On  his  return  to  Rome  he  became  secretary  to  Pope 
Alexander  VI.,  who  employed  him  in  various  missions,  and 
subsequently  invested  him  with  the  purple.  It  was  Adrian 
In  particular  that  Alexander  is  said  to  have  meant  to  poison 
in  order  that  he  might  seize  on  his  great  wealth,  when,  as 
is  generally  reported,  he  fell  a  victim  to  his  own  wicked- 
ness. Not  long  after  the  elevation  of  Leo  X.  to  the  papal 
chair  Jie  was  implicated  in  the  conspiracy  of  Cardinal 
Petrncci  against  that  pontiff.  He  confessed  his  guilt;  and 
pardon  being  offered  only  on  condition  of  his  payment  of 
a  fine  of  25,000  ducats,  he  resolved  to  fly  from  Rome.  It 
is  supposed  that  he  was  murdered  by  a  domestic  who 
coveted  his  wealth.  Adrian  was  one  of  the  first  who  sought 
to  restore  the  Latin  tongue  from  its  mediaeval  corruptions 
to  classical  purity.  He  wrote  De  Vera  Philosophic,  a  re- 
ligious treatise,  printed  at  Cologno  in  1548;  De  Sermone 
Latino,  a  learned  work,  published  at  Rome  in  1515,  and  re 
peatedly  since;  a  treatise,  De  Venationtf;  and  some  Latin 
verses. 

ADRIANI,  Giovanni  Battista,  born  of.  n,  patrician 
family  of  Florence  about  1511,  was  secretary  to  the  republic 
of  Florence,  and  for  thirty  years  professor  of  rhetoric  at 
the  university.  He  wrote  a  history  of  his  own  times,  from 
1536  to  1574,  in  Italian,  which  is  generally,  but  according 
to  Brunet  erroneously,  considered  a  continuation  of  Guic- 
ciardini.  De  Thou  acknowledges  himself  greatly  indebted 
to  this  history,  praising  it  especially  for  its  accuracy.  Adriani 
composed  funeral  orations  on  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  and 
other  noble  personages,  and  was  the  author  of  a  long  letter 
on  ancient  painters  and  sculptors  prefixed  to  the  third 
■volume  of  Vasari.     He  died  at  Florence  in  1579. 

ADRIANOPLE  (called  by  the  Turks  Edbeneh),  a  city 
o/  European  Turkey,  in  the  province  of  Rumeha,  137 
'niles  W.N.W.  of  Constantinople;  41°  41'  N.  lat.,  20°  35' 
E.  long.  It  is  pleasantly  situated  partly  on  a  hill  and 
sartly  on  the  banks  of  the  Tundja,  near  its  confluence 


with  the  Maritza.  Next  to  Constantinople,  Adrianople  is 
the  most  important  city  of  the  empire.  It  is  the  seat  of  a 
bishop  .of  the  Greek  Church0  The  streets  are  narrow, 
crooked,  and  filthy;  its  ancient  citadel,  and  the  walls  which 
formerly  surrounded  the  town,  are  now  in  ruins.  Of  its 
public  buildings  the  most  distinguished  are  the  Fski-Serai, 
the  ancient  palace  of  the  sultans,  now  in  a  stato  of  decay; 
the  famous  bazaar  of  Ali  Pacha;  and  the  mosque  of  the 
Sultan  Selim  IL,  a  magnificent  specimen  of  Turkish  archi- 
tecture, which  ranks  among  the  finest  Mahometan  temples. 
The  city  has  numerous  baths,  caravanseries,  and  bazaars; 
and  considerable  manufactures  of  silk,  leather,  tapestry, 
woollens,  linen,  and  cotton,  and  an  active  general  trade. 
Besides  fruits  and  agricultural  produce,  its  exports  include 
raw  silk,  cotton,  opium,  rose-water,  attar  of  roses,  wax,  and 
the  famous  dyo  known  as  Turkey  red.  The  surrounding 
country  is  extremely  fertile,  and  its  wines  are  the  best  pro- 
duced in  Turkey.  The  city  is  supplied  with  fresh  water 
by  means  of  a  noble  aqueduct  carried  by  arches  over  an 
extensive  valley.  There  is  also  a  fine  stone  bridge  here 
over  the  Tundja.  During  winter  and  spring  the  Slaritza 
is  uavigable  up  to  the  town,  but  Enos,  at  the  mouth  of  that 
river,  is  properly  its  seaport.  Adrianople  was  called 
Uskadama  previous  to  the  timo  of  the  Emperor  Hadrian, 
who  improved  and  embellished  the  town,  ind  changed  its 
name  to  Hadrianopolis.  In  1300  it  was  taken  by  the 
Turks,  who,  from  136G  till  1453,  when  they  got  possession 
of  Constantinople,  made  it  the  seat  of  their  government. 
In  the  campaign  of  1829  Adrianople  surrendered  to  the 
Russians  without  making  any  resistance,  but  v.  as  restored 
after  the  treaty  of  peace  signed  the  same  year.  Population, 
140,000. 

ADRIATIC  SEA,  the  Adriaticum  Mare  of  the  ancients, 
is  an  arm  of  the  Mediterranean  which  separates  Italy  from 
Triest,  Croatia,  Dalmatia,  and  Albania.  It  extends  from 
40°  to  45°  50'  N.  lat  in  a  N.W.  direction.  Its  extreme 
north-west  portion  forms  the  Gulf  of  Venice,  and  on  the  east 
side  are  the  gulfs  of  Triest,  Fiume,  Cattaro,  and  Drino.  It* 
greatest  length  is  450  miles,  its  mean  breadth  90  miles, 
and  its  depth  varies  from  12  to  22  fathoms.  The  western 
or  Italian  coasts  are  generally  low  and  marshy;  but  the 
eastern  shores  are  steep  and  rocky,  and  the  abounding 
creeks  and  inlets,  with  the  numerous  islands,  afford  to 
mariners  many  safe  natural  harbours.  The  ebbs  and  flows 
of  the  tide  in  the  Adriatic  are  inconsiderable,  though  more 
observable  than  in  the  Mediterranean  generally;  and  its 
saltness  is  a  little  greater  than  that  of  the  ocean.  The 
prevalence  of  sudden  squalls  from  the  N.E.  and  S.E.  renders 
its  navigation  hazardous,  especially  in  winter.  Except  the 
Po  and  Adige,  no  considerable  rivers  flow  into  the  Adriatic. 
Its  chief  emporia  of  trade  are  Venice,  Triest,  and  Ancona. 
The  port  of  Brindisi,  on  the  Italian  roast,  near  the  southern 
extremity  of  the  Adriatic,  is  rapidly  rising  in  importance 
as  the  point  of  arrival  and  departure  of  the  Peninsular  and 
Oriental  Company's  steamers  conveying  the  overland  mails 
between  England  and  the  East.  The  name  Adriatic  is 
derived  from  Adria,  between  the  mouths  of  the  Po  and  the 
Adige,  and  not  from  Adria  in  Picenum.  (See  Highland*  and 
Islands  of  t/ie  Adriatic,  by  A  A.  Paton,  2  vols.  8vo,  1849; 
Shores  of  the  Adriatic,  by  Visconntess  Strangford,  1804.) 

ADULE  or  Adulis,  a  town  on  the  Red  Sea.     See  Zulla. 

ADULLAM,  in  Scripture  Geography,  a  city  in  the  plain 
country  of  the  tribe  of  Judah.  The  cave  Adullam,  in 
which  David  took  refuge  after  escaping  from  Gath  (1  Sam. 
yirii,  1),  was  probably  situated  among  the  mountains  to 
the  east  of  Judah,  near  the  Dead  Sea,  From  its  being 
described  as  the  resort  of  "  every  one  that  was  in  distress," 
or  "  in  debt."  or  "  discontented,"  it  has  often  been  humor- 
ously alluded  to,  as  by  the  Baron  of  Bradwardine  in 
Waverley,  chap.  57. 


167 


ADULTERATION 


ADULTERATION,  the  act  of  debasing  a  pure  or 
genuine  commodity  for  pecuniary  profit,  by  adding 
to  it  an  inferior  or  spurious  article,  or  by  taking  from  it 
one  or  more  of  its  constituents.  The  term  is  derived  from 
the  Latin  adultero,  which  in  its  various  inflections  signifies 
to  defile,  to  debase,  to  corrupt,  to  sophisticate,  to  falsify,  to 
counterfeit,  «fcc.  The  objects  of  adulteration  are  fourfold, 
namely,  to  increase  the  bulk  or  weight  of  the  article,  to 
improve  its  appearance,  to  give  it  a  false  strength,  or  to 
rob  it  of  its  most  valuable  constituents.  All  these  adul- 
terations are  manifestly  of  a  designedly  fraudulent  character, 
and  are  therefore  properly  the  subjects  of  judicial  inquiry; 
but  there  may  be  accidental  corruptions  and  adulterations- 
of  a  commodity,  arising  i:om  natural  or  unavoidable  causes, 
as  when  darnel  or  ergot  become  mixed  with  grain  in  the 
fields  of  the  slovenly  farmer,  or  when  an  article  becomes 
changed  and  deteriorated  from  spontaneous  decay,  or  when 
mineral  matters  and  other  impurities  are  accidentally  derived 
from  the  machinery  or  vessels  in  which  the  thing  is  prepared 
or  kept.  The  recognition  of  such  impurities,  and  the  tracing 
of  them  to  their  source,  is  of  prime  importance  in  pursuing  a 
charge  of  adulteration.  Few  articles  of  commerce,  however, 
are  exempt  from  fraudulent  adulteration,  and  the  practice 
of  it  has  grown  with  the  competition  of  trade,  and  the 
removal  of  those  wholesome  restrictions  which  in  former 
times  were  so  energetically  opposed  to  all  kinds  of  dishonest 
dealing  ;  for  the  guilds  and  companies  of  all  large  cities 
had  their  corporate  regulations  for  supervising  and  govern- 
ing every  description  of  trade  and  manufacture.  The  excise, 
too,  including  the  customs,  had  until  recently  control  over 
the  quality  of  all  exciseable  articles ;  and  although  the 
prime  object  of  this  was -to  protect  the  revenue  of  the 
country,  yet  it  also  served  to  prevent  adi-lteration. .  In 
addition  to  this  there  were  in  ancient  times  ordinances  of 
assize  for  regulating  the  price  and  quality  of  the  common 
necessaries  of  life.  As  far  back  as  the  reign  of  John  (1203) 
there  was  a  proclamation  throughout  the  kingdom  for 
enforcing  the  legal  obligations  of  assize  as  regards  bread  ; 
and  in  the  following  reign  the  statute  (51  Hen.  III.  stat.  6), 
entitled  the  Pillory  and  Tumbrel,  was  framed  for  the 
express  purpose  of  protecting  the  public  from  the  dishonest 
dealings  of  bakers,  vintners,  brewers,  butchers,  and  others. 
This  statute  is  deserving  of  notice  as  the  first  in  which  the 
adulteration  of  human  food  is  specially  noticed  and  prohi- 
bited ;  and  it  seems  to  have  been  enforced  with  more  or 
less  of  rigour  until  the  time  of  Anne,  when  it  was  repealed 
(8  Anne,  c.  19).  According  to  Liber  Albus,  it  was  strictly 
observed  in  the  days  of  Edward  I.,  for  it  states  that  "if 
any  default  shall  be  found  in  the  bread  of  a  baker  in  the 
city,  the  first  time,  let  him  be  drawn  upon  a  hurdle  from 
the  Guildhall  to  his  own  house  through  the  great  street 
where  there  be  most  people  assembled,  and  through  the 
great  streets  which  are  most  dirty,  with  the  faulty  loaf 
hanging  from  his  neck  •  if  a  second  time  he  shall  be  found 
committing  the  same  offence,  let  him  be  drawn  from  the 
Guildhall  through  the  great  street  of  Cheepe,  in  the  manner 
aforesaid,  to  the  pillory,  and  let  him  be  put  upon  the 
pillory,  and  remain  there  at  least  one  hour  in  the  day ;  and 
the  third  time  that  such  default  shall  be  found,  he  shall  be 
drawn,  and  the  oven  shall  be  pulled  down,  and  the  baker 
made  to  forswear  the  trade  in  the  city  for  ever."  Vintners, 
spicers,  grocers,  butchers,  regrators,  and  others,  were  subject 
to  the  like  punishment  for  dishonesty  in  their  commercial 
dealings — it  being  thought  that  the  pillory,  by  appealing 
to  the  sense  of  shame,  was  far  more  deterrent  of  such 


crimes  than  fine  or  imprisonment.  But  all  this  has  given 
way  to  the  force  of  free  trade,  and  now  -the  practice  of 
adulteration  has  become  an  art,  in  which  the  knowledge  oi 
science  and  the  ingenuity  of  trade  are  freely  exercised. 
Fifty  years  ago  it  attracted  the  attention  of  one  of  the  most 
expert  chemists  of  the  day,  Mr  Accum,  who,  in  his  Treatise 
on  Adulterations  of  Food,  ancLCulinary  Poisons,  declared  it 
to  be  an  "art  and  mystery."  Subsequently  to  that,  in 
1851  and  the  three  following  years,  articles  on  the  adultera- 
tion of  food  appeared  in  the  Lancet,  and  the  effect  o. 
those  articles  was  to  call  for  a  Parliamentary  inquiry,  which 
resulted  in  the  Adulteration  of  Food  Act  of  1860.  That 
Act  of  Parliament  gave  power  to  certain  local  authorities 
in  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland  to  appoint  analysts, 
having  competent  medical,  chemical,  and  microscopical 
knowledge.  The  penalty  for  sellingan  adulterated  article, 
knowing  it  to  be  so  adulterated,  wa3  five  pounds,  and  th- 
costs  of  the  proceedings.  But  as  the  statute  was  permissive, 
only  a  few  analysts  were  appointed,  and  it  soon  became  a 
dead  letter.  Attempts  were  subsequently  made  to  improve 
the  law,  and  to  make  it  compulsory  on  local  authorities  to 
appoint  analysts.  One  of  these  was  the  Bill  of  1869,  and 
another  was  that  of  1871 — both  of  which  were  abandoned 
by  their  promoters.  In  the  year  1872,  however,  an  Act  was 
passed,  entitledAn  Act  to  amend  the  Laws  for  the  Prevention 
of  Adulteration  of  Food,  Drink,  ana  Drugs.  The  main 
features  of  this  Act  are  the  following  : — Local  authorities  in 
England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland  are  bound  to  appoint  analysts 
with  competent  medical,  chemical,  and  microscopical  know- 
ledge. They  must  also  appoint  officers  or  inspectors  to 
purchase  articles  of  food,  drink,  and  drugs  within  then- 
respective  districts,  and  take  them  to  the  analyst  for 
examination.  Other  purchasers  of  such  articles  are  per 
mitted,  under  proper  restrictions,  to  have  suspected  articles 
analysed.  On  receiving  a  certificate  from  the  analyst, 
stating  that  any  article  is  adulterated,  the  inspector  must  take 
the  necessary  legal  proceedings  for  the  purpose  of  bringing 
the  offender  to  justice.  The  penalty  on  conviction  of 
mixing  anything  whatever  with  a  drug,  with  the  view  of 
adulterating  it,  or  of  mixing  any  injurious  or  poisonous 
ingredient  with  any  article  of  food  or  drink,  is  a  sum  not 
exceeding  fifty  pounds,  together  with  the  costs ;  and  for  the 
second  offence  he  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanour,  and  be 
imprisoned  for  a  period  not  exceeding  sis  calendar  months 
with  hard  labour.  The  penalty  for  selling  an  adulterated 
article  with  a  guilty  knowledge  is  a  sum  not  exceeding 
twenty  pounds,  together  with  the  costs ;  and  for  a  second 
offence,  the  justice  may  order  the  offender's  name,  place  of 
abode,  and  offence  to  be  published  in  a  newspaper,  or  in  any 
manner  he  thinks  fit,  at  the  expense  of  the  offender. 
Although  the  meaning  of  the  term  adulteration  is  not  strictly 
defined  in  the  Act,  yet  it  is  declared  that  the  admixture  of 
anything  whatever  with  an  article  of  food,  drink,  or  drug, 
for  the  purpose  of  fraudulently  increasing  its  weight  or 
bulk;  is  an  adulteration  within  the  provisions  of  the  Act 
The  adulteration  of  intoxicating  liquors  is  provided  for  by 
the  Licensing  Act  1872  (35  and  36  Vict.  c.  9-1) ;  and 
in  this  Act  there  is  a  schedule  of  substances,  called  "Dele 
terious  Ingredients,"  which  are  considered  to  be  adultera 
tions :  they  are  Cocculut  indicus,  chloride  of  sodium  oi 
common  salt,  copperas,  opium,  Indian  hemp,  strychnine, 
tobacco,  darnel  seed,  extract  of  logwood,  salts  of  zinc  oi 
lead,  alum,  and  any  extract  or  compound  of  any  of  these. 
The  execution  of  this  Act  rests  with  the  police  authorities 
and  the  Inland  Revenue.     Tha  penalties  for  adulteration 


168 


ADULTERATION 


arc  very  severe,  leaving  it  tc  the  magistrate  either  to  inflict 
a  heavy  fine  or  to  send  the  offender  to  prison.  In  the  year 
1869  an  Act  was  passed  to  prevent  the  adulteration  of  seeds, 
in  fraud  of  Her  Majesty's  subjects,  and  to  the  great 
detriment  of  agriculture  (32  and  33  Vict.  c.  112),  wherein 
it  is  declared  that  the  killing  of  seeds,  the  dying  of  them, 
and  the  selling  of  such  killed  or  dyed  seeds,  with  intent  to 
defraud,  is  punishable  with  a  penalty  not- exceeding  five 
pounds  for  the  first  offence,  nor  exceeding  fifty  pounds  for 
a  second  or  subsequent  offence,  together  with  the  publication 
of  the  offender's  name,  place  of  abode,  and  offence  in  any 
manner  that  the  justice  thinks  fit. 

Adulteration  in  other  countries  is  strictly  prohibited 
under  penal  obligations.  The  Prussian  penal  code  provides 
that  any  person  selling  adulterated  or  spoiled  goods  shall 
be  liable  to  a  penalty  up  to  fifty  dollars,  or  imprisonment 
for  six  weeks,  with  confiscation  of  goods  ;  and  it  is  not 
necessary  to  prove  that  the  seller  was  aware  of  the  adultera- 
tion. In  Holland,  the  Dutch  law  is  very  similar  to  the 
code  Napoleon,  and  inflicts  a  punishment  of  imprisonment 
for  from  six  days  to  two  years,  with  a  fine  of  from  16  to 
600  francs.  The  adulteration  of  bread  with  copperas  or 
•nlphate  of  zinc  is  dealt  with  by  imprisonment  of  from  two 
to  five  years,  and  a  fine  of  from  200  to  500  florins.  In 
Paris,  malpractices  connected  with  the  adulteration  of  food 
are  investigated  by  the  Conseil  de  Salubrite  and  punished. 
Much  valuable  information  concerning  the  adulteration  of 
food,  drink,  and  drugs  in  foreign  countries  has  lately  been 
obtained  from  the  various  British  legations  and  consulates 
abroad,  through  a  circular  addressed  to  them  from  the 
Foreign  Office.  These  investigations  were  commenced  by 
the  late  Earl  of  Clarendon,  and  have  been  continued  by 
Earl  Granville.  The  results  have  been  published  in  the 
Food  Journal  for  1870  and  1871 ;  and  they  are  epitomised 
at  page  193  of  the  journal  of  the  last  mentioned  date. 

Among  the  adulterations  which  are  practised  for  the 
purpose  of  fraudulently  increasing  the  weight  or  bulk  of  an 
article  are  the  following  : — 

1.  Adulterations  of  Milk. — This  is  commonly  effected  by 
the  addition  of  water — technically  termed  Simpson  ;  and  it 
is  known  by  the  appearance  of  the  milk,  the  specific  gravity 
of  it,  the  quantity  of  cream  which  rises,  and  the  chemical 
composition  of  the  milk.  Good  milk  has  a  rich  appearance, 
and  a  full  pleasant  taste.  Its  specific  gravity  ranges  from 
1029  (water  being  1000)  to  1032— the  average  being  1030. 
If,  therefore,  the  density  of  milk  is  above  1030,  other 
conditions  corresponding,  the  inference  is  that  the  sample 
ia  unusually  good.  Between  1028  and  1030  it  is  most' 
probably  genuine.  At  from  1020  to  1028  it  is  of  doubtful 
quality,  and  below  that,  unless  the  amount  of  cream  is 
enormously  large,  the  sample  is  not  genuine.  An  instru- 
ment, called  a  galactometer,  has  been  constructed  to  show  the 
specific  gravity  of  milk  at  a  glance ;  but  it  must  always  bo 
remembered  that  while  the  addition  of  water  tends  to  iower 
the  gravity  of  milk,  so  also  does  the  presence  of  much 
cream,  and  therefore  a  sample  of  skimmed  milk  may  show 
a  high  gravity  even  when  diluted  with  water.  The  per- 
centage quantity  of  cream  is  ascertained  by  means  of  an 
instrument  called  a  lactometer.  It  is  a  glass  tube  about  10 
or  11  inches  long  and  half  an  inch  in  diameter,  graduated 
into  100  parts.  Having  shaken  a  sample  of  milk  so  as  to 
diffuse  the  cream  throughout  its  bulk,  it  is  poured  into  the 
lactometer  to  the  topmost  division ;  and  after  standing  for 
12  hours,  to  allow  the  cream  to  rise,  the  proportion  of  it  is 
read  off  from  the  divisions  on  the  tube.  Good  milk  shows 
a  range  of  from  8  to  12  divisions.  Conjoined  with  the 
preceding  test,  this  affords  reliable  indication  of  the  quality 
of  the  sample.  After  removing  the  cream,  the  gravity 
should  be  again  taken,  and  this  should  not  be  lower  than 
1030.     The  chemical  composition  of  milk  varies  to  some 


extent  with  the  breed  of  the  cow,  its  age,  the  diet  upon 
which  it  is  fed,  the  time  of  calving,  and  the  time  of  milking  ; 
for  afternoon  milk  is  generally  richer  than  morning,  and 
the  last  drawn  than  the  first.  But  taking  the  results  of  a 
large  number  of  analyses  by  different  chemists,  it  may  be 
said  that  the  average  percentage  composition  of  milk  is  aa 
follows  : — Casein  or  cheese  matter,  3"64  ;  butter,  3'55  : 
milk,  sugar  or  lactose,  4-70;  saline  matter,  081;  and 
water,  87-30.  IS,  therefore.  1000  grains  of  milk  bo  treated 
with  a  few  drops  of  acetic  acid,  and  then  heated  in  a  tlask 
to  about  120°  Fahr.,  the  casein  of  the  milk  will  curdle, 
and  enclose  within  it  all  the  butter.  When  it  is  quite  cold, 
it  can  easily  be  filtered,  and  when  dry,  the  curd  and  butter 
should  weigh  from  75  to  85  grains;  and  the  serum  or  whey 
should  have  a  density  of  about  1029.  The  addition  of 
mineral  matter,  as  common  salt  or  carbonate  of  soda,  to 
milk  is  easily  recognised  by  an  examination  of  the  ash  or 
saline  constitutents.  1000  grains  Of  good  milk  evaporated 
to  dryness  will  produce  from  120  to  130  grains  of  solid 
matter,  of  which  about  8  grains  are  mineral ;  and  these  are 
left  in  the  platinum  capsule,  when  the  solid  matter  is 
incinerated  or  burnt  to  an  ash.  Of  this  ash  about  half  is 
phosphate  of  lime,  and  2-7  are  alkaline  chlorides,  tho  rest 
being  phosphates  of  magnesia  and  iron,  with  a  little 
carbonate  of  soda.  Any  notable  increase,  therefore,  in  the 
proportion  of  ash,  or  any  large  diminution  of  it,  will  show 
adulteration.  Colouring  matter,  as  anuatto,  <fcc,  is  known 
by  the  peculiar  tint  o'f  the  milk;  and  starchy  matters 
beilcd  to  an  emulsion  will  give  their  characteristic  reactions 
with  iodine,  and  will  furnish  a  sediment  which  the  micro- 
'scope  will  reveal.  Fatty  emulsions,  in  imitation  of  milk, 
were  used  during  the  siege  of  Paris,  on  the  Recommendation 
of  M.  Dubrunfaut,  who  claims  to  have  made  a  very  perfect 
substitute  by  emulsifying  fatty  matter  with  an  artificial 
whey  or  serum.  This  he  did  by  dissolving  from  40  to  50 
grammes  of  saccharine  matter  (lactose,  glucose,  or  cane 
sugar),  and  from  20  to  30  grammes  of  albumen  (dried  white 
of  egg),  and  from  1  to  2  grammes  of  the  crystals  of  carbonate 
of  soda,  in  half  a  litre  of  water,  and  then  emulsifying  with 
from  50  to  60  grammes  of  olive  oil  or  other  fatty  substance. 
This  is  best  done  at  &  temperature  of  ffom  120°  to  140" 
Fahr. ;  and  the  liquid  so  prepared  has  the  appearance  of 
cream,  and  requires  to  *Je  mixed  with  twice  its  volume  of 
water  to  acquire  the  consistence  of  milk.  Gelatine  may 
be  used  instead  of  albumen,  the  mixture  being  even  more 
nearly  like  rich  cream  than  the  former.  M.  Gaudin  says 
that  any  kind-of  fat  may  be  used  for  this  purpose,  provided 
it  is  purified  with  superheated  steam;  and  M.  Fan  states 
that  even  horse  grease  may  be  so  employed.  M.  Dumas, 
however,  is  of  opinion  that  none  of  these  substitutes  can 
take  the  place  of  milk  for  any  time  as  dietetical  agents. 
Milk  from  diseased  animals,  especially  those  affected  with 
pleuropneumonia,  and  the  foot-and-mouth  disease,  is  very 
unwholesome,  and  ought  not  to  be  drunk.  The  diseased 
product  is  recognised  by  the  presence  of  abnormal  inflam- 
matory globules  of  the  nature  of  pus,  and  by  a  large  amount 
of  epithelium  cells.  Preserved  condensed  milk  is  now  so 
commonly  used  for  food,  that  its  properties  when  good 
should  be  known.  100  parts  of  the  specimens  at  present  in 
the  market  consist  of  from  14  to  -18  parts  of  casein,  from 
12  to  14  of  butter,  from  44  to  52  of  sugar,  and  from  2'4  to 
2  7  of  saline  matter — making  in  all  from  77  to  81  parts  of 
solid  matter — the  rest,  namely,  from  23  to  19  parts,  being 
water.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  concentration  of  the 
milk  has  been  carried  to  about  one-third  of  its  original  bulk, 
and  that  sugar  has  then  been  added,  so  that  when  diluted 
with  twice  its  volume  of  water,  it  makes  a  sweet-tasting 
milk  of  ordinary  strength.  Good  cream  should  contain 
rom  25  to  34  parts  of  butter,  about  5  of  casein,  2  of  sugar 
2  of  saline  matter,  and  from  62  to  56  parts  of  water. 


ADULTERATION 


169 


2.  Coffee  nas  from  very  early  times  been  the  subject 
of  sophistication.  As  far  back  as  1725,  the  Act  2  Geo.  I. 
c.  30,  took  cognizance  of  the  practice,  and  rendered  it 
pcnaL  In  1803  it  was  the  object  of  very  decisive 
measures,  for  by  43  Geo.  III.  c.  129,  the  officers  of  excise 
were  empowered  to  search  for,  and  to  seize  any  burnt, 
scorched,  or  roasted  peas,  beans,  or  other  grains  or 
vegetable  substance  prepared  in  imitation  of  coffee  ;  and 
any  person  manufacturing  or  selling  the  same  was  liable  to 
a  penalty  of  £100;  gradually,  however,  it  was  found  that 
use  of  torrefied  vegetables  in  lieu  of  coffee,  was  becoming 
general  in  spite  of  these  restrictions,  and,  therefore,  in 
1822,  the  Legislature  (3  Geo.  IV.  c.  53)  thought  it 
expedient  to  allow  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  scorched  or 
roasted  corn,  peas,  beans,  or  turnips,  by  persons  who  were 
not  dealers  or  sellers  of  coffee  or  cocoa,  proyided  the  same 
was  sold  under  license  in  a  whole  or  unground  condition, 
and  in  its  proper  name.  The  penalty  for  infraction  of  the 
law  was  XI 00  in  the  case  of  a  dealer  in  coffee  or  cocoa,  and 
£50  in  that  of  a  licensed  dealer.  At  that  time  the  use  of 
chicory  was  not  generally  known  in  England,  although  it 
had  long  before  been  introduced  into  France  as  a  substitute 
for  coffee ;  and  its  use  was  encouraged  by  the  first 
Napoleon,  who  thought  thus  to  strike  a  blow  at  English 
commerce.  It  was  also  used  in  Belgium  and  the  Nether- 
lands, so  that  travellers  who  visited  Paris,  Brussels,  or 
Amsterdam,  became  acquainted  with  the  substitute,  and 
gradually  acquired  a  taste  for  it.  About  the  year  1820 
the  first  parcels  of  chicory  were  imported  into  this  country, 
and  it  would  seem  that  the  public  demand  for  it  gradually 
incre,ised;  for  in  1832  there  was  a  minute  of  the  Treasury 
nullifying  the  Acts  of  George  III.  and  George  IV.,  by 
»Uowing  grocers  and  other  dealers  in  coffee  and  cocoa  to 
?ell  chicory,  provided  they  did  not  mix  it  with  coffee.  At 
a  later  period  even  this  restriction  was  withdrawn ;  for  by 
the  Treasury  minute  of  1840,  dealers  in  coffee  were  per- 
mitted to  sell  a  mixture  of  chicory  and  coffee,  provided  a 
duty  of  6d.  per  lb.  was  paid  on  all  the  chicory  imported  for 
home  consumption.  The  use  of  it  being  thus  legalised,  it 
rapidly  came  into  favour,  and  English  farmers  found  it 
profitable,  to  cultivate  the  root,  and  to  send  it  into  commerce 
duty  free.  This  roused  the  attention  of  the  Government, 
for  the  duties  on  chicory  and  coffee  began  seriously  to  fall  " 
off.  Even  the  quality  of  the  coffee  imported  underwent  a 
change;  for  instead  of  demanding  the  fine  flavoured 
varieties,  orders  were  given  for  a' coarse  and  strong  descrip- 
tion of  plantation  coffee,  which  would  stand  a  good  deal  of 
chicory,  as  the  grocers  phrased  it.  All  this  was  brought- to 
the  notice  of  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury,  and  in  1852  they 
revoked  the  order  of  1840.  But  so  strong  was  the  influence 
of  the  trade  upon  Government,  that  in  the  following  year 
the  offensive  minute  was  withdrawn,  and  grocers  were  again 
permitted  to  sell  mixtures  of  coffee  and  chicory,  provided 
the  packet  was  distinctly  labelled  "  mixture  of  chicory  and 
coffee."  The  Treasury  even  went  so  far  in  1858  as  to 
direct  the  Commissioners  of  Inland  Revenue,  not  to  object 
to  licensed  dealers  in  coffee  keeping  and  selling  mangel- 
wurzel  or  beet-root  mixed  with  coffee,  provided  they 
observed  the  same  conditions  is  those  laid  down  in  the 
Treasury  minute  of  1 85  3  as  to  chicory  and  coffee.  Up  to  this 
time  the  duty  on  chicory  had  been  merely  nominal ;  but  it 
was  gradually  increased  until,  in  1863,  it  was  equivalent  to 
that  levied  on  coffee,  and  thus  the  revenue  was  protected, 
while  adulteration  wa3  encouraged.  The  extent  to  which 
this  was  practised  may  be  gathered  from  the  Annual 
Reports  of  Mr  Phillips,  the  principal  chemist  of  the  Inland 
Revenue  Laboratory.  During  the  years  1856  to  1862 
inclusive,  when  the  dealers  in  coffee  and  chicory  were 
visited  by  the  officers  of  Excise,  the  average  number  of 
samples  cf  coffee  annually  examined  was  3053,  and  of  these 

1-7* 


90,  or  nearly  3  per  cent,  were  adulterated — the  range  being 
from  5-1  per  cent,  in  1856,  to  1-8  per  cent,  in  1862;  and 
the  quantity  of  chicory  in  the  mixture  averaged  24  per 
cent.  In  1860  it  was  29  per  cent.  Now,  in  all  these  cases 
the  coffee  was  sold  as  pure  coffee,  with  no  label  upon  the 
package ;  but  when  the  mixtures  of  chicory  and  coffee  were 
asked  for,  7-3  per  cent,  were  improperly  labelled,  and  the 
average  proportions  of  chicory  ranged  from  3 9 '8  per  cent, 
in  1859,  to  22-3  per  cent,  in  1862 — the  average  for  the 
seven  years,  before  the  duties  were  equalised,  being  30-7 
per  cent.  In  some  cases,  however,  it  reached  to  nearly 
90  per  cent. — 40  to  50  per  cent  being  common  propor- 
tions; and  to  neutralise  the  peculiar  sweetness,  and  the 
earthy  flavours  which  such  quantities  of  chicory  induced,  it 
was,  and  still  is  the  practice,  to  add  more  or  less  of  the 
bitter  material  called  "  finings,"  which  is  a  preparation  of 
burnt  sugar  or  caramel.  Even  chicory  itself  is  now  the 
subject  of  adulteration  with  roasted  corn,  beans,  lupin  seeds, 
acorns,  horse-chesnuts,  peas,  pulse  (called  "  Hambro'  pow- 
der "),  mustard  husks,  coffee  husks  (called  "  flights  "),  and 
even  spent  coffee,  besides  various  roots,  as  carrots,  parsnips, 
mangel  wurzeL  beet-root,  dandelion,  &.C.  It  is  even  said 
that  spent  tan  and  dried  bullocks'  livers  have  been  employed 
for  the  purpose.  The  tests  for  these  adulterations  are  th( 
appearances  presented  by  the  tissues  of  the  various  vegetable.' 
when  examined  under  the  microscope,  and  by  the  fact 
that  infusion  of  chicory  does  not  become  discoloured  when 
it  is  treated  with  iodine,  as  it  contains  no  starchy  matters. 
Ground  coffee,  also,  is  of  such  a  greasy  nature,  from  the 
presence  of  volatile  oil,  that  when  it  ia  thrown  upon  water, 
it  floats,  and  does  not  readily  discolour  the  water;  whereas, 
all  the  adulterating  agents  quickly  sink  in  water,  and  give 
it  a  brown  porter-like  appearance.  It  is  not  difficult  indeed 
to  separate,  in  a  rough  way,  the  coffee  from  its  adulterating 
matters  by  merely  stirring  a  given  weight  of  the  mixture 
in  a  tumbler  of  cold  water ;  after  a  few  minutes,  the  coffee 
will  be  found  upon  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  the  other 
things  at  the  bottom  of  it.  Chemical  analysis  also  re.  VhTy 
discovers  the  fraud.  It  might  be  thought  that  there  was 
safety  in  purchasing  the  coffee-berries  entire,  but  a  very 
ingenious  machine  has  been  patented  for  the  manufacture 
of  spurious  berries  out  of  common  vegetable  substances. 
.  3.  Tea. — Formerly,  when  the  supply  of  tea  to  this 
country  was  entirely  under  the  control  of  the  East  India 
Company,  the  adulteration  of  it  in  China  was  rarely 
practised,  as  every  shipment  of  it  was  carefully  examined 
by  experienced  officers  at  Canton,  who  rejected  all  teas  of 
spurious  or  doubtful  character.  At  that  time,  therefore,  the 
adulteration  of  tea  was  carried  on  after  it  was  imported  into 
this  country,  and  there  were  many  legislative  enactments 
prohibiting  the  ■  practice.  By  the  Act  2  Geo.  L  c  3, 
every  tea  dealer  was  subject  to  a  penalty  of  £100,  if  he 
was  convicted  of  counterfeiting,  altering,  fabricating,  or 
manufacturing  tea,  or  mixing'  it  with  other  leaves.  Later 
still,  the  statutes  of  4  Geo.  II.  c.  14,  and  17  Geo.  IIL 
c.  29,  and  4  Geo.  IV.  c.  14,  dealt  more  precisely  with  the 
subject,  and  imposed  other  penalties.  At  that  time  the 
adulterations  of  tea  were  effected  in  a  wholesale  manner ; 
for  according  to  Mr  Phillips,  of  the  Inland  Revenue  Office, 
there  were  in  London  alone,  in  1843,  as  many  as  eight 
manufactories  in  which  the  exhausted  leaves,  obtained  from 
hotels,  coffee-houses,  and  elsewhere,  were  redried,  and  faced 
with  rose-pink  and  blacklead,  in  imitation  of  genuine  tea. 
More  recently,  however,  the  adulteration  of  tea  has  been 
practised  by  the  Chinese,  who  find  no  difficulty  in  disposing 
of  any  kind  of  spurious  tea  to  English  merchants  at  Canton 
and  Shanghai,  who  ship  it  to  this  country,  and  lodge  it  in 
the  bonded  warehouses  with  all  the  formalities  of  an 
honourable  transaction,  knowing  that  the  difficulties  of 
convicting  them  under  the  Adulteration  of  Food  Acts  and 


170 


ADULTERATION 


Nuisances  Removal  Acts  are  almost  insurmountable ;  for, 
in  the  first  place,  the  local  sanitary  authorities  have  no 
means  of  obtaining  direct  information  of  the  existence  of 
unsound  or  spurious  tea,  or  other  article  of  food  or  drink 
in  bonded  warehouses ;  and  secondly,  if  such  information 
reaches  them  indirectly,  they  have  no  legal  right  of  entry 
for  the  purpose  of  examining  the  tea  and  taking  samples. 
But  supposing  both  of  these  difficulties  have  been  sur- 
mounted, and  the  tea  has  been  found  on  analysis  to  be 
spurious,  there  yet  remain  the  difficulties  of  obtaining  a 
justice's    order  for  its  condemnation,  an  order  from  the 
customs  for  its  removal,  and  an  order  which  will  satisfy 
the  requirements  of  the  wharfinger  in  whose  custody  it  has 
been  placed.     But  besides  these,  there  are  the  difficulties 
of  proving  the  ownership  of  the  article,  and  the  guilty 
knowledge  of  the  broker  who  sells  it.     In  illustration  of 
this,   we   may    refer  to  the  proceedings  of   the  sanitary 
authorities  of  the  city  of  London  in  their  endeavour  to 
suppress  the  importation  and  sale  of  spurious  tea.     In  the 
month  of  March  1870,  Dr  Letheby,  the  food  analyst  fur  the 
city,  reported  that  a  large  quantity  of  spurious  tea  had 
arrived  in   London  from   China,   and  was  lodged  in  the 
bonded  warehouses  of  the  city.     It  was  described  as  "  Fine 
Moning  Congou"  from  Shanghai ;  and  it  consisted  of  the 
redried    leaves   of    exhausted   tea,   much   of   which   had 
become  putrid  before  drying.     It  appears  to  have  been 
called  in  China  "  Ma-loo  mixture" — Maloo  being  the  name 
of  the  street  where  it  was  prepared,  and  along  the  sides  of 
which  heaps  of  this  trash  might  often  be  seen  drying  in  the 
sun,  with  dogs  and  pigs  walking  over  it.     Proceedings 
were  taken  under  the  Nuisance  Removal  Amendment  Act 
(26  and  27  Vict.'  c.   117),  for  the  purpose  of   obtaining 
an  order  for  the  condemnation  and  destruction  of  the  tea ; 
but  it  was  argued  for  the  defence — 1st,  That  "tea"  was  not 
named  in  the   A.ct  of  Parliament;     2d,  That  it  was  not 
included- under  the  term  "vegetable;"     3d,  That  it  was 
not  "  food ;"  and  4th,  That  being  in  a  bonded  warehouse, 
it  was  not  "  exposed  for  sale."     The  case,  however,  was  so 
glaring  that,  after  two  days'  hearing,  an  order  was  given  by 
the  justice  for  its  destruction ;  but  as  a  case  was  granted 
for  the  opinion  of  the  Court  of  Queen's  Bench,  the  order 
wa3  suspended ;  and  as  the  application  to  the  Court  was 
never  _inad3,  the  order  is  still  in  abeyance.     In  another 
case,  where  many  chests  of    spurious    "scented   orange 
Pekoe  sif tings"  were  in  bond,  the  order  for  its  condemnation 
was  refuted  on  the  ground  that  there  was  not  sufficient 
evidence  of  the  so-called  tea  being  unwholesome,  notwith- 
standing that  it  was  not  above  one-sixth  its  proper  strength  ; 
that  it  had  little  or  none  of  the  active  principles  of^  tea ; 
that  it  had  an  unpleasant  odour  and  an  acrid  taste ;  that  a 
great  portion  of  it  was  not  tea  at  all,' and  that  the  rest  of 
it  was  composed  of  3xhausted  tea  leaves,  with  just  enough 
good  tea  to  give  it  a  flavour.     A  like  failure  of  justice 
occurred  in  the  city  in  1866,  when  measures  were  taken  by 
the  sanitary  authorities  to  prevent  the  sale  of  about  350,000 
lbs.  of  rotten  and  charred  tea  which  had  been  saved  from  a 
fire  at  Beal's  wharf.     The  adulterations  practised  by  the 
Chinese  are  numerous  ;  exhausted  tea  is  redried  and  glazed 
in  a  very  deceptive  manner.     Millions  of  pounds  of  leaves 
of  different  plants,  other  than  tea,  are  gathered  and  mixed 
with  it.     Mineral  matter  tec   in  the  form  of  china  clay, 
fine  sand,  and  iron  filings,  are  ingeniously  incorporated  with 
the  leaf  before  curling,  so  that  as  much  as  from  20  to  40 
per  cent,  of  impurity  is  thus  mixed  with  it.     The  tests, 
however,  for  these  adulterations  are  very  simple.     In  the 
first  place,  there  is  the  usual  .trade  test  of  infusion  :  a 
quantity  of  tea,  amounting  to  the  weight  of  a  sixpence,  is 
put  into  a  small  covered  cup,  and  infused  with  about  four 
ounces  of  boiling  water  for  ten  minutes.     The  infusion  is 
then  poured  off  from  tho  leaves,  and  is  examined  for  colour, 


taste,  and  odour — all  of  which  are  characteristic  The 
leaves,  too,  are  examined  for  soundness,  for  colour,  for  size, 
and  for  special  botanical  properties.  Impurities  like  iron 
filings,  sand,  or  dirt,  are  easily  seen  among  the  leaves,  or  at 
the  bottom  of  the  cup ;  and  when  these  are  placed  upon  a 
coarse  sieve  and  washed  with  water,  the  impurities  pass 
through,  and  may  be  collected  for  examination.  The  leaves, 
too,  betray  by  their  coarseness  and  botanical  characters, 
the  nature  and  quality  of  the  tea;  for  although  the  leaves 
of  genuine  tea  differ  much  in  size  and  form,  yet  their 
venation  and  general  structure  are  very  distinctive.  Very 
young  leaves  are  narrow,  convoluted,  and  downy ;  those 
next  in  size  and  age  have  their  edges  delicately  serrated, 
and  the  venation  is  scarcely  perceptible ;  while  those  of 
larger  size  have  the  venation  well  marked,  there  being  a 
series  of  loops  along  each  side  of  the  leaf  extending  from 
the  mid-rib  to  the  edge :  the  serrations  also  are  stronger 
and  deeper,  beginning  a  short  distance  from  the  stem  and 
running  up  the  side  of  the  leaf  to  the  apex.  In  addition 
to  this,  the  microscopic  characters  of  the  surface  of  the  leaf 
are  very  characteristic.  Further  investigations  of  a  chemical 
nature  are  sometimes  needed  to  determine  the  question  of 
adulteration ;  and  thes?  depend  on  the  well-known  com- 
position of  good  tea.  In  different  cases,  according  to  the 
age  of  the  leaf  and  its  mode  of  treatment,  the  proportions 
of  its  chief  constituents  may  vary ;  but  in  a  general  way 
it  may  be  said  that  the  average  composition  of  tea  is  a» 
follows: — Moisture  from  6  to  10  per  cent;  astringent 
matter  (tannin),  from  25  to  35;  gum,  from  6  to  7 ; 
albuminous  matters,  from  2  to  3 ;  thein,  from  2  to  3 ; 
mineral  matters  (ash),  from  5  to  6 ;  and  ligneous  or  woody 
tissue,  from  50  to  60  per  cent.  Green  tea,  which  is 
generally  made  out  of  young  leaves,  contains  the  largest 
quantity  of  soluble  matters ;  and  these,  when  fully  exhausted 
from  the  leaves  by  successive  boiling  in  water,  amount  to 
from  25  to  35  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  tea.  In 
ordinary  cases,'  when  the  tea  is  merely  infused  in  boiling 
water,  it  does  not  yield  above  25  j»er  cent,  of  extractive. 
Again,  the  ash  of  tea  is  very  characteristic  of  its  quality — 
old  and  spurious  leaves,  as  well  as  tea  adulterated  with 
mineral  matter,  yielding  more  than  6  per  cent,  of  ash.  The 
chief  constituents  of  the  ash  of  good  tea  are  potash  and 
phosphoric  acid,  with  a  little  lime,  silica,  and  oxide  of  iron 
— there  being  but  a  trace  of  chlorine  and  sulphuric  acid  ; 
whereas  the  ash  of  old  and  exhausted  leaves  contains  but 
little  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  in  proportion  to  the  lime 
and  silica ;  and  in  those  cases  where  tea  has  been  damaged 
by  sea  water,  the  amount  of  chloride  is  considerable.  Iron 
filings  in  tea  are  easily  discovered  by  means  of  a  magnet, 
there  being  in  some  cases  as  much  as  20  or  30  per  cent,  of 
this  impurity.  Even  when  incorporated  with  the  leaf 
before  rolling.,  and  glazing,  the  fraud  is  detected  by  the 
attraction  of  the  tea  to  the  magnet. 

4.  Cocoa  in  its  natural  state  contains  so  much  fatty 
matter  (amounting  to  rather  more  than  half  its  weight), 
that  it  has  long  been  the  practice  to  reduce  it  by  means  of 
sugar  or  farinaceous  substances.  The  first  of  these  pre- 
parations is  called  chocolate,  and  the  latter  is  known  by 
such  names  as  granulated,  flake,  rock,  soluble  cocoa,  <kc.  In 
some  cases  the  mixture  is  adulterated  with  mineral  matters, 
as  oxide  of  iron,  to  give  colour;  These  adulterations  are 
recognised  by  the  appearance  and  taste  of  the  preparation, 
by  its  microscopic  characters,  by  the  colour  and  reaction 
of  it3  solution,  and  by  the  proportions  of  fat  and  mineral 
matters  in  it. 

5.  Bread. — Especial  care,  has  been  taken  at  all  times  to 
protect  the  public  from  the  dishonest  dealing  of  bakers. 
The  assize  of  bread,  for  example,  is  a  very  ancient  institu- 
tion ;  for  it  was  the  subject  of  a  proclamation  in  1 202,  and 
it  was  the  chief  matter  referred  to  in  the  notable  statute  of 


ADULTERATION 


171 


the  Pillory  and  Tumbrel  (51  Henry  III.  stat.  16)  already 
mentioned.  In  the  city  of  London,  according  to  "  Liber 
Albus,"  the  assize  of  bread  was  an  important  institution. 
It  was  always  made  immediately  after  the  feast  of  St 
Michael  in  each  year,  and  very  specific  instructions  were 
given  for  the  guidance  of  the  four  discreet  men  who  were 
to  perform  it ;  for  their  decision  regulated  the  business  of 
the  baker  in  respect  of  the  price  and  quality  of  bread,  &c., 
for  the  current  year;  and  woe  to  him  if  he  disregarded  it — 
there  being  numerous  instances  in  "  Liber  Albus"  of  the 
pillory  and  the  thew  in  cases  where  bread  had  been  found 
adulterated  or  of  short  weight.  In  the  time  of  Anne,  the 
assize  of  bread  was  still  further  regulated  (8  Anne,  c.  19), 
and  in  the  year  1815  it  was  abolished  by  the  statute  55 
Geo.  III.  c.  99.  Especial  provision,  however,  was  made 
to  guard  against  the  frauds  of  adulteration,  for  several  Acts 
of  Parliament,  especially  31  Geo.  II.  c.  29  and  1  and  2 
Geo.  IV.  c.  50,  prohibited  the  use  of  alum  and  other 
spurious  articles  in  bread  under  severe  penalties.  At  the 
present  time,  the  chief  adulterations  of  bread  are  with  alum 
or  sulphate  of  copper  for  the  purpose  of  giving  solidity  to 
the  gluten  of  damaged  or  inferior  flour,  or  with  chalk  or 
carbonate  of  soda  to  correct  the  acidity  of  such  flour,  or 
with  boiled  rice  or  potatoes  to  enable  the  bread  to  carry 
more  water,  and  thus  to  produce  a  large  number  of  loaves 
per  sack  of  flour.  In  practice  100  lbs.  of  flour  will  make 
from  133  to  137  lbs.  of  bread,  a  good  average  being  136 
lbs. ;  so  that  a  sack  of  flour  of  280  lbs.  should  yield  95 
four-pound  loaves.  But  the  art  of  the  baker  is  exercised  to 
increase  the  number,  and  this  is  accomplished  by  harden- 
ing the  gluten  in  the  way  already  mentioned,  or  by  means 
of  a  gummy  mess  of  boiled  rice,  three  or  four  pounds 
of  which,  when  boiled  for  two  or  three  hours  in  as 
many  gallons  of  water,  will  make  a  sack  of  flour  yield  at 
least  100  four-pound  loaves.  Such  bread,  however,  is 
always  dropsical,  and  gets  soft  and  sodden  at  the  base  on 
standing,  and  quickly  becomes  mouldy.  A  good  loaf 
should  have  kindness  of  structure,  being  neither  chaffy, 
nor  flaky,  nor  crummy,  nor  sodden.  It  should  also  be 
sweet  and  agreeable  to  the  palate  and  the  nose,  being 
neither  sour  nor  mouldy.  It  should  keep  well,  and  be 
easily  restored  to  freshness  by  heating  it  in  a  closed  vessel. 
And  a  slice  of  it,  subjected  to  a  temperature  of  from  260° 
to  280°  Fahr.  should  hardly  be  discoloured,  and  should  not 
lose  more  than  37  or  38  per  cent,  of  its  weight.  When 
steeped  in  water,  it  should  -give  a  milky .  sweet  solution, 
and  not  a  ropy  acid  liquid.  The  recognition  of  alum  and 
sulphate  of  copper  in  bread  requires  practice  and  skilful 
manipulation,  it  being  surrounded  with  difficulties.  The 
most  easily  applied  process  is  that  described  by  Mr  Horsley. 
He  makes  a  tincture  of  logwood,  by  digesting  a  quarter  of  an 
ounce  of  the  freshly  cut  chips  in  five  ounces  of  methylated 
spirit  for  eight  hours,  and  filters.  A  teaspoonful  of  this 
tincture  is  put  with  a  like  quantity  of  a  saturated  solution 
if  carbonate  of  ammonia  into  a  wine-glassful  of  water ;  and 
the  mixed  solutions,  which  are  of  a  pink  colour,  are  then 
poured  into  a  white-ware  plate  or  dish.  A  slice  of  the 
suspected  bread  is  allowed  to  soak  in  it  for  five  minutes, 
after  which  it  is  placed  upon  a  clear  plate  to  drain,  and,  if 
alum  be  present,  it  will,  in  the  course  of  an  hour  or  two, 
acquire  a  blue  colour ;  if  the  tint  be  greenish,  it  is  a  sign 
of  sulphate  of  copper ;  whereas  pure  bread  gradually  loses 
its  pink  colour,  but  never  becomes  blue  or  green.  The 
ash  of  bread  will  also  furnish  evidences  of  the  presence  of 
mineral  impurities. 

6.  Flour  and  other  Farinaceous  Matters. — The  tests  for 
good  flour  are  its  sweetness  and  freedom  from  acidity  and 
musty  flavour.  A  given  weight  of  the  flour,  say  500 
grains,  made  int»  a  stiff  dough  with  water,  and  then 
carefully  kneaded  under  a  small  stream  of  water,  will  yield 


a  tough  elastic  gluten,  which,  when  baked  in  an  oven, 
expands  into  a  clean-looking  ball  of  a  rich  brown  colour, 
that  weighs,  when  perfectly  dry,  not  less  than  50  grains. 
Bad  flour  makes  a  ropy-looking  gluten,  which  is  very 
difficult  of  manipulation,  and  is  of  a  dirty  brown  colour 
when  baked.  The  ash  of  flour  should  not  exceed'  2  per 
cent.  Other  farinaceous  matters  are  recognised  under  the 
microscope  by  the  peculiar  form,  and  size,  and  marking  of 
the  individual  granules.  In  this  way,  the  adulterations  of 
oat-meal  with  barley-meal,  and  of  arrow-root  with  inferior 
starches,  may  be  easily  detected. 

7.  Fatty  Matters  and  Oils  are  the  subjects  of  frequent 
adulteration.  Butter  and  lard,  for  example,  are  mixed 
with  inferior  fats,  and  with  water,  salt,  and  farina.  Most 
of  these  impurities  are  seen  when  the  sample  of  but+«-  pr 
lard  is  melted  in  a  glass,  and  allowed  to  stand  in  a  warm 
place  for  a  few  hours,  when  the  pure  fat  will  float  as  a 
transparent  oil,  while  the  water,  salt,  farina,  <fcc,will  subside 
to  the  bottom  of  the  glass.  Fresh  butter  generally  contains 
a  notable  quantity  of  water,  as  from  12  to  13  per  cent, 
and  sometimes  a  little  salt,  and  a  trace  of  curd ;  but  these 
should  never  exceed  two  per  cent,  in  the  aggregate.  Foreign 
fats  are  recognised  by  the  granular  look  of  the  butter,  by 
its  gritty  feel,  by  its  taste,  and  by  its  odour  when  warmei 
Other  tests  for  these  impurities  are  the  melting-point  of  the 
sample,  and  its  solubility  in  a  fixed  quantity  of  ether  at  a 
temperature  of  65°  Fahr.  20  grains  of  the  sample,  treated 
with  a  fluid  drachm  of  ether,  in  a  closed  test  tube,  will 
look  slighty  flocculent,and  bealmost  entirely  dissolved  in  the 
case  of  good  butter ;  but  it  will  be  mealy  and  liniment-like 
with  lard,  granular  with  dripping,  and  almost  solid  with 
mutton  fat.  The  melting  point  of  different  fats  is  as 
follows: — Horse  grease,  140°;  calf  fat,  136°;  mutton  fat, 
130°;  beef  fat,  99°;  hog'slard,  81°;  and  butter,  80°. 

Oils  are  adulterated  with  inferior  kinds,  and  the  fraud  is 
detected  by  means  of  the  specific  gravity  of  the  oil,  and  its 
chemical  reactions  when  tested  upon  a  white  plate  with  a 
drop  of  concentrated  sulphuric  acid — the  colour  and  its 
time  of  development  being  the  indications  of  the  quality 
of  the  oil.  The  specific  gravity  of  the  animcJ  oils  are  aQ 
follows  : — Neat's-foot  oil,  880 ;  tallow  oil,  900 ;  dolphin  oil, 
918;  cod-liver  oil,  921  to  926;  whale  oil,  927;  seal  oil, 
934;  porpoise  oil,  937.  Among  the  vegetable  0O3  the 
following  are  the  most  important : — Rape  or  colza  oil,  913 
to  910;  olive  oil,  918;  filbert  oil,  916;  beech-nut,  922; 
walnut,  923;  cotton-seed,  923  to  928;  poppy,  924;  sweet 
almond,  918  to  922;  hazel-nut  and  hemp-seed,  926; 
and  linseed,  634  to  936. 

8.  Isinglass  is  often  adulterated  with  gelatine,  the  fraud 
being  ingeniously  contrived  so  as  to  retain  to  a  large  extent 
the  well-known  characters  of  genuine  isinglass ;  but  it  may 
be  recognised  in  the  following  way:  immersed  in  cold  water, 
the  shreds  of  genuine  isinglass  become  white  and  opaque 
like. cotton  threads,  and  they  swell  equally  in  all  directions, 
whereas  those  of  gelatine  become  transparent  and  ribbon- 
like. Isinglass  dissolves  completely  in  boiling  water,  and 
makes  a  slightly  turbid  solution,  which  has  a  faint  fishy 
smell,  and  is  without  action  on  litmus  paper;  whereas 
gelatine  leaves  a  quantity  of  insoluble  matter,  and  the 
solution  smells  of  glue,  and  has  an  acid  reaction.  Strong 
acetic  acid  swells  up  the  shreds  of  isinglass,  and  renders 
them  soft  and  gelatinous ;  but  it  hardens  gelatine.  And, 
lastly,  the  ash  of  genuine  isinglass  is  very  small  in  quantity, 
and  has  a  reddish  colour ;  whereas  that  of  gelatine  is  bulky 
(weighing  from  2  to  3  per  cent),  and  has  a  perfectly  white 
appearance  from  the  presence  of  calcareous  salts.  Genuine 
isinglass  is  produced  from  the  swimming-bladder  or  sound 
of  the  sturgeon,  but  gelatine  is  a  sort  of  clarified  ^lue 
obtained  from  bones,  clippings  of  hides,  ic.  Boussingault 
states  that  the  Bouxwil'.er  glue,  which  is  prepared  from  the 


172 


ADULTKKATIOjN 


bones  of  horses  slaughtered  at  that  establishment,  is  trans- 
parent, and  nearly  colourless,  and  is  on  that  account  much 
sought  after  by  restaurateurs  for  making  jellies.  It  enters 
largely,  too,  into  the  composition  of  French  gelatine. 

9.  Sugar. — During  the  last  ten  or  twelve  years  the 
manufacture  of  sugar  from  starch  has  been  an  important 
branch  of  industry.  The  product  is  sent  into  commerce 
under  the  names  of  glucose,  saccharum,  and  British  sugar  ; 
and  although  it  is  chiefly  used  for  brewing  purposes,  it  is 
also  employed  for  adulterating  brown  sugar,  and  for  making 
confectionary,  jams,  marmalades,  and  fruit  jellies.  In  the 
year  1870,  as  much  as  25,737  cwt,  of  this  sugar  was 
manufactured  for  home  consumption,  and  since  then  the 
quantity  has  been  increasing.  It  is  produced  from  rice  or 
other  starch,  by  submitting  it  to  the  action  of  very  dilute 
sulphuric  acid  at  a  boiling  temperature — the  acid  being 
afterwards  neutralised  with  lime,  and  the  solution  evapo- 
rated to  the  setting  point.  The  crystals  of  grape  sugar  are 
very  small,  and  are  entirely  without  that  sparkling  character 
which  distinguishes  cane  sugar.  They  are  less  soluble  in 
water,  but  more  so  in  alcohol,  than  cane  sugar,  and  they 
have  only  about  one-third  the  sweetening  power.  Boiled 
with  a  solution  of  caustic  potash,  they  quickly  produce  a 
deep  brown  liquid,  and  they  have  the  power  of  reducing 
the  hydrated  oxide  of  copper,  when  heated  therewith  in  an 
alkaline  solution.  These  characters  are  distinctive  of  it, 
and  will  serve  to  recognise  it  in  the  brown  sugars  of 
commerce. 

10.  Mustard  is  generally  so  acrid  and  powerful  in  its 
flavour  that  it  is  commonly  diluted  with  flour,  or  other 
farinaceous  matter,  turmeric  being  added  to  improve  its 
appearance.  The  mixture  is  recognised  by  means  of  the 
microscope,  when  the  granules  of  starch  and  the  colouring 
matters  of  turmeric  are  easily  seen.  Genuine  mustard  does 
not  contain  starch,  and  therefore  does  not  become  blue 
when  it  is  treated  with  a  solution  of  iodine. 

11.  Spices,  as  pepper,  cinnamon,  curry  powder,  ginger, 
cayenne,  <fcc,  are  more  or  less  the  subjects  of  fraudulent 
adulteration,  which  can  readily  be  detected  by  the  micro- 
scope, and  by  an  examination  of  the  mineral  constituents. 
Formerly,  pepper  was  ground  by  the  retail  dealer,  and  then 
there  was  no  excuse  for  the  presence  of  adulterating  agents  ; 
but  in  1856,  the  wholesale  dealer  undertook  the  business 
of  grinding,  and  from  that  time  adulteration  has  been  on 
the  increase.  In  some  cases,  the  article  does  not  contain 
a  trace  of  pepper,  but  is  made  up  of  gypsum,  mustard 
husk,  and  a  little  starch.  In  the  Ninth  Report  of  the 
Commissioners  of  Inland  .Revenue,  there  is  a  statement 
by  Mr  Phillips,  the  chief  chemist  of  the  Excise,  that  he 
found  a  sample  of  so-called  pepper  containing  25  per  cent. 
gypsum,  the  rest  being  mustard  husks  and  a  little  cereal 
starch,  without  a  trace  of  pepper.  Another  sample  con- 
sisted of  -16  per  cent,  gypsum,  44  mustard  husks,  a  little 
cereal  starch,  and  the  rest  pepper.  Four  other  samples, 
closely  resembling  pepper,  so  as  to  deceive  an  inexperienced 
eye,  were  found  to  contain  about  22  per  cent,  of  gypsum, 
with  sand,  starch,  and  mustard  husk.  Linseed  meal  and 
powdered  capsicums  are  likewise  used  for  adulterating 
pepper.  The  chief  sophistications  of  ginger  powder  are 
sago-meal,  ground  rice,  and  turmeric ;  while  the  colouring 
agents  of  Curry  powders  and  cayenne  are  ferruginous 
earths,  brick  .dust,  and  even  vermilion  and  red-lead. 
Spices,  too,  are  sometimes  exhausted  of  their  active  pro- 
perties before  they  are  ground  and  sold"  to  the  public. 

.12.  Beer,  Ale,  and  Porter. — The  assize  of  ale  is  con- 
temporaneous with  that  of  bread,  being  described  as  the 
"Assisos  Panis  et  Cervesio:,"  in  old  documents.  In  the 
statute  51  Henry  III.  c.  16  (1266),  they  are  spoken  of 
as  ancient  and  well-known  institutions,  the  object  of  them 
being  to  regulate  the  quality  and  price  of  these  articles. 


The  officers  appointed  to  deteninire  the  goodness  oi  ais 
were  called  ''ale  conners,"  or- "ale  tasters"  (nustatorrt 
cervisioz),  and  were  elected  annually  in  the  court-leet  of 
each  manor,  and  in  the  city  of  London  at  the  'ward-mote, 
according  to  the  advice  and  assent  of  the  alderman  and 
other  reputable  men  of  the  ward.  Very  specific  instructions 
are  Liven  in  Liber  Alius  of  the  business  of  the  brewer,  and 
of  the  pemilties  fur  any  default  thereof — it  being  ordained 
that  no  ale  should  be  sold  without  having  been  tasted  and 
approved  by  the  ale  conners  of  the  district.  Even  now 
these  officers  are  elected  in  the  city  of  London  with  the  old 
formalities,  but  the  real  duty  of  examining  the  quality  of 
ale,  beer,  and  porter  has  for  many  years  been  in  the  hands 
of  the  Excise.  As  far  back  as  the  time  of  Anne  there  was 
a  law  prohibiting  the  use  of  Cocculus  indicus  or  any 
unwholesome  ingredient  in  the  brewing  of  beer,  under 
severe  penalties,  the  brewer  being  restricted  to  the  use  of 
malt  and  hops  alone;  but  gradually,  as  the  taste  for  porter 
came  into  fashion  (since  1730),  and  during  the  French  war, 
when  the  price  of  malt  was  very  high,  certain  colouring 
matters  prepared  from  burnt  sugar  were  allowed  to  be 
used,  and  this  at  last  became  so  necessary  to  the  trade, 
that  it  was  legalised  by  the  Act  51  Geo.  ILL  c.  51. 
Five  years  after,  however,  it  was  prohibited  by  the  statute 
56  Geo.  III.  c.  58,  which  declared  that  after  the  5th  of 
July  1817,  no  brewer,  or  dealer,  or  retailer  of  beer,  shall 
receive,  or  use,  or  have  in  his  possession  or  custody,  any 
liquor,  extract,"  or  other  material  or  preparation,  for  the 
purpose  of  darkening  the  colour  of  worts  or  beer,  other 
than  brown  malt.  He  was  also  prohibited  from  using 
molasses,  honey,  liquorice,  vitriol,  quassia,  Cocculus  indieusi 
grains  of  paradise,  guinea  pepper,  or  opium,  or  any  extract 
or  preparation  of  the  same,  or  any  substitute  for  malt  or 
hops,  under  a  penalty  of  £200 ;  and  no  chemist  or  vendor 
of  drugs  was  permitted  to  sell,-  send,  or  deliver  any  such 
things  to  a  brewer  or  retailer  of  beer  under  a  penalty  of 
£500.  Later  still,  in  1830,  the  Act  for  permitting  the 
general  sale  of  beer  and  cider  by  retail  in  England  (1 
Will.  IV.  c.  64),  declares  that  if  any  person  so  licensed 
shall  knowingly  sell  any  beer,  ale,  or  porter,  made  otherwise 
than  from  malt  and  hops,  or  shall  mix,  or  cause  to  be 
admixed,  any  drugs  or  other  pernicious  ingredients  with 
any  beer  sold  in  his  house  or  premises,  or  shall  fraudulently 
dilute  or  in  any  way  adulterate  any  such  beer,  ic, shall  for 
the  first  offence  forfeit  and  pay  a  sum  of  from  £10  to  £20, 
and  for  the  second  offence  shall  be  adjudged  disqualified 
from  selling  beer,  ale,  or  porter  for  two  years,  or  forfeit 
a  sum  of  from  £20  to  £50 ;  and  the  same  regulations 
applied  to  cider  and  perry.  The  execution  of  these  acts 
rested  with  the  Excise,  and  it  would  seem  that  three  cldssea 
of  adulterations  were  practised,  namely,  1st,  Those  Mhich 
gave  fictitious  strength  to  the  beer,  as  Cocculus  injuiis, 
tobacco,  opium,  &c;  2d,  Those  which  improved  the  flavour 
and  body  of  the  beer,  as  grains  of  paradise,  capsicum  pods, 
ground  ginger,  coriander  seeds,  caraway  seeds,  sweet  flag, 
liquorice,  molasses,  and  salt ;  and,  3d,  Those  which  gave 
bitterness,  as  quassia,  chiretta,  horehound,  gentian,  (to.  In 
London  the  publicans  were  not  in  the  habit  of  practising  the 
first  kind  of  adulteration,  but  confined  themselves  to  the 
second  and  third.  In  the  country,  however,  according  to 
Mr  Phillips,  it  was  quite  otherwise,  especially  with  brewers 
who  retailed  their  own  beer ;  for  he  found  that  they  fre- 
quently used  tobacco  and  Cocculus  indicus.  He  even 
thinks  that  the  cases  of  brutal  and  purposeless  violence 
which  were  so  often  recorded  were  referable  to  the  madden- 
ing influence  of  these  ingredients.  By  the  Act  24  and  25 
Vict.  c.  22  (1863),  when  the  duty  on  hops  was  relieved, 
these  bitters  and  substitutes  were  permitted,  and  so  also 
was  sugar,  provided  the  full  duty  of  12s.  8d.  per  cwt.  was 
paid  upon  it.     Later  still,  by  the  Licensing  Act  1872  (35 


ADULTERATION 


173 


and  36  Vict.  c.  94),  provision  is  made  to  protect  the 
public  from  the  adulteration  of  beer ;  for  it  prohibits  the 
possession,  sale,  or  use  of  beer  adulterated  with  Cocculus 
indicus,  chloride  of  sodium  (otherwise  common  salt),  cop- 
peras, opium,  Indian  hemp,  strychnine,  tobacco,  darnel- 
seed,  extract  of  logwood,  salts  of  zinc  or  lead,  alum,  and 
any  extract  or  compound  thereof,  under  a  penalty  of  £20 
for  the  first  .offence,  and  £100  for  the  second  offence, 
tcether  with  disqualification  of  both  the  dealer  and  the 
house  for  a  certain  period.  The  police  and  the  officers  of 
Inland  Revenue  are  empowered  to  search  for  and  obtain 
samples  of  such  beer,  and  the  analyst  is  a  person  appointed 
by  the  Excise.  The  tests  for  the  adulteration  of  beer,  ale, 
and  porter,  are  not  easily  applied  except  by  a  skilled 
chemist ;  but  it  may  be  said  that  the  chief  qualities  of 
good  beer  are  its  density,  sweetness,  spirituosity,  piquancy, 
llavour,  and  frothiness.  The  density  of  ale  and  beer  ranges 
from  1008  to  1020  (water  being  1000) — the  average 
being  1015  ;  and  in  ihe  case  of  porter  it  ranges  from  1015  to 
1020.  The  amount  of  alcohol  in  these  beverages  ranges 
from  5  to  9  per  cent,  the  average  being  about  7.  The 
solid  extract  is  from  4  to  6  per  cent.,  and  the  ash  or  mineral 
matter  is  from  0-2  to  0-3  per  cent,  very  little  of  which 
should  be  common  salt. 

1 3.  Malt. — The  Excise  do  not  permit  malt  to  be  adul- 
terated with  ungerminated  grain  ;  but  it  is  very  difficult  to 
determine  whether  the  presence  of  these  grains  is  accidental 
or  otherwise,  as  in  some  wet  seasons  when  barley  is  badly 
stacked  it  will  heat  or  become  mouldy,  and  the  grains -will 
lose  their  vitality.  Even  if  the  grain  is  dried  artificially 
at  a  temperature  of  from  140°  to  150°  Fahr.,  the  vitality  of 
the  seed  will  be  destroyed.  In  some  seasons  as  much  as  from 
34  to  70  per  cent,  of  the  grain  will  be  killed.  Roasted 
unmalted  grain,  instead  of  the  malted,,  is  prohibited  by  19 
and  20  Vict.  c.  34,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  the 
substitution  is  largely  practised. 

14.  Wine  and  Spirits. — The  denunciations  in  the  Scripture 
against  the  useof  mixed  winehavereference.inallprobability, 
to  wines  which  were  fortified  or  adulterated  with  stimulating- 
and  intoxicating  herbs.  In  this  country,  measures  were 
taken  at  a  very  early  period  to  prevent  the  eale  of  unsound 
and  unwholesome  wine.  The  Vintners'  Company,  for 
example,  which  was  incorporated  in  the  reign  of  Edward 
the  Third,  under  the  name  of  the  "  Wine  Tonners,"  had 
control  over  the  price  and  purity  of  the  article,  there  being 
chosen  every  year  "persons  of  the_inost  sufficient,  most 
true,  and  most  cunning  of  the  craft  (that  hold  no  taverns)," 
who  were  to  see  to  the  condition  of  all  wines  sold  by  retail, 
and  who  were  to  govern  the  taverners  in  all  their  proceedings. 
Bad  or  adulterated  wine  was  thrown  into  the  gutters,  and 
the  possessors  thereof  were  set  in -the  pillory.  It  would 
seem  that  the  wine  which  was  most  adulterated  was  that 
called  Gascoign ;  for  in  the  tenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Henry 
the  Sixth  (1432),  there  was  a  petition  to  the  king  on  the 
subject,  praying  him  to  amend  the  same.  Stowe,  in. fact, ] 
says  "that  in  the  6th  of  Henry  VL,  the  Lombardes 
currupting  their  sweete  wines,  when  the  knowledge  thereof 
came  to  John  Ranwell,  maior  of  London,  he,  in  divers 
places  of  the  citie,  commanded  the  heades  of  the  buts  and. 
other  vessels  in  the  open  streetes  to  be  broken,  to  the 
number  of  fifty,  so  that  the  liquor  running  forth  passed 
through  the  citie  like  a  stream  of  raine  water,  in  the  sight 
of  all  the  people,  from  whence  there  issued  a  most  loathsome 
savour."  In  modern  times  the  art  of  adulterating  wine 
has  been  brought  to  great  perfection  ;  for  it  consists  not 
merely  in  the  blending  of  wines  of  different  countries  and 
vintages,  but  in  the  use  of  materials  which  are  entirely 
foreign  to  the  grape.  Port  wine,  for  example,  is  manufactured 
from  Beni  Carlos,  Figueras,  and  red  Cape,  with  a  touch 
of  Mountain  to  soften  the  mixture  and  give  it  richness — 


the  body  and  flavour  being  produced  by  gum-dragon,  and 
the  colour  by  "  berry-dye,"  which  is  a  preparation  of  German 
bdberries.  To  this  is  added  the  washings  of  brandy  casks 
("  brandy  cowe")  and  a  little  salt  of  tartar  to  form  a  crust. 
Sherry  of  the  brown  kind  and  of  low  price  is  mingled  with 
Cape  and  cheap  brandy,  and  is  flavoured  with  "  brandy- 
cowe,"  sugar-candy,  and  bitter  almonds.  If  the  colour  be 
too  high  it  is  lowered  by  means  of  blood,  and  softness  is 
imparted  to  it  by  gum-benzoin.  Pale  sherries  are  produced 
by  means  of  plaster  of  Paris  or  gypsum,  by  a  process  called 
"  plastering,"  and  the  effect  of  it  is  to  remove  the  natural 
acids  (tartaric  and  malic),  as  well  as  the  colour  of  the  w?ue. 
In  this  way  a  pale,  dry,  bitter,  and  sub-acid  Wine  is 
produced,  charged  with  the  sulphates  of  lime  and  potash. 
Large  quantities  of  what  are  called  clarets  are  manufactured 
in  this  country  from  inferior  French  wine  and  rough  cider, 
the  colour  being  imparted  to  it  by  tumsol  or  cochineal. 
Madeira  is  produced  from  Vidonia  with  a  little  MountaLi 
and  Cape,  to  which  are  added'  bitter  almonds  and  sugar. 
Even  Vidonia  and  Cape  are  adulterated  with  cider  and  rum 
— carbonate  of  soda  being  used  to  correct  the  acidity. 
Common  Sicilian  wine  is  transformed  into  Tokay,  Malaga, 
and  Lachryma  Christi.  Champagne  is  produced  from 
rhubarb  stalks,  gooseberries,  and  sugar,  the  product  being 
largely  consumed  at  balls,  races,  masquerades,  and  public 
dinners.  Of  late,  too,  since  the  investigations  of  Petiot, 
Thenard,  Gall,  Hussman,  and  others,  the  manufacture  of 
wine  from  sugar  and  the  refuse  husk  or  mark  of  the  grape 
has  been  largely  practised,  insomuch  that  a  great  part  of 
the  wine  of  France  and  Germany  Las  ceased  to  be  the  juice 
of  the  grape  at  alL  In  point  of  fact,  the  processes  of 
blending,  softening,  fortifying,  sweetening,  plastering,  <fcc, 
&c,  are  carried  on  to  such  an  extent  that  it  is  hardly 
possible  to  obtain  a  sample  of  genuine  wine,  even  at  first 
hand;  and  books  are  written  on  the  subject," in  which  the 
plainest  directions  are  given  for  the  fabrication  of  every 
kind  of  wine,  there  being  druggists  called  "brewers' 
druggists,"  who  supply  the  agents  of  adulteration.  These 
are  as  follow.: — Elderberry,  logwood,  brazil-wood,  red 
saunders-wood,  cudbear,  red  beet-root,  ifcc.,  for  colour ; 
litharge,  lime  or  carbonate  of  lime,  carbonate  of  soda,  and 
carbonate  of  potash,  to  correct  acidity ;  catechu,  logwood, 
sloe-leaves,  and  oak-bark,  for  astringency;  sulphate  of  lime, 
gypsum,  or  Spanish  earth,  and  alum  for  removing  colour ; 
cane  sugar  for  giving  sweetness  and  body ;  glucose  or  starch 
sugar  for  artificial  wine ;  alcohol  for  fortifying ;  and  ether, 
especially  acetic  ether,  for  giving  bouquet  and  flavour.  The 
tests  for  these  agents  are  not  readily  applied,  except  by  the 
professional  chemist ;  but  they  are  promptly  recognised 
by  the  stomach  and  the  brain,  for  good  wine,  though  it 
may  intoxicate,  rarely  leaves  a  disagreeable  impression.-  In 
a  general  way,  it  may  be  said  that  the  specific  gravity  of 
genuine  wine  ranges  from  991  to  997.;. and  the  amount 
of  alcohol  in  it  never  exceeds  20  per  cent,  by  volume.  The 
solid  residue  in  it,  when  evaporated  to  perfect  dryness, 
amounts  to  from  1"33  to  2'15  per  cent  in  Rhine  wines, 
and  in. the  light  wines. of  France;  to  from  2-85'to  373  per 
cent  in. Teneriffe  and  Cape;  to  from  3"49  to  4-54  per  cc:  I 
in  sheny  and  Madeira;  and  to  from  3'75  to  5-24  in  port. 
Sweet  wines,  as  Lachryma  Christi,  Muscat,  Malaga,  Tokay, 
Bergerac  .champagne,  and  the  wines  of  the  Palatinate, 
contain  a  much  larger  percentage  of  solid  matter  in  them. 
The  ash,  or  mvoiatile  constituents  of  wine,  should  rango 
between  0"19  and  0-5  per  cent.  It  should  be  strongly 
alkaline,  and  should  consist  of  carbonate,  sulphate,  aud 
phosphate  of  potash,  chloride  of  sodium,  carbonate  of  lime, 
and  a  little  alumina.  As  a  distinctiTe  mark  of  genuine 
vine,  the  ash  is  of  the  greatest  value.  Again,  pure  wite 
gives  but  slight  precipitates  with  oxalate  of  ammonia,  with 
acid  nitrate  of  silver,  and  acid  nitrate  of  bwyta.     Th* 


174 


ADULTERATION 


colouring  matters  of  wine  may  be  separated  and  analysed 
by  the  process  of  Mulder,  which  is  too  elaborate  for 
description  in  this  place,  and  so  also  are  the  tests  for 
recognising  spurious  colours,  as  the  test  of  Vogel,  Jacob, 
and  others  (solutions  of  acetate  of  lead),  that  of  Pelouze 
anj  Frcnny  (basic  acetate  of  lead) ;  of  Ness  von  Esenbcck 
(solutions  of  alum  and  of  carbonate  of  potash) ;  of  Batilliat 
(ammonia};  of  Filhol  (ammonia  and  sulphide  of  ammonium); 
and  others.  At  present,  the  spectroscope  has  not  furnished, 
as  was  expected,  any  very  reliable  indications  of  the  nature 
of  the  colouring  matters  of  wine.  In- fact,  the  whole  subject 
requires  fuller  investigation.  The  adulteration  of  spirits 
consists  mostly  in  the  addition  of  water  and  in  the  use  of 
inferior  spirit,  recipes  being  given  in  the  Publican's  Guide, 
and  other  such  books,  for  what  is  called  making  up  spirits 
for  sale.  The  recognition  of  these  frauds  rests  with  the 
Excise,  under  the  Act  35  and  3G  Vict,  c.  94. 

15.  Tobacco  and  Snnff. —  The  adulteration  of  thess 
articles  is  prohibited  and  otherwise  provided  for  by  the 
statutes  5  and  6  Vict  c.  93,  and  25  and  26  Vict,  c.  7, 
and  30  and  31  Vict.  c.  90.  manufacturers  of  tobacco  and 
snuff  being  prohibited  from  using  or  having  in  their 
possession  sugar,  honey,  molasses,  treacle,  leaves,  herbs,  or 
plants,  powdered  wood,  moss,  weeds,  sea-weeds,  or  any 
ground  or  ungruund  roasted  grain,  chicory,  lime,  sand, 
umbre,  ochre,  or  other  earths,  nor  anything  capable  of 
being  used  to  increase  the  weight  of  tobacco  or  snuff",  under 
a  penalty  of  £200 — water  alone  being  allowed  in  the 
manufacture  of  tobacco ;  and  water,  salt,  and  alkaline  salts, 
as  well  as  lime  in  the  manufacture  of  snuffs,  under  a 
penalty  of  £300.  But  it  appears  from  the  reports  of  the 
Commissioners  of  Inland  Revenue,  that  the  adulteration  of 
tobacco  and  snuff  is  still  largely  practised.  Tobacco  is 
adulterated  with  molasses,  sugar,  aloes,  liquorice,  gum, 
catechu,  oil  and  lamp-black,  alum,  tannic  acid  and  iron,  log- 
wood, and  such  leaves  as  rhubarb,  chicory,  cabbage,  bur- 
dock, colts-foot,  and  excess  of  salt  and  water.  In  the  year 
1862  it  was  discovered  that  certain  Irish  manufacturers  were 
adulterating  their  Cavendish  and  roll-tobacco  with  liquorice, 
in  imitation  of  the  sweetened  Cavendish  of  North  America, 
and  therefore  in  1863  the  practice  was  legalised  in  the  case 
of  Cavendish  and  negro-head  by  the  Manufactured  Tobacco 
Act,  1863.  Snuffs  are  adulterated  with  excess  of  alkaline 
salts,  lime,  sand,  ferruginous  earths,  fustic,  torreiied  oat 
meal,  peat-moss,  ground  velonia  cups,  bichromate  of  potash, 
and  chromate  of  lead.  Mr  Phillips  states,  in  the  Fourth 
Report  of  the  Commissioners  of  Inland  Revenue,  that  up 
to  1856  the  pfaoticeof  adulterating  snuff  was  very  prevalent, 
particularly  in  Ireland — 52  per  cent,  of  the  samples  analysed 
being  found  to  be  illicit;  in  1858  and  subsequently, 
however,  the  proportion  has  been  much  less.  These 
adulterations  are  recognised  by  drying  the  sample,  and 
noting  the  loss  of  weight,  and  by  the  amount  and  nature 
of  the  ash  left  on  incineration.  Foreign  leaves,  <fcc,  are 
discovered  by  the  aid  of  the  microscope. 

16.  Among  the  adulterations  which  are  practised  for  the 
purpose  of  improving  the  appearance  of  the  article,  and. 
giving  it  a  false  strength,  are  the  following  : — The  addition 
of  alum  or  sulphate  of  copper  to  bread  ;  the  facing  of  black 
tea  with  black  lead,  and  of  green  with  a  mixture  of 

or  Prussian  blue  with  turmeric  and  china  clay  ;  the  treat- 
ment of  pickles  and  preserved  fruits  with  a  salt  of  copper, 
which  ha3  the  property  of  mordanting  and  brightening  the 
green  colouring  matter  of  vegetables.  In  some  cases  the 
quantity  of  copper  has  been  so  large  as  to  give  a  coppery 
appearance  to  a  steel  knife  or  fork  kept  in  the  pickle  ;  but 
at  all  time.s  the  metal  may  be  discovered  by  the  pink  colour 
of  the  ash,  and  by  its  becoming  blue  when  treated  with  a 
little  strong  ammonia,  Ferruginous  earths  are  added  to 
Auces.  anchovies,  potted  meats,  and  the  preparations  of 


cocoa.  This  also  is  recognised  by  the  amount  and  colour 
of  the  ash.  Mineral  pigments,  as  yellow  and  orange  chromate 
of  lead,  green  arsenite  of  copper,  Ac,  arc  frequently  used 
in  colouring  confectionery,  and  have  produced  serious 
results  t  >  those  who  have  eaten  it.  Lastly,  with  a  view  of 
giving  false  strength  to  the  article,  sulphuric  acid  has  been 
added  to  vinegar  and  lime-juice  ;  blackjack  or  burnt  sugar 
to  coffee  and  chicory  ;  catechu  or  terra  jti/mniea  to  exhausted 
tea;  Cocculns  indicus  to  beer  and  porter;  cayenne  anJ 
mustard  husks  to  pepper,  ic. 

17.  Adulterations  are  also  practised  for  the  purpose 
of  debasing  the  article,  as  when  the  cream  is  taken  from 
milk  by  the  process  of  skimming ;  or  when  the  active 
principles  of  spices,  <tc.,  have  been  removed  by  distillation. 

18.  Accidental  adulterations  may  occur  from  the  admix- 
ture of  darnel  or  ergot  with  flour :  siliceous  and  earthy 
matters  with  substances  that  are  ground  in  a  mill ;  mould 
or  acari  with  flour,  sugar,  cheese.  >.c.  ;  and  copper,  zinc, 
or  lead  may  be  accidentally  derived  from  the  vessels  in 
which  any  acid  substance  or  liquid  has  been  prepared  or 
kept.  In  this  manner  cider  and  wine  have  become  tainted 
with  lead;  sour  milk  with  zinc;  and  jellies,  jams,  and 
preserves  with  copper. 

19.  Adulteration  of  Cattle  Foods. — In  a  recent  trial, 
where  the  question  of  adulteration  was  raised,  a  liuscej. 
cake  maker  stated  in  evidence  that  his  ordinary  oil-cake 
consisted  of  50  parts  ground  sesame  cake,  20  parts  of  bran, 
and  30  of  linseed  and  linseed  siftings.  To  prevent  thi 
detection  of  this  fraud  by  an  examination  of  the  cake  with 
the  naked  eye,  it  is  customary  to  powder  the  materials 
very  fine  by  means  of  a  machine  called  a  "  Buffcin  machine," 
after  which  they  are  thoroughly  mixed  together  and  pressed 
into  a  cake.  It  would  seem,  indeed,  that  pure  linseed  cake 
is  not  saleable,  except  in  a  few  localities,  as  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Gainsborough,  and  in  the  agricultural  centres 
of  Lincolnshire  and  Norfolk,  where  the  genuine  cake  is 
appreciated.  Elsewhere  the  adulterated  article  commands 
a  ready  sale,  on  account  of  its  low  price ;  and  thus 
encouragement  is  given  to  the  use  of  all  sorts  of  adulterating 
agents,  as  earth-nut,  cotton,  beech,  and  sesame  bran,  rice- 
husks,  oat-dust,  and  other  such  worthless  matter.  Very 
recently  this  important  subject  has  been  treated  by  Dr 
Voelcker  in  a  paper  "  On  the  Characters  of  Pure  and  Mixed 
Linseed  Cakes,"  which  was  published  in  the  Journal  of 
the.  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England  (vol  ix.  part 
1 ).  Some  of  the  impurities  of  linseed  cake  may  be  due  to 
the  accidental  presence  of  the  seeds  of  various  weeds  and 
wild  plants,  which  the  careless  farmer  has  allowed  to  grow 
upon  his  land.  Most  of  these,  however,  are  easily  removed 
by  one  or  two  siftings,  as  in  the  case  with  clean  linseed ; 
but  the  siftings  are  not  thrown  away ;  they  are  used  for 
adulterating  other  samples  of  linseed — making  the  second, 
third,  and  even  fourth  qualities  of  Riga  and  St  Petersburg 
seed.  Occasionally  the  siftings  are  sent  out  to  sea  in 
barges  to  meet  the  vessels  coming  from  the  north  with 
linseed  on  board ;  there  the  mixture  is  made ;  and  when 
the  vessels  reach  the  port  for  which  they  are  destined,  the 
cargo  is  sold  for  genuine  linseed  "as  imported."  But 
besides  these  impurities,  the  linseed  cake  of>  commerce 
contains  a  large  proportion  of  other  cakes,  as  rape,  earth- 
nut,  decorticated  and  undecorticated  cotton  seed,  beech-nut, 
hemp-seed,  cocoa-nut,  cocoa,  palm-nut,  palm-kernels,  niger 
seed,  sesame^  or  teal  seed,  poppy,  castor  oil,  bassia,  curcas, 
indigo  seed,  olive,  <tc,  besides  bran,  acorns,  careb-beans,  and 
the  husks  or  shades  of  earth-nut,  oats,  barley,  rice,  and  other 
refuse.  Some  of  these  things  are  actually  poisonous  to 
cattle,  as  In  the  case  of  castor-oil  cake,  curcas  bean, 
purging  flax,  wild  mustard,  wild  radish,  &.c. ;  others  are  of 
doubtful  quality,  as  corn  cockle,  darnel,  indigo  seed, 
earth-nut,  &c. ;  and  many  are  disagreeable  to  the  taste,  on 


ADULTEEATION 


175 


account  of  rancidity  and  other  properties,  as  cocoa-nut  cake, 
palm-nut  cake,  bassia  cake,  <fcc.  ;  while  many  are  so  charged 
with  woody  matters  as  to  be  indigestible  and  irritating  in 
their  action,  as  cotton,  olive,  palra-nut,  husks  of  rice, 
cocoa-nut  fibre,  8aw-dust,  &c.  These  impurities  are  some- 
times easily  recognised  by  the  naked  eye,  or  by  a  lens  of 
low  power.  At  other  times  the  colour  of  the  cake  is  an 
indication  of  its  impurity.  The  taste  of  it  also  is  frequently 
characteristic ;  for  while  linseed  has  a  sweet  mucilaginous 
taste,  rape  seed  is  turnipy,  mustard  acrid,  dodder  like  garlic, 
bassia  bitter,  &c.  Then,  again,  the  action  of  a  little  warm 
water  will  develope  the  flavour  of  impurities — rape  giving 
off  a  strong  odour  of  turnip,  mustard  its  well-known  acrid 
flavour,  wild  radish  and  other  impurities  their  characteristic 
smells.  When  examined  chemically  it  is  found  that 
adulterated  and  dirty  cakes  show  a  deficiency  of  oil  and 
albuminous  matter,  and  a  large  excess  of  woody  fibre  and 
mineral  substance.  In  good  cake  the  moisture  ranges  from 
10  to  14  per  cent.,  the  oil  from  10  to  15,  the  albuminous 
matter  from  25  to  35,  the  mucilage,  -sugar,  and  digestible 
fibre  to  from  20  to  30  per  cent.,  the  woody  fibre  to  from  9 
to  14,  and  the  mineral  matter  or  ash  to  from  6  to  8  per 
cent.  Cake  that  has  been  shipped  too  fresh  is  apt  to  heat 
and  become  mouldy ;  in  which  case  it  will  lose  its  fine 
aroma-,  and  be  of  inferior  quality:  it  may  even.be  injurious 
to  animals  feeding  on  it. 

20.  The  Adulteration  of  Seeds,  in  fraud  of  her  Majesty's 
subjects,  and  to  the  great  detriment  of  agriculture,  has 
been  provided  for  by  the  Act  32  and  33  Vict.  c.  112, 
wherein  it  is  prohibited  to  kill,  dye,  or  to  sulphur  seeds,  or 
any  way  to  give  them  a  false  appearance,  under  a  penalty 
of  £5  for  the  first  offence,  and  £50  for  the  second. 
But  for  all  this  extensive  frauds  are  practised  :  turnip  seed 
is  adulterated  with  rape,  wild  mustard  or  charlock,  the 
vitality  of  which  has  been  destroyed  by  kiln-drying  at  a 
high  temperature  ;  old  turnip  seed  (kiln-dried)  is  also  used 
for  diluting  fresh  seed  ;  and  it  is  notorious  that  such  seed 
can  be  obtained  in  commerce  by  the  ton.  Again,  clover 
seed  is  often  killed  and  dyed — one  of  the  commonest 
frauds  being  to  dye  trefoil,  and  to  sell  it  for  red  clover ; 
the  pinkish  or  yellowish-brown  tint  and  metallic  look  being 
given  with  a  weak  solution  of  logwood  and  alum,  or  with 
a  strong  solution  of  logwood  alone,  and  then  it  is  shaken 
up  with  a  little  black  lead.  Another  trick  is  to  dye  white 
clover  seed  with  a  weak  solution  of  indigo,  and  thus  to 
make  it  look  like  hybrid  clover  which  has  a  bluish-green 
colour.  When  trefoil  and  white  clover  seed  have  become 
changed  by  age  and  have  lost  their  yellowish  colour,  they 
are  dyed  with  infusion  of  turmeric,  and  then  toned  down 
with  the  fumes  of  burning  sulphur;  in  fact,  these  fumes 
are  used  to  brighten  up  all  sorts  of  seeds  that  have  become 
brown  by  keeping,but  they  destroy  the  vitality  of  the  seed. 

21.  Adulteration,  of  Drugs. — This  at  all  times  has  been 
considered  a  serious  offence.  In  the  city  of  London,  the 
president  and  censors  of  the  College  of  Physicians  have 
power  to  search  for  apothecaries'  wares,  drugs,  and  stuffs, 
and  on  finding  them  defective,  corrupted,  and  not  meet  nor 
convenient  to  be  ministered  in  any  medicines  for  the  health 
of  man's  body,  they  are  to  destroy  them,  and  are  to  correct 
and  punish  the  offenders  by  committing  them  to  prison, 
and  amercing  them  in  a  penalty  not  exceeding  .£20. 
These  wholesome  powers  were  granted  to  the  college  by 
the  Acts  14  and  15  Hen.  VUI.  c.  5,  and  32  Hen.  VIE 
c  40,  and  2  Mary,  c.  9 ;  but  although  they  are  still 
in  force,  and  might  be  advantageously  exercised,  yet 
they  have  long  since  fallen  into  disuse ;  and  if  it  had 
not  been  for  the  laudable  efforts  of  the  Pharmaceutical 
Society  of  Great  Britain,  there  would  have  been  no 
practical  remedy  for  the  adulteration  of  drugs.  The 
Society  was  founded  in  1841,  for  the  purpose  of  advancing 


the  status  and  education  of  those  who  were  engaged  in  the 
preparation  and  sale  of  medicines,  and  it  was  incorporated 
by  Royal  Charter  in  1843.  A  few  years  after,  in  1852, 
the  qualifications  of  pharmaceutical  chemists  were  regu- 
lated by  Act  of  Parliament  (15  and  1G  Vict.  c.  56),  and 
in  1868  it  was  further  provided,  by  the  31  and  32  Vict 
c.  121,  that  no  person  should  be  permitted  to  engage  in 
the  sale  or  dispensing  of  medicines,  or  to  use  the  title  of 
chemist  and  druggist,  or  dispensingchemist,  or  pharmaceutist, 
without  being  duly  qualified,  and  registered  as  a  pharma- 
ceutical chemist.  The  adulteration  of  medicine  was  also 
prohibited  by  the  incorporation  of  the  Adulteration  of  Food 
and  Drink  Act  1860  (23  and  24  Vict.  c.  84),  it  being 
declared  that  such  adulteration  shoidd  be  deemed  an  ad- 
mixture injurious  to  health.  More  recently,  in  1872,  the 
Act  35  and  36  Vict.  c.  74,  renders  it  penal  for  any  one 
to  adulterate  a  drug  for  sale,  or  to  sell  such  drug.  In  the 
first  case  the  penalty  is  a  sum  not  exceeding  £50,  to- 
gether with  the  costs  of  the  conviction ;  and  for  a  second 
offence  he  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanour,  and  be  im- 
prisoned for  a  period  not  exceeding  six  calendar  months, 
with  hard  labour.  In  the  second  case,  the  seller  of  an 
adulterated  drug  is  subject  to  a  penalty  not  exceeding 
£20,  together  with  costs ;  and  for  a  second  offence  he 
shall  have  his  name,  place  of  abode,  and  offence  pub- 
lished in  any  manner  that  the  justice  thinks  fit.  The 
chief  adulterations  and  debasing  of  drugs  are  the  follow- 
ing : — In  the  case  of  vegetable  substances,  as  jalap,  opium, 
rhubarb,  cinchona  bark,  (Sec,  foreign  substances  are  added 
to  make  up  for  the  lo»»  of  weight  in  drying  and  powdering, 
there  being  in  many  cases  a  trade  allowance  of  only  four 
per  cent,  for  such  loss,  whereas  in  almost  all  cases  it  ex 
ceeds  this.  Roots,  seeds,  and  barks,  for  example,  lose  from 
6  to  9  per  cent.,  scammony  7  per  cent.,  aloes  9,  sarsaparilla 
10,  squills  12,  and  opium  from  15  to  25  per  cent.  At  other 
times  foreign  substances  are  added  to  assist  the  grinding, 
or  to  improve  the  appearance  of  the  article.  Occasionally 
the  active  principles  are  removed,  or  the  medicine  has 
become  worthless  from  keeping  or  from  faulty  preparation. 
In  the  case  of  the  alkaloids,  inert  substances,  as  sugar. 
starch,  gum,  &c,  are  mixed  with  them  to  increase  their 
weight  and  bulk.  Lastly,  the  activity  of  a  vegetable  drug 
may  greatly  depend  on  its  mode  aud  place  of  culture. 
With  respect  to  mineral  preparations,  there  is  even  a  still 
larger  field  for  adulteration,  insomuch  that  the  purity  of 
the  article  is  entirely  regulated  by  the  wholesale  price  of 
it.  Again,  directly  after  the  Act  of  1S56  (18  and  19 
Vict,  c.  38),  which  permitted  the  sale  of  methylated 
spirit — that  is,  inferior  spirit  mixed  with  wood-naphtha, 
duty  free  for  manufacturing  purposes — advantage  was 
taken  of  it  by  many  chemists  and  druggists,  and  the 
cheap  spirit  was  used  for  making  tinctures  and  other 
medicinal  preparations.  This,  however,  came  at  last  to  be 
so  serious  and  dangerous  a  practice,  and  was  withal  so 
great  a  fraud  on  the  revenue,  that  means  were  taken  to 
suppress  it  by  the  Act  29  and  30  Vict.  c.  64,  wherein 
it  is  provided  that  such  spirit  shall  not  be  used  in  any 
medicinal  preparation,  except  in  the  manufacture  of  chloro- 
form, ether,  and  the  vegetable  alkaloids,  or  in  the  preparation 
of  other  things  whereby  the  spirit  was  afterwards  entirely 
dissipated.  But  Mr  PhiEips  remarks,  in  the  Ninth  Report 
of  tfte  Commissioners  of  Inland  Revenue,  that  a  few- 
instances  have  been  discovered  of  the  sale  of  drinks  under 
the  names  of  "  Indianna  brandee,"  "  medicated  whiskee," 
"  pure  Islay  mountain,"  "Indian  tincture,"  ic,  the  exciting 
principle  of  aU  of  which  was  found  to  be  hyponitrous  ether 
prepared  from  methylated  spirit.  In  the  case  of  a  drink 
called  "  Hollands  whiskee,"  it  was  produced  by  distEling  the 
methylated  spirit  with  a  little  nitric  acid,  and  then  sweeten- 
ing with  treacle,  and  flavouring  with  rhubarb,  chloroform, 


176 


ADULTERATION 


foenugrcek,  <kc,  so  as  to  conceal  its  real  character;  and 
notwithstanding  its  disagreeable  flavour,  it  got  into  public 
favour  in  some  districts,  especially  in  Ireland,  and  was 
largely  sold  as  a  cheap  means  of  producing  intoxication. 

22.  The  A  Julteration  of  Textile  Fabrics. — Woollen  goods 
have  for  years  past  been  largely  adulterated  with  refuse 
fibres  called  "shoddy'1  or  "mingo."  The  practice  was 
denounced  by  Latimer  in  one  of  his  sermons  at  Paul's 
Cross,  preached  before  king  Edward  in  1635,  wherein 
he  spoke  of  it  as  the  devil's  artifice,  saying  that  they  were 
wont  to  make  beds  of  flock,  but  now  they  had  turned  it 
into  dust,  which  he  aptly  called  "Devil's  dust,"  and  that 
tho  cloth  worker  did  so  incorporated  to  the  cloth  that  it  was 

iful  to  see.  The  practice  is  still  in  rogue,  for  there 
is  hardly  a  piece  of  cheap  cloth  without  it.  Shoddy  as 
originally  used  was  merely  the  fluff  or  waste  from  the  looms, 
but  now  it  consists  of  any  kind  of  woollen  rubbish,  as  old 
blankets,  stockings,  &c,  pulled  to  pieces  in  a  machine  called 
the  "  Devil."  Mingo  is  even  a  shorter  description  of  fibre, 
and  is  made  in  the  same  way  from  old  rags.  No  less  than 
forty  millions  of  pounds  of  these  are  made  annually  in 
Yorkshire,  at  an  estimated  value  of  eight  millions  sterling, 
and  all  of  it  is  used  for  adulterating  woollen  cloth.  There 
is  even  another  kind  of  refuse  called  "  extract,"  which  is 
employed  for  the  same  purpose.  It  consists  of  the  wool 
obtained  from  the  rags  of  mixed  goods ;  that  is,  goods 
which  have  a  cotton  or  linen  warp  blended  with  wool.  The 
cotton  is  destroyed  by  chemical  agency,  chiefly  by  means 
of  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  and  the  wool  is  left  intact. 

The  cotton  fabrics  and  gray  goods  of  Lancashire  and 
Yorkshire  are  largely  adulterated  with  size  and  china  clay, 
the  object  being  to  give  them  increased  weight  and  sub- 
stance. Up  to  about  twenty  years  ago  the  sizing  of  cotton 
goods  wa3  effected  with  a  mixture  of  fermented  flour, 
paste,  and  tallow,  by  which  means  the  tenacity  of  the  warp 
was  increased  and  the  friction  of  weaving  was  lessened 
To  effect  this  about  20  per  cent,  of  size  was  used ;  but  in 
1854,  when  tallow  became  dear  in  consequence  of  the 
Russian  war,  a  substitute  w-as  found  in  china  clay.  Later 
still  in  1S62J  when  the  cotton  famine  began  to  be  felt,  and 
the  long-fibred  American  cotton  grew  scarce,  it  was  found 
necessary  to  give  tenacity  to  the  twist  made  from  shorter 
fibre  by  using  more  size.  In  this  manner  as  much  as  from 
50  to  90  per  cent,  of  size  has  got  to  be  used,  the  greater 
part  of  it  being  china  clay,  with  a  certain  proportion  of 
hygroscopic  matter,  such  as  chloride  of  magnesium,  to  keep 
the  material  damp  and  supple.  The  impurity  is  easily 
detected  by  washing  the  cloth,  and  ascertaining  the  loss  of 
weight  before  and  after  the  operation.  Cheap  calicoes  are 
also  largely  impregnated  with  lime,  which  has  been  used 
in  the  process  of  bleaching,  and  left  in  them.  A  cloud  of 
dust  flies  out  of  such  fabrics  when  they  are  torn.  Silk 
also  is  made  heavier  and  stouter  by  the  incorporation  of 
dye  stuffs  used  expressly  for  the  purpose.  This  is  generally 
the  case  with  dark-coloured  silks,  black  and  brown,  as 
lighter  shades  will  hardly  admit  of  it;  as  much  indeed  as 
half  the  weight  of  the  silk  may  be  thus  incorporated 
with  it 

23.  Falsification  of  Coin  and  Precious  Jfetals. — In  Anglo- 
Saxon  times  the  debasing  or  counterfeiting  of  coin  was 
punished  by  the  loss  of  the  hand.  In  later  times  it  has 
been  criminal  in  the  highest  degree.  By  the  statute  24  and 
25  Vict.  c.  99,  the  counterfeiting  of  gold  or  silver  coin  is 
felony,  and  in  Scotland  is  a  high  crime  and  offence.  Hardly 
less  severe  is  the  punishment  for  debasing,  diminishing, 
lightening,  or  impairing  the'  value  of  the  current  coin  of 
the  realm ;  and  very  effectual  means  are  taken  to  secure 
their  standard  value  when  put  into  circulation.  In  the 
first  place,  an  officer  is  appointed  by  the  Crown  to  super- 
intend the  coinage,  and  to  be  answerable  for  it?  goodness. 


(See  Mint  and  Coinage.)  In  the  second  place,  the  com 
is  to  it?  weight  and  fineness,  by  persons  skilled 
in  the  goldsmith's  craft.  (See  Assay.)  But  notwithstanding 
this,  the  coins  of  the  realm,  as  issued  from  the  mint,  have 
often  been  debased  to  a  considerable  extent ;  for,  according 
to  Lord  Liverpool,  the  total  debasement  of  the  silver  money 
of  this  country,  from  the  time  of  the  Conquest  to  tho  reign 
of  Elizabeth,  was  not  less  than  G5  per  cent.  It  is  notorious 
that  in  Spain,  Austria,  and  Turkey  the  degradation  of  the 
silver  coin,  even  at  the  present  time,  is-carricd  to  a  serious 
I  By  the  Coinage  Act  1870  (33  and  34  Vict.  c. 
10)  tho  composition  and  weight  of  all  the  coins  of  this 
country  are  strictly  provided  for ;  and  in  tho  case  of  gold 
coin,  the  limits  or  "remedy"  of  fineness  and  weight  are 
exceedingly  narrow.  The  composition  of  the  coin  is  fixed 
at  eleven-twelfths  fine  gold,  and  one-twelfth  alloy  (coppor) 
so  that  in  1000  parts  of  our  gold  coin  there  are  916G0  ports 
of  fine  gold.  This  is  called  its  millesimal  fineness,  and 
the  allowance  for  error  in  composition  is  limited  to  0'002 
per  1000  parts.  The  weight  of  tho  sovereign  is  fixed  at 
123-27447  grains,  and  the  limit  of  error  in  weight  is  the 
0"2  of  a  grain  ;  and  in  proportion  with  all  other  gold  coins. 
In  the  case  of  silver  coins,  the  compositbn  is  thirty-seven 
fortieths  of  fine  silver,  and  three-fortieths  of  alloy  (copper) 
— the  millesimal  fineness  being  therefore  925  parts  of 
silver;  tho  remedy  or  allowance  of  fineness  is  just  twice 
that  of  gold — namely,  0'004  per  1000  parts.  The  weight 
of  the  silver  coin  is  at  the  rate  of  87 '27272  grains  per 
shilling  of  value  ;  and  the  remedy  or  allowance  of  error  i? 
confined  to  0'3G3G3  of  a  grain  per  shilling.  Lastly,  tin 
bronze  coinage  of  the  country  consists  of  95  parts  copper, 
4  tin,  and  1  zinc  :  the  weight  of  a  penny  being  145'83333 
grains;  and  the  allowance  for  error  is  2'91GG6  grains  per 
penny.  The  specific  gravity  of  the  several  descriptions  of 
coin  is  17'53  for  gold,  10'35  for  silver,  and.  8'89  for 
bronze.  So  accurate  are  the  composition  and  weight  of 
the  coins  issued  from  the  mint  at  the  present  time,  that  at 
the  last  trial  of  the  "Pyx"  in  July  1871,  the  jury  reported 
that  every  piece  separately  examined  (representing  many 
millions  sterling)  was  found  to  be  accurately  coined  in 
regard  to  weight  and  fineness.  In  the  case  of  the  gold  coin, 
the  fineness  ranged  from  916'2  to  917  parts  per  1000. 
These,  indeed,  were  the  extremes  of  only  2 '66  per  cent  of 
the  coins  examined,  the  great  bulk  of  them,  namely  72  65 
per  cent  having  a  fineness  of  from  916'5  to  916'7  per 
1000.  Now,  when  it  is  considered  that  the  composition 
of  an  alloy  of  gold  and  copper  can  be  ascertained  to  the 
one-ten  thousandth  part,  and  that  the  delicacy  of  a  balance 
is  to  the  thousandth  part  of  a  grain,  it  must  be  evident 
that  the  accuracy  and  perfection  of  coining  in  this  country 
are  remarkably  precise.  As,  however,  the  weight  of  gold 
and  silver  coin  must  become  less  by  continual  wear,  the 
Acts  22  and  25  Vict,  c,  99,  and  33  and  34  Vict  c.  10 
provide  for  it.  It  does  not  appear  that  the  practice  of 
debasing  coin  is  carried  on  to  any  great  extent  in  this 
country ;  for  in  the  second  Annual  Report  of  the  Deputy- 
Master  of  the  Mint  (1871),  the  chemist  of  the  Mint  (Mr  W. 
Chandler  Roberts)  says  that  only  two  sovereigns  were 
submitted  to  him,  the  weight  of  which  had  been  fraudulently 
reduced  by  means  of  a  solvent,  aided  .by  electricity.  In 
former  times,  however,  the  process  of  "sweating"  was 
very  frequently  employed. 

The  adulteration  of  precious  metals  was  prohibited  and 
provided  for  by  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  various 
guilds  and  corporations  which  took  cognizance  of  the 
goldsmiths'  craft  As  early  as  the  26th  of  Henry  II. 
(1180)  the  Goldsmiths'  Company  of  London  was  founded, 
and  in  1327,  when  it  was  incorporated,  it  was  invested 
with  the  privilege  and  power  of  inspecting,  trying,  and 
regulating  all  gold  and  silver  wares  throughout  the  king- 


A  D  U  — A  D  V 


177 


dom,  and  of  punishing  all  offenders  who  were  found  guilty 
of  working  adulterated  gold  or  silver.  The  chief  offenders 
appear  to  have  been  the  cutlers,  who  were  charged  with 
covering  base  metal  in  such  a  manner  that  it  could  not 
easily  be  detected.  It  was  therefore  provided  that  all 
manner  of  vessels  of  gold  and  silver  should  be  of  "  good 
and  true  alloy ;"  and  power  was  given  to  the  company  to 
"  go  from  shop  to  shop  to  assay  if  the  gold  was  good,"  and 
finding  that  it  was  not  of  the  right  touch,  it  was  to  bo 
seized  and  forfeited  for  the  king.  Subsequently,  by  the 
statute  of  2  Henry  VL  (1424),  it  was  provided  that  none 
should  work  gold  unless  it  be  as  good  as  the  alloy  of  the 
"mystery,"  and  that  silver  wares  should  be  as  good  or  better 
than  the  king's  coin.  It  was  further  provided,  that  when 
the  goods  were  finished  they  should  be  brought  to  the  Hall 
to  be  assayed;  and  when  found  of  the  right  touch  it 
should  be  stamped  with  the  owner's  and  assayer's  marks,  as 
well  as  with  the  "  Liberdshede  crowned."  These  powers 
have  been  confirmed  in  numerous  Acts  of  Parliament,  the 
most  important  of  which  are  the  following: — 12  Geo.  IX 
c.  26  (1739),  which  provides  that  no  goldsmith,  silver 
smith,  or  other  trader  shall  work  or  make  any  vessel  of 
gold  of  les3  than  22-carat  fineness  (that  is,  22  parts  of 
fine  gold  to  2  parts  of  alloy),  nor  any  silver  vessel  or  plate 
of  less  than  eleven  ounces  and  two  pennyweights  of  fine 
silver,  and  18  pennyweights  of  alloy,  in  a  pound  troy, 
under  a  penalty  of  £10.  But  this  does  not  extend  to 
jewelry,  earrings,  gold  springs,  lockets,  &c.  It  also  pro- 
vides for  the  proper  assaying  and  stamping  of  the  same. 
In  1784,  the  Act  24  Geo.  III.  c.  53,  made  provision  for 
imposing  a  duty  on  the  article  assayed  and  stamped, 


and  from  that  time  the  king's  or  queen's  head  has  ap 
peared  as  a  mark.  In  1798,  the  Act  38  Geo.  ILL  c.  69, 
gave  permission  for  a  lower  standard  of  gold,  namely 
18-carat  gold  (that  is,  18  parts  of  fine  gold  to  6  of  alloy); 
and  by  the  Act  7  and  8  Vict,  c,  22  (1844),  the  penalty 
for  using  false;  stamps,  &c,  was  ameliorated.  Lastly, 
by  the  Act  17  and  18  Vict.  c.  96,  three  still  lower 
standards  of  gold  were  permitted,  namely  15-carat  gold, 
12-carat  gold,  and  9-carat  gold,  each  of  which  was  to 
be  designated  by  the  number  and  the  decimal.  At  pre- 
sent, therefore,  all  gold  and  silver  plate,  as  well  as  wedding 
and  mourning  rings,  must  be  assayed  and  stamped  before 
their  sale ;  and  other  articles  may  be  assayed  and  stamped 
in  like  manner  at  the  option  of  the  maker  or  dealer.  The 
sta-aps  or  marks  impressed  on  gold  are  the  following, 
namely, — 1st,  The  initials  of  the  maker's  name ;  2d,  The 
duty  mark  (a  king's  or  queen's  head);  3c?,  The  crown  and 
standard  number,  indicating  the  quality  of  the  gold ;  4th, 
The  assayer's  stamp  (a  leopard's  head  for  Goldsmiths'  Hall); 
and  5th,  The  letter  denoting  the  year  of  assay.  In  the 
case  of  silver,  the  stamps  are — 1st,  The  initial  letters  of  the 
maker;  2d,  A  lion;. 3c?,  The  assayer's  stamp  (in  London,  a 
leopard's  head) ;  4th,  The  letter  indicating  the  year  of  assay; 
and  5lh,  The  duty  mark  (a  king's  or  queen's  head).  Silver 
goods  of  higher  value,  that  is,  with  a  mixture  of  1 1  ounces 
and  10  pennyweights  of  fine  silver,  instead  of  11  ounces 
and  2  pennyweights,  is  called  new  sterling,  and  is,  as  for- 
merly, marked  with  a  figure  of  Britannia,  and  a  lion's  head 
erased.  As  in  olden  times,  the  Goldsmiths'  Company  have 
still  power  to  break,  cut,  or  otherwise  destroy  all  gold  and 
silver  plate  which  is  below  the  legal  standard.       (h.  l.) 


ADULTERY  (from  the  Latin  adulterium)  is  the  sexual 
intercourse  of  a  married  person  with  another  than  the 
offender's  husband  or  wife.  Among  the  Greeks,  and  in  the 
earlier  period  of  Boman  law,  it  was  not  adultery  unless 
a  married  woman  was  the  offender.  The  foundation  of  the 
later  Boman  law  with  regard  to  adultery  was  the  lex  Julia 
de  adulteriis  coercendis  passed  by  Augustus  about  B.C.  17. 
(See  Biff.  48,  5;  Paull.  Rec.  Sent,  ii  26;  Brisson,  Ad  Leg. 
Jul.  de  Adult.)  In  Britain  it  has  been  reckoned  a  spiritual 
offence,  that  is,  cognisable  by  the  spiritual  courts  only. 
The  common  law  took  no  farther  notice  of  it  than  to  allow 
the  party  aggrieved  an  action  of  damages.  In  England, 
however,  the  action  for  "  criminal  conversation,"  as  it  was 
called,  is  nominally  abolished  by  20  and  21  Vict.  c.  85, 
§  59;  but  by  the  33d  section  of  the  same  Act,  the  husband 
may  claim  damages  from  one  who  has  committed  adultery 
with  his  wife  in  a  petition  for  dissolution  of  the  marriage, 
or  for  judicial  separation,  or  in  a  special  petition  for  the 
purpose  in  the  Divorce  Court.  In  Scotland  damages  may 
be  recovered  against  an  adulterer  in  an  ordinary  action  of 
damages  in  the  civil  court,  and  the  latter  may  be  found 
liable  for  the  expenses  of  an  action  of  divorce  if  joined  with 
the  guilty  spouse  as  a  co-defender. 

Adultery  is,  both  in  England  and  Scotland,  a  ground 
of  divorce.  In  England,  a  complete  divorce  or  dissolution 
of  the  marriage  could,  until  the  creation  of  the  Court  of 
Probate  and  Divorce  by  20  and  21  Vict.  c.  85,  be  obtained 
only  by  an  Act  of  Parliament.  In  Scotland  a  complete 
divorce  may  be  effected  by  proceedings  in  the  Court  of 
Session,  as  succeeding  to  the  old  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction 
of  the'  commissioners.  A  person  divorced  for  adultery  is, 
by  the  law  of  Scotland,  prohibited  from  intermarrying  with 
the  paramour.     See  Divorce. 

ADVENT,  the  period  of  the  approach  of  the  nativity, 
lasting,  in  the  Greek  Church,  from  St  Martin's  Day  (Nov. 
11),  and,  in  other  churches,  from  the  Sunday  nearest  to  St 


Andrew's  Day  (Nov.  30)  till  Christmas.  The  observance 
of  it  dates  from  the  4th  century,  and  it  has  been  recognised 
since  the  6th  century  as  the  commencement  of  the  ecclesias- 
tical year.  With  the  view  of  directing  the  thoughts  of 
Christians  to  the  coming  of  Christ  as  Saviour,  and  to  his 
second  coming  as  Judge,  special  lessons  are  prescribed  for 
the  four  Sundays  in  Advent.  At  one  time  Advent  was 
observed  almost  as  strictly  as  Lent,  but  the  rule  is  now 
relaxed,  and  in  the  Church  of  England  fasting  is  confined 
to  the  week  in  which  Ember  Day  (13th  Dec.)  occurs. 
The  phrase  second  advent  is  commonly  used  to  denote  our 
Lord's  "  appearing  the  second  time,  without  sin,  unto  sal- 
vation," which  is  so  often  spoken  of  in  the  New  Testament 
Various  opinions  have  been  held  as  to  the  time  and  manner 
of  this  event.  In  the  apostolic  churches  it  was  commonly 
regarded  as  imminent,  though  this  was  not  the  opinion  of 
the  apostle  Paul,  a3  may  be  gathered  from  2  Thess.  ii.  3, 
4.  The  discussion  in  later  times  has  centred  itself  chiefly 
round  the  question  whether  the  second  advent  is  pre- 
millennial  or  post-millennial. 

ADVERTISEMENT  (from  the  French  averlissernent,  a 
giving  notice,  or  announcement)  denotes  in  a  general  sense 
any  information  publicly  communicated  through  the  press 
or  otherwise.  It  is  the  profit  derived  from  advertisements 
that  supports  the  larger  number  of  newspapers  While 
some  of  these  drag  out  a  sickly  existence,  others  derive  a 
large  revenue  from  this  source.  The  duty  upon  advertise- 
ments (which  existed  in'  Britain1  previous  to  1853)  was 
not  unjustly  branded  as  a  tax  upon  knowledge.  It  was 
certainly  very  unequal  and  oppressive,  being  the  same  upon 
the  sale  of  an  estate  worth  .1100,000  as  on  a  servant's  notice 
wanting  a  place,  upon  an  advertisement  of  a  sixpenny 

1  There  is  no  duty  on  ivertisements  in  the  United  States,  Germany, 
or  France.  In  France,!  ywever,  there  is  a  duty  of  10  per  cent,  on  the 
raw  paper,  and  a  furtuer  duty  of  20  per  cent,  on  all  newspapara. 
printed. 


178 


A  D  V  —  A  D  V 


pamphlet  and  an  expensive  book.  Previous  to  1833  the 
duty  on  each  advertisement  was  3s.  Gd.  in  Great  Britain, 
and  2s.  6d.  in  Ireland;  in  that  year  it  was  reduced  to 
Is.  6d.  in  Great  Britain,  and  Is.  in  Ireland.  In  1832  (the 
last  year  of  the  high  duty)  the  total  number  of  newspaper 
advertisements  in  the  U.  K.  was  921,943:  viz.,  787,6-19  in 
England,  108,914  in  Scotland,  and  125,380  in  Ireland;  the 
amount  of  duty  paid  in  that  year  being  £172,570.  In  1841 
the  number  of  advertisements  had  increased  to  1,778,957: 
viz.,  1,386,625  for  England/  188,189  for  Scotland,  and 
204,143  for  Ireland;  and  the  total  duty  paid  amounted  to 
£128,318.  In  1851  the  amount  of  duty  rose  to  £175,094, 
103.  8<L;  being  for  England  £142,365,  3s.  6cL;  Scotland, 
£19,940,  lis.;  Ireland,  £12,788,  16s.  2d.  Incompliance 
•with  the  all  but  unanimous  voice  of  the  public,  this  duty 
■was  abolished  in  1853;  since  which  time  the  system  of 
advertising  has  increased  to  an  unprecedented  extent,  in 
consequence  of  the  low  rate  at  which  short  advertisements 
are  now  inserted.  To  advertise  advantageously  requires 
both  experience  and  judgment;  without  a  knowledge  of 
the  character  and  circulation  of  the  public  journals,  much 
expenditure  may  be  wasted  by  advertising  in  papers  that 
have  either  a  limited  or  inappropriate  circulation.  The  sale 
of  some  commodities  (such  as  quack  medicines)  depends 
almost  wholly  on  advertising,  of  which  it  has  been  said 
that  if  the  vender  has  the  courage  to  continue  advertising 
to  the  extent  of  £20,000,  he  will  make  his  fortune  by  a 
drug  thoroughly  worthless.  Advertising  often  falls  dispro- 
portionately on  books,  as  it  is  necessary  that  new' publica- 
tions should  be  freely  advertised.  On  small  low-priced 
books  the  expense  is  particularly  heavy,  an  advertisement 
of  a  one  shilling  book  costing  as  much  as  one  selling  at 
twenty  shillings.  From  this,  and  their  generally  ephe- 
meral character,  it  may  be  said  that  ninety-nine  out  of  a 
hundred  pamphlets  are  published  at  a  loss. 

Interesting  information  on  the  subject  of  advertisements 
will  be  found  in  an  article  in  the  Edinburgh  Review  for 
1st  Feb.  1843,  "On  the  Advertising  System,"  and  in  the 
Quarterly  Review  for  June  1855,  "  On  the  Rise  and  Pro- 
gress of  Advertisements,  from  the  establishment  of  the 
Newspaper  Press  of  this  Country  till  the  Present  Time." 
In  the  latter  article  it  is  stated  that  the  first  advertisement 
occurs  in  the  Mereurius  Politicus  for  Jan.  1652,  the  sub- 
ject of  the  advertisement  being  a  heroic  poem  of  congratula- 
tion on  Cromwell's  victories  in  Ireland.  A  writer  in  Notes 
and  Queries  for  July  6,  1872,  has  found  two  examples  of 
advertisements  previous  to  that  date,  which  occur  in  the 
Mereurius  Elencticus  of  Oct.  1648.  See  also  The  Neioa- 
paper  Press,  by  James  Grant  (2  vols.,  1871),  and  the 
article  Newspapers. 

ADVOCATE  (from  the  Latin  advocatus),  a  lawyer  author- 
bed  to  plead  the  causes  of  litigants  in  courts  of  law.  The 
word  is  used  technically  in  Scotland  in  a  sense  virtuahy 
equivalent  to  tho  English  term  barrister;  and  a  deriva- 
vive  from  the  same  Latin  source  is  so  used  in  most  of  the 
rountries  of  Europe  where  the  civii  law  is  in  force.  The  advo- 
xUus  of  the  Romans  meant,  as  the  word  implies,  a  person 
whose  assistance  was  called  in  or  invoked.  The  word  is 
not  often  used  among  the  earlier  jurists,  and  appears  not  to 
have  had  a  strict  meaning.  It  is  not  always  associated 
with  legal  proceedings,  and  might  apparently  be  applied  to 
a  supporter  or  coadjutor  in  the  pursuit  of  any  desired  ob- 
ject. When  it  came  to  be  applied  with  a  more  specific 
limitation  to  legal  services,  the  position  of  the  advocatus 
was  still  uncertain.  It  was  d  fferent  from,  and  evidently 
inferior  to,  that  of  the  juris-cvi  sultus,  who  gave  his  opinion 
and  advice  in  questions  of  law,  and  j  \ay  be  identified  with 
tho  consulting  Cvu.isci  of  the  pres  nt  day.  Nor  is  the 
meiely  professional  advocate  to  be  confounded  with  the 
•nore  distinguished  orator,  or  patronus,  who  came  forward 


in  the  guise  of  the  disinterested  vindicator  of  justice.     This 
distinction,  however,  appears  to  have  arisen  in  later  times, 
when  the  prof es3ion  became  mercenaiy.     By  the  lex  Cincia, 
passed  about  two  centuries  before  Christ,  and  subsequently 
renewed,  tho  acceptance  of  remuneration  for  professional 
assistance  in  lawsuits  was  prohibited.     This  law,  like  all 
others  of  the  kind,  was  evaded.      The  skilful  debater  was 
propitiated  with  a  present ;  and  though  ho  could  not  sue 
for  the  value  of  his  services,  it  was  ruled  that  any  honor- 
arium so  given  could  not  be  demanded  back,  even  though 
he  died  before  the  anticipated  service  was  performed.    The 
traces  of  this  evasion  of  a  law  may  be  found  in  the  existing 
practice  of  rewarding  counsel  by  fees  in  anticipation   of 
services.     In  the  Justinian  collection  we  find  that  legal 
provision  had  been  made  for  the  remuneration  of  advo- 
cates.     {Dig.  lib.  50,  tit.   12,  §  10-13;   Brissonius,  De 
Sig.  Verb.;  Heincccius  ad  Panel,  lib.  iii.   tit.   1.)      The 
advocatus  fisci,  or   fiscal  advocate,  was  an  officer  whose 
function,  like  that  of  a  solicitor  of  taxes  at  the  present  day, 
was  connected  with  the  collection  of  the  revenue.     (Sco 
generally  on  this  subject  Forsyth's  llortensius,  London, 
1849.)    The  term  advocate  is  of  frequent  use  in  the  chron- 
icles, capitularies,  chartularies,  and  other  records  of  eccle- 
siastical matters,  during  the  Middle  Ages.    (See  Du  Cange, 
s.v.  Advocati  Ecclesiarum,  who  affords  a  profuse  supply  of 
references  to  authorities.)     The  term  was  applied  in  the 
primitive   church  to  those  who  defended  the  Christians 
against  malignants  or  persecutors.     As  the  church  waxed 
rich  and  powerful,  its  temporal  supporters  assumed  a  more 
important  position.    The  advocate,  defender,  or  patron,  was 
of  a  temporal  rank,  corresponding  to  the  power  of  the  ec- 
clesiastical body  who  sought  his  advocacy.     Princes  sought 
the  distinction  from  Rome ;  and  it  was  aa  a  relic  of  tho 
practice  of  propitiating  temporal  sovereigns  by  desiring  their 
protection  that  Henry  VIII.  received  his  title  of  "  Defender 
of  the  Faith."     The  office  of  advocate  to  any  of  the  great 
religious  houses,  possessed  of  vast  wealth,  was  one  of  dig- 
nity and  emolument,  generally  held  by  some  feudal  lord  of 
power  and  influence.    This  kind  of  protection,  however,  was 
sometimes  oppressive.      In  the  authorities  quoted  by  Du 
Cange  we  find  that,  so  early  as  the  12th  century,  the  advo- 
cates were  accused  of  rapine  and  extortion  ;  and  by  a  capi- 
tulary of  the  popedom  of  Innocent  III.  they  are  prohibited 
from  taking  and  usurping  rewards  and  privileges  beyond  use 
and  wont.     The  office  at  length  assumed  a  fixed  character 
in  its  powers  and  emoluments  ;  and  it  became  the  practice 
for  the  founders  of  churches  and  other  ecclesiastical  endow- 
ments to  reserve  the  office  of  advocate  to  themselves  and 
their  representatives.     The  term  advocate  was  subsequently 
superseded  by  the  word  patron ;  but  a  relic  of  it  still  exists 
in  the  term  advowson,  and  the  word  advowee,  which  is  tho 
form  in  which  the  Latin  advocatus  found  its  way  into  the 
technicalities  of  English  law.     Until  lately,  advocate  was 
the  proper  designation  of  legal  practitioners  in  the  Pro- 
bate and  Admiralty  courts,  and  still  is  the  name  given  to 
those  who  practise  in  what  remains  of  ecclesiastical  rcurts 
In  France,  corporations  or  faculties  of  avocats  wera  at- 
tached to  the  parliaments  and  other  tribunals.    They  formed, 
before  the  revolution,  a  part  of  the  extensive  and  powerful 
body  commonly  called  the  nobility  of  the  robe.     It  was  not 
necessary  that  the  avocat  should  be  born  noble,  and  his 
professional  rank  was  little  respected  by  the  hereditary 
aristocracy ;  but  as  a  middle  rank,  possessed  of  great  powers 
and  privileges,  which  it  jealously  guarded,  the  profession 
acquired  gTeat  influence.     In  the  Encyclopidie  Methodigue, 
the  avocat  i3  called  "  the  tutelary  genius  of  the  repose  of 
families,  the  friend  of  man,  his  guide  and  protector."    Tho 
avocats,  as  a  body,  were  reorganised  under  the  empire  by 
a  decree  of  15th  December  1810.    (See  Camus,  Lettres  sur 
la  Profession  d'Advocai  ;  A.  Young,  The  French  Ear.)    In 


A  D  V  — M  A  C 


179 


France  there  is  a  distinction  'between  avocats  and  avouit. 
The  latter,  whose  number  is  limited,  act  as  procurators  or 
agents,  representing  the  parties  before  the  tribunals,  draft 
and  prepare  for  them  all  formal  acts  and  writings,  and 
prepare  their  lawsuits  for  the  oral  debates.  The  office  of 
the  avocat,  on  the  other  hand,  consists  in  giving  advice  as 
to  the  law,  and  conducting  the  causes  of  his  clients  by- 
written  and  oral  pleadings.  The  number  of  avocats  is  not 
limited;  every  licentiate  of  law  being  entitled  to  apply  to 
the  corporation  of  avocats  attached  to  each  court,  and  after 
presentation  to  the  court,  taking  the  oath  of  office,  and 
passing  three  years  in  attendance  on  some  older  advocate, 
to  have  himself  recognised  as  an  advocate.  The  Faculty 
of  Advocates  is  the  collective  term  by  which  the  members 
of  the  bar  are  known  in  Scotland.  They  professionally 
attend  the  supreme  courts  in  Edinburgh ;  but  they  are 
privileged  to  plead  in  any  cause  before  the  inferior  courts, 
where  counsel  are  not  excluded  by  statute.  They  may  act 
in  cases  of  appeal  before  the  House  of  Lords ;  and  in  some 
of  the  British  colonies,  where  the  civil  law  is  in  force,  it  is 
customary  for  those  who  practise  as  barristers  to  pas3  as 
advocates  in  Scotland.  This  body  has  existed  by  imme- 
morial custom.  Its  privileges'  are  constitutional,  and  are 
founded  on  no  statute  or  charter  of  incorporation.  The 
body  formed  itself  gradually,  from  time  to  time,  on  the 
model  of  the  French  corporations  of  avocats,  appointing  like 
them  a  dean,  or  doyen,  who  is  their  principal  officer.  No 
curriculum  of  study,  residence,  or  professional  training  was, 
until  1856,  required  on  entering  this  profession;  but  the 
faculty  have  always  had  the  power,  believed  to  be  liable  to 
control  by  the  Court  of  Session,  of  rejecting  any  candidate 
for  admission.  The  candidate  undergoes  two  private  ex- 
aminations— the  one  in  general  scholarship,  in  lieu  of 
which,  however,  he  may  produce  evidence  of  his  having 
graduated  as  master  of  arts  in  a  Scottish  university,  or  ob- 
tained an  equivalent  degree  in  an  English  or  foreign"  univer- 
sity ;  and  the  other,  at  the  interval  of  a  year,  in  Roman, 
private  international,  and  Scots  law.  He  must,  before 
the  latter  examination,  produce  evidence  of  attendance  at 
classes  of  Scots  law  and  conveyancing  in  a  Scottish  univer- 
sity, and  at  classes  of  civil  law,  public  or  international 
law,  constitutional  law,  and  medical  jurisprudence  in  a 
Scottish  or  other  approved  university.  He  has  then  to 
undergo  the  old  academic  form  of  the  public  impugnment 
of  a  thesis  on  some  title  of  the  pandects  ;  but  this  cere- 
mony, called  the  public  examination,  has  degenerated  into 
a  mere  form.  A  large  proportion  of  the  candidate's  entrance 
fees  (amounting  to  £339)  is  devoted  to  the  magnificent 
library  belonging  to  the  faculty,  which  literary  investigators 
in  Edinburgh  find  so  eminently  nsefuL 

Lord  Advocate,  or  King's  Advocate,  is  the  principal 
law-officer  of  the  crown  in  Scotland.  His  business  is  to 
act  as  a  public  prosecutor,  and  to  plead  in  all  causes  that 
concern  the  crown.  He  is  at  the  head  of  the  system  of 
public  prosecutions  by  which  criminal  justice  is  administered 
in  Scotland,  and  thus  his  functions  are  of  a  far  more  ex- 
tensive character  than  those  of  the  English  law-officers  of 
the  crown.  He  is  aided  by  a  solicitor-general  and  subor- 
dinate assistants  called  advocates-depute.  The  office  of 
king's  advocate  seems  to  have  been  established  about  the 
beginning  of  the  16th  century.  Originally  he  had  no  power 
to  prosecute  crimes  without  the  concurrence  of  a  private 
party;  but  in  the  year  1597  he  was  empowered  to  prose- 
cute crimes  at  his  own  instance.  He  has  the  privilege  of 
pleading  in  court  with  his  hat  on. 

ADVOCATION,  in  Scottish  Law,  was  a  mode  of  appeal 
from  certain  inferior  courts  to  the  supreme  court.  It  was 
abolished  in  1818,  a  simple  "appeal"  being  substituted. 

ADVOWSON,  or  Advowzen  (advocatio),  in  English 
Common  Lair,  the  right  of  presentation  to  a  vacant  eccle- 


siastical benefice,  is  so  called  because  the  patron  defends 
or  advocates  the  claims  of  the  person  whom  he  presents. 
Originally  all  appointments  within  a  diocese  lay  with  the 
bishop ;  but  when  a  landowner  founded  a  church  on  his 
estate  and  endowed  it,  his  right  to  nominate  the  incumbent 
was  usually  recognised.  Where  the  right  of  presentation 
remains  attached  to  the  manor,  it  is  called  an  advowson 
appendant,  and  passes  with  the  estate  by  inheritance  or 
sale  without  any  special  conveyance.  But  where,  as  is 
often  the  case,  the  right  of  presentation  has  been  sold  by 
itself,  and  so  separated  from  the  manor,  it  is  called  an 
advowson  in  gross.  "Advowsons  are  further  distinguished 
into  presentative,  eollative,  and  donative.  In  a  presentative 
advowson,  the  patron  presents  a  clergyman  to  the  bishop, 
with  the  petition  that  he  be  instituted  into  the  vacant 
living.  The  bishop  is  bound  to  induct  if  he  find  the 
clergyman  canonically  qualified,  and  a  refusal  on  his  part 
is  subject  to  an  appeal  to  an  ecclesiastical  court  either  by 
patron  or  by  presentee.  In  a  eollative  advowson  the  bishop 
is  himself  the  patron,  either  in  his  own  right  or  in  the  right 
of  the  proper  patron,  which  has  lapsed  to  him  through  not 
being  exercised  within  the  statutory  period  of  six  months 
after  the  vacancy  occurred.  No  petition  is  necessary  in 
this  case,  and  the  bishop  is  said  to  collate  to  the  benefice. 
In  a  donative  advowson,  the  sovereign,  or  .any  subject  by 
Bpecial  licence  from  the  sovereign,  confers  a  benefice  by  a 
simple  letter  of  gift,  without  any  reference  to  the  bishop, 
and  without  presentation  and  institution.  The  incumbent 
of  such  a  living  is  to  a  great  extent  free  from  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  bishop,  who  can  only  reach  him  through  the 
action  of  an  ecclesiastical  court.  When  an  ecclesiastical 
body  owned  an  advowson,  it  very  frequently,  by  appropria- 
tion, exercised  the  right  in  its  own  favour,  the  corporation 
becoming  the  incumbent  of  the  living,  the  actual  duties  of 
which  were  discharged  by  a  vicar  or  perpetual  curate.  An 
advowson,  being  property,  may  be  sold,  or  mortgaged,  or 
seized  by  the  creditors  on  a  bankrupt  estate,  under  certain 
restrictions  intended  to  prevent  simony.  A  sale  is  abso- 
lutely prohibited  during  the  mortal  sickness  of  the  incum- 
bent, or  during  the  existence  of  a  vacancy.  There  are 
upwards  of  13,000  benefices  in  the  Church  of  England, 
the  advowsons  being  distributed  as  shown  in  the  following 
list,  which  may  be  taken  as  approximately  correct : — Under 
the  patronage  of  the  crown  there  are  1144  livings;  bishops, 
2324;  deans  and  chapters,  933;  the  universities,  770; 
parochial  clergy,  931 ;  and  private  persons,  7000. 

ADYTUM,  the  most  retired  and  sacred  place  of  ancient 
temples,  into  which  none  but  the  officiating  priests  were 
allowed  to  enter.  The  Most  Holy  Place  of  the  temple  of 
Solomon  was  of  the  nature  of  the  pagan  adytum;  none  but 
the  high  priest  being  admitted  into  it,  and  he  but  once  a  year. 

JE,,  or  as,  a  diphthong,  compounded  of  A  and  E,  of  fre- 
quent occurrence  in  Latin  and  in  Anglo-Saxon.  In  the  best 
.editions  of  the  classics  the  form  now  preferred  is  ae.  In 
English  words  derived  from  Latin  the  diphthong  is  gene- 
rally converted  into  the  simple  e,  but  it  is  not  unfrequently 
retained,  as  in  jEolian,  mediceval,  &c.  In  some  words  it 
represents  the  Greek  at,  to  which  the  Latin  ce  corresponds, 
as  in  aesthetics  (alo-9rrriKa). 

iEACUS,  in  Mythology,  the  son  of  Jupiter  by  ^Egina. 
When  the  isle  of  jEgina  wa3  depopulated  by  a  plague,  his 
father,  in  compassion  to  his  grief,  changed  all  the  ants 
upon  it  into  men  and  women,  who  were  called  1  ryrmidones, 
from  /j.vpfj.rj£,  an  ant.  The  foundation  of  the  fable  is  said 
to  t>e,  that  when  the  country  had  been  depopulated  by 
pirates,  who  forced  the  few  that  remained  to  take  shelter 
in  caves,  ^Eacus  encouraged  them  to  come  out,  and  by 
commerce  and  industry  to  recover  what  they  had  lost  His 
character  for  justice  and  piety  was  such  that,  in  a  time  of 
universal  drought,  he  was  nominated  by  the  Delphic  oracle 


180 


M  D  I  —  M  G  I 


tc  intercede  for  Greece  and  his  prayer  was  answered.  The 
ancients  also  imagined  that  jEacus,  on  account  of  his  im- 
partial justice,  was  chosen  by  Pluto  one  of  the  three  judges 
of  the  dead,  and  that  it  was  his  province  to  judgo  the 
Europeans. 

iEDILE  (cedilis),  in  Roman  Antiquity,  a  magistrate 
whose  chief  business  was  to  superintend  buildings  of  all 
kinds,  but  more  especially  public  ones,  as  temples,  aque- 
ducts, bridges,  itc  To  the  sediles  likewise  belonged  the 
care  of-  the  highways,  public  places,  weights  and  measures, 
&c.  They  also  superintended  the  markets,  fixed  the  prices 
of  -provisions,  took  cognisance  of  breaches  of  decency  and 
public  order,  and  took  charge  of  police  matters  generally. 
The  custody  of  the  plebiscita,  or  decrees  of  the  people,  and 
seriatus  consulla,  or  decrees  of  the  senate,  was  likewise 
committed  to  them.  They  had-  the  inspection  of  theatres 
and  plays,  and  were  obliged  to  exhibit  magnificent  games 
to  the  people,  usually  at  their  own  expense,  whereby  many 
of  them  were  ruined.  They  had  the  power,  on  ceitain  oc- 
casions, of  issuing  edicts,  and  by  degrees  they  proc  ired  to 
themselves  a  considerable  jurisdiction.  At  first  thei-e  were 
only  two  sediles,  viz.,  the  aediles  of  the  people,  osdiles  plebeii, 
or  minores.  They  were  first  created  in  the  same  year  as 
the  tribunes,  B.C.  494  ;  for  the  tribunes,  finding  themselves 
oppressed  with  the  multiplicity  of  affairs,  demanded  of  the 
senate  to  have. officers  to  whom  they  might  entrust  matters 
of  less  importance;  and  accordingly  two  aediles  were  created; 
and  henceforward  the  aediles  were  elected  every  year  at  the 
same  assembly  as  the  tribunes.  But  these  plebeian  aediles 
having  refused,  on  a  signal  occasion,  to  continue  the  great 
games  for  four  days  instead  of  three,  on  account  of  the 
expense,  the  patricians  made  an  offer  to  do  it,  provided 
they  were  admitted  to  the  honours  of  the  aedileship.  Ac- 
cordingly two  new  aediles  were  created,  from  the  order  of 
the  patricians,  in  the  year  of  Eome  388.  They  were  called 
cediles  curules,  or  majores,  as  having  a  right  to  sit  on  a 
curule  chair  when  they  gave  audience;  whereas  the  plebeian 
sediles  only  sat  on  benches.  The  curule  aediles  alone  had 
the  right  to  issue  edicts.  Otherwise  they  shared  all  the 
ordinary"  functions  of  the  plebeian  aediles;  they  had  to 
procure  the  celebration  of  the  grand  Roman  games,  and 
to  exhibit  comedies,  shows  of  gladiators,  <fec,  to  the  people; 
and  they  were  also  appointed  judges  in  all  cases  relating  to 
'.he  selling  or  exchanging  of  estates.  To  assist  these  first 
iour  aediles,  Caesar  (b.c.  45)  created  a  new  kind,  called 
cediles  cereales,  so  named  from  their  being  deputed  chiefly 
to  take  care  of  the  supply  of  corn,  which  was  called  donum 
Cereris.  These  aediles  cereales  were  also  taken  out  of  the 
order  of  patricians.  In  the  municipal  cities  and  colonies 
there  were  aediles  having  much  the  same  authority  as  at 
Rome.  We  also  read  of  an  cedilis  alimentarius,  expressed 
in  abbreviature  by  aedil.  alim.,  whose  business  seems  to 
have  been  to  provide  diet  for  those  who  were  maintained 
at  the  public  charge,  though  others  assign  him  a  different 
Kffice.  In  an  ancient  inscription  we  also  meet  with  aedile 
of  the  camp,  cedilis  castrOrum. 

jEGADES,  or  Agates,  a  group  of  islands  off  the  west- 
ern coast  of  Sicily,  between  Trapani  and  Marsala,  consisting 
of  Maretimo,  Levanzo,  and  Favignana.  These  islands  are 
'endered  historically  famous  by  the  great  naval  victory 
gained  there  by  the  Romans  over  the  Carthaginians  in  b.c. 
241,  winch  put  an  end  to  the  first  Punic  war 

jEGEAN  SEA,  a  part  of  the  Mediterranean,  now-more 
osually  caLed  the  Archipelago  or  Grecian  Archipelago, 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Thrace  and  Macedonia,  on  the 
pest  by  Greece,  and  on  the  east  by  Asia  Minor.  The 
mgin  of  the  name  is  uncertain.  Various  derivations  are 
iriven  by  the  ancient  grammarians— one  from  the  town  of 
dSgse;  another  from  ^Egea,  queen  of  the  amazons,  who 
perished  in  this  sea;  and  a  third  from  ^geus,  the  father 


of  Theseus,  who  threw  himself  headlong  into  it.  Seo 
Archipelago. 

iEGEUS,  in  Fabulous  Ilisiory,  the  son  of  Fandion,  was 
king  of  Athens,  and  the  father  of  Theseus..  He  was  ono 
of  the  Athenian  heroes,  but  is  notable  chiefly  for  the  man- 
ner of  his  death.  The  Athenians  having  killed  Androgeus, 
the  son  of  Minns,  king  of  Crete,  for  carrying  away  the 
prize  for  wrestling  from  them,  Minos  made  war  upon 
them ;  and  being  victorious,  imposed  tliis  severe  condition 
on  yEgeus,  that  he  should  annually  send  into  Crete  seven. 
of  the  noblest  of  the  Athenian  youths  and  as  many 
maidens,  chosen  by  lot,  to  be  devoured  by  the  Minotaur, 
On  the  fourth  year  of  this  tribute  the  choice  fell  "on 
Theseus,  or,  as  others  say,  he  himself  entreated  to  be  sent. 
The  king  at  hi3  son's  departure  gave  orders  that,  as  the 
ship  sailed  with  black  sails,  it  should  return  with  the  same 
in  case  he  perished;  but  if  he  came  back  victorious  he 
should  change  them  for  white.  When  Theseus  returned 
from  Crete  after  killing  the  Minotaur,  he  forgot  to  change 
the  sails  in  token  of  his  victory,  according  to  the  agree- 
ment; and  his  lather,  who  sat  on  a  rock  watching  the 
return  of  the  vessel,  imagining  from  the  black  sails  that  his 
son  was  dead,  cast  bin-iclf  headlong  into  the  sea,  which 
was  supposed  in  consequence  to  have  obtained  the  name  of 
the  jEgean  Sea.  The  Athenians  decreed  divine  honours 
to  ^geus,  and  sacrificed  to  him  as  a  marine  deity  and  a.n 
adopted  son  of  Neptune. 

iEGINA,  in  Fabulous  History,  the  daughter  of  Asopus, 
king  of  Boeotia,  was  beloved  by  Jupiter,  who  carried  her 
from  Epidaurus  to  a  desert  island  called  (Enone  or  (Enopia, 
which  was  afterwards  called  by  her  name.     See  ^acus. 

iEGINA,  or  Egina,  or  Engia,  an  island  in  the  Saronic 
gulf,  20  miles  distant  from  the  Piraeus,  formerly  vying 
with  Athens  in  naval  power,  and  at  the  sea-fight  of  Salamis 
disputing  the  palm  of  victory  with  the  Athenians.  It  was 
the  native  country  and  kingdom  of  jE.icus,  who  called  it 
uEgina,  from  his  mother's  name.  (Ovid.)  The  inhabitants 
were  called  uEginetoe  and  jEjinenses.  ./Egina  is  triangular 
in  shape,  and  is  about  8  miles  long  from  N.W.  to  S.E.,  and 
about  6  broad,  with  an  area  of  about  41  sq-aare  miles. 
Strabo  states  its  circumference  at  180  stadia,  or  about  22i 
English  miles.  Its  western  side  consists  of  stony  but 
fertile'  plains,  which  are  well  cultivated,  and  produce 
luxuriant  crops  of  grain,  with  some  cotton,  vices,  almonds, 
and  figs.  The  rest  of  the  island  is  mountainous,  and 
rather  barren.  The  southern  end  rises  in  the  conical 
Mount  Oros,  and  the  Panhellenian  ridge  stretches  to  the 
north,  from  which  fertile  narrow  valleys  descend  on  either 
hand.  From  the  absence  of  marshes',  and  its  insularity, 
the  climate  is  mild,  and  the  most  salubrious  of  Greece.  The 
mine  of  the  ancient  Mgisia  extend  along  two  small  ports, 
still  protected  by  weUrbuilt  ancient  moles,  and  the  shores 
of  an  open  bay,  defended  by  on  ancient  breakwater,  near 
the  N.W.  cape  of  the  island.  On  the  land  side  the  city 
walls  are  still  distinctly  traceable,  10  feet  in  thickness, 
strengthened  by  towers  at  unequal  distances,  and  pierced 
by  three  gates.  They  abutted  on  those  of  the  ports,  which 
were  thus  included  within  the  line  of  fortifications,  as  at 
Athens  and  elsewhere  in  ancient  Greece.  Two  elegant 
IJoric  columns  and  substructures  are  all  that  remain  of 
the  buildings  noticed  by  Pausanias  within  the  precincts  of 
a  city  that  was  long  the  greatest  and  most  opulent  mari- 
time power  of  Greece ;  but  the  ruins  of  seventeen  Christian 
churches,  still  visible,  prove  that  after  the  glories  of  the 
proud  city  had  passed  away — after  what  it  suffered  from 
the  jealousy  of  its  rival  Athens,  and  from  an  earthquake 
about  the  beginning  of  our  era — a  considerable  modern 
town  had  occupied  its  site.  Some  of  these  may  perhaps 
only  date  from  the  time  that  ./Egina  remained  under  its 
Venetian  masters,  as  does  a  tower  erected  at  the  entrance 


M  Q  1  —  M  G  I 


181 


iff  tue  largest  port.      The  Venetians  resigned  possession 
of  the  island  to  the  Turk3  in  1715,  under  whom  it  became 
the  prey  of  Main.ote  and  other  pirates,  until  the  emancipa- 
tion of  Greece  made  it,  in  1828-29,  the  seat  of  the  Greek 
government.     On  a  hill  near  the  N.E.  corner  of  the  island 
stands  the  modern  little  town  of  JEgXna.  (as  it  is  pronounced 
by  the  modern  Greeks).     It  is  separated  by  a  ravine  from 
the  hill,  on  which  rise  in  lonely  majesty  the  ruins  of  a 
noble  temple,  supposed  to  be  that  of  Jupiter  Panhellenius, 
though  the  point  has  been  disputed.     The  temple  occupies 
the  rocky  summit  of  a  hill,  in  the  midst  of  a  forest  of 
pines,  at  the  extremity  of  the  Panhellenian  ridge.     It  was 
a  ruin  in  the  days  of  Cicero,  as  mentioned  in  one  of  his 
letters,  and  seems  to  have  been  thrown  down  by  an  earth- 
quake at  an  unknown  epoch.     This  temple  is  conspicuous 
from  a  distance,  and  was  visited  by  Chandler  in  the  last 
century;  but  has  been  chiefly  known  to  us  by  the  success- 
ful excavations  of  our  countrymen  Cockerell  and  Foster, 
assisted  by  Baron  Haller  and  M.  Linckh  of  Stuttgard,  in 
1811.     These  gentlemen  united  in  clearing  away  the  rub- 
bish which  the  lapse  of  2000  years  had  accumulated  on 
the  basement  and  floor  of  the  cella;  and  after  twenty  days' 
exertion  they  were  rewarded  by  the  discovery  not  only  of 
many  interesting  details  relating  to  Grecian  architecture, 
but  also  of  many  statues,  in  wonderfully  energetic  atti- 
tudes, that  had  once  adorned  the  fallen  pediments  of  this 
celebrated  temple.     These  consist  of  the.  eleven  figures  of 
the  eastern   and  five  statues    of   the   western   pediment, 
al  nost  entire,   besides   fragments   of   the   rest,   and    two 
statuettes,  and  other  ornaments  of  the'  acroteria.     These 
sculptures   supply  an   important   link   in  the  history  of 
ancient  art,  and  connect  the  schools  of  early  Greece  with 
that  of  Etruscan  sculpture.    The  efforts  of  Messrs  Cockerell 
and  Foster  to  secure  those  treasures  to  their  country  are 
well  known,  as  well  as  their  failure  through  an  unlucky 
mistake  of  the  agent  sent  out  to  purchase  them  for  the 
British  Museum.    They  now  form  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing acquisitions  of  the  magnificent  Glyptothek  of  Munich. 
The  temple  stands  on  a  stylobate  'of  94  feet  by  45  feet. 
The  original  number  of  columns  in  the  peristyle  was  thirty- 
two,  of  which  twelve  were  ranged  on  each  side,  and  six  in 
each  front,    37   feet  2  inches  high,   including   the  wide 
iipreading  ovolo  of  the  capital,  and  a  diameter  of  3  feet  3 
inches  at  the  base.     Two  other  columns,  of  3  feef  2  inches 
between  autre,  are  in  the  pronaos^and  two  similar  in  the 
opisthodomos  or  poslicum.     The  cella  had  a  door  at  each 
end;  a  double  row  of  smaller  columns,  2  feet  4  inches  in 
diameter,  were  within  the  cella  to  support  its  partial  roof; 
but  the  greatest  portion  of  the  cella  was  open,  as  this  temple 
was  hypcethral.  There  still  remain  twenty -one  columns  of  the 
peristyle,  with  their  architraves;  six  of  the  eastern  front, 
and-continuously  with  them  are  five  columns  of  the  north 
side ;  the  four  columns  of  the-  pronaos  and  opisthodomos, 
and  the  lower  part  of  the  shafts  of  five  within  the  cella. 
The  tympana  had  been  painted  of  a  bright  azure,  to  give 
relief  to  the  statues;  and  the  drapery  of  Minerva,  the 
middle  figure  of  each  group,  had  been  painted  ted  and 
blue.     The  whole  of  the  ornaments  on  the  cornices  and 
upper  mouldings  of  the  pediment  had  been  painted  in 
encaustic,  not  carved.    The  subject  of  the  groups  of  statuary 
appears  to  be  the  contest  for  the  body  of  Patroclus,  one  of 
the  jEacidce  (or  royal  progeny  of  jEgina  of  old),  as  described 
by  Horner.     (Cockerell  On  the  uEgina  Marbles;  Brand's 
Journal.)     This   magnificent   structure  was  erected  most 
probably  in  the  6th  century  B.C.,  but,  at  all  events,  un- 
doubtedly belongs  to   the   brilliant''  period  of  iEginetan 
power,  when  its  navy  and  its  commerce  were  the  pride  of 
Greece,  and  carried  its  citizens  to  the  remotest  shores  of 
the  Mediterranean  and  the  Euxin.e.     Silver  money  is  said 
to  have  been  struck  at  „Egina  ioiig  before  it  was  coined 


even  at  Athens.  The  victory  of  Salamis  was  in  a  great 
measure  owing  to  the  thirty  ships  of  JEgina,  and  the  voice 
of  grateful  Greece  assigned  to  her  warriors  on  that  event- 
ful day  the  prize  of  valour.  Yet  not  long  after,  the  rivalry 
of  Athens  began  to  cloud  the  prosperity  of  the  haughty 
islanders,  whose  fleet  she  had  before  defeated;  and  JSgina 
at  length  sunk  under  the  enmity  of  a  relentless  commercial 
rival,  that  banished  her  citizens  and  supplied  their  placa 
with  Attic  colonists.  After  the  close  of  the  Peloponnesian 
war  Lysander  restored  the  banished  inhabitants,  but 
JSgina  never  recovered  its  ancient  prosperity. 

iEGINETA,  Paultjs,  a  celebrated  surgeon  of  the  island 
of  ^Egma,  whence  he  derived  his  name.  According  to 
Le  Clerc's  calculation,  he  lived  in  the  4th  century;  but 
Abulfaragius  the  Arabian  places  him  with  more  probability 
in  the  7th.  His  knowledge  in  surgery  was  very  great, 
and  his  works  are  deservedly  famous.  The  title  of  the 
most  important  of  them,  as  given  by  Suidas,  is  'Emi-eyo?* 
'larpiiajs  Bi/JAi'a  "Ejrra  (Synopsis  of  Medicine  in  Seven 
Books).  The  sixth  book,  which  treats  of  surgery,  is  par- 
ticularly interesting.  The  whole  work  in  the  original 
Greek  was  published  at  Venice  in  1528,  and  another 
edition  appeared  at  Basle  in  1538.  Several  Latin  trans- 
lations have  been  published,  and  an  excellent  English 
versioD,  with  commentary,  by  Dr  F.  Adams  (1844—48). 
^Egineta  is  the  first  writer  who  takes  notice  of  the  cathartic 
property  of  rhubarb,  and,  according  to  Dr  Milward,is  the 
first  in  all  antiquity  who  deserves  the  title  of  accoucheur. 
iEGIS,  in  Classical  Mythology,  a  name  given  to  the  shield 
or  buckler  of  Jupiter.  The  goat  Amalthrea,  which  had 
suckled  that  god,  being  dead,  he  is  said  to  have  covered 
his  buckler  with  the. skin,  or  used  the  skin  as  a  buckler; 
whence  the  appellation  cegis,  from  at£,  cuyos,  goat.  Jupiter 
afterwards  restored  the  animal  to  life,  covered  it  with  a  new 
skin,  and  placed  it  among  the  stars.  A  full  description 
of  the  aegis  of  Jupiter  is  given  -by  Homer,  II.  v.  738,  sqq. 
Apollo  is  also  represented  as  bearing  the  cegis,  and  Minerva 
still  more  frequently.  After  Perseus  killed  Medusa,  Minerva 
nailed  her  head  in  the  middle  Of  the  aegis,  which  thence- 
forth had  the  faculty  Medusa  herself  had  during  her  life 
of  converting  all  who  looked  on  it  into  stone.  Later  writers 
regard  the  regis  sometimes  as  a  buckler,  but  oftener  as  a 
cuirass  or  breastplate.  The  regis  of  Pallas,  described  by 
Virgii  (jEn.  Lb.  viii.  v.  435),  must  have  been  a  cuirass, 
since  the  poet  says  expressly  that  Medusa's  head  was  on  the 
breast  of  the  goddess.  But  the  regis  of  Jupiter,  mentioned 
a  little  before  (v.  354),  seems  from  the  description  to  have 
been  a  buckler.  The  aegis  appears  to  have  been  really  the 
goat's  skin  used,  as  well  as  the  skins  of  other  animals,  as  a 
belt  to  support  the  shield.  When  so  used  it  would  usually 
be  .fastened  on  the  right  shoulder,  and  would  partially 
envelope  the  chest  as  it  passed  obliquely  round  in  front 
and  behind  to  be  attached  to  the  shield  under  the  left  arm. 
Hence,  by  transference,  it  would  be  employed  to  denote  at 
times  the  shield  which  it  supported,  and  at  other  times  a 
lorica  or  cuirass)  the  purpose  of  which  it  in  part  served. 
Illustrations  of  the  assumption  of  the  regis  by  the  Roman 
emperors  may  be  seen  in  ancient  statues  and  cameos. 

^EGISTHUS,  in  Ancient  History,  was  the  son  of  Thy- 
estes  by  his  own  daughter  Pelopea,  who  to  conceal  her 
shame  exposed  him  in  the  woods.  Some  say  he  was  taken 
up  by  a  shepherd  and  suckled  by  a  goat ;  whence  he  was 
called  jEgisthus.  After  he  grew  up  he  was  recognised  by 
his  father,  and  on  the  death  of  the  latter  he  became  king 
of  Mycenae.  He  did  not  join  the  expedition  against  Troy; 
and  after  the  departure  of  the  expedition  he  seduced 
Clytemnestra,  the  wife  of  Agamemnon,  and  lived  with  hei 
during  the  siege  of  Troy.  Afterwards,  with  her  assistant 
he  slew  her  husband,  and  reigned  seven  years  in  Mycenaa 
He  was  slain,  together  with  Clytemnestra,  by  Orestes. 


182 


M  G  O—  /EOL 


jEGOSPOTAMI,  in  Ancient  Geography,  a  small  river  in 
the  Tbracian  Chersonesus,  running  south-east,  and  falling 
into  the  Hellespont  to  the  north  of  Sestos, — with  a  town 
of  the  samo  name,  and  a  station  or  road  for  ships,  at  its 
mouth.  Here  the  Athenians  under  Conon,  through  the 
fault  of  his  colleague  Philocles,  received  a  signal  overthrow 
from  the  Lacedemonians  under  Lysander  (b.c.  405),  which 
involved  the  taking  of  Athens,  and  put  an  end  to  the 
Peloponnesian  war.  The  town  does  not  appear  to  have 
existed  till  after  the  date  of  the  battle. 

jELFRIC,  "the  Grammarian,"  as  he  has  been  called,  is 
one  of  the  most  voluminous  of  our  old  English  writers 
before  the  Conquest.  He  flourished  at  the  latter  end  of 
the  10th  century  and  the  beginning  of  the  11th.  Of  his 
personal  history  little  can  be  learned,  and  hi3  birth  and 
death  are  alike  involved  in  obscurity.  We  know  that  he 
was  a  pupil  of  Ethelwold,  the  friend  of  Dunstan,  at  Abing- 
don. On  Ethelwold'3  advancement  to  the  see  of  "Win- 
chester, jElfric  accompanied  him,  and  filled  the  office  of 
chief  instructor  in  the  diocese.  For  the  use  of  his  scholars 
he  wrote  his  Latin  and  English  Grammar  and  Glossary  and 
his  Colloquium.  The  last  of  these  is  in  Latin,  with  an 
old  English  interlinear  translation,  in  which  the  Latin  is 
rendered  word  for  word.  It  is  interesting  for  its  account 
of  ancient  manners,  and  shows  that  /Elfric  made  use  of  the 
conversational  method  in  his  teaching.  The  words  in  his 
Glossary  are  not  arranged  alphabetically,  but  grouped 
together  into  classes.  jElfric  afterwards  removed  to  Cerne 
Abbey,  in  Dorsetshire,  where  he  composed  his  Homilies, 
the  work  on  which  his  fame  as  an  author  chiefly  depends. 
They  are  80  in  number,  and  were  edited  by  Thorpe  in 
1844-46  for  the  iElfric  Society.  In  composing  them, 
/Elfric  drew  largely  from  the  fathers.  Their  style  is  very 
Bimple  and  pleasing,  and  obscure  words  are  carefully 
avoided  in  order  to  adapt  them  to  the  capacity  even  of  the 
most  ignorant.  Subsequent  writers  made  great  use  of 
them,  and  not  a  few  are  to  be  found  unabridged  in  the 
transition  (semi-Saxon)  English  of  the  succeeding  centuries. 
They  excited  great  attention  about  the  time  of  the  Refor- 
mation, and  were  appealed  to — especially  the  "  Paschal 
Homily" — to  prove  that  the  doctrines  of  the  English 
Church  before  the  Conquest  were  at  variance  with  those 
held  by  the  Church  of  Rome.  Among  jEKric's  other 
works  may  be  mentioned  his  Treatise  on  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  and  his  Abridgment  of  the  Pentateuch  and  the 
Book  of  Job.  Of  the  rest  of  his  life  we  have  little  on 
which  we  can  rely.  He  attained  to  the  dignity  of  abbot, 
but  he  seems  to  be'  a  different  person  horn  /Elfric, 
archbishop  of  Canterbury  (99^-1006),  with  whom  he  is 
sometimes  confounded. 

jELIA  CAPITOLINA,  a  name  given  to  the  city  built  by 
the  Emperor  Hadrian,  a.d.  134,  near  the  spot  where  the 
ancient  Jerusalem  stood,  which  he  found  in  ruins  when  he 
visited  the  eastern  parts  of  the  Roman  empire.  A  Roman 
colony  was  settled  here,  aud  a  temple  was  dedicated  to 
Jupiter  Capitolinus.  Hence  the  name  Capitolina,  to  which 
Hadrian  prefixed  that  of  his  own  family. 

jELLANUS,  Claudius,  born  at  Praeneste,  in  Italy.  He 
taught  rhetoric  at  Rome,  under  the  Emperor  Alexander 
Severus,  according  to  Perizonius,  but  more  probably  under 
Hadrian.  HewassurtiamedM<Ai'yXcocrcro9,"Honey-tongued," 
on  account  of  the  ease  and  accuracy  with  which  he  spoke 
and  wrote  Greek ;  and  he  was  also  named  "  the  Sophist,"  from 
bis  being  a  teacher  of  rhetoric.  He  loved  retirement,  and 
devoted  himself  to  study.  He.  greatly  admired  and  studied 
Plato,  Aristotle,  Isocrates,  Plutarch,  Homer,  Anacreon, 
Archilochus,  &c.  ;  aud,  though  a  Roman,  gives  preference 
to  the  writers  of  the  Greek  nation,  and  employs  the  Greek 
an  image  in  his  works.  His  curious  and  entertaining  work 
mtitlcd  Varitl  Hustoria  has  been  frequently  republished,  as 


well  as  his  treatise  De  A'atura  Animaliunu  A  very  useful 
edition  of  the  latter  was  published  by  Schneider,  at  Leipsic, 
in  1784,  in  8vo;  another  at  Jena,  in  1832,  by  Fr.  Jacobs: 
The  collected  edition  of  his  works,  by  Gesner,  1556,  fol., 
contains  another  work  ascribed  to  him,  named  Epistolce 
Ruslicce. 

.K.UILIUS,  Taulus,  the  name  of  a  celebrated  family 
of  the  ^Emilia  Gens.     See  Paulus. 

jEMILIUS,  Paulus,  or  Paolo  Emilio, a  celebrated  histo- 
rian, born  at  Verona,  who  obtained  such  reputation  in  Italy 
that  he  was  invited  into  France  by  the  cardinal  of  Bourbon, 
in  the  reign  of  Charles  VIII.,  in  order  to  write  the  history 
of  the  kings  of  France  in  Latin,  and  was  presented  to  a 
canonry  in  Notre  Dame.  He  enjoyed  the  patronage  and 
support  of  Louis  XII.  He  died  at  Paris  on  the  5th  of 
May  1529.  His  work  entitled  De  Rebus  gestis  Francontm 
was  translated  into  French  by  Renard  in  1581,  and  haa 
also  been  translated  into  Italian  and  German. 

^ENEAS,  in  Fabulous  History,  a  Trojan  prince,  the  son 
of  Venus  and  Anchises.  He  plays  a  conspicuous  part  in 
the  Iliad,  and  is  represented,  along  with  Hector,  as  tho 
chief  bulwark  of  the  Trojans.  Homer  always  speaks  of 
./Eneas  and  his  descendants  as  destined  to  reign  at  Troy 
after  the  destruction  of  Priam  and  his  house.  Virgil  has 
chosen  him  as  the  hero  of  his  great  epic,  and  -the  story  of 
the  ^Eneid,  though  not  only  at  variance  with  other  tradi- 
tions, but  inconsistent  with  itself,  can  never  lose  its  placa 
as  a  biography  of  the  mythical  founder  of  the  Latin  power. 
^Eneas  is  described  in  the  JZneid  as  escaping  from  .the 
destruction  of  Troy,  bearing  his  aged  father  on  his 
shoulders,  carrying  in  one  hand  his  household  gods,  while) 
with  the  other  he  leads  his  little  son  Ascanius  or  lulus. 
His  wife  Creiisa  is  separated  from  them  and  lost  in  tho 
tumult.  After  a  perilous  voyage  he  lands  in  Africa,  and  is 
kindly  received  by  Dido,  queen  of  Carthage;  who,  on  his 
forsaking  her  to  seek  a  new  home,  destroys  herself.  Again 
escaping  the  dangers  of  the  sea,  he  arrives  in  Italy,  where 
he  lands  in  Latium,  and  forms  an  alliance  with  Latham, 
the  king  of  the  country,  marries  his  daughter  Lavinia,  and 
founds  a  city  which  he  calls,  after  her,  Lavinium.  Turnus, 
king  of  the  Rutuli,  a  rejected  suitor  of  Lavinia,  makes  war 
on  Latinos,  and  both  are  slain  in  battle.  The  story  of 
the  JZneid  ends  with  the  death  of  Turnus.  According  to 
Livy,  on  the  death  of  Latinus,  /Eneas  assumes  the  sove- 
reignty of  Latium,  and  tho  Trojan  and  Latin  powers  aro 
united  in  one  nation.  After  a  reign  of  three  years,  jEneaa 
falls  in  a  battle  with  the  Rutuli,  assisted  by  Mezeutius, 
king  of  Etruria,  and  is  supposed  to  be  carried  up  into 
heaven,  because  his  body  cannot  be  found.  After  his  death 
or  disappearance  he  receives  divine  honours. 

jENEAS  SYLVIUS,  Pope.     See  Pius  II. 

jEOLLE  LNSULjE,  the  modern  Lipari  Islands,  a 
group  of  islands  between  Italy  and  Sicily.  They  are  so 
called  from  ^Eolus,  the  god  of  the  winds,  who  was  supposed 
to  rule  over  them;  but  they  are  also  frequently  termed 
Insula  Vulcanice,  or  Hephxstia;,  from  their  volcanic  erup- 
tions, and  Imulx  lApareorum,  from  Lipara  (modern  Lipari ), 
the  chief  of  the  group.  According  to  Pliny,  the  other 
islands  a.reHiera,  now  Vulcano;  Strongyle,  now  Stromboli; 
Didyme, now  Salina ;  Pho?nicusa,vow  Fdicudi ;  Euonymus, 
probably  Panama;  and  Ericusa,now  Alicudi.  Besides  these 
there  are  several  small  islets.  Homer  mentions  only  one 
./Eolian  island  (Od.  x.  1). 

jEOLIAN  HARP,  named  from  jEolus,  gou  of  the  wind, 
a  musical  instrument  consisting  of  cat-gut  strings  stretched 
over  a  wooden  sound-box.  When  exposed  to  a  current  of 
air,  the  strings  produce  a  variety  of  pleasing  harmonic 
sounds  in  strange  succession  and  combination. 

iEOLIS,  or  /Eolia,  in  Ancient  Geography,  a  country  of 
Asia  Minor,  settled  by  colonies  of  yEolian  Greeks.     The 


M  0  L  —  2E  R  A 


183 


name  in  its  limited  sense  was  applied  to  the  coast  ex- 
tending from  the  river  Heno'13  to  the  promontory  of 
Lectum,  on  the  north  side  cf  the  entrance  to  the  Gulf  of 
Adraruyttium,  and  lying  between  Ionia  to  the  S.  and 
Troas  to  the  N.  In  its  wider  acceptation  it  comprehended 
Troas  and  the  coasts  of  the  Hellespont  to  the  Propontis, 
where  there  were  likewise  several  .Eolian  colonies. 

.iEOLUS,  in  Heathen  Mythology,  the  god  and  father  of 
the  winds,  was  variously  represented  as  the  son  of  Hip- 
potes,  or  of  Neptune  by  a  daughter  of  Hippotes,  or  of 
Jupiter.  In  the  Odyssey  he  is  mentioned  as  the  king  of 
the  ^Eolian  isle  to  whom  Jupiter  had  given  the  super- 
intendence and  distribution  of  the  winds.  Later  poets 
make  turn  the  god  and  father  of  the  winds,  who  dwelt  in 
one  of  the  JEohun  islands — according  to  some  in  Strom- 
boli,  according  to  others  in  Lipan,  wnile  others  place  his 
residence  at  Rhegium  in  Italy.  He  is  represented  as 
having  authority  over  the  winds,  which  he  confined  in  a 
vast  cavern.  Strabo  and  some  other  writers  consider  him 
to  have  had  a  real  existence;  and  derive  the  fable  of  his 
power  over  the  winds  from  his  skill  in  meteorology  and  the 
management  of  ships. 

Hie  vasto  rex  .Solus  arirroy 
Luctantes  ventos  tempestatesque  sonoras 
Imperio  premit,  ac  vinclis  et  carcere  frenat. 
Illi  indignantes  magno  cum  murmure  montis 
Circum  claustra  fremunt ;  celsa  sedet  iEolus  arce 
Sceptra  tenens,  mollitque  animos,  et  temperat  iras  j 
Ni  faciat,  maria  ac  terras  ccelumque  profundum 
Quippe  ferant  rapidi  sectun,  vsnantque  per  auras. 

u£ncid,  lib.  L  52. 

Here  .aEolus,  in  cavern  vast, 

"With  bolt  and  barrier  fetters  fast 

Rebellious  storm  and  howling  blast. 

They  with  the  rock's  reverberant  roar 

Chafu  blustering  round  their  prison  door. 

He,  throned  on  high,  the  sceptre  sways, 

Controls  their  moods,  their  wrath  allays. 

Break  but  that  sceptre,  sea  and  land, 
And  heaven's  etherial  deep, 

Before  them  they  would  whirl  like  sand, 
And  through  the  void  air  sweep. 

Conington's  Translation. 

Through  Hippotes,  ^Eolus  is  usually  represented  as  de- 
scended from  iEolus,  One  of  the  sons  of  Hellen,  and  the 
mythological  ancestor  of  the  iEolian  tribes. 

^EON  (alu>v),  a  space  of  time,  was  often  used  in  Greek 
to  denote  indefinite  or  infinite  duration ;  and  hence,  by 
metonymy,  for  a  being  that  exists  for  ever.  In  the  latter 
sense  it  was  chiefly  used  by  the1  Gnostic  sects  to  denote 
uhose  eternal  beings  or  manifestations  which  emanated 
from  the  one  incomprehensible  and  ineffable  God  See 
Gnosticism. 

.iEPINUS,  Franz  Mjcria  Ulrich  Theodor,  a  distin- 
guished German  natural  philosopher,  was  born  at  Rostock 
in  Saxony  ;n  1724,  and  died  at  Dorpat  in  August  1802. 
He  was  descended  from  John  .Epinus  (6.  1499 — d. 
1553),  the  first  to  adopt  the  Greek  form  (ahravos)  of  the 
family  name,  a  leading  theologian  and  controversialist 
at  the  time  of  the  Reformation.  After  studying  medicine 
Tor  a  time,  Francis  iEpinus  devoted  himself  to  the  physical 
and  mathematical  sciences,  in  which  he  soon  gained  such 
distinction  that  he  was  admitted  a  member  of  the  Berlin 
Academy  of  Sciences.  In  1757  he  settled  in  St  Peters- 
burg as  member  of  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Sciences  and 
professor  of  physics,  labouring  there  and  pursuing  his 
favourite  studies  with  great  success  till  his  death.  He 
enjoyed  the  special  favour  of  the  Empress  Catharine  LL, 
who  appointed  him  tutor  to  her  son  Paul,  and  endeavoured, 
without  success,  to  establish  normal  schools  throughout  the 
empire  under  his  direction,  Epinus  is  best  known  by  his 
'esearches,  theoretical  and  experimental,  in  electricity  and' 
ffl'ignetism.     His  principal  work,  Teutamen  Theories  Elec- 


tricitatis  et  Magnetimxi,  published  at  St  Petersburg  in 
1759,  may  be  regarded  as  the  first  systematic  and  suc- 
cessful attempt  to  apply  mathematical  reasoning  to  these 
subjects.  Adopting  Franklin's  theory  of  positive  and 
negative  electricities,  or  electric  forces,  he  investigated  the 
relations  of  these  fully,  and  especially  the  conditions  of 
their  equilibrium;  and  many  of  the  conclusions  he  arrived 
at  do  not  depend  for  their  value  and  importance  on  the 
theory  of  Franklin,  Epinus  himself  extended  the  theory, 
holding  that  -the  particles  of  the  electric  fluid  repel  each 
other,  attract  the  particles  of  all  bodies,  and  are  attracted 
by  them,  with  a  force  inversely  proportional  to  the  dis- 
tance ;  that  the  fluid  resides  in  the  pores  of  the  surfaces  of 
bodies,  moving  readily  through  some,  called  conductors  or 
non-electrics,  and  with  difficulty  through  others;  and  that 
electric  phenomena  are  produced  either  by  the  approach  of 
bodies  unequally  charged,  or  by  the  unequal  distribution 
of  the  fluid  in  the  same  body.  He  propounded  a  kindred 
theory  of  magnetism,  a  magnetic  fluid  being  supposed  to 
exist  corresponding  to  the  electric  fluid,  but  .acting  on, 
and  acted  on  by,  the  particles  of  iron  only.  It  is  to  be 
added  that  .Epinus  was  the  first  to  perceive  and  define, 
with  any  measure  of  clearness,  the  affinity  between  elec- 
tricity and  magnetism.  There  is  a  remarkable  similarity 
between  portions  of  the  work  above  named  and  a  paper 
by  Cavendish — the  result  of  independent  investigations — • 
given  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions  for  1771.  In 
1787  the  Abbe  Haiiy  published  an  exposition  of  ^Epinus's 
theories.  .Epinus  did  not  confine  himself  to  one  or  two 
departments  of  natural  science.  He  published  a  treatise, 
in  1762,  On  tlie  Distribution  of  Heat  at  the  Surface  of  the 
Earth;  and  he  was  also  the  author  of  valuable  memoirs  on 
different  subjects  in  astronomy,  mechanics,  optics,  meteor- 
ology, and  pure  mathematics,  contained  in  the  journals  of 
the  learned  societies  of  St  Petersburg  and  Berlin.  Hi3 
discussion  of  the  effects  of  pcrallax  in  the  transit  of  a 
planet  over  the  sun's'  disc  excited  great  interest,  having 
appeared  (in  1764)  between  the  dates  of  the  two  transits 
of  Venus  that  took  place  during  last  century. 

iEQUI,  an  ancient  and  warlike  people  of-  Italy,  inhabit- 
ing the  upper  valley  of  the  Anio,  who,  in  confederacy  with  the 
Volsci,  carried  on  a  long  series  of  hostilities  with  the  early 
Romans,  but  were  finally  subdued  in  the  year  302  B.C. 

iERARIAN.S,  a  class  in  ancient  Rome,  composed  of 
citizens  who  had  suffered  the  severest  kind  of^degradatii  i 
the  censors  could  inflict,  but  concerning  whose  exact  posi- 
tion we  have  no  precise  information.  Though  heavily 
taxed,  they  did  not  enjoy  the  rights  of  citizenship  beyond 
their  liberty  and  the  general  protection  of  the  state.  They 
could  not  vote  in  assemblies  or  serve  in  the  army,  and 
were  deprived  of  and  excluded  from  all  posts  of  honour 
and  profit.  Romans  of  the  higher  classes,  as  well  as  tho 
plebeians,  were  liable  to  become  jErarians.  The  name  may 
be  derived  from  ces,  eerie,  money,  since  they  were  mere 
tax-payers ;  or,  which  is  more  probable,  it  may  refer  to  the 
list  of  them  which  the  censors  gave  in  to  the  cerarium  ur 
public  treasury. 

jERARITJM,  the  public  treasury  at  ancient  Rome.  It 
contained  the  moneys  and  accounts  of  the  state,  and  also 
the  standards  of  the  legions,  the  public  laws  engraven  on 
brass,  the  decrees  of  the  senate,  and  other  papers  and 
registers  of  importance.  The  place  where  these  public 
treasures  were  deposited,  from  the  time  of  the  establish- 
ment of  the  republic,  was  the  temple  of  Saturn,  or  the 
eastern  slope  of  the  Capitoline  hill.  In  addition  .to  the 
common  treasury,  supported  by  the  general  taxes  and 
charged  with  the  ordinary  expenditure,  there  was  a  reserve 
treasury,  also  in  tie  temple  of  Saturn,  the  cerarium  sanc- 
tum (or  sanctius),  maintained  chiefly  by  a  tax  of  5  per  cent, 
on  the  value  of  all  manumitted  slaves,  which  was  not  to 


184 


A  E  R  — A  E  K 


be  Lad  recourse  to  01  even  entered,  except  in  the  extreme 
necessity  of  the  state.  Under  the  emperors  the  senate 
continued  to  have  at  least  the  nominal  management  of  the 
ctrarium,  while  the  emperor  had  a  separate  exchequer, 
called  thefiscus.  But  after  a  time,  as  the  power  of  the 
emperors  increased  and  their  jurisdiction  extended  till  tho 
senate  existed  but  in  form  and  name,  this  distinction  vir- 
tually ceased.  Besides  creating  the  Jiscus,  Augustus  also 
established  a  military  treasury  (oerarium  militare),  con- 
taining all  moneys  raised  for  and  appropriated  to  the  main- 
tenance of  the  army.  The  later  emperors  had  a  separate 
ctrariitm  privatum,  containing  the  monies  allotted  for 
their  own  use,  distinct  from  the  Jiscus,  which  they  ad- 
ministered in  the  interests  of  the  empire. 

AERATED  WATERS.  Waters  impregnated  with  an 
unusually  large  proportion  of  carbonic  acid,  or  other  gaseous 
substances,  occur  abundantly  in  springs  throughout  the 
world ;  and,  in  addition  to  their  gaseous  constituents, 
generally  hold  in  solution  a  large  percentage  of  different 
salts.  The  manufacture  of  aerated  waters  arose  out  of  the 
attempt  to  imitate  these  by  artificial  means,  but  till  about 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century  such  efforts  did  not 
meet  with  great  success.  The  earliest  method  of  producing 
acidulated  water  was  that  which  still  obtains  in  the  pre- 
paration of  effervescing  draughts,  such  as  are  made  from 
"  Seidlitz "  powders.  These  powders  consist  of  separate 
portions  of  sodium  bicarbonate  and  tartaric  acid,  which, 
on  being  dissolved  together  in  water,  form  sodium  tartrate 
and  liberate  carbonic  acid,  which  bubbles  up  through  the 
water.  In  recent  years  "  granular "  effervescent  pre- 
parations have  been  introduced,  in  which  the  acid  and 
salt  are  mixed  in  a  dry  state,  and  produce  their  reaction 
on  being  dissolved.  The  popular  preparation  termed  effer- 
vescent citrate  of  magnesia,  and  several  others  under  a 
variety  of  names,  consist  essentially  of  sodium  bicarbonate 
and  tartaric  acid,  to  which  a  little  citric  acid  is  sometimes 
added.  A  limit,  however,  is  set  to  the  use  of  waters  so 
aerated  on  account  of  the  purgative  action  of  the  alkaline 
earths  they  necessarily  contain. 

In  the  manufacture  of  common  aerated  waters  the  car- 
bonic acid  is  prepared  apart  from  tho  pure  water  in  which 
it  is  to  be  dissolved.  There  are  essentially  only  two 
methods  on  which  the  manufacture  is  conducted,  although 
there  is  an  endless  variety  in  the  apparatus  used.  In  the 
first  process,  which  may  be  distinguished  as  the  method  of 
chemical  pressure,  the  carbonic  acid  gas  saturates  the  water 
by  its  own  pressure,  passing  directly  from  the  chamber  in 
which  it  is  produced  and  purified  into  the  cylinder  or 
cylinders  containing  the  water  to  be  aerated.  The  small 
apparatus  frequently  used  in  private  houses  and  hospitals 
may  be  taken  as  an  illustration  of  this  method.  The  most 
common  form  consists  of  two  strong 
glass  globes  A  and  B,  protected  by 
netting  in  case  of  breakage.  Into  the 
globe  A  are  placed  the  materials  for 
generating  carbonic  acid,  usually  in 
this  case  tartaric  acid  and  sodium  bi- 
carbonate. When  charged  with  these 
materials,  a  metal  tube  C,  accurately 
fitted  to  the  aperture  in  the  globe,  is 
inserted.  The  globe  B  is  inverted  and 
filled  with  water,  and  in  this  position 
the  globe  A  is  screwed  tightly  up  by 
the  joint  D,  the  metal  tube  reaching  to 
near  the  top  of  globe  B.  On  placing 
the  apparatus  upright,  a  proportion  of 
water  escapes  through  the  metal  tube 
into  globe  A,  acta  on  the  charge  it  con- 
tains, and  evolves  carbonic  acid,  which  passes  up  the  tube 
and  saturates  the  water  in  B.     As  the  pressure  of  the  gas 


augments,  the  quantity  absorbed  increases,  and  when  fully 
saturated  the  aerated  water  may  be  drawn  off  by  the  cock 
E.  In  manufacturing  on  a  large  scale,  a  combination  of 
globes  or  cylinders  is  used  for  producing  continuous 
action,  and  less  expensive  sources  of  carbonic  acid  than 
sodium  bicarbonato  and  tartaric  acid  are  employed.  The 
second  or  mechanical  pressure  process  is  that  generally 
followed  in  the  manufacture  in  this  country.  In  this 
process  the  gas  is  prepared  in  a  lead  chamber  by  the 
action  of  sulphuric  acid  on  chalk,  and  is  washed  by  pass- 
ing through  water  into  the  gas-holder  in  which  it  is  col- 
lected. By  tho  action  of  a  force-pump,  water,  ''filtered 
when  necessary,  and  carbonic  acid,  are  pressed,  in  due 
proportions,  into  a  very  strong  copper  cylinder,  tinned 
internally,  termed  a  receiver  or  saturator,  in  which,  an 
agitator  is  kept  revolving.  A  pressure  gauge  is  attached 
to  the  receiver,  and  when  the  index  indicates  from  120 
to  140  lb  pressure  per  square  inch,  what  is  termed 
aerated  water,  and  very  frequently  does  duty  for  soda- 
water,  is  ready  for  drawing  off  at  the  bottling  apparatus. 
Real  soda-water  is  best  prepared  by  adding  to  the  water 
before  aeration  a  proportion  of  sodium  bicarbonate  equal 
to  about  30  or  36  grains  per  pint  of  water.  Potash-water, 
Seltzer,  lithia,  Carrara,  bromide  of  potassium,  and  a  host 
of  other  waters,  are  similarly  prepared,  the  various  salts 
being  used  in  different  proportions,  according  to  the  taste 
and  experience  of  manufacturers.  Lemonade,  and  other 
aerated  drinks  flavoured  with  fruit  syrups,  have  the  pro- 
portion of  S3TUP  placed  in  the  bottle  to  which  simple 
aerated  water  taken  from  a  receiver,  indicating  a  pressure 
of  80  to  100  B)  per  square  inch,  is  added.  ■  From  a 
syrup  composed  of  14  lb  of  sugar,  2^  oz.  of  tartaric  acid, 
3|  oz.  of  citric  acid,  and  4J  drachms  of  essence  of  lemon, 
dissolved  in  2i  gallons  of  water,  30  dozen  bottles  of  an 
excellent  quality  of  lemonade  can  be  prepared.  On  ac- 
count of  the  rapidity  with  which  the  gas  escapes  on  the 
removal  of  pressure,  special  arrangements  are  required  for 
the  bottling  and  corking,  processes,  and  the  frequent  ex- 
plosion of  bottles  necessitates  guards  to  protect  the  bottler. 
A  dexterous  bottler  will  fill  and  cork  5000  bottles  in  ten 
hours.  The  consumption  of  aerated  waters,  especially  in 
hot  climates,  is  very  great. 

AEROE,  or  Akeoe,  an  island  of  Denmark,  in  the  Little 
Belt,  lying  7£  miles  S.  of  Funen,  between  Alsen  and 
Langeland.  It  is  of  an  irregular  triangular  shape,  about 
15  miles  long  and  8  broad  at  the  widest  points,  with  a 
hilly  surface,  but  a  fertile  and  well-cultivated  soil.  Popu- 
lation, 10,200 ;  chief  town,  Aeroeskjobing,  on  the  east 
coast. 

AEROLITE  (arjp,  air,  and  Aitfos,  a  stone),  a  stony  or 
metallic  body,'  which,  falling  through  the  atmosphere, 
reaches  the  earth's  surface.  These  meteoric  stones  gene- 
rally contain  a  cpnsiderable  proportion  of  iron ;  indeed, 
the  iron  in  some  of  these  substances  exceeds  the  siliceous 
matter,  and  some  have  then  given  them  the  name  of  mete- 
oric irons.  A  remarkable  aerolite  that  fell  at  jEgospotami, 
in  467  B.C.,  was,  according  to  Pliny,  to  be  seen  in  his  day, 
and  was  then  as  large  as  a  waggon.  In  1492  one  fell  at 
Ensisheim,  in  Alsace,  that  weighed  270  ft.  j  and,  not 
to  mention  others,  one  of  12  ft  weight  is  reported  to 
have  fallen  in  California  in  August  1873,  which  penetrated 
the  earth  to  the  depth  of  8  feet,  and  when  dug  up  was 
so  hot  that  it  could  not  be  handled.  Aerolites  often  reach 
the  earth  in  groups  or  showers,  as  at  L'Aigle,  in  Normandy, 
in  1803;  at  New  Concord,  Ohio,  in  May  1860;  and  at 
Dhurmsala,  in  the  Punjaub,  in  July  the  same  year.  The 
area  on  which  a  shower  of  aerolites  falls  is  usually  ellipti- 
cal, the  largest  stones  being  near  one  end  of  the  ellipse, 
the  major  axis  of  which  extends  in  some  cases  to  a  length 
of  eighteen  or  twenty  miles.     See  Mbteob. 


VOL.  I. 


AERONAUTICS 


PLATE  I, 


VONTcnr.t/KH'S  DALl.OUIT 


T*  \nCBARDi  liAJJ.OOM 


H-(Vr«T»r»«  I*  BI«nrhiUuU  P*JJoto 

A   The  &ali*m  .n,i,y>  *f  Lu'rrcA  26Z+*. 

tn  *««^«"ai>*^W-„A«  £-#« 
B    Th*  CirtutpouJtJ  by  L>ni,r^J>Aal  fo^, 

nvm  a*  Sjob  C 
DUDPft/  Wtnpt  mercJ  Sy&uJ^-wtrl-  £ 
T  AAnrrAut*  *r  C-Ur„'la  u  *-,**  tfu  fji-/+ 

0  ,d  Ti'bt  f*tumru(va/if  -»iA  tA*  truidt 
irr'rfis  Jiv/Lten 


f.UUfKKlN's  PARaCBVT* 


GAKNKRIX'S  PARACHUTE 


tOSARDiS  DAJ.LDOX 


CRARJ.ES    A  ROBERTS   DaXI.OOK 


*>         s         »        is        «0        m        m 


r^cvrio^ou   e^iTAnvfC*   *hth  t dttto* 


r-  *&x-l&r^z  Sy- 


185 


AERONAUTICS 


IN  every  stage  of  society  men  nave  sought,  by  the  combi- 
nation of  superior  skill  aDd  ingenuity,  to  attain  those 
distinct  and  obvious  advantages  which  nature  has  conferred 
on  the  different  tribes  of  animals,  by  endowing  them  with  a 
peculiar  structure  and  a  peculiar  force  of  organs.  The 
rudest  savage  learns  from  his  very  infancy  to  imitate  the 
swimming  of  a  fish,  and  plays  on  the  surface  of  the  water 

jXnth.  agility  and  perseverance.  But  an  art  so  confined  in 
its  exercise,  and  requiring  such  a  degree  of  bodily  exertion, 
could  not  be  considered  of  much  avail.  It  must  have  been 
soon  perceived  (even  if  the  discoveries  of  the  arts  of  nata- 
tion and  navigation  were  not  absolutely  simultaneous),  that 
the  fatigue  ol  impulsion  through  the  water  could  be  greatly 
diminished  by  the  support  and  floating  of  some  light  sub- 
Btance.  The  trunk  of  a  tree  would  bear  its  rude  proprietor 
along  the  stream ;  or,  hollowed  out  into  a  canoe  and  fur- 
nished with  paddles,  it  might  enable  him  even  to  traverse 
a  river.  From  this  simple  fabric  the  step  was  not  great 
to  the  construction  of  a  boat  or  barge,  impelled  by  the 
force  of  oars.  But  it  was  a  great  advance  to  fix  masts  and 
apply  sails  to  the  vessel,  and  thus  substitute  the  power  of 
wind  for  that  of  human  labour.  The  adventurous  sailor, 
instead  of  plying  on  the  narrow  sea3  or  creeping  timidly 
along  the  shore,  could  now  launch  with  confidence  into  the 
wide  ocean.  Navigation,  in  its  most  cultivated  form,  may 
be  fairly  regarded  as  one  of  the  sublimest  triumphs  of 
human  genius,  industry,  courage,  and  perseverance. 

Having  by  his  skill  achieved  the  conquest  of  the  waters 
that  encompass  the  habitable  globe,  it  was  natural  for  man 
to  desire  likewise  the  mastery  of  the  air  in  which  we 
breathe.  In  ad  ages,  therefore,  great  ingenuity  has  been 
expended  in  efforts  at  flying,  all  of  which  have  as  yet  re- 
sulted in  failure.  But  the  analogy  between  sailing  on  the 
water  and  sailing  in  the  air  is  not  so  close  as  many  enthu-. 
siasts  have  supposed  it  to  be.  There  is  a  general  resem- 
blance, inasmuch  as  in  both  cases  the  propulsion  must  be 
made  by  means  of  a  fluid.  But  in  the  one  case  the  fluid 
is  inelastic,  in  the  other  elastic ;  and  the  physicist  or  mathe- 
matician knows  how  vastly  different  are  the  properties  of 
liquids,  even  in  fundamental  points,  from  those  of  aeriform 
or  gaseous  bodies.  Again,  in  the  one  case  the  vessel  floats 
on  the  surface  of  the  water,  in  the  other  it  must  float 
totally  immersed  in  the  aerial  fluid.  A  ship,  while  sailing, 
is  acted  on  by  two  fluids — the  water  supports  it  and  the 
air  propels  it ;  but  a  ship  sailing  in  the  air  would  be  only 
under  the  action  of  the  one  fluid  that  surrounds  it  on  all 
sides.  These  few  considerations — and  many  more  might 
be  added — indicate  the  essential  distinctions  between  the 
two  cases  ;  and  a  very  little  thought  shows  that  it  is  not  so 
remarkable  as  it  at  first  sight  appears,  that  the  invention 
of  the  art  of  sailing  on  the  water  should  be  lost  in  prehis- 
toric antiquity,  while  that  of  sailing  in  the  air  is  not  a 
century  old ;  and  that  while  navigation  is  one  of  the  most 
perfect  of  the  arts,  the  power  of  directing  a  body  floating 
in  the  air  still  remains  unattained.     Many  have  argued, 

I  that  because  navigation  is  an  accomplished  fact,  therefore 
the  navigation  of  the  air  must  be  possible ;  and  without 
denying  the  truth  of  the  conclusion,  it  is  worth  while  at 
the  outset  of  this  article  to  point  out  the  fallacy  of  the 
reasoning.  It  is  true  that  there  is  no  reason  to  despair  of 
the  attainment  of  aerial  navigation,  as  the  history  of  inven- 
tion and  science  records  many  victories  as  great  and  at  one 
time  apparently  as  far  off ;  still,  it  is  as  well  to  notice  how 
little  assistance  the  old  discovery  affords  towards  the  solution 
of  the  new :  it  may,  indeed,  even  be  that  progress  has  been 
retarded  by  the  false  analogy,  for  we  may  feel  pretty  certain 


that  if  ever  the  air  is  navigated,  it  will  be  by  ships  pre- 
senting little  resemblance  to  those  that  traverse  the  ocean. 

The  subject  of  aerostation  is  scarcely  ever  alluded  to  by 
the  classical  writers,  and  the  fable  of  Daedalus  and  Icarus, 
and  the  dove  of  Archytas,  form  almost  all  we  have  to  re- 
cord in  relation  to  flying  previous  to  the  dark  ages.  Dae- 
dalus, an  Athenian,  killed  his  nephew  Talus  through 
jealousy  of  his  talents,  and  fled  with  his  son  Icarus  to  Crete, 
where  he  built  the  celebrated  labyrinth  for  Mino3,  the 
king.  But  having  offended  Minos,  so  that  he  was  im- 
prisoned by  him,  he  made  wings  of  feathers,  cemented  with 
wax,  for  himself  and  his  son,  so  that  they  might  escape  by 
flight.  He  gave  his  son  directions  to  fly  neither  too  low 
nor  too  high,  but  to  follow  him.  Icarus,  however,  be- 
coming excited,  forgot  his  father's  advice,  and  rose  so  high 
that  the  heat  of  the  sun  melted  the  wax  of  his  wings,  and 
he  fell  into  the  sea  near  Samos,  the  island  of  Icaria  and 
the  Icarian  sea  being  named  after  him.  Daedalus  accom- 
plished his  flight  in  safety.  (Ovid,  Met.  lib.  viiL  Fab.  iii) 
The  explanation  of  the  myth  may  be,  as  has  been  supposed, 
that  Daedalus  used  sails,  which,  till  then,  according  to 
Pausanius  and  Palaephatus,  were  unknown,  and  so  was 
enabled  to  escape  from  Minos'  galleys,  which  were  only 
provided  with  oars ;  and  that  Icarus  was  drowned  near  the 
island  Icaria.  But  the  whole  story  of  Daedalus  is  so  fan- 
ciful a  romance,  that  it  is  scarcely  worth  while  even  to 
speculate  upon  what  the  infinitesimal  fragment  of  truth  that 
lay  at  the  bottom  of  it  may  have  been. 

Archytas  of  Tarentum  was  a  well-known  geometer  and 
astronomer,  and  he  is  apostrophised  by  Horace  (Ode  28, 
Kb.  i.)  The  account  of  his  flying  pigeon  or  dove  we  owe 
to  Auius  Gellius  (Nodes  Attkas),  who  says  "  that  it  was  the 
model  of  a  dove  or  a  pigeon  formed  in  wood,  and  so  con- 
trived as  by  a  certain  mechanical  art  and  power  to  fly :  so 
nicely  was  it  balanced  by  weights,  and  put  in  motion  by 
hidden  and  enclosed  air."  Gellius  .gives  as.  his  authorities 
"many  men  of  eminence  among  the  Greeks,"  whom  he 
does  not  mention  by  name,  and  Favorinus  the  philosopher. 

Archytas  thus  has  been  regarded  as  holding  to  aeronau- 
tics much  about  the  same  position  as  Archimedes  does  to 
the  mechanical  sciences ;  but  while  the  claim  of  the  latter 
rests  on  real  discoveries  and  great  contributions  to  know- 
ledge, the  former  owes  his  position  merely  to  an  unsup- 
ported and  untrustworthy  tradition..  When  the  fire-balloon 
was  invented,  it  was  only  natural  that  many  should  see  in 
the  "  hidden  and  enclosed  air "  of  Archytas'  dove  a  pre- 
vious discovery  of  the  hot-air  balloon.  It  is  quite  possible 
that  Archytas  may  have  rarefied  the  air  in  his  dove  by 
heat,  and  so  made  it  ascend;  but  in  this  case  it  certainly 
could  not  have  been  made  of  wood.  But  if  the  dove  ever 
was  made  to  appear  to  fly,  it  is  much  the  more  probable  that 
this  effect  was  produced,  as  in  the  scenes  at  theatres,  by 
means  of  fine  strings  or  wires  invisible  to  the  spectators. 

The  ancients  seem  to  have  been  convinced  of  the  im- 
possibility of  men  being  able  to  fly,  and  they  appear  to 
have  made  no  attempts  in  this  direction  at  alL  The  power 
of  flying  was  attributed  only  to  the  most  powerful  of.  the 
divinities ;  and  it  was  regarded  as  only  secondary  to  Jupi- 
ter's prerogative  of  flashing  the  lightning  and  hurling  the 
thunderbolt 

The  history  of  aerostatics  in  the  Middle  Ages,  like  that  of 
every  other  subject  relating  even  remotely  to  science  or 
knowledge  of  any  kind,  is  little  better  than  a  record  of  the 
falsehoods  or  chimeras  circulated  by  impostors  or  eathu» 
siasts.  Truth  was  completely  obscured  by  ignorance  and 
fanaticism,  and  every  person  of  superior  talents  aud  acquire. 


186 


AERONAUTICS 


[rahly  EXPBIUMENTS. 


ments  was  beneved  to  deal  in  magic,  and  to  perform  his 
feats  of  skill  chiefly  through  the  secret  aid  granted  him  by 
the  prince  of  darkness;  and  in  a  later  and  comparatively 
recent  period,  those  wretched  creatures  whom  the  unfeeling 
credulity  of  our  ancestors,  particularly  during  the  prevalence 
of  religious  fanaticism,  stigmatised  and  murdered  under 
the  denomination  of  witches,  were  supposed  to  work  all 
their  enchantments,  to  change  their  shapes  at  will,  and  to 
transport  themselves  through  the  air  with  the  swiftness  of 
thought,  by  a  power  derived  from  their  infernal  master,  to 
whom  was  thus  assigned  the  privilege  of  conferring  the  gift 
of  aerial  navigation  upon  his  servants. 

During  the  darkness  of  the  Middle  Ages  every  one  at 
all  distinguished  for  his  knowledge  in  physics  was  gene- 
rally reputed  to  have  obtained  the  power  of  flying  in  the 
air.  Friar  Bacon  did  not  scruple  to  claim  the  invention ; 
and  the  credulity  and  indulgent  admiration  of  some  authors 
have  lent  to  these  pretensions  more  credit  than  they  really 
deserved.  Any  one  who  take's  the  trouble  to  examine  the 
passages  of  Bacon's  obscure  and  ponderous  works  will  find 
that  the  propositions  advanced  by  him  are  seldom  foi 
on  reality,  but  ought  rather  to  be  considered  as  the  illu- 
sions of  a  lively  fancy.  Albcrtus  Magnus,  who  flourishod 
in  the  first  half  of  the  13th  century,  was  reputed  to  have 
discovered  the  art;  and  to  give  an  idea  of  the  state  of  the 
physical  sciences  at  that  time,  it  is  worth  while  to  quote 
the  following  recipes  from  his  De  Mirabilibus  Naturae: — 
"  Tako  one  pound  of  sulphur,  two  pounds  of  willow-carbon, 
six  pounds  of  rock-salt  ground  very  fine  in  a  marble  mortar; 
place,  when  you  please,  in  a  covering  made  of  flying  papy- 
rus to  produce  thunder.  The  covering,  in  order  to  ascend 
and  float  away,  should  be  long,  graceful,  well  filled  with 
this  fine  powder;  but  to  produce  thunder,  the  covering 
should  be  short,  thick,  and  half  full."  (Quoted  in  Astra 
Castra,  p.  25.)  Regiomontanus,  the  first  real  mathema- 
tician after  the  partial  revival  of  learning,  is  said,  like 
Archytas,  to  have  formed  an  artificial  dove,  which  flew 
before  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  at  his  public  entry  into 
Nuremberg;  but  the  date  of  Regiomontanus'  death  shows 
this  to  have  been  impossible. 

Attempts  at  flying  have,  as  a  rule,  been  made  by  a  some- 
what low  class  of  projectors,  who  have  generally  united 
some  little  share  of  ingenuity  to  a  smattering  of  mechanics. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  16th  century  an  Italian  alchemist 
visited  Scotland,  and  was  collated  by  James  IV.  to'  the 
abbacy  of  Tnngland,  in  Gallcvay.  Having  constructed  a 
set  of  wings,  composed  of  various  plumage,  he  undertook 
from  the  walls  of  Stirling  Castle  to  fly  through  the  air  to 
France.  This  feat  he  actually  attempted,  but  he  soon  came 
to  the  ground,  and  broke  his  thigh-bone  by  the  violence  of 
the  fall — an  accident  he  explained  by  asserting  that  the 
feathers  of  some  fowls  were  employed  in  his  wings,  and 
that  these  had  an  affinity  for  the  dunghill,  whereas,  if 
composed  solely  of  eagles'  feathers,  they  would  have  been 
attracted  to  the  air.  This  anecdote  has  furnished  to 
Dunbar,  the  Scottish  poet,  the  subject  of  one  of  his  rude 
satires.  In  1617,  Fleyder,  rector  of  the  grammar  school  at 
Tubingen,  delivered  a  lecture  on  flying,  which  he  published 
eleven  years  afterwards.  A  poor  monk,  however,  ambitious 
to  reduce  the  theory  to  practice,  provided  himself  with 
wings;  but  his  machinery  broke  down,  and  falling  to  the 
ground,  he  broke  his  legs  and  perished.  Bishop  Wilkins 
(Mathematical  Magick,  1648)  says  it  was  related  that  "a 
certain  English  monk  called  Elmerus,  about  the  Confessor's 
time,"  flew  by  means  of  wings  from  a  tower  a  distance 
of  more  than  a  furlong;  that  another  person  flew  from 
St  Mark's  steeple  at  Venice;  and  another,  at  Nuremberg. 
He  also  quotes  Busbequius  to  the  effect  that  a  Turk  also 
attempted  something  of  the  kind  at  Constantinople.  It 
would  probably  not  be  very  difficult  to  make  a  long  list  of 


sucli  narrations,  in  some  or  which  the  experimenter  is 
related  to  huve  been  successful,  and  in  others  to  have  failed; 
but  tho  evidence  is  in  no  case  very  good,  and  we  may  feel 
certain  that  all  the  traditions  of  attempts  with  a  successful 
issue  are  false. 

In  Borelli's  posthumous  work,  De  Motu  Animalium,  pub- 
lished at  Rome  in  1680-81,  he  calculated  the  enormouo 
strength  of  the  pectoral  muscles  in  birds;  and  hi*  pronosition 
cciv.  (vol.  L  pp.  322-326)  is  entitled  "  Eat  impossibile,  ut 
homines  propriis  viribus  artificiose  volare  poe*int,"  in  which 
he  clearly  points  out  the  impossibility  of  man  being  able  by 
his  muscular  strength  to  give  motion  to  wings  of  sufficient 
extent  to  keep  him  suspended  in  the  air.  But  Borelli  did 
not,  of  course,  as  has  sometimes  been  stated,  demonstrate 
the  impossibility  of  man's  flying  otherwise  than  merely  by 
means  of  his  own  muscular  power. 

A  very  slight  consideration* of  the  matter  shows  that, 
although  the  muscles  of  man  may  not  be  of  sufficient 
strength  to  enable  him  to  use  wings,  this  objection  does  not 
apply  against  the  possibility  of  making  a  flying  chariot  in 
which  the  motive  power  should  be  produced  mechanically  as 
in  a  watch,  or  a  boat  to  float  in  the  atmosphere.  Both  these 
projects  have  therefore  always  engaged  tho  attention  of 
abler  men  than  has  the  art  of  flying,  and  it  was  only  the 
ignorance  of  the  nature  and  force  of  the  atmosphere,  as 
well  as  of  the  properties  of  all  aeriform  bodies,  that  caused 
so  long  a  time  to  elapse  before  the  invention  of  the  balloon. 

Albert  of  Saxony,  a  monk  of  the  order  of  St  Augustine, 
and  a  commentator  on  the  physical  works  of  Aristotle, 
seems  first  to  have  comprehended  (though  in  a  very  vague 
and  erroneous  manner)  the  principles  on  which  a  body 
might  be  made  to  float  in  the  atmosphere.  Adopting,  of 
course,  Aristotelian  views  with  regard  to  tho' nature  of  the 
elements,  he  considered  that,  as  fire  is  more  attenuated, 
and  floats  above  our  atmosphere,  therefore  a  small  portion 
of  this  ethereal  substance,  enclosed  in  a  light  hollow  globe, 
would  raise  it  to  a  certain  height  and  keep  it  suspended 
in  the  air;  and  that,  if  more  air  were  introduced,  the 
globe  would  sink  like  a  ship  when  water  enters  by  a  leak. 
Long  afterwards  Francis  Mendoza,  a  Portuguese  Jesuit, 
who  died  in  1626,  at  the  age  of  forty-six,  embraced  this 
theory,  and  he  held  that  the  combustible  nature  of  fire  was 
no  real  obstacle,  as  its  extreme  levity  and  the  extension  of 
the  air  would  prevent  it  from  supporting  inflammation. 
Casper  Schott,  also  a  Jesuit,  adopted  the  same  specula- 
tion, only  that  he  replaced  tho  fire  by  the  thin  ethereal 
substance  which  he  believed  floated  above  our  atmospl'.  its  , 
but,  of  course,  the  difficulty  of  procuring  any  of  this  ether 
was  a  sufficient  obstacle. 

Similar  notions  have  been  revived  at  different  times. 
They  were  likewise  often  blended  with  the  alchemical  tenets 
so  generally  received  in  tho  course  of  the  15th,  16th,  and 
part  of  the  17th  centuries.  Thus  Schott  quotes  Lauretus 
Lauras  to  the  effect  that  if  swans'  eggs  or  leather  balls  be 
filled  with  nitre,  sulphur,  or  quicksilver,  and  bo  exposed  to 
the  sun,  they  will  ascend.  It  was  also  believed  that  dew 
was  of  celestial  origin,  being  shed  by  the  stars,  and  that  it 
was  drawn  up  again  in  the  course  of  the  day  to  heaven  by 
the  heat  of  the  sun.  Thus  Lauras  states  that  hens'  eggs 
filled  with  dew  and  exposed  to  the  solar  heat  will  rise. 
He  was  so  grossly  ignorant,  however,  of  the  principles  of 
motion,  that  it  is  not  worth  while  even  to  allude  to  his 
other  assertions. 

Cyrano  de  Bergerac  (born  1620)  wrote  a  philosophical 
romance  entitled  Histoire  Comique  des  Estate  et  Empire  de 
la  Lune,  and  Lea  Estats  et  Empire  du  Soleil  (from  which 
Swift  is  supposed  to  have  derived  the  idea  of  writing 
portions  of  Gulliver's  Travels).  To  equip  himself  for  per- 
forming the  journey  to  the  moon,  the  French  traveller 
fastens  round  his  body  a  multitude  of  very  thin  flasks 


Borelli 

shows 'th 
impossi- 
bility of 
man  Byh 
by  tho  ai 
of  wings. 


Sailing  I 
the  ait 


Albert  i 
Baxouy 


Franc* 
Jleailoa 


Caspet 
Schovt 


AlrVrai 

notions 

Laurcru* 

LftU»U!> 


-v>mai>;« 
or  Cyran 
de  Ber- 
gerac. 


EARLY   EXPERIMENTS.] 


AERONAUTICS 


187 


filled  with  the  morning's  dew;  the  heat  of  tne  sun,  by  its 
attractive  power  on  the  dew,  raised  him  up  to  the  middle 
region  of  the  atmosphere,  whence,  some  of  the  flasks  being 
broken,  the  adventurer  sank  again  to  the  ground.  Other 
aeronautical  ideas  occur  in  the  romance. 

Cardan  proposed  that  ascensional  power  might  be  applied 
as  in  a  rocket;  and  one  Honoratus  Fabry  has  described  a 
huge  apparatus,  consisting  of  long  tin  pipes,  worked  by  air 
compressed  by  the  action  of  fire. 

The  most  noted  scheme  for  navigating  the  air  promul- 
gated previously  to 
the  successful  ex- 
periments of  the 
Montgolfiers,is  due 
to  a  Jesuit,  Francis 
Lana,  and  was  pro- 
posed by  him  in  a 
work  entitled  Pro- 
dromo  dell' Arte 
Maestra,  Brescia, 
1670.  His  idea, 
though  useless  and 
unpractical  in  so 
far  that  it  could 
never  be  carried 
out,  is  yet  deserv- 
ing of  notice,  as 
the  principles  in- 
volved are  sound; 
and  this  can  be 
said  of  no  earlier 
attempt.  His  pro- 
ject was  to  procure 
four    copper    balls  Lana  s  Aeronautical  Machine. 

of  very  large  dimensions,  yet  so  extremely  thin  that 
after  the  air  was  exhausted  f:om  them  they  would  be 
lighter  than  the  air  displaced,  and  so  would  ris*e;  and  to 
those  four  balls  he  proposed  to  attach  a  boat,  with  sails, 
&c,  and  which  would  carry  up  a  man.  He  submitted  the 
whole  matter  to  calculation,  and  proposed  that  the  globes 
should  be  about  25  feet  in  diameter  and  -j-Jsth  of  an  inch 
in  thickness;  this  would  give  from  all  four  balls  a  total 
ascensional  force  of  about  1 200  lb,  which  would  be  quite 
enough  to  raise  the  boat,  sails,  passengers,  &c.  But  the 
obvious  objection  to  the  whole  scheme  is,  that  it  would  be 
quite  impossible  to  construct  a  globe  of  so  large  a  size  and 
of  such  small  thickness  which  would  even  support  its  own 
weight  without  falling  to  pieces  if  placed  on  the  ground, 
much  less  bear  the  external  atmospheric  pressure  when  the 
internal  air  was  removed.  Lana  himself  noticed  the  latter 
objection,  but  he  thought  that  the  spherical  form  of  the 
copper  shell  would,  notwithstanding  its  extreme  thinness, 
enable  it,  after  the  exhaustion  was  effected,  to  sustain  the 
enormous  pressure,  which,  acting  equally  on  every  point  of 
the  surface,  would  tend  to  consolidate  rather  than  to  break 
the  metal.  Of  course  this  assumed  the  ball  to  be  absolutely 
spherical,  a  state  of  affaire  as  impossible  as  indifferent  equi- 
librium actually  is.  He  proposed  to  exhaust  the  air  from 
the  globes  by  attaching  each  to  a  tube  30  feet  long,  fitted 
with  a  stopcock,  and  so  produce  a  Torricellian  vacuum.  He 
was  thus  apparently  ignorant  of  the  invention  of  the  air-, 
pump  by  Otto  Guericke  about  1650;  and  though  his  pro- 
ject is  noteworthy  as  the  hydrostatics  of  it  is  correct,  still 
Lana  displays  his  ignorance  of  philosophical  facts  known 
in  his  day,  quite  as  much  as  his  originality;  and  his  pro- 
position has,  since  Montgolfier's  discovery,  received  a  greater 
share  of  notice  than  it  deserves. 

So  late  as  1755,  and  not  long  before  the  invention  of 
balloons,  a  very  fanciful  scheme  was  proposed  by  Joseph 
Allien,  a  Dominican  friar,  and  professor  of  philosophy  and 


theology  in  the  papal  university  of  Avignon.  This  vision- 
ary  proposed  to  collect  the  diffuse  air  of  the  upper  regions, 
and  to  enclose  it  in  a  huge  vessel  extending  more  than  a 
mile  every  way,  and  intended  to  carry  fifty-four  times  as 
much  weight  as  did  Noah's  ark.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
notice  at  greater  length  this  absurd  chimera,  which  is 
merely  mentioned  hero  at  all  because  it  is  sometimes  re- 
ferred to,  though  only  on  account  of  the  magnitude  of  the 
fantastic  scheme. 

It  is  proper  here  to  remark,  that  nearly  all  the  early  pro- 
jectors imagined  that  the  atmosphere  was  of  no  great 
height,  and  that  it  covered  the  earth  like  a  shallow  ocean, 
having  a  well-defined  boundary;  and  the  aerial  vessels 
Which  they  proposed  were  intended  to  float  on  the  surface 
of  this  ocean,  exactly  as  ships  do  on  the  sea,  with  their 
upper  portions  in  the  ether  or  diffuse  air,  or  whatever  the 
fluid  might  be,  that  lay  above.  And  these  ideas  were,  of 
course,  not  dispelled  till  after  the  invention  of  the  barometer 
and  the  discovery  of  the  law  of  the  decrease  of  atmospheric 
pressure  with  elevation. 

Some  writers  have  stated  that  Francis  Bacon  first  pub- 
lished the  true  principles  of  aeronautics.  This  assertion  we 
cannot  help  noticing,  because  it  has  really  no  foundation 
except  in  the  propensity,  fostered  by  indolence,  which 
would  gladly  refer  all  the  discov««es  ever  made  to  a  few 
great  names.  They  mistake,  indeed,  the  character  of 
Bacon  who  seek  to  represent  him  as  an  inventor.  His  claim 
to  immortality  rests  chiefly  on  the  profound  and  compre- 
hensive views  which  he  took  of  the  bearings  of  the  different 
parts  of  human  knowlege;  for  it  would  be  difficult  to  point 
out  a  single  fact  or  observation  with  which  he  enriched 
the  store  of  physical  science.  On  the  contrary,  being  very 
deficient  in  mathematical  learning,  he  disregarded  or 
rejected  some  of  the  noblest  discoveries  made  in  his  own 
time. 

AVe  can  find  only  two  passages  in  Bacon's  works  which 
can  be  considered  as  referring  to  aeronautics,  and  they 
both  occur  in  that  collection  of  loose  facts  and  inconclusive 
reasonings  which  he  has  entitled  Natural  History.  The  first 
is  styled  Experiment  Solitary,  touching  Flyiny  in  the  A  ir, 
and  runs  thus — "  Certainly  many  birds  of  good  wing  (as 
kites  and  the  like)  would  bear  up  a  good  weight  as  they 
fly;  and  spreading  feathers  thin  and.  close,  and  in  great 
breadth,  will  likewise  bear  up  a  great  weight,  being  even 
laid,  without  tilting  up  on  the  sides.  Tlie  farther  ex- 
tension of  this  experiment  might  be  thought  upon."  The 
second  passage  is  more  diffuse,  but  less  intelligible;  it  is 
styled  Experiment  Solitary,  touching  the  Flying  of  unequal 
Bodies  in  the  Air: — "Let  there  be  a  body  of  unequal 
weight  (as  of  wool  and  lead  or  bone  and  lead) ;  if  you  throw 
it  from  you  with  the  light  end  forward,  it  will  turn,  and 
the  weightier  end  will  recover  to  be  forwards,  unless  the 
body  be°over  long.  The  cause  is,  for  that  the  more  dense 
body  hath  a  more  violent  pressure  of  the  parts  from  the  first 
impulsion,  which  is  the  cause  (though  heretofore  not  found 
out, as  hath  been  often  said)  of  all  violent  motions;  and  when 
the  hinder  part  movcth  swifter  (for  that  it  less  endureth 
pressure  of  parts)  than  tho  forward  part  can  make  way  for 
it,  it  must  needs  be  that  the  body  turn  over;  for  (turned) 
it  can  more  easily  draw  forward  the  lighter  part."  The 
fact  here  alluded  to  is  tho  resistance  that  bodies  experience 
in  moving  through  the  air,  which,  depending  on  the  quan- 
tity of  surface  merely,  must  exert  a  proportionally  greater 
effect  on  rare  substances.  The  passage  itself,  however, 
after  making  every  allowance  lor  the  period  in  which  it 
was  written,  must  be  deemed  confused,  obscure,  and  un- 
philosophicaL 

We  now  come  to  the  discovery  of  the  balloon,  which 
was  due  to  Stephen  and  Joseph  Montgolfier,  sons  of  Pete? 
Montgolfier,  a  larjuc  and  celebrated  papermaker  at  Annonay, 


False  idea* 
with  iegarc 
to  th?  at 
mospbem 


Confusec 
ideas  of 
Bacon  oc 
aeronai- 1 


Discover; 

ufthe 

balloon. 


188 


AERONAUTICS 


[discovery  of 


Th«  bro-  a  town  about  40  miles  from  Lyons.  The  brothers  hud 
thenMor.t-  observed  the  suspension  of  clouds  in  the  atmosphere,  and 
golrier-  it  occurred  to  them  that  if  they  could  enclose  any  vapour 
of  the  nature  of  a  cloud  in  a  large  and  very  light  bag,  it 
might  rise  aud  carry  the  bag  with  it  into  the  air.  They 
accordingly  made  experiments,  inflating  bags  with  smoke 
from  a  fire  placed  underneath,  and  found  either  that  the 
smoke  or  some  vapour  emitted  from  the  firo  did  ascend 
and  carry  tho  bag  with  it.  Being  thus  assured  of  the  cor- 
rectness of  their  views,  they  determined  to  have  a  public 
ascent  of  a  balloon  on  a  large  scale.  They  accordingly 
invited  the  States  of  Vivarais,  then  assembled  at  Annonay, 
to  witness  their  aerostatic  experiment;  and  on  June  5, 
1783,  in  the  presence  of  a  considerable  concourse  of  spec- 
tators, a  linen  globe  of  105  feet  in  circumference  was 
inflated  over  a  fire  fed  with  small  bundles  of  chopped 
straw,  and  when  released  rapidly  rose  to  a  great  height, 
and  descended,  at  the  expiration  of  ten  minutes,  at 
the  .distance  of  about  1£  mile.  This  was  the  dis- 
covery of  the  balloon.  The  brothers  Montgolfier  imagined 
that  tho  bag  rose  because  of  the  levity  of  the  smoke  or 
other  vapour  given  forth  by  tho  burning  straw;  and  it 
was  not  till  some  time  later  that  it  was  recognised  that 
the  ascending  power  was  due  merely  to  tho  lightness  of 
heated  air  compared  to  an  equal  volume  of  air  at  a  lower 
temperature.  Air,  liko  all  other  fluids,  expands  by  heat, 
and  thereby  becomes  rarefied,  so  that  any  volume  of  hot 
air  weighs  less  than  the  corresponding  volume  of  air  at  a 
lower  temperature.  If,  then,  the  air  inside  tho  balloon  be 
so  heated  that  it,  together  with  the  balloon,  weighs  less  than 
the  air  displaced,  the  balloon  will  rise  till  it  arrives  at  such 
a  height  that  it  and  the  enclosed  air  are  equal  in  weight  to 
that  of  the  displaced  air,  when  equilibrium  will  be  ob- 
tained. In  Montgolfier's  first  balloon,  no  source  of  heat 
was  taken  up  with  it,  so  that  the  air  inside  rapidly  cooled, 
and  the  balloon  soon  descended. 
Ascent  of  The  news  of  the  experiment  at  Annonay  rapidly  spread 
"**  first  over  Europe,  and  at  Paris  attracted  so  much  attention  that 
..r-ballooD.  M.  Faujas  de  Saint-Fond,  a  naturalist,  set  on  foot  a  sub- 
scription for  paying  the  expense  of  repeating  the  experi- 
ment. The  balloon  was  constructed  by  two  brothers  of  the 
name  of  Robert,  under  the  superintendence  of  M.  Charles, 
professor  of  natural  philosophy  in  Paris,  and  afterwards  a 
member  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences.  It  had  at  first  been 
suggested  to  copy  the  process  of  Montgolfier,  but  Charles 
proposed  the  application  of  hydrogen  gas,  which  was 
adopted.  The  filling  of  the  balloon,  which  was  made  of  thin 
silk  varnished  with  a  solution  of  elastic  gum,  and,  was  about 
13  feet  in  diameter,  was  commenced  on  August-23,  1783, 
in  the  Place  des  Victoires.  The  hydrogen  gas  was  obtained 
by  the  action  of  dilute  sulphuric  acid  upon  iron  filings,  and 
wa3  introduced  through  leaden  pipes-;  but  as  the  gas  was 
not  passed  through  cold  water,  great  difficulty  was  experi- 
enced in  filling  the  balloon  completely;  and  altogether 
about  500  tt>  of  sulphuric  acid  and  twice  that  amount  of 
iron  filings  were  used.  Bulletins  were  issued  daily  of  the 
progress  of  the  inflation;  and  the  crowd  was  so  great 
that  on  the  26th  the  balloon  was  moved  to  the  Champ 
de  Mars,  a  distance  of  2  mile3.  This  was  done  secretly, 
in  the  middle  of  the  night,  to  avoid  the  crowd;  and  the 
appearance  of  the  balloon  being  thus  removed,  preceded 
by  lighted  torches  and  escorted  by  a  detachment  of 
soldiers,  is  described  as  having  been  very  remarkable.  On 
the  next  day,  August  27,  an  immense  concourse  of  people 
covered  the  Champ  de  Mars,  and  every  spot  from  which 
a  view  could  be  obtained  was  crowded.  About  five  o'clock 
a  cannon  was  discharged  as  the  signal  for  the  ascent, 
and  the  balloon  when  liberated  rose  to  the  height  of 
about  3000  feet  with  great  rapidity.  A  shower  of  rain 
which  began  to  fall  directly  after  the  balloon  had  left  the 


earth  in  no  way  checked  its  progress ;  and  the  excitement 
was  so  great,  that  thousands  of  well-dressed  spectators, 
many  of  them  ladies,  stood  exposed,  watching  it  intently  thtj 
whole  timo  it  was  in  sight,  and  wero  drenched  to  the  skin. 
The  balloon,  after  remaining  in  tho  air  for  about  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour,  fell  in  a  field  near  Goncsse,  about 
15  miles  off,  and  terrified  tho  peasantry  so  much  that 
it  was  torn  into  shreds  by  them.  Hydrogen  gas  was  at 
this  time  known  by  the  namo  of  inflammable  air;  and 
balloons  inflated  with  gas  have  ever  since  been  called  by 
tho  people  air-balloons,  the  kind  invented  by  the  Mont- 
golfiers  being  designated  fire-balloons.  French  writers  luvc 
also  very  frequently  styled  them  after  their  inventors, 
Charlibres  and  Montgolfibrei. 

On  the  19th  of   September  1783  Joseph  Montgolfier  Ascent 
repeated  tho  Annonay  experiment  at  Versailles,  in  the  pre-  sheep,  i 
sence  of  the  king,  the  queen,  the  court,  and  an  iuimeuso  c°c^'  0I 
number  of  spectators.     Tho  inflation  was  commenced  at 
one  o'clock,  and  completed  in  eleven  minutes,  when  the 
balloon  rose  to  the  height  of  about  1500  feet,  and  descended 
after  eight  minutes,  at  a  distance  of  about  two  miles,  in 
the  wood  of  Vaucresson.     Suspended  below  the  balloon,  in 
a -cage,  had  been  placed  a  sheep,  a  cock,  and  a  duck,  which 
were  thus  the  first  aerial  travellers.     They  were  quite  un- 
injured, except  the  cock,  which  had  its  right  wing  hurt  in 
consequence  of  a  kick  it  had  received  from  the  sheep;  but 
this  took  place  before  the  ascent.     The  balloon,  which  was 
painted  with  ornaments  in  oil  colours,  had  a  very  showy  Sec  Plnl 
appearance. 

The  first  human  being  who  ascended  in  a  balloon  was  Ascent 
M.  Ffanjois  Pilatre  de  Rozier,.  a  young  naturalist, 'who,  Jl-  Pil:1 
two  years  afterwards,  was  killed  in  an  attempt  to  cross  l,c  J"'"" 
the  English  Channel  in  a  balloon.     On  October  15,  1783,  jiBrn„i 
and  following  days,  ho  made   several  ascents   (generally  d'Arlmi 
alone,  but  once  with  a  companion,  M.  Girond  do  Villette), 
in  a  captive  balloon  (i.e.,  one  attached  by  ropes  to  the 
ground),  and  demonstrated  that  there  was  no  difficulty  in 
taking  up  fuel  and  feeding  the  fire,  which  was  kindled  in  a 
brazier  suspended  under  the  balloon,  when  in  the  air.     Tho 
way  being  thus  prepared  for  aerial  navigation,  on  November 
21,  1783,  M.  Pilatre  de  Rozier  and  the  Marquis  d'Arlandcs 
first  trusted  themselves  to  a  free  fire-balloon.     The  experi- 
ment was  made  from  the  Jardin  du  Chateau  de  la  Muctte, 
in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne.     The  machine  employed,  which 
was  a  large  fire-balloon,  was  inflated  at  about  two  o'clock,  and 
leaving  the  earth  at  this  time,  it  rose  to  a  height  of  abort 
500  feet,  and  passing  over  tho  Invalides  and  the  Ecolo 
Militaire,  descended  beyond  the  Boulevards,  about  OOOOyards 
from  the  place  of  ascent,  having  been  between  twenty  and 
twenty-five  minutes  in  tie  air.     The  result  was  completely 
successful;  and  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add,  the  excite- 
ment in  Paris  was  very  great. 

Only  ten  days  later,  viz.,  on  December  1,  1783,  MM. 
Charles  and  Robert  ascended  from  Paris  in  a  balloon  in- 
ftatcd  with  hydrogen  gas.  The  balloon,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  small  one  of  the  same  kind  previously  launched  from 
the  Champ  de  Mars,  was  constructed  by  the  brothers 
Robert.  It  was  27  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  car  was  sus- 
pended from  a  hoop  surrounding  tho  middle  of  tho 
balloon,  and  fastened  to  a  net  which  covered  the  upper 
hemisphere.  The  balloon  ascended  very  gently  from  tlio 
Tuileries  at  a  quarter  to  two  o'clock,  and  after  remaining 
for  some  time  at  an  elevation  of  about  2000  feet,  it  de- 
scended in  about  two  hours  at  Nesle,  &■  small  town 
about  27  miles  from  Paris,  when  M.  Robert  left  tho  car, 
and  M.  Charles  made  a  second  ascent  by  himself.  Ho 
had  intended  to  have  roplaced  the  weight  of  his  companion 
by  a  nearly  equivalent  quantity  of  ballast;  but  not  having 
any  suitable  means  of  obtaining  surh  ready  at  the  place  of 
descent,  and  it  being  just  upon  sunset,  ho  gavo  the  word 


TEE  BALLOON.] 


AERONAUTICS 


189 


to  let  go,  and  the  balloon  being  thus  so  greatly  lightened, 
ascended  very  rapidly  to  a  height  of  about  2  miles. 
After  staying  in  the  air  about  half-an-hour,  he  descended 
3  miles  from  the  place  of  ascent,  although  he  believed 
the  distance  traversed,  owing  to  different  currents,  to  have 
been  about  9  miles.  In  this  second  journey  M.  Charles 
experienced  a  violent  pain  in  his  right  ear  and  jaw,  no 
doubt  produced  by  the  rapidity  of  the  ascent.  He  also 
witnessed  the  phenomenon  of  a  double  sunset  on  the  same 
day;  for  when  he  ascended,  the  sun  had  set  in  the  valleys, 
and  as  he  mounted  he  saw  it  rise  again,  and  set  a  second 
time  as  he  descended. 

All  the  features  of  the  modern  balloon  as  now  used  are 
more  or  less  due  to  Charles,  who  invented  the  valve  at  the 
top,  suspended  the  car  from  a  hoop,  which  was  itself  at- 
tached to  the  balloon  by  netting,  &c.  The  M.  Robert 
who  accompanied  him  in  the  ascent  was  one  of  the  brothers 
who  had  constructed  it. 

On  January  19,  1784,  the  largest  balloon  on  record 
(if  the  contemporary  accounts  are  correct)  ascended  from 
Lyons.  It  was  more  than  100  feet  in  diameter,  about 
130  feet  in  height,  and  when  distended  had  a  capacity, 
it  is  said,  of  over  half-a-million  cubic  feet.  It  was  called 
the  Flesselles  (from  the  name  of  its  proprietor  or  owner, 
we  believe),  and  after  having  been  inflated  from  a  straw 
fire  in  seventeen  minutes,  it  rose  with  seven  persons 
in  the  car,  viz.,  Joseph  Montgolfier,  Pilatre  de  Rozier, 
Count  de  Laurencin,  Count  de  Dampierre,  Prince  Charles 
de  Ligne,  Count  de  Laport  d'Anglefort,  and  M.  Fontaine, 
the  last  gentleman  having  leaped  into  the  car  just  as  the 
machine  had  started.  The  fire  was  fed  with  trusses  of 
straw,  and  the  balloon  rose  majestically  to  the  height  of 
about  3000  feet,  but  descended  again  after  the  lapse  of 
about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  from  the  time  of  starting,  in 
consequence  of  a  rent  in  the  upper  part, 
in  It  is  proper  here  to  state  that  researches  on  the  use  of 
ic  gas  for  inflating  balloons  seem  to  have  been  carried  on  at 
eD'  Philadelphia  nearly  simultaneously  with  the  experiments 
of  the  Montgolfiers ;  and  when  the  news  of  the  latter 
reached  America,  Messrs  Eittenhouse  and  Hopkins,  mem- 
bers of  the  Philosophical  Academy  of  Philadelphia,  con- 
structed a  machine  consisting  of  forty-seven  small  hydrogen 
gas-balloons  attached  to  a  car  or  cage.  After  several  pre- 
liminary experiments,  in  which  animals  were  let  up  to  a 
certain  height  by  a  rope,  a  carpenter,  one  James  Wilcox, 
was  induced  to  enter  the  car  for  a  small  sum  of  money ; 
the  ropes  were  cut,  and  he  remained  in  the  air  about  ten 
minutes,  and  only  then  effected  his  descent  by  making  in- 
cisions in  a  number  of  the  balloons,  through  fear  of  falling 
into  the  river,  which  he  was  approaching, 
i  The  improvements  that  have  been  made  in  the  manage- 

t  ment  and  inflation  of  balloons  in  the  last  ninety  years  have 
>on.  only  had  reference  to  details,  so  that  as  far  as  essential 
principles  are  concerned  the  subject  is  now  in  pretty  much 
the  same  state  as  it  was  in  1783.  We  have  therefore  ar- 
rived at  a  point  in  the  history  of  the  balloon  where  it  is 
well  to  consider  how  much  the  Montgolfiers  and  Charles 
owed  to  their  predecessors ;  and  it  is  proper  here  to  state 
that,  although  we  have  assigned  the  invention  to  the  two 
brothers,  Stephen  and  Joseph — as  no  doubt  they  both 
conducted,  the  early  experiments  together — still  there  is 
reason  to  believo  that  the  Bhare  of  the  latter  was  very 
small.  Stephen,  however,  although  the  originator  of 
balloons,  does  not  appear  ever  to  have  ascended  himself, 
and  Joseph  did  not  repeat  the  ascent  just  mentioned  in  the 
Flesselles.  The  Montgolfiers  had  studied  Priestley's  Ex- 
periments relating  to  different  kinds  of  Air,  whence  they 
first  conceived  the  possibilityx>f  navigating  the  atmosphere ; 
but  their  experiment  was  so  simple  as  to  require  scarcely  any 
philosophical  knowledge.     They  had  seen  smoke  ascend. 


and  thought  tha't  If  they  could  imprison  it  in  a  bag,  the 
bag  might  ascend  too ;  and  the  observation  and  reasoning 
were  both  such  as  might  occur  to  anybody.  This  does  not 
detract  from  their  merit;  it,  on  the  contrary,  adds  to  it. 
The  fact  that  millions  of  persons  must  have  observed  the 
same  thing,  and  had  not  derived  anything  practical  there- 
from, only  enhances  the  glory  of  those  who  in  such  well- 
worn  tracts  did  make  a  discovery;  but  the  simplicity  of 
the  invention  shows  that  it  is  needless  to  inquire  whence 
the  brothers  were  led  to  make  it,  and  how  far  any  part  of 
the  credit  is  due  to  their  predecessors.  It  is  scarcely  pos- 
sible to  imagine  anything  more  remarkable  than  that,  the 
fact  that  a  light  bag  held  over  a  fire  would  ascend  into  the  air 
was  not  discovered  till  1783,  notwithstanding  that  men  in 
all  ages  had  seen  smoke  ascend  from  fire  (though,  of  course, 
the  fire-balloon  does  not  ascend  for  exactly  the  same  reason 
that  smoke  does).  It  might  be  supposed  that  the  connec- 
tion of  the  Montgolfiers  with  a  paper  manufactory  gave 
them  facilities  for  constructing  their  experimental  balloons 
of  thin  paper;  and  perhaps  such  was  the  case,  although 
we  can  find  no  evidence  of  it.  With  regard  to  Charles's 
substitution  of  hydrogen  gas,  there  are  anticipations  that 
must  be  noticed.  As  early  as  1766  Cavendish  showed 
that  this  gas  was  at  least  seven  times  lighter  than  ordinary 
air,  and  it  immediately  occurred  to  Dr  Black,  of  Edinburgh,  Dr  Black'? 
well  known  as  the  discoverer  of  latent  heat,  that  a  thin  bag  expert- 
filled  with  hydrogen  gas  would  rise  to  the  ceiling  of  a  room.  njents 
He  provided,  accordingly,  the  allantois  of  a  calf,  with  the 
view  of  showing  at  a  public  lecture  such  a  curious  experi- 
ment; but  for  some  reason  it  seems  to  have  failed^  and 
Black  did  not  repeat  it,  thus  allowing  a  great  discovery, 
almost  within  his  reach,  to  escape  him.  Several  years 
afterwards  a  similar  idea  occurred  to  Tiberius  Cavallo,  Cavallo 
who  found  that  bladders,  even  when  carefully  scraped,  are  inflated 
too  heavy,  and  that  China  paper  is  permeable  to  the  gas.  ^j*^"!. 
But  in  17S2,  the  year  before  the  invention  of  the  Mont- j,  jrogi-1 
golfiers,  he  succeeded  in  elevating  soap-bubbles  by  in-  gas  ui 
fiating  them  with  hydrogen  gas.  The  discovery  of  1782. 
fire-balli>ons  might  have  taken  place  almost  at  any  time 
in  the  world's  history,  but  the  substitution  of  hydrogen 
gas  for  heated  air  could  not  have  been  made  previously  to 
the  latter  half  of  the  last  century;  and  although  all  the 
honour  of  an  independent  discovery  belongs  to  the  Mont- 
golfiers, Charles,  by  his  substitution  of  "  inflammable  air  " 
for  heated  air,  merely  showed  himself  acquainted  with 
the  state  of  chemical  science  of  his  day.  Charles  never 
again  ascended  after  his  double  expedition  on  the  1st  of 
December  1783. 

We  now  return  to  the  history  of  aerial  navigation,  and 
commence  with  an  account  of  the  first  ascents  of  balloons 
in  this  country.  Although  the  news  of  the  Annonay  and 
subsequent  experiments  in  France  rapidly  spread  all  over 
Europe,  and  formed  a  topic  of  general"  discussion,  still  it 
was  not  till  five  months  after  the  Montgolfiers  had  first 
publicly  sent  a  balloon  into  the  air  that  any  aerostatic 
experiment  was  made  in  England.  In  November  1783 
Count  Zambeccari,  an  Italian,  who  happened  to  be  in 
London,  made  a  balloon  of  oil-silk,  10  feet  in  diameter, 
and  weighing  lift.  It  was  publicly  shown  for  several 
days,  and  on  the  25th-  it  was  three-quarters  filled  with 
hydrogen  gas,  and  launched  from  the  Artillery  ground  at 
one  o'clock  It  descended  after  two  hours  and  a  half  near 
Petworth,  in  Sussex,  48  miles  from  London.  This  was 
the  first,  balloon  that  ascended  from  English  ground.  On 
February '22,  1784,  a  hydrogen  gas  balloon,  5  feet  in 
diameter,  was  let  up  from  Sandwich,  in  Kent,  and  de- 
scended at  Warneton,  in  French  Flanders,  75  miles 
distance.  This  was  the  first  balloon  that  crossed  the 
Channel  The  difficulties  and  dangers  of  aerial  navi- 
gation having  been  surmounted  by  the  end  of  the  year 


190 


AERONAUTICS 


[REMARKABLE    ASCENTK. 


1783,  the  ascents  of  balloons  were  now  multiplied  in  all 
quarters.  It  will  therefore  be  suflicient  to  notice  very 
briefly  only  the  more  remarkable  of  the  succeeding  ascents. 

The  Chevalier  Paul  Audreani.  of  Milan,  constructed  a  fire- 
balloon  68  feet  in  diameter,  and  on  February  25,  1784, 
ascended  from  Milan  with  two  brothers  of  the  name  of 
Gerli,  and  remained  in  the  air  for  about  twenty  minutes. 
This  is  usually  regarded  as  the  first  ascent  in  Italy  (but 
Bee  Monck  Mason's  Aeronautica,  p.  247).  Andreani 
ascended  again  on  March  13,  with  two  other  persons. 

On  the  2d  of  March  M.  Jean  Pierre  Blanchard,  who  had 
been  for  some  years  before  occupied  with  projects  for 
flying,  made  his  first  voyage  from  Paris  in  a  balloon  27 
feet  in  diameter,  and  descended  at  Billancourt,  near 
Sevres.  Just  as  the  balloon  was  about  to  ascend,  a  young 
man  jumped  into  the  car,  and,  drawine  his  sword,  de- 
clared his  determination  to  ascend  with  Blanchard.  He 
was  ultimately  removed  by  force.  The  episode  is  worth 
noting,  as  it  has  sometimes  been  stated  that  the  young 
man  was  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  but  this  is  untrue ;  his 
name  was  Dupont  de  Chumbon.  Blanchard  made  sub- 
sequently, it  is  said,  more  than  thirty  aerial  voyages,  and 
he  is  one  of  the  most  celebrated  of  the  earlier  aeronauts. 
He  also  crossed  the  English  Channel,  as  noticed  further  on. 

On  July  15,  1784,  the  Due  de  Chartres  and  the  two 
brothers  Robert  ascended  from  St  Cloud ;  but  the  neck  of 
the  balloon  becoming  choked  up  with  an  interior  balloon 
filled  with  common  air,  intended  to  regulate  the  ascending 
and  descending  power,  they  were  obliged  to  make  a  hole  in 
the  balloon,  in  order  to  allow  of  the  escape  of  the  gas,  but 
they  descended  in  safety. 

The  first  person  who  rose  into  the  air  from  British 
ground  appeare  to  have  been  Mr  J.  Tytler,1  who  ascended 
from  the   Comely   Gardens,   Edinburgh,    on  August    27, 

1784,  in  a  fire  balloon  of  his  own  construction.  He 
descended  on  the  road  to  Restalrig,  about  half-a-mile  from 
the  place  where  he  rose.  A  brief  account  appeared  in  a 
letter,  under  date  August  27,  in  the  London  Chronicle, 
and  we  have  seen  a  picture  of  the  balloon  copied  in  some 
journal  from  a  "  ticket  in  the  British  Museum."  Mr  Tytler's 
claims  were  for  a  long  time  entirely  overlooked,  the  honour 
being  invariably  assigned  to  Lunardi,  till  attention  was 
called  to  them  by  Mr  Monck  Mason  in  1838.  After 
Lunardi's  successful  ascents  in  1785,  Mr  Tytler  addressed 
a  set  of  verses  to  him  (quoted  in  Astra  CaUra,  p.  108),  in  a 
note,  to  which  he  gives  a  modest  account  of  his  own  "  mis- 
fortunes," describing  his  two  "leaps."  This  is,  perhaps, 
the  most  correct  name  for  them,  as  his  apparatus  having 
been  damaged  at  different  times,  ho  merely  heated  the  air 
in  the  balloon,  and  went  up  without  any  furnace,  being 
seated  in  an  ordinary  basket  for  carrying  earthenware.  He 
reached  a  height  of  from  350  to  500  feet. 

Although,  by  a  few  days  Tytler  has  the  precedence,  still 
his  attempts  and  partial  success  were  all  but  totally  un- 
known; whereas  Lunardi's  experiments  excited  an  enormous 
amount  of  enthusiasm  in  London,  and  it  was  he  that 
practicfelly  introduced  aerostation  into  this  country  in  the 
face  of  very  great  disadvantages.  We  have  already  referred 
to  the  extraordinary  apathy  displayed  in  England  with 
regard  to  aerostatic  experiments,  one  consequence  of  which 
was  that  their  introduction  was  duo  to  a  foreigner.  Vincent 
Lunardi  was  secretary  to  Prince  Caramanico,  the  Neapoli- 
tan ambassador,  and  his  published  letters  to  his  guardian, 
the  Chevalier  Compagni,  written  while  he  was  carrying 
out  his  project,  and  detailing  all  the  difficulties;  <tc,  he 
met  with  as  they  occurred,  are  very  interesting,  and  give  a 
vivid  account  of  the  whole  matter.     His  balloon  was  33 

1  Mr  Tytler  contributed  largely  to,  and,  indeed,  appears  to  have 
lieen  virtually  editor  of,  the'second  edition  (1778-83)  of  the  Encyclo- 
uzu'ia  liritannica. 


feet  in  circumference,  and  was  exposed  to  the  public  view 
at  the  Lyceum  in  the  Strand,  where  it  was  visited  by 
upwards  of  20,000  people.  It  was  his  original  inten- 
tion to  have  ascended  from  Chelsea  Hospital,  but  the  con- 
duct of  a  crowd  at  a  garden  at  Chelsea,  which  destroyed 
the  fire-balloon  of  a  Frenchman  named  De  Morct,  who 
announced  an  ascent  on  August  11,  but  was  unable  to 
keep  his  word,  led  to  the  withdrawal  of  the  leave  that 
had  been  granted.  Ultimately,  after  some  difficulties  had 
been  arranged,  he  was  permitted  to  ascend  from  the  Artil- 
lery ground,  and  on  September  15,  1784,  the  inflation 
with  hydrogen  gas  took  place.  It  was  intended  that  Mr 
Biggin,  an  English  gentleman,  should  accompany  Lunardi; 
but  the  crowd  becoming  impatient,  the  latter  judged  it 
prudent  to  ascend  with  the  balloon  only  partially  full 
rather  than  risk  a  longer  delay,  and  accordingly  Mr  Biggin 
was  obliged  to  leave  the  car.  Lunardi  therefore  ascended 
alone,  in  presence  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  an  enormous 
crowd  of  spectators.  He  took  up  with  him  a  pigeon,  a 
dog,  and  a  cat,  and  the  balloon  was  provided  with  oars, 
by  means  of  which  ho  hoped  to  raise  or  lower  it  at 
pleasure.  Shortly  after  starting,  the  pigeon  escaped,  and 
one  of  the  oars  became  broken  and  fell  to  the  ground. 
In  about  an  hour  and  a  half  ho  descended  at  South 
Mimms,  in  Hertfordshire,  and  landed  the  cat,  which  had 
suffered  from  the  cold:  he  then  ascended  again,  and  de- 
scended, after  the  lapse  of  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour, 
at  Standon,  near  Ware,  where  he  had  great  ditliculty  in 
inducing  the  peasants  to  come  to  his  assistance;  but  at 
length  a  young  woman,  taking  hold  of  one  of  the  cords, 
urged  the  mt-n  to  follow  her  example,  which  they  then 
did.  The  excitement  caused  by  this  ascent  was  immense, 
and  Lunardi  at  once  became  the  star  of  the  hour.  He 
was  presented  to  the  king,  and  was  courted  and  flattered 
on  all  side3.  To  show  the  enthusiasm  displayed  by  the 
people  during  his  ascent,  he  tells  himself,  in  his  sixth 
letter,  how  a  lady,  mistaking  the  oar  which  fell  for  himself, 
was  so  affected  by  his  supposed  destruction  that  she  died 
in  a  few  days ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  says  he  was  told 
by  the  judges  "  that  he  had  certainly  saved  the  life  of  a 
young  man  who  might  possibly  be  reformed,  and  be  to  the 
public  a  compensation  for  the  death  of  the  lady;"  for  the 
jury  were  deliberating  on  the  fate  of  a  criminal,  whom 
they  must  ultimately  have  condemned,  when  the  balloon 
appeared,  and  every  one  became  inattentive,  and  to  save 
time  they  gave  a  verdict  of  acquittal,  and  the  whole  court 
came  out  to  view  the  balloon.  The  king  also  was  in  con- 
ference with  his  ministers;  but  on  hearing  that  the  balloon 
was  passing,  he  broke  up  the  discussion,  remarking  "that 
they  might  resume  their  deliberations,  but  that  perhaps 
they  might  not  see  Lunardi  again;  upon  which  he,  .Mr 
Pitt,  and  the  other  ministers  viewed  the  balloon  through 
telescopes.  The  balloon  was  afterwards  exhibited  in  tho 
Pantheon.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  following  year  (1785) 
Lunardi  made  several  very  successful  ascents  from  Kelso, 
Edinburgh,  and  Glasgow  (in  one  of  which  he  traversed  a 
distance  of  110  miles):  these  he  has  described  in  a  second 
series  of  letters.  He  subsequently  returned  to  Italy,  where 
we  believe  he  still  followed  the  practice  of  aerostation, 
and  made  many  ascents.  He  died  on  July  31,  180G,  at 
Lisbon,  according  to  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  but  a  con- 
temporary newspaper  gives  Genoa  as  the  place,  and  adds 
that  he  died  in  a  state  of  very  great  indigence. 

Lunardi's  example  was  soon  followed  by  others,  and  on  i 
October  16,  1784,  Blanchard  ascended  from  Little  Cheisea  agents 
with  Mr  Sheldon,  and  having  deposited  the  latter  at  Sun-  ^'fi1*"1 
bury,  rose  again  alone,  and  descended  at  Romney  Marshes. 
On  November  12,  Mr  James  Sadler,  sen.,  ascended  from- 
Oxford,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  he  made 
a  previous  ascent  from  the  same  place  on  October  1 2,  four 


REMARKABLE   ASCENTS.] 


AERONAUTICS 


191 


clays  previous  to  Blanchard's  (see  Monck  Mason,  p.  274, 
where  it  is  stated  that  he  attempted  to  ascend  in  a  fire- 
balloon  on  September  12,  but  that  the  balloon  was  burnt). 
On  November  30,  1784-,  Blauchard  again  ascended,  accom- 
panied this  time  by  Dr  J.  Jeffries,  an  American  physi- 
cian. On  January  4,  1785,  Mr  Harper  ascended  from 
lard  Birmingham ;  and  on  January  7,  Blanchard  and  Dr  Jeffries 
achieved  the  feat  of  crossing  the  Channel  from  Dover  to 
'  Calais.  At  seven  minutes  past  one  the  balloon  left  Dover 
■  Castle,  and  in  their  passage  they  had  a  most  magnificent  view 
of  both  shores.  When  about  one-third  across  they  found 
themselves  descending,  and  threw  out  every  available  thing 
from  the  boat  or  car.  When  about  three-quarters  across 
they  were  descending  again,  and  had  to  throw  out  not  only 
the  anchor  and  cords,  but  also  to  strip  and  throw  away  part 
of  their  clothing,  after  which  they  found  they  were  rising, 
and  their  last  resource,  viz.,  to  cut  away  the  car,  was 
rendered  unnecessary.  As  they  approached  the  shore  the 
balloon  rose,  describing  a  magnificent  arch  high  over  the 
land.  They  descended  in  the  forest  of  Guinnes. 
r  On  March  23,  1785,  Count  Zambeccari,  who  had,  as  we 

ccari.  have  seen,  launched  the  first  balloon  from  English  ground, 
ascended  for  the  first  time  with  Admiral  Vernon  from 
London.  Shortly  afterwards  he  returned  to  his  own 
country,  and  there  applied  himself  assiduously  to  the  prac- 
tice of  aerial  navigation.  He  twice,  in  1803  and  1804, 
descended  into  the  Adriatic,  and  both  times  only  escaped 
after  undergoing  much  danger.  Descending  in  a  fire- 
balloon  on  September  21,  1812,  after  a  voyage  from 
Bologna,  the  shock  of  the  grapnel  catching  in  a  tree  caused 
the  balloon  to  catch  fire;  and  to  save  themselves  from 
being  burnt,  Zambeccari  and  his  companion,  Signor  Bonaga, 
leaped  from  the  car.  The  former  was  killed  on  the  spot, 
but  the  latter,  though  fearfully  injured,  escaped  with 
his  life, 
f  On  June  15,  17'85,  Pilatre  de  Rozier  made  his  last  fatal 

de  voyage  from  Boulogne.  It  was  his  intention  to  have 
repeated  the  exploit  of  Blanchard  and  Jeffries  in  the 
reverse  direction,  and  have  crossed  from  Boulogne  to  Eng- 
land. For  this  purpose  he  had  contrived  a  double  balloon, 
which  he  expected  would  combine  the  advantages  of  both 
kinds — a  fire-balloon,  10  feet  in  diameter,  being  placed 
underneath  a  gas-balloon  of  37  feet  in  diameter,  so  that 
by  increasing  or  diminishing  the  fire  in  the  former  it  might 
be  possible  to  ascend  or  descend  without  waste  of  gas. 
Rozier  was  accompanied  by  M.  P.  A.  Komain,  and  for 
rather  less  than  half-an-hour  after  the  aerostat  ascended  all 
seemed  tov  be  going  on  well,  when  suddenly  the  whole 
apparatus  was  seen  in  flames,  and  the  unfortunate  adven- 
turers came  to  the  ground  from  the  supposed  height  of 
more  than  .TOOO  feet.  Rozier  was  killed  on  the  spot,  and 
Romain  only  survived  about  ten  minutes.  A  monument 
was  erected  on  the  place  where  they  fell,  which  was  near 
the  sea-shore,  about  four  miles  from  the  starting-point. 
The  Marquis  de  la  Maisonfort  had  accompanied  Rozier  to 
Boulogne,  intending  to  ascend  with  him,  but  M.  Romain 
there  insisted  on  a  prior  promise.  Either  the  upper  bal- 
loon must  have  been  reached  by  the  flames,  and  the  gas 
taken  fire,  or  the  gas  must  have  poured  down  into  the 
lower  balloon,  and  so  have  caused  the  explosion. 

We  must  not  omit  to  mention  that  on  June  4,  1784, 
Madame  Thible  ascended  from  Lyons  in  a  fire-balloon 
with  M.  Fleurand,  in  the  presence  of  King  Gustavus  of 
Sweden,  then  travelling  under  the  name  of  Count  Haga. 
Madame  Thible  is  very  likely  the  only  woman  who  ever 
ascended  in  a  fire-balloon.  The  first  Englishwoman  who 
ever  ascended  into  the  air  was  Mrs  Sage,  who  accompanied 
lat  Mr  Biggin  in  his  voyage  from  London  on  June  29,  1785. 
inti-  Accounts  are  given  nf  an  ascent  at  Constantinople,  made 
in   the  presence  of  the   Sultan,  by  a  Persian  physician. 


accompanied  by  two  Bostangis,  early  in  the  year  178C>, 
who,  crossing  the  sea  which  divides  Europe  from  Asia, 
descended  about  30  leagues  from  the  coast. 

\\  e  have  now  given  a  brief  account  of  all  the  noteworthy  Most  o!  the 
voyages  that  took  place  within  the  first  two  or  three  years  subsequent 
after  the  discovery  of  the  balloon  by  Montgolfier.    Ascents  ^c*n.ts 
were  multiplied  from  this  time  onwards,  and  it  is  impos-  J^jerukei- 
sible  to  give  even  a  list  of  the  many  hundreds  that  have  for  ple.i- 
taken  place  since:    this    omission   is,   however,   of    slight  sure,  and 
importance,  as  henceforth  the  balloon  became  little  better  ot  "°  lwr- 
than  a  toy,  let  up  to  amuse  people  at  fetes  or  other  public  I"anent 
occasions.     When  the  first  ascents  were  made  in  France, 
the  glow  of  national  vanity  was  lighted  up,  and  the  most 
brilliant  expectations  were  felt  with  regard  to  aerostation, 
and  the  glory  to  the  nation  that  would  accrue  therefrom. 
These  anticipations  have  not  been  realised,  and  the  balloan 
at  this  moment  has  received  no  great  improvement  since 
the  time  of  Charles,  except  the  substitution  of  ordinary 
coal-gas  for  hydrogen,  which  has  rendered  the  inflation  of 
a  balloon  at  any  gas-works  a  comparatively  simple  matter, 
bearing  in  mind  the  elaborate  contrivances  required  for  the- 
generation  of  hydrogen  in  sufficient  quantities.      But  in 
one  respect  the  balloon  has  been  of  real  service,  viz.,  to 
science,  in   rendering  the  attainment  of  observations  in 
the  higher  strata  of  the  atmosphere  not  only  possible  but 
practicable.      In   regard  to  such  matters  the  balloon  is 
unique,  as  the  atmosphere  is  the  great  laboratory  of  nature, 
in  which  are  produced  all  the  phenomena  of  weather,  the. 
results  of  which  we  perceive  on  the  earth;  and  no  observa- 
tions made  on  mountain-sides  can  take  the  place  of  those 
made  in  the  balloon,  as  what  is  required  is  the  knowledge 
of  the  state  of  the  upper  atmosphere  itself,  free  from  the 
disturbing  effects  of  the  contiguity  of  the  land.    Although, 
therefore,  in  what  follows,  we  shall  notice  any  particularly 
remarkable  ascents,  we  3hall  chiefly  confine  ourselves  to  the 
few  that  have  been  undertaken  for  the  sake  of  advancing 
science,  and  which  alone  are  of  permanent  value.     It  will 
be  necessary  to  make  one  exception  to  this  rule,  however, 
in  the  case  of  the  parachute,  the  experiments  with  which 
require  some  notice,  although  they  have  been  put  to  no 
useful  purpose.    The  balloon  has  also  been  used  in  warfare 
as  a  means  of  observing  the  movements  of  the  enemy; 
and  the  applications  of  it  to  this  purpose  deserve  notice, 
although  we  think  not  so  much  use. has  been  made  of  the 
balloon  in  this  direction  as  might  have  been. 

The  substitution  of  coal-gas  for  hydrogen  is  due  to  Mr  Suostitu- 
Charles   Green,  the  veteran  aeronaut,  who  made  several  tion  of  coal- 
hundred  ascents,  the  first  of  which  took  place  on  July  19,  J?3       ,  {' 
1821,  the  coronation  day  of  George  TV.     In  this  ascent  <jirrQ°ee^ 
ordinary  coal-gas  was  first  used;  and  every  balloon,  with 
very  few  exceptions,  that  has  ascended  since  this  date  ha3 
been  so  inflated.     Pall  Mall  was  first  lighted  by  gas  in 
1807,  and  at  the   end  of  1S14   the   general   lighting  of 
London  by  gas  commenced;  so  that   coal-gas   could  not 
have  been  available  for  filling  balloons  long  before  it  Tvas 
actually  used. 

Leaving  out  of  consideration  the  ascents  undertaken  for  Subsequent 
scientific  objects  (very  many  of  which  were  remarkable  for  famous 
the  height  attained  or  the  distance  traversed,  and  which  *scents  . 
will  be  specially  noticed  further  on),  we  proceed  to  men-  ^gc\ 
tion  the  most  noteworthy  ascents  that  have  taken  place 
and  that  have  not  ended  fatally  (these  latter  will  be  re- 
ferred to  separately).    Mr  Crosbie,  a  gentleman  who  was 
the  first  to  ascend  from  Ireland  (January  19,  1785),  on  the 
19th  July  1785  attempted  to  cross  St  George's  Channel 
to  England,  but  fell  into  the  sea;  he  was  saved  by  some 
vessels  that  came  to  his  rescue.     Lunardi  also  fell  into  the 
sea,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  shore,  after  an  ascent 
from  Edinburgh  in  December  1785;  he  was  rescued  by  a 
fishing-boat.     Richard    Maguire  was   the   second   person 


192 


AERONAUTICS 


[remarkable  ascents. 


who  ascended  from  Ireland.  Mr  Crosbie  had  inflated  his 
balloon  on  May  12,  1785,  but  it  was  unable  to  take  him 
up,  when  Mr  Maguire,  a  student  at  the  university,  who 
was  present,  offered  to  ascend.  His  offer  was  accepted, 
and  he  made  the  ascent.  For  this  he  was  knighted  by  the 
Lord-Lieutenant  (Monck  Mason,  p.  266).  On  July  22, 
17S5,  Major  Money  ascended  from  Norwich.  The  balloon 
was  blown  out  to  sea,  and  he  was  obliged  to  descend  into 
the  water.  After  remaiD;ng  there  seven  hours  he  was  rescued 
by  a  revenue  cutter  which  had  been  despatched  to  his 
mce.  Mr  James  Sadler  attempted  to  cross  St  George's 
nel  on  the  1st  of  October  1812,  and  had  nearly  suc- 
ceeded, when,  in  consequence  of  a  change  in  the  wind,  he 
was  forced  to  descend  into  the  sea  off  Liverpool.  After 
remaining  in  the  water  some  time,  he  was  rescued  by  a 
fishing-boat.  But  onJuly22, 1817, Mr  Windham  Sadler,his 
second  son,  succeeded  in  crossing  the  Channel  from  Dublin 
to  Holyhead.  On  May  24,  1837,  Mr  Sneath  ascended 
from  near  Mansfield  in  a  fire-balloon,  and  descended 
safely.  At  half-past  one  o'clock  on  November  7,  1836, 
Mr  Robert  Hollond,  Mr  Monck  Mason,  and  Mr  Charles 
Green  ascended  from  Vauxliall  Gardens,  and  descended  at 
about  two  leagues  from  'Weilburg,  in  the  duchy  of  Nassau, 
at  half-past  seven  the  next  morning,  having  thus  traversed 
a  distance  of  about  500  miles  in  18  hours;  Litfgo  was 
passed  in  the  course  of  the  night,  and  Coblentz  in  the  early 
morning.  A  full  account  of  this  trip  is  given  by  Mr  Monck 
Mason  in  his  Aeronautica  (1838).  The  balloon  in  which 
the  journey  was  performed  (a  very  large  one,  containing 
about  85,000  cubic  feet  of  gas),  was  subsequently  called 
the  Nassau  Balloon,  and  under  that  namo  became  famous, 
and  ascended  frequently. 


Xquestvun 
accents. 


The  Great  Nassau  Balloon. 

We  ought  also,  perhaps,  to  notice  a  curious  ascent  made 
by  Mr  Green  on  July  29,  1828,  from  the  Eagle  Tavern, 
City  Road,  on  the  back  of  a  favourite  pony.  Underneath 
the  balloon  was  a  platform  (in  place  of  a  car)  containing 
places  for  the  pony's  feet,  and  some  straps  went  loosely 
under  his  body,  to  prevent  his  lying  down  or  moving  about. 


Everything  passed  off  satisfactorily,  the  balloon  descending 
safely  at  Beckenham ;  the  pony  showed  no  alarm,  but 
quietly  ate  some  beans  with  which  its  rider  supplied  it  in 
the  air.  Equestrian  ascents  have  since  been  repeated.  Id 
1852,  Madame  Poitevin,  who  had  made  several  such  jour- 
neys in  Paris,  ascended  from  Cremorne  Gardens,  London, 
on  horseback  (as  "  Europa  on  a  bull");  but  after  the  first 
journey  its  repetition- was  stopped  in  England  by  applica- 
tion to  the  police  courts,  as  the  exhibition  outraged  public 
feeling.  Lieutenant  Gale  was  killed  at  Bordeaux  on  Sept 
8,  1850,  in  descending  after  an  equestrian  ascent,  through 
mismanagement  in  landing  of  the  horse.  M.  Poitevin,  de- 
scending in  1858,  after  an  equestrian  ascent  from  Paris, 
was  nearly  drowned  in  the  sea  near  Malaga.  Among 
remarkable  balloon  ascents  must  also  be  noticed  that  of 
Mr  Wise,  from  St  Louis,  on  June  23,  1859,  in  which  a 
distance  of  1120  miles  was  traversed. 

In  1863,  Nadar,  a  well-known  photographer  at  Paris,  Na,lar'» 
constructed  an   enormous   balloon,  which  he  called  "  Le  ballooi*- 
Geant."     It  was  the  largest  gas-balloon  ever  constructed, 
containing  over  200,000  cubic  feet  of  gas.      Underneath  it 
was  placed  a  smaller  balloon,  called  a  compensator,  the 
object  of  which  was  to  prevent  loss  of  gas  during  the  voyage. 
The  car  had  two  stories,  and  was,  in  fact,  a  model  of  a 
cottage  in   wicker-work,  8  feet  in  height  by  13  feet  in 
length,  containing  a  small  printing-office,  a  photographic 
department,  a  refreshment-room,  a  lavatory,  &c.     The  first 
ascent  took  place  at  five  o'clock  on  Sunday,  October  4, 
1863,  from  the  Champ  de  Mars.     There  were  thirteen  per- 
sons in  the  car,  including  one  lady,  the  Princess  de  la  Tour 
d'Auvergne,  and  the  two  aeronauts  Louis  and  Jules  Godard. 
In  spite  of  the  elaborate  preparations  that  had  been  made 
and  the  stores  of  provisions  that  were  taken  up,  the  balloon 
descended  at  nine  o'clock,  at  Meaux,  the  early  descent 
being  rendered  necessary,  it  was  said,  by  an  accident  to  the 
valve-line.     A  second  ascent  was  made  a  fortnight  later, 
viz.,  on  October  18;  thero  were  nine  passengers,  including 
Madame  Nadar.     The  balloon  descended  at  the  expiration 
of  seventeen  hours,  near  Nienburg  in  Hanover,  a  distance 
of  about  400  miles.     A  strong  wind  was  blowing,  and 
the  balloon  was  dragged  over  the  ground  a  distance  of  7 
or  8  miles.     All  the  passengers  were  bruised,  and  some 
more  seriously  hurt.  The  balloon  and  car  were  then  brought 
to  England,  and  exhibited  for  some  time  at  the  Crystal 
Palace  at  the  end  of  1863  and  beginning  of  1864.     The 
two  ascents  of  Nadar's  balloon  excited  an  extraordinary 
amount  of  enthusiasm  and  interest,  vastly  out  of  pro- 
portion to  what  they  were  entitled  to.     The  balloon  was 
larger  than  any  of  the  same  kind  that  had  previously 
ascended  ;  but  this  was  scarcely  more  than  just  appreci- 
able to  the  eye,  as  the  doubling  the  contents  of  a  balloon 
makes  comparatively  slight  addition  to  its  diameter.    M. 
Nadar's  idea  was  to  obtain  sufficient  money,  by  the  ex- 
hibition of  his   balloon,  to  carry  out  a  plan  of  aerial 
locomotion  he  had  conceived  possible  by  means  of  the 
principle  of  the  screw  ;  in  fact,  he  spoke  of  "  Le  Geant" 
as  "the  last  balloon."     He  also  started  L'Aeronaule,  a 
newspaper  devoted  to  aerostation,  and  published  a  small 
book,  which  was  translated  into  English  under  the  title 
Tlie  Bight  to  Fly.     Nadar's  ascents  had  not  the  remotest 
connection  with  science,  although  he  claimed  that  they  had ; 
nor  was  his  knowledge,  as  shown  in  his  writings,  sufficient 
to  have  enabled  him  to  advance  it  in  any  way. 

Directly  after  Nadar's  two  balloon  ascents,  M.  Eugene  E-«e«- 
Godard  constructed  what  was  perhaps  the  largest  aerial  Gu4arf" 
machine  that  has  ever  been  made.    It  was  a  Montgolfier  or  b"jj*0Bi 
fire-balloon,  of  nearly  half-a-million  cubic  feet  capacity 
(more  than  double  the  capacity  of  Nadar's).     The  balloon 
Flesselles,  1783,  is  said  to  have  slightly  exceeded  this 
size.     The  air  was  heated  by.  an  18  feet  stove,  weigh- 


CELEBRATED    AERONAUTS  ] 


AERONAUTICS 


193 


ing,  with  the  chimney,  980  lb.  This  furnace  was  fed 
by  straw;  and  the  "car"  consisted  of  a  gallery  sur- 
rounding it.  Two  ascents  of  this  balloon  were  made 
from  Cremorne  Gardens,  on  July  20  and  July  28,  1864. 
After  the  first  journey  the  balloon  descended  at  Greenwich, 
and  after  the  second  at  Walthamstow,  whero  it  was  in- 
jured by  being  blown  against  a  tree.  Notwithstanding 
the  enormous  size  of  the  balloon,  M.  Godard  asserted  that 
it  could  be  inflated  in  half  an  hour,  and  the  inflation 
at  Cremorne  did  not  occupy  more  than  an  hour.  The 
ascent  of  the  balloon  was  a  very  striking  sight,  the  flames 
roaring  up  the  chimney  of  the  furnace  into  the  enormous 
globe  above.  The  trusses  of  straw  were  suspended  by  ropes 
from  the  gallery  below  the  car,  and  were  drawn  up  and  placed 
in  the  furnace  as  required.  This  was  the  first  fire-balloon 
seen  by  the  inhabitants  of  London,  and  it  was  the  second 
ascent  of  this  kind  that  had  been  made  in  this  country,  Mr 
Sneath's  ascent  at  Mansfield  having  been  the  first,  as  Mr 
Tytler's  experiment  at  Edinburgh  in  1784  was  a  leap,  not 
an  ascent,  as  no  source  of  .heat  was  taken  up.  In  spite  of 
the  rapidity  with  which  the  inflation  was  effected,  few  who 
oaw  the  ascent  could  fail  to  receive  an  impression  most 
favourable  to  the  gas-balloon  in  tho  matter  of  safety,  as  a 
rough  descent,  with  a  heated  furnace  as  it  were  in  the  car, 
could  not  be  other  than  most  dangerous, 
cte*  In  the  summer  of  1873  the  proprietors  of  the  New  York 
>n  Daily  Graphic,  an  illustrated  paper,  determined  to  con- 
!e  '  Btruct  a  very  large  balloon,  and  enable  Mr  Wise,  the  well- 
V •  ,  known  American  aeronaut,  to  realise  his  favourite  scheme 
of  crossing  the  Atlantic  Oceaa  to  Europe.  It  was  believed 
by  many  that  a  current  from  west  to  east  existed  con- 
stantly at  heights  above  10,000  feet,  but  this  seems  very 
uncertain.  Mr  Green  having  stated  that  he  had  met  with 
such  a  current,  Mr  Glaisher  made  a  point  of  investigating 
the  directions  of  the  wind  at  different  heights  in  his  ascents, 
but  found  that  they  were  as  capricious  as  near  the  ground. 
The  same  result  was  found  by  others,  and  a  comparison  of 
the  courses  of  the  balloons  sent  up  from  Paris  during  the 
siege  will  show  that  no  constant  current  exists.  The 
American  project  came  to  nothing  owing  to  the  quality 
of  the  material  of  which  the  balloon  was  made.  The  size 
was  said  to  be  such  as  to  contain  400,000  cubic  feet,  so 
that  it  would  lift  a  weight  of  14,000  ft).  On  Septem- 
ber 12,  1873,  during  its  inflation,  Mr  Wise  declared  the 
material  of  which  it  was  made  was  so  bad  that  he  could 
not  ascend  in  it,  though  the  other  two  persons  who  were  to 
accompany  him  agreed  to  go.  When,  however,  325,000 
feet  of  gas  had  been  put  into  the  balloon,  a  rent  was  ob- 
served, and  the  whole  rapidly  collapsed.  Although  this 
accident  was  greatly  regretted  at  the  time,  it  seems  pretty 
certain,  from  what  subsequently  took  place,  that  the 
aeronauts  would  not  have  succeeded  in  their  object,  and 
a  serious  mishap  was  probably  avoided.  On  October 
6,  1873,  Mr  Donaldson  and  two  others  ascended  from  New 
York  in  the  balloon  after  it  had  been'repaired,  and  effected 
a  perilous  descent  in  Connecticut.  During  the  autumn  of 
1873  a  great  amount  of  discussion  took  place  both  in  Eng- 
land and  America  about  the  existence  of  the  westerly  current 
and  the  subject  of  aerostation.  In  September  1873  Mr 
Barnum,  the  well  known  American  showman,  visited  Eng- 
land with  the  view  of  eliciting  whether,  in  the  opinion  of 
those  best  qualified,  there  was  sufficient  probability  of  a 
successful  result  to  induce  him  to  undertake  the  construction 
of  a  suitable  balloon, 
rated  By  aeronauts  (omitting  the  pioneers  Lunardi,  Zamoec- 
auts.  carj;  and  others  who  have  been  already  spoken  of)  we 
mean  persons  who  have  followed  ballooning  as  a  business 
or  trade.  Of  these,  perhaps  the  best  known  and  most 
successful  have  been  Blanchard,  Garnerin,  tho  Sadlera, 
Mr  Charles  Green.  Mr  Wise,  Mr  Coxwell,  and  the  brothers 

1-8 


Godara.  -  Blanchard  made,  it  is  said,  thirty-six  ascents,  hia 
first  having  taken  place  on  March  2,  1784.  His  wife  also 
made  many  ascents;  she  was  killed  on  July  7,  1819. 
Garnerin  is  said  to  have  ascended  more  than  fifty  'mes; 
he  introduced  night  ascents  with  fireworks,  (fee.,  the  first  of 
which  took  place  on  August  4,  1807.  We  shall  havo 
occasion  to  refer  to  him  again  when  we  treat  of  parachutes. 
Mr  James  Sadler  made  about  sixty  ascents,  the  first  of 
which  took  place  on  October  12,  1X84.  His  two  sons, 
John  and  Windham,  both  followed  in  their  father's  steps; 
the  latter  was  killed  fn  1817.  In  the  minds  of  most 
Englishmen  the  practice  of  ballooning  will,  for  a  long  time, 
be  associated  with  the  name  of  Mr  Charles  Green,  the  most 
celebrated  of  English  aeronauts,  who,  having  made  his  first 
ascent  on  July  19,  1821,  only  died  in  the  year  1870,  at  a 
very  advanced  age.  He  is  credited  with  526  ascents  by 
Mr  Turnor;  and  from  advertisements,  <tc,  we  see  that  in 
1838  he  had  made  249.  Mr  Green  may  be  said  to  have 
reduced  ballooning  to  routine,  and  he  made  more  ascents 
than  any  other  person  has  ever  accomplished.  He 
accompanied  Mr  Welsh  in  his  scientific  ascents,  and  to 
him  is  also  due  the  invention  of  the  guide  rope,'  which  he 
used  in  many  of  his  voyages  with  success.  It  merely  con- 
sisted of  a  rope  not  less  than  1000  feet  in  length, 
which  was  attached  to  the  ring  of  the  balloon  (from  which 
the  car  is  suspended),  and  hung  down  so  that  the  end  of 
it  was  allowed  to  trad  along  the  surface  of  the  ground,  the 
object  being  to  p»event  the  continual  waste  of  gas  and 
ballast  that  takes  place  in  an  ordinary  balloon  journey,  as 
such  an  expenditure  is  otherwise  always  going  on,  owing  to 
the  necessity  of  keeping  the  balloon  from  getting  either  too 
high  or  too  low.  If  a  balloon  provided  with  a  guide  rope 
sinks  so  low  that  a  good  deal  of  the  rope  rests  on  the 
earth,  it  is  relieved  of  so  much  weight  and  rises  again;  if, 
on  the  contrary,  it  rises  so  high  that  but  a  little  is  supported 
by  th'e  earth,  a  greater  weight  is  borne  by  the  balloon,  and 
equilibrium  is  thus  produced.  Mr  Green  frequently  used  tho 
guide  rope,  and  found  that  its  action  was  satisfactory,  and 
that  it  did  not,  as  might  be  supposed,  become  entangled  in 
trees,  &c.  It  was  used  in  the  Nassau  journey,  but  mora 
recent  aeronauts  have  dispensed  with  it.  Still,  in  crossing 
the  sea  or  making  a  very  long  journey,  where  the  preser- 
vation of  the  gas  was  of  great  importance,  it  could  not 
fail  to  be  valuable.  Mr  Green  had,  in  his  time,  more 
experience  in  the  management  than  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of 
any  one  else,  and  he  brought  to  bear  on  the  subject  a  groat 
amount  of  skill  and  practical  knowledge.  There  is  also  a 
plain  matter-of-fact  stylo  about  bis  accounts  of  his  ascents 
that  contrasts  very  favourably  with  the  writings  of  some 
other  aeronauts.  Mr  Coxwel),  who  has  made  several 
hundred  ascents,  first  ascended  in  1844,  under  the  name  of 
Wells.  He  it  was  who,as  aeronaut,  accompanied  Mr  Glaisher 
in  most  of  his  scientific  ascents,  1862-65.  The  Godard 
family  have  made  very  many  ascents  in  France,  and  are 
well  known  in  all  countries  in  connection  with  aeronautics. 
It  was  to  two  of  the  Godards  that  the  management  of  the 
military  balloons  in  the  Italian  campaign  was  entrusted; 
it  was  M.  Jules  Godard  who  succeeded  in  opening  tlw  valve 
in  the  dangerous  descent  of  Nadar's  balloon  La  Hanover  in 
1863,  and  it  was  Eugene  Godard  who  constructed  perhaps 
the  largest  Montgolfier  ever  made,  an  account  of  the  ascen- 
sions of  which  has  been  given  above.  M.  Dupuis  Delcourt 
was  also  a  well-known  aeronaut;  he -has  written  on  the  sub- 
ject of  aerostation,  and  his  balloons  were  employed  by  MM. 
Bixio  and  Barral  in  their  scientific  asteuts.  In  .America 
Mr  Wise  is  par  excellence  the  aeronaut;  he  ha3  made 
several  hundred  ascents,  and  many  of  them  are  distin- 
guished for  much  skill  and  daring.  He  also  appears  to 
have  pursued  his  profession  with  more  energy  and  capacity 
than  has  anv  other  aeronaut  in  recent  times,  and  his  llitfuip 


194 


AERONAUTICS 


[scientific. 


of  Aerostation  shows  him  to  possess  much  higher  scientific, 
attainments  than  balloonists  usually  have.  In  fact,  Mr 
Wise  stands  alone  in  this  respect,  as  nearly  all  professional 
aeronauts  are  destitute  of  scientific  knowledge. 

The  number  of  fatal  accidents  that  have  occurred  in  tho 
history  of  balloons  is  not-  very  great,  and  nearly  all  havo 
resulted  either  from  the  use  of  tho  fire-balloon,  or  from 
want  of  knowledge,  or  carelessness  on  the  part  of  the 
aeronauts  themselves.  We  have  already  referred  to  the 
accidents  that  closed  the  careers  of  Pilatro  do  Rozier  and 
Zambeccavi.  On  November  25,  1802,  Signor  Olivari,  at 
Orleans,  and  on  July  17,  1812,  Here  Bittorff,  at  Mannheim, 
icd  in  consequence  of  the  accidental  combustion  of 
their  Montgolfiires.  On  April  7,  1S0G,  11.  Mosment 
ascended  from  Lille  tipon  a  platform,  from  which  he  acci- 
dentally fell  and  was  k<".  \\.  On  July  7,  1819,  Madame 
Elanchard  ascended  irom  Paris  at  night  with  fireworks 
attached  to  the  car,  a  spark  from  one  of  which  ignited  the 
gas  in  the  balloon,  and  sho  was  precipitated  to  the  ground 
and  killed.  Lieut.  Harris  a;  cended  from  Loudon  on  May 
25,  1824,  but,  through  mismanagement  of  the  valve-line, 
he  allowed  all  the  gas  to  escape  suddenly  from  the  balloon, 
which  descended  with  terriblo  velocity.  He  was  killed  by 
the  fall,  but  hi3  companion,  Miss  Stocks,  escaped  almost 
uninjured.  In  an  ascent  from  Blackburn  on  September  29, 
1824,  by  Mr  Windham  Sadler,  the  balloon,  in  rising,  struck 
against  a  chimney,  and  the  aeronaut  fell  over  the  side  of 
the  car  and  was  killed.  On  July  24,  1837,  Mr  Cocking 
descended  from  a  balloon  in  a  parachute,  which  struck  the 
ground  with  such  violence  that  he  was  killed  on  the  spot. 
In  descending  with  a  horse  on  September  8,  1850,  Lieut 
Gale  was  killed;  and  in  1863  Mr  Chambers  was  killed  at 
Nottingham,  his  death  arising  from  suffocation  by  the  gas 
that  poured  out  at  tho  neck  of  the  balloon,  which  was  not 
separated  from  the  car  by  a  sufficient  interval. 
TV  mini-  Tho  number  of  accidents  that  have  occurred  bears  but  a 
ber  of  per-  very  small  proportion  to  the  number  of  successful  ascents 
*ons  who  juat  jjave  keen  maj0-  ]k£r  Monck  Mason,  in  his  Aeronautica, 
•scendcii  gives  a  list  of  the  names,  with  the  dates  and  places  of  their 
Jto  balloons,  ascent,  of  all  persons  who,  as  far  as  he  could  find,  had 
ascended  previously  to  1838.  His  list  contains  471  names, 
which  are  distributed  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  different 
countries  as  follows: — England,  313;  France,  104;  Italy, 
18;  Germany  and  the  German  States,  17;  Turkey,  5; 
Prussia,  3;  Russia,  2;  Poland,  2;  Hungary,  2,  Denmark, 
1;  Switzerland,  1;  and  the  United  States,  3.  'Among 
these  are  the  names  of  49  women,  of  whom  28  are  English, 
17  French,  3  German,  and  1  Italian.  Some  of  the  persons 
had  ascended  a  great  number  of  times;  thus  Mr  Charles 
Green's  ascents  alone  amounted  to  more  than  249;  and 
those  of  the  members  of  the  same  family  to  535.  Mr 
Mason  calculated  that  the  whole  number  of  ascents  executed 
by  Englishmen  was  752.  Of  the  471  adventurers  only  nine 
were  killed,  and  of  these  six  owed  their  fate  to  the  dangers 
attendant  on  the  tise  of  the  fire-balloon,  and  one  to  bravado. 
The  great  number  of  our  own  countrymen  that  appear  in 
the  above  list  is  no  doubt  partially  due  to  tha  fact  that  it 
was  compiled  by  an  Englishman,  to  whom  English  news- 
papers and  other  records  were  more  accessible;  still  there 
is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  a  much  greater  number  of 
Englishmen  have  ascended  than  inhabitants  of  any  other 
country,  as  balloons  as  an  amusement  at  fetes,  <kc,  have 
been  more  common  here.  The  number  of  Englishmen  who 
have  ascendedmight  now  be  estimated  at  from  1 500  to  2000. 
We  oan  call  to  mind  but  three  fatal  casualties  that  have 
aken  place  since  Mr  Mason  compiled  his  list,  viz.,  Mr 
Cooking's  parachute  accident,  Mr  Gale's  death  in  1850, 
and  Mr  Chambers'  death  in  1863. 
Scientific  We  come  now  to  an  account  of  the  use  to  which  the 
uoente.       balloon  has  been  applied  for  the  advancement  of  science. 


The  ascents  that  have  been  aiadf.  uie  by  Sacharof,  Biot 
and  Gay-Lussao  in  1804,  by  Bixio  and  Bairal  in  1850,  by 
Mr  Welsh  in  1852,  by  Mr  Glaishcr  in  1862-  66,  and  MM. 
Flammarion  and  Do  Fonviclle  in  1867-68.  We  shall  give 
a  brief  account  of  these  ascents,  because,  as  has  beer, 
remarked,  with  a  fow  exceptions,  they  form  the  only  useful 
purposo  to  which  the  balloon  has  been  applied.  The  gene- 
ral description  of  tho  phenomena,  etc.,  met  with  in  a  high 
ascent,  and  the  general  results  found,  are  referred  to  in  the 
account  of  Mr  Glaishcr's  experiments,  as  not  only  arc  his 
accounts  more  detailed,  but  the  number  of  ascents  made  by 
him  is  much  in  excess  of  that  of  all  the  others  put  together. 

The  Academy  of  Sciences  at  St  Petersburg,  entertaining 
tho  opinion  that  the  experiments  made  on  mountain-sides 
by  Do  Luo,  De  Saussure,  Humboldt,  and  others  must  give 
results  different  from  those  made  in  free  air  at  the  same 
heights,  resolved  in  1803  that  a  balloon  ascent  should  be 
mado for  thepurposeof  making scif^lificresearchcs.  Accor- 
dingly, on  January  30, 1804,  M  Sacharof,  a  member  of  tho 
academy,  ascended,  vvith  M.  Robertson  as  aeronaut,  in  a 
balloon  belonging  to  the  latter,  which  was  inflated  with 
hydrogen  gas.  The  asceat  was  nade  at  a  quarter  past  seven, 
and  the. descent  effected  at  a  quarter  to  eleven.  No  great 
height  was  reached,  as  the  barometer  never  sank  below 
23  in.,  corresponding  to  less  than  1 J  mile.  The  experiments 
were  not  very  systematically  made,  and  the  chief  results 
were  the  filling  and  bringing  down  several  flasks  of 
air  collected  at  different  elevations,  and  the  supposed 
observation  that  the  magnetic  dip  was  altered.  A  tele 
soope  was  fixed  in  the  bottom  of  the  car  pointing  vertical!} 
downwards,  so  that  tho  travellers  might  be  able  to  ascer- 
tain exactly  the  spot  over  which  they  were  floating  at  any' 
moment.  M.  Sacharof  found  that,  on  shouting  downwards 
through  his  speaking-trumpet,  the  echo  from  the  earth  was 
quite  distinct,  and  at  his  height  was  audible  after  an 
interval  of  about  ten  seconds.  M.  Sacharof's  account  is 
given  in  the  Philosophical  Magazine  (Tilloch's),  voL  xxL 
pp.  193-200  (1805). 

At  the  commencement  of  1804  Laplace  proposed  to  the 
members  of  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences  that  balloons 
•should  be  employed  for  the  purpose  of  solving  certain 
physical  problems,  adding  that,  as  the  government  had 
placed  funds  at  their  disposal  for  the  prosecution  of  use- 
ful experiments,  he  thought  they  might  bo  well  applied 
to  this  kind  of  research.  The  proposition  was  supported 
by  Chaptal  the  chemist,  who  was  then  minister  of  the 
interior,  and  accordingly  the  necessary  arrangements  were 
speedily  effected,  the  charge  of  the  experiments  being  given 
to  JIM.  Gay-Lussac  and  Biot. 

The  principal  object  of  this  ascent  was  to  determine  if  Ascent 
the  magnetic  force  experiences  any  appreciable  diminution  Gay-Lu 
at  heights  above  the  earth's  surface,  De  Saussure  having  lac, 
found  that  such  was  the  case  upon  the  Col  du  Geant.    On  August 
August  24,  1804,  MM.  Gay-Lussac  and  Biot  (the  former  1804. 
eminent  as  a  chemist  and  the  latter  as  a  natural  philo- 
sopher) ascended  from  the  Conservatoire  des  Arts  at  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning.     Their  magnetic  experiments  were 
incommoded  by  the  rotation  of  the  balloon,  but  they  found 
that,  up  to  the  height  of  13,000  feet,  the  time  of  vibration 
of  a  magnet  was  appreciably  the  same  as  on  tho  earth's 
surface.     They  found  also  that  the  air  became  drier  as  they 
ascended.     The  height  reached  was  about  13,000  feet, 
and  the  temperature  declined  from  63°  Fahr.  to  51°,     The 
descent  was  effected  about  half -past  cne,  at  Meriville,  IS 
leagues  from  Paris. 

In  a  second  experiment,  which  was  made  on  September  Ascent 
16,  1804,  M.  Gay-Lussac  ascended  alone.  The  balloon  M.  Gay 
left  the  Conservatoire  des  Arts  at  9.40  a.m.,  and  descended  J'ussac> 
at  3.45  P.M.  between  Kouen  and  Dieppe.  The  chief  result  ig^gn 
obtained  was  that  the  magnetic  force,  like  gravitation,  did     ' 


ASCENTS.] 


AERONAUTICS 


195 


u'ii  experience  any  sensible  variation  at  heights  from 
the  earth's  surface  which  we  can  attain  to.  Gay-Lussac 
also  brought  down  air  collected  at  the  height  of  nearly 
23,090  feet,  and  on  analysis  it  appeared  that  its  constitu- 
tion was  the  same  as  that  of  air  collected  at  the  earth's 
surface.  At  the  time  of  leaving  the  earth  the  thermometer 
stood  at  82°  Fahr. ,  and  at  the  highest  point  reached  (23,000 
feet)  it  was  14°-9  Fahr.  Gay-Lussac  remarked  that  at 
his  highest  point  there  were  still  clouds  above  him. 

From  180-4  to  1850  there  is  no  record  of  any  scientific 
ascents  in  balloons  having  been  undertaken.  In  the  latter 
year  MM.  Bixio  and  Barral  made  two  ascents  for  this  pur- 
pose. They  ascended  from  the  Paris  Observatory  on  June 
29,  1850,  at  10.27  a.  M.,  the  balloon  being  inflated  with 
hydrogen  gas.  The  day  was  a  rough  one,  and  the  ascent 
took  place  suddenly,  without  any  previous  attempt  having 
been  made  to  test  the  ascensional  force  of  the  balloon. 
When  liberated,  it  rose  with  great  rapidity,  and  becoming 
fully  inflated  it  pressed  upon  the  network,  bulging  out  at 
the  top  and  bottom.  As  the  ropes  by  which  the  car  was 
suspended  were  too  short,  the  balloon  soon  covered  the 
travellers  like  an  immense  hood.  In  endeavouring  to 
secure  the  valve-rope,  a  rent  was  made  iu  the  balloon,  and 
the  gas  escaped  so  close  to  the  faces  of  the  voyagers  as 
almost  to  suffocate  them.  Finding  that  they  were  descend- 
ing then  too  rapidly,  they  threw  overboard  everything 
available,  including  their  coats,  and  only  excepting  the 
instruments.  The  ground  was  reached  at  lOh.  45m.,  near 
Lagny.  Of  course  no  observations  were  made. 
Jnly  MM.  Bixio  and  Barral  determined  to  ascend  again  with- 

1850.  ou);  delay,  and  accordingly,  on  July  27,  1850,  they  repeated 
the  experiment.  The  ascent  was  remarkable  on  account  of 
the  extreme  cold  met  with.  At  about  20,000  feet  the 
temperature  was  15°  Fahr.,  the  balloon  being  enveloped  in 
cloud;  but  on  emerging  from  the  cloud,  at  23,000  feet,  the 
temperature  sank  to  -  38°  Fahr.,  no  less  than  53°  Fahr. 
below  that  experienced  by  Gay-Lussac  at  the  same  eleva- 
tion. The  existence  of  these  very  cold  clouds  served  to 
explain  certain  meteorological  phenomena  that  were  ob- 
served on  the  earth  both  the  day  before  and  the  day  after 
the  ascent.  Some  pigeons  were  taken  up  in  this,  as  in 
most  other  high  ascents,  and  liberated ;  they  showed  a  re- 
luctance to  leave  the  car,  and  then  fell  heavily  downwards. 
Velsli's  In  July  1852  the  committee  of  the  Kew  Observatory 
af-  resolved  to  institute  a  series  of  balloon  ascents,  with  the 
J In  view  of  investigating  such  meteorological  and  physical 
phenomena  as  require  th6  presence  of  an  observer  at  a 
great  height  in  the  atmosphere.  Mr  Welsh,  of  the  Kew 
Observatory,  was  the  observer,  and  Mr  Green's  great  Nassau 
balloon  was  employed,  Mr  Green  himself  being  the  aeronaut. 
Four  ascents  were  made  in  1852,  viz.,  on  August  17, 
August  26,  October  31,  and  November  10,  when  the 
respective  heights  of  19,510,  19,100,  12,640,  and  22,930 
feet  were  attained.  A  siphon  barometer,  dry  and  wet 
bulb  thermometers,  aspirated  and  free,  and.  a  Regnault's 
hygrometer  were  taken  up.  Some  air  collected  at  a  con- 
siderable height  was  found  on  analysis  not  to  differ  appre- 
ciably in  its  composition  from  air  collected  neai  the  ground. 
The  original  observations  are  printed  in  extenso  in  the  Philo- 
sophical Transactions  for  1853,  pp.  311-346.  The  lowest 
temperatures  met  with  in  the  four  ascents  were  respectively 
8°"7  Fahr.  (19,380  feet);  12°-4  Fahr.  (18,370);  16°4 
Fahr.  (12.640);  -  10°-5  Fahr.  (22.370);  the  decline  of  tem- 
perature being  very  regular. 
t*n  As-  At  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association  for  the  Ad- 
•tion  vancement  of  Science  held  at  Aberdeen  in  1859,  a  com- 
"^  mittee  was  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  making  observations 
jnittet.  *u  t*le  higher  strata  of  the  atmosphere  by  means  of  the 
balloon.  For  the  first  two  years  nothing  was  effected, 
owing  to  the  want  both  of  an  observer  and  of  a  suitable 


balloon.  In  1861,  at  Manchester,  the  committee  wis  reap, 
pointed,  and  it  then  consisted  of  Colonel  Sykes  (chairman/, 
Mr  Airy,  Sir  David  Brewster,  Mr  Fairbairn.  Admiral  Fitzroy, 
Mr  Gassiot,  Mr  James  Glaisher,  Sir  J.  Herschel,  Dr  Lee, 
Dr  Lloyd,  Dr  W.  A.  Miller,  Dr  Eooiuson,  and  Dr  TyndalL 
Some  unsuccessful  experiments  were  made  with  a  balloon  of 
Mr  Green's,  and  also  with  one  hired  from  the  proprietors  of 
Cremorne  Gardens,  which  turned  out  to  be  in  a  hopelessly 
leaky  condition ;  the  trained  observers  also,  on  whom  the 
committee  had  relied,  failed  to  perform  their  duties.  In 
this  state  of  affairs,  Mr  Coxwell,  an  aeronaut  who  kid 
made  a  good  many  ascents,  was  communicated  with,  and 
he  agreed  to  construct  a  new  balloon,  of  90,000  cubic 
feet  capacity,  on  the  condition  that  the  committee  would 
undertake  to  use  it,  and  pay  £25  for  each  high  ascent 
made  especially  for  the  committee,  the  latter  defraying  alsc 
the  cost  of  gas,  &c,  bo  that  the  expense  of  each  high  ascent 
amounted  to  nearly  £50.  An  observer  being  still  wanted, 
Mr  Glaisher,  a  member  of  the  committee,  offered  himself  to 
take  the  observations,  and  accordingly  the  first  ascent  was 
made  on  July  17, 1862,  from  the  gas-works  at  Wolverbamp 
ton,  this  town  being  chosen  on  account  of  its  central  position 
in  the  country.  Altogether,  Mr  Glaisher  made  twenty-eigh  t 
ascents,  the  last  having  taken  place  on  May  26,  1866.  (.  i 
these  only  seven  were  specially  high  ascents,  although  six 
others  were  undertaken  for  the  objects  of  the  committee 
alone.  On  the  other  occasions  Mr  Glaisher  availed  himself 
of  public  ascents  from  the  Crystal  Palace  and  other  places 
of  entertainment,  merely  taking  his  place  hie  the  other 
passengers.  Ia  the  last  six  ascents  another  aeronaut,  Jlr 
Orton,  and  a  smaller  balloon,  were  employed.  The  dates, 
places  of  ascent,  and  greatest  heights  (in  feet)  attained  in 
the  twenty-eight  ascents  were — 1862:  July  17,  Wolver- 
hampton, 26,177;  July  30,  Crystal  Palace,  6937;  August 
18,  Wolverhampton,  23,377;  August  20,  Crystal  Palace, 
5900;  August  21,  Hendon,  14,355;  September  1,  Crystal 
Palace,  4190;  September  5,  Wolverhampton,  37,000; 
September  8,  Crystal  Palace,  5428.  1863:  March  31, 
Crystal  Palace,  22,884;  April  18,  Crystal  Palace,  24,163; 
June  26,  Wolverton,  23,200;  July  11,  Crystal  Palace, 
6623;  July  21,  Crystal  Palace,  3298;  August  31,  New- 
castle-upon-Tyne, 8033;  September  29,  Wolverhampton, 
16,590;  October  9,  Crystal  Palace,  7.310.    1864:  January 

12,  Woolwich,  11,897;  April  6,  Woolwich,  11,075;  June 

13,  Crystal  Palace,  3543;  June  20,  Derby,  4280;  June 
27,  Crystal  Palace,  4898;  August  29,  Crystal  Palace, 
14,581;  December  1,  Woolwich,  5431;  December  30, 
Woolwich,  3735.  1865:  February  27,  Woolwich,  4S65; 
October  2,  Woolwich,  1949;  December  2,  Woolwich, 
4628.  1866:  May  26,  Windsor,  6325.  Of  these,  all  the 
ascents  from  Wolverhampton  (four  in  number)  and  from 
Woolwich  (seven  in  number)  were  undertaken  wholly  for 
the  committee,  and  Mr  Glaisher  was  merely  accompanied 
by  the  aeronaut,  whose  business  it  was  to  manage  th< 
balloon.  The  expense  of  the  special  high  ascents  (about 
£50  for  each,  as  stated  above)  rendered  it  desirable,  when 
possible,  to  take  advantage  of  the  desire  felt  by  many  to 
accompany  Mr  Glaisher  in  his  journey,  and  admit  one  or 
two  other  travellers ;  and  of  this  kind  were  one  or  two  of 
the  ascents  from  the  Crystal  Palace,  though  the  majority, 
in  which  the  elevation  attained  frequently  fell  short  of  a 
mile,  were  the  ordinary  public  ascents  advertised  before- 
hand. It  is  not  possible  here  to  give  auy  complete  account 
of  the  results  obtained,  and  it  would  be  superfluous,  as  the 
observations,  both  as  made  and  after  reduction,  are  printed 
iu  the  British  Association  Reports,  1862-66.  It  will  be 
enough,  after  explaining  the  objects  of  the  experiments, 
Ac,  to  describe  briefly  one  or  two  of  the  most  remarkable 
ascents,  and  thon  state  the  kind  of  conclusions  that  follow 
from  them  as  a  whole. 


i<)G 


A  E  R  O  N  A  U   TICS 


[scientific 


The  primary  object  'was  to  determine  the  temperature  of 
the  air,  and  its  hygrometrical  state  at  different  elevations 
to  as  great  a  height  as  could  be  reached ;  and  the  secondary 
objects  were — (1)  to  determine  the  temperature  of  the  dew- 
point  by  Daniell's  and  Regnault's  hygrometers,  as  well  as 
by  the  dry  and  wet  bulb  thermometers,  and  to  compare  the 
results;  (2)  to  compare  the  readings  of  an  aneroid  baro- 
meter with  those  of  a  mercurial  barometer, up  to  the  height 
of  5  miles;  (3)  to  determine  the  electrical  state  of  the  air, 
(4)  the  oxygenic  condition  of  the  atmosphere,  and  (5)  the 
time  of  vibration  of  a  magnet;  (6)  to  collect  air  at  different 
elevations;  (7)  to  note  the  height  and  kind  of  clouds,  their 
density  and  thickness;  (8)  to  determine  the  rate  and  direc- 
tion of  different  currents  in  the  atmosphere;  and  (9)  to 
make  observations  on  sound. 

The  instruments  used  were  mercurial  and  aneroid  baro- 
meters, dry  and  wet  bulb  thermometers,  Daniell's  dew- 
point  hygrometer,  Regnault's  condensing  hygrometer, 
maximum  and  minimum  thermometers,  a  magnet  for  hori- 
zontal vibration,  hermetically  sealed  glass  tubes  exhausted 
of  air,  and  an  electrometer.  In  one  or  two  of  the  ascents 
a  camera  was  taken  up. 

One  end  of  the  car  was  occupied  by  the  aeronaut;  near 
the  other,  in  front  of  Mr  Glaisher,  was  placed  a  board  or 
.able,  the  extremities  of  which  rested  on  the  sides  of  the 
car;  upon  this  board  was  placed  suitable  framework  to 
carry  the-  several  thermometers,  hygrometers,  magnet, 
aneroid  barometer,  <tc. ;  a  perforation  through  it  admitted 
the  lower  branch  of  the  mercurial  barometer  to  descend 
below,  leaving  the  upper  branch  at  a  convenient  heTght  for 
observipg.  A  watch  was  placed  directly  opposite  to  Mr 
Glaisher,  the  central  space  being  occupied  by  his  note- 
book. The  aspirator  (for  Regnault's  hygrometer)  was 
fixed  underneath  the  centre  of  the  board,  so  as  to  be  con- 
veniently workable  by  either  feet  or  hands.  Holes  were 
cut  in  the  board  to  admit  the  passage  of  the  flexible  tubes 
required  for  Regnault's  hygrometer  and  the  dry  and  wet 
bulb  thermometers. 
Mr  The  'first  ascent  was  made,  as  has  been  stated,  from 

Glaisher's  Wolverhampton  on  July  17,  1862,  and  the  journey  was 
ascent  oc  merarkable  on  account  of  a  warm  current  that  was  met 
1862  ™ith  at  a  great  elevation.  The  weather,  previous  to  the 
ascent,  had  been  bad  for  a  long  time,  and  it  had  been 
delayed  in  consequence.  The  wind  was  still  blowing  from 
the  west,  and  considerable  difficulty  was  experienced  in 
the  preliminary  arrangements,  so  that  no  instrument  was 
fixed  before  starting.  The  balloon  left  at  9.43  A.M.,  and  a 
height  of  3800  feet  was  reached  before  an  observation 
could  be  taken.  At  4000  feet  clouds  were  entered,  and 
left  at  8000  feet.  The  temperature  of  the  air  at  starting  was 
59°  Fahr.,  at  4000  feet  it  was  45°,  and  it  descended  to  26° 
at  10,000  feet,  from  which  height  to  that  of  13,000  feet 
there  was  no  diminution.  While  passing  through  this 
space  Mr  Glaisher  put  on  additional  clothing,  feeling 
certain  that  a  temperature  below  zero  would  be  attained 
before  the  height  of  5  miles  was  reached;  but  at  the 
elevation  of  15,500  feet  the  temperature  was  31°,  and  at 
each  successive  reading,  up  to  19,500,  it  increased,  and 
was  there  42°.  The  temperature  then  decreased  rapidly, 
and  was  16°  at  26,000  feet.  On  descending  it  increased 
regularly  to  37°-8  at  10,000  feet.  A  very  rough  descent, 
in  which  nearly»£50  worth  of  instruments  were  broken, 
was  effected  near  Oakham,  in  Rutlandshire,  Mr  Coxwell 
having  judged  it  prudent  to  descend  on  account  of  the 
proximity,  as  he  supposed,  of  the  Wash.  In  coming  down, 
a  cloud  was  entered  at  an  elevation  of  12,400  feet,  and 
proved  to  be  more  than  8000  feet  in  thickness.  The  rise  of 
temperature  met  with  in  this  ascent  was  most  remarkable. 
The  weather  on  the  day  (Aug.  18,  1862)  of  the  third  as- 
cent was  -favourable,  and  there  was  but  little  wind.     All  the 


instruments  were  fixed  before  leaving  the  earth.  A  height  Ascen 
of  more  than  4  miles  was  attained,  and  the  balloon  remained  from  ' 
in  the  air  about  two  hours.  When  at  its  highest  point  Tcrn<" 
there  were  no  clouds  between  the  balloon  and  the  earth,  jo  \< 
and  the  streets  of  Birmingham  wire  distinctly  visible. 
The  descent  was  effected  at  Solihull,  7  miles  from  Bir- 
mingham. On  the  earth  the  temperature  of  the  air  was 
67°'8,  and  that  of  the  dew-point  54°6;  and  they  steadily 
decreased  to  39°-5  and  22°-2  respectively  at  11,500  feet 
The  balloon  was  then  made  to  descend  to  the  height  of 
about  3000  feet,  when  both  increased  to  56°-0  and  47°5 
respectively.  On  throwing  out  ballast  the  balloon  rose 
again,  and  the  temperature  declined  pretty  steadily  to 
24°0,  and  that  of  the  dew-point  to-  10o,0,  at  the  height 
of  23,000  feet.  During  this  ascent  Mr  Glaisher's  hands 
became  quite  blue,  and  he  experienced  a  qualmish  sensa- 
tion in  the  brain  and  stomach,  resembling  the  approach  of 
sea-sickness;  but  no  further  inconvenience,  besides  such 
as  resulted  from  the  cold  and  the  difficulty  of  breathing, 
was  experienced.  This  feeling  of  sickness  never  occurred 
again  to  Mr  Glaisher  in  any  subsequent  ascent. 

The  ascent  from  the  Crystal  Palace  on  August  20, 1862,  Ascei 
was  merely  an  ordinary  one  for  the  public  amusement,  in  'rom 
which  Mr  Glaisher  took  a  place  in  the  car.  In  these  low  V1'  p 
ascents  from  places  of  entertainment,  in  which  other  per-  anuJ  { 
sons  also  were  passengers,  the  large  board  stretching  right  Heod 
across  tho  car  could  not  be  used.  A  smaller  frame  A«gn 
was  therefore  made,  which  could  bo  screwed  on  to  the  18fi2, 
edge  of  the  car,  to  carry  the  watch,  siphon  barometer, 
aneroid  barometer,  dry  and  wet  bulb  thermometers,  grid- 
iron thermometer,1  and  Daniell's  arid  Regnault's  hygro- 
meters, which  comprised  all  the  instruments  usually  taken 
up  in  these  low  ascents.  In  the  first  low  ascent,  July  30, 
this  framework  was  fixed  inside  the  car;  but  as  it  seemed 
possible  that  the  warmth  proceeding  from  the  voyagers 
might  influence  the  readings  of  the  instruments,  it  was 
always  afterwards  fixed  outside,  and  projected  beyond  the 
car,  so  that  all  the  instruments  were  freely  exposed  to  the 
surrounding  air.  The  ascent  on  August  20  was  a  low  one, 
and  presented  no  remarkable  feature  except  that  the  balloon 
was  nearly  becalmed  over  London.  The  earth  was  left  at 
6.26  p.m.,  and  the  air  was  so  quiet  that  at  the  height 
of  three-quarters  of  a  mile  the  balloon  was  etill  over  the 
Crystal  Palace.  At  7L  47m.  it  was  over  London,  and 
moving  so  slowly  that  it  was  thought  desirable  to  ascend 
above  the  clouds  in  hopes  of  meeting  with  a  more  rapid 
current  of  air.  At  8h.  5m.  the  voyagers  were  above  the 
clouds,  and  it  became  quite  light  again,  darkness  having 
come  on  whilst  hovering  over  London,  at  which  time  the 
gradual  illumination  by  the  lights  in  the  streets  formed 
a  most  wonderful  sight,  and  one  never  to  be  forgotten. 
The  roar,  or  rather  loud  hum,  proceeding  from  the  great 
city  was  also  most  remarkable.  After  having  been  above 
the  clouds  some  time,  the  lowing  of  cattle  and  other  agri- 
cultural sounds  were  heard.  Accordingly,  the  valve-line 
was  pulled,  and  the  balloon  descended  below  the  clouds, 
when  the  light  of  London  was  seen  in  the  distance  as  a  misty 
glare.  The  darkness  increased  as  the  balloon  descended  very 
slowly,  and  it  at  length  touched  the  ground  so  gently  in  the 
middle  of  a  field  at  Mill  Hill,  near  Hendon,  that  those  in  the 
car  were  scarcely  aware  of  the  contact.  There  were  twelve 
voyagers  altogether,  and  when  with  some  trouble  sufficient 
countrymen  were  collected  to  take  their  places  and  enable 

1  This  was  a  thermometer  with  a  bulb  shaped  like  a  gridiron,  so  aa 
to  have  a  very  great  surface  exposed  to  the  air.  It  was  thought  that 
the  ordinary  pea-sued  bulb  would  not  permit  of  the  thermometer  being 
sufficiently  delicate  to  register  the  rapid  changes  of  temperature  due 
to  the  quick  motion  of  the  balloon,  as  it  requires  some  littla  tima  foT 
such  a  thermometer  to  take  up  the  temperature  of  the  surrounding 
medium. 


ASCENTS.] 


AERONAUTICS 


197 


them  to  leave  the  car,  it  was  resolved  to  anchor  the  balloon 
for  the  night  and  to  make  an  ascent  in  the  early  morning. 
Accordingly,  at  4.30  a.m.,  on  August  21,  the  earth  was 
left,  there  being  altogether  five  persons  in  the  car.  It  was 
a  dull,  warm,  cloudy  morning,  with  the  sky  overcast.  In 
about  an  hour  the  height  of  3  miles  was  attained,  and 
the  temperature  had  fallen  to  23°,  having  been  58°  on  the 
earth  before  leaving.  The  aspect  of  the  clouds  under  for- 
mation before  and  during  the  rising  of  the  sun  was  mar- 
vellous in  the  extreme,  and  baffled  description.  There 
were  seen  shining  masses  of  cloud  in  mountain  chains, 
rising  perpendicularly  from  the  plain,  with  summits  of 
dazzling  whiteness,  forming  vast  ravines,  down  which  the 
balloon  appeared  to  glide,  or  pass  through  their  sides,  into 
other  valleys,  until,  as  the  balloon  rose  far  above,  all 
appeared  a  mighty  sea  of  white  cloud.  The  descent  was 
effected  about  a  quarter  past  seven,  and  the  transition  from 
the  magnificent  scene  above  the  clouds  to  the  ugly  prospect 
of  the  dreary  earth  as  seen  early  on  a  dull  morning,  with 
a  uniform  leaden  sky,  was  most  depressing.  The  place  of 
descent  was  near  Biggleswade. 

The  most  noteworthy  fact  in  connection  with  the  ascent, 
September  1,  1862,  was,  that  from  the  balloon  the  clouds 
were  observed  to  be  forming  below,  and  seen  to  be  follow- 
ing the  whole  course  of  the  Thames  from  the  Nore  to 
Richmond.  The  clouds  were  above  the  river  following  all 
its  windings,  and  extending  neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the 
left.  It  was  about  the  time  of  high  water  at  London 
Bridge,  and  the  phenomenon  was  no  doubt  connected 
with  the  warm  water  from  the  sea. 

As  in  the  ascent,  September  5,  1862,  the  greatest 
height  ever  reached  was  attained,  it  is  desirable'  to  give 
the  account  of  it  in  some  detail,  and  in  Mr  Glaisher's  own 
words.  It  is  only  necessary  to  premise  .that  it  was  intended 
on  this  occasion  to  ascend  as  high  as  possible.'  The  fol- 
lowing is  an  extract  from  Mr  Glaisher's  account  (British 
Association' Report,  1862,  pp.  383-385): — 

'•  This  ascent  had  been  delayed  owing  to  the  unfavourable  state  of 

the  weather.  The  balloon  left  at  lh.  8m.  P.M.  The  temperature 
of  the  air  was  59°,  and  the  dew-point  50°.  At  the  height  of  1 
mile  it  was  41°,  dew-point  38°;  and  shortly  afterwards  we  entered 
a  cloud  of  about  1100  feet  in  thickness,  in  which  the  temperature 
of  the  air  fell'  to  36  J°,  the  dew-point  being  the  same,  thus  indicating 
that  the  air  was  here  saturated  with  moisture.  On  emerging  from 
the  cloud  at  lh.  17m.  we  came  upon  a  flood  of  strong  sunlight, 
with  a  beautiful  blue  sky,  without  a  cloud  above  us,  and  a  magni- 
ficent sea  of  cloud  below,  its  surface  being  varied  with  endless  hills, 
hillocks,  mountain  chains,  and  many  snow-white  masses  rising  from 
it.  I  here  tried  to  take  a -view  with  the  camera ;  but  we  were  rising 
with  too  great  rapidity,  and  going  round  and  round  too  quickly,  to 
enable  me  to  do  so.  The  flood  of  light,  however,  was  so  great  that 
all  I  should -hav»  needed  .would  have  been  a  momentary  exposure, 
as  Dr  Hill  N,orris  had  kindly  furnished  me  with  extremely  sensitive 
dry  plates  for  the  purpose.  We  reached  2  miles  in  height  at  lh. 
21m.  The  temperature  had  fallen  to  the  freezing-point,  and  the 
dew-point  to  26°.  We  were  3  miles  high  at  lh.  28m.,  with  a  tem- 
perature of  18°,  and  dew-point  13°.  At  lh.  39m.  we'had  reached  4 
miles,  and  the  temperature  was  8°,  and  dew-point- 15° ;  in  ten 
minutes  more  we  had  'reached  the  fifth  mile,  and  the  temperature 
had  passed  below  zero,  and  then  read- 2°,  and  at  this  point  no 
dew  was  observed  on  Kegnault's  hygrometer  when  cooled  down  to 
-  30° ;  but  a  dew-point  obtained  from  the  readings  of  dry  and  wet 
gave  -  36°.  Up  to  this  time  I  had  taken  observations  with  comfort. 
I  had  experienced  no  difficulty  in  breathing,  whilst  Mr  Coxwell,  in 
consequence  of  the  necessary  exertions  he  had  to  make,  had  breathed 
with  difficulty  for- some  time.  At  lh.  51m.  the  barometer  reading 
was  11 '05  inches,  but  this  requires  a  subtractive  correction  of  0'25 
inch,  as  found  by  comparison  with  Lord  Wrottesley's  standard 
barometer  just  before  starting.  I  afterwards  read  the  dry  thermo- 
meter as  -  5° ;  this  must  have  been  about  lh.  52m.  or  later ;  I  could 
not  see  the  column  of  mercury  in  the  wet  bulb  thermometer;  nor 
afterwards  the  hands  of  the  watch,  nor  the  fine  divisions  on  any 
instrument.  I  asked  Mr  Coxwell  to  help  me  to  read  the  instru- 
ments, as  I  experienced  a  difficulty  in  seeing.  In  consequence, 
however,  of  tho  rotatory  motion  of  the  balloon,  which  had  continued 
without  ceasing  since  the  earth  had  been  left,  the  valve-line  had 
become  twisted,  and  be  had  to  leave  the  car  and  mount  into  the 


ae 
1 

on 
iber 
2. 


!o\- 

P- 
Sep- 

5. 

sat- 
tht 


ring  above  to  adjust  it.  At  this  time  I  looked  at  the  barometer, 
and  found  it  to  be  10  inches,  still  decreasing  fast ;  its  true  reading 
therefore  was  9J  inches,  implying  a  height  of  29,000  feet.  Shortly 
afterwards  I  laid  my  arm  upon  the  table,  possessed  of  its  full  vigour, 
and  on  being  desirous  of  using  it,  I  found  it  powerless — it  must 
have  lost  its  power  momentarily.  I  tried  to  move  the  other  arm, 
and  found  it  powerless  also.  I  then  tried  to  shake  mvself,  and 
succeeded  in  shaking  my  body.  1  seemed  to  have  no  iimbs.  I 
then  looked  at  the  barometer,  and  whilst  doing  so  my  head  fell  on 
my  left  shoulder.  I  struggled  and  shook  my  body  again,  but  could 
not  move  my  arms.  I  got  my  head  upright,  but  for  an  instant 
only,  when  it  fell  on  my  right  shoulder,  and  then  I  fell  backwards, 
my  back  resting  against  the  Bide  of  the. car,  and  my  head  on  its 
edge ;  in  this  position  my  eyes  were  directed  towards  Mr  Coxwell 
in  the  ring.  When  I  shook  my  body  I  seemed  to  have  full  power 
over  the  muscles  of  the  back,  and  considerable  power  over  those  of 
the  neck,  but  none  over  either  my  arms  or  my  legs  ;  in  fact,  I 
seemed  to  have  none.  As  in  the  case  of  the  arms,  all  muscular 
power  was  lost  in  an  instant  from  my  back  and  neck.  I  dimly  saw 
Mr  Coxwell  in  the  ring,  and  endeavoured  to  speak,  but  could  not ; 
when  in  an  instant  intense  black  darkness  came  :  the  optic  nerve 
finally  lost  power  suddenly.  I  was  stilt  conscious,  with  as  active  a 
brain  as  at  the  present  moment  whilst  writing  this.  I  thought  1 
had  been  seized  with  asphyxia,  and  that  I  should  experience  no 
more,  as  death  would  come  unless  we  speedily  descended  :  other 
thoughts  were  actively  entering  my  mind,  when  I  suddenly  became 
unconscious  as  on  going  to  sleep.  I  cannot  tell  anything  of  the 
sense  of  hearing  ;  the  perfect  stillness  and  silence  of  the  regions  6 
miles  from  the  earth  (and  at  this  time  we  were  between  6  and  7 
miles  high)  is  such  that  no  sound  reaches  the  ear. 

My  last  observation  was  made  at  lh.  54m.  at  29,000  feet.  I 
suppose  two  or  three  minutes  fully  were  occupied  between  my  eyes 
becoming  insensible  to  seeing  fine  divisions  and  lh,  54m.,  and  then 
that  two  or  three  minutes  more  passed  till  I  was  insensible  ;  there- 
fore I  think  this  took  place  at  about  lh.  56m.  or  lh.  57m.  Whilst 
powerless  I  heard  the  words  'temperature'  and  'observation,'  and 
I  knew  Mr  Coxwell  was  in  the  car  speaking  to  me,  and  endeavour- 
ing to  arouse  me ;  therefore  consciousness  and  hearing  had  returned. 
1  then  heard  him  speak  more  emphatically,  but  I  could  not  see, 
speak,  or  move.  I  heard  him  again  say,  '  Do  try — now  do.'  Then 
I  saw  the  instruments  dimly,  then  Mr  Coxwell,  and  very  shortly 
saw  clearly.  I  rose  in  my  seat  and  looked  round,  as  though  walk- 
ing from  sleep,  though  not  refreshed  by  sleep,  and  said  to  Mr 
Coxwell,  '  I  have  been  insensible.'  He  said,  '  You  have  ;  and  I  too, 
very  nearly.'  I  then  drew  up  my  legs,  which  had  been  extended 
before  me,  and  took  a  pencil  in  my  hand  to  begin  observations. 
Mr  Coxwell  told  me  that  he  had  lost  the  use  of  his  hands,  which 
were  black,  and  I  poured  brandy  over  them. 

"  I  resumed  my  observations  at  2h.  7m.,  recording  the  barometer 
reading  at  1 1  '53  inches  and  temperature  -  2°.  I  suppose  that  three 
or  four  minutes  were  occupied  from  the  time  of  my  hearing  the 
words  'temperature'  and  'observation'  till  I  began  to  observe.  If 
so,  then  returning  consciousness  cama  at  2h.  4m.,  and  this  gives 
seven  minutes  for  total  insensibility.  I  found  the  water  in  the 
vessel  supplying  the  wet  bulb  thermometer,  which  I  had  by  fre- 
quent disturbances  kept  from  freezing,  was  one  solid  mass  of  ice  ; 
and  it  did  not  all  melt  until  after  we  had  been  on  the  ground  soma 
•time. 

"  Mr  Coxwell  told  me.that  whilst  in  the  ring  he'felt  it  piercingly 
cold  ;  that  hoar-frost  was  all  round  the  neck  of  the  balloon  ;  on  at- 
tempting to  leave  the  ring' he  found  his  hands  frozen,  and  he  had 
to  place  his  arms  on  the  ring  and  drop  down  ;  that  he  thought  for 
a  moment  I  had  lain  back  to  rest  myself ;  that  he  spoke  to  me 
without  eliciting  a  reply  ;  that  he  then  noticed  my  legs  projected 
and  my  arms  hung  down  by  my  side  ;  that  my  countenance  was 
serene  and  placid,  without  the  earnestness  and  anxiety  he  had 
noticed  before  going  into  the  ring,  and  then  it  struck  him  I  was 
insensible.  He  wished  to  approach  me,  out  could  not,  and  he  fell 
insensibility  coming  over  himself ;  that  he  became  anxious  to  open 
the  valve,  but  in  consequence  of  his  having  lost  the  use  of  his 
hands  he  could  not,  and  ultimately  did  60  by  seizing  the  cord  with 
his  teeth,  and  dipping  his  head  two  or  three  times,  until  the  balloon 
took  a  decided  turn  downwards. 

"No  inconvenience  followed  this  insensibility,  and  when  we 
dropped  it  was  in  a  country  whew  no  conveyance  of  any  kind  could 
be  obtained,  so  that  I  had  to  walk  between  7  and  8  miles. 

"The  descent  was  at  first  very  rapid  ;  we  passed  downwards  C 
miles  in  nine  minutes  ;  the  balloon's  career  was  then  checked,  and 
it  finally  descended  in  the  centre  of  a  large  grass,  field  at  Cold  Wes- 
ton, "4  miles  from  Ludlow. 

"In  this  ascent  six  pigeons  were  taken,  up.  One  was  thrown  out 
at  the  height  of  8  miles,  when  it  extended  its  wings  and  dropped 
as  a  piece  of  paper  ;  a  second,  at  i  miles,  flew  vigorously  round  and 
round,  apparently  taking  a  dip  each  time  ;  a  third  was  thrown  out 
between.  4  and  5  miles,  and  it  fell  downwards  as  a  stone  ;  a  fourth 
was  thrown  out  at  4  miles  on  descending  ;  it  flew  in  a  circle,  and 
shortly  alighted  on  the  top  of  the  balloon.     The  fcvo  remaining 


198 


AERONAUTICS 


[scientific 


Ascent 
from  the 
Crystal 
Palace  on 
April  18, 
1863. 


Ascett 
from  Wol- 
verton, 
June  26, 
1863. 


Sigeons  were  brought  down  to  the  ground.  One  was  found  to  bo 
ead,  and  tho  other,  a  carrier,  was  still  living,  but  would  not  leave 
the  hand  when  I  attempted  to  throw  it  off,  till,  after  a  quarter  of 
an  hour,  it  began  to  peck  a  piece  of  ribbon  which  encircled  its  neck, 
and  was  then  jerked  off  tho  .finger,  and  Hew  with  some  vigour  to- 
wards Wolverhampton.  One  of  the  pigeons  returned  to  Wolver- 
hampton on  Sunday,  the  7th,  and  tids  is  the  only  ono  that  has 
been  heard  of." 

Mr  Glaisher  found  from  his  observation-book  that  the 
last  observation  was  made  at  29,000  feet,  and  that  at  this 
time  the  balloon  was  ascending  at  the  rate  of  1000  feet  per 
minute ;  and  that  when  he  resumed  his  observations,  it  was 
descending  at  the  rate  of  2000  feet  per  minute,  the  interval 
being  thirteen  minutes.  This  gives  36,000  or  37,000  feet 
for  the  greatest  height  attained.  Two  other  series  of  con- 
siderations led  to  the  latter  height,  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  altitude  of  37,000  feet,  or  7  miles,  was 
attained  on  this  occasion. 

In  the  ascent,  April  18,  1863,  24,000  feet  of  elevation 
was  reached.  It  was  jcmarkable  for  the  rapidity  of  the  de- 
scent. At  2h.  44m.,  the  balloon  being  then  at  a  height  of 
10,000  feet,  Mr  Coxwell  suddenly  caught  sight  of  Beachy 
Head,  and  Mr  Glaisher,  looking  over  the  edge  of  the  car, 
saw  the  sea,  apparently  immediately  underneath.  There  was 
no  time  to  be  lost,  and  Mr  Coxwell  hung  on  to  the  valve- 
line,  telling  Mr  Glaisher  to  leave  his  instruments  and  do 
the  same.  The  earth  was  reached  at  2h.  48m.,  the  two 
miles  of  descent  having  been  effected  in  four  minutes.  The 
balloon  struck  the  ground  near  Newhaven  with  a  terrible 
crash,  but,  from  the  free  use  of  tho  valve-line,  it  was  so 
crippled  that  it  did  not  move  afterwards.  All  the  instru- 
ments, of  the  value  of  more  than  £25,  including  some  that 
were  unreplaceable,  were  broken,  and  Mr  Glaisher  was 
hurt.  In  the  descent,  after  the  first  high  ascent  on  July 
17,  1862,  the  earth  was  struck  with  so  much  violence  that 
most  of  the  instruments  were  broken,  and  Mr  Glaisher 
(who  was  closed  in  by  his  observing-board)  was  a  good 
deal  hurt  then.  In  subsequent  ascents,  therefore,  boxes 
were  used  filled  with  small  mattresses,  in  which  the  instru- 
ments could  be '  hurriedly  placed,  and  tho  board  was  so 
arranged  that  it  could  be  turned  over  and  hung  outside 
the  car.  These  improvements  had  the  effect  of  diminish- 
ing the  danger  to  himself  and  the  chance  of  breakage  of 
the  instruments,  but  in  the  Newhaven  descent  there  was 
not  sufficient  time  to  put  them  in  practice. 

The  circumstances  met  with  in  the  ascent,  June  26, 
18C3,  were  so  remarkable  that  a  short  account  cannot  be 
omitted.  The  morning  was  at  first  very  bright  and  fine, 
but  between  11  and  12  o'clock  a  change  took  place;  the  sky 
became  covered  with  clouds,  and  the  wind  rose  and  blew 
strongly,  so  that  great  difficulty  was  experienced  in  com- 
pleting the  inflation.  At  lh.  3m.  the  balloon  left;  in  four 
minutes,  at  4000  feet  high,  cloud  was  entered.  Mr  Glaisher 
expected  soon  to  break  through  it,  and  enter  into  bright 
sunshine  as  usual,  but  nothing  of  the  sort  took  place,  as, 
on  emergence,  clouds  were  seen  both  above  and  below. 
At  9000  feet  the  sighing  and  moaning  of  the  wind  were 
heard,  and  Mr  Glaisher  satisfied  himself  that  this  wa3  due, 
not  to  the  cordage  of  the  balloon,  but  to  opposing  currents. 
At  this  time  the  sun  was  seen  faintly,  but  instead  of  its 
brilliance  increasing,  although  the  balloon  was  then  two 
miles  high,  a  fog"was  entered,  and  the  sight  of  the  sun  lost 
The  balloon  next  passed  through  a  dry  fog,  which  was  left 
at  12,000  feet,  and  after  the  sun  had  been  seen  faintly  for 
a  little  time,  a  wetting  fog  was  entered. 

"At  15,000  feet,"  Mr  Glaisher  proceeds,  "we  were  still  in  fog, 
but  it  was  not  so  wetting.  At  16,000  feet  we  entered  a  dry  fog  ; 
at  17.000  feet  saw  faint  gleams  of  the  sun,  and  heard  a  train. 
We  were  now  about  3  miles  high  ;  at  this  time  we  were  not  in 
cloud,  but  clouds  were  below  us  ;  others  were  on  onr  level  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  yet  more  above  us.  We  looked  with  astonishment  at 
each  other,  and  said  as  we  were  rising  steadily  we  surely  must  soon 


pass  through  thctn.  At  17,500  feet  wo  were  again  enveloped  in 
log,  which  Decame.wctting  at  18,500  feet ;  we  left  this  cloud  below 
at  19,600  feet.  At  '20,000  feet  the  sun  was  just  visible.  We  were 
now  approaching  4  miles  high  ;  dense  clouds  were  still  above  us; 
for  a  space  of  2000  to  3000  feet  we  met  with  no  fog,  but  oc  passing 
above  4  miles  our  attention  was  first  attracted  to  a  dark  mass  of 
cloud,  and  then  to  another  on  our  level ;  both  these  clouds  had 
fringed  edges — they  were  both  nimbi.  Without  tho  slightest  doubt 
both  these  clouds  were  regular  rain-clouds.  Whilst  looking  at  therai 
we  again  lost  sight  of  everything,  being  enveloped  in  fog  whilst' 
passing  upwards  through  1000  feet.  At  22,000  feet  we  again 
emerged,  and  were  above  clouds  on  passing  above  23,000  feet.  At 
six  minutes  to  2  o'clock  we  heard  a  railway  train  ;  the  temperature 
here  was  18°.  I  wished  still  to  ascend  to  find  the  limits  of  this 
vapour,  but  Mr  Coxwell  said,  '  We  are  too  short  of  sand  ;  1  cannot 
go  higher;  we  must  not  even  stop  here.'  I  was  therefore  most 
relnctantly  compelled  to  abandon  tne  wish,  and  looked  scarchingly 
around.  At  this  highest  point,  in  close  proximity  to  us,  were 
rain-clouds  ;  below  u»  dense  fog.  I  was  again  reminded  that  v/e 
must  not  stop.  With  a  hasty  glance  everywhere,  above,  below, 
around,  I  saw  the  sky  nearly  covered  with  dark  clouds  of  a  stratus 
character,  with  cirri  still  higher,  and  small  spaces  of  blue  sky  be-' 
tween  them.  Tho  blue  was  not  the  blue  of  4  or  5  miles  high  as  I 
had  always  before  seen  it,  but  a  faint  blue,  as  seen  from  the  earth1 
when  the  air  is  charged  with  moisture." 

In  the  downward  journey  an  even  more  remarkable  series 
of  circumstances  was  met  with ;  for  a  fall  of  rain  was  passed 
through,  and  then  below  it  a  snow-storm,  the  flakes  being 
entirely  composed  of  spicules  of  ice  and  innumerable  snow- 
crystals.  On  reaching  the  ground  near  Ely  the  lower 
atmosphere  was  found  to  be  thick,  misty,  and  murky.  At 
Wolverton  the  afternoon  was  cold,  raw,  and  disagreeable 
for  a  summer's  day.  Tho  fact  of  rain-clouds  extending 
layer  above  layer  to  a  height  of  4  miles,  was  one  never 
hitherto  regarded  as  possible ;  and  the  occurrence  of  rain  and 
snow,  and  the  latter  underneath  the  former,  and  all  happen- 
ing on  a  day  in  the  very  middle  of  summer,  formed  a  series 
of  most  curious  and  unexpected  phenomena 

Mr  Glaisher  having,  in  one  of  his  descents,  which  took 
place  near  sunset,  observed  that  the  temperature  was  the 
same  through  a  very  considerable  height,  it  occurred  to  hiin 
that  after  dark  it  was  quite  possible  that,  for  some  ele- 
vation above  the  earth's  surface,  the  temperature  might 
even  increase  with  increase  of  height ;  and  to  determine 
this  he  arranged  for  some  ascents  to  be  made  after  sunset, 
so  that  the  temperature  during  the  night  might  be  observed. 
For  this  purpose  he  procured  a  couple  of  Davy  lamps, 
which  answered  their  object  satisfactorily.  Accordingly, 
on  October  2,  1865,  an  ascent  was  made  from  Wool- 
wich Arsenal,  the  time  of  starting  being  about  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  after  the  sun  had  set.  The  temperature 
on  the  earth  was  56°,  and  it  steadily  increased  to  59°'6 
at  the  height  of  1900  feet.  This  was  established  con- 
clusively by  repeated  ups  and  downs,  the  temperature 
falling  as  the  balloon  descended.  The  view  of  London 
lighted  up,  as  seen  from  the  balloon  in  this  ascent,  the 
night  being  clear,  was  most  wonderful.  A  second  night 
ascent  was  made  from  the  same  place  on  December  2; 
1865,  and  the  balloon  left  the  earth  2|  hours  after  sunset. 
On  this  occasion  the  temperature  did  not  rise,  but  the 
decrease,  though  steady,  wa3  small.  In  an  ascent  from 
Windsor  on  May  29,  1866,  the  balloon  was  kept  up  till 
half-past  eight  o'clock,  aud  the  temperature  was  found  to 
decrease  as  the  earth  was  approached  during  the  last  900 
feet.  In  this  last  ascent  no  paid  aeronaut  was  employed, 
as  Mr  Westcar,  of  the  Royal  Horse  Guards,  undertook  the 
management  of  the  balloon.  In  the  preceding  five  ascents 
Mr  Orton,  of  BlackwalL  was  employed  as  aeronaut 

It  has  been  found  necessary  in  the  present  notice  to 
allude  merely  to  the  more  striking  points  noticed  in  Mr 
Glaisher's  twenty-eight  ascents.  The  number  of  observa- 
tions made  by  him  was  of  course  great,  and  it  is  only  neces- 
sary here  to  repeat  that  they  are  to  be  found  in  the  Report* 
of  the  British  Association  for  tlu  Advancement  of  Science- 


ASCENTS.] 


AERONAUTICS 


199 


1862-6G.  It  appealed  as  one  of  th<»  results  of  the  ex- 
periments that  the  rate  of  the  decline  of  temperature  with 
elevation  near  the  earth  was  very  different  when  the  sky- 
was  clear  from  what  was  the  case  when  it  was  cloudy; 
and  the  equality  of  temperature  at  sunset  and  increase 
with  height  after  sunset  were  very  remarkable  facts  which 
were  not  anticipated,  and  which  have  an  important  hearing 
on  the  theory  of  refraction,  as  astronomical  observations 
are  usually  made  at  night.  Even  at  the -height  of  5  miles, 
cirrus  clouds  were  seen  high  in  the  air,  apparently  as  far 
above  as  they  seem  when  viewed  from  the  earth,  and  the 
air  must  there  be  so  exceedingly  dry  that  it  is  hard  to 
believe  that  their  presence  can  be  due  to  moisture  at  alL 
The  results  of  the  observations  differed  very  much,  and  no 
doubt  the  atmospheric  conditions  depended  not  only  on 
the  time  of  day,  but  also  on  the  season  of  the  year,  and 
were  such  that  a  vast  number  of  ascents  would  be  requisite 
to  determine  the  true  laws  with  anything  approaching  to 
certainty  and  completeness.  It  is  also  clear  that  England 
is  a  most  unfit  country  for  the  pursuit  of  such  investiga- 
tions, as,  from  whatever  place  the  balloon  started,  it  was 
never  safe  to  be  more  than  an  hour  above  the  clouds  for 
fear  of  reaching  the  sea.  It  appeared  from  the  observations 
that  an  aneroid  barometer  could  be  trusted  to  read  as  accu- 
rately as  a  mercurial  barometer  to  the  heights  reached. 
The  time  of  vibration  of  a  horizontal  magnet  was  taken  in 
very  many  of  the  ascents,  and  the  results  of  ten  different 
sets  of  observations  proved  undoubtedly  that  the  time  of 
vibration  was  lunger  than  on  the  earth.  In  almost  all  the 
ascents  the  balloon  was  under  the  influence  of  currents  of 
air  in  different  directions.  The  thickness  of  these  currents 
was  found  to  vary  greatly.  The  direction  of  the  wind  on 
the  earth  was  sometimes  that  of  the  whole  mass  of  air  up 
to  20,000  feet,  whilst  at  other  times  the  direction  changed 
within  500  feet  of  the  earth.  Sometimes  directly  opposite 
currents  were  met  with  at  different  heights  in  the  same 
ascent,  and  three  or  four  streams  of  air  were  encountered 
moving  in  different  directions.  Ignoring  the  different  cur- 
rents of  air  which  caused  the  balloon  to  change  its  direction, 
and  at  times  to  move  in  entirely  opposite  directions,  and 
simply  taking  into  account  the  places  of  ascent  and  descent, 
the  distances  so  measured  were  always  very  much  greater 
than  the  horizontal  mdvement  of  the  air  as  measured  by 
anemometers.  For  example,  on  January  12,  18G2,  the 
balloon  left  Woolwich  at  2h.  8m.  p.m.,  and  descended  at 
Lakenheath,  70  miles  distant  from  the  place  of  ascent, 
at  4h.  19m.  p.m.  At  the  Greenwich  Observatory,  by 
Robinson's  anemometer,  during  this  time  the  motion  of  the 
air  was  6  miles  only.  With  regard  to  physiological  ob- 
servations, Mr  Glaisher  found  that  the  number  of  pulsations 
increased  with  elevation,  as  also  the  number  of  inspirations. 
The  number  of  his  pulsations  was  generally  7G  per  minute 
before  starting,  about  90  at  10,000  feet,  100  at  20,000 
feet,  and  110  at  higher  elevations.  But  a  good  deal 
depended  on  the  temperament  of  the  individual.  This  was 
also  the  case  in  respect  to  colour;  at  10,000  feet  the  faces 
of  some  woidd  be  a  glowing  purple,  whilst  others  would  be 
scarcely  affected;  at  4  miles  high  Mr  Glaisher  found  the 
pulsations  of  his  heart  distinctly  audible,  and  his  breathing 
was  very  much  affected,  so  that  panting  was  produced  by 
the  very  slightest  exertion;  at  29,000  feet  he  became  in- 
sensible. In  reference  to  the  propagation  of  sound,  it  was 
at  all  times  found  that  sounds  from  the  earth  were  more 
or  less  audible  according  to  the  amount  of  moisture  in- the 
air.  When  in  clouds  at  4  miles  high,  a  railway  train 
was  heard;  but  when  clouds  were  far  below,  no  sound  ever 
reached  the  ear  at  this  elevation.  The  discharge  of  a  gun 
w.-is  heard  at  10,000  feet.  The  barking  of  a  dog  was  heard 
at  the  height  of  2  miles,  while  the  shouting  of  a  multitude 
of  people  was  not  audible  at  heights  exceeding  4000  feet 


The  majority  of  Mr  Glaisher's  experiments  were  made 
in  the  summer,  partly  because  public  ascents  took  place 
,  at  this  time  of  the  year,  and  partly  because  the  weather 
was  more  settled.  But  some  special  ascents  were  made 
in  the  winter;  these  were  found  to  be  very  troublesome 
and  costly,  owing  to  the  time  that  was  wasted  before 
a  suitable  day  occurred,  and  to  the  boisterous  weather, 
which  damaged  the  balloon.  Altogether  the  number  of 
ascents  bore  but  a  small  ratio  to  the  number  pf  days 
spent  over  them.  Sometimes  it  was  necessary  to  wait 
at  Wolverhampton  a  whole  week  after  the  day  fixed 
for  the  ascent,  owing  to  the  unfavourable  state  of  the 
weather  and  the  necessity  of  keeping  the  light  gas  re- 
quired for  the  balloon  in  a  separate  gasometer  (as  the 
lightest  gas  is  the  worst  in  ilium  mating  power),  added  to 
the  cost'  and  difficulty.  When  balloons  ascend  as  public 
exhibitions  from  places  of  entertainment  it  is  very  rarely 
that  a  height  of  a  mile  is  reached,  although,  in  the  absence 
of  instruments,  it  is  not  unusual  for  the  aeronaut  to  ex- 
aggerate the  elevation,  as  the  passengers  have  no  reason  for 
disputing  what  is  told  them.  This  must  be  borne  in  mind 
when  physiological  or  other  phenomena  are  described  by 
voyagers  unprovided  with  instruments.  We  have  noticed 
the  observations  made  in  Mr  Glaisher's  ascents  at  greater 
length,  because  they  are  almost  the  only  ones  that  have  been 
made  in  which  the  height  and  other  matters  are  determined 
with  certainty.  A  quantity  of  air  was  collected  in  two  large 
bags  at  the  height  of  12,000  fett  in  the  ascent  on  January 
12,  1864,  and  submitted  to  Professor  Tyndall,  but  he  has 
never  made  public  the  analysis  of  it. 

In  the  years  18G7  and  18G8  M.  Flammarion  made  eight  Ascents  o( 
or  nine  ascents  from  Paris  for  scientific  purposes.      The  M-  Flani- 
heights  reached  were  not  great,  but  the  general  result  of  '.'^Ji0^'. 
the  observations  was  to  confirm  those,  made  by  Mr  Glaisher. 
See  M.  Flammarion  in  Voyages  Aeriens,  Paris,  1870,  or 
Travels  in  the  Air,  London,    1871.      Observations   were 
also  made  in  some  balloon  ascents  by  M.  de  Fouvielle, 
which  are  noticed  in  the  works  just  referred  to. 

The  balloon  had  not  been  discovered  very  long  before  it  Use  of  Inl- 
received  a  military  status,  and  soon  after  the  commence- loons  for 
ment  of  the  French  revolutionary  war  an  aeronautic  school  m",tary 
was  founded  at  Meudon;  Guyton  de  Morveau,  the  chemist,  PurP0SI 
and  Colonel  Coiitelle  being  the  persons  in  charge.     Four 
balloons  were  constructed  for  the  armies  of  the  north,  of 
the  Sambre  and  Meuse,  of  the  Rhine  and  Moselle,  and  of 
Egypt.     In  June   1794  Coutelle  ascended  with  the  adju- 
tant and  general  to  reconnoitre  the  hostile  army  just  before  Heconn.ns- 
the  battle  of  Fleurus,  and  two  reconnaissances  were  made,  "nces  ht- 
each  occupying  four  hours.     It  is  generally  stated  that  it  [°™  the 
was  to  the  information  so  gained  that  the  French  victory  p?„  *  ° 
was  due.      Ine  balloon  corps  was  in  constant  requisition 
during  the  campaign,  but  it  does  not  appear  that,  with  the 
exception  of  the  reconnaissances  just  mentioned,  any  great 
advantages  resulted,  except  in  a  moral  point  of  view.     But 
even  this  was  of  importance,  as  the  enemj'  were  much  dis- 
concerted at  having  their  movements  so  completely  watched, 
while  the  French  were  correspondingly  elated  at  the  supe- 
rior information  it  was  believed  they  were  gaining.     An 
attempt  was  made  to  revive  the  use  of  balloons  in  tho 
African  campaign  of  1830,  but  no  opportunity  occurred  in 
which  they  could  be  employed.     It  is  said  that  in  1849  a 
reconnoitring  balloon  was   sent   up   from  before  Venice, 
and  that  the  Russians  used  one  at  SebastopoL     In  the 
French  campaign  against  Italy  in  1859   the  French  had 
recourse  to  the  use  of  balloons,  but  this  time  there  was  not 
any  aerostatic  corps,  and  their  management  was  entrusted 
to  the  brothers   Godard.      Several   reconnaissances   were 
made,  and  one  of  especial  interest  the  day  before  the  battle  At  SoS 
of  Solferino.     No  information  of  much  importance  seems,  f' rino- 
however,  to  have  been  gained  thereby.     The  Fleurus  re- 


200 


AERONAUTICS 


[pAUACnUTES. 


fconnaissance  .vas  made  m  a  balloon  inflated  with  hydrogen 
gas,  while  at  Solferino  a  fire-balloon  was  employed.  Each 
system  has  its  advantages  and  disadvantages;  the  gas- 
balloon  requires  several  hours  for  inflation,  but  then  it  can 
remain  in  the  eir  any  length  of  time;  the  fire-balloon  can 
be  inflated  rapidly,  but  it  will  not.. stay  in  the  air  more 
than  five  or  ten  minutes  unless  a  furnace  is  taken  up,  the 
use  of  which  is  impracticable  in  even  a  moderate  wind; 
besides,  the  fire-balloon  must  be  of  very  large  dimensions,  and 
only  one  person  could,  as  a  rule,ascend  ata  time.and  hewould 
have  to  be  occupied  with  the  fire :  the  use  of  fire-balloons  also 
is  always  attended  with  some  danger.  M.  Eugene  Godard, 
.  who  was  engaged  in  the  management  of  the  balloons  in  the 
Italian  campaign,  wrote  to  the  Times,  in  August  1864,  ex- 
pressing his  opinion  of  the  superiority  of  fire-balloons  for  war 
purposes,  as  they  are  so  easily  inflated  and  are  not  destroyed 
or  compelled  to  descend  even  if  pierced  by  several  balls; 
and  this  was  also,  we  believe,  the  opinion  of  the  Austrians 
who  made  experiments  with  war  balloons. 

In  the  late  American  war  balloons  were  a  good  deal  used 
by  the  Federals.  There  was  a  regular  balloon  staff  attached 
to  M'Clellan's  army,  with  a  captain,  an  assistant-captain, and 
ibout  50  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates.  The  appa- 
ratus consisted  of  two  generators,  drawn  by  four  horses  Cach ; 
two  balloons,  drawn  by  four  horses  eaph,  and  an  acid-cart, 
drawn  by  two  horses.  The  two  balloons  used  contained  about 
13,000  and  26,000  feet  of  gas,  and  the  inflation  usually 
occupied  about  three  hours.  (See  Captain  Beaumont's 
Account,  voL  xii.  of  the  Royal  Engineers'  Papers.)  We  are 
not  aware  of  the  value  set  by  the  officers  in  command  on 
the  information  obtained  by  this  means;  but  as  we  believe 
balloons  were  employed  till  the  conclusion  of  the  war, 
it  is  clear  that  some  importance  was  attached  to  their  use. 
In  1862  Or  1863  one  or  two  experiments  to  test  the  use  of 
balloons  in  making  reconnaissances  were  made  at  Alder- 
shot,  but  nothing  came  of  them. 

When  the.Montgolfiers  first  discovered  the  balloon,  its 
great  use  in  military  operations  was  at  once  prophe- 
sied;  but  these  anticipations  have  not  been  realised.  On 
the  other  hand,  however,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
balloon  has  never  had  a  fair  trial,  being  viewed  coldly  by 
officers  enamoured  of  routine,  and  when  used,  being  often 
'eft  unsupplied  with  suitable  appointments.  It  is  probable 
Jiat  a  future  still  remains  for  the  balloon  in  this  direction. 

The  paramount  value  of  the  balloon  during  the  recent 
siege  of  Paris  must  be  fresh  in  the  minds  of  all.  It 
was  by  it  alone  that  communication  was  kept  up 
between  tho  besieged  city  and  the  external  world, 
as  the  balloons  carried  away  from  Paris  the  pigeons 
which  afterwards  brought  back  to  it  the  news  of  the 
provinces.  The  total  number  of  balloons  that  ascended 
from  Paris  during  the  siege,  conveying  persons  and  de- 
spatches, was  sixty-four — the  first  having  started  on 
September  23,  1870,  and  the  last  on  January  28,1871. 
Gambetta  effected  his  escape  from  Paris,  on  October  7, 
in  the  balloon  Armand-Barbes,  an  event  which  doubtless 
led  to  the  prolongation  of  the  war.  Of  the  sixty-four 
balloons  only  two  were  never  heard  of;  they  were  blown 
out  to  sea.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  voyages  was  that 
of  the  Yille  d 'Orleans,  which,  leaving  Paris  at  eleven  o'clock 
on  November  21,  descended  fifteen  hours  afterwards  near 
Christiania,  having  crossed  the  North  Sea,  Several  of  the 
balloons  on  their  descent  were  taken  by  the  Prussians,  and 
a  good  many  were  fired  at  while  in  the  air;  but  we  do  not 
hear  of  any  being  injured  from  this  cause.  The  average 
size  of  the  balloons  was  from  2000  to  2050  metres,  or  from 
70,000  to  72,000  cubic  feet  The  above  facts  we  have 
extracted  from  Les  Ballons  du  Sibge  de  Paris,  a  sheet  pub- 
lished by  Bulla  <fc  Sons,  Paris;  compiled  by  the  brothers 
Tissandier,  well-known  French  aeronauts,  and  giving  the 


name,  size,  and  times  of  nsceut  and  descent  of  evory  balloon 
that  left  Paris,  with  the  names  of  tho  aeronaut  and  gene- 
rally also  those  of  the  passengers,  the  weight  of  despatches, 
the  number  of  pigeons, &c.  Only  those  balloons, however, are 
noticed,  in  which  some  person  ascended.  A  similar  list  of 
sixty-two  balloons  is  given  by  Mr  Glaisher  in  tho  introduc- 
tion to  the  second  edition  of  Travels  in  (he  Air  (1871).  It 
was,  however,  published  too  soon  after  tho  conclusion  of 
the  siege  to  bo  quite  so  complete  as  tho  sheet  of  the  MIL 
Tissandier. 

It  is  perhaps  worth  stating  that  the  balloons  were  manu- 
factured and  despatched  (generally  from  tho  platforms  of  the 
Orleans  or  the  Northern  Railway)  under  the  direction  of  the 
Post-Office.  Tho  aeronauts  employed  were  mostly  sailors, 
who  did  their  work  very  welL  No  use  whatever  was  made 
in  the  war  of  balloons  for  purposes  of  reconnaissance.  The 
exceedingly  important  part  played  by  the  balloon  in  the 
siege  of  Paris  would  alone,  if  it  had  been  of  no  other  utility, 
render  it  one  of  the  most  valuable  inventions  of  tho  last 
century. 

The  principle  of  the  parachute  is  so  simple  that  the  idea  Para- 
must  have  occurred  to  persons  in  all  ages.  Father  Loubere,  chutes, 
in  his  History  of  Siam,  published  two  centuries  ago,  tells  of 
a  person  who  frequently  diverted  the  court  by  the  pro- 
digious leaps  he  used  to  take,  having  two  parachutes  or 
umbrellas  fastened  to  his  girdle.  In  1783  a  certain  M. 
le  Normand  practically  demonstrated  the  efficiency  of  a 
parachute  by  descending  from  a  high  house  at  Lyons;  but 
he  merely  regarded  it  as  a  useful  means  whereby  to  escape 
from  fire.  To  Blanchard  is  due  the  idea  of  using  it  as  an  Blaocha 
adjunct  to  the  balloon.  As  early  as  1785  he  had  con- 
structed a  parachute,  to  which  was  attached  a  basket.  In 
this  he  placed  a  dog,  which  descended  safely  to  the  ground 
when  the  parachute  was  released  from, a  balloon  at  a  con- 
siderable elevation.  It  is  stated  that  he  descended  himself 
from  a  balloon  in  a  parachute  in  1793;  but,  owing  to  somo 
defect  in  its  construction,  he  fell  too  rapidly,  and  brokehis  leg. 

Andre1  Jaques  Garncrin  was  the  first  person  who  success-  Garnerl 
fully  descended  from  a  balloon  in  a  parachute,  and  he 
repeated  this  experiment  so  often  that  he  may  be  said  to 
have  first  demonstrated  the  practicability  of  using  the 
machine;  and,  in  fact,  that  he  invented  it  in  a  practical 
and  suitable  form.  In  1793  Garnerin  had  been  taken 
prisoner  at  Marchiennes,  and  he  was  confined  for  between 
two  and  three  years  in  the  fortress  of  Bude,  in  Hungary! 
While  in  captivity  he  elaborated  in  his  mind  the  means  of 
descending  from  a  balloon  by  means  of  a  parachute ;  and 
on  October  22,  1797,  he  made  his  first,  public  experi- 
ment. He  ascended  from  the  park  of  Monceau  at  Paris, 
and  when  at  the  height  of  about  1  \  mile  he  released  the 
parachute,  which  was  attached  to  the  balloon  in  place  of  a 
car;  the  balloon,  relieved  suddenly  of  so  great  a  weight, 
rose  very  rapidly  till  it  burst,  while  the  parachute  de- 
scended very  fast,  making  violent  oscillations  all  the 
way.  Garnerin,  however,  reached  the  earth  in  safety  upon 
the  plain  of  Monceau.  In  1802  Garnerin  came  to  England 
and  made  a  good  many  ascents  in  all  parts  of  the  country, 
many  of  which  excited  much  enthusiasm,  as  can  be  seen 
from  the  contemporary  accounts;  and  on  September  21, 
1802,  he  repeated  his  parachute  experiment  in  Epgland. 

The  parachute  was  dome-shaped,  and  bore  a  resemblance' 
to  a  large  umbrella.  The  case  or  dome  was  made  of  white 
canvas,  and  was  23  feet  in  diameter.  At  the  top  was  a 
truck  or  round  piece  of  wood  10  inches  in  diameter,  with  a 
hole  in  its  centre,  fastened  to  the  canvas  by  32  short  pieces 
of  tape.  The  parachute,  was  suspended  from  a  hoop  at- 
tached to  the  netting  of  the  balloon,  and  below  the  para* 
chute  was  placed  a  cylindrical  basket,  4  feet  high  and  2^  feet 
in  diameter,  which  contained  the  aeronaut  The  ascent  toob 
place  at  about  six  o'clock  from  North  Audley  Street  London: 


PARACHUTES.] 


AERONAUTICS 


201 


and,  at  a  height  of  about  (it  is  believed)  8000  feet,  Garnerin 
separated  the  parachute  from  the  balloon.  For  a  few 
seconds  his  fate  seemed  certain,  as  the  parachute  retained 
the  collapsed  state  in  which  it  had  originally  ascended,  and 
fell  very  rapidly.  It  suddenly,  however,  expanded,  and  the 
rapidity  of  itrf"descent  was  at  once  checked,  but  the  oscil- 
lations were  so  violent  that  the  car,  which  was  suspended 
20  feet  below,  was  sometimes  on  a  level  with  the  rest 
of  the  apparatus.  Some  accounts  state  that  these  oscilla- 
tions increased,  others  that  they  decreased  as  the  parachute 
descended,  and  the  latter  seems  most  probable.  It  came 
to  the  ground  in  a  held  at  the  back  of  St  Pancras  Church, 
the  descent  having  occupied  rather  more  than  ten  minutes. 
Garnerin  was  hurt  a  little  by  the  violence  with  which  the 
basket  containing  him  struck  the  earth ;  but  a  few  cuts  and 
a  slight  nausea  represented  all  the  ill  effects  of  his  fall. 
He  made,  certainly,  one  other  descent  in  a  similar  way  (as 
that  just  described  is  stated  to  Lave  been  his  third),  and 
we  believe  several  others  on  the  Continent,  but  this  was 
the  only  one  he  effected  in  England. 

Jordaki  Kuparento,  a  Polish  aeronaut,  is  the  only  person 
who  ever  made  any  real  use  of  a  parachute.  He  ascended 
from  Warsaw  on  July  24, 1808,  in  a  fire-balloon  which,  at  a 
considerable  elevation,  took  fire;  but  being  provided  with  a 
parachute,  he  was  enabled  to  effect  his  descent  in  safety. 
ra-  The  next  experiment  made  with  a  parachute  was  that 
'■•  which  resulted  in  the  unfortunate  death  of  Mr  Robert 
Mr  Cocking.  So  early  as  1814  this  gentleman  had  lectured 
on  the  subject  before  the  City  Philosophical  Society,  and 
also  before  the  Society  of  Arts.  He  always  retained  an 
interest  in  ballooning,  and  made  two  ascents — one  with  Mr 
Sadler,  and  the  other  on  September  27,  1836,  with  Mr 
Green.  The  success  of  the  balloon  trip  of  Messrs  Hollond, 
Mason,  and  Green,  seems  to  have  incited  Mr  Cocking  to 
demonstrate  practically  the  truth  of  his  views.  He  accord- 
ingly constructed  a  suitable  parachute  on  his  principles,  and 
having  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  consent  of  Messrs  Hughes 
and  Gye,  the  proprietors  of  Vauxhall  Gardens,  to  permit 
the  ascent  to  be  made  there,  he  prevailed  on  Mr  Green 
to  ascend  in  his  great  Nassau  balloon  with  the  parachute 
attached.  The  great  defect  of  Garnerin's  umbrella-shaped 
parachute  was  its  violent  oscillation  during  descent,  and 
Mr  Cocking  considered  that  if  the  parachute  were 
made  of  a  conical  form  (vertex  downwards),  the  whole 
of  this  oscillation  would  be  avoided ;  and  if  it  were 
made  of  sufficient  size,  there  would  be  resistance  enough  to 
check  too  rapid  a 
descent.  He  there- 
fore constructed  a 
parachute  on  this 
principle,  the  radius 
of  which  at  its  widest 
part  was  about  17 
feet  It  was  stated 
in  the  public  an- 
nouncements previ- 
ous to  the  experi- 
ment that  the  whole 
weighed  223  lb;  but 
from  the  evidence 
at  the  inquest  it 
appeared  that  the 
weight    must    have  Cocking's  Parachute, 

been  over  400  lb.  Mr  Cocking's  weight  was  177  R,  which 
was  so  much  additional  On^July  24,  1837,  the  trial 
took  place;  and  the  Nassau  balloon,  with  Mr  Green  and 
Mr  Spencer,  a  solicitor,  in  the  car,  and  having  suspended 
below  it  the  parachute,  in  the  car  of  which  was  Mr  Cocking, 
rose  from  the  ground  at  twenty-five  minutes  to  eight  in 
the  evening.     A  good  deal  of  difficulty  was  experienced  in 

1—9* 


rising  to  a  suitable  height,  partly  in  consequence  of  the  re- 
sistance to  the  air  offered  by  the  expanded  parachute, 
and  partly  owing  to  its  weight.  Mr  Cocking  wished  the 
height  to  be  8000  feet;  but  when  the  balloon  reached  the 
height  of  5000  feet.it  being  then  nearly  over  Greenwich,  Mr 
Green  called  out  to  Mr  Cocking  that  he  should  be  unable" 
to  ascend  to  the  requisite  height  if  the  parachute  was  to 
descend  in  daylight.  Mr  Cocking  accordingly  let  slip  the 
catch  which  was  to  liberate  him  from  the  balloon.  The 
parachute  for  a  few  seconds  descended  very  rapidly  but 
still  evenly,  until  suddenly  the  upper  rim  seemed  to  give 
way,  and  the  whole  apparatus  collapsed  (taking  a  form 
resembling  an  umbrella  turned  inside  out,  and  nearly 
closed),  and  the  machir  .  descended  with  great  rapidity, 
oscillating  very  much.  V,  nen  about  two  or  three  hundred 
feet  from  the  ground,  the  basket  became  disengaged  from 
the  remnant  of  the  parachute,  and  Mr  Cocking  was  found 
in  a  field  at  Lee,  literally  dashed  to  pieces. 

Mr  Green  and  Mr  Spencer,  who  wep»  in  the  car  of  the 
balloon,  had  also  a  narrow  escape.  At  the  moment  the 
parachute  was  disengaged  they  crouched  down  in  the  car, 
and  Mr  Green  clung  to  the  valve-line,  to  permit  the  escape 
of  the  gas.  The  balloon  shot-  upwards,  plunging  and 
rolling,  and  the  gas  pouring  from  both  the  upper  and 
lower  valves,  but  chiefly  from  the  latter,  as  the  great 
resistance  of  the  air  checked  its  egress  from  the  former. 
Mr  Green  and  Mr  Spencer  applied  their  mouths  to  tubes 
communicating  with  an  air-bag  with  which  they  had  had 
the  foresight  to  provide  themselves,  otherwise  they  would 
certainly  have  been  suffocated  by  the  gas.  Notwith- 
standing this  precaution,  however,  the  gas  almost  totally 
deprived  them  of  sight  for  four  or  five  minutes.  When 
they  came  to  themselves  they  found  they  were  at  a  height 
of  about  four  miles,  and  descending  rapidly.  They  effected, 
however,  a  safe  descent  near  Maidstone. 

Many  objections  were  made,  after  the  result,  to  the  form 
of  Mr  Cocking's  parachute ;  but  there  is  little  doubt  that 
had  it  been  constructed  of  sufficient  strength,  and  perhaps 
of  somewhat  larger  size,  it  would  have  answered  its  pur- 
pose. As  it  was,  the  upper  rim  was  made  of  tin,  which 
soon  gave  way.  Mr  Wise,  the  American  aeronaut,  made 
some  experiments  on  parachutes  of  both  forms  (Garnerin's 
and  Cocking's),  an>d  found  that  the  latter  always  were 
much  more  steady,  descending  generally  in  a  spiral  curve. 

In  1839  Mr  Hampton  made  three  descents  in  a  para-  Mr  Hamp- 

chute,  on  Garnerin's  ^~^ ton's  pin. 

pattern,  from  his  bal-  .^rtl  ~~*~>>vv  d^Jnta. 

loon,  the  "Albion." 
He    followed    Gar- 
nerin's  example   in 
attaching  the  para- 
chute to  the  netting 
of   the   balloon,   so 
that  when  the  con- 
nection between  the 
two  was  severed  the 
latter  was  left  to  its 
own    devices.      Mr 
Hampton  took  mea- 
sures, however,  that  Hampton's  Parachute, 
it  should  descend  soon  after  the  parachute,  and  it  'fcaa 
generally  found  no  great  distance  off,  and  returned  to  him. 
All  his  parachute  descents  were  safely  performed,  although 
in  one  he  was  a  good  deal  shaken. 

We  may  remark  that  a  descending  balloon  half-full  of 
gas  either  does  rise,  or  can  with  a  little  management  be 
made  to  rise,  to  the  top  of  the  netting  and  take  the  form"  of  a 
parachute,  thus  materially  lessening  the  rapidity  of  descent 
Mr  Wise,  in  fact,  having  noticed  this,  once  purposely 
exploded  his  balloon  when  at  a  considerable  altitude,  and 


202 


AERONAUTICS 


[flying  machines. 


the  resistance  offered  to  the  air  by  the  envelope  of  the 
balloon  was  sufficient  to  enablo  him  to  reach  the  ground 
without  injury.  And  a  similar  thing  took  place  in  one  of 
Mr  (.■  ascents  (April   18,   1863), 

when,  at  a  height  of  about  2  miles,  the  sea  appeared 
directly  urn  the  gas  was  let  out  of  the  balloon 

as  quickly  as  possible,  and  the  velocity  of  descent  was  so 
great,  that  the  2  miles  of  vertical  height  were  passed 
through  in  four  minutes.  On  the  balloon  reaching  the 
grout:  rhaven,  close  to  the  shore,  it  was  found  to 

be  nearly  empty.     The  balloon  had,  in  fact,  for  the  last 
mile  or  more,  merely  acted  as  a  parachute;  the  sho 
a  severe  one,  and  all  the  instruments  were  broken,  but 
nothing  serious  resulted  to  the  occupants  of  the  car. 

Numerous  attempts  have  been  made  both  to  direct 
balloons  and  contrive  independent  flying  machines.  After 
the  invention  of  the  balloon  by  the  brothers  Montgolfier, 
it  was  at  once  thought  that  no  very  great  difficulty  would 
be  found  in  devising  a  suitable  steering  apparatus ;  in  fact, 
it  was  supposed  that  to  rise  into  the  air  and  remain  there 
was  the  chief  difficulty,  and  that,  this  being  accomplished, 
the  power  of  directing  the  aerostat  would  be  a  secondary 
achievement  that  uiu>t  follow  before  long.  Accordingly, 
in  most  of  the  early  balloons  the  voyagers  took  up  oars, 
Bails,  or  paddles,  which  they  diligently  worked  while  in  the 
air;  sometimes  they  thought  an  effect  was  produced,  and 
sometimes  not.  If  we  consider  the  number  of  different 
currents  in  the  atmosphere,  it  is  no  wonder  that  some 
should  have  announced  with  confidence  that  their  course 
•was  changed  from  that  of  the  wind  by  means  of  the  sails 
or  oars  that  they  used ,  in  fact,  it  is  not  very  often  that  tho 
whole  atmosphere  up  to  a  considerable  height  is  moving 
en  masse  in  the  same  direction,  so  that  generally  the  courto 
taken  by  tho  balloon,  as  determined  merely  by  joining  the 
places  of  ascent  and  descent,  is  not  identical  with  the 
direction  of  the  wind,  even  when  it  is  the  same  at  both 
places.  Although  there  is  no  reason  why  balloons  should 
not  be  so  guided  by  means  of  mechanical  appliances 
attached  to  them  as  to  move  in  a  direction  making  a  small 
angle  with  that  of  the  wind,  still  it  must  have  been  evident 
to  any  one  who  has  observed  a  balloon  during  inflation  on 
a  windy  day,  that  any  motion  in  which  it  would  be  exposed 
to  the  action  of  a  strong  current  of  air  must  result  in  its 
destruction.  It  has  therefore  gradually  become  recognised 
that  tho  balloon  is  scarcely  a  step  at  all  towards  a  system  of 
aerial  navigation;  and  many  have  thought  that  the  principles, 
involved  in  the  construction  of  a  flying  machine  must  be 
very  different  from  the  simple  statical  equilibrium  that 
subsists  when  a  balloon  is  floating  in  the  air.  "  To  navigate 
the  air  the  machine  must  be  heavier  than  the  air,"  has  fre- 
quently been  regarded  as  an  axiom;  and  there  can  be"  no  doubt 
that  an  apparatus  constructed  of  such  light  material  as  is 
necessary  for  a  balloon  must  either  be  destroyed  or  become 
ungovernable  in  a  high  wind.  Recently,  however,-  M. 
Dupuy  de  Lome,  an  eminent  French  engineer,  has  con- 
structed and  made  experiments  with  a  balloon  which  he 
considers  satisfies  some  of  the  conditions.  The  balloon  is 
spindle-shaped,  the  longer  axis  being  horizontal,  and  it 
ins  about  120,000  cubic  feet.  The  car  is  suspended 
below  the  middle  of  the  balloon,  and  there  are  provided  a 
rudder  and  a'  screw.  The  rudder  consists  of  a  triangular 
sail  placed  beneath  the  balloon  and  near  the  rear,  and  is 
kept  in  position  by  a  horizontal  yard,  about  20  feet  long, 
turning  round  a  pivot  in  its  forward  extremity ;  the  height 
of  the  sail  is  16  feet,  and  its  surface  160  square  feet.  Two 
ropes  for  working  the  rudder  extend  forward  to  the  seat  of 
the'stcerer,  who  has  before  him  a  compass  fixed  to  the  car, 
the  central  part  of  which  will  contain  ijurteen  men.  The 
screw  is  carried  by  the  car,  and'  is  driven  by  four  or  eight 
men  working  at  a  capstan.     A  trial  was  made  with  the 


machine  on  February  2,  1872,  on  a  windy  day,  and  M.  de 
Lome  considered  that  ho  had  been  enabled  by  bis  screw 
and  rudder  to  alter  his  course  about  12°.  (See  Report  of  t/ie 
Aeronautical  Society,  1 

Whatever  difficulties  may  present  themselves  in  regu- 
lating the  horizontal  movement  of  the  balloon,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  vertical  motion  could  be  obtained  by 
means  of  a  screw  or  other  mechanical  means;  and  the 
power  of  being  able  to  ascend  or  descend  without  loss  of 
ballast  would  be  a  considerable  gain.  In  the  opinion  of 
many,  however,  the  balloon  is  not  worth  improvement ; 
and  as  ballooning  is  now  generally  practised  merely  as  a 
spectacle  by  which  the  aeronaut  or  showman  gains  his 
living,  it  is  not  likely  that  any  advancement  will  be  made. 

Of  flying  machines,  in  which  both  buoyancy  and  motion 
were  proposed  to  be  obtained  by  purely  mechanical  means, 
the  number  has  been  very  great.  Most  of  the  projects 
have  been  chimerical,  and  were  due  to  persons  possessed 
of  an  insufficient  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  natural 
philosophy,  both  theoretically  and  practically.  They  serve, 
however,  to  show  how  great  a  number  of  individuals  must 
have  paid  attention  to  the  matter,  and  even  at  the  present 
time  several  patents  are  taken  out  annually  on  the  subject 
We  do  not  propose  here  to  give  an  account  of  any  of  these 
projects,  for  but  few  have  ever  passed  beyond  projects,  but 
will  merely  refer  to  Mx  Henson's  aerial  carriage,  which  in  Hens 
1843  attracted  some  attention.  The  apparatus  was  an  ri,ria 
elaborate  one,  and  its  principal  feature  was  the  great  ™a&* 
expanse  of  the  sustaining  planes.  The  machine  was  to 
advance  with  its  front  edge  a  little  raised,  the  effect  of  which, 
would  be  to  present  its  under  surface  to  the  air  over  which 
it  was  passing;  the  resistance  of  this  air,  acting  on  it  like  the 
strong  wind  on  the  sails  of  a  windmill,  would,  it  was  thought, 
prevent  the  descent  of  the  machine.  Mr  Henson  invented  a 
steam-engine  of  great  lightness,  but  he  proposed  that  the 
machine  should  be  started  down  an  inclined  plane,  so  that 
the  steam-engine  would  only  have  to  make  up  for  the 
velocity  lost  by  the  resistance  of  the  air.  The  scheme 
never  came  to  anything.  , 

In  the  still  air  of  a  room  it  is,  of  course,  not  difficult  to 
attach  an  apparatus  to  a  balloon  so  as. to  direct  its  motion, 
and  even  models  of  flying  machines  have  been  made  which, 
when  tried  in  a  room,  seemed  moderately  successful  Some 
instruments  which  would  very  nearly  support  themselves 
in  the  air  were  shown  at  the  Aeronautical  Society's  exhi- 
bition at  the  Crystal  Palace.  A  good  deal  would  bo 
accomplished  if  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  exact  motion 
of  a  bird's  wing  could  be  obtained ;  in  fact,  until  this  is 
known,  or  until  sufficient  experiments  on  the  resistance 
experienced  by  different-shaped  laminae  with  different 
motions  are  made,  there  seems  lit  lie  chance  of  the  con- 
struction of  a  satisfactory  flying  machine,  unless  means 
can  be  found  to  make  a  steam-engine  of  much  less  weight 
than  is  at  present  necessary. 

In  1865  the  Aeronautical  Society  of  Great  Britain  was  Aeroi 
founded,  the  officers  being — President,  the  Duke  of  Argyle ;  cal  s< 
Treasurer,  Mr  J.  Glaisher;  and  Secretary,  Mr  Brearey.  It  °f  G* 
has  published  an  annual  report  every  year  since  [1 873],  con- 
taining selections  from  tho  papers  read  to  tho  society,  and 
abstracts  of  the  discussions  that  took  place  thereon  at  the 
meetings.  The  numerous  papers  submitted  to  this  society 
bear  witness  to  the  great  number  of  minds  that  are  engaged 
on  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  aerial  navigation.  Of 
course,  not  a  few  of  the  methods  proposed  are  the  fanciful 
projects  of  ignorant  men,  but  some  show  the  careful  thought 
and  elaborate  experiment  of  trained  engineers  and  other 
qualified  persons.  In  1868  the  society  held  an  exhibition 
of  flying  machines!  <^c->  a*  the  Crystal  ■  Palace,  which  was 
visited  by  many  persons.  A  fire-balloon  of  a  M.  de  la 
Marne,  which  should  hav«  ascended  during  this  exhibition 


MATHEMATICAL   THEORY.] 


AERONAUTICS 


203 


caught  fire  and  was  burnt.  In  1871  a  series  of  experi- 
ments was  made  at  Perm's  factory  (Greenwich)  on  the 
resistance  of  different  shaped  planes  placed  at  different 
angles,  in  a  current  of  air  produced  by  a 'rotary  fan.  In- 
vestigations of  this  Kind  not  only  form  the  first  step 
towards  obtaining  data  for  a  true  knowledge  of  the  exact 
nature  of  flying,  but  are  also  independently  of  high  scientific 
interest.  The  chief  object  of  the  society  is  to  bring  together 
those  persons  who  are  interested  in  the  subject  of  aero- 
nautics (except  balloonists  by  trade,  who  are  ineligible), 
and  to  encourage  those  who,  possessing  suitable  acquire- 
ments, are  devoting  their  time  to  the  investigation  of  the 
question. 

Aerostatic  societies  have  also  been  founded  in  other 
countries;  but  although  they  have  been  inaugurated  with 
considerable  eclat,  more  than  one  have  already  terminated 
a  short-lived  career.  The  Vienna  society  seems,  however, 
to  have  been  unusually  active  during  the  recent  exhibi-. 
tion  of  1873. 

The  principle  in  virtue  of  which  a  balloon  ascends  is 
exactly  the  same  as  that  which  causes  a  piece  of  wood  or 
other  material  to  float  partially  immersed  in  water,  and 
'may  be  stated  as  follows,  viz.,  that  if  any  body  float  in 
equilibrium  in  a  fluid,  the  weight  of  the  body  is  equal  to 
the  weight  of  the  fluid  displaced.  By  -the  "  fluid  dis- 
placed" is  meant  the  fluid  which  would  occupy  the  space 
actually  occupied  in  the  fluid  by  the  body  if  the  body  were 
removed.  When  the  fluid  is  inelastic  and  incompressible, 
i.e.,  a  liquid,  as  water,  its  density  is  the  same  throughout, 
and  bodies  placed  in  it  either  rise  to  the  surface  and  float 
there  partially  immersed,  or  sink  to  the  bottom.  Thus, 
suppose  a  body  only  one-third  as  heavy  as  water  (in  other 
words,  whose  specific  gravity  is  one-third)  was  floating  on 
the  surface  of  water,  then,  as  the  weight  of  the  body  must 
be  equal  to  that  of  the  water  it  displaces,  it  is  clear  that  one- 
third  of  the  body  must  be  immersed.  In  the  case,  however, 
of  an  elastic  or  gaseous  fluid,  such  as  air,  the  density  gradu- 
ally decreases  as  we  recede  from  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
for  each  layer  has  to  support  the  weight  of  all  above  it,  and 
as  air  is  elastic  or  compressible,  the  layers  near  the  eartlTaro 
more  pressed  upon,  and  therefore  denser  than,  those  above. 
Thus,  if  a  body  lighter  than  the  air  it  displaces  be  set 
free  in  the  atmosphere,  it  rises  to  such  a  height  that  the 
air  there  is  so  attenuated  that  the  weight  of  it  displaced  13 
equal  to  that  of  the  body,  when  equilibrium  takes  place, 
and  the  body  ascends  no  higher.  In  all  cases,  therefore, 
a  body  floating  in  the  air  is-  totally  immersed,  and  it  can 
never  get  beyond  the  atmosphere,  and  float,  as  it  were, 
upon  its  surface. 

To  find,  therefore,  how  high  any  body. (lighter  than  the 
air  it  displaces),  such  as  a  balloon,  of  given  capacity  and 
weight,  will  rise,  it  is  only  necessary  to  calculate  at  what 
height  the  volume  of  a  quantity  of  air  equal  to  the  given 
capacity  will  be  equal  in  weight  to  the  given  weight. 
Leaving  temperature  out  of  the  question,  the  law  of  the 
decrease  of  density  in  the  atmosphere  is  such  that  the 

density  at  a  height  x  is  equal  to  e  *  *  x  the.  density  at  the 
earth's  surface,  g  being  the  measure  of  gravity,  and  £  also 

a  constant ;  the  value  of  -  is  called  the  height  of  the  homo- 

9 
geneous  atmosphere,  viz.,  it  is  equal  to  what  would.be  the 
height  of  the  atmosphere  if  it  were  homogeneous  through- 
out, and  of  the  same  density  as  at  the  earth's  surface.  .  Its 
value  may  be  taken  at  about  26,000  feet.  Thus,  let  V  be 
the  volume  of  a  balloon  and  its  appurtenances,  car,  ropes, 
&c.  (viz.,  the  number  of  cubic  feet,  or  whatever  the. unit 
of  solidity  may  be,  that  it  displaces),  and  let  W  be  its 
weight  (including  that  of  the  gas),  then  it  will  rise  to  a 
height  x  such  that 


W  =  Vg  x  density  of  air, 


g  being  the  value  of  the  force  of  gravity,  and  «r0  being  the 
density  of  the  air  at  the  surfaee  of  the  earth.  This  equa- 
tion is  not  quite  accurate,  fur  several  reasons — (1)  because 
the  decrease  of  temperature  that  results  from  increase  of 
elevation  has  not  been  taken  into  account;  (2)  because  g 
has  been  taken  to  measure  the  force  of  gravirj  on  the 
earth's  surface,  whereas  it  should  represent  thi-  force  at 
a  height  x;  this  is  easily  corrected  by  replacing  g  by  7', 


where  g' =g-. 


; ,  a  being  the  radius  of  the  earth,  but 


(a+x)2' 

as  a  is  about  4000  miles,  and  a;  is  never  likely  in  any  ordi- 
nary question  to  exceed  10  miles,  we  can  replace^'  by g 
without  introducing  sensible  error,  for  the  correction  due  to 
this  cause  would  be  much  less  than  other  uncertainties 
that  must  arise;  and  (3)  because  W  and  V  could  not  both 
remain  constant.  If  the  balloon  be  not  fully  inflated  on 
leaving,  so  that  the  gas  contained  in  it  can  expand,  then 
V,  the  volume  of  air  displaced,  will  increase ;  while,  if  the 
balloon  be  full  at  starting,  the  envelope  must  either  be 
strong  enough  to  resist  the  increased  pressure  of  the  gas 
inside,  due  to  the  removal  of  some  of  the  pressure  outside 
(owing  to  the  diminished  density  of  the  air),  or  some  of  the 
gas  must  be  allowed  to  escape.  The  former  alternative 
of  the  second  case  could  not  be  complied  with,  as  the  balloon 
would  burst;  some  of  the  gas  must  therefore  escape,  and 
so  VV  is  diminished.  The  weight  of  gas  of  which  the 
balloon  is  thus  eased  cannot  properly  be  omitted  from  the 
calculation,  if  a;  be  considerable;  but  a  good  approximation 
is  obtained  without  it,  as  the  weight  of  the  gas  that  escapes 
will  generally  bear  a  small  proportion  to  the  weight  of 
balloon,  car,  grapnel,  passengers,  &c.  The  true  equation 
(except  as  regards  temperature)  is  therefore,  for  a  balloon 
full  at  starting — 

*  —t 

ga\P(!(l-e-im)       </a2V>0e   ** 


\V 


{a+xf 


{a  +  xf 


v„  denoting  the  volume  actually  occupied  by  the  gas,  </ 

denoting  g     "       ,  viz.,  gravity  at  height  x,  and  Pt>  being 

the  density  of  the  gas  on  the  ground.  It  will  generally  be 
sufficient,  especially  when  temperature  is  omitted,  to  take 
the  formula  in  the  approximate  form  written  previously. 
As  the  volume  of  air  displaced  by  the  car,  ropes,  passengers, 
&c,  is  usually  trifling  compared  to  that  displaced  by  the 
balloon  itself,  no  great  error  can  arise  from  taking  v„  =  V0. 
As  an  example,  let  us  find  how  high  a  balloon  of  100,000 
cubic  feet  capacity  would  rise  if  inflated  with  pure  hydrogen 
gas,  carrying  with  it  a  weight  of  3000  lb  (this  including 
the  weight  of  the  balloon  itself  and  appurtenances).  A 
cubic  foot  of  air,  at  temperature  32°  Fahr.,  and  under  a 
pressure  of  29-922  in.,  weighs  -080728  lb,  and  a  cubic 
foot  of  hydrogen  .weighs  -005592  lb,  so  that  (supposing 
the  barometer  reading  on  the  earth  to  be  29-922  in.,  and  the 
temperature  of  the  air  to  be  32°)  at  the  surface  of  the 
earth  the  balloon,  &c,  weighs  3559  lb,  and  the  weight  of 
the  air  displaced  is  8073  &>.  The  balloon  will  therefore 
approximately  rise  to  such  a  height  x  that  100,000  cubic 
feet  of  air  shall  there  weigh  3559  lb;  and  x  is  given  in  feet 
by  the  equation 

.         3559 

«""'""=   8075* 

or  x  =  26,000  (log  8073  -  log  3559), 

the  logarithms  being  hyperbolic;  if  common  or  Briggian 
logarithms  be  used,  the  result  must  be  multiplied  by 
2-30258  .  .  .  (the  reciprocal  of  the  modulus).     In  the  above 


204 


AERONAUTICS 


[mathematical 


Mathema- 
tical theory 
rfthe 
motion  of 
a  balloon  ; 
the  last 
problem 
that  en- 
gaged the 
attention 
4f  Euler. 


case  we  find  x  =  about  21,000  feet,  and  as  at  this  height 
rather  moro  than  half  the  gas  will  have  escaped  (it  having 
been  supposed  that  the  balloon  was  full  at  starting).  This 
only  reduces  the  value  3559  by  about  300,  and  the  result 
of  taking  it  into  account  is  only  to  increase  the  height  just 
found  by  about  200  feet.  If  2000  lb  out  of  the  3000 
were  thrown  away  during  the  ascent,  the  balloon  would 
reach  a  height  of  about  10  miles;  the  weight  of  the  gas 
that  escapes  is  here  important,  as,  if  it  be  not  taken  into 
account,  the  height  given  by  the  formula  is  only  about 
9  miles. 

In  actual  aerostation,  as  at  present  practised,  ordinary 
cqal  gas  is  used,  which  is  many  times  heavier  than  hydrogen, 
being,  in  fact,  usually  not  less  than  half  the  specific  gravity 
of  air.  Even  when  balloons  are  inflated  with  hydrogen, 
generated  by  the  action  of  sulphuric  acid  on  zinc  filings, 
the  gas  is  very  far  from  pure,  and  its  density  is  often 
double  that  of  pure  hydrogen,  and  even  greater. 

The  hydrostatic  laws  relating  to  the  equilibrium  of  float- 
ing bodies  were  known  long  previous  to  the  invention  of 
the  balloon  in  1783,  but  it  was  only  in  the  latter  half  of 
the  18th  century  that  the  nature  of  gases  was  sufficiently 
understood  to  enable  these  principles  to  have  been  acted 
on.  As  we  have  seen,  both  Black  and  Cavallo  did  make 
use  of  them  on  arsmall  scale,  and  if  they  had  thought 
it  possible  to  make  a  varnish  impervious  to  the  passage 
of  hydrogen  gas  they  could  have  easily  anticipated  the 
Montgolfiers.  As  it  was,  no  sooner  was  the  fire-balloon 
invented,  than  diaries  at  once  suggested  and  practically 
carried  out  the  idea  of  the  hydrogen  or  inflammable  air 
ballooa 

The  mathematical  theory  of  the  rate  of  ascent  of  a 
oalloon  possesses  remarkable  historic  interest,  from  the 
fact  that  it  wa3  the  last  problem  that  engaged  the  attention 
of  the  greatest  mathematician  of  the  last  century,  Euler. 
The  news  of  the  experiment  of  the  Montgolfiers  at  Annonay 
on  June  5,  1783,  reached  the  aged  mathematician  (he  was 
in  his  77th  year)  at  St  Petersburg;  and  with  an  energy  that 
was  characteristic  of  him  he  at  once  proceeded  to  investi- 
gate the  motion  of  a  globe  lighter  than  the  air  it  displaced. 
Eor  many  years  he  had  been  all  but  totally  blind,  and  was 
in  the  habit  of  performing  his  calculations  with  chalk  apon 
a  black  board.  It  was  after  his  death,  on  September  7, 
1783,  that  this  board  was  found  covered  with  the  analytical 
investigation  of  the  motion  of  an  aerostat.  This  investi- 
gation is  printed  under  the  title,  Calculi  sur  la  Ballaru 
Aerostatiqv.es  faits  par  feu  M.  Leonard  Euler,  tels  qu'on  les 
a  trouvis  svr  son  ardoise,  apres  sa  mart  arrivSe  le  7 
Septembre  1783,  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  French  Academy 
for  1781  (pp.  264-268).  The  explanation  of  the  earlier 
date  is  that  the  volume  of  memoirs  for  1781  was  not 
published  till  1784.  The  peculiarity  of  Eider's  memoir  is 
that  it  deals  with  the  motion  of  a  closed  globe  filled  with  a 
gas  Ughter  than  air,  whereas  the  experiments  of  the  Mont- 
golfiers were  made  with  balloons  inflated  with  heated  air. 
The  explanation  of  this  must  be  that  either  an  imperfect 
account  reached  Euler,  and  that  he  supplied  the  details 
himself  as  seemed  to  him  most  probable,  or  that  he,  like 
the  Montgolfiers  themselves,  attributed  the  rising  of  the 
balloon  to  the  generation  of  a  special  gas  given  off  by  the 
chopped  straw  with  which  the  fire  was  fed.  The  treatment 
of  the  question  by  Euler  presents  no  particular  point  of 
importance — indeed,  it  could  not;  but  the  fact  of  its  having 
given  rise  to  the  closing  work  of  so  long  and  distinguished 
a  life,  and  having  occupied  the  last  thoughts  of  so  great  a 
mind,  confers  on  the  problem  of  the  balloon's  motion  a 
peculiar  interest. 

We  now  proceed  to  the  investigation  of  the  vertical 
motion  of  a  balloon  inflated  with  gas,  the  horizontal  motion, 
of  course,  being  always  equal  to  that  of  tho  current  in 


wnicn  it  is  placed.  In  supposing,  therefore,  the  balloon  to 
be  ascending  vertically  into  a  perfectly  calm  atmosphere, 
there  is  no  loss  of  generality.  There  are  two  cases  of  the 
problem,  viz.,  when  tho  balloon  is  only  partially  filled  with 
gas  at  starting,  and  when  it  is  quite,  filled.  The  motion  in 
the  former  case  we  shall  investigate  first,  as  the  balloon 
will  ascend  till  it  becomes  completely  full,  and  then  the 
subsequent  motion  will  belong  to  the  second  case.  We  may 
remark  that  it  is  usual  in  investigations  relating  to  the 
motions  of  a  balloon  to  regard  it  in  the  way  that  Euler  did, 
viz.,  as  a  closed  inextensible  bag,  capable  of  bearing  any 
amount  of  pressure.  In  point  of  fact,  the  neck  or  lower 
orifice  of  the  balloon  i3  invariably  open  while  it  is  in  the 
air,  so  that  the  pressure  inside  and  outside  is  practically 
always  the  same,  and  when  the  balloon  continues  ascending 
after  it  has  become  quite  full,  the  gas  pours  out  of  the  neck 
or  is  allowed  to  escape  by  opening  the  upper  valve.  It  ia 
to  be  noticed  that  we  have  not  thought  it  necessary  to  trans- 
form the  formulae  obtained  in  such  wise  that  they  may  be 
readily  adapted  to  numerical  calculations  as  they  stand,  as 
our  object  is  rather  to  exhibit  the  nature  of  the  motion,  and 
clearly  express  the  conditions  that  are  fulfilled  in  the  case 
of  a  balloon,  than  deduce  a  series  of  formulas  for  practical 
use.  We  shall,  however,  indicate  the  simplifications  allow- 
able in  practical  applications.  The  effect  of  temperature, 
though  important,  is  neglected,  as  the  connection  between 
it  and  height  is  still  unknown.  It  was  chiefly  to  determine 
this  relation  that  Mr  Glaisher's  ascents  were  undertaken, 
and  at  the  conclusion  of  the  first  eight  he  deduced  an 
empirical  law  which  seemed  to  accord  pretty  well  with  the 
observations ;  the  succeeding  twenty  ascents,  however,  failed 
to  confirm  this  law.  In  fact,  it  is  evident,  even  without  ob- 
servation, that  the  rate  ci  the  decline  of  temperature  when 
the  sky  is  clear  must  differ  from  what  it  is  when  cloudy, 
and  that,  being  influenced  to  a  great  amount  by  radiation 
of  heat  from  the  earth's  surface,  it  will  vary  from  hour  to 
hour.  Under  these  circumstances,  a3  our  object  is  not  to 
deduce  a  series  of  practical  rules  for  calculating  heights, 
4c,  we  have  supposed  the  temperature  to  remain  constant 
throughout  the  atmosphere.  The  assumption  of  any  law  of 
decrease  would  considerably  complicate  the  equations.  Per- 
haps the  simplest  law,  mathematically  considered,  would 
be  to  assume  the  curve  of.  descent  of  temperature  to  be 
y=e~".  The  curve  Mr  Glaisher  deduced  from  his  eight 
ascents  was  a  portion  of  a  hyperbola,  the  constants  being 
determined  empirically. 

Let  M  =  the  mass  of  the  balloon,  car,  netting,  gas,  pas 

sengers,  &c,  on  starting. 
V,  =  the  capacity  of  the  envelope  of  the  balloon  when 

full 
n,  =  the  volume  of  gas  at  the  pressure  of  the  air  intro- 
duced into  the  balloon  before  starting. 
«  =  the  volume  (supposed  less  than  V0)  occupied  by  the 

gas  at  the  height  x. 
{0  =  density  of  the  gas  in  the  balloon  on  the  earth, 
f  =       „  „  n        at  ^  height  x. 

e0  =  density  of  the  air  on  the  earth. 
*  =      „  „  at  the  height  x. 

v  =  the  initial  upward  velocity  of  the  balloon  (which  is 

introduced  for  the  sake  of  complete  generality, 

but  is  always  zero). 
ti0  =  the  velocity  (vertically  upwards,  as  all  horizontal 

motion  is  ignored'*  at  height  x. 

Then  the  equation  of  motion  at  any  time  previous  to  the 
balloon  becoming  ccmpletelv  filled  is 

Mu—  =  tvgf  -  Mo'  -  Au2e~*  " , 
dz 

the  last  term  being  due  to  the  resistance  of  the  air,  which 
ia  assumed  to  vary  directly  as  the  square  of  the  velocity 
and  03  the  density  of  the  air.     In  very  slow  motions  the 


INVESTIGATIONS.] 


AERONAUTICS 


205 


resistance  appears  from  experiments  to  vary  pretty  nearly 
as  the  velocity;  and  when  the  motion  is  very  swift,  as  in 
the  case  of  a  rifle-bullet,  as  the  cube  of  the  velocity;  but 
when  the  motion  is  neither  very  rapid  nor  very  slow,  the 
law  of  the  square  of  the  velocity  probably  represents  the 
truth  very  fairly.  By  g'  is  denoted  the  value  of  gravity 
at  the  height  x,  so  that 

,_       a» 
9  ~9{a+xf 

a  being,  as  above,  the  radius  of  the  earth.  In  the  exponen- 
tial term,  we  shall  replace  g'  by  g,  as  no  sensible  error  can 
result  therefrom.  The  value  of  crv  is  constant,  as  by 
Boyle's  and  Marriotte's  law  it  always  =  o-^  Writing, 
therefore,  for  brevity — 

<V»  -  M  =  c, 

the  equation  of  motion  takes  the  form 

dx  (a+x)- 

whence,  following  the  usual  rule  for  the  integration  of 
linear  differential  equations  of  the  first  order,  and  writing 
X  for  e~",  for  convenience  of  printing, 

l       a  +  x    ~J         a  +  x       J 

-  (       a  +  x    ~Ja+xy  1.2  ' 

=  &»'£-  j^  +  a{<"«Ei(-no-iia;) 
-vu2"Ei(-2na-2nx) 
+  1-2«s"Ei(-3na-3ni)-...}^  +C. 
Herein  put  z  =  0,  so  that  u  =  u0,  and  we  have 

+  a{e"Ei(-7w)-»n<:J"Ei(-2n3) 

+  ^~Ei(-3na-)...}]+C; 

whence,  by  subtraction, 

«*<-" I-u<?c—=0a*  |~—  -  ^—  +a{c-m(-na-nx) 
v  La        a+x       l         >  ' 

-.7U!s*«Ei(-  2na-  2nx)  + ...  -  «~Ei(-  na)  +  wuj^EK  -  2na)  -  ...} "I 

therefore 


«»  =  «««—" 


|-_.<|_X)  J 

TP    L«  a+x 


+  «**  {e**Ei(  -  na  -  nx)  -  e"Ei(  -  na)  -  nw>"Ei(  -Inn-  2nx) 


+  t)Kl"Ei(-  2«a)  +  r-— «s"Ei(-  3na-  3nx) 


-1^«5"Ei(-37«.)  +  ...}] 


in  which  Ei  x  is  use'd  to  denote  the  exponential  integral  of 
-dx,  according  to  a  recognised  notation.     The 

MM 

values  of  the  integral  Ei  x,  which  may  be  regarded  as  a 
known  function,  have  been  tabulated  (see  Philosophical 
Transactions  for  1870,  pp.  367-388). 

We  thus  have,  except  for  temperature,  the  complete 
solution  of  the  problem  of  the  mouon  of  the  balloon  so  far 
as  velocity  and  height  are  concerned;  it  would  not  be 
possible  to  connect  the  time  and  the  height  except  by  the 


performance  of  another  integration,  for. the  practicability  of 
which  it  would  be  necessary  to  submit  to  some  loss  of 
generality,  viz.,  we  should  have  to  regard  x  as  small  as 
compared  to  a,  and  take  X  as  small,  and  so  on.  The  equa- 
tion last  written  gives  the  motion  until  the  height  (say  h) 
is  attained  at  which  the  balloon  becomes  quite  full,  after 
which  the  gas  begins  to  escape,  and  we  have  the  second 
case  of  the  problem. 

Before  proceeding,  however,  to  the  discussion  of  this 
second  case,  it  i3  worth  while- to  examine  the  solution  more 
carefully,  leaving  out  of  consideration  quantities  that  make 
no  very  great  difference  in  the  practical  result,  for  the  sake 
of  simplicity.  Supposing,  then,  gravity  to  be  constant  At 
all  heights,  and  A.  to  be  zero,  the  equation  of  motion  takes 
the  simple  form 

d.v?    , 

whence  u*—ulti=px; 

and  we  see,  what  is  pretty  evident  from  general  reasoning, 
that  if  a  balloon,  partially  filled,  rises  at  all,  it  will  at  least 
rise  to  such  a  height  that  it  will  become  completely  fulL 

The  letters  meaning  the  same  as  before,  the  equation  of  Motion  a 
motion  of  a  balloon  completely  filled  at  starting  is  a  ballooi 

J  M-Y0(,0-,)  J  ug  =^^p{  V0,-M  +  V0(,0-,)  J      starting 

or  substituting  for  p  and  o-  their  value3 

{li-V^l-.--)  }„g  =  ^{v^ M 

+V0*,(l-e— •)  1  -Mifc— *  . 

The  integral  of  this  differential  equation  could  be  obtained 
in  series  as  before,  only  that  the  resulting  equations 
would  be  more  complicated.  As  we  do  not  propose  to 
discuss  the  formulae  obtained,  it  will  be  sufficient  for  our 
purpose  to  deduce  an  approximate  solution  by  neglecting 
V^l  -e~**)  compared  to  M,  viz.,  neglecting  the  mass  of 
the  gas  that  has  escaped  during  the  ascent  compared  to  the 
mass  of  the  whole  balloon  and  appurtenances.  It  must  be 
borne  in  mind,  however,  that  when  coal  gas  is  used,  and 
the  ascent  is  to  a  great  height,  the  mass  of  gas  that  escape* 
is  by  no  means  insensible.     The  equation  thus  becomes 


or 


+x?{^<— U} 


dx 


+  cu-"v?  = 


2(7 

y  being  =-? .     This  is  an  equation  which  can  be  integrated 

in  exactly  the  same  way  as  that  previously  considered,  via., 
by  multiplying  by  a"  factor  e~"x,  and  integrating  afr  once; 
thus, 


-^{-a^+'f- 


"}+c 


a  +  x 


a  +  x 


-  n  {«•*  Ei  ( -  na  -  nx)  -  jn«s"Ei  (  -  2na  -  2nz)  + . . ,  I 
+  a  (e'^Ei  (  -  2na  -  2nx)  -  nw'-EH  -  3na  -  3nx)  +  . . .  }  1 


20G 


AERONAUTICS 


-nu>"Ei(-2Ha-2>u)+  ...  \    |+C, 

and  C  is  determined  as  before  by  putting  x  =•  0 ,  when  wo 
have  u  =  v0. 

Id  this  case  '«„  is  not  zero,  except  when  the  balloon 
starts  from  the  earth  quite  full.  Tho  general  case  .is,  when 
the  balloon  is  only  partially  filled  on  leaving;  the  previous 
equations  then  hold  until  a  height  h,  at  which  it  becomes 
quite  full,  when  the  motion  changes,  and  is  as  just  investi- 
gated. Then  «0  becomes  the  velocity  at  the  height  //,  and 
everything  is  measured  from  this  height  as  if  from  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth,  a  being  then  the  radius  of  the  earth  +  h, 
p„  <r0  the  densities  at  height  h,  and  p,  a  at  height  x  +  h, 
&c.  We  have  therefore,  except  as  regards  time,  completely 
determined  the  motion  of  a  balloon  u  ill  gas  in  an 

atmosphere  of  constant  temperature.  The  introduction  of 
temperature  wovdd  modify  the  motion  considerably,  but  in 
the  present  state  of  science  it  cannot  be  taken  into  account. 

The  general  principle  of  the  equilibrium  of  a  fire-balloon 
is,  of  course,  identical  with  that  of  a  gas-balloon ;  but  tho 
motion  is  different,  as  the  degree  of  buoyancy  at  each 
moment  varies  with  the  temperature  of  the  air  within  the 
balloon,  and  therefcre  with  the  heat  of  the  furnace  by 
which  tho  air  is  warmed.  Dry  air  expands  -yf  3d  pari  ol  its 
volume  for  every  increase  of  temperature  of  1°  centigrade, 
or  i»Ttn  °f  its  volume  for  every  increase  of  ternperatura 
of  1°  Fahr.  If,  therefore,  the  air  in  an  envelope  or  bag 
be  heated  60°  Fahr.  more  than  the  surrounding  air,  the 
air  within  the  bag  will  expand  TVrtn  °f  i*8  volume,  and 
this  air  must  therefore  escape.  The  air  within  the  bag 
weighs  less,  therefore,  than  the  air  it  displaces  by  the 
/jYth  part  of  the  latter;  and  if  the  weight  of  this  be 
greater  than  tho  weight  of  the  bag  and  appurtenances,  the 
latter  •will  ascend.  It  is,  therefore,  always  easy  to  calcu- 
late approximately  the  ascensional  power  of  a  fire-balloon 
if  the  temperature  of  the  surrounding  air  be  known,  and 
also  the  mean  temperature  of  tho  air  within  the  balloon. 
Thus,  let  the  balloon  contain  V-  cubic  feet  of  hot  air  at  the 
temperature  t'  (Fahr.),  and  let  the  temperature  of  the 
surrounding  air  be  t  (Fahr.)  Also,  suppose  the  weight  of 
tho  balloon,  car,  <fcc.,  is  W  lb,  and  let  the  barometer  reading 
be  h  inches,  then  the  ascensional  power  is  equal  to  the 
weight  of  the  air  displaced  -  weight  of  the  heated  air 
-  W  lb,  viz., 

h       fVx  -Q80728  '/x -080728  )  ».      w 

29-922  \         i-32  ~      "      f-32     j E  ~  W "' 

1+l9T  1  +  "49T 

•080728  tt>  being  the  weight  of  a  cubic  foot  of  air  at  tem- 
perature 32°,  under  the  pressure  of  one  atmosphere,  viz., 
when  the  reading  of  the  barometer  is  29-922  in.  Of  course, 
the  motion  depends  upon  the  temperature  of  the  air  in  the 
balloon  a3  due  to  the  furnace,  if  the  latter  is  taken  up  with 
the  balloon  ;  but  if  the  air  in  the  balloon  is  merely  warmed, 
and  the  balloon  then  set  free  by  itself,  the  problem  is  an 
easy  one,  as  the  rate  of  cooling  can  be  determined  approxi- 
mately; but  it  is  destitute  of  interest.  We  have  said  that 
dry  air  increases  its  volume  by  j-J-rth  part  for'  every  in- 
crease of  1°  (Fahr.),  but  the  air  is  generally  more  or  less 
saturated  with  moisture.  This  second  atmosphere,  formed 
of  the  vapour  of  water,  is  superposed  over  that  of  the  air, 
as  it  were,  and,  in  a  very  careful  consideration  of  the 
question,  should  be  taken  into  account.  Even,  however, 
when  the  air  is  completely  saturated  with  moisture  but 
little  difference  is  produced ;  so  that  for  all  practical  pur- 
poses the  presence  of  the  vapour  of  water  in  the  air  may 
be  ignored.     Of  course  the  amount  of  vapour  depends  on 


the  dew-point,  and  tables  of  the  pressure  of  tho  vapour  ot 
water  a^  different  temperatures  are  given  in  most  modem 
works  on  heat ;  but,  as  has  been  stated,  the  matter,  in  an 
aeronautical  point  of  view,  is  of  very  little  importance. 
At  first  it  was  supposed  that  the  cause  of  tho  ascent  of  the 
balloon  of  the  Montgolfiers  was  traceable  to  the  generation 
of  gas  and  6moke  from  tho  damp  straw  which  was  set  light 
to  ;  but  the  advance  of  science  showed  that  the  fire-balloon 
owed  its  levity  merely  to  tho  rarefaction  of  the  air  produced 
by  the  heat  generated. 

A  formula  giving  the  height,  in  terms  of  tho  rcadingsof 
the  barometer  and  thermometer,  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  and  at  the  place  the  height  of  which  is  required,  is 
easily  obtained  from  the  principles  of  hydrostatics.  The 
formula  given  by  Laplace,  reduced  to  English  units,  is — 

Z=W£)  x  G015o(l  +  '-±£^W-  002837  cos  2  L) 

A     0  + 52251\ 

\       20886900/ 

Z  being  the  height  required  in  feet,  h,  h'  the  heights  of  the 
barometer  in  inches  at  the  lower  and  upper  stations,  t,  t'  the 
temperatures  (Fahr.)  of  the  air  at  the  lower  and  upper 
stations,  L  tho  latitude,  z  the  approximate  altitude,  and 
20,886,900  the  earth's  mean  radius  in  feet.  This  was  the 
formula  used  by  Mr  Glaisher  for  the  reduction  of  hi3 
observations.  It  is  open  to  the  obvious  defect  that  the 
temperature  is  assumed  uniform,  and  equal  to  the  mean  of 
the  temperatunis  at  the  upper  and  lower  stations ;  but  till 
the  law  of  decline  of  temperature  is  better  determined, 
perhaps  this  is  as  good  an  approximation  to  the  truth  as 
we  can  have  without  introducing  needless  complication  in 
the  formula. 

A  sphere  is  not  a  developable  surface — i.e.,  it  cannot  be  Shape  of 
divided  in  any  manner  so  as  to  admit  of  its  being  spread  g°re  °t  • 
out  flat  upon  a  plane,  so  that  no  spherical  balloon  could  bo  baUooB- 
made  of  stiff  plane  material.     However,  the  silk  or  cotton 
of  which  balloons  are  manufactured  is  sufficiently  flexible 
to  prevent  any  deviation  from  the  sphere  being  noticeable. 
Balloons  are  made  in  gores,  a  gore  being  what,  in  spherical 
trigonometry,  is  called  a  lune,  viz.,  the  surface  enclosed 
between  two  meridians.     The  approximate  shape  of  these 
gores  is  very  easy  to  calculate. 
Thus,  let  A  B  E  C  be  a  gore, 
then  the  sides  ABE,  ACE, 
are    not   arcs  of    circles,    b  t 
curves  of  sines,  viz.,  PQ  bears 
to  D  B  the  ratio  th  at  sin  A  P 
does   to   sin   AD,   or,   which 
comes  to  the  same-  thing,  sup- 
posing   A  D  =  90°,    and    A  P 
=  x",  then  P  Q  =  B  D  sin  x°. 
It  is  thus  easy,  by  means  of  a 
table  of  natural  sines,  to  form 
a  pattern  gore,  whatever  the 
required  number  of  gores  may 
be.     Thus,  supposing  there  are 
to  be  n  gores,  then  B  C  must 

be  -th  of  the  circumference — 
n 
2 
viz.,     ths   of  AE;    and    BD 

71 

and  A  D  being  given,  any  num- 
ber of  points  can  be  found 
on  the  curve  ABE  in  the 
manner  indicated  above.  A 
slight  knowledge  of   spherical 

trigonometry  shows  the  reason  for  the  above  rule.  Bal- 
loons, as  usually  constructed,  are  spherical,  except  for  the 
neck,  which   is   made  to  slope  down,  so  that  the  whole 


Balloon  Gore. 


AERONAUTICS 


207 


6hapu  resembles  rather  that  of  a  pear..    The  pattern  gore 
should  originally  be  made  as  if  for  a  spherical  balloon,  and 
afterwards  the  slight  modification  necessary  for  the  forma- 
tion of  the  neck  should  be  appb'ed. 
nio         The  gores  are  sewn  together,  and  a  small  portion  of  the 
)f  a     upper  end  of  each  is  cut  away,  so  as  to  leave  an  aperture  at 
Jn"      the  top  of  the  balloon  of  from  1  to  3  feet  in  diameter. 
This  -pace  is  occupied  by  the  valve,  which  is  generally 
made  of   strong  wood,  and  consists  of  two  semicircular 
shutters  hinged  to  a  diameter  of  the  circular  frame,  and 
kept  closed  by  a  spring.     The  valve  is  opened  by  pulling  a 
string,  technically  called  the  valve-line,  which  passes  down 
through  the  balloon  and  out  at  the  lower  orifice  in  which 
the  neck  terminates.     The  tet-work  which,  like  the  gores, 
is   attached   to   the   circumferences   of   the  valve,  passes 
over  the  surface  of  the  balloon,  and  supports  the  ring  or 
hoop  from  which  the  car  is  suspended  by  half  a  dozen 
strong  ropes,  of  perhaps  1  or  5  feet  in  length.     The  net- 
work is  thus  stretched  between  the  valve  and  the  ring.     It 
is  very  important  that  all  the  ropes  by  which  the  car  hangs 
from  the  ring  should  be  so  adjusted-  that  each  may  bear 
pretty  nearly  the  same  weight,  as  otherwise  the  whole  net- 
ting and  balloon  will  be  strained,  and  perhaps  to  a  serious 
extent.     The  car  is  usually  merely  a  large  basket  made  of 
wicker-work.     The  neck  of  the  balloon  sTiould  be  7  or  8 
feet  above  the  car,  so  that  the  aeronaut  can  easily  reach  it 
by  mounting  into  the  ring.     The  best  material  for  the 
envelope  is  silk ;  but  on  account  of  the  expense  cotton  or 
alpaca  is  generally  used :  in  all  cases  it  must  be  varnished, 
in  order  to  render  it  more  impervious  to  the  gas.     The 
grapnel  or   anchor  is  a  large  five-pronged  hook  attached- 
to   the  ring  by  a  rope   100   or   120  feet  long.      The 
first   care   of   the   aeronaut   on   leaving   the   earth  is  to 
lower  the  grapnel  gently  to  the  full  extent  that  the  rope 
will  permit.      Thus,  when  the  balloon  is  in  the  air,  the 
grapnel   hangs  down  below  it,  and  when  the  descent  is 
being  effected,  is  the  first  thing  to  touch  the  ground.     If 
the  descent  is  well  managed,  and  the  balloon  is  moving 
downwards  slowly,  the  weight  of  which  it  is  relieved  when 
the  grapnel  is  supported  by  the  earth  checks  any  further 
descent,  and  the  wind  carries  the  balloon  along  horizontally, 
the   grapnel  trailing  over  the  ground  until  it  catches  in 
some  obstruction  and  is  held  fast.     The  balloon  is  then  in 
much  about  the  same  position  as  a  kite -held  by  a  string,  and 
if  the  wind  be  strong,  plunges  about  wildly,  striking  the 
ground  and  rebounding,  until  the  aeronaut,  by  continued  use 
of  the  valve-line,  has  allowed  sufficient  gas  to  escape  to 
deprive  it  of  all  buoyancy  and  prevent  its  rising  again, 
ice  of      The  chief  danger  attending  ballooning  lies  in  the  descent; 
ta-      for  if  a  strong  wind  be  blowing,  the  grapnel  will  some- 
times trail  for  miles  over  the  ground  jit  the  rate, of  ten  or 
twenty  miles  an  hour,  catching  now  and  then  in  hedges, 
ditches,  roots  of  trees,  &c; ;  and,  after  giving  the  balloon  a 
terrible  jerk,  breaking  .loose  again,  till  at  length  some 
obstruction,  such  as  the  wooded  bank  of  a  stream,  affords 
a  firm  hold.     If  the  balloon  has  lost  all  its  buoyant  power 
by  ths  escape  of  the  gas,  the  car  also  drags  over  the  ground. 
But  even  a  very  rough  descent  is  usually  not  productive  of 
any  very  serious  consequences;  as,  although  the  occupants 
of  the  cat  generally  receive  many  bruises,  and  are  perhaps 
cut  by  the  ropes,  it  rarely  happens  that  anj'thing  worse 
occurs.     On  a  day  when  the  wind  is  light  (supposing  that 
there  is  no  want  of  ballast)  nothing  can  be  easier  than  the 
descent,  and  the  aeronaut  can  decide  several  miles  off  on 
the  field  in  which  he  will  alight     It  is  very  important  to 
have  a  good  supply  of  ballast,  so  as  to  be  able  to  check  the 
rapidity  of  the  descent,  as  in  passing  downwards  through 
a  wet  cloud  the  weight  of  the  balloon  is  enormously  in- 
creased by  the  water  deposited  on  it;  and  it  there  is  no 
ballast  to  throw  out  to  compensate  this  accession  of  mass, 


the  ve.ocity  is  sometimes  very  great.  It  is  also  convenient, 
if  the  district  upon  which  the  balloon  is  descending  appear 
unsuitable  for  landing,  to  be  able  to  rise  again.  The 
ballast  consists  of  fine  baked  sand,  which  becomes  so  scat- 
tered as  to  be  inappreciable  before  it  has  fallen  far  below 
the  balloon.  It  is  taken  up  in  bags  containing  about 
J  cwt.  each.  The  balloon  at  starting  is  liberated  by  a 
spring  catch  which  the  aeronaut  releases,  and  the  ballast 
should  be  so  adjusted  that  there  is  nearly  equilibrium 
before  leaving,  else  the  rapidity  of  ascent  is  too  great,  and 
has  to  be  checked  by  parting  with  gas.  It  is  almost  im- 
possible to  liberate  the  balloon  in  such  a  way  as  to  avoid 
giving  it  a  rotary  motion  about  a  vertical  axis,  which  con- 
tinues during  the  whole  time  it  is  in  the  air.  This  rotation 
makes  it  difficult  lor  those  in  the  car  to  discover  in  what 
direction  they  are  moving;  and  it  is  only  by  looking  down 
along  .the  rope  to  which  the  grapnel  is  suspended  that  the 
motion  of  the  balloon  over  the  country  below  can  be  traced. 
We  may  mention  that  the  upward  and  downward  motion 
at  any  instant  is  at  once  known  by  merely  dropping  over 
the  side  of  the  car  a  small  piece  of  paper:  if  the  paper 
ascends  or  remains  on  the  same  level  or  stationary,  the 
balloon  is  descending;  while,  if  it  descends,  the  balloon  is 
ascending.  This  test  is  so  delicate  that  it  sometimes 
showed  the  motion  at  a  particular  instant  with  more  .pre- 
cision than  did  Mr  Glaisher's  yeiy  delicate  instruments 

Contrivances  are  often  proposed  by  which  the  valve 
might  be  opened  in  less  -crude  ways  than  by  merely  pulling 
a  string  attached  to  it;  by  which  the  jerks  produced  by  the 
catching  of  the  grapnel  might  be  diminished,  &c.  These  im- 
provements are  not  adopted,  because  simplicity  is  requisite 
before  everything.  Any  mechanical  contrivance  might  be 
broken  and  rendered  useless  by  the  first  blow  of  the  car  on 
the  earth;  whereas  the  primitive  arrangements  in  use  are 
such  that  scarcely  any  rough  treatment  can  impair  their 
efficiency. 

The  most  important  workn  that  have  appeared  on  the 
subject  of  aerostation,  are — - 

Vadalus,  or  Mechanhal  Motions,  by  Bishop  Wilkins,  Lonaon, 
1848  ;  A  Treatise  on  the  Nature  and  Properties  of  Air  and  other 
Permanently  Elastic  Fluids,  by  Tiberius  Cavallo,  London,  1781  ; 
Account  of  Che  First  Acrid  Voyage  in,  England,  in  a  Series  of 
Letters  to  his  Guardian,  by  Vincent  Lunardi,  London,  1784  ; 
History  and  Practice  of  Aerostation,  by  Tiberius  Cavallo,  London, 
1785  ;  AnnaU  of  some  .Remarkable  Aerial  and  Alpine  Voyage/, 
including  those  of  the  author,  by  T.  Forster,  London,  1832; 
Aeronautica,  by  Monck  Mason,  London,  1SSS  ;  A  System  of  Aero- 
nautics, comprehending  Us  Earliest  Investigations,  by  Johi  Wise, 
Philadelphia,  1850  ;  Astra  Castra,  Experiments  and  Adventures  in 
the  Atmosphere,  by  Hatton  Tumor,  London,  1865  ;  Voyages  Airiens, 
p;ir  J.  Glaisher,  C.  Flammarion,  \V.  de  Fonvielle,  et  G.  Tis  andier, 
Paris,  1870 ;  the  same  translated  into  English  and  published, 
edited  by  James  Glaisher,  under  the  title,  j'ravels  in  the  Air, 
London,  1871. 

All  the  above  books  we  have  seen  ourselves,  and  used 
in  the  preparation  of  the  present  article.  Astra  Caslra 
is  a  work  of  530  pp.  large  quarto.;  it  consists  chiefly  of 
extracts  from  other  works  and  writings,  and  it  is  useful 
as  affording  data  for  a  history  rather  than  as  a  history 
itself.  On  pp.  463-465  is  a  list  of  books  and  papers  on 
aeronautics,  which  seems  fairly  complete  up  to  the  date 
1864.  In  the  list  are  also  included  memoirs  and  "papers 
which  we  have  not  noted  in  the  last  paragraph,  as  the  most 
important  of  them  are  referred  to  under  their  special  sub- 
jects in  the  course  of  this  article.  We  should  advise 
any  one  desirous  of  studying  the  history  of  aeronautics  to 
consult  Mr  Tumor's  list  in  Astra  Castro,  which  is  the 
most  perfect  we  have  met  with.  He  has  marked  with  an 
asterisk  those  works  that  may  be  consulted  by  the  public 
in  the  library  of  the  Patent  Office,  which  contains,  besides 
books,  a  valuable  collection  of  prints  and  broadsheets  on 
the  subject  of  aerostation.  (J-  °0 


208 


iERT-iES  C 


„  .ERTSZEN.Tieter,  called  "Long  Peter"  on  account  of 
his  height,  an  historical  painter  of  great  merit  as  regards 
both  drawing  and  colouring,  was  born  at  Amsterdam  in 
1520,  and  died  in  1573.  When  a  youth  he  distinguished 
himself  by  painting  homely  scenes,  in  which  he  reproduced 
articles  of  furniture,  cooking  utensils,  <fcc,  with  marvellous 
fidelity,  but  he  afterwards  cultivated  historical  painting. 
Several  of  his  best  works — altar-pieces  in  various  churches 
— were  destroyed  in  the  religious  wars  of  the  Netherlands. 
An  excellent  specimen  of  his  style  on  a  small  scale,  a 
picture  of  the  crucifixion,  may  be  seen  in  the  Antwerp 
Museum. .  jErtszen  was  a  member  of  the  Academy  of 
St  Luke,  in  whose  books  he  is  entered  as  Langhe  Peter, 
tchilder.  Three  of  his  sons  attained  to  some  note  as  painters. 
iES  is  commonly  translated  brass,  but  the  xs  of  the 
Romans,  like  the  x^xo's  of  the  Greeks,  was  used  to  signify 
not  only  pure  copper,  but  also  a  bronze,  or  alloy  of  copper 
and  tin.  Brass,  in  the  modern  acceptation  of  an  alloy  of 
copper  and  zinc,  was  unknown  to  the  ancients.  The  cutting 
instruments  of  the  ancient  Greeks,  Romans,  and  Egyptians 
were  originally  of  bronze.  The  Romans  borrowed  their 
arms,  as  well  as  their  money,  from  the  Etruscans. 
Analysis  of  the  bronzes  of  these  nations  shows  that  they 
contained  about  1 2  per  cent,  of  tin,  which  gave  them  hard- 
ness and  the  capability  of  receiving  a  good  edge.  As  the 
most  ancient  coined  money  of  the  Romans  was  of  copper  or 
bronze,  ces  came  to  be  used  for  money  in  general,  even  after 
the  introduction  of  silver  and  gold  coinage;  and  cesalienum 
was  used  to  signify  borrowed  money,  debt.  jEs  equestre, 
jEs  hordearium,  jEs  mililare,  were  terms  for  the  pay  of 
Roman  soldiers  (previous  to  the  introduction  of  the  regular 
stipendium),  which  was  furnished,  it  would  appear,  not 
from  the  public  treasury,  but  by  certain  private  persons  as 
decreed  by  the  state.  The  first,  which  amounted  to  10,000 
asses,  was  the  purchase-money  of  the  horse  of  an  egues. 
The  second,  amounting  to  2000  asses,  was  the  pay  of  an 
eques,  and  was  furnished  by  unmarried  women,  widows, 
and  orphans,  if  possessed  of  a  certain  amount  of  property. 
The  as  militare,  reckoned  by  Niebuhr  at  1000  asses  a 
year,  was  the  pay  of  a  foot  soldier. 

^ESCHINES,  an  Athenian  philosopher,  said  to  have 
been  the  son  of  a  sausage-maker.  He  was  continually 
with  Socrates;  which  occasioned  that  philosopher  to  say  that 
the  sausage-maker's  son  was  the  only  person  who  knew  how 
to  pay  a  due  regard  to  him.  It  is  alleged  that  poverty 
obliged  him  to  go  to  Sicily  to  the  court  of  Dionysius;  and 
that  he  met  with  great  contempt  from  Plato,  but  was  ex- 
tremely well  received  by  Aristippus,  to  whom  he  showed 
some  of  his  dialogues,  receiving  from  him  a  handsome  sum 
of  money.  He  did  not  venture  to  profess  philosophy  at 
Athens,  Plato  and  Aristippus  being  in  such  high  esteem; 
but  he  ppened  a  school,  in  which  he  taught  philosophy  to 
maintain  himself  He  afterwards  wrote  orations  for  the 
forum.  Phrynicus,  in  Photius,  ranks  him  amongst  the 
best  orators,  and  mentions  his  orations  as  the  standard  of 
the  pure  Attic  style.  Hermogenes  has  also  spoken  very 
highly  of  him.  He  wrote,  besides,  several  dialogues: — 1. 
Concerning  virtue,  whether  it  can  be  taught;  2.  Eryxias, 
or  Erasistratus:  concerning  riches,  whether  they  are  good; 
3.  Axiochus :  concerning  death,  whether  it  is  to  be  feared, — 
but  those  extant  on  the  several  subjects,  are  not  genuine 
remains.  M.  le  Clerc  has  given  a  Latin  translation  of 
them,  with  note3  and  several  dissertations,  entitled  Silvae. 
Philologiue. 

-/ESCH1NE3,  a  celebrated  Grecian  orator,  wa3  born  in 
Attica  389  years  before  the  Christian  era.  According  to 
his  own  account,  he  was  of  distinguished  birth;  according 
to  that  of  Demosthenes,  he  was  the  son  of  a  courtesan,  and 
a  humble  performer  in  a  company  of  comedians.  But 
whatever  was  the  true  hiAtory  of  hi3  birth  and  early  life, 


his  services  as  a  soldier,  and  his  talents,  which  were  con- 
siderable, procured  him  great  applause;  and,  as  a  public 
speaker,  he  became  a  formidable  rival  to  Demosthenes 
himself.  The  two  orators,  inspired  probably  with  mutual 
jealousy  and  animosity,  became  at  last  the  strenuous 
leaders  of  opposing  parties.  jEschines  had  almost  from  the 
first  advocated  peace  with  Philip  of  Macedon,  and  having 
been  sent  on  several  embassies  to  negotiate  with  the  king, 
had  been  treated  with  much  respect.  He  was,  in  conse- 
quence, accused  by  Demosthenes  of  having  received  money 
as  a  bribe  when  he  was  employed  on  one  of  these 
embassies.  He  indirectly  retaliated  by  bringing  an  accu- 
sation against  Ctesiphon,  the  friend  of  Demosthenes,  for 
having  moved  a  decree,  contrary  to  the  laws,  to  confer  on 
Demosthenes  a  golden  crown  as  a  mark  of  public  appro- 
bation. A  numerous  assembly  of  judges  and  citizens  met 
to  hear  and  decide  the  question.  Each  orator  employed 
all  his  powers  of  eloquence;  but  Demosthenes,  with  superior 
talents,  and  with  more  justice  on  his  side,  was  victorious; 
whereupon  ./Eschines  went  into  exile.  According  to  Plutarch, 
the  resentment  of  Demosthenes  was  now  softened  into 
generous  kindness;  for  when  .Eschines  was  going  into 
banishment,  he  requested  him  to  accept  of  a  sum  of  money; 
which  made  him  exclaim,  "How  do  I  regret  leaving  a 
country  where  I  have  found  an  enemy  so  generous,  that  I 
must  despair  of  ever  meeting  with  a  friend  who  shall  be 
like  him!"  But  this  story  seems  more  than  doubtful. 
jEschines,  after  staying  some  years  in  Asia  Minor,  opened 
a  school  of  eloquence  at  Rhodes.  He  is  said  to  have  com- 
menced his  lectures  by  reading  to  hi3  audience  the  two 
orations  which  had  been  the  cause  of  his  banishment.  His 
own  oration  received  great  praise,  but  that,  of  Demosthenes 
was  heard  with  boundless  applause.  In  so  trying  a 
moment,  when  vanity  must  be  supposed  to  have  been  deeply 
wounded,  he  is  reported  to  have  said,  with  a  noble  gene- 
rosity of  sentiment,  "What  would  you  have  thought  if  you 
had  heard  him  thunder  out  the  words  himself!"  jEschines 
afterwards  removed  to  Samos,  where  he  died  in  the  75th 
year  of  his  age.  Three  only  of  his  orations  are  extant. 
His  eloquence  is  of  a  very  high  order,  and  as  an  orator  he 
is  second  only  to  Demosthenes.. 

iESCHYLUS,  the  father  of  the  Greek  tragic  drama,  was 
born  in  the  year  525  B.c,  in  the  Attic  demos  of  Eleusis. 
The  period  of  his  youth  and  manhood  coincides,  therefore, 
with  that  great  uprising  of  the  national  spirit  of  the  Greeks, 
caused  by  the  successive  attempts  of  Darius,  king  of  Persia, 
and  his  son  Xerxes,  to  enslave  their  European  neighbours 
on  the  north  and  west  shores  of  the  jEgean;  and  it  was  no 
doubt  as  much  for  the  advantage  of  his  poetical  faculty  as 
for  the  development  of  his  manhood,  that  he  took  an  active 
part  in  those  famous  military  achievements  by  which  the 
march  of  the  insolent  Asiatic  hosts  was  repelled.  The 
father  of  Attic  tragedy  helped,  in  the  year  490,  to  drive 
the  captains  of  Darius  into  the  marshes  of  Marathon,  and, 
ten  years  later,  encompassed  with  ruin  the  multitudinous" 
armament  of  Xerxes  within  the  narrow  strait  of  Salamis. 
The  glories  of  this  naval  achievement,  the  bard  who  had 
helped  to  win  it  with  his  sword  afterwards  lived  to  cele- 
brate with  the  lyTe,  and  left  to  the  world  the  play  of  the 
Persians,  as  a  great  national  record  of  combined  poetry 
and  patriotism  almost  unique  in  history.  Of  his  subse- 
quent ocjeer  at  Athens  only  a  few  scanty  notices  remain, 
and  those  chiefly  connected  with  the  representation  of  his 
plays.  We  know  that  he  composed  seventy  plays,  and  that 
he  gained  the  prize  for  dramatic  excellence  thirteen  times; 
further,  that  the  Athenians  esteemed  his  works  bo  highly 
as  to  allow  some  of  them.to  be  represented  after  his  death, 
— a  privilege,  in  their  dramatic  practice,  altogether  anoma- 
lous. we  know,  also,  that  in  the  course  of  his  life  he  paid 
one  drtwo'fisits  to  Sicily,  to  which  country  he  was  attracted. 


iESC-JIS  [ 


209 


no  doubt,  by  the  same  literary  influence  in  the  person  of 
its  ruler  Hiero,  that  drew  thither  Bacchylides,  Simonides, 
and  other  notable  men  of  that  rich  epoch.  There  can,  at 
the  same  time,  be  little  doubt  that  one  cause  of  his  visits 
to  that  island  may  have  been  a  want  of  sympathy  as  to 
political  matters  between  him  and  the  Athenian  public; 
for  while  the  Athenians,  from  the  time  of  Cleisthenes  (a.c. 
510),  had  been  advancing  by  rapid  and  decided  steps  to- 
the  full  expansion  of  the  democratic  principle,  it  is  evident, 
from  some  passages  in  his  plays,  especially  from  the  whole 
tone  and  tendency  of  the  Eumenides,  that  the  political 
leanings  of  the  poet  of  the  Prometheus  were  towards  aris- 
tocracy, and  that,  in  the  days  of  Pericles,  he  foresaw,  with 
a  sorrowful  fear,  the  ripeness  of  those  democratic  evils 
which  within  so  short  a  period  led  Xenophon  to  seek  a  new 
fatherland  in  Sparta,  and  opened  to  the  Macedonian  a  plain 
path  to  the  sovereignty  of  Greece.  But  whatever  may 
have  have  been  his  motives  for  retiring  from  the  scene  of 
so  many  literary  triumphs  (and  the  gossipers  of  ancient 
times  have  of  course  transmitted  to  us  their  pleasant  in- 
ventions on  this  point),  it  is  certain  that,  in  the  year  a.c. 
456,  two  years  after  the  representation  of  his  great  trilogy, 
the  Orestiad,  he  died  at  Gela,  in  Sicily,  in  the  sixty-ninth 
year  of  his  age;  and  the  people  of  Gela,  rejoicing  in  his 
bones,  as  Kavenna  does  in  those  of  the  banished  Dante, 
inscribed  the  following  memorial  on  his  tomb : — 

"  Here  .lEschylus  lies,  from  his  Athenian  home 
Remote,  'neath  Gela's  wheat-producing  loam ; 
How  brave  in  battle  was  Euphorion's  son, 
The  long-haired  Mede  can  tell  who  fell  at  Marathon." 

And  thus  he  lives  among  posterity,  celebrated  more  as  a 
patriot  than  as  a  poet;  as  if  to  witness  to  all  times  that  the 
great  world  of  books,  with  all  its  power,  is  but  a  small 
thing  unless  it  be  the  reflection  of  a  greater  world  of  action. 
Of  the  seventy  plays  which  an  old  biographer  reports  him 
to  have  composed,  only  seven  remain,  with  a  few  fragments 
of  little  significance  save  to  the  keen  eye  of  the  professed 
philologist.  These  fragments,  however,  are  sufficient  to 
justify  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  Athenian 
public,  and  by  that  greatest  of  all  the  great  wits  of  a,  witty 
age  and  a  witty  people,  Aristophanes.  In  the  grand  trilogy 
which  exhibits,  in  three  consecutive  tragedies,  the  story  of 
the  murder  of  Agamemnon,  and  its  moral  sequences,  we  have 
a  perfect  specimen  of  what  the  Greek  tragedy  was  to  the 
Greeks,  as  at  once  a  complex  artistic  machinery  for  the 
exhibition  of  national  legend,  and  a  grave  pulpit  for  the 
preaching  of  important  moral  truths;  nor  could  a  more 
worthy  founder  than  ^Eschylus  of  such  a  "  sacred  opera." 
be  imagined.  Bis  imagination  dwells  habitually  in  the 
loftiest  region  of  the  stem  old  religious  mythology  of 
primeval  Greeoe;  his  moral  tone  is  pure,  his  character 
earnest  and  manly,  and  his  strictly  dramatic  power  (not- 
withstanding the  very  imperfect  form  of  the  drama  in  his 
day),  as  exhibited  more  especially  in  the  Agamemnon,  in 
the  Eumenides,  and  in  some  parts  of  the  Prometheus,  is 
such  as  none  of  his  famous  successors,  least  of  all  Euripides, 
could  surpass.  Of  his  other  plays,  the  Seven  against  Thebes 
is  a  drama,  as  Aristophanes  expressed  it,  "full  of  war," 
and  breathes  in  every  line  the  spirit  of  the  age  and  of  the 
people  that  saved  Europe  from  the  grasp  of  oriental 
despotism;  the  Persians,  though  weak  in  some  parts,  con- 
tains some  fine  choral  poetry,  and  a  description  of  the  battle 
of  Salamis,  that  will  belong  to  the  poetry  of  the  world 
so  long  as  the  world  lasts;  while  the  Suppliants  presents 
much  in  a  tasteful  translation  that  makes  us  lament  the 
loss  of  the  missing  piece  of  the  trilogy  to  -which  it  belonged, 
no  less  than  the  blundering  of  the  thoughtless  copyists  of 
the  middle  ages,  by  whose  pen  it  has  been  so  egregiously 
defaced. .  For  in  ancient  times  the  flowing  rhetorical 
Euripides  was  found  a  more  useful  model  for  the  schools 


of  eloquence  than  the  lofty,  stern,  and  sometimes  harsh, 
and  occasionally  it  may  be  obscure,  ^Eschylus:  therefore 
the  text  of  the  latter  has  been  comparatively  neglected, 
and  much  work  was  left  for  the  tasteful  philologist 
before  many  parts  of  his  noblest  choruses  could  be  ren- 
dered legible.  Of  the  editions  of  .^Sschylus,  the  most 
notable  in  the  earlier  time3  of  modern  scholarship  is  that 
of  Stanley;  in  more  recent  times,  that  of  Schiitz,  who 
undertook  the  work  of-restoration  with  much  learning  and 
great  boldness.  The  impulse  given  by  this  scholar  was 
moderated  by  Wellauer,  who,  in  his  edition,  along  with 
some  happy  emendations,  principally  endeavoured  to  vin- 
dicate the  authority  of  the  manuscript  readings  from  the 
large'  license  of  conjectural  critics;  and  now  from  the 
remains  of  the  grea_t  Hermann  has  been  published  a  text 
that  should  present  the  just  medium  between  the  emidity 
of  Wellauer  and  the  rashness  of  mere  conjectural  criticism, 
though  it  is  much  to  be  feared  that  the  learned  German 
has  been  not  seldom  led  astray  by  the  itch  of  emendation, 
which  is  the  old  besetting  sin  of  critical  scholarship.  Of 
English  poetical  translations  there  are  the  old  one  by  Potter, 
and  recent  ones  by  Blackie,  Plumptre,  and  Swan  wick.  There 
is  also  a  translation  in  literal  prose  by  Buckley,    (j.  s.  B.) 

^ESCULAPIUS,  in  the  Heathen  Mythology,  the  god  of 
medicine,  was  the  son  of  Apollo  and  the  nymph  Coronis. 
He  was  educated  by  the  centaur  Chiron,  who  taught  him 
the  art  of  healing;  and  his  skill  enabled  him  to  cure  the 
most  desperate  diseases.  But  Jupiter,  enraged  at  his 
restoring  to  life  Hippolytus,  who  had  been  torn  in  pieces  by 
his  own  horses,  killed  him  with  a  thunderbolt  According 
to  Cicero,  there  were  three  deities  of  this  name :  the  first, 
the  son  of  Apollo,  worshipped  in  Arcadia,  who  invented 
the  probe  and  bandages  for  wounds;  the  second,  the 
brother  of  Mercury,  who  was  killed  i  by  lightning ;  and 
the  third,  the  son  of  Arsippus  and  Arsinoe,  who  was  the 
first  to  teach  tooth-drawing  and  purging.  At  Epidaurus, 
^Esculapius's  statue  was  of  gold  and  ivory,  with  a  long 
beard,  the  head  surrounded  with  rays,  a  knotty  stick  in  one 
hand,  and  the  other  entwined  with  a  serpent:  the  figure 
was  seated  on  a  throne  of  the  same  materials  as  the  statue, 
and  had  a  dog  lying  at  its  feet.  The  Romans  crowned 
him  with  laurel,  to  represent  his  descent  from  Apollo;  and 
the  Phliasians  represented  him  as  beardless.  The  cock,  the 
raven,  and  the  goat  were  sacred  to  this  deity.  His  chief 
temples  were  at  Pergamos,  Smyrna,  Tricca,  a  city  in  Thes- 
saly,  and  the  isle  of  Coos ;  in  all  which  places  votive  tablets 
were  hung  up,  showing  the  names  of  those  cured  and  the 
diseases  of  which  they  were  healed  by  his  assistance.  But 
his  most  famous  shrine  was  at  Epidaurus,  where,  every  five 
years,  games  were  celebrated  in  his  honour,  nine  days  after 
the  Isthmian  games  at  Corinth. 

iESIR  (plural  of  As,  or  Ass,  god),  the  gods  of  the 
Northmen  of  Scandinavia  and  Iceland.  There  were  twelve 
chief  gods  or  -<Esir  besides  Odin  (the  All-faiir,  All- 
father),  viz.,  Thor,  Baldur,  Niord,  Frey,  Ty  or  T>>r,  Bragi, 
Heimdal,  Hod,  Vidar,  Ull,  Forsetti,  Loki  or  Lopt.  The 
chief  goddesses  of  Asgaud  (q.v.),  the  Odinic  Olympus, 
were — Frigg,  Freyia,  Nanna,  Sif,  Saga,  Hel,  Gefion,  Eir, 
Hlin,  Lofn,  Vor,  Snotra.  The  names  of  the  iEsir,  con- 
sidered in  the  primary  old  northern  significance  o?  the 
words,  convey  in  most  instances  an  allusion  to  their  char- 
acteristics; but  it  is  impossible  to  decide  whether  they 
merely  personify  certain,  physical  powers  in  nature,  and 
abstract  ideas  of  definite  mental  conditions,  or  whether 
they  were  originally  borne  by  individuals  connected  with 
the  pre-historic  ages  of  the  people.  It  is  probable  that 
the  ideas  underlying  the  myths  connected  with  the  JEeii 
have  a  mixed  origin,  and  may  be  referred  to  a  blending  of 
physical,  material,  and  historical  elements.  Our  know- 
ledge of  northern  mythology  has  been  derived  principally 


210 


M  IS  I  R 


from  the  fragmentary  remains  of  ancient  Scandinavian 
Bongs,  first  collected  in  Iceland  in  the  11th  century,  and 
embodied  in  the  13th  century  with  numerous  other  prose 
and  poetic  myths  in  a  compilation  now  known  to  us  as  the 
Eddat.  From  these  highly  interesting  but  frequently 
obscure  sources  we  are  able  to  reproduce  to  a  certain  extent 
the  image  and  conception  of  each  of  the  yEsir,  as  they 
presented  themselves  to  the  imagination  of  their  early 
northern  worshippers. 

In  Thor,  who  seems  to  have  been  a  god  of  that  earlier 
Phoenician  form  of  nature-worship  which  was  superseded 
in  Scandinavia  and  Northern  Germany  by  the  faith  of 
Odin,  we  have  the  impersonation  of  the  disturbing  and 
destructive  agencies  in  the  universe.  He  is  the  son  of 
heaven  and  earth — of  Odin,  the  All-father,  and  of 
or  Fiorgvin,  the  vivifying — and  is  the  strongest  of  the 
iEsir.  From  his  hammer  flashed  the  lightning,  and  his 
chariot  wheels  sent  thunder  rolling  through  the  clouds 
as  ho  went  on  his  way,  cleaving  mountains,  loosening 
the  pent-up  streams  and  fires,  and  slaying  all  giants 
and  misshapen  monsters.  Ever  busily  engaged  in  these 
labours,  he  seldom  tarried  in  Asgard  with  the  other  ll-ir, 
but  dwelt  in  his  mansion,  Bilskirnir,  in  the  densest  gloom 
of  the  clouds.  With  bis  mallet  he  consecrated  the  newly- 
wedded,  and  hence  the  sign  of  the  mallet  or  hammer  was 
made  by  the  Northmen  when  they  took  an  oath  and  bound 
themselves  by  vows,  whether  of  marriage  or  any  other 
obligation.  The  early  Christian  missionaries  of  Norway, 
finding  the  faith  in  Thor  too  strong  to  be  suddenly  up- 
rooted, tried  to  transfer  many  of  his  characteristics  to  their 
zealous  royal  convert,  St  Olaf,  who  was  said  to  have  re- 
sembled the  old  northern  god  in  his  comeliness  of  person, 
his  bright  red  beard,  hot,  angry  temper,  and  personal 
strength ;  while  some  of  the  monks  of  a  later  period  en- 
deavoured to  persuade  the  Northmen  that  in  Thor  their 
forefathers  had  worshipped  the  Christ,  the  strong  and 
mighty  Saviour  of  the  oppressed,  and  that  his  mallet  was 
the  rude  image  of  the  cross.  Slaves  and  all  thralls  killed 
in  battle  were  believed  to  be  under  the  protection  of  Thor, 
who,  as  god  of  the  Finns  before  the  spread  of  the  As 
religion,  was  honoured  as  their  special  gnardian  against 
the  tyranny  of  their  new  masters. 

In  Baldur  the  Northmen  honoured  all  that  was  beauti- 
ful, eloquent,  wise,  and  good,  and  he  was  the  spirit  of 
activity,  joy,  and  light;  but  his  name  signifies  the  strong 
In  mind,  and  the  earliest  conception  of  Baldur  is  that  of 
mental  rath»r.  than  physical  or  material  perfection.  His 
wife,  Nanna,  reflected  these  attributes  in  a  less  degree. 
On  iis  life  depended  the  activity  and  happiness  of  all  the 
iEsir,  excepting  only  Loki,  the  earthly  fire  or  incarnation 
of  evil,  and  hence  this  As,  from  envy  of  the  beauty  and 
innocence  of  Baldur,  brought  about  his  death,  and  hindered 
bis  release  from  the  power  of  Hel,  the  goddess  of  death. 

According  to  the  myth,  the  Msir,  distressed  at  Baldur's  presenti- 
ment of  his  own  approaching  end,  joined  his  mother,  i 'rigg,  in 
exacting  an  oath  f  s,  plants,  and  minerals,  not  to  injure 

him.     The  mistletoe  alone  among  plants  had  been  forgotten,  and 
when-  this  was  discovered  by  Loki  he  pulled  a  wand  of  it,  and 
hastening  to  the  assembly  of  the  zEsir,  where  nil  were  engaged  in 
ort  of  shooting  at  Baldur,  as  he  was  supposed  to  be  invulner- 
he  pave  it  to  Ubd,   the  blind  god  of  brute  strength,  and 
1  him  how  to  aim  it    The  mistletoe  pierced  Baldur  tlirough, 
and  1  to  the  ground  in  the  presence  of  the  .<&.>: 

he  evil  that  would  befall  them,  since  light  and  purity 
had  been  taken  from  them,  gave  way  to  sorrow  and  fear.  When 
all  their  efforts  to  release  Baldur  from  Hel  had  been  thwarted  by 
the  machinations  of  Loki,  they  resolved  to  avenge  themselves. 
Having  captured  their  foe,  they  confined  him  within  a  mountain- 
cave,  and  hung  above  his  head  a  venothous  snake,  to  drop  its  poison 
on  his  face;  but  his  wife,  Sigyn,  stood  by  him,  and  caught  the 
drops  in  a  cup,  and  it  was  only  while  she  emptied  the  goblet  that 
the  venom  touched  him,  when  he  shrank  aside,  and  caused  the  earth 
to  bo  shaken  as  with  an  earthquake.  There  Loki  will  remain  till 
Raguarock,  the  twiiigh:  of  the  world,  wh<>n  the  .d-'-sir,  the  carln  and 


all  dwellers  therein,  will  be  destroyed  by  ttie  powers  of  evil,  the 
rescuers  and  companions  of  Loki.  Only  (Win,  the  All-father,  will 
survive,  and  gather  around  him  on  Id?,  s  plain,  where  Asgard  had 
once  stood,  tho  Mail,  regenerate  and  punned  by  Suit's  black  fire, 
and  then  a  new  and  better  world  will  arise,  in  which  Baldur  will 
■me  with  his  unconscious  slayer,  Hod.  and  all  evil  will 
cease,  and  light  and  darkness  will  dwell  together  in  unity. 

Under  one  form  of  the  myth  of  Baldur's  death  he  is  tho 
bright  god  of  day  or  summer,  and  Hod,  the  blind  and  the 
strong,  is  dark  night  or  fiercely-raging  winter,  his  pre- 
ordained foe  and  destroyer.  After  that  final  purification 
by  suffering  or  fire,  and  the  regeneration  to  which  the 
Northmen  looked  as  the  means  of  the  ultimate  adjustment 
of  the  disturbed  balance  between  evil  and  good,  and  from 
which  they  did  not  exempt  their  gods,  the  influence  of 
good  was  to  prevail.  Baldur  would  reappear,  and  Loki, 
the  consuming  power  of  evil,  be  no  more  heard  of. 

Loki,  in  the  beginning  of  time,  under  the  name  of 
Lodthur,  flame,  and  as  the  foster-brother  of  the  All-father, 
had  united  with  him  in  imparting  blessings  to  the  universe, 
and  had  given  blood  and  a  fair  colour  to  Ask  and  Embla, 
from  which  the  first  men  were  created.  Afterwards  he 
left  the  council  of  tho  /Esir,  and  like  a  fallen  angel  wan- 
dered away  into  regions  of  space,  desolating  and  consuming 
all  things  that  came  in  contact  with  his  fierce  flame. 
Descending  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  where  his  presence 
is  made  manifest  by"  volcanic  fires,  he  consorted  with  evil 
giantesses,  by  whom  he  became  the  father  of  Hel,  pallid 
death  ;  of  Augurboda,  the  announcer  of  sorrow ;  and  of  the 
wolf  Fenrir,  and  the  serpent  of  Midgard,  which  are  ever 
threatening  the  destruction  of  the  world  and  the  i  .ace  of 
the  iEsir. 

Loki  can  assume  all  forms.  As  sensuality  he  courses  through 
the  veins  of  men,  and  as  heat  and  firo  he  pervades  nature,  causing 
death  and  destruction.     After  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  the 

i  tea  and  mystic  deeds  of  Loki  were  transferred  to  Satan  by  tho 
people  of  Scandinavia,  amongst  whose  descendants  his  name  still 

;  its  evil  reputation.  In  Iceland  an  ignis  fuluus  is  known  as 
Loki's  burning;  and  in  Jutland,  when  there  is  a  dazzlin"  light 
or  a  waving  motion  in  the  air  which  impedes  the  sight  of  distant 
objects,  the  peasants  say,  "Loki  is  sowing  his  oats." 

rd,  supposed  to  be  the  Nerthus  known  to  the  Romans, 
and  his  children  Frey  or  Fricco  and  Freyia,  appear  to  have 
been  honoured  in  the  north  beforo  the  time  of  Odin,  and 
to  have  been  worshipped  by  peoples  powerful  enough  to 
have  been  admitted  into  friendly  alliance  with  his  followers. 
Niord  is  said  to  have  lived  in  Vanaheim,  and  to  have  ruled 
over  the  Vanir,  or  light  elves,  long  before  he  became  one 
of  the  JEsir.  He.  is  god  of  the  ocean,  the  ruler  of  winds 
and  stiller  of  waves,  and  to  n  im  the  seafarer  and  fisherman 
raise  altars  and  make  prayers.  His  attributes  and  powers 
seem  to  point  to  the  existence  of  a  superior  knowledge  of 
navigation  among  those  ancient  races  of  Scandinavia  who 
have  been  idealised  in  the  imagination  of  the  Northmen  as 
good,  bright,  and  agile  elves  and  water-sprites — the  Lids 
Alfar — or  Vanir  of  their  mythology.  Niord's  sen  Frey  is 
the  god  of  rain,  plenty,  and  fruitfulness;  and  his  worship, 
according  to  the  early  northern  chronicler,  Adam  of 
Bremen,  was  accompanied  with  phallic  rites.  His  sister 
and  wife,  Freyia,  who  holds  a  high  place  among  the  .ZEsir, 
is  the  goddess  of  love;  but  her  influence,  unlike  her  hus- 
band's, is  not  always  beneficent,  and  varies  with  the  form 
which  she  assumes  in  operating-  on  the  minds  of  men. 
Her  chariot  is  drawn  by  cats,  as  emblematic  of  fondness 
and  passion,  and  a  hog  attends  upon  her  and  upon  Frey, 
whose  name,  like  her  own,  implies  fructification  or  enjoy- 
ment. 

The  Swedes  paid  espe-.ial  honour  to  Frey,  while  the  Norwegians 
worshipped  Thor  (who  was  in  all  respects  his  opposite)  as  their  chief 
As.  The  latter  must  also  have  received  divine  nonours  amongst  the 
Germans,  no  his  name  is  included  in  the  form  of  objurgation  UBed  by 
the  early  Saxon  missionaries  ;  bat  thie  fact  and  the  German  name  of 
the  fifth  day  of  'ha  week — Donners-lag,  the  Thuiideror'6  day  -are 


iK  SO-ZESO 


211 


Iha  only  evidences  still   extant  of  the  early  worship  of  Thor  in 
Germany. 

By  their  alliance  with  Niord  and  his  children  the  JEsiv  secured 
fertility  to  the  earth  and  mankind, .and  the  intervention  of  mild 
gentle  agencies  '«  nature  to  counteract  the  destructive  influence  of 
Thor's  power. 

In  Ty  or  Tyr  we  have  the  Mars  of  the  Northmen.  It 
is  he  who  gives  victory,  and  although  he  is  as  wise  as  he 
is  brave,  it  is  he  who  stirs  men  to  strife,  and  not  to  peace. 
His  name,  which  signifies  honour,  is  found  in  the  names 
of  the  days  of  the  week  in  O.  Nor.,  Dan.,  A.-S.,  and  in  our 
own  "Tuesday;"  and  shows  that,  like  Thor  and  Frey  or 
Freyia,  whose  memory  is  perpetuated  in  our  Thursday  and 
Friday,  the  worship  of  this  bravest  of  the  JEsir  was  widely 
spread  among  peoples  of  Northern  origin. 

In  Bragi  the  Northmen  honoured  the  originator  of  their 
.Skaldic  poetry,  the  god  of  eloquence  and  wise  utterances. 
At  guilds  and  at  grave-feasts  the  Bragi-cup  was  drunk;,  and 
at  the  funeral  of  kings  or  jarls  the  heir  was  not  permitted 
to  take  his  father's  seat  till  the  "  Bragarfull"  was  brought 
in,  when,  rising  to  receive  it,  he  drank  the  contents  of  the 
•cup,  and  was  led  to  the  high  seat  of  honour.  At  guild 
feasts  the  Bragi-cup  was  signed  with  Thor's  mallet,  and 
was  drunk  after  the  company  had  drained  Odin's  cup  for 
victory,  and  Niord's  and  Frey's  cup  for  a  bountiful  year. 

The  peculiarity  of  Bragi's  cup  was  that,  on  drinking  it,  a  vow 
— held  to  be  inviolable — was  made  to  perform  some  deed  worthy 
•of  a  skald's  song.  Bragi's  wife,  Idun,  as  the  guardian  of  the  casket 
which  contained  apples  that  gave  to  thsse  who  ate  them  perpetual 
Joubh,  was  specially  cherished  by  the  other  SLsa.  In  her  aoduction 
by  the  giant  Thiassi,  and  her  removal  to  the  nether  world  through 
Loki's  craft,  her  mute  grief,  and  her  release  in  the  spring,  we  have 
an  analogy  with  the  myth  of  Proserpine;  and  like  her  she  presides 
over  fresh  verdure. 

Heimdal,  whose  attribute  is  the  rainbow,  is  the  god  of 
"watchfulness,  the  doorkeeper  of  the  iEsir;  while  Vidar,  the 
strongest  of  the  gods  after  Thor,  is  the  impersonation  of 
silence  and  caution;  Ull  decides  the  issue  of  single  com- 
■bats,  and  Forsetti  settles  all  quarrels. 

In  the  goddesses 'Lofn  and  Vor  lovers  find  protectors;  the 
former  unites  the  faithful,  the  latter  punishes  the  faithless. 
Gefwn,  to  whom  the  Danes  owe  the  formation  of  the  island 
Seeland,  watches  over  maidens,  and  knows  the  decrees  of 
fate.  Illi/i  guards  those  whom  Frigg,  the  queen  and 
mother  of  heaven,  is  desirous  of  freeing  from  peril;  Frigg 
herself,  as  Odin's  wife  and  the  mother  of  the  /Esir,  knows 
the  destinies  of  men,  but  is  silent,  in  regard  to  them.  As 
goddess  of  the  earth,  she  is  known  as  Frygga,  the  fertile 
summer  earth,  and  Binda  the  frost-hardened  surface,  and 
is  attended  by  Fulla,  the  full,  Eir,  the  young  goddess  of 
healing,  and  many  other  goddesses. 

Saga,  whose  name  is  derived  from  Segja,  to  narrate,  is 
the  goddess  of  history  and  narration.  Odin  and  she  pledge 
each  other  daily  in  golden  cups  filled  from  the  copious 
ever-flowing  streams  of  her  abode,  Sockquabek  (from  Sokk, 
abyss,  in  allusion  to  the  abundant  streams  of  narrative). 
Siiotra  is  the  goddess  of  sagacity  and  elegance,  from  whom 
■  men  and  women  seek  good  sense  and  refinement  of  manners. 
The  Norns  and  the  Valkyriur,  if  not  actually  goddesses, 
are  closely  connected  with  the  iEsir.  The  three  principal 
Norns  or  Nornir  are  Urd,  past  time;  Verdandi,  present 
time ;  and  Skulld,  future  time.  They  and  the  Valkyriur, 
who  are  known  under  many  names,  twist  and  spin  the 
threads  of  destiny,  and  make  known  what  has  been  decreed 
from  the  beginning  of  time. 

From  this  brief  outline  it  may  be  seen  that  in  their 
JEsir  the  Northmen  recognised  the  creators,  sustainers, 
and  regulators  of  the  world  as  it  now  is,  from  whom  eman- 
ated the  thought  and  life  that  pervade  and  animate  all 
nature,  and  the  efforts  to  subject  it  to  the  spiritual  will. 
With  Odin  and  the  JEsir  the  intellectual  life  of  the 
northern  people  began;  and  although  they  ascribed  to  th°m 


human  forms  and  acts,  those  were  seldom  without  some- 
thing higher  and  nobler  than  what  pertains  to  mortals; 
and  while  they  recognised  the  existence  of  a  state  of  chaoa 
and  darkness  before  this  world  began  with  the  creation 
of  the  jEsir,  they  anticipated  the  advent  of  another  state, 
in  which  gods,  like  men,  would  receive  their  award  at  the 
hands  of  a  supreme  All -father.  (e.  c.  a) 

iESOP,  the  fabulist,  is  supposed  to  have  been  born  about 
the  year  620  B.C.,  bnt  the  place  of  his  birth  is  uncertain, 
that  honour  being  claimed  alike  by  Samos,  Sardis,  Mesem- 
bria  in  Thrace,  and  Cotiamm  in  Phrygia.     He  was  brought, 
while  young,  to  Athens  as  a  slave,  and  having  served  several 
masters,  was  eventually  enfranchised  by  Iadmon  the  Sam i an. 
He  thereupon  visited  Croesus,  king  of  Lydia,  at  whose  court 
he  is  represented  by  Plutarch  as  reproving  Solon  for  his 
discourteous  manner  towards  the  king.     During  the  usurpa- 
tion of  Pisistratus  he  is  said  to  have  visited  Athens,  and 
composed  the  fable  of  Jupiter  and  the  Frogs  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  citizens  (Phaedrus,  i.  2).     As  the  ambassador 
of  Crcesus  at  Delphi  he  was  charged  with  the  payment  of 
the  large  sum  of  four  minae  to  each  of  the  citizens ;  but  in 
consequence  of  some  dispute,  he  declined  to  distribute  the 
money.     The  Delphians,  incensed  at  his  conduct,  accused 
him  of  sacrilege,  and  threw  him  headlong  from  a,  precipice, 
about  564  B.C.     A  pestilence  which  ensued  being  attri- 
buted to  this  crime,  the  people  declared  their  willingness 
to  make  compensation  for  his  death;  which,  in  default  of 
a  nearer  connection,  was  claimed  and  received  by  Padmon, 
the  grandson  of  his  old  master  (Plut.  de  sera  Num.  Yind., 
p.  556,  Herodot.  ii.  13-1).    None  of  .Esop's  works  are  extant. 
The  popular  stories  regarding  him  are  derived  from  a  life 
prefixed  to  a  book  of  fables  purporting  to  be  his,  collected 
by  Maximus  Planudes,  a  monk  of  the  14th  century,  in 
which  he  is  represented  as  a  monster  of  ugliness  and  de- 
formity, a  notion  utterly  without  foundation,  and  doubtless 
intended  to  heighten  his  wit  by  the  contrast.     That  this 
life,  however,  was  in  existence  a  century  before  Planudes's 
time,  appears  by  a  manuscript  of  it  found  at  Florence,  and 
published  in  1809.     In  Plutarch's  Convivium,  where  JEsoy 
is  a  guest,  though  there  are  many  jests  on  his  original  ser- 
vile condition,  there  are  none  on  his  appearance;  and  it 
would  seem  that  the  ancients  were  not  usually  restrained 
by  delicacy  in  this  point,  since  the   personal  defects  of 
Socrates,  and  his  resemblance  to  old  Silenus,  afford  ample 
'matter  for  merriment  and  raillery  in  the  Symposium  of 
Plato.   .We  are  told,  besides,  that  the  Athenians  erected 
in  honour  of  jEsop  a  noble  statue  by  the  famous  sculptor 
Lysippus,  a  circumstance  which  alone  would  be  sufficient 
to  confute  the  absurd  fiction  of  his  deformity;  but  more  to 
the  point  is  the  statement  of  Pliny  (xxxvi.  12),  that  he 
was  the  Contubernalis  of  Khodopis,  his  fellow-slave,  whose 
extraordinary  beauty  passed  into  a  proverb: 

"ATrapfl'  Ujuoia,  KdX  'Po5aiiris  r)  Ka\-ff 

The  obscurity  in  which  the  history  of  iEsop  is  involved 
has  induced  some  to  deny  his  existence  altogether;  and 
Giambattista  Vico,  in  his  Scienza  Nuova,  chooses  rather 
to  consider' him  as  an  abstraction,  an  excess  of  scepticism 
which  is  quite  unreasonable.  Whether  iEsop  left  any 
written  fables  has  been  more  justly  disputed,  and  Bentley 
inclines  to  the  negative.  Thus  Aristophanes  (Yespa?, 
v.  1259)  represents  Philocleon  as  learning  his  fables  in 
conversation,  and  not  from  a  book;  and  Socrates  essayed 
to  versify  such  as  he  remembered  (Plat.  Phad.  p.  61). 
Others,  again,  are  of  opinion  that  a  collection  had  been 
made  of  Ihem  before  the  time  of  Socrates  (ifus.  Crit. 
i.  408).  It  is,  however,  certain  that  fables  bearing  .Esop's 
name  were  popular  at  Athens  during  the  most  brilliant 
period  of  its  literary  history;  though  the  discrepancies  of 
authors  in  quoting  the  same  fables  seem  in  favour  of 
Bentle/s  hypothesis.     (Comnarc  Aristot.  De  Part.  A)'>™ 


212 


.KSO-^IST 


iii.  2;  and  Lucian,  A'igr.  32).  The  original  labics  were  in 
prose,  and  were  turned  into  verse  by  sev.  i  d  writers;  the 

,  after  the  example  of  Socrates,  being  Demetrius 
I'll  ilereus.     Next   appeared   an  edition   in   elegiac 

l  cited  by  Suidas,  but  the  author's  name  is  unknown; 
then  Babrius,  an  excellent  Greek  poet,  turned  them  into 
choliambics  (i.e.  limping  iambics);  but  of  ten  books,  a  few 
fables  only  are  preserved  entire.  Of  the  Latin  writers  of 
/Ksopean  fables,  Phaedrus  is  the  most  celebrated. 

pus  auctor  quam  rnateriam  refcrit, 
Hanc  ego  polivi  versibus  senaiiis. 

The  fables  now  extant  in  prose  under  yEsop's  name  are  en- 
tirely spurious,  as  is  proved  by  Bentley  in  bis  Dissertation 
on  the  Fables  of  JSsop,  and  have  been  assigned  an  oriental 
origin.  The  identification  of  yEsop  with  the  Arabian 
philosopher  and  fabulist  Lokman  (who  is  made  by  some 
traditions  the  contemporary'  of  the  psalmist  David)  has 
frequently  been  attempted;  and  the  Persian  accounts  of 
Lokman,  which  among  other  things  describe  him  as  an 
ugly  black  slave,  appear  to  .  have  been  blended  by  the 
author  of  the  Life,  published  by  Planudes,  with  the 
classical'  stories  respecting  /Esop.  The  similarity  of  the 
fables  ascribed  to  each  renders  it  probable  that  they  were 
derived  from  the  same  Indo-Persian  source,  or  from  the 
Chinese,  who  appear  to  have  possessed  such  fables  in  very 
remote  antiquity.  A  complete  collection  erf  the  /Esopean 
fables,  231  in  number,  was  published  at  Breslau  by  J.  G. 
Schneider  in  1810. 

yESOP,  a  Greek  historian,  whose  life  of  Alexander  the 
Great  is  preserved  in  a  Latin  translation  by  Julius  Valerius. 
It  is  a  work  of  no  credit,  abounding  in  errors. 

yESOP,  Clodius,  a  celebrated  actor,  who  flourished 
about  the  670th  year  of  Rome.  He  and  Roscius  were  con- 
temporaries, and  the  best  performers  who  ever  appeared 
upon  the  Roman  stage;  the  former  excelling  in  tragedy, 
the  latter  in  comedy.  Cicero  was  on  intimate  terms  with 
both  actors,  and  put  himself  under  their  direction  to  per- 
fect his  action.  yEsop  performed  many  friendly  services  to 
Cicero,  especially  during  the  period  of  Lis  banishment.  He 
appears  to  have  spared  no  pains  to  improve  himself  in  his 
art,  and  to  have  always  studied  his  part  with  tb.3  greatest 
care.  On  the  stage  his  declamation  was  emphatic  and  his 
action  vehement,  and  he  became  entirely  absorbed  in  his 
part.  Plutarch  mentions  it  as  reported  of  him,  that  while 
lie  was  representing  Atreus  deliberating  how  he  should 
revenge  himself  on  Thyestcs,  he  forgot  himself  so  far  in 
the  heat  of  action  that  with  his  truncheon  he  struck  and 
killed  one  of  the  servants  crossing  the  stage.  His  age  and 
the  time  of  his  death  are  uncertain;  but  he  made  h 
appearance  on  the  stage  in  B.C.  55,  at  the  dedication  of 
Poinpey's  theatre,  on  which  occasion  his  voice  failed  him. 
/Esop  lived  in  a  somewhat  expensive  ^manner;  but  he 
nevertheless  contrived  to  leave  an  ample  fortune  to  his 
spendthrift  son.  This  is  the  son  of  yEsop  mentioned  by 
Horace  (Sat.  iii.  3,  239)  as  taking  a  pearl  from  the  ear- 
drop of  Caecilia  Metella,  and  dissolving  it  in  vinegar,  that 
he  might  have  the  satisfaction  of  swallowing  eight  thousand 
pounds'  worth  at  a  draught. 

^ESTHETICS  is  the  term  now  employed  to  designate 
the  theory  of  the  Fine  Arts — the  science  of  the  Beautiful, 
with  its  allied  conceptions  and  emotions.  The  province  of 
the  science  is  not,  however,  very  definitely  fixed,  and  there 
is  still  some  ambiguity  about  the  meaning  of  the  term,  arising 
from  its  etymology  and  various  use.  The  word  .-esthetic,  in 
its  original  Greek  form  (aurBrrrwos),  means  anything  that 
has  to  do  with  perception  by  the  senses,  and  this  wider 
connotation  was  retained  by  Kant,  who,  under  the  title 
Transcendental  /Esthetic,  treats  of  the  a  priori  principles 
of  ail  sensuous  knowledge.      The  limitation  of  the  term  to 


the  comparatively  narrow  class  of  sensations  and  percep- 
tions occupied  with  the  Beautiful  and  ita  allied  properties 
is  due  to  the  Germans,  and  primarily  to  Baumgarten,  who 
1  from  the  supposition  that,  just  as  truth  is  the  end 
and  perfection  of  pure  knowledge  or  the  understanding, 
and  good  that  of  the  will,  so  beauty  must  be  the  supreme 
aim  of  all  sensuous  knowledge.  Yet,  Bpite  of  these  sources 
B  in  the  subject  and  its  name,  some  considerable 
part  of  the  theory  can  be  looked  upon  as  pretty  clearly 
defined,  and  it  may  be  possible,  by  means  of  careful  reflec- 
tion on  this  ascertainable  quantity,  to  indicate,  roughly  at 
least,  the  extent  and  boundaries  of  a  complete  system  of 
aesthetic  docl 

A  very  brief  survey  of  what  has  been  written  under 
the  name  aesthetics  is  sufficient  to  show  that  it  includes} 
as  its  first  ind  foremost  problem,  the  determination  of  the 
nature  and  laws  of  Beauty,  including  along  with  the  i 
tifnl,  in  its  narrower  signification,  its  kindred  subjects,  tho 
Sublime  and  tho  Ludicrous.  To  discover  what  it  is  in 
things  which  makes  them  beautiful  or  ugly,  sublime  or 
ludicrous,  is  one  constant  factor  in  the  aesthetic  problem. 
Intimately  connected  with  this  objective  question  is  the 
subjective  and  psychological  inquiry  into  the  nature  of  tho 
feelings  and  ideas  that  have  beauty  for,  their  object 
Further,  it  will  be  found  that  all  attempts  to  construct  a 
complete  aesthetic  theory  aim  at  determining  the  highest 
ends  of  the  Fine  Arts  (which  obviously  concern  them- 
selves largely,  if  not  exclusively,  with  the  Beautiful),  and 
at  marking  out  the  distinctions  and  tracing  the  depen- 
dencies of  natural  and  artistic  beauty.  All  this  part  of 
the  field  of  aesthetic  inquiry  seems  fairly  agreed  on,  and 
it  is  only  when  we  approach  other  sides  of  the  Fine  Arts 
that  the  precise  scope  of  the  science  appears  obscure.  But 
while  there  is  this  measure  of  agreement  as  to  the  proper 
subject  matter  of  .esthetics,  we  find  two  diametrically 
opposed  methods  of  approaching  it,  which  distinctly  colour 
all  parts  of  the  doctrine  arrived  at,  and  impose  different 
limitations  to  the  boundaries  of  the  subject.  The  first 
is  the  metaphysical  or  a  priori  method;  the  second  the 
scientific  or  empirical  method.  The  one  reasons  deduc- 
tively from  ultra-scientjfic  conceptions  respecting  the  ulti- 
mate nature  of  the  universe  and  human  intelligence,  and 
seeks  to  explain  the  phenomena  of  beauty  and  art  by 
help  of  these.  The  other  proceeds  inductively  from  the 
consideration  of  these  phenomena,  as  facts  capable  of 
being  compared,  classified,  and  brought  under  certain  uni- 
formities. At  the  same  time,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that 
either  method  is  customarily  pursued  in  complete  inde- 
pendence of  the  other.  The  most  subtle  exponent  of 
transcendentalism  in  art  appeals  to  generalisations  drawn 
from  the  facts  of  art;  nor  have  the  professedly  scientific 
critics  often  abstained  from  introducing  conceptions  and 
hypotheses  of  a  metaphysical  character. 

(A)  Metaphysical  Problems. 

Metaphysical  speculation  in  aesthetics  centres  about  the 
objective  nature  of  beauty,  and  arises  somewhat  in  the 
following  manner : — The  appreciation  of  the  Beautiful  is  a 
mode  of  perception.  In  estimating  a  beautiful  landscape  oi 
a  beautiful  statue,  the  mind  perceives  the  beauty  as  a  pro- 
perty of  the  object.  It  is,  moreover,  a  single  property;  tho 
name  beautiful  always  denoting  the  same  essential  thing, 
whatever  this  may  be.  Now  we  find  that  it  is  not  a  simplo 
property  of  matter  known  through  one  particular  clas3  cf 
sensations,  as  colour;  and  the  question  arises,  what  it  really 
is  in  itself,  whether  inherent  in  and  inseparable  from 
matter,  or  something  superior  to  it,  and  if  so,  how  revealed 
through  it.  The  directions  of  this  inquiry  have  been 
almost  as  numerous  as  the  systems  of  metaphysical  thought 
On  the  supposition  of  a  real  substance  matter,  independent 


ESTHETICS 


213 


of  all  intelligence,  human  or  divine,  writers  ha\  e  attempted 
to  discover  the  essential  principle  which  beautifies  it.  It 
lias  been  universally  considered  by  metaphysicians  that 
matter  in  itself  is  devoid  of  beauty,  if  not  positively  ugly, 
and  the  only  question  arises  as  to  the  extraneous  principle 
which  imparts  beauty  to  it.  This  has.  been  conceived 
either  as  a  simple  force  distinct  from  matjer,  yet  setting  it 
in  motion,  vivifying  it,  and  reducing  it  to  forms,  as  by 
Leveque;  or  as  a  divine  being,  whose  volition  directly 
invests  material  objects  with  all  their  beautiful  aspects,  as 
by  Eeid;  or,  lastly,  as  self -existent  forms  or  ideas  superin- 
duced upon  matter,  which  are  in  truth  the  beauty  of  objects, 
aa  by  Plato  and  his  modern  followers. 

In  the  prevailing  German  systems  of  aesthetics,  which 
are   based   on   an   ontological   idealism,  the   independent 
existence  of  matter  has  been  denied.     These  writers  con- 
ceive an  absolute  Thought  or  Idea  as  the  ultimate  reality, 
of  which  matter  and  consciousness  are  but  the  two  sides. 
Matter  is  conceived  as  the  negative  or  limiting  principle  in 
the  action  or  self-movement  of  the  Absolute.    The  problem 
of  objective  beauty  becomes  on  this  hypothesis  the  deter- 
mination of  the  particular  mode  in  which  the  Beautiful  is  a 
manifestation  of  the  supreme  thought;  for  the  Good  and 
the  True  are  equally  revelations  of  the  Unconditioned,  and 
it  is  necessary  to  mark  off  beauty  from  these.     Various 
definitions  of  the  Beautiful,  based  on  this  mode  of  concep- 
tion, may  be  found  in  the  systems  of  Hegel,  Weisse,  and 
the  Hegelians.     The  second  great  problem  in  the  meta- 
physics of  aesthetics  is  to  co-ordinate  the  species  of  the 
aesthetic  genus,  namely,  the  Beautiful  (in  its  narrow  sense), 
the  Ugly,  the  Sublime,  and  the  Ridiculous.     This  has  been 
undertaken  by  the  Hegelians,  and  their  attempts  to  construct 
what  they  call  the  dialectics  of  aesthetics  are  among  the 
most  curious  products  of  metaphysical  thought.     It  being 
assumed  that  there  is  some  one  ontological  process  running 
through  every  manifestation  of  the   aesthetic  Idea,  these 
writers  have  sought  to  determine  how  each  of  the  subaltern 
notions  is  related  to  this  process.     The  last  problem  in  the 
scheme  of  metaphysical  aesthetics  relates  to  the  nature  and 
functions  of  Art,  looked  at  on  one  side  as  a  reproduction  in 
altered  form  of  the  beauty  of  Nature,  and,  on  the  other,  as 
the  conscious  product  of  aesthetic  intuition  in  the  human 
mind.     First  of  all,   the  arts  are  appreciated  and  classi- 
fied according  to  the  several  modes  in  which  they  body 
forth  the  Idea  to  our  minds.    Secondly,  since  the  Absolute 
may  be  spoken  of  as  revealing  itself  to  human  intelligence, 
so  human  intelligence  may  be  looked  on  as  groping  through 
long  ages  after  the  Absolute,  and  thus  the  historical  evolu- 
tion of  art  finds  its  place  in  a  complete  metaphysic  of 
aesthetics.     In  eoncluding  this  preliminary  sketch  of  the 
metaphysical  systems,  it  should  be  added  that  they  can  be 
adequately  estimated  and  criticised  only  in  connection  with 
the  whole  systems  of  thought  of  which  they  arc  organic 
parts.     Within  the  scope  of  a  purely  scientific  criticism 
it  is  only  possible  to  point  out  any  inconsistencies  in  the 
application  of  these  ideas  to  beauty  and  art,  and  to  show  how 
much  or  how  little  they  effect,  as  hypothetical  instruments, 
in  helping  us  more  clearly  to  understand  the  phenomena. 

(B.)  Scientific  Problems. 

In  the  scientific  discussion  of  aesthetic  subjects,  the  anti- 
thesis of  subject  and  object  in  human  cognition  is  accepted 
as  a  phenomenal  distinction,  without  any  inquiry  into 
its  ontological  meaning.  Inquirers  no  longer  discuss  the 
essence  of  beauty,  looked  on  as  a  transcendental  conception 
above  all  experience,  but  seek  to  determine  in  what  the 
Beautiful,  as  a  series  of  phenomena,  clearly  and  visibly 
consists.  ./Esthetic  speculation  becomes,  accordingly,  more 
purely  psychological  First  of  all,  the  unity  of  beauty  is 
questioned.     It  is  asked  whether  all  objects  which  appear 


beautiful  are  so  because  of  some  one  ultimate  property,  ot 
combination  of  properties,  running  through  all  examples  of 
beauty,  or  whether  they  are  so  called  simply  because  they 
produce   some  common  pleasurable  feeling  in  the  mind. 
This  is  a  question  of  induction  from  facts  and  consequent 
definition,  lying  at  the  very  threshold  of  aesthetic  science. 
It  has  been  most  vigorously  disputed  by  British  writers  on 
the  subject,  and  many  x>f  them  have  decided  in  favour  of 
the  plurality  and  diversity  of  elements  in  beauty.     Again, 
it  has  been  asked  in  which  category  of  our  experience, 
objective  or  subjective,  beauty  originates.     By  some  it  has 
been  referred  to  an  objective  source,  whether  to  sensation, 
as  a  direct  result  of  physiological  action,  as  by  Burke,  or 
to  something  distinctly  perceived  by  means  of  sensation,  aa 
a  certain  relation  of  unity,   symmetry,   <fcc,  among  the 
parts  of  an  object,  its  coloure,  forms,  and  so  on,  aa  pro- 
bably by  Aristotle,  Diderot,  Hogarth,  and  most  writers. 
By  others  the  source  of  beauty  has  been  sought  in  the 
inner  life  of  the  mind  itself,  in  certain  ideas  and  emotions 
which  have  become  reflected  on  external  objects  by  asso- 
ciation.    This  is  the  doctrine  of  Alison.     A  third  class 
recognise  both  of  these  sources,  attributing  the  effects  of 
beauty  partly  tCvthe  pleasurable  effects  of  external  stimu- 
lation, partly  to  the  activities  of   perception,  and  partly 
to  multitudinous  associations  of   ideas  and  feelings  from 
past   experience.      This   class   includes   Dugald   Stewart, 
Professor  Bain,  and  Mr  Herbert  Spencer.     A  third  question 
in  the  general  scientific  theory  of  beauty  which  is  closely 
related  to  the  last  and  largely  determined  by  it,  is  the  precise 
nature  of  the  mental  faculty  or  activity  concerned  in  the 
perception  and  appreciation  of  the  Beautiful.   This,  too,  has 
been  widely  discussed  by  English  writers, — answers  to  the 
other  two  questions  frequently  appearing  as  the  necessary 
implications  of  the  solution  of  this  one.     By  those  who 
affirm  that  beauty  is  a  simple  property  or  conjunction  of 
properties  in  external  objects,  the  subjective  perception  of 
this  property  has  been  regarded  either  as  a  unique  faculty 
(the  internal  sense),  or  as  the. rational  principle  acting  in  a 
certain  way.    By  the  school  of  Alison,  who  find  the  source 
of  beauty  in  a  certain  flow  of  ideas  suggested  by  an  object, 
the  perception  of  the  same,  as  a  property  of  the  object, 
would  be  explained  as  the  result  of  inseparable  association, 
producing  a  kind  of  momentary  delusion.     And  this  same 
effect  of  association,  in  producing  an  apparent  intuition  of 
one  simple  property,  would  be  made  use  of  by  those  later 
writers  who  resolve  the  nature  of  beauty  into  both  objective 
and  subjective  elements.     It  is  noticeable,  too,  that  while 
some  writers  have  treated  the  appreciation  of  beauty  as 
purely  intellectual,  others  have  confined  themselves  to  the 
emotional  element  of  pleasure.     With  respect  to  the  Ludi- 
crous and  the  Sublime,  as  distinguished  from  the  Beautiful, 
there  seems  to  have  been  a  tacit  agreement  that  both  of 
these  are  unique  and  single  properties,  whether  originally 
in  the  object  of  sense,  or.  reflected  on  it  from  the  mind; 
and  various  theories  have  been  suggested  in  explanation  of 
the   characteristic  effects  of  these  Drooerties   on  human 
sensibility  and  thought. 

What  strikes  one  most,  perhaps,  in  these  discussions  ia 
the  vagueness  due  to  the  great  diversity  of  conception  as 
to  the  real  extent  of  the  Beautiful — the  number  of  objecta 
it  may  be  supposed  to  denote.  While  one  class  of  writers 
appears  to  lirnit  the  term  to  the  highest  and  most  refined 
examples  of  beauty  in  nature  and  art,  others  have  looked 
on  it  as  properly  including  the  lower  and1  more  vulgarly 
recognised  instances.  There  is  certainly  a  great  want  of 
definiteness  as  to  the  legitimate  scope  of  aesthetic  theory. 
It  will  be  seen,  too,  how  clos«ly  this  point  bears  on  the 
question  of  the  relativity  of  aesthetic  impressions,  whether 
there  is  any  form  of  beauty  which  pleases  universally  arid 
necessarily,  as  Kant  affirms.     The  true  method  of  resolving 


214 


M  STHETICS 


this  difficulty   would    appear   to  he  to  look  on  aesthetic 
impressions  more  a.^  g,  with  the  advance  of 

intellectual  culture,  from  the  crude  e 

to  the  more  refined  ami  subtle  delights  of  the  cultivated 
mind.     The  problem  of  1 1  al  and  necessary  would 

then  resoh  tiry  into  a  general  tendency. 

It  would  bo  asked  what  kinds  of  objects,  and  what  ele- 
ments of.-  nd  emotion,  tend  to  become  con- 
spicuous in  esthetic  pleasures,  in  proportion  as  tli 
advances    in    general   emotional  and  intellectual   culture. 
Another  defect  in  nearly  all  the  theories  of  the  Beautiful 
that  have  been  proposed,  refers  to  the  precise  relation  of 
the  intellectual  element  in  the  aesthetic  impression.     In 
irrow  view,  that  the  appreciation  of  beauty 
is   a  purely  intellectual   act,  a  cold  intuition  of  reason, 
writers  have  fallen  sometimes  into  another  narrowness,  in 
resolving  the  whole  of  the  effect  into  emotional  elements,  or 
certain  species  of  pleasure.    Unless  beauty  is,  as  Hutcheson 
affirmed,  a  simple  property  of  objects  like  colour,  the  per- 
ception of  it  as  objective,  which  all  must  allow  to  be  a 
mental  fact,  can  only  be  explained  by  means  of  certain  intel- 
lectual activities,  by  force  of  which  the  pleasurable  effects 
come  to  be  referred  to  such  a  seemingly  simple  property. 
The  solution  of  this  point  would  doubtless  be  found  in 
a  more  complete  discussion  of  the  perceptive  or  discrimi- 
native and  assimilative  activities  of  the  intellect  which  are 
invariably  called  into  play  by  complex  objects,  and  which 
correspond  to  the  attributes  of  proportion,  unity  in  variety, 
ike,  on  which  so  much  stress  has  been  laid  by  the  intui- 
tivists.     Not  only  so,  but  any  theory  of  aesthetic  operations 
must  be  incomplete  which  does  not  give  prominence  to 
those  more  subtle  and  exalted  intellectual  activities  that 
are  involved  in  the  imaginative  side  of  aasthetic  apprecia- 
tion, as  in  detecting  the  curious  half-hidden  implications- 
which  make  up  the  essence  of  a  refined  humour,  in  con- 
structing those  vague  yet  impressive  ideas  which  enter  into 
our  intuition  of  sublimity  an  ,  and  even  in  appreciat- 
ing such  seemingly  simple  qualities  as  purity  of  colour  and 
tone,  or  the,  perfectly  graduated  blending  of  two  adjacent 
colours.     Such  activities  of  the  mind  constitute,  among 
other  things,  the  symbolic  aspect  of   the  Beautiful,  and 
give,  as  Mr  Mill  suggests,  a  basis  of  truth  to  such  seem- 
ingly fanciful  notions  respecting  the  meaning  of  beautiful 
qualities  as  one  finds  in  the  works  of  Mr  Ruskin. 

But  comparatively  little  has  been  done  in  a  purely 
scientific  manner  to  determine  the  nature  and  functions 
of  Art  so  as  to  fix  the  relations  of  the  different  arts 
to  simple  or  natural  beauty.  Aristotle  supplied  a  few 
valuable  doctrines,  which  have  been  rendered  still  more 
precise  by  Lessing  and  others.  Yet  there  seems  even  now 
no  consensus  of  opinion  as  to  the  precise  aims  of  art,  how 
far  it  has  simply  to  reproduce  and  constructively  vary  the 
beauties  of  nature,  or  how  far  to  seek  modes  of  pleasurable 
effect  wider  than  those  supplied  by  natural  objects.  A  theory 
of  art  at  all  comparable  in  scientific  precision  to  existing 
theories  of  morals  has  yet  to  be  constructed.  The  few 
attempts  to  establish  a  basis  for  art  of  a  non-metaphysical 
kind  are  characterised  by  great  one-sidedness.  Thus,  for 
example,  the  theory  that  the  function  of  art  is  to  imitate 
nature,  has  been  broached  again  and  again  with  scarcely  any 
reference  to  music,  merely,  as  it  seems,  out  of  an  impatience 
for  some  one  defining  property.  Without  attempting  to 
sketch  a  complete  doctrine  of  art,  a  suggestion  may  be  offered 
as  to  the  right  direction  of  inquiry.  First  of  all,  then,  the 
widest  possible  generalisations  on  the  various  '  emotional 
susceptibilities  to  which  art  can  appeal  must  be  collected, 
from  a  study  both  of  mental  phenomena  as  a  whole,  and 
of  all  varieties  of  pleasurable  feeling  actually  ministered  by 
the  several  forms  of  art.  This  would  fix  the  end  of  the 
fine  arts  in  the  widest  sense,  marking  it  off  from  the  ends 


of  utility  and  morality.  Secondly,  the  highest  aims  of  art, 
or  the  ideal  of  art,  would  have  to  be  determined  by  a  con- 
sideration of  the  laws  of  compatibility  and  incompatibility 
among  these  various  orders  of  gratification,  the  requirements 
of  quantity,  variety,  and  harmony,  in  any  lofty  aesthetic 
impression,  and  the  relative  value  of  the  sensational, 
intellectual,  and  emotional  elements  in  aesthetic  effect. 
This  part  of  the  subject  would  include  the  discussion  of 
the  value  and  universal  necessity  of  the  real  and  the  ideal 
in  art,  truth  to  nature  and  imaginative  transformation. 
These  conclusions  would  require  verification  by  means  of 
the  -widest  and  most  accurate  study  of  the  development  of 
the  arts,  in  which  could  be  traced  the  gradual  tentative 
progress  of  the  artistic  mind  towards  the  highest  achieve- 
ments of  art,  as  well  as  the  permanent  superiority  of  all 
those  forms  of  art  which  most  clearly  embody  this  tendency. 
This  part  of  the  theory  of  art  would  clearly  connect  itself 
with  the  problem  of  the  general  law  or  tendency  in  aesthetic 
development  already  referred  to.  The  proper  determina- 
tion of  these  two  ideas,  the  whole  range  of  possible  aesthetic 
delight,  and  the  direction  of  the  highest,  purest,  and  most 
permanent  delight  of  cultivated  minds,  would  at  once  dis- 
pose of  many  narrow  conceptions  of  art,  by  recognising  the 
need  of  the  widest  possible  diversity  and  grades  of  artistic 
value,  if  only  as  experiments  requisite  to  the  discovery  of 
its  highest  function.  At  the  same  time  the  meaning 
and  limits  of  the  universal  and  necessary  iu  art  would  be 
defined,  and  the  unsuggestive  and  dreary  conflicts  between 
an  unbending  absolutism  and  a  lawless  individualism 
shown  to  be  irrelevant.  The  validity  of  canons  of  art,  and 
their  limitations,  would  in  this  manner  be  fixed,  and  the 
impatient  exaltation  of  certain  schools  and  directions  of 
taste  reduced  to  a  modest  assertion  of  a  purely  relative 
truth.  The  aims  of  art  as  a  whole  being  thus  determined, 
the  next  thing  would  be  to  define  and  classify  the  individual 
arts  of  painting,  music,  poetry,  <fcc.,  according  to  their 
respective  powers  of  embodying  these  aims.  This  would 
require  a  careful  consideration  of  the  material  or  medium 
of  expression  employed  by  each  art,  and  the  limitations  im- 
posed by  it  as  to  the  mode  of  representation.  The  deter- 
mination of  this  part  of  aesthetic  theory,  which  Lessing  com- 
menced, would  require  not  only  technical  but  considerable 
psychological  knowledge.  Similarly,  any  conclusion  arrived 
at  on  this  subject  would  need  to  be  verified  by  a  reference 
to  the  history  of  the  arts,  as  exemplifying  both  the  successes 
of  a  right  conception  of  the  scope  and  possibilities  of  the 
particular  art,  and  the  failures  resulting  from  a  mistaken 
conception.  Many  other  points,  such  as  the  nature  of 
genius,  the  function  and  bounds  of  criticism,  the  relation 
of  aesthetic  culture  to  intellectual,  moral,  and  social  pro- 
gress, would  be  included  in  a  complete  scheme  of  art 
doctrine. 

(C.)  History  of  Systems. 

In  the  following  brief  account  of  the  most  important 
contributions  to  aesthetic  doctrine,  only  such  writings  will 
be  recognised  as  aim  at  some  general  conception  of  Art 
and  the  Beautiful.  Much  that  passes  in  current  literature 
for  aesthetic  speculation,  nimely,  a  certain  thoughtful  way 
of  criticising  special  works  of  art,  is  simply  the  application 
of  recognised  principles  to  new  cases.  Sometimes,  how- 
ever, in  the  hands  of  a  philosophic  critic  the  mere  appre- 
ciation of  a  single  poem  or  the  works  of  a  particular  artist 
may  become  a  luminous  discussion  of  some  general  prin~ 
cipie,  and  this  method  of  constructing  aesthetic  theory  from 
the  criticism  of  a  single  work  or  series  of  works  was  ren- 
dered very  productive  by  Lessing. 

I.  Greek  Speculations. — Ancient  Greece  supplies  us  with 
the  first  speculations  on  the  Beautiful  and  the  aims  of 
the  fine  arts.     Nor  is  it  surprising  that  among  a  people 


.ESTHETICS 


215 


eo  productive  of  noble  artistic  creations,  and  at  the  same 
time  so  speculative,  numerous  attempts  to  theorise  on  these 
Bubjects  should  have  been  made.  We  have  in  classic 
writings  many  allusions  to  works  of  an  aesthetic  character 
now  lost,  such  as  a  series  on  poetry,  hanncny,  and  even 
painting,  by  Democritus.  It  is  to  be  gathered,  too,  from 
Plato's  Dialogues  that  the  Sophists  made  the  principles  of 
beauty  a  special  department  in  their  teaching.  The  first 
Greek  thinker,  however,  whose  views  on  these  subjects  are 
at  all  known  is  Socrates.  Accepting  Xenophon's  account 
'  of  his  views  in  the  Memorabilia  and  the  Symposion,  we 
find  that  he  regarded  the  Beautiful  as  coincident  with  the 
Good,  and  both  of  them  as  resolvable  into  the  Useful  Every 
beautiful  object  is  so  called  because  it  serves  some  rational 
end,  whether  the  security  or  gratification  of  man.  It  looks 
as  though  Socrates  rather  disparaged  the  immediate  grati- 
fication which  a  beautiful  object  affords  to  perception  and 
contemplation,  and  emphasised  rather  its  power  of  further- 
ing the  more  necessary  ends  of  life.  Thus  he  said  that 
pictures  and  other  purposeless  works  of  art,  when  used  to 
adorn  a  house,  hindered  rather  than  furthered  enjoyment, 
because  of  the  space  they  took  from  useful  objects.  This 
mode  of  estimating  the  value  of  beauty  is,  however,  no 
necessary  consequence  of  the  theory  that  the  whole  nature 
of  beauty  is  to  minister  pleasure.  It  arises  from  undue 
attention  to  mere  material  comfort  as  a  condition  of  happi- 
ness. The  really  valuable  point  which  Socrates  distinctly 
brought  to  light  is  the  relativity  of  beauty.  Unlike  his 
illustrious  disciple,  he  recognised  no  self-beauty  (avro  to 
koXov)  existing  absolutely  and  out  of  all  relation  to  a  per- 
cipient mind. 

Of  the  precise  views  'of  Plato  on  this  subject,  even  if 
•they  were  really  formed,  it  is  very  difficult  to  gain  a  just 
conception  from  the  Dialogues.  In  some  of  these,  called 
by  ~Ste  Grote  the  Dialogues  of  Research,  as  the  Hippias 
Major,  he  ventures  on  no  dogmatic  theory  of  Beauty,  and 
Beveral  definitions  of  the  Beautiful  proposed  are  rejected 
as  inadequate  by  the  Platonic  Socrates.  At  the  same  time 
we  may  conclude  that  Plato's  mind  leaned  decidedly  to  a 
theory  of  an  absolute  Beauty,  this,  indeed,  being  but  one  side 
of  his  remarkable  scheme  of  Ideas  or  self-existing  Forms. 
In  the  Symposion  he  describee  how  love  (Eros)  produces 
aspiration  towards  the  pure  idea  of  beauty.  It  is  only 
this  absolute  beauty,  h;  tells  us,  which  deserves  the  name 
of  beauty;  and  this  is  beautiful  in  every  manner;  and  the 
ground  of  beauty  in  all  things.  It  is  nothing  discoverable 
as  an  attribute  in  another  thing,  whether  living  being, 
earth,  or  heaven ;  for  these  are  only  beautiful  things,  not 
the  Beautiful  itself.  It  is  the  eternal  and  perfect  existence 
contrasted  with  the  oscillations  between  existence  and  non- 
existence in  the  phenomenal  world,  In  the  Pkcedrus,  again, 
he  treats  the  soul's  intuition  of  the  self-beautiful  as  a 
reminiscence  of  its  prse-natal  existence,  undefiled  by  union 
with  the  body.  With  respect  to  the  precise  forms  in 
which  the  idea  of  beauty  reveals  itself,  Plato  is  very  un- 
decided. Of  course  his  theory  of  an  absolute  Beauty  is 
incompatible  with  the  notion  of  its  ministering  simply  a 
variety  of  sensuous  pleasure,  to  which  he  appears  to  lean  in 
the  Gorgias  and  even  the  Hippias  Major.  Farther,  his 
peculiar  system  of  ideas  naturally  led  him  to  confuse  the 
seif-beautiful  with  other  general  conceptions  of  the  true  and 
the  good,  and  so  arose  the  Platonic  formula  KaXoKayaOia, 
expressive  of  the  intimate  union  of  the  two  principles. 
So  far  as  his  writings  embody  t«e  notion  of  any  dis- 
tinguishing element  in  beautiful  objects,  it  is  proportion, 
harmony,  or  unity  among  the  •parts  of  an  object.  The 
superior  beauty  of  proportion  is  taught  in  the  Pkihbus,  and 
in  the  Pha>don  it  is  applied  to  virtue.  As  a  closely-related 
view,  we  see  him  emphasising  unity  in  its  simplest  aspect 
of  evenness  and  purity,  the  need  of  variety  beinjj  over- 


looked. Thus  in  the  Philebus  he  states  his  preference  for 
regular  and  mathematical  forms,  as  the  straight  line  and 
the  circle.  So  he  selected  ationg  colours  pure  white, 
among  tones  the  pure  and  equal,  and  among  impressiona 
of  touch  the  smooth.  At  the  same  time  the  Dialogues 
evince  many  other  tentative  distinctions  in  the  Beautiful, 
as,  for  example,  the  recognition  in  the  Politics  of  two 
opposed  classes  of  beautiful  things,  those  characterised  by 
force  and  velocity,  and  those  by  a  certain  slowness  and 
softness ;  which  points  to  a  contrast  between  the  stimula- 
tive  and  the  restful  in  sensation,  since  enlarged  upon  by 
h  psychologists.  Elsewhere  he  descants  on  the 
beauty  of  the  mind,  and  seems  to  think,  in  the  Republic, 
that  the  highest  beauty  of  proportion  is  seen  in  the  union 
of  a  beautiful  mind  with  a  beautiful  body.  In  spite  of 
his  lofty  theory  of  the  origin  and  nature  of  beauty, 
Plato  seems  to  have  imperfectly  appreciated  the  worth 
of  art  as  an  independent  end  in  human  1  .'.'•we. 

He  found  the  end  of  art  in  imitation  (/itj"?o-«  I,  but  esti- 
mated the  creative  activity  of  art  as  a  clever  knack,  little 
higher  in  intellectual  value  than  the  tricks  of  a  juggler. 
He  tended  to  regard  the  effects  of  art  as  devoid  of  all  serious 
value,  and  as  promoting  indolence  and  the  supremacy  of 
the  sensual  elements  of  human  nature.  (See  the  Sophislet, 
Gorgias,  and  Republic.)  Accordingly,  in  his  scheme  for 
an  ideal  republic,  he  provided  for  the  most  inexorable 
censorship  on  poets,  <tc,  so  as  to  make  art  as  far  as  possible 
a  mere  instrument  of  moral  and  political  training.  As  To 
particular  arts,  Plato  appears  to  have  allowed  a  certain 
ethical  value  to  music,  in  combination  with  dance  and  song, 
if  of  a  certain  character,  as  expressing  either  the  worthy 
and  manly,  or  the  quiet  and  orderly.  With  respect  to 
poetry,  his  views,  as  expressed  in  the  Republic  and  else- 
where, were  very  uncertain.  Thus  at  times,  he  condemns 
tragedy  and  comedy  in  toto  ;  at  other  times  he  admits  the 
claims  of  a  lofty  dramatic  poetry.  He  seems  not  to  have 
fully  considered  the-  aims  and  influences  of  painting  and 
sculpture,  which  he  constantly  disparages. 

A  loftier  conception  of  the  aims  of  poetry  was  afforded  Aristotle 
by  the  strictures  of  Aristophanes  in  the  Frogs  and  else- 
where. But  the  one  Greek  who,  as  far  as  we  know,  fully 
appreciated  and  clearly  set  forth  the  ends  of  the  fine  arts, 
considered,  independently  of  ethical  and  political  aires,  as 
the  vehicles  to  the  mind  of  the  ideas  and  delights  of 
-.  was  Aristotle.  Unlike  Plato,  he  proceeded  less 
metaphysically  and  more  scientifically  to  investigate  the 
phenomena  of  beauty  by  a  careful  analysis  of  the  principles 
of  art.  In  his  treatises  on  poetry  and  rhetoric,  he  gives 
as,  along  with  a  theory  of  these  arts,  certain  principles  of 
beauty  in  general ;  and  scattered  among  his  other  writings  we 
find  many  valuable  suggestions  on  the  same  subject.  First  of 
all,  Aristotle  ignores  all  conceptions  of  an  absolute  Beauty, 
and  at  the  same  tune  seeks  to  distinguish  the  Beautiful  from 
the  Good.  Thus,  although  in  the  more  popular  exposition, 
the  Rhetoric,  he  somewhat  incorrectly  makes  praiseworthi- 
ness  a  distinguishing  mark  of  the  Beautiful,  regarded  as  a 
species  of  the  Agreeable  or  Desirable,  he  seeks  in  the  Meta- 
physics to  distinguish  the  Good  and  the  Beautiful  thus :  the 
Good  is  always  ir.  action  (ei-  T-paf  ei) ;  the  Beautiful,  however, 
may  exist  in  ^.cdonless  things  as  well  (tv  fjavrjroK).  Else- 
where he  distinctly  teaches  that  the  Good  and  the  Beautiful 
are  different  (ercpor),  although  the  Good,  under  certain  con- 
ditions, can  be  called  beautiful.  He  thus  looked  on  the 
two  spheres  as  co-ordinate  species,  having  a  certain  area  in 
common.  It  should  be  noticed  that  the  habit  of  the  Greek 
mind,  in  estimating  the  value  of  moral  nobleness  and  eleva- 
tion of  character  by  their  power  of  gratifying  and  impress- 
ing a  spectator,  srave  rise  to  a  certain  ambiguity  in  the 
meaning  of  to  *aAor,  which  accounts  for  the  prominence 
the  Greek  thinkers  gave  to  the  connection  between  the 


216 


ESTHETICS 


Beautiful  aad  the  Good  or  morally  Worthy.  Ar 
further  distinguished  the  Beautiful  from  the  Fit,  and  in  a 
passage  of  the  Politics  set  Beauty  above  the  Useful  and 
Necessary.  Another  characteristic  of  the  Beautiful  fixed 
by  this  thinker  in  the  Rhetoric  is  the  absence  of  all  lust 
or  desire  in  the  pleasure  it  bestows.  This  is  an  important 
point,  as  suggesting  the  disinterested  and  uniu 
side  of  aesthetic  pleasure.  The  universal  elements  of 
beauty,  again,  Aristotle  finds  in  the  Metaphysics  to  be  order 
(to^h),  symmetry,  and  definiteness  or  determinateness  (to 
wpur/icroe).  Iu  the  Poetics  he  adds  another  essential,  namely, 
a  certain  magnitude,  it  being  desirable,  for  a  synoptic  and 
single  view  of  the  parts,  that  the  object,  whether  a  natural 
body  or  a  work  of  art,  should  not  be  too  large,  while  clear- 
ness of  perception  requires  that  it  should  not  be  too  small. 
At  the  same  time  he  seems  to  think  that,  provided  the 
whole  be  visible  as  such,  the  greater  magnitude  of  an 
object  is  itself  an  element  of  beauty.  This  is  probably  to 
be  understood  by  help  of  a  passage  in  the  Politics,  which 
lays  down  the  need  of  a  number  of  beautiful  parts  or 
aspects  in  a  highly  beautiful  object,  as  the  human  body. 
With  respect  to  art,  Aristotle's  views  are  an  immense 
advance  on  those  of  Plato.  He  distinctly  recognised,  in  the 
Politics  and  elsewhere,  that  its  aim  is  simply  to  give  imme- 
diate pleasure,  and  so  it  does  not  need  to  seek  the  useful 
like  the  mechanical  arts.  The  essence  of  art,  considered 
as  an  activity,  Aristotle  found  in  imitation,  which,  unlike 
Piato,  he  considers  not  as  an  unworthy  trick,  but  as  in- 
cluding knowledge  and  discovery.  The  celebrated  passage 
in  the  Poetics  where  he  declares  poetry  to  be  more  philo- 
sophic and  serious  a  matter  (o-irovb'a.ioTepov)  than  philo- 
sophy, best  shows  the  contrast  between  Plato  and  Aristotle 
in  their  estimates  of  the  dignity  of  artistic  labour.  In  the 
Poetics  he  tells  us  that  the  objects  to  be  imitated  by  the 
poet  are  of  three  kinds — (1.)  Those  things  or  events  which 
have  been  or  still  are;  (2.)  The  things  which  are  said  to  be 
aad  seem  probable;  (3.)  The  things  which  necessarily  are 
(eTrat.  Sd).  The  last  points,  as  Schasler  supposes,  to  the 
ideal  character  of  imitation  as  opposed  to  mere  copying  of 
individual  objects  or  events,  and  accounts  for  the  lofty 
value  assigned  to  it  by  Aristotle.  More  particularly  the 
objects  of  imitation  iu  poetry  and  music,  if  not  in"  all  art, 
are  dispositions  (qOr}),  passions,  and  actions.  Aristotle 
gives  us- some  interes'„i.g  speculations  on  the  nature  of 
the  artist's  mind,  and  distinguishes  two  varieties  of  the 
poetic  imagination — the  easy  and  versatile  conceptive 
power  of  a  man  of  natural  genius  (cV#u?js),  and  the  more 
emotional  and  lively  temperament  of  an  inspired  man 
(fj.aviKO's).  He  gives  us  no  complete  classification  of  the 
fine  arts,  and  it  is  doubtful  how  far  his  principles  are- to 
be  taken  as  applicable  to  other  than  the  poetic  art.  He 
seems,  however,  to  distinguish  poetry,  music,  and  dancing — 
all  of  which  are  supposed  to  imitate  some  element  of  human 
nature,  some  feeling  or  action — by  the  means  they  employ, 
namely,  rhythm,  harmony,  melody,  and  vocal  sound.  Paint- 
ing and  sculpture  are  spoken  of  as  imitative  arts,  but  their 
special  aims  are  not  defined.  Architecture  seems  ignored 
by  Aristotle  as  non-imitative.  Hia  peculiar  theory  of 
poetry  can  only  be  just  glanced  at  here.  Its  aim,  he  says, 
is  to  imitate  dispositions  and  actions.  Metrical  form  is 
hardly  looked  on  as  an  essential  Poetic  imitation,  as  in- 
cluding the  selection  of  the  universal  in  human  nature  and 
history,  is  ably  treated;  and  from  this  part  of  Aristotle's 
theory  all  modern  ideas  of  poetic  truth  are  more  or  less  deriv- 
able. He  distinguishes,  somewhat  superficially,  the  epic 
poem,  the  drama,  and  a  third  variety  not  named,  but  appa- 
rently lyric  poetry,  by  the  manner  in  which  the  poet  speaks 
in  each  variety,  whether  in  his  own  person,  or  in  that  of 
another,  or  in  both  alternately.  The  epic  and  the  dramatic 
poerr-  require  unity  of  action,  a  certain  magnitude,  with 


beginning,  middle,  and  end,  and  also  those  changes  of  for- 
tune and  recognitions  that  make  up  the  thrilling  character 
of  plot.  The  end  uf  tragedy  Aristotle  defines  as  the  effecting 
by  means  <>i  '  a  purification  of  these  passions; 

and  this  is  perhaps  the  point  of  greatest  interest  for 
aesthetics  in  the  whole  of  his  theory  of  poetry.  Whether  he 
is  refi  i  Loral  influence  of  tragedy  on  the  emo- 

tions, bringing  both  fear  and  pity  in  the  spectator's  mind  to 
their  proper  ethical  mean,  as  Lessing  and  others  conceive'; 
whether  he  simply  means  the  elimination  of  all  ; 
ingredients  in  these  feelings,  either  by  the  recognition  of 
the  imaginary  nature  of  the  evil  represented,  of  by  the  simul- 
taneous satisfaction  of  other  and  deeper  feelings  as  moral 
approval  or  wide  human  sympathy;  or,  finally,  whether  by 
"  purification  "  we  are  to  understand  the  grateful  relief  by 
artificial  means  of  a  recurring  emotion  needing  periodic  vent, 
as  Ueberweg  argues, — this  subtle  point  may  be  left  to  the 
student  to  decide.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how 
far  Aristotle  attributed  something  analogous  to  this  xdOapo-is 
to  the  other  arts.  In  the  Politics  he  certainly  speaks  of  a 
purifying  effect  in  certain  kinds  of  music  in  quieting  the 
wilder  forms  of  excitement.  Finally,  it  might  perhaps 
be  conjectured  from  his  definition  of  the  Ludicrous,  as 
something  faulty  and  disgraceful,  yet  free  from  pain,  and 
not  destructive,  that  he  would  find  in  the  laughter  of 
comedy  something  analogous  to  this  purification,  namely, 
the  gradual  resolution  of  the  more  painful  feelings  of  con- 
tempt or  disgust  into  the  genial  moods  of  pure  hdarity. 

Omitting  to  notice  the  few  valuable  remarks  on  aes- 
thetic subjects  of  the  later  Greeks  and  their.  Roman 
contemporaries,  one  may  briefly  refer  to  the  views  of  the 
Alexandrian  mystic  and  Neo-Platonist  Ploiinus,  not  only 
because  of  their  intrinsic  interest,  but  on  account  of  their 
resemblance  to  certain  modern  systems.  His  theory  is  to 
be  found  in  an  essay  on  the  Beautiful  in  the  series  of  dis- 
courses called  Enneades.  His  philosophy  differs  from  the 
Platonic  in  the  recognition  of  an  objective  vovs,  the  direct 
emanation  from  the  absolute  Good,  in  which  the  ideas  or 
notions  (Xdyoi),  which  are  the  prototypes  of  real  things,  are 
immanent.  This  Reason,  as  self-moving,  becomes  the  for- 
mative influence  reducing  matter,  which  in  itself  is  dead, 
to  form.  Matter  thus  formed  becomes  a  notion  (Adyos), 
and  this  form  is  beauty.  Objects  are  ugly  so  far  as  they 
are  unacted  upon  by  Reason,  and  so  remain  formless.  The 
creative  vovs  is  absolute  Beauty,  and  is  called  the  more 
than  beautiful  (to  hiripKoXKov).  There  are  three  degrees 
or  stages  of  the  Beautiful  in  manifestation,  namely,  the 
beauty  of  subjective  voCs,  or  human  reason,  which  is  the 
highest;  that  of  the  human  soul,  which  is  less  perfect 
through  the  connection  of  the  soul  with  a  material  body; 
and  that  of  real  objects,  which  is  the  lowest  manifestation 
of  all.  As  to  the  characteristic  form  of  beauty,  he  sup- 
posed, in  opposition  to  Aristotle,  that  a  single  thing  not 
divisible  into  parts  might  be  beautiful  through  its  unity 
and 'simplicity.  He  attached  special  worth  to  the  beauty 
of  colours  in  which  material  darkness  is  overpowered  by 
light  and  warmth.  In  reference  to  artistic  beauty,  he  said 
that  when  the  artist  has  Aoyot  as  models  for  his  creations, 
these  may  become  more  beautiful  than  natural  objects. 
This  is  a  very  curious  divergence  of  opinion  from  the 
Platonic 

After  Plotinus  there  is  little  speculation  on  aesthetic 
subjects  till  we  come  to  modem  writers.  St  Augustine 
wrote  a  treatise  on  the  Beautiful,  now  lost,  in  which  he 
appears  to  have  reproduced  Platonic  ideas  under  a  Christian 
guise.  He  taught  that  unity  is  the  form  of  all  beauty 
("  omnis  porro  pulchritudinis  forma  unitas  est").  Infinite 
goodness,  truth,  and  beauty  are  the  attributes  of  the  Deity, 
and  communicated  by  him  to  things.  But  passing  from 
these  fragmentary  utterances,  we  may  consider  more  fully 


ESTHETICS 


217 


the  modern  theones,  beginning  with  the  German  systems, 
as  being  the  most  metaphysical,  and  having  most  affinity 
with  ancient  speculation.  In  German  literature  the  two 
divisions  of  metaphysical  deduction  and  critical  construc- 
tion of  K3thetic  principles  are  very  sharply  contrasted, 
and  nearly  every  writer  on  the  subject  is  easily  referred  to 
one  or  other  of  th6  classes.  On  the  one  hand,  we  have 
the  laborious  systematic  philosophers,  as  Kant  and  Hegel ; 
and  on  the  other,  men  who  entered  upon  esthetic  specula- 
tion either  as  connoisseurs  of  some  special  department,  as 
Winckelmann  and  Lessing,  or  even  as  productive  artists — 
for  example,  Schiller  and  Goethe. 

IL  German  Writers. — The  first  of  the  Germans  who 
attempted  to  fit  a  theory  of  the  Beautiful  and  of  Art 
into  a  complete  system  of  philosophy  was  Baumgarten. 
Adopting  the  Wolffian  principles  of  knowledge,  as  modi- 
fied by  Leibnitz,  \c  thought  he  was  completing  that 
system  by  setting  over  against  logical  knowledge,  whose 
object  is  truth,  aesthetic  knowledge,  which  has  to  do 
with  beauty.  The  former  is  conceptive  knowledge  (6e- 
grei/endes  Erkennen),  the  act  of  the  understanding,  and 
its  result  as  the  science  of  clear  conceptions  is  embodied 
in  logic.  ^Esthetic  has  to  do,  not  with  clear,  but  con- 
fused conceptions  {verworrene  Vorstellungen),  namely,  sen- 
suous knowledge.  The  beautiful  is  defined  by  Baumgarten 
as  the  perfection  of  sensuous  knowledge,  and  the  ugly  is 
that  which  struggles  against  this  perfection;  and,  con- 
sistently with  this  view,  he  first  employed  the  term 
aesthetic  (oestheiica)  to  denote  a  theory  of  the"  Beautiful. 
He  held  that  perfection,  as  harmony  of  object  with  its  con- 
ception or  notion  (Begriff),  presents  itself  under  three  as- 
pects : — (1.)  As  truth  for  pure  knowledge;  (2.)  As  beautyfor 
obscure  perception;  (3.)  As  goodness  for  the  capacities  of 
desire  or  will.  It  will  be  seen  at  once  by  the  thoughtful 
student  that  this  mode  of  dealing  with  impressions  of 
beauty,  &c,  simply  as  intellectual  elements  (confused  con- 
ceptions), must  fail  to  account  for  their  emotional  aspects — 
feeling,  which  is  the  very  soul  of  the  aesthetic  impression, 
being  radically  distinct  from  conception  and  knowledge. 
Still  Baumgarten  did  service  in  separating  so  sharply  the 
provinces  of  logic,  ethics,  and  aesthetics,  and  in  connecting 
the  latter  with  the  impressions  of  the  senses.  The  details 
of  his  aesthetics  are  mostly  unimportant.  From  Leibnitz's 
theory  of  a  pre-established  harmony,  and  its  consequence 
that  the  world  is  the  best  possible,  Baumgarten  concluded 
that  nature  is  the  highest  embodiment  of  beauty,  and  that  art 
must  seek  as  its  highest  function  the  strictest  possible  imita- 
tion of  nature.  Baumgarten  had  several  disciples  in  this  con- 
ception of  aesthetics,  as  Sulzer  and  Moses  Mendelssohn. 

The  next  original  philosophical  scheme  of  aesthetics 
is  that  of  Kant.  His  system  of  knowledge  falls  into 
three  branches — the  critique  of  pure  reason,  which  has  to 
determine  what  are  the  a  priori  elements  in  the  know- 
ledge of  objects;  the  critique  of  practical  reason,  which 
inquires  into  the  a  priori  determinations  of  the  will;  and 
the  critique  of  judgment,  which  he  regards  as  a  connecting 
link  between  the  other  two,  and  which  has  to  do  with  any 
a  priori  principles  of  emotion  (pleasure  and  pain),  as 
the  middle  term  between  cognition  and  volition.  This 
judgment  Kant  divides  into  the  aesthetic,  when  pleasure 
or  pain  is  felt  immediately  on  presentation  of  an  object; 
and  the  teleological,  which  implies  a  pre-existing  notion, 
to  which  the  object  is  expected  to  conform.  He  attempts, 
in  a  somewhat  strained  manner,  to  define  the  Beautiful  by 
help  of  his  four  categories.  In  quality  beauty  is  that 
which  pleases  without  interest  or  pleasure  in  the  existence 
of  the  object  This  distinguishes  it  from  the  simply  Agree- 
able and  the  Good,  the  former  stimulating  desire,  and  the 
latter  giving  motive  to  the  wilL  In  quantity  it  is  a  uni- 
versal pleasure.    Under  the  aspect  of  relation,  the  Beautiful 


is  the  form  of  adaptation  (Zweckmdssigkeit)  without  any 
end  being  conceived.  Finally,  in  modality  it  is  a  necessary 
satisfaction, '  pleasing  not  by  a  universal  rule,  this  being 
unassignable,  but  by  a  tenuis  communis,  or  agreement  of 
taste.  Kant  is  ndt  very  consistent  in  carrying  out  these 
distinctions.  Thus,  for  example,  he  recognises  in  fitness  a 
particular  species  of  beauty,  namely,  "  adhering "  as  dis- 
tinguished from  "free"  or  intrinsic  beauty,  without  re- 
cognising that  this  implies  the  presence  of  a  notion.  So, 
in  discussing  the  objective  validity  of  our  aesthetic  im- 
pressions, he  decides  that  the  highest  meaning  of  beauty 
is  to  symbolise  moral  good  and,  in  even  a  more  fanciful 
manner  than  that  of  Mr  Ruskin,  he  attaches  moral  ideas, 
as  modesty,  frankness,  courage,  &c,  to  the  seven  primary 
colours  of  the  Newtonian  system.  Yet  he  does  not  admit 
that  the  perception  of  this  symbolic  function  involves  any 
notion.  Once  more,  he  attributes  beauty  to  a  single  colour 
or  tone  by  reason  of  its  purity.  But  such  a  definition  of 
the  form  of  the  Beautiful  clearly  involves  some  notion  in 
the  percipient  mind.  Kant  further  applies  his  four  cate- 
gories, with  still  less  of  fruitful  suggestion,  to  the  Sublime. 
The  satisfaction  of  the  Sublime  is  a  kind  of  negative  plea- 
sure created  through  the  feeling  of  a  momentary  restraint 
(Hemmung)  of  vital  force,  and  of  a  subsequent  outpouring 
of  the  same  in  greater  intensity.  The  feeling  of  the  in- 
adequacy of  the  imagination  is  succeeded  by  a  consciousness 
of  the  superiority  of  reason  to  imagination.  The  sentiment 
is  thus  a  kind  of  wonder  or  awe.  Sublimity  is  either  mathe- 
matical, that  of  magnitude,  or  dynamical,  that  of  nature's 
might.  He  allows  no  sublimity  to  passions,  as  rage  or 
revenge.  Kant  has,  too,  a  theory  of  the  Ridiculous,  the 
effect  of  which  he  lays,  oddly  enough  in  respect  to  thi  rest 
of  his  doctrine,  in  a  grateful  action  of  the  body,  the  muscles 
of  the  diaphragm,  &c,  giving  a  sense  of  health.  This 
action  take3  place  on  the  sudden  relaxation  of  the  under- 
standing when  kept  in  a  state  of  tension  by  expectation. 
The  cause  of  laughter,  or  the  Ridiculous,  may  hence  be 
defined  as  "  the  sudden  transformation  of  a  tense  expecta- 
tion into  nothing."  He  placed  the  beauty  of  nature 
above  that  of  art,  which  can  be  of  value  only  mediately, 
not  as  an  end  in  itself.  He  classifies  the  arts  according  as 
they  express  the  aesthetic  idea — whatever  this  may  mean 
after  his  exclusion  of  all  definite  conception  from  the  per- 
ception -of  beauty.  Just  as  expression  in  speech  consists 
of  articulation,  gesticulation,  and  modulation,  answering 
to  thought,  intuition  (AnscJtuuung),  and  feeling,  so  we  have 
three  kinds  of  art — (1.)  Those  proceeding  orally  (redende), 
oratory  and  poetry;  (2.)  Those  of  visible  image  (bildende), 
plastic  art  and  painting;  and  (3.)  "the  art  of  the  play  of 
feeb'ngs,"  namely,  music  and  "  colour  art,"  which  last  is 
not  defined.  Kant's  system  is  very  defective,  and  some 
of  its  inconsistencies  were  pointed  out  by  Herder  in  his 
Kalligone,  who  lacked,  however,  philosophic  acciracy. 
Herder  denied  Kant's  distinctions  between  the  Beautiful, 
the  Good,  and  the  Agreeable,  saying  that  the  first  must  be 
desired  as  well  as  satisfying,  and  the  second  be  loved  as  well 
as  prized.  Yet  herein  Kant  is  decidedly  superior  to  his 
critic.  Herder  held,  in  opposition  to  Kant,  that  all  beauty 
includes  significance  (Bedeutsamieit),  and  cannot  affect 
us  apart  from  a  notion  of  perfection.  But  here,  too,  Kant 
is  to  be  preferred,  since  his  theory  does  not  assume  all 
beautiful  objects  to  contain  some  one  element  or  form 
capable  of  being  detected.  Kant's  real  additions  to 
aesthetic  theory  consist  in  the  better  separation  of  the 
Beautiful  from  the  Good  aud  Agreeable,  in  the  prominence 
given  to  the  emotional  side  of  aesthetic  impressions,  and 
in  the  partial  recognition  of  the  relativity  of  aesthetic 
judgment,  more  especially  in  the  case  of  the  Sublime. 

After  Kant  the  next  philosopher  to  discuss  the  meta- 
physics of  th«  Beautiful  and  art  is  Schelling.     He  nought 


218 


AESTHETICS 


Hegel. 


to  engraft  art  upon  his  curious  system  of  transcendental 
idealism  in  a  manner  which  can  only  be  faintly  indicated 
here.     In  Schel  ral  system  the  relation  of 

subject  and  object  is  conceived  as  identity.  Each  exists, 
yet  not  independently  of  the  other,  but  identified  in  a 
higher,  the  absolute.  They  may  be  conceived  as  two  poles 
ig  different  directions,  but  yet  inseparably  joined. 
All  knowledge  rests  on  this  agreement.  Either  nature,  the 
object,  may  be  conceived  as  the  prius,  and  the  subject  con- 
structed out  of  it;  or  the  subject  maybe  taken  as  the  prius, 
and  the  object  constructed  from  it.  These  are  the  two 
poles  of  knowledge,  and  constitute  the  philosophy  of  nature 
and  the  transcendental  philosophy.  The  latter,  like  Kant's 
philosophy  of  mind,  is  based  on  a  threefold  conception  of 
the  powers  of  human  nature.  It  consists  of — ( 1 . )  Theoretic 
philosophy,  dealing  with  perception;  (2.)  Practical  philo- 
sophy, discussing  the  will  and  freedom;  and  (3.)  The  philo- 
sophy of  art.  The  aim  of  the  last  is  thus  expressed:  The 
ego  must  succeed  in  actually  perceiving  the  concord  of  sub- 
ject and  object,  which  is  half  disguised  in  perception  and 
volition.  This  concord  is  seen  within  the  limits  of  the  ego 
in  artistic  perception  only.  Just  as  the  product  of  nature 
is  an  unconscious  product  like  a  conscious  one,  in  its  de- 
eignfulness,  so  the  product  of  art  is  a  conscious  product 
like  an  unconscious  one.  Only  in  the  work  of  art  does 
intelligence  reach  a  perfect  perception  of  its  reel  self. 
This  is  accompanied  by  a  feeling  of  infinite  satisfaction,  all 
mystery  being  solved.  Through  the  creative  activity  of 
the  artist  the  absolute  reveals  itself  in  the  perfect  identity 
of  subject  and  object.  Art  is  therefore  higher  than  philo- 
sophy. Schelling  thus  sets  the  beauty  of  art  far  above  that 
of  nature.  As  to  the  form  of  the  beautiful  he  is  very  vague, 
leaning  now  to  a  -conception  of  harmony  in  the  totality  of 
the  world  (Weltall),  and  now  to  a  Platonic  conception  of 
primitive  forms  |  )  of  perfection.     He  has  a  very 

intricate  classification  of  the  arts,  based  on  his  antithesis 
of  object  and  subject,  reality'  and  ideality.  A  curious 
feature  of  Schellirig's  theory  is  his  application  of  his  one 
fundamental  idea  to  tragedy.  The  essence  of  tragedy  is, 
he  thinks,  an  actual  conflict  of  liberty  in  the  subject  with 
objective  necessity,  in,  which  both  being  conquered  and 
conquering,  appear  at  once  in  the  perfect  indifference. 
Antique  tragedy  he  holds,  accordingly,  to  be  the  most  per- 
fect composition  of  all  arts. 

ing  over  Solger,  whose  aesthetic  doctrine  is  little 
more  than  a  revival  of  Platonism,  we  come  to  Hegel.  His 
system  of  philosophy  falls  into  three  parts,  all  based  on 
the  self-movement  of  the  idea  or  absolute: — (1.)  The 
logic  discussing  the  pure  universal  notions  which  are  the 
logical  evolution  of  the  absolute,  a3  pure  thought;  (2.) 
Philosophy  of  nature — the  disruption  of  thought,  the  idea, 
into  the  particular  and  external;  (3.)  Philosophy  of  the 
spirit — the  return  of  thought  or  the  absolute  from  this 
self-alienation  to  itself  in  self-cognisant  thought.  Just 
as  the  absolute,  so  has  spirit  a  series  of  three  grades  to 
rse — (a.)  Subjective  spirit  or  intelligence,  relating 
i  to  the  rational  object  a3  something  given;  (6.)  Ob- 

jective   spirit  or  will,   which  converts   the    subject 
theoretical  matter  (truth)  into  objectivity;    (c.)  Absolute 
spirit,  which  is  the  return  of  the  spirit  from  objectivity  to 
the  ideality  of  cognition,  to  the  perception  of  the  absolute 
idex  in  has  three  stages — (1.)  Art,  in  which  th<! 

absolute  is  imm  present  to  sensuous  perce] 

(2.)  Religion,  which  embodies  certainty  of  the  idea  as 
above  all  immediate  reality;  and  (3.)  Philosophy,  the  unity 
of  these.  According  to  this  conception,  the  beautiful  is 
defined  as  the  shining  of  the  idea  through  a  sensuous 
medium  (as  colour  or  tone).  It  is  said  to  have  its  life  in 
shining  or  appearance  (Schein),  and  so  differs  from  the  true, 
which  is  not  real  sensuous  existence,  but  the  universal 


contained  in  it  for  thought.  He  defines  the  lorm  ot  the 
Beautiful  as  unity  of  the  manifold.  The  notion  (Begriff) 
gives  necessity  in  mutual  dependence  of  parts  (unity), 
while  i  y  demands  the   appearance  or  semblance 

(Schein)  of  liberty  in  the  parts.  He  discusses  very  fully 
the  beauty  of  nature  as  immediate  unity  of  notion  and 
y,  and  lays  great  einpha  is  on  the  beauty  of  organic 
life.  '  But  it  is  in  art  that,  like  .Schelling,  he  finds  the 
highest  revelation  of  the  Beautiful.  Art  makes  up  the 
deficiencies  of  natural  beauty  by  bringing  the  idea  into 
clearer  light,  by  showing  the  external  in  its  life  and  spirit 
ual  animation.  The  various  forms  of  art  depend  on  the 
various  combinations  of  matter  and  form.  In  Oriental 
or  symbolical  art  matter  is  predominant,  and  the  thought 
is  struggling  through  with  pain  so  as  to  reveal  the  ideal. 
In  tho  classical  form  the  ideal  has  attained  an  adequate 
existence,  form  and  matter  being  absolutely  commensurate. 
Lastly,  in  tho  romantic  form,  the  mattor  is  reduced  to  a 
mere  show,  and  the  ideal  is  supremo.  Hegel  classifies  the 
individual  arts  according  to  this  Bame  principle  of  the  rela- 
tive supremacy  of  form  and  matter — (1.)  The  beginning  of 
art  is  architecture,  in  which  as  a  symbolic  art  the  sensuous 
material  is  in  excess.  (2.)  Sculpture  is  less  subjected  to 
matter,  and,  as  representing  the  living  body,  is  a  step  to- 
wards a  higher  ideality.  (3.)  Painting,  which  is  the  romantic 
art  /tar'  i{oxrjv,  expresses  the  full  life  of  the  soul.  By  the 
elimination  of  the  third  dimension  of  space,  and  the 
employment  of  a  coloured  plane,  painting  rids  itself  of  the 
coarse  material  substrate  of  sculpture,  and  produces  only 
a  semblance  of  materiality.  (4.)  In  music,  which  employs 
pure  tone,  all  the  elements  of  space  are  suppressed,  and 
hence  its  content  is  the  inner  emotional  nature  (Gemiith). 
Music  is  the  most  subjective  of  the  arts.  (5.)  Poetry  has  the 
privilege  of  universal  expression.  It  contains  all  the  other 
arts  in  itself,  namely,  the  plastic  art  in  the  epos,  music  in 
the  ode,  and  the  unity  of  both  in  the  drama. 

Several  systems  of  aesthetics,  more  or  less  Hegelian  in 
character,  can  only  be  referred  to  in  passing.  Weisse 
defined  aesthetics  as  the  science  of  the  idea  of  beauty,  aud 
explained  the  Beautiful  as  the  entrance  of  the  universal  or  of 
the  essence  into  the  limited  and  finite,  that  is,  the  cancelling 
or  annulling  of  truth  (die  aufgehobene  Wahrkeit).  By  thus 
recognising  an  internal  contradiction  in  all  beauty,  he  sought 
to  develope,  by  a  curious  dialectical  process,  the  ideas  of  the 
Ugly,  the  Sublime,  and  the  Ludicrous.  He  treats  each  of 
these  three  in  immediate  contrast  to  beauty.  Ugliness  is  the 
immed  'ice  of  beauty.     It  appears  as  the  negative 

moment  in  the  Sublime,  and  in  the  Ludicrous  this  negativity 
in  cancelled  and  resolved  into  afh'nnation  so  as  to  con- 
stitute a  return  to  the  Beautiful  .  A  like  attempt  to  deter- 
mine the  relations  of  the  Ugly,  Comic,  <tc,  as  moments  of 
the  self-revealing  idea  was  made  by  several  Hegelians. 
Thus  Huge,  in  his  Abhandiung  iiber  das  Komische,  teaches 
that  sublimity  is  the  aesthetic  idea  striving  to  find  itself, 
together  with  the  satisfaction  of  this  striving.  If,  how- 
I  he  idea  lose  itself,  sinking  away  in  a  kind  of  swoon, 
7e  the  Ugly.  Finally,  when  the  idea  recovers  from 
the  swoon,  its  new  birth  is  attended  with  a  feeling  of 
amusement  (Erlicilerung),  and  then  we  have  the  effect  of 
the  Ludicrous.  Rosenkranz,  in  his  JSsthetik  des  Bass- 
lichen,  conceives  the  Ugly  as  the  "negation  of  the  Beautiful. 
or  as  the  middle  between  the  Beautiful  and  the  Ludicrous, 
and  seeks  to  trace  out  its  various  manifestations  in  form- 
lessness in  nature,  incorrectness  in  artistic  representation, 
and  deformity  or  the  disorganisation  of  the  Beautiful  in 
caricature.  Schasler,  again,  seems  to  hold  that  the  Ugly  is 
co-ordinate  with  the  Beautiful,  being  the  motor  principle 
that  drives  the  Beautiful  from  the  unconditioned  rest  of 
the  Platonic  idea,  from  the  sphere  of  empty  abstractness 
to  actuality.     This  fundamental  contradiction  reveals  itself 


ESTHETICS 


219 


i3  the  contrast  of  matter  and  spirit,  rigid  motioulessness 
and  motion,  and  appears  in  art  as  the  antithesis  of  the 
sublime  and  graceful  (dzs  Anmuthige),  the  latter  containing 
the  Naif,  the  Pretty,  and  the  Ridiculous.  Finally,  Theodor 
Vischer  seeks  to  settle  these  subtle  relationships  in  this 
manner:  He  supposes  the  Sublime  to  be  the  sundering  of 
the  aesthetic  idea  and  its  sensuous  image  (Gebild)  from  the 
state  of  unity  constituting  the  Beautiful,  the  idea  reaching 
as  the  infinite  over  against  the  finite  of  the  image.  The 
image  now  resists  the  sudden  rupture,  and  in  asserting 
itself  as  a  totality  in  defiance  of  the  idea  becomes  the  Ugly. 
The  Comic,  again,  is  the  result  of  some  partial  and  appa- 
rently involuntary  recognition  of  the  rights  of  the  idea  by 
the  rebellious  image.  Schasler  says,  in  criticising  the 
views  of  Vischer,  that  it  is  difficult  not  to  be  satirical  in 
■describing  the  dialectic  artifices  to  which  the  idea  is  here 
compelled,  little  suspecting  how  easily  any  similar  attempt 
to  adjust  relations  between  these  ideas,  looked  at  objectively 
as  movements  of  the  supreme  idea,  may  appear  equally  naif 
and  funny  to  a  mind  not  already  oppressed  with  the  resist- 
ing burden  of  its  own  abstractions. 

Theodor  Vischer,  the  last  of  the  Hegelians  named  here, 
has  produced  the  largest  and  most  laborious  system  of 
metaphysical  aesthetics,  and  a  brief  account  of  its  scope 
must  be  given  to  complete  our  history  of  the  German 
systems.  He  defines  aesthetics  as  the  science  of  the  Beau- 
tiful. His  system  falls  into  three  parts:  (1.)  Metaphysic 
of  the  Beautiful;  (2.)  The  Beautiful  as  one-sided  existence 
— beauty  of  nature  and  the  human  imagination;  (3.)  The 
subjective-objective  actuality  of  the  Beautiful — Art.  The 
metaphysic  again  falls  into  two  parts — the  theory  of  simple 
beauty,  and  that  of  the  Beautiful  in  the  resistance  of  its 
moments  (the  Sublime  and  Ridiculous).  He  defines  the 
Beautiful  as  "the  idea  in  the  form  of  limited  appearance." 
His  discussions  of  the  various  beauties  of  nature,  the 
organic  and  inorganic  world,  are  very  full  and  suggestive, 
and  his  elaboration  of  the  principles  of  art  (excepting  those 
of  music,  which  he  left  another  to  elucidate),  is  marked 
by  a  wide  and  accurate  knowledge.  He  divides  the  arts 
into— (1.)  The  objective,  or  eye  arts  (architecture,  sculpture, 
and  painting);  (2.)  Subjective,  or  ear  arts  (music);  (3.) 
Subjective-objective  arts,  or  those  of  sensuous  conception 
^poetry).  He  subdivides  the  first  into  those  of  measuring 
sight  (architecture),  touching  sight  (sculpture),  and  sight 
proper  (painting).  Vischer's  style  is  very  laboured.  His 
propositions  fall  into  the  form  of  mathematical  theorems, 
and  are  made  exceedingly  incomprehensible  by  the  ex- 
cessive subtleties  of  his  metaphysical  nomenclature. 

There  are  several  other  systems  -  of  aesthetics  which 
deserve  mention  here,  but  space  does  not  allow  of  a  full 
account  of  them.  Of  these  the  mosi  important  are  the 
theories  of  Herbart,  Schopenhauer,  and  von  Kirchmann; 
Herbart's  views  are  based  on  bis  curious  psychological 
conceptions.  He  ignores  any  function  in  the  Beautiful  as 
expressive  of  the  idea,  and  seeks  simply  to  determine  the 
simplest  forms  or  the  elementary  judgments  of  1 
Schopenhauer's  discussions,  connecting  beauty  with  his 
peculiar  conception  of  the  universe  as  volition,  are  a  curious 
contribution  to  the  subject.  As  a  specimen  of  his  specula- 
tions, one  may  give  his  definition  cf  tragedy  as  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  horrible  side  of  life,  the  scornful  dominion 
of  accident,  and  the  inevitable  fall  of  the  just  and  inno- 
cent, this  containing  a  significant  glimpse  into  the  nature 
of  the  world  and  existence.  Von  Kirchmann  has  written 
a  two-volume  work  on  aesthetics,  which  is  interesting  as  a 
reaction  against  the  Hegelian  method.  It  professes  to  be 
an  attempt  to  base  the  science  on  a  realistic  foundation, 
and  to  apply  the  principles  of  observation  and  induction 
long  acted  upon  in  natural  science. 

The  German  aesthetic  speculations  not  elaborated  into 


complete  systems  are  too  numerous  to  be  fully  represented' 
here.  Only  a  few  of  the  most  valuable  contributions  to  the 
theory  will  be  alluded  to.  Winckelmann's  services  to  the 
development  of  plastic  art  do  not  directly  concern  us. 
Of  his  theory  of  plastic  beauty,  based  exclusively  on  the 
principles  of  Greek  sculpture,  little  requires  to  be  said. 
He  first  pointed  to  the  real  sources  of  superiority  in  antique 
creations,  by  emphasising  the  distinction  between  natural 
and  ideal  beauty,  the  aesthetic  value  of  contour  a3  an 
ideal  element,  the  beauty  of  expression  as  the  manifestation 
of  an  elevated  soul,  and  consisting  of  a  noble  simplicity 
and  a  quiet  grandeur.  But  by  too  exclusive  an  attention 
to  Greek  art,  and  indeed  to  sculpture,  his  theory,  as  an 
attempt  to  generalise  on  art,  lacks  completeness,  making 
little  room  for  the  many-sidedness  of  art,  and  narrowing  it 
down  to  one,  though  an  exalted,  ideal. 

Lessing's  services  to  the  scientific  theory  of  art  are  far  ■ 
greater  than  those  of  Winckelmann.  He  is  the  first  modern 
who  has  sought  to  deduce  the  special  function  of  an  art 
from  a  consideration  of  the  means  at  its  disposal.  In  his 
Laokoon  he  defines  the  boundaries  of  poetry  and  painting 
in  a  manner  which  has  scarcely  been  improved  on  since. 
In  slight  divergence  from  Winckelmann,  who  had  said  that 
the  representation  of  crying  was  excluded  from  sculpture 
by  the  ancients  as  unworthy  of  a  great  soul,  Lessing  sought 
to  prove  that  it  was  prohibited  by  reason  of  its  incom- 
patibility with  the  conditions  of  plastic  "beauty.  He 
reasoned  from  the  example  of  the  celebrated  group,  the 
Laokoon.  Visible  beauty  was,  he  said,  the  first  law  of 
ancient  sculpture  and  painting.  These  arts,  as  employing 
the  co-existent  and  permanent  in  space,  are  much  more 
limited  than  poetry,  which  employs  the  transitory  and  suc- 
cessive impressions  of  sound.  Hence,  expression  is  to 
poetry  what  corporeal  beauty  is  to  the  arts  of  visible  form 
and  colour.  The  former  has  to  do  with  actions,  the  latter 
with  bodies, — that  is,  objects  whose  parts  co-exist.  Poetry 
can  only  suggest  material  objects  and  visible  scenery  by 
means  of  actions ;  as  for  example,  when  Homer  pictures 
Juno's  chariot,  by  a  description  of  its  formation  piece  by 
piece.  Painting  and  sculpture,  again,  can  only  suggest 
actions  by  means  of  bodies.  From  this  it  follows  that  the 
range  of  expression  in  poetry  is  far  greater  than  in  visibla 
art.  Just  as  corporeal  beauty  loses  much  of  its  charm,  so 
the  visible  Ugly  loses  much  of  its  repulsiveness  by  the  suc- 
cessive and  transient  character  of  the  poetic  medium. 
Hence  poetry  may  introduce  it,  while  painting  is  forbidden 
to  represent  it.  Even  the  Disgusting  rrtiy  be  skilfully 
employed  in  poetry  to  strengthen  the  impression  of  the 
Horrible  or  Ridiculous;  while  painting  can  only  attempt  this 
at  its  peril,  as  in  Pordenone's  Interment  of  Christ,  in  which 
a  figure  is  represented  as  holding  its  nose.  Visible  imita- 
tion being  immediate  and  permanent,  the  painful  element 
cannot  be  softened  and  disguised  by  other  and  pleasing 
ingredients  (the  Laughable,  &c),  as  in  poetry.  As  Schasler 
says,  Lessing's  theory  hardly^  makes  room  for  the  effects  of 
individuality  of  character  as  one  aim  of  pictorial  as  well  as 
of  poetic  art.  Yet  as  a  broad  distinction  between  the  two 
heterogeneous  arts,  limiting,  on  the  one  hand,  pictorial  de- 
scription in  poetry,  and  the  representation  of  the  painful, 
low,  and  revolting  in  the  arts  of  vision,  it  is  unassailable, 
and  constitutes  a  real  discovery  in  aesthetics.  Lessing's 
principles  of  the  drama,  as  scattered  through  the  critiques 
of  the  Hamburg' Dramaturgy,  are  for  the  most  part  a  fur- 
ther elucidation  of  Aristotelian  principles,  of  great  value  to 
the  progress  of  art,  but  adding  comparatively  little  to  the 
theory  Its  conspicuous  points  are  the  determination  of 
poetic  truth  as  shadowed  forth  by  Aristotle,  and  the  dif- 
ference between  tragedy  and  comedy  in  respect  to  liberty 
of  invention  both  of  fable  and  of  character ;  secondly,  the. 
rcasscrtion  that  both  fear  and  pity,  and  not  simply  one  of 


220 


AESTHETICS 


these,  are  the  effects  of  every  tragedy,  and  that  it  is  false 
dramatic  art  to  attempt  to  represent  cither  the  sufferings 
of  a  perfect  martyr,  or  the  actions  of  some  monstrous 
horror  of  wickedness,  as  Comeille  and  the  French  school 
had  urged ;  lastly,  the  interpretation  of  Aristotle's  purifica- 
tion of  the  passiir.s  as  referring  to  this  very  fear  and  pity, 
nnd  pointing  to  a  certain  desirable  mean  between  excessive 
sensibility  and  excessive  callousness.  Schasler  says  that 
if  Lessing  had  had  an  Aristotle  to  lean  on  in  the  J.'tokoon  as 
in  tho  Dramaturgy,  it  would  have  been  more  valuable. 
Others  might  be  disposed  to  say  that  if  he  had  been  as 
free  from  the  traditions  of  authority  in  tho  Dramdnrgy 
as  he  was  in  the  Laohoon,  the  former  might  have  contained 
as  much  in  the  way  of  real  discovery  as  the  latter. 

The  partial  contributions  to  aesthetics  after  Lessing 
need  not  long  detain  us.  Goethe  wrote  several  tracts  on 
aesthetic  topics,  as  well  as  many  aphorisms.  Ho  attempts 
to  mediate  between  the  claims  of  idea)  beauty,  as  taught 
bv  Winckelmann.  and  the  aims  of  inelividualisation. 
bcuiller  discusses,  in  a  number  of  disconnected  essays  and 
letters,  some  of  the  principal  questions  in  the  philosophy 
of  art.  He  looks  at  art  as  a  side  of  culture  and  the  forces 
of  human  nature,  and  finds  in  an  aesthetically  cultivated 
soul  the  reconciliation  of  the  sensual  and  rational.  His 
letters  on  aesthetic  education  (Ueber  die  aslketische  Erzie- 
hung  des  Menschen)  are  very  valuable,  and  bring  out  the 
connection  between  aesthetic  activity  and  the  universal  im- 
pulse to  play  (Spieltrieb).  This  impulse  is  formed  from 
the  union  of  two  other  impulses — the  material  {Stoftrieb) 
and  the  formal  (Formtrieb) — the  former  of  which  seeks  to 
make  real  the  inner  thought,  the  latter  to  form  or  fashion 
this  reality.  Schiller's  thoughts  on  this  topic  are  cast  in 
a  highly  metaphysical  mould,  and  ho  makes  no  attempt  to 
trace  the  gradual  development  of  the  first  crude  play  of 
children  into  the  aesthetic  pleasures  of  a  cultivated  matu- 
rity. He  fixes  as  the  two  conditions  of  aesthetic  growth, 
moral  freedom  of  the  individual  and  sociability.  Tho 
philosophic  basis  of  Schiller's  speculation  is  the  system  of 
Kant.  Another  example  of  this  kind  of  reflective  discus- 
sion of  art  by  literary  men  is  afforded  us  in  the  Vorsckule 
der  JEsthetik  of  Jean  Paul  Richter.  This  is  a  rather  am- 
bitious discussion  of  the  Sublime  and  the  Ludicrous,  and 
contains  much  valuable  matter  on  the  nature  of  humour  in 
romantic  poetry.  Jean  Paul  is  by  no  means  exact  or 
systematic,  and  his  language  is  highly  poetic.  His  defini- 
tions strike  one  as  hasty  and  inadequate  :  for  example, 
that  the  Sublime  is  the  applied  Infinite,  or  that  tho  Ludi- 
crous is  the  infinitely  Small.  Other  writers  of  this  class, 
as  Wilhelra  von  Humboldt,  the  two  Schlegcls.  Gervinus, 
though  they  have  helped  to  form  juster  views  of  the 
several  kinds  of  poetry,  itc,  have  contributed  little  to  the 
general  theory  of  art.  F.  Schlegel's  determination  of  the 
principle  of  romantic  poetry  as  the  Interesting,  in  opposi- 
tion tc  the  objectivity  of  antique  poetry,  may  be  cited  as 
a  good  example  of  this  groijp  of  speculations. 

No  account  of  German  aesthetics  can  be  complete  with- 
out some  reference  to  the  attempts  recently  made  by  one 
or  two  naturalists  to  determine  experimentally  the  physical 
conditions  and  the  net  sensational  element  of  artistic  im- 
pression. Of  these,  the  most  imposing  is  the  development 
by  Helmholtz  of  a  large  part  of  the  laws  of  musical  com- 
position, harmony,  lone,  modulation,  &c.,  from  a  simple 
physical  hypothesis  as  to  the  complex  character  of  what 
appear  to  us  as  elementary  tones.  Another  interesting 
experimental  inquiry  has  been  instituted  by  Fechner  into 
the  alleged  superiority  of  "the  golden  section  "  as  a  visible 
proportion.  Zeising,  the  author  of  this  theory,  asserts 
that  the  most  pleasing  division  of  a  line,  say  in  a  cross,  is 
the  golden  section,  where  the  smaller  d'vision  i3  to  the 
larger  as  the  latter  to  the  sum.     Fechner  describes  in  his 


contribution  Znr  rrperimenlolm  ^Est/ietik  a  series  of 
experiments  on  a  large  number  of  different  persons,  in 
which  he  supposes  ho  eliminated  all  effects  of  individual 
association,  and  decides  in  favour  of  the  hypothesis.  He, 
however,  assumes  that  this  visible  form  must  please  pri- 
marily, and  does  not  recognise  that  any  constant  association 
growing  up  in  all  minds  alike  would  give  precisely  the 
same  results.  Finally,  allusion  may  be  made  to  some 
ingenious  but  very  forced  attempts  of  Unger  and  others 
to  discover  harmonic  and  melodious  relations  among  the 
elementary  colours. 

III.  French  writers  on  JZslhetics. — In  passing  from  German 
to  French  writers  on  nosthetical  topics  we  find,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, much  less  of  metaphysical  assumption  and  a  clearer 
perception  of  the  scientific  character  of  the  problem.  At  tho 
same  time,  the  authors  are  but  few,  and  their  works  mostly 
of  a  fragmentary  character.  Passing  by  the  Jesuit  Andre, 
who  sought  to  rehabilitate  Augustin's  theory  of  the  Beauti- 
ful, we  first  light  on  the  name  of  Balteux.  In  his  Court  Battel 
Je  Belles  7.ettrcs(\705)  be  seeks  to  determine  the  aims  of  art 
by  elucidating  the  meaning  and  value  of  the  imitation  of 
nature.  He  classifies  the  arts  according  to  the  forms  of 
space  and  time,  those  of  either  division  being  capable  of 
combining  among  themselves,  but  not  with  those  of  the 
other.  Thus  architecture,  sculpture,  and  painting  may 
co-operate  in  one  visible  effect;  also  music,  poetry,  and  the 
dance.  Diderot,  again,  in  the  Encyclopedic,  sought  to  Diden 
define  beauty  by  making  it  to  consist  in  the  perception  of 
relations.  In  his  Essais  sur  la  Peinlure  he  follows  Bat- 
teux  in  extolling  naturalness,  or  fidelity  to  nature.  Another 
very  inadequate  theory  of  beauty  was  propounded  by  Pere 
Buffier.  Ho  said  it  is  the  type  of  a  species  which  gives  Euffiei 
the  measure  of  beauty.  A  beautiful  face,  though  rare,  is 
nevertheless  the  model  after  which  the  largest  number  is 
formed.  Not  unlike  this  theory  is  a  doctrine  propounded 
by  H.  Taine.  In  his  work,  De  I' Ideal  dans  I' Art,  he  pro-  Taine 
ceeds  in  the  manner  of  a  botanist  to  determine  a  scale  of 
characters  in  the  physical  and  moral  man,  according  to  the 
embodiment  of  which  a  work  of  art  becomes  ideal.  The 
degree  of  universality  or  importance,  and  the  degree  of 
beneficence  or  adaptation  to  the  ends  of  life  in  a  character, 
give  it  its  measure  of  aesthetic  value,  and  render  the  work 
of  art,  which  seeks  to  represent  it  in  its  purity,  an  ideal 
work. 

The  only  elaborated  systems  of  aesthetics  in  French  The  ej 
literature  are  thoso  constructed  by  the  spiritual  istes,  that  tenf  c 
is,  the  philosophic  followers  of  Reid  and  D.  Stewart  on  fPintv 
the  one  hand,  and  the  German  idealists  on  the  other,  who 
constituted  a  reaction  against  the  crude  sensationalism  of 
the  18th  century.  They  aim  at  elucidating  what  they  call 
the  higher  and  spiritual  element  in  aesthetic  impressions, 
and  wholly  ignore  any  capability  in  material  substance€or 
external  sensation  of  affording  the  peculiar  delights  of 
beauty.  The  lectures  of  Cousin,  entitled  Du  Vrai,  du  Beau, 
ct  du  Bien,  the  Cours  d'  Esthetique  of  Jouffroy,  and  the 
systematic  treatise  of  Leveque,  La  Science  du  Beau,  are 
the  principal  works  of  this  school.  The  last,  as  the  most 
elaborate,  will  afford  the  student  the  best  insight  into  this 
mode  of  speculation.  The  system  of  Leveque  falls  into 
four  parts— -(1.)  TIip  psychological  observation  and  classifi- 
cation of  the  effects  of  the  Beautiful  on  human  intelligence 
and  sensibility;  (2.)  The  metaphysic  of  beauty,  which 
determines  whether  it  has  a  real  objective  existence,  and 
if  so,  what  is  the  internal  principle  or  substance  of  this 
objective  entity;  and  further  seeks  to  adjust  the  relations 
of  the  Beautiful,  the  Sublime,  the  Ugly,  and  the  Ridiculous 
in  relation  to  this  principle;  (3.)  The  application  of  these 
psychological  and  metaphysical  principles  to  the  beauty  of 
nature,  animate  and  inanimate,  and  to  that  of  the  Deity; 
(i. 'I  Their  application  to  the  arts.     The   influence  of  the 


ESTHETICS 


221 


Hermans  in  this  mode  of  systematising  is  apparent.  All 
the  characters  of  beauty  in  external  objects,  as  a  flower, 
of  which  the  principal  are  size,  nnity  and  variety  of  parts, 
intensity  df  colour,  grace  or  flexibility,  and  correspondence 
to  environment,  may  be  summed  up  as  the  ideal  grandeur 
and  order  of  the  species.  These  are  perceived  by  reason 
to  be  the  manifestations  of  an  invisible  vital  force.  Simi- 
larly the  beauties  of  inorganic  nature  are  translatable  as 
the  grand  and  orderly  displays  of  an  immaterial  physical 
force.  Thus  all  beauty  is  in  its  objective  essence  either 
spirit  or  unconscious  force  acting  with  fulness  and  in 
order.  It  is  curious  that  Le'veque  in  this  way  modifies 
the  strictly  spiritual  theory  of  beauty  by  the  admission  of 
an  unconscious  physical  force,  equally  with  spirit  or  mkid, 
as  an  objective  substratum  of  the  Beautiful.  He  seeks, 
however,  to  assimilate  this  as  nearly  as  possible  to  con- 
scious energy,  as  immaterial  and  indivisible.  The  aim  of 
art  is  to  reproduce  this  beauty  of  nature  in  a  'beautiful 
manner,  and  the  individual  arts  may  be  classified  according 
to  the  degree  of  beautiful  force  or  spirit  expressed,  and  the 
degree  of  power  with  which  this  is  interpreted.  Accord- 
ingly, they  are  arranged  by  Leveque  in  the  same  order  as 
by  Hegel. 

TV.  Italian  and  Dutch  Writer*. — There  pre  a  few 
writers  on  aesthetic  subjects  to  be  found  in  Italian  and 
Dutch  literature,  but  they  have  little  of  original  speculation. 
The  Italian,  as  Pagano  and  Muratori,  follow  French  and 
English  writers.  One  Dutch  writer,  Franz  Hemsterhuis 
(18th  century),  is  worth  naming.  His  philosophic  views 
are  an  attempt  at  reconciliation  between  the  sensational 
und  the  intuitive  systems  of  knowledge.  The  only  faculty 
of  true  knowledge  is  an  internal  sense,  nevertheless  all  true 
knowledge  comes  through  the  senses.  The  soul,  desiring 
immediate  and  complete  knowledge,  and  being  limited  by 
its  union  with  the  senses,  which  are  incapable  of  perfectly 
simultaneous  action,  strives  to  gain  the  greatest  number 
of  the  elements  of  cognition  or  ideas  in  the  shortest  pos- 
sible time.  In  proportion  as  this  effort  is  successful,  the 
knowledge  is  attended  with  enjoyment.  The  highest 
measure  of  this  delight  is  given  by  beauty,  wherefore  it  may 
be  defined  as  that  which  affords  the  largest  number  of  ideas 
in  the  shortest  time. 

V.  English  Writers. — In  the  aesthetic  speculations  of 
English  writers,  we  find  still  less  of  metaphysical  construc- 
tion and  systematisation  than  in  those  of  French  thinkers. 
Indeed,  it  may  be  said  that  there  is  nothing  answering  to 
the  German  conception  of  aesthetic  in  our  literature.'  The 
inquiries  of  English  and  Scotch  thinkers  have  been  directed 
for  the  most  part  to  very  definite  and  strictly  scientific  pro- 
blems, such  as  the  psychological  processes  in  the  perception  of 
the  Beautif  uL  The  more  moderate  metaphysical  impulses  of 
our  countrymen  have  never  reached  beyond  the-bare  asser- 
tion of  an  objective  and  independent  beauty.  Hence  we  find 
that  the  German  historians  regard  these  special  and  limited 
discussions  as  so  many  empirical  reflections,  wholly  devoid 
of  the  rational  element  in  true  philosophy.  Schasler  speaks 
of  these  essays  as  "  empiristic  aesthetics,"  tending  in  one 
direction  to  raw  materialism,  in  the  other,  by  want  of 
method,  never  lifting  itself  above  the  plane  of  "  an  aesthe- 
ticising  dilettanteism."  English  writers  arc  easily  divisible 
into  two  groups — (1.)  Those  who  lean  to  the  conception 
of  a  primitive  objective  beauty,  not  resolvable  into  any 
simpler  ingredients  of  sensation  or  simple  emotion,  which 
is  perceived  intuitively  either  by  reason  or  by  some  special 
faculty,  an  internal  sense;  (2.)  Those  who,  tracing  the 
genesis  of  beauty  to  the  union  of  simple  impressions,  have 
beerr  chiefly  concerned  with  a  psychological  discussion-  of 
the  origin  and  growth  of  our  aesthetic  perceptions  and 
emotions. 

Lord  Shaftesbury  is  the  first  of  the  intuitive  writers  on 


bsauty.     Efi3  views  are  highly  metaphysical  and  Platonic  The  i» 
in  character.    The  Beautiful  and  the  Good  are  combined  in  tivi^ta. 
one  ideal  conception,  much  as  with  Plato.     Matter  in  itself  Shafta* 
is  ugly.     The  order  of  the  world,  wherein  all  beauty  really    ury' 
resides,  is  a  spiritual  principle,  all  motion  and  life  being 
the  product  of  spirit     The  principle  of  beauty  is  perceived 
not  with  the  outer  .senses,  but  with  an  internal — that  is, 
the  moral — sense  (which  perceives  the  Good  as  well).   This 
perception  affords  the  Only  true  delight,  namely,  spiritual 
enjoyment.     Shaftesbury  distinguishes  three  grades  of  the 
Beautiful,  namely,  (1.)  Inanimate  objects,  including  works 
of  art;  (2.)  Living  forms,  which  reveal  the  spiritual  forma- 
tive force;" and  (3.)  The  source  from  which  these  forms 
spring,  God. 

In  his  Inquiry  into  the  Original  of  our  Ideas  of  Beauty 
and  Virtue,  Hutcheson  follows  many  of  Shaftesburyjs  ideas. 
Yet  he  distinctly  disclaims  any  independent  self-existing 
beauty  in  objects  apart  from  percipient  minds.  "AU 
beauty,"  he  says,  "  is  relative  to  the  sense  of  some  mind 
perceiving  it."  The  cause  of  beauty  is  not  any  simple 
sensation  from  an  object,  as  colour,  tone,  but  a  certain 
order  among  the  parts,  or  "uniformity  amidst  variety." 
The  faculty  by  which  this-principle  is  known  is  an  internal 
sense  which  is  defined  as  "  a  passive  power  of  receiving 
ideas  of  beauty  from  all  objects  in  which  there  is  uniformity 
in  variety."  Thus  Hutcheson  seems  to  have  supposed  that 
beauty,  though  always  residing  in  uniformity  in  variety  as 
its  form,  was  still  something  distinct  from  this,  and  so 
in  need  of  a  peculiar  sense  distinct  from  reason  for  the 
appreciation  of  it.  But  his  meaning  on  this  point  is  not 
clear.  This  faculty  is  called  a  sense,  because  it  resembles 
the  external  senses  in  the  immediateness  of  the  pleasure  it 
experiences.  The  perception  of  beauty,  and  the  delight 
attending  it,  are  quite  as  independent  of  consideration*  of 
principles,  causes,  or  usefulness  in  the  object,  as  the  plea- 
surable sensation  of  a  sweet  taste.  Further,  the  effect  of  a 
beautiful  object  is  like  the  impression  of  our  senses  in  its 
necessity;  a  beautiful  thing  being  always,  whether  we  will 
or  no,  beautiful  In  the  second  place,  this  sense  is  called 
internal,  because  the  appreciation  of  beauty  is  clearly  dis- 
tinct from  tho  ordinary  sensibility  of  the  eye  and  ear, 
whether  emotional  or  intellectual  and  discriminative,  many 
persons  who  possess  the  latter  intact  being  totally  destitute 
of  the  former.  Another  reason  is,  that  in  some  affairs 
which  have  little  to  do  with  the  external  senses,  beauty  is 
perceived,  as  in  theorems,  universal  truths,  and  general 
causes.  Hutcheson  discusses  two  kinds  of  beauty — abso- 
lute or  original,  and  relative  or  comparative.  The  former 
is  independent  of  all  comparison  of  the  beautiful  object 
with  another  object  of  which  it  may  be  an  imitation.  The 
latter  is  perceived  in  an  object  considered  as  an  imitation  or 
resemblance  of  something  else.  He  distinctly  states  that  "an 
exact  imitation  may  still  be  beautiful' though  the  original 
were  entirely  devoid  of  it/'  but,  curiously  enough,  will  not 
allow  that  this  proves  his  previous  definition  of  beauty  as 
"  uniformity  amidst  variety"  to  be  too  narrow.  He  seems 
to  conceive  that  the  original  sense  of  beauty  may  be 
"  varied  and  overbalanced"  with  the  secondary  and  subor- 
dinate kind.  Hutcheson  spends  a  good  deal  of  time  in 
proving  the  universality  of  this  sense  of  beauty,  by  show- 
ing that  all  men,  in  proportion  to  the  enlargement  of  their 
intellectual  capacity,  are  more  delighted  with  uniformity 
than  the  contrary.  '  He  argues  against  the  supposition  that 
custom  and  education  are  sources  of  our  perception  of 
beauty,  though  he  admits  that  they  may  enlarge-  the  capa-; 
city  of  our  minds  to  retain  and  compare,  and  so  may  add  tol 
the  delight  of  beauty. 

■  The  next  writer  of  consequence  on  the  intuitive  side  is 
Reid.  In  the  eighth  of.  his  Essays  on  the  Intellectual 
Powers  he  discusses  the^tfaculty  of  taste.     He  held,  on  the 


222 


ESTHETICS 


ground  of  common  sense,  that  beauty  must  exist  in  objects 
independently  of  our  minds.  As  to  the  nature  of  the 
Beautiful,  he  taught  that  all  beauty  resides  primarily  in  the 
faculties  of  the  mind,  intellectual  and  moral.  The  beauty 
which  is  spread  over' the  face  of  visible  nature  is  an  emana- 
tion from  this  spiritual  beauty,  and  is  beautiful  because  it 
symbolises  and  expresses  it.  Thus  the  beauty  of  a  plant 
l  in  its  perfection  for  its  end,  as  an  expression  of  the 
wisdom  of  its  Creator.  Eeid's  theory  of  beauty  is  thus 
purely  spiritual. 

The  celebrated  Lectures  un  Metaphysics  of  SirAV.  Hamilton 
do  not,  unfortunately,  contain  more  than  a  slight  prelimin- 
ary sketch  of  the  writer's  theory  of  the  emotional  activities. 
He  defines  pleasure,  following  very  closely  the  theory  of 
Aristotle,  as  "  a  reflex  of  the  spontaneous  and  unimpeded 
exertion  of  a  power  of  whose  energy"  we  are  conscious" 
(vol.  ii.  p.  440).  And,  in  perfect  agreement  with  this  con- 
ception, he  divides  the  various  feelings  according  to  the 
faculties  or  powers,  bodily  or  mental,  of  which  they  are  the 
concomitants.  In  the  scheme  thus  faintly  shadowed  forth, 
the  sentiments  of  Taste  are  regarded  as  subserving  both 
the  subsidiary  and  the  elaborative  faculties  in  cognition,  in 
other  words,  the  Imagination  and  the  Understanding.  The 
activity  of  the  former  corresponds  to  the  element  of  variety- 
ill  the  beautiful  object,  while  that  of  the  latter  is  concerned 
with  its  unity.'  A  beautiful  thing  is  accordingly  defined 
"  as  one  whose  form  occupies  the  Imagination  and  Under- 
standing in  a  free  and  full,  and,  consequently,  in  an  agree- 
able activity"  (p.  512).  In  this  way,  the  writer  conceives, 
he  comprehends  all  pre-existing  definitions  of  beauty.  He 
explicitly  excludes  all  other  varieties  of  pleasure,  such  as 
the  sensuous,  from  the  proper  gratification  of  beauty.  The 
aesthetic  sentiment  is  thus  regarded  as  unique  and  not- 
resolvable  into  simpler  feelings.  Similarly,  he  denies  any 
proper  attribute  of  be'auty  to  fitness.  The  essence  of  the 
sentiment  of  sublimity  he  finds,  much  in  the  same  way  as 
Kant,  in  a  mingled  pleasure  and  pain;  "of  pleasure  in  the 
consciousness  of  the  strong  energy,  of  pain  in  the  conscious- 
ness that  this  energy  is  vain."  He  recognises  three  forms 
of  Sublimity :  those  of  Extension  or  space,  of  Protension 
or  time,  and  of  Intension  or  power.  Finally,  he  thinks 
that  the  Picturesque  differs  from  the  Beautiful  in  appealing 
simply  to  the  imagination.-  A  picturesque  objecj  is  oue 
whose  parts  are  so  palpably  unconnected  that  the  under- 
standing is  not  stimulated  to  the  perception  of  unity. 

A  very  like  interpretation  of  beauty,  as  spiritual  and 
typical  of  divine  attributes,  has  been  given  by  Mr  Ruskin 
in  the  second  volume  of  his  Modern  Painters.  This  part  of 
his  work,  bearing  the  title  "  Of  Ideas  of  Beauty,"  has  a  very 
systematic  appearance,  but  is  in  fact  a  singularly  desultory 
series  of  aesthetic  ideas  put  into  a  very  charming  language, 
and  coloured  by  strong  emotion.  Mr  Ruskin  distinguishes 
between  the  theoretic  faculty  concerned  in  the  moral  per- 
ception acd  appreciation  of  ideas  of  beauty  and  the 
imaginative  or  artistic  faculty,  which  is  employed  in  re- 
garding in  a  certain  way  and  combining  the  ideas  received 
from  external  nature.  The  former,  he  thinks,  is  wrongly 
named  the  aesthetic  faculty,  as  though  it  were  a  mere 
operation  of  sense.  The  object  of  the  faculty  is  beauty, 
which  Mr  Ruskin  divides  into  typical  and  vital  beauty. 
The  former  is  the  external  quality  of  bodies  that  typifies 
somedivine  attribute.  The  latter  consists  in  "the  appearance 
of  felicitous  fulfilment  of  function  in  living  things."  The 
forms  of  typical  beauty  are— (1.)  Infinity,  the  type  of  the 
divine  incomprehensibility;  (2.)  Unity,  the  type  of  the 
divine 'comprehensiveness;  (3.)  Repose,  the  type  of  the 
divine  permanence;  (4.)  Symmetry,  the  type  of  the  divine 
justice;  (5.).  Purity,  the  type  of  the  divine  energy;  and 
(6.)  Moderation,  the  type  of  government  by  law.  Vital 
beauty,  again   is  regarded   as  relative  when  the  degree  of 


exaltation  of  the  function  is  estimated,  or  generic  if  only 
the  degree  of  conformity  of  an  individual  to  the  appointed 
functions  of  the  species  is  taken  into  account  Mr  Ruskin's 
wide  knowledge  and  fine  {esthetic  perception*  make  his 
works  replete  with  valuable  suggestions,  though  he  appears 
wanting  in  scientific  accuracy,  and  lacks,  as  Mr  Mill  has 
pointed  out,  all  appreciation  of  the  explanatory  power  of 
association' with  respect  to  the  ideal  elements  of  typical 
beauty. 

Of  tho  more  analytic  writers  on  the  effects  of  the  Beautiful, 
a  deserves  a  passing  mention,  less,  however,  for  the 
scientific  precision  of  his  definitions,  than  for- the  charm 
of  his  style.  His  Essays  on  the  Imagination,  contri- 
buted to  the  Spectator,  are  admirable  specimens  of  popular 
{esthetic  reflection.  Addison  means  by  the  pleasures  of  im- 
agination those  which  arise  originally  from  sight,  and  ho 
divides  them  into  two  classes — (1.)  Primary  pleasures,  which 
entirely  proceed  from  objects  before  our  eyes;  and  (2.) 
Secondary  pleasures,  flowing  from  ideas  of  visible  objects. 
The  original  sources  of  pleasure  in  visible  objects  are  great- 
ness, novelty,  and  beauty.  This,  it  may  be  said,  is  a  valu- 
able distinction,  as  pointing  to  the  plurality  of  sources  in 
the  {esthetic  impression,  but  the  threefold  division  is  only  a 
very  rough  tentative,  and  destitute  of  all  logical  value, 
novelty  of  impression  being  always  a  condition  of  beauty. 
The  secondary  pleasures,  he  rightly  remarks,  are  rendered 
far  more  extended  than  the  original  by  the  addition  of  tho 
proper  enjoyment  of  resemblance,  which  is  at  the  basis  of 
all  mimicry  and  wit.  Addison  recognises,  too,  the  effect* 
of  association  in  the  suggestion  of  whole  scenes,  and  their 
accompaniments  by  some  single  circumstance.  He  has 
some  curious  hints  as  to  the  physiological  seat  of  these 
mental  processes,  and  seeks,  somewhat  naively,  to  connect 
these  pleasures  with  teieological  considerations. 

In  the  Elements  of  Criticism  of  Lord  Kaimes,  another  Lord 
attempt  is  made  to  affiliate  aesthetic  phenomena  to  simpler  Kaim 
pleasures  of  experience.  Beauty  and  ugliness  are  simply 
the  pleasant  and  the  unpleasant  in  the  higher  senses  of 
sight  and  hearing.  By  "higher"  he  means  more  intel- 
lectual, and  he- conceives  these  two  senses  to  be  placed 
midway  between  the  lower  senses  and  the  understanding. 
He  appears  to  admit  no  more  general  feature  in  beautiful 
objects  than  this  pleasurable  quality.  Like  Hutcheson,  he 
divides  beauty  into  intrinsic  and  relative,  but  understand? 
by  the  latter  ideas  of  fitness  and  utility,  which  were 
excluded  from  the  Beautiful  by  Hutcheson.  He  illustrates 
the  English  tendency  to  counect  mental  processes  with 
physiological  conditions,  by  referring  the  main  elements  of 
the  feeling  of  sublimity  to  the  effect  of.  height  in  objects  in 
compelling  the  spectator  to  stand  on  tiptoe,  by  which  the 
chest  is  expanded  and  muscular  movements  produced  which 
give  rise  to  the  peculiar  emotion. 

Passing  by  the  name  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  whose  H-gsi 
theory  of  beauty  closely  resembles  that  of  Pere  Buffier,  we 
come  to  the  speculations  of  another  artist  and  painter, 
Hogarth.  He  discusses  in  his  Analysis  of  Beauty  all  the 
elements  of  visible  beauty,  both  form  and  colour,  often 
manifesting  great  speculative  skill,  and  always  showing  a 
wide  and  accurate  knowledge  of  art.  He  finds  altogether 
six  elements  in  beauty,  namely — (I.)  Fitness  of  the  parts 
to  some  design,  as  of  the  limbs  for  support  and  movement ; 
(2.)  Variety  in  as  many  ways  as  possible,  thus,  in  form, 
length,  and  direction  of  line,  shap»,  and  magnitude  of 
figure,  <te.;  (3.)  Uniformity,  regularity,  or  symmetry,  which 
is  only  beautiful  when  it  helps  to  preserve  the  ohjracter 
of  fitness;  (4.)  Simplicity  or  distinctness,  which  gives 
pleasure  not  in  itself,  but  through  its  enabling  the  eye  to. 
enjoy  variety  with  ease;  (5.)  Intrieacy,  which  provide* 
employment  for  our  active  energies,  ever  eager  for  pursuit, 
and  leads  the  eye  "  a  wanton  kind  of  cnase " ;  to.)  Quantit* 


AESTHETICS 


223 


or  magnitude,  which  draws  our  attention,  and  produces 
admiration  and  awe.  TLj  beauty  of  proportion  he  very 
acutely  resolves  into  the  needs  of  titness.  Hogarth  applies 
these  principles  to  the  determination  of  degrees  of  beauty 
in  lines,  and  figures,  and  compositions  of  forms.  Among 
lines  he  singles  out  for  special  honour  the  serpentine 
(formed  by  drawing  a  line  once  round  from  the  base  to  the 
apex  of  a  long  slender  cone)  as  the  line  of  grace  or  beauty 
par  excellence.  Its  superiority  he  places  in  its  many 
varieties  of  direction  or  curvature,  though  he  adds  that 
more  suddenly  curving  lines  "displease  by  their  grossness, 
while  straighten  lines  appear  lean  and  poor.  In  this  last 
remark  Hogarth  tacitly  allows  another  principle  in  graceful 
line,  namely,  gentleness,  as  opposed  to  suddenness,  of 
change  in  direction,  though  he  does  not  give  it  distinct 
recognition  in  his  theory,  as  Burke  did.  Hogarth's  opinions 
are  of  great  value  as  a  set  off  against  the  extreme  views  of 
Alison  and  the  association  school,  since  he  distinctly  attri- 
butes a  great  part  of  the  effects  of  beauty  in  form,  as  in 
colour,  to  the  satisfaction  of  primitive  susceptibilities  of 
the  mind,  though  he  had  not  the  requisite  psychological 
knowledge  to  reduce  them  to  their  simplest  expression.  In 
his  remarks  on  intricacy  he  shows  clearly  enough  that  he 
understood  the  pleasures  of  movement  to  be  involved  in  all 
visual  perception  of  form. 

Burke's  speculations  on  the  Beautiful,  in  his  Philosophical 
Inquiry  into  the  Origin  of  our  Ideas  of  the  Sublime  and 
Beautiful,  are  curious  as  introducing  physiological  con- 
siderations into  the  explanation  of  the  feelings  of  beauty. 
They  illustrate,  moreover,  the  tendency  of  English  writers 
to  treat  the  problem  as  a  psychological  one.  He  finds  the 
elements  of  beauty  to  be — (1.)  Smallness  of  size;  (2.) 
Smoothness  of  surface;  (3.)  Gradual  variation  of  direction 
of  outline,  by  which  he  means  gentle  curves;  (4.)  Delicacy, 
or  the  appearance  of  fragility;  (5.)  Brightness,  purity,  and 
softness  of  colour.  The  Sublime  he  resolves,  not  very 
carefully,  into  astonishment,  which  he  thinks  always  con- 
tains an  element  of  terror.  Thus  "  infinity  has  a  ten- 
dency to  fill  the  mind  with  a  delightful  horror."  Burke 
seeks  what  he  calls  "  efficient  causes  "  for  these  phenomena 
in  certain  affections  of  the  nerves  of  sight,  which  he  com- 
pares with  the  operations  of  taste,  smell,  and  touch. 
Terror  produces  "  an  unnatural  tension  and  certain  violent 
emotions  of  the  nerves,"  hence  any  objects  of  sight  which  pro- 
duce this  tension  awaken  the  feeling  of  the  Sublime,  which 
is  a  kind  of  terror.  Beautiful  objects  affect  the  nerves  of 
sight  just  as  smooth  surfaces  the  nerve3  of  touch,  sweet 
tastes  and  odours  the  corresponding  nerve  fibres,  namely, 
by  relaxing  them,  and  so  producing  a  soothing  effect  on 
the  mind.  The  arbitrariness  and  narrowness  of  tHis  theory, 
looked  at  as  a  complete  explanation  of  beauty,  cannot  well 
escape  the  reader's  attention. 

Alison,  in  his  well-known  Essays  on  the  Nature  and 
Principles  of  Taste,  proceeds  on  an  •  exactly  opposite 
method  to  that  of  Hogarth  and  Burke.  He  considers 
and  seeks  to  analyse  the  mental  process  which  goes'  on 
when  we  experience  the  emotion  of  beauty  or  sublimity. 
He  finds  that  this  consists  in  a  peculiar  operation  of  the 
imagination,  namely,  the  flow  of  a  train  of  ideas  through 
the  mind,  which  ideas  are  not  arbitrarily  determined,  but 
always  correspond  to  some  simple  affection  or  emotion  (as 
cheerfulness,  sadness,  awe),  awakened  by  the  object.  He 
thus  makes  association  the  sole  source  of  the  Beautiful,  and 
denies  any  such  attribute  to  the  simple  impressions  of  the 
senses.  His  exposition,  which  is  very  extensive,  contains 
many  ingenious  and  valuable  contributions  to  the  ideal  or 
association  side  of  aesthetic  effects,  both  of  nature  and  of  art; 
but  his  total  exclusion  of  delight  (by  which  name  he  dis- 
tinguishes aesthetic  pleasure)  from  the  immediate  effects  of 
•olour,  visible  form,  and  tone,  makes  his  theory  appear  very 


incomplete.  This  is  especially  applicable  to  music,  where 
the  delight  of  mere  sensation  is  perhaps  most  conspicuous. 
He  fails,  too,  to  see  that  in  the  emotional  harmony  of  the 
ideas,  which,  according  to  his  view,  make  up  an  impression 
of  beauty,  there  is  a  distinct  source  of  pleasure  over  and 
above  that  supplied  by  the  simple  feeling  and  by  the  ideas 
themselves. 

Jeffrey's  Essay  on  Beauty  is  little  more  than  a  modifica- 
tion of  Alison's  views.  He  defines  the  sense  of  beauty  as 
consisting  in  the  suggestion  of  agreeable  and  interesting 
sensations  previously  experienced  by  means  of  our  various 
pleasurable  sensibilities.  He  thus  retains  the  necessity  of 
ideal  suggestion,  but  at  the  same  time  discards  the  sup- 
posed requirement  of  a  train  of  ideas.  Jeffrey  dislinctly 
saw  that  this  theory  excludes  the  hypothesis  of  an  inde- 
pendent beauty  inherent  in  objects.  He  fails  as  completely 
as  Alison  to  disprove  the  existence  of  a  sensuous  or  organic 
beautiful,  and,  like  him,  is  avowedly  concerned  to  show 
the  presence  of  some  one,  and  only  one,  determining  prin- 
ciple in  all  forms  of  the  BeautiiuL 

D.  Stewart's  chief  merit  in  the  aesthetic  discussions,  con-  Dugald 
tained  in  his  Philosophical  Essays,  consists  in  pointing  out  Stewart 
this  unwarranted  assumption  of  some  single  quality  (other 
than  that  of  producing  a  certain  refined  pleasure)  running 
through  all  beautiful  objects,  and  constituting  the  essence 
of  beauty.  He  shows  very  ingeniously  how  the  successive 
transitions  and  generalisations  in  the  meaning  of  the  term 
beauty  may  have  arisen.  He  thinks  it  must  originally  have 
connoted  the  pleasure  of  colour,  which  he  recognises  as 
primitive.  His  criticisms  on  the  one-sided  schemes  of 
other  writers,  as  Burke  and  Alison,  are  very  able,  though 
he  himself  hardly  attempts  any  complete  theory  of  beauty. 
His  conception  of  the  Sublime,  suggested  by  the  etymology 
of  the  word,  renders  prominent  the  element  of  height  id 
objects,  which  he  conceives  as  an  upward  direction  of 
motion,  and  which  operates  on  the  mind  as  an  exhibition 
of  power,  namely,  triumph  over  gravity. 

Of  the  association  psychologists  James  Hill  did  little  Profcssat 
more  towards  the  analysis  of  the  sentiments  of  beauty  than  Baia. 
re-state  Alison's  doctrine.  On  the  other  hand,  Professor 
Bain,  in  his  treatise  The  Emotions  and  the  Will,  carries 
this  examination  considerably  further.  He  asserts  with 
Stewart  that  no  one  generalisation  will  comprehend  all 
varieties  of  beautiful  objects.  He  thinks,  however,  that 
the  aesthetic  emotions,  those  involved  in  the  fine  arts,  may 
be  roughly  circumscribed  and  marked  off  from  other  modes 
of  enjoyment  by  means  of  three  characteristics — (1.)  Their 
not  serving  to  keep  up  existence,  but  being  gratifications 
sought  for  themselves  only;  (2.)  Their  purity  from  all 
repulsive  ingredients;  (3.)  Their  eminently  sympathetic 
or  sharable  nature  in  contrast  to  the  exclusive  pleasures 
of  the  individual  in  eating,  <L'C  The  pleasures  of  art  are 
divided,  according  to  Mr  Bain's  general  plan  of  the  mind, 
into  (1.)  The  elements  of  sensation — sights  and  sounds;  (2.) 
The  extension  of  these  by  intellectual  revival — ideal  sug- 
gestions of  muscular  impression,  touch,  odour,  and  other 
pleasurable  sensations;  (3.)  The  revival,  in  ideal  form  also, 
of  pleasurable  emotions,  as  tenderness  and  power,  and  in 
a  softened  measure  of  emotions  painful  in  reality,  as  fear; 
(i.)  The  immediate  gratification,  that  is  in  actual  form,  of 
certain  wide  emotional  susceptibilities  reaching  beyond  art, 
namely,  the  elating  effect- of  all  change  of  impression  under 
the  forms  of  artistic  contrast  and  variety;  and,  secondly, 
the  peculiar  delight  springing  from  harmony  among  im- 
pressions and  feelings,  under  its  several  aesthetic  aspects, 
musical  harmony  and  melody,  proportion,  &c.  The  details 
in  Mr  Bain's  exposition  are  rich  and  varied  in  relation 
to  the  psychology  of  the  subject  He  finds  the  effect  of 
sublimity  in  the  manifestation  of  superior  power  in  its 
highest  degrees,  which  manifestation  excites  a  sympathetic 


224 


A  E  T.  —  A  E  T 


elation  in  the  beholder.  The  Ludicrous,  again,  is  denned 
by  Mr  Bain,  improving  on  Aristotle  and  Hobbes,  as  the 
degradation  of  something  possessing  dignity  in  circum- 
stances that  excite  no  other  strong  emotion.  The  pleasure 
accompanying  the  impression  may  be  referred  either  to  the 
elation  of  a  sense  of  power  or  superiority  ideally  or  sym- 
pathetically excited,  or  to  a  sense  of  freedom  from  restraint, 
both  of  which  have  in  common  the  element  of  a  joyous 
rebound  from  pressure.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Professor 
Bain  recognises  no  new  mental  principle  in  aesthetic  effects, 
but  regards  them  as  peculiar  combinations  and  transforma- 
tions, according  to  known  psychological  laws,  of  other  and 
simpler  feelings. 

An  interesting  turn  has  been  given  to  the  psychology  of 
itesthetics  by  Mr  Herbert  Spencer.  In  some  of  his  essays, 
as  the  one  entitled  "Tha  Origin  and  Function  of  Music," 
and  more  fully  in  the  concluding  chapter  of  his  Psychology 
{seoond  edition),  on  the  ^Esthetic  Sentiments,  he  offers  a 
new  theory  of  the  genesis  of  the  pleasures  of  beauty  and 
art,  based  on  his  doctrine  of  evolution.  He  takes  up 
Schiller's  idea  of  the  connection  between  aesthetic  activity 
and  play,  only  he  deals  with  this  latter  not  as  an  ideal 
tendency,  but  as  a  phenomenal  reality,  seeking  to  make  it 
the  actual  starting-point  in  the  order  of  evolution  of 
aesthetic  action.  Play  or  sport  is  defined  as  the  superfluous 
and  useless  exercise  of  faculties  that  have  been  quiescent 
for  a  time,  and  have  in  this  way  become,  so  ready  to  dis- 
charge as  to  relieve  themselves  by  simulated  actions. 
./Esthetic  activities  yield  to  the  higher  powers  -of  percep- 
tion and  emotion  the  substituted  exercise  which  play 
yields  to  the  lower  impulses,  agreeing  with  play  in  not 
directly  subserving"  any  processes  conducive  to  life,  but 
being  gratifications  sought  for  themselves  only.  This 
point  of  affinity  between  the  two  classes  of  pleasures  is  a 
valuable  addition  to  aesthetic  theory,  and  helps  one  to 
understand  how  the  artistic  impulse  first  arose.  At  the 
same  time  it  is  doubtful  how  far  all  present  aesthetic 
pleasures,  as  the  passive  enjoyments  of  colour  and  tone,  can 
be  interpreted  as  substituted  activities  in  Mr  Spencer's 
sense.  They  seem  rather  to  be  original  and  instinctive 
modes  of  gratification  not  dependent  on  any  previous  exer- 
cises of  life-function,  except  so  far  as  the  structure  and 
functions  of  the  senses  as  a  whole  may  be  viewed  as  the 
product  of  multitudinous  life-processes  in  animal  evolu- 
tion. Mr  Spencer,  moreover,  forms  a  hierarchy  of  aesthetic 
pleasures,  the  standard  of  height  being  either  the  number 
of  powers  duly  exercised,  or  what  comes  to  the,  same 
thing,  the  degree  of  complexity  of  the  emotional  faculty 
thus  exercised.  The  first,  and  lowest  class  of  pleasures, 
are  those  of  simple  sensation,  as  tone  and  colour,  .which 
are  partly  organic  and  partly  the  results  of  association. 
The  second  class  are  the  pleasures  of  perception,  as  em- 
ployed upon  the  combination  of  colours,  &c.  The  highest 
order  of  pleasures  are  those  of  the  aesthetic  sentiments 
proper,  consisting  of  the  multitudinous  emotions  ideally 
excited  by  aesthetic  objects,  natural  and  artistic.  Among 
these  vaguely  and  partially  revived  emotions  -Mr  Spencer 
reckons  not  only  those  of  the  individual,  but  also  many  of 
the  constant  feelings  of  the  race.  Thus  he  would  attri- 
bute the  vagueness  and  apparent  depth  of  musical  emotion 
to  associations  with  vocal  tones,  built  up  during  the  course 
of  vast  ages.  This  graduated  scheme  is  evidently  dictated 
by  the  assumption  that  the  higher  the  stage  of  evolution, 
the  higher  the  pleasure.  Yet  Mr  Spencer  admits  that  this 
measure  of  aesthetic  value  will  not  suffice  alone,  and  he 
adds,  that  the  most  perfect  form  of  aesthetic  gratification 
is  realised  -when  sensation,  perception,  and  emotion,  are 
present  in  fullest  and  most  pleasurable  action.  Mr  Spen- 
cer's supposition,  that  much  of  the  pleasure  of  aesthetic 
emjtion  is  refcrrible  to  transmitted    experience,  offers  a 


very  ingenious,  even  if  not  very  definite,  mode  of  explain, 
ing  many  of  the  mysterious  effects  of  tone,  and  even  of 
colour. 

Among  works  on  the  history  of  aesthetic  doctrines,  the 
student  may  be  referred  to  the  following  : — 

In  German  literature,  which  contains  the  most  complete  histories. 
Max  Scl  : .ing  the  first 

two  volumes  of  an  esthetic  system,  is  the  fullest  Mill  he  hardly 
does  justice  to  English  writers,  there  being  no  mention  of  Alisou 
and  recent  thinkers.  His  stand-point  is  only  definable  as  a  new 
modification  of  Hegelianism.  Zimmermann's  Gcschichle der ^f'sthelik 
is  also  to  be  recommended.  Lotzu'sGeschicht  in  iMittvh- 

land  is  a  highly  critical  re'sumf  of  German  systems,  characterised  by 
a  good  deal  of  caution,  and  a  desire  to  mediate  between  opposing 
views,  and  if  not  very  definite  in  its  result,  very  appreciative  and 
ve  of  the  many-sidedness  of  the  subject.  In  French, 
Leveque's  work,  La  Science  du  Beau,  contains  a  very  fair  account  of 
the  most  conspicuous  systems,  ancient  and  modern.  In  our  own 
literature,  numerous  references  to  other  systems  are  to  be  found  in 
the  essays  of  Alison  ;  and  Jeffrey  attempts  a  brief  historical  survey 
of  the  doctrines  of  beauty  in  his  article  on  the  subject.  Dugald 
Stewart's  essays  mostly  fall  into  critical  examination  of  the  chief 
theories  of  beauty.  Finally.  Professor  Bain,  in  his  Compendium  of 
Mental  and  Moral  Science,  supplies  a  brief  but  careful  account  of 
most  of  the  known  theories  of  the  Beautiful.  (J.  s.) 

AETIOX,  a  painter,  whose  famous  picture  of  the  mar- 
riage of  Pioxana  and  Alexander  was  exhibited  at  the 
Olympic  games,  and  gained  Aetion  so  much  reputation 
that  the  president  of  the  games  gave  him  his  daughter  in 
marriage.  The  picture  is  minutely  aescribed  by  Lucian. 
Aetion  appears  from  that  author  to  have  flourished  in  the 
times  of  Hadrian  and  the  Antonines. 

AETIUS,  a  Roman  general  of  the  closing  period  of  the 
western  empire,  born  at  Dorostolus  in  Mcesia,  late  in  the 
4th  century.  While  detained  for  some  time  as  a  hostage 
in  the  camp  of  Bhuas,  king  of  the  Huns,  he  acquired  an 
influence  with  the  barbarians  that  was  afterwards  of  much 
advantage  to  himself,  though  the  same  cannot  be  said  of  it 
as  regards  the  empire.  He  led  into  Italy  an  army  of 
60,000  Huns,  which  he  employed  first  to  support  the  usurp- 
ing Emperor  John,  and,  on  the  death  of  the  latter,  to  enforce 
his  claim  to  the  supreme  command  of  the  army  in  Gaul 
upon  Placidia,  the  empress-mother  and  regent  forValen- 
tinian  III.  Afterwards,  when  he  incurred  the  disfavour 
of  Placidia  for  the  death  of  his  rival  Boniface,  he  again 
employed  an  army  of  Huns  to  compel  her  to  reinstate  him 
in  his  former  position.  In  Gaul  he  won  his  military  repu- 
tation, upholding  for  nearly  twenty  years,  by  combined 
policy  and  daring,  the  falling  fortunes  of  the  western 
empire.  His  greatest  victory  was  that  of  Chalons-sur-Marne 
(20th  Sept.  451),  in  which  he  utterly  routed  Attila  and  the 
Huns — the  number  slain  on  both  sides  being,  according  to 
one  computation,  300,000,  though  this  is  obviously  an 
exaggeration.  This  was  the  last  triumph  of  the  empire. 
Three  years  later  (454)  Aetius  presented  himself  at  court 
to  claim  the  emperor's  daughter  in  marriage  for  his  son 
Gaudcntius;  but  Valentinian,  suspecting  him  of  designs 
upon  the  crown,  slew  him  with  his  own  hand.- 

AETIUS,  surnamed  "  the  Atheist,"  founder  of  an  ex- 
treme sect  of  the  Arians,  was  a  native  of  Ccele-Syria. 
After  working  for  some  time  as  a  coppersmith,  he  became 
a  travelling  doctor,  and  displayed  great  skill  in  disputations 
on  medical  subjects;  but  his  controversial  power  soon 
found  a  wider  field  for  its  exercise  in  the  great  theological 
question  of  the  time.  He  studied  successively  under  the 
Arians,  Paulinus,  bishop  of  Antioch,  Athanasius,  bishop  of 
Anazarbus,  and  the  presbyter  Antonius  of  Tarsus.  In  350 
he  was  ordained  a  deacon  by  Leontius  of  Antioch,  but  was 
shortly  afterwards  forced  by  the  orthodox  party  to  leave 
that  town.  At  the  first  synod  of  Sirmium,  he  wron  a 
dialectic  victory  over  the  homoiousian  bishops  Basilius  and 
Eustathius,  who  sought  in  consequence  to  stir  up  against 
him  the  enmity  of  Caesar  Gallus.     In   356    he  went   to. 


AET-AFE 


225 


Alexandria  with  Euuomius  in  order  to  advocate  Arianism, 
but  he  was  banished  by  Constantius.  Julian  the  apostate 
recalled  him  from  exile,  bestowed  upon  him  an  estate  in 
Lesbos,  and  retained  him  for  a  time  at  his  court  in  Con- 
stantinople. Being  consecrated  a  bishop,  he  used  his  office 
in  the  interests  of  Arianism  by  creating  other  bishops  of 
that  party.  At  the  accession  of  Valens  (364)  he  retired  to 
his  estate  at  Lesbos,  but  soon  returned  to  Constantinople, 
where  he  died  in  367.  The  Anomcean  sect  of  the  Arians, 
of  whom  he  was  the  leader,  are  sometimes  called  after  him 
Aetians.  His  work  Be  Fide  has  been  preserved  in  connec- 
tion with  a  refutation  written  by  Epiphanius. 

AETIUS,  a  Greek  physician,  born  at  Amida  in  Meso- 
potamia, who  lived  at  the  end  of  the  5th  or  the  beginning 
of  the  6th  century.  Of  his  personal  history  little  is  known, 
except  that  he  studied  at  Alexandria,  and  was  physician  to 
the  court  at  Constantinople  with  the  title  comes  obsequii. 
He  wrote  a  work  entitled  BiflXia  'Iarpixa  'EkkguScko,  which 
is  mainly  a  compilation  from  the  works  of  previous  authors. 
Eight  books  of  this  were  issued  from  the  Aldine  press  at 
Venice  in  1534;  various  other  parts  have  been  frequently 
published ;  and  a  Latin  translation  of  the  whole,  by  Cor- 
uarius,  appeared  at  Basle  in  1542. 

jETNA.     See  Etna. 

iETOLIA,  a  country  of  ancient  Greece,  bounded  on  the 
N.  by  Epirus  and  Thessaly,  on  the  E.  by  the  provinces  of 
Doris  and  Locris,  on  the  S.  by  the  Gulf  of  Corinth,  and 
separated  on  the  W.  from  Acarnania  by  the  river  Achelous. 
The  part  which  lay  westward  of  the  river  Evenus,  and 
south  of  a  line  joining  Thermum  and  Stratus  in  Acar- 
nania, was  called  old  jEtolia,  the  rest  of  the  country  new 
or  acquired  iEtolia.  The  country  is  in  general  mountainous 
and  woody,  but  along  the  coast  from  the  Achelous  to  the 
Evenus,  and  northward  to  Mount  Aracynthus,  is  a  plain 
of  great  fertility;  while  another  extensive  and  fertile  plain 
stretches  north  from  this  mountain  along  the  east  bank  of 
the  Achelous  as  far  as  the  northern  limit,  of  old  iEtolia. 
The  jEtolians  were  a  restless  and  turbulent  people, 
strangers  to  friendship  or  principles  of  honour,  and  they 
were  consequently  regarded  by  the  other  states  of  Greece 
as  outlaws  and  public  robbers.  On  the  other  hand,  they 
were  bold  and  enterprising  in  war,  undaunted  in  the 
greatest  dangers,  and  jealous  defenders  of  their  liberties. 
They  distinguished  themselves  above  all  the  other  nations 
of  Greece  in  opposing  the  ambitious  designs  of  the  Mace- 
donian princes,  who,  after  having  reduced  most  of  the 
other  states,  were  forced  to  grant  them  a  peace  upon  very 
honourable  terms.  The  constitution  of  the  jEtolian  league 
was  copied  from  that  of  the  Acha;ans,  and  with  a  view 
to  form,  as  it  were,  a  counter  alliance.  The  Cleomenic 
war,  and  that  of  the  allies,  called  the  Social  War,  were 
kindled  by  the  .(Etolians  with  the  express  purpose  of 
humbling  the  Achasans.  In  the  latter  they  held  out,  with 
the  assistance  only  of  the  Eleans  and  Lacedemonians,  for 
the  space  of  three  years,  against  the  united  forces  of 
Achaia  and  Macedon,  but  were  obliged  at  last  to  purchase 
a  peace  by  yielding  up  to  Philip  all  Acarnania.  In  order 
to  regain  this  province  they  entered  into  an  alliance  with 
Borne  against  Philip,  and  proved  of  great  service  to  the 
Bomans  in  their  war  with  him;  but  being  dissatisfied  with 
the  terms  of  peace  granted  by  Flaminius,  they  made  war 
upon  the  Bomans  themselves. ;  They  were  speedily  over- 
come, and  only  obtained  peace  on  very  humiliating  terms. 
After  the  conquest  of  Macedon  by  jEmilius  Paulina  the 
jEtolians  were  reduced  to  a  much  worse  condition;  for  not 
only  those  among  them  who  had  openly  declared  for 
Perseus,  but  those  who  were  only  suspected  to  have  secretly 
favoured  him,  were  sent  to  Borne  to  clear  themselves 
before  the  senate.  There  they  were  detained,  and  never 
afterwards  permitted  to  return  to  their  native  country. 


Five  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  chief  men  were  barbarously 
assassinated  by  the  partisans  of  Bome  solely  on  the  sus- 
picion of  favouring  the  designs  of  Perseus.  The  ^Etolians 
appeared  before  ^Emilius  Paullus  in  mourning  habits,  and 
made  loud  complaints  of  such  inhuman  treatment,  but 
could  obtain  no  redress;  on  the  contrary,  ten  commis- 
sioners, who  had  been  sent  by  the  senate  to  settle  the 
affairs  of  Greece,  enacted  a  decree,  declaring  that  those  who 
were  killed  had  suffered  justly,  since  it  appeared  to  them 
that  they  had  favoured  the  Macedonian  party.  From  this 
time  those  only  were  raised  to  the  chief  honours  and 
employments  in  the  zEtolian  republic  who  were  known  to 
prefer  the  interest  of  Borne  to  that  of  their  country,  and 
thus  all  the  magistrates  of  iEtolia  became  the  creatures 
and  mere  tools  of  the  Boman  senate.  In  this  state  of 
servile  subjection  they  continued  till  the  destruction  of 
Corinth  and  the  dissolution  of  the  Achamn  league,  when 
iEtolia,  with  the  other  free  states  of  Greece,  was  reduced 
to  a  Boman  province,  commonly  called  the  province  of 
Achaia.  In  this  state,  with  little  alteration,  .^Etolia  con- 
tinued under  the  emperors  till  the  reign  of  Constantine  the 
Great,  who,  in  his  new  partition  of  the  provinces  of  the 
empire,  divided  the  western  parts  of  Greece  from  the  rest, 
calling  them  New  Epirus,  and  subjecting  the  whole  country 
to  the  prmfectus  prcelorio  for  Hlyricum.  Under  the  succes- 
sors of  Constantine  Greece  was  parcelled  out  into  several 
principalities,  especially  after  the  taking  of  Constantinople 
by  the  western  princes.  About  the  beginning  of  the  13th 
century  Theodoras  Angelus,  a  noble  Grecian  of  the  im- 
perial family,  seized  on  jEtolia  and  Epirus.  The  former 
he  left  to  Michael  his  son,  who  maintained  it  against 
Michael  Palasologus,  the  first  emperor  of  the  Greeks,  after 
the  expulsion  of  the  Latins.  Charles,  the  last  prince  of 
this  family,  dying  in  1430  without  lawful  issue,  bequeathed 
VEtolia  to  his  brother's  son,  named  also  Charles;  and 
Acarnania  to  his  natural  sons  Memnon,  Turnus,  and  Her- 
cules. But  great  disputes  arising  about  this  division, 
Amurath  LL,  after  the  reduction  of  Thessalonica,  laid  hold 
of  so  favourable  an  opportunity,  and  expelled  all  the  con- 
tending heirs  in  1432.  The  Mahometans  were  after- 
wards dispossessed  of  this  country  by  the  famous  prince  of 
Epirus,  George  Castriot,  commonly  called  Scanderbeg,  who 
with  a  small  army  opposed  the  whole  power  of  the  Ottoman 
empire,  and  was  victorious  in  twenty-two  pitched  battles. 
That  hero  at  his  death  left  great  part  of  iEtolia  to  the 
Venetians;  but  they  not  being  able  to  make  head  against 
such  a  mighty  power,  the  whole  country  was  soon  reduced  by 
Mahommed  II.  It  is  now  included  in  the  kingdom  of  Greece. 

AFANASLEF,  Axeksandb  Nikolaevich,  a  Bussian 
scholar,  distinguished  for  his  researches  in  Slavonic  litera- 
ture and  archsology,  was  born  about  1825.  He  contri- 
buted many  valuable  articles  to  the  serial  literature  of 
his  country,  but  his  reputation  rests  chiefly  on  two  works 
of  more  permanent  interest.  The  first  was  an  extensive 
collection,  in  eight  parts,  of  Russian  Popular  Stories; 
the  other  a  treatise,  in  three  volumes,  on  the  Poetical 
Views  of  the  Old  Slavonians  about  Nature,  completed 
just  before  the  author's  death,  which  occurred  in  the 
autumn  of  1871. 

AFEB,  DoinTius,  orator,  born  at  Nisme3,  flourished 
under  Tiberius  and  the  three  succeeding  emperors.  Quin- 
tilian  makes  frequent  mention  Of  him,  and  commends  his 
pleadings.  But  he  disgraced  his  talents  by  acting  as  public- 
accuser  in  behalf  of  the  emperors  against  some  of  the  most 
distinguished  personages  in  Bome.  Quintilian,  in  his 
youth,  assiduously  cultivated  the  friendship  of  Domitius. 
He  tells  ns  that  his  pleadings  were  superior  in  point  of 
eloquence  to  any  he  had  ever  heard,  and  that  there  were 
public  collections  of  his  witty  sayings  (dicta),  some  of 
which  he  quotes.     He  also  mentions  two  books  of  his,  On 


1—9 


220 


A  F  F  —  A  F  F 


Witnrsstis.  Dwnitius  erected  a  statue  in  honour  of  Cali- 
gula, on  which  there  was  an  inscription  to  the  effect  that 
this  prince  was  a  second  time  consul  at  tho  ago  of  27. 
This  he  intended  as  an  encomium;  but  Caligula  regarding 
it  as  a  sarcasm  upon  his  youth  and  his  infringement  of  the 
Laws,  raised  a  process  against  him,  and  pleaded  himself  in 
person.  Domitius,  instead  of  making  a  defence,  repeated 
part  of  the  emperor's  speech  with  the  highest  marks  of 
admiration;  after  which  he  fell  upon  his  knees,  begged 
pardon,  and  declared  that  he  dreaded  Caligula's  eloquence 
mora  than  his  imperial  power.  This  piece  of  flattery 
succeeded  so  well,  that  the  emperor  not  only  pardoned 
him.  but  raised  him  to  the  consulshiu.  Afer  died  in  the 
reign  of  Nero.  a.d.  60. 

AFFIDAVIT  means  a  solemn  assurance  of  a  matter  of 
fact  known  to  the  person  who  states  it,  and  attested  as  his 
statement  by  some  person  in  authority.  Evidence  is  chiefly 
taken  by  means  of  affidavits  in  the  practice  of  the  Court 
of  Chancery  in  England.     By  3  and  4  Will  IV.  c.  42, 

b.  42,  provision  is  made  for  appointing  commissioners  in 
Scotland  and  Ireland  to  take  affidavits.  The  term  is 
generally  applied  to  a  statement  cei  tified  by  a  justice  of 
peace  or  other  magistrate.  Affidavits  are  sometimes  neces- 
sary as  certificates  that  certain  formalities  have  been  duly 
and  legally  performed.  They  are  extensively  used  in  the 
practice  of  bankruptcy,  and  in  the  administration  of  the 
revenue.  At  one  time  they  were  invariably  taken  on  oath, 
but  this  practice  has  been  much  narrowed.  Quakers,  Mora- 
vians, and  Separatists  have  long  been  privileged  in  all  cases 
to  make  a  solemn  declaration  or  affirmation;  and  now,  if  any 
persons  called  as  witnesses,  or  required  or  desiring  to  make 
an  affidavit  or  deposition,  shall  refuse  or  be  unwilling  from 
alleged  conscientious  motives  to  be  sworn,  the  court  or 
justice  may,  on  being  satisfied  of  the  sincerity  of  such 
objection,  allow  such  person  to  make  a  solemn  affirmation 
or  declaration — by  17  and  18  Vict.  c.  125,  s.  20,  extended 
to  all  counties  in  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland  by  sub- 
sequent statutes.      An  Act  of  1835  (5  and  6  Will.  IV. 

c.  62)  substituted  declarations  for  oaths  in  certain  cases; 
and  this  statute  is  extensively  observed.  The  same  Act 
prohibited  justices  of  peace  from  administering  oaths  in  any 
matter  in  which  they  had  not  jurisdiction  as  judges,  except 
when  an  oath  was  specially  authorised  by  statute,  as  in  the 
bankrupt  law,  and  excepting  criminal  inquiries.  Parliamen- 
tary proceedings,  and  instances  where  oaths  are  required  to 
give  validity  to  documents  abroad.  But  justices  are  per- 
mitted to  take  affidavits  in  any  matter  by  declaration,  and 
a  person  making  a  false  affidavit  in  this  way  is  liable  to 
punishment.  Affidavits  may  be  made  abroad  before  any 
British  ambassador,  envoy,  minister,  cJiargi  d'affaires,  secre- 
tary of  embassy  or  legation,  consul,  or  consular  agent  (18 
and  19  Vict.  c.  42,  s.  1) 

AFFINITY,  in  Law,  as  distinguished  from  consan- 
guinity, is  applied  to  the  relation  which  each  party  to  a 
marriage,  the  husband  and  the  wife,  bears  to  the  kindred 
of  the  other.  The  marriage  having  made  them  one  person, 
the  blood  relations  of  each  are  held  as  related  by  affinity  in 
the  same  degree  to  tho  one  spouse  as  by  consanguinity  to 
the  other.  But  the  relation  is  only  with  the  married  parties 
themselves,  and  does  not  bring  those  in  affinity  with  them 
in  affinity  with  each  other;  so  a  wife's  sister  has  no  affinity 
t«  her  husband's  brother.  The  subject  is  chiefly  important 
bom  the  matrimonial  prohibitions  by  which  the  canon  law 
lias  restricted  relations  by  affinity.  Taking  the  table  of 
degrees  within  which  marriage  is  prohibited  on  account  of 
•onsanguinity,  the  ride  has  been  thus  extended  to  affinity,  so 
that  wherever  relationship  to  a  man  himself  would  be  a  bar 
to  marriage,  relationship  to  his  deceased  wife  will  be  the 
mine  bar,  and  vice  versa  on  the  husband's  decease.  This 
rule  has  been  founded  chiefly  on  interpretations  of  the 


eighteenth  chapter  of  Leviticus.  Formerly  by  law  in  Eng- 
land, marriages  within  tho  degrees  of  affinity  were  not 
absolutely  null,  but  they  were. liable  to  be  annulled  by 
ecclesiastical  process  during  the  lives  of  both  parties;  in 
other  words,  the  incapacity  was  only  a  canonical,  not  a  civil, 
disability.  By  an  Act  passed  in  1835  (5  and  6  Will. 
IV.  c.  51),  all  marriages  of  this  kind  not  disputed  before 
the  passing  of  the  Act  are  declared  absolutely  valid,  while 
all  subsequent  to  it  are  declared  null.  This  renders  null 
in  England,  and  not  merely  voidable,  a  marriage  with  a 
deceased  wife's  sister  or  niece.  The  Act  does  not  extend 
to  Scotland;  but  it  was  made  quite  clear  by  a  leading 
decision  in  1861  (Fenton  v.  Livingston)  that,  as  "the 
degrees  forbidden  in  consanguinity  are  also  forbidden  in 
affinity,"  tho  marriage  of  a  sister-in-law  with  a  brother-in- 
law  is  absolutely  null  in  that  country.  Nor  can  a  man 
contract  a  marriage  with  his  wife's  sister  so  as  to  bo  valid 
in  Great  Britain,  by  celebrating  his  marriage  with  her  in  a 
country  where  such  marriages  are  lawful  (Brook  v.  Brook, 
9  H.  L.  Cases,  193). 

AFFINITY,  Chemical,  the  property  or  relation  in  virtue 
of  which  dissimilar  substances  are  capable  of  entering  into 
chemical  combination  with  each  other.  Substances  that 
are  so  related  combine  always  in  fixed  and  definite  propor- 
tions; the  resulting  compound  differs  from  its  components 
in  its  physical  properties,  with  the  exception  that  its  weight 
is  exactly  tho  sum  of  their  weights;  and  the  combination 
is  always  accompanied  with  the  evolution  of  heat.  In  these 
respects  it  differs  from  a  mere  mechanical  mixture;  in  the 
latter  there  is  contact  without  combination,  and  its  pro- 
perties are  a  mean  or  average  of  those  of  the  substances 
that  compose  it.  That  effect  .may  bo  given  to  chemical 
affinity,  the  substances  must  be  placed  in  contact;  but 
mere  contact  is  often  insufficient,  and  combination  only 
takes  place  on  the  application  of  heat,  light,  electric  agency, 
<fec,  or  through  the  interposition  of  some  foreign  substance. 
Generally  speaking,  the  affinity  is  less  between  substances 
that  closely  resemble  each  other  than  between  those  whose 
properties  are  altogether  dissimilar.  The  term  elective 
.  affinity,  now  generally  disused,  has  been  employed  to  indi- 
cate the  greater  affinity  which  a  substance,  when  brought 
into  contact  with  other  substances,  often  has  for  one  in 
preference  to  another.  Advantage  is  frequently  taken  of 
this  greater  affinity  to  decompose  compound  substances. 
For  a  full  treatment  of  chemical  affinity  and  combination, 
see  Chemistry. 

AFFIRMATION.     See  Affidavit. 

AFFRE,  Denis  Auguste,  Archbishop  of  Pans,  was 
born  at  St  Kome,  in  the  department  of  Tarn,  on  the  27th 
Sept.  1793.  When  fourteen  years  of  age,  having  ex- 
pressed his  desire  to  enter  the  church,  he  became  a  student 
at  the  seminary  of  St  Sulpice,  of  which  his  maternal  uncle, 
Denis  Boyer,  was  director.  His  studies  being  completed 
before  he  had  reached  the  age  necessary  for  ordination,  he 
was  occupied  for  some  time  as  professor  of  philosophy  in 
the  seminary  at  Nantes.  He  was  ordained  a  priest  in  1818, 
and  held  his  first  charge  in  connection  with  the  church  of 
St  Sidpice.  After  filling  a  number  of  ecclesiastical  offices, 
he  was  elevated  to  the  Archbishopric  of  Paris  in  1840. 
His  tenure  of  this  office,  though  it  was  marked  by  great 
zeal  and  faithfulness,  will  be  chiefly  remembered  by  its 
tragic  close.  During  the  insurrection  of  1848  the. arch- 
bishop was  led  to  behove  that  by  his  personal  interference 
peace  might  be  restored  between  the  soldiery  and  the 
insurgents.  He  accordingly  applied  to  General  Cavaignac, 
who  warned  him  of  the  risk  ho  incurred.  "  My  life,"  the 
archbishop  answered,  "is  of  little  importance."  Soon 
afterwards,  the  firing  having  ceased  at  his  request,  he 
appeared  on  the  barricade  at  the  entrance  to  the  Faubourg  St 
Antoine,  accompanied  by  M.  Albert,  of  the  national  guard. 


AFGHANISTAN 


2'27 


bearing  a  green  branch  as  a  sign  of  peace,  and  by  Sellier, 
an  attached  servant.  His  reception  was  not  very  favour- 
able, and  lie  had  spoken  only  a  few  words,  when  the  insur- 
gents, hearing  some  shots,  and  fancying  they  were  betrayed, 
opened  fire  upon  the  national  guard,  and  the  archbishop 
fell     He  was  removed  to  his  palace,  where  he  died  on  the 


27th  June  1848.  Next  day  the  National  Assembly  issued 
a  decree  expressing  their  great  sorrow  on  account  of  his 
death;  and  the  public  funeral  on  the  7th  July  was  one  of 
the  most  striking  spectacles  of  its  kind.  The  archbishop 
wrote  sever.il  treatises  of  considerable  value,  including  one 
on  Egyptian  hieroglyphics. 


AFGHANISTAN 


THIS  is  the  name  applied,  originally  in  Persian,  to 
that  mountainous  region  between  N.W.  India  and 
Eastern  Persia,  of  which  the  Afghans  are  the  most  nume- 
rous and  the  predominant  inhabitants.  Afghans,  under 
that  and  other  names,  have  played  no  small  part  in  Asiatic 
history.  But  the  present  extensive  application  of  the 
name  Afghanistan  is  scarcely  older  than  the  shortlived 
empire  founded  by  Ahmed  Khan  in  the  middle  of  last 
century.  The  Afghans  themselves  are  not  in  the  habit  of 
using  the  term. 

In  treating  of  this  country  we  include  a  part  of  the 
Hazara  mountain  region,  but  not  that  part  of  the  Oxus 
basin  which  is  now  under  Afghan  rule,  for  which  see 
Afghan  Turkestan. 

Afghanistan  generally  may  be  regarded  as  a  great  quad- 
rilateral plateau, — using  that  term  in  the  technical  sense  of 
a  region  whose  lowest  tracts  even  are  considerably  elevated 
above  the  sea-level, — extending  from  about  62°  to  70°  E. 
long.,  and  from  30°  to  35°  N.  lat.  This  territory  cor- 
responds fairly  to  the  aggregate  of  the  ancient  provinces  of 
Aria  (Herat),  Drangiana  (Seistan),  the  region  of  the 
Paropamisadce-  (Kabul),  and  Arachosia  (Kandahar),  with 
Gandarilis  (Peshawar  and  Yuzufzai).  Though  the  last 
territory  belongs  ethnically  to  Afghanistan,  an  important 
part  of  it  now  forms  the  British  district  of  Peshawar, 
whilst  the  remainder  acknowledges  no  master. 

The  boundaries  of  Afghanistan  can  be  stated  here  only 
roughly;  and,  from  the  area  thus  broadly  defined,  many 
portions  will  have  to  be  deducted  as  occupied  by  indepen- 
dent or  semi-independent  tribes.  But,  so  understood,  they 
may  be  thus  stated: — 

On  the  north :  beginning  from  east,  the  great  range  of 
Hindu  Kush,  a  western  offshoot  of  the  Himalya,  parting 
the  Oxus  basin  from  the  Afghan  basins  of  the  Kabul  river 
and  Helmand.  From  long.  68°'-  this  boundary  continues 
westward  in  the  prolongation  of  Hindu  Kush  called  Koh-i- 
Bibl  This  breaks  into  several  almost  parallel  branches, 
enclosing  the  valleys  of  the  river  of  Herat  and  the  Murghab 
or  river  of  Merv.  The  half-independent  Hazara  tribes 
stretch  across  these  branches  and  down  into  the  Oxus 
basin,  so  that  it  is  difficult  here  to  assign  a  boundary.  We 
assume  it  to  continue  along  the  range  called  Safed  Koh  or 
"White  Mountain,"  which  parts  the  Herat  river  valley 
from  the  Murghab.1 

On  the  east :  the  eastern  base  of  the  spurs  of  the  Suli- 
mani  and  other  mountains  which  limit  the  plains  on  the 
west  bank  of"  Indus,  and  the  lower  valleys  opening  into 
these,  which  plains  (the  "Derajat")  and  lower  valleys 
belong  to  British  India. '  North  of  Peshawar  district  the 
boundary  will  be,  for  a  space,  the  Indus,  and  then  the  limit, 
lying  in  unknown  country,  between  the  Afghan  and  Dard 
tribes. 

On  the  south :  the  eastern  part  of  the  boundary,  occu- 
pied by  practically  independent  tribes,  Afghan  and  Biluch, 
is  hard  to  define,  having  no  marked  natural  indication. 
But  from  the  Shal  territory  (long.  67°),  belonging  to  the 
Biluch  state  of  Kelat,  westward,  the  southern  limits  of 


1  Not  to  be  confounded  with  the  more  easterly  Safed  Koh  of  the 
Kabul  basio, 


the  valleys  of  the  Lora  river,  and  then  of  the  Helmand,  as 
far  as  the  Lake  of  Seistan  in  lat.  30°,  will  complete  the 
southern  boundary.  Thus  the  whole  breadth  of  Biluchistan, 
the  ancient  Gedrosia,  a  dry  region  occupying  5°  of  lati- 
tude, intervenes  between  Afghanistan  and  the  sea. 

The  western  boundary  runs  from  the  intersection  of  the 
Lake  of  Seistan  with  lat.  30°,  bending  eastward,  so  as  to 
exclude  a  part  of  the  plain  of  Seistan  on  the  eastern  bank 
of  the  lake,  and  then  crosses  the  lake  to  near  the  meridian 
of  61°.  Thence  it  runs  nearly  due  north,  near  this  meri- 
dian, to  a  point  on  the  Hari-Rud,  or  river  of  Herat,  abouf, 
70  miles  below  that  city,  where  it  encounters  the  spurs  of  the 
Safed  Koh,  which  has  been  given  as  the  northern  boundary. 

But  if  we  take  the  limits  of  the  entire  Afghan  dominion*, 
as  they  at  present  exist,  the  western  boundary  will  con- 
tinue north  along  the  Hari-Rud  to  lat.  36°,  and  the  northern 
boundary  will  run  from  this  point  along  the  borders  of  the 
Turkman  desert,  so  as  to  include  Andkhoi,  to  Khoja  Saleb 
ferry  on  the  Oxus.  The  Oxus,  to  its  source  in  Great  Pamir, 
forms  the  rest  of  the  northern  boundary.  These  enlarged 
limits  would  embrace  the  remainder  of  the  Hazara  mountain 
tracts,  and  the  whole  of  what  is  now  called  Afghan 
Turkestan,  as  well  as  Badakhshan  with  its  dependencies, 
now  tributary  to  the  Afghan  Amir. 

The  extreme  dimensions  of  Afghanistan,  as  at  first 
defined,  will  be  about  600  miles  from  east  to  west,  and 
450  miles  from  north  to  south;  and,  if  we  take  the  whcle 
Afghan  dominion,  the  extent  from  north  to  south  will 
be  increased  to  600  miles.  Within  both  the  areas  so 
defined,  however,  we  have  included  some  territory  over 
which  the  Afghan  government  ha3  no  control  whatever, 
and  much  over  which  its  authority  is  respected  only  when 
backed  by  a  special  exertion  of  force.  Under  the  former 
head  come  the  valleys  of  the  Yusufzai  clan  north  cf 
Peshawar,  the  Momands,  Afridis,  Yaziris,  &c,  adjoining 
that  district  on  the  west  and  south-west,  the  high-lying 
valleys  of  Chitral  or  Kashkar,  and  of  the  independent 
Pagans  or  Kafirs,  among  the  loftier  spurs  of  Hindu  Kush. 
Under  the  latter  head  come  the  eastern  districts  of  Khost 
and  (partially)  of  Kurram,  the  Kakar  country  in  the 
extreme  south-east,  much  of  the  country  of  the  tribes  called 
Eimakand  Hazara  in  the  north-west,  and  probably  Badakh- 
shan with  its'  dependencies. 

If  we  suppose  the  sea  to  rise  4000  feet  above  its  existing 
level,  no  part  of  the  quadrilateral  plateau  that  we  have 
defined  would  be  covered,  except  portions  of  the  lower 
valley  of  the  Kabul  river,  small  tracts  towards  the  Indus, 
and  a  triangle,  of  which  the  apex  should  be  at  the  Lake  of 
Seistan  in  the  extreme  south-west,  and  the  base  should 
just  include  Herat  and  Kandahar,  passing  beyond  those 
cities  to  intersect  the  western,  and  southern  boundaries 
respectively.  Isolated  points  and  ridges  within  this  tri- 
angle would  emerge. 

Further,  let  us  suppose  the  sea  to  rise  7000  feet  above 
its  existing  leveL  We  should  still  have  a  tract  emerging 
so  large  that  a  straight  line  of  200. miles  could  be  drawn^ 
from  the  KushSn  Pass  of  Hindu  Kush,  passing  about  35 
miles  west  of  Kabul,  to  Eangak  on  the  road  between  Ghazni 
and  Kandahar,  which  nowhere  should  touch  the  submerged 
portion.     And  we  believe  it  is  certain  that  a  line  under 


228 


AFGHANISTAN 


NATURAL   DIVISIONS. 


like  conditions,  but  250  miles  in  length,  could  be  drawn  at 
right  angles  to  the  former,  passing  about  25  miles  south  of 
Qhazni.  The  greater  part  of  this  latter  line,  however, 
would  lie  in  the  Hazara  country,  in  which  we  have  no 
observations. 

In  the  triangular  tract  that  would  bo  submerged  accord- 
ing to  our  first  supposition,  the  lowest  level  is  the  Lake  of 
Seistan,  1280  feet  above  the  sea.  Herat  is  2650:  Kan- 
dahar, 3490. 

The  Afghans  themselves  make  a  broad  distinction  between 
Kabul,  meaning  thereby  the  whole  basin  of  the  Kabul  river, 
and  the  rest  of  their  country,  excluding  the  former  from  the 
large  and  vague  term  Khorasan,  under  which  they  con- 
sider the  rest  to  be  comprehended.  There  is  reason  for 
such  a  distinction  in  history  as  well  as  nature.  For  the 
Kabul  basin  was  in  old  times  much  more  intimately  con- 
nected with  India,  and  to  the  beginning  of  the  11th  cen- 
tury was  regarded  as  Indian  territory. 

Natural  Divisions. — Of  these,  this  rvabul  basin  (1) 
forms  the  first.  As  others  we  may  discriminate — (2.)  The 
lofty  central  part  of  the  table-land  on  which  stand  Ghazni 
and  Kala't-i-Ghilzai,  embracing  the  upper  valleys  of  ancient 
Arachosia ;  (3.)  The  upper  Helmand  basin  ;  (4.)  The  lower 
Helmand  basin,  embracing  Girishk,  Kandahar,  and  the 
Afghan  portion  of  Seistan;  (5.)  The  basin  of  the  Herat 
river;  and  (6.)  The  eastern  part  of  the  table-land,  draining 
by  streams,  chiefly  occasional  torrents,  towards  the  Indus. 

Kabul  Basin. — Its  northern  limit  is  the  range  of  Hindu 
Kush,  a  name  which  properly  applies  to  the  lofty,  snow- 
clad  crest  due  north  of  Kabul,  and  perhaps  especially  to 
one  pass  and  peak.  But  it  has  been  conveniently  extended 
to  the  whole  lino  of  alpine  watershed,  stretching  west- 
ward from  the  southern  end  of  Pamir,  and  represents  the 
Caucasus  of  Alexander's  historians.  Its  peaks  throughout 
probably  rise  to  the  region  of  perpetual  snow,  and  even  on 
most  of  the  passes  beds  of  snow  occur  at  all  seasons,  and, 
on  some,  glaciers.  We  find  no  precise  height  stated  for 
any  of  its  peaks,  but  the  highest  probably  attain  to  at  least 
20,000  or  21,000  feet.  The  height  of  the  Kushan  Pass  is 
estimated  by  Lord  at  15,000  feet. 

The  Kabul  river  (the  ancient  Kophes)  is  the  most  im- 
portant river  of  Afghanistan.  It  may  be  considered  as  fully 
formed  about  30  miles  east  of  Kabul,  by  the  junction  there- 
abouts (the  confluence  does  not  seem  to  have  been  fixed  by 
any  traveller)  of  the  following  streams : — (a.)  The  Kabul 
stream,  rising  in  the  Unai  pass  towards  the  Helmand,  which, 
after  passing  through  the  city,  has  been  joined  by  the  Logar 
fiver  flowing  north  from  the  skirts  of  the  Ghilzai  plateau ; 
(b.)  A  river  bringing  down  from  the  valleys  Ghorband, 
Parw&n,  and  Panjshtr,  a  large  part  of  the  drainage  of 
Hindu  Kush,  and  watering  the  fruitful  plain  of  Daman-i- 
Koh  (the  "  Hill-skirt "),  intersected  by  innumerable  brooks, 
and  studded  with  vineyards,  gardens,  and  fortalices.  This 
river  was  formerly  called  Bdr&n,  a  name  apparently  obsolete, 
but  desirable  to  maintain ;  (c.)  The  river  of  Tagao,  coming 
down  from  the-spuraof.  Hinr1ilkKush  on  the  Kafir  borders. 

Some  30  miles  further. east,  the  Alishang  enters  on  the 
left  bank,  from  Laghman,  above  which  this  river  and  its 
ronfluents  drain  western  Kafiristan.  Twenty  miles  fur- 
ther, and  not  far  beyond  Jalalabad,  the  Kabul  river  receives 
from  the  same  side  a  confluent  entitled,  as  regards  length, 
to  count  as  main  stream.  In  some  older  maps  this  bears 
the  namo  of  Kama,  from  a  place  near  the  confluence,  and 
in  more  recent  ones  Kiiner,  from  a  district  on  its  lower 
course.  Higher  it  is  called  the  river  of  Kashkar,  and  the 
Beilam.  It  seems  to  be  the  Choaspes,  and  perhaps  the 
Malamantus  of  the  ancients.  It  rises  in  a  small  lake  near 
the  borders  of  Pamir,  and  flows  in  a  south-west  direction 
through  the  length  of  Kashkar  or  Chitral,  an  independent 
valley-state,  whose  soil  lies  at  a  height  of  G000  to  11,000 


feet  The  whole  length  of  the  river  to  its  confluence  with 
the  Kabul  river  cannot  bo  less  than  250  miles,  i.e.,  about 
80  miles  longer  than  that  regarded  as  the  main  stream, 
measured  to  its  most  remote  source. 

The  basin  of  the  Kabul  river  is  enclosed  at  the  head  by 
the  Paghman  range,  an  offshoot  of  Hindu  Kush,  which 
divides  the  Kabul  valleys  from  the  Helmand.  Up  the 
head-waters  of  the  stream  that  passes  Kabul,  leads  the 
chief  road  to  Turkestan,  crossing  for  a  brief  space  into  the 
Hehnand  basin  by  the  easy  pass  of  Unai  (1 1,320  feet),  and 
then  over  the  Koh-i-Baba,  or  western  extension  of  Hindu 
Kush,  by  the  Hajjigak  passes  (12,190  and  12,480  feet),  to 
Bamiin. 

The  most  conspicuous  southern  limit  of  tho  Kabul  basin 
is  the  Safed  Koh,  Spin-gar  of  the  Afghans  ("  White  Moun- 
tain," not  to  be  confounded  with  the  western  Safed  Koh 
already  named),  an  alpine  chain,  reaching,  in  its  highest 
summit,  Sita  Ram,  to  a  height  of  15,622  feet,  and  the 
eastern  ramifications  of  which  extend  to  tho  Indus  at  and 
below  Attok.  Among  the  spurs  of  this  range  are  those 
formidable  passes  between  Kabul  and  Jalalabad,  in  which 
the  disasters  of  1841-42  culminated,  as  well  as  the  famous 
Khybar  passes  between  Jalalabad  and  Peshawar.  This 
southern  watershed  formed  by  the  Safed  Koh  is  so  much 
nearer  the  Kabul  river  than  that  on  the  north,  that  the 
tributaries  from  this  side,  though  numerous,  are  indi- 
vidually insignificant. 

After  flowing  60  miles  (in  direct  measurement)  eastward 
from  the  Kuner  confluence,  the  Kabul  river  issues  from 
the  mountains  which  have  hemmed  it  in,  and  enters  the 
plain  of  Peshawar,  receiving,  soon  after,  the  combined 
rivers  of  Swat  {Soastus)  and  Panjkora  (Gur&us),  two  of 
the  great  valleys  of  the  Yusufzai.  This  combined  river  is 
called  by  the  Afghans  Landai  Sin  or  Little  river,  in  dis- 
tinction from  the  Abba  Sin  or  Indus,  and  the  name  seems 
often  to  adhere  to  the  lower  course  of  the  Kabul  river. 
Both  rivers  on  entering  the  plain  ramify,  in  delta  fashion, 
into  many  natural  channels,  increased  in  number  by  arti- 
ficial cuts  for  irrigation.  Finally  the  river  enters  the 
Indus  immediately  above  the  gorge  at  Attok. 

The  lowest  ford  on  the  Kabul  river  is  a  bad  one,  near 
Jalalabad,  only  passable  in  tho  dry  season.  Below  the 
Kuner  confluence  the  river  is  deep  and  copious,  crossed  by 
ferries  only,  except  at  Naoshera,  below  Peshawar,  where 
there  is  usually  a  bridge  of  beats.  The  rapid  curren*  is 
unfavourable  to  navigation,  but  from  Jalalabad  downwards 
the  river  can  float  boats  of  50  tons,  and  is  often  descended 
by  rafts  on  blown  skins.  The  whole  course  of  the  river, 
measured  by  a  five-mile  opening  of  the  compasses,  is  as 
follows : — From  source  of  Kabul  stream  in  Unai  pass  to 
Attok,  250  miles ;  from  source  either  of  Logar  or  of  Panj- 
shir  to  the  same,  290  miles;  from  source  of  Kashkar  river 
to  the  same,  370  miles. 

A  marked  natural  division  of  the  Kabul  basin  occurs 
near  Gandamak,  above  Jalalabad,  where  a  sudden  descent 
takes  effect  from  a  minimum  elevation  of  5000  feet  to  one 
of  only  2000.  The  Emperor  Baber  says  of  this  :^-"  The 
moment  you  descend,  you  see  quite  another  world.  The 
timber  is  different ;  its  grains  are  of  another  sort ;  its 
animals  are  of  a  different  species ;  and  the  manners  and 
customs  of  its  inhabitants  are  of  a  different  kind."  Burnes, 
on  his  first  journey,  left  the  wheat  harvest  in  progress  at 
Jalalabad,  and  found  the  crop  at  Gandamak,  only  25  mile3 
distant,  but  3  inches  above  ground.  Here,  in  truth, 
nature  has  planted  the  gates,  of  India.  The  valleys  of  the 
upper  basin,  though  still  in  the  height  of  summer  affected 
by  a  sun  of  fierce  power,  recall  the  climate  and  products  of 
the  finest  part  of  temperate  Europe ;  the  region  below  is  a 
chain  of  narrow,  low,  and  hot  plains,  with  climate  and 
vegetation  of  an  Indian  character. 


RIVERS.] 


AFGHANISTAN 


229 


Accounts  of  Kabul  strike  us  by  apparent  contradiction. 
Some  give  scarcely  any  impression  but  that  of  extreme 
ruggedness  and  desolation,  awful  defiles,  and  bare  black 
crags ;  others  dwell  on  the  abounding  orchards,  green 
sward,  charming  dells,  and  purling  streams.  But  both 
aspects  are  characteristic.  The  higher  spurs,  both  of  Hindu 
Kush  and  Safed  Koh,  are  often  clad  with  grand  forests  of 
pine,  oak,  and  other  alpine  trees,  and  resemble  the  wooded 
ranges  of  Himalya.  But  the  lower  hills  generally  are 
utterly  woodless,  and  <almo3t  entirely  naked.  In  the  bot- 
toms, often  watered  by  clear  and  copious  streams, 'we  have 
those  beauties  of  verdure  and  fertility  on  which  some 
writers  dwell,  and  which  derive  new  charms  from  contrast 
with  the  excessive  sterility  of  the  hills  that  frame  them. 

We  cannot  speak  at  equal  length  of  the  other  natural 
divisions  of  Afghanistan,  but  some  chief  points  will  be 
noticed  with  the  rivers.  In  general  the  remainder  of  the 
country,  regarded  by  the  Afghans  as  included  in  Khorasan, 
exhibits  neither  the  savage  sublimity  of  the  defiles  of  the 
Kabul  region,  the  alpine  forests  of  its  higher  ranges,  nor 
its  nests  of  rich  vegetation  in  the  valleys,  save  in  the 
north-east  part  adjoining  Safed  Koh,  where  these  characters 
still  adhere,  and  in  some  exceptional  localities,  such  as  the 
valley  of  Herat,  which  is  matchless  in  richness  of  cultiva- 
tion. Generally  the  characteristics  of  this  country  are 
elevated  plateaux  of  sandy  or  gravelly  surface,  broken  by 
■binges  of  rocky  hills,  and  often  expanding  in  wide  spaces 
of  arid  waste,  which  terminate  to  the  south-west  in  a  vjgular 
desert  of  shifting  sand.  Even  in  cultivated  parts  there  is 
*  singular  absence  of  trees,  and  when  the  crops  are  not 
•risible  this  imparts  an  aspect  of  great  desolation  and 
emptiness  to  the  landscape.  Natural  wood,  however,  is 
found  in  some  parts  of  West  Afghanistan,  as  in  the  almost 
tropical  delta  of  the  Helmand,  in  the  Ghur  territory,  and 
on  the  Herat  river  below  .Herat.  Generally,  indeed,  in 
such  cases  the  trees  appear  to  be  mimosas,  tamarisks,  and 
the  like,  with  little  body  of  foliage. 

Rivers." — Next  to  the  Kabul  river  in  importance,  and 
probably  much  exceeding  it  in  volume  as  it  certainly  does 
in  length,  is  the  Helmand  {Etymander),  the  only  considerable 
river  in  its  latitude  from  the  Tigris  to  the  Indus.  The 
Helmand  has  its  highest  sources  in  the  Koh-i-Baba  and 
Paghman  hills,  between  Kabul  and  Bamian.  Its  succeed- 
ing course  is  through  the  least  known  tract  of  Afghanistan, 
chiefly  occupied  by  Hazaras ;  indeed,  for  a  length  of  nearly 
300  miles  no  European  has  seen  the  river.  This  unvisited 
space  terminates  at  Girishk,  where' the  river  is  crossed  by 
the  principal  route  from  Herat  to  Kandahar.  Till  about 
40  mile3  above  Girishk  the  character  of  the  Helmand  is 
said  to  be  that  of  a  mountain  river,  flowing  between 
scarped  rocks,  and  obstructed  by  enormous  boulders.  At 
that  point  it  enters  on  a  flat  country,  and  extends  over  a 
gravelly  bed.  Here,  also,  it  begins  to  be  used  in  irrigation. 
Forty-five  miles  below  Girishk  the  Helmand  receives  its 
greatest  tributary,  the  Arghand-ab,  coming  past  Kandahar 
from  the  high  Ghilzai  country.  It  here  becomes  a  very 
considerable  river,  said  to  have  a  width  of  300  or  400 
yards,  and  a  depth  of  9  to  12  feet.  But  this  cannot  be  at 
all  seasons,  as  there  are  fords  at  long  intervals  as  far  down 
as  Pdlalik,  100  miles  from  the  mouth.  The  desert  draws 
near  the  left  bank  in  the  lower  course,  and  for  the  last 
150  miles  the  moving  sands  approach  within  \\  mile. 
The  vegetation  on  the  banks  is  here  of  luxuriant  tropical 
eharacter.  The  whole  of  the  lower  valley  seems  to  have 
been  once  the  seat  of  a  prosperous  population,  and  there  is 
still  a  good  deal  of  cultivation  for  100  miles  below  Girishk. 
Even  this,  however,  is  much  fallen  off,  and  lower  down 
still  more  so,  owing  to  disorders  and  excessive  insecurity. 

The  course  of  the  river  is  more  or  less  south-west  from 
its  source  till  in  Seistan  it  approaches  meridian  G2°,  when 


it  turns  nearly  north,  and  so  flows  on  for  70  or  80  miles, 
till  it  falls  into  the  lake  of  Seistan  by  various  mouths.  The 
whole  length  of  the  river,  measured  as  before,  is  about  C 1 5 
miles.  Ferrier  considers  that  it  has  water  enough  for  navi- 
gation at  all  seasons,  from  Girishk  downwards.  At  present 
boats  are  rarely  seen,  and  those  in  use  are  most  clumsy  ; 
rafts  are  employed  for  crossing. 

4rg!iand-&b. — Of  this  tributary  of  the  Helmand  little  is  known 
except  in  its  lower  course.  It  rises  in  the  Hazara country,  N.  W.  ol 
Ghazni.  It  is  said  to  be  shallow,  and  to  run  nearly  dry  in  height 
of  summer;  but  when  its  depth  exceeds  3  feet  its  great  rapidity 
makes  it  a  serious  obstacle  to  travellers.  In  its  lower  course  it  is 
much  used  for  irrigation,  and  the  valley  is  cultivated  and  populous; 
yet  the  water  is  said  to  be  somewhat  brackish.  Its  course  may  be 
-eckoned  about  235  miles. 

It  is  doubtful  whether  the  ancient  Arac7wtus  is  to  be  identified 
with  the  Arghand-ab  or  with  its  chief  confluent  the  Tarnak,  which 
joins  it  on  the  left  about  30  miles  S.W.  of  Kandahar.  The  two 
rivers  run  nearly  parallel,  inclosing  the  backbone  of  the  GhiLmi 
plateau.  The  Tarnak  is  much  the  shorter  (length  about  197  miles) 
and  less  copious.  The  ruins  at  Ulan  Kobat,  supposed  to  represent 
the  city  Arachvsia,  are  in  its  basin ;  and  the  lake  known  as  Ab-i- 
Jstdda,  the  most  probable  representative  of  Lake  Aracliotus,  is  near 
the  head  of  the  Tarnak,  though  not  communicating  with  it.  The 
Tarnak  is  dammed  for  irrigation  at  intervals,  and  in  the  hot  season 
almost  exhausted.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  cultivation  along  the 
river,  but  few  villages.  The  high  road  from  Kabul  to  Kandahar 
passes  this  way  (another  reason  for  supposing  the  Tarnak  to  be 
Aracholiis),  and  the  people  live  off  the  load  to  eschew  the  onerous 
duties  of  hospitality. 

The  Lora  is  the  most  southerly  river  of  Afghanistan,  and  may  be 
regarded  as  belonging  to  the  Helmand  basin,  though  it  is  not  known 
that  its  waters  ever  reach  that  river.  It  rises  near  the  Kaud  and 
Joba  peaks  in  a  branch  of  the  Sulimani,  and  Hows  nearly  east,  pass- 
ing through  the  large  valley  of  Pislitn,  but  lying  too  dee])  foi 
irrigation.  The  river-  has  a  course  of  nearly  200  miles,  and  con- 
siderable breadth,  but  is  never  for  a  week  together  unfoidablc.  In 
the  Shorawak  district  (long.  65°-G6°)  a  good  deal  of  irrigation  is 
drawn  from  it.  The  river  is  said  to  terminate  in  a  lake,  oirthe  verge 
of  the  sandy  desert 

Rivers  belonging  to  the  basin  of  Seistan  and  the  Lower  Helmand 
are  the  Khash-Rud,  the  Farrah-Rud,  and  the  Ilarut, 

The  Khdsh-rtid  rises  in  oi  near  the  southern  slopes  of  Siah-Kob 
(Black  Mountain),  which  forms  the  southern  wall  of  the  valley  or 
Herat,  and  flows  south,  in  Hood  reaching  the  Lake  of  Seistan,  but 
generally  exhausted  in  irrigation.  It  is  named  from  Khash,  a  vil- 
lage in  the  Seistan  plaiu.  In  the  dry  season  it  is  everywhere 
fordable,  but  in  floods  caravans  may  be  detained  by  it  several  days. 

The  Farrah  river  flows  from  the  same  quarter,  and  has  the  same 
character  in  floods.  It  is  a  larger  stream,  and  at  Farrah  is  said  to 
have  a  width  of  150  yards,  -with  2  feet  of  water,  and  a  clear,  swift 
stream.  In  flood,  Khamkoff  was  struck  with  the  resemblance  of 
this  river,  rolling  its  yellow  wavesviolently  between  steep  banks  of 
clay,  to  the  Cyrus  at  Tillis. 

The  Hartlt  rises  in  the  mountains  S.E.  of  Herat,  and  has  a  course 
of  about  245  miles  to  the  Lake  of  Seistan.  Canals  from  it  supply 
abundant  Irrigation  to  the  plains  of  Sabzvar  and  Anardarah.  The 
river  forms  a  true  delta  with  fifteen  branches,  giving  rise  to  marsh 
and  much  vegetation,  especially  tamarisk,  willow,  and  poplar.  The 
Harut  receives  in  the  plain  a  considerable  affluent,  the  Khushkck 
river. 

It  Is  possible  that  confusion  of  the  name  of  this  river  with  the 
Hari-Rud,  or  river  of  Herat,  led  to  the  long  prevalent  mistake  that 
the  latter  river  flowed  south  into  the  Seistan  Lake — a  mistake  as 
old  as  Ptolemy,  if  his  Aria  Lacus  be  (as  it  seems)  that  of  Seistan. 

The  Hart-rid  is  formed  by  two  chief  confluents  iu  the  lofty 
Hazara  country,  not  far  from  the  sources  of  the  river  of  lialkh. 
Its  early  course  is,  for  more  than  100  miles  and  as  far  bs  the  village 
of  Jaor,  westward,  at  a  height  of  many  thousand  feet  above  the  sea. 
It  then  descends  rapidly  (it  is  said  with  cataracts),  but  continues  in 
the  same  direction,  receiving  numerous  streams,-  to  Obcb,  -where  much 
water  begins  to  be  drawn  off.  Sixty-five  miles  further  it  flows  past 
Heat,  3milestothesouthofthecity.  Hereabouts  the  Kandahar  road 
crosses  the  river  by  a  masonry  bridge  of  26  arches.  Near  this  fifteen 
deep  canals  are  drawn  off.  A  few  miles  below  Herat  the  river 
begins  to  turn  N.W. ;  and  after  passing  for  many  miles  through 
a  woody  tract,  abounding  iu  game,  in  which  are  the  preserves  of 
the  Herat  princes,  at  the  ancient  and  now  nearly  deserted  town  of 
Kassan,  70  miles  from  Herat,  it  turns  due  north.  Though  the 
drainage  brought  down  by  this  river  must  be  large,  so  much  is 
drawn  off  that,  below  Herat,  reaches  of  it  are  at  times  quite  dry. 
Below  Kassan  it  receives  fresh  supplies,  and  eventually  the  Mesbed 
stream.  It  flows  on  towards  Sarakhs,  and  dwindles  away;  but 
accurate  information  regarding  it  is  still  wanting.  The  channel  is 
shown,  in  a  map  lately  published,  as  passing  Sarakhs  for  some  260 


230 


AFGHANISTAN 


[towns. 


miles,  and  ending  in  a  swamp  adjoining  the  Damon-i-Koh,  on  the 
border  of  the  Turkman  desert. 

Of  the  rivers  that  ran  towards  tho  Indus,  south  of  tho  Kabul 
river,  the  chief  are  tho  Kurram  and  the  Gomal. 

The  Kurram  drains  the  southern  flanks  of  Safed  Koh.  The 
middle  valley  of  Kurram,  forming  tho  district  so  called,  is  highly 

J,  well  peopled,  and  crowded  with  small  fortified  «i 
orchards,  and  groves,  to  which  a  fino  background  is  afforded  1  v  thi 
dark  pine  forests,  and  alpiuo  snows  of  Safed  Koh.  The  beauty  and 
climate  of  the  valley  attracted  some  of  tho  Mogul  emperors  of  Delhi, 
and  the  n mains  exist  of  a  garden  of  Shall  Jahan's.  The  river  passes 
the  British  frontier,  and  enters  tho  plain  country  a  few  miles  above 
llann,  spreading  into  a  wide  bed  of  sand  and  boulders,  till  it  joins 
the  Indus  near  Isa-Khel,  after  a  course  of  more  than  200  miles.  By 
the  Kurraru  valley  is  one  of  the  best  routes  from  India  into  Afgha- 
nistan.    It  was  travelled  by  Major  Lumsden's  party  in  1857-58. 

The  Gomal,  rising  in  tho  Sulimani  mountains,  though  in  length 
equal  to  tho  Kurram,  and  draining,  with  its  tributaries,  a  much 
larger  area,  is  little  more  than  a  winter  torrent,  diminishing  to  a 
mere  rivulet,  till  December,  when  it  begins  to  swell.  At  its 
exit  into  the  plain  of  the  Derajat  a  local  chief  threw  a  dam  across  its 
channel ;  and  it  is  now  only  in  very  wet  seasons  that  its  waters  reach 
the  Indus,  near  Dcra  Isniael  Khan.  Kot  long  before  leaving  the 
hills  it  receives  from  the  S.  W.  a  tributary,  the  Zlidb,  of  nearly  equal 
length  and  she,  coming  from  the  vicinity  of  the  Kand  and  Joha 
peaks,  in  long.  66°. 

Lakes. — As  wo  know  nothing  of  the  lake  in  which  the 
Lora  is  said  to  end,  and  the  greater  part  of  tho  lake  of 
Seistan  (see  that  article)  is  excluded  from  Afghanistan, 
there  remains  only  the  A  b-i-Tstada,  on  the  Ghilzai  plateau. 
This  is  about  65  miles  S.S.W.  of  Ghazni,  and  stands  at  a 
height  of  about  7000  feet,  in  a  site  of  most  'barren  and 
dreary  aspect,  -with  no  tree  or  blade  of  grass,  and  hardly  a 
habitation  in  sight  It  is  about  44  miles  in  circuit,  and 
very  shallow;  not  more  than  12  feet  deep  in  the  middle. 
The  chief  feeder  is  the  Ghazni  river.  The  Afghans  speak 
of  a  stream  draining  the  lake,  but  this  seems  to  be  un- 
founded, and  the  saltness  and  bitterness  of  the  lake  is 
against  it.  Fish  entering  the  salt  water  from  tho  Ghazni 
river  sicken  and  die. 

Provinces  and  Towns. — The  chief  political  divisions 
of  Afghanistan  in  recent  times  are  stated  to  bo  Kabul, 
Jalalabad,  Ghazni,  Kandahar,  Herat,  and  Afghan  Tur- 
t^TAN  (q.v.),  to  which  arc  sometimes  added  the  command 
ol  the  Ghilzais  and  of  the  Hazaras.  This  list  seems  to  omit 
the  unruly  districts  of  the  eastern  table-land,  such  as 
Kurram,  Khost,  &c.  But  we  must  not  look  for  the  pre- 
cision of  European  administration  in  such  a  case. 

In  addition  to  Kabul,  Ghazni,  Kandahar,  Herat, 
described  under  those  articles,  there  are  not  many  places 
in  Afghanistan  to  be  called  towns.  We  notice  the  follow- 
ing:— 

Jal&ldb&d  lies,  at  a  height  of  i946  feet,  in  a  plain  on 
the  south  of  the  Kabul  river.  It  is  by  road  100  miles  from 
Kabul,  and  91  from  Peshawar.  Between  it  and  Peshawar 
interveno  the  Khybar  and  other  adjoining  passes;  between 
it  and  Kabul  the  passes  of  Jagdalak,  Khurd-Kabul,  kc. 
Tho  place  has  been  visited  by  no  known  European  since 
Sir  G.  Pollock's  expedition  in  1842.  As  it  then  existed, 
the  town,  though  its  walls  had  an  extent  of  2100  yards, 
contained  only  300  houses,  and  a  permanent  population  of 
2000.  The  walls  formed  an  irregular  quadrilateral  in  a 
ruinous  state,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  buildings,  gardens, 
the  remains  of  the  ancient  walls,  <fco,  affording  cover  to  an 
assailant.  The  town  walls  were  destroyed  by  Pollock,  but 
have  probably  been  restored. 

The  highly-cultivated  plain  is,  according  to  Wood,  25 
miles  in  length  by  3  or  4  miles  in  breadth;  the  central  part 
covered  with  villages,  castles,  and  gardens.  It  is  abund- 
antly watered 

The  province  under  Jalalabad  is  about  80  miles  in  length 
by  35  in  width,  and  includes  the  large  district  of  Laghman, 
north  of  the  Kabul  river,  as  well  as  that  on  the  south, 
which  is  called  Nangnihar.  •  The  former  name,  properly 
Lamghan,  the  seat  of  tho  ancient  Lampagce,  is  absurdly 


derived  by  the  Mahominedans  from  tue  patriarch  Lamech, 
whose  tomb  they  profess  to  show;  the  latter  nauio  is  inter- 
preted (in  mixed  Pushtu  and  Arabic)  to  mean  "  nine  rivers," 
an  etymology  supported  by  tho  numerous  streams.  Tho 
word  is,  however,  really  a  distortion  of  tho  ancient  Indian 
name  Xagarah&ra,  borne  by  a  city  in  this  plain  long  beforo 
Islam,  and  believed  to  have  been  the  Nagara  or  Dionyso- 
polU  of  Ptolemy.  Many  topes  and  other  Buddhist  traces 
exist  in  the  valley,  but  there  are  no  unruined  buildings  of 
any  moment  Baber  laid  out  fino  gardens  here;  and  hia- 
grandson  (Jalaluddin)  Akbar  built  Jalalabad.  Hindus 
form  a  considerable  part  of  the  town  population,  and  havo 
a  large  temple.  The  most  notable  point  in  tho  history  of 
Jalalabad  is  tho  stout  and  famous  defence  made  there,  from 
November  1841  till  April  1842,  by  Sir  Robert  Sale. 

Istalif  is  a -town  in  the  Koh  Daman,  20  miles  N.N.W. 
of  Kabul,  which  was  stormed  and  destroyed,  29th  Sep- 
tember 1842,  by  a  force  under  General  M'Caskill,  to  punish 
the  towns-people  for  the  massacre  of  the  garrison  at  Charikar, 
and  for  harbouring  the  murderers  of  Burncs.  The  place  is 
singularly  picturesque  and  beautiful.  The  rude  houses riso 
in  terrace  over  terrace  on  the  mountain-side,  forming  a 
pyramid,  crowned  by  a  shrine  embosomed  in  a  fine  clump 
of  planes.  The  dell  below,  traversed  by  a  clear  rapid  stream, 
both  sides  of  which  are  clothed  with  vineyards  and  orchards, 
opens  out  to  the  great  plain  of  the  Daman-i-Koh,  rich  with 
trees  and  cultivation,  and  dotted  with  turretcd  castles; 
beyond  these  are  rocky  ridges,  and  over  all  the  eternal 
snows  of  Hindu  Kush.  Nearly  every  householder  has  his 
garden  with  a  tower,  to  which  the  families  repair  in  tho 
fruit  season,  closing  their  houses  in  the  town.  The  town 
is  estimated,  with  seven  villages  depending  on  it,  to  contain 
about  18,000  souls. 

Charik&r  (population  5000)  lies  about  20  miles  north 
of  Istalif,  at  the  north  end  of  Kgh  Daman,  and  watered  by 
a  canal  from  the  Ghorband  branch  of  the  Baran  river. 
Hereabouts  must  have  been  the  Triodon,  or  meeting  of  ths 
three  roads  from  Bactria,  spoken  of  by  Strabo  and  Pliny. 
It  is  still  the  seat  of  the  customs  levied  on  trade  with 
Turkestan,  and  also  of  the  governor  of  the  Kohistin  or 
hill  country  of  Kabul,  and  is  a  place  of  considerable  trado 
with  the  regions  to  the  north.  During  the  British  occupa- 
tion a  political  agent  (Major  Eldred  Pottingcr,  famous  in 
the  defence  of  Herat)  was  posted  hers  with  a  Gurkha 
corps  under  Captain  Codrington  and  Lieutenant  Haughton. 
In  the  revolt  of  1841,  after  severe  fighting,  they  attempted 
to  make  their  way  to  Kabul,  and  a  great  part  was  cut  off. 
Pottinger,  Haughton  (with  the  loss  of  an  arm),  and  one 
sepoy  only,  reached  the  city  then;  though  many  were  after- 
wards recovered. 

Kala'tri-Ghilzai  has  no  town,  but  is  a  fortress  of  some 
importance  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tarnak,  on  the  road 
between  Ghazni  and  Kandahar,  89  miles  from  the  latter,  and 
at  a  height  of  5773  feet.  The  repulse  of  tho  Afghans  in 
1842  by  a  sepoy  garrison  under  Captain  Craigie,  was  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  feats  of  that  war. 

Girishk  is  also  a  fort  rather  than  a  town,  the  latter  being 
insignificant.  It  is  important  for  its  position  on  the  high 
road  between  Kandahar  and  Herat,  commanding  the  ordin- 
ary passage  and  summer  ford  of  the  Helmand.  It  was  held 
by  the  British  from  1839  till  August  1842,  but  during  the 
latter  nine  months,  amid  great  difficulties,  by  a  native 
garrison  only,  under  a  gallant  Indian  soldier,  Balwant  Singh. 

Farrah  belongs  to  the  Seistan  basin,  and  stands  on  the 
river  that  bears  its  name,  and  on  one  of  the  main  routes  from 
Herat  to  Kandahar,  164  miles  from  the  former,  236  miles 
from  the  latter.  The  place  is  enclosed  by  a  huge  earthen 
rampart,  crowned  with  towers,  and  surrounded  by  a  wide 
and  deep  ditch,  which  can  be  flooded,  and  with  a  covered 
way.     It  has  the  form  of  a  parallelogram,  running  north 


CLIMATE.] 


AFGHANISTAN 


231 


and  south,  and  only  two  gates.  As  a  military  position  it 
is  of  great  importance,  but  it  is  excessively  unhealthy. 
Though  the  place  would  easily  contain  4500  houses,  there 
were  but  60  habitable  when  Ferrier  was  there  in  1845,  nor 
was  there  much  change  for  the  better  when  Colonel  Pelly 
passed  in  1858.  Farrah  is  a  place  of  great  antiquity; 
certainly,  it  would  seem,  the  Pkra  of  Isidore  of  Charax  (1st 
century),  and  possibly  Prophthasia,  though  this  is  more 
probably  to  be  sought  in  the  great  ruins  of  Peshawaran, 
farther  south,  near  Lash.  According  to  Ferrier,  who 
alludes  to  "  ancient  chronicles  and  traditions,"  the  city  on 
the  present  site  within  the  great  rampart  was  sacked  by 
the  armies  of  Chinghiz,  and  the  survivors  transported  to 
another  position,  one  hour  further  north,  where  there  are 
now  many  ruins  and  bricks  of  immense  size  (a  yard  square), 
with  cuneiform  letters,  showing  that  site  again  to  be  vastly 
older  than  Chinghiz.  The  population  came  back  to  the 
southern  site  after  the  destruction  of  the  mediaeval  city  by 
Shah  Abbas,  and  the  city  prospered  again  till  its  bloody 
siege  by  Nadir  Shah.  Since  then,  under  constant  attacks, 
it  has  declined,  and  in  1837"  the  remaining  population, 
amounting  to  6000,  was  carried  off  to  Kandahar.  Such 
are  the  vicissitudes  of  a  city  on  this  unhappy  frontier. 

Sabzvdr,  the  name  of  which  is  a  corruption  of  old  Persian, 
Ispkizar,  "  horse-pastures,"  is  another  important  strategic 
point,  93  miles  from  Herat  and  71  miles  north  of  Farrah, 
in  similar  decay  to  the  latter.  The  present  fort,  which  in 
1845  contained  a  small  bazar  and  100  houses,  must  once 
have  been  the  citadel  of  a  large  city,  now  represented  by 
extensive  suburbs,  partly  in  ruins.  Water  is  conducted  from 
the  Harut  by  numerous  canals,  which  also  protect  the 
approaches. 

Zafni  is  a  town  in  the  famous  but  little  known  country 
of  Ghur,  to  the  east  of  Herat,  the  cradle  of  a  monarchy  (the 
Ghurid  dynasty)  which  supplanted  the  Ghaznevides,  and 
ruled  over  an  extensive  dominion,  including  all  Afghanistan, 
for  several  generations.  Zarni,  according  to  Ferrier.  was 
the  old  capital  of  Ghur.  Ruins  abound;  the  town  itself  is 
small,  and  enclosed  by  a  wall  in  decay.  It  lies  in  a  pleasant 
valley,  through  which  fine  streams  wind,  said  to  abound  with 
trout.  The  hills  around  are  covered  with  trees,  luxuriantly 
festooned  with  vines.  The  population  in  1845  was  about 
1200,  among  whom  Ferrier  noticed  (a  remarkable  circum- 
stance) some  Gheber  families.  The  bulk  of  the  people  are  Suris 
and  Taimunis,  apparently  both  very  old  Persian  tribes. 

Climate. — The  variety  of  climate  is  immense,  as  might 
be  expected.  At  Kabul,  and  over  all  the  northern  part  of 
the  country  to  the  descent  at  Gandamak,  winter  is  rigorous, 
but  especially  so  on  the  high  Arachosian  plateau.  In 
Kabul  the  snow  lies  for  two  or'three  months;  the  people 
seldom  leave  their  houses,  and  sleep  close  to  stoves.  At 
Ghazni  the  snow  has  been  known  to  lie  long  beyond  the 
vernal  equinox;  the  thermometer  sinks  to  10°  and  15°  be- 
low zero  (Fahr.) ;  and  tradition  relates  the  entire  destruction 
of  the  population  of  Ghazni  by  snow-storms  more  than  once. 

At  Jalalabad  the  winter  and  the  climate  generally 
iKSume  an  Indian  character,  and  the  hot  weather  sometimes 
brings  the  fatal  simum.  The  summer  heat  is  great  every- 
where in  Afghanistan,  but  most  of  all  in  the  districts 
bordering  on  the  Indus,  especially  Sewi,  on  the  lower 
Helmand,  and  in  Seistan.  All  over  Kandahar  province 
the  summer  heat  is  intense,  and  the  simum  is  not  unknown. 
The  hot  season  throughout  the  "Khorasan"  part  of  the 
country  is  rendered  more  trying  by  frequent  dust-storms  and 
fiery  winds;  whilst  the  bare  rocky  ridges  that  traverse  the 
country,  absorbing  heat  by  day  and  radiating  it  bj  night, 
render  the  summer  nights  most  oppressive.  At  Girishk, 
Ferrier  records'  the  thermometer  in  August  to  have  reached 
11 8° to  120°  (Fahr.)  in  the  shade.  At  Kabul  the  summer  sun 
has  much  of  its  Indian  power,  though  the  heat  is  tempered 


occasionally  by  breezes  from  Hindu  Kush,  and  the  nights 
are  usually  cooL  I3aber  says  that,  even  in  summer,  ond 
could  not  sleep  at  Kabul  without  a  sheepskin,  but  this 
seems  exaggerated. .  At  Kandahar  snow  seldom  falls  od 
the  plains  or  lower  hills;  when  it  dues,  it  melts  at  once. 

At  Herat,  though  800  feet  lower  thun  Kiimiuhiir,  th« 
summer  climate  appears  to  be  more  temperate;  and.  ill  fact, 
the  climate  altogether  is  one  of  the  most  agreeable  in  Asia 
In  July,  Ferrier  says  he  found  the  heat  never  to  pass 
98°,  and  rarely  91°  to  93°  (Fahr.)  These  are  not  low! 
figures,  but  must  be  compared  with  his  register  at  Girishk, 
just  given.  From  May  to  September  the  wind  blows  from 
the  N.W.  with  great  violence,  and  this  extends  across  the 
country  to  Kandahar.  The  winter  is  tolerably  mild ;  snow 
melts  as  it  falls,  and  even  on  the  mountains  does  not  lie 
long.  Three  years  out  of  four  at  Herat  it  does  not  freeze 
hard  enough  for  the  people  to  store  ice;  yet  it  was  not 
very  far  from  Herat,  and  could  not  have  been  at  a  greatly 
higher  level  (at  Kafir  Kala',  near  Kassan)  that,  in  1750, 
Ahmed  Shah's  army,  retreating  from  Persia,  is  said  to  have 
lost  18,000  men  from  cold  in  a  single  night. 

The  summer  rains  that  accompany  the  S.W.  monsoon  in 
India,  beating  along  the  southern  slopes  of  the  Himalya, 
travel  up  the  Kabul  valley,  at  least  to  Laghman,  though 
they  are  more  clearly  felt  in  Bajaur  and  Panjkora,  under 
the  high  spurs  of  the  Hindu  Kush,  and  in  the  eastern 
branches  of  Safed  Koh.  Bain  also  falls  at  this  season  at 
the  head  of  Kurram  valley. .  South  of  this  the  Sulimaui 
mountains  may  be  taken  as  the  western  limit  of  the 
monsoon's  action.  It  is  quite  unfelt  in  the  rest  of  Afghan- 
istan, in  which,  as  in  all  the  west  of  Asia,  the  winter  rains 
are  the  most  considerable.  The  spring  rain,  though  less 
copious,  is  more  important  to  agriculture  than  the  winter 
rain,  unless  where  the  latter  falls  in  the  form  of  snow. 
Speaking  generally,  the  Afghanistan  climate  is  a  dry  one. 
The  sun  shines  with  splendour  for  three-fourths  of  the  year, 
and  the  nights  are  even  more  beautiful  than  the  days. 
Marked  characteristics  are  the  great  differences  of  summer 
and  winter  temperature  and  of  day  and  night  temperature, 
as  well  as  the  extent  to  which  change  of  climate  can  be 
attained  by  slight  change  of  place.  As  Baber  again  says 
of  Kabul,  at  one  day's  journey  from  it  you  may  find  a  place 
where  snow  never  falls,  and  at  two  hours' journey,  a  plac 
where  snow  almost  never  melts! 

The  Afghans  vaunt  the  salubrity  and  charm  of  some 
local  climates,  as  of  the  Tobah  hills  above  the  Kakar  country, 
and  of  some  of  the  high  valleys  of  the  Safed  Koh. 

The  people  have  by  no  means  that  immunity  from  disease 
which  the  bright  dry  character  of  the  climate  and  the  fine 
physical  aspect  of  a  large  proportion  of  them  might  lead  us 
to  expect.  '  Intermittent  and  remittent  fevers  are  very 
prevalent:  bowel  complaints  are  common,  and  often  fatal 
in  the  autumn.  The  universal  custom  of  sleeping  on  the 
house-top  in  summer  promotes  rheumatic  and  neuralgic 
affections;  and  in  the  Koh  Daman  of  Kabul,  which  the 
natives  regard  as  having  the  finest  of  climates,  the  mortality 
from  fever  and  bowel  complaint,  between  July  and  October, 
is  great;  the  immoderate  use  of  fruit  predisposing  to  such 
ailments.  Stone  is  frequent;  eye  disease  is  very  common,  as 
are  haemorrhoidal  affections  and  syphilitic  diseases  in  repul- 
sive forms.  A  peculiar  skin  disease  of  syphilitic  origin 
prevails  at  Kandahar,  and  native  physicians  there  are  said 
by  Bellew  to  admit  that  hardly  one  person  in  twenty  is  free 
from  the  taint  in  some  form. 

Natural  Productions — Minerals. — Afghanistan  is 
believed  to  be  rich  in  minerals,  but  few  are  wrought  Some 
small  quantity  of  gold  is  taken  from  the  streams  in  Lagh- 
man and  the  adjoining  districts.  Famous  silver  mines 
were  formerly  wrought  near  the  head  of  the  Panjshir 
valley,  in  Hindu  Kush.     Iron  of  excellent  quality  is  pro- 


232 


A    I'GHANISTAN 


[botany. 


duccd  iu  the  (independent)  territory  of  Bajaur,  north-west 
of  Peshawar,  from  magnetic  iron  sand,  and  is  exported. 
Kabul  is  chiefly  supplied  from  the  Fermuli  (or  Farmuli) 
district,  between  the  Upper  Ktirram  and  Gonial,  where  it 
is  said  to  be  abundant.  Iron  ore  is  most  abundant  near 
the  passes  leading  to  Baniian,  and  in  other  parts  of  Hindu 
Kush.  Copper  ore  from  various  parts  of  Afghanistan  has 
been  seen,  but  it  is  uowh  re  worked. 

und,  e.g.,  in  Upper  Bangash  (Kurram  district), 
and  in  the  Shinwari  country  (also  among  the  branches  of 
Safed  Koh),  and  in  the  Kakar  couutry.  There  are  reported 
to  be  rich  lead  mines  near  Herat  scarcely  worked.  Lead, 
with  antimony,  is  found  near  the  Arghand-ab,  32  miles 
north-west  of  Kala't-i-Ghilzai ;  in  the  Wardak  hills,  24 
miles  north  of  Ghazni;  in  the  Ghorband  valley,  north  of 
Kabul ;  and  in  the  Afridi  country,  near  our  frontier. 
Most  of  the  lead  used,  however,  conies  from  the  Hazara 
country,  where  the  ore  is  described  as  being  gathered  on 
the  surface.  An  ancient  mine  of  great  extent  and  elabo- 
rate character  exists  at  Feringal,  in  the  Ghorband  valley. 
Antimony  is  obtained  in  considerable  quantities  at  Shah- 
Maksu.l,  abcut  30  miles  north  of  Kandahar. 

Silicate  of  zinc  in  nodular  fragments  comes  from  the 
Zhob  district  of  the  Kakar  country.  It  is  chiefly  used  by 
cutlers  for  polishing. 

Sulphur  is  said  to  be  found  at  Herat,  dug  from  the  soil 
in  small  fragments,  but  the  chief  supply  comes  from  the 
Hazara  country,  and  from  Pirkisri,  on  the  confines  of 
Seistan,  where  there  would  seem  to  be  a  crater,  or  fuma- 
role.  Sal-ammoniac  is  brought  from  the  game  place. 
Gypsum  is  found  in  large  quantities  in  the  plain  of  Kan- 
dahar, being  dug  out  in  fragile  coralline  masses  from  near 
the  surface. 

Coal  (perhaps  lignite)  is  said  to  be  found  In  Zurmat 
(between  the  Upper  Kurram  and  the  Gonial)  and  near 
Ghazni. 

Nitre  abounds  in  the  soil  over  all  the  south-west  of 
Afghanistan,  and  often  affects  the  water  of  the  hares,  or 
subterranean  canals. 

Vegetable  Kingdom.1 — The  characteristic  distribution 
of  vegetation  on  the  mountains  of  Afghanistan  is  worthy 
of  attention.  The  great  mass  of  it  is  confined  to  the  main 
ranges  and  their  immediate  offshoots,  whilst  on  the  more 
distant  and  terminal  prolongations  it  is  almost  entirely 
absent ;  in  fact,  these  are  naked  rock  and  stone. 

Take,  for  example,  the  Safed  Koh.  On  the  alpine  range  itself 
and  its  immediate  branches,  at  a  height  of  6000  to  10,000  feet,  we 
have  abundant  growth  of  iarge  forest  trees,  among  which  conifers 
are  the  most  noole  and  prominent,  such  as  Cedrus  Deodara,  Abies 
excelsa,  Pinus  lingifolia,  P.  Pinaster,  P.  Pinca  (the  edible  pine), 
and  the  larch.  we  have  also  the  yew,  the  hazel,  juniper,  walnut, 
wild  peach,  and  almond.  Growing  under  the  shade  of  these  are 
several  varieties  of  rose,  honeysuckle,  currant,  gooseberry,  haw- 
thorn, rhododendron,  and  a  luxuriant  herbage,  among  which  the 
ranunculus  family  is  important  for  frequency  and  number  of  genera. 
The  lemon  and  wild  vine  are  also  here  met-  with,  but  are  more 
common  on  the  northern  mountains.  The  walnut  and  oak  (ever- 
green, holly-leaved,  and  kermes)  descend  to  the  secondary  heights, 
where  they  become  mixed  with  alder,  ash,  khinjak,  Arbor-vilce, 
juniper,  with  species  of  Astragalus,  kc.  Here  also  are  Indigo/era 
and  dwarf  laburnum. 

Lower  again,  and  down  to  3000  feet,  we  have  wild  olive,  species 
of  rock-rose,  wild  privet,  acacias  and  mimosas,  barberry,  and  Zizy- 
phus;  and  in  the  eastern  ramifications  of  tho  chain,  Ckamarops 
humilis  (which  is  applied  to  a  variety  of  useful  purposes),  Bignonia 
or  trumpet  flower,  sissu,  Salvadora  versica  verbena,  uuanthus, 
varieties  of  Gtsverce. 

The  lowest  terminal  ridges,  especially  towards  the  west,  are,  as 
has  been  said,-  naked  in  aspect.  Their  scanty  vegetation  is  almost 
wholly  herbal ;  shrubs  are  only  occasional ;  trees  almost  non- 
existent. Labiate,  composite,  and  umbelliferous  plants  are  most 
common.  Ferns  and  mosses  are  almost  confined  to  the  higher 
ranges. 

1  Chiefly  from  Eellew. 


In  the  low  brushwood  scattered  over  portions  of  the  dreary  plains 
of  the  "  Khorasan"  table-lands,  we  find  leguminous  thorny  planU 
of  the  papilionaceous  sub-order,  such  as  camel-thorn  (Hedysarum 
Alhagi),  Astragalus  in  several  varieties,  spiny  rest-harrow  (Ononis 
spinosa),  the  fibrous  roots  of  which  often  serve  as  a  tooth-brush ; 
plants  of  the  sub-order  Mimosea:,  as  the  sensitive  mimosa ;  a  plant  ol 
the  Rue  family,  called  by  tin-  Datives  lipid;  the  common  worm- 
wood ;  also  certain  orchids,  and  several  specie!  of  Salsola.  Tho 
rue  and  wormwood  are  in  general  use  as  domestic  medicines — the 
former  for  rheumatism  and  neuralgia;  the  latter  in  fever,  debility, 
and  dyspepsia,  as  well  as  for  a  vermifuge.  The  lipad,  owing  to  its 
heavy  nauseous  odour,  is  believed  to  keep  off  evil  spirits.  In  soma 
places,  occupying  the  sides  and  hollows  of  ravines,  are  found  the 
rose  bay  (.Xcrium  Oleander),  called  in  Persian  kluxr-zarah,  or  ass- 
bane,  the  wild  laburnum,  and  various  Indigofercc. 

In  cultivated  districts  tho  chief  trees  seen  are  mulberry,  willow, 
poplar,  ash,  and  occasionally  the  plane  ;  but  these  are  due  to  man's 
pluming. 

Uncultivated  Products  of  Value. — One  of  the  most  important  of 
these  is  the  gum-resin  of  Karthex  assafatida,  which  grows  abun- 
dantly in  the  high  and  diy  plains  of  Western  Afghanistan,  espe- 
cially between  Kandahar  and  Herat.  The  depot  for  it  is  Kandahar, 
whence  it  finds  its  way  to  India,  where  it  is  much  used  as  a  condi- 
ment. It  is  not  so  used  in  Afghanistan,  but  the  Seistan  people 
eat  the  green  stalks  of  the  plant  preserved  in  brine.  The  collection 
of  the  gum-resin  is  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Kakar  clan 
of  Afghans. 

In  the  highlands  of  Kabul  edible  rhubarb  is  an  important  local 
luxury.  The  plants  grow  wild  in  the  mountains.  The  bleached 
rhubarb,  which  lias  a  very  delicate  flavour,  is  altered  by  covering 
the  young  leaves,  as  they  sprout  from  the  soil,  with  loose  stones  or 
an  empty  jar.  The  leaf-stalks  are  gathered  by  the  neighbouring 
hill  people,  and  carried  down  for  sale.  Bleached  and  unbleached 
rhubarb  are  both  largely  consumed,  both  raw  and  cooked. 

The  walnut  and  edible  pine-nut  ore  both  wild  growths,  which  are 
exported. 

The  sanjit  (Elceagnus  orienlalis),  common  on  the  banks  of  water- 
courses, furnishes  an  edible  fruit.  An  orchis  found  in  the  moun- 
tains yields  the  dried  tuber  which  affords  the  nutritious  mucilage 
called  salep;  a  good  deal  of  this  goes  to  India. 

Pistacia  khinjak  affords  a  mastic.  The  fruit,  mixed  with  its 
resin,  is  used  for  food  by  the  Achakzais  in  Southern  Afghanistan. 
The  true  pistachio  is  found  only  on  the  northern  frontier  ;  the  nuts 
are  imported  from  Badakhshan  and  Kunduz. 

Mushrooms  and  other  fungi  are  largely  used  as  food,  especially 
by  the  Hindus  of  the  towns,  to  whom  they  supply  a  substitute  for 
meat. 

Manna,  of  at  least  two  kinds,  is  sold  in  the  bazaars.  One,  called 
luranjb'm,  appears  to  exude,  in  small  round  tears,  from  the  camel- 
thorn,  and  also  from  the  dwarf  tamarisk ;  the  other,  sir-kasht,  in 
large  grains  and  irregular  masses,  or  cakes,  with  bits  of  twig  im- 
bedded, is  obtained  from  a  tree  which  the  natives  call  siah  chob 
(black  wood),  thought  by  Bellew  to  be  a  Fraxinus  or  Ornus. 

Agrictjltuee. — In  most  parts  of  the  country  there  are 
two  harvests,  as  generally  in  India.  One  of  these,  called 
by  the  Afghans  bahdrak,  or  the  spring  crop,  is  sown  in  the 
end  of  autumn,  and  reaped  in  summer.  It  consists  of 
wheat,  barley,  and  a  variety  of  lantils.  The  other,  called 
pdizah  or  tirmdi,  the  autumnal, 'is  sown  in  the  end  of 
spring,  and  reaped  in  autumn.  It  consists  of  rice,  varieties 
of  millet  and  sorghum,  of  maize,  Phaseolus  Mungo,  tobacco, 
beet,  turnips,  &c.  The  loftier  regions  have  but  one  har- 
vest. 

Wheat  is  the  staple  food  over  the  greater  part  of  the 
country.  Rice  is  largely  distributed,  but  is  most  abundant 
in  Swat  (independent),  and  best  in  Peshawar  (British).  It 
ia  also  the  chief  crop  in  Kurram.  In  much  of  the  eastern 
mountainous  country  bdjra  (Holcus  tpicatus)  is  the  chief 
grain.  Most  English  and  Indian  garden-stuffs  are  qulti- 
vated;  turnips  in  some  places  very  largely,  as  cattle  food. 

The  growth  of  melons,  -water-melons,  and  other  cucurbi- 
taceous  plants  is  reckoned  very  important,  especially  near 
towns ;  and  this  crop  counts  for  a  distinct  harvest. 

Sugar-cane  is  grown  only  in  the  rich  plains;  and  tnough 
cotton  is  grown  in  the  warmer  tracts,  most  of  the  cotton 
cloth  is  imported. 

Madder  is  an  important  item  of  tho  spring  crop  in 
Ghazni  and  Kandahar  districts,  and  generally  over  the 
west,  and  supplies  the  Indian  demand.  It  is  said  to  be 
very  profitable,  though  it  takes  three  years  to  mature. 


ZOOLOGY.] 


AFGHANISTAN 


233 


Saffron  is  grown  and  exported.  The  castor-oil  plant  h 
everywhere  common,  and  furnishes  most  of  the  oil  of  the 
country.  Tobacco  is  grown  very  generally  ;  that  of  Kan- 
dahar has  much  repute,  and  is  exported  to  India  and 
Bokhara.     Two  crops  of  leaves  are  taken. 

Lucerne  and  a  trefoil  called  shaftal  form  important 
fodder  crops  in  the  western  parts  of  the  country,  and, 
when  irrigated,  are  said  to  afford  ten  or  eleven  cuttings  in 
the  season.  The  komal  (Prangos  pabularia)  is  abundant  in 
the  hill  country  of  Ghazni,  and  is  said  to  extend  through 
the  Hazara  country  to  Herat.  It  is  stored  for  winter 
use,  and  forms  an  excellent  fodder.  Others  are  derived 
from  the  IIolcus  sorghum,  and  from  two  kinds  of  panick. 
It  is  common  to  cut  down  the  green  wheat  and  barley 
before  the  ear  forms,  for  fodder,  and  the  repetition  of  this, 
with  barley  at  least,  is  said  not  to  injure  the  grain  crop; 
Bellow  gives  the  following  statement  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  soil  is  sometimes  worked  in  the  Kandahar  district : — 
Barley  is  sown  in  November;  in  March  and  April  it  is 
twice  cut  for  fodder;  in  June  the  grain  is  reaped,  the 
ground  is  ploughed  and  manured,  and  sown  with  tobacco, 
which  yields  two  cuttings.  The  ground  is  then  prepared 
for  carrots  and  turnips,  which  are  gathered  in  November 
or  December. 

Of  gTeat  moment  are  the  fruit  crops.  All  European 
fruits  are  produced  profusely,  in  many  varieties,  and  of 
excellent  quality.  Fresh  or  preserved,  they  form  a  prin- 
cipal food  of  a  large  class  of  the  people,  and  the  dry  fruit 
is  largely  exported.  In  the  valleys  of  Kabul,  mulberries 
are  dried,  and  packed  in  skins  for  winter  use.  This  mul- 
berry cake  is  often  reduced  to  flour,  and  used  as  such, 
forming  in  some  valleys  the  main  food  of  the  people. 

Grapes  are  grown  very  extensively,  and  the  varieties 
are  very  numerous.  The  vines  are  sometimes  trained  on 
trellises,  but  most  frequently  over  ridges  of  earth  8  or  10 
feet  high.  The  principal  part  of  the  garden  lands  in  vil- 
lages round  Kandahar  is  vineyard,  and  the  produce  must 
bo  enormous. 

Open  canals  are  usual  in  the  Kabul  valley,  and  in 
eastern  Afghanistan  generally;  but  over  all  the  western 
parts  of  the  country  much  use  is  made  of  the  karez,  which 
is  a  subterranean  aqueduct  uniting  the  waters  of  several 
springs,  and  conducting  their  combined  volume  to  the 
surface  at  a  lower  level.  Elphinstone  Had  heard  of  such 
conduits  36  miles  in  length. 

Animal  Kingdom. — As  regards  vertebrate  zoology, 
Afghanistan  lies  on  the  frontier  of  three  regions,  viz.,  the 
Eurasian,  the  Ethiopian  (to  which  region  Biluchestan 
seems  to  belong),  and  the  Indo-Malayan.  Hence  it  natu- 
rally partakes  somewhat  of  the  forms  of  each,  but  is  in 
the  main  Eurasian. 

Mammals. — Monkeys  are  stated  by  Mr  Bellew  to  exist  in  Yusuf- 
zai,  and  perhaps  extend  to  some  other  districts  north  of  the  Kabul 
river ;  but  no  species  has  teen  named. 

Felidm. — F.  catus,  F.  chaus  (both  Eurasian);  F.  caracal  (Eur., 
Ind.,  Ethiop.),  about  Kandahar;  a  small  leopard,  stated  to  be 
found  almost  all  over  the  country,  perhaps  rather  the  cheeta  (F. 
jubalus,  Ind.  and  Eth.) ;  F.  pardus,  the  common  leopard  (Eth. 
and  Ind.)  The  tiger  is  said  to  exist  in  the  north-eastern  hill 
country,  which  is  quasi-Indian. 

Canidw. — The  jackal  (C.  aureus,  Euras.,  Ind.,  Eth.)  abounds  on 
the  Helmand  and  Argand-ab,  and  probably  elsewhere.  Wolves  ((?. 
Bengalensis)  are  formidable  in  the  wilder  tracts,  and  assemble  in 
troop  on  the  snow,  destroying  cattle,  and  sometimes  attacking 
single  horsemen.  The  hyama  (R.  striata,  Africa  to  India)  is  com- 
mon. These  do  not  hunt  in  packs,  but  will  sometimes  singly 
attack  a  bullock :  they  and  the  wolves  make  havoc  among  sheep. 
A  favourite  feat  of  the  boldest  of  the  young  men  of  southern 
Afghanistan  is  to  enter  the  hyama's  den,  single-handed,  muffle  and 
tie  him..  There  are  wild  "dogs,  according  to  Elphinstone  and 
Conolly.  The  small  Indian  fox  (Vulpes  Bengalensis)  is  found; 
also  V.  flavescens,  common  to  India  and  Persia,  the  skin  of  which 
is  much  used  as  a  fur. 

itustclidas. — Species  of  Mungoose  (Ecrpcstcs),  species  of  otter, 


Muslela  crminea,  and  two  ferrets,  one  of  them  with-tortoise-shcll 
marks,  tamed  by  the  Afghans  to  keep  down  vermin ;  a  marten  (it. 
flavigula,  Indian). 

Bears  are  two :  a  black  one,  probably  L'rsus  torqualus;  and  one 
of  a  dirty  yellow,  U.  Isalellinus,  botn  Himalyan  species. 

Ruminants. — Capra  cegagrus  and  C.  megaceros;  a  wild  sheep 
(Oris  cycloceros  or  Vignc;)  ;  Gazella  subgutturosa — these  are  often 
netted  in  batches  when  they  descend  to  drink  at  a  stream;  G. 
dorcas,  perhaps;  Ccrvus  IVallichii,  the  Indian  barasingha,  and 
probably  some  other  Indian  deer,  in  the  north-eastern  mountairs. 

The  wild  hog  (Sus  scro/a)  is  found  on  the  Lower  Helmand.  The 
wild  ass,  Gorkhar  of  Persia  (Equus  onager),  is  frequent  on  the  sandy 
tracts  in  the  south-west.  Neither  elephant  nor  rhinoceros  now 
exists  within  many  hundred  miles  of  Afghanistan  ;  but  there  is 
ample  evidence  that  the  latter  was  hunted  in  the  Peshawar  plain 
down  to  the  middle  of  the  16th  century. 

Talpidoz. — A  mole,  probably  T.  Europcca;  Sorcx  Indicus; 
Erinaceus  collaris  (Indian),  and  Er.  auritus  (Eurasian). 

Bats,  believed  to  be  Phyllorhinus  cincraccus  (Panjab  species), 
Scotophilia  Bellii  (W.  India),  Vcsp.  auritus  and  V.  barbastcllus, 
both  found  from  England  to  India. 

Rodcntia. — A  squirrel  (Sciurus  Syriacusf) ;  Mus  Indicus  and  it. 
Gcrbcllinus ;  a  gerboa  (Dipus  telum  I) ;  Alactaga  Bactriava  ;  GerbiU 
lus  Indicus,  and  G.  erythrinus  (Persian  and  Indian) ;  Lagomys  Nepal- 
ensis,  a  central  Asian  species.     A  hare,  probably  L.  ruficaudatus. 

Birds. — The  largest  list  of  Afghan  birds  that  we  know  of  is  given 
by  Captain  Huttonin  the  J.  As.  Soc.  Bengal,  vol.  xvi.  p.  775,  seqq.; 
but  it  is  confessedly  far  from  complete.  Of  124  species  in  that  list, 
95  are  pronounced  to  be  Eurasian,  17  Indian,  10  both  Eurasian  and 
Indian,  1  (Turtur  risorius)  Eur.,  Ind.,  and  Eth.;  and  1  only, 
Carpodacus  (Bueanetcs)  crassirostris,  peculiar  to  the  country. 
Afghanistan  appears  to  be,  during  the  breeding  season,  the  retreat 
of  a  variety  of  Indian  and  some  African  (desert)  forms,  whilst  in 
winter  the  avifauna  becomes  overwhelmingly  Eurasian. 

Reptiles. — The  following  particulars  are  from  Gray: — Lizards — 
Fscudopus  gracilis  (Eur.),  Argyrophis  Eorsfieldii,  Salor.  Eorsfieldii, 
Calotcs  Maria,  C.  versicolor,  C.  minor,  C.  Emma,  Phrynoccphalxis 
Tickclii — all  Indian  forms.  A  tortoise  (T.  Eorsfieldii)  ajjpears  to  be 
peculiar  to  Kabul.  Theie  are  apparently  no  salamanders  or  tailed 
Amphibia.  The  frogs  are  partly  Eurasian,  partly  Indian.  And  the 
same-may  be  said  of  the  fish ;  but  they  are  as  vet  most  imperfectly 
known. 

Domestic  Animals. — The  camel  is  of  a  more  robust 
and  compact  breed  than  the  tall  beast  used  in  India,  and 
is  more  carefully  tended.  The  two-humoed  Bactrian  camel 
is  sometimes  seen,  but  is  not  a  native. 

Horses  form  a  staple  export  to  India.  The  best  of  these, 
however,  are  brought  from  Maimana  and  other  places  on 
the  Khorasan  and  Turkman  frontier.  The  indigenous 
horse  is  the  yabu,  a  stout,  heavy-shouldered  animal,  of 
about  14  hands  high,  used  chiefly  for  burden,  but  also  for 
riding.  It  gets  over  incredible  distances  at  an  ambling 
shuffle;  but  is  unfit  for  fast  work,  and  cannot  stand  exces- 
sive heat.  The  breed  of  horses  was  improving  much  under 
the  Amir  Dost  Mahommed,  who  took  much  interest  in  it 
Generally,  colts  are  sold  and  worked  too  young. 

The  cows  of  Kandahar  and  Seistan  give  very  large  quan- 
tities of  milk.  They  seem  to  be  of  the  humped  variety,  but 
with  the  hump  evanescent.  '  Dairy  produce  is  important 
'in  Afghan  diet,  especially  the  pressed  and  dried  curd 
called  krut  (an  article  and  name  perhaps  introduced  bv  the 
Mongols). 

There  are  two  varieties  of  sheep,  both  having  the  fat  tail 
One  bears  a  white  fleece,  the  other  a  russet  or  black  one. 
Much  of  the  white  wool  is  exported  to  Persia,  and  now 
largely  to  Europe  by  Bombay.  Flocks  of  sheep  are  the 
main  wealth  of  the  nomad  population,  and  mutton  is  the 
chief  animal  food  of  the  nation.  In  autumn  large  numbers 
are  slaughtered,  their  carcases  cut  up,  rubbed  with  salt, 
and  dried  in' the  sun.  The  same  is  done  with  beef  and 
camel's  flesh. 

The  goats,  generally  black  or  parti-coloured,  seem  to  bo 
a  degenerate  variety  of  the  shawl-goat 

The  climate  is  found  to  be  favourable  to  dog-breeding. 
Pointers  are 'bred  in  the  Kohistan  of  Kabul  and  above 
Jalalabad  —  large,  heavy,  slow-hunting,  but  fine-nosed 
and  staunch ;  very  like  the  old  double-nosed  Spanish 
pointer.     There  are  greyhounds  also,  butinferior  in  speed 


234 


AFGHANISTAN 


[trade. 


to  second-rate  English  dogs.  The  khandi  is  another 
^porting  dog,  most  useful,  but  of  complex  breed.  He  is 
often  used  for  turning  up  quail  and  partridge  to  the 
hawk. 

Industrial  Pboducts. — These  are  not  important.  Silk 
is  produced  in  Kabul,  Jalalabad,  Kandahar,  and  Herat,  and 
chiefly  consumed  in  domestic  manufactures,  though  the 
best  qualities  are  carried  to  the  Panjab  and  Bombay. 

Excellent  carpets — soft,  brilliant,  and  durable  in  colour — 
are  made  at  Herat.  They  are  usually  sold  in  India  as 
Persian.  Excellent  felts  and  a  variety  of  woven  goods 
are  made  from  the  wool  of  the  sheep,  goat,  and  Bac- 
trian  cameL  A  manufacture,  of  which  there  is  now  a  con- 
siderable export  to  the  Panjab  for  the  winter  clothing  of 
our  irregular  troops,  besides  a  large  domestic  use,  is  that 
of  the  postin,  or  sheepskin  pelisse.  The  long  wool  remains 
on,  and  the  skin  is  tanned  yellow,  with  admirable  softness 
and  suppleness.  Pomegranate  rind  is  a  chief  material  in 
the  preparation. 

Rosaries  are  extensively  made  at  Kandahar  from  a  soft 
crystallised  silicate  of  magnesia  (chrysolite).  The  best  are 
of  a  semi-transparent  straw  colour,  like  amber.  They  are 
largely  exported,  especially  to  Mecca. 

Trade. — Practically,  there  are  no  navigable  rivers  in 
Afghanistan,  nor  does  there  exist  any  wheeled  carriage. 
Hence  goods  are  earned  on  beasts  of  burden,  chiefly  camels, 
along  roads  which  often  lie  through  close  and  craggy 
defiles,  and  narrow  stony  valleys  among  bare  mountains, 
or  over  waste  plains.  Though  from  time  immemorial  the 
larger  part  of  the  products  of  India  destined  for  western 
Asia  and  Europe  has  been  exported  by  sea,  yet  at  one  time 
valuable  caravans  of  these  products,  with  the  same  destina- 
tion, used  to  traverse  these  rugged  Afghan  roads. 

The  great  trade  routes  are  the  following : — 

1.  From  Persia  by  Mesh'bed  to  Herat. 

2.  Fn»m  Bokhara  by  Merv  to  Herat. 

3.  From  the  same  quarter  by  Karshi,  Balkh.  and  Khulm.  Vo 
Kabul. 

i.  From  the  Panjab  by  Peshawar  and  the  Tatara  or  Abkhanab 
Passes  to  KaBul. 

5.  From  the  Panjab  oy  the  Ghawalari  Pass  towards  Ghazni. 

6.  From  Sind  by  the  Bolan  Pass  to  Kandahar. 

There  is  also  a  route  from  eastern  Turkistnn  by  Chitral  to  Jala- 
labad, or  to  Peshawar  by  Dir :  but  it  is  doubtful  how  far  there  is 
any  present  traffic  by  it. 

Towards  Siud  the  chief  exports  from  or  through 
Afghanistan  are  wool,  horses,  silk,  fruit,  madder,  and  assa- 
fcetida.  The  staple  of  local  production  exported  from 
Kandahar  is  dried  fruit.  The  horse  trade  in  this  direction 
ia  chiefly  carried  on  by  the  Syads  of  Pishin,  Kakars,  Bakh- 
tiyaris,  and  Biluchis.  The  Syads  also  do,  or  did,  dabble 
largely  in  slave-dealing.  The  Hazaras  furnished  the  largest 
part  of  the  victims. 

Burnes's  early  anticipation  of  a  large  traffic  in  wool  from 
the  regions  west  of  the  Indus  has  been  amply  verified,  for 
the  trade  has  for  many  years  been  of  growing  importance; 
and  in  1871-72  2,000,000  lb  were  shipped  from  Karachi 
The  importation  to  Sind  is  chiefly  in  the  hands  of  Shikar- 
pur  merchants.  Indeed,  yearly  all  the  trade  from  southern 
Afghanistan  is  managed  bj  Hindus.  That  between  Mesh'hed, 
Herat,  and  Kandahar  is  carried  on  by  Persians,  who  bring 
down  silk,  arms,  turquoises,  horses,  carpets,  &c,  and  take 
back  wool,  skins,  and  woollen  fabrics. 

The  chief  imports  by  Peshawar  from  India  into  Afghanis- 
tan are  cotton,  woollen,  and  silk  goods;  from  England, 
coarse  country  cloths,  sugar  and  indigo,  Benares  brocades, 
gold  thread  and  lace,  scarves,  leather,  groceries,  and  drugs. 
The  exports  are  raw  silk  and  silk  fabrics  of  Bokhara,  gold 
and  silver  wire  (Russian),  horses,  almonds  and  raisins,  and 
fruits  generally,  fure  (including  dressed  for  skins  and  I 
•heep  skins),  and  bullion,  ' 


The  trade  with  India  was  thus  estimated  in  1862: 


Exports  to  India. 


Import*  fiom 
India. 


By  Peshawar JE156.513  £120,^43  £277,156 

By  Ghawalari  Pass 130,000  104,000  294,000 

By  Bolaa  Pass.. 31,870  18,892  50,'?62 


£318,3S3 


£303,535 


£C21,918 


But  this  omits  some  passes,  and  the  Bolan  exports  do  not  in- 
clude the  large  item  of  wool  which  enters  Sind  further  south. 
A  relic  of  the  old  times  of  Asiatic  trade  has  come  down 
to  our  day  in  the  habits  of  the  class  of  Lohani  Afghan 
traders,  commonly  called  Povindahs,  who  spend  their  lives 
in  carrying  on  traffic  between  India,  Khorasan,  and  Bok- 
hara, by  means  of  their  strings  of  camels  nnd  ponies, 
banded  in  large  armed  caravans,  in  order  to  restrict  those 
recurring  exactions  that  would  render  trade  impossible. 
Bullying,  fighting,  evading,  or  bribing,  they  battle  their  way 
twice  a  year  between  Bokhara  and  the  Indus.  Their  sum- 
mer pastures  are  in  the  highlands  of  Ghazni  and  Kala't-i- 
Ghilzai  In  the  autumn  they  descend  the  Sulunani  passes. 
At  the  Indus,  in  these  days,  they  have  to  deposit  all 
weapons ;  but  once  across  that,  they  are  in  security.  They 
leave  their  families  and  their  camels  in  the  Panjab  plains, 
and  take  their  goods  by  rail  to  all  the  Gangetic  cities,  or 
by  boat  and  steamer  to  Karachi  and  Bombay.  Even  in 
Asam  or  in  distant  Rangoon  the  Povindah  is  to  be  seen, 
pre-eminent  by  stature  and  by  lofty  air,  not  less  than  by 
rough  locks  and  filthy  clothes.  Iu  March  they  rejuin 
their  families,  and  move  up  again  to  the  Ghilzai  highlands, 
sending  on  caravans  anew  to  Kabul,  Bokhara,  Kandahar, 
and  Heiat,  the  whole  returning  in  time  to  accompany  the 
tribe  down  the  passes  in  the  autumn.  The  Povindah  trar^e 
by  all  the  passes  is  now  estimated  to  reach  £1,500,000  in 
value  annually. 

Inhabitants  of  Afghanistan. — These  may  first  be 
divided  into  Afghan  and  non-Afghan,  of  whom  the  Afghan 
people  are  predominant  in  numbers,  power,  and  character. 
The  Afghans  themselves  do  not  recognise  as  entitled  to 
that  name  all  to  whom  we  give  it.  According  to  Bellew 
they  exclude  certain  large  tribes,  who  seem,  nevertheless,  . 
to  be  essentially  of  the  same  stock,  speaking  the  same 
language,  observing  the  same  customs,  and  possessing  the 
same  moral  and  physical  characteristics.  These  are  recog- 
nised as  Pathdns,  but  not  as  Afghans,  and  are  all  located 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Sulimani  mountains  and  their  off- 
shoots towards  the  east.  We  do  not  attempt  to  name 
them,  because  the  information  on  the  subject  seems  con- 
tradictory. There  are  tribes  of  somewhat  similar  character 
■elsewhere,  such  as  the  Wardaks,  to  the  south  of  Kabul; 
and  there  are  again  some  tribes,  in  contact  with  these  and 
with  Afghan  tribes,  who  speak  the  Afghan  language,  and 
have  many  Afghan  customs,  but  are  different  in  aspect, 
and  seem  not  to  be  regarded  as  Pathan  at  alL  Such  are 
the  Turis  and  Jajis  of  Kurram. 

Of  the  Afghans  proper  there  are  about  a  dozen  gTeat 
clans,  with  numerous  subdivisions.  Of  the  great  clans 
the  following  are  the  most  important : — 

The  Durr&nis,  originally  called  Abdalis,  received  the 
former  name  from  a  famous  clansman,  Ahmed  Shah.  Their 
country  may  be  regarded  as  the  whole  of  the  south  and 
south-west 'of  the  Afghan  plateau. 

The  Ghilzais  are  the  strongest  of  the  Afghan  clans,  and 
perhaps  the  bravest  They  were  supreme  in  Afghanistan 
in  the  beginning  of  last  century,  and  for  a  time  possessed 
the  throne  of  Ispahan.  They  occupy  the  high  plateau 
north  of  Kandahar,  and  extend,  roughly  speaking,  east- 
ward to  the  Sulimani  mountains,  and  north  to  the  Kabul 
river  (though  in  places  passing  these  limits),  and  they 
extend  down  the  Kabul  river  to  Jalalabad    On  the  British 


INHABITANTS.] 


AFGHANISTAN 


235 


invasion  the  Ghilzais  showed  a  rooted  hostility  to  the 
foreigner,  and  great  fidelity  to  Dost  Mahommed,  though 
of  a  rival  clan.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  old  Arab  geo- 
graphers of  the  10th  and  11th  centuries  place  in  the 
Gbiliai'country  a  people  called  Khi/ijis,  whom  they  call  a 
tribe  of  Turks,  to  which  belonged  a  famous  family  of 
Dehli  kings.  The  probability  of  the  identity  of  Khilijis 
and  Ghilzais  is  obvious,  and  the  question  touches  others 
regarding  the  origin  of  the  Afghans,  but  it  does  not  seem 
to  have  been  gone  into. 

The  Yvmfzais  occupy  an  extensive  tract  of  hills  and 
valleys  north  of  Peshawar,  including  part  of  the  Peshawar 
plain.  Except  those  within  our  Peshawar  district,  they 
are  independent;  they  are  noted  even  among  Afghans  for 
their  turbulence. 

The  Kakars,  still  retaining  in  great  measure  their  inde- 
pendence, occupy  a  wide  extent  of  elevated  country  in 
the  south-east  of  Afghanistan,  among  the  spurs  of  the 
Toba  and  Sulimani  mountains,  bordering  on  the  Biluch 
tribes.     But  the  region  is  still  very  imperfectly  known. 

Of  the  non-Afghan  population  associated  with  the  Af- 
ghans, the  Tajiks  come  first  in  importance  and  numbers. 
They  are  intermingled  with  the  Afghans  over  the  countiy, 
though  their  chief  localities  are  in  the  west.  They  are 
regarded  as  descendants  of  the  original  occupants  of  that 
part  of  the  country,  of  the  old  Iranian  race;  they  call 
themselves  Parsiwan,  and  speak  a  dialect  of  Persian. 
They  are  a  fine  athletic  people,  generally  fair  in  com- 
plexion, and  assimilate  in  aspect,  in  dress,  and  much  in 
manners  to  the  Afghans.  But  they  are  never  nomadic. 
They  are  mostly  agriculturists,  whilst  those  in  towns  follow 
mechanical  trades  and  the  like,  a  thing  which  the  Afghan 
never  does.  They  are  generally  devoid  of  the  turbulence 
of  the  Afghani,  whom  they  are  content  to  regard  as  masters 
or  superiors,  and  lead  a  frugal,  industrious  life,  without 
aspiring  to  a  share  in  the  government  of  the  country. 
Many,  however,  become  soldiers  in  the  Amir's  army,  and 
many  enlist  in  our  local  Panjab  regiments.  They  are  zealous 
Sunnis.  The  Tajiks  of  the  Daman-i-Koh  of  Kabul  are 
said  to  be  exceptional  in  turbulent  and  vindictive  character. 

The  KizilL'ishes  may  be  regarded  as  modern  Persians, 
but  more  strictly  they  are  Persiauised  Turks,  like  the 
present  royal  race  and  predominant  class  in  Persia.  They 
speak  pure  Persiau.  Their  immigration  dates  only  from 
the  time  of  Nadir  Shah  (1737).  They  Jre  chiefly  to  be 
found  in  towns  as  merchants,  physicians,  scribes,  petty 
traders,  (fee.,  and  are  justly  looked  on  as  the  more  educated 
and  superior  class  of  the  population.  At  Kabul  they  con- 
stitute the  bulk  of  the  Amir's  cavalry  and  artillery.  Many 
serve  in  our  Indian  regiments  of  irregular  cavalry,  and 
bear  a  character  for  smartness  and  intelligence,  as  well  as 
good  riding.    They  are  Shiahs,  and  heretics  in  Afghan  eyes. 

It  is  to  the  industry  of  the  Parsiwans  and  Kizilbashes 
that  the  country  is  indebted  for  whatever  wealth  it  pos- 
sesses, but  few  of  them  ever  attain  a  position  which  is  not 
in  some  degree  subservient  to  the  Afghan. 

The  Hazaras  have  their  stronghold  and  proper  home 
in  the  wild  mountainous  country  on  the  north-west  of 
Afghanistan  proper,  including  those  western  extensions  of 
Hindu  Kusb,  to  which  modern  geographers  have  often 
applied  the  ancient  name  of  Paropamisas.  In  these  their 
habitations  range  generally  from  a  height  of  5000  feet  to 
]  0,000  feet  above  the  sea. 

The  Hazaras  generally  have  features  of  Mongol  type, 
often  to  a  degree  that  we  might  call  exaggerated^  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  are  mainly  descended 
from  fragments  of  Mongol  tribes  who  came  from  the  east 
with  the  armies  of  Chinghiz  Khan  and  his  family,  though 
other  racs  may  be  represented  among  the  tribes  called 
I'.uiras.     The  Hazards  generally  are  said  by  Majer  Leech 


to  be  called  Moghals  by  the  Ghilzais;  and  one  tribe,  6tiH 
bearing  the  specific  name  of  Mongol,  and  speaking  a 
Mongol  dialect,  is  found  near  the  head  waters  of  the 
Murghab,  and  also  further  south  on  the  skirts  of  the  Ghur 
mountains.  But  it  is  remarkable  that  the  Hazaras  generally 
speak  a  purely  Persian  dialect.  The  Mongols  of  the  host 
of  Chinghiz  were  divided  into  tomans  (ten  thousands)  and 
hazaras  (thousands),  and  it  is  probably  in  this  use  of  tho 
word  that  the  origin  of  its  present  application  is  to  be 
sought.  The  oldest  occurrence  of  this  application  that  M. 
de  Khanikoff  has  met  with  is  in  a  rescript  of  Ghazan 
Khan  of  Persia,  regarding  the  security  of  roads  in  Khorasan, 
dated  A.H.  694  (a.d.  1294-95). 

Though  the  Hazaras  pay  tribute  to  the  Afghan  chiefs, 
they  never  do  so  unless  payment  is  enforced  by  amis.  The 
country  which  they  occupy  is  very  extensive,  embracing 
the  upper  valleys  of  the  Arghand-ab  and  the  Helmand, 
both  sides  of  the  main  range  of  Hindu  Kush,  nearly  as  far 
east  as  the  longitude  of  Andarab,  the  hill  country  of 
Bamian,  and  that  at  the  head  waters  of  the  Balkh  river, 
the  Murghab,  and  the  Hari-Kud;  altogether  an  area  of 
something  like  30,000  square  miles.  The  Hazaras  are 
accused  of  very  loose  domestic  morals,  like  the  ancient 
Massogetw,  and  the  charge  seems  to  be  credited,  at  least 
of  certain  tribes.  They  make  good  powder,  are  good 
shots,  and,  in  spite  of  the  nature  of  their  country,  sue  good 
riders,  riding  at  speed  down  very  steep  declivities.  They 
are  said  to  have  a  yodel  like  the  Swiss.  They  are  often 
sold  as  slaves,  and  as  such  are  prized.  During  the  winter 
many  spread  over  Afghanistan,  and  even  into  the  Panjab, 
in  search  of  work.  Excepting  near  Ghazni,  where  they 
hold  some  lands  and  villages;  the  position  of  the  .Hazaras 
found  in  the  proper  Afghan  country  is  a  menial  one.  They 
are  Shiahs  in  religion,  with  the  exception  of  one  fine  tribe 
called  the  Zeidna.t  Hazaras,  occupying  the  old  territory  of 
Badghis,  north  of  Herat. 

Eimdk  is  a  term  for  a  sept  or  section  of  a  tribe.  It  Las 
come  to  be  applied,  much  as  hazara,  to  certain  nomadic 
or  semi-nomadic  tribes  west  of  the  Hazaras  of  whom  we 
have  been  speaking,  and  immediately  north  of  Herat. 
These  tribes,  it  is  said,  were  originally  termed  "  the  four 
Eimaks. "  It  is  difficult  in  the  present  state  of  information 
regarding  them,  sometimes  contradiclory,  to  discern  what  is 
the  broad  distinction  between  the  Eimaks  and  the  Hazaras, 
unless  it  be  that  the  Eimaks  arc  predominantly  of  Iranian  or 
quasi-Iranian  blood,  the  Hazaras  Turanian.  The  Eimaks 
are  also  Sunnis.     Part  of  them  are  subject  to  Persia. 

llindkis. — This  is  the  name  given  to  people  of  Hindu 
descent  scattered  over  Afghanistan.  They  are  said  to  be 
of  the  Kshalri  or  military  caste.  They  are  occupied  in 
trade  ;  they  are  found  in  most  of  the  large  villages,  and  in 
the  towns  form  an  important  part  of  the  population,  doing 
all  the  banking  business  of  the  country,  and  holding  its 
chief  trade  in  their  hands.  They  pay  a  high  poll-tax,  and 
are  denied  many  privileges,  but  thrive  notwithstanding. 
The  Jats  of  Afghanistan  doubtless  belong  to  the  same 
vast  race  as  the  Jats  and  Jats  who  form  so  large  a  part  of 
the  population  of  the  territories  now  governed  from  Lahore 
and  Karachi,  and  whose  origin  is  so  obscure.  They  are  a 
fine  athletic,  dark,  handsome  race,  considerable  in  numbers, 
but  poor,  and  usually  gaining  a  livelihood  as  farm-ser- 
vants, barbers,  sweepers,  musicians,  &c 

Biluchis. — Many  of  these  squat  ampng  the  abandoned 
tracts  on  the  lower  Helmand;  a  fierce*  and  savage  people, 
professing  Islam,  but  not  observing  its  precepts,  and  hold- 
ing the  grossest  superstitions;  vendetta  their  most  stringent 
law;  insensible  to  privation,  and  singularly  tolerant  of 
heat;  camel-like  in  capacity  to  do  without  drink;  superior 
to  the  Afghans  in  daring  and  address,  which  arc  displayed 
in  robber  raids  ccrried  into  the  very  heart  of  Persia. 


236  A  F  G  H  A 

Tnere  remain  a  variety  of  tribes  in  the  hill  country 
aorth  of  the  Kabul  river,  speaking  various  languages, 
seemingly  of  Prakritic  character,  and  known  as  Kohistanis, 
Laghmanis,  Pashais,  ifcc. ;  apparently  converted  remnants 
of  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  the  Kabul  basin,  and  more  or 
less  kindred  to  the  still  unconverted  tribes  of  Kafiristan,  to 
the  Chitral  people,  and  perhaps  to  the  Dard  tribes  who  he 
to  the  north  of  the  Afghan  country  on  the  Indus. 

An  able  officer  of  the  staff  in  India  (CoL  Macgregor)  has 
lately  made  a  diligent  attempt  ,to  estimate  the  population 
of  Afghanistan,  which  he  bring'  to  4,901,000  souls.  This 
includes  the  estimated  population  of  Afghan  Turkestan,  the 
people  of"  Chitral,  the  Kafirs,  and  the  independent  Yusufzais. 
We  shall  deduct  the  three  first: — 

4,901,006 

A  fall.™  Turkestan 012,000 

Chitialis  and  Kafirs 150,000 

792,000 

4,109,000 
which  may  be  thus  roughly  divided — ■ 

Eimaks  and  Hazaras 400,000 

Tajiks 500,000 

Kizilbaslies 150,000 

llindkis  and  Jats 600,000 

Kohistanis,  &c 200,000 

Afghans  and  Pathans,  including  400,000  in-  j  „  „,„  „.. 

dependent  Yusufzais,  &c J  '      * 

Total 4,109,000 

The  Afghans,  in  government  and  general  manners,  have 
a  likeness  to  other  Mahommedan  nations;  but  they  have 
also  many  peculiarities. 

Besides  their  division  into  clans  and  tribes,  the  whole 
Afghan  people  may  be  divided  into  dwellers  in  tents  and 
dwellers  in  houses;  and  this  division  is  apparently  not 
Coincident  with  tribal  divisions,  for  of  several  of  the  great 
elans,  at  least  a  part  is  nomad  and  a  part  settled.  Such, 
»,g.,  is  the  case  with  the  Durrani  and  with  the  Ghilzai. 

Nomad  Afghans  exist  in  the  Kabul  basin,  but  their 
proper  field  is  that  part  of  their  territory  which  the  Afghans 
include  in  Khorasan,  with  its  wide  plains.  These  people 
subsist  on  the  produce  of  their  flocks,  and  rarely  cultivate. 
They  may,  perhaps,  pay  something  to  the  Kabul  govern- 
ment through  their  chief,  and  they  contribute  soldiers  to 
the  regular  army,  besides  forming  the  bulk  of  the  militia; 
but  they  have  little  relation  to  the  government,  and  seldom 
enter  towns  unless  to  sell  their  produce.  They  are  under 
tome  indefinite  control  by  their  chiefs,  to  whom  serious 
disputes  are  referred.  Petty  matters  are  settled  by  the 
"greybeards"  of  the  community,  guided  by  the  Afghan 
traditional  code.  Many  of  the  nomad  tribes  are  professed 
and  incorrigible'  thieves.  Among  certain  tribes  the  cere- 
mony of  naming  a  male  child  is  accompanied  by  the  sym- 
bolical act  of  passing  him  through  a  hole  made  in  the  wall 
of  a  house,  whilst  a  volley  of  musketry  is  fired  overhead.1 

The  settled  Afghans  form  the  village  communities,  and 
in  part  the  population  of  the  few  towns.  Their  chief 
occupation  is  with  the  soil.  They  form  the  core  of  the 
nation  and  the  main  part  of  the  army.  Nearly  all  own 
the  land  on  which  they  live,  and  which  they  cultivate  with 
their  own  hands  or  by  hired  labour.  Roundly  speaking, 
agriculture  and  soldiering  are  their  sole  occupations.  No 
Afghan  will  pursue  a  handicraft  or  keep  a  shop,  though, 
as  we  have  seen,  certain  pastoral  tribes  engage  largely  in 
travelling  trade  and  transport  of  goods. 

As  a  race,  the  Afghans  are  very  handsome  and  athletic, 
often  with  fair  complexion  and  flowing  beard,  generally 
black  or  brown,  sometimes,  though  rarely,  fed;  the  features 

1  Of  one  tribe,  at  least,  of  which  this  is  told,  the  Afghan  blood  is 
doubtful. 


N  I  S  T  A  N 


[inhabitants, 


highly  aquiline.  The  hair  is  shaved  off  from  the  forchca.l 
to  the  top  of  the  head,  the  remainder  at  tho  sides  being 
allowed  to  fall  in  large  curls  over  tho  shoulders.  Their 
step  is  full  of  resolution;  their  bearing  proud  and  apt  to 
be  rough. 

The  women  have  hardsome  features  of  Jewish  cast  (the 
last  trait  often  true  also  of  tho  men);  fair  complexions, 
sometimes  rosy,  though  usually  a  pale  sallow;  hair  braided 
and  plaited  behind  in  two  longtresse3  terminating  in  silken 
tassels.  They  are  rigidly  secluded,  but  intrigue  is  frequent 
In  some  parts  of  the  country  the  engaged  lover  is  admitted 
to  visits  of  courtship,  analogous  to  old  Welsh  customs. 

The  Afghans,  inured  to  bloodshed  from  childhood,  aro 
familiar  with  death,  and  are  audacious  in  attack,  but  easily 
discouraged  by  failure;  excessively  turbulent  and  unsub- 
, missive  to  law  or  discipline;  apparently  frank  and  affable 
in  manner,  especially  when  they  hope  to  gain  somo  object, 
but  capable  of  the  grossest  brutality  when  that  hope  ceases. 
They  are  'unscrupulous  in  perjury,  treacherous,  vain,  and  in- 
satiable, passionate  in  vindictiveness,  which  they  will  satisfy 
at  the  cost  of  their  own  lives  and  in  the  most  cruel  manner. 
Nowhere  is  crime  committed  on  such  trifling  grounds,  or 
with  such  general  impunity,  though  when  it  is  punished  the 
punishment  is  atrocious.  Among  themselves  the  Afghans 
are  quarrelsome,  intriguing,  and  distrustful;  estrangements 
and  affrays  are  of  constant  occurrence;  the  traveller  con- 
ceals and  misrepresents  tho  time  and  direction  of  his 
journey.  The  Afghan  is  by  breed  and  nature  a  bird  of 
prey.  If  from  habit  and  tradition  he  respects  a  stranger 
within  his  threshold,  he  yet  considers  it  legitimate  to  warn 
a  neighbour  of  the  prey  that  is  afoot,  or  even  to  overtake 
and  plunder  his  guest  after  he  has  quitted  his  roof.  Tho 
repression  of  crime  and  the  demand  of  taxation  he  regards 
alike  as  tyranny.  The  Afghans  are  eternally  boasting  of 
thoir  lineage,  their  independence,  and  their  prowess.  They 
look  on  the  Afghans  as  the  first  of  nations,  and  each  man 
looks  on  himself  as  the  equal  of  any  Afghan,  if  not  as  tho 
superior  of  all  others.  Yet  when  they  hear  of  some  atro- 
cious deed  they  will  exclaim — "An  Afghan  job  that!"  They 
are  capable  of  enduring  great  privation,  but  when  abund- 
ance conies  their  powers  of  eating  astonish  an  European. 
Still,  sobriety  and  hardiness  characterise  the  bulk  of  tho 
people,  though  the  higher  classes  arc  too  often  stained  with 
deep  and  degrading  debauchery. 

The  first  impression  made  by  the  Afghans  :<s  favourable. 
The  European,  especially  if  he  come  from  India,  is  charmed 
by  their  apparently  frank,  open-hearted,  hospitable,  and 
manly  manners;  but  the  charm  is  not  of  long  duration,  and 
he  finds  that  under  this  frank  demeanour  there  is  craft  as 
inveterate,  if  not  as  accomplished,  as  in  any  Hindu. 

Such  is  the  character  of  the  Afghans  as  drawn  by  Forrier 
and  other  recent  writers,  and  undoubtedly  founded  on  their 
experience,  though  perhaps  the  dark  colour  is  laid  on  too 
universally.  Tho  impression  is  very  different  from  that 
left  by  the  accounts  of  Elphinstone  and  Burnes.  Yet  most 
of  the  individual  features  can  be  traced  in  Elphinstone, 
though  drawn  certainly  under  less  temptation  to  look  on 
the  darker  side,  owing  to  the  favourable  circumstances  of 
his  intercourse  with  the  Afghans,  and  touched  with  a  more 
delicate  and  friendly  hand,  perhaps  lightened  by  wider 
sympathies.  Sir  H.  Edwardes,  who  had  intimate  dealings 
with  the  Afghans  for  many  years,  takes  special  exception 
to  Elphinstone's  high  estimate  of  their  character,  and 
appeals  to  the  experience  of  every  officer  who  had  served 
in  the  country.  "  Nothing,"  he  sums  up,  "  is  finer  than 
their  physique,  or  worse  than  their  morale." 

Many  things  in  Afghan  character  point  to  a  nation  in 
decadence — the  frank  manners  and  joyous  temper,  the 
liospitable  traditions,  the  martial  and  independent  spirit, 
the  love  of  field  sports,  the  nobility  of  aspect,  suggest  8 


INSTIIUTIONS.] 


AFGHANISTAN 


237 


time  when  these  were  more  than  superficial  and  deceptive 
indications  of  character,  and  were  not  marred  by  greed  and 
treacherous  cruelty 

Political  Institutions. — The  political  institutions  of 
the  Afghans  present  tte  rude  and  disjointed  materials  of  a 
free  constitution.  .  The  nation  is  theoretically  divided  into 
four  great  stocks,"  supposed  to  spring  from  four  brothers. 
But  these  four  divisions  are  practically  obsolete,  and  only 
rome  up  in  genealogies.  Each  tribe  has  split  into  several 
branches,  and  in  the  more  numerous  and  scattered  tribes 
these  branches  have  separated,  and  each  has  its  own  chief. 
They  retain,  however,  the  common  name,  and  an  idea  of 
community  in  blood  and  interests. 

The  type  of  the  Afghan  institutions  is  perhaps  best  seen 
in  some  of  the  independent  tribes  near  the  British  frontier. 
These  cling  most  closely  to  the  democratic"  traditions. 
Their  rude  state  of  society  is  held  together  by  a  code  as 
rude,  which  is  acknowledged,  however,  and  understood  by 
every  one,  and  enforced  by  the  community,  every  member 
of  which  considers  its  infringement  as  an  act  committed 
against  his  own  privileges.  The  Maliks  or  chiefs  are  the 
representatives  of  the  tribe,  division,  or  family  to  which 
they  each  belong,  but  they  possess  no  independent  power 
of  action,  and  before  they  can  speak  in  council,  they  must 
have  collected  the  wishes  of  the  bodies  which  they  represent. 
The  men  of  the  section  (kandi)  of  a  village,  having  come 
to  a  decision,  send  their  representative  to  a  council  of  the 
whole  village,  and  these  again  to  that  of  the  sept  (Mail), 
and  the  appointed  chiefs  of  the  septs  finally  assemble  as 
the  council  of  the  ulus  or  tribe.  These  meetings,  in  all  their 
stages,  are  apt  to  be  stormy.  If  persuasion  and  argument 
fail  to  produce  unanimity,  no  further  steps  can  be  taken, 
unless  one  party  be  much  the  weaker,  when  sometimes  the 
stronger  side  will  forcibly  extort  assent.  When'  once  a 
council  has  decided,  implicit  compliance  is  incumbent  on 
the  tribe  under  heavy  penalties,  and  the  maliks  have  the 
power  of  enforcing  these. 

Justice  is  administered  in  the  towns,  more  or  less  defect- 
ively, according  to  Mahommedan  law,  by  a  kazi  and  muftis. 
But  the  unwritten  code  by  which  Afghan  communities  in 
their  typical  state  are  guided,  and  the  maxims  of  which 
penetrate  the  whole  nation,  is  the  Pukhtunwali,  or  usage 
of  the  Pathans,  a  rude  system  of  customary  law,  founded 
on  principles  such  as  one  might  suppose  to  have  prevailed 
before  the  institution  of  civil  government.1 

A  prominent  law  in  this  code  is  that  called  Nanawatai, 
or  "  entering  in."  By  this  law  the  Pathan  is  bound  to 
grant  any  boon  claimed  by  the  person  who  passes  his 
threshold  and  invokes  its  sanctions,  even  at  the  sacrifice  of 
Ids  own  life  and  property.  So  also  the  Pathan  is  bound 
to  feed  and  shelter  any  traveller  claiming  hospitality.  Re- 
taliation must  be  exacted  by  the  Pathan  for  every  injury 
or  insult,  and  for  the  life  of  a  kinsman.  If  immediate 
opportunity  fail,  a  man  will  dodge  L:s  foe  for  years,  with 
the  cruel  purpose  ever  uppermost,  using  every  treacherous 
artifice  to  entrap  him.  To  omit  such  obligations,  above  all 
the  vendetta,  exposes  the  Pathan  to  scorn.  The  injuries  of 
one  generation  may  be  avenged  in  the  next,  or  even  by 
remoter  posterity.  The  relatives  of  a  murdered  man  may, 
however,  before  the  tribal  council,  accept  a  blood-price. 

Crimes  punished  by  the  Pathan  code  are  such  as  murder 
without  cause,  refusal  to  go  to  battle,  contravention  of  the 
decision  of  a  tribal  councu,  adultery. 

The  Afghans  are  Mahommedans  of  the  Sunni  or  ortho- 
dox body,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  tribes,  perhaps  not 
truly  Pathan,  who  are  Shiahs.  They  are  much  under  the 
influence  of  their  Mullahs,  especially  for  evil;  and  have  a 
stronger  feeling  against  the  Shiah  heretic  than  against  the 

1  ElpUinstone. 


unbeliever;  their  aversion  to  the  Persians  being  aggravated 
thereby.  But  to  those  of  another  faith  they  are  more 
tolerant  thau  most.  Mahommedans,  unless  when  creed  be- 
comes a  war-cry.  They  are  very  superstitious  in  regard  to 
charms,  omens,  astrology, " and  so  forth;  and  greatly  ad- 
dicted to  the  worship  of  local  saints,  whose  shrines  (ziydr'at) 
are  found  on  every  hill-top.  The  shrine,  a  domed  tomb,  01 
mayhap  a  heap  of  stones  within  a  wall,  sometimes  marks 
the  saint's  grave,  but  is  often  a  cenotaph.  The  saint  may 
have  been'  unknown  in  life  for  his  virtues,  but  becomes 
after  death  an  object  of  veneration,  for  reasons  often  hard 
to  discern.  In  the  immediate  environs  of  Ghazni  there  are 
no  less  than  197  of  these  shrines. 

A  very  marked  feature  in  Afghan  character  is  the  pas- 
sionate love  of  field  sports,  especially  hawking,  .beer- 
stalking  in  the  open  plains,  the  driving  of  game  to  well- 
known  points  by  a  host  of  beaters,  and  wild-fowl  shooting 
with  decoys,  are  others  of  their  sports.  They  are  capital 
horsemen,  and  unerring  marksmen  with  the  native  rifle 
(jezail). 

Among  themselves  the  people  are  convivial  and  humorous. 
Festive  gatherings  are  frequent,  where  they  come  together, 
not  to  buy  or  sell,  or  even  to  quarrel,  but  to  make  a  noise 
and  be  happy.  Tilting,  shooting,  racing,  and  wild  music 
vary  the  amusements. 

They  have  a  wild  dance  called  the  atari,  in  which  the 
men  work  themselves  into  great  excitement.  Among  some 
Kakar  tribes  it  is  said  the  atan  is°sometimes  danced  by 
both  sexes  together. 

Government. — Afghanistan  ia  now,  and  has  been  be- 
fore, under  one  prince,  but  it  is  hardly  a  monarchy  as  we 
are  used  to  understand  the  term.  It  is  rather  the  govern- 
ment of  a  dictator  for  life  over  a  military  aristocracy,  and 
within  this  a  congeries  of  small  democracies.  Elphinstone 
compares  it  with  Scotland  in  the  middle  ages;  some 
things  suggest  a  comparison  with  Poland,  in  spite  of  differ- 
ence of  physical  geography;  but  in  neither  was  there  the 
democratic  constitution  of  the  Afghan  ulus.  The  sirdars 
govern  in  their  respective  districts,  each  after  his  own 
fashion;  jealous,  ambitious,  turbulent,  the  sovereign  can 
restrain  them  only  by  their  divisions.  There  is  no  unity 
nor  permanence;  everything  depends  on  the  pleasure  of  a 
number  of  chiefs  bound  by  no  law,  always  at  variance, 
and  always  ready  to  revolt  when  they  have  the  sb'ghtest 
interest  in  doing  so— almost  always  ready  to  plunge  into 
strife  with  a  wild  delight  in  it  for  its  own  sake.  In  war, 
as  in  peace,  chiefs  and  soldiers  are  ready  to  pass  from  one 
service  to  another  without  scruple.  It  is  a  matter  of 
speculation,  and  no  disgrace. 

The  spirit  of  Afghan  character  and  institutions  was 
tersely  expressed  by  an  old  man  to  Elphinstone,  who  had 
urged  the  advantages  of  quiet  and  security  under  a  strong 
king:  "  We  are  content  with  discord,  we  are  content  with 
alarms,  we  are  content  with  blood;  but  we  will  never  be 
content  with  a  master." 

Bevenues. — The  revenues  of  Dost  Mahommed  Khan 
were  estimated  in  1857  at  4,000,000  rupees,  or  about 
£400  000.  This  included  Afghan  Turkestan*  but  not 
Herat,  which  he  did  not  hold.  The  Herat  revenue  was 
estimated  some  years  before  (probably  too  low)  at  £80  000. 
In  the  later  years  of  Dost  Mahommed  the  net  revenue  is 
stated  to  have  amounted  to  £710,000,  of  which  the  army 
cost  £430,000.!  Information  on  this  subject  is  very  im- 
perfect, and  not  alwavs  consistent.  There  seems  to  be  a 
tax  on 'the  produce  of  the  soil,  both  in  kind  and  in  money, 
and  a  special  tax  on  garden  ground.  A  house-tax  of 
about  5  rupees  is  paid  by  all  who  are  not  Pathans.  The 
latter  pay  a  much  lighter  tax  under  another  name;  and 


»  See  Edin.  Review,  July  1873,  p.  273. 


238 


AFGHANISTAN 


(he  Hindus  pay  the  separate  poll-tax  (ja:eya).  Taxes  are 
|<aid  on  horses,  <tc,  kept,  and  on  the  sale  of  animals  in 
the  public  market. 

The  aggregate  of  taxation  is  not  great,  but  the  smallest 
exactioD  seems  a  tyrannical  violence  to  an  Afghan.  Nor 
does  payment  guarantee  the  cultivator  from  further  squeez- 
ing. In  many  puts  of  the  country  collections  are  only 
made  spasmodically  by  military  force.  The  people  are  let 
done  for  years,  till  need  and  opportunity  arise,  when  a 
force  is  marched  in,  and  arrears  extorted. 

Customs  dues  at  Kabul  and  Kandahar  are  only  2\  per 
cent,  nominally,  but  this  is  increased  a  good  de.al  by 
exactions.  There  is  a  considerable  tax  on  horses  ex- 
ported for  sale,  and  a  toll  on  beasts  of  burden  exporting 
merchandise,  from  6  rupees  .on  a  loaded  camel  to  1  rupee 
on  a  donkey. 

Military  Fokce. — According  to  the  old  system  the 
Afghan  forces  were  entirely  composed  of  the  ulus,  or 
tribesmen  of  the  chiefs,  who  were  supposed  to  hold  their 
lauds  on  a  condition  of  service,  but  who,  as  frequently  as 
not,  went  over  to  the  enemy  in  the  day  of  need.  As  a 
counterpoise,  the  late  Amir  Dost  Mahommed  began  to 
form  a  regular  army.  In  1858  this  contained  16  infantry 
regiments  of  (nominally)  800  men,- 3  of  cavalry  of  300 
men,  and  about  80  field-pieces,  besides  a  few  heavy  guns. 
The  pay  was  bad,  and  extremely  irregular,  and  punish- 
ments were  severe.  The  men  were  fine,  but  recruited  in 
the  worst  manner,  viz.,  the  arbitrary  and  forcible  seizure 
of  able-bodied  men.  There  were  also  Jezailchi  (riflemen), 
irregulars,  some  in  the  Amir's  pay,  others  levies  of  the  local 
chiefs ;  and  a  considerable  number  of  irregular  cavalry.  W'c 
have  failed  to  obtain  recent  data  on  this  subject. 

Language  and  Literature. — Persian  is  the  vernacular 
of  a  large  part  of  the  non-Afghan  population,  and  is  fami- 
liar to  all  educated  Afghans.  But  the  proper  language  of 
the  Afghans  is  Pushtu,  or  Pukldu  (these  are  dialectic 
variations).  Currency  has  been  given  to  the  notion  that 
'Jiis  language  has  a  Semitic  character,  but  this  appears  to 
be  quite  erroneous,  and  is  entirely  rejected  by  competent 
authorities,  the  majority  of  whom  class  Pushtu  positively 
as  an  Aryan  or  Indo-Persian  language.  The  Pushtu 
vocabulary  preserves  a  number  of  ancient  forms  and  con- 
nections with  words  that  remain  isolated  in  other  Aryan 
languages.  Interesting  illustrations  of  this  and  other 
points  connected  with  Pushtu  will  be  found  in  a  paper  by 
tsidor  Lowenthal  in  the  J.  of  the  As.  Soc.  of  Bengal,  vol 

irviv 

Pushtu  does  not  seem  to  be  spoken  ;n  Herat,  or  (roughly 
speaking)  west  of  the  Helmand. 

There  is  a  respectable  amount  of  Afghan  literature. 
He  oldest  work  in  Pushtu  as  yet  mentioned  is  a  history 
of  the  conquest  of  Swat  by  Shaikh  Mali,  a  chief  of  th[e 
Yusufzais,  and  leader  in  the  conquest  (a.D.  1413-24). 
In  1494  .Kaju  Khan  became  chief  of  the  same  clan; 
during  his  rule  Buner  and  Panjkora  were  completely  con- 
quered, and  he  wrote  a  history  of  the  events.  But  these 
works  have  not  been  met  with.  In  the  reign  of  Akbar, 
Bayazid  Ansari,  called  Pir-i-Roshan,  "  The  Eaint  of  Light," 
the  founder  of  an  heretical  sect,  wrote  in  Pushtu ;  as  did 
his  chief  antagonist  a  famous  Afehan  saint  called  Akhund 
Darweza. 

The  literature  is  richest  in  poetry.  Abdarrahman  (17th 
century)  is  the  best  known  poet.  Another  very  popular 
poet  is  Khushal  Khan,  the  warlike  chief  of  the  Khattaks 
in  the  time  of  Aurangzib.  Many  other  members  of  his 
family  were  poets  also.  -  Ahmed  Shah,  the  founder  cf  the 
monarchy,  likewise  wrote  poetry.     Ballads  are  numerous. 

History. — The  Afghan  chroniclers  call  their  people 
Bani-Jrrail  (Arab,  for  Children  of  Israel),  and  claim  descent 
trom  King  Saul  (whom  they  call  by  the  Mahommedan  cor- 


[  HISTORY. 

ruption  Tulut)  through  a  son  whom  they  ascribe  to  him, 
called  Jeremiah,  who  again  had  a  son  called  Afghana. 
The  numerous  stock  of  Afghana  were  removed  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, and  found  their  way  to  the  mountains  of  Ghur 
and  Feroza  (east  and  north  of  Herat).'  Only  nino  years 
after  Mahommed's  announcement  of  his  mission  they  heard 
of  the  new  prophet,  and  sent  to  Medina  a  deputation 
headed  by  a  wise  and  holy  man  called  Kais,  to  make 
inquiry.  The  deputation  became  zealous  converts,  and  on 
their  return  converted  their  countrymen.  From  Kais  and 
his  three  sons  the  whole  of  the  genuine  Afghans  claim 
descent. 

This  story  is  repeated  in  gTcat  and  varying  detail  in 
sundry  books  by  Afghans,  the  oldest  of  which  appears  to 
be  of  the  lGth  century ;  nor  do  we  know  that  any  trace  of 
the  legend  is  found  of  older  date.  In  the  version  given 
by  Major  Kaverty  (Introd.  to  Afghan  Grammar),  Afghanah 
is  settled  by  King  Solomon  himself  in  the  Sulimani  moun- 
tains; there  is  nothing  about  Nebuchadnezzar  or  Ghur. 
The  historian  Firishta  says  he  had  read  that  the  Afghans 
were  descended  from  Copts  of  the  race  of  Pharaoh.  And 
one  of  the  Afghan  histories,  quoted  by  Mr  Bellew,  relates 
"  a  cunent  tradition  "  that  previous  to  the  time  of  Kais, 
Bilo  the  father  of  the  Biluchis,  Uzbak  (evidently  the  father 
of  the  Uzbegs),  and  Afgliana  were  considered  as  brethren. 
As  Mahomincd  Uzbeg  Khan,  the  eponymus  of  the  medley 
of  Tartar  tribes  called  Uzbegs,  reigned  in  the  14th  century 
A.D.,  this  gives  some  possible  light  <*n  the  value  of  these 
so-called  traditions. 

We  have  analogous  stories  in  the  literature  of  almost  all 
nations  that  derive  their  religion  or  their  civilisation  from 
a  foreign  source.  To  say  nothing  of  the  farce  of  the  Book 
of  Mormon,  there  is  in  our  own  age  and  in  our  own  country 
a  considerable  number  of  persons  who  seriously  hold  and 
propagate  the  doctrine  that  the  English  people  are  descended 
from  the  tribes  of  Israel,  and  the  literature  of  this  whimsi- 
cal theory  would  fill  a  much  larger  shelf  than  the  Afghan 
histories.  But  the  Hebrew  ancestry  of  the  Afghans  is  more 
worthy  at  least  of  consideration,  for  a  respectable  number 
of  intelligent  officers,  well  acquainted  with  the  Afghans, 
have  been  strong  in  their  belief  of  it ;  and  though  the 
customs  alleged  in  proof  will  not  bear  the  stress  laid  on 
them,  undoubtedly  a  prevailing  type  of  the  Afghan  physi- 
ognomy has  a  character  strongly  Jewish.  This  characteristic 
is  certainly  a  remarkable  one ;  but  it  is  shared,  to  a 
considerable  extent,  by  the  Kashmiris  (a  circumstance 
which  led  Beniier  to  speculate  on  the  Kashmiris  represent- 
ing the  lost  tribes  of  Israel),  and,  we  believe,  by  the  Tajik 
people  of  Badakhshan. 

In  the  time  of  Darius  Hystaspes  (B.C.  600)  we  find  the  region 
now  called  Afghanistan  embraced  in  the  Achaenicnian  satrapies, 
and  various  parts  of  it  occupied  by  Sarangiaus  (in  Scistan),  Ariaru 
(in  Herat),  Saltagydians  (supposed  in  highlands  of  upper  Helmand 
and  the  plateau  of  .Gliazni),  Dadtcoe  (suggested  to  be  Tajiks), 
AparyUz  (mountaineers,  perhaps  of  Safcd  Koh,  where  lay  the 
Parycttz  of  Ptolemy),  Gandarii  (in  Lower  Kabul  basin),  and  Pak- 
tycs,  on  or  near  the  Indus.  In  the  last  name  it  has  been  plausibly 
suggested  that  we  have  the  Pukhlun,  as  the  eastern  Afghans  pro- 
nounce their  name.  Indeed,  Pusht,  Pasht,  or  Pakht,  would  seem 
to  be  the  oldest  name  of  the  country  of  the  Afghans  in  their  tradi- 
tions. 

Alexander's  inarch  led  him  to  Artacoana  (Herat  ?),  the  capital  of 
Aria,  and  thence  to  the  country  of  the  Zarangtz  (Seistan),  to  that 
of  the  Euergctce,  upon  the  Elymander  (Helmand  river),  to  Arachosia, 
thence  to  the  Indians  dwelling  among  snows  in  a  barren  country, 
probably  the  highlands  between  Ghazni  and  Kabul.  Thence  he 
marched  to  the  foot  of  Caucasus,  and  spent  the  winter  among  the 
Paropamisada,  founding  a  city,  Alexandria,  supposed  to  be 
Hupian,  near  Charikax.  On  his  return  from  Bactria  he  prosecuted 
his  march  to  India  by  the  north  side  of  the  Kabul  river. 

The  Ariana  of  Strabo  corresponds  generally  with  the  existing 
dominions  of  KaluL  but  overpasses  their  limits  on  the  west  and 
south. 

About  310  B.C.  Selencns  is  said  '  Strabo  to  have  given  to  the 
Indian  Sandroeottus  (Chandragupta;,  jx  consequence  of  a  marriage- 


HISTORY.] 


AFGHANISTAN 


239 


contract,  some  part  of  the  country  west  of  the  Indus,  occupied  by 
an  Indian  population,  and  no  doubt  embracing  a  part  of  the  Kabul 
basin.  Some  60  years  later  occurred  the  establishment  of  an  inde- 
pendent Greek  dynasty  in  Bactiia.  Of  the  details  of  their  history 
and  extent  of  their  dominion  in  different  reigns  we  know  almost 
nothing,  and  conjecture  is  often  dependent  on  such  vague  data  as 
are  afforded  by  the  collation  of  the  localities  in  which  the  coins  of 
independent  princes  have  been  found.  But  their  power  extended 
certainly  over  the  Kabul  basin,  and  probably,  at  times,  over  the 
whole  of  Afghanistan.  The  ancient  architecture  of  Kashmir,  the 
tope  of  Mauikyala  in  the  Panjab,  and  many  sculptures  found  in 
the  Peshawar  valley,  show  unmistakable  Greek  influence.  Deme- 
trius (circa  E.o.  190)  is  supposed  to  have  reigned  in  Arachosia  after 
being  expelled  from  Bactiia,  much  as,  at  a  later  date,  Baber  reigned 
in  Kabul  after  his  expulsion  from  Samarkand.  Eucratides  (181 
B.C.)  is  alleged  by  Justin  to  have  warred  in  India.  "With  his  coins, 
found  abundantly  in  the  Kabul  basin,  commences  the  use  of  an 
Arianian  inscription,  in  addition  to  the  Greek,  supposed  to  imply 
the  transfer  of  rule  to  the  south  of  the  mountains,  over  a  people 
whom  the  Greek  dynasty  sought  to  conciliate.  Under  Heliocles 
(147  B.C.  ?),  the  Partisans,  who  had  already  encroached  on  Ariana, 

Pressed  their  conquests  into  India.  Menander  (126  B.C.)  invaded 
ndia  at  least  to  the  Jumna,  and  perhaps  also  to  the  Indus  delta. 
The  coinage  of  a  succeeding  king,  Hermseus,  indicates  a  barbaric 
irruption.  There  is  a  general  correspondence  between  classical  and 
Chinese  accounts  of  the  time  when  Bacrria  was  overrun  by  Scythian 
invaders.  The  chief  nation  among  these,  called  by  the  Chinese 
Yitcchi,  about  126  B.C.  established  themselves  in  Sogdiana  and 
on  the  Oxus  in  five  hordes.  Near  the  Christian  era  the  chief  of  one 
of  these,  which  was  called  Kushan,  subdued  the  rest,  and  extended 
liis  conquests  over  the  countries  south  of  Hindu  Kush,  including 
Sind  as  well  as  Afghanistan,  thus  establishing  a  great  dominion, 
of  which  we  hear  from  Greek  writers  as  Indo-Scythia. 

Buddhism  had  already  acquired  influence  over  the  people  of  the 
Kabul  basin,  and  some  of  the  barbaric  invaders  adopted  that  system. 
Its  traces  are  extensive,  especially  in  the  plains  of  Jalalabad  and 
Peshawar,  but  also  in  the  vicinity  of  Kabul. 

Various  barbaric  dynasties  succeeded  each  other,  among  which  a 
notable  monarch  was  Kanishka  or  Kanerkes,  who  reigned  and  con- 
quered apparently  about  the  time  of  Our  Lord,  and  whose  power 
extended  over  the  upper  Oxus  basin,  Kabul,  Peshawar.  Kashmir, 
and  probably  far  into  India.  His  name  and  legends  still  filled  the 
land,  or  at  least  the  Buddhist  portion  of  it,  600  years  later,  when 
the  Chinese  pilgrim  Hwen  Thsang  travelled  in  India  ;  they  had 
even  reached  the  great  Mahommedan  philosopher,  traveller,  and 
geographer,  Abu  Rihan  Al-Biruni,  in  the  11th  century  ;  and  they 
are  still  celebrated  in  the  Mongol  versions  of  Buddhist  ecclesiastical 
story. 

In  the  time  of  Hwen  Thsang  (630-45  A.D.)  there  were  both  Indian 
and  Turk  princes  in  the  Kabul  valley,  and  in  the  succeeding  cen- 
turies both  these  races  seem  to  have  predominated  in  succession. 
The  first  Mahommedan  attempts  at  the  conquest  of  Kabul  were  un- 
successful, though  Seistan  and  Arachosia  were  permanently  held 
from  an  early  date.  It  was  not  till  the  end  of  the  10th  century 
that  a  Hindu  prince  ceased  to  reign  in  Kabul,  and  it  fell  into  the 
han4s  of.  the  Turk  Sabaktegin,  who  had  established  his  capital  at 
Ghazni.  There,  too,  reigned  his  famous  son  Mahmud,  and  a  series 
of  descendants,  till  the  middle  of  the  12th  century,  rendering  the 
city  one  of  the  most  splendid  in  Asia.  We  then  have  a  powerful 
dynasty,  commonly  believed  to  have  been  of  Afghan  race  ;  and  if  so, 
the  first.  But  the  historians  give  them  a  legendary  descent  from 
Zohak,  which  is  no  Afghan  genealogy.  The  founder  of  the  dynasty 
was  Alauddin,  chief  of  Ghur,  whose  vengeance  for  the  cruel  death 
of  his  brother  at  the  hands  of  Bahram  the  Ghaznevide  was  wreaked 
in  devastating  the  great  city.  His  nephew  Shahabuddin  Mahommed 
repeatedly  invaded  India,  conquering  as  far  as  Benares.  His  empire 
in  India  indeed — ruled  by  his  freednien  who  after  his  death  became 
independent — may  be  regarded  as  the  origin  of  that  great  Mahom- 
medan monarchy  which  endured  nominally  till  1857.  For  a  brief 
period  the  Afghan  countries  were  subject  to  the  king  of  Kharizm, 
and  it  was  here  chiefly  that 'occurred  the  gallant  attempts  of  Jala- 
luddin  of  Kharizm  to  withstand  the  progress  of  Chinghiz  Khan. 

A  passage  in  Firishta  seems  to  imply  that  the  Afghans  in  the 
Sn1iTTni.ni  mountains  were  already  known  by  that  name  in  the  first 
century  of  the  Hegira,  but  it  is  uncertain  how  far  this  may  be  built 
on.  The  name  Afghans  ia  very  distinctly  mentioned  in  'Utbi's 
History  of  Sultan  Mahmud,  written  about  A.D.  1030,  conpled  with 
that  of  the  Khiljis.  It  also  appears  frecfuently  in  connection  with 
the  history  of  India  in  the  13th  and  14th  centuries.  The  successive 
dynasties  of  Dehli  are  generally  called  Patlian,  but  were  really  so  only 
in  part.  Of  the  Eliiljis  (12S3-1321)  we  have  already  spoken.  The 
Tughlaks  (1321-1421)  were  originally  Tartars  of  the  Karauna  tribe. 
The  Lodis  (1450-1526)  were  pure  Pathans.  Fora  century  and  more 
after  the  Mongol  invasion  the  whole  of  the  Afghan  countries  were 
under  Mongol  rule ;  but  in  the  middle  of  the  14th  century  a  native 
dynasty  sprang  up  in  western  Afghanistan,  that  of  the  Kurfs, 
which  extended  its  rul6  over  Ghur,  Herat,  and  Kandahar.     The 


history  of  the  Afghan  countries  under  the  Mongols  is  obscure ;  but 
that  regime  must  have  left  its  mark  upon  the  country  if  we  judge 
from  the  occurrence  of  frequent  Mongol  names  of  places,  and  even 
of  Mongol  expressions  adopted  into  familiar  language. 

All  these  countries  were  included  in  Timur's  conquests, 
and 'Kabul  at  least  had  remained  in  the  possession  of  one  of 
his  descendants  till  1501,  only  three  years  before  it  fell  intd 
the  hands  of  another  and  more  illustrious  one,  Sultan  Baber, 
It  was  not  till  1522  that  Baber  succeeded  in  permanently 
wresting  Kandahar  from  the  Arghuns,  a  family  of  Mongol 
descent,  who  had  long  held  it.  From  the  time  of  his 
conquest  of  Hindustan  (victor)' at  Panipat,  April  21,  1526), 
Kabul  and  Kandahar  may  be  regarded  as  part  of  the  empire 
of  Dehli  under  the  (so-called)  Moghul  dynasty  which  Baber 
founded.  Kabul  so  continued  till  the  invasion  of  Nadir 
(1738).  Kandahar  often  changed  hands  between  the 
Moghuls  and  the  rising  Safavis  (or  Sofis)  of  Persia, 
Under  >the  latter  it  had  remained  from  1642  till  1708, 
when  in  the  reign  of  Husain,  the  last  of  them,  the  Ghilzais, 
provoked  by  the  oppressive  Persian  governor  Shahnawaz 
Khan  (a  Georgian  prince  of  the  Bagratid  house)  revolted 
under  Mir  Wais,  and  expelled  the  Persians.  Mir  Wais 
was  acknowledged  sovereign  of  Kandahar,  and  eventually 
defeated  the  Persian  armies  sent  against  him,  but  did  not 
long  survive  (d.  1715). 

Mahmud,  Ihe  son  of  Mir  Wais,  a  man  of  great  courage 
and  energy,  carried  out  a  project  of  his  father's,  the  con- 
quest of  Persia  itself.  After  a  long  siege,  Shah  Husain 
came  forth  from  Ispahan  with  all  his  court,  and  surrendered 
the  sword  and  diadem  of  the  Sofis  into  the  hands  of  the 
Ghilzai  (Oct.  1722).  Two  years  later  Mahmud  died  mad, 
and  a  few  years  saw  the.end  of  Ghilzai  rule  in  Persia. 

Nadir  Shah  (1737-38)  both  recovered  Kandahar  and 
took  Kabul.  But  he  gained  the  goodwill  of  the  Afghans, 
and  enrolled  many  in  his  army.  I  Among  these  was  a  noble 
young  soldier,  Ahmed  Khan,  of  the  Saddozai  family  of  the 
Abdali  clan,  who  after  the  assassination  of  Nadir  (1747) 
was  chosen  by  the  Afghan  chiefs  at  Kandahar  to  be  their 
leader,  and  assumed  kingly  authority  over  the  eastern  part 
of  Nadir's  empire,  with  the  style  of  Dur-i-Dundn,  " Pearl 
of  the  Age,"  bestowing  that  of  Durrani  upon  his  clan,  the 
Abdalis.  With  Ahme^d  Shah,  Afghanistan,  as  such,  first 
took  a  place  among  the  kingdoms  of  tie  earth.  During 
the  twenty-six  years  of  his  reign  he  carried  bis  warlike 
expeditions  far  and  wide.  Westward  they  extended  nearly 
to  the  shores  of  the  Caspian;  eastward  he  repeatedly  entered 
India  as  a  conqueror.  At  his  great  battle  of  Panipat 
(Jan.  6,  1761),  with  vastly  inferior  numbers,  he  gave  the 
Mahrattas,  then  at  the  zenith  of  power,  a  tremendous 
defeat,  almost  annihilating  their  vast  army;  but  the  suc- 
cess had  for  him  no  important  result.  Having  long  suf- 
fered from  a  terrible  disease,  he  died  in  1773,  bequeathing 
to  his  son  Timur  a  dominion  which'  embraced  not  only 
Afghanistan  to  its  utmost  limits,  but  the  Panjab,  Kashmir, 
and  Turkestan  to  the  Oxus,  with  Sind,  Biluchistan,  and 
Khorasan  as  tributary  governments. 

Timur  transferred  his  residence  frorn^  Kandahar  to 
Kabul,  and  continued  during  a  reign  of  twenty  years  to 
stave  off  the  anarchy  which  followed,  close  on  his  death, 
He  left  twenty-three  sons,  of  whom  tha  fifth,  Zaman  Mirza, 
by  help  of  Payindah  Khan,  head  of  the  Barakzai  family 
of  the  Abdalis,  succeeded  in  grasping  the  royal  power, 
For  many  years  barbarous  wars  raged  between  the  brothers, 
during  which  Zam&n  Shah,  Shuja-ul-Mulk,  and  Mahmud, 
successively  held  the  throne.  The  last  owed  success  t< 
Fatteh  Khan,  son  of  Payindah,  a  man  of  masterly  ability 
in  war  and  politics,  the  eldest  of  twenty-one  brothers,  a 
family  of  notable  intelligence  and  force  of  character,  and 
many  of  these  he  placed  over  the  provinces.  The  malig- 
nity of  Kamrfin,  the  worthless  son  of  Mahmud,  succeeded 


240 


AFGHANISTAN 


[hisxoky. 


in  making  the  king  jealous  of  his  minister;  and  with  match- 
less treachery,  ingratitude,  and  cruelty,  the  latter  was  first 
blinded,  and  afterwards  murdered  with  prolonged  torture, 
the  brutal  Kamrari  striking  the  first  blow. 

The  Baraluai  brothers  united  to  avenge  Fatteh  Khan. 
The  Saddozais  were  driven  from  Kabul,  Ghazni,  and  Kan- 
dahar, and  with  difficulty  reached  Herat  (1818).  Herat 
remained  thus  till  Kamran's  death  (1842),  and  after  that 
was  held  by  his  able  and  wicked  minister  Yar  Mahom- 
med.  The  rest  of  tho  country  was  divided  among  the 
Barakzais — Dost  Mahommed,  the  ablest,  getting  Kabul. 
Peshawar  and  the  right  bank  of  the  Indus  fell  to  the  Sikhs 
after  their  victory  at  Naoshera  in  1823.  The  last  Afghan 
hold  of  the  Panjabhad  been  lost  long  before — Kashmir  in 
1819;  Sind  had  cast  off  all  allegiance  since  1808;  the 
Turkestan  provinces  had  been  practically  independent  since 
the  death  of  Timur  Shah. 

In  1800,  in  consequence  of  the  intrigues  of  Napoleon 
in  Persia,  the  Hon.  Mountstewart  Elphinstone ,  had  been 
Bent  as  envoy  to  Shah  Shuja,  then  in  power,  and  had  been 
well  received  by  him  at  Peshawar.  This  was  the  first  time 
the  Afghans  made  any  acquaintance  with  Englishmen. 
Lieut.  Alex.  Burnes  visited  Kabul  on  his  way  to  Bokhara 
in  1832.  In  1837  the  Persian  siege  of  Herat  and  the 
proceedings  of  Russia  created  uneasiness,  and  Burnes  was 
sent  by  the  Governor-General  as  resident  to  the  Amir's 
court  at  Kabul.  But  the  terms  which  the  Dost  sought 
were  not  conceded  by  the  government,  and  the  rash  reso- 
lution was  taken  of  re-establishing  Shah  Shuja,  long  a 
refugee  in  British  territory.  Kanjit  Singh,  king  of  the 
Panjab,  bound  himself  to  co-operate,  but  eventually 
declined  to  let  the  expedition  cross  his  territories.  The 
"  Army  of  the  Indus,"  amounting  to  21,000  men,  therefore 
js'sembled  in  Upper  Sind  (March  1838),  and  advanced 
through  the  Bolan  Pass  under  the  command  of  Sir  John 
Keane.  There  was  hardship,  but  scarcely  any  opposition. 
Kohandil  Khan  of  Kandahar  fled  to  Persia.  That  city 
was  occupied  in  April  1839,  and  Shah  Shuja  was  crowned 
In  his  grandfather's  mosque.  Ghazni  was  reached  21st 
July;  a  gate  of  the  city  was  blown  open  by  the  engineers 
(the  match  was  fired  by  Lieut,  afterwards  Sir  Henry 
Durand);  and  the  place  was  taken  by  storm.  Dost 
Mahommed,  finding  his  troops  deserting,  passed  the  Hindu 
Kush,  and  Shah  Shuja  entered  the  capital  (7th  August). 
The  war  was  thought  at  an  end,  and  Sir  John  Keane 
(made  a  peer)  returned  to  India  with  a  considerable  part 
of  the  force,  leaving  behind  8000  men,  besides  the  Shah's 
force,  with  Sir  W.  Macnaghten  as  envoy,  and  Sir  A. 
Bumes  as  his  colleague. 

During  the  two  following  years  Shah  Shuja  and  his 
allies  remained  in  possession  of  Kabul  and  Kandahar. 
The  British  outposts  extended  to  Saighan,  in  the  Oxus 
basin,  and  to  Mullah  Khan,  in  the  plain  of  Seistan.  Dost 
Mahommed  surrendered  (Nov.  3,  1840),  and  was  sent  to 
tndia,  where  he  was  honourably  treated.  From  the  begin- 
ning, insurrection  against  the  new  government  had  been 
rife.  The  political  authorities  were  over-confident,  and 
aeglectcd  warnings.  On  the  2d  November  1841  the 
revolt  broke  out  violently  at  Kabul,  with  the  massacre  of 
Burnes  and  other  officers.  The  position  of  the  British 
:amp,  its  communications  with  the  citadel,  and  the  location 
of  the  stores  were  the  worst  possible;  and  the  general 
'Elphinstone)  was  shattered  in  constitution.  Disaster  after 
lisaster  occurred,  not  without  misconduct  At  a  confer- 
snee  (23d  December)  with  the  Dost's  son,  Akbar  Khan, 
who  had  taken  the  lead  of  the  Afghans,  SirW.  Macnaghten 
was  murdered  by  that  chief's  own  hand.  On  6th  January 
1842,  after  a  convention  to  evacuate  the  country  had  been 
•igned,  the  British  garrison,  still  numbering  4500  soldiers 
'of  whom  690  were  Europeans),  with  some  12,000  followers, 


marched  out  of  the  camp.  The  winter  was  severe,  the 
troops  demoralised,  tho  march  a  mass  of  confusion  and 
massacre  ;  for  there  was  hardly  a  pretence  of  keeping  the 
terms.  On  the  13th  the  last  survivors  mustered  at  Gan- 
damak  only  twenty  muskets.  Of  those  who  left  Kabul, 
Dr  Brydono  only  reached  Jalalabad,  wounded  and  half 
dead.  Ninety-five  prisoners  were  afterwards  recovered. 
The  garrison  of  Ghazni  had  already  been  forced  to  sur- 
render (10th  December).  But  General  Nott  held  Kau- 
dahar  with  a  stern  hand,  and  General  Sale,  who  had 
reached  Jalalabad  from  Kabul  at  the  beginning  of  the  out- 
break, maintained  that  important  point  gallantly. 

To  avenge  these  disasters  and  recover  the  prisoners 
preparations  were  made  in  India  on  a  fitting  scale;  but 
it  was  the  16th  April  1842  before  General  Pollock  could 
relieve  Jalalabad,  after  forcing  the  Khybar  Pass.  After  a 
long  halt  there,  he  advanced  (20th  August),  and  gaining 
rapid  successes,  occupied  Kabul  (15th  September),  where 
Nott,  after  retaking  and  dismantling  Ghazni,  joined  him 
two  days  later.  The  prisoners  were  happily  recovered  from 
Bamian.  The  citadel  and  central  bazaar  of  Kabul  were 
destroyed,  and  the  army  finally  evacuated  Afghanistan 
December  1842. 

Shah  Shuja  had  been  assassinated  soon  after  the  depar 
ture  of  the  ill-fated  garrison.     Dost  Mahommed,  rele 
was  able  to  resume  his  position  at  Kabul,  which,  he  retained 
till  his  death  in  1863.     Akbar  Khan  was  made  vazir.  but 
died  in  1848. 

The  most  notable  facts  in  later  history  must  be  briefly 
stated.  In  1848,  when  the  Sikh  revolt  broke  out,  Dost 
•Mahommed,  stimulated  by  popular  outcry  and  by  the  Sikh 
offer  to  restoro  Peshawar,  crossed  the  frontier  and  took 
Attok.  A  cavalry  force  of  Afghans  was  sent  to  join  Sher 
Singh  against  the  British,  and  was  present  at  the  battlo  of 
Gujerat  (21st  Feb.  1849).  The  pursuit  of  the  Afghans  by 
Sir  Walter  Baleigh  Gilbert,  right  up  to  the  passes,  was  so 
hot  that  the  Dost  owed  his  escape  to  a  fleet  horse. 

In  1850  the  Afghans  re-conquered  Balkh. 

In  January  1855,  friendly  intercourse,  which  had  been 
renewed  between  the  Dost  and  the  British  government, 
led  to  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty  at  Peshawar. 

In  November  1855,  after  tho  death  of  his  half-brother, 
Kohandil  Khan  of  Kandahar,  the  Dost  made  himself  master 
of  that  province.  In  1856  came  the  new  Persian  advance 
to  Herat,  ending  in  its  capture,  and  the  English  expedition 
to  the  Persian  Gulf.  In  January  1857  the  Dost  had  an 
interview  at  Peshawar  with  Sir  J.  Lawrence,  at  which  tho 
former  was  promised  arms  and  a  subsidy  for  protection 
against  Persia.  In  consequence  of  this  treaty  a  British 
mission  under  Major  Lumsden  proceeded  to  Kandahar. 
The  Indian  mutiny  followed,  and  the  Afghan  excitement 
6trongly  tried  the  Dost's  fidelity,  but  he  maintained  it. 
Lumsden's  party  held  their  ground,  and  returned  in  May 
1858. 

In  1863,  Dost  Mahommed,  after  a  ten  months'  siege, 
captured  Herat;  but  he  died  there  thirteen  days  later 
(9th  June),  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Sher  Ali  Khan. 

Since  then  the  latter  has  passed  through  many  vicissi- 
tudes in  rivalry  with  his  brothers  and  nephews,  and  at 
one  time  (1867)  his  fortunes  were  so  low  that  he  held  only 
Balkh  and  Herat.  By  the  autumn  of  1868,  however,  he 
was  again  established  on  the  throne  of  Kabul,  and  his 
competitors  were  beaten  and  dispersed.  In  April  1869 
Sher  Ali  Khan  was  honourably  and  splendidly  received  at 
Amballa  by  the  Earl  of  Mayo,  who  had  shortly  before 
replaced  Sir  J.  Lawrence.  Friendly  relations  were  con- 
firmed, though  the  Amir's  expectations  were  not  fulfilled. 
He  received  the  balance  of  a  donation  of  £120,000  which 
had  been  promised  and  partly  paid  by  Sir  John  Lawrence. 
A  considerable  present  of  artillery  and  arms  was  made  to 


ANTIQUITIES.] 


AFGHANISTAN 


241 


him;  since  then  some  small  additional  aid  in  money  and 
arms  has  been  sent,  but  no  periodical  subsidy. 

Sher  Ali  Khan  now  reigns  over  all  Afghanistan  and 
Afghan  Turkestan,  whilst  Badakhshan  is  tributary  to  him. 
In  the  latter  part  of  1872  a  correspondence  which  had 
gone  on  between  the  Governments  of  Russia  and  England 
resulted  in  a  declaration  by  the  former  that  Afghanistan 
was  beyond  the  field  of  Russian  influence;  whilst  the 
Oxus,  from  its  source  in  Lake  Sirikol  to  the  western 
limit  of  Balkh,  was  recognised  as  the  frontier  of  Afghan 
dominion. 

Antiquities. — We  can  afford  space  for  only  the  briefest 
indication  on  this  subject.  The  basin  of  the  Kabul  river 
especially  abounds  in  remains  of  the  period  when  Buddhism 
flourished,  beginning  with  the  Inscribed  Rock  of  Shah- 
bazgarhi,  or  Kapur-di-giri,  in  the  Peshawar  plain,  which 
bears  one  of  the  repliche  of  the  famous  edicts  of  Asoka 
(not  later  than  B.C.  250).  In  the  Koh-Daman,  north  of 
Kabul,  are  the  sites  of  several  ancient  cities,  the  greatest  of 
which,  called  Beghram,  has  furnished  coins  in  scores  of 
thousands,  and  has  been  supposed  to  represent  Alexander's 
JViccea.  Nearer  Kabul,  and  especially  on  the  hills  some 
miles  south  of  the  city,  are  numerous  topes.  In  the  valley 
of  Jalalabad  are  many  remains  of  the  same  character.  In 
the  Peshawar  plain  and  on  the  adjoining  heights  are 
numerous  ancient  cities  and  walled  villages,  in  many  cases 
presenting  ruins  of  much  interest,  besides  the  remains  of 
topes,  monasteries,  cave  temples,  <fec. ;  and  frequently  sculp- 
tures have  been  found  on  those  sites,  exhibiting  evident 
traces  of  the  influence  of  Greek  art.     The  Mahabah  moun- 


tain, near  the  Indus,  which  has  been  plausibly  identified 
■with  the  Aornos  of  the  Greeks,  and  the  hills  more  imme- 
diately compassing  the  Peshawar  valley,  abound  in  the  ruins 
of  very  ancient  fortresses.  At  Talash,  on  the  Panjkora 
river,  are  extensive  ruins  of  massive  fortifications;  and  in 
Swat  there  are  said  to  be  remains  of  several  ancient  cities. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Tarnak  are  the  ruins  of  a  great  city 
(Ulan  Robat),  supposed  to  be  ancient  Arachosia.  About 
Girishk,  on  the  Helmand,  are  extensive  mounds  and  other 
traces  of  buildings;  and  the  remains  of  several  great  cities 
exist  in  the  .plain  of  Seistan,  as  at  Pulki,  Peshawaran,  and 
Lakh,  relics  of  ancient  Drangiana,  as  yet  unexamined.  A  n 
ancient  stone  vessel,  preserved  in  a  mosque  at  Kandahar, 
is  almost  certainly  the  same  that  was  treasured  at  Peshawar 
in  the  5th  century  as  the  begging-pot  of  Sakya-Muni. 
Of  the  city  of  Ghazni,  the  vast  capital  of  Mahmud  and  his 
race,  no  substantial  relics  •  survive,  except  the  tomb  of 
Mahmud  and  two  remarkable  brick  minarets. 

To  the  vast  and  fruitful  harvest  of  coins  that  has  been 
gathered  in  Afghanistan  and  the  adjoining  regions,  we  can 
here  but  make  an  allusion. 

(Elphinstone's  Caubool;  various  papers  in  J.  As.  Soc. 
Bengal;  Terrier's  Journeys,  and  Hist,  of  the  Afghans; 
Bellew's  Journal,  Report  on  the  Yusvfiais,  and  Notes  on 
Flora  of  Afgh.;  James's  Report  on  Peshawar  District; 
Raverty's  Afghan  Grammar ;  Panjab  Trade  Report ; 
Saber's  Memoirs;  Kaye's  History;  papers  by  Major  Lums- 
den,  and  by  Lieut. -CoL  C.  M.  Macgregor,  &c.  The  para- 
graph on  the  Animal  Kingdom  has  been  revised  by  Prof 
Henry  Giglioli  of  Florence.)  (h.  Y.) 


AFGHAN  TURKESTAN  is  a  convenient  name  applied 
of  late  years  to  those  provinces  in  the  basin  of  the  Oxus 
which  are  subject  to  the  Amir  of  KabuL  Badakhshan 
and  its  dependencies,  now  tributary  to  the  Amir,  are  some- 
times included  under  the  name,  but  will  not  be  so  included 
here.  The  whole  of  the  Afghan  dominions  consist  of 
Afghanistan  as  defined  under  that  heading,  Afghan 
Turkestan,  and  Badakhshan  with  its  dependencies. 

The  territories  included  here  will  be,  beginning  from 
the  east,  the  khanates  or  principalities  of  Kunduz,  Khulm, 
Balkh  with  Akcha;  and  the  western  khanates  of  Sir-i-pul, 
Shibrghan,  Andkhui,  and  Maimana,  sometimes  classed 
together  as  the  C'hihdr  Vildyat,  or  "  Four  Domains ;"  and 
besides  these,  such  part  of  the  Hazara  tribes  as  lie  north 
of  the  Hindu  Kush  and  its  prolongation,  defined  in  the 
article  Afghanistan.  The  tract  thus  includes  the  whole 
southern  moiety  of  the  Oxus  basin,  from  the  frontier  of 
Badakhshan  on  the  east  to  the  upper  Murghab  river  on 
the  west.  The  Oxus  itself  forms  the  northern  boundary, 
from  the  confluence  of  the  Kokcha  or  river  of  Badakhshan, 
in  69|°  E.  long.,  to  Khoja  Salih  ferry,  in  65°  E.  long, 
nearly.  Here  the  boundary  quits  the  river  and  skirts  the 
Turkman  desert  to  the  point  where  the  Murghab  issues 
upon  it.  Along  the  whole  southern  boundary  we  have  a 
tract  of  lofty  mountain  country.  Thus,  in  the  east,  above 
Kunduz,  we  have  the  Hindu  Kush  rising  ■  far  into  the 
region  of  perpetual  snow,  and  with  passes  ranging  from 
12,000  to  13,000  feet  and  upwards.  Above  Khulm  and 
Balkh  is  the  prolongation  of  Hindu  Kush,  called  Koh-i-baba, 
in  which  the  elevation  of  the  cols  or  passes  seems  to  be  nearly 
as  high,  though  the  general  height  of  the  crest  is  lower. 
The  mountains  then  fork  in  three  branches  westward,  viz., 
KohrirSidh,  "  The  Black  Mountain,"  to  the  south  of  the 
Herat  river;  Koh-i-Safed,  "  The  White  Mountain,"  between 
the  Herat  river  and  the  Murghab,  and  a  third  ridge  north  of 
the  latter  river.  The  second  branch  (Safed-Koh)  has  been 
assumed  in  the  article  Afghanistan  as  the  boundary  of 


that  region.  We  know  almost  nothing  of  these  mountains, 
except  from  the  journey  of  Ferrier,  who  crossed  all  three 
watersheds  in  four  days  of  July  1845.  He  describes  the 
middle  range  as  very  lofty,  with  a  good  deal  of  snow  on 
the  pass;  the  southern  range  not  so  high,  the  northern 
one  not  nearly  so  high. 

Rivers. — We  shall   first   df  scribe  the  rivers  of  this 
region  in  succession. 

For  the  Oxus  itself,  see  that  article. 

Beginning  from  the  eastward,  its  first  tributary  within  our  limits  ie 
the  river  of  Kunduz,  known  also  as  the  river  of  Aksarai,  the  Surkhab, 
and  what  not.  As  the  principal  source  of  this  river  we  may  regaixl 
the  stream  of  Bamian,  fed  close  under  the  Koh-i-Baba  by  a  variety 
of  torrents  which  join  from  the  pass  of  Akrobat  and  other  gorges  ol 
the  Hazara  country,  adjoining  that  famous  site  (8196  feet  above 
sea  level).  The  names  of  some  of  these  seem  to  preserve  a  tradition 
of  the  ancient  population  ;  such  are  the  "Cutlers'  Vale,"  "the 
Smiths'  Vale,"  the  "  Valley  of  Eye-paint."  At  the  eastern  end  of 
the  valley  the  Bamian  stream  receives  another  of  nearly  equal  bulk, 
descending  from  the  pass  of  Hajjigak,  the  most  important  crossing 
of  the  mountains  between  Kabul  and  the  Oxus,  and  from  which  the 
road  descends  upon  Bamian,  and  thence  by  Saighan,  Khurram,  and 
Haibak,  to  Khulm,  in  the  Oxu9  valley.  On  the  volcanic  rock  which 
parts  the  streams  stand  extensive  ruins,  the  name  of  which,  Zohak, 
connects  them  with  the  most  ancient  legends  of  Persian  history. 

From  this  the  river  turns  nearly  north,  passing  the  country  of 
the  Sheikh  'Alis,  one  of  the  most  famous  Hazara  clans,  and 
closely  skirting  the  great  range  of  Hindu  Kush.  About  40  miles 
N.N.E.  of  Zohak  it  receives  from  the  left  two  confluents,  of  size 
probably  almost  equal  to  its  own — the  rivers  of  Saighan  and  of 
Kamard,  both  rising  to  the  westward  of  Bamian,  and  crossing  tho 
highway  from  Bamian  to  Khulm.  Hereabouts  the  river  seems  ti, 
take  the  name  of  Surkhab.  The  first  considerable  confluent  on  the 
right  is  the  Andarab  river,  draining  the  valley  of  that  name,  and 
joining  at  Doshi,  about  85  miles  in  a  direct  line  N.E.  of  Zohak. 
About  Ghori,  still  a  place  of  some  note,  the  valley  widens  out 
greatly,  and  becomes  in  places  swampy,  with  expanses  of  tall  grass, 
a  character  which  it  thenceforth  retains.  The  river  is,  or  has  been, 
bridged  at  Thomri,  a  few  miles  beyond  Ghori,  a  woik  ascribed  to 
Aurangzib.  It  then  receives  from  the  right  the  Baghl&n  river, 
coming  from  Narin  and  the  hills  of  Khost,  The  only  remaining 
confluent  is  the  important  one  which  joins  immediately  below  the 
town  of  Kunduz,  sometimes  called  the  Khanabad  river,  sometimes 
by  the  names  of  its  ch-.ci  jon  tributaries,  the  F:\rokhar  andBaDjri, 


AFGHANISTAN 


[akchan. 


The  rarokhar,  or  river  Ol  TaiiKan,  is  tho  most  easterly,  coming  out  of- 
Badakhshan,  the  boundary  of  which  runs  along  the  watershed  on 
its  left  bank.  The  Bangi  flows  through  Khost  from  the  highlands 
of  Badakhshan,  east  of  Andarab.  A  third  tributary,  the  Shor-lb, 
salt,  as  its  name  implies,  drains  the  high  range  called  Esk-raushk, 
above  Narin. 

The  Surkliab  or  Kunduz  river  enters  the  Oxus  at  a  point  approxi- 
mately (no  traveller  has  visited  the  confluence)  32  miles  N.W.  of 
Kunduz,  its  whole  length,  exclusive  of  minor  windings,  being  about 
220  miles. 

From  Ghori  downwards,  the  hills  which  bound  the  valley  on  either 
side  appear  to  be  of  no  great  elevation,  and  to  be  tolerably  clothed 
with  grass,  and  occasionally  with  fir  trees ;  the  aspect  of  the  country 
gradually  approximating  to  that  of  Badakhshan,  in  contrast  to  the 
more  sterile  offshoots  of  Koh-i-Baba  to  the  westward. 

Kunduz  itself  lies  very  low,  scarcely  BOO  feet  above  sea  level, 
and  the  roads  approaching  the  town  have  to  pass  over  piles  amid 
the  swampy  vegetation.  The  adjacent  plain  is  in  the  main  richly 
cultivated  and  thickly  peopled,  but  it  is  interspersed  with  extensive 
tracts  of  jungly  grass,  and  is  extremely  and  proverbially  unhealthy. 
The  plains,  which  extend,  though  not  unbroken,  from  Kunduz  to 
the  Oxus,  are  free  from  tho  bare  and  repulsive  character  of  those 
further  west,  and  are  described  as  covered  in  part  with  rich  cultiva- 
tion, thick  with  groves  and  hamlets,  and  in  part  with  splendid 
pasture. 

Proceeding  westward,  the  next  tributary  to  the  Oxus  basin  is  the 
Khulm  river.  The  traveller  from  Bamian  northward  first  touches 
the  Khulm  river,  on  descending  from  the  Kara-Kotal,  at  a  spot 
called  Doab  Shahpasand,  probably  5000  feet  above  the  sea,  where 
its  two  maiu  sources  join,  and  the  main  road  to  Turkestan  keeps  on 
or  near  the  river  till  its  exit  on  the  Oxus  plain.  The  character  of 
the  mass  of  mountains  which  extends  from  the  Koh-i-Baba  to 
Khulm  is  utter  rocky  aridity,  but  broken  sometimes  in  the  sudden 
trench-like  valleys  by  an  exuberant  vigour  of  vegetation.  Along  a 
chain  of  these  trench-like  gorges,  walled  by  stupendous  cliffs  seem- 
ing sometimes  almost  to  close  overhead,  the  traveller  descends  to- 
wards Khulm.  At  Haibak  the  valley  opens  out,  but  closes  in  again 
before  Khulm  is  reached.  Here  he  emerges  from  a  narrow  gorge  upon 
the  plain  of  the  Oxus,  some  20  miles  from  the  great  river,  and  leaves 
the  rnountains  suddenly,  as  one  leaves  the  mite  of  a  fortress,  still 
rising  behind  in  a  bold  rampart  to  the  height  of  2500  feet.  The 
river  is  believed  to  be  spent  in  irrigation  before  reaching  the  Oxus. 

As  far  north  at  least  as  Khurram,  half-way  from  Bamian  to  Khulm, 
the  offshoots  of  Koh-i-Baba,  wost  of  the  Khulm  defile,  must  reach  a 
height  of  11,000  or  12,000  feet ;  for  here  Ferrier  found  bitter  cold 
ana  snow  on  the  top  on  the  7th  of  July  (latitude  nearly  36°). 

The  next  river  westward  is  the  Balkh  river,  sometimes  called 
Dehas.  It  rises  not  far  from  some  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Surkhab, 
nor  from  the  s'ources  of  the  Herat  river,  at  a  remarkable  spot  which, 
under  the  name  of  the  Band-i-Barbar,  or  Barbardam,  is  the  subject 
of  various  legends,  though  we  have  no  distinct  account  of  it.  The 
valley  of  Yekilang,  on  the  upper  waters  of  this  river,  at  a  height  of 
7000  feet  above  the  sea,  was  visited  by  A.  Conolly,  and  is  described 
by  him  as  fertile,  well-watered,  and  populous,  about  15  miles  in 
length  by  1  to  J  mile  in  width.  Ferrier  is  the  only  traveller  who 
has  crossed  the  mature  stream,  and  he  merely  mentions  that  he 
forded  it,  and  that  it  was  rather  rapid.  We  thus  know  almost 
nothing  ef  the  river.  In  length  it  cannot  come  far  short  of  the 
Surkhab.  Beyond  the  loftr  mountains  recently  spoken  of,  some  of 
the  hills  towards  the  Balkh-ab  have  a  thin  clothing  of  wood,  and 
the  valleys  opening  on  the  river  are  wide  and  not  unfertile  The 
main  valley  expands  into  level  tracts  of  pasture,  covered  by  long 
grass,  and  intersected  by  artificial  water-course's ;  but  (as  with  the 
Khulm  river)  tho  gorge  from  which  the  stream  issues  on  the  Oxus 
plain  is  narrow,  and  walled  in  by  very  high  hills  on  either  side. 
The  ruins  and  gardens  of  ancient  Balkh  stand  about  6  miles  from 
the  hills,  but  no  part  of  the  river  appears  to  reach  the  site  in  its 
natural  bed,  nor  does  any  part  of  its  waters  reach  the  Oxus  in  a 
running  stream. 

The  plains  that  sldpe  from  the  gardens  of  Balkh  to  the  Oxus  are 
naturally  white  hard  steppes,  destitute  of  spontaneous  verdure  save 
sparse  brush  of  tamarisk  and  other  meagre  growths ;  but  the  soil 
responds  richly  to  irrigation  whenever  this  is  bestowed. 

The  next  stream  that  we  meet  with,  and  the  last  that  can  be  con- 
sidered even  as  an  indirect  tributary  of  the  Oxus,  is  that  which  fer- 
tilises the  small  khanates  of  Shibrghan  and  Andkhui,  on  the  verge 
of  the  Turkman  desert ;  whilst  the  two  confluents  that  contribute 
to  form  it  have  previously  watered  the  territories  of  Siripul  and 
Maimana.  The  river,  or  whatever  survives  of  its  water  after  irri- 
gating Andkhui,  is  lost  in  the  desert.  The  taste  of  the  water  is 
abominable,  and,  though  the  inhabitants  are  accustomed  to  it, 
strangers  suffer  from  its  use. 

The  last  river  that  we  have  to  notice  is  the  Murghab,  which  rises 
lietwecn  the  two  northern  branches  of  the  Koh-i-Baba  or  Paro- 
pamisus.  Ferrier  is  the  only  traveller  who  has  been  on  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Murghah.  He  takes  no  notice  of  the  river  itself,  but 
dtMciibes  a  remarkable  plain  or  basin,  about  120  milea  in  circuit, 


entirely  surrounded  by  mountains,  well-watered,  and  rich  in  vege- 
tation. Tho  people  are  Mongol  Hazaras,  and,  according  to  Ferrier, 
idolaters.  Their  country  is  a  part  of  the  old  territory  of  Garjistin. 
At  Shah  Masliad,  about  half-way  between  this  and  the  plains,  the 
river  was  crossed  by  Major  Eldrcd  Pottinger,  but  we  have  no  access 
to  his  report.  Further  down,  as  the  river  approaches  the  foot  of 
Murghah  Bala,  on  the  road  from  Maimana  to  Herat,  it  runs  with 
great  violence,  and  the  valley  narrows  to  a  defile.  At  I'anjdch, 
35  to  40  miles  below  Murghab,  it  begins  to  flow  through  a  valley  of 
clay  soil,  bounded  by  sandy  heights,  and  gradually  opening  iuto  the 
plain  of  Mcrv.  Hereabouts,  too,  it  quits  the  Afghan  territory,  but 
the  boundary  does  not'  seem  as  yet  to  have  been  precisely  fixed. 
About  100  miles  from  Panjdeh  the  river  reaches  Merv,  where  for- 
merly there  was  a  great  dam,  securing  the  fertility  of  that  oasis, 
the  nucleus  of  ancient  Margiana.  This  was  destroyed  by  the  Amir 
Maasuni  (otherwise  Shah  Murad)  of  Bokhara,  about  1785,  when  he 
carried  off  the  whole  population  into  slavery,  Beyond  Merv  the 
river  is  lost  in  the  desert. 

Provinces  and  Places  of  Note. — We  do  not  know 
the  precise  divisions  maintained  under  the  Afghans,  but 
they  coincide  generally  with  the  old  principalities  or 
khanates,  the  hereditary  rulers  of  which,  in  several  cases, 
continue  in  authority  under  the  Afghan  governor  of  Turke- 
stan. Bamian,  Saighan,  and  the  higher  valleys  belong,  it  ia 
understood,  to  a  special  command  over  the  Hazara  tribes. 

L  Kunduz. — Beginning  again  from  the  east,  the  first 
province'is  Kunduz,  having  on  the  east  Badakhshan,  on 
the  west  Khulm,  on  the  north  the  Oxus,  and  on  the  south 
Hindu  Kush.  The  districts  of  Kunduz  are  approximately 
as  follows: — (1.)  Kunduz,  with  the  chief  town  of  the  pro- 
vince, a  wretched  place,  as  described  by  Wood,  of  some 
500  or  600  mud  huts,  intermingled  with  straw  sheds' 
Uzbek  tents,  gardens,  and  corn-fields,  and  overlooked  by  a 
mud  fort  on  an  extensive  mound.  (2.)  Hazrat  Imam,  on  the 
irrigated  and  fertile  Oxus  plain.  The  town,  known  in  the 
Middle  Ages  as  Arhang,  is  described  as  about  the  same 
size  as  Kunduz,  with  a  better  fort,  protected  by  a  wet 
ditch.  (3.)  Baghlan,  and  (4.)  Ghori,  in  the  swampy  valley 
of  the  Surkhab.  (5.)  Doshi,  further  up  the  same  valley,  at 
the  confluence  of  the  Andarab  stream.  (6.)  Killagai  and 
Khinj&n,  near  the  lower  part  of  the  Andarab  stream. 
(7.)  Andarab,  at  the  foot  of  the  Tul  and  Khawak  passes 
over  Hindu  Kush,  often  supposed  to  be  the  Adrapsa  of 
Alexander's  historians.  This  secluded  town  was  a  favourite 
minting  place  of  the  Samanid  sovereigns  of  Persia  and 
Turkestan,  in  the  10th  century,  probably  owing  to  the 
vicinity  of  silver  mines  at  Paryan.  (8.)  Khost  lies  between 
Andarab  and  Kunduz.  The  name  often  occurs  in  the 
history  of  Baber  and  his  successors.  (9.)  Narin  and  Ish- 
kimish  lie  to  the  east  of  Baghlan,  at  the  sources  of  the 
Baghlan  stream  and  of  the  Shorab  branch  of  the  Kunduz 
river.  The  second  name  appears  to  be  the  same  as  Eshk- 
mushk,  which  Wood  applies  to  a  high  mountain  in  this 
quarter.  (10.)  Farhang  and  Chdl  lie  on  the  borders  of, 
Badakhshan,  and  are  utterly  unknown.  (11.)  Tdlikdn  also 
lies  on  the  borders  of  Badakhshan,  but  is  pretty  well  known, 
being  on  the  main  road  between  Kunduz  and  Faizabad, 
the  capital  of  Badakhshan.  It  is  now  a  poor  place,  but  is 
ancient,  and  was  once  famous.  A  fortress  here  stood  a 
long  siege  from  Chinghiz  Khan,  and  the  place  is  mentioned 
by  Marco  Polo  as  Taican.  During  the  rule  of  Murad 
Beg  of  Kunduz  this  was  the  seat  of  a  government  that 
included  Badakhshan.  (12.)  Khanabad,  on  the  river  of 
that  name,  pleasantly  elevated  above  the  swampy  level  of 
Kunduz,  is,  or  was,  the  usual  summer  residence  of  the  chiefs 
of  that  territory. 

II.  Khulm  was  the  next  of  the  khanates,  lying  between 
Kunduz  and  Balkh.  The  districts,  as  far  as  we  know 
them,  are  the  following: — (1.)  Tdshkurghdn.'  The  old 
town  of  Khulm  stood  in  the  Oxus  plain,  surrounded  by 
watered  orchards  of  famous  productiveness;  but  it  lay  so 
exposed  to  the  raids  of  the  Kunduz  Uzbeks  that  the  chief, 
Killich  Ali.  in  tho  beginning  of  this  century,  transferred 


TUBKESTAN.l 


AFGHANISTAN 


243 


his  residence  to  Tashkurghan,  4  miles  further  south, 
and  just  at  the  mouth  of  the  defile — a  cheerless  group  of 
villages,  consisting  of  mud  houses  with  domed  roofs,  con- 
nected by  gardens  and  "enclosed  by  a  mud  wall;  it  is  sup- 
posed to  .contain  at  least  15,000  souls,  and  is  a  place  of 
considerable  trade.  (2.)  Haibak.  The  town  presents 
rather  an  imposing  aspect,  clustering  round  a  castle  of 
some  strength  on  an  isolated  eminence;  the  domed  houses, 
however,  are  compared  to  large  brown  bee-hives.  The 
Khulm  river  valley  here  opens  out,  and  is  very  fertile ;  the 
banks  are  shaded  by  luxuriant  fruit  trees.  The  site  is 
a  very  ancient  one,  and,  under  the  name  of  Samangdn,  was 
famous  in  Persian  legend.  One  traveller  describes  there  a 
remarkable  relic  of  antiquity  called  the  Takht  or  Throne 
of  Rustam.  This,  from  the  account,  would  seem  to  have 
been  a  Buddhist  dagoba.1  (3.)  Khurram  Sarbdgh,  so 
called  from  two  villages  in  the  upper  denies  of  the  Khulm 
river. 

III.  Balkh.  Balkh  proper  is  the  populous  and  well- 
watered  territory  upon  the  eighteen  canals  which  draw  off 
the  waters  of  the  Balkh-ab,  and  on  which  there  are  said  to 
be  360  villages. 

No  trace  has  been  recovered  of  tne  ancient  splendours  of 
Badra,  nor  do  the  best  judges  appear  to  accept  Ferrier's 
belief  that  he  saw  cuneiform  inscriptions  upon  bricks  dug 
up  there.  A  late  Indian  report  by  an  intelligent  Mahom- 
medan  speaks  of  a  stone  throne  in  the  citadel,  to  which 
traditional  antiquity  is  ascribed,  but  of  this  we  know  no 
more.  The  remains  that  exist  are  scattered  over  some  20 
miles  of  circuit,  but  they  consist  mainly  of  mosques  and 
tombs  of  sun-dried  brick,  and  show  nothing  even  of  early 
Mahommedan  date.  The  inner  city,  surrounded  by  a 
ruined  wall  of  4  or  5  miles  in  compass,  is  now  entirely 
deserted;  a  scanty  population  still  occupies  a  part  of  the 
outer  city.  In  1858  Mahommed  Afzal  Khan,  ruling  the 
districts  of  Turkestan  on  behalf  of  his  father,  Dost 
Mahommed,  transferred  the  seat  of  the  Afghan  govern- 
ment and  the  bulk  of  the  population  to  Takhtapul,  a 
position  which  he  fortified,  some  8  miles  east  of  the  old 
city;  and  ttus  remains  the  capital  of  the  Afghan  territories 
on  the  Oxus. 

The  only  other  place  of  note  in  the  district  is  Maz&r-i- 
Sharif,  or  the  "Noble  Shrine,"  on  the  road  to  Khulm, 
where  a  whimsical  fiction  has  located  the  body  of  'Ali,  the 
son-in-law  of  Mahommed.  It  is  the  object  of  pilgrimages, 
and  the  scene  of  a  great  annual  fair.  Vambe'ry  speaks  of 
the  roses,  matchless  for  colour  and  fragrance,  that  grow  on 
the  pretended  tomb. 

Of  the  districts  lying  on  the'  Balkh  river  within  the  -hills 
we  know  nothing. 

Akcha,  some  40  to  45  miles  westward  from  Balkh,  was 
an  Uzbek  khanate  before  the  last  Afghan  conquest.  It  is 
Bmall,  but  well-watered  and  populous.  The  town  is  forti- 
fied, and  has  a  citadeL  Accounts  differ  as  to  the  popula- 
tion ;  one  writer  calls  them  Uzbeks,  another  Sarak  Turk- 
mans. 

TV.  The  provinces  known  as  the  Four  Domains  are  : — 
(1.)  Shibrghan,  some  20  miles  west  of  Akcha.  This  was 
another  small  Uzbek  khanate.  The  town,  which  contains 
about  12,000  Uzbeks  and  Parsiwans,  has  a  citadel,  but  is 
not  otherwise  fortified.  It  is  surrounded  by  good  gardens, 
and  excellent  cultivation,  but  its  water  supply  is  dependent 
upon  Siripul,  and,  in  the  frequent  case  of  hostility  between 
the  two,  is  liable  to  be  cut  off.  Ferrier  speaks  highly  of 
the  climate  and  the  repute  of  the  inhabitants  for  valour. 
Shibrghan  (Sapurgan)  and  its  fine  melons  are  mentioned 
by  Marco  Polo.  (2.)  Andkhui,  about  20  miles  north-west 
ef  Shibrghan,  forms  an  oasis  in  the  desert,  watered  by  the 

1  Bursleru,  A  Pujt  into  Turkestan,  p.  125. 


united  streams  from  Siripul  and  from  Maimana.  It  was 
once  a  flourishing  city,  and  the  oasis  was  reckoned  to  con- 
tain 50,000  inhabitants,  but  the  place  has  scarcely  recovered 
from  the  destruction  it  endured  at  the  hands  of  Yar 
Mahommed  of  Herat  in  1840.  It  was  at  Andkhui  that 
Moorcroft  died  in  1825  ;  but  his  grave  is  at  Balkh.  Tre- 
beck,  the  last  survivor  of  his  party,  died  and  wa3  buried  at 
Mazar.  (3.)  Maimana,  105  miles  from  Balkh,  and  some  50 
south-west  of  Andkhui,  contains  some  ten  or  twelve  villages 
or  townships,  besides  the  capital,  and  a  population  estimated 
at  100,000  souls.  It  is  a  district  of  considerable  produc- 
tiveness, industry,  and  trade,  and  the  Uzbek  inhabitants 
have  a  high  reputation  as  soldiers.  The  chief  was  formerly 
a  notorious  slave-dealer.  (4.)  Siripul.  This  khanate  lying 
within  the  limits  of  the  undulating  country  south-west  oi 
Balkh  and  east  of  Maimana,  is  of  about  the  same  calibre 
as  the  latter,  but  somewhat  lower  in  estimated  population. 
Two-thirds  of  the  people  are  Uzbeks,  the  rest  Hazaras. 
From  the  last  a  tribute  of  slaves  is,  or  used  to  be,  exacted; 
and  Hazara  widows,  it  is  said,  were  claimed  as  govern- 
ment property,  and  sold  by  auction.  The  town  of  Siripul 
is  an  irregular  mass  of  houses  clustered  on  the  slope  of  a 
hill  crowned  by  a  fort.  Many  tents  gather  round  it  also, 
and  Ferrier  estimates  the  population  of  town  and  tents  as 
high  as  18,000.  The  valley  below  is  abundantly  watered, 
and  the  breadth  of  orchards  and  tillage  is  considerable. 

Population". — In  the  estimate  of  population  cited  under 
Afghanistan,  that  of  Afghan  Turkestan  is  reckoned  at 
642,000.  This  includes  55,000  for  Badakhshan  (no  doubt 
too  low  an  estimate) ;  and  the  remainder,  for  the  provinces 
included  under  our  present  article,  excluding  Hazaras,  will 
be  587,000.  Anything  but  a  round  number  is  entirely 
inappropriate  to  such  an  estimate ;  but  we  shall  probably 
not  be  far  wrong  if  we  reckon  the  population  at  600,000. 

The  Tajiks,  or  people  of  J  anian  blood,  are  probably  the 
representatives  of  the  olde-jt  surviving  race  of  this  region. 
They  are  found  in  some  districts  of  Balkh  and  valleys  of 
Kunduz.  Khost,  for  instance,  is  said  to  be  chiefly  occu- 
pied by  them.  Uzbeks  seem  to  be  the  most  numerous 
race  :  and  there  are  some  other  Turk  tribes  not  classed  as 
Uzbeks.2  There  seem  to  be  a  good  many  families  claiming 
Arab  descent;  Afghans,  especially  about  Balkh  and  Khulm; 
and  in  the  towns  some  Hindus  and  Jews. 

Products  and  Industey. — We  have  no  means  of  giv- 
ing any  systematic  account  of  the  products  of  these  pro- 
vinces, either  in  natural  history  or  industry.  Bock-salt  is 
worked  at  Chal,  near  the  Badakhshan  frontier,  as  well  as 
beyond  that  frontier.  Pistachic  nuts  are  grown  largely  in 
the  hill  country  of  Kunduz,  as  well  as  the  adjoining  districts 
of  Badakhshan,  and  the  whole  supply  of  India,  Central 
Asia,  and  Russia  is  said  to  be  derived  from  this  region. 
Fruit  is  abundant  and  excellent,  especially  in  Khulm  and 
Balkh.  Andkhui,  before  its  decay,  was  famous  for  the 
black  sheepskins  and  lambskins  which  we  call  astrakhan  ; 
and  also  for  a  breed  of  camels  in  great  demand.  Kunduz 
produces  a  breed  of  horses,  highly  valued  in  the  Kabul 
market  under  the  name  of  Kataghem.  Maimana  also 
is  famous  for  horses,  which  are  often  exported  to  India ; 
and  is  a  mart  for  carpets  and  textures  of  wool  and  camels' 
hair,  the  work  oi  lurkman  and  Jamshidi  women.  Slave- 
dealing  and  man-stealing  have  long  been  the  curse  of  this 
region,  but  late  changes  have  tended  to  restrict  these,  and 
the  Russian  conquest  of  Khiva  will  probably  have  a  most 
beneficial  effect  in  this  respect  at  least. 

History. — Ancient  Balkh,  or  Badra,  was  probably  one 
of  the  oldest  capitals  in  Central  Asia.  There  Persian  tra- 
dition places  the  teaching  of  Zoroaster.     Bactriana  wa3  a 


'  The  Uzbeks  were,  however,  a  confederation  of  mary  Turk  and 
Tartar  tribes,  not  one  race. 


244 


AF1-AFR 


province  of  the  Acbaemenian  empire,  and  probably  waa 
occupied  in  great  measure  by  a  race  of  Iranian  blood. 
About  B.c.  250,  Theodotus,  governor  of  'Bactria  under  the 
Seleucidie,  declared  his  independence,  and  commenced  the 
history,  so  dark  to  us,  of  the  Greco-Bactrian  dym 
whose  dominions  at  one  time  or  another — though  pp 
never  simultaneously — touched  the  Jaxartes  and  the  Gulf 
of  Cutch.  Parthian  rivalry  first,  and  then  a  series  of 
nomad  movements  from  inner  Asia,  overwhelmed  the 
isolated  dominion  of  the  Greeks  (circa  B.C.  120).  Powers 
rose  on  the  Oxus,  known  to  the  Chinese  as  Yuechi,  Kweish- 
.  Yetha,  Tukharas,  and  what  not ;  dimly  to  western 
Asia  and  Europe  as  Kushans,  Haiuthala,  /.'/,/d/talita;  or 
White  Iluns,  and  Tochari.  Buddhism,  with  its  monas- 
teries, colossi,  and  gilded  pagodas,  spread  over  the  valley 
of  the  Oxus.  We  do  not  know  what  further  traces  of  that 
time  may  yet  be  revealed  ;  but  we  see  some  in  the  gi 
sculptures  of  Bamian.  The  old  Arab  historians  of  the 
Mahommedan  conquest  celebrate  a  heathen  temple  at 
Balkh,  which  they  call  Naobihdr,  which  Sir  H.  Kawlinson 
has  pointed  out  to  have  been  certainly  a  Buddhist  monas- 
tery (Nava-Vih&ra),  The  name  Naobihar  still  attaches  to 
a  village  on  one  of  the  Balkh  canals,  thus  preserving, 
through  so  many  centuries,  the  memory  of  the  ancient 
Indian  religion.  The  memoirs  of  the  Chinese  pilgrim 
Hwen  Thsang,  in  the  first  part  of  the  7th  century,  give 
many  particulars  of  the  prevalence  of  his  religion  in  the 
numerous  principalities  into  which  the  empire  of  the 
Tukharas  had  broken  up;  and' it  is  remarkable  how  many 
of  these  states  and  their  names  are  identical  with  those 
which  still  exist  This  is  not  confined  to  what  were  great 
cities  like  Balkh  and  Bamian ;  it  applies  to  Khulm,  Khost, 
Baghlan,  Andarab,  and  many  more. 

As  Huiathalah,  or  Tokhdristan,  the  country  long  con- 
tinued to  be  known  to  Mahon.  -nedans ;  its  political  destiny 
generally  followed  that  of  Khorusan.  It  bore  the  brunt  of 
all  the  fury  of  Chinghiz,  and  the  region  seems  never  to 
have  effectually  recovered  from  the  devastations  and  mas- 


sacres which  ho  began,  and  which  were  repeated  in  degree 
in  succeeding  generations.  For  about  a  century  these 
Oxus  provinces  were  attached  to  ,the  empire  of  the  Dehli 
Moguls,  and  then  fell  into  Uzbek  hands.  In  the  lust 
century  they  formed  a  part  of  the  dominion  of  Ahmed 
Khan  Durrani  (see  Afghanistan),  and  so  remained  under 
his  son  Timur.  But  during  the  fratricidal  wars  of  Timur's 
sons  they  fell  back  under  the  independent  rule  of  various 
Uzbek  chiefs.  Among  these,  the  Kataghans  of  Kunduz 
were  Long  predominant  j  and  their  chief,  Murad  Beg  (1815 
to  about  1842),  for  some  time  ruled  Kulab  beyond  the 
Oxus,  and  all  south  of  it  from  near  Balkh  to  Pamir, 

In  1850  the  Afghans  recovered  Balkh  and  Khulm;  by 
1855  they  had  also  gained  Akcha  and  the  four  western 
khanates ;  Kunduz  in  1859.  They  were  proceeding  to 
extend  their  conquests  to  Badakhshan,  when  the  Amir  of 
that  country  agreed  to  pay  homage  and  tribute. 

We  bavi  i  'id,  in  the  conclusion  of  the  article  Afchan- 
.  the  correspondence  which  recently  took  place  (1872- 
ith  Russia  the  recognition  of  the  Oxus  as 

the  boundary  of  Afghan  Turkestan. 

Akti'jiuties. — These  are  known  but  very  imperfectly. 
The  best  known,  and  probably  the  most  remarkable,  are 
iuous  colossi  at  Bamian,  with  the  adjoining  innumer- 
able caves.  La  the  same  locality  are  the  ruins  of  the 
mediaeval  city  destroyed  by  Chinghiz,  the  great  fort  called 
Sayadabad,  and  the  ruins  of  Zohak.  At  Haibak  are 
numerous  caves  like  those  of  Bamian.  Balkh  seems  to 
have  little  or  nothing  to  show,  though  probably  excavation 
would  be  rewarded.  The  little  known  or  unknown  valleys 
of  Badakhshan  probably  contain  remains  of  interest,  but 
our  only  notices  of  them  are  so  highly  spiced  with  imagina- 
tion as  to  be  worthless.  General  Ferrier  saw  remarkable 
rock  sculptures  in  a  defile  in  the  Hazara  country,  south  of 
Siripul,  and  curious  rock  excavations  a  little  further  south. 

(Wood's  Journey,  2d  ed.,  1873,  with  Introductory  Essay; 
Ferrier's  Caravan  Journeys;  Burnes's  Travels;  Indian 
official  documents;  Vainbcry's  Travels;  &c,  etc.)    (n.  v.) 


AFIUM-KARA-HISSAR,  a  city  of  Asiatic  Turkey,  in 
the  pashalic  of  Anatolia,  nearly  200  miles  E.  of  Smyrna, 
and  50  miles  S.S.E.  of  Kutaiah.  It  stands  partly  on 
level  ground,  partly  on  a- declivity,  and  above  it  rises  a 
precipitous  trachytio  rock  400  feet  in  height,  on  the  sum- 
mit cf, which  are  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  castle.  From  its 
situation  on  the  route  of  the  caravans  between  Smyrna  and 
western  Asia  on  the  one  hand,  and  Armenia,  Georgia,  &c.° 
on  the  other,  the  city  is  a  place  of  extensive  trade,  and  its 
bazaars  are  well  stocked  with  the  merchandise  both  of 
Europe  and  the  East  Opium  in  large  quantifies  is  pro- 
duced in  its  vicinity,  and  forms  the  staple  article  of  its 
commerce;  and  there  are,  besides,  manufactures  of  black 
felts,  carpets,  arms,  and  saddlery.  Afium  contains  several 
mosques  (one  of  them  a  very  handsome  building),  and  it 
is  the  seat  of  an  Armenian  bishop.  The  population  is 
estimated  at  about  60,000." 

AFRAGOLA,  a  town  of  Italy,  in  the  province  of  Napoli, 
6  miles  N.N.E.  of  Naples.  It  has  extensive  manufac- 
tures of  straw  bonnets.     Population  of  commune  (1865), 

AFRANIUS,  Lucius,  a  Latin  poet  who  lived  about  a 
century  before  Christ.  He  wrote  comedies  in  imitation  of 
Monander,  and  -was  commended  by  Cicero  and  Quintilian 
for  his  acute  genius  and  fluent  style.  .The  fragments  of 
his  works  which  are  extant  have  been  collected  by  Bothe 
in  his  Poeta  Scenici  Latini,  and  by  Neukirch  in  his  De 
Fa},ula  Toqata  Somanorvm. 


AFRANIUS,  Lucius,  whose  early  history  is  unknown, 
was  a  devoted  friend  and  adherent  of  Pompey,  whom  he 
served  with  distinction  as  one  of  his  lieutenants  in  the 
Sertorian  and  Mithridatic  wars.  In  the  year  60  B.c,  and 
chiefly  by  Pompey's  support,  he  was  raised  to  the  consul- 
ship, but  in  performing  the  duties  of  that  office  he  showed, 
like  many  other  soldiers  both  before  and  since,  an  utter 
incapacity  to  manage  civil  affairs.  In  the  following  year, 
while  governor  of  Cisalpine  Gaul,  he  had  the  good  fortune 
to  obtain  the  honour  of  a  triumph,  and  on  the  allotment 
of  Spain  to  Pompey,  55  B.C.,  Afranius  and  Petreius  were 
sent  to  take  charge  of  the  government  of  that  country. 
On  the  rupture  between  Cocsar  and  Pompey,  they  were 
compelled,  after  a. short  campaign  in  which  they  were  at 
first  successful,  to  surrender  to  Csesar  at  Ilerdav  49  B.C.. 
and  were  dismissed  on  promising  not  to  serve  again  in  th( 
war.  Afranius,  regardless  of  his  promise,  joined  Pompey 
at  Dyrrhachium,  and  at  the  battle  of  Pharsalia,  48  B.C.,  ho 
had  charge  of  Pompey's  camp.  On  the  complete  defeat  of 
Pompey,  Afranius,  despairing  of  pardon  from  Ccesar,  re- 
paired to  Africa,  and  was  present  at  the  battle  of  Thapsus, 
46  B.C.,  which  ruined  the  hopes  of  the  Pompeians  in  that 
part  of  the  world.  Escaping  from  the  field  with  a  strong 
body  of  cavalry,  he  was  afterwards  taken  prisoner,  along 
with  Faust  us  Sulla,  by  the  troops  of  Sittius,  and  handed 
over  to  Caesar,  whose  veterans,  disappointed  at  their  not 
being  led  to  immediate  execution,  rose  in  tumult  and  put 
them  to  death 


^1 


c 


245 


AFRICA 


THIS  vast  continent,  thougn  associated  from  tne  dawn 
of  civilisation  with  traditions  and  mysteries  of  the 
most  stimulating  kind,  has  remained  until  recently  one  of 
the  least  known,  and,  both  commercially  and  politically, 
one  of  the  least  important  of  the  great  divisions  of  the 
globe.  The  knowledge  of  Africa  possessed  by  the  ancients 
was  very  limited,  owing  principally  to  its  physical  construc- 
tion. The  great  desert,  which  in  a  broad  belt  stretches 
quite  across  the  continent,  forbade  every  attempt  to  pass 
it  until  the  introduction  of  the  camel  by  the  Arabs.  The 
want  of  any  known  great  river,  except  the  Nile,  that  might 
conduct  into  the  interior,  contributed  to  confine  the  Greek 
and  Koman  colonists  ito  the  habitable  belt  along  the  north- 
ern coast.  The  Phoenicians  are  known  to  have  formed 
establishments  on  the  northern  coast  of  Africa  at  a  very 
early  period  of  history,  probably  not  less  than  3000  years 
ago ;  and  the  conquest  of  Egypt  by  Cambyses  dates  as  far 
back  as  the  year  B.C.  525.  We  may  consider,  therefore, 
the  coasts  of  Egypt,  of  the  Eed  Sea,  and  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, to  have  been  settled  and  well  known  to  the  ancient 
Asiatics,  who  were  constantly  passing  the  narrow  isthmus 
which  divided  their  country  from  Africa  and  led  them  im- 
mediately from  parched  deserts  into  a  fertile  valley,  watered 
by  a  magnificent  river.  But  whether  they  were  much  or 
little  acquainted  with  the  western  coast,  which  bounds  the 
Atlantic,  and  the  eastern  coast,  washed  by  the  Indian  Ocean, 
is  a  question  that  has  exercised  the  research  and  ingenuity 
of  the  ablest  scholars  and  geographers,  and  has  not  yet 
been  satisfactorily  answered." 

This  question  being  one  of  curiosity  rather  than  utility, 
we  shall  only  state  the  case,  and  the  results  of  the  several 
inquiries,  without  entering  into  the  merits  of  the  arguments 
advanced  by  the  different  parties.  We  are  told  by  Hero- 
dotus, that  Necho,  king  of  Egypt,  sent  out  an  expedition 
under  the  command  of  certain  Phoenician  seamen,  for  the 
purpose  of  circumnavigating  Africa ;  and  that,  on  their  re- 
turn, they  asserted  that  they  had  accomplished  this  under- 
taking, few  of  the  ancient  writers  give  credit  to  the  story; 
but,  among  the  moderns,  the  Abb6  Paris  and  Montesquieu 
have  contended  that  this  voyage  was  actually  performed. 
Isaac  Vossius  ind  DAnville  have  strong  doubts ;  and  Dr 
Vincent  and  M.  Gosselin  maintain  that  such  an  expedition, 
at  such  a  period,  exceeds  all  the  means  and  resources  of 
navigation,  then  in  its  infancy.  Last  of  all  comes  Major 
Eennel,  who,  in  his  elucidation  of  the  geography  of  Hero- 
dotus, has  done  more  than  all  the  rest  in  clearing  away  the 
doubts  of  history ;  and  fie  argues  the  possibility  of  such  a 
voyage,  from  the  construction  of  their  ships,  with  fiat  bot- 
toms and  low  masts,  enabling  them  to  keep  close,  to  the 
land,  and  to  discover  and  enter  into  all  the  creeks  and  har- 
bours which  any  part  of  the  coast  might  present.  At  all 
events,  one  thing  is  evident :  if  such  an  expedition  ever 
circumnavigated  the  African  continent,  the  fruits  of  it  have 
nearly,  if  not  entirely,  perished. 

About  half  a  century  after  this  supposed  expedition,  the 
account  of  another  voyage,  down  the  western  coast,  is  con- 
tained in  the  Periplus  of  Hanno,  which  has  also  called  forth 
many  learned  and  elaborate  discussions  among  modern  geo- 
graphers, some  of  whom  would  carry  Hanno  to  the  Bight 
of  Benin,  others  only  to  Sherbro  Sound  or  the  river  Nun 
in  lat.  28°  N. 

The  extent  to  which  ancient  discovery  proceeded  along 
the  eastern  coast  of  Africa,  has  divided  the  opinion  of  the 
learned  nearly  as  much  as  its  progress  on  the  western  coast. 
Delisle,  Huet,  and  Bochart,  made  the  discovery  of  the  coast 
to  extend  as  far  south  as  Mozambique  and  Madagascar. 


DAnville  could  trace  such  discovery  no  farther  than  to 
Cape  Delgado ;  and  M.  Gosselin  contends  that  the  ancients 
never  proceeded  down  the  coast  beyond  Brava.  But  Dr 
Vincent,  who  has  entered  more  profoundly  into  the  subject 
than  any  of  his  predecessors,  and  brought  a  great  fund  of 
learning  to  bear  on  the  question,  in  his  Periplus  of  the 
Erytkrean  Sea,  has  with  great  plausibility  extended  these 
boundaries  to  Mozambique  and  to  the  island  of  Madagascar. 


Sketch  Map  of  Africa. 

Egypt,  under  the  Ptolemies,  the  great  patrons  of  science 
and  promoters  of  discovery,  possessing  the  advantage1  of 
the  only  great  river  which  falls  from  the  African  continent 
into  the  Mediterranean,  made  no  progress  beyond  its  an- 
cient boundaries ;  and  though  the  Romans,  who  subse- 
quently possessed  Egypt,  penetrated  beyond  the  limits  of 
their  own  dependencies,  they  extended  their  discoveries  no 
further  tha>  Fezzan  in  jone  direction,  and,  at  a  later  period, 
beyond  Nubia  as  far  as  Abyssinia,  and  the  regions  of  the 
Upper  Nile.  We  know  nothing  of  the  progress  made  by 
the  Carthaginians  in  the  discovery  of  Interior  Africa ;  but  The  C»r- 
although  it  has  been  asserted  that  their  merchants  had  thagini»a% 
reached  the  banks  of  the  interior  river,  which  we  call  the 
Kawara  or  Niger,  they  have  left  nothing  on  record  that 
will  warrant  such  a  supposition.  The  story  told  by  Hero- 
dotus,^ some  Nasamonians  crossing  the  desert,  and  arriv- 
ing at  a'large  river,  can  only  be  applicable  to  some  western, 
arm  of  the  Nile.  The  people  from  whom  we  derive  the 
first  information  concerning  the  interior  of  Northern  Africa 
are  the  Arabs,  who,  by  means  of  the  camel,  were  able  to 
penetrate  across  the  great  desert  to  the  very  centre  of  the 
continent,  and  along  the  two  coasts  as  far  as  the  Senegal  and 
the  Gambia  on  the  west,  and  to  Sofala  on  the  east.  On  this 
latter  coast  they  not  only  explored  to  an  extent  far  beyond 
any  supposed  limits  of  ancient  discovery,  but  plantedcolonies 
at  Sofala,  Mombas,  Melinda,  and  at  various  other  places. 

The  15  th  century  produced  a  new  era  in  maritime  dis- 
covery. The  voyages  of  the  Portuguese  were  the  first  to 
give  anything  like  an  accurate  outline  of  the  two  coasts. 


246 


AFRICA 


[PUOGRESSIVE 


jnd  to  complete  the  circumnavigation  of  Africa.  The  dis- 
covery of  America  and  the  West  India  islands  gave  rise  to 
that  horrid  traffic  iu  African  negroes,  which  has  since  been 
suppressed;  but  this  traffic  has  been  the  means  of  acquiring 
a  more  extended  and  accurate  knowledge  of  that  part  of 
the  coast  which  lies  between  the  rivers  Senegal  and  the 
Cameroons,  as  well  as  of  the  manners  and  character  of  the 
people  who  inhabit  this  extended  line  of  ccast.  With  the 
English  and  French  settlements  in  Africa  began  a  systematic 
sur.ey  of  the  coast,  and  portions  of  the  interior. 

The  uncertainty  and  confusion  that  prevailed  in  the  geo- 
graphy of  the  interior  of  Africa  induced  a  few  learned  aud 
scientific  individuals  to  form  themselves  into  an  association 
for  promoting  the  exploration  of  Inner  Africa.  This  society 
was  formed  ia  London  in  1788,  and  under  its  auspices  im- 
portant additions  were  made  to  the  geography  of  Africa 
by  Houghton,  Mungo  Park,  Hornemann,  and  Burckhardt. 
Repeated  failures,  however,  at  length  discouraged  the  asso- 
ciation from  engaging  other  missionaries,  and  it  subse- 
quently merged  ia  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  in  1831. 

During  the  last  sixty  years  more  has  been  done  to  make 
os  acquainted  with  the  geography  of  Africa  than  during 
the  whole  of  the  1700  previous  years,  since  Ptolemy,  taken 
together.  With  Mungo  Park,  strictly  speaking,  commences 
the  era  of  unceasing  endeavours  to  explore  the  interior. 

Mungo  Park  proceeded  in  1795  from  the  river  Gambia 
on  the  west  coast,  to  the  Joliba  (commonly  called  Niger), 
traced  this  river  as  far  as  the  town  of  Silla,  explored  the 
intervening  countries,  determined  the  southern  confines  of 
the  Sahara,  and  returned  in  1797.  In  1805  this  adven- 
turous traveller  embarked  on  a  second  journey  in  the  same 
regions,  for  the  purpose  of  descending  down  the  river  Joliba 
to  its  mouth.  This  journey  added  little  to  the  discoveries, 
already  made,  and  cost  the  traveller  his  life.,  He  is  ascer- 
tained to  have  passed  Timbuktu,  and  to  have  reached  Boussa, 
where  he  wa?  killed  by  the  natives.  In  1798  Dr  Lacerda, 
a  scientific  Portuguese  traveller,  who  had  already  acquired 
fame  through  his  journeys  in  Brazil,  made  the  first  great 
journey  in  South-Eastern  Africa,  inland  from  Mozambique, 
and  reached  the  capital  of  the  African  king,  known  as  the 
Cazembe,  in  whose  country  he  died. 

Hornemann,  in  1796-98,  penetrated  from  Cairo  to  Mur- 
zuk,  and  transmitted  from  that  place  valuable  information 
respecting  the  countries  to  the  south,  especially  Bornu. 
He  then  proceeded  in  that  direction,  but  it  is  supposed 
that  he  soon  afterwards  perished,  as  no  accounts  of  his  fur- 
ther progress  have  ever  reached  Europe.  The  first  actual 
crossing  of  the  continent  that  has  been  recorded  was  ac- 
complished between  the  years  1802  and  1800,  by  two.Pom- 
beiros  or  mercantile  traders  in  the  employment  of  the  Por- 
tuguese, who  passed  from  Angola  eastward  through  the 
territories  of  the  Muata  Hianvo  and  the  Cazembe,  to  the 
possessions  on  the  Zambeze.  In  1816  an  expedition  was 
sent  out  by  the  English  Government,  under  the  command 
of  Captain  Tuckey,  to  the  river  Congo,  which  was  at  that 
time  believed  to  be  the  lower  course  of  the  Joliba.  This 
was  a  disastrous  undertaking,  and  the  geographical  addi- 
tions were  but  slight,  the  river  having  been  ascended  a 
distance  of  only  280  miles 

In  1819  Lyon  and  Ritchie  penetrated  from  Tripoli  to 
Murzuk,  and  a  little  distance  beyond  that  place. 

In  1822  Denham,  Clapperton,  and  Oudney  set  forth 
from  Tripoli  in  the  same  direction,  crossed  the  Great  De- 
sert, and  reached,  on  the  4th  February  1823,  the  great  lake 
Tsad  or  Chad.  The  surrounding  countries  were  explored  as 
far  as  Sakatu  in  the  west,  and  Mandara  in  the  south.  This 
journey  was  altogether  one  of  the  most  successful  and  im- 
portant into  the  interior.  Oudney  died  in  Bornu,  but  Clap- 
perton undertook  a  second  journey  from  the  coast  of  Guinea, 
crossed  the  Kawara,  and  arrived  at  Sakatu,  at  which  place  he 


also  died.     His  servant,  Richard  Lauder,  returned  to  Eng- 
land, after  having  explored  a  part  of  the  adjoining  regions. 

Major  Laing  succeeded  in  reaching  Timbuktu  from  Tri- 
poli, but  was  murdered  on  his  return  in  the  desert. 

In  1827  and  1828  Caillio  set  out  from  the  Rio  Nunez 
on  the  western  coast,  reached  Timbuktu,  and  returned  from 
that  place  through  the  Great  Desert  to  Marocco.  A  second 
Portuguese  journey  was  undertaken  in  1830  from  Mozam- 
bique to  the  Cazembe's  dominions,  and  Major  Monteiro, 
the  leader  of  the  expedition,  more  fortunate  than  Ins  pre- 
decessor Dr  Lacerda,  was  enabled  to  complete  a  map  of  the 
country  traversed,  and  to  bring  back  a  complete  account 
of  this  portion  of  the  interior. 

The  termination  of  the  Joliba,  Kawara,  or  Niger,  remained 
in  obscurity  till  1830,  when  it  was  ascertained  by  Lander 
and  his  brother,  who  succeeded  in  tracing  the  river  from 
Yaouri  down  to  its  mouth.  They  embarked  on  a  second 
expedition,  which  sailed  in  1832,  for  the  purpose  of  ascend- 
ing the  Kawara  as  far  as  Timbuktu.  But  only  Rabba  was 
reached,  and  the  general  results  of  the  expedition  wero 
most  disastrous. 

The  great  Niger  expedition,  similar  to  the  foregoing,  Niger  ev 
consisted  of  three  steam-vessels,  and  was  despatched  by  the  peditioa. 
Government  in  1841,  under  Captain  Trotter.     It  proved  a 
failure,  and  resulted  in  a  melancholy  loss  of  life. 

In  the  region  between  the  Kawara  and  the  coast,  Mr 
Duncan,  one  of  the  survivors  of  the  Niger  expedition, 
made  some  additions  to  our  geographical  knowledge  by 
his  journey  to  Adafoodia,  in  1845-46.  This  enterprising 
traveller  met  with  an  untimely  death  in  a  second  attempt 
in  the  same  region  for  the  purpose  of  reaching  Timbuktu. 

The  preceding  journeys  were  confined  chiefly  to  the 
northern  and  western  portions  of  the  continent.  A  much 
greater  number  of  travellers  explored  the  regions  drained 
by  the  Nile,  the  salubrity  of  which,  particularly  of 
Abyssinia,  is  so  infinitely  greater  than  that  of  Western 
Africa,  that  among  the  many  explorers  of  the  former,  a 
very  small  proportion  have  died  as  compared  with  the  im- 
mense loss  of  life  in  Western  Africa.  Among  the  most 
distinguished  of  the  earlier  East  African  travellers  are 
Bruce  (1768-73),  Browne  (1793),  who  reached  Darfur, 
Burckhardt  (1814),  Cailliaud  (1819),  and  more  recently 
Ruppel  (1824-25),  Russegger  (1837),  DAbbadie  (1838- 
44),  Beke  (1840-44),  D'Arnaud  and  Werne  on  the  White 
Nile  (1840-42),  and  Brun  Rollet  (1845). 

Though   the   Dutch   settlement   in  South   Africa   was  South- 
founded  as  early  as  1650,  not  much  information  of  the  African 
interior  of  that  portion  of  the  continent  was  gained  till  the  lave  e" 
end  of  the  18th  century,  when  a  series  of  journeys  was  com- 
menced by  Sparrmann,  and  followed  up  by  Vaillant,  Barrow, 
Trotter,  Somerville,  Lichtenstein,  Burchell  (1812),  Camp- 
bell, Thomson,  Smith,  Alexander  (1836-37),  and  Harris. 

A  station  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  was  cstab-  Morabw 
lished  near  Mombas,  in  about  4°  S.  lat.  on  the  east  coast  mission 
of  Africa,  in  1845,  and  the  zealous  missionaries  in  charge 
of  it  began  to  make  exploring  journeys  into  'the  interior. 
Thus,  early  in  1849,  the  Rev.  Mr  Rebmann  discovered  the 
great  snow-clad  mountain  of  Kilima-njaro,  rising  on  the 
edge  of  the  inland  plateau ;  and  his  companion,  Dr  Krapf, 
taking  a  more  northerly  route,  came  in  sight  of  a  second 
huge  mountain  named  Kcnia,  also  snow-clad,  though  directly 
beneath  the  iquator.  •  Frequent  reports  reached  these  mis- 
sionaries of  vast  lakes  in  the  interior  beyond  the  mountains 
they  had  discovered,  and  their  information  awakened  a 
great  interest  in  this  region  at  home. 

About  this  time  an  embassy,  for  the  purpose  of  conclud- 
ing commercial  treaties  with  the  chiefs  of  Northern  Africa, 
as  far  as  Lake  Chad,  by  which  the  legitimate  trade  of  these 
countries  should  be  extended  and  the  system  of  slavery 
abolished,  was  originated  by  Mr  James  Richardson,  who 


DISCOVERIES.] 


AFRICA 


247 


Bartb- 


Ltving- 
itone  (the 
Zambeze). 


ultun. 


3Uva  Porto. 


tiring. 
tone 
Victoria 
Wis). 


left  England  for  this  purpose  in  1849,  accompanied  by  Drs 
Barth  and  Overweg.  The  expedition  had  already  almost 
reached  the  scene  of  its  labours  when  Richardson  died; 
Overweg  also  fell  a  victim  to  his  exertions,  but  Dr  Barth 
continued  his  explorations  till  1856.  During  this  time  he 
traversed  in  many  directions  almost  the  whole  of  the 
northern  Soudan,  completing  a  series  of  journeys  which 
must  always  remain  most  conspicuous  in  North  African 
travel,  and  upon  which  we  are  still  dependent  for  the  greater 
part  of  our  knowledge  of  the  central  negro  states. 

In  the  summer  of  1849,  Dr  Livingstone,  who,  as  an 
agent  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  had  laboured  and 
travelled  in  the  countries  immediately  north  of  the  Cape 
Colony  since  1840,  began  those  remarkable  journeys  in  the 
interior  of  Southern  Africa,  which  have  continued  until  the 
present  time,  and  have  given  to  him  the  first  place  among 
African  discoverers.  The  finding  of  Lake  Ngami,  the 
central  point  of  the  continental  drainage  of  South  Africa, 
was  the  great  discovery  of  the  first  year. 

Two  journeys  from  the  west  coast  now  claim  attention. 
In  1846  a  Portuguese  trader  named  Graca  succeeded  in 
again  reaching  the  country  of  the  South  African  potentate, 
named  the  Muata  Yanvo,  from  Angola ;  he  was  followed 
by  a  Hungarian  named  Ladislaus  Magyar,  who  explored 
the  central  country  in  various  directions  from  1847  to  1851. 
Between  1851  and  1853  Livingstone  made  two  journeys 
northward  from  his  station  in  the  land  of  the  Bechuanas, 
and  was  the  first  European  to  embark  upon  the  upper 
course  of  the  Zambeze.  From  the  Makololo  country,  in 
the  central  part  of  the  river  basin,  he  now  led  a  party  of 
natives  westwards  up-stream  to  the  water-parting  of  the 
continent  at  the  little  Lake  Dilolo,  and  thence  to  the  western 
slope,  reaching  the  Portuguese  coast  at  Loanda  in  1854. 

During  1851  Galton  explored  a  part  of  the  south-western 
country  inhabited  by  the  Damaras  and  Ovampo,  from  Wal- 
fisch  Bay  to  a  point  in  lat.  17°  58'  S.,  and  long.  21°  E., 
determining  accurately  a  number  of  positions  in  this  region. 
On  the  south-east,  also,  Gassiot  made  an  interesting  journey 
from  Port  Natal  north-westward  through  the  mountains  to 
the  river  Limpopo. 

Two  most  remarkable  journeys  across  the  whole  continent 
now  follow  in  order ;  the  one,  made  by  Silva  Porto,  a  Por- 
tuguese trader,  who  leaving  Benguela  in  1853,  took  an 
eastward  route,  parallel  to  but  considerably  northward  of 
the  Zambeze,  over  perfectly  unknown  country.  He  then 
rounded  the  southern  end  of  the  Lake  Nyassa  (afterwards 
explored  by  Livingstone),  and  made  his  way  across  the  east 
coast-land  to  the  mouth  of  the  Kovuma  river,  having  spent 
a  year  and  two  months  in  his  tedious  march.  The  other 
was  executed  by  Livingstone,  who  in  returning  (1855-56) 
ay  a  somewhat  more  northerly  route  than  that  travelled  over 
n  going  westward  to  Loanda,  descended  the  Zambeze  to  its 
nouth  at  Quilimane,  discovering  the  wonderful  Victoria 
Falls  of  the  river  on  his  way. 

In  1856  an  important  addition  was  made  to  the  more 
;xact  geography  of  Africa,  in  a  survey  of  the  greater  part 
Df  the  course  of  the  Orange  river,  by  Mr  Moffat,  a  son  of 
the  veteran  South  African  missionary. 

The  following  year  was  one  of  great  activity  in  African 
exploration.  Damara  Land,  in  the  south-west,  wa3  tra- 
versed by  Messrs  Hahn  and  Rath  as  far  as  the  southern 
limit  of  the  Portuguese  territory  at  the  Cunene  river  ;  Dr 
Bastian  was  exploring  the  interior  of  Congo  and  Angola, 
*and  Du  Chaillu  had  begun  his  first  journey  in  the  forest 
'country  of  the  Fan  tribes  on  the  equatorial  west  coast. 
Under  the  auspices  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society, 
Captains  Burton  and  Speke,  already  distinguished  by  their 
perilous  journey  to  Harar,  a  trading  centre  in  the  Somali 
and  Galla  country  of  the  east  African  promontory,  set  out 
(mm  Zanzibar,  to  ascertain  the  truth  about  the  great  inland 


lakes  which  had  been  reported  by  the  Mombas  missionaries 
Their  most  successful  journey  (1857-59)  resulted  in  th< 
discovery  of  Lake  Tanganyika,  in  a  deep  basin,  betweer 
3°  and  8°  S.  lat.,  and  of  the  southern  portion  of  a  perhap; 
greater  lake  northward,  supposed  by  Speke,  its  discoverer 
to  be  the  head  reservoir  of  the  Nile. 

In  a  new  journey  in  the  Zambeze  region  in  1859,  Di 
Livingstone,  accompanied  by  Dr  Kirk,  traced  the  Shir* 
river,  a  northern  tributary  of  the  Zambeze,  to  its  outflow 
from  the  Nyassa,  the,  most  southerly  of  the  great  Africai 
chain  of  fresh  lakes. 

About  this  time  also  several  travellers  (Petherick  (1858), 
Lejean,  Miani,  the  Poncets,  Antinori,  Debono,  Peney) 
were  adding  much  to  the  existing  knowledge  of  the  Upper 
White  Nile  from  the  Egyptian  side;  and  in  the  north  the 
Algerian  Sahara  was  being  explored  by  the  French  scien- 
tific traveller  Duveyrier. 

In  1860  Captain  Speke,  anxious  to  extend  knowledge 
of  the  great  inland  reservoirs  which  had  been  discovered  in 
his  former  journey,  and  to  connect  them  witil  the  known 
countries  to  northward,  accompanied  by  Captain  Grant, 
again  left  Zanzibar.  Reaching  a  point  on  the  north-western 
shores  of  the  great  lake  which  he  had  previously  made 
known,  and  which  he  now  named  the  Victoria  Nyanza,  the 
traveller  thence  traced  the  outflowing  river  to  the  White. 
Nile  at  Gondokoro,  thus  completing  a  great  link  in  tha 
chain  of  African  discoveries,  which  binds  the  country  known 
from  *he  east  coast  to  that  explored  from  the  side  of  Egypt 

Meanwhile  Dr  Livingstone  had  endeavoured  to  find  a 
way  to  his  newly-discovered  Lake  Nyassa  from  the  mouth  hiring- 
of  the  Rovuma,  a  large  river  which  flows  to  the  Indian  ^one  (*"■ 
Ocean  near  Cape  Delgado,  and  which  was  also  reported  to L  ^&ss*>- 
take  its  rise  in  this  lake,  but  the  river  proved  to  be  tin- 
navigable   beyond  a  point  not  far  from  the   sea.     He 
returned  then  (in  1861)  to  the  Shire  river;  and,  carrying 
a  boat  past  its  rapids,  launched  out  to  explore  the  whole- 
length  of  Lake  Nyassa. 

A  series  of  important  journeys  by  Gerhard  Rohlfs  had  Rohus 
now  (1861)  begun  in  Marocco  and  in  the  Maroccan  Sahara;  (Morocco 
and  on  the  equatorial  east  coast  region,  Baron  von  der  Von 
Decken  had  extended  Rebmann's  information  in  the  region  Decken. 
of  the  snowy  mountain,  Kilima-njaro. 

In  the  south  the  artist  Baines  had  crossed  the  Kalahari  Baines. 
Desert  from  Damara  Land  to  the  falls  of  the  Zambeze. 
In  1862  Petherick  made  an  important  journey  of  explora- 
tion in  the  Nile  region  west  of  Gondokoro. 

The  year  1864  was  marked  by  the  discovery  of  a  second 
great  reservoir  lake  of  the  Nile,  near  the  latitude  of  the 
Victoria  Nyanza,  by  Baker,  pushing  southward  from  Gon-  Biker 
dokoro.   This  lake  the  discoverer  named  the  Albert  Nyanza.  JA}be.rt 
During  this  year  also,  Rohlfs  extended  his  travels  from      e^ 
Marocco  to  the  oasis  of  Tuat,  thence  making  his  way  to 
Ghadames  and  Tripoli;  in  Western  Africa,  the  officers  of 
the  French  marine  stationed  at  the  Gaboon  explored  the 
delta  region  of  the  great  Ogowai  river;  and  Du  Chaillu,  Da CbiUla 
in  a  second  journey  (1864-65),  entered  the  gorilla  country 
of  Ashango,  south  of  this  river;  whilst,  on  the  east  coast, 
Baron  von  der  Decken  attempted  the  navigation  of  the 
Juba,  but  was  destined  to  fall  a  martyr  to  the  jealousies  of 
the  Galla  and  Somali  tribes,  whose  territories  the  rivei 
divides. 

After  a  short  stay  at  Tripoli,  the  traveller  Rohlfs  again 
turned  southward,  and  in  a  journey  which  lasted  from 
1865  to  1867,  crossed  the  whole  northern  continent — first 
reaching  Lake  Chad  by  almost  the  same  route  as  that  for- 
merly taken  by  Barth,  and  thence  striking  south-westwarc 
by  a  new  path  to  the  Bight  of  Benin. 

In  1866  some  progress  was  made  in  discovery  in  th( 
west,  by  the  navigation  of  the  Ogowai  river  by  Walker,  fo: 
200  miles  from  its  mouth.     Hahn  and  Rath  also  extendec 


248 


AFRICA 


IPKOURKSSIVI 


Living- 
rtoue. 


their  exploration  of  Damara  Laud.  On  the  eastern  side 
Messrs  Wakefield  and  New,  the  successors  of  Krapf  and 
Rehmanu  in  the  Mombas  Mission,  made  numerous  short 
journeys  in  the  Galla  country,  and  the  former  collected 
very  valuable  native  information  respecting  the  countries 
lying  between  this  coact-land  and  the  great  lakes  of  the 
Nile  basin.  In  this  year  al.=o  Dr  Livingstone  had  again 
entered  the  Eovuma  river,  beginning  that  greatest  of  all 
lis  journeys  from  which  he  has  not  yet  (1873)  returned, 
and  the  outline  of  which  we  shall  notice  further  on. 

Still  farther  south,  in  186C-67,  the  discovery  of  gold  in 
the  mountains  between  the  Zambeze  and  Limpopo  rivers, 
by  the  pioneer  Mauch,  gave  great  impetus  to  exploration 
in  this  part  of  the  continent  The  years  1867-68  brought 
the  memorable  Abyssinian  campaign,  and  the  accurate  re- 
cords kept  of  the  line  of  march  on  the  high  land  from 
iwah  to  Magdala  formed  a  most  valuable  contribution 
to  African  geography. 

Most  important  in  the  following  years  (1869-71)  were 
the  researches  of  the  botanist,  Dr  Schweinfurth,  in  the 
region  of  the  complicated  network  of  tributaries  received 
by  the  White  Nil#  west  of  Gondokoro,  during  which  he 
passed  the  water-parting  of  the  Nile  basin  in  this  direction, 
and  came  into  a  new  area  of  drainage,  possibly  belonging 
to  the  system  of  Lake  Chad ;'  and  the  outsetting  of  a  great 
Egyptian  military  expedition  (1869)  by  Sir  Samuel  Baker, 
for  the  purpose  of  exploration  of  the  Upper  Nile  and  of  the 
extermination  of  slave  traffic  on  the  river,  and  to  plant 
Egyptian  military  posts  in  the  regions  visited. 

The  letters  received  from  time  to  time  in  this  country 
from  Dr  Livingstone  enable  us  to  trace  roughly  his  move- 
ments from  1866  to  the  present  time  as  follows  : — Arriving 
from  Bombay,  on  the  East  African  coast,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Eovuma,  he  passed  up  the  course  of  this  river  to  the 
confluence  of  its  main  tributary  branches,  one  coming  from 
the  north-west,  the  other  from  south-west.     Following  the 
latter. arm,  the  traveller  appears  to  have  gone  round  the 
southern  end  of  the  Lake  Nyassa,  and,  marching  then  in  a 
north-westerly  direction,    he  crossed   the  head  waters  of 
the  Aruangoa  tributary  of  the  Zambeze,  near  the  track 
of  Lacerda,  in  the   previous  century ;   ascending  a  high 
land,  he  came   upon  a  portion   of  the  Chambeze  river, 
belonging  to  a  different  basin,  and-  continuing  in  a  north- 
(Lake         westerly  direction,  discovered  Lake  Liemba,  a  southern 
LirmUai.     extension  of  Lake  Tanganyika,  in  April  1867.     Thence  he 
turned  to  the  Cazembe's  town,  and  in  journeys  northward 
and  southward  from  this  point,  made  known  the  two  great 
(lakes        lakes,  Moero  (Sept.  1867),  and  Bangweolo  or  Bemba  (July 
Moero  am  jggg^  ^^^  form  part  0f  a  new  system,  connected  by  the 
Chambeze  (also  named  the  Luapula  and  Lualaba)  river  in  a 
basin  south  and  west  of  that  of  the  Tanganyika,     In  1869 
Livingstone  had  made  his  way  to  Ujiji,  Burton's  halting- 
«uice,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Tanganyika.     Hence, 
crossing  the  lake,  he  penetrated  the  dense  tropical  forests 
(Msnyue-     jind  swamps  of  Manyuema  country,  in  the  heart  of  the 
■»)■  southern  portion  of  the  continent,  and  during  1870-71 

traced  the  vast  river  (Lualaba)  flowing  out  of  the  Lake 
Moero,  in  its  north  and  westerly  course,  to  a  second,  and 
then  a  third  great  expansion — Lake  Kamalondo  the  one, 
and  the  other  a  still  unvisited  body  of  water  lying  in  about 
3°  S.  lat.,  and  25°  or  26°  E.  long;  also  learning,  by  native 
report,  that  the  Lualaba  (which  is  in  all  probability  the 
upper  course  of  the  mighty  Congo  river)  received  a  great 
tributary  from  south-westward.  This  south-western  arm 
also  expands  into  a  vast  lake  which  Livingstone  has  named, 
in  anticipation,  Lake  Lincoln. 

Though  the  untruth  of  a  report  of  Livingstone's  death, 
near  the  Nyassa,  had  been  proved  by  an  expedition  sent 
out  on  his  track  by  the  Geographical  Society  of  London  in 
18C7,  yet,  at  the  time  of  his  Manyuema  journey,  the  pro- 


bable fate  of  the  great  traveller,  from  whom  no  news  had 
come  out  of  Africa  for  more  than  two  years,  became  a  mat- 
ter of  the  greatest  anxiety  among  all  classes  m  Europe  and 
America.  This  led  to  a  special  mission  for  Dr  Livingstone's 
aid,  generously  fitted  out  at  the  cost  cf  the  proprietor  of  an 
American  newspaper.  Stanley,  the  leader  of  this  expedi- 
tion, made  a  bold  march  from  Zanzibar  to  Ujiji,  on  Lake 
nyika,  and  was  fortunate  in  meeting  the  great  travel- 
ler there,  returning  from  Manyuema,  broken  down  by  the 
severity  of  the  task  which  he  had  accomplished,  and  in 
need  of  everything.  A  boat  voyage  round  the  northern 
end  of  Tanganyika,  undertaken  in  the  latter  part  of  1871 
by  Livingstone  and  Stanley  together,  proved  that  this  great 
lake  has  no  apparent  outlet  in  a  northerly  direction,  and 
leaves  the  question  of  its  drainage  in  considerable  doubt. 

Recruited  in  health,  and  supplied  with  stores  and  fol« 
lowers,  Livingstone  is  believed  to  have  started  afresh  from 
Unyanyembe,  a  point  midway  in  the  route  from  Zanzibar  to 
Ujiji,  where  he  parted  with  Stanley,  in  autumn  of  1872,  to 
carry  out  a  projected  journey,  in  which  he  will  clear  up 
all  doubts  respecting  the  ultimate  direction  of  the  great 
Lualaba  river. 

Of  the  expeditions  which  have  been  progressing  in  Africa 
contemporaneously  with  these  later  journeys  of  Dr  Living- 
stone, that  of  Sir  Samuel  Baker  is  perhaps  the  most  im- 
portant, though  its  story  has  until  now  been  one  of  almost 
continuous  hardship  and  disaster.  Up  to  the  middle  of  the 
year  1870,  at  which  time  the  expedition,  consisting  of  up- 
wards of  1500  men,  with  numerous  vessels,  had  safely 
reached  a  point  on  the  Nile  in  9°  26' N.  lat.,  all  appears  to 
have  gone  well ;  but  beyond  this  the  passages  of  tho  river 
had  become  choked  with  overgrowth  of  vegetation,  and 
each  yard  of  advance  had  to  be  cut  through  thLs  living  bar- 
rier ;  disease  broke  out  among  the  troops,  and  the  expedi- 
tion was  reduced  to  the  greatest  straits.  In  the  end,  how- 
ever, it  appears  to  have  been  completely  successful,  and 
before  Sir  Samuel  Baker's  return  to  Egypt  in  1873,  the 
whole  country,  as  far  south  as  the  equator,  had  been  taken 
possession  of  in  the  name  of  Egypt,  and  several  garrison* 
had  been  planted  to  maintain  the  held. 

Knowledge  of  the  rich  country  between  the  Transvaal 
Republic  and  the  Zambeze  has  extended  with  wonderful 
rapidity,  through  the  exertions  of  the  pioneers  Mauch,  Mohr, 
Baines,  Elton,  and  St  Vincent  Erskine,  so  that  this  region 
has  now  almost  passed  out  of  the  category  of  lands  in  which 
geographical  discoveries  can  be  made.  A  point  of  great 
interest  in  the  progress  of  the  exploration  of  this  country 
was  the  discovery  by  Mauch,  m  1871,  of  the  nuns  of  an 
ancient  city  or  fortress,  named  Zimbaoe,  certainly  not  ol 
African  construction,  about  200  miles  due  west  from 
Sofala,  in  lat  20°  15'  S.,  long.  30°  45'  E.,  through  which  it 
has  been  sought  to  identify  this  region  with  the  Ophir  of 
Scripture.  The  finding,  in  1869,  of  rich  diamond  fields  in 
the  upper  valley  of  the  Orange  river,  and  in  that  of  its 
tributary  the  Vaal,  caused  a  rush  of  emigration  to  these 
districts,  and  tended  still  further  to  develop  this  portion  of 
Africa. 

North  African  exploration  is  also  vigorously  progressing. 
In  the  west,  during  1869,  Winwood  Reade  made  a  journey 
from  Sierra  Leone  to  the  head  of  the  Niger,  and  from  1867 
onwards  M.  Munzinger,  consul  at  Massowa,  has  greatly 
extended  our  knowledge  of  Northern  Abyssinia.  A  notable 
journey  of  exploration  in  the  Sahara  remains  to  be  men- 
tioned. In  1869  Dr  Nachtigal  was  appointed  to  carry 
presents  from  the  King  of  Prussia  to  the  Sultan  of  Bomu, 
on  Lake  Chad,  in  acknowledgment  of  that  potentate's  aid 
to  former  travellers.  Besides  accomplishing  this  mission, 
this  explorer  hasadded  very  considerably  to  our  knowledge  of 
the  Eastern  Sahara  by  investigating  the  central  mountainous 
country  of  Tibesti,  hitherto  only  known  by  report;  and  in 


D1SC0VEEIF.S.] 


AFRICA 


249 


more  recent  journeys,  still  being  continued,  he  has  proved 
the  existence  of  an  outflowing  river  from  Lake  Chad,  which 
has  hitherto  been  believed  to  be  a  terminal  lake,  the  fresh- 
ness of  its  waters  having  on  this  account  appeared  an 
anomaly  in  physical  geography. 

With  the  double  purpose  of  affording  support  to  Dr 
Livingstone,  and  of  adding  to  the  geography  of  Equatorial 
Africa,  two  expeditions  were  fitted  out  by  the  Royal  Geo- 
graphical Society  in  1872.  One  of  these,  led  by  Lieut. 
Cameron,  was  planned  to  follow  the  footsteps  of  Living- 
stone in  his  present  journey  from  the  eastern  side,  entering 
the  country  by  the  ordinary  trade  route  from  Zanzibar  to- 
w^'ds  the  Tanganyika.  This  expedition  started  from  Zan- 
zibar  early  in  1873,  under  the  auspices  of  Sir  Bartle  Frere's 
mission,  and  has  now  made  considerable  progress  towards 
the  interior.  The  other,  named  the  "  Livingstone  Congo 
Expedition,"  under  Lieuts.  Grandy,  is  to  pass  from  the 
west  coast  to  the  interior,  by  following  the  river  Congo, 
which  is  almost  without  doubt  the  lower  course  of  the  great 
Lualaba  river,  about  to  be  further  explored  by  Dr  Living- 
stone coming  to  it  from  the  eastern  side.  The  latest 
accounts  from  this  expedition  are  also  in  the  highest 
degree  favourable,  and  an  advance  of  upwards  of  150  miles 
has  already  been  made  from  Loanda,  A  new  expedition, 
under  the  leadership  of  the  indefatigable  traveller  Rohlfs,  is 
now  in  preparation,  and  is  destined  to  explore  the  unknown 
portions  of  the  Libyan  desert. 

Thu3  the  exploration  of  the  great  continent  is  slowly 
advancing  year  by  year,  but  with  earnest  and  unceasing 
progress.  As  yet  the  only-portions  of  Africa  of  which  we 
possess  any  approach  to  an  accurate  topographical  know- 
ledge are,  the  Cape  Colony  and  Natal  under  British  rule 
in  the  south,  the  French  colony  of  Algeria,  the  Portuguese 
possession  of  Angola,  and  Egypt  and  Tunis,  dependent  on 
the  Turkish  Empire,  in  the  north. 

Throughout  the  rest  of  the  continent,  a  network  of  routes 
accomplished  by  travellers  gives  in  most  parts  the  great  out- 
line of  its  features ;  where  these  lines  interlace  more  closely, 
as  in  the  South  African  Republics,  and  in  Abyssinia,  the 
general  aspect  of  the  land  is  now  so  well  knowa  as  to  pre- 
clude the  possibility  of  any  important  geographical  dis- 
covery there ;  elsewhere,  however,  the  gaps  between  the 
tracks  are  wider.  In  the  vast  inhospitable  region  of  the 
Sahara  there  are  great  areas  still  unknown  to  civilised  man, 
and  the  equatorial  region  of  dense  forests  in  Central  Africa 
is  still  one  of  the  greatest  terrce  incognita  of  the  globe. 

The  origin  and  meaning  of  the  name  of  this  great  con- 
tinent has  been  a  fertile  subject  for  conjecture  among 
philologists  and  antiquaries.  By  the  Greeks  it  was  called 
Libya,  Aif3vrj,  and  by  the  Romans  Africa.  Vano  believed 
he  had  found  the  etymology  of  the  former  in  Libs,  the 
Greek  name  of  the  south  wind  ;  and  Servius,  the  scholiast 
on  Virgil,  proposed  to  derive  the  other  from  the  Latin  word 
aprica  (sunny),  or  the  Greek  word  a-phrike  (without  cold). 
It  is  more  probable  that  the  name  Libya  was  derived  by 
the  Greeks  from  the  name  of  the  people  whom  they  found 
in  possession  of  the  country  to  the  westward  of  Egypt,  and 
who  are  believed  to  have  been  those  that  are  called  in  the 
Hebrew  Scriptures  Lehabim  or  Lubim.  With  respect  to 
the  word  Africa,  Suidas  tells  us  that  it  was  the  proper 
name  of  that  great  city  which  the  Romans  called  Carthago, 
and  the  Greeks,  Karchedon.  It  is  certain,  at  least,  that  it 
was  apphed  originally  to  the  country  in  the  immediate 
neighbourhood  of  Carthage,  that  part  of  the  continent  first 
known  to  the  Romaus,  and  that  it  was  subsequently  ex- 
tended with  their  increasing  knowledge,  till  it  came  at  last 
to  include  the  whole  continent.  Of  the  meaning  of  the 
name,  the  language  of  Carthage  itself  supplies  a  simple 
and  natural  -  explanation ;  the  word  Afrygah,  signifying  a 
separate  establishment,  or  in  other  words  a  colony,  as 


Carthage  was  of  Tyre.  So  that  the  Phoenicians  of  old, 
at  home,  may  have  spoken  of  their  Afrygah,  just  as  we 
speak  of  our  colonies.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  Arabs  of 
the  present  day  still  give  the  name  of  Afrygah  or  Afrikiyah 
to  the  territory  of  Tunis.  It  may  also  be  remarked,  that 
the  name  seems  not  to  have  been  used  by  the  Romans 
till  after  the  time  of  the  first  Punic  war,  when  they  became 
first  acquainted  with  what  they  afterwards  called  Africa 
Propria. 

Africa  lies  between  the  latitudes  of  38°  N.  and  35°  S., 
and  is  of  all  the  continents  the  most  truly  tropical  It  is, 
strictly  speaking,  an  enormous  peninsula  attached  to  Asia 
by  the  isthmus  of  Suez.  The  most  northern  point  is  the 
Cape,  situated  a  little  to  the  west  of  Cabo  Blanco,  and 
opposite  Sicily,  which  lies  in  lat.  37°  20'  40*  N.,  long.  9° 
41'  E.  Its  southernmost  point  is  Cabo  d'Agulhas,  in  34° 
49'  15"  S. ;  the  distance  between  these  two  points  being 
4330  geographical,  or  about  5000  English  miles.  The 
westernmost  point  is  Cabo  Verde,  in  long.  17°  33'  W.,  its 
easternmost  Cape  Jerdaffun,  in  long.  51°  21'  E.,  lat.  10°  25' 
N.,  the  distance  between  the  two  points  being  about  the 
same  as  its  length.  The  western  coasts  are  washed  by  the 
Atlantic,  the  northern  by  the  Mediterranean,  and  the 
eastern  by  the  Indian  Ocean. 

The  form  has  been  likened  to  a  triangle,  or  to  an  oval,  Form 
but  such  a  comparison  is  scarcely  warranted,  it  being  of  an 
irregular  shape,  the  northern  half  rounding  off,  the  southern 
one  contracting  and  terminating  in  a  point. 

The  superficial  extent  of  Africa  has  never  been  accurately  Superficial 
determined,  but  may  be  taken  at  9,858,000  geographical  ertent 
square  miles,  exclusive  of  the  islands.     It  is  larger  than 
either  Europe  or  Australia,  but  smaller  than  Asia  and  the 
New  World. 

The  coast  line  of  Africa  is  very  regular  and  unbroken,  Coast  Um 
presenting  few  bays  and  peninsulas.    The  chief  indentation  and  ""Jen- 
is  formed  by  the  Gulf  of  Guinea,  with  its  two  secondary      ons' 
divisions,  the  Bight  of  Benin  and  the  Bight  of  Biafra.     On 
the  northern  coast,  the  Gulf  of  Sidra  and  the  Gulf  of  Kabes 
must  be  mentioned,  and  on  the  eastern  coast  the  Gulf  of 
Arabia. 

The  physical  configuration  may  be  considered  under  two  Physical 
heads,  the  great  lower-lands  and  plains  of  Northern  Africa,  configure 
and  the  great  table-lands,  with  their  mountain  ranges  and  "on* 
groups,  of  Central  and  Southern  Africa.    The  great  northern 
lower-land  comprises  the  Sahara,  the  Lake  Chad  region, 
and  the  valley  of  the  Lower  Nile.     The  Sahara  is  by  no 
means  a  plain  throughout,  but  for  the  greater  part  it  rises 
into   table-lands,    interspersed  with   mountain  groups  of 
6000    feet  elevation,  and   probably  more,  and  the  term 
lower-lands  can  only  be  applied  to  it  in  a  general  way,  to 
distinguish  it  from  the  more  elevated  region  to  the  south. 

The  Sahara  has  often  been  pictured  as  a  monotonous 
and  immense  expanse  of  sand ;  but  nothing  could  be  more 
erroneous,  as  the  greatest  variety  exists  in  the  physical 
configuration  of  its  surface,  as  well  a3  in  its  geological 
features.  Our  knowledge  is  as  yet  too  scanty  to  enable  us 
to  trace  its  features  in  every  part.  On  the  north,  this  great 
desert  is  fringed  with  extensive  table-lands,  which  in  some 
places  rise  abruptly  from  the  Mediterranean,  as  the  great 
plateau  of  Barbary,  extending  through  Marocco,  Algeria, 
and  Tunis,  and  the  table-land  of  Barca,  elevated  1500  feet, 
and  gradually  descending  towards  the  Delta  of  the  Nils, 
This  elevated  ground  is  succeeded  to  the  south  by  a 
depressed  region,  which  extends  from  the  Great  Syrtis  or 
Gulf  of  Sidra,  in  a  general  direction  as  far  as  Middle 
Egypt,  and  comprises'the  oases  of  Augila  and  Siwah.  So 
greatly  depressed  is  this  region,  that  the  level  of  the  uasis 
of  Siwah  is  100  feet,  and  in  one  place  (Bahrein)  even  167 
feet  below  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  western  portions  of  this 
country,  between  the  oases  of  Augila  and  Siwah^explored  in 


250 


AFRICA 


Iphysicai, 


18G9  by  the  traveller  Rohlfs,  were  found  to  be  everywhere 
from  100  to  150  feet  beneath  the  level  of  the  Mediterranean ; 
and  M.  de  Lesseps,  in  conducting  a  survey  from  the 
Egyptian  side,  found  the  eastern  part  to  be  much  beneath 
the  level  of  the  Nile.  Here  then  must  be  one  of  the 
greatest  areas  of  depression  in  the  land  of  the  globe,  com- 
parable with  that  which  surrounds  the  Caspian  Sea.  This 
depressed  region  is  again  followed  by  a  table-land  of  con- 
siderable extent  and  width,  extending  from  the  Gulf  of 
Kabes  in  a  southerly  direction,  along  the  Tripoline  shores, 
and  probably  traversing,  in  the  same  direction,  the  Libyan 
Desert,  and  reaching  as  far  as  the  Nile,  near  the  first 
cataract.  Its  north-western  part,  as  far  as  Sokna,  consists 
of  the  Hamadah,  a  stony,  dreary,  and  extensive  table-land, 
of  from  1500  to  2000  feet  high,  "  which  seems  to  be  like 
c  broad  belt  intercepting  the  progress  of  commerce,  civili- 
sation, and  conquest,  from  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean 
to  Central  Africa."  Near  Sokna  this  plateau  breaks  up 
and  forms  what  are  called  the  Jebel-es-Soda,  or  Black 
Mountains,  a  most  picturesque  group  of  cliffs ;  and  again, 
on  the  route  from  Murzuk  to  Egypt,  it  also  breaks  into 
huge  cliffs,  and  bears  the  name  of  El-Harouj.  The  whole 
of  the  central  portion  of  the  Northern  Sahara,  as  far  south 
as  the  plateau  of  Air  or  Asben,  is  occupied  by  similar  bare 
table-land3,  with  lower^areas  of  sand  dunes  between. 
Numerous  wadys,  the  only  inhabited  parts  of  the  country, 
intersoct  the  slopes  of  these  plateaux.  The  country  of 
Ahaggar,  between  23°  and  29°  N.  lat.,  and  5°  E.  long., 
appears  to  form  the  central  elevation  from  which  the  greater 
of  these  dry  water-courses  radiate  ;  from  it  a  series  of  long 
wadys — one  of  them,  the  wady  Rharis  or  Igharghar,  being 
about  600  miles  in  length — run  northward  towards  a 
depressed  country  which  lies  inland  from  the  Gulf  of 
Cabes,  and  contains  several  salt  lagoons,  covered"  with  a 
few  feet  of  water  in  winter,  but  dried  up  in  summer,  and 
lying  considerably  below  the  Mediterranean  level.  Other 
wadys  radiate  west  and  south-west  from  Ahaggar  to  the 
unknown  region  of  the  Sahara,  which  lies  between  this  and 
the  northern  bend  of  the  Niger.  The  most  truly  desert 
region  of  the  Sahara  is  an  irregular  belt  of  shifting  sand 
dunes,  the  "  Erg "  or  "  Areg,"  which  stretches  from  the 
lagoons  above  referred  to  near  the  Mediterranean  coast 
south-westward  to  near  the  river  Senegal  and  the  Atlantic, 
in  an  unbroken  chain  for  upwards  of  2000  miles,  and  hav- 
ing an  average  width  of  perhaps  200  miles.  In  this  sand 
T)elt  the  wadys  of  the  inward  slope  of  the  plateau  of  Barbary 
terminate,  excepting  the  Wady  Saura,  which  crosses'  the 
Erg  to  the  important  oasis  of  Tuat,  near  the  centre  of  its 
southern  border,  and  the  Wady  Draa,  which  turns  to  the 
Atlantic  coast.  From  Wady  Draa  a  great  plain  extends 
along  the  western  shore  as  far  as  the  river  Senegal,  and 
probably  continues  as  such  to  the  east  towards  Timbuktu, 
and  thence  to  Lake  Chad.  Thus  it  appears  that  the 
western  half  of  the  Sahara  is  surrounded  by  a  broad  belt 
of  plains  and  depressions,  the  central  parts  being  formed 
by  extensive  table-lands,  with  occasional  mountain  knots, 
such  as  that  which  forms  the  fertile  kingdom  of  Air  and 
Asben,  the  culminating  points  of  which  are  from  4000  tor 
6000  feet  high. 

The  eastern  portion  of  the  Sahara  appears  to  have  nearly 
the  same  general  elevation  as  the  western  half,  and  near 
its  centre  several  fertile  mountain  regions,  comparable  with 
that  of  Asben,  are  known.  Such  is  the  mountainous  country 
of  Borgu,  north-east  of  the  kingdoms  which  surround  Lake 
Chad,  and  Tibesti,  north  of  it,  in  the  centre  of  the  Tibbu 
district,  recently  explored  by  Dr  Nachtigal,  who  found  rich 
vegetation  and  abundant  animal  life  in  the  valleys  of  this 
mountain  group. 

To  the  south  and  east  of  the  region  just  described 
Africa  may  be  considered  as  one  connected  mass  of  elevated 


land,  comprising  the  most  extensive  tablelands,  as  well  as 
high  mountain  groups  and  chains. 

The  great  mass  of  the  African  plateau  land  is  to  south- 
ward of  the  10th  parallel  of  N.  latitude,  but  it  is  pro- 
longed on  the  eastern  side  almost  to  the  north  coast 
of ,  the  continent  by  the  wedge-shaped  table-land  of  Abys- 
sinia, the  highest  surface  in  Africa,  and  by  the  moun- 
tains which  extend  from  it  between  the  lower  course  of  the 
Nile  and  the  Bed  Sea.  The  terminal  point  of  the  high 
land  in  this  direction  may  be  said  to  be  Jebel  Attaka, 
which  rises  immediately  west  of  Suez  to  a  height  of  2640 
feet.  From  this  point  to  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
continent  the  eastern,  and  generally  higher  edge,  of  the 
great  plateau  runs  in  an  almost  unbroken  line.  Fassing 
southwards  along  its  margin,  the  most  prominent  heights 
before  the  table-land  of  Abyssinia  is  reached  are  Mounts 
Elba,  6900,  and  Soturba,  6000  feet  in  elevation,  near  the 
middle  of  the  African  coast  of  the  Bed  Sea.  There  may, 
however,  be  greater  heights  in  the  little  known  region  of 
Nubia,  which  lies  between  these  mountains  and  the  Nile. 

The  eastern  slope  of  the  Abyssinian  plateau  begins  im- 
mediately south  of  the  port  of  Massowah,  and  is  a  uni- 
form line  of  steep  descent,  unbroken  by  any  river,  falling 
abruptly  from  an  average  height  of  7000  feet  to  the 
depressed  plain  which  here  skirts  the  coast  of  the  Bed 
Sea.  This  edge,  which  extends  southward  for  at  least 
800  miles,  forms  the  water-parting  of  the  rivers  which  have 
furrowed  deeply  into  the  opposite  slopes  of  the  plateau, 
and  appears  to  be  higher  than  the  general  surface  of  the 
country;  yet  several  lofty  groups  of  mountains  rising  from 
the  level  of  the  high  land  attain  a  much  greater  elevation, 
and  Mount  Abba  Jared,  the  highest  known  point,  is  esti- 
mated at  15,000  feet  above  the  sea.  Between  the  most 
southern  part  of  Abyssinia  which  is  known  and  the 
equator,  where  the  edge  of  the  plateau  has  again  been 
partly  explored,  a  long  space  of  unknown  country  inter- 
venes; but  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  slope 
is  continuous.  Mount  Kenia,  18,000  feet,  and  Kilima- 
njaro, 18,715  feet,  the  highest  points  in  all  Africa,  mark 
the  eastern  edge  under  the  equator;  further  south  on  the 
inland  route  from  Zanzibar  to  the  Tanganyika,  the  edge  is 
known  as  the  Bubeho  Mountains,  with  a  height  of  5700 
feet  at  the  pass  by  which  they  are  crossed  on  the  caravan 
route.  Still  further,  the  edge  is  again  known  where  it 
forms  a  rampart,  callecHheNjesa,  walling  in  the Nyassa  Lake. 
From  this  point  Mount  Zomba,  7000  feet  high,  near  Lake 
Shirwa,  Mount  Milanje,  8000  feet,  and  Mount  Clarendon, 
6000  feet,  carry  it  south  to  where  the  Zambeze  river  makes 
the  first  break  in  its  uniform  line.  The  narrows  and  rapids 
of  Lupata,  below  the  town  of  Tete,  mark  the  point  at  which 
the"  river  breaks  through  the  plateau  land  to  the  coast  slope 
beneath  it.  Passing  the  river,  the  eastern  edge  is  again 
followed  in  the  Mashona  and  Matoppo  Mountains  (7200 
feet)  of  Mosilikatse'a  kingdom,  from  which  heights  the 
chief  tributaries  of  the  Limpopo  river  flow.  At  the  head- 
waters of  that  river  the  plateau  edge  forms  the  Hooge  Veldt 
of  the  Transvaal  Republic  which  joins  with  the  Kathlauiba 
or  Drakenberg.  The  portion  of  the  edge  which  bears  this 
name  is  specially  prominent:  it  runs  southward  in  a  huge 
wall  of  rocky  crags  which  support  the  table-land  behind 
for  500  miles,  almost  parallel  with  the  coast,  and  at  a  dis- 
tance of  150  miles  from  it,  having  Zulu  Land,  Natal,  and 
Caffraria  on  the  slopes  of  the  spurs  which  it  throws  down 
to  the  coast.  In  the  Transvaal  Bepublic,  where  the 
Drakenberg  joins  the  Hooge  Veldt,  the  edge  attains  a 
height  of  8725  feet  in  the  summit  named  after  the  explorer 
Mauch,  but  it  is  highest  where  it  forms  the  interior  limit 
of  Natal,  and  where  CathMn  Peak  rises  to  10,357  feet 
above  the  sea. 

As  in  Abyssinia,  so  here,  this  part  of  the  eastern  pkteap 


^BATCHES.] 


AFRICA 


251 


iJateau 


edge  is  the   great   water-parting   of   the  continent,   and 

the  streams  which  form  the  Orange  river  flow  down  its 

inward  slope.     There  is  no  break  in  the  continuance  of  the 

edge  where  it  passes  round  from  the  Drakenberg  to  form 

the  inmost  and  highest  of  the  alternate  ridges  and  terraces 

of  the  Cape  Colony.     It  is  now  named  in  successive  parts 

Southern      from  east  to  west  the  Storm  Berge,  the  Zuur  Berg,  Schnee 

edge  of  the  Beige,  Nieuwe-veld,  and  Kogge-veld,  the  last-named  por- 

r.ateao,       jjon  0f  -^he  f,jge  turning  northward  with  the  bend  of  the 

western  coast.      Its    greatest    height  within    the   Cape 

Colony  is  in  Compass  Berg,  the  summit  of  the  Schnee 

Berge,  8500  feet  above  the  sea. 

The  outer  terraces  of  the  Cape  Colony,  in  which  two 
chief  ridges  may  be  traced,  lie  close;'  together,  and  much 
nearer  the  coast;  between  these  and  the  inmost  or  chief 
edge  is  the  dry  elevated  region  known  as  the  Great  Karroo. 
Their  elevation  is  also  very  considerable,  though  they  are 
broken  through  by  lines  of  drainage  sloping  from  the  chief 
edge ;  the  part  of  the  middle  ridge,  which  is  named  the  Little 
Zwarte  Berge,  attains  7628  feet,  and  several  points  in  both 
are  upwards  of  6000  feet  above  the  sea.  Table  Mountain, 
a  well-known  and  flat-topped  mass  of  granite  overhanging 
Cape  Town,  3550  feet  high,  is  the  nucleus  of  the  peninsula 
which  extends  south  to  form  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  but  is 
altogether  separated  from  the  mountain  ridges  of  the  colony. 
Wetter,  The  western  edge  of  the  great  African  plateau  is  generally 

e-tge  of  the  lower  than  the  eastern,  since  the  whole  slope  of  the  continent 
is  more  or  less  from  the  great  heights  on  its  eastern  side, 
towards  the  west,  but  it  is  also  clearly  traceable,  and  of  great 
height  throughout.  Bounding  the  western  side  of  the  Cape 
Colouy,  the  three  ridges  above  -noticed  run  together,  and 
decrease  somewhat  in  elevation  as  the  mouth  of  the  Orange 
river  is  approached.  Their  elevation  at  the  point  of  union 
in  Little  Namaqua  Land  is  still  very  considerable;  and  here 
Mount  Welcuine  attains  5130  feet,  and  Vogelklip,  to  north 
of  it,  4343  feet  above  the  sea.  Beyond  the  Orange  river  in 
Namaqua  and  Damara  Lands,  the  western  edge  continues  in 
one  or  more  terraces  parallel  to  the  coast.  Mount  Omatako, 
in  the  latter  country,  rises  to  8S00  feet.  Northward, 
through  Benguela  and  Angola,  a  more  broken  series  of  ridges 
and  terraces  mark  the  descent  from  the  interior  plateau,  and 
the  great  Congo  river  breaks  through  to  the  coast-land  at 
the  place  where  it  forms  the  cataracts  of  the  narrow  gorge 
of  Yellala.  Sierra  Complida  is  the  name  given  by  the 
Portuguese  to  that  part  of  the  western  edge  which  runs 
between  the  Congo  and  the  rapids  of  the  lower  Ogowai 
river  on  the  equator.  On  the  plateau  edge  at  the  southern 
Bide  of  this  river,  Du  Chaillu  has  made  known  a  mountain 
of  12,000  feet  in  elevation;  and  the  furthest  point  which 
has  been  reached  on  the  Ogowai  was  in  the  vicinity  of  high 
mountains.  Passing  the  Ogowai,  and  following  the  coast 
of  the  Bight  of  Biafra,  the  edge  is  now  known  as  the  Sierra 
do  Crystal.  The  Camaroon  mountains,  at  the  head  of  the 
gulf,  form  a  high  peninsula  of  volcanic  mountains,  rising 
to  13,700  feet;  but  are  isolated  from  the  plateau  lands, 
and  belong  ratherto  the  remarkable  line  of  volcanic  heights 
which  shows  itself  in  the  islands  of  Fernando  Po,  Prince's 
Island,  St  Thomas,  and  Annobon,  stretching  away  into  the 
ocean  in  the  direction  of  St  Helena.  From  the  Sierra  do 
Crystal  the  plateau  edge  inclines  towards  the  lower  course 
of  the  river  Niger  to  a  point  above  its  delta,  and  below  the 
confluence  of  the  Benue.  and  then  turns  abruptly  to  the  east. 
The  heights  which  skirt  the  northern  coast-land  of  the 
Gulf  of  Guinea,  and  which  stretch  as  far  as  the  head-waters 
of  the  Senegal  and  Gambia,  and  in  the  inner  slope  of  which 
the  Niger  also  has  its  sources,  may  be  considered  as  an 
extension  from  the  great  plateau.  But  they  are  of  smaller 
general  elevation;  and  that  best  known  part  of  the  ridge, 
which  has  the  name  of  the  Kong  Mountains,  is  apparently 
not  higher  than  from  2000  to  3000  feet 


The  nurthern  edge  of  the  great  African  plateau  is  almost 
unknown;  but  there  are  evidences  that  it  runs  eastward 
between  the  4th  and  8th  parallels  of  N.  latitude,  to  a  point 
at  which  it  is  well  known,  and  where  the  Nile  falls  over  its 
slope,  forming  the  succession  of  rapids  above  Gondokora 
The  character  of  the  upper  Benue  river  is  that  of  a  mountain- 
born  river;  and  Mounts  Alantika,  10,000  feet  high,  and 
Mindif,  6000  feet,  which  rise  to  southward  of  Lake  Chad, 
seem  to  be  the  outliers  of  the  plateau  edge  in  which  the 
Benue  has  its  sources.  Beyond  the  Nile  the  margin  of  the 
plateau  curves  northward,  to  form  the  inner  slope  of  the 
Abyssinian  table-land. 

The  general  elevation  of  the  surface  of  the  great  African 
plateau,  the  limits  of  which  have  now  been  traced,  may 
be  taken  at  from  3000  to  4000  feet  above  the  sea;  but 
its  surface  presents  very  great  undulations,  from  the 
depressions  which  are  occupied  by  some  of  the  great  lakes, 
to  the  high  mountains  which  rise  above  its  average  level. 
The  most  prominent  of  these  interior  masses  yet  known 
are  the  Blue  Mountains,  discovered  by  Baker,  rising  from 
the  western  shore  of  the  Albert  Lake  to  a  height  of  per- 
haps 10,000  feet,  and  which  are  believed  to  extend  south- 
ward to  unite  with  the  Balegga  Mountains,  made  known 
by  Livingstone  in  his  journey  of  1871,  north-west  of  Lake 
Tanganyika;  these  again  are  believed  to  join  with  the 
mountains  which  rise  midway  between  the  Victoria,  the 
Albert  Nyanza,  and  the  Tanganyika,  dividing  the  drainage 
to  these  vast  lakes,  and  rising  here  in  Mount  M'fumbiro  to 
upwards  of  10,000  feet.  Another  great  central  line  of 
heights  which  also  had  an  important  part  in  directing  the 
water-shed  of  the  interior  of  South  Africa,  runs  from  the 
north  of  the  Nyassa  Lake,  where  it  is  named  the  Lobisa 
plateau,  through  the  Muchinga  Mountains,  which  separate 
the  drainage  of  the  Lualaba  and  its  lakes  from  that  of  the 
Zambeze  basin,  westward  to  the  heights  in  the  far  interior 
of  Angola,  known  as  the  Mossamba  Mountains,  and  from 
which  rivers  flow  in  all  directions. 

The  plateau  of  Barbary,  in  the  north  of  the  continent,  Plateau  ti 
beyond  the  lower  land  of  the  Sahara,  is  a  distinct  and  Barbary. 
separate  high  land,  stretching  from  Cape  Bon,  on  the  Medi- 
terranean coast  opposite  Sicily,  in  a  south-westerly  direction 
to  the  Atlantic  coast,  through  Tunis,  Algeria,  and  Marocco. 
The  eastern  portion  of  it  in  Algeria  and  Tunis  rises  in  a 
broad  plateau  from  2000  to  3000  feet  in  general  height, 
with  outer  heights,  enclosing  an  elevated  steppe,  at  a 
distance  of  about  100  miles  apart.  On  the  west,  where  it 
enters  Marocco,  these  outer  ridges  draw  together  and  form 
the  high  ranges  of  the  Atlas  Mountains,  rising  to  a  much 
greater  elevation,  and  attaining  11,400  feet  in  the  summit 
named  Mount  Miltsin. 

The  African  continent,  as  far  as  it  has  yet  been  explored, 
seems  to  be  the  portion  of  the  globe  least  disturbed  by 
volcanic  action.  The  known  active  volcanoes  in  the  con- 
tinent are  those  of  the  Camaroon  Mountains,  en  the  coast 
of  the  Gulf  of  Guinea  in  the  west,  and  the  A  rtali  volcano 
in  the  depressed  region  of  the  salt  desert  which  lies  be- 
tween the  Abyssinian  plateau  and  the  Bed  Sea,  This 
latter  volcano  is  probably  a  part  of  the  system  with  which 
the  volcanic  island  of  Jebel  Tur,  in  the  Bed  Sea,  near  the 
same  latitude,  is  connected.  One  other  active  volcano  only 
is  known  by  report, — the  Njemsi  volcano,  in  the  country 
between  Mount  Kenia  and  the  Victoria  Lake.  Shocks 
of  earthquake  appear  to  be  almost  unknown  in  any  part 
of  the  continent.  It  has  been  pointed  out  by  the  late 
Sir  Roderick  Murchison  that  the  older  rocks  which  are 
known  to  circle  round  the  continent,  unquestionably  in- 
cluded an  interior  marshy  or  lacustrine  country,  and  that 
the  present  centre  zone  of  waters,  whether  lakes,  rivers, 
or  marshes,  extending  from  Lake  Chad  to  Lake  Ngami, 
a;-e  but  the  great  modern  residual  phenomena  of  those. 


252 


A  F  K  1  U  A 


[physical 


of  a  mesozoic  age.  The  surface  of  llie  South  African 
continent  has  not  been  diversified  in  recent  times  by  the 
outpouring  of  lava  streams,  or  broken  up  by  the  efforts 
of  subterranean  heat  to  escape.  Nor  has  it  been  sub- 
jected to  those  great  oscillations  by  which  the  surfaces 
of  many  other  countries  have. been  so  placed  under  the 
waters  of  the  ocean  as  to  have  been  strewed  over  with 
erratic  blocks  and  marine  exuviae.  The  interior  of  South 
Africa  may  therefore  be  viewed  as  a  country  of  very 
ancient  conservative  terrestrial  character.  Knowledge  of 
the  special  geology  of  Africa  is  yet  confined  to  the  few 
parts  of  the  continent  in  which  Europeans  have  perma- 
nently settled.  In  this  respect  the  southern  region  of  the 
Cape  Colony  and  Natal  have  advanced  furthest,  and  their 
geological  features  have  been  mapped  out  with  some 
accuracy.  Elsewhere  in  the  continent,  excepting  in  Algeria 
and  Angola,  light  has  only  been  thrown  along  the  line 
followed  by  the  few  explorers  who  have  given  attention  to 
this  subject. 

Ajnong  the  minerals  of  Africa,  salt  is  widely  distributed, 
tnough  in  some  districts  wholly  wanting.  Thus  in  the 
Abyssinian  high  land  the  salt,  which  is  brought  up  in  small 
blocks  from  the  depressed  salt  plain  on  the  Red  Sea  coast 
beneath,  is  so  valued  as  to  be  used  as  a  money  currency ; 
and  in  the  native  kingdoms  of  South  Central  Africa,  the 
salt  districts  aro  royal  possessions  strictly  guarded.  Metals 
seem  nowhere  very  abundant.  Gold  is  perhaps  the  most 
generally  distributed.  The  gold-fields  of  the  Transvaal 
Republic  and  of  the  country  which  extends  thence  to  the  ■ 
Zambeze,  are  numerous;  but  no  yield  has  as  yet  been  dis- 
covered of  sufficient  quantity  to  overcome  the  difficulties 
of  working,  and  of  transport  to  the  distant  sea-ports,  to 
which  no  navigable  rivers  lead  from  this  region.  Copper  is 
known  to  exist  in  large  quantities  in  the  mountains  of 
native  kingdoms  of  the  centre  of  South  Africa ;  and  one  of 
the  objects  of  Dr  Livingstone's  present  journey  is  to  visit 
the  famed  copper  country  of-  Katanga  south-west  of  the 
Tanganyika  Lake.  The  diamond-fields  in  the  districts  of 
the  Vaal  and  Orange  rivers  north  of  the  Ca.pe  Colony  are 
now  steadily  worked,  and  give  good  returns. 
aenerai  Africa  is  the  only  one  of  the  continents  of  the  globe 

nature  of     which  lies  equally  to  north  and  south   of   the  equator, 
fhe  surface  an(j  tne  p0rti0ns  of  it  which  extend  beyond  the  tropics  do 
not  advance. far  into  the  temperate  zones.     From  this  it 
results  that  Africa,  besides  being  the  warmest  of  all  the 
continents,   has  also  the  most  equal  distribution  of  the 
sun's  heat  during  the  seasons  over  the  parts  which  lie  north 
and  south  of  the  central  line.    Winds  and  rain,  depending  on 
the  distribution  of  heat,  are  also  correspondingly  developed 
in  these  two  great  divisions  of  the  continent,  and  the  broad 
landscape  zones,  passing  from  humid  forest  to  arid  sandy 
desert,  also  agree  exactly  with  one  another  north  and  south 
of  Equatorial  Africa. 
Equatorial       Between  10°  N.  and  10°  S.  of  the  equator,  but  especially 
arrets         in  that  portion  of  it  the  outskirts  of  which  have  only  as 
yet  been  reached  by  travellers,  Africa  appears  to  be  a  land 
of  dense  tropical  forest.     Wherever  it  has  been  penetrated, 
'travellers  speak  of  an  excessively  rank  vegetation ;  passage 
has  to  be  forced  through  thick  underwood  and  creeping 
plants,  between  giant  trees,  whose  foliage  shuts  out  the 
Bun's  rays;  and  the  land  teems  with  animal  and  insect  life 
of   every  form   and   colour.      Describing   the  forests  of 
Manyuema  country,  west  of  the  Tanganyika  Lake,  Living- 
stone says — "  Into  these  [primaeval  forests]  the  sun,  though 
vertical,  cannot  penetrate,  excepting  by  sending  down  at 
midday  thin  pencils  of  rays  into  the  gloom.     The  rain 
water  stands  for  months  in  stagnant  pools  made  by  the 
feet  of  elephants.     The  climbing  plants,  from  the  size  of  a 
whipcord  to  that  of  a  man-of-war's  hawser,  are  so  numerous, 
that  the  ttucient   path  is  the  only  passage.      When  one 


of  the  giant  trees  falls  across  the  road,  it  forms  a  wall 
breast  high  to  be  climbed  over,  and  the  mass  of  tangled 
ropes  brought  down  makes  cutting  a  path  round)  it  a  work 
of  time  which  travellers  never  undertake."-  Here  there  is 
adouble  rainy  season,  and  the  rainfall  is  excessive.  To 
north  and  south  of  this  central  belt,  where  the  rainfall 
diminishes,  and  a  dry  and  wet  season  divides  the  year,  the 
forests  gradually  open  into  a  park-like  country,  and  then 
merge  into  pastoral  grass-lands.  In  North  Africa  thij 
pastoral  belt  is  occupied  by  tho  native  states  of  th< 
Soudan,  from  Abyssinia  >westward,  in  the  parallel  of  Lakfl 
Chad,  to  the  Gambia  on  tho  Atlantic  coast;  and  corre- 
sponding to  this  in  tho  south,  are  the  grass-lands  stretching 
across  the  continent  from  the  Zambeze  to  southern  Angola 
and  Benguela.  The  pastoral  belts  again  gradually  pass 
into  the  dry,  almost  rainless  desert  zones  of  the  Sahara  in  Ueserte 
the  north,  and  tho  Kalahari  desert  in.  tho  south,  which 
present  many  features  of  similarity. 

The  extremities  of  the  continent,  to  which  moisturo  is 
carried  from  the  neighbouring  oceans,  again  pass  into  a 
second-  belt  of  pastoral  or  agricultural  land,  in  the  north- 
ward slopes  of  the  plateaus  of  Barbary,  Marocco,  Algeria, 
and  Tunis,  corresponding  with  tho  seaward  terraces  of 
cultivated  land  in  the  Cape  Colony  in  the  south. 

Taking  a  broad  view  of  the  hydrography  of  Africa,  there  ' 
are  two  great  areas  of  continental  drainage,  one  in  the 
north,  the  other  in  the  south,  from  which  no  water  escapes 
directly  to  the  ocean.  These  correspond  almost  exactly 
with  the  two  desert  belts  of  the  Sahara  and  the  Kalahari 
above  described.  The  whole  of  tho  remaining  portions  of 
the  continent,  its  forests  and  pastoral  districts,  in  which 
the  greater  rainfall  gives  greater  power  to  the  rivers,  are 
drained  by  streams  which  find  their  way  to  the  ocean  on 
one  side  or  other,  generally  forcing  a  passage  through  soms 
natural  or  watei  worn  gorge  in  the  higher  circle  of  mountains 
which  run  round  the  outer  edges  of  the  great  plateau. 

By  far  the  larger  portion  of  the  oceanic  drainage  of  the 
continent  is  to  the  Atlantic  and  its  branch  the  Mediter- 
ranean, to  which  the  Nile,  Niger,  Ogowai,  Congo,  and 
Orange  rivers  flow.  The  great  rivers  which  drain  on 
the  opposite  side,  to  the  Indian  Ocean,  are  the  Juba, 
Zambeze,  and  Limpopo ;  whilst  the  northern  continental 
basin,  by  far  more  extensive  than  the  southern,  has  only 
one  great  river,  the  Shari,  which  supplies  Lake  Chad. 

It  must  be  noticed  that  the  capabilities  of  the  African 
rivers,  as  highways  of  approach  to  the  interior  of  the  con- 
tinent, are  exceedingly  small  in  comparison  with  those  of 
the  other  great  continents  of  the  globe,  most  of  them  being 
either  barred  at  their  mouths,  or  by  rapids  at  no. great 
distance  from  the  coast.  It  is  owing  to  this  physical  cause 
mainly  that  the  African  continent  has  remained  for  so 
many  centuries  a  sealed  book  to  the  civilised  world.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  must  be  observed,  that  when  these  outer 
barriers  have  been  passed,  the  great  interior  of  the  land, 
in  its  most  productive  regions,  possesses  a  network  of  vast 
rivers  and  lakes,  unsurpassed  in  extent  by  those  of  any 
country  of  the  world,  by  means  of  which  the  resources  of 
Central  Africa  may  in  future  be  thoroughly  developed. 

The  Nile  is  the  oldest  of  historical  rivers,  and  afforded 
the  only  means  of  subsistence  to  the  earliest  civilised 
people  on  earth,  and  yet  theorigin  of  this  river  remained 
an  enigma  almost  to  the  present  day.  Though  it  drains 
a  larger  area  than  any  other  river  of  Africa,  upwards  of 
1,000,000  square  miles,  and  in  this  respect  is  one  of  the 
largest  rivers  of  the  globe,  the  Nile,  passing  for  a  great 
portion  of  its  lower  course  through  the  desert  belt  of  North 
Africa,  and  receiving  no  tributaries  there,  loses  much  of 
its  volume  by  evaporation,  and. is  far  surpassed  in  the 
quantity  of  water  conveyed  to  the  ocean  by  the  Congo, 
in  the  moist  equatorial  zone.      The  great  labours  of  Dr 


PEATUKBS.l 


AFRICA 


253 


Livingstone,  in  the  late  region  of  Central  Africa,  have  so 
narrowed  the  space  within  which  the  sources  of  the  Nile 
can  exist,  that,  though  no  traveller  has  yet  reached  the 
ultimate  feeders  of  the  great  river,  their  position  can  now 
be  predicated  almost  with  certainty.      The  limit  of  the 
Nile  basin  on  the  south  is  formed  by  the  high  mountains 
which  rise  to  westward  of  the  Albert  Lake,  and  which  divide 
between  this  great  reservoir  and' the  Tanganyika,  extend- 
ing eastward  to  the  plateau  of  Unyamuezi,  on  the  northern 
tide  of  which  the  Victoria  Nyanza  lies.      The  ultimate 
sources  must  then  be  the  feeders  of  these  great  equatorial 
lakes,  the  Victoria  and  Albert.      The  river  issuing  from 
the  former  lake,  at  the  Ripon  Falls,  3300  feet  above  the 
sea,  to  join  the  northern  end  of  the  Albert  Nyanza,  may 
be  considered  as  the  first  appearance  of  the  Nile  as  a  river. 
At  the  Ripon  Falls  the  overflow  is  from  400  to  500  feet  in 
breadth,  and  the  descent  of  12-  feet  is  broken  in  three 
places  by  rocks.      Further  down,  where  the  river  turns 
westward  to  join  the  Albert  Lake,  it  forms  the  Karuma 
and  Murchison  Falls,  the  latter  being  120  feet  in  height. 
From  the  Albert  Lake,  the  Nile,  called  the  Kir  in  this 
part,   begins   its   almost   due   northward   course    to    the 
Mediterranean,  and  has  no  further  lake  expansion.     Be- 
tween the  Albert  and  Gondokoro,  in  5°  N.  lat,  which  lies 
at  2000  feet  above  the  sea,  the  Nile  descends  at  least  500 
feet  in  a  series  of  rapids  and  cataracts.    Beyond  Gondokoro, 
np  to  which  point  it  is  navigable,  it  enters  the  northern 
lower  land  of  Africa,  which  is  here  a  region  of  swamps 
and  forests,  and  several  tributaries  join  it  from  the  west. 
The  largest  of   these,  named  the  Bahr-el-Ghazal,  unites 
with  the  main  stream  below  the  10th  parallel;  and,  not 
much  further  on,  a  main  tributary,  the  Sobat  river,  joins 
the  Nile  from  the  unknown  region  which  lies  to  the  south- 
east.    Hence,  onward,  the  Nile  is  known  as  the  Bahr-el- 
Abiad  or  White  River.     The  two  remaining  great  tribu- 
tary rivers  descend  from  the  high  land  of  Abyssinia  on  the 
east.     The  first  of  these,  the  Bahr-el-Azrek  or  Blue  River, 
its  waters  being  pure  in  comparison  with  those  of  the  Nile, 
has  its  source  near  Lake  Dembea  or  Tzana,  through  which 
it  flows,  in  the  western  side  of  the  Abyssinian  plateau, 
6000  feet  above  the  sea ;  forming  a  semicircular  curve  in 
the  plateau,  the  Blue  Nile  runs  north-westward  to  the 
confluence  at  Khartum,  1345  feet  above  the  sea.     Between 
this  point  and  the  union  of  the  next  tributary,  the  Nile 
forms  the  cataract  yhich  is  known  as  the  sixth  from  its 
mouth.     In  about  18°  N.  it  is  joined  by  the  Atbara  or 
Black  River,  the  head  stream  of  which  is  the  Takkazze, 
flowing  in  a  deep  cut  valley  of  the  high  land.     This  tribu- 
tary is  named  from  the  dark  mud  which  it  carries  from  the 
high  land,  brought  down  to  it  by  streams  which  swell  into 
rushing  torrents  in  the  rainy  season.     It  is  to  these  rivers 
that  the  fertility  of  Lower  Egypt  is  mainly  due,  for  each 
year  a  vast  quantity  of  Abyssinian  mud  is  borne  down  to  be 
spread  over  the  delta.      Hence  the  Nile  pursues  its  way 
in  a  single  line  through  the  dry  belt  of  desert  to  the 
Mediterranean  without  a  single  tributary,  descending  by 
five  cataracts,  at  considerable  distances  apart.     The  delta 
of  the  Nile,  in  which  the  river  divides  into  two  main 
branches,  from  which  a  multitude  of  canals  are  drawn  off, 
is  a  wide  low  plain,  occupying  an  area  of  about  9000  square 
miles.     The  most  remarkable  circumstance  connected  with 
the  delta  is  the  annual  rise  and  overflow  of  the  river,  which 
takes  place  with  the  greatest  regularity  in  time  and  equality 
in  amount,  beginning  at  the  end  of  Jtcne,  and  subsiding 
completely  before  the  end  of  November,  leaving  over  the 
whole  delta  a  layer  of  rich  fertilising  slime. 

The  Sheliff  in  Algeria,  and  the  Muluya  in  Eastern 
Marocco,  are  the  chief  streams  flowing  to  the  Mediterranean 
from  the  high  land  of  Barbary. 

Passing  round  to  the  Atlantic  system,  the  Sebu,  the 


Ummer  Rebia,  and  the  Tensift,  from  the  Atlas  radge,  ar« 
permanent  rivers  flowing  across  the  fertile  plain  of  Western 
Marocco,  which  they  serve  to  irrigate.  Next  is  the  Wady 
Draa,  a  water-course  which  has  its  rise  on  the  innef  slope  of 
the  high  land  in  Marocco,  and  which  bends  round  through 
the  Maroccan  Sahara  to  the  Atlantic,  near  the  28th  parallel. 
Its  channel,  of  not  less  than  500  miles  in  length,  forms  a  long 
oasis  in  the  partly  desert  country  through  which  it  flows, 
and  water  remains  in  its  bed  nearly  throughout  the  year. 

A  stretch  of  .1100  miles  of  waterless  coast,  where  the 
desert  belt  touches  on  the  Atlantic,  intervenes  between 
the  Draa  and  the  Senegal  river,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
pastoral  belt  in  lat.  15°  N. 

The  Senegal  rises  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  belt  of 
mountains  which  skirt  the  Guinea  coast,  and  has  a  north- 
westerly course  to  the  sea.  During  the  rainy  season  it  is 
navigable  for  500  miles,  from  its  mouth  to  the  cataract  of 
Feloo,  for  vessels  drawing  12  feet  of  water,  but  at  other 
times  it  is  not  passable  for  more  than  a  third  part  of  this 
distance.  The  Gambia  has  its  sources  near  those  of  the 
Senegal,  and  flows  westward  in  a  tortuous  bed  over  the 
plain  country,  giving  a  navigable  channel  of  400  miles,  up 
to  the  Falls  of  Barra  Kunda.  The  Rio  Grande,  fi  im  the 
same  heights,  is  also  a  considerable  river. 

The  Niger  is  the  third  African  river  in  point  of  area 
of  drainage  and  volume;  it  is  formed  by  the  union  of 
two  great  tributaries,  the  Quorra  and  Benue, — the  former 
from  the  west,  the  latter  from  the  country  in  the  ea3t  of 
the  river  basin.  The  Quorra,  called  the  Joliba  in  its  upper 
course,  has  its  springs  in  the  inner  slope  of  the  mountains 
which  give  rise  to  the  Senegal  and  Gambia,  not  far  from 
the  Atlantic  coast.  At  first  its  course  is  north-eastward  to 
as  far  as  the  city  of  Timbuctu,  on  the  border  of  the  desert 
zone ;  then  it  turns  due  east,  and  afterwards  south-east  to 
its  confluence  with  the  Benue,  at  a  point  200  miles  north 
from  the  coast  of  the  Gulf  0f  Guinea.  The  chief  tributary 
of  the  Quorra  is  the  Sokoto  river,  coming  from  the  elevated 
country  which  forms  the  water-parting  between  the  Niger 
basin  and  that  of  Lake  Chad. on  the  east,  and  its  confluence 
is  near  the  middle  of  the  portion  of  the  channel  of  the 
Quorra  which  bends  to  south-east. 

At  a  distance  of  about  100  miles  from  its  sources,  the 
traveller  Park,  the  first  European  who  reached  the  Joliba, 
found  it  flowing  in  a  wide  iertile  valley,  and  navigated  by 
canoes  which  kept  up  a  constant  traffic.  Above  Timbuc. 
tu'  the  commerce  of  the  river  is  busily  carried  on  in  bargei 
of  60  to  80  tons  burden;  further  on,  where  the  rivet 
touches  upon  the  desert  belt  in  the  most  northerly  portion 
of  its  course,  its  fertile  banks  form  the  most  marked  con 
trast  to  the  arid  desert  lands  beyond.  From  the  confluence 
of  the  Sokoto  to  the  union  with  the  Benue,  the  river  course 
is  only  navigable  after  the  rainy  season,  since  at  other 
times  rocks  and  shoals  interrupt  the  passage.  The  sources 
of  the  Benue  are  unknown  as  yet,  but  it  is  believed  to 
have  its  rise  in  the  northern  edge  of  the  great  plateau  «1 
Southern  Africa,  almost  due  south  of  Lake  Chad;  its  known 
course  is  westward,  and  at  the  furthest  point  to  which  it  was 
easily  navigated  by  the  traveller  Baikie,  nearly  400  miles 
from  its  confluence  with  the  Kawara  or  Quorra,  it  was  stilJ 
half  a  mile  in  width  and  about  10  feet  in  average  depth,  flow- 
ing through  rich  plains.  From  the  confluence  of  the  Quorra 
and  Benue  the  Niger  has  a  due  south  course  to  its  delta, 
and  the  united  river  has  an  average  width  of  about  a  mile. 
At  a  distance  of  100  miles  from  the  6ea,  minor  branches 
which  enclose  the  delta  separate  from  the  main  stream  on 
each  side.  The  delta  is  much  more  extensive  than  that  of 
the  Nile,  and  measures  about  14.000  square  miles  of  low 
alluvial  plain,  covered  with  forest  and  jungle,  and  com- 
pletely intersected  by  branches  from  the  main  river,  the 
outmost  of  which  reach  the  see  not  less  than  200  miles 


254 


AFRICA 


[  PHYSICAL 


opart.  Unlike  the  Nile,  the  Niger  possesses  one  main 
channel  through  the  centre  of  the  delta,  called  at  its  mouth 
tho  Nun  river. 

Old  Calabar  river,  the  Caraaroon  river,  and  the  Gaboon, 
are  the  best  known  of  a  number  of  wide  inlets  or  estuaries 
of  the  sea,  wliiek  occur  on  the  west  coast  immediately 
north  of  tho  equator;  but  these  are  merely  the  receptacles 
of  a  number  of  minor  streams,  not  the  mouths  of  great 
rivers,  as  at  one  time  supposed. 

The  Ogowai  (pron.  Ogowee)  river,  the  delta  of  which 
forms  C'<ipe  Lopez,  immedaitely  S.  of  the  equator,  is  a  great 
stream  which  is  believed  to  drain  a  large  area  of  the  forest 
zone  between  the  Niger  and  the  Congo ;  as  yet,  its  lower 
coast  is  only  known  to  a  distance  of  200  miles  from  the 
sea.  Above  the  delta  the  main  stream  of  the  river,  named 
the  Okanda,  breaks  through  the  edge  of  the  plateau,  and 
is  joined  by  tho  Onango,  a  tributary  from  the  coast  range 
of  the  Sierra  Complida.  Below  this  confluence  tho  river 
is  a  mile  and  a  half  in  average  width,  its  depth  varying  from 
15  to  50  feet.  The  delta  is  formed  by  the  two  main  branches 
into  which  the  Ogowai  divides  at  about  30  miles  from  tho 
coast,  aud  is  a  swampy  flat,  covered  with  mangroves. 
Sengo.  Tho  Congo  or  Zaire  must  be  considered  the  second  river 

of  Africa  in  point  of  area  of  drainage,  and  it  is  the  first  in 
respect  of  the  volume  of  water  which  it  discharges  to  tho 
ocean.  There  remains  but  little  doubt  that  the  head  streams 
of  this  vast  river  are  those  which  supply  the  great  lacustrine 
system  discovered  by  Dr  Livingstone  in  his  recent  journeys 
south  and  west  of  Like  Tanganyika.  Through  these  lakes 
the  river,  which  rises  in  the  upland  north  of  Lake  Nyassa, 
named  in  din'erent  parts  of  its  course  the  Chambeze,  Lua- 
pula,  or  Lualaba,  flows  in  great  bends  to  west  and  north- 
ward, to  where  it  passes  into  the  unknown  country  still  to 
be  explored  in  the  heart  of  the  continent.  The  Lualaba 
has  a  great  tributary  named  the  Lufiia,  from  the  south; 
and  it  is  almost  certain  that  the  Kassabi  river,  which 
springs  n,  the  Mossamba  Mountains,  in  the  interior  borders 
of  Angola,  is  also  one  of  the  feeders  of  this  great  river. 
The  Quango  river,  rising  in  the  same  mountains,  nearer 
Angola,  must  also  join  the  Congo  lower  down  in  its  valley. 
At  the  furthest  point  on  the  Lualaba  reached  by  Living- 
stone, in  about  lat.  C°  S.  and  long.  25°  E.,  the  great 
river  had  a  breadth  of  from  2000  to  0000  yards,  and  could 
not  be  folded  at  any  season  of  the  year.  Every  circum- 
stance connected  with  this  river — its  direction,  the  time  of 
its  annual  rising,  and  the  volume  of  its  water  which  could 
be  discharged  by  the  Congo  mouth  alone — point  to  its 
identity  with  this  river.  The  explorer  Tuckey,  who,  in 
1816,  followed  up  the  Congo  from  its  mouth  on  the  west 
coast  further  than  any  one,  found  it,  above  the  cataracts 
which  it  forms  in  breaking  through  the  coast  range,  to 
have  a  width  of  from  2  to  4  English  miles,  and  with  a 
current  of  from  2  to  3  miles  an  hour;  and  his  statement 
that  at  the  lowest  .>tage  of  its  waters  it  discharges  2,000,000 
of  cubic  feet  of  water  per  second,  has  been  confirmed  by 
more  recent  surveys.  Forty  miles  out  from  its  mouth 
its  waters  are  only  partially  mingled  with  that  of  the  sea, 
and  some  nine  miles  from  the  coast  they  are  still  perfectly 
fresh.  The  Congo  is  the  only  one  of  the  large  African 
rivers  which  ha.i  any  approach  to  an  estuary,  contrasting  in 
this  respect  with  those  which  have  delta  mouths. 

The  Coanza,  the  most  important  river  of  Angola,  in 
respect  of  its  affording  a  navigable  channel  for  140  miles 
fruni  its  mouth,  rises  in  a  broad  valley  formed  by  the 
Mossamba  Mountains  in  the  interior  of  Benguela,  and 
curves  north-westward  to  the  ocean.  Its  upper  course  is 
rapid,  and  its  navigation  only  begins  after  the  last  of  its 
cataracts  has  been  passed ;  the  mouth  is  closed  by  a  bar. 
The  Cunene  river  has  its  rise  in  the  opposite  watershed  of 
the   mountains,  its  springs  being  close  to  those  of   the 


Coanza,  and  its  courso  is  south-westward,  forming  the 
southern  limit  of  tho  territory  of  Mossaincdes.  It  is  the 
most  southerly  river  of  the  central  fertile  zones  of  Africa  on 
this  side  of  the  continent,  and  appears  to  bo  suitable  for 
n;n  igation  throughout  the  greater  part  of  its  length — rising 
from  15  to  20  feet  at  times  of  flood,  but  having  such  a  depth, 
at  its  lowest  stage,  as  to  be  only  passable  by  canoes. 

From  the  Cunene,  in  lat.  17°  S.,  to  the  Orange  river 
in  29°  S.,  tho  dry  belt  of  tho  South  African  desert  zone 
intervenes,  and  there  aro  no  permanent  rivers  on  the  land 
sloping  to  the  sea.  The  coast  lands  from  tho  edge  of  the 
plateau  are,  however,  furrowed  by  numerous  water-courses, 
which  are  filled  only  after  the  occasional  rainfalls. 

The  Orange  river  also  belongs  for  the  greater  part  of  its 
lower  course  to  the  water-courses  of  the  arid  belt,  but  it 
receives  such  a  constant  supply  from  its  head  streams, 
which  descend  from  the  high  lands  near  the  east  coast  of 
the  continent,  as  to  be  able  to  maintain  a  perennial  flow  in 
its  channel,  which,  however,  is  so  shallow  as  to  be  of  no 
value  for  navigation.  Its  main  head  streams  are  theVaal 
and  Na  Gariep  or  Orange,  which  rise  on  the  opposite  slopes 
of  one  of  the  summits  of  the  Drakenberg  range,  called  the 
Mont  aux  Sources.  After  encircling  the  Orange  River 
Free  State,  these  rivers  unite  near  the  centre  of  this  part 
of  the  continent  to  form  the  Orange,  which  continues  west- 
ward to  the  Atlantic,  but  without  receiving  any  permanent 
tributary.  The  chief  water  channels  which  periodically 
carry  supplies  to  it  from  the  south  are  Brak  and  the  Great 
Hartebeeste;  from  the  Kalahari  region  in  the  north' come 
the  Molopo  and  Nosob  channels.  Midway  between  tho 
union  of  the  head  streams  and  the  ocean  the  river  forms 
a  great  fall  of  150  feet  in  height. 

The  rivers  which  flow  down  from  the  terraces  of  the  Drain|gt 
Cape  Colony  are  numerous,  but  have  little  permanent  depth  to  the 
of  water,  shrinking  almost  to  dryness  excepting  after  rains,  'Ddian 
when  they  become  impetuous  torrents;  some  have  cut  deep 
channels,  much  beneath  the  level  of  the  country,  and  the 
banks  of  these  canons  are  choked  with  dense  vegetation. 
Passing  round  to  Natal  and  Zulu  Land,  the  coast  country  is 
well  watered  by  frequent  streams  which  descend  from  the 
base  of  the  clifl'-wall  of  the  Drakenberg ;  these  have  gene- 
rally the  character  of  mountain  torrents,  with  rapid  flow 
between  high  banks  and  changing  volume,  and  are  almost 
without  exception  closed  at  their  mouths  by  sand  bars,  winch 
in  most  instances  shut  in  considerable  lagoons.  One  of  these, 
the  lake  of  Santa  Lucia,  is  more  than  40  miles  in  length. 

The  first  large  river  of  the  Indian  Ocean  system  is  the  Lirapoja 
Limpopo  or  Crocodile  river,  so  named  from  the  great  num- 
ber of  these  animals  found  in  its  bed.  Its  basin  lies 
centrally  in  the  southern  tropic,  also  in  the  desert  belt, 
and  on  this  account  it  barely  maintains  a  shallow  flow  of 
water  throughout  the  year.  Its  sources  are  in  that  part  of 
the  plateau  edge  in  the  Transvaal  Republic  which  is  known 
as  the  Hooge  Veldt  and  Magalies  Berg ;  from  this  it  forms 
a  wide  semicircular  sweep  to  north-east  and  south,  reaching 
the  ocean  not  far  north  of  Delagoa  Bay,  in  25°  S.  Its 
chief  tributaiy,  the  Olifant  or  Lepalule,  has  its  rise  in  a 
part  of  the  Hooge  Veldt  which  is  nearer  the  coast.  Many 
of  its  minor  tributaries  in  its  lower  course  are  periodical 
streams  known  as  sand  rivers,  only  filled  after  heavy  rains. 

The  Zambeze  is  the  great  river  of  the  pastoral  belt  of 
South  Africa,  and  the  fourth  in  point  of  size  in  the  con- 
tinent, draining  nearly  G00.000  square  miles.  As  far  as 
its  basin  has  yet  been  explored,  the  Zambeze  has  three 
head  streams  from  the  great  water-parting  ridge  which 
extends  from  the  Mossamba  Mountains  of  inner  Angola 
to  the  high  lands  north  of  Nyassa  Lake,  about  the  12th 
parallel  of  S.  latitude.  There  are  the  Lungebungo  river 
from  the  Mossamba  Mountains,  the  Leeba  river  from 
Lake  Dilolo.   on   tho  water-parting  which   separates   be: 


FEATURES.] 


AFRICA 


255 


fcween  the  Zambeze  and  the  Kassabi  river,  and'  the  Lae- 
ambye  or  Jambaji,  probably  the  main-source  stream, 
coming  from  the  unknown  lands  south-west  of  the  Cazembe's 
territory.  From  the  union  of  these  streams  the  general 
course  of  the  Zambeze  is  in  two  wide  curves  eastward, 
through  the  plateau'  and  over  its  edge  to  the  Indian 
Ocean,  in  about  19°  S.  lat.  From  the  north  its  main 
tributaries  are  the  Kafue  and  Loangwa  or  Aruangoa  risers, 
and  the  Shire  river,  flowing  out  of  Lake  Nyassa.  Above 
this  point,  on  its  middle  course,  where  it  forms  the  great 
Victoria  Falls,  the  Zambeze  receives  the  Chobe  from  the 
north-west;  and  from  southward  numerous  minor  tribu- 
taries join  its  lower  channel.  The  Zambeze  forms  a  delta 
with  many  mouths,  the  outmost  of  which  are  nearly  100 
miles  apart,  and  their  entrances  are  generally  barred  by  sand 
banks ;  but  if  these  be  passed,  the  main  river  is  continuously 
'navigable  for  320  miles  to  the  town  of  Tete;,  and  its  tribu- 
tary the  Shire  may  also  be  followed  up  for  nearly  150 
miles,  to  where  its  cataracts  stop  navigation.  At  the 
•  Victoria  Falls  the  great  river  contracts  from  its  general 
■width  of  nearly  a  mile,  to  60  or  80  feet,  and  plunges  over 
a  height  of  100  feet,  into  a  remarkable  zig-zag  gorge  rent 
in  the  hard  basalt  rocks. 

The  Eovuma,  which  has  its  chief  tributaries  from  the 
plateau  edge  on  the  eastern  side  of  Lake  Nyassa,  is  the 
next  great  river  of  the  drainage  to  the  Indian  Ocean.  It 
has  been  navigated  by  Livingstone  for  150  miles  from  the 
coast,  and  formed  part  of  his  route  in  entering  the  con- 
tinent on  the  journey  from%which  he  has  not  yet  returned, 
but  its  basin  has  not  yet  been  explored. 

Still  farther  north  the  mouths  of  a  great  river  named 
the  Rufiji  are  known,  on  the  coast  opposite  the  island  of 
Monfia,  south  of  Zanzibar;  but  no  part  of  its  course  has 
yet  been  traced  by  any  European. 

The  Kingani  and  the  Wami  are  two  streams  from  the 
plateau  edge,  in  the  country  of  Usagara,  and  reach  the  sea 
in  the  channel  formed  by  Zanzibar  island.  The  Pangani 
river,  further  north,  rises  in  the  snowy  mountain  Kilima- 
fljaro.  The  Sabaki  and  Dana,  which  enibouch  on  the 
opposite  side  of  Formosa  Bay,  in  3°  S.,  flow  over  the  same 
coast  plains,  having  their  head  springs  in  the  spurs  of 
Mount  Kenia.  The  latter  river  might  be  navigated  during 
♦he  rainy  season  for  100  miles  from  the  coast. 

The  Juba  river  is  the  most  considerable  on  the  eastern 
side  north  of  the  equator.  It  is  believed  to  have  its  rise 
tin  the  high  lands  immediately  south  of  Abyssinia,  and  its 
general  direction  is  south-eastward  to  the  Indian  Ocean ; 
but  nothing  is  known  of  its  higher  course  except  by  report. 
The  ill-fated  expedition  under  Baron  von  der  Decken 
explored  this  river  for  about  180  miles  upwards  from  its 
mouth,  but  as  yet  no  traffic  is  carried  on  by  its  means. 
The  Webbe  or  Haines  river  flows  down  from  the  high 
lands  in  a  direction  nearly  parallel  to  the  Juba,  a  little 
farther  north,  but  its  outlet  on  the  coast  is  completely 
barred  by  sand  dunes  of  from  400  to  500  feet  in  height, 
behind  which  it  forms  a  lagoon  of  varying  extent.  The 
desert  zone  is  now  again  reached,  and  the  water  supply 
fails.  No  permanent  rivers  reach  the  Red  Sea  from  the 
^Abyssinian  highlands  or  from  the  heights  of  Nubia  which 
continue  these  northward;  the  largest  water-course  is  that 
of  the  Barca,  which  is  periodically  filled  by  its  tributaries' 
.in  the  northern  part  of  the  Abyssinian  plateau. 

Turning  now  to  the  great  areas  of  continental  drainage, 
it  is  observed  that  in  North  Africa  there  is  a  vast  space  of 
upwards  of  four  millions  of  square  miles,  extending  from 
the  Nile  valley  westward  to  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  from 
the  plateau  of  Barbary  in  the  north  to  the  ext-emities  of 
the  basin  of  Lake  Chad  in  the  south,  from  whica  no  single 
river  finds  its  way  to  the  sea.  The  whole  of  this  space, 
however,  appears  to  be  furrowed  by  water  channels  in  the 


most  varied  directions.  From  the  inner  slopes  of  tha 
plateau  of  Barbary  numerous  wadys  take  a  direction  to- 
wards the  great  sand-belt  of  the  Erg,  in  which  they  ter- 
minate; a  great  series  of  channels  appears  to  radiate  from 
the  higher  portion  of  the  Sahara,  which  lies  immediately 
north  of  the  tropic  of  Cancer  and  in  about  5°  E.  of  Green- 
wich ;  another  cluster  radiates  from  the  Mountains  of 
Tibesti,  in  the  eastern  Sahara. 

Lake  Chad,  on  the  margin  of  the  pastoral  belt,  is  sup- 
plied by  a  large  river  named  the  Shari,  coming  from  the 
moist  forest  country  which  lies  nearer  the  eq'-iator;  and  the 
lake,  which  till  recently  was  believed  to  have  no  outlet, 
overflows  to  north-eastward,  fertilising  a  great  wady,  in 
which  the  waters  become  lost  by  evaporation  as  they  are 
led  towards  the  more  arid  country  of  the  Sahara. 

The  southern  area  of  continental  drainage  is  of  much 
smaller  extent,  and  occupies  the  space  of  the  desert  zone 
which  lies  between  the  middle  of  the  Zambeze  basin  and 
Damara  Land.  It  centres  in  Lake  Ngami,  to  which  the 
Tioge  river  flows  from  the  pastoral  belt  on  the  north- 
west. Several  water-courses  from  the  high  Damara  Land 
also  take  a  direction  toward  this  lake.  The  river  Zuga 
carries  off  the  overflow  of  Lake  Ngami  towards  a  series  of 
salt  lagoons  v.  Inch  He  eastward  near  tha  edgB  of  the 
plateau;  but  it  becomes  narrower  and  less  in  volume  as  it 
approaches  these,  and  in  some  seasons  scarcely  reaches 
their  bed. 

Smaller  spaces  of  continental  drainage  exist  at  various 
points  near  the  eastern  side  of  the  continent.  One  of 
these  occupies  the  depressed  area  between  the  base  of  the 
Abyssinian  highland  and  the  Red  Sea,  and  is  properly  a 
continuation  of  the  Sahara  desert  belt  beyond  the  inter- 
vening plateau.  In  this  space  the  Hawash  river,  descend- 
ing from  the  plateau,  terminates  before  reaching-  the  sea. 
Another  interior  basin  lies  in  the  plateau  between  the 
edge  on  which  mountains  Kenia  and  Kilima-njaro  rise  and 
the  country  east  of  the  Victoria  Lake,  and  includes  several 
salt  lakes.  It  is  probable  that  the  great  TanganyikaLake 
is  the  centre  of  a  third  basin  of  no  outflow  on  thi3  side  of 
the  great  plateau;  and  Lake  Shirwa,  south-east  of  the 
Nyassa,  constitutes  a  fourth. 

The  great  lakes,  which  form  such  a  prominent  feature  in  Lake& 
African  hydrography,  are  found  chiefly  in  the  southern  and 
eastern  regions  of  the  continent,  but  they  are  distributed 
over  all  the  systems  of  drainage.  The  Victoria  and  Albert 
Lakes  of  the  Nile  basin  are  great  Seas  of  fresh  water ;  and 
if  their  extent  should  ultimately  prove  to  be  nearly  that 
which  is  at  present  believed,  they  rival  the  great  Ame- 
rican lake3  for  the  place  of  the  greatest  expanse  of  fresh  Nile  lake, 
wafer  on  the  globe.  The  former,  the  Victoria  Lake,  is  at 
an  elevation  of  about  3300  feet  above  the  sea;  and  its 
outline,  as  at  present  sketched  on  our  maps,  occupies  an 
area  of  not  less  than  30,000  square  miles.  The  Albert 
Lake,  2500  feet  above  the  sea,  is  believed  to  have  an 
extent  not  far  short  of  this.  Lake  Baringo,  north-east  of 
the  Victoria,  is  reported  to  be  a  great  fresh  lake,  discharg- 
ing towards  the  Nile  by  a  river  which  is  possibly  the 
Sobat  tributary.  Lake  Tzana  or  Dembea,  60  miles  in  length, 
at  a  level  of  6000  feet  above  the  sea,  on  the  Abyssinian 
plateau,  is  the  only  remaining  great  lake  of  the  Nile  basin. 

The  great  expansions  of  the  Chambeze-Lualaba  river, 
presumably  belonging  to  the  river  Congo,  are  the  only 
other  considerable  lakes  of  the  Atlantic  drainage.  The 
highest  of  them,  Lake  Bangweolo  or  Bemba,  is  described 
as  leing  150  miles  in  length  from  east  to  west,  and  at  aD 
elevation  of  4000  feet;  Lake  Moero,  the  next,  extend.' 
through  60  miles ;  Lakes  Kamalondo  or  TJlenge,  and  the 
yet  unvisited  lakes  of  the  same  drainage,  ore  described  as 
of  vast  extent,  and  he  at  an  elevation  of  about  2000  feet 
above  the  sea. 


256 


AFRICA 


[physical 


Belonging  to  the  drainage  system  of  the  Indian  Ocean 
are,  Lake  Nyassa,  1500  feet  above  the  sea,  and  stretching 
nicridionally  over  an  area  of  nearly  9000  square  miles  in 
the  basin  of  the  Zambeze ;  and  Lake  Samburu,  a  reported 
lake  of  great  extent,  lying  in  the  plateau  edge  north  of 
Mount  Kenia,  and  probably  belonging  to  the  basin  of  the 
Juba  river.  The  great  Lake  Tanganyika,  upwards  of  10,000 
square  miles  in  area,  and  united  by  a  broad  channel  with 
Lake  Liemba  in  the  south,  occupies  a  deep  longitudinal 
basin,  girt  with  mountains ;  it  is  2800  feet  above  the  sea 
level  As  yet  no  outlet  has  been  discovered  for  this  vast 
lake,  and  the  question  whether  it  has  or  has  not  an  over- 
flowing river,  is  still  undecided;  but  its  waters  are  not 
perfectly  fresh,  the  drainage  to  it  is  small,  and  the  proba- 
bility is  that  the  Tanganyika  is  a_  continental  lake.  Lake 
Shirwa,  enclosed  by  mountains  on  the  plateau  edge  south- 
east of  Lake  Nyassa,  and  2000  feet  above  the  sea,  has 
brackish  water,  and  no  outlet. 

Lake  Chad,  the  greatest  lake  of  the  continental  system 
of  North  Africa,  is  a  shallow  lagoon  of  very  variable 
extent,  with  numerous  islands  :  it  lies  at  about  1100  feet 
above  the  sea;  its  waters  are  fresh  and  clear,  and  its  over- 
flow is  carried  off  to  north-eastward  by  the  wady  named 
Bahr-el-GhazaL 

Lake  Ngami,  the  corresponding  lake  in  the  southern 
continental  system,  at  an  elevation  of  about  2900  feet, 
is  also  a  shallow  reedy  lagoon,  varying  in  extent  according 
to  the  season.  The  Zuga  river  carries  off  its  surplus  water  to 
sal  t  lakes. '  eastward.  Salt  lakes  are  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  areas 
of  continental  drainage;  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  of 
these  is  the  Assal  lake,  which  lies  in  a  depression  east  of 
Abyssinia  comparable  with  that  of  the  Dead  Sea,  600  feet 
beneath  the  level  of  the  Red  Sea;  the  Sebka-el-Faroon 
or  Schott  Kebir,  south  of  Tunis,  is  a  great  salt  lagoon,  100 
miles  in  length,  dried  up  in  summer,  when  its  bed  is  found 
to  be  thickly  encrusted  with  salt,  and  in  winter  covered 
with  water  to  a  depth  of  two  or  three  feet.  It  lies  several 
feet  beneath  the  level  of  the  Mediterranean. 
CUniaie.  Africa  lies  almost  entirely  in  the  torrid  zone,  and  is  the 

hottest  continent  of  all.  The  greatest  heat,  however,  is  not 
found  under  the  equator,  since  the  whole  of  the  central  belt 
of  the  continent  is  protected  by  a  dense  covering  of  forest 
vegetation,  supported  by  the  heavy  rainfall,  and  has  in 
consequen«e  a  more  equable  climate,  but  in  the  dry,  bare 
exposed  desert  belts,  which  lie  on  the  margins  of  the 
tropics,  the  Sahara  in  the  north  and  the  Kalahari  in  the 
south,  where  the  climate  is  extreme.  The  highest  tempera- 
ture is  found  throughout  the  Sahara,  particularly  in  its 
eastern  portions  towards  the  Red  Sea.  In  Upper  Egypt 
and  Nubia  eggs  may  be  baked  in  the  hot  sands ;  and  the 
saying  of  the  Arabs  is,  "in  Nubia  the  soil  is  like  fire 
and  the  wind  like  a  flame."  The  regions  along  the 
Me .lilcrranean  and  Atlantic  coasts  are  rendered  more  tem- 
perate by  the  influence  of  the  sea.  To  the  south  of  the 
Great  Desert  the  temperature  decreases,  chiefly  on  account 
of  the  increasing  moisture  and  protection  of  the  land  sur- 
face from  extreme  heating  by  its  tree  growth,  but  also 
because  of  the  greater  elevation  of  the  land  as  the  great 
southern  plateau  is  approached.  Both  on  account  of  its 
elevation  ami  its  narrower  form,  which  gives  greater  access 
to  the  equalising  influence  of  the  surrounding  ocean,  the 
southern  half  of  the  African  continent  has  a  less  high 
temperature  than  the  northern,  though  the  same  gradations 
of  climate  ontward  from  the  centre  belt  are  clearly  marked 
in  each  division.  Regular  snowfall  does  not  occur  even 
in  the  most  southern  or  northern  regions;  and  this  pheno- 
menon is  only  known  in  the  most  elevated  points  of  the 
rout  incut.  •*  in  the  Atlas  Mountains  in  the  north,  the 
summits  of  which  retain  patches  of  snow  even  in  summer, 
:u  rhe   Abyssinian  peaks,  iu   the  highest  point3  of  the 


mountains  of  the  Capo  Colony,  ana  most  remarkably  in 
the  lofty  summits  of  Mounts  Kenia  and  Kilima-njaro, 
which  rise  on  the  plateau  directly  beneath  the  equator.  The 
intensity  of  radiation  and  its  influence  upon  the  tempera- 
ture are  very  great  in  Northern  Africa;  while  in  the  day 
time  the  soil  of  the  Sahara  rapidly  absorbs  the  solar  rays, 
during  the  night  it  cools  so  rapidly  that  the  formation  of 
ice  has  often  been  known  to  occur. 

The  observed  average  temperatures  of  the  extreme 
months  of  the  year  at  various  points  of  Africa,  from  N.  to 
S.,  are  given  in  the  following  table : — 


Las  I'ul mas,  Can- 
ary Islands,    . 
Santa  Cruz,  Tcnc- 

riffe,  .  .  .  ; 
Funchal,  Madeira, 
Casa  Blanco,  Ma. 

rocco,     .     . 
La  Calle,  Algeria, 
,, 
(37°  N.) 
Oran, 

Constantine,  „ 
L'Aghouat,     ,, 

Tunis 

Alexandria,  Egypt 
Cairo,  ,, 

(30°  N.)  ' 

Kennel),  ,, 

Freetown,    Sierra 

Leone,   .     .     . 

Kuka,         Bornu 

(13°  K),     .     . 


61-9 

637 

63  5 

574 

546 

558 

56  2 
446 
54-2 
57-2 
574 

558 

624 

820 

75  6 


July.  ' 


736 

772 

725 

77-9 

73-4 

76-3 

76  9 
81-0 
98-9 
772 
78-5 

86-0 

94  3 

77-S 

83-8 


KobW,  Darfiir,  . 
Ankotcr,  Abyssinia, 
Elmina,  Gold  Coast, 
Christiansborg,    ,, 
Niger  Mouth  (5°  | 

9'  N.),   .     .     .  { 
Gondokoro  (5°  N.), 
Zanzibar,  .     .     . 
Ascension   I.   (7° 

30'  S.),  .  .  . 
St  Helena,  .  . 
Tete,  on  the  Zam-  ) 

beze(16°S.),  . 
Port  Louis,  Mau-  j 

ritius,    .     .     .  j 
St  Denis,  Bourbon, 
Durban,  Natal,  . 
Pietermaritzburg 

(30°  S.),      .     . 
Cape  Town (34°S.) 
Stellenbosch, . 
Sweliendam,  .     . 


Jan. 


67-1 
52  0 
797 
81-0 

86-0 

89-3 
833 

77-0 

73-6 

82-9- 

81-7 

79-7 

74-2 

714 

743 
77  0 

72-7 


July. 


87-8 
58-1 
76-7 
765 

80-2 

78 

77 


Africa  is  not  much  under  the  influence  of  the  regular 
winds,  except  the  monsoons  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  the  great 
movement  of  the  atmosphere  depending  chiefly  on  the 
oscillation  of  the  continent  beneath  the  sun  during  the  sea- 
sons, as  will  be  afterwards  explained.  The  wind  currents 
over  the  whole  continent  have  a  prevailing  direction  from 
the  east.  There  are  the  trade  winds,  modified  by  inter- 
ruptions of  changing  heat  and  elevation  of  the  land  sur- 
face. In  the  northern  part  of  the  Indian  Ocean  the  year 
is  divided  between  the  south-west  monsoon,  blowing  from 
March  till  September,  away  from  Africa,  towards  the  then 
heated  continent  of  Asia;  and  the  north-east  monsoon,  or 
rather  the  normal  trade  wind,  blowing  towards  the  African 
coasts,  from  October  till  February.  It  will  be  seen  in  the 
next  paragraph,  that  the  monsoons,  although  they  extend 
only  to  about  a  third  portion  of  the  East  African  shores, 
have  an  extremely  important  bearing  upon  the  physical 
economy  of  the  whole  African  continent.  From  hurricanes 
Africa  is  nearly  exempt,  except  in  its  south-eastern  extremity, 
to  which  at  times  the  Mauritius  hurricanes. extend.  At 
rare  intervals  these  have  visited  the  east  coast  as  far  as 
Zanzibar.  Northern  Africa  is  much  exposed  to  the  hot 
winds  and  storms  from  the  Sahara,  which  are  called  in 
Egypt  Khamsin,  in  the  Mediterranean  Scirocco,  Shume 
or  Asshume  in  Marocco,  and  Harmattan  on  the  west  coasts 
of  the  Sahara  and  in  the  countries  bordering  on  the  Gulf 
of  Guinea.  These  always  blow  directly  across  the  coast 
from  the  interior,  and  seem  to  move  round  the  compass 
during  the  year,  beginning  in  Egypt  in  April,  in  Algeria 
in  July,  in  Marocco  in  August,  in  Senegambia  in  November. 
Similar  dry  electrical  winds  are  experienced  in  the  Kalahari 
desert  in  the  south.  Whirlwinds,  frequently  carrying  sand 
up  into  the  atmosphere,  are  of  frequent  occurrence  in 
these  deserts,  and  are  also  known  in  the  dry  region  of 
Unyamu  zi,  between  Zanzibar  and  the  Tanganyika,  and  in 
the  Limpopo  basin  farther  south.  Extreme  heat  and  dry- 
ness are  the  characteristics  of  these  winds,  which,  raising 
the  sand,  filling  the  air  with  dust,  and  prodigiously  favour-" 


S-EATTRES.] 


AFRICA 


257 


ing  the  powers  of  evaporation,  aro  oftan  fata]  to  the  rage- 
table  and  animal  creation  in  the  regions  visited  by  them. 

In  Africa  the  dependence  of  the  winds  and  rains  upon 
the  movement  of  the  land  beneath  the  sun  is  more  clearly 
marked  than  in  any  other  intertropical  region  of  the  globe. 
The  high  temperature  caused  by  the  vertical  heat  of  the 
sun  over  a  particular  area  induces  an  indraught  of  air  to 
that  place,  an  ascending  current  is  produced  which  carries 
up  with  it  the  warm  and  moist  air;  condensed  in  the 
higher  regions  of  the  atmosphere,  the  moisture  falls  as 
rain,  and  the  condensation  makes  way  for  a  further  in- 
draught. It  is  thus  that  in  Africa  the  winds  and  rains 
follow  as  a  rule  the  pendulating  movement  of  the  continent 
beneath  the  sun,  and  the  rainy  season  of  any  space  begins 
almost  immediately  after  the  sun  has  reached  its  zenith. 
Between  the  tropics  and  the  equator  the  sun  comes  twice 
to  the  zenith  of  each  belt  during  the  year,  at  the  tropical 
lines  the  sun  is  only  once  in  the  zenith ;  thus  it  follows 
that  a  double  rainy  season  is  observed  in  all  places  lying 
in  the  central  belt  of  the  tropics,  and  a  single  rainy  season 
in  those  which  are  nearer  the  skirts  of  the  zone.  These 
wet  and  dry  seasons  correspond  to  the  cooler  and  hotter 
periods  of  the  year,  and  take  the  place  of  the  summer  and 
winter  of  the  temperate  regions.  Various  circumstances' 
tend  to  interfere  with  and  modify  the  working  of  this 
general  rule  of  the  rotation  of  seasons.  In  Southern 
Africa  that  rainy  season  which  follows  the  apparent  move- 
ment of  the  sun  northward,  is  greater  than  that  which 
ensues  after  his  passage  south,  since  in  the  former  case  the 
winds  are  drawn  inwards  from  the  ocean  and  carry  greater 
quantities  of  moisture,  whereas  in  the  latter  the  winds  are 
drawn  from  the  land  north  of  the  equator,  and  their  mois- 
ture is  already  in  great  part  spent.  In  the  northern  and 
eastern  regions  of  Africa  the  winds  and  rains  are  governed 
as  much  by  the  heating  and  cooling  of  the  Asiatic  con- 
tinent as  by  that  of  Africa  itself,  but  in  the  central  and 
western  portions  of  the  continent  the  rule  is  well  exem- 
plified. Thus  in  Damara  Land,  bordering  on  the  southern 
tropic,  there  is  one  short  rainy  season  from  February  till 
April,  beginning  only  with  the  northing  sun;  at  Loanda 
in  Angola  the  greater  rain3  last  from  February  till  May, 
the  lesser  rainy  season,  when  the  sun  has  passed  this  place 
going  south,  occurs  in  November  only.  At  Annobon 
island,  surrounded  by  wide  sea,  April  and  May  are  the 
rainy  months  of  the  northing  sun,  October  and  November 
of  the  southing.  The  Guinea  coast,  facing  the  sea  to 
southward,  has  its  greater  rainy  season  from  March  to 
June,  when  the  northing  sun  draws  the  ocean  winds  on  to 
the  coast;  and  its  lesser  rains  occur  in  October  and 
November,  when  the  sun  has  passed  southward  from  the 
Kind.  Nearing  the  northern  tropical  line,  the  coast-land 
from  Sierra  Leone  to  the  Senegal  river  has  a  simple  wet 
and  dry  season  during  the  year. 

On  the  eastern  coast-land  the  rains  are  more  dependant  on 
the  direction  of  the  monsoon  winds ;  about  the  mouths  of  the 
Zambeze  and  on  the  Mozambique  coast  the  rains  begin  in 
November,  after  the  north-east  monsoon  wind  has  set  in  over 
the  northern  part  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  bringing  with  it  the 
vapours  drawn  from  the  sea  to  condense  on  the  coast  slopes. 
The  rains  continue  here  till  March,  when  the  south-west 
monsoon  begins  to  blow  away  from  the  land  towards  the 
then  heated  surface  of  Asia.  At  Zanzibar  there  is  a  double 
rainy  season,  a  stronger  in  the  months  of  March,  April, 
and  May,  with  the  northing  sun,  beginning  immediately 
after  the  south-west  monsoon  has  set  in,  and  a  weaker  in 
September  and  October  with  the  southing  sun.  Under 
the  equator  on  the  east  coast  the  rains  begin  in  April  with 
the  south-west  monsoon,  continuing  till  June,  and  during 
this  period  the  sky  is  obscured  by  heavy  clouds.  The 
iiucund  raiuy  season   here  is  only  marked  by  a  few  showers 

1-10 


in  September  end  October.  WIiDs  fhe  north-east  mon- 
soon i3  blowing  the  sky  remains  of  a  cloudless  blue.  In 
the  interior  of  the  continent,  between  these  tropical  coasts, 
the  rainy  seasons  appear  rather  to  precede  thar.  iollow  tho 
advancing  sun.  In  the  region  of  the  central  Zambeze  the 
greater  rains  last  through  February,  March,  and  April, 
the  lesser  occurring  in  October  and  November.  The  worst 
droughts  are  experienced  in  December  and  January. 
Nearer  the  centre  of  the  continent  the  two  rainy  seasons 
become  so  lengthened  as  almost  to  merge  into  one  period 
of  rains,  extending  over  about  eight  months  of  the  year. 
In  the  newly-explored  country  south-westof  the  Tanganyika, 
Dr  Livingstone  found  that  the  rains  began  in  October,  and 
that  the  last  showers  fell  in  May;  but  there  is  probably  a 
drier  period  between  these  limits.  At  the  Tanganyika  Laka 
the  rainy  season  begins  in  September,  lasting  till  May,  and 
the  same  rainy  reason  has  been  observed  in  the  interior 
country  of  the  west  coast  immediately  north  of  the 
equator.  Between  these  points,  in  Manuyema  country, 
Dr  Livingstone  found  that  the  rains  continued  till  July, 
or  almost  through  the  year.  Northward  in  the  interior  the 
rainy  seasons  are  again  clearly  divided  into  a  greater  and 
lesser,  and  in  the  regions  west  of  the  Upper  Nile  between. 
5°  and  10°  N.  lat,  the  stronger  rains  occur  from  August 
till  October,  the  weaker  come  with  the  northing  sun  in 
April  and  May.  The  plateau  of  Abyssinia,  rising  high 
above  the  general  level  of  the  north  of  Africa,  and  inter- 
cepting and  condensing  the  moist  winds,  has  also  a  double 
rainy  season, — a  greater  from  June  to  September,  when  tho 
sun  is  passing  southward;  a  lesser  in  February  and  April, 
with  the  northing  sun.  The  rainy  seasons  in  Central  Africa 
are  ushered  in  and  accompanied  by  violent  thunderstorms 
and  by  occasional  falls  of  hail  The  quantity  of  the  rain- 
fall, which  is  excessive  in  the  regions  near  the  equator, 
diminish ea  rapidly  to  north  and  south  of  this  belt  as  tho 
dry  regions  on  the  borders  of  the  tropics  are  approached. 

The  Sahara,  and  also  the  Kalahari  of  Southern  Africa,  are 
almost  rainless  regions,  but  wherever  a  sufficient  elevation 
occurs  to  intercept  a  cooler  stratum  of  the  atmosphere,  rail* 
i3  not  wanting,  even  in  the  midst  of  the  Great  Desert.  A 
striking  instance  of  this  is  related  by  Mr  Richardson.  That 
traveller  relates  that  when  on  the  borders  of  the  mountain 
knot  of  "  Air,  in  about  latitude  19°  N.,  on  the  30th  Seps. 
1850,  there jwas  a  cry  in  the  encampment,  'The  wady  ia 
coming.'  Going  out  to  look,  I  saw  a  broad  white  sheet  of 
foam  advancing  from  the  south  between  the  trees  of  the 
valley.  In  ten  minutes  after  a  river  of  water  came  pouring 
along,  and  spread  all  around  us,-  converting  the  place  of  our 
encampment  into  an  isle  of  the  valley.  The  current  in'  ita 
deepest  part  was  very  powerful,  capable  of  carrying  away 
sheep  and  cattle,  and  of  uprooting  trees.  This  is  one  of 
the  most  interesting  phenomena  I  have  witnessed  during 
my  present  tour  in  Africa.  The  scene,  indeed,  was  per- 
fectly African.  Rain  had  been  observed  falling  in  the 
south  ;  black  clouds  and  darkness  covered  that  zone  of  the 
heavens,  and  an  hour  afterwards  came  pouring  down  this 
river  of  water  into  the  dry  parchedMip  valley." 

The  causes  of  want  of  rainfall  in  the  vast  region  of  the 
Sahara  appear  to  .be  mainly  these — that  the  winds  ad  vane-' 
ing  towards  it  come  from  a  cooler  and  moister  to  a  warmer 
and  drier  region,  indeed  to  the  hottest  and  driest  of  all, 
and  so  are  constantly  losing  in  moisture  and  gaining  in 
temperature  as  they  approach;  the  high  plateau  of 
Abyssinia  forms  an  effective  screen  from  the  winds  of  the 
Indian  Ocean,  wringing  out  their  moisture  before  the 
Sahara  is  reached,  and  on  the  Atlantic  side  the  north-east 
trade  wind  constantly  blows  away  from  the  land ;  a 
barrier  of  mountains  also  deprives  the  Sahara  of  rain  from 
the  south-west.  ■  Another  cause  of  dryness  is  the  low  level 
of  great  areas  of  the  Sahara.     We  have  seen  that  wherever 


258 


A  F  K  I  C  A 


[bOi; 


there  is  a  considerable  elevation,  even  in  its  midst  there  is 
a  periodical  rainfall  The  Kalahari  region  is  almost  rain- 
iess,  on  account  of  the  great  heat  to  which  it  is  subjected; 
but  specially  because  the  winds  coming  towards  it  from 
the  eastward,  the  prevailing  winds,  expend  their  moisture 
on  the  high  slopes  of  the  plateau  which  face  the  Indian 
Ocean.  Heavy  dews,  consequent  on  the  rapid  changes  of 
day  and  night  temperature  in  these  bare  regions,  partly 
compensate  tho  deficiency  of  rain. 

Tho  portions  of  the  continent  which  lie  beyond  the 
tropics  north  and  south,  the  outer  slopes  of  the  plateau  of 
Earbary  and  of  the  Cape  Colony,  have  no  marked  rainy 
season,  and  the  times  of  the  occurrence  of  rain  are  altered, 
the  summers  of  both  being  drier,  the  showers  more  frequent 
in  winter.  In  Natal,  and  on  the  slopes  of  the  plateau  in 
its  neighbourhood,  rain  may  be  expected  in  any  mouth; 
but  the  greatest  falls  occur  from  October  to  March.  The 
absolute  quantity  of  rain  which  falls  in  Africa  has  as  yet 
been  measured  at  so  few  points,  that  no  definite  conclusions 
can  be  arrived  at  respecting  it 

Although  Africa  belongs  almost  entirely  to  the  torrid 
and  warm  zones,  its  vegetable  productions  are  essentially 
different  in  different  parts.  Thus,  in  the  extreme  north, 
groves  of  oranges  and  olives,  plains  covered  with  wheat 
and  barley,  thick  woods  of  evergreen  oaks,  cork-trees,  and 
sea-pines,  intermixed  with  cypresses,  myrtles,  arbutus,  and 
fragrant  tree-heaths,  form  the  principal  features  of  the 
landscape.  On  this  northern  coast  the  date-palm  is  first 
fonnd ;  but  its  fruit  does  not  arrive  at  perfection,  and  it  is 
chiefly  valued  as  an  ornamental  object  in  gardens.  Various 
kinds  Of  grain  are  cultivated.  Beyond  this  region  of  the 
coast  and  the  Atlas  chain,  with  the  borders  of  the  Sahara, 
commences  a  new  scene.  It  is  in  this  region,  extending  to 
the  borders  of  Soudan,  that  the  .tee-tree  forms  the  charac- 
teristic feature.  Being  peculiarly  adapted  to  excessive  dry- 
ness and  high  temperature,  it  flourishes  where  few  other 
plants  can  maintain  an  existence.  Were  it  not  for  the  fruit 
of  the  invaluable  date-tree,  the  inhabitants  of  the  desert 
would  almost  entirely  depend  on  the  products  of  other  regions 
for  their  subsistence.  With  the  southern  boundary  of  the 
Sahara,  the  date-tree  disappears,  the  baobab  or  monkey 
bread-tree  takes  its  place,  and,  under  tho  influence  of  the 
tropical  rains,  a  new,  rich,  and  highly-developed  flora  pre- 
sents itself.  These  trees,  together  with  huge  cotton-trees, 
oil-palms,  sago-palms,  and  others  of  tho  same  majestic  tribe, 
determine  the  aspect  of  the  landscape.  The  laburrhim  ex- 
pands its  branches  of  golden  flower,  and  replaces  the  senna 
of  the  northern  regions,  and  the  swaiupa  are  often  covered 


with  immense  quantities  of  the  papyrus  plant  Instead  of 
waving  fields  of  corn,  the  cassava,  yam,  pigeon-pea,  and  tho 
ground-nut,  form  the  farinaceous  plants.  The  papaw,  the 
tamarind,  the  Senegal  custard  apple,  and  others,  replace 
the  vine  and  tho  fig.  In  Southern  Africa,  again,  the  tro- 
pical forms  disappear,  and  in  the  inland  desert-like  plains, 
the  fleshy,  leafless,  contorted,  singular  tribes  of  kapsias,  of 
mesembiyanthemums, euphorbias,  crassulas,  aloes,  and  other 
succulent  plants,  make  their  appearance.  Endless  species  of 
heaths  are  there  found  in  great  beauty,  and  the  hills  and  rocks 
are  scattered  over  with  a  remarkable  tribe  of  plants  called 
Cycadacece.  Plants  of  the  protea  tribe  also  add  to  the  extra- 
ordinary variety  in  the  vegetable  physiognomy  of  that  region. 

Of  tho  characteristic  African  plants,  the  date-tree  is  one 
of  the  most  important,  as  it  is  likewise  among  the  nearly 
one  thousand  different  species  of  palms.  It  furnishes,  as  it 
were,  the  bread  of  the  desert,  beyond  which  it  occurs  only 
in  Western  Asia,  wherever  a  similar  dry  and  hot  climate 
prevails.  This  tree  requires  a  sandy  soil,  and  springs  must 
not  be  absent  The  dates  furnish  food  not  oidy  for  man, 
but  for  the  camel  and  the  horse.  For  the  latter  purpose 
the  stones  are  used  in  many  parts,  and  are  said  to  be  more 
nourishing  than  the  fruit  itself.  The  Arabs  make  a  great 
variety  of  dishes  of  which  dates  form  the  chief  part  Of 
the  sap  of  the  tree  palm-wine  is  prepared,  and  the  young 
leaves  are  eaten  like  cabbage. 

In  Southern  Africa  are  the  extensive  miniature  woods  of  Heath 
heaths,  as  characteristic  as  the  groves  of  date-palms  in  the 
north.  No  less  than  five  hundred  species  have  already  been 
discovered.  These  plants,  of  which  some  reach  the  height 
of  12  to  15  feet  (Erica  urceolaris),  are  covered  throughout 
the  greater  part  of  the  year  with  innumerable  flowers 'of 
beautiful  colours,  the.  red  being  prevalent 

The  papyrus  is  an  aquatic  plant,  having  a  stem  from  3  rapyra* 
to  6  feet  high.  It  inhabits  both  stagnant  waters  and  run- 
ning streams,  and  is  common  in  the  countries  of  the  Nile, 
particularly  Egypt  and  Abyssinia.  Its  soft,  smooth  flower- 
stem  afforded  the  most  ancient  material  from  which  papei 
was  prepared,  and  for  this  reason  it  is  one  of  the  noticeable 
African  plants.  It  has,  however,  also  been  used  for  othei 
purposes;  its  flowering  stems  and  leaves  are  twisted  into 
ropes ;  and  the  roots,  which  are  sweet,  are  used  as  food.1 

The  following  table,  compiled  from  the  "  synonymic  lists 
of  species  of  mammals"  given  by  Mr  Andrew  Murray,3 
affords  a  general  view  of  the  distribution  of  terrestrial 
mammals  in  the  different  parts  of  Africa, — the  figures  denot- 
ing the  number  of  species  found  in  each  of  the  divisions,  those 
in  the  last  column  being  the  number  peculiar  to  Africa  ; — 


OaDE&s, 


Quadramana, 
Camivora,  . 
Ungnlata, 


UDgnlata,      .  .  •  . 

Wnltnngulats,  ■  .  . 

Edentata,       .  •  .  . 

Insectivora,   .  ,  ,  , 

Rodentia,       .  .  .  . 

Marsnpialiaand  Monotre- 

mata,     .    .  .  .  . 


total, 


Distri- 
buted over 
Africa. 


11 


N.  Africa, 
Marocco, 
Egypt, 
am]  the 
Sahara. 


2 

17 
9 


22 
86 


86 


Abyssinia 
and  the 

Upper  Nile 
District. 


10 
23 
19 
1 
2 
16 
18 


89 


Seneca  re 

bla  to 

Lake  Chad 

District. 


8 

10 

14 

1 

2 

8 

10 


63 


East  Africa, 
Somali  Land, 

Zanzibar, 

Mozambique, 

and 

Zambczta. 


10 
18 
20 
6 
2 
26 
20 


101 


Madagas- 
car. 


S2 
9 

1 


11 


53 


&  Africa, 

Natal 
to  Damsra 
Land  and 
C.  Colony. 


8 
SO 
82 
4 
2 
29 
46 


151 


W.  Africa, 

Benguela 

to 

Guinea. 


41 
20 
12 
5 
2 
10 
16 


106 


Total 

Species  In 

Africa. 


97 

91 

84 

8 

7 

104 

132 


Species 

peculiar  to 

Africa. 


P4 
7B 
74 


92 
121 


523 


472 


The  order  Quadrumana  is  well  represented,  more  particu- 
larlywithin  the  tropics,  whence  theydecrease  northwards  and 
southwards.  The  most  important  members  of  this  family 
are  the  anthropoid  monkeys,  the  chimpanzee  and  gorilla,  in 
Tropical  and  Western  Africa.  Baboons  and  mandrils,  with 
few  exceptions,  are  peculiar  to  Africa.     Only  a  few  species 


of  the  gcnu3  Macacos,  which  is  East  Indian,  are  found  in 
Africa.      The  only  short-tailed  species  (Macacos  Jnnuus) 

1  See  Florm  of  Tropical  Africa,  by  Daniel  Oliver,  F.R.S.,  F.I..S. 
London,  1868. 

2  The  Geographical  Distribution  of  Mammals,  by  Andrew  Murrey, 
London,  1666. 


ZOOLOGY.J 


AFRICA 


259 


is  North  African,  and  is  also  found  wild  on  the  opposite 
coast  at  the  Rock  of  Gibraltar.      In  Madagascar  the  place 
of  the  true  monkeys  is  supplied  by  the  peculiar  tribe  of  the 
true  Lemurs  or  makis.  -  Many  species  have  close  affinities 
with  those  of  Asia;-  thus  the  orang-outang  of  Borneo  is 
represented  in  Africaby  the  chimpanzee.     The  gibbons  are 
entirely  wanting. 
CarnivOTa,        Of  the  larger  Carnivora  the  bear  is  almost  entirely  wanting, 
and  occurs. only  sparely  in  the  Atlas  Mountains  in  Barbary. 
The  true  martens  are  unknown,  but  otters  occur.     Of  the 
Cania  family  the  jackal  is  characteristic,  and  roams  over 
the  whole  of  Africa;  it  differs  from  the  Asiatic  species  in 
its  paler  skin,  which  approaches  the  colour  of  the  prevailing 
deserts.  *  The  wolf   and  fox  do  .not  extend  beyond  the 
northern  margin  of  Africa.      Hyasnas  are   true  African 
tenants;  the  striped  hyama  extending  from  Asia  over  North 
Africa,  the  spotted  hy'aana  over  the  remainder  of  the  con- 
tinent; in  the  southmost  part  of  the  continent  the  brown 
hyaena  is  also  found,  and  with  it  the  aardwolf,  or  earth 
wolf  of  the  Cape  colonists,  allied  to  this  genus.     Africa  is 
the  chief  home  of  the  lion,  which  there  remains  undisturbed 
as  king  over  the  lower  animal  creation,  though  it  has  been 
driven  inwards  from  the  more  settled  portions  of  the  coast- 
land;  while  in  the  extreme  south-western  parts  of  Asia,  to 
which  it  is  now  confined,  its  power  is  divided  with  that  of 
the  tiger.     The  leopard,  serval,  caracal,  chaus,  and  civet 
cat  (the  locality  of  the  true  civet  being  North  Africa),  are 
the  other  principal  representatives  of  the  cat  tribe.     The 
herpestes  or  ichneumons  have  the   same  distribution  as 
the  civets;  the  species  which  destroys  the  eggs  of  the 
crocodile  is  found  in  Egypt  and  the  North  of  Africa. 
Ongulata.        Of  wild  horses  the  asinine  group  is  characteristic  of 
(Hoofed      Asia,  and  the  hippotigrine  of  Africa.     The  quagga,  exclu- 
■  annua  ia,  sjvs]y  African,  inhabits   the  most  southern  parts  of  the 
tia   and      continent,  and  is  scarcely  found  north  of  the  Orange  river, 
Pachyd-j-    but  occurs  in  great  herds,  associated  with  the  white-tailed 
inata).         gnu;  the  zebra  (Equtts  Burcliellii),  or  zebra  of  the  plains, 
is  widely  distributed  over  Africa,  from  the  limit  of  the 
quagga  to  Abyssinia  and  the  west  coast;  the' zebra  of  the 
mountains  (Equus  lebra),  more  completely  striped  than  the 
Test,  is  only  known  in  South  Africa.     The  true  onager  or 
aboriginal  wild  ass  is  indigenous  to  North-East  Africa  and 
the  island  of  Socotra.     A  species  inhabiting  the  high  land 
of  Abyssinia  is  distinct  from  these.     The  horse,  domesti- 
cated in  other  parts  of  Africa,  excepting  the  region  of  forests, 
is  not  found  in  the  eastern  intertropical  region;  and,  for 
gome  cause  not  yet  clearly  ascertained,  it  appears  to  be 
impossible  to   acclimatise,^  there.      The  single  humped 
camel  or  dromedary  is   used  over   the   whole  of   Nortli 
1  Africa,  as  far  south    and  west  as  the  river  Niger  and 
Lake  Chad.     The  Indian  buffalo  has  spread  by  introduc- 
tion to  North  Africa;  the  Cape  buffalo,  a  species  peculiar 
to  Africa,  reaches  as  far  north  as  a   line   from  Guinea 
to  Abyssinia;  the  Bos  Brachycerus  is  a  species  peculiar 
to  West  Africa,  from  Senegal  to  the  Gaboon.     Of  sheep, 
the   Ovis  Tragelnphus  is   peculiar   to  North  Africa;  the 
Ibex  goat  extends   into   Abyssinia.      The   family  of  the 
nntelopes  is  essentially  African,  five-sixths  of  the  species 
^  composing  it  being  natives  of  that  country,  end  chiefly  of 
s,the  portion  lying  south  of  the  Sahara,  occurring  in  dense 
herds.      Lastly,  the  giraffe,   one  of  the  most  celebrated 
and   characteristic  of   African   quadrupeds,    ranges   from 
the  limits  of  the  Cape  Colony  as  far  as  the  Sahara  and 
Nubia. 

Of  Edentata  the  seven  species  known  to  occur  in  Africa 
ire  also  peculiar  to  it.  The  aardwark  ( Orycteropus  capensis) 
is  essentially  burrowing  in  its  habits;  and  the  burrows 
formed  by  these  animals  are  the  source  of  frequent  danger 
to  the  waggons  and  horses  of  the  Capo  colonists. 

A  .genus  of  moles  is  met  with  in  South  Africa,  but  is 


not  found  in  the  tropical  regions.  The  Cape  or  gilded  mole, 
chryso-chlore,  is  so  called  from  its  iridescent  glossy  fur; 
two  or  three  species  of  hedgehog  occur  in  the  continent, 
and  Madagascar  has  a  peculiar  family  resembling  these  in 
appearance,  but  without  the  power  of  rolling  up  into  a  ball 
for  defence.  Bats  are  numerous  in  Africa,  but  few  are 
peculiar  to  it 

Of  Rodents  the  burrowing  kinds  prevail  The  Africau 
species  of  porcupine  are  known  m  the  northern  and  western 
coast-lands  and  in  South-Eastern  Africa.  The  hyrax  ex- 
tends over  Eastern  Africa  and  a  portion  of  the  west  coast. 
Hares  are  only  known  in  the  countries  north  of  the  Sahara 
and  in  the  Cape  colony.  Among  squirrels,  those  with 
bristles  or  spines  in  their  fur  are  peculiar  to  the  southern 
regions  of  the  continent. 

The  ornithology  of  Africa  presents  a  close  analogy  iri 
many  of  its  species  to  those  of  Europe  and  South  Asia.1 
Thus,  on  its  northern  coasts,  there  is  scarcely  a  single 
species  to  be  found  which  does  not  also  occur  in  the  other 
countries  bordering  on  the  Mediterranean.  The  ornitho- 
logy^of  the  region  of  the  Nile  and  the  northern  coasts  is 
identified  with  that  of  Arabia,  Persia,  and  Spain.  The 
deserts  are  inhabited  by  species  adapted  to  its  solitudes; 
while  Southern  Africa  presents  different  species. 

The  ostrich,  the  hugest  of  birds,  which  has  been  described 
as  the  feathered  camel,  or  the  giraffe  among  birds,  is  found 
in  almost  every  part  of  Africa.  But  its  chief  home  is  the 
desert  and  the  open  plains;  mountainous  districts  it  avoids, 
unless  pressed  by  hunger.  The  beautiful  white  feathers, 
so  highly  prized  by  the  ladies  of  Europe,  are  found  in  the 
wings  of  the  undo  bird.  The  chase  is  not  without  its 
difficulties,  and  it  requires  the  greatest  care  to  get  within 
musket-shot  of  the  bird,  owing  to  its  constant  vigilance 
and  the  great  distance  to  which  it  can  see.  The  fleetest 
horse,  too,  will  not  overtake  it  unless  stratagem  be  adopted 
to  tire  it  out.  •  If  followed  up  too  eagerly,  the  chase  of  the 
ostrich  is  not  destitute  of  danger:  for  the  huntsman  has 
sometimes  had  his  thigh-bone  broken  by  a  single  stroke 
from  the  leg  of  a  wounded  bird. 

The  large  messenger  or  secretary-bird,  which  preys  upon 
serpents  and  other  reptiles,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
African  birds.  It  is  common  near  the  Cape,  and  is  not 
seldom  domesticated.  Of  gallinaceous  fowls,  adapted  to  the 
poultry-yard,  Africa  possesses  but  a  single  genus,  the  guinea- 
tens,  which,  however,  are  found  in  no  other  part  of  the 
world.  These  birds,  of  which  there  are  three  or  four  dis- 
tinct species,  go  in  large  flocks  of  400  or  500,  and  are  most 
frequently  found  among  underwood  in  the  vicinity  of  ponds 
and  rivers.  There  are,  besides,  many  species  of  partridges 
and  quails  in  different  parts  of  Africa.  Water  fowl  of 
various  species  are  also  abundant  on  the  lakes,  and  rivers, 
as  are  likewise  various  species  of  owls,  falcons,  and  vul- 
tures, the  latter  of  which  are  highly  useful  in  consuming 
the  offal  and  carrion,  which  might  otherwise  taint  the  air 
and  produce  disease. 

Among  the  smaller  birds  of  Africa  are  many  species  re- 
markable for  the  gaudiness  and  brilliancy  of  their  plumage, 
or  the  singularity  of  their  manners  and  economy.  Of  the 
former  kind  may  be  mentioned  the  sunbirds,  the  lanrpro- 
tornis,  the  bee-caters,  tho  rollers,  the  plantain-caters,  the 
parrots,  the  halcyons,  and  numerous  smaller  birds  that 
swarm  in  the  forests.  Of  the  latter  kind  it  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  mention  the  honey-cuckoo  {Cucidus  indicator).   • 

Though  Africa  is  not  exempt  from  the  scourge  of  veuo-' 
mous  or  dangerous  reptiles,  still  it  has  comparatively  fewer 
than  other  tropical  countries,  owing  to  the  dryness  of  the, 
climate,  i  The  reptiles  haiboured  by  the  desert  regiona 
consist  chiefly  of  harmlc-;  lizards  and  serpents  of  a  small 

size,  though  often  venomous The  frog  and  tortoise  tribes 

are  represented  in  but  few  i^ecics  and  numbers. 


26U 


A   F  It  I  C  A 


[ktiinology. 


The  most  important  among  the  reptiles  is  the  crocodile, 
which  inhabits  nearly  all  the  large  rivers  and  lakes  within 
the  tropics,  and  is  still  abundant  in  the  Nile  below  the  first 
cataract. 

The  chameleon  is  common  in  Africa.  Among  the  veno- 
mous species  of  snakes  are  the  purple  naja.  the  cerastes  or 
homed  viper,  the  ringed  naja,  and  the  darting  viper. 

Edible  fish  are  found  almost  everywhere  in  great  variety 
and  quantity.  The  fresh  waters  of  Egypt  produce  the 
gigantic  bishir,  the  coffres.  and  numerous  species  of  the 
pimelodes.  Many  varieties  of  fish  exist  in  the  great  inte- 
rior lakes;  five  large  species  found  in  the  Tanganyika  are 
described  by  Burton.  The  greater  number  of  the  fish  of 
the  Red  Sea  resemble  the  saxatiles  of  the  warm  seas  of 
Asia.  On  the  west  coasts  are  found  the  fish  belonging  to 
equatorial  latitudes,  while  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean 
produce  those  of  Frauce  and  Spain.  The  seas  of  the 
southern  extremity  possess  the  species  common  to  the 
latitudes  of  the  antarctic,  south  of  the  three  great  capes. 
The  fish  of  the  east  coast  are  the  same  as  those  of  the 
Indian  Sea. 

Of  the  insect  tribes  Africa  also  contains  many  thousand 
different  kinds.  The  locust  has  been,  from  time  imme- 
morial, the  proverbial  scourge  of  the  whole  continent ;  scor- 
pions, scarcely  less  to  be  (treaded  than  noxious  serpents, 
are  everywhere  abundant;  and  the  zebub,  or  fly,  one  cf 
the  instruments  employed  by  the  Almighty  to  punish  the 
Egyptians  of  old,  is  still  the  plague  of  the  low  and  cultivated 
districts.  In  the  interior  of  Africa  a  venomous  fly  occurs 
in  certain  regions  of  the  south  and  east,  which  is  fatal  to 
nearly  all  domestic  animals.  It  is  called  tsetse  (Glossijia 
morsitans),  and  its  size  is  almost  that  of  the  common  blue 
fly  which  settles  on  meat;  but  the  wings  are  larger.  On 
the  absence  of  this  insect  greatly  depended  the  success  of 
recent  explorers  in  that  quarter,  as,  where  it  appeared,  their 
cattle  infallibly  fell  victims  to  its  bite.  There  are  large 
tribes  which  cannot  keep  either  cattle  or  sheep,  because  the 
tsetse  abounds  in  their  country.  Its  bite  is  not,  however, 
dangerous  to  man;  wild  animals  likewise  are  undisturbed  by 
it.  The  termites  or  white  ants  are  likewise  a  scourge  to 
the  country  where  they  occur  in  great  numbers.  This 
destructive  creature  devours  everything  in  the  shape  of 
wood,  leather,  cloth,  <fcc,  that  falls  in  its  way;  and  they 
march  together  in  such  swarms,  that  the  devastation  they 
commit  is  almost  incredible. 

Of  the  class  of  zoophytes,  the  brilliant  polypi  of  every 
variety,  and  madrepores,  abound  on  the  coasts  of  Africa 
The  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  produce  the  finest  coral, 
and  those  of  the  Red  Sea  bristle  with  extensive  reefs  of  the 
same  mollusca 

From  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  to  about  the  lati- 
tude of  20°  N.,  the  population  of  Africa  consists  largely 
of  tribes  not  originally  native  to  the  soil,  but  of  Arabs  and 
Turks,  planted  by  conquest,  with  a  considerable  number  of 
Jews,  the  children  of  dispersion;  and  the  more  recently 
introduced  French.  The  Berbers  of  the  Atlas  1  <:gion,  the 
Tuaricks  and  Tibbus  of  the  Sahara,  and  the  Copts  of 
Egypt,  may  be  viewed  as  the  descendants  of  tba  primitive 
stock,  while  those  to  whom  the  general  name  of  Moors  is 
applied,  are  perhaps  of  mixed  descent,  native  and  foreign. 
From  the  latitude  stated  to  the  Cape  Colony,  tribes  com- 
monly classed  together  under  the  title  of  the  Ethiopic  or 
Negro  famity  are  found,  though  many  depart  very  widely 
from  the  peculiar  physiognomy  of  the  NegrD,  which  is 
most  apparent  in  the  natives  of  the  Guinea  coast  In  the 
Cape  Colony,  and  on  its  borders,  the  Hottentots  form  a 
distinct  variety  in  the  population  of  Africa,  most  closely 
resembling  the  Mongolian  races  of  A.'i.i. 

The  Copts,  or  as  they  are  correctly  pronounced,  either 
Ckoobt  or  Ckibt,  are  considered  to  be  the  descendants  of 


the  ancient  Egyptians.     They  do  not  now  compose  wore 
than  one  sixteenth  part  of  the  population  of  Egypt,  their 
number  not  exceeding  145,000,  about  10,000  of  whom 
it  Cairo.    Conversions  to  the  Mohammedan  faith,  and 
intermarriages  with    the  Moslems,   have   occasioned   this 
decrease  in  tlioir  numbers ;   to  which  may  be  added  the 
persecutions  which  they  endured  from  their  Arabic  invaders 
and  subsequent  rulers.     They  were  forced  to  adopt  distinc- 
tions of  dress,  and  they  still  wear  a  curban  of  a  black  or 
blue,  or  a  grayish  or  Ught  brown  colour,  in  contradistinction 
to  the  red  or  white  turban.     In  some  parts  of  Upper  Egypt 
there  are  villages  exclusively   inhabited    by    the    Copts. 
Their  complexion  is  somewhat  darker  than  that  of  the  Arabs, 
their  foreheads  flat,  and  their  hair  of  a  soft  and  woolly 
character;  their  noses  short,  but  not  flat;  mouths  wide,  and 
lips  thick;  the  eyes  large,  aud  bent  upwards  in  an  angle 
like  those  of  the  -Mongols;  their  cheek-bones  high,  and  their 
beards  tliin.     They  are  not  an  unmixed  race,  their  ancestors 
in  the  earlier  ages  of  Christianity  having  intermarried  with 
Greeks,  Nubians,  and  Abyssinians.     With  the  exception  of 
a  small  proportion,  the  Copts  are  Christians  of  the  sect  called 
Jacobites,   Eutychians,   Monophysites,  and   Monothclitcs, 
whose  creed  was  condemned  by  the  Council  of  Chalccdon, 
a.d.  451.     They  are  extremely  bigoted,  and  bear  a  bitter 
hatred  to  all  other  Christians;  they  are  of  a  sullen  temper, 
extremely  avaricious,  great  dissemblers,  ignorant,  and  faith- 
less.    They  frequently  indulge  in  excessive  drinking;  but  in 
their  meals,  their  mode  of  eating,  and  the  manner  in  which 
they  pass  their  hours  of  leisure,  which  is  chiefly  in  smoking 
their  pipes  and  drinking  coffee,  they  resemble  the  other  in- 
habitants of  the  country.     Most  of  the  Copts  in  Cairo  are 
employed  as  secretaries  and  accountants,  or  tradesmen;  they 
are   chiefly  engaged  in  the  government  offices ;    and    as 
merchants,  goldsmiths,  silversmiths,  jewellers,  architects, 
builders,   and  carpenters,  they  are    generally   considered 
more  skilful  than  the  Moslems.     The  Coptic  language  is 
now  understood  by  few  persons,  and  the  Arabic  being 
employed  in  its  stead,  it  may  be  considered  as  a  dead 
language. 

The  countries  above  Egypt  are  inhabited  by  two  trioes \ 
of  people  resembling  each  other  in  physical  characters,  but 
of  distinct  language  and  origin.  One  is,  perhaps,  the 
aboriginal  or  native,  the  other  a  foreign  tribe.  Dr  Prichard 
terms  them  Eastern  Nubians,  or  Nubians  of  the  Red  Sea, 
and  Nubians  of  the  Nile,  or  Berberines.  All  these  tribes 
are  people  of  a  red-brown  complexion,  their  colour  in  some 
instances  approaching  to  black,  but  still  different  from  the 
ebony  hue  of  the  Eastern  negroes.  Their  hair  is  often 
frizzled  and  thick,  and  is  described  as  even  woolly;  yet 
it  is  not  precisely  similar  to  the  hair  of  the  negroes  of 
Guinea.  The  Eastern  Nubians  are  tribes  of  roving  people 
who  inhabit  the  country  between  the  Nile  and  the  Red 
Sea ;  the  northern  division  of  this  race  are  the  Ababdeh, 
who  reach  northward  in  the  eastern  desert  as  far  as  Kosseir, 
and,  towards  the  parallel  of  Deir,  border  on  the  Bishari. 
The  Bishari  reach  thence  towards  the  confines  of  Abyssinia. 
The  latter  are  extremely  savage  and  inhospitable ;  they  are 
said  to  drink  the  warm  blood  of  living  animals ;  they  are 
for  the  most  part  nomadic,  and  live  on  flesh  and  milk. 
They  are  described  as  a  handsome  people,  with  beautiful 
features,  fine  expressive  eyes,  of  slender  and  elegant  forms ; 
their  complexion  is  said  to  be  a  dark  brown,  or  a  dark 
chocolate  colour.  The  Barabra  or  Berberines  are  a  people 
well  known  in  Egypt,  whither  they  resort  as  labourers 
from  the  higher  country  of  the  Nile.  They  inhabit  the 
valley  of  that  name  from  the  southern  limit  of  Egypt  to 
Sennaar.  They  are  a  people  distinct  from  the  Arabs  and 
all  the  surrounding  nations.  They  live  on  the  banks  of 
the  Nile ;  and  wherever  there  is  any  soil,  they  plant  date- 
trees,  set.  up  wheels  lor  irrigation,  and  sow  durra  and  soma 


ETHXOLOGY.J 


AFRICA 


261 


leguminous  plants.  At  Cairo,  whither  many  of  this  race 
resort,  they  are  esteemed  for  their  honesty.  They  profess 
Islam.  The  Barabra  are  divided  into  three  sections  by 
their  dialects,  which  are  those  of  the  Nuba,  the  Kenous, 
and  the  Dongolawi  According  to  Dr  Prichard,  it  is  pro- 
bable that  the  Berberines  may  be  an  offset  from  the  original 
stock  which  first  peopled  Egypt  and  Nubia. 

The  country  of  the  Nubians  is  limited  on  the  west  by 
that  of  the  Tibbus,  who  are  spread  over  the  eastern  por- 
tions of  the  Sahara,  as  far  as  Fezzan  and  Lake  Chad.  Dr 
Latham  considers  it  probable  that  their  language  belongs 
to  the  Nubian  class.  They  inhabit  the  locality  of  the 
ancient  Libyans  or  Libyes.  Their  colour  is  not  uniform. 
In  some  it  is  quite  black,  but  many  have  copper-coloured 
faces.  They  are  slim  and  well  made,  have  high  cheek- 
bones, the  nose  sometimes  flat  like  that  of  the  negro,  and 
sometimes  aquiline.  Their  mouth  is  in  general  large,  but 
their  teeth  fine.  Their  lips  are  frequently  formed  like 
those  of  Europeans ;  their  eyes  are  expressive,  and  their 
hair,  though  curled,  not  woolly.  The  females  are  especially 
distinguished  by  a  light  and  elegant  form,  and  in  then- 
walk  and  erect  manner  of  carrying  themselves  are  very 
striking.  Their  feet  and  ankles  are  delicately  formed,  and 
not  loaded  with  a  mass  of  brass  or  iron,  as  is  the  practice 
in  other  countries  of  Northern  Africa,  but  have  merely  a 
light  anklet  of  polished  silver  or  copper,  sufficient  to  show 
their  jetty  skin  to  more  advantage ;  and  they  also  wear 
neat  red  slippers.  The  Tibbus  are  chiefly  a  pastoral  people. 
They  keep  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  and  goats,  but  camels 
constitute  their  principal  riches.  The  villages  of  the 
Tibbus  are  very  regularly  built  in  a  square,  with  a  space 
left  on  the  north  and  south  faces  of  the  quadrangle  for  the 
use  of  the  cattle.  The  huts  are  entirely  of  mats,  which 
exclude  the  sun,  yet  admit  both  the  light  and  the  air.  The 
interior  of  these  habitations  is  singularly  neat :  clean 
wooden  bowls  for  the  preservation  of  milk,  each  with  a 
cover  of  basket-work,  are  hung  against  their  walls.  They 
are  gTeatly  exposed  to  predatory  incursions  into  their 
country  by  the  enemies  who  surround  them.  The  Tibbus 
of  Tibesti  are  described  by  Dr  Nachtigal  as  of  medium 
Etature,  well  made,  of  elegant  though  muscular  frame ;  in 
colour  they  vary  between  a  clear  bronze  and  black.:  the 
greater  number  are  dark  bronze-coloured,  yet  without  the 
slightest  trace  of  what  is  generally  recognised  as  the  negro 
physiognomy.  They  carry  on  a  considerable  traffic  in 
slaves  between  Sudan,  Fezzan,  and  Tripoli. 

"  All  that  is  not  Arabic  in  the  kingdom  of  Marocco," 
eays  Dr  Latham,  "  all  that  is  not  Arabic  in  the  French 
provinces  of  Algeria,  and  all  that  is  not  Arabic  in  Tunis, 
Tripoli,  and  Fezzan,  is  Berber.  The  language,  also,  of  the 
ancient  Cyrenaica,  indeed  the  whole  country  bordering  the 
Mediterranean,  between  Tripoli  and  Egypt,  is  Berber.  The 
extinct  language  of  the  Canary  Isles  was  Berber ;  and, 
finally,  the  language  of  the  Sahara  is  Berber.  The  Berber 
languages,  in  their  .present  geographical  localities,  are  essen- 
tially inland  languages.  As  a  general  rule,  the  Arabic  -is 
the  language  for  the  whole  of  the  sea-coast  from  the  Delta 
of  the  Nile  to  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar,  and  from  the  Straits 
of  Gibraltar  to  the  mouth  of  the  Senegal"  The  Berber 
nation  is  one  of  great  antiquity,  and  from  the  times  of 
the  earliest  history  has  been  spread  over  the  same  exxent 
of  country  as  at  present ;  the  ancient  Numidian  and 
Matuitanian  names  of  Sallust,  and  other  writers,  have  a 
meaning  in  the  modern  Berber.  It  has  affinities  with  the 
Semitic  languages.  In  the  northern  parts  of  Atlas  these 
people  are  called  Berbers  ;  in  the  southern  tracts  they  are 
the  Shuluh  or  Shelhas.  In  the  hilly  country  belonging 
to  Tunis,  the  Kabyles;  in  Mount  Auress,  the  Showiah;  and 
in  the  Desert,  the  Tuarick, — all  belong  to  the  same  group. 
The  mountains  of  Atlas  are  said  to  be  inhabited  by  more 


located 
at  Ghat 


than  twenty  different  tribes,  carrying  on  perpetual  warfare 
against  each  other.  They  are  very  poor,  and  make  plun- 
dering excursions  in  quest  of  the  means  of  supporting  life. 
They  are  described  as  an  athletic,  strong-featured  people, 
accustomed  to  hardships  and  fatigue.  Their  only  covering 
is  a  woollen  garment  without  sleeves,  fastened  round  the 
waist  by  a  belt.' 

The  Shuluh,  who  are  the  mountaineers  of  the  Northern 
Atlas,  live  in  villages  of  houses  made  of  stone  and  mud, 
with  slate  roofs,  occasionally  in  tents,  and  even  in  caves. 
They  are  chiefly  huntsmen,  but  cultivate  the  ground  and 
rear  bees.  They  are  described  as  lively,  intelligent,  well- 
formed,  athletic  men,  not  tall,  without  marked  features, 
and  with  light  complexions.  The.  Kabyles,  or  Kabaily,  of 
the  Algerian  and  Tunisian  territories,  are  the  most  indus- 
trious inhabitants  of  the  Barbary  States,  and,  besides  till- 
age, work  the  mines  contained  in  their  mountains,  and 
obtain  lead,  iron,  and  copper.  They  live  in  huts  made  of 
the  branches  of  trees  and  covered  with  clay,  which  resemble 
the  magalia  of  the  old  Numidians,  spread  in  little  groups 
over  the  sides  of  the  mountains,  and  preserve  the  grain, 
the  legumes,  and  other  fruits,  which  are  the  produce  of 
their  husbandry,  in  mattoures,  or  conical  excavations  in  the 
ground.  They  are  of  middle  stature ;  their  complexion  is 
brown,  and  sometimes  nearly  black. 

The  Tuarick  are  a  people  spread  in  various  tribes  through 
the  greater  portion  of  the  Sahara.  The  expedition  under 
Richardson,  Barth,  and  Overweg,  who  traversed  and  ex- 
plored a  great  portion  of  the  Tuarick  territories,  has  greatly 
added  to  our  knowledge  of  these  people.  The  following 
are  the  names  and  localities  of  the  principal  tribes : — 

1.  Tanelkum,  located  in  Fezzan. 

I  Ouraghen,  family  of  Shafou, 

2.  Azghers,  <  Emanghasatan,  „  of  Hateetahj 

(  Amana,  „  of  Jabour, 

3.  Aheethanaran,  the  tribe  of  Janet. 

4.  Hagar  (Ahagar),  pure  Ilagars  and  Maghatah.  They 
occupy  the  tract  between  Ghat,  Tuat,  and  Timbuktu. 

5.  Sagamaram,  located  on'the  route  from  Aisou  to  Tuat 

6.  Kailouees,  including,  the  Kailouees  proper,  the 
Kaltadak,  and  the  Kalfadai. 

7.  Kilgris,  including  the  Kilgris  proper,  the  Iteesan,  and 
the  Ashraf.  These  and  the  tribes  under  the  preceding 
head  inhabit  the  kingdom  of  Ahir. 

8.  Oulimad,  tribes  surrounding  Timbuktu  in  great  num- 
bers. This,  probably  identical  with  the  Sorghou,  is  the 
largest  and  most  powerful  tribe,  while  the  Tanelkums  are 
the  smallest  and  weakest. 

The  various  tribes  are  very  different  in  their  characters, 
but  they  are  all  fine  men,  tall,  straight,  and  handsome. 
They  exact  a  tribute  from  all  the  caravans  traversing  their 
country,  -which  chiefly  furnishes  them  with  the  means  of 
subsistence.  They  are  most  abstemious,  their  food  consist- 
ing principally  of  coarse  brown  bread,  dates,  olives,  and 
water.  Even  on  the  heated  desert,  where  the  thermometer 
generally  is  from  90°  to  120°,  they  are  clothed  from  head 
to  foot,  and  cover  the  face  up  to  the  eyes  with  a  black  or 
coloured  handkerchief. 

The  Moors  who  inhabit  large  portions  of  the  empire  of 
Marocco,  and  are  spread  all  along  the  Mediterranean  coast, 
are  a  mixed  race,  grafted  upon,  the  ancient  Mauritanian 
stock;  whence  their  name.  After  the  conquest  of  Africa 
by  the  Arabs  they  became  mixed  with  Arabs ;  end  having 
conquered  Spain  in  their  turn,  they  intermarried  with  the 
natives  of  that  country,  whence,  after  a  possession  of  seveD 
centuries,  they  were  driven  back  to  Mauritania.  They 
are  a  handsome  race,  having  much  more  resemblance  to 
Europeans  and  western  Asiatics  than  to  Arabs  or  Berbers, 
although  their  language  is  Arabic,  that  is,  the  Mogrebin 
dialect,  which   differs   considerably  from   the  Arabic   in 


U'     1 

tah;V 


262 


AFRICA 


[ethnology. 


Arabia,~and  even  in  Egypt.  They  are  an  intellectual 
people,  and  not  altogether  unlettered;  but  they  are  cruel, 
revengeful,  and .  blood-thirsty,  exhibiting  but  very  few 
traces  of  that  nobility  of  mind  and  delicacy  of  feeling  and 
taste  which  graced  their  ancestors  in  Spain.  The  history 
of  the  throne  of  Marocco,  of  the  dynastic  revolutions  at 
Algiers,  Tunis,  and  Tripoli,  is  written  with  blood ;  and 
tuneng  the  pirates  who  infested  the  Mediterranean  they 
were  tho  worst.  Their  religion  is  the  Mohammedan,  Thej 
to  in  their  diet  and  simple  in  their  dress,  except 
the  richer  classes  in  tho  principal  towns,  where  the  ladies 
i  lly  cover  themselves  with  silk,  gold,  and  jewels,  while 
tho  men  indulge  to  excess  their  love  of  fine  horses  and 
splendid  arms.  They  generally  lead  a  settled  life  as  mer- 
chants, mechanics,  or  agriculturists,  but  there  fire  also  many 
wandering  tribes.  They  exhibit  considerable  skill  and  taste 
in  dyeing,  and  in  the  manufacture  of  swords,  saddlery, 
li  athernware,  gold  and  silver  ornaments.  At  the  Great 
Exhibition  in  London  in  1851,  the  .Moorish  department 
iied  several  articles  which  were  greatly  admired.  The 
Moors  along  the  coast  of  Marocco  still  carry  on  piracy  by 
means  of  armed  boats. 

At  two  different  periods,  separated  from  each  other  by 
perhaps  a  thousand  years,  Africa  was  invaded  by  Arabic 
tribes,  which  took  a  lasting  possession  of  the  districts  they 
conquered,  and  whose  descendants  form  no  inconsiderable 
portion  of  the  population  of  North  and  Central  Africa, 
while  their  language  has  superseded  all  others  as  that  of 
civilisation  and  religion.  Of  the  first  invasion  more  has 
been 'said  under  the  head  "Abyssinians."  The  second  was 
that  effected  by  the  first  successors  of  Mahomet,  who  con- 
quered Egypt,  and  subsequently  the  whole  north  of  Africa 
as  far  as  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic,  in  the  course  of  tho 
first  century  of  the  Hegira,  or  the  seventh  of  the  Christian 
era.  As  regards  languago,  Egypt  is  now  an  entirely  Arabic 
country,  although  in  many  other  respects  the  Fellahs  are 
totally  different  from  the  peasants  in  Arabia.  But  there 
are  also  several  tribes  of  true  Arabic  descent  scattered 
about  from  the  high  lands  of  Abyssinia  down  over  Nubia 
and  Egypt,  and  westward  over  the  central  provinces  of 
Kordofan,  Darfur,  Waday,  and  Bornu.  Others  wander  in 
the  Libyan  deserts  and  the  Great  Sahara,  as  well  as  in  the 
of  Tripoli,  Tunis,  and  Algiers,  leading  a  similar  lite 
with  the  Kabyles,  but  constituting  a  totally  distinct  race. 
Others,  again,  dwell  in  the  empire  of  Marocco,  among  whom 
thcae  along  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  are  notorious  for 
their  predatory  habits  and  ferocious  character.  In  many 
places  Arabic  adventurers  have  succeeded  in  subduing 
native  tribes  of  every  nationality,  over  which  they  rule  as 
sovereign  lords ;  and  on  the  coast  of  Zanzibar  resides  an 
Arabic  royal  dynasty.  Many  of  the  smaller  islands  to  the 
north  of  Madagascar  are  inhabited  by  Arabs,  and  traces 
of  them  have  been  discovered  in  Madagascar  itself.  Tho 
African  Arabs  are  not  all  alike  in  features  and  colour  of 
skin,  the  differences  being  attributable  to  some  of  them 
having  intermarried  with  natives,  while  others  preserved 
the  purity  of  their  blood. 

The  early  settlements  of  the  Jews  in  Egypt  are  facts 
universally  known.  Under  the  Ptolemies,  large  numbers 
of  them  settled  at  Alexandria  and  in  Cyrenaica,  and  after 
iction  of  Jerusalem  they  rapidly  spread  over  the 
whole  of  the  Roman  possessions  in  Africa;  many  also  took 
refuge  in  Abyssinia.  King  Philip  II.  having  driven  them 
out  of  Spain,  many  thousands  of  families  took  refuge  on 
the  opposite  coast  of  Africa.  They  are  now  numerous  in 
all  the  larger  towns  in  the  north,  where  they  carry  on  tho 
occupation  of  merchants,  brokers,  &c,  the  trade  with 
Europe  being  mostly  in  their  hands.  ^They  live  in  a  state 
of  great  degradation,  except  in  Algiers,  where  the  French 
restored  >h(->n  to  freedom  and  independence.     They  have 


acquired  much  wealth,  and  although  compelled  to  hide 
their  riches  from  the  cupidity  of  their  rulers,  they  lose  no 
opportunity  of  showing  them  whenever  they  can  do  so 
without  risk  of  being  plundered,  fear  and  vanity  being 
characteristic  features  of  their  character.  The  Jewesses  in 
Marocco  and  Algiers  are  of  remarkable  beauty. 

Ever  since  the  conquest  of  Egypt  by  Sultan  Selim,  and  Turku 
the  establishment  of  Turkish  paahalics  in  Tripoli,  Tunis, 
and  Algiers,  Turks  have  settled  in  the  north  of  Africa;  and 
as  they  were  the  rulers  of  the  country,  whose  numbers  were 
on  the  increase  on  account  of  the  incessant  arrivals 
of  Turkish  soldiers'and  officials, the  Turkish  bccame.and  still 
is,  the  languageof  thediffcrent  governments.  Properly  speak- 
ing, however,  they  are  not  settled,  but  only  encamped  in 
Africa,  and  hardly  deservea  place  among  the  African  nations. 

Not  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  called  Abyssinia 
are  Abyssinians;  nor  are  the  real  Abyssinians  all  of  the 
same  origin,  being  a  mixed  race,  to  the  formation  of  which 
several  distinct  nations  have  contributed.  The  primitive 
stock  is  of  Ethiopian  origin,  but,  as  their  language  clearly 
shows,  was  at  an  early  period  mixed  with  a  tribe  of  tho 
llimyarites  from  the  opposite  coast  of  Arabia,  who,  in 
their  turn,*  were  ethnologically  much  more  closely  con- 
nected with  the  Hebrews  than  with  the  Joctanides,  or  the 
Arabs  properly  speaking.  In  tho  ago  of  the  Egyptian 
Ptolemies,  and  after  tho  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  Jews 
settled  in  Abyssinia  in  such  numbers,  that  not  only  their 
religion  spread  among  the  inhabitants,  but  the  Hebrew 
language  became  mixed  with  the  Abyssinian-  as  it  then 
was.  Hence  the  surprising  analogy  between  the  principal 
Abyssinian  languages,  viz.,  tho  Gheez  in  Tigre,  and  the 
Ainharic  in  Amhara,  with  the  Hebrew.  The  uninterrupted 
intercourse  with  Arabia,  and  the  immigration  of  several 
Arabic  tribes,  also  contributed  towards  the  apparently 
Semitic  aspect  of  the  present  Abyssinian  language.  A 
large  portion  of  Abyssinia  having  been  occupied  by  Galht 
and  other  tribes,  we  shall  here  only  dwell  on  the  original 
Abyssinians.  They  inhabit  a  large  tract,  extending  from 
the  upper  course  of  tho  Blue  River,  north  as  far  as  the  Red 
Sea,  and  some  isolated  districts  in  the  south  and  south-east. 
To  the  west  of  them  aro  tho  Agau  Abyssinians,  a  different 
tribe,  whose  idiom,  however,  is  the  common  language  of 
the  lower  classes  in  Tigre  and  Amhara  also.  Abyssinia 
was  once  a  large  and  powerful  kingdom,  but  the  Galla 
having  conquered  the  whole  south  of  it,  it  gradually  declined 
until  tho  king  or  emperor  became  a  mere  shadow,  in  whoso 
name  several  vassal  princes  exercise  an  unlimited  power 
each  in  his  own  territory.  Owing  to  their  jealousy  and 
mutual  fears,  war  seldom  ceases  among  the  inhabitants. 
The  Christian  religion  was  introduced  into  Abyssinia  in 
the  first  centuries  after  Christ ;  but  whatever  its  condition 
might  have  been  in  former  times,  it  now  presents  a  de- 
graded mixture  of  Christian  dojmas  and  rites,  Jewish 
observances,  and  heathenish  superstition.  Yet  of  Judaism, 
which  was  once  so  powerful,  but  fceblo  traces  are  extant, 
while  the  Mohammedan  religion  is  visibly  tin  th6  increase. 
European  missionaries  have  been,  and  still  are  very  active 
among  them,  but  their  efforts  have  been  crowned  only 
with  partial  success.  The  Abyssinians,  the  Gallas  being 
excluded  from  that  denomination,  are  a  fine  strong  race, 
of  a  copper  hue,  more  or  less  dark,  and  altogether  dif- 
ferent from  the  Negroes,  with'whom,  however,  they  have 
frequently  been  confounded,  because  they  were  called  a 
black  people.  Their  noses  aro  nearly  straight,  their  eyes 
beautifully  clear,  yet  languishing,  and  their  hair  is  black 
and  crisp,  but  not  woolly.^  They  are  on  the  whole  a  bar- 
barous people,  addicted  to  the  grossest,  sensual  pleasures ; 
and  their  priests,  among  whom  marriage  is  customary,  are 
little  better  than  the  common  herd  of  the  people.  They 
live  in  huts,  a  large  assemblage  ot  winch  forms  a  so-called 


ETHNOLOGY.] 


AFRICA 


2U3 


town;  and  although  they  possess  some  solid  constructions 
of  stone,  such  as  churches  and  bridges,  it  appears  that  these 
were  built  by  the  Portuguese,  the  ruins  at  Axum  and  other 
places  belonging  to  a  much  earlier  period,  when  the  country 
undoubtedly  enjoyed  a  higher  civilisation  than  at  present. 
Owing  to  the  influence  exercised  upon  them  during  the  last 
thirty  years  by  European  missionaries  and  travellers,  their 
conduct  towards  strangers  is  less  rude  than  it  used  to  be 
at  the  time  of  Bruce.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that,  not- 
withstanding the  low  state  of  their  religion,  the  Christians  in 
Abyssinia  are  not  allowed  to  keep  slaves,  although  they  may 
purchase  them  for  the  puqiose  of  selling  them  again. 

This  extensive  race  comprehends  by  fax  the  greater  num- 
ber of  African  nations,  extending  over  the  whole  of  Middle 
and  South  Africa,  except  its  southernmost  projection  to: 

wards  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  A  line  drawn  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Senegal  in  the  west  to  Cape  Jerdaffun  in  the 
«ast,  forms  its  northern  limits  almost  with  geometrical 
accuracy,  few  Ethiopic  tribes  being  found  to  the  north  of 
it  All  the  members  of  this  race,  however,  are  not  Negroes. 
The  latter  are  only  one  of  its  numerous  offshoots;  but 
between  the  receding  forehead,  the  projecting  cheek-bones, 
the  thick  lips  of  the  Negro  of  Guinea,  and  the  more  straight 
configuration  of  the  head  of  a  Galla  in  Abyssinia,  there  are 

till  many  striking  analogies ;  and  modern  philology  hav- 

ng  traced  still  greater  analogies,  denoting  a  common  origin, 
among  the  only  apparently  disconnected  languages  of  so 
many  thousands  of  tribes,  whose  colour  presents  all  the 
hues  between  the  deepest  black  and  the  yellow  brown,  it  is 
no  longer  doubtful  that  the  Negro,  the  Galla,  the  Somali, 
and  the  Kaffre,  all  belong  to  the  same  ethnological  stock. 

The  principal  Negro  nations,  as. we  know  them,  are  the 
Mandingoes,  who  are  numerous,  powerful,  and  not  uncivi- 
lised, in  Senegambia,  and  farther  inland,  around  the  head 
waters  of  the  Quorra,  where  they  have  established  a  great 
number  of  kingdoms  and  smaller  sovereignties.  The  inland 
trade  is  chiefly  in  their  hands.  They  are  black,  with  a  mix- 
ture of  yellow,  and  their  hair  is  completely. woolly.     The 

Wolofs  or.  Yolofs,  whose  language  is  totally  different  from 
those  of  their  neighbours,  are  the  handsomest  and  blackest 
of  all  Negroes,  although  they  live  at  a  greater  distance  from 
the  equator  than  most  of  the  other  black  tribes,  their  prin- 
cipal dwelling-places  being  between  the  Senegal  and  the 
Gambia,  along  the  coast  of  the  Atlantic.  They  are  a  mild 
and  social  people.  The  Foulahs  or  FellaUilts  occupy  the 
central  parts  of  Soudan,  situated  in  the  crescent  formed  by 
the  course  of  the  Quorra,  and  also  large  tracts  to  the  south- 
east, as  far  as  the  equator  west  to  the  Senegal,  and  east  till 
beyond  Lake  Chad.  Their  colour,  as  a  rule,  is  black,  inter- 
mixed, however,  with  a  striking  copper  hue,  some  of  them 
being  hardly  more  dark  than  gipsies.  They  are  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  nations  in  Africa,  very  industrious,  live  in 
commodious  and  clean  habitations,  and  are  mostly  Moham- 
medans. A  distinction  was  formerly  made  between  the 
Foulahs  of  Senegambia  and  the  Fellatahs  of  Central  Africa, 
but  it  has  since  been  ascertained  that  they  belong  to  the  same 
stock,  and  speak  the  same  language.  The  hair  of  the  Foulahs 
is  much  less  woolly  than  that  of  other  Negroes.  Of  the  prin- 
cipal nations  in  Guinea,  among  whom  the  true  Negro  type  is 
particularly  distinct,  especially  around  the  Bight  of  Benin, 
are  the  Feloops,  near  the  Casamanja,  very  black,  yet  hand- 
some; and  the  Ashanti,  of  the  Amina  race,  who  surpass 
all  their  neighbours  in  civilisation,  and  the  cast  of  whose 
features  differs  so  much  from  the  Negro  type  that  they  are 
said  to  be  more  bike  Indians  than  Africans ;  although  this  is 
perhaps  only  true  of  the  higher  orders.  They  are  still  in 
possession  of  a  powerful  kingdom.  The  country  behind  the 
Slave  Coast  is  occupied  by  tribes  akin  to  the  Dahomeh  on 
the  coast.  In  South  Guinea  we  meet  three  principal  races, 
namely,  the  Congo,  the  Abunda,  and  the  Benguela  Ne- 


groes, who  are  divided  into  a  variety  of  smaller  tribes,  witll 
whom  we  are  much  less  acquainted  than  with  the  northern 
Negroes,  although  the  Portuguese  have  occupied  this  coast 
for  upwards  of  three  centuries.     The  Wamasai  and  Wak- 
wavi,  possibly  of  Abyssinian  stock,  are  a  remarkable  race 
of  wild  nomad  hunters,  who  occupy  the  high  plateau  which 
ris^s  between  the  coastland  and  the  Victoria  Nyanza,  extend- 
ing from  the  equator  southward  to  the  route  which  leads 
from  Zanzibar  to  the  Tanganyika  Lake.    They  are  the  terroi 
of  the  more  settled  inhabitants  of  the  surrounding  countries, 
and  occasionally  make  raids  down  even  to  the  coastland 
behind  Mombas.     The  next  great  branch  of  the  Ethiopic 
race  comprehends  the  Galla,  who  occupy  an  immense  tract 
in  Eastern  Africa,  from  Abyssinia  as  far  as  the  fourth  degree 
of  S.  latitude,  on  the  coast  inward  from  Mombas.     Out 
knowledge  of  them  is  chiefly  confined  to  those  Gallas  who 
conquered  Abyssinia.     AVith  regard  to  their  physical  con- 
formation, they  stand  between  the  Negro  of  Guinea  and  the 
Arab  and  Berber.    Their  countenances  are  rounder  than 
those  of  the  Arabs,  their  noses  are  almost  straight,  and  their 
hair,  though  strongly  frizzled,  is  not  so  woolly  as  that  of  the 
Negro,  nor  are  their  lips  quite  so  thick.    Their  eyes  are  small 
(in  which  they  again  differ  from  the  Abyssinians),  deeply 
set,  but  very  lively.     They  are  a  strong,  large,  almost  bulky 
people,  whose  colour  varies  between  black  and  brownish, 
some  of  their  women  being  remarkably  fair,  considering 
the  race  they  belong  to.     An  interesting  tribe  of  them  has  SouiaJi. 
lately  been  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  Europeans,  the 
Somali,   originally   Arabs,   who  have  advanced   from    the 
southern  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Aden  since  the  15th  century, 
and  now  occupy  the  greater  portion  of  the  East  African  pro- 
montory wedging  into  the  Galla  region,  and  almost  dividing 
that  country  into  two   distinct  portions.     For  the  most 
part  they  pursue  a  wandering  and  pastoral  life. 

In  the  central  regions  of  the  continent  the  negroid  Negroid 
tribes,  which  are  classed  under  the  general  name  of tnbes- 
Wanyamwezi,  occupying  the  plateau  south  of  the  Vic- 
toria and  east  of  the  Tanganyika  Lakes,  have  been  made 
known  by  Burton  and  subsequent  travellers  ;  round  the 
west  and  north  of  the  Victoria  are  several  distinct  king- 
doms, the  chief  being  those  of  Karague  and  Uganda, 
traversed  by  Speke  and  Grant ;  in  the  region  west  of  the 
Upper  Nile  the  countries  of  the  Jur,  Dor,  and  Bongo 
tribes  have  been  explored  by  Dr  Schweinfurth,  and  he  has 
passed  beyond  the  watershed  of  the  Nile  into  a  new  basin, 
where  he  found  the  Niamniam  and  Monbuttu  tribes. 
Dr  Livingstone,  in  his  latest  journey,  has  entered  the 
country  of  the  Manyuema  tribes,  west  of  Tanganyika,  in 
the  heart  of  the  continent;  these  he  describes  as  a  fine,  tall 
handsome  race,  superior  alike  to  the  slaves  seen  at  Zanzibar 
and  the  typical  negro  of  the  west  coast;  exceedingly 
numerous,  and  living  in  a  primitive  condition,  utterly  igno- 
rant of  the  outer  world.  The  Balunda  race  of  Negroes 
occupy  a  great  area  of  South  Central  Africa,  and  have  twe 
ancient  and  powerful  kingdoms  of  Muropua  and  Lunda,  the 
former  ruled  over  by  the  hereditary  "  Muata "  or  chief 
Hianvo,  who  has  his  capital  near  the  Cassabi  tributary  of  the 
Congo,  and  the  latter  by  the  Hianvo's  vassal,  the  Cazembe, 
whose  palace  is  near  the  Luapula  river,  south-west  of  Lake 
Tanganyika.  Kibakoe  or  Quiboque  and  Lobal,  south-west  of 
the  kingdom  of  Hianvo,  are  the  chief  states  on  the  borders 
of  Angola  and  Benguela;  towards  the  Nyassalake,  south- 
east from  the  Cazembe's  dominions,  the  Maravi  tribe  is  per 
haps  the  most  powerful,  and  beyond  the  Nyassa  that  of  the 
Wahiao  is  the  chief.  The  Makololo  tribe,  occupying  the  cen- 
tral portion  of  the  Zambeze  basin,  is  of  southern  origin,  and 
forms  an  intermediate  stage  between  the  NegKi  and  Kaffre. 

The  Kaffres,  who,  together  with  the  tribes  most  akin  to. 
them,  occupy  the  greater  portion  of  South  Africa,  especially 
the  eastern  portions,  have  some  analogy  with  Europeans  in 


2G4 


AFRICA 


[ethnology. 


their  features  ;'but  they  are  woolly  haired,  and  while  some 
are  almost  black,  others  are  comparatively  fair,  although 
Borne  of  their  tribe3  might  have  been  mixed  with  the  East- 
ern Negroes.  They  have  been  very  wrongly  classed  with 
the  Negroes.  They  are  a  strong,  muscular,  active  people, 
addicted  to  plunder  and  warfare.  The  Eastern  Kaffres, 
among  whom  the  Amakosah  and  Amazulah  are  best  knovnn 
to  us,  on  account  of  their  frequent  invasions  of  the  Cape 
Colony,  are  much  more  savage  than  the  western  and  north- 
ern, or  the  Bechuana  and  Sichuana  tribes.  All  Kaffres  are 
pastoral,  keeping  lar0e  herds  of  cattle ;  but  the  last-named 
tribes  inhabit  large  towns,  well-built  houses,  cultivato  the 
ground  carefully,  and  exhibit  every  appearance  of  being 
capable  of  entire  civilisation.  Tho  word  Kaffre,  or  Kafir, 
as  it  ought  to  be  written,  is  Arabic,  and  was  first  applied 
by  the  Europeans  to  tho  inhabitants  of  the  coast  of  Mozam- 
bique, because  they  wero  so  called  by  the  Mohammedans, 
in  whose  eyes  they  were  Kafirs,  that  is  infidels. 

We  conclude  this  sketch  with  the  Hottentot  race,  which 
is  entirely  different  from  all  the  other  races  of  Africa. 
Where  they  originally  came  from,  and  how  they  happened 
to  be  hemmed  in  and  confined  entirely  to  this  remote  corner 
of  the  earth,  is  a  problem  not  likely  to  be  ever  satisfactorily 
6olved.  The  only  people  to  whom  the  Hottentot  has  been 
thought  to  bear  a  resemblance,  are  the  Chinese  or  Malays, 
or  their  original  stock  tho  Mongols.  Like  these  people 
they  have  the  broad  forehead,  the  high  cheek-bones,  the 
oblique  eye,  the  thin  beard,  and  the  dull  yellow  tint  of 
complexion,  resembling  tho  colour  of  a  dried  tobacco  leaf ; 
but  there  is  a  difference  with  regard  to  the  hair,  which 
grows  in  small  tufts,  harsh,  and  rather  wiry,  covering  tho 
acalp  somewhat  like  the  hard  pellets  of  a  shoe-brush.  The 
women,  too,  have  a  peculiarity  in  their  physical  conforma- 
tion, which,  though  occasionally  to  bo  met  with  in  other 
nations,  is  not  universal,  as  among  the  Hottentots.  Their 
constitutional  "bustles"  sometimes  grow  to  three  times  the 
size  of  those  artificial  stuffings  with  which  our  fashionable 
ladies  have  disfigured  themselves.  Even  the  females  of  the 
diminutive  Bosjesmen  Hottentots,  who  frequently  perish  of 
hunger  in  the  barren  mountains,  and  are  reduced  to  skele- 
tons, have  the  same  protuberances  as  the  Hottentots  of  the 
plains.  It  is-  not  known  even  whence  the  name  of  Hotter- 
tot  proceeds,  as  it  is  none  of  their  own.  It  has  been  con- 
jectured that  hot  and  tot  frequently  occurring  in  their  singu- 
lar language,  in  which  the  monosyllables  are  enunciated 
with  a  palatic  clacking  with  the  tongue,  like  that  of  a  hen, 
may  have  given  rise  to  the  name,  and  that  the  early  Dutch 
settlers  named  them  hot-en-tot.  Tin  y  call  themselves  qui- 
qua:,  pronounced  with  a  clack.  They  are  a  lively,  cheerful, 
good-humoured  people,  and  by  no  means  wanting  in  intel- 
lect; but  they  have  met  with  nothing  but  harsh  treatment 
since  their  first  connection  with  Europeans.  Neither  Bar- 
tholomew  Diaz,  who  first  discovered,  d  11  Vasco  de  Gama, 
who  first  doubled,  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  nor  any  of  the 
subsequent  Portuguese  navigators,  down  to  1509,  had  much 
communication  with  the  natives  of  this  southern  angle  of 
Africa;  but  in  the  year  above  mentioned,  Francisco  d'Al- 
meyda,  viceroy  of  India,  having  landed  on  his  return  at 
Saldanha  (row  Table)  Bay,  was  killed,  with  about  twenty 
of  his  people,  in  a  scuffle  with  the  natives.  To  avenge  his 
death,  a  Portuguese  captain,  about  three  years  afterwards, 
is  said  to  have  landed  a  piece  of  ordnance  loaded  with  grape 
Bhot,  as  a  pretended  present  to  the  Hottentots.  Two  ropes 
were  attached  to  this  fatal  engine  ;  the  Hottentots  poured 
down  in  swarms.  Men,  women,  and  children  flocked  round 
the  deadly  machine,  as  the  Trojans  did  round  the  wooden 
horse,  " funemque  manu  contingsre  gaudertt."  The  brutal 
Portuguese  fired  off  the  piece,  and  viewed  with  savage 
delight  the  mangled  carcasses  of  the  deluded  people.  The 
Dutch  effected  their  ruin  by  gratifying  their  propensity  for 


brandy  and  tobacco,  at  the  expense  of  their  herds  of  cattle, 
on  which  they  subsisted.  Under  the  British  sway  they  have 
received  protection,  and  shown  themselves  not  unworthy  of  it 
They  now  possess  property,  and  enjoy  it  in  security.  One  of 
the  most  beautiful  villages,  and  the  neatest  and  best-cultivated 
gardens,  belong  to  a  large  community  of  Hottentots,  under 
the  instruction  and  guidance  of  a  few  Moravian  missionaries. 

These  forlorn  people  are  of  Hottentot  origin.  Of  them 
also  several  tribes  have  been  discovered  much  farther  north, 
and  intelligence  has  lately  reached  Europe,  that  between 
the  Portuguese  possessions,  in  the  very  centre  of  South  Africa, 
there  is  a  nation  of  dwarfish  appearance  who  possess  large 
herds,  and  who  seem  to  belong  to  the  original  Bushmen  stock. 

The  island  of  Madagascar  is  inhabited  by  a  race  of  Malay 
origin,  exhibiting  traces  of  Negro  and  Arabic  mixture. 

The  area  and  population  of  Africa  and  its  divisions  are 
thus  estimated  : — 1 


North  Africa,    .    .    . 

Morocco 

Algeria, 

Tunis, 

Tripoli,  with  Barca  and 

Fezzan 

Egyptian  territory,    . 
Sahara, 

The  Mohammedan  States  ) 
of  Central  Soudan,  .     ( 

Western  Soudan,  from  \ 
the  Senegal  to  the  Lower  ( 
Niger,  including  Upper  i 
Guinea,  and .     .     .     .      ) 

French  Senegamliia,  .     . 

Liberia, 

Dahomeh, 

British  possessions,    .     . 

Portuguese  possessions,  . 

East  Africa, 

A  ii. 

SOUTH  Africa,     .... 

Portuguese  j  F.ast  coast, 

territory,  (  West  coast, 

Cape  Colony 

Natal 

Orange  K.  Free  State,  . 
Transv  i  .1  Republic,  .    . 

Equatorial  Regions,  .    . 

Islands  in  the  Atlantic 

Ocean, 

C.  Verd  Islands,  .  .  . 
St  Thomas  and  Principe, 
Fernando  l'u  &  Aiiuobou, 

'Ascension 

St  Helena 

Tristan  da  Cunha,     •    . 

Islands  in  the  I  ndi  an  Ocean, 

Socotra, 

Abd-el-Kuri,    .... 

Zanzibar, 

Madagascar 

Comoro    Islands    (with  1 

Mayotta),      ...      J 
The  Arco  Islands,  &C,  . 

Reunion, 

Mauritius  and   its  de-  1 

pendencies,  ...      J 

Desert  of  Kalahari  and 
the  Great  Inland 
Lakes 

A*  RICA,      .      . 


Area  In  Encllsb 
6quurc  links. 


4, 003,  GOO 

259,600 

253,300 

45,700 

344,400 

659,100 
2,436,500 

631,000 


818,000 

96,530 

9,580 

3,880 

17,100 

35,880 

1,595,000 
168, 400 

1,966,000 
382,000 
312,500 
221,310 
17,800 
42,500 
114,360 

1,522,200 

2,720 

1,850 

454 

488 

38 

47 

45 

233,870 

1,700 

64 

616 

228,575 

1,062 

150 
970 

708 


783,600 


Population. 


20,420,000 
2,750,000 
2,921,146 
2,000,000 

750,000 

8,000,000 
4,000,000 

38,800,000 


38,500,000 

209,162 
718,100 
180,000 
577,313 
8,500 

29,700,000 
3,000,000 

16,000,000 
300,000 
9,000,000 
682,600 
269,302 
87,000 
120,000 

43,000,000 
99,145 


Average 
Dcnsliy. 
No.  to  a 
sq.  mUe. 


67,347 

42 

19,295 

42 

6,590 

11 

400 

10 

6,860 

145 

53 

1 

8,000,000 

25 

3,000 

2 

100 

2 

380,000 

616 

6,C00,000 

2? 

64,600 

Oi 

209,737 

216 

322,924 

450 

11,556,600     192,520,000        16 


6 

10 
11 
43 


12 
1 -to- 


ol 


47 

■  2 
72 

47 
34 
0  2 

18 
19 

8 

0  8 
29 

3 
15 

0-8 

1 

29 
37 


1  Compiled  from  the  Tables  in  Behm  and  Waguer's  JJevulktruTiij  dm 
Erdt.     Ootlia,  1872. 


STATES.] 


A   FR1CA 


2B5 


In  the  central  forest  regions  of  Africa,  wherever  com- 
munications with  the  coast-land  have  been  opened  up, 
hunting  the  elephant  for  its  tuska  to  barter  with  the  traders 
appears  to  be  the  characteristic  occupation,  if  any,  beyond 
that  of  mere  attention  to  the  daily  wants  of  life,  is  engaged 
in;  and  here  the  population  may  be  considered  as  a  settled 
one,  living  in  villages  in  the  more  open  spaces  of  the  woods. 
A  rudely  agricultural  state  seems  to  mark  the  outer  belt  of 
negro  land  on  each  side  of  the  equatorial  zone,  where  the 
population  is  also  more  or  less  stationary.  The  arid  regions 
of  the  Sahara  and  the  Kalahari  beyond  have,  on  the  other 
hand,  a  thinly  scattered  nomadic  population,  though  here 
also  the  fertile  wadys  form  lines  of  more  permanent  habita- 
tion, and  contain  permanent  towns  and  villages.  Except- 
ing in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  Mediterranean 
in  Abyssinia,  on  a  narrow  margin  of  the  coasts  of  the 
Atlantic  and  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  in  those  parts  which 
have  been  colonised  by  Europeans,  or  which  came  directly 
under  their  influence,  society  has  remained  in  a  barbarian 
state,  and  there  remain  great  areas  the  inhabitants  of  which 
have  as  yet  no  knowledge  of  the  outer  world. 

Agriculture  is  conducted  with  little  art.  The  natural 
fertility  of  the  soil  in  the  well-watered  districts  supersedes 
the  need  of  skill,  while  the  production  of  the  simplest 
manufactures  is  alone  requisite,  where  the  range  of  personal 
•wants  embraces  few  objects,  and  those  of  the  humblest  class. 

Wars,  cruel  and  incessant,  waged  not  for  the  sake  of 
territory,  but  for  the  capture  of  slaves,  form  one  of  the 
most  marked  and  deplorable  features  in  the  social  condition 
of  the  African  races.  This  practice,  though  not  of  foreign 
introduction,  has  been  largely  promoted  by  the  cupidity  of 
the  Europeans  and  Transatlantic  nations;  and,  unhappily, 
the  efforts  of  private  philanthropy,  and  the  political 
arrangements  of  various  governments,  have  not  yet  availed 
to  terminate  the  hideous  traffic  in  mankind,  or  abate  the 
suffering  entailed  upon  its  victims. 

In  Religion,  Christianity  is  professed  in  Abyssinia,  and 
in  Egypt  by  the  Copts,  but  its  doctrines  and  precepts  are 
little  understood  and  obeyed.  Mohammedanism  prevails  in 
all  Northern  Africa,  excepting  Abyssinia,  as  far  as  a  line 
passing  through  the  Soudan,  from  the  Gambia  on  the  west 
to  the  confluence  of  the  Quorra  and  Benue,  and  thence 
eastward,  generally  following  the  10th  parallel  of  N.  lat. 
to  the  Nile  below  the  junction  of  the  Ghazal;  thence  south- 
east, leaving  the  coast-land  in  the  Mohammedan  region,  to 
Cape  Delgado.  In  Marocco,  Algeria,  and  Egypt,  there 
is  an  admixture  of  Jews.  Heathen  Negroes  aud  Caffre 
tribes  extend  southward  over  the  continent  from  the  line 
described  above  to  the  colonies  in  the  southern  extremity 
of  the  continent;  and  over  this  vast  area  the  native  mind 
is  surrendered  to  superstitions  of  infinite  number  and 
character.  In  the  Cape  Colony  Protestantism  again  pre- 
vails, but  with  a  strong  intermixture  of  heathenism.  The 
labours  of  Christian  missionaries  have,  however,  done  much, 
especially  in  South  Africa,  towards  turning  the  benighted 
Africans  from  idols  to  the  living  God. 

In  describing  the  political  divisions  of  Africa,  we  shall 
proceed  from  north  to  south. 

The  country  included  under  the  general  name  of  Barbary 
extends  from  the  borders  of  Egypt  on  the  east  to  the 
Atlantic  on  the  we3t,  and  is  .bounded  by  the  Mediterranean 
on  the  north,  and  by  the  Sahara  on  the  south.  It  com- 
prises the  states  of  Marocco,  Algeria,  Tunis,  and  Tripoli 

Marocco,  the  most  westerly  state  of  Barbary,  is  thus 
named  by  the  Europeans,  but  by  the  Arabs  themselves 
Mogr'-eb-el-Aksa,  or  "the  extreme  west."  The  eastern 
boundary  was  determined  in  the  treaty  with  the  French  of 
18th  March  1845,  by  a  line  which,  in  the  south,  com- 
mences east  of  the  oasis  Figueg,  intersecting  the  desert  of 
Angad,  and  reaching  the  Mediterranean  at  a  point  about 

1—10* 


30  miles  west  of  the  French  pqrt  Nemours.  In  the  south 
Marocco  embraces  the  oasis  of  Tuat  and  the  Wady  Draa. 
The  power  of  the  government  of  Marocco,  which  is  despotic 
and  cruel,  as  well  as  the  population  of  the  country,  appear 
to  have  diminished  greatly.  Two-thirds  of  the  country  aro 
independent  of  the  Sultan's  authority,  and  are  held  by 
mountain  chiefs  who  defy  his  power.  The  trade  of  the  coast 
is  maintained  by  European  merchants.     See  Marocco. 

Algeria  extends  from  Marocco  in  the  west,  to  Tunis  in 
the  east,  and  closely  answers  in  its  limits  to  the  ancieDt 
kingdom  of  Numidia.  The  southern  boundaries  are  not 
very  definite,  falling,  as  they  do,  within  the  boundless 
plains  of  the  desert.     See  Algiers. 

Tunis  is  the  smallest  of  the  Barbary  states.  The  con- 
figuration of  the  surface  is  similar  to  that  of  Algeria,  in 
three  divisions,  the  "  Tell,"  or  fertile,  coast  slopes,  the 
steppes  on  the  high  lands,  and  the  low-lying  Sahara  beyond. 
The  highest  peaks  range  between  4000  and  5000  feet. 
The  southern  plains  comprise  the  land  of  dates  (Belad- 
el-Jerid),  and  several  extensive  salt  lakes.  Tunis  possesses 
but  few  rivers  and  streams,  and  springs  are  plentiful  only 
in  the  mountainous  regions. 

The  climate  is,  upon  the  whole,  salubrious,  and  is  not  of 
the  same  excessive  character  as  that  of  Algeria;  regular 
sea-breezes  exercise  an  ameliorating  influence  both  in  sum- 
mer and  winter;  frost  is  almost  unknown,  and  snow  never 
falls.  During  summer  occasional  winds  from  the  south 
render  the  atmosphere  exceedingly  dry  and  hot. 

The  natural  productions  of  the  countiy  are  somewhat 
similar  to  those  of  the  other  Barbary  states,  but  dates  of 
the  finest  quality  are  more  largely  produced.  The  horses 
and  dromedaries  are  of  excellent  breed,  and  the  former  are 
eagerly  sought  for  the  French  army  in  Algeria,  Bees  are 
reared  in  great  quantity,  and  coral  fisheries  are  carried  on. 
Of  minerals  lead,  salt,  and  saltpetre  are  the  most  noticeable. 

The  population  consists  chiefly  of  Mohammedan  Moors 
and  Arabs';  the  number  of  Jews  is  estimated  at  45,000, 
and  of  Roman  Catholics  25,000.  The  former  have  attained 
a  higher  degree  of  industry  and  civilisation  than  their 
brethren  elsewhere;  those  of  the  latter  who  inhabit  the 
central  mountainous  t      ons  are  nearly  independent. 

The  government  L  vested  in  a  hereditary  bey,  and  has 
been,  conducted  in  peace  and  security  for  a  number  of 
years.  From  the  year  1575  onwards,  Tunis  has  been  under 
the  rule  of  Turkey;  but  by  a  firman  of  October  1871  the 
Sultan  renounced  the  ancient  tribute.  The  bey,  who  is 
styled  "Possessor  of  the  kingdom  of  Tunis,"  is  confirmed 
in  his  position  at  Constantinople,  and  may  neither  enter 
into  a  war,  nor  conclude  a  treaty  of  peace,  nor  cede  any  part 
of  his  territory  without  the  sanction  of  the  Sultan.  The 
Tunisian  coinage  bears  the  name  of  the  Sultan,  and  the 
troops  (3900  infantry  and  artillery,  and  100  cavalry,  form 
the  regular  army)  are  at  the  disposal  of  the  Sublime  Porte 
in  time  of  war.  In  the  interior  of  the  country  the  bey  has 
absolute  power.     The  slave  trade  was  abolished  in  1842. 

The  commerce  of  Tunis  is  considerable,  but  agriculture 
is  in  a  backward  state.  The  exports  consist  chiefly  of 
wool,  olive-oil,  wax,  honey,  hides,  dates,  grain,  coral,  <tc. 

The  principal  town  is  Tunis,  situated  on  a  shallow  lake 
on  the  north  coast.  It  is  the  'most  important  commercial 
place  on  the  southern  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  after 
Alexandria,  and  has  a  population  of  about  125,000.  The 
site  of  the  ancient  Carthage  is  13  miles  from  Tunis  in  the 
direction  of  Cape  Bon. 

Tripoli,  a  regency  of  the  Turkish  empire,  extends  rrom 
Tunis  along  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  to  the  table, 
land  of  Barca,  which  forms  a  separate  province.  Politically, 
it  includes  the  pashalic  of  Fezzan,  a  count™  which,  in  » 
physical  point  of  view,  belongs  to  the  Sahara. 

Tripoli  is  the  least  favoured  by  nature  of  the  Barbary 


260 


AFRICA 


[9TATF*. 


states,  possessing  a  groat  extent  of  sterile  surface.  Mr 
Richardson  graphically  describes  the  physiognomy  of  the 
country  between  the  towns  of  Tripoli  and  Mumik  in  eight 
zone*: — L  The  plain  along  the  sea-shore,  with  the  date- 
palm  plantations  and  the  sandhills;  2.  The  Gharian  moun- 
tains, with  their  olive  and  fig  plantations,  more  favoured 
with  rains  than  the  other  regions;  3.  The  limestone  hills 
and  broad  valleys  between  the  town  of  Kalnbah  and 
Ghareeah,  gradually  assuming  the  aridity  of  the  Sahara  as 
yo  proceed  southward ;  4.  The  Hamadah,  an  immense  desert 
plateau,  separating  Tripoli  from  Fezzan;  5.  The  sandy 
valleys  and  limestone  rocks  between  El-Hessi  and  Es-Shaty, 
where  herbage  and  trees  are  found;  G.  The  sand  be 
Shiaty  and  El-Wady,  piled  in  masses  or  heaps,  and  extend- 
ing in  undulating  plains;  7.  The  sandy  valleys  of  El-Wady, 
covered  with  forests  of  date-palms;  8.  The  plateau  of 
Murzuk,  consisting  of  shallow  valleys,  ridges  of  low  sand- 
stone hills,  and  naked  plains.  These  zones  extend  parallel 
with  the  Mediterranean  shores  through  the  greater  portion 
of  the  ountry.  A  summit  of  the  Jebel-es-Soda,  or  Black 
Mountains,  midway  between  Tripoli  and  Murzuk,  almost 
2800  feet  high,  is  supposed  to  be  the  culminating  point  of 
the  regency.  Rivers  exist  only  periodically,  and  springs 
are  exceedingly  scarce. 

Tho  climate  is  somewhat  more  subject  to  extremes  than 
that  of  Tunis,  especially  in  the  interior,  where  burning  heat 
is  followed  by  excessive  cold.  As  far  south  as  Sokna 
snow  occasionally  falls.  The  climate  of  Murzuk  is  very 
unhealthy,  and  frequently  fatal  to  Europeans. 

The  natural  products  are  very  much  like  those  of  Tunis. 
Oxen  and  horses  are  small,  but  of  good  quality;  the  mules 
are  of  excellent  breed.  Locusts  and  scorpions  are  among 
the  most  noxious  animals.  Salt  and  sulphur  are  the  chief 
minerals. 

The  population  is  very  thin.  Arabs  are  the  prominent 
race,  besides  which  are  Turks,  Berbers,  Jews,  Tibbus,  and 
Negroes.  The  country  is  governed  by  a  pasha,  subject  to 
the  Ottoman  empire.  The  military  force  by  which  the 
Turks  hold  possession  of  this  vast  but  thinly-peopled  terri- 
tory amounts  to  4500  men. 

The  commerce  is  not  inconsiderable,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  Tripoli  trade  with  almost  every  part  of  the  Sahara,  as 
well  as  the  Soudan.  At  Murzuk  there  is  a  large  annual 
market,  which  lasts  from  October  to  January.  The  ex- 
ports of  Tripoli  are  wheat,  wax,  ivory,  ostrich  feathers, 
madder,  esparto  grass,  cattle,  salt,  and  dates. 

Tripoli  is  the  capital  of  the  regency,  and  the  largest 
town;  it  lies  on  the  Mediterranean,  surrounded  by  a  fertile 
plain ;  the  number  of  inhabitants  is  about  30,000.  Murzuk, 
the  capital  of  Fezzan,  has  a  mixed  population  of  about 
11,000  souls.  The  town  of  Ghadamis  has  about  7000 
inhabitants. 

In  1809  the  maritime  plateau  of  Barca  and  the  depressed 
region  inland  from  it,  which  contains  the  oases  of  Aujila 
and  Jalo,  was  formed  into  a  separate  government,  depend- 
ent directly  upon  Constantinople.  This  country  is  the 
seat  of  the  ancient  Greek  Pentapolu,  of  Bernice,  Arsince, 
Barc3,  Apollonia,  and  Gyrene.  Bengazi,  the  only  place  of 
importance,  occupies  the  site  of  the  first  of  these  on  the 
Mediterranean,  and  has  from  6000  to  7000  inhabitants. 

Egypt  occupies  the  north-eastern  corner  of  Africa,  and 
is  remarkable  for  its  ancient  and  sacred  associations,  and 
its  wonderful  monuments  of  human  art. 

Egypt  is  a  vast  desert,  the  fertile  portions  susceptible  of 
cultivation  being  confined  to  the  Delta  of  the  Nile  and  its 
narrow  valley, a  region  celebrated  in  the  most  ancient  historic 
documents  for  its  singular  fertility,  and  still  pouring  an 
annual  surplus  of  grain  into  the  markets  of  Europe.  By  the 
annual  inundation  of  the  Nile  this  region  is  laid  under  water, 
and  upon  its  retirement  the  grain  crop3  are  sown  in  the  layer 


of  mud  left  behind  it  Barren  ranges  of  hills  and  elevated 
tracts  occupy  the  land  on  both  sides  of  the  Nile,  which  i* 
the  only  river  of  the  country.  The  amount  of  its  rise  is  a 
matter  of  extreme  solicitude  to  the  people,  for  should  it  pass 
its  customary  bounds  a  few  feet,  cattle  are  drowned,  houses 
are  swept  away,  and  immense  injury  ensues;  a  falling  short 
of  the  ordinary  height,  on  the  other  hand,  causes  dearth 
and  famine,  according  to  its  extent.  The  water  of  tho 
Nile  is  renowned  for  ira  agreeable  teste  and  wholesome 
quality.  In  connection  with  tho  Nile  is  tho  Birket-el- 
Kcrun,  a  salt  lake. 

1  lie  climate  is  very  hot  and  dry.  Rain  fails  but  seldom 
along  the  coasts,  but  tho  dews  are  very  copious.  The  hot 
and  oppressive  winds,  called  khamsin  and  simooms,  are  a, 
frequent  scourge  to  the  country;  but  the  climate  is,  upon 
the  whole,  more  salubrious  than  that  of  many  other  tropical 
countries. 

The  natural  products  are  not  of  great  variety.  Tho  wild 
plants  are  but  few  and  scanty,  while  those  cultivated  include 
all  the  more  important  kinds  adapted  to  tropical  countries; 
rice,  wheat,  sugar,  cotton,  indigo,  are  cultivated  for  export; 
dates,  figs,  pomegranates,  lemons,  and  olives,  are  likewise 
grown.  The  doum-palm,  which  appears  in  Upper  Egypt, 
is  characteristic,  as  also  tho  papyrus.  The  fauna  is  cha- 
racterised by  an  immense  number  of  waterfowl,  flamingoes, 
pelicans,  &c.  The  hippopotamus  and  crocodile,  the  two 
primeval  inhal litauts  of  the  Nile,  seem  to  be  banished  from 
the  Delta,  the  latter  being  still  seen  in  Upper  Egypt.  The 
cattle  are  of  excellent  breed  Large  beasts  of  prey  are 
wanting;  but  the  ichneumon  of  tho  ancients  still  exists. 
Bees,  silkworms,  and  corals  are  noticeable.  Minerals  are 
scarce,  natron,  salt,  and  sulphur  being  the  principal. 

The  native  Egyptians  of  Arab  descent  compose  tho  great 
bulk  of  the  people,  the  peasant  and  labouring  class,  and 
are  teemed  Fellahs.  -Next  in  number,  though  compara- 
tively few  (145,000),  are  the  Copts,  descended  from  the 
old  inhabitants  of  the  country,  the  ancient  Egyptians,  but 
far  from  being  an  unmixed  race.  The  Arabic  Bedouin 
tribes,  Negroes,  European  Christians  (Greeks,  Italians, 
French,  Austrian,  English),  the  Jews,  and  the  dominant 
Turks,  compose  the  remainder  of  the  population. 

Egypt  is  formally  a  Turkish  pashalic,  but  the  hereditary 
pasha,  by  whom  the  government  is  conducted,  and  whose 
authority  is  absolute,  is  practically  an  independent  prince. 
The  government  of  Nubia  and  Kordofan  is  also  conducted 
by  the  Pasha  of  Egypt,  and  recently  the  whole  of  the  Nile 
valley,  as  far  south  as  the  equator,  has  been  annexed  by 
the  Egyptian  government.  An  army  of  about  14,000  men 
is  maintained 

The  agriculture  of  Egypt  has  always  been  considerable, 
there  being  three  harvests  in  the  year.  The  industry  is 
limited:  one  peculiar  branch  is  the  artificial  hatching  of 
eggs  in  ovens  heated  to  the  requisite  temperature,  a  pro- 
cess which  has  been  handed  down  from  antiquity,  and  is 
now  chiefly  carried  on  by  the  Copts.  Floating  bee-hives 
are  also  peculiar  to  the  Nile.  The  commerce  is  extensive 
and  important:  tho  exports  to  Europe  consist  chiefly  of 
cotton,  flax,  indigo,  gum-arabic,  ostrich  feathers,  ivory, 
senna,  and  gold.  The  country  forms  part  of  the  great 
highway  of  traffic  between  Europe  and  Southern  Asia. 
Railways,  from  the  ports  of  Alexandria  and  Damictta  in 
the  Mediterranean,  and  from  Suez  on  the  Red  Sea,  unite 
at  Cairo;  and  a  railway  now  extends  thence  up  the  bank 
of  the  Nile  to  near  the  first  cataract  of  the  river  at  Assouan, 
in  lab  24°  N. 

The  Suez  canal,  uniting  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Medi- 
terranean, was  begun  in  April  1859,  and  was  opened  for 
traffic  ten  years  later,  in  November  1869.  The  cutting; 
runs  from  the  artificial  harbour  of  Port  Said  on  the  Medi- 
terranean, through  the  shallow  lagoon  of  Menzaleh,  and 


STATES.] 


AFRICA 


267 


through  two  6maller  lakes  with  low  sandhills  between; 
nearer  Suez  a  depressed  area,  in  which  several  salt  lake3 
formerly  existed,  has  been  filled  up  by  water  let  in  by 
the  canal,  and  now  forms  a  wide  expanse  of  water.  In 
length  the  canal  is  nearly  100  miles,  and  has  a  depth 
throughout  of  26  feet,  with  a  general  width  of  200  to  300 
feet  at  the  top  of  the  banks  and  72  feet  at  the  bottom. 
Vessels  are  able  to  steam  or  be  towed  through  the  canal  in 
sixteen  hours  from  sea  to  sea.  Extensive  harbours  and 
docks  have  been  constructed  both  on  the  Mediterranean  side 
and  at  Suez.  The  number  of  vessels  which  entered  Port 
Said  in  1871  was  1215,  of  928,000  tons,  exclusive  of 
87  war-ships. 

Egypt  proper  is  divided  into  three  sub-pashalics — Bahari 
orLower  Egypt,  Vostani  or  Middle  Egypt,  and  Said  or  Upper 
Egypt.  Cairo,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Kile,  is  the  capital 
of  Egypt,  and  is  the  largest  town  of  Africa,  containing 
354,000  inhabitants :  it  has  400  mosques,  and  upwards  of 
130  minarets,  some  of  them  of  rich  and  graceful  architec- 
ture, presenting  at  a  distance  an  appearance  singularly 
imposing.  Alexandria,  on  the  coast,  is  the  emporium  of 
the  commerce  with  Europe,  and  has  220,000  inhabitants, 
among  whom  are  54,000  Europeans.  Damietta  has  a 
population  of  37,100;  Rosetta  of  18,300.  Suez,  on  the 
northern  extremity  of  the  Bed  Sea,  is  a  small,  ill-built 
town,  but  has  assumed  importance  as  a  good  port  since 
the  establishment  of  the  overland  route  to  India  and  the 
completion  of  the  maritime  canaL  It  has  now  nearly 
1 4,000  inhabitants,  of  whom  about  2500  are  Europeans. 
Port  Said  has  8800  inhabitants,  of  whom  one-half  are 
foreigners. 

Is  ubia  extends  along  the  Red  Sea,  from  Egypt  to  Abys- 
sinia, comprising  the  middle  course  of  the  Nile. 

The  natural  features  of  the  country  are  varied;  the 
northern  portion  consisting  of  a  burning  sterile  wilderness, 
while  the  southern,  lying  within  the  range  of  the  tropical 
rains,  and  watered  by  the  Abyssinian  affluents  of  the  Nile, 
exhibits  vegetation  in  its  tropical  glory,  forests  of  arborescent 
grasses,  timber-trees,  and  parasitical  plants  largely  clothing 
the  country.  This  latter  territory,  which  may  be  called 
Upper  Nubia,  includes  the  region  of  ancient  Merc;,  situated 
in  the  peninsula  formed  by  the  Nile  proper,  the  Blue  Biver, 
and  the  Atbara,  and  comprises,  further  south,  the  recently 
extinguished  modern  kingdom  of  Sennaar. 

Nubia  forms  the  link  between  the  plain  of  Egypt  and 
the  high  table-lands  of  Abyssinia;  its  general  physical 
character  is  that  of  a  slightly  ascending  region.  The 
lowest  parts  in  Upper  Nubia  scarcely  exceed  an  altitude  of 
1300  feet;  Khartum,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Blue  and 
White  Bivers,  being  1345  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
A  chain  of  mountains  and  elevated  land  rises  abruptly 
along  the  shores  of  the  Bed  Sea,  gradually  sloping  down 
to  the  valley  of  the  Nile;  the  intermediate  region  being 
intersected  by  smaller  ranges,  groups  of  hills,  and  numerous 
wadys  filled  with  sand.  The  spurs  of  the  Abyssinian 
table-land,  extending  within  the  southern  confines  of 
Nubia,  reach  a  height  of  3000  feet.  Besides  the  Nile,  the 
country  is  watered  by  two  other  large  rivers,  its  tributaries, 
the  Bhar-el-Azrek  or  Blue  River,  and  the  Atbara  or 
Takkazze,  both  being  much  alike  in  magnitude,  and  having 
their  head-streams  in  the  Abyssinian  table-land. 

The  climate  of  Nubia  is  tropical  throughout,  and  the 
heat  in  the  deserts  of  its  central  portions  is  not  exceeded 
by  that  of  any  other  part  of  the  globe.  The  southern  half 
of  the  country  is  within  the  influence  of  the  tropical  rains, 
the  northern  partakes  the  character  of  the  almost  rainless 
Sahara  ;  and  while  the  latter  is  generally  very  salubrious, 
the  f onner  is  a  land  of  dangerous  fevers,  particularly  in  the 
plains  subject  to  inundations.  Such  is  the  Kolla,  a  marshy 
and  swampy  region  of  great  extent,  situated  along  the  foot 


of  the  Abyssinian  Mountains,  between  the  Blue  River  and 
the  Takkazze. 

The  northern  region  is  poor  in  natural  productions,  but 
in  the  south  the  vegetation  is  most  luxuriant ;  palms  form 
a  prominent  feature,  and  the  monkey  bread-tree  attains  its 
most  colossal  dimensions.  The  date- tree,  dourra,  cotton, 
and  indigo  are  cultivated.  The  date-palm  does  xot  ex- 
tend beyond  the  south  of  Abou-Egli,  in  lat  18°  36'. 

The  elephant  occasionally  wanders  as  far  as  Sennaar; 
the  rhinoceros,  lion,  giraffe,  and  buffalo  are  more  common. 
The  waters  are  inhabited  by  crocodiles  more  ferocipus  thaa 
those  of  Egypt,  and  by  huge  hippopotami.  The  young 
hippopotamus  brought  to  the  Zoological  Gardens*  of  London 
in  1850,  was  captured  in  Nubia,  in  an  island  of  the  Nile, 
about  1800  miles  above  Cairo:  no  living  specimen  had 
been  seen  in  Europe  since  the  period  when  they  were 
exhibited  by  the  third  Gordian  in  the  Colosseum  at  Borne. 
Monkeys  and  antelopes  are  found  in  great  numbers.  The 
camel  does  not  extend  beyond  the  twelfth  degree  of  latitude 
to  the  south.  Ostriches  roam  over  the  deserts ;  and  among 
the  reptiles,  besides  the  crocodile,  are  large  serpents  of  the 
python  species,  and  tortoises.  Of  the  numerous  insects 
the  most  remarkable  is  the  scarabaeus  of  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tians, still  found  in  Sennaar.  Of  minorala  Nubia  possesses 
gold,  silver,  copper,  iron,  salt 

In  the  inhabitants  two  principal  varieties  are  recognised, 
the  pure  original  population,  and  their  descendants,  mixed 
with  other  nations.  The  Berberines  inhabit  the  northern 
part,  and  the  Bisharis  the  desert  regions-,  the  latter  are  the 
genuine  Nubians,  finely  moulded  and  dark  complexioued, 
supposed  by  some  to  agree  more  closely  with  the  ancient 
Egyptians  than  the  Copts,  usually  deemed  their  represen- 
tatives. In  the  south-eastern  part  the  true  Negro  element 
appears. 

Nubia,  now  a  province  under  the  pashalic  of  Egypt,  con- 
sisted formerly  of  a  number  of  small  and  independent  king- 
doms. The  Turkish  conquest  lasted  from  1813  to  1822; 
in  the  latter  years  it  was  invaded  and  mercilessly  ravaged 
by  the  army  of  Mahomet  Ali,  under  his  second  son  Ismayl, 
whose  dreadful  atrocities  entailed  a  fearful  fate  upon  him- 
self, having  been  surprised  when  attending  a  nocturnal 
banquet,  at  some  distance  from  his  camp,  and  burned  to 
death. 

The  country  is  favourable  for  agriculture,  which,  how- 
ever, is  only  carried  on  to  a  limited  extent,  by  the  women. 
Cattle  are  abundant,  and  the  camels  of  the  Bisharin  and 
Ababde  are  famous  for  their  enduring  powers.  Salt  is 
largely  exported  from  the  shores  of  the  Bed  Sea  to  India, 
and  ivory,  with  other  products  of  tropical  Africa,  forms  a 
principal  article  of  trade. 

Khartum,  the  capital  of  Nubia,  the  headquarters  of  the 
Egyptian  government,  and  the  chief  seat  of  commerce,  con- 
tains a  population  variously  estimated  at  from  20,000  to 
50,000.  It  is  a  modern  town,  having  been  founded  in  1821,' 
and  lies  in  a  dry,  flat,  and  unhealthy  country,  near  the 
confluence  of  the  two  main  branches  of  the  Nile.  It  is  in 
telegraphic  communication  with  Cairo. 

Kordofan,  on  the  western  side  of  Nubia,  lies  between  the 
parallels  of  12°  and  16°,  and  between  the  meridians  29° 
and  32°,  containing  about  30,000  square  miles.  It  is  a  flat 
country,  interspersed  with  a  few  hills,  presenting  in  the  dry 
season  a  desert  with  little  appearance  of  vegetation,  and  in 
the  rainy  season  a  prairie,  covered  with  luxuriant  grass  and 
other  plants.  The  general  elevation  of  the  country  is  2000 
feet,  and  some  of  the  hills  attain  a  height  of  3000.  Tha 
altitude  of  El  Obeid  is  2150  feet.  There  are  no  permanent 
rivers  in  the  country,  and  the  natural  products  are  similar 
to  those  of  the  adjoining  regions  of  Nubia. 

The  population  consists  of  Negroes.  This  country  was, 
simultaneously  with  Nubia,  made  tributary  to  Egypt    The 


268 


AFRICA 


(.STATUS. 


commerce  consists  of  gum-arabic,  ivory,  and  gold,  and  is  not 
inconsiderable.  El  Obeid,  the  chief  town,  is  composed  of 
several  villages  of  mud-built  houses,  thatched  with  straw, 
containing  about  12,000  inhabitants. 

The  boundaries  of  Abyssinia  are  somewhat  uncertain ; 
but  confining  it  to  the  provinces  actually  under  the  govern- 
ment of  Christian  or  Mohammedan  prinoes,  it  may  be  dc- 
icribed  as  extending  from  about  9°  to  16°  N.  lat.,  and  from 
35°  to  40°  E.  long.     See  Abyssinia. 

Tire  Saharan  countries  extend  from  tho  Atlantic  in  the 
west,  to  the  Nilotic  countries  in  the  east,  from  the  Barbary 
States  in  the  north,  to  the  basins  of  the  Rivers  Senegal  and 
Kawara,  and  Lake  Chad  in  the  south.  The  area  of  this 
large  space  amounts  to  at  least  2,000,000  square  miles,  or 
upwards  of  one-half  of  that  of  the  whole  of  Europe.  It  is 
very  scantily  populated,  but  from  our  present  defective 
knowledge  of  that  region,  the  number  of  its  inhabitants 
can  be  but  roughly  estimated. 

The  physical  configuration  of  the  Sahara  has  already  been 
indicated.  Notwithstanding  the  proverbial  heat,  which  is 
almost  insupportable  by  day,  there  is  often  great  cold  at 
night,  owing  to  the  excessive  radiation,  promoted  by  the 
clearness  of  the  sky.  Rain  is  nearly,  though  not  eutirely 
absent,  in  this  desolate  region.  It  appears  that  when  nature 
has  poured  her  bounty  over  the  adjoining  regions  in  tho 
south,  and  has  little  more  left  to  bestow,  she  sends  a  few 
smart  showers  of  rain  to  the  desert,  parched  by  the  long 
prevalence  of  the  perpendicular  rays  of  the  sun.  The  prevail- 
ing winds  blow  during  three  months  from  the  west,  and 
nine  months  from  the  east  When  the  wind  increases,  into 
a  storm,  it  frequently  raises  the  loose  sand  in  such  quantities 
that  a  layer  of  nearly  equal  portions  of  sand  and  air,  and  ris- 
ing about  20  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  divides 
the  purer  atmosphere  from  the  solid  earth.  This  sand,  when 
agitated  by  whirlwinds,  sometimes  overwhelms  caravans 
■with  destruction,  and,  even  when  not  iatal,  involves  them 
in  the  greatest  confusion  and  danger. 

The  natural  products  correspond  with  the  physical  fea- 
tures of  the  country.  Vegetation  and  animal  life  exist 
only  sparingly  in  the  oases  or  valleys  where  springs  occur, 
and  where  the  soil  is  not  utterly  unfit  to  nourish  certain 
plants.  Amongst  the  few  trees  tho  most  important  is  the 
date-palm,  which  is  peculiarly  suited  to  the  dryness  of  the 
climate.  This  useful  tree  flourishes  best  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  desert,  inhabited  by  the  Tibbus.  The'  °doum- 
palm  is  likewise  a  native  of  the  same  part,  and  seems 
entirely  absent  in  the  western  Sahara;  its  northernmost 
limit  is  on  the  southern  borders  of  Fezzan  and  Tegerry,  in 
lat.  24°  N.  Acacias  are  found  in  the  extreme  west  towards 
Senegambia,  furnishing  the  so-called  gum-arabic.  In  many 
parts  of  the  desert  a  thorny  evergreen  plant  occurs,  about 
18  inches  high.  It  is  eagerly  eaten  by  the  camels,  and  is 
almost  the  only  plant  which  supplies  them  with  food  while 
thus  traversing  the  desert.  Tho  cultivation  of  grains  to  a 
small  extent  is  limited  to  the  western  oases  of  Tuat  and 
others,  a  little  barley,  rice,  and  beans,  being  there  grown. 
In  the  kingdom  of  Air  there  are  some  fields  of  maize 
and  other  grains ;  but  upon  the  whole,  the  population 
depend  for  these  products  on  Soudan  and  other  regions. 
There  are  but  a  few  specimens  of  wild  animals  in  these 
wildernesses ;  lions  and  panthers  are  found  only  on  its  bor- 
ders. Gazelles  and  antelopes  are  abundant,  hares  and  foxes 
but  scarce.  Ostriches  are  very  numerous,  and  vultures  and 
ravens  are  also  met  with.  In  approaching  Soudan,  animal 
and  vegetable  life  becomes  more  varied  and  abundant  Of 
reptiles,  only  the  smaller  kinds  are  found,  mostly  harmless 
lizards  and  a  few  species  of  snakes.  Of  domestic  animals, 
the  most  important  is  the  camel,  but  horses  and  goats  are 
not  wanting,  and  in  the  country  of  tho  Tuaricks  an  excel- 
lent breed  of  sheep  is  found,  while  in  that  of  the  Tibbus  a 


large  and  fine  variety  of  the  ass  is  valuable  to  the  inhabitants. 
Of  minerals,  salt  is  the  chief  production,  which  occurs  chiefly 
near  Bilma. 

The  habitable  portions  of  the  Sahara  are  possessed  by 
three  different  nations.  In  the  extreme  western  portion 
are  Moors  and  Arabs.  They  live  in  tents,  which  they  re- 
move from  one  place  to  another ;  and  their  residences  con- 
sist of  similar  encampments,  formed  of  from  twenty  to  a 
hundred  of  such  tents,  where  they  are  governed  by  a  sheik 
of  their  own  body;  each  encampment  constituting,  as  it 
were,  a  particular  tribe.  They  are  a  daring  set  of  people, 
and  not  restrained  by  any  scruple  in  plundering,  ill-treating, 
and  even  killing  persons  who  are  not  of  their  own  faith ; 
but  to  such  as  are,  thoy  are  hospitable  and  benevolent. 
The  boldest  of  these  children  of  tho  desert  are  the  Tuaricks, 
who  occupy  the  middle  of  the  wilderness,  where  it  is  widest 
The  form  of  their  bodies,  and  their  language,  prove  that 
they  belong  to  tho  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  Northern  Africa, 
who  are  known  by  the  name  of  Berbers.  They  are  a  fin« 
race  of  men,  tall,  straight,  and  handsome,  with  an  air  ol 
independence  which  is  very  imposing.  They  live  chiefly 
upon  the  tribute  they  exact  from  all  caravans  traversing 
their  country.  They  render  themselves  formidable  to  all 
their  neighbours,  with  whom  they  are  nearly  always  in  a 
state  of  enmity,  making  predatory  incursions  into  the 
neighbouring  countries.  The  third  division  of  Saharan 
people  are  the  Tibbus,  who  inhabit  the  eastern  portion, 
comprising  one  of  the  best  parts  of  the  desert.  In  some 
of  their  features  they  resemble  the  Negroes.  They  are  an 
agricultural  and  pastoral  nation,  live  mostly  in  fixed  abodes, 
and  are  in  this  respect  greatly  different  from  their  western 
neighbours.  Their  country  is  as  yet  little  explored  by 
Europeans.  The  Tibbus  are  in  part  Pagans,  while  the 
other  inhabitants  of  the  Sahara  are  Mohammedans. 

The  commerce  of  the  Sahara  consists  chiefly  of  gold, 
ostrich  feathers,  slaves,  ivory,  iron,  and  salt,  exchanged  for 
manufactured  goods,  and  transported  across  tho  desert  by 
great  caravans,  which  follow  line3  uniting  the  greater  cities 
and  oases  of  the  southern  and  northern  borders. 

Western  Africa  comprehends  the  west  coast  of  Africa, 
from  the  borders  of  the  Sahara,  in  about  lat.  17°  N.  to 
Nourso  River,  in  about  the  same  latitude  south,  with  a  con- 
siderable space  of  inland  territory,  varying  in  its  extent 
from  the  shores,  and,  in  fact,  completely  undefined  in  its 
interior  limits. 

Senegambia,  the  country  of  the  Senegal  and  Gambia, 
extends  from  the  Sahara  in  the  north  to  lat  10°  in  the 
south,  and  may  be  considered  as"  extending  inland  to  the 
sources  of  the  waters  which  flow  through  it  to  the  Atlantic. 

The  western  portion  is  very  flat,  and  its  contiguity  to  the 
great  desert  is  frequently  evidenced  by  dry  hot  winds,  an 
atmosphere  loaded  with  fine  sand,  and  clouds  of  locusts. 
The  eastern  portion  is  occupied  with  hills  and  elevated 
land.  Under  the  10th  parallel  the  bills  approach  quitf 
close  to  the  coast.  The  country  possesses  a  great  numbel 
of  rivers,  among  which  the  Senegal,  Gambia,  and  Rio  Grand*, 
are  the  most  important.  Senegambia  ranges,  in  point  ol 
heat,  with  the  Sahara  and  Nubia.  The  atmosphere  is  most 
oppressive  in  tho  rainy  season,  which  lasts  from  June  to 
November,  when  an  enormous  amount  of  rain  drenches  the 
country.  The  prevailing  winds  in  that  period  are  south-west, 
whereas  in  the  dry  season  they  are  from  the  east  The 
climate  is,  upon  the  whole,  most  unhealthy,  and  too  gene- 
rally proves  fatal  to  Europeans. 

The  vegetation  is  most  luxuriant  and  vigorous.  The 
baobab  (monkey  bread-tree),  the  most  enormous  tree  on  the 
face  of  the  globe,  is  eminently  characteristic  of  Senegambia. 
It  attains  to  no  great  height,  but  the  circumference  of  tho 
trunk  is  frequently  60  to  75  feet,  and  has  been  found  to 
measure  112  feet;  its  fruit,  the  monkey  bread,  is  a  piinci- 


BTATES.] 


AFRICA 


268 


pal  article  of  food  with  the  natives.  Bombaceae  ^cotton- 
trees)  are  likewise  numerous,  and  they  are  among  the  loftiest 
in  the  world.  Acacias,  which  furnish  the  gum-arabic,  are 
most  abundant,  while  the  shore's  are  lined  with  mangrove 
trees.  The  flora  and  fauna  are  similar  to  those  of  Nubia. 
Gold  and  iron  are  the  chief  metals. 

The  inhabitants  consist  of  various  Negro  nations,  the 
chief  of  which  are  the  Wolof. 

The  gum  trade  is  the  most  important  traffic  on  the  Sene- 
gal ;  bees-wax,  ivory,  bark,  and  hides,  forming  the  chief 
exports  from  the  Gambia. 

Of  European  settlements  are  :  The  French  possessions 
on  the  Senegal ;  the  capital  of  which  is  St  Louis,  built 
about  the  year  1626,  on  an  island  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river.  The  total  population  of  the  settlement  amounts  to 
about  210,000. 

The  British  settlement  on  the  Gambia  has  about  7000 
inhabitants.     Bathurst  is  the  chief  town. 

The  Portuguese  settlement  consists  of  small  factories 
.outh  of  the  Gambia,  at  the  Bissagos  Islands,  Bissao, 
Cacheo,  and  some  other  points. 

The  west  coast  of  Africa,  from  Senegambia  to  the  Nourse 
River,  is  commonly  comprised  by  the  general  denomination 
Guinea  Coast,  a  term  of  Portuguese  origin. 

The  coast  is  generally  so  very  low,  as  to  be  visible  to  navi- 
gators only  within  a  very  short  distance,  the  trees  being 
their  only  sailing  marks.  North  of  the  equator,  in  the 
Bight  of  Benin,  the  coast  forms  an  exception,  being  high 
and  bold,  with  the  Cameroon  Mountains  behind ;  as  also 
at  Sierra  Leone,  which  has  received  its  name  (Lion  Moun- 
tain) in  consequence.  The  coast  presents  a  dead  level  often 
for  thirty  to  fifty  miles  inland.  It  has  numerous  rivers, 
some  of  which  extend  to  the  furthest  recesses  of  Inner 
Africa. 

The  climate,  notoriously  fatal  to  European  life,  is  ren- 
dered pestilential  by  the  muddy  creeks  and  inlets,  the 
putrid  swamps,  and  the  mangrove  jungles  that  cover  the 
banks  of  the  rivers.  There  are  two  seasons  in  the  year, 
the  rainy  and  the  dry  season.  The  former  commences  in 
the  southern  portion  in  March,  but  at  Sierra  Leone  and 
other  northern  parts,  a  month  later. 

Vegetation  is  exceedingly  luxuriant  and  varied.  One  of 
the  most  important  trees  is  the  Elais  guineenns,  a  species 
of  palm,  from  the  covering  of  whose  seed  or  nut  is  ex- 
tracted the  palm-oil,  so  well  known  to  English  commerce 
and  manufacture ;  several  thousand  tons  are  annually 
brought  into  the  ports  of  Liverpool,  London,  and  Bristol. 
The  palm-oil  tree  is  indigenous  and  abundant  from  the  river 
Gambia  to  the  Congo;  but  the  oil  is  manufactured  in  large 
quantities  chiefly  in  the  country  of  the  Gold  and  Slave 
Coasts.  The  former  comprises  nearly  all  the  more  remark- 
able of  African  animals:  particularly  abundant  are  elephants, 
hippopotami,  monkeys,  lions,  leopards,  crocodiles,  serpents, 
parrots.  The  domestic  animals  are  mostly  of  an  inferior 
quality.  The  principal  minerals  are  gold'  and  iron.  The 
population  consists,  besides  a  few  European  colonists,  of  a 
vast  variety  of  Negro  nations,  similar  in  their  physical 
qualities  and  prevailing  customs,  but  differing  considerably 
in  their  dispositions  and  morals. 

The  chief  articles  of  commerce  are  palm-oil,  ivory,  gold, 
wax,  various  kinds  of  timber,  spices,  gums,  and  rice. 

The  divisions  of  Northern  or  Upper  Guinea  are  mostly 
founded  on  the  productions  characteristic  of  the  different 
parts,  and  are  still  popularly  retained. 
_  The  British  colony  of  Sierra  Leone  extends  from  Eokelle 
river  in  the  north,  to  Kater  river  in  the  south,  and  about 
twenty  miles  inland.  The  chief  portion  of  the  settlement 
is  a  rugged  peninsula  of  mountains  with  a  barren  soil,  but 
surrounded  by  a  belt  of  rich  coast-land,  with  a  moist  and 
pestilential  climate.      The  colony  was  founded  in  1787, 


and  has  been  maintained  with  a  view  to  the  suppression  of 
the  West  African  slave  trade.  The  population,  consisting 
chiefly  of  liberated  slaves,  amounted,  in  1869,  to  55,374, 
of  which  number  129  were  white  men.  Freetown,  the 
capital  is,  after  St  Loui3,  the  most  considerable  European 
town  on  the  western  coast  of  Africa. 

The  Malaghetta  or  Grain  Coast  extends  from  Sierra 
Leone  to  Cape  Palmas.  Malaghetta  is  a  species  of  pepper 
yielded  by  a  parasitical  plant  of  this  region.  It  is  some- 
times styled  the  Windy  or  Windward  Coast,  from  the  fre- 
quency of  short  but  furious  tornadoes  throughout  the  year. 
The  republic  of  Liberia,  a  settlement  of  the  American 
Colonisation  Society,  founded  in  1822,  for  the  purpose  of 
removing  free  people  of  colour  from  the  United-  States, 
occupies  a  considerable  extent  of  the  coast,  and  has  for  its 
capital  Monrovia,  a  town  named  after  the  president,  Mr 
Monro. 

The  Ivory  Coast  extends  from  Cape  Palmas  3°  W.  long., 
and  obtained  its  name  from  the  quantity  of  the  article 
supplied  by  its  numerous  elephants.  The  French  settle- 
ments of  Grand  Bassam,  Assinie,  and  Dabou  were  aban- 
doned in  1871. 

The  Gold  Coast  stretches  from  west  of  Cape  Three  Points 
to  the  river  Volta,  and  has  long  been  frequented  for  gold- 
dust  and  other  products.  By  a  treaty  of  February  1871, 
the  whole  of  the  Dutch  possessions  on  the  Gold  Coast  were 
made  over  to  Britain,  and  the  Danish  settlements  of  Chris- 
tiansburg  and  Friedensburg  were  ceded  to  the  English  in 
1849;  so  that  the  British  coast  now  extends  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Tenda  river,  in  long  2°  40'  W.,  to  that  of  the 
Ewe,  in  long.  1°  10'  E.  of  Greenwich.  The  protected 
territory  extends  inland  from  this  coast  strip  to  an  average 
distance  of  50  miles.  Cape  Coast  Castle  and  Fort  James, 
founded  by  the  British,  and  Elmina  (population  about 
10,000)  the  most  important  of  the  former  Dutch  stations, 
with  Accra,  are  the  chief  settlements. 

The  Slave  Coast  tends  from  the  river  Volta  to  the 
Calabar  river,  and  is,  as  its  name  implies,  the  chief  scene 
of  the  most  disgraceful  traffic  that  biota  the  history  of  man- 
kind. Eko  or  Lagos,  one  of  the  chief  towns  of  the  coast, 
was  destroyed  by  the  British  in  1852,  and  was  proclaimed 
a  British  possession  in  1861.  Palma  and  Badagry  are 
also  British  settlements. 

The  kingdoms  of  Ashantee,  Dahomey,  Voruba,  and  others, 
occupy  the  interior  country  of  the  Guinea  coast.  Ashantee 
the  most  powerful '  Negro  state  of  Upper  Guinea,  is  at 
exceedingly  fertile  and  productive  country.  Its  inhabitants, 
though  skilled  in  some  manufactures  and  of  a  higher  Intel- 
ligence than  is  usually  found  in  this  region,  are  of  an 
exceedingly  sanguinary  disposition,  and  have  frequently 
been  involved  in  war  with  the  British.  The  capital  city, 
Kumassi,  is  believed  to  have  a  population  of  about  100,000. 

The  coast  from  the  Old  Calabar  river  to  the  Portuguese 
possessions  is  inhabited  by  various  tribes.  Duke  Town, 
on  the  former  river,  is  a  town  of  4000  inhabitants,  with 
considerable  trade  in  palm-oil,  ivory,  and  timber. 

On  the  Gaboon  river,  close  to  the  equator,  are  a  French 
settlement  (in  1871  the  French  retained  only  a  coaling 
station),  and  American  missionary  stations.  At  the  equa- 
tor Southern  or  Lower  Guinea  begins,  where  the  only 
European  settlements  are  those  of  the  Portuguese. 

Loango  is  reckoned  from  the  equator  to  the  Zaire  or 
Congo  river.  Its  chief  town  is  Boally,  called  Loango  by 
the  Europeans. 

Congo  extends  south  of  the  Zaire,  comprising  a  very 
fertile  region,  with  veins  of  copper  and  iron.  Banza  Congo 
or  St  Salvador  is  the  capital. 

Angola  comprises  the  districts  of  Angola  proper,  Ben- 
guela,  and  Mossamedes.  In  these  regions  the  Portuguese 
settlements  esi>-"i»uiriher  inland  than  the  two  preceding 


270 


AFRICA 


[states. 


districts,  namely,  about  200  mi  leg.  The  capital,  St  Paulo  de 
Loaudo,  contains  12,300  inhabitants,  and  has  a  fine  har- 
bonr.  .St  Felipe  de  Benguela  is  situated  in  a  picturesque 
but  very  marshy  and  most  unhealthy  spot. 

The  coast  from  Benguela  to  the  Cape  Colony  may,  in  a 
general  arrangement  like  this,  be  included  either  'within 
South  Africa.     The  whole  coast  is  little 
visited  or  known,   being  of  a  most   barren  and  desolate 
description,  ano  ig  few  harbours.     Ichabo  island 

and  Angra  Peguena  Bay  are  visited  for  their  guano  deposits, 
and  are  claimed  as  British  possessions. 

Under  South  Africa  the  Cape  Colony  only  is  generally 
comprised.  It  takes  its  name  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
and  extends  from  thence  to  the  Orange  river  in  the  north, 
and  to  the  Kai  river  in  the  east.  A  large  proportion  of 
the  territory  included  within  these  limits,  especially  in  the 
north,  is  either  unoccupi"' I.  cr,  excepting  missionary  stations, 
eutirely  in  the  hands  of  the  aborigines. 

Apart  from  the  shores,  the  country  consists  of  high  lands, 
forming  parallel  mountainous  ridges,  with  elevated  plains 
or  terraces  of  varying  extent  between.  The  loftiest  range, 
styled  in  different  parts  of  its  course  Sneuw-bergen,  Winter- 
bergen,  Nieuveld-bergen,  and  Roggcnveld-bergen,  names 
originated  by  the  Dutch,  is  the  third  and  last  encountered 
on  proceeding  into  the  interior  from  the  south  coast  This 
and  the  other  chains  are  deeply  cut  by  the  transverse  valleys 
called  kloofs,  which  serve  as  passes  across  them,  and  appear 
as  if  produced  by  some  sudden  convulsion  of  nature,  subse- 
quently -widened  by  the  action  of  the  atmosphere  and  run- 
ning water. 

The  hign  plains  or  terraces  are  remarkable  for  their 
extraordinary  change  of  aspect  in  the  succession  of  the 
seasons.  During  the  summer  heats  they  are  perfect  deserts, 
answering  to  the  term  applied  to  them,  karroos,  signifying, 
in  the  Hottentot  language,  "dry"  or  "arid."  But  the 
Bandy  soil  being  pervaded  with  the  roots  and  fibres  of 
various  plants,  is  spontaneously  clothed  with  the  richest 
verdure  after  the  rains,  and  becomes  transformed  for  a  time 
into  a  vast  garden  of  gorgeous  flowers,  yielding  the  most 
fragrant  odours.  Adapted  thus  to  the  support  of  gramini- 
vorous animals,  the  karroos  are  the  resort  of  antelopes, 
zebras,  quaggas,  and  gnus  in  countless  herds,  and  of  the 
carnivorous  beasts  that  prey  upon  them,  the  lion,  hyaena, 
leopard,  and  panther.  These  quadrupeds,  however,  with 
the  elephant,  rhinoceros,  hippopotamus,  giraffe,  buffalo,  and 
ostrich,  have  been  largely  banished  from  their  old  hauuts 
by  the  advancing  footsteps  of  civilised  man,  and  are  only 
found  in  the  more  secluded  parts  of  the  interior.  The 
country  has  a  singular  and  superb  flora,  but  it  comprises 
few  native  plants  useful  to  man :  many  such  have  been  now 
introduced.  Heaths  of  varied  species  and  great  beauty 
abound;  and  geraniums  are  treated  as  common  weeds. 
Many  highly  productive  districts  occur;  corn,  wines,  and 
fmit  being  the  chief  objects  of  cultivation  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  Cape,  while  the  more  inland  settlements  are 
grazing  farms.  Some  fine  natural  forests  clothe  the  sides 
of  the  mountains;  but  in  general  the  colony  is  deficient  in 
timber  trees,  as  well  as  in  navigable  streams,  perennial 
springs,  and  regular  rain.  A  great  deposit  of  rich  copper 
ore  occurs  near  the  mouth  of  the  Orange;  and  salt  is  ob- 
tained for  consumption  and  sale  from  salt  lakes. 

The  climate  is  exceedingly  fine  and  salubrious.  There 
are  two  seasons,  characterised  by  the  prevalence  of  certain 
winds.  During  the  summer,  which  lasts  from  September  to 
April,  the  winds  blow  from  south-east,  cold  and  dry ;  during 
the  winter,  namely  from  May  to  September,  north-west  winds 
prevail.  In  the  most  elevated  regions  the  winters  are  occa- 
sionally severe,  aud  snow  and  ice  occur. 

The  chief  native  tribes  within  the  British  territory  are 
the  Hottentots,  Bechuauas,  and  Kaffres.     >'o  manufacture 


is  conducted  at  the  Cape  except  the  making  of  wine,  of 
which  from  10,000  to  40,000  gallons  are  annually  exported 
to  England.  Various  articles  of  provision  are  supplied  to 
ships  tailing  between  Europe  and  the  East  Indies. 

Town  is  the  capital  of  the  colony,  and  contains 
28,460  inhabitants,  of  whom  15,120  are  Europeans.  Its 
commerce  is  considerable,  and  the  port  is  frequented  by 
500  to  600  vessels  every  year. 

The  Orange  river  sovereignty,  added  to  the  British  terri- 
tories in  1S48,  but  subsequently  given  up  and  constituted 
a  free  republic,  extends  north  of  the  Orange  river  as  far  as 
the  Ky  Gflriep  or  Vaal  river.     In  consequence  of  the  dis- 
covery of  rich  diamond  fields  on  the  lower  Vaal  river  and 
in  the  neighbouring  territory  of  the  Griqua  chief  'Water- 
boer,  who  also  petitioned  to  have  his  lands  subjected  to 
British  rule,   a  wide  country   surrounding  the   diamond- 
fields  was  incoqiorated  with  the  Capo  Colony  in  October 
1 S7 1 ,  under  the  name  of  Griqua  Land  West,  dnided  into  GriquA. 
the  districts  of  Pneil,  Griqna  Town,  and  Klipdrift.     The  Land  v 
population  of  thus  new  territory  was  estimated  at  50,000 
in  1872,  concentrated  in  camps  round  the  chief  diamond- 
fields.     In  1869,  Bassuto  Land,  a  mountainous  territory  at  Bassutv 
the  head  waters  of  the  Nu  Gariep  branch  of  the  Orange  river,  La"1* 
and  on  the  inward  slope  of  the  Drakenberg  range,  was 
incorporated  as  a  British  possession. 

Natal  or  Victoria,  a  district  on  the  east  coast,  and  sepa-  Nat»' 
rated  from  the  Cape  Colony  by  Katfrana,  i3  a  recently 
formed  British  settlement,  which  was  created  into  a  colony 
in  1856.  It  is  highly  favoured  in  those  respects  in  which 
the  Cape  is  most  deficient,  having  abundance  of  wood  and 
water,  with  coal  and  various  metallic  ores,  a  fine  alluvial 
soil,  and  a  climate  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  the  products 
for  which  the  home  demand  is  large  and  constant^cotton, 
silk,  and  indigo.  Pietermaritzburg,  the  capital  of  the  settle- 
ment, lies  50  miles  from  the  coast.  Port  Natal,  now  D'Urban, 
seated  on  a  fine  lake-like  bay,  is  the  only  harbour. 

The  Transvaal  Republic  is  an  iuland  state,  between  the 
Vaal  on  the  south  and  the  Limpopo  river  on  the  north, 
having  the  Drakenberg  edge  on  the  east,  and  the  Bechuana 
tribes,  which  occupy  the  region  bordering  on  the  Kalahira 
desert,  on  the  west,  founded  by  the  Dutch  boe~s  emigrating 
from  the  Cape  Colony.  Its  surface  is  an  elevated  plateau, 
thinly  wooded  in  some  parts,  but  generally  affording  excel- 
lent pasture.  The  chief  town  is  Potchefstroom,  on  a  tribu- 
tary of  the  Vaal ;  but  the  seat  of  government  is  at  Pretoria, 
in  the  region  of  the  head  streams  of  the  Limpopo. 

East  Africa  extends  from  Natal  northwards  to  the  Red 
Sea,  comprising  Sofala,  Mozambique,  Zanzibar,  and  the  Sofala 
Somali  country.  But  little  is  known  of  that  region  beyond 
the  shores.  The  Sofala  Coast,  extending  from  Delagoa 
Bay  to  the  Zambeze  river,  is  flat,  sandy,  and  marshy, 
gradually  ascending  towards  the  interior.  It  abounds  with 
rivers,  which  are  the  source  of  yearly  inundations.  The  soil 
is  very  fertile,  and  produces  chiefly  rice.  In  the  interior, 
gold  and  other  metals,  as  well  as  precious  stones,  are  found. 
The  Portuguese  have  settlements  at  Sofalavin  an  unhealthy 
spot,  abounding  with  salt  marshes;  it  consists  of  only 
huts,  a  church,  and  a  fort  in  ruins.  Inhambane,  near  the 
tropic  of  Capricorn,  has  an  excellent  harbour. 

Mozambique  extends  from  the  Zambeze  to  CapeDelgado, 
and  is  similar,  in  its  natural  features,  to  the  Sofala  Coast 
The  greatest  river  i3  the  Zambeze.  The  principal  settle- 
ment of  the  Portuguese  is  at  Qnillimane,  which  is  situated 
in  a  very  unhealthy  position  on  the  northern  arm  of  the 
delta  of  the  Zambeze,  surrounded  with  mangrove  trees. 

The  Zanzibar  or  Sawahili  Coast  extends  from  Cape  Del-  Zanzib* 
gado  to  the  river  Jub,  near  the  equator.     The  coast  is 
generally  low,  and  has  but  few  bays  or  harbours :  its  northern 
portion  is  rendered  dangerous  by  a  line  of  coral  reefs  ex- 
tending along  it.     The  region  possesses  a  great  number  of 


STATES.J 


A  F  K  I  C  A 


271 


livers,  but  none  of  them  attain  a  first-rate  magnitude.  The 
principal  are  the  Rovuma,  the  Lufiji,  Ruvu,  Pangani,  and 
Dana;  the  two  latter  rising  in  the  snowy  mountains  of 
Kilima-njaro  and  Kenia.  The  climate  is  similar  to  that  of 
other  tropical  coasts  of  Africa,  hot  and  unhealthy  in  gene- 
ral :  in  some  portions,  however,  the  elevated  ground,  and 
with  it  a  more  temperate  and  healthy  climate,  approaches 
•the  shores  to  within  a  short  distance.  The  vegetation  is 
luxuriant,  and  cocoa-nut,  palms,  maize,  rice,  and  olives  are 
the  chief  articles  of  cultivation.  The  fauna  comprises  all 
the  more  characteristic  African  species. 

The  chief  inhabitants  are  the  Sawahili,  of  mixed  Arab 
and  Negro  descent,  but  the  coasts  are  under  the  Arab  do- 
minion of  the  Imaum  of  Muscat,  by  whose  efforts  commerce 
with  the  nations  of  the  interior  has  greatly  increased. 

The  island  of  Zanzibar  (Unguja  of  the  Sawahili)  is  the 
residence  of  a  Sultan,  tributary  to  the  Imaum  of  Muscat, 
and  the  seat  of  extensive  commerce.  Mombas,  on  a  small 
island  close  to  the  main  shore,  possesses  the  finest  harbour 
on  that  coast,  and  has  recently  become  famous  as  the  seat 
of  an  important  missionary  station. 

The  Somali  country  comprises  the  eastern  horn  of  Africa, 
from  the-  equator  northward  to  the  Bay  of  Tadjurra,  near 
the  entrance  into  the  Red  Sea.  The  coast  is  generally  bold 
and  rocky,  in  some  places  covered  with  sand ;  and  the  ex- 
tensive region  it  encloses  presents  a  slightly  ascending  plain, 
traversed  by  large  valleys  of  great  fertility,  among  which 
the  Wady  Nogal  is  prominent.  This  country  is  not  so  well 
watered  as  the  region  to  the  south,  and  some  of  its  rivers 
are  periodical. 

The  Somali  country  is  famous  for  its  aromatic  produc- 
tions and  gums  of  various  kinds ;  and  it  is  supposed  that 
the  spice1;  and  incense  consumed  in  such  large  quantities 
by  the  ancient  peoples  of  Egypt,  Greece,  Syria,  and  Rome, 
were  derived  from  this  part  of  Africa,  and  not  from  Arabia. 

Zeila  and  Berbera,  on  the  northern  coast,  are  the  chief 
trading  ports  :  the  permanent  population  of  the  former  is 
about  3000,  while  the  latter  may  be  said  to  exist  only  dur- 
ing the  winter,  when  no  less  than  20,000  strangers,  at  an 
average,  arrive  to  pitch  their  tents,  and  thus  create  a  great 
market-place.  Harrar,  in  the  Galla  country,  is  the  chief 
place  in  the  interior,  with  8000  inhabitants,  who  are 
Mohammedans.  One-third  of  the  population  is  Somali, 
one-third  Arab. 

Central  Africa  comprises  the  regions  which  extend  from 
the  southern  borders  of  the  Sahara  in  the  north  to  Cape 
Colony  in  the  south,  and  from  Senegambia  in  the  west  to 
the  territory  of  the  Egyptian  pashalic  on  tho  east.  It  com- 
prehends the  central  basins  of  the  great  lakes  from  Lake 
Chad  to  the  Nyassa,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  basins  of 
the  Niger,  Congo,  Nile,  and  Zambeze.  Even  the  Sahara 
may  well  be  included  in  this  general  denomination.  So 
little  is  yet  known  of  this  vast  region  that  tho  general  fea- 
tures of  some  portions  only  can  be  indicated.  The  greater 
portion  seems  to  be  densely  peopled  with  numerous  tribes, 
and  to  possess  inexhaustible  natural  resources.  The  portion 
north  of  the  equator,  under  the  name  Soudan  or  Nigritia, 
comprises  a  great  number  of  states,  among  which  the  prin- 
cipal are  Bambarra,  Timbuktu,  and  Houssa,  in  the  west ; 
Bornu,  Baghermi,  and  Waday,  around  Lake  Chad ;  Darfur 
in  the  east ;  and  Adamaua  in  the  south.  The  inhabitants 
are  of  Negro  race,  with  many  Arabs,  Moors,  and  Berbers. 

Bambarra  occupies  part  of  the  basin  of  the  Joliba,  or  upper 
•source  of  the  Quorra.  The  dominant  inhabitants  are  the 
Mandiugoes  and  Foulahs,  who  have  embraced  Islamism, 
and  are  much  more  advanced  in  civilisation  than  the  other 
Negro  tribes.  The  country  comprises  extensive  and  excel- 
lent pastures,  with  abundance  of  domestic  animals,  as  horned 
rattle,  sheep,  goats,  and  horses  of  a  fine  breed.  Among  the 
vegetable  products  the  most  remarkable  is  the  butter-tree, 


which  furnishes  an  important  article  of  agricultural  industry 
and  trade. 

Sego,  the  capital,  is  situated  on  the  Joliba,  and  contains 
30,000  inhabitants.  It  was  here  that  Mungo  Park  first 
caught  sight  of  the  long-sought  river. 

Timbuktu,  or  Jennie,  comprises  the  basin  of  the  Joliba 
below  Bambarra,  and  lies  partly  within  the  Great  Sahara. 
Timbuktu,  a  few  miles  from  the  banks  of  the  Joliba,  and 
situated  amid  sands  and  deserts,  is  a  celebrated  centre  of 
the  North  African  caravan  trade.  It  contains  from  12,000 
to  15,000  inhabitants. 

Houssa  is  an  extensive  country  extending  to  the  Sahara 
in  the  north,  to  the  Joliba  or  Kawara  on  the  west,  to  Bornu, 
on  the  east,  and  to  about  10°  N.  lat.  on  the  south.  Tho 
dominant  race  are  the  Foulahs,  but  the  mass  of  the  popu- 
lation are  Negroes.  It  is  a 'very  fertile  and  beautiful  coun- 
try, but  the  climate  is  insalubrious,  and  in  many  parts  fatal 
to  Europeans.  The  inhabitants  are  engaged  in  pastoral,  as 
well  as  in  agricultural  and  commercial  pursuits. 

The  capital,  Sakatu,  is  one  of  the  largest  cities  in  Negro- 
land;  it  is  situated  in  a  fertile  but  marshy  plain.  Kano, 
another  large  town,  containing  30,000  to  40,000  inhabitants, 
is  the  great  emporium  of  trade  in  Houssa;  there  the  English 
merchandise  coming  from  the  north  through  the  Sahara, 
meets  with  American  goods  coming  from  the  Bight  of  Benin. 
The  manufactures  of  Kano  consist  chiefly  of  cloth,  for  the 
dyeing  of  which  that  town  is  famed  all  over  Central  Africa. 

Bornu  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  states  of  NegrolandjBornn. 
extending  on  the  west  to  the  10th  degree  of  long.,  on  the 
east  to  Lake  Chad  and  the  kingdom  of  Baghermi,  and  on 
the  south  as  far  as  Mandara  and  Adamaua,  in  about  11°N. 
lat.  Kanem,  on  the  northern  side  of  Lake  ChacLhas  recently 
been  conquered  and  brought  under  Bornuese  sovereignty. 

The  general  character  of  Bornu  is  that  of  a  plain,  subject 
to  inundations,  particularly  near  Lake  Chad.  It  is  very 
fertile,  and  cotton  and  indigo  attain  a  high  degree  of  excel- 
lence.    The  original  Bornuese  are  an  agricultural  people. 

Kuka,  the  capital  and  residence  of  the  Sheik  of  Bornu, 
had  in  1866  about  60,000  inhabitants. 

Baghermi,  another  powerful  kingdom,  is  situated  east  of  Baghermi. 
Bornu.  The  boundaries,  according  to  Dr  Barth,  who  first 
visited  this  country  and  penetrated  as  far  as  Masefia,  the 
capital,  are  on  the  west  the  river  Loggeme,  a  tributary  of 
the  Shary  or  Asu,  by  which  it  is  divided  from  Bornu  and 
Adamaua;  on  the  north  its  limits  are  in  about  12J°  N.  lat., 
and  on  the  east  19i°  E.  long.,  both  lines  dividing  it  from 
Waday;  the  southern  boundary  is  in  about  8J°  N.  lat. 
Baghermi  is  an  extensive  plain  or  valley  formed  by  the 
river  Shary  or  Asu  and  its  tributaries.  The  inhabitants  are 
very  warlike,  and  frequently  engage  in  slave  marauding 
expeditions  into  the  neighbouring  states  to  the  south. 

Masefia,  the  capital,  hes  in  11°  40'  N.  lat,  and  17°  20' 
E.  long. 

Waday,  or  Dar  Saley,  lies  east  of  Baghermi,  and  reaches  Waday. 
as  far  as  Darfur.  It  comprises  an  extensive  region,  stretching 
as  far  as  the  basin  of  the  Nile.  Lake  Fittri,  situated  in  the 
western  portion,  forms  a  basin,  unconnected  with  that  of  Lake 
Chad,  and  by  which  the  country  as  far  as  Darfur  is  drained. 
It  has  never  been  explored  by  Europeans.  The  population 
comprises  a  great  variety  of  tribes  and  different  lan- 
guages. 

Wara,  the  capital,  is  placed  by  Dr  Barth  in  14°  N.  lat., 
and  22°  E.  long. 

Darfur,  east  of  Waday,  extends  as  far  as  Kordofan.  The 
country  rises  towards  the  west  into  a  range  of  hills  called 
Jebel  Marrah.  It  is  drained  into  the  Nile.  A  great  portion 
of  the  country  is  Saharan  in  its  character,  while  other  parts 
are  fertile  and  diversified.  Browne,  in  1703,  estimated  the 
whole  population  at  200,000.  It  has  an  extensive  trade  with 
Egypt. 


272 


AFRICA 


Cobbeih,  the  capital,  is  a  merchant  town,  and  contains 
about  6000  inhabitants. 

Fumbina  or  Adamaua  is  an  extensive  country  south  of 
Houssa  and  Bornu,  under  Foulah  dominion.  It  consists 
of  a  large,  fertile,  and  highly-cultivated  valley,  formed  by 
the  River  Benue.  Near  Yola,  the  capital,  the  Benue 
receives  the  Faro,  a  large  tributary  coming  from  the 
south  west.  This  country  was  first  visited  by  Dr  Barth 
in  1851. 

Yola,  the  capital,  lies  in  8°  50'  N.  lat.,  and  13°  30'  E. 
longitude. 

South  of  the  belt  of  Negro  states  cf  the  Soudan  lies  the 
great  unknown  region  of  Central  Africa.  On  the  east 
the  unexplored  area  is  bounded  by  the  numerous  states 
of  the  lake  region  made  known  by  Burton,  Speke,  and 
Livingstone.  Of  these  the  chief  are  Unyamwesi,  occupying 
the  plateau  south  of  the  Victoria  Lake,  and  east  of  Lake 
Tanganyika,  with  the  capital  town  of  Kaseh  or  Tabora, 
frequented  by  Arab  traders  from  Zanzibar ;  Karague  on 
the  western  side  of  the  Victoria  Nyanza ;  and  Uganda, 
stretching  round  its  north-western  shores.  In  the  interior, 
beyond  Lake  Tanganyika,  Livingstone  has  recently  made 
known  the  peoples  of  Manyuema  land,  where  "  there  is  no 
political  cohesion  ;  not  one  king  or  kingdom.  Each  man  is 
independent  of  every  other."  To  the  south  of  the  unknown 
region  are  the  powerful  Negro  kingdoms  of  the  Muata 
Yanvo  and  of  the  Cazembe,  occupying  the  whole  of  the 
interior  betweeji  6°  and  1 2°  S.  lat.  Kabebe,  the  capital  of 
the  former  state,  is  believed  to  be  in  about  lat  8°  S.,  long. 
23'  30'  E.  of  Greenwich;  and  Lunda,  the  chief  town  of 
the  latter  potentate,  is  in  the  Luapula  valley,  south-west  of 
the  Tanganyika  Lake,  and  Was  visited  by  Livingstone  in 
1867-68.  The  Makololo  kingdom,  occupying  the  central 
basin  of  the  Zambeze  river,  with  the  chief  town  of  Linyanti, 
west  of  the  Victoria  Falls ;  and  that  of  Mosilikatse  in  the 
south-east,  between  the  Zambeze  and  the  Limpopo  rivers, 
are  the  great  remaining  divisions  of  Central  Africa.  Besides 
these,  however,  innumerable  petty  kingdoms,  chiefships, 
and  tribes  subdivide  the  vast  populations  of  Negroland. 

To  Africa  belong  a  considerable  number  of  islands.  The 
Madeiras,  belonging  to  Portugal,  lie  off  the  north-.west  coast 
of  Africa,  at  a  distance  of  about  360  miles.  Madeira,  the 
chief  island,  is  about  100  miles  in  circuit,  and  has  long 
been  famed  for  its  picturesque  beauty,  rich  fruits,  and  fine 
climate,  which  renders  it  a  favourite  resort  of  invalids. 
Wine  is  the  staple  produce.  Funchal,  the  chief  town,  with 
18,000  inhabitants,  is  a  regular  station  for  the  'West  India 
mail  steam-packets  from  Southampton,  and  the  Brazilian 
sailing-packets  from  Falmouth. 

The  Canaries,  belonging  to  Spain,  the  supposed  Fortunate 
Islands  of  the  ancients,  are  situated  about  300  miles  south 
of  Madeira.  They  are  13  in  number,  all  of  volcanic  origin, 
Teneriffe  being  the  largest.  The  latter  is  remarkable  for 
its  peak,  which  rises  as  a  vast  pyramidal  mass  to  the  height 
of  12,173  feet. 

The  Cape  Verde  Islands,  subject  to  Portugal,  are  a 
numerous  group  about  80  miles  from  Cape  Verde.  They 
obtained  their  name  from  the  profusion  of  sea-weed  found 
by  the  discoverers  in  the  neighbouring  ocean,  giving  it  the 
appearance  of  a  green  meadow.  They  are  also  of  volcanic 
origin. 

Fernando.  Pb,  a  very  mountainous  forest-covered  island, 
is  in  the  Bight  of  Biafra.  The  British  settlement  of 
Clarence  Town  was  established  in  1827,  but  afterwards 
abandoned.     The  island  now  belongs  to  Spain. 

St  Thomas,  immediately  under  the  equator,  is  a  Portu- 
guese settlement;  as  is  also  Prince's  Island,  in  2'  N.  lat 

Annobon  in  2°  S.  lat,  belongs  to  the  Spaniards. 


Ascension,  a  small,  arid,  volcanic  isUt,  was  made  a. 
British  port  on  the  arrival  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte  at  St 
Helena,  and  since  retained  as  a  station,  at  which  ships  may 
touch  for  stores.  Green  Hill,  the  summit  of  the  island, 
rises  to  the  height  of  2840  feet 

St  Helena  is  a  huge  dark  mass  of  rocs,  rising  abruptly 
from  the  ocean  to  the  height  of  2692  feet  James'  Town 
is  the  only  town  and  port. 

Madagascar,  the  largest  island  of  Africa,  and  one  of  the 
largest  in  the  world,  is  separated  from  the  Mozambique 
coast  by  a  channel  of  that  name,  about  250  miles,  wide. 
The  area  exceeds  that  of  France. 

The  high  interior  of  the  island  is  generally  very  fertile, 
with  magnificent  forests  and  fine  pastures  watered  by 
numerous  rivers,  but  a  belt  of  hot  swamo  land  with  a 
deadly  climate  surrounds  the  coast. 

The  inhabitants  are  diverse  races  of  Negro,  Arab,  and 
Malay  origin.  The  Ovahs,  a  people  of  the  central  provinces, 
are  now.  dominant.  The  principal  town,  Antananarivo, 
has  about  80,000  inhabitants. 

The  French  possess  the  islands  of  Sante  Mario  and  Nos- 
sibe  on  the  coast  of  Madagascar,  and  Mayotta  island  in  the 
Comoro  group. 

The  Comoro  isles,  four  in  number,  are  in  the  north  part  of 
the  Mozambique  Channel,  and  inhabited  by  Arab  tribes. 

Reunion  or  Bourbon,  400  miles  east  of  Madagascar,  is  a 
colony  of  France,  producing  for  export,  coffee,  sugar,  cocoa, 
spices,  and  timber. 

Mauritius,  ceded  to  the  British  by  the  French  in  1814, 
is  90  miles  north-east  of  Bourbon.  The  sugar-cane  is 
chiefly  cultivated.  Port  Louis,  the  capital,  beautifully 
situated,  has  75,000  inhabitants.  Within  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Governor  of  the  Mauritius'  are  the  islands  of  Rodri- 
guez, the  Seychelles,  and  the  Amarante  islands. 

Socotra,  a  large  island,  east  of  Cape  Jerdaffun,  with  an 
Arab  and  Negro  population,  has  been  known  from  early 
times;  it  belongs  to  the  Imaum  of  Muscat.  This  island 
was  long  celebrated  as  producing  the  finest  aloetic  drug ;  it 
is  found  still  to  produce  a  fine  kind  of  aloe,  though  much 
of  what  passed  as  Socbtrine  aloes  really  came  from  India. 
Gums,  tobacco,  and  dates  are  also  exported.  (k.  J.) 


Note. — The  above  article  was  completed  before  it  was 
known  with  certainty  that  the  saddest  event  in  the  history 
of  African  exploration  had  occurred.  Dr  Livingstone,  to 
whom  the  article  justly  assigns  "  the  first  place  among 
African  discoverers,"  died  of  dysentery  near  Lake  Bang- 
weolo  on  the  4th  of  May  1873.  The  story  of  his  latest 
discoveries,  and  of  the  rare  devotion  with  which  his  native 
attendants  carried  his  remains  with  them  during  an  eight 
months'  march  to  the  coast,  belongs  to  a  bjographical 
notice.  It  is  more  fitting  in  this  place  to  note,  as  some 
consolation  for  an  almost  irreparable  loss,  tha^  Living- 
stone's death  seems  to  have  given  a  powerful  stimulus  to 
the  prosecution  of  the  task  he  had  so  nearly  completed. 
The  expedition  of  Lieutenant  Cameron,  above  referred  to. 
is  being  carried  out  with  a  vigour  and  intelligence  that 
give  ample  promise  of  a  further  limitation  of  the  region  of 
the  unknown,  if  not  of  the  complete  solution  of  all  out- 
standingproblems.  In  the  springof  1874  he  had  commenced 
a  thorough  exploration  of  Lake  Tanganyika,  which,  from 
his  professional  experience  as  a  hydrographical  surveyor,  is 
expected  to  lead  to  very  valuable  results.  And  the  complete 
success  of  Stanley's  first  memorable  mission  in  search  of 
Livingstone  warrants  confident  hopes  in  regard  to  a  second 
expedition,,  also  admirably  organised  and  equipped,  which 
has  started  under  his  direction. 


A  F  R  — A  G  A 


273 


ATFJCANUS,  Julius,  called  also  Sextus  by  Suidas, 
a  Christian  historian  of  the  3d  century,  born,  according 
to  some,  in  Africa,  and,  according  to  others,  in  Palestine, 
of  African  parents.  Little  is  known  of  his  personal  his- 
tory, except  that  he  lived  at  Emmaus,  and  that  he  went 
on  an  embassy  to  the  emperor  Heliogabalus  to  ask  the 
restoration  of  that  town,  which  had  fallen  into  ruins.  His 
mission  succeeded,  and  Emmaus  was  henceforward  known 
as  Nicopolis.  It  is  by  no  means  certain  that  he  was  a 
bishop  or  even  a  priest,  though  the  latter  is  probable.  He 
wrote  a  history  of  the  world  (IIoTa/?[/?Aiov  XpovoXoyiKov) 
from  the  creation  to  the  year  221  A.D.,  a  period,  according 
to  his  computation,  of  5723  years.  He  calculated  the 
period  between  the  creation  and  the  birth  of  Christ  as  5499 
years,  and  antedated  the  latter  event  by  three  years.  This 
method  of  reckoning  became  known  as  the  Alexandrian 
era,  and  was  adopted  by  almost  all  the  eastern  churches. 
The  history  is  no  longer  extant,  but  copious  extracts  from 
it  are  to  be  found  in  the  Chronicon  of  Eusebius,  besides 
fragments  in  Syncellus,  Cedrenus,  and  the  Paschale  Chroni- 
con. Eusebius  has  also  given  some  extracts  from  his  letter 
to  Aristides,  reconciling  the  apparent  discrepancy  between 
St  Matthew  and  St  Luke  in  the  genealogy  of  Christ  by  a 
reference  to  the  Jewish  law,  which  compelled  a  man  to 
marry  the  widow  of  his  deceased  brother,  if  the  latter 
died  without  issue.  His  letter  to  Origen,  impugning  the 
authority  of  the  apocryphal  book  of  Susanna,  and  Origen's 
answer,  are  both  extant,  the  former  having  been  printed 
at  Basle,  1674.  The  ascription  to  Africanus  of  a  work 
entitled  Kcoroi',  treating  of  agriculture,  natural  history, 
military  science,  &c,  has  been  disputed  on  account  of  the 
inconsistency  between  it  and  the  author's  other  writings. 
Neander  suggests  that  it  was  probably  written  by  Afri- 
canus before  he  had  devoted  himself  to  religious  subjects. 

AEZELIUS,  Adam,  an  eminent  Swedish  naturalist, 
born  at  Larf,  West  Gothland,  in  1750.  Having  studied 
at  Upsala  under  Linnaeus,  he  became  teacher  of  oriental 
literature  in  that  university  in  1777,  and  demonstrator  of 
botany  in  1785.  Eor  two  years  (1792-94)  he  resided  on 
the  west  coast  of  Africa  as  botanist  to  the  Sierra  Leone 
Company.  After  acting  for  some  time  as  secretary  to  the 
Swedish  embassy  in  London,  he 'returned  home,  became 
again  a  teacher  in  the  university  of  Upsala,  and  was  ap- 
pointed professor  of  materia  medica  in  1812  He  edited 
the  autobiography  of  Linnaeus  (Upsala,  1823),  a  German 
translation  of  which  appeared  at  Berlin  in  1826.  His 
literary  work  included  also  a  la^e  number  of  botanical 
papers  contributed  to  the  Linnaean  Society  of  London  and 
the  Royal  Academy  of  Stockholm,  as  well  as  treatises  on 
certain  plants  of  Guinea  and  Sweden.  He  died  at  Upsala 
in  1836,  having  bequeathed  his  botanical  collection  to  the 
university.  Several  species  of  plants,  known  as  Afzelia, 
are  named  after  this  distinguished  botanist. 

AFZELIUS,  Arwid  August,  the  Swedish  historian, 
poet,  and  comparative  mythologist,  was  born  at  Fjell&ker 
in  1785.  For  a  while  he' was  a  schoolmaster  in  Stock- 
holm, but  afterwards  entered  the  church,  and  became 
parish  priest  of  Enkoping,  where  he  worked  for  just  half-a- 
century,  till  his  death  in  1871.  His  poetical  career  began 
in  1811  and  closed  in  t?!8,  when  he  wrote  his  Farewell  to 
the  Swedish  Harp.  One  great  work  of  his  life  was  to  col- 
lect and  publish,  in  conjunction  with  the  eminent  Geijer, 
three  volumes  of  Swedish  Folk-songs ;  but  he  will  be  best 
remembered  by  his  History  of  the  Swedish  People,  which 
has  won  him  a  European  reputation.  He  did  not  live  to 
bring  this  history  lower  down  than  1709.  (e.  w.  g.) 

AGA,  or  Agha,  a  word,  said  to  be  of  Tatar  origin, 
signifying  a  dignitary  or  lord.  Among  the  Turks  it  is  ap- 
plied to  the  chief  of  the  janissaries,  to  the  commanders  of 
the  artillery,  cavalry,  and  infantry,  and  to  the  eunuchs  in 


charge  of  the  seraglio.  It  is  also  employed  generally  as  a 
term  of  respect  in  addressing  wealthy  men  of  leisure,  land- 
owners, ic.  The  word  is  found  with  a  somewhat  similar 
usage  in  Tartary,  Persia,  and  Algiers. 

AGADES,  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Air,  or  Asben, 
in  Central  Africa,  situated  in  17°  2'  N.  lat.,  8°  5'  E.  long. 
The  town  is  built  on  the  edge  of  a  plateau,  2500  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea,  and  is  supposed  to  have  been  founded 
by  the  Berbers  to  serve  as  a  secure  magazine  for  their  ex- 
tensive trade  with  the  Songhay  empire.  The  language  of 
the  people  is  a  dialect  of  Songhay.  In  former  times 
Agades  was  a  place  of  great  traffic,  and  had  a  population 
of  about  50,000.  Its  importance  may  be  estimated  by  the 
fact  that  the  king  of  Agades  paid  a  tribute  of  150,000 
ducats  to  the  king  of  Songhay.  Since  the  beginning  of 
the  16th  century  the  prosperity  of  the  place  has  gradually 
declined.  Extensive  quarters  of  the  town;  which  has  a 
circuit  of  3i  miles,  are  deserted  and  ruinous.  The  occu- 
pied houses  number  only  600  or  700,  and  the  population 
does  not  exceed  7000.  The  houses,  which  arc  built  of 
clay,  are  low  and  flat-roofed ;  and  the  only  building  of  im- 
portance is  the  chief  mosque,  which  is  surmounted  by  a 
tower  95  feet  high.  There  is  little  traffic  in  the  markets; 
no  money  is  used,  and  the  usual  medium  of  exchange  is 
millet.  The  chief  trade  is  in  grain.  Agades  derives  its 
main  importance  from  its  situation  on  the  direct  route 
from  the  countries  to  the  north-east  to  Sokoto  and  other 
important  towns  in  the  Hansa  states.  The  great  salt 
caravans  pass  through  it,  as  well  as  pilgrims  on  their  way 
to  Mecca.  From  its  healthy  climate  and  advantageous  posi- 
tion, the  place  might  prove  to  be  a  good  station  for  a  Euro- 
pean agent.     (See  Barth's  Travels  in.  Central  Africa,  voL  i.) 

AGAMEMNON.  The  stern  obligations  of  a  king  and 
the  majesty  of  his  office,  as  compared  with  his  humane 
desires  and  occasional  frailty,  give  the  keynote  to  the 
character  of  Agamemnon.  But  the  kingly  office,  like  the 
sceptre  which  was  the  symbol  of  it,  had  come  to  him 
from  Pelops  {Iliad,  ii.  100)  through  the  stained  hands 
of  Atreus  and  Thyestes,  and  had  brought  with  it  a  certain 
fatality,  by  which  his  misfortunes,  and  especially  the  catas- 
trophe at  the  close  of  his  life,  were  explained.  As  his  title 
of  Atrides  implies,  Agamemnon  was  a  son  of  Atreus,  his 
mother  being  Aerope.  In  a  later  account  he  is  a  son  of 
Pleisthenes.  But,  apart  from  this  difference,  it  is  agreed 
that  he  succeeded  to  the  sovereignty  of  Atreus  over  Argolis, 
Corinth,  Achaia,  and  many  islands,  his  seat  being  at  Mycenae, 
not,  as  iEschylus  for  political  reasons  asserts,  at  Argos.  The 
succession  had  been  usurped  by  Thyestes  and  ^Egisthus. 
During  the  usurpation  Agamemnon  and  his  brother  Mene- 
laus  visited  Tyndareus,  the  king  of  Sparta,  and  obtained 
in  marriage  his  two  daughters — the  former  Clytaemnestra, 
the  latter  Helena:  with  his  help  Agamemnon  was  re- 
instated in  his  rights.  'Menelaus  succeeded  Tyndareus. 
The  children  born  by  Clytsmnestra  were  Chrysothemis, 
Iphigenia,  Electra,  and  one  son,  Orestes.  Elsewhere  are 
mentioned  also  Iphianassa  andLaodice;  but  the  latter  was 
the  original  name  of  Electra,  it  appears,  and  it  has  been 
suggested  that  Iphianassa  stood  in  the  same  relation  to 
Iphigenia.  Agamemnon  was  then  the  most  powerful  prince 
in  Greece;  and  to  him  of  right,  as  well  as  naturally,  his 
brother  Menelaus  turned  for  aid  to  compel  the  Trojans 
to  give  up  his  wife  Helena,  whom  Paris  had  carried  off. 
The  various  princes  of  Greece  having  been  brought  to 
unite  in  an  expedition  for  this  purpose,  Agamemnon  was 
chosen  leader,  he  himself  furnishing  100  ships  and  lending 
also  60  more  to  the  Arcadians.  It  was  not  perhaps  his  fault 
that  the  Greeks  landed  by  mistake  on  the  coast  of  Mysia, 
from  which,  after  plundering  it,  they  took  ship  and  were 
scattered  in  a  storm ;  but  it  was  owing  to  him  (and  this  is 
I  the  beginning  of  his  ill-fate)  that  after  again  assembling  in 


274 


A  G  A  —  A  G  A 


Aulis,  whence  they  had  act  oat,  the  fleet  wns  storm-bound. 
He  had  slain  a  deer  sacred  to  Artemis,  ami  boasted  liimself 
a  better  hunter  than  the  This,  as  Caleb  as  the 

seer  read  the  divine  will,  could  only  be  atoned  for  by  his 
offering  up  his  daughter  Iphigenia  in  sacrifice.  Compelled 
by  his  duty  to  the  expedition,  lie  allowed  her  to  be  sent 
far,  the  pretext  given  to  Clytauiiuestra  being  that  she  was 
to  bj  married  to  Achillea  But  when  the  moment  of  sacri- 
fice came,  the  goddess  substituted  a  stag,  carried  her  off  to 
the  Tauri,  and  made  her  immortal.  Tie  Beet  dor 
and  except  the  quarrel  between  him  and  Achilles  at  T 

iinus,  there  was  no  incident  in  which  Agamemnon 
figured  particularly,  until,  in  one  cf  the  raids  on  the  towns 
round  Troy,  Brisels  and  Chryseis  wero  brought  captives, 
and  assigned,  the  former  to  Achilles,  the  latter  to  Aga- 
-/.cr.-.-'on. — who,  having  to  yield  up  his  captive  to  0] 
Apollo,  clu-uied  and  took  the  other.  Upon  this  Achilles 
withdrew  fror^  the  war,  and  Agamer.-.non  endeavoured  at 
first  to  maintain  it  without  him.  In  the  face  of  disaster 
he  repented,  and  offered  reparation — sending  costly  presents 
by  the  hands  of  Phoenix,  Ajax,  and  Ulysses.  His  offer 
rejected,  he  took  the  field  himself,  and  did  marvels  of 
bravery,  but  was  wounded  and  defeated.  When  Troy  was 
finally  taken  and  the  captives  distributed,  he  obtainod 
Cassandra,  and  with  her  returned  home;  but  before  sailing 
the  shade  of  Achilles  appeared  to  him,  foretold  what  would 
happen,  and  sought  to  restrain  him.  In  his  absence 
Clytannnestra  had  yielded  to  the  temptations  of  yEgkthus, 
and,  to  cover  her  shame,  planned  with  him  the  death  of 
her  husband.  The  approach  of  Agamemnon  being  an- 
aounced  by  a  spy,  a  feast  and  an  affected  welcome  were 
prepared  for  him  and  .his  followers.  At  the  feast  they 
were  fallen  upon  by  hired  murderers,  assisted  by  ^gisthus 
and  Clytoamnestra,  the  latter  herself  slaying  Cassandra 
{Odyssey,  iv.  51"-537;  xi.  385-461).  According  to 
./Eschylus,  Agamemnon  was  slain  in  his  bath,  his  wife  first 
throwing  a  piece  of  cloth  over  him  to  prevent  resistance. 
For  his  death  vengeance  was  taken  by  his  son  Orestes. 
In  the  legends  of  the  Peloponnesus,  Agamemnon  was  re- 
garded as  the  highest  type  of  a  powerful  monarch,  and  in 
Sparta  he  was  worshipped  under  the  title  of  Zeus  Agamem- 
non. His  tomb  was  pointed  out  among  the  ruins  of 
Mycenae  (Pausanias  ii.  16.  5).  (a.  s.  m.) 

AGAPE,  plur.  Agap.e,  the  love-feast,  or  feast  of  charity, 
which  among  the  primitive  Christians  usually  accompanied 
the  Eucharist.  The  word  [ayasrq,  love)  is  first  employed 
in  this  sense  in  the  Epistle  of  Jude,  verse  12.  The  sug- 
gestion of  a  connection  between  Christian  love-feasts  and 
the  ipavoi  and  Iraipuu  of  Greece  and  Rome  is  both  im- 
probable and  unnecessary.  The  feelings  of  love  and 
brotherhood  fostered  by  the  new  faith,  strengthened  as 
these  must  liave  been  T)y  the  complete  isolation  of  the 
little  Christian  community,  are  quite  sufficient  to  account 
for  the  existence  of  the  Agapse,  without  referring  them  to 
other  more  or  less  similar  institutions.  According  to 
Chrysostom,  the  Agape  was  a,  common  feast,  symbolising 
the  community  of  goods  when  .it  no  longer  really  existed, 
to  which  the  rich  brought  provisions,  and  the  poor,  who 
brought  nothing,  were  invited.  At  first  it  was  observed 
probably  every  evening  in  immediate  connection  with  the 
celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  though  whether  before 
or  after  is  a  point  that  has  been  much  disputed.  It  closed 
with  the  holy  kiss  (<£iAi)/Aa  5.yi.ov,  <pi\-n/j.a  aya7njs).      The 

Corinthian  church  was  the  first  to  pecyext  the  Agape  by 
destroying  the  community  between  rich  and  poor  (1  Cor. 
xL  21).  Partly  perhaps  on  account  of  such  irregularities 
extending,  and  partly  to  escape  the  notice  of  persecutors, 
it  became  usual  about  tie  middle  of  the  2d  century  to 
separate  the  Lord's  Supper  from  the  Agape  by  celebrating 
the  former  at   the  close  of  morning  service  on  Sunday, 


and  the  latter  by  itself  after  a  considerable  interval. 
Abuses  becoming  more  frequent,  love-feasts  were  gradually 
put  under  greater  restrictions.  The  rich  began  habitually 
to  absent  themselves  from  the  Agapae,  which  came  thus  to 
be  regarded  as  a  provision  for  the  poor  alone;  and  the 
Council  of  Gangra  (300),  to  correct  the  abuse,  pronounced 
an  anathema  upon  any  who  should  despise  the  Agapae.  A 
number  of  synods  and  councils  in  succession  condemned 
the  holding  of  these  feasts  in  churches,  as  well  as  the  par- 
ticipation of  the  clergy  in  them,  and  at  length  the  observ- 
ance altogether  died  out.  In  modem  times  it  has  been 
revived  in  one  form  or  other  by  the  Moravian  Brethren, 
the  Wesleyan  Methodists,  and,  in  Scotland,  by  the  followers 
of  Robert  Sandeman; 

AGAPETUS,  deacon  of  the  St  Sophia  Church  at  Con- 
stantinople, presented  to  the  Emperor  Justinian  a  work 
entitled  '  '  irta  l'tgia,  composed  in  527,  which  con- 
tained advice  on  the  duties  of  a  Christian  prince.  It  is 
highly  valued,  and  has  been  several  times  reprinted.  The 
best  edition  is  that  contained  in  Bandauri's  Imjvrium. 
Orientate  (Paris,  1711).  There  is  an  English  translation 
by  Thomas  I'aynell  (1550);  and  a  French  translation, 
executed  from  a  Latin  version  by  Louis  XIIL,  with  the 
assistance  of  his  tutor,  David  Rivault. 

AGARDE,  Arthur,  a  learned  English  antiquary,  born 
at  Foston,  in  Derbyshire,  about  1540.  He  was  trained  a 
lawyer;  but  entering  the  exchequer  as  a  clerk,  he  became 
deputy-chamberlain  in  1570.  This  office,  which  he  held 
for  forty-five  years,  gave  him  unrivalled  opportunities  for 
carrying  on  his  favourite  study.  Along  with  his  intimate 
friends,  Sir  Robert  Cotton  and  Camden,  ho  was  one  of  the 
original  members  of  the  Society  of  Antiqntaries:  He  made 
a  special  study  of  the  Domesday  Book,  and  prepared  an 
explanation  of  its  more  obscure  terms,  which  is  of  little 
worth.  Hearne,  in  his  Collection  of  Curious  Discourses 
toritten  by  Eminent  Antiquaries  (Oxford,  1720),  includes 
six  by  Agarde  on  such  subjects  as  the  origin  of  parliament, 
the  antiquity  of  shires,  the  authority  and  privileges  of 
heralds,  <tc.  Agarde  died  in  1615,  and  was  buried  in  the 
cloister  of  Westminster  Abbey.  He  bequeathed  to  the 
exchequer  all  his  papers  relating  to  that  court,  and  to  his 
friend  Sir  Robert  Cotton  his  other  manuscripts,  amounting 
to  twenty  volumes. 

AGASIAS,  son  of  Dositheus,  a  famous  sculptor  of 
Ephesus,  who  is  supposed  to  have  lived  about  the  4th 
century.  His  celebrated  work,  known  erroneously  as  the 
Borghese  Gladiator,  was  discovered  at  the  commencement 
of  the  13th  century  in  the  ruins  of  an  imperial  palace  at 
Antium,  where  the  Apollo  Belvidtre  was  also  found.  It 
represents  a  figure  in  action,  with  the  head  uplifted  as  if 
to  meet  the  attack  of  a  horseman.  According  to  Winckel- 
mann,  the  representation  of  the  figure  is'  intensely  real, 
without  a  touch  of  imagination.  The  statue  forms  part  of 
the.  Louvre  collection." 

AGASSIZ,  Louis  John  Rudolph,  was  the  son  of  a 
Swiss  Protestant  clergyman.  His  father  was  the  pastor  of 
the  parish  of  Motiers,  a  smalltown  situated  near  the  north- 
eastern angle  of  the  Little  Murtensee,  and  not  far  from  the 
eastern  extremity  of  the  Lake  of  Neuchatel.  Agassiz  was 
born  at  this  retired  place  on  May  28,  1 807.  Educated  first 
at  home,  then  spending  four  years  at  the  gymnasium  of 
Bienne,  he  completed  his  elementary  studies  at  the  academy 
of  Lausanne.  Whilst  at  this  latter  place  he  already  be- 
came conspicuous  amongst  his  fellow-students,  not  only  foi 
his  love  of  the  natural  sciences,  but  for  the  manifest  talent 
he  displayed  in  pursuing  them.  The  close  alliance  between 
these  subjects  and  the  science  of  medicine  led  him  to  adopt 
the  latter  as  his  profession,  for  which  he  studied  successively 
at  the  universities  of  Zurich,  Heidelberg,  and  Munich;  at 
the  same  time  availing  himself  of  the  advantages  afforde-d 


A  G  ASiSl  Z 


275 


by  these  universities  for  extending  hi°3  knowledge  of  natural 
history,  especially  of  botany.  Having  completed  his  academi- 
cal course,  he  took  hisdegree  of  doctorof  medicine  at  Munich. 
Up  to  this  time  he  had  no  particular  inclination  for  the 
study  of  ichthyology,  which  soon  afterwards  became  the 
great  occupation  of  his  life.  Agassiz  always  declared  that 
lie  was  led  into  ichthyological  pursuits  through  the  follow- 
ing circumstances  : — In  1819-20,  Spix  and  Martius  were 
engaged  in  their  celebrated  Brazilian  tour,  and  on  their 
return  to  Europe,  amongst  other  collections  of  natural 
objects,  they  brought  home  an  important  one  of  the'fresh- 
water  fishes  of  Brazil,  and"  especially  of  the  Amazon  river. 
Unfortunately  Spix  did  not  live  long  .enough  to  work  out 
the  history  of  these  fishes  ;  hence  it  became  necessary  that 
some  other  naturalist  should  undertake  the  task  of  describ- 
ing them.  It  is  no  insignificant  proof  of  the  reputation 
which  Agassiz  had  already  won,  that,  though  little  more 
than  a  youth  just  liberated  from  his  academic  studies,  he 
■was  selected  for  this  purpose.  His  attention  being  thus 
directed  to  the  special  subject  of  ichthyology,  he  at  once 
threw  himself  into  the  work  with  that  earnestness  of  spirit 
which  characterised  him  to  the  end  of  his  busy  life.  Thus, 
in  1828  we  find  him,  after  describing  a  new  species  of 
Oynocephalus,  publishing  a  description  of  a  new  cyprinoid 
fish.  This  was  followed  by  a  yet  more  elaborate  research 
into  the  history  of  the  cyprinoid  and  other  fishes  found  in 
the  lake  of  NeuchateL  Rapidly  enlarging  his  plans,  the 
publication  of  the  last-named  work  was  succeeded  by  the 
issue,  in  1830,  of  a  prospectus  of  a  Ilislory  of  the  Fresh- 
water Fishes  of  Central  Europe.  It  was  only  in  1839, 
however,  that  the  first  part  of  this  important  publication 
appeared.  The  task  of  describing  and  figuring  the  Brazilian 
fishes  of  Spix  and  Martius  •  was  completed  and  the  work 
published  in  1829. 

Acquiring  fresh  confidence  through  these  labours,  he 
now  contemplated  a  yet  greater  task.  Having  become  a  pro- 
fessed ichthyologist,  it  was  impossible  that  the  fossil  fishes 
•with; which  the  stratified  rocks  of  his  native  mountains 
abound  should  fail  to  attract  his  attention.  The  rich 
stores  furnished  by  the  slates  of  Glarus  and  the  limestones 
of  Monte  Bolca  were  already  well  known ;  but  very  little  had 
been  accomplished  in  the  way  of  the  scientific  study  of  them. 
Agassiz  at  once  threw  himself  into  this  new  field  of  labour 
with  his  wonted  enthusiasm,  and  began  the  publication  of 
the  work  which,  more  than  any  other,  made  him  known  to 
foreign  naturalists,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  his  world- 
wide fame.  Five  volumes  of  his  Eecherches  sur  les  Poissons 
Fossiles  appeared  at  intervals  between  the  years  1833  and 
1844.  They  were  magnificently  illustrated,  chiefly  through 
the  labours  of  Dinkel,  an'  artist  of  remarkable  power  in 
delineating  natural  objects. 

Agassiz   soon   found  that   his  palaeontological  labours 
rendered  a  new  basis  of  ichthyological  classification  ab- 
solutely necessary.     The  fossils  rarely  exhibited  any  traces 
of  the  soft  tissues  of  fishes.     They  chiefly  consisted  of  the 
teeth,   scales,   and   fins,   even  the   bones   being  perfectly 
preserved   in   but  comparatively  'few   instances.      Hence 
the  classifications  of  Cuvier  and  other  naturalists  were  of 
little  use  to  him  in  determining  the  mutual  relations  of 
the  fossil  forms.     He  therefore  adopted  his  well-known 
•classification,  which  divided  fishes  into  four  groups — viz., 
Canoids,  Placoids,  Cycloids,  and  Ctenoids.     The  first  of 
these  groups  was  chiefly  represented  amongst  living  fishes 
by  the  Lepidosteus  or  bony  pike  of  the  great  American 
rivers;  by  the  Polypterus  or  Bischir  of  the  Nile;  and  by 
the    sturgeon.      The   last   fish  has   a   wide  geographical 
Tange;  but  the  other  two,  •which  best  display  the  characters 
on  which  Agassiz  based  his  Ganoid  class,  are  limited  to  the 
fresh-water  rivers  of  local  geographical  areas.     But  in  the 
Palaeozoic  and  Mesozoic  ages  it  was  strikingly  otherwise. 


The  Ganoids  were  the  most  remarkable  as  trull  as  the  most 
widely  diffused  of  primeval  fishes;  we  find  them  equally 
in  the  fresh-water  deposits  of  the  weald,  in  the  marine 
deposits  of  the  oolites,  the  chalk,  and  the  magnesian  lime- 
stone, and  in  the  more  mixed  and  dubious  deposits  of  the 
coal  measures.  Agassiz,  therefore, '  was  fully  justified  in 
attaching  very  great  importance  to  this  hitherto  unrecog- 
nised class.  Indeed,  later  ichthyologists — e.g.,  J.  Miiller 
and  Professor  Owen — have  found  it  necessary  to  retain  the 
class  in  their  recent  classifications,  though  in  a  modified 
form.  The  remaining  portions  of  Agassiz'  Bysteiu  have 
not  been  adopted  by  them ;  but  though  ihey  do  not  accept 
the  terms  Placoids,  Cycloids,  and  Ctenoids  as  representing 
classes,  all  zoologists  employ  them  as  new  and  convenient 
adjectives,  of  the  utmost  value  to  students  of  systematic 
ichthyology.  One  reason  for  the  rejection  of  Agassiz* 
system  by  modern  ichthyologists  is  the  obvious  one  that 
he  draws  the  characteristics  of  his  classes  from  a  single 
organ — the  skin — and  that  not  the  most  important.  At 
the  same  ^lime,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  Placoids,  liko 
the  Ganoids,  also  constituted  a  natural  group  closely  corre- 
sponding with  the  Pisces  cartilaginei  of  Cuvier  and  others. 
The  distinction  between  Cycloids  and  Ctenoids  was  a  much 
more  trivial  one,  and  needlessly  separated  closely-allied 
forms.  It  is  only  those  who  are  familial-  with  the 
magnitude  and  difficulties  of  the  task  thus  undertaken 
that  can  appreciate  the  daring  courage  of  the  youth  who 
grappled  with  it.  Under  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and, 
as  already  observed,  with  limited  "financial  resources,  he 
nevertheless  seems  to  have  known  no  fear.  He  soon 
announced  to  geologists  several  important  generalisations, 
the  correctness  of  which  has  been  confirmed  by  all  sub- 
sequent research.  In  particular,  he  pointed  out  that  no 
examples  of  Cycloids  and  Ctenoids,  comprehending  the  bulk 
of  the  fishes  now  seen  in  our  markets,  were  to  be  found  in 
rocks  of  older  date  than  the  cretaceous  age. 

As  the  work  proceeded  it  became  obvious  that  it  would 
over-tax  the  resources  of  the  intrepid  young  zoologist,  un- 
less some  additional  assistance  could  be  afforded  to  him. 
The  British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science 
wisely  came  to  his  aid,  and  the  late  Earl  of  Ellesmere — 
better  known  in  his  youth  as  Lord  Francis  Egcrton — gave 
him  yet  more  efficient  help.  The  original  drawings  made 
for  the  work,  chiefly  by  Dinkel,  amounted  to  1290  in 
number.  These  were  purchased  by  the  eari;  but,  with 
princely  liberality,  he  left  all  that  -were  necessary  for  the 
further  prosecution  of  his  labours  in  the  hands  of  Agassiz. 
It  was  whilst  he  was  thus  engaged  that  Agassiz  paid  hi? 
first  visit  to  England,  for  the  purpose  of  studying  the  rich 
stores  of  fossil  fishes  with  which  this  country  abounds. 
He  was  then  in  his  youthful  prime — a  model  of  manly 
vigour  and  scientific  enthusiasm ;  but  amongst  his  many 
qualities  none  were  more  remarkable  than  the  quickness 
with  which  he  detected  the  peculiarities  of  any  new  fossil, 
and  the  retentiveness  of  his  memory,  which  enabled  him 
to  make  ready  use  of  his  newly-acquired  knowledge.  The 
consciousness  that  ne  possessed  these  powers  led  him  occa- 
sionally— though,  it  must  be  allowed,  but  rarely— to  trust 
unduly  to  them,  and  made  him  sometimes  hasty  and  oil- 
hand  in  his  conclusions. 

But  fossil  ichthyology,  though  a  very  large  subject,  was 
insufficient  to  occupy  his  energetic  mind.  In  1837  we 
find  him  issuing  the  "Prodrome"  of  a  monograph  on  the 
recent  and  fossil  Echinodermata,  the  first  part  of  which 
appeared  in  1838;  and  in  1839-40  he  published,  in  addi- 
tion, two  quarto  volumes  on  the  fossd  Echinodernis  of 
Switzerland.  This  division  of  the  invertebrate  animal? 
was  evidently  a  favourite  one  with  him,  since  we  find 
it  the  subject  of  numerous  memoirs  which  appeared  from 
time  to  time  during  his  later  life. 


276 


AGASSIZ 


It  was  by  these  great  undertakings  that  he  chiefly  won 
his  distinguished  position  as  one  of  the  greatest  leaders  in 
scientific  research;  but  his  observant  faculties  were  by  no 
means  concentrated  upon  them  exclusively.  His  intellec- 
tual tentacula  expanded  in  every  direction.  The  history  of 
the  Beleinnites,  the  muscular  system  of  recent  and  fossil 
shells,  the  principles  of  classification  of  the  animal  king- 
dom, the  embryology  of  the  salmon,  and  critical  studies 
of  special  genera  of  fossil  Mollusca — all  engaged  his 
attention.  During  his  travels  in  England  in  1834  he  was 
ever  on  the  alert  for  new  specimens  for  the  museum  of, 
Neuchatel.  One  characteristic  incident  of  this  kind  may  bo 
referred  to  here.  A  fine  porpoise  had  been  caught  by  the 
Scarborough  fishermen.  Agassiz  was  weary  with  travel, 
and  had  but  a  few  hours  to  remain  in  the  town,  but  the 
chance  could  not  be  allowed  to  escape ;  the  creature  was 
purchased,  and  midnight  saw  Agassiz  and  the  writer  of 
this  sketch  working  by  the  dim  light  of  two  tallow  candles 
dissecting  the  animal,  and  shipping  off  its  half-cleaned 
bones  to  Neuchatel.  before  he  ventured  to  take  the  much- 
needed  rest. 

Subsequently  to  his  first  visit  to  England  the  labours 
of  Hugh  Miller,  Dr  Malcolinson,  and  other  geologists 
brought  to  light  the  marvellous  ichthyal  fauna  of  the 
Devonian  beds  of  the  north-east  of  Scotland.  Murchison 
and  Sedgwick  had  some  time  previously  directed  attention 
to  the  existence  of  fishes  of  this  geological  age,  especially 
amongst  the  bituminous  shales  of  Caithness;  but  the  more 
recent  discoveries  were  of  far  greater  interest  than  the 
earlier  ones,  because  of  the  strange  forms  of  the  Pterich- 
thys,  the  Coccosteus,  and  other  species  then  made  known 
to  geologists  for  the  first  time.  The  supposition  of  Hugh 
Miller,  that  some  of  these  fishes  had  vertical  instead  of 
horizontal  mouths,  suggestive  of  a  transition  from  the 
crustacean  to  the  ichthyal  type,  added  fresh  interest  to 
the  subject  in  the  eyes  of  a  philosophic  inquirer  like 
Agassiz.  Theso  fossils  were  reported  upon  by  him  more 
than  once,  and  were  finally  made  the  subjects  of  a  special 
monograph,  which  was  published  in  1844.  Miller's  inter- 
pretation of  the  structure  of  the  mouth  Agassiz  soon 
demonstrated  to  be  erroneous. 

The  year  1840  witnessed  the  inauguration  of  a  new 
movement,  which  has  proved  to  be  of  the  utmost  import- 
ance to  geological  science.  Previously  to  this  date  De 
Saussure,  Venetz,  Charpentier,  and  others  had  made  the 
glaciers  of  the  Alps  the  subjects  of  special  study,  and 
Charpentier  had  even  arrived  at  the  important  conclusion 
that  the  well-known  erratic  blocks  of  alpine  rocks  scattered 
so  abundantly  over  the  slopes  and  summits-  of  the  Jura 
mountains,  had  been  conveyed  thither  by  glaciers.  The 
question  having  attracted  the  attention  of  Agassiz,  he  at 
once  grappled  with  it  in  his  wontedly  enthusiastic  manner. 
He  not  only  made  successive  journej's  to  the  alpine  glaciers 
in  company  with  Charpentier,  but  he  had  a  rude  hut  con- 
structed upon  one  of  the  Aar  glaciers,  which  for  a  time  he 
made  his  comfortless  home,  in  order  that  he  might  the 
more  thoroughly  investigate  the  structure  and  movements 
of  the  ice.  These  labours  resulted  in  the  publication  of 
his  magnificent  illustrated  folio  entitled  Eludes  sur  les- 
Glaciers,  In  this  important  work  the  movements  of  the 
glaciers,  their  moraines,  their  influence  in  grooving  and 
rounding  off  the  rocks  over  which  they  travelled,  producing 
the  striations  and  roclies  montonnis  with  which  we  are  now 
so  familiar,  were  treated  with  a  comprehensiveness  which 
threw  into  the  shade  all  the  writings  of  previous  labourers 
in  this  field.  He  not  only  accepted  Charpentier's  idea  that 
some  of  the  alpine  glaciers  had  extended  across  the  wide 
plains  and  valleys  drained  by  the  Aar  and  the  Rhone,  and 
thud  landed  parts  of  their  remains  upon  the  uplands  of  the 
Jura,  but  he  went  still  further  in  the  same  direction.     He 


concluded  that,  at  a  period  geologically  recent,  Switzerland 
had  been  another  Greenland;  that  instead  of  a  few  glaciers 
stretching  their  restricted  lines  across  the  areas  referred  to, 
one  vast  sheet  of  ice,  originating  in  the  higher  Alps,  had 
extended  over  the  entire  valley  of  north-western  Switzer- 
land until  it  reached  the  southern  slopes  of  the  Jura,  which, 
though  they  checked  and  deflected  its  further  extension,  did 
not  prevent  the  ice  from  reaching  in  many  places  the 
summit  of  the  range.  At  a  later  period  we  shall  find  him 
holding  a  similar  view  in  the  case  of  the  vast  plains  spread 
out  between  the  Andes  and  the  eastern  coast  of  South 
America.  The  publication  of  this  work  gave  afresh  impetus 
to  the  study  of  glacial  phenomena  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 
In  1841  Agassiz  spent  many  weeks  in  his  hut  on  tho 
Lower  Aar  glacier,  where  he  received  as  his  guest  the  lato 
Professor  James  Forbes,  who  was  also  engaged  upon  tho 
study  of  glacial  phenomena.  The  latter  philosopher,  in 
his  work  on  Norway  and  its  Glaciers,  recognised  in  tho 
fullest  manner  his  indebtedness  to  Agassiz  for  much  ucw 
light  respecting  the  details  of  glacial  action. 

Thus  familiarised  with  the  phenomena  attendant  on  the 
movements  of  recent  glaciers,  Agassiz  was  preparod  for  a 
new  and  most  unexpected  discovery  which  he  made  in 
1846,  in  conjunction  with  the  late  Professor  Ruckland. 
These  two  savants  visited  the  mountains  of  Scotland 
together,  and  found  in  six  different  localities  clear  evi- 
dence of  some  ancient  glacial  action.  The  discovery  was 
announced  to  the  Geological  Society  of  London  in  a  joint 
communication  from  the  two  distinguished  observers. 
Similar  discoveries  were  subsequently  made  by  Buckland, 
Lyell,  Ramsay,  and  others  in  various  parts  of  Scotland, 
Westmoreland,  Cumberland,  and  North  Wales.  The  for- 
mer existence  of  glaciers  in  each  of  these  mountainous 
districts  is  a  fact  that  no  one  now  presumes  to  doubt  any 
more  than  that  these  glaciers,  either  directly,  or  indirectly 
in  the  shape  of  icebergs,  have  at  least  contributed  largely  to 
the  accumulation  of  those  wide-spread  deposits  with  which 
geologists  are  familiar  under  the  name  of  drift  and  boulder 
formations. 

But  we  must  now  follow  Agassiz  to  a  new  sphere  of 
labour.  In  1S38  he  was.appointed  to  the  professorship  of 
natural  history  at  Neuchatel,  with  a  very  limited  income. 
In  the  autumn  of  1846  he  crossed  the  Atlantic,  with  the 
two-fold  design  of  investigating  the  natural  history  am 
geology  of  the -United  States,  and  delivering  a  course  of 
lectures  on  zoology  at  the  Lowell  Institute;  and  the 
tempting  advantages,  pecuniary  and  scientific,  presented 
to  him  in  tho  New  World,  induced  him  to  settle  in  the 
United  States,  where  he  remained  to  the  end  of  his  life. 
He  was  appointed  professor  of  zoology  and  geology  in  the 
university  of  Cambridge,  U.S.,  in  1847.  He  left  that  post 
in  1851  for  a  medical  professorship  of  comparative  anatomy 
at  Charlestown,  but  returned  in  1853  to  Cambridge. 

This  transfer  to  a  new  field,  and  the  association  with 
fresh  objects  of  high  interest  to  him,  gave  his  energies  a 
new  stimulus.  Volume  after  volume  now  proceeded 
from  his  pen  :  some  of  his  writings  were  popular,  and  ad- 
dressed to  the  multitude,  but  most  of  them  dealt  with  tho 
higher  departments  of  scientific  research.  His  work  on 
Lake  Superior,  and  his  four  volumes  of  Contributions  to 
the  Natural  History  of  t/ie  United  Slates,  were  of  this  latter 
character.  But  whilst  thus  working  earnestly  at  American 
zoology,  he  still  kept  in  view  more  generalised  inquiries, 
the  fruits  of  which  appeared  in  1854,  with  the  title  of 
Zcolor/ie  Generate  et  L'squisses  Generates  de  Zoologie  con- 
tenant  la  Structure,  le  Developpement,  la  Classification,  Ac, 
de  tous  les  Types  d'Animaux  vivants  et  delruits.  Before 
leaving  these  literary  labours,  we  must  not  overlook  the 
valuable  service  he  rendered  to  science  by  tho  formation, 
for  his  own  use,  of  a  catalogue  of  scientific  memoirs — an 


A  G  A- 

extraordinary  work  for  a  man  whose  hands  were  already  so 
fulL  This  catalogue,  edited  and  materially  enlarged  by 
the  late  Hugh  Strickland,  was  published  by  the  Ray 
Society  under  the  title  of  Bibliographia  Zoologies  et  Geo- 
logies. Nor  must  we  forget  that  he  was  building  up 
another  magnificent  monument  of  his  industry  in  the 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  which  rose  under  his  foster- 
ing care,  at  Cambridge.  But  at  length  the  great  strain 
on  his  physical  powers  began  to  tell.  He  then  sought 
to  restore  his'waning  health  by  a  southern  voyage.  His 
early  labours  among  the  fishes  of  Brazil  had  often  caused 
him  to  cast  a  longing  glance  towards  that  country;  and  he 
now  resolved  to  combine  the  pursuit  of  health  with  the 
gratification  of  his  long-cherished  desires.  In  April  1805 
he  started  for  Brazil,  along  with  his  admirable  wife  and  an 
excellent  class  of  assistants.  Even  on  shipboard  he  could 
not  be  idle.  In  his  outward  voyage  he  delivered  a  course 
of  lectures,  open  to  all  his  fellow-passengers,  but  especially 
addressed  to  his  assistants,  and  intended  to  instruct 
them  in  the  nature  and  bearings  of  the  great  problems 
upon  which  they  might  hope  to  throw  light  during  their 
stay  in  Brazil.  An  interesting  account  of  this  journey,  to 
the  success  of  which  the  emperor  of  Brazil  contributed  in 
every  possible  way,  was  published  by  Mrs  Agassiz  when 
they  returned  home,  laden  with  the  natural  treasures  of  the 
Brazilian  rivers. 

In  1871  he  made,  a  second  excursion,  visiting  the 
southern  shores  of  the  North  American  continent,  both  on 
its  Atlantic  and  its  Pacific  seaboards.  He  had  for  many 
years  yearned  after  the  establishment  of  some  permanent 
school  where  zoological  science  could  be  studied,  not  in 
class-rooms  or  museums  of  dead  specimens,  but  amidst  the 
living  haunts  of  the  subjects  of  study.  Like  all  truly 
great  teachers,  he  had  little  faith  in  any  school  but  that  of 
nature.  The  last,  and  possibly  the  most  permanently  in- 
fluential, of  the  labours  of  his  long  and  successful  Life  was 
the  establishment  of  such  an  institution,  which  he  was 
enabled  to  effect  through  the  hberality  of  Mr  John  Anderson, 
a  citizen  of  New  York.  That  gentleman  not  only  handed 
over  to  Agassiz  the  island  of  Penikese,  on  the  east  coast, 
but  also  presented  him.  with  $50,000  'wherewith  per- 
manently to  endow  it  as  a  practical  school  of  natural 
science,  especially  devoted  to  the  study  of  marine  zoology. 
Another  American  friend  gave  him  a  fine  yacht,  of  80  tons 
burden,  to  be  employed  in  marine  dredging  in  the  sur- 
rounding seas.  Had  Agassiz  lived  long  enough  to  bring 
all  this  machinery  into  working  order,  it  is  difficult  to  ex- 
aggerate the  practical  advantages  which  American  science 
would  have  reaped  from  it  when  guided  by  such  experi- 
enced hands.  ■  But  it  was  otherwise  ordained.  The  disease 
with  which  he  had  struggled  for  some  years  proved  fatal 
on  Dec.  14,  1873. 

A  letter  to  his  old  friend,  Sir  Philip  M.  de  Grey  Eger- 
ton,  Bart.,  written  but  a  few  days  before  his  death,  and 
doubtless  one  of  the  last  that  he  penned,  showed  that  his 
spirit  was  still  as  indomitable  and  his  designs  as  large  as 
ever;  and  one  of  his  latest  expressed  wishes  was  that  he 
might  be  spared  for  four  more  years  in  order  that  the  wbrk 
he  had  contemplated  might  be  completed. 

Our  available  space  will  not  allow  us  to  give  a  de- 
tailed sketch  of  the  opinions  of  this  remarkable  man  on 
even  the  more  important  of  the  great  subjects  which  he 
studied  so  long.  From  first  to  last  he  steadily  rejected 
the  doctrine  of  evolution,  and  affirmed  his  belief  in  inde- 
pendent creations.  In  like  manner  he  retained  his  confi- 
dence in  the  former  existence  and  agency  of  vast  continental 
ice-sheets,  rather  than  in  the  combined  action  of  more 
limited  glaciers  and  icebergs,  which  nearly  all  modern 
geologists  recognise  as  the  producers  of  the  drifts  and 
boulder-clavs.     When  studying  the  superficial  deposits  of 


-  A  G  A  27? 

the  Brazilian  plains  in  1805,  his  vivid  imagination  covered 
even  that  wide  tropical  area,  as  it  had  covered  Switzerland 
before,  with  one  vast  glacier,  extending  from  the  Andes  to 
the  sea.  His  daring  conceptions  were  only  equalled  by  th» 
unwearied  industry  and  genuine  enthusiasm  with  which  he 
worked  them  out;  and  if  in  details  his  labours  were  some- 
what defective,  it  was  only  because  he  had  the  courage  to 
attempt  what  was  too  much  for  any  one  man  to  accom- 
plish, (w.  o.  w.) 

AGATE  (from  Acliates,  a  river  in  Sicily,  on  the  banks  of 
which  it  is  said  to  have  been  found),  a  name  applied  by 
mineralogists  to  a  stone  of  the  quartz  family,  generally 
occurring  in  rounded  nodules  or  in  veins  in  trap  rocks. 
The  number  of  agate  balks  in  the  rock  often  give  it  tha 
character  of  amygdaloid;  and  when  such  a  rock  is  decom- 
posed by  the  elements,  the  agates  drop  out,  and  are  found 
in  the  beds  of  streams  that  descend  from  it;  or  they  may 
be  obtained  in  quarrying.  Great  quantities  are  obtained 
from  Oberstein  and  Idar,  in  Germany,  where  there  are  larg< 
manufactories  for  colouring  and  polishing  the  stones ;  and 
many  are  brought  from  India  and  Brazil.  Agate  occurs 
in  considerable  quantity  in  Scotland,  whence  the  stone  is 
familiarly  known  to  lapidaries  as  Scotch  pebble;  and  very 
large  masses  of  calcedony,  a  variety  of  it,  are  brought  from 
Iceland,  the  Faroe  Islands,  and  Brazil.  Agate  chiefly  con« 
sists  of  calcedony,  with  mixtures  of  common  quartz  and 
occasional  patches  of  jasper  and  opal.  The  colour  markings 
are  often  in  concentric  rings  of  varying  forms  and  inten- 
sity, or  in  straight  parallel  layers  or  bands.  The  colours 
are  chiefly  gray,  white,  yellow,  or  brownish-red.  The  com- 
position of  agate  is  not  uniform;  but  it  usually  contains 
from  70  to  90  per  cent,  of  silica,  with  varying  proportions 
of  alumina,  coloured  by  oxide  of  iron  or  manganese.  The 
principal  varieties  are — 

1.  Calcedony.  In  this  the  colours  are  in  parallel  bands. 
The  porosity  of  this  stone,  and  the  presence  of  iron  in  it, 
have  given  rise  to  a  beautiful  artificial  process  for  height- 
ening its  natural  colours,  which  has  been  long  practised  at 
Oberstein,  and  probably  long  known  in  India.  The  stones 
best  suited  for  this  purpose  are  such  as  when  recently  frac- 
tured imbibe  moisture  most  readily.  The  stones  are  first 
dried  without  heat,  then  immersed  in  a  mixture  of  honey 
and  water,  and  afterwards  placed  in  a  heated  oven,  where 
they  remain  for  two  or  three  weeks,  constantly  covered  with 
the  liquid.  They  are  then  washed,  dried,  and  put  into  an 
earthenware  vessel  containing  sufficient  sulphuric  acid  to 
cover  them ;  this  vessel  is  closed  and  placed  in  the  oven  for 
a  space  varying  from  one  to  twelve  hours,  according  to  the 
hardness  of  the  stone.  The  agates  are  now  removed,  washed, 
and  thoroughly  dried;  and  after  being  kept  in  oil  for  twenty* 
four  hours,  are  cleaned,  cut;  and  polished.  In  the  best 
specimens  the  gray  streaks  are  increased  in  intensity;  some 
exhibit  brown  streaks  approaching  to  black,  while  white 
impenetrable  parts  assume  a  brighter  hue  by  the  contrast. 
This  is  the  process  employed  to  convert  the  veined  calce- 
dony or  agate  into  onyx,  especially  for  the  production  of 
cameos  and  intaglios,  in  imitation  of  the  antique  sculptured 
gems,  of  which  admirable  specimens  are  found  in  the  cabinets 
of  the  curious,  and  especially  in  the  Florentine  Museum.  In 
those  minute  but  exquisite  works  the  ancient  Greeks  espe- 
cially excelled;  and  remarkable  specimens  of  the  art  have 
been  found  in  the  tombs  of  Egypt,  Assyria,  and  Etruria.  In 
such  works  the  figures,  whether  in  relief  or  intaglio,  appear 
of  a  different  colour  from  the  ground. 

2.  Carnelian,  or  red  calcedony,  when  found,  is  almost 
always  brownish  or  muddy.  The  following  process  is 
employed  at  Oberstein  to  convert  both  this  sort  and  the 
yellowish-brown  varieties  into  a  rich  red,  so  as  to  rival 
the  Indian  carnelian,  -which  probably  also  has  its  colour 
heightened  artificially  : — After  being  thoroughly  dried,  the 


278 


AGA-AC E 


ston  :s  are  dipped  m  siilplmric  acid,  and  immediately  exposed 
in  a  covered  earthenware  crucible  to  a  red  heat :  the  whole 
is  allowed  to  coul  slowly,  and  when  cold  the  stones  are 
removed  and  washed. 

3.  Mocha  stones,  originally  brought  from  the  East,  are 
clear  grayish  calcedonies,  with  clouds  and  dashes  of  rich 
brown  of  various  shades.  They  probably  owe  their  colour 
chiefly  to  art. 

4.  M  '  s  are  such  as  contain  arborisations  or  den- 
drites of  oxide  of  iron,  some  of  which  seem  to  be  petrifac- 
tions of  rial  vegetable  forms. 

5.  Bloodstone  is  a  dark-green  agate  containing  bright 
red  spots  like  blood-drops. 

6.  Plasma,  a  grass-green  stone,  found  engraved  in  ruins 
at  Home,  on  the  Schwartzwald,  and  on  Mount  Olympus, 
appears  to  be  calcedony  coloured  by  chlorite. 

7.  Chrysoprase,  found  in  Silesia,  is  an  agate  coloured 
apple-green  by  oxide  of  nickel. 

The  agate  can  be  cut  or  sawed  easily,  and  is  used  for 
making  cups,  rings,  seals,  handles  for  knives  and  fork?, 
sword-hilts,  rosary  beads,  and  a  great  variety  of  trinkets. 
Many  stones  of  this  kind  are  marked  with  representations 
of  men,  animals,  or  inanimate  natural  objects;  but  there 
can  be  no  question  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  these  are 
to  be  regarded  as  productions  of  art. 

AGATHAIiCHIDES,  a  celebrated  Greek  grammarian 
and  geographer  who  flourished  about  140  years  B.C.,  was 
born  at  C'nidos.  His  works  are  lost,  except  those  passages 
quoted  by  Diodorus  Siculus  and  other  authors,  in  which 
he  describes  the  gold  mines  of  Upper  Egypt,  and  gives  the 
first  philosophical  explanation  of  the  inundations  of  the 
Nile,  which  he  ascribed  to  the  rains  on  the  mountains  of 
Ethiopia.     (Hudson's  Greek  Geographers.) 

AGATHARCHUS,  a  Greek  painter,  commemorated  by 
Vitruvius  for  having  first  applied  the  laws  of  perspective  to 
architectural  painting,  which  he  used  successfully  in  prepar- 
ing scenery  for  the  plays  of  jEschylus.  He  flourished  about 
480  years  B.C. 

AGaTHIAS,  a  Greek  historian  and  poet,  born  at  Myrina 
in  Asia  Manor,  about  536  a.d.  He  was  educated  at  Alex- 
andria, and  in  554  went  to  Constantinople,  where,  after 
studying  Roman  law  for  some  years,  he  practised  as  an  advo- 
cate. The  title  "  Scholasticus,"  generally  given  to  Agathias, 
was  that  by  which  advocates  were  known  in  Constanti- 
nople. Of  the  poetry  by  Agathias  but  little  remains ;  his 
Daphniaca  (Aa.<j>via.KcL),  a  collection  of  erotic  poems,  being 
entirely  lost,  and  only  the  introduction  to  his  Kv'kXos,  or 
anthology  from  earlier  and  contemporary  writers,  being 
extant.  A  number  of  his  epigrams  may  be  found  in  the 
Anthologia  Grcsci  His  principal  work  is  his  history, 
which  begins,  where  Procopius  ends,  with  the  2Gth  year  of 
the  reign  of  Justinian  (553),  and  carries  on  the  narrative 
of  event3  until  558.  It  is  valuable  as  a  chronicle,  but  the 
style  is  turgid,  and  great  ignorance  is  shown  of  the  history 
and  geography  of  western  Europe.  It  was  printed  in 
Greek,  with  a  Latin  translation  by  Bonaventura  Vnlcanius, 
at  Ley  den  in  1594.  The  best  edition  is  that  of  Niebuhr 
(Bonn,  1828).  A  French  translation  is  included  in  the 
second  volume  of  Louis  Cousin's  II istory  of  Constantinople. 

AGATHO,  an  Athenian  tragic  poet,  the  disciple  of  Pro- 
dicus  and  Socrates,  celebrated  by  Plato  in  his  Protagoras 
for  his  virtue  and  his  beauty.  A  tragedy  of  his  obtained 
the  prize  in  the  fourth  year  of  the  90th  Olympiad,  and 
he  was  crowned,  in  the  presence  of  upwards  of  30,000 
persons,  when  a  little  over  thirty  years  of  age.  There  are  no 
remains  of  his  works,  except  a  few  quotations  in  Aristotle, 
Athenseus,  and  others. 

AGATHOCLES,  a  famous  tyrant  of  Sicily,  was  the 
son  of  a  potter  at  Rhegium.  By  his  singular  vigour  and 
abilities  he  raised  himself  through  various  gradations  of 


rank  till  lie  finally  made  himself  tyrant  of  Syracuse,  and 
then  of  nearly  all  Sicily.  t  He  defeated  the  armies  of  the 
ims  .several  times,  both  in  Sicily  and  Africa; 
but  at  length  he  met  with  a  reverse,  and  his  soldiers'  pay 
being  in  arrears,  they  mutinied,  forced  him  to  fly  his 
camp,  and  murdered  his  sons.  Recovering  hiiy.sclf,  he 
relieved  Corcyra,  which  was  besieged  by  Cassander;  burnt 
the  Macedonian  fleet;  and  revenged  the  death  of  liis  chil- 
dren by  putting  the  murderers,  with  their  wives  and  fami- 
lies, to  the  sword.  After  ravaging  the  sea-coast  of  Italy 
he  took  the  city  of  Hipponium.  The  last  years  of  his  life 
were  greatly  harassed  with  ill-health  and  the  turbulence  of 
his  grandson  Archagathus.  He  died  in  the  seventy-second, 
year  of  his  age,  B.C.  290,  after  a  reign  of  twenty-eight 
year. 

AGDE,  a  town  of  France,  in  the  department  of  Hcrault, 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  river  of  that  name,  30  miles  S.W. 
of  Montpellier.  It  is  a  place  of  great  antiquity,  and  is  said 
to  have  been  founded,  under  the  name  of  Agalhe,  by  the 
Greeks.  In  the  neighbourhood  there  is  an  extinct  volcano, 
and  the  town  is  built  of  black  volcanic  basalt,  which  gives 
it  a  grim  and  forbidding  aspect.  It  has  a  fine  old  Gothic 
cathedral,  a  college,  and  a  school  of  navigation.  The 
Canal  du  Muli,  or  Languedoc  canal,  uniting  the  Garonne 
with  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  passes  under  the  walls  of  the 
town,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Herault  forms  a  convenient 
harbour,  which  is  protected  by  a  fort.  Thus  advantageously- 
situated,  the  place  commands  an  extensive  coasting  trade, 
more  than  400  vessels  annually  entering  the  port.  Soap 
and  verdigris  are  manufactured,  and  the  staple  productions 
of  southern  France  are  largely  exported.  Population, 
9747. 

AGE,  a  term  denoting-  generally  any  fixed  period  of 
time,  is  used  more  definitely  in  a  variety  of  senses.  Classi- 
cal mythology  divided  the  whole  history  of  the  earth  into 
a  number  of  periods.  Hesiod,  for  example,  in  his  poem 
Work*  and  Days,  describes  minutely  five  successive  ages, 
during  each  of  which  the  earth  was  peopled  by  an  entirely 
distinct  race.  The  first  or  golden  race  lived  in  perfect 
happiness  on  the  fruits  of  the  unfilled  earth,  sufTcred  frorr 
no  bodily  infirmity,  passed  away  in  a  gentle  sleep,  and 
became  after  death  guardian  daemons  of  this  world.  The 
second  or  silver  race  was  degenerate,  and  refusing  tc 
worship  the  immortal  gods,  was  buried  by  Jove  in  the 
earth.  The  third  or  brazen  race,  still  more  degraded,  wa.<, 
warlike  and  cruel,  and  perished  at  last  by  internal  violence. 
The  fourth  or  heroic  race  was  a  marked  advance  upon  the 
preceding,  its  members  being  the  heroes  or  demi-gods  who 
fought  at  Troy  and  Thebes,  and  who  were  rewarded  after 
death  by  being  permitted  to  reap  thrice  a-year  the  free 
produce  of  the  earth.  The  fifth  or  iron  race,  to  which  the 
poet  supposes  himself  to  belong,  is  the  most  degenerate  of 
all,  sunk  so  low  in  every  vice  that  any  new  change  must  be 
for  the  better.  Ovid,  in  his  Metamorphoses,  follows  Hesiod 
exactly  as  to  nomenclature  and  very  closely  as  to  substance. 
He  makes  the  degeneracy  continuous,  however,  by  omitting 
the  heroic  race  or  age,  which,  as  Grote  points  out,  was 
.probably  introduced  hj  Hesiod,  not  as  part  of  his  didactic 
plan,  but  from  a  desire  to  conciliate  popular  feeling  by 
including  in  his  poem  the  chief  myths  that  were  already 
current  among  the  Greeks. 

A  definite  period  in  history  distinguished  by  some 
special  characteristic,  such  as  great  literary  activity,  is 
generally  styled,  with  some  appropriate  epithet,  an  age. 
It  is  usual,  for  example,  to  speak  of  the  age  of  Pericles,  the 
Augustan  age,  the  Elizabethan  age;  of  the  age  of  the 
crusades,  the  dark  ages,  the  middle  ages,  the  age  of  steam. 
Such  isolated  periods,  with  no  continuity  or  necessary  con- 
nection of  any  kind,  are  obviously  quite  distinct  from  the 
ages   or    organically-related   periods  into  wliich   certain 


A  G  E  — A  G  E 


£79 


eminent  modern  philosophers  hare  divided  the  whole 
course  of  human  history.  According  to  Fichte's  scheme 
there  are  five  ages,  distinguished  by  the  relative  predomi- 
nance which  instinct,  external  authority,  and  reason  have 
in  them  respectively,  instinct  being  supreme  in  the  first 
and  reason  in  the  last.  Comte's  scheme  distinguishes 
three  ages  according  to  the  state  of  knowledge  in  each,  and 
he  supposes  that  we  are  now  entering  upon  the  third  of 
these.  In  the  first  age  of  his  scheme  knowledge  is  super- 
natural or  fictitious;  in  the  second  it  is  metaphysical  or 
abstract;  in  the  third  it  is  positive  or  scientific.  Schemes 
somewhat  similar  have  been  proposed  by  other  philosophers, 
chiefly  of  France  and  Germany,  and  seem  to  be  regarded 
by  them  as  essential  to  any  complete  science  of  history. 

In  relation  to  individual  as  well  as  to  social  life,  age  is 
used  with  a  considerable  variety  of  application.  It  frequently 
denotes  the  total  duration  of  life  in  man,  animals,  or  plants, 
and  in  this  sense  belongs  to  the  subject  of  Longevity  (q.v.) 
It  also  denotes  in  man  the  various  periods  into  which  his  life 
may  be  divided,  either  from  a  physiological  or  from  a  legal 
point  of  view.  In  the  former  aspect  perhaps  the  most 
common  division  is  into  the  four  ages  of  infancy,  youth, 
manhood,  and  old  age.  These  again  have  been  increased 
to  six  or  seven  by  some  physiologists — infancy,  childhood, 
boyhood  or  girlhood,  adolescence,  manhood  or  womanhood, 
age,  and  old  age  or  second  childhood.  While  both  schemes 
have  a  sufficient  basis  of  scientific  accuracy,  they  have  also 
each  attracted  the  fancy  of  the  poet.  Ovid  in  his  Metamor- 
phoses (xv.  198-213)  makes  a  beautiful  comparison  between 
the  four  ages  of  a  man's  life  and  the  four  seasons  of  the 
year,  in  a  passage  which  has  been  frequently  imitated;  and 
the  sevenfold  division  has  been  exquisitely  cast  into  poetic 
form  by  Shakespeare  in  As  You  Like  It,  act  .'\  scene  7. 
The  division  of  human  life  into  periods  for  legal  purposes 
is  naturally  more  sharp  and  definite  than  the  foregoing.  It 
would  be  unscientific  in  the  physiologist  to  name  any  pre- 
cise year  for  the  transition  from  one  of  his  stages  to  another, 
inasmuch  as  that  differs  very  considerably  among  different 
nations,  and  even  to  some  extent  among  different  indi- 
viduals of  the  same  nation.  But  the  law  must  necessarily 
be  fixed  and  uniform,  and  even  where  it  professes  to  pro- 
ceed according  to  nature,  must  be  more  precise  than  nature. 
The  Boman  law  divided  human  life  for  its  purposes  into 
four  chief  periods,  which  had  their  subdivisions — (1.) 
Infantia,  lasting  till  the  close  of  the  seventh  year;  (2.) 
The  period  between  infantia  and  puberias,  males  becoming 
puberes  at  fourteen  and  females  at  twelve;  (3.)  Adolescentia, 
the  period  between  pubertyand  majority;  and(4.)The  period 
after  the  twenty-fifth  year,  when  males  become  majores.  The 
first  period  was  one  of  total  legal  incapacity;  in  the  second 
period  a  person  could  lawfully  do  certain  specified  acts,  but 
only  with  the  sanction  of  his  tutor  or  guardian;  in  the 
third  the  restrictions  were  fewer,  males  being  permitted  to 
manage  their  own  property,  contract  marriage,  and  make  a 
will;  but  majority  was  not  reached  until  the  age  of  twenty- 
five.  By  English  law  there  are  two  great  periods  into 
which  life  is  divided — infancy,  which  lasts  in  both  sexes 
until  the  twenty-first  year,  and  manhood  or  womanhood. 
The  period  of  infancy,  again,  is  divided  into  several  stages, 
marked  by  the  growing  development  both  of  rights  and 
obligations.  Thus  at  twelve  years  of  age  a  male  may  take 
the  oath  of  allegiance;  at  fourteen  both  sexes  are  held  to 
have  arrived  at  years  of  discretion,  and  may  therefore 
choose  guardians,  give  evidence,  and  consent  or  disagree  to 
a  marriage.  A  female  has  the  last  privilege  from  the 
twelfth  year,  but  the  marriage  cannot  be  celebrated  until 
the  majority  of  the  parties  without  the  consent  of  parents 
or  guardians.  At  fourteen,  too,  both  sexes  are  fully  re- 
sponsible to  the  criminal  law.  Between  seven  and  fourteen 
there  is  responsibility  only  if  the  accused  be  proved  doli 


capax,  capable  of  discerning  between  right  and  wrong,  the 
principle  in  that  case  being  that  malitia  suppLet  oztatem. 
At  twenty-one  both  males  and  females  obtain  their  full 
legal  rights,  and  become  liable  to  all  legal  obligations.  A 
seat  in  the  British  Parliament  may  be  taken  at  twenty-one. 
Certain  professions,  however,  demand  as  a  qualification  in 
entrants  a  more  advanced  age  than  that  of  legal  manhood. 
In  the  church  a  candidate  for  deacon's  orders  must  be 
twenty-three,  and  for  priest's  orders  twenty-four  years  of 
age;  and  no  clergyman  is  eligible  for  a  bishopric  under 
thirty.  In  Scotland  infancy  is  not  a  legal  term.  The 
time  previous  to  majority,  which,  as  in  England,  is  reached 
by  both  sexes  at  twenty-one,  is  divided  into  two  stages : 
pupilage  lasts  until  the  attainment  of  puberty,  which  the 
law  fixes  at  fourteen  in  males  and  twelve  in  females; 
minority  lasts  from  these  ages  respectively  until  twenty-one. 
Minority  obviously  corresponds  in  some  degree  to  the 
English  years  of  discretion,  but  a  Scotch  minor  has  more 
personal  rights  than  an  English  infant  in  the  last  stage  of 
his  infancy,  e.g.,  he  may  dispose  by  will  of  moveable 
property,  make  contracts,  carry  on  trade,  and,  as  a  neces- 
sary consequence,  is  liable  to  be  declared  a  bankrupt. 
Among  foreign  nations  the  law  on  this  matter  is  somewhat 
varied.  La  France  the  year  of  majority  is  twenty-one,  and 
the  nubile  age,  according  to  the  Code  Napoleon,  eighteen 
for  males  and  fifteen  for  females, -with  a  restriction  as  to 
the  consent  of  guardians.  In  Germany  majority  is  usually 
reached  at  twenty-four,  though  in  some  states  (Bavaria, 
Saxony,  Wurtemburg,  and  Baden)  the  age  is  twenty-one. 
In  the  United  States  the  age  qualification  for  a  president 
is  thirty-five,  for  a  senator  thirty,  and  for  a  representative 
twenty-five. 

AGELADAS,  an  eminent  statuary  of  Argos,  and  the 
instructor  of  the  three  gTeat  sculptors,  Phidias,  Myron, 
and  Polycletus.  There  is  considerable  difference  in  the  state- 
ments of  the  date  when  he  flourished.  Thiersch  meets  the 
difficulty  by  supposing  that  there  was  another  artist  of  the 
same  name. 

AGELXOTH,  ^Ethelnoth,  or  Ethelnoth,  known 
also  as  Achelnotus,  son  of  Egelmaer  the  Earl,  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  in  the  reign  of  Canute,  was  trained  in 
the  monastery  at  Glastonbury,  for  which  he  afterwards 
obtained  new  privileges  from  the  king.  According  to 
William  of  Malmesbury,  he  exercised  a  great  and  salutary 
influence  over  Canute  in  the  way  both  of  encouragement 
and  restraint  He  was  appointed  dean  of  Canterbury  and 
chaplain  to  the  king,  and  was  raised  to  the  archbishopric 
on  the  death  of  Living  in  1020.  He  wisely  counselled 
Canute  to  that  course  of  policy  which  ultimately  led  to 
the  fusion  of  Danes  and  Saxons,  and  their  united  resistance 
to  the  invasion  of  the  Normans;  and  similar  pacific  counsels 
in  the  church  brought  about  a  temporary  cessation  of  the 
mutual  persecution  on  the  part  of  the  Benedictine  and 
secular  clergy.  It  being  necessary  that  the  archbishop 
should  visit  Borne  in  person  to  receive  the  pall,  he  repaired 
thither  in  1022,  and  was  received  by  -Pope  Benedictine 
VIIL  with  every  mark  of  honour.  At  Pavia,  on  his  way 
home,  he  purchased  a  relic,  which  was  said  to  be  the  right 
arm  of  St  Augustine  of  Hippo,  at  the  cost  of  100  talents* 
of  silver  and  1  of  gold.  This  he  sent  as  a  present  ti> 
Leofric,  the  young  Earl  of  Mercia.  With  his  own  wealth 
and  liberal  grants  from  Canute  he  restored  and  adorned 
his  cathedral.  When  Canute  died,  he  made  the  archbishop 
promise  to  be  faithful  to  his  sons  by  Emma,  and  the  pro- 
mise was  so  truly  kept  that  Harold,  the  usurper,  remained 
unconsecrated  until  after  the  death  of  Agelnoth  (103S). 

AGEN,  the  chief  town  of  the  department  of  Lot-et- 
Garonne  in  France,  is  situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Garonne,  73  miles  S.E  of  Bordeaux.  Through  its  ex- 
cellent water  communication  it  affords  an  outlet  for  the 


280 


A  G  E  — A  G  E 


agricultural  produce  of  the  district,  and  forms  an  entrepot 
of  trade  between  Bordeaux  and  Toulouse.  Its  chief  manu- 
factures are  sail-cloth,  cotton,  linen,  leather,  and  starch. 
It  has  a  college  and  several  literary  institutions,  and  is 
the  seat  of  a  bishop  and  a  high  court  of  justice.  There  is 
a  fine  bridge  of  eleven  arches  over  the  Garonne.  In  1872 
the  population  was  18,887. 

AGENT,  in  Diplomacy,  Commerce,  and  Jurisprudence, 
is  a  name  applied  generally  to  any  person  who  acts  for 
another.  It  has  probably  been  adopted  from  France,  as 
its  function  in  modern  civil  law  was  otherwise  expressed 
in  Roman  jurisprudence.  Ducange  (s.v.  Agenles)  tells  us 
'hat  in  the  later  Roman  empire  the  officers  who  collected 
the  grain  in  the  provinces  for  the  troops  and  the  household, 
and  afterwards  extended  their  functions  so  as  to  include 
those  of  government  postmasters  or  spies,  came  to  be  called 
agenles  in  rebus,  their  earlier  name  having  been  frumentarii. 
In  Diplomacy,  a  class  of  semi-ambassadors  termed  agents 
have  been  employed  generally  between  states  of  unequal 
power.  The  small  community  might  send  an  agent  to 
propitiate  some  powerful  government,  and  secure  its  protec- 
tion. A  great  power  would,  on  the  other  hand,  distribute 
its  agents  among  the  petty  states  which  it  kept  in  clientage, 
to  see  that  no  counteracting  influence  was  at  work  among 
them.  In  this  shape  our  Indian  government  keep  agencies 
in  the  protected  and  other  neighbouring  states.  Similarly, 
though  this  class  does  not  fall  within  the  scope  of  public 
international  law,  the  self-governing  British  colonies  now 
employ  agents  to  attend  to  their  interests  and  represent 
them  in  the  mother  country.  The  status  of  diplomatic 
agents,  not  of  the  classes  of  ambassadors,  envoys,  ministers, 
or  charges  d'affaires,  is  extremely  ill-defined  and  uncer- 
tain. | Phillimore's  International  Law,  ii  246;  Heffter 
Europdisckes  Volkerrecht,  § ,  222.)  See  Ambassador; 
Diplomacy. 

The  law  of  Principal  and  Agent  has  its  origin  in  the 
law  of  mandate  among  the  Romans,  and  fortunately  even 
in  England  the  spirit  of  that  system  of  jurisprudence 
pervades  this  branch  of  the  law.  The  law  of  agency  is 
thus  almost  alike  throughout  the  whole  British  empire, 
and  a  branch  of  the  British  commercial  code,  in  which  it 
is  of  great  importance  that  different  nations  should  under- 
stand each  other's  system,  differs  only  slightly  from  the 
law  of  the  rest  of  Europe. 

In  a  general  view  of  the  law  of  agency  it  is  necessary 
to  have  regard  to  the  rights  and  duties  of  the  principal, 
the  agent,  and  the  public.  The  agent  should  not  do  what 
he  has  no  authority  for;  yet  if  he  be  seen  to  have  authority, 
those  with  whom  he  deals  should  not  be  injured  by  secret 
and  unusual  conditions.  The  employer  is  bound  by  what 
his  agent  does  in  his  name,  but  the  public  are  not  entitled 
to  take  advantage  of  obligations  which  are  known  to 
b?  unauthorised  and  unusuaL  The  agent  is  entitled  to 
demand  performance  by  the  principal  of  the  obligations 
undertaken  by  him  within  the  bounds  of  his  commission, 
but  he  is  not  entitled  to  pledge  him  with  a  recklessness 
which  he  would  certainly  avoid  in  the  management  of  his 
own  affairs.  It  is  in  the  regulation  of  these  powers  and 
corresponding  checks  in  such  a  manner  that  the  legal 
principle  shall  apply  to  daily  practice,  that  the  niceties  of 
this  branch  of  the  law  consist. 

Agents  are  of  different  kinds,  according  to  their  stipu 
lated  r  consuetudinary  powers.  The  main  restraint  in  the 
possible  powers  of  an  agent  is  in  the  old  maxim,  delegatus 
rum  potest  delegare,  designed  to  check  the  complexity  that 
might  be  created  by  inquiries  into  repeatedly-deputed 
responsibility.  The  agent,  cannot  delegate  his  commission 
or  put  another  in  his  place  ;  but  in  practice  this  principle 
is  sometimes  modified,  for  it  so  may  arise  from  the  nature 
ot  bos  office  that  he  is  to  employ  other  persons  for  the 


accomplishment  of  certain  objects.    Thus,  there  is  nothing 
to  prevent  a  commercial  agent  from  sending  a  portion  of 
the  goods  entrusted  by  him  to  his  own  agent  for  disposal. 
In   the   general   case   agency    is   constituted    by    the 
acceptance  of  the  mandate  or  authority  to  act  for  the 
principal,  and  the"  evidence  of  this  may  be  either  verbal 
or  in  writing.     The  English  statute  of  frauds  requires  an 
agent  to  have  authority  in  writing  for  the  purposes  of  its 
1st,  2d,  and  3d  clauses  relating  to  leases.     "And  it  is 
a  general  rule,  that  an  agent  who  has  to  execute  a  deed, 
or  to  take  or  give  livery  or  seisin,  must  be  appointed  by 
deed  for  that  purpose.     Moreover,  as  a  corporation  aggre- 
gate can  in  general  act  only  by  deed,  its  agent  must  be 
so  appointed,  though  it  would  seem  that  some  trifling 
agencies,  even  for  corporations,  may  be  appointed  without 
one."     (Smith'3  Mercantile  Law,  B.  I.  chap,  iv.)     It  is  a 
general   rule  that   those  obligations  which  can  only  be 
uiuU-rtaken  by  solemn  formalities  cannot  be  entered  on  by 
a  delegate  who  has  not  received  his  authority  in  writing. 
But  it  is  often  constituted,  at  the  same  time  that  its  extent 
is  defined,  by  mere  appointment  to  some  known  and  recog- 
nised function — as  where  one  is  appointed  agent  for  a 
banking   establishment,   factor   for   a   merchant,   broker, 
supercargo,  traveller,  or  attorney.     In  these  cases,  usage 
defina3  the  powers  granted  to  the  agent;  and  the  employer 
will  not  readily  be  subjected  to  obligations  going  beyond 
the  usual  functions  of  the  office ;  nor  will  the  public  dealing 
with  the  agent  be  bound  by  private  instructions  inconsist- 
ent with  its  usual  character.     While,  however,  the  public, 
ignorant  of  such  secret  limitations,  are  not  bound  to  respect 
them,  tho  agent  himself  is  liable  for  the  consequences  of 
transgressing  them.     Agency  may  also  be  either  created 
or  enlarged  by  implication.  What  the  agent  has  done  with 
his  principal's  consent  the  public  are  justified  in  believing 
him  authorised  to  continue  doing.     Thus,  as  a  familiar 
instance,  the  servant  who  has  continued  to  purchase  goods 
for  his  master  at  a  particular  shop  on  credit  is  presumed 
to  retain  authority  and  trust,  and  pledges  his  master's 
credit  in  farther  purchase's,  though  he  should,  without  the 
knowledge  of.  the  shopkeeper,  apply  the  articles  to  his 
own  uses.     The  law  is  ever  jealous  in  admitting  as  acces- 
sories of  a  general  appointment  to  any  particular  agency 
the  power  to  borrow  money  in  the  principal's  name,  to 
give  his  name  to  bill  transactions,  and  to  pledge  him 
to  guaranties ;  but  all  these  acts  may  be  authorised  by 
implication,  or  by  being  the  continuation  of  a  series  of 
transactions,  of  the  same  kind  and  in  the  same  line  of 
business,  to  which  the  principal  has  given  his  sanction. 
Thus  an  employer  may,  by  the  previous  sanction  of  such 
operations,  bo  liable  for  the  bills  or  notes  drawn,  indorsed, 
and  accepted  by  his  clerk  or  other  mandatary;  nay,  may 
be  responsible  for  the  obligations  thus  incurred  after  the 
mandatary's  dismissal,  if  the  party  dealing  with  him  knew 
that  he  was  countenanced  in  such  transactions,  and  had 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  he  was  dismissed     In  ques- 
tions of  this  kind  the  distinction  between  a  general  and 
a  special  agent  is  important.    A  general  agent  is  employed 
to  transact  all  his  principal's  business  of  a  particular  kind, 
at  a  certain  place, — as  a  factor  to  buy  and  sell ;  a  broker 
to  negotiate  contracts  of  a  particular  kind;  an  attorney  to 
transact  his  legal  business;  a  shipmaster  to  do  all  things 
relating  to  the  employment  of  a  ship.     Such  an  agent's 
power  to  do  everything  usual  in  the  line  of  business  in 
which  he  is  employed  is  not  limited  by  any  private  restric- 
tion or  order  unknown  to  the  party  with  whom  he  is  deal- 
ing.   On  the  contrary,  it  is  incumbent  on  the  party  dealing 
with  a  particular  agent,  i.e.,  one  specially  employed  in 
a  single  transaction,  to  ascertain  the  extent  of  his  autho- 
rity.    The  law  applicable  to  a  mercantile  agent's  power  to 
pledge  or  otherwise  dispose  of  the  goods  entrusted  to  him 


A  G  U  —  A  G  E 


281 


being  in  an  unsatisfactory  state,  a  statutory  remedy  was 
applied  to  it  by  an  Act  of  1825  (6  Geo.  IV.  c.  94),  which 
required  amendment  in  1842  (5  and  6  Vict.  c.  39). 

The  general  object  of  these  measures,  which  appear 
to  extend  to  Scotland,  is  to  make  transactions  with  an 
agent  in  possession  of  goods  as  safe  as  dealing  with  the 
owner,  to  all  who  treat  with  him,  as  purchasers  or  other- 
wise, in  good  faith,  and  in  ignorance  of  his  want  of  owner- 
ship. Thus,  when  an  agent  ships  goods  in  his  own  name, 
the  consignee  is  entitled  to  a  lien  on  them  for  any  advances 
to  the  agent,  or  liabilities  on  bills  or  notes,  if  he  has  not 
notice  by  the  bill  of  lading  or  otherwise  at  or  before  the 
time  of  the  advance  or  receipt  that  such  person  is  not  the 
actual  and  bond  fide  owner.  The  presumption  in  such 
cases  is  ownership;  and  the  burden  of  disproving  it,  as 
well  as  of  showing  that  the  consignee  was  aware  of  the 
mere  agency,  falls  on  the  person  questioning  the  validity. 
By  the  statutes,  the  person  entrusted  with  and  in  possession 
of  a  bill  of  lading,  dock  warrant,  warehouse-keeper's  certi- 
ficate, wharfinger's  certificate,  or  other  delivery  warrant,  is 
held  the  owner  of  the  goods  it  represents,  so  as  to  render 
valid  any  transaction  for  their  sale  or  disposition  of  the 
goods,  or  the  deposit  or  pledge  thereof,  or  of  any  part 
thereof,  to  parties  ignorant  of  the  limited' ownership.  Be- 
sides their  effect  in  rendering  valid,  in  this  more  compre- 
hensive manner,  operations  conducted  under  the  appearance 
and  supposition  of  absolute  ownership,  the  acts  have 
separate  provisions  for  the  security  of  those  who  deal 
with  agents,  knowing  them  to  be  such.  The  acts,  how- 
ever, must  be  studied  in  their  very  words,  which  are  not 
remarkable  for  clearness.  The  following  brief  descrip- 
tion of  their  general  effect,  taken  from  Chitty's  Collec- 
tion of  Statutes,  may  be  useful : — "  First,  where  goods  or 
documents  for  the  delivery  of  goods  are  pledged  as  a 
security  for  present  or  future  advances,  with  the  knowledge 
that  they  are  not  the  property  of  the  factor,  but  without 
notice  that  he  is  acting  without  authority,  in  such  a  case 
the  pledgee  acquires  an  absolute  lien.  Secondly,  where 
goods  are  pledged  by  a  factor  without  notice  to  the  pledgee 
that  they  are  the  property  of  another,  as  a  security  for 
a  pre-existing  debt.,  in  that  case  the  pledgee  acquires  the 
same  right  as  the  factor  had.  Thirdly,  where  a  contract 
to  pledge  is  made  in  consideration  of  the  delivery  of  other 
goods  or  documents  of  title,  upon  which  the  person  deliver- 
ing them  up  had  a  lien  for  a  previous  advance  (which  is 
deemed  to  be  a  contract  for  a  present  advance),  in  that 
case  the  pledgee  acquires  an  absolute  lien  to  the  extent 
of  the  value  of  the  goods  given  up."  The  statutes  are 
applicable  only  to  proper  mercantile  transactions,  and  not, 
for  example,  to  advances  upon  the  security  of  furniture  in 
a  furnished  house  to  the  apparent  owner.  (See  Smith's 
Leading  Cases,  vol.  i.  p.  759  sqq.,  6th  ed.) 

The  obligations  of  the  principal  are — to  pay  the  agent's 
remuneration,  or,  as  it  is  often  called,  commission,  the 
amount  of  which  is  fixed  by  contract  or  the  usage  of 
trade ;  to  pay  all  advances  made  by  the  agent  in  the 
regular  course  of  his  employment ;  and  to  honour  the 
obligations  lawfully  undertaken  for  him.  The  agent  is 
responsible  for  the  possession  of  the  proper  skill  and'  means 
for  cat rying  out  the  functions  which  he  undertakes.  He 
must  devote  to  the  interests  of  his  employer  such  care  and 
attention  as  a  man  of  ordinary  prudence  bestows  on  his 
own — a  duty  capable  of  no  more  certain  definition,  .the 
application  of  it  as  a  fixed  rule  being  the  function  of  a 
jury.  He  is  bound  to  observe  the  strictest  good  faith;  and 
in  some  instances  the  law  interposes  to  remove  him  from 
temptation  to  sacrifice  his  employer's  interests  to  his  own : 
thus,  when  he  is  employed  to  buy,  he  must  not  be  the  seller; 
and  when  employed  to  sell,  he  must  not  be  the  purchaser. 
He  ought  only  to  deal  with  persons  in  good  credit,  but  he 


is  not  responsible  for  their  absolute  solvency  unless  he 
guarantee  them.  A  mercantile  agent  guaranteeing  the  pay- 
ments he  treats  for  is  said  to  hold  a  del  credere  commission. 

In  Scotland  the  procurators  or  solicitors  who  act  in 
the  preparation  of  cases  in  the  various  law-courts,  and  all 
who  take  out  the  attorney  licence,  are  called  agent3.  See 
Attorney. 

In  France,  the  Agents  de  Change  were  formerly  the  class 
generally  licensed  for  conducting  all  negotiations,  as  they 
were  termed,  whether  in  commerce  or  the  money  market. 
Of  late  the  term  has  been  practically  limited  to  those  who 
conduct,  like  our  stockbrokers,  transactions  in  public  stock ; 
and  it  i3  understood  that  it  is  rather  as  speculators  than  aa 
agents  that  the  majority  of  them,  adopt  the  profession. 
The  laws  and  regulations  as  to  courtiers,  or  those  whoso 
functions  were  more  distinctly  confined  to  transactions  iu 
merchandise,  have  been  mixed  up  with  those  applicable  to 
agents  de  change.  Down  to  the  year  1572  both  functions 
were  free;  but  at  that  period,  partly  for  financial  reasons, 
a  system  of  licensing  was  adopted  at  the  suggestion  of 
the  Chancellor  l'Hopital.  Among  the  other  revolutionary 
measures  of  the  year  1791,  the  professions  of  agent  and 
courtier  were  again  opened  to  the  public.  Many  of  the 
financial  convulsions  of  the  ensuing  years,  which  were  due 
to  more  serious  causes,  were  attributed  to  this  indiscrimi- 
nate removal  of  restrictions,  and  they  were  reimposed  in 
1801.  From  that  period  regulations  have  been  made 
from  time  to  time  as  to  the  qualifications  of  agents,  the 
security  to  be  found  by  them,  and  the  like.  They  are  now- 
regarded  as  public  officers,  appointed,  with  certain  privileges 
and  duties,  by  the  government,  to  act  as  intermediaries 
in  negotiating  transfers  of  public  funds  and  commercial 
stocks,  and  for  dealing  in  metallic  currency. 

AGESILAUS,  king  of  the  Lacedaemonians,  the  second 
of  the  name,  son  of  Archidamus  EL,  was,  through  the 
influence  of  Lysander,  raised  to  the  throne  in  398  B.C., 
in  opposition  to  the  superior  claim  of  his  nephew  Leoty- 
chides.  Immediately  on  his  accession  he  advised  the 
Lacedaemonians  to  anticipate  the  king  of  Persia,  who  was 
making  great  preparations  for  war,  and  attack  him  in  his 
own  dominions.  He  was  himself  chosen  for  this  expedit 
and  gained  so  many  advantages  over  the  enemy  that,  if 
the  league  which  the  Athenians  and  the  Thebans  formed 
against  the  Lacedaemonians  had  not  obliged  him  to  return 
home,  it  seems  probable  that  he  would  have  carried  his 
victorious  arms  into  the  very  heart  of  the  Persian  empire. 
But  he  readily  gave  up  all  these  triumphs  to  come  to  the 
succour  of  his  country,  which  he  happily  relieved  by  his 
victory  over  the  allies  at  Chaeronea,  in  Boeotia,  394  EC. 
He  obtained  another  near  Corinth ;  but,  to  his  great  mor- 
tification, the  Thebans  afterwards  gained  several  victories 
over  the  Lacedaemonians.  This  at  first  raised  a  clamour 
against  him.  He  had  been  ill  when  the  course  of  victory 
turned  in  favour  of  the  enemy;  but  as  soon  as  he  was  able 
to  act  in  person  his  valour  and  prudence  prevented  the 
Thebans  from  reaping  the  advantages  of  their  successes ; 
so  that  it  was  generally  believed  that,  had  he  been  in 
health  at  the  beginning,  the  Lacedaemonians  would  have 
sustained  no  losses,  and  that  without  him  all  would  have 
been  lost  It  cannot  bo  denied,  however,  that  his  fond- 
ness for  war  occasioned  many  losses  to  his  countrymen, 
and  led  them  into  enterprises  which  in  the  end  con- 
tributed much  to  weaken  their  power.  He  died  in  the 
third  year  of  the  103d  Olympiad,  being  the  84th  year  of 
his  age  and  38th  of  his  reign,  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
son  Archidamus.  Agesilaus,  though  a  vigorous  ruler  and 
great  general,  was  of  small  stature,  and  lame  from  his 
hirth.  His  accession  to  the  throne  was,  indeed,  opposed 
on  this  ground,  an  oracle  having  foretold  evils  to  Sparta 
under  a  lame  sovereignty.     As  we  have  seen,  the  oracle  wa# 


L'*2 


A  G  G  — A  G  I 


so  far  fuelled  that  many  troubles  befell  the  state  during 
his  reigu.  Few  of  these,  however,  are  traceable  to  the 
policy  of  the  king,  whose  public  life  was  illustrated  by  a 
series  of  brilliant  victories  over  the  enemies  of  his  country. 
In  character,  Agesilaus  seems  to  have  possessed  the  Spartan 
virtues  of  courage,  temperance,  and  fortitude,  without  the 
Spartan  vices  of  hardness,  cupidity,  and  injustice.  His 
life  and  merits  have  been  commemorated  by  Xenophon, 
Plutarch,  Diodorus  Siculus,  and  Cornehus  Nepos. 

AGGREGATION,  States  of,  the  three  states— solid, 
liquid,  and  gaseous — in  which  matter  occurs,  depending  on 
the  degree  of  cohesion  that  subsists  between  the  molecules 
or  atoms  of  material  bodies.  In  the  solid  state,  the  mole- 
cules cohere  so  firmly  that  their  relative  positions  cannot 
be  changed  without  the  application  of  force,  and  the  body 
retains  a  definite  form ;  in  the  liquid  state,  they  move 
freely  and  readily  on  each  other,  the  cohesion  that  exists 
being  so  slight  that  the  body  has  itself  no  form ;  in  the 
gaseous  state,  they  are  affected  by  an  elastic  force  that 
amounts  to  repulsion,  tending  to  separate  them,  and  so 
diffuse  them  through  an  increased  space.  The  metals, 
glass,  wood,  &c,  are  solids  ;  water  and  atmospheric  air  are 
the  most  familiar  types  of  liquid  and  gaseous  bodies.  The 
name  fluid  is  sometimes  used  to  denote  both  gases  and 
liquids,  which  are  designated  elastic  and  non-elastic  fluids 
respectively.  These  states  of  aggregation  are  not  in  every 
case — many  now  believe  they  are  not  in  any  case — per- 
manent and  unchangeable.  Metals  can  be  melted  and 
vaporised  ;  the  liquid  water  is  convertible  into  ice  and  into 
steam;  and  a  number  of  what  were  formerly  reckoned  fixed 
or  permanent  gases  have  been  liquified  and  solidified.  Solids 
are  reduced  to  liquid,  and  liquids  to  gaseous  forms,  princi- 
pally by  heat ;  pressure  effects  changes  of  the  opposite  kind. 

AGHRIM,  or  Auchkim,  a  small  village  in  Galway,  4 
miles  W.  of  Ballinasloe,  is  rendered  memorable  by  the  de- 
cisive victory  gained  there,  on  12th  July  1691,  by  the 
forces  of  William  III.,  under  General  Gink  ell,  over  those 
of  James  H,  under  the  French  general  St  Ruth.  The  Irish, 
numbering  25,000,  and  strongly  posted  behind  marshy 
ground,  at  first  maintained  a  vigorous  resistance ;  but 
Ginkell,  having  penetrated  their  line  of  defence,  and  their 
general  being  struck  down  by  a  cannon-ball  at  this  critical 
moment,  they  were  at  length  overcome  and  routed  with  ter- 
rible slaughter.  The  loss  of  the  English  did  not  exceed  700 
killed  and  1 000  wounded ;  while  the  Irish,  in  their  disastrous 
flight,  lost  about  7000  men,  besides  the  whole  material  of 
the  army.  This  defeat  rendered  the  adherents  of  James  in 
Ireland  incapable  of  farther  efforts,  and  was  speedily  fol- 
lowed by  the  complete  submission  of  the  country. 

AGLNCOURT,  or  Azincottrt,  a  French  village,  in  the 
department  of  Pas  de  Calais,  situated  in  50°  35'  N.  lat., 
2°  10'  E.  long.,  famous  on  account  of  the  victory  obtained 
there  by  Henry  V.  of  England  over  the  French.  Follow- 
ing the  example  of  several  of  hi3  predecessors,  the  young 
king  crossed  over  to  France  in  the  third  year  of  his  reign' 
on  a  military  expedition.  Having  landed  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Seine,  he  took  and  sacked  Harfieur  after  a  siege  of 
thirty-six  days,  but  the  army  was  so  much  reduced  in 
strength,  especially  by  disease,  that  some  of  Henry's  ad- 
visers counselled  a  return  home  without  following  up  the 
advantage.  The  proud  spirit  of  the  young  king,  however, 
would  not  submit  to  this,  and  he  resolved  on  a  march 
through  the  country  to  what  was  then  the  English  forti- 
fied town  of  Calais,  though  he  knew  that  a  force  vastly 
superior  to  his  own  was  in  the  field  to  oppose  him.  On 
the  morning  of  Friday,  the  25th  of  October,  1415  A.D., 
Of.  Crispin's  day,  the  English  and  French  armies  were 
ranged  in  order  of  battle,  each  in  three  lines,  with  bodies 
of  cavalry  on  both  wings.  The  Constable  d'Albert,  who 
commanded  the  French  army,  fell  into  the  snare  that  was 


laid  for  him,  by  drawing  up  his  army  in  a  narrow  plain 
between  two  woods.  This  deprived  him  in  a  great  mea- 
sure of  tho  advantage  he  should  have  derived  from  the 
prodigious  superiority  of  his  numbers,  by  obliging  him  to 
make  his  lines  unnecessarily  deep,  and  to  crowd  his  troops, 
particularly  his  cavalry,  so  close  together  that  they  could 
hardly  move  or  use  their  arms.  The  numbers  of  the 
French  are  differently  estimated  at  from  50,000  to  150,000 
men,  but  the  latter  number  is  a  gross  exaggeration.  The 
first  line  was  commanded  by  the  Constable  d'Albert,  the 
dukes  of  Orleans  and  Bourbon,  and  many  other  nobles ; 
the  dukes  of  Alencon,  Brabant,  and  Barre  conducted  the 
second  line ;  and  the  earls  of  Marie,  Damartine,  Faucon- 
berg,  &C.,  were  at  the  head  of  the  third  line.  The  king  of 
England  placed  200  of  his  best  archers  in  ambush  in  a 
low  meadow  on  the  flank  of  the  first  line  of  tho  French. 
His  own  first  line  consisted  wholly  of  archers,  each  of 
whom,  besides  his  bow  and  arrows,  had  a  battle-axe,  a 
sword,  and  a  stake  pointed  with  iron  at  both  ends,  which  he 
fixed  before  him  in  the  ground,  the  point  inclining  outwards, 
to  protect  him  from  cavalry.  This  was  a  new  invention, 
and  had  a  happy  effect.  That  he  might  not  bo  encum- 
bered, Henry  dismissed  all  his  prisoners  on  their  word 
of  honour  to  surrender  themselves  at  Calais  if  he  obtained 
the  victory,  and  lodged  all  his  baggage  near  the  village  of 
Maisoncelles,  in  his  rear,  under  a  slender  guard.  The 
main  body  of  the  English  army,  consisting  of  men-at-arms, 
was  commanded  by  Henry  in  person  ;  the  vanguard,  com- 
mitted to  Edward  Duke  of  York  at  his  particular  request, 
was  posted  as  a  wing  to  the  right ;  and  the  rearguard, 
commanded  by  Lord  Camois,  as  a  wing  on  the  left.  The 
archers  were  placed  between  the  wings,  in  the  form  of  a 
wedge.  The  lines  being  formed,  the  king,  in  shining 
armour,  mounted  on  a  fine  white  horse,  rode  along  them, 
and  addressed  each  corps  with  a  cheerful  countenance  and 
in  encouraging  language.  To  inflame  their  resentment 
against  their  enemies,  he  spoke  of  the  cruelty  practised  by 
the  French  against  their  prisoners;  and  to  rouse  their  love 
of  honour,  he  declared  that  every  soldier  in  the  army  who 
behaved  well  should  thenceforth  be  deemed  a  gentleman,  and 
entitled  to  bear  coat  armour.  The  two  armies,  drawn  up 
in  this  manner,  stood  a  considerable  time  gazing  at  ono 
another  in  silence.  But  the  English  king,  dreading  that 
the  French  would  discover  the  danger  of  their  situation 
and  decline  a  battle,  commanded  the  charge  to  be  sounded, 
about  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon.  At  that  instant  the 
first  line  of  the  English  kneeled  down  and  kissed  the 
ground ;  and  then  starting  up,  discharged  a  flight  of 
arrows,  which  did  great  execution  among  the  crowded 
ranks  of  tha  French.  Immediately  after,  upon  a  signal 
being  given,  the  archers  in  ambush  arose,  and,  discharg- 
ing their  arrows  on  the  flank  of  the  French  line,  threw  it 
into  some  disorder.  The  battle  now  became  general,  and 
raged  with  great  fury.  The  English  archers,  having 
expended  all  their  arrows,  threw  away  their  bows,  and 
rushing  forward,  made  dreadful  havoc  with  their  swords 
and  battle-axes.  The  first  line  of  the  enemy  was  by  these 
means  defeated,  its  leaders  being  either  killed  or. taken 
prisoners.  The  second  line,  commanded  by  the  Duke 
d' Alencon  (who  had  made  a  vow  either  to  kill  or  take  the 
king  of  England,  or  to  perish  in  the  attempt),  now  ad- 
vanced, and  was  met  by  the  second  line  of  the  English, 
led  by  the  king.  The  duke  forced  his  way  to  the  king, 
and  assaulted  him  with  great  fury;  but  Henry  brought  him 
to  the  ground,  where  he  was  instantly  despatched  by  the 
surrounding  soldiers,  receiving  innumerable  wounds.  Dis- 
couraged by  this  disaster,  the  second  line  made  no  more 
resistance,  and  the  third  fled  without  striking  a  blow; 
yielding  a  complete  and  glorious  victory  to  the  English, 
after  a  violent  struggle  of  three  hours'  duration.     In  tin* 


A  G  I  — A  G  N 


283 


circumstances,  the  victory  could  not  be  followed  up.  Henry 
and  his  army  returned  at  once  by  Calais  to  England,  and 
entered  London  with  a  pageant  of  unprecedented  splendour. 
The  number  slain  in  the  battle  is  variously  stated.  The 
loss  to  the  conquerors  is  generally  reckoned  at  1  GOO  men, 
and  the  French  are  said  to  have  left  10,000  slain  on  the 
field,  including  the  constable,  three  dukes,  five  counts,  and 
ninety  barons.  (See  the  Histories  of  Britain ;  and  Battle 
of  Agincourt,  by  Sir  Harris  Nicolas.) 

AGIO  (Ital.  aggio,  exchange,  discount),  a  term  used  in 
commerce  to  denote  the  difference  between  the  real  and 
the  nominal  value  of  money.  In  some  states  the  coinage 
is  so  debased,  owing  to  the  wear  of  circulation,  that  the 
real  is  greatly  reduced  below  the  nominal  value.  Where 
this  reduction  amounts,  e.g.,  to  5  per  cent.,  if  100  sove- 
reigns were  offered  as  payment  of  a  debt  in  England  while 
such  sovereigns  were  current  there  at  their  nominal  value, 
they  would  be  received  as  just  payment ;  but  if  they  were 
offered  as  payment  of  the  same  amount  of  debt  in  a  foreign 
state,  they  would  be  received  only  at  their  intrinsic  value 
of  JE95,  the  additional  £5  constituting  the  agio.  Where 
the  state  keeps  its  coinage  up  to  a  standard  value,  no  agio 
is  required.  The  same  principle  is  applied  to  the  paper 
currency  of  a  country  when  reduced  below  the  bullion 
value  which  it  professes  to  represent.  According  as  there 
is  more  demand  for  gold  or  for  paper  money  for  the  pur- 
poses of  commerce,  it  often  becomes  necessary,  in  order  to 
procure  the  one  of  the  higher  current  value,  to  pay  a 
premium  for  it,  which  is  called  the  agio.  In  countries 
•where  silver  coinage  is  the  legal  tender,  agio  is  sometimes 
allowed  for  payment  in  the  more  convenient  form  of  gold. 

AGIS.  Four  kings  of  this  name  reigned  at  different 
periods  in  Sparta.  The  first  of  the  name  was  the  son  of 
Eurysthenes,  and  is  supposed  to  have  reigned  about  1032 
B.C.  The  designation  of  Helots  is  said  to  have  had  its  rise 
in  his  time,  from  the  unsuccessful  revolt  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Helos,  and  their  final  enthralment  by  the  Spartans. 

Agis  H.  succeeded  his  father  Archidamus,  and  reigned 
from  427  to  399  B.C.  He  distinguished  himself  during 
the  Peloponnesian  war  as  an  able  and  successful  general, 
and  headed  the  Spartans  at  the  great  and  decisive  battle 
of  Mantinea. 

Agis  IIL  succeeded  his  father  Archidamus  III.,  338  B.C. 
He  took  an  active  part  in  the  league  of  the  Grecian  states 
against  Alexander  the  Great,  and  at  the  head  of  their  forces 
defeated  a  Macedonian  army  under  Corragus.  He  was 
slain,  about  331  B.C.,  in  a  battle  with  Antipater,  under  the 
•walls  of  Megalopolis. 

Agis  IY.,  son  of  Eudamidas  FT.,  and  lineally  descended 
from  Agesilaus  H.,  succeeded  his  father  244  B.C.,  and 
reigned  four  years.  He  was  more  distinguished  for  the 
social  reforms  he  attempted  to  introduce  at  Sparta  than 
for  his  success  as  a  general.  The  degenerate  state  of  the 
Spartan  commonwealth  led  him  to  attempt  a  reformation 
oy  restoring  the  institutions  of  Lycurgus,  and,  in  the  spirit 
of  a  true  reformer,  he  set  the  example  in  his  own  person 
and  household.  His  excellent  intentions  were  seconded 
by  all  the  younger  and  poorer  portion  of  the  community ; 
"but  the  rich  and  luxurious  were  vehemently  opposed  to 
Aieasurcs  which  threatened  to  interfere  so  seriously  with 
their  influence  and  pleasures.  His  colleague,  Leonidas, 
headed  the  opposition,  and  busily  propagated  the  suspicion 
•'Jiat  Agis  aspired  to  tyranny,  by  obliterating;  the  distinc- 
tions of  society  and  increasing  the  power  of  the  multi- 
tude. Agis  was  supported  by  the  influence  of  his  uncle 
Agesilaus,  who,  being  deeply  in  debt,  was  highly  favour- 
able to  the  proposed  changes.  Lysandcr  and  Mandroc- 
lides,  two  of  the  ephori,  were  also  strenuous  promoters  of 
the  reform.  When  the  time  came  for  Agis  to  propose  in 
the  senate  a  general  discharge  of  debts  and  a  new  division 


of  lands,  the  measure  was  lost  by  a  minority  of  one.  The 
triumph  of  Leonidas,  however,  was  short.  Being  accused 
by  Lysander  of  having  violated  the  laws,  he  took  refuge  in 
the  temple  of  Minerva,  and  refusing  to  appear  in  his  own 
defence,  was  degraded  from  his  dignity  and  banished  to 
Tegsea.  His  son-in-law,  Cleombrotus,  was  elected  in  his 
stead.  The  next  election  of  ephori  proved  unfavourable  to 
the  party  of  Agis.  Lysander  and  Mandroclides  were  tried 
for  innovation,  but  succeeded  in  persuading  the  two  kings 
to  eject  the  new  magistrates  from  office,  which  was  effected 
in  the  midst  of  much  tumult  The  reformation  might 
now  have  been  established  but  for  the  intrigues  of  Agesi- 
laus, whose  selfish  schemes  counteracted  the  good  inten- 
tions of  the  two  kings.  At  this  time  the  Achaeans  seut 
to  Sparta  for  assistance  in  the  war  with  the  iEtolians, 
which  was  granted.  Agis  received  the  command  of  the 
troops,  and  though  he  gained  no  advantage  over  the  cau- 
tious Aratus,  the  Achaean  general,  he  conducted  the 
campaign  with  considerable  credit  from  the  good  discipline 
he  maintained  in  his  army.  On  his  return  he  found  that 
the  misconduct  of  Argesilaus  had  resulted  in  a  revolution 
and  the  reqall  of  Leonidas.  He  took  refuge  in  the  temple 
of  Minerva,  Cleombrotus  in  that  of  Neptune.  Leonidas 
contented  himself  with  banishing  his  son-in-law,  but  re- 
solved on  the  ruin  of  Agis.  The  unfortunate  king  was 
accordingly  seized  and  cast  into  prison,  where,  after  a 
mock  trial,  he  was  sentenced  to  be  strangled.  His  mother 
and  grandmother  in  vain  entreated  to  gain  him  a  public 
hearing :  they  were  insidiously  permitted  to  visit  him  in 
prison,  where  they  shared  his  fate. 

AGISTMENT  (from  the  old  French  ghir  or  gi>;  to  lie  ; 
see  Edin.  Rev.,  vol.  exxviii.  p.  79),  the  profit  arising  from 
taking  in  cattle  to  lie  and  pasture  in  one's  lands,  applied 
more  particularly,  in  the  first  instance,  to  the  proceeds  of 
pasturage  in  the  king's  forests.  The  tithe  of  agistment, 
or  "tithe  of  cattle  and  other  produce  of  grass  lands,"  was 
formally  abolished  by  the  Act  of  Union,  on  a  motion  sub- 
mitted with  a  view  to  defeat  that  measure.  (See  Edin. 
Rev.,  vol.  xxxiv.  p.  73.) 

AGNANO,  Lago  d',  a  small  circular  lake  near  Naples, 
about  two  miles  in  circumference,  and  evidently  situated 
in  the  crater  of  an  extinct  volcano.  On  its  banks  are  the 
stufe,  or  natural  vapour-baths  of  San  Germano,  beneficial 
in  cases  of  rheumatic  disease;  and  on  its  opposite  shore  is 
the  famous  Grotta  del  Cane,  from  the  floor  of  which  car- 
bonic acid  is  continually  evolved,  rising  to  a  height  of 
about  18  inches,  in  such  quantity  as  to  kill  dogs  that 
enter  it,  while  a  man,  on  account  of  his  erect  posture, 
wholly  escapes  tho  effects  of  the  gas.  (See  Spallanzani's 
Travels.)  The  grotto  is  a  small  artificial  excavation,  12 
feet  long  by  4  or  5  wide  and  6  feet  high,  seemingly  made 
for  obtaining  puzzolano,  or  earthy  volcanic  tufa. 

AGNATES  (Agnati),  in  Roman  Law,  arc  persons  related 
through  males  only,  as  opposed  to  cognates.  Relationship 
by  agnation  was  founded  on  the  idea  of  the  family  held 
together  by  the  patria  poteslas;  cognalio  involves  simply 
the  modern  idea  of  kindred. 

AGXESI,  Maria  Gaetana,  an  Italian  lady  pre- 
eminently distinguished  for  her  scientific  attainments,  was 
born  at  Milan  on  the  ICth  of  May  1718,  her  father  being 
professor  of  mathematics  in  the  university  of  Bologna. 
When  only  nine  years  old,  she  had  such  command  of 
Latin  as  to  be  able  to  publish  an  elaborate  address  in  that 
language,  maintaining  that  the  pursuit  of  liberal  studies 
was  not  improper  for  her  sex.  By  her  thirteenth  year 
she  had  acquired  Greek,  Hebrew,  French,  Spanish,  Ger- 
man, and  other  languages.  She  was  in  consequence  gene- 
rally known  as  "  the  Walking  Polyglot."  Two  years  later 
her  father  began  to  assemble  in  his  house  at  stated  in- 
tervals a  circle  of  the  most  learned  men  in  Bologna,  before 


284 


AGN-AGO 


ivliom  she  read  and  maintained  a  series  of  theses  on  the 
most  abstruse  philosophical  questions.  President  De 
Brosses  has  given  an  interesting  account  of  one  of  those 
meetings,  at  which  he  was  present,  in  his  Lettres  sur 
Vltalie  (torn.  i.  p.  243);  and  a  permanent  record  of 
Agnesi's  share  in  them  has  been  preserved  in  the  Froposi- 
\iones  Philosopkicae,  which  her  father  caused  to  be  published 
in  1738.  These  displays,  being  probably  not  altogether 
congenial  to  Maria,  who  was  of  a  retiring  disposition, 
ceased  in  her  twentieth  year,  and  it  is  even  said  that 
she  had  at  that  age  a  strong  desire  to  enter  a  convent. 
Though  the  wish  was  not  gratified,  she  lived  from  that  time 
in  a  retirement  almost  conventual,  avoiding  all  society,  and 
devoting  herself  entirely  to  the  study  of  mathematics. 
The  most  valuable  result  of  her  labours  was  the  I itsliluzioni 
Analitiche  ad  Uso  della  Gioventu  Italiana,  which  was  pub- 
lished at  Milan  in  1748.  The  first  volume  treats  of  the 
analysis  of  fiui*<:  quantities,  and  the  second  of  the  analysis 
of  infinitesimals.  A  French  translation  of  the  second 
rolume,  by  D'Anteln.y,  with  additions  by  Bossut,  appeared 
it  Paris  in  1775;  and  an  English  translation  of  the  whole 
work  by  Colson,  the  Lucasian  professor  of  mathematics  at 
Cambridge,  was  published  after  his  death  at  the  expense 
of  Baron  Maseres.  The  great  merit  of  the  work  was 
universally  recognised  at  the  time  of  its  publication ;  and 
though  in  the  long  interval  that  elapsed  before  the  English 
translation  appeared  the  methods  of  analysis  had  been 
greatly  improved,  it  was  recognised  by  a  writer  in  the 
Edinburgh  Review  (1803)  as  still  the  best  introduction  to 
the  works  of  Euler  and  other  mathematicians  of  the  con- 
tinent. Madame  Agnesi  also  wrote  a  commentary  on  the 
Conic  Sections  of  the  Marquis  de  l'Hopital,  which,  though 
highly  praised  by  those  who  saw  it  in  manuscript,  was 
never  published.  In  1750,  on  the  illness  of  her  father, 
she  was  appointed  by  Pope  Benedict  XIV.  to  occupy  the 
:hair  of  mathematics  and  natural  philosophy  at  Bologna. 
Alter  the  death  of  her  father,  in  1752,  she  carried  out  a 
long-cherished  purpose  by  giving  herself  to  the  study  of 
theology,  and  especially  of  the  fathers.  Another  purpose, 
which  seems  also  to  have  been  long  cherished,  was  now 
ilso  fulfilled.  After  holding  for  some  years  the  office  of 
directress  of  the  Hospice  Trivulzio  for  Blue  Nuns  at  Milan, 
she  herself  joined  the  sisterhood,  and  in  this  austere  order 
ended  her  days  (1799). 

AGNESI,  Maria  Teresa,  sister  of  the  above  (died 
1780),  was  well  known  as  a  musician,  having  composed  a 
number  of  cantatas,  besides  three  operas — Sophovisbe,  Ciro 
in  Armenia,  and  Nitocri. 

AQNOETjE  (from  ayvoim,  to  be  ignorant  of),  in  Church 
llislory,  a  sect  of  ancient  heretics  who  maintained  that 
Christ's  human  nature  did  not  become  omniscient  by  its 
union  with  His  divinity.  Its  founder  was  Themistius,  a 
deacon  of  the  Monophysites  in  Alexandria  in  the  6th  cen- 
tury.    The  sect  was  anathematised  by  Gregory  the  Great. 

AGNOLO,  Baccio  d',  wood-carver,  sculptor,  and  archi- 
tect, was  born  at  Florence  in  14G0.  The  first  was  his 
original  calling,  and  he  Attained  considerable  distinction  in 
it  before  he  turned  his  attention  to  architecture,  which  he 
went  to  Rome  to  study  in  1530.  He  still  carried  on 
wood-carving,  and  his  studio  was  the  resort  of  the  most 
celebrated  artists  of  the  day — Michael  Angelo,  Sansovius, 
the  brothers  Sangallo,  and  others.  On  his  return  to 
Florence  he  devoted  himself  chiefly  to  architecture,  and 
planned  many  of  the  finest  palaces  and  villas  of  that  city, 
such  as  the  Villa  Borghese  and  the  Palais  Bartolini.  The 
latter  was  the  first  dwelling-house  which  had  what  had 
previously  been  confined  to  churches — frontispieces  of 
columns  to  the  doors  and  windows.  For  introducing  this 
fashion  Agnolo  incurred  the  ridicule  of  the  Florentines; 
but   it  nevertheless   established   itself  firmly.      Another 


much-admired  work  of  this  architect  is  the  campanile 
or  bell-tower  of  the  church  Di  Santo  Spirito  in  Florence. 
He  was  also  engaged  to  complete  the  drum  of  the  cupola 
in  the  metropolitan  church  Di  Santa  Maria  delFiore;  but 
Michael  Angelo  found  fault  with  his  plans,  and  the  work 
remains  unexecuted  to  this  day.  He  died  in  1543,  leaving 
three  sons,  archite  ts.  one  of  whom,  Giuliano,  completed 
his  father's  unfinished  works. 

AGNONE,  a  town  of  South  Italy,  at  the  foot  of  Monte 
Capraro,  20  miles  N.W.  of  Campobasso.  It  has  10,230  in- 
habitants, chiefly  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  copper 
wares,  for  the  excellence  of  which  it  is  celebrated. 

AGNUS  DEI,  the  figure  of  a  lamb  bearing  a  cross, 
symbolical  of  the  Saviour  as  the  "Lamb  of  God."  The 
device  occurs  in  mediaeval  sculptures,  but  the  name  is 
especially  given  in  the.  Church  of  Rome  to  a  small  cake 
made  of  the  wax  of  the  Easter  candles,  and  impressed 
with  this  figure.  Since  the  9th  century  it  has  been  custo- 
mary for  the  popes  to  bless  these  cakes,  and  distribute 
them,  on  the  Sunday  after  Easter,  among  the  faithful,  by 
whom  they  are  highly  prized  as  having  the  power  to  avert 
evil.  In  modern  times  the  distribution  has  been  limited 
to  persons  of  distinction,  and  is  made  by  the  pope  on  his 
accession,  and  every  seven  years  thereafter. 

Agnus  Dei  is  also  the  popular  name  for  the  anthem 
beginning  with  these  words,  which  is  said  to  have  been 
introduced  into  the  missal  by  Pope  Sergius  I.  (687-701). 
Based  upon  John  i.  29,  the  Latin  form  is  Agnus  Dei,  qui 
tollis  peccata  mnndi,  miserere  nobis.  In  the  celebration  of 
the  mass  it  is  repeated  three  times  before  the  communion, 
and  it  is  also  appended  to  many  of  the  litanies. 

AGOBARD,  a  Frank,  born  in  779,  became  coadjutor  to 
Leidrad,  archbishop  of  Lyons,  in  813,  and  on  the  death  of 
the  latter  succeeded  him  in  the.  see  (816).  He  was  one  of 
the  chief  supporters  of  Lothaire  and  Pepin  in  their  con- 
spiracy against  their  father,  Louis  le  Debonnaire,  and  was 
in  consequence  deposed  by  the  council  of  Thionville  (835). 
On  making  an  ap61ogy  for  his  conduct,  and  becoming 
reconciled  to  the  emperor,  he  was  reinstated  in  837. 
Agobard's  works,  which  were  edited  by  Baluze  in  1665 
(2  vols.  8vo),  show  him  to  have  been  a  man  of  clear 
intellect,  strongly  opposed  to  the  superstitious  notions  of 
the  time.  He  wrote  against  image-worship,  the  belief  in 
witchcraft,  the  ascription  of  tempests  to  the  influence  of 
sorcerers,  and  trial  by  the  ordeal  of  fire  and  water.  In 
the  adoptionist  controversy  Agobard  took  a  prominent  part 
on  the  orthodox  side.     He  died  at  Saintonge  in  840. 

AGONALIA,  in  Roman  Antiquity,  festivals  celebrated 
on  the  9th  January,  21st  May,  and  11th  December  in  each 
year,  in  honour  of  Janus,  whom  the  Romans  invoked  before 
undertaking  any  affair  of  importance.  _  Ovid,  in  his  Fasti, 
i,  319-332,  mentions  various  etymologies  of  the  word. 

AGONIC  LINES  (from  d  privative,  and  ymvia,  an 
angle),  the  imaginary  lines  on  the  earth's  surface  where 
the  magnetic  needle  indicates  no  declination  or  deviation 
from  the  terrestrial  meridian — that  is,  points  to  the  true 
north  and  south.  There  are  two  great  primary  agonic 
lines,  varying  from  time  to  time,  the  courses  of  which  for 
the  epochs  1787  (from  Hansteen's  Magnetismus  der  Frde) 
and  1840  (by  General  Sir  E.  Sabine) -are  firoired  in  Keith 
Johnston's  Physical  Atlas. 

AGONOTHETA,  or  Agonothetes  (i.ywv  and  ti%u), 
in  Grecian  Antiquity,  was  the  president  or  superintendent 
of  the  sacred  games.  At  first  the  person  who  instituted 
the  games  and  defrayed  the  expenses  was  the  Agonothetes; 
but  in  the  great  public  games,  such  as  the  Olympic,  Pythian, 
ic,  these  presidents  were  the  representatives  of  different 
states,  or  were  chosen  from  the  people  in  whose  country 
the  games  were  celebrated.  They  received  the  several 
titles     of     ala-vfJi'TJTai,    fipafieural,    ayuivap^ai,    aywohUax, 


AUO-AGll 


i0Xo8(Tat.     They  were  also  called  pafiSovxot,  or  pa.f38ov6fi.oi, 
from  the  rod  or  sceptre  emblematic  of  their  authority. 

AGORA  (aycLpta,  to  congregate),  the  place  used  among 
the  ancient  Greeks  as  a  public  market,  and  corresponding  in 
general  with  the  Roman  foTum.     From  its  convenience  as 
a  meeting-place,  it  became  in  most  of  the  cities  of  Greece 
the  general  resort  for  social  and  political  purposes.     In 
Thessaly,  however,  the  market-place  was  kept  apart  from 
"the  field  of  freedom,"  where  the  commons  met;  and  at 
Sparta  a  similar  provision  was  made  by  the  institutions  of 
Lycurgus,  that  nothing  might  distract  the  attention  of  the 
auditors.     At  Athens,  with  the  increase  of  commerce  and 
political  interest,  it  was   found  advisable  to  call  public 
meetings  at  the  Pnyx  or  the  temple  of  Bacchus;  but  the 
important  assemblies  there,  such  as  meetings  for  ostracism, 
were  held  in  the  agora.     In  the  best  days  of  Greece  the 
agora  was  the  place  where  nearly  all  public  traffic  was  con- 
ducted.    To  frequent  it,  therefore,  was  equivalent  to  being 
actively  engaged  in  business;  and  "he  has  forsaken  the 
agora,"  indicated  that  a  man  was  a  suspicious  character. 
The  agora  was  most  frequented  in  the  forenoon,  and  then 
only  by  men.    Slaves  did  the  greater  part  of  the  purchasing, 
though  even  the  noblest  citizens  of  Athens  did  not  scruple 
to  buy  and  sell  there.     The  name  dyopd  was  also  given 
(and  this  is  perhaps  the  primary  use  of  the  word)  to  the 
assemblies  of  the  people  in  the  Grecian  states.     These 
assemblies  '•vere  convened  by  proclamation  by  order  of  the 
sovereign  power,  a  herald  inviting  aii  concerned  to  the  agora. 
The  right  of  speech  and  of  vote  in  these  assemblies  appears 
to  have  been  restricted  to  the  nobles,  all  that  was  allowed 
to  the  populace  being  the  indication  of  their  sentiments 
on  the  topics  brought  before  them  by  signs  of  applause  or 
disapproval.     At  Athens  the  old  agora  lay  to  the  west  of 
the  citadel.     It  was  adorned  with  trees  planted  by  Gimon 
the  conqueror  of  the  Persians;  and  around  it  numerous 
public  buildings  were  erected,  such  as  the  senate  hall  and 
the  law  courts.     The  new  agora  lay  to  the  north  of  the 
Acropolis,  in  the  Eretrian  quarter.     Pausanias  is  the  great 
architectural  authority  on  the  agora?  of  Megalopolis,  Corinth, 
Elia,  Messina,  Sparta,  &c.     Palladius  and  Vitruvius  also 
give  details.     The  remains  of  different  agorae  are  described 
in  the  works  of  Texier,  Newton,  Barth,  and  other  travellers. 
AGORANOMOI,  magistrates  in  the  republics  of  Greece, 
whose  position  and  duties  were  similar  to  those  of  the 
tediles  of  Rome.     In  Athens  there  were  ten,  chosen  annu- 
ally by  lot,  five  of  whom  took  charge  of  the  city,  and  five 
of  the  harbour.     The  former  saw  to  the  maintenance  of 
order  and  decency  in  the  markets,  took  cognisance  of  the 
purity  of  the  articles  exposed  for  sale  and  of  all  weights 
&nd  measures,  and  collected  the  dues;  the  latter  received 
\he  harbour  dues  and  enforced  the  shipping  regulations. 

AGORDO,  a  town  in  North  Italy,  12  miles  N.W.  of 
Belluno.  The  valley  of  Imperina,  in  its  vicinity,  contains 
the  richest  copper  mines  in  Italy.     Population,  3000. 

AGOSTA,  or  Augusta,  a  city  of  Sicily,  14  miles  N.  of 
Syracuse,  and  in  the  province  of  that  name.  It  is  built  on 
a  peninsula,  and  is  united  to  the  mainland  by  a  narrow 
causeway.  By  some  writers  it  is  supposed  to  occupy  the 
site  of  ancient  Megara  Hyblcea.  The  modern  city,  which 
was  founded  by  the  emperor  Frederick  II.  in  1229-33,  suf- 
fered severely  during  the  wars  of  succeeding  centuries,  and 
was  several  times  sacked.  It  had,  however,  attained  consider- 
able opulence  when,  in  1693,  it  was  overthrown  by  an  earth- 
quake, the  effects  of  which  were  aggravated  by  the  explosion 
of  the  powder  magazine  of  the  citadel.  One-third  of  the 
inhabitants  perished  in  this  disaster.  When  the  city  was 
rebuilt,  the  streets  were  laid  out  in  parallel  lines,  and  the 
houses  were  constructed  with  low  roofs,  so  as  to  mitigate  the 
results  of  any  recurrence  of  the  calamity.  Agosta  is  forti- 
fied towards  both  sea  and  land;  and  the  harbour,  though 


,2& 


rather  difficult  of  access,  is  commodious  and  well  sheltered. 
The  chief  trade  of  the  town  is  in  salt;  and  the  other  exports 
include  wine,  cheese,  oil,  honey,  and  sardines.  Near  Agosta 
the  Dutch  were  defeated  by  the  French  in  a  naval  engage- 
ment in  1676,  and  their  famous  admiral,  DeRuyter  was 
mortally  wounded.     Population  (1865),  9735. 

AGOSTINI,  Leonardo,  an  eminent  antiquary  of  the 
17th  century,  born  at  Siena.  After  being  employed  for 
some  time  by  Cardinal  Barberini  to  collect  works  of  art  for 
the  Barbenm  palace,  he  was  appointed  by  Pope  Alexander 
VII.  superintendent  of  antiquities  in  the  Roman  states 
He  issued  a  new  edition  of  Paruta's  Sicilian  Medals,  with 
engravings  of  400  additional  specimens;  but  a  promised 
volume  of  letterpress  explanation  never  appeared.  In  con- 
junction  with  Bellori  he  also  published  a  work  on  antique 
sculptured  gems,  which  was  translated  into  Latin  by  Gro- 
novius  (Amsterdam,  1685). 

AGOSTINO  and  AGNOLO  (or  Ancelo)  DA  SIEXA, 
two  brothers,  architects  and  sculptors,  who  flourished  in  the 
first  half  of  the  14th  century.  Delia  Valle  and  other  com- 
mentators deny  that  they  were  brothers.  They  certainly 
studied  together  under  Giovanni  Pisano,  and  in  1317  were 
jointly  appointed  architects  of  their  native  town,  for  which 
they  designed  the  Porta  Romana,  the  church  and  convent 
of  St  Francis,  and  other  buildings.  On  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  celebrated  Giotto,  who  styled  them  the  best 
sculptors  of  the  time,  they  were  chosen  to  execute  the  tomb 
of  Guido,  bishop  of  Arezzo,  which  that  artist  had  designed. 
It  was  esteemed  one  of  the  finest  artistic  works  of  the  14th 
century,  but  unfortunately  was  destroyed  by  the  French 
under  the  Duke  of  Anjou. 

AGOSTINO,  Paolo,  an  eminent  Italian  musician,  born 
at  Valerano  in  1593.  He  studied  under  Nanini,  and  suc- 
ceeded Ugolini  as  conductor  of  the  Pope's  orchestra  in  St 
Peter's.  His  musical  compositions  are  numerous  and  of 
great  merit,  an  Agnus  Dei  for  eight  voices  being  specially 
admired.     He  died  in  1629. 

AGOUTI,  a  genus  of  mammals  (the  Dasyprocta)  found 
in  South  America  and-  in  some  of  the  West  Indian  islands, 
belonging  to  the  same  family  as  the  guinea-pig,  viz.,  that 
of  Cavidce  in  the  order  Rodentia.  The  largest  and  com- 
monest species  is  the  D.  Aguti,  somewhat  resembling  a 
rabbit,  but  about  the  size  of  a  hare,  whence  it  is  sometimes 
called  the  rabbit  or  hare  of  South  America.  The  feet  have 
large  and  strong  claws,  but  the  animal  does  not  burrow; 
the  hind  legs  are  very  long,  and  when  eating  it  squats  on 
them,  feeding  itself  with  its  fore-paws;  and  the  tail  is, 
except  in  one  species,  a  very  short  naked  stump.  The 
agoutis  are  gregarious,  live  chiefly  in  woods,  and  feed  on 
vegetables  exclusively,  especially  on  roots  and  nuts.  They 
commit  great  havoc  in  sugar  plantations  by  gnawing  the 
roots  of  the  canes,  and  in  sugar-growing  localities  are  there- 
fore destroyed  as  vermin.  The  flesh,  which  is  tender  and 
well-flavoured,  is  a  common  article  of  diet  in  Guiana  and 
Brazil.  When  the  Antilles  and  Bahamas  were  discovered 
they  are  said  to  have  been  overrun  with  these  animals, 
which  were  the  largest  quadrupeds  then  found  in  the  klands. 
AGRA,  a  division,  district,  and  city  of  British  India, 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  lieutenant-governor  of  the 
North- Western  Provinces.  The  Agra  Division  comprises 
the  six  districts  of  Agra,  Etawah,  Mainpurf,  Farrakhabdd, 
Etah,  and  Mathura.  It  is  bounded  on  the  N.  by  the 
Alfgarh  district;  on  the  W.  by  the  Bhartpur,  Dholpur, 
and  Gwalior  states ;  on  the  S.  by  the  Jalaun  and  Cawn- 
pur  districts;  and  on  the  E.  by  the  Ganges.  Agra  division 
contains,  according  to  the  census  of  1872,  a  population  of 
5,038,136  souls;  of  whom  4,607,946  are  Hindus,  427,834 
Mahometans,  and  2356  Christians  and  others. 

Agra  District  lies  between  26°  43'  45"  and  27°  24' 
15"  N.  laV  and  between  77°  28'  and  78u  5?  E.  long. 


2?G 


A  G  K  A 


It  is  bounded  on  tho  N.  by  tho  district  of  Mathura;  on 
theE.  by  tho  Mainpurf  and  Etawah  districts;  on  the  S.  by 
the  Gwalior  territory  and  the  Dholpur  state ;  and  on  the  "W. 
by  the  Bhartpur  territory.     Its  area  in  1872  was  returned 
at  1873  square  miles,  and  its  population  at   1,094,184 
souls.     The  general  appearance  of  the  district  is  that  com- 
mon to  the  Doab,  a  level  plain  intersected  by  watercourses 
(nalAs)  and  ravines.    The  only  hills  are  the  sandstone  eleva- 
tions in  the  west  and  south-west  of  the  district.     The  prin- 
cipal rivers  are  the  Jamna,  Chambal,  Uttangan,  and  Kharl. 
The  Jamna   intersects  the  district,  cutting  off  the  sub- 
divisions of  Itmadpur  and  Firozabad ;  and  a  branch  of  the 
Allgarh  division  of  the  Ganges  Canal  passes  through  its 
northern  parts.     The  general  elevation  of  the  district  is 
estimated  at  from  650  to  700  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
8ea.'  •  The  soil  is  sandy;  many  of  the  wells  are  brackish, 
and  the  local  water  supply  is  scanty.     The  failure  of  the 
periodical  rains  during  the  monsoon  suffices  to  produce 
great  scarcity,  sometimes  reaching  the  famine  point.    Only 
rive  towns  are  returned  by  the  census  as  containing  up- 
wards of  5000  inhabitants,  viz.,  Agra  city  .(the  capital  of 
the  district),  population  149,008;  Fathipur  Sikrf,  the  site 
of  Akbar*s  famous  mosque  and  palace,  6878;  Firozabad, 
14,255;    Pinahat,   6571;  and  Saimra,   5.704.     There  are 
three  municipalities,  viz.,  Agra  city,  Firozabad,  and  Fathi- 
pur SikrL     These  muncipalities  derive  their  local  revenue 
from  octroi  and  from  property  within  the  municipal  limits. 
The  total  municipal  income  and  its  incidence  per  head  of 
the  population  are  as  follows: — Agra  city,  municipal  income, 
£15,441,  incidence  per  head,  2s.  0|d.;  Firozabad.  £724 — 
Is.  per  head;  Fathipur  Sikrf,  £366 — Is.  .per  head.     The 
land  revenue  of  tho  whole  district  was.  stated  in  1871  at 
£162,882,  and  the  gross  revenue  at  £660,526.     A  scheme 
of  rural  instruction  by  means  of   indigenous  schools  was 
introduced  in  1848.     In  1871-72  there  were  431  schools 
in  the  district,  attended  by  10,823  pupils,  of  whom  8820 
were  Hindus,  1293  Mahometans,  and  710  of  other  deno- 
minations.   The  educational  establishments  within  the  city 
will  be  described  below.     The   police  force  consisted  of 
1358  regular  police  in  1871,  equal  to  one  man  to  every 
1-37  square  miles  of  area,  or  one  to  every  805  inhabitants; 
and  a  village  watch  or  rural  constabulary  of  1921  men, 
being  one  man  to  every  0  97  square  miles  of  area,  or  one 
to  every  570  inhabitants.     The  chief  crimes  of  the  district, 
in  common  with  the  rest  of  the  Doab,  are  burglary  and  theft. 
Agra  City,  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Jamna  river, 
in  27°  10'  N.  lat.,  and  '  f    V  E.  long.,  is  the  head-quarters 
of  the  division  and  capital  of  the  district.     Formerly  it  was 
the  provincial  capital  also,  but  since  the  mutiny  the  seat 
of  government  has  been  removed  from  Agra  to  Allahdbad. 
fhe  city,  which  is  about  4  miles  in  length  by  3  in  breadth, 
sweeps  along  the  banks  of  the  river  in  a  semicircle.     The 
principal  thoroughfares  are  a  fine  broad  Btreet  intersecting 
the  town  from  north  to  6onth;  and  the  Strand,  which  runs 
along  the  banks  of  the  river  for  a  distance  of  2  miles. 
This  road  measures  80  feet  in  width,  and  is  said  to  have 
been  constructed  by  the  destitute  poor  during  the  famine 
of  1838.     In  1846  the  population  of  the  city  was  esti- 
mated at  66,000;  in  1872  it  was  ascertained  to  be  149,000. 
The  .conservancy  and  improvement  of  the  town  are  in  the 
hands  of  a  municipal  committee,  which  derives  its  funds 
principally  from  octroi  duties.     In  1871-72,  the  municipal 
income  was  returned  as  follows: — Octroi  duties,  £13,587; 
miscellaneous  receipts,  such  a3  rent  from  land  belonging  to 
the  municipality,  &c.,  £1854— total,  £15,441.    The  details 
of  municipal  expenditure  were  as  follow: — Establishment 
and  cost  of  collection,  £1667,  12s.;  police,  £4041,  12s.; 
conservancy,  £1749,  12a.;  lighting,  £672,  14s.;  watering, 
£255,10s.k,  original  works, £35 6 1,16s.;  repairs, £1429, 2s.; 
education  £120;  Vaccination,  £86,  6s.;  dispensary,  £360; 


charities,  £240;  grants  to  cantonments,  museum,  &c. 
£1465,  2s. — total,  £15,599,  6s.  The  principal  educational 
establishment  in  Agra  is  the  Government  College,  a  hand- 
some building,  situated  in  tho  civil  lines  a  short  distance 
from  the  town.  It  was  established  in  1820;  in  1872  it 
contained  385  pupils.  The  other  chief  schools  are  the  St 
John's  College,  established  by  the  Church  Missionary 
Societyin  1854;  the  Victoria  College,  established  in  1862; 
and  St  Peter's  Catholic  College.  These  three  colleges  in 
1872  had  643  pupils  on  their  rolls.  There  is  also  a  medical 
college,  founded  in  1853.  The  total  number  of  student? 
admitted  into  it  during  the  sixteen  years  from  1855  to 
1870  inclusive,  was  1168,  of  whom  235  passed  the  pre- 
scribed examination  and  received  appointments  in  the 
government  medical  service.  The  Agra  fort  has  a  veiy 
imposing  appearance,  but  is  of  no  great  strength.  It  occu- 
pies a  large  space  of  ground  on  the  banks  of  the  river, 
enclosed  by  high  walls  and  towers  of  red  stone.  Tho  fortress 
was  constructed  by  the  Emperor  Akbar  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  16th  century,  and  exceeds  a  mile  in  circuit.  In 
1803  the  place  was  held  by  the  Marhattas;  but  being 
invested  by  Lord  Lake's  army,  it  surrendered  after  a  day's- 
bombardment.  During  the  mutiny  of  1857  it  formed  a 
place  of  refuge  for  the  European  and  Christian  community 
of  Agra,  and  was  threatened  by  the  insurgent  sepoys.  The 
buildings  of  most  note  within  the  walls  of  the  fort  are  the 
palace  and  hall  of  audience  of  Shah  Jahan,  and  the  Motf. 
Masjid,  or  "  Pearl  Mosque." 

"  In  the  centre  of  the  palace,"  says  Mr  Fergusson  in  his  History 
of  Architecture,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  699-700,  "  is  a  great  court  600  feet  by 
370,  surrounded  by  arcades,  and  approached  at  the  opposite  ends 
through  a  succession  of  beautiful  courts  opening  into  one  another 
by  gateways  of  great  magnificence.  On  one  side  of  this  court  is 
the  great  hall  of  the  palace,  the  Dfwani-Khas,  208  feet  by  76, 
supported  by  three  ranges  of  arcades  of  exquisite  beauty.  It  is  open 
on  tflree  sides,  and  with  a  niche  for  the  throne  at  the  back.  This 
hall  is  flow  used  as  an  arsenal.  'Behind  it  are  two  smaller  courts, 
tho  one  containing  the  Diwani-Am  or  hall  of  private  audience, 
the  other  the  harem.  The  hall  in  the  former  is  one  of  the  most 
elegant  of  Shah  Jahan's  buildings,  being  wholly  of  white  marble- 
inlaid  with  precious  stones,  and  the  design  of  the  whole  being  in. 
the  best  style  of  his  reign." 

The  Moti  Masjid  or  Pearl  Mosque  is  the  most  elegant 
masque  of  Indian-Mahometan  architecture.  A  Mr  Fergus- 
son  describes  it  as  follows : — 

"  Its  dimensions  are  considerable,  being  externally  235  feet  east 
and  west,  by  100  feet  north  and  south,  and  the  courtyard  155  feet 
square.  The  mass  is  also  considerable,  as  the  whole  is  raised  on  a 
terrace  of  artificial  construction,  by  the  aid  of  which  it  stands  well 
oat  from  the  surrounding  buildings  of  the  fort.  Its  chief  beauty 
consists  in  its  courtyard,  which  is  wholly  of  white  marble  from  the 
pavement  to  the.  summit  of  its  domes.  In  design  it  somewhat 
resembles  the  great  DeMi  mosque,  except  that  the  minarets  are> 
omitted,  and  the  side  gateways  are  only  recesses.  The  western  part, 
or  mosque  properly  so  called-,  is  of  white  marble  inside  and  out ; 
and,  except  an  inscription  from  the  Kuran  inlaid  with  black  marble 
as  a  frieze,  has  no  ornament  whatever  beyond  the  lines  of  its  own 
graceful  architecture." 

Agra,  however,  is  even  more  famous  for  the  Taj-Mahal, 
a  splendid  mausoleum  built  by  the  Emperor  Shah  Jahan 
for  the  remains  of  his  favourite  wife,  Mumtaza  Mahal,  and 
where  he  himself  is  also  buried.  The  building  is  of  white 
marble,  with  four  tall  minarets  of  the  same  material,  one 
at  each  corner.  The  whole  rises  from  an  elevated  marble 
terrace.  The  following  account  is  extracted  from  Mr 
Fergusson's  Ilutory  of  Architecture,  pp.  692-694: — 

The  enclosure,  including  the  gardens  and  outer  court,  is  a 
parallelogram  of  1860  feet  by  more  than  1000  feet.  The  outer  court, 
surrounded  by  arcades  and  adorned  by  fonr  gateways,  forms  an 
oblong  occupying  in  length  the  whole  breadth  of  tho  inclosure,  by 
about  450  feet  in  depth.  The  principal  gateway,  measuring  110 
feet  by  140,  leads  from  the  court  to  the  gardens,  which,  with  their 
marble  canals  and  fountains  and  cypress  trees,  are  almost  as  beauti. 
ful  as  the  tomb  itself.  The  tomb  stands  on  a,  raised  platform  13 
feet  high,  faced  with  whito  marhle.and.ta  exactly  818  feet  squaie 


AGR-AGR 


287 


At  each  corner  of  this  terrace  stands  a  minaret  133  feet  in  height, 
and  of  the  most  exquisite  proportions — more  beautiful,  perhaps, 
than  any  other  in  India.  In  the  centre  of  the  marble  platform 
stands  the  mausoleum,  a  square  of  186  feet,  with  the  corners  cut  off 
to  the  extent  of  33  feet  9  inches.  The  centre  of  this  is  occupied  by 
the  principal  dome,  53  feet  in  diameter  and  80  feet  in  height,  under 
which  is  an  inclosure  formed  by  a  screen  of  trellis-work  of  white 
marble,  a  cfa:f-d'ceuvre  of  elegance  in  Indian  art.  Within  this  stand 
the  two  tombs.  These,  however,  as  is  usual  in  Indian  sepulchres, 
are  not  the  true  tombs ;  the  bodies  rest  in  a  vault  level  with  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  beneath  plainer  tombstones  placed  exactly 
underneath  those  in  the  hall  above.  In  each  angle  of  the  building 
is  a  smaller  dome  of  two  storeys  in  height,  26  feet  8  inches  in 
diameter,  and  connected  by  various  passages  and  halls.  The  light 
to  the  central  apartment  is  admitted  only  through  double  screens  of 
white  marble  trellis-work  of  the  most  exquisite  design,  one  on  the 
outer  and  one  on  the  inner  face  of  tbe  walls.  In  our  climate  this 
would  produce  nearly  complete  darkness;  but  in  India,  and  in  a 
building  wholly  composed  of  white  marble,  this  was  required  to 
temper  the  glare,  which  otherwise  would  have  been  intolerable.  As 
it  is,  no  words  can  express  the  chastened  beauty  of  that  central 
chamber,  seen  in  the  soft  gloom  of  the  subdued  light  whicb  reaches 
it  through  the  distant  and  half-closed  openings  that  surround  it. 
When  used  as  a  pleasure  palace,  it  must  nave  been  the  coolest  and 
the  loveliest  of  garden  retreats ;  and  now  that  it  is  sacred  to  the 
dead,  it  is  the  most  graceful  and  most  impressive  of  the  sepulchres 
of  the  world.  This  building  is  an  early  example  of  that  system  of 
inlaying  with  precious  stones  which  became  the  great  characteristic 
of  the  style  of  the  Mughuls  after  the  death  of  Akbar.  All  the  span- 
drils  of  the  Taj,  all  the  angles  and  more  important  architectural 
details,  are  heightened  by  being  inlaid  with  precious  stones,  such 
as  agates,  bloodstones,  jaspers,  and  the  like.  These  are  combined 
in  wreaths,  scrolls,  and  frets,  as  exquisite  in  design  as  they  are 
beautiful  in  colour;  and,  relieved  by  the  pure  white  marble  in 
which  they  are  inlaid,  they  form  the  most  beautiful  and  precious  style 
of  ornament  ever  adopted  in  architecture.  It  is  lavishly  bestowed  on 
the  tombs  themselves  and  the  screens  that  surround  them,  but  more 
sparingly  introduced  on  the  mosque  that  forms  one  wing  of  the  Taj, 
and  on  the  fountains  and  surrounding  buildings.  The  judgment,  in- 
deed, with  which  this  style  of  ornament  is  apportioned  to  the  various 
parts  is  almost  as  remarkable  as  the  ornament  itself,  ind  conveys  a 
high  idea  of  the  taste  and  skill  of  the  Indian  architects  of  this  age." 

Ta vernier,  in  his  Travels  (voL  iii.,  p.  94),  mentions  that 
20,000  workmen  were  incessantly  employed  on  this  work 
during  a  period  of  twenty-two  years.  The  tomb  of  the 
Emperor  Akbar  i3  contained  in  a  splendid  mausoleum  at 
Sikandra,  a  suburb  of  Agra  city. 

AGRAM,  or  Zagrab,  the  capital  of  the  Austrian  pro- 
vince of  Croatia,  is  finely  situated  on  a  hill  near  the  banks 
of  the  Save,  in  45°  49'  N.  lat.  and  16°  1'  E.  long.,  160 
miles  south  of  Vienna.  It  is  the  seat  of  the  governor  of 
Slavonia  and  Croatia,  of  a  bishop,  of  the  courts  of  justice, 
and  of  the  meetings  of  the  provincial  diet.  Agram  is 
divided  into  three  parts,  called  the  upper  and  lower  towns, 
and  the  town  of  the  bishop.  It  has  a  lyceum,  library, 
museum,  gymnasium,  an  ancient  cathedral,  and  a  large 
library.  Some  silk  and  porcelain  are  manufactured,  and  a 
brisk  trade  is  carried  on  in  grain,  potash,  tobacco,  and 
honey.     Population  in  1869,  19,857. 

AGRARIAN"  LAWS  (Leges  Agrarioe),  when  used  in  the 
most  extended  signification  of  the  term,  are  laws  for  the 
distribution  and  regulation  of  property  in  land,  The  his- 
tory of  these  enactments  is  not  only  important  as  explana- 
tory of  the  constitution  of  the  ancient  republics,  but  is 
rendered  highly  interesting  by  the  conflicting  opinions  which 
have  been  entertained  respecting  their  object  and  operation. 
It  seems  to  have  been  a  notion  generally  entertained  in  the 
ancient  world  that  every  citizen  of  a  country  should  be  a 
landholder;  and  that  the  territory  of  a  state,  so  far  as  it 
was  not  left  uninclosed  or  reserved  for  public  purposes, 
should  be  divided  in  equal  portions  among  the  citizens. 
Such  a  distribution  of  public  land  seems  to  have  been  acted 
upon  as  a  recognised  principle  from  the  earliest  period  to 
which  existing  historical  records  extend.  Hence  we  find 
the  Almighty  giving  express  instructions  to  Moses  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  the  land  of  Canaan  wacr  to  be  portioned 
out  among  the  Hebrews  (Num.  xxxiii.  54),  and  naming  the 
persons  to  whom  the  division  was  to  be  entrusted  (Num. 


xxxiv.  16-18).  A  division  of  the  land  was  accordingly 
made,  and  the  portion  assigned  to  each  man  became  hr. 
inalienable  property,  and  descended  in  perpetuity  to -hi' 
heirs  and  successors.  By  the  law  of  Jubilee,  all  lands  wer 
restored  free  of  encumbrances  on  the  recurrence  of  th 
"year  of  release;"  so  that,  though  a  man's  estate  might,  ir 
the  interval,  have  been  repeatedly  sold  or  alienated,  yet  on 
the  return  of  the  fiftieth  year  it  reverted  to  the  heirs  of  thr 
original  possessor  (Lent.  xxv.  10).  In  the  republics  oi 
ancient  Greece,  and  also  in  the  Grecian  colonies,  a  similar 
principle  of  division  of  land  prevailed  (Thuc.  v.  4,  Herod, 
iv.  159).  Lycurgus  is  represented  by  Plutarch  (Lycur.) 
as  redividing  the  whole  territory  of  Laconia  into  39,000 
parcels,  of  which  9000  were  assigned  in  equal  lots  to  aq 
many  Spartan  families,  and  30,000,  also  in  equal  lots,  to 
their  free  subjects;  and  although  this  statement  is  not  borne 
out  by  any  of  the  early  Greek  historians,  and  is  even  incon- 
sistent with  the  assertion  of  Aristotle  (Polit.  ii.  4),  yet  it  is 
valuable  as  recognising  the  principle  of  the  division  of  the 
public  lands.  (See  ThirlwaU's  Hist,  of  Greece,  chap,  viii, 
and  Grote's  Hist,  of  Greece,  part  ii  chap,  vi.,  with  the 
authorities  there  quoted.) 

It  was  long  a  prevalent  and  undisputed  opinion  that  the 
territories  of  the  Hebrews,  and  of  the  republics  of  ancient 
Greece,  were  divided  into  equal  portions,  and  that  the 
object  of  such  a  distribution  was  to  maintain  a  state  of 
equality  among  all  the  members  of  the  community.  This, 
however,  does  not  appear  to  be  consistent  with  the  dis- 
tinctions of  rank  whicb  we  find  admitted  in  Scripture  (Josh, 
ix.  15;  Txii  14;  1  Sam.  ix.  21,  <tc,  <tc);  and  from  a 
remark  of  Thucydides  (i.  6),  taken  in  connection  with  tho 
statement  of  Aristotle  (Polit.  ii  9),  it  may  be  legitimately 
inferred  that  property  did  not  continue  to  be  equally  dis- 
tributed at  Lacedaemon.  Distinctions  of  rank  are  clearly 
recognised  in  the  legislation  of  Solon.  Aristotle,  in  the 
Second  Book  of  his  Politics  (chap,  vi,,  <fcc),  explains  the 
constitutions  of  several  of  the  ancient  republics,  and  endea- 
vours to  show  how  the  population  is  to  be  accommodated 
to  this  equal  division  of  land ;  but  it  would  be  foreign  to 
our  object  to  review  his  arguments.  It  may  be  sufficient 
to  remark  that  such  an  attempt  to  arrest  the  progress  of 
enterprise  is  altogether  inconsistent  with  the  spirit  of  liberty 
which  gave  life  and  energy  to  the  ancient  republics;  and 
that,  though  it  might  have  been  carried  into  effect  under 
the  despotism  of  Persia  or  the  predominant  rule  of  the 
kings  of  Macedonia,  it  was  entirely  at  variance  with  the 
freedom  of  opinion  which  prevailed  in  Greece,  and  the 
stubborn  resistance  to  control  which  animated  the  Romans 
after  the  expulsion  of  the  kings.  But  granting  that  such 
a  policy  had  been  practicable,  it  would  have  been  highly 
inexpedient.  The  ignorant  Hindu  might  remain  satisfied 
with  the  caste  which  nature  had  transmitted  to  him  through 
successive  generations,  because  his  progenitors  had  been 
prevented  from  emerging  from  their  obscurity;  but  the 
citizens  of  Greece  and  Italy,  being  themselves  constituent 
members  of  the  body  politic,  and  not  ignorant  of  the  power 
thereby  conferred  on  them,  could  not  have  been  kept  in 
check  by  the  same  principle  of  fear.  Such  an  attempt, 
moreover,  to  prevent  the  acquisition  of  property  would 
have  obstructed  the  advancement  of  the  arts  of  civilised 
life,  would  have  extinguished  those  feelings  of  patriotism 
which  led  the  Greeks  so  often  to  hazard  their  lives  in 
defence  of  their  country,  and,  by  engendering  discontent 
and  exciting  internal  commotions,  would  have  made  them 
an  easy  prey  to  their  enemies. 

The  expression  Agrarian  Laws,  however,  is  more  com- 
monly applied  to  the  enactments  among  the  Romans  for 
the  management  of  the  public  domains  (agerpublicus);  and 
to  an  account  of  these  the  remainder  of  our  space  must  be 
devoted.     It  is  a  singular  fact  that,  while  almost  evsry  other 


288 


AGRARIAN    LAWS 


subject  connected  with  the  Roman  constitution  had  been 
successfully  investigated  and  explained,-  the  object  and  in- 
tention of  the  agrarian  law3  were  entirely  misunderstood 
by  scholars  for  many  centuries  after  the  revival  of  letters. 
They  were  invariably  represented  as  intended  to  prohibit 
Roman  citizens  from  holding  property  in  land  above  a 
certain  fixed  amount;  and  as  authorising  the  division 
among  the  poorer  citizens  of  the  estates  of  private  indi- 
viduals when  these  exceeded  the  prescribed  limit;  thus 
legalising  a  system  of  plunder  which  would  have  been, 
subversive  of  all  social  order.  No  such  doctrine  had, 
indeed,  been  admitted  in  any  well-regulated  state,  ancient 
or  modern ;  nor  did  anything  analogous  to  it  appear  in  the 
principles  or  practice  of  the  Roman  constitution ;  yet  the 
expressions  used  by  the  ancient  authors  in  reference  to  these 
enactments,  and  the  disturbances  to  which  they  invariably 
gave  rise,  seemed  to  justify  an  unfavourable  interpretation ; 
and  the  opinion,  when  once  propounded,  was  uncondition- 
ally received  by  successive  generations  of  learned  men, 
notwithstanding  the  many  embarrassments  and  contradic- 
tions to  which  it  led. 

Romulus  is  represented  as  dividing  his  small  territory 
among  the  members  of  his  infant  community  at  the  rate  of 
two  jugera  (each  extending  to  two-thirds  of  an  English 
acre)  a-piece,  as  inheritable  property.  The  whole  district, 
however,  was  not  thus  assigned;  one  portion  was  set  apart 
for  the  service  of  the  gods  and  for  the  royal  domains;  and 
another  was  reserved  as  common  land  for  pasture.  The 
stock  kept  on  the  common  land  serve'd  to  eke  out  a  main- 
tenance which  two  jugera  could  not  otherwise  have  furnished 
to  a  family,  and  an  agistment  was  paid  to  the  common- 
wealth for  the  pasturage:  It  is  probable  that  the  same 
principle  prevailed  under  the  regal  government,  and  that 
successive  adjustments  trf  the  territory  were  made.  Such 
a  law  existed  among  those  of  Servius  Tullius.  The  equality 
of  property  thus  established  seems  to  have  been  considered 
as  a  fundamental  principle  of  the  Roman  constitution ;  and 
the  agrarian  laws  were  regarded  as  the  necessary  means  of 
wresting  from  the  large  proprietors  the  possessions  which 
they  had  illegally  acquired.  Machiavelli  and  Montesquieu 
both  participate  in  this  mistake,  and  are  far  from  condemn- 
ing the  agrarian  laws,  even  when  taken  in  the-- common 
meaning.  The  former  alleges  that  the  interest  of  every 
republic  requires  that  the  state  should  be  rich  and  the 
citizens  poor,  and  thus  justifies  the  assumed  spoliation; 
while  Montesquieu  receives  it  as  an  historical  fact  that 
Romulus  adopted  the  principle  of  equality  in  hi3  original 
distribution  of  the  territory  of  Rome  as  the  future  ground 
of  her  strength,  and  that  the  tribunitian  contests  were  but 
attempts  to  restore  the  original  constitution.  Adam  Smith 
( Wealth  of  Nations,  b.  iv.  chap.  vii.  part  i.)  assents  to  the 
same  interpretation,  without,  however,  any  expression  of 
approval. 

The  correct  interpretation  of  the  agrarian  laws  must  thus 
be  considered  as  of  modern  date.  Amidst  the  violence  of 
the  French  Revolution  a  scheme  for  the  equal  division  of 
the  national  property  was  advocated,  with  great  popular 
favour,  by  some  of  the  frantic  leaders,  who  sought  a  sanc- 
tion for  their  extravagances  in  precedents  drawn  from  the 
ancient  republics,  and  particularly  from  the  agrarian  laws 
of  the  Romans.  The  subject  was  thus  invested  with  a  new 
interest,  and  engaged  the  attention  of  Professor  Heyne  of 
Gottingen,  who  in  1793  (Opus.  Acad.  iv.  350-373)  ad- 
dressed to  the  members'  Of  his  university  a  paper  in  which 
he  successfully  combated  the  opinions  which,  up  till  that 
lime,  had  been  entertained  respecting  them,  and  showed 
that  their  object  had  been  entirely  misunderstood.  Other 
irriters,  as  Heeren  and  Hegewisch,  embraced  and  illustrated 
his  views ;  but  it  was  reserved  for  the  acuteness  and  learn- 
ing of  Niebuhr  fully  to  develop  the  theory  which  had  been 


suggested,  and  to  demonstrate  the  fact  "  that  the  agrariati 
laws  of  the  Romans  were  in  no  case  intended  to  interfere 
with  or  affect  private  property  in  land,  but  related  exclu- 
sively to  the  public  domain."  The  theory  of  Niebuhr  was 
too  startling  to  meet  with  universal  approval.  It  his 
accordingly  been  assailed  by  Rudorff,  Dureau  de  la  Malle 
(Econ.  Folit.  des  Romaines),  Puchta,  and  others,  who  have 
ingeniously  and  plausibly  supported  the  opinions  formerly 
maintained ;  but  their  arguments  fail  to  produce  conviction. 
(Class.  Mas.,  voL  ii.)'  The  language  of  Livy  passim,  when 
referring  to  the  agrarian  laws,  is  inexplicable  unless  the 
interpretation  of  Niebuhr  be  adopted:  — 

"If,"  says  Dr  Arnold,  "amongst  Niebuhr's  countless  services  to 
Roman  history,  any  single  one  may  claim  our  gratitude  beyond  the 
rest,  it  is  his  explanation  of  the  true  nature  and  character  of  the 
agrarian  laws.  Twenty-four  years  have  not  yet  elapsed  since  he  firs* 
published  it,  but  it  has  already  overthrown  the  deeply-rooted  falsi) 
impressions  which  prevailed  universally  on  the  subject;  and  its 
truth,  like  Newton's  discoveries  in  natural  science,  is  not  now  (o  be 
proved,  but  to  Be  taken  as  the  very  corner-stone  of  all  our  re- 
searches into  the  internal  state  of  the  Roman  people  "  (Hist,  of 
Some,  vol.  ii.) 

In  almopt  all  countries  the  legal  property  of  the  land  has 
been  originally  vested  in  the  sovereign,  whether  we  are  to 
understand  under  that  name  a  single  chief,  a  particular 
portion  of  the  nation,  or  the  people  at  large.  In  the  same 
manner,  the  property  of  all  the  land  in  a  conquered  country 
was  held  to  be  transferred  to  the  sovereign  power  in  the 
conquering  state,  and  was  assumed  with  more  or  less  rigour 
as  circumstances  seemed  to  require.  From  the  earliest  times 
a  portion  of  the  Roman  territory  was  thus  regarded  as  the 
property  of  the  state,  and  the  profits  arising  from  it  were 
applied  to  the  public  service.  The  public  domain  (ager 
publicus)  was  at  first  small,  but  was  gradually  extended  by 
the  right  of  conquest  till  it  embraced  a  large  portion  of  the 
whole  peninsula.  In  this  process  of  extension  the  sub- 
jugated communities  were  frequently  mulcted  of  a  propor- 
tion of  their  lands,  varying  according  to  the  alleged  offence 
or  the  resistance  which  they  had  offered  to  the  arms  of  the 
conquerors.  Thus  the  Boii  were  deprived  of  one-half  of 
their  territory;  the  Hernici  forfeited  two-thirds;  and  the 
whole  of  the  ager  Campanus,  the  richest  district  in  Italy, 
was  taken  from  the  inhabitants  of  Capua  on  the  capture  of 
their  city  after  its  revolt  to  HannibaL 

The  lands  thus  acquired  were  disposed  of  in  various  ways. 
A  portion  of  them  was  frequently  sold  by  auction  to  meet 
the  immediate  necessities  of  the  state,  and  was  thus  con- 
veyed in  perpetuity  to  the  purchasers.  The  disposal  of  the 
remainder  depended  on  the  nature  and  condition  of  the 
land,  and  its  position  in  reference  to  the  bulk  of  the  com- 
munity- If  in  good  condition  and  at  no  great  distance 
from  the  city,  it  was  frequently  assigned,  in  small  allot- 
ments of  seven  jugera  (between  4  and  5  acres),  to  those  of 
the  poorer  citizens,  whose  services  in  war  gave  them  a  claim 
upon  the  state;  while  in  hostile  districts  and  on  exposed 
frontiers  military  colonies  were  planted,  each  colonist 
receiving  a  fixed  quantity  of  land.  In  both  these  cases 
the  land  so  assigned  ceased  to  form  part  of  the  public 
domain,  and  became  the  property  of  the  recipients.  In 
some  cases  the  land,  after  having  been  assumed  as  public 
property,  was  allowed  to  remain  in  the  hands  of  the  former 
owners,  who  became  the  tenants  of  the  state  for  a  fixed 
period,  and  paid  a  certain  rent  to  the  Roman  exchequer. 

The  preceding  remarks  refer  only  to  arable  or  meadow 
land,  vineyards,  or  olive-gardens,  which  could  be  turned  to 
immediate  advantage.  It  is  obvious,- however,  that  in  a 
country  the  greater  part  of  which  was  acquired  by  conquest, 
large  districts  must  have  been  laid  waste,  the  inhabitant* 
with  their  houses  destroyed,  and  neither  cultivators  nor 
the  means  of  cultivation  left.  Arrangements  of  a  differ- 
<n»t  description  were  therefore  necessary  for  land3  in  thia 


AGE-AGR 


289 


position.  Wide  ranges  of  country,  fit  only  for  pasture,  had 
to  be  disposed  of,  and  were  available  to  those  alone  who  were 
able  to  stock  them  with  flocks  and  herds,  and  to  provide 
slaves  to  attend  to  and  protect  their  property.  Hence  it 
was  usual  for  the  state  to  invite  persons  possessed  of  the 
necessary  means  to  enter  upon  the  occupation  of  such  lands 
on  advantageous  terms;  an  invitation  with  which  the 
patricians,  as  being  the  wealthy  class,  could  alone  comply. 
The  ordinary  conditions  were,  that  after  the  land  was  again 
brought  into  cultivation,  the  occupants  should  pay  as  rent 
one-tenth  of  the  produce  of  the  corn-lands,  and  one-fifth  of 
the  vines  and  fruit-trees,  with  a  moderate  rate  per  head  for 
sheep  and  cattle  grazing  on  the  public  pastures.  The  lands 
were  not  assigned  for  any  definite  period;  the  occupants 
were  mereiy  tenants  at  will,  liable  to  extrusion  whenever 
the  state  found  it  necessary  to  employ  the  land  for  any 
other  purpose.  It  was  a  fundamental  principle  of  Roman 
law  that  prescription  could  not  be  pleaded  against  the 
state;  and  consequently,  though  the  right  of  occupancy 
might  not  only  be  transmitted  from  heir  to  heir,  but  might 
also  be  sold,  no  length  of  time  could  alter  the  precarious 
nature  of  the  tenure  by  which  the  lands  were  held.  The 
state  always  reserved  to  itself  the  power  of  resuming  pos- 
session when  it  thought  fit ;  and  though  such  resumption 
might  in  many  cases  be  attended  by  individual  hardship, 
;t  was  nevertheless  justified  by  the  original  contract. 

Much  of  the  obscurity  connected  with  the  Roman  agrarian 
laws  has  arisen  from  a  misapprehension  of  the  meaning  of 
the  words  possidere,  possessor,  and  possessio.  These  terms, 
'when  used  in  a  strictly  legal  sense,  denote  merely  occupancy 
by  a  tenant,  and  never  imply  an  absolute  right  of  property. 
The  act  of  occupancy  was  termed  usus,  and  the  benefit 
derived  by  the  state  fructus. 

"The  ager publicus,"  says  Professor  Ramsay,  "having  been  ac- 
quired and  occupied  as  explained  above,  numerous  abuses  arose  in 
process  of  time,  especially  among  the  tenants  belonging  to  the 
setpnd  class.  These  being,  as  we  have  said,  in  the  earlier  ages,  ex- 
clusively patricians,  who  at  the  same  time  monopolised  the  admin- 
istration of  public  affairs,  they  were  in  the  habit  of  defrauding  the 
state,  either  by  neglecting  altogether  to  pay  the  stipulated  propor- 
tion of  the  produce,  or  by  paying  less  than  was  due  ;  or,  finally, 
by  claiming,  what  was  in  realty  ager  'publicus,  as  their  own  private 
property ;  it  being  easy,  of  course,  in  the  absence  of  all  strict  super- 
intendence and  of  scientific  surveys,  to  shift  the  land-marks  which 
separated  public  from  private  property.  Meanwhile  the  deficiencies 
in  the-  public  treasury  were  made  up  by  heavier  taxes  ;  and  the 
plebeians  complained  that  they  were  impoverished  by  new  imposts, 
.while  the  lands  belonging  to  the  community,  which  they  had  ac- 
quired by  their  blood,  if  fairly  managed,  would  yiejd  a  sufficient 
return  to  meet  all  demands  upon  the  exchequer ;  or,  if  portioned 
<>ut  in  allotments  among  themselves,  afford  them  the  means  of  sup- 
porting the  increased  burdens.  These  complaints,  unquestionably 
founded  in  justice,  were  soon  vehemently  expressed^  and  were 
revived  from  time  to  time  more  or  less  loudly,  and  enforced  more 
or  less  earnestly,  according  to  the  state  of  public  feeling  and  the 
energy  of  the  popular  champions.  It  is  true  that  the  wealthier 
plebeians  soon  became  tenants  of  .the  ager  publicus  as  well  as  the 
patricians  ;  but  although  this  circumstance  materially  strengthened 
the  hands  of  the  occupiers,  it  did  not  improve  the  condition  of  the 
poor,  or  make  them  less  keenly  alive  to  the  injustice  of  the  system 
against  which  they  protested.       (.Manual  of  Rom.  Anliq.  p.  228.) 

Assuming,  then,  that  the  agrarian  laws  had  for  their 
sole  object  the  distribution  and  management  of  the  public 
lands  {ager  publicus),  their  effect  must  have  been  felt  in 
two  ways:— (1.)  In  enforcing  the  regular  payment  of  rent 
from  the  occupants,  preventing  them  from  exceeding  the 
limits  assigned  to  them,  and  compelling  the  surrender  of 
portions  for  division  among  the  poorer  citizens;  and  (2.) 
In  insisting  upon  the  immediate  application  of  newly- 
acquired  territories  to  the  establishment  of  colonies,  or  its 
assignment  to  individuals.  It  is  obvious  that  the  laws 
first  referred  to,  as  involving  long-established  interests. 
would  necessarily  lead  to  violent  contests. 

The  first  agrarian  law,  properly  so  called*,  was  proposed  and 
passed  by  Sp.  Cassius  Visceilinus,  when  consul,  486  B  0.  (Liv.  ii. 

1-11 


41,  Dionys.  viii.  76),  but  respecting  the  provisions  of  this  we  have  no 
precise  information.  Cassius  was  himself  a  patrician,  and  we  may 
therefore  infer  that  the  law  did  not  encroach  upon  the  just  rights 
of  the  dominant  class  to  which  he  belonged.  '  It  is  not  the  object  ol 
this  article  to  trace  in  detail  the  various  measures  which  were  pro- 
posed, and  the  agitations  with  which  they  were  severally  attended. 
Three  such  are  recorded  during  the  4th  century  B.C.  (Liv.  iv.  36, 
47,  48)  ^  but  by  far  the  most  important  measure  of  this  class,  ami 
that  which  served  as  the  model  of  nearly  all  subsequent  agrariai 
laws,  was  that  carried  by  C.  Licinius  Stolo,  when  tribune  of  the 
people,  in  367  B.o.  (Liv.  vi.  42).  The  provisions  of  this  law  were  : 
(1.)  That  no  one  should  occupy  more  than  500  jngera  (about  33S 
acres)  of  the  public  land  ;  (2.)  That  none  should  have  more  than 
100  large  and  500  small  cattle  grazing  on  the  public  pastures  ;  and 
(3.)  That  every  occupant  of  the  public  lands  should  employ  a 
certain  proportion  of  free  labourers  in  cultivating  it.  Niebuhr 
(vol.  iii.  p.  11,  &c.  Eng.  transl.)  has  endeavoured  to  supply  the 
other  details ;  but  these  can  be  received  merely  as  ingenious,  and 
it  may  be  successful,  conjectures.  For  an  able  contioversy  as  to 
this  law  see  Class.  Museum,  vol.  ii. 

After  the  excitement  occasioned  by  the  passing  of  the  Licinian 
law  had  subsided,  two  centuries  were  allowed  to  pass  with  only  a 
single  interference  (Valer.  Max.  v.  4,  5  ;  Polyb.  ii.  21)  with  the 
occupants  of  the  public  lands  ;  and  during  that  time  large  additions 
had  been  made  to  the  possessions  of  the  state  by  the  confiscations 
consequent  upon  the  second  Punic  war.  In  the  meantime  the 
wealthier  families  had  extended  their  possessions  greatly  beyond  the 
limits  prescribed  by  the  Licinian  law ;  while  the  small  proprietors 
had  disappeared,  and  the  poor  continued  to  increase.  In  133  B.C., 
Tiberius  Gracchus  proposed  and  carried  a  modification  of  the 
Licinian  law  (Liv.  Eptt.  lvui. ;  Appian.  i.  9),  which  his  premature 
death  prevented  from  being  carried  into  effect ;  and  a  Bimilar  result 
attended  the  enactment  of  his  brother  (Liv.  Epit.  lx.)  Both  were 
set  aside  or  eluded  after  the  death  of  Caius.  During  the  period 
which  preceded  the  subversion  of  the  republic  various  other  laws 
were  passed  for  the  distribution  of  the  public  lands  ;  but  these  it  is 
not  necessary  to  enumerate.  It  may  be  mentioned,  in  conclusion, 
as  a  significant  fact,  that  the  prominent  advocates  of  the  agrarian 
laws,  Cassius,  Licinius,  and  the  Gracchi,  all  belonged  to  the  class 
which  would  have  been  injured  by  their  operation  nad  they  led  to 
an  undue  interference  with  private  property.  (g.  f.) 

AGREDA,  a  town  of  Spain,  in  the  province  of  Old 
Castile,  23  miles  N.E.  of  Soria.  It  is  the  chief  town  of 
the  mountainous  district  of  the  same  name,  and  is  built 
on  the  skirts  of  the  Sierra  Moncayo.  At  Agreda  the  river 
Queiles  is  crossed  by  a  fine  stone  bridge  of  one  arch. 
Population,  3120. 

AGRICOLA,  Cn^us  Julius,  was  born  at  Forum  Julii, 
now  Frejus,  in  Provence,  37  A.D.,  and  was  in  Vespasian's 
time  made  lieutenant  to  Vettius  Bolanus  in  Britain.  Upon 
his  return  he  was  ranked  by  that  emperor  among  the  patri- 
cians, and  made  governor  of  Aquitania.  This  post  he 
held  for  three  years ;  he  then  was  recalled  to  Rome,  and 
chosen  consul,  Britain  being  assigned  to  him  as  his  pro- 
vince (78  a.d.)  Here  he  reformed  many  abuses  created 
by  his  predecessors,  put  a  stop  to  extortion,  and  caused 
justice  to  be  impartially  administered.  In  the  spring  of 
79  he  marched  towards  the  north,  where  he  made  new 
conquests,  and  ordered  forts  to  be  built  for  the  Romans  to 
winter  in.  He  spent  the  following  winter  in  concerting 
schemes  to  bring  the  Britons  to  conform  to  the  Roman 
customs.  He  thought  the  best  way  of  diverting  them 
from  their  warlike  propensities  was  to  soften  their  rough 
manners  by  proposing  to  them  new  kinds  of  pleasure,  and 
inspiring  them  with  a  desire  of  imitating  the  Roman  man- 
ners. He  encouraged  the  erection  of  magnificent  temples, 
porticoes,  baths,  and  other  fine  buildings.  The  British 
nobles  at  length  had  their  sons  educated  ;  and  they  who 
before  had  the  utmost  aversion  to  the  Roman  language 
now  began  to  study  it  with  great  assiduity.  They  likewise 
adopted  the  Roman  dress ;  and,  as  Tacitus  observes,  they 
were  brought  to  consider  those  things  as  marks  of  polite- 
ness which  were  only  so  many  badges  of  slavery.  Agri- 
cola,  in  his  third  campaign,  advanced  as  far  as  the  Solway ; 
and  in  his  fourth  he  subdued  the  nations  betwixt  the  Sol; 
way  and  the  friths  of  Forth  and  .Clyde,  into  which  the 
rivers  Bodotria  and  Glotta  discharged  themselves;  and 
here  he  built  a  chain  of  fortresses  to  check  the  nations  ye* 


290 


AGRICOLA 


unconquered.  In  his  fifth  he  fixed  garrisons  along  the 
western  coasts,  over  against  Ireland.  In  his  sixth  cam- 
paign he  passed  the  river  Bodotria ;  ordering  hi3  fleet,  the 
first  which  the  Romans  ever  had  in  those  parts,  to  row 
along  the  coasts  and  take  a  view  of  the  northern  parts. 
The  fleet  sailed  round  by  the  northern  and  western  coasts, 
ind  first  proved  Britain  to  be  an  island.  In  the  following 
spring,  the  Britons  raised  an  army  of  30,000  men,  under 
the  command  of  Galgacus,  to  oppose  the  invaders.  In  the 
engagement  that  ensued  at  the  foot  of  the  Grampians  the 
Romans  gained  the  victory,  and  10,000  of  the  Britons  are 
said  to  have  been  killed.  This  happened  in  the  reign  of 
the  emperor  Domitian,  who,  growing  jealous  of  the  glory 
of  Agricola,  recalled  him,  under  pretence  of  making  him 
governor  of  Syria.  Agricola  was  in  Britain  fully  seven 
years,  from  78  to  85  a.d.  ;  and  he  died  on  the  23d  August, 
93  A.D.,  when  he  had  attained  the  age  of  55.  Agricola 
was  a  man  of  great  integrity ;  he  possessed  high  military 
talents,  together  with  administrative  abilities  of  the  first 
rank.  The  Life  of  Agricola,  written  by  Ins  son-in-law, 
Jhe  historian  Tacitus,  k  a  model  of  simple  and  dignified 
biography. 

AGRICOLA,  Christoph  Ludwig,  landscape-painter, 
was  born  at  Regensburg  on  the  5th  Nov.  1667,  and  died 
it  the  same  place  in  1719.  He  spent  a  gre?t.  part  of  his 
life  in  travel,  visiting  England,  Holland,  and  France,  and 
residing  for  a  considerable  period  at  Naples.  His  numer- 
ous landscapes,  chiefly  cabinet  pictures,  are  remarkable 
for  fidelity  to  nature,  and  especially  for  their  skilful  repre- 
sentation of  varied  phases  of  climate.  In  composition 
his  style  shows  the  influence  of  Caspar  Poussin,  while 
in  light  and  colour  he  imitates  Claude  Lorraine.  His 
pictures  are  to  be  found  in  Dresden,  Brunswick,  Vienna, 
Florence,  Naples,  and  many  other  towns  of  both  Germany 
ind  Italy. 

AGRICOLA  (originally  Landmann),  Geoeo,  a  famous 
mineralogist,  born  at  Glauchau  in  Saxony,  on  the  24th 
March  1494.  After  studying  at  Leipsic  and  in  Italy,  he 
practised  for  some  time  as  a  physician  at  Joachimsthal  in 
Bohemia,  In  1531  ho  was  enabled  to  gratify  his  natural 
inclination  towards  the  study  of  geology  aud  mineralogy 
by  removing  to  the  mining  district  of  Chemnitz  in  Saxony, 
where  he  had  been  appointed  professor  of  chemistry.  The 
results  of  his  laborious  investigations  are  chiefly  to  be  found 
in  his  great  work  De  Be  Metallica  (Basle,  1546),  which 
describes  minutely  the  various  methods  of  mining,  of  rais- 
ing and  dressing  the  ore,  and  of  smelting,  and  contains  a 
number  of  curious  woodcuts.  It  has  been  several  times 
reprinted,  and  a  German  translation  by  Lehmann  appeared 
at  Freyberg  in  1806-10.  He  also  wrote  De  Orlu  et 
Causis  Subterraneorum,  De  Animantibus  Subterraneorum, 
De  Natura  Fossilium,  besides  other  works.  Agricola  was 
the  first  to  raise  mineralogy  to  the  dignity  of  a  science, 
and  he  developed  it  to  such  an  extent  that  no  substantial 
advance  was  made  upon  his  results  until  the  middle  of 
the  1 8th  century.  He  died  at  Chemnitz  on  the  2 1  st  Novem- 
ber 1555. 

AGRICOLA,  Johajtn  Friedrich,  musician,  was  born 
it  Dobitschen  in  Saxe-Altenburg,  on  the  4th  Jan.  1720, 
»nd  died  in  1774.  While  a  student  of  law  at  Leipsic  he 
jtudied  music  under  John  Sebastian  Back  In  1741  he 
went  to  Berlin,  where  he  placed  himself  under  Quanz  for 
instruction  in  musical  composition.  He  was  soon  gene- 
rally recognised  as  one  of  the  most  skilful  organists  of  his 
lime.  In  1759,  on  the  death  of  Graun,  he  was  appointed 
tapellmeister  to  Frederick  IL  He  composed  several 
operas  of  great  merit,  as  well  as  instrumental  pieces 
Mid  church  music  His  reputation  chiefly  rests,  how- 
jver,  on  his  theoretical  and  critical  writings  on  musical 
subjects. 


AGRICOLA  (originally  ScnNirrER  or  ScHHKTDEa), 
Johannes,  one  of  the  foremost  of  the  German  reformers, 
was  born  on  the  20th  April  1492,  at  Eisleben,  whence  he 
is  sometimes  called  Magister  Islebius.  He  studied  st 
Wittenberg,  where  he  soon  gained  the  friendship  of  Luther. 
In  1519  he  accompanied  Luther  to  the  great  assembly  of 
German  divines  at  Leipsic,  and  acted  as  recording  secre- 
tary. After  teaching  for  some  time  in  Wittenberg,  he  went 
to  Frankfort  in  1525  to  establish  the  worship  according 
to  the  reformed  religion.  He  had  resided  there  only  a 
month  when  he  was  induced  to  go  to  Eisleben,  where  he 
remained  till  1526  as  teacher  in  the  school  of  St  Andrew, 
and  preacher  in  the  Nicolai  church,  enjoying  great  popu- 
larity in  the  latter  capacity.  In  1536  ho  was  recalled  to 
Wittenberg  to  fill  a  professorial  chair,  and  was  welcomed 
by  Luther.  Almost  immediately  afterwards,  however,  a 
controversy,  which  had  been  begun  ten  years  before  and 
been  temporarily  silenced,  broke  out  afresh  with  greater 
violence.  Agricola  was  the  first  to  teach  the  views  which 
Luther  was  the  first  to  stigmatise  by  the  now  well-known 
name  Antinomian.  He  held  that  while  the  unregenerate 
were  still  under  the  law,  Christians  were  entirely  free  from 
it,  being  under  the  gospel  alone.  He  denied  that  Chris- 
tians owed  subjection  to  any  part  of  the  law,  even  the 
Decalogue,  as  a  rule  of  life.  Luther  conducted  the  argu 
ment  with  his  usual  vehemence,  and  there  was  in  the  heat 
of  controversy  probably  a  good  deal  of  misrepresentation 
on  both  sides.  In  1540  Agricola  left  Wittenberg  secretly 
for  Berlin,  where  he  published  a  letter  addressed  to  the 
elector  of  Saxony,  which  was  generally  interpreted  as  a  re- 
cantation of  bis-obnoxious  views.  Luther,  however,  seems 
not  to  have  so  accepted  it,  and  Agricola  remained  at  Ber- 
lin. «r  The  elector  Joachim  IL  of  Brandenburg  having 
taken  him  into  his  favour,  appointed  him  court  preacher 
and  general  superintendent.  He  held  both  offices  untL' 
his  death  in  1566,  and  his  career  in  Brandenburg  was  one 
of  great  activity  and  great  influence.  Along  with  the 
Catholic  bishops  Von  Pflng  and  Michael  Halding  he  pre- 
pared the  Augsburg  Interim  of  1548.  Agricola  wrote  a 
number  of  theological  works  which  are  now  of  little  in- 
terest. He  was  the  first  to  make  a  collection  of  German 
proverbs,  which  he  illustrated  with  an  appropriate  com- 
mentary. The  most  complete  edition  is  that  published  at 
Wittenberg  in  1592. 

AGRICOLA,  Rodolphus  (originally  Roelop  Hoys- 
Mann),  a  distinguished  scholar,  bom  at  Bafflo,  near  Gron- 
ingen,  in  1443.  He  was  educated  at  Louvain,  where  he 
graduated  as  master  of  arts.  After  residing  for  some  time 
in  Paris,  he  went  in  1476  to  Ferrara  in  Italy,  and  attended 
the  lectures  of  the  celebrated  Theodore  Gaza  on  the  Greek 
language.  Having  visited  Pavia  and  Rome,,  he  returned 
to  iis  native  country  about  1479,  and  was  soon  afterwards 
appointed  syndic  of  Groningen.  'In  1482,  on  the  invita- 
tion of  Dalberg,  bishop  of  Worms,  whose  friendship  he 
had  gained  in  Italy,  he  accepted  a  professorship  at  Heidel- 
berg, and  for  three  years  delivered  lectures-  in  that  univer- 
sity and  at  Worms  on  the  literature  of  Greece  and  Rome. 
By  his  personal  influence  much  more  than  by  his  writings 
he  did  a  great  deal  for  the  promotion  of  learning  in  Ger- 
many. Hallam  says  that  "no  German  wrote  so  pure  a 
style,  or  possessed  so  large  a  portion  of  classical  learning ;" 
and  the  praises  of  Erasmus  and  other  critics  of  the  genera- 
tion immediately  succeeding  Agricola's  are  unstinted.  In 
his  opposition  to  the  scholastic  philosophy  he  seems  to  have 
in  some  degree  anticipated  the  coming  of  that  great  revolu- 
tion in  which  many  of  his  pupils  were  conspicuous  actors. 
He  died  at  Heidelberg  in  1485.  His  principal  work  is 
the  De  Inventions  Dialectica,  in  which  he  attempts  to  change 
the  scholastic  philosophy  of  the  day.  (See  Vita  et  Merita 
Rudolphi  Agricolce,  by  T.  F.  Tresling,  Groningen,  1830). 


291 


AGKICULTUKE 


CHAPTER  L 


r  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  the  nations  of 
antiquity  tilled,  and  sowed,  and  reaped  ;  what  crops 
they  cultivated,  and  by  what  methods  they  converted  them 
into  food  and  raiment.  But  it  is  to  be  regretted,  that  the 
records  which  have  come  down  to  us  are  all  but  silent  upon 
these  homely  topics. 

In  Mr  Hoskyn's  admirable  treatise1  we  have  an  excellent 
specimen  of  what  may  yet  be  done  to  recover  and  construct 
an  authentic  history  of  the  Agriculture  of  the  ancients, 
from  the  casual  allusions  and  accidental  notices  of  rural 
affairs  which  lie  thinly  scattered  through  the  body  of 
general  literature  ;  and,  more  especially,  from  those  myste- 
rious records  of  the  pfst,  which  are  now  being  rescued 
from  their  long  burial  under  the  ruins  of  some  of  the  most 
famous  cities  of  antiquity.  Although  comparatively  little 
has  been  found  in  such  records  bearing  directly  upon  the 
subject,  we  must  not  despair  of  the  learned  industry  and 
masterly  skill  of  an  advancing, and  searching  criticism, 
gathering  together  these  gleams  of  light,  and  making  them 
happily  converge  upon  the  darkness  which  has  hitherto 
interposed  between  us  and  a  circumstantial  knowledge  of 
the  methods  and  details  of  ancient  husbandry. 

Every  reader  of  the  Bible  is  familiar  with  its  frequent 
references  to  Egypt  as  a  land  so  rich  in  corn,  that  it  not 
only  produced  abundance  for  its  own  dense  population, 
but  yielded  supplies  for  exportation  to  neighbouring  coun- 
tries. Profane  history  corroborates  these  statements. 
Diodorus  Siculus  bears  explicit  testimony  to  the  skill  of 
the  farmers  of  ancient  Egypt.  He  informs  us  that  they 
were  acquainted  with  the  benefits  of  a  rotation  of  crops, 
and  were  skilful  in  adapting  these  to  the  soil  and  to  the 
seasons.  The  ordinary  annual  supply  of  corn  furnished  to 
Rome  has  been  estimated  at  20,000,000  bushels.  From 
tho  same  author  we  also  learn  that  they  fed  their  cattle 
with  hay  during  the  annual  inundation,  and  at  other  times 
tethered  them  in  the  meadows  on  green  clover.  Their 
flocks  were  shorn  twice  annually  (a  practice  common  in 
several  Asiatic  countries),  and  their  ewes  yeaned  twice 
a  year.  For  religious  as  well  as  economical  reasons,  they 
were  great  rearers  of  poultry,  a  ad  practised  artificial 
hatching,  as  at  the  present  day.  The  abundance  or  scarcity 
of  the  harvests  in  Egypt  depended  chiefly  upon  the  height 
of  the  annual  inundation.  If  too  low,  much  of  the  land 
could  not  be  sown,  and  scarcity  or  famine  ensued.  On 
the  other  hand,  great  calamities  befell  the  country  when 
the  Nile  rose  much  above  the  average  leveL  Cattle  were 
drowned,  villages  destroyed,  and  the  crops  necessarily 
much  diminished,  as  in,  such  cases  many  of  the  fields 
were  still  under  water  at  the  proper  seed  time.  In 
1818  a  calamity  of  this  kind  took  place,  when  the 
river  rapidly  attained  a  height  of  3J  feet  above  the  proper 
level. 

It  is  from  the  palrtings  and  inscriptions  with  which  the 
ancient  Egyptians  decorated  their  tombs  that  we  get  the 
fullest  insight  into  the  state  of  agriculture  amongst  this 
remarkable  people,  Many  of  these  paintings,  after  the 
lapse  of  two  or  thr«e  thousand  years,  retain  the  distinctness 
of  outline  and  brilliancy  of  colour  of  recent  productions. 
The  acquaintance  which  these  give  us  with  their  occupations, 
attainments,  and  habits  is  truly  marvellous,  .and  fills  the 


1  Shnri  Inquiry  Wo  0U  History  of  Agriculture,  by  Cbjuidos  Wren 
UoaVrn.  Esq. 


reader  of  such  works  as  Wilkinson's  Egypt  with  perfect 
amazement.  Every  fresh  detail  seems  to  give  confirmation 
to  that  ancient  saying,  "There  is  nothing  new  under  the 
sun."  The  pictures  referring  to  rural  affairs  disclose  a 
state  of  advancement  at  that  early  date  which  may 
well  lead  us  to  speak  modestly  of  our  own  attainments 
An  Egyptian  villa  comprised  all  the  conveniences  of  a 
European  one  of  the  present  day.  Besides  a  mansion  with 
numerous  apartments,  there  were  gardens,  orchards,  fish- 
ponds, and  preserves  for  game.  Attached  to  it  was  a 
farm-yard,  with  sheds  for  cattle  and  stables  for  carriage 
horses.  A  steward  directed  the  tillage  operations,  super- 
intended the  labourers,  and  kept  account  of  the  produce 
and  expenditure.  The  grain  was  stored  in  vaulted  chambers 
furnished  with'an  opening  at  the  top,  reached  by  steps, 
into  which  it  was  emptied  from  sacks,  and  with  an  aperture 
below  for  removing  it  when  required.  Hand-querns, 
similar  to  our  own,  were  used  for  grinding  corn ;  but  they 
had  also  a  larger  kind  worked  by  oxen.  In  one  painting, 
in  which  the  sowing  of  the  grain  is  represented,  a  plough 
drawn  by  a  pair  of  oxen  goes  first ;  next  comes  the  sower 
scattering  the  seed  from  a  basket;  he  is  followed  by  another 
plough;  whilst  a  roller,  drawn  by  two  horses  yoked  abreast^ 
completes  the  operation.  The  steward  stands  by  super- 
intending the  whole.  _  Nothing,  however,  conveys  to  us  sc 
full  an  impression  of  the  advanced  state  of  civilisation 
amongst  the  ancient  Egyptians  as  the  value  which  they 
attached  to  land,  and  the  formalities  which  they  observed 
in  the  transfer  of  it.  In  the  time  of  the  Ptolemies,  theii 
written  deeds  of  conveyance  began  with  the  mention  of  the 
reign  in '  which  they  were*  executed,  ■  the  name  of  the 
president  of  the  covrt,  and  of  the  clerk  who  drew  them. 
The  name  of  the  seller,  with  a  description  of  his  personal 
appearance,  his  parentage,  profession,  and  residence,  was 
engrossed  The  nature  of  the  land,  its  extent,  situation, 
and  boundaries ;  the  name  and  Appearance  of  the  purchaser 
were  also  included.  A  clause  of  warrandice  and  an  explicit 
acceptance  by  the  purchaser  followed,  and  finally  the  deed 
was  attested  by  numerous  witnesses  (so  many  as  sixteen 
occur  to  a  trifling,  bargain),  and  by  the  president  of  the 
court. 

The  nomades  of  the  patriarchal  ages,  like  the  Tartar, 
and  perhaps  some  of  the  Moorish  tribes  of  our  own,  whilst 
mainly  dependent  upon  their  fl'ocks  and  herds,  practised 
also  agriculture  proper.  The  vast  tracts  over  which  they 
roamed  were  in  ordinary  circumstances  common  to  all 
shepherds  alike.  During  the  summer  thev  frequented  the 
mountainous  districts  and  retired  to  the  valleys  to  winter. 
Vast  flocks  of  sheep  and  of  goats  constituted  the  chief 
wealth  of  the  nomades,  although  they  also  possessed 
animals  of  the  ox  kind  When  these  last  were  possessed 
in  abundance,  it  seems  to  be  an  indication  that  tillage 
was  practised  We  learn  that  Job,  besides  immense 
possessions  in  flocks  and  herds,  had  500  yoke  of  oxen, 
which  he  employed  in  ploughing,  and  a  ''very  great 
husbandry."  Isaac,  too,  conjoined  tillage  with  pastoral 
husbandry,  and  that  with  success,  for  we  read  that  he 
sowed  in  the  land  Gerar,  and  reaped  an  hundred-fold 
— a  return  which,  it  would  appear,  in  some  favoured 
regions,  occasionally  rewarded  the  labour  of  the  husband- 
man. In  the  parable  of  the  sower,  our  Lord  (grafting  his 
instructions  upon  the  habits,  scenery,  and  productions  of 
Palestine),  mentions  an  increase  of  thirty,  cixty   and  an 


292 


AGRICULTURE 


[historical 


hundred  fold.  Such  increase,  although  far  aoove  tiie  average 
rate,  was  sometimes  even  greatly  exoeeded,  if  we  take  the 
authority  of  Herodotus,  Strabo,  and  Pliny. 

-Mong  with  the  Babylonians,  Egyptians,  and  Romans, 
'be  Israelites  are  classed  as  one  of  the  great  agricultural 
nations  of  antiquity.  %  The  sojourn  of  the  Israelites  in 
Egypt  trained  them  for  the  more  purely  agricultural 
life  that  awaited  them  on  their  return  to  take  posses- 
sion of  Canaan.  Nearly  the  whole  population  were 
virtually  husbandmen,  and  personally  engaged  in  its  pur- 
suits. Upon  their  entrance  into  Canaan,  they  found 
the  country  occupied  by  a  dense  population  possessed  of 
walled  cities  and  innumerable  villages,  masters  of  great 
accumulated  wealth,  and  subsisting  on  the  produce  of  their 
highly  cultivated  soil,  which  abounded  with  vineyards  and 
oliveyards.  It  was  so  rich  in  grain,  that  the  invading 
army,  numbering  601,730  able-bodied  men,  with  their  wives 
and  children,  and  a  mixed  multitude  of  camp-followers, 
found  "  old  corn  "  in  the  land  sufficient  to  maintain  them 
from  the  day  that  they  passed  the  Jordan.  The  Mosaic 
Institute  contained  an  agrarian  law,  based  upon  an  eqi>f*i 
division  of  the  soil  amongst  the  adult  males,  a  census  of 
whom  was  taken  just  before  their  entrance  into  Canaan. 
Provision  was  thus  made  for  C00,000  yeomen,  assign- 
ing (according  to  different  calculations)  from  sixteen 
to  twenty-five  acres  of  land  to  each.  This  land,  held  in 
direct  tenure  from  Jehovah,  their  sovereign,  was  strictly 
inalienable.  The  accumulation  of  debt  upon  it  was  pre- 
vented by  the  prohibition  of  interest,  the  release  of  debts 
every  seventh  year,  and  the  reversion  of  the  land  to  the 
proprietor,  or  his  heirs,  at  each  return  of  the  year  of  jubilee. 
The  owners  of  these  small  farms  cultivated  them  with  much 
.sire,  and  rendered  them  highly  productive.  They  were 
favoured  with  a  soil  extremely  fertile,  and  one  which  their 
skill  and  diligence  kept  in  good  condition.  The  stones  were 
carefully  cleared  from  the  fields,  which  were  also  watered 
from  canals  and  conduits,  communicating  with  the  brooks 
and  streams  with  which  the  country  "was  well  watered 
everywhere,"  and  enriched  by  the  application  of  manures. 
The  seventh  year's  fallow  prevented  the  exhaustion  of  the 
soil,  which  was  further  enriched  by  the  burning  of  the 
weeds  and  spontaneous  growth  of  the  Sabbatical  year. 
The  crops  chiefly  cultivated  were  wheat,  millet,  barley, 
beans,  and  lentiles ;  to  which  it  is  supposed,  on  grounds 
not  improbable^-may  be  added  rice  and  cotton.  The  ox 
and  the  ass  were  used  for  labour.  The  word  "  oxen," 
which  occurs  in  our  version  of  the  Scriptures,  as  well  as  in 
the  Septuagint  and  Vulgate,  denotes  the  species,  rather 
than  the  sex.  As  the  Hebrews  did  not  mutilate  any  of 
their  animals,  bulls  were  in  common  use.  The  quantity 
of  land  ploughed  by  a  yoke  of'  oxen  in  one  day  was  called 
a  yoke  or  acre.  Towards  the  end  of  October,  with  which 
month  the  rainy  season  begins,  seedtime  commenced,  and 
of  course  does  so  still.  The  seedtime,  begun  in  October, 
extends,  for  wheat  and  some  other  white  crops,  through 
November  and  December ;  and  barley  continues  to  be  sown 
until  about  the  middle  of  February.  The  seed  appears  to 
havo  been  sometimes  ploughed  in,  and  at  other  times  to 
have  been  covered  by  harrowing.  The  cold  winds  which 
prevail  in  January  and  February  frequently  injured  the 
crops  in  the  more  exposed  and  higher  districts.  The  rainy 
season  extends  from  October  to  April,  during  which  time 
refreshing  showers  fall,  chiefly  during  the  night,  and  gene- 
rally at  intervals  of  a  few  days.  The  harvest  wan  earlier 
or  later  as  the  rains  towards  the  end  of  the  season  were 
more  or  less  copious.  It,  however,  generally  commenced 
in  April,  and  continued  through  May  for  the  different  crops. 
in  succession.  In  the  south,  and  in  the  plains,  the  harvest, 
as  might  be  expected,  commenced  some  weeks  earlier  than 
91  the  northern  and  mountainous  districts.     The  slopes  of 


tne  hilis  were  carefully  terraced  and  irrigated  wherever 
practicable,  and  on  these  slopes  the  vine  and  olive  were 
cultivated  with  great  success.  '  At  the  same  time  the  hill 
districts  and  neighbouring  desert3  afforded  pasturage  for 
numerous  flocks  and  herds,  and  thus  admitted  of  the 
benefits  of  a  mixed  husbandry.  With  such  political  and 
social  arrangements,  and  under  ihe  peculiarly  felicitous 
climate  of  Judea,  the  country  as  a  whole,  and  at  the  more 
prosperous  periods  of  the  commonwealth,  must  have  ex- 
hibited such  an  example  of  high  cultivation,  rich  and  varied 
produce,  and  wide-spread  plenty  and  contentment,  as  the 
world  has  never  yet  elsewhere  produced  on  an  equally 
extensive  scale.  Not  by  a  figure  of  speech  but  literally, 
every  Israelit3  sat  under  the  shadow  of  his  own  vine  and 
fig-tree ;  whilst  the  country  as  a  whole  is  described  (2 
Kings  xviii.  32)  as  "  a  land  of  corn  and  wine,  a  land  of 
bread  and  vineyards,  a  land  of  oil-olive  and  of  honey." 
An  interesting  illustration  of  the  advanced  state  of  agri- 
culture in  these  ancient  times  is  afforded  by  the  fact,  that, 
making  allowance  for  climatic  differences,  the  numerous 
allusions  to  it  with  which  the  Scriptures  abound  seem 
natural  and  appropriate  to  the  British  farmer  of  the  present 
day. 

The  unrivalled  literature  of  Greece  affords  us  little  infor- 
mation regarding  the  practical  details  of  her  husbandry. 
The  people  who  by  what  remains  to  us  of  their  poetry, 
philosophy,  history,  and  fine  arts,  6till  exert  such  an  in- 
fluence in  guiding  our  intellectual  efforts,  in  regulating 
taste,  and  in  moulding  our  institutions,  were  originally  the 
invaders  and  conquerors  of  the  territory  which  they  have 
rendered  so  famous.  Having  reduced  the  aboriginal  tribes 
to  bondage,  they  imposed  upon  them  the  labour  of  cultivat- 
ing the  soil,  and  hence  both  the  occupation,  and  those 
engaged  in  it,  were  regarded  contemptuously  by  the  domi- 
nant race,  who  addicted  themselves  to  what  they  regarded 
as  nobler  pursuits.  With  the  exception  of  certain  districts, 
such  as  Bceotia,  the  country  was  naturally  unfavourable  to 
agriculture.  When  we  find,  however,  that  valleys  were 
freed  from  lakes  and  morasses  by  drainage,  that  rocky 
surfaces  were  sometimes  covered  with  transported  soil,  and 
that  they  possessed  excellent  breeds  of  the  domesticated 
animals,  which  were  reared  in  vast  numbers,  we  infer  that 
agriculture  was-  better  understood,  and  more  carefully 
practised,  than  the  allusions  to  it  in  their  literature  would 
seem  to  warrant. 

Amongst  the  ancient  Romans  agriculture  was  highly 
esteemed,  and  pursued  with  earnest  love  and  devoted  atten- 
tion. "In  all-  their  foreign  enterprises,  even  in  earliest 
times,"  as  Schlegel  remarks,"  they  were  exceedingly  covetous 
of  gain,  or  rather  of  land ;  for  it  was  in  land,  and  in  the 
produce  of  the  soil,  that  their  principal  and  almost  only 
wealth  consisted.  They  were  a  thoroughly  agricultural 
people,  and  it  was  only  at  a  later  period  that  commerce, 
trades,  and  arts,  were  introduced  among  them,  and  even 
then  they  occupied  but  a  subordinate  place."1  Their 
passion  for  agriculture  survived  very  long ;  and  when  at 
length  their  boundless  conquests  introduced  an  unheard-of 
luxury  and  corruption  of  morals,  the  noblest  minds 
amongst  them  were  strongly  attracted  towards  the  ancient 
virtue  of  the  purer  and  simpler  agricultural  times.  Several 
facts  in  Roman  history  afford  convincing  proof,  if  it  were 
required,  of  the  devotion  of  this  ancient  people  to  agricul- 
ture, in  their  best  and  happiest  times.  Whilst  their  arts 
and  sciences,  and  general  literature,  were  borrowed  from 
the  Greeks,  they  created  an  original  iiterature  of  their  own) 
of  which  rural  affairs  formed  the  substance  and  inspiration.* 
Schlegel  and  Mr  Hoskyn  notice  also  the  striking  fact,  that 

1  The  Philotophy  of  Hulory,  by  Frederick  Von  SchlegeL  London, 
1846,  p.  253. 


SUMMARY.] 


AGRICULTURE 


293 


whilst  among  the  Greeks  the  names  of  their  illustrious 
families  are  borrowed  from  the  heroes  and  gods  of  their 
mythology,  the  most  famous  houses  amongst  the  ancient 
Romans,  such  as  the  Pisones,  Fabii,  Lentuli,  &c,  have 
taken  their  names  from  their  favourite  crops  and  vegetables. 
Perhaps  it  is  not  too  much  to  assert,  that  many  of  those 
qualities  which  fitted  them  for  conquering  the  world,  and 
perfecting  their  so  celebrated  jurisprudence,  were  acquired, 
or  at  all  events  nourished  and  matured,  by  the  skill,  fore- 
sight, and  persevering  industry,  so  needful  for  the  intelligent 
and  successful  cultivation  of  the  soiL  The  words  which 
Cicero  puts  into  the  mouth  of  Cato  give  a  fine  picture  of  the 
ancient  Roman  enthusiasm  in  agriculture.  "  I  come  now 
to.  the  pleasures  of  husbandry,  in  which  I  vastly  delight. 
They  are  not  interrupted  by  old  age,  and  they  seem  to  me 
to  be  pursuits  in  which  a  wise  man's  life,  should  be  spent. 
The  earth  does  not  rebel  against  authority ;  it  never  gives 
back  but  with  usury  what  it  receives.  The  gains  of  hus- 
bandry are  not  what  exclusively  commend  it.  I  am  charmed 
with  the  nature  and  productive  virtues  of  the  soil.  Can 
those  old  men  be  called  unhappy  who  delight  in  the  culti- 
vation of  the  soil  1  In  my  opinion  there  can  be  no  happier 
life,  not  only  because  the  tillage  of  the  earth  is  salutary  to 
all,  but  from  the  pleasure  it  yields.  The  whole  establish- 
ment of  a  good  and  assiduous  husbandman  is  stored  with 
wealth ;  it  abounds  in  pigs,  in  kids,  in  lambs,  in  poultry, 
in  milk,  in  cheese,  in  honey.  Nothing  can  be  more 
profitable,  nothing  more  beautiful,  than  a  well-cultivated 
farm." 

In  ancient  Rome  each  citizen  received,  at  first,  an  allot- 
ment of  about  two  English  acres.  After  the  expulsion  of 
the  kings  this  allotment  was  increased  to  about  six  acres. 
These  small  inheritances  must,  of  course,  have  been  culti- 
vated by  hard  labour.  On  the  increase  of  the  Roman 
territory  the  allotment  was  increased  to  fifty,  and  afterwards 
even  to  five  hundred  acres  Many  ghmpses  into  their 
methods  of  cultivation  are  found  in  those  works  of  Roman 
authors  which  have  survived  the  ravages  of  time.  Cato 
speaks  of  irrigation,  frequent  tillage,  and  manuring,  as 
means  of  fertilising  the  soiL  Mr  Hoskyn,  from  whose 
valuable  contribution  to  the  History  of  Agriculture  we  have 
drawn  freely  in  this  historic  summary,  quotes  the  following 
interesting  passage  from  Pliny,  commenting  on  Virgil  •} — 
"  Our  poet  is  of  opinion  that  alternate  fallows  should  be 
made,  and  that  the  land  should  rest  entirely  every  second 
year.  And  this  is,  indeed,  both  true  and  profitable,  pro- 
vided a  man  have  land  enough  to  give  the  soil  this  repose. 
But  how,  if  his  extent  be  not  sufficient  1  Let  him,  in  that 
case,  help  himself  thus.  Let  him  sow  next  year's  wheat-crop 
on  the  field  where  he  has  just  gathered  his  beans,  vetches, 
or  lupines,  or  such  other  crop  as  enriches  the  ground.  For, 
indeed,  it  is  worth  notice  that  some  crops  are  sown  for  no 
other  purpose  but  as  food  for  others,  a  poor  practice  in  my 
estimation."  In  another  place  he  tells  us,  "Wheat,  the 
later  it  is  reaped,  the  better  it  casts;  but  the  sooner  it  is 
reaped,  the  fairer  the  sample.  The  best  rule  is  to  cut  it 
down  before  the  grain  is  got  hard,  when  the  ear  begins  to 
have  a  reddish-brown  appearance.  'Better  two  days  too 
soon  than  as  many  too  late,'  is  a  good  old  ma-rim,  and  might 
pass  for  an  oracle."  The  following  quotation  from  the 
same  author  is  excellent: — "Cato  would  have  this  point 
especially  to  be  considered,  that  the  soil  of  a  farm  be  good 
and  fertile ;  also,  that  near  it  there  be  plenty  of  labourers, 
and  that  it  be  not  far  from  a  large  town :  moreover,  that  it 
have  sufficient  means  for  transporting  its  produce,  either  by 
water  or  land.  Also,  that  the  house  be  well  built,  and  the 
land  about  it  as  well  managed.     But  I  observe  a  great 


1  Short  Inquiry  into  the  History  <f  Agriculture,   pp.  49-61,  by 
Chandoa  Wreo  Hoskyn,  Esq. 


error  and  self-deception  which  many  men  commit,  who  hold 
opinion  that  the  negligence  and  ill-husbandry  of  the  former 
owner  is  good  for  his  successor  or  after-purchaser.  Now, 
I  say,  there  i3  nothing  more  dangerous  and  disadvantageous 
to  the  buyer  than  land  so  left  waste  and  out  of  heart ;  and 
therefore  Cato  counsels  well  to  purchase  land  of  one  who 
has  managed  it  we'd,  and  not  rashly  and  hand-over-head  to 
despise  and  make  light  of  the  skill  and  knowledge  of 
another.  He  says,  too,  that  33  well  land  as  men,  which 
are  of  great  charge  and  expense,  how  gainful  soever  they 
may  seem  to  be,  yield  little  profit  in  the  end,  when  all 
reckonings  are  made  •  The  same  Cato  being  asked,  what 
was  the  most  assured  profit  rising  out  of  land  ]  made  this 
answer, — '  To  feed  stock  well.'  Being  asked  again, '  What 
was  the  next  V  he  answered,  '  To  feed  with  moderation.' 
By  which  answer  he  would  seem  to  conclude  that  the  most 
certain  and  sure  revenue  was  a  low  cost  of  production.  To 
the  same  point  is  to  be  referred  another  speech  of  his, 
'  That  a  good  husbandman  ought  to  be  a  seller  rather  than 
a  buyer ;'  also, '  that  a  man  should  stock  his  ground  early 
and  well,  but  take  long  time  and  leisure  before  he  be  a 
builder ;'  for  it  is  the  best  thing  in  the  world,  according  to 
the  proverb,  '  to  make  use,  and  derive  profit,  'from  other 
men's  follies.'  Still  when  there  is  a  good  and  convenient 
house  on  the  farm,  the  master  will  be  the  closer  occupier, 
and  take  the  more  pleasure  in  it ;  and  truly  it  is  a  good 
saying,  that  '  the  master's  eye  is  better  than  his  heel.' " 

"  It  is  curious,"  says  Mr  Hoskyn,  "  to  read  such  passages 
as  these,  and  to  find  the  very  same  subjects  still  handled, 
week  after  week,  in  fresh  and  eager  controversy  in  the' 
agricultural  writings  and  periodicals  of  the  present  day, 
eighteen  centuries  after  those  opinions  were  written." 

In  the  later  ages  of  the  empire  agriculture  was  neglected, 
and  those  engaged  in  it  regarded  with  contempt.  Many 
fiir  regions  once  carefully  cultivated,  and  highly  productive, 
were  abandoned  to  nature,  and  became  a  scene  of  desolation, 
the  supplies  of  overgrown  Rome  being  drawn  from  Egypt, 
Sicily,  and  other  provinces,  which  became  notable  as  the 
granaries  of  the  empire. 

Under  the  Goths,  Vandals,  and  other  barbarian  con- 
querors, agriculture  in  Europe,  during  the  middle  ages, 
seems  to  have  sunk  into  the  lowest  condition  of  neglect  and 
contempt.  We  owe  its  revival,  like  that  of  other  arts  and 
sciences,  to  the  Saracens  of  Spain,  who  devoted  themselves 
to  the  cultivation  of  that  conquered  territory,  with  heredi- 
tary love  for  the  occupation,  and  with  the  skilful  application 
of  the  experience  which  they  had  gathered  in  other  lands 
in  which  they  had  established  their  power.  By  them,  and 
their  successors,  the  Moors,  agriculture  was  carried  in  Spain 
to  a  height  which  perhaps  has  not  yet  been  surpassed  in 
Europe.  It  is  said,  that  so  early  as  the  tenth  century  the 
revenue  of  Saracenic  Spain  alone  amounted  to  £6,000,000 
sterling, — probably  as  much  as  that  of  all  the  rest  of 
Europe  at  that  time.  The  ruins  of  their  noble  works  for 
the  irrigation  of  the  soil  still  attest  their  skill  and  industry, 
and  put  to  shame  the.  ignorance  and  indolence  of  their 
successors.  The  same  remark  applies  to  the  Spanish 
dominions  in  South  America.  In  the  ancient  empire  of 
Peru  agriculture  seems  to  have  reached  a  high  degree  of 
perfection.  The  ruins  of  basins  and  canals,  frequently 
carried  through  tunnels,  prove  their  industry  and  skill  iu 
irrigation.  One  of  their  aqueducts  is  said  by  Mr  Prescott* 
to  have  been  traced  by  its  ruins  for  nearly  500  miles. 
They  cultivated  the  sides  of  mountains,  by  means  of 
terraces,  which  retained  forced  soil,  and  were  skilled  in  the 
application  of  manure.  That  on  which  they  chiefly  d& 
pended  was  guano,  and  their  Incas  protected  the  penguins, 
by  which  it  was  deposited,  by  strict  laws,  which  made  it 

a  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico. 


294 


AGRICULTURE 


[historical 


highly  penal  to  kill  one  of  these  birds,  cr  to  set  foot  on  the 
islands  at  breeding  time.  The  Spaniards  thus  obtained 
possession  of  two  £-;d  patrimonies,  and  have  wasted  them 
both. 

The  influence  of  the  crusades  upon  the  agriculture  of 
this  period  is  not  to  be  overlooked.  The  dreadful  oppression 
of  the  feudal  system  received  at  that  time  a  shock  most 
favourable  to  the  liberties  of  man,  and,  with  increasing 
liberty,  more  enlightened  ideas  began  to  be  entertained, 
and  greater  attention  to  be  paid  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
soiL 

But.  during  this  long  interval,  the  population  of  Europe 
was  divided  into  two  great  classes,  of  which  by  far  the 
larger  one  was  composed  of  bondmen,  without  property,  or 
the  power  of  acquiring  it,  and  small  tenants,  very  little 
superior  to  bondmen  ;  and  the  other  class,  consisting  chiefly 
of  the  great  barons  and  their  retainers,  was  more  frequently 
employed  in  laying  waste  the  fields  of  their  rivals  than  in 
improving  their  own.  The  superstition  of  the  times,  which 
destined  a  large  portion  of  the  land  to  the  support  of 
the  church,  and  which,  in  some  measure,  secured  it  from 
predatory  incursions,  was  the  principal  source  of  what  little 
skill  and  industry  were  then  displayed  in  the  cultivation 
of  the  soil.  "  If  we  consider  the  ancient  state  of  Europe," 
says  Mr  Hume,1  "  we  shall  find  that  the  far  greater  part 
of  society  were  everywhere  bereaved  of  their  personal  liberty, 
and  lived  entirely  at  the  will  of  their  masters.  Every  one 
that  was  not  noble  was  a  slave  ;  the  peasants  were  not  in 
a  better  condition  ;  even  the  gentry  themselves  were  sub- 
jected to  a  long  train  of  subordination  under  the  greater 
barons,  or  chief  vassals  of  the  crown,  who,  though  seemingly 
placed  in  a  high  state  of  splendour,  yet,  having  but  a 
slender  protection  from  law,  were  exposed  to  every  tempest 
of  the  state,  and  by  the  precarious  condition  on  which  they 
lived,  paid  dearly  for  the  power  of  oppressing  and  tyrannis- 
ing over  their  inferiors." — "The  villains  were  entirely 
occupied  in  the  cultivation  of  their  master's  land,  and  paid 
their  rents  either  in  corn  or  cattle,  and  other  produce  of 
the  farm,  or  in  servile  offices,  which  they  performed  about 
the  baron's  family,  and  upon  farms  which  he  retained  in 
his  own  possession.  In  proportion  as  agriculture  improved 
and  money  increased,  it  was  found  that  these  services, 
though  extremely  burdensome  to  the  villain,  were  of  little 
advantage  to  the  master ;  and  that  the  produce  of  'a  large 
estate  could  be  much  more  conveniently  disposed  of  by  the 
peasants  themselves  who  raised  it,  than  by  the  landlord  or 
his  bailiff,  who  were  formerly  accustomed  to  receive  it.  A 
commutation  was  therefore  made  of  rents  for  services,  and 
of  money-rents  for  those  in  kind  ,  and  as  men  in  a  subse- 
quent age  discovered  that  farms  were  better  cultivated  where 
the  fanner  enjoyed  security  in  his  possession,  the  practice 
of  granting  leases  to  the  peasant  began  to  prevail,  which 
entirely  broke  the  bonds  of  servitude,  already  much  relaxed 
from  the  former  practices.  The  latest  laws  which  we  find 
in  England  for  enforcing  or  regulating  this  species  of 
servitude  were  enacted  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VII.  And 
though  the  ancient  statutes  on  this  subject  remain  still 
unrepealed  by  Parliament,  it  appears  that  before  the  end 
of  Elizabeth  the  distinction  between  villain  and  freeman 
was  totally,  though  insensibly,  abolished,  and  that  no 
person  remained  in  the  Btate  to  whom  the  former  laws 
could  be  applied." 

But  long  before  the  15th  century,  it  is  certain  that 
there  was  a  class  of  tenants  holding  on  leases  for  lives,  or 
for  a  term  of  years,  and  paying  a  rent  in  land  produce,  in 
services,  or  in  money.  Whether  they  gradually  sprung  tip 
from  the  class  of  bondmen,'  according  to  Lord  Kames,3  or 


History  of  England,  chap,  xxiil. 
Karnes's  Law  Tract*. 


existed  from  the  earliest  period  of  the  feudal  constitution, 
according  to  other  writers,3  theirnumber  cannot  be  supposed 
to  have  been  considerable  during  the  middle  ages.  The 
stock  which  these  tenants  employed  in  cultivation  com- 
monly belonged  to  the  proprietor,  who  received  a  proportion 
of  the  produce  as  rent, — a  system  which  still  exists  in 
France  and  in  other  parts  of  the  Continent,  whe^e  such 
tenants  are  called  metayers,  and  Borne  vestiges  of  which 
may  yet  be  traced  in  the  sleet-bow  of  the  law  of  Scotland. 
Leases  of  the  13th  century  still  remain,4  and  both  the 
laws  and  chartularies 6  clearly  prove  the  existence  in 
Scotland  of  a  class  of  cultivators  distinct  from  the  serfs  or 
bondmen.  Yet  the  condition  of  these  tenants  seems  to 
have  been  very  different  from  that  of  the  tenants  of  the 
present  day;  and  the  lease  approached  nearer  in  its  fovni 
to  a  feu-charter  than  to  the  mutual  agreement  now  in  use. 
It  was  of  the  nature  of  a  beneficiary  grant  by  the  proprietor, 
under  certain  conditions,  and  for  a  limited  period ;  the 
consent  of  the  tenant  seems,  never  to  have  been  doubted. 
In  the  common  expression  "granting  a  lease,"  we  have 
retained  an  idea  of  the  original  character  of  the  deed,  even 
to  the  present  time. 

The  corn  crops  cultivated  during  this  period  seem  to  have 
been  of  the  same  species,  though  all  of  them  probably  much 
inferior  in  quality  to  what  they  are  in  the  present  day; 
Wheat,  the  most  valuable  grain,  must  have  borne  a  smal 
proportion,  at  least  in  Britain,  to  that  of  other  crops ;  the 
remarkable  fluctuation  of  price,  its  extreme  scarcity,  indi 
cated  by  the  extravagant  rate  at  which  it  was  sometimes 
sold,  as  well  as  the  preparatory  cultivation  required,  may 
convince  us  that  its  consumption  was  confined  to  the  higher 
orders,  and  that  its  growth  was  by  no  means  extensive. 
Rye  and  oats  furnished  the  bread  and  drink  of  the  great 
body  of  the  people  of  Europe.  Cultivated  herbage  and 
roots  were  then  unknown  in  the  agriculture  of  Britain.  It 
was  not  till  the  end  ot  the  reign  of  Henry  VIIL  that  any 
salads,  carrots,  or  other  ■  edible  roots  were  produced  is 
England.  The  little  of  these  vegetables  that  was  used 
was  formerly  imported  from  Holland  and  Flanders.  Queen 
Catherine,  when  she  wanted  a  salad,  was  obliged  to  despatch 
a  messenger  thither  on  purpose.6 

The  ignorance  and  insecurity  of  those  ages,_which  neces- 
sarily confined  the  cultivation  of  corn  to  a  comparatively 
small  portion  of  country,  left  all  the  rest  of  it  in  a  state  of 
nature,  to  be  depastured  by  the  inferior  animals,  :theri  only 
occasionally  subjected  to  the  care  and  control  of  man. 
Cultivators  were  crowded  together  in  miserable  hamlets; 
the  ground  contiguous  was  kept  continually  under  tillage  ; 
and  beyond  this,  wastes  and  woodlands  of  a  much  greater 
extent  were  appropriated  to  the  maintenance  of  their  flocks 
and  herds,  which  pastured  indiscriminately,  with  little 
attention  from  their  owners. 

The  low  price  of  butcher-meat,  though  it  was  then  the 
food  of  the  common  people,  when  compared  with  the  price 
of  corn  has  been  justly  noticed  by  several  writers  as  a 
decisive  proof  of  the  small  progress  of  civilisation  and 
industry. 

One  of  the  earliest  and  greatest  agricultural  grievances 
was  the  levying  of  Purveyance.  This  originally  compre- 
hended the  necessary  provisions,  carriages,  &c,  which  the 
nearest  farmers  were  obliged  to  furnish  at  the  current 
prices  to  the  king's  armies,  houses,  and  castles,  in  time  of 
war.  It  was  called  the  great  purveyance,  and  the  officers 
who  collected  those  necessaries  were  called  purveyors.  The 
smaller  purveyance  included  the  necessary  provisions  for 
the  household  of  the  king  when  travelling  through  the 

*  BeU'a  Treatise  on  Leases. 

'  Sir  John  Cullom's  History  and  Antiquities  of  Uavsted  (Suffolk). 

*  Chalmers'  Caledonia,  book  iv.  c.  6. 

*  Home's  History  of  England,  chap,  xxiil. 


SUMMARY.] 


AGRICULTURE 


295 


kingdom,  and  these  the  tenants  on  the  king's  demesne  lands 
were  obliged  to  furnish  gratis,  a  practice  that  came  to  be 
adopted  by  the  barons  and  great  men  in  every  toiir  which 
they  thought  proper  to  make  in  the  country.  These 
exactions  were  so  grievous,  and  levied  in  so  high-handed  a 
manner,  that  the  farmers,  when  they  heard  of  the  court's 
approach,  often  deserted  their  houses,  as  if  the  country 
had  been  invaded  by  an  enemy.  "Purveyance,"  says 
Dirom,1  "  was  perhaps  for  many  centuries  the  chief  obstruc- 
tion to  the  agriculture  and  improvement  of  Great  Britain. 
Many  laws  were  made  for  the  reformation  and  regulation  of 
purveyance,  but  without  effect ;  and  the  practice  continued 
down,  to  so  late  a  period  as  the  reign  of  James  the  First." 

By  statute  1449,  the  tenant  was  for  the  first  time 
seemed  in  possession,  during  the  term  of -his  lease,  against 
a  purchaser  of  the  "land;  and  in  1469  he  was  protected 
from  having  his  property  carried  off  for  the  landlord's 
debts,  beyond  the  amount  of  rent  actually  due ;  an  enact- 
ment which  proves  his  miserable  condition  before  that  time. 

Soon  after  the  beginning  of  the  16th  century  agriculture 
partook  of  the  general  improvement  which  followed  the 
invention  of  printing,  the  revival  of  learning,  and  the  more 
settled  authority  of  government ;  and  instead  of  the  occa- 
sional notices  of  historians,  we  can  now  refer  to  regular 
treatises,  written  by  men  who  engaged  eagerly  in  this 
neglected  and  hitherto  degraded  occupation.  We  shall 
therefore  give  a  short  account  of  the  principal  works,  as 
■well  as  of  the  laws  and  general  policy  of  Britain,  in  regard 
to  agriculture,  from  the  early  part  of  the  16th  century  to 
the  Revolution  in  1688,  when  a  new  era  commenced  in 
the  legislation  of  corn,  and  soon  after  in  the  practice  of  the 
cultivator.2 

Early  Works  on  Agriculture. 

The  first  and  by  far  the  best  of  our  early  works  is  the 
Book  of  Husbandry,  printed  in  1534,  commonly  ascribed 
to  Fitzherbert,  a  judge  of  the  Common  Pleas  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  VIII.  This  was  followed,  in  1539,  by  the  Book 
of  Surveying  and  Improvements,  by  the  same  author.  In 
the  former  treatise  we  have  a  clear  and  minute  description 
of.  the  rural  practices  of  that  period,  and  from  the  latter 
may  be  learned  a  good  deal  of  the  economy  of  the  feudal 
system  in  its  "decline.  The  Book  of  Husbandry  has  scarcely 
been  excelled  by  any  later  production,  in  as  far  as  concerns 
the  subjects  of  which  it  treats ;  for  at  that  time  cultivated 
herbage  and  edible  roots  were  still  unknown  in  England. 
The  author  writes  from  his  own  experience  of  more  than 
forty  years ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  passages  denoting 
his  belief  in  the  superstition  of  the  Roman  writers,  there 
is  very  little  of  this  valuable  work,  in  so  far  as  regards  the 
culture  of  corn,  that  should  be  omitted,  and  not  a  great  deal 
that  need  be  added,  even  in  a  manual  of  husbandry  adapted 
to  the  present  time.  Fitzherbert  touches  on  almost  every 
department  of  the  art,  and  in  about  a  hundred  octavo  pages 
has  contrived  to  condense  more  practical  information  than 
will  be  found  scattered  through  as  many  volumes  of  later 
times ;  and  yet  he  is  minute  even  to  the  extreme  on  points 
of  real  utihty.  There  is  no  reason  to  say,  with  Mr  Harte, 
that  he  had  revived  the  husbandry  of  the  Romans ;  he 
merely  describes  the  practices  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived ; 
and  from  his  commentary  on  the  old  statute  extenta  manerii, 
in  his  Book  of  Surveying,  in  which  he  does  not  allude  to 
any  recent  improvements,  it  is  probable  that. the  manage- 
ment which  he  details  had  been  long  established.  But  it 
may  surprise  some  of  the  agriculturists  of  the  present  day 
to  be  told,  that,  after  the  lapse  of  almost  three  centuries, 
Fitzherbert's  practice,  in  some  material  particulars,  has  not 

1  Inquiry  into  the  Corn  Laws,  4c,  p.  9. 

'  The  account  of  the  Writers  on  Agriculture'  taken  from  Mr  Cleg- 
Vein's  Treatise  in  the  former  edition  of  the  Encylopadia  Eritanniai. 


been  improved  upon ;  and  that  in  several  districts  abuses 
until  recently  existed,  which  were  as  clearly  pointed  out  by 
him  at  that  early  period  as  by  any  writer  of  the  present  age. 
The  Book  of  Husbandry  begins  with  the  plough  and 
other  instruments,  which  are  concisely  and  yet  minutely 
described;  and  then  about  a  third  part  of  it  is  occupied 
with  the  several  operations  as  they  succeed  one  another 
throughout  the  year.  Among  other  things  in  this  part  of 
the  work,  the  following  deserve  notice  : — 

' '  Somme  (ploughs)  wyll  tourn  the  sheld  bredith  at  every  landsende, 
and  plowe  all  one  way  ;"  the  same  kind  of  plough  that  is  now 
found  so  usefnl  on  hilly  grounds.  Of  wheel-ploughs  he  observes, 
that  "  they  be  good  on  even  grounds  that  lyetl  lyghte ;"  and  or 
such  lands  they  are  still  most  commonly  employed.  Cart-wheeli 
were  sometimes  bound  with  iron,  of  which  he  greatly  approves. 
On  the  much  agitated  question  about  the  employment  of  horses  ci 
oxen  in  labour,  the  most  important  arguments  are  distinctly  stated. 
"In  some  places,"  he  says,  "a  horse  plough  is  better,  and  in 
others  an  oxen  plough,  to  which,  upon  the  whole,  he  gives  the  pre- 
ference, and  to  this,  considering  the  practices  of  that  period,  they 
were  probably  entitled.  Beans  and  peas  seem  to  have  been  common 
crops.  He  mentions  the  different  kinds  of  wheat,  barley,  and  oats  ; 
and  after  describing  the  method  of  harrowing  "all  maner  ol 
!  cornnes,"  we  find  the  roller  employed.  "They  used  to  role  their 
!  barley  grounde  after  a  showr  of  rayne,  to  make  the  grounde  even  t« 
mowe.'  Under  the  article  "To  falowe,"  he  observes,  "the greater 
clottes  (clods)  the  better  wheate,  for  the  clottes  kepe  the  wheat 
warme  all  wynter ;  and  at  March  they  will  melte  ana  breake  and 
fal  in  manye  small  peces,  the  whiche  is  a  new  dongynge  and 
refresh yage  of  the  corne. "  This  is  agreeable  to  the  present  practice, 
founded  on  the  very  samo  reasons.  "  In  May,  the  shepe  folde  is  te 
be  set  out ;"  but  Fitzherbert  does  not  much  approve  of  folding, 
and  points  out  its  disadvantages  in  a  very  judicious  manner.  "  in 
the  fatter  end  of  May  and  the  begynnynge  of  June,  is  tyme  to  wed* 
the  corne ;"  and  then  we  have  an  accurate  description  of  the 
different  weeds,  and  the'  instruments  and  mode  of  weeding.  Next 
comes  a  second  ploughing  of  the  fallow  ;  and  afterwards,  in  the 
latter  end  of  June,  the  mowing  of  the  meadows  begins.  Of  this 
operation,  and  of  the  forks  and  rakf  s,  and  the  haymaking,  there  is 
a  very  good  account.  The  corn  harvest  naturally  follows  :  rye  and 
wheat  were  usually  shorn,  and  barley  and  oats  cut  with  the  scythe 
This  intelligent  writer  does  not  approve  of  the  practice,  which  stiU 
prevails  in  some  places,  of  cutting  wheat  high,  and  then  mowing 
the  stubbles.  "  In  Somersetshire, '  he  says,  "  they  do  shera  theyr 
wheat  very  lows  ;  and  the  wheate  strawe  that  they  purpose  to  make 
thacke  of,  they  do  not  threshe  it,  but  cut  off  the  ears,  and  bynd  it  in 
sheves,  and  call  it  rede,  and  therewith  they  thacke  theyr  houses." 
He  recommends  the  practice  of  setting  up  corn  in  shocks,  with  two 
sheaves  to  cover  eight,  instead  of  ten  sheaves  as  at  present; 
probably  owing  to  the  straw  being  then  shorter.  The  corn  was 
commonly  housed ;  but  if  there  be  a  want  of  room,  he  advises  that 
the  ricks  be  built  on  a  scaffold,  and  not  upon  the  ground.  Corn- 
stacks  are  now  beginning  to  be  built  on  pillars  and  frames.  Tho 
fallow  received  a  third  ploughing  in  September,  and  was  sown 
about  Michaelmas.  "  Wheat  is  moost  commonlye  sowne  under  the 
forowe,  that  is  to  say,  cast  it  uppon  the  falowe,  and  then  plowe  it 
under  ;"  and  this  branch  of  his  subject  is  concluded  with  direction! 
about  threshing,  winnowing,  and  other  kinds  of  barn-work. 

fitzherbert  next  proceeds  to  live  stock.  "An  honsb«uide,"  he 
says,  "  can  not  well  thryue  by  his  corne  without  he  h  -ve  other 
cattell,  nor  by  his  cattell  without  corne.  And  bycaufe  that  shepe, 
in  myne  opynyon,  is  the  mooste  profytablest  cattell  that  any  man 
can  haue,  therefore  I  pourpose  to  speake  fyrst  of  shepe.'  His 
remarks  on  this  subject  are  so  accurate,  that  one  might  imagine 
they  came  from  a  storemaster  of  the  present  day  ;  and  the  minutia 
which  he  details  are  exactly  what  the  writer  of  this  article  has  seen 
practised  in  the  hilly  parts  of  this  country.  In  some  places  at 
present,  "they  neuer  seuer  their  lambes  from  their  dammes" 
"and  the  poore  of  the  peeks  (high)  countreye,  and  such  othar 
places,  where,  as  they  vse  to  mylke  theyr  ewes,  they  vse  to  wayne 
theyr  lambes  at  12  weekes  olde,  and  to  mylke  their  ewes  fiue  or 
syxe  weekes  ;"  but  that,  he  observes,  "is  greats  hurte  to  the  ewes, 
and  wyll  cause  them  that  they  wyll  not  take  the  ramme  at  the 
tyme  of  the  yere  for  pouertye,  but  goo  barreyne."  "In  June  is 
tyme  to  shere  shepe  ;  and  ere  they  be  shorno,  they  must  be  verve 
well  washen,  the  which  shall  bo  to  the  owner  greate  profyte  in  the 
sale  of  his  wool,  and  also  to  the  clothe-maker."  It  appears  that 
hand  washing  was  then  a  common  practice ;  and  yet  in  the  west  and 
north  of  Scotland  its  introduction  is  of  comparatively  recent  date. 
His  remarks  on  horses,  cattle,  &c,  .are  not  less  interesting;  and 
there  is  a  very  good  account  of  the  diseases  of  each  species,  and 
some  just  observations  on  the  advantage  of  mixing  different  kinds 
on  the  same  pasture.  Swine  and  bees  conclude  this  branch  of  the 
work. 


296 


AGRICULTURE 


[hkstoricai, 


The  autnor  then  points  out  ths  great  advantages  of  inclosure  ; 
recommends   "quyclsetl  liynge,    and    hedgeyng ;"    and 

gives  particular  direction  «,  and  the  method  of  training 

a  hedge,  as  well  as  concerning  the  planting  and  management  of 
trees.  We  have  then  a  short  information  "for  a  yonge  gentylman 
that  intendeth  to  thryue,"  and  "a  prolongs  for  the  wiues  occu- 
pation," in  some  in  tiler  too  homely  for  tho  present  time. 
Amoug  other  things,  sho  is  to  "make  her  husband  and  herself 
somme  clothes  ;*  and  "  she  maye  haue  the  lockes  of  the  6hepe  eyther 
to  make  blankcttcs  and  courlettcs,  or  bothe."  This  is  not  so  much 
amiss ;  but  what  follows  will  bring  the  learned  judge  into  disrepute 
even  with  our  most  industrious  housewives.  ",lt  is  a  wyues  occu- 
pation," he  sa\.,  "to  wynowe  all  manor  of  comes,  to  make  malte, 
to  wusho  and  wrynge,  to  make  hcye,  shere  come,  and,  in  time  of 
node,  to  hclpo  iicr  husbands  to  fyll  the  mucko  wayiia  or  dounge 
carte,  dryue  the  ploughe,  to  loode  hcye,  cornc,  and  sucho  other ; 
and  to  go  or  ride  to  tho  market  to  sel  butter,  chese,  mylke,  egges, 
chokyns,  capons,  hennes,  pygges,  gese,  and  all  nianer  of  comes.'' 
The  rest  of  the  book  contains  some  useful  advices  about  diu'gence 
and  economy  ;  and  concludes,  after  the  manner  of  the  age,  with 
many  pious  exhortations. 

Such  is  Fitzherbcrt's  Boole  of  Husbandry,  and  such  was 
the  state  of  agriculture  in  England  in  the  early  part  of  the 
lGth  century,  and  probably  for  a  long  time  before;  for  he 
Nowhere  speaks  of  the  practices  which  he  describes  or 
recommends  as  of  recent  introduction. 

The  Book  of  Surveying  add3  considerably  to  our  knowledge 
of  the  rural  economy  of  that  age.  "  Four  maner  of  com- 
lnens"  are  described ;  several  kinds  of  mills  for  corn  and 
other  purposes,  and  also  "  quernes  that  goo  with  hand  ;" 
different  orders  of  tenants,  down  to  the  "  boundmen,"  who 
"  in  some  places  coutynue  as  yet  f  "  and  many  tymes,  by 
colour  thereof,  there  be  many  freemen  taken  as  boundmen, 
and  their  lands  and  goods  is  taken  from  them."  Lime  and 
marl  are  mentk  ned  as  common  manures;  and  the  former 
was  sometimes  spread  on  the  surface  to  destroy  heath.  Both 
draining  and  irrigation  are  noticed,  though  the  latter  but 
slightly.  And  the  work  concludes  with  an  inquiry  "  how  to 
make  a  township  that  is  worth  XX.  marke  a  yere,  worth 
XX.  li.  a  year;"  from  which  we  shall  give  a  specimen  of  the 
author's  manner,  as  well  as  of  the  economy  of  the  age. 

"It  is  undoubted,  that  to  every  townshyppe  that  standeth  in 
tyllage  in  the  playne  countrey,  there  bo  enable  landes  to  plowe  and 
sowe,  and  leyse  to  rye  or  tedder  theyr  horses  and  mares  upon,  and 
common  pasture  to  kepe  and  pasture  their  catell,  beestes,  "and 
shepe  upon ;  and  also  they  have  medowe  grounde  to  get  theyr  hey 
upon.  Than  to  let  it  be  known  how  many  acres  of  enable  lands 
euery  man  ltath  in  tyllage,  and  of  the  same  acres  in  euery  felde  to 
chaungo  with  his  ncygbbours,  and  to  leys  them  toguyther,  and  to 
make  hyin  ous  seuorall  close  in  euery  felde  for  bis  errabls  lands ; 
and  his  leyso  in  euery  feldo  to  levo  them  togythcr  in  one  felde,  and 
to  make  one  seucrall  close  for  them  all.  And  also  another  seuerall 
close  for  bis  portion  of  bis  common  pasture,  and  also  hisporcion  of 
his  medowe  in  a  6eucra!l  close  by  itselfe,  and  al  kept  in  seuerall 
both  in  wynter  and  soroer ;  and  euery  cottage  shall  haue  his 
portion  assigned  hym  accordynge  to  his  rent,  and  than  shall  nat 
ths  rychs  man  oucrprcsso  the  pooro  man  with  bis  cattell ;  and 
euery  man  may  cato  his  oun  close  at  his  pleasure.  And  vndoubtcd, 
that  bay  and  strawe  that  will  find  one  beest  in  the  house  wyll  finde 
two  beestes  in  the  close,  and  better  they  shall  lyke.  For  those 
beestis  in  the  bouse  have  short  heare  and  thymic,  and  towards 
Mirli  they  will  pylle  and  bo  bare;  and  therefore  they  may  nat 
abyde  in  tho  fylde  before  the  heerdmen  in  winter  tyico  for  coldc.' 
And  those  that  lye  in  a  close  under  a  hedge  haue  longe  hears  and 
thyek,  and  they  will  neuer  pylle  nor  be  bare ;  and  by  this  reason 
the  husbande  inaye  kepe  twyse  so  many  catell  as  he  did  before. 

"  This  is  the  causo  of  tjis  approwment.  Kowe  euery  husbande 
liath  61X6  seuerall  closes,  whereof  ILL.  be  for  come,  the  fourths  for 
bis  leyse,  tho  fyfte  for  his  common  pastures,  and  the  sixto  for  his 
have  ;  and  in  wynter  time  there  is  but  ons  occupied  with  come, 
and  than  hath  the  husbande  other  fyue  to  occupy  tyll  lente  come, 
and  that  be  hath  his  falowe  felde,  his  ley  felde,  and  his  pasture 
felde  al  sommer.  And  when  be  hath  mowen  his  medowe  then  he 
hath  his  medowo  grounde,  soo  that  if  he  hath  any  weyke  catell 
that  wold  be  amended,  or  dyvers  maner  of  catell,  he  may  put  them 
in*ny  close  he  wyll,  tho  which  is  a  great  advantage ;  and  if  all 
shuldo  lye  commen,  than  wolds  tho  edychs  of  the  come  feldes  and 
the  afWmath  of  all  the  medowes  bo  eaten  in  X  or  XII.  dayes. 
And  the  rych  men  that  bath  moche  catell  wold  have  the  advantage, 
and  the  poore  man  can  have  no  helpe  nor  relefe  in  wynter  when  lie 
hath  musts  nide  ;  and  if  an  acre  of  lande  be  worthe  &i.ie  pcus,  or  it 


bo  enclosed,  it  will  bo  worth  VIII.  pens,  when  it  is  enclosed  by 
reason  of  tho  compostying  and  dongyng  of  tho  catell  that  shall 
go  and  lye  upon  it  both  day  and  nighte ;  and  if  any  of  his 
thro  closes  that  he  hath  for  his  come  be  woms  or  wars  bars, 
than  lis  may  breko  and  plowo  up  hie  close  that  he  hadde  for  his 
layso,  or  the  close  that  ho  hadde  for  his  commen  pasture,  or  bothe, 
and  sows  them  with  come,  and  let  the  other  lyo  for  a  time,  and  so 
shall  ho  have  alway  reist  grounde,  the  which  will  bear  moche  come 
with  lytel  dongo  ;  and  also  hs  shall  havs  a  great  profyte  of  tho  wod 
in  ths  hedges  whan  it  is  growsn ;  and  not  only  these  profytes  and 
advantages  beforesaid,  but  he  shall  save  mocho  more  than  al 
these,  for  by  reason  of  these  closes  he  shall  save  meate,  drinke, 
and  wages  of  a  shepherde,  the  wages  of  the  heerdmen,  and  the 
wages  ol  the  swine  herde,  the  which  may  fortune  to  be  as  chargeable 
as  all  his  holle  rent ;  and  also  his  come  shall  be  better  saved  from 
eatinge  or  destroyeng  with  catel.  For  dout  ye  nat  but  hcerdemen 
with  their  catell,  shepeherdes  with  their  shepe.  and  tieng  of  horses 
and  mares,  destroyeth  mocb.  come,  the  which  the  hedges  wold  save. 
Paradueuture  some  men  would  say,  that  this  shuld  be  against  the 
common  weale,  bicause  the  shepeherdes,  heerdmen,  and  swyne- 
herdes,  shuld  than  be  put  out  of  wages.  To  that  it  may  be 
answered,  though  these  occupations  be  not  used,  there  bo  as  many 
newe  occupations  that  were  not  ased  before  ;  as  getting  of  quicke- 
settes,  diching,  hedging,  and  plashing,  the  which  the  same  men 
may  use  and  occupye." 

The  next  author  who  writes  professedly  on  agriculture  Tusse* 
is  Tusser.  whose  Five  Hundred  Points  of  Husbandry,  ^^ 
published  in  15 G2,  was  formerly  in  such  high  repute  as  to 
be  recommended  by  Lord  Molesworth  to  be  taught  in 
schools.1  The  edition  of  1604  isthe  one  we  make  use  of  here. 
In  it  the  book  of  husbandry  consists  of  118  pages,  and 
then  follows  the  Points  of  Housewifrie,  occupying  42  pages 
more.  It  is  written  in  verse.  Amidst  a  vast  heap  of 
rubbish,  there  are  some  useful  notices  concerning  the  state 
of  agriculture  at  the  time  in  different  parts  of  England. 
Hops,  which  had  been  introduced  in  the  early  part  of 
the  lGth  century,  and  on  the  culture  of  which  a  treatise 
was  published  in  1574  by  Beynolde  Scott,  are  mentioned 
as  a  well-known  crop.  Buckwheat  was  sown  after  barley. 
Hemp  and  flax  are  mentioned  as  common  crops.  Inclosures 
must  have  been  numerous  in  several  counties ;  and  there 
is  a  very  good  comparison  between  "  champion  (open  fields) 
country,  and  several,"  which  Blythe  afterwards  transcribed 
into  his  Improver  Improved.  Carrots,  cabbages,  turnips, 
and  rape,  are  mentioned  among  the  herbs  und  roots  for  the 
kitchen.  There  is  nothing  to  be  found  in  Tusser  about 
serfs  or  bondmen,  as  in  Fitzherbert's  works.  This  author's 
division  of  the  crop  is  rather  curious,  though  probably  quite 
inaccurate,  if  he  means  that  the  whole  rent  might  be  paid 
by  a  tenth  of  the  corn. 

"  One  part  cast  forth  for  rent  due  out  of  hand. 
One  other  part  for  seed  to  sow  thy  laud. 
Another  part  leave  parson  for  his  tith. 
Another  part  for  harvest,  sickle  and  sith.  _ 

One  part  for  ploughwrite,  cartwrite,  knacker,  and  smith. 
One  part  to  uphold  thy  teemes  that  draw  therewith. 
Another  part  for  servant  and  workman's  wages  laie. 
One  part  likewise  for  filbellie  daie  by  daie. 
One  part  thy  wife  for  needful  things  doth  crave. 
Thyself  and  thy  child  ths  last  part  would  havs." 

Tho  next  writer  is  Barnaby  Googe,  whose  Wliole  AH  of 
Husbandry  was  printed  in  1678,  and  again  by  Markham 
in  1G14.  Tho  first  edition  is  merely  a  translation  of  a 
German  work  j  and  very  little  is  said  of  English  husbandry 
in  the  second,  though  Markham  mado  some  trilling  inter- 
polations, in  order,  as  it  is  alleged,  to  adapt  tho  German 
husbandry  to  the  English  climate.  It  is  for  the  most  part 
made  up  of  "gleanings  from  the  ancient  writers  of  Greece 
and  Borne,  whose  errors  are  faithfully  retained,  with  here 
and  there  some  description  of  the  practices  of  the  age,  in 
which  there  is  little  of  novelty  or  importance.  Googe 
mentions  a  number  of  English  writers  who  lived  about  the 
time  of  Fitzherbert,  whose  works  have  not  been  preserved^ 


1  Some  Considerations  for  the  promoting  of  Agriculture  and  emplop 
ing  the  Poor.    Dublin,  1723. 


SUMMARY.] 


AGRICULTURE 


297 


For  more  than  fifty  years  after  this,  or  till  near  the 
middle  of  the  17th  century,  there  are  no  systematic 
works  on  husbandry,  though  several  treatises  on  particular 
departments  of  it.  From  these  it  is  evident  that  all  the 
different  operations  of  the  fanner  were  performed  with  more 
care  and  correctness  than  formerly ;  that  the  fallows  were 
better  worked,  the  fields  kept  freer  from  weeds,  and  much 
more  attention  paid  to  manures  of  every  kind.  A  few  of 
the  writers  of  this  period  deserve  to  be  shortly  noticed. 

Sir  Hugh  Plat,  in  his  Jewel  House  of  Art  and  Nature, 
printed  in  1594  (which  Weston  in  his  catalogue  erroneously 
ascribes  to  Gabriel  Plattes),  makes  some  useful  observations 
on  manures,  but  chiefly  collected  from  other  writers.  His 
censure  of  the  practice  of  leaving  farm  dung  lying  scattered 
about  is  among  the  most  valuable. 

Sir  John  Norden's  Surveyor's  Dialogue,  printed  in  1607, 
and  reprinted  with  additions  in  1618,  is  a  work  of  con- 
siderable merit.  The  first  three  books  of  it  relate  to  the 
rights  of  the  lord  of  the  manor  and  the  various  tenures  by 
■which  landed  property  was  then  held,  with  the  obligations 
which  they  imposed.  Among  others,  we  fiad  the  singular 
custom,  so  humorously  described  in  the  Spectator,  of  the 
incontinent  widow  riding  upon  a  ram.  In  the  fifth  book 
there  are  a  good  many  judicious  observations  on  the 
"  different  natures  of  grounds,  how  they  may  be  employed, 
how  they  may  be  bettered,  reformed,  and  amended."  The 
famous  meadows  near  Salisbury  are  mentioned  ;  and  when 
cattle  have  fed  their  fill,  hogs,  it  is  pretended,  "  are  made 
fat  with  the  remnant — namely,  with  the  knots  and  sappe 
of  the  grasse."  "  Clouer  grasse,  or  the  grasse  honey  suckle" 
(white  clover),  is  directed  to  be  sown  with  other  hay  seeds. 
"  Carrot  rootes"  were  then  raised  in  several  parts  of  England, 
and  sometimes  by  farmers.  London  street  and  stable  dung 
was  carried  to  a  distance  by  water,  though  it  appears  from 
later  writers  to  have  been  got  for  the  trouble  of  removing. 
And  leases  of  21  years  are  recommended  for  persons  of 
email  capital,  as  better  than  employing  it  in  purchasing 
land, — an  opinion  that  prevails  very  generally  among  our 
present  farmers. 

Bees  seem  to  have  been  great  favourites  with  these  early 
writers ;  and  among  others,  there  is  a  treatise  by  Butler, 
a  gentleman  of  Oxford,  called  the  Feminine  Monarchic,  or 
the  History  of  Bees,  printed  in  1G09,  full  of  all  manner  of 
quaintness  and  pedantry. 

We  shall  pass  over  Markham,  Mascall,  Gabriel  Plattes, 
and  several  other  authors  of  this  period,  the  best  part  of 
their. writings  being  preserved  by  Blythe  and  Hartlib,  of 
whom  we  shall  say  a  little  immediately.  In  Sir  Richard 
Weston's  Discourse  on  the  Husbandry  of  Brabant  and 
Flanders,  published  by  Haitlib  in  1645,  we  may  mark  the 
dawn  of  the  vast  improvements  which  have  since  been 
effected  in  Britain.  This  gentleman  was  ambassador  from 
England  to  the  elector  palatine  and  king  of  Bohemia  in 
1619,  and  had  the  merit  of  being  the  first  who  introduced 
the  great  clover,  as  it  was  then  called,  into  English 
agriculture,  about  1645,  and  probably  turnips  also.  His 
directions  for  the  cultivation  of  clover  are  better  than  was 
to  be  expected.  It  thrives  best,  he  says,  when  you  sow  it 
on  the  worst  and  barrenest  ground,  such  as  our  worst 
heath  ground  is  in  England.  The  ground  is  to  be  pared 
and  burnt,  and  unslacked  lime  must  be  added  to  the  ashes. 
It  is  next  to  be  well  ploughed  and  harrowed ;  and  about 
ten  pounds  of  clover  seed  must  be  sown  on  an  acre  in 
April  or  the  end  of  March.  If  you  intend  to  preserve  seed, 
then  the  second  crop  must  be  let  stand  till  it  come  to  a  full 
and  dead  ripeness,  and  you  shall  have  at  the  least  five 
bushels  per  acre.  Being  once  sown,  it  will  last  five  years ; 
and  then  being  ploughed,  it  will  yield,  three  or  four  years 
together,  rich  crops  of  wheat,  and  after  that  a  crop  of  oats, 
with  which  clover  seed  is  to  be  sown  aeain.     It  is  in  itself 


an  excellent  manure,  Sir  Richard  adds;  and  so  it  should 
be,  to  enable  land  to  bear  this  treatment.  In  less  than  ten 
years  after  its  introduction,  that  is,  before  1655,  the  cul- 
ture of  clover,  exactly  according  to  the  present  method, 
seems  to  have  been  well  known  in  England,  and  it  had 
also  made  its  way  to  Ireland. 

A  great  many  works  on  agriculture  appeared  during  the 
time  of  the  Commonwealth,  of  which  Blythe's  Improver 
Improved  and  Hartlib's  Legacy  are  the  most  valuable. 
The  first  edition  of  the  former  was  published  in  1649,  and 
of  the  latter  in  1650;  and  both  of  them  were  enlarged  in 
subsequent  editions.  In  the  first  edition  of  the  Improver 
Improved,  no  mention  is  made  of  clover,  nor  in  the  second 
of  turnips,  but  in  the  third,  published  in  1662,  clover  is 
treated  of  at  some  length,  and  turnips  are  recommended 
as  an  excellent  cattle  crop,  the  culture  of  which  should 
be  extended  from  the  kitchen  garden  to  the  field  Sir 
Richard  Weston  must  have  cultivated  turnips  before  this ; 
for  Blythe  says,  that  Sir  Richard  affirmed  to  himself  he 
did  feed  his  swine  with  them.  They  were  first  given  boiled, 
but  afterwards  the  swine  came  to  eat  them  raw,  and  would 
run  after  the  carts,  and  pull  them  forth  as  they  gathered 
them, — an  expression  which  conveys  an  idea  of  their  being 
cultivated  in  the  fields. 

Blythe's  book  is  tho  first  systematic  work  in  which  there 
are  some  traces  of  the  alternate  husbandry  so  beneficially 
established  since,  by  interposing  clover  and  turnip  between 
culmiferous  crops.  Ha  is  a  great  enemy  to  commons  and 
common  fields,  and  to  retaining  land  in  old  pasture,  unless 
it  be  of  the  best  quality.  His  description  of  the  different 
kinds  of  ploughs  is  interesting ;  and  he  justly  recommends 
such  as  were  drawn  by  two  horses  (some  even  by  one 
horse),  in  preference  to  the  weighty  and  clumsy  machines 
which  required  four  or  more  horses  or  oxen.  Almost  all 
the  manures  now  used  seem  to  have  been  then  well 
known,  and  he  brought  lime  himself  from  a  distance  of 
20  miles.  He  speaks  of  an  instrument  which  ploughed, 
sowed,  and  harrowed  at  the  same  time ;  and  the  setting  of 
corn,  was  then  a  subject  of  much  discussion.  "It  waa 
not  many  years,"  says  Blythe,  "  since  the  famous  city  of 
London  petitioned  the  Parliament  of  England  against  two 
anusancies  or  offensive  commodities,  which  were  likely  to 
come  into  great  use  and  esteem ;  and  that  was  K  ewi  astle 
coal,  in  regard  of  their  stench,  <fec,  and  hops,  in  regard  they 
would  spoyle  the  taste  of  drink,  and  endanger  the  people." 

Hartlib's  Legacy  is  a  very  heterogeneous  performance, 
containing,  among  some  very  judicious  directions,  a  great 
deal  of  rash  speculation.  Several  of  the  deficiencies 
which  the  writer  complains  of  is  English  agriculture 
must  be  placed  to  the  account  of  our  climate,  and  never 
have  been  or  can  be  supplied.  Some  of  his  recommen- 
.dations  are  quite  unsuitable  to  the  state  of  the  country, 
and  display  more  of  general  knowledge  and  good  inten- 
tion than  of  either  the  theory  or  practice  of  agriculture. 
Among  the  subjects  deserving  notice  may  be  mentioned 
the  practice  of  steeping  and  liming  seed  corn  as  a  preven- 
tive of  smut ;  changing  every  year  the  species  of  grain,  and 
bringing  seed  corn  from  a  distance ;  ploughing  down  green 
crops  as  manure ;  and  feeding  horses  with  broken  oats  and 
chaff.  This  writer  seems  to  differ  a  good  deal  from  Blythe 
about  the  advantage  of  interchanging  tillage  and  pasture. 
"  It  were  no  losse  to  tliia  island,"  he  says,  "  if  that  we 
should  not  plough  at  all,  if  so  be  that  we  could  certainly 
have  corn  at  a  reasonable  rate,  and  likewise  vent  for  all  our 
manufactures  of  wool;"  and  one  reason  for  this  is,  that 
pasture  employeth  more  hands  than  tillage,  instead  of  de- 
populating the  country,  as  was  commonly  imagined.  The 
grout,  which  he  mentions  "  as  coming  over  to  us  in  Hol- 
land ships,"  about  which  he  desires  information,  was  pro- 
bably the  same  with  our  present  shelled  barley ;  and  milla 


298 


AGRICULTURE 


[HISTORICAL 


for  manufact\iring  it  were  introduced  into  Scotland  from 
Holland  towards  the  beginning  of  the  last  century. 

To  the  third  edition,  published  in  1655,  are  subjoined 
Dr  Beatie's  Annotations  with  the  writer  of  the  Legacy's 
answers,  both  of  them  ingenious,  and  sometimes  instruc- 
tive. But  thi3  cannot  be  said  of  Gabriel  Plattes's  Mercu- 
rius  Lcetificans,  also  added  to  this  edition,  which  is  a  most 
extravagant  production.  There  are  alsb  several  communi- 
cations from  Hartbb's  different  correspondents,  of  which 
the  most  interesting  are  those  on  the  early  cultivation  and 
great  value  of  clover.  Hartlib  himself  doe3  not  appear 
much  in  this  collection ;  but  he  seems  to  have  been  a  very 
aseful  person  in  editing  the  works  of  others,  and  as  a 
collector  of  miscellaneous  information  on  rural  subjects. 
It  is  strange  that  neither  Blythe  nor  Hartlib,  nor  any  of 
Hartlib's  correspondents,  seem  ever  to  have  heard  of 
Fitzherbert's  works. 

Among  the  other  writers  previous  to  the  Revolution,  we 
shall  only  mention  Ray  tha  botanist,  and  Evelyn,  both  men 
of  great  talent  and*  research,  whose  works  are  still  in 
high  estimation.  A  new  edition  of  Evelyn's  Silva  and 
Terra  was  published  in  1777  by  Dr  Hunter,  with  largo 
notes  and  elegant  engravings,  and  reprinted  in  1812. 

The  preceding  review  commences  with  a  period  of  feudal 
anarchy  and  despotism  and  comes  down  to  the  time  when 
the  exertions  of  individual  interest  were  protected  and  en- 
couraged by  the  firm  administration  of  equal  laws;  when  the 
prosperity  ot  Great  Britain  was  no  longer  retarded  by  in- 
ternal commotions,  nor  endangered  by  hostile  invasion. 

Laws. 

The  laws  of  this  period,  in  so  far  as  they  relate  to  agri- 
culture and  rural  economy,  display  a  similar  progress  in 
improvement. 

From  the  beginning  or  the  reign  of  Henry  Vli.  to  the 
end  of  Elizabeth's,  a  number  of  statutes  were  made  for 
the  encouragement  of  tillage,  though   probably  to   little 
purpose.     The  great  grievance  of  those   days  was   the 
practice  of  laying  arable  land  to  pasture,  and  suffering  the 
fanu-houses  to  fall  to  ruin.    "Where  in  some  towns,"  says 
the  statute  4th  Henry  VII.  (1488),  "two  hundred  persons 
were  occupied  and  lived  of  their  lawful  labours,  now  there 
are  occupied  two  or  three  herdsmen,  and  the  residue  fall 
into  idleness  ;"  therefore  it  is  ordained,  that  houses  which 
within  threo  years  have  been  let  for  farms,  with  twenty 
acres  of  land  lying  in  tillage  or  husbandry,  shall  be  upheld, 
under  the  penalty  of  half  the  profits,  to  be  forfeited  to  tho 
king  or  the  lord  of  the  fee.     Almost  half  a  century  after- 
wards, the  practice  had  become  still  more  alarming ;  and 
in  1534  a  now  Act  was  tried,  apparently  with  as  little  suc- 
cess.    "Some  have   24,000  sheep,    some    20,000    sheep, 
some  10,000,  some  6000,  some  4000,  and  some  more  and 
some  less ;"  and  yet  it  is  alleged  the  price  of  wool  had 
nearly  doubled,   "sheep  being   come  to   a   few  persons' 
hands."      A  penalty  was  therefore  imposed  on  all  who 
kept  above  2000  sheep ;  and  r>o  person  was  to  take  in 
farm  more  than  two  tenements  of  husbandry.     By  the 
39th  Elizabeth  (1597),  arable  Ian  \  made  pasture  since  the 
1st  Elizabeth  shall  be  again  converted  into  tillage,  and 
what  is  arable  shall  not  be  converted  into  pasture. 

Many  laws  were  enacted  during  this  period  against  va- 
gabonds, as  they  were  called  ;  and  persons  who  could  not 
find  employment  seem  to  have  been  sometimes  confounded 
with  those  who  really  preferred  idleness  and  plunder. 
The  dissolution  of  the  feudal  system,  and  the  suppression 
of  the  monasteries,  deprived  a  great  pari;  of  the  rural 
population  of  the  means  of  support.  They  could  not  bo 
employed  in  cultivating  the  soil,  for  there  was  no  middle 
class  of.  farmers  possessed  of  capital  to  be  vested  in 
improvements ;  and  what  little  disposable  capital  was  in  tho 


hands  of  great  proprietors  tould  not,  in  those  ruao  tunes, 
be  so  advantageously  embarked  in  the  expensive  and  pre- 
carious labours  of  growing  corn,  as  in  pasturage,  which 
required  much  less  skill  and  superintendence.  Besides, 
there  was  a  constant  demand  for  wool  on  Jthe  Continent ; 
whilo  the  corn  market  was  not  only  confined  by  laws 
against  exportation,  but  fettered  by  restrictions  on  the 
internal  trade.  The  laws  regarding  the  wages  of  labour  and 
the  price  of  provisions  are-  a  further  proof  of  the  ignorance 
of  the  age  in  regard  to  the  proper  subject  of  legislation. 

By  the  statute  1552  it  is  declared,  that  any  person  that 
shall  buy  merchandise,  victual,  he,  coming  to  market, 
or  make  any  bargain  for  buying  the  same;  before  they  shall 
bo  in  the  market  ready  to  be  sold,  or  shall  make  any 
motion  for  enhancing  the  price,  or  dissuade  any  person 
from  coming  to  market,  or  forbear  to  bring  any  of  the 
things  to  market,  <fec,  shall  be  deemed  a  forestaller.  Any 
person  who  buys  and  sells  again  in  the  same  market,  or 
within  four  miles  thereof,  shall  be  reputed  a  regrater.  Any 
person  buying  corn  growing  in  the  fields,  or  any  other 
corn,  with  intent  to  sell  again,  shall  be  reputed  an  unlaw- 
ful, ingrosser.  It  was  also  declared,  that  no  person  shall 
sell  cattle  within  five  weeks  after  he  had  bought  them. 
Licenses,  indeed,  were  to  be  granted  in  certain  cases,  and 
particularly  when  the  price  of  wheat  was  at  or  under  6s.  8d. 
a  quarter,  and  other  kinds  of  grain  in  that  proportion. 

The  laws  regarding  the  exportation  and  importation  of  Corn  tradt 
corn  during  this  period  could  have  had  little  effect  in 
encouraging  agriculture,  though  towards  the  latter  part  of 
it  they  gradually  approached  that  system  which  was  finally 
established  at  and  soon  after  the  Revolution.  From  the 
time  of  the  above-mentioned  statute  agaiust  forestaOers, 
which  effectually  prevented  exportation,  as  well  as  the 
freedom  of  the  home  trade,  when  corn  was  above  the 
price  therein  specified,  down  to  1688,  there  are  at  least 
twelve  statutes  on  this  subject ;  and  some  of  them  are  so 
nearly  the  same,  that  it  is  probable  they  were  not  very 
carefully  observed.  The  price  at  which  wheat  was  allowed 
td  be  exported  was  raised  from  6s.  8d.  a  quarter,  the  nrice 
fixed  by  the  1st  and  2d  of  PhUip  and  Mary  (1553),  to'lOs. 
in  1562;  to  20s.  in  1593;  to  26s.  8d.  in  1604;  to  32s.  ii? 
1623;  to  40s.  in  1660;  to  48s.  in  1663;  and  at  last,  in 
1670,  exportation  was  virtually  permitted  without  limita- 
tion. Certain  duties,  however,  were  payable,  which  in 
some  cases  seem  to  have  amounted  to  a  prohibition ;  and 
until  1660  importation  was  not  restrained  even  in  years 
of  plenty  and  cheapness.  In  permitting  exportation,  the 
object  appears  to  have  been  revenue  rather  than  the 
encouragement  of  production. 

The  first  statute  for  levying  tolls  at  turnpikes,  to  make  Toll9,1661 
or  repair  roads  in  England,  passed  in  1662. 

Of  the  state  of  agriculture  in  Scotland  in  the  16th  and  Scotland, 
the  greater  part  of  tho  17th  century  very  little  is  known  ;  ^th<lnd 
no  professed  treatise  on  the  subject  appeared  till  after  the  J™  \™D' 
Revolution.  The  south-eastern  counties  were  the  earliest 
improved,  and  yet  in  1660  their  condition  seems  to  have 
been  very  wretched.  Ray,  who  made  a  tour  along  the 
eastern  coast  in  that  year,  says,  "  We  observed  little  or  no 
fallow  ground  in  Scotland ;  some  ley  ground  we  saw,  whic> 
they  manured  with  sea  wreck.  The  men  seemed  to  be 
very  lazy,  and  may  be  frequently  observed  to  plough  in 
their  cloaks.  It  is  tho  fashion  of  them  to  wear  cloaks 
when  they  go  abroad,  but  especially  on  Sundays.  They 
have  neither  good  bread,  cheese,  nor  drink.  They_ cannot 
make  them,  nor  will  they  learn.  Their  butter  is  very 
indifferent,  and  one  would  wonder  how  they  could  contrive 
to  make  it  so  bad.  They  use  much  pottage  made  of  coal- 
wort,  which  they  call  kail,  sometimes  broth  of  decorticated 
barley.  The  ordinary  country-houses  are  pitiful  cots,  built 
of  stone  and  covered  with  turfs,  having  in  them  but  one 


KTMMART.] 


AGRICULTURE 


299 


toom,  many  of  them  no  chimneys,  the  windows  very  small 
holes,  and  not  glazed.  The  ground  in  the  valleys  and 
plains  bears  very  good  corn,  but  especially  bears  barley  or 
bigge,  and  oats,  but  rarely  wheat  and  rye."1 

It  is  probable  that  no  great  change  had  taken  place  in 
Scotland  from  the  end  of  the  15th  century,  except-  that 
tenants  gradually  became  possessed  of  a  little  stock  of 
their  own,  instead  of  having  their  farm  stocked  by  the 
landlord.  "  The  minority  of  James  V.,  the  reign  of  Mary 
Stuart,  the  infancy  of  her  son,  and  the  civil  wars  of  her 
grandson  Charles  I.,  were  all  periods  of  lasting  waste. 
The  very  laws  which  were  made  during  successive  reigns 
for  protecting  thg  tillers  of  the  soil  from  spoil,  are  the 
best  proofs  of  the  deplorable  state  of  the  husbandman."2 

Yet  in  the  17th  century  were  those  laws  made  which 
paved  the  way  for  the  present  improved  system  of  agri- 
culture in  Scotland.  By  statute  1633,  landholders  were 
enabled  to  have  their  tithes  valued,  and  to  buy  them  either 
at  nine  or  sis  years'  purchase,  according  to  the  nature  of 
the  property."  The  statute  1685,  Conferring  on  landlords 
a  power  to  entail  their  estates,  was  indeed  of  a  very  dif- 
ferent tendency  in  regard  to  its  effects  on  agriculture. 
But  the  tw.o  Acts  in  1C95,  for  the  division  of  commons, 
and  separation  of  intermixed  properties,  have  facilitated 
in  an  eminent  degree  the  progress  of  improvement. 

Progress  op  Agriculture  from  1688  to  1760. 

From  the  Revolution  to  the  accession  of  George  ITL  the 
progress  of  agriculture  was  by  no  means  so  considerable  as 
we  should  be  led  to  imagine  from  the  great  exportation  of 
corn.  It  is  the  opinion  of  well-informed  writers,3  that 
very  little  improvement  had  taken  place,  either  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil  or  in  the  management  of  live  stock, 
from  the  Restoration  down  to  the  middle  of  last  century. 
Even  clover  and  turnips,  the  great  support  of  the  present 
improved  system  of  agriculture,  were  confined  to  a  few 
districts,  and  at  the  latter  period  were*  scarcely  cultivated 
at  all  by  common  farmers  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
island.  Of  the  writers  of  this  period,  therefore,  we  shall 
notice  only  such  as  describe  some  improvement  in  the 
modes  of  culture,  or  some  extension  of  the  practices  that 
were  formerly  little  known. 

In  Houghton's  Collections  on,  Husbandry  and  Trade,  a 
periodical  work  begun  in  1681,  we  have  the  first  notice 
of  turnips  being  eaten  by  sheep: — "Some  in  Essex  have 
their  fallow  after  turnips,  which  feed  their  sheep  in  winter, 
by  which  means  the  turnips  are  scooped,  and  so  made 
capable  to  hold  dews  and  rain  water,  which,  by  corrupting, 
imbibes  the  nitre  of  the  air,  and  when  the  shell  breaks  it 
runs  about  and  fertilises.  By  feeding  the  sheep,  the  land 
is  dunged  as  if  it  had  been  folded ;  and  those  turnips, 
though  few  or  none  be  carried  off  for  human  use,  are  a 
very  excellent  improvement,  nay,  some  reckon  it  so  though 
they  only  plough  the  turnips  in  without  feeding."*  This 
was  written  in  February  1694 ;  but  ten  years  before,  Wor- 
lidge,  one  of  his  correspondents,  observes,  "Sheep  fatten 
very  well  on  turnips,  which  prove  an  excellent  nourish- 
ment for  them  in  hard  winters  when  fodder  is  scarce ;  for 
they  will  not  only  eat  the  greens,  but  feed  on  the  roots  in 
the  ground,  and  scoop  them  hollow  even  to  the  very  Bkinr 
Ten  acres  (he  adds)  sown  with  clover,  turnips,  &c,  will 
feed  as  many  sheep  as  one  hundred  acres  thereof  would 
before  have  done."6 


1  Select  Remains  of  John  Ray*     Lond.  1760. 

*  Chalmers's  Caledonia,  vol.  ii.  p.  732. 

*  Annals  of  Agriculture,  No.  270.     Harte's  Essays.     Comber  on 
National  Subsistence,  p.  161. 

4  Houghton's  Collections  on  Husbanary  and  Trad*.  vol  L  p.  213, 
edit.  1728. 

»  'bid.  vol.  iv.  pp.  142-144. 


At  this  time  potatoes  were  beginning  to  attract  notice. 

"The  potato,"  says  Houghton,  "is  a  bocciferous  herb,  with 
esculent  roots,  bearing  winged  leaves  and  a  bell  fiower. 

"This,  I  have  been  informed,  was  brought  first  out  of  Virginia 
by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  ;  and  he  Btopping  at  Ireland,  some  was 
planted  there,  where  it  thrived  very  woU,  and  to  good  purpose ; 
for  hi  their  succeeding  wars,  when  all  the  corn  above  the  ground 
was  destroyed,  this  supported  them ;  for  the  soldiers,  unless  they 
had  dug  up  all  the  ground  whero  they  grew,  and  almost  sifted  it, 
could  not  extirpate  them ;  from  whence  they  were  brought  to 
Lancashire,  where  they  are  very  numerous,  and  now  they  begin  to 
spread  all  the  kingdom  over.  They  are  a  pleasant  food  boiled  or 
roasted,  and  eaten  with  butter  and  sugar.  There  is  a  sort  brought 
from  Spain,  that  are  of  a  longer  form,  and  are  more  luscious  than 
ours ;  they  are  much  set  by,  and  sold  for  sixpence  or  eightpenco 
the  pound."8 

The  next  writer  is  Mortimer,  whose  Whole  Art  of  Hus- 
bandry was  published  in  1706,  and  has  since  run  through 
several  editions.  It  is  a  regular,  systematic  work,  of  con- 
siderable merit;  and  will  even  now  repay  perusal  by  the 
practical  agriculturist.  From  the  third  edition  of  Hartlib'a 
Legacy,  we  learn  that  clover  was  cut  green,  and  given  to 
cattle ;  and  it  appears  that  this  practice  of  soiling,  as  it  is 
now  called,  had  become  very  common  about  the  beginning 
of  last  century,  wherever  clover  was  cultivated.  Rye-grass 
was  now  sown  along  with  it.  Turnips  were  hand-hoed,  and 
extensively  employed  in  feeding  sheep  and  cattle,  in  the  same 
manner  as  at  present. 

The  first  considerable  improvement  in  the  practice  of  that 
period  was  introduced  by  Jethro  Tull,  a  gentleman  of  Berk- 
shire, who  began  to  drill  wheat  and  other  crops  about  the  year 
1701,  and  whose  Horse-hoeing  Husbandry,  published  in 
1731, exhibits  the  first  decided  stepin  advance  upon  the  prin- 
ciples and  practices  of  his  predecessors.  Not  contented  with 
a  careful  attention  to  details,  Tull  set  himself,  with  admirable 
skill  and  perseverance,  to  investigate  the  growth  of  plants, 
and  thus  to  arrive  at  a  knowledge  of  the  principles  by  which 
the  cultivation  of  field-crops  should  be  regulated.  Having 
arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  food  of  plants  consists  of 
minute  particles  of  earth  taken  up  by  their  rootlets,  it  fol- 
lowed, that  the  more  thoroughly  the  soil  in  which  they 
grew  was  disintegrated,  the  more  abundant  would  bo 
the  "  pasture"  (as  he  called  it),  to  which  their  fibres  would 
have  access.  He  was  thus  led  to  adopt  that  system  of 
sowing  his  crops  in  rows  or  drills,  so  wide  apart  as  to 
admit'  of  tillage  of  the  intervals,  both  by  ploughing  and 
hoeing,  being  continued  until  they  had  well-nigh  arrived 
at  maturity. 

As  the  distance  between  his  rows  appeared  much  greater 
than  was  necessary  for  the  range  of  the  roots  of  the  plants, 
he  begins  by  showing  that  these  roots  extend  much  far- 
ther than  is  commonly  believed,  and  then  proceeds  to  inquire 
into  the  nature  of  theirfood.  After  examining  several  hypo- 
theses, he  decides  this  to  be  fine  particles  of  earth.  The 
chief,  and  almost  the  only  use  of  dung,  he  thinks,  is  to 
divide  the  earth,  to  dissolvo  "  this  terrestrial  matter,  which 
affords  nutriment  to  the  mouths  of  vegetable  roots;"  and  this 
can  be  done  more  completely  by  tillage.  It  is  therefore  ne- 
cessary not  only  to  pulverise  the  soil  by  repeated  ploughings 
before  it  be  seeded,  but,  as  it  becomes  gradually  more  and 
more  compressed  afterwards,  recourse  must  be  had  to  tillage 
while  the  plants  are  growing ;  and  this  is  hoeing,  which  also 
destroys  the  weeds  that  would  deprive  the  plants  of  their 
nourishment. 

The  leading  features  of  Tull's  husbandry  are  his  practice 
of  laying  the  land  into  narrow  ridges  of  five  or  six  feet,  and 
upon  the  middle  of  these  drilling  one,  two,  or  three  rows, 
distant  from  one  another  about  seven  inches  when  there 
were  three,  and  ten  when  only  two.     The  distance  of  the 


i     •  Houghton's  Collections  on  Sttsbandry  and  Trade,  vol.  ii.  p.  468. 


300 


AGRICULTURE 


[niSTOEICAV 


plants  on  ono  ridge  from  those  on  the  contiguous  one  he 
called  an  interval ;  the  distance  between  the  rows  on  the 
same  ridge,  a  space  or  partition ;  the  former  was  stirred 
repeatedly  by  the  horse-hoe,  the  latter  by  the  hand-hoe. 

The  extraordinary  attention  this  ingenious  person  gave 
to  his  modo  of  culture  is  perhaps  without  a  parallel : — 

"  I  formerly  was  nt  much  pains,"  ho  says,  "rtnd  at  sonio  charge. 
in  improving  my  drills  for  planting  tho  rows  at  very  near  distances, 
and  had  brought  tlicm  to  such  perfection,  that  ono  horso  would 
draw  a  drill  with  cloven  shares,  making  tho  rows  at  throe  inches 
and  a  half  distance  from  ono  another  ;  and  at  tho  sanio  time  sow  in 
them  tlireo  very  different  sorts  of  seeds,  which  did  not  mix  ;  and 
those,  too,  at  difforcnt  depths.  As  the  barley-rows  were  seven  inches 
asunder,  tho  barley  lay  four  inches  deep.  A  littlo  moro  than  thrco 
inches  abovo  that,  in  the  same  channels,  was  clover  j  betwixt  every 
two  of  tlieso  rows  was  a  row  of  St  Foin,  covered  half  an  inch  deep. 

"  1  had  a  good  crop  of  barloy  the  first  year  ;  tho  noxt  year  two 
crops  of  broad  clover,  where  that  was  sown  ;  and  where  hop-clover 
was  sown,  a  mixed  crop  of  that  and  St  Foin  ;  but  I  am  since,  by 
experience,  80  fully  convinced  of  the  folly  of  these,  or  any  other 
mixed  crops,  and  more  especially  of  narrow  spaces,  that  I  have 
demolished  these  instruments,  in  their  full  perfection,  as  a  vain 
curiosity,  the  drift  and  use  of  them  being  contrary  to  the  true 
principles  and  practice  of  horse-hoeing."1 

In  the  culture  of  wheat,  he  began  with  ridges  six  feet 
broad,  or  eleven  on  a  breadth  of  66  feet ;  but  on  this  he 
afterwards  had  fourteen  ridges.  After  trying  different  num- 
bers of  rows  on  a  ridge,  he  at  last  preferred  two,  with  an 
intervening  Bpace  of  about  10  inches.  He  allowed  only 
three  pecks  of  seed  for  an  acre.  The  first  hoeing  was  per- 
formed by  turning  a  furrow  from  the  row,  as  soon  as  the 
plant  had  put  forth  four  or  five  leaves ;  so  that  it  was 
done  before  or  at  the  beginning  of  winter.  The  next  hoeing 
"wl:  in  spring,  by  which  the  earth  was  returned  to  the 
plants.  The  subsequent  operations  depended  upon  the 
circumstances  and  condition  of  the  land  and  the  state  of 
the  weather.  The  next  year's  crop  of  wheat  was  sown 
upon  the  intervals  which  had  been  unoccupied  the  former 
year ;  but  this  he  does  not  seem  to  think  was  a  matter  of 
much  consequence. 

"My  field,"  he  observes,  "whoreon  is  now  the  thirteenth  crop 
of  wheat,  has  shown  that  the  rows  may  successfully  stand  upon 
any  part  of  the  ground.  The  ridges  of  this  field  were,  for  the 
twelfth  crop,  changed  from  six  feet  to  four  feet  six  inches.  In 
order  for  this  alteration  the  ridges  were  ploughed  down,  and  then 
the  next  ridges  were  laid  out  the  same  way  as  the  former,  but  one 
foot  six  inches  narrower,  and  the  double  rows  drilled  on  their 
tops ;  whereby,  of  consequence,  there  must  be  some  rows  standing 
on  every  part  of  the  ground,  both  on  tho  former  partitions  and  on 
every  part  of  the  intervals.  Notwithstanding  this,  there  was  no 
manner  of  difference  in  the  goodness  of  the  rows  ;  and  tho  whole 
field  was  in  every  part  of  it  equal,  and  the  best,  1  believe,  that 
ever  grow  on  it.  It  is  now  the  thirteenth  crop,  likely  to  be  good, 
though  the  land  was  not  ploughed  crossways.'  a 

It  follows,  from  this  singular  management,  that  Tull 
thought  a  succession  of  crops  of  different  species  altogether 
■unnecessary;  and  he  labours  hard  to  prove  against  Dr 
Woodward,  that  the  advantages  of  such  a  change  under  his 
plan  of  tillage  were  quite  chimerical,  though  he  seems  to 
admit  the  benefit  of  a  change  of  the  seed  itself. 

In  cultivating  turnips  he  made  the  ridges  of  the  same 
breadth  as  for  wheat,  but  only  one  row  was  drilled  on  each. 
His  management,  while  the  crop  was  growing,  differs  very 
little  from  the  present  practice.  When  drilled  on  the  level,  it 
is  impossible,  he  observes,  to  hoe-plough  them  so  well  as  when 
they  are  planted  upon  ridges.  But  the  seed  was  deposited 
at  different  depths,  the  half  about  four  inches  deep,  and 
the  other  half  exactly  over  that,  at  the  depth  of  half  an  inch. 

"Thus  planted,  let  the  weather  he  never  so  dry,  tho  deepest 
seed  will  come  up,  but  if  it  raineth  immediately  after  planting, 
the  shallow  will  come  up  first  We  also  make  it  come  up  at  four 
times,  by  mixing  our  seed  half  new  and  half  old,  the  new  coming 
up  a  day  quicker  than  the  old.     These  four  comings  up  give  it  so 

1  Jtorse-hoeing  Husbandry,  p.  62.    Lond.  1762.  '  *  Hid.  p.  424 


many  chances  for  escaping  the  fly  ;  it  being  often  seen  that  the  scod 
sown  over  night  will  bo  destroyed  by  tho  Ily,  when  that  sown  tho 
next  morning  will  escape,  and  vice  versa:  or  you  may  hoo-plough 
them  when  the  Ily  is  like  to  devour  them  ;  this  will  bury,  the  groatost 
part  of  theso  enemies  :  or  elso  you  may  drill  in  another  row  without 
new-ploughing  the  land." 

Drilling  and  horse  and  hand  hoeing  seem  to  have  been  in 
use  before  the  publication  of  Tull's  book.  "Hoeing,"  he  says, 
"  may  be  divided  into  deep,  which  is  our  horse-hoeing  ;  and 
shallow,  which  is  the  English  hand-hoeing ;  and  also  tho 
shallow  horse-hoeing  used  in  seme  places  betwixt  rows, 
where  the  intervals  are  very  narrow,  as  16  or  18  inches. 
This  is  but  an  imitation  of  the  hand-hoe,  or  a  succedaneum 
to  it,  and  can  neither  supply  the  use  of  dung  nor  fallow, 
and  may  be  properly  called  scratch-hoeing."  But  in  his 
mode  of  forming  ridges  his  practice  seems  to  have  been 
original ;  his  implements  display  much  ingenuity ;  and  his 
claim  to  the  title  of  father  of  the  present  horse-hoeing 
husbandry  of  Great  Britain  seems  indisputable.  A  trans- 
lation of  Tull's  book  was  undertaken  at  one  and  the  same 
time  in  France,  by  three  different  persons  of  consideration, 
without  the  privity  of  each  other.  Two  of  them  afterwards 
put  their  papers  into  the  hands  of  the  third,  M.  du  Hamel 
du  Monceau,  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Paris, 
who  published  a  treatise  on  husbandry,  on  the  principles 
of  Mr  Tull,  a  few  years  after.  But  Tull  seems  to  have  had 
very  few  followers  in  England  for  more  than  thirty  years. 
The  present  method  of  drilling  and  horse-hocing  turnips 
was  not  introduced  into  Northumberland  till  about  the 
year  1780  ;3  and  it  was  then  borrowed  from  Scotland,  the 
farmers  of  which  had  the  merit  of  first  adopting  Tull's 
management  in  the  culture  of  this  root  about  1760.  From 
Scotland  it  made  its  way,  but  slowly,  into  the  southern 
parts  of  the  island. 

Tull's  doctrines  and  practices  being  quite  in  advance  of 
his  own  times,  were,  as  is  usual  in  such  cases,  vehemently 
opposed  by  his  contemporaries.  He  was,  in  consequence, 
involved  in  frcquerft  controversy,  in  conducting  which  he 
occasionally  showed  an  asperity  of  temper  which  excites 
our  regret,  but  which  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  when  we 
consider  the  trials  of  patience  which  he  encountered  from 
the  unreasonable  opposition  of  the  agricultural  community 
to  his  improvements ;  the  thwarting  of  his  experiments  by 
his  own  labourers,  who,  in  their  ignorant  zeal  against  inno- 
vations, wilfully  broke  his  machines,  and  disregarded  his 
orders;  and  from  acute  and  protracted  bodily  disease. 
The  soundness  of  his  views  and  practice,  as  regards  turnip 
culture,  came  by-and-by  to  be  acknowledged,  and  have 
since  ^een  generally  adopted.  But  it  was  only  some 
twenty-five  years  ago  that  his  full  merit  began  to  be  under 
stood.  The  Rev.  Mr  Smith,  in  his  Word  in  Season,  about 
t'nat  time  recalled  attention  to  Tull's  peculiar  system  of 
■wheat  culture  in  a  way  that  startled  the  whole  community ; 
while  Professor  Way,  in  a  series  of  eloquent  lectures 
delivered  before  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society,  showed 
that  his  science  was  true  in  the  main,  and  even  more  strik- 
ingly ahead  of  his  times  than  his  practice. 

Among  tho  English  writers  of  this  period  may  be  men- 
tioned Bradley,  Lawrence,  Hales,  Miller,  Ellis,  Smith, 
Hill,  Hitt,  Lisle,  and  no'me.  Most  of  their  works  went 
through  several  editions  in  a  few  years, — at  once  a  proof 
of  the  estimation  in  -which  they  were  held,  and  of  the 
direction  of  the  public  mind  towards  investigating  tho 
principles  and  practice  of  agriculture. 

Of  the  progress  of  the  art  in  Scotland,  till  towards  the 
end  of  the  17th  century,  we  are  almost  entirely  ignorant. 
The  first  work,  written  by  Donaldson,  was  printed  in  1697, 
under  the  title  of  Husbandry  Anatomized;  or,  an  Inquiry 
into  tks  Present  Manner  of  Telling  and   Manuring  the 

*  iforOiumbcrland  Survey,  p.  100. 


SUMMARY.] 


AGRICULTURE 


301 


Ground  in  Scotland.  It  appears  from  this  treatise,  that 
the  state  of  the  art  was  not  more  advanced  at  that  time  in 
.North  Britain  than  it  had  been  in  England  in  the  time  of 
Fitzherbert.  Farms  were  divided  into  infield  and  outfield ; 
corn  crops  followed  one  another  without  the  intervention 
of  fallow,  cultivated  herbage,  or  turnips,  though  something 
is  said  about  fallowing  the  outfield;  inclosures  "were  very- 
rare  ;  the  tenantry  had  not  begun  to  emerge  from  a  state 
of  great  poverty  and  depression ;  and  the  wages  of  labour, 
compared  with  the  price  of  corn,  were  much  lower  than  at 
present ;  though  that  price  at  least  in  ordinary  years,  must 
appear  extremely  moderate  in  cur  times.  Leases  for  a  term 
of  years,  however,  were  not  uncommon;  but  the  want  of 
capital  rendered  it  impossible  for  the  tenantry  to  attempt 
any  spirited  improvements. 
,  Donaldson  first  points  out  the  common  management  of 
that  period,  which  he  shows  to  have  been  very  unproduc- 
tive, and  afterwards  recommends  what  he  thinks  would 
be  a  more  profitable  course. 

"Of  the  dale  ground,"  he  says,  "that  is,  such  lands  as  are  partly 
hills  and  partly  valleys,  of  which  sorts  may  be  comprehended  the 
greatest  part  of  arable  ground  in  this  kingdom,  I  shall  suppose  a 
Farmer  to  have  a  lease  or  tack  of  three  score  acres,  at  three  hundred 
merks  of  rent  per  annum  <£\§,  13s.  4d.  sterling).  Perhaps  some 
who  are  not  acquainted  with  rural  affairs  may  think  this  cheap ; 
but  those  who  are  the  possessors  thereof  think  otherwise,  and  find 
difficulty  enough  to  get  the  same  paid,  according  to  their  present 
way  of  manuring  thereof.  But  that  I  may  proceed  to  the  comparison, 
I  shall  show  how  commonly  this  farm-room  is  managed.  It  is  com- 
monly divided  into  two  parts,  viz.,  one-third  croft,  and  two-thirds 
outfield,  as  it  is  termed.  The  croft  is  usually  divided  into  three 
farts :  to  wit,  one-third  barley,  which  is  always  dunged  that  year 
barley  is  sown  thereon ,  another  third  oats ,  and  the  last  third 
peas.  The  outside  field  is  divided  into  two  parts,  to  wit,  the  one 
half  oats,  and  the  other  half  grass,  two  years  successively.  The 
product  which  may  be  supposed  to  be  on  each  acre  of  croft,  four 
bolls  (three  Winchester  quarters  ,  and  that  of  the  cutfield,  three  (2\ 
quarters);  the  quota  is  seven  score  bolls,  which  we  shall  also 
reckon  at  five  pounds  (8s.  4d.)  per  boll,  cheap  year  and  dear  year 
one  with  another.  This,  in  all,  is  worth  £700  (£58,  6s.  8d. 
Sterling). 

"Then  let  us  see  what  profit  he  can  make  of  his  cattle.  Accord- 
ing to  the  division  of  his  lands  there  is  20  acres  of  grass,  which 
cannot  be  expected  to  be  very  good,  because  it  gets  not  leave  to 
lie  above  two  years,  and  therefore  cannot  be  well  swarded.  How- 
ever, usually,  besides  four  horses,  which  are  kept  for  ploughing 
the  said  land,  ten  or  twelve  nolt  are  also  kept  upon  a  farm-room 
of  the  above-mentioned  bounds ,  but,  in  respect  of  the  badness  of 
the  grass,  as  said  is,  little  profit  is  had  of  them.  Perhaps  two  or 
three  stone  of  butter  is  the  most  that  can  be  made  of  the  milk  of 
his  kine  the  whole  summer,  and  not  above  two  heffers  brought  up 
each  year.  As  to  what  profit  may  be  made  by  bringing  up  young 
horses,  I  shall  say  nothing,  supposing  he  keeps  his  stock  good,  by 
those  of  his  own  upbringing.  The  whole  product,  then,  of  his 
cattle  cannot  be  reckoned  above  fifty  merks  (£2,  15s.  6d.)  For,  in 
respect  his  beasts  are  in  a  manner  half-starved,  they  are  generally 
small ;  so  that  scarce  may  a  hetfer  be  sold  at  above  twelve  pounds 
(£1  sterling^.  The  whole  product  of  his  farm-room,  therefore, 
exceeds  not  the  value  of  £733  (£01,  Is.  8d.  sterling),  or  thereabout." 

'The  labourers  employed  on  this  farm  were  two  men  and 
one  woman,  besides  a  herd  in  summer,  and  other  servants 
in  harvest. 

Donaldson  then  proceeds  to  point  out  a  different  mode 
of  management,  which  he  calculates  to  be  more  profit- 
able ;  but  no  notice  is  taken  of  either  clover  or  turnips 
as  crops  to  be  raised  in  his  new  course,  though  the^y  are 
incidentally  noticed  in  other  parts  of  the  work, 

"I  also  recommend  potatoes  as  a  very  profitable  root  for  husband- 
men and  others  that  have  numerous  families.  And  because  there 
is  a  peculiar  way  of  planting  this  root,  not  commonly-known  in  this 
country,  I  shall  here  show  what  way  it  is  ordinary  planted  or  set. 
The  ground  must  be  dry ;  and  so  much  the  better  it  is  if  it  have  a 
good  soard  of  grass.  The  beds  or  riggs  are  made  about  eight  foot 
broad,  good  store'  of  dung  being  laid  upon  your  ground ;  horse  or 
sheep  dung  is  the  proper  manure  for  them.  Throw  each  potatoe  or 
sett  ^for  they  were  sometimes  cut  into  setts)  into  a  knot  of  dang, 
and  afterwards  dig  earth  out  of  the  furrows,  and  cover  them  all 
over,  about  some  three  or  four  inches  deep ;  the  furrows  left  between 
your  riggs  must  be  about  two  foot  broad,  and  little  less  will  they 


be  in  depth  before  your  potatoes  be  covered,  you  need  not  plant 
this  root  in  your  garden ;  they  are  commonly  set  in  the  fields,  and 
wildest  of  ground,  for  enriching  of  it."  As  to  their  consumption, 
they  were  sometimes  "boiled  and  broken,  and  stirred  with  butter 
and  new  milk ;  also  roasted,  and  eaten  with  butter ;  yea,  some  make 
bread  of  them,  by  mixing  them  with  oat  or  barley  meal ;  others 
parboil  them  and  bake  with  them  apples,  after  the  manner  of 
tarts." 

There  is  a  good  deal  in  this  little  treatise  aoout  sheep, 
and  other  branches  of  husbandry ;  and,  if  the  writer  was 
well,  informed,  as  in  most  instances  he  appears  to  have 
been,  his  account  of  prices,  of  wages,  and  generally  of  the 
practices  of  that  period,  is  very  interesting. 

The  next  work  on  the  husbandry  of  Scotland  is,  The 
Countryman's  Rudiments,  or  an  •  advice  to  the  Farmers 
in  East  Lothian,  how  to  labour  and  ,improve  their  grounds, 
said  to  have  been  written  by  Lord "  Belhaven  about  the 
time  of  the  Union,  and  reprinted  in  1723.  In  this  we 
have  a  deplorable  picture  of  the  state  of  agriculture  in 
what  is  now  the  most  highly  improved  county  in  Scot- 
land. His  lordship  begins  with  a  very  high  encomium 
on  hi3  own  performance.  "  I  dare  be  bold  to  say, 
there  was  never  such  a  good  easy  method  of  husbandry 
a3  this,  so  succinct,  extensive,  and  methodical  in  all  its 
parts,  published  before."  And  he  bespeaks  the  favour 
of  those  to  whom  he  addresses  himself,  by  adding,  "neither 
shall  I  affright  you  with  hedging,  ditching,  marling, 
chalking,  paring,  and  burning,  draining,  watering,  and 
such  like,  which  are  all  very  good  improvements  indeed, 
and  very  agreeable  with  the  soil  and  situation  cf  East 
Lothian ;  but  I  know  ye  cannot  bear  as  yet  a  crowd  of 
improvements,  this  being  only  intended  to  initiate  you  in 
the  true  method  and  principles  of  husbandry."  The  farm- 
rooms  in  East  Lothian,  as  in  other  districts,  were  divided 
into  infield  and  outfield. 

"The  infield  (where  wheat  is  sown)  is  generally  divided  by  the 
tenant  into  four  divisions  or  breaks,  as  they  call  them,  viz,  one 
of  wheat,  one  of  barley,  one  of  pease,  and  one  of  oats,  so  that  the 
wheat  is  sowd  after  the  pease,  the  barley  after  the  wheat,  and  the 
oats  after  the  barley.  The  outfield  land  is  ordinarily  made  use  ot 
promiscuously  for  feeding  of  their  cows,  horse,  sheep,  and  oxen; 
tis  also  dunged  by  their  sheep  who  lay  in  earthen  folds  ;  and  some- 
times, when  they  have  much  of  it,  they  fauch  or  fallow  a  part  of  it 
yearly." 

Under  this  management  the  produce  seems  to  have  been 
three  times  the  seed ;  and  yet,  says  hi3  lordship,  "  if  in 
East  Lothian  they  did  not  leave  a  higher  stubble  than  in 
other  places  of  the  kingdom,  their  grounds  would  be  in  a 
much  worse  condition  than  at  present  they  are,  though  bad 
enough." — "  A  good  crop  of  corn  makes  a  good  stubble, 
and  a  good  stubble  is  the  equalest  mucking  that  is." 
Among  the  advantages  of  inclosures,  he  observes,  "you 
will  gain  much  more  labour  from  your  servants,  a  great 
part  of  whose  time  was  taken  up  in  gathering  thistles  and 
other  garbage  for  their  horses  to  feed  upon  in  their  stables 
and  thereby  the  great  trampling  and  pulling  up,  and  othe  t 
destruction  of  the  corns,  while  they  are  yet  tender,  will  hi 
prevented."  Potatoes  and  turnips  are  recommended  to  be 
sown  in  the  yard  (kitchen-garden).  Clover  does  not  seem 
to  have  been  in  use.  Rents  were  paid  in  corn ;  and,  for 
the  largest  farm,  which  he  thinks  should  employ  no  mors 
than  two  ploughs;  the  rent  was  about  six  chalders  of  victual 
"  when  the  ground  is  very  good,  and  four  in  that  which  is 
not  so  good.  But  I  am  most  fully  convinced  they  should 
take  long  leases  or  tacks,  that  they  may  not  be  straitened 
with  time  in  the  improvement  of  their  rooms  ;  and  thia  is 
profitable  both  for  master  and  tenant." 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  husbandry  of  Scotland  in  the 
early  part  of  last  century.  The  first  attempts  at  improvement 
cannot  be  traced  farther  back  than  1723,  when  a  number  of 
land-holders  formed  themselves  into  a  society,  under  the  title 
of  the  Society  of  Improvers  in  the  Knowledge  of  Agriculture 


302 


AGRICULTURE 


I'RfcCETC 


in  Scotland.  The  Earl  of  Stair,  one  of  their  most  active 
members,  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  who  cultivated 
turnips  in  that  country.  The  Select  Transactions  of  this 
society  were  collected  and  published  in  1743  by  Mr  Maxwell, 
■who  took  a  larg6  part  in  its  proceedings.  It  is  evident 
from  this  book  that  the  society  had  exerted  itself  in  a  very 
laudable  manner,  and  apparently  with  considerable  success, 
in  introducing  cultivated  herbage  and  turnips,  as  well  as 
in  improving  the  former  methods  of  culture.  But  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  the  influence  of  the  example  of  its 
numerous  members  did  not  extend  to  the  common  tenantry, 
who  are  always  unwilling  to  adopt  the  practices  of  those 
who  are  p iaced  in  a  higher  rank,  and  supposed  to  cultivate 
land  for  pleasure  rather  than  profit.  Though  this  society, 
the  earliest  probably  in  the  United  Kingdom,  soon  counted 
upwards  of  300  members,  it  existed  little  more  than  20 
years.  Maxwell  delivered  lectures  on  agriculture  for  one 
or  two  sessions  at  Edinburgh,  which,  from  the  specimen 
he  has  left,  ought  to  have  been  encouraged. 

In  the  introductory  paper  in  Maxwell's  collection,  we 
are  told,  that — 

"  The  practice  of  draining,  inclosing,  summer  fallowing,  sowing 
flax,  beuip,  rape,  turnip  ana  grass  seeds,  planting  cabbages  after, 
and  potatoes  with,  tho  plough,  in  fields  of  great  extent,  is  introduced ; 
and  that,  according  to  the  general  opinion,  more  corn  grows  now 
yearly  where  it  was  never  known  to  grow  before,  these  twenty  years 
last  past,  than  perhaps  a  sixth  of  all  that  the  kingdom  was  in  use 
to  produce  at  any  time  bofore. " 

In  this  work  wo  find  the  first  notice  of  a  threshing- 
machine  :  it  was  invented  by  Mr  Michael  Menzies,  advo- 
cate, who  obtained  a  patent  for  it.  Upon  a  representatior. 
made  to  the  society  that  it  was  to  be  seen  working  in 
Eeveral  places,  they  appointed  two  of  their  number  to  in-, 
spect  it ;  and  in  their  report  they  say,  that  one  man  would 
be  sufficient  to  manage  a  machine  which  would  do  the  work 
of  six.  One  of  the  machines  was  "moved  by  a  great 
water-wheel  and  triddles,"  and  another  "  by  a  little  wheel 
of  three  feet  diameter,  moved  by  a  small  quantity  of  water." 
This  machine  the  society  recommended  to  all  gentlemen 
and  farmers. 

The  next  work  is  by  the  same  Mr  Maxwell,  printed  in 
1757,  and  entitled  the  Practical  Husbandman;  being  a 
collection  of  miscellaneous  papers  on  Husbandry,  <fcc  ■  In 
this  book  the  greater  part  of  the  Select  Transactions  is  re- 
published, with  a  number  of  new  papers,  among  which,  an 
Essay  on  the  Husbandry  of  Scotland,  with  a  proposal  for 
the  improvement  of  it,  is  the  most  valuable.  In  this  he 
lays  it  down  as  a  rule,  that  it  is  bad  husbandry  to  take 
two  crops  of  grain  successively,  which  marks  a  consider- 
able progress  in  the  knowledge  of  modern  husbandry; 
though  he  adds,  that  in  Scotland  tho  best  husbandmen 
after  a  fallow  {ake  a  crop  of  wheat ;  after  the  wheat,  peas'; 
then  barley,  and  then  oats;  and  after  that  they  fallow 
again.  The  want  of  inclosure3  was  still  a  matter  of 
complaint.  The  ground  continued  to  be  cropped  so 
long  as  it  produced  two  seeds ;  the  best  farmers  were 
contented  with  four  seeds,  which, was  more  than  the 
general  produce. 

The  first  Act  of  Parliament  for  collecting  tolls  on  the 
highway  in  Scotland  was  /passed  in  1750,  for  repairing 
the  road  from  Dunglass  bridge  to  Haddington.  In  ten 
years  after,  several  Acts  followed  for  the  counties  of  Edin- 
burgh and  Lanark,  and  for  making  the  roads  between 
Edinburgh  and  Glasgow.  The  benefit  which  agriculture 
has  derived  from  good  roads  it  would  not  be  easy  to  esti- 
mate. The  want  of  them  was  one  great  cause  of  the  slow 
progress  of  the  art  in  former  times. 

The  Revolution  in  1688  was  the  epoch  of  that  system  of 
corn  laws  to  which  very  great  influence  has  been  ascribed, 
both  on  the  practice  of  agriculture  and  the  general  pro- 


sperity of  the  country.  But  for  an  account  of  these  and 
later  statutes  on  the  subject,  we  must  refer  to  the  article 
Corn  Laws. 
.  The  exportation  of  wool  was  prohibited  in  1647,  in 
1660,  and  in  1688;  and  the  prohibition  strictly  enforced 
by  subsequent  statutes.  The  effect  of  this  on  its  price, 
and  the  state  of  the  wool  trade,  from  the  earliest  period 
to  the  middle  of  last  century,  are  distinctly  exhibited  by 
the  learned  and  laborious  author  of  Memoirs  on  Wool, 
printed  in  1747. 

CHAPTER  IL 

RECENT  BRITISH  AGRICULTURE. 

Section  1. — Progress  during  the  Eighteenth  Century. 

Before  entering  upon  a  description  of  the  agriculture  of 
Great  Britain  at  the  present  day,  it  may  help  to  set  matters 
in  a  clearer  light  if  we  take  just  so  much  of  a  retrospect 
as  will  serve  as  a  back-ground  to  our  picture. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  18th  century  the  agriculture 
of  our  country  was  still  of  the  rudest  kind.  With  tho 
exception  of  certain  parts  of  England,  the  land  was  still 
for  the  most  part  unenclosed,  the  live  stock  of  each 
township  grazing  together,  and  the  arable  land  being 
occupied  in  common  field  or  run-rig.  The  practice  of 
fallowing  annually  a  portion  of  the  arable  land,  and  of 
interposing  a  crop  of  peas  betwixt  the  cereal  crops,  was 
becoming  a  common  practice,  and  was  a  great  improvement 
upon  the  previous  and  yet  common  usage  of  growing 
successive  corps  of  white-corn  until  the  land  was  utterly 
exhausted,  when  it  was  left  to  recruit  itself  by  resting  in  a 
state  of  nature,  while  other  portions  were  undergoing  the 
so  me  process.  Clover  and  turnips  had  been  introduced 
before  this  date,  and  were  coming  gradually  into  cultivation 
as  field  crops  in  the  more  advanced  parts  of  England. 
Potatoes  were  commonly  grown  in  gardens,  but  had  not 
yet  found  their  way  to  the  fields. 

The  gradual  advance  in  the  price  of  farm  produce  soon 
after  the  year  1760,  occasioned  by  the  increase  of  population 
and  of  wealth  derived  from  manufactures  and  commerce, 
gave  a  powerful  stimulus  to  rural  industry,  augmented 
agricultural  capital,  and  called  forth  a  more-  skilful  and 
enterprising  race  of  farmers.  The  arable  lands  of  the 
country,  which,  under  the  operation  of  the  feudal  system, 
had  been  split  up  into  minute  portions,  cultivated  by  the 
tenants  and  their  families  without  hired  labour,  began  now 
to  be  consolidated  into  larger  holdings,  and  let  to  those 
tenants  who  possessed  most  energy  and  substance.  This 
enlargement  of  farms,  and  in  Scotland  the  letting  of  them 
under  leases  for  a  considerable  term  of  years,  continued  to 
be  a  marked  feature  in  the  agricultural  progress  cf  the 
country  until  the  end  of  the  century,  and  is  to  be  regarded 
both  as  a  cause  and  a  consequence  of  that  progress.  The 
passing  of  more  than  3000  inclosure  bills  during  the  reign 
of  Geo.  HL,  before  which  the  whole  number  was  but  244, 
shows  how  rapidly  the  cultivation  of  new  land  now 
proceeded.  The  disastrous  American  war  for  a  time 
interfered  with  the  national  prosperity;  but  with  the  rerun) 
of  peace  in  1783,  the  cultivation  of  the  country  made  more 
rapid  progress.  The  quarter  of  a  century  immediately 
following  1760,  is  memorable  in  our  agricultural  annals  for 
the  introduction  of  various  important  improvements.  It 
wa3  during  this  period  that  the  genius  of  Bakewell  produced 
such  an  extraordinary  change  in  the  character  of  our  more 
important  breeds  of  live  stock;  but  especially  by  the 
perfecting  of  a  new  race  of  sheep— the  well-known  Leicestere 
— which  have  ever  since  proved  such  a  boon  to  the  country, 
and  have  added  so  much  to  its  wealth.  BakewelJ'e  fan>e 
as  a  breeder  was  for  a  tune  enhanced  by  the  improvement 
which   he   effected   on  the  lon.o:-horne<i  cattle,   then    tha 


■PROGRESS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


303 


prevailing  breed  of  the  midland  counties  of  England. 
These,  however,  were  ere  l°ng  rivalled,  and  have  now  been 
entirely  superseded  by  the  shorthorn  or  Durham  breed, 
which  the  brothers  Colling  obtained  from  the  useful  race 
of  cattle  that  had  long  existed  in  the  valley  of  the  Tees,  by 
applying  to  them  the  principle  of  breeding  which  Bakewell 
had  already  established.  A  more  rational  system  of 
cropping  now  began  very  generally  to  supersede  the  thriftless 
and  barbarous  practice  just  referred  to  of  sowing  successive 
crops  of  corn  until  the  land  was  utterly  exhausted,  and 
then  leaving  it  foul  with  weeds,  to  recover  its  power  by 
an  indefinite  period  of  rest.  Green  crops,  such  as  turnips, 
clover,  and  ryegrass,  began  to  be  alternated  with  grain 
crops,  and  hence  the  name  alternate  husbandry,  by  which 
this  improved  system  is  generally  known.  The  land  was 
now  also  generally  rendered  clean  and  mellow  by  a  summer 
fallow  before  being  sown  with  clover  or  grasses. 

Hitherto  the  husbandry  of  England  had  been  very 
superior  in  every  respect  to  that  of  Scotland.  Improvements 
now,  however,  made  rapid  progress  in  the  latter.  Mr 
Dawson,  at  Frogden,  in  Roxburghshire,  is  believed  to  have 
been  the  first  who  grew  turnips  as  a  field  crop  to  ary 
extent.  This  enterprising  farmer  having  heard  of  the 
success  with  which^this  crop  was  cultivated  in  certain  parts 
of  England,  took  the  precaution  of  seeing  for  himself  the 
most  approved  mode  of  doing  so  before  attempting  to 
introduce  it  on  his  own  farm.  He  accordingly  went  to 
Leicestershire,  and  presenting  himself  to  the  celebrated 
Bakewell  in  the  garb  of  a  Scotch  ploughman,  hired  himself 
to  him  for  six  months  in  that  capacity.  Having  in  this 
thoroughly  practical  way  acquired  the  knowledge  he  was 
in  quest  of,  he '  told  his  employer  (who  would  fain  have 
retained  him  longer)  that  it  was  full  time  for  him  to  be 
home  to  his  own  large  farm.  The  season  was  too  advanced 
to  admit  of  his  doing  more  that  year  than  sow  a  few 
experimental  drills,  but  the  very  jiext  year  he  is  said  to 
have  sown  70  acres.  We  have  been  unable  to  ascertain 
Jie  exact  date  of  thi3  occurrence,  but  it  is  on  record  that 
as  early  as  1764  Mr  Dawson  had  100  acres  of  drilled 
turnips  on  his  farm  in  one  year. 

A  few  years  after  this  the  Messrs  Culley — one  of  them 
also  a  pupil  of  Bakewell — left  their  paternal  property  on 
the  banks  of  the 'Tees,  and  settled  on  the  Northumbrian 
side  of  .the  Tweed,  bringing  with  them  the  valuable  breeds 
of  live  stock  and  improved  husbandry  of  their  native 
district  The  improvements  introduced  by  these  energetic 
and  skilful  farmers  spread  rapidly,  and  exerted  a  most 
beneficial  influence  upon  the  border  counties.  An  Act 
passed  in  1770,  which  relaxed  the  rigour  of  strict  entails, 
and  afforded  power  to  landlords  to  grant  leases  and  other- 
wise improve  their  estates,  had  a  beneficial  effect  on  Scottish 
agriculture.  From  1784  to  1795  improvements  advanced 
with  steady  steps.  This  period  was  distinguished  for  the 
general  adoption  andindustrious  working  out  of  ascertained 
improvements.  Small's  swing  plough,  and  Meikle's  thrash- 
ing-machine, although  invented  some  years  before  this, 
were  now  perfected  and  brought  into  general  use,  to  the 
great  furtherance  of  agriculture.  Two  important  additions 
were  about  this  time  made  to  the  field  crops,  viz.,  the 
Swedish  turnip  and  potato  oat.  The  latter  was  accidentally 
discovered  in  1788,  and  both  soon  came  into  general 
cultivation.  In  the  saae  year  Merino  sheep  were  intro- 
duced by  his  Majesty,  George  IIL,  who  was  a  zealous 
farmer.  For  a  time  this  breed  attracted  much  attention, 
and  sanguine  expectations  were  entertained  that  it  would 
prove  of  national  importance.  Its  unfitness  for  the  pro- 
duction of  mutton,  and  increasing  supplies  of  fine  clothing 
wool  from  other  countries,  goon  led  to  its  total  rejection. 

In  Scotland,  the  opening  up  of  the  country  by  the 
construction  of  practicable  roads,  and  the  enclosing  and 


subdividing  of  farms  by  hedge  and  ditch,  was  now  in  active 
progress.  The  former  admitted  of  the  general  use  of 
wheel-carriages,  of  the  ready  conveyance  of  produce  to 
markets,  and  in  particular,  of  the  extended  use  of  lime, 
the  application  of  which  was  immediately  followed  by  a 
great  increase  of  produce,  fhe  latter,  besides  its  more 
obvious  advantages,  speedily  freed  large  tracts  of  country 
from  stagnant  water,  and  their  inhabitants  from  ague, 
and  prepared  the  way  for  the  under-ground  draining  which 
soon  after  began  to  be  Dractisei 

Section  2. — Remarkable  progress  from  1795  to  1815. 

The  agriculture  of  the  country  was  thus  steadily  improv- 
ing, when  suddenly  the  whole  of  Europe  became  involved 
in  the  wars  of  the  French  Revolution.  In  1795,  under 
the  joint  operation  of  a  deficient  harvest,  and  the  cutting 
off  of  foreign  supplies  of  grain  by  the  policy  of  Napoleon, 
the  price  of  wheat,  which,  for  the  twenty  preceding  years, 
had  been  under  50s.  a  quarter,  suddenly  rose  to  81s.  6d, 
and  in  the  following  year  reached  to  96s.  In  1797  the 
fear  of  foreign  invasion  led  to  a  panic  and  run  upon  the 
banks,  in  which  emergency  the  Bank  Restriction  Act, 
suspending  cash  payment,  was  passed,  and  ushered  in  a 
system  of  unlimited  credit  transactions.  Under  the  un 
natural  stimulus  of  these  extraordinary  events,  every 
branch  of  industry  extended  with  unexampled  rapidity. 
But  in  nothing  was  this  so  apparent  as  in  agriculture ;  the 
high  prices  of  produce  holding  out  a  great  inducement  to 
improve  lands  then  arable,  to  reclaim  others  that  had 
previously  lain  waste,  and  to  bring  much  pasture-land 
under  the  plough.  Nor  did  this  increased  tillage  interfere 
with  the  increase  of  live  stock,  as  the  green  crops  of  the 
alternate  husbandry  more  than  compensated  for  the  dimi- 
nished pasturage.  This  extraordinary '  state  of  matters 
lasted  from  1795  to  1814;  the  prices  of  produce  even 
increasing  towards  the  close  of  that  period.  The  average 
price  of  wheat  for  the  whole  period  was  89s.  7d  per 
quarter;  but  for  the  last  five  years  it  was  107s.,  and  in 
1812  it  reached  to  1263.  6d  The  agriculture  of  Great 
Britain,  as  a  whole,  advanced  with  rapid  strides  during 
this  period ;  but  nowhere  was  the  change  so  great  as  in 
Scotland  Indeed,  its  progress  there,  during  these  twenty 
years,  is  probably  without  parallel  in  the  history  of  any 
other  country.  This  is  accounted  for  by  a  concurrence  of 
circumstances.  Previous  to  this  period,  the  husbandry  of 
Scotland  was  still  in  a  backward  state  as  compared  with 
the  best  districts  of  England,  where  many  practices,,  only 
of  recent  introduction  in  the  north,  had  been  in  general  use 
for  generations.  This  disparity  made  the  subsequent 
contrast  the  more  striking.  The  land  in  Scotland  was 
now,  with  trifling  exceptions,  let  on  leases  for  terms  varying 
from  twenty  to  thirty  years,  and  in  farms  of  sufficient  size 
to  employ  at  the  least  two  or  three  ploughs.  The  unlimited 
issues  of  Government  paper,  and  the  security  afforded  by 
these  leases,  induced  the  Scotch  banks  to  afford  every 
facility  to  landlords  and  tenants  to  embark  capital  in  tin 
improvement  of  the  land  The  substantial  education 
supplied  by  the  parish  schools,  of  which  nearly  the  whol  I 
population  could  then  avail  themselves,  had  diffused  through 
all  ranks  such  a  measure  of  intelligence  as  enabled  them 
promptly  to  discern,  and  skilfully  and  energetically  to  take 
advantage  of  this  spring-tide  of  prosperity,  and  to  profit 
by  the  agricultural  information  now  plentifully  furnished 
by  means  of  the  Bath  and  West  of  England  Society, 
established  in  1777,  the  Highland  Society,  instituted  in 
1784,  and  the  National  Board  of  Agriculture,  in  1793 — 
of  whicJi,  however^  more  anon.  As  one  proof  of  the 
astonishing  progress  of  Scottish  husbandry  during  this 
period,  we  may  mention  that  the  rental  of  land,  which  in 
1795   amounted   to   £2.000.000.    had  in   1815   risen   to 


304 


AGRICULTURE 


[recent 


£5,278,685,  or  considerably  more  tb.au  double  in  twenty 
years. 

But  of  the  causes  which  nave  influenced  the  agriculture 
of  the  period  under  review,  none  have  been  so  powerful  as 
the  extraordiiniry  increase  of  our  population,  which,  in 
round  numbers,  has  twice  doubled  during  the  past  seventy 
years.  Not  only  are  there  four  times  as  many  people 
requiring  to  be  fed  and  clad  now  as  there  were  then,  but 
from  the  increased  wealth  aud  altered  habits  of  the  people, 
the  individual  rate  of  consumption  is  greater  now  than 
formerly.  This  is  particularlyapparcnt  in  the  caseof  butcher- 
meat,  the  consumption  of  which  has  increased  out  of  all 
proportion  to  that  of  bread-corn.  To  meet  this  demand, 
there  behoved  to  be  more  green  crops  and  more  live  stock  ; 
and  from  that  has  resulted  more  wool,  more  manure,  aud 
more  corn.  While  this  ever-growing  demand  for  farm- 
produce  has  stimulated  agricultural  improvement,  it  has 
also  operated  in  another  way.  The  productiveness  of  the 
soil  has  been  greatly  increased,  and  will  no  doubt  be- still 
more  so  in  future ;  but  the  area  of  the  country  cannot  be 
increased.  Land — the  raw  material  from  which  food  is 
produced — being  thus  limited  in  amount  and  in  increasing 
demand,  has  necessarily  risen  in  price.  So  much  is  this 
the  case,  that  whereas  the  average  price  of  wheat  for  the 
five  years  preceding  1872  was  £2,  15s.  per  quarter,  or 
£2,  7s.  Gd.  less  than  '  during  the  five  years  preceding 
1815,  the  rent  of  land  is  much  higher  now  than  it  was 
then.  The  raw  material  of  the  food-grower  having  thus 
risen  in  price,  his  only  resource  has  been  to  fall  upon  plans 
for-  lowering  the  cost  of  producing  his  crops  and  for 
increasing  their  amount.  To  such  an  extent  has  he 
succeeded,  that  the  produce  market  has  been  kept  full, 
and  prices  have  decreased.  The  business  of  farming  has 
in  the  main  been  a  less  prosperous  one  than  most  other 
branches  of  national  industry,  and  yet  agriculture,  as  an 
art  and  as  a  science,  has  made  steady  progress.  AYe 
believe  it  is  only  in  this  way  that  the  contemporaneous 
existence  of  two  things  apparently  so  incompatible  as  a 
steady  rise  in  the  rent  of  land,  and  a  steady  decrease  in  the 
price  of  its  produce,  can  be  satisfactorily  accounted  for. 

PROGRESS  SINCE  1816. 

Section  3. — Laws  affecting  Agriculture. 
The  abundant  crop  of  1813,  and  restored  communication 
with  the  continent  of  Europe  in  the  same  year,  gave  the 
first  check  to  these  unnaturally  exorbitant  prices  and  rents. 
The  restoration  of  peace  to  Europe,  and  the  re-enactment 
of  the  Corn  Laws  in  1815,  mark  the  commencement  of 
another  era  in  the  history  of  our  national  agriculture.  It 
was  ushered  in  with  a  time  of  severe  depression  and 
suffering  to  the  agricultural  community.  The  immense 
fall  in  the  price  of  farm-produce  which  then  took  place 
was  aggravated,  first,  by  the  unpropitious  weather  and 
deficient  harvest  of  the  years  1816,  1817;  and  still  more 
by  the  passing  in  1819  of  the  Bill  restoring  cash  payments, 
which,  coming  into  operation  in  1821,  caused  serious 
embarrassment  to  all  persons  who  had  entered  into  engage- 
ments at  a  depreciated  currency,  which  had  now  to  be  met 
with  the  lower  prices  of  an  enhanced  one.  The  much- 
debated  Corn  Laws,  after  undergoing  various  modifications, 
and  proving  the  fruitful  source  of  business  uncertainty, 
social  discontent,  and  angry  partisanship,  were  finally 
aboushed  in  18-16,  although  the  Act  was  not  consummated 
until  three  years  later.  Several  other  Acts  of  the  Legis- 
lature, passed  during  this  period,  have  exerted  an  important 
influence  on  agriculture.  Of  these,  the  first  in  date  and 
importance  is  the- Tithe  Commutation  Act  of  1836.  All 
writers  on  agriculture  had  long  concurred  in  pointing  out 
the  injurious  effects  on  agriculture  of  the  tithe  system  as 
it  then  stood.     The  results  of  the  change   have  amply 


verified  the  anticipations  of  those  who  wero  instrumental 
in  procuring  it.  Since  the  removal  of  tlis  formidable 
hindrance,  improvement  has  been  stimulated  by  those  Acts 
under  which  the  Government  has  been  empowered  to 
advance  money  on  certain  conditions  for  the  draining  of 
estates.  An  important  feature  in  these  advarces  is,  that 
the  6J  per  cent,  of  interest  charged  upon  them  provides  a 
sinking  fund  by  which  the  debt  is  extinguished  in  twenty- 
two  years.  Additional  facilities  have  also  been  granted 
by  the  Act  passed  in  1848  for  disentailing  estates,  and  for 
burdening  such  as  are  entailed  with  a  share  of  the  cost  of 
certain  specified  improvements. 

Section  4. — Cattle  Murrain  and  Potato  Disease. 

Another  class  of  outward  events,  which  has  had  an 
important  influence  upon  agriculture,  requires  our  notice. 
We  refer  to  those  mysterious  diseases  affecting  both  the 
animal  aud  vegetable  kingdoms,  the  causes  and  remedies 
for  ivhich  have  alike  baffled  discovery.  The  murrain,  .or 
"  vesicular  epizootic,"  appeared  first  in  1841,  having  been 
introduced,  as  is  supposed,  by  foreign  cattle.  It  spread 
rapidly  over  the  country,  affecting  alt  our  domesticated 
animals,  except  horses,  and  causing  everywhere  great  alarm 
and  loss,  although  seldom  attended  by  fatal  results.  It 
has  prevailed  ever  since,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  and 
has  been  mure  widely  diffused  as  well  as  more  virulent  in 
1871  and  1872  than  ever  before.  It  was  soon  followed 
by  the  more  terrible  lung-disease,  or  pleuro-pneumonia, 
which  continues  to  cause  serious  mortality  among  our 
herds.  In  1865  the  rinderpest,  or  steppe  murrain,  origi- 
nating amongst  the  vast  herds  of  the  Russian  steppes, 
where  it  would  appear  to  be  never  altogether  wanting, 
had  spread  westward  over  Europe,  until  it  was  brought  to 
London  by  foreign  cattle.  Several  weeks  elapsed  before 
the  true  character  of  the  disease  was  known,  and  in  this 
brief  space  it  had  already  been  carried  by  animals  purchased 
in  Smithficld  market  to  all  parts  of  the  country.  After 
causing  the  most  frightful  losses,  it  was  at  last  stamped 
out  by  the  resolute  slaughter  of  all  affected  animals  and  of 
all  that  had  been  in  contact  with  them.  In  the  autumn 
of  1872  this  cattle  plague  was  again  detected  in  several 
cargoes  of  foreign  cattle  brought  to  our  ports.  Happily  the 
stringent  provisions  of  the  Contagious  Diseases  (Animals) 
Act  had  the  effect  of  preventing  its  entrance,  except  in  the 
case  of  one  cargo  brought  to  Hull,  from  which  the  plague 
was  conveyed  to  several  herds  in  the  adjacent  parts  of 
Yorkshire,  and  caused  considerable  losses  before  it  was 
again  stamped  out.  Severe  as  have  been  the  losses  in  our 
flocks  and  herds  from  these  imported  diseases,  they  have 
been  as  nothing  in  comparison  with  the  effects  of  the 
mysterious  potato  blight,  which,  first  appearing  in  1845, 
has  since  pervaded  the  whole  of  Europe,  and  in  Ireland 
especially  proved  the  sad  precursor  of  famine  and  pesfilence. 
This  seemingly  insignificant  blight  for  a  time  well-nigh 
withdrew  from  cultivation  one  of  our  most  esteemed  field 
crops ;  it  influences  the  business  of  farming  in  a  way  that 
baffles  the  shrewdest  calculators,  and  is  producing  social 
changes  of  which  no  man  can  predict  the  issue. 

Section  5. — Leading  Improvements. 

We  can  here  do  little  more  than  enumerate  some  of  the 
more  prominent  improvements  in  practical  agriculture  which 
have  taken  place  during  the  period  under  review.  Before 
the  close  of  the  past  century,  and  during  the  first  quarter 
of  the  present  one,  a  good  deal  had  been  done  in  the  way 
of  draining  the  land,  either  by  open  ditches,  or  by  Elking- 
ton's  system  of  deep  covered  drains.  This  system  has  now 
been  superseded  by  one  altogether  superior  to  it  both  in 
principle  and  practice.  In  1835,  James  Smith  of  Deanston 
(honour  to  his  memory  !)  promulgated  his  now  well-known 


PEOCKESS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


301 


system  of  thorough  draining  and  deep  ploughing.  It 
has  been  carried  out  already  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
alter  the  very  appearance  and  character  of  whole  districts 
of  our  country,  and  has  prepared  the  way  for  all  other 
improvements.  The  words  "  Portable  Manures"  indicate 
at  once  another  prominent  feature  in  the  agriculture  of  the 
times.  Early  in  the  present  century,  ground  bones  began 
to  be  used  as  a  manure  for  turnips  in  the  eastern  counties 
of  England,  whence  the  practice  spread,  at  first  slowly,  and 
then  very  rapidly,  over  the  whole  country.  It  was  about 
1825  that  bones  began  to  be  generally  used  in  Scotland.  In 
1841  the  still  more  potent  guano  was  introduced  into  Great 
Britain  ;  and  about  the  same  time,  bones,  under  the  new 
form  of  superphosphate  of  lime.  By  means  of  these 
invaluable  fertilisers,  a  stimulus  has  been  given  to  agri- 
culture which  can  scarcely  be  over-rated. 

The  labour  of  agriculture  has  been  greatly  lightened, 
and  its  cost  curtailed,  by  means  of  improved  implements 
and  machines.  The  steam-engine  has  taken  the  place  of 
the  jaded  horses  as  a  thrashing  power.  This  was  first 
done  in  East  Lothian  by  Mr  Aitchison  of  Drumore,  who 
about  1803  had  his  thrashing-machinery,  at  his  distillery 
and  farm  of  Clement's  Wells,  attached  to  a  steam-engine, 
which  was  erected  for  him  a  few  years  previously  by  Bolton 
and  Watt,  for  the  works  of  the  distillery.  About  1818-20 
several  steam-engines  on  ,the  condensing  principle  were 
erected  in  East  Lothian,  solely  for  the  propelling  of 
thrashing-machinery.  One  of  these,  put  up  by  Mr  Keid 
of  Drem,  at  a  cost  of  £600,  is  still  doing  its  work  there, 
and,  strange  to  say,  after  the  lapse  of  fifty-five  years,  looks 
as  well  and  is  as  efficient  as  when  first  erected.  It  would 
be  tedious  to  particularise  other  instances  in  this  department, 
as  it  will  be  treated  of  fully  in  its  proper  place.  It  is 
especially  in  this  department  that  the  influence  of  the  ever- 
memorable  Exhibition  of  the  Industry  of  all  Nations  in 
1851  has  told  -upon  agriculture.  Reaping  by  machinery 
may  virtually  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  fruita  of  that  great 
gathering. 

The  railways,  by  which  the  country  i3  now  intersected 
in  all  directions,  have  proved  of  great  service  to  farmers, 
by  conveying  their  bulky  produce  to  distant  markets 
cheaply  and  quickly,  and  by  making  lime  and  other  manures 
available  to  the  occupiers  of  many  inland  and  remote 
districts.  In  nothing  has  this  benefit  been  more  apparent 
than  in  the  case  of  fatted  live  stock,  which  is  now  invariably 
transported  by  this  means,  with  manifest  economy  to  all 
concerned. 

During  the  whole  of  this  period  there  has  been  going  on 
great  improvement  in  all  our  breeds  of  domesticated  animals. 
This  has  been  manifested  not  so  much  in  the  production  of 
individual  specimens  of  high  merit — in  which  respect  the 
Leicesters  of  Bakewell,  or  the  short-horns  of  Colling,  have 
perhaps  not  yet  been  excelled — as  in  the  diffusion  of  these 
and  other  good  breeds  over  the  country,  and  in  the  improved 
quality  of  our  live  stock  as  a  whole.  The  fattening  of 
animals  is  now  conducted  on  more  scientific  principles. 
Increased  attention  has  also  been  successfully  bestowed  on 
the  improvement  of  our  field  crops.  Improved  varieties, 
obtained  by  cross-impregnation,  either  naturally  or  arti-  i 
ficially  brought  about,  have  been  carefully  propagated,  and 
generally  adopted.  Increased  attention  is  now  bestowed 
on  the  cultivation  of  the  natural  grasses.  The  most 
important  additions  to  our  list  of  field  crops  during  this 
period  have  been  Italian  rye-grass,  winter  beans,  white 
Belgian  carrot,  sugar  beet,  and  alsike  clover. 

Section  G. — Increase  and  Diffusion  of  Agricultural 
Knowledge. 

Let  us  look  now  at  the  means  by  which,  during  this 
period,  agricultural  knowledge  has  at  once  been  increased 


and  diffused.  Notice  has  already  been  taken  of  thi 
institution  of  the  Highland  Society  and  the  National  Boarc 
of  Agriculture.  These  patriotic  societies  we're  the  means  o{ 
collecting  a  vast  amount  of  statistical  and  general  informa 
tion  connected  with  agriculture,  and  by  their  publications 
and  premiums  made  known  the  practices  of  the  best-farmed 
districts  of  the  country,  and  encouraged  their  adoption 
elsewhere.  These  national  associations  were  soon  aided 
in  their  important  labours  by  numerous  local  societies 
which  sprang  up  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom.  Aftei 
a  highly  useful  career,  under  the  zealous  presidency  d 
Sir  John  Sinclair,  the  Board  of  Agriculture  was  dissolved 
but  has  left  in  its  Statistical  Account,  county  surveys,  and 
other  documents,  much  interesting  and  valuable  inf  ormatioo 
regarding  the  agriculture  of  that  period.  In  1800  tin 
original  Farmers'  Magazine  entered  upon  its  useful  career 
under  the  editorship  of  Robert  Brown  of  Markle,  the 
author  of  the  well-known  treatise  on  Rural  Affairs.  The 
Highland  Society  having  early  extended  its  operations  tu 
the  whole  of  Scotland,  by-and-by  made  a  corresponds  " 
addition  to  its  title,  and  as  the  Highland  and  Agricultural 
Society  of  Scotland  continues  to  occupy  its  important 
sphere  with  a  steadily  increasing  membership,  popularity, 
and  usefulness.  As  its  revenue  and  experience  increased, 
it  gradually  extended  its  operations.  In  1828,  shortly 
after  the  discontinuance  of  the  Farmers'  Magazine,  its 
Prize  Essays  and  Transactions  began  to  be  issued  statedly 
in  connection  with  the  Quarterly  Journal  of  Agriculture,  a 
periodical  which  until  recently  occupied  a  prominent  place 
in  our  professional  literature.  This  society  early  began  to 
hold  a  great  annual  show  of  live  stock,  inlplements,  <ta, 
the  popularity  of  which  continues  unabated.  In  1842,  Mr 
John  Finnie  at  Swanstone,  near  Edinburgh,  having  sug- 
gested to  some  of  his  neighbours  the  desirableness  of 
obtaining  the  aid  of  chemistry  to  guide  farmers  in  many 
departments  of  their  business,  the  hint  was  promptly  acted 
upon,  and  these  Mid-Lothian  tenant-farmers  had  the  merit 
of  originating  an  Agricultural  Chemistry  Association  (the 
first  of  its  kind),  by  which  funds  were  raised,  and  an 
eminent  chemist  engaged,  for  the  express  purpose  of  con- 
ducting such  investigations  as  the  title  of  the  society  implies. 
After  a  successful  trial  of  a  few  years  this  association  was 
dissolved,  transferring  its  functions  to  the  Highland  and 
Agricultural  Society,  which  has  ever  since  devoted  much 
of  its  attention  to  this  subject  The  nature  and  impor- 
tance of  the  services  which  labourers  in  this  department 
of  science  have  rendered  to  agriculture  may  be  gathered 
from  the  society's  Transactions,  and  numerous  other  pub- 
lications of  a  similar  kind.  The  Highland  Society  has  of 
late  years  established  itself  on  a  broader  basis,  and  imparted 
new  energy  to  its  operations  by  lowering  its  admission- 
fee  in  behalf  of  tenant-farmers,  who  have  in  consequence 
joined  it  in  great  numbers,  and  now  take  an  important 
part  in  the  conduct  of  its  business.  The  practice  adopted 
by  it,  about  the  same  time,  of  holding  periodical  meetings 
for  the  discussion  of  important  practical  questions,  by  means 
of  essays,  prepared  by  carefully  selected  writers,  did  good 
service,  too,  to  the  cause  of  agricultural  progress. 

The  adoption  by  Government  of  a  proposal  made  by 
this  society,  to  collect  the  agricultural  statistics  of  Scotland, 
showed  at  once  how  thoroughly  it  enjoyed  the  confidence 
of  the  tenantry,  and  how  easily,  and  by  what  simple  and 
inexpensive  machinery,  this  most  important  and  interesting 
inquiry  could  be  conducted.  Through  an  unfortunate 
misunderstanding  between  the  Government  and  the  society 
on  a  mere  technical  point,  this  most  useful  inquiry,  came 
to  an  abrupt  termination,  after  having  been  conducted  for 
five  years.  This  brief  experiment  had,  however,  proved  sa 
conclusively  the  value  of  such  statistics,  and  the  ease  with 
which  they  could  be  collected,  that  the  Government  soon 


306 


AGRICULTURE 


[practice, 


after  look  the  matter  in  hand,  and  has  ever  since,  through 
the  agency  of  the  officers  of  Inland  Revenue,  obtained 
annual  returnsof  cropping  and  live  stock  for  the  whole  of 
Great  Britain. 

The  obvious  success  of  this  National  Scottish  Society  has 
icd  to  the  formation  of  similar  ones  in  England  and  in 
Ialand.  The  former,  instituted  in  1838,  and  shortly 
afterwards  incorporated  by  royal  charter,  at  once  entered 
upon  a  career  of  usefulness,  tho  extent  of  which  cannot 
well  be  over-rated.  Its  membership — comprising  the  most 
influential  persons  in  the  kingdom — and  its  revenues  are 
now  so  large  as  to  enable  it  to  conduct  its  proceedings  on 
a  scale  befitting  its  position  and  objects.  These  are  of  a 
varied  character,  but  its  efforts  are  concentrated  upon  its 
journal  and  annual  show.  The  former,  published  twice 
8-year,  is  chiefly  composed  of  the  essays  and  reports  to 
which  tho  liberal  prizes  of  the  society  have  been  awarded, 
and  undoubtedly  stands  at  the  head  of  our  present  agri- 
cultural periodicals.  At  the  annual  shows  of  the  society, 
a  prominent  place  isVassigned  to  implements  and  machines. 
Such  as  admit  of  it,  are  subjected  to  comparative  trials, 
which  are  conducted  with  such  skill  and  pains  that  the 
awards  command  the  entire  confidence  of  exhibitors  and 
their  customers.  The  extent  and  rapidity  of  the  im- 
provement in  agricultural  machinery  which  the  society 
has  been  mainly  instrumental  in  effecting  are  altogether 
extraordinary. 

There  are  few  market  towns  of  any  importance  that  have 
not  their  organised  club  or  occasional  gathering  of  the 
farmers  in  their  neighbourhood,  for  the  discussion  of 
professional  topics.  We  havo  now  also  a  goodly  list  of 
agricultural  periodicals,  both  weekly  and  monthly,  most  of 
them  ably  conducted,  which  are  extensively  read,  and  are 
the  means  of  collecting  and  diffusing  much  valuable  know- 
ledge, which,  but  for  them,  would  often,  as  in  former  times, 
perish  with  it3  authors,  or  be  confined  to  corners.  Tho 
facilities  now  afforded  by  railways  for  cheap  and  expeditious 
travelling,  induce  most  farmers  to  take  an  occasional  peep 
at  what  is  going  on  beyond  their  own-  neighbourhood. 
This,  more  than  anything,  deals  death-blows  to  prejudices, 
and  extends  good  husbandry. 

The  literature  of  agriculture  has  been  enriched  by  the 
contributions  of  many  able  writers.  Some  deserve  to  be 
particularly  mentioned.  Tho  volumes  of  the  late  David 
Low,  Esq.,  on  Practical  Agriculture,  Landed  Property  and 
Economy  of  Landed  Estates,  and  Domesticated  Animals, 
must  ever  be  of  standard  authority  on  their  respective 
subjects.  Mr  Henry  Stephens'  Booh  of  the  Farm,  and  Mr 
J.  C.  Morton's  Cyclopaedia  of  Agriculture,  are  invaluable 
to  the  agricultural  student  for  their  fulness,  and  for  the 
minuteness  of  their  details.  Mr  Caird's  English  Agriculture 
supplies  the  means  for  a  most  interesting  comparison  with 
the  descriptions  left  to  us  by  Arthur  Young.  Mr  Hoskyn's 
History  of  Agriculture  and  Chronicles  of  a  Clay  Farm  are 
the  very  gems  of  our  professional  literature.  In  a  series 
of  essays  on  our  Farm  Crops  by  Professor  John  Wilson 
of  Edinburgh,  the  scientific  and  the  practical  are  most 
happily  combined.  Among  the  more,  recent  publications 
of  value  may  be  mentioned  Loudon's  Encyclopaedia ;  How 
Crops  Grow,  by  Mr  Johnson;  M'Combie's  Cattle  and 
Cattle-Breeders;  Mechi's  How  to  Farm  Profitably ;  Ilozier's 
Practical  Remarks  on  Agricultural  Drainage;  Todd's 
American  )V/teal  Culturist,  ic.  Johnston,  Anderson,  Way, 
and  Voelcker,  have  done  admirable  service  in  expound- 
ing the  chemistry  of  agriculture ;  Youatt,  Spooner,  and 
Vasey,  its  zoology ;  and  Smith,  Parkes,  Webster,  Bailey, 
Denton,  Scott  Burn,  and  Starforth,  its  engineering, 
mechanics,  and  architecture. 

In  reviewing  the  history  of  our  national  agriculture  for 
the  p.ist  bixty  years,  it  is  pleasing  to  note  the  growing 


intelligence  displayed  by  our  agriculturists  in  the  prose 
cution  of  their  calling.  It  is  curious,  also,  to  observe  the 
analogy  botween  the  order  of  that  progress,  and  that  which 
is  usually  observed  in  individual  minds.  lor  a  long  time 
we  see  agricultural  societies  and  writers  occupying  them- 
selves chiefly  about  the  practical  details  and  statistics  of 
husbandry,and  attaching  much  importance  to  empirical  rules. 
Gradually,  however,  we  observe,  along  with  a  zealous 
collecting  of  facts,  8  growing  disposition  to  investigate 
the  causes  of  things,  and  desire  to  know  the  reason  why  ono 
practice  is  preferable  to  another.  When,  therefore,  tho 
Royal  Agricultural  Socie'y  adopted  as  its  motto,  "Practico 
with  Science,"  it  expressed  not  more  the  objects  to  be  aimed 
at  in  its  own  proceedings,  than  the  characteristic  feature  oi 
our  present  stage  of  agricultural  progress. 

CHAPTER  ITL 

PRACTICE  OF  BRITISH  AGRICULTURE. 

We  shall  now  endeavour  to  present  a  picture  of  British 
agriculture  in  its  present  state.  In  doing  this,  we  shall 
take  much  the  same  course  which  we  should  pxirsue,  if  wo 
were  asked  to  conduct  a  visitor  over  our*  own  farm,  and  to 
give  him  a  detailed  account  of  its  cultivation  and  manage- 
ment In  the  case  supposed,  we  should,  first  of  all,  explain 
to  him  that  the  farm  comprises  a  great  diversity  of  soils; 
that  its  fields  are  very  variously  circumstanced  as  regards 
climate,  altitude,  exposure,  and  distance  from  the  home- 
stead ;  and  that  in  its  tillage,  cropping,  and  general 
management,  regard  must  be  had  to  these  diversities, 
whether  natural  or  artificial  We  should  then  conduct 
him  through  tho  homestead,  pointing  out  the  position  and 
uses  of  the  various  farm  buildings  and  of  the  machinery 
and .  implements  contained  in  them.  From  thence  we7 
should  proceed  to  the  fields  to  examine  their  fences  and  the 
tillage  operations.  With  some  observations  about  the 
succession  of  crops,  and  the  manures  applied  to  them,  there 
would  follow  an  examination  of  the  cultivated  crops,  pastures, 
and  meadows,  of  the  live  stock  of  tho  farm,  and  of  the 
measures  adopted  in  reclaiming  certain  waste  lands  belong- 
ing to  it  This  survey  being  completed,  there  would 
naturally  follow  some  discussion  about  the  tenure  of  land, 
the  capital  required  for  its  profitable  cultivation,  the  con- 
dition of  farm  labourers,  the  necessity  for  devoting  more 
attention  to  the  education  of  the  agricultural  community, 
and  the  duty  of  the  Legislature  to  remove  certain  obstruc- 
tions to  agricultural  improvement 

Section  1. — Soils. 
The  soil  constituting  the  subject-matter  on  which  the 
husbandman  operates,  its  character  necessarily  regulates' 
to  a  large  extent  the  nature  of  his  proceedings.  The  soil 
or  surface  covering  of  the  earth  in  which  plants  are 
produced  is  exceedingly  varied  in  its  qualities.  Being 
derived  from  the  disintegration  and  decomposition  of  the 
rocks  which  constitute  the  solid  crust  of  the  globe,  with  a 
mixture  of  vegetable  and  animal  remains,  soils  take  their 
character  from  that  of  the  rocks  from  which  they  have 
chiefly  been  derived.  There  is  thus  a  generally  prevailing 
resemblance  between  the  soils  of  a  district  and  the  rocks 
over  which  they  lie,  so  that  a  knowledge  of  the  composition 
of  the  one  affords  a  key  to  the  character  of  the  other. 
But  this  connection  is  modified  by  so  many  circumstances, 
that  it  is  altogether  impossible  by  the  mere  study  of 
geology  to  acquire  an  easy  and  certain  rulefor  determining 
the'  agricultural  character  of  the  soil  of  any  particular 
district  or  field,  as  it  has  been  the  fashion  with  some  writers 
of  late  years  to  assort.  "  When,  indeed,  we  regard  a 
considerable  tract  of  land,  we  can  for  the  most  part  trace 
a  connection  between  the  subjacent  deposits  and  the 
subsoil,  and  consequently  the  soil.  .  Thus,  in  a  country  oi 


SOILS,  ETC.] 


iOElUULTUKJS 


307 


sandstone  and  arenaceous  beds,  we  shall  find  the  soil  sandy; 
in  one  of  limestone,  more  or  less  calcareous ;  m  one  of 
schistose  rocks,  more  or  less  clayey.  But  even  in  tracts  of 
the  same  geological  formation,  there  exist  great  differences 
in  the  upper  stratum,  arising  from  the  prevalence  of  ono  or 
other  member  of  the  series,  or  lrom  the  greater  or  less 
inclination  of  the  strata,  -by  which  the  debris  of  the 
different  beds  are  more  or  less  mixed  together  on  the 
surface.  The  action  of  water,  too,  in  denuding  the  surface 
at  one  part,  and  carrying  the  debris  in  greater  or  smaller 
quantity  to  another,  exercises  everywhere  an  important 
influence  on  the  character  of  soils.  Thus  the  fertility  of  a 
soil  on  the  higher  ground,  from  which  the  earthy  particles 
are  washed,  is  found  to  be  very  different  from  that  of  the 
valley  to  which  there  particles  are  carried.  It  is  seen 
accordingly,  that  within  the  limits  of  the  same  geological, 
formation,  soils  are  greatly  varied,  and  that  the  mere 
knowledge  of  the  formation  will  not  enable  us  to  predicate 
the  character  of. the  soil  of  any  given  tract,  either  with 
respect  to  its  texture,  its  composition,  or  its  productiveness."1 
Even  a  very  limited  acquaintance  with  the  geology  of 
Great  Britain  serves,  however,  to  account  for  the  exceed- 
ingly diversified  character  of  its  soils.  The  popular  defini- 
tions of  soils — and  to  these  it  is  safest  for  practical  farmers 
to  adhere— have  respect  to  their  most  obvious  qualities. 
Thus  they  are  designated  from  their  composition,  as  clays, 
loams,  sands,  gravels,  chalks,  or  peats;  or  from  their  texture, 
in  which  respect  those  in  which  clay  predominates  are 
called  heavy,  stiff,  or  impervious;  and  the  others  light, 
friable,  or  porous.  From  the  tendency  of  the  former  to 
retain  moisture  they  are  often  spoken  of  as  wet  and  cold, 
and  the  latter,  for  the  opposite  reason,  as  dry  and  warm. 
According  to  their  measure  of  fertility,  they  are  also 
described  as  rich  ot  poor.  The  particular  crops  for  the 
production  of  which  they  are  respectively  considered  to  be 
best  adapted  have  also  led  to  clays  being  spoken  of  as 
wheat  or  bean  soils,  and  the  friable  ones  as  barl.y  and  turnip 
soils'.  This  latter  mode  of  discriminating  soils  is,  however, 
becoming  every  day  less  appropriate;  as  those  of  the 
lighter  class,  when  sufficiently  enriched  by  suitable 
Manuring,  are  found  the  most  suitable  of  all  for  the  growth 
of  wheat ;  while  the  efforts  of  agriculturists  are  now 
successfully  directed  to  the  production  of  root  crops  on 
soils  so  strong  as  heretofore  to  have  been  reckoned  unfit 
for  the  purpose.  But  still,  such  extreme  diversities  as  we 
everywhere  meet  with  in  our  soils  must  necessarily 
lead  to  a  corresponding  diversity  in  their  agricultural 
treatment,  and  hence  the  necessity  for  keeping  this  fact 
prominently  in  view  in  every  reference  to  British  agriculture 
as  a  whole. ' 

Section  2. — Influence  of  Climate. 

But  if  diversity  of  soil  necessarily  modifies  the  practice 
of  the  husbandman,  that  of  climate  does  so  far  more 
powerfully.  The  soils  of  the  different  parts  of  the  globe 
do  not  very  materially  differ  from  each  other,  and  yet  their 
vegetable  products  vary  in  the  extreme.  This  is  chiefly 
gwing  to  difference  of  temperature,  which  decreases  more 
Or  less  regularly  as  we  recede  from  the  equator,  or  ascend 
from  the  sea-leveL  Places  in  the  same  latitude  and  at  the 
game  elevation  are  found,  however,  to  vary  exceedingly  in 
temperature,  according  to  their  aspect,  the  prevailing  winds 
to-  which  they  are  exposed,  their  proximity  to  seas  or 
mountains,  and  the  condition  of  their  surface.  The  different 
parts  of  Great  Britain  are  accordingly  found  to  possess  very 
different  climates.  In  passing  from  south  to  north,  its 
mean  temperature  may  be  taken,  to  decrease  one  degree 
Fahrenheit  for  every  80  miles  of  latitude,  and  the  same 

1  Low's  Practical  Agriculture,  p.  42. 


for  every  300  feet  of  elevation.  The  temperature  of  the 
west  side  of  our  island  also  differs  materially  from  that 
of  the  east,  being  more  equal  throughout  the  year.  This 
is  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  mild  westerly  winds  charged 
with  moisture,  which,  while  they  equalise  the  temperature, 
cause  the  average  fall  of  rain  on  the  west  side  of  Britain 
to  be  in  many  cases  double,  and  in  some  nearly  three 
times  that  on  the  opposite  side.  In  the  central  parts 
of  England  cultivation  is  carried  on  at  1000  feet  of 
elevation,  but  800  may  be  taken  as  tho  ordinary  limit. 
In  Scotland  the  various  crops  are  usually  from  two  to  three 
weeks  later  in  coming  to  maturity  than  in  England.  In 
both  divisions  of  the  island  the  western  counties,  owing  to 
their  mild  and  humid  climate,  are  chiefly  devoted  to 
pasturage,  and  the  eastern,  or  dry  ones,  to  tillage.  As 
compared  with  the  continent  of  Europe,  our  summers  are 
neither  so  hot,  our  winters  so  cold,  nor  our  weather  s* 
steady.  We  want,  therefore,  many  of  it's  rich  products, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  our  milder  winter  and  moister 
climate  are  eminently  favourable  to  the  production  of 
pasturage  and  other  cattle  crops,  and  admit  of  agricultural 
operations  being  carried  on  more  regularly  throughout  the 
year.  Indeed,  looking  to  the  immense  varieties  of  the 
products  of  our  soil,  there  is  probably  no  other  country  so 
favourably  circumstanced  for  a  varied  and  successful  agri- 
culture. 

Section  3. — Influence  of  Population,  &c\ 

Besides  those  variations  in  the  agricultural  practice  of 
this  country  which  arise  from  diversities  of  soil  and  climate, 
there  are  others  which  are '  due  to  the  distribution  of  tho 
population.  The  proximity  of  cities  and  towns,  or  of 
populous  villages,  inhabited  by  a  manufacturing  or  mining 
population,  implies  a  demand  for  dairy  produce  and.  vege- 
tables, as  well  as  for  provender  and  litter,  and  at  the  same 
time  affords  an  ample  supply  of  manure  to  aid  in  their 
reproduction.  Such  commodities,  from  their  bulk  or  perish- 
able nature,  do  not  admit  of  long  carriage.  The  supplies 
of  these  must  therefore  be  drawn  from  comparatively 
limited  areas,  and  the  character  of  the  husbandry  pursued 
there  is  determined  apart  from  those  general  influences 
previously  referred  to.  From  these  and  other  causes  there 
is  a  diversity  in  the  practice  of  British  agriculture  which 
increases  the  difficulty  of  describing  it  accurately.  Indeed, 
it  is  so  well  known  that  there  are  peculiarities  if  cha- 
racter attaching  to  almost  every  individual  field  and 
farm,  and  still  more  to  every  different  district  or 
county,  which  demand  corresponding  modifications  of 
treatment  in  order  to  their  successful  cultivation,  that 
a  prudent  man,  if  required  to  take  the  management  of 
a  farm  in  some  district  greatly  inferior  in  its  general 
system  of  fanning  to  that  which  he  may  have  left,  will 
yet  be  very  cautious  in  innovating  upon  specific  practices 
of  the  natives. 

To  such  peculiarities  it  is  obviously  impracticable  to  refer 
in  such  a  treatise  as  the  present.  They  are  referred  to 
now  because  they  suggest  an  explanation  of  some  of  those 
discrepancies  in  the  practice  and  opinions  of  farmers, 
equally  successful  in  their  respective  localities,  which  we 
constantly  meet  with  ;  and  because,  in  proceeding  to  deli- 
neate the  practice  of  Berwickshire,  where  our  personal 
experience  has  been  gained  by  upwards  of  forty  years  of 
actual  farming,  we  would  deprecate  the  idea  of  claiming 
for  its  modes  a  superiority  over  those  of  other  districts. 
Its  geographical  position!  and  the  mixed  husbandry  pur- 
sued in  it,  would  justify,  in  some  measure,  its  being 
referred  to  as  a  fair  sample  of  the  national  agriculture. 
But  it  is  on  the  specific  ground  that  it  is  best  to  speak 
from  actual  experience  as  far  as  that  will  serve,  that  we 
vindicate  this  selection. 


303 


A  G  It  I  C  U  L  T  U  It  E 


[f.\r.\: 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FARM-BUILDINGS. 

Section  1. — General  Requisite*. 

In  pursuance  of  the  plan  already  indicated,  let  us  now 
refer  for  a  little  to  Farm- Buildings.  We  have  spoken  of  the 
soil  as  the  raw  material  upon  which  the  farmer  operates : 
his  homestead  may,  in  liio  manner,  be  regarded  as  his 
manufactory.  That  it  may  serve  this  purpose  in  any  good 
measure,  it  is  indispensable  that  the  accommodation 
afforded  by  it  be  adequate  to  the  extent  of  the  farm,  and 
adapted  to  the  kind  of  husbandry  pursued  upon  it.  It 
should  be  placed  upon  a  dry,  sunny,  sheltered  site,  have  a 
good  supply  of  water,  and  be  as  near  as  possible  to  the 
centre  of  the  farm.  The  buildings  should  be  so  arranged 
as  to  economise  labour  to  the  utmost. .  It  should  be  con- 
structed of  substantial  materials,  so  as  to  be  easily  kept  in 
repair,  and  to  diminish,  to  the  utmost,  risk  from  fire. 

The  most  cursory  examination  of  existing  homesteads 
will  suffice  to  show  that  in  their  construction  these  obvious 
conditions  have  been  sadly  neglected.  For  one  farm 
really  well  equipped  in  this  respect,  hundreds  are  to  be 
met  with  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  more  especially 
in  England,  most  wretchedly  deficient.  Wherever  this  is 
the  case,  it  is  impossible  that  the  farmer,  however  skilful 
or  industrious,  can  make  the  most  of  his  materials,  or 
compete  on  equal  terms  with  his  better  furnished  neigh- 
bours. As  the  agricultural  community  becomes  more 
generally  alive  to  the  importance  of  economising  labour 
by  a  judicious  arrangement  of  buildings,  and  of  reducing 
the  cost  of  the  production  of  beef  (and  adding  to  the 
amount  and  fertilising  power  of  the  home-made  manure)  by 
th?  manner  in'  which  the  live  stock  is  housed,  we  may 
hope  that  improvement  in  this  department  will  make  rapid 
progress.  _  Tenants  will  refuse  to  embark  their  capital,  and 
waste  their  skill  and  labour,  on  farms  unprovided  with 
suitable  apparatus  for  cultivating  them  to  the  best  advan- 
tage. Landlords  and  their  agents-  will  by-and-by  find 
that  until  this  is  done,  they  must  put  up  with  an  inferior 
tenantry,  an  antiquated  husbandry,  and  with  lower  and 
worse-paid  rents. 

Section  2. — Plans. 

In  erecting  new  homesteads,  or  in  making  considerable 
additions  to  or  alterations  upon  existing  ones,  it  is  of 
much  importance  to  call  in  the  aid  of  an  architect  of  ascer- 
tained experience  in  this  departD.ent  of  his  art,  and  then 
»  have  the  work  performed  by  contracts  founded  upon  the 
plans  and  specifications  which  he  has  furnished.  A 
reasonable  sum  thus  expended  will  be  amply  returned  in 
the  cost,  trouble,  and  disappointment,  which  it  usually 
saves  to  both  landlord  and  tenant.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
in  future  a  greater  number  of  thoroughly  qualified  architects 
will  devote  themselves  to  this  department  of  their  profession, 
and  that  they  will  meet  with  adequate  encouragement  It 
is  not,  therefore,  with  the  view  of  superseding  their 
services,  but  simply  to  illustrate  our  references  to  existing 
practices,  that  we  subjoin  a  plan  of  farm-buildings. 

While  protesting  against  the  utter  rudeness  and  inade- 
quacy of  the  great  majority  of  homesteads,  we  must  also 
deprecate  the  hurtful  expenditure  sometimes  lavished  in 
erecting  buildings  of  an  extent  and  style  altogether 
disproportionate  to  the  size  of  the  farm,  and  out  of  keep- 
ing with  its  homely  purposes.  When  royalty  or  nobility, 
with  equal  benefit  to  themselves  and  their  country,  make 
agriculture  their  recreation,  it  is  altogether  befitting  that 
in  such  cases  the  farm-yard  should  be  of  such  a  style  as  to 
adorn  the  park  in  which  it  is  situated.  And  even  those 
iutended  for  plain  everyday  farming  need  not  be  un- 
sightly ;    for    ugliness    is    sometimes    more   costly   than 


elegance,  xai  utility,  economy,  and  comfort,  first  be 
secured,  and,  along  with  these,  as  much  as  possible  of 
that  pleasing  effect  which  arises  from  just  proportions, 
harmonious  arrangement,  and  manifest  adaptation  to  the 
use  the  buildings  are  designed  for. 

Section  3. — Principles  of  Arrangement. 
The  barn,  with  its  thrashing-machinery,  and  other 
appurtenances,  naturally  forms  tie  nucleus  of  the  home- 
stead, and  regulates  the  distribution  of  the  other  buildings. 
The  command  of  water-power  will  often  determine  the 
exact  site  of  the  barn,  and  indeed  of  the  whole  buildings. 
The  cheapness  and  safety  of  this  motive-power  render  it 
well  worth  while  to  make  considerable  sacrifices  to  secure 
it,  when  a  really  sufficient  and  regular  supply  of  it  can  be 
had.  But  the  difficulty  of  securing  this  when  the  adjoining 
lands  are  thoroughly  drained,  and  the  great  efficiency  and 
facility  of  application  of  steam-power,  are  good  reasons 
why  precarious  supplies  of  water-power  should  now  be 
rated  very  differently  than  they  were  when  a  horse-wheel 
or  windmill  were  the  only  alternatives.  A  very  usual  and 
suitable  arrangement  is  to  have  the  whole  buildings, 
forming  a  lengthened  parallelogram,  facing  south  or  south- 
east; the  barn  being  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  north 
range,  with  the  engine-house  behind  it,  and  the  straw 
house  at  right  angles  in  front,  with  doors  on  both  sides  foi 
the  ready  conveyance  of  litter  and  fodder  to  the  yards,  4c 
It  is  always  advantageous  to  have  the  barn  of  sufficient 
height  to  afford  ample  accommodation  to  the  thrashing  and 
winnowing  machinery.  When  the  disposition  of  the  ground 
admits,  it  is  a  great  convenience  to  have  the  stackyard  or 
a  level  with  the  upper  barn,  so  that  the  unthrashed  corn 
may  be  wheeled  into  it  on  barrows,  or  on  a  low-wheeled 
truck  drawn  by  a  horse.  Failing  this,  the  sheaves  arc 
usually  pitched  in  at  a  wide  opening  from  a  framed  cart. 
The  space  on  which  the  cart  stands  while  this  is  going  on 
is  usually  paved,  that  loose  ears  and  scattered  grain  mar 
be  gathered  up  without  being  soiled ;  and '  it  is  a  further 
improvement  to  have  it  covered  by  some  simple  roof,  to 
protect  the  sheaves  from  sudden  rain. 

It  is  a  good  arrangement  to  have  the  straw-barn  fitted 
up  with  a  loft,  on  the  level  of  the  opening  at  which  the 
straw  is  discharged  from  the  thrashing-mill,  so  as  to  admit 
of  fodder  being  stored  above  and  litter  below.  A  sparred 
trap-door  in  front  of  the  shaker  retains  the  straw  above,  or 
lets  it  fall  to  the  ground  as  required.  This  upper  floor  of 
the  straw-barn  is  the  most  convenient  place  for  fixing  a 
chaff-cutter  to  be  driven  by  the  thrashing-power.  The 
granary  should  communicate  with  the  upper  barn,  that  the 
dressed  grain  may  be  raised  to  it  by  machinery. 

A  loft  over  the  engine-room,  communicating  with  the 
upper  barn  and  granary,  forms  a  suitable  place  for  fixing  a 
gnnding-mill,  bruising  rollers,  and  cake-breakers,  as  it  affords 
opportunity  for  having  these  machines  easily  connected  with 
the  steam-power.  .  It  6uits  <  ell  to  have  the  house  in  which 
cattle  food  is  cooked  attach<  1  to  and  under  the  same  roof 
a."  the  engine-house.  One  coal  store  and  chimney  thus 
serves  for  both.  Over  this  cooking-house,  and  communi- 
cating with  the  grin  ding-loft,  may  advantageously  be  placed 
a  kiln,  to  be  heated  by  the  waste  steam  from  the  engine. 
An  open  shed  outside  the  barn,  for  the  accommodation  of  a 
circular  saw,  is  also  a  desideratum.  By  the  aid  of  the  latter 
machine  and  a  handy  labourer,  the  timber  required  for  ordi- 
nary repairs  on  the  farm  may  be  cut  out  at  trifling  expense. 
The  cattle-housing,  of  whatever  description,  where  there 
are  the  largest  and  most  frequent  demands  for  straw,  u 
placed  nearest  to  the  straw-house,  and  in  communication 
with  the  turnip-stores,  and  the  house  (if  any)  in  which  food 
is  cooked  or  otherwise  prepared.  Where  cattle  are  bred, 
the  cow-house  and  calf-house  are  kept  together.     A  roomy 


VOL.  I. 


AGRICULTURE" 


PLATE  in. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA    BRI'ANNhCA.    NIMH    EDITION 


roL.i 


AGRICULTUHE 


PLATS  IV, 


PLAN  Or  HOMESTEAO  FOR  A  FARM  OF  500  ACRES  BY  CHARLES    LYALL  ESQ. 


ARCHITECT.    WILLIAM    FETTES.    BRECHIN 


ReftreAc  e s 
te  % 

B  4W  fLrfU  •»«-  Cart  SK*.t  B>tA>  t  lift  .:,■  V..    ' 

J2  1/  ?A3iap  *«-  Gvur*a}i  for  t^ryvy  Suay  Awm  PTJJ  Shik**  t*  *»Xf  *fB&i\ 

BU*l  -~~tk»  wvhChmff  £+**■*  mU**~-iLukw} 

J*  If  £•> «  Au», 

If  *#tl^-  A-  J-.rwy  Jt"C 

V  *W-  Cubni  «P  JiJ^ 

V  /~ft>y  *****  A»  7  £•»£/  mM. 

M  V«»*r  £  c^jKi 


n 


Engine 


:-.-.*.-  .©.-/."  .".-.-a  :.".-.  SQfi!  :     i?»*.  •.  *.  :.-o--.--- 

ImpUmjtriL  Shed 


I  Cellar  U— 1  r 


Carpenters 
Shop 


Ccurt    Shed, 

.-::::a:::::n"\:xr::::c:;:::a;:: 


JeJl  *-'  /«*t 


ENCYCLOPEDIA    BRtTANNlCA.    NINTH    EDITION 


BUILDINGS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


309 


working  court  is  always  a  great  convenience,  and  it  suits 
well  to  have  the  stable  opening  to  it,  and  the  cart-shed  and 
tool-house  occupying  another  side.  Costly  machines,  such 
as  corn-drills  and  reaping  machines,  require  to  be  kept  in  a 
locked  place,  to  preserve  them  from  the  collisions,  and  the 
loss  or  derangement  of  their  minute  parts,  to  which  they 
are  exposed  in  an  open  cart-shed. 

An  abundant  supply  of  good  water  is  a  most  important 
matter.  The  best  source  is  from  springs,  at  such  an 
elevation  as  to  admit  of  its  being  brought  in  a  pipe,  with 
a  continuous  flow.  Failing  this  a  well  and  pump  is  the 
usual  alternative,  although  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to 
collect  the  rain-water  from  the  roofs,  and  preserve  it  in  a 
capacious  and  carefully-made  tank.  In  every  case  it  is 
desirable  to  have  a  regulating  cistern,  from  which  it  is 
distributed  by  pipe  to  every  part  of  the  homestead  where 
it  is  repaired.  It  is,  in  every  case,  of  importance  to  have 
the  eaves  of  the  whole  buildings  spouted,  and  the  rain- 
water carried  where  it  can  do  no  mischief.  Where  fattening 
cattle  are  kept  in  open  yards  with  sheds,  by  spouting  the 
eaves,  and  slightly  hollowing  the  yards  towards  their 
centres,  the  urine  to  a  large  extent  is  absorbed  by  the  litter, 
and  retained  in  the  manure.  The  effectual  way,  however, 
is  to  have  the  whole  of  the  yards  roofed  over.  The  waste 
of  food  and  litter,  and  the  damage  sustained  alike  by  cattle 
and  manure,  from  the  excessive  rainfall  of  winter  1872-3, 
has  probably  done  more  than  any  amount  of  argument 
could  do  to  convince  farmers  of  this.  If  stall  feeding  is 
practised,  a  pit  is  required,  into  which  the  solid  dung  is 
wheeled  and  the  liquid  conveyed  by  drains.  Liquid  manure 
tanks  are  at  present  in  universal  repute,  but  we  shall 
endeavour  to  show,  when  treating  of  manures,  that  they  are 
not  such  an  indispensable  appendage  to  a  farm-yard  as  is 
generally  asserted.  In  Scotland  it  is  customary  to  carry 
the  dung  from  the  byres  into  a  yard  in  which  young  cattle 
are  kept,  where  it  is  daily  spread  about  and  subjected  to 
further  treading,  along  with  such  quantities  of  fresh  litter 
as  are  deemed  necessary.  That  from  the  stables  is  carried 
into  the  adjoining  feeding-yard,  and  it  is  usually  remarked 
that  the  cattle  occupying  it  make  more  rapid  progress 
than  their  neighbours. 

An  important  part  of  the  buildings  of  a  farm  are  the 
cottages  for  its  labourers.  It  is  in  all  cases  expedient  to 
have  the  people  required  for  the  ordinary  working  of  a  farm 
resident  upon  it;  and  it  is  always  much  better  to  have 
families,  each  iu  its  own  cottage,  than  a  number  of  young 
people  boarded  in  the  farm-kitchen,  or  with  the  farm- 
overseer.  These  cottages  are  usually  a  little  removed  from 
the  other  farm-buildings,  and  it  is,  on  various  accounts, 
better  to  have  them  so.  There  is,  however,  an  advantage 
in  having  the  cottages  of  the  farm-steward  and  cattleman 
either  within  the  courtyard,  or  close  to  its  entrance,  that 
these  responsible  functionaries  may  at  all  times  be  near 
their  charge,  and  especially  that  they  may  be  at  hand 
when  any  of  the  live  stock  require  night  attendance.  As 
there  are  manifold  advantages  in  having  but  one  main 
entrance  to  the  homestead,  and  that  closed  by  a  gate  which 
can  be  locked  at  night,  it  will  be  obviously  necessary 
to  have  the  keeper  of  the  key  close  at  hand  to  open  the 
gate  by  night  if  required.  Much  more  attention  than 
formerly  is  now  paid  to  the  construction  of  cottages.  The 
apartments  are  better  floored,  higher  in  the  roof,  and  so 
arranged  as  to  secure  comfort  and  decency.  Besides  a 
small  garden,  each  cottage  is  usually  provided  with  a  pig- 
sty and  ash-pit,  and  in  some  cases  with  a  coal-place  and 
privy  besides. 

The  position  and  style  of  the  farmer's  dwelling  also 
claims  a  remark  here.  The  approved  mode  used  to  be,  to 
place  it  either  directly  in  front  or  rear  of  the  farm-yard,  on 
the  ground  that  the  farmer  would  thus  have  his  premises 


and  cattle  under  his  eye  even  when  in  his  parlour  or  bed- 
room. As  has  been  well  remarked,  "  The  advantages  of 
this  parlour-farming  are  not  very  apparent,  the  attendant 
evils  glaringly  so.  If  the  condition  of  ready  communication 
be  obtained,  the  farm-house  should  be  placed  where  the 
amenities  of  a  country  residence  can  be  best  enjoyed."1  On 
all  hands  we  now  hear  it  urged,  that  it  is  only  by  men 
possessed  of  capital  and  intelligence  that  the  business  of 
farming  can  be  rendered  remunerative.  Those  who  desire 
to  have  such  men  for  tenants  will  be  more  likely  to  succeed 
by  providing  a  commodious  and  comfortable  farmery, 
pleasantly  placed  among  trees  and  shrubs,  than  by  setting 
it  down  in  the  precincts  of  the  dung-heap. 

CHAPTER  V. 

FENCES. 

Section  1. — Benefit  of  Fences. 
The  fences  by  which  farms  are  generally  enclosed  and 
subdivided  form  another  part  of  what  may  be  termed  their 
fixtures,  and  may  therefore  be  suitably  noticed  here.  'When 
lands  are  let  to  a  tenant,  the  buildings  and  fences  arc 
usually  put  into  sufficient  repair,  and  he  is  taken  bound  to 
keep  and  leave  them  so  at  the  issue  of  his  occupancy. 
Although  there  are  some  persons  who  advocate  the  total 
removal  of  subdivision  fences,  it  is  admitted  on  all  hands 
that  the  farm  as  a  whole,  and  the  sides  of  public  thorough- 
fares which  may  intersect  it,  should  be  guarded  by  sufficient 
fences  of  some  kind.  The  general  belief  has  hitherto  been, 
that  there  i3  a  farther  advantage  in  having  the  land 
subdivided  by  permanent  fences  into  enclosures  of  moderate 
size.  The  use  of  such  partition  fences  is  not  only  to  confine 
the  live  stock  to  particular  fields,  or  restrain  them  from 
trespassing  on  the  other  crops,  but  to  afford  shelter  from 
cutting  winds.  It  is  now  frequently  urged,  that  the  heavier 
cattle  should  never  be  turned  to  pasture  at  all,  but  kept  on 
roots  and  green  forage  the  whole  year  round,  and  that  sheep 
can  be  managed  satisfactorily  by  means  of  movable  hurdles. 
It  is  highly  probable  that  the  practice  of  soiling  will 
become  more  'general,  as  it  undoubtedly  deserves  to  do. 
Still,  this  does  not  necessarily  call  for  the  total  removal  of 
subdivision  fences,  which  we  cannot  but  regard  as  an 
imprudent  proceeding.  It  is  probable  that  those  who  have 
adopted  it  have  done  so  very  much  owing  to  the  prevalence 
of  the  opposite  extreme.  There  are  large  portions  of  the 
finest  land  in  England  so  encumbered  with  hedges  and 
hedgerow  trees,  as  to  be  utterly  incapable  of  profitable 
cultivation.  In  many  cases  the  fields  are  so  small  and  the 
tree3  so  large  that  their  roots  actually  meet  from  the 
opposite  sides,  and  pervade  the  entire  surface  soil  of  the 
area  enclosed  by  them.  When  manure  is  applied  to  such 
fields,  it  is  monopolised  by  these  freebooters  from  the  hedges, 
and  the  crops  of  grain  or  hay,  such  as  they  are,  are  so 
screened  from  the  sun  and  wind  that  there  is  great  risk  of 
their  being  spoiled  in  the  harvesting.  If  drains  are  made 
in  such  fields,  they  are  speedily  filled  up  by  the  rootlets, 
and  thus  rendered  useless.  It  has  been  computed  that  not 
less  than  one  and  a  quarter  million  acres  are  occupied  by 
hedgerows  in  England  and  Wales,  and  that  if  the  land 
overshaded  and  plundered  by  roots  be  included,  the  amount 
is  three  millions.  In  Devonshire  one-fourth  of  the  en- 
closures in  many  parishes  are  under  two  acres ;  more  than 
one-third  under  three  acres ;  and  nearly  two-thirds  under 
four  acres.  Two  millions,  at  least,  of  these  acres  might  be 
redeemed,  and  what  a  margin  is  here  available  for  increased 
production  1  The  land  thus  wasted  would  probably  yield 
a  sum  equal  to  county  and  poor  rates,  and  perhaps  malt-tax 

1  For  further  information  on  Farm  Buildings,  see  also  Morton!' 
Cyclopaedia  of  Agriculture,  article  "  Farm  Buildings,"  and  The  Book 
of  Farm  Buildings,  by  Henry  Stephens  and  B.  Scott  Burn.  Edi» 
burgh,  1861. 


310 


AGRICULTURE 


[fences. 


too-1  In  such  circumstances,  it  is  no  wonder  that  zealous 
agricultural  improvers  should  look  upon  hedgerows  much 
as  American  settlers  do  upon  their  forests,  and,  like  them, 
be  sometimes  indiscriminate  in  their  clearings.  We  believe 
that  there  is  an  advantage  in  having  land,  whether  for 
pasture  or  tillage,  subdivided  into  parallel-sided  fields  of 
from  ten  to  forty  acres  each,  according  to  the  size  of  the 
farm,  by  means  of  permanent  fences  of  a  kind  adapted  to 
the  locality 

Section  2. —  Varieties  of  Fences. 

When  the  soil  and  climate  are  favourable  to  the  growth 
of  the  common  white  thorn,  hedges  formed  of  it  combine 
efficiency,  economy,  and  ornament,  in  a  greater  degree  than 
any  other  fence.  But  to  have  a  really  efficient  thorn 
hedge,  much  attention  must  be  paid  to  its  planting,  rearing, 
and  after  management  In  proceeding  to  run  a  new  line 
of  thorn  hedge,  care  must  be  taken  that  the  soil  is  clean 
and  in  good  heart,  and  that  the  subsoil  is  porous  an$l  dry. 
When  these  conditions  do  not  obtain,  they  must  be  secured 
by  fallowing,  manuring,  draining,  and  trenching.  The 
young  quicks  should  be  stout  and  well  rooted ;  not  taken 
indiscriminately  as  they  stand  in  the  nurserymen's  beds; 
but  of  uniform  stoutness.  Such  selected  plants  are  always 
to  be  had  for  a  small  additional  price,  which  will  be  found 
to  be  well  repaid  in  the  superior  progress  of  such  plants, 
when  contrasted  with  that  of  others  taken  as  they  chance 
to  come  to  hand.  The  embryo  fence  must  bo  kept  free 
of  weeds,  and  secured  from  the  encroachments  of  cattle  by 
a  line  of  rails  on  both  sides.  Some  persons  advise  that  the 
young  hedge  should  from  the  first  be  trimmed  into  line  by 
using  the  pruning-hook  after  each  year's  growth.  It  is 
certainly  better  not  to  touch  it  with  the  knife,  or,  at  least, 
only  to  restrain  an  occasional  shoot  that  unduly  overtops 
its  neighbours,  until  the  centre  stems  are  at  least  a  couple 
of  inches  in  diameter.  If  the  plants  are  then  headed  over 
fence-high,  and  the  lateral  shoots  pruned  to  a  straight  line, 
a  close  fence  with  a  substantial  backbone  in  it  is  secured; 
whereas  by  pruning  annually  from  the  first,  a  fence  i3 
obtained  that  pleases  the  eye,  but  which,  consisting  only  of 
a  mass  of  spray,  presents  no  effectual  barrier  to  cattle. 
When  a  thorn  hedge  has  reached  the  stage  just  referred  to, 
the  protecting  rails  may  be  removed,  and  the  hedge  kept  in 
a  neat  and  efficient  state  by  annual  pruning.  On  good, 
deep  soil,  thorns  will  stand  this  constant  removal  of  the 
annual  gTowth  of  spray  for  many  years  without  injury, 
especially  if  the  pruning  is  delayed  until  the  leaf  has  fallen. 
In  less  favourable  circumstances,  it  is  found  necessary  from 
time  to  time  to  withhold  the  pruning-knife  for  a  few  years 
together.  When  the  hedge  has  been  reinvigorated  by  such 
periods  of  unrestrained  growth,  it  can  again  be  cut  back  to 
the  centre  stems,  and  subjected  anew  to  a  course  of  annual 
pruning.  To  insure  a  close  fence,  the  bottom  of  the  hedge 
must  at  all  times  be  kept  clear  of  tall  weeds.  The 
constant  use  of  the  weeding-iron  is,  however,  objectionable ; 
for,  besides  being  expensive,  it  injures  the  bark  of  the  thorns 
and  thereby  impairs  their  health.  It  is  quite  sufficient  to 
cut  the  weeds  close  to  the  surface  twice  a  year  by  means 
of  a  reaping-hook  or  short  scythe. 

In  arable  lands,  by  this  plan  of  keeping  hedges  about 
four  feet  high,  and  cutting  down  the  weeds  as  required, 
an  efficient  and  ornamental  fence  is  maintained  at  com- 
paratively small  cost,  and  with  little  injury  to  the  ad- 
joining crops  from  shading,  or  the  harbouring  of  weeds 
and  vermin. 

Although  the  white  thorn  forms  a  better  hedge  than  any 
shrub  yet  tried  for  the  purpose  in  this  country,  there  are 
many  upland  situations  where  the  beech  and  hornbeam  grow 
more  freely,  and  are  to  be  preferred  either  alone  or  in 

1  See  Furnur'i  Magazine  tor  March  1862.  p.  2/>8. 


mixture  with  it.  These  plants,  and  also  crab  or  sloe,  aie 
sometimes  useful  in  filling  a  gap  occasioned  by  the  removal 
of  a  hedgerow  tree  or  the  death  of  a  portion  of  thorn  hedge. 

In  exposed  situations,  where  thorns  do  not  thrive,  St* 
drystone  walls  are  the  most  usual  substitute.  When 
carefully  constructed,  of  stones  suitable  for  the  purpose, 
they  last  a  long  time,  and  form  an  excellent  fence.  Their 
durability  is  much  enhanced  by  having  tho  cope-stones  set 
in  lime-mortar.  A  layer  along  the  centre  of  the  wall,  and 
an  external  painting,  of  lhne-mortar  will  also  repay  the 
additional  first  cost  thus  incurred.  A  wall  of  this  kind 
four  feet  high,  exclusive  of  the  cope,  while  quite  sufficient 
to  restrain  cattle  and  the  heavier  kinds  of  sheep,  is  no 
barrier  to  the  mountain  breeds,  which  can  easily  clear  a 
six-foot  walL 

A  simple  and  very  effective  fence  has,  however,  come  Wu 
much  into  use  of  late  years.  It  is  composed  of  n-m  wire 
(No.  8  being  tho  size  most  commonly  used),  which  ia 
attached  by  small  staples  to  common  stakes,  such  as  are 
used  for  wooden  railings,  driven  firmly  into  the  ground 
about  five  feet  apart.  The  wire  is  drawn  out  of  the  coil, 
and  tho  ends  of  the  various  lengths  or  threads  are  neatly 
joined  by  first  heating  them,  and  then  twisting  the  one  into 
the  other,  until  the  quantity  required  for  the  stretch  of  fence 
is  run  out  It  is  then  attached  to  every  third  or  fourth 
stake  by  a  staple,  which  must  not  be  driven  home.  The 
other  lines  of  wire  are  then  treated  in  the  same  manner, 
each  being  attached  to  the  stakes  at  such  width  apart  a* 
has  been  determined  upon,  and  marked  upon  the  stakes. 
A  ready  way  of  doing  this  is  by  stretching  along  the  stakes 
a  common  gardener's  line  which  has  been  previously  rubbed 
with  chalk,  or  a  charred  stick,  and  striking  it  against  the 
stakes  at  the  required  heights,  in  the  way  that  sawyers  mark 
a  plank  When  the  requisite  number  of  wires  has  thus  been 
loosely  attached,  they  are  pulled  as  tight  as  possible  by  the 
hands  of  the  workmen,  after  which  a  screw  or  lever  is  applied 
to  each  in  turn  until  it  is  made  perfectly  tight.  As  the 
efficiency  of  this  kind  of  fence  is  wholly  dependent  on  perfect 
tightness  being  obtained,  a  stout  straining-post  must  be  fixed 
securely  in  tho  ground  at  the  end  of  each  line  of  fence. 
This  serves  tho  double  purpose  of  furnishing  a  fulcrum  for 
the  stretching  instrument,  and  a  secure  attachment  for  the 
ends  of  the  wires.  When  the  straining  is  accomplished, 
each  wire  is  stapled  to  each  stake.  The  gates  are  usually 
hung  upon  these  straining-posts.  Although  wooden  strain- 
ing-posts are  commonly  used,  some  persons  prefer  iron  ones, 
fixed  into  large  blocks  of  stone.  Five  wires  thus  stretched, 
at  an  average  width  of  six  inches,  form  an  effectual  fence 
for  tho  wildest  sheep.  They  could,  indeed,  easily  clear  it  so 
far  as  height  is  concerned,  but  they  are  afraid  to  leap  at 
an  object  which  they  cannot  see  until  they  are  close  upon  it. 
They  may  be  seen  at  first  walking  along  the  line  anxiously 
looking  for  an  opening,  and  if  one  more  bold  than  the  others 
makes  a  run  at  it,  he  is  sure  to  catch  such  a  fall  as  effectually 
deters  him  from  repeating  the  attempt.  With  these  cheap 
and  portable  materials,  which  any  labourer  of  ordinary  in- 
telligence can  easily  put  together,  a  fence  admirably  adapted 
for  enclosing  or  subdividing  mountain  pastures  is  now  quite 
attainable  by  every  sheep-farmer,  and  will  well  repay  its  cost 
It  is  equally  available  for  protecting  young  thorn  hedges, 
and  generally  for  all  purposes  for  which  wooden  railing  is 
used.  As  a  fence  for  cattle  or  horses,  it  is  advisable  to  add 
a  single  rail  of  wood  nailed  flat  along  the  top  of  the  stakes, 
which  must  be  sawn  off  evenly  for  this  purpose.  As  com- 
pared with  wooden  railing,  wire  is  much  cheaper  and  more 
durable,  and  more  easily  kept  in  repair.  It  is  cheaper  also 
than  stone  walls,  available  in  many  situations  where  they 
are  not,  and  a  more  certain  barrier  to  agile  sheep ;  but  it  ia 
less  durable,  and  affords  no  shelter. 

The  latter  defett  can  in  some  situations  be  remedied  bf 


MACHINES. J 


AGRICULTURE 


311 


raising  a  low  mound  of  turf,  running  the  wire-rance  along 
the  top  of  this  mound,  and  sowing  on  it  the  seeds  of  the 
common  whin. 

We  have  already  noticed  that  the  fences  of  a  farm  are 
usually  erected  by  the  landlord  and  kept  in  repair  by  the 
tenant.  The  latter  is  at  least  usually  taken  bound  in  his 
lease  to  keep  and  leave  them  in  good  order;  but  as  this 
obligation  is  often  very  indifferently  performed,  and  much 
damage  and  vexation  occasioned^  consequence,  it  is  always 
expedient  that  a  person  should  be  appointed  by  the  landlord 
to  attend  to  the  fences,  and  the  half  of  his  wages  charged 
against  the  tenant.  By  such  a  course,  dilapidation  and  dis- 
putes are  effectually  guarded  against,  and  the  eyesore  of 
defective,  ill-kept  fences  is  wholly  removed. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

MACHINES  AND  IMPLEMENTS  OF  HUSBANDRY. 

Section  1. — Recent  Improvements. 

That  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  may  be  carried  on  to  the 
best  advantage,  it  is  necessary  that  the  farmer  be  provided 
with  a  sufficient  stock  of  machines  and  implements  of 
the  best  construction.  Very' great  improvement  has 
of  late  years  taken  place  in  this  department  of 
mechanics.  The  great  agricultural  societies  of  the 
kingdom  have  devoted  much  of  their  attention  to  it ; 
and  under  their'  auspices,  and  stimulated  by  their 
premiums,  exhibitions,  and  competitive  trials,  manu- 
facturers of  Bkill  and  capital  nave  embarked  largely 
in  the  business.  In  many  instances  the  quality  of 
the  article  has  been  improved  and  its  cost  reduced. 
There  has  hitherto  been  a  tendency  to  produce  imple- 
ments needlessly  cumbrous  and  elaborate,  and  to  in- 
troduce variations  in  form  which  are  not  improvements. 
The  inventors  of  several  valuable  implements,  the  exclusive 
manufacture  of  which  they  have  secured  to  themselves  by 
patent,  appear  to  have  retarded  their  sale,  and  marred  their 
own  profits  by  the  exorbitant  prices  which  they  have  put 
upon  them.  Some,  however,  have  become  alive  to  the  advan- 
tages "of  looking  rather  to  large  sales  with  a  moderate  profit 
on  each  article,  and  of  lowering  prices  to  secure  this.  A 
most  salutary  practice  has  now  become  common  of  inventors 
of  implements  of  ascertained  usefulness  granting  licence  to 
other  parties  to  use  their  patent-right  on  reasonable  terms, 
and  thus  removing  the  temptation  to  evade  it  by  introducing 
some  alteration  which  is  trumpeted  as  an  improvement, 
although  really  the  reverse. 

The  extended  use  of  iron  and  steel  in  the  construction 
)f  agricultural  implements  is  materially  adding  to  their 
durability,  and  generally  to  their  efficiency,  and  is  thus  a 
source  of  considerable  saving.  While  great  improvement 
has  taken  place  in  this  department,  it  too  commonly  happens 
that  the  village  mechanics,  by  whom  a  large  portion  of  this 
class  of  implements  is  made  and  repaired,  are  exceedingly 
unskilled,  and  lamentably  ignorant  of  the  principles  of  their 
art.  They  usually  furnish  good  materials  and  substantial 
workmanship,  but  by  their  unconscious  violation  of  mecha- 
nical laws,  enormous  waste  of  motive  power  is  continually 
incurred,  and  poor  results  are  attained.  This  can  probably 
be  remedied  only  by  the  construction  of  th?  more  costly  and 
complex  machines  being  carried  on  in  extensive  factories, 
where,  under  the  combined  operation  of  scientific  superin- 
tendence, ample  capital,  and  skilled  labour,  aided  by  steam- 
power,  the  work  can  be  so  performed  as  to  combine  the 
maximum  of  excellence  with  the  minimum  of  cost 

Section  2.- — Ploughs. 

We  begin  our  brief  notice  of  the  implements  of  the  farm 
with  those  used  for  the  tillage  of  the  soiL  Of  these  the 
first  place  is  unquestionably  due  to  the  plough.  A  history 
of  this  implement,  tracing  its  gradual  progress  from  the 


ancient  Sarcle  to  its  most  improved  form  at  the  present  day, 
is  necessarily  a  history  of  agriculture.  So  much  is  this  the 
case  that  a  tolerably  correct  estimate  of  the  progress  of  the 
art  in  any  country,  whether  in  ancient  or  modem  times, 
may  be  formed  by  ascertaining  the  structure  of  the  plough. 
Much  attention  has  been  paid  to  its  construction  in  Britain 
for  the  last  hundred  years,  and  never  more  than  at  the  present 
day.  After  all  that  has  been  done,  it  is  still,  however,  an 
unsettled  point  which  is  the  best  plough  for  different  soils 
and  kinds  of  work ;  and  accordingly,  many  varying  forms 
of  it  are  in  use  in  those  parts  of  the  kingdom  which  have 
the  reputation  of  being  mostskilfullycultivated.  Eversince 
the  introduction  of  Small's  improved  swing-plovgk,  the 
universal  belief  in  Scotland,  and  to  a  considerable  extent  in 
England,  has  been  that  this  is  the  best  form  of  the  imple- 
ment. Wheel  ploughs  have  accordingly  been  spoken  of  by 
Scottish  agriculturists  in  the  most  depreciatory  terms,  and 
yet  it  turns  out  that  this  has  been  nothing  better  than  an 
unfounded  prejudice ;  for  when  subjected  to  careful  com- 
parative trial,  as  has  been  frequently  done  of  late,   ths 


Howard's  Champion  Plough. 

balance  of  excellence  is  undoubtedly  in  favour  of  the 
plough  with  wheels.  Its  advantages  are,  that  it  is  easier  of 
draught ;  that  the  quality  of  its  work  is  better  and  greatly 
more  uniform  than  can  be  produced  by  a  swing  plough ; 
that  in  land  rendered  hard  by  drought,  or  other  causes,  it 
will  enter  and  turn  over  even  furrows  where  its  rival  either 
cannot  work  at  all,  or  at  best  with  great  irregularity  and 
severe  exertion  to  the  ploughman;  and,  lastly,  that  its 
efficiency  is  independent  of  skill  in  the  ploughman.  This 
last  quality  has  indeed  been  usually  urged  as  an  objection 
to  wheel-ploughs,  as  their  tendency  is  said  to  be  to  produce 
an  inferior  class  of  workmen.  Those  who  know  the  diffi- 
culty of  getting  a  field  ploughed  uniformly,  and  especially  of 
getting  the  depth  of  furrow  specified  by  the  master  adhered 
to  over  a  field,  and  by  all  the  ploughmen,  can  best  appreciate 
the  value  of  an  implement  that,  when  once  properly  adjusted, 
will  cut  every  furrow  of  an  equal  width  and  depth,  and  lay 
them  all  over  at  exactly  the  same  angle.  The  diversity  in 
the  quality  of  the  work  at  those  ploughing  competitions,  to 
which  only  the  picked  men  of  a  neighbourhood  are  sent, 
and  where  each  may  be  supposed  to  do  his  very  best,  shows 
conclusively  how  much  greater  it  must  be  on  individual 
farms,  even  under  the  most  vigilant  superintendence.  In 
every  other  art  the  effect  of  improved  machinery  is  to 
supersede  manual  dexterity ;  and  it  does  seem  absurd  to 
count  that  an,  objection  in  agriculture  which  is  an  advantags 
in  everything  else.  There  is  more  force  in  the  objection 
that  wheel-ploughs  are  inferior  to  swing  ones  in  ploughing 
cloddy  ground,  or  in  crossing  steep  ridges,  and  that  they 
cannot  be  used  for  forming  drills  for  turnip  or  other  crops. 
This  objection  vanishes  when  it  is  known  that  in  the  most 
improved  wheel-ploughs,  the  wheels  can  be  laid  aside  at 
pleasure,  and  that  they  ban  then  be  used  in  all  respects  as 
swing-ploughs.  A  mould-board,  somewhat  higher  and 
wider  behind  than  that  best  adapted  for  ordinary  work,  is 
required  for  forming  turnip-drills.  This,  however,  is  easily 
managed  by  having  two  distinct  mould-boards  for  each 
plough,  or,  better  still,  by  using  only  the  double  mould  h.iara 


312 


AGRICULTURE 


[machines  and 


nr  bulking  plough  for  drilling.  An  important  feature  in 
the  English  ploughs  is,  that  they  are  fitted  with  cast-iron 
shares,  which,  being  case-hardened  on  their  under  surface, 
wear  unequally,  and  so  preserve  a  sharp  edge.  The  necessity 
for  daily  recourse  to  the  smithy  is  thus  removed,  and  along 
with  it  that  irregularity  in  the  quality  of  the  work  and 
draught  of  the  plough,  which  so  often  arises  from  witting 
or  unwitting  alterations  being  made  in  the  set  of  the 
share  in  the  course  of  its  unceasing  journeys  thither.  These 
cast-iron  shares  are  slightly  more  brittle  than  those  made 
of  malleable  iron  with  steel  points ;  but  it  is  of  importance 
in  determining  their  comparative  merits  to  bear  in  mind 
that  the  prime  cost  of  the  former — lOd.  to  Is.  each — is  so 
small  as  to  render  them  at  the  year's  end  the  least  expensive 
of  the  two.  When  it  i3  desired  to  turn  a  very  deep  furrow, 
a  plough  is  used  differing  from  the  common  one  only  in 
being  somewhat  larger  and  stronger  in  all  its  parts,  with 
four  horses  to  draw  it. 

Ploughs  which  break  and  stir  the  subsoil,  without  bringing 
it  to  the  surface,  by  following  in  the  wake  of  the  common 
plough,  are  now  much  used.  The  first  of  the  kind — the 
invention  of  the  late  Mr  Smith  of  Deanston — is  a  ponderous 
implement,  requiring  at  least  four  good  horses  to  draw  it. 
It  is  well  adapted  for  displacing  and  aiding  in  the  removal 
of  earth-fast  stones.  The  inventor  has  happily  described 
its  operation  by  terming  it  a  "  horse  pick."  Read's  subsoil- 
plough  is  a  much  lighter  implement,  which  can  usually  bo 
drawn  by  two  horses.  Since  the  introduction  of  thorough 
draining,  it  is  found  beneficial  to  loosen  the  soil  to  a  much 
greater  depth-  than  was  formerly  practicable,  and  this  class 
of  implements  is  well  fitted  for  the  work.  It  is  always  ad- 
visable to  use  this  implement,  and  to  mark  and  dig  cat  the 
large  stones  encountered  by  it,  before  introducing  steam 
cultivation. 

Broadshare  or  paring-ploughs  are  much  used  in  various 
parts  of  England  in  the  autumn  cleaning  of  stubble.  A 
broad-cutting  edge  is  made  to  penetrate  the  soil  to  the  depth 
of  three  or  four  inches,  so  as  to  cut  up  the  root-weeds  which 
at  that  season  lie  for  the  most  part  near  the  surface. 
These,  as  well  as  the  stubble,  being  thus  detached  from  the 
firm  soil,  are  removed  by  harrowing  and  raking ;  after  which 
the  land  is  worked  by  the  common  plough.  An  implement 
of  this  kind  is  frequently  used  in  carrying  out  the  operation 
of  paring  and  burning.  Bentall's  Broadshare  has  the 
reputation  of  being  the  best  of  its  class ;  but  we  can  con- 
fidently recommend  the  common  plough,  stripped  of  its 
mould-board  and  fitted  with  a  share  twelve  inches  broad, 
as  not  only  the  cheapest,  but  decidedly  the  most  efficient 
scarifier  that  has  yet  been  used. 

An  ingenious  Aberdeenshire  mechanic,  Mr  Pirie  of 
Kinmundy,  has  recently  invented  a  double-furrow  plough, 
on  an  entirely  new  principle,  which  has  met  with  general 
approval,  and  has  already  been  adopted  by  all  the  great 
plough  makers.  By  carrying  the  plough  on  three  wheels, 
one  on  the  land  and  two  bevelled  ones  in  the  angle  of  the 
furrow,  Mr  Pirie  dispenses  with  both  soles  and  side  plates, 
and  thereby  lessens  the  friction,  and  avoids  that  hurtful 
glazing  and  hardening  of  the  bottom  of  the  furrow  which 
attends  the  use  of  other  ploughs.  So  much  is  the 
draught  lessened  by  this  improvement,  that  three  horses 
and  one  man  with  thi3  double-plough  can  perform  as 
much  work  in  a  day  as  four  horses  and  two  men  with 
two  ordinary  ploughs.  For  a  6eed-furrow  or  level  field 
of  free  soil,  two  horses  are  quite  able  to  work  the  double- 
plough. 

Various  implements  of  the  plough  type,  so  modified  as 
to  adapt  them  for  particular  processes,  have  from  time  to 
time  been  offered  to  public  notice,  but  have  failed  to  meet 
with  general  favour.  We  limit  our  notice  to  those  of 
ascertained  utility,  and  refer  the  reader  who  desires  fuller 


information  to  Ransome'i  Implement*  of  Agriculture,*  and 
the  more  recent  work  by  Messrs  Stephens  and  Scott 
Burn,  where  he  will  find  descriptions  of  the  most  interest- 
ing of  them. 

Section  3. — Grubbers,  &c. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  plough  is  the  class  of  imple- 
ments variously  called  grubbers,  cultivators,  drags,  or  scari- 
fiers. To  prepare  the  soil  for  the  crops  of  the  husbandman, 
it  is  necessary  to  pulverise  it  to  a  sufficient  depth,  and  to 
rid  it  of  weeds.  The  appropriate  function  of  the  plough  is 
to  penetrate,  break  up,  and  reverse  the  firm  surface  of  the 
field.  This,  however,  is  only  the  first  step  in  the  process, 
and  does  but  prepare  for  the  more  thorough  disintegration 
which  has  usually  been  accomplished  by  harrowing,  rolling, 
and  repeated  ploughings.  Now,  however  excellent  in  its 
own  place,  the  plough  is  a  cumbrous  and  tedious  pul- 
veriser, besides  needlessly  exposing  a  fresh  surface  at  each 
operation,  and  cutting  the  weeds  into  minute  portions, 
which  renders  their  removal  more  difficult.  These  defects 
were  long  felt,  and  suggested  the  desirableness  of  having 
some  implement  of  intermediate  character  betwixt  the 
plough  and  harrow,  which  should  stir  the  soil  deeply  and 
expeditiously  without  reversing  it,  and  bring  the  weeds 
unbroken  to  the  surface.  The  whole  tribe  of  grubbers, 
<fcc,  has  arisen  to  meet  this  demand,  and  we  shall  now 
consider  the  comparative  merits  of  the  more  promineut  of 
the  group.  The  first  notice  is  due  to  Finlayson's  harrow, 
which,  as  improved  by  Scoular,  was,  until  recently,  tho 
best  implement  of  its  kind.  Its  faults — and  they  attach 
equally  to  Kirkwood's  and  Wilkie's — are,  that  it  is  severe 
work  for  two  horses,  is  liable  to  choke  in  turfy  or  foul 
ground,  and  that  it  consolidates  the  bottom  of  the  furrow, 
while  producing  a  fine  tilth  on  the  surface.  Finlayson's 
grubber,  in  its  improved  form,  weighs  about  five  cwt, 
and  costs  as  many  pounds. 

Another  useful  implement  of  this  clas3  which  enjoys  a 
large   reputation  in   England  is  Biddle's  scarifier.     It  u 


Diddle':*  Scantier,  su  xniuie  by  Kamume  a  ^o. 

mounted  on  four  wheels — two  small  ones  in  front  and  two 
much  larger  behind.  The  frame  and  tines  are  of  cast- 
iron,  and  can  be  raised  and  depressed  at  pleasure  by 
means  of  two  levers  which  regulate  the  depth  to  which  the 
tines  shall  penetrate.  The  tinea  are  prepared  to  receive 
case-hardened  cast-iron  points  of  different  widths,  or  steel 
hoes  of  nine  inches  width,  so  that  the  implement  can  be 
used  for  breaking  up  and  paring  the  surface,  or  for 
grubbing  out  weeds  and  pulverising  the  soil,  as  may  be 
required.  An  important  feature  in  this  scarifier  is,  that 
it  keeps  its  hold  of  a  hard  surface  much  better  than  a 
plough  It  weighs  half  a  ton,,  is  drawn  by  four  or  six 
horses,  and  costs  about  j£18. 

1  The  Implements  of  Agriculture,  by  J.  Allen  Ransome,  Lond. 
1843.  The  Hook  of  Farm  Implement}  and  Machines,  by  Henry 
Stephens  and  R.  Scott  Burn,  Edin. 


IMPLEMENTS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


313 


The  Dude  or  tHey  cultivator  has  many  features  in 
common  with  Biddle's,  and  although  brought  forward  as 
an  improvement  upon  it,  has  not  established  its  title  to  be 
so  regarded.  The  great  weight,  high  price,  and  amount 
of  horse-power  required  to  work  them,  are  serious  objec- 
tions to  all  these~implement3. 

Of  more  recent  notoriety  than  these,  and  contrasting 
with  them  favourably  in  these  respects,  13  an  implement 
invented  by  the  late  Mr  John  Tennant,  at  Shields,  near 
Ayr,  and  now  popularly  known  as  Tennant's  grubber.  Its 
construction,  as  the  annexed  cut  will  show,  is  simple  in  the 
extreme.     Its  weight  is  about  two  cwi,  its  price  £4,  10s., 


Tennant's  Grubber,  as  improved  by  T.  Brown,  Ellington. 

and  its  draught  easily  overcome  by  two  horses.  The  depth 
at  which  it  works  is  regulated  by  raising  or  lowering  the 
shank  which  supports  its  wheels  in  front.  Its  tines  can  be 
easily  moved  on  their  supporting  bars,  and  it  may  be 
worked  with  five  or  seven  as  desired.  By  substituting  a 
shorter  hind  bar.  and  setting  the  tines  more  closely  to- 
gether, it  makes  a  most  efficient  drill-grubber.  We  shall 
have  occasion  to  refer  to  this  implement  frequently  in 


treating  of  tillage  operations.  The  improvement ''which 
Mr  T.  Brown  has  made  on  Tennant's  grubber  consists 
mainly  in  the  mode  of  attaching  the  tines  to  the  bars.  This 
attachment,  which  the  cut  explains,  has  the  merit  of  being 
at  once  very  simple  and  very  effectuaL  The  tines  when 
thus  fixed  are  as  rigid  as  if  welded  to  the  bars,  and  yst,  by 
merely  slackening  the  screws  and  driving  out  the  wedges, 
they  can  with  ease  and  rapidity  be  either  adjusted  at 
varying  widths  apart,  or  detached  for  repair. 


A,  Tine  ;  B,  Keeper;  C,  Wedge,  j  Actual  Size. 

Section  i. — Steam-Power  Tillage  Implements. 

Such  are  the  most  important  of  those  implements  ty 

which  the  tilling  of  the  soil  has  hitherto  been  accomplished, 

and  upon  which  the  farmer  must  continue  to  rely  so  long  as 

he  uses  the  muscular  force  of  animals  as  his  motive  power. 


Fowler's  Locomotive  Engine,  with  Clip  Drum. 


Hut  the  progress  of  invention  has  at  last  made  the  steam- 
engine  practically  available  for  this  purpose,  and  accordingly 
we  here  introduce  some  notice  of  what  has  now  been  accom- 
plished, in  applying  steam  power  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
soiL 

After  many  abortive  attempts  to  do  this  by  moving 
the  engine  itself  over  the  land  to  be  operated  upon,  it  is  now 
admitted  on  all  hands  that  the  only  available  method  is  to 


communicate  the  power  from  the  engine  to  the  implements 
by  means  of  steel  wire-ropes  and  windlasses.  This  is  done 
in  a  variety  of  ways,  some  of  the  most  prominent  of  which, 
we  shall  now  describe.  The  systems  actually  in  operation 
fall  under  twj  general  classes,  which  are  knTJwn  severally  as 
the  "  Direct"  and  the  "  Roundabout."  The  fhjst  of  these  is 
the  system  introduced  by  Messrs  John  Fowler  &  Co.  of 
Cornhill,  London,  and  now  so  well  known  in  connection  with, 


314 


AGRICULTURE 


[MACHINES  AMD 


their  name.  The  late  Mr  John  Fowler's  first  efforts  were 
directed  to  the  production  of  a  draining  apparatus,  and  it 
was  after  succeeding  in  this  apparently  more  arduous  effort 
that  he  adapted  his  tackle  to  the  hauling  of  tillage  imple- 
ments. After  various  tentative  changes,  Mr  Fowler  settled 
on  the  form  which  is. still  in  extensive  use.  It  consists  of 
a  single  locomotive  engine,  usually  of  12  or  14  horse-power, 
with  a  windlass  attached  to  it  under  the  boiler.  Around 
tfiis  wiudlass  an  endless  steel  wire-rope  passes  with  a  single 
turn  in  a  groove,  which,  by  means  of  hinged  clips,  lays  hold 
of  nearly  the  entire  circumference  of  the  rope,  and  that  with 
a  force  proportioned  to  the  strain  upon  the  rope,  which  thus 
obtains  sufficient  grip  to  convey  the  necessary  hauling 
power  without  risk  of  slipping  upon  the  drum.  This  wire- 
rope,  which  requires  to  be  just  twico  as  long  as  the  field  to 
be  tilled  is  wide,  passes  round  a  cheave  upon  a  self-acting 
anchor  placed  at  the  farther  side  of  the  field  opposite  to  the 
engine.  This  anchor  is  a  prominent  feature  in  Mr  Fowler's 
apparatus.  It  consists  of  a  low  truck  on  four  wheels,  with 
sharp  disc  edges,  which  cut  deeply  into  the  soil,  and  thus 
obtain  a  hold  sufficient  to  resist  the  strain  of  the  wire  rope. 
A  box,  loaded  with  stones,  is  fixed  on  the  outer  side  of  this 
truck  to  hinder  it  from  canting  over.  The  sheave  mounted 
upon  this  truck,  besides  serving  its  primary  use,  gives  motion 
when  required  to  a  dram,  which  winds  up  a  rope,  the  other 
end  of  which  is  fixed  well  a-head  in  the  direction  in  which 
the  track  is  required  to  move.  Thus  the  apparatus  warps 
itself  along  the  headland  as  the  ploughing  progresses,  and  is 
kept  always  vis-&  -vis  to  the  engine,  which  moves  itself  forward 
by  its  own  locomotive  power  at  every  bout  of  the  ploughs, 


and  keeps  abreast  of  them.  That  the  rope  may  not  drag 
upon  the  ground,  friction  rollers  or  rope-i  orters,  as  they  are 
called,  are  placed  at  suitable  intervals.  These  being  mounted 
on  wheels  and  Strang  upon  the  rope,  are  now  iu  a  good 
measure  self-acting,  as  the  tautness  of  the  rope  keeps  them 
in  its  own  line.  The  ploughs  are  fixed  to  a  balance  frame 
carried  on  two  wheels,  and  are  in  duplicate,  pointing  to  each 
other,  so  th?.t  when  the  set  at  one  end  of  the  frame  is  in 
work,  the  opposite  set  is  carried  aloft  in  the  air.  The  plough 
frame  is  thus  hauled  to  and  fro  across  the  field,  between  the 
engine  and  movable  anchor, '  y  reversing  the  action  of  the 
windlass;  and  it  is  adapted  for  taking  from  two  to  eight 
furrows  at  once,  according  to  tho  power  of  the  engine  em 
ployed,  or  the  nature  of  the  soil  that  is  operated  upon. 

Messrs  Fowler  have  made  this  form  of  their  apparatus 
more  generally  available  by  adapting  it  for  attachment  to 
the  ordinary  8-horse  power  thrashing-engine.  'Wlien  thus 
used  the  clip  drum  is  mounted  on  a  separate  frame  and 
connected  with  the  engine,  which  being  stationed  in  a  corner 
of  the  field  to  bo  ploughed,  the  ropo  is  carried  to  two  self- 
acting  anchors,  one  at  each  side  of  the  field,  and  thus  encloses 
a  triangle.  The  plough  is  drawn  to  and  fro  betwixt  these 
anchors,  and  as  it  gradually  approaches  the  engine  at  each 
successive  bout,  the  gearing  on  the  plough-frame  tightens  op 
the  rope  and  accommodates  it  to  the  diminishing  length 
required. 

To  work  Fowler's  apparatus  there  is  required  one  engine- 
driver,  one  ploughman,  a  stout  lad  to  attend  to  the  anchor, 
two  boys  to  shift  the  rope-porters,  and  a  horse  and  boy  t« 
supply  the  engine  with  water  and  fueL 


Fowler's  Steam-Plough  as  i.t  work. 


About  1865  Messrs  Fowler  made  an  important  addition 
to  their  apparatus  by  substituting  a  second  engine  for  their 
movable  anchor.  In  this  arrangement,  now  well  known  as 
the  "  Double  Engine  system,"  a  pair  of  locomotive  engines, 
each  having  a  plain  winding  drum  instead  of  the  clip-drum, 
are  placed  opposite  to  each  other  at  the  ends  of  the  field  to 
be  operated  upon ;  the  rope  of  each  of  the  engines  is  attached 
to  the  plough,  or  other  tillage  implement,  which  is  drawn 
to  and  fro  betwixt  them  by  each  working  in  turn.  While 
the  engine  in  gear  is  coiling  -in  its  rope  and  drawing  the 
plough  towards  itself,  the  rope  of  the  other  engine  is  paid 
out  with  merely  so  much  drag  on  it  as  to  keep  it  from  kinking 
or  getting  ravelled  on  the  drum.  The  advantages  claimed 
for  this  system  are,  economy  of  power  from  the  direct  pull 
of  the  engines  on  the  implement ;  the  facility  and  rapidity 


with  which  the  engines  move  themselves  and  the  whole 
apparatus  from  field  to  field,  or  farm  to  farm,  and  take  up 
their  positions  and  get  to  work  without  the  aid  of  horses ; 
and  the  few  hands  required  to  work  it.  Its  drawbacks  are 
the  large  first  cost,  and  corresponding  charge  for  wear  and 
tear,  depreciation,  and  interest;  itsunsuitableness  for  working 
in  small  and  irregularly  shaped  fields ;  and  the  injury  done 
to  headlands  in  wet  weather.  Its  special  adaptation  is  for 
large  farms,  and  for  working  for  hire ;  and  for  these  it  is 
undoubtedly  without  a  rival. 

Mr  William  Smith  of  Woolston,  Bedfordshire,  may  fairly 
be  regarded  as  the  pioneer  of  cultivation  by  steam  power. 
At  the  meeting  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of.  England 
at  Carlisle  in  1855,  he  witnessed  the  performance  of  the  late 
John  Fowler's  steam  draining-plough,  and  then  contracted 


IMPLEMENTS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


315 


with  him  to  Construct  for  t»'m  a  windlass  and  other  tilling 
apparatus,  with  which  he  got  to  work  on  his  own  farm  in 
the  autumn  of  that  year.  These  two  leaders  in  steam- 
cultivation  did  not  long  work  together.  They  had  decided 
and  diverse  opinions  as  to  the  best  road  to  success,  and 
accordingly  each  for  the  future  took  his  own  course.  Mr 
Smith's  merit  is  not  largely  that  of  an  original  inventor  of 
machinery,  but  rather  that  of  a  zealous,  persevering,  and 
successful  applier  of  the  inventions  of  others.  But  by  his 
own  example  and  his  vigorous  writings,  he  has  contributed 
very  largely  indeed  to  the  success  of  steam  cultivation.  He 
makes  use  of  the  ordinary  portable  engine,  such  as  is  em- 
ployed as  a  thrashing  power,  which  gives  motion  to  a 
detached  windlass  with  two  drums,  from  which  a  wire-rope 
is  carried  round  the  area  to  be  operated  upon,  and  hence 
the  name  "  Roundabout"  applied  to  this  system.  This  rope 
being  attached  by  a  turning  bow  to  a  powerful  grubber,  the 
implement  is  drawn  to  and  fro  across  the  field  by  reversing 
as  required  the  action  of  the  windlass,  the  slack  half  of  the 
rope  being  uncoiled  from  the  one  drum  as  the  part  in  work  is 
wound  up  upon  the  other.  His  mode  of  working  is  to  break 
up  the  ground  by  using  a  three-tined  grubber,  and  then  to 
go  over  it  again  with  a  seven-tined  one,  working  at  right 
angles  to  the  first     Mr  Smith  zealously  advocates  the  supe- 


riority of  grubbing  to  ploughing,  being  of  opinion  that  if 
the  soil  is  thoroughly  broken  up  to  a  sufficient  depth,  it  k. 
better  not  to  reverse  the  surface,  as  weeds  are  thu3  kept 
on  the  top,  and  the  removal  of  them  thereby  greatly 
facilitated. 

Mr  Smith  soon  made  an  important  addition  to  his  system 
of  tillage  by  means  of  an  implement,  which  he  calls  a  Ridger 
and  Subsoiler.  By  means  of  it  the  soil,  after  being 
thoroughly  smashed  up  by  tho  6team-grubber,  is  thrown 
into  36-inch  ridges,  the  tine  at  the  same  time  penetrating 
and  loosening  the  subsoil  in  each  furrow  several  inches 
deeper.  His  clay  soil  treated  thus  immediately  after  harvest 
is  put  into  the  best  possible  condition  for  benefiting  by  the 
alternations  of  wintry  weather,  for  allowing  rain-water  to. 
pass  readily  and  beneficially  to  the  drains,  and  for  yielding 
a  friable  seed-bed  in  spring.  It  has  enabled  him  altogether 
to  dispense  with  dead  fallows ;  to  grow  abundant  crops  of 
wheat  and  beans  alternately  for  a  number  of  successive  years, 
at  an  average  annual  cost  of  8s.  6d.  per  acre  for  tillage ; 
and  to  keep  his  land  perfectly  clean  under  this  constant 
cropping.  He  has  the  high  merit  not  only  of  being  the 
first  man  who  successfully  used  steam  power  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  a  farm,  but  of  demonstrating  that  this  can  be  done 
with  manifest  economy  even  by  the  occupiers  of  small  farms, 


Smith's  Steam  Cultivator  as  at  work. 


seeing  that  his  own  farm  extends  to  but  180  acres  of  arable 
land  After  the  lapse  of  eighteen  years  there  is  probably 
no  one  who  yet  practises  steam  cultivation  with  as  great 
success  and  economy.  At  the  end  of  this  period  he  reports 
that  his  engine  and  tackle  are  in  excellent  condition. 

Mr  Smith's  apparatus  was  for  a  time  manufactured  by 
the  well-known  firm  of  J.  <fe  F.  Howard  of  Bedford,  and 
more  recently  by  Barford  <fc  Perkins  of  Peterborough. 
Since  1860  the  Messrs  Howard  have  sent  out  a  tackle  of 
their  own,  in  which  the  main  features  of  Smith's  system 
are  retained,  but  to  these  they  have  themselves  added 
from  time  to  time  various  improvements.  By  means  of  a 
self-acting  windlass  and  self-moving  anchors,  their  tackle 
can  now  be  worked  by  ono  engineman  (who  also  ottends 
to  the  windlass),  one  ploughman,  and  two  porter-boys. 

Although  the  earliest  in  date  of  invention,  the  most 
recent  in  actual  operation  is  the  tackle  of  Messrs  Fisken, 


which  has  features  peculiar  to  itself.  A  single  traction 
engine  is  stationed  at  any  convenient  point  on  the 
margin  of  or  near  to  tho  field  to  be  operated  upon,  the 
preference  always  being  given  to  a  site  where  there  in 
water,  whence  it  can  supply  itself  either  by  pumping 
or  by  the  patent  injector.  The  other  parts  of  the  apparatus 
are  two  self-moving  anchor  windlasses,  which  are  placed 
opposite  to  each  other  on  two  sides  of  the  field,  occupying 
the  place  and  doing  the  work  of  the  two  engines  in  the 
double-engine  system.  Theso  windlasses  are  mounted  on 
four  disc  wheels,  and  have  also  a  spud  which  cuts  into  the 
soil  to  give  the  necessary  resistance  to  the  side  pull 
They  each  carry  a  winding-drum  with  tho  necessary  length 
of  wire-rope,  and  these  windlass-drums,  wind  up  and  pay 
out  alternately  in  precisely  the  same  way  as  in  Fowler's 
double  engines.  They  also  have  each  a  winding-forward 
drum  with  wire-rope  and  anchor  fixed  ahead,  by  means  oi 


31G 

which  they  warp  themselves  forward  and  keep  abreast  as 
the-  work  progresses.  Power  is  communicated  from  the 
engine  to  these  windlasses  by  means  of  a  light  hemp  rope, 
travelling  at  the  speed  of  the  fly-wheel,  .which  is  carried  all 
round  the  field,  and  takes  a  double  turn  round  a  grooved 
pulley  on  each  windlass.  A  set  of  anchor  pulbys  on 
wheels  carry  this  rope  round  the  corners  of  the  field ; 
another  set  of  pulleys,  on  stakes  driven  into  the  ground  at 
suitable  points,  carry  it  off  the  ground;  and  a  tension 
anchor  mounted  on  four  wheels,  and  having,  like  the 
windlasses,  an  apparatus  by  which  it  warps  itself  forward, 
and  keeps  the  hemp-rope  taut  as  the  length  out  varies  with 
the  progress  of  the  work  The  windlasses  have  each  a 
self-acting  clutch,  which  stops  the  implement  when  any 
obstruction  is  encountered,  and .  by  which  the  attendants 
stop  it  at  the  turnings,  or  when  otherwise  necessary,  with- 
out in  any  case  requiring  to  stop  the  engine.  By  these 
arrangements  the  engine-driver  does  not  require  to  have 
tho  implement  in  sight,  his  duty  being  merely  to  drive  his 
engine  at  a  uniform  speed,  as  neither  stopping  nor  revers- 
ing are  required.  The  advantages  claimed  for  Fisken's 
tackle  are  those  which  it  has  in  common  with  the  other 
Roundabout  systems,  and,  in  addition,  the  use  of  a  light 
hemp  rope  to  convey  power  from  engine  to  implement  with 
less  friction  and  cost  than  in  other  systems;  great  adapta- 
bility to  fields  of  any  size,  or  shape,  or  inequality  of  surface ; 
and  a  capacity  in  certain  circumstances  of  being  worked  by 
a  fiied  steam-engine  or  water  power. 

The  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England  ha3  from  the 
first  devoted  much  attention  and  large  funds  to  the  promo- 
tion of  steam  cultivation,  by  the  prizes  offered  at  its  annual 
shows,  and  by  the  reports  published  in  its  Journal  from  year 
to  year.  In  the  prolonged  trial  of  steam-ploughs  which  took 
place  at  Leeds  in  July  1861  under  its  auspices,  the  competi- 
tion was  mainly  betwixt  Fowler's  and  the  modification,  by 
Howard,  of  what  is  popularly  known  as  Smith's  system. 
The  award  of  the  judges  was  as  follows: — "The  £100 
prize  offered  for  the  most  economical  application  of  steam 
power  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  was  awarded  to  Mr 
Fowler  for  his  12-horso  power  engine,  moving  anchor- 
age, and  plough;  and  of  the  £100  offered  for  the  most 
economical  application  of  the  ordinary  thrashing-engine  of 
the  farm  to  steam  cultivation,  £75  was  given  to  Mr  Fowler, 
and  £25  to  Mr  Howard.  Besides  these  a  silver  medal  is 
given  to  Mr  Hayes,  for  his  clever  windlass  for  the  same 
purpose ;  and  the  same  to  Mr  Roby  for  his  combined  engine 
and  windlass." 

During  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1861,  Mr  J.  C. 
Morton,  editor  of  the  Agricultural  Gazette,  personally  in- 
spected the  farms  of  many  of  these  parties,  and  published 
from  time  to  time  in  that  paper  detailed  accounts  of  his 
own  observations  and  of  the  information  supplied  to  him  in 
regard  to  each  case.  In  his  New  Farmer's  Almanac  for 
18°62,  he  condensed  these  reports,  and  from  it  we  give  the 
following  extracts : — 

"  Little  Woodcoto  Farm  lies — a  tract  of  open  country 
and  light  calcareous  soil  of  various  depth — upon  the  chalk, 
about  a  mile  from  the  Carshalton  station  on  the  London  and 
Epsom  railway.  Mr  Arnot  has  had  Fowler's  10-horse 
power  steam-engine  and  ploughing  apparatus  since  ^the 
harvest  of  1859.  His  apparatus,  rope.and  enginecost£700. 
He  works  a  three-furrow  plough.  The  work  done  each 
year  by  the  steam-plough  on  his  400  acre  farm  has  thus 
been  393  acres  in  1859  60,  and  389  acres  in  1860-61.  It 
has  been  done  at  the  rate  of  six  or  seven  acres  a  day  for 
ordirary  ploughing,  and  three  acres  a  day  (one  acre  per 
furrow)  when  at  the  10  and  12-inch  deep  work.  It  may 
average  on  the  whole  five  acres  a  day,  including  all  stoppages 
and  removals,  and  has  thus  taken  close  upon  eighty  days 
for  its  accomplishment.     LWJea  this,  however,  15U  acres 


AGRICULTURE 


[machines  anl 

have  been  ploughed  during  the  time  for  neighbours  at  a 
charge,  including  everything,  of  12s.  an  aero.  The  engine 
is  also  used  for  thrashing  purposes,  and  220  acres  at  home 
and  250  acres  elsewhere  are  thus  thrashed  out  for  hire. 

"  The  cost  of  repairs  has  been  uncommonly  small — in- 
cluding a  new  cog-wheel,  repacking  cylinders,  and  a  thorough 
overhaul  and  cleaning  of  the  whole  apparatus  at  the  end  of 
two  years — besides  the  replacement  of  shares  and  sharpening 
of  coulters  for  the  plough,  and  the  gradual  wearing  of  the 
rope-porters.  In  all  it  has  not  nearly  reached  £10  a  year, 
at  which,  nevertheless,  wo  put  it.  The  tear  and  wear  of 
rope  is  reported  as  follows  : — A  new  400-yard  rope,  lately 
bought,  costing  £35,  has  made  the  stock  stronger  and  better 
than  it  was  at  tho  beginning.  This  charge  may  therefore 
be  put  against  more  than  two  years'  work,  and  is  equal  to 
about  £1 5  a  year.  •  The  weekly  cost  of  labour  when  at  work 
is  as  follows  : — Engineer,  18s. ;  ploughman,  14s. ;  anchor 
lad,  9s.  ;  two  porter  lads,  6s.  each ;  horse  and  water  cart, 
about  24s.  weekly — in  all,  £3,  17s.  weekly,  or  as  nearly  as 
possible  12s.  a  day.  The  cost  for  oil  is  Is.  a  day,  and  for 
fuel,  at  nine  or  ten  cwt.  a  day,  it  may  be  put  at  10s.  daily. 
The  charge  for  depreciation  at  10  per  cent  is  £70  a  year, 
and  for  interest  of  capital  £35  a  year.  Tho  whole  animal 
cost  may -thus  be  estimated : — 

Labour,  80  days  ....  MS 

Fuel  and  oil         ...  .  44 

Repairs  and  rope  ...  25 

Depreciation  and  interest  of  capital         .  106 

Total  £222 

"But  500  acres  of  thrashing,  and  70  or  80  acres  peranuum 
of  steam  ploughing  for  hire,  equal  in  all  to  at  least  forty 
days'  work  per  annum,  are  also  done  by  this  engine.  And 
the  profits  of  this  work  should  be  deducted  from  this  sum 
before  Mr  Arnot's  experience  of  his  investment  am  be 
accurately  described.  The  sum  of  £222,  at  which,  if  there 
had  been  no  other  use  for  engine  and  apparatus,  his  cost 
must  have  been  estimated,  is  equal  to  lis.  per  acre  over  the 
work  accomplished,  much  of  which,  however,  was  12  inches 
deep.-  But  if  the  proper  share  of  the  interest  and  depreciation 
of  capital  bo  charged  upon  its  work  elsewhere  for  hire,  the 
cost  of  steam  ploughing  will  not  exceed  £190,  or  10s.  6d. 
an  acre.  But  Mr  Arnot  would  contend  that  the  engino 
is  not  £30  worse  than  when  he  purchased  it  two  years  ago ; 
and  one-half  of  this,  with  interest  of  capital,  will  amount  to 
£50,  two-thirds  only  of  which  should  be  charged  against  the 
plough-work  ;  and  £150  would  thus  appear  to  be  the  annual 
cost  of  ploughing  400  acres,  or  7s.  6d.  an  acre.  In  fact,  ho 
might  very  well  claim  that  this  sum  should  be  still  further 
reduced  by  all  the  profit  of  his  hire  elsewhere,  which  can 
hardly  be  put  at  less  than  20s.  a  day,  and  this  on  forty 
days  per  annum  will  amount  to  £40  or  more ;  so  that  the 
net  cost  to  him  of  his  machinery  has  not  been  more  than 
£1 10  a  year,  or  5s.  6d.  an  acre  over  his  ploughing. 

"  What  did  it  use  to  cost  him  when  he  worked  thirteen 
horses  on  his  farml  He  now  works  six  horses.  His 
horses  get  2  J  bushels  of  oats,  and  2£  trusses  of  hay  weekly 
each,  during  seven  months  : — 

30  weeks  at  lis.  amount  to  .  £  16  10    0 

22  weeks  on  clover,  ic.,  at  5s.    .  5  10    0 

Tho  annual  food  per  house  costs  £22  0  0 
"  The  annual  charge  for  depreciation,  farrier,  blacksmith, 
saddler,  and  implements,  is  at  least  £5  per  horse,  and  for 
interest  of  capital  in  horse  and  implements  at  least  £2 
more.  This  makes  the  annual  cost  of  each  horse  £29. 
The  wages  paid,  in  cash  and  cottage,  to  ploughmen  is  at 
least  £32  per  pair,  or  £16  per  horse,  and  the  whole  cost  is 
thus  equal  to  £45  per  horse  per  annum  ;  which  over  seven 
horses  amounts  to  £315  per  annum — one-half  more  than 
the  expenditure,  evei  on  the  highest  estimate,  upon  th« 


IMPLEMENTS.] 


AGlilGULTU'BE 


31V 


engine  which  Las  .displaced  them,  and  nearly  double  what 
Mr  Aruot  Las  actually  incurred  when  he  deducts  his 
profits  on  its  hire. 

"  A  clay  land  farm  near  Bedford  (the  Woolston  or  Bed- 
ford apparatus),  the  Tithe  Farm  of  Stevingtou,  ocpupied  by 
Mr  'William  Pike,  is  a  tract  naturally  of  poor  clay  soil. 
The  extent  farmed  by  Mr  Pike  has  till  lately  been  about 
475  acres,  of  which  357  were  arable ;  and  fifteen  horses 
were  employed  in  five  -3-huise  teams  upon  this  extent. 
Now,  about  600  acres  are  farmed,  of  which  420  acres  are 
arable ;  and  the  whole  is  managed  with  ten  horses  and  an 
8-horso  power '  engine,  working  grubbers  on  the  Wool- 
ston system.  If  the  additional  land  requires  the  same 
horse-power  per  1 00  acres  as  was  needed  on  the  original 
farm,  then,  in  place  of  ten  horses,  seventeen  or  eighteen 
must  have  been  needed,  and  probably  Mr  Pike's  mere 
saving  by  the  use  of  his  8  horse  engine  and  cultivating 
apparatus  does  not  fall  short  of  £300  a  year. 

"The  present  cropping  of  the  land  is  as  follows  :— 125 
acres  are  in  wheat,  of  which  105  were  partly  after  beans, 
cross-grubbed  by  steam-power  before  sowing,  and  partly 
after  clover,  having  been  cross-grubbed  also  by  steam-power 
more  than  once  before  the  previous  harvest  time,  and  then 
horse  scarified  and  harrowed.  The  remainder  was  after 
horse  cultivation.  There  are  00  acres  of  beans  after  wheat, 
its  stubble  having  been  dressed  with  farm-yard  dung,  and 
then  ploughed  by  horse  power.  There  .are  60  acres  of 
grass  and  clover ;  20  acres  now  in  vetches  have  been  cross- 
grubbed  after  a  manuring;  25  acres  in  mangolds  and 
turnips  have  been  cross-grubbed  in  autunyn,  and  again 
steam-scarified  ■  and  crossed  in  spring ;  50  acres  in  barley, 
and  25  acres  in  oats,  make  up  the  extent  of  the  farm,  and 
were  got  in  after  steam  cultivation.  By  '  cross-grubbing ' 
it  is  meant  that  the  operation  was  repeated. 

"More  horse  cultivation  than  usual  was  d6ne  in  1860. 
Clay  land  was  fit  only  on  rare  ocasions,  and  both  horse 
and  steam  power  were  then  used  to  the  utmost  Mr  Pike 
has  had  Mr  Smith's  grubber  worked  'by  an  ordinary 
thrashing-engine  since  July  1858.  Since  that  time  731 
acres  have  been  cross- grubbed,  i.e.,  doubly -worked.  In 
addition  to  this  Mr  Pike  informs  me  that  he  has  also 
cross-grubbed  for  hire  300  acres  of  land.  For  this  he 
charges  25s.  an  acre,  the  coals  being  supplied  to  the 
employer. 

"Excluding  this  item  from  our  consideration  in  the 
meantime,  and  assuming  that  730  acres — double  cultivated 
between  July  1858  and  June  1861 — correspond  to  250 
acres  annually,  the  average  performance  of  the  engine,  in- 
cluding all  stoppages  except  removals,  has  been  six  acres 
daily  once  cultivated.  To  do  250  acres  twice  would  there- 
fore occupy  at  least  eighty-three  days ;  adding  three  days 
for  removals,  there  are  eighty-six  days'  work  of  the  steam- 
engine  to  be  charged  upon  the  steara  cultivation  of  the 
farm.  The  following  is  the  labour  and  its  cost  per 
week: — 1  engineer,  16s.;  1  ploughman,  lis.;  2  men  shift- 
ing anchors,  22s. ;  1  man  at  windlass,.  12s. ;  1  porter-boy, 
6s. ;  1  boy  and  horse  with  water  cart,  24s. :  the  whole 
amounts  to  £3,  19s.,  or  13s.  2d.  daily.  In  addition  to 
this  we  add  the  cost  of  coals,  10  cwts.  at  19s.  a  ton  on 
the  ground,  or  9s.  6d.  daily.  The  oil  at  5s.  a  gallon  costs 
about  Is.  a  day. 

"The  daily  cost  thus  comes  to  23s.  6<L,  and  this  over 
eighty-six  days  amounts  to  about  £100.  Against  the 
engine  and  apparatus,  costing  about  £510,  we  must  put 
10  per  cent.,  or  £51,  for  depreciation,  and  5  per  cent.,  or 
£25,  10s.,  for  interest  of  capital  The  cost  of  repairs  may 
perhaps  be  satisfied  by  an  annual  charge  of  £15  ;  and  for 
tear  and  wear  of  rope  we  have  the  following  items  :  1400 
yards  of  iron  wire-rope  originally  purchased,  £50 ;  steel 
lopes,  1400  yards,  since  purchased,  £60.     Probably  the 


annual  charge  needed  to  maintain  this  may  be  made  on 

the  theory  that  the  rope  will  last  three  years,  and  £25  a 
year  may  suffice  for  this  particular.  Adding  up  tLc.ie 
items,  we  have  a  sum  total  of  £216,  10s.  to  be  charged 
against  the  farm  for  steam  cultivation.  Putting  £216 
against  500  acres  once  grubbed  in  the  course  of  the  year, 
we  have  a  charge  of  about  8s.  7d.  an  acre  for  the  grubbing. 
Mr  Pike  informed  me  that,  during  the  three  years  of  his 
steam  cultivation,  on  several  of  the  ten  fields  already 
specified,  he  has  not. used  the  plough  at  alL  Even  the 
mixing  of  manure  with  the  soil  is  done  by  the  grubber. 
No  plough  is  used  to  bury  it.  It  is  laid  upon  the  laud, 
and  grubbed  to  and  fro,  and  thereby  mixed  sufficiently. 
The  cleanness  of  the  land,  too,  is  a  fair  testimony  to  the 
quality  of  cultivation  by  implements  which  stir,  but  do 
not  overturn  the  soil 

"  Mr  Pike  has  till  lately  used  the  grubber  invented  by 
Mr  Smith  of  Woolston,  with  the  turnbow  apparatus  for 
turning  the  tool  at  the  laud's  end.  Latterly  he  has  used 
the  cultivator  of  Messrs  Howard,  each  tine  of  which  is 
double,  pointing  both  fore  and  aft,  so  that  no  turning  at 
all  is  needed,  the  claw  which  follows  in  the  wake  of  the 
working  tooth  as  it  goes  coming  into  operation  in  its  turn 
as  it  comes  back  again." 

Mr  Pike  thus  writes  to  Messrs  Howard,,  of  date 
December  2,  1861  :— 

"Gfntlemen,— I  have  cultivated  my  farm  by  steam-power  for 
the  last  four  years,  and  therefore  feel  myself  in  a  position  to  speali 
positively  of  the  merits  of  the  system. 

"  My  farm,  belonging  to  the  fjuke  of  Bedford,  consists  principally 
of  poor,  strong,  hilly,  clay  land,  which,  before  I  entered  upon  it, 
was  laid  up  in  three  yard  ridges,  with  water  gutters  drawn  across 
the  ridges  to  take  off  the  water.  Since  I  have  steam  cultivated  it, 
I  have  done  away  with  ridges,  and  furrows  entirely ;  my  fields  of 
40  and  50  acres  each,  which  are  steep  in  places,  are  all  la>d  on  tha 
flat,  and  during  the  wettest  season  I  have  never  seen  any  water 
stand  upon  them.  I  am  convinced  if  land  is  broken  up  a  good 
depth  by  the  cultivator,  and  under  drained,  there  is  uo  need  of  any 
furrows,  if  it  is  ever  so  strong. 

"I  am  enabled  to  manage  my  farm  with  about  half  the  number  of 
horses.  I  do  it  with  less  trouble  to  myself.  I  am  always  more 
forward  with  my  work,  and  the  horses  I  do  keep  cost  much  less  per 
head  than  formerly,  as  all  the  hard  vjork  is  done  by  steam. 

"  The  effect  of  deep  stirring  this  soil  is  very  apparent  in  the  crops ; 
my  land  is  naturally  very  poor,  so  that  very  large  yields  are  out  of 
the  question ;  but  1  am  convinced  I  can  grow  much  more  corn  by 
steam  than  by  horse  cultivation,  and  I  can  also  grow  a  larger 
breadth  of  root  crops.  I  also  find  that  by  constant  deep  tillage 
my  land  moves  easier  every  year,  consequently  it  is  less  expense  to 
cultivate.  1  seldom  use  the  plough,  except  my  horses  have  got 
nothing  else  to  dc. 

"I  break  up  my  clover  lays  before  harvest,  and  make  a  bastard 
fallow  of  them.  I  am  convinced  this  is  the  surest  way  of  getting  a 
good  wheat  crop  on  strong  soil ;  and,  besides  cleaning  the  land,  i$ 
has  this  advantage,  it  does  not  leave  so  much  work  to  do  at 
Michaelmas.  I  also  break  up  my  tare  land  before  harvest,  so  that 
after  harvest  1  have  nothing  to  do  tut  cultivate  my  bear  and 
wheat  stubbles. 

"  I  put  away  my  tackle  as  soon  as  possible  after  we  have  heavy 
rains,  the  latter  part  of  October  or  beginning  of  November,  and  do 
not  bring  it  out  again  until  the  turnip  land  is  ready  to  break  up 
for  barley.  My  object  is  to  make  the  Dest  use  of  the  summer  and 
the  early  autumn. 

"  When  I  commenced  cultivating  by  steam,  I  used  to  set  down  to 
little  pieces,  but  I  found  that  too  much  trouble,  therefore  increased 
the  length  of  my  ropes,  as  1  found  it  made  very  little  difference  to 
my  8-horse  engine  whether  I  had  out  a  long  or  short  length  of  rope. 
I  have  now  sufficient  to  dr  a  GO  acre  field,  >  without  moving  either 
engine  or  windlass ;  this  L  my  largest  field ;  I  dug  a  pond  at  one 
end,  and  I  do  the  whole  without  moving  from  the  poni  When  1 
can,  I  set  my  engine  and  windlass  in  an  adjoining  field,  so  as  to 
finish  headlands  and  all  complete,  without  going  into  it.  Water 
carting  is  a  great  expense,  and  in  a  wet  season  a  great  nuisance.  I 
therefore  have  dug  some  ponds,  and  sometimes  1  dam  up  a  ditch  or 
master  drain  to  obtain  a  supply. 

"I  am  particularly  pleased  with  the  new  apparatus  you  made  for 
me  last  spring.  The  windlass  is  much  easier  moved  about,  and  is 
very  simple  to  manage.  The  cultivator  takes  less  time  at  land's 
end,  there  is  no  danger  of  overturning,  it  docs  not  jump  so  much  in 
work,  and  the  hind  ahartia  cause  the  land  to  lay  looser.  ^No  matter 


318 


AGRICULTURE 


[MACmNESiASl 


Bow  hard  the  ground,  It  will  break  It  up,  and  ou  sidebillj  it  goes 
much  steadier  and  letter  than  my  old  one. 

"The  first  steel  rope  1  had  did  above  2000  acres,  and  I  have  a  small 
portionofitat  work  yet  If  peoplo  mean  to  have  their  ropes  last,  they 
most  keep  them  off  the  ground,  and  attend  Well  to  the  coiling  on 
the  windlass  drums.  I  like  your  new  rollers,  which  carry  the  rope 
further  from  the  ground. — I  am,  Gentlemen,  yours  very  truly, 

"  Messrs  J.  &  F.  Howard,  Bedford.  William  Pike." 

It  is  duo  to  Messrs  Howard  to  state  that  their  numerous 
other  customers  concur  in  testifying  to  the  general  efficiency 
of  their  tackle,  its  little  liability  to  breakage  or  derange- 
ment, and  to  the  readiness  with  which  their  ordinary  farm 
labourers  have  learned  to  work  it  efficiently. 

By  this  time  cultivation  by  steam-power  had  been 
adopted  by  enterprising  individuals  in  nearly  every  county 
in  England,  and  was  making  steady  progress  in  the  face  of 
many  hindrances.  In  every  instance  the  purchaser  and 
his  servants  had  to  learn  the  use  of  novel  and  somewhat 
complicated  machinery;  much  of  which,  as  first  sent  out, 
proved  to  be  defective  both  in  structure  and  in  material.  The 
fields  also,  through  lack  of  preparation,  often  presented 
obstacles  which,  us  experience  was  gained,  were  seen  and 
remedied.  In  a  few  instances,  where  the  purchaser  of 
steam  tackle  was  either  unablo  to  give  his  personal  super- 
intendence, or  lacked  the  needed  energy  and  perseverance 
to  cope  with  the  difficulties  of  a  new  enterprise,  it  proved 
a  failure.  But  with  rare  exceptions,  easily  accounted  for, 
it  was  everywhere  demonstrated  that  by  steam-powe»  and 
appropriate  implements,  the  tillage  of  the  soil  can  be  per- 
formed with  a  rapidity,  efficiency,  and  economy  far 
excelling  what  is  practicable  by  animal  power  and  the  old 
implements. 

In  the  autumn  of  1866,  by  which  date  steam  tillage  had 
greatly  extended,  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England 
sent  out  three  sets  of  commissioners  to  inspect  and  report 
on  the  position  of  steam  cultivation  at  that  time.  The  reports 
obtained  wero  published  in  the  Society's  Journal  for  1867, 
and  present  a  mass  of  most  interesting  and  instructive  in- 
formation on  the  whole  subject  The  commissioners  visited 
about  150  farms  situated  in  nearly  40  different  counties 
of  England,  and  a  few  in  East  Lothian,  containing  an 
aggregate  area  of  66,000  acres,  which  they  estimate  to 
be  about  a  third  of  the  whole  area  then  under  steam  cultiva- 
tion. They  amply  confirm  what  has  already  been  stated 
as  to  the  success  of  this  new  system  of  tillage,  and  make  it 
plain  that  the  changes  thus  brought  about  are  of  such  im- 
portance as  really  to  amount  to  a  revolution  in  modern 
agriculture. 

At  its  annual  show  in  1871,  at  Wolverhampton,  the 
English  Society  again  provided  for  a  careful  competitive  trial 
of  steam-tillage  machinery,  when  the  following  awards  were 
made : — 

Class  I. — For  the  best  combination  of  machinery  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  soil  by  steam-power— 
1st  Prize,  £100— Awarded  to  .Messrs  J.  Fowler  &  Co.,  Leeds. 
2d  Prize,  £50—  do.  do.  do. 

Class  II. — For  the  best  combination  of  machinery  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  soil  by  steam-power,  the  weight  of  the  steam-engine 
not  to  exceed  10  tons — 
1st  Prize,  £50 — Awarded  to  Messrs  Fowler,  Leeds. 
2d  Prize,  £25 — Awarded  to  the  Ravenstliorpe  Kugineering  Co. 
(Fiiken  6ystemi. 
Class  III. — For  the  best  combination  of  machinery  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  soil  by  an  ordinary  ag  Cultural  engine,  whether 
self-propelling  or  portable, 
'.st  Prize,  £50— Awarded  to  Messrs  Fowler,  Leeds. 
2d  Prize,  £25 — Awarded  to  Messrs  Howard,  Bedford. 
1  Silver  Cup,  value  £100,  offered  by  tho  Right  Hon.  L»jd  Vernon, 
president,  for  tho  best  combination  of  machinery  for  the  culti- 
vation of  the  soil  by  steam-power,  tho  cost  of  which  shall  not 
exceed  £700.     The  engine  to  be  locomotive,  and  adapted  for 
threshing   and   other   farm   purposes. — Awarded   to    Messrs 
Fowler  &  Co.,- Leeds. 
Steam  cultivation  has  now  ceased  to  be  a  novelty,  and  is 


making  rapid  progress  in  all  parts  of  Great  Britain  and  U 
foreign  countries.  In  March  1873,  at  an  agricultural  meet 
ing,  it  was  stated  by  Messrs  Fowler  Jk  Co.  of  Leeds,  that 
they  are  turning  out  annually  from  their  works  about  ICO 
sets  of  their  tackle  for  the  home  market,  and  from  50  to  60 
for  foreign  countries.  Of  their  home  sales  about  half  are 
to  private  individuals,  and  half  to  persons  who  work  them 
for  hire.  In  a  district  around  Magdeburgh  fifty  sets  of 
their  tackle  are  employed  in  cultivating  tho  soil  for  tho 
growth  of  sugar-beet.  The  other  leading  makers  are  also 
doing  a  large  business,  with  tho  certainty  of  its  becoming 
larger  every  year.  •  The  expiry  of  several  patents  applicable 
to  steam  cultivating  tackle  is  giving  an  additional  stimulus 
to  the.  manufacture  of  such  machines.  Partly  in  this  way, 
and  also  by  contrivances  of  their  own,  the  Messrs  Howard 
of  Bedford  have  recently  (1873)  made  very  considerable 
changes  and  progress  with  their  tackle.  Their  self-acting 
anchors,  and  their  turning  cultivator,  which  is  constructed 
on  au  entirely  new  principle,  arc  said  to  bo  respectively  tho 
best  of  their  kind. 

Section  5. — Harrows. 
When  a  field  has  been  broken  up  by  the  plough,  it  is 
usually  next  operated  upon  by  the  harrow,  whether  the  object 
be  to  prepare  it  for  and  to  cover  in  seeds,  or  to  bring  clods 
and  roots  to  the  surface.  This  is  virtually  a  rake  dragged  by 
horses.  In  its  most  ordinary  form,  the  framework  is  of 
wood  with  iron  tines,  of  which  each  harrow  contains  twenty. 
Formerly  each  horse  dragged  a  single  harrow,  although  two 
or  more  were  worked  abreast.  Under  this  arrangement  tho 
harrows  had  too  much  independent  motion,  and  were  liable 
to  get  foul  of  each  other.  This  has  been  remedied,  first, 
partially,  by  coupling  them  loosely  by  riders,  and  then  more 
effectually  by  a  hinge-like  joining,  which  allows  a  separate- 
vertical  motion,  but  only  a  combined  horizontal  one.  A 
rhomboidal  form  is  also  given  to  this  pair  of  harrows — 
usually  called  brakes — so  that  when  properly  yoked,  no  two> 
tines  run  in  tho  same  track.  This  description  of  harrow 
is  now  frequently  made  entirely  of  iron. 

)Howard's  patent  harrows  are  a  further  improvement  on 
this  implement.    The  zig-zag  form  given  to  each  section  en 


Howard's  Patent  Harrow. 

ables  the  whole  so  to  fit  in,  that  the  working  parts  are 
equally  distributed  over  the  spaco  operated  upon.  The 
number  of  times  is  75,  instead  of  40,  as  in  the  form  last 
noticed,  and  yet,  from  the  form  of  frame  and  manner  of 
coupling,  the  tines  are  well  apart,  and  have  each  a  separate 
line  of  action.  Practical  farmers  speak  very  highly  of  the 
effective  working  of  this  implement.  By  an  exceedingly 
simple  contrivance,  the  centre  part  when  turned  on  its  back 
forms  a  sledge  on  which  its  fellows  can  be  piled  and  drawn 
along  from  one  field  to  another.  A  light  description  of 
harrows,  with  smaller  and  more  numerous  tines,  is  some- 
times used  for  covering  in  grass-eeeds.  H  a  harrow  is  to 
be  used  at  all  for  this  purpose,  Howard's  is  a  very  suitable 


IMPLEMKNTS.j 

kind,  but  a  much  better  implement  is  Cartwright's  chain- 
harrow,  which  abrades  the  surface  over  which  it  is  drawn 
to  a  degree  that  could  not  be  anticipated  from  a  mere 
inspection  of  the  implement.  It  is  formed  by  attaching 
to  a  draught-bar  pairs  of  square-linked  chains,  each  l\ 
feet  long,  connecting  them  by  cross  links,  and  keeping 
the  whole  expanded  by  two  movable  stretchers.  The 
old-fashioned  ponderous  break  harrow  is  now  entirely 
discarded,  and  the  more  efficient  cultivator  used  in  its 
stead.  A  form  of  the  latter,  from  its  close  resemblance 
to  harrows,  is  noticed  now  rather  than  before.  Tt  is  a 
very  strong  iron  harrow,  with  the  tines  made  longer, 
and  very  considerably  curved  forwards.  An  iron  rod 
with  a  loop  handle  is  fixed  to  the  hind  bar,  by  means  of 
which  the  driver  can  easily  hitch  it  up  and  get  rid  01 
weeds,  <fec.  Two  such  harrows  are  coupled  together 
and  drawn  by  four  horses.  Its  pulverising  power  is 
very  considerable.  But  when  clods  have  been  brought 
to  tho  surface,  they  are  most  effectually  reduced  by  various 
l:inds  of  rollers. 

Section  6. — Hollers, 
Those  formerly  used  were  solid  cylinders  of  timber  or 
stone  attached  to  a  frame  and  shafts,  for  which  hollow  ones 
of  cast-iron  are  now  generally  substituted.  The  simplest 
form  of  these  has  a  smooth  surface,  and  is  cast  in  sections 
to  admit  of  more  easy  turning.  They  are  made  of  diverse 
weights,  so  as  to  be  adapted  for  the  draught  of  one  or  two 
horses  as  required.     Those  of  the  former  description.weigh- 


AGRICULTURE 


319 


Cambridge's  roller  possesses  several  features  in  common 
with  Crosskill's,  and  is  used  for  similar  purposes.     In  the 


Cambridge's  Press-Wheel  Roller. 

I  form  in  which  it  was  first  brought  out  it  consisted  of  discs, 
I  fitting  close  to  each  other,  with  fluted  instead  of  serrated 
edges.  In  its  recently  improved  form  the  discs  are  not 
made  of  uniform  diameter  as  formerly,  but  each  nlterocte 
one  in  the  set  is  raised  about  two  inches,  and  has  the  centre 
hole,  nof  circular  and  close  fitting  to  the  axle,  but  triangular 
and  wide.  The  result  is  that  while  the  discs  press  uniformly 
on  the  surface  over  which  they  are  rolled,  the  larger  ones 
rise  above  their  fellows  with  a  jerking  motion,  which  gives 
a  most  efficient  self-cleaning  power  to  the  implement,  and 
thus  admits  of  its  being  used  when  other  rollers  would  be 
clogged.  The  eccentric  discs  arc  now  made  either  with 
serrated  or  smooth  edges  as  customers  prefer.  After  careful 
trial  we  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  the  most 
useful  roller  for  general  purposes  which  we  yet  possess. 


Smooth  Cast-Iron  Field  Roller. 

dig  in  all  6  cwt.,  and  costing  as  many  pounds  sterling,  are 
exceedingly  useful  for  all  purposes  where  expedition  rather 
than  heavy  pressure  is  wanted.  From  their  greater  dura- 
bility, smoother  surface,  and  less  liability  to  clog,  the  readi- 
ness with  which  they  can  be  cast  of  any  weight  that  is  re- 
quired, and  their  moderato  price,  it  is  probable  that  cast-irob 
cylinders  will  speedily  supersede  all  others. 

Several  important  variations  on  the  common  smooth  roller 
have  been  introduced  of  late  years.  Of  these  the  first  notice 
is  due  to  Crosskill's  clod-crusher,  on  the  ground  both  of  its 
intrinsic  merit  and  the  date  of  its  introduction.  It  consists 
of  cast-iron  discs  2£Jeet  in  diameter,  with  serrated  edge  and 
a  series  of  side  way -projecting  teeth  Twenty-three  of  these 
discs  are  strung  loosely  upon  a  round  axle,  so  as  to  revolve 
independently  of  each  other.  Tho  free  motion  thus  given 
to  each  disc,  and  which  has  latterly  been  increased  by  cast- 
ing each  alternate  one  of  greater  diameter  in  the  eye,  adds 
at  once  to  the  pulverising  and  self-cleaning  power  of  the 
roller.  Three  horses  yoked  abreast  are  required  to  work 
it  The  axle  is  prolonged  at  each  end  sufficiently  to  receive 
travelling  wheels,  on  which  it  is  transported  from  place  to 
place.  Although  primarily  designed  and  actually  much  used 
for  breaking  clods,  it  is  even  more  in  request  for  consolidating 
loose  soils,  checking  tho  ravages  of  wire-worm,  and  covering 
in  clover  and  grass  seeds.  For  the  latter  purpose,  its  action 
is  perfected  by  attaching  a  few  bushes  to  it,  which  fill  up 
the  indentations,  and  leave  a  surface  so  beautifully  even  as 
to  rival  the  accuracy  and  neatness  of  a  well-raked  border. 
It' ft  now  to  be  had  on  a  smaller  scale  adapted  to  the  draught 
of  two  horses. 


:  of  Cambridge's  Roller, 


Self  cleaning  Action. 


Under  this  head  may  be  noticed  press  drills,  which,  by 
means  of  a  series  of  narrow  cylinders  with  conical  edges, 
form  corresponding  grooves  in  loose  soiL  Seeds  sown  br«ud 
cast  ove.  a  surface  thus  treated  come  up  in  rqws.     The 


Land-Presser. 

land-prcsser  is  a  modification  of  the  press-roller.  It  k 
made  with  two  or  three  conical  edged  cylinders  to  fit  into 
the   seams  of  as   many  pluujjh  furrows,  the  other   cud 


320 


AGRICULTURE 


[MACHINES  AND 


of  the  axle  on  which  they  are  fixed  being  supported  Dy  a 
plain  carriage-wheeL  It  is  drawn  by  one  horse,  and  follows 
in  the  wake  of  two  or  three  ploughs,  according  to  the  number 
of  its  cylinders.  When  wheat  is  sown  after  clover  lea,  this 
implement  is  found  exceedingly  useful  in  closing  the  seams 
and  forming  a  uniform  seed-bed. 

The  Norwegian,  or,  as  it  should  rather  be  called,  the 
Swedish  harrow  is  strictlya  clod-crushing  implement.  From 
its  radiating  spikes  penetrating  the  surface  over  which  it  is 
drawn,  it  has  been  called  a  harrow;  but  its  revolving  motion 
entitles  it  rather  to  be  classed  with  rollers.  In  its  usual 
form  it  consists  of  three  rows  of  cast-iron  rowels  arranged 
upon  parallel  axles  fixed  in  an  iron  frame,  which  is  supported 
on  three  wheels, — one  in  front  and  two  behind.  The  out- 
line and  arrangements  are  in  fact  the  same  as  in  Finlayson'o 
grubber,  only  substituting  parallel  rows  of  rowels  for  tines. 
There  is  also  the  same  leverage  for  raising  and  depressing 
the  frame.  But  this  implement  ha3  recently  been  con- 
structed on  a  much  simpler  and  cheaper  plan,  in  which  the 
wheels  and  lever  apparatus  are  discarded  altogether.  It 
thus  consists  of  a  simple  wrought-iron  frame  with  four  rows 
of  rowels.  A  few  boards  are  laid  across  the  frame,  forming 
a  platform  over  the  rowels,  on  which  the  driver  stands  when 
it  is  wished  to  increase  the  weight  and  efficiency  of  the  im- 
plement. On  the  upper  side  at  either  end  is  fixed  a  piece 
of  wheel-tire,  on  which  the  implement,  when  turned  on  its 
back,  can  slide  along,  sledge-fashion,  when  it  is  wished  to 
move  it  from  place  to  place.  As  thus  constructed  it  can 
be  made  for  about  £5.  This  is  the  best  implement  yet  in- 
troduced for  breaking  moist  clods. 

Section  7. — Breast-Plough  and  Trenching-Fork. 

Before  leaving  the  implements  of  tillage,  it  may  be  proper 
to  notice  two,  which  have  been  a  good  deal  brought  under 
notice  of  late  years,  viz.,  the  breast-plough  and  trenching- 
fork.  The  former  i3  extensively  used  in  carrying  out  the 
process  of  paring  and  burning.  It  is  the  implement  known 
in  Scotland  as  the  flaughter  (or  thin  turf)  spade.  In  using 
it  the  workman  guards  his  thighs  with  a  piece  of  board, 
fastened  on  apron-wise,  and  with  this  presses  against  the 
cross-head  of  the  implement,  and  urges  forward  its  cutting 
edge.  When  a  thin  turf  has  thus  been  severed  from  the 
surface,  he  turns  it  over  by  a  jerk  of  his  arms.  The 
fork  is  used  in  giving  a  deep  autumn  digging  to  land  in 
preparation  for  root  crops.  Both  operations  can  ordinarily 
be  moro  economically  performed  by  using  horse-power  with 
suitable  implements.  But  for  clearing  out  corners  of  fields, 
hedge  sides,  and  similar  places,  manual  labour  with  these 
tools  can  frequently  be  made  to  supplement  the  plough  to 
good  purpose. 

Section  8. — Implements  for  Sowing. 
A  large  portion  of  the  grain  annually  sown  in  Great 
Britain  i3  still  distributed  by  band  from  the  primitive 
sowing-sheet. 

"  The  sower  stalks 
"With  measured  step,  and  liberal  throws  the  grain 
Intc  the  faithful  bosom  of  the  ground." 

In  Scotland  a  decided  preference  is  still  given  to  broadcast 
sowing,  for  which  punose  a  machine  is  used  that  covers 
from  15  to  .18  feet,  \ccording  to  the  width  of  ridge 
adopted.  It  consists  of  ■<.  long  seed-box,  carried  on  a  frame 
mounted  on  two  wheels.  From  these  motion  is  com- 
municated to  a  spindle  which  revolves  in  the  seed-box,  and 
expels  the  seed  by-  means  of  cogs  or  brushes,  through 
openings  which  can  be  graduated  to  suit  the  required  rate 
of  seeding.  It  is  drawn  by  a  single  horse,  is  attended  by 
one  man,  and  can  get  over  30  acres  a  day.  It  is  peculiarly 
adapted  for  the  regular  distribution  of  clover  and  grass 
seeds.     Now  that  reaping  by  machinery  haa.become  so 


general,  there  is  an  obvious  advantage  in  having  the  fields 
as  level  and  with  as  few  open  forms  as  possible,  and  hence 
of  having  a  marker  attached  to  the  sowing-machine.  In 
one  made  by  Sheriff  at  West  Barns,  by  an  ingenious 
apparatus  on  the  principle  of  the  odometer,  the  machine 
itself  is  made  to  register  the  space  which  it  travels  over, 
and  thus  to  indicate  the  rate  per  acre  at  which  it  is 
distributing  the  seed.  Excellent  results  have  been,  and 
still  are,  obtained  from  broadcast  sowing.  But  as  tillage 
becomes  more  perfect,  there  arises  a  demand  for  greater 
accuracy  in  the  depth  at  which  seeds  are  deposited  in  the 
soil,  for  greater  precision  in  the  rate,  and  regularity  of  their 
distribution,  and  for  greater  facilities  for  removing  weeds 
from  amongst  the  growing  crop.  These  considerations  led, 
at  a  comparatively  early  period,  to  the  system  of  sowing 
crops  in  rows  or  drills,  and  hence  the  demand  for  machines 
to  do  this  expeditiously  and  accurately.  We  accordingly  find, 
in  our  best  cultivated  districts,  the  sowing  and  after-culture 
of  the  crops  now  conducted  with  a  precision  which  reminds 
the  spectator  of  the  processes  of  some  well-arranged  factory. 
This  is  accomplished  by  means  of  a  variety  of  drilling- 
machines,  the  most  prominent  of  which  we  shall  now 
notice. 

The  Suffolk  drill  is  the  kind  in  most  general  use.  It  is 
a  complicated  and  costly  machine  by  which  manure  and 
seeds  can  be  simultaneously  deposited.  That  called  the 
"general  purpose  drill"  can  sow  ten  rows  of  corn,  with  or 
without  manure,  at  any  width  between  the  rows  from  4  J 
to  10  inches,  and  at  any  rate  per  acre  between  two  pecks 
and  six  bushels.  It  can  be  arranged  also  to  sow  clover 
and  grass  seeds, — the  heavier  seeds  of  clover  being  thrown 
out  by  minute  cups, — and  the  lighter  grass  seeds  brushed 
out  from  a  separate  compartment  It  is  further  fitted  for 
sowing  beans  and  turnips — the  latter  either  two  drills  at 
a  time  on  the  ridge,  or  three  on  the  flat.  This  drill,  as 
most  recently  improved  by  Messrs  Hornsby  of  Grantham 
and  Garrett  of  Leiston,  has  an  apparatus  for  preserving 
the  machine  in  a  level  position  when  working  on  sloping 
ground.  As  a  main  object  in  drilling  crops  at  all  is  to 
admit  of  the  use  of  the  hoe,  it  becomes  an  important  point 
to  accomplish  the  drilling  with  undeviating  straightness, 
and  exact  parallelism  in  each  successive  course  of  the  drilL 
This  is  now  obtained  by  means  of  a  fore-carriage,  which  an 
assistant  walking  alongside  so  controls  by  a  lever  as  easily 
to  keep  the  wheel  in  the  same  rut  down  which  it  had 
previously  passed.  Messrs  Hornsby  have  also  introduced 
India-rubber  tubes  for  conducting  the  seed,  in  place  of 
the  tin  funnels  hitherto  used.  These  drills  cost  about 
£42. 

The  Woburn  drill  of  the  Messrs  Hensman  is  simpler  in 
its  construction  than  those  already  noticed.  "  In  all  other 
drills,  the  coulters,  which  distribute  the  manure  or  seed, 
hang  from  the  carriage.  In  this  drill  the  carriage  rests 
upon  the  coulters,  which  are  like  the  iron  of  skates;  it  may 
be  said,  indeed,  to  run  on  four  pairs  of  skates.  Hence  thi3 
drill's  power  of  penetrating  hard  ground,- and  of  giving  a 
firm  bed  to  the  wheat-seed  in  soft  ground.  Each  drill 
coulter,  however,  preserves  its  independence  as  when 
suspended.  This  self-adjustment  is  required  by  the  in- 
equality of  tilled  ground,  and  is  thus  obtained :  each  pair 
of  coulters  is  fixed  to  the  end  of  a  balance  beam,  these 
again  to  others,  and  they  to  a  central  one.  Thus  each 
coulter,  in  well-poised  rank,  gives  its  independent  share  of 
support  It  varies  from  the  generality  of  drills,  as  it  is 
drawn  from  the  centre  by  whipple-trees  instead  of  shafts ; 
and  the  drill-man  behind  can  steer  or  direct  the  drill  with 
the  greatest  nicety.  The  corn-box  of  the  drill  is  entirely 
self-acting,  and  delivers  the  seed  equally  well  going  either 
up  or  down  hill.  It  is  also  capable  of  horse-hoeing,  by 
attaching  hoes  to  the  levers  instead  of.  the  coulter-shares 


IMPLEMENTS.  ] 


AGRICULTURE 


321 


It  is  drawn  .by  a  pair  of  horses,  and  the  pi  ice  from  £18 
to  £20." l 

Turnip  drill. — In  Scotland,  and  in  the  north  and  west 
of  England,  turnips  are  usually  sown  on  the  ridge  by  a 
machine  which  sows  two  rows  at  a  time.  In  the  south- 
eastern parts  of  England,  which  are  hotter  and  drier,  it  ia 
found  better  to  sow  them  on  the  flat,  for  which  purpose 
machines  are  constructed  which  sow  four  rows  together, 
depositing  manure  at  the  same  time.  Both  kind3  are 
adapted  for  sowing  either  turnips  or  mangold-wurzel  seeds 
as  required  With  the  view  of  economising  seed  and 
manure,  what  are  called  drop-drills  have  recently  been 
introduced,  which  deposit  both — not  in  continuous  streams 
— but  in  jets,  at  such  intervals  apart  in  the  rows  as  the 
farmer  wishes  the  plants  to  stand.  What  promises  to  be  a 
more  useful  machine  is  a  water-drill  invented  by  a  Wilt- 
shire farmer — Mr  Chandler  of  Market  Lavington.  "  His 
water-drill  pours  down  each  manure-coulter  the  requisite 
amount  of  fluid,  mixed  with  powdered  manure,  and  thus 
brings  up  the  plant  from  a  mere  bed  of  dust.  Having 
used  it  largely  during  three  years,  I  may  testify  to  its 
excellence.  Only  last  July,  when  my  bailiff  had  ceased 
turnip  sowing  on  account  of  the  drought,  by  directing  the 
use  of  the  water-drill,  I  obtained  from  this  latter  sowing 
an  earlier  and  a  better  show  of  young  plants  than  from 
the  former  one  with  the  dust-drilL  Nor  is  there  any 
increase  of  expense  if  water  be  within  a  moderate  distance, 
for  we  do  not  use  powder-manures  alone.  They  must  be 
mixed  with  ashes,  that  they  may  be  diffused  in'  the  soiL 
Now,  the  expense  and  labour  of  supplying  these  ashes  are 
equal  to  the  cost  of  fetching  mere  water;  and  apart  from 
any  want  of  rain,  it  is  found  that  this  method  of  moist 
diffusion,  dissolving,  instead  of  mingling  only,  the  super- 
phosphate, quickens  its  action  even  upon  damp  ground, 
and  makes  a  little  of  it  go  further."* 

Section  9. — Manure-Distributors. 

The  practice  of  top-dressing  wheat,  vetches,  clover,  or 
meadows,  with  guano  and  various  light  manures,  has  now 
so  much  increased,  and  the  inconvenience  of  scattering 
them  over  the  surface  by  hand  is  so  great,  that  various 
machines  have  recently  been  invented  for  distributing 
them,  which  can  also  be  used  for  sowing  such  manures 
over  turnip  drills,  covering  three  at  once.  Such  machines 
will  probably  be  used  in  future  for  distributing  lime,  which 
can  thus  be  done  much  more  regularly  than  by  cart  and 
shovel,  especially  when  it  is  wished  to  apply  small  quan- 
tities for  the  destruction  of  slugs  or  for  other  purposes. 
It  seems  quite  practicable  to  have  this  or  a  similar  machine 
so  constructed  as  that  it  could  be  readily  hooked  on  to  the 
tail  of  a  cart  containing  the  lime  or  other  substance  which 
it  is  desired  to  distribute  by  it.  The  top-dressing  material 
could  by  such  an  arrangement  be  drawn  into  the  hopper  of 
the  distributor  as  it  and  its  tender  move  along,  and  the 
cart  when  emptied  be  replaced  by  a  full  one  with  little 
loss  of  time. 

A  cheap  and  effective  machine,  capable  of  being  in  a 
similar  manner  attached  to  a  dung-cart,  which  could 
tear  asunder  fold-yard  manure,  and  distribute  it  evenly  in 
the  bottoms  of  turnip  drills,  would  be  a  great  boon  to 
farmers,  and  seems  a  fitting  object  to  be  aimed  at  by 
those  possessed  of  the  inventive  faculty. 

Section  10. — Horse-Hoes. 
It  has  already  been  remarked  that  the  great  inducement 
to  sow  grain  and  green  crops  in  rows  is  that  hoeing  may 
be  resorted  to,  for  the  double  purpose  of  ridding  them  of 

1  See  Mr  Pusey's  Rcpoiton  Implements,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal 
Agricultural  Society  of  England,  vol.  xii.  p.  604. 
» Itid.,  p.  007. 


weeds  and  stimulating  their  growth  by  frequent  stirring 
of  the  soiL  It  is  now  upwards  of  a  century  since  Jethro 
Tull  demonstrated,  in  his  books  and  on  his  fields,  tho 
facility  with  which  horse-power  could  be  thus  employed. 
Hi3  system  was  early  adopted  in  regard  to  turnips,  and  led, 
as  we  have  seen,  to  a  complete  revolution  in  the  practico  of 
agriculture.  The  peculiar  manner  in  which  he  applied  his 
system  to  grain  crops,  and  tho  principles  on  which  ho 
grounded  his  practice,  have  hitherto  been  for  the  most  part 
repudiated  by  agriculturists,  who  have  thought  it  indispens- 
able to  drill  their  grain  at  intervals  so  narrow  as  to 
admit,  as  was  supposed,  of  the  use  of  the  Land-hoe  only. 
But  the  accuracy  with  which  corn-drills  perform  their  work 
has  been  skilfully  taken  advantage  of,  and  we  now  have 
horse-hoes,  covering  the  same  breadth  as  the  drill,  which 
can  be  worked  with  perfect  safety  in  intervals  of  but 
seven  inches'  width.  By  such  a  machine,  and  the  labour 
of  a  pair  of  horses,  two  men,  and  a  boy,  ten  acres  of  corn 
can  be  hoed  in  as  many  hours.  Not  only  is  tho  work 
done  at  a  fifth  of  the  expense  of  hand-hoeing,  and  far  more 
effectually,  but  it  is  practicable  in  localities  and  at  seasons 
in  which  hand-labour  cannot  be  obtained 

Garrett's  horse-hoe  is  admitted  to  be  the  best  implement 
of  its  kind  It  can  be  used  for  hoeing  either  beans,  tur- 
nips, or  com,  as  the  hoes  can  be  adapted  to  suit  any  width 
betwixt  rows,  and  the  axle-tree  being  movable  at  both 
ends,  the  wheels,  too,  can  be  shifted  so  as  to  be  kept 
between  the  rows  of  plants.  The  shafts  can  be  attached 
to  any  part  of  the  frame  to  avoid  injury  to  the  crop  by 
the  treading  of  the  horses.  Each  hoe  works  on  a  lever 
independent  of  the  others,  and  can  be  loaded  with  different 
weights,  on  the  same  principle  as  the  coulters  of  the  corn- 
drill,  to  accommodate  it  to  uneven  surfaces  and  varying 
degrees  of  hardness  in  the  soiL 

A  great  variety  of  implements,  under  the  general  names 
of  horse-hoes,  scufflers,  scrapers,  or  drill-grubbers,  fitted 
for  the  draught  of  one  horse,  and  to  operate  on  one  drill 
at  a  time,  is  in  use  in  those  parts  of  the  country  where 
root  crops  are  chiefly  sown  on  ridgelet3  from  24  to  30 
inches  apart.  With  considerable  diversity  of  form  and 
efficiency,  they  in  general  have  these  features  in  common, 
viz.,  provision  for  being  set  so  as  to  work  at  varying 
widths  and  depths,  and  for  being  armed  either  with  hoes 
or  tines,  according  as  it  is  wished  to  pare  the  surface  or 
stir  the  soil  more  deeply.  A  miniature  Norwegian  harrow 
is  sometimes  attached  to  drill-grubbers,  by  which  weeds 
are  detached  from  the  soil,  and  the  surface  levelled  and 
pulverised  more  thoroughly.  Teunant's  grubber,  with  its 
tines  set  close  together,  and  two  horses  yoked  to  it  abreast 
by  a  tree  long  enough  to  allow  them  to  walk  in  the  drills 
on  cither'  side  of  that  operated  upon,  is  the  most  effective 
implement  for  cultivating  between  the  rows  of  beans, 
potatoes,  turnips,  or  mangolds,  that  wo  have  yet  seen  used 
for  this  purpose. 

Section  11. — Turnip-Thinners. 

It  sometimes  happens,  a3  when  drought  prevails  while 
the  earlier  sowings  of  turnips  or  mangold  are  made,  and 
this  is  followed  by  copious  rains  and  forcing  weather,  that 
the  farmer  'finds  it  impracticable  to  get  the  thinning-out  of 
the  seedlings  overtaken  as  fast  as  is  ncedfuL  To  aid  him 
in  such  emergencies,  a  class  of  machines  has  been  brought 
out,  of  which  Huckvale's  turnip-thinner  may  be  named  as 
a  type.  .  They  are  very  favourably  reported  of  by  those 
who  have  used  them.  Such  machines,  drawn  by  one  horse, 
and  made  to  operate  upon  either  one  or  two  rows  of  younc 
turnip  plants,  have  first  a  paiing  apparatus,  which  clean 
off  weeds  from  the  sides  of  the  rows,  and  along  with  this'a 
set  of  revolving  hoes  by  which  gaps  are  cut  in  the  rows  o! 
turnip  plants,  and  tufts  of  them  are  left  standing  at  anj 


1-12 


*2'2 


AGRICULTURE 


L-MACIllNh.S    AND 


required  distance  apart.  This  does  not  dispense  with  the 
after  use  of  tho  hand-hoo  or  fingers  to  effect  a  perfect 
singling  of  the  plants ;  but  as  a  large  space  can  bo  gone 
uver  in  a  day  at  small  cost,  it  enables  the  fanner  to  save 
his  crop  from  getting  overgrown  and  choked  until  he  can 
overtake  the  more  perfec*  'u;nning  of  it  The  next  class 
that  claims  attention  is 

Section  12. — Harvesting  Implements. 

These,  till  little  more  than  twenty  years  ngo,  comprised 
onlyt'  liook  and  scythe.     An  implement  by  means 

of  which  horse-power  could  be  made  available  for  this 
important  operation  has  long  been  eagerly  desired  by  farmers, 
tedly  during  tho  first  half  of  the  present  cen'ury  their 
hopes  had  been  excited,  only  to  be  disappointed,  by  the 
announcement  of  successful  inventions  of  this  kind.  These 
hopes  were  revived,  and  raised  to  a  higher  pitch  than 
ever,  by  tho  appearance,  in  the  Great  Exhibition  of  the 
Industry  of  all  Nations,  of  two  reaping-machines,  known 
as  M'Corniick's  and  Hussey's,  from  tho  United  States 
of  America,  where  for  several  years  they  had  been  used 
extensively  and  successfully.  These  implements  were 
subjected  to  repeated  trials  in  different  parts  of  England, 
on  crop  1851,  but  never  in  circumstances  which  admitted 
of  their  capabilities  being  tested  in  a  thoroughly  satisfac- 
tory manner. 

At. the  first  of  these  trials,  maae  under  the  auspices  of 
tho  Royal  Agricultural  Society,  tho  preference  was  given 
to  M'Cormick's,  to  which  the  Exhibition  Medal  was  in 
consequoncc  awarded.  It  turned  out,  however,  that  at  this 
trial  Hussey's  machine  had  not  a  fair  chance,  being 
attended  by  a  person  who  had  never  before  seen  it  at  work, 
for,  when  a  further  trial  took  place  before  tho  Cleveland 
Agricultural  Society,  with  Mr  Hussey  himself  super- 
intending his  own  machine,  an  all  but  unanimous  decision 
was  given  in  his  favour.  Hussey's  machine  was  in  conse- 
quence adopted  by  the  leading  implement  makers,  such  as 
Messrs  Garrett,  Crosskill,  <tc. 

Early  in  1852,  a  very  important  communication  from 
the  pen  of  the  late  Mr  James  Slight,  curator  of  the 
museum  of  the  Highland  and  Agricultural  Society,  appeared 
in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society,  by  which  the  attention 
of  the  public  was  recalled  to  a  reaping-machine  of  home 
production,  viz.,  that  invented  by  the  Rev.  Patrick  Bell, 
minister  of  the  parish  of  Carmylie  in  Forfarshire,  and  for 
which  a  premium  of  £50  had  been  awarded  to  him  by 
the  Highland  Society.  This  machine  attracted  much 
attention  at  that  time.  Considerable  numbers  were  made 
and  partially  used,  but  from  various  causes  the  invention 
was  lost  sight  of,  until,  by  the  arrival  of  these  American 
machines,  and  the  notoriety  given  to  them  by  the  Great 
Exhibition,  with  concurring  causes  about  to  be  noticed, 
an  intense  interest  was  again  excited  regarding  reaping  by 
machinery.  From  Mr  Slight's  report,  the  public  learned 
that  the  identical  Bell's  machine,  to  which  the  prize  was 
awarded,  had  for  the  previous  fourteen  years  been  statedly 
omployed  on  the  farm  of  Inch-Michael  in  the  Caree  of 
Gowrie,  occupied  by  Mr  George  Bell,  a  brother  of  the 
inventor,  who,  during  all  that  period,  had  succeeded  in 
reaping,  on  the  average,  four:fifths  of  his  crop  by  means 
of  it  every  year.  Mr  Slight  further  stated,  that  at  least 
four  specimens  of  it  had  been  carried  to  America,  and  that 
from  the  identity  in  principle  between  them  and  those  now 
brought  thence,  with  other  corroborating  circumstances, 
there  is  little  doubt  that  the  stvcalled  American  inventions 
are  after  all  but  imitations  of  this  Scottish  machine.  When 
it  became  known  that  Bell's  machine  was  to  be  exhibited, 
and,  if  possible,  subjected  to  public  trial,  at  the  meeting  of 
j-ne  Highland  and  Agricultural  Society  at  Perth,  in  August 
4  852,  the  ovent  was  looked  forward  to  by  Scottish  farmers 


with  eager  interest.  On  that  occasion  it  was  according!} 
again  brought  forward,  with  several  important  improve- 
ments made  upon  it,  by  Mr  George  Bell,  already  referred 
to,  and  was  fully  tested  in  competition  with  Hussey's,  as 
made  by  CrosskilL  To  the  disappointment  of  many,  Mr 
M'Cormick  did  not  think  fit  to  enter  the  lists  at  this  or  wt 
some  subsequent  opportunities. 

The  success  of  Bell's  machine  on  this  occasion,  and  at 
some  subsequent  public  trials,  gave  it  a  high  place  in  public 
estimation,  and  accordingly  many  of  the  implements  manu- 
factured by  Mr  Crosskill  of  Beverley,  were  sold  to  farmers 
in  all  parts  of  Great  Britain,  and  especially  in  Scotland. 
After  a  hopeful  start  the  success  of  this  machine  has  not 
been  so  decided  as  was  at  first  anticipated.  In  common 
with  other  reaping-machines,  it  had  of  course  to  contend 
with  the  disadvantages  of  unprepared  fields  and  unskilful 
guides ;  but  in  addition  to  this,  it  was  found  to  be  too  heavy 
in  draught,  too  liable  to  derangement,  and  (in  the  first 
issues  of  it)  too  easily  broken  in  some  of  its  parts  to  be 
fitted  for  reneral  use.  These  drawbacks  were,  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent,  obviated  by  subsequent  improvements,  and 
the  machine  continued  for  a  few  years  to  receive  a  fair 
measure  of  public  patronage.  By-and-by  it  was  in  a  great 
measure  superseded  by  other  self-delivery  machines,  such 
as  Burgess  &  Key's  M'Cormick,  with  its  Archimedean  screw, 
which,  like  Bell's,  lays  off  the  reaped  grain  in  a  continuous 
swathe,  and  by  others  which,  by  means  of  revolving  rakes, 
lay  it  off  in  quantities  suitable  to  form  a  sheaf.  In  crops 
of  moderate  bulk  aud  standing  erect,  theso  self-delivery 
machines  make  rapid  and  satisfactory  work,  but  when 
tho  crop  is  lodged  and  twisted  they  are  nearly  useless.  The 
consequence  is  that  for  several  years,  and  especially  in  those 
districts  where  reaping  by  machinery  is  most  practised,  the 
preference  is  given  to  manual-delivery  machines,  on  the 
ground  that  they  are  lighter  of  draught,  less  liable  to  derange- 
ment, less  costly,  more  easily  managed,  and  thus  more  to  be 
depended  upon  for  the  regular  performance  of  a  fair  amount 
of  daily  work,  than  their  heavier  rivals.  And,  accordingly, 
light  machines  on  Hussey's  principle,  but  with  endlesp 
variations,  are  at  present  most  in  demand. 

Before  leaving  this  subject,  a  remark  is  due  in  connection 
with  the  strange  neglect  of  Bell's  machine  for  twenty-five 
years,  and  the  enthusiasm  with  which  it  was  hailed  on  its 
reappearance.  Tho  first  is  so  far  accounted  for  by  the  fact 
noticed  by  Mr  George  Bell,  that  such  specimens  of  his 
brother's  machine  as  formerly  got  into  the  hands  of  farmers 
were  so  imperfectly  constructed  that  they  did  not  work 
satisfactorily,  and  thus  brought  discredit  on  his  invention. 
The  true  explanation  seems  to  be.  that  at  thpt  date  the  country 
was  not  ieady  for  such  a  machine.  Not  only  was  manual 
labour  then  abundant  and  cheap,  from  the  number  of  Irish 
labourers,  who  annually,  as  harvest  drew  near,  flocked  into 
the  arable  districts  of  Great  Britain,  but  thorough  draining 
had  made  little  progress,  and  the  land  was  everywhere  laid 
into  high  ridges,  presenting  a  surface  peculiarly  unfavourable 
for  the  successful  working  of  a  reaping-machine.  Now, 
however,  the  conditions  are  reversed.  Emigration  to  the 
colonies,  and  the  ever-growing  demand  for  labourers  in 
connection  with  factories,  mines,  docks,  and  railways,  have 
to  a  very  great  extent  withdrawn  the  class  of  people  that 
used  to  be  available  for  harvest  work,  and  have  so  largely 
raised  the  rate  of  wages  to  those  who  still  remain  as  to  render 
reaping-machines  indispensable  to  the  farmer.  The  pro- 
gress of  thorough  draining  has  at  the  same  time  enabled  him 
to  dispense  with  the  old-fashioned  ridges  and  furrows,  and 
to  lay  his  corn  lands  in  the  level  state  so  favourable  for  reap- 
ing and  other  operations  of  husbandry.  In  these  altered 
conditions  lies  the  true  explanation' of  the  former  apathy 
and  subsequent  enthusiasm  manifested  by  our  fannera  to- 
wards this  invention. 


IMPLEMENTS. 


1 


AGRICULTURE 


323 


Section  1 3. — Mowing-Machines. 
Another  class  of  labour-saving  machines,  closely  allied 
to  those  we  have  just  described,  for  which  we  are  indebted 
to  our  American  cousins,  is  mowing-machines.  Several 
different  forms  of  these  were  introduced  and  brought  into 
somewhat  general  use  during  the  years  1858  and  1859. 
Having  used  such  machines  for  the  past  fourteen  years  we 
can  testify  to  their  thorough  efficiency,  and  to  the  very 
great  saving  of  labour,  and  still  more  of  time,  which  can  be 
secured  by  means  of  them.  In  one  instance  30  acres  of 
clover — a  very  full  crop,  and  partially  lodged — were  mown 
in  32  hours,  and  this  under  all  the  disadvantages  of  a  first 
start.  This  machine  being  of  very  light  draught,  a  pair  of 
horses  can  work  it  at  a  smart  pace  without  difficulty.  By 
employing  two  pairs  of  horse3,  and  working  them  by  relay, 
it  can,  in  the  long  days  of  June  and  July,  be  kept  going 
sizteen  hours  a  day,  and  will  easily  mow  from  16  to  18  acres 
of  seeds  or  meadow  in  that  time,  making,  moreover,  better 
work  than  can  ordinarily  be  obtained  by  using  the  scythe. 
These  mowing-machines,  which  cost  from  £16  to  £25  each, 
have  proved  a  most  seasonable  and  truly  important  addition 
to  our  list  of  agricultural  implements.  That  they  may  be 
used  to  advantage,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  have  the  land 
well  rolled  and  carefully  freed  from  stone3. 

Section  14. — Haymalcers. 

Haymakers  are  valuable  implements,  and  well  deserving 
of  more  general  use.  They  do  their  work  thoroughly,  and 
enable  the  farmer  to  git  through  a  great  amount  of  it  in 
snatches  of  favourable  weather.  Where  manual  labour  is 
scarce,  or  when,  as  in  Scotland,  haymaking  and  turnip- 
thinning  usually  come  on  hand  together,  the  mower  and 
haymaker  render  the  horse-power  of  the  farm  available  for 
an  important  process  which  cannot  be  done  well  unless  it  is 
done  rapidly  and  in  season. 

Section  15. — Horse-Ralces. 

Horse-rakes  are  in  frequent  use  for  gathering  together  the 
stalks  of  corn  which  are  scattered  during  the  process  of 
reaping,  for  facilitating  the  process  of  haymaking,  and 
also  for  collecting  weeds  from  fallows.  By  an  ingenious 
contrivance  in  the  most  improved  form  of  this  implement, 
the  teeth  are  disengaged  from  the  material  which  they 
have  gathered  without  interrupting  the  progress  of  the 
horse. 

We  seem  to  be  verging  on  the  time  when,  by  means  of 
machines  worked  by  horse-power,  farmers  will  be  enabled 
to  cut  and  carry  their  grass  and  grain  with  little  more  than 
the  ordinary  forces  of  their  farms. 

Section  16. — Wheel-Carriages. 

The  cartage  of  crops,  manure,  &c,  upon  an  arable  farm, 
is  such  an  important  part  of  the  whole  labour  performed 
upon  it  (equal,  as  shown  by  a  recent  estimate,  to  one-half),1 
that  it  k  a  matter  cf  the  utmost  consequence  to  have  the 
work  performed  by  carriages  of  the  most  suitable  kind.  It 
was  for  a  long  time  keenly  debated  by  agriculturists,  whether 
waggons  or  carts  are  most  economical  This  question  is  now 
undoubtedly  settled  Mr  Pusey  says,  "  It  is  proved  beyond 
question  that  the  Scotch  and  Northumbrian  farmers,  by 
using  one-horse  carts,  save  one-half  of  the  horses  which  soult 
country  fanners  still  string  on  to  their  three-horse  waggons 
and  three-horse  dung-carts,  or  dung-pots,  as  they  are  called 
The  said  three-horse  waggons  and  dung-pots  would  also  cost 
nearly  three  times  as  much  original  outlay.  Few,  I  suppose, 
if  any,  farmers  buy  these  expensive  luxuries  now,  though 
it  is  wonderful  they  should  keep  them;  for  last  year  at 
Grantham,  in  a  public  trial,  five  horses  with  five  carts  were 
matched  against  five  waggons  with  ten  horses,  and  the  five 

1  Sea  Morton's  Ci/dcpadia  of  Agriculture.     Article  "  Carriages." 


horses  beat  the  ten  by  two  loads."2  The  one-horse  carts 
here  referred  to  are  usually  so  constructed  as  to  be  easily 
adapted  to  the  different  purposes  for  which  wheel-carriages 
are  needed  upon  a  farm.  For  each  pair  of  wheels  and  axle 
there  is  provided  a  close-bodied  cart,  and  another  with 
sparred  sides  and  broad  shelving3,  called  a  long-cart,  or 
harvest-cart,  either  of  which  can  easily  be  attached  to  tho 
wheels,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  commodities  to  be 
carried.  Sometimes  a  simple  movable  frame  is  attached  to 
the  close-body  to  fit  it  for  carrying  hay  or  straw ;  but 
although  one  or  two  such  frames  are  useful  for  casual  pur- 
poses throughout  the  year,  they  are  inferior  for  harvest 
work  to  the  regular  sparred  cart  with  its  own  shafts.  Ic 
some  districts  the  whole  of  the  close-bodied  carts  used  on 
the  farm  are  made  to  tip.  For  many  purposes  this  is  & 
great  convenience ;  but  for  the  conveyance  of  grain  to 
market,  and  generally  for  all  road  work,  a  firm  frame  is 
much  easier  for  the  horse,  and  less  liable  to  decay  and  de- 
rangement. The  Berwickshire  practice  is  to  have  one  paii 
ot  tip-carts  on  each  farm,  and  all  the  rest  firm  or  dormant- 
bodied,  as  they  are  sometimes  called. 

Many  farms  are  now  provided  with  a  water  or  tank  cart, 
for  conveying  and  distributing  liquid  manure. 

Section  17. — Road-Engines. 

Although  manyattempts  have  been  made  to  adapt  the  loco- 
motive steam-engine  for  the  conveyance  both  of  passenger? 
and  goods  on  common  roads,  the  results  hitherto  have  not 
been  altogether  satisfactory.  Progress  is,  however,  undoubt- 
edly being  made  in  this  effort ;  and  in  not  a  few  instances 
such  engines  are  ac  tually  in  use  for  the  carriage  of  heavy  goods 
If  beet-sugai  factories  should  increase  in  Great  Britain,  the 
carriage  of  the  roots  from  the  farms  to  the  factories  will 
probably  be  performed  by  traction  engines ;  for  the  inex- 
pediency of  withdrawing  the  horse-power  of  the  farm  from 
its  other  urgent  work  at  the  season  most  suitable  for  deliver- 
ing these  roots  to  the  sugar-maker  presents  at  present  a 
serious  hindrance  to  the  cultivation  of  this  crop. 

MACHINES  FOE  PREPARING  CP.OP3  TOE  MARKET. 
(Sections  18,  10,  20.) 
Section  18. — Steam-Engines. 
The  extent  to  which  steam-power  is  now  employed  for  ..L- 
purposes  of  the  farm  is  another  marked  feature  in  the  recent 


Portable  Steam-Engine.     (Clayiuu,  Shuttlcworth,  &  Co.) 
progress  of  agricultura     We  have  already  referred  to  the 
value  of  water-power  for  propelling  agricultural  machinery 

a  Mr  Posey's  Report.  In  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  AgricultuTV 
Society  of  England   voL  xli.  p.  617. 


324 


AGRICULTURE 


[machines  and 


wLen  it  can  be  had  in  sufficient  and  regular  supply.  As 
it  is  only  in  exceptional  cases  that  farms  are  thus  favoured, 
the  steam-engine  is  the  power  that  must  generally  be 
leckoned  upon,  and  accordingly  its  use  is  now  so  common 
that  a  tall  chimney  has  become,  over  extended  districts,  the 
prominent  feature  of  nearly  every  homestead.  It  has  been 
satisfactorily  shown  that  grain  can  be  thrashed  and  dressed 
by  well-constructed,  steam-propelled  machinery,  at  one- 
fourth  the  cost  of  thrashing  by  horse-power  and  dressing 
by  hand-fanners.  So  great,  indeed,  is  the  improvement  in 
steam-engines,  and  ao  readily  can  the  amount  of  power  be 
accommodated  to  the  work  to  be  done,  that  we  find  them 
everywhere  superseding  the  one-horse  gin,  and  even 
manual  labour,  for  pumping,  churning,  coffee-grinding,  &c. 
Wherever,  then,  a  thrashing-mill  is  used  at  all,  it  may  be 
safely  asserted  that,  next  to  water,  steam  is  the  cheapest 
power  by  which  it  can  be  propelled.  The  portable  engine 
is  the  form  which  has  hitherto  found  most  favour  in  the 
southern  parts  of  the  kingdom.  Mr  Fusey  thus  states  the 
reason  for  which  he  regards  them  as  preferable  to  fixed 
engines: — "If  a  farm  be  a  large  one,  and  especially  if,  as 
is  often  the  case,  it  be  of  an  irregular  shape,  there  is  great 
waste  of  labour  for  horses  and  men  in  bringing  home  all 
the  corn  in  the  straw  to  one  point,  and  in  again  carrying'  out 
the  dung  to  a  distance  of  perhaps  two  or  three  miles.  It  is 
therefore  common,  and  should  be  general,  to  have  a  second 
outlying  yard.  This  accommodation  cannot  be  reconciled 
with  a  fixed  engine. 


Portable  Thrashing-Machine.     (Clayton,  Shuttleworth,  &  Co.) 

"  If  the  farm  be  of  a  moderate  size,  it  will  hardly — and 
if  small  will  certainly  not — :bear  the  expense  of  a  fixed 
engine :  there  would  be  waste  of  capital  in  multiplying  fixed 
engines  to  be  worked  but  a  few  days  in  the  year.  It  is  now 
common,  therefore,  in  some  counties  for  a  man  to  invest  a 
small  capital  in  a  movable  engine,  and  earn  his  livelihood 
by  letting  it  out  to  the  farmer. 

"  But  there  is  a  further  advantage  in  these  movable 
engines,  little,  I  believe,  if  at  all  known.  Hitherto  corn 
has  been  thrashed  under  cover  in  barns :  but  with  these 
engines  and  the  improved  thrashing-machines  we  can  thrash 
the  rick  in  the  open  air  at  once  as  it -stands.  It  will  be  eaid, 
How  can  you  thrash  ou"t  of  doors  on  a  wet  day  1  The 
answer  is  simple.  Neither  can  you  move  your  rick  into 
your  barn  on  a  wet  day;  and  so  rapid  is  the  work  of  the 
new  thrashing-machines,  that  it  takes  no  more  time  to  thrash 
the  corn  than  to  move  it.  Open-air  thrashing  is  also  far 
pleosanter  and  healthier  for  the  labourers,  their  lungs  not 
being  choked  with  dust,  as  under  cover  they  are ;  and  there 
is,  of  course,  a  saving  of  labour  to  the  tenant  not  inconsider- 
able. But  when  these  movable  steam-engines  have  spread 
generally,  there  will  arise  an  equally  important  .saving  to 
thQ  landlord  in  buildings.     Instead  of  three  or  more  barns 


clustering  round  the  homestead,  one  or  other  in  constant 
want  of  repair,  a  single  building  will  suffice  for  dressing 
corn  and  for  chaff-cutting.  The  very  barn-floors  saved  will  be 
no  insignificant  item.  Now  that  buildings  are  required  for 
new  purposes,  we  must,  if  we  can,  retrench  those  buildings 
whose  objects  are  obsolete.  Open-air  thrashing  may  appear 
visionary,  but  it  is  quite  commonVith  the  new  machinery ; 
nor  would  any  one  perform  the  tedious  manoeuvre  of  setting 
horses  and  men  to  pull  down  a  rick,  place  it  on  carts,  and 
build  it  up  again  in  the  barn,  who  had  once  tried  the  simple 
plan  of  pitching  the  sheaves  at  once  into  the  thrashing- 
machine."1 

To  us  these  reasons  are  inconclusive..  A  fixed  engino 
can  be  erected  and  kept  in  repair  at  greatly  less  cost  thaD 
a  portable  one  of  the  same  power.  It  is  much  easier  to 
keep  the  steam  at  working  pressure  in  the  common  boiler 
than  in  the  tubular  one,  which,  from  its  compactness,  is 
generally  adopted  in  portable  engines.  It  is,  no  doubt, 
very  convenient  to  draw  up  engine  and  machinery  alongside 
a  rick  and  pitch  the  sheaves  at  once  upon  the  feeding-board, 
and  very  pleasant  to  do  this  in  the  sunshine  and  "  caller  air;" 
but  we  should  think  it  neither  convenient  nor  pleasant- to 
have  engine  and  thrashing-gear  to  transport  and  refix  every 
time  of  thrashing,  to  have  grain  and  chaff  to  cart  to  the  barn, 
the  thrashed  straw  to  convey  to  the  respective  places  of 
consumption,  and  all  this  in  circumstances  unfavptirable  to 
accurate  and  cleanly  disposal  of  the  products,  and  excessive 
exposure  to  risk  of  weather.  Sudden  rain  will  no  doubt 
interrupt  the  carrying  in  of  a  rick  in  the  one  case  as  the 
thrashing  of  it  in  the  other ;  but  there  is  this  vast  difference 
in  favour  of  the  former,  that  the  partially  carried  rick  is 
easily  re-covered;  machinery,  products  of  thrashing,  and 
work-people,  are  safely  under  cover;  and  the  engine  is  ready 
by  a  slight  change  of  gearing  forother  work,  such  as  bruising, 
grinding,  or  chaff-cutting. 

It  is  urged  onbehalf  of  the  portable  engine,  that  in  districts 
where  the  farms  are  generally  small,  one  may  serve  a  good 
many  neighbours.  Now,  not  to  dwell  on  the  expense  and 
inconvenience  to  small  occupiers  of  frequently  transporting 
such  heavy  carriages,  and  of  having  as  much  of  their  crop 
thrashed  in  a  day  (there  being  manifest  economy  in  having 
at  least  a  day's  work  when  it  is  employed)  as  will  meet  theii 
demands  for  fodder  and  litter  for  weeks  to  come,  we  are 
persuaded  that  on  farms  of  even  80  or  1 00  acres,  a  compact 
fixed  engino  of  two  or  three  horse-power  will  thrash,  bruise 
grain,  cut  chaff,  work  a  churn,  and  cook  cattle  food,  &c, 
more  economically  than  such  work  can  be  done  in  any  other 
way.  It  is  very  usual  to  find  on  such  farms,  especially  in 
dairy  districts,  an  apparatus  for  cooking  cattle  food  by  steam, 
or  by  boiling  in  a  large  copper,  where  as  much  fuel  is  used 
every  day,  and  as  much  steam  generated,  as  would  work 
such  an  engine  as  we  have  referred  to,  and  do  the  cooking 
over  and  above.  Even  a  small  dairy  implies  a  daily  demand 
for  boiling  water  to  scrub  vessels  and  cook  food  for  cows. 
How  manifestly  economical,  then,  when  the  steam  is  up  at 
any  rate,  to  employ  this  untiring,  obedient  agent,  so  willing 
to  turn  the  hand  of  anything,  in  performing  the  heavy  work 
of  the  homestead  with  a  power  equal,  perhaps,  to  that  of  all 
the  men  and  horses  employed  upon  the  farm. 

Whenever  tillage  by  steam-power  is  fairly  available,  there 
will  undoubtedly  be  an  inducement  to  use  the  portable 
engine  as  a  thrashing-power  that  has  not  hitherto  existed, 
as  there  will  be  a  manifest  economy  in  having  both  opera- 
tions performed  by  the  same  engine.  Even  then,  however, 
there  is  a  high  probability  of  its  being  found  impracticable 
to  withdraw  the  engine  even  once  a  week  for  the  needful 
thrashing  during  the  six  or  eight  weeks  immediately  after 

1  Mr  Pusey'e  Report  on  Implements. — Journal  of  the  Rcyil  Agri- 
cultural Society  of  England,  vol.  xii.  p.  821. 


IMPLEMENTS.} 


AGRICULTURE 


32;') 


harvest,  when  it  will  be  of  such  consequence  to  make 
diligent  use  of  every  available  hour  for  pushing  on  the 
tillage. 

The  kind  of  fixed  engine  most  approved  for  farm-work 
in  the  north  of  England  and  south  of  Scotland  is  the  over- 
head crank  engine,  attached  by  direct  action  to  the  spur- 
wheel,  and  sometimes  even  to  the  drum  shaft  of  the 
thrashing-machine.  Their  cheapness,  simplicity  of  con- 
struction, easy  management,  and  non-liability  to  derange- 
ment, fit  these  engines  in  an  eminent  degree  for  farm-work.1 

,  Section  19. — Thrashing-Machines. 

It  is  now  sixty-five  years  since  an  ingenious  Scotch 
mechanist,  Andrew  Meikle,  produced  a  thrashing-machine 
so  perfect  that  its  essential  features  are  retained  unaltered 
to  the  present  day.  Indeed,  it  is  frequently  asserted  that, 
after  all  the  modifications  and  supposed  improvements  of 
the  thrashing-machine  which  have  been  introduced  by 
various  parties,  the  mills  made  by  Meikle  himself  have  not 
yet  been  surpassed,  so  far  as  thorough  and  rapid  separation 
ef  the  grain  from  the  straw  is  concerned.  The  unthrashed 
corn  is  fed  evenly  into  a  pair  of  slowly  revolving  fluted 
rollers  of  cast-iron,  by  which  it  is  presented  to  the  action 
of  a  rapidly  revolving  cylinder  or  drum  armed  with  four 
beaters,  which  are  square  spars  of  wood  faced  with  iron, 
fixed  parallel  to  its  axis,  and  projecting  about  four  inches 
from  its  circumference.  The  drum  is,  provided  with  a  dome 
or  cover,  and  the  corn  being  partly  held  by  the  fluted  rollers 
as  it  passes  betwixt  the  drum  and  its  cover,  the  rapid  strokes 
of  the  beaters  detach  the  grain  from  the  ears,  and  throw 
the  straw  forward  upon  slowly  revolving  rakes,  in  passing 
over  which  the  loose  grain  is  shaken  out  of  the  straw,  and 
falls  through  a  grating  into  the  hopper  of  a  winnowing  and 
riddling  machine,  which  rids  it  of  dust  and  chaff,  and 
separates  the  grain  from  the- unthrashed  ears  and  broken 
straw,  called  rouglis  or  shorts.  The  grain  and  roughs  are 
discharged  by  separate  spouts  into  the  apartment  below  the 
thrashing-loft,  whence  the  corn  is  fed  into  the  rollers,  and 
the  thrashed  straw  falls  from  the  rakes  into  the  straw  barn 
beyond.  Since  Meikle's  time  further  additions  have  been 
made  to  the  machinery.  In  the  most  improved  machines 
driven  by  steam  or  a  sufficient  water  power,  the  grain  is 
raised  by  a  series  of  buckets  fixed  on  an  endless  web  into 
the  hopper  of  a  double  winnowing-machine,  by  which  it  is 
separated  into,clean  corn,  light,  whites  or  capes,  and  small 
seeds  and  sand.  The  discharging  spouts  are  sufficiently 
elevated  to  admit  of  sacks  being  hooked  on  to  receive  the 
different  products  as  they  falL  When  barley  is  thrashed, 
it  is  first  carried  by  a  separato  set  of  elevators,  which  can 
be  detached  at  pleasure,  into  a  "  hummeller,"  in  which  it 
is  freed  from  the  awns,  and  then  raised  into  the  second 
fanners  in  the  same  manner  as  other  grain.  The  hummeller 
is  a  hollow  cylinder,  in  which  a  spindle  fitted  with  transverse 
blunt  knives  revolves  rapidly.  The  rough  grain  is  poured 
in  at  the  top,  and,  after  being  acted  upon  by  the  knives,  is 
emitted  at  the  bottom  through  an  opening  which  is  enlarged 
or  diminished  by  a  sliding  shutter,  according  to  the  degree 
of  trimming  that  is  required.  A  large  set  of  elevators  is 
usually  employed  to  carry  up  the  roughs  to  the  feeding-board, 
that  they  may  again  be  subjected  to  the  action  of  the  drum. 
The  roughs  are  emptied,  not  directly  on  the  feeding-board, 
but  into  a  riddle,  from  which  the  loose  grain  passes  by  a 
canvas  funnel  direct  to  the  winnower  in  the  apartment 
below,  and  only  the  unthrashed  ears  and  short  straw  are 
allowed  to  fall  upon  the  board. 

The  alterations  that  have  been  made  upon  the  thrashing- 


1  See  article  on  "Comparative  Advantages  of  Fired  and  Portable 
Steam  Power  for  the  Purposes  of  a  Faim,"  by  Robert  Ritchie,  Esq., 
C.E  ,  Edinburgh,  in  Transaction  q/  Highland  Society  for  March  1852, 
B.  28L 


machine  since  Meikle's  time  chiefly  affect  the  drum.  Meikla 
himself  tried  to  improve  upon  his  beaters  by  fixing  a  project- 
ing ledge  of  iron  on  their  outer  edges,  so  as  to  give  them 
a  scutching  action  similar  to  that  of  flax-mills.  This  strips 
off  the  grain  from  oats  or  barley  very  well  when  thinly  fed 
in ;  but  its  tendency  is  to  rub  off  the  entire  ears,  especially 
of  wheat,  and  also  to  miss  a  portion  of  the  ears,  whenever 
there  is  rapid  feeding  in.  More  recent  trials  of  drums  on 
the  scutching  principle  show  them  to  be  on  the  whole  inferior 
to  the  plain  beater. 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  general  use  of  portable 
thrashing-machines  in  the  eastern  counties  of  England. 
These,  for  the  most  part,  have  drums  with  six  beaters  upon 
a  skeleton  frame,  which  revolve  with  great  rapidity  (about 
800  times  per  minute,  hence  often  called  high-speed  drum), 
within  a  concave  or  screen,  which  encloses  the  drum  for 
about  one-third  its  circumference.  This  screen  consists 
alternately  of  iron  ribs  and  open  wire-work,  and  is  so  placed 
that  its  inner  surface  can  be  brought  into  near  contact  with 
the  edges  of  the  revolving  beaters,  and  admits  of  this  space 
being  increased  or  diminished  by  means  of  screws.  No 
feeding-rollers  are  used  with  this  drum,  the  unthrashed  corn 
being  introduced  directly  to  it. 

Another  form  of  drum,  acting  on  the  same  principle  as 
that  just  referred  to,  but  cased  with  plate-iron,  and  having 
for  beaters  eight  strips  of  iron  projecting  about  one-fourth 
of  an  inch  from  its  surface,  and  which  works  within  a 
concave  which  embraces  it  for  three-fifths  of  its  circum- 
ference, is  in  use  when  it  is  desired  to  preserve  the  straw 
as  straight  and  unbroken  as  possible.  These  are  made  of 
sufficient  width  to  admit  of  the  corn  being  fed  in  sideways, 
and  are  called  bolting  machines,  from  the  straw  being 
delivered  in  a  fit  state  for  being  at  once  made  up  into  bolts 
or  bundles  for  market.  Although  the  term  beaters  is  retained 
in  describing  these  drums,  it  is  evident  that  the  process  by 
which  the  grain  is  separated  from  the  ears  is  rubbing  rather 
than  beating.  This  necessarily  requires  that  only  a  narrow 
space  intervene  between  drum  and  concave,  and  that  the  corn 
be  fed  in  somewhat  thinly.  Such  machines  thrash  clean, 
whether  the  ears  are  all  at  one  end  of  the  sheaf  or  not,  and 
deliver  the  straw  straight  and  uninjured;  but  it  is  objected 
to  these  by  some  that  they  are  slower  in  their  operation 
than  those  with  the  beating  drum,  are  liable  to  choke  if  the 
straw  is  at  all  damp,  that  the  grain  is  sometimes  broken  by 
them,  and  that  they  require  greater  power  to  drive  them. 

A  further  and  more  recent  modification  is  the  peg-drum. 
In  this  case  the  drum  is  fitted  with  parallel  rows  of  iron 
pegs,  projecting  about  2£  inches  from  its  surface,  which  in 
its  revolutions  pass  within  one-fourth  of  an  inch  of  similar 
pegs  fixed  in  the  concave  in  rows  running  at  right  angles 
to  the  drum.  Great  things  were  at  first  anticipated  from 
this  invention,  which,  however,  it  has  failed  to  realise.  But 
iron  pegs  have  more  recently  been  added  to  the  common 
beater-drum  with  apparent  success.  The  beaters  in  this 
case  are  made  one-half  narrower  than  usual,  and  have  stout 
iron  pegs,  formed  of  square  rods,  driven  jnto  their  faces, 
angle  foremost,  and  slightly  reflected  at  the  points.  These 
act  by  a  combination  of  beating  and  rippling,  and  are  said 
to  thrash  clean  and  to  be  easily  driven. 

There  is  thus  a  great  variety  of  thrashing-machines  to  be 
found  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  the  comparative 
merits  of  which  are  frequently  and  keenly  discussed  by 
agriculturists.  The  extraordinary  discrepancies  in  the 
amount  and  quality  of  the  work  performed  'by  different 
machines,  and  in  the  power  required  to  effect  it,  are  due 
quite  as  much  to  the  varying  degrees  of  skill  with  which 
their  parts  are  proportioned  and  put  together,  as  to  varying 
merit  in  the  respective  plans  of  construction. 

In  the  best  examples  of  6-horse  power  stationary  steam- 
engines  and  thrashing-machinery,  as  found  in  the  Lothians, 


32H 


AGRICULTURE 


.MACHINES  AMI 


fifty  quarters  of  grain,  taking  the  average  cf  wheat,  barley, 
•md  oats,  ore  thrashed,  dressed,  and  sacked  up  ready  for 
market,  in  a  day  of  ten  hours,  with  a  consumption  of  7  h 
cwt  of  good  coals,  :md  a  gross,  expenditure  for  wages, 
value  of  horse  labour  fuel,  and  wear  and  tear  of  machinery, 
of  9d.  per  quarter. 

The  exigencies  of  the  labour  market  are  giving  a  power- 
ful stimulus  to  the  use  of  labour-saving  contrivances  of  all 
kinds ;  and  hence  the  recent  introduction  of  straw  elevators, 
to  be  worked  either  by  horse-power  or  by  the  same  steam- 
engine  thaVis  driving  the  thrashing-machinery.  The  latter 
plan  finds  most  favour  in  England,  where  it  has  already 
been  adopted  to  a  considerable  extent 

The  lloyal  Agricultural  Society  of  England  has  done 
much  towards  ascertaining  the  real  merits  of  the  various 
thrashing-machines  now  in  use,  by  the  carefully  conducted 
comparative  trials  to  which  it  has  subjected  those  which 
have  been  presented  in  competition  for  its  liberal  prizes. 
The  accuracy  of  these  trials,  and  the  value  of  the  recorded 
results,  have  been  much  enhanced  by  the  use  of  an 
ingenious  apparatus  invented  by  Mr  C.  E  Amos,  consulting 
engineer  to  the  Society,  which  is  figured  and  described  at 
p.  479  of  voL  xi.  of  the  Society's  Journal.  A  pencil 
connected  with  this  apparatus  traces  a  diagram  upon  a 
sheet  of  paper,  recording  every  variation  of  the  power 
employed  during  the  experiment  to  work  the  machine  under 
trial.  For  reasons  already  stated,  we  regard  it  as  unfor- 
tunate that  the  patronage  of  this  great  Society  has  hitherto 
been  so  exclusively  bestowed  upon  portable  machines. 

Section  20. — TVinnovnng-Machines. 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  fanners,  which,  except 
in  portable  machines,  are  almost  invariably  found  in  com- 
bination with  thrashing-machinery,  so  us  to  deliver  the 
grain  into  the  corn-chamber  in  a  comparatively  clean  state  ; 
and  we  have  also  noticed  the  further  contrivances  by  which, 
when  there  is  a  sufficient  motive  power  at  command,  the 
complete  dressing  of  the  grain  goes  on  simultaneously  ./ith 
the  thrashing.  The  winnowers  used  in  such  cases  do  not 
differ  in  construction  from  those  worked  by  hand.  -In- 
deed, it  is  usual  to  have  one  at  least  that  can  be  used 
in  either  way  at  pleasure.  In  these  machines  the  separa- 
tion of  the  clean  from  the  light  grain,  and  of  both  from 
dust,  sand,  and  seeds  of  weeds,  or  other  rubbish,  is  effected 
by  directing  an  artificial  blast  of  wind  upon  a  stream  of 
grain  as  it  falls  upon  a  riddle.  There  is  thus  a  combination 
9f  fanning  and  sifting,  which  is  used  in  different  degrees 
according  to  the  views  of  the  mechanist  In  some  forms 
of  this  machine  the  benefit  of  the  artificial  blast  is  in  a 
great  measure  lost  through  an  injudicious  application  of  it 

Section  21. — Corn-Bruiser  and  Grinding-MUl. 

The  now  frequent  use  of  various  kinds  of  grain  in  the 
fattening  of  live  stock  creates  a  necessity  for  machines  to 
prepare  it  for  this  purpose,  either  by  breaking,  bruising, 
or  grinding.  A  profusion  of  these,  to  be  worked  by  hand, 
is  everywhere  to  be  met  with.  Such  machines  are  always 
most  economically  worked  by  steam  or  water  power. 
When  that  can  be  had,  a  set  of  rollers  for  bruising  oats  or 
linseed,  and  millstones  to  grind  the  inferior  grain  of  the 
farm,  form  a  most  valuable  addition  to  barn  machinery. 

Section  22. — Cake-Crushers. 

Machines  for  breaking  linseed-cake  into  large  pieces  for 
cattle,  or  smaller  ones  for  sheep,  are  now  in  general  use. 
The  breaking  is  performed  by  passing  the  cakes  between 
serrated  rollers,  by  which  it  is  nipt  into  morsels.  These 
are  usually  driven  by  hand ;  but  it  is  always  expedient  to 
have  a  pulley  attached  to  them,  and  to  take  advantage  of 
mechanical  power  when  available. 


Section  2o.—Chaf-Cnt!ers. 
The  use  of  this  class  of  machines  has  increased  very 
much  of  late  years.  Fodder  when  cut  into  bngths  of  from 
half-an-inch  to  an  inch  is  somewhat  more  easily  masticated 
than  when  given  to  animals  in  its  natural  state;  but  the 
chief  advantages  of  this  practice  are,  that  it  prevents  waste, 
and  admits  of  different  qualities — as  of  hay  and  straw, 
straw  and  green  forage,  or  chaff  and  pulped  roots — being 
so  mixed  that  animals  cannot  pick  out  the  one  from 
amongst  the  other,  but  must  eat  the  mixture  as  it  is 
presented  to  them.  Such  cut  fodder  also  forms  an 
excellent  vehicle  in  which  to  give  meal  or  bruised  grain, 
either  cooked  or  raw,  to  live  stock.  This  applies  parti- 
cularly to  sheep  feeding  on  turnips,  as  they  then  require  a 
portion  of  dry  food,  but  waste  it  grievously  when  it  is  not 
thus  prepared  Chaff-cutters  are  constructed  on  a  variety  of 
plans;  but  the  principle  most  frequently  adopted  is  that 
of  radial  knives  bolted  to  the  arm  of  a  fly-wheel,  which 
work  across  the  end  of  a  feeding-box  fitted  with  rollers, 
which  draw  forward  the  straw  or  hay  and  present  it  in  a 
compressed  state  to  the  action  of  the  knives.  A  machine 
on  this  principle,  made  by  Comes  of  Barbridge,  has  gained 
the  first  premium  in  it3  clas3  at  recent  meetings  of  the 
Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England.  Gillets'  guillotine 
chaff-cutter  i3  an  exceedingly  ingenious  and  efficient 
machine,  performing  its  work  with  great  accuracy,  and 
without  frequent  sharpening  of  its  one  double-edged  knife. 
These  machines  are  most  economically  worked  by  the  power 
used  for  thrashing.  The  most  convenient  site  for  them  is 
in  the  upper  loft  of  the  straw-barn,  where  the  straw  can  be 
supplied  with  little  labour,  and  the  chaff  either  shoved 
aside,  or  allowed  to  fall  as  it  is  cut  through  an  opening  in 
the  floor  into  the  apartment  below,  and  at  once  conveyed 
to  other  parts  of  the  homestead.  The  practice  on  some 
farms  where  there  is  a  fixed  steam-engine,  is  to  thrash  & 
stack  of  oats  in  the  forenoon,  and  to  cut  up  the  straw, 
and  bruise  or  grind  the  grain  simultaneously,  in  the 
afternoon. 

Section  24. — Turnip-Cutters. 

Cattle  and  sheep  which  have  arrived  at  maturity  are 
able  to  scoop  turnips  rapidly  with  their  sharp,  gouge-lik6 
front  teeth,  and  so  can  be  fattened  on  this  kind  of  food 
without  an  absolute  necessity  of  slicing  it  for  them.  Even 
for  adult  animala  there  is,  however,  ,an  advantage  in 
reducing  turnips  to  pieces  which'  they  can  easily  take  into 
their  mouths,  and  at  once  get  between  their  grinders  with- 
out any  preliminary  scooping ;  but  for  young  stock,  during 
the  period  of  dentition,  it  is  indispensable  to  their  *uart 
subsistence.  It  is  largely  through  the  use  of  slicing 
machines  that  certain  breeds  of  sheep  are  fattened  on 
turnips,  and  got  ready  for  the  butcher  at  fourteen  months 
old.  It  seems  to  be  admitted  on  all  hands  that  Gardener's 
patent  turnip-cutter  is  the  best  that  has  yet  been  produced 
for  slicing  roots  for  sheep.  It  is  now  made  entirely  of  iron, 
and  is  an  exceedingly  useful  machine. 

In  cattle  feeding  it  is  not  usually  thought  necessary  to 
divide  the  roots  given  to  them  so  minutely  as  for  sheep. 
A  simple  machine,  fashioned  much  on  the  principle  of 
nut-crackers,  by  which,  at  each  depression  of  the  lever 
handle,  one  turnip  is  forced  through  a  set  of  knivjs 
which  divide  it  into  slices  each  an  inch  thick,  is  very 
generally  used  in  Berwickshire  for  this  purpose.  Many 
persons,  however,  prefer  to  have  the  turnips  put  into  the 
cattle-troughs  whole,  and  then  to  have  them  cut  by  a 
simple  cross-bladed  hand-chopper,  which  at  each  blow 
quarters  the  piece  struck  by  it  The  mode  of  housing 
fattening  cattle  largely  determines  whether  roots  can  be 
most  conveniently  sliced  before  or  after  being  /jut  into  the 
fecoing-tiought. 


iMi'i  EMKNTS-] 


AGRICULTURE 


327 


Section  25. — Turnip  Pulpirs. 

An  opinion  now  obtains,  and  is  on  the  increase,  that  it 
is  advantageous  to  rasp  roots  into  minute  fragments  and 
miT  them  wica  chaff  before  giving  them  to  cattle,  as  this 
not  only  facilitates  mastication,  but  in  wintry  weather 
prevents  the  chilling  effects  of  a  bellyful  of  such  watery  food 
as  turnips  are  when  eaten  alona  This  system  is  peculiarly 
appropriate  when  it  is  desired  to  give  a  few  roots  to  store 
cattle  which  are  being  fed  mainly  upon  straw  or  coarse  hay. 
When  a  few  turnips  or  mangolds  are  put  down  in  their 
natural  state  there  is  a  scramble  for  the  better  food,  in 
which  the  stronger  cattle  get  more  than  their  share,  and 
the  weaker  are  knocked  about  But  by  pulping  the 
roots  and  raising  them  with  a  full  allowance  of  chaff,  every 
animal  gets  its  fill,  and  there  is  nothing  to  quarrel  about. 

At  the  Carlisle  meeting  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society 
a  premium  was  offered  for  machines  to  perform  this  kind 
cf  work,,  under  the  somewhat  inappropriate  designation 
of  "  pulping-machines."  The  prize  was  awarded  to  Mr 
Philips  for  bis  machine,  which  reduces  roots  to  minute 
fragments  by  means,  of  a  series  of  circular  saws.  We  learn 
from  parties  who  have  made  trial  of  most  of  the  machines 
of  this  class  yet  brought  out,  that  they  give  the  preference 
to  that  made  by  Bentail  of  Maldon  in  Sussex. 

Section  26. — Steaming  Apparatus  for  Cooking  Cattle  Food. 

We  have  several  times  alluded  to  the  cooking  of  food  for 
cattle.  This  is  performed  either  by  boiling  in  a  common 
pot,  by  steaming  in  a  close  vessel,  or  by  infusion  in  boiling 
water.  Varieties  of  apparatus  are  in  use  for  these  purposes. 
A  convenient  one  is  a  close  boiler,  with  a  cistern  over  it, 
from  which  it  supplies  itself  with  cold  water  by  a  self- 
acting  stop-cock.  This  is  alike  suitable  for  cooking  either 
by  steaming  or  infusing. 

Section  27. — Weighing-Machines. 

It  is  of  course  indispensable  for  every  fanrr  to  be 
provided  with  beam  and  scales,  or  other  apparatus,  for 
ascertaining  the  weight  of  grain,  wool,  and  other  com- 
modities, in  quantities  varying  from  1  lb.  to  3  cwt  But, 
besides  this,  it  is  very  desirable  to  have  a  machine  by 
which  not  only  turnips,  hay,  manures,  &c,  can  be  weighed 
in  cart-loads,  but  by  which  also  the  live  weight  of  pigs, 
fineep,  and  bullocks  can  be  ascertained.  Such  a  machine, 
conveniently  placed  in  the  homestead,  enables  the  farmer 
to  check  the  weighing  of  purchased  manure,  linseed-cake, 
coal,  and  similar  commodities,  with  great  facility.  It 
affords  the  means  of  conducting  various  experiments  for 
ascertaining  the  comparative  productiveness  of  crops,  the 
quantities  of  food  consumed  by  cattle,  and  their  periodic 
progress,  with  readiness  and  precision.  To  persons  unable 
to  estimate  the  weight  of  cattle  by  the  eye  readily  and 
accurately,  such  a  machine  is  invaluable. 

Section  28. — Concluding  Remarks  on  Implements. 

We  have  thus  enumerated,  and  briefly  described,  those 
machines  and  implements  of  agriculture  which  may  be  held 
to  be  indispensable,  if  the  soil  is  to  be  cultivated  to  the 
best  advantage.  The  list  does  Dot  profess  to  be  complete ; 
but  enough  is  given  to  indicate  the  progress  which  has 
recently  taken  place  in  this  department  We  have  already 
referred  to  this  department  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Royal 
Agricultural  Society  of'  England,  and  would  earnestly 
recommend  to  all  engaged  in  agriculture  the  careful  study 
of  the  reports  on  implements  contained  in  the  ninth  and 
subsequent  volumes  of  their  Journal.  The  care  with  which 
they  have  selected  their  judges,  and  the  skilful  manner  in 
which  those  entrusted  with  the  difficult  and  responsible 
office  have  discharged  their  duties,  are  truly  admirable. 
A  few  extracts  from  these  reports  will  serve  to  show  the 


extent  and  value  of  this  department  of  the  Society's  labours 
In  the  report  for  1849,  Mr  Thomson-  of  Moat-Hall  says— 
"  The  Society's  early  shows  of  implements  must  be  viewed 
chiefly  in  the  light  of  bazaars  or  expositions.  Neithei 
stewards  nor  judges  had  yet  acquired  the  experience 
requisite  for  the  adequate  discharge  of  their  office,  so  thai 
such  men  as  Messrs  Garrett,  Hornsby,  Ransome,  and  a  fe^ 
others,  would  have  laughed  in  their  sleeves  had  they  bed 
told  that  they  could  learn  anything  in  the  Society's  show 
yard.  In  spite,  however,  of  a  creditable  display  on  the 
part  of  a  few  leading  firms,  the  majority  of  the  implements 
exhibited  at  these  early  shows  were  of  inferior  construction 
and  workmanship,  and  the  general  appearance  of  the 
exhibitions  meagre  and  unsatisfactory. 

"  The  attention  of  some  if  the  leading  members  of  the 
Society  (especially  of  the  late  lamented  Mr  Handley)  was 
earnestly  directed  to  the  improvement  of  this  department, 
and  they  soon  perceived  that  little  was  gained  by  collecting 
implements  in  a  show-yard  for  people  to  gaze  at,  unless  an 
adequate  trial  could  be  made  of  their  respective  merits. 
To  attain  this  end  great  exertions  were  made,  and  ever) 
improvement  in  the  mode  of  trial  was  followed  by  sc 
marked  an  increase  in  the  number  and  merit  of  the  imple 
ments  brought  forward  at  subsequent  shows,  as  to  provi 
the  strongest  incentive  to  further  effort 

"  At  the  Cambridge  and  Liverpool  meetings,  when  thesi 
trials  were  in  their  infancy,  their  main  attraction  consistec 
of  ploughing-matches  on  a  large  seale,  which  gratified  sight 
seers,  but  gave  no  results  that  could  be  depended  upon 
and  therefore  disappointed  all  practical  men.  It- would 
occupy  time  unnecessarily  to  trace  the  gradual  changes 
which  have  led  to  the  discontinuance  of  these  showy  exhi 
bitions,  and  the  substitution  in  their  place  of  quiet, 
business-like  trials,  in  the  presence  of  stewards  and  judges 
alone.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  what  they  have  lost  in  dis- 
play, they  have  gained  in  efficiency,  and  consequently  in 
favour  with  those  classes  for  whose  benefit  they  were  de- 
signed. At  the  York  meeting,  the  improved  mode  of  trying 
the  thrashing-machines  supplied  a  deficiency  which,  until 
that  time,  had  been  much  felt,  viz.,  the  absence  of  anj 
means  of  ascertaining  the  amount  of  power  expended  ic 
working  the  machines  under  trial;  and  it  may  now  be 
asserted,  with  some  confidence,  that,  with  the  exception 
of  an  occasional  error  or  accident,  the  best  implements  are 
uniformly  selected  for  prizes. 

"  It  now  remains  to  answer  the'  question  proposed  for 

consideration,  viz.,  to  what  extent  the  great  improvement 

made  of  late  in  agricultural  implements  is  due  to  the 

exertions  of  this  Society ;  and  with  this  view  a  tabular 

statement  is  subjoined,  which  shows  the  relative  extent  and 

importance  of  the  Society's  two  first  and  two  last  shows  of 

implements  : — 

No.  of  Award!. 

Exhibitora  Moncj.  Medal* 

1839  Oxford  23  £5  4 

1840  Cambridge         .        36  0 

1848  York         .        .146  230  21 

1849  Norwich  .        .      145  364  13 

"  From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  at  Cambridge,  where  the 
trial  of  implements  was  confined  to  one  day,  and  was,  in 
other  respects,  so  immature  as  to  be  of  little  practical  value, 
the  number  of  exhibitors  was  only  thirty-six,  and  the  judges, 
in  whom  a  certain  discretionary  power  was  vested,  awarded 
no  money  and  but  seven  medals,  in  consequence  of  the 
scarcity  of  objects  deserving  of  reward ;  whilst  at  York, 
eight  years  after,  when  trials  lasted  several  days,  and  had 
attained  a  considerable  degree  of  perfection,  the  number  of 
exhibitors  had  increased  four-fold.  The  additional  amount 
offered  in  prizes  at  the  later  meetings  has  undoubtedly 
assisted  in  creating  this  great  increase  of  competition,  but 
it  cannot  be  considered  the  principal  cause,  since  the  imp)* 


328 


AGRICULTURE 


[drainino 


ment-makers  are  unanimous  in  declaring  that,  even  when 
most  successful,  the  prizes  they  receive  do  not  reimburse 
them  for  their  expenses  and  loss  of  time.  How,  then, 
are  the  increased  exertions  of  the  machine-makers  to  be  ac- 
counted for  1  Simply  by  the  fact  that  the  trials  of  imple- 
ments have  gradually  won  the  confidence  of  the  farmer,  so 
that,  when  selecting  implements  for  purchase,  he  gives  the 
preference  to  those  which  have  received  the  Society's  mark 
of  approval.  This  inference  is  corroborated  by  the  makers 
themselves,  who  readily  admit  that  the  winner  of  a  prize, 
for  any  implement  of  general  utility,  is  sure  to  receive  an 
ample  amount  of  orders,  and  that  the  award  of  a  medal  is 
worth  on  an  average  £50." 

In  reporting  upon  the  agricultural  implement  department 
of  the  Great  Exhibition,  Mr  Pusey  says — "  The  yearly  shows 
and  trials  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  have  certainly 
done  more  in  England  for  agricultural  machines  within  the 
last  ten  years,  than  had  been  attempted  anywhere  in  all 

former  time It  seems  proved  that   since  annual 

country  shows  were  established  by  Lord  Spencer,  Mr 
Handley,  and  others  yet  hiving,  old  implements  have  been 
improved,  and  new  ones  devised,  whose  performances  stand 
the  necessary  inquiry  as  to  the  amount  of  saving  they  can 
effect  To  ascertain  that  amount  precisely  is  difficult ;  but, 
looking  through  the  successive  stages  of  management,  and 
seeing  that  the  owner  of  a  stock-farm  is  enabled,  in  the 
preparation  of  his  land,  by  using  lighter  ploughs,  to  cast  off 
one  horse  in  three,  and  by  adopting  other  simple  tools  to 
dispense  altogether  with  a  great  part  of  his  ploughing, — 
that  in  the  culture  of  crops  by  the  various  drills,  horse  labour 
can  be  partly  reduced,  the  seed  otherwise  wanted  partly 
eaved,  or  the  use  of  manures  greatly  economised,  while  the 
horse-hoe  replaces  the  hoe  at  one-half  the  expense, — that 
in  harvest  the  American  reapers  can  effect  thirty  men's  work, 
whilst  the  Scotch  cart  replaces  the  old  English  waggon  with 
exactly  half  the  number  of  horses, — that  in  preparing  corn 
for  man's  food,  the  steam  thrashing-machine  saves  two-thirds 
of  our  former  expense, — and  in  preparing  food  for  stock, 
the  turnip-cutter,  at  an  outlay  of  Is.,  adds  8s.  ahead  in  one 
winter  to  the  value  of  sheep ;  lastly,  that  in  the  indispensable 
but  costly  operation  of  draining,  the  materials  have  been 
reduced  from  80s.  to  15s. — to  one-fifth,  namely,  of  their 
former  cost, — it  seems  to  be  proved  that  the  efforts  of  agri- 
cultural mechanists  have  been  so  far  successful,  as  in  all 
these  main  branches  of  farming  labour,  taken  together,  to 
effect  a  saving,  on  outgoings,  of  little  less  than  one-half." 

Since  these  reports  were  made,  the  demand  for  improved 
agricultural  implements  and  machinery  has  increased 
enormously,  so  much  so  that  the  manufacture  of  them  is 
now  a  most  important  and  a  rapidly  increasing  branch  of 
our  national  industry,  and  we  quite  anticipate  that  in  a  short 
time  there  will  be  such  a  general  appreciation  of  the  benefits 
of  cultivation  by  steam  power,  and  such  a  demand  for  engines 
and  tackle  to  carry  it  out,  as  the  makers  and  manufacturers 
will  find  it  difficult  to  satisfy. 

Scottish  agriculturists,  in  reading  these  reports,  will  pro- 
bably note  with  self-gratulation,  that  some  of  the  improve- 
ments referred  to  as  of  recent  introduction  in  England,  viz., 
two-horse  ploughs  and  one-horse  carts,  have  long  been  estab- 
lished among  themselves.  Indeed,  they  will  find  graceful 
acknowledgment  of  the  fact  in  these  reports.  Unless  alto- 
gether blinded  by  prejudice,  they  will,  however,  see  that  our 
brethren  south  of  the  Tweed  have  already  outstripped  us  in 
many  particulars,  and  that  unless  our  national  Society,  our 
mechanists,  and  farmers,  exert  themselves  with  correspond- 
ing judgment  and  zeal,  we  must  henceforth  be  fain  to  follow, 
where  we  at  least  fancy  that  we  have  hitherto  been  leading. 
But  we  have  more  important  motives  and  encouragements 
to  exertion  than  mere  national  emulation.  The  extent  to 
which  the  cost  of  production  of  farm  produce  has  been 


lessened  by  recent  improvements  in  the  implement*  of 
husbandry,  and  in  the  details  of  farm  management,  is  greater 
than  many  are  aware  of.  It  seems  to.  be  in  this  direction 
mainly  that  the  farmer  must  look  for  a  set-off  against  the 
steadily  increasing  cost  of  land  and  labour.  If  by  further 
improvementsin  his  machinery  and  implements  he  is  enabled 
to  keep  fewer  horses,  to  get  his  deep  tillage  performed  by 
steam  power,  and  his  mowing  and  reaping  accomplished  by 
the  ordinary  forces  which  he  requires  throughout  the  year, 
the  reduction  upon  the  prime  cost  of  his  produce  will  bo 
really  important.  A  hopeful  element  in  this  anticipated 
progress  ia  that  it  tends  directly  to  elevate  the  condition  of 
the  rural  labourer.  Every  addition  to  the  steam  power  and 
labour-saving  machines  used  upon  the  farm  implies  an 
increased  demand  for  cultured  minds  to  guide  them,  a 
lessening  of  the  drudgery  heretofore  imposed  upon  human 
thews  and  sinews,  an  equalising  of  employment  throughout 
the  year,  and  a  better  and  steadier  rate  of  wages.  Believing, 
as  we  do,  that  on  every  farm  enormous  waste  of  motive 
power — mechanical,  animal,  and  manual — is  continuously 
going  on  through  the  imperfection  of  the  implements  and 
machines  now  in  use,  we  would  urge  upon  all  concerned 
to  look  well  to  this ;  for,  with  all  our  improvements,  there 
is  undoubtedly  yet  a  large  margin  for  retrenchment  here. 

Besides  the  bulky  and  costly  implements  now  enumerated, 
every  farm  must  be  provided  with  a  considerable  assortment 
of  hand-implements  and  tools,  all  of  which  it  is  of  conse- 
quence to  have  good  of  their  kind.  Although  not  individu- 
ally costly,  they  absorb  a  considerable  capital  in  the  aggre- 
gate. When  not  in  use,  they  require  to  be  kept  under  lock, 
and  at  all  times  need  to  be  well  looked  after.  Without 
waiting  to  describe  these  in  detail,  let  us  now  see  how  the 
work  of  the  farm  is  conducted. 

CHAPTER  VH. 

PREPARATION  OF  THE  LAND  FOR  TILLAGE  OPERATIONS. 

Section  1. — When  Required. 
Before  those  simple  tillage  operations  which  are  necessary 
in  every  instance  of  committing  seeds  to  the  earth  can  be 
gone  about,  there  are  more  costly  and  elaborate  processes  of 
preparation  which  must  be  encountered  in  certain  circum- 
stances, in  order  to  fit  the  soil  for  bearing  cultivated  crops. 
It  is  now  only  in  exceptional  cases  that  the  British  agri- 
culturist has  to  reclaim  land  from  a  state  of  nature.  The 
low-country  fanner  does  occasionally  meet  with  a  patch  of 
woodland,  or  a  bank  covered  with  gorse  or  brushwood,  which, 
he  sets  about  converting  into  arable  land.  It  is  in  the 
higher  districts  that,  from  the  facilities  now  afforded  for 
readily  enriching  poor  soils  by  portable  manures,  the  plough 
still  frequently  invades  new  portions  of  muir  and  bog,  and 
transforms  them  into  fields.  The  occupiers  of  land  in  these 
upland  districts  are  accordingly  still  familiar  with  the 
processes  of  paring  and  burning,  trenching,  removing  earth- 
fast  stones,  and  levelling  inequalities  of  surface.  In  break- 
ing up  land  that  has  been  for  a  course  of  years  under 
pasturage,  paring  and  burning  are  also  frequently  resorted 
to  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  The  grand  improvement  of 
all,  thorough  underground  drainage,  is  common  to  every 
district  and  class  of  soils. 

Section  2. — Braining. 

From  the  moist  climate  of  Britain,  drainingis  undoubtedly 
the  all-important  preliminary  operation  in  setting  about  tho 
improvement  of  the  soiL 

To  drain  land  ia  to  rid  it  of  its  superfluous  moisture. 
The  rivers  of  a  country  with  their  tributary  brooks  and  rills 
are  the  natural  provision  for  removing  the  rain  water  which. 
either  flows  directly  from  its  surface,  or  which,  after 
percolating  through  porous  strata  to  an  indefinite  depth,  ia 
again  discharged  at  the  surface  by  springs.     The  latter  may 


OPERATIONS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


329 


thus  be  regarded  as  the  outlets  of  a  natural  underground 
drainage.  This  provision  for  disposing  of  the  water  that 
falls  from  the  clouds  is  usually  so  irregular  in  its  distribu- 
tion, and  so  imperfect  in  its  operation,  that  it  leaves  much 
to  be  accomplished  by  human  labour  and  ingenuity.  The 
art  of  the  drainer  accordingly  consists — 

1st,  In  improving  the  natural  outfalls  by  deepening, 
straightening,  or  embanking  rivers;  and  by  supplementing 
these,  when  necessary,  by  artificial  canals  and  ditches  : 
and, 

2d,  In  freeing  the  soil  and  subsoil  from  stagnant  water, 
by  means  of  artificial  underground  channels. 

The  first  of  these  operations,  called  trunk  drainage,  is  the 
most  needful ;  for  until  it  be  accomplished  there  are  exten- 
sive tracts  of  land,  and  that  usually  of  tho  most  valuable 
kind,  to  which  the  secondary  process  either  cannot  be 
applied  at  all,  or  only  with  the  most  partial  and  inefficient 
results.  Very  mauy  of  our  British  rivers  and  streams  flow 
■with  a  sluggish  and  tortuous  course  through  valleys  of  flat 
alluvial  soil,  which,  as  the  coast  is  approached,  expand  into 
■extensive  plains,  but  little  elevated  above  the  level  of  the 
sea.  Here  the  course  of  the  river  is  obstructed  by  shifting 
shoals  arid  sand-banks,  and  by  the  periodic  influx  of  the 
tides.  The  consequence  is,  that  immense  tracts  of  valuable 
land  are  at  all  times  in  a  water-logged  and  comparatively 
•worthless  state,  and  on  every  recurrence  of  a  flood  are  laid 
entirely  under  water.  In  a  subsequent  chapter  on  "  Waste 
Lands"  some  account  shall  be  given  of  the  extent  of  this 
evil,  and  of  the  efforts  that  have  been  successfully  devoted 
to  its  remedy.  Some  of  these  fen-land  and  estuary  drain- 
age works  have  been  accomplished  in  the  face  of  natural 
obstacles  of  the  most  formidable  character,  and  constitute 
trophies  of  engineering  talent  of  which  the  country  may  well 
be  proud.  Great  as  the  natural  difficulties  are  which  have 
to  be  encountered  in  such  cases,  there  are  others  of  a  differ- 
ent kind  which  have  often  proved  more  impracticable.  It 
ias  been  found  easier  to  exclude  the  sea  and  restrain  land- 
floods,  than  to  overcome  the  prejudices  and  reconcile  the 
conflicting  interests  of  navigation  companies,  commissioners 
of  sewers,  owners  of  mills,  and  landed  proprietors.  Although 
all  these  classes  suffer  the  most  serious  losses  and  incon- 
veniences from  the  defective  state  of  many  of  our  rivers, 
it  is  found  extremely  difficult  to  reconcile  their  conflict- 
ing claims,  and  to  allocate  to  each  his  proper  share  of  the 
cost  of  improvements  by  which  all  are  to  benefit.  A  most 
interesting  and  instructive  illustration  of  the  urgent  necessity 
for  improving  the  state  of  our  rivers,  of  the  difficulties  to 
rie  encountered  in  doing  so,  and  of  the  incalculable  benefits 
thus  to  be  obtained,  has  been  given  in  an  essay  on  Trunk 
Drainage,  by  John  Algernon  Clarke,  Esq.,  published  in 
vol  xv.  (part  first)  of  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural 
■Society  of  England.  Mr  Clarke,  after  some  most  important 
observations  on  trunk  drainage,  describes  in  detail  works 
projected  under  powers  granted  in  an  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment, passed  in  1852,  "constituting  commissioners  for 
the  improvement  of  the  river  Nene  and  the  navigation 
thereof." 

There  is  not  a  district  of  the  kingdom  in  which  works 
■similar  in  kind  are  not  absolutely  indispensable,  before 
extensive  tracts  of  valuable  land  can  be  rendered  available 
for  profitable  cultivation  by  means  of  underground  drainage. 
Itis  interestingto  know  that  the  necessity  for  trunk  drainage, 
and  the  means  of  accomplishing  it,  were  distinctly  set  before 
the  public  200  years  ago  by  a  practical  draining  engineer, 
to  whrise  writings  the  attention  of  the  agricultural  com- 
munity has  been  frequently  directed  of  late  by  Mr 
Parkes,  Mr  Gisborne,  and  others.  From  the  third  edition 
(1652)  of  The  Improver  Improved,  by  Walter  Blithe,  the 
author  referred  to,  in  which  the  true  principles  of  land 
drainage  are  stated  as  distinctly,  and  urged  as  earnestly,  as 


by  any  of  our  modern  writers,  we  here  quote  the  following 

remarks  : — 

"  A  strait  water-course,  cut  a  considerable  depth,  in  a  thousand 
parts  of  this  nation,  would  be  more  advantageous  than  we  are 
aware  of,  or  I  will  task  myself  here  to  dispute  further.  And  though 
many  persons  are  interested  therein,  and  some  will  agree,  and  others 
will  oppose ;  oui  creek  lyeth  on  one  side  of  the  river,  in  one  lord's 
manor,  and  another  lyeth  on  the  other  side,  and  divers  men  own  the 
same ;  why  may  not  one  neighbour  change  with  another,  when  both 
are  gainers  ?  If  not,  why  vtay  they  not  be  compelled  for  their  own 
good,  and  the  commonwealth's  advantage!  I  daresay  thousands  of 
acres  of  very  rich  land  may  hereby  be  gained,  and  possibly  as  many 
more  much  amended,  that  are  almost  destroyed ;  but  a  law  is  want- 
ing herein  for  the  present,  which  I  hope  will  be  supplied  if  it  may 
appear  advancement  to  the  public  ;  for  to  private  interests  it  is  not 
possible  to  be  the  least  prejudice,  when  every  man  hath  benefit,  and 
each  man  may  also  have  an  ecjuall  allowance  if  the  least  prejudiced. 

"  But  a  word  or  two  more,  and  so  shall  conclude'  this  chapter — 
and  it  is  a  little  to  further  this  improvement  through  a  great 
destruction  (as  some  may  say) ;  it  is  the  removing  or  the  destroying 
o'f  all  such  mills,  and  none  else,  as  drown  and  corrupt  more  lands 
than  themselves  are  worth  to  the  commonwealth,  and  they  are  such 
as  are  kept  up  or  dammed  so  high  as  that  they  boggyfie  all  the 
land3  that  lye  under  their  mill-head.  Such  mills  as  are  of  little 
worth,  or  are  by  constant  great  charges  maintained,  1  advise  to  b« 
pulled  down ;  the  advance  of  the  land,  when  the  water  is  let  run 
his  course,  and  not  impounded,  will  be  of  far  greater  value  many 
times. '  But  in  case  the  mills  should  be  so  necessary  and  profitable 
too,  and  far  more  than  the  lands  they  spoil,  I  shall  then  advise, 
that  under  thy  inill-dam,  so  many  yards  wide  from  it  as  may  prevent 
breaking  through,  thou  make  a  very  deep  trench  all  along  so  far  as 
thy  lands  are  putrefied,  and  thereinto  receive  all  the  issuing,  spew, 
ing  water,  and  thereby  stop  or  cut  oif  the  feeding  of  it  upon  thy 
meadow,  and  carry  it  away  back  into  thy  back-water  or  false  course, 
by  as  deep  a  trench,  cut  through  the  most  low  and  convenient  part  of 
thy  meads.  But  put  case  that  thou  shouldst  have  no  convenie.  i 
fall  on  that  side  thy  mill-dam,  then  thou  must  make  some  course, 
or  plant  some  trough  under  thy  mill-dam,  and  ro  carry  it  under 
into  some  lower  course  that  may  preserve  it  from  soaking  thy 
meadows  or  pastures  under  it ;  and  by  this  means  thou  maist  in  s 
good  measure  reduco  thy  land  to  good  soundness,  and.  probably 
wholly  cure  it,  and  preserve  thy  mill  also.'' 

It  is  painful  to  reflect  that  after  the  lapse  of  two  cen- 
turies, we  should  still  see,  as  Blithe  did,  much  "gallant 
land"  ruined  for  want  of  those  draining  operations  which,  he 
so  happily  describes. 

A  clear  outfall  of  sufficient  depth  being  secured,  the  way 
is  open  for  the  application  of  underground  draining.  And 
here  it  may  be  proper  to  state,  that  there  is  very  little  of 
the  land  of  Great  Britain  naturally  so  dry  as  not  to  be 
susceptible  of  improvement  by  artificial  draining ;  for  land 
is  not  in  a  perfect  condition  with  respect  to  drainage,  unless 
all  the  rain  that  falls  upon  it  can  sink  down  to  the 
minimum  depth  slurred  for  the  healthy  development  of 
the  roots  of  cultivaced  crops,  and  thence  find  vent,  either 
through  a  naturally  porous  subsoil  or  by  artificial  channels. 
Much  controversy  has  taken  place  as  to  what  this  minimum 
depth  is.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  opinion  is  now  decidedly 
in  favour  of  a  greater  depth  than  was  considered  necessary 
even  a  few  years  ago,  and  that  the  best  authorities  concur 
in  stating  it  at  from  three  to  four  feet  There  are  persons 
who  doubt  whether  the  roots  of  our  ordinary  grain  or  green 
crops  ever  penetrate  to  such  a  depth  as  has  now  been 
specified.  A  careful  examination  ■will  satisfy  any  one  who 
makes  it,  that  minute  filamentary  rootlets  are  sent  down  to 
extraordinary  depths,  wherever  they  are  not  arrested  by 
stagnant  water.  It  has  also  been  questioned  whether  any 
benefit  accrues  to  crops  from  this  deep  descent  of  their 
roots.  Some  persons  have  even  asserted  that  it  is  only 
when  they  do  not  find  food  near  at  hand  that  they  thus 
wander.  But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  plants  obtain 
moisture  as  well  as  nourishment  by  means  of  their  roots, 
and  the  fact  is  well  known  that  plants  growing  in  a  deep 
soil  resting  on  a  porous  subsoil  seldom  or  never  suffer  from 
drought.  It  is  instructive,  too,  on  this  point,  to  observe 
the  practice  of  the  most  skilful  gardeners,  and  see  the 
importance  which  they  attach  to  trenching,  the  great  depth 


1—V 


330 


AGRICULTURE 


at  which  they  often  deposit  manure,  and  the  stress  which 
they  lay  upon  thorough  drainage.  On  the  other^hand,  it 
is  well  known  that  soils  which  soonest  become  saturated, 
and  run  from  the  surface  in  wet  weather,  are  precisely 
those  which  parch  and  get  chapped  the  soonest  in  drought. 
The  effectual  way  to  secure  our  crops  at  once  from  drown- 
ing and  parching,  is  to  put  the  land  in  a  right  condition 
with  respect  to  drainage. 

All  soils  possess  more  or  less  the  power  of  absorbing 
and  retaining  water.  Pure  clays  have  it  in  the  greatest 
degree,  and  gritty  siliceous  ones  in  the  smallest.  In  dry 
weather  this  power  of  attracting  moisture  is  constantly 
operating  to  supply  from  below  the  loss  taking  place  by 
evaporation  at  the  surfaca  In  heavy  rains,  as  soon  as  the 
entire  mass  has  drunk  its  fill,  the  excess  begins  to  flow  off 
below ;  and  therefore  a  deep  stratum,  through  which  water 
can  percolate,  but  in  which  it  can  never  stagnate — that  is, 
never  exceed  the  point  of  saturation — is  precisely  that  in 
which  plants  are  most  secure  from  the  extremes  of  drought 
and  drowning. 

If  a  perfect  condition  of  the  soil  with  respect  to  drainage 
is  of  importance  for  its  influence  in  preserving  it  in  a  right 
condition  as  respects  moisture,  it  is  still  more  so  for  its 
effects  upon  its  temperature.  All  who  are  conversant  with 
rural  affairs  are  familiar  with  that  popular  classification  of 
soils  in  virtue  of  which  such  as  are  naturally  dry  are  also 
invariably  spoken  of  as  warm  and  early ;  and  conversely, 
that  wet  soils  are  invariably  described  as  being  cold  and 
late.  This  classification  is  strictly  accurate,  and  the  explana- 
tion of  it  is  simple.  An  excess  of  water  in  soil  keeps,  down 
its  temperature  in  various  ways.  In  passing  into  the  state 
of  vapour  it  rapidly  carries  off  the  heat  which  the  foil  ha3 
obtained  from  the  sun's  rays.  "Water  possesses  also  a  high 
radiating  power ;  so  that,  when  present  in  the  soil  in  excess, 
and  in  a  stagnant  state,  it  is  constantly  carrying  off  heat  by 
evaporation  and  radiation.  On  the  other  hand,  stagnant 
water  conveys  no  heat  downwards  ;  for  although  tho  surface 
is  warmed,  the  portion  of  water  thus  heated  being  lightest, 
remains  floating  on  the  'surface,  and  will  give  back  its 
heat  •  to  the  atmosphere,  but  conveys  none  downwards. 
When  the  surface  of  stagnant  water  becomes  colder  than  the 
general  mass,  the  very  opposite  effect  immediately  ensues ; 
for  as  water  cools  its  density  increases,  and  thus  causes  an 
instant  sinking  of  the  portion  that  has  been  cooled,  and  a 
rising  of  a  warm  portion  from  below  to  take  its  place — this 
movement  continuing  until  the  whole  has  been  lowered  to 
40°,  at  which  point  water  reaches  its  maximum  density, 
while,  if  the  temperature  be  reduced  a  few  degrees  more, 
water  will  begin  to  freeze.  It  is  thus  that  6oil  surcharged 
with  water  is  kept  at  a  lower  temperature  than  similar  soil 
that  has  a  sufficient  natural  or  artificial  drainage. 

But  while  the  presence  of  stagnant  water  in  a  soil  has 
this  injurious  power  of  lowering  its  temperature,  a  very 
different  effect  ensues  when  rain  water  can  sink  freely  into 
it  to  a  depth  of  several  feet,  and  then  find  a  ready  exit  by 
drainage ;  for  in  this  case  the  rain  water  carries  down  with 
it  the  heat  which  it  has  acquired  from  the  atmosphere  and 
from  the  sun-heated  surface,  and  imparts  it  to  the  subsoil 
There  is  as  yet  a  lack  of  published  experiments  to  show  the 
ordinary  increase  of  temperature  at  various  depths  and  in 
different  soils,  as  the  result  of  draining  wet  land.  Those 
conducted  by  Mr  Parkes,  in  a  Lancashire  bog  in  June  1837, 
showed,  as  the  mean  of  thirty-five  observations,  that  the 
drained  and  cultivated  soil  at  seven  inches  from  the  surface 
was  10°  warmer  than  the  adjoining  undrained  bog  in  its 
natural  state  at  the  fame  depth.  It  is  understood  that 
later  experiments  conducted  by  the  same  gentleman  on  an 
extended  scale  fully  establish  the  fact,  that  an  increased 
temperature  of  the  soil  is  an  unfailing  accompaniment  of 
taorough  draining.     The  importance  of  this  result  cannot 


[DKAISIXO 

well  be  over-rated.  The  temperature  and  other  conditions 
of  the  atmosphere,  which  we  call  climate,  are  placed  beyond 
human  control ;  but  this  power  of  raising  the  temperature 
of  all  wet,  and  consequently  cold  soils,  becomes  tantamount 
in  some  of  its  results  to  a  power  of  improving  the  climate. 
There  are,  accordingly,  good  grounds  for  stating  that  in 
numerous  cases  grain  crops  have  ripened  sooner  by  ten  or 
twelve  days  than  they  would  have  done  but  for  the  draining 
of  the  land  on  which  they  grew. 

The  points  which  we  have  thus  briefly  touched  upon  aie 
so  essential  to  an  intelligent  appreciation  of  the  subject, 
that  we  have  felt  constrained  to  notice  them,  however 
meagrely.  But  our  space  forbids  more  than  a  mere  enumera- 
tion of  some  of  the  many  evils  inseparable  from  the  presence 
of  stagnant  water  in  the  soil,  and  of  the  benefits  that  flow 
from  its  removal.  Wet  land,  if  in  grass,  produces  only  the 
coarser  grasses,  and  many  sub-aquatic  plants  and  mosses, 
which  are  of  little  or  no  value  for  pasturage ;  its  herbage 
is  late  of  coming  in  spring,  and  fails  early  in  autumn ;  the 
animals  grazed  upon  it  are  unduly  liable  to  disease,  and 
sheep,  especially,  to  the  fatal  rot  When  land  is  used  as 
arable,  tillage  operations  are  easily  interrupted  by  rain,  and 
the  period  always  much  limited  in  which  they  can  be 
prosecuted  at  all ;  the  compactness  and  toughness  of  such 
land  renders  each  operation  more  arduous,  and  more  of 
them  necessary,  than  in  the  case  of  dry  land.  The  surfaco 
must  necessarily  be  thrown  into  ridges,  and  the  furrows  and 
cross-cuts  duly  cleared  out  after  each  process  of  tillage,  on 
which  surface  expedients  as  much  labour  has  probably  been 
expended  in  each  thirty  years  as  would  now  suffiee  to  make 
drains  enough  to  lay  it  permanently  dry.  With  all  theso 
precautions  the  best  seed-time  i3  often  missed,  and  this 
usually  proves  the  prelude  to  a  scanty  crop,  or  to  a  late  and 
disastrous  harvest.  The  cultivation  of  the  turnip  and  other 
root  crops,  which  require  the  soil  to  be  wrought  to  a  deep 
and  free  tilth,  either  becomes  altogether  impracticable,  and 
must  be  abandoned  for  the  safe  but  costly  bare  fallow,  or 
is  carried  out  with  great  labour  and  hazard ;  and  the  crop, 
when  grown,  can  neither  be  removed  from  the  ground,  nor 
consumed  upon  it  by  sheep  without  damage  by  poachmj 
The  dung,  lime,  and  other  manure,  that  is  applied  to  such 
land  is  in  a  great  measure  wasted;  and  the  breaking  of 
the  subsoil  and  general  deep  tillage,  so  beneficial  in  other 
circumstances,  is  here  positively  mischievous,  as  it  does  but 
increase  its  power  of  retaining  water.  Taking  into  account 
the  excessive  labour,  cost,  and  risk,  inseparable  from  the 
cultivation  of  wet  land,  and  the  scanty  and  precarious 
character  of  the  crops  so  obtained,  it  would  in  many  cases 
be  wiser  to  keep  such  lands  in  grass,  than  to  prosecute 
arable  husbandry  under  such  adverse  circumstances.  These 
very  serious  evils  can  either  be  entirely  removed,  or,  at  the 
least,  very  greatly  lessened  by  thorough  draining.  It  «f  ten 
happens  that  naturally  porous  soils  are  so  soaked  by  springs, 
or  so  water-logged  by  resting  i;pon  an  impervious  subsoil, 
or,  it  may  be,  so  drowned  for  want  of  an  outfall  in  some 
neighbouring  river  or  stream,  that  draining  at  once  effects 
a  perfect  cure,  and  places  them  on  a  par  with  the  best 
naturally  dry  soils.  In  the  case  of  clay  soils,  the  improve- 
ment effected  by  draining  is  in  some  respects  greater  than 
in  any  other  class,  but  still  it  cannot  change  the  inherent 
properties  of  clay.  This  has  sometimes  been  overlooked 
by  sanguine  improvers,  who,  hastily  assuming  that  their 
strong  land,  when  drained,  would  henceforward  be  as  friable 
and  sound  as  the  more  porous  kinds,  have  proceeded  to 
treat  it  on  this  assumption,  and  have  found  td  their  cost 
that  clay,  however  well  drained,  will  still  get  into  mortar 
and  clods,  if  it  is  tilled  or  trodden  on  too  soon  after  rain. 
It  is  entirely  owing  to  such  rash  and  unskilful  management 
that  an  opinion  has  sometimes  got  abroad,  that  clay  lands 
are  injured  by  draining.     They  merely  retain  the  qualitieji 


OrilRATIOXS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


531 


peculiar  to  clay,  and  when  tney  are  treated  judiciously, 
show  as  good  a  comparative  benefit  from  draining  as  other 
soils.  The  only  instances  in  which  even  temporary  injury 
arises  from  draining  is  in  the  case  of  some  peaty  and  fen 
lands,  which  are  so  loose  that  they  suffer  from  drought  in 
protracted  dry  weather.  As  such  lands  are  usually  level 
and  have  water-courses  near  them,  this  inconvenience  admits 
of  an  easy  remedy  by  shutting  up  the  main  outlets,  and  then 
admitting  water  into  the  ditches.  The  drains  in  this  way 
become  ready  channels  for  appi)'ing  the  needed  moisture 
by  a  kind  of  subterraneous  irrigation. 

The  beneficial  effects  of  thorough  draining  are  of  a  very 
decisive  and  striking  kind.  The  removal  of  stagnant  water 
from  a  stratum  of  4  feet  in  depth,  and  the  establishing  of 
a  free  passage  for  rain  water  and  air  from  the  surface  to 
the  level  of  the  drains,  speedily  effects  most  important 
changes  in  the  condition  of  the  soil  and  subsoil  Plough- 
ing and  other  tillage  operations  are  performed  more  easily 
than  before  in  consequence  of  a  more  friable  state  of 
the  soiL  Moderate  rainswhich  formerly  would  have  sufficed 
to  airest  these  operations  do  so  no  longer,  and  heavy  falls 
of  rain  cause  a  much  shorter  interruption  of  these  labours 
than  they  did  when  the  land  was  in  its  natural  state.  Deep 
tillage,  whether  by  the  common  or  subsoil  plough  (which 
formerly  did  harm),  now  aids  the  drainage,  and  is  every  way 
beneficial.  Ridges  and  surface  furrows  being  no  longer 
needed  the  land  can  be  kept  flat,  with  great  benefit  to  crops 
and  furtherance  to  field  operations.  An  earlier  seed-time 
and  harvest,  better  crops,  a  healthier  live  stock,  and  an 
improved  style  of  husbandry,  are  the  usual  and  well  known 
sequents  of  judiciously  conducted  drainage  operations.  In 
short,  the  most  experienced  and  skilful  agriculturists  now 
declare  with  one  consent  that  good  drainage  is  an  indispens- 
able preliminary  to  good  cultivation. 

Although  it  has  been  reserved  to  the  present  times  to  see 
land  draining  reduced  to  a  sj-stem  based  on  scientific  prin- 
ciples, or  very  great  improvement  effected  in  its  details,  it 
is  by  no  means  a  modern  discovery.  The  Romans  were 
careful  to  keep  their  arable  lands  dry  by  means  of  open 
trenches,  and  there  are  even  some  grounds  for  surmising 
that  they  used  covered  drains  for  the  same  purpose.  In- 
dubitable proof  exists  that  they  constructed  underground 
chancels  by  means  of  tubes  of  burned  earthenware ;  but 
it  seems  more  probable  that  these  were  designed  to  carry 
water  to  their  dwellings,  &c,  than  that  they  were  used 
simply  as  drains.  Recent  inquiries  and  discoveries  have 
also  shown  that  it  is  at  least  several  centuries,  since  covered 
channels  of  various  kinds  were  in  use  by  British  husbandmen 
for  drying  their  land.  It  is,  at  all  events,  two  centuries 
since  Captain  Walter  Blithe  wrote  as  follows : — 

"  Superfluous  and  venomous  water  which  lyeth  in  the 
earth  and  much  occasioneth  bogginesse,  mirinesse,  rushes, 
flags,  and  other  filth,  is  indeed  the  chief  cause  of  barrenesse 

in  any  land  of  this  nature Drayning  is  an  excellent 

and  chief  est  means  for  their  reducement ;  and  for  the  depth 
of  such  draynes,  I  cannot  possibly  bound,  because  I  have 
not  time  and  opportunity  to  take  in  all  circumstances.  .  .  .  . 
And  for  thy  drayning  trench,  it  must  be  made  bo  deepe 
that  it  goe  to  the  bottome  of  the  cold.spewing  moyst  water, 
that  feeds  the  flagg  and  the  rush ;  for  the  widenesse  of  it, 
use  thine  owne  liberty,  but  be  sure  to  make  it  so  wide  as 
thou  mayest  goe  to  the  bottome  of  it,  which  must  be  so 
low  as  any  moysture  lyeth,  which  moysture  usually  lyeth 
under  the  over  and  second  swarth  of  the  earth,  in  some 
gravel  or  sand,  or  else,  where  some  greater  stones  are  mixt 
with  clay,  under  which  thou  must  goe  halfe  one  spades  graft 
deepe  at  least  j  yea,  suppose  this  corruption  that  feeds  and 
nourisheth  the  rush  or  flagg  should  lie  a  yard  or  foure  foot 
deepe.  to  the  bottome  of  it  thou  mast  goe,  if  ever  thou  wilt 
;lrayne  it  to  purpose And  for  the  drayning  trench 


be  sure  thon  indeavour  to  carry  it  as  neare  upon  a  straight 

line  a3  possible To  the  bottome  where  the  spewing 

spring  lyeth  thou  must  goe,  and  one  spades  depth  or  graft 
beneath,  how  deep  so  ever  it  he,  if  thou  wilt  drayne  thy 
land  to  purpose.  I  am  forced  to  use  repetitions  of  some 
things,  because  of  the  suitableness  of  the  things  to  which 
they  are  applyed  ;  as  also  because  of  the  slownesse  of  peoples 
apprehensions  of  them,  as  appears  by  the  non-practice  of 
them,  the  which  wherever  you  see  drayning  and  trenching 
you  shall  rarely  find  few  or  none  of  them  wrought  to  the 

bottome Go  to  the  bottome  of  the  bog,  and  there 

make  a  trench  in  the  sound  ground,  or  else  in  some  old 
ditch,  so  low  as  thou  verily  conceivest  thy  selfe  assuredly 
under  the  level  of  the  spring  or  spewing  water,  and  then 
carry  up  thy  trench  into  thybogg  straight  through  the  middJa 
of  it,  one  foot  under  that  spring ;  .  .  .  .  but  for  these 
common  and  many  trenches,  oft  times  crooked  too,  that 
men  usually  make  in  their  boggy  grounds,  some  one  foot, 
some  two,  never  having  respect  to  the  cause  or  matter  that 
maketh  the  bogg  to  take  that  way,  I  say  away  with  them 

as  a  great  piece  of  folly,  lost  labour  and  spoyle 

After  thou  has  brought  a  trench  to  the  bottom  of  the  bog, 
then  cut  a  good  substantial  trench  about  thy  bog;  and 
when  thou  hast  so  done  make  one  work  or  two  just  over-, 
thwart  it,  upwards  and  downwards,  all  under  the  matter  of 
the  bog.  Then  thou  must  take  gpod  green  faggots,  willow, 
alder,  elme,  or  thorne,  and  lay  in  the  bottome  of  thy  works, 
and  then  take  thy  turfe  thou  tookest  up  in  the  top  of  thy 
trench,  and  plant  upon  them  with  the  green  sward  down- 
wards ;  or  take  great  pebbles,  stones,  or  flint  stones,  and  so 
fill  up  the  bottome  of  thy  trench  about  fifteen  inches  high, 
and  take  thy  turfe  and  plant  it  as  aforesaid,  being  cut  very 
fit  for  the  trench,  as  it  may  join  close  as  it  is  layd  downe, 
and  then  having  cov.ered  it  all  over  with  earth,  and  made 
it  even  as  thy  other  "ground,  waite  and  expect  a  wonderfull 
effect  through  the  blessing  of  God." 

These  sagacious  arguments  and  instructions  were  doubt- 
less acted  upon  by  some  persons  in  his  own  times  and  since ; 
but  still  they  had  never  attained  to  general  adoption,  and 
were  ultimately  forgotten.  Towards  the  close  of  last 
century,  Mr  Eliington,  a  Warwickshire  farmer,  discovered 
and  promulgated  a  plan  of  laying  dry  sloping  land  that  is 
drowned  by  the  outbursting  of  springs.  AVhen  the  higher 
lying  portion  of  such  land  is  porous,  rain  falling  upon  it 
sinks  down  until  it  is  arrested  by  clay  or  other  impervious 
matter,  which  causes  it  again  to  issue  at  the  surface  and 
wet  the  lower-lying  ground.  Elkington  showed  that  by 
cutting  a  deep  drain  through  the  clay,  aided  when  necessary 
by  wells  or  augur  holes,  the  subjacent  bed  of  sand  or  gravel 
in  which  a  body  of  water  is  pent  up  by  the  clay,  as  in  a 
vessel,  might  be  tapped,  and  the  water  conveyed  harmlessly 
in  the  covered  drain  to  the  nearest  ditch  or  stream.  In 
the  circumstances  to  which  it  is  applicable,  and  in  the  hands 
of  skilful  drainers,  Elkington's  plan,  by  bringing  into  play 
the  natural  drainage  furnished  by  porous  strata,  is  often 
eminently  successful.  His  system  was  given  to  the  public 
in  a  quarto  volume,  edited  by  a  Mr  John  Johnston  of 
Edinburgh,  who  does  not  seem  to  have  shared  the  engineer- 
ing talents  of  the  man  whose  discoveries  he  professes  to  ex- 
pound. During  the  thirty  or  forty  years  subsequent  to 
the  publication  of  this  volume,  most  of  the  draining  that 
took  place  was  on  this  system,  and  an  immense  capital  was 
expended  in  such  works  with  very  varying  results.  Things 
continued  in  this  position  until  about  the  year  1823,  when 
the  late  James  Smith  of  Deanston,  having  discovered  anew 
those  principles  of  draining  so  long  before  indicated  by 
Blithe,  proceeded  to  exemplify  them  in  his  own  practice, 
and  to  expound  them  to  the  public  in  a  way  that  speedily 
effected  a  complete  revolution  in  the  art  of  draining,  and 
marked  an  era  in  our  agricultural  progress.     Instead  of 


332 


A  G  R  I  C  F  L  T  U  K  E 


.  DRAINING 


persisting  in  fruitless  attempts  to  dry  extensive  areas  by 
a  few  dexterous  cuts,  he  insisted  on  the  necessity  of  pro- 
viding every  field  that  needed  draining  at  all  with  a  complete 
system  of  parallel  underground  channels,  running  in  the 
line  of  the  greatest  slope  of  tho  ground,  and  so  near  to  each 
other  that  the  whole  rain  falling  at  any  time  upon  the 
surface  should  sink  down  and  be  carried  off  by  the  drains. 
The  distances  between  drains  he  showed  must  be  regulated 
by  the  greater  or  less  retentiveness  of  the  ground  operated 
upon,  and  gave  10  feet  as  the  minimum,  and  40  feet  as  the 
maximum  of  these  distances.  The  depth  which  he  pre- 
scribed for  his  parallel  drains  was  30  inches,  and  these 
were  to  be  filled  with  12  inches  of  stones  small  enough  to 
pass  through  a  3-inch  ring — in  short,  a  new  edition  of 
Blithe's  drain.  A  main  receiving-drain  was  to  be  carried 
along  the  lowest  part  of  the  ground,  with  sub-mains  in  every 
subordinate  hollow  that  the  ground  presented.  These 
receiving  drains  were  directed  to  be  formed  with  a  culvert 
of  stone  work,  or  of  tileB,  of  waterway  sufficient  to  contain 
the  greatest  volume  of  water  at  any  time  requiring  to  be 
passed  from  the  area  to  which  they  respectively  supplied 
the  outlet.  The  whole  cultivated  lands  of  Britain  being 
disposed  in  ridges  which  usually  lie  in  the  line  of  greatest 
ascent,  it  became  customary  to  form  the  drains  in  each 
furrow,  or  in  each  alternate,  or  third,  or  fourth  one,  as  the 
case  might  require  or  views  of  economy  dictate,  and  hence 
the  system  soon  came  to  be  popularly  called  furrow 
draining.  From  the  number  and  arrangement  of  the  drains, 
the  terms  frequent  and  parallel  were  also  applied  to  it. 
Mr  Smith  himself  more  appropriately  named  it,  from  its 
effects,  thorough  draining.  The  sound  principles  thus 
promulgated  by  him  were  speedily  adopted  and  extensively 
carried  into  practice.  The  great  labour  and  cost  incurred 
in  procuring  stones  in  adequate  quantities,  and  the  difficulty 
of  carting  them  in  wet  seasons,  soon  led  to  the  substitution 
of  tiles  and  soles  of  burned  earthenware.  The  limited 
supply  and  high  price  of  these  tiles  for  a  time  impeded  the 
progress  of  the  new  system  of  draining ;  but  the  invention 
of  tile-making  machines  by  tho  Marquis  of  Tweeddale  and 
others,  removed  this  impediment,  and  gave  a  mighty 
stimulus  to  this  fundamental  agricultural  improvement 
The  substitution  of  cylindrical  pipes  for  the  original  horse- 
shoe tiles  has  still  further  lowered  the  cost  and  increased 
the  efficiency  and  permanency  of  drainage  works. 

The  system  introduced  and  so  ably  expounded  by  Smith 
of  Deanston  has  now  been  virtually  adopted  by  all  drainers. 
■Variations  in  matters  of  detail  (having  respect  chiefly  to  the 
depth  and  distance  apart  of  the  parallel  drains)  have  indeed 
been  introduced  ;  but  the  distinctive  features  of  his  system 
are  now  recognised  and  acted  upon  by  all  scientific  drainers. 

In  setting  about  the  draining  of  a  field,  or  farm,  or 
estate,  the  first  point  is  to  secure,  at  whatever  cost,  a  proper 
outfall.  The  lines  of  the  receiving  drains  must  next  be 
determined,  and  then  the  direction  of  the  parallel  drains. 
The  former  must  occupy  the  lowest  part  of  the  natural 
hollows,  and  the  latter  must  run  in  the  line  of  the 
greatest  .ascent  of  the  ground.  In  the  case  of  flat  land, 
where  a  fall  is  obtained  chiefly  by  increasing  the  depth  of 
the  drains  at  their  lower  ends,  these  lines  may  be  disposed 
in  any  direction  that  is  found  convenient ;  but  in  undu- 
lating ground  a  single  field  may  require  several  distinct  sets 
of  drains  lying  at  different  angles,  so  as  to  suit  its  several 
slopes.  When  a  field  is  ridged  in  the  line  of  the  greatest 
ascent  of  the  ground,  there  is  an  obvious  convenience  in 
adopting  the  furrows  as  the  site  of  the  drains ;  but  wherever 
this  is  not  the  case  the  drains  must  be  laid  of  to  suit  the 
contour  of  the  ground,  irrespective  of  the  furrows  altogether. 
When  parts  of  a  field  are  flat,  and  other  parts  have  a  con- 
siderable acclivity,  it  is  expedient  to  cut  a  receiving  drain 
near  to  the  bottom  of  the  slopes,  and  to  give  the  flat  ground 


an  independent  set  of  drains.  In  laying  off  receiving 
drains  it  is  essential  to  give  hedge-rows  and  trees  a  good 
offing,  lest  tho  conduit  should  bo  obstructed  by  roots. 
When  a  drain  must  of  necessity  pass  near  to  trees,  we  have 
found  it  practicable  to  exclude  their  roots  from  it  by  tho 
use  of  coal-tar.  In  our  own  practice,  a  drain  carried 
through  the  corner  of  a  plantation  has  by  this  expedient 
remained  free  from  obstruction  for  now  fourteen  years.  In 
this  instance  the  tar  was  applied  in  the  following  manner: — 
Sawdust  and  coal-tar  being  mixed  together  to  the  consis- 
tency of  ordinary  mortar,  a  layer  of  this  was  laid  in  the 
bottom  of  the  trench ;  the  drain-pipes  were  then  laid,  and 
completelycoated  overwiththe  same  mixture  to  thethickness 
of  an  inch,  and  tho  earth  carefully  replaced  in  the  ordinary 
way.  When  a  main  drain  is  so  placed  that  parallel  ones  empty 
into  it  from  both  sides,  care  should  be  taken  that  the  inlets 
of  the  latter  are  not  made  exactly  opposite  to  each  other. 
Indeed,  we  have  found  it  expedient  in  such  cases  to  have 
two  receiving  drains  parallel  to  each  other,  each  to  receive 
the  subordinate  drains  from  its  own  side  only.  As  theso 
receiving  drains  act  also  as  ordinary  drains  to  the  land 
through  which  they  pass,  no  additional  cost  is  incurred  by 
having  two  instead  of  one,  provided  they  are  as  far  apart 
as  tho  other  drains  in  the  field.  Much  of  the  success  of 
draining  depends  on  the  skilful  planning  of  these  main 
drains,  and  in  making  them  large  enough  to  discharge  the 
greatest  flow  of  water  to  which  they  may  be  exposed.  Very 
long  main  drains  are  to  be  avoided.  Numerous  outlets  are 
also  objectionable,  from  their  liability  to  obstruction.  An 
outlet  to  an  area  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  acres  is  agcod 
arrangement.  These  outlets  should  be  faced  with  mason- 
work,  and  guarded  by  iron  gratings. 

The  depths  of  the  parallel  drains  must  next  be  deter- 
mined. In  order  to  obtain  proper  data  for  doing  so,  the 
subsoil  must  be  carefully  examined  by  digging  test-holes 
in  various  places,  and  also  by  taking  advantage  of  any 
quarries,  deep  ditches,  or  other  cuttings  in  the  proximity, 
that  afford  a  good  section  of  the  ground.  We  have  already 
expressed  an  opinion  that  the  drains  should  not  be  less  than 
four  feet  deep ;  but  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  discovery 
at  a  greater  depth  than  four  feet  of  a  seam  of  gravel,  or 
other  very  porous  material  charged  with  water,  underlying 
considerable  portions  of  -the  ground,  may  render  it 
expedient  to  carry  the  drains  so  deep  as  to  reach  this  seam. 
Such  a  seam,  when  furnished  with  sufficient  outlets, 
supplies  a  natural  drain  to  the  whole  area  under  which 
it  extends.  When  such  exceptional  cases  are  met  with, 
they  are  precisely  those  in  which  deep  drains,  at  wide 
intervals,  can  be  trusted  to  dry  the  whole  area.  When  the 
subsoil  consists  of  a  tenacious  clay  of  considerable  depth, 
it  is  considered  by  many  persons  that  a  greater  depth  than 
three  feet  is  unnecessary.  The  greater  depth  is,  however, 
always  to  be  preferred ;  for  a  drain  of  four  feet,  if  it  works 
at  all,  not  only  does  all  that  a  shallower  one  can  do,  but 
frees  from  stagnant  water  a  body  of  subsoil  on  which  the 
other  has  no  effect  at  all  It  has  indeed  been  alleged  that 
such  deep  drains  may  get  so  closed  over  by  the  clay  that 
water  will  stand  above  them.  If  the  surface  of  clay  soil  is 
wrought  into  puddle  by  improper  usage,  water  can  undoubt- 
edly be  made  to  stand  for  a  time  over  the  shallowest  drains 
as  easily  as  over  the  deepest.  But  the  contraction  which 
takes  place  in  summer  in  good  alluvial  clays  gradually  estab- 
lishes fissures,  by  which  water  reaches  the  drains.  In  such 
soils  it  is  usually  a  few  years  before  the  full  effect  of  draining 
is  attained.  This  is  chiefly  due  to  the  contraction  and  con- 
sequent cracking  of  clay  soils  in  summer  just  referred  to,  and 
partly,  as  Mr  Parkes  thinks,  to  the  mining  operations  of  the 
common  earth-worm.  Both  of  these  natural  aids  to  drainage 
operate  with  greater  force  with  drains  four  feetdeep  than  when 
they  are  shallower.     The  tardy  percolation  of  water  through 


OPERATIONS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


333 


clay  soils  seems  also  a  reason  why  in  such  cases  it  should  get 
the  benefit  of  a  greater  fall,  by  making  the  drain  deep. 

Draining  is  always  a  costly  operation,  and  it  is  therefore 
peculiarly  needful  to  have  it  executed  in  such  a  way  that  it 
shall  be  effectual  and  permanent.  We  advocate  a  minimum 
depth  of  four  feet,  because  of  our  strong  conviction  that 
such  drains  carefully  made  will  be  found  to  have  both  these 
qualities.  And  this  opinion  is  the  result  of  dear-bought 
experience,  for  we  have  found  it  necessary  in  our  own  case 
to  re-open  a. very  considerable  extent  of  30-inch  drains  in 
consequence  of  their  having  totally  failed  to  lay  the  land 
dry,  and  to  replace  them  by  four  feet  ones,  which' have 
proved  perfectly  efficacious.  In  doing  this  we  have  seen  a 
30-inch  drain  opened  up  and  found  to  be  perfectly  dry,  and 
yet  when  the  same  trench  was  deepened  to  four  feet  there 
was  quite  a  run  of  water  from  it.  Now  also  that  steam 
power  has  become  available  for  the  tillage  of  the  soil,  and 
is  certain,  at  no  distant  day,  to  be  in  general  requisition  for 
that  purpose,  it  is  peculiarly  expedient  to  have  the  drains 
laid  at  such  a  depth  as  to  admit  of  that  potent  agency  being 
used  for  loosening  the  subsoil  to  depths  hitherto  unattain- 
able, not  only  without  hazard  to  the  drains,  but  with  the 
certainty  of  greatly  augmenting  their  efficiency.  Therefore 
we  earr.sstly  dissuade  all  parties  who  are  about  to  undertake 
drainage  works  from  giving  ear  to  representations  about 
the  sufficiency  and  economy  of  shallow  drains.  These, 
doubtless,  cost  somewhat  less  to  begin  with,  but  in  thousands 
of  cases  they  fail  to  accomplish  the  desired  end,  and  the 
unfortunate  owners,  after  all  their  outlay,  are  left  to  the 
miserable  alternative  of  seeing  their  land  imperfectly  drained, 
or  of  executing  the  works  anew,  and  thus  losing  the  whole 
cost  of  the  first  and  inefficient  ones.  The  extreme  reluctance 
with  which  the  latter  alternative  is  necessarily  regarded  will 
undoubtedly  operate  for  a  long  time  in  keeping  much  land 
that  has  been  hastily  and  imperfectly  drained  from  partici- 
pating in  the  benefits  of  thorough  drainage.  The  distance 
apart  at  which  the  drains  should  be  cut  must  be  determined 
by  the  nature  of  the  subsoil.  In  the  most  retentive  clays 
it  need  not  be  less  than  18  feet.  On  the  other  hand,  this 
distance  cannot  safely  be  exceeded  in  the  case  of  any  sub- 
soil in  which  clay  predominates,  although  it  should  not  be 
of  the  most  retentive  kind.  In  all  parts  of  the  country 
instances  abound  in  which  drains  cut  in  such  subsoils,  from 
24  to  30  feet  apart,  have  totally  failed  to  lay  the  land  dry. 
When  ground  is  once  pre-occupied  by  drains  too  far  apart, 
there  is  no  remedy  but  to  form  a  supplementary  one  betwixt 
each  pair  of  the  first  set ;  and  thus,  by  exceeding  the  proper 
width  at  first,  the  space  betwixt  the  drains  is  unavoidably 
reduced  to  12  or  15  feet,  although  18  feet  would  originally 
have  sufficed.  It  is  only  with  a  decided  porosity  in  the 
subsod,  and  in  proportion  to  the  degree  of  that  porosity, 
that  the  space  between  drains  can  safely  be  increased  to  24, 
or  30,  or  36  feet.  In  those  exceptional  cases  in  which 
drains  more  than  36  feet  apart  prove  effectual,  their  success 
is  due  to  the  principle  on  which  Elkington's  system  is 
founded.  A  few  years  ago  an  opinion  obtained  currency, 
that  as  the  depth  of  drains  was  increased  their  width  apart 
might  with  safety  be  increased  in  a  corresponding  ratio. 
And  hence  it  came  to  be  confidently  asserted,  that  with  a 
depth  of  5  or  6  feet  a  width  of  from  40  to  60  feet  might 
be  adopted  with  a  certainty  of  success,  even  in  the  case  of 
retentive  soils.  We  believe  that  experience  has  already 
demonstrated  the  unsoundness  of  this  opinion.  At  all 
events,  in  recommending  a  minimum  depth  of  4  feet,  we  do 
so  on  the  ground  that  (other  things  being  equal)  the  whole 
benefits  of  drainage  are  more  fully  and  certainly  secured  by 
drains  of  this  depth  than  by  those  of  2i  or  3  feet.  In 
ordinary  case's  an  increase  of  depth  does  not  compensate  for 
an  increase  of  the  width  apart  of  the  drains.  Draining  can 
be  carried  on  at  all  seasons,  but  is  usually  best  dona  in. 


summer  or  autumn.  The  digging  is  usually  paid  for  hr- 
task  work,  and  the  setting  of  the  pipes  by  day's  wages.  A 
thoroughly  trustworthy  and  experienced  workman  is  selected 
for  the  latter  work,  with  instructions  to  set  no  pipes  until 
he  is  satisfied  that  the  depth  of  the  drains  and  level  of  the 
bottoms  are  correct.  When  the  soil  is  returned  into  the 
drains  all  defects  are  of  course  buried,  and  it  therefore  be- 
hoves the  landlord,  or  his  substitute,  whether  tenant  or 
bailiff,  to  exercise  a  vigilant  oversight  of  draining  operations. 
Unless  carefully  executed  they  cannot  be  efficient;  and  with- 
out efficient  drainage  all  other  agricultural  operations  must 
be  carried  on  under  grievous  disadvantages.  The  extent  oi 
land  in  Great  Britain  naturally  so  dry  as  not  to  need  artificial 
drainage  is  very  much  less  than  even  practical  fanners,  who 
have  not  studied  the  subject,  are  at  all  aware  of. 

Cylindrical  pipes  with  collars  are  undoubtedly  the  best 
draining  material  that  has  yet  been  discovered.  The  collars 
referred  to  are  simply  short  pieces  of  pipe,  just  so  wide  in 
the  bore  as  to  admit  of  the  smaller  pipes  which  form  the 
drain  passing  freely  through  them.  In  use,  one  of  these 
collars  is  so  placed  as  to  encase  the  ends  of  each  contiguous 
pair  of  tubes,  and  thus  forms  a  loose  fillet  around  each 
joining.  The  ends  of  these  pipes  being  by  this  means 
securely  kept  in  contact,  a  continuous  canal  for  the  free 
passage  of  water  is  infallibly  insured,  the  joinings  are 
guarded  against  the  entrance  of  mud  or  vermin,  and  yet 
sufficient  space  is  left  for  the  admission  of  water.  Pipes 
of  all  diameters,  from  1  inch  to  1 6  inches,  are  now  to  be 
had ;  those  from  1  to  2  inches  in  the  bore  are  used  for 
subordinate  drains ;  the  larger  sizes  for  sub-main  and  main- 
receiving  drains.  Collars  are  used  with  the  smaller  sizes  only, 
large  pipes  not  being  so  liable  to  shift  their  position  as  small 
ones.  In  constructing  a  drain,  it  is  of  much  importance 
that  the  bottom  be  cut  out  just  wide  enough  to  admit  the 
pipes  and  no  more.  Pipes,  when  thus  accurately  fitted  in, 
are  much  less  liable  to  derangement  than  when  laid  in 
the  bottom  of  a  trench  several  times  their  width,  and 
into  which  a  mass  of  loose  earth  must  necessarily  be  re- 
turned. This  accurate  fitting  is  now  quite  practicable  in 
the  case  of  soils  tolerably  free  from  stones,  from  the 
excellence  of  the  draining  tools  that  have  lately  been 
introduced.  The  following  cut  represents  the  most  import- 
ant of  these  tools.         -~.  - 

c  and  e  are  long 
tapering  spade3  for 
digging  out  the  mid-  ft=}-4= 

dle  and  bottom  spits.  [ 
a,  d,  and  /  recurved 
scoops  for  clearing 
out  the  debris,  and 
6  a  pipe-layer,  by 
means  of  which  a 
workman  standing 
at  the  margin  of  a 
drain  hooks  up  a. 
pipe  and  collar,  and 
deposits  them  easily  I  a  I  'J 
and  accurately  in  the 
deep  narrow  trench. 

If  a  quicksand  is  encountered  in  constructing  a  drain,  it 
will  be  found  expedient  to  put  a  layer  of  straw  in  the  bottom 
of  the  trench,  and  then,  instead  of  the  ordinary  pipe  and 
collar,  to  use  at  such  a  place  a  double  set  of  pipes — c;  a 
within  the  other — taking  care  that  the  joinings  of  the  inner 
set  are  covered  by  the  centres  of  the  outer  ones.  By  such 
precautions  the  water  gets  vent,  and  the  running  sand  is 
excluded  from  the  drain.  When  a  brook  has  been  diverted 
from  its  natural  course  for  mill-power  or  irrigating  purposes, 
it  often  happens  that  portions  of  land  are  thereby  deprived 
of  the  outfall  required  to  admit  of  their  being  drained  to 


^ 


\&* '  4 


Draining  Tools. 


334 


AGRICULTURE 


[DRAINIXa 


a  proper  depth.  In  such  cases  it  is.  frequently  practicable 
to  obtain  the  needed  outlet  by  carrying  a  main  drain,  through 
below  the  water-course,  by  using  at  that  point  a  few  yards  of 
cast-iron1  pipe,  and  carefully  filling  up  the  trench  with  clay 
puddle,  so  that  there  maybe  no  leakage  from  the  water-course 
into  the  drain.  While  this  is  beingdone  the  water  must  either  be 
turned  off  or  carried  over  the  temporary  gap  in  a  wooden  trough. 
The  cost  of  draining  is  so  much  influenced  by  the  ever- 
varying  price  of  labour  and  materials,  and  by  the  still  more 
varying  character  of  the  land  to  be  operated  upon,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  give  an  estimate  of  the  cost  that  will  admit 
of  general  application.  The  following  tabular  data,  taken 
chiefly  from  Mr  Bailey  Denton's  valuablo  treatise,  are  pre- 
sented to  aid  those  who  wish  to  form  such  an  estimate : — 

Table  I. — Showing  the  number  of  rods  of  drain  per  acre  at  givrn 
distances  apart,  and  the  number  of  pipes  of  given  lengths 
required  per  acre. 


Intervals 

between 

Rods  per 

12-Inch 

13-Inch 

14-Inch 

15-Inch 

tile  drains 

acie. 

pipes. 

'  pipes. 

pipes. 

pipes. 

In  feet. 

18 

1461 

2420 

2234 

2074 

1936 

21 

125f 

2074 

1915 

1778 

1659 

24 

110 

1815 

1676 

1555 

1452 

27 

97J 

1613 

1489 

1383 

1290 

30 

83 

1452 

1340 

1244 

1161 

Table  II. — Showing  the  cost  of  draining  per  acre 
intervals  betvieen  the  drains. 

at  different 

18  feet  I  21  feet 
apart,  j  apart. 

24  feet 
apart. 

27  fe:t 

apart 

30  feet 

apart. 

Labour,  cutting  and  filling 
in  at  6s.  per  rod 

Material,    pipes   for   minor 
drains,  18s.  per  1000     ,,, 

Haulage,  two  miles,  and  de- 
livery in  fields  at  2s.  6d. 
per  1000 

Pipe-laying  and   finishing, 
Id.  per  rod 

Superintendence,  foreman.. 

Iron-outlet  pipes,  and  ma- 
sonry, and  extra  labour... 

Total 

£  s.  d.£  s.  d. 
3  13    43    2  10 

1 
2    6   91  19    2 

0    6   4055 

.        1 
0  12   21010    6 
0    5   CO    5    0 
0    2   0020 

0    1    6j0    1    6 

£  s.  d. 
2  16   0 

1  14    3 

0    4  S 

0    9   2 
0    5   0 
0    2   0 

0    16 

£  s.  d. 
2    811 

110    6 

0    4   3 

0    8   2 
0    5   0 
0    2   0 

0    1    6 

£  s.  d. 

2    4    0 

1     7    5 

0    3   9 

0    7   4 
0    5   0 
0    2   0 

0    16 

7    6     1 
1    2  10 

6    6    5;5  11    8 
0  19    7  0  17   1 

5    0   4 
0  15   3 

4  11    0 
0  13    8 

8   8  11 

7    6    0689 

5  15   7 

5    4   8 

Various  attempts  have  from  time  to  time  been  made  to 
lower  the  cost  of  draining  land  by  the  direct  application  of 
nniiual  or  steam  power  to  the  work  of  excavation.     The 


&£ 


Steam  Draining  Plough. 

A  Engine. 
a  Large  dram. 
a1  Small  drum. 
B  B>  Snatch  block* 
C  Anchor 
/  Large  rope 

S  Pulley  attached  to  plough. 
P  Dralnlng-plougo. 
G  Small  rope. 
H  Anchor  and  aheare  for  small  rope* 


most  successful  of  these  attempts  is  the  steam-draining 
apparatus  invented  by  Mr  John  Fowler  of  Bristol,  usually 


called  Fowler's  draining  plough..  A  six-horse  portable 
steam-engine  is  anchored  in  one  corner  of  the  field  to  be 
drained.  It  gives  motion  to  two  drums,  to  each  of  which 
a  rope  500  yards  long  is  attached,  the  one  uncoiling  as  the 
other  is  wound  up.  These  ropes  pass  round  blocks  which 
are  anchored  at  each  end  of  the  intended  line  of  drain,  and 
are  attached  one  to  the  front  and  the  other  to  the  hinder  end 
of  the  draining  apparatus.  This  consists  of  a  framework, 
in  which  is  fixed,  at  any  required  depth  not  exceeding  3J 
feet,  a  strong  coulter  terminating  in  a  short  horizontal  bar 
of  cylindrical  iron,  with  a  piece  of  rope  attached  to  it,  on 
which  a  convenient  number  of  drain  pipes  are  strung.  This 
frame  being  pulled  along  by  the  engine,  the  coulter  is  forced 
through  the  soil  at  a  regulated  depth,  and  deposits  its  string 
of  pipes  with  unerring  accuracy,  thus  forming,  as  it  proceeds, 
a  perfect  drain.  The  supply  of  pipes  is  kept  up  by  means 
of  holes  previously  dug  in  the  line  of  the  drain,  at  distances 
corresponding  to  the  length  of  the  rope  on  which  they  are 
strung.  This  machine  was  subjected  to  a  very  thorough 
trial  at  the  meeting  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of 
England  at  Lincoln  in  1854,  on  which  occasion  a  silver 
medal  and  very  high  commendation  were  awarded  to  it.  In 
March  1 S55  it  was  publicly  stated  that  five  of  these  im- 
plements are  now  at  work  in  different  parts  of  England, 
and  that  already  10,000  acres  of  land  have  been  drained  by 
means  of  them.  At  the  Lincoln  trial  it  was  satisfactorily 
proved  that  this  implement  could  work  at  a  depth  of  3i 
feet.  As  it  moved  along,  the  soil  on  each  side,  to  the 
width  of  2  or  3  feet,  seemed  to  be  loosened.  It  is  therefore 
probable  that  this  implement,  or  at  least  one  propelled  on 
the  same  principle,  may  yet  be  used  as  a  subsoil  disin 
tegrator. 

A  great  stimulus  has  recently  been  given  to  the  improve- 
ment of  land  by  the  passing  of  a  series  of  Acts  of  Parlia- 
ment, which  have  removed  certain  obstacles  that  effectually 
hindered  the  investment  of  capital  in  works  of  drainage 
and  kindred  ameliorations.  By  the  first  of  these  Acts, 
passed  in  1846,  a  sum  of  £4,000,000  of  the  public  money 
was  authorised  to  be  advanced  to  landowners  to  be  expended 
in  draining  their  lands.  The  Enclosure  Commissioners 
were  charged  with  the  allocation  of  this  money  and  the 
superintendence  of  its  outlay.  The  most  important  pro- 
visions of  this  Act  are  that  it  enables  the  possessors  of 
entailed  estates  (equally  with  others)  to  share  in  the  benefits 
of  this  fund  ;  that  it  provides,  on  terms  very  favourable  to 
the  borrower,  for  the  repayment  of  the  money  so  advanced 
by  twenty-two  annual  instalments  ;  that  before  sanctioning 
the  expenditure  of  these  funds  on  drainage  works,  the  com- 
missioners must  have  a  report  from  a  qualified  inspector, 
to  the  effect  that  they  sre  Likely  to  prove  remunerative  ;  and, 
finally,  that  the  works  must  be  performed  according  to 
specifications  prepared  by  the  inspector,  and  approved  by 
the  commissioners,  who  have  seldom  allowed  of  a  less  depth 
of  drain  than  3J  feet.  By  the  end  of  the  year  1854  the 
whole  of  this  money  was  allocated,  and  more  than  half  of 
it  actually  expended.  Scottish  landowners  were  so  prompt 
to  discern,  and  so  eager  to  avail  themselves  of  this  public 
fund,  that  more  than  half  of  it  fell  to  their  share.  The 
great  success  of  this  measure,  and  the  rapid  absorption  of 
the  fund  provided  by  it,  soon  led  to  further  legislative  Acts, 
by  which  private  capital  has  been  rendered  available  for 
the  improvement  of  land,  by  draining  and  otherwise,  on 
conditions  similar  to  those  just  enumerated.  These  A.cta 
are — 

1st,  The  Private  Moneys  Drainage  Act  (12  and  13  Vict 
c.  100),  limited  to  draining. 

2d,  The  West  of  England,  or  South-West  Land  Draining 
Company's  Act  (11  and  12  Vict,  c.  142),  for  the  purpose 
of  draining,  irrigation  and  warping,  embanking,  reclaiming 
and  enclosing,  and  road-making. 


OPERATIONS.] 


AGRiGUL.;r"DKE 


335 


Zd,  The  General  Land-Drainage  and  Improvement  Com- 
pany's Act  (12  and  13  Vict  c  91),  for  the  purposes  of 
draining,  irrigating  and  warping,  embanking,  reclaiming 
and  enclosing,  road-making  and  erecting  farm-buildings. 

ith,  The  Lands  Improvement  Company's  Act  (16  and 
17  Vict.  c.  154),  for  the  same  purposes  as  the  above,  with 
the  addition  of  planting  for  shelter.  This  company's 
powers  extend  to  Scotland. 

By  these  Acts  ample  provision  is  made  for  rendering  the 
dormant  capital  of  the  country  available  for  the  improvement 
of  its  soil  To  the  owners  of  entailed  estates  they  are 
peculiarly  valuable,  from  the  power  which  they  give  to  them 
of  charging  the  cost  of  draining,  <tc,  upon  the  inheritance. 
If  such  owners  apply  their  own  private  funds  in  effecting 
improvements  of  this  kind,  they  are  enabled,  through  the 
medium  of  these  companies,  to  take  a  rent-charge  on  their 
estates  for  repayment  of  the  money  they  so  expend,  over 
which  they  retain  personal  control,  so  that  they  can  be- 
queath as  they  choose  the  rent-charge  payable  by  their  suc- 
cessor. Besides  their  direct  benefits,  these  Drainage  Acts 
have  already  produced  some  very  important  indirect  fruits. 
They  have  led  to  many  improvements  in  the  manner  of 
accomplishing  the  works  to  which  they  relate,  to  the  wide 
and  rapid  dissemination  of  improved  modes  of  draining, 
&.C,  and,  in  particular,  they  have  had  the  effect  of  creating, 
or  at  least  of  greatly  multiplying  and  accrediting,  a  staff  of 
skilful  end  experienced  draining  engineers,  of  whose  services 
all  whu  are*about  to  engage  in  draining  and  similar  works 
will  do  well  to  avail  themselves. 

Section,  3. — Removal  of  Earlhfast  Stones. 

Newly  reclaimed  lands,  and  even  those  that  have  long  been 
under  tillage,  are  frequently,  much  encumbered  with  earth- 
r'ast  stones.  This  is  particularly  the  case  in  many  parts  of 
Scotland.  Their  removal  is  always  desirable,  though  neces- 
sarily accompanied  with  much  trouble  and  expense.  In 
our  personal  practice  we  have  proceeded  in  this  way.  In 
giving  the  autumn  furrow  preparatory  to  a  fallow  crop, 
each  ploughman  carries  with  him  a  few  branches  of  fir  or 
beech,  one  of  which  he  sticks  in  above  each  stone  encoun- 
tered by  his  plough.  If  the  stones  are  numerous,  particu- 
larly at  certain  places,  two  labourers,  provided  with  a  pick, 
i  spade,  and  a  long  wooden  lever  shod  with  iron,  attend 
upon  the  ploughs,  and  remove  as  many  of  the  stones  as 
:hey  can,  while  yet  partially  uncovered  by  the  recent  furrow. 
Those  thus  dug  up  are  rolled  aside  upon  the  ploughed  land. 
When  the  land  gets  dry  enough  in  spring,  those  not  got 
out  at  the  time  of  ploughing  are  discovered  by  means  of  the 
twigs,  and  are  then  dug  up.  Such  as  can  be  lifted  by  one 
man  are  carted  off  as  they  are,  but  those  of  the  larger  class 
must  first  be  reduced  by  a  sledge  hammer.  They  yield  to 
the  hammer  more  easily  after  a  few  days'  exposure  to  drought 
than  when  attacked  as  soon  as  dug  up.  Before  attempting 
to  break  very  large  boulders  a  brisk  fire  of  dried  gorse  or 
brushwood  is  kept  up  over  them  'until  they  are  heated, 
after  which  a  few  smart  blows  from  the  hammer  shiver  them 
completely.  Portions  of  otherwise  good  land  are  sometimes 
so  full  of  these  boulders,  that  to  render  it  available,  the 
stones  must  be  got  rid  of  by  trenching  the  whole  to  a  con- 
siderable depth.  When  ploughing  by  steam-power  becomes 
general,  a  preliminary  trenching  ot  this  kind  will  in  many 
cases  bo  requisite  before  tillage  instruments  thus  propelled 
can  be  used  with  safety. 

Section  4. — Paring  and  Burning. 
Paring  and  burning  have,  from  an  early  period,  been  re- 
sorted to  for  the  more  speedy  subduing  of  a  rough  uncultured 
ourface.  This  is  still  the  most  approved  method  of  dealing 
with  such  cases,  as  well  as  with  any  tough  old  sward  which 
is  agaiu  to  be  subjected  to  tillage.     In  setting  about  the 


operation,  which  is  usually  done  in  March  or  April,  a  turf, 
not  exceeding  an  inch  in  thickness,  is  first  peeled  off  in 
successive  stripes  by  a  paring-plough  drawn  by  two  horses, 
or  by  'the  breast-plough  already  described.  Thesa  turfs 
are  first  set  on  edge  and  partially  dried,  after  which  they 
are  collected  into  heaps,  and  burned,  or  rather  charred.  The 
ashes  are  immediately  spread  over  the  surface,  and  ploughed 
in  with  a  light  furrow.  By  this  process  the  matted  roots 
of  the  pasture  plants,  the  seeds  of  weeds,  and  the  eggs  and 
larva  of  innumerable  insects,  are  at  once  got  rid  of,  and  a 
highly  stimulating  top-dressing  is  supplied  to  the  land.  A 
crop  of  turnips  or  rape  is  then  drilled  on  the  fiat,  and  fed 
off  by  sheep,  after  which  the  land  is  usually  in  prime  con- 
dition for  bearing  a  crop  of  grain.  This  practice  is  unsuit- 
able for  sandy  soils,  which  it  only  renders  more  sterile ;  but 
when  clay  or  peat  prevails,  its  beneficial  effects  are  indisput- 
able. We  Bhall,  in  the  sequel,  give  an  example  of  its  recent 
successful  application. 

Section  5. — Levelling. 

Land,  when  subjected  to  the  plough  for  the  first  time, 
abounds  not  unfrequently  with  abrupt  hollows  and  pro- 
tuberances, which  impede  tillage  operations.  These  can 
be  readily  levelled  by  means  of  a  box  shaped  like  t 
huge  dust-pan,  the  front  part  being  shod  with  iron,  and 
a  pair  of  handles  attached  behind.  This  levelling-box  is 
drawn  by  a  pair  of  horses.  Being  directed  against  a  promi- 
nent part,  it  scoops  up  its  fill  of  soil,  with  which  it  slides 
along  6ledge-fashion  to  the  place  where  it  is  to  discharge 
its  load,  which  it  doe3  by  canting  over,  on  the  ploughman 
disengaging  the  handles. 

In  all  parts  of  Great  Britain,  abundance  of  pasture  land, 
and  often  tillage  land  also,  is  to  be  met  with  lying  in  broad, 
highly  raised,  serpentine  ridges.  These  seem  to  have 
originated  when  teams  of  six  or  eight  bullocks  were  used  in 
ploughing ;  and  it  has  been  suggested  that  this  curvature 
of  <r»e  ridges  at  first  arose  from  its  being  easier  to  turn  these 
long  teams  at  the  end  of  each  land  by  sweeping  round  in 
a  curve  than  by  driving  straight  out.  The  very  broad  head- 
lands found  in  connection  with  these  curved  ridges  point  to 
the  same  fact.  A  theory  still  lingers  among  our  peasantry, 
that  "water  runs  better  in  a  crooked  furrow  than  in  a 
straight  one,"  and  has  probably  been  handed  down  since 
the  discovered  awkwardness  of  curved  ridges  was  first  seen 
to  need  some  plausible  apology.  These  immense,  wave- 
like ridges  are  certainly  a  great  annoyance  to  the  modern 
cultivator ;  but  still  the  sudden  levelling  of  them  is  accom- 
panied with  so  much  risk,  that  it  is  usually  better  to  cut 
drains  in  the  intervening  hollows,  and  plough  aslant  them 
in  straight  lines,  by  which  means  a  gradual  approximation 
to  a  level  surface  is  made.  A  field  in  our  own  occupation, 
which  was  levelled,  by  cleaving  down  the  old  crooked  ridges, 
fifty  years  ago,  still  shows,  by  alternate  curving  bands  of 
greater  and  less  luxuriance,  the  exact  site  of  tho  crowns  and 
furrowa  of  the  ancient  ridges. 

Section  6. — Trenching. 

But  for  its  tediousuess  and  costliness,  trenching  two  or 
three  spits  deep  by  spade  or  forkis  certainly  the  most  effectual 
means  for  at  once  removing  obstructions,  leveliingthe'  surface, 
and  perfecting  the  drainage  by  thoroughly  loosening  the 
subsoiL  For  the  reasons  mentioned,  it  is  seldom  resorted 
to  on  a  large  scala  But  it  is  becoming  a  common  practice, 
with  careful  farmers,  to  have  those  patches  of  ground  in 
the  corners,  and  by  the  fences  of  fields,  which  are  missed 
in  ploughing,  gone  over  with  the  trenching-fork.  The 
additional  crop  thus  obtained  may  fail  to  compensate  for 
this  hand-tillage,  but  it  is  vindicated  on  the  ground  that 
these  corners  and  margins  are  the  nurseries  of  weeds  which 
it  is  profitable  to  destroy. 


336 


AGRICULTUKK 


[tillage 


CHAPTER  VUL 

TILLAGE  OPERATIONS. 


Section  1. — Ploughing. 
When  the  raturaL  green  sward,  or  ground  that  has  been 
cleared  of  a  cu  '.tivated  crop,  is  to  be  prepared  for  the  sowing 
or  planting  of  further  crops,  the  plough  leads  the  way  in 
breaking  up  tLe  compact  surface,  by  cutting  from  it  succes- 
sive slices,  averaging  about  ten  inches  in  breadth  by  seven 
in  depth,  which  it  turns  half  over  upon  each  other  to  the 
right-hand  side.     This  turning  of  the  slices  or  furrows  to 
one  side  only  renders  it  necessary  to  square  off  the  space 
to  be  ploughed  into  parallelograms,  half  the  slices  of  which 
are  laid  the  one  way  and  the  other  half  the  other,  by  the 
going  and  returning  of  the  plough.     These  parallel  -spaces 
are  variously  termed  ridges,  stetches,  lands,  or  feirings,  which 
in  practice  vary  in  width  from  a  few  furrows  to  30  yards. 
When  very  narrow  spaces  are  used,  a  waste  of  labour  ensues, 
from  the  necessity  of  opening  out  and  then  reclosing  an 
extra  number  of  index  or  guiding  furrows  ;  while  very  wide 
ones  involve  a  similar  waste  from  the  distance  which  the 
plough  must  go  empty  in  traversing  at  the  ends.     The  spaces 
thus  formed  by  equal  numbers  of  furrow-slices  turned  from 
opposite  sides  have  necessarily  a  rounded  outline,  and  are 
separated  by  open  channels.     In  a  moist  climate  and  im- 
pervious soil,  this  ridging  of  the  surface  causes  rain-water 
to  pass  off  more  rapidly,  and  keeps  the  soil  drier  than  would 
be  the  case  if  it  was  kept  flat.     Hence  the  cultivated  lands 
of  Great  Britain  almost  invariably  exhibit  this  ridged  form 
of  surface.     Until  the  art  of  under-ground  draining  was 
discovered,  this   was  indeed  the  only  mode   of   keeping 
cultivated  ground  tolerably  dry.'.  But  it  is  at  best  a  very 
defective  method,  and  attended  by  many  disadvantages. 
When  land  is  naturally  dry,  or  has  been  made  so  by  thorough 
drainage,  the  flatter  its  surface  is  kept  the  .better  for  the 
crops  grown  upon  it.     We  are  not  forgetful  that  there  are, 
in  various  parts  of  Great  Britain,  clays  so  impervious  that 
probably  no  amount  of  draining  or  disintegration  of  the 
subsoil  will  render  it  safe  to  dispense  with  ridging.     These, 
however,  are  exceptional  cases,  and,  as  a  rule,  such  a  con- 
dition of  soil  and  subsoil  should  be  aimed  at  as  will  admit 
of  this  rude  expedient  of  ridging  being  altogether  dispensed 
with.     Unless  land  can  absorb  the  whole  rain  which  falls 
upon  it,  its  full  range  of  fertility  cannot  be  developed  ;  for 
the  same  slfowers  which  aggravate  the  coldness  and  sterility 
of  impervious  and  already  saturated  soils  ear^y  down  with 
them,  end  impart  to  those  that  are  pervious,  ever  fresh  sup- 
olies  of  genial  influences.     Instead,  then,  of  this  perennial 
source  of  fertility  being  encouraged  to  run  off  by  surface 
:hannels,  or  to  stagnate  in  the  soil  and  become  its  bane, 
let  provision  be  made  for  its  free  percolation  through  an 
Dpen  stratum  several  feet  in  thickness,  and  then  for  its  escape 
by  drains  of  such  depth  and  frequency  as  each  particular 
case  requires.     When  this  is  attained,  a  flat  surface  will 
generally  be  preserved,  as  alike  conducive  to  the  welfare 
of  the  crops  and  to  the  successful  employment  of  machinery 
for  sowing,  weeding,  and  reaping  them. 

In  all  treatises  on  British  agriculture  of  a  date  anterior 
to  the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century,  we  find  great 
stress  laid  on  the  proper  formation  of  the  ridges,  careful 
cleaning  out  of  the  separating  channels  or  water-furrows, 
■»nd  drawing  and  spading  out  of  cross-cuts  in  all  hollows,  so 
.hat  no  water  may  stagnate  on  the  surface  of  the  field.  As 
chorough  under-draining  makes  progress,  such  directions  are 
becoming  obsolete.  But  whether  ridging  or  flat  work  is 
ised,  the  one-sided  action  of  the  plough  renders  it  necessary, 
in  setting  about  the  ploughing  of  a  field,  to  mark  it  off  into 
parallel  spaces  by  a  series  of  equi-distant  straight  lines. 
Supposing  tf  e  line  of  fence,  at  the  side  at  which  he  begins, 
Vo  bo  stra'gl  t,  the  ploughman  takes  this  as  his  bo>e  line; 


and  measuring  from  it,  erects  his  three  or  more  fciring  poles 
perfectly  in  line,  at  a  distance  from  the  fence  equal  to  half 
the  width  of  tho  ridges  or  spaces  in  which  it  is  proposed 
to  plough  the  field.  This  operation — called  in  Scotland 
feiring  the  land — is  usually  entrusted  to  the  most  skilful 
ploughman  on  each  farm,  and  is  regarded  as  a  post  of  honour. 
Having  drawn  a  furrow  in  the  exact  line  of  his  poles,  which 
practice  enables  him  to  do  with  an  accuracy  truly  admirable, 
ho  proceeds,  using  always  the  last  furrow  as  a  fresh  base 
from  which  to  measure  the  next  one,  until  the  field  is  all 
marked  off.  When  this  is  done,  it  presents  the  appearance 
of  a  neatly  ruled  sheet  of  paper.  Besides  the  poles  just 
referred  to,  the  ploughman  is  frequently  furnished  with  a 
cross  staff,  by  means  of  which  he  first  of  all  marks  off  two 
or  more  lines  perpendicular  to  the  straight  side  at  which 
he  commences,  and  along  these  he  measures  with  his  poles, 
which  are  graduated  for  the  purpose,  in  laying  off  his  parallel 
Lines.  This  feiring  is  only  required  when  a  process  of 
fallowing,  in  preparation  for  green  crop,  has  obliterated  the- 
former  ridges.  In  breaking  up  clover  lea  or  older  sward, 
the  ploughman  begins  at  the  open  furrows,  which  afford 
him  a  sufficient  guide. 

In  ploughing  for  a  seed-bed  the  furrow-slice  is  usually 
cut  about  five  inches  deep.  In  the  case  of  lea,  it  should 
be  turned  over  unbroken,  of  uniform  thickness,  and  laid 
quite  close  upon  the  preceding  one,  so  as  to  hide  all  green 
sward.  The  improved  wheel-plough  already  referred  to  does 
this  work  very  beautifully,  cutting  out  the  slioe  perfectly 
square  from  the  bottom  of  the  furrow.  The  perfect  uniform- 
ity in  the  width  and  depth  of  the  slices  cut  by  it  permits 
the  harrows  to  act  equally  upon  the  whole  surface.  When 
the  slice  is  cut  unevenly,  they  draw  the  loosened  soil  from 
tho  prominences  into  tho  hollows,  so  that  one  part  is  scraped 
bare,  and  the  other  remains  untouched  and  unbroken.  This 
must  necessarily  yield  a  poor  seed-bed,  and  contrasts  un- 
favourably with  the  uniform  tilth  produced  by  harrowing 
after  such  work  as  these  wheel-ploughs  invariably  produce. 
In  the  Lothians  and  west  of  Scotland,  a  form  of  plough  is 
much  used  for  ploughing  lea,  which  cuts  out  the  slice  with 
an  acute  angle  at  the  land  side.  This,  when  turned  over, 
stands  up  with  a  sharp  ridge,  which  looks  particularly  well, 
and  offers  a  good  subject  for  harrows  to  work  upon.  But 
if  a  few  of  these  furrow-slices  are  removed,  the  firm  earth 
below  exhibits  the  same  ribbed  appearance  as  the  newly 
ploughed  surface,  instead  of  the  clear  level  sole  on  which 
the  right-angled  slice  cut  by  the  wheel-plough  is  laid  Dvei 
so  as  to  rest  upon  its  lower  angle.  This  ribbing  of  the 
unstirred  subsoil  is  exceedingly  objectionable  in  all  kinds 
of  ploughing. 

In  the  autumn  ploughing  of  stubble-ground  in  preparation 
for  the  root-crops  of  the  following  season,  a  much  deepei 
furrow  is  turned  over  than  for  a  seed-furrow.  In  ordinary 
cases  it  should  not  be  less  than  nine  inches,  while  in  very 
many,  if  ten  or  twelve  can  be  attained,  so  much  the  better. 
In  all  deep  soils  this  bringing  up  and  mixing  with  the  sur- 
face of  fresh  material  from  below  is  highly  beneficial  It 
must  not,  however,  be  practised  indiscriminately.  Siliceous 
and  peaty  soils  need  compactness,  and  to  have  the  soil  that 
has  been  artificially  enriched  kept  a-top.  For  such  deep 
work  as  we  have  noticed  above,  three  or  even  four  horses 
are  frequently  yoked  to  the  plough.  When  a  field  slopes 
considerably  one  way,  it  i3  good  practice  to  work  the  plough 
down  the  slope  only,  and  return  without  a  furrow.  A 
pair  of  horses  working  in  thi3  way  will  turn  as  deep  a 
furrow,  and  get  over  as  much  ground,  as  three  will  do  taking 
a  furrow  both  ways,  and  with  less  fatigue  to  themselves 
and  to  the  ploughman.!  After  bringing  a  heavy  furrow 
downhill,  they  get  recruited  in  stepping  briskly  back  with 
only  the  plough  to  draw.  This  mode  of  ploughing  one 
furrow  dowi    the  slope  tends  less  to  gather  the  soil  to- 


OPERATIONS.] 


A  G  It  I  C  U  L  T  U  11  E 


33; 


*ard  the  bottom  than  oy  using  a  turn-wrest  plough  across 
the  slope.  It  is  while  giving  this  deep  autumn  furrow 
that  the  subsoil  plough  is  used.  It  follows  in  the  wake 
of  the  common  plough,  and  breaks  and  stirs  the  subsoil, 
but  without  raising  it  to  the  surface.  This  is  a  laborious 
operation,  and  engrosses  too  much  of  the  horse-power  of  the 
farm  to  admit  of  large  breadths  being  overtaken  in  any  one 
season.  In  all  indurated  subsoils,  however,  it  repays  its 
cost ;  for  when  once  thoroughly  done,  it  diminishes  the 
labour  of  ordinary  ploughings  for  several  succeeding  rota- 
tions, aids  the  drainage,  and  adds  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil 
It  is  in  the  performance  of  this  deep  autumn  tillage  and 
breaking  up  of  the  subsoil,  that  the  steam-engine,  with 
appropriate  tackle,  has  begun  to  play  an  important  part, 
and  for  which  it  will  probably  one  day  supersede  all  other 
means. 

Section  2. — Harrowing,  &c. 
The  harrow,  cultivator,  and  roller,  are  all  more  simple  in 
their  action  and  more  easily  managed  than  the  plough.  Har- 
rowing is  most  effective  when  the  horses  step  briskly  along. 
The  tines  are  then  not  merely  drawn  through  the  soil, 
but,  in  their  combined  swinging  and  forward  movement, 
itrike  into  it  with  considerable  force.  It  is  with  reference 
to  this  that  a  single  application  of  this  implement  is  called 
a  stroke  of  the  harrows.  Rollers  are  used  to  aid  in  pulveris- 
ing and  cleaning  the  soil,  by  bruising  clods  and  lumps  of 
tangled  roots  and  earth  which  the  other  implements  have 
brought  a-top ;  in  smoothing  the  surface  for  the  reception 
of  small  seeds,  or  the  better  operation  of  the  scythe  and 
other  implements ;  and  for  consolidating  soil  that  is  too 
loose  in  its  texture.  Except  for  the  latter  purpose,  light 
rollers  are  much  superior  to  heavy  ones.  When  it  is  wanted, 
for  example,  to  bruise  clots  of  quickens,  that  the  after 
harrowing  may  more  thoroughly  free  the  roots  from  the 
adhering  earth,  a  light  cast-iron  roller,  say  of  5  cwt.,  drawn 
by  one  horse,  effects  this  purpose  as  thoroughly  as  one  double 
the  weight  drawn  by  a  pair, — and  does  it,  moreover,  in  much 
less  time,  at  les3  than  half  the  expense,  and  without  in- 
juriously consolidating  the  free  soil.  These  light  rollers 
are  conveniently  worked  in  pairs,  the  ploughman  driving 
one  horse  and  leading  the  other.  With  a  pair  of  active 
horses,  and  such  rollers,  a  good  deal  more  than  double  the 
space  can  be  rolled  in  a  day,  than  by  yoking  them  both  to 
one  heavy  one  of  the  same  length  of  cylinder.  For  mere 
clod-crushing,  provided  the  clods  are  moist,  the  Norwegian 
harrow  is  superior  to  any  roller ;  and  for  compressing  a 
loose  surface  or  checking  wire-worm,  serrated  or  smooth- 
edged  discs,  such  as  Crosskill's  or  Cambridge's,  are  better 
than  smooth  cylinders  of  the  same  weight,  so  that  the 
heavy  smooth  roller,  requiring  two  or  more  horses  to  draw 
it,  is  superseded  by  better  implements  for  all  purposes  where 
rollers  are  used  at  all,  unless  it  be  for  the  rolling  of  the 
grass-lands. 

As  a  general  rule,  none  of  these  tillage  operations  can  be 
performed  to  advantage  when  the  soil  is  wet.  When  rain 
falls  inopportunely  there  is  a  strong  temptation  to  push 
on  the  field  operations,  before  the  soil  has  recovered  the 
proper  state  of  dryness.  When  this  is  done  the  farmer 
almost  invariably  finds  in  the  issue  that  the  more  haste  he 
makes  the  worse  he  speeds.  Soils  with  a  good  deal  of  clay  in 
their  composition  are  peculiarly  susceptible  of  injury  in  this 
way.  Nice  discrimination  is  needed  to  handle  them  aright. 
They  require,  moreover,  a  full  stock  of  well-conditioned 
horses,  that  the  work  may  be  pushed  rapidly  through 
in  favourable  weather,  To  manage  such  soils  success- 
fully, especially  when  root  crops  are  grown,  tries  the  skill 
of  the  farmer  to  the  utmost.  So  at  least  it  has  hitherto 
been ;  but  with  steam-power  to  aid  him,  there  is  now  a 
probability  that  the  clay  land  farmer,  by  being  able  to 
break  up  his  soil  without  treading  it,  and  to  get  through 


with  a  large  extent  of  tillage  when  his  land  is  in  trim  for 
it,  may  find  it  practicable  to  grow  root  crops  on  equal 
terms  with  the  occupier  of  freer  soiL 

Section  3. — Fallowing. 

When,  by  such  operations  as  have  now  been  described., 
land  has  been  reclaimed  from  it3  natural  state,  and  rendered 
fit  for  the  purposes  of  the  husbandman,  it  is  everywhere 
so  charged  with  the  germs  of  weeds,  most  of  which  possess 
in  a  remarkable  degree  the  power  of  reproduction  and 
multiplication,  that  it  is  only  by  the  most  incessant  and 
vigorous  efforts  he  can  restrain  them  from  encroaching  upon 
his  cultivated  crops,  and  regaining  entire  possession  of  the 
soil  He  can  do  much  towards  this  by  ordinary  tillage, 
and  by  sowing  his  crops  in  rows,  and  hoeing  in  the  inter- 
vals during  the  early  stages  of  their  growth.  But  if  his 
efforts  are  restricted  to  such  measures  only,  the  battle  will 
soon  go  against  him.  Besides  this,  all  arable  soils  in 
which  clay  predominates,  particularly  when  undraine'd,  have 
such  a  determined  tendency  to  become  compact  and  soured, 
that  under  ordinary  efforts  they  fail  to  yield  a  genial  seed- 
bed. There  is  a  necessity,  therefore,  for  having  recourse, 
from  time  to  time,  to  that  ameliorating  process  of  lengthened 
tillage  called  fallowing.  This  process  begins  in  autumn, 
immediately  after  the  removal  from  the  ground  of  the 
cereal  crop,  which  had  been  sown  upon  the  land  newly 
broken  up  from  clover  lea  or  natural  sward,  and  extends 
either  to  the  time  for  sowing  turnips  and  analogous  crops 
in  the  following  spring,  or  is  continued  during  the  entire 
summer  in  preparation  for  autumn-sowh  wheat.  We  shall 
first  describe  that  modification  of  the  fallowing  process  by 
which  the  soil  is  prepared  for  the  sowing  of  drilled  green 
crops,  and  then  the  more  prolonged  form  of  it  usually  called 
summer  or  naked  fallow. 

Green  Crop  Fallow. 

The  object  aimed  at  being  the  thorough  disintegration 
and  cleaning  of  the  soil,  the  usual  practice  is  to  begin  by 
ploughing  as  deeply  as  is  found  practicable.  This  first  or 
autumn  furrow  is  accordingly  turned  over  to  a  depth  of  6 
or  9  inches;  or  by  using  a  stronger  plough  drawn  by 
three  or  four  horses,  it  is  carried  to  12  inches  in  depth ;  and 
in  some  cases,  by  following  with  a  subsoil  plough  in  the 
wake  of  the  common  one,  the  soil  is  stirred  to  the  depth 
of  14  or  16  inches.  All  cultivators  are  agreed  as  to  the 
importance  of  thus  deeply  and  effectually  disintegrating  all 
soils  that  are  naturally  dry  or  thoroughly  drained.  In  the 
case  of  undrained  lands,  and  even  of  very  unctuous  clays, 
although  well  drained,  such  deep  stirring  of  the  soil  in 
autumn  does  but  increase  its  capacity  of  retaining  the  rains 
of  winter,  and  of  being  thereby  more  effectually  soured, 
and  is  therefore  to  be  avoided.  Assuming,  however,  that 
we  have  to  do  with  soil  thoroughly  drained  and  moderately 
friable,  it  is  undoubtedly  beneficial  to  loosen  it  deeply  and 
thoroughly  at  this  stage.  But  before  this  deep  ploughing 
is  set  about,  it  will  be  worth  while  to  consider  well  its 
bearing  upon  the  cleaning  part  of  the  process.  On  carefully 
examining  the  fields  at  the  time  of  reaping  the  grain-crops, 
and  from  week  to  week  thereafter,  the  roots  of  the  couch 
grass  are  found  at  first  lying  close  to  the  surface ;  but  in- 
stantly, on  their  getting  the  ground  to  themselves,  they 
begin  to  send  out  fresh  fibres,  and  to  push  their  shoot? 
deeply  into  the  soil  In  these  circumstances,  to  proceed 
at  once,  according  to  the  customary  practice,  to  plough 
deeply,  allows  these  weeds  much  time  to  increase,  whila 
this  laborious  and  tedious  operation  is  going  on;  and 
although,  when  performed,  it  gives  some  present  chec- 
to  their  progress,  by  burying  them  under  a  mass  of  loosei.ed 
soil,  it  not  only  increases  the  difficulty  of  their  after  removal, 
but  places  them  out  of  the  reach  of  frost,  and  in  the  best 


338 


AGRICULTURE 


[tillaoe 


possible  position  for  pervading  the  entire  soil,  on  the  first 
recurrence  of  mild  weather.  The  consequence  is,  that 
fallows  so  treated  are  invariably  found  in  spring  more  fully 
3tocked  with  quickens  than  they  were  at  the  time  of  the 
autumn  ploughing.  The  observation  of  this  suggested 
the  practice,  now  very  common  in  England,  of  cleaning 
fallmcs  in  autumn  before  giving  the.  firft  deep  furrow.  For 
this  purpose,  such  implements  as  Biddle's  scarifier,  the 
broad-share  paring-ploughs,  or  better  still,  the  common 
plough,  divested  of  its  mould-board  and  fitted  with  a  share 
a  foot  broad,  are  set  to  work  as  fast  as  the  grain-crops  are 
reaped,  and  the  whole  surface  is  rapidly  pared  at  a  depth 
of  three  or  four  inches.  This  completely  loosens  the  yet 
shiillnw-lying  roots  of  tho  couch-grass,  which  are  then  freed 
from  the  adhering  earth  by  the  Norwegian  and  chain- 
hnrmw.  raked  together  and  burned,  or  carted  off.  This 
pulverising  of  the  surface  soil  in  early  autumn  is  usually 
followed  by  the  springing  up  of  an  abundant  crop  of  annual 
weeds  and  of  shaken  grain,  which  are  thus  got  rid  of  by 
the  subsequent  ploughing.  So  great  and  manifold  are  tho 
advantages  of  this  modern  practice,  that  in  those  districts 
where  it  is  most  in  use.  other  autumn  work,  even  wheat- 
sowing,  is  comparatively  neglected  until  it  is  accomplished. 
When  the  weeds  have  been  got  rid  of  in  this  summary  and 
inexpensive  manner,  deep  ploughing  is  then  resorted  to 
with  unalloyed'^benefit.  Whenever  steam-power  becomes 
fully  available  for  tillage  operations,  this  autumn  cleaning 
and  deep  stirring  of  fallows  will  be  accomplished  rapidly 
and  effectually,  and  the  teams  will  meanwhile  be  set  at 
liberty  for  root-storing,  wheat-sowing,  and  other  needful 
work,  which  can  be  well  done'  only  when  accomplished 
during  the  brief  season  of  good  weather,  which  usually 
intervenes  betwixt  the  close  of  harvest  and  beginning  of 
winter. 

In  the  case  of  farms  that  have  for  a  lengthened  period 
been  carefully  cultivated,  the  stubble  may  be  found  so 
clean  as  not  to  require  the  whole  area  to  be  scarified  in  tho 
manner  now  described.  Instead  of  this,  it  may  suffice  to  have 
the  ground  carefully  examined,  and  such  patches  or  stray 
plants  of  couch-grass,  or  other  perennial  weeds,  as  are  met 
with,  forked  out.  By  this  means  the  fallows  are  kept  clean 
at  little  expense,  and  when  spring  arrives,  those  repeated 
ploughings,  and  other  tedious  and  costly  operations,  are 
wholly  avoided,  in  performing  which  the  condition  of  the 
soil  is  marred  and  the  best  seed-time  often  missed.  When 
fallows  are  thus  cleaned  in  autumn,  it  is  highly  advantageous 
to  cart  on  to  them  at  once,  and  cover  in  with  a  deep  furrow, 
all  the  farm-yard  dung  that  is  on  hand  up  to  the  completion 
of  their  first  ploughing.  From  the  length  of  time  which 
must  elapse  before  the  land  can  again  bo  touched,  it  is  quite 
safe,  or  rather  it  is  highly  advantageous,  to  apply  all  the 
recently  made  dung,  although  in  a  .very  rough  state.  In 
doing  this,  it  is  necessary  that  a  person  precede  each  plough, 
and  trim  the  rank  litter  into  the  previous  furrow,  that  it 
may  be  properly  covered  up  and  regularly  distributed. 
Unless  this  precaution  is  observed,  the  ploughs  are  constantly 
choked  and  impeded,  the  manure  is  drawn  together  into 
unsightly  hassocks,  and  the  whole  operation  is  imperfectly 
performed.  The  recommendations  to  this  practice  are — 
first,  An  important  saving  of  labour;  for  the  manure  being 
carted  direct  from  the  yards,  4c,  on  to  tho  land,  and  evenly 
spread  over  it,  there  is  no  forming,  covering  up,  and  turning 
of  dunghills,  or  refilling  and  carting  in  spring.  This  heavy 
work  is  accomplished  at  a  season  when  time  is  less  pressing 
than  in  spring,  and  the  sowing  of  the  crop  can  be  proceeded 
with  more  rapidly  when  the  time  for  it  arrives,  and  while 
weather  favours.  Second,  There  is  a  saving  of  manure  by 
burying  it  at  once  in  its  rough  state,  instead  of  first 
fermenting  it  in  Isrje  heaps ;  and  a  b.rge  portion  of  the 
fallow-break  can  Liius  be  uressed  with  home-made  manure. 


Third,  Tho  rough  dungthus  ploughed  in  decomposes  slowly, 
its  virtues  are  absorbed  and  retained  by  the  soil,  with  the 
whole  mass  of  which  it  is  thoroughly  incorporated  by  the 
spring  tillage,  and  which,  in  consequence,  is  found,  after 
such  treatment,  in  a  peculiarly  mellow  and  favourable  con- 
dition for  receiving  the  seed 

The  advantages  of  autumn  cleaning  and  manuring  of 
land  in  preparation  for  green  crops  are  so  great  that  thc- 
utmost  exertions  should  be  made  to  secure  them.  Over  a 
large  portion  of  England  tho  harvest  is  usually  so  early  as 
to  leave  ample  time  for  accomplishing  the  cleaning  process 
before  being  arrested  by  bad  weather.  From  the  later 
harvest  season  and  more  humid  climate  of  Scotland,  it  is 
there  more  difficult  to  carry  it  out  to  the  whole  extent  of 
the  fallow-break ;  but  still,  with  promptitude  and  energy, 
much  can  be  done.  One  of  her  shrewd  and  intelligent  sons, 
Mr  Tennant,  the  inventor  of  the  grubber  which  bears  his 
name,  has,  however,  introduced  a  system  of  autumn  tillage, 
founded  upon  tho  same  principle,  and  accomplishing  vir- 
tually the  same  end,  but  less  expensive  and  better  adapted 
to  the  climate  of  Scotland  than  that  just  described.  So 
soon  as  the  grain  crops  are  harvested,  Mr  Tennant  sets  his 
light  grubbers  agoing,  and  by  working  them  over  the  whole 
field  several  times  and  in  opposite  directions,  stirs  the  whole 
surface  soil  to  the  depth  of  six  or  eight  inches,  tears  up  and 
brings  to  the  surface  all  root-weeds,  where,  after  being 
knocked  about  and  freed  from  adhering  soil  by  repeated 
harrowings  and  a  final  grubbing,  they  are  left  for  the 
winter.  In  our  own  practice  we  have  latterly  improved, 
as  we  imagine,  on  Mr  Tennant's  plan  by  broadsharmg  the 
land  before  using  the  grubbers,  and  also  by  employing  the 
Norwegian  harrow  instead  of  the  common  one.  The 
broadsharing  ensures  that  the  whole  of  the  couch-grass 
and  other  weeds  are  thoroughly  loosened  without  being 
buried,  and  the  Norwegian  harrow  shakes  out  the  roots  from 
the  adhering  earth  better  than  the  common  harrow.  When 
it  is  intended  to  treat  a  field  in  this  way,  care  should  be 
taken  at  harvest  time  to  reap  the  crop  as  close  to  the  ground 
as  possible,  as  rank  stubble  seriously  encumbers  the  tillage 
implements.  In  setting  about  the  grubbing  of  a  field  it  is 
expedient  also  to  begin  with  the  headlands,  and  to  work  ther.i 
thoroughly  all  round  twice  over,  before  they  are  trodden 
down  by  the  frequent  turning  of  the  horses  upon  them. 
If  this  is  omitted  it  will  be  found  nearly  impossible  to  have 
the  margins  of  the  field  as  well  cultivated  as  the  rest  of  it. 
A  field  thus  treated  presents  for  a  time  a  singularly  untidy 
and  unpromising  appearance  ;  but  the  ultimate  effects  of  the 
practice,  as  well  in  the  cleaning  a3  the  disintegrating  of  the 
soil,  are  very  remarkable.  When  roots  of  couch-grass,  4c, 
are  freed  from  the  soil,  and  fully  exposed  to  the  vicissitudes 
of  the  weather  at  a  season  when  their  vital  force  is  at  the 
lowest  point,  they  are  unable  to  resist  its  effects,  and  gra- 
dually die.  If  placed  in  similar  circumstances  in  spring, 
with  their  vital  energy  in  full  play,  the  merest  point  of  a 
root  embedded  in,  or  even  in  contact  with,  pulverised  soil, 
enables  them  to  push  down  fresh  fibres,  to  re-establish  their 
connection  with  the  soil,  and  to  grow  as  lustily  as  ever. 
But  so  completely  is  the  destruction  of  these  pests  secured 
by  this  simple  process  of  winter  exposure,  that  on  the  return 
of  spring  they  may  be  ploughed  in  with  impunity.  Mr 
Tennant  assures  us,  that  ever  since  he  adopted  this  practice 
he  has  been  enabled  to  dispense  with  the  removal  of  these 
weeds.  Having  had  an  opportunity  of  inspecting  his  farm, 
we  are  enabled  to  testify  to  its  cleanness  and  high  state  of 
fertility.  On  this  plan,  then,  the  cleaning  of  fallows  is 
accomplished  by  tillage  operations  alone,  without  any  outlay 
for  raking  or  hand-picking,  burning,  or  carting  off.  Nor  is 
this  done  at  the  expense  of  the  pulverising  part  of  the  pro- 
cegs.  On  the  contrary,  Mr  Tennant  asserts,  and  we  have 
so  far  verified  his  assertion  by  actual  experiment,  that  by  dis 


OPEEATIOXS.] 


AGKICULTUKE 


339 


integrating  the  soil  in  autumn,  as  is  done  by  this  broadshar- 
ing,  grubbing,  and  harrowing,  it  receives  far  more  benefit 
from  the  alternation  of  frost  and  thaw,  rain  and  drought, 
than  when  merely  ploughed  and  left  lying  during  winter 
in  compact  furrow-slices.  This  plan  affords  the  same 
facilities  as  the  other  for  autumn  manuring,  if  the  weeds 
are  raked  off  at  once  from  so  much  of  the  fallow-break 
as  it  is  wished  to  manure  before  winter.  When  the 
remainder  is  ploughed  in  April  following,  more  of  it  may 
then  have  the  farm-yard  dung  applied  to  it  in  the  same 
way.  Agriculturists  owe  a  large  debt  of  gratitude  to  Air 
Tennant  for  the  invention  of  his  beautifully  simple  and 
efficient  grubber,  and  for  this  scientific  application  of  it  to 
the  fallowing  process.  Those  who  have  been  pursuing  this 
system  of  tillage  will  be  much  interested  in  observing  that 
it  has  been  adopted  by  Mr  Smith  of  Woolston,  who  is 
carrying  it  out  to  perfection  by  means  of  hy  steam-drawn 
implements. 

The  autumn  tillage  of  the  fallows  having  been  accom- 
plished in  one  or  other  of  the  ways  described,  the  land  is 
left  untouched  till  the  return  cf  spring.  If  it  is  infested 
by  annual  weeds,  it  is  expedient,  as  soon  as  it  is  dry  enough 
to  bear  treading  with  impunity,  to  level  and  stir  the  surface 
by  a  turn  of  .the  harrows.  This  slight  moving  of  the 
mellowed  surface-soil  induces  the  seeds  of  weeds  to  germinate 
more  quickly  than  they  would  otherwise  do,  and  thus  a 
crop  of  them  is  got  rid  of  by  the  next  tilling.  This  pre- 
liminary harrowing  is  useful  also  in  affording  a  level  course 
for  the  tillage  implements.  By  the  time  that  the  labour 
connected  with  the  sowing  of  spring  crops  is  over,  the  f  aillows 
are  usually  dry  enough  to  be  stirred  with  safety.  This 
point,  must,  however,  be  well  seen  to,  as  irreparable  mischief 
is  often  done  by  going  upon  them  too  soon.  And  now  it 
is,  that,  instead  of  rigidly  following  any  customary  routine 
of  so  many  ploughing?,  harrowings,  and  rollings,  the  skilful 
cultivator  "will  regulate  his  procedure  by  the  actual  circum- 
stances of  his  soil,  and  the  object  which  he  has  in  view. 
What  is  needed  for  the  successful  growth  of  drilled  green 
crops  is  to  have  the  soil  free  from  weeds,  thoroughly  disin- 
tegrated to  the  depth  of  six  or  eight  inches,  and  yet  moist 
enough  to  ensure  the  ready  germination  of  seeds  deposited 
in  it.  Where  such  autumn  cleaning  and  manuring  as  we 
have  described  have  been  successfully  carried  out,  all  that 
is  needed,  in  order  to  obtain  a  proper  tilth,  is  to  go  to  work 
with  light  grubbers,  first  in  the  line  of  the  previous  furrows 
and  then  across  them,  and  then  to  harrow,  roll,  and  remove 
any  weeds  that  have  been  missed  in  autumn,  after  which 
the  soil  will  be  in  the  best  possible  condition  for  drilling. 
On  friable  soils,  this  method  of  performing  the  spring  tillage 
by  means  of  tho  grubber  instead  of  the  plough  is  perfectly 
practicable,  and  has  manifold  advantages  to  recommend  it. 
The  saving  of  labour  is  veiy  great,  as  a  man  and  pair  of 
horses  will  more  easily  grub  four  acres  than  plough  one  acre. 
Weeds  are  more  easily  removed,  as  tho  grubber  pulls  them 
out  unbroken,  whereas  the  plough  cuts  them  in  pieces.  The 
soil  that  has  been  all  winter  subjected  to  the  mellowing  in- 
fluences of  the  weather,  and  which,  in  consequence,  is  in 
tho  best  possible  condition  to  yield  a  genial  seed-bed,  is 
retained  a-top,  whereas  ploughing  buries  it  and  brings  up 
clods  in  its  stead.  And,  lastly,  the  soil  being  merely  stirred, 
without  having  its  surface  reversed,  its  natural  moisture 
(or  winter  sap)  is  retained,  whereby  the  germinating  of  seeds 
sown  in  it  becomes  almost  a  certainty.  The  importance 
of  this  last  point  in  the  cultivation  of  such  crops  as  tho 
turnip,  whose  seeds  must  usually  be  sown  during  hot  ana 
dry  weather,  can  scarcely  be  overrated.  This  practice  is 
peculiarly  appropriate  for  soils  of  loose  texture,  which  arc 
invariably  injured  by  repeated  ploughings.  But  it  is  also 
resorted  to  successfully  on  soils  of  tho  opposite  extreme. 
Many  fitrniets  in  the  Lotliiaus  now  grow  abundant  and  ex- 


tensive crops  of  turnips  on  strong  clay  soils  by  bpreaoing 
liberal  dressii.£  of  dung  on  the  stubble  in  autumn,  ploughing 
it  in  with  a  deep  furrow,  leaving  the  land  untouched  until 
sowing-time  has  fully  arrived,  and  then  stirring  the  mellowed 
surface  soil  by  the  grubbers,  removing  weeds,  and  drilling 
and  sowing  at  once  without  any  ploughing.  When  this 
system  is  adopted  on  tenacious  wils,  it  is  prudent  to  operate 
upon  portions  of  the  field  in  detail,  taking  in  only  so  much 
at  a  time  as  can  be  grubbed  and  drilled  the  same  day ;  foi 
if  rain  should  intervene  betwixt  the  grubbing  and  the 
drilling,  the  soil  would  set  liko  mortar  and  the  tide  bo  lost 
When  once  tho  ridgelets  are  made  up  in  good  condition,  they 
can  withstand  a  fall  of  ram  with  comparative  impunity ; 
and  hence  the  occurrence  of  a  course  of  fino  weather,  when 
the  season  is  yet  too  early  for  sowing,  is  sometimes  taken 
advantage  of  by  preparing  the  land  and  making  it  up  into 
ridgelets,  although  it  should  require  to  remain  in  this  state 
weeks,  or  even  months,  before  sowing  takes  place.  In  such 
a- case,  immediately  before  sowing,  the  ridgelets  are  first 
partially  levelled  by  harrowing  length-wise,  in  order  to  loosen 
the  soil  and  destroy  annual  weeds,  and  then  again  made 
up  by  using  a  double-breasted  plough.  We  must  here, 
however,  insist  upon  the  importance  of  having  the  grubbing 
thoroughly  performed,  which  it  cannot  be  unless  the  tines 
penetrate  the  soil  as  deeply  as  th3  plough  has  done  at  the 
autumn  ploughing.  It  is  owing  to  the  neglect  of  this  that 
the  system  has  failed  in  the  hands  of  many  farmers,  who 
first  mismanage  the  operation,  and  then  throw  the  blame 
upon-  the  grubbers.  To  ensure  success,  the  implement  must 
be  set  so  as  to  work  at  its  full  depth,  sufficient  motive  power 
being  applied  by  yoking  three  horses,  if  necessary,  to  each 
grubber  at  the  first  and  also  at  the  second  going  over,  and 
there  must  be  vigilant  superintendence  exercised  lest  the 
ploughman  do  the  work  slightly.  It  is  sometimes  objected 
to  this  system  of  spring  tillage,  that  it  fails  to  rid  the  land 
of  thistles  and  other  tap-rooted  weeds ;  but  it  is  surely 
easier  to  fork  these  out  as  they  appear,  than  to  plough  a 
whole  field  merely  to  destroy  as  many  thistles  as  a  man,  it 
may  be,  would  dig  up  in  a  day.  By  taking  advantage  of 
the  tilth  obtained  by  the  action  of  the  elements,  instead  of 
first  ploughing  down  the  mellowed  surface,  and  then 
attempting  laboriously  to  reduce  tho  obdurate  furrows  by 
mechanical  means,  skilful  and  energetic  farmers  new  succeed 
in  preparing  even  tenacious  soils  for  drilled  gTeen-crops,  at 
little  expense,  and  with  a  good  measure  of  certainty. 

On  these  opposite  classes  of  soils,  then — the  very  loose, 
and  the  tenacious — spring  tillage,  in  preparation  for  root- 
crops,  is  performed  to  better  purpose  by  mean3  of  the 
grubber  than  the  plough.  Betwixt  these  extremes,  however, 
lic3  the  most  valuable  class  of  soils — tho  strong  fertile  loams 
— on  which  the  heaviest  crops  and  best  quality  of  Swedes 
are  grown.  With  these  it  is  usually  expedient  to  have 
recourse  to  at  least  one  spring  ploughing,  as  soon,  but  only 
as  soon,  as  the  soil  is  dry  enough  to  crumble  freely  to  the 
very  bottom  of  the  furrow.  As  this  usually  occurs  from 
four  to  six  weeks  before  the  time  of  sowing  the  crop,  it  is 
advisable  to  plough  the  entire  field,  and  leave  it  so  until 
rain  falls,  when  a  modertrio  use  of  the  grubber,  harrows, 
and  light  roller,  usually  suffices  to  produce  a  good  tilth  for 
ridging.  When  operations  are  not  thus  facilitated  by  a 
seasonable  fall  of  rain,  it  is  necessary  to  proceed  somewhat 
differently.  The  field  is  lying  as  it  was  left  by  the  plough, 
with  a  rough  dried  surface.  If  harrowed  while  in  this 
state,  an  abundant  crop  of  clods  is  brought  to  the  surface, 
which  quickly  harden  when  thus  fully  exposed  to  drought 
To  avoid  this  inconvenience,  the  field  is  jirst  rolled  with  a 
heavy  roller,  and  then  grubbed  across  tho  direction  in  whieh 
it  was  last  ploughed.  By  this  means  the  clods,  being 
partially  crushed  and  pressed  down  amongst  tho  loose  earth, 
resist  the  grubber,  and  are  crumbled  bv  it.  instead  of  beiiw 


340 


AGRICULTURE 


[succession 


merely  raked  out  and  left  entire  on  the  surface,  as  would 
happen  but  for  this  preliminary  rolling.  The  grubbers  are 
followed  closely  by  harrows  and  a  light  roller,  and  these 
again  by  the  grubbers ;  but  this  time  with  seven  tines  on 
instead  of  five,  after  which  a  sufficient  tilth  is  usually 
obtained.  All  this  is  on  the  supposition  that  the  land  is 
clean  when  these  spring  operations  are  commenced ;  for 
should  it  be  otherwise,  it  is  usually  better  to  begin  with 
the  grubber  on  the  stale  winter  furrow,  and  to  get  rid  of 
the  weeds,  before  using  the  plough.  If  it  is  found  necessary 
to  plough  near  to  the  time  of  sowing,  then  the  harrow  and 
roller  must  keep  paco  with  the  ploughs  in  order  to  retain 
moisture  and  prevent  the  formation  of  clods.  Tho  Nor- 
wegian harrow  is  the  proper  implement  to  use  in  such  cases. 
Let  it  ever  be  borne  in  mind  that  if  the  soil  is  cleaned  and 
sufficiently  disintegrated,  the  less  working  it  gets  at  this 
stage  the  better. 

It  may  be  well  indeed  to  remind  tho  reader  that  although 
the  fallowing  process  can  most  conveniently  be  gone  about 
during  tho  period  which  intervenes  betwixt  the  removal  of 
a  grain-crop  from  the  ground  and  the  sowing  of  the  succeed- 
ing root-crop,  and  on  this  account  is  often  spoken  of  in  a 
loose  way  as  being  performed  "  in  preparation  for  the  root- 
crop,"  it  is  a  fallacy  to  regard  this  laborious  and  costly 
process  of  tillage  and  cleaning  as  undertaken  solely  or 
mainly  for  the  benefit  of  the  turnip  or  other  root-crop, 
then  about  to  be  sown.  The  other'  crops  of  the  rotation 
benefit  by  it  in  a  far  greater  degree,  and  it  would  be  re- 
quired on  their  account  although  turnips  were  not  grown 
at  all,  as  may  be  seen  in  tho  case  of  clay  lands  with  their 
periodic  naked  fallows.  It  is  the  overlooking  of  this  fact 
which  has  led  people  to  charge  the  whole  cost  of  this  fallow- 
ing process,  and  of  all  the  manure  then  applied  to  the  land, 
against  the  turnip-crop,  and  then  to  represent  this  crop  as 
the  most  costly  one  which  the  farmer  grows, — one  which 
often  yields  him  less  than  it  cost  to  produco  it.  Undoubt- 
edly the  cost  of  the  fallow  must  be  charged  equally  against 
all  the  crops  of  the  rotation. 

Summer  or  XaJced  Fallow. 
Having  thus  described  at  length  that  modification  of  the 
fallowing  process  by  which  the  soil  is  prepared  for  the 
sowing  of  green  crops,  we  shall  now,  as  proposed,  speak 
of  that  prolonged  form  of  it  called  a  summer  or  naked  fallow. 
From  the  facilities  now  afforded,  by  means  of  tile-draining 
and  portable  manures,  for  an  extended  culture  of  green 
crops,  this  laborious  and  costly  process,  which  in  its  day 
was  justly  regarded  as  the  very  key  to  good  and  profitable 
farming,  is  now  restricted  to  the  more  obdurate  clay  soils, 
or  to  cases  where  draining  and  other  modern  improve- 
ments are  neglected.  Tho  manifold  advantages  of  having 
abundant  crops  of  turnips,  or  mangel-wurzel,  instead  of 
naked  fallow,  sometimes  tempt  tho  occupiers  of  clay  soils 
to  push  the  cultivation  of  these  crops  beyond  due  bounds. 
We  know  of  cases  where,  after  large  expenditure  in  draining, 
the  cultivation  of  turnips  has  been  carried  to  such  an  extent, 
and  conducted  so  injudiciously,  that  the  land  has  got  foul 
and  soured,  and  its  gross  produce  has  been  reduced  below 
what  it  was  while  the  land  was  undrained,  and  under  a 
regular  system  of  all  but  exclusive  naked  fallows.  However 
thoroughly  drained,  clay  soils  retain  their  ticklish  temper, 
and  are  so  easily  disconcerted  by  interference  during  un- 
favourable weather,  that  the  preparing  of  them  for  the 
cultivation  of  root-crop3,  and  still  more  the  removing  of 
these  crops  when  grown,  is  at  best  a  hazardous  business, 
and  requires  to  be  conducted  with  peculiar  tact.  Judicious 
farmers,  who  know  by  experience  tho  difficulties  that  have 
to  be  overcome  in  cultivating  such  soils,  are  of  opinion  that 
all  that  can  yet  be  ventured  upon  with  safety  is  to  prolong 
the  period  of  the  naked  fallow's  recurrence,   rather  than 


entirely  to  dispense  with  it.  After  a  series  of  alternate 
grain  and  cattle  crops,  it  is  accordingly  still  their  practice 
to  wind  up  with  a  summer  fallow,  by  which  they  rectify 
unavoidable  defects  in  the  tillage  of  preceding  years,  and 
put  their  land  in  good  humour  for  entering  again  upon  a 
fresh  course  of  cropping. 

This  process  is  begun  by  a  deep  ploughing  in  autumn,  is 
performing  which  the  land  is  gathered  into  ridges,  that  it 
may  bo  kept  as  dry  as  possible  during  winter.  When  the 
more  urgent  labours  of  the  following  spring  are  so  far  dis- 
posed of  as  to  afford  leisure  for  it,  a  second  ploughing  is 
given  to  .tho  fallow,  usually  by  reversing  the  furrows  of 
autumn".  This  is  followed  at  intervals  by  two  cross-plough- 
ings,  whjclr'are  made  to  reverse  each  other,  in  order  to  keep 
tho  land  level  k  As  it  is  the  nature  of  these  soils  to  break 
into  lumps,  under  the  action  of  the  plough,  rather  than  to 
crumble  down,  the  clods  thus  produced  get  so  thoroughly 
parched  in  dry  weather,  that  root-weeds  enclosed  in  them 
are  killed  by  sheer  desiccation.  To  further  this  cheap  mode 
of  getting  rid  of  them,  the  land  is  not  rolled,  but  stirred  by 
the  grubber  and  harrow  as  frequently  as  possible,  so  as  to 
expose  the  clods  freely  to  tho  drought.  We  know  by  ex- 
perience that  fallows  can  be  cleaned  effectually  by  thus 
taking  advantage  of  the  tendency  in  clay  soils  to  bake 
excessively  under  exposure  to  the  hot  dry  weather  which 
usually  prevails  in  June  and  July.  Should  the  season 
happen  to  be  a  showery  one,  this  lino  of  tactics  must  needs 
be  abandoned,  and  recourse  had  to  the  judicious  use  of  the 
grubber,  Norwegian  and  common  harrow,  in  order  to  free 
the  weeds  from  the  soil,  and  then  clear  them  off  by  raking 
or  hand-picking.  This  is  more  costly,  and,  as  we  believe, 
less  beneficial  to  the  soil  than  the  simple  method  first 
noticed,  which  should  therefore  be  attempted  in  the  first 
place.  As  in  hay -making,  much  can  here  be  done  in  a  few 
favourable  days,  by  keeping  grubbers  and  harrows  at  work, 
and  turning  the  clods  frequently.  When  farm-yard  dung 
is  to  bo  applied  to  such  fallows,  it  is  desirable  that  it  should 
bo  carted  on  and  ploughed  in  before  July  expires.  In 
applying  it,  two  methods  are  followed.  That  usually 
adopted  is,  after  marking  off  the  ridges,  to  put  down  the 
dung  in  small  heaps,  at  regular  distances,  and  forthwith  to 
spread  it  and  plough  it  in.  In  the  other,  the  land  is  formed 
into  ridgelets,  running  diagonally  across  the  intended  lino 
of  the  ridges,  and  the  dung  is  enclosed  in  them  in  the 
manner  to  be  hereafter  described  in  treating  of  turnip 
culture.  In  cither  way,  after  tho  lapse  of  several  weeks, 
the  surface  is  levelled  by  harrowing,  and  the  land  is  gathered 
into  ridges  by  the  last  of  this  series  of  ploughings,  hence 
called  the  seed-furrow.  When  lime  is  to  be  applied  to  such 
land,  this  is  the  stage  of  the  rotation  which  is  usually  chosen 
for  doing  so.  It  is  spread  evenly  over  the  surface,  imme- 
diately before  the  last  ploughing.  In  finishing  off  this 
fallowing  process,  it  is  necessary,  on  undrained  lands,  to 
be  careful  to  clean  out  the  ridge-furrows  and  cross-cuts,  in 
anticipation  of  winter  rains.  But  if  such  land  is  worth 
cultivating  at  all,  it  is  surely  worth  draining,  and  this 
operation  once  thoroughly  performed,  puts  an  end  to  all 
further  solicitude  about  furrows. 

CHAPTER  IX. 
SUCCESSION  OP  CRors. 
Section  1. — Rotation  necessary. 
There  are  few  agricultural  facts  more  fullyascertained  than 
this,  that  the  growth,  year  after  year,  on  the  same  soil,  of 
one  kind  of  plants,  or  family  of  plants,  and  the  removal 
from  it,  either  of  the  eutiro  produco,  or  at  least  of  the 
ripened  seeds  of  such  plants,  rapidly  impairs  tho  general 
fertility  of  that  soil,  and,  in  particular  cases,  unfits  it  for 
bearing  further  crops  of  the  kind  by  .which  it  has  been  ex- 
hausted.    The  explanation  of  the  causes  of  this  phenomenon- 


OF  CROPS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


341 


belongs  to  the  agricultural  chemist  or  vegetable  physiologist, 
to  whom  we  willingly  leave  the  task.     What  we  have  to  do 
with  is  the  fact  itself,  and  its  important  bearing  on  agri- 
cultural practice.     There  is  no  natural  tendency  in  the  soil 
to  deterioration.     If  at  any  time,  therefore,  the  earth  fails 
to  yield  its  increase  for 'the  use  of  man,  it  is  owing  to  his 
own  ignorance  and  cupidity,  and  not  to  any  defect  in  the 
beneficent  arrangements  of  the  Creator.     The  aim,  then, 
of  the  agriculturist,  and  the  test  of  his  skill,  is  to  obtain 
from  his  farm  abundant  crops  at  a  remunerative  cost,  and 
without  impairing  its  future  productiveness.    In  order  to  this, 
two  conditions  are  indispensable, — first,  that  the  elements 
of  fertility  abstracted  from  the  soil  by  the  crops  removed 
from  it  be  duly  and  adequately  restored ;  and,  second,  that  it 
be  kept  free  from  weeds.     The  cereal  grains,  whose  seeds 
constitute  the  staple  food  of  the  human  family,  are  neces- 
sarily  the  most  important  and  valuable  of  our  ordinary 
crops.     The  stated  removal  from  a  farm  of  the  grain  pro- 
duced on  it,  and  its  consumption  elsewhere,  is  too  severe  a 
drain  upon  its  productive  powers  to  admit  of  these  crops 
being  grown  every  year  on  the  whole,  or  greater  part  of  it, 
without  speedily  impairing  its  fertility.     Supposing,  how- 
ever, that  this  waste  could  be  at  once  repaired  by  the  annual 
return   to  the  soil  of   manure   equivalent   in   constituent 
elements  to  the  produce  removed,  the  length  of  time  which 
grain-crops  occupy  the  soil,  and  their  habit  of  growth,  inter- 
pose peculiar  difficulties  in  the  way  of  cleaning  it  thoroughly, 
either  before  they  are  sown,  or  while  they  occupy  the  ground. 
Again,  although  bread-corn  is  the  most  important  product 
of  our  soil,  other  commodities,  such  as  butcher-meat,  dairy 
produce,  vegetables,  wool,  and  flax,  are  indispensably  re- 
quired.    The  economical  culture  of  the  soii  demands  the 
employment  of  animal  power,  which,  to  be  profitably  used, 
must  be  so  distributed  as  to  fill  up  the  year.     The  mainten- 
ance of  the  working  cattie,  and  of  other  live  stock,  implies 
the  stated  culture  of  a  iarge  amount  of  herbage  and  forage. 
Now,  these  varied  conditions  are  duly  met  by  cultivating 
grain  and  cattle  crops  alternately,  and  in  about  equai  pro- 
portions.    In  carrying  out  these  general  principles,  much 
discrimination  is  required  in  selecting  the  particular  plants 
best  adapted  to  the  soil,  climate,  and  other  circumstances, 
of  each  farm,  and  in  arranging  them  in  the  most  profitable 
sequences;  for  not  only  is  it  necessary  duly  to  alternate 
grain  and  green  crops,  but,  in  general,  there  is  a  necessity, 
or  at  least  a  high  expediency,  in  so  varying  the  species  or 
varieties  of  the  latter  clas3  as   to   prolong,    as'  much   is 
possible,  the  periodic  recurrence  of  any  one  of  them  on  the 
same  field.     In  settling  upon  a  scheme  of  cropping  fox  any 
particular  farm,  regard  must  be  had  to  its  capabilities,  to 
the  markets  available  for  the  disposal  of  its  products,  and 
to  the  command  of  manure.     When  these  things  have  been 
maturely   considered,  it   is   always   beneficial   to  conduct 
the  cropping  of  a  farm  upon  a  settled  scheme.     The  number 
of  men  and  horses  required  to  work  it  is  regulated  chiefly 
by   the  extent  of  the  fallow-break,  which  it  is  therefore 
desirable  to  keep  as  near  to  an  average  annual  breadth  as 
possible.     When  the  lands  of  a  farm  vary  much — as  regards 
fertility,  fitness  for  particular  crops,  and  proximity  to  the 
homestead, — they  must  be  so  apportioned  as  to  make  the 
divisions  alloted  to  each  clas3  of  crops  as  equal  as  possible 
in  all  respects,  taking  one  year  with  another.     Unless  this 
is  done,  those  fluctuations  in  the  gross  produce  of  farms 
which   arise  from  varying  seasons  are  needlessly,  it  may 
happen  ruinously,  aggravated ;  or  such  an  accumulation  of 
labour  is  thrown  on  certain  years  which  may  prove  un- 
favourable  ones  as  to  weather,  that  the  work  is  neither 
done  well  nor  in  due  season. 

No  better  rotation  has  yet  been  devised  for  friable  soils 
of.  fair  quality  than  the  well-known  four-field  or  Norfolk 
system.     By  this  courso  half  the  arable  lands  are  in  grain- 


crops,  and  half  in  cattle-crops,  annually.  It  is  indeed  true 
that,  in .  the  way  in  which  this  course  has  hitherto  been 
usually  worked,  both  turnips  and  .clover  have  recurred  so 
frequently  (every  fourth  year)  on  the  same  fields,  that  they 
have  become  subject  to  disease,  and  their  produce  excessively 
precarious.  But  the  excellence  of  this  course  is,  that  its 
main  features  can  be  retained,  and  yet  endless  variation  be 
introduced  in  its  details.  For  example,  instead  of  a  rigid 
one-fourth  of  the  land  being  each  year  under  turnips,  barley, 
clover,  and  wheat  or  oats,  respectively,  half  only  of  the 
barley  division  is  frequently  in  practice  now  sown  with 
clover  seeds,  and  the  other  half  cropped  in  the  following 
year  with  beans,  peas,  potatoes,  or  vetches.  On  the  same 
set  of  fields,  coming  round  again  to  the  same  point,  the  treat- 
ment is  reversed  by  the  beans,  &c,  and  clover,  being  made 
to  change  places.-  An  interval  of  eight  years  is  thus  sub- 
stituted for  one  of  four,  so  far  as  these  two  crops  are  con- 
cerned. Italian  rye-grass,  unmixed  with  any  other  plant, 
is  now  frequently  taken  in  lieu  of  clover  on  part  of  the 
division  usually  allocated  to  it,  and  proves  a  grateful  change 
both  to  the  land  and  to  the  animals  which  consume  it. 
In  like  manner,  instead  of  sowing  turnips  unvaryingly  every 
fourth  year  on  each  field,  a  portion  of  the  annual  division 
allotted  to  this  crop  can  advantageously  be  cropped  with 
mangel-wurzel,  carrots,  or  cabbages,  care  being  taken  to 
change  the  site  occupied  by  each  when  the  same  fields  again 
come  in  turn.  The  same  end  is  even  so  far  gained  by 
alternating  Swedish  with  yellow  or  globe  turnips.  It  is 
also  found  expedient,  either  systematically  or  occasionally, 
to  sow  a  field  with  clover  and  pasture  grasses  immediately 
after  turnips,  without  a  grain  crop,  and  to  allow  it  to  remain 
in  pasture  for  four  years.  A  corresponding  extent*  of  the 
other  land  is  meanwhile  kept  in  tillage,  and  two  grain  crops 
in  succession  are  taken  on  a  requisite  portion  to  equalise 
the  main  divisions,  both  as  respects  amount  of  labour  and 
the  different  staple  products.  A  closer  cover  of  grasses  and 
a  better  pasture  is  obtained  in  this  way  than  by  first  taking 
the  customary  grain  crop  after  turnips ;  the  land  i3  rested 
and  invigorated  for  future  tillage,  the  outlay  on  clover  and 
grass-seeds  somewhat  diminished,  and  the  land  better  mar 
naged  for  the  interests  of  all  concerned  than  by  a  ririd 
adherence  to  the  customary  rotation. 

Section  2. — Restrictive  Clauses  in  Leases  Hurtful. 
It  is  common  enough  for  landlords,  or  their  agents,  to 
tie  down  the  tenantry  over  large  estates  to  the  rigid  observ- 
ance of  some  pet  rotation  of  their  own.  In  an  unimproved 
state  of  agriculture,  and  for  a  tenantry  deficient  both  in 
capital  and  intelligence,  such  trammels,  kindly  enforced, 
may  be  as  beneficial  to  them  as  to  their  landlord.  But 
when  the  culture  of  the  soil  is  undertaken  by  men  of  good 
education,  who  bring  to  the  business  ample  capital  and 
skill  to  use  it  to  the  best  advantage,  such  restrictions  are 
much  more  likely  to  do  harm  than  good  to  both  parties. 
It  is  to  be  observed  in  regard  to  those  restrictive  clauses 
usually  inserted  in  farm-leases, — such  as,  that  two  grain- 
crops  shall  never  be  taken  in  immediate  succession ;  that 
no  hay,  straw,  or  turnips,  shall  be  sold  from  the  farm ;  that 
only  certain  limited  quantities  of  potatoes  or  flax  shall  be 
grown ;  that  land  shall  be  two  or  more  years  in  grass,  &c,—- 
that  they  all  proceed  on  the  supposition  that  the  farm  is 
to  maintain  its  own  fertility.  They  obviously  do  not  con- 
template the  stated  purchase  of  large  quantities  of  guano, 
bones,  and  similar  extraneous  manures,  or  the  consumption 
by  live  stock  of  linseed-cake,  grain,  or  other  auxiliaries  to 
the  green  crops  produced  on  the  farm.  Now,  not  only  are 
such  clauses  incompatible  with  such  a  system  of  farming  as 
we  have  just  now  indicated,  but  their  direct  tendency,  if 
enforced-,  is  to  hinder  a  tenant  from  adopting  it  even  when 
disposed  to  do  so.     We  hear  now-a-days  of  tenants  who  are 


J42 


A  G  R  I  C  U  L  T   U  K  E 


LM  AZURES 


annual  purchasers  of  these  extraneous  fertilising  substances 
to  the  extent  of  20s.  to  30s.  worth  for  ovory  acre  occupied 
by  them.  To  enforce  the  same  restriction  on  such  men  as 
on  others  who  buy  none  at  all  is  obviously  neither  just 
nor  politic ;  aud  we  believe  that  uny  practical  farmer,  if  he 
had  his  choice,  would  rather  be  the  successor  of  a  liberal 
manurer,  however  he  may  have  cropped,  than  of  one  who 
has  fanned  by  rulo  on  the  starving  system.  We  are  quite 
aware  that,  in  regard  to  tho  first-mentioned  of  these  restric-- 
tions  (viz.,  that  which  forbids  taking  two  grain-crops  in 
iinniediato  succession),  the  contrary  practice  is  still  asserted 
by  agricultural  authorities  to  be  necessarily  bad  farming. 
Now,  we  do  not  concur  with  this  opinion,  but  believe,  on 
the  contrary,  that  when  land  is  kept  clean,  and  is  as  highly 
manured  and  well  tilled  as  it  must  be  to  grow  cattl' 
in  perfection,  tho  second  successive  crop  of  grain  will  usually 
be  better  than  the  first,  its  production  nowise  injurious  to 
the  laud,  and  the  practice,  in  such  circumstances,  not  only 
not  faulty,  but  an  evidence  of  the  skill  and  good  manage- 
ment of  the  farmer.  A  frequent  encomium  applied  to  a 
particularly  well-cultivated  farm  is,  that  "  it  is  like  a  garden." 
The  practice  of  market-gardeners  is  also  frequently  referred 
to  as  a  model  for  farmers.  Now,  the  point  with  them  is 
to  have  every  inch  of  their  ground  under  crop  of  some  kind 
at  all  seasons,  and  to  carry  everything  to  market.  Under 
such  incessant  cropping,  the  fertility  of  the  soil  is  maintained 
only  by  ample  manuring  and  constant  tillage.  By  these 
means,  however,  it  is  maintained,  and  the  practice  is  extolled 
as  the  perfection  of  management  Such  a  system  must 
therefore  be  as  true  in  farming  as  in  gardening,  when  the 
like  conditions  are  observed.  Undoubtedly  he  is  a  good 
farmer,  who,  while  keeping  his  land  clean  and  in  good  heart, 
obtains  the  greatest  produce  from  it  at  the  least  proportion- 
ate outlay  ;  and  it  is  no  valid  objection  to  his  practice  merely 
to  say  that  he  is  violating  orthodox  rotations. 

Section  3. — Experiments  at  Eothamstead  and  Lois  Weedon. 
Some  curious  information  has  been  obtained  regarding 
the  effects  of  growing  successive  crops  of  one  kind  of 
plant  on  the  same  field,  from  two  examples  of  it  that 
attracted  much  attention.  We  refer  to  the  experiments  of 
Mr  Lawes  at  Rothamstead,  and  of  the  Rev.  Mr  Smith 
at  Lois  Weedon.  It  is  well  linown  that  Mr  Lawes 
for  a  number  of  years  devoted  a  considerable  extent  of  land 
to  the  prosecution  of  a  series  of  interesting  experiments,  one 
field  being  allotted  to  experiments  with  wheat,  another  to 
turnips,  and  another  to  beans.  One  acre  in  the  wheat-field 
bore  upwards  of  twenty  successive  crops  of  wheat  without 
any  manure  whatever.  The  land  was  annually  scarified  and 
thoroughly  cleaned  as  soon  as  the  crop  was  removed;  it 
was  then  ploughed  and  again  drilled  with  wheat,  which  was 
duly  hoed  in  spring.  Now,  with  occasional  variation,  due 
to  the  character  of  particular  seasons,  Mr  Lawes  found  that 
the  average  annual  produce  of  this  acre  was  16  bushels 
of  grain  and  16  cwt  of  straw,  below  which  he  failed  to 
reduce  it  by  these  successive  crops.  His  soil  was  a  strong 
clay  loam,  resting  at  a  depth  of  five  or  six  feet  upon  chalk. 
In  the  case  of  turnips,  he  found  that,  when  treated  in 
the  same  way,  they  cease  after  a  few  years  to  grow  larger 
than  radishes,  nor  could  he,  by  the  application  of  any 
amount  or  variety  of  manure  which  he  tried,  obtain  a  second 
successive  crop  equal  to  the  first.  With  the  wheat,  on  the 
Dntrary,  the  addition  of  four  cwt.  of  Feruviaa  guano  at  once 
aoubled  the  produce.  Mr  Smith's  experiments,  as  is  well 
known,  were  a  revival  of  Jethro  Tull's  system  of  growing 
wheat  continually  on  the  same  field,  by  a  plan  of  alternate 
strips  of  wheat  and  bare  fallow,  made  to  change  places  an- 
nually. He  improved  in  so  far  upon  Tull's  practice,  inasmuch 
as  he  thoroughly  drained  his  land,  and  his  fallow  spaces 
were  deeply  trenched  every  autumn,  as  well  as  ploughed 


and  hoed  during  tho  growing  season.  The  result  was  toat 
his  land  thus  treated  yielded  an  average  annual  produce 
of  34  bushels  per  acre  for  eleven  or  twelve  successive  crops. 
Now,  it  is  not  our  intention  to  offer  auy  opinion  on  this 
as  a  system  of  wheat  growing.  We  refer  to  it  along  with 
Mr  Lawes's,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that,  notwithstand- 
ing the  prevalent  opinion  that  grain-crops  exhaust  the 
fertility  of  soils  more  rapidly  than  green  crops,  this  is  true 
only  in  a  very  restricted  sense.  Green  crops  judiciously 
interposed  do  undoubtedly  serve  a  most  important  purpose 
in  the  means  which  they  furnish  for  maintaining  the  fertility 
of  a  farm ;  but  it  is  worthy  of  note,  that  whereas,  by  the 
addition  of  suitable  manure,  thorough  tillage,  and  diligent 
removal  of  weeds,  clay  soil  at  least  will  stand  an  indefinite 
succession  of  grain  crops,  the  same  means  entirely  fail  to 
yield  the  same  results  with  our  most?  popular  green  crops. 
Our  personal  experience  quite  accords  with  this ;  for  we 
suppose  it  will  be  admitted  that  the  corn  crops  of  the  country 
p.re  at  the  present  day  superior,  both  in  quality  and  quantity, 
to  those  of  any  preceding  period  ;  whereas  potatoes,  turnips, 
and  clover,  which  we  have  so  long  regarded  as  our  sheet 
anchor,  have  become  increasingly  precarious,  aud  threaten 
to  fail  us  altogether.  We  offer  these  facts  for  the  consider- 
ation of  those  who  out-and-out  condemn  the  practice  of 
sowing  two  white  crops  in  immediate  succession.  In  stating 
this  opinion,  we  must,  however,  guard  against  misappre 
hension.  Unless  the  land  is  highly  manured  and  kept 
thoroughly  clean,  we  are  just  as  much  opposed  to  the 
practice  as  any  one  can  be ;  but  when  mischief  is  done  by 
it,  we  believe  that  it  is  due  rather  to  the  presence  of  weeds 
than  to  the  second  grain-crop.  Neither  do  we  plead  for  the 
absolute  removal  of  restrictive  clauses  from  farm  leases. 
Human  nature  being  what  it  is,  men  who  do  not  see  it  to 
be  for  their  own  advantage  to  farm  well,  will,  through 
ignorance  or  greed,  impoverish  their  land  unless  they  an 
restrained.  Clauses  as  to  cropping  should,  however,  be  pro- 
hibitory rather  than  prescriptive — have  reference  rather  to 
what  is  removed  from  the  farm  than  to  what  is  grown  upon 
it — and  they  should  be  contingent  upon  the  other  practices 
of  the  tenant.  So  long  as  he  continues,  by  ample  manuring 
and  careful  tillage,  to  maintain  the  fertility  and  general 
good  condition  of  the  farm  rented  by  him,  it  c<;n  be  no  ad- 
vantage to  his  landlord  to  hinder  him  from  cropping  it  at 
his  own  discretion.  It  will  be  seen  from  these  remarks, 
that  we  attach  more  importance  to  those  general  principles 
which  should  regulate  the  succession  of  crops,  than  to  the 
laying  down  of  formulae  to  meet  supposed  cases.  The  man 
who  cultivates  by  mere  routine  is  unprepared  for  emergencies, 
and  is  sure  to  lag  in  the  race  of  improvement ;  while  he 
who  studies  principles  is  still  guided  by  them,  while  altering 
his  practice  to  suit  changing  circumstances. 

CHAPTER  X. 

MANTTKE3. 
Section  I. — Farm-yard  Dung. 

In  our  remarks  on  tillage  operations  and  on  the  succession 
of  crops,  we  have  seen  how  much  the  practice  of  the  husband- 
man is  modified  by  the  kinds  and  amount  of  manures  at 
his  disposal.  In  describing  the  crops  of  the  farm  and  their 
culture,  frequent  reference  will  also  necessarily  be  made  to 
the  use  of  various  fertilising  substances ;  and  we  shall,  there- 
fore, before  proceeding  to  that  department  of  our  subject, 
enumerate  and  bi.  sfly  remark  on  the  most  important  of 
them.  In  such  an  enumeration,  the  first  notice  is  un- 
questionably due  to  farm-yard  dung. 

This  consists  of  the  excrements  of  cattle,  their  litter,  and 
the  refuse  of  their  fodder ;  usually  first  troddeu  down  in 
successive  layers,  and  partially  fermented  in  the  farm-yard, 
and  then  removed  to  some  convenient  place  and  thrown 
together  in  heaps,  where,  by  further  fermentation  and  decay, 


MANURES.] 


AGRICULTURE 


343 


it  is  reduced  to  a  dark-coloured,  moi9t,  homogeneous  mass, 
in  which  state  it  is  usuaUy  applied  to  the  land.  It  is  thus 
the  residuum  of  the  whole  products  of  the  farm,  minus  the 
exported  grain,  and  that  portion  of  the  other  crops  which, 
beinf  first  assimilated  in  the  bodies  of  the  live  stock,  is  sold 
in  the  form  of  butcher-meat,  dairy-produce,  or  wooL  In 
applying  farm-yard  dung  to  land  there  is  thus  a  returning 
to  it  of  what  it  had  previously  produced,  less  the  above 
exceptions,  and  such  waste  as  may  occur  during  the  process 
of  decay  by  gaseous  exhalation  or  liquid  drainage.  It  is 
obvious  that  the  value  of  such  dung  as  a  fertilising  agent 
must  depeud  much  on  two  circumstances,  viz.,  1st,  The 
nature  of  the  food  consumed  by  the  animals  whose  excre- 
ments arc  mingled  with  it;  and,  2d,  The  success  with  which 
waste  from  drainage  and  exhalation  has  been  prevented. 
When  cattle  used  during  the  winter  months  to  be  barely 
kept  alive  on  straw  and  water,  and  were  confined  in  an 
open  yard,  which,  in  addition  to  its  own  share  of  rain,  re- 
ceived also  the  drip  from  the  eaves  of  the  surrounding  build- 
ings— which,  after  percolating  the  litter,  flowed  unchecked 
into  tho  neighbouring  ditch — it  is  needless  to  say  that  the 
dung  resulting  from  such  a  process  was  all  but  worthless. 
It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that,  from  the  faulty  construction 
of  farm-buildings,  farmers  still  find  it  impossible  to  guard 
their  dung-stores  from  injury  and  waste.  When  cattle- 
yards  are  slightly  hollowed  towards  their  centre,  and  the 
surrounding  eaves  are  spouted,  the  litter  absorbs  the  whole 
of  the  urine  and  tho  rain  which  falls  upon  the  uncovered 
area,  while  the  treading  of  the  cattle  goes-  far  to  prevent 
undue  fermentation  and  escape  of  gases.  The  same  remark 
applies  still  more  strongly  to  covered  boxes,  the  dung  re- 
sulting from  this  mode  of  housing  fattening  cattle  being  of 
the  best  quality.  In  the  case  of  byres  and  stables  it  is 
certainly  desirable  to  have  a  covered  depot,  into  which  the 
litter  and  solid  excrements  may  be  wheeled  daily,  and  to 
have  the  urine  conveyed  by  proper  drains  and  distributed 
over  this  mass  of  solid  matter.  As  there  is  usually  more 
liquid  than  these  can  at  once  absorb,  it  is  well  to  have  a 
tank  at  the  lowest  part  of  this  depot  in  which  to  store  the 
surplus,  that  it  may  from  timo  to  time  be  returned  upon 
the  adjoining  mass,  or  conveyed  to  heaps  in  the  fields. 
Advantage  is  usually  taken  of  frosty  weather  to  cart  out  to 
the  fallow  division  of  the  farm  the  dung  that  has  accumulated 
in  yards  and  boxes.  It  is  formed  into  large  square  heaps 
about  four  feet  deep,  in  situations  most  convenient  for  ready 
application  to  the  land  when  the  season  for  sowing  the  crops 
arrives.  It  is  desirable  to  prepare  a  site  for  these  heaps  by 
carting  together  and  spreading  down  a  quantity  of  earth 
(or  peat,  when  that  can  be  got),  for  the  purpose  of  absorbing 
the  ooze  from  the  fermenting  mass  laid  upon  it.  At  the 
beginning  of  winter,  the  loaded  dung-carts  are  driven  on  to 
the  heaps,  and  their  contents  are  spread  evenly  over  it, 
layer  above  layer,  both  to  equalise  the  quality  of  the  dung- 
fa  eap  as  a  whole,  and,  by  the  compression  thus  applied, 
to  prevent  a  too  rapid  fermentation.  When  the  heap  has 
attained  the  requisite  bulk,  a  covering  of  earth  or  peat  is 
spread  over  it  to  keep  it  moist  and  to  prevent  the  escape  of 
its  ammonia.  When  this  home-made  manure  was  the  only 
kind  statedly  at  the  command  of  the  farmer,  it  was  con- 
sidered necessary,  and  we  believe  truly,  to  have  it  in  an 
advanced  state  of  decomposition  before  applying  it  to  a  turnip 
crop.  There  was  a  waste  of  manure  by  this  practice,  but 
unless  it  was  in  a  state  to  supply  instant  nourishment  and 
stimulus  to  the  young  turnip  plants,  the  crop  was  certain 
to  be  a  deficient  one.  The  application,  along  with  farm-yard 
dung,  of  guano,  superphosphate  of  lime,  and  other  portable 
manures,  quite  does  away  with  the  necessity  of  having  the 
former  much  rotted.  These  concentrated  manures  stimulate 
the  growth  of  the  plants  during  their  early  stage,  and  put 
them  in  the  best  condition  for  making  gradual  use  of  the 


slowly  dissolving  aung.  Excessive  decomposition  of  farm- 
yard dung  is  now  therefore  avoided,  and  pains  rather  be- 
stowed to  improve  its  quality  by  protecting  it  from  the 
weather,  and  retaining  its  ammonia  and  natural  juice.  The 
cheapest,  and  perhaps  also  the  best,  way  of  doing  this  is  to 
cart  the  dung  direct  from  the  cattle-yard  to  the  fields,  and 
at  once  to  plough  it  in. 

Section  2. — Liquid  Manures. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  importance  of  carefully  retaining 
the  urine  of  the  housed  live  stock,  by  having  it  absorbed  in 
the  solid  matter  of  the  dung-heap,  and  of  collecting  the 
surplus  into  a  suitable  tank,  where  it  may  be  available  for 
moistening  the  heap  from  time  to  time,  and  especially  when 
about  to  be  applied  to  the  land.  A  system  has,  however, 
lately  attracted  much  notice,  by  which  pains  are  taken 
not  only  to  preserve  every  drop  of  urine  and  ooze  from  dung- 
heaps,  but,  as  far  as  practicable,  to  apply  the  whole  manure 
produced  on  the  farm  in  a  liquid  form.  It  is  in  Ayrshire, 
and  especially  on  the  farm  of  Myreinill,  that  this  system 
has  been  carried  out  most  fully.  Our  reference  will  be  best 
explained  by  quoting  at  length  from  the  Minutes  of  Infor- 
mation issued  by  the  General  Board  of  Health  regarding 
sewage  manure. 

"  The  next  farm  visited  was  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Glas- 
gow, where  the  supply  of  liquid  manure  is  derived  from  another 
source,  and  distributed  in  a  different  manner.  The  supply  is  from 
a  dairy  of  700  cows,  attached  to  a  large  distillery  ;  the  entire  drain- 
age  from  the  former  flows  in  a  full  continuous  stream  into  a  tank 
containing  30,000  or  40,000  gallons,  whence  it  is  pumped  up 
immediately  by  a  12-horse  power  engine,  and  forced  through  4-ind< 
iron  pipes,  laid  about  18  inches  under  ground,  into  large  vats  or 
cisterns  placed  on  the  highest  points  of  the  land  to  be  irrigated. 
From  these  it  descends  by  gravitation  through  another  system  of 
pipes  laid  along  the  ridges  of  the  hills,  rinding  an  outlet  through 
stand-cocks  placed  at  intervals,  from  which  it  is  distributed  through 
movable  iron  pipes  fitting  into  each  other,  and  laid  along  tie  surface 
in  whatever  direction  the  supply  is  required.  The  land  thus  ungated 
consists  of  three  farms  lyiDg  at  some  distance  apart,  the  farthest 
point  to  which  the  liquid  is  conveyed  being  about  two  miles,  and 
the  highest  elevation  80  feet  above  the  site  of  the  tank  and  engine. 
The  principal  use  to  which  the  irrigation  has  been  applied  has 
been  to  preserve  the  fertility  of  the  pastures,  the  general  appearance 
of  which  was  at  first  rather  disappointing,  but  this  was  explained 
by  the  fact  that  they  are  fully  stocked,  and  that  the  cows  rush  with 
avidity  to  those  parts  that  have  been  last  irrigated,  and  eat  them 
down  quite  bare.  As  is  the  case  in  other  instances,  however,  by 
far  the  most  profitable  application  has  been  found  to  be  Italian  rye- 
grass, of  which  15  (Scotch)  acres  were  under  cultivation,  some  with 
seed  supplied  by  Sir  Dickinson,  whose  successful  cultivation  of  it 
by  similar  means  near  London  has  long  been  known.  The  first  cut- 
ting of  this  had  yielded  about  ten  tons  the  acre,  the  second  nine, 
ana  the  third,  which  was  ready  for  cutting,  was  estimated  at  eight 
or  nine  more.  Some  crops  of  turnips  and  cabbages  were  poiutvd 
out  to  us  in  a  state  of  vigorous  growth,  and  with  more  than  common 
promise  of  abundance ;  these  were  raised  by  a  dressing  of  ashes  and 
refuse  (of  little  fertilising  value,  having  been  purchased  at  2s.  6d.  a 
ton),  conjoined  with  four  doses  of  liquid,  one  after  the  preceding 
crop  of  oats  had  been  carried,  one  prior  to  sowing,  and  two  more  at 
different  stages  of  growth.  The  enterprising  gentleman  who  has 
carried  out  these  works  at  his  own  expense,  and  in  spite  of  the  dis- 
couragement arising  from  partial  failure  in  his  earlier  attempts, 
theegh  speaking  cautiously,  as  was  natural  in  a  tenant  on  a  nine- 
teen years'  lease,  of  the  pecuniary  results  of  this  undertaking, 
imparted  some  facts  which  leave  little  doubt  that  it  must  have  been 
largely  remunerative.  Besides  maintaining,  if  not  increasing,  the 
fertility  of  the  pastures,  to  which  the  solid  manure  from  the  byres 
was  formerly  devoted,  at  a  heavy  expense  of  cartage  (the  whole  ol 
which  is  now  saved),  he  is  enabled  to  sell  all  this  manure,  of  which 
we  estimated  the  quantity  at  about  3000  ton3  a  year,  at  6s.  a  load. 
For  a  good  deal  of  the  Italian  rye-grass  not  required  for  his  own  con- 
sumption, he  obtained  upwards  of  13s.  a  ton,  the  profit  on  which, 
taking  into  account  the  yield  before  stated,  may  easily  be  imagiued. 
Thirteen  carts,  each  containing  six  barrels  of  ten  gallons  each,  are 
used  to  convey  the  milk  to  market,  where  it  is  sold  at  5d-  the  Scotch 
pint,  equal  to  six  pints  imperial  measure.  The  income  from  milk 
would,  therefore,  be  not  less  than  £-43,  6s.  8d.  per  day,  or  £15,810, 
13s.  4d.  per  annum. 

"  The  next  place  visited  was  the  farm  of  Myremill,  near  Maybole, 
in  Ayrslure,  the  property  of  Mr  Kennedy,  who  adopted  and 
improved  on  the  method  of  distribution  just  described.     On  th> 


344 


A  G  11  I  C  U  L  T  U  li  E 


[manures, 


farm,  about  400  imperial  acres  of  which  arc  laid  down  with  pipes, 
tome  of  the  solid  as  well  as  the  liquid  manure  has  been  applied  by 
these  means,  guano  and  superphosphate  of  lime  having  been  thus 
transmitted  in  solution,  whereby  their  valuo  is  considerably 
enchanced.  This  is  especially  the  case  with  guano,  the  use  of  which 
it  thus  rendered  in  great  measure  independent  of  the  uncertainties 
of  climate,  and  it  is  made  capable  of  being  applied  with  equa' 
advantage  in  dry  as  in  wet  weather.  In  some  respects  the  farm 
labours  under  peculiar  disadvantages,  as  water  for  the  purpose  of 
diluting  the  liquid  has  to  be  raised  from  a  depth  of  70  feet  and 
from  a  distance  of  more  than  400  yards  from  the  tanks  where  it  is 
mixed  with  the  drainage  from  the  byTes.  These  tanks  arc  tour  in 
number,  of  the  following  dimensions  respectively  : — 48  x  14  x  12  ; 
48  x  14  x  15;  72  x  14  x  12;  72  x  1?  x  12.  They  have  each  a 
separate  communication  with  the  well  from  which  their  contents 
are  pumped  up ;  which  are  used  in  dilferent  degrees  of  '  ripeness,'  a 
certain  amount  of  fermentation  induced  by  the  addition  of  rape- 
dust  being  considered  desirable.  The  liquid  is  diluted,  according  to 
circumstances,  with  three  or  four  times  its  bulk  of  water,  and 
delivered  at  the  rate  of  about  4000  gallons  an  hour,  that  being  the 
asual  proportion  to  an  acre.  The  quantity  to  be  applied  is 
determined  by  a  float-gauge  in  the  tank,  which  warns  the  engineer, 
whose  business  it  is  to  watch  it,  when  to  cut  off  the  supply,  and 
this  is  a  signal  to  the  man  distributing  it  in  the  field  to  add  another 
length  of  hose,  and  to  commence  manuring  a  fresh  portion  of  land. 
The  pumps  are  worked  by  a  12-horse  power  steam-engine,  which 
performs  all  the  usual  work  on  the  farm,  thrashing,  cutting  chatf 
and  turnips,  crushing  oil-cake,  grinding,  &c,  and  pumping.  The 
pipes  are  of  iron ;  mains,  submains,  and  service  pipes,  five,  three, 
and  two  inches  in  diameter  respectively,  laid  eighteen  inches  or  two 
feet  below  the  surface.  At  certain  points  are  hydrants  to  which 
gutta-percha  hose  is  attached  in  lengtns  of  twenty  yards,  at  the  end 
of  which  is  a  sharp  nozzle  with  an  orifice  ranging  from  one  to  ono 
and  a  half  inch,  according  to  the  pressure  laid  on,  from  which  the 
liquid  makes  its  exit  with  a  jet  of  from  twelve  to  fifteen  yards.  All 
the  labour  required  is  that  of  a  man  and  a  boy  to  adjust  the  hose 
and  direct  the  distribution  of  the  manure,  and  eight  or  ten  acres 
may  thus  be  watered  in  a  day.  There  are  now  70  acres  of  Italian  rye- 
grass and  130  of  root  crops  on  the  farm.  The  quantity  they  would 
deliver  by  a  jet  from  a  pump  worked  by  a  12-horsepower  steam- 
engine  would  be  40, 000  gallons,  or  178  tons,  per  diem,  and  the  expense 
per  ton  about  2d.,  but  a  double  set  of  men  would  reduce  the  cost 
ihe  extreme  length  of  pipe  is  three  quarters  of  a  mile,  and  with  the 
hose  the  total  extent  of  delivery  is  about  1,900,000  yards,  or  400 
acres.  To  deliver  the  same  quantity  per  diem  by  water-carts,  to  the 
same  extreme  distance,  would  be  impracticable.  One  field  of  rye- 
grass; sown  in  April,  had  been  cut  once,  fed  off  twice  with  sheep, 
and  was  ready  (August  20th)  to  be  fed  off  again.  In  another,  after 
yielding  four  cuttings  within  the  year,  each  estimated  at  9  or  10 
tons  per  acre,  the  value  of  the  aftermath  for  the  keep  of  sheep  was 
stafed  at  25s.  an  acre.  Of  the  turnips,  one  lot  of  swedes,  dressed 
with  10  tons  of  solid  farm  manure,  and  about  2000  gallons  of  the 
liquid,  having  six  bushels  of  dissolved  bones  along  with  it,  was 
ready  for  hoeing  10  or  12  days  earlier  than  another  lot  dressed  with 
double  the  amount  of  solid  manure  without  the  liquid  application, 
and  were  fully  equal  to  those  in  a  neighbour's  field  which  had 
received  30  loads  of  farm-yard  dung,  together  with  3  cwt  guano 
and  16  bushels  bones  per  acre  ;  the  yield  was  estimated  at  40  tons 
the  Scotch  aero,  and  tneir  great  luxuriance  seemed  to  me  to  justify 
the  expectation.  From  one  field  of  white  globe  turnips  sown  later, 
and  manured  solely  with  liquid,  from  40  to  50  tons  to  the  Scotch 
acre  was  expected.  A  field  of  carrots,  treated  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  swedes,  to  which  a  second  application  of  liquid  was  given 
just  before  thinning,  promise  from  20  to  25  tons  the  acre.  Similarly 
favourable  results  have  been  obtained  with  cabbages  ;  and  that  the 
limit  of  fertility  by  these  means  has  not  yet  been  reached,  was 
clearly  shown  in  one  part  of  the  Italian  rye-grass  which  had  acci- 
dentally received  more  than  its  allowance  of  liquid,  and  which 
showed  a  marked  increase  of  luxuriance  over  that  around  it.  The 
exact  increase  of  produce  has  not  been  accurately  determined,  but 
the  number  of  cattle  on  the  farm  has  increased  very  largely,  and  by 
means  of  the  Italian  rye-grass  at  least  four  times  as  many  beasts  as 
before  can  be  kept  now  on  the  same  extent  of  land,  the  fertility  of 
the  land  being  at  the  same  time  increased.  This  plant,  of  all  others, 
appears  to  receive  its  nourishment  in  this  form  with  most  gratitude, 
and  to  make  the  most  ample  returns  lor  it ;  and  great  as  are  the 
results  hitherto  obtained,  I  believe  that  the  maximum  of  productive- 
ness is  not  yet  reached,  and  that  the  present  experiment  must  be 
carried  yet  further  before  we  know  the  full  capabilities-  of  this 
manure.  Of  one  important  fact  connected  with  this  crop,  I  am 
assured,  that  notwithstanding  the  rank  luxuriance  of  its  growth, 
animals  fed  utwu  it  not  only  are  not  scoured,  but  thrive  more  than 
on  any  other  kind  of  grass  in  cultivation. 

"Taking  into  the  irrigation  account  the  whole  cost  of  the  engine, 
and  the  whole  of  the  fuel  and  wages— although  half  of  these  might 
hive  been  deducted— the  following  apj«ars  to  be  the  capital  account 
and  working  expenses  for  fertilising  Myrernill  farm  : — 


£300 

0 

0 

150 

0 

0 

80 

0 

0 

1000 

0 

0 

56 

0 

0 

J15S6 

0 

0 

£118 

IS 

0 

104 

0 

0 

£8 

10 

0 

'T.'uks  complete         ,        .        , 
Btoam  engine  ,  ,        , 

Pumps     ...... 

Iron  pipes,  laying,  and  hydrants        , 
Gutta-percha  distributing  pipes,  4c 


"Annual  interest  on  £1586,  and  wear  and 

tear,  at  7J  Tier  cent.      .... 

Annual  wages  ..... 

Fuel 

£281     9    0 
This  amov.nt,  divided  by  the  number  of  acres,  is  equal  to  the  annual 
sum  of  14a.  per  acre. 

_  *■  I  now  come  to  the  practical  results  of  so  cheap  a  mode  of  fer- 
tilising land. 

"  Mr  Young  informed  me  that  in  one  of  the  fields  ho  had  him- 
self measured  the  growth  of  Italian  rye-grass,  and  had  found  it  to 
be  two  inches  in  twenty-four  hours  ;  and  that  within  seven  months, 
Mr  Kennedy  had  cut  from  a  field  we  were  passing  at  the  time  70 
tons  of  grass  per  acre.  Where  the  whole  is  cut,  four  or  five  heavy 
crops  are  thus  taken;  but  upon  some  of  the  land  during  the  last 
two  years  20  sheep  to  the  acre  have  been  penned  in  hurdles,  and 
moved  about  the  same  field  from  time  to  time ;  after  each  remove 
the  fluid  has  been  applied,  and  immediately  followed  by  an  abun- 
dant growth  of  food.  There  is  not  the  slightest  appearance  ol 
exhaustion  in  the  land, — its  fertility  appears  to  increase  I  was 
informed  that,  before  the  liquid  manure  was  used,  the  land  would 
not  keep  more  than  a  bullock  or  five  sheep  to  the  acre  ;  now  it  will 
maintain,  if  the  crops  are  cut  and  carried  in,  five  bullocks  or  twenty 
sheep  to  the  acre.  Some  beans,  bran,  and  oil-cako  are  bought  for 
the  stock ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  one-tlurd  or  more  of  the  farm  u 
kept  in  grain,  notwithstanding  the  great  number  of  live  stock. 

"  Canning  Park. — Mr  Telfcr's  farm,  near  Ayr.  This  is  a  small 
dairy  farm  of  40  acres,  near  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  about  a  milt 
and  a  half  west  of  the  town  of  Ayr.  The  subsoil  is  beach  gravel 
with  a  slight  admixture  of  clay.  Water  is  too  abundant.  It  lie» 
dead  within  about  20  inches  of  the  surface,  and  in  winter  nearei 
than  that. 

"  No  bedding  or  litter  is  used  here.  The  cows  lie  on  cocoa-nut 
mats.  The  ventilation  is  perfect ;  and  the  air  sweeter  than  in  the 
majority  of  the  dwelling-houses  of  human  beings. 

"  The  following  appears  to  be  the  cost  of  carrying  out  the  system 
of  Mr  Teller's  farm ; — 

"Tank £30    0    0 

Engine 60    0    0 

Iron  pipes  and  hydrants       .        .        .        .      100    0    0 
Distributing  hose-pipe,  &c  ...        20     0    0 


£210     0     0 


'  Annual  interest  on  £210,  and  wear  and  tear, 

at  7J  per  cent 

Wages  and  fuel 


£15  15 
11     0 


£26  15     0 


"  In  summer  the  cows  have  a  quantity  of  oil-cake,  as  well  at 
grass ;  and  in  winter  they  have  turnips  or  mangel-wurzel,  bean  or 
barley  meal,  and  cut  hay  or  grass ;  the  whole  mess  being  steamed 
together.  Mis3  Bell,  the  cousin  of  Mr  Telfer,  manages  the  dairy, 
and  said  that  last  year  the  hay  bought  would  amount  to  from  £3& 
to  £40,  and  she  should  think  the  grain  to  not  less  than  £200.  Id 
general  terms,  the  other  food  is  proauced  upon  the  farm.  As  to  the 
produce  of  grass,  which  is  the  chief  article,  the  first  cutting  during 
the  present  year  was  in  the  latter  end  of  March  about  18  inches 
thick.  The  second  was  from  18  inches  to  2  feet  thick.  The  third 
was  from  3  feet  to  4  feet  6  inches  thick.  The  fourth  nearly  the 
same.  The  fifth  was  2  feet  thick;  and  the  sixth,  in  process  ol 
cutting  at  the  ti.ne  I  was  there,  wo  measured  at  18  inches  thick. 
Taking  the  mean,  where  two  dimensions  are  given  for  the  same  crop, 
I  find  the  aggregate  depth  of  gross,  grown  and  cut  off  this  farm 
within  seven  months,  to  be  not  less  than  14  feet  3  inches.  All  this 
is,  however,  eaten  upon  the  premises,  and  the  whole  marketable 
produce  of  the  farm  is  represented  by  the  milk  and  butter. 

"As  to  the  quantity  and  value  of  these,  Miss  Bell  stated  that 
the  previous  week  the  butter  was  114  lb  and  120  Hi — together  231 
lb,  sold  at  Is.  per  pound.  This,  she  stated,  was  about  the  average 
quantity  and  price.  The  amount  for  butter  would  therefore  lie 
£11,  14s.  per  week,  or  per  annum  £008,  8s.  She  informed  me  far- 
ther, that  during  about  eight  months  in  the  year,  the  cold  milk  rea- 
lises about  the  same  amount  as  the  butter.  In  the  summer  months, 
during  hot  weather,  the  market  value  of  the  milk  is  only  about 
half  that  of  the  butter.  From  these  data,  the  amount  for  milk  sold 
per  annum  is  £507. 

"  The  total  receipts  for  the  two  articles  of  milk  and  butter  amount 
to  £1115,  8s.  per  ann-j.-n. 


LIQUID.] 


AGRICULTURE 


345 


"  I  only  need  to  add  that,  previously  to  the  adoption  of  the  present 
tystcrn  of  farming,  these  40  acres  of  land  were  barely  sufficient  to 
tupport  eight  or  nine  cons,  and  would  have  been  well  let  at  a  rental 
of  30s.  an  acre." 

The  attention  now  so  generally  directed  to  this  subject, 
and  the  importance  attached  to  it  in  many  quarters,  justify 
this  lengthened  quotation,  and  call  for  some  remarks  upon 
it.  We  have  carefully  examined  two  of  the  instances  re- 
ferred to  in  this  report,  viz.,  Port-Dundas  and  Myremill; 
and  some  smaller  experiments  more  cursorily.  After  doing 
so  we  are  sorry  to  say  that  we  have  arrived  at  a  very 
different  estimate  of  this  system  of  manuring  from  thai 
expressed  in  the  above  quotations.  We  at  once,  and  with 
pleasure,  acknowledge  that  in  so  far  as  concerns  the  storing 
up  and  preparing  of  the  liquid  manure,  its  application  to 
the  land,  and  the  production,  by  means  of  it,  of  crops  of 
Italian  rye-grass  almost  surpassing  belief  in  their  luxuriance 
aud  weight  of.  produce,  Sir  Kennedy's  experiments  have 
been  crowned  with  complete  success.  The  excellence  of 
this  grass  as  food  for  live  stock,  and  their  relish  for  it,  is 
also  indisputable.  Neither  do  we  dispute  the  statements 
of  thoso  who  tell  us  that  manure,  when  largely  diluted  with 


beneficial  to  plants  that!  in  any  other  way  iu  which  it  call 
be  presented  to  them.  Admitting  all  this,  the  question 
remains,  Has  it  yet  been  shown  that  this  system  can  be 
economically  applied  to  ordinary  farms?  Data  are  still 
wanting  from  which  to  answer  this  question  conclusively, 
but  we  shall  state  some  of  the  reasons  which  constrain  us, 
with  our  present  information,  to  do  so  in  the  negative. 

Supposing. an  adequate  motive  power  already  to  exist, 
and  to  be  partly  employed  for  other  purposes,  the  capita) 
that  must  be  invested  in  providing  the  tanks  and  other 
apparatus  necessary  for  carrying  out  this  system  amounts  to 
about  £  4  per  acre  over  a  farm  of  average  extent.  If  the 
system  be  a  sound  one,  the  great  amount  of  this  outlay  can- 
not fairly  be  urged  as  an  objection  to  it.  The  addition  of 
a  permanent  rent  charge  of  53.  per  acre  to  an  entire  farm, 
for  a  benefit  which  in  any  one  year  can  be  available  to  but 
a  limited  portion  of  it,  is  however  a  serious  matter.  In 
each  case  referred  to  in  the  Minutes  of  Information,  the 
whole  annual  charge,  whether  arising  from  interest  on 
capital,  wear  and  tear  of  machinery,  or  working  expenses, 
is  divided  by  the  whole  acreage  of  the  farm.  In  the  first 
seven  cases  given  in  the  tabular  statement,  this  mode  of 
calculation  is  correct,  as  the  whole  areas  do  actually  benefit 


water,  and  properly  applied  in  the  liquid  form,  is  more 

Table  III. — Showing  Cost,  <bc,  of  Ju  Application  of  Sewerage  Waters  ami  Liquid  Manures. 


Name  of  Plus. 


Edinburgh. 
Craigentinny  Meadows. 

High-level 
Sea  Meadows. 

Old  Meadows. 

Nottinghamshire. 

The  Duke  of  Portland. 

Clipstone  Meadows. 

Wiltshire. 
Viley  Meadows. 

Devonshire. 
The  Duke  of  Bedford. 
Tavistock  Meadows. 

Berkshire. 
Pusey  Meadows. 

Glasgow. 
Mr  Harvey's  farm. 


A  yrshire. 
Myremill  farm. 

Canning  Park  farm. 

Leg  or  Dunduff  farm. 

Staffordshire. 
The  Duke  of  Sutherland. 
Hanchurch  farm  near ) 
Trentham. 

Lancashire. 
Halewood  farm. 


Cheshire. 
Lescard  farm. 


Glamorganshire. 
Porth  Kerry  Farm. 


No. 
of 

Eur- 
'i£h 
seres. 


63 
38 

228 

300 
150 

90 


Mode  of  Application 


f  Steam-engine,  pumps,  and ) 
(     open  gutters  and  panes,  / 

{Gravitation,  op«n  gutters) 
and  panes,     .        .        .  j 


Do. 


do. 


Cost  of  Works 
and 

Appaiatua 


£  s.  d. 

SCOO  0    0 

700  0    0 

.  2700  0    0 


J  Catchmeadow,  gravitation,  1   , 
\     and  open  gutters,  .        .  } 
fBeadwork    of    ridge    and 
J     furrow,  gravitation  an 
(    open  gutters, 
/  Beadwork  „  and      catch-  \ 
<     meadows,       gravitation  > 
(,     aud  open  gutters,  .       .  J 


nd  ) 
od  \ 


ioo  ! 


508 

508 
SO 
50 

83 

120 

150 
50 


Catchmeadow,  gravitation, 

and  open  gutters.  . 
Steam-engine,         pumps, 

underground  Stun  main 

pipes  and  iron  distribut- 

•ing  pipes,       . 
Steam-engine,  pumps, 

underground  iron  mains, 

gutta-percha  hose,  and 

jet  pipe, 

Do.  do. 

(Gravitation,  underground \ 
iron  mains,  gutta-percha  V 
hose,  and  jet  pipe, .        . ) 


/Steam-engine,  pumps, 
underground  irou  mains, 
gutta-percha  hose,  and 
jet  pipe, 


Do. 


Do. 


do. 


do. 


{Gravitation,    underground  ] 
iron  mains,  gutta-percha 
hose  and  jet  pipe  .        ., 


0    0 


3000    0    0 


1163    0    0 


Annual  In- 

terest,  Ac, 

at  71  per 

Cent. 


£     3. 

150    0 


Annual 
Working 
Expenses. 


d.     £    s. 


52  10    0     19  17 

202  10 


415    0  0 

1450    0  0 

1586    0  0 

210    0  0 

191    0  0 

520  13  4 

621  12  0 

"  672    1  10 

300    0  0 


2700    0 
225    0 

88  14 

33    7 

108  15 

118  19 
15  15 
14   6 

39    1 
39   2 

50   8-0 

22  10    0 


117  12 


Total 

Annual 

Charge  per 

English 

acre. 


d.  £    s.  d. 
0   4    4  11 


119    6 

150    0 
52  10 

67  10 

37  18 
210  10 

:62  10 
11    0- 
3  10 


1  18  1 

1    8  2} 

9  10  0 

1  17  0 

1  14  S.J 

0  14  3 

0  13  9 

0  11  1 


0  10    8J 


Obserratlnnv 


I  Average  rental  upwards  of 

!     £16  per  Engbsh  acre. 

'  Worth      about      £20     per 

English    acre ;    worthless 

before. 
Maximum    rental,  £25   per 

English  acre. 

Worth  upwards  of  £12 ;  pre- 
viously worth  from  3s.  to 
5s.  per  acre  per  annum. 

Four  heavy  crops  of  grass  per 
annum. 

Land  more  than  quadrupled 
in  value  after  only  4  years 
irrigation. 

'  Land  not  previously  worth 
more  than  5a.  per  acre, 
yielding  six    heavy  crops 

,     of  grass  per  annum. 

10  feet  thick  of  grass  cut  from 
an  acre  m  six  months. 


70  tons  of  grass  cut  from  an 
acre  in  six  months. 

1 14$  feet  of  grass  cut  in  seven 
months. 


0    7 


]>  |  ISO    stacks    per    annum;    u 
*  1 1     place  of  12,  as  previously. 


18    6    P  0  13    9} 


19  15    2 


17  11    0 


0  lu    0 


|  Tanks  constructed  sufficient 
I     for  300  acres. 


0    9    9j 


0    9    84, 


0  13    0 


One  dressing  of  liquid  equal 
to  25  or  30  tons  of  farm- 
yard manure  per  acre. 
'  A  fourth  crop  of  grass  being 
weighed,  was  found  equal" 
to  10  tons  per  acre.    It  wi* 
the  lightest  crop  cut  oU  the 
same  land. 
i  Tanks  constructed  sufficient 
\      for  300  acres.     Between  !' 
\     and  10  feet  of  grass  cut. 


each  year  by  the  irrigating  process.  But  when  we  come 
to  those  irrigated  by  machinery,  we  find  that  a  half  or  two- 
fifths  only  of  the  land  receives  the  benefits  of  it  in  any  one 


year.  If  the  annual  charge  in  this  latter  class  of  cases  is 
divided  by  the  acreage  actually  irrigated,  it  becomes  evidout 
that  the  expense  is  double  that  cf  the  Pusey  meadows,  and 

L   —  44 


346 


AGRICULTURE 


[manures. 


equal  to  that  of  the  old  meadows  near  Edinburgh,  instead 
of  being  less,  as  it  is  made  to  appear.  Again,  in  estimating 
the  profits  an  opposite  course  is  followed.  While  the-charges 
are  made  to  appear  less  by  spreading  them  over  the  whole 
area  of  the  farm,  the  enormous  produce  of  grass  from  the 
irrigated  parts  is  put  prominently  forward,  and  little  is  said 
about  its  produce  as  a  whole.  In  tho  dairy  cases,  too, -we 
are  told  of  enormous  gross  profits,  without  being  pointedly 
reminded  that  the  larger  portion  of  the  keep  of  the  cows, 
such  as  distillery  offal,  bean-meal,  hay,  and  even  straw  and 
turnips,  is  actually  purchased ;  that  in  this  way  a  quantity 
of  extraneous  manure  becomes  available1  for  the  associated 
farm,  sufficient  (however  applied)  to  maintain  it  in  a  state 
of  fertility.;  and  that  there  would  be  handsome  profits  from 
the  -dairy,  irrespective  of  tho  farm altogether.  In  fact,  town  I 
dairies  usually  have  no  land  attached  to  them.  The  cows  j 
are  maintained  solely  by  purchased  food,  and  the  salt,  of 
manure,  liquid  and  solid,  forms  one  of  the  stated  items  of  f 
income.  In  Mr  Harvey's  and  similar  cases,  two  separate 
businesses  are  in  fact  miied  up,  and  yet  the  whole  is  spoken 
of  in  such  a  way  as  if  the  profit  was  mainly  due  to  the  use 
of  liquid  manure.  Indeed,  the  whole  of  these  Minutes  of 
Information  issued  by  the  General  Board  of  Health  have 
an  air  of  special  pleading  about  them,  which  to  us  seriously 
detracts  from  their  value. 

The  entire  annual  cost  of  applying  manure  in  this  manner 
is  stated  to  amount  fo  from  10s.  to  14s.  per. acre  for  the 
whole  extent  of  the  farm.  Now  this  would  suffice  to  provide 
annually,  from  1  to  1J  cwt  of  Peruvian  guano  (even  at  its 
present  high  price)  for  every  acre  of  the  farm,  or  from  2  to 
3  cwt  per  acre,  if  applied,  as  the  liquid  is,  to  the  portion 
under  green  crop  only.  The  stated  application  of  such  a 
dressing  of  guano,  in-separate  portions,  and  during  showery 
weather,  will  be  found  to  yield  results  little  inferior  to  those 
obtained  by  the  use  of  liquid  manure.  To  do  this  requires 
no  costly  apparatus  or  permanent  sinking  of  capital,  and 
its  application  can.be  desisted  from  at  any  time  when  found 
unremunerative.  The  adoption  of  this  plan  of  applying 
the  liquid  manure  of  .the  farm  necessarily  demands  that  the 
whole  system  of  management  be  accommodated  to  it.  In 
order  to  furnish  this  liquid  manure,  the  whole  green  crops 
must,  summer  and  winter,  be  conveyed  to  the  homestead, 
and  there  consumed  in  such  a  manner  as  that  the  urine  and 
dung  of  the  nnimnla  fed  upon  it  may  be  scoured  into  the 
tanks.  It  is  no  such  easy  matter  to  replenish  these  tanks 
as  some  persons  seem  to  think.  When  cattle  are  housed  in 
boxes,  or  properly  protected  yards,  the  whole  of  the  urine 
is  absorbed  by  the  Utter,  and  goes  to  the  field  in  the  dung- 
cart.  This  is  certainly  a'  more  expensive  way  of  conveying 
it  to  the  fields  than  by  pipes.  But  then,-  as  in  the  new 
system,  the  urine,  <fcc,  is  diluted  with  at  least  three  times 
its  volume  oi  water,  there  are  four  tons  of  manure  to  con- 
vey on  the  one  plan  for  one  on  the  other.  Even  where  pipes 
are  used,  all  the  litter,  and  a  portion  at  least  of  the  dung, 
has  still  to  be-  carted  out,  so  that  no  claim  of  a  saving  of 
carriage  can  validly  be  put  forward  on  behalf  of  this  system ; 
but  its  merits  must  bo  grounded  solely  on  the  superior 
efficacy  of  manure,  when  applied  in  a  liquid  instead  of  a. 
solid  form. 

In  the  case  of  dry  and  loose  soils,  the  consuming  of  the 
turnip  crop,  by  folding  sheep  upon  it,  has  hitherto  been 
regarded  as  at  once  the  cheapest  way  in -which  it  can  be 
converted  into  wool  and  mutton,  and  the  land  consolidated 
and  enriched,  so  as  to  fit  it  for  producing  grain  and  other 
crops.  On  tenacious  soils,  and  in  a  moist  climate,  which 
ts  quite  the  case  at  Myremill,  it  is  c ertainly  impracticable  to 
pursue  this  system  in  winter.  It  is  perhaps  also  the  case 
that  sheep  are  healthier,  fatten  more  rapidly,  and  yield  more 
wool,  when  fed  under  cover,  than  when  folded  on  the  open 
turnip  field.,    Admitting  all  this,  however,  -ve  are  disposed 


to  think  that  these  benefits  are  oetter  secured  by  Mr  Randel' 
of  Chadbury's  plan  .of  littering  (ho  pens  with  bumi  clay, 
which  keeps  the  sheep  clean,  and  their  feet  in  good  order, 
and,  when  mingled  With  trrcir  urine  and  dung,  forms  a  most 
valuable  manure  for  any  kind  of  land.  Were  this  carried 
out  by  means  of  movable  covered  pens,  which  could  be 
erected  and  easily  shifted  from  place  to  place  in  the  turnip 
field,  the  carriage  of  tho  turnips  and  manure  would  be 
greatly  reduced,  especially  if  accomplished  by  means  of  the 
portable  railway. 

In  the  case  of  dairies  near  towns,  where  the  cows  are 
largely  fed  on  brewery  or  distillery  offal  andothor  purchased 
tood,  ther  circumstances  are  totally  different  from  those  of 
ordinary  farms,  depending  solely  on  their  own  resources. 
The  L'quid  manure  that  .would  otherwise  run  to  waste;  when 
ihus  applied,  is  so  much  clear  gain,  in  so  far  as  the  value 
cf  tho  increased  produce  exceeds  the  cost  of  application. 
It  may  form  a  wholesome  caution  to  some  persons  to  men- 
tion here  that,  notwithstanding  all  that  has  beeu  written 
about  tho  success  of  the  spirited  operations  at  Port-Dundas, 
wo  wero  told  by  Mr  Harvey,  that  so  dubious  is  he  still 
about  it,  that  if  the  thing  were  to  do  again,  he  would  rather 
keep  his  money  in  his  pocket,  and  let  the  urine  run  into  the 
canal  as  formerly.  If  there  is  doubt  even  in  such  a  case, 
how  much  more,  when  the  manure  must  'virtually  be 
purchased.  And  this  leads  us  to  remark  that  wo  have  better 
hopes  of  the  ultimate  success  of  this  plan  of  manuring,  when 
it  is  restricted  to  the  application  of  the  surplus  liquid  manure 
of  tho  homestead  to  some  piece  of  meadow  near  at  hand, 
supplementing  this  supply,  when  necessary,  by  dissolving 
guano  in  water,  and  sending  it  through  the  pipes.  These 
remarks  apply  even  more  strongly  to  the  serfage  from  towns^ 
Tho  liquid,  in  this  case,  is  highly  charged  with  fertilising 
ingredients  of  the  most  valuable  land,  seeing  that  it  con- 
sists largely  of  night-soil  from  a  population  consuming  much 
animal  food.  With  few  exceptions,  this  valuable  liquid, 
which  flows  in  such  quantities  from  all  our  towns/is  not 
only  utterly  lost,  but  is  a  grievous  nuisance,  by  polluting 
our  streams  and  generating  disease.  In  applying  it  as 
manure,  tho  expense  lies  entirely  in  providing  and  working 
the  necessary  apparatus.  In  such  cases,  then,  with  an  un- 
failing supply  of  highly  fertilising  liquid,  costing  nothing 
to  begin  with,  there  is  every  inducement  to  put  into  opera- 
tion any  plan  by  which  it  can  be  economically  applied  to 
field  crops.  The  enhanced  value  of  green  forage  in  the 
vicinity,  of  towns  is  an  additional  motive-for  attempting  this. 
The  profitable  disposal  of  town  sewage  in  a  way  neither 
injurious  to  the  health  nor  offensive  to  the  senses  of- the 
community,  is,  however,  a  problem  yet  remaining"  to  be 
solved. 

The  ingenuity  and  enterprise  displayed  by  Mr  Kennedy 
and  others,. in  their  endeavours  to  cheapen  by  this  means 
the  cost  of  farm  produce,  and  the  frankness  and  untiring 
patience  with  which  they  have  shown  and  explained  then- 
proceedings  to  the  unceasing  stream  of  visitors,  which  the 
novelty  of  the  operations  attracted  from  all  parts  of  the 
kingdom,  and  even  from  foreign  countries.are  altogether  so 
.admirable  and  praiseworthy  that  it  requires  no  alight  effort 
to  speak  of  them  otherwise  than  approvingly.  The  con- 
fidence with  which  various  influential  parties  have  proclaimed 
the  complete  success  of  this  scheme  of  irrigation,  and  recom- 
mended it  for  general  adoption,  seems,  however,  to  require 
that  those  who  have  examined  it,  and  arrived'  at  an 
opposite  conclusion,  should  publicly  say  so. 

It  is  unreasonable  to  expect  that  private  parties  are  to 
divulge  their  whole  b^isiness  affairs ;  and  yet,  without  a  full 
Dr.  and  Cr.  account  for  some  ordinary  arable  farm  treated  on 
thia  'system,  it  is  impossible  to  arrive  at  a  sound  judgment 
on  its  merits.  Until  this  can  be  done,  it  would  be  better  to 
abstain  from  publishing  partial  statements;  which  tend  only 


0DANO,    BONES.] 


AGRICULTURE 


347 


to  mislead  the  public  mind.  We  offer  these  remarks  in  no 
spirit  of  hostility  to  this  new  system  of  farming.  We  shall 
rejoice  unfeignedly  to  find  that  our  opinion  of  it  is  erroneous, 
and  that  it  really  warrants  the  sanguine  expectations  which 
some  parties  entertain  regarding  it.  We  simply  maintain 
that  as  yet  the  case  is  "  not  proven,"  and  our  counsel  to  those 
who  are  disposed  to  try  it  is,  not  to  embark  in  it  to  an  extent 
that  would  embarrass  them,  if,  as  we  fear,  it  should  prove 
a  failure. 

Section  3. — Guano. 

Next  to  farm-yard  manure,  which  must  ever  be  looked  to 
as  the  chief  means  of  maintaining  the  fertility  of  a  farm, 
guano  claims  our  notice.  This  substance  is  the  dung  of 
seafowl,  and  is  found  on  rocky  islets  in  parts  of  the  world 
where  rain  seldom  falls.  The  droppings  of  the  myriads  of 
birds  by  which  such  places  are  frequented  have  in  many 
cases  been  permitted  to  accumulate  during  untold  ages,  and 
are  now  found  in  enormous  deposits.  The  principal  supply, 
both  for  quantity  and  quality,  has  hitherto  come  from  the 
Chincha  Islands,  on  the  coast  of  Peru.  The  introduction 
of  this  powerful  and  exceedingly  portable  manure  gave  a 
prodigious  impetus  to  agricultural  improvement.  It  is 
about  thirty  years  since  a  few  casks  of  this  article  were 
brought  to  Liverpool  from  Peru,  whore  it  has  been  known 
and  prized  as  a  valuable  manure  frQm  the  remotest  periods. 
No  sooner  had  its  value  been  discovered  by  our  British 
agriculturists  than  the  demand  for  it  became  so  keen,  that 
the  quantity  imported  rose  from  2881  tons  in  1841  to 
233,300  tons  in  1845.  The  price  at  which  it  was  sold  at 
first  was  £20  per  ton,  from  which,  with  increased  suppties, 
it  fell  to  £1 1,  when  the  discovery  in  1844  of  a  considerable 
deposit  on  the  island  of  Ichaboe,  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  at 
once  reduced  the  price  to  £9. 

Discoveries  have  from  time  to  time  been  made  of  other 
deposits  on  the  African  coast  and  in  Australia.  The 
quality  of  both  is  much  inferior  to  that  from  Peru.  It  is 
in  a  more  advanced  state  of  decay,  and  contains  more 
moisture  and  sand.  Great  as  was  the  deposit  of  this  valu- 
able fertiliser  on  the  Chincha  Islands,  it  rapidly  diminished 
under  the  excessive  demand  for  it  from  Great  Britain  and 
other  countries.  Gradually  the  quality  became  very  in- 
ferior, and  in  1871  it  was  announced  that  this  deposit  was 
entirely  exhausted.  Considerable  supplies  are  still  obtained 
from  other  parts  of  the  Peruvian  coast ;  but  unfortunately 
the  quality  is  very  inferior  to  that  formerly  obtained  from 
the  Cbinchas.  This  circumstance  would  not  be  of  much 
consequence  if  the  guano  was  offered  for  sale  on  fair  terms ; 
but  as  the  agents  of  the  Peruvian  Government  sell  it  only 
it  one  uniform  price  per  ton,  although  different  cargoes,  and 
even  different  portions  of  any  one  cargo,  vary  excessively 
in  quality,  it  is  now  an  unsafe  article  for  farmers  to  purchase. 

We  give  here,  from  the  Board  of  Trade  returns,  a  table 
of  the  quantities  of  guano  imported  yearly,  with  the  com- 
puted real  value,  from  1854  to  1872. 

Table  shelving  the  Imports  of  Guano  from  1854  to  1872. 


Tear. 

Tons. 

Value. 

Tear. 

Tons. 

Value. 

1854 

235,111 

£2,530,272 

1864 

131,358 

£1,457,088 

1855 

301,061 

3,137,160 

1865 

237,393 

2,675,995 

1856 

191,601 

2,136,431 

1866 

135,697 

1,439,679 

1857 

288,362 

3,613,074 

1867 

192,308 

2,109,506 

1853 

353,541 

4,084,170 

1863 

182,343 

2,039,478 

1859 

84,122 

769,333 

1869 

210,010 

2,640,983 

1860 

141,435 

1,557,895 

1870 

280,311 

8,476,680 

1861 

178,423 

2,022,283 

1871 

173,678 

1,994,145 

1862 

141,636 

1,635,322 

1872 

118,704 

1,201,042 

1863 

233,574 

2,658,856 

The  dung  of  birds,  from  its  including  both  liquid  and 
solid  excrements,  is  superior  as  a  manure  to  that  of  quadru- 


peds. Tigeons'  dung  has  long  been  in  high  repute  as  an 
excellent  fertiliser,  and  brought  a  high  price  in  days  when 
portable  manures  were  scarcely  to  be  had.  It  is  now  little 
heard  of,  guano,  the  excrement  of  fowls  which  feed  upon 
fish,  being  superior,  weight  for  weight  The  dung  of 
domestic  poultry  is  usually  mixed  with  the  general  dung- 
heap,  but  it  could  be  turned  to  better  account  if  kept  by 
itself.  It  has  been  recommended  to  strew  the  floors  of  poul- 
try-houses daily  with  sawdust  or  sand,  and  to  rake  this  with 
the  droppings  into  a  heap  to  be  keDt  under  cover  and  used 
like  guano. 

Section  4. — Bones. 

It  is  now  about  sixty  years  since  ground  bones  began  to 
be  used  by  farmers  in  the  east  side  of  England  as  a  manure 
for  turnips.  At  first  bones  were  roughly  smashed  by  ham- 
mers and  applied  in  great  quantities.  By  and  by  mills  were 
constructed  for  grinding  them  to  a  coarse  powder,  in  which 
state  they  continued  to  be  used  as  a  dressing  for  turnips,  at 
the  rate  of  sixteen  to  twenty  bushels  per  acre,  in  all  parts 
of  the  kingdom  and  to  a  very  great  extent,  until  the  ad- 
mirable discovery  by  Baron  Liebig  of  the  mode  of  preparing 
superphosphate  of  lime  by  dissolving  bones  in  sulphuric 
acid.  We  shall  not  attempt  to  explain  on  chemical  princi- 
ples the  wonderful  superiority  of  *his  substance  over  simple 
bone-dust  in  promoting  the  growth  of  the  turnip  plant 
What  we  should  do  indifferently,  by  borrowing  from  others, 
wfJl  be  found  well  done  by  various  accomplished  chemists 
who  write  specially  on  these  subjects.  We  can,  however, 
testify  from  experience  to  the  important  fact,  that  one 
bushel  of  bone-dust  dissolved  by  a  third  of  ite  weight  of 
sulphuric  acid  is  as  a  manure  superior  in  value  to  four  bushels 
of  simple  bone-dust.  It  is  not  merely,  or  even  chiefly,  in 
the  lessened  cost  at  which  an  acre  of  turnips  can  be  manured 
that  tNs  superiority  lies,  but  especially  in  this,  that  from 
the  extraordinary  stimulus  given  by  superphosphate  of  lime 
to  newly  germinated  turnip  plants,  they  usually  arrive  at 
the  stage  when  they  are  fit  for  thinning  in  from  ten  to 
fifteen  days  earlier  than  when  sown  over  farm-yard  dung 
or  simple  bone-dust,  or  both  combined.  This  shortening  of 
the  critical  period  during  which  the  attacks  of  the  insignifi- 
cant but  dreaded  turnip-beetle  so  often  baulk  the  hopes  of 
the  husbandman  is  an  advantage  not  easily  estimated,  and 
one  well  fitted  to  inspire  him  with  confidence  in  the  science 
to  which  he  owes  the  discovery,  and  with  grateful  respect 
for  the  eminent  discoverer.  This  powerful  effect  in  quicken- 
ing the  growth  of  the  young  turnip  plants  is  possessed  ir. 
nearly  as  great  a  degree  by  Peruvian  guano,  when  it  is 
supplied  with  sufficient  moisture.  In  climates  and  seasons 
which  may  be  characterised  as  moist  and  cool,  guano  wili 
show  best  results,  whereas  in  those  which  are  rather  hot  and 
dry  superphosphate  has  the  advantage.  Accordingly  we 
find  guano  the  comparative  favourite  in  Scotland,  and  its 
rival  in  the  drier  counties  of  England. 

Guano  is  believed  to  encourage  a  great  expanse  of  foliage, 
and  to  be  more  especially  suited  for  early  sowings;  and 
superphosphate  to  influence  development  of  bulb,  and  to 
deserve  the  preference  for  a  later  seed-time.  The  obvious 
inference  is  that,  for  the  turnip  crop  at  least,  these  valu- 
able fertilisers  should  be  used  in  combination ;  and  actual 
experiment  has  verified  its  soundness.  The  use  of  them 
is  universal  and  ever  on  the  increase.  They  constitute  also 
the  standard  by  which  farmers  estimate  the  cost  and  effects 
of  other  purchased  manures.  The  extent  to  which  they  art 
used,  their  high  price,  and  the  facility  with  which  they  can 
be  adulterated  with  comparatively  worthless  ingredients, 
have  led  to  almost  unparalleled  frauds.  The  adulteration 
of  manures  has,  in  fact,  become  a  regular  trade.  Had 
farmers  only  their  bodily  senses  to  aid  them,  the  detection 
of  this  fraud  would  be  difficult — perhaps  impossible.     Here, 


34b 


A  O  It  1  C  UL  T  U  11  E 


[manuals. 


however,  tliey  can  call  tUe  chennst  to  their  aid,  with  the 
certainty  of-  ascertaining  the  real  character  of  the  articles 
which  they  are  invited  to  purchase.     If  purchasers  of  ma- 
nures would  but  insist  in  every  instauc<   uu  getting  from  tho 
seller  an  analysis  by  some  coinpeteuv  chemist,  and  along 
with  it  a  written  warrandice  that  the  stock  is  of  the  quality 
therein  indicated,  detection  and  punishment  of  fraud  would 
be  easy.     In  regard  to  superphosphate  of  lime,  the  farmer 
can  purchaso  bone-dust  and  sulphuric  acid  and  prepare  it 
himself.     We  conducted  this  proie  s  for  several  years  in 
the  following  way: — A  trough  was  provided  7  feet  x  3'4  x 
2'10,  made  of  2  J-inch  deal,  strongly  jointed,  and  secured  at 
the  corners  hy  wooden  pegs,  as  iron  nails  would  be  corroded 
by  the  acid.     This  holds  conveniently  48  bushels  of  bones. 
Tho  heap  of  bone-dust  is  then  gone  over  with  a  Barley  riddle, 
and  tho  small  dust  which  passes  through  this  is  laid  aside  to 
be  used  as  a  drying  material  for  the  other  portion,  after  it 
is  subjected  to  the  acid     We  find  that  a  third  part  of  the 
bone-dust   passes   through  the  riddle.     Three  bottles,  or 
carboys  a3  they  are  called,  of  concentrated  acid,  averaging 
180  lb.  each,  are  then  emptied  into  the  trough  and  mixed 
with  cold  water  at  the  rate  of  1 J  of  water,  by  measure,  to 
1  of  acid.     In  practice,  the  water  is  poured  in  first  and  then 
the  acid.     Into  this  mixture  48  bushels  of  bones,  previously 
measured  and  laid  close  to  the  trough,  are  rapidly  shovelled 
by  two  labourers,  who  will  do  well  to  be  attired  in  clothes 
nnd  shoes  past  spoiling.     So  soon  as  the  bones  begin  to  be 
thrown  in,  violent  ebullition  commences.     By  the  time  that 
the  whole  of  the  bones  are  thrown  in,  there  will  be  barely 
Liquid  enough  to  moisten  the  last  of  them.     The  labourers 
therefore  dig  down  at  one  end  of  the  trough  till  they  reach 
the  bottom,  and  then  carefully  turn  back  and  mix  the  whole 
quantity  until  they  reach  the  other  end.     The  surface  is 
then  levelled  and  covered  with  a  layer  of  the  dry  riddliugs 
two  inches  thick.     In  this  state  it  is  allowed  to  remain  for 
two  days,  when  the  trough  is  emptied,  and  the  same  process 
is  repeated  until  the  whole  quantity  is  gone  over.     When 
shovelled  out  of  the  trough  the  bones  are  found  to  have 
become  a  dark-coloured  paste,  still  very  warm,  and  emitting 
a  sweetish  smelL     While  one  person  throws  it  out,  another 
adds  to  it  its  proportion  of  dry  riddlings,  and  mixes  them 
carefully.     This  mass  is  heaped  up  in  the  corner  of  a  shed, 
and  augmented  at  each  emptying  of  the  trough,  until  the 
requisite  quantity  is  obtained.     After  this  the  mass  is  care- 
fully turned  over  several  times,  at  intervals  of  five  or  six 
days,  and  is  then  dry  enough  for  sowing  either  by  hand  or 
machine.     Some  prefer  moistening  the  bones  with  boiling 
water,  and  then  adding  pure  acid  as  they  are  shovelled  into 
the  trough ;  but  by  first  mixing  the  acid  and  water  there  is 
greater  certainty  of  all  the  bones  being  equally  acted  upon. 
There  is  also  great  convenience  in  using  the  finest  portion 
of  the  bone-dust  for  drying  the  other,  as  suitable  material 
for  this  purpose    is  sometimes  difficult  to  procure.     The 
homely  process  now  described  is  quite  inferior  to,  and  more 
costly  than,  that  pursued  in  factories,  and  should  only  be 
resorted  to  when  a  genuine  article  cannot  otherwise  be 
obtained. 

We  have  referred  to  superphosphate  of  lime  prepared 
from  bones.  ,  A  new  source  of  supply  has,  however,  been 
discovered  of  late  years,  the  extent  and  importance  of  which 
is  becoming  more  apparent  as  investigation  proceeds.  We 
allude  to  those  phosphoric  deposits  found  in  such  abundance 
in  the  crag,  and  upper  and  lower  green-sand  formations  in 
the  south  of  England.  The  existence  of  these  fossil  animal 
remains  was  first  pointed  out  by  Drs  Mautel  and  Buckland, 
though  it  is  to  Professor  Henslow  that  we  are  indebted  for 
having  called  attention  to  their  eminent  agricultural  value, 
and  described  the  localities  whenco  they  may  be  most  readily 
obtained.  These  remains  consist  of  the  fractured  and  rolled 
bones  of  sharks,  gigantic  sea-lizards,  and  whales,  which  at 


one  period  of  our  earth's  history  must  havo  existed  in 
myriads  in  our  oceans  and  seas.  Mixed  with  these  bones 
are  found  many  fish-teeth  and  shells  of  different  species, 
and  likewise  immense  numbers  of  rolled,  water-worn  pebbles, 
which  at  one  period  were  imagined  to  be  the  fossilised  ex- 
crements of  the  animals  themselves,  and  were  on  this  account 
called  coproliles  by  Professor  Henslow  and  others.  Although 
this  has  since  been  proved  a  mistake,  tho  namo  has  been 
adopted,  and  will  probably  be  continued.  These  fossil 
bones,  and  so-called  coprolites  of  the  crag,  are  found  in 
enormous  quantities  on  the  coast  of  Suffolk,  Norfolk,  and 
Essex,  whence  MrLawes  of  Rothamstead  obtained  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  material  which  he  employed  in  tlje  preparation 
of  his  well-known  "  coprolite  manure,"  or  "  Lawes'  super- 
phosphate." Already,  it  is  believed,  several  thousands  of 
tons  of  these  fossils  in  one  form  or  other  are  annually  sold 
for  manure,  with  a  rapidly  increasing  demand.  Those  found 
in  the  crag  formation  are  exceedingly  hard,  and  require  to 
be  ground  by  powerful  machinery,  and  dissolved  in  sul- 
phuric acid,  to  render  the  phosphate  of  lime  available  as 
manure.  Fossils,  though  less  abundant  in  the  green-sand, 
can  be  reduced  to  the  requisite  fineness  by  simple  machinery, 
and  are  then  fit  for  agricultural  purposes  without  any  chemi- 
cal preparation.  They  are  found  plentifully  in  the  parish 
of  Farnham,  so  long  celebrated  for  the  excelleuco  and  abun- 
dance of  its  hops,  which  are  now  discovered  to  bo  due  to  tho 
presence  in  the  soil  of  theso  fossil  remains.  The  discovery 
of  these  mines  of  manure  in  various  parts  of  our  country 
was  made  most  seasonably,  and  has  proved  of  imiueeso 
national  importance  •  When  Liebig  predicted  that,  "  in  the 
remains  of  an  extinct  animal  world  England  is  to  find  the 
means  of  increasing  her  wealth  in  agricultural  produce,  as 
she  has  already  found  the  great  support  of  her  manufactur 
ing  industry  in  fossil  fuel,"  he  was  regarded  by  many  as 
merely  indulging  a  fine  philosophic  fancy ;  but  enough  has 
already  been  realised  to  convince  the  most  sceptical  of  tbr. 
importance  of  the  data  on  which  he  founded  his  opinion.1 

On  mixing  a  quantity  of  bone-dust  with  its  own  bulk  of 
mould  or  sand,  and  wetting  the  whole  with  the  liquid  which 
oozes  from  the  dung-heap,  violent  fermentation  immedi- 
ately ensues,  dissolving  the  bones,  and  making  them  mor? 
readily  available  for  the  nourishment  of  the  turnip  crop. 
Many  farmers  are  so  satisfied  with  this  preparation,  that 
they  dispense  with  the  acid  This  is  not  judicious,  as  the 
superphosphate  of  lime  is  a  more  valuable  manure  than 
bones  dissolved  by  simple  fermentation. 

Bones  are  sometimes  applied  as  a  top-dressing  to  grasa 
land  with  singular  success.  "  This  Cheshire  practice  con- 
sists in  applying  an  extraordinary  dose  of  bones  to  pasture- 
land.  '  For  pasture,  land,  especially  the  poorer  kind,'  says 
Mr  Palin,  '  there  is  nothing  equal  to  bone  manure,  either 
as  regards  tho  permanency  of  its  effects,  or  the  production 
of  a  sweet  luxurious  herbage,  of  which  all  cattle  are  fond 
Many  thousand  acres  of  the  poor  clay  soils  have  been 
covered  with  this  manuro  during  the  last  eight  or  ten  years.' 
The  average  quantity  used  is  about  a  ton  and  a  half  to  the 
acre ;  it  is  therefore  a  landlord's  improvement,  l  on  which 
seven  or  eight  per  cent,  is  generally  paid.  Boiled  bones  act 
as  long  as  unboiled  bones,  retaining  the  phosphorus,  though 
not  so  quickly,  having  lost  the  animal  matter.  Boiled  bones 
(1845)  cost  £3,  10s.  per  ton ;  the  outlay  then  was  five 
guineas  per  acre,  sometimes  £7  or  £8.  '  I  have  known,' 
says  a  correspondent,  '  many  instances  where  the  annual 
value  of  our  poorest  clay  lands  has  been  increased  by  an 
outlay  of  from  £7  to  £8  an  acre,  at  least  300  per  cent. ; 
or,  in  other  words,  that  the  land  has  been  much  cheaper 
after  this  outlay  at  30s.,  than  in  its  native  state  at  10a.  per 
acre  ;  with  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  a  miserable  covering 

1  Journal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England,  vol.  Lj- 
D.  firt.  ind  voL  lii.  p.  91. 


RAPE,    BLOOD,    ETC. 


AGRICULTURE 


349 


of  pink-grass,  rushes,  hen-gorse,  and  other  noxious  weeds, 
exchanged  for  a  most  luxuriant  herbage  of  wild  clover, 
trefoil,  and  other  succulent  grasses.'  Though  much  of  the 
clover  and  trefoil  m&y  disappear  in  five  or  ten  years  (some 
times  they  last  fifteen  years),  an  excellent  herbage  remains. 
'  Draining,'  the  writer  adds,  '  may  be  carried  too  far  where 
boues  are  used,  for  boned  lands  suffer  by  a  dry  summer. 
The  land  should  be  kept  cooL'  I  have  found  the  same 
thing  on  water  meadows.  The  freer  the  grass  is  growing, 
the  more  it  suffers  from  drought ;  and  this  is  natural,  for 
a  larger  supply  of  sap  is  required.  This  writer  adds,  '  I 
have  known  many  a  poor,  honest,  but  half-broken  man, 
raised  from  poverty  to  comparative  independence,  and  many 
a  sinking  family  saved  from  inevitable  ruin,  by  the  help  of 
this  wonderful  manure.'  Indeed,  I  believe,  land  after 
boning  will  keep  three  cows  where  two  fed  before.  As  to 
this  practice,  however,  caution  is  necessary.  It  seems  to 
belong  to  cold  clays  for  grass  in  Cheshire,  though  on  such 
soil  it  would  hardly  answer  elsewhere,  even  for  turnips. 
A  Cheshire  landlord  told  me  that  he  had  tried  it  vainly  for 
grass  in  Suffolk.  I  know  no  case  of  its  success  out  of  Che- 
shire, unless  in  the  bordering  counties,  and  have  heard  some 
cases  of  its  failure  even  in  those.  It  will  not  do,  therefore, 
at  all  to  adopt  it  hastily.  We  only  know  it  to  have 
succeeded  about  Cheshire,  which  is  on  the  red  marls  geo- 
logically, and  on  the  rainy  side  of  the  country,  and  must 
remember  that  it  is  a  costly  proceeding,  striking  in  its 
success,  but  as  yet  circumscribed  in  its  practice,  and  there- 
fore in  th;  proof  of  its  efficacy."1 

Section  5. — Rape-Cake,  <te. 

Rape-cake  reduced  to  powder  forms  an  excellent  manure 
for  wheat  and  other  crops.  It  is  usually  applied  at  the 
rate  of  from  tour  to  eight  cwt.  per  acre.  The  cakes  result- 
ing after  oil  has  been  expressed  from  camelina,  hemp,  and 
cotton  seeds,  and  from  pistachio  and  castor-oil  nuts,  from 
lieech  and  other  mast,  all  possess  considerable  value  as 
manure,  and  were  at  one  time  available  for  that  purpose. 
Most  of  them  now  command  a  price  for  cattle  feeding  that 
■'orbids  their  use  as  manure  unless  when  in  a  damaged  stato. 

Section  6. — Blood,  <tc. 

All  parts  of  the  carcases  of  animals  form  valuable  manure, 
ind  are  now  carefully  used  in  that  way  whenever  they  are 
anfit  for  more  important  uses.  The  blood  and  other  refuse 
'from  shambles  and  from  fish-curers'  yards,  when  mixed  with 
nrth  and  decomposed,  make  a  valuable  manure,  and  are 
tagerly  sought  after  by  farmers  to  whom  such  supplies  are 
Accessible.  In  London  a  company  has  been  formed  by 
whom  the  blood  from  the  shambles  is  purchased,  and  em- 
ployed instead  of  water  in  preparing  superphosphate  of  lime, 
which,  when  thus  manufactured,  contains  an  amount  of 
immonia  which  adds  considerably  to  its  efficacy  as  a  manure. 
In  Australia  and  South  America  it  has  long  been  the  practice 
to  slaughter  immense  numbers  of  sheep  and  cattle  for  the 
sake  of  their  hides  and  tallow  only,  there  being  no  market 
for  them  as  beef  and  mutton.  To  obtain  the  whole  tallow, 
the  carcases  are  subjected  to  a  process  of  boiling  by  steam 
and  afterwards  to  pressure,  and  are  then  thrown  aside  in 
great  piles.  This  dried  residuum  is  afterwards  used  as 
fuel  in  the  furnaces  of  the  steaming  apparatus,  and  the 
resulting  ashes  constitute  the  bone-ash  of  commerce,  which 
is  now  an  important  raw  material  in  our  manure  factories. 

After  many  abortive  attempts  to  convey  Australian  beef 
and  mutton  to  -the  British  market,  the  difficulty  has  at  last 
been  overcome  by  enclosing  the  meat  in  a  par-boiled  state 
in  tin  cases,  hermetically  sealed.     This  ha3  already  grown 

1  Article  by  Mr  Pn<ey.  See  Journal  of  Royal  Society  of  England, 
»ol.  xi.  p.  409.  1 


to  a  large  trade,  with  every  likelihood  of  its  increasing 
rapidly.  As  the  meat  in  these  cases  is  sent,  free  from  bone, 
a  plan  has  been  found  for  rendering  the  bones  also  a  pro- 
fitable article  of  export.  For  this  purpose  they  are  crushed 
into  compact  cakes  6  inches  square  by  3  inches  thick,  in 
which  form  they  can  be  stowed  in  comparatively  small 
space. 

The  refuse  from  glue-works  ;  the  blubber  and  dregs  from 
fish-oil ;  animal  charcoal  that  has  been  used  in  the  process 
of  sugar-refining ;  the  shavings  and  filings  of  horn  and  bones 
frbm  various  manufactures,  and  woollen  rags,  are  all  made 
available  for  manure. 

Section  7. — Night-Soil. 

Night-Soil  is  a  powerful  manure ;  but*  owing  to  its 
offensive  odour  it  has  never  been  systematically  used  ij 
Britain.  Various  plans  are  tried  for  obviating  this  objec- 
tion, that  most  in  repute  at  present  being  its  mixture  with 
charred  peat  From  the  universal  use  of  water  closets  in 
private  dwellings,  the  great  mass  of  this  valuable  fertilising 
matter  now  passes  into  sewers,  and  is  carried  on  by  streams 
and  rivers,,  and  is  for  the  most  part  totally  lost  as  2  manure. 
When  sewage  water  is  used  for  irrigation,  as  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Edinburgh,  it  is  to  the  night-soil  dissolved 
in  it  that  its  astonishing  effects  ia  promoting  the  growth 
of  grass  are  chiefly  due.  We  have  already  expressed  our 
views  in  regard  to  the  use  of  it  in  this  diluted  form  of 
sewage  water.  That  mode  of  applying  it  is  necessarily 
restricted  to  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  towns.  Hitherto  the 
numerous  and  costly  attempts  that  have  been  made  to 
separate  the  fertilising  matter  from  the  water  in  which  it 
is  contained  have  proved  utter  failures.  The  most  feasible 
plan  for  the  utilisation  of  night-soil  that  we  have  hitherto 
heard  of  is  that  brought  forward  by  the  Rev.  Henry  Moule, 
Fordington  Vicarage,  Devon.  In  a  tract  addressed  to  cot- 
tagers he  says, — "  Now,  my  discovery  is  this  :  The  earth 
of  your  garden,  if  dried — or  dried  and  powdered  clay — will 
suck  up  the  liquid  part  of  the  privy  soil ;  and,  if  applied 
at  once  and  carefully  mixed,  will  destroy  all  bad  smell  and 
all  nasty  appearance  in  the  solid  part,  and  will  keep  all  the 
value  of  the  manure.  Three  half  pints  of  earth,  or  even 
one  pint,  will  be  enough  for  each  time.  And  earth  thus 
mixed  even  once  is  very  good  manure.  But  if,  after  mixing, 
you  throw  it  into  a  shed  and  dry  it,  you  may  use  it  again 
and  again;  and  the  oftener  you  use  it  the  stronger  the  manure 
will  be.  I  have  used  some  seven  and  even  eight  times  ; 
and  yet,  even  after  being  so  often  mixed,  there  is  no  bad 
smell  with  the  substance ;  and  no  one,  if  not  told,  would 
know  what  it  is."  To  adapt  a  privy  for  using  dried  earth 
in  this  way,  he  says, — "  Let  the  seat  be  made  in  the  com- 
mon way,  only  without  any  vault  beneath.  Under  the  seat 
place  a  bucket  or  box,  or,  if  you  have  nothing  else,  an  old 
washing-pan.  A  bucket  is  the  best,  because  it  is  more 
easily  handled ;  only  let  it  have  a  good-sized  bail  or  handle. 
By  the  side  of  the  seat  have  a  box  that  will  hold  (say)  a 
bushel  of  dried  earth,  and  a  scoop  or  old  basin  that  will . 
take  up  a  pint  or  a  pint  and  a  half,  and  let  that  quantity 
of  earth  be  thrown  into  the  bucket  or  pan  every  time  it  is 
used.  The  bucket  may  be  put  in  or  taken  out  from  above 
by  having  -the  whole  cover  moved  with  hinges ;  or  else, 
through  a  door  in  front  or  at  the  back"  He  has  also  in- 
vented and  patented  an  earth-closet,  as  a  substitute  for  the 
ordinary  water-closet,  which  he  describes  thus : — "The  back 
contains  dried  and  sifted  earth,  which  enters  the  pan 
through  a  hole  at  the  back  of  it,  and  covers  the  bottom. 
The  bottom  is  moved  by  the  handle  and  lever ;  the  side  of 
the  pan  acts  as  a  scraper ;  and  all  that  is  upon  the  bottom 
is  pushed  off,  falling  into  the  bucket  or  shaft  below.  The 
earth  thus  applied  at  once  prevents  fermentation,  and  almost 
all  exhalation  and  offensive  smell     The  bottom  returns  tn 


350 


AGRICULTURE 


[.MAXtr.EJ 


its  place  by  means  of  a  spring,  and  a  fresh  supply  of  the 
eerth  falls  upon  it  from  the  box."1 

This  scheme  has  now  been  tested  for  a  sufficient  length 
of  time,  and  on  a  wide  enough  scale,  to  show  that  in  the 
cose  of  private  houses  in  rural  districts,  as  well  as  in  prisons, 
asylums,  hospitals,  public  schools,  military  camps,  and  fac- 
tories, it  is  entirely  successful  as  regards  the  sanitary  results 
of  its  use,  and  the  value  of  the  manure  when  applied  to 
gardens  attached  to  the  premises  from  which  it  is  obtained. 
But  the  cost  and  annoyance  of  moving  so  bulky  a  substance, 
and  the  small  percentage  of  fertilising  matter  contained  in 
it,  forbid  the  expectation  of  its  being  adopted  in  towns. 

Section  S.Sea-Weed. 
Along  our  sea-board  large  supplies  of  useful  manure  are 
obtained  in  the  shape  of  drifted  sea-weed.  This  is  either 
applied  as  a  top-dressing  to  grass  and  clover,  ploughed  in 
with  a  light  furrow,  for  various  crops,  or  mixed  in  dung- 
heaps.  It  requires  to  be  used  in  large  quantities  per  acre 
— from  40  to  60  loads — and  is  evanescent  in  its  effects. 
Grain  grown  on  land  manured  with  sea-weed  is  generally 
of  fine  quality,  and  is  in  repute  as  seed  corn. 

Section  9. — Manure  Crops. 

Crops  of  Buckwheat,  Rape,  Vetches,  and  Mustard  are  some- 
times ploughed  in,  while  in  a  green,  succulent  state,  to 
enrich  the  land.  It  is,  however,  more  usual  to  fold  sheep 
on  such  crops,  and  so  to  get  the  benefit  of  them  as  forage, 
as  well  as  manure  to  the  land.  The  leaves  of  turnips  are 
frequently  ploughed  in  after  removing  the  bulbs,  and  nave 
a  powerful  fertilising  effect. 

Section  10. — Lime. 

Besides  manures  of  an  animal  and  vegetable  origin,  vari- 
ous mineral  substances  are  used  for  this  purpose.  Tne 
most  important  and  extensively  used  of  these  is  lime,  m 
the  drier  parts  of  England  it  i3  not  held  in  much  esteem, 
whereas  in  the  western  and  northern  counties,  and  in  Scot- 
land, its  use  is  considered  indispensable  to  good  farming. 
Experienced  farmers  in  Berwickshire  consider  it  desirable 
io  lime  the  land  every  twelve  years,  at  the  rate  of  from 
1 20  to  200  bushels  of  the  unslacked  lime  per  acre.  It  is 
found  especially  beneficial  iu  the  reclaiming  of  moory  and 
boggy  lands,  on  which  neither  green  nor  grain  crops  thrive 
unt2  it  has  been  applied  to  them.  Its  use  is  found  to 
improve  the  quality  of  grain,  and  to  cause  it  in  some  cases 
to  ripen  earlier.  It  facilitates  the  cleaning  of  land,  certain 
weeds  disappearing  altogether  for  a  time  after  a  dressing 
of  lime.  It  is  the  only  known  specific  for  the  disease  in 
turnips  called  "  fingers-and-toes,"  on  which  account  alone  it 
is  frequently  used  in  circumstances  which  would  otherwise 
render  such  an  outlay  unwarrantable.  The  practice,  still 
frequent,  of  tenants  at  the  beginning  of  a  nineteen  years' 
lease,  liming  their  whole  farm  at  a  cost  per  acre  of  from 
£3  to  £5,  proves  conclusively  the  high  estimation  in  which 
this  manure  is  held.  The  belief — in  which  we  fully  concur 
— is  however  gaining  ground,  that  moderate  and  frequent 
applications  are  preferable  to  these  heavy  doses  at  length- 
ened intervals. 

When  bare  fallowing  was  in  U3e,  it  was  commonly  to- 
wards the  close  of  that  process  that  lime  was  applied. 
Having  been  carted  home  and  laid  down  in  large  heaps,  it 
was,  when  slaked,  spread  evenly  upon  the  surface  and 
covered  in  by  a  light  furrow.  It  is  now  frequently  spread 
upon  the  autumn  furrow  preparatory  to  root  crops,  and 
worked  in  by  harrowing  or  grubbing,  and  sometimes  by 
throwing  the  land  into  shallow  ridgelets.     Another  method 

1  Uanun  for  tKt  Million,  by  Rev.  Henry  Honle,  price  Id.  Mr 
MouIb  has  aUo  published  a  pamphlet  na  the  same  subject,  entitled 
Rational  UtaUh  and  Wealth. 


much  used  is  to  form  it  into  compost  with  decayed  quickenn, 
parings  from  road-sides  and  margins  of  fields,  &c,  which, 
after  thorough  intermixture  by  frequent  turnings,  is  spread 
evenly  upon  the  land  when  in  grass.  A  cheap  and  effectual 
way  of  getting  a  dressing  of  such  compost  thoroughly  com- 
minuted and  incorporated  with  the  surface  soil,  is  to  fold 
sheep  upon  it,  and  feed  them  there  with  turnips  for  a  few 
days.  Tho  value  of  such  compost  is  much  enhanced  by 
mixing  common  salt  with  the  lime  and  earth,  at  the  rate  of 
one  part  of  salt  by  measure  to  two  parts  of  lime.  A  mixture 
of  these  two  substances  in  these  proportions  prepared  under 
cover,  and  applied  in  a  powdery  state,  is  much  approved  as 
a  spring  top-dressing  for  corn  crops  on  light  soils.  In 
whatever  way  lime  is  applied,  it  is  important  to  remember 
that  the  carbonic  acid  which  has  been  expelled  from  it  by 
subjecting  it  in  the  kiln  to  a  red  heat,  is  quickly  regained 
from  the  atmosphere,  to  which  therefore  it  should  be  as 
little  exposed  as  possible  before  applying  it  to  the  land. 
A  drenching  from  heavy  rain  after  it  is  slaked  is  also 
to  its  usefulness.  Careful  farmers  therefore  guard  against 
these  evils  by  laying  on  lime  as  soon  as  it  is  slaked ;  or 
when  delay  is  unavoidable,  by  coating  these  heaps  with 
earth,  or  thatching  them  with  straw.  In  order  to  reap  the 
full  benefit  of  a  dressing  of  lime  it  must  be  so  applied  as. 
while  thoroughly  incorporated  with  the  soil,  to  be  kept  nea' 
the  surface.  This  is  more  particularly  to  be  attended  to  in 
laying  down  land  to  pasture.  This  fact  is  so  well  illustrated 
by  an  example  quoted  in  tho  article  "  Agriculture"  in  the 
7th  edition  of  the  present  work  that  we  here  repeat  it. 

"  A  few  years  after  1754,"  says  Mr  Dawson,  "  having  a  consider- 
able extent  of  outfield  land  in  fallow,  which  I  wished  to  lime  previous 
to  its  being  laid  down  to  pasture,  and  finding  that  I  could  not 
obtain  a  sufficient  quantity  of  lime  for  the  whole  in  proper  time,  I 
was  induced,  from  observing  the  effects  of  fine  loom  upon  the  surface 
of  similar  soil,  even  when  covered  with  bent,  to  try  a  small  quantity 
of  lime  on  the  surface  of  this  fallow,  instead  of  a  larger  quantity 
ploughed  down  in  the  usual  manner.  Accordingly,  il  '.he  autumn, 
about  twenty  acres  of  it  were  well  harrowed  in,  and  then  about  fifty- 
six  Winchester  bushels  only,  of  unslaked  lime,  were,  after  being 
slaked,  carefully  spread  upon  each  English  acre,  and  immediately 
well  harrowed  in.  As  many  pieces  of  the  lime,  which  had  not  been 
fully  slaked  at  first,  were  gradually  reduced  to  powder  by'the  dews 
and  moisture  of  the  eifth, — to  mix  these  with  the  soil,  the  land  was 
again  well  harrowed  in  three  or  four  days  thereafter.  This  land  was 
sown  in  the  spring  with  oats,  with  wliite  and  red  clover  and  rye-grass 
seeds,  and  well  harrowed  without  being  ploughed  again.  The  crop 
of  cats  was  good,  the  plants  of  grass  sufficiently  numerous  and 
healthy ;  and  they  formed  a  very  fine  pasture,  which  continued  good 
until  ploughed  some  years  after  for  corn. 

"  About  twelve  years  afterwards  I  took  a  lease  of  the  hilly  farm 
of  Grubbet,  many  parts  of  which,  though  of  an  earthy  mould  toler- 
ably deep,  were  too  steep  and  elevated  to  be  kept  in  tillage.  As  these 
lands  had  been  much  exhausted  by  cropping,  and  were  full  of  couch- 
grass,  to  destroy  that  and  procure  a  cover  of  fine  grass,  1  fallowed 
them,  and  laid  on  the  same  quantity  of  lime  per  acre,  then  harrowed 
and  sowed  oats  and  grass-seeds  in  the  spring,  exactly  as  in  the  last- 
mentioned  experiment.  The  oats  were  a  full  crop,  and  the  plants 
of  grass  abundant.  Several  of  these  fields  have  been  now  above  thirty 
years  in  pasture,  and  are  still  producing  white  clover  and  other  fine 
grasses ;  no  bent  or  fog  has  yet  appeared  upon  them.  It  deserves 
particular  notice,  that  more  than  treble  the  quantity  of  lime  was  laid 
upon  fields  adjoining  of  a  similar  soil,  but  which  being  fitter  for 
occasional  tillage,  upon  them  the  lime  was  ploughed  in.  These  fields 
were  also  sown  with  oats  and  grass  seeds.  The  latter  throve  well, 
and  gave  o  fine  pasture  the  first  year;  but  afterwards  the  bent 
spread  so  fast,  that  in  three  years  there  was  more  of  it  than  of  the 
finer  grasses." 

The  conclusions  which  Mr  Dawson  draws  from  his  ex- 
tensive practice  in  the  use  of  lime  and  dung  deserve  the 
attention  of  all  cultivators  of  similar  land : — 

/'  1.  That  animal  dang  dropped  upon  coarse  benty  pasture  pro- 
duces little  or  no  improvement  upon  them ;  and  that,  even  when 
sheep  or  cattle  are  confined  to  a  small  space,  as  in  the  case  of 
folding,  their  dung  ceases  to  produco  any  beneficial  effects  after  • 
few  yean,  whether  the  land  is  continued  in  pasture  or  brought 
under  the  plough. 


M.UN'0RE3.] 


AGRICULTURE 


351 


"  2.  That  even  when  land  of  this  description  is  well  fallowed 
and  dunged,  but  not  limed,  though  the  dung  augments  the  produce 
of  the  subsequent  crop  of  grain,  and  of  grass  also  for  two  or  three 
years,  its  effects  thereafter  are  no  longer  discernible  either  upon 
the  one  or  the  other. 

"  3.  That  when  this  land  is  limed,  if  the  lime  is  kept  upon  ths 
fiurface  of  tha  soil,  or  well  mixed  with  it,  and  then  laid  down  to 
pasture,  the  finer  grasses  continue  in  possession  of  the  soil,  even  in 
elevated  and  exposed  situations,  for  a  great  many  years,  to  the 
exclusion  of  bent  and  fog.  In  the  case  of  Grubbet-hills,  it  was 
observed,  that  more  than  thirty  years  have  now  elapsed.  Besides 
this,  the  dung  of  the  animals  pastured  upon  such  land  adds  every 
year  to  the  luxuriance,  and  improves  the  quality  of  the  pasture, 
and  augments  the  productive  powers  of  the  soil  when  afterwards 
ploughed  for  grain;  thus  producing  upon  a  benty  outfield  soil 
effects  similar  to  what  are  experienced  when  rich  infield  lands  have 
been  long  in  pasture,  and  which  are  thereby  more  and  more 
enriched. 

"  4.  That  when  a  large  quantity  of  lime  is  laid  on  such  land, 
end  ploughed  down  deep,  the  same  effects  will  not  be  produced, 
whether  in  respect  to  the  permanent  fineness  of  the  pasture,  its 
gradual  amelioration  by  the  dung  of  the  animals  depastured  on  it, 
or  its  fertility  when  afterwards  in  tillage.  On  the  contrary,  unless 
the  surface  is  fully  mixed  with  lime,  the  coarse  grasses  will  in  a 
few  years  regain  possession  of  the  soil,  and  the  dung  thereafter 
deposited  by  cattle  will  not  enrich  the  land  for  subsequent  tillage. 

"Lastly,  It  also  appears  from  what  has  been  stated,  that  the 
four-shift  husbandry  is  only  proper  for  very  rich  land,  or  in  situa- 
tions where  there  is  a  full  command  of  dung ;  that  by  far  the 
greatest  part  of  the  land  of  this  country  requires  to  be  continued  in 
grass  two,  three,  four,  or  more  years,  according  to  its  natural 
poverty;  that  the  objection  made  to  this,  viz.,  that  the  coarse 
grasses  in  a  few  years  usurp  possession  of  the  soil,  must  be  owing 
to  the  surface  soil  not  being  sufficiently  mixed  with  lime,  the  lime 
having  been  covered  too  deep  by  the  plough." — Farmers'  Magazine, 
vol  xiii.  p.  69. 

Section  11. — Marl. 

Our  remarks  hitherto  have  had  reference  to  carbonate  of 
dme  in  that  form  of  it  to  which  the  term  lime  is  exclusively 
ipplied  by  farmers.  But  there  are  other  substances  fre- 
quently applied  to  land  which  owe  their  value  chiefly  to 
the  presence  of  this  mineral.  The  most  important  of  these 
is  marl,  which  is  a  mixture  of  carbonate  of  lime  with  clay, 
or  with  clay  and  sand,  and  other  compounds.  When  this 
substance  is  found  in  the  proximity  of,  or  lying  under, 
sandy  or  peaty  soils,  its  application  in  considerable  doses  is 
attended  with  the  very  best  effects.  The  fen  lands  of 
England,  the  mosses  of  Lancashire,  and  sandy  soils  in 
Norfolk  and  elsewhere,  have  been  immensely  improved  in 
this  way.  In  Lancashire,  marl  is  carried  on  the  mosses  by 
means  of  portable  railways  at  the  rate  of  150  tons,  and  at 
a  cost  of  about  £3  per  acre.  In  the  fens  long  trenches  are 
dug,  and  the  subjacent  marl  is  thrown  out  and  spread  on 
either  side  at  an  expense  of  54s.  per  acre.  By  this  process, 
often  repeated,  of  claying  or  marling,  as  it  is  variously 
called,  the  appearance  and  character  of  the  fen  lands  have 
been  totally  changed,  excellent  wheat  being  now  raised 
where  formerly  only  very  inferior  oats  were  produced.  As 
the  composition  both  of  peat  and  of  clay  marl  varies  exceed- 
ingly, it  is  always  prudent,  either  by  limited  experiment  or 
chemical  analysis  of  both  substances,  to  ascertain  the  effect 
of  their  admixture.  Lime  is  always  present  in  those  cases 
which  prove  most  successful ;  but  an  overdose  does  harm. 

Section  12.— Shell-Marl. 

Under  some  mosses  and  fresh-water  lakes  extensive  de- 
posits of  shell-marl  are  frequently  found.  It  contains  a 
larger  percentage  of  lime  than  clay  marl,  and  must  be 
applied  more  sparingly. 

Section  13.— Chalk 

Throughout  the  extensive  chalk  districts  of  England, 
the  practice  of  spreading  this  substance  over  the  surface  of 
the  land  has  prevailed  from  the  remotest  times.  In  the 
case  of  the  Lincolnshire  Wolds,  once  as  celebrated  for 
.desolate  barrenness  as  they  now  are  for  high  culture  and 


smiling  fertility,  chalking  was  one  important  means  of  bring- 
ing about  this  wonderful  improvement,  as  it  still  is  in 
maintaining  it.  "  The  soil  being  but  a  few  inches  in  depth, 
and  often  containing  a  large  proportion  of  flints,  naturally 
possesses  very  little  fertility — often  being  a  light  sand,  not 
strong  enough  naturally  to.  grow  turnips — so  that  the 
farmers  were  at  first  obliged  to  make  a  soil,  and  must  now 
maintain  its  new-born  productiveness.  The  three  principal 
means  by  which  this  is  done  are  the  processes  of  chalking, 
and  boning,  and  manuring  with  sheep.  A  dressing  of  80  or 
100  cubic  yards  per  acre  of  chalk  is  spread  upon  the  land, 
and  then  a  crop  of  barley  is  obtained  if  possible,  being  sown 
with  seeds  for  grazing.  The  fields  are  grazed  with  sheep 
two  years,  the  sheep  being  at  the  same  time  fed  with  oil- 
cake ;  and  then  the  land  will  be  capable  of  producing  a  fine 
crop  of  oats.  Bones  are  also  used  frequently  for  the  barley 
crop,  and  when  they  first  came  into  use  were  thrown  upon 
the  land  in  a  chopped  state,  neither  broken  nor  crushed, 
and  as  much  as  40  or  even  50  bushels  per  acre.  Tho 
boning  and  sheep-feeding  are  in  constant  operation,  but 
chalking  is  required  only  at  intervals  of  a  few  years.  On 
the  western  side  of  the  Wold  district,  wherever  the  chalk 
adjoins  the  white  or  blue  marl,  an  extensive  application  of 
it  is  made  to  the  surface.  Thus  immense  quantities  of 
earth  and  stone  have  been  added  by  manual  labour  and 
horse-carriage  to  the  thin  covering  of  original  soil ;  and, 
besides  this,  the  soil  is  being  continually  deepened  by  deep 
ploughing,  the  chalk  fragments  thus  brought  to  the  surface 
crumbling  into  mould."1 

In  Dorsetshire  "it  is  usual  to  chalk  the  land  once  in 
twenty  years,  the  sour  description  of  soil  being  that  to  which 
it  is  found  most  advantageous  to  apply  it  The  chalk  is 
dug  out  of  pits  in  the  field  to  which  it  is  applied,  and  it  is 
laid  on  sometimes  with  barrows,  but  chiefly  with  the  aid 
of  donkeys.  The  first  method  costs  40s.  an  acre,  the  last 
35s.  when  hire  donkeys  are  used ;  20s.  to  25s.  where  the 
donkeys  are  the  property  of  the  fanner.  The  chalk  is  laid 
on  in  large  lumps,  which  soon  break  down  by  the  action  of 
frost  and  exposure  to  the  weather.  Chalk  is  occasionally 
burned  and  applied  as  lime,  in  which  state  it  is  preferred 
by  many  farmers,  notwithstanding  the  additional  cost  of 
the  burning."3 

Section  14. — Shell-Sand  and  Limestone  Gravel. 

On  the  western  shores  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  arc 
found  great  quantities  of  sand  mixed  with  sea-shells  in 
minute  fragments.  This  calcareous  sand  is  carried  inland 
considerable  distances,  and  applied  to  the  land  as  lime  is 
elsewhere.  Limestone  gravel  is  also  found  in  various  places 
and  used  in  the  same  way. 

Section  15. — Gypsum. 

Sulphate  of  lime  or  gypsum  is  considered  an  excellent 
top-dressing  for  clover  and  kindred  plants.  It  is  thought 
by  some  that  the  failure  of  red  clover  is  to  be  accounted 
for  by  the  repeated  crops  of  that  plant  having  exhausted 
the  gypsum  in  the  soil'  Its  application  has  been  followed 
by  favourable  results  in  some  cases,  but  has  yet  quite 
failed  in  others.  It  is  applied  in  a  powdered  state  at  the 
rate  of  two  or  three  cwt  per  acre  when  the  plants  are  moist 
with  rain  or  dew. 

Section  16. — Burnt  Clay. 

About  fifty  years  ago  burnt  clay  was  brought  much  into 
notice  as  a  manure,  and  tried  in  various  parts  of  the  country, 
but  again  fell  into  disuse.  It  is  now,  however,  more  exten- 
sively and  systematically  practised  than  ever.     Frequent 

i  "Farming  of  Lincolnshire,"  by  John  Algernon  Clarke  ;  Jowma! 
of  Royal  Ajricultural  Society,  xli.  331. 

•  See  Caird's  £rglish  Agriculture  1SS0  and  1851,  p.  61. 


3o2 


A  G  R  I  C  U  C  T   J  R  E 


[manured 


reference  to  the  practice  is  to  be  found  in  tlie  volumes  of 
the  Journd  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England. 
This  burning  of  clay  13  accomplished  in  several  ways. 
Sometimes  it  is  burned  in  large  heaps  or  clamps  containing 
from  80  to  100  cart-loads.  A  fire  being  kindled  with  some 
faggots  or  brushwood,  which  is  covered  up  with  the  clay, 
taking  care  not  to  let  the  fire  break  out  at  any  point,  more 
fuel  of  the  kind  mentioned,  or  dross  of  coals,  is  ad<l  1  as 
required,  and  more  clay  heaped  on.  A  fierce  fire  must  be 
avoided,  as  that  would  make  the  clay  into  brickbats.  A 
low,  smothered  combustion  is  what  i3  required ;  and  to 
maintain  this  a  good  deal  of  skill  and  close  watching  on  the 
part  of  the  workman  i3  necessary.  A  rude  kiln  is  sometimes 
used  for  the  same  purpose.  Either  of  these  plana  is  suitable 
where  the  ashes  are  wanted  at  a  homestead  for  absorbing 
liquid  manure,  ic;  but  for  merely  spreading  over  the  land, 
that  called  clod-burning  is  preferable,  and  is  thus  described 
in  volume  viii.  pago  78,  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Socu  I y '1 
Journal: — "Roll  and  harrow,  in  dry  weather,  till  the 
majority  of  clods  are  about  the  size  of  a  large  walnut ;  no- 
thing so  good  as  the  clod-crasher  to  forward  this  operation  : 
when  perfectly  dry,  collect  them  into  rows  about  six  yards 
apart,  with  iron-teethed  rakes ;  take  a  quarter  of  a  whin 
faggot,  or  less,  according  to  size,  previously  cut  into  lengths 
by  a  man  with  an  axe ;  place  these  pieces  about  four  yards 
apart  in  the  rows,  cover  them  with  clods,  putting  the  finest 
mould  upon  the  top  of  the  heap,  to  prevent  the  fire  too 
quickly  escaping ;  observe  the  wind,  and  leave  an  opening 
accordingly ;  having  set  fire  to  a  long  branch  of  whin,  run 
from  opening  to  opening  tiH  two  or  three  rows  are  lighted, 
secure  these,  and  then  put  fire  to  others,  keeping  a  man  or 
two  behind  to  attend  to  the  fires  and  earthing  up  till  the 
quantity  desired  may  be  burned,  which  -will  generally  take 
four  or  five  hours,  say  from  25  to  35  loads  per  acre  of  '30 
bushels  per  load. 

"  This  work  is  often  put  out  to  a  gang  of  men  at  about 
10s.  per  acre  for  labour,  and  the  whins  cost  4a.  Gd.  per  acre, 
not  including  the  carting. 

"When  the  heaps  are  cold,  spread  and  plough  in.  The 
great  advantage  of  burning  clods  in  these  small  heaps,  in 
preference  to  a  large  ono,  is  the  saving  of  expense  in  collect- 
ing and  spreading ;  there  is  much  less  red  brick  earth  and 
more  black  and  charred ;  no  horses  or  carts  moving  on  the 
land  whilst  burning ;  and  a  large  field  may  be  all  burned 
in  a  day  or  two,  therefore  less  liable  to  be  delayed  by  wet 
weather.  In  the  heavy  land  part  of  Suffolk,  the  farmers 
purchase  whins  from  the  light  land  occupiers,  and  often  cart 
them  a  distanco  of  fourteen  or  sixteen  miles,  when  there  is 
no  work  pressing  on  the  farm.  These  are  stacked  up  and 
secured  by  thatching  with  straw,  that  they  may  be  dry  and 
fit  for  use  when  required.  Bean  straw  is  the  next  best  fuel 
to  whins  or  furze,  and  it  is  astonishing  to  see  how  small  a 
quantity  will  burn  the  clods  if  they  are  of  the  proper  size 
and  dry.  Observe,  if  the  soil  is  at  all  inclined  to  sand,  it 
will  not  burn  so  welL  I  will  here  mention,  that  I  often 
sift  and  store  up  a  few  loads  of  the  best  blackened  earth 
to  drill  with  my  turnips,  instead  of  buying  artificial 
manure,  and  find  it  answers  remarkably  well,  and  assists  in 
maintaining  the  position  that  a  heavy  land  farm  in  Suffolk 
can  be  farmed  in  the  first-rate  style  without  foreign 
ingredients.* 

Burnt  clay  is  an  admirable  vehicle  for  absorbing  liquid 
saanure.  A  layer  of  it  in  the  bottom  of  cattle-boxes  does 
good  service,  at  once  in  economising  manure,  and  in  yielding 
to  the  cattle  a  drier  bed  than  they  would  otherwise  have 
until  the  litter  has  accumulated  to  some  depth.  Valuable 
results  have  also  been  obtained  by  using  it  for  strewing  over 
the  floors  of  poultry-houses,  and  especially  of  pens  in  which 
sheep  are  fed  under  cover.  In  the  latter  case  it  is  mixed 
•Mth  the  excrements  of  the  sheep  as  they  patter  over  it,  and 


forms  a  substance  not  unlike  guano,  nor  much  inferior  to 
it  as  a  manure.  As  an  application  to  sandy  or  chalky  soils 
it  is  invaluable.  It  is  mainly  by  this  use  of  burnt  clay,  in 
combination  with  fattening  of  sheep  under  cover,  that  Mi 
Rondel]  of  Chadbury  has  so  astonishingly  increased  the 
productiveness  of  his  naturally  poor  clay  soil.  A  Berwick- 
shire proprietor,  himself  a  practical  farmer,  who  visited  Mr 
Randell's  farm  in  the  summer  of  1852,  thus  writes: — "I 
have  visited  most  of  the  best  managed  farms  in  England,  at 
least  those  that  have  so  much  of  late  been  brought  undei 
general  notice;  but  without  exception,  I  never  saw  land  in 
the  splendid  condition  his  is  in.  The  beauty  of  the  system 
lies  in  the  cheap  method  by  which  he  has  imparted  to  it 
this  fertility,  and  in  the  manner  in  which  he  keeps  it  up. 
A  large  part  of  the  farm  consisted,  fourteen  years  ago,  of 
poor  clay,  and  was  valued  to  him  at  his  entry  at  7s.  6d.  per 
acre.  It  is  now  bearing  magnificent  crops  of  all  kinds, 
the  wheat  being  estimated  to  yield  from  6  to  7  quarters 
per  acre. 

"  Mcchi  has  enriched  Tiptree-heath,  it  is  true ;  out  then 
it  is  effected  at  a  cost  that  will  make  it  impossible  for  him 
to  be  repaid.  Mr  Randell,  on  the  other  hand,  has  adopted 
a  course  that  is  nearly  self-supporting,  his  only  cost  being 
the  preparation  of  the  clay.  The  great  secret  of  his  success 
lies  in  his  mode  of  using  it ;  and  as  I  never  heard  of  a 
similar  process,  I  will  briefly  explain  to  you  how  it  is  done : 
— His  heavy  land  not  permitting  him  to  consume  the  turnip 
and  mangold  crops  on  the  ground,  he  carts  them  home,  and 
feeds  his  sheep  in  large  sheds.  They  do  not  stand  on  boards 
or  straw,  but  on  the  burnt  clay,  which  affords  them  a 
beautiful  dry  bed ;  and  whenever  it  gets  the  least  damp  or 
dirty,  a  fresh  coating  is  put  under  them.  The  mound  rises 
in  height ;  and  in  February,  when  the  shearlings  are  sold 
(for  the  sheep  are  only  then  twelve  months  old),  the  mass 
is  from  7  to  8  feet  deep.  He  was  shearing  his  lambs  when 
I  was  there,  as  he  considers  they  thrive  much  better  in  the 
sheds  without  their  fleeces.  They  are  half-bred  Shropshire 
downs  ;  and  at  the  age  I  mention,  attain  the  great  weight 
of  24  lbs.  per  quarter. 

"  I  walked  through  the  sheds,  but  01  course  tney  were 
then  empty.  I  saw  the  enormous  quantity  of  what  he 
called  his  '  home-made  guano ; '  the  smell  from  it  strongly 
indicated  the  ammonia  it  contained.  He  had  sown  his  tur- 
nd  other  green  crops  with  it,  and  what  remained  he 
us".d  for  the  wheat  in  autumn.  He  assured  me  he  had  often 
tes.'cd  it  with  other  manures,  and  always  found  10  tons  of 
the  compound  quite  outstrip  4  cwt.  of  guano,  when  they 
were  applied  to  an  acre  of  land  separately." 

Section  17. — Charred  Peat. 
Charred  peat  has  been  excessively  extolled  for  its  valut 
as  a  manure,  both  when  applied  alone,  and  still  more  in 
combination  with  night-soil,  sewage  water,  and  similar 
matters,  which  it  dries  and  deodorises.  So  great  were  the 
expectations  of  an  enormous  demand  for  it,  and  of  the 
benefits  to  result  to  Ireland  by  thus  disposing  of  ier  bogs, 
that  a  royal  charter  was  granted  to  a  company  by  whom 
its  manufacture  was  commenced  on  an  imposing  scale. 
This  charcoal  13  doubtless  a  useful  substance  5  but,  as  I)r 
Anderson  has  proved,  peat,  merely  dried,  is  a  better 
absorber  and  retainer  of  ammonia  than  after  it  is  charred. 


Section  18. — Soot. 

Soot  has  long  been  in  estimation  as  an  exccUe  nt  top 
dressing  for  cereal  crops  in  the  early  stage  of  their  growth, 
and  for  grasses  and  forage  plants.  It  is  applied  at  the  rate 
of  15  to  30  bushels  per  acre.  On  light  soils  the  additior 
of  8  or  10  bushels  of  salt  to  the  above  quantity  of  soot 
is  said  .to  increase  materially  its  good  effect.  This 
mixture    trenched,    or    deeply   ploughed    in,   k    also  re- 


MANUEES.] 


AGRICULTURE 


353 


commended  as  one  of  the  most  powerful  of  all  manures  for 
carrots. 

In  London  Labour  and  the  London  Poor  we  find   the 
following  statistics  as  to  metroDolitan  soot : — 

Bush,  of  Soot 
per  annum. 
"  53,840  houses,  at  a  yearly  rental  above  £50,  producing 

six  bushels  of  soot  each  per  annum        .        .        .     323,040 
90.002  houses,  at  a  yearly  rental  above  £30  and  below 

£50,  producing  five  bushels  of  soot  each  per  annum    450,010 
163.88U  houses,  at  a  yearly  rental  below  £30,  producing 

two  bushels  of  soot  each  per  annum      .        .        .     327,760 


Total  number  of  bushels  of  soot  annually  pro-  ) 
duced  throughout  London        .        .        .  ) 


i.ioo,?in 


The  price  of  soot  per  bushel  is  but  5d.,  and  sometimes  4^d-,  but  5d. 
m»y  be  taken  as  an  average.  Now,  1,000,000  bushels  of  soot  at  fid. 
will  be  found  to  yield  £20,833,  6s.  8d.  per  annum."1 

Section  19. — Salt. 

Common  salt  has  often  been  commended  as  a  valuable 
manure,  but  has  never  been  used  in  this  way  with  such  uni- 
form success  as  to  induce  a  general  recourse  to  it.  We 
have  already  spoken  of  it  as  forming  a  useful  compound  with 
lime  and  earth.  It  «a.n  also  be  used  beneficially  for  the 
destruction  of  slugs,  for  which  purpose  it  must  be  sown 
over  the  surface,  at  the  rate  of  four  or  five  bushels  per  acre, 
early  in  fhe  morning,  or  on  mild,  moist  days,  when  they  are 
seen  to  be  abroad.  It  is  used  also  to  destroy  grubs  and 
wireworm,  for  which  purpose  it  is  sown  in  considerable 
quantity  on  grass  land  some  time  before  it  is  ploughed  up. 
It  can  be  used  safely  on  light  soils,  but  when  clay  pre- 
dominates, it  causes  a  hurtful  wetness,  and  subsequent 
incrustation  of  the  surface.  Its  application  in  its  unmixed 
state  as  a  manure  is  at  best  of  doubtful  benefit;  but  in 
combination  with  lime,  soot,  nitrate  of  soda,  and  perhaps 
also  superphosphate  of  lime,  it  appears  to  exert  a  beneficial 
influence. 

Section  20. — Nitrate  of  Soda. 

Cubic  saltpetre,  or  nitrate  of  soda,  has  now  become  one 
of  our  staple  manures.  The  fertilising  power  of  common 
saltpetre  or  nitrate  of  potass  has  been  known  from  the 
earliest  times,  but  its  high  price  has  hitherto  hindered  its 
use  as  a  manure,  except  in  the  form  in  which  it  is  obtained 
as  refuse  from  the  gunpowder  mills.  The  cubic  nitre  i3 
brought  from  Peru,  where  there  are  inexhaustible  supplies 
of  it.  The  principal  deposits  of  nitrate  of  soda  are  in  the 
plain  of  Tamarugal,  at  a  distance  of  18  miles  from  the  coast 
The  beds  are  sometimes  7  or  8  feet  in  thickness,  and 
from  these  it  is  quarried  with  ease  It  is  not  found  in  a 
perfectly  pure  state,  but  contains  a  mixture  of  several  sub- 
stances, chiefly  common  salt.  To  fit  it  for  certain  uses  in 
the  arts,  it  is  subjected  to  a  process  of  purification  by  boiling 
and  evaporation.  But  for  its  use  as  a  manure  this  is 
altogether  unnecessary,  and  the  cost  would  be  greatly 
lessened  if  the  nitrate  were  imported  as  quarried.  As 
cubic  nitro  and  guano  contain  very  nearly  the  same  per- 
centage of  nitrogen  (the  element  to  which  the  fertilising 
power  of  all  manures  is  mainly  due),  it  may  seem  sur- 
prising that  the  former  should  ever  be  used  in  preference 
to  the  latter.  In  practice,  however,  it  is  found  that 
when  applied  as  a  top-dressing  in  spring,  the  former 
•frequently  yields  a  better  profit  than  the  latter ;  and  hence 
the  importance  to  farmers  of  getting  it  at  -a  more  reason- 
able price.  Nitrate  of  soda  is  used  as  a  manure  for  grain 
and  forage  crops.  It  is  now  extensively  used  as  a  top- 
dressing  for  wheat.  For  this  purpose  it  is  applied  at  the 
rate  of  84  ft  per  acre,  in  combination  with  2  cwt  of  6alt 
The  nitre  and  salt  are  thoroughly  mixed,  and  carefully  sown, 

1  Farmer^  Magazine  for"  Maxell  1852,  p.  -254. 


by  hand,  in  two  or  three  equal  portions,  at  intervals  of 
several  weeks,  beginning  early  in  March,  and  finishing  by 
the  third  week  in  April.  If  nitre  alone  is  used,  it  has  a 
tendency  to  produce  over-luxuriance,  and  to  render  the  crop 
liable  to  lodging  and  mildew.  But  the  salt  is  found  to 
correct  this  over-luxuriance,  and  a  profitable  increase  of 
grain  is  thus  obtained.  Mr  Pusey2  informs  us  that  an 
application  of  42  ft  of  nitrate  of  soda  and-84  ft  of  salt  per 
acre,  applied  by  him  to  ten  acres  of  barley  that  had  been 
injured  by  frost,  had  such  an  effect  upon  the  crop,  that  he 
had  seven  bushels  more  grain  per  acre,  and  of  better  quality, 
than  on  part  that  was  left  undressed  for  comparison. 
These  seven  bushels  per  acre  were  attained  by  an  outlay  of 
6s.  4d.  only.  This  nitre  is  also  applied  with  advantage  to 
forage  crops.  Mr  Hope,  Fenton  Barns,  East  Lothian,  states 
that  he  finds  the  use  of  it  as  a  top-dressing  to  clover,  at  the 
rate  of  one  cwt.  of  nitrate  and  two  of  guano  per  acre,  profit- 
able. Its  beneficial  effects  are  most  apparent  when  it  is 
applied  to  light  and  sterile  soils,  or  to  such  as  have  been 
exhausted  by  excessive  cropping. 

Section  21. — Potash. 
Crude  potash,  or  kainite,  has  of  recent  years  been  largely 
imported  from  Germany,  and  has  been  somewhat  exten- 
sively used  in  combination  with  other  manures  for  potatoes 
and  other  root  crops — two  cwt.  per  acre  being  a  common 
rate  for  the  potash. 

Section  22. — Artificial  Manures. 

Besides  those  substances,  the  most  important  of  which  we 
have  now  enumerated,  which  are  available  as  manure  in 
their  natural  state,  there  are  various  chemical  products, 
such  as  salts  of  ammonia,  potash,  and  soda,  copperas,  sul- 
phuric and  muriatic  acid,  <i:c.,  which,  in  combination  with 
limp,  guano,  night-soil,  and  other  substances,  are  employed 
in  the  preparation  of  manures,  with  a  special  view  to  the 
requirements  of  particular  crops.  In  some  cases  these  pre- 
parations have  been  eminently  successful,  in  others  but 
doubtfully  so.  Many  failures  are  probably  due  to  the 
spuriousness  of  the  article  made  use  of;  as  it  is  known  that 
enormous  quantities  of  worthless  rubbish  have,  of  late 
years,  been  sold  to  farmers,  under  high  sounding  names, 
and  at  high  prices,  as  special  manures.  We  would  recom- 
mend those  who  desire  information  regarding  the  pre- 
paration and  use  of  such  compounds  to  study  the  article  on 
Agricultural  Chemistry,  by  Mr  Lawes  of  Rothamstead,  in 
the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England 
(voL  viiL  p.  226) ;  the  accounts  of  experiments  with  special 
manures  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Highland  and  Agri- 
cultural Society  of  Scotland ;  and  the  articles  relating  to 
Agricultural  Chemistry  in  Morton's  Cyclopaedia.  Those 
who  purchase  manures  of  this  kind  ought  to  be  very  care- 
ful to  insist  in  every  instance  upon  the  seller  producing 
an  iJialysis  by  some  chemist  of  established  character,  and 
granting  a  written  warranty  that  the  article  sold  to  them 
is  at  least  equal  to  the  value  indicated  by  the  analysis. 
Were  all  farmers  to  insist  upon  this  mode  of  buying  their 
manures,  they  would  at  once  put  an  end  to  that  wholesale 
system  of  fraud  by  which  they  have  been  so  enormously 
cheated  of  late  years. 

In  applying  these  concentrated  manures,  those  only  of  a 
■slowly  operating  character  should  be  used  in  autumn  or 
winter,  and  at  that  season  should  invariably  be  mixed  with 
the  soil  Those  in  which  ammonia  abounds  should  in 
spring  also  be  mixed  with  the  soil  when  crops  to  which 
they  are  applied  are  sown.  When  used  for  top-dressing 
growing  crops  they  should  be  applied  only  in  wet 
weather. 

.-  Journal  of  Royal  Agricultural  Sonet;/,  voL  xiii.  p.  349. 


1-13 


35-1 


AURICULTUltL 


[grain  crops. 


CHATTER  XL 

CULTIVATED    CROPS GRAIN    CROPS. 


Pursuing  the  plan  announced  at  the  outset,  we  have  now 
to  speak  of  field  crops,  and  shall  begin  with  the  cereal 
grasses,  of  white-corn  crops,  as  they  are  usually  called  by 
fanners. 

Section  1. —  Wheat 

It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  the  value  of  this  grain  to 
the  farmer  and' to  the  community.  It  constitutes  emphati- 
cally our  bread-corn — our  staff  of  life.  While  its  increased 
consumption  is,  on  the  one  hand,  air>  indication  of  an 
improved  style  of  living  among  the  general  population,  its 
extended  culture  points,  on  the  other,  to  an  improving 
agriculture,  as  it  is  only  on  'soils  naturally  fertile,  or  that 
have  been  made  so  by  good  farming,  that  it  can  be  grown 
with  success.  Wheat  is  sown  both  in  autumn  arid  spring, 
from  which  circumstance  attempts  have  been  made  to 
classify  its  varieties  by  ranging  them  under  these  two 
general  heads.  This  distinction  can  only  serve  to  mislead ; 
for  while  it  is  true  that  there  are  varieties  best  adapted  for 
autumn  and  for  spring  sowing  respectively,  it  is  also  true 
that  a  majority  of  the  kinds  most  esteemed  in  Britain  admit 
of  being  sown  at  either  season,  and  in  practice  are  actually  so 
treated.  It  is  not  our  intention  to  present  a  list  of  the 
varieties  of  wheat  cultivated  in  this  country.  These  are 
very  numerous  already/and  are  constantly  being  augmented 
by  the  accidental  discovery  of  new  varieties,  or  by  cross- 
impregnation  artificially  brought  about  for  this  purpose. 
The  kinds  at  present  in  greatest  repute  in  Scotland  are  the 
hardier  white  wheats,  among  which  Hunter's  white  still 
retains  the  first  place.  There  are  many  kinds  which,  in 
favourable  seasons,  produce  a  finer  sample  ;  but  its  hardi- 
ness, productiveness,  and  excellent  milling  qualities,  retider 
it  a  general  favourite  both  with  fanners  and  millers.  Its 
most  marked  characteristic  is,  that  in  rubbing  out  a  single 
ear,  part  of  the  grains  are  found  to  be  opaque  and  white, 
and  others  flinty  and  reddish  coloured,  as  if  two  kinds  of 
wheat  had  been  mixed  together.  Selections  from  Hunter's 
wheat  have  been  made  from  time  to  time,  and  have  obtained 
a  measure  of  celebrity  under  various  local  names.  The 
most  esteemed  of  those  is  the  Hopeton  wheat.  On  very 
rich  soils  both  these  varieties  have  the  fault  of  producing 
too  much  straw,  and  of  being  thereby  liable  to  lodge. 
Hence,  several  new  kinds  with  stiffer  straw,  and  consequent 
lessened  liability  to  this  disaster,  are  now  in  request  in 
situations  where  this  evil  is  apprehended.  Fenton  wheat, 
possessing  this  quality  in  an  eminent  degree,  and  being  at 
the  same  time  very  productive,  and  of  fair  quality,  is  at 
present  extensively  cultivated.  It  has  the  peculiarity  of 
producing  stems  'of  unequal  height  from  the  same  root, 
which  gives  a  crop  of  it  an  unpromising  appearance,  but  has 
perhaps  to  do  with  its  productiveness.  The  red-straw  while 
and  Piper's  thick-set  have  properties  similar  to  the  Fenton. 
Piper's  had  the  repute  of  being  the  shortest  and  stiffest 
strawed  wheat  in  cultivation,  but  after  a  brief  popularity 
is  now  never  heard  of.  The  red-chaff  white  is  productive, 
and  yields  grain  of  beautiful  quality,  but  it  requires 
good  seasons,  as  it  sheds  its  seeds  easily  and  sprouts 
quickly  in  damp  weather.  The-  Chiddam,  Trump,  white 
Kent,  and  Talavera,  have  each  their  admirers,  and  are 
all  good  sorts  in  favourable  seasons ;  but,  in  Scotland  at 
least,  their  culture  is  attended  with  greater  risk  than  the 
kinds  previously  named;  they  require  frequent  change  of 
seed  from  a  sunnier  climate,  and  are  only  adapted  for  dry 
And  fertile  soils  with  a  good  exposure.  A  new  -sort,  called 
iquare-hcad,  has  quite  recently  been  introduced,  and  is 
reported  to  be  so  exceedingly  prolific  as  to  yield  from  six  to 
eight  bushels  moTO  per  acre  than  any  wheat  previously  in 
cultivation.     As  red  wheats  usually  sell  at  from  2a.  to  4s. 


less  per  quarter  than  white  wheats  of  similar  quality,  they 
are  less  grown  than  heretofore.  But  being  more  hardy  and 
less  liable  to  mildew  and  sprouting  than  the  finer  white 
wheats,  a  recurrence  of  unfavourable  seasons  always  leads 
to  aa  increased  cultivation  of  them.  _  Rome  of  these  red 
wheats  are,  however,  so  productive  that  they  are  prefened 
in  the  best  cultivated  districts  of  England.  Spalding's 
prolific  holds  a  first  place  among  these,  being  truly  prolific, 
and  producing  grain  of  good  quality.  In  Scotland  it 
shows  a  tendency  to  produce  a  rough  quality  of  grain. 
The  Northumberland  red  and  the  golden  creeping  are  there 
in  estimation ;  the  former  being  well  adapted  for  spring 
sowing,  and  the  latter  for  poor  soils  and  exposed  situations. 
Several  new  varieties  of  wheat  have  recently  been  intro- 
duced by  Mr  Patrick  Sheriff  of  Haddington,  formerly  of 
Mungoswells.  One  is  a.  large-grained  red  wheat,  another 
somewhat  resembles  Hunter's  in  colour,  and  the  third  has 
grain  of  a  pearly  whiteness.  They  haw  all  the  peculiarity 
of  being  bearded.  They  are  all  true  autumn  wheats  ;  but 
they  seem  also  well  adapted  for  spring  sowing,  as  they  ripen 
early.  A  red  bearded  variety,  usually  called  April  wheat, 
from  its  prospering  most  when  sown  in  that  month,  and 
which  indeed  is  a  true  summer  wheat,  is  sometimes  grown 
with  advantage  after  turnips,  when  the  season  is  too 
advanced  for  other  sorts.  But  except  ppon  poorish  clay 
soils,  it  seems  only  doubtfully  entitled  to  a  preference  over 
barley  in  such  circumstances.  The  list  now  given  could 
easily  be  extended  ;  but  it  comprises  the  best  varieties  at 
present  in  use,  and  such  as  are  suited  to  the  most  diversified 
soils,  seasons,  and  situations  in  which  wheat  can  be  grown 
in  this  country.  In  regard  to  all  of  them  it  is  reckoned 
advantageous  to  have  recourse  to  frequent  change  of  seed, 
and  in  doing  this  to  give  the  preference  to  that  which 
comes  from  a  soil  and  climate  better  and  earlier  than  those 
of  the  locality  in  which  it  is  to  be  sown.  Every  fanner 
will  find  it  worth  his  while  to  be  at  pains  to  find  out  from 
whence  he  can  obtain  a  change' of  seed  that  takes  well  with 
his  own  farm,  and  having  done  so,  to  hold  to  that,  and 
even  to  induce  his  correspondent  to  grow  such  sorts  as  he 
prefers,  although  he  should  have  to  pay  him  an  extra  price 
for  doing  so.  An  experienced  farmer  once  remarked  to  the 
writer,  that  by  changing  his  seed  he  got  it  for  nothing ; 
that  is,  his  crop  was  more  abundant  by  at  least  the  quantity 
sown,  from  the  single  circumstance  of  a  suitable  change  of 
seed.  It  is  proper,  however,  to  state,  that  this  practice  of 
changing  the  Seed  is  founded  more  upon  mere  opinion  than 
upon  well-ascertained  facts,  and  that  in  those  instances 
where  it  has  been  followed  by  beneficial  results  nothing  is 
known  of  the  causes  to  which  such  success  is  due.  It  is 
much  to  be  desired  that  our  agricultural  societies  should 
address  themselves  to  the  thorough  investigation  of  a 
question  of  such  vital  importance.  In  fixing  upon  the  kind 
of  wheat  which  he  is  to  sow,  the  farmer  will  do  well  to  look 
rather  to  productiveness  than  to  fine  quality.  For  however 
it  may  gratify  his  ambition  to  show  the  heaviest  and 
prettiest  sample  in  the  market,  and  to  obtain  the  highest 
price  of  the  day,  no  excellence  of  -quality  can  compensate 
for  a  deficiency  of  even  a  few  bushels  per  acre  in  the  yield. 
It  is  of  importance,  too,  to  have  seed-corn  free  from  the 
seeds  of  weeds'  and  from  other  grains,  and  to  see  that  it  be 
true  of  its  kind.  Farmers  who  are  systematically  careful 
in  these  respects  frequently  obtain  an  extra  price  for  their_ 
produce,  by  selling  it  for  seed-corn  to  others  j  and  eveu 
millers  give  a  preference  to  such  clean  samples. 

But  there  are  seeds  which  no  amount  of  care  or  accuracy 
in  dressing  can  remove  from  seed-corn — viz.,  those  of 
certain  parasitical  fungi,  which  must  be  got  rid  of  by  a 
different  process.  The  havoc  caused  to  wheat  crops  by 
bunt,  blackball,  or  pepper-brand  (Uredo  caries  or  Tilletia 
caries),  before  the  discovery  of  the  mode  of  preventing  it 


OEAIN   CEOP3.J 


AGRICULTURE 


355 


by  steeping  the  seed-corn  in  some  acrid  or  caustic  bath,  was 
often  ruinous.  The  plan  at  first  most  usually  adopted  was 
to  immerse  the  seed-wheat  in  stale  chamber-lie,  and 
afterwards  to  dry  it  by  mixture  with  quick-lime.  This 
pickle,  03  it  is  called,  is  usually  efficacious ;  but  the  lime 
vexes  the  eyes  and  excoriates  the  hands  and  face  of  the 
sower,  or  clogs  the  hopper  of  the  sowing-machine,  and  has 
therefore  been  superseded  by  other  substances.  Blue 
vitriol  (sulphate  of  copper)  is  as  good  as  anything  for  this 
purpose,  and  is  used  in  the  following  manner.  A  solution 
is  prepared  by  dissolving  powdered  sulphate  of  copper  in 
water,  at  the  rate  of  two  ounces  to  a  pint  for  each  bushel 
of  wheat.  The  grain  is  emptied  upon  a  floor ;  a  little  of  it 
is  shovelled  to  one  side  by  one  person,  while  another 
sprinkles  the  solution  over  it,  and  thi3  process  is  continued 
until  the  whole  quantity  is  gone  over.  The  heap  is  then 
turned  repeatedly  by  two  persons  working  with  shovels 
opposite  to  each  other.  After  lying  for  a  few  minutes,  the 
grain  absorbs  the  moisture,  and  is  ready  for  sowing  either 
by  hand  or  machine. 

The  season  for  wheat-sowing  extends  from  September  to 
April,  but  ordinarily  that  succeeds  best  which  is  committed 
to  the  ground  during  October  and  November.  When 
summer-fallows  exist  the  first  sowings  are  usually  made 
on  them.  It  is  desirable  that  the  land  neither  be  wet  nor 
very  dry  when  this  takes  place,  so  that  the  precise  time  of 
sowing  is  determined  by  the  weather;  but  it  is  well  to 
proceed  as  soon  after  1st  October,  as  the  land  is  moist 
enough  to  insure  a  regular  germination  of  the  seed. 

Over  a  large  portion  of  England  wheat  is  the  crop 
usually  sown  after  clover  or  one  year's  "  seeds."  In  such 
cases  the  land  is  ploughed  in  the  end  of  September,  imme- 
diately harrowed,  and  wheat  sown  upon  it  by  a  drilling 
machine.  On  loose  soils  the  land-presser  is  frequently  used 
to  consolidate  the  soil  and  to  form  a  channel  for  the  seed, 
which  in  such  cases  comes  up  in  rows,  although  sown  broad- 
cast It  is  more  usual,  however,  first  to  level  the  pressed 
furrDws  by  harrowing,  and  then  to  use  the  drill,  by  means 
of  which  various  portable  manures  are  frequently  deposited 
along  with,  the  seed-corn.  The  sowing  of  wheat  after  clover 
or  "  seeds,"  as  now  described,  is  rarely  practised  in  Scotland, 
where  it  so  invariably  fails  as  to  show  that  it  is  unsuited  to 
our  northern  climate.  It  is  here  not  unusual,  however,  to 
plough  up  such  land  in  July  or  August,  and  to  prepare  it 
for  wheat-sowing  by  what  is  called  rag-fallowing.  After 
the  first  ploughing  the  land  i3  harrowed  lengthwise,  so  as 
to  break  and  level  the  surface  of  the  furrows  and  close  the 
interstices  without  tearing  up  or  exposing  any  green  sward. 
It  is  then  allowed  to  lie  for  ten  or  fourteen  days  to  allow 
the  herbage  to  die,  which  it  soon  does  at  this  season  when 
light  is  thus  excluded  from  it.  A  cross  ploughing  is  next 
given,  followed  by  repeated  grubbings,-  harrowing,  and 
rollings,  after  which  it  is  treated  in  all  respects  as  a  summer- 
fallow. 

The  fallow  and  clover  leas  being  disposed  of,  the  land 
from  which  potatoes,  beans,  pease,  or  vetches  have  been 
cleared  off  will  next  demand  attention.  When  these  crops 
have  been  carefully  horse  and  hand  hoed,  all  that  is 
required  is  to  clear  off  the  haulm  to  plough  and  sow.  If 
tho  land  is  not  clean,  recourse  must  be  had  to  a  6hort 
fallowing  process  before  sowing  wheat.  For  this  purpose 
the  surface  is  loosened  by  the  broadshare  and  grubber;  the 
weeds  harrowed  out  and  raked  off,  after  which  thf  <and  is 
ploughed  and  sown.  On  soils  well  adapted  for  the  growth 
of  beans  and  wheat,  viz.,  those  in  which  clay  predominates, 
any  lengthened  process  of  autumn  cultivation  is  necessarily 
attended  with  great  hazard  of  being  interrupted  by  rain,  to 
the  loss  of  seed-time  altogether.  Every  pains  should  there- 
fore be  taken  to  have  the  land  so  cleaned  befor«'_and  that 
these  unseasonable  efforts  may  be  dispensed  with ;  and  to  have 


the  sowing  and  harrowing  to  follow  so  closely  upon  tht 
ploughing  as  to  diminish  to  the  utmost  the  risk  of  hindrana 
from  wet  weather.  As  the  crops  of  mangolds,  carrots,  m 
turnips  arrive  at  maturity,  and  are  either  removed  to  tht 
store-heap  or  consumed  by  sheep  where  they  grow,  succee- 
sive  sowings  of  wheat  can  be  made  as  the  ploughing  * 
accomplished  and  as  the  weather  permits.  It  is  to  hi 
noted,  however,  that  it  is  only  on  soils  naturally  dry,  ot 
made  so  by  thorough  draining,  and  which  are  also  cleat 
and  in  a  high  state  of  fertility,  that  wheat-sowing  can  be 
continued  with  advantage  during  the  months  of  December 
and  January.  If  the  whole  of  these  conditions  do  not 
obtain,  it  is  wiser  to  refrain  until  February  or  March. 
When  these  late  winter  sowings  are  made,  it  is  of  especial 
importance  to  sow  close  up  to  the  ploughs  daily,  as  a  very 
slight  fall  of  rain  will,  at  this  season,  unfit  the  land  foi 
bearing  the  harrows.  This  sowing  and  harrowing,  in  de- 
tail, is  the  more  easily  managed,  that  in  the  circumstances 
cross-harrowing  is  neither  necessaiy  nor  expedient.  Under 
the  most  favourable  conditions  as  to  weather  and  drainage, 
soils  with  even  a  slight  admixture  of  clay  in  their  compos* 
tion  will  at  this  season  plough  up  sumewhat  clammy,  so 
that  cross-harrowing  pulls  the  furrows  too  much  about,  and 
exposes  the  seed,  instead  of  covering  it  more  perfectly. 
Two  double  turns  of  the  harrows  lengthwise  is  as  much  as 
should  be  attempted  at  this  season. 

The  sowing  of  spring-wheat  is  only  expedient  on  dry  and 
fertile  soils  with  a  good  exposure.  Unless  the  whole  con- 
ditions are  favourable,  there  is  much  risk  of  spring-sown 
wheat  being  too  late  to  be  properly  ripened  or  well  har- 
vested. On  the  dry  and  fertile  soils  in  the  valley  of  the 
Tweed,  where  the  entire  fallow-break  is  sown  with  turnips, 
and  where  consequently  it  is  difficult  to  get  a  large  breadth 
cleared  in  time  for  mowing  wheat  in  autumn,  it  is  the 
practice  to  sow  it  largely  in  February  and  March,  and 
frequently  with  good  success.  Many  judicious  farmers  are, 
however,  of  opinion  that,  taking  the  average  of  a  twenty 
years'  lease,  barley  is  a  more  remunerative  crop  than 
spring-sown  wheat,  even  under  circumstances  most  favour- 
able to  the  latter.  When  it  is  resolved  to  try  it,  a  very  full 
allowance  of  seed  should  be  given — not  less  than  three 
bushels  per  acre,  and  3J  will  often  be  better.  If  the 
plants  have  room  they  will  tiller ;  and  thus  the  ripening  of 
the  crop  is  retarded,  the  risk  of  mildew  increased,  and  the 
quality  of  the  grain  deteriorated.  As  much  seed  should 
therefore  be  sown  as  will  yield  plants  enough  to  occupy  the 
ground  fully  from  the  first,  and  thus  remove  the  tendency 
to  tillering.  By  such  full  seeding  a  fortnight  is  frequently 
gained  in  the  ripening  of  the  crop,  and  this  frequently 
makes  all  the  difference  between  a  remunerative  crop  and 
a  losing  one. 

Much  controversy  has  taken  place  about  the  quantities 
of  seed-wheat  which  should  be  used  per  acre.  The  advo> 
cates  of  thin  seeding  have  been  so  unguarded  and  extra 
vagant  in  their  encomiums  of  their  favourite  method, — 
some  of  them  insisting  that  anything  more  than  a  few 
quarts  per  acre  does  but  waste  seed  and  lessen  the  produce. 
— that  many^persons  have  been  induced  to  depart  from 
their  usual  practice  to  their  serious  cost.  It  is  true  tha* 
with  land  in  a  high  state  of  fertility,  and  kept  scrupulously 
clean  by  frequent  hoeings,  a  full  crop  of  wheat  may  be 
obtained  from  half  a  bushel  of  seed  per  acre,  provided  that 
it  is  sown  in  September,  and  deposited  regularly  over  the 
surface.  But  what  beyond  a  trifling  saving  of  seed  iE 
gained  by  this  practiciil  And  at  what  cost  and  hazard  is 
even  this  secured !  It  is  a  mere  fallacy  to  tell  us,  as  the 
advocates  of  excessively  thin  seeding  so  often  do,  that  they 
obtain  an  increase  of  so  many  hundred-fold,  whereas  thick 
seedeib  cannot  exceed  from  twelve  to  twenty  fold,  when 
after  all  the  gross  produce  of  the  latter  may  exceed  that  of 


356 


A  G  It  I  C  (J  L  T  Ultfi 


the  former  by  more  than  the  quantity  of  seed  saved,  with 
less  expense  in  culture,  less  risk  from  accidents  and  disease, 
an  earlier  harvest,  and  a  better  quality  of  grain.  Such  a 
crowding  of  the  ground  with  plant3  as  prevents  the  proper 
development  of  the  ear  is  of  course  to  be  avoided ;  but  tho 
most  experienced  growers  of  wheat  are  convinced  of  .the 
benefit  of  having  the  ground  fully  occupied  at  the  time 
when  active  spring  growth  begins.  This  is  secured  by 
using  two  bushels  per  acre  for  the  sowing  made  early  in 
October,  and  by  increasing  this  quantity  at  the  rate  of 
half  a  peck  per  week  until  three  bushels  is  reached,  which 
may  bo  held  as  the  maximum.  Less  than  this  should  not 
be  used  from  tho  middlo  of  November  to  the  end  of  the 
season.  These  are  tho  quantities  to  be  used  in  broad-cast 
sowing ;  when  drilling  or  dibbling  is  resorted  to,  two-fifths 
less  seed  will  suffice.  In  Scotland,  at  least,  often  repeated 
trials  havo  shown  that  larger  crops  are  obtained  by  broad- 
casting than  by  drilling.  The  latter  mode  is,  however,  to 
be  preferred  wherever  the  land  is  infested  by  annual  weeds, 
which  can  then  be  got  rid  of  by  hoeing.  When  clover  and 
grass-seeds  are  sown  with  the  grain  crop,  it  is  believed  also 
that  they  thrive  better  from  the  grain  being  sown  in  rows, 
probably  because  in  this  case  light  and  air  are  less  excluded 
from  them.  It  is  believed  also  that  in  highly-manured 
soils  of  a  loose  texture,  grain  deposited  somewhat  deeply  in 
rows  is  less  liable  to  lodge  than  when  sown  broad-cast  and 
shallower.  When  diilling  and  hoeing  are  resorted  to,  tho 
latter  is  effected  most  cheaply  and  effectively  by  using 
Garret's  horse-hoe.  The  mero  stirring  of  the  soil  is  con- 
sidered by  many  farmers  to  be  so  beneficial  to  the  wheat 
crop  that  they  uso  the  horse-hoc  irrespective  of  the  presence 
of  weeds.  Others  are  of  opinion  that,  apart  from  the 
destruction  of  weeds,  hoeing  is  injurious  to  grain  crops, 
alleging  that  the  cutting  of  their  surface  roots  weakens  tho 
stems  and  increases  their  liability  to  fall  over.  Carefully 
conducted  experiments  are  required  to  settle  this  point. 
Wo  have  no  personal  experience  bearing  upon  it  beyond 
this,  that  we  have  repeatedly  seen  a  wheat  crop  much 
benefited  by  mere  harrowing  in  spring.  It  is  always  use- 
ful to  roll  wheat,  and  indeed  all  cereal  crops,  in  order  to 
facilitate  the  reaping  process,  although  no  other  benefit 
should  result  from  it.  When  the  plants  have  been  loosened 
by  severe  frosts,  or  are  suffering  from  tho  attacks  of  the 
wire-worm,  the  use  of  CrosskilTs  roller  is-  usually  of  great 
benefit  to  the  crop. 

A  plan  of  growing  wheat  year  after  year  on  the  same 
field  without  the  use  of  manure  was  practised  for  a  number 
of  years  by  the  late  Rev.  Mr  Smith  of  Lois  Weedon,  North- 
amptonshire, and  detailed  by  him  in  the  pages  of  the 
Royal  Agricultural  Society's  Journal,  and  in  a  pamphlet 
which  has  passed  through  many  editions  and  had  a  very 
extensive  circulation.  His  plan  is  to  a  certain  extent  a 
revival  of  that  of  Jethro  Tull,  but  with  this  important 
difference,  that  whereas  Tull  occupied  his  ground  with 
alternate  double  rows  of  wheat  a  foot  apart,  and  vacant 
Bpaces,  five  feet  wide,  which  were  carefully  cultivated  by 
ploughings  and  horse-hoeings  repeated  at  intervals  from  the 
springing  of  the  wheat  until  midsummer,  Mr  Smith  intro- 
duced two  important  elements  in  addition,  viz.,  thorough 
draining,  and  trenching  the  vacant  spaces  in  autumn,  so  as 
to  bring  portions  of  subsoil  to  the  surface.  A  field  treated 
on  this  system  consists  of  alternate  strips  of  wheat  and 
bare  fallow,  which  are  made  to  exchange  places  year  by 
year,  so  that  each  successive  crop  occupies  a  different  site 
from  its  immediate  predecessor.  It  has  also  the  benefit  of 
the  fresh  soil  brought  up  by  the  previous  autumn's  double- 
digging,  which  is  subsequently  mellowed  and  pulverised  by 
lengthened  exposure  to  the  atmosphere,  and  by  frequent 
Btiirings.  The  produce  obtained  by  Mr  Smith  from  his 
acre  thus  treated  was  vr-ry  nearly  34  bushels  each  3'car  for 


[grain  crops 

the  first  five  years ;  but  as  his  crops  6teadily  improved,  hi* 
average  at  tho  end  of  fourteen  years  was  fully  36  bushels. 
Writing  in  July  18G1,  ho  said,  "The  growing  crop  for 
1861,  notwithstanding  tho  frost,  looks  strong  and  well, 
with  scarcely  a  gap.  Thus  year  after  year  gives  growing 
confidence  in  the  scheme."  On  steam-power  being  intro- 
duced, Mr  Smith  became  convinced  of  the  practicability  of 
carrying  out  his  system  with  advantage  on  an  entire  farm. 
At  first  he  restricted  himself  to  the  employment  of  manual 
labour,  but  he  subsequently  invented  a  set  of  implements 
for  sowing,  covering  in,  rolling,  and  hoeing  his  crops  by 
horse  labour.  We  give  in  his  own  words  his  directions 
for  carrying  out  this  system,  what  he  believed  to  be  the 
advantages  of  it,  and  the  cost  of  thus  cultivating  an  acre  : — 

"  I  suppose,  at  the  outset,  the  land  intended  for  wheat  to  be 
wheat  laud ;  having  besides  a  fair  depth  of  staple,  and  a  subsoil,  as 
will  generally,  though  not  universally' be  the  case,  of  the  same 
chemical  composition  with  the  surface.  I  suppose  it  dry,  or  drained 
three  feet  deep  at  hast;  well  cleaned  of  weeds ;  the  lands  cast ;  iLd 
the  whole  tolerably  level. 

"  1.  First  of  all,  then,  plough  the  whole  land,  when  dry,  one 
inch  deeper  than  the  used  staple.  If  it  turn  up  cloddy,  bring  the 
clods  down  with  the  roller  or  the  crusher.  Let  this  bo  done,  if 
possible,  in  August.  Harrow  deep,  eo  as  to  get  five  or  six  inches 
of  loose  mould  to  admit  the  presscr.  Before  sowing  wait  for  rain. 
After  the  rain  wait  for  a  fine  day  or  two  to  dry  the  surface.  With 
this  early  commencement  a  week  or  two  is  of  no  material  import- 
ance compared  with  that  of  ploughing  dry  and  sowing  wet. 

"As  early  as  possible,  however,  in  September,  get  in  your  seed 
with  the  prebser-drill,  or  with  some  implement  which  forms  a  firm- 
bedded  channel  in  which  to  deposit  the  seed,  grain  by  grain,  a  few 
inches  apart.     Cover  over  with  the  crusher  or  rough  roller. 

"  2.  When  the  lines  of  wheat  appear  above  ground,  guard  against 
the  rook,  the  lark,  and  the  slug — a  trite  suggestion,  but  ever  needful, 
especially  here.  And  now,  and  at  spring,  and  all  through  summer, 
watch  for  the  weeds,  and  wage  constant  warfare  against  them.  The 
battle  may  last  for  a  year  or  two,  or  in  some  foul  cases  even  more ; 
but,  in  the  end,  the  mastery.  and  its  fruits,  without  fail,  will  bo 
yours. 

"  3.  The  plant  being  now  distinctly  visible,  dig  the  intervals  two 
spits  deep,  increasing  the  depth,  year  after  year,  till  they  come  to 
twenty  or  twenty-four  inches,  Bring  up  at  first  only  four,  or  five, 
or  six  inches,  according  to  the  nature  of  tho  subsoil,  whether  tena- 
cious, or  loamy,  or  light.  To  bring  up  more  at  the  outset  would 
be  a  wasteful  and  injurious  expense. 

"  The  digging  is  done  thus : — Before  proceeding  with  the  work,  a 
few  cuts  arc  made  within  three  inches  of  the  wheat,  the  back  of  tho 
spado  being  towards  the  rows.  A  few  double  spits,  first  of  all,  at 
the  required  depth,  are  then  thrown  out  on  the  headland,  and  there 
left  for  the  present  After  this,  as  the  digging  proceeds,  the  stapls 
is  cast  to  the  bottom,  and  the  subsoil  thrown  gently  on  the  top. 
This  process  is  carried  on  throughout  the  whole  interval ;  at  the  end 
of  which  interval,  just  so  much  space  is  left  vacant  as  was  occupied 
by  the  soil  thrown  out  at  the  beginning  of  it  In  commencing  tho 
second  interval  at  that  finished  end,  the  e..rth  is  thrown  out  as  at  first, 
not  on  the  headland,  however,  but  into  the  vacant  space  of  the  first 
interval.     And  so  on  all  over  tho  acre. 

"  4.  Late  in  winter,  and  early  in  spring,  watch  your  opportunity, 
in  dry  weather,  before  the  roots  of  the  plant  are  laid  bare,  to  press 
them  with  the  crusher. 

"  5.  In  the  spring  and  early  summer  stir  the  spaces  between  tho 
rows  as  often  as  tho  surface  becomes  crusted  over;  and  move  the 
settled  intervals  four  or  five  inches  deep  with  the  common  scarifier, 
sot  first  of  all  about  twenty-eight  inches  wide,  reducing  the  width 
till  it  come  by  degrees  to  twenty-four  and  eighteen  inches.  Continue 
the  process,  if  possible,  at  the  last-named  width,  up  to  tho  time  of 
flowering  in  June. 

"  These  operations  are  indispensable  to  full  success,  and  happily 
can  bo  carried  on  at  little  cost ;  for,  while  the  intervals  of  each  acre 
can  be  scarified  in  fifty  minutes,  the  horse-hoe  implement,  covering 
two  lands  at  once,  can  stir  between  the  rows  in  twenty-five. 

"  6.  Immediately  the  crop  is  carried,  clean  the  intervals,  and 
move  them  with  the  scarifier  in  order  to  sow,  without  delay,  the 
shed  grains.  When  these  vegetate  and  come  up  into  plant,  move 
the  intervals  again  five  or  six  inches  deep,  and  so  destroy  them. 
After  that,  levci  with  the  harrow  implement,  and  tho  land  is  ready 
for  the  drill. 

"If  anything  occur  to  prevent  tho  sowing  early  in  September, 
and  to  drive  you  to  the  end  of  October,  set  tie  drill  for  a  thicker 
crop.  But,  if  possible,  sow  early — for  this  reason.  Tillered  wheat 
has  a  bad  name.  But  that  has  reference  only  to  wheat  which  has 
tillered  late  in  the  spring.  And  certainly,  in  that  case,  there  is 
the  fear  of  danger  to  the  crop,  and  danger  to  tho  sample     For 


GRAIN  CROPS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


351 


snpposing  no  mildew  to  full  on  it,  even  then  the  plant  ripens 
unevenly  ;  the  early  Btems  being  ready  for  the  sickle,  while  the 
late-grown  shoots  have  scarcely  lost  their  verdure.  But  if  mildew 
come  when  the  stem  is  soft,  and  succulent,  and  porous,  instead  of 
being,  as  it  should  be  at  that  time,  glazed  and  case-hardened  against 
its  attacks,  the  enemy  enters  in  and  checks  the  circulating  sap  ; 
and  the  end  is,  blackened  straw,  light  ears,  and  shrivelled  grain. 
Therefore,  sow  early.  Let  the  plant  tiller  before  'winter.  Give 
every  stem  an  equal  start  at  spring  ;  and  then,  with  a  strict 
adherence  to  rule,  there  need  be  no  alarm  as  to  the  result,  subject 
only  to  those  visitations  from  which  uo  wheat,  on  any  system,  in 
the  same  description  of  soil,  and  under  the  same  climate,  is 
secure." — (See  pamphlet,  Word  in  Season,  p.  36.) 

"The  advantages  of  the  system  of  corn-growing  which  I  have 
described  are  principally  these  : — First,  while  one  crop  of  wheat  is 
growing,  the  unsown  intervals  of  the  acre  are  being  fallowed  and 
prepared  for  another.  This  the  fanner  well  knows  to  be  of  infinite 
moment,  meeting,  as  it  does,  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  he  has 
to  contend  with.  Next,  upon  this  half-portion  of  the  acre,  tilled 
as  I  describe,  there  is  a  yield  equal  to  average  crops  on  a  whole 
acre.  Then,  for  half  the  portion  of  an  acre,  there  is,  of  course, 
only  half  the  labour  and  half  the  expense  of  an  entire  acre  required 
for  cultivation.  And,  lastly,  the  hand-labour  required  finds  constant 
employment  for  the  poor."—  (Ibid.,  p.  17.) 

"After  harrowing,  and  cleaning,  and  levelling  the  whole,  I 
marked  out  tho  channels  for  the  seed  with  my  jrrcsser  implement, 
which  is  drawn  with  one  horse,  and  presses  two  lands  at  once,  lly 
scheme  of  implements,  to  be-complete,  embraced  a  drill,  which  was 
to  act  immediately  behind  the  prcsscr-wheels,  and  to  drop  seed  by 
seed  into  the  hard  channels.  The  spindle  of  the  presser  was  to 
turn  the  drill-wheels,  and  tho  boxes  were  to  be  made  removable, 
lieing  unable  to  accomplish  this  in  time  for  this  year's  sowing,  I 
had  the  seed,  as  heretofore,  dropped  by  hands,  and  covered  over  by 
rollers. 

"  These  rollers  form  the  roller  implement  in  the  same  frame,  and 
are  managed  thus  :  the  three-wheeled  prcssers  are  removed  from 
their  sockets,  and  in  their  place  two  rough  rollers,  formed  of  several 
wheels  on  the  self-cleaning  principle,  are  introduced,  and  cover 
over  two  lands  at  once. 

"The  portion  of  the  field  thus  seeded  will  lie  in  this  firm  but 
rough  state  till  spring  time.  Then,  when  the  rollers  have  been 
applied  again  to  keep  the  roots  of  the  plant  well  in  their  place, 
they  too  will  be  removed  from  the  frame,  and  light  wheels  and 
hoes  will  be  attached,  forming  the  horse-hoe  implement,  for  hoeing 
and  stirring  between  the  wheat. 

"There  is  yet  one  other  use  for  the  implement  frame.  The 
intervals  of  the  wheat  having  been  trenched  in  autumn,  and  well 
and  frequently  stirred  by  the  common  scarifier  at  spring,  are  shut 
out  by  the  wide-spreading  wheat-plant  in  June  from  all  further 
processes  till  the  crop  is  cut  and  carried.  They  are  then  to  be 
moved  and  levelled  by  the  common  one-horse  scarifier  for  seed- 
time. After  this  will  follow  the  harrow.  Tho  hoes  will  be 
removed  from  the  frame,  and  two  small,  harrows  will  be  attached, 
to  cover  two  lands  at  once  ;  and  with  this  implement  the  horse  will 
walk  on  the  stubble-land,  between  what  before  were  the  intervals  * 
and  the  cycle  of  operations  is  now  complete. 

"In  all  these  operations  (excepting  in  that  of  scarifying)  the 
sown  lands,  and  lands  about  to  be  made  ready  for  sowing,  are 
untouched  by  the  foot  of  man  or  horse. 

"The  time  occupied  in  scarifying  the  land  is  about  an  hour  the 
acre  ;  in  heavily  pressing  the  channels  for  the  seed,  half  an  hour ; 
in  the  other  operations  about  20  or  25  minutes." — (Pp.  25,  26.) 

"The  presser-drill,  spoken  of  in  p.  25,  is  completed,  and  I  now 
sow  the  four  acres  in  90  minutes,  timed  by  watch  ;  being  at  the 
rate  of  18  or  20  acres  a  day  in  a  day  of  8  hours,  with  a  norse  of 
average  power  and  speed. 

"It  has  been  thought  advisable  to  keep  the  drill  in  its  own 
frame,  — devoting  another  frame  to  the  roller- wheels  or  crusher,  the 
hoes,  tho  scarifiers,  and  harrows,  all  of  which  are  made  removable, 
and  which,  with  the  exception  of  the  spndej  the  hand-hoe,  and  the 
common  scarifier  for  stirring  the  intervals,  perform  the  whole  cycle 
of  operations  for  cultivating  the  land  for  wheat." — (Pp.  33,  34.) 

"  I  have  only  to  show  now,  by  my  fresh  balance-sheet,  how  with 
suitable  implements,  on  wheat-land,  the  whole  scheme  I  propose  is 
economical,  as  well  as  easy  and  expeditious. 

"  One  double  digging  in  autumn  .        .        .     £1  10    0 

Three  stirrings  with  scarifier  at  spring  (6d.)  .       0    3    0' 

One  ditto  with  scarifier  and  harrow  implement, 

before  sowing  ....  .010 

Two  pecks  of  seed  <5s.  the  bushel)       ,  .026 

Pressing  and  drilling  ...  .010 

Rough  rolling .006 

Four  hoeings  betweon  wheat  with  horse-shoe  im- 

plement(6d.) *    0    2     0 

Bird-keeping 0    2    0 


Brought  forward 
All  the  operations  from  reaping  to  marketing 
Rates,  taxes,  and  interest  . 

Total  amount  of  outlay 

"The  produce,  supposing  it  equal  to  that  of  former  years,  in 
round  numbers,  would  be  : — 

"Four  quarters  and  two  bushels  of  wheat  (at  40s.).     £8  10  0 

One  ton  and  12  cwt.  of  straw  (at  £2  the  ton)       .        3     4  0 


£2    2 
1     2 
0  10 

0 
0 

0 

£3  14 

0 

Deduct  outlay 


ill  14     0 
3  14    0 


Carried  forward 


£2    2    0 


Total  amount  of  profit       .     £S    0    0" 
—(Ibid.,  p.  30.) 

Particular  attention  was  directed  to  this  system  of  wheat 
culture  by  a  lecture  on  TuU's  husbandry,  delivered  by 
Professor  Way,  at  a  council  meeting  of  the  Royal  Agri- 
cultural Society  of  England,  and  by  the  animated  discus- 
sion which  followed ;  when  several  gentlemen  who  had 
visited  Mr  Smith's  farm  bore  testimony  to  the  continued 
excellence  of  his  crops,  and  intimated  that  they  and  others 
had  begun  to  test  the  system  upon  their  own  farms.  If 
such  a  practice  can  indeed  be  pursued  on  the  generality 
of  clay-soils,  then  thj  puzzling  problem  of  how  to  cultivato 
them  with  a  profit  is  solved  at  once.  It  is  not  to  be 
thought  that  practical  farmers  would  regard  otherwise 
than  with  incredulity  a  system  which  so  flatly  contradicts 
all  existing  theory  and  practice.  The  facts  submitted  to 
them  by  Mr  Smith  being  beyond  challenge,  they  would 
naturally  imagine  there  must  be  some  peculiarity  in  the 
soil  at  Lois  Wcedon  which  enabled  it  to  sustain  such  heavy 
and  continued  demands  on  its  fertility;  and  that  the  issue, 
there  and  elsewhere,  must  eventually  be  utter  sterility. 
For  our  own  part,  believing  that  we  have  exceeding  much 
to  learn  in  every  department  of  agriculture,  we  cannot 
thus  summarily  dispose  of  these  facts.  We  simply  accept 
them  as  true,  and  leave  the  exposition  of  them  to  experience, 
whose  verdict  we  await  with  much  interest. 

But  Mr  Smith  is  not  the  only  person  who  has  furnished 
us  with  information  regarding  the  continuous  growth  of 
wheat  for  a  series  of  years  on  the  same  soil.  Mr  Lawes, 
at  Kothamstead,  in  Herts,  so  well  known  by  his  interesting 
papers  on  agricultural  chemistry  in  the  Royal  Agricultural 
Society's  Journal,  has  furnished  some  facts  in  connection 
with  the  culture  of  wheat  on  clay  soils  to  which  farmers 
were  little  prepared  to  give  credence.  Mr  Caird,  who 
visited  Kothamstead  early  in  1851,  thus  refers  to  the  sub- 
ject in  his  valuable  work:— 

"  On  a  soil  of  heavy  loam,  on  which  sheep  cannot  be  fed  on  tur- 
nips, 4,  5,  and  6  feet  above  the  chalk,  and  therefore  uninfluenced 
by  it,  except  in  so  far  as  it  is  thereby  naturally  drained,  ten  crop3 
of  wheat  have  been  taken  in  succession,  one  portion  always  without 
any  manure  whatever,  and  the  rest  with  a  variety  of  manure,  the 
effects  of  which  have  been  carofully  observed.  The  seed  is  of  tho 
red  cluster  variety,  drilled  uniformly  in  rows  at  8  inches  apart, 
and  two  bushels  to  the  acre,  hand-hoed  twice  in  spring,  and  Kept 
perfectly  free  from  weeds.  When  the  crop  is  removed  the  land  is 
scarified  with  Bentall's  skimmer,  all  weeds  are  removed,  it  is  ploughed 
once,  and  the  seed  for  the  next  crop  is  then  drilled  in.  During  the 
ten  years,  the  land,  in  a  natural  stato,  without  manure,  has  produced 
a  uniform  average  of  16  bushels  of  wheat  an  acre,  with  1001b.  of  straw 
per  bushel  of  wheat,  the  actual  quantity  varying  with  the  change  of 
seasons  between  14  and  20  bushels.  The  repetition  of  the  crop  has 
made  no  diminution  or  change  in  the  uniformity  of  the  average,  and 
the  conclusion  seems  to  be  established,  that  if  the  land  is  kept  clean, 
and  worked  at  proper  seasons,  it  is  impossible  to  exhaust  this  soil 
below  the  power  of  producing  16  bushels  of  wheat  every  year. 

"  But  this  natural  produce  may  be  doubled  by  the  application  of 
certain  manures.  Of  these,  Mr  Lawes's  experiments  ted  him  to 
conclude  that  ammonia  is  the  essential  requisite.  His  conclusions 
are  almost  uniform,  that  no  organic  matter  affects  the  produce  of 
wheat,  except  in  so  far  as  it  yields  ammonia  ;  and  that  the  whole 
of  the  organic  matter  of  the  corn  crop  is  taken  from  the  atmosphere 
by  the  medium  of  ammonia.  Thfra  is  a  constant  loss  of  ammonia 
going  on  by  expiration,  so  tbat  a  larger  quantity  must  be  supplied 
than  is  contained  in  the  crop.    For  practical  purposes,  6  lb.   of 


358 


AGRICULTURE 


[drain  crops. 


ammonia  is  found  to  produce  a  bushel  of  wheat,  and  the  cheapest 
form  of  ammonia  at  present  being  Peruvian  guano,  1  cwt  of  that 
substance  may  bo  calculated  to  give  4  bushels  of  wheat.  Tho 
natural  produce  of  16  bushels  an  acre  may  therefore  bo  doubled  by  an 
application  of  i  cwt  of  Peruvian  guano.  To  this,  however,  there 
ta  a  limit — climate.  Ammonia  gives  growth,  but  it  depends  on 
olimate  whether  that  produce  is  straw  or  corn.  In  a  wet,  oold 
summer  a  heavy  application  of  ammonia  produces  an  undue  de- 
velopment of  tho  circulating  condition  of  the  phait,  the  crop  is  laid, 
and  tho  farmer's  hopes  arc  disappointed.  Seven  of  corn  to  ten  of 
straw  is  usually  tho  most  productive  trop;  five  to  ten  seldom  yields 
will.  The  prudent  farmer  will  therefore  regulate  his  application  of 
i.minnnia  with  a  referenco  to  the  average  character  of  the  climate  in 
which  his  farm  is  situated. 

"The  practical  conclusion  at  which  we  arrive  is  tins,  that  in  tho 
cultivation  of  a  clay-land  farm,  of  similar  quality  of  soil  to  that  of 
Hr  Lawcs,  there  is  no  other  restriction  necessary  than  to  keep  tho 
land  clean  ;  that  whilo  it  is  very  possible  to  reduce  the  laud  by 
weeds,  it  is  impossible  to  exhaust  it  (to  a  certain  point  it  may  bo 
reduced)  by  cleanly  cultivated  corn  corps  ;  that  it  is  an  ascertained 
fact  that  wheat  may  be  taken  on  soils  of  this  description  (provided 
they  are  mauured)  year  after  year,  with  no  other  limit  than  the  neces- 
sity for  cleaning  tho  land,  and  that  may  best  bo  accomplished  by 
an  occasional  green  crop — turnip  or  mangold,  as  best  suits — at 
great  intervals,  tho  straw  being  brought  to  the  most  rotten  state, 
and  applied  in  tho  greatest  possible  quantity  to  insuro  a  good  crop, 
which  will  cleau  tho  laud  well.  If  these  conclusions  aro  satisfac- 
torily proved,  the  present  modo  of  cultivating  heavy  clays  may  be 
greatly  changed,  and  the  owners  and  occupiers  of  such  soils  bo  better 
compensated  in  their  cultivation  than  they  have  of  late  had  reason 
to  anticipate." — (Caird's  English  Agriculture,  in  1850  and  1851,  pp. 
«0-462.)  > 

It  is  certainly  curious  to  observe,  that  the  addition  of 
four  cwt  of  guano  brings  up  the  produce  of  Mr  Lawes's 
acre  from  its  average  annual  rate  of  sixteen  bushels,  under 
its  reduced  normal  state,  to  very  nearly  the  same  as  Rev. 
Mr  Smith's  acre  under  his  system  of  alternate  strips  of  corn 
and  summer  fallow. 

From  information  carefully  gathered,  Mr  Caird  gives  it 
as  his  opinion,  that  the  average  produce  of  wheat  per  acre 
in  2G  of  the  32  counties  of  England  visited  by  him  is  26§ 
bushels,  or  14  per  cent,  higher  than  it  was  estimated  at  in 
the  same  counties  by  Arthur  Young  80  years  before.  Were 
the  country  generally  anything  like  as  well  cultivated  as 
particular  farms  that  are  to  be  met  with  in  all  parts  of  it, 
we  should  have  the  present  average  increased  by  at  least 
eight  bushels  per  acre.  G3  lb  per  bushel  is  a  weight  indi- 
cating a  good  quabty  of  grain.  A  good  crop  of  wheat  will 
yield  a  ton  of  grain  and  about  two  tons  of  straw  per  acre. 

Besides  its  uses  on  the  farm,  wheat  straw,  in  certain 
limited  districts  in  the  south  of  England,  is  an  article  of 
some  value,  as  the  raw  material  of  a  not  vtnimportant  native 
mamifacture,  namely,  Straw-Plait.  The  first  straws  used 
for  this  purpose  in  this  country  were  grown  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Luton  in  Bedfordshire.  This  town  is  still  the 
principal  seat  of  the  straw  trade  and  .straw  bonnot  manufac- 
ture, and  the  district  around  still  produces  the  finest  quality 
of  straws ;  but  straw-growing  is  now  also'  carried  on  in 
parts  of  Hertfordshire,  Buckinghamshire,  Oxfordshire,  and 
Berkshire.  Light,  rich  soils  are  best  adapted  for  this  pur- 
pose. The  kinds  of  wheat  grown  with  this  view  are  the 
Red  Lammas  and  the  Chiddam.  A  bright,  clean,  tough 
straw  being  required,  it  is  necessary  to  begin  reaping  before 
the  flag  of  the  straw  falls.  If  the  straw  is  exposed  to  rain, 
it  becomes  rusted  or  spotted;  if  to  very  hot  and  dry 
weather,  it  gets  sunburnt  and  brittle.  The  utmost  care  and 
energy  must,  therefore,  be  used  to  get  the  crop  dried, 
earned,  and  stacked  as  quickly  as  possible.  In  favourable 
seasons  an  acre  of  wheat  will  yield  (besides  the  grain) 
from  15  cwt.  to  a  ton  of  cut  straws,  of  the  value  of  £6  to 
£3  per  ton,  clear  of  all  expenses.  The  farmer  sells  hi3 
Jta-aw  to  a  class  of  men  called  straw-factors,  who  draw  and 


Mr  Lawes  continues  these  experiments  of  growing  successive  crops 
af  wheat  year  after  year  on  the  same  site,  with  no  material  change  in 
fto  results  after  a  trial  of  thirty  years. 


cut  tho  straws  in  his  barn.  The  drawing  and  cutting-off  of 
the  c:irs  being  there  performed,  the  factors  remove  the  straw 
to  their  own  premises.  There  it  undergoes  a  farther  cutting, 
is  exposed  to  the  fumes  of  sulphur,  assorted  into  proper 
lengths,  and  made  up  into  marketable  bunches  of  various 
sizes  and  qualities.  These  bunches  aro  disposed  of  to  the 
plaiters  at  the  various  markets  of  tho  district.  About 
50,000  females  and  boys  are  engaged  in  plaiting.  No  plait 
is  made  in  factories,  the  work  being  performed  by  the  wives 
and  children  of  agricultural  labourers  in  their  own  cottages, 
where  it  is  carried  on  all  the  year  except  in  harvest  The 
straw  trade,  hi  its  various  departments,  is  of  considerable 
importance  and  is  steadily  increasing.  The  gross  returns 
are  supposed  not  to  fall  short  of  £1,250,000  per  annum. 

There  is  now  also  a  small  demand  for  wheat  straw  for 
tho  manufacture  of  paper. 

Section  2. — Barley. 

In  Great  Britain  barley  is  the  grain  crop  which  rank* 
next  in  importance  to  wheat,  both  in  an  agricultural  and 
commercial  point  of  view.  Its  use  as  bread-corn  is  confined 
to  portions  of  the  lowlands  of  Scotland,  where  unleavened 
cakos,  or  "bannocks  o'  barley  meal,"  still  constitute  the 
daily  bread  of  the  peasantry.  It  is  more  largely  used  in 
preparing  the  "  barley  broth"  so  much  relished  by  all  classes 
in  Scotland.  To  fit  the  grain  for  this  purpose,  it  is  pre- 
pared by  a  peculiar  kind  of  mill,  originally  introduced  from 
Holland  by  Fletcher  of  Saltoun,  in  which  a  thick  cylinder 
of  gritty  sandstone  is  made  to  revolve  rapidly  within  a  case 
of  perforated  sheet-iron.  The  barley  is  introduced  betwixt 
the  stone  and  its  case,  and  there  subjected  to  violent 
rubbing,  until  first  its  husk  and  then  its  outer  coatings  are 
removed.  It  is,  however,  in  the  production  of  malt  bquor 
and  ardent  spirits,  and  in  the  fattening  of  live  stock,  that 
our  barley  crops  are  chiefly  consumed.  We  have  no  doubt 
that  it  would  be  better  for  the  whole  community  if  this 
grain  were  more  largely  used  in  the  form  of  butcher-meat 
and  greatly  less  in  that  of  beer  or  whisky.  It  has  been 
customary  for  farmers  to  look  upon  distillation  as  beneficial 
to  them  from  the  ready  market  which  it  affords  for  barley, 
and  more  especially  for  tba  lighter  qualities  of  this  and 
other  grain  crops.  But  this  is  a  very  short-sighted  view  of 
the  matter ;  for  careful  calculation  shows  that  when  the 
labouring  man  spends  a  shilling  in  the  dram-shop,  not  more 
than  a  penny  of  it  goes  for  the  agricultural  produce  (barley) 
from  which  the  gin  or  whisky  is  made ;  whereas,  when  he 
spends  the  same  sum  with  the  butcher  or  baker,  nearly  the 
whole  amount  goes  for  the  raw  material,  and  only  a  frac- 
tion for  the  tradesman's  profits.  And  not  only  so,  but  the 
man  who  spends  a  part  of  his  wages  upon  strong  drink 
diminishes,  both  directly  and  indirectly,  his  ability  to 
buy  wholesome  food  and  good  clothing ;  so  that,  apart 
from  the  moral  and  social  bearings  of  this  question,  it  can 
abundantly  be  shown  that  whisky  or  beer  is  the  very  worst 
form  for  the  farmer  in  which  his  grain  can  be  consumed. 
Were  the  £50,000,000  at  present  annually  spent  in  Great 
Britain  upon  ardent  spirits  (not  to  speak  of  beer),  em- 
ployed in  purchasing  bread,  meat,  dairy  produce,  vege- 
tables, woollen  and  Lnen  clothing,  farmers  would,  on  the 
one  hand,  be  relieved  from  oppressive  rates,  and,  on  the 
other,  have  such  an  increased  demand  for  their  staple  pro- 
ducts as  would  far  more  than  compensate  for  the  closing  of 
what  is  at  present  the  chief  outlet  for  their  barley. 

There  are  many  varieties  of  barley  in  cultivation,  and 
some  of  them  are  known  by  different  names  in  different 
districts.  Those  most  esteemed  at  present  in  Berwickshire 
and  neighbouring  counties  are  the  Chevalier,  the  Annett, 
and  the  common-early  long-eared.  The  chevalier  produces 
the  finest  and  heaviest  grain,  weighing  usually  from  54  E> 
to  56  lb  per  bushel,  and  is  in  high  estimation  with  maltsters. 


fJBAOT  .CEOPS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


35Ji 


It  is  also  tall  and  stout  in  the  straw,  which  is  Jess  liable  to 
lodgo  than  that  of  the  common  barley;  and  when  this 
accident  does  happen,  it  has  the  valuable  property  of  not 
producing  af tershoots  or  greens.  '  It  requires  about  fourteen 
days  longer  than  the  common-early  to  reach  maturity,  but 
as  it  admits  of  being  sown  earlier  than  the  latter  sort,  this 
is  in  practice  no  drawback  to  it.  The  Annat  barley 
resembles  the  chevalier  in  its  leading  features,  but  is 
yellower  in  its  complexion,  and  not  quite  so  round  in  the 
grain.  It  ripens  a  few  days  earlier  than  the  chevalier,  and 
in  our  own  experience  is  more  productive.  The  common- 
early  is  more  liable  than  those  just  noticed  to  suffer  from 
over-luxuriance.  It  is  generally  used  for  the  latest  sowings 
on  those  portions  of  land  from  which  the  turnip  crop  has 
been  longest  in  being  removed. 

In  the  elevated  or  northern  parts  of  the  kingdom,  four- 
rowed  barley,  usually  called  here  or  higg,  is  cultivated,  as 
it  is  more  hardy,  and  ripens  earlier  than  the  two-rowed 
varieties.  A  new  variety,  called  Victoria  bere,  is  said  to 
be  so  productive,  and  to  yield  such  a  heavy  sample,  as  to 
be  worthy  of  cultivation  even  in  lowland  districts. 

Barley  delight3  in  a  warm,  friable  soil,  and  thrives  best 
when  the  seed  is  deposited  rather  deeply  in  a  tilthy  bed. 
Being  the  grain  crop  best  adapted  for  succeeding  turnips 
that  have  been  consumed  by  sheep-folding,  advantage 
must  be  taken  of  favouring  weather  to  plough  up  the  land 
in  successive  portions  as  the  sheerl-fold  is  shifted.  So 
much  of  it  as  is  ploughed  before  1st  February  will  usually 
get  so  mellowed  by  the  weather  as  to  be  easily  brought 
into  suitable  condition  for  receiving  the  seed.  In  Scotland 
the  usual  practice  is  to  sow  broadcast  on  this  stale  furrow, 
and  to  cover  the  seed  by  simple  harrowing.  A  better 
way  is  first  to  level  the  surface  by  a  stroke  of  the  harrows, 
and  then  to  form  it  into  rib3  twelve  inches  apart  by  such 
an  implement  as  has  been  described  when  speaking  of 
Tennant's  grubber.  Over  this  corrugated  surface  the  seed 
is  sown  broadcast,  and  covered  by  another  turn  of  the 
harrows.  The  ribbing  loosens  the  soil,  gives  the  seed  a 
uniform  and  sufficient  covering,  and  deposits  it  in  rows. 
The  only  advantage  of  such  ribbing  over  drilling  is,  that 
the  soil  is  better  stirred,  and  the  seed  deposited  more 
deeply,  and  less  crowded  than  is  done  by  the  ordinary 
drills.  It  is  certainly  of  great  advantage  to  have  the  seed- 
corn  deposited  in  narrow  lines,  so  far  as  the  working  of 
the  horse-hoe  is  concerned ;  but  we  are  convinced  that 
staffer  stems,  larger  ears,  a  more  abundant  yield,  and  a 
brighter  sample,. are  likely  to  be. obtained  when  the  seed  is 
loosely  scattered  in  a  channel  three  or  four  inches  wide 
than  when  crowded  into  a  narrow  line.  This  grain  is  now 
sown  considerably  earlier  than  heretofore.  When  the  soil 
is  enriched  by  plentiful  manuring,  its  temperature  raised 
by  thorough  draining,  and  the  climate  and  exposure  favour- 
able, it  should  be  sown  as  early  in  Ma-ch  as  possible,  and 
will  often  do  remarkably  well  although  sown  in  February. 
This  early  sowing  counteracts  that  tendency  to  over- 
luxuriance  by  which  the  crop  is  so  often  ruined  ■  in  fertile 
soils.  It  is  chiefly  owing  to  this  early  sowing  (although 
aided  by  the  use  of  hummelling  machinery)  that  the 
average  weight  of  barley  is  so  much  greater  now  than  it 
was  thirty  years  ago.  From  54  lb  to  56  ft  per  bushel  is 
now  about  the  average  weight  in  well-cultivated  districts ; 
while  57  lb  and  58  ft  is  by  no  means  rare.  The  produce 
per  acre  ranges  from  30  to  60  bushels,  36  bushels  being 
about  the  average.  The  quantity  of  seed  used  per  acre  is 
from  2i  to  3  bushels  for  broadcast  sowing,  and  about  a  third 
leas  when  drilled.  As  already  remarked  in  regard  to  wheat, 
it  is  well,  as  the  season  advances,  to  avoid,  by  a  fuller 
allowance  of  seed,  the  temptation  to  excessive  tillering,  and 
consequent  unequal  and  later  ripening.  A  good  crop  of 
barley  yields  about  I  ton  each  per  acre  of  grain  and  straw. 


Section  3. — Oats. 


Over  a  large  portion  of  England  oats  are  grown  only  aa 
provender  for  horses,  for  whish  purpose  they  are  fully 
ascertained  to  be  superior  to  all  other  grains.  Except, 
therefore,  on  fen-lands  and  recently-reclaimed  muiry  soils, 
the  cultivation  of  oats  in  South  Britain  bears  a  small 
proportion  to  the  other  cereals.  It  is  in  Scotland,  "the 
land  o'  cakes,"  that  this  grain  is  most  esteemed  and  most 
extensively  cultivated.  Considerably  more  than  half  of 
the  annual  grain  crops  of  Scotland  consists,  in  fact,  of  oats. 
The  important  item  which  oatmeal  porridge  forms  in  the  diet 
of  her  peasantry,  and  of  the  children  of  her  other  classes, 
has  something  to  do  with  this  extensive  culture  of  tlie  ont ; 
but  it  arises  mainly  from  its  peculiar  adaptation  to  her 
humid  climate.  As  with  the  other  cereals,  there  are  very 
numerous  varieties  of  the  oat  in  cultivation.  In  Messrs 
Lawson's  Synopsis  of  the  Vegetable  Products  of  Scotland,  it 
is  said  (Div.  L  p.  80),  "  Our  collection  comprises  nearly 
sixty  varieties,  about  thirty  of  which  are  grown  in  Scotland; 
but  of  these  not  more  than  twelve  are  in  general  cultivation. 
These  twelve  varieties,  enumerated  in  the  order  of  their 
general  cultivation,  are,  the  Potato,  Hopetoun,  Sandy, 
Early-Angus,  Late-Angus,  Grey-Angus,  Blainslie,  Berlie, 
Dun,  Friesland,  Black  Tartarian,  and  Barbachlaw."  The 
first  four  kinds  in  this  list  are  those  chiefly  cultivated  on 
the  best  class  of  soils.  It  is  to  the"  produce  of  these  that 
the  highest  market  prices  usually  have  reference.  The 
weight  per  bushel  of  these  sorts  usually  runs  frcm  42  ft 
to  46  ft.  From  50  to  60  bushels  per  acre  is  a  usual  yield 
of  oats.  The  two  last  named  kinds  are  chiefly  esteemed 
for  their  large  produce,  and  adaptation  to  inferior  soils;  but 
being  of  coarse  quality,  they  are  chiefly  used  for  provender. 
A  variety  which  stands  the  winter  is  now  frequently  grown 
in  England,  for  the  double  purpose  of  first  yielding  a  sea- 
sonable supply  of  green  food  to  ewes  and  lambs  in  early 
spring,  and  afterwards  producing  a  crop  of  grain.  It  has 
already  been  stated  that  in  Scotland  wheat  does  not  prosper 
when  sown  after  clover  or  pasture ;  but  with  the  oat  it  is 
quite  the  reverse,  as  it  never  grows  better  than  on  land 
newly  broken  up  from  grass.  It  is,  accordingly,  almost 
invariably  sown  at  this  stage  of  the  rotation.  The  land  is 
ploughed  in  December  or  January,  beginning  with  the 
strongest  soil,  or  that  which  has  lain  longest  in  grass,  that 
it  may  have  the  longest  exposure  to  the  mellowing  influences 
of  wintry  weather.  In  March  or  April  the  oats  are  sown 
broadcast  on  this  first  ploughing,  and  covered  in  by 
repeated  harrowings.  These  are  given  lengthwise  until  the 
furrows  are  well  broken  down,  for  if  the  harrows  are 
worked  across  the  ridges  before  this  is  effected,  they  eaten 
hold  of  the  edges  of  the  slices,  and,  partially  lifting  them, 
permit  the  seed-corn  to  fall  to  the  bottom,  where  it  is  lost 
altogether.  As  it  is  only  when  a  free  tilth  is  obtained 
that  the  crop  can  be  expected  to  prosper,  care  must  be 
taken  to  plough  early  and  somewhat  deeply,  laying  the 
furrows  over  with  a  rectangular  shoulder,  to  sow  when  the 
land  is  in  that  state  of  dryness  that  admits  of  its  crumbling 
readily  when  trode  upon,  and  then  to  use  the  harrows  until 
they  move  smoothly  and  freely  in  the  loose  soil,  two  oi 
three  inches  deep.  The  Norwegian  harrow  is  an  important 
auxiliary  to  the  common  one3  in  obtaining  this  result. 
When  wild  mustard  and  other  annual  weeds  abound,  it  is 
advisable  to  drill  the  crop  and  to  use  the  horse-hoe.  When 
the  land  is  clean,  the  general  belief  in  Scotland  is  that  the 
largest  crops  are  obtained  by  sowing  broadcast.  When 
the  latter  plan  of  sowing  is  adopted,  from  4  to  6  bushels 
per  acre  is  the  quantity  of  seed  used.  The  latter  quantity 
is  required  in  the  case  of  the  Hopetoun  and  other  large- 
grained  varieties.  The  condition  of  the  soil  as  to  richness 
and  friability  must  also  be  taken  into  account  in  deter 


300 


AGRICULTURE 


[leouminoui 


owning  the  quantity  of  seed  to  be  used.  When  it  is  in  high 
heart  and  likely  to  harrow  kindly,  a  less  quantity  will 
guffice  than  um'er  opposite  conditions.  In  breaking  up  a 
tou^h  old  sward,  even  6  bushels  per  aero  may  be  too  little 
to  sow.  The  following  very  interesting  experiment  bearing 
on  this  point  was  made  in  the  county  of  Fife : — "  Mr 
Gulland,  Wemyas,  offered  a  sweepstakes  in  1850,  that  4 
bushels  of  oats,  sown  per  Scotch  acre,  in  poor  land,  would 
yield  a  better  produce  than  8  bushels  sown  under  similar 
conditions.  The  late  Mr  Hill,  maintaining  the  contrary, 
accepted  the  sweepstakes,  and  a  number  of  others  took  up 
thi  same.  Experiments  were  made  by  Mr  Dingwall, 
Enmomie,  and  Mr  Buist,  HattonhilL  .... : — 
In  Mr  Buiat's  experiments, 
"4  bush,  sown  yielded  28  bush,  per  acre,  34  tb  per  bush. 
8  bush,  sown  yielded  36     ,,        „  34J  tt>    ,> 

"  In  Mr  Dingwall's  experiments, 
"  4  bush,  sown  yielded  45  bush,  per  acre,  3SJ  lb  per  bush. 
'   8  bush,  sown  yielded  49     ,,        „  39  lb      „ 

The  advocates  for  thin  seeding  will  of  course  regard  even 
the  least  of  these  quantities  as  foolishly  redundant.  It  is 
quite  true,  that  if  the  land  is  in  good  heart,  the  crop  will 
ultimately  stand  close  on  the  ground  from  a  very  small 
seeding ;  but  it  will  take  two  or  three  weeks  longer  to  do 
this  than  if  the  land  had  been  fully  stocked  with  plants 
from  the  first,  by  giving  it  seed  enough.  In  our  precarious 
climate,  where  a  late  harvest  and  bad  crops  usually  go 
together,  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  secure  early, 
uniform,  and  perfect  ripening ;  and  as  liberal  seeding  tends 
directly  to  promote  such  a  result,  practical  farmers  will  do 
well  to  take  care  how  they  omit  such  a  simple  means  of 
attaining  so  important  an  end.  We  believe  that  it  is  on 
the  principle  now  indicated  that  the  superior  result,  both 
as  respects  quantity  and  quality  of  produce,  in  the  double- 
seeded  lots  in  the  experiments  now  cited,  is  to  be  explained. 
As  with  wheat,  the  vigour  and  productiveness  of  the  oat 
is  much  enhanced  by  frequent  change  of  seed.  Our 
agricultural  authorities  usually  assert  that  the  change 
should,  if  possible,  always  be  from  an  earlier  climate  and 
better  soil.  This  is  undoubtedly  true  as  regards  high-lying 
districts ;  but  with  a  good  soil  and  climate  we  have  always 
seen  the  best  results  with  seed  from  a  later  district.  A 
homely  old  couplet  tersely  expresses  the  experience  of  our 
ancestors  in  this  matter  of  the  changing  of  seed-corn  by 
directing  us  to  procure — 

"Oats  from  the  hills,  lero  from  the  sea, 
Gude  wheat  and  pease  wherever  they  be.™ 
On  poor  hard  soils  it  is  usually  remunerative  to  apply  a 
cwt.  of  guano  per  acre  to  the  oat  crop,  sowing  it  broad- 
cast, and  harrowing  it  in  along  with  the  seed.  As  much 
additional  produce  is  thus  ordinarily  obtained  asimore  than 
pays  for  the  manure,  and  the  land  is,  in  all  respects,  left  in 
better  condition  for  the  succeeding  green  crop.  In  the 
case  both  of  very  light  and  strong  clay  soils,  we  have 
obtained  excellent  results  by  applying  a  liberal  dressing  of 
farm  y?rd  dung  in  autumn  to  grass-land  about  to  be  broken 
up  for  oats.  By  using  in  this  way  the  dung  produced 
during  the  summer  months,  we  have  obtained  abundant 
crops  of  oats  from  portions  of  land  which,  but  for  this, 
would  have  yielded  poorly  j  and,  at  the  same  time,  by 
applying  the  bulky  manure  at  this  stage  of  the  rotation, 
instead  of  directly  for  the  succeeding  green  crop,  an 
important  saving  of  time  and  labour  has  been  effected,  as 
we  shall  have  occasion  to  notice  when  treating  of  turnip- 
culture. 

When  the  young  oat  plants  have  pushed  their  second 
leaf,  it  is  always  beneficial  to  use  the  roller,  as  it  helps  to 
protect  the  crop  from  the  evil  effects  of  drought,  and 

1  AsricuitunU  Qautlt,  20th  November  1862. 


facilitates  the  reaping  of  it.  The  oat  frequently  suffers 
much  from  a  disease  called  "segging"  or  "tulip  root," 
which  appears  to  be  caused  by  the  presence  cf  a  maggot  in 
the  pith  of  tLv  "'ems  close  to  the  ground.  On  laud  which 
is  subject  to  this  disease  it  is  advisable  not  to  sow  early. 
A  dressing  of  lime  is  also  believed  to  be  serviceable  as  a 
preventative.  On  muiry  soils  this  crop  is  also  not  unfre- 
quently  lost  by  what  is  called  "  slaying."  This  seems  to 
result  from  the  occurrence  of  frosty  nights  late  in  spring, 
when  the  crop  is  in  its  young  stage,  which,  when  g*own 
on  such  soils,  it  cannot  withstand.  The  application  of  large 
dressings  of  lime  to  light  muiry  soils  greatly  aggravates 
this  tendency  to  slaying  in  the  oat  crop.  The  only  effectual 
remedy  is  to  improve  the  texture  of  the  soil  by  a  good  coal- 
ing  of  clay.  Oats  yield  about  1  ton  of  grain  and  H  ton  cl 
straw  per  acre. 

Section  4. — Rye. 

The  extensive  cultivation  of  this  grain  in  any  country 
being  alike  indicative  of  a  low  state  of  agriculture,  and  cl 
a  poor  style  of  living  among  its  peasantry,  it  must  be 
regarded  as  a  happy  circumstance  that  it  has  become  nearly 
obsolete  in  Great  Britain.  It  is  still  occasionally  met  with 
in  some  of  our  poorest  sandy  soils,  and  patches  are  occa- 
sionally grown  elsewhere  for  the  sake  of  the  straw,  which 
is  in  estimation  for  thatching,  for  making  bee-hives,  and 
for  stuffing  horse-collars.  Its  cultivation  as  a  catch  crop, 
to  furnish  early  food  for  sheep  in  spring,  is  on  the  increase. 

Section  5. — Leguminous  Crops — Beans. 

The  only  members  of  this  family  statedly  cultivated  for 
their  grain  are  beans  and  pease.  Before  the  introduction 
of  clover  and  turnips  these  legumes  occupied  a  more 
important  place  in  the  estimation  of  the  husbandman  than 
they  have  done  since.  Indeed,  in  many  districts  naturally 
well  adapted  for  the  culture  of  turnips,  that  of  beans  and 
pease  was  for  a  time  all  but  abandoned.  Recently,  however, 
increasing  precariousness  in  the  growth  of  clover,  and  even 
of  turnips,  where  they  have  been  sown  on  the  same  ground 
every  fourth  year  for  a  lengthened  period,  has  compelled 
farmers  to  return  to  the  culture  of  beans  and  pease  for  the 
mere  purpose  of  prolonging  the  intervals  in  the  periodic 
recurrence  of  the  former  crops.  But  it  is  found,  in  regard 
to  the  bean  itself,  in  districts  where  it  has  long  occupied  a 
stated  place  in  rotations  of  six  or  seven  years,  that  its 
average  produce  gradually  diminishes.  We  have  thus  an 
additional  illustration  of  the  importance  of  introducing  as 
great  a  variety  of  crops  as  possible  into  our  field  culture. 
It  is  on  this  principle  that  beans  and  pease  are  now  again 
extensively  cultivated  on  dry  friable  soils.  Winter  beans, 
or  pease  of  some  early  variety,  are  generally  preferred  in 
such  cases.  The  grain  of  these  legumes,  though  partially 
used  for  human  food,  is  chiefly  consumed  by  horses  and  by 
fattening  cattle  and  sheep.  Being  highly  nutritious,  they 
are  well  adapted  for  this  purpose.  By  growing  beans  on  a 
Limited  portion  of  the  land  assigned  to  cattle  crops,  a  larger 
weight  of  beef  and  mutton  can  be  produced  from  a  given 
number  of  acres,  than  by  occupying  them  wholly  with  roots, 
forage,  and  pasturage.  Several  varieties  of  field  beans  are 
cultivated  in  Great  Britain,  such  as  the  common  hone 
bean,  the  tick,  the  Heligoland,  and  the  winter  bean.  The 
latter  was  introduced  into  England  about  the  year  1825, 
and  there  rises  steadily  in  estimation.  It  has  been  tried  in 
many  parts  of  Scotland,  and  proves  quite  hardy,  but  is 
objected  to  from  the  exceeding  shortness  of  its^traw.  But 
for  this,  it  is  a  valuable  acquisition,  as  it  ripens  so  much 
earlier  than  the  spring-sown  varieties.  Beans  should  never 
be  sown  on  land  that  is  fouL  By  diligent  horse  and  band 
hoeing,  land  that  is  clean  to  begin  with  can  be  kept  so 
under  beans,  and  left  in  fine  condition  for  carrying  n  white 


CROPS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


361 


corn  crop;  but  in  opposite  circumstances  it  is  sure  to  get 
into  utter  confusion.  It  is  found  advisable,  therefore,  to 
take  beans  after  the  white  crop  that  has  succeeded  roots  or 
a  bare  fallow.  In  Berwickshire,  where  a  five-years'  course, 
consisting  of  turnips,  wheat,  or  barley,  two  years'  seeds, 
and  oats,  has  long  prevailed,  beans  are  now  not  unfre- 
quently  introduced  by  substituting  them  for  the  second 
year's  grass.  A  four-years'  course  with  beans  instead  of  a 
portion  of  the  seeds  is  certainly  preferable.  In  cultivating 
this  crop  the  land  is  ploughed  with  a  deep  furrow  in 
autumn,  a  dressing  of  dung  being  first  spread  over  the 
surface  and  turned  in  by  the  plough.  As  early  in  March 
as  the  state  of  the  soil  admits,  it  is  stirred  by  the  grubber 
and  harrowed.  The  seeds  are  then  deposited  either  in 
narrow  rows  14  inches,  or  in  wider  rows  27  inches  apart. 
The  latter  width  has  long  been  preferred  in  Scotland, 
because  of  it3  admitting  of  the  free  use  of  the  plough  and 
the  drill-grubber,  in  addition  to  the  hoe,  during  the  early 
stages  of  the  plant's  growth,  and  also  from  a  belief  that 
the  free  entrance  of  light  and  air,  of  which  the  wide  rows 
admits,  increases  the  productiveness  of  the  crop.  We 
shall  describe  both  modes  of  culture,  and  then  state  the 
grounds  upon  which,  after  long  sharing  in  the  opinion  just 
noted,  and  following  that  practice,  we  now  give  a  decided 
preference  to  sowing  in  narrow  rows.  In  sowing  at  the 
wider  intervals,  the  soil,  having  been  prepared  as  already 
stated,  is  formed,  by  a  single  turn  of  the  common  plough, 
into  shallow  drills  27  inches  apart.  Ten  or  twelve  such 
drills  being  formed  to  begin  with,  the  seed  is  scattered 
broadcast,  at  the  rate  of  3  bushels  per  acre,  by  a  sower 
who  takes  in  six  of  these  drills  at  a  time,  and  gives  them 
a  double  cast,  or  by  a  drilling-machine,  which  sows  three 
rows  at  once.  The  beans  either  roll  into  the  hollows  as 
they  fall,  or  are  turned  in  by  the  ploughs,  which  now 
proceed  to  open  each  a  fresh  drill,  in  going  down  the  one 
side  of  the  working  interval,  and  to  cover  in  a  seeded  one 
in  returning  on  the  other  side.  If  tares  are  cultivated  on 
the  farm,  it  is  usual  to  sow  a  small  quantity  (say  a  peck 
per  acre)  amongst  the  beans,  on  which  they  are  borne  up, 
and  so  ripen  their  seeds  better,  and  yield  more  abundantly, 
than  when  trailing  on  the  ground.  When  the  crop  comes 
to  be  thrashed  the  tares  are  easily  separated  from  the 
beans  by  sifting.  Ten  days  or  so  after  sowing,  the  drills 
are  partially  levelled  by  a  turn  of  the  chain  harrow ;  and 
if  the  land  is  cloddy,  it  is  smoothed  by  a  light  roller.  If 
showers  occur  when  the  bean  plants  are  appearing  above 
ground,  or  shortly  after,  the  common  harrows  may  be  used 
again  with  the  best  effect  in  pulverising  the  soil  and 
destroying  newly-sprung  weeds.  A  horse  and  hand  hoeing 
is  then  given,  and  is  repeated  if  weeds  again  appear. 
When  the  plants  have  got  about  6  inches  high  it  is 
beneficial  to  stir  the  soil  deeply  betwixt  the  rows  by  using 
Tennanf  s  grubber,  drawn  by  a  pair  of  horses.  For  this 
purpose  the  tines  are  set  so  close  together  as  to  clear  the 
rows  of  beans,  and  the  horses  are  yoked  to  it  by  a  main 
tree,  long  enough  to  allow  the  horse3  to  work  abreast  in 
the  rows  on  either  side  of  the  one  operated  upon.  The 
soil  is  thus  worked  thoroughly  to  the  depth  of  6  or  8 
inches,  without  reversing  the  surface  and  exposing  it  to 
drought,  or  risk  of  throwing  it  upon  the  plants.  Just 
before  the  blooms  appear  some  farmers  pass  a  bulking- 
plough  betwixt  the  rows,  working  it  very  shallow,  and  so 
as  merely  to  move  the  surface  soil  towards  the  plants. 
This  may  do  good,  but  a  deep  earthing  up  is  hurtful 
When  the  blooms  open  all  operations  should  cease,  as 
otherwise  much  mischief  may  be  done.  Such  an  amount 
of  culture  as  has  now  been  described  may  be  thought 
needlessly  costly  and  laborious,  but  unless  a  bean  crop  is 
kept  clean,  it  had  better  not  be  sown.  And  it  is  to  be 
remembered  that  the  benefit  of  this  careful  tillage  is  not 


confined  to  it,  but  will  ba  equally  shared  in  by  the  wheat 
crop  that  follows.  The  culture  of  winter  beant  differs 
only  in  this,  that  they  require  to  be  sown  as  early  in 
autumn  as  the  removal  of  the  preceding  grain  crop  admits 
of.  When  it  is  determined  to  sow  in  14-inch  rows,  the 
seeds  are  deposited  by  any  of  the  corn  drilling-machines  in 
common  use,  set  for  the  specified  width  of  rows,  or  (which 
we  prefer)  the  soil  is  formed  into  narrow  ribs  or  drills  by 
means  of  the  one-horse  plough,  the  seeds  are  scattered 
broadcast  by  hand  or  machine  over  tins  corrugated  surface, 
and  they  are  covered  by  a  double  turn  of  the  common 
harrows,  and  rolled  by  a  light  roller.  As  soon  as  the  bean 
plants  appear,  care  must  be  taken  to  keep  down  weeds  by 
diligent  hoeing.  Two  good  hoeings  will  usually  suffice, 
for  by  the  time  that  the  second  is  accomplished,  the  crop 
will  speedily  so  close  in  as  to  render  any  further  hoeing 
impracticable  and  unnecessary.  After  repeated  trials  of 
these  two  modes  of  cultivation,  made  alongside  of  each 
other,  we  have  found  that  the  produce  from  the  narrow 
rows  has  been  at  the  rate  of  from  4  to  6  bushels  more  per 
acre  than  that  from  the  wide  rows,  and  that  the  soil  has 
been  left  decidedly  cleaner  after  the  former  than  after  the 
latter  mode.  It  is  certainly  somewhat  startling  to  find 
results  so  opposed  as  these  are  to  preconceived  opinion  and 
approved  practice.  And  yet,  when  the  matter  is  well 
considered,  it  becomes  obvious  enough  why  it  should  be  so. 
The  wide  rows  admit  of  a  most  effective  process  of  tillage 
and  hoeing  up  to  the  time  when  the  beans  come  into  bloom, 
when,  however,  it  must  wholly  cease.  But  when  farther 
culture  is  precluded,  the  need  for  it  by  no  means  ceases, 
seeing  that  the  rows  of  bean  plants  usually  remain  suffi- 
ciently apart  to  admit  of  the  continued  growth  of  weeds 
during  the  long  period  which  intervenes  betwixt  the 
blooming  and  the  ripening  of  the  crop.  And  hence  it 
happens — especially  if  the  spring  prove  cold  and  parching 
— that  although  the  wide-rowed  beans  have  been  kept 
scrupulously  clean  up  to  the  time  of  blooming,  their 
upright  habit  of  growth  renders  it  impossible  that  they  can 
so  close  in  upon  the  wide  space  betwixt  the  rows,  as  to 
preoccupy  and  overshadow  the  ground  sufficiently  to  keep 
it  clean  during  the  long  period  that  the  crop  must  neces- 
sarily be  left  to  its  own  resources.  By  sowing  in  narrow 
rows  the  crop  is  soon  in  a  condition  to  defend  itself  against 
weeds  and  drought,  and  hence  the  saving  of  labour,  the 
more  bulky  crops,  and  the  cleaner  stubble,  which  result 
from  sowing  beans  at  14  rather  than  27  inch  intervals. 

In  Scotland  the  haulm  of  beans  is  esteemed  an  excellent 
fodder  for  horses  and  other  live  stock,  whereas  in  England 
it  is  thought  unfit  for  such  a  use.  The  reason  of  this 
appears  to  be,  that  in  the  southern  counties  beans  are 
allowed  to  stand  until  the  leaf  is  gone  and  the  stems 
blackened  before  reaping;  whereas  in  Scotland  they  are 
reaped  so  soon  as  the  eye  of  the  grain  gets  black.  When 
well  got,  the  juices  of  the  plant  are  thus,  to  some  extent, 
retained  in  the  haulm,  which  in  consequence  is  much 
relished  by  live  stock,  and  yields  a  wholesome  and  nutritious 
fodder.  A  good  crop  of  beans  yields  about  1  ton  of  grain 
and  1£  ton  of  straw  per  acre. 

Section  6. — Pease. 

Pease  are  sown  in  circumstances  similar  to  those  just 
detailed,  but  they  are  better  adapted  than  beans  to  light 
soils.  They  too  are  best  cultivated  in  rows  of  such  a  width 
as  to  admit  of  horse-hoeing.  The  early  stage  at  which 
they  fall  over,  and  forbid  further  culture,  renders  it  even 
moro  needful  than  in  the  case  of  beans  to  sow  them  only 
on  land  already  clean.  If  annual  weeds  can  be  kept  in 
check  until  the  pease  once  get  a  close  cover,  they  then 
occupy  the  ground  so  completely  that  nothing  else  can  live 
under  them ;  and  the  ground,  after  their  removal,  is  found 


1-13* 


362 


AGRICULTURE 


[harvesting  or 


In  the  choicest  coudition.  A  thin  crop  of  pease  should 
never  be  allowed  to  stand,  as  the  land  is  sure  to  get 
perfectly  wild.  The  difficulty  of  getting  this  crop  well 
harvested  renders  it  peculiarly  advisable  to  sow  only  the 
early  varieties 

Section  7. — Other  Crops. 

The  cereals  and  legumes  now  enumerated  constitute  the 
staple  grain-crops  of  Great  Britain.  Others  are  grown 
occasionally,  but  more  for  curiosity  than  profit.  Zealous 
attempts  were  made  by  the  late  William  Cobbet  to  introduce 
wiaize  or  Indian  corn  as  one  of  our  regular  crops.  It  has 
been  conclusively  proved  that  none  of  its  varieties  yet  tried 
can  be  ripened  in  the  ordinary  seasons  of  this  country.  It 
has  indeed  been  suggested  that  it  might  form  a  useful 
addition  to  our  garden  vegetables, — using  it,  as  it  is  done 
in  America,  by  cooking  the  unripe  cobs,  and  also  that  we 
might  grow  it  beneficially  as  a  forage  crop.  Lenliles  have 
recently  been  grown  in  different  parts  of  the  country ;  but 
both  of  these  grains  can  be  imported  of  better  quality,  and 
at  less  cost,  than  they  can  be  grown  at  home. 

There  is  great  inducement  to  agriculturists  to  endeavour 
more  earnestly  to  obtain  improved  varieties  of  grain  by 
cross-impregnation  of  existing  ones.  Something  has  already 
been  accomplished  in  this  direction,  but  only  enough  to 
show  what  encouragement  there  is  to  persevere.  Whenever 
the  same  skill  and  perseverance  are  directed  to  the  improve- 
ment of  field  crops  that  our  gardeners  are  constantly 
exerting,  with  such  astonishing  results,  on  fruits,  flowers, 
and  vegetables,  we  may  anticipate  a  great  increase  of 
produce,  not  only  from  the  discovery  of  more  fruitful 
varieties,  but  of  such  as  possess  a  special  adaptation  to 
every  diversity  in  the  soil  and  climate  of  our  territory. 

Section  8. — Harvesting  of  Grain  Crops,  and  preparing  tliem 
for  Market. 

Several  distinct  modes  of  reaping  grain  are  in  use.  The 
most  ancient,  and  still  the  most  common,  is  by  the  sickle 
or  reaping-hook,  which  i3  used  either  with  a  smooth  or 
serrated  edge.  The  latter  was  at  one  time  preferred,  as  by 
it  the  work  was  performed  most  accurately.  The  smooth- 
edged  instrument  is,  however,  now  the  favourite,  as  it 
requires  less  exertion  to  use  it,  and  the  reaper  can,  in 
consequence,  get  through  more  work  in  a  day;  and  also 
because  in  using  it  the  stalks  are  less  compressed,  and 
conoequently  dry  fa-ter  when  made  into  sheaves.  In  some 
parts  of  England  the  crops  are  reaped  in  a  method  called 
fagging  or  bagging.  The  cutting  instrument  used  is 
heavier,  straighter,  and  broader  in  the  blade  than  the 
common  reaping-hook.  The  workman  uses  it  with  a 
slashing  stroke,  and  gathers  the  cut  corn  as  he  proceeds 
by  means  of  a  hooked  stick  held  in  his  left  hand.  It  is  a 
similar  process  to  the  mode  of  reaping  with  the  Hainault 
scythe — an  instrument  which  has  been  tried  in  this  country, 
but  never  adopted  to  "any  extent.  The  common  scythe, 
especially  with  that  form  of  handle  known  as  the  Aberdeen 
handle  or  sned,  is  very  extensively  used  for  reaping  grain 
in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom.  Indeed,  the  practice  of 
mowing  grain  has  been  increasing  of  late  years,  and  would 
extend  more  rapidly  but  for  the  greater  difficulty  of  finding 
good  mgwere  than  good  reapers.  A  greater  amount  of 
dexterity  is  required  to  cut  grain  well  by  the  scythe  than 
by  the.  sickle.  The  difficulty  lies  not  in  making  smooth 
and  clean  stubble,  but  in  so  laying  the  swathe  as  to  admit 
of  the  corn  being  sheaved  accurately.  When  the  mower 
lays  his  swathe  at  right  angles  to  his  line  of  progress,  and 
the  gatherer  is  skilful  and  careful,  corn  may  be  handled  as 
neatly  in  reaping  by  the  scythe  as  by  the  sickle.  When 
the  crops  are  not  much  laid  or  twisted,  mowing  is  somewhat 
the  cheapest  of  these  modes  of  reaping.     .Its  chief  recom- 


mendation, however,  is  that  mown  sheaves  dry  most 
quickly,  and  suffer  least  from  a  drenching  rain.  This 
arises  from  the  stalks  being  less  handled,  and  so  forming 
an  open  sheaf,  through  which  the  wind  penetrates  freely. 
Tightly  bound  sheaves  are  always  difficult  to  dry. 

In  Berwickshire  and  adjoining  counties  the  reaping  of 
the  crops  has  hitherto  been  accomplished  by  employing,  at 
,  day's  wages,  such  a  number  of  reapers  as  suffices  to  cut 
down  the  crops  on  each  farm  in  from  twelve  to  twenty 
days.  The  rate  of  wages  paid  to  reapers  for  a  number  of 
years  has  ranged  from  2s.  6d.  to  3s.  6d.  each  per  diein, 
with  victuals  in  addition,  costing  about  eightpenu  for  each 
person.  In  marshalling  the  band,  two  reapers  are  placed 
on  each  ridge  of  15  or  18  feet  in  breadth,  with  a  binder  to 
each  four  reapers,  and  a  steward,  or  the  farmer  in  person, 
to  superintend  the  whole.  When  the  crop  is  of  average 
bulk,  and  lies  favourably  for  reaping,  each  bandwin,  or  set 
of  four  reapers  and  a  binder,  clear  two  acres  in  a  day  of 
ten  hours,  but  \\  to  1£  acre  only,  if  it  is  bulky  and 
lodged.  The  cost  of  reaping  by  this  method  is  therefo  ie 
from  10s.  to  15s:  per  acre.  With  a  reaping-machine  cutting 
say  six  acres  per  diem,  and  requiring  in  all  ten  persons  (five 
men  and  five  women  or  stout  lads)  to  attend  to  and  clear 
up  after  it,  at  an  average  wage,  including  victuals,  of  3s. 
each,  and  allowing  3s.  per  diem  to  cover  tear  and  wear,  and 
interest  on-  its  prime  cost,  there  seems  a  reasonable  prospect 
of  a  goodly  portion  of  our  future  crops  being  reaped  for 
about  6s.  per  acre.  The  labour  of  the  horses  employed  in 
working  the  reaper  is  not  included  in  this  estimate,  as  at 
this  season  they  would  otherwise  bo  idle,  and  yet  eating 
nearly  as  much  food  as  when  at  work.  There  would  thus 
be  a  saving  in  actual  outlay  of  about  5s.  per  acre.  But 
this  is  the  least .  important  view  of  the  matter.  On  a 
Berwickshire  farm  producing  200  acres  of  crop,  there  are 
usually  at  least  six  pairs  of  horses  kept,  with  a  resident 
population  sufficient  to  yield  about  thirty  persons  (including 
women  and  youths)  available  for  harvest  labour.  The 
stated  forces  of  such  a  farm  will  therefore  suffice  to  man 
three  reaping-machines,  which,  if  the  weather  is  favourable, 
and  the  crops  standing  erect  or  lying  in  one  direction,  will 
cut  down  the  crop  in  about  ten  days.  When  portions  of 
the  crop  are  much  lodged  and  twisted,  it  becomes  necessary 
to  employ  part  of  the  labourers  in  clearing  out  such 
portions  by  the  scythe  or  sickle.  It  is  often  possible  to 
n  inage  these  awkward-lying  portions  by  setting  one  or 
more  men,  each  with  a  stout  staff,  to  raise  up  the  crop  and 
lay  it  towards  the  machine.  When  two  or  more  machines 
are  used  on  the  same  farm,  it  is  best  to  work  them  together 
by  cutting  the  whole  length  or  width  of  the  field  in 
whichever  direction  the  general  lay  of  the  crop  admits  of 
them  working  to  most  advantage.  As  each  machine 
completes  its  cut,  it  returns  empty  to  the  side  from  which 
it  started ;  and  they  follow  each  other  at  such  an  interval 
as  gives  time  to  the  lifters  and  binders,  who  are  placed 
equidistant  along  the  whole  line,  to  keep  the  course  clear. 
In  such  cases  a  man  is  usually  employed  to  sharpen  the 
spare  knives,  to  assist  in  changing  them  from  time  to  time, 
and  to  attend  to  the  oiling  and  trimming  of  the  whole 
machinery.  It  is  good  economy  to  have  a  spare  machine 
at  hand  ready  to  put  in  the  place  of  one  that  may  be 
disabled  by  some  breakage,  and  thus  avoid  interruption  to 
the  urgent  work  of  reaping  while  the  damage  is  being 
repaired.  Great  progress  has  been  made  in  recent  years  in 
working,  these  machines  skilfully  and  systematically;  they 
are  in  general  use  in  all  well-cultivated  districts,  and  the 
time  appears  to  be  at  hand  when  the  whole  grain  crops  of 
the  country  will  be  reaped  by  means  of  them. 

It  is  now  agreed  on  all  hands  that  grain  should  be  reapea 
before  it  becomes  what  is  called  dead  ripe.  In  the  case  of 
wheat  and  oats,  when  the  grains  have  ceased  to  yield  a 


«RAIN  CROPS.! 


AGRICULTURE 


363 


milky  fluid  on  being  pressed  under  the  thumb-nail,  and 
when  the  ears  and  a  few  inches  of  the  stem  immediately 
under  them  have  become  yellow,  the  sooner  they  are  reaped 
the  better.  Barley  requires  to  be  somewhat  more  matured. 
Unless  the  pink  stripes  on  the  husk  have  disappeared,  and 
the  grain  has  acquired  a  firm  substance,  it  will  shrink  in 
drying,  and  be  deficient  both  in  weight  and  colour.  When 
allowed  to  stand  till  it  gets  curved  in  the  neck,  the  straw 
of  barley  becomes  so  brittle  that  many  ears  break  short  off 
in  the  reaping,  and  it  then  suffers  even  more  than  other 
grain  crops  under  a  shaking  wind. 

It  is  of  great  consequence  to  see  that  corn  is  dry  when  it 

is  tied  up  in  sheaves,  that  these  are  not  too  tightly  bound, 

and  that  every  sheaf  is  kept  constantly  on  foot.     From  the 

increased  demand  for  harvest  labourers,  and  the  rapidity 

with  which  operations  must  be  carried  forward,  stooking  is 

not  now  performed  with  the  same  accuracy  that  it  was  wont 

to  be.     There  is  therefore  the  greater  need  for  employing 

a  person  to  review  the  stooks  daily,  and  keep  every  sheaf 

erect.     It  was  formerly  the  practice  in  Scotland  to  set  up 

oats  and  barley  in  full  stooks  of  twelve  sheaves  each,  viz., 

five  pairs  and  two  hood-sheaves.     These  hood-sheaves  are 

an  excellent  defence  when  wet  weather  sets  in,  but  they 

retard  the  drying  of  the  corn  in  fine  weather,  and  there  are 

new  few  binders  who  can  set  them  up  so  as  to  stand 

jecurely.     It  is  better,  therefore,  to  aim  at  rapid  drying, 

and  for  this  purpose  to  have  the  sheaves  small  individually, 

and  to  set  but  four  or  six  of  them  together.     Large  sheaves 

the  worse  to  dry  than  small  ones,  not  only  from  their 

greater  bulk,  but  from  their  being  almost  inevitably  tighter 

bound.     The  utmost  vigilance  is  required  on  the  part  of 

farmers  to  avoid  this  fault.     Beans  and  pease  are  reaped 

by  the  sickle.     The  former  are  usually  not  bound  into 

sheaves  at  once,  but  left  prostrate  in  handfuls  for  a  few 

days  until  they  have  withered  a  little.     But  it  is  on  the 

whole  safer  to  stook  them  as  they  are  reaped.     They  are 

then  sheaved  and  bound  with  ties  of  twisted  straw,  which 

must  be  provided  beforehand.     In  stacking  beans,  the  tops 

of  the  sheaves  are  kept  outwards,  as  by  this  means  fewer 

pods  are  exposed  to  the  weather,  or  to  the  depredations  of 

fowls,  <fec,  than  when  the  butts  are  to  the  outside.     Pease 

are  rolled  into  wisps  as  they  are  reaped,  and  afterwards 

turned  daily  until  they  are  fit  to  carry.     When  stacked, 

they  must  instantly  be  thatched,  as  they  take  in  wet  like  a 

sponge.     It  requires  no  little  discrimination  to  know  when 

•heaves  are  dry  enough  to  keep  in  a  stack.     The  farmer 

finds  it  for  his  profit  to  consult  hi3  most  intelligent  and 

experienced  labourers   on  this  point.     On  thrusting  the 

hand  into  a  sheaf  sufficiently  dried,  there  is  a  lightness 

and  kindliness  to  the  touch  not  easily  mistaken  when  once 

understood.     Whenever  this  is   ascertained,   the  crop   is 

carried  with  the  utmost  possible  dispatch.     This  is  best 

accomplished  by  using  one-horse  carts,  and  by  building  the 

sheaves  into  round  stacks  of   ten  or  twelve  loads  each. 

Very  large  stacks  are  for  ostentation,  not  for  profit.     The 

labour  of  pitching  up  the  sheaves  to  them  is  needlessly 

great ;  corn  i3  much  sooner  in  a  state  to  keep  in  small 

stacks  than  in  large  ones,  and  sooner  gets  into  condition 

for  market ;  the  crop  is  more  accessible  for  thrashing  in 

ten  load  quantities  than  in  huge  ricks ;   and  the  crop  of 

different  fields  and  kinds  of  grain  more  easily  kept  separate. 

While  naming  ten  or  twelve  loads  as  a  convenient  quantity 

to  put  together  in  each  stack,  let  it  be  observed  that  this 

assumes  the  sheaves  to  be  in  a  thoroughly  dry  condition ; 

for  in  wet  seasons  it  frequently  happens  that  the  sheaves 

have  a  sufficient  degree  of  dryness  to  keep  safely  in  stacks 

of  five  or  six  loads  each,  although  they  will  certainly  heat 

if  double  these  quantities  are  put  together.     Judicious 

farmers  therefore  accommodate  the  size  of  their  stacks  to 

the  condition  of  the  sheaves,  and  are  more  concerned  to 


get  their  crops  secured  rapidly  and  safely  than  to  have 
their  stacks  of  uniform  size.  For  the  same  reasons,  it  is 
often  expedient  to  stack  portions  of  the  crop  either  in  the 
field  where  it  grew  or  at  some  convenient  site  nearer  than 
the  homestead,  but  on  the  way  towards  it,  and  where  two 
carts  will  suffice  to  keep  each  stacker  in  work.  An 
incidental  benefit  from  having  the  stacks  in  detached  groups 
is,  that  it  lessens  the  risk  from  fire. 

It  is  always  desirable  to  have  the  stacks  built  upon 
frames  or  stools  elevated  18  or  20  inches  from  the  ground. 
Besides  the  security  from  vermin  thus  attained,  there  is  a 
free  admission  of  air  to.  every  part,  particularly  when  aided 
by  a  triangle  of  rough  timber  in  the  centre,  which  speedily 
insures  thorough  dryness  in  the  whole  stack.  When  stacks 
are  built  upon  the  ground  with  a  mere  bedding  of  straw 
under  them,  the  grain  from  the  basement  tiers  of  sheaves 
is  often  lighter  by  several  pounds  per  bushel  than  that  from 
the  rest  of  it.  A  farmer  who  has  Ms  rick-yard  fully 
furnished  with  these  frames  can  often  carry  his  crop  withont 
risk — when,  if  built  on  the  ground,  it  would  inevitably 
heat — and  have  the  grain  in  condition  for  market  earlier 
by  months  than  in  the  latter  case.     As  the  stacks  are  built, 


Young's  Stack-Stool. 

they  are  thatched  without  delay.  For  this  purpose,  carefni 
farmers  provide  beforehand  ample  stores  of  thatch  and 
straw  ropes.  The  thatch  is  not  elaborately  drawn,  but 
merely  straightened  a  little  as  it  falls  from  the  thrashing- 
mill,  tied  into  large  bundles,  and  built  up  into  stacks, 
where  it  gets  compressed,  and  so  lies  more  evenly  than  h 
used  direct  from  the  milL  A  good  coating  of  such  thatch 
secured  by  straw  ropes,  interlacing  each  other  in  chequers, 
forms  a  secure  and  cheap  covering,  easily  put.  on  by 
ordinary  farm  labourers,  and  possesses,  with  all  its  rough- 
ness, an  air  of  unpretending  rustic  neatness  which  har- 
monises well  with  surrounding  objects,  and  which  we 
greatly  prefer  to  the  elaborate  ricks  of  the  southern  counties 
with  their  shaved  sides,  combed  thatch,  and  weather-cock 
a-peak.  Apart  from  its  cost,  the  shaving  of  stacks  is 
objectionable,  as  they  then  suffer  more  from  a  beating  rain 
or  snowdrift  than  when  the  natural  roughness  is  left 
upon  them,  on  the  same  principle  that  a  coarse,  shaggy 
topcoat  shoots  off  wet  better  than  a  smooth  broadcloth. 
A  stout  two-ply  cord  made  of  cocoa-nut  fibre,  or  coir,  is 
coming  into  use  as  a  substitute  for  straw  ropes  in  the 
thatching  of  stacks. 

With  proper  machinery  propelled  by  steam  or  water,  the 
thrashing  and  dressing  of  grain  is  a  simple  and  inexpensive 
process.  As  grain  is  now  universally  sold  with  a  reference 
to  its  weight  per  bushel,  its  relative  value  depends  much 
upon  its  dryness  and  thorough  freedom  from  chaff,  dust, 
light  grain,  and  seeds  of  weeds.  Farmers  who  are  syste- 
matically careful  in  the  cultivation,  harvesting,  thrashing, 
and  dressing  of  their  crops,  can  always  command  the  best 
prices  of  the  day.  In  preparing  a  parcel  of  grain  for 
market,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  measure  a  few  sacks  very 
carefully,  ascertain  the  average  weight  of  these,  and-  then 
fill  every  remaining  sack  to  that  weight  exactly. 


364 


AGRICULTURE 


[boot  okops. 


CHAPTER  XTL 

COXTTVATED  CHOPS — ROOT  CROPS. 


Section  1. — Potato. 

The  events  of  late  years  render  it  necessary  to  regard 
'this  root  somewhat  differently  than  was  warranted  by  its 
previous  history.  Its  value  as  an  article  of  food,  relished 
alike  by  prince  and  peasant,  its  easy  culture,  its  adaptation 
to  a  very  wide  diversity  of  soil  and  climate,  and  the 
largeness  of  its  produce,  justly  entitled  it  to  the  high 
esteem  in  which  it  was  universally  held.  Like  many  other 
good  gifts,  it  was,  however,  grossly  abused,  and  diverted 
from  its  legitimate  use ;  and  advantage  was  taken  of  its 
amazing  productive  powers  to  elevate  it  from  the  place  of 
an  agreeable,  wholesome  addition  to  the  daily  food  of  the 
community  to  that  of  "  the  staff  of  life."  In  Ireland  and 
the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  the  people,  already  in  a  pain- 
fully degraded  condition,  and  contented  with  the  potato 
as  their  sole  food  all  the  year  round,  took  occasion,  from 
its  very  productiveness,  under  the  rudest  culture,  to  sub- 
divide their  lands,  and  marry  prematurely,  with  reckless 
improvidence,  and  amid  an  ever-deepening  degradation. 
We  know  now,  from  the  utter  prostration  and  helplessness 
into  which  this  wretched  population  was  at  once  thrown 
by  the  memorable  potato  disease,  the  terrible  penalty 
which  this  abuse  of  "a  good  gift"  has  brought  directly  on 
the  miserable  sufferers,  and  indirectly  on  the  whole  com- 
munity. It  will  be  well  if  the  stern  lesson,  enforced  by 
famine  and  pestilence,  have  the  effect  of  leading  to  a  better 
30cial  condition.  Viewed  in  this  light,  the  potato  disease 
may  yet  prove  a  blessing  to  the  nation.  Its  continued 
prevalence,  although  in  a  mitigated  form,  cannot  well  be 
regarded  otherwise,  when  we  remember  the  frantic  eagerness 
with  which  the  Irish  peasantry  replanted  their  favourite 
root  on  the  first  indication  of  its  returning  vigour,  and  the 
desperate  energy  with  which  they  cling  to  it  under  repeated 
disappointments.  Apart  from  this  speciality,  the  precarious 
health  of  this  important  esculent  is  much  to  be  regretted. 
It  seems  contrary  to  analogy  to  suppose-  that  it  is  likely 
either  to  be  entirely  lost  or  to  manifest  a  permanent  liability 
to  disease.  It  soems  more  natural  to  suppose  that  by-and- 
by  the  disease  will  disappear,  or  that  some  efficient  remedy 
For  it  will  be  discovered.  Railways  afford  great  facilities 
for  transporting  this  bulky  commodity  at  little  expense  to 
great  distances,  and  thus  render  the  market  for  it  available 
to  a  wider  district.  Apart  from  disease,  this  facility  of 
transport  would  naturally  insure  its  more  extended  cultiva- 
tion. This  enlarged  cultivation  of  a  crop  which,  to  bo 
grown  successfully,  requires  a  soil  rich  in  fertilising  matters, 
has  moreover  been  rendered  practicable  by  the  facilities 
which,  the  farmer  now  has  of  obtaining  guano  and  other 
portable  manures. 

The  varieties  of  the  potato,  whether  for  garden  or  field 
culture,  are  exceedingly  numerous,  and  admit  of  endless 
increase  by  propagating  from  seeds.  It  would  serve  no 
useful  purpose  to  enumerate  here  even  a  selection  from  the 
sorts  in  use  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  In  Messrs 
Lawson's  Synopsis  of  the  Vegetable  Products  of  Scotland  a 
description  of  175  kinds  is  given,  to  which  the  reader  is 
referred  for  particulars.  When  the  crop  is  grown  for  cattle 
food,  bulk  of  produce  will  be  the  primary  consideration; 
but  for  sale  or  family  use,  flavour,  keeping  quality,  and 
handsome  appearance,  will  be  particularly  attended  to. 
Exemption  from  disease  is  now  a  momentous  consideration, 
whatever  the  use  for  which  it  is  grown.  There  is  this 
difficulty,  however,  connected  with  selections  on  the  score 
of  healthiness,  that  while  in  each  season  since  the  disease 
broke  out  certain  varieties  have  escaped,  it  is  observed 
from  year  to  year  that  the  exempted  list  varies,  certain 
kinds   that  had  been   previously   healthy   becoming   as 


obnoxious  to  disease  as  any,  and  others  in  a  great  measure 
escaping  that  had  suffered  much  before.  Indeed,  certain 
parties,  from  observing  that  diseased  tubers  left  in  the 
ground  have  produced  healthy  plants  in  the  following 
season,  have  been  induced  purposely  to  plant  diseased 
potatoes,  and  with  good  results.  This,  however,  is  probably 
due  to  the  mere  fact  of  their  being  kept  in  the  earth. 

In  field  culture  the  potato  is  frequently  grown  oh  a 
portion  of  the  fallow  break ;  but  its  appropriate  place  in 
the  rotation  is  that  usually  assigned  to  beans,  with  which, 
in  an  agricultural  point  of  view,  it  has  many  features  in 
common,  and  in  lieu  of  which  it  may  with  advantage' be 
cultivated.  As  the  potato  requires  to  bo  planted  as  early 
in  spring  as  the  weather  will  admit  of,  thus  leaving  little 
opportunity  for  cleaning  the  land,  and  as  its  mode  of 
growth  forbids  any  effective  removal  of  root-weeds  by  after 
culture,  it  is  peculiarly  necessary  to  have  the  land  devoted 
to  this  crop  cleaned  in  autumn.  Winter  dunging  facilitates 
the  planting,  and  is,  otherwise  beneficial  to  the  crop  by 
producing  that  loose  and  mellow  condition  of  the  soil  in 
which  the  potato  delights.  The  quality  of  the  crop  is  also 
believed  to  be  better  when  the  dung  is  thoroughly  incor- 
porated with  the  soil,  than  when  it  is  applied  in  the  drill 
at  the  time  of  planting.  A  liberal  application  of  manure 
is  necessary  if  a  full  crop  is  expected.  The  rank  growth 
thus  induced  renders  it,  however,  more  obnoxious  to  the 
blight,  and  hence  at  present  it  is  more  prudent  to  aim 
rather  at  a  sound  crop  than  an  abundant  one,  and  for  this 
purpose  to  stint  the  manure.  When  it  is  applied  at  the 
time  of  planting,  the  mode  of  procedure  is  the  same  as  that 
which  -will  presently  be  described  in  the  section  on  turnip 
culture.  The  potato  sets  are  prepared  a  few  days  before 
they  are  expected  to  be  needed.  Tubers  about  the  size  of 
an  egg  do  well  to  be  .planted  whole ;  and  it  is  a  good  plan 
to  select  these  when  harvesting  the  crop,  and  to  store  them 
by  themselves,  that  they  may  be  ready  for  use  withor.t 
further  labour.  The  larger  tubers  are  cut  into  pieces 
having  at  least  one  sound  ej  e  in  each,  although  two  are 
better.  It  is  of  great  consequence  to  have  seed-potatoes 
stored  in  a  cool  and  dry  pit,  so  that  if  possible  they  may 
be  prepared  for  planting  before  they  have  begun  to  shoot. 
U  there  has  been  any  heating  in  the  pit,  the  potatoes  are 
found  to  be  covered  by  a  rank  crop  of  shoots,  which  are 
necessarily"  rubbed  off,  and  thus  the  most  vigorous  eyes 
are  lost,  and  much  of  the  substance  which  should  have 
nourished  the  young  plant  is  utterly  wasted.  A  sufficient 
number  of  dormant  eyes  are  no  doubt  left,  but  from  the 
comparatively  exhausted  state  of  the  tubers,  these  produce 
stems  of  a  weaker  and  more  watery  character,  and  more 
liable  to  disease  than  those  first  protruded.  To  avoid 
these  evils,  gardeners  are  at  pains  to  invigorate  their  seed 
potatoes  and  husband  their  whole  powers  for  early  and 
vigorous  growth  by  greening  them  in  autumn,  storing  them 
in  a  cool  place  with  a  current  of  air  passing  through  it, 
and  then  in  early  spring  exposing  them  to  kght  on  a  floor, 
whence  they  are  carefully  removed  and  planted  with  their 
short  green  shoots  unbroken.  Neither  the  greening  nor 
the  sprouting  under  cover  and  in  the  light  can  ordinarily 
be  practised  on  the  scale  on  which  the  field  culture  of  the 
potato  is  conducted.  But  the  important  feature  in  it,  viz., 
so  treating  potatoes  intended  for  seed  that  the  crop  shall  be 
produced  from  the  first  and  most  vigorous  shoots,  and  that 
these  shall  obtain  the  fuli  benefit  of  the  natural  pabulum 
stored  up  for  their  use  in  the  parent  tuber,  should  be  care- 
fully considered  and  imitated  if  possible  in  field  culture. 

The  report  of  the  meeting  of  the  Edinburgh  Botanical 
Society,  on  8th  January  1852,  bears  that  "Professor 
Simpson  communicated  the  results  of  some  experiments 
made  by  himself  and  Mr  Stewart  relative  to  the  growth  of 
alpine  plants  after  having  been  kept  artificially  covered 


HOOT   CROPS.] 

■with  snow  in  an  ice-house  for  many  months.  Seeds  and 
plants  when  kept  in  this  way  during  winter,  and  then 
brought  into  the  warm  air  of  summer,  germinate  and  grow 
with  great  rapidity.  Mr  Stewart  had  also  made  experi- 
ments with  animals,  and  he  found  that  the  chrysalis  so 
treated  produced  a  moth  in  eleven  days  after  being  brought 
into  the  atmosphere,  while  another  chrysalis  of  the  same 
moth  did  not  do  so  for  three  or  four  months  after.  In 
arctic  regions  the  rapid  growth  of  plants  during  the  short 
summer  was  well  known.  Professor  Simpson  alluded  to 
the  importance  of  similar  experiments  being  made  on  the 
different  kinds  of  grain.  He  referred  to  the  rapidity  of 
harvest  in  Canada  and  other  countries  where  the  cold  lasted 
for  many  months,  and  he  was  disposed  to  think  that  if 
grain  was  kept  in  ice-houses  during  the  winter,  and  sown 
in  spring,  there  might  be  an  acceleration  of  the  harvest." 

The  suggestion  for  the  treatment  of  seed  corn  is  cer- 
tainly deserving  of  trial;  but  the 'known  difficulty  of  hinder- 
ing the  premature  germination  of  potato  sets  in  the  ordi- 
nary method  of  storing  them  seems  to  point  to  them  as  the 
peculiarly  appropriate  subjects  of  such  an  experiment. 

Potato  drills  should  not  be  less  than  30  inches  wide,  nor 
the  8et3  less  than  10  or  12  inches  apart  in  the  rows.  The 
usual  practice  is  to  take  the  sets  to  the  field  in  sacks,  which 
are  set  down  at  convenient  distances  for  replenishing  the 
baskets  or  aprons  of  the  planters.  When  a  large  breadth 
is  to  be  planted,  a  better  way  is  to  have  the  sets  in  carts, 
one  of  which  is  moved  slowly  along  in  front  of  the  planters 
A.  person  is  seated  in  the  cart,  who  has  by  him  several  spare 
baskets  which  he  keeps  ready  filled,  and  which  are  handed 
to  the  planters  in  exchange  for  empty  ones  as  often  as 
required.  This  greatly  economises  the  time  of  the  planters, 
and  admits  of  a  greater  amount  of  work  being  accomplished 
by  them  in  a  day.  Single-bout  drills  are  quite  sufficient, 
so  far  as  the  success  of  the  crop  is  concerned.  So  soon  as 
the  young  potato  plants  are  fairly  above  ground,  the  drill- 
grubber  should  be  set  to  work  and  followed  up  without 
delay  by  hand-hoeing.  Mr  Wallace,  North  Berwick  Mains, 
e  most  successful  cultivator  of  potatoes,  has  for  many  years 
taken  off  all  the  shoots,  save  one,  from  the  potato  sets  as 
they  appear  above  ground,  and  the  prunings  are  used  in 
filling  up  blanks;  the  result  has  been  that  the  produce  of 
the  solitary  stem  is  both  larger  and  of  more  equal  size  and 
quality  than  when  the  shoots  are  all  left.  A  turn  of  the 
horse-hoe  and  another  hand-hoeing  after  a  short  interval 
are  usually  required,  after  which  the  common  practice  is 
to  earth  up  the  rows  by  the  double  mould-board  ploughs. 
There  is  reason  to  believe  that  this  latter  practice  usually 
does  harm  rather  than  good.  It  no  doubt  prevents  the 
uppermost  tubers  from  getting  greened  by  exposure  to  the 
light,  but  it  is  believed  that  the  injury  inflicted  on  the 
roots  which  spread  into  the  intervals  betwixt  the  rows  far 
more  than  counterbalances  any  benefits  that  result,  or  have 
been  supposed  to  result,  from  this  earthing  up.  After  the 
plants  are  a  foot  high,  a  slight  stirring  of  the  surface  to 
keep  down  weeds  is  all  the  culture  that  is  admissible  con- 
sistently with  the  well-doing  of  the  crop 

When  the  crop  is  matured,  which  is  known  by  the  decay 
of  the  tops  and  the  firmness  of  the  epidermis  when  the 
tubers  are  forcibly  rubbed  by  the  thumb,  advantage  is 
taken  of  every  dry  day  in  harvesting  the  crop.  With  small 
plots,  the  fork  is  certainly  the  most  efficient  implement  for 
raising  the  tubers;  but  on  the  large  scale,  when  expedition 
is  of  great  consequence,  they  are  always  unearthed  by  the 
double  mould-board  plough.  Alternate  rows  are  split  open 
in  the  first  instance,  and  then  the  intervening  ones,  as 
the  produce  of  the  first  is  gathered.  When  a  convenient 
breadth  has  thus  been  cleared,  a  turn  of  the  harrows  is 
given  to  uncover  such  tubers  as  have  been  hid  from  the 
glfl&ners  at  the  first  going  over.     This  work  is  now  very 


AGRICULTURE 


30.' 


generally  accomplished  by  means  of  a  lmlking-plongh 
divested  of  its  wings,  and  having  attached  to  its  solo  a 
piece  of  iron  terminating  in  radiating  prongs.  This  being 
worked  directly  under  the  row  of  potato  plants,  unearth- 
the  tubers,  and  spreads  them  on  the  surface  by  one  opera- 
tion. The  potatoes  are  gathered  into  baskets,  from  which 
they  are  emptied  into  carts  and  conveyed  at  once  to  soma 
dry  piece  of  ground,  where  they  are  piled  up  in  long  narrow 
heaps  and  immediately  thatched  with  straw.  The  base  of 
the  heaps  should  not  exceed  a  yard  in  width,  and  should  be 
raised  above  the  surface  level  rather  thau  sunk  below  it,  as 
is  very  usually  done.  As  the  dangers  to  be  guarded  against 
are  heating  and  frost,  measures  must  be  taken  with  an  eye 
to  both.  The  crop  being  put  together  in  as  dry  and  clean 
a  state  as  possible,  a  good  covering  of  straw  is  put  oh,  and 
coated  over  two  or  three  inches  thick  with  earth,  care  being 
taken  to  leave  a  chimney  every  two  yards  along  the  ridge. 
By  thus  keeping  the  heaps  dry  and  secure  from  frost,  it  if 
usually  possible,  even  yet,  to  preserve  potatoes  in  good 
condition  till  spring.  Such  diseased  one3  as  have  beer 
picked  out  at  the  gathering  of  the  crop  can  be  used  foi 
feeding  cattle  or  pigs.  The  fact  that  pigs  fatten  appa 
rently  as  well  on  diseased  potatoes  when  cooked  bj 
steaming  or  boiling,  as  on  sound  ones,  is  certainly  a  very 
important  mitigation  of  this  dreaded  calamity.  There  art 
several  varieties  of  the  potato,  such  as  "  yams,"  "  lumpers," 
"  mangel-wurzel  potato,"  &c,  which,  although  unfit  for 
human  food,  are  much  relished  by  cattle,  and  which,  from 
their  abundant  produce,  healthiness,  and  great  fattening 
quality,  are  well  deserving  of  being  more  generally  cultivated 
for  the  purpose  of  being  used  in  combination  with  turnips 
and  other  substances  in  the  fattening  of  cattle.  The  turnip 
crop  of  recent  years  has  been  nearly  as  much  diseased  as 
the  potato  crop,  and  as  one  remedy  against  "  fingers-and- 
toes"  in  the  former  is  to  let  longer  intervals  of  time  inter- 
vene before  their  recurrence  in  the  same  field,  and  as  it 
has  been  ascertained  that  an  acre  each  of  beans,  potatoes, 
and  turnips  will  produce  more  beef  than  three  acres  of 
turnips  alone,  it  is  worthy  the  consideration  of  those  con- 
cerned whether  it  would  not  be  prudent  to  substitute  a 
crop  of  these  coarser  potatoes  for  a  portion  of  their  turnip 
crop  on  fields  or  parts  of  fields  that  have  borne  diseased 
turnips  in  previous  rotations.  Eight  tons  per  acre  is  a 
good  crop  of  potatoes. 

Section  2.— Turnips. 

The  introduction  of  turnips  as  a  field  crop  constitutes 
one  of  the  most  marked  epochs  in  British  agriculture.  To 
the  present  day  no  better  criterion  exists  by  which  to 
estimate  its  state  in  any  district,  or  the  skill  of  individual 
farmers,  than  the  measure  of  success  with  which  this  or 
other  root  crops  are  cultivated.  We  have  already,  in  our 
section  upon  fallowing,  described  in  detail  the  process  of 
preparing  the  soil  for  drilled  green  crops.  Referring  the 
reader  to  what  is  there  said,  wo  now  proceed  with  our 
description  of  turnip  culture. 

Previous  to  the  introduction  of  bone-dust  and  guano, 
farm-yard  dung  formed,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  the  only 
available  manure  for  the  turnip  crop.  It  was  almost  in- 
variably formed  into  heaps  in  the  field  to  which  it  was  to 
be  applied,  and  repeatedly  turned,  as  great  stress  was  laid 
on  having  it  well  rotted.  The  introduction  of  these  invalu- 
able portable  manures  has,  however,  not  only  immensely 
extended  the  culture  of  the  turnip,  but  has  materially 
modified  the  course  of  procedure.  -  On  the  first  introduc- 
tion of  bone-dust  the  practice  was  to  use  the  fold-yard 
dung  as  far  as  it  would  go,  and  to  apply  bone-dust  alone, 
in  quantities  of  from  sixteen  to  twenty  bushels  per  acre, 
to  the  remainder  of  the  crop.  Guano,  too,  for  c  time  was 
used  to  some  extent  on  the  same  principle;  but  now  it  is 


3G6 


AGRICULTURE 


[HOOT  CE0P8. 


most  satisfactorily  proved  that  whereas  very  good  crops  of 
turnips  can  be  obtained  by  manuring  either  with  dung 
alone,  at  the  rate  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty  tons  per  acre, 
or  boues  alone,  at  the  rate  of  sixteen  to  twenty  bushels,  or 
guano  alone,  at  the  rate  of  three  or  four  cwt,  much  better 
crops  can  be  obtained  by  applying  to  each  acre  its  propor- 
tion  of  each  of  these  kinds  and  quantities  of  manures.  A 
portion  of  the  bones  is  now  usually  applied  in  the  form  of 
superphosphate  of  lime;  and  as  this  substance,  and  also 
guano,  have  a  remarkable  power  of  stimulating  the  growth 
of  the  turnip  in  its  earliest  stage,  forcing  it  to  the  state  fit 
for  thinning  from  ten  to  fourteen  days  earlier  than  hereto- 
fore, there  is  now  no  occasion  for  the  dung  being  in  the 
advanced  stato  of  decomposition  that  was  formerly  found 
necessary.  When  farm-yard  dung  alone  was  used,  it 
behoved  to  be  in  a  soluble  state,  ready  to  furnish  nourish- 
ment to  the  plant  from  the  beginning.  Eut  in  bringing  it 
to  that  state  a  considerable  loss  is  sustained  by  fermentation, 
and  its  bulk  is  so  much  reduced  that  it  becomes  difficult  to 
distribute  evenly  the  allowance  which  would  be  available 
for  each  acre,  in  order  to  give  the  whole  crop  a  share  of  it. 
This",  however,  it  is  most  desirable  to  do,  as  good  farm- 
yard manure  contains  in  itself  the  whole  elements  required 
by  the  crop;  and  hence  an  additional  reason  for  the  plans 
of  applying  farm-yard  dung  which  have  already  been 
noticed.  If  that  made  during  the  previous  summer  has 
been  applied  in  autumn  to  the  lea  before  ploughing  for 
oats,  as  far  as  it  will  go,  and  another  portion  of  the  con- 
templated turnip  break  dunged  before  the  winter  furrow, 
with  all  that  has  been  made  up  to  that  time,  and  the  future 
accumulations  up  to  April  formed  into  heaps,  to  be  applied 
in  the  drills  for  the  latest  sowings,  the  manures  produced 
on  the  farm  may  be  made  to  go  over  nearly  the  whole 
breadth  under  root  crops. 

In  proceeding  to  sow  those  portions  that  were  dunged 
before  the  oat  crop  and  on  the  stubble,  all  that  is  required 
is  to  form  the  drills,  and  apply  the  guano  or  bones,  or 
mixture  of  both,  by  hand.  In  doing  this,  ten  or  twelve 
drills  are  set  out  the  evening  before,  that  all  may  be  ready 
for  a  good  start.  The  light  manure  is  taken  to  the  field 
in  carts,  which  are  unyoked  at  convenient  distances  for 
replenishing  the  aprons  of  the  young  persons  (one  for  each 
plough)  or  the  machine  by  which  it  is  distributed  along 
the  drills.  The  sowers  of  the  manure  being  started  on  the 
outside  drills,  the  ploughmen  proceed  to  open  fresh  ones 
inside  in  going,  and  to  cover  in  the  manure  by  reversing 
the  first  formed  ridgelets  as  they  return.  The  seed  machine, 
sowing  two  rows  at  a  time,  follows  close  up  to  the  ploughs, 
and  thus  the  work  goes  rapidly  on,  each  plough  getting 
over  from  2£  to  3  acres  a-day.  When  farm-yard  dung  is 
applied  at  the  time  of  sowing,  the  process  is  the  same, 
except  that  the  drills  must  be  opened  somewhat  deeper, 
and  that  the  dung-carts,  followed  by  an  adequate  number 
of  spreaders,  precede  the  sowers  of  the  light  manures.  In 
filling  the  dung-carts,  one  able-bodied  labourer  is  required 
for  each  plough  employed  in  drilling;  and  where  these 
amount  to  three,  six  spreaders  are  required  to  distribute 
it  evenly  along  the  drills.  In  some  districts  the  double- 
breasted  plough  is  used  in  forming  the  drills  and  covering 
in  the  dung.  In  the  hands  of  a  skilful  ploughman  that 
implement  does  certainly  make  neater  work  to  look  at;  but 
so  far  as  the  success  of  the  crop  is  concerned,  the  common 
swing-plough  is  preferable,  for  in  covering  in  with  it  the 
earth  is  made  to  run  over  the  top  of  the  ridgelet,  by  which 
moans  the  clods  fall  into  the  hollow,  and  the  finest  of  the 
mould  is  left  on  the  top,  where  the  seed  is  to  be  deposited. 
With  the  double  mould-board  this  cannot  so  well  be  done, 
and  the  consequence  is,  that  a  groove  is  formed  on  the  top 
of  the  ridgelet,  in  which  the  small  dry  clods,  carried  up  by 
the  tail  of  the  mould-board,  are  left,  forming  the  jvorst 


possible  bed  for  the  seed.  In  parching  weather  it  is  usual 
to  pass  a  light  roller  over  the  drills  immediately  after 
sowing,  o  retain  the  moisture  and  insure  germination. 
The  seed  is  deposited  near  the  surface,  haLf  an  inch  of 
mould  being  a  sufficient  covering.  The  quantity  sown  ia 
2  D)  per  acre  of  globe  or  yellow  turnip  seeds,  and  3  to  4 
tb  of  swedes.  Care  must  be  taken  that  the  seed  is  fresh, 
so  as  to  have  a  vigorous  and  thick  plant  Thick  sowing 
increases  the  difficulty  of  thinning  out  the  plants,  but  it 
hastens  their  growth,  and  diminishes  the  risk  of  failure 
from  the  depredations  of  tho  turnip  beetle.  The  time  of 
sowing  in  the  south  of  Scotland  extends  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  end  of  May  for  swedes,  and  thence  to  the 
middle  of  June  for  yellows  and  globes.  A  partial  sowing 
of  yellow  or  globe  is,  however,  made  by  careful  stock- 
masters  before  sowing  the  swedes,  to  be  ready  for  use  by  tho 
end  of  August  or  beginning  of  September,  when  pasturage 
fails.  Sowings  of  early  varieties,  such  as  the  stubble  turnip 
and  certain  yellow  kinds,  are  also  made  after  winter  tares! 
or  other  catch  crops,  until  the  middle  of  July;  but  in  Scot* 
land  they  cannot  be  sown  later  than  this  with  advantage, 
unless  for  the  production  of  a  crop  of  seed.  The  averagsj 
weight  per  acre  of  swedes  may  be  stated  at  18  tons,  and! 
of  turnips  at  22  tons,  but  double  these  rates  have) 
occasionally  been  obtained.  Recent  experiments  go  to 
show  that  with  liberal  manuring  and  early  sowing,  the 
weight  of  the  crop  is  considerably  increased  by  thinninsj 
out  the  plants  at  wider  intervals  than  has  hitherto  been 
customary.  The  usual  practice  in  Scotland  has  been  t«j 
sow  in  ridgelets  27  inches  apart,  with  9  or  10  inches  be^ 
twixt  the  plants.  Recent  experiments  establish  the  fact 
that,  with  1 5  inches  from  plant  to  plant,  much  larger  bulbs 
and  a  greater  acreable  produce  are  obtained.  As  it  is 
ascertained  that  in  the  case  of  swedes  the  largest  bulbs 
are  also  the  best  in  quality,  it  is  of  the  greater  consequence 
to  allow  them  ample  room. 

The  thinning  is  commenced  as  soon  as  the  rough  \e&f  is 
fairly  developed.  Previous  to  this  operation  the  horse-hoe 
is  worked  betwixt  the  row3  for  the  double  purpose  of 
destroying  weeds  and  facilitating  the  operation  of  thinning. 
This  operation  is  sometimes  still  farther  facilitated  by 
using  Huckvale's  machine,  which  slaps  out  the  rows  so  aa 
to  leave  tufts  of  plants  at  regular  distances  apart.  The 
singling  of  the  plants  is  performed  by  the  hand-hoe.  The 
young  persons  by  whom  this  work  is  usually  performed 
advance  in  echelon  with  their  backs  to  the  untouched  work, 
the  steadiest  and  most  expert  worker  leading  the  band. 
This  arrangement  insures  a  uniform  rate  of  progress,  saves 
the  finialip.fl  work  from  being  trodden  upon,  and  keeps  the 
workers  closely  under  the  eye  of  the  steward.  This  thin- 
ning of  tho  rows,  so  as  to  leave  single  plants  at  regular 
intervals  of  12  to  15  inches  apart,  is  accomplished  by  an 
alternate  thrusting  and  drawing  motion  of  the  hoe,  which 
a  little  practice  enables  the  workers  to  perform  with  such 
precision  that  very  rarely  do  they  either  make  a  gap  or 
leave  double  plants,  and  still  more  rarely  do  they  require 
to  stoop  down  to  disentangle  them  with  their  fingers. 
Three  of  these  workers  can  usually  thin  an  acre  in  a  day. 
With  ordinary  care  on  the  part  of  the  overseer,  there  is  no 
great  difficulty  in  getting  the  plants  left  single  at  proper 
intervals ;  but  it  is  very  difficult  to  get  the  hoers  trained 
to  select  and  leave  only  the  stoutest  plants.  And  yet  so 
important  is  this,  that,  all  other  things  lAing  equal,  a 
difference  of  two  to  three  tons  per  acre  in  the  rate  of  pro- 
duce has  been  ascertained  to  result  on  comparing  rows 
that  had  been  thinned  by  a  person  who  took  pains  to 
select  and  leave  the  best  plants,  with  others  on  which  they 
had  been  left  mdiscriminately.  When  the  plants  have 
rallied  after  the  thinning,  and  begun  to  grow  rapidly,  the 
usual  practice  has  been  to  turn  a  furrow  from  either  side 


HOOT  CKOPS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


367 


of  them  into  the  middle  of  the  interval  by  a  one-horse 
plough,  and  then  to  level  this  down  by  a  turn  of  the  horse- 
hoe.  A  great  improvement  on  thi3  practice  i3  to  use 
Tennant's  grubber  instead,  adjusted  for  drill  work  in  the 
manner  already  described.  By  thus  using  a  strong  imple- 
ment drawn  by  two  horses,  the  soil  in  the  intervals  betwixt 
the  rows  can  be  stirred  a  foot  deep  if  required,  without 
any  risk  of  hurting  .the  young  plants,  and  this,  too,  is 
accomplished  by  a  single  operation.  A  second  hand-hoeing 
is  then  given,  which  usually  completes  the  after  culture. 

The  nature  of  the  soil  will  generally  determine  the  mode 
of  consuming  the  crop.  On  all  loose,  dry  soils,  feeding  off 
by  sheep  is  the  most  profitable  plan ;  whereas  on  deep, 
strong  loams,  it  is  advisable  to  withdraw  the  whole  produce, 
and  have  it  eaten  by  cattle,  as,  unless  in  very  favourable 
weather,  when  even  a  fourth  is  fed  off  by  sheep,  the  extra 
manuring  does  not  compensate  to  the  after  crops  for  the 
injury  which  they  usually  sustain  from  the  treading  and 
poaching.  On  the  poorest  class  of  light  soils  the  whole 
crop  should,  if  possible,  be  consumed  where  it  grows  by 
sheep;  but  on  those  of  a  better  description,  a  third,  a  half, 
or  two-thirds  rray  be  withdrawn  for  the  feeding  of  cattle, 
according  to  circumstances.  Whatever  the  proportion  left 
on  the  ground,  care  is  to  be  taken  to  regulate  the  intervals 
so  as  to  distribute  the  treading  and  droppings  of  the  sheep 
as  equally  aa  possible  over  the  field. 

•The  management  of  the  turnip  crop  so  as  that  it  may 
be  supplied  to  the  live  stock  in  the  best  possible  condition 
during  the  entire  season,  is  a  point  of  the  greatest  import- 
ance. The  portion  that  is  to  be  used  as  cattle  food  is 
removed  from  the  ground  as  soon  as  the  crop  is  suffi- 
ciently matured,  and  before  the  time  when  drenching 
rains  and  severe  frosts  may  ordinarily  be  looked  for.  The 
best  way  of  preserving  turnips  is  by  storing  in  broad  flat 
heaps,  not  exceeding  20  inches  deep,  on  some  dry  and 
sheltered  situation,  open  to  the  sun,  and  covering  them 
with  a  good  coating  of  straw.  It  takes  less  labour  to  put 
them  together  in  this  way,  and  less  straw  to  cover  them; 
and  being  less  exposed  to  frost  and  parching  winds,  they 
retain  their  juices  much  better  than  when  stored  in  long 
narrow  heaps.  The  pulling  of  swedes  preparatory  to  stor- 
ing is  much  facilitated  by  passing  under  them  a  sharp 
share,  and  so  cutting  across  the  tap-roots  without  displacing 
the  bulbs.  The  thatch  of  the  corn-stacks  that  are  thrashed 
in  autumn  is  usually  reserved  for  covering  turnip  heaps. 
After  1st  November  it  is  well  to  make  diligent  use  of 
every  favourable  hour  in  thus  securing  the  turnip  crop. 

The  portion  to  be  fed  off  by  sheep  must  necessarily  be 
treated  in  a  different  manner.  What  is  to  be  used  after 
Christmas  can  be  very  readily  defended  against  frost  by 
earthing  up  in  the  drills  with  the  common  plough.  But 
as  what  is  to  be  consumed  by  the  young  sheep  must  be 
pulled  and  trimmed  at  any  rate,  in  order  to  be  sliced,  the 
best  way  is  to  throw  the  turnips  into  heaps  at  regular 
distances,  and  cover  them  with  a  thin  coating  of  earth.  By 
this  means  the  turnips  are  kept  from  running  to  stems, 
and  the  sheep  get  them  clean  and  fresh,  whatever  the  state 
of  the  weather.1  The  same  end  is  secured  by  opening  a 
trench  by  a  bout  of  the  common  plough,  into  which  the 
turnips  from  two  drills  on  either  side  are  laid  in  regular 
order  with  their  tops  uppermost,  and  the  earth  turned 
over  upon  them  by  reversing  the  course  of  -the  plough. 
When  wanted  for  use  they  are  again  unearthed  by  means 
of  the  plough.  The  feeding  qualities  of  turnips  are  so 
seriously  impaired  by  exposure  to  frost,  even  when  they 

1  During  the  unusually  wet  winter  of  1852-53  a  large  quantity  of 
turnips  and  swedes  intended  for  cattle  food  was  stored  in  this  way. 
The  trimming  and  storing  was  carried  on  every  dry  day,  and  the 
carting  postponed  until  the  occurrence  of  frost  or  drought  admitted 
of  its  being  dnne  without  injnry  to  the  land. 


escape  actual  destruction,  that  the  expense  of  securinf 
them  by  one  or  other  of  these  methods  is  always  amph) 
repaid.  In  very  mild  winters,  again,  storing  is  equallj 
effective  in  preventing  the  virtues  both  of  the  turnips  am 
the  soil  from  being  wasted  by  the  pushing  of  the  seed  sterna 

The  turnip  is  liable  in  the  early  stages  of  its  growth  to 
the  attacks  of  various  insects.  The  most  formidable  oi 
these  enemies  is  the  turnip  beetle,  which  frequently  settles 
upon  the  plants  as  so-'tn  as  they  appear  above  ground  in 
such  numbers  as  totally  to  destroy  the  whole  of  them.  Th« 
best  way  of  guarding  against  these  nimble  adversaries  is 
to  endeavour,  by  careful  preparation  of  the  soil,  liberal 
manuring,  and  thick  seeding,  to  secure  a  thick  plant  and 
rapid  growth ;  for  whenever  the  rough  leaf  is  expanded  the 
risk  from  this  quarter  is  over.  From  time  to  time  the 
young  turnip  plants  are  assailed  by  the  larvae  of  certain 
butterflies  and  moths,  which  sometimes  appear  in  such  num- 
bers as  to  cause  serious  alarm,  but  ordinarily  their  attacks 
occasion  but  a  slight  check  to  the  growth  of  the  crop. 

A  far  more  formidable  evil  is  the  disease  called  "  fingers 
and  toes,"  which,  although  long  known,  seems  to  be  steadily 
extending,  and  has  been  wider  spread  and  more  virulent 
since  1851  than  in  previous  years.  This  truly  formidable 
disease  sometimes  shows  itself  by  the  time  that  the  plants 
are  ready  for  thinning,  but  more  usually  it  i3  about  th6 
stage  when  the  second  hoeing  is  given  that  unmistakable 
indications  of  its  presence  are  observed.  The  crop  appears 
in  high  health,  and  is  making  rapid  growth,  when  suddenly, 
under  hot  sunshine,  numbers  of  the  plants  are  seen  to  droop 
with  flaccid  leaves;  and  examination  being  made,  it  is  found 
that  the  disease  has  already  made  serious  progress.  In 
some  cases  it  is  chiefly  confined  to  the  tap-root,  which  is 
distorted  with  knobby  excrescences.  In  others,  the  roots 
present  a  thickened,  palmated  appearance,  giving  rise  to  the 
popular  name  for  the  disease,  "  fingers  and  toes;"  while  in 
others  the  lateral  roots  expand  into  glaDdular-looking  tubers, 
which  frequently  appear  partially  above  ground  at  distances 
of  several  inches  from  the  central  stem.  For  a  time  all 
these  forms  of  the  excrescences  present  a  smooth  healthy 
looking  skin,  yielding  no  trace  of  the  presence  of  insects  of 
any  kind,  either  externally  or  internally.  By-and-by  the 
skin  cracks  over  the  excrescences,  which  speedily  assume  a 
gangrenous  appearance.  Indeed,  the  whole  symptoms  pre- 
sent a,  striking  analogy  to  cancer  in  the  animal  system. 
By  the  time  that  the  healthy  plants  are  approaching  near 
to  maturity,  the  most  diseased  ones  have  usually  lost  all 
resemblance  to  turnips,  and  there  remains  on  the  land  a 
substance  like  rotten  fungus.  In  very  bad  case3  whole 
acres  together  are  found  in  this  state,  with  here  and  there 
a  sickly  distorted  turnip  still  showing  a  few  green  leaves. 
At  other  times  a  few  only  of  the  plants  are  wholly  destroyed; 
the  field,  to  a  casual  observer,  looking  not  much  amiss, 
though  a  closer  inspection  proves  that  the  general  crop  is 
of  stunted  growth,  with  few  plants  entirely  free  from  the 
disease.  Such  partially  diseased  roots  are  not  absolutely 
rejected  by  sheep,  but  they  are  evidently  unpalatable  and 
innutritious,  while  the  crop  as  a  whole  is  more  speedily 
consumed  than  its  general  appearance  would  lead  one  to 
expect.  When  this  disease  appears  on  farms  that  have 
previously  been  exempt  from  it,  it  is  usually  confined  for 
a  year  or  two  to  small  patches,  which,  however,  in  the 
absence  of  remedial  measures,  steadily  and  rapidly  extend, 
not  only  on  the  recurrence  of  a  turnip  crop  on  the  same 
fields,  but  over  the  other  parts  of  the  farm.  Indeed,  there 
are  not  wanting  indications  of  its  being  propagated  by 
contagion;  as,  for  instance,  when  tainted  roots  are  carted 
into  pastures,  and  the  disease  shows  itself  roost  in  those 
places  where  they  have  been  consumed,  when,  in  course  of 
rotation,  the  field  comes  afterwards  to  bear  a  turnip  crop. 
When  they  are  consumed  by  cattle  in  fold-yards,  the  dung 


368 


A  G  11  I  C  U  L  T  U  11  E 


[kuot  oboh. 


may  bo  the  medium  of  contamination,  on  the  supposition 
that  this  conjecture  is  well-founded  Ploughing  land  in  a 
wet  state  evidently  aggravates  the  disease.  We  know  of 
one  instance  where  a  strip  down  the  middle  of  a  field  was 
ploughed  in  autumn  while  soaked  by  rain,  on  which  wet 
ploughed  portion  the  turnips  were  evidently  more  diseased 
than  over  the  rest  of  the  field  In  another  instanco  which 
came  under  our  personal  observation,  a  ditch  running  along 
part  of  the  top  of  a  field  of  upwards  of  50  acres,  was 
scoured  in  spring,  and  the  mud  spread  back  over  the  head- 
land The  whole  field  was,  in  the  same  season,  sown  with 
turnips,  which  proved  an  excellent  crop,  entirely  free  from 
"  fingers  and  toes,"  with  the  exception  of  that  portion  of 
headland  on  which  the  mud  was  spread,  where  every  plant 
was  diseased.  Although  wholly  in  the  dark  as  to  the 
nature  and  propagation  of  this  disease,  it  is  well  to  know 
that  the  judicious  application  of  lime  is  a  certain  remedy. 
In  order,  however,  to  its  efficacy,  it  must  be  applied  in  a 
powdery  state  after  the  autumn.ploughing,  and  immediately 
incorporated  with  the  soil  by  harrowing;  or  else,  as  a  com- 
post with  earth,  spread  on  the  lea  before  breaking  up  for  oats. 
We  know  from  experience  that  a  very  moderate  dose  (say 
four  tons  of  unslaked  shells  to  the  acre)  applied  in  this 
way  will  suffice  to  prevent  the  disease.  It  is  on  light  soils 
that  its  ravages  are  most  frequently  experienced,  and  to 
these  heavy  doses  of  lime  are  unsuitable.  Indeed,  whether 
for  promoting  the  general  fertility  of  soils,  or  for  warding 
off  the  attacks  of  this  disease,  moderate  applications  of 
lime  every  twelve  years  or  so  seem  preferable  to  heavier 
dressings  at  longer  intervals.  The  name  "  fingers  and 
toes"  is  not  unfrequently  applied  to  a  distinct  disease 
to  which  the  turnip,  in  common  with  the  cabbage  and  other 
coleworts,  is  liable — namely  anbury  or  club  root.  When 
the  knobby  excrescence  which  is  found  on  plants  affected 
by  anbury  is  broken  up,  it  is  found  to  encase  a  white 
maggot,  whose  presence  is  the  obvious  cause  of  the  mis- 
chief. We  have  seen  young  cabbages  which  had  begun  to 
droop  from  clubbing,  when  pulled  up,  freed  from  the 
parasite,  and  replanted,  regain  healthy  growth  and  come  to 
prosperous  maturity.  In  the  case  of  the  "  finger  and  toe," 
the  most  careful  investigation,  aided  by  the  microscope, 
has  hitherto  failed  to  detect  any  insect  cause  for  this 
disastrous  malady. 

Section  3. — Mangel-Wurzel. 

This  root  has  been  steadily  rising  in  estimation  of  late 
years.  It  is  peculiarly  adapted  for  those  southern  parts  of 
England  where  the  climate  is  too  hot  and  dry  for  the  suc- 
cessful cultivation  of  the  turnip.  A  competent  authority 
declares  that  it  is  there  easier  to  obtain  30  tons  of  mangold 
than  20  tons  of  swedes,  and  that  it  is  not  at  all  unusual 
to  find  individual  roots  upwards  of  20  lb  in  weight  In 
Scotland  it  is  just  the  reverse,  it  being  comparatively  easy 
to  grow  a  good  crop  of  swedes,  but  very  difficult  to  obtain 
20  tons  of  mangold  This  plant  is  very  susceptible  of 
injury  from  frost,  and  hence  in  the  short  summer  of  Scot- 
land it  can  neither  be  sown  so  early  nor  left  in  the  ground 
so  late  as  would  be  requisite  for  its  mature  growth.  These 
difncultie3<  may  possibly  be  got  over  either  by  the  selection 
of  hardier  varieties  or  by  more  skilful  cultivation.  Its 
feeding  quality  is  said  to  be  nearly  equal  to  that  of  the 
swede;  it  is  much  relished  by  live  stock — pigs  especially 
doing  remarkably  well  upon  it;  and  it  has  the  very  im- 
portant property  of  keeping  in  good  condition  till  mid- 
summer if  required  Indeed,  it  is  only  after  it  has  been 
some  months  in  the  store  heap  that  it  becomes  a  palatable 
and  safe  food  for  cattle.  It  is,  moreover,  exempt  from  the 
attacks  of  the  turnip  beetle.  On  all  these  accounts,  there- 
fore, it  is  peculiarly  valuable  in  those  parts  of  Great  Britain 
where  the  summer  is  usually  hot  and  dry — conditions  of 


climate  which  are  favourable  to  the  mangold  and  Deculiarly 
unfavourable  to  the  turnip. 

I "  j •  to  the  act  of  depositing  the  seed,  the  processes  of  pre 
paration  for  mangold  are  identical  with  those  described  foi 
the  turnip;  winter  dunging  being  even  more  appropriate  for 
the  former  than  for  the  latter.  The  ridijelets  being  formed 
28  inches  apart,  and  charged  with  a  liberal  allowance  of 
dung  and  guano,  the  seeds  aro  deposited  along  the  top,  at 
the  rate  of  about  4  lb  per  acre.  The  common  drilling 
machines  are  easily  fitted  for  sowing  its  large  rough  seeds, 
which  should  be  sown  from  the  10th  to  the  2*>tli  April. 
The  after  culture  is  also  identical  with  that  of  the  ttirnip. 
The  plants  are  thinned  out  at  distances  of  not  less  than  1  f> 
inches  apart.  Transplanting  can  be  used  for  filling  up  of 
gaps  with  more  certainty  of  success  than  in  the  case  iif« 
swedes.  But  we  find  it  much  more  economical  to  avoid 
such  gaps  by  sowing  a  little  swede  seed  along  with  the 
mangold  Several  varieties  of  the  plant  are  cultivated — 
those  in  best  repute  being  the  orange  globe,  the  long  yellow, 
and  the  long  red.  This  crop  requires  a  heavier  dressing  of 
manure  than  the  turnip  to  grow  it  in  perfection,  and  is 
much  benefited  by  having  salt  mixed  with  the  manure  at 
the  rate  of  2  or  3  cwt.  per  acre.  The  crop  requires  to  be 
secured  in  store  heaps  as  early  in  autumn  as  possible,  as  it 
is  easily  injured  by  frost.  The  following  graphic  descrip- 
tion of  this'  process  is  by  Mr  Morton  of  Whitfield  : — 

"The  mode  of  harvesting  our  root  crop  which  we  ha7o  adopted 
for  several  years  is  this  :  We  let  the  lifting,  cutting  oft*  the  leaves 
and  the  roots,  and  putting  the  roots  into  the  cart — at  so  much  per 
acre,  according  to  the  weight  of  the  crop — to  one  man,  who  gets 
other  men  to  join  with  him  in  the  work  and  share  in  the  profits ; 
and  the  arrangement  I  require  to  be  adopted  is,  that  the  one-horse 
carts,  which  I  employ  to  haul  the  roots,  shall  be  constantly 
employed,  and  I  require  from  16  to  20  loads  or  tons  of  roots  to  bo 
filled  hourly.  The  number  of  carts  required  is  according  to  tho 
distance  of  the  field  from  the  store  ;  thus  the  distance  from  the 
middle  of  the  field  to  the  6tore  being  15  chains,  four  carts  aro 
required  ;  22  chains  require  five  carts  ;  and  30  chains  require  seven 
carts. 

"  The  mode  of  lifting  the  roots. — Five  men  are  employed  to  pull 
up  the  roots  ;  each  man  pulls  up  two  rows  ;  standing  between  the 
rows,  ho  takes  with  his  left  hand  a  root  from  the  row  on  his  left 
side,  and  with  his  right  hand  a  root  from  tho  row  on  his  right  side, 
and  pulling  both  up  at  the  same  time,  places  them  side  by  side, 
across  the  row  where  he  pulled  up  the  roots  with  his  right  hand,  so 
as  to  have  the  tops  lying  in  the  space  between  the  two  rows  he  has 
pulled  up  ;  the  next  man  takes  the  two  rows  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  last  two  rows  we  have  just  described,  and  he,  with  each  of  his 
hands,  pulls  up  a  row,  and  places  them  on  the  line  of  the  row  which 
ho  has  pulled  up  with  his  left  hand,  with  the  root  end  lying  towards 
the  root  end  of  the  first  row,  so  that  we  have  now  four  rows  of  roots 
lying  close  together  in  two  rows,  side  by  side,  with  their  leaves  on 
the  outside  of  each  of  these  rows,  and  the  roots  of  each  row  nearly 
touching  each  other  ;  and  every  four  rows,  when  growing,  are  thus, 
when  pulled,  laid  in  two  rows,  root  to  root,  occupying  not'  more 
than  27  inches.  Now,  as  the  next  four  rows  are  lifted  in  the  same 
way,  and  placed  in  like  manner,  we  have  a  space  unoccupied  of 
three  times  27  inches,  or  6  feet  9  inches  between  each  double  row  of 
roots,  for  the  cart  to  go  between  them  (viz.,  this  double  row  of  bulbs 
after  they  have  had  the  leaves  and  roots  cut  off),  to  carry  off  the 
bulbs  to  the  store.  After  the  five  men  who  are  pulling  the  roots 
there  follow  ten  women  or  boys,  with  knives  made  of  pieces  of  old 
scythes,  who,  with  repeated  blows,  cut  off  the  leaves  and  roots 
without  over  moving  one  of  them  with  their  hands  ;  this  is  constant 
but  not  hard  work,  and  it  requires  ten  active  women  or  boys  to 
keep  up  with  the  five  men  pulling. 

"  Immediately  on  the  heels  of  the  cutters  follow  the  carts 
between  the  two  double  rows  of  bulbs  as  they  lie,  having  then 
leaves  and  roots  cut  off ;  and  a  man,  one  of  the  principals  of  the 
gang,  and  nine  young  active  boys  and  girls,  throw  up  the  bulbs  as 
fast  as  th»y  can  into  the  cart,  the  man  Bpcaking  to  the  horse  to 
move  forward  or  stop  as  they  clear  the  ground  ;  when  one  cart  i» 
full,  an  empty  one  has  been  brought  by  one  of  the  boys  who  drive 
the  carts,  and  placed  immediately  behind  the  full  one  ;  so  that,  as 
he  moves  off  with  the  full  cart,  the  man  calls  the  horse  with  the 
empty  cart  to  move  forward,  and  they  proceed  to  throw  the  roots 
into  the  cart  as  fast  as  they  did  into  the  one  that  has  just  gone  off 
the  field.  .. 

"The  pulling  of  the  roots  and  the  filling  of  the  carts  being  the 
principal  work,  one  of  the  leaders  is  in  each  of  these  departments  at 


nooT  crops.] 


AGRICULTURE 


369 


the  work  ;  so  that,  by  his  example,  he  shows  those  with  him  how 
he  wishes  them  to  work,  and  thus  the  work  proceeds  with  the 
utmost  regularity  and  despatch ;  20  cart-load3  are  hourly  filled  in 
the  fields  and  delivered  in  the  store  ;  180  to  182  loads  of  22  cwt 
and  23  cwt.  each  in  a  day  of  nine  hours  ;  thu3  a  cart-load  i3  filled 
every  three  minutes  by  10  pairs  of  hands,  which  are  pulled  by  five 
pairs  of  hands,  and  the  leaves  and  roots  cut  off  by  10  pairs  of  hands 
— in  all  25  pairs  of  hands,  men,  women,  and  boys.  This  has  been 
repeatedly  done  in  a  day. 

"  The  stores  are  made  of  post3  and  rails,  enclosing  a  space  9  feet 
apart  and  44  feet  high,  and  of  any  length,  if  the  space  will  admit, 
and  as  near  to  where  they  are  to  be  consumed  as  possible.  The 
posts  are  5  feet  apart,  let  into  the  ground  13  inches,  and  4J  feet 
above,  with  five  rails  above,  4  or  5  inche3  wide,  nailed  to  the  inside 
of  the  posts  ;  and  each  of  these  stores  is  3  feet  apart.  I  have  14  of 
them,  about  70  feet  long  each,  which  i3  sufficient  to  store  from  1000 
to  1200  tons  of  bulbs." 

The  heaps  are  carefully  thatched,  and  the  spaces  betwixt 
them  filled  with  straw  to  keep  out  frost. 

It  is  believed  that  in  many  cases  crops  of  turnip  and 
mangold  could  be  more  cheaply  stored  by  means  of  the 
portable  railway  than  by  carts,  and  with  less  injury  to  the 
land.  This,  is  especially  the  case  with  clay  soils  and  in 
wet  seasons.  In  using  it,  eight  drills  of  roots  are  trimmed 
and  laid  m  two  rows,  as  Mr  Morton  describes;  the  rails 
are  shifted  between  the  pairs  of  rows  in  succession;  and 
the  roots  are  pitched  into  light  trucks,  which  a  man 
pushes  before  him  to  the  headland,  where  the  contents 
are  discharged  by  tipping.  Being  there  heaped  up  and 
thatched,  the  roots  are  carted'to  the  homestead  as  required. 

Section  4. — Carrot. 

This  root,  though  so  deservedly  esteemed  and  univer- 
dally  grown  in  gardens,  has  not  hitherto  attained  to  general 
cultivation  as  a  field  crop.  This  is  owing  chiefly  to  certain 
practical  difficulties  attending  its  culture  on  a  larger  scale. 
Its  light  feathery  seeds  cannot  easily  be  sown  so  as  to 
secure  their  regular  germination;  the  tardy  growth  of  the 
young  plants,  and  the  difficulty  of  oliscriminating  between 
them  and  weeds  makes  the  t running  a  troublesome  affair; 
the  harvesting  'of  the  crop  is  comparatively  expensive ;  and 
it  is  only  on  sandy  and  light  loamy  soils,  or  those  of  a 
peaty  character,  that  it  can  be  grown  successfully.  The 
increasing  precariousness  in  the  growth  of  potatoes,  turnips, 
and  clover,  and  the  consequent  necessity  for  a  greater 
variety  of  green  crop3,  entitle  the  carrot  to  increased  atten- 
tion as  a  field  crop.  Its  intrinsic  qualities  are,  however, 
very  valuable,  especially  since  the  introduction  of  the  white 
Belgian  variety.  On  light  soils  it  is  alleged  that  larger 
crop3  of  carrots  can  be  obtained  than  of  turnips,  and  with 
less  exhaustion  of  their  fertility,  which  is  explained  a3 
arising  from  the  greater  depth  to  which  the  carrots  descend 
for  their  nourishment.  This  root  is  eaten  with  avidity  by 
all  kinds  of  farm  stock.  Horses,  in  particular,  are  very 
fond  of  it,  and  can  be  kept  in  working  condition  with  a 
considerably  smaller  ration  'of  oats  when  20  lb  of  carrots 
are  given  to  them  daily.  It  can  also  be  readily  kept  to  an 
advanced  period  of  spring  when  stored  with  ordinary  care. 

The  mode  of  culture  is  very  similar'  to  that  already  de- 
scribed for  mangel-wurzeL  A  usual  practice  is  to  prepare 
the  seed  for  sowing  by  mixing  it  with  moist  sand,  and 
turning  the  mass  repeatedly  for  several  days  until  germina- 
tion begins,  when  it  is  sown  by  hand  at  the  rate  of  6  lb 
per  acre  of  the  dry  seeds,  in  a  seam  opened  by  the  coulters 
of  the  corn  or  turnip  drill,  according  as  it  is  wished  to  have 
it  on  the  flat  or  on  ridgelets.  Some  prefer  merely  to  rub 
the  mixture  of  seeds  and  sand  or  mould  betwixt  the  palms, 
until  the  seeds  are  thoroughly  separated  from  each  other, 
and  so  divested  of  their  hairs  as,  when  mixed  with  sand,  to 
run  from  a  drilling  machine.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
to  secure  seeds  of  the  previous  year's  growth,  as  if  older 
their  germination  cannot  be  depended  upon.  Much  care  is 
also  needed  in  saving  the  seed  only  from  selected  roots,  as 


carrots  have  a  decided  tendency  to  degenerate.  The  white 
Belgian  variety  is  certainly  the  best  for  farm  use,  not  only 
from  the  weight  of  crop,  but  from  its  growing  more  rapidly 
in  its  earliest  stage  than  other  approved  sorts,  and  showing 
a  broader  and  deeper  coloured  leaf,  which  can  more  easily 
be  cliscriminated  from  weeds,  and  thus  admitting  of  the 
earlier  use  of  the  hoe.  When  the  sowing  and  first  hoeing 
and  thinning  of  the  crop  are  got  over  successfully,  the  after 
culture  of  the  crop  is  very  simple;  all  that  is  needed  being 
the  occasional  use  of  the  horse  and  hand  hoe  to  keep  down 
weeds.  The  fork  must  be  used  in  lifting  the  crop.  The 
greens  are  then  cut  off  and  given  to  young  stock  or  cows, 
and  the  roots  storedin  long  narrow  heaps,  exactly  as  mangold. 
Fifteen  tons  per  acre  is  an  average  crop,  although  on  suit- 
able soils,  with  liberal  manuring  and  skilful  cultivation, 
double  the  weight  is  sometimes  obtained.  Those  who  in- 
tend to  cultivate  this  crop  statedly  will  do  well  to  raise 
their  own  seeds  from  carefully-selected  roots.  Unless 
genuine  and  fresh  seed  is  sown,  failure  and  disappointment 
can  scarcely  be  avoided. 

Section,  5. — Parsnip. 

This  plant  bears  so  close  a  resemblance  to  the  carrot,  and 
its  culture  and  uses  are  so  similar,  that  they  need  not  be 
repeated.  It  can,  however,  be  cultivated  successfully  over 
a  much  wider  range  of  soils  than  the  carrot,  and,  unlike 
it,  rather  prefers  those  in  which  clay  predominates.  It  is 
grown  extensively  and  with  great  success  in  the  Channel 
Islands.  The  cows  there,  fed  on  parsnips  and  hay,  yield 
butter  little  inferior,  either  in  colour  or  flavour,  to  that 
produced  from  pasture.  About  10  lb  of  seed  are  required 
per  acre.  It  requires,  like  that  of  the  carrot,  to  be  steeped 
before  sowing,  to  hasten  germination,  and  the  same  care  is 
needed  to  have  it  fresh  and  genuine.  It  should  be  sown 
in  April.     The  roots,  when  matured,  are  stored  like  carrots. 

Section  6. — Jerusalem  ArticJiohe. 

.This  root,  although  decidedly  inferior  to  the  potato  in 
flavour,  is  yet  deserving  of  cultivation.  It  grows  freely  in 
inferior  soils,  is  easily  propagated  from  the  tubers,  and 
requires  little  attention  in  its  cultivation.  When  once 
established  in  the  soil,  it  will  produce  abundant  crops  for 
successive  years  on  the  same  3pot.  It  is  sometimes  planted 
in  woods  to  yield  shelter  for  game,  for  which  purpose  it  is 
admirably  fitted,  as  it  grows  freely  under  the  shade  of  trees, 
and  yields  both  food  and  covert.  In  properly-fenced  woods 
it  might  yield  abundant  and  suitable  food  for  hogs,  which 
could  there  root  it  at  their  pleasure,  without  damage  to 
anything.  Where  they  had  mast  along  with  these  juicy 
tubers,  they  would  undoubtedly  thrive  apace.  After  they 
had  grubbed  up  what  they  could  get,  enough  would  be  left 
to  reproduce  a  crop  for  successive  seasons.  Such  a  use  of 
this  esculent  seems  well  deserving  of  careful  triaL 

CEOPS  ANALOGOUS  TO  DRILLED  ROOT  CROPS.  . 

{Sections  7,  8,  9.) 

There  are  several  crops  which,  under  a  strict  classifica- 
tion, should  be  noticed  among  forage  crops  rather  than  here, 
but  which,  in  an  agricultural  point  of  view,  are  so  closely 
analogous  to  drilled  root  crops  that  we  regard  this  as  the 
suitable  place  in  which  to  notice  them. 

Section  7. — Cabbage. 
On  strong  rich  soils  large  crops  of  very  nutritious  food 
for  sheep  or  cattle,  and  of  a  kind  very  acceptable  to  them, 
are  obtained  from  the  field  culture  of  the  Drumhead  cab- 
bage. A  seed-bed  is  prepared  in  a  garden,  orchard,  or  other 
sheltered  situation,  about  the  second  week  in  August,  either 
by  sowing  in  rows  12  inches  apart,  and  thinning  the  plants 


370 


AGRICULTURE 


(.GRASSES. 


•bout  3  inches  in  the  rows,  or  broadcast  in  beds.  As  early 
in  spring  as  the  land  on  which  the  crop  is  to  be  grown 
is  dry  enough  for  being  worked,  let  it  be  thoroughly 
and  deeply  starre'd  by  one  or  more  turns  of  the  grubber. 
Assuming  that  a  liberal  dressing  of  dung  has  been  put  into 
it  at  the  autumn  ploughing,  3  or  4  cwt.  of  guano  are  now 
scattered  evenly  over  the  surface  and  ploughed  in  by  a  deep 
»quare  furrow.  A  lot  of  plants  being  brought  from  the 
seed-bed,  a  band  of  planters,  each  provided  with  a  dibble 
and  a  piece  of  rod  27  inches  long,  proceed  to  insert  a 
row  of  plants  "the  length  of  the  rods  apart  in  each  third 
plough-seam,  the  result  of  which  is  that  the  plants  stand  in 
regular  rows  27  inches  apart  every  way,  and  can  afterwards 
be  kept  clean  by  horse  and  hand  hoeing  like  any  other 
drilled  green  crop.  Cabbages  aro  much  in  repute  with 
breeders  of  rams  and  prize  sheep,  which  fatten  rapidly  on 
this  food.  Cabbages  are  usually  drawn  off  and  given  to 
sheep  on  their  pastures,  or  to  cattle  in  byres  and  yards ; 
but  they  are  also-  fed  off,  where  they  grow,  by  sheep,  in  the 
same  way  as  turnips.  It  i3  an  exhausting  crop  when 
wholly  drawn  off,  and  on  this  account  is  sometimes  grown 
with  advantage  on  spots  greatly  enriched  by  irrigation  with 
sewage  or  otherwise,  and  where  the  succeeding  grain  crop 
is  expected  to  suffer  from  over-luxuriance,  the  cabbages 
being  grown,  as  the  phrase  goes,  to  "  take  the  shine  out  of 
it"  In  favourable  circumstances,  from  30  to  40  tons  per 
acre  of  this  nutritious  crop  may  be  obtained.  From  what 
has  been  said  it  is  evidently  not  adapted  for  extensive  field 
culture ;  but  on  most  farms  a  few  acres  might  be  grown 
annually  with  great  advantage.  It  is  a  peculiarly  suitable 
food  for  either  sheep  or  cattle  during  the  autumnal  tran- 
sition from  grass  to  turnips. 

Section  8. — Rape. 
This  plant  is  peculiarly  adapted  for  peaty  soils,  and  is 
accordingly  a  favourite  crop  in  the  fen  lands  of  England, 
and  on  recently  reclaimed  mosses  and  moors  elsewhere.  Its 
growth  is  greatly  stimulated  by  the  ashes  resulting  from 
the  practice  of  paring  and  burning.  In  these  cases  it  is 
sown  broadcast ;  but  when  such  soils  are  brought  into  a 
regular  course  of  tillage,  it  is  drilled,  and  otherwise  treated 
in  the  same  manner  as  turnips.  As  we  shall  consider  its 
culture  under  the  head  of  "  Oil-producing  Plants  "  (chap, 
xiv.  sec.  5),  we  shall  only  say  further  here,  that  its  highly 
nutritious  leaves  and  stems  are  usually  consumed  by  folding 
sheep  upon  it  where  it  grows,  and  that  there  is  no  green 
food  upon  which  they  fatten  faster.  Occasionally  it  is 
carried  to  the  homestead,  and  used  with  other  forage  in 
carrying  out  the  system  of  soiling  cattle. 

Section  9. — Kohl-Rabi. 

This  plant  has  been  frequently  recommended  to  the 
notice  of  farmers  of  late  years.  Like  mangold,  it  is  better 
adapted  than  the  turnip  for  strong  soils  and  dry  and  warm 
climates.  It  may  be  either  sown  on  drills  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  turnip,  or  sown  in  a  seed-bed  and  afterwards 
transplanted.  The  latter  plan  i3  expensive,  if  it  is  desired 
to  cultivate  the  crops  to  any  extent ;  but  is  commendable 
for  providing  a  supply  of  plants  to  make  good  deficiencies 
in  the  rows  of  other  crops,  or  when  a  small  quantity  only 
is  wanted.  By  sowing  a  plot  of  ground  in  March  in  some 
sheltered  corner,  and  transplanting  the  crop  early  in  May, 
it  is  more  likely  to  prosper  than  in  any  other  way.  Cattle 
and  sheep  are  fond  of  it,  and  it  is  said  not  to  impart  any 
unpleasant  flavour  to  milk.  We  have  seen  a  few  trials  of 
it  in  Scotland  as  a  field  crop ;  but,  from  whatever  cause, 
the  weight  of  food  produced  per  acre  was  greatly  less  than 
from  the  mangolds  and  swedes  growing  alongside  of  it.  For 
further  information  about  this  plant,  the  reader  is  referred 
to  the  Book  of  the  Farm,  voL  ii.  p.  87 ;  Hewlett  Davis's 


Farming  Essays,  p.  90  ;  Lawson's  Synopsis  of  tlie  Vegetable 
Products  of  Scotland,  div.  ii  p.  109.  Lawson  says  that 
the  pulp  or  flesh  of  kohl  has  the  same  taste  as  the  leaves 
of  tho  cabbage,  and  hence  its  adaptation  as  food  for  milch 
cows. 

CHAPTER  XKL 

CTJLTIVAIED  CROPS. — HERBAGE  AND  FORAGE  CROPS 

Section  1. — Grasses,  &c 

Under  this  general  heading  we  propose  to  include  what 
we  have  to  say  concerning  the  grasses,  whether  natural  or 
cultivated,  and  those  other  crops  which  are  grown  expressly 
for  the  sako  of  the  cattle  food  yielded  by  their  leaves  and 
stems.  This  kind  of  fane  produco  is  either  consumed 
where  it  grows  by  depasturing  with  live  stock,  or  mown 
and  givon  to  them  in  a  green  state  under  cover,  or  dried 
and  stored  for  after  use.  It  thus  embraces  tho  cultivation 
of  these  crops,  and  their  disposal,  whether  by  grazing, 
soiling,  or  haymaking.  Following  this  method,  we  shall 
first  of  all  briefly  describe  the  cultivation  of  thoso  pasture 
and  forage  crops  which  are  of  best  repute  in  British 
husbandry. 

Tillage  lands  are  now  everywhere  cropped  according 
to  some  settled  rotation,  in  which  the  well-recognised 
principles  of  the  alternate  husbandry  are  carried  out  accord- 
ing to  the  actual  circumstances  of  each  locality.  With 
rare  exceptions,  such  lands  at  stated  intervals  bear  a  crop 
of  the  clovers  or  cultivated  grasses.  As  these  are  usually 
sown  in  mixture,  especially  when  intended  for  pasturage, 
the  resulting  crop  is  technically  called  "  seeds."  As  it  ia 
of  importance  to  have  the  land  clean  and  in  good  heart 
when  such  crops  are  sown,  they  usually  follow  the  grain 
crop  which  immediately  succeeds  the  fallowing  process. 
Being  for  the  most  part  of  a  lower  habit  of  growth,  these 
can  be  sown  and  grown  along  with  white  corn  crops 
without  injury  to  either.  When  the  latter  are  harvested, 
the  former,  being  already  established  in  the  soil,  at  once 
occupy  it,  and  grow  apace.  By  this  arrangement  there  is 
therefore  secured  an  important  saving  both  of  time  and  til- 
lage. Barley  being  the  crop  amongst  which  the  seeds  of  the 
clovers  and  grasses  are  most  frequently  sown,  and  amongst 
which,  upon  the  whole,  they  thrive  best,  it  is  customary  te 
sow  these  small  seeds  at  the  same  time  as  the  barley,  and 
to  cover  them  in  with  a  single  stroke  of  the  common 
harrows.  This  is  erroneous  practice,  both  as  regards  the 
time  and  manner  of  sowing  these  small  seeds.  We  have 
already  mentioned,  in  the  proper  place,  that  barley  should 
be  sown  as  early  in  March  as  possible.  Now,  if  the  clovers, 
&c,  are  sown  as  early  as  this,  they  are  almost  certain  to 
get  so  forward  as  both  to  rob  the  barley  of  its  due  share  of 
nourishment,  and,  when  it  is  reaped,  to  bulk  so  largely  in 
the  sheaves  as  to  retard  their  drying,  and  aggravate  the 
risk  of  their  being  ill  harvested.  It  is  found,  too,  that 
if  there  be  plants  enough,  the  clovers  stand  the  winter 
better,  and  ultimately  yield  a  better  crop,  when,  at  the 
reaping  of  the  grain  crop,  they  are  puny-looking  than  when 
they  are  very  strong.  It  is  better,  therefore,  to  delay  the 
sowing  of  the  small  seeds  till  the  end  of  April  or  beginning 
of  May.  As  to  the  manner  of  covering  them  in,  we  have  to 
remark  that  the  smallness  of  these  seeds  and  their  mode 
of  germinating  alike  require  that  they  receive  only  the 
very  slightest  covering  of  soil  This  important  fact  is  so 
well  illustrated  in  the  following  table,  which  exhibits  the1 
results  of  some  carefully-conducted  experiments,  reported 
to  the  Highland  Society  by  Mr  Stirling  of  Glenbervie, 
that  we  shall  here  quote  it : — 

"  Column  I.  contains  the  scientific  names. 
Column  II.  contains  the  average  weight  of  the  seeds  x>er  uu&he 
•  in  uouuls. 


•SUHASSES.J 


AGRICULTURE 


371 


Column  III.  contains  the  average  number  of  seeds  iu  one  ounce. 
Column  IV*.  shows,   in  inchps,  the  depth  of  cover  at  which  the 

greatest  number  of  seeds  brairded. 
Column  V.  shows,  in  inches,  the  depth  of  cover  at  which  only 

about  half  the  number  of  seeds  brairded. 
Column  VI.  shows,  in  inches,  the  least  depth  of  cover  at  which 

none  of  the  seeds  brairded. 


I. 

II. 

III. 

500,000 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

Agrtstis  stolonifera, 

13 

0    to 

1 

4  to  i 

1 

12 

425,000 

Aira  baespitosa,  .     .     . 

14 

132,000 

0    to 

4 

»  tol 

21 

Alopecnrus  pratensis,  . 

*utnoxanthum  oilora-  ) 

turn,     .     .     .     .     ) 

5 

76,000 

0    to 

i 

1    tol} 

2} 

6 

71,000 

0    to 

i 

1    toll 

2 

Arrhcnatherum  avena-  ) 

7 

21,000 

4  to 

I 

14  toi| 

4 

Brachypodium   sylva- ) 
ticum ( 

10 

15,500 

0    to 

t 

4  to  | 

2 

Cynosurus  cristatus,     . 

26 

28,000 

Dactylis  gloraerata, 

12 

40,000 

0    to 

1 

f  to  1 

2i 

gloraerata  giganUa, 

10 

34,000 

Elyinus  arenarius,    .     . 

11 

2,320 

1   to  14 

2   to  2J 

5 

geniculates,  .     .     . 

12 

2,300 

Kestuca  duriuscula, 

10 

39,000 

0   to 

i 

?  to  1 

2} 

elatior,     .... 

14 

20,500 

0   to 

1    tol} 

22 

"4 

elatior  gigantea, 

13 

17,500 

0   to 

I 

l}tol4 

3 

heterophylla,     .     . 

12 

33,000 

0   to 

i 

1    tol| 

2} 

gigantea 

16 

8,600 

ovina,       .     .     . 

14 

64,000 

0    to. 

I 

Jt'ol 

Si" 

ovina  tenuifolia,    . 

15 

,  80,000 

pratensis,      .     .     . 

14 

26,000 

0    to 

1 

Jtol 

24 

pratensis  loliucea,  . 

15 

24,700 

rubra,       .... 

10 

39,000 

Glyceria  aquatica,    .     . 

13 

58,000 

|  to 

1 

I  tol 

2} 

fluitans,         .     .     .' 

15 

33,000 

Holcus  lanatus, .     .     . 

7 

95,000 

4  to 

J 

Jt'ol 

24 

mollis 

6 

85,000 

Lolium  italicum,     .     . 

15 

27,000 

0   to 

i 

1   Vol} 

s'i 

perenne,  .... 

18-30 

15,000 

J  to 

\ 

14  to  If 

34 

Milium  effusum,      .     . 

25 

80,000 

ito 

1 

1    to    } 

2J 

Phalaris  arundinacea,  . 

48 

42,000 

Phleum  pratense,    .     . 

44 

74,000 

0   to 

! 

j  to  1 " 

2 

Poa  nemoralis,    .     .     . 

15 

173,000 

nemoralis  semper-  ) 
virens, .     .     .      ) 

15J 

133,000 

0   to 

1 

ito  4 

1 

pratensis,      .     .     . 

13 

243.000 

trivia]  is 

15 

217,000 

0  ,to 

1 

4  to  J 

i'i 

Psamraa  arundinacea,  . 

15 

10,000 

4tol 

14  to  15 

4 

Trisetuni  flavescens,  •   . 

B4 

118,000 

0    to 

i 

jtol 

2 

Acbillea  Millefolium,  . 

30 

200,000 

Ito 

4 

ito  J 

11 

Cichorium       Intybus ) 
(chicory),  .     .     .      \ 

32 

21,000 

Lotus  coraiculatus, 

62 

28,000 

0   to 

i 

ito  J 

li 

major 

64 

51,000 

- 

Medicago  lupulina, 

63 

16,000 

0    to 

i 

Jtol 

i'i 

60 

12,600 

ODobrycbis  sativa,  .     . 

26 

1,280 

I  tol 

2    to  2} 

i'i 

Petrosal  i  nam  sativum, 

41 

12,800 

Plantago  laDceolata, 

62 

15,600 

ito 

4 

11  to  14 

24 

Poterium  Sanguisorba  ) 
(burnet),      .     .     .      j 

25 

3,320 

4  to 

f 

14  tol} 

4 

Tiifolium  filiforme, 

65 

£4,000 

0   to 

i 

4  to  4 

11 

hybridum,    .     .     . 

63 

45,000 

0   to 

1 

4  to    1 

li 

pratense 

64 

16,000 

0   to 

4 

34  to  l| 

2 

pratense  perenne,    . 

64 

16,000 

0   to 

4 

litoli 

2 

repens 

65 

32,000 

0   to 

» 

4to  J 

14 

"The  results  in  the  three  last  columns  of  the  preceding  table  were 
obtained  by  sowing  the  seed  in  finely-sifted  dark  loam,  which  was 
kept  moist  throughout  the  process  of  germination,  to  which  is 
attributable  the  circumstance  of  so  many  of  the  sorts  vegetating  best 
(as  shown  in  Column  IV.)  without  covering,  and  nnder  full  exposure 
to  the  light.  The  combination  of  such  favourable  circumstances 
of  soil  and  moisture  can,  however,  seldom  be  calculated  upon  in 
field  sowing,  therefore  a  covering  of  mould  for  the  seeds,  however 
slight,  is  always  advisable.  Eut  it  will  be  seen,  by  the  results  in 
Column  VI.,  that  a  great  number  of  seeds  must  be  inevitably  lost 
from  over-depth  of  covering,  unless  the  ground  be  in  all  cases  care- 
fully prepared  and  pulverised  before  sowing  either  the  natural  or 
-trtificiol  grasses."1 

From  this  it  is  evident  that  to  scatter  these  tiny  seeds 
aver  a  cloddy  surface,  and  then  to  harrow  it,  may  more 

Hrrtm't  c>. /»/«...  ^  Afrimimrt  — article  "Grasses,"  voL  i.  p.  999. 


aptly  be  called  ourying  than  sowing  them,  fne  following 
is  a  more  rational  mode  of  proceeding ; — When  these  seeds 
are  to  be  sown  among  winter  wheat,  it  is  expedient  te 
begin  by  using  the  horse-hoe  (supposing  the  wh&it  to  have 
been  drilled),  as  well  to  loosen  the  surface  and  produce  a 
kindly  bed  for  the  seeds  as  to  destroy  weeds.  In  the  case 
of  broadcasted  wheat,  a  turn  of  the  harrows  secures  the 
same  end.  In  the  case  of  the  more  recently  sown  barley 
all  that  is  needed  is  to  smooth  the  surface  with  the  one- 
horse  roller.  Over  the  ground  thus  prepared  the  small 
seeds  are  distributed  by  a  broadcast  sowing-machine, 
which  covers  at  once  a  space  of  15  or  18  feet  in  width. 
The  covering  is  then  effected  by  simply  rolling  with  the 
smooth  roller,  or  by  dragging  over  the  surface  the  chain- 
harrow,  which  may  either  be  attached  to  the  sowing-machine 
or  to  a  separate  frame;  or  by  using  Cambridge's  or  Crosskill's 
roller,  with  a  very  light  chain  harrow  attached  to  it.  On 
clay  soils  the  chain-web  is  to  be  preferred;  but  on  loose 
soils  Crosskill's  roller  imparts  a  beneficial  firmness,  and, 
with  its  tail-piece  of  chain-web  to  fill  up  the  indentations, 
gives  an  accuracy  of  finish  which  rivals  the  neatness  of  a 
newly-raked  garden  plot.  "We  have  long  regarded  this 
covering  in  of  grass  seeds  as  the  most  important  use  to 
which  Crosskill's  valuable  implement  is  put.  The  only 
drawback  to  it  is,  that  it  makes  a  heavy  demand  on  the 
horse-power  of  the  farm  at  a  pressing  season.  As  it  can 
only  be  worked  in  dry  weather,  it  is  advisable,  when  the 
land  is  in  trim,  to  work  it  double  tides  by  means  of  a  relay 
of  horses.  This  mode  of  procedure  is  alike  applicable  to 
the  sowing  of  mixed  clovers  and  grasses,  and  to  that  of  the 
clovers  alone,  and  is  the  course  usually  pursued  in  sowing 
for  one  or  two  years'  "  seeds." 

Wben  it  is  intended  to  lay  down  arable  land  to  grass 
for  several  years,  or  to  restore  it  to  permanent  pasture  or 
meadow,  it  is  always  advisable  to  sow  the  seeds  without  a 
con  crop.  This  doubtless  involves  an  additional  cost  at 
the  outset,  but  it  is  usually  more  than  repaid  by  the  en- 
hanced value  of  the  pasture  thus  obtained.  To  grow  the 
grasses  well,  the  soil  should  be  pulverised  to  the  depth  of 
3  or  4  inches  only,  and  be  full  of  manure  near  the  surface. 
There  is  no  better  way  of  securing  these  conditions  than 
by  first  consuming  a  crop  of  turnips  on  the  ground  by 
sheep  folding,  and  then  pulverising  the  surface  by  means 
of  the  grubber,  harrow,  and  roller,  without  ploughing  it. 

Much  diversity  of  practice  exists  in  regard  to  the  kinds 
and  quantities  of  seeds  used  in  sowing  down  with  a  grain 
crop.  In  Scotland  from  2  to  4  pecks  of  ryegrass  seeds, 
with  from  10  to  14  ft  of  those  of  red,  white,  alsike,  and 
yellow  clovers,  in  about  equal  proportions,  is  a  common 
allowance  for  an  acre.  A  pound  or  two  of  field  parsley  ia 
occasionally  added,  or  rather  is  substituted  for  an  equal 
weight  of  clover  seeds.  The  natural  grasses  are  seldom 
sown,  and  only,  when  the  land  is  to  be  laid  to  permanent 
pasture.  In  England  ryegrass  is  in  much  less  repute  than 
in  Scotland,  the  clovers  being  there  very  generally  sown 
unmixed,  and  always  in  larger  quantities  than  we  have 
"just  named — 20  ft  per  acre  being  a  common  allowance. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  both  these  plans  are 
faulty. 

When  a  good  natural  pasture  is  carefully  examined,  it  is 
found  to  consist  of  an  amazing  number  of  different  grasses 
and  other  plants.  Not  only  does  a  natural  pasture  contain 
a  great  variety  of  herbage  at  any  one  time,  but  it  has  its 
plants  which  replace  each  other  at  different  seasons;  and 
some  also  which  are  prominent  only  in  wet  years  and  others 
in  dry  ones.  The  provision  thus  made  for  affording  ft  all 
times  such  a  variety  of  food  as  is  at  once  grateful  and  whole- 
some to  the  animals  which  browse  on  it,  and  for  keeping 
the  ground  fully  occupied  under  every  diversity  of  seasons 
and  weather.  i3  truly  admirable,  and  the  study  of  it  well 


372 


AGRICULTURE 


[grasses. 


fitted  to  interest  and  instruct  tho  husbandman.  The 
importance  of  this  subject  is  beginning  to  be  appreciated 
by  agriculturists;  as  one  proof  of  which  we  now  see  our 
leading  seedsmen  regularly  advertising  for  sale  an  extensive 
list  of  grasses  and  other  pasture  plants.  Most  of  them 
also,  for  the  guidance  of  their  customers,  point  out  the 
kinds  and  quantities  per  acre  which  are  appropriate  for 
diversity  of  soils  and  other  circumstances.  We  refer,  as  an 
example  of  this,  to  the  manual  of  Messrs  Lawson  of  Edin- 
burgh, who  have  devoted  much  attention  to  this  subject. 
The  following  Tables  will  be  found  useful : — 

"  I.— For  Alternate  Husbandry. 

Fori  year'*  Hay    For  1  year'*  Hi/ 

For  1  year'a  Hay.  and  and 

1  year's  Pasture.   2  years'  Future, 
lb  lb  to 

Lolium  iUlicum 9  9  9 

perenne 18  18  18 

Dactylis  glomerata —  2  2 

Phleum  pretense 12  2 

Medicago  lupulina —  1  1 

Trifolium  hybridum 12  2 

pratense 8  4  2 

pratense  perenne    —  2  4 

repens 2  4  4 

39  44  44 

"  For  sheep  pastures  it  will  often  be  found  advantageous  to  add 
from  2  to  4  lb  per  acre  of  parsley  seed  to  the  above  mixtures ;  and 
for  pastures  in  certain  upland  districts  established  practice  will  jus- 
tify the  introduction  of  an  additional  pound  or  two  of  yellow  clover 
{Medicago  lupulina),  together  with  from  2  to  3  tb  of  ribgrass 
(Plantago  lanceolata).  And  for  very  heavy  as  well  as  for  peaty 
•oils,  1  to  1 J  lb  of  Phleum  pratense  may  be  added  advantageously, 
both  for  hay  and  pasture. 

"  II.— For  Permanent  Pasture.  No.  I. 

to 

Alopecurns  pratensis 2 

Dactylis  glomerata 6 

Festuca  duriuscula 2 

elatior 2 

pratensis 2 

lolium  italicum 6 

perenne 8 

Phleum  pratense 2 

Poa  nemoralis  sempervirens 2 

trivialis 3 

Medicago  lupulina 1 

Trifolium  pratense 1 

perenne  .' 3 

repens 6 

46 
"  In  certain  cases  the  following  additions  to  Table  II.  may  be 
made — namely,  1  to  2  lb  each  of  Festuca  rubra  and  Poa  pratensis 
on  dry  sandy  soils;  1  lb  of  Achillea  Millefolium,  and  1  to  2  lb 
of  Petrosalinum  sativum  in  sheep  pastures ;  2  lb  chicory  (Cich&rium 
Inlybus)  in  cattle  pastures,  6  or  1 0  lb  of  Onobrychis  saliva  and  4 
to  6  lb  of  Poterium  Sanguisorba  (burnet)  in  dry  calcareous  soils'. 
When  a  crop  of  hay  is  taken  the  first  year,  both  the  ryegrasses 
(Lolium)  may  be  increased  by  a  third ;  and  2  lb  of  Trifolium  pra- 
tense added.  Also  J  to  1  lb  per  acre  of  Anlhoxanthum  odoralum 
when  occasional  crops  of  hay  are  to  be  taken." l 

When  land  ha3  been  thus  sown  for  a  permanent  pasture, 
care  should  be  taken  not  to  allow  a  sheep  to  set  foot  upon 
it  for  the  first  two  years,  for  if  these  industrious  nibblers 
are  allowed  to  crop  the  tender  clover  seedlings  before  they 
are  fully  established  in  the  soil,  they  are  certain  to  remove 
the  crown  from  most  of  them,  and  thus  ruin  the  pasture  at 
the  verj  -outset.  Innumerable  instances  of  failure  in  the 
attempt  to  obtain  good  permanent  pastures  are  entirely 
owing  to  this  premature  grazing  by  sheep.  The  first  growth 
should  therefore  be  mown,  care  being  taken  to  do  so  before 
any  of  the  grasses  have  flowered.  Then  roll  repeatedly, 
and  stock  with  young  cattle  only  until  the  second  season 
is  over. 

Having  described  the  means  to  be  used  for  obtaining 

rton'i  Cyelopoedia  of  Agriculture—  article  "  GraBscs,"  voL   i. 
r-  1000. 


good  pastures,  let  us  now  consider  how  to  use  them  pro- 
fitably. The  art  of  grazing  embraces  tb;  practical  solution 
of  two  important  problems,  viz.,  lit,  How  to  obtain  the 
greatest  amount  and  best  quality  of  herbage  from  any-given 
pasture;  and  2d,  How  to  consume  this  herbage  by  live 
stock  so  as  to  make  the  most  of  it.  The  grazier  has  ever 
to  kcop  in  view  what  is  best  for  his  "and  and  what  is  best 
for  his  stock;  and  must  taku  his  measures  throughout  tho 
entire  season  with  an  eye  to  bovh  thjso  objects.  As  regards 
the  first  of  them,  experience  ykudj  the  following  maxims 
for  his  guidance : — 

Never  to  stock  his  pastures  in  *pring  until  genial  weather 
is  fairly  established. 

Never  to  allow  the  grasses  to  run  to  seed,  nor  parts  of  a 
field  to  be  eaten  bare,  aud  others  to  get  rank  and  coarse. 

Duly  to  spread  about  the  droppings  of  the  cattle,  to 
remove  stagnant  water,  and  to  extirpate  tall  weeds. 

Some  time  about  midsummer  to  make  a  point  of  having 
the  pasture  eaten  so  close  that  no  dead  herbage  or  "  fog- 
gage  "  shall  be  left  on  any  part  of  it. 

In  what  more  immediately  concerns  the  welfare  of  the 
live  stock  he  is  in  like  manner  taught  in  stocking  his 
pastures — 

To  adapt  the  stock,  as  regards  breed,  size,  condition,  and 
numbers,  to  the  actual  capabilities  of  the  pasturage. 

To  secure  to  the  stock  at  all  times  a  full  bite  of  cleaD, 
fresh-grown,  succulent  herbage. 

In  moving  stock  from  field  to  field  to  take  caro  that  it 
be  a  change  to  better  fare — not  to  worse. 

Pasturage  consists  either  of  natural  herbage  or  of  "  seeds." 
In  the  south-eastern  counties  of  Scotland  there  is  little 
good  old  grass;  all  the  really  fertile  soils  being  employed 
in  arable  husbandry,  with  tho  exception  of  small  portions 
around  the  mansions  of  landowners.  The  pasturage 
consists,  therefore,  for  the  most  part  of  the  cultivated 
clovers  and  grasses.  Comparatively  few  cattle  are  Lhere 
fattened  on  grass;  the  object  of  graziers  being  rather  to 
stock  their  pastures  with  young  and  growing  animals,  and 
to  get  them  into  forward  condition  for  being  afterwards 
fattened  upon  turnips.  The  grazing  season  is  there  also 
much  shorter  than  in  England,  old  grass  seldom  affording 
a  full  bite  for  a  well-conditioned  bullock  before  the  middle 
of  May,  or  later  than  the  middle  of  September.  It  is 
quite  otherwise  in  England,  various  parts  of  which  abound 
with  old  grass  lands  of  the  very  richest  description,  on 
which  oxen  of  the  largest  size  can  be  fattened  rapidly. 
These,  in  many  cases,  admit  of  being  stocked  towards  the 
end  of  April,  and  under  judicious  management  continue  to 
yield  excellent  pasturage  for  half  the  year.  When  stocked 
with  cattle  in  fresh  condition,  two  sets  or  "  runs  "  are  not 
unfrequently  fattened  in  such  pastures  in  the  same  season 
These  grass-fed  cattle  begin  to  come  to  market  early  in 
July,  and  for  four  or  five  months  thereafter  constitute  the 
chief  supplies  of  beef  in  our  markets. 

Cattle  already  well-fleshed  are  alone  suitable  for  turning 
into  these  rich  old  pastures.  When  this  is  attended  to, 
and  care  taken  not  to  over-stock  the  pastures  until  they 
yield  a  full  bite,  the  progress  of  the  oxen  will  usually  be 
very  rapid.  It  is  now  customary  to  hasten  this  progress 
by  giving  about  4  lb  of  oilcake  to  each  beast  daily. 
The  dust  and  crumbs  being  sifted  out,  the  bits  of  cake 
are  strewn  upon  the  clean  sward,  from  whence  they  are 
quickly  and  carefully  gleaned  by  the  cattle.  This  is 
usually  a  profitable  practice.  It  brings  the  beasts  forward 
rapidly,  improves  their  appearance  and  handling,  and, 
besides  enriching  the  land,  admits  of  about  twelve  per  cent, 
more  numbers  being  fed  upon  a  given  acreage.  These 
choice  old  pastures  are  usually  occupied  in  combination 
with  others  of  inferior  quality.  The  most  forward  lot  of 
cattle  having  been  fattened  and  sold  off  from  the  former, 


GRASSES, 


■•] 


AGRICULTURE 


373 


they  are  ready  to  receive  a  fresh  stock.  If  it  is  con- 
templated to  get  them  also  fattened  before  the  expiry  of 
the  season,  they  are  not  put  on  the  best  land  instantly  on 
the  first  lot  being  sold ;  but  a  crowd  of  sheep  or  store- 
beasts  being  turned  upon  it  for  a  few  days,  the  existing 
herbage  is  cleared  off,  and  the  pasture  (Anglice)  "laid  in  " 
or  (Scotlice)  "  hained,"  until  a  fresh  clean  growth  fits  it 
for  receiving  a  suitable  number  of  the  best  cattle  from  the 
other  pastures.  .  It  is  inexpedient  to  graze  sheep  promis- 
cuously with  cattle  on  these  best  lands,  as  they  pick  out 
the  sweetest  of  the  herbage,  and  so  retard  the  fattening  of 
the  oxen.  Neither  do  we  approve  of  having  horses  among 
such  cattle ;  not  so  much  from  their  interfering  with  their 
pasturage  as  from  the  disturbance  which  they  usually  cause 
by  galloping  about.  This  does  not  apply  to  the  draught- 
horses  of- a  farm,  which  are  usually  too  tired  and  hungry 
when  turned  out  from  the  yoke  to  mind  anything  but  food 
and  rest,  but  it  is  better  thrift  to  soil  them;  and  frolic- 
some, mischievous  colts  are  unsuitable  companions  for 
sedate,  portly  oxen.  In  favourable  seasons,  the  grass  often 
grow3  more  rapidly  than  an  ordinary  stocking  of  cattle  can 
consume  it,  in  which  case  they  select  the  best  places,  and 
allow  the  herbage  on  some  parts  to  get  rank  and  coarse.  If 
these  rank  places  are  neglected  until  the  herbage  gets  dry 
and  withered,  the  finer  plants  die  out,  the  coarser-growing 
grasses  usurp  the  ground,  and  the  pasturage  is  injured  for 
future  years.  To  check  this  evil  in  time,  these  neglected 
places  should  be  mown,  and  the  grass  either  brought  to 
the  homestead  for  soiling,  or  left  to  dry  where  it  grew;  in 
which  state  the  cattle  will  eat  up  most  of  it,  and  be  the 
better  for  it,  especially  if  their  bowels  are  unduly  relaxed 
by  the  succulence  of  the  growing  herbage.  The  remarks 
now  made  apply  equally  to  all  old  pastures  employed  for 
the  fattening  of  cattle,  although  not  of  the  first  quality. 
All  that  is  required  is,  to  observe  a  due  proportion  between 
the  capabilities  of  the  pasturage  and  the  breed  and  size  of 
the  cattle.  A  pasture  that  will  fatten  a  fifty-stone  ox  may 
be  quite  inadequate  for  one  of  seventy,  and  the  hardy 
Galloway  or  West  Highlander  will  thrive  apace  where  the 
heavier  and  daintier  shorthorn  could  barely  subsist. 

With  the  exception  of  the  best  class  of  rich  old  pastures, 
grass  is  usually  consumed  to  greater  profit  by  a  mixed  stock 
of  sheep  and  store  cattle  than  by  one  kind  of  animals  only. 
This  holds  true  both  as  regards  the  natural  herbage  of 
pastures  or  water  meadows,  and  cultivated  grasses,  clovers, 
or  sainfoin.  When  old  pastures  and  mixed  "  seeds  "  are 
grazed  chiefly  by  sheep,  the  same  rules  ppply  that  have 
already  been  noticed  in  connection  with  cattle.  The  herbage 
should  if  possible' be  fully  established  in  a  growing  state, 
and  so  far  advanced  as  to  afford  a  full  bite,  before  the 
pasture  is  stocked  iu  spring.  If  the  sheep  are  turned  into 
it  prematurely,  their  close  nibbling  hinders  the  plants  from 
ever  getting  into  a  state  of  rapid  growth  and  productiveness, 
and  the  necessity  imposed  upon  the  stock  of  roaming  over 
the  whole  field,  and  keeping  long  afoot  before  they  can 
glean  enough  to  appease  their  appetite,  is  prejudicial 
alike  to  them  and  to  their  pasture.  The  prudent  grazier 
endeavours  to  avoid  these  evils  by  having  stores  of 
swedes  or  mangolds  to  last  until  the  full  time  at  which  he 
may  reckon  on  having  good  pasturage.  In  distributing 
the  flocks  to  different  fields,  the  best  pasturage  is  allotted  to 
those  that  are  in  most  forward  condition.  It  is  advan- 
tageous to  have  the  pastures  so  subdivided  that  one  portion 
may  be  double  stocked  while  another  is  rested.  By  fre- 
quently removing  the  stock  from  the  one  portion  to  the 
other  the  herbage  of  each  by  turns  gets  time  to  grow  and 
freshen,  and  is  more  relished  by  the  sheep,  and  more  whole- 
some than  when  the  whole  is  tainted  by  their  uninterrupted 
occupation  of  it.  In  the  case  of  clover,  trefoil,  sainfoin, 
and  water-meadows,  this  principle  >-«  vet  more  fully  carried 


out  by  folding  the  flock  and  giving  them  a  fresh  piece 
daily.  The  crop  is  thus  eaten'  close  off  at  once  in  daily 
portions,  and  the  plants  being  immediately  thereafter  left 
undisturbed,  and  receiving  over  the  whole  area  their  due 
share  of  the  excrements  of  the  flock,  grow  again  more 
rapidly  than  when  subjected  to  constant  browsing  under  a 
system  of  promiscuous  grazing.  .This  plan  of  folding  sheep 
upon  such  crops  has  the  same  advantages  to  recommend  it 
as  soiling,  only  that  it  is  cheaper  to  shift  the  fold  daily 
than  to  mow  and  cart  home  the  forage  and  carry  back  the 
manure.  In  the  case  of  water-meadows  it  is  the  practice 
to  irrigate  them  afresh  as  each  crop  of  grass  is  fed  off. 
This  is  attended  with  considerable  risk  of  the  sheep  getting 
tainted  with  rot,  which  must  be  guarded  against  as  much 
as  possible.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  well  to  give  them  a 
daily  allowance  of  bran,  beans,  or  cake,  and  salt;  and 
besides  this,  to  put  on  this  land  only  such  sheep  as  are 
nearly  ready  for  the  butcher.  They  will  thus  fatten  very 
rapidly,  and  be  slaughtered  before  there  is  time  for  harm 
to  ensue. 

The  modes  of  grazing  which  we  have  now  described  are 
appropriate  for  sheep  in  forward  condition.  The  poorer 
pastures  are  usually  stocked  with  nursing  ewes  and  lean 
sheep  bought  in  from  higher  grazings.  Lambs,  both  before 
and  after  weaning,  require  clean  pastures,  and  of  course 
frequent  changes.  If  kept  on  tainted  pastures,  they  are 
certain  to  become  subject  to  diarrhoea,  to  be  stinted  in 
their  growth,  and  to  have  their  constitution  so  weakened 
that  many  of  them  will  die  when  afterwards  put  upon 
turnips.  To  avoid  these  evils,  they  must  be  frequently 
moved  from  field  to  field.  A  sufficient  number  of  store 
cattle  must  be  grazed  along  with  them,  to  eat  up  the  tall 
herbage  and  rank  patches  avoided  by  the  sheep.  After  the 
lambs  are  weaned,  the  ewes  require  to  fare  rather  poorly 
for  a  time,  and  can  thus  be  made  use  of  to  eat  up  the  worst 
pasturage,  and  the  leavings  of  the  young  and  fattening 
sheep.  When  the  latter,  with  the  approach  of  autumn, 
are  put  upon  aftermath,  clover  stubbles,  rape,  cabbages, 
or  turnips,  their  previous  pastures  should  in  succession  be 
thickly  stocked  by  the  ewes  and  other  store  stock,  so  as  to 
be  eaten  bare  and  then  left  to  freshen  and  get  ready 
for  the  ewes  by  rutting-time,  when  they  require  better 
food.  In  depasturing  sheep  on  poor  soils  it  i3  usually 
highly  advantageous  to  give  them  a  daily  allowance  of 
grain  or  cake  in  troughs,  which  must  be  shifted  daily,  so  as 
to  distribute  the  manure  regularly  over  the  land.  By  means 
of  this  auxiliary  food  sheep  can  be  fattened  on  land  the 
herbage  of  which  would  «ot  alone  suffice  for  the  purpose. 
It  admits  also  of  a  larger  number  of  sheep  being  kept  per 
acre,  and  of  the  pasturage  being  fed  off  more  closely  than 
could  otherwise  be  done.  The  produce  of  poor  siliceous 
soils,  both  in  grass  and  after  crops,  is  much  increased  by 
the  additional  manuring  and  treading  which  the  con- 
sumption of  such  extraneous  food  upon  them  occasions. 

It  is  always  advantageous  to  have  pastures  provided 
with  a  shed,  under  which  the  stock  can  find  shelter  from 
sudden  storms,  or  from  the  attacks  of  insects  and  the 
scorching  rays  of  the  summer's  sun.  When  such  sheds  are 
regularly  strewed  with  dried  peat  or  burnt  clay,  much 
valuable  compost  for  top-dressing  the  pasture  can  be 
obtained.  The  dung  of  the  cattle,  thus  secured  and  applied, 
benefits  the  pastures  more  than  that  which  is  dropped 
upon  it  by  the  animals.  Such  clots  require  to  be  spread 
about  from  time  to  time. 

The  temperate  climate  of  Britain  is  so  peculiarly  favour- 
able to  the  growth  of  the  grasses  and  other  pasture  plants, 
and  to  the  keeping  of  live  stock  with  safety  in  the  open 
fields  for  a  large  part  of  the  year,  that  the  practice  of  con- 
suming these  crops  by  depasturing,  as  already  described, 
has  hitherto  been  decidedly  preferred  to  soilin/.     One  con- 


374 


AGRICULTURE 


[grasses. 


eequence  of  this  is,  that  forage  crops  have  been  compara- 
tively neglected.  There  is  now,  however,  a  growing 
conviction  among  agriculturists  that  it  is  more  convenient 
to  keep  neat  cattle  and  horses,  during  summer,  in  yards  or 
loose  boxes,  and  to  feed  them  with  succulent  forage,  mown 
and'brought  to  them  daily  as  it  is  needed,  than  to  turn 
them  adrift  to  browse  in  the  fields.  The  pasturing  plan 
is  preferred  by  many  because  it  involves  the  least  labour, 
and  is  alleged  to  be  more  healthful  to  the  animals.  In 
behalf  of  the  soiling  plan  it  is  urged  that  a  given  space  of 
ground  under  gree-a  crop  keeps  nearly  twice  as  much  stock, 
when  its  produce  is  mown  and  consumed  elsewhere,  than 
when  it  is  constantly  nibbled  and  trodden  upon ;  that 
housed  cattle  being  exempted  from  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
weather,  the  attacks  of  insects,  mutual  disturbance,  and 
the  labour  of  gathering  their  food,  eat  less  and  yet  fatten 
more  rapidly  than  they  do  at  pasture ;  that  more  good  is 
gotten  of  their  excrements  when  mixed  with  litter  and 
trodden  down  under  cover,  than  when  dropped  about  in  the 
open  fields ;  and  that  land  from  which  a  green  crop  has 
been  mown,  when  ploughed  up,  is  freer  of  weeds  and 
(other  things  being  equal)  bears  a  better  corn-crop  than 
that  which  has  been  pastured.  It  is  a  further  recommend- 
ation to  the  soiling  plan  that  it  admits  of  oilcake  or  meal 
being  administered  along  with  green  food  with  a  precision 
and  economy  that  is  unattainable  in  the  pasture  fields. 
There  being  so  many  and  such  cogent  reasons  in  favour  of 
the  practice  of  soiling,  we  may  warrantably  anticipate  that 
it  will  in  future  be  much  more  generally  adopted.  It  is 
proper,  however,  to  notice  that  the  success  of  this  system 
is  absolutely  dependent  on  the  following  conditions : — The 
green  food  must  be  mown  and  brought  home  at  least  twice 
a-day,  owing  to  the  rapidity  with  which  it  ferments  when 
put  together ;  it  must  be  given  to  the  stock  not  less  than 
four  times  daily,  and  only  in  such  quantity  at  each  feed  as 
they  can  eat  clean  up  in  the  interval  betwixt  meals  ;  they 
must  have  constant  and  ample  supplies  of  pure  water  and 
of  fresh  litter ;  and,  in  particular,  matters  must  be  so 
arranged  that  there  shall  be  an  unfailing  supply  of  green 
forage  of  the  best  quality  through  the  entire  season.  This 
is  accomplished  either  by  successive  cuttings  of  one  kind 
of  crop  from  the  same  ground — as  of  irrigated  meadow  or 
Italian  ryegrass — or  by  a  combination  of  such  crops  as 
naturally  come  to  maturity  in  succession,  or  are  made  to 
do  so  by  a  sequence  of  sowings.  From  what  has  been  said 
it  is  obvious  that  soiling  can  only  be  carried  out  successf  uUy 
with  a  moderately  good  soil  and  climate,  a  liberal  use  of 
manure,  and  skill  and  foresight  on  the  part  of  the  farmer. 
With  these,  however,  its  results  will  usually  be  highly  satis- 
factory. It  is  peculiarly  adapted  for  clay  soils,  on  which 
the  culture  of  root  crops  is  attended  with  much  difficulty, 
and  where  there  is,  therefore,  abundance  of  litter  for  use 
in  summer,  and  much  need  for  the  soiling  system  to  get 
it  converted  into  good  manure. 

Section  2. — Natural  Meadow  Grass. 

In  proceeding  to  notice  the  crops  most  usually  cultivated 
in  Britain  for  green  forage  we  shall  begin  with  natural 
meadow  grass.  In  the  south-western  parts  of  England 
abundant  crops  of  grass  are  obtained  by  irrigation  with 
water  alone.  Our  remarks  will  here,  however,  be  re- 
stricted to  those  situations  where  sewage  from  towns  or 
villages  is  available.  Wherever  a  few  scores  of  human 
families  are  congregated  together,  and  have  their  dwellings 
properly  drained  and  supplied  with  water,  there  is  an 
opporturity  for  manuring  a  considerable  extent  of  meadow 
with  the  sewage-water  accruing  from  them  throughout  the 
year.  The  celebrated  meadows  in  the  environs  of  Edin- 
burgh are  interesting  illustrations  of  the  value  of  such 
water  for  irrigating  purposes,  and  of  the  astonishing  bulk 


of  rich  herbage  wnich  can  be  obtainea  in  the  course  of  jt 
year  from  an  acre  of  land  thus  treated.  From  the  thick- 
ness of  the  crop  in  these  meadows,  and  the  rink  luxurianor 
of  its  growth,  the  grass  must  be  cut  before  it  exceeds  ten 
inches  in  height,  as  otherwise  the  bottom  gets'  blanched 
and  the  grass  rots  out  The  mowing  begins  usually  in 
April  and  continues  till  November,  so  that  by  fitly  pro- 
portioning the  head  of  stock  to  tie  extent  of  meadow, 
and  having  the  latter  arranged  in  plots  to  be  mown  in 
regular  succession,  soiling  can  be  practised  throughout  the 
season  by  the  produce  of  the  meadow  alone.  This  practice 
is  necessarily  limited  to  situations  where  sewage-water  is 
available.  The  following  excerpts  from  a  paper  read  before 
the  Royal  Scottish  Society  of  Arts  in  January  1867  On 
tlie  Collection,  Removal,  and  Disposal  of  t/ce  Refuse  of  tlu 
City  of  Edinburgh,  by  Charles  Macpherson,  C.E.,  burgh 
engineer,  to  which  the  society's  silver  medal  was  awarded, 
will  explain  this  system  and  exhibit  its  results : — 

"The  waters  of  the  Craigentinny  Bum,  the  Locbjin-  Burn,  tfc* 
Jordan  Burn,  and  the  Broughton  Burn,  are  used  in  irrigating  part 
of  the  lands  adjoining  the  course  of  the  respective  streams.  The 
waters  of  the  Craigentinny  Burn  are  used  for  irrigating  about  260 
acres;  Lochrin  Burn,  about  70  acres;  Jordan  Burn,  about  11  acres; 
and  Broughton  Burn,  about  5  acres — being  836  acres  in  all  irrigated 
by  the  water  flowing  in  these  four  natural  outlets  for  the  drainage  of 
Edinburgh. 

"  The  area  within  the  city  draining  towards  the  CraigentinnT 
Burn — to  the  meadows  irrigated  by  the  waters  of  which  I  shall 
confine  these  remarks — is  about  one  square  mile  and  a  half  in  extent. 
From  this  district  there  flows  about  20  cubic  feet  of  spring-water  pet 
minute ;  the  surplus  rainfall  being  the  non-absorbed  portion  of  24 
inches  per  annum;  and  the  sewage  from  a  population  of  95,589 
persons,  according  to  the  census  of  1861,  with  a  water  supply  of  saj 
25  gallons  per  head.  Of  this  population  about  60,000  have  the  um 
of  water-closets ;  and  excrementitious  matter  from  about  15,000  or 
20,000  of  the  remainder  finds  its  way  to  the  sewers  connected  with 
the  burn  at  the  rate  of  about  265  feet  per  minute  of  sewage. 

"  Various  kinds  of  soil  are  irrigatei  The  subsoil  of  the  part  of 
the  meadows  nearest  the  city  is  peat,  with  loam  over  it  near  the 
course  of  the  burn ;  while  to  the  northward  it  is  naturally  sand,  but 
the  sand  has  been  taken  away,  and  the  ground  made  up  with  rubbish 
of  buildings,  &c,  dressed  off  with  soil.  Further  dawn  the  course 
of  the  stream  the  soil  is  reddish  clay,  or  loamy  clay,  or  sandy  clay ; 
while  at  the  part  of  the  Figgate  'Whins  adjoining  the  sea-shore  it  is 
pure  sand,  with  a  coating  of  rich  loam,  varying  from  1  inch  to  4  or 
5  inches  deep,  entirely  derived  from  repeated  applications  of  th* 
sewage,  no  soil  having  been  ever  spread  over  the  sand.  The  deepei 
soil  is  nearest  the  channels'  for  conveying  the  sewage  to  the  land. 
The  meadows  on  the  farm  of  Lochend,  at  Restalrig,  and  at  Craigen- 
tinny,  have  a  slope  transversely  to  the  course  of  the  stream,  varying 
from  the  steepest  part,  1  in  25,  which  is  of  small  extent,  to  about  I 
in  60,  which  is  the  slope  of  the  greatest  part  of  these  meadows. 
The  Figgate  'Whins  were  artificially  levelled  to  allow  of  irrigation. 

"  It  is  important  to  remark  that  the  land  (except  the  sand  at  the 
Figgate  Whins)  has  been  drained  thoroughly  to  a  depth  of  4  feet 
below  the  surface.  It  was  found  that  with  shallower  drains  the 
sewage  was  drawn  off  by  the  drain,  leavingthe  lower  part  of  the 
ground  without  irrigation.  At  the  Figgate  Whins  the  sewage  soake 
into  the  sand,  and  oozes  out  upon  the  sea-shore. 

"  The  kinds  of  grasses  grown  are  Italian  ryegrass  and  meadow 
grass.  The  ryegrass  requires  to  be  resown  every  third  year ;  but  the 
meadow  grass  has  not  required  resowing,  not  even  on  the  Figgate 
Whins,  which  were  sown  about  forty  years  ago,  when  the  ground 
was  first  irrigated.  Opinions  differ  as  to  which  grass  is  best  adapted 
for  the  purpose ;  but  ryegrass  seems  to  produce  the  heavier  crops. 
The  irrigated  ground  is  let  off  in  small  plots  or  squares  for  th* 
season,  to  the  highest  bidder.  The  grass  is  cut  by  the  tenant  as 
required,  so  that  the  annual  yield  of  any  particular  plot  has  neve* 
been  accurately  ascertained ;  but  an  average  crop  is  considered  to  b» 
from  80  to  40  tons  per  acre,  in  four  cuttings.  Tho  first  cutting 
takes  place  at  the  beginning  of  April,  and  the  last  at  the  end  of 
September,  the  let  of  the  ground  expiring  at  1st  October.  The 
time  of  cutting  the  intermediate  crops  depends  upon  the  wants  of 
the  tenant. 

"The  whole  grass  is  eaten  by  about  3100  cows — the  number  previous 
to  the  cattle  plague — in  Edinburgh,  Newhaven,  Leith,  and  Portobello ; 
but  after  the  fourth  crop  is  cut,  sheep  are  turned  on  some  parts  of 
the  ground  about  the  beginning  of  November,  and  remain  for  about 
a  fortnight,  should  the  weather  be  favourable.  The  sheep  do  not 
seem  to  thrive,  however,  although  the  food  is  plentiful.  The  grass 
has  been  found  most  suitable  for  feeding  cows — the  attempts  to  ns» 
it  for  feeding  other  «nim»l»  having  been  found  not  to  answer,  and- 


GRASSKS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


375 


the  cost  of  converting  it  into  hay  being  proved  to  be  such  as  to 
render  the  process  unprofitable. 

"The  price  paid  for  the  plots  varies  considerably,  the  best  being 
known  to  bring  £40  per  acre,  while  others  are  as  low  as  £15  or  £20. 
Last  s.-  "sou,  owing  to  the  cattle  plague,  the  former  high  prices  could 
not  be  obtained.  The  best  land  produces  the  heaviest  crop ;  but  on  the 
Figgate  Whins,  mere  irrigated  sand,  the  first  crop  is  earlier  in  the 
season — a  matter  of  such  consequence  that,  although  .the  annual 
yield  is  less,  the  rent  paid  for  these  plots  is  about  as  nigh  as  for  the 
plots  producing  the  heavier  crop.  The  rectal  of  the  Figgate  Whins 
previous  to  the  irrigation  was,  I  have  been  informed,  about  20s.  per 
acre ;  while,  when  irrigated,  parts  have  been  let  for  some  years  at 
£40  per  acre.  The  only  works  having  been  the  levelling  of  the 
sandy  hillocks  and  formation  of  channels  for  the  sewage — neither 
of  them  very  costly  operations — and  the  annual  outlay  being  small, 
the  increased  annual  value  of  that  land  may  be  stated  at  not  much 
less  than  the  difference  between  the  two  sums. 

"  It  might  be  an  interesting  speculation  to  consider  how  far  the 
cost  of  the  works  necessary  for  collecting  and  removing  the  sewage 
from  the  district  of  the  city  draining  towards  Craigentinny  might 
have  been  defrayed  by  the  advance  of  rent  obtained  by  the  disposal 
of  the  sewage  in  irrigating  the  land  along  the  course  of  the  stream. 
The  cost  of  the  whole  sewerage  works  (including  many  of  the  branch 
drains)  constructed  within  the  district  in  the  city  which  is  drained 
to  the  Craigentinny  Burn,  may  be  stated  at  £9G,000.  Assuming 
that  the  annual  rent  of  the  250  acres  irrigated  was  £5  per  acre  uu 
an  average  previous  to  being  laid  out  for  irrigation,  while  the  reut 
was  raised  to  £25,  then  the  difference,  £20  per  acre,  is  the  annual 
value  of  the  irrigation.  There  being  250  acres,  gives  £5000  as  the 
return,  or  upwards  of  5  per  cent,  on  the  cost  of  the  sewers. 

"  The  produce  of  the  various  irrigated  meadows  round  Edinburgh 
is  sufficient  to  supply  the  present  demand  for  grass ;  necessitating 
any  further  application  of  the  sewage  to  some  other  kind  of  crop, 
unless  a  more  extensive  market  is  obtained  for  the  grass  produced." 

Section  3. — Italian  Ryegrass. 

Italian  ryegrass  can  be  cultivated  over  as  wide  a  range 
of  soils  and  climate  as  any  forage  crcp  which  we  possess, 
and  its  value  for  soiling  is  every  day  getting  to  be  more 
generally  appreciated.*  When  first  introduced,  and  indeed 
until  very  recently,  it  was  chiefly  sown  in  mixture  with 
other  grasses  and  clovers  for  pasturage,  a  purpose  to  which 
it  is  well  adapted  from  its  early  and  rapid  growth  in  spring. 
Its  true  function,  however,  is  to  produce  green  food  for 
soiling,  for  which  purpose  it  is  probably  unrivalled.  It  is 
in  connection  with  the  system  of  irrigation  with  liquid 
manure  that  its  astonishing  powers  have  besn  most  fully 
developed.  -  When  grown  for  this  purpose  it  is  sown  in 
April,  on  land  that  has  borne  a  grain  crop  after  turnips  or 
summer  fallow.  If  sown  with  a  grain  crop  as  thickly  as 
is  requisite,  it  grows  to  nearly  the  height  of  the  grain,  and 
both  are  injured.  A  liberal  dressing  of  farm-yard  dung 
is  spread  upon  the  stubble  in  autumn,  and  immediately 
ploughed  in.  In  the  end  of  March  or  beginning  of  April 
the  land  is  prepared  for  the  seed  by  being  stirred  with  the 
grubber  and  then  well  harrowed.  The  Leed,  at  the  rate 
of  4  bushels  per  acre,  is  then  sown  in  the  way  already 
described  for  clover  and  grass  seeds.  When  the  liquid 
manure  system  is  practised,  the  crop  is  watered  as  soon  as 
the  young  plants  are  about  an  inch  high,  and  so  rapid  is 
its  growth  in  favourable  circumstances  that  a  cutting  of  10 
tons  per  acre  has  in  some  case3  been  obtained  six  weeks  after 
sowing.  When  there  i3  no  provision  for  supplying  liquid 
manure,  a  top-dressing  of  guano,  nitrate  of  soda,  soot,  or  the 
first  two  articles  mixed,  is  applied  by  hand-sowing,  care 
being  taken  to  give  this  dressing  when  rain  seems  at  hand 
or  has  just  fallen.  A  similar  top-dressing  is  repeated  after 
each  cutting,  by  which  means  three  cuttings  are  ordinarily 
obtained  from  the  same  space  in  one  season.  A  very 
great  quantity  of  stock  can  thus  be  supported  from  a  very 
limited  extent  of  ground.  This  grass  is  also  found  to  be 
very  grateful  to  the  palates  of  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep, 
which  all  thrive  upon  it.  Though  so  very  succulent,  it 
does  not  produce  purging  in  the  animals  fed  upon  it.  It 
is  peculiarly  suitable  feeding  for  milch  cows,  as  appears 
from  the  published  account  at  Canning  Park.     Such  results 


as  those  obtained  by  Mr  Kennedy  and  others  are  not  to 
be  expected  unless  under  similar  conditions  ;  but  on  good 
loauxs,  clean  and  in  good  heart,  and  under  such  treatment  as 
is  described  at  the  beginning  of  this  section,  as  large  crops 
of  this  grass  as  of  red  clover  may  be  reckoned  on,  with  at 
least  equal  feeding  powers,  and  with  a  degree  of  certainty 
which  the  farmer  cannot  now  entertain  in  regard  to  the  latter 
crop.  If  it  is  regularly  mown  when  the  ear  begins  to  show, 
and  care  taken  never  to  allow  the  seed  to  form,  it  is 
fully  ascertained  that  this  grass  will  grow  abundantly  for 
a  second  year,  with  the  advantage  of  being  ready  for  use  very 
much  earlier  than  in  its  first  season.  It  is  sometimes  sown 
in  autumn,  but  those  who  have  had  the  fullest  experience  in 
its  cultivation  give  a  decided  preference  to  spring  sowing, 
either  after  a  grain  crop  which  has  followed  a  green  crop 
or  fallow,  or  at  once  after  turnip3,  It  is  of  great  import- 
ance to  get  fresh  and  genuine  seed.  That  directly  imported 
from  Italy  yields  the  best  crop  when  otherwise  goad.  As 
a  proof  of  the  fondness  of  sheep  for  this  grass,  it  has  been 
observed  that  when  it  had  been  sown  in  mixture  with  red 
clover  and  cut  for  hay,  sheep,  on  being  turned"  Into  the 
aftermath,  eat  down  the  Italian  ryegrass  in  preference  to 
the  clover. 

Section  4. — Crimson  Clover. 

Crimson  clover,  though  not  hardy  enough  to  withstand 
the  climate  of  Scotland  in  ordinary  winters,  is  a  most 
valuable  forage  crop  in  England.  It  is  sown  as  quickly  as 
possible  after  the  removal  of  a  grain  crop  at  the  rate  of  18 
lb  to  20  lb  per  acre.  It  is  found  to  succeed  better  when 
only  the  surface  of  the  soil  is  stirred  by  the  scarifier  and 
harrow  than  when  a  ploughing  is  given.  It  grows  rapidly 
in  spring,  and  yields  an  abundant  crop  of  green  food, 
peculiarly  palatable  to  live  stock.  It  is  also  suitable  for 
making  into  hay.  Only  one  cutting,  however,  can  be 
obtained,  as  it  does  not  shoot  again  after  being  mown. 

Section  5. — Bed  Clover. 
This  plant,  either  sown  alone  or  in  mixture  with  ryegrass, 
has  for  a  longtime  formed  the  staple  crop  for  soiling;  and 
so  long  as  it  grew  freely,  its  power  of  shooting  up  again 
after  repeated  mowings,  the  bulk  of  crop  thus  obtained,  its 
palatableness  to  stock  and  feeding  qualities,  the  great 
range  of  soils  and  climate  in  which  it  grows,  and  its  fitness 
either  for  pasturage  or  soiling,  well  entitled  it  to  this  pre- 
ference. Except  on  certain  rich  calcareous  clay  soils,  it 
has  now,  however,  become  an  exceedingly  precarious  crop. 
The  seed,  when  genuine,  which  unfortunately  is  very  often 
not  the  case,  germinates  as  freely  as  ever,  and  no  greater 
difficulty  than  heretofore  is  experienced  in  having  a  full 
plant  during  autumn  and  the  greater  part  of  winter ;  but 
over  most  part  of  the  country,  the  farmer,  after  having  his 
hopes  raised  by  seeing  a  thick  cover  of  vigorous-looking 
clover  plants  over  his  field,  finds  to  his  dismay,  by  March 
or  April,  that  they  have  either  entirely  disappeared,  or  are 
found  only  in  capricious  patches  here  and  there  over  the 
field.  No  satisfactory  explanation  of  this  clover  failure 
has  yet  been  given,  nor  any  certain  remedy,  of  a  kind  to 
be  applied  to  the  soil,  discovered.  One  important  fact  is, 
however,  now  well  established,  viz.,  that  when  the  crop- 
ping of  the  land  is  so  managed  that  clover  does  not 
recur  at  shorter  intervals  than  eight  years,  it  grows  with 
much  of  its  pristine  vigour  The  knowledge  of  this  fact 
now  determines  many  farmers  in  varying  their  rotation  so 
as  to  secure  this  important  end.  At  one  time  there  was  a 
somewhat  prevalent  belief  that  the  introduction  of  beans 
into  the  rotation  had  a  specific  influence  of  a  beneficial  kind 
on  the  clover  when  it  came  next  to  be  sown  ;  but  the  true 
explanation  seems  to  be,  that  the  beans  operate  favour- 
ably only  by  the  incidental  circumstance  of  almost  neces- 


37G 


AGRICULTURE 


[foiuce  cuors. 


sarily  lengthening  the  interval  betwixt  the  recurrences  of 
clover. 

When  the  four-course  rotation  is  followed,  no  better 
plan  of  managing  this  process  has  been  yet  suggested  than 
to  sow  beans,  pease,  potatoes,  or  tares,  instead  of  clover, 
for  ono  round,  making  the  rotation  one  of  eight  years 
instead  of  four.  The  mechanical  condition  of  the  soil 
seems  to  have  something  to  do  with  the  success  or  failure 
of  the  clover  crop.  We  havo  often  noticed  that  headlands, 
or  the  converging  line  of  wheel  tracks  near  a  gateway  at 
which  the  preceding  root  crop  had  been  carted  from  a  field, 
have  had  a  good  take  of  clover,  when  on  the  field  generally 
it  had  failed.  In  the  same  way  a  field  that  has  been  much 
poached  by  sheep  while  consuming  turnips  upon  it,  and 
which  has  afterwards  been  ploughed  up  in  an  unkindly 
state,  will  have  the  clover  prosper  upon  it,  when  it  fails 
in  other  cases  where  the  soil  appears  in  far  better  condition. 
If  red  clover  can  be  again  made  a  safe  crop,  it  will  be  a 
boon  indeed  to  agricultura  Its  seeds  are  usually  sown 
along  with  a  grain  crop,  any  time  from  1st  February  to 
May,  at  the  rate  of  12  lb  to  20  lb  per  acre  when  not  com- 
bined with  other  clovers  or  grasses. 

Italian  ryegrass  and  red  clover  are  now  frequently  sown 
in  mixture  for  soiling,  and  succeed  admirably.  It  is,  how- 
ever, a  wiser  course  to  sow  them  separately,  as  by  substi- 
tuting the  Italian  ryegrass  for  clover,  for  a  single  rotation, 
the  farmer  not  only  gets  a  crop  of  forage  as  valuable  in  all 
respects,  but  is  enabled,  if  Le  choose,  to  prolong  the  in- 
terval betwixt  the  sowings  of  clover  to  twelve  years,  by 
sowing,  as  already  recommended,  pulse  the  first  round, 
Italian  ryegrass  the  second',  and  clover  the  third. 

These  two  crops,  then,  are  those  on  which  the  arable- 
land  farmer  mainly  relies  for  green  forage.  To  have  them 
good,  he  must  be  prepared  to  make  a  liberal  application  of 
manure.  Good  farm-yard  dung  may  be  applied  with 
advantage  either  in  autumn  or  spring,  talcing  care  to  cart 
it  upon  the  land  only  when  it  is  dry  enough  to  admit  of 
this  being  done  without  injury.  It  must  also  be  spread 
very  evenly  so  soon  as  emptied  from  the  carts.  But  it  is 
usually  more  expedient  to  use  either  guano,  nitrate  of  soda, 
or  soot,  for  this  purpose,  at  the  rates  respectively  of  2  cwt, 
1  cwt.,  and  20  bushels.  If  two  or  more  of  these  substances 
are  used,  the  quantities  of  each  will  be  altered  in  proportion. 
They  are  best  also  to  be  applied  in  two  or  three  portions 
at  intervals  of  fourteen  to  twenty  days,  beginning  towards 
the  end  of  December,  and  only  when  rain  seems  imminent 
or  has  just  fallen. 

When  manure  is  broadcast  over  a  young  clover  field, 
and  presently  after  washed  in  by  rain,  the  effect  is  identical 
with  that  of  first  dissolving  it  in  water,  and  then  distribut- 
ing the  dilution  over  the  surface,  with  this  difference, 
namely,  that  the  first  plan  costs  only  the  price  of  the  guano, 
&C.,  and  is  available  at  any  time  and  to  every  one,  whereas 
the  latter  implies  the  construction  of  tanks  and  costly 
machinery. 

Section  6. — Vetclies. 

Vetches  are  another  very  valuable  forage  crop.  Being 
indigenous  to  Britain,  and  not  fastidious  in  regard  to  soil, 
they  can  be  cultivated  successfully  under  a  great  diversity 
of  circumstances,  and  are  well  adapted  for  poor  Boils.  By 
combining  the  winter  and  spring  varieties,  and  making 
several  sowings  of  each  in  its  season  at  intervals  of  two 
or  three  weeks,  it  is  practicable  to  have  them  fit  for  use 
from  May  till  October,  and  thus  to  carry  out  a  system  of 
soiling  by  means  of  vetches  alone.  But  it  is  usually  more 
expedient  to  ure  them  in  combination  with  grass  and  clover, 
beginning  with  the  first  cutting  of  the  latter  in  May, 
taking  the  winter  vetches  in  June,  recurring  to  the  Italian 
ryegrass  or  clover  as  the  second   cutting  is  ready,  and 


afterwards  bringing  the  spring  vetches  into  use.  Each 
crop  can  thus  be  used  when  in  its  best  state  for  cattle  food, 
and  so  as  gratefully  to  vary  their  dietary. 

Winter  Vetches. — There  is  no  botanical  difference  between 
winter  and  spring  vetches,  and  the  seeds  being  identical 
in  appearance,  caution  is  required  in  purchasing  seed  to 
get  it  of  the  right  sort.  Seed  grown  in  England  is  found 
the  most  suitable  for  sowing  in  Scotland,  as  it  vegetates 
more  quickly,  and  produces  a  more  vigorous  plant  than 
that  which  is  home-grown.  As  the  great  inducement  to 
cultivate  this  crop  is  the  obtaining  of  a  supply  of  nutritious 
green  food  which  shall  be  ready  for  use  about  the  1st  May, 
and  so  as  to  fill  up  the  gap  which  is  apt  to  occur  betwixt 
the  root  crops  of  the  previous  autumn  and  the  ordinary 
summer  food,  whether  for  grazing  or  soiling,  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  treat  it  in  such  a  way  that  it  may 
be  ready  for  use  by  the  time  mentioned.  To  secure  this, 
winter  tares  should  be  sown  in  August  if  possible,  but 
always  as  soon  as  the  land  can  be  cleared  of  the  preceding 
crop.  They  may  yield  a  good  crop  though  sown  in  October, 
but  in  this  case  will  probably  be  very  little  in  advance  of 
early-sown  spring  vetches,  and  possess  little,  if  any,  advan- 
tage over  them  in  any  respect.  The  land  on  which  they 
are  sown  should  be  dry  and  well  sheltered,  clean,  and  in 
good  heart,  and  be  further  enriched  by  ploughing  into  it 
from  12  to  15  loads  of  farm-yard  manure.  Not  less  than 
3§  bushels  of  seed  per  acre  should  be  sown,  to  which  some 
think  it  beneficial  to  add  half  a  bushel  of  wheat.  Rye  is 
frequently  used  for  this  purpose,  but  it  gets  reedy  in  the 
stems,  and  is  rejected  by  the  stock.  Winter  beans  are 
better  than  either.  The  kind  having  been  ploughed  rather 
deeply,  and  well  harrowed,  it  is  found  advantageous  to 
deposit  the  seed  in  rows,  either  by  a  drilling-machine  or 
by  ribbing.  The  latter  is  the  best  practice,  and  the  ribs 
should  be  at  least  a  foot  apart  and  rather  deep,  that  the 
roots  may  be  well  developed  before  top-growth  takes  place. 
As  soon  in  spring  as  the  state  of  the  land  and  weather 
admits  of  it,  the  crop  should  be  hoed  betwixt  the  drills,  a 
top-dressing  at  the  rate  of  40  bushels  of  soot  or  2  cwt.  of 
guano  per  acre  applied  by  sowing  broadcast,  and  the  roller 
then  used  for  the  double  purpose  of  smoothing  the  surface 
so  as  to  admit  of  the  free  use  of  the  scythe,  and  of  pressing 
down  the  plants  which  may  have  been  loosened  by  frost. 
It  is  thus  by  early  sewing,  thick  seeding,  and  liberal 
manuring,  that  this  crop  is  to  be  forced  to  an  early  and 
abundant  maturity.  May  and  June  are  the  months  in 
which  winter  vetches  are  used  to  advantage.  A  second 
growth  will  be  produced  from  the  roots  if  the  crop  is 
allowed  to  stand ;  but  it  is  much  better  practice  to  plough 
up  the  land  as  the  crop  is  cleared,  and  to  sow  turnips  upon 
it.  After  a  full  crop  of  vetches,  land  is  usually  in  a  good 
state  for  a  succeeding  crop.  When  the  whole  process  has 
been  well  managed,  the  gross  amount  of  cattle  food  yielded 
by  a  crop  of  winter  vetches,  and  the  turnip  crop  by  which 
it  is  followed  in  the  same  summer,  will  be  found  consider- 
ably to  exceed  what  could  be  obtained  from  the  fullest  crop 
of  turnips  alone,  grown  on  similar  soil,  and  with  the  same 
quantity  of  manure.  It  is  vain  to  sow  this  crop  where 
game  abounds. 

Spring  Vetches,  if  sown  about  the  1st  of  March,  will  be 
ready  for  use  by  1st  July,  when  the  winter  vetches  are  just 
cleared  off.  To  obtain  tie  full  benefit  of  this  crop,  the 
land  on  which  it  is  sown  must  be  clean,  and  to  keep  it  so 
a  much  fuller  allowance  of  seed  is  required  than  is  usually 
given  in  Scotland.  When  the  crop  is  as  thick  set  as  it 
should  be,  the  tendrils  interwine,  and  the  ground  is  covered 
by  a  solid  mass  of  herbage,  under  which  no  weed  can 
live.  To  secure  this,  not  less  than  4  bushels  of  seed  per 
acre  should  be  used  if  sown  broadcast,  or  3  bushels  if  in 
drills.     The  latter  plan,  if  followed  by  hoeing,  is  certainly 


FORAGE  CROPS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


:j?7 


the  best ;  for  if  the  weeds  are  kept  in  cneck  until  the  crop 
is  fairly  established,  they  have  no  chance  of  getting  up 
afterwards.  With  a  thin  crop  of  vetches,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  land  is  so  certain  to  get  foul,  that  they  should  at 
once  be  ploughed  down,  and  something  else  put  in  their 
place.  As  vetches  are  in  the  best  state  for  use  when  the 
seeds  begin  to  form  in  the  pods,  repeated  sowings  are 
made  at  intervals  of  three  weeks,  beginning  by  the  end  of 
February,  or  as  early  in  March  as  the  season  admits,  and 
continuing  till  May.  The  usual  practice  in  Scotland  has 
been  to  sow  vetches  on  part  of  the  oat  break,  once  ploughed 
from  lea.  Sometimes  this  does  very  well,  but  a  far  better 
plan  is  to  omit  sowing  clover  and  grass  seeds  on  part  of 
the  land  occupied  by  wheat  or  barley  after  turnips,  and 
having  ploughed  that  portion  in  the  autumn  to  occupy  it 
with  vetches,  putting  them  instead  of  "  seeds "  for  one 
revolution  of  the  course. 

When  vetches  are  grown  on  poor  soils,  the  most  pro- 
fitable way  of  using  them  is  by  folding  sheep  upon  them, 
a  practice  very  suitable  also  for  clays,  upon  which  a  root 
crop  cannot  safely  be  consumed  in  this  way.  A  different 
course  must,  however,  be  adopted  from  that  followed  when 
turnips  are  so  disposed  of.  When  sheep  are  turned  in 
upon  a  piece  of  tares,  a  large  portion  of  the  food  is  trodden 
down  and  wasted.  Cutting  the  vetches  and  putting  them 
into  racks  does  not  much  mend  the  matter,  as  much  is  still 
pulled  out  and  wasted,  and  the  manure  unequally  dis- 
tributed over  the  land.  To  avoid  those  evils,  hurdles  with 
vertical  spars,  betvixt  which  the  sheep  can  reach  with  head 
and  neck,  are  now  used.  These  are  set  close  up  to  the 
growing  crop  along  a  considerable  stretch,  and  shifted  for- 
ward as  the  sheep  eat  up  what  is  within  their  reach. 
This  requires  the  constant  attention  of  the  shepherd,  but 
the  laboul  is  repaid  by  the  saving  of  the  food,  which  being 
always  fresh  and  clean,  does  the  sheep  more  good.  A 
modification  of  this  plan  is  to  use  the  same  kind  of  hurdles, 
but  instead  of  shifting  them  as  just  described,  to  mow  a 
swathe  parallel  to  them,  and  fork  this  forward  within  reach 
of  the  sheep  as  required,  repeating  this  as  often  during 
the  day  as  is  found  necessary,  and  at  night  moving  the 
sheep  close  up  to  the  growing  crop,  so  that  they  may  lie  for 
the  next  twenty -four  hours  on  the  space  which  has  yielded 
food  for  the  past  day.  During  the  night  they  have  such 
pickings  as  have  been  left  on  the  recently-mown  space,  and 
so  much  of  the  growing  crop  as  they  can  get  at  through  the 
spars.  There  is  less  labour  by  this  last  mode  than  the 
other,  and  having  practised  it  for  many  years  we  know 
chat  it  answers  well.  This  folding  upon  vetches  is  suitable 
either  for  finishing  off  for  market  sheep  that  are  in  forward 
condition,  or  for  recently-weaned  lambs,  which,  after  five 
or  six  weeks'  folding  on  this  clean,  nutritious  herbage,  are 
found  to  take  on  more  readily  to  eat  turnips,  and  to  thrive 
better  upon  them,  than  if  they  had  been  kept  upon  the 
pastures  all  the  autumn.  Sheep  folded  upon  vetches  must 
have  water  always  at  command,  otherwise  they  will  not 
prosper. 

As  spring-sown  vetches  are  in  perfection  at  the  season 
when  pastures  usually  get  dry  and  scanty,  a  common 
practice  is  to  cart  them  on  to  grass  land  and  spread  them 
out  in  wisps,  to  be  eaten  by  the  sheep  or  cattle.  It  is, 
however,  much  better  either  to  have  them  eaten  by  sheep 
where  they  grow,  or  to  cart  them  to  the  homestead. 

Section  7. — Beans. 

The  common  field  bean  has  not  hitherto  been  recog- 
nised as  an  available  forage  plant.  Mr  Mechi  Has,  we 
believe,  the  merit  of  first  showing  its  great  value  for  this 
purpose.  In  the  hot  dry  summer  of  1868,  when  pastures 
utterly  failed,  and  men  were  at  their  wits'  end  how  to  keep 
their  stock  in  life,  he  had  recourse  to  his  bean  crop,  then  at 


its  full  growth,  and  its  green  pods  filled  with  soft  pulse. 
His  plan  of  using  it  was,  to  mow  the  needed  quantity 
daily,  pas3  it  through  a  chaff-cutter,  and  then  send  it  out 
in  troughs  to  his  sheep  in  their  pastures,  and  to  his  cattle 
in  their  stalls.  The  quantity  of  green  food  per  acre  yielded 
by  a  full  crop  of  beans  when  used  in  this  way  is  very  great, 
and  probably  exceeds  that  of  any  other  crop  we  grow.  As 
Mr  Mechi  observed,  on  first  announcing  his  practice,  "  no 
farmer  need  to  be  at  a  loss  for  food  for  his  live  stock  who 
has  a  crop  of  beans  at  command."  We  know  that  many 
farmers  availed  themselves  of  this  seasonable  hint  with 
the  very  best  results.  That  pre-eminently  successful 
grazier,  Mr  William  M'Combie,  M.P.,  Tillyfour,  has,  in  his 
instructive  pamphlet,  shown  how  useful  it  is  to  have  a 
few  acres  of  mixed  beans,  peas,  and  tares  ready  to  give  to 
cattle  in  forward  condition  in  the  month  of  August,  by 
laying  down  to  them  daily  on  their  pastures  a  supply  of 
this  very  palatable  and  nourishing  forage.  By  this  ex- 
pedient they  make  rapid  progress  at  a  season  when  they 
would  lose  the  condition  they  had  already  gained  if  left 
dependent  on  the  then  failing  pasturage.  We  can  testify 
from  experience  that  we  never  have  our  cattle  make  such 
rapid  progress  on  any  kind  of  food  as  when  thus  supplied 
with  green  pulse  on  autumn  pastures. 

Section  8. — Mustard. 

After  a  crop  of  vetches  has  been  consumed,  if  the  season 
is  too  far  advanced  to  admit  of  turnips  being  sown,  it  ia 
not  unusual  to  take  a  crop  of  white  mustard  or  crimson 
clover. 

By  means  of  the  crops  now  enumerated,  the  practice  of 
soiling  can  be  carried  out  in  all  cases  where  it  is  practicable. 

There  are  other  valuable  crops  of  this  kind,  several  of 
which  we  shall  now  describe ;  but  their  culture  is  either 
limited  by  their  requirements  in  regard  to  soil  and  climate, 
or  attended  with  too  great  expense  to  admit  of  their  com- 
peting with  those  already  described. 

Section  9. — Sainfoin. 

This  very  important  forage  plant  would  be  well  entitled 
to  a  more .  prominent  place  in  our  list  but  for  the  circum- 
stance that  it  is  only  on  dry  calcareous  soils  that  its 
excellences  are  fully  developed  ;  and  to  these,  accordingly, 
its  culture  may  be  said  to  be  confined.  In  all  the  chalk 
districts  of  England  sainfoin  occupies  an  important  place 
in  the  rotation  of  crops.-  Referring  to  the  chalky  downs 
round  Dsley  in  Berks,  Mr  Caird  says  : — "  About  a  tenth 
part  of  the  land  is  kept  under  sainfoin,  in  which  it  remains 
for  four  years,  being  each  year  cut  for  hay,  of  which  it 
gives  an  excellent  crop.  A  farmer  having  40  acres  of 
sainfoin  sows  out  10  acres  and  breaks  up  10  acres 
annually.  This  goes  regularly  over  the  whole  farm,  the 
sainfoin  not  returning  on  the  same  field  for  considerable 
intervals,  and  when  its  turn  comes  round  the  field  receives 
a  rest  of  four  years  from  the  routine  of  cultivation.  It 
is  then  ploughed  up  in  spring,  and  sown  with  oats  on 
one  furrow,  the  crop  of  which  is  generally  excellent,  as 
much  as  80  bushels  an  acre  not  being  uncommon."1  The 
seed,  at  the  rate  of  4  bushels  per  acre,  is  drilled  in 
immediately  after  barley  or  oats  has  been  sown,  working 
the  drill  at  right  angles  to  its  course  when  it  deposited  the 
grain.  It  is  frequently  pastured  for  one  or  more  years 
before  being  mown  either  for  green  forage  or  for  hay.  It 
is  sometimes  allowed  to  stand  for  eight  or  ten  years,  but 
the  plan  described  in  the  above  quotation  is  the  more 
approved  one.  A  variety  called  giant  sainfoin  has  been 
introduced  by  Mr  Hart  of  Ashwell,  Herts.  As  compared 
with  the  common  sort  it  is  more  rapid  in  its  growth  in 


1  Caird's  Ewjlish  Ayrictdlvtc,  p.  11C 


378 


AGRICULTURE 


[rOKJLOB    CIIO 11 


spring,  and  still  more  so  after  the  first  and  second  cuttings. 
Three  cuttings  for  hay,  and  one  of  these  ripening  the  seed, 
have  been  yielded  by  it  in  one  year,  and  a  good  eddish 
after  all.  Tho  yield  from  it  in  the  first  year  after  sowing 
is  largo  in  comparison  with  the  common  Bainfoin,  from  its 
attaininc  maturity  much  sooner ;  but  for  the  same  reason 
it  is  thought  judicious  to  break  it  up  after  three  years, 
whilo  still  in  vigour. 

Section  10. — Lucerne. 
Lucerne  is  much  cultivated  as  a  forago  crop  in  France 
and  other  parts  of  the  continent  of  Europe,  but  ha3  never 
come  into  geueral  use  in  Britain.  It  is,  however,  frequently 
met  with  in  small  patches  in  districts  where  the  soil  is 
very  light,  with  a  dry  subsoil.  Its  thick  tap-roots  penetrate 
very  deeply  into  the  soil ;  and  if  a  good  cover  is  once 
obtained,  the  plants  will  continue  to  yield  abundant  cuttings 
of  herbage  for  eight  or  ten  years,  provided  they  are  statedly 
top-dressed  and  kept  free  from  perennial  weeds.  In 
cultivating  lucerne,  the  ground  must  first  be  thoroughly 
cluaued,  and  put  into  good  heart  by  consuming  a  turnip 
crop  upon  it  with  sheep.  In  March  or  April,  the  surface- 
soil  having  first  been  brought  to  a  fine  tilth,  the  seed,  at 
the  rate  of  10  lb  per  acre,  is  sown  in  rows  15  to  18 
inches  apart.  As  suon  as  the  plants  appear  they  must  be 
freed  from  weeds  by  careful  hoeing  and  hand-weeding, 
repeated  as  occasion  requires.  Little  produce  is  obtained 
from  them  the  first  season,  and  not  a  very  heavy  cutting 
the  second;  but  by  the  third  year  two  or  more  abundant  crops 
of  herbage  will  be  produced,  peculiarly  suitable  for  horse- 
feed.  It  is  the  slow  growth  of  the  plants  at  first,  and  the 
difficulty  of  keeping  them  free  from  weeds  on  those  dry 
soils  which  alone  are  adapted  for  growing  lucerne,  that 
have  deterred  farmers  from  growing  it  more  extensively 
than  has  hitherto  been  done.  We  have  grown  it  success- 
fully in  Berwickshire  on  a  muiry  soil  resting  on  sandstone 
rock,  in  an  exposed  situation,  at  an  elevation  of  400  feet 
The  time  to  cut  it  is,  as  with  clover  and  sainfoin,  when  it 
is  in  full  flower. 

Section  11. — Chicory,  <tc. 

Chicory,  burnet,  cow-parsnip,  and  prickly  comfrey,  all 
known  to  be  palatable  to  cattle  and  yielding  a  large  bulk 
of  produce,  have  probably  been  less  carefully  experimented 
with  than  their  merits  deserve.  Although  they  have  long, 
figured  in  such  notices  as  the  present,  or  in  occasional 
paragraphs  in  agricultural  periodicals,  they  have  never  yet, 
that  we  are  aware  of,  been  subjected  to  such  a  trial  as 
either  conclusively  to  establish  their  claim  to  more  extended 
culture,  or  to  justify  the  neglect  which  they  have  hitherto 
experienced. 

Section  12. — Gorse  or  Whin. 

Notwithstanding  its  formidable  spines,  the  young  shoots 
of  this  hardy  evergreen  yield  a  palatable  and  nutritious 
winter  forage  for  horses  and  cattle.  To  fit  it  for  this 
purpose  it  must  be  chopped  and  bruised  to  destroy  the 
spines.  This  is  sometimes  done  in  a  primitive  and  laborious 
way  by  laying  the  gorse  upon  a  block  of  wood  and  beating 
it  with  a  mallet,  flat  at  one  end  and  armed  with  crossed 
knife-edges  at  the  other,  by  the  alternate  use  of  which  it 
is  bruised  and  chopped.  There  are  now  a  variety  of 
machines  by  which  this  is  done  rapidly  and  efficiently,  and 
which  are  in  use  where  this  kind  of  forage  is  used  to  any 
extent.  The  agricultural  value  of  this  plant  has  often  been 
over-rated  by  theoretical  writers.  In  the  case  of  very  poor, 
dry  soils,  it  does,  however,  yield  much  valuable  food  at  a 
Beason  when  green  forage  is  not  otherwise  to  be  had.  It 
is  on  thus  account  of  importance'  to  dairymen ;  and  to 
them  it  ha,*  this  further  recommendatiou,  that  cows  fed 


upon  it  give  much  rich  milk,  which  is  free  from  any 
unpleasant  flavour.  To  turn  it  to  good  account,  it  must 
be  sown  in  drills,  kept  clean  by  hoeing,  and  treated  as  a 
regular  green  crop.  If  sown  in  March,  on  land  fitly  pro- 
pared  and  afterwards  duly  cared  for,  it  is  ready  for  use 
in  the  autumn  of  the  following  year.  A  succession  of 
cuttings  of  proper  age  is  obtained  for  several  years  from 
the  same  field.  It  is  cut  by  a  short  stout  scythe,  and  must 
be  brought  from  the  field  daily ;  for  when  put  in  a  heap 
after  being  chopped  and  bruised  it  heats  rapidly.  It  is 
given  to  horses  and  cows  in  combination  with  chopped 
hay  or  straw.  An  acre  will  produce  about  2000  faggota 
of  green  two-year-old  gorse,  weighing  20  lb  each. 

This  plant  is  invaluable  in  mountain  sheep-walks.  The 
rounded  form  of  the  furze  bushes  that  are  met  with  in 
such  situations  shows  how  diligently  the  annual  growth, 
as  far  as  it  is  accessible,  is  nibbled  by  the  sheep.  The 
food  and  shelter  afforded  to  them  in  snow-storms  by 
clusters  of  such  bushes  is  of  such  importance  that  the 
wonder  is  our  sheep  fanners  do  not  bestow  more  pains  to 
have  it  in  adequate  quantity.  Young  plants  of  whin  are 
so  kept  down  by  the  sheep  that  they  can  seldom  attain  to 
a  profitable  size  unless  protected  by  a  fence  for  a  few  years. 

Section  13. — Tussac  Grass. 

The  tussac  grass  of  tho  Falkland  Islands  has  of  late 
years  attracted  considerable  attention  as  a  forago  plant. 
From  its  gigantic  growth,  even  in  thoso  imgcuial  regions, 
and  the  extraordinary  relish  manifested  for  it  by  horses 
and  cattle,  sanguine  hopes  were  entertained  that  it  was  to 
prove  a  truly  valuable  addition  to  our  present  list  of -forage 
plants ;  but  the  attempts  hitherto  made  to  introduce  it  hi 
Britain  have  not  been  of  a  very  encouraging  kind  The 
only  successful  cases  have  been  in  tho  Orkneys  and  in 
Lewis.  Messrs  Lawson  of  Edinburgh,  who  have  given 
much  attention  to  it,  say — "  Our  own  experience  leads  to 
the  conclusion,  that  localities  within  influence  of  the  sea 
spray,  the  soil  being  of  a  peaty  nature,  are  without  doubt 
the  best  adapted  for  the  growth  of  tho  tussac;  and  in  such 
places  it  is  likely  to  be  of  great  service,  as  few  other 
nutritive  grasses  will  •  exist  there.  In  our  own  experi- 
mental grounds  it  does  not  thrive  well;  which  may 
perhaps  be  accounted  for  by  the  nature  of  the  soil,  which 
is  light  and  dry.  Regarding  its  value  as  a  forage  plant, 
we  have  before  us  an  analysis  made,  at  our  request,  by 
Professor  Johnston,  the  results  of  which  show  that  '  the 
tussac  grass  ought  to  be  very  nutritive.'  Propagation,  in 
the  absence  of  seed,  is  easily  effected,  under  favourable 
circumstances,  by  subdivision  of  the  routs." 

We  have  thus  noticed  all  the  more  important  of  our 
forage  crops  of  ascertained  value.  Additions  will  probably 
be  made  to  them  from  time  to  time.,  especially  from  the 
increased  attention  now  bestowed  on  green  crops  of  all 
kinds.  It  has  lately  been  suggested  thai  maize  and  also 
lupins,  although  unfit  for  our  climate  as  grain  crops,  might 
with  advantage  be  tried  as  forage  plants.  Both  are 
successfully  grown  for  this  purpose  in  Germany.  Being 
unable  to  withstand  frost,  they  should  be  sown  not  earlier 
than  May.  The  maize  requires  a  deep  rich  soil;  the 
lupins  again  are  said  to  do  best  on  light  siliceous  soils. 
Both  should  be  sown  in  rows  15  to  18  inches  apart,  and 
seeded  at  the  rate  of  2  bushels  per  acre.  A  trial  which 
we  made  with  lupins  (both  the  blue  and  the  yellow  sorts) 
in  1858,  on  a  light  moorland,  proved  a  total  failure. 

Section  14. — Haymaking. 

Having  spoken  of  the  cultivation  and  use  in  a  green 
state  of  herbage  and  forage  crops,  it  remains  to  describe 
the  process  by  which  they  are  preserved  for  use  in  a  dry 
state,  or  made  into  hay.     On  every  farm  a  supply  of  good 


n  <v.j 


AGRICULTURE 


371. 


hay,  adeqnate  to  tuc  wants  01  its  own  live  stock,  is,  or  at 
least  ought  to  be,  statedly  provided.  This  is  no  doubt 
an  expensive  kind  of  food,  but  on  the  other  hand  it  is 
highly  nutritious,  and  conduces  much  to  the  healthfulness 
of  the  animals  fed  upon  it.  Many  a  valuable  farm  horse 
is  annually  sacrificed  to  a  false  economy  in  feeding  him 
solely  on  innutritious  straw  or  ill-gotten  hay.  The 
owners  of  such  stock  would  do  well  to  consider  that  the 
death  of  a  horse  yearly,  and  the  impaired  health  and 
condition  of  the  whole  stud,  more  than  counterbalance 
any  saving  that  can  be  effected  by  using  bad  fodder  instead 
of  good.  But  the  great  consumption  of  hay  is  by  the 
numerous  horses  constantly  required  in  this  country  for 
other  purposes  than  farm  labour.  In  the  vicinity  of  towns 
hay  is  therefore  a  staple  agricultural  product,  and  hay- 
making an  important  branch  of  rural  economy.  It  is  one 
in  the  practice  of  which  English  farmers  generally  excel 
their  brethren  north  of  the  Tweed.  In  the  counties  near 
the  metropolis,  in  particular,  this  process  is  conducted  with 
admirable  skill 

In  converting  the  grasses  and  forage  plants  into  hay, 
the  object  is  to  get  quit  of  the  water  which  they  contain, 
amounting  to  nearly  two-thirds  of  their  weight,  with  the 
least  possible  loss  of  their  nutritive  qualities.  In  order  to 
this  the  crops  must  be  mown  at  that  stage  of  their  growth 
when  the  greatest  weight  of  produce  with  the  maximum  of 
nutritive  value  can  be  obtained ;  and  then  it  is  necessary 
jo  to  conduct  the  drying  process  that  the  inspissated  juices 
shall  not  be  washed  out  and  lost  by  external  wetting.  A 
simple  and  sufficiently  accurate  rule  for  determining  the 
first  point  is  to  mow" when  the  plants  are  in  full  flower.  If 
this  stage  is  exceeded,  both  the  quality  of  the  hay  and  the 
amount  of  the  foggage  or  aftermath  are  seriously  impaired. 
It  follows  from  this  that  mowing  should  be  commenced 
somewhat  earlier  than  the  stage  indicated,  otherwise,  before 
the  whole  can  be  cut  the  last  portion  will  have  exceeded 
the  proper  degree  of  ripeness.  By  cutting  a  part  too  soon 
a  slight  loss  of  weight  is  incurred,  which,  however,  is 
compensated  for  by  a  better  aftermath;  whereas  if  part  is 
allowed  to  mature  the  seeds,  there  is  a  loss  of  weight, 
quality,  and  aftermath.  Haymaking,  to  be  done  well,  must 
be  done  quickly,  and  in  order  to  this  a  full  supply  of 
labourers  is  indispensable.  As  a  good  mower  can  cut  on 
an  average  an  acre  in  a  day,  as  many  must  be  engaged  as 
can  overtake  the  extent  of  crop  while  it  is  in  the  best  state 
for  cutting.  It  is  of  great  importance,  too,  to  have  the 
grass  cut  close  to  the  ground.  A  loss  of  from  5  to  10 
per  cent,  on  the  gross  produce  is  frequently  incurred  by 
unskilful  or  careless  mowers  leaving  the  sward  too  high. 
Now  that  efficient  mowing-machines  can  be  had,  this  work 
can  be  performed  with  a  celerity  and  accuracy  hitherto 
unattainable.  To  admit  of  accurate  and  expeditious  mow- 
ing, whether  by  scythe  or  machine,  care  must  be  taken,  at 
the  proper  season,  to  remove  all  stones  and  other  obstruc- 
tions, and  to  .make  the  surface  smooth  by  rolling. 

Confining  our  attention,  in  the  first  place,  to  natural 
meadow  grass,  let  us  glance  at  the  process  a<3  Conducted  by 
those  who  are  most  proficient  in  it.  The  mowers  having 
commenced  their  work  at  sunrise,  the  haymakers,  in  the 
proportion  of  two  men  and  three  women  to  each  mower,  so 
soon  as  the  dew  is  off,  shake  out  the  swathes  evenly  over 
the  whole  ground,  until  they  have  overtaken  as  much  as 
they  can  get  into  cocks  the  same  day.  This  quantity  they 
now  turn  and  toss  about  as  frequently  as  possible,  getting 
it,  before  evening,  either  into  a  compact  windrow,  or 
forming  it  into  very  small  cocks.  Next  day  these  cocks 
are  again  opened  out,  and  as  much  more  of  the  grass  in 
swathe  as  can  be  overtaken,  all  of  which  is  anew  subjected 
to  the  same  repeated  turnings,  and  again,  as  evening 
approaches,   secured  from  dew  and   rain  by  windrowing 


and  cocking ;  that  which  is  driest  being  put  into  large! 
cocks  than  on  the  previous  day.  If  the  weather  is  hot  and 
parching,  that  which  was  first  cut  is  by  the  fourth  da^ 
ready  for  the  stack,  and  is  immediately  carried.  A  large 
rick-cloth  is  drawn  over  the  incipient  stack  until  more  hay 
is  in  condition  to  be  added  to  it,  and  then,  if  weatheJ 
favour,  the  whole  process,  from  mowing  to  stacking,  for  a 
time  goes  on  simultaneously,  and  is  speedily  completed. 
As  the  building  of  the  stack  proceeds,  its  sides  arc.  by 
pulling,  freed  from  loose  hay,  and  straightened ;  and  when 
completed  it  is  thatched  with  the  least  possible  delay.  If 
the  weather  prove  showery,  the  grass  is  left  untouched  in 
the  swathe  until  it  begins  to  get  yellow  on  the  under  side, 
in  which  case  it  is  usually  turned  over  without  opening  out 
until  weather  again  favour.  To  produce  fine  hay,  care 
must  be  taken  to  secure  from  dew  or  rain  by  cocking 
before  nightfall  all  that  has  been  spread  out  during  the 
day — never  to  touch  it  until  dew  or  wet  is  off — to  shake 
all  out  so  thoroughly  as  that  the  whole  may  be  dried  alike 
— and  never  to  suffer  it,  after  being  tedded  out,  to  lie  so 
long  as  to  get  scorched  on  one  side.  When  these  operations 
are  conducted  successfully,  the  hay  is  of  a  fine  light-green 
colour,  delightfully  fragrant,  and  retains  its  nutritious 
matter  unimpaired.  To  accomplish  this  in  our  variable 
climate  much  skill  and  energy,  and"  an  ample  command 
of  labour,  are  necessary 

The  cost  and  labour  of  this  process  are  now,  indeed, 
much  reduced  by  the  use  of  machinery,  consisting  of 
mower,  tedder,  and  rake,  by  means  of  which  a  man  and 
pair,  of  horses  can  do  the  work  of  ten  scytbemeu,  and 
another  man  and  horse  can  toss,  turn,  and  draw  into 
windrows  as  much  grass  as  could  be  overtaken  in  the 
same  time  by  fifteen  people.  The  hay-tedder,  moreover, 
shakes  out  the  grass  more  thoroughly  than  it  can  be  dona 
by  hand.  After  the  hay  is  gathered  into  rows,  horse  labour 
is  also  sometimes  employed  to  collect  it  into  heaps  by 
means  of  a  sweep,  that  is,  a  piece  of  plank  with  a  rope 
attached  to  each  end  of  it,  by  which  a  horse  draws  it 
along  on  edge,  whire  two  lads  hold  it  down,  and  the  hay  is 
thus  pushed  forward  in  successive  portions,  which  are 
then  by  hand  labour  made  into  orderly  cocks.  The  yield 
of  meadow  hay  ranges  from  1  to  2  tons  per  acre,  and  the 
cost  of  making  it  is  about  10s.  per  ton.  In  London  hay 
is  brought  to  market  in  -trusses,  each  weighing  5G  lb, 
36  of  which  are  called  a  load.  In  cutting  up  a  stack 
these  trusses  are  removed  from  it  in  compact  cubes,  which 
are  then  neatly  secured  by  bands  of  twisted  hay. 

In  converting  the  cultivated  forage  crops,  such  as  clover 
(either  pure  or  mixed  with  ryegrass),  sainfoin,  lucerne,  or 
vetches,  into  hay,  the  procedure  varies  considerably  from 
that  pursued  with  the  natural  grasses.  A  considerable 
part  of  these  plants  consists  of  broad  tender  leaves,  which, 
when  scorched  by  the  sun,  become  so  dry  and  brittle  that, 
on  the  least  rough  handling,  they  fly  into  dust,  aud  are 
totally  lost.  These  crops,  therefore,  do  not  admit  of  being 
shaken  asunder  and  tossed  about  like  the  natural  grasses, 
a  circumstance  which  unfortunately  forbids  the  use  of 
the  tedding-machine  in  getting  them.  The  swathes  are 
accordingly  left  untouched  until  tbey  have  got  slightly 
withered  on  the  upper  side,  after  which  they  are  turned 
several  times  with  as  little  breaking  up  as  possible ;  made 
up  first  into  small  cocks,  opened  out  again,  gently  turned, 
and  made  into  larger  cocks,  which  as  speedily  as  possible 
are  carried  and  stacked.  These  crops  can  be  stacked  with 
safety  in  a  very  green  state  by  mixing  with  them  frequent 
layers  of  clean  dry  straw,  by  which  the  redundant  juices 
are  absorbed,  and  injurious  heating  prevented.  The  straw 
thus  impregnated  acquires  a  flavour  which  renders  it  palat- 
able to  cattle ;  but  it  is  advisable,  when  this  practice  is 
adopted,  to  cut  the  whole  into  chaff  before  using  it  as  fodder. 


380 


AGRICULTURE 


[klax. 


When  it  is  desired  to  save  the  seeds  of  Italian  or 
common  ryegrass,  the  crop,  after  being  mown,  is  allowed  to 
lie  for  a  day  or  two  in  swathe,  and  is  then  neatly  gathered 
into  sheaves,  bound,  and  stocked,  precisely  like  a  crop  of 
oats.  When  sufficiently  dried,  the  seed  is  either  thrashed 
out  in  the  field,  the  straw  stacked  like  other  hay,  and  the 
seed  spread  thinly  over  a  granary  floor,  and  turned  several 
times  daily  until  it  is  dry  enough  to  keep  in  a  bin  or 
in  sacks ;  or  the  sheaves  are  built  into  small  round  stacks, 
which  stand  until  the  seed  is  wanted,  when  it  is  thrashed 
out  by  machinery  like  grain. 

Of  late  years  we  have  frequently  secured  considerable 
quantities  of  useful  hay  by  mowing  seeds  that  had  been 
pastured  by  sheep  in  the  early  part  of  the  season.  In  July 
we  run  the  mowing-machines  over  such  fields,  taking  care 
to  set  the  cutting-bar  high  enough  to  leave  the  fresh-grown 
herbage  untouched,  and  to  remove  only  that  of  older  and 
taller  growth.  The  mown  sturf  is  left  untouched  for  two 
or  three  days ;  is  then  drawn  together  by  the  horse  rake, 
and  put  into  cocks  for  a  short  time,  or  carted  at  once  to 
the  rick-yard  as  weather  permits.  In  this  way  much 
herbage  that  would  otherwise  go  to  waste  is  converted 
into  useful  winter  fodder,  and  a  fresh-grown  clean  pasture 
secured  for  lambs  or  other  stock. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

CULTIVATED  CROPS — CROPS  OF  LIMITED  CULTIVATION. 

Under  this  head  we  shall  notice  a  variety  of  crops  which, 
however  valuable  in  themselves,  and  important  to  the 
farmers  of  particular  localities,  are,  from  one  cause  or  other, 
toot  adapted  for  general  cultivation. 

Section  1. — Flam. 

Flax  is~probably  the  most  important  of  these  crops.  In- 
deed, from  the  rapid  growth  of  our  linen  trade,  the  growing 
demand  for  linseed  and  its  products,  and  the  fitness  of  the 
Boil  and  climate  for  the  successful  growth  of  flax,  it  is  not 
without  cause  that  its  more  extended  cultivation  has  been 
so  strenuously  urged  upon  our  farmers,  and  that  influential 
societies  have  been  organised  for  the  express  purpose  of 
promoting  this  object.  Viewed  merely  as  an  agricultural 
crop,  the  cultivation  of  flax  is  exceedingly  simple,  and 
could  be  practised  as  readily  and  extensively  as  that  of  the 
cereal  crops.  The  difficulty  is,  that  before  it  can  be 
disposed  of  to  any  advantage,  it  must  undergo  a  process  of 
partial  manufacture ;  thus  there  i3  required  not  only  an 
abundant  supply  of  cheap  labour,  but  such  an  amount  of 
skill  and  personal  superintendence  on  the  part  of  the  farmer 
as  is  incompatible  with  duo  attention  to  corn  and  cattle 
husbandry.  If  a  ready  and  remunerative  market  were 
available  for  the  fibre  in  its  simple  form  of  flax  straw,  this, 
in  combination  with  the  value  of  the  seed  for  cattle  feeding, 
would  at  once  hold  out  sufficient  motive  to  our  farmers  to 
grow  it  statedly  and  to  any  required  extent.  Until  this 
is  the  case,  its  culture  cannot  extend  in  the  corn-growing 
districts  of  Great  Britain.  In  Ireland  and  parts  of  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland,  where  there  is  a  redundant  popula- 
tion much  in  want  of  such  employment  as  the  flax  crop 
furnishes,  and  where  the  climate  is  suited  for  its  growth, 
it  is  highly  desirable  that  its  culture  should  extend,  and 
probable  that  it  will  do  so.  Flax  prospers  most  when 
grown  upon  land  of  firm  texture  resting  upon  a  moist 
subsoil.  It  does  well  to  succeed  oats  or  potatoes,  as  it 
requires  the  soil  to  be  in  fresh  condition  without  being  too 
rich.  Lands  newly  broken  up  from  pasture  suit  it  well,  as 
these  are  generally  freer  from  weeds  than  those  that  have 
been  long  under  tillage.  It  is  usually  inexpedient  to  apply 
manure  dirictly  to  the  flax  crop,  as  the  tendency  of  this  is 
to  produce  over-luxuriance,  nod  thereby  to  mar  the  quality 


ot  the  fibre,  on  which  its  value  chiefly  depends.  For  the 
same  reason  it  must  be  thickly  seeded,  the  etfect  of  this 
being  to  produce  tall  slender  stems,  free  from  branches. 
The  land  having  Iwe'u  ploughed  in  autumn,  is  prepared  for 
sowing  by  working  it  with  the  grubber,  harrow,  and  roller, 
until  a  fine  tilth  is  obtained.  On  the  smooth  surface  the 
seed  is  sown  broadcast  by  hand  or  machine,  at  the  rate  of 
3  bushels  per  acre,  and  covered  in  the  same  manner  as 
clover  seeds.  It  is  advisable  immediately  to  hand-rake  it 
with  common  hay-rakes,  and  thus  to  remove  all  stones  and 
clods,  and  to  secure  a  uniform  close  cover  of  plants. 
When  these  are  about  3  inches  long  the  crop  must  be 
carefully  hand-weeded.  This  is  a  tedious  and  expensive 
process,  and  hence  the  importance  of  sowing  the  crop  on 
land  as  free  as  possible  from  weeds  of  all  kinds.  To  obtain 
flax  of  the  very  finest  quality  the  crop  must  be  pulled  as 
soon  as  the  flowers  fall,  but  in  the  improved  medss  of 
steeping,  whether  by  Schenck's  or  Watt's  patent,  the  value 
of  the  fibre  is  not  diminished  by  allowing  the  seeds  to 
mature.  It  must  not,  however,  be  allowed  to  become  dead 
ripe,  but  should  be  pulled  whenever  the  seeds  appear,  on 
opening  the  capsule,  to  be  slightly  brown-coloured.  The 
pulling  requires  to  be  managed  with  much  care.  It  is 
performed  by  men  or  women,  who  seize  a  small  quantity 
with  both  hands  and  pull  it  by  a  slight  jerking  effort.  The 
important  point  to  be  attended  to  is  to  keep  the  butts  even 
as  successive  quantities  are  seized  and  twitched  from  the 
ground.  When  a  convenient  handful  has  been  pulled  it  is 
laid  on  the  ground,  and  the  next  parallel  to  it  at  a  foot  or 
so  apart.  The  next  handfuls  are  laid  across  these,  and  so 
on  until  a  small  pile  is  made,  af  ter  which  another  is  begun. 
After  lying  in  this  position  for  a  few  days,  the  seed-vessels 
or  bolls  are  separated  from  the  flax  by  lifting  each  handful 
separately  and  pulling  the  top  through  a  ripple  or  iron 
comb  fixed  upon  a  piece  of  plank.  As  many  of  these 
handfuls  as  will  make  a  small  sheaf  are  then  laid  very 
evenly  together,  and  bound  near  both  ends  with  bands 
formed  of  a  few  stems  of  flax.  These  sheaves  are  set  up 
in  stooks,  and  when  dry  enough  to  keep  without  heating 
are  stacked  and  thatched  until  an  opportunity  occurs  of 
disposing  of  the  flax  straw.  Sometimes  the  flax  is  bound 
into  sheaves  and  stooked  as  it  is  pulled,  and  treated  exactly 
like  a  grain  crop.  In  this  case  the  seed  is  separated  from 
the  straw  by  passing  the  head  of  each  sheaf  between  iron 
rollers.  The  only  objection  to  this  plan  is  that  the  bolls  of 
separate  sheaves  get  so  entangled  in  each  other  as  to  render 
it  exceedingly  difficult  to  handle  them  in  carrying  the  crop, 
and  in  building  and  taking  down  the  stacks,  without  dis- 
arranging the  sheaves  and  wasting  much  straw  and  seed. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  enter  here  into  a  minute  detail  of 
the  ordinary  method  of  separating  the  flax  fibre  from  the 
woody  part  of  the  Etem.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  in  the 
ordinary  practice  the  sheaves  or  beets  of  flax  straw  are 
immersed  in  a  pit  or  pool  filled  with  clear  soft  water.  The 
sheaves  are  kept  under  water  by  laying  boards  upon  them 
loaded  with  stones  to  keep  them  down.  K;ire  the  flax 
undergoes  a  process  of  fermentation  by  which  the  parts  are 
separated.  About  nine  or  ten  days  are  usually  required  for 
this  purpose,  but  this  is  much  influenced  by  the  temperature. 
A  good  deal  of  skill  and  close  watching  is  required  to  know 
exactly  when  it  has  been  watered  enough.  The  flax  is  now- 
taken  from  the  pit  and  evenly  spread  upon  a  smooth,  clean, 
recently-mown  meadow,  where  it  lies  for. about  ten  days 
more,  receiving  several  turnings  the  while.  When  the 
retting,  as  this  is  called,  is  perfected,  the  flax  is  carefully 
gathered  up  when  perfectly  dry,  and  again  tied  into  sheaves, 
in  which  state  it  is  stored  under  cover  until  the  breaking 
and  scutching  can  be  overtaken. 

All  this  necessarily  requirtc  much  skilful  watchiftg  and 
nice  manipulation, — more,  as  we  have  already  said,  than  is 


HOPS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


381 


compatible  with  the  othe"r  avocations  ot  an  extensive  fanner. 
There  are,  however,  improved  modes  of  accomplishing  this 
preliminary  manufacture  of  flax  which,  wherever  estab- 
lished, pave  the  way  for  the  growth  of  flax  as  an  ordinary 
field  crop.    For  these  see  article  Flax. 

The  extent  of  flax  cultivation  in  Ireland  is  considerable, 
but  the  acreage  has  been  gradually  diminishing  during 
late  years.  In  1864  it  reached  the  maximum,  301,693 
acres;  next  year  it  fell  to  251,433.  Since  1869  it  has 
steadily  declined,  there  being  229,252  acres  in  flax  crop 
that  year,  and  only  122,003  in  1872. 

Hemp,  although  at  one  time  very  generally  grown  in 
Great  Britain,  is  now  so  rarely  met  with  that  it  is  unneces- 
sary to  enter  into  details  of  its  cultivation. 

Section  2. — Hops. 

The  hop  is  an  important  crop  in  several  of  the  southern 
counties  of  England.  Although  an  indigenous  plant,  it 
was  originally  brought  into  England  for  cultivation  from 
Flanders  in  1525.  It  is  cultivated  to  a  considerable  extent 
in  Belgium,  Bavaria,  in  the  United  States  of  America,  and 
more  recently  in  Australia.  Hops,  as  is  well  known,  are 
chiefly  used  for  preserving  and  imparting  a  peculiar  flavour 
to  beer.  Probably  the  only  parts  of  the  hop  flower  which 
enter  into  the  composition  of  the  beer  are  the  seeds,  and 
tne  yellow  glutinous  matter  which  surrounds  the  outer  in- 
teguments of  the  seed,  and  lies'  at  the  bottom  of  the  petals. 
This  yellow  matter  (technically  termed  the  condition  of  the 
hop)  has  an  intensely  bitter  taste,  and  emits  a  peculiar  and 
very  agreeabla  aroma,  which,  however,  is  extremely  volatile  ; 
and  hence  tie  necessity  for  close  packing  as  soon  as  possible 
after  the  hops  are  dried.  When  kept  over  a  year,  much 
of  this  aroma  flies  off,  and  hence  new  hops  are  indispensable 
in  brewing  the  first  kinds  of  beer.  Several  varieties  of  the 
hop  are  cultivated  in  England.  Of  these,  the  Farnham 
and  Canterbury  whitebines  and  goldings  are  esteemed 
the  finest  These  are  tall  varieties,  requiring  poles  of 
from  14  to  20  feet.  The  grapes,  so  called  from  grow- 
ing in  clusters,  and  of  which  there  are  several  varieties 
of  various  quality,  require  poles  from  10  to  14  feet  long. 
Jones's,  adapted  .for  lighter  and  inferior  land,  requires 
these  but  8  to  10  feet.  The  colegates  are  a  hardy  and 
late-ripening  variety,  which  grow  best  on  stiff  soils ;  and 
the  Flemish  redbine,  only  cultivated  from  its  less  liability 
than  the  other  to  be  attacked  by  the  aphis  or  black  blight. 

The  hop  is  a  very  exhausting  crop  for  the  land,  requir- 
ing to  be  planted  only  on  the  most  fertile  soils,  and  to  have 
them  sustained  by  freq  lent  and  large  dressings  of  manure 
rich  in ,  nitrogen.  Hops  are  principally  cultivated  in  the 
counties  of  Kent,  Sussex,  Surrey,  Hants,  Worcester,  and 
Hereford,  and  to  a  more  limited  extent  in  Essex,  Suffolk, 
and  Nottingham.  The  best  quality  of  Jiops  are  grown  at 
Farnham  in  Kent,  upon  the  outcrop  of  the  upper  greensand 
formation,  from  whence  the  phosphatic  nodules  or  coprolites 
now  so  well  known  in  the  manure  market  are  obtained. 
fn  1871  the  land  under  hop  cultivation  in  Great  Britain 
measured  60,030  acres;  in  1872  it  amounted  to  61,927 
acres,  of  which  there  were  in  Kent  37)927,  in  Sussex  9738, 
and  in  Hereford  6106  acres. 

In  forming  a  new  plantation,  the  ground  soon  after  Michaelmas 
is  trenched  to  the  depth  of  18  inches,  if  it  has  previously  been 
in  meadow  or  old  pasture,  taking  care  not  to  bury  the  surface-soil 
above  half  that  depth.  Subsoil-ploughing  will  suffice  with  land 
that  is  in  tillage.  If  the  land  is  wet,  drains  are  .made  from  4  to 
6  feet  deep,  laid  with  pipes,  and  a  foot  of  broken  Stones  over  them, 
to  prevent  the  roots  of  the  hops  from  obstructing  the  pipes.  The 
distance  between  the  drains  is  determined  by  the  necessities  of  each 
case.  Perfect  draining  is  essential  to  the  success  of  the  crop ;  and  the 
hops  are  planted  in  squares  or  triangles  at  equal  distances,  varying 
from  6  to  7  feet,  according  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil  and  the 
greater  or  less  luxuriant  habit  of  growth  of*  the  variety  selected. 
The  plants  ore  raised  by  cutting  off  the  layers  or  shoots  of  the  pre- 


ceding year,  which  are  beddtd  ont  during  the  month  of  March  in 
ground  previously  prepared;  and  in  the  succeeding  autumn  become 
what  are  callsd  nursery  plants  or  bedded  sets.  Early  in  No /ember 
these  are  planted,  one,  two,  or  three  being  used  for  a  hill  according 
to  the  strength  of  the  plants.  Care  must  be  taken  to  introduce  a 
sufficient  number  of  male  plants,  six  hills  to  the  acre  being  deemed 
sufficient  The  presence  of  these  is  found  to  induce  earlier  matu- 
rity, and  to  improve  both  the  quality  and  weight  of  the  crops. 
The  ground  must  at  all  times  be  kept  free  from  weeds  and  have  a 
good  depth  of  pulverised  soil.  From  the  first,  a  stick,  6  feet  high 
or  so,  is  placed  to  each  hill,  to  which  all  the  young  bines,  as  they 
shoot  out  during  summer,  must  be  tied.  A  liberal  dressing  ol 
superphosphate  of  lime  and  guano  is  in  June  hoed  in  around  each 
hu\  which  is  repeated  in  July,  under  which  treatment  2  or  3  cwt 
of  hops  is  obtained  the  first  year,  in  addition  to  a  crop  of  mangolds, 
turnips,  or  potatoes,  grown  in  the  intervals  between  the  hills.  On 
newly  broken  up  ground  lime  is  applied  the  following  spring. 
When  a  plantation  has  been  established,  the  annual  routine  ol 
culture  begins  in  autumn,  as  soon  as  the  crop  has  been  gathered, 
when  the  haulm  is  stripped  from  the  poles,  and  stored  away  as  a 
substitute  for  straw.  The  poles  are  stacked  or  piled  in  quantities 
of  400  or  500,  at  regular  distances  on  the  ground.  During  winter 
_they  are  sorted  and  repointtd  when  required,  and  new  ones  substi- 
tuted for  those  that  are  broken  or  decayed  ;  this  work  and  the 
carrying  on  of  manure  being  accomplished  in  frosty  weather.  The 
ground  is  dug  over  by  the  fork  at  this  season.  In  March  the  earth 
is  removed  from  the  plants  by  a  beck  or  pronged  hoe  till  the  crown 
is  exposed,  that  the  plant  may  be  pruned.  Immediately  after  this 
the  poles  are  set  the  length  and  number  of  these  for  each  hit' 
depending  upon  the  kind  of  hops  and  amount  of  growth  anticipated. 
They  are  fixed  into  holes  made  for  them  by  a  hop-bar.  As  the 
season  advances,  the  ground  is  hoed  and  again  dug  or  stirred  by  a 
nidget  or  scarifier  drawn  by  a  horse.  Early  in  May  the  bines  or 
young  shoots,  as  soon  as  long  enough,  are  tied  to  the  poles  with 
rushes  pv  bast.  This  tying  is  repeated  several  times  as  the  bines 
get  higher,  and  has  even  to  be  done  by  step-ladders.  In  June  the 
hops  are  earthed  up  or  hilled,  at  which  time  weak  plants  get  a 
dressing  of  guano.  Throughout  th i  summer  weeds  are  destroyed  as 
they  appear,  and  the  soil  kept  loose  by  the  nidget  or  the  hand-hoe.  Ii 
poles  are  blown  over  by  high  winds,  they  are  immediately  replaced. 
The  picking' of  the  hops  usually  begins  about  the  second  week  in 
September,  and  furnishes  ample  employment  for  several  weeks  to 
the  entire  population  of  the  districts,  and  to  a  large  influx  of 
strangers  ;  men,  women,  and  children  all  engaging  in  it.  The 
hop-pickers  axe  arranged  into  companies,  and  are  supplied  with 
baskets  or  bins,  holding  7  or  8  bushels  each,  which  are  gauged 
with  black  lines  inside  to  save  the  trouble  of  measuring.  Each 
company  is  under  the  superintendence  of  a  hop-bailiff,  who  keeps  an 
account  of  the  earnings,  &c.     Under  him  are  several  men  called 

Eole-pullers,  whose  duty  it  is  to  supply  the  pickers  with  poles  of 
ops,  and  to  assist  in  carrying  the  picked  hops  to  the  carts.  They 
use  an  iron  lever  called  a  hop-dog  in  pulling  up  the  poles.  The 
hops  are  picked,  one  by  one,  into  the  bins,  care  being  taken  that  no 
bunches,  nor  leaves,  nor  mouldy  hops,  are  included.  The  hops  are 
dried  in  kilns  or  oast-houses,  on  floors  of  haircloth.  Great  improve- 
ments have  been  made  of  late  years  in  the  construction  of  these  oasts. 
Much  nice  discrimination  is  req  aired  in  managing  the  drying  so  as 
to  produce  the  best  quality  of  hops.  As  soon  as  they  are  removed 
from  the  kiln  they  are  packed  into  pockets,  which  during  the 
process  are  suspended  from  a  hole  in'  the  floor,  and  the  hops  trodden 
into  them  by  a  man.  This  is  now  done  more  accurately  by 
machines,  in  which  a  piston  presses  the  hops  into  the  pockets. 
Hop-growing  is  a  hazardous  speculative  business,  the  return  at  times 
being  very  great  and  at  other  times  not  covering  expenses.  This 
arises  from  the  liability  of  the  hop  to  the  attacks  of  insects,  but  more 
especially  to  blight  and  mould.  The  blight  is  caused  by  innumer- 
able hordes  of  the  Aphis  humuli,  which  sometimes  destroy  the  plants 
altogether.  The  mould  is  a  parasitical  fungus.  It  is  believed  that 
a  means  has  at  last  been  discovered  of  checking  the  ravage!  of  these 
assailants,  by  enveloping  each  plant  separately  in  a  light  covering, 
and  subjecting  it  to  the  fumes  of  tobacco  in  the  case  of  blight,  anoj 
to  a  cloud  of  powdered  brimstone  in  the  case  of  mildew.  In  blight 
years  it  usually  happens  that  some  grounds  altogether  escape,  in 
which  case  the  returns  from  them  are  enormous,  owing  to  the 
enhanced  price. 

Section  3. — Sugar-Beet. 

The  Silesian  white  beet  has  long  been  cultivated  in 
various  states  of  continental  Europe  for  the  production  of 
sugar,  and  in  several  of  them  is  now  a  staple  product  of 
very  great  value  and  importance.  After  sevaral  abortive 
■  attempts  to  introduce  this  industry  into  our  own  country,  it 
seems  at  last  to  have  obtained  a  firm  footing  in  England, 
through   the  enterprise  and    \  erseverance   of    Mr  James 


;;s2 


AGRICULTURE 


[SUGAR-BEKT 


Duncan,  sugar-refiner,  of  Mincing  Lane,  London,  who  five 
years  ago  erected  the  necessary  buildings  and  machinery 
at  Lavenham,  in  Suffolk.  Through  the  kindness  of  Mr 
Duncan  we  are  enabled  to  submit  to  our  readers  the  follow- 
ing details  regarding  this  most  interesting  enterprise. 

The  sugar  factory  at  Lavenham  was  erected  in  1868, 
although  not  completed  until  February  1869.  Mr  Duncan 
had  first  of  all  contracted  with  various  farmers  in  that 
neighbourhood  to  grow  beet  for  him  at  the  price  of  20s. 
per  ton  of  clean  roots,  delivered  at  his  factory,  with  the 
option  to  the  growers  of  receiving  back  the  resulting  pulp 
at  12s.  per  ton,  if  removed  as  made.  Mr  Duncan  also 
procured  from  the  continent  the  necessary  supplies  of 
seed  of  the  best  sort,  and  furnished  the  growers  with  in- 
structions as  to  the  proper  mode  of  cultivation.  In  grow- 
ing mangolds  farmers  try  to  grow  the  largest  possible  weight 
per  acre,  and  for  this  purpose  they  manure  heavily,  and 
give  the  individual  plants  ample  space.  This  will  not  do  in 
the  case  ef  sugar-beet,  as  it  is  found  that  small  roots  are 
richest  in  sugar,  and  that  2  \  lb  each  is  the  best  size  to 
aim  at  The  endeavour,  therefore,  must  be  to  have  the 
roots  small  individually,  and  yet  to  secure  a  good  weight 
per  acre.  As  the  part  of  the  bulb  that  grows  above  ground 
contains  very  little  sugar,  a  further  object  is  to  have  as 
little  of  it  exposed  to  light  as  possible.  All  this  is  accom- 
plished by  sowing  the  crop  in  rows  about  16  inches  apart, 
and  leaving  the  plants  close  to  each  other.  If  all  is  well 
managed,  the  crop  should  yield  from  15  to  20  tons  of 
cleaned  roots  per  acre.  The  delivery  of  the  roots  at  the 
factory  begins  about  the  end  of  September,  when  they  are 
carted  direct  from  the  field  as  they  are  pulled.  The  exi- 
gences of  wheat-sowing  and  othor  field  labour  at  that 
season  induce  the  growers  to  store  a  considerable  part  of 
their  beet  crop  at  home,  and  to  deliver  it  at  the  factory 
from  time  to  time  as  they  can  overtake  this  heavy  cartage. 
The  roots  lose  weight  rapidly  when  kept  in  clamps,  to 
cover  which  a  little  extra  price  is  given  as  the  season 
advances.  The  convenience  of  the  growers  is  much  fur- 
thered by  this  arrangement ;  but  it  sometimes  results  in 
irregular  supplies,  and  consequent  loss  to  the  manufacturer. 

Owing  to  the  extreme  drought  of  1868  the  beet  was 
late  in  being  sown,  and  the  crop  was  small,  amounting 
only  to  1200  tons;  but  it  was  exceedingly  rich  in  sugar. 
The  following  season  was  moist,  and  the  yield  per  acre  good, 
but  the  area  under  crop  wa3  small,  and  the  total  quantity 
delivered  at  the  factory  about  3000  tons.  The  year  1870 
was  again  an  extremely  hot  and  dry  one,  with  a  gross 
produce  of  4500  tons,  which  yielded  12  per  cent,  of  syrup. 
The  produce  in  1871  was  6000  tons,  yielding  10  per 
cent,  of  syrup,  and  that  of  1872  exceeded  7000  tons  of 
very  good  roots ;  but  the  wetness  of  the  season  and  strikes 
among  the  labourers  so  protracted  the  factory  work,  that 
instead  of  being  completed  in  December  it  was  prolonged 
until  March,  and  the  percentage  of  sugar  was  smaller  than 
it  ought  to  have  been.  The  particulars  of  this  last  crop 
are  as  follows.  The  total  weight  of  clean  roots  ffom  571 
acres  was — 

Delivered  fresh  from  the  fields,  2370  tons. 

Clamped  by  growers  at  their  farms,         6485    ,, 


Of  the  S71  acres,  89 
115 


by 

by 
61  by 
211 


7855    „ 
2  growers  averaged  17  tons  per  acre. 


147 
10 
S3 
18 
15 
62 


•by  26 


!         I. 


16 
15 
14 
13 
12 
11 
10 


8n  that  wi  ;h  a  total  average  of  13}  tons  per  acre,  two-thirds 


of  tho  crop  averaged  15  tons,  and  the  remaining  third  only 
9J  tons.  The  proportion  of  feeding  pulp  has  been  large 
in  1871  and  1872, — both  having  been  moist  seasons, — and 
has  been  22  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  roota.  Id 
1870  it  was  only  19  per  cent  The  details  of  the  disposal 
of  the  pulp  from  crop  1872  are  also  interesting.  Of  1235 
tons  of  pulp  purchased  by  nine  farmers —  ' 

597  tons  were  taken  by  one, 
326         ,,         by  another, 
116        ,,         by  another, 
95        „        by  another,  not  a  grower  of  beet 

In  addition  to  these  quantities  sold,  about  500  tont 
were  stored  at  the  factory,  where  at  the  same  time  about 
100  tons  of  crop  1871  were  still  on  hand,  and  in  excellent 
condition.  To  this  latter  fact  we  can  add  our  own  testi- 
mony, having  been  favoured  by  Mr  Duncan  with  a  sample 
of  it  after  it  had  been  eighteen  months  in  store,  when  wc 
found  it  perfectly  sweet  and  good,  retaining  unimpaired 
the  taste  and  smell  of  fresh  beet-root.  The  modo  of  storing 
the  pulp  is  very  simple.  On  a  piece  of  dry  ground  a  trench 
is  dug  out  about  7  feet  wide  and  1  foot  deep.  Into  th» 
trench  the  pulp  is  firmly  trodden  by  the  feet  of  th< 
labourers,  and  gradually  drawn  to  a  point,  precisely  as  i» 
done  in  storing  roots.  The  whole  is  then  covered  with 
earth  to  the  depth  of  12  inches ;  and  thus  stored,  the  pulp 
keeps  well  for  two  or  three  years.  In  using  it,  a  thin  crus' 
from  the  outsides  is  rejected.  In  Germany  and  Austria 
tanks  of  brick-work  are  used  to  economise  space,  but  not 
in  France  or  Belgium.  Three  tons  of  this  pulp  are  esti- 
mated to  be  equal  in  feeding  value  to  one  ton  of  good  hay. 
Hitherto  farmers  give  the  preference  to  fresh-made  pulp  ; 
but  Mr  Duncan  regards  this  as  quite  a  mistake,  as  in  hii 
own  practice  he  finds  that  pulp  a  year  old  is  a  better  feeding 
material  than  when  newly  made.  In  1872  ho  fattened  50 
cattle  on  pulp  three  years  old,  and  in  the  summer  of  1873 
he  had  60  cattle  consuming  the  surplus  of  the  previous 
season.  These  cattle  (27  yearlings  and  33  two-year-olds) 
consumed  daily  35  cwt.  of  pulp  and  4  cwt  of  cut  chan 
(of  hay  and  barley  straw)  mixed  together.  The  older 
beasts  received  daily  in  addition  7  lb  each  of  bean-meal,  on 
which  ration  they  made  good  progress.  To  meet  the  cart- 
age difficulty,  Mr  Duncan  contracted  that  year  (1873) 
with  one  grower  to  perform  the  haulage  of  2000  tons  of 
beet  roots  a  distance  of  5  miles  by  a  traction  engine. 

Several  joint-stock  companies  have  been  formed  for 
prosecuting  this  industry,  but  Mr  Duncan's  is  the  only 
factory  as  yet  in  actual  operation.  It  is  known  also  that 
Mr  Lawe3  and  Dr  Gilbert  have  for  several  years  been 
engaged  in  extensive  experiments  on  sugar-beet,  and  with 
most  successful  results. 

The  manufacture  of  sugar  from  beet-root  has  attained  to 
very  great  dimensions  on  the  continent  of  Europe  It  is 
known  that  from  the  crop  of  1872  there  has  been  produced 
1,025,000  tons  of  sugar,  worth  £24  per  ton,  and  250,000 
tons  of  molasses,  worth  £3  per  ton,  and  that  new  factories, 
some  of  them  on  a  gigantic  scale,  are  now  in  course  of 
erection.  A  most  important  fact  connected  with  this 
rapidly-extending  industry  is  that  the  erection  of  a  sugar 
factory  is  immediately  accompanied  by  an  improvement  in 
the  agriculture,  and  an  increase  in  the  value  of  the  land, 
of  the  surrounding  district  In  many  places  farmers  gladly 
contract  to  supply  beet-root  at  18s.  per  ton  for  ten  years, 
on  condition  that  they  receive  back  purjj  in  fair  proportion 
to  the  quantity  of  root  supplied  by  them,  Russia  pro- 
duces the  finest  quality  of  best,  instances  being  known  in 
which  the  roots  yielded.  10  per  cent,  of  loaf-sugar.  There 
are  good  grounds  for  concluding  that  Russia  will  at  no 
'very  distant  datj  tako  a  prominent  place  as  a  sugar- 
nroducing  country 

There  seems  at  present  a  reasonable  prospect  that  the 


§WD6.J 


AGRICULTURE 


383- 


coltivation  of  sugar-beet  will  be  adopted  in  various  parts 
of  our  own  country.  It  has  already  been  proved  that  the 
beet  grown  in  the  south-eastern  counties  of  Eugland  i3 
richer  in  sugar  than  that  produced  in  the  north  of  France. 
And  it  seems  well  worth  while  to  ascertain,  by  careful  ex- 
periment, whether  in  certain  parts  of  Scotland,  such  as  the 
Lothians,  Fife,  and  the  carses,  sugar-beet  could  not  with 
advantage  be  substituted  for  the  precarious  and  exhausting 
potato  crop.  The  repeal  of  the  sugar-duty  would  give  a 
great  stimulus  to  this  enterprise,  and  should  be  pressed  for 
jn  the  interest  of  our  native  agriculture. 

Section  4. — Chicory  (for  its  Hoots). 

The  very  extensive  and  constantly  increasing  consump- 
tion of  the  roots  of  chicory  as  a  substitute  for  coffee,  renders 
it  now  an  agricultural  crop  of  some  importance.  The  soils 
best  adapted  for  its  growth  are  deep  friable  loamc,  The 
process  of  cultivation  is  very  similar  to  that  required  for 
the  carrot,  excepting  only  that  it  is  not  sown  earlier  than 
the  first  week  of  May,  lest  the  plants  should  run  to  seed. 
When  this  happens,  such  plants  must  be  thrown  aside 
when  the  crop  is  dug,  else  the  quality  of  the  wh'ole  will 
be  injured.  About  4  &  of  seed  is  the  quantity  to 
sow  per  acre,  either  broadcast  or  in  rows.  The  latter  is 
undoubtedly  the  best  mode,  as  it  admits  of  the  land  being 
kept  clean,  and  yields  roots  of  greater  weight.  The  crop  is 
ready  for  digging  up  in  November.  A  long  stout  fork  is  the 
best  implement  for  this  purpose.  In  using  it,  'oare  must 
be  taken  to  get  out  the  roots  entire,  not  only  for  the  sake 
of  the  roots,  but  to  lessen  an  inconvenience  attendant  on 
the  culture  of  this  plant,  namely,  that  the  fragments  left  in 
the  soil  grow  amongst  the  after  crops,  and  are  as  trouble- 
some as  weeds.  The  roots,  when  dry,  are  carefully  washed, 
cut  into  thin  slices,  and  kiln-dried,  when  they  are  fit  for 
the  coffee-grinder.  From  1  to  1£  tons  per  acre  of  the  dried 
root  is  an  average  produce. 

Section  5. — Oil-yielding  Plants. 

Various  plants  are  occasionally  cultivated  in  Britain  for 
the  sake  of  the  oil  which  is  expressed  from  their  ripened 
seeds.  We  have  already  noticed  the  value  of  flax-seed  for 
this  purpose,  although  the  fibre  is  the  product  which  is 
chiefly  had  in  view  in  cultivating  it.  The  plants  most 
commonly  sown  expressly  as  oil-yielding  crops  are — rape 
(Brassica  Napus),  colza  (Brassica  campestris  oleifera),  gold 
of  pleasure  (Camelina  sativa),  'and  the  poppy  (Papaver 
tomniferum).  Rape  is  the  plant  most  frequently  and  ex- 
tensively grown  for  the  production  of  oil.  The  coka  is 
said  to  yield  better  crops  of  seed  than  the  other  species. 
This  plant  is  much  cultivated  in  Flanders  for  this  purpose. 
In  Great  Britain  it  seems  rather  on  the  decline.  It  is 
chiefly  on  rich  alluvial  soils  that  this  crop  is  grown.  For 
a  seed-crop  rape  is  sown  in  June  or  July,  precisely  in  the 
manner  already  described  for  turnips.  The  young  plants 
are  thinned  out  to  a  width  of  6  or  8  inches  apart,  and 
afterwards  kept  clean  by  hoeing.  The  foliage  may  be 
eaten  down  by  sheep  early  in  autumn,  without  injuring  it 
for  the  production  of  a  crop  of  seed.  In  spring  the  horse 
and  hand  hoe  must  be  used,  and  the  previous  application 
of  1  or  2  cwt.  of  guano  will  add  to  the  productiveness 
of  the  crop.  It  suits  well  to  lay  down  land  to  clover  or 
grass  after  a  crop  of  rape  or  turnip  seed,  and  for  this  pur- 
pose the  seeds  are  sown  at  the  time  of  giving  this  spring 
culture.  The  crop  must  be  reaped  as  soon  as  the  seeds  are 
obsorved  to  acquire  a  light  brown  colour.  The  reaping  is 
managed  precisely  as  we  have  described  in  the  case  of 
beans.  As  the  crop,  after  being  reaped  and  deposited  in 
separate  handfuls  on  the  ground,  very  soon  gets  dry  enough 
for  thrashing,  and  as  the  seed  is  very  easily  shed  after  this 
is  the  aiae,  this  process  must  be  performed  as  rapidly  as 


possible.  Sometimes  it  is  conveyed  to  the  thrashing-mill 
on  harvest  carts,  on  which  a  cloth  is  stretched  to  save  th« 
seeds  knocked  out  in  the  loading  'and  unloading,  but  mort 
usually  the  flail  is  used  on  temporary  thrashing-floors  pro. 
vided  in  the  field  by  spreading  down  large  cloths.  The 
crop  is  gently  lifted  from  the  ground  and  placed,  head* 
innermost,  on  a  blanket  which  two  persons  grasp  by  the 
corners,  and  carry  to  the  thrashing-floors.  A  large  number 
of  people  are  required  to  push  this  process  through  rapidly, 
for  unless  the  crop  is  quickly  handled,  a  great  loss  of  seed 
ensues.  The  seed  is  immediately  spread  thinly  upon  a 
granary  floor,  and  frequently  turned  until  dry  enough  tc 
keep  in  sacks,  when  it  is  cleaned  and  disposed  of.  On 
good  soil  and  in  favourable  seasons  the  yield  sometimes 
reaches  to  40  bushels  per  acre.  The  haulm  and  husks 
are  either  used  for  litter  or  burned,  and  the  ashes  spread 
upon  the  land.     It  makes  good  fuel  for  clay-burning. 

Section  6. — Seeds  of  Agricultural  Crops. 
In  the  case  of  seed-corn  it  is  customary  for  farmers 
either  to  select  from. the  best  of  their  own  growth,  to  ex- 
change with  or  purchase  from  neighbours,  or,  if  they  wish 
a  change  from  a  different  locality,  to  employ  a  commission- 
agent  to  buy  for  them.  In  all  districts  there  are  careful 
farmers  who,  by  occupying  land  that  produces  grain  of 
good  appearance,  and  being  at  pains  to  have  good  and  pure 
sorts,  are  stated  sellers  of  seed-corn,  and  manage  in  this 
way  to  get  a  few  shillings  more  per  quarter  for  a  part  of 
their  produce.  It  is  therefore  only  in  the  case  of  new  and 
rare  varieties  that  professional  seedsmen  ordinarily  deal  in 
seed-corn.  There  are,  however,  other  field  crops,  such  as 
clovers,  grasses,  turnip,  mangold,  carrots,  winter  vetches, 
&c,  the  seeds  of  which,  to  a  large  extent,  pass  through  the 
hands  of  seedsmen,  and  the  growing  of  which  is  restricted 
to  particular  districts,  and  is  in  the  hands  of  a  limited 
number  of  farmers.  These  seed  crops  are  sometimes  very 
remunerative  to  the  grower;  but  are  hazardous  ones  for 
farmers  to  attempt  at  their  own  risk.  The  only  safe  course 
is  to  grow  them  at  a  stipulated  price,  to  the  order  of  some 
thoroughly  respectable  seedsman,  and  to  hold  to  the  pro- 
duction of  the  particular  kind  or  kinds  which  he  requires. 
This  applies  in  a  less  degree  to  the  clovers,  and  to  the 
more  commonly  cultivated  grasses,  than  to  the  other  seeds 
just  referred  to.  Such  an  arrangement  is  beneficial  to  all 
concerned. 

We  have  already  described  (chap.  xiii.  sec.  13)  the  mode 
of  saving  the  seeds  of  Italian  or  common  ryegrass ;  and  as 
other  grasses  are  managed  in  ihe  same  way,  it  is  unneces- 
sary to  say  more  regarding.them. 

It  is  only  in  the  southern  parts  of  England  that  clover 
is  grown  for  the  sake  of  its  seeds.  When  it  is  meant  to 
take  a  crop  of  seed,  the  clover  is  fed  off  with  sheep,  or 
mown  early  in  the  season,  and  then  allowed  to  produce  its 
flowers  and  ripen  its  seeds.  This  preliminary  eating  or 
cutting  over  causes  the  plants  to  throw  up  a  greater 
number  of  seed-stems,  and  to  yield  a  fuller  and  more  equally 
ripening  crop.  The  crop  is  mown  when  the  seeds  are  seen 
to  be  matured.  In  the  case  of  white  clover  the  cutting 
takes  place  while  the  dew  is  upon  the  crop,  as  working 
amongst  it  when  dry  would  cause'  a  loss  of  seed.  After 
mowing  and  turning  the  crop,  the  ground  is  raked  with 
close-toothed  iron  rakes,  to  catch  up  loose  heads.  The 
thrashing  is  a  twofold  process — first  the  separation  of  the 
heads  or  cobs  from  the  stem,  called  "  cobbing,"  and  then 
of  the  seeds  from  the  husks,  called  "  drawing.'^  This  was 
formerly  accomplished  by  a  laborious  and  tedious  process 
of  thrashing  with  flails,  but  it  is  now  done  by  machinery. 
In  favourable  seasons  the  yield  is  about  5  or  6  bushels 
(of  70  lb  each)  per  acre. 

Turnip  seed  is  the  next  most  important  crop  of  this  kind 


384 


AGRICULTURE 


[live  stock — 


From  the  strong  tendency  in  the  best  varieties  of  turnips 
»nd  swedes  to  degenerate,  and  the  readiness  with  which 
they  hybridise  with  each  other,  or  with  any  member  of  the 
fimily  Brassica,  no  small  skill  and  pains  are  needed  to 
wise  seed  that  can  be  depended  upon  to  yield  roots  of  the 
best  quality.  Turnip  seed  is  saved  either  from  selected 
»nd  transplanted  roots,  or  from  such  as  have  been  sown 
for  the  express  purpose,  and  allowed  to  stand  as  they  grow. 
The  first  plan,  if  the  selection  is  made  by  a  competent  judge, 
is  undoubtedly  that  by  which  seed  of  the  purest  quality  is 
obtained.  But  it  is  an  expensive  way,  not  only  from  the 
labour  required  in  carrying  it  out,  but  from  the  yield  of 
seed  being  generally  much  less  than  from  plants  that  have 
not  been  disturbed.  Professional  seed-growers  usually  re- 
?ort  to  a  compromise  by  which  the  benefit  of  both  plans  is 
jecured,  viz.,  by  selecting  with  great  care  and  transplant- 
ing a  limited  number  of  bulbs,  and  saving  the  seed  obtained 
from  them  to  raise  the  plants  which  are  to  stand  for  their 
main  seed  crop.  The  latter  are  carefully  examined  when 
they  come  into  bloom,  and  all  plants  destroyed  the  colour 
of  whose  flower  varies  from  the  proper  shade.  Turnips 
that  are  to  bear  seed  are  purposely  sown  much  later  in  the 
season  than  when  intended  to  produce  cattle  food,  as  it  is 
found  that  bulbs  about  1  lb  weight  are  less  liable  to  be 
injured  by  frost  or  to  rot  before  the  seed  is  matured,  than 
those  of  larger  size.  The  management  of  a  turnip-seed 
crop,  both  as  regards  culture  and  harvesting,  is  identical 
with  that  of  rape  for  its  seeds,  which  has  already  been 
described. 

Mustard. — Both  the  white  and  brown  mustard  is  culti- 
vated to  some  extent  in  various  parts  of  England.  The 
former  is  to  be  found  in  every  garden  as  a  salad  plant ; 
but  it  has  of  late  been  coming  into  increasing  favour  as  a 
forage  crop  for  sheep,  and  as  a  green  manure,  for  which 
purpose  it  is  ploughed  down  when  about  to  come  into 
flower.  The  brown  mustard  is  grown  solely  for  its  seeds, 
which  yield  the  well-known  condiment.  When  white  mus- 
tard is  cultivated  for  its  herbag. ,  it  is  sown  usually  in 
July  or  August,  after  some  early  crop  has  been  removed. 
The  land  being  brought  into  a  fine  tilth,  the  seed,  at  the 
rate  of  12  Ki  per  acre,  is  sown  broadcast,  and  covered  in 
the  way  recommended  for  clover  seeds.  In  about  six  weeks 
it  is  ready  either  for  feeding  off  by  sheep  or  for  ploughing 
down  as  a  preparative  for  wheat  or  barley.  White 
mustard  is  not  fastidious  in  regard  to  soiL  When  grown 
for  a  seed  crop  it  is  treated  in  the  way  about  to  be  de- 
scribed for  the  other  variety.  For  this  purpose  either  kind 
requires  a  fertile  soil,  as  it  is  an  exhausting  crop  The 
seed  is  sown  in  April,  is  once  hoed  in  May,  and  requires 
no  further  culture.  As  soon  as  the  pods  have  assumed  a 
brown  colour  the  crop  is  reaped  and  laid  down  in  handfuls, 
which  lie  until  dry  enough  for  thrashing  or  stacking.  In 
removing  it  from  the  ground  it  must  be  handled  with  great 
care,  and  carried  to  the  thrashing-floor  or  stack  on  cloths, 
to  avoid  the  loss  of  seed.  The  price  depends  much  on  its 
being  saved  in  dry  weather,  as  the  quality  suffers  much 
from  wet.  The  yield  varies  from  20  to  30  bushels 
per  acre,  and  the  price  from  10s.  to  20a.  per  busheL  It 
is  chiefly  grown  on  rich  alluvial  soils  in  the  south-eastern 
counties  of  England.  This  great  evil  attends  its  growth, 
that  the  seeds  which  are  unavoidably  shed  in  harvesting 
the  crop  remain  in  the  soil,  and  stock  it  permanently  with 
what  proves  a  pestilent  weed  amongst  future  crops. 

Market  Gardening. — In  Essex  and  Kent  no  inconsider- 
able extent  of  land  is  annually  occupied  in  growing  the 
seeds  of  the  staple  crops  of  our  kitchen  and  flower  gardens. 
Wholesale  seedsmen  contract  with  farmers  to  grow  th^se 
seeds  for  them  at  a  stipulated  price. 

The  growth  of  fruits  and  of  culinary  vegetables  is  in 
various  parts  of  Great  Britain  an  important  department  of 


farming — for  the  scale  on  which  it  is  conducted  allies  it 
quite  as  much  to  agriculture  as  to  horticulture.  In  the 
counties  contiguous  to  London  thousands  of  acres  are 
occupied  in  growing  vegetables  and  in  producing  fruit. 
Very  large  numbers  of  persons  find  employment  in  these 
market  gardens.  The  system  of  cultivation  pursued  in 
them  is  admirable.  The  soil  is  trenched  two  spits  deep 
for  nearly  every  crop;  it  is  heavily  manured  and  kept 
scrupulously  clean  by  incessant  hoeing.  Whenever  a  crop 
is  removed,  some  other  suited  to  the  season  is  instantly  put 
in  its  place,  and  not  an  inch  of  ground  is  suffered  to  be 
unproductive.  A  young  farmer,  bent  on  knowing  his 
business  thoroughly,  could  not  occupy  a  few.months  to  better 
purpose  than'  by  placing  himself  under  one  of  these  clever 
market  gardeners. 

Kent  has  long  been  peculiarly  celebrated  fcr  its  orchards. 
The  best  of  them  are  on  the  borders  of  the  greensand  for- 
mation, or  ragstone  as  it  is  provincially  called.  Apples, 
pears,  plums,  cherries,  and  nuts  are  produced  in  immense 
quantities.  The  filbert  plantations  alone  are  said  to 
occupy  5000  acres.  An  abundant  and  cheap  supply  of 
fruit  and  vegetables  for  the  inhabitants  of  our  towns  is 
undoubtedly  an  important  object,  and  is  likely  to  occupy 
increased  attention  wherever  a  suitable  soil  and  exposure, 
with  facility  of  carriage  by  railway,  are  combined.  In 
Cornwall  and  in  the  Channel  Islands  the  cultivation  of 
brocoli  and  early  potatoes  is  an  important  and  growing 
industry. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

LTVE   STOCK — HOKSES. 

The  breeding  and  rearing  of  domesticated  animals  has 
ever  been  a  favourite  pursuit  in  Great  Britain,  and  has 
been  carried  to  greater  perfection  than  any  other  department 
of  rural  affairs.  In  no  other  country  of  similar  extent  can 
so  many  distinct  breeds  of  each  class  of  these  animals  be 
found — most  of  them  excellent  of  their  kind,  and  admirably 
adapted  to  the  particular  use  for  which  they  are  designed. 
Observing  the  usual  order,  we  notice  first  Horses. 

Section  1. — Breeds. 

Here  we  shall  confine  our  attention  to  those  breeds  which 
are  cultivated  expressly  for  the  labours  of  the  farm  ;  for 
although  the  breeding  of  saddle-horses  is  chiefly  carried 
on  by  farmers,  and  forms  in  some  districts  an  important 
part  of  their  business,  it  does  not  seem  advisable  to  treat 
of  it  here.  It  is  a  department  of  husbandry  requiring  such 
a  combination  of  fitness  in  the  soil,  climate,  and  enclosures 
of  the  farm,  of  access  to  first-class  stallions,  and  of  taste 
and  judgment  on  fie  part  of  the  farmer,  that  few  indeed 
of  the  many  who  try  it  are  really  successful.  The  morale 
too  of  the  society  into  which  the  breeding  of  this  class  of 
horses  almost  necessarily  brings  a  man  is  so  unwhole- 
some, that  none  can  mingle  in  it  freely  without  experienc- 
ing to  their  cost  that  "  evil  communications  corrupt  good 
manners."  We  have  noted  it  as  a  fact  of  peculiar  signifi- 
cance, in  this  connection,  that  of  the  few  men  who  really 
make  money  by  this  business,  scarcely  one  desires  to  see  it 
prosecuted  by  his  sons. 

The  immense  size  and  portly  presence  of  the  English 
black  horse  entitle  him  to  priority  of  notice.  This  breed  is 
widely  diffused  throughout  England,  though  found  chiefly 
in  the  midland  counties.  It  is  in  the  fens  and  rich  pas- 
tures of  these  counties  that  the  celebrated  dray  horses  of 
London  are  bred  and  reared.  These  horses  are  too  slow 
and  heavy  for  ordinary  farm-work,  and  would  not  be  bred 
but  for  the  high  prices  obtained  for  them  from  the  great 
London  brewers,  who  pride  themselves  on  the  great  size, 
majestic  bearing,  and  fine  condition  of  their  team  horses. 
The  breeders  of  these  horses  employ  brood  mares  and  young 


KORSES.] 


AGRICULTURE 


385 


colts  exclusively  for  their. larm-work.  The  colts  are  highly 
fed,  and  worked  very  gently  until  four  years  old,  when 
they  are  sold  to  the  London  brewers,  often  at  very  great 
prices.  The  same  breed  is  largely  used  in  England  for 
ordinary  farm  labour,  although  not  found  of  such  gigantic 
proportions  as  in  those  districts  where  they  are  bred  for 
the  special  destination  just  referred  to.  Although  very 
docile,  their  short  step,  sluggish  gait,  large  consumption  of 
food,  and  liability  to  foot  lameness,  render  them  less  pro- 
fitable for  ordinary  farm-work  than  the  breeds  about  to  be 
mentioned. 

The  Suffolk  Punch  is  a  well-marked  breed  which  has 
long  been  cultivated  in  the  county  from  which  it  takes  its 
name.  These  horses  are,  for  the  most  part,  of  a  sorrel, 
bay,  or  chestnut  colour,  and  are  probably  of  Scandinavian 
origin.  They  are  compact,  as  their  name  imports,  hardy, 
very  active,  and  exceedingly  honest  pullers.  These  horses 
at  one  time  were  very  coarse  in  their  form  and  rather  slow ; 
but  they  have-  now  been  so  much  improved  in  form  and 
action  that  we  find  them  the  chief  prize-takers  at  recent 
exhibitions  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society. 

The  Cleveland  Bays  are  properly  carriage-horses ;  but 
still  in  their  native  districts  they  are  largely  employed  for 
field  work.  Mr  Milburn  says — "  The  Cleveland,  as  a  pure 
breed,  is  losing  something  of  its  distinctiveness.  It  is 
running  into  a  proverb,  that '  a  Cleveland  horse  is  too  stiff 
for  a  hunter,  and  too  light  for  a  coacher ;'  but  there  are 
still  remnants  of  the  breed,  though  less  carefully  kept  dis- 
tinctive than  may  be  wished  by  advocates  of  purity.  Still, 
the  oontour  of  the  farm-horses  of  Cleveland  has  the  light- 
ness, and  hardiness,  and  steadiness  of  the  breed  j  and  it 
is  singular  that  while  the  lighter  soils  have  horses  more  cal- 
culated for  drays,  the  strong-land  farmer  has  the  compact 
and  smaller,  but  comparatively  more  powerful  animaL" 

In  the  north-eastern  counties  of  England,  and  the  ad- 
jacent Scottish  borders,  compact,  clean-legged,  active  horses, 
of  medium  size,  with  a  remote  dash  of  blood  in  them,  are 
generally  preferred  to  those  of  a  heavier,  and  slower  kind. 
One  needs  only  to  see  how  such  horses  get  along  at  turnip- 
sowing,  or  with  a  heavy  load  in  a  one-horse  cart,  to  be 
convinced  of  their  fitness  for  the  general  work  of  a  farm. 

The  Clydesdale  Horses  are  not  excelled  by  any  cart  breed 
in  the  kingdom  for  general  usefulness.  They  belong  to  the 
larger  class  of  cart-horses,  sixteen  hands  being  an  average 
height.  Brown  and  bay  are  now  the  prevailing  colours. 
In  the  district  whose  name  they  bear  the  breeding  of  them 
for  sale  is  extensively  prosecuted,  and  is  conducted  with 
much  care  and  success.  Liberal  premiums  are  offered  by 
the  local  agricultural  societies  for  good  stallions.  Horses 
of  this  breed  are  pecutiarly  distinguished  for  the  free  step 
with  which  they  move  along  when  exerting  their  strength 
in  cart  or  plough.  Their  merits  are  now  so  generally 
appreciated  that  they  are  getting  rapidly  diffused  over  the 
country.  Many  small  farmers  in  Clydesdale  make  a 
business  of  raising  entire  colts,  which  they  either  sell  for 
stallions  or  send  into  distant  counties  to  serve  for  hire  in 
that  capacity. 

In  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  a  breed  of  hardy  and  very 
serviceable  ponies,  or  "  garrons,  "  as  the  natives  call  them, 
are  found  in  great  numbers.  In  their  native  glens  they 
are  employed  in  tillage,  and  although  unfit  for  stated 
farm-work  in  the  low  country,  aje  even  there  often  used  in 
light  carts  for  work  requiring  despatch  rather  than  great 
power.     Similar  ponies  abound  in  Wales. 

Section  2. — Breeding  of  Cart-Horses. 
in  breeding  cart-horses  regard  must  Tje  had  to  the  pur- 
pose for  which  they  are  designed.  ,  If  the  farmer  contem- 
plates the  raising  of  colts  for  sale,  he  must  aim  at  a  larger 
Craire  than  if  he  simply  wishes  to  keep  ,up  his  own  sjjcK 

1-14 


of  working  cattle.  These  considerations  will  go  far  guide 
him  as  to  the  size  of  the  mares  and  stallions  which  he 
selects  to  breed  from;  but  vigorous  constitutions,  perfect 
freedom  from  organic  disease,  symmetrical  form,  and  good 
temper  are  qualities  always  indispensable.  Nothing  is 
more  common  than  to  see  mares  used  for  breeding  merely 
because,  from  lameness  or  age,  they  have  ceased  to  be 
valuable  for  labour.  Lameness  from  external  injury  is,  of 
course,  no  disqualification  :  but  it  is  mere  folly  to  expect 
valuable  progeny  from  unsound,  mis-shapen,  ill-tempered, 
or  delicate  dams,  or  even  from  really  good  ones,  when  their 
vigour  has  declined  from  age.  A  farmer  may  grudge  to 
lose  the  labour  of  a  fiist-rate  mare  for  two  or  three  months 
at  his  busiest  season ;  but  if  he  cannot  make  arrangements 
for  doing  this,  he  had  better  let  breeding  alone  altogether ; 
for  it  is  only  by  producing  horses  of  the  best  quality  that 
it  can  be  worth  his  while  to  breed  them  at  all  It  is 
always  desirable  that  both  sire  and  dam  should  have  arrived 
at  maturity  before  being  put  to  breed. 

The  head  of  the  cart-horse  should  not  be  large,  at  least 
not  heavy  in  the  bones  of  the  face  aud  jaws,  nor  loaded 
with  flesh.  Full  development  of  brain  is,  indeed,  of  great 
importance,  and  hence  a  horse  somewhat  wide  between  the 
ears  is  to  be  preferred.  .Prick  ears  and  narrow  forehead 
have  by  some  been  reckoned  excellences,  but  we  have  so 
invariably  noticed  such  horses  to  be  easily  startled,  given 
to  shying,  and  wanting  in  courage  and  intelligence,  that 
we  regard  such  a  form  of  head  as  a  defect  to  be  avoided. 
The  eye  should  be  bright,  full,  and  somewhat  prominent, 
the  neck  inclining  to  thickness,  of  medium  length,  and 
slightly  arched,  and  the  shoulders  oblique.  Upright 
shoulders  haye  been  commended  as  an  advantage  in  a  horse 
for  draught,  it  being  alleged  that  such  a  form  enables  him 
to  throw  his  weight  better  into  his  collar.  It  should  be 
remembered,  however,  that  the  horses  which  display  the 
greatest  power  in  drawing  heavy  loads  are  characterised 
by  muscular  vigour  and  nervous  energy  rather  than  mere 
weight  of  carcase ;  and  these  qualities  are  more  usually 
found  in  connection  with  the  oblique  shoulder  than  the 
upright  one — not  to  mention  that  this  form  is  indispensable 
to  that  free  and  full  step  so  necessary  in  a  really  useful 
farm-horse. 

V  The  hack  should  be  straight  and  broad,  the  ribs  well  arched, 
and  the  false  ribs  of  doe  length,  so  as  to  givo  the  abdomen  capacity 
and  roundness.  The  tail  should  be  well  set  out,  not  too  drooping, 
and  the  quarters  should  be  full  and  muscular.  The  horse  should 
girth  well,  and  have  his  height  in  his  body  rather  than  in  his. legs, 
so  as  to  look  less  than  measurement  proves  him  to  be.  The  forelegs 
should  be  strong,  and  flat  below  the  knee,  and  by  no  means  round 
and  gummy  either  before  or  behind,  neither  should  they  have  white 
hair  about  them,  nor  much  hair  of  any  colour.  The  hocks  should 
be  broad  in  front,  and  neither  too  straight  nor  too  crooked,  nor  yet 
cat-hammed.  All  diseases  of  this  joint,  whether  curbs,  spavins,  or 
thproughpins,  are  sufficient  grounds  for  rejecting  a  horse.  The  feet 
are  a  matter  of  very  much  importance.  The  tendency  of  many 
heavy  horses  is  to  have  thin  horn  and  flat  feet  A  stallion  possess- 
ing such  feet  is  exceedingly  objectionable.  Plenty  of  horn  is  a 
recommendation,  and  the  feet  had  better  be  too  large  than  too 
small.  The  brood  mare  should  possess  as  many  of  the  points  now 
enumerated  as  possible.  If  the  mare  is  small  but  symmetrical,  we 
may  very  properly  select  a  large  stallion,  provided  he  has  good 
action.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  mare  is  large  and  has  a  tendency 
to  coarseness,  we  should  select  a  middle-sized  horse  of  symmetrical 
appearance."1 

Sixteen  hands  is  a  good  neight  for  a  farm-horse.  Except 
for  very  heavy  land,  we  have  always  had  more  satisfaction 
from  horses  slightly  below  this  standard  than  above  it 

We  have  repeatedly  put  a  well-bred  saddle  mare  to  a 
cart-horse,  and  have  invariably  found  the  produce  to  prove 
excellent  farm-horses.  The  opposite  cross,  betwixt  a  cart- 
mare  and  blood  stallion,  is  nearly  as  certain  to  prove  un- 
gainly, vicious,  ».nd  worthless.     These  horses  are  generally 


1  Morton'i  Cyclopadia  of  Agriculture— article  "Horse." 


38(i 


A  G  li  I  0  U  L  T1JRE 


[live  stock— 


much  stronger  than  their  appearance  indicates,  nave  great 
powers  of  endurance,  and  can  be  kept  in  prime  working 
condition  at  much  less  cost  than  bulkier  animals.  It  is  on 
muscular  power  and  nervous  energy  that  the  strength  of 
animals  depends,  and  this,  therefore,  should  be  sought  after 
in  the  farm-horse  rather  than  mere  bulk. 

Cart-niarcs  should  not  foal  earlier  than  May  Provided 
they  are  not  unduly  pushed  or  put  to  draw  heavy  loads, 
they  may  be  kept  at  work  almost  up  to  their  time  of  foaling, 
and  are  thus  available  for  the  pressing  labours  of  spring. 
Jt-  is  of  importance,  too,  that  the  pasture  should  be  fresh 
and  the  weather  mild  ere  their  nursing  duties  begin. 
Mures  seldom  require  assistance  in  bringing  forth  their 
young,  and  although  it  is  well  to  keep  an  eye  upon  them 
when  this  event  is  expected,  they  should  be  kept  as  quiet 
as  possible,  as  they  ara.impatient  of  intrusion,  and  easily 
disturbed  in  such  circumstances.  A  sheltered  paddock 
with  good  grass,  and  where  there  are  no  other  houses,  is 
the  most  suitable  quarters  for  a  mare  that  has  newly  foaled. 
There  must  be  no  ditch  or  pond  in  it,  as  young  foals  have 
a  peculiar  fatality  for  getting  drowned  in  such  places.  A 
mare,  in  ordinary  condition,  receives  the  stallion  od  the 
ninth  or  tenth  day  after  foaling,  and  with  a  greater  cer- 
tainty of  conceiving  than  when  it  is  delayed  until  she  is 
again  in  heat.  If  the  mare's  labour  can  at  all  be  dis- 
pensed with,  it  is  desirable  to  have  her  with  her  foal  for 
two  months  at  least.  She  may  then  be  put  to  easy  vork 
with  perfect  safety,  so  that  the  13  20t  kept  away  from  the 
foal  longer  than  two  or  three  hours  at  a  time.  'When  the 
foal  has  got  strong  enough,  it  may  even  be  allowed  to  follo-v 
its  dam  at  her  work,  and  to  get  suck  as  often  as  it  des-;res 
it.  Towards  the  end  of  September  foals  are  usually 
weaned,  and  are  then  put  under  cover  at  night,  and  receive 
a  little  com,  aiong  with  succulent  food.  Good  hay,  bran, 
carrots,  or  swedes,  and  a  few  oats,  must  be  given  regularly 
during  the  first  winter,  ".vith  a  warm  shed  to  lie  in,  and  an 
open  court  for  exercise.  At  weaning  it  is  highly  expedient 
to  put  a  cavasin  on  colts,  and  lead  them  about  for  a  few 
times.'  A  few  lessons  at  this  early  age,  when  thoy  are 
easily  controlled,  saves  a  world  of  trouble  afterwards.  I 
Before  being  turned  to  grass  in  spring,  they  should,  on  the 
same  principle,  be  tied  up  in  stalls  for  a  wees  or  so.  It  is 
customary  to  castrate  colts  at  a  year  old.  Some,  indeed, 
advise  its  being  done  a  few  weeks  after  birth,  when,  of 
course,  the  pain  to  the  animal  and  itsk  of  death  are  less. 
It  must,  however,  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  early  emascu- 
lation will  probably  ensure  a  skranky  neck,  whereas  a 
natural  tendency  to  this  defect  can  in  good  measure  be 
remedied  by  deferring  the  operation.  We  have  seen  a 
puny  colt  much  improved  in  figure  by  being  left  entire 
until  he  was  two  years  old.  By  giving  good  pasture  in 
summer,  and  a  liberal  allowance  of  haj,  roots,  and  oats  in 
winter,  colts  may  with  safety,  and  even  benefit,  bo  put  to 
moderate  work  in  their  third  spring.  Some  time  before 
thi3  is  done  they  should  be  put  through  a  short  course  of 
training,  to  use  them  to  the  bit,  and  make  them  quiet  and 
handy.  Many  good  cart-horses  are  ruined  for  want  of  a 
little  timely  attention  in  this  way.  When  they  have  got 
familiar  with  the  harness,  they  should  be  yoked  to  a  log  of 
wood,  and  made  to  draw  that  up  and  down  the  furrows  of 
a  fallow  field,  until  they  become  accustomed  to  the  restraint 
and  exertion,  after  which  they  may  with  safety  be  put  to 
plough  alongside  a  steady  and  good-tempered  horse,  and, 
what  is  of  equal  consequence,  under  the  charge  of  a  steady, 
good-tempered  ploughman.  As  they  should  not  have  move 
than  five  hours'  work  a-day  for  the  first  summer,  it  is 
always  an  advantage  to  have  a  pair  of  them  to  yoke  at  the 
same  time,  in  which  case  they  take  half-day  about,  and 
do  a  full  horse's  work  betwixt  them.  With  such  moderate 
work  and  generous  feeding  their  growth  will  be  promoted. 


By  midsummer,  the  press  of  field  labour  being  over,  it  h 
advisable  to  turn  the  striplings  adrift,  and  let  them  enjoy 
themselves  in  a  good  pasture  until  after  harvest,  when  they 
can  again  be  put  to  plough.  Horses  should  not  be  required 
to  draw  heavy  loaded  carts  until  they  are  five  years  old. 
When  put  into  the  shafts  earlier  than  this  they  frequently 
get  strained  and  stiffened  in  their  joints.  On  every  farm 
requiring  four  or  five  pairs  of  horses  it  is  highly  expedient 
to  have  a  pair  of  young  ones  coming  in  annually.  This 
enables  the  firmer  to  be  provided  against  contingencies,  and 
to  have  his  stable  occupied  at  all  times  with  horses  in 
their  full  vigour,  which  go  through  their  work  with  spirit, 
and  never  falter  for  a  little  extra  pushing  in  emergencies. 

Section  3. — Feeding  and  General  Management  of 
Farm-Horses. 

As  there  is  true  economy  in  employing  only  the  best 
quality  of  horses,  and  these  in  their  prime,  so  also  is  there 
in  feeding  them  uniformly  well,  and  looking  to  their  com- 
fort in  all  respects.  The  following  quotation  from  the 
Transactions  (for  October  1850)  of  the  Highland  and  Agri- 
cultural Society  of  Scotland,  describes  the  practice  of  some 
of  our  most  experienced  farmers  in  this  particular  : — 

"  The  system,  cf  feeding  I  adopt  is  as  follows  :— From  the  iniddia 
of  October  till  the  end  of  May  my  horses  get  one  feed  of  steamed 
food  and  two  feeds  of  oats  daily,  with  the  Tbest  oat  or  wheat  straw 
for  fodder.  I  never  give  bean  straw  unless  it  has  been  secured  in 
flue  condition,  having  often  seen  the  bad  effects  of  it,  partly  owing, 
I  think,  to  its  long  exposure  to  the  weather.  In  our  variable  oliuwte, 
and  from  the  quantity  of  sand  which  adheres  to  it,  I  use  it  generally 
for  litter.  The  steamed  food  used  is  well  washed  Swedish  turnips 
and  potatoes  in  equal  proportions,  mixed  with  sifted  wbeat-chaJf. 
In  those  years  when  we  had  a  total  loss  of  potatoes  Swedish  turnip 
alone  was  used,  but  not  with  tho  same  good  effect  as  when  mixed 
with  potatoes.  This  year,  having  plenty  of  diseased  potatoes  id  a 
firm  state,  I  give  a  larger  proportion  of  potatoes  than  turnip,  and 
never  upon  any  occasion  give  oat  husks,  commonly  called  meal- 
seeds,  having  often  seen  their  injurious  effects.  At  live  o'clock  in  the 
morning  end:  horse  gets  6  lb  weight  of  bruised  oats,  at  uoon  the 
same  quantity  of  oats,  and  at  half-past  seven  P.M.  47  lb  weight  of 
steamed  food.  I  find  that  it  takes  62  lb  weight  of  uustcamed 
potatoes  and  turnip  to  produce  47  lb  steamed  ;  to  each  feed  of 
1  food,  4  oz.  of  common  salt  are  added,  and  mixed  up  with 
one-fourth  part  of  a  bushel. of  wheat-chaff,  weighing  about  1J  lb, 
a  greater  quantity  of  wheat-chaff  than  this  having  generally  too  laxa- 
tive an  effect.  Each  horse  eats  from  14  lb  to  18  tb  of  fodder  during 
the  twenty -four  hours,  besides  what  is  required  for  litter.  In  spring 
I  sometimes  give  a  mixture  of  bruised  beans  and  oats,  instead  of  oats 
alone  ;  from  June  to  the  middle  of  October  those  horses  that  are 
required  for  the  working  of  the  green  crop,  driving  manure,  and 
ht'-vect  work,  are  fed  with  cut  grass  and  tares  in  the, house  ;  and 
about  7  lb  of  oats  each  day,  given  at  twice,  increasing  or  decreasing 
the  quantity  according  to  the  work  they  have  to  do  ;  and  I  turn  out 
to  pasture  only  those  horses  that  are  not  required  until  the  busy 
season.  I  disapprove  of  horses  that  are  regularly  worked  being 
turned  out  to  grass,  and  exposed  to  all  the  changes  of  our  variable 
climate,  as  I  believe  it  to  be  the  origin  of  many  diseases.  By  this 
mode  of  feeding  the  horses  are  always  in  fine  sleek  condition,  aud 
able  for  their  work.  1  have  acted  upon  this  system  for  the  last  f . 
years,  have  always  had  from  16  to  20  horses,  and  during  that 
period  I  have  only  lost  7  horses,  3.  of  them  from  accidental  causes  ; 
and  I  attribute  this,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  mode  of  feeding,  aud 
in  particular  to  the  steamed  food." 

The  treatment  of  horses  differs  somewhat  in  other  place* 
from  that  now  detailed.  In  Berwickshire,  for  example, 
they  are  usually  turned  to  pasture  as  socn  as  the  mildness 
of  the  weather  and  the  forwardness  of  the  pasture  admit  of 
it.  While  employed  in  carrying  tho  crop,  their  fodder 
consists  largely  of  tares,  and  afterwards  till  Martinniat  they 
are  fed  on  hay.  From  this  date  oat  aud  bean  straw,  with 
8  or  10  lb  of  raw  swedes  to  each  per  diem,  is  substituted  till 
the  1st  of  March,  when,  with  the  recurrence  of  harder  labour, 
hay  is  again  given  till  the  return  of  the  grazing  season. 
During  three-fourths  of  the  year  they  receive  about  lb'  lb 
of  oats  per  diem,  in  three  separate  feeds.  From  the  close 
of  turnip-sowing  until  harvest,  oats  are  either  withheld  or 
given  only  when  a  harder  day's  work  occurs.     The  practice 


VOL.  I. 


AGRICULTURE 


PLATE  V 


*JP^j$g 


"S* 


tvt 


s^^^C^^ 


PHCEITIX 

^nsrf  by  and.  the  property  of  &T  Crisp.  Etork/uZL  Iforthumierhvut 
Winner  m  1852  of  the  first  Frizes  gtren  by  the  rlgrianairal  Scaeaes 
ofEnglnrut  Scotland  Xfre^vid 


--^ 


"  '-'K  " 


1% 


^  ~#js!%$I0& 


>\  :, 


§I£©M-E©IEHIEIG)  <3®W 

CHARJTY 
'cdbyand  lie  f roper ty  of  JT '3ojth  War&zby   Yorkshu 

ENCYCLOPEDIA    BRITANNIC*.    NINTH    EDITION. 


CATTLE,] 


AGRICULTURE 


3RT 


of  bruising  the  whole  of  the  oats  given  to  horses,  and  also 
of  chopping  their  hay,  is  now  very  prevalent.  By.  giving 
a  few  pounds  of  chopped  hay  with  each  feed  of  bruised 
oats,  and  oat-straw  in  the  racks,  during  the  whole  of  the 
winter  half-year,  horses  are  kept  in  better  condition  and 
at  no  more  ■  expense  than  by  giving  them  straw  alone  for 
half  the  period,  and  hay  alone  the  other  half.  We  are 
persuaded,  also,  that  unless  horses  are  stripped  of  their 
shoes  and  turned  adrift  altogether  for  a  summer's  run, 
soiling  in  boxes  or  sheds,  with  an  open  yard,  is  preferable 
to  grazing.  Hay  and  oats  ought  undoubtedly  to  constitute 
the  staple  fare  of  farm-horses.  Without  a  liberal  allowance 
of  suitable  and  nourishing  food,  it  is  impossible  that  they 
can  perform  the  full  amount  of  work  of  which  they  are 
capable,  or  be  sustained  for  any  length  of  time  in  robust 
health.  When  alleged  very  cheap  plans  of  feeding  horses 
are  inquired  into,  it  is  usually  found  that  the  amount  and 
quality  of  the -work  performed  by  them  is  in  fitting  pro- 
portion. In  this,  as  in  so  many  other  things,  cheapness 
and  economy  are  not  convertible  terms.  The  true  way  to 
economise  the  horse-labour  of  a  farm  is  to  have  only  good 
and  well-fed  animals,  and  to  get  the  greatest  possible  amount 
of  work  out  of  them. 

.CHAPTER  XVL 

LIVE   STOCK CATTLE; 

Section  1. — Breeds — 1st,  Heavy  Breeds. 

As  our  limits  do  not  admit  of  even  a  brief  notice  of  all 
those  breeds  of  cattle  for  which  Great  Britain  is  so  famous, 
we  shall  restrict  our  remarks  to  some  of  the  most  important 
of  them.  Without  entering  upon  curious  speculations  as 
to  the  origin  of  these  breeds,  we  proceed  to  notice  them  in 
the  order  suggested  by  their  relative  importance  in  practical 
agriculture.  The  large  lowland  cattle  thus  claim  our  first 
attention,  and  amongst  them  we  cannot  hesitate  in  assign- 
ing the  first  place  to  the 

Short-horns. — It  appears  that  from  an  early  date  the 
valley  of  the  Tees  possessed  a  breed  of  cattle  which,  in 
appearance  and  general  qualities,  were  probably  not  unlike 
thoso  quasi  short-horns  which  abound  in  various  parts  of 
the  country  at  the  present  day.  By  the  time  that  the 
Messrs  Colling  came  upon  the  field  it  is  evident  that 
there  were  many  herds  around  them  in  which  considerable 
improvement  had  already  been  effected,  and  that  they  com- 
menced their  memorable  efforts  in  cattle-breeding  with 
exceedingly  hopeful  materials  to  work  upon.  But  in  their 
masterly  hands  these  materials  seemed  at  once  to  acquire 
an  unwonted  plasticity;  for  in  an  incredibly  short  time 
their  cattle  exhibited,  in  a  degree  that  has  not  yet  been 
excelled,  that  combination  of  rapid  and  large  growth  with 
aptness  to  fatten,  of  which  their  symmetry,  good  temper, 
mellow  handling,  and  gay  colours  are  such  pleasing  indices 
and  accompaniments,  and  for  which  they  have  now  acquired 
a  world-wide  celebrity.  It  was  by  judicious  selection  in 
the  first  instance,  and  then  by  coupling  animals  of  near 
affinity  in  blood,  that  they  so  developed  and  stereotyped 
these  qualities  in  their  cattle  as  to  entitle  them  at  once  to 
take  rank  as  tha  progenitors  of  a  new  and  well-marked 
breed.  These  Durham,  Teeswater,  or  Shorthorn  cattle,  as 
they  were  variously  called,  were  soon  eagerly  sought  after, 
and  spread  over  the  who'e  country  with  amazing  rapidity. 
For  a  time  their  merits  were  disputed  by  the  eager  ad- 
vocates of  other  and  older  breeds,  some  of  which  (such  as 
the  long-horns,  once  the  most  numerous  breed  in  the 
kingdom)  they  have  utterly  supplanted,  while  others,  such 
as  the  Herefords,  Devons,  and  Scotch  polled  cattle,  have 
each  their  zealous  admirers,  who  still  maintain  their  supe- 
riority to  the  younger  race.  But  this  controversy  is  mean- 
wfulo  getting  practically  decided  in  favour  of  the  short- 


horns, which  constantly  encroach  upon  their  rivals  even  in 
their  headquarters,  and  seldom  lose  ground  which  they  once 
gain.  Paradoxical  as  the  statement  appears,  it  is  yet  true 
that  the  very  excellence  of  the  short-horns  has  in  many  cases 
led  to  their  discredit.  For  many  persons  desiring  to 
possess  these  valuable  cattle,  and  yet  grudging  the  cost  of 
pure-bred  bulls,  or  being  ignorant  of  the  principles  of  breed- 
ing, have  used  worthless  cross-bred  males,  and  so  have  filled 
the  country  with  an  inferior  race  of  cattle,  bearing  indeed 
a  general  resemblance  in  colour,  and  partaking  in  some 
measure  of  the  good  qualities  of  short-horns,  but  utterly 
wanting  in  their  peculiar  excellences.  By  ignorant  or  pre- 
judiced persons  the  genuine  race  is  nevertheless  held 
answerable  for  the  defects  of  the  mongrels  which  usurp 
their  name,  and  for  the  damaging  comparisons 'which  are 
made  betwixt  them  and  choice  specimens  of  other  breeds. 
That  the  short-horn  breed  should  spread  as  it  does,  in  spite 
of  this  hinderance,  is  no  small  proof  of  its  inherent  ex- 
cellence, and  warrants  the  inference  that  whenever  justice 
is  done  to  it,  it  will  take  its  place  as  the  one  appropriate 
breed  of  the  fertile  and  sheltered  parts  of  Great  Britain. 
This" desirable  consummation  has  hitherto  been  retarded  by 
the  scarcity  and  high  price  of  pure-bred  bulls.  We  are 
quite  aware  that  bull-breeding,  as  hitherto  conducted,  is  a 
hazardous  and  unremunerative  business,  notwithstanding 
the  great  prices  sometimes  obtained  for  first-class  animals. 
We  are  of  opinion,  however,  that  it  might  be  conducted  in 
such  a  way  as  to  be  safer  and  more  profitable  to  the  breeder 
and  more  beneficial  to  the  country  at  large,  than  it  has 
hitherto  been.  There  is  at  present  a  large  and  growino 
demand  for  good  yearling  short-horn  bulls,  at  prices  ranging 
from  £25  to  £50.  With  a  better  supply  both  as  to  quahtv 
and  numbers,  this  demand  would  steadily'increase,  for  we 
have  long  observed  that  there  is  no  want  of  customers  fo» 
really  good  a^nimals  at  such  prices  as  we  have  named. 
When  higher  prices  than  these  are  demanded,  farmers  who 
breed  only  for  the  production  of  beef  feel  that  they  are 
beyond  their  reach,  and  are  fain  to  content  themselves  with 
lower-priced  and  inferior  animals.  We  are  glad,  therefore, 
that  it  is  a  steadily  increasing  practice  for  breeders  of  short- 
horns to  dispose  of  their  young  bulls  by  an  annual  auction 
sale  on  their  own  premises ;  or  for  a  number  of  breeders  to 
concur  in  offering  their  lots  for  sale  on  the  same  day  at 
some  central  auction  mart.  The  good  effects  of  this  in- 
creasing supply  of  well-bred  bulls  are  becoming  apparent 
in  the  improved  quality  of  the  cattle  now  brought  to  our 
markets. 

A  great  stimulus  has  been  given  to  the  breeding  of  high- 
class  short-horns  by  the  extraordinary  prices  which  of  late 
have  been  obtained  for  animals  of  certain  favourite  and 
fashionable  strains.  To  illustrate  this  we  give  the  follow- 
ing particulars  of  the  four  principal  sales  of  the  year 
1872  :— 

The  late  Mr  Pawlet's      .    herd  of  60  animals  averaged  £195  18  7 

Mr  G.  Bowly's        .        .        „       80  „  15*    1  9 

Earl  of  Dunmore's  „       64  „  242  18  9 

Messrs  Harward  &  Downay's  „       61  „  253    8  2 

It  is  said  that  the  operations  of  one  enterprising  Canadian 
breeder — Mr  Cochran  of  Hillhurst — have  had  a  powerfu-J 
effect  in  determining  these  extraordinary  market  rates  for 
short-horns  of  the  choicest  type.  One  cargo,  including 
forty  short-horn  bulls  and  heifers,  and  choice  specimens  of 
Cotswold  sheep  and  Berkshire  pigs,  taken  out  by  this 
gentleman  in  1870,  is  said  to  have  cost  him  £15,000. 
American  breeders  of  short-horn  cattle  have  now  established 
a  herd-book  of  their  own,  and  have  been  so  successful  in 
their  efforts  that  already  they  have  made  numerous  sales  to 
English  breeders  at  long  prices.  While  we  write,  accounts 
have  come  of  the  sale  by  auction,  on  10th  September  1873, 
of  the  herd  of   Mr  Campbell  of  New  York  Mills,  near 


388 


AGRICULTURE 


[live  stock—* 


Utica,  when  108  animals  realised  $380,000.  Of  these  10 
were  bought  by  British  breeders,  6  of  which,  of  the  Duchess 
family,  averaged  $21,517,  and  one  of  them,  "Eighth 
Duchess  of  Geneva,"  was  bought  for  Mr  Pavin  Davies  of 
Gloucestershire  at  the  unprecedented  price  of  £8120. 
Choice  specimens  of  these  cattle  are  now  also  being  sent  in 
large  numbers  to  our  Australian  colonies  and  to  various 
parts  of  the  continent  of  Europe.  Indeed,  it  may  be  said 
of  thorn,  that,  like  our  people,  they  are  rapidly  spreading 
over  the  world 

As  already  hinted,  the  Hereford  is  the  breed  which 
in  England  contests  most  closely  with  the  short-horns 
for  the  palm  of  excellence.  They  are  admirable  grazier's 
cattle,  and  when  of  mature  age  and  fully  fattened,  pre- 
sent exceedingly  level,  compact,  and  massive  carcases  of 
excellent  beef.  But  the  cows  are  poor  milkers,  and  the 
oxen  require  to  be  at  least  two  years  old  before  being  put 
up  to  fatten — defects  which,  in  our  view,  are  fatal  to  the 
claims  which  are  put  forward  on  their  behalf.  To  the 
grazier  who  purchases  them  when  their  growth  is  somewhat 
matured  they  usually  yield  a  good  profit,  and  will  generally 
excel  shortihorns  of  the  same  age.  But  the  distinguishing 
characteristic  of  the  latter  is  that,  when  properly  treated, 
they  get  sufficiently  fat  and  attain  to  remunerative  weights 
at,  or  even  under,  two  years  old.  If  they  are  kept  lean 
until  they  have  reached  that  age  their  peculiar  excellence 
is  lost.  From  the  largeness  of  their  frame  they  then  cost 
more  money,  consume  more  food,  and  yet  do  not  fatten 
more  rapidly  than  bullocks  of  slower  growing  and  more 
compactly  formed  breeds.  It  is  thus  that  the  grazier  fre- 
quently gives  his  verdict  in  favour  of  Herefords  as  compared 
with  short-horns.  Even  under  this  mode  of  management 
short-horns  will  usually  yield  at  least  as  good  a  return  as 
their  rivals  to  the  breeder  and  grazier  conjointly.  But  if 
fully  fed  from  their  birth  so  as  to  bring  into  play  their 
peculiar  property  of  growing  and  fattening  simultaneously, 
we  feel  warranted  in  saying  that  they  will  yield  a  quicker 
and  better  return  for  the  food  consumed  by  them  than 
cattle  of  any  other  breed.  Unless,  therefore,  similar 
qualities  are  developed  in  the  Herefords,  we  may  expect  to 
see  them  more  and  more  giving  place  to  the  short-horns. 
These  remarks  apply  equally  to  another  breed  closely  allied 
to  the  Herefords,  viz.,  the 

North  Devons,  so  much  admired  for  their  pleasing  colour, 
elegant  form,  sprightly  gait,  and  gentle  temper,  qualities 
which  fit  them  beyond  all  other  cattle  for  the  labour  of  the 
field,  in  which  they  are  still  partially  employed  in  various 
parts  of  England  If  it  could  be  proved  that  ox-power  is 
really  more  economical  than  horse-power  for  any  stated  part 
of  the  work  of  the  farm,  then  the  Devons,  which  form  such 
admirable  draught  oxen,  would  be .  deserving  of  general 
cultivation.  It  is  found,  however,  that  when  agriculture 
reaches  a  certain  stage  of  progress,  ox-labour  is  inadequate 
to  the  more  rapid  and  varied  operations  that  are  called 
for,  and  has  to  be  superseded  by  that  of  horses. 

Scotland  possesses  several  indigenous  breeds  of  heavy 
cattle,  which  for  the  most  part  are  black  and  hornless, 
such  as  those  of  Aberdeen,  Angus,  and  Galloway.  These 
are  all  valuable  breeds,  being  characterised  by  good  milking 
and  grazing  qualities,  and  by  a  hardiness  which  peculiarly 
adapts  them  for  a  bleak  climate.  Cattle  of  these  breeds, 
when  they  have  attained  to  three  years  old,  fatten  very 
rapidly,  attain  to  great  size  and  weight  of  carcase,  and 
yield  beef  which  is  not  surpassed  in  quality  by  that  of  any 
cattle  in  the  kingdom. 

The  cowb  of  these  breeds,  when  coupled  with  a  short- 
horn bull,  produce  an  admirable  cross-breed,  which  com- 
bines largely  the  good  qualities  of  both  parents.  The 
great  saving  of  time  and  food  which  is  effected  by  the 
earlier  maturity  of  the  cross-breed  has  induced  a  very 


extensive  adoption  of  this  practice  in  all  the  north-eastern 
counties  of  Scotland  Such  a  system  is  necessarily  inimical 
to  the  improvement  of  the  pure  native  breeds;  but  when 
cows  of  the  cross-breed  are  continuously  coupled  with  pure 
short-horn  bulls,  the  progeny  ill  a  few  generations  become 
assimilated  to  the  male  parent,  and  are  characterised  by 
a  peculiar  vigour  of  constitution  and  excellent  milking 
power  in  the  cows.  With  such  native  breeds  to  work  upon, 
and  this  aptitude  to  blend  thoroughly  with  the  short-horn 
breed,  it  is  much  more  profitable  to  introduce  the  latter  in 
this  gradual  way  of  continuous  crossing  than  at  once  to 
substitute  the  one  pure  breed  for  the  other.  The  cost  of 
the  former  plan  is  much  less,  as  there  needs  but  the  pur- 
chase from  time  to  time  of  a  good  bull ;  and  the  risk  is 
incomparably  less,  as  the  stock  is  acclimatised  from  the  first, 
and  there  is  no  danger  from  a  wrong  selection.  The 
greatest  risk  of  miscarriage  in  this  mode  of  changing  the 
breed  is  from  the  temptation  to  which,  from  mistaken 
economy,  the  breeder  is  exposed  of  rearing  a  cross-bred 
bull  himself,  or  purchasing  a  merely  nominal  short-horn 
bull  from  others. 

From  this  hurried  review  of  our  heavy  breeds  of  cattle 
it  will  be  seen  that  we  regard  the  short-horn  as  incom- 
parably the  best  of  them  all,  and  that  we  anticipate  its 
ultimate  recognition  as  the  breed  which  most  fully  meets 
the  requirements  of  all  those  parts  of  the  country  where 
grain  and  green  crops  are  successfully  cultivated. 

2d. — Dairy  Breeds. 

The  dairy  breeds  of  cattle  nex,t  claim  our  attention,  foi 
although  cattle  of  all  breeds  are  used  for  this  purpose,  there 
are  several  which  are  cultivated  chiefly,  if  not  exclusively, 
because  of  tbeir  fitness  for  it.  Dairy  husbandry  is  pro- 
secuted under  two  very  different  and  well-defined  classes  of 
circumstances.  In  or  near  towns,  and  in  populous  mining 
and  manufacturing  districts,  it  is  carried  on  for  the  purpose 
of  supplying  families  with  new  milk.  In  the  western  half 
of  Great  Britain,  and  in  many  upland  districts,  where  the 
soil  and  climate  are  more  favourable  to  the  production  of 
grass  and  other  green  crops  than  of  corn,  butter  and  cheese- 
constitute  the  staple  products  of  the  husbandman.  The 
town  dairyman  looks  to  quantity  rather  than  quality  of 
milk,  and  seeks  for  cows  which  are  large  milkers,  which 
are-  long  in  going  dry,  and  which  can  be  readily  fattened 
when  their  daily  yield  of  milk  falls  below  the  remunerative 
measure.  Large  cows,  such  as  short-horns  and  their  crosses, 
are  accordingly  his  favourites.  In  the  rural  dairy,  again, 
the  merits  of  a  cow  are  estimated  by  the  weight  and  quality 
of  the  cheese  or  butter  which  she  yields,  rather  than  by  the 
mere  quantity  of  her  milk.  The  breeds  that  are  cultivated 
expressly  for  this  purpose  are  accordingly  characterised  by 
a  less  fleshy  and  robust  build  than  is  requisite  in  grazier's 
cattle.  Of  these  we  select  for  special  notico  the  Ayrshire, 
the  Suffolk  dun,  and  the  Jersey  breeds. 

The  Ayrshires,  by  common  consent,  now  occupy  the  very  first 
rank  as  profitable  dairy  cattle.  From  the  pains  which  have  been 
taken  to  develop  their  milk-yielding  power  it  is  now  of  the  highest 
order.  Persons  who  have  been  conversant  only  with  grazing  cattle 
cannot  but  be  surprised  at  the  strange  contrast  between  an  Ayrshire 
cow  in  full  milk  and  the  forms  of  cattle  which  they  have  been  useJ 
to  regard  as  moat  perfect.  Her  wide  pelvis,  deep  flank,  and  enor- 
mous udder,  with  its  small  wide-set  teats,  seem  out  of  all  proportion 
to  her  fine  bone  and  slender  forequarters.  As  might  be  expected, 
the  breed  possesses  little  merit  for  grazing  purposes.  Very  useful 
animals  are,  however,  obtained  by  crossing  these  cows  with  a  short- 
horn bull,  and  this  practice  is  now  rather  extensively  pursued  in  the 
west  of  Scotland  by  farmers  who  combine  dairy  husbandry  with  the 
fattening  of  cattle.  The  function  of  the  Ayrshire  cattle  is,  however, 
the  dairy.  For  this  th«y  are  unsurpassed,  either  as  respects  the 
amount  of  produce  yielded  by  them  in  proportion  to  the  food  which 
they  consume,  or  the  faculty  which  they  possess  of  converting  the 
herbage  of  poor  exposed  soils,  such  as  ahoiiDd  in  their  native  district, 
into  butter  and  cheese  of  the  best  quality. 


vol.  i. 


AGRICULTURE 


PLATE  71 


Bred,  ly  On  Eyhi  Hoitu  On  Earl  of  Talbot. 


■ 


EWE&LAM®».S(D)IIJ[irHlXQ)'WM  BESIEID) 

Bird,  by  Tkom&s Ellm&n. E$qr.  fieddingham* 
Ccpud  by  pe-mission  tfom.  Froftssor  Low's  dtscnptun  of  brads  of  Dcmistiailai  Jnundt 


ENCYCLOPEDIA    MITAMICA.   NINTH    EDITION. 


CATTLE.] 


AGRICULTURE 


3«> 


The  county  of  Suffolk  has  "for  centuries  oeen  celebrated  for  its 
dairy  produce,  which  is  chiefly  obtained  from  a  polled  breed  of  cattle, 
the  prevailing  colour  of  which  is  dun  6r  pale  red,  from  which  they 
ure  known  as  the  Suffolk  Duns.  They  have  a  strong  general  resem- 
blance to  the'  Scotch  polled  cattle,  but  nevertheless  seem  to  be 
indigenous  to  Suffolk.  They  are  ungainly  in  their  form  and  of 
little  repute  with  the  grazier,  but  possess  an  undoubted  capacity  of 
yielding  a  large  quantity  of  milk  in  proportion  to  the  food  which 
they  consume.  They  are  now  encroached  upon  by,  and  will  pro- 
bably give  place  to,  the  short-horns,  by  which  they  are  decidedly 
excelled  for  the  combined  purposes  of  the  dairy  and  the  fattening" 
stall. 

The  breeds  already  referred  to  are  those  to  which  professional 
dairymen  give  the  preference,  but  the  cattle  of  the  Channel  Islands, 
of  which  the  Jersey  may  be  regarded  as  the  type,  are  so  remarkable 
for  the  choice  quality  of  the  cream  and  batter  obtained  from  their 
rather  scanty  yield  of  milk,  that  they  are  eagerly  sought  after  for 
private  dairies,  in  which  quality  of  produce  is  more  regarded  than 
quantity.  The  rearing  of  heifers  for  the  English  market  is  of  such 
importance  to  these  islands  that  very  stringent  regulations  have 
been  adopted  for  insuring  the  purity  of  their  peculiar  breed.  These 
cattle  iii  general  are  utterly  worthless  for  the  purposes  of  the 
grazier.  The  choicer  specimens  of  the  Jerseys  have  a  certain  deer- 
like  form  which  gives  them  a  pleasing  aspect.  Tne  race,  as  a 
whole,  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  Ayrshires,  which  are 
alleged  to  owe  their  peculiar  excellences  to  an  early  admixture  of 
Jersey  blood. 

3d. — Mountain  Breeds. 

The  mountainous  parts  of  Great  Britain  are  not  less  favoured  than 
the  lowlands  in  possessing  breeds  of  cattle  peculiarly  adapted  to  the 
exigencies  of  the  climate. 

The  Kyloes  or  West  Highland  cattle  are  the  most  prominent  of 
this  group.  They  are  widely  diffused  over  the  Highlands  of  Scotland, 
but  are  found  in  the  greatest  perfection  in  the  larger  Hebrides.  Well- 
bred  oxen  of  this  breed,  when  of  marura  growth  and  in  good  con- 
dition, exhibit  a  symmetry  of  form  and  noble  bearing  which  is 
unequalled  by  any  cattle  in  the  kingdom.  Although  somewhat 
slow  in  arriving  at  maturity,  they  are  contented  with  the  coarsest 
fare,  and  ultimately  get  fat  where  the  daintier  short -horns  could 
barely  exist.  Their  hardy  constitution,  thick  mellow  hide,  and 
shaggy  coat,  peculiarly  adapt  them  for  a  cold  humid  climate  and 
coarse  pasturage.  Fewer  of  these  cattle  are  now  reared  in  the 
Highlands  than  formerly,  owing  to  the  lessened  number  of  cottars 
and  small  tenants,  the  extension  of  sheep  husbandry,  and  latterly  from 
the  excessive  multiplication  of  deer  forests.  Large  herds  of  cows  are, 
however,  kept  on  such  portions  of  farms  as  are.  unsuited  for  sheep 
walks.  The  milk  of  these  cows  is  very  rich,  but  as  they  yield  it  in 
small  quantity,  and  go  soon  dry,  they  are  unsuited  for  the  dairy,  and 
are  kept  almost  solely  for  the  purpose  of  suckling  »ach  her  own  calf. 
The  calves  are  generally  housed  during  their  first  winter,  but  after 
that  they  shift  for  themselves  out  of  doors  all  the  year  round. 
Vast  droves  of  these  cattle  are  annually  transferred  to  the  lowlands, 
where  they  are  in  request  for  their  serviceableness  in  consuming 
profitably  the  produce  of  coarse  pastures  and  the  leavings  of  daintier 
stock.  Those  of  a  dun  or  tawny  colour  are  often  selected  for 
grazing  in  the  parks  of  the  aristocracy,  where  they  look  quite  as 
picturesque  as  the  deer  with  which  they  are  associated.  Indeed, 
they  strikingly  resemble  the  so-called  wild  cattle  that  are  carefully 
preserved  in  the  parks  of  several  of  our  nobility,  and  like  them  are 
probably  the  descendants  of  the  cattle  of  the  ancient  Britons.  This 
view  is  confirmed  by  the  strong  family  likeness  borne  to  them  by 
the 

Welsh  cattle,  which  is  quite  what  might.be  expected  from  the 
many  features,  physical  and  historical,  which  the  two  provinces  have 
in  common.  Although  the  cattle  of  Wales,  as  a  whole,  are  obviously 
of  common  origin,  they  are  yet  ranged  into  several  groups,  which 
owe  their  distinctive  features  either  to  peculiarities  of  soil  and 
climate  or  to  mtermixture  with  other  breeds.  The  Pembrok.es  may 
be  taken  as  the  type  of  the  mountain  groups.  These  are  hardy 
cattle,  which  thrive  on  scanty  pasturage  and  in  a  humid  climate. 
They  excel  the  West  Highlanders  in  this  respect,  that  they  make 
good  dairy  cattle,  the  cows  being  peculiarly  adapted  for  cottagers/ 
purposes.  When  fattened  they  yield  beef  of  excellent  quality. 
Their  prevailing  and  most  esteemed  colour  is  black,  with  deep  orange 
on  the  naked  parts.  The  Anglesea  cattle  are  larger  and  poarser 
than  the  Pembrokes,  and  those  of  Merioneth  and  the  higher  districts 
are  smaller,  and  inferior  to  them  in  every  respect.  The  county  of 
Gla-norgan.  possesses  a  peculiar  breed,  bearing  its  name,  which  has 
long  been  in  estimation  for  combined  grazing  and  dairy  purposes. 
It  has  latterly  been  so  much  encroached  upon  by  Herefords  and  short- 
horns that  there  seems  some  likelihood  of  its  becoming  extinct, 
which  will  be  cause  for  regret,  unless  pains  are  taken  to  occupy 
its  place  with  cattle  not  inferior  to  it  in  dairy  qualities.  -  We  con- 
clude this  rapid  review  of  our  native  breeds  by  noticing  the  most 
•inirul.ir  of  them  all,  viz.. 

The  Shetland  cuUle,  which  are  the  most  diminutive  in  the  world. 


The  carcase  of  a  Shetland  cow,  when  fully  fattened,  scarcely  exceed* 
in  weight  that  of  a  long-woolled  wether.  These  little  creatures  are, 
however,  excellent  milkers  in  proportion  to  their  size ;  they  are  very 
hardy,  are  contented  with  the  scantiest  pasturage,  come  early  to 
maturity,  are  easily  fattened,  and  their  beef  surpasses  that  of  all 
other  breeds  for  tenderness  and  delicacy  of  flavour.  The  diminutive 
cows  of  this  breed  are  not  unfrequently  coupled  with  short-horn 
bulls,  and  the  progeny  from  such  apparently  preposterous  unions 
not  only  possess  admirable  fattening  qualities,  hut  approximate  in 
bulk  to  their  sires.  These  curious  and  handsome  little  creatures, 
apparently  ot  Scandinavian  origin,  are  so  peculiarly  fitted  to  the 
circumstances  of  their  bleak  and  stormy  habitat,  that  the  utmost 
pains  ought  to  be  taken  to  preserve  the  breed  m  purity,  and  to 
improve  it  by  judicious  treatment. 

Section  2. — Farm  Management  of  Cattle. 

We  snail  now  endeavour  to  describe  the  farm  management 
of  this  valuable  class  of  animals,  under  the  heads  of  breeding, 
rearing,  fattening,  and  dairy  management.  The  proceedings 
of  those  engaged  in  the  breeding  and  rearing  of  cattle  for 
the  production  of  beef  are,  however,  largely  determined  by 
the  character  of  the  soil  and  climate  of  particular  districts 
and  farms.  The  occupiers  of  all  comparatively  fertile  soils 
carry  forward  to  maturity  such  animals  as  they  breed,  and 
dispose  of  them  directly  to  the  butcher.  Those  who  are 
less  fortunately  circumstanced  in  this  respect  advance  their 
young  cattle  to  such  a  stage  as  the  capabilities  of  their 
farms  admit  of,  and  then  transfer  them  to  others,  by  whom 
the  fattening  process  is  conducted.  It  cannot  be  too 
strongly  impressed  upon  those  who  ongage  in  this  business 
that  it  never  can  be  profitable  to  breed  inferior  cattle ;  or 
(however  good  their  quality)  to  suffer  their  growth  to  be 
arrested  by  cold  or  hunger  ;  or  to  sell  them  in  a  lean  state. 
In  selecting  a  breeding  stock  of  cattle,  the  qualities  to  be 
aimed  at  are  a  sound  constitution  and  a  symmetrical  form; 
aptitude  to  fatten,  quiet  .temper,  and.  large  milk-yielding 
power  in  the  cows.  As  all  these  qualities  are  hereditary, 
cattle  are  valuable  for  breeding  purposes  not  merely  in  pro- 
portion as  they  are  developed  in  the  individuals,  but 
according  to  the  measure  in  which  they  are  known  to  have 
been  possessed  by  their  progenitors.  A  really  good  pedi- 
gree adds  therefore  greatly  to  the  value  of  breeding-stock. 
It  is  doubtless  important  to  have  both  parents  good;  but 
in  the  case  of  ruminants,  the  predominating  influence  of 
the  male  in  determining  the  qualities  of  the  progeny  is  so 
well  ascertained,  that  the  selection  of  the  bull  is  a  matter 
of  prime  importance.  We  are  able  to  state,  from 'ample 
personal  experience,  that  by  using  a  bull  that  is  at. once 
good  himself  and  of  good  descent,  a  level  and  valuable  lot 
of  calves  can  be  obtained  from  very  indifferent  cows.  It  is 
indeed  miserable  economy  to  grudge  the  price  of  a  good 
bull  Coarse,  mis-shapen,  unthrifty  cattle  cost  just  as  much 
for  rearing  and  fattening  as  those  of  the  best  quality,  and 
yet  may  not  be  worth  so  much  by  £3  or  £1  a-head  when 
they  come  ultimately  to  market.  The  loss  which  is 
annually  sustained  from  breeding  inferior  cattle  is  far 
greater  than  those  concerned  seem  to  be  aware  of.  It  is 
impossible  to  estimate  this  loss  accurately,  but  from  careful 
observation  and  inquiry  we  are  confident  that  it  amounts 
to  not  less  than  50s.  a-head  on  one-half  of  the  fat  cattle 
annually  slaughtered  in  Great  Britain.  If  this  be  so,  it 
follows  that  without  expending  a  farthing  more  than  is 
done  at  present  on  food,  housing,  and  attendance,  the  profit 
which  would  accrue  from  using  only  the  best  class  of  bulls 
would  be  equivalent  to  an  advance  of  Is.  per  stone  in  the 
pnee  of  beef  as  regards  half  of  the  fat  bullocks  brought  to 
market.  This  profit  could,  moreover,  be  secured  by  a  very 
moderate  outlay ;  for  if  properly  gone  about,  the  best  class 
of  bulls  might  be  employed  without  adding  more  than  3s. 
or  4s.  a-head  to  the  price  of  each  calf  reared.  We  may 
surely  anticipate  that  such  a  palpable  source  of  profit  will 
not  continue  to  be  neglected  by  the  breeders  of  cattle. 
There  are  many  instances  in  which  landlords  would  find  it 


:;)() 


AGRICULTURE 


mucn  for  their  interest  to  aid  their  tenantry  in  at  once 
procuring  really  good  bulls.  Cattle  shows  and  prizes  are 
useful  in  their  way  as  a  means  of  improving  the  cattle  of 
a,  district,  but  the  introduction  of  an  adequate  number  of 
bulls  from  herds  already  highly  improved  is  the  way  to 
accomplish  the  desired  end  cheaply,  certainly,  and  speedily. 
We  must  here  protest  against  a  practice  by  which  short- 
horn bulls  are  very  often  prematurely  unfitted  for  breeding. 
Their  tendency  to  obesity  is  so  remarkable  that  unless  they 
are  kept  on  short  commons  they  become  unwieldy  and 
unserviceable  by  their  third  or  fourth  year.  Instead,  how- 
ever, of  counteracting  this  tendency,  the  best  animals  are 
usually  "  made  up,"  as  it  is  called,  for  exhibition  at  cattle 
shows  or  for  ostentatious  display  to  visitors  at  home,  and 
the  consequence  is,  that  they  are  nuned  for  breeding  pur- 
poses. We  rejoice  to  see  that  the  directors  of  our  national 
agricultural  societies  are  resolutely  setting  their  faces 
against  this  pernicious  practice.  It  is  needful  certainly 
that  all  young  animals,  although  intended  for  breeding 
stock,  should  be  well  fed,  for  without  this  they  cannot 
attain  to  their  full  size  and  development  of  form.  But 
when  this  is  secured,  care  should  be  taken,  in  the  case  of 
all  breeding  animals,  never  to  exceed  that  degree  of  flesh 
which  is  indispensable  to  perfect  health  and  vigour.  The 
frequent  occurrence  of  abortion  or  barrenness  in  high- 
pedigreed  herds  seems  chiefly  attributable  to  overfeeding. 
The  farmer  who  engages  in  cattle-breeding  with  the  view 
of  turning  out  a  profitable  lot  of  fat  beasts  annually)  will 
take  pains  first  of  all  to  provide  a  useful  lot  of  cows,  such 
as  will  produce  good  calves,  and  if  well  fed  while  giving 
milk  will  yield  enough  of  it  to  keep  two  or  three  calves 
a-piece.  That  he  may  be  able  to  obtain  a  sufficient  supply 
of  good  calves  he  will  keep  a  really  good  bull,  and  allow 
the  cottagers  residing  on  the  farm  or  in  its  neighbourhood 
to  send  their  cows  to  bim  free  of  charge,  stipulating  only 
that  when  they  have  a  calf  for  sale  he  shall  have  the  first 
offer  of  it. 

Cows  are  an  expensive  stock  to  keep,  and  it  is  therefore 
of  importance  to  turn  their  milk  to  the  best  account.  It  is 
poor  economy,  however,  to  attempt  to  rear  a  greater  number 
of  calves  than  can  be  done  justice  to.  Seeing  that  they 
are  to  be  reared  for  the  production  of  beef,  the  only  pro- 
fitable course  is  to  feed  them  well  from  birth  to  maturity. 
During  the  first,  weeks  of  calf-hood  the  only  suitable  diet 
is  unadultered  milk,  warm  from  the  cow,  given  three  times 
a-day,  and  not  less  than  two  quarts  of  it  at  each  meal 
By  three  weeks  old  they  may  be  taught  to  eat  good  hay, 
linseed  cake,  and  sliced  swedes.  As  the  latter  items  of 
diet  are  relished  and  freely  eaten,  the  allowance  of  milk  is 
gradually  diminished  until  about  the  twelfth  week,  when 
it  may  bo  finally  withdrawn.  The  linseed  cake  is  then 
given  more  freely,  and  water  put  within  their  reach.  For 
the  first  sue  weeks  calves  should  be  kept  each  in  a  separate 
crib ;  but)  after  this  they  are  the  better  of  having  room  to 
frisk  about.  Their  quarters,  however,  should  be  well 
sheltered,  as  a  comfortable  degree  of  warmth  greatly 
promotes  their  growth.  During  their  first  summer  they 
do  best  to  be  soiled  on  vetches,  clover,  or  Italian  ryegrass, 
with  from  1  ft  to  2  ft  of  cake  to  each  calf  daily.  When 
the  green  forage  fails,  white  or  yellow  turnips  aro  substi- 
tuted for  it.  A  full  allowance  of  these,  with-  abundance 
of  oat  straw,  and  not  less  than  2  ft  of  cake  daily,  is  the 
appropriate  fare  for  them  during  their  first  winter.  Swedes 
will  be  substituted  for  turnips  during  the  months  of  spring, 
•nd  these  ngain  will  give  place  in  due  time  to  green  forage 
or  the  best  pasturage.  The  daily  ration  of  cake  should 
never  be  withdrawn.  It  greatly  promotes  growth,  fattening, 
and  general  good  health,  and  in  particular  is  a  specific 
ajminst  the  disease  called  blackleg,  which  often  proves  so 
fatal  to  young  cattle.     Young  cattle  that  have  been  skil- 


[live  stock.-  • 

fully  managed  upon  the  system  which  we  have  cow 
sketched,  are  at  18  months  old  already  of  great  size,  with 
open  horns,  mellow  hide,  and  all  those  other  features  which 
indicate  to  the  experienced  grazier  that  they  will  grow  and 
fatten  rapidly.  This  style  of  management  is  not  only  the 
best  for  those  who  fatten  'as  well  as  rear,  but  is  also  the 
most  profitable  fo"  those  who  rear  only. 

We  hav6  already  stated  that  in  Scotland  comparatively 
few  cattle  are  fattened  on  pasturage.  An  increasing 
number  of  fat  beasts  are  now  prepared  for  market  during 
the  summer  months  by  soiling  on  green  forage ;  but  it  is 
by  means  of  the  turnip  crop,  and  during  the  winter  months, 
that  this  branch  of  husbandry  is  all  but  exclusively  con- 
ducted in  the  northern  half  of  Great  Britain.  But  a  few 
years  ago  the  fattening  of  cattle  on  Tweedside  and  in  the 
Lothians  was  conducted  almost  exclusively  in  open  courts, 
with  sheds  on  one  or  more  sides,  in  which  from  two  to 
twenty  animats  were  confined  together,  and  fod  on  turnips 
and  straw  alone.  Important  changes  have  now  been  in- 
troduced, both  as  regards  housing  and  feeding,  by  mean? 
of  which  a  great  saving  of  food  has  been  effected.  Under 
the  former  practice  the  cattle  received  as  many  turnips  as 
they  could  eat,  which,  for  an  average-sized  two-year-old 
bullock,  was  not  less  than  220  ft  daily.  The  consequence 
of  this  enormous  consumption  of  watery  food  was,  that  for 
the  first  month  or  two  after  being  thus  fed  the  animals 
were  kept  in  a  state  of  habitual  diarrhoea.  Dry  fodder 
was,  indeed,  always  placed  within  their  reach;  but  as  long 
as  they  had  the  opportunity  of  taking  their  fill  of  turnips, 
the  dry  straw  was  all  but  neglected.  By  stinting  them  to 
about  100  ft  of  turnips  daily,  they  can  be  compelled  to 
eat  a  large  quantity  of  straw,  and  on  this  diet  they  thrive 
faster  than  on  turnips  at  will.  A  better  plan,  however,  is 
to  render  the  fodder  so  palatable  as  to  induce  them  to  eat 
it  of  choice.  This  can  be  done  by  grating  down  the  tur- 
nips by  one  or  other  of  the  pulping-machines  now  getting 
into  common  use,  and  then  mixing  the  grated  turnip  with 
an  equal  quantity,  by  measure,  of  cut  straw.  Some  persons 
allow  the  food  after  being  thus  mixed  to  lie  in  a  heap  for 
two  days,  so  that  fermentation  may  ensue  before  it  is  given 
to  the  cattle.  There  is,  however,  a  preponderance  of 
evidence  in  favour  of  using  it  fresh  To  this  mess  can 
conveniently  be  added  an  allowance  of  ground  cake,  whether 
of  linseed,  rape,  or  cotton  seed,  and  of  meal  of  any  kind  of 
grain  which  the  farmer  finds  it  most  economical  at  the 
time  to  use.  The  ground  cake  and  meal  are,  in  this  case, 
to  be  thoroughly  mixed  with  the  pulped  turnip  and  cut 
straw.  The  same  end  can  be  accomplished  by  giving  a 
moderate  feed  (say  50  lb)  of  sliced  roots  twice  a-day,  and 
four  hours  after  each  of  these  meals,  another,  consisting  of 
cut  straw,  cake,  and  meaL  In  this  case  the  chaff  and 
farinaceous  ingredients  should  be  mixed  and  cooked  by 
steam  in  a  close  vessel;  or  the  meal  can  be  boiled  in  an 
open  kettle,  with  water  enough  to  make  it  of  the  consistency 
of  gruel,  and  then  poured  over  the  chaff,  mixed  thoroughly 
with  itr,  and  allowed  to  lie  in  a  heap  for  two  or  three  houre 
before  it  is  served  out  to  the  cattle.  From  2  to  4  ft  of 
meal,  <fcc,  a-head  per  diem  is  enough  to  begin  with.  But 
as  the  fattening  process  goes  on  it  is  gradually  increased, 
and  may  rise  to  7  or  8  ft  during  the  last  month  before 
sending  to  market.  It  is  advisable  to  mix  with  the  cooked 
mess  about  2  ounces  of  salt  per  diem  for  each  bullock. 
An  important  recommendation  to  this  mode  of  preparing 
cattle  food  is,  that  it  enables  the  farmer  to  use  rape-cake 
freely ;  for  when  this  article  ik  reduced  to  a  coarse  powder, 
and  heated  to  the  boiling  point,  it  not  only  loses  its  acrid 
qualities,  but  acquires  a  smell  and  flavour  which  induce 
cattle  tcaat  it  greedily.  Moreover,  if  the  rape-seeds  should 
have  been  adulterated  with  those  of  wild  mustard  before 
going  to  tbe  crushing-mill  (as  not  unfrequently  bappenB), 


jflEEP.l 


A.  a  &  I  C  CT  L  T  U  R  E 


391 


ind  a  cake  is  thus  produced  which  in  its  raw  state  is 
poisonous- to  cattle,  it  has  been  ascertained  that  boiling 
deprives  such  spurious  cake  of  its  hurtful  qualities  and 
renders  it  safe  and  wholesome.  As  rape-cake  possesses 
fattening  elements  equal  to  those  of  linseed-cake,  and  can 
usually  be  bought  at  half  the  price,  it  is  well  worth  while 
to  have  recourse  to  a  process  by  which  it  can  so  easily  be 
rendered, a  palatable  and  nourishing  food  for  cattle. 

Fattening  cattle  are  usually  allowed  to  remain  in  the 
pastures  to.  a  later  date  in  autumn  than  is  profitable.  The 
pressure  of  harvest  work,  or  the  immature  state  of  his 
turnip  crop,  often  induces  the  farmer  to  delay  housing  his 
bullocks  until  long  after  they  have  ceased  to  make  progress 
on  grass.  They  may  still  have  a  full  bite  on  their  pastures ; 
but  the  lengthening  nights  and  lowering  temperature  lessen 
the  nutritive  quality  of  the  herbage,  and  arrest  the  further 
accumulation  of  fat  and  flesh.  The  hair  of  the  cattle  begins 
ilso  to  grow  rapidly  as  the  nights  get  -chilly,  and  causes 
ciiem  to-be  housed  with  rougher  coats  than  are  then  ex- 
pedient. To  avoid  these  evils  the  farmer  should  early  in 
August  begin  to  spread  on  the  pasture  a  daily  feed  of  green 
forage,  consisting  of  vetches,  peas,  and  beans  grown  in 
mixture  in  about  equal  proportions,  which  if  well  podded 
and  full  of  soft  pulse,  supplies  exactly  the  kind  of  food 
required  to  compensate  for  the  deteriorating  pasturage. 
Early  in  September  cabbages  and  white  globe  turnips  should 
be  given  on  the  pasture  in  lieu  of  the  green  forage.  After 
ten  days  or  so  of  this  treatment  they  should  be  transferred 
to  their  winter  quarters.  For  the  first  two  months  after 
they  go  into  winter  quarters  they  make  as  good  progress  on 
yellow  turnips  as  on  any  kind  of  roots ;  for  the  three 
following  months  well  stored' swedes  are  the  best  food  for 
them.;  and  from  the  beginning  of  March  until  the  end  of 
the  season,  mangolds  and  potatoes,  in  the  proportion  of 
four  parts  of  the  former  to  one  of  the  latter.  The  chaff 
of  wheat,  oats,  or  beans,  if  tolerably  free  from  dust,  is  quite 
is  suitable  as  cut  straw  for  mixing  with  the  pulped  roots 
and  cooked  food.  The  addition  of  a  small  quantity  of 
chopped  hay,  or  of  the  husks  of  kiln-dried  oats,  to  the 
other  food,  usually  induces  cattle  to  feed  more  eagerly.  In 
short,  the  animals  must  be  closely  watched,  and  occasional 
variations  made  in  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  food  i 
given  to  particular  individuals  or  of  the  general  lot  as  their  | 
circumstances  may  require.  Besides  the  food  given  in  the  ' 
manger  it  is  desirable  that  each  animal  should  receive  a 
daily  allowance  of  fresh  oat  straw  in  a  rack  to  which  he 
has  access  at  pleasure. 

A  better  appreciation  of  the  effects  of.  temperature  on  the 
animal  economy  has  of  late  years  exerted  a  beneficial  influ- 
ence upon  the  treatment  of  fattening  cattle.  Observant 
farmers  have  long  been  aware  'that  their  cattle,  when  kept 
dry  and  moderately  warm,  eat  less  and  thrive  faster  than 
under  opposite  conditions.  They  accounted  for  this  in  a 
vague  way  by  attributing  it  to  their  greater  comfort  in  such 
circumstances,  .ocientific  meu  have  now,  however,  showed 
us  that  a  considerable  portion  of  the  food-  consumed  by 
warm-blooded  animals  is  expended  in  maintaining  the 
natural  heat  of  their  bodies,  and  that  the  portion  of  food 
thus  disposed  of  is  dissipated  by  a  process  so  closely  an- 
alogous to  combustion  that  it  may  fitly  be  regarded  as  -so- 
much  fueL  The  fat  which,  in  favourable  circumstances, 
is  accumulated  in  their  bodies,  may  iD  like  manner  be 
regarded  as  a  store  of  this  fuel  laid  up  tor  future  emer- 
gencies. The  knowledge  of  this  fact  enables  us  to  under- 
stand how  largely  the  profit  to  be  derived  from  the  fattening 
of  cattle  is  dependent  upon  the  manner  in  which  they 
are  housed,  and  necessarily  forms  an  important  element  in 
determining  the  question  whether  yards,  stalls,  or  boxes 
are  best  adapted  for  this  pT^pose.  A  really  good  system 
of  housing  must  combine  the  folio  wing  conditions  : — 


1st,  Facilities  for  supplying  food  and  litter,  and  for  re- 
moving dung  with  tho  utmost  economy  of  iiine  and  labour, 

2d,  Complete  freedom  from  disturbance  , 

3d,  A  moderate  and  unvarying  degree  of  warmth  j 

4tn,  A  constant  supply  of  pure  air , 

5th,  Opportunity  for  the  cattle  having  a  slight  degre, 
of  exercise ;  and 

6th,  The  production  of  manure  of  the  best  quality. 

We  have  no  hesitation  in  expressing  our  opinion  that 
the  whole  of  these  conditions  are  attained  most  fully  by 
means  of  well-arranged  and  well-ventilated  boxes!  Stall; 
are  to  be  preferred  where  the  saving  of  litter  is  an  object, 
and  yards  for  the  rearing  of  young  cattle,  which  require 
more  exercise  than  is  suitable  for  fattening  stock.  These 
yards  are  now,  however,  in  the  most  improved  modem 
homesteads,  wholly  roofed  over,  and  thus  combine  the  good 
qualities  of  both  yard  and  box. 

CHAPTER  XVTL 

LITE  STOCK — SHEEP. 

When  Fitzherbert  so  long  ago  said,  "  Sheep  is  the  most 
prontablest  cattle  that  a  man  can  have,"  he  expressed  an 
opinion  in  which  agriculturists  of  the  present  day  fully 
concur.  But  if  this  was  true  of  the  flocks  of  •his  time, 
how  much  more  of  the  many  admirable  breeds  which  now 
cover  the  rich  pastures,  the  grassy  downs,  and  the  heath- 
clad  mountains  of  our  country. .  Their  flesh  is  in  high 
estimation  with  all  classes  of  the  community,  and  con- 
stitutes at  least  one-half  of  all  the  butcher  meat  consumed 
by  them.  Their  fleeces  supply  the  raw  material  for  one  of 
our  most  flourishing  manufactures.  They  furnish  to  the 
farmer  an  important  source  of  revenue,  and  the  readiest 
means  of  maintaining  the  fertility  of  his  fields. 

Section  1. — Breeds, 

The  distinct  breeds  and  sub-varieties  of  sheep  found  in 
Great  Britain  are  very  ifumerous.  We  have  no  intention 
of  describing  them  in  detail,  but  shall  confine  our  observa- 
tions to  those  breeds  which  by  common  consent  are  the 
most  valuable  for  their  respective  appropriate  habitats. 
They  may  be  fitly  classed  under  three  heads  — viz.,  the  heavy 
breeds  of  the  plains,  those  adapted  for  downs'  and  similai 
localities,  and  the  mountain  breeds. 

1st. — Heavy  Breeds. 

Of  the  first  class,  the  -improved  Leicesters  are  Btill  the 
most  important  to  the  country.  They  are  more  widely 
diffused  in-  the  kingdom  than  any  of  their  congeners. 
Although,  from  the  altered  taste  of  the  community,  their 
mutton  is  less  esteemed  than  formerly,  they  still  constitute 
the  staple  breed  of  the  midland  counties  of  England. 
Leicester  rams  are  also  more  in  demand  than  ever  foi 
crossing  with  other  breeds.  It  is  now  about  a  century 
since  this  breed  was  produced  by  the  genius  and  persever- 
ence  of  Bakewell,  in  whose  hands  they  attained  a  degree 
of  excellence  that  has  probably  not  yet  been  exceeded  hj 
the  many  who  have  cultivated  them  since  his  day.  Thf 
characteristics  of  this  breed  are  extreme  docility,  extra- 
ordinary aptitude  to  fatten,  and  the  early  age  at  which  they 
come  to  maturity.  The  most  marked  feature  in  their 
structure  is  the  smallness  of  their  heads,  and  of  their  bones 
generally,  as  contrasted  with  their  weight  of  carcase.  They 
are  clean  in  the  jaws,  with  a  full  eye,  thin  ears,  and  placid 
countenance.  Their  backs  are  straight,  broad,  and  flat, 
the  ribs  arched,  the  belly  carried  very  light,  so  that  the> 
present  nearly  as  straight  a  line  below  as  above ;  the  chest 
is"  wiuc.  the  skin  very  mellow,  and  covered  with  a  beautiful 
fieece  of  long,  soft  wool,  which  weighs  on  the  average  from 
6  to  7  It).      On    good  soils  and  under  careful  treatment 


392 


AGRICULTURE 


[live  stock — 


these  sheep  are  currently  brought  to  weigh  from  18  to  20 
lb  per  quarter  at  1 4  months  old,  at  which  age  they  are  now 
usually  slaughtered.  At  this  age  their  flesh  is  tender  and 
juicy ;  but  whon  feeding  is  carried  on  till  they  are  older  and 
heavier,  fat  accumulates  so  unduly  as  to  detract  from  the 
palatableness  and  market  value  of  the  mutton. 

Lincolns. — These  were  at  one  time  very  large,  ungainly  animals, 
with  an  immense  fleece  of  very  long  wool.  By  crossing  them  with 
the  Leicesters  the  character  of  the  breed  has  been  entirely  changed, 
and  very  greatly  for  the  better.  It  is  now,  in  fact,  a  sub-variety  of 
the  Leicester,  with  larger  frame  and  heavier  fleece  than  the  pure 
breed.  Their  wool,  however,  retains  its  distinctive  characteristics — 
viz.,  great  length  of  staple,  an  unctuous  feeling,  and,  in  particular, 
a  brightness  or  lustre  which  adds  largely  to  its  value.  Sheep  of 
this  kind  are  reared  in  immense  numbers  on  the  wolds  and  heaths  of 
Lincolnshire,  and  are  sold  when  about  a  vear  old  in  the  wool,  and  in 
very  forward  condition,  to  the  graziers  of  the  fens  and  marshes,  who 
ultimately  bring  them  to  very  great  weights. 

Cotswolds,  sometimes  called  Glo'sters  or  New  Oxfords,  are  also 
large  and  long-woolled  sheep,  with  good  figure  and  portly -gait. 
Great  improvement  has  been  effected  in  this  breed  during  the  last 
SO  years,  in  consequence  of  which  they  are  rising  rapidly  in  public 
estimation.  The  qualities  for  which  they  are  prized  are  their  hardi- 
ness, docility,  rapid  growth,  aptitude  to  fatten,  and  the  great  weight 
to  which  they  attain.  Their  chief  defect  is  that  they  yield  mutton 
somewhat  coarse  in  the  grain  and  with  an  undue  preponderance  of 
fat.  But  in  addition  to  their  great  merits  as  a  pure  breed  they  are 
especially  valuable  for  the  purpose  of  crossing  with  Downs  and  other 
short-wooUed  sheep.  Of  this  we  shall  speak  more  particularly  when 
we  come  to  notice  the  Cross-breeds. 

Tecsnoalers. — This  breed,  found  formerly  in  the  vale  of  the  Tees, 
ased  to  have  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  largest  and  heaviest 
of  our  native  breeds.  They  had  lighter  fleeces  than  the  old  Lincolns, 
■  but  greater  aptitude  to  fatten.  Like  them,  however,*they  have  been 
so  blended  with  Leicester  blood  as.to  have  lost  their  former  charac- 
teristics. As  now  met  with,  they  constitute  simply  a  sub-variety 
of  the  latter  breed. 

The  Kents  or  Romney  Marsh  Sheep,  are  another  distinct  long- 
woolled  breed  which  have  much  in  common  with  the  old  Lincolns, 
although  they  never  equalled  them  either  in  the  weight  or  quality 
of  their  fleece.  They  too  have  been  much  modified  by  a  largo 
infusion  of  Leicester  blood  ;  but  as  their  distinctive  qualities  fit  them 
well  for  a  bleak  and  humid  habitat,  there  is  now  an  aversion  to  risk 
these  by  further  crossing.  As  they  now  exist  they  are  a  great 
improvement  upon  the  old  breed  of  the  Kentish  marshes  ;  and  this, 
in  the  first  instance  at  least,  was  the  result  of  crossing  rather  than 
selection. 

2d. — Down  and  Forest  Breeds. 

The  breeds  peculiar  to  our  chalky  downs  and  other 
pastures  of  medium  elevation  next  claim  our  notice. 

Southdowns.— Not  long  after  Robert  Bakewell  had  begun,  with 
admirable  skill  and  perseverance,  to  bring  to  perfection  his  celebrated 
Leicesters,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  have  either  superseded  or  totally 
altered  the  character  of  all  the  heavy  breeds  of  the  country,  another 
breeder,  Mr  John  Ellman  of  Glynde,  in  Sussex,  equal  to  Bakewell 
in  judgment,  perseverance,  and  zeal,  and  wholly  devoid  of  his 
illiberal  prejudice  and  narrow  selfishness,  addressed  himself  to  the 
task  of  improving  the  native  sheep  of  the  downs,  and  succeeded  in 
bringing  them  to  as  great  perfection,  with  respect  to  early  maturity 
and  fattening  power,  as  they  are  perhaps  susceptible  of.  Like 
Bakewell,  he  early  began  the  practice  of  letting  out  rams  for  hire. 
These  were  soon  eagerly  sought  after,  and  the  qualities  of  his 
improved  flock  being  rapidlv  communicated  to  others,  the  whole  race 
of  down  sheep  has  more  or  less  become  assimilated  to  their  standard. 
These  improved  Southdowns  have,  in  fact,  been  to  all  the  old  forest 
and  other  fine-woolled  breeds  what  the  Leicesters  have  been  to  their 
congeners.  Many  of  them  have  entirely  disappeared,  and  others 
only  survive  in  those  modifications  of  the  improved  Southdown 
type  which  are  to  be  found  in  particular  localities.  These  down 
steep  possess  certain  well-marked  features  which  distinguish  them 
from  all  other  breeds.  They  have  a  close-set  fleece  of  fine  wool, 
weighing,  when  the  »T)im»1a  are  well  fed,  about  4  lb.  ;  their  faces 
and  legs  are  of  a  dusky  brown  colour,  their  neck  slightly  arched, 
their  limbs  short,  their  carcase  broad  and  compact,  their  offal  light, 
and  their  bnttocks  very  thick  and  square  behind.  They  are  less 
impatient  of  folding,  and  suffer  less  from  a  pasture  being  thickly 
stocked  with  them  than  any  other  breed  It  is  in  connection  with 
this  breed  that  the  practice  of  folding  as  a  means  of  manuring  the 
soil  is  so  largely  earned  out  in  the  chalk  districts  of  England.  It  is 
well  ascertained  that  the  injury  done  to  a  flock  by  this  practice 
exceeds  the  benefit  conferred  on  the  crops.  Now  that  portable 
manures  arc  80  abundant,  it  is  to  b*  hoped  that  this  pernicious 
practice  of  using  sheep  as  mere  muck  machines  will  be  everywhere 
abandoned. 


These  sheep  are  now  usually  classed  as  Sussex  Downs  and  Hamp- 
shire Downs,  the  former  being  the  most  refined  type  of  the  class, 
both  as  regards  wool  and  carcase,  and  the  latter,  as  compared  with 
them,  having  a  heavier  fleece,  stronger  bone,  and  somewhat  coarser 
and  larger  frame. 

The  Shropshire  sheep,  while  partaking  of  the  general  character- 
istics of  the  Southdown,  is  so  much  heavier  both  (in  fleece  and 
carcase,  and  is  altogether  so  much  more  robust  an  animal,  that  it  now 
claims  to  be  ranked  as  a  separate  breed.  The  qualities  just  referred 
to  as  distinguishing  it  from  other  downs  seem,  however,  to  be  the 
result  of  selection  rather  than  of  crossing  with  other  breeds,  and  tbu» 
the  Shropshire  sheep,  while  a  pure  down,  is  yet  of  so  distinct  a 
type  from  the  high-bred  "Southdown,"  that  it  is  well  entitled  to  be 
recognised  as  a  distinct  and  very  valuable  breed,  as  has  been  done 
by  the  Royal  Society,  which  now  assigns  it  a  separate  class  at  its- 
annual  meetings.  Shropshire  rams  are  eagerly  sought  after,  and 
many  breeders  of  eminence  in  that  county  nave  now  their  annual 
sales  of  these  animals. 

These  breeds  are  peculiarly  adapted  for  all  those  parts  of  England 
where  low  grassy  hills  occur,  interspersed  with,  or  in  proximity  to, 
arable  land.  In  such  situations  they  are  prolific,  hardy,  and  easily 
fattened  at  an  early  age.  It  is  to  their  peculiar  adaptation'-for  cross- 
ing with  the  long-woolled  breeds  that  they  are  indebted  for  their 
recent  and  rapid  extension  to  other  districts. 

Dorsets. — This  breed  has  from  time  immemorial  been  naturalised 
in  the  county  of  Dorset  and  adjacent  parts.  They  are  a  white-faced, 
horned  breed,  with  fine  wool,  weighing  about  4  lb  per  fleece.  They 
are  a  hardy  and  docile  race  of  sheep,  of  good  size,  and  fair  quality 
of  mutton.  But  the  property  which  distinguishes  them  from  every 
other  breed  in  Great  Britain  is  the  fecundity  of  the  ewes,  and  their 
readiness  to  receive  the  male  at  an  early  season.  They  have 
even  been  known  ta  yean,  twice  in  the  same  year.  Being,  in  addition 
to  this,  excellent  nurses,  they  have  long  been  in  use  for  rearing 
house  lamb  for  the  London  market.  For  this  purpose  the  rams  are 
put  to  them  early  in  June,  so  that  the  lambs  are  brought  forth  in 
October,  and  are  ready  for  market  by  Christmas.  But  for  this 
peculiarity,  they  would  ere  now  have  shared  the  fate  of  bo  many 
other  native  breeds,  which  have  given  place  either  to  the  Leicester* 
or  Southdowns,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  pastures.  So  long, 
however,  as  the  rearing  of  early  house  lamb  is  found  profitable,  there- 
is  a  sufficient  inducement  to  preserve  the  Dorset  breed  in  their  purity, 
as  they  are  unique  in  their  property  of  early  yeaning. 

3d. — Mountain  Breeds. 

Cheviots. — As  wo  approach  and  cross  the  Scottish  border  we  find 
a  range  of  hills  covered  with  coarser  herbage  than  the  chalky  downs 
of  the  south,  and  with  a  climate  considerably  more  rigorous.  Here- 
the  Southdown  sheep  have  been  tried  with  but  indifl'ercnt  success. 
This,  however,  is  not  to  be  regretted,  seeing  that  the  native  Cheviot 
breed  rivals  them  in  most  of  their  good  qualities,  and  possesses  in. 
addition  a  hardihood  equal  to  the  necessities  of  the  climate.  This 
breed,  besides  occupying  the  grassy  hills  of  the  border  counties,  ia 
now  found  in  great  force  in  the  north  and  west  Highlands  of  Scot- 
land. In  the  counties  of  Sutherland  and  Caithness,  where  they 
were  introduced  by  the  late  Sir  John  Sinclair,  they  have  thriven 
amazingly,  and  in  the  hands  of  some  spirited  breeders  have  attained 
to  as  great  perfection'  as  in  their  native  district.  During  the  last 
30  years  this  breed  has  undergone  very  great  improvement  in  size, 
figure,  weight  of  fleece,  and  aptitude  to  fatten.  In  proof  of  this,  it 
is  enough  to  mention  that  Cheviot  wether  lambs  are  now  in  the 
border  counties  brought  to  market  when  weaned,  and  are  transferred 
to  the  low  country  graziers,  by  whom  they  are  sent  fat  to  the  butcher 
at  sixteen  months  old,  weighing  then  from  1 6  to  1 8  lb  per  quarter. 
This  is  particularly  the  case  in  Cumberland,  where  Cheviot  lambs' 
are  preferred  to  all  other  breeds  by  the"  low-country  farmers,  by 
whom  they  are  managed  with  great  skill  and  success.  It  is  not  at 
all  unusual  with  them  to  realise  an  increase  of  from  20s.  to  25s.  per 
head  on  the  purchase  price  of  these  lambs,  after  a  twelvemonth's 
keep.  This  fact  is  peculiarly  interesting  from  the  proof  which  it 
affords  of  a  hitherto  unsuspected  capacity  in  Cheviots,  and  probably 
in  other  upland  breeds,  to  attain  to  a  profitaUe  degree  of  fatness  and 
weight  of  carcase  at  almost  as  early  an  age  as  the  lowland  breeds 
when  the  same  attention  and  liberal  feeding  is  bestowed  upon  them. 
There  is  no  breed  equally  well  adapted  for  elevated  pastures,  con- 
sisting of  the  coarser  grasses  with  a  mixture  of  heath  ;  but  when- 
ever, from  the  nature  of  the  soil  or  greater  elevation,  the  heaths  un- 
mistakably predominate,  a  still  hardier  race  is  to  be  preferred,  viz.  — 

The  Blackfaced  or  Heath  Breed.— They  are  accordingly  found  on 
the  mountainous  parts  of  Yorkshire,  Lancashire,  Cumberland,  and 
Westmoreland  ;  over  the  whole  of  the  Lammermuir  range,  the  upper 
part  of  Lanarkshire,  and  generally  over  the  H  ighlands  of  Scotland. 
Both  male  and  female  of  this  breed  have  horns,  which  in  the  former 
are  very  large  and  spirally  twisted.  The  face  and  legs  are  black  or 
specked  with  black,  with  an  occasional  tendency  to  this  colour  on, 
tne  fleece  ;  but  there  is  nothing  of  the  brown  or  russet  colour  which 
distinguishes  the  down  breeds.     The  choicest  flocks  of  these  sheep 


VOL.  I. 


AGRICULTURE 


plate  ra. 


to misTnoir  ewe 

Bred  by.  and.  the  Property  of Jif  Thomas  £Uict£.  Hyndkope-  Roxburghshire- 


YEK  MLAOS-FASEB  BIEMII  BEEED 

One  Year  Old 

Bred  by  }T Thomas  Robertson.  Brooirt/ec.  GjuytyoffietoUs 
Capiat  hj  permutuin  fhjttt  PrnfesscrU***  ttese/tpaoi  of  breeds  of Dotnesaisted  .irwmls 
ENCYCLOPEDIA.    BRITANNICA,    NINTH    EDITION. 


VOL.  I. 


AGRICULTURE 


plats  vm. 


■do" 


^W  ty  <z/i^  iA*  flvpera  of  iVDu/ujuo*   Magdalen*  Ha/L  JiaxburytuAist. 


L  IB  E  <C  IE  §  "EIE  1.  BWIS 

^/T-rf  dy  aAtf  (A*  fhperey  of  AT  Carpel/tori  son.  ffayTrtoun/  ftaxt>ary/L&m 
ENCYCLOPEDIA     BRUANNtCA.    NINTH    EDITION 


SHEEP.  1 


AGRICULTURE 


393 


are  found  in  Lanarkshire  and  in  the  Lammermuirs,  where  consider- 
able pains  are  now  bestowed  on  their  improvement.  Their  chief 
defects  are  coarseness  of  fleece  and  slowness  of  fattening  until  their 
growth  is  matured.  In  most  flocks  the  wool,  besides  being  open 
and  coarse  in  the  staple,  is  mixed  with  Jcemps  or  hairs,  which  detract 
from  its  value.  Rams  with  this  defect  are  now  carefully  avoided 
by  the  best  breeders,  who  prefer  those  with  black  faces,  a  mealy 
mouth,  a  slight  tuft  of  fine  wool  on  the  forehead,  horns  fiat,  not 
very  large,  and  growing  well  out  from  the  head,  with  a  thickset 
fleece  oflong,  wavy,  white  wool.  Greater  attention  is  now  also  being 
paid  to  their  improvement  in  regard  to  fattening  tendency  ;  in  which 
respect  we  do  not  despair  of  seeing  them  brought  nearer  to  a  par 
with  other  improved  breeds.  Whenever  this  is  accomplished  we 
shall  possess  in  the  breeds  now  enumerated,  and  their  crosses,  the 
means  of  converting  the  produce  of  our  fertile  plains,  grassy  downs, 
rough  upland  pastures,  and  heath-clad  mountains,  into  wool  and 
mutton  of  the  best  quality,  and  with  the  utmost  economy  of  which 
the  circumstances  admit. 

In  the  higher  grounds  of  Cumberland,  and  also  in  'Westmoreland, 
Lancashire,  and  part3  of  Yorkshire,  two  varieties  of  the  heath  breed 
of  sheep  are  found,  viz.,  Herdwicks  and  Lonks — which,  witha  general 
resemblance  to  the  blackfaced  Highland  breed,  differ  from  it  in 
having  a  close-set  fleece  of  fine  soft  wool.  They  are  sometimes  de- 
scribed by  saying  that  they  have  ' '  the  fleece  of  a  Cheviot  on  the  car- 
case of  a  Highlander  ;"  but  the  Herdwicks  are  so  small,  and  both 
breeds  are  so  inferior  to  the  blackfaced  in  aptitude  to  fatten,  that 
they  are  losing  ground  in  their  native  districts,  where  the  blackfaces 
are  spreading  rapidly,  being  in  great  repute  for  breeding  ^crosses  to 
long-woolled  rams. 

4th. — Crois-Breedt. 

We  have  thus  enumerated  the  most  important  of  our 
pure  breeds  of  sheep,  but  our  list  would  be  defeotive  were 
we  to  omit  those  cross-breeds  which  are  acquiring  increased 
importance  every  day.  With  the  extended  cultivation  of 
turnips  and  other  green  crops  there  has  arisen  an  increased 
demand  for  sheep  to  consume  them.  Flockmasters  in 
upland  districts,  stimulated  by  this  demand,  happily  be- 
thought them  of  putting  rams  of  the  improved  low-country 
breeds  to  their  Cheviot  ewes,  when  it  was  discovered  that 
the  lamb3  produced  from  this'  cross,  if  taken  to  the  low 
country  as  soon  as  weaned,  could  be  fattened  nearly  as 
quickly,  and  brought  to  nearly  as  good  weights,  as  the 
pure  low-country  breeds.  The  comparatively  low  prime 
cost  of  these  cross-bred  lambs  is  a  farther  recommendation 
to  the  grazier,  who  finds  also  that  their  mutton,  partaking 
at  once  of  the  fatness  of  the  one  parent  and  of  the  juiciness, 
high  flavour,  and  larger  proportion  of  lean  flesh  of  the 
other,  is  more  generally  acceptable  to  consumers  than  any 
other  kind,  and  can  always  be  sold  at  the  best  price  of  the 
day.  The  wool,  moreover,  of  these  crosses,  being  at  once 
long  and  fine  in  the  staple,  is  peculiarly  adapted  for  the 
manufacture  of  a  class  of  fabrics  now  much  in  demand,  anol 
brings  in  consequence  the  best  price  of  any  British-grown 
wooL  The  individual  fleeces,  from  being  close  set  in  the 
pile,  weigh  nearly  as  much  as  those  of  the  pure  Leicesters. 
On  all  these  accounts,  therefore,  the3e  sheep  of  mixed  blood 
have  risen  rapidly  in  public  estimation,  and  are  produced 
in  ever-increasing  numbers.  This  is  accomplished  in  several 
ways.  The  occupiers  of  uplying  grazings  in  some  cases 
keep  part  of  their  ewe  flock  pure,  'and  breed  crosses  from 
another  part.  They  sell  the  whole  of  their  cross-bred 
lambs,  and  get  as  many  females  from  the  other  portion  as 
keeps  up  the  number  of  their  breeding  flock.  This  system 
of  crossing  cannot  be  pursued  on  the  most  elevated  farms, 
as  ewes  bearing  these  heavier  crossed  lambs  require  better 
fare  than  when  coupled  with  rams  of  their  own  raee.  The 
surplus  ewe  lambs  from  such  high-lying  grazings  are  an 
available  source  of  supply  to  those  of  a  lower  range,  and 
are  eagerly  sought  after  for  this  purpose..  Others,  however, 
take  a  bolder  course.  Selecting  a  few  of  the  cjjpicest  pure 
Cheviot  ewes  which  they  can  find,  and  putting  these  to  a 
first-rate  Leicester  ram,  they  thus  obtain  a  supply  of  cams 
of  the  first  cross,  and  putting  these  to  ewes,  also  of  the  first 
cross,  manage  in  this  way  to  have  their  entire  flock  half- 
jred,  and  to  go  on  continuously  with  their  own  stock. 


without  advancing  beyond  a  first  cross.  They,  however, 
never  keep  rams  from  such  crossed  parentage,  but  always 
select  them  from  the  issue  of  parents  each  genuine  of  their 
respective  races.  We  know  several  large  farms  on  which 
flocks  of  crosses  betwixt  the  Cheviot  ewe  and  Leicester  ram 
have  been  maintained  in  this  way  for  many  years  with 
entire  success ;  and  one  at  least  in  which  a  similar  cross 
with  Southdown  ewe3  has  equally  prospered.  Many,  how- 
ever, prefer  buying  in  females  of  this  first  crossK  and 
coupling  them  again  with  pure  Leicester  rams.  In  one  or 
other  of  these  ways  cross-bred  flocks  are  increasing  on 
every  sida  So  much  has  the  system  spread  in  Berwick- 
shire, that  whereas,  in  our  memory,  pure  Leicesters  were 
the  prevailing  breed  of  the  county,  they  are  now  confined 
to  a  few  ram-breeding  flocks.  The  cross-breed  in  best 
estimation  in  England  is  that  betwixt  the  Cotswold  and 
Southdown,  which  is  in  such  high  repute  that  it  is  virtually 
established  as  a  separate  breed  under  the  name  of  Oxford 
Downs.  In  Scotland  the  cross  betwixt  the  Leicester  ram  and 
Cheviot  ewe  is  that  which  seems  best  adapted  to  the  climate 
and  other  conditions  of  the  country,  and  is  that  accordingly 
which  is  most  resorted  to  on  farms  a  portion  of  which  is  in 
tillage.  On  higher  grounds  a  cross  betwixt  the  Cheviot  ram 
and  blackfaced  ewe  is  in  good  estimation,  and  has  been 
extending  considerably  in  recent  ysws.  This  cross-breed 
seems  to  equal  the  pure  blackfaced  in  hardiness,  and  is  of 
considerably  greater  value  both,  in  fleece  and  carcase. 
This  cross-breed  is  known  by  thooame  of  Halflangs.  As 
in  the  case  of  the  Leicester-Cheviot  ewes,  flocks  are  main- 
tained by  using  rams  of  the  cross-breed. 

Section  2. — ^Management  of  Lowland  Sheep. 

As  the  management  of  sheep  is  influenced  mainly  by  the> 
nature  of  the  lands  upon  which  they  are  kept,  we  shall 
first  describe  the  practice  of  Lowland  flockmasters,  and 
afterwards  that  pursued  on  Highland  sheep-walks. 

On  arable  farms,  where  turnips  are  grown  and  a  breeding 
stock  of  sheep  regularly  kept,  it  is  usual  to  wean  the  lambs 
about  the  middle  of  July.  When  this  has  been  done,  the 
aged  and  faulty  ewes  are  drafted  out,  and  put  upon  good 
aftermath  or  other  succulent  food,  that  they  may  be  got 
ready  for  market  as  soon  as  possible.  In  many  districts  it 
is  the  practice  to  take  but  three  crops  of  lambs  from  each 
ewe.  A  third  part  of  the  breeding  flock — viz.,  the  four- 
year-old  ewes — is  thus  drafted  off  every  autumn,  and  their 
places  supplied  by  the  introduction  of  a  corresponding 
number  of  the  best  of  the  ewe-lambs  of  the  preceding  year's 
crop.  These  cast  or  draft  ewes  are  then  sold  to  the  occu- 
piers of  richer  soils  in  populous  districts,  who  keep  then 
for  another  season  to  feed  fat  lambs.  Such  parties  buy  in 
a  fresh  stock  of  ewes  every  autumn,  and,  as  they  phrase  it, 
"  feed  lamb  and  dam."  In  other  cases  the  ewes  are  kept 
as  long  as  their  teeth  continue  sound,  and  after  that  they 
are  fattened  and  sold  to  the  butcher  directly  from  the  farm 
on  which  they  have  been  reared.  When  the  ewes  that  are 
retained  for  breeding  stock  have  been  thus  overhauled,  they 
are  put  to  the  worst  pasture  on  the  farm,  and  run  rather 
thickly  upon  it.  Attention  is  necessary,  for  some  dayB 
after  weaning,  to  see  that  noneof  them  suffer  from  gorging 
of  the  udder.  When  it  appears  very  turgid  in  any  of  them, 
they  are  caught  and  partially  milked  by  hand ;  but  usually 
the  change  to  poorer  pasturage,  aided  by  their  restlessness 
and  bleating  for  want  of  their  lambs,  at  once  arrests  the 
flow  of  milk.'  The  time  of  admitting  the  ram  is  regulateo 
by  the  purpose  for  which  the  flock  is  kept,  and  by  the  date 
at  which  fresh  green  food  can  be  reckoned  upon  in  spring 
When  the  produco  is  to  be  disposed  of  as  fat  lambs,  it  L 
of  course  an  object  to  have  them  early ;  but  for  a  holding 
stock,  to  be  reared  and  fattened  at  fourteen  to  sixteen 


304 


AGRICULTU  11  £ 


[uVK  STOCS.->, 


months  old,  from  20th  September  to  20th  October,  accord- 
ing to  the  climate  of  tho  particular  locality,  is  a  usual  time 
for  admitting  rams  to  ewes.  A  few  weeks  beforo  this 
takes  place  tho  ewes  are  removed  from  bare  pasture,  and 
put  on  the  freshest  that  the  farm  affords,  or,  better  still,  on 
rape ;  failing  which  one  good  feed  of  white  turnips  per 
diem  is  carfed  and  spread  on  their  pastures,  or  the  ewes 
are  folded  for  part  of  the  day  on  growing  turnips.  The 
rams  are  turned  in  amongst  them  just  when-this  better 
fare  has  begun  to  tell  in  their  improving  appearance,  as  it 
is  found  that  in  such  circumstances  they  come  in  heat 
more  rapidly,  and  with  a  greatly  increased  likelihood  of 
conceiving  twins.  On  level  ground,  and  with  modorate- 
tdzed  enclosures,  one  ram  suffices  for  sixty  ewes  ;  but  it  is 
bad  economy  "to  overtask  the  rams,  and  one  to  forty  ewes 
is  better  practice.  Sometimes  a  large  lot  of  ewes  are  kept 
in  one  flock,  and  several  rams,  at  the  above  proportion, 
turned  among  them  promiscuously.  It  is  better,  however, 
when  they  can  be  placed  in  separate  lots.  The  breasts  of 
tho  rams  are  rubbed  with  ruddle,  that  the  shepherd  may 
know  what  they  are  about.  Those  who  themselves  breed 
rams,  or  others  who  hire  in  what  they  use  at  high  prices, 
have  recourse  to  a  different  plan  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
more  service  from  each  male,  and  of  knowing  exactly  when 
each  ewe  may  be  expected  to  lamb ;  and  also  of  putting 
each  ewe  to  the  ram  most  suitable  to  her  in  point  of  size, 
figure,  and  quality  of  flesh  and  fleece.  The  rams  in  this 
case  are  kept  in  pens  in  a  small  enclosure.  What  is  techni- 
cally called  a  teaser  is  turned  among  the  general  flock  of 
ewes,  which,  on  being  seen  to  be  in  heat,  are  brought  up 
and  put  to  the  ram  that  is  selected  for  them.  They  are 
then  numbered,  and  a  note  kept  of  the  date,  or  othei  (vise 
a  common  mark,  varied  for  each  successive  week,  is  put  on 
all  as  they  come  up.  The  more  usual  practice  is  to  mark 
the  breast  of  the  ram  with  ruddle,  as  already  described,  for 
the  first  seventeen  days  that  they  are  among  the  ewes — 
that  being  the  time  of  the  periodic  recurrence  of  the  heat 
— and  then  to  use  soot  instead.  When  lambing-time 
draws  near,  the  red-rumped  ewes,  or  those  that  conceived 
from  the  first  copulation,  are  brought  into  the  fold,  and 
the  remainder  after  the  lapse  of  the  proper  interval.  If 
all  goes  on  well,  six  weeks  is  long  enough  for  the  rams  to 
remain  with  the  flock.  The  ewes  are  then  put  to  more 
moderate  fare,  taking  care,  however,  not  to  pinch  them, 
but  to  preserve  the  due  medium  betwixt  fatness  and 
poverty.  Under  the  first-mentioned  extreme  there  is 
great  risk  of  losing  both  ewe  and  Iamb  at  the  time  of 
parturition ;  and  under  the  second,  of  the  ewe  shedding 
her  wool,  and  being  unable  to  nourish  her  lamb  properly 
either  before  its  birth  or  after.  When  there  is  a  consider- 
able breadth  of  grass-land,  the  grit  or  in-lamb  ewes  are  run 
thinly  upon  it  so  long  as  the  weather  continues  moderate. 
As  the  pasturage  fails  or  winter  weather  sets  in,  they 
receive  a  daily  feed  of  turnips  or  hay,  or  part  of  both.  In 
districts  where  the  four-course  rotation  is  pursued,  and 
wheat  sown  after  seeds,  there  is  a  necessity  for  keeping  tho 
swes  wholly  on  turnips  and  chopped  hay  or  straw.  In 
this  case  they  are  made  to  follow  the  fattening  sheep,  and 
to  eat  up  their  scraps,  an  arrangement  which  is  suitable 
for  both  lots.  A  recently-introduced  practice  is  better 
still — namely,  to  feed  the  ewes  at  this  season  on  a  mixture 
of  one  part  by  measure  of  pulped  turnips  or  mangel-wurzel 
to  two  of  chopped  straw,  which  is  served  out  to  them  in 
troughs  set  down  in  their  pastures.  From  the  large 
quantity  of  straw  which  ewes  are  thus  induced  to  eat,  they 
can  be  allowed  to  take  their  fill  of  this  mixture,  and  bo 
kept  in  a  satisfied  and  thriving  state  with  a  very  moderate 
allowance  of  roots.  As  their  time  to  lamb  draws  near,  the 
mess  should  be  made  more  nourishing  by  adding  to  it 
ground  r^pe-cake,  beaa-meal,  and  bran,  at  the  rate  of 


from  Jth  to  Jd  of  a  pound  of  each  of  these  articles  to  each 
ewe  daily. 

The  period  of  gestation  in  the  ewe  is  twenty-one  weeks. 
No  lambs  that  are  born  more  than  twelve  days  short  ol 
this  period  survive.  Before  any  lambs  are  expected  to 
arrive  a  comfortable  fold  is  provided,  into  which  either  the 
entire  flock  of  ewes,  or  those  that  by  their  markings  are 
known  to  lamb  first,  are  brought  every  night.  This  fold, 
which  may  either  be  a  permanent  erection  or  fitted  up 
annually  for  the  occasion,  is  provided  all  round  with 
separate  pens  or  cribs  of  size  enough  to  accommodate  a 
single  ewe  with  her  lamb  or  pair.  The  pasture  or  turnip 
fold  to  which  the  flock  is  turned  by  day  is  also  furnished 
with  several  temporary  but  well-sheltered  cribs,  for  the 
reception  of  such  ewes  as  lamb  during  the  day.  It  is  of 
especial  consequence  that  ewes  producing  twins  be  at  once 
consigned  to  a  separate  apartment,  as,  if  left  in  the  crowd, 
they  frequently  lose  sight  of  one  lamb,  and  may  refuse  to 
own  it  when  restored  to  them,  even  after  a  very  short 
separation.  Some  ewes  will  make  a  favourite  of  one  lamb, 
and  wholly  repudiate  the  other,  even  when  due  tare  has 
been  taken  to  keep  them  together  from  the  first.  In  this- 
caso  the  favourite  must  either  be  separated  from  her  or  be 
muzzled  with  a  piece  of  network,  to  prevent  it  from  getting 
more  than  its  share  of  the  milk  in  the  shepherd's  absence. 
Indeed  the  maternal  affection  seems  much  dependent  on 
the  flow  of  milk,  as  ewes  with  a  ■  well-filled  udder  seldom 
trouble  the  shepherd  by  such  capricious  partialities.  As 
soon  as  the  lambs  have  got  fairly  afcot,  their  dams  are 
turned  with  them  into  the  most  forward  piece  of  seeds,  or 
to  rape,  rye,  winter-oats,  or  water-meadow,  the  great  point 
being  to  have  abundance  of  succulent  green  food  for  the 
ewes  as  soon  as  they  lamb.  Without  this  they  cannot  yield 
milk  abundantly,  and  without  plenty  of  milk  it  is  im 
possible  to  have  good  lambs.  It  is  sometimes  necessary  to 
aid  a  lamb  that  has  a  poor  nurse  with  cow's  milk.  This  is 
at  best  a  poor  alternative  ;  but  if  it  must  be  resorted  to, 
it  is  only  the  milk  of  a  farrow  cow,  or  at  least  of  one  thai 
has  been  calved  six  months,  that  is  at  all  fit  for  this  pur- 
pose. To  give  the  milk  of  a  recently-calved  cow  to  a  young 
lamb  is  usually  equivalent  to  knocking  it  on  the  head. 
Ewe  milk  is  poor  in  butter,  but  very  rich  in  curd,  which 
is  known  to  be  also  in  a  measure  the  character  of  that 
of  cows  that  have  been  long  calved  and  are  not  again 
pregnant  We  have  found  the  Aberdeen  yellow  bullock 
turnip  the  best  for  pregnant  and  nursing  ewes.  Mangel- 
wurzel  is  much  approved  of  by  the  flockmasters  of  the 
southern  counties  for  the  same  purpose.  It  is  of  impor- 
tance at  this  season  to  remove  at  once  from  the  fold  and 
pens  all  dead  lambs,  and  filth  of  every  kind,  the  presence 
of  putrefying  matter  being  most  hurtful  to  the  flock. 
Should  a  case  of  puerperal  fever  occur,  the  shepherd  must 
scrupulously  avoid  touching  the  ewe  so  affected  ;  or  if  he 
has  done  so,  some  one  should  take  his  accoucheur  duties 
for  a  few  days,  as  this  deadly  malady  is  highly  contagiouc, 
and  is  often  unconsciously  communicated  to  numbers  of 
the  flock  by  the  shepherd's  hands.  Unnecessary  inter- 
ference with  ewes  during  parturition  is  much  to  be  depre- 
cated. When  the  presentation  is  all  right,  it  is  best  to 
leave  them  as  much  as  possible  to  their  natural  efforts. 
When  a  false  presentation  does  occur,  the  shepherd  must 
endeavour  to  rectify  it  by  gently  introducing"  his  hand  after 
first  lubricating  it  with  fresh  lard  or  olive-oil  The  less 
dogging  or  disturbance  of  any  kind  that  ewes  receive  during 
pregnancy  the  less  risk  is  there  of  unnatural  presentations. 
As  soon  as  lambs  are  brought  forth  tho  shepherd  must 
give  them  suck.  When  they  have  once  got  a  bellyful,  and 
are  protected  from  wet  or  excessive  cold  for  two  or  three 
days,  there  is  no  fear  of  their  taking  harm  from  ordinary 
weather,  provided  only  that  the  ewes  have  plenty  ci  suitr 


SHEEP.] 


AGRICULTURE 


395 


able  food.  Lanibs  are  castrated,  docked,  and  ear-marked, 
with  least  risk  when  about  ten  days  old.  Ewes  with  lambs 
must  have  good  and  clean  pasturage  throughout  the  sum- 
mer. .For  this  purpose  they  must  either  be  run  thinly 
among  cattle  or  have  two  or  more  "enclosures,  one  of  which 
may  always  be  getting  clean  and  fresh  for  their  reception 
as  the  other  gets  bare  and  soiled.  We  have  not  found  any 
advantage  in  allowing  lambs  yeaned  in  March  to  run  with 
their  dams  beyond  20th  July.  A  clover  eddish  or  other 
perfectly  clean  pasture  i3  the  most  suitable  for  newly- 
weaned  lambs.  Such  as  abound  in  tath,  as  it  is  called  in 
Scotland — that  is,  rank  herbage  growing  above  the  drop- 
pings of  sheep  or  other  animals — are  peculiarly  noxious  to 
them.  Folding  upon  rape  or  vetches  suits  them  admirably, 
so  that  fresh  supplies  are  given  regularly  as  required. 
Sheep,  when  folded  on  green  rye  or  vetches,  require  a  good 
deal  of  water,  and  will  not  thrive  unless  this  is  supplied  to 
them. 

All  sheep  are  liable  to  be  infested  with  certain  vermin, 
especially  "fags"  or  "kaids"  (Melopfiagus  ovinus)  and 
lice.  To  rid  them  of  these  parasites  various  means  are 
resorted  to.  Some  farmers  use  mercurial  ointment, 
which  is  applied  by  parting  the  wool,  and  then  with  the 
finger  rubbing  the  ointment  on  the  skin,  in  three  or  four 
longitudinal  seams  on  each  side,  and  a  few  shorter  ones  on 
the  neck,  belly,  legs,  &c.  Those  who  use  this  salve  dress 
their  lambs  with  it  immediately  after  shearing  their  ewes, 
and  again  just  before  putting  them  on  turnips.  More 
frequently  the  sheep  are  immersed,  all  but  their  heads,  in 
a  bath  in  which  arsenic  and  other  ingredients  are  dissolved. 
On  being  Lifted  out  of  the  bath,  the  animal  is  laid  on  spars, 
over  a  shallow  vessel  so  placed  that  the  superfluous  liquor, 
as  it  is  wrung  out  of  the  fleece,  flows  back  into  the  bath. 
If  this  is  done  when  the  ewes  are  newly  shorn,  the  liquor 
goes  farther  than  when  the  process  is  deferred  until  the 
lambs  are  larger  and  their  wool  longer.  It  is  a  good  practice 
to  souse  the  newly-shorn  ewes,  and  indeed  the  whole  flock 
at  the  same  time,  in  a  similar  bath,  so  as  to  rid  them  all 
of  vermin.1 

As  turnips  constitute  the  staple  winter  fare  of  sheep,  it 
is  necessary  to  have  a  portion  of  these  sown  in  time  to  be 
fit  for  use  m  September.  Young  sheep  always  show  a 
reluctance  to  take  to  this  very  succulent  food,  and  should 
therefore  be  put  upon  it  so  early  in  autumn  that  they  may 
get  thoroughly  reconciled  to  it  while  the  weather  is  yet 
temperate.  Rape  or  cabbage  suits  admirably  as  tran- 
6itionaiy  food  from  grass  to  turnips.  When  this  trans- 
ference from  summer  to  winter  fare  is  well  managed,  they 
usually  make  rapid  progress  during  October  and  November. 
Some  farmers  recommend  giving  the  hoggets,  as  they  are 
now  called,  a  daily  run  off  from  the  turnip-fold  to  a  neigh- 
bouring pasture  for  the  first  few  weeks  after  their  being 
put  to  this  diet.  We  have  found  it  decidedly  better  to 
keep  them  steadily  in  the  turnip-fold  from  the  very  first. 
When  they  are  once  taught  to  look  for  thi°,  daily  enlarge- 
ment, they  become  impatient  for  it,  and  do  not  settle  quietly 
to  their  food.  If  possible,  not  more  than  200  should  be 
kept  in  one  lot.  The  youngest  and  weakest  sheep  should 
also  have  a  separate  berth  and  more  generous  treatment 
Turnips  being1  a  more  watery  food  than  saeep  naturally 
feed  upon,  there  is  great  advantage  in-  giv-ng  them  from 
the  first,  along  with  turnips,  a  liberal  allowance  of  clover 
hay  cut  into  half-inch  chaff.  When  given  in  this  form,  in 
suitable  troughs  and  in  regular  feeds,  they  will  eat  up  the 
whole  without  waste,  and  be  greatly  the  better  for  it     To 

1  The  mercurial  and  arsenical  salves  and  washes  commonly  in  use 
are  believed  often  to  have  a  hortfol  effect  on  the  health  of  the  flocks 
to  which  they-  are  applied,  and  have  sometimes  caused  very  serious 
losses.  Having  used  Ma<-d^u£raU's  dip  (a  preparation  of  carbolic  acid; 
Cor  mar-y  v^ws  ""  <"an  testify  to  its  efficacy  and  safety. 


economise  the  hay,  equal  parts  of  good  oat  straw  may  to 
cut  up»with  it,  and  will  be  readily  eaten  by  the  flock.     A 
liberal  supply  of  this  dry  food  corrects  the  injurious  effects 
which  are  so  often  produced  by  feeding  sheep  on  turnips 
alone,  and  at  the  same  time  lessens  the  consumption  of  the 
green  food.     We  believe  also  that  there  is  true  economy  in 
early  beginning  to  give  them  a  small  daily  allowance,  say 
I  lb  each,  of  cake  or  corn.     This  is  more  especially  desir- 
able when  sheep  are  folded  on  poor  soil     The  extraneous 
food  both  supplies  the  lack  of  nutrition  in  the  turnips  and 
fertilises   the  soil  for  bearing  succeeding  crops.     An  im- 
mense improvement  has  been  effected  in  the  winter  feeding 
of  sheep  by  the  introduction  of  machines  for  slicing  turnips. 
Some  careful  farmers  slice  the  whole  of  the  turnips  used 
by  their  fattening  sheep,  of  whatever  age ;  but  usually  the 
practice  is  restricted  to  hoggets,  and  only  resorted  to  for 
them  when  their  milk-teeth  begin  to  fail.     In  the  latter 
case  the  economy  of  the  practice  does  not  admit  of  debate. 
When  Mr  Pusey  states  the  difference  in  value  between 
hoggets  that  have  had  their  turnips  sliced  and  others  that 
have  not,  at  8s.  per  head  in  favour  of  the  former  from  this 
cause  alone,  we  do  not  think  that  he  over-estimates  the 
benefit.     Those  who  slice  turnips  for  older  sheep,  and  for 
hoggets  abo  as  soon  as  ever  they  have  taken  to  them,  are, 
we  suspect,  acting  upon  a  sound  principle,  and  their  ex- 
ample is  therefore  likely  to  be  generally  followed.     There 
is  no  doubt  of  this  at  least,  that  hoggets  frequently  lose 
part  of  the  flesh  which  they  had  already  gained  from  the 
slicing   of  the   turnips   being  unduly  delayed.     By   1st 
December  their  first  teeth,  although  not  actually  gone 
have  become  so  inefficient  that  they  require  longer  time 
and  greater  exertion  to  feed  their  fill  than  before;  and 
this,  concurring  with  shorter  days  and   colder  Weather, 
-operates  much  to  their  prejudice.     When  the  slicing  is 
begun,  it  is  well  to  leave  a  portion  of  growing  turnips  in 
each  day's  fold,  as  there  are  always  some  timid  sheep  in  a 
lot  that  never  come  freely  to  the  troughs ;  and  they  serve, 
moreover,  to  occupy  the  lot  during  moonlight  nights,  and 
at  other  times  when  the  troughs  cannot  be  instantly  re- 
plenished.    As  the  sheep  have  access  to  both  sides  of  the 
troughs,  each  will  accommodate  nearly  as  many  as  it  is 
feet  in  length.     There  should  therefore  be  provided  at  least 
as  many  foot-lengths  of  trough  as  there  are  sheep  in  the 
fold.     The  troughs  should  be  perpendicular  at  their  outer 
edges,  as  the  sheep  are  less  apt  to  scatter  the  sliced  turnips 
on  the  ground  with  this  form  than  when  they  slope  out- 
wards.    It  is  expedient  to  have  a  separate  set  of  similar 
troughs  for  the  cake  or  grain  and  chopped  fodder,  which 
it  is  best  to  use  mixed  together. 

As  the  season  when  frost  and  snow  may  be  expected 
approaches  it  is  necessary  to  provide  in  time  for  the  flock 
having  clean  unfrozen  turnips  to  eat  in  the  hardest  weather. 
To  secure  this,  care  must  be  taken  to  have  always  several 
weeks'  supply  put  together  in  heaps  and  covered  with  earth 
to  a  sufficient  thickness  to  exclude  frost.  The  covering 
with  earth  is  the  only  extra  cost  incurred  from  using  this 
precaution,  for  if  slicing  the  roots  is  practised  at  all,  it 
necessarily  implies  that  the  roots  must  be  pulled,  trimmed, 
and  thrown  together,  and  this  again  should  be  done  in 
such  a  way  as  to  insure  that  the  dung  and  urine  of  the 
sheep  shall  be  equally  distributed  over  the  whole  field. 
This  is  secured  by  throwing  together  the  produce  of  18  or 
20  drills  into  small  heaps,  of  about  a  ton  each,  in  a  straight 
row  and  at  equal  distances  apart.  For  a  time  it  will  suffice 
to  cover  these  heaps  with  a  few  of  the  turnip  leaves  and  a 
spadeful  of  earth  here  and  there  to  prevent  the  leaves  from 
being  blown  off.  This  arrangement  necessitates  the 
regular  moving  of  the  troughs  over  the  whole  ground. 
As  the  heaps  are  stript  of  their  covering  special  care  must 
be  taken  to  scatter  the  tops  well  about,  otherwise  there 


396 


AGRICULTURE 


[lIVE   STOCK— 


will  be  corresponding  rank  spots  in  the  grain  crop  that 
follows. 

On  light  dry  soils  it  ia  usually  most  profitable  to  con- 
sume the  whole  turnip  crop  where  it  grows  by  sheep,  and 
to  convert  the  straw  of  the  farm  into  dung  by  store  cattle 
kept  in  suitable  yards,  to  which  a  daily  allowance  of 
rape  or  cotton  cake  is  given,  with  wholesome  water  con: 
stantly  at  their  command.  But  it  may  at  times  oe  more 
profitable  to  use  young  sheep  instead  of  cattle  for  this 
purpose,  and  it  is  quite  practicable  to  do  so.  In  the  winter 
of  1865-66,  in  consequence  of  the  prevalence  of  rinder- 
pest, we  had  recourse  to  this  expedient  with  entire  success. 
A  lot  of  200  hoggets  was  put  into  two  contiguous  yards, 
of  a  size  which  ordinarily  had  accommodated  1 5  cattle  each ; 
the  hoggets  were  fed  on  hay  cut  into  chaff,  which  was 
served  to  them  in  troughs  so  placed  as  to  be  protected  from 
rain.  Along  with  this  chaff  they  received  2  ft>  each  daily 
of  mixed  cakes  and  grain,  and  a  constant  supply  of  water. 
A  covered  passage  by  which  the  yards  communicated  was 
coated  with  quicklime,  which  was  stirred  up  daily  and 
added  to  twice  a-week.  Care  was  taken  to  drive  .the  whole 
lot  of  sheep  over  this  limed  passage  once  every  day,  with 
liberty  to  them  to  pass  and  repass  as  much  as  they  liked 
at  all  times.  The  yards  were  kept  clean  by  being  thinly 
covered  over  with  fresh  straw  every  day.  By  this  means, 
and  by  an  occasional  paring  of  the  hoofs  when  seen  to  be 
necessary,  their  feet  were  kept  perfectly  sound.  In  other 
respects  they  throve  well,  and  the  death-rate  was  unusually 
small. 

To  clear  the  ground  in  time  for  the  succeeding  grain  crop 
a  portion  of  the  turnip  crop  is  usually  stored  on  some  piece 
of  grass  or  fallow,  where  the  flock  is  folded  until  the  pas- 
tures are  ready  to  receive  them.  As  the  date  of  this  varies 
exceedingly,  it  is  well  to  lay  in  turnips  for  a  late  season, 
and  rather  to  have  some  to  spare  than  to  be  obliged  to  stock 
the  pastures  prematurely.  If  corn  or  cake  has  been  given 
in  the  turnip  field,  it  must  be  continued  in  the  pasture. 
Hoggets  that  have  been  well  managed  will  be  ready  for 
market  as  soon  as  they  can  be  shorn,  and  may  not  require 
grass  at  alL  They  usually,  however,  grow  very  rapidly  on 
the  first  flush  of  clovers  and  sown  grasses,  especially  when 
aided  by  cake  or  corn.  When  the  soil  is  of  poor  quality, 
it  is  expedient  to  continue  the  use  of  such  extra  food  during 
summer.  The  best  sheep  are  generally  sent  to  market  first, 
and  the  others  as  they  attain  to  a  proper  degree  of  fatness. 
Store  sheep  or  cattle  are  then  purchased  to  occupy  their 
place3  until  the  next  crop  of  lambs  is  weaned. 

Lowland  flocks  are  for  the  most  part  shorn  in  May, 
although  many  fat  sheep  are  sent  to  market  out  of  their 
wool  at  a  much  earlier  date.  Indeed  railway  transit  ha3 
made  it  practicable  to  forward  newly-shorn  sheep  to.  market 
so  quickly  that  there  is  now  little  risk  of  their  suffering 
from  ■  exposure  to  bad  weather,  and  accordingly  few  fat 
aheep  are  now  sent  to  market  rough  after  the  1st  of  ApriL 
But  in  the  case  of  nursing  ewes  and  store  sheep  of  all 
kinds  it  is  highly  inexpedient  to  deprive  them  of  their 
fleeces  until  summer  weather  has  fairly  set  in.  Accordingly, 
the  latter  half  of  May  and  the  first  half  of  June  are,  in 
average  seasons,  the  best  shearing  time,  beginning  with  the 
hoggets  and  ending  with  the  ewes. 

This  practice  of  shearing  a  portion  of  the  flock  so  early 
as  April  renders  it  necessary  to  make  a  change  on  that  mode 
of  sheep-washing  so  well  described  by  the  author  of  the 
Seasons.  Artificial  washing-pools  are  accordingly  now  pro- 
vided by  damming  up  some  small  stream  of  clean  water. 
The  bottom  is  paved  and  three  sides  faced  with  bricks 
set  in  cement,  with  a  sluice  to  let  off  the  foul  water 
when  necessary.  The  most  accessible  side  of  the  pool  is 
formed  of  strong  planks,  securely  jointed,  behind  which 
the  men  engaged  in  washing  the  sheep  stand  dry,  and  ac- 


complish tneir  woric  much  in  the  way  Hat  a  washer- 
woman does  hers  at  her  tub.  A  sloping  lassage  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  pool  allows  the  sheep  to  walk  out,  one 
by  one,  as  they  are  washed.  One  such  pool  Is  often  made 
to  accommodate  several  neighbouring  farms. 

Section  3. — Management  of  Mountain  Sheep. 

We  have  already  taken  notice  of  the  extent  to  which 
Cheviot  sheep  have  of  late  years  been  introduced  in  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland.  Many  of  the  immense  grazings 
there  are  rented  by  farmers  resident  in  the  south  of  Scot- 
land, who  only  visit  their  Highland  farms  from  time  to 
time,  and  intrust  the  management  of  their  flocks  and 
shepherds,  which  rival  in  numbers  those  of  the  ancient 
patriarchs,  to  an  overseer,  whose  duty  it  is  to  be  constantly 
on  the  grounds,  to  attend  in  all  respects  to  the  interests  of 
his  employer,  see  his  orders  carried  into  effect,  and  give 
him  stated  information  of  how  it  fares  with  his  charge. 

The  following  pertinent  remarks  we  quote  from  an 
extensive  and  experienced  Highland  sheep-farmer  :— 

"The  management  of  flocks  in  the  Highlands  is  much  the  same 
as  on  high  and  exposed  farms  in  the  higher  districts  of  Roxburgh- 
shire, Dumfriesshire,  and  Selkirkshire,  as  regards,  the  ewe  hirsels  ; 
the  ewe  lambs  either  not  being  weaned,  or  that  only  for  eight  or 
ten  days,  so  that  they  may  continue  to  follow  their  mothers.  The 
wether  lambs  are  sent  to  the  wether  ground  about  the  beginning  of 
August,  and  herded  on  the  part  of  it  considered  most  adapted  for 
their  keep  till  about  the  middle  of  October,  when  they  are  sent  to 
turnips  mostly  in  Ross-shire,  where  they  remain  till  the  middle  of 
March  or  beginning  of  April.  This  is  one  of  the  heaviest  items  of 
expense  in  Highland  farming,  amounting  to  fully  4s.  per  head ; 
ana  thus,  upon  a  farm  equally  stocked  with  ewes  and  wethers,  adds 
just  about  one-third  to  the  rental  of  the  farm.  On  the  return  of 
the  wether  hogs  they  are  put  to  particular  parts  of  the  wether 
ground,  at  large  amongst  the  other. ages  of  wether  stock,  where 
they  remain  until  drawn  out  when  three  years  ol,d  at  the  usual 
season  to  send  to  market ;  with  this  exception,  that  the  year  follow- 
ing (when  they  are  dinmonts),  the  smallest  of  them,  those  that  are 
not  considered  capable  of  wintering  at  home,  say  to  the  extent  of 
two  or  three  to  the  score,  are  again  drawn  out  and  sent  with  the 
hogs  to  turnips. 

"Mr  Beiiar,  in  his  Report  of  the  County  of  Sutherland,  gives 
a  very  minute  and  detailed  account  of  the  mode  of  management  as 
practised  on  his  farms.  This,  however,  does  not  apply  to  extensive 
West  Highland  farms,  which  have  no  arable  farms  attached,  no 
fields  to  bring  in  the  diseased  or  falling-off  part  of  the  stock  to,  nor 
Is  it  ever  practicable  to  shift  any  part  of  the  stock  to  different  parts 
of  the  farm  from  that  on  which  they  have  been  reared." 

Sheep  Farming  on  the  hills  drained  by  the  Tweea. 

Until  quite  a  recent  date  the  grassy  hills  enclosing  the 
upper  valley  of  the  Tweed  and  its  numerous  tributaries 
were  stocked  almost  entirely  with  Cheviot  sheep,  and  the 
highest  and  most  heathery  portions  of  the  Lammermuir 
hills  with  the  blackfaced  breed.  Since  about  the  year 
1850,  under  the  stimulus  of  a  growing  demand  and  rapidly 
advancing  price  for  cross-bred  lambs,  a  great  change  of 
practice  has  been  going  steadily  on.  Formerly,  on  such 
hill-country  farms,  cultivation  of  the  soil  was  restricted  to 
a  very  small  scale  indeed,  but  latterly  it  has  been  extending 
up  the  valleys  and  hill-sides  at  a  rapid  rate.  Large  areas 
of  rough  natural  pasture  are  yearly  being  converted  into 
fields,  which  are  well  enclosed  by  substantial  stone  walls,  and 
by  draining,  liming,  and  the  liberal  application  of  portable 
manures,  are  made  to  produce  luxuriant  crops  of  turnips, 
oats,  and  the  cultivated  clovers  and  grasses.  As  this  pro- 
cess of  reclamation  goe3  on,  half-bred  sheep  (Leicester- 
Cheviots)  are  substituted  for  pure  Cheviots,  the  lambs  of 
this  cross  breed  being  at  weaning-tiine  worth  from  10s.  to 
15s.  more  per  head  than  Cheviots,  their  fleeces  heavier  by 
2  R>  each  as  well  as  more  valuable  per  K>,  and  the  draft 
ewes  also  more  valuable  in  about  the  same  proportion  as 
the  lambs.  These  half-bred  sheep  must  be  kept  almost 
exclusivelyon  the  reclaimed  lands,  which,  however,  will  keep 
about  double  the  number  of  this  more  valuable  breed  of 


VTEEP.] 


AGRICULTURE 


397 


Aheep  than  they  did  of  the  less  valuable  when  in  their 
natural  unreclaimed  state.  When  the  lowost-lying  and  kind- 
liest soils  of  such  farms  have  thus  been  improved  and 
devoted  to  the  keeping  of  half-bred  sheep,  the  higher  and 
poorer  parts  are  often  unfit  for  keeping  Cheviot  sheep,  and 
are  stocked  with  the  hardier  blackfaced  breed.  •  Cheviots 
are  in  consequence  rather  at  a  discount  at  present  aa  core- 
pared  with  a  period  still  recent. 

The  general  management  of  these  hill-country  half-bred 
flocks  does  not  differ  materially  from  those  of  the  plains. 
They  require  generous  feeding,  and  being  prolific  and  good 
nurses,  they  pay  well  for  it.  The  oats  grown  on  such 
farms  are  disposed  of  most  profitably  when  consumed  by 
the  flock. 

We  begin  our  description  of  the  management  of  strictly 
hill  flocks  with  autumn,  and  assume  that  the  yearly  cast  of 
lambs  and  aged  ewes  has  been  disposed  of,  and  only  as 
many  of  the  ewe  lambs  retained  as  are  required  to.  keep  up 
the  breeding  stock.  A  former  practice  was  to  keep  these 
ewe  lambs  or  hoggets  by  themselves  on  the  best  portions 
of  the  respective  walks,  or  rakes  as  they  are  called  on  the 
Borders.  Now,  however,  they  are  kept  apart  from  their 
dams  only  as  long  (eight  or  ten  days)  as  suffices  to  let  the 
milk  dry  up  ;  whereupon  they  are  returned  to  the  flock  or 
hirsel  to  which  they  belong,  and  at  once  associate  again 
each  with  its  own  dam.  The  hoggets,  under  the  guidance 
of  the  ewes,  are  thus  led  about  over  the  ground,  according 
to  varying  seasons,  and  under  the  promptings  of  an  instinct 
which  far  surpasses  the  skill  and  care  of  the  best  shepherd. 
The  latter,  indeed,  restricts  his  interference  chiefly  to  keep- 
ing his  flock  upon  their  own  beat,  and  allows  them  to  dis- 
tribute themselves  over  it  according  to  their  own  choice. 
When  thus  left  to  themselves  each  little  squad  usually  selects 
its  own  ground,  and  may  be  found,  the  same  individuals 
about  the  same  neighbourhood  day  after  day.  This  plan 
of  grazing  the  hoggets  and  ewes  together  has  been  attended 
with  the  best  results.  There  are  far  fewer  deaths  among 
the  former  than  when  kept  separate,  and  being  from  the 
first  used  to  the  pasturage  and  acquainted  with  the  ground, 
they  get  inured  to  its  peculiarities,  and  grow  up  a  healthy 
and  shifty  stock,  more  easily  managed  and  better  able  to 
cope  with  trying  seasons  than  if  nursed  elsewhere,  and 
brought  on  to  the  ground  at  a  more  advanced  age.  Each 
hogget  and  its  dam  may  be  seen  in  couples  all  through  the 
winter  and  spring,  and  with  the  return  of  summer  it  is  a 
pretty  sight  to  see  these  family  groups  grown  into  triplets 
by  the  addition  to  each  of  a  little  lamb. 

As  the  automn  advances,  the  flockmaster  makes  his 
preparations  for  smearing  or  bathing.  The  smearing 
material  is  a  salve  composed  of  tar  and  butter,  which  is 
prepared  in  the  following  manner  : — Six  gallons  of  Arch- 
angel tar  and  50  lb  of  grease-butter  are  thoroughly  incor- 
porated, and  as  much  milk  added  as  makes  the  salve  work 
freely  This  quantity  suffices  for  100  sheep.  This  salve 
destroys  vermin,  and  by  matting  the  fleece  is  supposed  to 
add  to  the  comfort  and  healthiness  of  the  sheep.  It  adds 
considerably  to  the  weight  of  the  fleece,  but  imparts  to  it 
an  irremediable  stain,  which  detracts  seriously  from  its 
value  per  lb.  A  white  salve  introduced  by  Mr  Ballantyne 
of  Holylee  is  now  in  repute  on  the  borders.  It  is  prepared 
as  follows: — 30  ft>  butter,  14  Bb  rough  turpentine,  and 
3  lb  soft  soap  are  melted  and  mingled  in  a  large  pot ; 
2^  soda  and  A  lb  arsenic  are  then  dissolved  in  a  gallon 
of  boiling  water,  and  this,  along  with  12  gallons  more  of 
cold  water,  is  intimately  mixed  with  the  other  ingredients, 
and  yields  enough  for  dressing  100  sheep  at  the  rate  of 
a  quart  to  each.  Some  persons,  believing  the  arsenic 
an  unsafe  application,  substitute  for  it  half-a-gallon  of 
tobacco  juice.  Instead  of  the  rough  turpentine,  some 
also  use  half-a-gill  of  spirit  of  tar  for  each  sheep;  this 


ingredient  being  mixed  in  each  quart-notful  at  the  time 
of  application. 

In  applying  these  salves,  the  sheep  are  brought  to  the 
homestead  in  daily  detachments,  according  to  the  number  of 
men  employed,  each  man  getting  over  about  sixty  in  a  day. 
A  sheep  being  caught  and  laid  upon  a  stool,  the  wool  is 
parted  in  lines  running  from  head  to  tail,  and  the  tar  salve 
spread  upon  the  skin  by  taking  a  little  upon  the  fingers 
and  drawing  them  along.  In  using  the  white  salve  each 
shepherd  has  a  boy  assistant  who  pours  the  liquid  salvo 
from  a  tin  pot  with  a  spout,  while  he  holds  the  wool  apart. 
This  white  salve  destroys  vermin,  and  is  believed  to  nourish 
the  wool  and  to  promote  its  growth.  Of  late  years  the 
practice  of  dipping  has  largely  been  substituted  for  salving 
or  pouring.  It  is  practised  as  already  described  in  the  case 
of  low-country  flocks,  save  only  that  with  large  flocks  it  is 
expedient  to  have  it  performed  at  some  central  and  other- 
wise convenient  part  of  the  grounds.  Instead  of  a  movable 
tub  and  dripping  board  of  wood,  it  is  better  to  have  a  fixed 
one  built  of  concrete,  or  bricks  set  in  cement,  with  a  paved 
dripping  pen  large  enough  to  hold  50  sheep  in  each  of  ite 
two  divisions.  The  other  requisites  are  a  boiler  to  supply 
hot  water  for  dissolving  the  dipping  stuff,  a  pipe  to  convey 
cold  water  to  the  bath,  and  a  waste  pipe  to  empty  it  for 
cleansing.  This  salving  or  dipping  must  all  be  accomplished 
before  the  20th  November,  about  which  time  the  rams  are 
admitted  to  the  flock.  Before  this  is  done  another  pre- 
liminary is  required.  As  the  ewe  hoggets  graze  with  the 
flock,  it  is  necessary  to  guard  them  from  receiving  the  male, 
for  which  purpose  a  piece  of  cloth  is  sewed  firmly  over  their 
tails,  and  remains  until  the  rams  are  withdrawn.  This  is 
called  breeking  them.  On  open  hilly  grounds  about  forty 
ewes  are  sufficient  for  each  ram.  To  insure  the  vigour  and 
good  quality  of  the  flock,  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  frequent 
change  of  blood.  To  secure  this  by  purchasing  the  whole 
rams  required  would  be  very  costly,  and  therefore  each 
flockmaster  endeavours  to  rear  a  home  supply.  For  this 
purpose  he  purchases  every  autumn,  often  at  a  high  price, 
one  or  two  choice  rams  from  some  flock  of  known  ex- 
cellence, and  to  these  he  puts  a  lot  of  his  best  ewes,  care- 
fully selected  from  his  whole  flock  These  are  kept  in  an 
enclosed  field  until  the  rutting  season  is  over,  and  after 
receiving  a  distinctive  mark  are  then  returned  to  their 
respective  hirsels.  From  the  progeny  of  these  selected 
ewes  a  sufficient  number  of  the  best  male  lambs  is  reserved 
to  keep  up  the  breeding  stock  of  the  farm.  The  rams  are 
withdrawn  from  the  flock  about  1st  January,  and  are  then 
kept  in  an  enclosed  field,  where  they  receive  a  daily  feed  of 
turnips. 

Except  in  heavy  falls  of  snow  and  intense  frosts,  the 
flocks  subsist  during  the  entire  season  on  the  natural 
produce  of  their  pastures.  It  is  necessary,  however,  to  be 
provided  for  such  emergencies  both  as  regards  food  and 
shelter.  For  this  purpose  each  shepherd  has  at  suitable 
parts  of  his  beat  several  stells  or  artificial  shelters,  such  as 
are  described  at  p.  402,  and  beside  each  of  them  a  stack  of 
hay  from  which  to  fodder  the  flock  when  required.  So 
long  as  the  sheep  can  get  at  heather  or  rushes  by  scraping 
away  the  snow  with  their  feet  they  will  not  touch  the  hay, 
but  when  the  whole  surface  gets  buried  and  bound  up, 
they  are  fain  to  take  to  it.  The  hay  is  laid  out  in  handfuls 
over  the  snow,  twice  a  day,  if  need  be.  The  hay  should, 
however,  be  administered  with  caution,  and  never  to  a 
greater  extent  than  is  absolutely  necessary.  Whenever 
there  is  a  lull  in  the  storm,  the  shepherd  should  use  his 
utmost  endeavour  to  move  the  flock  out  from  their  shelter 
to  the  nearest  piece  of  rough  heather  or  ground  from  which 
the  wind  has  drifted  off  the  enow,  and  where  the  sheep  can 
by  scraping  with  their  feet  get  at  their  natural  food.  This 
should  bo  done  not  merely  to  economise  hay,  but  bemuse 


398 


A  O  K  I  C  U  L  T  U  K  E 


[live  stock  — 


it  is  found  that  sheep  invariably  come'  through  the  hard- 
ships of-winter  in  better  condition  when  thus  encouraged 
to  shift  as  much  as  possible  for  themselves,  than  when  fed 
to  the  full  on  hay,  and  allowed  to  keep  to  their  shelter  all 
the  day. 

Much  vigilance,  promptitude,  and  courage,  are  required 
on  the  part  of  shepherds  in  these  wild  and  stormy  districts 
in  getting  their  flocks  into  places  of  safety  on  the  breaking 
out  of  sudden  snow-storms,  and  tending  them  skilfully 
there. 

In  spring  advantage  is  taken  of  any  dry  weather  tnat 
occurs  to  set  fire  to  the  roughest  portions  of  the  old 
heather  andothcr  coarse  herbage,  and  this  being  thus  cleared 
off,  a  fresh  young  growth  comes  up,  which  yields  a  sweeter 
pasture  to  the  flocks  for  several  succeeding  years.  Careful 
shepherds  are  at  pains  to  manage  the  muir-buming  so  as 
to  remove  the  dry  effete  herbage  in  long  narrow  strips, 
and  thus  to  secure  a  regular  intermixture  of 'old  and 
young  heath. 

The  lambing  season .  is  one  of  much  anxiety  to  the 
master  ;  and  to  his  shepherds  and  their  faithful  sagacious 
dogs  it  is  one  of  incessant  toiL  They  must  be  a-foot  from 
"  dawn  till  dewy  eve,"  visiting  every  part  of  their  wide 
range  several  times  a-day,  to  see  that  all  is  right,  and 
to  give  assistance  when  required.  The  ewes  of  these 
hardy  mountain  breeds  seldom  require  man's  assistance  in 
the  act  of  parturition,  but  still  cross  presentations  and 
difficult  cases  occur  even  with  them.  Deaths  occur  also 
among  the  newly-dropt  lambs,  in  which  case  the  dam  is 
taken  to  the  nearest  stell,  and  a  twin-lamb  (of  which  there 
are  usually  enough  to  .serve  this  purpose)  put  in  the  dead 
one's  place.  The  dead  lamb's  skin  is  stript  off,  and 
wrapt  about  the  living  one,  which  is  then  shut  up  beside 
the  dam  in  a  small  crib  or  parik,  by  w'uch  means  she  is 
usually  induced  in  a  few  hours  (and  always  the  sooner  the 
more  milk  she  has)  to  adopi  the  supposititious  lamb.  As 
the  lambing  season  draws  to  a  close,  each  shepherd  collects 
the  unlambed  ewes  of  his  flock  into  an  inclosure  near  his 
cottage,  and  examines  them  one  by  one  to  ascertain  which 
are  pregnant.  To  the  barren  ones  he  affixes  a  particular 
mark,  and  at  once  turns  them  again  to  the  hill,  but  the 
others  are  retained  close  at  hand  until  they  lamb,  by  which 
means  he  can  attend  to  them  closely  with  comparatively 
little  labour.  The  lambs  are  castrated  and  docked  at 
from  10  to  20  days  old.  For  this  and  for  all  sorting  and 
drafting  purposed  an  ample  fold  and  suit  of  pens,  formed 
of  stout  post  and  rail,  are  provided  on  some  dry  knoll  con- 
venient for  each  main  division  of  the  flock.  '  To  this  the 
flock  is  gently  gathered,  and  penned  off  in  successive  lots 
of  10  or  12,  taking  care  that  each  lamb  has  its  own  dam 
with  it  before  it  is  penned,  and  to  do  this  with  as  little 
dogging  and  running  as  possible.  The  male  lambs  of  the 
pure  blackfaced  breed,  when  designed  to  be  kept  as  wethers, 
are  not  castratsd  until  they  are  eight  or  ten  weeks  old, 
partly  because  when  this  is  done  sooner  their  horns  have  a 
tendency  to  get  so  crumpled  as  to  grow  into  their  eyes,  and 
partly  because  a  bold  horn  is  thought  to  improve  the 
appearance  of  :,u  agod  wether. 

On  these  eluvated  sheep-walks  shearing  does  not  take 
place  until  July.  It  cannot,  in  fact,  be  performed  until 
the  young  wool  has  begun  to  grow  or  rise,  and  so  admit  of 
the  shears  working  freely  betwixt  the  skin  and  the  old 
matted  fleece.  The  sheep  are  previously  washed  by  causing 
them  to  swim  repeatedly  across  a  pool  with  a  gentle 
current  flowing  through  it.  They  are  mude  to  plunge  in 
from  a  bank  raised,  either  naturally  or  artificially,  several 
feet  above  the  surface  of  the  water.  This  sousing  and 
swimming  in  pure  water  cleanses  the  fleece  far  more  effect- 
ually than  could  be  supposed  by  persons  accustomed  only 
Uj  the  mode  pursued  in  arable  districts.     Shearing  takes 


place  three  or  four  days  after  wasbijg,  and  in  the  interim 
much  vigilance  is  required  on  tho  part  of  the  shepherd  to 
prevent  the  sheep  from  rubbing  themselves  under  banks  of 
moss  or  earth,  and  so  undoing  the  washing.  In  the  case 
of  blackfaced  flocks  washing  is  now  not  unfrequcntly 
altogether  dispensed  with,  because  the  greater  weight  of 
unwashed  wool  more  than  counterbalances  the  difference  in 
price  betwixt  washed  and  unwashed  fleeces.  Each  man 
usually  shears  about  60  sheep  a  day.  It  is  neither 
practicable  nor  expedient  to  shear  these  mountain  sheep  so 
closely  as  the  fat  denizens  of  lowland  pastures.  For  this 
operation  each  shearer  is  provided  with  a  low-legged  spaired 
stool,  having  a  seat  at  one  end,  or  with  a  bench  built  of 
green  turf.  These  are  arranged  in  a  row  close  in  front  of  a 
pen,  in  which  the  unshorn  sheep  are  placed.  The  shearers 
being  seated,  each  astride  his  stool  or  bench,  with  their 
backs  to  the  pen,  a  man  in  it  catches  and  hands  over  a 
sheep  to  each  of  them.  The  sheep  is  first  laid  on  its  back 
upon  the  stool,  and  the  wool  shorn  from  the  under  part3, 
after  which  its  legs  are  bound  together  with  a  soft  woollen 
cord,  and  the  fleece  removed,  first  from  the  one  side  and 
then  from  the  other,  by  a  succession  of  cuts  running  from 
head  to  tail.  The  fleeces  are  thrown  upon  a  cloth  and 
immediately  carried  to  the  wool-room,  where,  after  being 
freed  from  clots,  they  are  neatly  wrapped  up  and  stored 
away.  Before  the  shorn  sheep  are  released  each  receives 
a  mark  or  buist  by  dipping  the  owner's  cypher  in  melted 
pitch,  and  stamping  it  upon  the  skin  of  the  animal  To 
discriminate  different  ages  and  hirsels,  these  marks  vary  in 
themselves  or  are  affixed  to  different  parts  of  the  sheep. 
Once  or  twice  a  year  all  stray  sheep  found  upon  the  farms 
of  a  well-defined  district  are  brought  to  a  fixed  rendezvous, 
where  their  marks  are  examined  by  the  assembled  shep- 
herds, and  each  is  restored  to  its  proper  owner. 

Weaning  takes  place  in  August  or  early  in  September. 
A  sufficient  number  of  the  best  ewe  lambs  of  the  pure 
breeds  are  selected  for  maintaining  the  flock,  and  are 
treated  in  the  way  already  noticed.  With  this  exception, 
the  whole  of  the  lambs  are  sold  either  to  low-country 
graziere  or  as  fat  lambs  to  the  butcher.  The  wether 
lambs  usually  go  to  the  former,  and  the  ewe  lambs  of  the 
cross  betwixt  blackfaced  ewes  and  Leicester  rams  to  the 
latter.  These  ewes  being  excellent  nurses,  make  their 
lambs  very  fat  in  favourable  seasons,  in  which  case  they 
are  worth  more  to  kill  as  lambs'  than  to  rear.  Immediately 
after  the  weaning,  the  ewes  which  have  attained  mature 
age  are  disposed  of,  generally  to  low-country  graziers,  who 
keep  them  for  another  year,  and  fatten  lamb  and  dam. 
To  facilitate  the  culling  out  of  these  full-aged  ewes,  each 
successive  crop  of  ewe  lambs  receives  a  distinctive  ear- 
mark, by  which  all  of  any  one  age  in  the  flock  can  ho.  at 
once  recognised. 

Section  4. — Wool. 

Wool  is  such  an  important  part  of  the  produce  of  our 
flocks  that  it  seems  proper  to  offer  a  few  remarks  upon 
it  before  leaving  this  subject,  although  it  wiD  fall  to  be 
considered  under  its  proper  heading.  We  here  insert  with 
much  pleasure  the  following  communication  received  from 
the  late  John  Barff,  Esq.,  of  Wakefield  : — 

"I  willingly  give  you  a  reply  to  your  various  inquiries  regarding 
wool,  as  far  as  fam  able.  As  to  the  kinds  grown  in  the  various 
counties  of  the  United  Kingdom,  this  1  cannot  fully  answer,  as  there 
are  some  counties'  wools  which  have  not  come  much  under  my 
inspection  ;  but  generally  I  may  remark  that  wherever  the  turnip 
can  be  cultivated  and  has  been  introduced,  the  Leicester,  Lincoln- 
shire, Cotswold,  and  the  half-breds  from  Down  and  Cheviot,  are 
to  be  found  ;  and  in  the  same  counties,  in  several  instances,  you 
hav.e  several  kinds,  if  we  except  Lincolnshire  and  Leicestershire, 
which  have  entirely  tho  long-wool  sheep.  The  great  bulk  also  of 
York,  Warwick,  Oxford,  Cambridge,  Gloucester,  Northampton, 
and  Nottingham  shires,  have  this  description  of  sheep,  but  they 


GOATS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


399 


have  also  Downs  and  half-brecLi.  Kent  has  its  own  sheep,  called 
Kents  ;  the  wool  being  much  finer  than  the  real  long-wool  sheep, 
running  in  quality  ana. weight  of  fleece  between  the  latter  and  the 
Down,  something  like  your  half-.breds  from  Cheviot  ewes  by 
Leicester  rams.  They  have  somewhat  of  a  similar  sheep  in  Devon, 
Cornwall,  Hereford,  and  Shropshire,  but  the  quality  in  the  two 
former  counties  scarcely  so  fine  as  the  two  latter,  or  the  Kent  wools. 
Norfolk  has  the  original  Down  and  the  half-bred  ;  Surrey,  Suffolk, 
Essex,  Sussex,  and.  Hampshire  are  nearly  all  Down  wools,  though 
in  these  counties,  upon  some  of  their  best  lands,  where  they  can 
cultivate  the  turnip,  the  half-bred  are  being  introduced ;  and  I 
need  scarcely  say 'to  you,  the  Leicester  sheep,  as  well  as  half-breds 
and  Cheviots,  are  to  be  found  in  Durham,  Northumberland, 
Berwickshire,  Koxburghshire,  Lothians,  and  other  parts  of  Scotland 
wliere  the  turnip  is  cultivated ;  and  in  those  parts  where  it  is  not, 
and  on  the  hilk,  the  Cheviot  and  blackfaced  prevail  The  black- 
faced  are  used  for  low  padding  cloths,  carpels,  and  horse-rugs.  The 
Down  wools  were  formerly  all  used  for  cloths  and  flannels ;  but 
now,  from  the  improvement  in  worsted  machinery,  one-third  is  used 
for  worsted  yarns  and  goods  ;  and  as  the  portion  suitable  for  comb- 
ing purposes  is  more  valuable  for  this  purpose  than  fof  cloths  or 
flannels,  the  grower  aims  at  getting  it  as  deep-stapled  as  possible  ; 
and  this  has  led  to  a  great  increase  in  the  weight  of  the  fleece,  but 
at  the  same  time  a  deterioration  in.  the  quality.  The  Leicester, 
Lincolnshire,  and  half-bred,  and  Cotswolds,  as  well  as  the  Kents 
and  Devons,  are  entirely  used  for  worsted  yarns  and  goods  ;  and  a 
very  small  portion  of  the  wools  imported  come  in  competition  with 
them.  The  nearest  approach  is.  a  little  imported  from  Holland  and 
Denmark  j  but  they  partake  more  of  your  cross  from  a  blackfaced 
ewe  by  a  Leicester  ram.  The  Irish  wools  are  either  the  long- 
woolled  sheep  similar  to  the  Leicester,  the  mountain  sheep  similar 
to  your  Cheviot,  or  the  small  Welsh  sheep.  The  Irish  wools  are 
generally  open-haired,  and  have  not  the  richness  of  the  Leicester  or 
our  English,  and  are  not  so  much  esteemed  or  valuable  as  English 
wool  of  apparently  the  same  quality  by  £d.  to  Id.  per  lb.  Richness 
of  handle  is  now  very  desirable,  as  there  is  a  demand  for  what  are 
called  glossy  yarns,  which  Wools  fed  on  pasture  or  good  new  seeds 
only  can  produce,  and  which  cannot  be  obtained  from  the  wools 
grown  on  chalk  or  hard  lands,  such  as  our  midland  counties — viz., 
Oxford,  Bedford,  and  Northampton— generally  produce. 

"In  fc-.'ery  fleece  of  wool  there  are  two  or  three  qualities — not 
more  thin  two  or"  three  in  the  blackfaced,  four  or  five  in  the  long- 
woolled  sheep,  five  or  six  in  the  half-bred,  and  seven  or  eight  in  a 
Down  fleece  ;  and  I  may  say  every  fleece  undergoes  this  sorting  or 
separation  before  being  put  into  any  process  of  manufacture.  ■  Of 
course  the  more  there  is  of  the  best  quality  in  any  fleece  the  more 
desirable  and  valuable  the  fleece  is  ;  in  blackfaced,  to  be  free  from 
dead  hair  or  kemps  ;  and  we  find  in.  all  the  other  wools  that  the  more 
close  the  staple  and  purly  the  wooi,  the  more  it  yields  of  the  finer 
qualities,'  whilst  .the  open-haired  makes  more  of  the  lower  quality. 
The  breeder  should  therefore,  in  selecting  his  tups  with  a  view  to 
good  wool!  choose  them  with  a  close  purly  staple.  A  great  deal  of 
the  excellence,  however,  of  wool  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the 
soil  on'which  the  sheep  are  fed'.  Upon  the  chalk  and  sandy  hard 
lands  we  always  find  the  worst  qualities  of  wool  of  its  kind,  whilst 
the  best  comes  from  the  rich  good  lands,  where  there  is  plenty  of 
old  grass  or  seeds.  Thus  the  wools  of  Roxburghshire,  as  a  general 
rule,  are  better  than  Berwickshire  or  Lothian  ;  Leicester,  Lincoln- 
shire, Nottingham,  and  Warwickshire,  superior  ;to  Oxford,  Cam- 
bridge, Bedford,  or  Northampton ;  and  in  Downs,  Sussex  and  Surrey, 
better  than.  Essex  and  Norfolk,  from  their  downs'  being  more  grassy 
and  the  land  better.  The  principal  'quality  required  in  wool  is  a 
rich  soft  handle,  as  such  is  always  found  to  improve  in  every  pro- 
cess it  is  put  through  in  the  various  stages  of  its' manufacture, 
whilst  the  wools  grown  on  chalk  or  hard  lands,  and  which  have  a 
hard  bristly  handle,  get  coarser  as  they  progress  in  the  manufacture. 

"  With  regard  to  the  salves  or  baths  used  for  distroying  vermin, 
we  do  not  know  what,  kinds  are  used  in  the  different  localities,  but 
of  those  used  with  you  we  dislike  the  spirit  of  tar  and  tobacco. 
Wilson  of  Coldstream's  dip  appears  to  answer,  and  one  called 
Ballantyne's,  used  in  Selkirkshire  ;  but  in  all  these  a  great  deal 
depends  upon  their  being  properly  attended  to,  &d  being  put  on  at 
the  proper  season.  If  put  on  in  the  autunin,  we  don't  perceive  tllat 
they  have  been  used,  and  whenever  we  have,  to  make  a  complaint 
on  this  head,  we  find  it  arises  from  the  baths  having  been  used  in 
spring." 

CHAPTER  XVHL 

LIVE  STOCK — GOATS,  (fee. 

Section  1. — Goals. 

Goats  never  occupied  an  important  piace  among  the 
domesticated  animals  of  the  British  Islands,  and,  with  the 
tt^ptioD  of  Ireland,  their  numbers  have  been  constantly 


diminishing.     By  the  slirtisticaJ  returns  it  appears  that  in 

1871  there  were   232,892  goats  in   Ireland,    which   in 

1872  had  increased  to  242,310.  The  value  of  goat's  milk, 
as  a  source  of  household  economy,  is  much  greater  than  is 
usually  supposed.  This  is  so  well  shown  by  Cuthbert  W. 
Johnston,  Esq.,  in  an  article  in  the  Farmers'  Maggzine,  that 
we  shall  quote  from  it  at  some  length. 

"  The  comfort  derived  by  the  inmates  of  a  cottage  from  a  regular 
supply  of  new  milk  need  hardly  be  dwelt  upon.  Every  cottager's 
wife  over  her  tea,  every  poor  parent  of  a  family  of  children  fed 
almost  entirely  on  a  vegetable  diet,  will  agree  with  me  that  it  is 
above  all  things  desirable  to  be  able  to  have  new  milk  as  a  varia- 
tion to  their  daily  food  of  bread  and  garden  vegetables.  The 
inhabitant  of  towns  and  of  suburban  districts,  we  all  know,  is  at  th6 
mercy  of  the  milk  dealer ;  the  milk  he  procures  is  rarely  of  the  best 
quality,  and  under  the  most  favourable  circumstances  he  receives  it 
with  suspicion,  and  his  family  consume  it  with  sundry  misgivings 
as  to  its  wholesomeness. 

"  Having  personally  experienced  these  difficulties,  and'  having 
about  three  years  since  commenced  the  attempt  to  supply  my 
family  with  goat's  milk,  and  as  our  experience  is  cheering,  1  desire 
in  this  paper  to  advocate  the  claims  of  the  milch  goat  to  the 
attention  of  the  oottager,  and  the  other  dwellers  in  the  suburban 
and  rural  districts. 

*'  Few  persons  are  perhaps  aware  of  the  gentleness  and  playful- 
ness of  the  female  goat — how  very  cleanly  are  its  habits,  how  readily 
it  accojnmodates  itself  to  any  situation  in  which  it  is  placed 
Confined  in  an  outhouse,  turned  on  to  a  common  or  into  a  yard, 
tethered  on  a  grass  plat,  it  seems  equally  content.  I  have  found  it 
readily  accommodate  itself  to  the  tethering  system,  fastened  by  a 
leathern  collar,  rope,  and  iron  swivel,  secured  by  a  staple  to  a 
heavy  log  of  wood.  The  log  is  the  best  (and  this  with  a  smooth 
even  surface  at  the  bottom),  oecause  it  can  be  readily  moved  about 
from  one  part  of  the  grass  plat  to  another.  The  goat,  too,  uses  the 
log  as  a  resting-place  in  damp  weather.  The  goat  should  be  fur- 
nished with  a  dry  sleeping- place,  and  this,  in  case  of  its  inhabiting 
open  yards,  can  be  readily  furnished ;  anything  that  will  serve  for 
a  dry  dog-kennel  will  be  comfortable  enough  for  a  goat. 

"The  milk  of  the  goat  is  only  distinguishable  from  that  of  the 
cow  by  its  superior  richness,  approaching,  in  fact,  the  thin  cream 
of  cow's  milk  in  quality,  .  The  cream  of  goat's  milk,  it  is  true, 
separates  from  the  milk  with  great  tardiness)  and  never  so  com- 
pletely as  in' the  case  of  cow's  milk.  This,  however,  is  of  littl- 
consequence,  since  the  superior  richness  of  goat's  milk  renders  th» 
use  of  its  cream  almost  needless.  The  comparative  analysis  of  milk 
of  the.  cow  and  goat  will  shoW  my  readers  how  much  richer  tie 
latter  is  than  that  of  the  former ;  100  parts  of  each,  according  to 
M.  Regnault,  gave  on  an  average — 

Cow.       Goat 

Water. 847      826 

Butter 40        45 

Sugar  of  milk  and  soluble  salts 60        4'6 

Caseine  (cheese),  albumen,  and  insoluble  salts,      3  '6        9'0 

So  that,  while  the  milk  gf  the  cow  yields  12 '8  per  cent,  of  solid 
matters,  that,  of  the  goat  produces  17  per  cent.,  goat's  milk  yield- 
ing rat  ner  more  butter,  rather  less  sugar  of  milk,  but  considerably 
more  caseine  (cheese)  than  that  of  the  cow. 

.  "  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  taste  of  the  milk  of  the  goat 
differs  in  any  degree  from  that  of  the  cow  ;  it  is,  if  anything, 
sweeter,  but  it  is  quite  devoid  of  any  taste  which  might  very 
reasonably  be  supposed  to  be  derivable  from  the  high-flavoured 
shrub3  and  herbs  upon  which  the  animal  delights  to  browse. 

"The  amount  of  the  milk  yielded  by  the  goat  varies  from  two 
quarts  to  one  quart  per  day  ;  it  is  greatest  soon  after  kidding  tinje, 
and  this  gradually  decreases  to  about  a  pint  per  day,  a  quantity 
which  will  continue  for  twelve  months.  1 nis  is  not  a  large  supply, 
it  is  true  ;  but  still  it  is  one  which  is  available  for  many  very  useful 
purposes  ;  and  be  it  remembered  that  when  mixed  with  more  than 
its  own  iulk  of  lukewarm  water,  it  is  then  in  every  respect  superior 
to  the  milk  supplied  by  the  London  dairymen. 

"  In  regard  to  the  best  variety  of  goat  to  be  kept,  I  would  recom- 
mend the  smooth-haired  kind,  which  are  quite  devoid  of  beards  or 
long  hair.  In  this  opinion  I  am  confirmed  by  an  experienced 
correspondent,  Mr  W.  H.  Place  of  Hound  House,  near  Guildford, 
who  remarked,  in  a  recent  obliging  communication — 'I  found  that 
the  short-haired  goats  with  very  little  beards  were  the  best 
milkers  ;  but  from  these  I  seldom  had  more  than  four  pints  a-day 
at  the  best  (I  should  say  three  pints  were  the  average),  and  this 
quantity  decreases  as  the  time  for  kidding  approaches  (the  goat 
carries  ner  young  21  to  22  weeks).  They  should  not  be  fed  too 
well  near  the  time  of  kidding,  or  you  will  lose  the  kids.  In  winter 
I  gave  them  hay,  together  with  mangel-wurzel,  globe  and  Swedish 
turnips,  carrots,  and  sometimes  a  few  oats,  and  these  kept  up  their 
milk  as  well  as  anything,  but  of  course  it'was  most  abundant  whaa 


400 

they  could  get  fresh  grass.  The  milk  I  always  found  excellent, 
but  I  never  had  a  sufficient  quantity  to  induce  me  to  attempt  mak- 
ing butter  except  onco,  as  an  experiment :  my  cook  then  made  a 
little,  which  was  easily  done  in  a  little  box-churn ;  the  butter 
proved  very  good.  I  found  the  flesh  of  the  kids  very  tender  and 
delicate. 

"  I  can  add  little  to  Mr  Place's  information  as  to  their  food ; 
mine  have  generally  fed  out  of  the  same  rack  as  a  Shetland  pony, 
■with  whom  thoy  are  on  excellent  terms.  The  pony  throughout  the 
summer  is  soiled  with  cut  grass,  and  I  notice  that  the  goats  pick 
out  the  sorrel,  sow  thistle,  and  all  those  weeds  which  the  pony 
rejects. 

"  In  the  garden  (if  they  are,  by  any  chance,  allowed  to  browse), 
I  notice  that  they  select  the  rose-trees,  common  laurels,  arbutus, 
laurestinas,  and  the  laburnum.  Of  culinary  vegetables  thoy  prefer 
cabbages  and  lettuces  ;  they  also  bite  pieces  out  of  the  tubers  of  the 
potato.  They  carefully  pick  up  the  leaves,  whother  green  or 
autumnal,  of  timber  trees  ;  of  these  they  prefer  those  of  the  oak 
and  elm,  and  delight  in  acorns  and  oak-apples.  We  are  accustomed 
to  collect  and  store  the  acorns  for  them  against  winter  ;  spreading 
the  acorns  thinly  on  a  dry  floor,  to  avoid  the  mouldiness  which 
follows  the  sweating  of  acorns  laid  in  a  heap.  As  I  have  before 
remarked,  none  of  these  astringent  substances  afl'ect  the  taste  of 
their  milk  ;  and  I  may  here  observe  that,  with  ordinary  gentleness, 
there  is  no  more  difficulty,  if  so  much,  in  milking  a  goat  than  a 
cow. 

"  The  he-goat  engenders  at  a  year  old.  The  she-goat  can  produce 
when  seven  months  old.  She  generally  yeans  two  kids.  The 
manure  of  the  goat  is  perhaps  the  most  powerful  of  all  our  domestic 
animals. 

"Such  are  the  chief  facts  which  I  have  deemed  likely  to  be 
useful  in  inducing  the  extended  keeping  of  the  milch  goat.  It  is 
an  animal  that,  I  feel  well  assured,  may  be  kept  with  equal  ad- 
vantage by  the  cottager  and  the  dwellers  in  larger  houses.  It  is 
usoless  to  compare  it  with  the  cow,  or  to  supposo  that  the  goat  can 
supplant  it  in  situations  whore  the  cow  can  do  readily  kept ;  but  in 
the  absence  of  pastures,  and  in  places  where  there  is  too  little  food 
for  cows,  I  feel  well  convinced  that,  with  ordinary  care  and  atten- 
tion, and  a  moderate  firmness  in  overcoming  the  prejudices  of  those 
unaccustomed  to  the  goat  (and  unless  these  are  found  in  the  ownor, 
live  stock  never  are  profitable),  the  value  and  the  comfort  of  a 
milch  goat  are  much  greater  than  is  commonly  known. 

"The  waste  produce  of  a  garden  is  exceedingly  useful  in  the  keep 
of  a  goat.  By  them  almost  every  rofuse  weed,  all  the  cuttings  and 
clearings  which  are  wheeled  into  the  rubbish-yard,  are  carefully 
picked  over  and  consumed.  To  them  the  trimmings  of  laurels  and 
other  evergreens,  pea-haulm,  and  cabbage  stalks,  &c,  are  all  grate- 
ful variations  of  their  food.  In  winter  a  little  sainfoin,  hay,  or  a 
few  oats,  keeps  them  in  excellent  condition.  In  summer  the 
mowings  of  a  small  grass-plot,  watered  with  either  common  or 
sewage  water,  will,  with  the  aid  of  the  refuse  garden  produce,  keep 
a  goat  from  the  end  of  April  until  October." 

Section  2. — Hogs. 
Although  occupying  a  less  prominent  place  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  farmer  than  the  ox  and  sheep,  the  hog  is  never- 
theless an  animal  of  great  value.  He  is  easily  reared, 
comes  rapidly  to  maturity,  is  not  very  nice  as  to  food; 
consuming  offal  of  all  kinds,  and  yields  a  larger  amount  of 
flesh  in  proportion  to  his  live  'weight  and  to  the  food  which 
he  has  consumed,  than  any  other  of  our  domesticated 
animals  whose  flesh  is  used  for  food.  To  the  peasantry 
he  is  invaluable,  enabling  the  labouring  man  to  turn  the 
scraps  even  from  his  scanty  kitchen,  and  from  his  garden 
or  allotment,  to  the  best  account.  On  such  fare,  aided  by 
a  little  barley  or  pollard,  he  can  fatten  a  good  pig,  and 
supply  his  family  with  wholesome  animal  food  at  the 
theapest  possible  rate. 

The  breeds  of  swine  In  Great  Britain  are  numerous,juid  so  exceed- 
ingly blended  that  it  is  often  impossible  to  discriminate  or  classify 
them  properly.  The  original  breeds  of  the  country  seem  to  be  two, 
viz.,  "  The  old  English  Bog,"  tall,  gaunt,  very  long  in  the  body, 
with  pendent  ears  and  a  thick  covering  of  b/istles.  The  represen- 
tatives of  this  old  breed  are  found  chiefly  in  the  western  counties  of 
England,  especially  in  Lancashire,  Yorkshire,  and  Cheshire,  where 
hogs  of  immense  size  are  still  reared,  but  greatly  improved  as  com- 
pared with  their  ancestry.  Their  bones  are  smaller,  their  hair  finer 
and  thinner  set,  their  skin  thinner  and  with  a  pink  tint,  the  cars 
still  pendulous  but  much  thinner,  the  carcase  much  thicker,  and 
their  propensity  to  fatten  greatly  increased.  This  large  breed  is 
exceedingly  prolific,  and  the  sows  are  excrcllenc  nurses,  it  being 
<juite  common  for  'hem  to  farrow  and  rear  from  12  to  18  pigs  at 


AGRICULTURE 


[live  stock— 


each  litter.  They  are  somewhat  tardy  in  arriving  at  maturity,  ami 
do  not  fatten  readily  until  that  is  the  case.  Alter  sixteen  months 
old  they,  however,  lay  on  flesh  very  rapidly,  grow  to  very  great 
weights,  and  produce  hams  of  excellent  quality,  with  a  large  pro- 
portion of  lean  flesh  in  them.  The  Berkshire  and  Hampshire  hog 
seems  originally  to  have  been  from  the  same  stock,  but  by  some 
early  cross  acquired  the  thicker  carcase,  prick-ears,  shorter  limbs, 
and  earlier  maturity  of  growth,  by  which  they  are  characterised. 
The  other  native  breed  is  found  in  the  Highlands  and  Islands  of 
Scotland.  They  are  very  small,  of  a  dusky  brown  colour,  with 
coarse  bristles  along  the  spine,  and  prick-ears.  They  are  exceed- 
ingly hardy,  and  subsist  on  the  poorest  fare,  being  often  left  to  range 
about  without  shelter,  and  support  themselves  as  they  best  can  on 
the  roots  of  plants,  shell-fish,  seaweed,  and  dead  fish  cast  up  by 
the  tide. 

The  improvod  breeds  now  so  abundant  have  been  obtained  by 
crossing  these  old  races  with  foreign  hogs,  and  chiefly  with  the 
Chinese  and  Neapolitan.  Our  modern  white  breeds,  with  prick-ears, 
short  limbs,  fino  bone,  delicate  white  flesh,  and  remarkable  pro- 
pensity to  fatten  at  an  early  age,  are  indebted  for  these  qualities 
to  the  Chinese  stocks.  The  improved  black  breeds,  of  which  the 
Essex  may  be  selected  as  the  type,  and  which  possess  the  qualities 
just  enumerated  in  even  a  greater  degree,  are  a  cross  from  the 
Neapolitan.  They  are  characterised  by  their  very  small  muzzle, 
fine  bone,  black  colour,  and  soft  skin  nearly  destitute  of  hair. 
They  can  be  brought  to  profitable  maturity  at  from  eight  to  twelve 
months  old,  the  white  breeds  at  from  t'weife  to  sixteen  months. 
Both  kinds  are  peculiarly  suitable  for  producing  small  pork  to  be 
used  fresh,  or  for  pickling.  The  flesh  of  these  sraallor  breeds  pro- 
duces, however,  excellent  bacon  when  used  in  that  manner,  and  at 
less  cost  than  that  of  the  larger  breeds,  for  this  reason,  that  it  is 
only  from  the  flesh  of  a  hog  that  has  reached  maturity  that  bacon 
of  the  first  quality  can  bo  produced  ;  and  as  these  nave  reached 
that  point  at  an  age  when  the  others  are  but  ready  for  beginning 
the  fattening  process,  it  follows  that  the  carcase  of  the  former,  in  a 
state  fit  for  curing,  is  produced  at  less  cost  than  that  of  the  latter. 
Sows  of  the  Neapolitan  breed  and  its  crosses  are  better  mothers  and 
nurses  than  the  Chinese.  Both  kinds  require  peculiar  care  to  pre- 
vent-the  pregnant  sow  from  becoming  hurtfully  fat.  Unless  kept 
on  poor  and  scanty  fare  they  inevitably  become  useless  for  .the 
purpose  of  breeding.  The  Berkshire  hog  combines  the  good  quali- 
ties of  the  larger  and  smaller  breeds  already  referred  to,  so  happily, 
that  he  deservedly  enjoys  the  reputation  of  being  as  profitable  a 
sort  for  the  farmer  as  can  be  found.  With  proper  treatment  he 
arrivos  at  maturity  at  about  sixteen  months  old,  yields  a  good 
weight  of  carcase  for  the  food  which  he  has  consumed,  and  his 
flesh  is  well  adapted  for  being  used  either  as  fresh  meat,  pickled 
pork,  or  bacon,  according  to«the  age  at  which  he  is  slaughtered. 
A  very  profitable  hog  is  also  obtained  by  coupling  sows  of  the  larger 
breeds  with  males  of  some  of  the  smaller  races. 

It  too  frequently  happens  that  less  care  is  bestowed  on 
the  breeding  of  pigs  than  of  the  other  domesticated 
animals. 

From  the  early  age  at  which  they  begin  to  breed  there 
is  need  for  constant  change  of  the  male,  to  prevent  the 
intermingling  of  blood  too  near  akin.  These  animals,  too, 
are  exceedingly  sensitive  to  cold,  and  often  suffer  much  from 
the  want  of  comfortable  quarters.  "Whether  for  fattening 
hogs,  or  sows  with  young  pigs,  there  is  no  better  plan  than 
to  lodge  them  in  a  roomy  house  with  a  somewhat  lofty 
thatched  roof,  the  floor  being  carefully  paved  with  stone  or 
brick,  and  the  area  partitioned  off  into  separate  pens,  each 
furnished  with  a  cast-iron  feeding-trough  at  the  side  next 
the  dividing  alley,  and  with  adequate  drainage,  so  that  the 
litter  in  them  may  be  always  dry.  The  period  of  gestation 
with  the  sow  is  sixteen  weeks,  and  as  her  pigs  may  be 
weaned  with  safety  at  six  weeks  old,  she  usually  farrows 
twice  in  the  year.  In  this  climate  it  is  desirable  that  her 
accouchement  should  never  occur  in  the  winter  months. 
It  is  a  common  arrangement  to  have  a  pig-shed  so  placed 
that  the  Btore  pigs  lodged  in  it  can  have  access  to  the 
cattle-courts,  where  they  grub  amongst  the  litter,  and  pick 
up  scattered  grains  that  have  escaped  the  thrashing-mill, 
and  fragments  of  turnips  and  other  food  dropped  by  the 
cattle.  On  such  pickings,  and  the  wash  and  offal  from 
the  farm  kitchen,  aided  by  a  few  raw  potatoes,  Swedes,  or 
mangold,  and  in  summer  by  green  vetches,  a  moderate 
number  of  store  pigs  can  be  got  into  forward  condition, 
and  afterwards  fattened  very  quickly,   by  putting  them 


tol.  i. 


AGRICULTURE 


PL  A  TS  LZ. 


^^^K^^^^ 


Ewe  in  her  second  Beece 
Brtd  by  If  Bishop  oriosaihoji  House.  KuO. 


1 3  T;.  -"-- 


S©W  ©IF  ITffilS  U1SK  EKCSILHSM  IffilE© 

fimi  fy.  and  Uu  JhptrO/  c/'JTSdducn..  Korkshir*. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA    BRITaHNICA.    NINTH    EDITION 


POULTRY.] 


AGRICULTURE 


401 


into  pens  and  improving  their  fare.  There  is  no  cheaper 
•way  of  fattening  hogs  than  by  feeding  them*  on  boiled  or 
steamed  potatoes,  mashed  and  mixed  with  a  portion  of 
barley  or  pease-meal.  When  barley-meal  alone  is  used,  it 
should  be  mixed  with  cold  water,  and  allowed  to  soak  for 
twelve  hours  before  being  given  to  .  the  hogs.  A  few 
morsels  of  coal  should  be  frequently  thrown  into  their 
troughs.  These  are  eaten  with  evident  relish,  and  conduce 
to  the  health  of  the  animals. 

An  interesting  account  of  the  most  approved  methods 
of  cutting  up,  curing,  and  disposing  of 'carcases  of  pork,  is 
given  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society, 
voL  xi,  p.  585. 

Section  3. — Poultry. 

is  a  class  of  stock  deserving  more  attention  than  farmers 
generally  give  it.  There  are,  indeed,  few  farm-yards  un- 
tenanted by  fowls  of  some  sort,  and  few  homesteads  with- 
out a  poultry-house.  It  is  rare,  however,  to  meet  with 
an  instance  where  the  breeding  and  management  of  poultry 
is  conducted  with  the  care  and  intelligence  so  frequently 
bestowed  on  other  kinds  of  live  stock.  Now,  if  poultry 
is  kept  at  all,  whether  for  pleasure  or  profit,  it  is  surely 
■worth  while  to  use  rational  means  for  securing  the  object 
in  view.  To  have  good  fowls,  it  is  necessary  to  provide 
a  dry,  warm,  well-ventilated  house,  in  which  they  may 
Toost  and  deposit  their  eggs.  This  house  must  be  kept 
•clean,  and  its  tenants  regularly  supplied  with  abundance 
of  suitable  food.  Constant  and  careful  attention  is  also 
absolutely  indispensable.  On  farms  of  the  lesser  sort, 
this  duty  is  usually  undertaken  by  the  farmer's  wife  or 
daughters.  It  will,  however,  in  most  cases  be  better 
to  entrust- the  entire  charge  of  the  poultry  to  some  elderly 
female  servant,  who  shall  give  her  undivided  attention 
to  it. 

The  kinds  of  poultry  most  suitable  for  a  farm-yard  are 
the  common  fowls,  geese,  and  ducks.  Turkeys  and  guinea- 
fowl  are  difficult  to  rear,  troublesome  to  manage,  and  less 
profitable  than  the  other  sorts.  Of  the  common  fowl  there 
are  now  many  excellent  and  distinct  breeds.  The  Cochin 
China  or  Shanghae  is  the  largest  breed  we  have.  They 
are  hardy  and  very  docile ;  their  flesh  is  of  good  quality 
when  young ;  their  eggs,  of  a  buff  colour,  are  comparatively 
small  but  excellent  in  flavour,  and  are  produced  in  great 
abundance.  The  hens  resume  laying  very  soon  after  hatch- 
ing a  brood ;  sometimes  so  soon  as  three  weeks.  They  are 
the  more  valuable  from  the  circumstance  that  their  principal 
laying  season  is  from  October  to  March,  when  other  fowls 
are  usually  unproductive.  The  Dorkings,  of  which  there 
are  several  varieties,  as  the  speckled,  the  silver,  and  the 
white,  are  not  excelled  by  any  breed  for  general  usefulness. 
The  hens  are  peculiarly  noted  for  their  fidelity  in  brooding, 
and  their  care  of  their  young.  The  Spanish  fowls  are  very 
handsome  in  their  plumage  and  form,  have  very  white  and 
excellent  flesh,  and  lay  larger  eggs  than  any  other  breed. 
The  Polish  and  Dutch  every-day  layers  are  peculiarly 
suitable  where  eggs  rather  than  chickens  are  desired,  as 
the  hens  of  both  these  breeds  continue  to  lay  for  a  long 
time  before  showing  any  desire  to  brood. 

It  is  to  be  recommended  that,  except  in  situations  where 
agood  price  can  be  got  for  chickens,  the  return  should  be 
sought 'for  chiefly  in  eggs. 

A  suitable  stock  of  fowls  being  selected,  pains  must  be 
taken  to  preserve  their  health  and  other  good  qualities  by 
breeding  only  from  the  best  of  both  sexes,  and  these  not 
too  near  akin.  A  very  simple  plan  for  securing  this  is  to 
select  a.  cock,  and  not  more  than  six  or  eight  hens,  of  the 
best  that  can  be  got,  to  entrust  these  to  the  care  of  some 
neighbouring  cottager,  whose  dwelling  is  sufficiently  apart 
<o  prevent  intercourse  with  other  fowls,  and  then  to  use 

1-U* 


only  the  eggs  from  these  selected,  fowls  for  the  general 
hatching.  There  are  many  advantages  in  such  a  course. 
The  whole  stock  of  fowls  can  thus  be  had  of  uniform 
character  and  superior  quality.  If  it  suit  the  fancy  or 
object  of  the  owner,  his  fowls  may  be  of  several  distinct 
breeds  without  any  risk  of  their  intermingling ;  the  select 
breeding  stocks  can  be  kept  up  by  merely  changing  the 
cock  every  second  year,  and  not  more  than  one  cock  to 
thirty  hens  need  be  kept  for  the  general  stock,  as  it  is  no 
consequence  whether  their  eggs  are  impregnated  or  not. 
Besides  having  the  run  of  the  barn-door,  cattle-court3, 
and  stack-yard,  fowls  are  greatly  benefited  by  having  free 
access  to  a  pasture  or  roomy  grass-plot.  If  the  latter  is 
interspersed  with  evergreen  shrubs  so  much  the  better,  as 
fowls  delight  to  bask  under  fhe  sunny  side  of  a  bush, 
besides  seeking  shelter  under  it  from  sudden  rain.  Their 
court  should  also  be  at  all  times  provided  with  clean  wate:, 
and  a  heap  of  dry  sand  or  coal-ashes,  in  which  they  wallow, 
and  free  themselves  from  vermin.  To  keep  them  in  pro- 
fitable condition,  they  require,  besides  scraps  from  the 
kitchen  and  refuse  of  garden  stuffs,  &c,  a  daily  feed  of 
barley  or  oats  at  the  rate  of  a  fistful  to  every  three  or  four 
fowls.  In  cold  weather  they  are  the  better  of  having 
some  warm  boiled  potatoes  thrown  down  to  them,  as  also 
chopped  Liver  or  scraps.of  animal  food  of  any  kind.  There 
is  an  advantage  in  having  the  poultry-house  adjoining  to 
that  in  which  cattle-food  is  cooked  in  winter,  'as,  by  carry- 
ing the  flue  of  the  furnace  up  the  partition-wall,  the  fowls 
get  the  benefit  of  the  warmth  thus  imparted  to  their  roost' 
ing-place.  Saw-dust,  dried  peat,  or  bernt  clay,  are  suitable 
materials  for  littering  poultry-houses,  and  are  preferable  to 
straw.  By  strewing  the  floor  with  such  substances  two  or 
three  times  a  week,  each  time  carefully  removing  the  pre- 
vious application,  and  storing  it  with  the  mingled  drop- 
pings of  the  fowls  under  cover,  a  valuable  manure  can  be 
secured.  When  100  common  fowls,  a  score  of  geese, 
and  a  dozen  or  two  of  ducks  are  kept,  the  quantity  and 
value  of  the  manure  produced  by  them,  if  kept  by  itself 
and  secured  from  the  weather,  will  surprise  those  who 
have  not  made  trial  of  such  a  plan. 

Of  late  years  the  breeding  of  poultry  has  in  various 
parts  of  the  kingdom  become  quite  a  passion.  Not  only 
have  many  separate  treatises  been  published  entirely  de- 
voted to  this  subject,  but  every  agricultural  periodical  now 
bears  evidence  to  the  popularity  of  this  pursuit 

Section  4. — Treatment  of  Live  Stock  under  Disease. 

Time  was  when  every  such  treatise  as  the  present  was 
expected  to  contain  a  description  of  the  diseases  to  which 
the  domesticated  animals  are  most  subject,  and  instructions 
for  their  treatment  under  them. ,  But  now  that  farriery  is 
discarded  and  veterinary  medicine  is  taught  in  colleges, 
the  handling  of  such  a  subject  is  obviously  beyond  the 
province  of  a  practical  farmer.  A  few  general  observations 
is  all,  therefore,  that  we  offer  regarding  it.  The  province 
of  the  stockmaster  obviously  is  to  study  how  to  prevent 
disease,  rather  than  how  to  cure  it  For  this  end  let  him 
exercise  the  utmost  care,  first,  in  selecting  sound  and 
vigorous  animals  of  their  respective  kinds,  and  then  in 
avoiding  those  errors  in  feeding  and  general'  treatment 
which  are  the  most  frequent  causes  of  disease.  When 
cases  of  serious  disease  occur,  let  the  best  professional  aid 
that  is  available  be  instantly  resorted  to ;  but  in  all  those 
cases  which  farmers  usually  consider  themselves  competent 
to  treat  we  advise'  that  they  should  trust  rather  to  good 
nursing,  and  to  the  healing  power  of  nature,  than  to  thaf 
indiscriminate  bleeding  and  purging  which  is  so  commonly 
resorted  to,  and  which  in  the  majority  of  cases  does  harm 
instead  of  good. 


402 


AGRICULTURE 


[improvement  .of 


CHAPTEE  XIX. 

IMPROVEMENT  OF  WASTB  LANDS. 


Notwithstanding  the  great  progress  which  agriculture 
has  made,  and  the  immense  amount  of  capital,  energy, 
and  skill  which  for  generations  has  been  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  improvement  of  our  soil,  there  are  still  large 
portions  of  the  surface  of  our  country  lying  in  their  natural 
state,  and  usually  classed  under  the  head  of  Waste  Lands, 
in  contradistinction  to  those  which'are  under  tillage,  or  have 
at  some  time  been  subjected  to  the  plough.  Of  this  (so 
called)  waste  land  but  a  limited  portion  is  absolutely- 
unproductive.  Much  of  it  is  capable  of  being  converted 
into  arable  land,  and  doubtless  will  in  course  of  time  be 
so  dealt  with,  but  in  the  meantime  this  class  of  waste 
lands,  and  very  much  more  that  will  never  be  tilled,  is  of 
great  and  steadily  increasing  value  as  sheep-walks.  Even 
for  this  purpose  most  of  it  is  susceptible  of  great  im- 
provement, and  would  well  repay  it.  These  lands  are 
comprised  under  the  following  descriptions : — 1st,  Those 
hilly  and  mountainous  parts  of  Great  Britain  which,  from 
their  steep  and  rugged  surface  and  ungenial  climate,  are 
unfit  for  tillage ;  2d,  Those  which  lie  uncultivated  owing 
to  natural  poverty  of  soil,  its  wetness,  or  the  degree  to 
which  it  is  encumbered  with  stones ;  3d,  Bogs  and  mosses ; 
4th,  Lands  so  near  the  sea-level  as  to  be  more  or  less 
liable  to  be  submerged ;  and  5th,  Blowing  sands: 

Section  1. — Improvement  of  High-lying  SJieep  Pastures. 

The  lands  referred  to  under  the  first  of  these  heads  are 
of  very  great  extent,  embracing  the  whole  of  the  mountain- 
ous parts  of  Scotland  and  Wales,  and  much  of  the  high 
grounds  in  tho.  north  of  England  and  south  of  Scotland. 
These  high  grounds  afford  pasturage  for  innumerable  flocks 
of  sheep  of  our  valuable  mountain  breeds.  The  business 
of  sheep-farming  has  received  a  great  stimulus  of  late  years 
trom  the  ever-growing  demand  for  sheep  to  consume  the 
green  crops  of  arable  districts.  These  upland  sheep-walks 
are  accordingly  rising  in  value,  and  their  improvement 
is  becoming  every  day  of  increasing  importance.  The  im- 
provement of  these  hill  grazings  embraces  these  leading 
features,  viz.,  drainage,  shelter,  and  enclosure.  Until  of 
late  years  our  hill  flocks  were  peculiarly  liable  to  the  rot 
and  other  diseases  arising  from  the  presence  of  stagnant  and 
flood  water  upon  their  pastures.  Many  gTazings  that  had 
at  one  time  an  evil  reputation  on  this  account  now  yield 
sound  and  healthy  sheep,  solely  from  ths  care  with  which 
they  have  been  drained.  To  guard  against  the  pernicious 
effects  of  flooding,  the  courses  of  brooks  and  runnels,  which 
in  heavy  rains  overflow  their  grassy  margins,  are  straight- 
ened, deepened,  and  widened,  to  such  an  extent  as  is 
required  to  carry  off  all  flood  water  without  allowing  it  to 
overflow.  Some  grounds  are  naturally  eo.  dry  that  this  is 
all  that  is  required  to  render  them  safe.  But  in  general 
the  slopes  and  hollows  of  hilly  grounds  abound  with  springs 
and  deposits  of  peat,  and  with  flats  on  which  water  stag- 
nates after  rain.  On  well-managed  grounds  such  places  are 
covered  with  a  network  of  open  drains  or  shallow  ditches, 
about  30  inches  wide  at  top  and  half  as  many  deep,  by 
which  superfluous  water  is  rapidly  carried  off.  The  cutting 
of  these  drains  costs  from  8s.  to  10s.  per  100  rods  (of  six 
yards  each).  In  pastoral  districts  there  are  labourers  who 
are  skilled  in  this  kind  of  work,  and  to  whom  the  laying 
out  of  the  lines  is  frequently  entrusted,  as  well  as  the  exe- 
cution of  tho  work.  On  very  steep  places  they  are  careful 
to  avoid  a  run  directly  down  the  declivity,  as  a  strong 
current  of  water  in  such  circumstances  gutters  the  bottom 
of  the  drain,  and  cliokes  those  below  with  the  debris 
thus  produced;  but  with  this  exception  the  drains  are 
always  run  straight  down  the  greatest  slope  of  the  ground. 


When  such  drains  have  .been  properly  nindo,,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  have  them  statedly  overhauled  and  kept  in  good 
order. 

Next  in  importance  to  drainage  is  good  and  sufficient 
shelter.  This,  in  the  absence  of  natural  coppices  of  birch 
or  hazel,  is  provided  by  means  of  clumps  and  belts  of  fir 
plantation.  These  should  always  be  of  such  extent  that 
the  trees  may  shelter  each  other  as  well  as  the  sheep. 
Trees  planted  in  a  mass  always  shoot  up  faster  than  in 
narrow  strips,  and  restrain  the  snow-drift  which  passes 
through  the  latter.  A  shepherd  who  knows,  the  ground 
well  should  always  be  consulted  about  tno  sites  of  such 
plantations.  The  conditions  requisite  are,  that  the  soil  be 
such  as  trees  will  grow  in ;  that  it  be  so  far  removed  from 
any  brook,  ravine,  or  bog,  as  to  be  accessible  to  the  flock  from 
all  sides;  that  there  be  rough  herbage,  such  as  heather, 
gorse,  or  rushes,  near  at  hand,  which  the  sheep  may  be 
able  to  get  at  in  deep  snow ;  that  it  be  contiguous  to  the 
sheep-walk,  and  placed  so  as  to  afford  defence  against  the 
most  prevalent  winds.  A  less  costly  sholter  is  formed  by 
building  what  are  called  slells,  which  consist  of  a  simple 
dry-stone  wall  enclosing  a  circular  space  twenty  yards  or 
so  in  diameter,  with  an  opening  on  one  side  ;  or  forming  a 
cross,  in  one  angle  of  which  the  sheep  find  shelter  from 
whatever  point  the  wind  blows.  A  haystack  is  a  necessary 
adjunct  to  such  defences. 

It  is  a  further  point  of  importance  to  have  such  grazings 
surrounded  with  a  ring  fence,  consisting  either  of  dry- 
stone  walls,  turf  walls  with  wire  a-top,  or  a  simple  wire 
fence.  This  prevents  trespass ;  and  the  sheep  having 
freedom  to  range,  without  watching,  up  to  the  boundary, 
more  of  them  can  be  kept  on  the  ground  than  when  they 
are  ever  and  anon  turned  back  by  the  shepherd.  These 
needful  and  inexpensive  improvements  are  now  generally 
attended  to  over  the  wide  pastoral  districts  of  the  Scottish 
border  counties.  In  the  remote  Highlands  they  aro  still 
much  neglected.  There  are,  however,  few  agricultural  im- 
provements which  yield  so  quick  and  certain  a  return. 

Section  2. — Reclaiming  of  Moor  Lands. 

The  improvement  of  the  second  class  of  these  urrre- 
claimed  lands  is  now  much  facilitated  by  the  readiness  with 
which  portable  manures  can  be  obtained  for  them.  Drain- 
ing and  enclosing  here  necessarily  demand  the  first  atten- 
tion. In  some  cases  the  land  is  so  encumbered  with  stones 
that  careful  trenching  of  the  whole  surface  is  the  only  way 
of  getting  rid  of  them.  In  the  north  of  Scotland  many 
thousands  of  acres  formerly  useless  have  been  converted 
into  valuable  arable  land  by  this  means. 

In  nearly  all  parts  of  the  country  there  are  extensive 
tracts  of  this  muiry  soil,  producing  only  a  scanty  and 
coarse  herbage,  which  are  susceptible  of  remunerative  im- 
provement. We  are  happy  in  being  able  to  submit  to  the 
reader  the  following  detailed  account  of  a  successful 
instance  of  this,  kindly  furnished  to  us  by  George  A.  Grey, 
Esq.  of  Millfield  Hill,  Northumberland  :— 

"  It  is  said  that  necessity  is  the  mother  of  invention.  I  ws» 
told  by  some  of  my  friends  that  I  had  given  too  high  a  price  fur  this 
estate,  and  that  it  would  be  a  dearer  farm  to  me  now  than  whin  1 
rented  it  from  Lord  Grey.  To  overcome  this  opinion  or  fact,  I 
'  hi  of  several  plans  of  making  it  more  remunerative,   and 

decided  on  that  which  I  am  now  about  to  describe. 

"On  the  high  part  of  the  farm,  at  an  elevation  of  from  400  to  500 
feet  above  the  sea,  I  had  upwards  of  100  acres  of  moorland  of  a  poor 
description,  which  had  never  been  under  the  plough.  This  consisted 
of  short  heath,  bilberry  bushes,  and  dry  white  bent  grass,  and  a  soft 
dry  deep  moss,  delightful  as  a  Turkey  carpet  under  foot,  and  excel, 
lent  excursive  ground  for  old  hunters,  with  a  small  portion  of  sprattj 
grass  and  rushes  in  the  damp  hollows.  The  soil  is  of  a  free  turnip 
and  barley  lcam  on  the  Totten  whinstone.  By  planting  on  the  wes1 
side,  and  in  some  places  suitable  for  shelter,  I  reduced  the  quantitv 
to  about  100  acres.  This  I  divided  into  three  fields  of  about  3S 
acre*  OMh. 


WASTE  LANDS,  j 

"  My  great  dread  was  the  length  of  time  which  such  a  rough  dry 
surface  would  require  to  decompose  sufficiently  to  allow  of  cultivation, 
having  seen  heathery  moors  in  many  parts  of  Scotland  lying  for  two, 
three,  and  four  years  before  crops  could  be  obtained,  owing  to  the 
great  cover  of  coarse  vegetation  preventing  the  furrow  from  lying 
over,  and  keeping  the  land  so  open  and  dry  through  summer  that  if 
a  braird  of  com  or  green  crop  was  obtained,  it  would  wither  away 
in  dry  weather. 

"  I  had  heard  of  paring  and  burning,  but  knew  nothing  of  the 
process.  I,  however,  obtained  the  necessary  information  very  much 
from  Mr  Langlands  of  Bt  vick,  who  had  practised  it  to  a  consider- 
able extent  "With  what  I  saw  there  I  was  so  much  pleased  that  I 
determined  to  proceed  at  once. 

"  I  also  saw  Mr  Langlanda's  work  done  by  a  paring-plough,  such 
as  is  used  in  the  south  of  England,  with  a  wide  plate  to  cut  a  furrow 
of  10  or  12  inches  in  width.  On  the  point  of  this  isj  an'  upright 
piece  of  steel,  wnich  cuts  and  divides  the  heath, — the  mould-board 
turns  the  furrow  over  flat  on  its  back,  and  from  end  to  end  of  the 
landing  the  furrows. lay  side  by  side  like  planks  from  a  saw-mill,  and 
were  about  half  an  inch  in  thickness. 

"  I  must,  however,  remark,  as  a  caution  to  others  against  falling 
iuto  th-3  same  error  as  I  did,  that  this  land  had  been  in  tillage  at 
some  former  time,  and  was  in  ridges  with  a  regular  surface,  so  that 
when  the  plough  was  set,  it  cut  the  whole  furrow  at  a  uniform  depth, 
and  was  drawn  by  two  horses  with  ease,  and  at  an  expense  of  about 
eight  shillings  per  acre. 

"  I  got  this  plough,  and  gave  it  a  fair  trials  but  from  my  land 
never  having  been  laid  smooth,  it  cut  one  part  as  thin  as  was  wished, 
and  the  next  yard  perhaps  six  or  twelve  inches  thick,  which  caused 
a  great  extra  expense  in  drying,  lifting,  and  burning,  and^  wasted 
more  soil  than  was  necessary  or  desirable.  Also  my  land  having  a 
great  deal  of  small  whinstone  below  the  turf,  the  steel  plate  frequently 
got  injured  and  broken.  It  was"  therefore  with  great  reluctance  laid 
aside,  and  the  ordinary  method  of  paring  by  hand  adopted,  which  is 
Blower  and  much  more  expensive,  but  very  perfect.  It  saves  soil 
and  cheapens  the  burning  operation,  the  paring  being  so  thin  when 
the  heath,  &c,  was  divided,  that  light  could  be  seen  through  the 
sod,  which  was  only  held  together  with  the  roots  and  fibres. 

'.'I  began  with  No.  1  field  in  July  1849.  I  let  the  paring  and 
burning  to  a  company  at  25s.  per  acre,  but  they  made  low  wages, 
and  after  getting  more  than  their  work  came  to,  gave  up  the  job. 
I  then  got  some  experienced  hands  to  pare,  and  paid  them  the  usual 
wages,  at  that  time  9s.  per  week,  and  gave  them  their  food,  say  13s. 
per  week,  the  work  being  very  hard.  The  total  cost  of  this 
averaged  me  24s.  9d.  per  acre.  A  portion  of  the  top  part  of  No.  1 
was  left  undone  owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  season.  This  was  dry 
beuty  turf.  It  was  ploughed  in  the  common  way,  and  grew  no  oats 
in  1850.  It  was  again  ploughed  and  much  harrowed  and  rolled, 
and  sown  with  the  remainder  of  the  field  in  1851  with  rape,  and  has 
grown  only  a  few  plants  at  wide  distances.  It  is  still  in  such  a  dry 
undecomposed  state  that  although  it  is  on  the  high  part  of  the 
field  where  sheep  draw  to  lie,  I  do  not  expect  that  it  will  grow  a  crop 
of  corn  next  year ;  while  a  portion  which  was  pared  down  the  middle 
of  it  grew  good  corn  and  rape. 

"A  portion  of  No.  2  field  was  also  ploughed  in  the  ordinary  way. 
This  was  moist  land,  growing  shorter  and  sweeter  grass  than  any 
other.  It  grew  a  very  thin  irregular  crop  of  oats  in  1850,  not  within 
three-quarters  per  acre  of  the  pared  land,  but  is  now  (1851)  bearing 
a  good  erop  of  oats,  that  field  being  a  second  time  in  oat  crop.  To 
return: 

"  I  had  a  fair  crop  of  rape  in  the  autumn  of  1849  on  a  consider- 
able portion  of  No.  1,  where  it  was  sown  in  tolerable  season  during 
all  August ;  after  that  it  appeared  to  be  too  late.  All  was,  however, 
ploughed  up  at  once  to  secure  the  ashes,  and  was  well  harrowed  and 
sown  with  oats  in  the  spring  of  1850.  The  pared  land  turned  out 
to  be  much  too  thickly  sown  at  four  bushels  per  acre.  Corn  tillers 
so  much  on  such  land  that  in  some  parts  it  prevented  it  from 
coming  to  maturity.  I  have  since  sown  much  thinner,  say  three 
bushels  per  acre,  and  even  in  some  degree  I  find  the  same  fault,  there 
being  from  five  to  eight  sterns  from  one  root.  My  crop  of  1850 
turned  out  to  be  30  bushels  per  acre,  but  it  was  on  the  point  of  being 
cut  when  the  high  wind  in  August  devastated  this  district,  and 
that  lying  high  and  fully  exposed  to  the  wind  suffered  most  severely. 
I  should  say  it  was  not  below  six  quarters  per  acre,  and  the  quality 
of  the  grain  good. 

•  "  In  Jane  and  July  1850  T  p?r°.d  No.  3  by  the  same  hands  who 
finished  my  work  the  previous  year.  I  let  the  burning  of  it  to  an 
Irishman  at  2s.  6d.  per  acre,  binding  bim  to  burn  it  closely  piled  up 
in  good-sized  heaps  like  hay-cocks,  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  ashes 
»»  the  shape  of  smoke  into  the  atmosphere. 

"This,  with  the  paring,  cost  me  on  36  acresl9s.  6d.  per  acre.  I 
got  20  acres  of  it  ploughed  and  sown  with  white  turnips,  broadcast 
in  July  and  August.  I  had  a  close  nice  crop,  though  the  roots  were 
email,  which  kept  a  large  flock  of  sheep  for  several  weeks.  This 
had  the  pood  etfect  uf  treading  down  the  land  and  making  it  plough 
better  for  oats. 
"  Nos.  1  and  2  were  limed  at  the  rate  of  7  loads  per  acre,     in 


AGRICULTURE 


403 


June  1851  No.  1  was  sown  broadcast  with  rape,  by  mixing  4  lb.  of 
rape  seed  with  one  bushel  of  oat  shellings  for  an  acre,  and  sowing 
them  out  of  a  grass-seed  machine.  The  crop  is  very  close  and  fine, 
and  has  kept  rwenty  scores  of  sheep  from  an  early  day  in  August  to 
this  date  (September  27th). 

"No.  2  in  1851  was  again  sown  with  oats,  which  proved  a  very 
fine  crop,  as  also  did  No.  3.  The  produce  was  about  nine  quarters 
per  acre.  The  oats  are  very  thick  and  tall,  and  have  very  long,  large 
heads,  and  the  grain  is  plump  and  good;  the  stalks  being  strong,  the 
crop  is  not  lodged  so  as  to  injure  the  yield.  I  estimate  it  at  cer- 
tainly 7J  quarters  per  acre,  but  shall  calculate  it  at  6  quarters. 

"  I  sow  on  that  land  the  sandy  oat,  being  early,  not  liable  to 
lodge  nor  to  shake  in  moderately  high  winds,  although  it  was  not 
proof  against  that  of  1850. 

' '  Previously  to  breaking  up  I  drained  with  pipes  all  the  land 
which  required  drying,  of  which  I  shall  give  a  statement,  along  with 
the  expenses  and  profits  of  the  whole. 

"The  result  shows  that  if  I  had,  some  years  ago,  when  price  of 
grain  were  £ood,  done  as  a  tenant  what  I  have  done  now,  I  should 
have  been  amply  repaid  by  the  first  or  second  crops,  and  have  had 
my  farm  for  the  remainder  of  a  twenty-one  years'  lease  worth  fully 
£100  a  year  more  than  when  I  began. 

"The  result  of  my  experience  is,  that  I  neither  agree  with  the 
generality  of  Scotsmen  nor  with  many  Southerns.  The  former 
are  of  opinion  that  burning  wastes  the  vegetable  matter,  which 
should  be  kept  to  decompose  and  enrich  the  soil,  not  considering 
that  at  once  the  land  receives  a  rich  dressing  of  ashes  quite  equal  to 
two  quarters  of  bones,  or  4  or  5  cwt.  of  the  best  guano  ;  and  that, 
during  the  several  years  which  such  a  slow  process  would  require  to 
take  place,  the  land  might  be  much  more  enriched  by  growing  and 
having  eaten  upon  it  fine  crops  of  rape  and  turnip,  and  by  producing 
heavy  corn  crops,  which  would  in  a  much  shorter  space  be  returned 
to  it  in  the  shape  of  manure  ;  and  also  that  by  the  process  of  burn- 
ing the  land  is  freed  from  the  larvae  of  insects,  such  as  grubs,  slugs, 
wireworms,  &c.  &c,  which  are  engendered  among  the  rough  grass, 
and  fostered  for  a  length  of  time  under  the  rough,  dry,  undecomposed 
turf ;  to  say  nothing  of  the  length  of  time  which  the  speculator  is 
kept  out  of  a  large  amount  of  capital  and  interest,  instead  of  having 
the  former  returned  with  the  latter  after  the  first  or  at  most  the 
second  year. 

"  The  latter,  again  (the  Englishmen),  are  too  much  in  the  habit 
of  repeating  the  operation  of  burning,  even  after  the  land  has 
lain  in  grass  only  for  a  few  years,  when  it  might  as  well  be  ploughed 
and  cultivated  without  such  expense,  thereby  unnecessarily  reducing 
the  soil,  there  not  being  the  same  difficulties  to  be  overcome  nor 
the  same  advantage  to  be  gained  from  it. 

"  I  should  certainly  burn  all  land  with  a  rough  harsh  surface, 
and  should  as  certainly  plough  and  sow  all  land  with  a  sweet  grassy 
face  upon  it. 

t  "In  my  opinion  there  are  few  farms  in  this  country  which  do  not 
contain  certain  portions  of  land  capable  of  remunerative  improvement, 
and  I  have  shown  that  such  improvement  is  quite  within  thescopo 
of  a  tenant  with  a  lease,  without  which  no  man  can  farm  well,  at 
least  in  the  Northumbrian  system.  "Would  it  not  be  better,  then, 
for  landlords,  tenants,  and  the  country  generally,  were  tenants  to 
employ  labourers  on  works  so  speedily  remunerative  to  themselves, 
rather  than  run  to  their  landlord  whenever  they  feel  the  screw,  and 
ask  for  abatement  of  rent,  or  to  be  allowed  to  plough  out  some  pieco 
of  valuable  old  grass,  or  otherwise  cross  crop  their  land,  with  a 
view  of  obtaining  some  temporary  advantage,  but  in  the  end  to  the 
inevitable  injury  of  all  concerned?        (Signed)       "G.  A.  Grey. 

"Millfield  Hill,  Dec.  1,  1851." 

From  a  statement  of  outlay  and  returns  appended  to  the 
above  paper  it  appears  that  the  profits  on  the  three  fields 
were  respectively  £50,  12s.  5d.,  £84,  19s.  3d.,  and  £39, 
2s.  9d.,  from  -which,  however,  there  falls  to  be  deducted 
the'  expense  of  fencing  (£35),  leaving  a  gross  profit  of 
£139,  14s.  5d, 

Section  3. — 'Reclaiming  of  Bogs. 
The  reclamation  of  extensive  bogs,  or  deposits  of  peat, 
is  a  more  arduous  undertaking,  requiring  a  considerable 
expenditure  of  capital  and  longer  time  before  a  return  is 
obtained  from  it.  The  extent  of  land  of  this  description 
in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  is  very  great  Very  exagge- 
rated statements  of  the  profits  to  be  derived  from  its 
improvement  have  often  been  published,  and  not  a  few 
persons  have  incurred  serious  loss  by  rashly  undertaking 
this  kind  of  work.  On  the  other  hand,  when  bogs  are 
favourably  situated  with  reference  to  a  command  of  marl 
or  other  calcareous  matter,  to  assist  in  their  decomposition 
and  consolidation,  and  of  manure  to  enrich  them,  their 


404 


AGRICULTURE 


[improvement  op 


reclamation  has  proved  a  very  profitable  speculation.  The 
well-known  instance  of  Chat  Moss  in  Lancashire  affords  so 
interesting  an  example  of  this  that  we  shall  here  quote 
a  description  of  it. 

"  Chat  Moss,  well  known  as  that  black  barren  swamp  between 
Liverpool  and  Manchester,  contains  6000  acres,  one-half  of  which  is 
in  the  township  of  Barton,  and  the  remainder  in  the  townships  of 
Bedford,  Astley,  and  Worsley. 

"  The  principal  part  of  this  moss,  which  b'es  in  Barton  township, 
belongs  to  the  Trafford  family,  and  is  entailed,  but  the  ancestor  of 
the  present  Sir  Thomas  de  Trafford  appears  to  have  obtained,  at 
the  latter  end  of  .the  last  century,  an  Act  of  Parliament  to  grant  a 
ninety-nine  years'Uease  of  2500  acres  to  a  Mr  Wakefield,  who  about 
the  year  1805  disposed  of  his  interest  in  it  to  the  late  William 
Roscoe,  of  literary  celebrity,  who  spent  a  large  sum  in  a  fruitless 
endeavour  to  improve  it,  failing  in  which,  the  Tease  was  sold  in  1821 
to  other  parties.  J.  A.  Brown,  Esq.,  of  Woolden  HalL  bought 
1300  acres  ;  the  late  Edward  Baines,  M.P.  for  Leeds,  purchased  the 
remaining  1200  acres.  The  most  extensive  and  successful  efforts 
at  improving  this  moss  have  been  made  on  a  part  of  the  1200  acres 
bought  by  Mr  Baines,  who,  besides  occupying  the  part  operated* 
upon  by  Air  Roscoe,  improved  a  considerable  bread/h  himself,,  and 
let  several  portions  to  other  parties,  who  have  made  considerable 
progress  in  improving  small  portions.  The  most  extensive  opera- 
tions, however,  upon  the  whole,  have  been  carried  out  by  a  company 
to  whom  Mr  Baines,  in  1 828,  granted  a  lease  of  550  acres  for  68  years, 
the  remainder  of  the  original  term,  at  a  nominal  rent  for  the  first 
year,  increasing  gradually  till  at  the  end  of  five  years  the  rent 
attained  its  maximum  of  £165  per  annum  for  the  650  acres.  This 
company,  which  was  formed  at  the  .time  the  Liverpool  and  Man- 
chester Railway  was  in  progress  of  being  made  on  the  property, 
consisted,  amongst  others,  of  some  practical  farmers,  and  originated 
with  William  Reed,  who  for  the  three  first  years  was  the  manager, 
and  resided  on  this  farm,  which  they  called  Barton  Moss  farm. , 
During  that  period  I  had  the  pleasure  of  paying  my  friend  Reed  a 
visit,  and  of  witnessing  the  skill  and  success  attending  his  enterprise 
and  various  experiments. 

"  The  first  operation,  that  of  draining,  bad  been  effected  by  open- 
ing side  drains  at  intervals  of  fifty  yards,  into  which  were  laid 
covered  ones  six  yards  apart,  at  right  angles  with  and  emptying 
into  the  open  side  drains. 

"  The  moss  being  in  a  semi-fluid  state,  it  was  necessary  to  proceed 
slowly  with  draining,  taking  out  only  one  graft  or  depth  at  a  time, 
allowing  it  to  remain  a  week  or  a  month,  according  to  the  state  of 
the  weather,  before  taking  out  the  second  graft ;  this  admitted  of 
the  sides  becoming  consolidated,  and  of  the  second  graft  being  taken 
out  without  the  moss  closing  in.  It  was  again  allowed  to  remain 
as  before  till  sufficiently  dry  to  admit  of  the  third  being  removed. 

"  The  open  drains  were  made  3  feet  wide  and  3  feet  6  inches  deep, 
and  the  covered  drains  1 6  inches  wide  and  3  feet  deep ;  the  last  graft  of 
the  latter  being  only  about  6  inches  wide  at  the  top,  tapering  to  4 
inches  at  the  bottom,  and  being  taken  out  of  the  middle  of  the 
cut,  left  a  shouldor  on  each  side.  The  sod  or  graft  first  taken  out 
had  by  this  time  become  tough  and  dry,  and  was  placed,  with  the 
heath  side  downwards,  in  the  shoulder,  thus  leaving  the  narrow  spit 
at  the  bottom  open  for  a  depth  of  about  14  inches  ;  the  other  square 
sod  being  put  on  the  top,  completed  the  drain." 

"The  cost  of  this  mode  of  draining,  insluding  the  side  drains, 
was  about  88s.  per  acre.  The  drains  first  put  in  required  to  be 
renewed  in  a  few  years,  in  consequence  of  the  moss  becoming  so 
much  consolidated  and  reduced  in  height  that  the  plough,  as  well 
as  the  horses'  feet,  broke  through  the  roof,  although  the  horses  were 
shod  with  'pattens,'  or  boards  of  about  10  inches  square,  with  the 
angles  taken  off.  The  second  draining,  however,  was  more  perma- 
nent, and  would  probably  not  have  required  renewing  for  many . 
years  but  for  the  moles,  which  have  been  very  troublesome  in 
working  down  to  the  drains,  and  filling  them  up  in  various  places  ; 
so  that  the  operation  of  draining  has  required  to  he  partially  renewed 
in  every  fiold,  and  in  many  of  them  entirely  so  ;  and  thus  these  little 
animals  have  been  the  cause  of  a  very  considerable  increase  in  the 
cost  of  labour.  It  has  subsequently  been  found  advisable  to  put 
the  under  drains  in  at  4  yards,  instead  of  6  yards  asunder,  and  the 
advantage  in  one  crop  has  been  quite  sufficient  to  pay  the  extra  cost. 
A  two-horso  engine  was  erected,  which  drives  the  thrashing-machine, 
straw-cutter,  and  crushing-mill ;  and  the  escape-steam  from  it 
steams  the  horses'  food. 

"The  buildings  were  erected  principally  of  timber,  covered  with 
asphalted  felt 

"After  draining,  making  roads,  and  burning  off  the  heath  plant, 
the  bind  was  scarified  lengthwise  of  the  fields  by  an  implement 
with  knives  shaped  like  coulters!  reversed,  sharp  on  the  convex 
side,  fixed  in  two  bars,  and  drawn  by  three  horses  yoked  abreast 

"The  tough  surface  was  by  this  means  cut  at  every  four  inches  ; 
the  bind  was  then  ploughed  Across  the  scarifying ;  a  roller,  sur- 
rounded with  knives,  was  next  passed  across  the  plough  ;  after 
this  the  land  was  well  harrowed  till  sufficiently  reduced. 


"  From  60  to  100  cubic  yards  of  marl  were  put  on  an  acre,  and 
in  the  following  summer  the  land  was  manured,  also  by  means  of 
the  movable  railway,  at  the  rate  of  fifty  tons  of  black  Manchester 
manure  per  acre,  and  planted  with  potatoes,  which  were  followed 
by  wheat  sown  with  red  clover  and  ryegrass,  for  mowing  for  one 
or  two  years  ;  then  oats  and  potatoes,  Jtc,  as  before.  These  wcie 
all  flourishing  crops  ;  the  wheat  in  particular  looked  bright  and 
beautiful  The  potatoes  were  sold  for  i'25  and  £30  per  acre,  which 
more  than  paid  the  whole  cost  of  improvement.  Mr  John  Bell, 
resident  bailiff,  has  made  many  valuable  experiments  relative  to 
the  improvement  of  raw  moss,  one  of  which  has  resulted  in  a  dis- 
covery likely  to  be  of  considerable  importance,  which  is,  that  a 
mixture  of  lime  and  salt  applied  a  while  before  seeding,  with  the 
addition  of  a  good  dressing  of  guano,  in  the  proportion  of  four  tone 
of  lime  and  nve  cwt  of  salt  per  acre,  qualifies  it  to  produce  a 
crop  of  potatoes  or  oats  equal  to  that  after  the  application  of  60 
yards  of  marl  per  acre.  It  is  essential  that  the  mixture  should  be 
spread  while  it  is  hot  Mr  Evens  (one  of  the  proprietors)  is  con- 
vinced that  the  peat  on  the  surface  ought  never  to  be  burned  ;  he 
has  always  found  that,  when  the  heathvsod  is  turned  down  to  decay, 
much  better  crops  have  been  obtained  than  when  it  has  been  burnt 
off,  or  than  when  the  top  has  been  taken  away  either  for  fuel  oi 
other  purposes.  What  are  termed  moss-fallows, — that  is,  parts  which 
have  had  the  moss  taken  off  for  fuel, — will  never  bear  so  good  a  crop 
as  the  upper  surface,  however  deep  the  moss  may  be  underneath. 
— (Notes  on  the  Agriculture  of  Lancashire,  vrith  Suggestions  /or  its 
Improvement,  by  Jonathan  Binns.) 

About  a  century  ago,  Lord  Karnes,  on  becoming  pro- 
prietor of  the  estate  of  Blair-Drummond,  in  the  county 
of  Perth,  began  the  improvement  of  a  large  tract  of  worth- 
less moss  by  a  totally  different  process  from  that  now 
detailed.  In  this,  case  the  moss  had  accumulated  upon  a 
good  alluvial  clay  soil  Instead,  therefore,  of  attempts  being 
made  to  improve  the  moss  itself,  it  was  floated  off  piecemeal 
into  the  neighbouring  Firth  of  Forth  The  supply  of  water 
required  for  this  purpose  was  obtained  from  the  river  Teith, 
from  which  it  was  raised  to  the  requisite  height  by  a 
powerful  water-wheeL  ■  Being  conveyed  througV  the  moss 
in  channels,  successive  layers  of  peat  were  dug  and  thrown 
into  these  channels, which  were  shifted  as  occasion  required, 
until  the  whole  inert  mass  was  removed.  A  thin  stratum 
next  the  clay  was  burnt,  and  the  ashes  used  as  manure. 
An  immense  extent  of  moss  has  thus  been  got  rid  of  on 
that  estate  and  on  others  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  "an 
extensive  tract  of  country,  where  formerly  only  a  few  snipes 
and  muir-fowl  could  find  subsistence,  has  been  converted, 
as  if  by  magic,  into  a  rich  and  fertile  carse  of  alluvial  soil, 
worth  from  £3  to  £5  per  acre." 

Section  4. — Reclaiming  of  Fen  Lands. 

We  next  notice  the  fen  lands  of  England.  "  In  popular 
language,  the  word  fen  designates'  all  low  wet  lands, 
whether  peatbog,  river  alluvium,  or  salt  marsh  ;  put  in  the 
great  Bedford  level,  which,  extending  itself  in  Cambridge- 
shire and  five  adjoining  counties,  is  the  largest  tract  of  fen 
land  in  the  kingdom,  the  farmer  always  distinguishes,  and 
it  is  thought  conveniently  and  correctly,  between  fen  land 
and  marsh  land.  By  the  former  they  mean  land  partly 
alluvial  and  formed  by  river  floods,  and  partly  accumulated 
by  the  growth  of  peat.  Such  lands  are  almost  invariably 
of  a  black  colour,  and  contain  a  great  percentage  of  carbon. 
By  marsh  lands  they  mean  low  tracts  gained  from  the  sea, 
either  by  the  gradual  silting  up  of  estuaries  or  by  artificial 
embankments."  Low-lying  peat  occurs  in  small  patches  in 
nearly  every  maritime  county  of  Britain,  being  usually 
separated  from  the  sea  or  from  estuaries  by  salt  marsh  or 
alluvium.  There  is  a  large  extent  of  such  land  in  Somerset- 
shire yet  but  partially  drained, -and  a  still  larger  breadth 
in  Lancashire,  where  its  improvement  makes  steady  pro- 
gress. In  Kent,  on  the  seaboard  of  Norfolk,  on  both  shores 
of  the  Hnmber,  and  stretching  along  the  sides  of  its  tribu- 
taries, there  are  immense  "tracts  of  this  description  of  land. 
But  these  are  all  exceeded  in  importance  by  the  "  great 
level  of  the  fens,  which  occupies,  the  south-eastern  quarter 
of  Lincolnshire,  the  northern  half  of  Cambridgeshire,  and 


WASTE   LANDS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


405 


spreads  also  into  the  counties  of  Norfolk,  Suffolk,  Hunting- 
don, and  Northampton.  Its  length  is  about  70  miles,  its 
breadth  from  3  or  4  to  30  or  40  miles,  the  whole  area  being 
upwards  of  1060  square  miles,  or  680,000  acres.  On  the 
map  tho  fens  appear  like  an  enlargement  of  the  Wash,  and 
in  reality  have  the  aspect  of  a  sea  of  land,  lying  between 
that  bay  and  the  high  lands  in  each  of  the  above-named 
counties,  which  seem  to  form  an  irregular  coast-line  around 
it."  This  fen  country  has  for  centuries  been  the  scene  of 
drainage  operations  on  a  stupendous  scale.  The  whole  sur- 
face of  the  great  basin  of  the  fens  is  lower  than  the  sea, 
the  level  varying  from  four  to  sixteen  feet  below  high- 
water  mark  in  the  German  Ocean.  The  difficulty  of  drain- 
ing this  flat  tract  is  increased  from  the  circumstance  that 
the  ground  is  highest  near  the  shore,  and  falls  inland 
towards  the  foot  of  the  slope.  These  inland  and  lowest 
grounds  consist  of  spongy  peat,  which  has  a  natural 
tendency  to  retain  water.  The  rivers  and  streams  which 
flow  from  the  higher  inlands  discharge  upon  these  level 
grounds,  and  originally  found  their  way  into  the  broad 
and  shallow  estuary  of  the  Wash,  obstructed  in  all  direc- 
tions by  bars  and  shifting  sand-banks.  These  upland 
waters  being  now  caught  at  their  point  of  entrance  upon 
Ihe  fens,  are  confined  within  strong  artificial  banks,  and 
so  guided  straight  seaward.  They  are  thus  restrained  from 
flooding  the  low  grounds,  and  by  their  concentration  and 
momentum  assist  in  scouring  out  the  silt  from  the'  narrow 
channel  to  which  they  are  confined.  The  tidal  waters  are 
at  the  same  time  fenced  out  by  sea-banks,  which  are  pro- 
vided at  proper  intervals  with  sluice  doors,  by  which  the 
waters  escape  at  ebb-tide.  To  show  the  extent  of  these 
operations,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  whole  sea-coast 
of  Lincolnshire  and  part  of  Norfolk,  a  line  of  at  least  130 
miles,  consists  of  marsh  lands  lower  than  the  tides,  and  is 
protected  by  barrier  banks,  besides  which  there  are  hun- 
dreds of  miles  of  river  embankments.  When  this  does 
hot  provide  such  a  drainage  as  to  admit  of  cultivation,  the 
water  is  lifted  mechanically  by  wind  or  steam  mills  into 
the  main  aqueducts. 

The  first  use  of  steam-engines  for  the  purpose  of  drain- 
ing was  in  Deeping  fen,  where,  in  1824-5,  two,  of  80  and 
60  horse-power  respectively,  were  erected.  By  means  of 
these  two  engines  upwards  of  20,000  acres  have  now  a 
good  drainage,  whereas  formerly  forty-four  wind-mills, 
with  an  aggregate  power  of  400  horses,  failed  to  keep' 
them  sufficiently  dry.  The  scoop-wheel  of  the  larger 
engine  is  28  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  float-boards  are  5 
feet  wide.  It  was  intended  to  have  a  "  dip  "  of  "5  feet, 
but  the  land  has  subsided  so  much  in  consequence  of  the 
draining  that  it  seldom  has  a  dip  of  more  than  2  feet  9 
inches.  The  water  is  lifted  on  an  average  7  feet  high. 
When  both  engines  are  at  work  they  raise  300  tons  weight 
of  water  per  minute. 

The  soil  of  the  fens  consists  for  the  most  part  of  dark- 
coloured  peat,  from  1  to  8  or  10  feet  in  depth.  The  surface 
in  general  is  not  pure  peat,  but  is  mixed  with  silt  or  other 
soil.  Under  thi3  there  is  in  general  a  stratum  of  brown 
spongy  peat,  which  sometimes  rests  upon  gravel,  but  for 
the  most  part  upon  clay,  which  usually  contains  a  portion 
of  calcareous  matter.  The  removal  of  the  water  has  of 
course  been  the  primary  improvement ;  but  subsidiary  to 
this  the  rapid  amelioration  and  great  fertility  of  the  fen 
lands  are  largely  due  to  this  fortunate  conjunction  of  clay 
and  peat.  The  early  practice  ot  the  fen  farmers  was  to 
pare  and  burn  the  surface,  grow  repeated  crops  of  rape, 
oats,  wheat,  &c,  and  burn  again.  The  subsidence  of  the 
soil  subsequent  to  the  draining  and  repeated  paring  and 
burning,  brought  the  surface  nearer  to  the  subjacent  clay, 
which  the  cultivators  by  and  by  began  to  dig  up  and  spread 
over  the  surface.     This  practice  is  now  universal,  and  its 


continued  use,  together  with  careful  cultivation  and  liberal 
manuring,  has  changed  a  not  very  productive  peat  into  on© 
of  the  most  fertile  soils  in  the  kingdom.  Nowhere  in  our 
country  has  the  industry  and  skill  of  man  effected  greater 
changes  than  in  the  fens.  What  was  once  a  dismal  morass, 
presenting  to  the  view  in  summer  a  wilderness  of  reeds, 
sedges,  andjpools  of  water,  among  which  the  cattle  waded, 
and  in  winter  almost  an  unbroken  expanse  of  water,  is 
now  a  fertile  corn  land.  JThe  fen  men,  who  formerly  lived 
upon  the  adjacent  high  lands,  and  occupied  themselves  with 
fishing,  fowling,  and  attending  to  their  cattle,  have  now 
erected  homesteads  upon  the  fen  lands,  divided  them  by 
thorn  hedges,  and  brought  them  into  the  highest  state  of 
cultivation. 

We  referred  at  the  outset  to  the  distinction  betwixt  fen 
land  and  marsh  land.  The  following  pertinent  observa- 
tions on  the  reclamation  of  marsh  land  are  extracted  from 
Mr  David  Stevenson's  paper  in  the  Highland  and  Agricul- 
tural Society's  Transactions,  vol.  iii.,  1871. 

First,  In  order  to  insure  success,  the  space  to  be  reclaimed  most 
be  within  the  influence  of  water  containing  much  alluvial  matter, 
and  not  on  the  shores  of  an  open  sandy  estuary. 

Secondly,  The  spaces  to  be  reclaimed  should  he  allowed  to  receive 
the  deposit  left  by  the  tide  for  as  long  a  period  as  possible,  and  no 
attempt  should  be  made  entirely  to  exclude  the  water  from  them, 
until  they  have  by  .gradual  accretion  attained  the  level  of  at  least 
ordinary  spring  tides. 

The  first  case  to  which  I  shall  refer  is  Loch  Foyle,  a  situation 
where  the  amount  of  salt  water  greatly  preponderates  over  the  fresh. 
Extensive  reclamations  have  been  made  there,  and  I  have  received 
from  Mr  G.  Henry  Wiggins,  of  Londonderry,  some  notes  regarding 
them,  from  which  I  extract  the  following  interesting  information: — 

"After  the  salt  water  had  been  excluded,  shallow  surface  drains 
were  made  with  spades  or  forks,  and  in  about  two  years  ryegrass 
grew  pretty  freely :  exceptional  spots  remained  barren  for  some  time. 
The  gras3  was  followed  by  oats,  which  improved  as  the  said  left  the 
soil.  Deeper  draining  allowed  the  cultivation  of  flax  and  clover  ; 
afterwards,  on  deeper  draining,  all  ordinary  crops  began  to  grow 
well — wheat,  beans,  turnips,  mangold,  and  carrots — but  all  requiring 
fully  as  much  manure  as  any  old  upper  land.  These  sloblands, 
says  Mr  Wiggins,  yield  a  great  return  for  manure,  but  must  have 
manure  on  the  lower  and  damper  portions.  Feorin  grass  grows  well 
without  manure. 

"Whenever  the  ditches -have  so  far  drained  the  soil  as  to  allow 
of  its  becoming  cracked  and  open  to  the  air,  the  crops  begin  to 
increase  in  produce,  but  the  full  value  of  the  soil  is  never  known 
until  thoroughly  under-drained  with  tile  or  stone  ;  it  then  mostly 
yields  excellent  crops  of  almost  any  produce,  clover  and  ryegrass 
for  hay  being  perhaps  the  most  profitable.  Grazing  the  land  does  not 
answer,  except  from  the  beginning  of  May  to  the  end  of  September; 
after  this  the  soil  is  too  cold  and  damp  for  the  beasts  to  fie  down, 
and  they  begin  to  fail." 

The  expense  of  these  intakes  on  the  Foyle  may  be  taken  at 
about  £20  an  acre  to  get  them  from  the  sea ;  the  expense  of  bring- 
ing the  land  when  got  into  cultivation  will  come  to  at  least  £10 
more ;  making  a  total  of  £30  per  acre.  The  best  lands  are  worth 
50s.  to  40s.  the  Cunningham  or  Scotch  acre,  and  the  lowest  and 
wettest  parts  perhaps  not  more  than  10s. — say  30s.  round  as  a  fair 
average.  To  this  has  to  be  added  the  expense  of  keeping  up  the 
banks  and  pumping  water ;  so  that  I  believe  Mr  Wiggins  is  right 
when  he  says  that  no  great  profit  can  be  expected,  ana  that  these 
matters  are  generally  undertaken  by  hopeful  and  energetic  enthu- 
siasts, who  seldom  realise  their  expectations,  and  afterwards  fall  into 
the  hands  pf  other  parties,  who  are  perhaps  rather  more  successful. 

The  reclamations  made  by  the  Ulverston  and  Lancaster  Railway 
in  Morecambe  Bay  were  rapidly  formed  by  the  embankment  for 
carrying  the  railway,  which  was  made  in  pretty  deep  water.  '  Like 
the  Foyle,  there  is  also  predominance  of  sea-water.  Mr  G.  Drewry,  of 
Holker  in.  Lancashire,  has  favoured  me  with  the  following  informa- 
tion : — "  A  portion  of  the  land  enclosed  by  the  railway  in  1856  was 
grassed  over,  and  the  remainder  was  sand  without  any  vegetation  on 
it.  After  it  was  levelled  it  was  divided  into  fields  by  open  ditches 
and  wire  fences ;  the  ditches  had  to  be  made  very  wide  at  the  top,  in 
order  to  get  them  to  stand.  The  land  was  ther  drained  with  3-inch 
pipes,  each  drain  opening  into  the  ditch  at  each  side  of  the  field. 
The  tiles  were  all  covered  round  with  peat  moss,  to  act  as  a  filter  to 
prevent  the  sand  from  running  into  them.  The  sand  is  so  fine 
that  without  this  precaution  the  drains  would  have  filled  up  very 
quickly.  The  drainage  is  the  great  difficulty,  as  they  are  very  apt  'o 
nil  up  after  every  precaution  has  been  taken. 

"  On  the  portion  which  was  grassed  over,  two  crops  of  oats  were 
first  taken,  and  then  it  was  green-cropped.     It  grew  for  a  few  years 


406 


AGRICULTURE 


good  cropa'or  wheat,  beans,  and  clover,  as  well  as  Sweaian  turnips 
and  mangolds  ;  but  though  a  great  quantity  of  manure  was  used, 
the  crops  fell  off,  and  at  present  it  is  nearly  all  in  grass.  The 
portion  which  vas  bare  sand  was  treated  in  the  same  way,  except 
as  to  the  first  two  crops  of  oats.  It  was  gMen-cropped  after  it  had 
been  enclosed  about  two  years.  A/ter  the  railway  was  made  there 
was  do  means  of  silting  the  land.  The  tide  was  entirely  kept  out ; 
had  it  been  admitted,  this  land  would  have  been  much  more  vain- 
able  and  much  higher — we  would  then  have  had  a  better  drainage 
and  a  richer  sand.  That  portion  which  was  grassed  over  at  the 
time  it  was.  enclosed  is  still  much  the  best 

•  "  When  land  is  reclaimed  from  the  sea,  the  fint  thing  to  be  looked 
to  is  a  good  outfall  for  the  water,  and,  when  it  is  possible,  no  doubt 
it  is  very  desirable  that  the  land  should  be  silted  Up  gradually. 
In  our  case  this  could  not  be  done,  as  the  reclamation  of  the  land 
wag  i  very  secondary  affair." 

In  the  district  called  Marshland,  in  Norfolk,  extending 
between  the  Ouse  and  the  Nen ;  in  that  called  South 
Holland,  in  Lincolnshire,  stretching  between  the  Nen  and 
the  Welland ;  northward  of  Spalding,  and  also  north-east 
of  Boston,  there  is  a  considerable  tract  of  marine  clay  soil 
In  Marshland  this  is  chiefly  arable  land,  producing  large 
crops  of  wheat  and  beans ;  but  in  Lincolnshire  it  forms 
exceedingly  fine  grazing  land.  This  tract  lies  within  the 
old  Roman  embankment*  by  which  the  district  was  first 
defended  from  the  ocean.  Outside  this  barrier  are  the 
proper  marsh  lands,  which  have  been  reclaimed  in  portions 
at  successive  periods,  and  are  still  intersected  in  all  direc- 
tions by  ranges  of  banks.  The  extraordinary  feature  of 
this  tract  is,  'that  the  surface  outside  the  Roman  bank  is 
3  or  4  feet  higher .  than  that  in  the  inside,  and  the 
level  of  each  new  enclosure  is  more  elevated  than  the  pre- 
vious one.  The  land  rises  step  by  step  as  the  coast  is 
approached,  so  that  the  most  recently  reclaimed  land  is 
often  12  or  even  18  feet  higher  than  the  lowest  fen 
land  in  the.  interior,  the  drainage  from  which  must 
nevertheless  be  conveyed  through  these  more  elevated 
marshes  to  the  sea. 

Lands  such  as  some  of  those  which  we  have  just  been 
describing  are  often  greatly  improved,  or  rather  may  be 
said  to  be  made,  by  means  of  a  peculiar  mode  of  irrigation 
called  "  warping."  It  is  practicable  only  in  the  case  of 
land  lying  below  the  level  of  high  tide  in  muddy  rivers. 
It  is  little  more  than  a  century  since  it  was  first  practised 
in  England,  the  first  instance  of  it  being  near  Howden,  on 
the  banks  of  the  Humber.  But  although'  the  practice  is 
comparatively  new  in  Britain,  it  has  long  been  in  use  on 
the  continent  of  Europe,  particularly  in  Italy,  and  is  thus 
described  by  Mr  Cadell : — "  In  the  Val  de  Chiana,  fields 
that  are  too  low  are  raised  and  fertilised  by  the  process 
called  colmata,  which  is  done  in  the  following  manner : — 
The  field  is  surrounded  by  an  embankment  to  confine  the 
water.  The  dike  of  the  rivulet  is  broken  down  so  as  to 
admit  the  muddy  water  of  the  high  floods.  The  Chiana 
itself  is  too  powerful  a  body  of  water  to  be  used  for  this 
purpose;  it  is  only  the  streams  that  flow  into  the  Chiana 
that  are  thus  usei  This  water, is  allowed  to  settle  and 
deposit  its  mud  upon  the  field.  The  water  is  then  let  off 
into  the  river  at  the  lower  end  of  the  field  by  a  discharg- 
ing course  cavied  scolo,  and  in  French  canal  d'ecoulement. 
The  water-course  which  conducts  the  water  from  a  river, 
either  to  a  field  for  irrigation  or  to  a  mill,  is  called  yora. 
In  this  manner  a  field  will  be  raised  5i  and  sometimes  7£ 
feet  in  ten  years.  If  the  dike  is  broken  down  to  the  bottom, 
the  field  may  be  raised  to  the  same  height  in  seven  years ;  but 
then  in  this  case  gravel  is  also  carried  in  along  with  the 
mud.  In  a  field  of  25  acres,  which  had  been  six  years 
under  the  process  of  colmata,  in  which  the  dike  was  broken 
down,  to  within  3  feet  of  the  bottom,  the  process  was  seen  to 
be  so  far  advanced  that  only  another  year  was  requisite  for 
its  completion.  The  floods  in  thi3  instance  had  been  much 
charged  with  soiL  The  water  which  comes  off  cultivated 
land  cumvletos  the  process  sooner  than  that  which  comes 


WASTE   LANDS 

off  hill  and  woodland.     Almost  the  whole  of  the  Val  di 
Chiana  has  been  raised  by  the  process  of  colmata."  * 

Section  5. — Blowing  Sands. 

On  many  parts  of  our  sea-coasts,  and  especially  in  th« 
Hebrides,  there  occur  extensive  tracts  of  blowing  sands, 
which  are  naturally  not  only  sterile  themselves,  but  a  source 
of  danger  to  better  lands  adjoining  them,  which  in  some 
instances  have  been  quite  ruined  by  the  sand  deposited 
upon  them  by  the  winds.  This  mischief  is  effectually  pre- 
vented by  a  process  beautifully  simple  and  useful,  namely, 
planting  the  sand-banks  with  sea  bent^grass  (Amnio 
armaria),  the  matting  fibres  and  stems  of  which  not  only 
bind  the  sand,  but  clothe  it  with  a  herbage  which  is  relished 
by  cattle,  and  which,  being  able  to  resist  the  severest  winter 
weather,  furnishes  a  valuable  winter  forage  in  those  bleak 
situations.  The  bent-grass  can  be  propagated  by  seed, 
but  in  exposed  situations  it  is  found  better  to  transplant 
it.  This  operation  is  performed  betwixt"  October  and 
March,  as  it  succeeds  best  when  the  sand  is  moist  and 
evaporation  slow. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 

According  to  the  method  proposed  at  the  outset,  we 
now  offer  a  few  observations  on  several  topics  connected 
with  our  subject. 

Section  1. — Of  the  Tenure  of  Land. 

The  extent  of  land  in  Graat  Britain  occupied  by  its 
owners  for  agricultural  purposes  bears  a  very  small  pro- 
portion to  the  whole  area.  The  yeoman  class  is  still 
numerous  in  several  parts  of  England,  but  must  have 
diminished  greatly  from  that  continuous  amalgamation  of 
small  estates  into  large  ones  which  has  formed  a  marked 
feature  in  our  social  history  during  the  present  century. 
This  change,  although  to  be  regretted  on  public  grounds, 
has  had  a  favourable  influence  on  the  cultivation  of  the  soil, 
for  it  almost  invariably  happens  that  a  larger  produce  is 
obtained  from  land  when  it  is  occupied  by  a  tenant  than 
when  it  is  cultivated  by  its  proprietor.  As  a  matter  ol 
fact,  the  land  of  the  country  is  now,  with  trifling  exceptions, 
let  out  to  professional  farmers  in  quantities  varying  from 
the  rood-allotment  of  the  village  labourer  to  the  square, 
miles  of  the  Highland  grazier.  Farms  of  all  sizes  are 
usually  to  be  found  in  any  district,  and  most  important  It 
is  that  this  should  be  the  case ;  but  the  extent  of  farms  is 
chiefly  determined  by  the  amount  of  hired  labour  employed 
upon  them,  and  the  measure  of  personal  superintendence 
on  the  part  of  the  tenant  which  the  kind  of  husbandry 
pursued  upon  them  calls  for.  We  accordingly  find  that 
in  very  fertile  tracts,  in  the  vicinity  of  towns,  and  in  dairy 
districts,  they  seldom  exceed  200  acres  ;  wheve  the  ordinary 
alternate  husbandry  is  practised  the  average  ranges  from 
300  to  400 ;  in  more  elevated  tracts,  where  a  portion  of 
natural  sheep-walk  is  occupied  along  with  arable  land,  it 
rises  to  800  or  1000;  while  that  of  the  sheep  grazings  of 
our  hills  and  mountains  is  limited  only  by  the  capital  of 
the  tenant.  About  a  century  ago  there  occurred  in  various 
parts  of  Great  Britain  a  similar  amalgamation  of  small 
holdings  into  farms  of  the  sizes  which  we  ha»e  now  re- 
ferred to  as  is  at  present  in  progress  in  Ireland.  This 
enlargement  of  farms,  with  the  employment  of  increased 
capital  in  their  cultivation,  insures  a  more'  rapid  reclama- 
tion of  waste  lands,  and  general  progress  of  agriculture  up 
to  a  certain  point,  than  would  otherwise  take  place.  But 
as  every  step  in  advance  beyond  this  point  implies  an 

1  Journey  in  Carniola,  Italy,  and  France,  by  W.  A.  Cadell,  Esq.. 
F.B.S. 


LAND  TENURE.] 


AGRICULTURE 


407 


increase  of  outlay  in  proportion  to  the  extent,  and  the  need 
for  closer  superintendence,  it  seems  likely  that,  in  future, 
the  size  of  arable  farms  will  not  further  increase,  but  may 
rather  be  expected  to  approximate  towards  that  which  at 
present  obtains  in  suburban  districts. 

Farms  are  held  either  by  yearly  tenancy  or  under  leases 
for  a  specified  number  of  years.  The  latter  plan  is  that 
upon  which  nearly  the  whole  lands  of  Scotland  are  let ; 
and  it  obtains  also  to  a  considerable  extent  in  the  northern 
counties  of  England,  in  West  Norfolk,  and  in  Lancashire. 
But  with  these  and  other  exceptions,  amounting  altogether 
to  about  a  tenth  part,  the  farms  of  England  are  held  by 
yearly  tenancy,  which  can  be  terminated  by  either  of  the 
contracting  parties  giving  the  other  six  months'  notice  to 
that  effect.  This  precarious  tenure  has  been  attended  by 
far  fewer  changes  than  a  stranger  might  suppose,  owing 
to  the  highly  honourable  conduct  for  which  English  pro- 
prietors as  a  class  have  long  been  noted.  On  all  the  large 
estates  it  is  quite  common  to  find  families  occupying  farms 
of  which  their  ancestors  have  been  tenants  for  generations, 
or  even  for  centuries.  The  mutual  esteem  and  confidence 
which  usually  subsist  between  such  landlords  and  tenants 
are  undoubtedly  much  to  the  credit  of  both,  but  not  the  less 
has  the  system,  as  a  whole,  operated  unfavourably  for  all 
concerned  ;  for  however  numerous  and  striking  the  excep- 
tions, it  is  yet  the  fact  that  under  this  system  of  tenancy- 
at-wiO  less  capital  has  been  invested  in  the  improvement  of 
farms*  less  labour  has  been  employed,  and  less  enterprise 
displayed  in  their  ordinary  cultivation,  less  produce  has 
been  obtained  from  them  by  the  occupiers,  and  less  rent 
has  been  raceived  for  them  by  the  owners,  than  in  the 
case  of  similar  lands  let  on  leases  for  a  term  of  years. 
These  different  results  ensue,  not  because  tenants  with  leases 
are  abler  men  or  better  farmers  than  their  neighbours  who 
are  without  them,  but  solely  bcause  the  one  system  re- 
cognises certain  important  principles  which  the  other 
ignores.  It  is  contrary  to  human  nature  to  expect  that 
any  body  of  men  will  as  freely  invest  their  capital,  whether 
in  the  shape  of  money,  skill,  -  or  labour,  in  a  business 
yielding  such  slow  returns  as  agriculture,  with  no  better 
guarantee  that  they  or  their  families  shall  reap  the  fruits 
of  it  than  the  continued  good-will  of  existing  proprietors 
or  those  who  any  day  may  succeed  .them,  as  they  will 
do  with  the.  security  which  a  lease  for  a  term  of  years 
affords.  It  does  therefore  seem  strange  that  a  majority 
of  the  farmers  of  Great  Britain  should  be  tenants-at-will, 
and  still  more  strange  that  they  should  be-  so_  of  choice. 
It  is  nevertheless  true  that  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
tenantry  of  England  are  even  less  disposed  to  accept  of 
leases  than  their  landlords  are  to  grant  them.  The  latter 
cling  to  the  system  because  of  the  greater  control  which 
they  thereby  retain  over  their  estates,  and  the  greater 
political  influence  with  which  it  invests  them  :  the  former 
do  so  because  low  rents  are  one  of  its  accompaniments. 
Since  the  removal  of  restrictions  on  the  importation  of 
foreign  agricultural  produce,  there  are  indications  that 
neither  landlords  nor  tenants  are  so  well  satisfied  with  this 
system  of  tenancy-at-will  as  they  once  were.  Not  only  is 
the  granting  of  leases  becoming  more  common  than  it  has 
hitherto  been,  but  there  is  a  growing  desire  on  the  part  of 
tenants  to  obtain  the  benefit  of  that  guarantee  for  the 
realising  of  their  capital  which  tenant-right  affords  to  en- 
terprising farmers  who  may  have  unexpectedly  to  quit  their 
farms.  In  certain  districts  of  England  this  claim,  called 
tenant-right,  has  been  recognised  so  long  that,  apart  either 
from  written  stipulation  or  statutory  enactment,  it  has,  by 
mere  usage,  attained  to  something  like  a  legal  standing. 
In  Lincolnshire  an' out-going  tenant  can,  by  virtue  of  this 
usage,  claim  from  his  landlord  or  successor  repayment,  .in 
certain  definite  proportions,  of  the  cost  of  such  ameliora- 


tions of  a  specified  kind  as  he  may  have  made  during  the 
last  years  of  his  occupancy,  and  the  benefits  of  which  his 
removal  hinders  him  from  realising  in  the  natural  way. 

Tenant-right  is  certainly  a  valuable  adjunct  to  tenancy- 
at-will,  but  still  it  does  not  meet  the  real  exigencies  of  the 
case.  There  are  feelings  inherent  in  man's  nature  which 
cause  him  to  recoil  from  exertions  the  fruits  of  which  are 
as  likely  to  be  enjoyed  by  a  stranger  as  by  himself  or  his 
family. '  This  repugnance,  and  its  paralysing  influence,  is 
not  to  be  removed  by  a  mere  "  right "  to  pecuniary  com- 
pensation. It  is  certainty  of  tenure — so  far  at  least  as 
human  arrangements  can  be  certain — which  will  really 
induce  a  fanner  to  throw  his  whole  heart  into  his  business. 
It  is .  accordingly  to  this  principle  that  leases  owe  their 
value,  and  by  it  also  that  the  only  weak  point  in  them 
is  to  be  accounted  for.  The  first  years  of  a  lease-  are 
usually  characterised  by  an  energetic  performance  of  various 
improvements,  whereas  towards  its  close  there  is  usually 
such  a  withdrawing  even  of  ordinary  outlay  as  is  unfavour- 
able to  the  interests  of  both  landlord  and  tenant.  There 
is  at  present  a  very  generally  entertained  opinion  that 
this  inconvenience  would  be  obviated  by  engrafting  the 
system  of  tenantrright  upon  that  of  leases.  So  strongly 
has  the  current  of  opinion  been  running  in  this  direction 
that  a  bill  has  been  submitted  to  the  legislature  for  the 
purpose  of  conferring  on  out-going  tenants  a  legal  claim  to 
.compensation  for  certain  specified  investments  which  may 
have  been  made  by  them,  but  of  which  their  removal  hinders 
them  from  reaping  the  benefit.  This  bill  further  provided 
that  in  the  event  of  a  tenant  having  erected  buildings  for 
his  own  accommodation  without  the  sanction  of  his  landlord, 
he  should  have  a  right  to  remove  the  materials  if  the 
landlord  or  incoming  tenant  declined  to  purchase  them. 
Through  accidental  circumstances  this  bill  was  withdrawn 
without  being  discussed,  but  it  is  certain  to  be  re-intro- 
duced, and  sooner  or  later  to  be  passed.  It  is  now  admitted 
on  all  hands  that  land .  cannot  be  cultivated  to  its  full 
measure  of  productiveness  without  a  large  investment  of 
capital,  and  that  this  outlay,  -when  once  incurred,  cannot 
be  recouped  for  several  years  at  the 'least.  It  is  in  vain, 
therefore,  to  expect  that  these  so  much  needed  investments 
will  be  made  nntil  those  who  should  make  them  are  secured 
against  having  their  property  confiscated  by  a  sb:  months' 
notice  to  quit. 

It  seems  to  be  generally  admitted  that  twenty-one  years 
is  the  proper  duration  for  an  agricultural  lease.  Such  a 
term  suffices  to  give  confidence  to  the  tenant  in  embarking 
his  capital,  and  secures  to  the  landlord  his  legitimate 
control  over  his  property,  and  due  participation  in  its 
varying  value.  .  It  is  generally  felt  by  tenants  that  the 
lease  or  document  in  which  their  agreement  ■with  their 
landlord  is  engrossed  might  with  advantage  be  mnch 
shortened,  as  well  as  simplified  in  its  terms.  When  treating 
of  the  succession  of  crops  we  have  already  expressed  our 
views  regarding  those  restrictive  clauses  which  usua"y 
occupy  a  prominent  place  in  such  writings.  Such  restric- 
tions are  of  course  introduced  with  the  view  of  guarding 
the  property  of  the  landlord  froni  deterioration  ;  but  when 
he  is  so  unfortunate  as  to  meet  with  incompetent  or  dishonest 
tenants,  they  entirely  fail  to  secure  this  object,  and  yet  ere 
a  hindrance  and  discouragement  to  enterprising  and  con 
scientious  tenants.  It  is  probable  that  the  .existence  of 
the  laws  of  distraint  in  England  and  hypothec  in  Scotland, 
which  give  to  landlords  a  Hen  over  the  effects  of  their 
tenantry  in  security  for  the  payment  of  the  current  year's 
rent,  has  had  its  influence  in  adding  rb  the  number  and 
stringency  of  these  clauses,  and  has  encouraged  the  practice 
of  letting  lands  by  tender  to  the  highest  offerer.  For  the 
law  in  question,  by  rendering  landlords  to  a  considerable 
extent  independent  of  the  personal  character  and  pecuniary 


IDS 


AGRICULTURE 


[oKNBBAr 


circumstances  of  the  occupiers  of  their  land,  has  obviously 
a  direct  tendency  to  render  them  less  cautious  than  they 
would  otherwise  be,  and  to  induce  them,  when  tempted 
by  the  promise  of  high  rents,  to  trust  more  to  this  legal 
»e.;u.-  _•  than  to  the  mural  character,  business  habits,  pro- 
fessional skill,  and  pecuniary  competency  of  candidates  for 
their  farms. 

Section  2. — Capital  required  for  working  a  Farm. 

The  amount  of  capital  that  is  required  in  order  that  the 
business  of  farming  may  be  conducted  advantageously,  is 
largely  determined  by  the  nature  of  the  soil,  <fcc,  of  each 
farm,  the  system  of  management  appropriate  to  it,  the  price 
of  stock  and  of  labour;  and  the  terms  at  which  its  rents 
are  payable.  In  the  case  of  land  of  fair  quality,  on  which 
the  alternate  husbandry  is  pursued,  and  when  the  rents 
are  payable  as  the  produce  is  realised,  £10  per  acre  may 
be  regarded  as  an  amount  of  capital  which  will  enable  a 
tenant  to  prosecute  his  business  with  advantage  and  com- 
fort. In  letting  a  farm,  a  landlord  not  only  does  a  just  and 
prudent  thing  for  himself,  but  acts  as  a  true  friend  to  his 
proposed  tenant,  when  he  insists  upon  being  shown  that 
the  latter  is  possessed  of  available  funds  to  an  amount 
adequate  to  its  probable  requirements. 

The  importance  of  the  topics  to  which  we  have  thus 
referred  is  happily  expressed  by  Mr  Pusey,  when,  after 
enumerating  various  agricultural  desiderata,  he  says,  "  In 
Borne  degree  none  of  us  carry  out  all  that  is  in  our  power ; 
but  want  of  capital  and  want  of  confidence  in  the  tenure 
of  farms  are,  I  suppose,,  the  two  principal  causes  of  this 
omission." 

Section  3. — Education  of  Farmer). 

But  the  mere  possession  of  capital  does  not  qualify  a 
man  for  being  a  farmer,  nor  is  .there  any  virtue  inherent  in 
a  lease  to  insure  his  success.  To  these  must  be  added 
probity,  knowledge  of  his  business,  and  diligence  in  pro- 
secuting it.  These  qualifications  are  the  fruits  of  good 
education  (in  the  fullest  sense  of  that  term),  and  are  no 
more  to  be  looked  for  without  it  than  good  crops  without 
good  husbandry.  Common  school  instruction  will,  of 
course,  form  the  groundwork  of  a  farmer's  education ;  bur 
to  this  should  be  added,  if  possible,  a  classical  curriculum. 
It  has  been  the  fashion  to  ask,  "  Of  what  use  are  Greek  and 
Latin  to  a  farmer?"  Now,  apart  from  the  benefit  which 
it  is  to  him,  in  common  with  other  men,  to  know  the 
structure  of  language,  and  to  read  with  intelligence  the 
literature  of  his  profession,  which  more  and  more  abounds 
in  scientific  terminology,  we  believe  that  no  better  discipline 
for  the  youthful  mind  has  yet  been  devised  than  the  classical 
course  which  is  in  use  in  our  best  public  schools.  Of  this 
discipline  we  desiro  that  every  future  fanner  should  have 
the  advantage.  But  the  great  difficulty  at  present  lies  in 
finding  appropriate  occupation  for  such  youths  between 
their  fifteenth  and  twentieth  years.  In  many  cases  the 
sons  of  farmers  are  during  that  period  put  to  farm  labour. 
If  they  are  kept  statedly  at  it,  and  are  made  proficient  in 
ivery  kind  of  work  pel  formed  on  a  farm,  it  is  a  good  pro- 
fessional training  as  far  as  it  goes.  The  more  common 
me — at  least  as  regards  the  sons  of  the  larger  class  of 
farmers — which  consists  of  loitering  about  without  any 
stated  occupation,  attending  fairs  and  markets,  and  pro- 
bably the  race-course  and  hunting-field,  is  about  the  most 
absurd  and  pernicious  that  can  well  be  imagined.  Such 
youths  are  truly  to  be  pitied,  for  they  are  neither  inured 
to  bodily  labour  nor  afforded  the  benefits  of  a  liberal  educa- 
tion. It  need  not  surprise  any  one  that  such  hapless  lads 
often  prove  incompetent  for  the  struggles  of  life,  and  have 
to  yield  their  places  to  more  vigorous  men  who  have  enjoyed 
the  benefit  of  "bearing  the  yoke  in  their  youth."     Unless 


young  men  are  kept  at  labour,  either  of  mind  or  of  body, 
until  continuous  exertion  during  stated  hours,  confinement 
to  one  place,  and  prompt  obedience  to  their  superiors 
have  ceased  to  be  irksome,  there  is  little  hope  of  their  either 
prospering  in  business  or  distinguishing  themselves  in  their 
profession.     Owing  to  the  altered  habits  of  society,  there 
is  now  less  likelihood  than  ever  of  such  young  persons 
as   we  are  referring  to  being  subjected  to  that  arduous 
training  to  bodily  labour  which  was  once  the  universal 
practice ;  and  hence  the  necessity  for  an  appropriate  course 
of  study  to  take  its  place.     Many  Scottish  farmers  en- 
deavour to  supply  this  want  by  placing  their  sons  for  several 
years  in  the  chambers  of  an  attorney,  estate-agent,  or  land 
surveyor,  partly  in  order  that  they  may  acquire  a  know- 
ledge of  accounts,  but  especially  for  the  sake  of  the  whole- 
some discipline  which  is  implied  in  continuous  applicatioa 
and  subjection  to  superiors.     It  is  also  common  for  such 
youths  to  be  sent  to  Edinburgh  for  a  winter  or  two  to 
attend   the  class  of   agriculture  iu  the   University,   and 
perhaps  also  that  of  chemistry,  and  the  Veterinary  College 
classes.     This  is  well  enough  in  its  way ;   but  there  is 
wanting  in  it  an  adequate  guarantee  that  there  is  real 
study — the  actual  performance  of  daily  mental  work.    The 
agricultural  college  at  Cirencester  appears  to  come  more 
fully  up  to  our  notion  of  what  is  needed  for  the  professional 
training  of  farmers  than  any  other  institution  which  we  yet 
possess.     We  shall   rejoice  to   see  such  opportunities  of 
instruction  as  it  affords  multiplied  in  Great  Britain.     After 
enjoying  the  benefits  of  such  a  course  of  training  as  we 
have  now  indicated,  young  men  would  be  in  circumstances 
to  derive  real  advantage  from  a  residence  with  some  ex- 
perienced practical  farmer,  or  from  a  tour  through  the  best- 
cultivated  districts  of  the  country.     We  are  well  aware  that 
what  we  have  now  recommended  will  appear  sufficiently 
absurd  to  the  still  numerous  class  of  persons  who  bebeve 
that  any  one  has  wit  enough  to  be  a  farmer.     But  those 
who  are  competent  to  judge  in  the  case  can  well  afford  to 
smile  at  such  ignorance.     They  know  that  agriculture  is  at 
once  an  art,  a  science,  and  a  business  ;  that  the  researches 
of  naturalists,  chemists,  geologists,  and  mechanicians  are 
daily  contributing  to  the  elucidation  of  its  principles  and 
the  guidance  of  its  practice ;  and  that  while  its  pursuits 
afford  scope  for  the  acutest  minds,  they  are  relished  by  the 
most  cultivated.     As  a  business  it  shares  to  the  full  in  the 
effects  of  that  vehement  competition  which  is  experienced 
in  every  other  branch  of  industry,  and  has  besides  many 
risks  peculiar  to  itself.      The  easy  routine  of  the  olden 
time  is  gone  for  ever;  and  without  a  good  measure  of  tact, 
energy,  and  industry,  no  man  can  now  obtain  a  livelihood 
by  farming.    It  is  desirable  that  all  this  should  be  known, 
as  nothing  has  been  more  common  than  for  parents  who 
have  sons  too  dull  to  be  scholars  or  too  indolent  for  trade, 
to  put  them  to  farming;  or  for  persons  who  have  earned  a 
competency  in  some  other  calling  to  covet  the  (supposed) 
easy  life  of  a  farmer,  and  find  it  to  their  sorrow  a  harassing 
and  ill-requited  one. 


The 


Section  4. — Farm  Labourers. 
agriculture   of   a   country  must    ever   be   largely 


affected  by  the  condition  and  character  of  the  peasantry  by 
whom  its  labours  are  performed.  An  acute  observer  has 
shown  that  in  England  a  poor  style  of  farming  and  low 
wages — that  good  farming  and  high  wages,  usually  go 
together  ;  and  that  a  low  rate  of  wages  is  significantly 
associated  with  a  high  poor-rate.  The  worst  paid  and 
worst  lodged  labourers  are  also  the  most  ignorant,  the 
most  prejudiced,  the  most  reckless  and  insubordinate. 
The  eminence  of  the  agriculture  of  Scotland  is  due  in 
large  measure,  to  the  moral  worth  and  intelligence  of  her 
peasantry.    For  this  she  is  indebted  to  the  earlv  establish 


OBSERVATIONS.] 


AGRICULTURE 


409 


ment  ot  her  parochial  scnools,  and  to  the  sterling  quality  ot 
the  elementary  education  which  the  children  of  her  tenantry 
and  peasantry  have  for  generations  received  in  these 
schools  together.  These  schools  had  unfortunately  become' 
inadequate  to  the  increased  population ;  -but  still  in  the 
rural  districts  of  the  Scottish  lowlands  it  is  a  rare  thing  to 
meet  with  a  farm  labourer  who  cannot  both  read  and  write. 
Apart  from  higher  benefits,  the  facilities  which  the  services 
of  such'  a  class  of  labourers  have  afforded  for  the  intro- 
duction and  development  of  improved  agricultural  practices, 
the  use  of  intricate  machinery,  and  the  keeping  of  accurate 
accounts,  cannot  well  be  over-rated.  It  is  an  interesting 
testimony  to  the  value  of  a  sound  system  of-  national 
education  that  our  Scottish  peasantry  should  be  in  such 
tequest  in  other  parts  of  the  kingdom  as  bailiffs,  gardeners, 
and  overseers'.  Recent  legislation  warrants  the  expectation 
that  this  inestimable  blessing  will  speedily  be  enjoyed  by 
our  entire  population. 

The  pernicious  influence  of  the  present  law  of  settlement 
and  removal  upon  the  English  labourer  is  now  attracting 
the  attention  which  it  so  urgently  demands.  .  The  pro- 
prietors and  tenants  of  particular  parishes  in  various  parts 
of  England  at  present  combine  to  lessen  their  own  share  of 
the  burden  of  the  poor-rate  by  pulling  down  cottages  and 
compelling  their  labourers  to  reside  out  of  their  bounds. 
The  folly  and  cruelty  of  such  short-sighted  policy  cannot 
be  too  strongly  reprobated.  These  poor  people  are  thus 
driven  into  towns,  where  their  families  are  crowded  into 
wretched  apartments,  for  which  they  must  pay  exorbitant 
rents,  and  where  they  are  constantly  exposed  to  moral  and 
physical  contamination  of  every  sort.  From  these  com- 
fortless abodeS  the  wearied  and  dispirited  men  must  trudge 
in  all  weathers  to  the  distant  scene  of  their  daily  labours. 
One  cannot  conceive  of  a  prosperous  agriculture  co-existing 
with  such  a  system,  nor  feel  any  surprise  that  thieving, 
incendiarism,  and  burdensome  rates  should  be  its  frequent 
accompaniments.  It  is  pleasant  to  contrast  with  this  close- 
parish  policy  the  conduct  of  some  of  our  English  nobility, 
who  are  building  comfortable  cottages  and  providing  good 
schools  for  the  whole  of  the  labourers  upon  their  princely 
estates. 

About  the  middle  of  the  18th  century,  when  the  old 
township  system  began  to  be  broken  up,  and  the  land  to 
be  enclosed  and  arranged  into  compact  farms  of  considerable 
size,  it  happily  became  the  practice  in  the  south-eastern 
counties  of  Scotland,  and  a  portion  of  the  north  of  England, 
to  provide  each  farm  with  its  own  homestead,  set  down  as 
near  its  centre  as  possible,  and  with  as  many  cottages  as 
would  accommodate  all  the  people  statedly  required  for  the 
work  of  that  farm.  These  cottages,  always  placed  in  con- 
venient proximity  to  the  homestead,  are  let  to  the  tenant 
along  with  the  farm  as  a  necessary  part  of  its  equipment. 
The  farmer  hires  his  servants  by  the  year  at  stipulated 
wages,  each  family  getting  the  use  of  a  cottage  and  small 
garden  rent  free.  The  farmer  has  thus  always  at  hand 
a  staff  of  labourers  on  whose  services  he  can  depend  ;  and 
they,  again,  being  engaged  for  a  year,  are  never  thrown  out 
of  work  at  slack  seasons,  nor  are  they  liable  to  loss  of  wages 
from  bad  weather  or  casual  sickness.  This  arrangement 
has  the  further  advantage  of  the  men  being  removed  from 
the  temptations  of  the  village  alehouse.  So  successfully 
has  this  system  worked  that  the  counties  in  which  it  pre- 
vails have  long  had,  and  still  have,  an  agricultural  popula- 
tion unequalled  in  Great  Britain  for  intelligence,  good 
conduct,  and  general  well-being. 

Over  &  very  large  portion  of  Scotland,  and  more  especially 
in  the  counties  lying  betwixt  the  Forth  and  the  Moray  Frith, 
while  the  arrangement  of  farms  and  mode  of  management 
ire  substantially  the  same  as  those  of  the  border  counties, 
'.here  is  this  marked  difference,  that  the  ploughmen  as  a  rule 


live  by  themselves  in  bothies.  They  are  for  the  most  pari 
unmarried  men,  although  not  a  few  of  them  have  wives  and 
children  living  under  the  most  unfavourable  -conditions  in 
distant  town;  and  villages ;  and  so  it  comes  to  pass,  under 
this  bothy  system,  that  about  two-thirds  of  all  the  men 
statedly  employed  in  farm  labour  are'  shut  out  from  all  the 
comforts  and  blessings  of  family  life,  and  have  become  in 
consequence  rude,  reckless,  and  immoral.  Until  a  quite 
recent  date  this  system,  because  of  its  supposed  economy, 
was  stoutly  defended  both  by  landlords  and  farmers ;  but 
its  evil  effects  have  become  so  manifest  as  to  convince  them 
at  last  that  the  system  is  WTong,  and  there  is  now  in  con- 
sequence a  general  demand  for  mor'    •  ttages  on  farms. 

The  condition  of  the  agricultural  labourers  in  the  southern 
counties  of  England  has  long  been  of  a  most  unsatisfactory 
character.  The  discontent  that  had  long  existed  among 
them  has  at  last,  in  the  summer  of  1873,  culminated  in 
wide-spread  combinations  and  strikes  for  higher  wages  and 
better  terms.  To  a  large  extent  the  labourers  have  been 
able  to  make  good  their  demar  is,  although  at  the  cost  of 
much  unhinging  of  old  reku.ons  betwixt  them  and  their 
employers,  and  a  great  deal  of  mutual  grudging  and 
jealousy.  The  thorough  healing  of  chronic  social  maladies 
is  always  difficult,  and  usually  demands  the  patient  use  of 
a  variety  of  remedial  measures.  We  venture  to  express  the 
opinion  that  much  benefit  would  ensue  from  the  adoption 
in  southern  England  of  the  essential  parts  of  the  border 
system,  viz.,  cottages  on  each  farm  for  all  its  regular 
labourers,  yearly  engagements,  and  a  cow's  keep  as  part 
of  the  wages  of  each  family. 1 

Section  5. — What  the  Legislature  should  do  for  Agriculture, 
The  further  progress  of  our  national  agriculture  is  un- 
doubtedly to  be  looked  for  from  the  independent  exertions 
of  those  immediately  engaged  in  it ;  but  important  assist- 
ance might  be,  and  ought  to  be,  afforded  to  them  by  the 
legislature,  chiefly  in  the  way  of  removing  obstructions. 
What  we  desiderate  in  this  respect  is  the  repeal,  or  at  least 
the  important  modification,  of  the  law  of  distraint  and 
hypothec ;  the  commutation  of  the  burdens  attaching  to 
copyhold  lands ;  the  reformation  of  the  law  of  settlement ; 
the  removal  of  the  risk  and  costs  which  at  present  interfero 
with  the  transference  of  land ;  the  endowment  of  on 
adequate  number  of  agricultural  colleges,  with  suitable 
museums,  apparatus,  and  illustrative  farms;  and  the  com- 
pulsory adoption  Of  a  uniform  standard  of  weights  and 
measures.  We  desire  also  to  see  the  arterial  or  trunk 
drainage  of  the  country  undertaken  by  government.  _  Until 
this  is  done,  vast  tracts  of  the  most  fertile  land  in  the 
kingdom  cannot  be  cultivated  with  safety  and  economy, 
or  attain  to  the  productiveness  of  which  they  are  capable. 
It  is  the  opinion  at  Mr  Bailey  Denton,  the  eminent  draining 
engineer,  that  not  more  than  three  millions  of  acres  of  the 
land  of  Great  Britain  have  yet  been  drained.  Our  national 
interests' surely  require  that  its  agriculture  should  be  freed 
from  such  obstructions  as  these,  and  that  it  should  receive 
the  benefit  of  a  fair  share  of  public  provision,  such  as  is 
made  for  training  youths  for  the  learned  professions  and. 
for  the  public  service  ;  and  of  such  grants  as  are  given  in 
aid  of  scientific  research  for  the  encouragement  of  the  fine 
arts,  and  for  the  furtherance  of  manufactures  and  commerce. 
We  cannot  close  this  section  without  referring  to  another 
grievance  which  has  long  had  a  most  depressing  effect  on 
the  agriculture  of  particular  districts  of  our  country,  and  is 
now,  we  regret  to  say,  spreading  rapidly  to  all  parts  of  it, 

1  For  confirmation  and  full  illustration  of  the  statements  and 
opinions  in  the  above  section  on  agricultural  labourers,  the  reader  is 
referred  to  the  reports  of,  and  the  evidence  collected  by,  the  "  Com- 
mission on  the  Employment  of  ClWdren,  Young  Persons,  and  Women 
in  Agriculture."  in  1870. 


410 


AGRICULTURE 


[pRonitEss. 


in  the  excessive  preservation  of  game.  This  evil  has  been 
greatly  aggravated  since  that  modo  of  sporting  called  the 
battue  has  unhappily  become  the  fashion.  For  this  amuse- 
ment a  very  large  head  of  game  is  reckoned  to  bo  indis- 
pensable, and  proprietors  who  engage  in  it  are  naturally 
enough  led  to  vie  with  each  other  as  to  who  shall  show 
the  greatest  quantity  of  game,  and  report  the  heaviest  bag, 
at  their  respective  shooting  parties.  All  this  necessarily 
implies  a  grievous  waste  of  farm  produce,  and  frightful  loss 
to  farmers  whose  crops  aro  exposed  to  the  incursions  of  the 
privileged  vermin.  Worst  of  all,  these  hordes  of  game 
present  such  irresistible  temptation  to  poaching  that  the 
rural  population  is  demoralised  by  it  to  au  alarming 
extent.  So  long  as  field  sports  were  in  a  great  measure 
restricted  to  resident  landowners  and  their  personal  friends, 
they  were,  with  rare  exceptions,  careful  not  to  allow  their 
tenants  to  be  injured  by  game.  Now,  however,  there  are 
multitudes  of  men  who,  having  acquired  wealth  in  business, 
are  eager  to  engage  in  field  sports,  and  ready  to  give  almost 
any  amount  of  money  for  tl '  privilege  of  doing  so.  These 
game  tenants  are  often  utterly  regardless  of  the  interests  of 
farmers,  and  cause  them  both  loss  and  annoyance.  All  this 
is  occasioning  such  an  amount  of  heart-burning  and  aliena- 
tion of  feeling  between  different  classes  of  society  as  cannot 
fail  to  have  disastrous  consequences.  A  few  years  ago  the 
removal  of  hares  and  rabbits  from  the  list  of  animals  pro- 
tected by  the  game-laws  would,  so  far  at  least  as  landlords 
and  their  tenants  are  concerned,  have  put  an  end  to  all  this 
misery.  The  refusal  of  so  moderate  a  concession  has  in  all 
likelihood  sealed  the  fate  of  these  oppressive  laws  which 
have  so  long  embittered  society  and  disgraced  our  country. 

Section-  6. — Concluding  Remark*. 

On  carefully  comparing  the  present  condition  of  British 
agriculture  with  what  it  was  forty  years  ago,  the  change 
for  the  better  is  found  to  be  very  grea^  indeed.  But  on 
all  hands  there  are  many  indications  warranting  the  an- 
ticipation that  the  progress  of  discovery  and  improvement 
in  future  will  be  more  steady,  more  rapid,  and  more  general 
than  it  has  hitherto  been.  There  is  not  only  a  more  general 
and  more  earnest  spirit  of  inquiry,  but  practical  men, 
instead  of  despising  the  aids  of  science,  seek  more  and  more 
to  conduct  their  investigations  under  its  guidance.  Experi- 
ments are  made  on  an  ever-widening  scale  and  upon  well- 
concerted  plans.  Their  results  are  so  recorded  and  published 
that  they  at  once  become  available  to  all,  and  each  fresh 
investigator,  instead  of  wasting  his  energies  in  re-discovering 
what  (unknown  to  him)  has  been  discovered  before,  now 
makes  his  start  from  a  well-ascertained  and  ever-advancing 
frontier.  Formerly  the  knowledge  of  the  husbandman  con- 
sisted very  much  of  isolated  facts,  and  his  procedure  was 
often  little  better  than  a  groping  in  the  dark.  As  the 
rationale  of  his  various  processes  is  more  clearly  discovered, 
he  will  be  enabled  to  conduct  them  with  greater  economy 
and  precision  than  he  can  do  at  present.  A  clearer  know- 
ledge of  what  really  constitutes  the  food  of  plants,  and  of  the 
various  influences  which  affect  their  growth,  will  necessarily 
lead  to  important  improvements  in  all  that  relates  to  the 
collection,  preparation,  and  use  of  manures. 

What  may  truly  be  called  a  revolution  in  agriculture  is 
now  in  the  act  of  rapid  development,  in  the  application  of 
steam-power  to  the  tillage  of  the  soil,  which  is  spreading 
on  every  side.  Enough  has  already  been  accomplished  to 
show  that,  under  the  combined  influence  of  drainage  and 
Bteam  tillage,  the  clay  soils  of  England  will  speedily  have 
their  latent  fertility  brought  into  play  in  a  manner  that 
will  mightily  augment  our  supplies  of  home-grown  bread- 


corn  and  butcher-meat.  It  may  indeed  now  be  reasonably 
anticipated  that  these  hitherto  impracticable  soils  will  again 
take  their  place  as  our  best  corn-growing  lands,  and  that 
those  large  portions  of  the  country  where  for  a  long  time 
our  national  agriculture  presented  its  poorest  aspect,  may 
ere  long  exhibit  its  proudest  achievements. 

Tn  closing  this  rapid  review  of  British  Agriculture,  it  is 
gratifying  and  cheering  to  reflect  that  never  was  this  great 
branch  of  national  industry  in  a  healthier  condition,  and 
never  were  there  such  solid  grounds  for  anticipating  for  it 
a  steady  and  rapid  progress.  The  time  has  hardly  yet  gone 
by  when  it  was  much  the  way  with  our  manufacturing 
and  trading  men,  and  our  civic  population  generally,  to 
regard  our  farmers  as  a  dull,  plodding  sort  of  people,  greatly 
inferior  to  themselves  in  intelligence  and  energy.  Many 
of  them  seem  now,  however,  to  be  awakening  to  the  fact 
that  their  rural  brethren  possess  a  full  share  of  those 
qualities  which  so  honourably  distinguish  the  British  race. 
Nay,  some  of  them  may  have  experienced  no  little  surprise 
when  they  became  aware  that  in  a  full  competition  of  our 
whole  industrial  products  with  those  of  other  nations,  as  at 
Paris  in  1855,  and  at  similar  and  more  recent  international 
expositions,  tho  one  department  in  which  Britain  con- 
fessedly outstripped  all  her  rivals  was  not  in  any  of  hei 
great  staple  manufactures,  but  in  the  live  stock  of  her  farms, 
and  in  her  agricultural  implements  and  machinery 

List  of  Plato  accompanying  this  Article, 
Plate 

No.  II L  Plan  of  Covered  Homestead  for  a  small  Farm,  by  Mr  J. 
Cowie. 
IV.  Ground  Plan  of  8teading  and  Offices  on  the  Homo  Farm 

of  the  Earl  of  Southeek. 
V.  Shorthorn  Bull  and  Cow. 

VI.  Hereford  Bull,  and  South  Down  Ewe  and  Lamb. 
VII.  Cheviot  Ewe  and  Blackfaced  Heath  Sheep. 
VIII.  Leicester  Ram  and  Ewe. 
IX.  Komsey  Marsh  Ewe,  and  Sow  of  the  Large  English  Breed 

The  following  description  has  been  supplied  along  with 
the  plan  given  in  Plate  IV.  : — "It  represents  the  ground 
plan  of  a  steading  of  offices  recently  built  on  tho  home  farm 
of  the  Earl  of  Southesk,  planned  by  Charles  Lyall,  Esq., 
his  lordship's  factor.  It  contains  a  powerful  thrashing- 
mill,  corn;bruiser,  oil-crusher,  chaff-cutter,  and  turnip- 
slicer,  all  driven  by  a  portable  steam-engine ;  and  is  amply 
supplied  with  water  for  the  troughs,  and  is  lighted  by  gas. 
It  may  be  regarded  as  a  model,  containing  as  it  does  all 
the  conveniences  and  appliances  necessary  for  the  complete 
development  of  the  stock  and  implement  departments.  It 
is  calculated  for  an  occupancy  of  500  acres,  and  was  built, 
including  the  steam-engine,  at  a  cost  of  about  £5000." 

This  plan  may  very  well  illustrate  the  present  state  of 
opinion  as  to  whether  or  not  cattlo  should  be  kept  wholly 
under  cover.  It  gives  an  affirmative  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion in  the  case  of  fattening  cattle ;  but  for  breeding  stock 
of  all  ages  it  provides  accommodation  in  open  yards.  This 
we  consider  the  best  arrangement ;  for  it  is  impossible  in 
the  case  of  breeding  stock  to  retain  that  fine  coat  of  hair 
which  so  enhances  the  good  looks  and  value  of  high-class 
cattle  without  such  an  amount  of  exposure  to  the  weather 
as  is  afforded  by  open  yards  with  covered  sheds.  There 
is  one  feature  in  this  plan  which  we  cannot  but  regret, 
viz.,  its  bothy.  It  is  indeed  one  of  the  best  of  its  kind, 
having  a  separate  sleeping-place  for  each  of  its  inmates, 
and  suitable  arrangements  for  their  cleanliness  and  com- 
fort ;  but  the  meanest  cottage  in  the  country,  inasmuch  as 
it  admits  of  family  life,  is  to  be  preferred  to  the  most 
perfect  bothy.  (t.  W.) 


AGRICULTURE 


411 


CHAPTER  XXL 
LARGE  AND  SMALL  FARMING. 


No  treatise  on  agriculture  will  in  these  days  be  con- 
sidered complete  which  does  not  take  note  of  some  of  the 
various  modes  in  which  the  treatment  of  the  soil  may  be 
affected  by  variations  in  the  cultivating  occupier's  form  of 
tenure.  A  farm  may  be  the  property  of  its  occupier,  or 
be  held  by  him  at  will  or  on  lease.  According  to  its 
extent  it  will  be  the  subject  of  grande  or  of  petite  culture, 
expressions  which  in  the  following  pages  will  be  Anglicised 
as  large  and  small  culture  or  farming.  If  a  farm  be  of 
small  size,  and  if  its  occupant  be  also  its  owner,  peasant 
proprietorship  comes  into  play.  If  it  be  let,  its  rent  may 
consist  of  a  payment  of  predetermined  amount  in  money 
or  in  kind,  or  may,  instead  of  a  fixed  portion,  be  a  pre- 
determined proportion  of  the  annual  produce.  It  may  be 
let  to  one  individual,  singly  responsible  for  the  rent  and 
for  all  imposts,  fiscal  or  other,  and  exclusively  entitled  to 
the  whole  of  the  remaining  net  produce;  or  it  may  be  held 
in  common  by  any  number  of  coparceners,  all  co-operating  in 
the  cultivation,  and  jointly  and  severally  responsible  for  the 
rent  and  other  dues,  and  all  participating  in  the  net  profits. 

Each  of  these  systems  has  its  advocates,  and  of  one  of 
them,  at  least,  the  admirers  are  so  much  enamoured  as  to  be 
unable  to  perceive  merit  in  any  of  the  rest.  A  judgment 
upon  them  that  would  be  generally  acceptable*is  therefore 
impossible,  and  need  not  be  attempted  here.  Nothing 
more  will  be  aimed  at  than  such  an  impartial  estimate  of 
the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  each  as  may  help  an 
unbiassed  reader  to  judge  for  himself. 

L  In  regard  to  tenancy  at  will  and  to  leases,  little 
need  be  added  to  the  observations  made  in  previous 
chapters  of  this  article.  For  the  consideration,  how- 
ever, of  those  who  insist  on  the  undoubted  fact  that 
in  Great  Britain,  where  tenancy  at  mil  is  still  the  rule, 
and  leases  as  yet  only  the  exception,  the  same  families, 
although  liable  to  be  ousted  at  six  months'  notice,  are 
nevertheless  often  found  occupying  the  same  land  from 
generation  to  generation,  the  following  may  be  suggested 
as  a  not  improbable  explanation  of  the  landlord's  non- 
exercise  of  the  power  of  eviction.  It  may  perhaps  be  not 
so  much  that  the  farmers  really  confound  past  continuity 
with  future  permanency  of  tenure,  as  that  their  want  of 
security  for  the  future  prevents  their  investing  liberally  in 
improvements,  and  thereby  bringing  the  land  into  a  con- 
dition calculated  to  attract  higher  bidders  for  its  possession. 
Such  increase  as  does  take  place  in  its  lettable  value  is 
chiefly  due  to  enhancement  of  the  prices  of  produce;  and 
to  a  rise  of  rent  proportionate  to  such  enhancement  the 
old  tenants  readily  submit  rather  than  be  removed.  The 
principal  loser  here  is  the  landlord,  whose  short-sighted 
policy  deters  his  tenants  from  a  species  of  enterprise  the 
benefit  of  which  would  eventually  become  principally  his 
own.  If  the  tenants  took  the  trouble  to  make  the  com- 
parison, they  might,  it  is  true,  deliberately  prefer  the  mere 
chance  of  a  long  series  of  years  at  a  low  rent  to  the  cer- 
tainty of  the  same  low  rent  for  a  limited  term,  coupled  with 
the  nearly  equal  certainty  of  a  rise  of  rent  at  the  end  of 
the  term.  Their  gains  in  the  /ormer  case,  they  might 
argue,  however  meagre,  might  at  least  be  easily  earned; 
whereas  materially  to  increase  them  in  the  latter  case, 
although  perhaps  possible,  would  be  possible  only  at  the 
expense  of  much  anxiety  of  mind-  as  well  as  of  much 
extra  sweat  of  the  brow. 

II.  Of  grande  culture,  or  large  fanning,  it  may  perhaps 
be  thought  almost  superfluous  here  to  enumerate  the  recom- 
mendations, which  indeed  on  one  condition  are  obvious  and 
incontrovertible.     Provided  a  large  farmer  ba  possessed  of 


capital  duly  proportioned  to  the  extent  of  his  holding,  and  of 
intelligence  to  employ  his  capital  judiciously,  his  husbandry 
can  scarcely  fail  to  prove  abundantly  satisfactory.  In  a 
territory  entirely  parcelled  out  among  farmers  of  this  de- 
scription there  would,  from  a  purely  agricultural  point  of 
view,  seem  little  left  to  desire.  The  system  certainly  ap- 
proaches towards  the  realisation  of  the  great  object  of  all 
agriculture — that  of  the  production  of  the  greatest  pos- 
sible quantity  and  the  best  possible  quality  of  raw  material 
for  the  use  of  man.  The  distinguishing  characteristic 
of  large  culture  is  the  scope  it  affords  for  the  appli- 
cation to  husbandry  of  the  great  principle  of  division-  of 
labour.  A  well-managed  large  farm  is  indeed  a  factory 
for  the  production  of  vegetable  and  animal  substance. 
The  extensive  scale  on  which  operations  are  there  carried 
on  necessitates  the  employment  of  several  persons,  to  each 
of  whom  some  special  occupation  may  be  assigned,  and 
constant  practice  naturally  increases  the  labourer's  skill. 
Time,  too,  is  saved  which  would  otherwise  be  lost  in 
turning  frequently  from  one  occupation  to  another;  and 
there  is  also  a  further  saving  in  implements,  large  and 
small,  and  in  draught  cattle,  fewer  of  which  will  suffice 
for  the  tillage  of  a  given  area  held  entire  than  would 
be  needed  if  the  same  acreage  were  divided  amongst 
numerous  tenants.  Some,  again,  of  the  more  important 
of  agricultural  operations,  and  notably  those  of  drainage 
and  irrigation,  are  in  many  situations  incapable  of  being 
efficiently  performed  except  on  a  large  scale ;  and  though 
they  may  be,  and  often  are,  most  efficiently  performed 
on  the  very  largest  scale  by  a  combination  of  small  land- 
holders, still  every  such  combination  must  necessarily 
be  preceded  by  negotiations  involving  indefinitely  pro- 
longed delay,  with  which  a  single  individaal,  occupying 
the  entire  tract,  could  at  his  option  dispense.  And 
a  similar  remark  applies  to  the  costlier  implements  and 
machines,  in  the  adoption  of  which  associations  of  small 
farmers  may  slowly  follow  the  example  of  individual  large 
farmers,  but  which  they  would  not,  without  such  example, 
have  themselves  adopted — which,  indeed,  unless  previ- 
ously patronised  by  large  farmers,  would  never  have  been 
offered  for  their  adoption;  Probably  no  inventive  genius, 
however  disinterestedly  ardent,  would  have  been  at  the 
pains  to  devise  a  steam  thrashing-machine  or  a  steam 
plough,  had  there  not  been  wealthy  agriculturists,  some  of 
whom  might  readily  be  persuaded  to  risk,  at  their  own 
cost  and  charges,  an  immediate  trial  of  any  promising 
invention.  Farmers  of  limited  means,  even  when  living 
in  the  same  neighbourhood,  would  have  to  be  educated 
into  faith  in  the  novel  apparatus  before  the  inventor 
would  get  a  single  specimen  taken  off  his  hands. 

Besides,  wherever  large  farming  prevails,,  large  properties  are  its 
invariable  concomitants ;  and  wherever  it  i3  the  fashion  for  pro- 
prietors to  reside  on  their  estates,  many  of  them  are  sure  to  amuse 
themselves  with  farming.  Very  likely,  if  they  were  to  count  the 
cost,  they  might  find  the  amusement  an  expensive  one.  Not  im- 
possibly they  often  spend  on  the  land  as  much  as  they  get  back 
from  it,  or  even  more,  the  expenditure  in  that  case  at  best  producing 
only  its  bare  equivalent.  But  the  same  expenditure,  unless  se 
applied,  would  as  likely  as  not  have  remained  utterly  unproductive, 
being  devoted  to  some  other  amusement,  or  to  mere  parade'or 
luxury,  from  which  no  tangible  return  whatever  would  be  possible ; 
so  that  its  application  to  agricultural  extravagance  is  virtually  a  gain, 
in  the  sense,  at  all  events,  of  preventing  total  loss.  Nor  in  that 
sense  only;  for  rich  men  who  take  to  fanning  as  a  pastime  are 
precisely  those  most  likely  to  be  forward  in  putting  new  inventions 
and  new  processes  to  the  test  of  experiment ;  while  the  experience 
thereby  acquired,  instead  .of  being  jealously  concealed,  is  liberally 
published  far  and  wide,  so  becoming  the  property  of  the  whole  body 
of  farmers  by  profession,  and  serving  them,  according  to  circum 


412 


AGRICULTURE 


[larce  and 


stances,  as  a  guide  to  follow  or  a  beacon  to  avoid.  Every  one 
interested  in  such  matters  knows  how  much  has  been  done  in  this 
way  by  successive  Dukes  of  Bedford  and  Portland  and  Marquesses 
Townshend  ;  by  the  late  Earls  of  Leicester  and  Scarborough  and 
Earl  Spencer  ;  and  by  the  present  Earl  of  Ducie  and  Earl  Grey  ;  Dor 
are  there  many  ways  in  which  a  landed  aristocracy  can  better  rebut 
the  reproach  of  inutility  than  by  thus  doing  honour  to  agriculture, 
and  having  the  honour  reflected  back  on  themselves. 

As  already  hinted,  however,  it  is  only  on  condition  of  being  con- 
ducted with  adequate  capital  that  large  farming  can  succeed.  True, 
with  deficient  capital  small  fanning  could  succeed  no  better,  per- 
haps indeed  not  so  well ;  but  then  there  is  much  more  danger  of  the 
1  capital  being  wanting  to  a  large  farmer  than  a  small  one. 
Whatever,  from  £5  to  £20,  be  the  desirable  proportion  per  acre,  the 
number  of  persons  possessing  the  £50  or  £200  required  for  stocking 
a  farm  of  ten  acres  is  likely  to  be  everywhere  many  times  more 
than  fifty-fold  that  of  those  possessing  the  £2500  or  the  £10,000 
which  a  single  farm  of  500  acres  would  require.  Besides,  in  coun- 
tries abounding  with  fortunate  individuals  able  to  count  their 
pounds  sterling  by  the  thousand,  promising  modes  of  investing 
such  considerable  sums  abound  proportionally;  and  even  in  a 
country  so  exceptionally  rich  as  our  own,  the  number  of  capitalists 
prepared  to  invest  their  thousands  in  farming  is  sadly  below  the 
lumber  of  farms  which  would  be  all  the  better  for  having  the  same 
thousands  .so  invested.  We  are  justified  then  by  experience  in 
saying,  that  wherever  large  farming  is  the  rule,  there  will  probably 
be  very  many  farmers  without  adequate  capital.  Now,  in  agricul- 
ture, inadequate  capital  means,  among  other  things,  insufficient 
live  stock  and  insufficient  manure,  and,  as  an  inevitable  consequence, 
defective  crops.     It  means,  in  short,  imperfect  cultivation. 

ILT.  From  these  premises  it  would  apparently  result 
that  small  farmers  will  generally  bo  more  nearly  pro- 
vided with  the  capital  required  for  their  business  than 
large  ones;  and  such  seems  to  be  actually  the  fact  where- 
ever  peculiar  circumstances  have  not  been  at  work  as  pre- 
ventives. It  is  not  indeed  so  in  Ireland,  where  feudal 
oppression  or  anarchy,  alternating  with  alien  misrule,  has 
in  all  generations  made  destitution  the  heritage  of  the 
peasantry.  Neither  is  it  so  in  France,  where  the  swarms 
of  petty  landholders  had  little  of  either  precept  or  example 
to  teach  them  that  to  employ  their  spare  napoleons  in 
thoroughly  cultivating  the  few  acres  they  already  possess, 
would  be  a  much  better  investment  of  their  money  than 
the  purchase  with  it  of  an  additional  acre  or  two  to  be  as 
imperfectly  cultivated  as  the  rest.  In  England  the  system 
of  small  cultivation,  strictly  so  called,  has  probably  ceased 
to  exist,  now  that  amateur  farming  has  come  so  much  into 
fashion,  and  that  the  instances  have  become  comparatively 
so  numerous  of  men  of  considerable  substance  turning 
to  farming  for  a  livelihood.  It  will  not,  however,  help 
us  much,  when  endeavouring  to  ascertain  the  relative 
merits  of  two  rival  agricultural  systems,  to  contrast  good 
specimens  of  the  one  and  bad  specimens  of  the  other.  If 
we  would  accurately  gauge  their  respective  capabilities,  wo 
should  take  them  both  at  their  best,  and  the  comparison 
here  of  large  with  small  farming  will  accordingly  be  of  the 
former  as  it  presents  itself  in  England,  and  of  the  latter  as 
developed  in  Flanders.  Now,  in  the  territory  first  named 
the  average  capital  of  occupants  of  100  acres  and  upwards 
would  certainly  not  be  understated,  and  would  probably 
be  materially  overstated,  at  £6  per  acre;  yet  M.  do 
Laveleye,  while  giving  £8  as  the  average  for  Flanders 
(where  the  medium  size  of  farms  is  but  7J  acres  in  the 
western,  and  no  more  than  5  acres  in  the  eastern  province), 
adds  that  good  farmers,  judging  of  others  by  themselves, 
would  call  that  sum  much  too  low  even  for  an  average; 
and  further  remarks  that,  although  a  small  tenant  may,  on 
entering,  have  only  £8  an  acre,  the  additions  he  is  con- 
tinually making  to  hi3  live  stock,  and  his  continually 
increasing  purchases  of  manure,  commonly  raise  the  £8  to 
£16  before  the  expiration  of  his  lease.  He  also  informs  us 
that  in  other  Belgian  districts — in  the  Hesbayan  portions 
of  Brabant  and  Hainault,  whereof  one-sixth  is  occupied  by 
farms  of  100  acres  and  upwards,  and  in  the  Condrusian 
portion  of  the  province  of  Namur,  where  farms  of  250 
acres  and  upwards  are  pretty  numerous — a  farmer's  average 


capital  is  estimated  at  between  £5,  12s.  and  £6,  8s.,  and 
between  £3  and  £4  per  acre  respectively.  True,  as  already 
intimated,  thero  are  certain  descriptions  of  stock  on  which 
the  small  farmer's  expenditure  must  necessarily  somewhat 
exceed  his  rival's — ten  Flemish  farmers  of  10  acres  each 
being  probably  obliged  to  keep  ten  horses,  while  an  Eng- 
lish farmer  of  100  acres  might  not  perhaps  have  occasion 
for  more  than  a  pair,  reducing  also  his  number  of  carts, 
ploughs,  and  the  like,  in  similar  proportion.  But  after  all 
reasonable  deduction  on  this  account,  the  balance  of  capital 
remaining  for  the  purchase  and  maintenance  of  those  animals 
and  materials  of  which  no  farmer  ever  has  too  many  or  too 
much,  is  in  general  much  greater  in  the  Fleming's  case  than 
in  the  Englishman's.  "  It  would  startle  the  English  farmer 
of  400  acres  of  arable  land,"  said  Mr  Kham  forty  years 
ago,  "  to  be  told  that  he  should  constantly  feed  100  head 
of  cattle,  yet  this  would  not  be  too  large  a  proportion  if 
the  Flemish  system  were  strictly  followed,  a  beast  for  every 
3  acres  being  a  common  Flemish  proportion,  and  on  very 
small  occupations,  where  spade  husbandry  is  used,  the  pro- 
portion being  still  greater."  "  That  the  occupier,"  he  pro- 
ceeds, "  of  only  10  or  12  acres  of  light  arable  soil  should 
be  able  to  maintain  four  or  five  cows  may  appear  astonish- 
ing, but  the  fact  is  notorious -throughout  the  Waes  country." 
These  statements  are  of  somewhat  ancient  date,  but  are 
still  as  applicable  as  ever.  During  a  recent  tour  through 
Belgium,  tho  present  writer  visited  two  farms  near  St 
Nicolas,  in  the  Pays  de  Waes — the  first  two  that  came  in 
his  way.  On  one,  of  10  acres,  he  found  four  cows,  two 
calves,  one  horse,  and  two  pigs,  besides  rabbits  and  poultry. 
On  the  other,  of  38  acres,  one  bull,  six  cows,  two  heifers, 
one  horse,  and  seventy-five  sheep — these  last,  however, 
being  allowed,  in  addition  to  what  they  got  on  their  owner's 
ground,  the  run  of  all  the  stubbles  in  the  commune;  the 
whole  commune,  on  the  other  hand,  being  allowed  the  use 
of  the  bull  gratis.  A  few  days  later  the  writer  went  ovei 
a  farm  a  few  mile3  from  Ypres.  On  this,  of  32  acres  in 
extent,  he  counted  eight  cows,  six  bullocks,  a  calf  eight 
weeks  old,  and  four  pigs.  To  possess  plenty  of  live  stock 
is  to  possess  in  an  equal  abundance  the  first  requisites  of 
sustained  fertility.  "No  cattle,  no  dung;  no  dung,  no 
crop,"  is  a  Flemish  adage;  and  the  wealthiest  of  English 
agriculturists  are  less  prodigal  of  manure  than  the  Flemish 
peasantry.  Mr  Caird,  in  his  instructive  and  interesting 
treatise  on  English  Agriculture,  cites  as  something  extra- 
ordinary that,  for  a  farm  six  miles  from  Manchester,  manure 
should  have  been  bought  at  the  rate  of  1 2  or  1 3  tons  an  acre ; 
but  this,  which  in  England  passes  for  lavishness,  might 
seem  more  like  niggardliness  in  Flanders ;  for  there  from 
10  to  15  tons  of  good  rotten  dung  and  i0  hogsheads  of 
liquid  from  the  urine  tank,  per  acre,  are  quite  common 
sacrifices  and  libations  to  the  Sterculine  Saturn,  and  some 
30s.  worth  of  purchased  fertilisers — bones,  wood-ashes, 
linseed-cake,  and  guano — are  not  unfrequently  superadded. 
Nay,  when  potatoes  are  the  crop  for  whose  increase  the 
deity  is  invoked,  60  tons  of  manure  per  acre  are  no  unusual 
quantity  to  lay  on.  The  holder  of  the  farm  of  32  acre3 
near  Ypres,  just  alluded  to,  assured  the  writer,  in  his  land- 
lord's presence,  that,  over  and  above  what  his  own  cattle 
supply,  he  purchases  manure  to  the  value  of  no  less  than 
£200  annually. 

One  of  the  respects  in  which  small  culture  has  been  admitted  to 
stand  at  some  disadvantege  in  comparison  with  large  is  that  of 
division  of  labour ;  but  against  whatever  loss  of  time  or  even  infe- 
riority of  skill  may  result  from  the  necessity  there  is  for  each  of  the 
labourers  engaged  in  the  former  culture  to  occupy  himself  with 
a  variety  of  operations  instead  of  confining  himself  to  one,  are  to  be 
set  the  additions  voluntarily  made  to  the  labour  employed,  and  also 
its  superior  heartiness.  The  tillage  of  a  small  farm  is  executed 
often  entirely,  and  always  in  great  measure,  by  the  farmer  himself 
and  the  members  of  his  family;  and  when  these  have  adequate 
security  that  the  entire  increase  of  the  soil,  over  and  above  a  specified 


StfALL  .FARMING.] 


AGRICULTURE 


413 


quantity,  will  belong  to  themselves,  they  .generally  do  their  utmost 
to  make  the  increase  as  large  as  possible.  Not,  indeed,  always. 
Industry,  in  common  with  other  virtues,  is  greatly  influenced  by 
example ;  and  small  leaseholders,  or  even  small  freeholders,  thinly 
interspersed  among  numerous  tenants-at-wilL  are  much  more  likely 
to  accept  as  their  standard  of  becoming  exertion  the  habitual  list- 
lessness  of  the  latter  than  to  set  up  an  independent  standard  of 
their  own.  Where,  however,  small  farmers  are  in  a  decided 
majority,  they  are,  unless  some  extraordinary  circumstances  are  in 
operation  to  depress  their  energy,  sure  to  appear  as  models  of  dili- 
genoe.  Their  activity  is  not  then  restricted  within  set  hours  of 
work.  Whenever  a  thing  requires  to  be  done  is  with  them  the 
proper  time  for  doing  it,  and  early  and  late,  consequently — long 
before  the  hired  journeyman  comes  in  the  moraing  and  long  after 
he  has  gone  home  in  the  evening— they  may  be  seen  afield,  doing, 
too,  whatever  they  do,  not  only  with  all  their  might,  but  with  all 
the  heed  which  people  usually  bestow  on  their  own  affairs,  even 
though  they  bestow  it  on  nothing  else.  In  particular,  they  waste 
nothing — least  of  all  anything  that  can  be  used  as  manure.  Now, 
there  are  no  crops  which  would  not  be  the  better  for  such  special 
attention,  and  there  are  some  to  which  it  is  an  almost  indispensable 
condition  of  excellence.  Flax,  hemp,  hops,  wine,  oil,  and  tobacco 
furnish  instances  of  culture  in  which  the  individual  plants  require, 
or  at  any  rate  abundantly  repay,  separate  care.  But  such  minute 
attention  no  supervision  can  ensure — no  rate  of  hire  can  command. 
It  is  habitually  rendered  by  those  only  who  are  directly  interested 
in  rendering  it,  or  otherwise  directly  stimulated — by  the  small 
farmer  and  the  small  farmer's  wife  and  children  all  working  with 
their  own  bands  for  their  own  behoof,  and  by  his-  servants,  if  he 
have  any  ;  for  that  must  be  a  pitiful  creature  indeed  whd,  with  his 
employer  working  by  bis  side,  will  let  his  employer  work  harder 
than  himself.  Herein,  then — (in  the  greater  quantity  and  better 
quality  of  work  which  the  same  number  of  persons  will  do  in  small 
as  compared  with  large  farming) — consisting  the  distinctive  excel- 
lence of  the  former  system,  how  far  does  this  counterbalance  the 
superiority  of  large  fanning  in  regard  to  the  saving  of  labour  and 
implements  ?  There  can  be  no  more  conclusive  mode  of  answering 
this  question  than  by  contrasting  the  substantial  results  of  the  two 
systems,  adopting  as  tests  the  respective  amounts  both  of  gross  and 
of  net  produca  Now,  in  England  the  average  yield  of  wheat  per  acre 
was  in  1837  only  21  bushels,  the  highest  average  for  any  single 
county  being  no  more  than  26  bushels.  The  highest  average  since 
claimed  for  the  whole  of  England  is  32  bushels;  but  this  is  pro- 
nounced to  be  much  too  high  by  the  best,  perhaps,  of  all  authori- 
ties, Mr  Caird,  who  gives  26 4  bushels  as  "the  average  of  figures 
furnished  to  him  by  competent  judges  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom," 
adding,  as  the  result  of  his  own  observation,  that  32  bushels,  as  an 
average  produce,  is  to  be  met  with  "  only  on  farms  where  both  soil 
and  management  are  superior  to  the  present  average  of  England." 
In  Jersey,  however,  where  the  average  size  of  farms  is  only  16  acres, 
the  average  produce  of  wheat  for  the  five  years  ending  with  1833 
was,  by  official  investigation,  ascertained  to  be  40  bushels.  In 
Guernsey,  wheVe  farms  are  still  smaller,  32  bushels  per  acre  was, 
according  to  Inglis,  considered,  about  the  same  time,  "a  good,  but 
Btill  a  common,  crop  ;"  and  the  light  soil  of  the  Channel  Islands  is 
naturally  by  no  means  particularly  suitable  for  the  growth  of 
wheat.  That  of  Flanders,  originally  a  coarse  silicious  sand,  is  par- 
ticularly unsuitable,  and  accordingly  little  wheat  is  sown  there,  but 
of  that  little  the  average  yield,  at  least  in  the  Waes  district,  is, 
according  to  a  very  minute  and  careful  observer,  from  32  to  36 
bushels.  Of  barley,  a  more  congenial  cereal  the  average  is  in 
Flanders  41  bushels,  and  in  good  ground  60  bushels  ;  while  in 
England  it  is  probably  under  33,  and  would  certainly  be  over- 
stated at  36  bushels.  Of  course  the  English  averages  are  consider- 
ably exceeded  in  particular  localities — on  such  farms,  for  instance, 
as  those  of  Mr  Paget,  near  Nottingham,  and  of  Mr  Stansfeld,  in 
the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire,  wheat  crops  of  46  bushels  per  acre 
being  not  extraordinary,  and  of  56  bushels  not  unknown ;  but  these 
exceptional  cases  may  he  more  than  matched' in  Guernsey,  where 
the  largest  yield  of  wheat  per  acre,  in  each  of  the  three  years  ending 
with  1847,  was  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  local  agricultural 
society  to  have  been  not  less  than  76,  80,  and  72  bushels  respec- 
tively. Of  potatoes,  10  tons  per  acre  would  anywhere  in  England, 
even  on  the  rich  "warp  lands"  bordering  the  tidal  affluents  of  the 
Humber,  be  considered  a  high  average  crop ;  but  in  Jersey  the 
average  is  reckoned1  at  15  tons,  -  and  near  Tamise,  in  eastern 
Flanders,  Mr  Rham  found  a  cultivator  of  8  acres,  of  poor  land  rais- 
ing nearly  12  tons  from  one  of  them.  Clover,  again,  "  the  glory  of 
Flemish  farming,"  "is  nowhere  else  found  in  such  perfect  luxuri- 
anoe"  as  in  Flanders,  where  it  exhibits  "a  vigour  and  weight  of 
produce  truly  surprising,"  especially  when  it  is  discovered  "that 
such  prodigious  crops  are  raised  from  6  tb  of  seed  per  acre."  Most 
of  the  other  green  crops,  and  also  most  of  the  root  crops,  grown  in 
Flanders  deserve  to  be  spoken  of  in  similar  terms  ;  and  to  the 
extraordinary  number  of  cattle  fed  upon  these  green  and  root  crops 
reference  has  already  been  made.  If  any  reliance  may  be  placed  on 
ihaee  'tatistics,  it  cannot,  however  startling  at  first  hearing,  be  too 


much  to  affirm  that  in  the  Channel  Islands  and  in  Flanders  the 
average  of  gross  produce  is  greater  than  in  England  by  fully  one- 
fourth,  or  say  by  the  equivalent  of  9  bushels  of  wheat  Der  acre. 

Gross  produce,  however,  is  not  the  only  thing  to'  b6 
considered,  for  there  is  no  doubt  that  on  equal  areas 
small  farming  employs  more  hands  than  large;  and  it 
might  be  that  the  entire  produce  of  a  email  farm  was  not 
more  than  sufficient  to  feed  the  extra  mouths.  This 
would  not  necessarily  be  an  evil,  unless  on  the  assump- 
tion that  the  condition  of  agricultural  labourers  is  neces- 
sarily so  wretched  that  an  increase  in  their  number  is 
tantamount  to  an  increase  of  wretchedness.  Possibly, 
however,  the  extra  produce  might  be  less  than  sufficient 
to  feed  the  extra  mouths,  so  that  the  quantity  of  net  pro- 
duce remaining  available  for  sale  to  the  non-agricultural 
portion  o?  the  community  would  be  diminished ;  and,  if 
thi3  were  really  the  fact,  it  might  be  conclusively  con- 
demnatory of  small  farming.  Nor,  to  prove  that  it  is 
nbt  the  fact,  will  it  suffice  to  urge  that  land,  when  divided 
among  numerous  occupants,  commonly  fetches  a  much 
higher  rent  than  when  united:  into  a  few  extensive  hold- 
ings-r-that  whereas,  for  example,  30s.  .an  acre  would  in 
England  be  considered  a  fair  and  even  a  high  rate  for 
middling  land,  it  must  be  very  middling  land  indeed 
which  in  Guernsey  will  not  let  for  at  least  £i,  while  in 
Switzerland,  another  territory  of  petite  culture,  the  average 
rent  is  £6.  For  these .  higher  rents  might  be  the  results 
of  an  incident,  nof  of  culture,  but  of  tenure — of  that 
excessive  competition  for  land  which  is  unhappily  a  too 
frequent  accompaniment  of  small  farming.  Neither  will 
it  suffice  to  show  that,  although  the  agricultural  popula- 
tion of  a  minutely-divided  territory  is  always  far  denser 
than  that  of  one  of  large  farms,  certain  territories  of  the 
former  description  are  nevertheless  among  those  which 
maintain  the  largest  manufacturing  and  commercial  popu- 
lation— Belgium,  for  instance,  being  second  to  England 
alone  in  that  respect,  and  Switzerland  and  Rhenish 
Prussia  being  likewise  cases  in  point.  For  it  may  obvi- 
ously be  replied  that  the  non-agricultural  classes  of  a 
community  need  not  be  entirely  dependent  for  food  on 
home  produce,  but  may  derive  part  of  their  supplies  from 
abroad,  and  it  may  generally  be  impossible  to  ascertain 
what  is  the  proportion  imported.  This  objection  does 
not,  indeed,  apply  to  the  Channel  Islands ;  and  Mr  W.  T. 
Thornton  has,  in  a  new  edition  of  his  Plea  for  Peasant 
Proprietors,  -been  at  considerable  pains  to  prove  that  in 
Guernsey  two,  and  in  Jersey  four,  non-agricultural  inhabi- 
tants are  maintained  on  the  produce  of  every  acre  and 
a  half  of  cultivated  land,  whereas  in  England  only  one 
such  person  is  so  fed.  Be  this  as  it  may,  a  preferable,  or 
at  any  rate  more  generally  applicable,  test  is  the  propor- 
tion between  the  extra  production  of  small  farming  an<? 
the  consumption  of  the  extra  labourers  therein  employed. 
Now,  in  Flanders  and  in  the  two  principal  Channel 
Islands  the  agricultural  population  is  about-four  times  as 
dense  as  in  England,  being  at  the  rate  of  about  one  peison 
for  every  4  acres,  instead  of  one  for  every  17;  but  cause 
has  also  been  shown  for  believing  that  in  Flanders  and  in 
the  same  islands  the  average  produce  of  the  soil  is  greater 
than  in  England  by  the  equivalent  of  9  bushels  of  wheat 
per  acre,  or  of  153  bushels  for  every  17  acres.  But  153 
bushels,  or  say  19  quarters,  of  wheat  is  much  more  than 
three  persons — and  these  not  all  adult  males,  but,  more 
likely,  a  man,  a  woman,  and  a  child — would  consume, 
even  if  it  were  supplied  to  them,  and  there  were  nothing 
else  for  'them,'  to  eat,  and  is  fully  three  times  as  much  as 
three  such  persons  of  the  farm  labourers'  class  in  any  part 
of  Europe  Lave  the  means  of  procuring.  After  deduction, 
therefore,  of  their  consumption,  Hhere  would  still  remain 
available  for  sale  to  non-agriculturists,  from  the  produce  o/ 


414 


AGRICULTURE 


[lakoe  and 


17  acres  under  small  culture,  the  equivalent  of  nearly  100 
bushels  of  wheat  more  than  could  be  spared  for  the  same 
purpose  from  an  equal  extent  of  land  under  a  large  farmer. 
These  conclusions   are  not  put  forward   as  more  than 
roughly  approximate,  nor,  indeed,  in  the  present  disgrace- 
fully defective  state  of  British  agricultural  statistics,  are 
any  but   rough  approximations  on  the  subject  possible. 
But,  unless  very  wide  indeed  of  the  truth,  they  must  be 
acknowledged    to    furnish    adequate    reason    why    rural 
magnates  should  not  engross  all  our  praises,  and  why  the 
honest  agricultural  muse  should  reserve  a  share  of  com- 
meudation  for  small  leaseholding  fanners  also. 
m  IV.  And  while  so  much  can  be  said  for  small  leaseholders, 
it  is  obvious  that  every  one  of  tho  arguments  adduced  in 
favour  of  that  class  applies  with  redoubled  force  to  small 
freeholders  cultivating  their  own  freeholds.      A  peasant 
proprietor,  whose  whole   produce  belongs  to  himself,  is 
of  course  richer  than  he  would  be  if  he  had  to  pay  rent 
— can  more  easily  bear  the  expenses  of   cultivation,  of 
procuring  proper  implements  and  manure,  of  drainage  and 
irrigation,  and  of  the  keep  of  live  stock.      Small  lease- 
holders, as  a  class,  lay  out  more  money  on  their  land,  in 
proportion  to  it3  extent,  than  large  occupiers;  but  a  small 
freeholder  has  more  money  to  lay  out  than  a  leaseholder 
of  the  same  degree,  and  has  besides  stronger  motives  for 
laying  it  out  on  improvements.    "  A  small  proprietor,"  says 
Adam  Smith,  "  who  knows  every  part  of  his  little  terri- 
tory, who  views  it  with  all  the  affection  which  property, 
especially  small  property,  naturally  inspires,  and  who,  upon 
that  account,  takes  pleasure  not  only  in  cultivating  but  in 
adorning  it,  is  generally  of  all  improvers  the  most  indus- 
trious, the  most  intelligent,  and  the  most  successful."     It 
might  have  been  added,  that  he  is  likewise  the  most  enter- 
prising.   He  need  not  carefully  calculate  whether  his  outlay 
will  be  fully  recovered  by  him  within  a  certain  term  of  years; 
he  has  only  to  consider  whether  the  increased  value  of  his  land 
will  be  equal  to  fair  interest  on  the  sum  which  the  improve- 
ments will  cost     He  does  not  require  that  the  principal 
should  ever  be  returned.    He  is  satisfied  to  sink  it  for  ever 
in  his  own  land,  provided  that,  in  that  safest  of  all  invest- 
ments, it  promise  to  yield  a  perpetual  annuity  equal  to 
what  would  be  its  annual  increase  in  another  employment. 
4.gain,  the  peasant  proprietor  has  the  strongest  possible 
incentives  to  diligence.    A  man  never  works  so  well  as 
when  paid  by  the  piece ;  but  even  then,  the  more  he  is 
paid,  the  better  he  works.     The  small  leaseholder,  not  less 
than  the  small  proprietor,  is  paid  in  proportion  to  his 
labour;  but  the  latter  is  paid  at  a  higher  rate,  for  he  takes 
to  himself  the  whole  fruit  of  his  labour,  while  the  former 
must  content   himself  with    part.      The  proprietor,   too, 
knows  that,  so  long  as  his  labour  continues  equally  pro- 
ductive, his  remuneration  will  remain  the  same ;  while 
that  of  the  tenant,  though  augmented  solely  by  his  own 
exertions,  may  be  diminished  at  the  expiration  of  his  lease. 
Besides,  many  rural  operations  yield  no  profit  until  after  a 
long  lapse  of  time ;  and  the  annual  profit  of  others  is  so 
Email  that  the  enjoyment  of  it  in  perpetuity  is  requisite  to 
recompense  the  labour  expended.      Such  operations  are 
seldom  undertaken  except  by  proprietors.    No  tenant  would 
think  of  planting  an  orchard  such  as  Arthur  Young  saw 
near  Sauve  on  a  tract  consisting  "  seemingly  of  nothing 
but  bare  rocks;"  or,  as  in  the  mountains  of  Languedoc, 
would  "  carry  earth  in  baskets  on  the  back  to  form  a 
garden  where  nature  had  denied  it ;"  or  would  enclose 
and  till  fields  and  gardens  on  a  "  wretched  blowing  sand 
naturally  as  white  as  snow."      But,  as  Young  exclaims, 
"give  a  man  the  secure  possession  of  a  bleak  rock,  and  he 
will  turn  it  into  a  garden !"     There  is  "  no  way  so  suro 
of  carrying  tillage  to  a  mountain-top  as  by  permitting 
the  neighbouring  villagers  to  acquire  it  in  property.     Tho 


magic  of  property  turns  sand  to  gold."  It  may  perhaps 
be  objected  that  the  gold  does  not  repay  the  cost  of  trans- 
mutation, and  that  therefore  the  labour  expended  upon  it 
has  been  wasted;  and  no  doubt  a  monicd  speculator,  who 
should  engage  in  such  alchemy  with  hired  labour,  might 
never  recover  the  amount  of  his  outlay.  But — and  here 
comes  a  conclusive  answer  to  those  who,  instead  of  admir- 
ing such  achievements,  condemn  them  as  mere  waste  of 
power — the  peasant  who  performs  them  on  his  own  account 
performs  them  with  labour  which  would  otherwise  be 
valueless  at  that  particular  time.  When  the  hired  journey- 
man has  earned  his  day's  wages,  and  gives  himself  up 
to  rest  or  amusement,  the  littlo  landowner  is  content  to 
recreate  himself  by  turning  to  some  lighter  work.  It  is 
sufficient  amusement  for  him  to  weed  or  wa,ter  his  cabbages, 
or  to  train  or  prune  bis  fruit-trees;  and,  in  wet  or  wintry 
weather,  when  outdoor  work  is  scarce  worth  paying  for, 
and  when  the  day-labourer  must  often  remain  idle  because 
no  one  will  employ  him,  then  it  is  that  the  independent 
cottager  builds  up  terraces  on  the  steep  hillside,  or  lays 
the  site  of  a  garden  among  rocks.  It  is,  in  short,-  one  prime 
excellence  of  peasant  proprietorship  that  it  stirs  into 
activity  labour  which  otherwise  would  not  have  been 
exerted — in  other  words,  would  not  have  existed,  and  the 
fzuits  of  which,  consequently,  however  insignificant,  are 
at  any  rate  all  pure  gain. 

The  pastoral  tribes,  by  which  most  civilised  countries  were 
originally  occupied,  have  almost  invariably  been  followed,  either 
immediately  or  after  a  certain  interval,  by  a  race  of  peasant  pro- 
prietors. The  revolution  has  taken  place  at  different  stages  o( 
national  progress,  but  scarcely  an  instance  can  bo  mentioned  in 
which  it  has  not  occurred  sooDer  or  later.  In  territories  of  very 
small  extent,  very  'Darren  or  much  intersected  by  mountains,  rivers, 
or  other  natural  barriers,  it  has  commonly  been  coeval  with  ths 
first  appropriation  of  land  by  individuals.  In  snch  situations,  the 
original  tribes  of  nomad  herdsmen  must  necessarily  have  been 
small  for  want  of  pasture ;  and  the  same  cause  must  have  prevented 
any  individual  from  acquiring  very  great  numbers  of  cattle,  and 
from  very  greatly  surpassing  his  companions  in  wealth  and  power. 
All  must  have  been  nearly  equal  in  rank ;  and,  whenever  a  partition 
of  their  common  territory  was  resolved  upon,  every  one,  no  doubt, 
made  good  his  claim  to  a  share.  On  the  other  band,  in  countries 
containing  abundance  of  good  pasture,  separate  tribes  might  expand 
indefinitely,  aed  the  cattle  of  single  proprietors  bo  counted  by 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands.  Great  wealth  would  then  imply 
great  disparity  of  rank,  and  rich  herdsmen  would  have  many  poor 
retainers  entirely  indebted  to  their  bounty,  and  consequently  entirely 
devoted  to  their  service.  Such  dependants,  when  the  community 
passed  from  a  migratory  and  pastoral  to  a  stationary  and  agricultural 
condition,  could  put  forward  no  pretensions  on  their  own  bcbal£ 
Their  relation  to  their  masters  would  remain  the  same  as  before, 
or  rather  would  be  exchanged  for  a  more  stringent  form  of  bondage. 
From  servants  they  would  become  serfs,  and  the  duty  assigned 
to  them  would  be  that  of  tilling  their  masters'  fields,  as  they  had 
previously  tended  his  herds.  In  the  course  of  ages,  however,  they 
would  imperceptibly  acquire  some  important  privileges.  Residing 
for  many  successive  generations  on  the  lands  allotted  to  them  for 
their  owd  subsistence,  and  paying  to  their  lord  always  the  same,  or 
nearly  the  same,  portion  of  the  produce,  they  would  come  at  length 
to  bo  regarded  as  conditional  proprietors  of  theirrespective  holdings, 
or  as  perpetual  lessees  at  a  quit  and  almost  nominal  rent.  Their 
proprietary  title,  although  at  first  merely  prescriptive,  would  be 
eventually  legalised ;  and  thus  it  is  that  from  villeins  and  serfs  has 
descended  a  progeny  no  less  respectable  than  English  copy-holdera 
and  German  bauers. 

V.  In  one  or  other  of  these  ways  almost  every  country 
on  the  face  of  the  globe  which  has  passed  regularly  through 
the  various  stages  that  separate  barbarism  from  civilisa- 
tion, has  been  at  some  period,  as  many  are  still,  occupied 
in  great  measure  by  peasant  proprietors.  In  those 
countries,  however,  in  which  peasant  proprietorship  has 
been  evolved  from  serfdom,  there  must  have  been,  inter- 
mingled with  the  lands  held  by  servile  tenure,  others,  not 
less  extensive,  in  the  immediate  occupation  of  a  rural 
aristocracy.  These  seignorial  domains  would  long  con- 
tinue to  be  cultivated  by  the  serfs  or  slaves  of  their  re- 
spective owners,  but  as  feudal  and  domestic  slavery  fell 


SMALL   FARMING.] 


AGKICCJLTUhE 


4  IT) 


into  desuetude,  the  landlords,  in  order  to  get  their  lanas 
tilled,  would  be  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  holding  out 
inducements  to  free  husbandmen  to  lend  their  assistance. 
In  England,'  -where,  thanks  to  the  comparative  security 
enjoyod  by  industry,  plebeians  of  some  substance  were 
already  not  rare,  it  might  suffice  to  offer  tenancies  for 
terms  of  years  or -for  lives;  but,  in  those  continental 
countries  in  which  feudal  misrule  had  given  way,  only  to 
be  replaced  by  monarchical  tyranny,  it  was  generally 
necessary  for  the  landowner,  who  desired  that  his  farms 
Should  be  tolerably  stocked,  to  stock  them  himself.  Hence 
Urose  a  system  which,  having  never  existed  in  England,  has 
Co  English  name,  but  which  in  certain  provinces  of  Italy 
find  France,  where  it  was  once  almost  universal,  and  is  still 
ivery  common,  is  called  mezzeria  and  metayage,  or  halv- 
.jug — the  halving,  that  is,  of  the  produce  of  the  soil  between 
landowner  and  landholder.  These  expressions  are  not, 
however,  to  be  understood  in  a  more  precise  sense  than 
that  in  which  we  sometimes  talk  of  a  larger  and  a  smaller 
half.  They  merely  signify  that  the  produce  is  divisible  in 
certain  definite  proportions,  which  must  obviously  vary 
with  the  varying  fertility  of  the  soil  and  other  circum- 
stances, and  which  do  in  practice  vary  so  much  that  the 
landlord's  share  is  sometimes  as  much  as  two-thirds,  some- 
times as  little  as  one-third.  Sometimes  the  landlord 
supplies  all  the  stock,  sometimes  only  part — the  cattle 
and  seed  perhaps,  while  the  farmer  provides  implements ; 
or  perhaps  only  half  the  seed  and  half  the  cattle,  the 
farmer  finding  the  other  halves — taxes  too  being  paid 
wholly  by  one  or  the  other,  or  jointly  by  both. 

■Now,  with  whatever  virtue  a  system  like  this  may  be  condition- 
ally credited,  it  plainly  can  have  no  virtue  at  all  except  on  con- 
dition of  its  being  believed  to  be  permanent.  The  mUaycr  must 
have  full  confidence  that  the  landlord,  although  authorised  by  law, 
will  be  prevented  by  respect  for  custom,  from  increasing  his  exac- 
tions ;  but  even  on  this  condition  the  system  is  open  to  the 
serious  objection,  that  the  metayer  will  deem  it  his  interest  to  lay 
out  on  the  land  as  little  as  possible,  if  anything,  of  his  own,  except 
labour.  If  in  England,  previously  to  tithe  commutation,  a  farmer 
was  discouraged  from  spending  money  on  improvements  by  the 
knowledge  that  the  parson  would  claim  one  out  of  every  ten  ad- 
ditional sheaves  of  corn  or  pounds  of  butter  produced  in  conse- 
quence, what  chance  is  there  of  a  metayer  risking  a  similar  expendi- 
ture, while  knowing  that  the  landlord.'s  share  of  the  consequent 
produce  would  be  a  moiety  or  more  instead  of  a  tenth  ?  In  this 
particular,  metayage  closely  resembles  English  tenancies  at  will, 
which  practically  render  it  almost  equally  incumbent  on  the  land- 
lord to  bear  the  entire  expense  of  all  costly  improvements,  and  over 
which  me'tayage,  in  another  and  nearly  allied  particular,  possesses  a 
marked  advantage.  Although  the  metayer  may,  for  one  very  cogent 
reason — a  reason,  however,  likely  to  be  somewhat  counteracted  by 
belief,  whether  well  or  ill  founded,  in  the  fixity  of  his  tenure — be 
reluctant  to  use  in  his  business  any  capital  of  his  own,  he  will,  for 
the  converse  of  that  same  reason,  be  anxious  to  make  the  most  of 
the  capital  entrusted  to  him  by  his  landlord.  He  is  his  landlord's 
partner,  entitled  to  a  moiety  or  thereabout  in  his  landlord's  gains. 
It  is  his  interest,  then,  to  gee  the  most  out  of  the  land  that  can  be 
brought,  out  of  it  by  means  of  the  landlord's  stock.  Virtually, 
indeed,  he  is  himself,  in  a  qualified  sense,  a  peasant  proprietor,  pos- 
sessing in  a  minor  degree  all  the  stimulants  to  diligence,  heedful- 
ness,  and  thrift,  incidental  to  that  character ;  and  there  can  scarcely, 
therefore, '  be  inherent  in  his  constitution  any  such  incurable  vice 
as  would  warrant  his  being  condemned  a  priori.  Equally  with 
other  people  he  is  entitled  to  be  judged  by  his  behaviour.  As  to 
this  the  testimony  of  experience  is  very  conflicting.  English 
writers  who  see  nothing  of  metayage  at  home,  and  maybe  suspected 
of  looking  with  not  wholly  unprejudiced  eyes  at  what  they  see  of  it 
abroad,  were,  until  Mr  J.  S.  Mill  adopted  a  different  tone,  unani- 
mous in  condemning  it.  They  judged  it,  however,  by  its  appear- 
ance in  France,  where  it  has  never  worn  a  very  attractive  aspect. 
In  that  country  every  form  of  agriculture  still  retains  many  of  the 
traditions  of  the  ante-Revolutionary  period,  and  me'tayage,  in  par- 
ticular, labours  under  great  difficulties  in  consequence.  Under  the 
ancien  rlgime  not  only  were  all  direct  taxes  paid  by  the  metayer,  the 
noble  landowner  being  exempt,  but  these  taxes,  being  assessed  accord- 
ing to  the  visible  produce  of  the  soil,  operated  as  penalties  upon  all 
endeavours  to  augment  its  productiveness.  No  wonder,  then,  if 
the  metayer  fancied  that  his  interest  lay  less  in  exerting  himself  to 
augment  the  tetal  to  be  divided  between  himself  and  his  landlord, 


than  in  studying  how  to  defraud  the  latter  of  part  of  his  rightful 
share  ;  nor  any  great  wonder  either  if  he  has  not  yet  got  entirely 
rid  of  habits  so  acquired.  Rather  would  it  be  strange  if  he  had, 
especially  when  it  is  considered  that  he  still  is,  as  his  predecessors 
were  formerly,  destitute  of  the  virtual  fixity  of  tenure  without 
which  metayage  cannot  reasonably  be  expected  to  prosper.  French 
metayers,  in  Arthur  Young's  time,  were ,"  removable  at  pleasure, 
and  obliged  to  conform  in  all  things  to  the  will  of  their  landlords," 
and  so  in  general  they  are  still.  Yet  even  in  France,  according  to 
M.  de  Lavergne,  although  ' '  metayage  and  extreme  rural  poverty 
usually  coincide,"  there  13  one  province,  Anjou,  where  the  contrary 
is  the  fact,  as  it  is  also  in  Italy.  Indeed,  to  every  tourist  who  has 
passed  through  the  plains  of  Lombardy  with  his  eyes  open,  the 
knowledge  that  metayage  has  for  ages  been  there  the  prevailing 
form  of  tenure  ought  to  suffice  for  the  triumphant  vindication  of 
metayage  in  the  abstract.  Its  perfect  compatibility  with  the  most 
flourishing  agriculture  must  be  clear  to  any  one  who,  noting  the 
number  and  populousness  of  the  cities  in  the  Lombard  provinces, 
is  at  the  same  time  aware  how  much  of  agricultural  produce  those 
provinces  export  and  how  little  they  import.  An  explanation  of 
the  contrasts  presented  by  metayage  in  different  regions  is  not  far 
to  seek._  Metayage,  in  order  to  be  in  any  measure  worthy  of  com- 
mendation, must  be  a  genuine  partnership,  one  in  which  there  is  no 
sleeping  partner,  but  in  the  affairs  of  which  the  landlord,  as  well 
as  the  tenant,  takes  an  active  part.  If  he  do  this,  he  cannot 
be  an  absentee.  He  must  be  on  the  spot  to  judge  when  and  what 
advances  are  required  from  him,  and  to  watch  over  their  proper 
application  ;  to  that  end  conferring  habitually  with  the  metayer, 
and  taking  as  well  as  giving  counsel  on  the  subject,  as  on  one  in 
which  both  are  equally  concerned.  This  exhibition  of  common 
interest  on  one  side  is  sure  to  beget  it,  if  previously  wanting,  on  the 
other ;  feelings  of  mutual  attachment  insensibly  spring  up,  and 
the  spirit  which  governs  the  mutual  relations  becomes  one  of  friendly 
and  almost  affectionate  association.  Such  is,  or  at  any  rate 
used  to  be,  the  state  of  affairs  in  Piedmont,  in  Lombardy,  and  in 
Tuscany  ;  and  wherever  the  same  description  applies,  the  results  of 
metayage  appear  to  be  as  eminently  satisfactory,  as  they  are  de- 
cidedly the  reverse  wherever  the  landlord  holds  himself  aloof, 
contenting  himself,  as  it  were,  with  putting  out  his  stock  to  usury, 
and  never  intervening  except  to  carp  at  the  smallness  of  the  returns. 
Instead  of  community,  there  is  then  conflict,  of  interests.  Anta- 
gonism takes  the  place  of  association.  The  landlord  grudges  tho 
scantiest  advances,  and  even  of  those  the  farmer  does  his  best  to 
cheat  the  soil,  which,  starved  by  them  who  ought  to  feed  it,  leaves 
them  to  starve  in  return. 

On  the  whole,  and  according  to  preponderance  of  testimony, 
metayage  must  perhaps  be  admitted  to  be  everywhere  showing  a 
tendency  to  degenerate  after  the  above  fashion;  yet  even  so,  the 
worst  that  need  be  said  of  it  is,  that  it  is  becoming  an  anachronism ; 
this,  moreover,  being  perhaps  a  reproach  less  to  itself  than  to  the 
age  in  which  we  live.  It  is  the  present  generation  of  mankind  who 
are  chiefly  to  blame  if  the  tie3  which  anciently  linked  together 
employers  and  employed  in  more  or  less  kindly  fellowship,  are  now- 
a-days,  in  agriculture  as  in  other  departments  of  industry,  visibly 
decaying,  and  if  each  section  of  the  agrarian  class,  bidding  the  others 
keep  their  distance,  prefers  to  perform  its  own  functions  separate!;', 
and  without  more  of  natural  intercourse  than  business  obligations, 
arranged  beforehand,  render  indispensable.  But  whenever,  from 
whatever  cause,  landowners  have  come  to  be  regarded  by  landholders 
as  mere  receivers  of  rent,  me'tayage  cannot  possibly  thrive,  and  it  is 
accordingly  dying  out,  even  in  the  quarters  to  which  it  has  hitherto 
appeared  most  congenial.  Even  in  the  Milanese,  where  the  minute 
and  assiduous  attention  to  details  which  me'tayers,  next  alter  peasant 
proprietors,  can  best  be  depended  on  for  bestowing,  is  in  especial  de- 
mand for  sericulture  and  viticulture,  metayage  is  undergoing  changes 
which  M.  de  Laveleye  [Economic  Euralc  de  la  Zombardic)  describes 
as  follows : — 

"  The  primitive  conditions  of  contract  which  fixed,  according  to 
local  and  traditional  usage,  the  cultivator's  share,  are  daily  more 
and  more  departed  from.  For  a  considerable  time  past,  in  the  parts 
about  Como  and  Milan,  to  the  arrangement  for  sharing  by  halves, 
which  now  applies  only  to  plantation  crops,  grasses,  and  cocoons, 
has  been  added  a  clause  providing  for  the  annual  payment  of  a 
determinate  quantity  of  corn ;  and,  as  this  quantity  is  settled  no 
longer  by  local  custom,  but  by  the  demands  of  the  proprietors  and 
the  offers  of  intending  tenants,  it  follows  that  metayage  is  losing  its 
character  of  fixity,  and  falling  under  the  law  of  increase  which 
g  iverns  farming  rent.  The  clause  in  question  is  continually  be- 
coming more  and  more  of  a  habit ;  and,  even  where  it  has  not  yet 
been  adopted,  the  ancient  contract  has  undergone  other  and  not  less 
regretable  modifications.  The  high  price  of  commodities,  particu- 
larly of  silk,  having  markedly  augmented  the  profits  of  the  meta- 
yers, the  landlords  nave  availed  themselves  of  this  circumstance  to 
introduce  new  stipulations — sometimes  taking  more  than  half  of 
the  cocoons,  sometimes  claiming  a  quantity  of  mulberry  leaves  to 
sell  for  their  own  profit,  sometimes  taking  tithes  first  and  then 
halving  the  residue.    All  this  is  done  with  the  same  aim  and  the 


416 


A  G  K  1  C  U  L  T  U  K  E 


woe  result,  tlie  arm  being  to  secure  to  tile  landlord  tbo  whole 
benefit  of  continually  rising  prices,  the  result  that  of  depriving  the 
metayer  of  the  security  which  the  primitive  tgreement  gave  Turn, 
and  of  subjecting  him  to  all  the  disadvantages  of  a  leaseholder 
'  without  any  of  the  latter's  compensations." 

VI,  The  plan  of  industrial  partnerships,  wherever  it  has 
had  a  fair  trial,  has  invariably  been  attended  by  the  hap- 
piest results;  but  it  has  hardly  yet  been  fairly  tried  in 
farming,  where,  however,  its  application  would  in  one 
respect  be  comparatively  easy.  In  most  other  kinds  of 
business,  to  determine  to  the  satisfaction  of  both  parties 
concerned  how  much,  if  any,  of  extra  profits  had  been  due 
to  extra  zeal  «n  the  part  of  the  employed,  might  be  an 
operation  of  some  difficulty;  but  there  need  never  be  any 
doubt  whether  the  crops  of  a  given  acreage  were  or  were 
not  above  the  average,  or  what,  therefore,  if  any,  was  the 
surplus  in  which,  according  to  the  agreement,  the  employed 
were  entitled  to  participate.  That  farmers  would  risk  but 
little  and  only  occasional  loss,  and  in  the  long  run  would 
be  sure  to  gain  considerably,  by  permitting  their  labourers 
to  share  -.vith  them  in  a  surplus  which  the  labourers  would 
have  by  voluntary  exertion  to  create  before  they  could 
share  in  it,  may  perhaps  to  an  indifferent  bystander  seem 
a  self-evident  proposition.  Farmers  in  general,  however, 
may  long  be  prevented  from  recognising  its  truth  by  an 
intervening  haze  of  traditional  prejudice,  which  must  first 
be  cleared  away,  and  the  removal  may  occupy  so  much 
time  that  not  improbably  another  and  more  advanced  form 
of  agricultural  co-operation,  not  needing  the  farmers'  con- 
currence, may  in  the  mean  time  come  into  vogue. 

Intermingled  with  the  multitudinous  peasant  proprietary 
©f  France  are  not  only  a  much  larger  number  of  well-to-do 
country  gentlemen  than  is  commonly  supposed,  but  also  a 
not  inconsiderable  sprinkling  of  rural  magnates,  who,  even 
beside  English  dukes,  might  well  pass  for  extensive  land- 
owners. Among  these  latter  are  representatives  of  some 
of  the  oldest  and  noblest  French  families — men  rejoicing 
in  the  grand  historic  names  of  Rochefoucauld,  Noailles, 
Luynes,  Montemart,  D'Usez,  and  the  like — who  having  at 
the  restoration  been  partially  reinstated  in  the  domains 
of  which  the  first  revolution  had  despoiled  them,  dis- 
appeared, on  the  second  expulsion  of  the  Bourbons,  from 
court  and  office,  and,  returning  to  their  country  seats,  be- 
took themselves,  under  the  Orleaniit  dynasty  and  second 
empire,  to  the  improvement  of  their  estates.  A  difficulty 
which  here  confronted  them  was  that  of  finding  tenants 
possessed  of  capital  enough  for  any  but  very  small  farms, 
and  this  they  have  latterly  endeavoured  to  obviate  by 
devising,  under  the  name  of  metayage  par  groupes,  an  ex- 
panded modification  of  a  discredited  tenure.  This  consists 
in  letting  a  considerable  farm,  not  to  one  metayer,  but  to 
an  association  of  several,  who  work  together  for  the  general 
good,  under  the  supervision  either  of  the  landlord 
hims»lf,  or  of  a  manager  or  bailiff  of  his  appointment 
This  plan  is  by  no  means  the  novelty  it  may  perhaps 
appear,  its  near  counterpart  having  within  the  present  cen- 
tury existed  in  some  singular  patriarchal  communities 
— Jaults,  Guittards,  and  Garriotts  (see  Thornton  On 
Labour,  2d  edition,  pp.  488-90),  in  Nivernais  and  Au- 
vergne,  and  still  existing  among  the  massari  of  the  sub- 
alpine  districts  of  northern  Italy.  Its  merit  consists  in  its 
tendency  to  excite  among  the  associates  the  generous 
emulation  and  other  healthy  stimulating  and  controlling 
influences  of  co-operative  fellowship;  but  as  yet  it  has 
scarcely  been  long  enough  in  operation  to  show  very  deci- 
sively how  it  is  likely  to  work.     In  the  event  of  its  proving 


a  marked  success,  it  may  become  the  6tarting-poTaJ  ot 
much  further  progress.  One  easy  and  important  step  in 
advance  would  be  for  a  body  of  metayers  to  persuade  their 
landlord  to  let  them  have  their  farm  on  lease,  and  at  a  fixed 
rent,  thus  raising  themselves  to  that  higher  stage  of  agri- 
cultural co-operatioD  of  which  an  imperfect  but  encourag- 
ing example  has  been  afforded  among  ourselves  by  Mr 
Gurdon's  well-known  experiment  at  Assington  in  Suffolk. 
Of  the  two  or  three  scores  of  labourers  who  are  there  par- 
ties to  the  leases  by  which  two  farms — one  of  130,  the 
other  of  212  acres — are  held,  not  more  than  ten  or  a  dozen 
have  regular  work  in  their  own  fields,  the  rest  being 
therefore  little  more  than  passive  capitalists,  sleeping 
partners  in  the  concern,  while  the  active  members  receive, 
in  addition  to  wages  at  the  rates  current  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, no  larger  shares  in  the  profits  than  the  members  who 
do  not  exert  themselves  to  increase  those  profits.  Never- 
theless, to  sum  up  in  a  single  phrase  of  especial  significance 
for  our  present  purpose  the  praises  of  the  results  achieved, 
Mr  Gurdon  declares  that  "  he  has  no  other  land  so  well 
farmed  "  as  that  on  which  the  co-operative  principle  is  even 
thus  partially  applied.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  the 
adoption  of  the  same  principle  in  its  integrity  would  result 
in  better  farming  still,  and  it  may  be  hoped  that  the  ques- 
tion will,  at  Assington  or  elsewhere,  be  ere  long  put  to  the 
proof.  (w.  t.  t.  ) 


Alphabetical  Contents. 


Ancient  husbandry,  291 
Artichokes,  369. 
Bakewell.  302. 
Bailey,  358. 
Bams.  308. 
Beans,  360,  377. 
Beet,  881. 
Belhaven.  301. 
Blood,  349. 
Boga,  403. 
Bondsmen,  294. 
Bones,  847. 
Breast  plough,  3 
Breeding,  302. 
Cabbage,  869. 
Capital,  408. 
Carrots,  369, 
Carts,  323. 
Cattle,  387. 
Chaff  cutting,  328. 
Chalk.  361. 
Chicory,  878,  88S. 
Clay,  burnt,  361. 
Cleaning.  338. 
Climate,  306. 
Clovers,  376. 
Colza,  383. 
Co-operation,  416. 
Cottages.  309. 
Culley,  303. 

Cultivators,  steam,  318, 
Dawson,  303. 
Donaldson,  30L 
Draining,  328. 
Drills,  820. 
Education,  408. 
Egypt,  ancient,  291. 
Fallowing,  337;  Bummer, 

840. 
Farm  buildings,  308.. 
Farming,  large,  411; 

■mail,  412. 
Tences,  309. 
Fena,  404. 
Flax.  380. 
Fowler,  816. 
Goats,  399. 
GorBe,  378. 
Grain  crops,  864. 
Grasses,  370. 
Greece,  ancient,  29* 
Grinding,  326. 
Grubbers,  812. 
Grubbing,  338. 
Guano,  847. 
Gypsum,  361. 
Harrowing,  887. 
Harrows,  818.  ■ 
Harvesting,  862. 
Haymakers,  32*. 


Haymaklng,  378. 
Highland  Soclety,303,  306. 
History,  ancient,  291, 

,1634-16*6,  295; 

1688-1760,  299; 

1760-1796,  802; 

1796-1816,  303; 

Recent,  804. 
Hoes,  321. 
Hops,  381. 
Horses,  farm,  884 
Howard,  316. 
Implements,  811. 
Improvements,  recent,  808. 
Indian  corn,  362. 
Jewish  husbandry,  291. 
Knowledge,   Increase    of, 

303. 
Kohl  Rabl,  870. 
Labourers,  408. 
Land  tenure,  406. 
Large  farming.  411. 
Laws,    old,    298;    recent, 

804. 
Leases,  407,  411;  restric- 
tive, 341. 
Legislation.  409. 
Levelling,  336. 
Lime,  360. 
Literature,  299,  806. 
Lucerne,  378. 
Machines.  313. 
Maize.  362. 
Mangel-wurzel.  868. 
Msnurt  dls'rlbuiors,  821. 
Manures,  342;    artificial, 

863;  liquid,  343. 
Marl,  361. 
Maxwell,  302. 
Me'tayage,  414. 
Middle  ages.  293. 
Moorland,  402. 
Mortimer,  299. 
Mowing-machines,  323. 
Mustard,  377,  384. 
Nitrate  of  soda,  363. 
Oats,  369. 
Olla  883. 
Paring,  836. 
Parsnips,  869. 
Pasture,  370. 
Pastures,  aheep,  402. 
peasant  proprietors,  414. 
Pease,  361. 
Peel,  charred,  869. 
Pigs,  400. 
Ploughing,  336. 
Ploughs,  311;  steam,  81*. 
Population,  Influence  of, 
807. 


Potash,  358. 

Potato  disease,  304. 

Potatoes,  364. 

Poultry.  401. 

Purveyance,  294. 

Railways.  306. 

Rakes,  323. 

Rape,  370,  888. 

Rape-cake,  349. 

Reaping-machines,  a 

Reclaiming,  402. 

Rinderpest,  304. 

Road  steamers,  823. 

Rollers,  319. 

Rome,  ancient.  292. 

Root  crops,  364. 

Rotation  crops,  340. 

Rye,  860. 

Ryegrass,  876. 

Sainfoin,  877. 

Salt,  863. 

Sands,  406. 

Scotland,  2S8. 

Sea  weed,  360. 

Seed,  383. 

Sewage,  349. 

Sheep,  391;  farming, 8»».. 

pastures;  402.       r 
Small  fanning,  212. 
Societies,  808,  306. 
Solla,  806. 
Soot,  362. 

Sowing  Implements,  320 
Spa'  i,  mediaeval,  293. 
Stacking,  863. 
Statistics,     Govenmw 

305. 
Steam-engines.  823. 
Steam-power,  318, 410. 
Stones,  removal  of,  83* 
Swine,  400, 
Tenant-right,  407 
Tenants,  Ufa,  294. 
Tenure,  land,  406. 
Threshing-machines,  80S, 

324. 
Tlllsge  laws.  298. 
Trenching,  336;  fork,  820 
TuU,  299.. 
Turnip  cutters,  826;  pulp> 

era,  826;  thinners,  82L 
Turnips,  299,  366. 
Tuasac,  378. 
Vagabonds,  298. 
Vetches,  376. 
Waste  lands,  402. 
Water,  809. 
Wheat.  354. 
Winnowing,  :;i 
Wool,  »*t>.. 


A  G  E— A  G  R 


417 


AGRIGENTUM,  ill  Ancient  Geography,  a  city  on  the 
south  coast  of  Sicily,  part  of  the  site  of  which  is  now 
occupied  by  a  town  called  Girgenti,  from  the  old  name. 
(See  Giegenti.)  It  was  founded  by  a  colony  from  Gela, 
582  b.c.  An  advantageous  situation,  a  free  govern- 
ment, and  an  active  commercial  spirit  raised  the  city  to 
a  degree  of  wealth  and  importance  unknown  to  the  other 
Greek  settlements,  Syracuse  alone  excepted  The  pro- 
sperity of  Agrigentum  was  interrupted  by  the  usurpation 
of  Phalaris  which  lasted  about  fifteen  years.  He  met  with 
the  common  fate  of  tyrants,  and  after  his  death  the  Agri- 
gentines  enjoyed  their  liberty  for  sixty  years;  at  the 
expiration  of  which  term  Theron  usurped  the  sovereign 
authority.  The  moderation,  justice,  and  valour  of  this 
prince  preserved  him  from  opposition.  He  joined  his  son- 
in-law  Gelon,  king  of  Syracuse,  in  a  victorious  war  against 
the  Carthaginians.  Soon  after  his  decease,  472  B.5.,  his 
son  Thrasydeus  was  deprived  of  the  diadem,  and  Agri- 
gentum restored  to  her  old  democratical  government,  which 
she  retained  till  the  Carthaginian  invasion  in  406  b.c. 
During  this  interval  of  prosperity  were  executed  most  of 
those  splendid  public  works  which  excited  the  admiration 
of  succeeding  ages,  and  caused  Empedocles  to  remark 
"  that  the  Agrigentines  built  their  dwellings  as  though 
they  were  to  live  for  ever,  and  indulged  in  luxury  as  if 
they  were  to  die  on  the  morrow."  The  total  number  of 
the  inhabitants  at  this  period  was  'estimated  by  Diodorus 
at  200,000.  The  power  of  the  Agrigentines  now  ex- 
perienced a  terrible  reverse.  They  were  attacked  by  the 
Carthaginians  in  406  B.C.,  their  armies  routed,  their  city 
taken,  and  their  race  almost  extirpated,  scarcely  a  vestige 
of  their  material  greatness  being  left.  Although  some  of 
the  fugitive  inhabitants  availed  themselves  of  permission  to 
return  to  •the  ruined  city,  and  after  a  few  years  were  even 
able  to  shake  off  the  yoke  of  Carthage,  Agrigentum 
never  fully  recovered  from  this  fatal  disaster.  Such  was 
the  condition  of  the  city  340  b.c.  that  Timoleon,  after  his 
triumph  over  the  Carthaginians,  found  it  necessary  to  re- 
colonise  it  with  citizens  from  Velia  in  Italy.  During  the 
first  Punic  war  Agrigentum  was  the  headquarters  of  the 
Carthaginians,  and  was  besieged  by  the  Roman  consuls, 
who,  after  eight  months'  blockade,  took  it  by  storm.  It 
nevertheless  changed  masters  several  time3  during  the 
contest,  and  in  every  instance  suffered  most  cruel  outrages. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  Agrigentum  finally  fell  under  the 
dominion  of  Rome. 

The  profuse  luxury  and  display  for  which  the  Agrigen- 
tines are  celebrated  in  history  were  supported 'by  a  fertile 
territory  and  an  extensive  commerce,  by  means  of  which 
the  commonwealth  was  able  to  resist  many  shocks  of 
adversity.  It  was,  however,  crushed  in  the  fall  of  the 
Eastern  Empire,  and  the  Saracens  obtained  possession  of 
the  city. 

Agrigentum  occupied  a  hill  rising  between  the  small 
rivers  Agragas  and  Hypsas,  and  was  remarkable  for  its 
strength  as  a  fortress.  The  whole  space  comprehended 
within  the  walls  of  the  ancient  city  abounds  with  traces 
of  antiquity.  Of  its  many  celebrated  edifices,  the  most 
magnificent  was  the  temple  of  Olympian  Jupiter.  Of  this 
vast  structure  nothing  remains  except  the  basement  and  a 
few  fragments  of  the  columns  and  entablature ;  but  these 
and  many  other  monuments  attest  the  ancient  magnifi- 
cence of  the  Agrigentines. 

AGRIONTA,  festivals  celebrated  annually  by  the  Boeo- 
tians in  honour  of  Dionysus,  in  which  the  women,  after 
playfully  pretending  for  some  time  to  search  for  that  god, 
desisted,  saying  that  he  had  hidden  himself  among  the 
Muses.  They  were  solemnised  at  night  by  women  and  the 
priests  only.  The  tradition  is  that  the  daughters  of  Minyaa, 
having  despised  the  rites   of  the  god,  were  seized  with 


frenzy  and  ate  the  flesh  of  one  of  their  children,  and  that 
the  Agrionia  were  celebrated  in  expiat'on  of  the  offence. 

AGRDPPA,  Hebod,  the  son  of  Aristobulus  and 
Berenice,  and  grandson .  of  Herod  the  Great,  was  bora 
about  11  B.C.  Josephus  informs  us  that,  after  the  deati 
of  his  father,  Herod,  his  grandfather,  sent  him  to  Rom< 
to  the  court  of  Tiberius.  The  emperor  conceived  a  great 
affection  for  Agrippa,  and  placed  him  near  his  son  Drusus 
whose  favour  he  very  soon  Won,  as  well  as  that  of  th« 
empress  Antonia.  On  the  death  of  Drusus,  Agrippa. 
who  had  been  recklessly  extravagant,  was  obliged  to  leav« 
Rome,  overwhelmed  with  debt,  and  retired  to  the  castle  o( 
Malatha.  After  a  brief  seclusion,  Herod  the  tetrarch,  hit 
uncle,-  who  had  married  Herodias,  his  sister,  made  him 
principal  magistrate  of  Tiberias,  and  presented  him  with 
a  large  sum  of  money;  but  his  uncle  grudging  to  con- 
tinue his  support,  and  reproaching  him  with  his  bad 
economy,  Agrippa  left  Judea,  and  soon  after  returned  to 
Rome.  There  he  was  received  with  favour  by  Tiberius, 
and  commanded  to  attend  Tiberius  Nero,  the  son  of 
Drusus.  Agrippa,  however,  chose  rather  to  attach  himself 
to  Caius,  who  at  that  time  was  universally  beloved,  and  so 
far  won  upon  thi3  prince  that  he  kept  him  continually 
about  him.  Agrippa  being  one  day  overheard  by  Euty- 
ches,  a  slave  whom  he  had  made  free,  to  express  his 
wishes  for  Tiberius's  death. and  the  advancement  of  Caius, 
was  betrayed  to  the  emperor  and  cast  into  prison.  Tibe- 
rius soon  after  died,  and  Caius  Cahgula  ascended  the 
throne  37  A.V.  The  new  emperor  heaped  wealth  and 
favours  upon  Agrippa,  changed  his  iron  fetters  into  a 
chain  of  gold,  set  a'royal  diadem  upon  his  head,  and  gave 
him  the  tetrarchy  of  Batanaea  and  Trachonitis,  which  Philip, 
the  son  of  Herod  the  Great,  had  formerly  possessed.  To 
this  he  added  that  held  by  Lysanias;  and  Agrippa  returned 
very  soon  into  Judea  to  take  possession  of  his  new  kingdom. 
On  the  assassination  of  Caligula,  Agrippa,  who  was  then 
at  Rome,  contributed  much  by  his  advice  to  maintain 
Claudius  in  possession  of  the  imperial  dignity,  to  which  ho 
had  been  advanced  by  the  army;  and  while  he  made  a 
show  of  being  in  the  interest  of  the  senate,  he  secretly 
advised  Claudius  to  maintain  his  position  with  firmness. 
The  emperor,  as  an  acknowledgment  of  his  services,  gave 
him  the  government  of  Judea;  and  the  kingdom  of  Chalcis, 
at  his  request,  was  given  to  hi3  brother  Herod.  Thus 
Agrippa  became  of  a  sudden  one  of  the  greatest  princes  of 
the  East,  the  territory  he  possessed  equalling  in  extent 
that  held  by  Herod  the  Great,  his  grandfather.  He 
returned  to  Judea,  and  governed  it  to  the  great  satisfac- 
tion of  the  Jews.  But  the  desire  of  pleasing  them,  and  a 
mistaken  zeal  for  their  religion,  impelled  him  to  acts  cf 
cruelty,  the  memory  of  which  is  preserved  in  Scripture 
(Acts  xfi.  1,  2,  (fcc.)  About  the  feast  of  the  Passover,  44 
A.D.,  James  the  elder,  the  son  of  Zebedee  and  brother  cf 
John  the  evangelist,  was  seized  by  bis  order  and  put  to 
death.  He  proceeded  also  to  lay  hands  on  Peter,  and 
imprisoned  him,  delaying  his  execution  till  the  close  of 
the  festival.  But  God  having  miraculously  delivered  Peter 
from  prison,  the  designs  of  Agrippa  were  frustrated. 
After  the  Passover,  he  went  from  Jerusalem  to  Cassarea, 
where  he  had  games  performed  in  honour  of  Claudius, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  Tyre  and  Sidon  waited  on  him  to 
sue  for  peace.  Agrippa  having  come  early  in  the  morn- 
ing to  the  theatre  to  give  them  audience,  seated  himself  on 
his  throne,  dressed  in  a  robe  of  silver  tissue,  which  reflected 
the  rays  of  the  rising  sun  with  such  lustre  as  to  dazzle  the 
eyes  of  the  spectators.  When  the  king  had  delivered  hia 
address,  the  parasites  around  him  shouted  out  that  it  was 
not  the  voice  of  a  man  but  of  a  god  The  vain  Agrippa 
received  the  impious  flattery  with  complacent  satisfaction ; 
but  in  the  midet  of  his  elation,  looking  upwards,  he  saw, 


1-1.", 


418 


AGRIPPA 


with  superstitious  alarm,  an  owl  percneo.  over  his  head 
During  his  confinement  by  Tiberius  he  had  been  startled 
by  a  like  omen,  which  had  been  interpreted  as  portending 
his  speedy  release,  with  the  warning  that  whenever  he 
should  behold  the  same  sight  again,  his  death  was  to 
follow  within  the  space  of  five  days.  Seized  with  terror, 
ho  was  immediately  smitten  with  disease,  and  after  a  few 
days  of  excruciating  torment,  died,  according  to  the 
Scripture  expression,  "eaten  of  worms,"  44  A.D. 

AGRIPPA,  Herod,  IL,  son  of  the  preceding,  born  about 
'27  A.D.,  was  made  king  of  Chalcis  on  the  death  of  his 
uncle  Herod,  48  a.d.  ;  but  three  or  four  years  after  he 
was  deprived  of  that  kingdom  by  Claudius,  who  gave  him 
other  provinces  instead  of  it.  In  the  war  which  Vespasian 
carried  on  against  the  Jews  Herod  sent  him  a  succour  of 
2000  men,  by  which  it  appears  that,  though  a  Jew  in 
religion,  he  was  yet  entirely  devoted  to  the  Romans,  whose 
assistance  indeed  he  required  to  secure  the  peace  of  his 
own  kingdom.  He  died  at  Rome  in  the  third  year  of 
Trajan,  100  a.d.  He  was  the'  seventh  and  last  king  of 
the  family  of  Herod  the  Great.  It  was  before  him  and 
Berenice,  his  sister,  that  St  Paul  pleaded  his  cause  at 
Caesarea  (Acts  xxvi.) 

AGRIPPA,  Marcus  ViPSAinus,  according  to  Tacitus, 
was  born  of  humble  parents  about  63  B.O.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  he  was  the  chosen  companion  of  Octavius  (after- 
wards Octavianus),  the  nephew  and  successor  of  Julius 
Caesar,  many  of  whose  successes  were  mainly  due  to  the 
courage  and  military  talents  of  Agrippa.  On  the  assassina- 
tion of  Caesar,  44  B.C.,  Agrippa  accompanied  his  friend  to 
Italy,  and  rendered  essential  service  in  the  conduct  of  the 
first  war  against  M.  Antonius,  which  terminated  in  the 
capture  of  Perusia  in  40  b.o.  Three  years  after  this 
Agrippa  was  made  consul,  and  had  the  command  in  Gaul, 
when  he  defeated  the  Aquitani,  and  led  the  Roman  eagles 
beyond  the  Rhine  to  punish  the  aggressions  of  the  Ger- 
mans on  his  province.  But  Agrippa  was  soon  summoned 
to  Italy  by  the  critical  state  of  the  affairs  of  Octavianus, 
the  whole  coast  being  commanded  by  the  superior  fleets  of 
Sex.  Pompeius.  His  first  care  was  the  formation  of  a 
secure  harbour  for  the  ships  of  Octavianus,  and  this  he 
accomplished  by  uniting  the  Lucrine  lake  with  the  sea. 
He  made  an  inner  haven  also  by  joining  the  lake  Avernus 
to  the  Lucrine.  In  these  secure  ports  the  fleet  was 
equipped,  and  20,000  manumitted  slaves  were  sedulously 
trained  in  rowing  and  naval  manoeuvres  until  they  were 
able  to  cope  with  the  seamen  of  Pompeius.  Agrippa  was 
thus  enabled  in  the  following  year  to  defeat  Pompeius 
in  the  naval  action  of  Mylae ;  and  soon  after  won  a  more 
signal  victory  near  Naulochus.  These  victories  gave  Octa- 
vianus the  empire  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  secured  to 
him  Sicily,  the  granary  of  Rome,  after  an  easy  triumph 
over  his  feeble  colleague  Lepidus ;  and  they  prepared  the 
"way  for  the  overthrow  of  the  power  of  M.  Antonius,  the 
other  triumvir.  The  merit  of  all  these  successes  was 
very  much  due  to  the  skill,  resolution,  and  sagacity  of 
Agrippa, 

Agrippa  was  chosen  aedile  33  B.C.,  and  signalised  his 
tenure  of  office  by  great  improvements  in  the  city  of 
Rome,  in  the  repair  and  construction  of  aqueducts  and 
fountains  neglected  or  injured  during  the  civil  wars, 
and  in  the  enlargement  and  repair  of  the  sewers.  He 
i '^peare  also  to  have  introduced  an  effectual  mode  of 
fishing  the  sewers  by  conducting  into  them  the  united 
*  iters  of  several  different  streams.  From  these  useful 
labours  Agrippa  wa3  again  called  away  in  31  B.C.  to  com- 
mand the 'Roman  fleet,  which,  by  the  victory  at  Actium, 
fixed  the  empire  of  the  world  on  Octavianus.  The 
services  of  Agrippa  made  him  a  special  favourite  with 
Ocuvianus,  who  gave  him  his  niece  Marcella  in  marriage, 


27  B.C.,  when  he  was  consul  for  the  third  time.  In  tb» 
following  year  the  servile  senate  bestowed  on  Octavianus 
the  imperial  title  of  Augustus.  Agrippa,  in  commemo- 
ration of  the  naval  victory  of  Actium,  dedicated  to  Jupit.:i 
and  all  the  other  gods  the  Pantheon,  now  called  La 
liotonda.  The  inscription  on  its  portico  still  remains, 
M.  AoRrrPA  L.  F.  Cos.  Tertium  Fecit.  In  25  b.o.  we 
find  this  eminent  man  employed  in  Spain,  where  he  re- 
duced the  insurgent  Cantabri,  the  ancestors  of  the  present 
Biscayans. 

The  friendship  of  Augustus  and  Agrippa  seems  to  have 
been  clouded  by  the  jealousy  of  Marcellus,  which  was 
probably  fomented  by  the  intrigues  ol  Livia,  the  second 
wife  of  Augustus,  in  dread  of  his  influence  with  her  hus- 
band. The  consequence  was  that  Agrippa  left  Rome ; 
and  though,  to  cloak  his  retirement,  ho  was  appointed 
proconsul  of  Syria,  he  went  no  farther  than  Mytileno. 
Marcellus  dying  within  a  year,  Agrippa  was  recalled  to 
Rome,  and  being  divorced  from  Marcella,  became  the  hus- 
band of  the  widowed  Julia,  who  was  no  less  distinguished 
by  her  beauty  and  abilities  than  afterwards  by  her  shame- 
less profligacy. 

In  19  b.o.  Agrippa  again  led  an  army  into  Spain,  where 
he  subdued  the  Cantabri,  who  had  been  for  two  years  in 
insurrection  against  the  Romans.  While  in  Gaul,  where 
he  also  pacified  the  insurgent  inhabitants,  he  constructed 
four  great  public  roads,  and  the  splendid  aqueduct  at 
Nemausus  (now  Nismes),  the  ruins  of  which  even  yet 
excite  admiration.  On  his  return  to  Rome,  18  B.C.,  he 
was  invested  with  the  tribunician  power,  along  with  the 
emperor,  for  five  years.  After  that  he  was  a  second  time 
made  governor  of  Syria,  17  B.C.,  where,  by  his  just  and 
wise  administration,  he  obtained  general  commendatior., 
especially  from  the  Hebrew  population  of  his  province,  of 
which  Judea  formed  a  part.  This  resulted  from  his  having, 
at  the  request  of  Herod  the  Great,  gone  up  to  Jerusalem, 
aud  granted  special  privileges  for  their  religious  worship 
to  the  Jewish  subjects  of  the  empire.  In  this  journey,  too, 
he  colonised  Berytus  (now  Beyrout)  as  a  military  and  com- 
mercial settlement. 

The  last  military  employment  of  Agrippa  was  in  Pau- 
nonia,  13  B.C.,  where  his  character  for  equity  was  of  itself 
sufficient  to  put  down  insurrection  without  bloodshed. 
Returning  to  Italy,  he  lived  there  in  retirement,  greatly 
honoured,  and  died  at  Campania,  12  B.C.,  two  years  before 
his  imperial  father-in-law.  He  was  the  greatest  military 
commander  of  Rome  since  the  days  of  Julius  Ca?sar,  and 
the  most  honest  of  Roman  governors  in  any  province. 

Under  the  care  of  Agrippa,  Julius  Caesar's  design  of 
having  a  complete  survey  of  the  empire  made  was  carried 
out.  He  had  a  chart  of  the  entire  empire  drawn  up,  and 
projected  a  great  work  on  the  geography  of  its  provinces. 
His  materials  were  placed  in  the  public  archives,  where 
Pliny  consulted  them  (Nat.  Hilt.,  iii.)  Agrippa  also  wrote 
an  account,  now  lost,  of  the  transactions  in  which  he  had 
taken  part. 

Agrippa  left  several  children :  byhi3  first  wife  he  had  Pom- 
ponia  Vipsania,  who  became  the  first  wife  of  Tiberius,  and 
was  the  mother  of  Drusus;  and  by  Julia  he  was  the  father 
of  Caius  and  Lucius  Caesar,  who  were  adopted  by  Augustus : 
of  Julia,  married  to  Lepidus;  of  Agrippina  the  elder;  and 
of  Agrippa  Posthumus.  (See  Dio  Cassius;  Appianus  ; 
Suetonius  ;  Velleius  Paterculus  ;  Fergusson's  Horn.  Rep.  ; 
Merivale's  Romans  under  the  Empire.) 

AGRIPPA  Henry  Cornelius  (von  Nettesheim), 
knight,  doctor,  and  by  common  reputation  a  magician,  was 
born  of  a  noble  family  at  Cologne  on  the  14th  Sept.  1486. 
Educated  at  the  university  of  Cologne,  he  entered  when  still 
very  young  into  the  service  of  the  Emperor  Maximilian, 
who  sent  him  on  a  diplomatic  mission  to  Paris  in  1506. 


AGR^-AGK 


419 


During  the  next  three  years  he  was  engaged  in  a  military 
Expedition  to  Catalonia,  and  then  in  the  formation  of  a 
secret  society  of  theosophists,  the  first  of  those  alternations 
between  the  career  of  the  knight  and  the  career  of  the 
student  in  which  his  whole  life  was  passed.  In  1509  he 
#ent  by  invitation  to  the  university  of  D61e  in  Burgundy, 
and  read  lectures  on  Reuchlin's  De  Verbo  Mirifico,  which 
gained  for  him  the  degree  of  doctor  of  divinity  and  a 
stipend.  It  was  these  lectures  that  first  stirred  against 
|him  that  malignant  hatred  of  the  monks  which  embittered 
lus  life  and  blackened  his  memory.  He  was  denounced  as 
|an  impious  and  heretical  cabahst  by  an  obscure  monk 
jnamed  Catilinet,  in  Jectures  delivered  at  Ghent  (1510) 
before  Margaret  of  Burgundy,  and  his  hopes  of  securing 
the  patronage  of  that  princess  were  thus  for  the  time  dis- 
appointed. To  win  her  favour,  he  had  composed  (1509) 
and  dedicated  to  her  a  treatise,  De  NobUitale  et  Prcecel- 
lentia  Fteminei  Sexus,  the  publication  of  which  was 
delayed  from  motives  of  prudence  until  1532.  For  the 
same  reason  the  same  course  was  followed  in  regard  to  his 
treatise  De  Occulta  Philosophic.,  which,  though  completed 
in  the  spring  of  1510,  did  not  appear  until  1531.  In 
writing  it  he  had  the  advice  and  assistance  of  the  abbot 
Trithemius  of  Wurzburg.  Failing  to  receive  encourage- 
ment as  a  man  of  letters,  Agrippa  was  forced  again  to 
enter  the  diplomatic  service.  In  1510  the  emperor  sent 
him  on  a  mission  to  London,  where  he  became  the  guest 
of  Dean  Colet  at  Stepney.  Soon  after  his  return  home  he 
wa3  -summoned  to  follow  his  imperial  master  to  the  war 
in  Italy,  where  he  won  hi3  spurs — probably  at  the  battle 
of  Ravenna.  In  the  autumn  of  1511,  on  the  invitation  of 
the  Cardinal  de  Santa  Croce,  he  attended  the  schismatic 
council  of  Pisa  as  theologian,  and  by  so  doing  still  further 
provoked  the  hostility  of  the  papal  party.  After  a  period 
spent  in  the  service  of  the  Marquis  of  Montferrat,  during 
which  he  visited  Switzerland,  Agrippa  was  invited  in  1515 
to  the  university  of  Pavia,  where  he  delivered  lectures  on 
the  Pimander  of  Hermes  Trismegistus,  the  first  of  which 
is  preserved  among  his  published  works,  and  received  a 
doctor's  degree  in  law  and  medicine.  He  was  still  doomed, 
however,  to  a  harassed,  unsettled  life.  Three  years  were 
spent  in  the  service  of  the  Marquis  of  Montferrat  and  the 
Duke  of  Savoy.  In  1518  he  became  syndic  at  Metz, 
where  he  was  involved  in  disputes  with  the  monks,  and 
especially  with  the  inquisitor  Nicolas  Savin,  before  whom 
he  boldly  and  persistently  defended  a  woman  accused  of 
witchcraft.  He  was,  chiefly  in  consequence  of  this,  com- 
pelled fo  resign  his  office,  and  quitted  Metz  for  Cologne 
in  January  1520. .  After  two  years  spent  in  seclusion  in 
his  native  city,  he  went  to  Geneva,  where  he  practised 
medicine  for  a  short  time.  In  '1523  he  removed  to 
Friburg,  having  been  appointed  town  physician.  In  the 
following  year  he  was  induced  to  go  to  Lyons  as  court 
physician  to  the  queen-mother,  Louisa  of  Savoy,  but  the 
change  did  not  better  his  condition,  since,  though  he  re- 
ceived several  empty  honours,- his  salary  remained  unpaid. . 
It  was  probably  amid  the  privations  of  poverty  that  he 
composed,  in  1526,  his  De  Incertitudine  et  Vanitate  Scien- 
tiarum  et  Artium  atque  Excbllenlia  Verbi  Dei  Declamatio, 
which  was  first  published  in  1530.  The  work  is  remark- 
able for  the  keenness  of  its  satire  on  the  existing  state  of 
science  and  the  pretensions  of  the  learned,  and  when 
published  furnished  fresh  occasion  for  the  malicious'  mis- 
representation of  his  enemies.  A  quarrel  with  the  queen 
compelled  Agrippa  to  leave  Lyons  and  betake  himself  to 
the  Netherlands.  In  1529  he  was  appointed  historio- 
grapher to  the  Emperor  Charles  V.,  and  in  that  capacity 
wrote  a  history  of  the  emperor's  reign.  The  salary  attached 
to  the  office  was,  however,  left  unpaid,  and  Agrippa  was 
uonsequently   imprisoned    at    Brussels,    and    afterwards 


banished  from  Cologne,  for  debt.     Ha  died  at  Grenoble 
in  1535. 

J  The  character  of  Agrippa  has  been  very  variously  repre- 
sented. The  earlier  accounts  are  grossly  disfigured  by 
the  calumnies  of  the  Dominicans,  whose  hatred,  following 
him  even  to  the  grave,  placed  over  it  an  inscription  that 
is  probably  unique  in  its  spiteful  malignity  '  In  later 
times  full  justice  has  been  done  to  his  memory.  A  Life 
of  Agrippa  by  Henry  Morley  (London  1856)  contains  8 
detailed  analysis  of  his  more  important  works.  A  com- 
plete edition  of  his  writings  appeared  in  two  volumes  at 
Ley  den  in  1550,  and  has  been  several  times  republished. 

AGRLPPINA  (the  Elder),  the  virtuous  and  heroic  but 
unfortunate  offspring  of  M  Agrippa  by  a  very  abandoned 
mother,  and  herself  the  parent  of  a  still  more  profligate, 
and  guilty  daughter  of  the  same  name.  She  was  early 
married  to  Gennanicus,  the  son  of  Drusus  and  Antonia,- 
the  niece  of  Augustus.  On  the  death  of  Augustus  she 
joined  her  husband  in  his  German  campaigns,  where  aha 
had  several  opportunities  of  showing  her  intrepidity,  shar- 
ing with  Gennanicus  his  toils  and  his  triumphs.  The 
love  which  the  army  showed  for  this  leader  was  the  cause 
of  his  recall  from  the  Rhine  by  the  suspicious  Tiberius. 
He  was  soon  afterwards  sent  into  Syria,  where  he  died  at 
Antioch  from  the  effects,  as  was  believed,  of  poison  ad« 
ministered  to  bim  by  Piso,  the  governor  of  Syria. 

On  his  deathbed  Gennanicus  implored  his  wife,  for  tha 
sake'  of  their  numerous  children,  to  submit  with  resigna- 
tion to  the  evil  times  on  which  they  were  fallen,  and  not 
to  provoke  the  -sngeance  of  the  tyrant  Tiberius.  .But, 
unhappily,  this  prudent  advice  was  not  followed  by  the 
high-spirited  woman,  who,  on  landing  at  Brundusium, 
went  straight  to  Rome,  entered  the  city  bearing  the  urn 
of  her  deceased  husband  in  her  arms,  and  was  Teceived 
amid  the  tears  of  the  citizens  and  the  soldiery,  to  whom 
Gennanicus  was  dear.  She  boldly  accused  Piso  of  the 
murder  of  her  husband ;  and  he,  to  avoid  public  infamy, 
committed  suicide.  She  continued  to  reside  at  Rome, 
watched  and  suspected' by  Tiberius,  who  for  some  time 
dreaded  to  glut  his  vengeance  on  the  widow  and  family  of 
so  popular  a  prince  as  Germanicus.  She  soon  had  the 
temerity  to  upbraid  the  tyrant  with  his  hypocrisy  in  pre- 
tending to  worship  at  the  tomb  of  Augustus.  He  began 
by  putting  to  death  both  men  and  women  who  had  shown 
attachment  to  the  family  of  Germanicus;  and  finally  he 
anested  Agrippina  and  her  two  eldest  sons,  Nero  and 
Drusus,  and  transported  them  to  the  isle  of  Pandataria, 
where  her  mother  Julia  had  perished ;  and  there  she  was 
starved,  or  starved  herself,  to  death  in  the  33d  year  of  ou- 
era.  Tiberius  also  ordered  the  execution  of  her  two  eldest 
sons;  yet  it  is  remarkable  that  by  his  will  the  emperor 
left  her  youngest  son  Caius,  better  known  by  the  name 
of  -Caligula,  as  one  of  the  heirs  of  the  empire. 

AGRLPPINA,  daughter  of  Germanicus  and  Agrippina 
the  elder,  sister  of  Caligula,  and  mother  of  Nero,  .was 
born. about  15  A.D.,  at  Oppidum  TJbiorum,  which  was  at 
that  time  the  headquarters  of  her  father's  legions,  and 
which  was  after  her  named  .Colonia  Agrippina  Ubiorum 
(now  Cologne).  •  She  wrote  memoirs  of  her  times,  which 
Tacitus  quotes,  and  Pliny  commends;  but  her  life  is 
notorious  for  intrigue  and  perfidy.  In  28  a.d.  she  became 
the  wife  of  Cn.  Dom.  Ahenobarbus,  who  died  40  A.D.  Hei 
next  husband  was  Crispus  Passienus,  whom  some  years 
afterwards  she  was  accused  of  poisoning.  For  flagitious 
conduct,  Caligula  banished  her  to  the  isle  of  Pontia ;  but 
on  the  accession  of  her  uncle  Claudius,  41  A.D.,  she  was  set 
free,  and  began  to  succeed  in  her  ambitious  schemes.  After 
Messalina  had  been  put  to  death,  48  A.D.,  Agrippina  was 
raised  by  Claudius  to  her  place  as  his  imperial  consort, 
49  A.D.     She  prevailed  upon  him  to  discard  Britanuicu* 


420 


A  G  11— A  H  A 


his  own  son,  and  to  adopt  her  son  Domitius  in  his  stead. 
Sho  removed  from  her  path  all  whom  she  feared  or  envied, 
and  in  54  a.d.  poisoned  Claudius  at  Sinuessa  that  she  might 
reign  as  regent  for  her  son.  Nero  in  a  short  time  grew 
tired  of  her  interference,  and  when  she  first  intrigued 
against  and  then  frowned  upon  him,  he  ordered  her  to 
be  slain  at  her  villa  on  the  Lucrine  lake.  After  having 
been  slightly  wounded  by  Anicetus,  she  Derishcd  by  the 
sword  of  a  centurion,  60  a.d. 

AGROTERAS  THUSIA,  an  annual  festival  at  Atnens 
in  honour  of  Artemis  or  Diana,  in  fulfilment  of  a  vow  mude 
by  the  city  before  the  battle  of  Marathon  to  offer  in  sacrifice 
a  number  of  goats  equal  to  that  of  the  Persians  slain  in  the 
conflict.     The  number  was  afterwards  restricted  to  500. 

AGTELEK,  a  village  of  Hungary,  in  the  county  of 
Gbmbr,  near  the  road  from  Pesth  to  Kaschau.  In  the 
neighbourhood  is  the  celebrated  stalactite  grotto  of  Baradla, 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  Europe.  Tho  entrance  is 
extremely  narrow,  but  the  interior  spreads  out  into  a 
labyrinth  of  caverns,  the  largest  of  which,  called  the 
Flower  Garden,  is  96  feet  high  ana1  90  feet  wide,  and 
extends  nearly  900  feet  in  a  straight  line.  In  these  caverns 
there  are  numerous  stalactite  structures,  which,  from  their 
eunous  and  fantastic  shapes,  have  received  such  names  as 
the  Image  of  the  Virgin,  the  Mosaic  Altar,  <fcc. 

AGUA,  Volcano  de,  a  huge  mountain  in  Central 
America,  25  miles  S.W.  of  Guatemala.  It  is  of  a  conical 
shape,  and  rises  to  a  height  of  15,000  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea.  At  the  summit  there  is  a  crater,  measuring 
about  140  yards  by  120,  from  which  stones  and  torrents 
of  boiling  water  are  occasionally  discharged.  In  close 
proximity  to  Agua  are  the  volcanoes  of  Pacaya,  on  the  S.E., 
and  Fuego  on  the  \V.,  and  the  three  present  together  a 
scene  of  great  magnificence. 

AGUADO,  Alexander  Maria,  one  of  the  most  famous 
bankers  of  modern  times,  was  born  of  Jewish  parentage 
at  Seville  in  1784.  He  commenced  life  as  a  soldier,  fight- 
ing with  distinction  in  the  Spanish  war  of  independence 
on  the  side  of  Joseph.  After  the  battle  of  Baylen  (1808) 
he  entered  the  French  army,  in  which  he  had  risen  to  be 
colonel  and  aide-de-camp  to  Marshal  Soult,  when  he  took 
his  discharge  in  1815.  He  immediately  commenced  busi- 
ness as  a  commission-agent  in  Paris,  and  chiefly  through 
his  connection  with  Spain  and  the  Spanish  colonies, 
acquired  in  a  few  years  wealth  enough  to  enable  him  to 
undertake  banking.  The  Spanish  government  gave  him 
full  powers  to  negotiate  the  loans  of  1823,  1828,  1830, 
and  1831  ;  and  Ferdinand  VII.  rewarded  him  with  the 
title  oi  Marquis  de  las  Marismas  del  Guadalquiver,  and  the 
decorations  of  several  orders.  Aguado  also  negotiated  the 
Greek  loan  of  1834.  In'  1828,  having  become  possessed 
of  large  estates  in  France,  including  the  Chateau  Margaux, 
famous  for  its  wine,  ho  was  naturalised  as  a  French  citizen. 
He  died  irt  1842,  leaving  a  fortune  computed  at  60,000,000 
francs.  The  designs  of  the  leading  pictures  in  an  exten- 
sive and  admirable  art  collection  which  he  had  formed 
were  published  by  Gavard  under  the  title  Galerie  Aguado 
(1837-42). 

AQUAS  CALLENTES,  a  town  in  Mexico,  capital  of 
the  state  of  the  same  name,  situated  270  miles  N.W.  of 
the  city  of  Mexico,  in  22°  N.  lat.,  and  101°  45'  W.  long. 
It  takes  its  name  from  the  hot  springs  in  its  vicinity.  The 
climate  is  fine,  and  the  extensive  and  beautiful  gardens 
surrounding  the  town  produce  an  abundance  of  olives, 
figs,  grapes,  and  pears.  It  has  a  large  manufactory  of 
woollen  cloth,  and  the  general  trade  is  considerable. 
Population,  22,534. 

AGULLAR,  Grace  (1816-47),  an  admired  English 
authoress,  was  the  daughter  of  a  Jewish  merchant  in 
London.     She  was  educated  wholly  br  her  parents,  and 


commenced  her  literary  career  at  an  early  age.  Her  works, 
written  in  a  phasing,  elegant,  and  impressive  style,  consist 
chiefly  of  religious  fictions,  such  as  The  Martyr  and  Hcmt 
Influence.  She  also  wrote,  in  defence  of  her  faith  and  its 
professors,  The  Spirit  of  Judaism,  and  other  works.  Hei 
services  in  the  latter  direction  were  acknowledged  grate- 
fully by  the  "  women  of  Israel,"  in  a  testimonial  which 
they  presented  shortly  before  her  death.  In  1835  she  had 
a  severe  attack  of  measles,  from  the  effects  of  which  her 
constitution  never  wholly  recovered.  After  a  long  struggle 
with  increasing  bodily  infirmities,  sho  died  at  Frankfort, 
on  her  way  to  Schwalbach,  in  the  autumn  of  1847. 

AGU1LAR  de  la  Frontera,  a  town  of  Spain,  stands 
near  the  river  Cabra,  22  miles  S.S.E.  of  Cordova.  The. 
houses  are  well  built,  and  distinguished  by  their  cleanness 
and  regularity.  The  town  has  three  handsome  public 
squares,  and  the  principal  buildings  are  the  parish  church, 
the  chapter-house,  a  new  town-hall,  the  prison,  and  iho 
markets.  Near  the  church  are  the  ruins  of  a  once  magni- 
ficent Moorish  castle.  The  district  produces  excellent 
wines,  which  go  by  the  name  of  Montilla,  and  there  is 
also  some  trade  in  corn  and  oil     Population,  12,000. 

AGUILLON,  Francois  d',  an  eminent  mathematician, 
born  at  Brussels  in  1566.  He  entered  the  Society  of 
Jesus  in  15S6,  and  was  successively  professor  of  philosophy 
at  Douay  and  rector  of  the  Jesuit  College  at  Antwerp. 
Eminent  for  his  skill  in  mathematics,  he  was  the  first  to 
introduce  the  study  of  that  science  among  the  Jesuits  in 
the  Low  Countries.  He  wrote  a  treatise  on  Optics  in  six 
books  (Antwerp,  1613),  and  was  employed  in  finishing 
another  on  Catoptrics  and  Dioptrics  when  he  died,  in  1617. 

AGUIRRA,  Josef  Saenz  d',  a  distinguished  Spanish 
ecclesiastic  and  theological  writer,  was  born  at  Logrogno 
on  the  24th  March  1630.  He  belonged  to  the  Benedictine 
order,  and  was  abbot  of  St  Vincent,  professor  of  theology 
at  the  university  of  Salamanca,  and  afterwards  secretary 
to  the  Spanish  Inquisition.  For  a  work  (Defensio  Catliedrce 
S.  Petri  adversus  Declarationes  Cleri  Gallici,  1682),  which 
he  wrote  in  support  of  the  papal  authority  against  the  four 
propositions  of  the  Gallican  Church,  he  was  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  cardinal  by  Pope  Innocent  XX  in  1686.  Of 
his  other  works  the  chief  are  a  Collection  of  the  Councils 
of  Spain  (1693-4),  and  a  Treatise  on  the  Theology  of 
Anselm,  only  three  volumes  of  which  appeared,  the  fourth 
and  last  being  still  incomplete  when  the  author  died, 
August  19th,  1699.  To  judge  from  a  warm  eulogium  of 
Bossuet,  his  opponent  in  controversy,  Aguirra  had  a  very 
high  reputation  for  piety. 

AGULHAS,  Cape,  the  most  southern  point  of  Africa, 
100  miles  E.S.E  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  in  34°  51'  30" 
S.  lat.,  and  19°  56'  30*  E.  long/.  At  a  distance  of  a  mile 
from  the  sea  it  rises  to  a  height  of  455  feet  In  1849  a 
lighthouse  was  opened  on  it  nearer  the  shore,  the  light  in 
which  stands  128  feet  above  high- water  mark.'.  An  im- 
mense bank,  the  Agullias  Bank,  extends  from  the  Cape  oi 
Good  Hope  along  the  coast  to  the  great  Fish  River,  a 
distance  of  560  miles,  with  a  breadth,  opposite  to  the  Cape, 
of  200  miles.  The  great  oceanic  current  from  the  Indian 
Ocean  to  the  Atlantic  sets  along  its  outward  edge,  and  ha& 
sharply  defined  it.  This  current  has  such  velocity  that 
ships  are  often  carried  far  to  the  westward,  and  round  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  even  against  a  smart  breeze.  The 
bank  abounds  with  fish  ;  and  the  approach  to  it  is  denoted 
by  the  appearance  of  many  whales,  sharks,  and  seals,  and 
innumerable  sea-birds. 

AHAB,  king  of  Israel,  was  the  son  and  successor  of 
OmrL  He  ascended  the  throne  in  the  38th  year  of  Asa, 
king  of  Judah,  i.e.,  918  B.C.,  and  reigned  over  Samaria  22 
years.  Having  married  Jezebel,  daughter  of  Ethbaal^ 
king  of  the  Sidonians,  he  was  bvoaght  into  closer  counto 


A  H  A  —  A  H  A 


421 


tion  with  the  neighbouring  powers  in  the  north,  and 
strengthened  himself  considerably,  so  that  he  was  able  to 
consolidate  the  disunited  kingdom,  and  render  it  powerful 
against  Judah.  Some  notices  out  of  Menander,  preserved 
by  Josephus,  led  to  the  conclusion  that  Ethbaal,  father  of 
Jezebel,  was  identical  with  Ithobal,  priest  of  Astarte,  who 
usurped  the  throne  of  Tyre  after  murdering  Pheles  the 
king.  It  is  not  improbable  that  Ahab's  marriage  with 
such  a  princess  was  the  means  of  procuring  him  great 
riches,  which  brought  pomp  and  luxury  in  their  train, 
along  with  the  material  and  social  influence  that  give  a 
certain  security  to  monarchy.  We  read  of  his  building  an 
ivory  palace  and  founding  new  cities,  the  effect  perhaps  of 
a  share  in  the  flourishing  commerce  of  Phoenicia.  But  his 
matrimonial  connection  with  Tyre  and  Sidon,  however 
fruitful  in  wealth,  was  in  many  respects  detrimental.  His 
wife  was  a  strong-minded,  passionate  devotee  of  idolatry, 
who  exercised  an  injurious  influence  over  him.  Led  by 
her,  he  gave  a  great  impulse  to  the  worship  of  Baal  and 
Astarte  in  his  kingdom.  For  the  former  he  built  a  temple 
with  an  altar;  of  the  latter  he  made  the  well-known  image 
which  existed  long  after,  t'nder  the  patronage  of  Jezebel, 
the  Phoenician  cultus  assumed  important  dimensions,  for 
Baal  is  said  to  have  had  450,  Astarte  400  priests  and  proph- 
ets. The  infatuated  queen  was  especially  hostile  to  the 
prophets  and  priests  of  Jehovah,  whom  she  tried  to  exter- 
minate ;  but  the  former  in  particidar,  though  sore  pressed, 
were  not  entirely  cut  off.  They  still  held  their  ground; 
and  Elijah,  the  most  conspicuous  of  them,  came  oft  victor 
in  the  contest  with  Baal's  ministers.  Jehovism  triumphed 
in  the  person  of  the  intrepid  Tishbite,  whom  the  queen 
was  unable  to  get  into  her  power.  Ahab  was  a  public- 
spirited  and  courageous  monarch.  He  defeated  the  Syrians 
twice,  and  concluded  a  peace  with  Benhadad  on  favourable 
terms.  Mesha,  king  of  Moab,  paid  him  a  large  yearly 
tribute.  In  conjunction  with  Jehoshaphat,  king  of  Judah, 
he  went  forth  to  battle  a  third  time  against  the  Syrians, 
and  was  slain  at  Bamoth-Gilead.  It  speaks  favourably  for 
his  disposition  that  he  repented  of  the  cruel  measures 
taken  against  Xaboth,  and  that  he  humbled  himself  before 
the  Lord.  Though  he  feared  Elijah  and  Micaiah,  he  was 
not  insensible  to  their  utterances;  nor  could  he  have  suf- 
fered so  many  as  400  prophets  to  live  in  his  kingdom 
without  some  little  regard  for  their  office.  The  prophetic 
voice,  held  as  it  was  in  small  esteem,  must  have  had 
6ome  influence  upon  his  administration,  especially  when 
political  grounds  coincided  with  it.  His  evil  courses  were 
due  much  more  to  the  influence  of  Jezebel  than  to  his  own 
vicious  impulses. 

As  the  accounts  of  Ahab  are  fragmentary,  it  Is  not  always  easy 
to  make  out  from  them  a  clear  or  connected  history  of  his  reign. 
There  is  room  for  conjecture  and  miscouception.  Thus  Ewald 
represents  him  as  building  a  splendid  temple  with  an  oracle- 
grove  of  Astarte  near  his  favourite  palace  at  Jesreel,  on  the  basis  of 
1  Kings  xvi.  32,  xviii.  19;  but  this  is  imaginary, since  the  original 
does  not  speak  of  a  grove  but  of  AatarU  (xviii.  19) ;  nor  is  it  prob- 
able that  a  second  structure  of  the  kind  mentioned  existed  else- 
where in  addition  to  Baal's  temple  in  Samaria.  Neither  can  it  be 
held  as  likely  that  a  large  statue  of  Baal  was  set  up  in  front  of  his 
temple,  and  small  statues  of  him  in  the  interior,merely  because  we 
read  in  2  Kings  x.  26,  27,  first  of  bringing  forth  the  images  of  Baal, 
and  then  of  breaking  the  image  of  the  same  sun-god.  Rather  were 
the  smaller  images  in  the  porch  and  the  chief  one  in  the  interior, 
so  that  the  reading  or  punctuation  of  verse  26  should  be  slightly 
altered.  Whether  the  450  or  400  prophets  were  distinct  from  the 
priests  is  doubtful.  Identifying  them, we  believe  that  the  priests 
acted  asprophets,procuringfor themselves greaterrenown  among 
the  ignorant  people  by  their  arts  of  necromancy  and  magic. 

For  the  biography  of  this  monarch  we  are  indebted  almost  exclu- 
sively to  the  books  of  Kings,  where  the  writers  consider  him  in  a 
theocratic  rather  than  a  political  aspect.  Viewing  him  from  their 
later  prophetic  standpoint,  their  portrait  is  somewhat  one-sided, 
though  correct  in  the  main.  It  is  observable  that  the  portions  of 
the  Kings  in  which  he  is  spoken  of  are  somewhat  different  in  char- 
acter and  expression,  betraying  the  use  of  different  sources  by  the 


compiler.  1  Kings  xvi.  29-33,  xxii.  39,  2  Kings  x.  25-28,  are  more 
historical  than  the  rest,  which  contain  almost  all  that  is  related  of 
Ahab,  and  were  derived  from  tradition.  It  has  been  conjectured 
by  Hitzig  that  the  45th  psalm  owes  its  origin  to  Ahab,  being  the 
joyous  poetical  expression  of  a  matrimonial  connection  with  Ty  re, 
which  augured  unusual  prosperity  for  the  distracted  kingdom. 
But  the  assumption  is  improbable, because, as  De  Wette  observes, 
an  event  belonging  to  Ephraim  was  hardly  a  fitting  subject  for  » 
poem  included  in  the  canon. 

Another  Ahab,  a  false  prophet  in  the  time  of  the    : 
Ionian    exile,   is  mentioned    by  Jeremiah    (xiix.    21),  and 
threatened  with  terrible  punishment.  (s.  D.) 

AHALA,  a  noble  Boman  family  of  the  gens  Servilia, 
which  produced  many  distinguished  men.  Of  these  the 
most  celebrated  is  C.  Servilius  Structus  Ahala,  master  of 
the  horse  to  the  dictator  Cineinnatus,  b.  c.  439.  He  sig- 
nalised himself  by  his  boldness  in  slaying  in  the  forum 
with  his  own  hand  the  popular  agitator  Sp.  Melius,  fot 
refusing  to  appear  before  the  dictator  on  a  charge  of  con- 
spiracy against  the  state.  For  this  act  Ahala  was  brought 
to  trial.  He  saved  himself  from  condemnation  by  retiring 
into  exile. 

AIIAXTA,  a  territory  on  the  Gold  Coast  of  Africa, 
lying  on  the  second  parallel  of  "W  long.  It  is  one  of  the 
richest  and  most  fertile  districts  in  that  part  of  the  con- 
tinent. Axim,  the  chief  settlement,  was  founded  bv  the 
Dutch,  but  now  belongs  to  Britain. 

AHASUERUS,  the  Latinised  form  of  the  Hebrew 
Ahashverosh,  *vyf !™  (in  the  LXX.  'Ao-crov)?pos,once  in  Tobit 
'A<rvr]pos),  occurs  as  a  royal  Persian  or  Median  name  in 
three  of  the  books  of  the  canonical  Scriptures,  and  in  one 
of  the  books  of  the  Apocrypha.  In  every  case  the  identi- 
fication of  the  person  thus  named  with  those  found  in 
profane  history  is  matter  of  controversy.  The  hypothesis 
of  Fiirst  and  others,  that  in  all  the  passages  one  and  the 
same  person  is  meant,  viz.,  the  well-known  Xerxes,  may 
be  set  aside  as  quite  inapplicable  to  the  facts ;  and  it  becomes 
necessary  to  glance  at  the  particular  places. 

In  Dan.  ix.  1,  Ahasuerus  appears  as  the  father  of  Darius  the 
Mede,  who  "was  made  king  over  the  realm  of  the  Chaldeans'* 
after  the  conquest  of  Babylon  and  death  of  Belshazzar.  Who  this 
Darius  was  is  oue  of  the  most  difficult  and  disputed  questions  of 
aucient  history.  If,  as  is  very  generally  supposed,  he  is  Ast  _ 
the  grandfather  of  the  great  Cyrus,  and  the  last  independent  king 
of  Media,  then  Ahasuerus  is  to  be  identified  with  Cyaxares,  the 
father  of  Astyages.  The  passage  in  Tobit  where  the  name  occurs 
(xiv.  15)  lends  confirmation  to  this  view.  It  is  there  stated  that 
Xineveh  was  captured  and  destroyed  by  "Nabuchodonosor  and 
Assueru9."  According  to  Herodotus  (i.  106  cf.  Raw  linson's  Herm 
vol.  i.  412),  it  was  the  Medes  under  Cyaxares  who  took  Xineveh. 

In  Ezra  iv.  6,  Ahasuerus  is  mentioned  as  a  king  of  Persia,  to 
whom  the  enemies  of  the  Jews  sent  representations  opposing  the 
rebuilding  of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem.  Here  the  sequence  of  the 
reigns  in  the  sacred  writer  and  in  the  profane  historians — in  the 
one,  Cyrus,  Ahasuerus,  Artexerxes,  Darius;  in  the  other.  Cyrus, 
Cambyses.Smerdis,  Darius— leads  naturally  to  the  identification 
of  Ahasuerus  with  Cambyses.  Other  circumstances,  especially  the 
known  policy  of  the  usurper  Smerdis,  and  its  reversal  by  Darius 
(see  Inscr.  of  Behistun,  col.  1.  $  14),  corroborate  this  conclusion. 

In  the  Bookof  Esther, Ahasuerus  is  the  name  borne  by  that  king 
of  Persia,  certain  eventsof  whose  court  and  empire  I  which  will  be 
noticed  elsewhere,  see  Esther)  form  ;  I  of  tin- whole  nar- 

rative. (Throughout  this  book  the  LXX.  render  the  name  by  ' Aprof- 
«'f>£is-)  The  hypothesis  of  certain  writers,  that  this  Ahasuerus  is  the 
Cyaxares,  king  of  Media,  already  referred  to,  may  be  at  once  dis 
missed.  That  of  others,  identifying  him  with  Artaxerxes  Longi 
manus,  the  son  and  successor  of  Xerxes,  though  countenanced 
by  Josephus,  deserves  scarcely  more  consideration.  Recent  in- 
quirers are  all  but  universally  of  opinion  that  he  must  be  a  mon- 
arch of  the  Achtemenian  dynasty , earlier  than  this  Artaxerxes:  and 
opinion  is  divided  between  Darius  Hystaspis  ami  Ins  son  and  suc- 
cessor Xerxes.  In  support  of  the  former  view  it  is  alleced.  among 
other  things  (see  Tyrwhitt's  Bather  and  Ahasu  .  that 

Darius  was  the  first  Persian  king  of  whom  it  could  be  said,  as  in 
Esther  i.  1,  that  he  "  reigned  from  India  even  unto  Ethiopia,  over 
an  hundred  and  seven  and  twenty  provinces;"  and  th.it  it  was 
also  the  distinction  of  Darius  that  i Esther  x.  It  he  "  laid  a  tribute 
upon  the  land  and  upon  the  isles  of  the  sea"  i  Hei 
In  support  of  the  latter  view  it  is  alleged— (1.)  That  the  Hebrew 


-\21 


A  H  A  —  A  H  M 


Ahashverosh  is  the  natural  equivalent  of  the  old  Persian  Khsha- 
yarsha,  the  true  name  of  the  monarch  called  by  the  Greeks  Xerxes, 
as  now  read  in  his  inscriptions  ;  (2.)  That  there  is  a  striking  simi- 
larity of  character  between  the  Xerxes  of  Herodotus  and  the 
Ahasuerus  of  Esther  ;  (3.)  That  certain  coincidences  in  dates  and 
events  corroborate  this  identity,  as,  e.g.,  "  In  the  third  year  of  his 
reign  Ahasuerus  gave  a  grand'feast  to  his  nobles,  lasting  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  days  (Esther  i.  3) ;  and  Xerxes  in  his  third  yeur 
also  assembled  his  chief  officers  to  deliberate  on  the  invasion  of 
Greece  (Herod,  vii.  8).  Again,  Ahasuerus  married  Esther  at 
Shushnn  in  the  seventh  year  of  his  reign  ;  in  the  same  year  of  his 
reign  Xerxes  returned  to  Susa  with  the  mortification  of  his  defeat, 
ana  sought  to  forget  himself  in  pleasure.  Lastly,  the  tribute  im- 
posed on  the  land  and  isles  of  the  sea  also  accords  with  the  state  of 
his  revenue,  exhausted  by  his  insane  attempt  against  Greece" 
(Kitto's  Cyclopcedia,  Ml  Ahasuerus).  To  this  it  may  be  added 
that  the  interval  of  four  years  between  the  divorce  of  vashti  and 
the  marriage  of  Esther  is  well  accounted  for  by  the  intervention  of 
an  important  series  of  events  fully  occupying  the  monarch's 
thoughts,  such  as  the  invasion  of  Greece.  It  may  be  added  that 
by  the  advocates  of  both  views  appeal  is  made,  with  more  or  less  of 
confidence,  to  the  names  of  the  queens  of  the  respectivo  sovereigns ; 
Atossa,  wife  of  Darius,  answering  to  Hadassah,  and  Amestris,  wife 
of  Xerxes,  to  Esther  (Esther  ii.  7) ;  and  also  to  the  number  of  gene- 
rations, indicated  in  the  genealogy  of  Mordecai  from  the  deporta- 
tion of  the  Jews  into  Babylon  (Esther  ii.  5  ;  cf.  Tyrwhitt,  p.  95, 
with  Kawlinson,  Bampton  Led.,  p.  186).  If,  as  seems  probable, 
the  name  Ahasuerus  is  the  transcription  of  the  Persian  Khshayarsha 
(written  Hisiarsa  in  Babylonian)  which,  according  to  Sir  H.  Rawlin- 
son,  means  "venerable  king"  (see  Rawlinson's  Her.  iii.  363),  then 
this  name  may  be  reasonably  supposed  to  have  been  originally  an 
appellative,  and  its  application,  especially  by  foreigners  like  the 
Jews,  to  different  royal  persons,  is  explained. 

AHAfl  (literally  Possessor),  son  ef  Jotham,  and  the 
eleventh  king  of  Judah,  reigned  16  years,  from  741  to 
725  b.c.  He  was  the  most  weak-minded  and  corrupt  of 
all  the  kings  that  had  hitherto  reigned  over  Judah.  About 
the  time  of  his  accession,  Pekah,  king  of  Israel,  and  Rezin, 
king  of  Syria,  had  formed  an  alliance  with  the  view  of 
acquiring  the  kingdom  of  Judah  by  conquest.  They  in- 
vaded the  country,  laid  siege  to  Jerusalem,  and  carried 
away  an  immense  number  of  captives,  though  they  failed 
to  secure  their  ultimate  object.  At  the  same  time  incur- 
sions were  made  by  the  Edomites  and  Philistines,  and 
Ahaz  was  fain  to  call  in  the  aid  of  Tiglath-Pileser,  king  of 
Assyria,  who  destroyed  the  power  of  Syria,  but  took  care 
to  exact  heavy  tribute  for  the  service  thus  rendered.  Ahaz 
was  even  compelled  to  appear  as  a  vassal  at  Damascus,  and 
so  to  bring  his  kingdom  to  the  lowest  point  of  political 
degradation.  In  religion  Ahaz  was  a  heathen.  He  broke 
in  pieces  the  vessels  of  the  temple  of  God,  and  at  last 
ventured  to  close  its  gates  altogether.  He  sacrificed  to 
Syrian  deities,  erected  altars  on  which  incense  was  to  be 
offered,  and  caused  his  son  to  pass  through  the  fire  to 
Moloch.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Hezekiah.  In  the 
inscriptions  of  Tiglath-Pileser  II.,  king  of  Assyria,  Yahu- 
khari  Jahudai,  that  is,  Joahaz  or  Ahaz  of  Israel,  appears 
amongthenames  of  those  who  acknowledged  his  sovereignty 
and  paid  tribute.  (Schrader's  Die  KeilinschrifUn  und  das 
Alte  Testament.) 

AHAZIAH  (lit  -Whom  the  Lord  sustains),  eon  and 
successor  of  Ahab,  and  eighth  king  of  Israel,  reigned 
scarcely  two  years,  from  897  to  896  B.C.  He  continued 
in  the  idolatrous  practices  of  his  father,  worshipping  Baal 
and  Astarte.  Upon  his  accession  the  Moabites  revolted, 
and  refused  any  longer  to  pay  the  tribute  which  had  been 
exacted  from  them  since  lie  establishment  of  Israel  as  a 
separate  kingdom.  Before  Ahaziah  could  take  measures 
to  subdue  them,  he  was  seriously  injured  by  a  fall  from  the 
lattice  of  an  upper  chamber  in  his  palace.  He  immediately 
sent  messengers  to  the  oracle  of  the  god  Baalzebub  at 
Ekron  to  inquire. the  issue  of  his  illness.  While  on  their 
way  they  were  met  by  Elijah  the  prophet,  who  bade  them 
return  and  tell  the  king  that  he  would  surely  die. 

A.HA2IAH,  son  of  Jehoram  and  Athaliah,  daughter  of 
Ahab.  and  sixth  king  of  Judah,  reigned  one  year,  885  b.c 


Under  the  evil  influence  of  his  mother,-  n  walked  in  the 
ways  of  Ahab's  house,  and  was  an  idolatrous  and  wicked 
king.     He  was  slain  by  Jehu,  the  son  of  NimshL 

AHENOBARBUS,  the  name  of  a  plebeian  Roman  family 
of  the  gens  Domitia,  which  rose  in'the  course  of  time  to 
considerable  distinction.  The  name  was  derived  from  the 
red  beard  and  hair  by  which  many  of  the  family  were  dis- 
tinguished.    The  emperor  Nero  was  of  this  family. 

AHITHOPHEL  (lit  Brother  of  Foolishness,  i.e.,  foolish), 
the  very  singular  name  of  one  of  the  sagest  politicians  in 
Old  Testament  history.  La  regard  to  his  family  rela- 
tionships it  is  almost  beyond  doubt  that  he  was  the  grand- 
father of  Bathsheba,  and  it  has  been  suggested  as  probable 
that  he  was  first  introduced  at  court  through  this  connec- 
tion. He  was  one  of  David's  most  trusted  counsellors, 
and  his  defection  to  the  cause  of  Absalom  was  a  severe 
blow  to  the  king,  who  prayed  that  God  would  bring  his 
counsel  to  "foolishness,"  probably  alluding  to  his  name. 
David's  grief  at  the  desertion  is  expressed  in  Ps.  xli.  9, 
lv.  12-14.  AhithopheFs  advice  was  at  first  acceptable  to 
Absalom's  party,  and  probably  laid  down  the  policy  which 
alone  was  likely  to  be  successful ;  but  Hushai'a  counsel  of 
delay,  given  in  the  secret  interest  of  David,  was  ultimate!} 
adopted.  Ahithophel's  political  foresight  enabled  him  tc 
see  that  this  resolution  would  prove  fatal  to  the  rebel  causae, 
and  he  at  once  returned  to  his  home  at  Giloh,  "put  his  house- 
hold in  order,  and  hanged  himself."  This  is  the  only  case  of 
deliberate  suicide  that  is  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament 

AHMADAbAD,  a  district  and  city  of  British  India,  in 
the  province  of  Gujrat,  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
governor  of  Bombay.  The  district  lies  between  21°.  4 
and  23°  6'  N.  lat,  and  between  71°  2'  and  73°  25'  E.  long. 
It  is  bounded  by  the  province  of  Katiwar  on  the  N.  and 
W.,  by  the  Mahi  Kanta  on  the  N.  and  E.,  by  the  Kaira 
collectorate  on  the  E.  and  S.,  and  by  the  gulf  of  Camba) 
on  the  S.  The  area  of  the  district  is  returned  at  3844 
square  miles.  The  river  Sabarmati  and  its  tributaries, 
flowing  from,  north-east  to  south-west  into  the  gulf  of 
Cambay,  are  the  principal  streams  that  water  the  district 
The  north-eastern  portion  is  slightly  elevated,  and  dotted 
'with  low  hills,  which  gradually  sink  into  a  va6t  plain,  sub- 
ject to  inundation  on  its  western  extremity.  With  the 
exception  of  this  latter  portion,  the  soil  is  very  fertile,  and 
some  parts  of  the  district  are  beautifully  wooded.  The 
total  population  of  Ahmadabad  is  returned  at  829,637 
souls,  the  average  density,  as  compared  with  the  area, 
being  216  to  the  square  mile,  and  the  proportion  of  females 
891  to  every  1000  males.  About  86  per  cent  of  the  popu- 
lation are  returned  as  Hindus,  10  per  cent  as  Mahome- 
tans, and  4  as  Buddhists.  The  percentage  of  persons  of 
other  denominations  is  infinitesimal,  their  total  number 
being  only  1237  souls. 

The  hamlets  for  the  most  part  consist  of  substantial  houses  of 
bricks  and  tiles,  with  only  a  small  proportion  of  huts.  Some  of  the 
larger  villages  contain  houses  with  upper  stories,  and  the  general 
appearance  of  the  inhabitants  indicates  prosperity.  The  principal 
agricultural  products  are  rice,  wheat,  bajra,  and  cotton,  with  a 
little  sugar-cane,  tobacco,  and  oil-seeds.  Silk  manufacture  forms 
an  important  industry  of  the  city.  The  total  revenue  of  the  district 
in  1872  amounted  to  £152,344,  of  which  £147,283  was  derived  from 
the  land  ;  the  total  net  expenditure  on  civil  administration  in  the 
same  year  amounted  to  £21,700.  The  fiscal  system  consists  for  the 
most  part  of  settlements  direct  with  the  husbandman,  technically 
known  as  rayatwari  ;  but  some  villages  are  "  tdluiddri,"  in  which 
the  "tilukdar"  or  landholder  collects  the  revenue,  and  pays  70 
per  cent  of  it  to  Government,  retaining  the  remaining  30  per  cent 
for  himself.  The  excise  revenue  is  generally  farmed  out,  but  » 
government  distillery  exists  in  the  city.  The  land  settlement  i 
fixed  for  a  period  of  thirty  years,  and  expires  in  different  parts  o, 
the  district  between  the  years  1884  and  1888.  Seventy-five  pel 
cent  of  the  total  area  of  the  district  is  cultivable,  of  which  54  pel 
cent  is  actually  under  cultivation,  the  other  20  per  cent  remaining 
fallow.  The  principal  marts  in  Ahmadabad  are  Dnollcra,  Gogo 
Dholia.  and  Vfrmngdon.     Municipalities  have  ben  established  in 


AHM-AHM 


423 


the  towns  of  Ahmadabdd,  Dholka,  Mandu,  Gogo,  Dhanduka, 
Prsntej,  and  Morashd ;  the  rate  of  municipal  taxation  per  head  of 
population  varies  from  2s.  6Jd.  in  Ahmadabad  to  4|d.  in  .Morashd, 
the  average  throughout  the  eight  towns  being  Is.  7|d.  per  head. 
The  municipal  income  is  chieily  derived  from  octroi  duties,  which 
in  some  of  the  towns  are  farmed.  Thirteen  towns  are  returned  as 
containing  a  population  exceeding  5000  souls,  namely,  Ahmadabad, 
population  116,873;  Dholka,  20,854;  Viramgaon,  19,661  ;  Dhollerd, 
12,468  ;  Dhanduka,  9782  ;  Gogo,  9571  ;  Prantej,  8341 ;  Morashd, 
7436  ;  Sanand,  7229  ;  Mandu,  6774  ;  Patri,  6320  ;  Barwala,  5813  ; 
and  Ranpur,  5796.  The  district  contains  "145  schools,  in  eight 
of  which  English  is  taught.  The  police  force  numbers  1189  men. 
The  Kolis  contribute  most  largely  to  the  criminal  populatioa 

Ahmadabad  City,  the  capital  of  the  district,  is  situated 
on  the  east  or  left  bank  of  the  river  Sabarmati,  in  23° 
N.  lat.,  and  72°  36'  E.  long.  It  was  formerly  one  of  the 
largest  towns  in  India,  celebrated  for  its  commerce  and 
manufactures  of  gold  and  silver,  silk  and  cotton  fabrics, 
articles  of  gold,  silver,  steel;  enamel,  mother  of  pearl, 
lacquered  ware,  and  fine  wood-work.  Excellent  paper 
was  also  manufactured,  and  a  large  trade  carried  on  in 
indigo,  cotton,  and  opium.  With  the  rise  of  the  Marhatta 
power,  however,  Ahmadabad  became  the  scene  of  repeated 
struggles  between  the  Marhattas  and  the  Mussulmans,  whose 
power  was  then  on  the  wane,  and  from  this  period  its  pros- 
perity-declined. It  was  captured  by  the  Marhattas  in 
1755,  and  again  by  the  British  in  1780.  The  latter  soon 
afterwards  gave  the  town  back  to  the  Marhattas,  who  held 
it  till  it  finally  came  into  the  hands  of  the  English  in  1818. 
The  present  state  of  the  city  is  flourishing.  It  contains  a 
population  of  116,873  souls,  and  is  a  large  and  important 
station  on  the  Bombay,  Baroda,  and  Central  India  Kail- 
way.  It  is  the  seat  of  important  silk  manufactures,  and 
bas  two  cotton-milk  worked  by  steam-power. 

The  principal  objects  of  architectural  interest  are  the 
Jain  temple  of  Seth  Hathisiiih  and  the  Juma  Masjid  or 
Great  Mosque,  The  Jain  temple  is  a  modern  edifice,  having 
been  erected  about  twenty-five  years  ago  by  Hathi  Sinh,  a 
rich  Jain  merchant,  who  dedicated  it  to  Bharmnath.  This 
modern  style  shows  that  the  Jain  style  of  architecture  has 
nardly  degenerated  from  its  ancient  excellence.  The  ex- 
ternal porch,  between  two  circular  towers,  is  of  great  magni- 
ficence, most  elaborately  ornamented,  and  leads  to  an  outer 
court,  with  sixteen  cells  on  either  side. ,  In  the  centre  of 
this  court  is  a  domed  porch  of  the  usual  form,  with  twenty 
pillars.  The  court  leads  to  an  inner  porch  of  twenty-two 
pillars,  two  stories  in  height,  with  a  roof  of  a  shape  very 
fashionable  in  modern  Jain  temples,  though  by  no  means 
remarkable  for  beauty.  This  inner  porch  conducts  to  a 
triple  sanctuary.  The  exterior  of  the  temple  expresses  the 
interior  more  completely  than  even  a  Gothic  design ;  and 
whether  looked '  at  from  its  courts  or  from  thd  outside,  it 
possesses  variety  without  confusion,  and  an  appropriateness 
of  every  part  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  intended. 
The  Jmna  Masjid  or  Great  Mosque  of  Ahmadabad,  although 
Dot  remarkable  for  its  size,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
mosques  in  the  East,  the  Jain  style  of  architecture  being 
plainly  visible  in  its  construction.  Its  external  dimensions 
are  382  feet  by  258  feet. 

AHMADNAGAR,  a  district  and  city  In  British  India, 
in  the  province  of  Gujrat,  within  the.  jurisdiction  of  the 
Governor  of  the  Presidency  of  Bombay.  The  coixectobate 
e-rtends  from  18°  6'  to  19°  50'  N.  lat.,  and  from  73°  40' 
to  75°  37'  E.  long.,  and  contains  the  following  eleven 
talukas  or  sub-districts:  —  Nagar,  Janikhair,  Parnair, 
.Srigonda,  Karjat,  Ncwasa,  Kopargam,  Sangamnair,  Kahuri, 
Siog&m,  and  Ankola.  A  natural  boundary  is  formed  on 
the  west  of  the  Ankola  taluka  by  the  Western  Ghats,  and, 
further  south,  by  the  edge  of  the  table-land  of  Parnair; 
•on  the  S.W.  the  district  is  bounded  by  the  Gor  river; 
on  the  S.  by  the  Bhima  and  Sholapur  collectorates ;  on 
the  E.  by  the  Nizani'a  dominions  j  on  ths  N.E.  by  the 


Godavarf  river;  and  on  the  N.  by  the  NasTk  district  The 
total  area  of  the  district  is  returned  at  4,209,036  acres, 
or  657662  square  miles.  Of  the  total  area,  3,068,16a 
acres,  or  479400  square  miles,  are  cultivated;  121,474 
acres,  or  189  80  square  miles,  are  cultivable,  but  not 
actually  under  tillage;  and  1,019,400  acres,  or  1592-81 
square  miles,  are  uncultivable.  The  last  portion  includes 
(besides  unarable  lands)  village  sites,  roads,  tanks,  rivers, 
&c.  The  population  of  the  district,  according  to  the  census 
taken  on  the  night  of  the  21st  February  1872,  numbered 
773,938  souls,  divided  into  the  following  five  classes: — 
Hindus,  716,820,  or  92-62  per  cent,  of  the  total  popu- 
lation; Mahometans,  42,435,  or  5-49  per  cent.;  Bud- 
dhists, 12,547,  or  1-62  per  cent.;  Christ'ins,  941,  or  0-12 
per  cent;  and  other  denominations,  1195,  or  0-15  per 
cent.  The  bulk  of  the  population  consists  of  Marhattas 
and  Kunbis,  the  latter  being  the  agriculturists.  On  the 
north  the  district  is  watered  by  the  Godavarf  and  its  tribu- 
taries the  Frawara  and  the  Mula;  on  the  north-east  by  the 
Dor,  another  tributary  of  the  Godavarf;  on  the  east  by  the 
Se'phanl,  which  flows  through  the  valley  below  the  Bali 
Ghat  range;  and  in  the  extreme  south  by  the  Bhima  and 
its  tributary  the  Gor.  The  Sina  river,  another  tributary 
of  the  Bhima,  flows  through  the  Nagar  and  Karjat  talukas. 
The  collectorate  on  the  whole  is  fairly  well  watered,  although 
in  some  villages  among  the  hills  and  spurs  of  the  Western 
Ghats  the  supply  is  insufficient.  The  district  is  intersected 
by  the  Bombay  and  Agra  road;  a  second  road  connects 
Puna  via  Serur  with  the  town  of  Ahmadnagar,  and  is  con- 
tinued thence  towards  Maligam;  a  third  road  leads  from 
Puna  to  Narayangam,  besides  various  cross-tracts  and 
minor  roads  connecting  the  different  towns  of  the  district 

The  only  important  industry  is  weaving.  The  principal  agri- 
cultural products  are  wheat,  gram,  bajra,  joir,  and  tur  dal.  The 
early  or  spring  crop  is  bajra  and  tur  dal ;  wheat,  gram,  and  joar 
being  sown  later  in  the  season.  Several  other  food  grains  are 
also  raised ;  and  sugar-cane,  betel  leaves,  a  little  cotton,  and  all 
descriptions  of  vegetables  are  sown  on  suitable  soils.  The  staple 
food  of  the  people  is  bajra  and  joir  (coarse  kinds  of  millet).  The 
total  revenue  of  the  district  is  returned  at  nearly  £170,000 ;  about 
£140.GC0  being  derived  from  the  land  revenue.  The  total  annual 
expenditure  is  returned  at  £50,000.  The  present  land  settlement 
was  introduced  about  1S44-45,  and  the  thirty  years'  leases  are  now 
beginning  to  fall  in.  In  a  few  villages  which  were  transferred  to 
Ahmadnagar  from  the  Ndsik  collectorate  the  leases  have  already 
expired,  and  a  revision  of  the  settlement  is  in  progress  (1873).  The 
following  eight  towns  are  returned  as  containing  a  population  ot 
upwards  of  5000  souls : — Ahmadnagar,  population  32,841 ;  Sangam- 
nair, 6978;  Pathardi,  7117;  Khurda,  6889;  Srigonda,  6175; 
Bhingar,  5752;  Karjat,  6535;  and  Sonai,  5254.  The  municipal 
system  has  been  introduced  into  the  towns  of  Ahmadnagar,  San- 
gamnair, and  Bhingar.  In  the  two  first  named,  the  municipal 
revenue  is  derived  from  a  house  tax  and  octroi  duties  on  goods  and 
articles  imported  into  the  town  for  consumption.  In  Bhingar  tie 
municipal  revenue  is  raised  by  the  levy  of  a  classified  tax  on  pro- 
fessions and  trades  carried  on  within  the  town.  The  municipal 
revenue  and  expenditure  in  1872,  together  with  the  incidence  of 
municipal  tax  per  head  of  the  population  in  each  of  the  three 
to.7ns,  was  as  follows: — Ahmadnagar,  municipal  income,  £3611, 
18s. ;  municipal  expenditure,  £3557,  12s. ;  incidence  per  head  of 
population,  2s.  2|d.  Sangamnair,  municipal  income,  £275,  4s., — 
64d.  per  head;  expenditure,  £217.  Bhingar,  municipal  revenue, 
£259,  18s. — 8Jd.  per  head;  expenditure,  £259,  18s.  Ahmadna- 
gar district  contains  1  high  school,  1  first-grade  Anglo-vernacular 
school,  3  middle-class  schools,  164  lower-class  schools,  and  1  girls' 
school.  Education  is  making  fair  progress,  and  the  number  of 
schools  is  annually  increasing  as  funds  become  available.  For  the 
protection  of  person  and  property,  a  regular  police  force  of  694 
men  of  all  grades  is  maintained,  at  a  cost,  during  1S72-7S,  of 
£9869.  A  village  police,  numbering  2042  men,  is  also  kept  up,  m 
a  cost  of  £1978  per  annum.  There  are  no  special  criminal  ol 
in  the  district  except  a  few  Bhils,  and  they  are  now  much  lesi 
troublesome  than  formerly. 

Ahjiadnagar  City,  the  capital  of  the  district  of  the 
same  name,  is  situated  in  19°  6'  N.  lat,  and  74°  46'  R 
long.  It  is  a  town  of  considerable  antiquity,  having  been 
founded,  in  1494,  by  Ahmad  Nizam  Shah,  on  the  site  of 


424 


AHM-AID 


a  more  ancient  city,  Bhingar.  This  Ahmad  established  a 
new  mona.chy,  which  lasted  until  its  overthrow  by-  Shah 
Jahan  in  1636.  in  1759  the  Peshwd  obtained  possession 
of  the  place  by  bribing  the  Mahometan  commander;  and 
in  1797  it  was  ceded  by  the  Peshwa  to  the  Marhatta 
chief  Daulat  Rao  SindhiA.  During  our  war  with  the 
Marhattas  in  1803  Ahmadnagar  was  invested  by  a  British 
■force  under  General  Wellesley,  and  captured.  It  was  after- 
wards restored  to  the  Marhattas,  but  again  came  into  the 
possession  of  the  British  in  1817,  according  to  the  terms 
of  the  treaty  of  Puna.  The  town  has  rapidly  advanced  in 
prosperity  under  British  rule.  •  It  now  contains  a  popula- 
tion of  32,841  souls,  is  an  important  station  on  the  Great 
Indian  Peninsular  Railway,  and  has  been  created  a  inuni- 
iipality,  as  is  mentioned  above. 

AHMED  SHAH,  founder  of  the  Durani  dynasty  in 
Afghanistan,  born  about  1724,  was  the  son  of  Samniaun- 
Khan,  hereditary  chief  of  the  Abdali  tribe.  While  still  a 
boy  Ahmed  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  hostile  tribe  of 
Ghilzais,  by  whom  he  was  kept  prisoner  at  Kandahar.  In 
March  1738  he  was  rescued  by  Nadir  Shah,  who  soon 
afterwards  gave  him  the  command  of  a  body  of  cavalry 
composed  chiefly  of  Abdalis.  On  the  assassination  of 
Nadir  in  1747,  Ahmed,  having  failed  in  an  attempt  to 
seize  the  Persian  treasures,  retreated  to  Afghanistan,  where 
he  easily  persuaded  the  native  tribes  to  assert  their  inde- 
pendence, and  accept  him  as  their  sovereign.  He  was 
crowned  at  Kandahar  in  October  1747,  and  about  the  same 
time  he  changed  the  name  of  .his  tribe  to  Durani.  Two 
things  may  be  said  to  have  contributed  greatly  to  the  con- 
solidation of  hia  power.  He  interfered  as  little  as  possible 
with  the  independence  of  the  different  tribes,  demanding 
from  each  only  its  duo  proportion  of  tribute  and  military 
service;  and  he  kept  his  army  constantly  engaged  in  bril- 
liant schemes  of  foreign  conquest.  Being  possessed  of  the 
Koh-i-noor  diamond,  and  being  fortunate  enough  to  inter- 
cept a  treasure  on  its  way  to  the  Shah  of  Persia;  he  had  all 
the  advantages  which  great  wealth. can  give.  He  first 
crossed  the  Indus  in  1748,  when  he  took  Lahore;  and  in 
1751,  after  a  feeble  resistance  on  the  part  of  tho  Mahome- 
tan viceroy,  he  became  master  of  the  entire  Panjab.  In 
1750  he  had  taken  Nishapiir,  and  in  1752  he' subdued 
Kashmir.  His  great  expedition  to  Dehli  was  undertaken 
in  1756  in  order  to  avenge  himself  on  the  Great  Mogul  for 
the  recapture  of  Lahore.  Ahmed  entered  Dehli  with  his 
army  in  triumph,  and  for  more  than  a  month  the  city  was 
given  over  to  pillage.  The  Shah  himself  added  to  his  wives 
a  princess  of  the  imperial  family,  and  bestowed  another 
upon  his  son  Timur  Shah,  whom  he  made  governor  of  the 
Panjab  and  Sirhind.  As  his  viceroy  in  Dehli  he  left  a 
Rohilla  chief  in  whom  he  had  all  confidence,  but  scarcely 
had  he  crossed  tho  Indus  when  the  Mahometan  vizier 
drove  the  chief  from  the  city,  killed  the  Great  Mogul,  and 
set  another  prince  of  the  family,  a  tool  of  his  own,  upon 
the  throne.  The  Mahratta  chiefs  availed  themselves  of 
these  circumstances  to  endeavour  to  possess  themselves  of 
the  whole  country,  and  Ahmed  was  compelled  more  than 
once  to  ctoss  the  Indus  in  order  to  protect  his  territory  from 
them  and  the  Sikhs,  who  were  constantly  attacking  his 
garrisons.  In  1758  the  Mahrattas  obtained  possession  of 
the  Panjab.  but  on  the  6th  January  1761  they  were  totally 
routed  by  Ahmed  in  the  great  battle  of  Eanipat.  In  a 
later  expedition  he  inflicted  a  severe  defeat  upon  the  Sikhs, 
but  had  to  hasten  westwards  immediately  afterwards  in 
order  to  quell  an  insurrection  in  Afghanistan.  Meanwhile 
the  Sikhs  again  rose,  and  Ahmed  was  now  forced  to  abandon 
all  hope  of  retaining  the  command  of  the  Panjab.  After 
'  'ngthened  suffering  from  a  terrible  disease,  said  to  have 
been  cancer  in  the  face,  he  died  in  1773,  leaving  to  hia 
aoE  Timur  tho  kingdom  he  had  founded. 


AHRIMAN  or  Arimanes  (Anpra-Mainyus,  Hostile  or 
Destroying  Spirit),  in  tho  Zend-Avesta,  the  principle  of  evil, 
opposed  to  Ormuzd,  the  principle  of  good,  the  one  being 
symbolised  by  darkness  and  the  other  by  light.  Both  were 
visible  manifestations  of  the  Zervan-Akerene  (Infinite 
Time),  and  existed  from  all  eternity,  according  to  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Magians.  Zoroaster  himself,  however,  seems 
to  nave  taught  that  Ormuzd  alone  was  eternal,  while 
Ahriman  was  created,  in  ihe  Avefta  this  world  is  repre- 
sented as  the  theatre  of  a  fierce  conflict  between  the  two 
spirits,  which  is  to  last  for  12,000  years..  In  the  end 
Ahriman  is  to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  Ormuzd.  (See 
Zoroaster.) 

AHWAZ,  a  town  in  Persia,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river 
Karoon,  about  100  miles  N.E.  of  Bassorah.  Though 
now  an  insignificant  place,  it  occupies  the  site  of  what  was 
once  an  extensive  and  important  city.  Of  this  ancient  city 
vast  remains  are  left,  extending  1 2  miles  along  the  bank  of 
the  river.  Among  the  most  remarkable  are  the  ruins  of  a 
bridge  and  a  palace,  besides  vestiges  of  canals,  and  water- 
mills,  which  tell  of  former  commercial  activity.  There  is 
also,  in  a  ruined  state,  a  bund  or  stone  dyke  of  great 
strength  thrown  across  the  river  for  purposes  of  irrigation. 
It  extends  100  feet  in  length,  and  many  single  blocks  in  it 
measure  from  8  to  10  feet  in  thickness.  Ahwaz  reached 
the  height  of  its  prosperity  in  the  time  of  the  earliest 
Mahometan  caliphs. 

AI  (Sept.  'Ayyai,  'Ayyai,  and  Vat;  Vulg.  Hai),  a  royal 
city  of  the  Canaanites,  east  of  BetheL  It  existed  in  the 
time  of  Abraham,  who  pitched  his  tent  between  the  two 
cities  (Gen.  xii.  8;  xiii.  3);  but  it  is  chiefly  noted  for  its 
capture  and  destruction  by  Joshua  (vii.  2-5;  viii.  1-29), 
who  made  it  "  a  heap  for  ever,  even  a  desolation."  At 
a  later  period  Ai  was,  however,  rebuilt,  and  is  mentioned 
by  Isaiah  (x.  28),  and  also  after  the  captivity,  The  site 
was  known,  and  some  scanty  ruins  still  existed,  in  the  time 
of  Eusebius  artd  Jerome  (Onomast.,  s.v.  'Ayyat).  Dr  Robin- 
son was  unable  to  discover  any  certain  traces  of  either.  He 
remarks  (Bib.  Researches,  ii.  313),  however,  that  its  situa- 
tion with  regard  to  Bethel  may  be  well  determined  by  the 
facts  recorded  in  Scripture.  That  Ai  lay  to  the  east  of 
Bethel  is  distinctly  stated ;  and  the  two  cities  were  not  so 
far  distant  from  each  other  but  that  the  men  of  Bethel 
mingled  in  the  pursuit  of  the  Israelites  as  they  feigned  to 
flee  before  the  king  of  Ai.  and  thus  both  cities  were  left 
defenceless  (Josh,  viii  17).  A  little  to  the  south  of  a 
village  called  Deir  Diwan,  and  one  hour's  journey  from 
Bethel,  the  site  of  an  ancient  place  is  indicated  by  reservoirs 
hewn  in  the  rock,  excavated  tombs,  and  foundations  of 
hewn  stone.  This,  Dr  Robinson  thinks,  may  mark  the  site 
of  Ai,  as  it  agrees  with  all  the  intimations  as  to  its  position. 
In  this  view  more  recent  authorities  generally  coincide. 
Kiepert's  map  gives  it  a  place  near  these  ancient  ruins. 
Stanley  places  it  at  the  head  of  the  Wady  Harith. 

AIDAN,  a  king  of  Scottish  Dalriada,  who  reigned  about 
the  close  of  the  6th  century.  He  usurped  the  succession 
from  the  son  of  Conall,  and  was  crowned  by  Columba,  who 
personally  preferred  another,  and,  it'  is  said,  was  compelled 
to  perform  the  ceremony  by  an  interposition  of  divine 
power.  During  Aidan's  reign  the  Scottish  Dalriada  was 
completely  freed  from  subjection  to  the  Irish  monarchs. 
(See  Adamnan,  lib.  iii.,  c  5;  and  Bede.) 

AIDAN,  St,  first  bishop  of  Lindisfarne  or  Holy  Island, 
embraced  a  religious  life  in  the  monastery  of  Iona.  Oswald, 
king  of  Northumbria,  having  requested  a  mission  of  monks 
from  Iona  to  labour  for  the  conversion  of  his  subjects, 
Aidan  was  chosen  by  the  abbot  as  leader  of  the  expedition, 
and  was  consecrated  a  bishop  about  634-5  A.D.  Bede 
speaks  of  the  holiness  of  his  life,  of  the  influence  of  his 
preaching  as  seen  in  the  conversion  of  multitudes,  and  also 


A  I  D  — A  I  L 


425 


of  numerous  miracles  ■which  he  performed.  Aidan  died 
on  the  31st  August  651. 

AIDE-DE-CAMP,  a  confidential  officer  attached  to  the 
"  personal "  or  private  staff  of  a  general.  In  the  field  he  is 
the  bearer  of  his  chiefs  written  or  verbal  orders,  and  when 
employed  as  the  general's  mouthpiece,  must  be  implicitly 
obeyed.  In  garrison  and  quarters  his  duties  are  more  of  a 
social  character — he  superintends  the  general's  household, 
writes  and  answers  invitations,  &c.  To  increase  their 
state,  colonial  governors  and  the  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland 
have  aides-de-camp  with  functions  analogous  to  those  of 
equerries  to  royalty.  Officers  above  the  rank  of  captain 
are  seldom  taken  as  aides,  and  none  of  less  than  two  years' 
service.  The  sovereign,  as  head  of  the  army,  may  have  an 
indefinite  number  of  aides-de-camp.  In  1874  there  were 
thirty-three  military  aides-de-camp;  of  these,  twelve,  taken 
from  the  militia,  were  honorary,  the  remainder,  from  the 
regular  army  and  marines,  wertj  chosen  for  distinguished 
war  services.  The  appointment  carries  with  it  promotion  to 
the  army  rank  of  "  full "  coloneL  The  Queen  has  also  at 
present  (1874)  eleven  naval  aides-de-camp,  in  compliment 
to  the  sister  service ;  but  the  r.ppointment  is  more  especially 
of  a  military  character.  An  admiral's  aide-de-camp  is  his 
flag-lieutenant. 

AIDIN,  or  Guzel-Hissae,  a  town  of  Turkey  in  Asia, 
in  the  pashalic  of  Anatolia,  about  70  miles  S.E.  of 
Smyrna.  It  is  beautifully  situated  near  the  river  Meander, 
and  ia  the  residence  of  a  pasha.  Since  1866  it  has  been 
connected  with  Smyrna  and  Ephesus  by  rail.  On  a  neigh- 
bouring height  are  to  be  seen  the  ruins  of  the  ancient 
Trailer.  Aidin  is  a  place  of  very  extensive  trade,  and  is 
celebrated  for  its  figs,  which  are  grown  in  great  abundance 
in  the  beautiful  orchards  between  the  town  and  the  river, 
and  form  an  important  article  of  export.  The  streets  of 
the  town,  overshadowed  by  trees,  and  having  numerous 
well-frequented  bazaars,  present  a  very  picturesque  appear- 
ance. Among  the  inhabitants  are  considerable  numbers  of 
Greeks,  Armenians,  and  Jews;  and  there  are  several 
churches  and  synagogues  in  addition  to  the  fine  Turkish 
mosques.     Population,  30,000. 

AIDS  (Auxilia),  a  pecuniary  tribute  u»der  the  feudal 
system,  paid  by  a  vassal  to  his  lord  on  particular  occasions ; 
originally  a  voluntary  grant  which  in  process  of  time 
became  exigible  as  a  right.  The  aids  of  this  kind  were 
chiefly  three,  viz. : — 1st,  When  the  lord  made  his  eldest  son 
a  knight;  2c?,  To  provide  a  dower  when  he  gave  his  eldest 
daughter  in  marriage;  3c?,  To  ransom  the  person  ef  the 
lord  when  taken  prisoner.  The  amount  of  the  first  two 
was  definitely  fixed  by  3  Ed.  L,  c.  36,  but  that  of  the  last 
was  of  course  uncertain.  The  right  of  levying  aids  was 
abolished  by  12  Car.  IL,  c.  24. 

AKIN,  John,  M.D.  (1747-1822),  was  born  at  Kibworth- 
Harcourt,  received  his  elementary  education  at  the  dissent- 
ing academy  of  Warrington,  where  his  father  was  tutor, 
and  prosecuted  his  medical  studies  in  the  university*  of 
Edinburgh,  and  in  London  under  the  celebrated  Dr  William 
Hunter.  He  commenced  his  professional  career  as  a  surgeon 
at  Chester;  but  being  unsuccessful,  he  removed  to  Warring- 
ton. Finally,  he  went  to  Leyden,  took  the  degree  of  M.D. 
in  that  university  (1780),  and  attempted  to  establish  him- 
eelf  as  a  physician  in  London.  His  success  in  this  new 
field  does  not  seem  to  have  been  considerable;  chiefly, 
no  doubt,  because  he  concerned  himself  more  with  the 
advocacy  of  liberty  of  conscience  than  with  his  professional 
duties.  He  therefore  began  at  an  early  period  to  devote 
himself  to  literary  pursuits.  Dr  Aikin's  reputation  chiefly 
rests  on  his  endeavour  to  popularise  scientific  inquiries. 
In  conjunction  with  his  sister,  Mrs  Barbauld,  he  com- 
menced the  publication  of  a  series  of  volumes  on  this 
principle,  entitled  Evenings  at  Home  (6  vols.,  1792-5),  a 


popular  and  interesting  work,  chiefly  commendable  for 
the  purity  of  the  principles  it  inculcates,  and  the  pleasing 
views  it  gives  of  human  nature.  It  has  been  translated 
into  almost  every  European  language.  His  love  of  nature, 
and  his  power  in  delineating  its  features,  are  well  illustrated 
in  The  Natural  History  of  the  Year,  as  well  as  in  his  mis- 
cellaneous Essays.  In  1798'  Dr  Aikin  retired  from  pro- 
fessional life,  and  devoted  himself  with  "Teat  industry  to 
literary  undertakings  of  numerous  and  varied  kinds,  among 
which  bJ3  valuable  Biographical  Dictionary  (10  vols. 
1799-1815)  holds  a  conspicuous  place.  Besides  these,  he 
published  Biog.  Memoirs  of  Medicine  ( 1 780) ;  Lives  of  John 
Selden  and  Archbishop  Usher;  Memoirs  of  Huet,  Bishop  of 
Avranches;  Geographical  Delineations  of  All  Nations,  <fec 
He  edited  tne  Monthly  Magazine  from  1796  to  1807,  and 
started  the  Athenaeum  in  1807.  The  latter  was  discon- 
tinued, however,  in  1809. 

AIKIN,  Lucy,  daughter  of  the  preceding,  a  well-known 
historical  writer,  was  born  at  Warrington  on  6th  Nov. 
1781.  After  rendering  valuable  assistance  to  her  father 
in  several  of  his  later  works,  she  commenced  her  own 
career  as  an  authoress  by  the  publication  of  several  books 
for  the  young,  the  most  important  of  which  were  the 
Adventures  of  Rolando,  a  translation,  and  Lorimer,  a  tale. 
In  1818  she  published  her  Memoirs  of  the  Court  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  the  first  and  best  of  the  series  of  historical  works 
on  which  her  reputation  rests.  It  was  very  popular,  and 
passed  through  several  editions.  The  Memoirs  of  the  Court 
of  King  James  J.  (1822)  was  highly  commended  in  the 
Edinburgh  Review,  which  pronounced  it  "a  work  very 
nearly  as  entertaining  as  a  novel,  and  far  more  instruc- 
tive than  most  histories."  Her  Memoirs  of  the  Court  of 
Charles  I.  (1833)  showed  a  falling  off;  and  her  latest  work, 
the  Life  of  Addison  (1843),  was  declared  disappointing 
by  Macaulay  in  the  Edinburgh  Review,  voL  lxxviii.  Miss 
AilHn  died  at  Hampstead,  where  she  had  resided  for  forty 
years,  on  the  29th  Jan.  1864.  A  Life  by  P.  H.  le  Breton 
appeared  in  a  volume  entitled  Memoirs,  Miscellanies,  and 
Letters  of  Lucy  Aikin  (Lond.  1864). 

AIRMAN,  William,  a  celebrated  portrait-painter,  born 
at  Cairney,  Forfarshire,  on  tire  24th  Oct.  1682.  He 
was  intended  by  his  father  for  the  bar,  but  followed  his 
natural  bent  by  becoming  a  pupil  under  Sir  John  Medina, 
the  leading  painter  of  the  day  in  Scotland.  In  1707 
he  went  to  Italy,  resided  in  Kome  for  three  years,  after- 
wards travelled  to  Constantinople  and  Smyrna,  and  in 
1712  returned  home.  In  Edinburgh,  where  he  practised 
as  a  portrait-painter  for  some  years,  he  enjoyed  the  patron- 
age of  the  Duke  of  Argyll;  and  on  his  removal  to  London 
in  1723  he  goon  obtained  many  important  commissions. 
Perhaps  his  most  successful  work  was  the  portrait  of  the 
poet  Gay.  He  also  painted  portraits  of  himself,  Fletcher 
of  Saltoun,  William  Carstairs,  and  Thomson  the  poet. 
The  likenesses  were  generally  truthful,  and  the  style  was 
modelled  very  closely  upon  that  of  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller. 
Aikman  held  a  gjod  position  in  literary  society;  and 
counted  among  his  personal  friends  Swift,  Pope,  Thomson, 
Allan  Eamsay,  Somerville,  and  Mallet.  He  died  in  June 
1731,  leaving  unfinished  a  large  picture  of  the  royal  family. 

ALLRED,  Ealkep,  Ethelrepus,  Alprepcs,  an  Eng- 
lish ecclesiastic  and  historian,  born  at  Hexham  in  1109. 
He  was  educated  at  the  Scotch  court  with  Henry  the  son 
of  King  David.  The  king  is  said  to  have  offered  him  a 
bishopric,  which  he  refused,  preferring  to  become  a  monk 
in  the  Cistercian  abbey  of  Rievaulx,  Yorkshire.  In  1146 
he  was  chosen  abbot,  and  he  held  that  position  till  his 
death  in  1166, — the  accounts  which  state  that  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  Revesby  in  Lincolnshire  being  probably  founded 
on  a  confusion  of  names.  Leland  says  that  he  had  seen  his 
tomb  at  Rievaulx  adorned  with  gold  and  silver  ornamenti 


1— li 


426 


A  1  L  —  A  I  N 


Ailred  was  the  author  of  a  large  number  of  historical  and 
theological  works.  The  former  are  of  little  value,  owing 
to  his  credulity,  except  for  the  occasional  glimpses  they 
give  of  contemporary  life  and  manners.  His  theological 
works,  including  a  volume  of  homilies,  a  treatise  on  charity, 
and  a  treatise  on  friendship,  are  somewhat  in  the  style  of 
St  Bernard.  (For  a  full  account  of  the  historical  writings 
see  Sir  T.  D.  Hardy's  Descriptive  Catalogue.) 

AILSA  CRAIG,  a  remarkable  island-rock  at  the  month 
of  the  Firth  of  Clyde,  off  the  coast  of  Ayrshire,  Scotland. 
It  is  of  a  conoidal  form,  with  an  irregular  elliptic  base, 
and  rise3  abruptly  from  the  sea  to  the  height  of  1139  feet. 
The  only  side  from  which  the  rock  can  be  ascended  is  the 
east;  the  other  sides  being  for  the  most  part  perpendicular, 
and  generally  presenting  lofty  columnar  forms,  though  not 
so  regular  as  those  of  Stafla.  The  rock  is  a  greenstone  or 
syenite,  with  a  basis  of  grayish  compact  felspar  traversed 
by  numerous  trap  veins.  A  columnar  cave  exists  towards 
the  north  side,  and  on  the  eastern  are  the  remains  of  a 
tower,  with  several  vaulted  rooms.  Two  springs  occur  on 
the  island,  and  some  scanty  grass  affords  subsistence  to 
numerous  rabbits.  The  precipitous  parts  of  the  rock  are 
frequented  by  large  flocks  of  solan  geese  and  other  aquatic 
wild  fowl.     It  is  situated  in  55°  15'  N.  lat.,  5°  T  W.  long. 

AIN,  a  department  on  the  eastern  frontier  of  France, 
bounded  on  the  N.  by  the  departments  of  Jura  and  Sa6ne- 
et-Loire,  on  the  W.  by  SaOne-et-Loire  and  Rhone,  on  the 
S.  by  Isere,  and  on  the  E.  by  the  departments  of  Savoie 
nnd  Haute  Savoie  and  the  Swiss  cantons  Geneva  and 
Vaud.  It  extends  at  the  widest  points  52  miles  from  N. 
to  S.,  and  about  the  same  distance  from  E.  to  W.,  with 
an  area  of  2241  square  miles.  The  east  of  the  depart- 
ment is  very  mountainous,  being  traversed  by  the  southern 
portion  of  the  Jura  range,  but  in  the  north-west  the  surface 
is  comparatively  level,  and  in  the  south-west  flat  and 
marshy.  |  A  in  is  wholly  within  the  basin  of  the  Rhfine, 
that  river  itself  being  the  boundary  on  the  east  and  south, 
while  it  receives  the  Ain,  which  passes  southward  through 
the  centre,  and  the  Saone,  which  forms  the  western 
boundary  of  the  department.  The  climate  is  usually  cold, 
but  on  the  whole  healthy,  except  in  the  damp  marshy 
districts  on  the  west.  The  soil  in  the  valleys  and  plains  of 
the  department  is  fertile,  producing  wheat,  barley,  maize, 
rye,  and  fruits  of  various  kinds,  as  well  as  wine  of  excellent 
quality;  the  tops  of  many  of  the  mountains  are  covered 
with  forests  of  fir  and  oak,  and  the  lower  slopes  yield 
excellent  pasture  for  sheep  and  cattle.  The  chief  mineral 
product  is  asphalt,  besides  which  potter's  clay,  iron,  build- 
ing-stone, and  the  best  lithographic  stone  in  France,  are 
produced  in  the  department.  There  are  many  corn  and 
saw  mills  on  the  mountain  streams;  and  cotton,  linen,  and 
silk  fabrics,  coarse  woollen  cloth,  paper,  and  clocks,  are 
manufactured  to  a  limited  extent.  Ain,  which  formed 
a  part  of  the  ancient  province  of  Burgundy,  is  divided  into 
five  arrondissements — Bourg  and  Trevoux  in  the  west,  and 
Gex,  Nantua,  and  Belley  in  the  east;  containing  in  all  36 
cantons  and  452  communes.  Bourg  is  the  capital,  and 
Belley  is  '*ie  seat  of  a  bishop.  Population  of  Ain  in 
1872,  363,290,  of  whom  185,074  were  males,  and  178,216 
were  females.  Of  the  total  population,  115,407  could 
neither  read  nor  write,  and  46,450  more  could  not  write. 

AINAD,  a  town  of  Arabia,  in  the  province  of  Hadra- 
maut,  about  207  miles  N.E.  of  Aden.  Near  it  is  the 
tomb  of  a  Moslem  prophet  much  frequented  by  pilgrims, 
at  which  a  great  annual  fair  is  also  held.  The  population 
is  said  to  be  about  10,000. ' 

AINMULLER,  Maximilian  Emmanuel,  founder  of  a 
new  school  of  glass  -  painting,  was  born  at  Munich 
on  the  14th  February  1807.  He  was  induced,  by  the 
advice  of  Gartner,  director  of  the  roval  porcelain  manu- 


factory, to  devote  himself  to  the  study  of  ^lass-paint 
ing,  both  as  a  mechanical  process  and  as  an  art,  and  he 
made  such  progress  that  in  1828  he  was  appointed  director 
of  the  newly-founded  royal  painted-glass  manufactory  at 
Munich.  The  method  which  he  gradually  perfected  tin  re 
was  a  development  of  the  enamel  process  adopted  in  tht 
Renaissance,  and  consisted  in  actually  painting  the  design 
upon  the  glass,  which  was  subjected,  as  each  colour  was 
laid  on,  to  carefully-adjusted  heating.  The  fault  of  this 
new  style  is  its  production  of  transparent  pictures  seen  by 
transmitted  and  not  by  reflected  light;  but  the  popular 
verdict  in  its  favour  has  been,  notwithstanding,  proved  by 
the  extent  to  which  it  has  been  adopted.  The  carliist 
specimens  of  Ainmiiller's  work  are  to  be  found  in  the 
cathedral  of  Ratisbon.  With  a  few  exceptions,  all  the 
windows  in  Glasgow  cathedral  are  from  his  hand.  Speci- 
mens may  also  be  seen  in  St  Paul's  cathedral  and  St  Peter's 
College,  Cambridge.  On  the  Continent  it  must  suffice  to 
mention  Cologne  cathedral  as  containing  some  of  his  finest 
productions.  Ainmuller  had  considerable  skill  as  an  oil- 
painter,  especially  in  interiors;  and  his  pictures  of  the 
Chapel  Royal  at  Windsor  and  of  Westminster  Abbey  have 
been  much  admired.     He  died  9th  December  1870. 

AINOS,  the  name  of  a  small  but  remarkable  tribe  in 
Japan,  found  chiefly  in  tho  island  of  Yesso.  They  are  dif- 
ferent in  race  and  character  from  the  ordinary  Japanese,  and 
seem  to  have  been  the  earliest  inhabitants  of  the  country. 
Since  the  invasion  of  the  islands  by  the  Japanese,  however, 
the  Ainos  have  been  gradually  supplanted  by  the  invaders, 
and  are  now  completely  subject  to  them,- although  they 
still  preserve  the  appearance  of  internal  self-government, 
living  in  societies  of  from  ten  to  twenty  families,  under  a 
hereditary  chief.  Their  language  is  quite  distinct  from 
the  Japanese,  and  intercourse  between  the  two  peop 
carried  on  by  a  sort  of  mongrel  dialect.  The  Ainos  are 
not  tali,  averaging  a  little  over  5  feet;  but  they  are  well- 
proportioned  and  strongly-built,  with  a  type  of  counte- 
nance European  "rather  than  Asiatic.  They  are  distin- 
guished by  an  exuberance  of  hair  on  the  head  and  body,  a 
circumstance  which  has  given  rise  to  their  name  of  "  11  airy 
Kuriles."  Tie  women  are  ugly,  and  are  much  addicted  to 
tattooing.  The  dress  of  the  Ainos  consists  of  a  robe  of  skin 
or  cotton,  reaching  to  the  knees  and  secured  by  a  girdle; 
their  huts  are  small  and  uncomfortable,  with  little  or  no 
furniture ;  and  their  food  is  mostly  the  produce  of  fishing  and 
hunting,  together  with  rice  got  by  barter  from  the  Japanese. 
They  are  probably  less  than  50,000  in  number. 

AINSWORTH,  Henry,  divine  and  scholar,  was  bom 
"about  1560"  at  Pleasington,  near  Blackburn,  Lancashire, 
having  been  second  son  of  Lawrence  Ainsworth  of  Pleas- 
ington Hall.  Young  Henry  Ainsworth  is  believed  to  have 
received  his  education  at  Queen  Elizabeth's  Grammar 
School  in  Blackburn,  of  which  his  father  was  an  original 
founder.  According  to  tradition,  he  was  a  Roman  Catholic, 
and  a  younger  brother,  John,  a  Protestant;  and  the  two 
brothers,  entering  into  a  written  controversy,  mutually  con- 
verted each  other — Henry  having  embraced  Protestantism, 
and  John,  Popery.  The  subsequent  earlier  history  of  Aias- 
worth  is  still  obscure.  No  record  survives;  but  various 
authorities  concur  in  stating  that  he  passed  from  Blackburn 
to  Cambridge.  He  associated  with  the  Puritan  party  in 
the  Church  of  England,  and  eventually  adopted  the  plat- 
form of  the  Independents  as  represented  by  the  Brownists. 
He  was  driven  from  his  native  country  by  the  state 
proscription  of  tho  sectaries  before  the  year  1593.  He  is 
found  residentin  "ablind  lane  at  Amsterdam"  about  1595-6. 
His  exile  must  have  reduced  him  to  extreme  poverty.  He 
is  stated  to  have  been  a  "  porter  "  to  a  scholarly  bookseller 
in  Amsterdam,  who,  on  discovering  his  skill  in  the  Hebrew- 
language,  made  him   known  to  his  countrymen.     Roger 


A  1   X  —  A  1  R 


427 


Williams,  in  one  of  his  fiery  tractates,  reproaches  ninsworth 
as  "  living  upon  ninepence  a  week  and  some  boiled  roots." 
When  the  Brownists  erected  a  church  in  Amsterdam^ 
Francis  Johnson  wa3  chosen  for  their  pastor,  and  Henry 
Ainsworth  for  their  doctor  or  teacher.  In  1596  these 
two  divines  drew  up  a  confession  of  their  faith  (in  Latin), 
which  was  reprinted  in  1598,  and  dedicated  to  the 
various  universities  of  Europe  (including  St  Andrews, 
Scotland).  The  separations  and  controversies  which  ensued 
at  Amsterdam  and  at  Leyden  belong  to  church  history.  Of 
Ainsworth  it  may  be  said,  that  while  he  never  put  himself 
forward  or  sought  notoriety,  he  was  beyond  comparison 
'the  most  steadfast  and  most  resolute  and  most  cultured 
champion  of  those  principles  of  civil  and  religious  freedom 
represented  by  the  now  large  and  influential  body  of  Non- 
conformists in  Britain  and  America  called  Independents  or 
Congregationalist3.  The  personal  squabbles  and  temporary 
animosities  have  long  passed  away;  and  it  is  recognised 
that  in  Henry  Ainsworth  Nonconformity  had  a  man  of 
saintly  worth,  of  intellectual  power,  and  of  uncompromising 
intrepidity.  Amid  the  strifes  and  clamours  of  controversy 
he  pursued  steadfastly  his  rabbinical  studies.  The  com- 
bination was  so  unique  that  Moreri  and  Zedler,  like  others, 
made  two  Henry  Ainsworths — one  Dr  Henry  Ainsworth, 
a  learned  biblical  commentator;  the  other  H.  Ainsworth, 
an  arch-heretic,  and  "  the  ringleader  of  the  Separatists  at 
Amsterdam."  Kindred  mistakes  are  found  regarding  his 
writings  in  Hornbeck's  Summa  Controversiarum,  and  more 
recent  bibliographical  authorities.  In  1608  our  Ainsworth 
defended  the  Separation  against  Richard  Bernard  and 
William  Crashaw  (father  of  the  poet).  But  his  ablest  and 
most  arduous  minor  work  in  controversy  was  his  crashing 
reply  to  the  notorious  Smyth,  entitled  A.  Defence  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  Worship,  and  Ministry,  used  in  the  Chris- 
tian Church  'separated  from  Antichrist,  against  the  Chal- 
lenges, Cavils,  and  Contradictions  of  M.  Smyth  (1609). 
His  memory  abides  through  his  rabbinical  learning.  The 
ripe  fruit  of  many  years'  diligence  appeared  in  his  Notes 
on  Genesis,  1616;  Exodus,  1617;  Leviticus,  1618;  Num- 
bers, 1619;  Deuteronomy,  1619;  Psalms,  1612,  2d  edition 
1617;  Song  of  Solomon,  1623.  These  were  collected  in 
folio  in  1627,  and  again  in  1639,  and  later  in  various 
forms.  From  the  outset  the  Annotations  have  taken  a 
commanding  place  especially  among  Continental  scholars, 
as  witness  Clement,  Dornius,  Voght,  Lilienthal,  and 
Simon,  the  last  urging  Catholics  to  study  and  value  them. 
Perhaps  nothing  more  clearly  shows  even  his  home  repute 
than  the  praiseworthy  zeal  with  which  Vice-Chancellor 
Dr  John  Worthington  endeavoured  to  recover  certain 
posthumous  MSS.  of  Ainsworth.  These,  it  is  to  be  feared, 
have  irrecoverably  disappeared.  Moreri  mentions  a  cur- 
rent report  that  the  famous  Lightfoot  "  pillaged  the  best 
of  his  observations"  from  Ainsworth.  A  comparison  of 
the  Exercitations  with  the  Annotations  shows,  however,  that 
the  two  scholars  worked  independently.  Moreri' a  groundless 
remark  has  been  transmuted  into  an  imputation  as  ground- 
less— that  Lightfoot  had  got  into  his  possession  the  MSS. 
of  Ainsworth.  The  character  and  learning  of  the  great  rab- 
binist  ought  to  have  silenced  such  an  unworthy  suspicion. 
There  is  nothing  more  striking  in  the  career  of  Ains- 
worth than  the  reported  manner  of  his  death,  which  took 
place  at  Amsterdam  in  1622-3.  It  is  stated  that,  having 
found  a  diamond  of  great  value,  he  advertised  it;  and  when 
the  owner,  who  was  a  Jew,  came  to  demand  it,  he  offered 
the  finder  any  gratuity  he  sought.  Ainsworth,  though  poor, 
requested  only  of  the  Jew  that  he  would  procure  him  a 
couference  with  some  of  his  rabbis  upon  the  prophecies  of 
the  Old  Testament  relating  to  the  Messiaj,  which  th«  Jew 
promised ;  but  not  having  interest  to  obtain  such  a  con- 
ference, it  is  thought  that  he  contrived  to  get  Ainsworth 


poisoned  (Neal,  Puritans,  ii.  47).  Another  account  says 
that  he  attended  the  conference,  and  so  confounded  the 
Jews  that,  from  spite  and  malice,  they  in  this  manner  put 
a  period  to  his  life  (Brook,  Puritans,  ii.  302).  There  is 
an  air  of  improbability  about  the  narrative;  but  it  is  cer- 
tain he  was  dead  in  1623,  for  in  that  year  was  published 
his  Seasonable  Discourse,  or  a  Censure  upon  a  Dialogue 
of  the  Anabaptists,  in  which  the  editor  speaks  of  him  as  a 
departed  worthy.  For  a  pretty  complete  list  of  his  writ- 
ings, lesser  and  larger,  see  Chalmers,  Brook,  and  Hanbury. 
Many  are  now  extremely  rare  and  high-priced.  (See  Wor- 
thington's  Diary  [Chetham  Society],  by  Crossley,  i 
263-6;  Hanbury's  Memorials,  s.v.;  Works  of  Robinson, 
iii.,  Appendix,  and  supra.)  (a.  b.  g.) 

AINSWORTH,  Robert  (1660-1743),  author  of  a  well- 
known  Latin  dictionary,  was  born  at  Woodvale,  near  Man- 
chester. After  teaching  for  some  time  in  Bolton,  he 
removed  to  London,  where  he  conducted  a  boarding-school, 
first  at  Bethnal  Green,  and  then  at  Hackney.  At  a  com- 
paratively early  period  of  his  life  he  had  realised  a  com- 
petency, and  was  able  to  retire.  Proposals  for  the  pre- 
paration of  a  Latin  dictionary  were  made  to  him  in  1714, 
but  the  work  was  not  published  till  1736.  It  was  long 
extensively  used  in  schools,  and  often  reprinted,  the  later 
editions  being  revised  and  enlarged  by  other  hands.  Ains- 
worth's  Dictionary  was,  however,  radically  imperfect,  con- 
taining a  mere  register  of  words,  with  no  scientific 
classification  or  complete  and  exact  definition  of  their 
various  meanings,  and  necessarily  wanting  the  results  of 
modern  philological  research.  Later  works  have  now 
entirely  superseded  it. 

A  IN  TAB,  a  large  garrison  town  on  the  northern  frontier 
of  Syria,  65  miles  N.N.E.  of  Aleppo,  in  36°  58'  N.  lat., 
37°  13'  E.  long.  It  has  a  considerable  trade,  chiefly  in 
hides  and  leather,  and  cotton  of  coarse  quality  is  grown  in 
the  district.     Population,  about  20,000. 

AIR  was  the  name  formerly  given  to  all  gaseous  sub- 
stances. The  gas  now  known  as  oxygeD,  for  instance,  was 
named  by  Priestley  dephlogisticated  air,  in  contradistinc- 
tion to  nitrogen  or  azote,  which  was  phlogisticatcd  air.  £o 
hydrogen  gas  was  known  to  the  early  chemists  as  inflam- 
mable air,  carbonic  acid  gas  as  fixed  air,  &c.  The  name 
is  now  ordinarily  restricted  to  what  is  more  accurately 
called  atmospheric  air — the  air  we  breathe — the  invisible 
elastic  fluid  which  surrounds  the  earth,  extending  to  an 
unknown  height.  The  properties  of  this  fluid  will  be  fully 
considered  under  such  headings  as  Atmosphere,  Baro- 
meter, Chemistry,  VE^TTrLATION■,  .&c.  Reference  may 
be  made  here  to  the  mechanical  use  of  air  a3  a  moving 
power,  or  rather  as  a  means  for  transferring  power,  just  as 
it  is  transferred  by  a  train  of  wheelwork.  Compressed  air 
can  be  employed  in  this  way  with  great  advantage  in  mines, 
tunnels,  and  other  confined  situations,  where  the  discharge 
of  steam  would  be  attended  with  inconvenience.  The 
work  is  really  done  in  these  cases  by  a  steam-engine  or 
other  prime  mover  in  compressing  the  air.  In  the  con- 
struction of  the  Mont  Cenis  tunnel  the  air  was  first  coins 
pressed  by  water-power,  and  then  carried  through  pipes 
into  the  heart  of  the  mountain  to  work  the  boring  machines; 
This  use.  of  compressed  air  in  such  situations  is  also  of 
indirect  advantage  in  serving  not  only  to  ventilate  the  r '  voe 
in  which  it  is  worked,  but  also  to  cool  it;  for  it  must  .he 
remembered  that  air  falls  in  temperature  during  expans.'ca, 
and  therefore,  as  its  temperature  in  the  machines  was  onij 
that  of  the  atmosphere,  it  must,  on  being  discharged  frcrm 
them,  fall  far  below  that  temperature.  .  This  fall  is  so  great 
that  one  of  the  most  serious  practical  difficulties  in  working 
machines  by  compressed  air  has  been  found  to  be  the  forma- 
tion of  ice  in  the  pipes  by  the  freezing  of  the  moisture  io 
the  air,  which  frequently  chokes  them  entirely  up. 


428 


A  I  K  — A  I  R 


AIR-ENGINE.  Engines  which  have  for  their  working 
Raid  heated  air  instead  of  steam  are  called  "  air-engines." 
The  name  "caloric  engine"  has  also  been  applied  to  them, 
but  is  not  to  be  commended,  for  they  have  no  more  right  to 
that  title  than  steam-engines — the  useful  effect  of  both 
machines  being  due  to  the  transformation  of  heat  into 
mechanical  energy,  the  air  in  the  one  case  and  the  steam 
in  the  other  being  merely  convenient  media  through  which 
to  effect  that  transformation. 

The  utilisation  of  the  expansion  of  heated  air  for  driving 
an  engine  has  for  many  years  been  a  subject  which  has 
exercised  the  ingenuity  of  inventors.  The  history  of  air- 
engines  has,  however,  been  little  more  hitherto  than  a 
history  of  failures,  and  they  are  as  far  now  from  super- 
seding steam-engines  as  they  were  fifty  years  ago.  This 
is  owing  mostly  to  the  fact  that  the  inventors  have  too 
often  worked  empirically,  without  any  real  knowledge  of 
the  conditions  under  which,  and  under  which  only,  the 
real  advantages  of  the  fluid  could  be  attained,  and  have 
therefore  continually  violated  these  conditions.  There  are 
also  certain  constructive  difficulties  in  the  way  of  making 
a  successful  air-engine  which  have  never  been  fully  over- 
come. It  should  be  distinctly  understood  that,  regarded 
simply  as  a  medium  for  transforming  heat  into  work,  air 
possesses  no  advantage  over  steam  or  any  other  fluid.  Its 
advantage  is,  that  it  can  be  used  with  safety  at  much  higher 
temperatures  than  steam  (and  therefore  a  larger  propor- 
tion of  the  heat  given  to  it  can  be  transformed  into  work), 
and  that  by  employing  the  gases  of  combustion  in  the 
cylinder  much  heat  can  be  utilised  which  with  steam- 
engines  is  necessarily  wasted. 

Of  the  air-engines  which  have  actually  worked  we  have — 
(1.)  Those  in  which  the  changes  of  temperature  take  place 
at  a  pair  of  constant  volumes;  (2.)  those  in  which  the 
changes  of  temperature  take  place  at  a  pair  of  constant 
pressures;  and  (3.)  those  in  which  heat  is  received  and 
rejected  at  a  pair  of  constant  pressures.  The  first  two 
classes,  fitted  with  " economisers,"  are  in  theory  "perfect" 
engines;  that  is,  they  are  theoretically  capable  of  trans- 
forming into  work  the  largest  fraction  he  limits  of  tem- 
perature allow  of  the  heat  received  from  the  fueL  The 
third  class  are  not  perfect  engines,  but  possess  certain 
practical  advantages  which  will  be  afterwards  mentioned. 

The  well-known  engine  invented  by  the  Rev.  Dr  Stirling  in  1816, 
and  subsequently  improved  by  bim,  in  conjunction  with  his  brother, 
Mr  James  Stirling,  C.E.,  of  Edinburgh,  belongs  to  the  first  class. 
In  this  engine  the  same  mass  of  air  is  used  again  and  again,  and  is 
compressed  at  starting  to  a  pressure  of  7  to  10  atmospheres.  A 
cylindrical  air-receiver,  in  whi"h  a  plunger  can  be  moved  up 
and  down,  is  placed  over  the  flue  of  the  furnace.  The  annular 
space  between  the  plunger  and  the  sides  of  this  receiver  is  occu- 
pied by  an  immense  number  of  thin  sheets  of  metal,  which  form 
the  "  economises "  In  the  upper  part  of  the  receiver,  which  com- 
municates freely  with  one  end  of  a  working  cylinder  of  the  usual 
construction,  is  a  "refrigerator,"  consisting  of  a  coil  of  tubing 
through  which  cold  water  continually  circulates.  The  plunger  is 
alternately  raised  and  lowered  by  suitable  mechanism,  and  in  its 
motion  causes  the  great  body  of  air  in  the  machine  to  occupy  alter- 
nately the  bottom  or  heating  end  and  the  top  or  cooling  end  of  the 
receiver.  It  thus  undergoes  alternate  expansion  and  contraction, 
and  thereby  gives  motion  to  the  piston  of  the  working  cylinner, 
and  thence  to  a  crank  shaft  in  the  usual  way.  The  advantages  of 
this  engine  were,  that  ths  air  in  the  cylinder  waj  always  cool,  and 
that  the  great  pressure  which  could  be  used  rendered  the  size  of  the 
machine  for  a  given  power  very  moderate.  It  was  ultimately  aban- 
doned because  of  the  failure  of  the  receiver  to  stand  the  destructive 
action  of  the  heat. 

The  most  familiar  example  of  the  second  class  of  air-engines  is 
that  invented  by  Captain  Ericsson.  It  differed  from  Stirling's  in 
many  respects,  and  does  not  seem  in  any  one  particular  to  have 
been  an  improvement  on  it.  Fresh  air  was  drawn  from  the  atmo- 
sphere at  every  stroke,  and  a  very  low  pressure  used,  and  what  was 
the  receiver  in'  Stirling's  engine  became  the  working  cylinder  of 
Ericsson's.  It  was  thus  excessively  bulky  in  proportion  to  its 
power,  and  all  the  working  parts  were  exposed  to  the  destructive 
actios  of  intense  heat     It  i»  chiefly  interesting  on  account  of  th« 


enormous  scale  on  which  its  construction  was  actually  carried  out. 
The  engines  of  the  steamship  "Ericsson"  had  four  working  cylinder*, 
each  14  ft.  in  diameter,  with  other  parts  in  proportion.  The  trials 
of  this  vessel  were  conducted  in  a  manner  which  did  not  allow  any 
confidence  to  be  placed  in  the  results  Baid  to  be  obtained,  and  steam- 
engines  replaced  those  of  Ericsson  within  two  years. 


To  the  third  class  of  air-engines  belong  those  of  Sir  George  Cayley 
and  several  of  the  older  inventors.  The  best  known  modern  ex- 
ample is,  however,  the  engine  of  Mr  Philander  Shaw,  which  is 
shown  in  our  engraving,  and  which  was  exhibited  at  the  Paris 
Exhibition  of  1867.  The  most  important  feature  of  this  type  of 
engine  is  the  use  of  the  products  of  combustion  themselves,  instead 
of  merely  the  air  heated  by  them,  to  drive  the  piston.  The  con- 
struction of  the  engine  is  very  simple  :  the  working  piston  is  fitted 
with  a  trunk  on  its  upper  side,  which,  thus  reduced  in  area,  serves 
as  a  compressing  pump,  and  the  products  of  combustion  act  directly 
upon  its  under  side,  which  is  protected  by  a  large  drum  filled  with 
non-conducting  material  from  the  heat.  The  furnace  stands  beside 
the  cylinder,  and  is  entirely  closed  up,  means  being  provided  f )r 
feeding  it  with  fuel  without  allowing  any  air  to  enter.  The  air 
compressed  by  the  pump  is  delivered  into  the  furnace,  where  it  com- 
bines with  the  fuel  to  form  the-  gases  of  combustion,  and  in  this 
way  receiving  additional  heat,  expands,  and  raises  the  piston  of  the 
working  cylinder  for  a  portion  of  its  stroke.  The  admission-valve 
of  the  latter  is  then  closed,  and  the  gase3  expand,  without  addition 
of  heat,  until  the  piston  has  completed  its  stroke,  and  are  then  dis- 
charged into  the  atmosphere.  By  the  addition  of  an  "  economiser," 
the  efficiency  of  this  type  of  engine  may  be  very  greatly  increased  ; 
but  its  principal  advantage  is  that,  by  actually  using  the  products 
of  combustion  inside  the  engine,  much  heat  is  saved  which  in  other 
engines  is  unavoidably  sent  up  the  chimney  and  lost. 

One  of  the  principal  features  of  all  air-engines  is  tho 
"  economiser"  (sometimes  erroneously  called  the  "  regene- 
rator"), an  invention  of  Mr  Stirling's.  The  object  of  this 
apparatus  is  to  store  up  the  heat  rejected  by  the  fluid  when 
it  falls  in  temperature,  and  subsequently  to  raise  the  tem- 
perature of  the  fluid  by  re-storing  the  same  heat,  so  that 
the  only  heat  which  the  furnace  has  to  supply  is  the  latent 
heat  of  expansion,  together  with  the  amount  of  sensible 
heat  which  maybe  lost  through  the  imperfection  of  the 
economiser. 

(For  a  popular  explanation  of  the  theory  of  air-engines, 
see  an  admirable  paper  by  the  late  Professor  Bankine  in 
the  Edinburgh  Philosophical  Journal  for  January  1855; 
and  for  a  complete  account  of  the  same,  involving  the  use 
of  the  higher  mathematics,  see  the  same  author's  Steam- 
Engine,  pp.  345,  et  seq.  See  also  Prof.  Clerk  Maxwell's 
Theory  of  Heat,  and  a  series  of  papers  on  the  subject  in 
Engineering,  1874.)  (a.  b.  w.  k.) 

AIR-GUN,  a  weapon  like  a  commo^  gun  in  shape,  in 
which  the  force  employed  to  propel  the  bullet  is  the  elas- 
ticity of  condensed  atmospheric  air.  It  has  attached  to 
it,  or  constructed  in  it,  a  strong  metal  chamber,  into  which 
air  is  forced  by  a  condensing  syringe  (see  Pneumatics). 
In  this  way  a  pressure  may  be  obtained  of  several  hundred 
atmospheres.  When  a  trigger  is  touched,  the  condensed 
air  rushes  into  a  space  behind  the  bullet  with  such  force  a3 
to  propel  it  frcai  the  barrel  to  a  considerable  distance.  If 
only  a  little  air  be  allowed  to  escape  each  time,  a  single 
charge  will  propel  a  number  of  bullets  in  succession,  with 


AIR-AIR 


429 


a  constantly  diminishing  force.  Sometimes  the  weapon  is 
made  in  the  form  of  a  walking-stick,  and  is  then  called  an 
air-cane. '  The  air-gun  is  little  else  than  a  scientific  toy, 
and  has  no  practical  value.  The  apparatus  is  costly,  the 
process  of  condensation  requires  considerable  labour,  and 
the  propulsive  force  of  the  air  is,  at  its  maximum,  less 
than  that  of  an  ordinary  charge  of  gunpowder.  The  only 
advantage  it  can  be  said  to  have  in  any  way  is  the  ques- 
tionable one  of  its  use  being  unattended  by  the  explosive 
noise  that  accompanies  the  discharge  of  a  common  gun. 

ATTUPUMP,  an  apparatus  by  means  of  which  a  closed 
vessel  can  have  the  air  it  contains  removed  from  it  It  con- 
sists essentially  of  two  parts — a  receiver,  from  which  the  air 
is  to  be  exhausted ;  and  a  pump,  to  perform  the  work  of 
exhaustion.  The  receiver  is  in  general  made  of  glass,  in 
order  that  the  condition  of  objects  placed  within  it  for  the 
purpose  of  experiment  may  be  readily  seen  by  the  opera- 
tor. It  is  open  at  the  bottom,  and  has  its  lower  edge 
accurately  ground ;  when  in  its  place  in  the  air-pump  it 
stands  upon  a  smooth  brass  plate.  The  pump  itself  is  a 
brass  cylinder,  having  a  piston  in  it,  which  can  be  moved 
backwards  and  forwards  by  means  of  a  rod,  in  the  usual 
way.  At  the  end  of  the  cylinder  nearest  the  receiver  is 
placed  a  small  valve,  in  the  piston  itself  is  another  (or 
some  mechanism  which  serves  the  purpose  of  a  valve),  and 
there  is  frequently  a  third  in  the  outer  end  of  the  cylinder. 
AH  these  valves  open  outwards  from  the  receiver.  The  action 
of  the  pump,  when  arranged  in  this  way,  is  exactly  similar 
to  the  action  of  an  ordinary  well-pump,  with  air  as  the 
fluid  instead  of  water.  The  air-pump  was.  invented  about 
1654  by  Otto  von  Guericke,  a  magistrate  of  Magdeburg, 
and  a  man  who  devoted  great  attention  to  various  pro- 
blems in  pneumatics.1  The  first  description  of  his  pump 
was  published  in  1657  in  the  Mechanica  Hydraulico- 
pneumatica  of  Gaspar  Schottus,  professor  of  mathematics 
at  Wurtemberg.  He  used  a  spherical  glass  receiver,  with 
a  pumping  syringe  attached,  and  kept  the  whole  of  the 
working  parts  under  water  to  prevent  leakage.     His  pump 


was  very  imperfectly  constructed,  but  he  did  eventually 
succeed  in  getting  a  very  good  vacuum  with  it.  The 
method  of  producing  the  Torricellian  vacuum,  by  filling  a 
vessel  with  liquid  and  then  removing  the  liquid  without 
permitting  ingress  of  air,  was  previously  known ;  but  a 
vacuum  produced  in  this  way  was  obviously  useless  for 
experiments  with  any  objects  but  those  which  could  pre- 
viously be  immersed  in  the  liquid  used  Guericke  was, 
however,  the  first  to  recognise  that,  by  virtue  of  its  perfect 

1  He  was  also  the  inventor  of  the  "  Magdeburg  hemispheres." 


elasticity,  or  tendency  to  expand  indefinitely,  air  could  be 
pumped  out  of  a  closed  space  as  well  as.  water;  and. this 
is  the  principle  of  his  and  all  succeeding  air-pumps.  Al- 
though the  invention  of  the  air-pump  is  due  to  a  German) 
almost  all  the  improvements  made  in  it  from  time  to  time 
have  come  from  Englishmen.  Dr  Boyle  contributed  so 
much  to  its  perfection  that  for  a  long  time  the  state  of  the 
air  in  an  exhausted  receiver  was  called  vacuum  Boykanum, 
and  the  air-pump  itself  machina  Boyleana.  Dr  Hook, 
Hawkesbee,  John  Smeaton,  and  others  brought  the  air- 
pump  externally  to  very  much  the  same  form  as  that  in 
which  it  is  commonly  seen  at  present,  and  which  is  shown 
in  the  annexed  woodcut  The  pump  here  has  two  cylin- 
ders, which  are  worked  by  a  winch  handle,  the  pump  rods 
havksg  toothed  racks  on  the  upper  part  of  their  length 
Professor  Tate  is  the  inventor  of  a  double-action  air-pump, 
now  much  used  where  a  very  perfect  vacuum  is  required 
It  has  two  pistons  in  one  barrel,  the  air  being  drawn  from 
the  receiver  at  the  centre  of  the  barrel,  and  discharged  into 
the  atmosphere  at  its  extremities.  Very  complete  air- 
pumps  have  two  or  three  barrels,  arranged  as  shown  in  the 
woodcut,  for  rapid  exhaustion,  until  the  pressure  in  the 
receiver  is  equal  to  (say)  half-au-inch  of  mercury;  and  in 
addition  to  these  a  horizontal  Tate's  barrel,  which  can  then 
be  put  into  action  to  bring  the  vacuum  down  to  fa  inch  of 
mercury(l-600thofthepressure  of  the  atmosphere),  or  even 
less  at  low  temperatures.     See  Pneumatics. 

Ate-Ptjmp,  in  steam-engines,  is  the  pump  which  draws 
the  condensed  steam,  along  with  the  air  which  is  always 
mixed  with  it,  and  also  the  condensing  water  (except 
where  a  surface  condenser  is  used),  away  from  'the  con- 
denser, and  discharges  it  into  the  hot  well  See  Steam- 
Engine,  (a.  b.  w.  k.) 

AIR,  or  Asben,  a  country  of  central  Africa,  lying  be- 
tween 15°  and  19°  N.  lat.  and  6°  and  10°  E.  long.  The 
northern  and  best  known  portion  of  tMs  region  is  of  a  very 
diversified  character.  It  has  numerous  mountain  ranges, 
some  of  which  rise  to  a  height  of  5000  feet,  with  richly- 
wooded  hollows  and  extensive  plains  interspersed  The 
mimosa,  the  dum-palm,  and  the  date  are  abundant ;  and  the 
valleys  are  covered  with  the  exuberant  vegetation  of  the 
tropics.  Some  of  the  plains  afford  good  pasturage  for 
camels,  asses,  goats,  and  cattle;  others  are-'. desert  table- 
lands. In  the  less  frequented  districts  wild  animals  abound, 
notably  the  lion  and"  the  gazelle.  •  The  country  generally  is 
of  sandstone  or  granite  formation,  with  occasional  trachyte 
and  basaltic  ranges.  There  are  no  permanent  rivers;  but 
during  the  rainy  season,  from  August  to  October,  very 
heavy  floods  convert  the  wafer-courses  in  the  hollows  of  the 
mountains  into  broad  and  rapid  streams.  Numerous  wells 
supply  the  wants  of  the  people  and  their  cattle.  To  the 
south  of  this  variegated  region  lie3  a  desert  plateau,  2000 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  destitute  of  water,  and 
tenanted  only  by  the  wild  ox,  the  ostrich,  and  the  giraffe. 
Still  further  south  is  the  district  of  Damerghu,  nominally 
tributary  to  Air,  undulating  and  fertile,  and  yielding  rich 
crops.  Notwithstanding  the  fertility  of  the  valleys  in  the 
northern  portion  of  the  country,  there  is  little  of  the  soil 
under  cultivation  except  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  vil- 
lages, where  slaves  are  employed  in  tillage.  Millet,  dates, 
•indigo,  and  senna  are  the  principal  productions.  The  great 
bulk  of  the  food  supplies  is  brought  from  Damerghu,  and 
the  whole  materials  for  clothing  are  also  imported  Were 
it  not  for  the  traffic  in  salt  between  Bilma  and  the  Hansa 
states  of  Soudan,  the  country  could  searcely  maintain  ita 
present  limited  number  of  inhabitants.  A  great  caravan 
annually  passes  through  Air,  consisting  of  several  thousand 
camels,  carrying  salt  from  Bilma  to  Sokoto.  Air  was  called 
Asben  by  the  native  tribes  until  they  were  conquered  by 
the  Berbers.      The  present  inhabitants  are  for  the  most. 


430 


X  I  R  — A  I  S 


part  of  a  mixed  race,  combining  the  finer  personal  traits  of 
the  Berbers  with  the  characteristics  of  the  negro.  The 
king  or  sultan  of  Air  occupies  a  very  precarious  position, 
being  to  a  great  extent  dependent  on  the  chiefs  of  the 
Tawarek  tribes  inhabiting  a  vast  tract  of  the  Sahara  to 
the  north-west,  who  are  continually  at  war  among  them- 
selves. A  large  part  of  the  revenue  of  the  king  is  derived 
from  tribute  exacted  from  the  salt  caravan.  His  authority 
does  not  seem  to  be  great  in  the  outlying  parts  of  his 
dominions.  The  chief  town  of  Air  is  Acades  (q.  v.)  (See 
Dr  Barth's  Travels  in  Central  Africa,  ro\.  i.) 

\TRAY,  Henky,  D.D.  This  celebrated  Puritan  presi- 
dent of  Queen's  College,  Oxford,  was  born  at  Kentmere, 
Windermere,  but  no  record  remains  of  the  date  of 
either  birth  or  baptism.  Anthony  a  Wood  names  West- 
moreland as  his  birthplace.  In  the  well-known  Life  of 
Bernatd  Gilpin  it  is  told  that  when  he  was  making  pre- 
parations for  martyrdom,  he  "  received  the  account  with 
great  composure  ;  and  immediately  after  called  up  William 
Airay,  a  favourite  domestic,  who  had  long  served  him  as 
his  almoner  and  steward."  From  the  great  kindness 
shown  to  our  Airay  by  Gilpin,  and  from  the  vicinity 
of  Kentmere  to  the  Rectory,  it  does  not  appear  to  be 
hazarding  too  much  to  assume  that  this  William  Airay 
was  his  father,  and -that  the  family  tradition  is  right  in 
assigning  Kentmere,  not  Barton  or  Wilford,  as  his  birth- 
place. The  truly  apostolic  man's  bounty  showed  itself  in 
sending  Henry  and  a  (probable)  brother  Ewan  or  Evan 
to  his  own  endowed  school,  where  they  were  fully  educated 
"in  grammatical  learning,"  and  were  in  attendance  at 
Oxford  when  Gilpin  lay  a-dying.  From  the  Athena;  we 
glean  the  details  of  Array's  college  attendance.  He  was 
"  sent,"  says  Wood,  "  to  St  Edmund's  Hall  in  1579,  aged 
nineteen  or  thereabouts."  "  Soon  after,"  he  continues, 
"  our  author,  Airay,  was  translated  to  Queen's  College, 
tvhere  he  became,  pavper  puer  serviens  ;  that  is,  a  poor 
serving  child  that  waits  on  the  fellows  in  tie  common 
hall  at  meals,  and  in  their  chambers,  and  do  other  servile 
work  about  the  college."  His  transference  to  Queen's 
College  is  explained  by  its  having  been  Gilpin's  wn 
college,  and  by  his  Westmoreland  origin  givrng  trim  a 
claim  on  Eaglesfield's  foundation.  He  proceeded  B.A.  on 
June  19, 1583.  On  June  15, 1586,  he  passed  M.A. ;  B.D. 
in  1594;  and  D.D.  on  June  17,  1600— all  in  Queen's 
College.  "  About  the  ttmo  he  was  master"  (1586),  "  he 
entered  holy  orders,  and  became  a  frequent  and  zealous 
preacher  in  the  university "  His  Commentary  on  the 
epistle  to  the  Philippian3  (1618),  reprinted  1864,  is  a 
specimen  of  his  preaching  before  his  college,  and  of  his 
fiery  denunciation  of  Popery,  and  his  fearless  enunciation 
of  that  Calvinism  which  Oxford,  in  common  with  all 
England,  prized  then.  In  1598  he  was  chosen  provost  of 
his  college,  and  in  1606  was  vice-chancellor  of  the  uni- 
versity. In  the  discharge  of  his  vice-chancellor's  duties, 
he  came  into  conflict  with  Laud,  who  even  thus  early  was 
betraying  his  Romish  tendencies.  He  was  also  rector  of 
Otmore  (or  Otmoor),  near  Oxford,  a  living  which  involved 
him  m  a  trying  litigation,  whereof  present  incumbents 
reap  the  benefit.  He  died  on  6th  October  1616.  H13 
character  as  a  man,  preacher,  divine,  and  as  an  important 
ruler  in  "the  university,  will  be  found  portrayed  in  the 
Epistle  by  Potter,  prefixed  to  the  Commentary.  He  must 
have  been  a  fine  specimen  of  the  more  cultured  Puritans — 
possessed  of  a  robust  common-senso  in  admirable  contrast 
with  some  of  his  contemporaries.  (Lectures  on  the  whole 
Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Philippians,  1618,  1864;  Wood's 
Athene,  by  Bliss,  ii  177,  178,  Ac. ;  Laud's  Works;  Wills 
(Surtees  Society.)  (a.  b.  o.) 

AIRDRrE,  a  parliamentary  and  municipal  burgh  and 
market-town  of  Scotland,  in  the  parish  of  New  Monkland, 


Lanarkshire,  21  miles  E.  of  Glasgow  and  32  TV.  of  Earn 
burgh.  The  high  road  between  these  cities  passes  through 
Airdrie,  forming  its  principal  street,  from  which  others 
diverge  at  right  angles.  It  is  well  built,  paved,  and  lighted 
with  gas,  but  it  contains  little  that  is  beautiful  or  attrac- 
tive. It  possesses  a  fine  town-ball  and  a  handsome  edifice 
erected  as  the  county  buildings,  as  well  as  two  places  of 
worship  belonging  to  the  Church  of  Scotland,  three  to  the 
Free  Church,  two  to  the  United  Presbyterians,  and  one 
each  to  the  Reformed  Presbyterians,  the  Congregationalists, 
the  Baptists,  the  Wcsleyan  Methodists,  and  the  Roman 
Catholics;  five  branch  banks,  with  excellent  places  of 
business  constructed  or  in  course  of  construction;  a  me- 
chanics' institute,  and  several  schools.  The  extensive  coal 
and  iron  mines  in  the  vicinity  give  employment  to  a  large 
part  of  the  population  of  Airdrie,  and  have  been  the  means. 
of  raising  it,  since  the  commencement  of  the  century,  from 
the  insignificance  of  a  village  to  its  present  prosperity.  In 
the  town  itself  there  are  manufactories  of  cotton  goods  and 
iron  wares,  besides  foundries,  engineering  shops,  sawmills, 
and  other  branches  of  industry.  A  branch  of  the  North 
British  Railway  from  Glasgow,  passing  through  Airdrie  to 
Edinburgh,  connects  it  by  a  direct  line  with  both  cities. 
It  is  also  connected  with  Glasgow  by  the  Monkland  Canal, 
which  comes  within  a  mile  of  the  town.  By  the  Reform  Act 
of  1832  Airdrie.  was  created  a  parliamentary  burgh,  uniting 
with  Falkirk,  Hamilton,  Lanark,  and  Linlithgow  in  send- 
ing one  memoer  to  parliament.  Its  municipal  corporation, 
which  dates  from  1821,  consists  of  twelve  councillors,  in- 
cluding a  provost  and  three  bailies.  There  are  weekly 
courts  held  by  the  magistrates,  and  courts  are  held  twice 
a  week  by  the  sheriff-substitute  and  the  justices  of  the 
peace  respectively.  The  market-day  i3  Tuesday,  but  the 
market  is  of  little  importance.  By  the  census  of  1871  the 
population  of  Airdrie  was  13,488,  the  number  of  inhabited 
houses  .1167,  and  the  parliamentary  constituency  1702, 
increased  in  1873  to  1932.  The  annual  value  of  real  pro- 
perty in  the  burgh,  not  including  railways,  is  £26,145; 
and  the  corporation  revenue  for  1873,  £3401. 

AIRE,  an  English  river  which  rises  in  the  West  Riding 
of  Yorkshire  and  pursues  a  south-easterly  course  through 
the  populous  "  clothing  district "  of  which  Leeds  ia  the 
capital.  At  Castleford,  below  Leeds,  it  receives  a  small 
tributary,  the  Calder,  and  it  joins  the  Ouse  shortly  before 
that  river's  expansion  into  the  estuary  'of  the  Humber 
above  Hull.     It  is  navigable  to  Leeds  for  small  craft. 

AIRE,  a  fortified  town  of  France,  on  the  river  Lys,  in 
the  department  of  Pas-de-Calais,  10  miles  S.E.  of  St  Omer. 
Although  its  situation  is  low  and  marshy,  the  town  is  neat 
nnd  well  built.  It  possesses  extensive  barracks ;  and  the 
Church  of  St  Paul  is  a  handsome  Gothic  structure.  Its 
manufactures  consist  of  hats,  cotton  and  woollen  goods, 
hardware,  yarn,  soap,  and  oiL     Population,  8803. 

AIRE,  a  town  in  ihe  south  of  France,  in  the  department 
of  Landes,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Adour,  14  miles  S.S.E. 
of  St  Sever.  At  one  time  it  was  the  capital  of  the  Visi- 
goths, and  since  the  fifth  century  it  has  been  the  seat  of 
a  bishopric.  It  has  a  college  and  cathedral ;  and  there  are 
manufactories  of  leather  and  hats.     Population,  5144. 

AISLE  sometimes  written  Isle,  Yle,  and  Alley  (Laf 
and  ItaL  Ala,  awing;  Fr.  Aile,  Bos  cite;  Ger.  Seitenschiff, 
Seitencluyr),  in  its  primary  sense,  the  wing  of  a  house,  but 
generally  used  to  describe  the  alleys  or  passages  at  the 
sides  of  the  naves  and  choirs  of  churches.  In  reckon- 
ing their  number,  the  nave  is  usually  cranui  Thus  a 
nave  with  an  aisle  on  each  Bide  is  generally  called  a  thiee- 
aisled  church ;  if  with  two  aisles  on  each  side,  a  five- 
aisled  church.  In  England  there  are  many  churches  with 
one  piHc-aisle  only ;  but  there  is  only  one  cathedral  with 
live  aisles,  that  at  Chichester.     There  are,  however,  very 


a  i  s  -  a  r  x 


431 


many  sucli  on  the  Continent,  the  most  celebrated  of  which 
are  at  Milan  ami  Amicus.  Others  have  three  aisles  on  each 
side,  or  seven  aisles  in  all,  as  the  cathedrals  at  Antwerp 
and  Paris.  The  most  extraordinary,  however,  is  that  at 
Cordova,  origiually  erected  for  a  mosque.  It  was  first  built 
with  a  nave  and  live  aisles  ou  each  side,  and  eight  others 
alterwards  were  added,  making  nineteen  aisles  in  alL  Old 
English  writers  frequently  call  the  transepts  "  the  cross 
isle,  or  yle,"  and  the  nave  the  "  middle  ile." 

AISNE,  a  frontier  department  in  the  north-east  of 
France,  bounded  on  the  N.  by  the  department  of  Nord 
and  the  kingdom  of  Belgium,  on  the  E.  by  the  department 
of  Ardeuues,  on  the  S.E.  by  that  of  Marne,  on  the  S.  by 
that  of  Seine-et-Marne,  and  on  the  W.  by  those  of  Oise 
and  Souune;  extending  at  the  widest  points  75  miles 
from  N.  to  S.,  and  53  from  E.  to  W.f  with  an  area  of 
2S33  square  miles.  The  surface  of  the  department  con- 
sists of  tine  undulating  plains,  diveisifisd  in  the  north  by 
hilly  ground  which  forms  a  part  of  the  mountain  system 
of  the  Ardennes.  The  chief  rivers  are  the  Somme,  the 
Escaut,  and  the  Sambre  in  the  north  ;  the  Oise,  traversing 
the  north-west,  with  its  tributaries  the  Serre  and  the  Aisne, 
the  latter  of  which  joins  it  beyond  the  limits  of  the  depart- 
ment ;  aud  the  Mame  and  the  Ourcq  in  the  south.  The 
soil  of  Aisue  is,  as  a  whole,  fertile,  and  in  some  parts  very 
rich,  yielding  wheat,  barley,  rye,  oats,  hops,  flax,  fruit, 
beetroot,  and  potatoes ;  there  is  good  pasturage,  and  much 
attention  is  paid  to  the  rearing  of  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses. 
Wine  is  produced,  but,  except  in  the  valley  of  the  Mame, 
its  quality  is  inferior.  Large  tracts  of  the  department  are 
under  wood,  the  chief  forests  being  those  of  Nouvion  and 
St  Michel  in  the  north,  Coucy  and  St  Gobain  ic  che  centre, 
and  Villers-Cotterets  in  the  south.  There  are  no  minerals 
of  importance  in  the  department,  but  good  building-stone 
aud  slates  of  a  fair  quality  are  fouud.  Aisne  is  an  im- 
portant manufacturing  department ;  its  chief  industrial  pro- 
ducts being  shawls  and  muslin — as  well  as  other  cotton, 
linen,  and  woollen  goods — glass,  including  the  famous 
mirrors  of  St  Gobain,  iron  wares,  beetroot  sugar,  leather, 
and  pottery.  It  has  a  good  trade,  which  is  much  facilitated 
by  railroads  (the  most  important  being  those  between  Paris 
and  Strasbourg,  and  Paris  and  Mons),  canals,  and  the 
navigable  portions  of  the  rivers.  Aisne,  which  is  com- 
posed of  parts  of  the  ancient  provinces  of  Picardy  and  the 
Isle  of  France,  is  divided  into  five  arrondissements — St 
Quentin  and  Vervins  in  the  north,  Laon  in  the  centre,  and 
Soissons  and  Chateau  Thierry  in  the  south.  It  contains  in 
all  37  cantons  and  837  communes.  Laou  is  the  capital, 
aud  Soissons  the  seat  of  the  bishop.  The  other  towns  of 
importance  are  Chauny,  St  Quentin,  Vervins,  Hirson,  Suise, 
Villers-Cotterets,  and  Chateau  Thierry.  Population  in  1872, 
552,439,  of  whom  183,104  could  neither  read  nor  write, 
end  28,651  could  read,  but  could  not  write. 

ALTON,  William  (1731-1793),  an  eminent  botanist 
and  gardener,  was  born  near  Hamilton  in  Scotland.  Having 
been  regularly  trained  to  the  profession  of  a  gardener,  he 
travelled  to  England  in  the  year  1754,  where  he  became 
assistant  to  Philip  Miller,  then  superintendent  of  the 
physic  garden  at  Chelsea.  In  1759  he  was  appointed 
director  of  the  newly-established  botanical  garden  at  Kew, 
in  which  office  he  continued  till  his  death.  The  garden 
at  Kew,  under  the  auspices  of  King  George  III.,  was 
destined  to  be  the  grand  repository  of  all  the  vegetable 
riches  which  could  be  accumulated  by  regal  munificence, 
from  researches  through  every  quarter  of  the  globe. 
Alton's  care  and  skill  in  cultivation,  and  intelligence  in 
arrangement,  gained  for  him  high  reputation  among  the 
lovers  of  the  science,  and  the  particular  esteem  of  his  rt>y»l 
patrons.  '  Under  his  superintendence  many  improvements 
took  i)lace  i*-Hbe  plan  and  edifices  of  Kew  j;ardfu»,  wlu»\i 


rendered  them  the  principal  scene  of  botauical  culture  in 
the  kingdom.  In  1783  his  merit  was  rewarded  with  tho 
lucrative  office  of  manager  of  the  pleasure  and  kitchea 
gardens  of  Kew,  which  he  was  allowed  to  hold  along  with 
the  botanical  direction.  In  1789  he  published  his  lloilua 
Kewensis,  a  catalogue  of  the  plants  cultivated  in  the  Royal 
Botanical  Garden  at  Kew,  in  3  vols.  8vo,  with  13  plates — . 
a  work  which  had  been  the  labour  of  many  years.  The 
llortus,  in  which  the  Liunffian  system  of  arrangement,  with 
some  modification,  was  adopted,  was  very  favourably  re- 
ceived by  students  of.  science,  and  a  second  edition  was 
issued  (1810-3)  by  W.  T.  Aiton,  his  eldest  son  and  suc- 
cessor. He  was  for  many  years  honoured  with  the  friend- 
ship of  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  the  president  of  the  Royal  Society, 
and  was  aided  by  the  Swedish  naturalists,  Solander  and 
Dryander,  in  the  preparation  of  his  Ilorlus  EeivensU. 

AITZEMA,  Leon  van,  Dutch  historian  and  statesman, 
was  born  at  Doccum,  in  Friesland,  on  the  19  th  Novembei 
1600,  and  died  at  the  Hague  on  the  23d  February  1069.' 
In  his  youth  he  published  a  volume  of  Latin  poems  under 
the  title  of  Poemata  Juvenilia.  He  subsequently  devoted 
himself  almost  entirely  to  political  life,  and  held  for  9 
lengthened  period  the  position  of  resident  at  the  Hague- 
for  the  towns  of  the  Hanseatic  League.  His  most  im- 
portant  work  was  the  Hutorie  oft  Verhaal  van  Saciken  van 
Staet  in  Oorlogh  (14  vols  4to,  1657-71),  embracing  the 
period  from  1021  to  1608.  It  contains  a  large  number  of 
state  documents,  and  is  an  invaluable  authority  on  one  of 
the  most  eventful  periods  of  Dutch  history. 

ALX,  an  ancient  city  of  France,  the  chief  town  of  th<» 
arrondissenient  of  the  same  name,  in  the  department  of 
the  Bouches  du-Rhone.  It  was  the  Aqua  Sejctice  of  tho 
Romans,  and  between  this  and  Arelate  (Aries)  is  the  field 
on  which  Marius  gained  his  great  victory  over  the  Teutons. 
Under  the  counts  of  Provence,  Aix  became  celebrated  as 
a  seat  of  learning ;  and  it  still  retains  many  relics  of  its 
former  splendour,  and  is  distinguished  by  the  number  and 
excellence  of  its  literary  institutions.  It  has  a  library  o£ 
100,000  volumes,  an  academy  of  law,  science,  and  theo- 
logy, a  museum,  and  a  chamber  of  commerce.  The 
cathedral — the  baptistry  of  which  is  said  to  have  been 
constructed  from  the  remains  of  a  Roman  temple — the 
"Palais,"  the  town-hall,  and  the  clock-tower,  are  fine  speci- 
mens of  ancient  architecture.  There  are  numerous  public 
fountains,  on  one  of  which  is  sculptured  a  figure  of  King 
Reu6  by  David  The  hot  springs,  from  which  the  city 
derives  its  name,  are  not  now  in  much  repute.  Aix  is  the 
seat  of  a  court  of  justice  and  an  archbishopric.  The  chief 
manufactures  are  cotton,  silk,  thread,  and  hardware;  and 
olives  and  almonds  are  cultivated  on  the  surrounding  hills. 
There  is  considerable  commerce  in  corn,  wine,  and  oil 
The  naturalists  Adauson  and  Tournefort,  and  the  painter 
Vanloo,  were  born  at  Ais.     Population  (1872),  29,020. 

AIX,  or  Aix-LE»-]!.uN>,ntown  of  France,  in  the  depart- 
ment of  Savoie,  near  Lake  Bourget,  8  miles  north  of 
Chambery.  It  was  a  celebrated  bathing-place  in  the  time 
of  the  Romans,  and  possesses  numerous  ancient  remains. 
The  hot  springs,  which  are  of  sulphureous  quality,  and  have 
a  temperature  of  from  109°  to  113°  Fahr.,  are  still  much 
frequented,  attracting  annually  above  2000  visitors.  They 
are  used  for  drinking  as  well  as  for  bathing  purposes. 
Population,  4430. 

ATX-LA-CHAPELLE,  the  German  Aachen,  the  capital 
of  a  district  of  the  same  name  in  Rhenish  Prussia,  situated 
near  the  VVunn,  a  tributary  of  the  Meuse,  in  a  pleasant 
and  fertile  valley  about  40  miles  west  of  Cc'.ogne,  with 
which  it  is  connected  by  railway.  It  is  well  built,  and  ia 
enclosed  by  ramparts  that  have  been  converted  into  pro- 
menades, and  its  appearance  is  rather  that  of  a  prosperous 
>aud»rD   town  than  of  an  ancient  city  full  of  historical 


432 


A  I  X  —  A  J  A 


associations.  Its  town-house,  built  in  1353  on  the  ruins 
of  Charlemagne's  palace,  contains  the  magnificent  corona- 
tion hall  of  the  German  emperors,  162  feet  long  by  GO  feet 
wile.  Near  the  town-house  are  two  ancient  towers,  one.of 
which,  called  the  Granustliurm,  is  sometimes  said  to  be  of 
Roman  origin ;  and  a  fountain,  with  a  statue  of  Charle- 
magne, which  was  erected  in  1620.  The  cathedral  of 
Alx-la-Chapelle  consists  of  two  parts,  distinct  both  as  to 
the  time  of  their  erection  and  their  stylo  of  architecture. 
The  older  portion  may  be  said  to  date  either  from  796  a.d., 
when  it  was  erected  by  Charlemagne  as  the  palace  chapel, 
or  from  983,  when  it  was  rebuilt  on  the  old  model  by 
Otho  III.,  after  having  been  almost,  entirely  destroyed  by 
the  Kormans.  It  consists  of  an  octagon,  planned  after 
that  of  St  Vitale  at  Ravenna,  surrounded  by  a  sixteen- 
sided  gallery,  and  terminating  in  a  cupola.  It  contains 
the  tomb  of  Charlemagne,  which  was  opened  in  the  year 
1000,  when  the  body  of  the  femperor  was  found  seated  on 
a  marble  throne  which  was  afterwards  used  in  the  imperial 
coronation  ceremonies.  The  Gothic  choir,  which  forms 
the  more  modern  portion  of  the  cathedral,  was  added 
during  the  latter  half  of  the  14th  and  the  beginning  of  the 
15th  centuries.  The  cathedral  possesses  many  relics,  the 
most  sacred  of  -which  are  exhibited  only  once  every  seven 
years,  when  they  attract  large  crowds  of  worshippers.  Be- 
sides these  buildings,  almost  the  only  other  of  any  antiquity 
is  the  corn  exchange,  probably  of  the  12th  century.  Of 
modern  edifices,  Aix-la-Chapelle  possesses  a  theatre,  a  public 
library,  a  gymnasium,  and  several  churches  and  hospitals. 
The  chief  manufactures  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  are  -woollen 
cloths,  stockings,  shawls,"silks,  leather,  glass,  needles,  pins, 
machines,  general  ironmongery,  carriages,  beer,  brandy, 
tobacco,  and  chemicals.  There  is  a  good  trade  in  these 
articles,  not  only  with  Germany  and  other  continental 
countries,  but  also,  in  the  case  of  cloth  especially,  with 
the  United  States  of  America.  The  hot  sulphur  springs 
of  Aix-la-Chapelle  are  another  important  source  of  revenue 
to  the  inhabitants.  These  springs  were  known  to  the 
Romans,  and  have  long  been  celebrated  for  the  cure  of 
rheumatism  and  gout.  There  are  six  in  all,  of  which  the 
Kaiserquelle  is  the  chief,  with  a  temperature  reaching  as  high 
as  136°  Fahr.  There  are  also  two  cold  chalybeate  springs. 
Aix-la-Chapelle  is  the  Aquisgranum,  or  Civitas  Aquensis, 
of  the  Romans.  Charlemagne,  who  perhaps  was  born  and 
certainly  died  in  the  town,  made  it  the  second  city  of  his 
empire  and  the  capital  of  his  dominions  north  of  the  Alps. 
He  conferred  numerous  privileges  upon  its  citizens,  exempt- 
ing them  from  military  service  and  from  all  taxes,  even  when 
they  were  living  in  other  parts  of  the  empire.  From  813 
to  1531  the  emperors  of  Germany  were  crowned  at  Aix-la- 
Chapelle,  which  during  that  period  became  one  of  the  most 
important  free  imperial  cities,  although  it  was  ravaged  by 
the  Normans  in  851,  and  again  in  882.  By  the  removal  of 
the  coronations  to  Frankfort,  Aix-la-Chapelle  lost  its  lead- 
ing position  in  Germany,  and  its  internal  prosperity  was 
much  injured  by  a  disastrous  fire  in  1656,  During  the 
revolution  it  for  a  time  belonged  to  France,  but  in  1815  it 
was  ceded  to  Prussia,  and  has  now  become  one  of  the  chief 
seats  of  commerce  in  that  kingdom.  Population  of  Aix-la- 
Chapelle  (1871),  74,238. 

Aix-la-Chapelle,  Congresses  and  Treaties  oj.  The  first 
congress  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  concerned  the  succession  of 
Maria  Theresa  to  the  empire.  It  was  held  in  1748,  and 
resulted  in  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  signed  in  the 
same  year,  by  which  Maria  Theresa  was  left  in  possession 
of  most  of  her  hereditary  dominions,  the  chief  exception 
being  Silesia,  which  was  ceded  to  Prussia.  The  second 
congress,  held  in  1818,  resulted  in  the  convention  of  Aix- 
la-Chapelle.  The  object  of  this  congress  was  the  regulation 
ef  the  affairs  of  Europe,  especially  of  France,  after  the  waf. 


A  treaty  of  peace  between  France  and  Spain  was  also  signed 
in  this  city  in  1668.  whereby  Louis  XIV.  gave  up  his  claim 
to  the  Spanish  Netherlands,  but  was  left  in  possession  of 
much  that  he  had  already  conquered. 

AJACCTO,  the  chief  town  of  Corsica,  one  of  the  depart- 
ments of  France.  It  is  a  seaport,  situated  on  the  west 
coast  of  the  island,  in  41°  54'  N.  lat.,  and  83  44'  E.  long. 
The  harbour  is  commodious,  and  sheltered  on  all  sides  save 
the  south-west.  The  town  is  well  built,  and  its  principal 
buildings  are  the  cathedral,  the  town-house,  and  the  citadel. 
It  is  the  seat  of  a  bishop  and  a  court  of  justice,  and  has  a 
commercial  college,  a  school  of  hydrography,  a  large  library, 
and  a  botanic  garden.  Wine,  fruits,  and  olive  oil  are  the 
chief  articles  of  trade ;  and  anchovy  and  coral  fisheries  are 
extensively  prosecuted  along  the  coast.  Ajaccio  is  cele- 
brated as  the  birthplace  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte.  The  house 
where  he  was  born  (15th  August  1769)  is  still  standing  in 
good  preservation.  A  marble  statue  was  erected  to  his 
honour  in  1850,  and  the  people  still  retain  strong  Bonapartist 
sympathies.     Population  (1872),  16,545. 

AJAN  (the  ancient  Azania),  a  tract  which  forms  the 
eastern  horn  of  Africa,  with  a  coast-line  of  about  10°  of 
latitude,  from  Cape  Gardafui  nearly  to  the  equator. 
It  extends  inland  to  the  territory  of  the  Gallas,  but  its 
limits  cannot  be  strictly  defined,  as  this  part  of  Africa  has 
been  little  explored.  The  coast  towards  the  south  is  low 
and  sandy,  but  northward,  near  Cape  D'Orfui,  it  becomes 
high  and  mountainous,  with  some  fertile  valleys  inter- 
spersed. Cape  Gardafui,  the  most  eastern  point  of  Africa, 
is  a  bold  promontory  backed  by  lofty  hills.  There  are  no 
considerable  rivers  in  Ajan,  and  the  land  for  the  most  part 
is  barren.  The  inhabitants,  a  tribe  of  the  Somali,  carry  on 
a  trade  with  the  Arabs  in  ivory  and  gum,  and  the  country 
possesses  an  excellent  breed  of  horses. 

AJAX  (Aios),  the  son  of  Telamon.  In  Greek  legend 
Ajax  represents  throughout  only  physical  qualities,  like 
Hercules,  with  whom,  indeed,  a  likeness  must  have  been 
recogniped,  or  there  would  ha^e  been  no  sufficient  basis  foi 
the  belief  that  the  child  Ajax  was  born  at  the  prayer  cf 
Hercules  in  behalf  of  his  friend  Telamon  (the-name  Aia? 
— or  Ai-as  with  digamma — being  an  allusion  to  the  eagle, 
ai€T05,  which  appeared  to  announce  the  success  of  the 
prayer);  and  again,  that  Hercules  was  present  at  the  birth 
of  the  infant,  and  by  wrapping  it  in  his  lion's  skin  made 
it  invulnerable,  except  in  the  armpit.  In  respect  of  being 
open  to  a  wound  in-  only  one  small  spot  Ajax  resembles 
Achilles,  with  whom  in  the  usual  genealogy  he  claims  to 
be  related  as  cousin.  But  of  this  relationship  there  is  no 
evidence  in  the  Iliad,  where  Ajax  appears  of  colossal  frame 
(TTcAulpios),  in  himself  a  tower  of  strength  (■nrpyo':  'Axauwv), 
and,  a3  the  simile  implies,  prepared  for, defence,  not  to 
lead  assaults,  unmoved  by  the  shafts  of  enemies  as  is  an  ass 
in  a  corn-field  by  the  pelting  of  boys  (Iliad,  xi.  556-566), 
while  Achilles  is  no  less  clearly  drawn  as  sensitive  to  finer 
passions  and  tastes,  if  equally  bold  in  war.  Unwarranted 
as  it  was  by  the  Iliad,  the  identification  of  Ajax  with  the 
family  of  jEacus  was  chiefly  a  matter  which  concerned  the 
Athenians,  and  that  not  until  Salamis  had  come  into  their 
possession,  on  which  occasion  Solon  inserted  a  line  in  the 
Iliad  (ii  557)  for  the  purpose  of  supporting  the  Athenian 
claim  to  therisland.  Ajax  then  became  an  Attic  hero,  his 
name  being  given  to  one  of  the  tribes.  In  this  way  his 
deeds  came  to  be  a  favourite  subj  ect  of  the  Attic  drama,  though 
they  are  not  always  represented  in  a  creditable  manner — as, 
f oi Example,  when,  contrary  to  his  steady  character  in  the 
Iliad  of  being  respectful  to  the  gods,  he  is  charged  with  insult 
to  Athena,  to  account  for  her  having  influenced  the  decision 
against  him  in  his  competition  with  Ulysses  for  the  armour 
of  Achilles.  It  was  Athena,  also,  who  made  him  insane 
then,  and  led  him  to  take  his  own  life.     From  hin  blood 


A  J  A  —  A  J  M 


433 


sprang  a  flower,  as  at  the  death  of  Hyacinthus,  -which  bore 
the  initial  letter  of  his  name.  In  later  times  the  people  of 
Xovum  Ilium  believed  him  to  have  been  wronged  by  the 
decision,  and  told  how,  when  Ulysses  had  been  shipwrecked, 
the  armour  of  Achilles  was  wafted  by  the  tide  upon  the 
shore  near  the  tomb  of  Ajax.  (a.  s.  m.) 

AJAX  OILEUS,  or  the  Lessee  Ajax,  was  a  son  of  the 
King  of  Locri,  whose  subjects  he  led  before  Troy,  contribut- 
ing a  contingent  of  forty  ships.  In  boldness  he  was  in  the 
first  rank  among  the  Greeks  there,  equal  to  make  a  stand 
against  Hector,  and  swift  of  foot  next  to  Achilles.  But,  com- 
pared with  the  other  leaders,  he  is  impatient  and  overbear- 
ing. Like  the  Telamonian  Ajax,  he  appears  as  an  enemy 
of  Ulysses,  and  as  the  victim  of  Athena's.vengeance.  It  was 
due  to  her  influence  that  he,  known  for  his  speed,  lost 
the  nee  with  Ulysses  at  the  games  in  honour  of  Patroclus 
{Iliad,  xxiii.  754—784);  and  again  it  was  through  her  that 
on  his  return  homeward  his  ship  was  wrecked  upon  the 
mythical  Gynean  rock  {Odyssey,  iv.  499).  As  it  stands  in 
later  story,  he  had  drawn  down  Athena's  anger  by  his  assault 
upon  Cassandra  at  the  image  of  the  goddess.  Ulysses 
charged  him  with  this  offence,  and  demanded  that  he  should 
be  stoned.  But,  according  to  another  version  of  the  legend, 
he  had  only  carried  her  off  to  his  tent  without  any  harm, 
when  Agamemnon  took  her  from  him,  and  spread  a  report 
that  Athena  would  destroy  the  whole  army  unless  Ajax  were 
slain;  upon  which,  thinking  of  the  unjust  verdict  given 
against  his  namesake,  he  went  to  sea  in  a  frail  vessel  and 
perished.  The  news  was  received  in  the  camp  with  grief, 
a  funeral  pile  was  erected  on  the  ship  which  had  conveyed 
him  toTroy,  sacrifice  was  offered, and  when  the  evening  wind 
came  on,  the  burning  ship  was  cut  adrift.  (a.  s.  m.) 

AJEHO,  or  A-she-hoh,  also  called  Alchttku,  a  consider- 
able and  rapidly  increasing  city  of  Manchuria,  30  miles 
south  of  the  river  Soongari,  and  about  120  north  of  Kirin. 
It  is  advantageously  situated  on  the  slopes  of  a  gentle 
descent  leading  to  the  river.  The  country  around  is  very 
fertile,  producing  in  abundance  various  kinds  of  grain, 
besides  pulse  and  opium.  The  population  of  the  district 
consists  entirely  of  Chinese  immigrants,  who  are  engaged  in 
the  reclamation  and  cultivation  of  the  soil,  which  is  given 
to  them  at  a  nominal  price.  A  large  trade  is  done  in  the 
town ;  and  although  the  shops  are  of  mean  appearance, 
quantities  of  porcelain  and  other  ornamental  articles  ex- 
posed for  sale  indicate  its  growing  wealth.  The  population 
is  about  40,000,  and  includes  a  considerable  number  of 
Mahometans. 

AJMIR,  a  district  and  town  of  British  India,  in  Edjpu- 
tana.  The  district  lies  between  25°  43'  and  26°  42'  N. 
lat.,  and  74"  22'  and  75°  33'  E.  long.,  measuring  80  miles 
in  length  from  north  to  south,  by  50  miles  in  breadth, 
and  comprising  an  area  of  2057  square  miles.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  E.  by  the  states  of  Krishnagar  and  Jaipur, 
on  the  S.  by  Mewar,  on  the  W.  by  the  British  district  of 
Mairwara,  and  on  the  N.W.  by  the  state  of  Jodhpur.  The 
population  in  1865  was  returned  at  426,268;  of  whom 
363,539,  or  85  per  cent.,  were  Hindus,  and  the  remainder 
chiefly  Mahometans.  The  eastern  portion  of  the  district 
is  generally  flat,  broken  only  by  gentle  undulations,  but 
the  north  and  north-western  parts  are  intersected  by 
the  great  Aravalli  range  (q.r. )  Many  of  the  valleys  in 
this  region  are  mere  sandy  deserts,  with  an  occasional  oasis 
of  cultivation,  but  there  are  also  some  very  fertile  tracts  ; 
among  these  is  the  plain  on  which  lies  the  town  of  Ajmir. 
This  valley,  however,  is  not  only  fortunate  m  possessing 
a  noble  artificial  lake,  but  is  protected  by  the  massive 
walls  of  the  Nag-pathar  range  or  Serpent  rock,  which  forms 
a  barrier  against  the  sand.  The  only  hills  jn  the  district 
are  the  Aravalli  range  and  its  offshoots.  Ajmir  is  almost 
totally  devoid  of  rivers,  the  Banas  being  the  only  stream 


which  can  be  dignified  with  that  name,  and  it  only  touches 
the  south-eastern"  boundary  of  the  district  so  as  to  irrigate 
the  Pargana  of  Samur.  Four  small  streams — the  Sagar- 
mati,  Saraswatf,  Khari,  and  Dai — also  intersect  the  dis- 
trict. In  the  dry  weather  they  are  little  more  than  brooks. 
The  Sagar-mati  and  Saraswatf  unite  at  Gobindgarh,  the 
united  waters  flowing  on  under  the  name  of  the  Luni  (or 
salt  water)  river.  There  are  two  first-class  roads  in  Ajmir, 
viz.,  one  from  Ajmir  city  to  Gangwana,  and  thence  through 
the  Krishnagarh  and  Jaipur  states  to  Agra;  and  another 
from  the  city-  to  the  cantonment  station  of  Nasfrabad,  a 
distance  of  14  miles.  There  is  also  a  second-class  road 
from  Ajmir  to  Naya  Nagar,  a  distance  of  36  miles,  besides 
sixteen  third-class  tracks  connecting  the  principal  towns 
and  villages  with  the  city.  The  principal  products  of  the 
district  are  wheat,  barley,  rice,  sugar-cane,  peas,  bajra, 
maize,  til  (oil-seed),  tobacco,  and  cotton.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  woollen  blankets,  turbans,  <fcc.,  manufactures  can 
be  scarcely  said  to  exist  in  Ajmir.  Salt  is  made  in  a  rude 
method  at  Bamsur,  from  the  saline  exudations  of  the  soil, 
to  the  extent  of  3000  cwt.  per  annum.  After  supplying 
local  wants,  the  surplus  is  exported  towards  Malwa  and 
Sagar.  The  principal  trade  is  in  wool,  cotton,  opium, 
printed  cloths,  and  tobacco.  A  large  quantity  of  cotton 
is  exported  to  Nayd  Nagar,  in  Mairwara  district,  whence  it 
finds  its  way  into  the  Bombay  market.  Oil  is  also  a  pro- 
fitable article  of  trade.  The  domestic  animals  are  sheep, 
horses,  bullocks,  camels,  and  goats.  Cattle,  and  especially 
bullocks,  are  much  valued,  but  are  very  scarce,  owing  partly 
to  the  want  of  sufficient  pasturage  and  partly  to  frequent 
droughts.  When  these  occur,  the  cattle  are  sent  away  to 
the  neighbouring  states,  where  better  pasture  can  be  pro- 
cured, and  very  few  find  their  way  back.  The  imperial 
revenue  obtained  from  the  district  in  1867  amounted  to 
£61,791,  8s.,  exclusive  of  local  funds  raised  by  a  road, 
tank,  and  postal  cess. 

The  tenures  of  the  agricultural  village  communities  in  Ajmir  ara 
of  a  very  simple  and"  uniform  kind.  They  all  belong  to  the  typa 
known  aa  "imperfect  patidari,"  by  which  the  better  descriptions  of 
land  are  held  in  severalty  by  each  member  of  the  proprietary  body. 
Each  member  is  responsible  for  the  amount  of  revenue  allotted  on 
his  holding;  but  in  event  of  the  default  of  any  shareholder,  the 
whole  community  is  collectively  liable  for  the  total  sum.  The 
inferior  and  waste  lands  remain  the  property  of  the  whole  village, 
and  the  income  derived  from  them  is  credited  to  the  common  account. 
Tho  cultivators  are  nearly  all  proprietors  of  the  land  they  till.  A 
large  portion  of  Ajmir  district  is  parcelled  out  into  estates,  varying 
in  size  from  a  single  village  to  a  large  pargcuui  (or  fiscal  division). 
These  estates  are  held  by  Rajput  chiefs,  some  of  whom  descend 
from  the  original  ruling  families,  while  others  owe  their  position  to 
force  or  to  the  favour  of  the  reigning  power.  They  have  all  been 
confirmed  in  their  estates  by  the  British  on  payment  of  a  fixed 
annual  quit  rent.  Three  towns  are  returned  aa  containing  a  popu- 
lation of  upwards  of  5000  inhabitants  in  1867 — viz.,  Ajmir  city  (the 
capital  and  the  only  municipality  in  the  district),  population 
34,763  ;  Kekri,  6357 ;  and  Pisangun,  5055.  There  is  also  a  military 
cantonment  at  Nasirabad,  the  garrison  of  which  in  1867  consisted 
of  a  battery  of  European  artillery,  a  European  infantry  regiment,  a 
squadron  of  native  cavalry,  and  a  regiment  of  native  infantry.  In 
1867  there  were  eighteen  government  schools  in  the  district,  attended 
by  647  pupils,  and  a  government  college  at  Ajmir  city  attended  by 
320  students.  Besides  these  there  were  three  mission  schools  for 
boys  and  one  for  girls  in  Ajmir  city,  and  eight  others  iD.  its  neigh- 
bourhood. The  average  attendance  at  the  mission  schools  amounted 
to  347. 

AjMfR  City,  the  capital  of  Ajmir  district,  is  situated  in 
a  picturesque  and  teitiie  valley  surrounded  by  monntains, 
in  26°  29'  N.  lat.  and  74'  43'  E.  long.  The  town  is 
partly  built  on  the  lower  slope  of  the  Taragarh  hill,  and  is 
surrounded  by  a  stone  wait  with  five  handsome  gates.  To 
the  north  of  the  city  is  3  large  artificial  lake  called  the 
Anasagar,  whence  the  water  supply  of  the  place  is  derived. 
The  town  is  clean,  and  possesses  several  handsome  streets:, 
the  dwellings  of  the  better  classes  being  large  and  well 
built.     The  population  in  1S67  numbered  34.763,  about 


434 


AJU-AKB 


two-thirds  being  TTimltis,  and  the  remainder  Mahometans. 
Tke  <  ity  trade  chii  ly  ©  ists  of  salt  and  opium.  The 
met  is  imported  in  large  quantities  from  the  Sambar 
lake  and  Ramsur.  Oilmaking  is  also  a  profitable  branch 
of  trade.  Cotton  cloths  are  manufactured  to  some  ex" 
fur  the  dyeing  of  which  the  city  has  attained  a  high  repu- 
tii-ion.  A  municipal  income  of  about  £2000  a-year  is 
derived  from  octroi  duties  levied  on  articles  consumed  in 
the  town.  Out  of  this  the  police  and  conservancy  arrange- 
ments are  paid,  the  balance  being  spent  on  roads  and  in 
the  support  of  charitable  institutions.  The  Ajmfr  college, 
affiliated  to  the  Calcutta  university,  nad  320  pupiis  in 
1867.  The  college  buildings  being  inadequate  to  this 
number  of  pupils,  the  foundation-stone  of  a  new  structure 
was  laid  on  the  17th  February  1868.  The  agent  to  the 
mor-general  for  IUjputana  resides  at  Ajmir,  which  is 
also  the  headquarters  of  the  commissioner  of  the  Ajmlr  and 
Mairwara  division.  It  is  likewise  a  station  of  a  Scotch 
Presbyterian  mission. 

The  chief  object  of  interest  is  the  dargi,  or  tomb  of  a  famous 
Mahometan  saint  named  Mayud-u'cl-din.  It  is  situated  at  the 
foot  of  the  Taragarh  mountain,  and  consists  of  a  block  of  white 
marble  boildings,  without  much  pretension  to  architectural  beauty. 
To  this  place  the  emperor  Akbar,  with  his  empress,  performed  a 
pilgrimage  on  foot  from  Agra,  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  a  vow 
li  •Tiad  made  when  praying  for  a  son.  The  large  pillars  erected  at 
intervals  of  two  miles  the  whole  way,  to  mark  the  daily  halting-place 
of  the  imperial  pilgrim,  are  still  extant.  An  ancient  Jain  temple, 
now  converted  into  a  Mahometan  mosque,  is  situated  on  the 
lower  slope  of  the  taragarh  hill.  With  the  exception  of  that  r>art 
used  as  a  mosque,  nearly  tho  whole  of  the  ancient  temple  has  fallen 
into  ruins,  but  the  relics  are  not  excelled  in  beauty  of  architecture 
and  sculpture  by  any  remains  of  Hindu  art.  Forty  columns  sup- 
port the  roof,  but  no  two  are  alike,  and  great  fertility  of  invention 
is  manifested  in  the  execution  of  the  ornaments.  The  summit  of 
Taragarh  mountain,  overhanging  Ajmir,  is  crowned  by  a  fort,  tho 
lofty  thick  battlements  of  which  run  along  its  brow  and  enclose  the 
table-land.  The  walls  are  2  miles  in  circumference,  and  the  fort  can 
only  be  approached  by  steep  and  very  roughly-paved  planes,  com- 
manded by  the  fort  and  the  outworks,  and  by  the  hill  to  tho  west. 
On  coming  into  the  hands  of  the  English,  the  fort  was  dismantled 
by  order  of  Lord  William  Bentinck,  and  is  now  converted  into  a 
sanitarium  for  the  troops  at  Nasirabad.  Ajmir  was  founded 
about  the  year  145  A.  h.  by  Aji,  a  Chohan,  who  established  the 
dynasty  which  continued  to  rule  the  country  (with  many  vicissi- 
tudes of  fortune)  while  the  repeated  waves  of  Mahometan  invasion 
swept  over  India,  until  it  eventually  became  an  appanage  of  tho 
crown  of  Dehli  in  1193.  Its  internal  government,  however,  was 
handed  over  to  its  ancient  rulers  upon  the  payment  of  a  heavy 
tribute  to  the  conquerors.  It  then  remained . feudatory  to  Dehli 
till  1365,  when  it  was  captured  by  the  ruler  of  Mewdr.  In  1509 
the  place  became  a.source  of  contention  between  the  chiefs  of  Mewir 
and  Marwar,  and  was  ultimately  conquered  in  1532  by  tho  latter 
prince,  who  in  his  turn  in  1559  had  to  give  way  before  the  emperor 
Akbar.  It  continued  in  the  hands  of  the  Mughuls,  with  occasional 
revolts,  till  1770,  when  it  was  ceded  to  the  Marhattas,  from  which 
time  up  to  1818  the  unhappy  district  was  the  scene  of  a  continual 
struggle,  being  seized  at  diluent  times  by  the  Mewir  and  Marwar 
from  whom  it  was  as  often  retaken  by  tho  Marhattas.  In 
1S18  the  latter  ceded  it  to  the  British  in  return  for  a  payment  of 
60,000  rupees.  Since  then  the  country  has  enjoyed  unbroken 
peace  and  a  stable  government. 

AJURUOCA,  a  town  of  Brazil,  in  the  province  of  Minas 
Oeraes,  117  miles  N.  of  Rio  de  Janeiro.  It  is  situated  on 
the  Ajuruoca  river,  which  is  here  crossed  by  a  bridge.  Gold 
was  once  found  in  the  vicinity,  but  the  soil  has  been  long 
exhausted  of  the  precious  metals ;  and  the  people  are 
chiefly  engaged  in  agriculture,  and  in  rearing  animals  for 
the  markets  of  Rio.  The  land  is  fertile,  and  produces 
millet,  mandioca,  coffee,  sugar-cane,  and  tobacco.  The 
population  of  the  town  and  district  is  12,000. 

AKAIJAII,  The  Gulf  of,  the  Sinus  Elanites  of  anti- 
quity, is  the  eaatmost  of  the  two  divisions  into  which  tho 
Red  Sea  bifurcates  near  its  northern  extremity.  It  pene- 
trates into  Arabia  Petnea  in  a  N.N.E,  direction,  from  28° 
to  29°  32'  N.  lat,,  a  distance  of  100  miles,  and  its  breadth 
varies  from  12  to  17  miles.  The  entrance  is  contracted 
by    Tiran   and    other    islands,    so   that    the    passage    is 


rendered  somewhat  difficult;  and  its  navigation  is  danger 
ous  on  account  of  the  numerous  coral  reefs,  and  the  sudden 
squalls  which  sweep  down  from  the  adjacent  mountains, 
many  of  which  rise  perpendicularly  to  a  height  of  2000 
feet.  The  only  well-sheltered  harbeur  is  that  called  the 
Golden  Port,  situated  on  its  western  shore  about  33  miles 
from  the  entrance,  and  29  miles  E.  of  Mount  Sinai. 
About  2i  miles  from  the  head  of  the  gulf  is  the  village 
of  Akabah,  with  a  fortified  castle,  garrisoned  by  a  few 
soldiers  for  the  protection  of  the  Moslem  pilgrims  on  their 
way  to  Mecca.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  village  there  are 
extensive  date  groves ;  and  there  is  abundance  of  good 
water,  fruit,  and  vegetables.  Akabah,  though  now  of 
small  importance,  is  not  devoid  of  historical  interest.  It 
is  supposed  to  occupy  the  eite  of  the  Elath  of  Scripture, 
which  in  remote  ages  carried  en  an  extensive  commerce; 
and  some  ruins  in  the  sea  a  short  distance  southward  are 
surmised  to  be  the  remains  of  Eziongcber. 

AKBAR,  AKDBAJt,  or  Akbee,  Jellaxadin  Moham- 
med, one  of  the  greatest  and  wisest  of  the  Moghul  emperors, 
was  born  at  Amerkote  in  Sindh  on  the  14th  October  1542, 
his  father,  Humayun,  having  been  driven  from  the  throne 
a  short  time  before  by  the  usurper  Sher  Khan.  After  more 
than  twelve  years'  exile,  Humayun  regained  his  sovereignty, 
which,  however,  he  had  held  only  for  a  few  months  when 
he  died.  Akbar  succeeded  his  father  in  155C  under  the 
regency  of  Bahram  Khan,  a  Turkoman  noble,  whose  energy 
in  repelling  pretenders  to  the  throne,  and  severity  in  main- 
taining the  discipline  of  the  army,  tended  greatly  to  the 
consolidation  of  the  newly-recovered  empire.  Bahram, 
however,  was  naturally  despotic  and  cruel;  and  when  order 
was  somewhat  restored,  Akbar  found  it  necessary  to  take 
the  reins  of  government  into  his  own  hands,  which  he  did 
by  a  proclamation. issued  in  March  1560.  The  discarded 
regent  lived  for  some  time  in  rebellion,  endeavouring  to 
establish  an  independent  principality  in  Malwah,  but  at 
last  he  was  forced  to  cast  himself  on  Akbar's  mercy.  The 
emperor  not  only  freely  pardoned  him,  but  magnanimously 
offered  him  the  choice  of  a  high  place  in  tho  army  or  a 
suitable  escort  for  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  and  Bahram 
preferred  the  latter  alternative.  When  Akbar  ascended 
the  throne,  only  a  small  portion  of  what  had  formerly  been 
comprised  within  tho  Moghul  empire  owned  his  authority, 
and  he  devoted  himself  with  great  determination  and  mar- 
vellous success  to  the  recovery  of  the  revolted  provinces. 
Over  each  of  these,  as  it  was  restored,  he  placed  a  governor, 
whom  he  superintended  with  great  vigilance  and  wisdom. 
He  tried  by  every  means  to  develop  and  encourage  com- 
merce; he  had  the  land  accurately  measured  for  the  purpose 
of  rightly  adjusting  taxation ;  he  gave  tho  strictest  instruc- 
tions to  prevent  extortion  on  the  part  of  the  tax-gatherers, 
and  in  many  other  respects  displayed  an  enlightened  and 
equitable  policy.  Thus  it  happened  that,  in  the  fortieth 
year  of  Akbar's  reign  the  empire  had  more  than  regained 
all  that  it  had  lost,  the  recovered  provinces  being  reduced, 
not  to  subjection  only  as  before,  but  to  a  great  degree  of 
peace,  order,  and  contentment.  Akbar's  method  of  dealing 
with  what  must  always  be  the  chief  difficulty  of  one  who 
has  to  rule  widely  diverse  races,  affords  perhaps  the  crown- 
ing evidence  of  his  wisdom  and  moderation.  In  religion 
he  was  at  first  a  Mussulman,  but  the  intolerant  exclu- 
siveness  of  that  creed  was  quite  foreign  to  his  character. 
Scepticism  as  to  the  divine  origin  of  the  Koran  led  him  to 
seek  the  true  religion  in  an  eclectic  system.  He  accord- 
ingly set  himself  to  obtain  information  about  other  religions, 
sent  to  Goa,  requesting  that  the  Portuguese  missionaries 
there  would  visit  him,  and  listened  to  them  with  intelligent 
attention  when  they  came.  As  the  result  of  these  inquiries, 
he  adopted  the  creed  of  pure  deism  and  a  ritual  based 
upon  the  p,v«*erc  of  Zoroaster.     The  religion  thus  founded. 


A  K  E  —  A  K  E 


435 


iiowever,  having  no  vital  force,  never  spread  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  court,  and  died  with  Akbar  himself.  But 
though  his  eclectic  system  failed,  the  spirit  of  toleration 
which  originated  it  produced  in  other  ways  many  import- 
ant results;  and,  indeed,  may  be  said  to  have  done  more 
to  establish  Akbar's  power  on  a  secure  basis  than  all  hio 
economic  and  social  reforms.  He  conciliated  the  Hindoos 
by  giving  them  freedom  of  worship;  while  at  the  same 
time  he  strictly  prohibited  certain  barbarous  Brahminical 
practices,  such  as  trial  by  ordeal  and  the  burning  of  widows 
against  their  will  He  also  abolished  all  taxes  upon  pil- 
grims as  an  interference  with  the  liberty  of  worship,  and 
the  capitation  tax  upon  Hindoos,  probably  upon  similar 
grounds.  Measures  like  these  gained  for  him  during  his  life- 
time the  title  of  "Guardian  of  Mankind,"  and  caused  him  to 
be  held  up  as  a  model  to  Indian  princes  of  later  times,  who 
in  the  matter  of  religious  toleration  have  only  too  seldom 
followed  his  example.  Akbar  was  a  munificent  patron  of 
literature.  He  established  schools  throughout  his  empire 
for  the  education  of  Hindoos  as  well  as  Moslems,  and  he 
gathered  round  him  many  men  of  literary  talent,  among 
whom  may  be  mentioned  the  brothers  Feizi  and  Abul- 
fazl.  The  former  was  commissioned  by  Akbar  to  trans- 
late a  number  of  Sanscrit  scientific  works  into  Persian; 
and  the  latter  (see  Abulfazl)  has  left,  in  the  Akbar-Nameh, 
an  enduring  record  of  the  emperor's  reign.  It  is  also  said 
that  Akbar  employed.  Jerome  Xavier,  a  Jesuit  missionary, 
to  translate  the  four  Gospels  into  Persian.  The  closing 
years  of  Akbar's  reign  were  rendered  very  unhappy  by  the 
misconduct  of  his  sons.  Two  of  them  died  in  youth,  the 
victims  of  intemperance;  and  the  third,  Selim,  afterwards 
the  emperor  Jehanghir,  was  frequently  in  rebellion  against 
his  father.  These  calamities  were  keenly  felt  by  Akbar,  and 
may  even  have  tended  to  hasten  his  death,  which  occurred 
at  Agra  on  the  13th  October  1605.  His  body  was  deposited 
in  a  magnificent  mausoleum  at  Sicandra,  near  Agra. 

AKEN,  or  Acken,  a  town  in  Prussian  Saxony,  situated 
on  the  Elbe,  25  miles  E.S.E.  of  Magdeburg,  close  to  the 
frontiers  of  Anhalt.  It  has  manufactures  of  cloth,  leather, 
chemicals,  and  optical  instruments;  large  quantities  of 
beetroot  sugar  are  produced  in  the  neighbourhood;  and 
there  is  a  considerable  transit  trade  on  the  Elbe.  Popula- 
tion (1871),  5273. 

AKENSIDE,  Mark.  Like  young  Henry  Kirke  White, 
the  poet  of  the  Pleasures  of  Imagination  was  the  son  of  a 
butcher.  He  was  born  at  Newcastle-on-Tyne  on  November 
9th,  1721.  His  school  was  the  free  one  founded  by  a 
former  mayor  of  Newcastle,  Thomas  Horsley.  Later,  one 
of  the  ministers  of  the  Presbyterians  added  to  his  school- 
acquired  knowledge  in  private.  In  his  sixteenth  year  he 
sent  to  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  a  copy  of  verses  entitled 
"  Tfee  Virtuoso."  Sylvanus  Urban  graciously  printed  the 
poem :  but  the  old  man  was  not  difficult  to  please.  Other 
verse  contributions  succeeded — imitative,  yet  not  without 
gleams  of  a  true  faculty:  Some  written  in  the  Lake 
country,  while  on  visits  with  friends  at  Morpeth,  have 
Wordsworthian  touches.  The  memories  of  these  visits 
transfigure  the  Pleasures  of  Imagination.  In  his  nineteenth 
year,  being  intended  for  the  clerical  profession,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  the  university  of  Edinburgh;  but  within  one 
session,  like  many  others,  he.  changed  his  purpose,  and 
transferred  his  name  from  the  theological  to  the  medical 
classes — although,  indeed,  then,  as  still,  the  opening  years 
•were  occupied  with  the  same  studies  for  either.  On  his 
change  he  honourably  returned  certain  moneys  which  his 
fellow  Presbyterians  had  advanced  towards  his  theological 
education.  He  attended  the  university  for  only  two  years. 
While  there,  in  1740,  a  medical  society,  which  combined' 
with  it  a  debating  club,  gave  him  a  fine  field  for  the 
exercise    of    his    oratorical    powers.     '  Dugald    Stewart 


states  that  Robertson  the  historian,  then  a  student  of 
divinity,  used  to  attend  the  meetings  in  order  to  hear 
Akenside's  speeches.  Some  of  his  miuor  poems  belong  to 
this  period,  such  as  his  Ode  "  for  the  Winter  Solstice," 
the  elegy  called  "  Love,"  and  the  verses  "  to  Cordelia." 
He  returned  to  his  native  toWn  in  1741,  and  then  his 
friendship  with  Jeremiah  Dyson  had  commenced,  "  a  name 
never  to  be  mentioned  by  any  lovei  of  genius  or  noble 
deeds  without  affection  and  reverence"  (Willmott).  Iu 
the  years  1741  to  1743  he  must  have  been  ardent  in  his 
wooing  of  the  Muses.  In  the  summer  or  autumn  of  1743 
Dodsley  carried  with  him  to  Pope  at  Twickenham  a  MS. 
for  which  the  writer  asked  £120.  The  oracle  of  Twicken- 
ham having  read  the  poem,  counselled  the  publisher  to 
make  no  niggardly  offer,  because  "this  was  no  every-day 
writer."  It  was  something  for  Pope  to  be  thus  prescient 
in  the  absence  of  rhyme — albeit  Pope's  insertions  in  The 
Seasons  remain  to  attest  that,  supreme  artist  as  he  was  in 
rhyme,  he  could  also  manage  blank  verse  with  exquisite 
cunningness.  The  MS.  was  the  Pleasures  of  Imagination, 
which  Dodsley  published  in  1744.  It  his  twenty-third 
year  the  author,  like  Byron,  awoke  to  find  himself  famous. 
The  assaults  of  Warburton  and  Hurd  were  scarcely  a  deduc- 
tion from  the  universal  welcome.  The  poet's  "Epistle"  to 
Warburton  was  effective.  He  went  to  Leyden,  and  there 
pursued  his  medicai  studies  with  ardour.  He  obtained  the 
degree  of  M.D.,  May  16th,  1744;  his  inaugural  disserta- 
tion describing  the,  formation  and  growth  of  the  human 
foetus  with  original  observation  and  acuteness.  He  now 
returned  to  England,  advancing  more  and  more  in  his 
friendship  with  the  good  and  large-hearted  Dyson.  He 
chose  Northampton  as  the  place  wherein  he  should  com- 
mence practice.  It  was  an  unfortunate  selection,  as  Sir 
James  Storehouse  "  possessed  the  confidence  of  the  town," 
and  it  was  deemed  an  intrusion.  A  not  very  creditable 
controversy  arose;  and  we  are  at  a  loss  whether  most  to 
admire  the  stinging  rebuffs  in  honeyed  courtesies  or  the 
mutual  pretence  of  ultimate  satisfaction  and  good-will.  At 
Northampton  Akenside  was  on  friendly  terms  with  Dr 
Doddridge.  There,  too,  he  wrote  his  "  Epistle  to  Curio," 
which  Lord  Macaulay  pronounced  his  best  production,  as 
"  indicating  powers  of  elevated  satire,  which,  if  diligently 
cultivated,  might  have  disputed  the  pre-eminence  of  Dry- 
den."  Willmott  traces  some  of  the  most  nervous  lines  of 
the  Pleasures  of  Hope  to  this  "  Epistle  to  Curio."  Not 
succeeding  in  his  profession  at  Northampton,  he  removed 
to  Hampstead  in  1747.  The  Odes  had  then  been  published. 
Dr  Akenside  came  to  Hampstead  under  the  aegis  of  the 
generous  Dyson.  Somehow,  in  Hampstead  as  at  North- 
ampton, he  manifested  a  vanity  of  self-display  and  hauteur 
of  manner  that  made  him  many  enemies.  Within  three 
years  he  had  to  leave  Hampstead  for  London.  He  set 
up  in  Bloomsbury  Square  in  a  "fine  house,"  and  with 
an  annuity  of  £300  from  the  still  ungrudging  Dyson. 
One  is  pleased  to  come  on  these  words  of  a  far  greater  poet 
a  century  later,  "I  am  not  unfrequently,"wiote  Wordsworth 
in  1837,  "a  visitor  on  Hampstead  Heath,  and  I  seldom  pass 
by  the  entrance  of  Mr  Dyson's  villa  at  Goulder's  Hill, 
close  by,  without  thinking  of  the  pleasure  which  Akenside 
often  had  there."  The  generous  clerk  of  the  House  of 
Commons  and  secretary  of  the  Treasury  nobly  earned  his 
imperishable  place  in  the  (revised)  Pleasures  of  Imagina- 
tion. Contemporaneous  with,  his  professional  duties,  the 
poet  became  an  essayist  and  reviewer  for  Dodsley  in  the 
now  forgotten  Museum.  In  1753  the  university  of  Cam- 
bridge bestowed  on  him  the  degree  of  doctor  of  medicine. 
In  1754  he  was  elected  a  fellow  of  the  College  of  Physi- 
cians. In  1755  he  read  before  the  college  the  Gulstonian 
Lectures;  and  in  1756  the  Croonian  Lectures.  In  1759 
he  was  chosen  assistant,  and  two  months  later  chief. 


436 


AKE-AKO 


physician  of  St  Thomas's  Hospital.  In  this  year  he  had 
removed  to  Craven  Street  In  1762  he  changed  once  more 
to  Burlington  Street.  In  1760  was  published  the  Harveian 
Oration  by  order  of  the  College  of  Physicians.  In  1761, 
along  with  Dyson,  he  passed  from  a  somewhat  noisy 
Whiggery  to  the  Tories,  which  added  "  renegade"  to  his 
name.  In  1765-6  he  was  working  upon  the  revised  and 
enlarged  copy  of  the  Pleasures  of  Imagination.  His  fame 
was  widening  professionally  and  poetically,  when  a  putrid 
fever  carried  him  off  suddenly  on  June  23d,  1770.  He 
was  buried  at  St  James'»  Church  on  the  28th.  As  a  man, 
the  nearer  one  gets  to  Akenside  the  less  is  there  lovable 
about  him;  there  seem  to  have  been  ineradicable  mean- 
nesses in  his  nature.  Lavish  in  his  expenditure  while 
practically  dependent  on  Dyson,  and  remaining  dependent 
after  his  professional  income  ought  to  have  released  his 
patron,  we  cannot  think  of  him  as  high-minded.  His 
personal  vanity  was  constantly  bringing  him  sorenesses. 
The  "  Doctor  "  in  Peregrine  Pickle  was  painted  from  the 
life,  not  a  mere  creation  of  Smollett's  genius.  As  a  poet, 
the  place  of  Akenside  is  secure,  but  it  is  not  very  lofty. 
His  imagination  is  rhetorical  rather  than  subtle,  consisting 
more  of  pomp  of  words  than  greatness  of  thought.  His 
chief  defect  is  lack  of  emotion,  and  especially  pathos.  The 
enlarged  Pleasures  of  Imagination,  notwithstanding  some 
roblo  additions,  was  a  blunder.  Some  of  his  minor  pieces 
have  a  classical  grace  and  charm  of  expression.  (See  the 
original  editions  of  his  writings ;  Bucke's  Life,  Writings, 
and  Genius  of  Akenside,  1832;  Dyce  and  Willmott's  edition 
of  his  Poems;  Cunningham's  Johnson's  Lives  of  the  Poets, 
B.v. ;  Biog.  Brit.;  Medical  Biog.,  s.v.)  (a.  b.  O.) 

AKERBLAD,  Jan  David  (1760-1819),  a  learned 
Swede,  distinguished  for  his  researches  in  Runic,  Coptic, 
Phoenician,  and  ancient  Egyptian  literature.  He  entered 
the  diplomatic  service  as  secretary  to  the  Swedish  embassy 
at  Constantinople,  and  utilised  the  leisure  which  the  situa- 
tion afforded  by  visiting  Jerusalem  (1792)  and  the  Troad 
(1797).  After  an  interval  spent  at  Gottingen,  he  was 
appointed  ambassador  to  Paris.  His  last  years  were  passed 
at  Rome,  where  he  enjoyed  a  pension  from  the  Duchess 
of  Devonshire.  Akerblad  was  a  diligent  student  of  hiero- 
glyph ics  ;  and  though  he  failed  to  decipher  the  Rosetta 
stone,  he  arrived  at  certain  conjectural  conclusions  with 
regard  to  'the  true  method  of  interpretation,  which  were 
afterwards  confirmed  by  Dr  Young.  His  works  include 
letters  on  the  Coptish  cursive  writing  and  on  the  Rosetta 
inscription,  both  addressed  to  M.  de  Sacy ;  and  a  number 
of  pamphlets  on  the  interpretation  of  various  Runic  and 
Phoenician  inscriptions. 

AK.ERM  AN  (perhaps  the  ancient  Tyros  or  Julia  Alba), 
a  town  of  Russia  in  Europe,  in  the  province  of  Bessarabia, 
on  a  tongue  of  land  projecting  into  the  estuary  of  the 
Dniester.  Its  harbour  is  too  shallow  to  admit  vessels  of 
large  size;  but  the  trade  of  the  town  is,  notwithstand- 
ing, very  considerable.  Large  quantities  of  salt  are  ob- 
tained from  the  saline  lakes  in  the  neighbourhood;  and 
corn,  wine,  wool,  and  leather  are  among  the  other  exports. 
The  town,  which  is  ill-built,  contains  several  mosques  and 
Greek  and  Armenian  churches ;  it  is  guarded  by  ramparts, 
and  is  commanded  by  a  citadel  placed  on  an  eminence. 
Akerman  derives  some  historical  celebrity  from  the  treaty 
concluded  there  in  1826  between  Russia  and  the  Porte, 
securing  considerable  advantages  to  the  former.  It  was 
the  non-observance  of  this  treaty  by  Turkey  that  led  to  the 
war  of  1828.     Population  (1867),  29,609. 

AKERMAN,  John  Yonge,  an  antiquarian,  distinguished 
chiefly  in  the  department  of  numismatics,  was  born  in 
Wiltshire  on  the  1 2th  June  1806.  He  became  early  known 
in  connection  with  his  favourite  study,  having  initiated  the 
Numismatic  Journal  in  1836.     In  the  following  year  he 


became  the  secretary  of  the  newly-established  Numisms»t;c 
Society.  In  1848  he  was  elected  secretary  to  the  Society 
of  Antiquaries,  an  office  which  he  was  compelled  to  resign 
in  1860  on  account  of  failing  health.  He  died  on  ltith 
November  1873.  Akerman  published  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  works  on  his  special  subject,  the  more  important 
being  a  Catalogue  of  Roman  Coins  (1839);  a  Numismatic 
Manual  (1840);  Roman  Coins  relating  to  Britain  (1844), 
for  which  he  received  the  medal  of  the  French  Institute; 
Ancient  Coins — Ilispania,  Gallia,  Britannia  (1846);  and 
Numismatic  Illustrations  of  the  New  Testament  (1846).  He 
wrote  also  a  Glossary  of  Words  used  in  Wiltshire  (1842); 
Wiltshire  Tales,  illustrative  of  the  Dialect  (1853);  and 
Remains  of  Pagan  Saxondom  (1855). 

AKHALZIKH,  a  city  of  Georgia,  in  Asiatic  Russia,  on 
an  affluent  of  the  Kur,  110  miles  west  of  Tiflis,  in  41°  40' 
N.  lat.,  43°  1'  E.  long.  It  contains  a  strong  castle,  a  college 
and  library,  and  a  fine  mosque,  and  has  a  considerable  trade 
in  silk,  honey,  and  wax.    Population  (1867),  15,977. 

AE.HISSAR,  the  ancient  Thyatira,  a  town  of  Turkey 
in  Asia,  in  Anatolia,  58  miles  N.E.  of  Smyrna.  The  inha- 
bitants are  Greeks,  Armenians,  and  Turks.  The  houses 
are  built  of  earth  or  turf  dried  in  the  sun,  and  are  very 
low  and  ill-constructed;  but  there  are  six  or  seven  mosques, 
which  are  all  of  marble.  .  Remarkable  inscriptions  are  to  be 
seen  in  several  parts  of  the  town  on  portions  of  the  ruins 
of  the  ancient  city.  Cotton  of  excellent  quality  is  grown 
in  the  neighbourhood,  and  the  place  is  celebrated  for  its 
scarlet  dyes.     Population,  about  6000. 

AKHTYRKA,  a  town  of  Russia  in  Europe,  in  the 
Ukraine,  situated  on  a  river  of  the  same  name,  45  miles 
N.W.  of  Kharkov.  It  has  eight  churches,  one  of  which, 
containing  an  image  of  the  Virgin,  is  hold  in  great  venera- 
tion. The  town  is  enclosed  by  ditches ;  and  the  environs 
are  fertile,  the  orchards  producing  excellent  fruit.  There 
are  some  manufactures  of  light  woollen  stuffs,  and  a  great 
market  is  held  annually  in  May.  Population  (1867),  17,411. 

AK1BA,  Ben  Joseph,  a  famous  rabbi  who  flourished 
about  the  close  of  the  first  and  the  beginning  of  the  second 
centuries.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  separate  the  true  from 
the  false  in  the  numerous  traditions  respecting  his  life. 
He  became  the  chief  teacher  in  the  rabbinical  school  of 
Jaffa,  where,  it  is  said,  he  had  24,000  scholars.  What- 
ever their  number,  it  seems  certain  that  among  them  was 
the  celebrated  Rabbi  Meir,  and  that  through  him  and 
others  Akiba  exerted  a  great  influence  on  the  development 
of  the  doctrines  embodied  in  the  Talmud.  He  sided  with 
Barchochebas  in  his  revolt,  recognised  him  as  the  Messiah, 
and  acted  as  his  sword-bearer.  Being  taken  prisoner  by 
the  Romans  under  Julius  Severus,  he  was  flayed  alive 
with  circums.ances  of  great  cruelty,  and  met  his  fate, 
according  to  tradition,  with  marvellous  steadfastness  and 
composure.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  hundred  and  twenty 
years  old  at .  the  time  of  his  death.  The  Jews  were  long 
accustomed  to  pay  visits  to  his  tomb,  and  he  is  one  of  the 
ten  Jewish  martyrs  whose  names  occur  in  a  penitential 
prayer  still  used  once  a  year  in  the  synagogue  service.  A 
number  of  works  commonly  attributed  to  Akiba  are  of 
later  origin;  but  the  one  entitled  *?*??.  "'?;■;  "»?  (Doctrine 
of  Rabbi  Akiba)  is  probably  genuine. 

AKOLA,  a  district  and  city  of  British  India,  in  the 
commissionership  of  West  Berar,  within  the  Haidarabad 
assigned  districts.  Akola  district  lies  between  20°  23' 
and  21°  10'  N.  lat.,  and  between  76°  25'  and  77°  19'  E. 
long.;  its  greatest  length  from  N.  to  S.  being  72  milesrand 
its  greatest  breadth  from  E.  to  W.  63  miles.  It  is  bounded 
on  the  N.  by  the  Satpura  range ;  on  the  E.  by  Elichput 
district ;  on  the  S.  by  the  Satmal  and  Ajanta  hills ;  and 
on  the  W.  by  the  Buldana  and  Khandesh  districts.  The 
total  area  of  the  district  in  1869  was  2697$  square  miles. 


4K0-AKY 


437 


or  1,726,625  acres,  of  which  1,326,583  acres,  or  2072-78 
square  miles  were  under  cultivation;  127,003  acres,  or 
198'45  square  miles,  cultivable  but  not  actually  under 
tillage;  41,198  acres,  or  64'37  square  miles,  alienated  land 
held  rent  free;  the  remaining  231,842  acres,  or  36225 
square  miles,  consisting  chiefly  of  unarable  land,  but  includ- 
ing river-beds,  tanks,  village  sites,  pasturage  land,  or  land 
occupied  for  public  uses,  <fcc.  The  population  of  the  dis- 
trict in  1869  numbered  487,558— viz.,  Hindus,  433,238; 
Mahometans,  39,030;  aborigines,  15,157;  Christians,  78; 
Parsfs,  45;  Jews,  10.  The  district  is  square  in  shape 
and  almost  of  a  dead  level,  with  the  exception  of  two 
conical-shaped  hills  which  stand  out  quite  apart  from  any 
other  eminences,  and  rise  straight  up  from  the  plain.  The 
principal  river  of  Akola,  which,  although  not  navigable, 
represents  the  main  line  of  drainage,  and  into  which  the 
other  streams  discharge  themselves,  is  the  Pdrna,  flowing 
east  and  west.  The  principal  tributaries  on  its  south 
bank  are  the  Kata  Puma,  Murna,  Num,  and  Bordi ;  and 
on  its  north  bank,  the  Shahnur,  Idriipa,  and  Wiin.  None 
of  these  streams  are  navigable,  and  some  of  them  almost 
dry  up  after  the  rainy  season. 

The  extension  line  of  the  Great  Indian  Peninsular  Railway  from 
Bhosawal  to  Nagpur  intersects  the  district,  with  stations  at  Jalam 
Shegaon,  Paras,  Akola,  and  Borgaon.  Of  eight  main  roads, 
three  have  been  metalled.  The  first  runs  from  Akola  to  Akot,  a 
rising  cotton  mart,  and  is  28  miles  in  length,  running  north-north- 
east. It  is  metalled,  and  all  the  smaller  water-courses  are  bridged. 
The  Purna  and  Shahnur  rivers,  however,  cross  the  line,  and  are  not 
bridged,  a  circumstance  which  impairs  the  usefulness  of  the  road 
during  the  rainy  season.  The  second  road  is  known  as  the  Basim 
road,  and  runs  for  24  miles  southwards  through  the  district.  The 
third  road  is  12  miles  long,  from  Khamgaon  to  Nandura  railway 
station,  and  is  metalled  throughout.  The  other  five  lines  of  road  are 
neither  bridged  nor  metalled,  but  only  marked  out  and  levelled. 
The  district  imports  piece  goods  from  Bombay,  and  food  grains  from 
the  adjoining  districts.  Its  principal  exports  ore  cotton  to  Bombay, 
clarified  butter,  dyes  (indigo  and  kusamba),  and  cattle.  Internal 
trade  is  chiefly  carried  on  at  weekly  markets  and  by  annual  fairs. 
The  principal  manufacture  of  the  district  is  the  weaving  of  cotton. 
Carpets  and  coarse  cloths  are  woven  in  almost  every  ■  village,  with 
turbans  at  Balapur,  and  silk  cloths  for  native  women  at  Akola 
and  in  the  larger  towns.  The  principal  agricultural  products  are  as 
follows  : — The  wet  weather  or  kharif  crop  consists  of  joar  (eighteen 
varieties);  bajra  (two  kinds);  cotton  (two  kinds);  tur,  urid,  and 
mug  (three  kinds  of  pulse) ;  rice  and  kulkar  (a  smaller  variety  of 
rice) ;  Indian  corn  ;  rala  ;  ganja  ;  ajwan  ;  indigo  ;  and  til  (oil-seeds 
of  two  kinds).  The  cold  weather  or  rabi  crop  consists  of — wheat 
(three  kinds) ;  gram ;  linseed ;  lakh  (a  pulse) ;  peas ;  ihusuri ;  tobacco ; 
and  mustard.  The  principal  articles  of  garden  produce  are  the  follow- 
ing : — Sugar-cane  (two  kinds) ;  Indian  corn  (two  kinds) ;  ground 
nuts ;  onions ;  garlic ;  coriander ;  pan  leaves ;  chillies ;  opium ;  sweet 
potatoes  ;  grapes  ;  plantains  ;  saffron ;  and  numerous  kinds  of  vege- 
tables. A  tenure  peculiar  to  Akola  is  that  known  as  metkart  hold- 
ings. These  consist  of  certain  strips  of  land  extending  along  the 
whole  breadth  of  the  district  at  the  foot  of  the  frontier  range.  They 
are  now  of  considerable  value,  and  were  originally  held  as  payment 
for  the  maintenance  of  a  chain  of  outposts  or  watch-towers  on 
elevated  points  in  the  ridge,  with  a  view  to  giving  warning  of  the 
approach  of  the  Bhil  or  Gond  banditti,  and  warding  off  their  attacks. 
Seven  towns  are  returned  as  containing  a  population  exceeding  3000 
— vii,  Akola  (the  capital  of  the  district),  population  12,236 ;  Akot, 
one  of  the  principal  cotton  marts  of  Berar,  and  also  celebrated  for  its 
cotton  manufacture,  14,006 ;  Khamgaon,  now  the  largest  cotton  mart 
in  the  province,  but  which  has  only  sprung  into  importance  within 
recent  times,  9432  ;  Balapur,  one  of  the  chief  military  stations 
in  the  Berars  during  the  Mahometan  rule,  12,631  ;  Jalgaon,  an 
important  cotton  market,  8763  ;  Patur,  6011  ;  Shegaon,  a  station 
on  the  Great  Indian  Peninsular  Kailway,  and  a  cotton  market, 
7450.  In  1869  there  were  1  higher  class,  10  middle  class,  and  63 
lower  schools  for  boys  in  Akola  district ;  besides  7  female  schools 
and  1  normal  school  for  training  Hindustani  and  Marhati  masters, 
making  a  total  of  82  schools  in  all.  For  the  protection  of  person 
and  property  there  were  in  1869 13  police  stations  and  12  outposts, 
with  a  regular  police  force  of  636  officers  and  men,  equal  to  one  man 
to  every  five  miles  of  the  district  area,  or  one  man  to  every  909  of 
the  population. 

AkoiX  Town,  the  headquarters  of  the  district  of  the 
same  name,  and  also  of  the  west  Berar  division  of  the 
HnidaraLAd  assigned  territory,  is  situated  on  the  Nagpur 


extension  of  the  Great  Indian  Peninsular  Railway,  in  20" 
6'  N.  lat.,  and  76°  2'  E  long.  The  town  contains  three  or 
four  wealthy  merchants;  and  two  markets  are  held  each 
week — one  on  Sundays,  the  other  on  Wednesdays.  The 
commissioner's  and  deputy-commissioner's  court-houses,  the 
central  jail  (capable  of  holding  500  prisoners),  the  post- 
office,  and  barracks  or  rest-houses  for  European  troops, 
close  to  the  station,  are  the  principal  public  buildings. 
Besides  these,  there  are  a  civil  hospital,  a  charitable  dispen- 
sary, an  English  high  school,  a  town-hall,  and  an  English 
church.  A  detachment  of  infantry  is  stationed  at  the  town. 
Population  in  1869,  12,236. 

AKRON,  a  town  of  the  United  States,  capital  of  Sum- 
mit county,  Ohio,  situated  on  the  Atlantic  and  Great 
Western  Railway,  and  on  the  Ohio  and  Erie  Canal,  at  its 
junction  with  the  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  Canal,  36  miles 
S.  of  Cleveland.  By  means  of  the  canal  and  the  Little 
Cuyahoga  river  the  town  is  amply  supplied  with  water- 
power,  which  is  employed  in  a  variety  of  manufactures ; 
and  its  mercantile  business  is  extensive.  It  has  several 
flour  mills,  woollen  factories,  and  manufactories  of  iron 
goods.  Mineral  fire-proof  paint,  immense  beds  of  which 
are  found  in  the  vicinity,  and  wheat  are  important  articles 
of  export.  Akron  was  founded  in  1825,  and  was  made  the 
capital  of  the  county  in  1841.    Population  in  1870, 10,006. 

AK-SU,  a  town  of  Chinese  Turkestan,  is  situated  in 
41°  7'  N.  lat.,  79°  E.  long.,  250  miles  N.E  of  Yarkand. 
It  has  a  flourishing  trade,  and  is  resorted  to  for  purposes 
of  commerce  by  caravans  from  all  parts  of  Central  Asia. 
There  are  some  cotton  manufactures;  and  the  place  is 
celebrated  for  its  richly-ornamented  saddlery  made  from 
deer-skin.  A  Chinese  garrison  is  stationed  here,  and 
copper  and  iron  are  wrought  in  the  neighbourhood  by 
exiled  Chinese  criminals.'  The  district  is  well  cultivated, 
and  sheep  and  cattle  are  extensively  reared.  The  popula- 
tion of  the  town  is  about  20,000 ;  that  of  the  town  and 
district  100,000. 

AKYAB,  a  district  and  city  within  the  Arakan  division 
of  British  Burmah,  and  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  chief 
commissioner  of  that  province.  The  district  lies  along  the 
north-eastern  shores  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  between  20" 
and  2 1  £°  N.  lat. ,  and  92°  1 2'  and  9  4°  E.  long.  It  forms  the 
northernmost  district  of  British  Burmah,  and  the  largest 
of  the  three  districts  of  the  Arakan  division.  It  is  bounded 
on  the  N.  by  the  Chittagong  district  of  Bengal;  on  the  E. 
by  the  Sumadoung  ranges,  which  separate  it  from  Inde- 
pendent Burmah;  on  the  S.  by  the  Arakan  districts  of 
Ramri  and  Sandoway ;  and  on  the  W.  by  the  Bay  of  Bengal 
In  1871  the  frontier  or  hill  tracts  of  the  district  were  placed 
under  a  special  administration,  with  a  view  to  the  better 
government  of  the  wild  tribes  which  inhabit  them.  The) 
present  area  is  returned  at  4858  square  miles,  of  which 
621  square  miles  are  cultivated,  913  cultivable  but  not 
actually  under  tillage,  and  3424  square  miles  uncultivable 
and  waste.  The  population  of  the  district  in  1872 
amounted  to  263,152,  of  whom'  192,885  were  Buddhists 
or  Jains,  47,349  Mahometans,  8687  Hindus,  13,928  abori- 
gines, and  303  Christians.  The  central  part  of  the  district 
consists  of  three  fertile  valleys,  watered  by  the  Myu, 
Koladyne,  and  Lemyu.  These  rivers  approach  each  other 
at  their  mouths,  and  form  a  vast  network  of  tidal  chan- 
nels, creeks,  and  islands.  Their  alluvial  valleys  yield 
inexhaustible  supplies  of  rice,  which  the  abundant  water 
carriage  brings  down  to  the  port  of  Akyab  at  a  very  cheap 
rata  The  four  chief  towns  are  Khumgchii  in  the  extreme 
north-east  of  the  district;  Koladyne  in  the  centre;  Arakan, 
further. down  the  rivers;  and  Akyab  on  the  coast,  where 
their  mouths  converge.  This  district  passed  into  the  hands 
of  the  British,  together  with  the  rest  of  Arakan  division, 
|  at  the  close  of  the  first  Burmese  war  of  1825. 


438 


A  K  Y  —  A  L  A 


Aiyab,  Town  and  Poet,"  situated  at  the  point  of  con- 
vergence of  the  three  large  rive  "8  Myu,  Koladyne,  and 
Leniyu,  £0°  9'  X.  lat.,  and  92°  56'  E.  long.,  is  the  chief 
town  of  the  district  of  the  same  name,  and  the  most  flourish- 
ing city  of  the  Arakan  division.  The  town  is  regularly 
built,  with  broad  streets  running  at  right  angles  to  each 
other.  The  port  is  commodious,  is  the  seat  of  a  large  export 
trade  in  rice,  and  possesses  steam  communication  direct 
with  Calcutta  once  a  fortnight,  except  during  the.  south-west 
monsoon.  The  population  in  1871-72  numbered  15,281. 
Akyab  monopolises  almost  the  whole  sea-borne  trade  of  the 
province  of  Arakan,  amounting  in  1871-72  to  £1,345,417; 
to  which  the  export  of  nee  contributed  £105,894.  During 
1871-72,  256  vessels,  of  a  total  burden  of  129,061  tons, 
entered  the  port;  and  262  vessels,  of  a  burden  of  130,203 
tons,  cleared. 

ALABAMA,  one  of  the  Southern  States  of  the  North 
American  Union,  lies  between  30°  13'  and  35°  N.  lat.,  and 
between  85°  and  88°  35'  W.  long.'  It  is  bounded  by 
Florida  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the  S.,  Mississippi 
on  the  W.,  Tennessee  on  the  N.,  and  Georgia  on  the  E. 


Its  length  i3  330  miles,  average  breadth  154,  and  area 
50,722  square  miles.  The  Alleghany  range  stretches 
into  the  northern  portion  of  the  state,  but  the  elevation 
is  nowhere  great ;  the  centre  is  also  hilly  and  broken ;  on 
the  south,  however,  for  nearly  60  miles  inland,  the  country 
is  very  flat,  and  raised  but  little  above  the  sea-leveL 
The  Alabama  is  the  chief  river  of  the  state-.  It  is 
formed  by  the  junction  of  the  Coosa  and  the  Talapoosa, 
which  unite  about  10  miles  above  the  city  of  Mont- 
gomery. Forty-five  miles  above  Mobile  the  Alabama  is 
joined  by  the  Tombigbee,  and  from  that  point  is  known 
as  the  Mobile  River.  It  is  navigable  from  Mobile  to 
Wetumpka,  on  the  Coosa,  some  460  miles.  The  Tombig- 
bee is  navigable  to  Columbus,  and  the  Black  'Warrior,  one 
of  its  chief  tributaries,  to  Tuscaloosa.  The  Tennessee 
flows  through  the  northern  portion  of  the  state,  and  the 
Chattahoochee  forms  part  of  its  eastern  boundary.  The 
climate  of  Alabama  is  semi-tropical.  The  temperature 
ranges  from  82°  to  18°  Fahr.  in  winter,  and  in  summer 


from  105°  to  60°;  the  mean  temperature  for  the  year  "being 
a  little  over  60°.  The  average  severity  of  the  winter 
months  is  considered  to  have  increased — a  result  due,  it  is 
said,  mainly  to  the  felling  of  the  forests,  which  gives  more 
unrestricted  scope  to  the  cold  north-west  winds  from  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  The  uplands  are  healthy,  but  the  in- 
habitants of  the  low-lying  lands  aie  subject  to  attacks  of 
intermittent,  bilious,  and  congestive  fevers.  The  stratified 
rocks  of  the  state  belong  to  the  Silurian,  carboniferous, 
cretaceous,  and  tertiary  systems.  The  silurian  strata  throw 
up  numerous  mineral  springs  along  the  line  of  the  anti- 
clinal axes,  some  of  which,  such  as  Blount  Springs  and 
the  St  Clair  .Springs,  are  much  resorted  to  for  their  health- 
giving  properties.  There  are  also  several  noted  springs 
arising  from  the  tertiary  beds,  such  as  those  of  Tallahatta 
and  Bladon.  Alabama  possesses  extensive  coal  deposits. 
Mr  Tait,  the  state  commissioner  for  the  industrial  resources 
of  Alabama,  considers  that  the  area  of  the  coal-lands  in 
the  state  amounts  to  5500  square  miles,  of  which  5000 
belong  to  the  Warrior,  and  the  remaining  500  to  the 
Cahawba  and  Coosa  fields.  Assuming  that  only  one-half  of 
this  area  can  be  worked  to  advantage,. Mr  Tait  further  esti- 
mates the  aggregate  possible  yield  at  52,250,000,000  tons. 
At  present,  however,  the  annual  output  probably  does  not 
exceed  12,000  tons.  In  regard  to  iron,  the  natural  wealth 
of  Alabama  is  also  very  great.  Mr  Tait  asserts  that  a 
ridgo  of  iron,  of  an  average  thickness  of  15  feet,  runs 
parallel  to  one  of  the  principal  railway  lines  for  a  distance 
of  100  miles ;  and  in  other  parts  of  the  country  there  are 
large  deposits  of  ore,  both  red  hematite  and  blackband. 
The  ores  of  Alabama  are  said  to  yield  from  10  to  20  per 
cent  more  iron  than  those  of  Britain.  Grcnite,- marble, 
flagstones,  roofing-slate,  lime,  and  porcelain  clay,  are 
among  the  other  mineral  products.  A  little  gold  has 
also  been  found  in  the  state. 

The  soil  of  Alabama  varies*  greatly  in  character,  but  is 
for  the  most  part  productive  to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent, 
except  in  the  south,  where  there  are  considerable  tracts  of 
sandy,  barren,  and  almost  worthless  soiL  •  The  forests  are 
mainly  in  the  central  and  northern  parts  of  the  state,  and 
embrace  oaks,  poplars,  cedars,  chestnuts,  pines,  hickories, 
mulberries,  elms,  and  cypresses.  The  following  table 
exhibits  the  chief  agricultural  statistics  of  Alabama  for 
1870,  as  compared  with  1860,  the  year  before  the  war: — 


1870. 

1860. 

Land  in 

Improved,    .     . 

.     acres 

6,062,204 

6,385,724 

Farms. 

Unimproved,     . 

9,898,974 

12,718,821 

Live  Stock 

80,770 
76,675 

127,063 
111.687 

Moles  and  Aaooe, 

■    • .  • 

on 

487,163 

773,396 

Farms. 

* 

241,934 

370,156 

I  Swine,     .    .    • 

*     . 

719,757 

1,748,321 

/Indian  Com,    . 

bushels 

16,977,948 

33,226,282 

Wheat,    .     .     . 

1,055,063 

1,218,444 

18,977 

72,457 

770,866 

882, 

Potatoes,      .    . 

2,033,872 

5,931. 

Chief      1 

Pease  and  Beans, 

156,574 

1,4*2,036 

Products. 

Butter,    .         ■ 

tt> 

8,213,753 

6,02?,  478 

Cotton,    .    . 

bales 

429,482 

989,955 

Wool,      .    .    . 

881,253 

775,117 

Rice 

lb 

222,945 

493,465 

Tobacco,      .    . 

152, 742 

232,914 

^Molasses,     .    . 

gallons 

433,281 

140,768 

Alabama  possesses  comparatively  few  manufactures.  It 
is  estimated  that  in  1870  the  capital  invested  amounted 
to  £1,140,806,  and  the  total  products  in  the  same  year 
were  valued  at  £2,608,124.  There  were  in  1870  thirteen 
establishments  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods,  whoso 
products  amounted  in  all  to  2,843,000  ft,  including 
4,518,403  yards  of  sheetings  and  shirtings,  and  1,039,321 


^ 


1     . 


ALA-ALA 


439 


yards  of  ginghams  and  checks.  In  the  same  year  613  flour 
m0l3  operated  on  3,298,848  bushels  of  grain.  There  were 
234  lumber  mills,  producing  1,115,000  laths,  97,192  feet 
of  lumber,  and  1,422,000  shingles.  In  the  iron  manufac- 
tures there  has  been  a  marked  advance,  which  is  the  more 
noticeable  because  several  other  industries  have  experienced 
a  serious  decline.  Thus,  in  1850  the  quantity  of  ore  used 
for  making  pig-iron  was  only  1138  tons,  in  1860  it  had 
risen  to  3720  tons,  and  in  1870  to  11,350;  the  value  of 
the  products  being  respectively  £4500,  £12,918,  and 
£42,051.  Alabama  has  also  manufactories  of  rolled  and 
cast  iron;  but  the  rise  in  the  value  of  their  products  is  not  so 
marked.  There  are,  besides,  tanneries,  carriage  and  waggon 
works,  an  1  machinery  factories,  in  addition  to  industries 
of  a  local  nature.  Mobile  is  the  chief  mercantile  city  of 
the  state.  In  the  years  ending  June  30,  1871  and  1872, 
688  and  369  vessels  (gross  burden,  558,525  and  272,853 
tons)  entered,  and  711  and  369  (551,310  and  277,356  tons) 
cleared  the  port  of  Mobile.  Cotton  was  the  principal 
article  of  export — the  amount  in  1871  being  287,074 
bales,  and  in  1872,  137,977;  of  which  240,660  and 
123,522  bales  went  to  Great  Britain.  Mobile  is  con- 
nected with  the  general  network  of  railways  of  the  United 
States.  A  line  runs  from  the  city  through  Montgomery 
and  on  to  Atlanta  in  Georgia;  another  runs  from  Mobile 
to  Meridian  in  Mississippi;  a  line  crosses  the  state  from 
Meridian  through  Cahawba  to  Montgomery;  a  loop-line 
runs  from  Montgomery  to  Troy,  and  proceeding  round  by 
Columbus  in  Georgia,  rejoins  the  main  line  at  Opelika;  from 
Selma  a  line  proceeds  north-easterly,  following  the  valley 
of  the  Coosa,  and  passing  through  Georgia  and  Tennessee; 
and  another  traverses  the  valley  of  the  Tennessee,  from 
which  a  branch  strikes  off  to  the  nortb,to  join  the  Ten- 
nessee group  of  railways  at  Nashville.  A  line  also  con- 
nects Mobile  with  New  Orleans.  The  part  of  the  line 
from  Mobile  to  Montgomery  between  Mobile  and  Tensaa 
was  completed  under  considerable  engineering  difficulties. 
It  crosses  the  Mobile  river  by  a  swing  drawbridge  1000 
feet  in  length,  with  a  draw  of  260  feet;  while  the 
Tensas  river  bridge  is  built  on  cylindrical  piers,  each 
span  measuring  152  feet,  and  its  total  length  2084  feet. 
There  are  at  present  1602  mile3  of  railway  and  2135  of 
telegraph  lines  in  operation  in  Alabama. 

Alabama  returns  8  members  to  Gongress.  The  state 
government  is  vested  in  a  governor,  Senate,  and  House  of 
Representatives.  The  Senate  consists  of  33  members 
elected  for  four  years,  one  half  retiring  every  two  years. 
The  House  of  Representatives  consists  of  not  more -than 
100  members,  elected  for  two  years,  and  apportioned 
among  the  counties  according  to  population,  each  county, 
however,  being » entitled  to  at  least  one  representative. 
The  members  of  both  houses  receive  1 6s.  8<L  each  per  diem, 
and  the  governor  £520,  16s.  8d.  per  annum.  The  taxation 
in  1870  amounted  to  $2,982,932,  and  the  public  debt  to 
$13,277,154.  In  1860  the  taxation  was  only  $851,171. 
The  state  is  divided  into  65  counties,  and  Montgomery  is 
the  capital  The  other  principal  towns  are  Mobile,  Tus- 
caloosa (the  former  capital),  Florence,  Huntsville,  Selma, 
and  Wetiimpka. 

Alabama  was  first  penetrated  by  the  Spaniards  in  quest 
of  gold  in  1541,  under  the  celebrated  leader  De  Soto.  The 
natives  defended  themselves  stubbornly,  and  in  their 
defence  inflicted  and  sustained  very  severe  losses.  The 
present  site  of  Mobile  was  first  occupied  by  the  French  in 
1711.  In  1763  the  French  possessions  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, including  Alabama,  were  ceded  to  England.  Alabama 
was  originally  included  in  Georgia,  but  in  1802  became 
part  of  the  territory  of  Mississippi.  In  1813  the  Creek 
indians  made  a  desperate  effort  to  check  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  but  were  eventually  crushed  id 


the  battle  of  Horse  Shoe  Bend  by  General  Jackson,  who 
compelled  them  to  surrender  three-fourths  of  their  terri- 
tory. In  1819  Alabama  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as 
an  independent  member  of  the  confederation.  It  seceded 
in  the  year  1861,  but  since  the  close  of  the  war  has  been 
again  admitted  into  the  Union. 

The  census  of  1870  showed  the  following  results : — Total 
population  of  Alabama,  996,992;  coloured,  475,510;  with 
98  Indians.  Of  these,  987,030  were  native  born,  and 
9962  foreign.  In  1860  the  population  was  964,201,.  of 
whom  526,271  were  whites  and  437,770  (435,080  slaves) 
were  coloured;  in  1820  (the  year  after  Alabama  had  been 
admitted  into  the  Union)  the  numbers  were — total,  127,901; 
whites,  85,451 ;  coloured,  42,450  (41,879  slaves).  Of  ths 
total  population  in  1870,  488,738  were  males  (255,023 
whites,  233,677  coloured,  38  Indians)  and  508,254  females 
(respectively,  266,361,  241,833,  60).  In  regard  to  educa- 
tion, there  were  in  the  state  between  5  and  18  years 
of  age,  173,273  males  (91,989  whites,  81,274  coloured, 
and  10  Indians)  and  169,703  females  (89,798,  79,882, 
and  23);  of  whom  77,139  have  attended  school  (viz., 
31,098  white  and  7502  coloured  males,  and  30,226 
white  and  8313  coloured  females).  The  returns  give  2969 
schools,  with  2372  male  and  992  female  teachers.  Of 
persons  10  years  and  upwards,  there  were  349,771  returned 
as  unable  to  read,  and  383,012  as  unable  to  write. 

ALABASTER  (said  to  be  derived  from  the  Arabic  al 
batstraton,  the  whitish  stone),  a  name  properly  restricted  to 
the  fine  massive  variety  of  gypsum,  or  sulphate  of  lime,  which 
is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  ornamental  vases,  statuettes, 
clock-frames,  &c.  When  pure,  it  is  of  a  brilliant  pearly- 
white  lustre,  so  very  soft  as  to  be  easily  scratched  by  the 
nail,  and  is  soluble  to  a  slight  extent  ha  water.  It  occurs  in 
large  and  very  pure  masses  at  several  localities  in  Tuscany, 
and  is  turned  or  chiselled  into  its  various  ornamental  forms 
in  Florence,  which  is  the  centre  of  the  alabaster  trade.  At 
a  time  when  the  taste  for  alabaster  work  was  more  general 
than  now,  it  was  quarried  at  Lagny,  near  Paris.  In  Eng- 
land considerable  deposits  are  found  in  various  localities, 
but  chiefly  in  Derbyshire  and  Staffordshire,  where  it  is 
worked  to  form  the  plaster  of  Paris  moulds  used  by  pottera ; 
hence  it  is  termed  "  potters'  stone."  Fine  blocks  found 
in  quarrying  the  potters'  stone  are  reserved  for  the 
alabaster  turners.  A  yellow  variety  of  alabaster,  found  at 
Sienna,  is  termed  "  alabastra  agatato."  When  it  presents  a 
fibrous  structure,  it  is  known  as  ,:  satin  spar,"  which  when 
cut  has  the  opalescent  appearance  of  "  cat's  eyes."  Ori- 
ental alabaster  is  the  name  applied  to  the  stalagmitic 
variety  of  carbonate  of  lime  formed  on  the  floors  of  lime- 
stone caves  by  th'e  percolation  of  water,  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent material  from  the  above.  It  is  usually  clouded  or 
banded  in  an  agate-like  manner,  and  hence  is  sometimes 
known  as  onyx  marble.  The  alabaster  yielded  by  celebrated 
quarries,  known  to  the  ancients  and  now  again  worked,  in 
the  province  of  Oran.  Algeria,  is  of  this  kind.  It  is  this 
oriental  alabaster  that  is  referred  to  in  the  Bible,  the 
a\aftao~rpirt)i  of  the  Greeks.  The  stone  was  held  in  very 
high  estimation  among  the  civilised  nations  of  antiquity, 
being  then  chiefly  procured  from  quarries  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Thebes,  which  to  this  day  remain  unexhausted.  At 
the  present  time  it  is  procured  from  Oran  (Algerian  onyx), 
the  Pyrenees.  Chili.  California,  ic  In  the  Soanean  Museum 
there  is  an  Egyptian'  sarcophagus  in  oriental  alabaster, 
covered  with  hieroglyphics,  which  was  purchased  by  Sir 
John  Soane  for  2000  guineas. 

ALABASTER.  William,  D.D.,  poet  and  scholar.  If 
to  have  been  commemorated  with  golden  words  by  Ed- 
mund Spenser  in  his  Colin  Clouts  come  Home  Againe,  1L 
400  415.  and  by  Herrick  in  bis  Hesperides ;  and  to  have 
been  reckoned  "  foeman  worthy  of   his  steel  "  by  Bishop 


440 


ALA-ALA 


Bedell ;  and  to  have  had  his  portrait  painted  by  Cornelius 
Jansen,  and  engraved  by  Payne ;  and  to  have  been  pro- 
nounced by  Fuller  "  a  most  rare  poet  as  any  our  age  or 
nation  hath  produced ;"  and  to  have  drawn  from  Samuel 
Johnson  unequivocal  eulogium,  may  be  regarded  as  entit- 
ling to  a  claim  on  our  interest  at  this  later  day,  Dr  William 
Alabaster  unites  in  himself  all  these  memorable  tributes.. 
Alabaster  was  his  own  spelling,  as  it  was  Bedell's  and 
Fuller's ;  but  it  is  found  contemporaneously  "  Arblastier." 
The  name,  is  derived  from  arcubalista  (in  arms  of  the 
family,  a  cross-bow  bent  in  pale),  and  the'  same  probably 
as  Arblastier.  He  was  born*  at  Hadleigh,  Suffolk,  about 
1567,  was  educated  at  Westminster  School,  and  went 
thence  to  Trinity  College,  Cambridge.  He  was  also  in- 
corporated at  Oxford  in  1592.  He  became  fellow  of 
Trinity.  Having  been  appointed  chaplain  to  Robert,  Earl 
of  Esses,  he  attended  him  in  that  expedition,  designed  to 
aid  Henry  TV.  against  the  League  in  1591,  celebrated  by 
Dr  Donne  in  "The  Storm"  and  "The  Calm."  While  in 
France  (in  his  twenty-fourth  year),  he  was  converted  to 
Roman  Catholicism,  and  a  quaint  English  sonnet,  "  Of  his 
Conversion,"  survives,  wherein  ho  defies  the  "  frowne  and 
scorne  and  purblind  pittie"  of  the  world,  as  having  a 
vision  of  perdition  if  he  yielded  thereto.  He  did  not  long 
remain  a  Roman  Catholic.  In  the  preface  to  his  work 
entitled  Ecce  Sponsus  Venit  (1633),  he  relates  that  certain 
doctrines  of  his  having  become  obnoxious  to  the  court  of 
Rome,  he  wa3  enticed  to  that  city  and  imprisoned  there 
by  authority  of  the  Inquisition ;  and  that  on  his  liberation 
he  wa3  confined  within  'the  city  walls,  but  escaped  at  the 
peril  of  his  life,  and  returned  to  Eugland..  On  his  return 
he  became  prebendary  of  St  Paul's  and  rector  of  Hatfield. 
Dr  Alabaster  was  famous  as  a  Hebraist;  but  his  studies  of 
Hebrew  took  a  twist  in  the  direction  of  the  cabalistic 
learning,  by  which  he  luxuriated  in  discussions  on  the 
mystical  meanings  imagined  to  be  bidden  in  the  words  of 
the  Old  Testament.  The  investigation  and  application  of 
this  supposed  mystical  meaning  of  Scripturo  was  the  main 
object  of  his  Apparatus  in  Revelationem  Jem  Christi 
(Antwerp,  1607);  and,  indeed,  it  run3  through  all  his 
critical  writings,  as  in  his  singular  Spiraculum  Tubarum, 
rive  Fons  Spiritualium  Expositionem  ex  equivocis  Penta- 
glotli  Significationibus  (n.d.,  folio),  his  Lexicon  Pentaglotton 
(1637,  folio),  and  the  Commentarius  de  Bestia  Apoca- 
lyptica  (1621).  It  was  of  these  books  Herrick  wrote  -as 
making  Alabaster  "the  one,  one  onely  glory  of  a  million." 
A  MS.  of  Alabaster's  Elisceis  is  among  Emanuel  College 
MSS. ;  a  better  one,  with  additional  poems,  entitled 
"  Inuenta  Bellica"  —  recalling  Herbert's  "  Triumphus 
Mortis,"  so  headed — and  "  Inuenta  Adespota,"  is  in  the 
Chetham  Library,  Manchester.  The  poem  is  unfinished,  but 
has  lines  in  it  which  account  for  Spenser's  lofty  praise  and 
hopes.  It  has  never  been  printed.  His  best  known  verse 
is  a  Latin  tragedy  called  Roxana.  This  is  praised  by 
Fuller,  stirred  Anthony  a  Wood  into  enthusiasm,  and  is 
regarded  by  Dr  Johnson  as  the  only  Latin  verse  in  Eng- 
land worthy  to  be  named  previous  to  Milton.  It  was 
prepared  for  InV  college  (Trinity),  and  never  meant  for 
publication.  Having  been  surreptitiously  published  in 
1632,  the  author  thereupon  reprinted  it,  with  this  on  the 
title-page,  "A  plagiariis  unguibus  vindicata,  aucta  et 
agnita."  It  is  a  curious  composition.  The  subject  is  an 
oriental  tale  which  had  previously  been  dramatised  in  the 
Dalida  of  Groto,  an  Italian.  The  scenes  consist  of  con- 
versations between  real  and  allegorical  personages.  The 
first  act  is  entirely  carried  on  between  the  ghost  of  one  of 
the  characters  and  personifications  of  Death  and  Suspicion. 
Hallam  charges  Alabaster  with  plagiarism  from  Dalida, 
but  he  cannot  have  really  read  the  two.  Alabaster  died 
about  1  64i.  (a.  b.  a.) 


ALACRANES,  a  group  of  coral  reefs  and  islands  in  ths 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  80  miles  off  the  north  coast  of  Yucatan, 
and  extending  14  miles  from  north  to  south,  and  11  from 
east  to  west.  On  the  12th  February  1847  the  mail  steamer 
Tweed  was  wrecked  on  the  Alacraues  ;  and  in  January  1849 
a  similar  disaster  befell  the  Forth,  belonging  to  the  same 
company.  On  the  south  side,  in  22°  23'  36"  N.  lat.,  and 
89°  42'  W.  long.,  there  is  a  secure  harbour,  well  sheltered 
by  dry  reefs. 

ALAGOAS,  a  maritime  province  of  Brazil,  formerly  a 
district  of  Pernambuco,  is  situated  between  9°  and  10°  30' 
S.  lat.,  and  extends  inlaud  150  miles.  It  is.bounded  on 
the  N.  and  W.  by  Pernambuco,  and  is  separated  by  the 
river  San  Francisco  from  the  province  of  Sergipe  on  the 
S.  It  embraces  an  area  of  12,000  square  miles.  The 
country,  particularly  in  the  north-west,  is  very  moun- 
tainous, but  at  the  same  time  richly  wooded.  On  the 
eastern  side  of  the  mountains,  hilly  tracts,  well  suited  for 
the  cultivation  of  cotton,  descend  towards  the  coast,  and 
nearer  the  sea  there  is  a  rich  alluvial  soil  interspersed  with 
swamps  (lagoas),  whence  the  province  takes  its  name.  The 
chief  articles  of  produce  and  export  are  sugar-cane,  rice, 
cotton,  hides,  and  rosewood.  Tropical  fruits  of  all  kinds 
are  produced  ib  abundance,  and  the  forests,  besides  ad- 
mirable timber,  yield  various  dyes  and  drugs.  The  people 
are  chiefly  engaged  in  agriculture,  and  there  are  no  manu- 
factures of  importance.  The  population  of  the  province  is 
300,000.  The  town  of  Axagoas,  formerly  the  capital  of  the 
province,  is  situated  on  Lake  Manguaba.  It  has  deci/ned 
considerably  since  the  transfer  of  the  local  government 
to  Maceio.     Population,  including  district,  12,000. 

AT, ATM  DE  LILLE  (Alant/s  ab  Insulis),  theologian 
and  ecclesiastic,  born  at  Lille  or  Ryssel  about  the  year 
1114.  The  facts  of  his  life  are  involved  in  uncertainty, 
owing  to  his  having  been  frequently  confounded  by  bio- 
graphers with  others,  nearly  contemporary,  who  bore  the 
same  uame.  Some  have  identified,  him  with  Alarms, 
bishop  of  Auxerres ;  others  confound  him  with  an  elder 
Alanus,  also  born  at  Lille.  These,  however,  were  probably 
three  distinct  persons.  Of  the  theological  writer  known 
as  the  doctor  universalis,  all  that  can  be  said  with  certainty 
is  that  he  was  a  Cistercian  monk.  It  is  probable  that 
he  passed  a  great  part  of  his  life  in  England,  though  he 
ended  his  days  in  the  abbey  of  Citeaux  His  works  are 
very  numerous,  the  most  important  of  them  being  entitled 
Anti-Claudianus,  she  de  Officio  Firi  Boni  et  Perfecti.  The 
title  denotes  that  the  work  takes  for  its  model  Claudian's 
satire  against  Rufinus,  the  minister  of  Theodosius.  It  is 
written  in  verse,  and  partakes  somewhat  of  the  character 
of  an  encyclopedia,  Alain's  De  Arte  Catholics  Fidei  is 
remarkable  for  its  endeavour  to  base  dogmatic  theology  on 
the  exact  reasoning  of  mathematical  demonstration,  and 
for  its  admission  that  heresy  was  to  be  overcome  by  argu- 
ment and  not  by  mere  authority.  His  exposition  of  the 
prophecies  of  Merlin,  in  seven  books,  is  of  some  importance 
in  its  bearing  upon  English  history.  A  Life  of  St  Bernard 
and  a  treatise  against  heretics,  usually  included  among  the 
works  of  this  author,  are,  from  internal  evidence,  to  be 
attributed  with  more  probability  to  the  bishop  of  Auxerres. 
Alain  died  about  1202-3. 

AT.  ATS,  a  flourishing  town  of  France,  in  the  department 
of  the  Gard,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Gardon,  at  the  foot 
of  the  Cevennes,  25  miles  north-north-west  of  NImes,  with 
which  it  is  united  by  rail.  In  the  17th  century  it  was  a 
stronghold  of  the  French  Protestants,  and  was  besieged 
and  taken  by  Louis  XIII.  in  1629.  It  has  a  citadel, 
erected  by  Louis  XIV.,  a  fine  Gothic  church,  and  a  mining 
school.  The  town  itself  has  considerable  manufactures  of 
ribands,  silk,  earthenware,  glass,  and  vitriol ;  but  its  pros- 
perity is  chiefly  derived  from  the  adjacent  mineral  field. 


A  L  A  — A  L  A 


441 


Which  was  opened  up  in  1819,  and  yields  great  quantities 
of  coal  and  iron,  as  well  as  zinc,  lead,  and  manganese. 
The  numerous  mines,  blast  furnaces,  and  iron  foundries, 
afford  employment  to  many  workmen.  There  are  cold 
mineral  springs  in  the  vicinity,  which  attract  large  num- 
bers of  visitors  during  the  summer  months.  Population 
Bi  1872,  19,230. 

ALAJUELA,  a  city  in  the  state  of  Costa  Rica,  Central 
America,  23  miles  W.N.W.  from  Cartago,  and  midway 
between  it  and  the  west  coast.  It  is  a  place  of  consider- 
able trade,  and  is  connected  by  a  mule  road  with  the  port 
of  Puntas  Arenas,  the  only  good  harbour  possessed  by  Costa 
Eica  on  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Some  parts  of  the  town  are 
well  built  and  beautifully  situated;  and  the  detached  houses 
in  the  environs  are  embowered  by  trees  and  flowering 
shrubs.  The  sugar-cane  is  cultivated  hi  the  neighbourhood. 
Population,  12,57.5. 

ALAMANNI,  or  Alemajott,  Lr/iGi,  an  Italian  states- 
man and  poet,  was  born  at  Florence  in  1495.  His  father 
was  a  devoted  adherent  of  the  Medici  party,  but  Luigi, 
smarting  under  a  supposed  injustice,  joined  with  others  in 
an  unsuccessful  conspiracy  against  Giulio  de'  Medici,  after- 
wards Pope  Clement  VJ_l.  He  was  obliged  in  consequence 
to  take  refuge  in  Venice,  and,  on  the  accession  of  Clement, 
to  flee  to  France.  When  Florence  shook  off  the  papal 
yoke,  Alamanni  returned,  and  took  a  prominent  part  in  the 
management  of  the  affairs  of  the  republic.  On  the  restora- 
tion of  the  Medici  (1530),  he  had  again  to  take  refuge  in 
France,  where  he  composed  the  greater  part  of  his  works. 
He  was  a  favourite  with  Francis  I.,  who  sent  him  as  ambas- 
uador  to  Charles  V.  after  the  peace  of  Crespi  in  1544.  As 
an  instance  of  his  tact  in  this  capacity,  it  is  related  that; 
when  Charles  interrupted  a  complimentary  address  by 
quoting  from  a  satirical  poem  of  Alamanni's  the  words — 

"  l'aquila  grifagna, 
Che  per  pin  devorar,  duoi  rostri  porta." 
(Two  crooked  bilk  the  ravenous  eagle  bears, 
The  better  to  devour,) 

the  latter  at  once  replied  that  he  spoke  then  as  a  poet, 
who  was  permitted  to  use  fictions,  but  that  he  spoke  now 
as  an  ambassador,  who  was  obliged  to  .tell  the  truth  The 
ready  reply  pleased  Charles,  who  added  some  compli- 
mentary words.  After  the  death  of  Francis,  Alamanni 
enjoyed  the  confidence  of  his  successor  Henry  IX,  and  in 
1551  was  sent  by  him  as  his  ambassador  to  Genoa.  He  died* 
at  Amboise  in  1556.  He  wrote  a  large  number  of  poems, 
distinguished  by  the  purity  and  excellence  of  their  style. 
The  best  is  a  didactic  poem,  La  Coltivazione  (1533),  written 
in  imitation  of  Virgil's  G^orgics.  His  Opere  Tolcant  (1532) 
consists  of  satirical  pieces  written  in  blank  verse.  An 
unfinished  poem,  Arvarckide,  in  imitation  of  the  Iliad,  was 
the  work  of  his  old  age,  and  has  little  merit.  It  has  been 
said  by  some  that  Alamanni  was  the  first  to  use  blank 
verse  in  Italian  poetry,  but  the  distinction  belongs  rather 
to  his  contemporary  Trissino. 

ALAMOS,  Los,  a  town  bf  Mexico,  in  the  state  of 
Sinaloa,  situated  on  a  barren  plain  140  miles  N.N.W.  of 
Sinaloa.  The  hous.es  of  the  town  are  mostly  of  stone  or 
brick  covered  with  stucco,  and  several  of  the  streets  are 
well  paved;  provisions  are  dear  and  water  scarce.  The 
Burrounding  district  contains  many  rich  silver  mines.  Of 
the  population,  amounting  to  about  10,000,  a  large  propor- 
tion are  employed  in  the  mines. 

ALAMOS  DE  BARRLENTOS,  Don  Balthazar,  a 
Spanish  philologist,  born  at  Medina  del  Campo,  in  Castile, 
about  1550.  He  was  on  terms  of  intimate  friendship  with^ 
Antonio  Perez,  secretary  to  Philip.  H. ;  and  when  the  latter 
fell  into  disgrace,  Alamos  was  cast-  into  prison,  where  he 
remained  nearly  twelve  years.  During  this  period  he  pre- 
pared the  translation  of  Tacitus,  with  a  commentary,  which 


gave  him  his  reputation  as  a  classical  scholar.  Cn  the 
death  of  Philip  IX  Alamos  recovered  his  liberty,  and 
afterwards  received  various  important  court  appointments 
through  the  influence  of  the  Duke  de  Lerma  and  the  Count 
d'Olivarez.     He  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-five. 

ALAN,  Allen,  or  Allyn,  William  (1532-94),  car- 
dinal, was  born  at  Rossall  in  Lancashire.  He  studied 
at  Oriel  College,  Oxford,  and  was  appointed  principal  of 
St  Mary's  Hall  in  1556.  Two  years  later  he  was  made  a 
canon  of  York;  but  being  opposed  to  the  Reformation, 
was  forced  to  flee  to  Louvain  on  the  accession  of  Elizabeth. 
He  returned  to  England  after  a  time,  and  for  some  years 
resided  chiefly  at  Oxford ;  but  his  proselytising  zeal  being 
discovered,  necessitated  a  second  flight.  At  Douay  he 
received  a  doctor's  degree  from  the  recently-founded  univer- 
sity, and  he  himself  established  a  college  there  for  English 
Catholics.  In  1587  he  was  made  cardinal  of  St  Martin 
de  Montibus,  and  in  1589  archbishop  of  Mechlin,  The 
great  aim  of  his  life  seems  to  have  been  to  restore  the  papal 
supremacy  in  England.  For  this  purpose  he  founded  the 
college  at  Douay,  and  sent  over  the  Jesuit  priests  trained 
there'to  his  native  land.  He  was,  of  course,  a  bitter  enemy 
of  Elizabeth,  who  expelled  his  emissaries,  and  even  caused 
some  of  them  to  be  put  to  death.  One  of  his  pamphlets, 
prepared  for  circulation  among  the  English  people,  con- 
tained charges  against  the  queen  so  foul  and  scurrilous  that 
they  can  scarcely  be  repeated.  It  was  only  natural  that  he 
should  be  one  of  the  chief  intriguers  in  the  Spanish  plot 
which  led  to  the  fitting  out  of  the  Armada,  especially  as  the 
pope  had  promised  him  the  archbishopric  of  Canterbury  in 
the  event  of  the  expedition  being  successful.  His  letters 
to  Philip  were  full  of  encouragement,  and  the  failure  of  the 
enterprise  must  have  been  a  severe  blow  to  him.  When 
the  fact  became  known,  he  lost  favour  at  the  papal  court 
and  was  refused  permission  to  return  to  his  diocese. 

ALAND  1M.A.\1>S,  an  archipelago  at  the  entrance  to 
the  Gulf  of  Bothnia,  about  25  miles  from  the  coast  of 
Sweden,  and  15  from  that  of  Finland.  The  group  consists 
of  nearly  300  islands,  of  which  about  80  are  inhabited,  the 
remainder  being  desolate  rocks.  These  islands  form  a 
continuation  of  a  dangerous  granite  reef  extending  along 
the  south  coast  of  Finland.  They  formerly  belonged  to 
Sweden  ;  and  in  the  neighbourhood  the  first  victory  of  the 
Russian  fleet  over  the  Swedes  was  gained  by  Peter  the 
Great  in  1714.  They  finally  passed  into  the  possession  of 
Russia  in  1809.  The  inhabitants,  amounting  to  about 
16,000,  are  mostly  of  Swedish  descent,  and  are  hardy  sea- 
men and  fishermen.  The  surface  of  the  islands  is  generally 
sandy, "the  soil  is  thin,  and  the  climate  is  keen;  yet  Scotch 
fir,  spruce,  and  birch  are  grown;  and  rye,  barley,  flax,  and 
vegetables  are  produced  in  sufficient  quantity  for  the  wants 
of  the  people.  Great  numbers  of  cattle  are  reared;  and 
cheese,  butter,  and  hides,  as  well  as  salted  meat  and  fish, 
are  exported.  The  largest  island,  which  gives  its  name  to 
the  group,  is  18  miles  long  by  14  broad,  and  contains  about 
two-thirds  of  the  total  population.  There  are  several  excel- 
lent harbours  (notably  that  of  Ytternaes),  which  are  of  great 
importance  to  Russia  from  the  fact  that  they  are  frozen  up 
for  a  much  briefer  period  than  those  on  the  coast  of  Finland. 
The  fortress  of  Bomarsund,  in  one  of  these  islands,  was 
attacked  and  destroyed  by  an  Anglo-French  force  in  1854. 

AT,  A  NT,  a  number  of  nomadic  tribes  of  eastern  origin, 
who  spread  themselves  over  Europe  during  the  decline  of 
the  Roman  empire.  The  name  was  probably  at  first  con- 
fined to  one  tribe  of  Tatar  race,  whose  original  seat  was 
on  the  northern  shores  of  the  Caspian  Sea,  and  was  after- 
wards, as  the  power  of  that  race  extended,  appheti  to  other 
tribes.  It  is  supposed  that  their  first  encounter  with  the 
Romans  was  during  the  Mithridatic  war,  when  Ponipey  led 
an  expedition  into  the  Caucasus.     Isolated  statements  in 


44-: 


A  L  A  —  A  L  A 


contemporary  writers  show  that  the  Alani  were  frequently 
in  conflict  with  the  Roman  power.  In  March  276  a.d.  they 
received  a  decisive  check  in  an  attempt  to  make  their  way 
eastward  into  Persia,  being  defeated  by  the  emperor  Tacitus, 
who  forced  them  to  recross  the  Phasis.  The  most  com- 
plete account  of  the  Alani  is  to  be  found  in  the  pages  of 
Ammianus  Marcellinus  (lib.  xxxi.),  who  describes  their 
manners  and  customs  at  considerable  length.  From  him, 
too,  we  leam  of  the  advance  of  the  Huns,  who  signally 
defeated  the  Alani  in  a  battle  fought  on  the  banks  of  the 
Tanais  in  375.  The  race  thereupon  divided,  some  retiring  to 
the  east,  while  the  great  majority  joined  their  conquerors 
in  an  invasion  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Goths.  Associated 
with  the  Vandals  and  Suevi,  they  left  the  settlements 
they  had  in  Pannonia  and  entered  Gaul  in  406,  whence 
three  years  later  they  crossed  the  Pyrenees  into  Spain, 
and  founded  a  settlement  in  Lusitania  and  Baitica,  where 
they  remained  in  peace  for  some  years:  In  418,  however, 
they  were  attacked  and  defeated  by  Wallia,  king  of  the 
Visigoths,  with  whom  they  had  quarrelled  Their  king, 
Ataces,  was  slain  in  the  battle,  and  they  became  subject  to 
Gunderic,  king  ef  the  Vandals,  their  national  independence 
being  lost  Those  of  the  Alani  who  had  remained  in  Gaul 
when  the  others  invaded  Spain,  settled  near  Valence  and 
Orleans.  Though  serving  under  Theodoric,  they  sympa- 
thised with  AttOa  and  the  Huns,  and  by  deserting  at 
Chalons  (451),  all  but  changed  the  victory  of  the  Romans 
into  a  defeat.  Soon  afterwards  their  separate  national 
existence  in  Gaul  was  merged  in  that  of  the  Visigoths. 
The  small  portion  of  the  Alani  that  had  remained  in  their 
original  seat  in  the  Caucasus  are  frequently  noticed  in 
history  down  to  the  middle  ages.  In  572  they  were  allied 
with  the  Armenians  under  King  Saroes.  They  seem  to 
have  afterwards  regained  their  independence.  In  1221 
they  were  defeated  by  Gengis  Khan,  and  in  1237  they 
were  so  completely  subjugated  by  Batu-Khan  that  their 
very  name  disappears  in  subsequent  history. 

ALARCON,  H-ERNiLNTO  de,  a  Spanish  navigator  of  the 
16th  century,  known  only  in  connection  with  the  expedi- 
tion to  the  coast  of  California,  of  which  he  was  leader. 
He  set  sail  on  the  9th  May  1540,  with  orders  from  the 
Spanish  court  to  await  at  a  certain  -point  on  the  coast  the 
arrival  of  an  expedition  by  land  under  the  command  of 
Vasquez  de  Coronado.  The  junction  was  not  effected, 
though  Alarcon  reached  the  appointed  place  and  left  letters, 
which  were  afterwards  found  by  Diaz,  another  explorer. 
Alarcon  was  the  first  to  determine  with  certainty  that  Cali- 
fornia was  a  peninsula  and  not  an  island,  as  had.  been  sup- 
posed. He  made  a  careful  and  exact  survey  of  the  coast, 
sailed  a  considerable  distance  up  the  Rio  del  Tizon  (Colo- 
rado), and  was  thus  able,  on  his  return  to  New  Spain  in 
1 54 1,  to  construct  a  map  of  California,  which,  according  to  M. 
Duflot  de  Mofras,  scarcely  differs  from  one  of  the  present  day. 

ALARCON  Y  MENDOZA,  Juan  Ruiz  de,  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  Spanish  dramatists,  born  at  Tasco  in 
Mexico  about  the  close  of  the  16th  century,  was  descended 
from  a  noble  family  belonging  to  Alarcon  in  Cuenga. 
Nothing  is  known  with  certainty  of  his  early  life,  but  it  is 
probable  that  he  was  educated  at  one  of  the  Spanish  univer- 
sities. In  1622  he  had  taken  up  his  residence  at  Madrid,  and 
in  1628  he  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  relator  (reporter) 
of  the  royal  council  of  the  Indies,  which  afforded  him  a  com- 
petency. In  the  same  year  he  published  the  first  volume 
of  his  comedies,  dedicating  it  to  "  the  rabble"  in  a  daringly 
contemptuous  address.  A  second  volume  of  comedies 
appeared  at  Barcelona  in  1634,  in  which  he  brought  charges 
against  several  poets  of  appropriating  his  productions. 
About  the  same  time  he  was  successful  in  an  open  com- 
petition for  a  dramatic  libretto  to  be  played  at  th9  ffites  in 
honour  of  Philip  IV.     These  two  facts,  combined  with  bid 


haughty  disdain  both  of  the  public  and  of  his  literary 
brethren,  made  Alarcon  very  unpopular;  and  he  was  scur- 
rilously  lampooned  by  most  of  the  poets  and  dramatists  of 
the  day,  Calderou  honourably  distinguishing  himself  by  his 
silence.  A  further  injustice  was  done  him  in  the  piracy  of 
his  works  by  other  and  better  known  authors  than  himself. 
To  such  an  extent  was  this  carried  that  Alarcon's  reputa- 
tion as  a  dramatist  was  almost  extinct  even  before  the 
close  of  his  life,  and  it  is  only  quite  recently  that  it  has 
been  revived  The  date  of  his  death  is  gu  en,  on  doubtful 
authority,  as  1639.  Alarcon  holds  a  foremost  place  among 
Spanish  dramatists,  being  surpassed  only,  if  at  all,  by  Lope 
de  Vega  and  Calderon.  He  is  distinguished  by  the  cor- 
rectness of  his  language,  the  harmony  of  his  verse,  and  the 
elevation  of  his  sentiment.  His  La  Verdad  Sospechosa 
(Suspicious  Truth)  supplied  Corneille  with  the  materials 
for  his  Menteur,  and  called  forth  the  highest  praise  from 
the  great  French  dramatist.  His  Tejedcr  de  Segovia  (Weaver 
of  Segovia)  and  LasParedesOyeniy\&\h  haveL'ars)  are  acted 
at  the  present  day.  A  complete  edition  of  his  comedies 
was  published  by  Hartzenbusch  at  Madrid  (1848-52). 

ALARIC  (Al-ric,  i.e.,  All  rich),  a  chief,  -?nd  afterwards 
king  of  the  Visigoths,  wa3  born  of  the  noble  family  of 
Balti  (baltha,  bold).  He  first  appears  in  history  (304 
A.D.)  as  a  commander  in  the  army  of  subjugated  Goths 
whom  the  Emperor  Theodosius  employed  in  his  war  with 
Eugcniut.  On  the  death  of  Theodosius  in  395  the  Goths 
asserted  their  independence,  and  under  the  leadership  of 
Alaric  made  an  incursion  from  Thrace,  where  they  had 
been  located,  into  the  Morea,  Athens  yielded  to  them 
without  resistance,  and  Alaric  enriched  himself  with  the 
movable  treasures  of  the  city,  though  ho  did  not,  as  some 
have  asserted,  destroy  buildings  and  works  of  art.  Rufinus, 
the  crafty  minister  of  Arcadius,  did  nothing  to  check  the 
advance  of  the  barbarians,  and  it  has  even  been  said  that 
he  had  a  secret  understanding  with  Alaric.  Opposition 
came,  however,  from  the  Western  Empire.  Stilicho,  the 
famous  general,  landed  at  Corinth,  and  drove  the  Goths  to 
Mount  Pholoe,  on  the  frontiers  of  Elis,  where  he  besieged 
their  camp.  With  proper  vigilance,  the  siege  could  not 
.have  been  raised;  but  the  Romans  were  careless,  and  Alaric 
with  his  army  contrived  to  escape  to  Epirus.  Stilicho 
was  prevented  from  following  him  by  an  order  from  the 
Emperor  Arcadius,  who '  conferred  upon  Alaric  the  pre- 
fecture of  eastern  Hlyricum.  About  the  same  time  the 
Gothic  chief  was  chosen  king  by  hi3  people.  It  was 
natural  that  Aiaric's  desire  of  conquest  should  increase 
with  the  increase  of  his  power,  and  accordingly  about  the 
year  400  A.D.  he  set  out  to  invade  the  Empire  of  the 
West  His  march  was  exceedingly-slow,  and  it  was  not 
until  the  spring  of  403  that  he  appeared  before  Milan, 
from  which  the  Emperor  Honorius  instantly  fled  to  the 
fortress  of  Asta  in  Liguria.  Being  besieged  there,  he  was 
on  the  point  of  capitulating  when  he  was  relieved  by 
Stilicho,  who,  in  the  battle  of  Pollentia,  fought  on  Easter- 
day,  gained  a  somewhat  doubtful  victory  over  Alaric. 
Some  time  after,  the  contest  was  renewed  at  Verona,  and 
Alaric  sustained  a  decisive  defeat.  He  was  obliged  to 
accept  terms-  of  peace,  and  to  retreat  for  the  time ;  but 
his  attitude  was  always  threatening,  and  Honorius  found 
it  expedient  to  buy  him  off  by  appointing  him  prefect  of 
western  Hlyricum,  with  a  large  revenue.  In  this  capacity 
Stilicho  encouraged  Alaric  to  lead  Tiis  army  against  Con- 
stantinople, probably  more  with  the  design  of  keeping  him 
at  a  distance  from  Italy  than  with  any  hope  of  reuniting 
the  divided  empire.  The  final  expedition  to  Constantinople 
was  not  undertaken ;  but  for  his  services  during  three 
years  in  Epirus,  Alaric  claimed  an  extravagant  reward, 
and  Honorius,  on  the  advice  of  Stilicho,  promised  him 
4000  pounds    of  gold      Shortly  afterwards  the  weak 


ALA 


ALA 


443 


minded" emperor  procured  the  assassination  of  his  minister, 
the  only  Roman  who  had  proved  himself  able  to  cope  with 
the  Gothic  forces,  and  broke  all  the  treaties  which  Stiiicho 
had  made  with' Alaric.  The  latter  at  once  marched  upon 
Rome  (408)  by  the  Via  Flaminia,  and  laid  siege  to  the 
city.  On  coming  to  treat  with  him,  the  Romans  found  his 
•demands  so  extravagant  that  they  threatened  a  desperate 
resistance,  to  which  Alaric  made  the  well-known  reply, 
"  The  closer  hay  is  pressed,  the  easier  is  it  mown."  At 
last  the  barbarian  was  induced  to  retire  by  the  promise  of 
5000  pounds  of  gold  and  30,000  pounds  of  silver,  besides 
other  treasure.  The  respite,  however,  was  but  for  a  time. 
Honorius,  who  had  left  Rome  for  Ravenna,  refused  to 
ratify  by  treaty  certain  conditions,  moderate  in  themselves, 
on  which  Alario  firmly  insisted,  and  the  capital  was  again 
at  the  mercy  of  the  enemy.  With  commendable  forbear- 
ance, Alaric  contented  himself  at  first  with  taking  posses- 
sion of  Ostia,  from  which  he  summoned  the  city  to  sur- 
render, threatening  the  immediate  destruction  of  the  food 
stores  in  case  of  refusal.  The  terrified  people  at  once 
opened  .their  gates,  and  agreed  that  the  conqueror  should 
appoint  another  emperor  in  place  of  Honorius.  '  Alaric's 
choice  fell  upon  Attalus,  the  prefect  of  the  city,  who, 
though  well  received  at  first,  soon  proved  himself  thoroughly 
incompetent,  and  Honorius  had  to  be  restored.  While  the 
conferences  as  to  the  restoration  were  still  being  carried 
on  at  Ravenna,  the  treachery  of  Honorius  occasioned  yet 
another  and  more  disastrous  siege  of  Rome  by  the  Goths. 
Sarus,  a  barbarian  and  a  hereditary  enemy  of  the  house  of 
Balti,  was  permitted  by  the  emperor  te  attack  the  camp  of 
the  Goths  and  return  in  triumph  to  Ravenna.  *  Alaric  was 
naturally  indignant,  laid  siege  to  Rome  for  the  third  time, 
and  gained  an  entrance  by  the  Salarian  gate  on  the  night 
of  the  2 -1th  August  410.  For  six  days  the  city  was 
given  over  to  the  horrors  of  a  pillage,  which  the  humane 
orders  of  Alaric  did  but  little  to  mitigate.  On  the  29th 
August  Alaric  withdrew  his  troops  from  Rome,  and  led 
them  into  southern  Italy,  which  he  ravaged  for  several 
months.  Towards  the  close  of  the  year,  while  engaged  in 
the  siege  of  Cosentia  (Cosenza),  he  was  seized  with  an 
illness  which  proved  fatal  after  a  very  short  duration.  He 
was  buried  with  his  treasures  in  the  bed  of  the  river 
Busentiaus,  which  wa3  diverted  from  its  channel  for  that 
purpose,  and  all  the  prisoners  who  were  engaged  in  the 
work  were  put  to  death  in  order  that  the  place  of  his 
sepulture  might  remain  unknown.  The  character  of  Alaric 
has  been  somewhat  variously  represented  by  historians. 
In  forming  an  estimate  of  it  many  have  been  misled  by 
the  use  of  the  term  barbarian,  which,  as  applied  to  him,  it 
should  be  remembered,  indicates  a  national  and  not  a 
personal  distinction.  Many  proofs  may  be  found  of  his 
humanity  and  moderation  in  trying  circumstances,  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  charges  of  cruelty  brought  against 
him  are  not  borne  out  by  evidence.  His  marked  respect 
for  Christianity  is  explained  by  the  fact  that,  if  he  wa3  not 
himself  a  Christian,  he  had  como  early  under  Christian 
influence,  having  had  frequent  intercourse  with  Arian 
teachers. 

ALARIC  H,  eighth  king  of  the  Goths  in  Spain,  suc- 
ceeded hi3  father  Euric  or  Evaric  about  484.  His  dominions 
not  only  included  the  greater  part  of  Spain  (Hispania 
Tarraconensi3  and  Baetica),  but  extended  into  Gaul  as  far 
as  the  rivers  Rhone  and  Loire.  In  religion  Alaric  was 
an  Arian,  but  that  he  was  tolerant  of  the  orthodox  Catholics 
is  shown  by  the  decrees  of  the  Council  of  Agde,  summoned 
by  him  in  506.  He  displayed  similar  wisdom  and  liber- 
ality in  political  affairs  by  appointing  a  commission  to 
prepare  an  abstract  of  the  Roman  laws  and  imperial 
decrees,  which  should  form  the  authoritative  code  for  his 
dominions.     This  is  generally  known  aa  the  Breviarium 


Alaricianum.  It  contains  six  books  of  the  code  of  The> 
dosius,  and  is  therefore  sometimes  called  ths  Corpus 
Theodosii.  The  full  text  has  been  given  by  Savigny.' 
Alaric  was  of  a  peaceful  disposition,  and  endeavoured 
strictly  to-  maintain  the  treaty  which  his  father  had  con- 
cluded with  the  Franks.  Clovis,  however,  desiring  to 
obtain  the  Gothic  province  in  Gaul,  found  a  pretext  for 
war  in  the  Arianism  of  Alaric.  The  intervention  of 
Theodoric,  king  of  the  Ostrogoths  and  father-in-law  of 
Alaric,  proved  unavailing.  The  two  armies  met  in  507  at 
Voglade  (Vouille),  near  Poitiers,  where  the  Goths  were 
defeated,  and  their  king,  who  took  to  flight,  was  overtaken 
and  slain  by  Clovis  himself. 

ALASCO,  John  (in  Polish,  LascH),  a  Polish  nobleman, 
born  in  1499,  who  travelled  extensively  in  his  youth,  and 
during  a  residence  in  Zurich  imbibed  the  doctrines  of  the" 
Reformation  from  Zwingli.  At  Basel  in  1525  he  h?d 
frequent  intercourse  with  Erasmus,  who  held  him  in  great 
esteem,  and  bequeathed  his  library  to  hi™.  On  his  return 
to  his  native  country  he  was  offered  more  than  once 
ecclesiastical  preferment,  which  the  change  in  his  religious 
opinions  prevented  him  from  accepting.  With  the  view  of 
securing  more  freedom,  he  quitted  Poland,  and  after  travel- 
ling for  a  time,  became  pastor  of  a  Protestant  congregation 
at  Embden,  in  East  Friesland,  in  1542.  Foreseeing  per- 
secution there,  he  went  to  London  in  1551,  on  the  invita- 
tion of  Cranmer,  and  became  superintendent  of  the  con- 
gregation of  foreign  Protestants,  most  of  whom  were  driven 
into  exile  like  himself  in  consequence  of  the  Interim.  The 
revenues  of  the  church  of  Augustin  Friars  were  assigned 
to  support  him  and  four  assistant  ministers,  who  had  to  be 
approved  by  the  king.  On  the  accession  of  Mary  in  1553, 
Alasco  and  all  his  congregation  were  banished.  In  1556 
he  returned  to  Poland,  where  he  died  on  the  1 3th  January 
1560.  Alasco  wrote  a  number  of  theological  treatises, 
chiefly  in  defence  of  the  doctrine  of  the  sacraments  as  held 
by  the  Swiss  Reformers,  and  he  was  one  of  the  eighteen 
divines  who  prepared  the  Polish  version  of  the  Bible, 
which  was  published  in  1563. 

ALA-SHEHR,  a  city  of  Asiatic  Turkey,  in  the  pashalic 
of  Anatolia,  83  miles  E.  of  Smyrna.  It  is  dirty  and  ill- 
built  ;  but,  standing  on  elevated  ground,  and  commanding 
the  prospect  of  the  extensive  and  fertile  plain  of  the 
Hermus,  presents  at  a  distance  an  imposing  appearance. 
It  is  the  seat  of  a  Greek  archbisljop,  and  has  five  Christian 
churches  and  fifteen  mosques.  The  city  occupies  the  site 
of  the  ancient  Philadelphia,  one  of  the  "seven  churches 
in  Asia"  of  the  Apocalypse.'  The  ancient  city,  founded 
two  centuries  B.C.,  was  subject  to  frequent  earthquakes. 
In  more  modern  times  it  was  celebrated  for  its  prolonged 
resistance  to  the  Turks,  who  took  it  in  1390,  after  all  the 
other  cities  of  Asia  Minor  had  surrendered.  Ala-Shehr 
has  an  active  trade,  and  the  population  is  about  18,000. 

ALASKA,  or  Aliaska,  formerly  Russian  America, 
but  now  a  territory  of  the  United  States,  is  a  vast  tract  of 
country  forming  the  north-west  portion  of  North  America, 
bounded  on  the  N.  by  the  Arctic  Ocean,  on  the  E.  by 
British  America,  and  on  the  S.  and  W.  by  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  The  name  was  formerly  confined  to  a  long  narrow 
peninsula  stretching  into  the  Pacific,  but  has  been  extended 
to  the  whole  territory.  Alaska  comprises  the  whole  of 
North  America  from  141°  W.  long,  to  Behring  Strait,  and 
also  numerous  islands  along  the  coast,  notably  Prince  of 
Wales  Islands,  King  George  III.  Archipelago,  the  Kodiak 
Islands,  and  the  Aleutian  Islands,  which  stretch  seaward 
from  the  extremity  of  the  peninsula.  From  the  main 
portion  of  the  territory  a  narrow  strip,  with  a  breadth  of 
about  50  miles,  extends  south-east  ^long  the  Pacific  coast, 
and  terminates  at  the  confines  of  British  Columbia,  in 
54°  40'  N.  lat.     From  north  to  south  the  extreme  length  uf 


iU 


Aoj  A — A  L  A 


Alaska  is  about  1100  miles,  and  the  greatest  breadth  from 
east  to  west  is  800  miles.  The  area  of  the  wholo  territory 
is  estimated  at  514,700  square  miles. 

The  numerous  islands,  creeks,  and  inlets  of  Alaska 
lengthen  out  its  coast-line  to  7860  miles,  an  extent 
greater  than  that  of  the  eastern  coast-line  of  the  United 
States.  Beginning  at  the  south-east,  the  chief  creeks  and 
bays  are  Cook's  Inlet,  Bristol  Bay,  Norton  Sound,  and 
Kotzebue  Sound ;  while,  following  the  same  order,  the 
principal  headlands,  in  addition  to  the  extremity  of  the 
peninsula,  are  Cape  Newenham  and  Cape  Romarizoff  in 
the  Pacific,  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  in  Behring  Strait,  and 
Cape  Lisbume,  Icy  Cape,  and  Point  Barrow  in  the  Arctic 
Ocean.  Point  Barrow  is  in  71°  23'  N.  lab,  and  is  the 
extreme  northern  point  of  the  country.  The  exploration 
of  the  northern  coast  was  chiefly  the  work  of  the  British 
aavigators  Cook,  Beechy,  and  Franklin,  and  of  the  officers 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  The  principal  river  of 
Alaska  is  the  Yukon,  or  Kwichpuk,  which  rise3  in  British 
America,  and,  receiving  the  Porcupine  river  at  Fort 
Yukon,  flows  westward  across  the  territory,  and  falls 
into  the  Pacific  Ocean  to  the  south  of  Norton  Sound. 
•At  a  distance  of  600  miles  from  the  sea  this  magnificent 
river  has  a  width  of  more  than  a  mile.  Its  tributaries 
would  in  Europe  be  reckoned  large  rivers,  and  its  volume  is 
eo  great  that  10  miles  out  from  its  principal  mouth  the 
water  is  fresh.  Among  the  other  rivers  of  Alaska  are 
the  Copper  river,  the  Suschitna,  the  Nuschagak,  and  tho 
Kuskokwim,  falling  into  the  Pacific,  and  the  Colville, 
flowing  northward  into  the  Arctic  Ocean.  A  great  moun- 
tain range  extends  from  British  Columbia,  in  a  north-west 
direction,  along  the  coast  of  Alaska,  the  summit  being 
covered  with  snow  and  glaciers.  Mount  St  Elias,  an 
active  volcano,  in  60°  18'  N.  lat.,  and  140"  30'  W.  long., 
rises  to  the  height  of  14,970  feet  above  the  sea.  The 
mountain  chain  runs  out  along  the  peninsula  which  has 
given  its  name  to  the  country,  and  at  the  western  extremity 
there  are  several  volcanic  cones  of  great  elevation;  wh'h 
i  i  the  island  of  Uminak,  separated  from  the  mainland  by 
only  a  narrow  strait,  there  are  enormous  volcanoes,  one 
vising  to  more  than  8000  feet  in  height.  In  the  interior 
and  to  the  north  the  country  is  also  mountainous,  with 
great  intervening  plains. 

The  north-west  coast  of  this  part  of  America  wa3  dis- 
covered and  explored  by  a  Russian  expedition  under 
Behring  in  1741 ;  and  at  subsequent  periods  settlements 
were  made  by  the  Russians  at  various  places,  chiefly  for 
the  prosecution  of  the  fur  trade.  In  1799  the  territory 
was  granted  to  a  Russo-American  fur  company  by  the 
Emperor  Paul  VIII.,  and  in  1839  the  charter  of  the  com- 
pany was  renewed.  New  Archangel,  in  tha  island  of 
Sitka,  was  the  principal  esttlement,  but  the  company  had 
about  forty  stations.  They  exported  annually  25,000 
skins  of  the  seal,  sea-otter,  beaver,  &c,  besides  about 
20,000  sea-horse  teeth.  The  privileges  of  the  company 
expired  in  1863;  and  in  1867  the  whole  Russian  posses- 
sions in  America  were  ceded  to  the  United  States  for  a 
money  payment  of  $7,200,000.  The  treaty  was  -signed  on 
30th  Mprch,  and  ratified  on  20th  June  1867  ;  and  on  9th 
October  following,  the  possession  of  the  country  was 
formally  made  over  to  a  military  force  of  the  United 
State3  at  New  Archangel  It  still  remains  in  the  military 
keeping  of  the  United  States,  no  steps  having  been  taken 
to  organise  a  territorial  government.  It  has,  however, 
been  constituted  a  revenue  district,  with  New  Archangel, 
or  Sitka,  as  the  port  of  entry.  Since  Alaska  was  ceded  to 
the  United  States  considerable  information  has  been  col- 
lected as  to  the  resources  of  the  less  sterile  parts  of  the 
country;  but  the  central  and  northern  parts  of  this  region 
are  only  known  as  the  inhospitable  home  of  some  wander- 


ing tribes  of  Indians  and  Esquimaux.  Portions  of  Alaska 
SO  been  recently  explored  by  the  employes  of  the 
i  .  American  Telegraph  Company  in  surveying  a  route 
for  a  Ime  of  telegraph  which  was  designed  to  cross  from 
America  to  Asia  near  Behring  Strait- a  project  which  was 
abandoned,  after  an  expenditure  of  £600,000,  on  communi- 
cation »irh  Europe  being  secured  by  the  Atlantic  cable. 

The   climate  of  the   south-western    coast    of    Alaska   h 
tolerably  mild,    considering    its    high    latitude.    The  great 

warm    current   of  the.    Pacific,    sweeping   i"    a   north-easterly 

circuit  from  the  East  India  Islands,  and  corresponding 
very  much  in  character  and  effects  to  the  Gulf  Stream  of 
the  Atlantic,  washes  its  shores ;  and  while  it  modifies  the 
temperature,  also  causes  an  excessive  rainfall.  At  Sitka 
the  mean  temperature  is  42°9,  and  the  average  rainfall  about 
80  inches.  Alaska  will  never  have  any  great  agricultural 
value.  From  the  great  amount  of  rain  and  the  want  of 
heat,  cereals  grow,  but  will  not  ripen,  and  vegetables  d< 
not  thrive.  Native  grasses  and  berries  grow  plentifully, 
but  tho  chief  wealth  of  the  country  is  in  its  vast  forests, 
in  the  furs  of  its  wild  animals,  and  in  the  fish  with  which 
its  rivers  and  seas  abound.  The  forests,  rising  from  tho 
coast  and  covering  the  mountains  to  a  height  of  2000  feet, 
consist  of  a  very  durable  yellow  cedar,  spruce,  larch,  and 
fir  of  great  size,  and  also  cypress  f.nd  hemlock.  The  wild 
animals  include  the  elk,  the  deer,  and  various  species  of 
bear,  and  also  many  fur-bearing  animals,  such  as  the  wolf 
and  fox,  the  beaver,  ermine,  marten,  otter,  and  squirrel 
Near  the  coast  and  islands  there  are  innumerable  fur- 
bearing  seals,  which  are  caught  in  great  numbers  by  the 
settlers ;  but  from  the  rigour  of  the  climate  and  the 
arduous  nature  of  the  work,  the  trapping  of  the  animals  of 
the  interior  is  left  to  the  Indians.  The  salmon  abounds  in 
the  rivers,  and  there  are  great  banks  along  the  shores,  the 
favourite  haunt  of  cod  and  other  fish.  About  eighty  whalers 
prosecute  their  fishing  off  the  coast  of  Alaska.  Coal  and 
iron  are  the  most  important  minerals,  but  the  value  of  the 
deposits  remains  to  be  ascertained. 

The  population  is  very  limited,  consisting  of  8000  whites 
and  15,000  Indians,  with  some  Esquimaux  on  the  northern 
coast.  The  Indians  are  rapidly  decreasing  in  number,  and 
are  described  as  treacherous  and  discontented.  New  Arch- 
angel, now  called  Sitka,  in  the  island  of  Sitka,  in  57"  3' 
N.  lat.,  and  135°  18'  W.  long.,  was  the  seat  of  the  Russian 
governor,  and  is  the  headquarters  of  the  United  States 
authorities.  It  contains  about  1500  inhabitants,  is  the 
residence  of  a  Greek  bishop,  and  has  fortifications,  maga- 
zines, and  a  magnetic  observatory.  Of  the  other  settle- 
ments, Fort  Nicholas  on  Cook's  Inlet,  and  Fort  St  Michael 
on  Norton  Sound,  are  the  more  important.  The  admirable 
harbours  on  the  coast  and  the  great  navigable  river  Yukon 
afford  facilities  for  the  formation  of  new  settlements  and 
the  increase  of  trade  by  the  Americans.  At  the  junction 
of  the  Porcupine  river  and  th^  Yukon  a  fort  was  estab- 
lished by  the  Hudson^s  Bay  Company  ln  1847.  (See 
Whymper,  Travels  m  Alaska  and  on  the  Yukon,  1868; 
Dall,  Alaska  and  its  Resources,  1870.) 

ALATRI,  the  ancient  Alatrium,  a  town  of  Italy,  6  miles 
N.  of  Frosinone,  in  the  province  of  that  name,  which  until 
1870  formed  part  of  the  papal  territory.  It  is  the  see 
of  a  bishop,  and  has  considerable  remains  of  Pelasgian 
antiquity.     Population  of  commune,  11,370. 

ALAVA,  one  of  the  Provincias  Vascongadas,  or  Basque 
Provinces,  in  the  north  of  Spain.  It  is  of  a  triangular 
shape,  and  is  bounded  on  the  N.  by  Guipuzcoa  and  Biscay, 
on  tho  E.  by  Navarre,  on  the  S.W.  by  Logrono,  and  on 
the  \V.  by  Burgos;  with  an  area  of  about  1200  square 
miles.  The  surface  of  Alava  is  very  mountainous,  espe- 
cially on  the  north,  where  a  part  of  the  Pyrenees  forms  its 
natural  boundary.     It  is  separated  from  Logrono  by  the 


ALA-ALB 


445 


Ebro,  and  the  other  rivers  are  the  Zadorra  and  the  Ayuda. 
The  soil  in  the  valleys  is  fertile,  yielding  wheat,  barley, 
maize,  flax,  hemp,  and  fruits.  Oil,  and  a  poor  kind  of 
wine  called  chacoli,  are  also  produced.  Many  of  the 
mountains  are  clothed  with  forests  of  oak,  chestnuts, 
beeches,  and  other  trees,  and  contain  iron,  copper,  lead, 
and  marble.  Salt  is  also  found  in  large  quantities  in  the 
province.  The  manufactures  of  Alava  are  unimportant ; 
coarse  cloth,  iron  ware,  earthenware,  hats,  and  shoes  being 
among  the  chief.  The  capital  of  the -province  is  Vitoria. 
Population  in  1870,  102,494. 

ALAVA,  Don  Miguel  Ricaedo  d',  a  Spanish  general 
and  statesman,  born  at  Vitoria  in  1771.  He  served  first 
in  the  navy,  and  had  risen  to  be  captain  of  a  frigate  when 
he  exchanged  into  the  army,  receiving  corresponding  rank. 
In  politics  he  followed  a  very  devious  course.  At  the 
assembly  of  Bayonne,  in  1808,  he  was  one  of  the  most 
prominent  of  those  who  accepted  the  new  constitution 
from  Joseph  Bonaparte  as  king  of  Spain.  In  1811,  when 
Joseph's  position  was  becoming  insecure,  Alava  joined  the 
national  independent  party,  who  were  fighting  in  alliance 
witn  the  English.  The  Spanish  Cortes  appointed  him 
commissary  at  the  English  headquarters,  and  Wellington, 
who  seems  to  have  regarded  him  with  great  favour,  made 
him  one  of  hia  aides-de-camp.  Before  the  close  of  the 
campaign  he  had  risen  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general 
On  the  restoration  of  Ferdinand,  Alava  was  cast  into 
prison,  but  the  influence  of  his  uncle  Ethenard,  the  in- 
quisitor, and  of  Wellington,  secured  his  speedy  release.  He 
soon  contrived  to  gain  the  favour  of  the  king,  who  ap- 
pointed him  in  1815  ambassador  to  the  Hague.  Four 
years  later  he  was  recalled,  owing,  it  is  said,  to  the  marked 
kindness  he  had  shown  to  his  banished  fellow-countrymen. 
On  the  breaking  out  of  the  revolution  of  1820  lie  was 
chosen  by  the  province  of  Alava  to  represent  it  in  the 
Cortes,  where-  he  became  conspicuous  in  the  party  of  the 
Exaltados,  and  in  1822  was  made  president.  In  the 
latter  year  he  fought  with  the  militia  under  Ballasteros 
and  Murillo  to  maintain  the  authority  of  the  Cortes 
against  the  rebels.  When  the  French  invested  Cadiz, 
Alava  was  commissioned  by  the  Cortes  to  treat  with  the 
Due  d'Angouleme,  and  the  negotiations  resulted  in  the 
restoration  of  Ferdinand,  who  pledged  himself  to  a  liberal 
policy.  No  sooner  had  he  regained  power,  however,  than 
he  ceased  to  hold  himself  bound  by  his  promises,  and  Alava 
found  it  necessary  to  retire  first  to  Gibraltar  and  then  to  Eng- 
land. On  the  death  of  Ferdinand,  he  returned  to  Spain,  and, 
espousing  the  cause  of  Maria  Christina  against  Don  Carlos, 
was  appointed  ambassador  to  London  in  1834,  and  to 
Paris  in  1835.  After  the  insurrection  of  La  Granja,  he 
refused  to  sign  the  constitution  of  1812,  declaring  himself 
tired  of  taking  new  oaths,  and  was  consequently  obliged 
to  retire  to  France,  where  he  died  at  Bareges  in  1843. 

ALAY  (lit.  a  triumphant  procession),  a  Turkish  cere- 
mony observed  on  the  assembling  of  the  forces  at  the  out- 
break of  war.  Its  essential  feature  is  the  public  display 
of  the  sacred  standard  of  Mahomet,  which  may  be  seen 
only  by  Moslems  and  touched  only  by  the  emirs.  On  one 
occasion,  when,  owing  to  a  long  interval  of  peace,  this 
rule  had  been  forgotten,  the  Christians,  who  had  witnessed 
the  spectacle  in  large  numbers,  were  cruelly  massacred. 
The  procession  in  which  the  standard  is  carried  is  headed 
by  artisans  bearing  the  implements  of  their  respective 
trades. 

ALB,  or  Albe,  a  vestment  of  white  linen,  hanging  down 
to  the  feet,  worn  by  priests  at  all  the  more  solemn  services 
of  the  church.  It  corresponds  to  the  surplice  of  the 
English  clergy,  the  difference  being  that  the  alb  is  closer  in 
the  sleeves,  and  bound  at  the  waist  by  a  girdle.  In  the 
ancient  church  it  was  customary  for  the  neophytes  who 


were  baptized  on  Easter-day  to  wear  an  alb  for  the  eight 
days  following,  and  hence  the  Sunday  after  Easter  was 
called  Dominica  in  Alois. 

ALBA,  the  ancient  Alba  Pompna,  a  town  of  Italy,  in 
the  province  of  Cuneo,  situated  on  the  Tanaro,  30  miles 
S.E.  of  Turin.  It  is  the  seat  of  a  bishop,  and  contains  a 
cathedral,  founded  in  1486,  as  well  as  other  churches  and 
religious  establishments.  It  has  a  large  trade  in  cattle, 
and  the  surrounding  district  is  very  fertile,  producing  silk, 
wine,  oil,  grain,  and  fruits,  and  also  marble  and  rock-salt. 
Population  of  the  commune  (1865),  9687. 

ALBA  LONGA,  the  most  ancient  town  in  Latium, 
was  situated  15  miles  S.E.  from  Borne,  on  a  ridge  be- 
tween the  mountain  and  the  lake  that  were  both  called 
from  it  Albanus.  It  derived  its  name  probably  from  its 
elevated  or  Alpine  situation,  the  story  of  the  white  sow 
discovered  by  iEneas  on  landing  (Virgil,  ^Eneid,  iii.  390- 
392)  being  of  course  mythical.  Little  beyond  the  bare 
fact  of  its  existence  for  a  considerable  period  as  the  foremost 
town  in  Latium  can  be  accepted  as  strictly  historical. 
According  to  the  legendary  accounts,  it  was  founded  by 
Ascanius,  the  son  of  ^Eneas,  300,  or,  as  a  later  version 
has  it,  360  years  before  the  foundation  of  Borne.  Four- 
teen kings,  whose  names  are  all  preserved,  are  said  to  have 
reigned  over  it  in  succession.  The  names,  however,  are 
evidently  an  invention,  having  probably  this  substratum  of 
historic  truth,  that  the  ruling  family  belonged  to  the 
Silvian  gens.  The  city  was  destroyed  by  the  Romans 
under  Tullus  Hostilius,  and  its  inhabitants  removed  to 
Rome.  Several  of  the  patrician  families,  such  a3  the 
Julii,  Curiatii,  Servilii,  Tullii,  Quintii,  ascribed  their  origin 
to  these  immigrants  from  Alba. 

ALBACETE,  one  of  the  new  provinces  of  Spain,  was 
formed  in  1833  out  of  districts  taken  from  Murcia  and 
New  Castile.  It  is  bounded  on  the  N.  by  Cuenca,  on 
the  E.  by  Valencia  and  Alicant,  on  the  S.  by  Murcia, 
and  on  the  W.  by  Ciudad  Eeal  and  Jaen.  The  area  is 
5971  square  miles.  The  province  is  generally  hilly,  some 
of  the  peaks  of  the  sierras  rising  to  a  height  of  5000  feet ; 
but  it  contains  rich  plains  and  many  fertile  valleys.  The 
principal  rivers  are  the  Mundo  in  the  southern  and  thi 
Jucar  in  the  northern  part  of  the  province ;  and  there  are 
numerous  smaller  streams.  Some  parts  of  the  country  have 
a  bare  appearance,  being  destitute  of  wood,  but  the  neigh- 
oourhood  of  Alcarez  is  covered  with  fruit  trees,  and  pre- 
sents the  aspect  of  a  garden.  Agriculture  is  in  a  tolerably 
prosperous  state,  more  advanced  than  in  the  centre  of 
Castile,  but  less  so  than  in  the  rich  districts  of  Murcia 
and  Valencia.  Cereals,  pulse,  and  fruits  of  all  kinds  are 
produced,  as  well  as  wine  of  fair  quality,  and  excellent 
honey.  Saffron  also  is  produced  in  large  quantities,  and 
some  attention  is  given  to  the  keeping  of  silk-worms. 
Many  of  the  inhabitants  devote1  themselves  to  the  rearing 
of  cattle,  sheep,  and  goats.  The  bulls  of  Albacete  are  in 
request  for  bull-fights ;  there  is  a  good  breed  of  mules, 
and  the  horses  of  the  province  have  long  mounted  the 
Spanish  cavalry.  Manufactures  are  confined  to  the  spin- 
ning of  hemp,  and  the  making  of  coarse  cloths,  porcelain, 
earthenware,  and  cutlery.  There  are  several  distilleries, 
and  a  considerable  trade  in  wood.  Tb»  district  is  rich  in 
minerals,  including  silver,  iron,  copper,  zinc,  sulphur, 
gypsum,  and  coal ;  but,  ex  lepting  stones  and  marble  for 
building  purposes,  they  aru  little  wrought.  In  addition 
to  agricultural  produce,  small  quantities  of  zinc,  iron,  and 
sulphur  are  exported.  There  are  numerous  mineral 
springs,  chiefly  sulphureous,  and  hot  as  well  as  cold,  at 
various  places  in  the  province.  Among  the  chief  towns 
are  Albacete,  Chinchilla,  Bonillo,  and  Alcarez.  The  rail- 
way from  Madrid  to  Valencia  traverses  the  province,  and 
at    Chinchilla    a    line    branches    southward    to    Murcia> 


44G 


A  L  B  -  A  L  B 


The  state  of  education  throughout  the  province  is  very  low. 
In  the  town  of  Albacete,  where  it  is  best,  little  more  than 
half  the  population  can  read;  while  at  Yeste,  where  it  is 
worst,  the  proportion  is  only  1  in  15.  Tho  graver  crimes 
are  of  infrequent  occurrence ;  but  the  inhabitants  always 
wear  arms,  and  offences  against  the  person  are  numerous. 
Population  in  1867,  221,444. 

Albacetk,  a  towu  of  Spain,  capital  of  the  above  pro- 
vince, is  situated  about  140  miles  S.E.  of  Madrid,  and  is  a 
station  on  the  railway  between  Madrid  and  Valenciar  It 
is  surrounded  by  a  fertile  plain,  and  has  considerable  trade 
in  saffron  and  in  the  agricultural  products  of  tho  district. 
A  great  market,  chiefly  for  the  sale  of  cattle,  is  held  annu- 
ally in  September,  and  extends  over  several  days.  The 
town  is  well  built,  and  has  several  churches,  two  hospitals, 
and  a  normal  school.  At  one  time  it  had  an  extcusivo 
trade  in  cutlery,  from  which  it  received  the  name  of  the 
Sheffield  of  Spain.  This  manufacture  has  been  very  much 
reduced  by  the  importation  of  cutlery  from  England  and 
Germany,  but  Albacete  is  still  famous  for  its  daggers, 
which  are  held  in  high  repute  and  much  worn  by  the 
Spaniards.  They  are  formidable  weapons,  of  coarse  manu- 
facture, but  with  richly-ornamented  handles,  and  frequently 
bear  proverbial  inscriptions  suitable  to  their  murderous 
appearance.     Population,  15,150. 

ALBAN,  St,  usually  styled  tho  protomartyr  of  Britain, 
was  born  at  Verulamium,  and  flourished  towards  the  end 
of  tho  third  century.  In  his  youth  he  took  a  journey  to 
Rome  in  company  with  Amphibalus,  a  monk  of  Caerleon, 
and  served  seven  years  as  a  soldier  under  the  Emperor 
Diocletian.  On  his  return  home  he  settled  at  Verulamium, 
and,  influenced  by  the  example  and  instructions  of  Amphi- 
balus, renounced  tho  errors  of  paganism,  ir  which  he  had 
been  educated,  and  became  a  convert  to  the  Christian 
religion.  It  is  generally  agreed  that  Alban  suffered 
martyrdom  during  tho  great  persecution  in  the  reign 
of  Diocletian ;  but  authors  differ  as  to  the  precise  date. 
Bede,  who  gives  a  full  account  of  the  event,  fixes  it  in  28G ; 
some  refer  it  to  the  year  296 ;  while  Usher  reckons  it 
amongst  the  events  of  303.  Between  400  and  500  years 
after  St  Alban's  death,  Offa,  king  of  the  Mercians,  built 
a  largo  and  stately  monastery  near  Verulamium  to  his 
memory,  and  around  it  the  present  town  of  St-  Albans  was 
gradually  erected. 

ALBANI,  or  Albano,  Francesco  (1578-1660),  a 
celebrated  Italian  painter,  was  born  at  Bologna,  His 
father  was  a  silk  merchant,  and  intended  to  bring  up  his 
son,  to  the  same  occupation ;  but  Albani  was  alrtady,  at 
tho  age  of  twelve,  filled  with  so  strong  an  inclination  for 
painting,  that  on  the  death  of  his  father  he  devoted  him- 
self entirely  to  art.  His  first  master  was  Denis  Calvart, 
with  whom  Guido  Reni  was  at  the  same  time  a  pupil  He 
was  soon  left  by  Calvart  entirely  to  the  care  of  Guido,  and 
contracted  with  him  a  close  friendship.  He  followed  Guido 
to  the  school  of  the  Caracci ;  but  after  this,  owing  to 
mutual  rivalry,  their  friendship  began  gradually  to  cooL 
They  kept  up  for  a  long  time  a  keen  competition,  and  their 
mutual  emulation  called  forth  some  of  their  best  produc- 
tions. Notwithstanding  this  rivalry,  they  still  spoke  of 
each  other  with  the  highest  esteei  a.  Albani,  after  having 
greatly  improved  himself  in  the  school  of  the  Caracci, 
went  to  Rome,  where  he  open  :d  an  academy  and  resided 
for  many  years.  JBere  he  painted,  after  the  designs  of 
Annibal  Caracci,  the  whole  of  the  frescoes  in  the  chapel  of  St 
Diego  in  the  church  of  San  Giacomo  degli  Spagnuoli  His 
best  frescoes  are  those  on  mythological  subjects,  of  which 
there  is  a  largo  number  in  the  Verospi  Palace,  now  Tor- 
Ionia.  On  tho  death  of  his  wife  he  returned  to  Bologna, 
where  he  married  a  second  time,  and  resided  till  his  death 
in  the  pnjuyuient  of  much  domestic  happH-uss  ai*d  geueiiu 


esteem.  His  wifo  and  children  were  very  beautiful,  and 
served  him  for  models.  But  whilo  thus  studying  from 
nature,  his  love  of  artilieial  refinement  and  conventional 
expression  was  so  great,  that  even  his  best  works  are  defi- 
cient in  breadth  and  vigour,  as  well  as  in  unaffected  grace 
and  natural  feeling.  The  learning  displayed  in  the  com- 
position of  his  pictures,  and  their  minute  elaboration 
and  exquisite  finish,  gave  them  great  celebrity,  and  entitle 
them  to  a  distinctive  place  among  the  products  of  the 
Bolognese  school. 

"In  point  of  original  invention."  says  l.nnzi,  "Albani  is  superior  to> 
Domenichino,  perhaps  to  any  other  of  the  school ;  and  in  his  repre- 
sentation of  female  forms,  according  to  Mengs,  he  has  no  equal.  By 
some  he  is  denominated  the  Anacreon  of  painting.  Like  that  poet, 
with  his  short  odes,  so  Albani,  from  his  small  paintings,  acquired 
great  reputation ;  and  as  the  one  sings  Venus  and  the  Loves,  and  maids 
and  boys,  so  does  the  artist  hold  up  to  the  eye  the  same  delicate 
and  graceful  subjects.  Nature,  indeed,  formed,  the  perusal  of  tho 
poets  inclined,  and  fortune  encouraged  his  genius  for  this  kind  of 
painting  ;  and  possessing  a  consort  and  twelve  children,  all  of  sur- 
prising beauty,  he  was  at  tho  same  time  blest  with  the  finest 
models  for  the  pursuit  of  his  studies.  He  had  a  villa  most  delight- 
fully situated,  which  further  presented  him  with  a  variety  ;J  object* 
enabling  him  to  represent  the  beautiful  rufal  views  so  familiar  to 
his  eye. 

A  great  number  of  his  works  are  at  Bologna.  Among 
the  most  celebrated  of  his  pictures  are  the  "  Four  Seasons  ;" 
"  Diana  and  Venus,"  in  the  Florentine  gallery;  tho  "Toilet 
of  Venus,"  in  the  Louvre;  "Venus  landing  at  Cythera," 
in  the  Ghigi  palace  at  Rome,  <fec.  Among  the  best  of  his- 
sacred  subjects  are  a  "  St  Sebastian  "  and  an  "  Assumption 
of  the  Virgin,"  both  in  the  church  of  St  Sebastian  at 
Roma  He  was  among  the  first  of  the  Italian  painters  to 
devote  himself  to  the  painting  of  cabinet  pictures. 

ALBANIA,  a  country  of  considerable  extent,  which 
though  frequently  ruled  by  turbulent  and  nearly  independ- 
ent chiefs,  ranks  as  one  of  the  provinces  of  the  Turkish 
empire.  The  tract  of  land  to  which  this  name  is  now 
applied  extends  from  39°  to  43°  N.  lat.,  and  from  18°  24' 
to  21°  48'  E  long. ;  from  the  Gulf  of  Cattaro  in  the  north 
to  the  Gulf  of  Arta  in  the  south,  and  from  the  coast  of 
the  Adriatic  Sea  and  Ionian  Sea  on  the  west  to  an  irregular 
ill-defined  line  inland  towards  the  east,  roughly  indicated 
in  its  northern  part  by  the  Tchar  Dagh,  the  ancient  Scardus, 
a  part  of  the  Haemus  or  Balkan  range,  and  southwards  by 
the  Pindus  chain,  or  rather  the  portions  of  it  now  called 
tho  mountains  of  Sagori,  Metzovo,  and  Suli.  Within  these 
limits  is  included  the  ancient  Epirvi,  corresponding  to 
the  southern  part  of  tho  country  now  comprehended 
under  tho  general  name  of  Albania,  and  divided  from 
Albania,  properly  so  called,  by  the  river  Voyutza  or  Viosa, 
which  enters  the  Adriatic  a  few  miles  north  of  Avlona. 
Albania,  therefore,  is  bounded  on  the  N.  by  Dalmatia, 
Montenegro  (from  which  it  is  separated  by  the  river 
Moroka),  and  Bosnia ;  on  the  E.  by  Servia  and  the 
Turkish  province  of  Rum-ili,  in  which  Macedonia,  or  the 
greater  part  of  it,  is  included;  and  on  the  S.  by  Hellas 
or  Northern  Greece,  which  was  the  Turkish  province  of 
Livadia  before  Greece  regained  its  independence,  and  from 
which  it  is  separated  by  the  river  Garla  or  Suli.  The 
superficial  area  of  Albania  is  estimated  at  about  18,944 
square  miles,  and  it  has  a  coast-line  of  about  280  miles 
from  north  to  south,  without  reckoning  indentations,  &c. 
It  nowhere  extends  more  than  100  miles  from  tho  sea, 
and  in  the  southern  part  not  more  than  30  milea. 

According  to  the  most  recent  division  of  the  Turkish 
empire  into  eyalets,  sanjaks,  and  livas,  Albania  is  com- 
prehended in  three  eyalets,  namely,  Uakub  or  Uskup 
in  the  north;  Roumelia,  which  also  includes  part  of 
Macedonia,  in  the  centre;  and  Yania,  corresponding  pretty 
nearly  to  the  ancient  Epirue,  in  the  south.  The  chief 
^  towns  of  these  eyalets  are  respectively  Scutari,  Monastir, 


ALBANIA 


447 


«ncT  Joannina,  sometimes  written  Janina  or  Yanina;  and 
these  divisions  are  therefore  spoken  of  by  some  writers  as 
the  pashaliks  of  Scutari,  Monastir,  and  Joannina.  The 
divisions  chiefly  recognised  by  the  Albanians  themselves 
are  those  formed  by  the  varieties  of  the  native  tribes. 
Colonel  Leake,  who  is  considered  one  of  the  best  informed 
authorities  on  this  head,  divides  them  into  the  Ngege  or 
Ghegides,  whose  principal  towns  are  Dulcigno,  Scutari,  and 
Durazzo ;  the  Toske  or  Toskides,  who  occupy  Berat  and 
Elbasan ;  the  Liape,  a  poor  and  predatory  race,  who  in- 
■  habit  the  mountains  between  the  Toske  and  Delvino ;  and 
the  Tsami,  who  inhabit  the  most  southerly  district,  and 
whose  principal  towns  are  Suli  and  Paramithia.  The 
country  is  mountainous,  the  interior  being  traversed  by  a 
range  which  forms  a  prolongation  of  the  Dinaric  Alps, 
and  which  is  continued  southwards  in  the  Pindus  range. 
These  mountains,  from  which  numerous  spurs  are  thrown 
out  to  the  east  and  west,  run  in  a  direction  from  north  to 
south,  parallel  to  the  course  of  the  Tchar  Dagh.  Along  the 
southern  part  of  the  coast-line,  and  parallel  with  it,  run  the 
Khimara  mountains,  known  to  the  ancients  as  the  Aero- 
ceraunian  range,  terminating  northwards  in  the  bold  head- 
land of  Cape  Glossa.  There  are  three  lakes  of  great  size 
in  Albania — Scutari  in  the  north,  Okhrida  in  the  centre, 
and  Joannina  in  the  south.  The  rivers  for  the  most  part 
are  short,  and  run,  generally  speaking,  from  east  to  west, 
or  in  a  north-westerly  direction.  The  Moroka  and  Zenta 
enter  the  lake  of  Scutari,  which  is  connected  with  the  sea 
by  the  Boyana,  that  flows  into  the  Adriatic  near  Dulcigno. 
The  'White  Drin,  flowing  in  a  southerly  direction,  and  the 
Black  Drin,  running  northwards  from  Lake  Okhrida,  form 
the  head  streams  of  the  Drin.  The  principal  streams  in 
addition  to  these  are  the  Skombia,  Voyutza,  Calamas, 
Arta,  and  Gurla  (the  ancient  Acheron),  with  its  tributary 
the  Vuv6  (the  ancient  Cocytus).  The  climate  is  generally 
healthy,  though  cold  and  bleak  in  the  highlands;  the 
warmer  regions  along  the  coast  are  also  frequently  visited 
by  cold  northerly  winds. 

Albania  includes  not  only  the  ancient  £pirus,  but  also 
part  of  the  ancient  Macedonia,  Illyria,  and  Chaonia. 
This  country  was  in  early  times,  as  now,  distinguished  by 
the  rude  valour  of  its  inhabitants.  Its  remote  situation, 
and  the  want  of  union  among  its  tribes,  generally  pre- 
vented it  from  acting  any  conspicuous  part  in  "Grecian 
politics.  The  only  remarkable  exception  occurs  in  the  reign 
of  Pyrrhus,  king  of  Epirus  (296-272  B.c),  who  was  justly 
ranked  among  the  greatest  captains  of  antiquity.  After  hi3 
death  the  country  wa3  again  split  into  a  -number  of  petty 
states,  which  were  unatie  to  resist  the  united  strength  of 
Macedon ;  and  to  that  kingdom  Epirus  continued  subject 
till  both  were  alike  subdued  by  the  Homan  arms  (167  B.C.) 

It  was  during  the  time  of  the  Greek  empire  that  the 
name  of  Albania  was  first  given  to  this  district.  During 
the  decline  of  the  empire  the  Albanians  gradually  rose  to 
distinction,  and  at  last  to  independence.  Their  valour 
enabled  them  to  maintain  their  ground  against  the  Bul- 
garians, who  had  occupied  all  the  neighbouring  districts  of 
Greece.  Nor  were  they  less  successful  against  the  Turks, 
a  more  formidable  enemy.  Under  the  command  of  the 
celebrated  George  Castriot,  called  by  the  Turks  Scander- 
beg,  they  baffled  all  the  efforts  of  Mahomet  IL,  the  con- 
queror of  Constantinople.  That  powerful  monarch  entered 
Albania  only  to  experience  a  succession  of  defeats,  and  was 
at  length  compelled  to  acknowledge  its  independence  by  a 
formal  treaty.  On  the  death  of  Scanderbeg,  the  Turks 
redoubled  their  efforts  against  Albania,  which  was  at 
length  reduced  to  a  state  of  nominal  subjection.  The 
siege  of  Scutari,  in  1478,  formed  the  termination  of  this 
memorable  struggle.  The  subjection,  however,  was  always 
the  imperfect;  revolts  were  frequent,  and  the  inhabitants  of 


mountainous  districts  still  preserved  their  independence. 
It  was  the  motives  of  pay  and  plunder,  rather  than  com- 
pulsion, that  brought  these  hardy  soldiers  into  the  Turkish 
ranks.  In  proportion  as  the  Ottoman  empire  declined 
in  vigour,  its  hold  of  Albania  became  less  firm ;  and  the 
vigorous  and  enterprising  genius  of  Ali  Pasha  again  con- 
verted this  dependency  into  what  might  almost  be  called  a 
separate  kingdom. 

In  the  grand  insurrection  of  Greece  (1821-1829),  the 
Albanians,  accustomed  to  view  with  disdain  the  Ottoman 
yoke,  showed  a  considerable  disposition  to  make  common 
cause  with  the  Greeks,  and  their  co-operation  would  havo 
almost  ensured  success.  But  the  Greeks,  imprudently  and 
unhappily,  could  not  divest  themselves  of  the  feelings  of 
enmity  cherished  during  the  long  series  of  wars  which  Ali 
had  waged  against  them.  At  the  siege  of  Tripolizza 
(October  5,  1821)  overtures  were  made  to  them  by  a  corps 
of  3000  Albanians,  who  formed  part  of  the  garrison;  but 
the  Greeks,  having  succeeded  in  entering  the  place,  began 
a  dreadful  and  indiscriminate  massacre,  in  which  the 
Albanians  were  not  spared.  At  the  siege  of  Arta,  al- 
though the  capture  was  much  facilitated  by  the  coming 
over  of  a  corps  of  Albanians,  the  Greeks  treated  them 
extremely  ilL  The  Albanian  nation  was  thus  forcibly 
thrown  into  the  arms  of  the  Porte,  to  which  it  has  since 
continued  nominally  subject.  The  allegiance  of  the  Alba- 
nians, however,  to  Turkey  rests  on  a  very  precarious  basis 
even  at  the  present  day,  and,  it  will  be  remembered,  in  the 
Crimean  war  many  Albanian  chiefs  fought  under  the 
Russian  flag  against  the  combined  forces  of  England.. 
France,  and  Turkey. 

The  inhabitants  of  Albania  are  estimated  at  1,200,000,  of 
whom  a  considerable  proportion  are  Turks  and  Greeks;  but 
the  basis  of  the  population  consists  of  the  original  race, 
called  Arnauts.  About  half  of  the  entire  population  are 
Mahometans;  of  the  other  moiety,  about  520,000  belong 
to  the  Greek  Church,  and  the  remainder  to  the  Latin 
Church.  The  conversion  of  those  who  profess  Maho- 
metanism  has  been,  however,  very  imperfect,  and  chiefly 
induced  by  political  motives.  In  every  family,  the  males 
usually  go  to  the  mosque,  the  females  to  church  ;  and  some 
members  of  a  family  are  seen  in  the  most  amicable  manner 
eating  from  the  same  table,  and  even  from  the  same  plate, 
meats  forbidden  to  the  others.  With  the  Turks,  accord- 
ingly, infidel  and- Albanian  are  terms  nearly  synonymous. 
The  native  Albanian  is  of  middle  stature ;  his  face  is 
oval,  with  high  cheek-bones ;  his  neck  long ;  his  chest  full 
and  broad.  His  air  is  erect  and  majestic  to  a  degree  which 
never  fails  to  strike  the  traveller.  He  holds  in  utter  con- 
tempt that  dissimulation  which  is  characteristic  of  the 
Greek,  and,  unlike  the  Turk,  he  is  gay,  lively,  and  active. 
Averse,  however,  to  regular  industry  his  whole  delight  is 
in  arms  and  plunder.  He  goes  co  stantly  armed;  and 
there  are  few  Albanians  who  have  _iot,  in  the  prime  of 
their  life,  belonged  to  some  of  the  numerous  bands  of 
robbers  who  infest  the  mountains  of  their  native  country, 
of  Thessaly,  and  of  Macedonia.  This  occupation  carries 
with  it  no  disgrace:  it  is  common  for  the  Albanian  to 
mention  circumstances  which  occurred  "when  he  was  a 
robber."  In  proportion  as  the  trade  of  robbing  becomes 
overstocked,  part  of  those  engaged  in  it  seek  employment 
in  the  service  of  the  sultan  and  the  different  pashas 
throughout  the  Turkish  empire,  by  all  of  whom  the  Alba 
nians  are  regarded  as  the  most  valuable  of  their  troops.' 

This  fierce  and  haughty  race  display  a  greater  degree  of 
contempt  for  the  female  sex  than  is  usual  even  among  the 
most  barbarous  nations.  The  females  are  literally  regarded 
as  inferior  animals,  and  treated  accordingly;  but  in  the 
country  districts  they  are  not  confined  cr  veiled,  as  is  cu*- 
toraary  in  Mahometan  countries. 


448 


ALB-ALB 


The  national  costume  of  the  Albanians  is  handsome  in 
appearance,  and  bears  some  resemblance  to  the  Highland 
dress.  It  consists  of  a  cotton  shirt;  a  white  'woollen 
fustanella  or  kilt,  which  reaches  to  the  knees;, a  jacket;  a 
sash  round  the  waist,  in  which  pistols  and  a  yataghan  are 
commonly  carried ;  coloured  leggings ;  sandals ;  and  a  red 
cap,  round  which  some  twist  a  shawl  or  scarf.  The  chiefs 
and  wealthy  Albanians  generally  wear  a  jacket  and  vest  of 
velvet,  richly  embroidered  with  gold,  and  metal  greaves 
over  their  leggings,  which  are  usually  made  of  fine  scarlet 
cloth.  The  poorer  classes,  though  picturesque  in  appear- 
ancej  are  extremely  dirty  in  their  habits,  and  seldom 
change  their  clothes.  As  a  protection  from  the  weather, 
every  Albanian  has  a  capote,  or  rough  shaggy  mantle  with 
a  hood  attached,  and  usually  made  of  horse-hair  stuff  or 
coarse  woollen  cloth.  The  dress  of  the  females  is  more 
various,  and  often  fantastical.  A  singular  custom  prevails 
among  the  girls  of  stringing  together  the  pieces  of  money 
which  they  have  collected  for  their  portion,  and  wearing 
them  upon  their  heads.  Some  of  them  have  their  hair 
hanging  down  in  braids  to  a  great  length,  loaded  with  this 
species  of  ornament. 

Scutari,  on  the  lako  of  that  name,  is  now  considered  the 
chief  town  of  Albania.  It  is  the  centre  of  a  large  inland 
trade,  and  contains  about  40,000  inhabitants.  Prisrend, 
in  the  north-east,  is  noted  for  its  manufactures  of  fire-arms 
and  cutlery,  and  has  a  population  of'25,000.  Monastir, 
or  Bitolia,  although  the  capital  of  the  eyalet  of  Eoumelia, 
is  not,  strictly  speaking,  within  the  confines  of  Albania. 
It  has  a  large  transit  trade  between  eastern  and  western 
Turkey.  Joannina,  with  36,000  inhabitants,  situated  on 
the  south-west  shore  of  a  lake  of  the  same  name,  was*  the 
capital  of  Albania  in  the  time  of  Ali  Pasha,  and  was  his 
stronghola  as  well  as  the  seat  of  his  government.  The  other 
important  towns  of  the  interior  are  Jacova,  Tirana,  Okhrida, 
Elbasan,  Delvino,  and  Metzovo.  The  principal  seaports 
and  river-ports  are  Dulcigno,  Durazzo,  Parga,  Prevesa,  and 
Arta.  j 

The  commerce  of  Albania  is  chiefly  carried  on  through 
Arta  and  Prevesa,  on  the  north  side  of  the  entrance  to  the 
Gulf  of  Arta,  The  principal  merchants,  however,  are 
Greeks  residing  at  Joannina,  among  whom  a  very  active 
commercial  spirit  appears  to  prevail.  The  exports  consist 
almost  entirely  of  unmanufactured  produce,  live  stock,  and 
provisions,  and  comprise  valonia  (the  cup  of  the  acorn  of 
the  Valonia  oak,  used  in  tanning),  raw  silk,  cheese,  raw 
hides,  drugs,  dye-woods,  sheep,  horses,  and  salted  meats. 
Notwithstanding  its  mountainous  character,  the  fertility  of 
its  plains  affords  a  surplus  of  grain,  of  which  a  considerable 
quantity  is  sent  to  Italy,  the  Ionian  Isles,  Malta,  and 
other  places.  The  vine,  olive,  pomegranate,  orange,  lemon, 
mulberry,  and  fig  are  also  cultivated.  Wool  is  exported, 
chiefly  unmanufacturi  1,  but  partly  also  wrought  into  coarse 
cloth.  Other  importa  t  articles  of  export  are  oil,  tobacco  of 
good  quality,  cotton,  and  cotton  yarn.  Some  cargoes  of  wood 
for  building  and  firewood  are  annually  sent  to  Malta.  The 
chief  imports  consist  of  woollen  cloths,  used  for  winter 
coverings.  For  this  purpose  the  preference  is  given  to  a 
coarser  and  cheaper  kind  than  any  that  is  usually  manu- 
factured in  Great  Britain.  This  is  supplied  from  Germany. 
Fire-arms,  cutlery,  gunpowder,  hardware,  coffee,  and  sugar 
are  also  imported.  The  manufactures  of  Albania  are  few 
and  unimportant,  being  almost  entirely  confined  to  capotes, 
embroidery  on  cloth  and  velvet,  fire-arms  and  cutlery  to  a 
limited  extent,  and  gun  and  pistol  stocks — all  for  home 
consumption. 

See  the  Journey  through  Albania  and  Turkey  of  Mr 
J.  Cam  Ilobhouse  (Lord  Brought*);  Travels  in  the  Ionian 
Isles,  Albania,  <fec,  by  Sir  Henry  Holland,  who  resided  for 
some  time  in  the  capacity  of  physician  et  t'.e  court  of  Ali 


•Pasha ;  Eev.  T.  S.  Hugncs's  Travels  in  Sicily,  Greece,  and 
Albania;  Leake's  Travels  in  Northern  Greece,'  Mrs  Mary 
A  Walker's  Through  Macedonia  to  the  Albanian  Lakes. 

ALBANIA,  in  Ancient  Geography,  a  country  of  Asia, 
bounded,  according  to  Strabo,  on  the  W.  by  Iberia,  on 
the  E.  by  the  Caspian  Sea,  on  the  N.  by  Sarmatia,  on  the 
S.  by  Armenia  and  the  river  Cyrus  (Kour).  The  country 
formerly  called  Albania  corresponds  with  the  modern 
Daghistan,  Schirvan,  and  Leghistan,  and  is  extremely 
fertile,  owing  to  the  alluvial  deposits  made  by  the  river 
Cyrus.  The  ancient  historians  describe  the  Albanians 
as  tall,  strong-bodied,  and,  generally  speaking,  of  a  very 
graceful  appearance.  The  Albanians  were  originally  a 
nomad  race,  and  never  devoted  themselves  to  agriculture 
or  commerce.  They  became  .known  to  the  Eomans  during 
Pompey's  expedition  in  pursuit  of  Mithridatcs  (C5  B.C.), 
against  which  they  opposed  a  force  of  C0,000  infantry 
and  22,000  cavalry.  Though  Pompey  exacted  from  them 
a  nominal  submission,  they  continued  practically  inde- 
pendent. 

ALBANO,  a  town  and  lake  in  the  Campagna  di  Eoma, 
Italy,  about  14  miles  S.E  of  Eome.  The  town  is  much 
admired  for  the  picturesque  scenery  around  it.  It  is  well 
built,  and  the  Eoman  aqueduct  and  other  monuments  of 
antiquity  are  in  tolerablo  preservation.  It  contains  a 
cathedral,  and  there  are  many  handsomo  villas  of  the 
Eoman  nobles  in  the  vicinity.  Population,  6400.  The 
lake  of  Albano,  lying  to  the  N.E.  of  the  town,  occupies 
the  crater  of  an  extinct  volcano,  and  is  of  a  beautiful 
oval  form,  surrounded  with  high  wooded  banks,  and  about 
7  miles  in  circumference.  It  has  long  been  an  object 
of  attraction  to  the  painter  and  the  traveller.  In  tho 
fourth  century  of  ancient  Eome,  during  the  siege  of  Veii, 
there  was  an  extraordinary  rise  of  the  waters  of  this  lake, 
and  the  oracle  declared  that  there  was  no  hope  of  success 
against  Veii  while  the  Alban  lake  was  allowed  thus  to 
swell.  This  prompted  the  Eomans  to  drain  it  by  a  tunnel 
cut  through  the  rock,  a  mile  and  a  half  in  length,  4  feet 
wide,  and  6  high,  which  is  still  perfect.  This  outlet  keeps 
the  surface  of  the  lake  at  the  height  of  920  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea,  Monte  Cavo,  the  ancient  Albanus, 
rises  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  lake  to  a  height  of  3000 
feet,  and  commands  a  magnificent  prospect.  On  its  sum- 
mit stood  the  famous  temple  of  Jupiter  Latialis. 

ALBANY,  a  city  of  the  United  States,  capital  of  the 
state  of  New  York  and  of  the  county  of  Albany,  pictu- 
resquely situated  in  a  beautiful  and  fertile  country  on  the 
western  bank  of  the  Hudson,  145  miles  from  New  York.  It 
is,  for  an  American  city,  irregularly  laid  out,  and  much  of 
its  architecture  is  poor,  although  it  contains  several  very 
fine  buildings,  and  many  of  its  more  recently  made  streets 
are  broad  and  handsome.  The  Capitol,  a  brown  stone 
edifice,  115  feet  by  90,  built  in  1807,  faces  a  square  called 
Capitol  Park ;  and  opposite  it,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
square,  are  the  State  Hall  and  City  Hall,  both  con- 
structed of  white  marble.  There  are  several  beautiful 
churches,  including  a  large  Eoman  Catholic  cathedral. 
Among  the  literary  and  scientific  institutions  of  Albany 
may  bo  mentioned  the  university,  incorporated  in  1852, 
giving  instruction  in  most  branches  of  education,  especially 
practical  science  and  law ;  a  medical  college ;  an  academy, 
and  other  schools  of  various  grades ;  a  large  observatory ; 
the  state  library,  with  about  90,000  volumes;  and  the 
Albany  Institute  for  the  collection  and  diffusion  of  scien- 
tific information.  Albany  is  an  important  centre  of  trade, 
being  situated  at  the  point  where  the  united  Erie  and 
Champlain  canals  join  the  Hudson,  and  possessing  good 
railway  communication  with  most  cities  of  the  United 
States.  The  chief  articles  of  commerce  are  timber,  wheat^ 
barley,  wool,  and  tobacco,  enormous  quantities  of  wLicb, 


ALB-ALB 


449 


especially  of  the  first-mentioned,  pass  through  the  city 
annually.  Besides  its  transit  trade,  its  numerous  foundries, 
its  breweries,  carriage  and  hat  manufactories,  and  tanneries 
are  of  importance.  In  1873,  536  vessels  (83  sailing  and 
352  unrigged  vessels  and  101  steamers),  of  68,682  tons, 
belonged  to  the  port.  Albany  was  founded  by  the  Dutch 
in  1623,  and  is  thus  one  of  the  oldest  European  settle- 
ments in  the  United  States,  dating  sixteen  years  after 
that  of  Jamestown  in  Virginia.  It  was  captured  by  the 
British  in  1661,  who  changed  its  name  from  Beaverwyck 
or  Williamstadt  in  honour  of  the  Duke  of  York  and  Albany. 
It  received  its  charter  in  1686,  and  became  the  capital  of 
the  state  of  New  York  in  1797.  It  is  governed  by  a  mayor 
and  twenty  aldermen,  and  is  divided  into  ten  wards.  Popu- 
lation in  1870,  69,422  ;  number  of  families,  14,105  ;  and 
of  dwellings,  8748. 

ALBANY,  Louisa  Maria  Caroline,  Countess  op, 
daughter  of  Prince  Gustavus  Adolphus  of  Stolberg-Gedern, 
was  born  at  Mons  on  the  27th  Sept.  1753,  and  assumed  the- 
title  of  Albany  in  1772,  when  she  married  the  Pretender, 
Charles  Edward,  grandson  of  James  II.  of  England.  Her 
husband  was  much  older  than  herself,  and  their  union 
proved  very  unhappy.  There  were  no  children,  and  the 
Pretender,  who  was  a  confirmed  drunkard,  treated  his  wife 
with  such  brutality  that  her  health  and  even  her  life  were 
endangered.  In  1780  she  obtained  a  legal  separation,  and 
entrusted  herself  to  the  care  of  her  husband's  brother,  the 
Cardinal  of  York,  who  placed  her  in  a  convent,  and  after- 
wards removed  her  to  his  own  house  at  Rome.  Here  she 
was  frequently  visited  by  the  poet  Alfieri,  who  made  her 
the  object  of  what  seems  to  have  been  the  only  pure  attach- 
ment of  his  life,  and  who,  according  to  his  own  avowal, 
was  indebted  to  her  influence  for  all  that  was  bestun  his 
works.  (See  Alfieri.)  In  1788  she  was  freed  from  her 
bonds  by  the  death  of  the  Pretender,  and'  in  the  same  year 
she  is  said  to  have  been  secretly  married  to  Alfieri.  For 
the  remainder  of  her  life  she  resided  at  Florence,  where 
she  continued  to  be  known  as  Countess  of  Albany,  and 
distinguished  herself  as  a  patroness  of  literary  men  and 
artists.  Alfieri  died  at  her  house  in  1803,  and  in  1810 
she  caused  a  monument  to  his  memory,  by  Canova,  to  be 
erected  in  the  church  of  San  Croce.  With  the  death  of 
the  Cardinal  of  York  in  1807  the  Stuart  line  became 
extinct,  and  the  countess,  who  died  on  the  29th  January 
1824,  was  the  last  who  was  known  by  the  name  of  Albany. 
She  was  buried  beside  Alfieri  in  the  church  of  San  Croce. 

ALBATEGNI,  an  Arabian  astronomer,  whose  proper 
name  is  Mohammed  Ibn  Jdbir  Ibn  Sendn  Abu  Abdillah, 
derived  this  appellation,  from  Batan  in  Mesopotamia,  his 
native  town,  of  which  he  is  said  to  have  been  chief.  His 
astronomical  observations  extended  from  877  A.D.  to  his 
death  in  929,  and  were  principally  conducted  at  Bakkah 
or  Aracta,  on  the  Euphrates,  and  at  Antioch  in  Syria.  His 
principal  work,  Zidje  Sabi,  the  original  MS.  of  which  is 
in  the  Vatican,  was  published  in  a  Latin  translation  by 
Plato  Tiburtinus  at  Nuremberg  in  1537,  under  the  title  De 
Scientia  Stellarum,  and  reprinted  at  Bologna  in  1645. 
Among  the  unpublished  works  of  Albategni  are  commen- 
taries on  the  Almagest  and  Makaldt  of  Ptolemy,  and  a 
Treatise  on  Astronomy  and  Geography.  Instead  of  the 
tables  of  Ptolemy,  which  were  imperfect,  he  computed  new 
ones;  these  were  adapted  to  the  meridian  of  Bakkah,  and 
were  long  used  as  the  best  among  the  Arabs.  Albategni 
gives  the  motion  of  the  sun's  apogee  since  Ptolemy's  time, 
is  woll  as  the  motion  of  the  stars,  which  he  estimated  at 
1°  in  70  years.  He  makes  the  obliquity  of  the  ecliptic 
23°  35'.  His  determination  of  the  length  of  the  tropical 
year  is  more  exact  than  that  of  Ptolemy,  being  only  2m. 
26s.  short.  Upon  his  observations  were  founded  the  Al- 
phonsine  tables  of  the  moon's  motion.     He  first  substi- 


tuted sine3  for  chords,  and  also  introduced  into  trigonometry 
the  use  of  tangents  and  versed  sines.  On  account  of  his 
discoveries,  the  chief  of  which  is  the  motion  of  the  sun's 
apogee,  he  has  been  called  the  Arabian  Ptolemy,  and  has 
been  placed  by  some  at  the  head  of'  Arabian  astronomers. 
ALBATROSS,  a  genu3  of  aquatic  birds  (Diomedea), 
closely  allied  to  the  Petrels  and  Gulls,  beronging  to  the 
family  of  Longipennatoe,  or  long-winged  birds,  in  the  ordei 
Natatores.  In  the  name  Diomedea,  assigned  to  them  by 
Linnaeus,  there  is  a  reference  to  the  mythical  metamor- 
phosis of  the  companions  of  the  Greek  warrior  Diomede* 
into  birds.  They  have  the  beak  large,  strong,  and  sharp- 
edged,  the  upper  mandible  terminating  in  a  large  hook; 
the  wings  are  narrow  and  very  long;  the  feet  have  no 
hind  toe,  and  the  three  anterior  toes  are  completely  webbed 
Of  the  three  species 
that  the  genus  includes 
the  best  known  is  the 
Common  or  Wandering 
Albatross  (Z>.  emdans), 
which  occurs  in  all. 
parts  of  the  Southern 
Ocean,  and  in  the  seas 
that  wash  the  coast  of 
Asia  to  the  south  of 
Behring  Strait.  It  is 
the  largestandstrongecc 
of  all  sea-birds.  The 
length  of  the  body  is 
stated  at  4  feet,  and 
the  weight  at  from  15 
to  25  lb.  It  sometimes 
measures  as  much  as 
17  feet  between  the 
tips  of  the  extended  wings,  averaging  probably  from  10  to 
12  feet.  Its  strength  of  wing  is  very  great.  It  often 
accompanies  a  ship  for  days — not  merely  following  it,  but 
wheeling  in  wide  circles  round  it — without  ever  being 
observed  to  alight  on  the  water,  and  continues  its  flight, 
apparently  untired,  in  tempestuous  as  well  as  in  moderate 
weather.  It  has  even  been  said  to  sleep  on  the  wing,  and 
Moore  alludes  to  this  fanciful  "  cloud-rocked  slumbering  " 
in  his  Fire  Worshippers.  It  feeds  on  small  fish  and  on 
the  animal  refuse  that  floats  on  the  sea,  eating  to  such 
excess  at  times  that  it  is  unable  to  fly,  and  rests  helplessly 
on  the  water.  The  colour  of  the  bird  is  a  dusky  white,' 
the  back  being  streaked  transversely  with  black  or  brown 
bands,  and  the  wings  darker  than  the  rest  of  the  body. 
The  flesh,  though  hard,  dry,  and  unsavoury,  is  eaten  by 
the  inhabitants  of  Kamtchatka,  who  also  capture  the  bird 
for  its  entrails,  which  they  inflate  for  net-floats,  and  its 
long  wing-bones,  which  they  manufacture  into  various 
articles,  particularly  tobacco-pipes.  The  albatross  lays  one 
egg;  it  is  white,  with  a  few  spots,  and  is  about  4  inches 
long.  In  breeding-time  the  bird  resorts  to  solitary  island 
groups,  like  the  Crozet  Islands  and  the  elevated  Tristan 
da  Cunha,  where  it  has  its  nest — a  natural  hollow  or  a 
circle  of  earth  roughly  scraped  together— on  the  open 
ground  The  early  explorers  of  the  great  Southern  Sea 
cheered  themselves  with  the  companionship  of  the  alba- 
tross in  its  dreary  solitudes;  and  the  evil  hap  of  him 
who  shot  with  his  cross-bow  the  bird  of  good  omen  is 
familiar  to  readers  of  Coleridge's  Riine  of  the  Ancient 
Mariner. 

ALBAY,  a  town  of  Luzon,  the  chief  of  the  Philippine 
Islands,  in  13°  22'  N.  lat.  and  123°  52'  E.  long.  It  is  the 
capital  of  the  fertile  province  of  the  same  name,  and  the 
residence  of  ths  governor,  and  has  an  active  trade.  Clost 
to  the  town  is  an  active  volcano  by  which  it  has  been  fre- 
quently devastated.     Population,  13,115. 


1-16 


450 


A  L  B  — A  L  B 


ALBERONI,  Gnn.10,  cardinal  and  statesman,  was  born 
near  Piacenza,  probably  at  the  village  of  Fiorenzuola,  on 
the  31st  May  1664.  His  father  was  a  gardener,  and  he 
himself  became  first  connected  with  the  church  in  tho 
hnmble  position  of  verger  in  the  cathedral  of  Piacenza. 
Having  gained  the  favour  of  Bishop  Barni,  he  took  priest's 
orders,  and  afterwards  accompanied  the  son  of  his  patron 
to  Rome.  During  the  war  of  the  Spanish  succession 
Alberoni  laid  the  foundation  of  his  political  success  by  the 
services  he  rendered  to  the  duke  of  Vendome,  commander 
of  the  French  forces  in  Italy;  and  when  these  forces  were 
recalled  in  1706,  he  accompanied  the  duke  to  Paris,  where 
he  was  favourably  received  by  Louis  XIV.  In  1711  he 
followed  Vend6me  into  Spain  as  his  secretary.  Two  years 
later,  the  duke  having  died  in  the  interval,  Alberoni  was 
appointed  Consular  agent  for  Parma  at  the  court  of  Philip 
V.  of  Spain,  being  raised  at  the  same  time  to  the  dignity 
of  count.  On  his  arrival  at  Madrid  he  found  the  Princess 
des  Ursins  all  but  omnipotent  with  the  king,  and  for 
a  time  he  judged  it  expedient  to  use  her  influence  in 
carrying  out  his  plans.  In  concert  with  her  he  arranged 
the  king's  marriage  with  Elizabeth  Farnese  of  Parma, 
whom  he  represented  to  be  of  such  a  facile  disposition  that 
the  princess's  power  over  Philip  would  be  in  no  degree 
impaired  by  the  union.  Alberoni  was  already  in  Parma 
to  conclude  the  negotiation  ere  the  Princess  des  Ursins 
discovered  that  he  had  entirely  deceived  her  as  to  the 
character  of  Elizabeth.  A  messenger  was  at-  once  des- 
patched to  prevent,  if  possible,  the  ratification  of  the 
engagement;  but  he  arrived  too  late.  On  reaching  Spain 
Elizabeth's  first  act,  prompted  doubtless  by  Alberoni,  was 
to  demand  the  instant  dismissal  of  the  outwitted  favourite, 
who  was  compelled  to  leave  the  Spanish  dominions.  The 
influence  of  the  new  j  queen  being  actively  exerted  on 
Alberoni's  behalf,  he  speedily  rose  to  high  position.  He 
was  made  a  member  of  the  king's  council,  bishop  of  Malaga, 
and  in  1715  prime  minister,  and  was  raised  to  the  dignity 
ci  cardinal  in  1717.  His  internal  policy  was  exceedingly 
vigorous,  and,  though  carried  out  altogether  regardless  of 
popular  rights  and  liberties,  might  have  restored  the  lost 
greatness  of  Spain  had  it  not  been  for  his  unscrupulous 
and  audacious  conduct  of  foreign  affairs.  The  key  to  his 
daring  and  crafty  schemes  is  probably  to  be  found  in  the 
desire  of  Elizabeth  to  secure  a  throne  for  her  son  Don 
Carlos,  born  in  1716.  Seizing  the  flimsiest  pretext  for 
making  war  upon  Austria,  he  invaded  the  island  of  Sar- 
dinia, then  Austrian  territory,  and  took  possession  of 
Sicily  In  France  he  pressed  the  claims  of  Philip  V.  to 
the  regency  in  opposition  to  the  Duke  of  Orleans;  he  sought 
to  keep  England  employed  at  home. by  encouraging  the 
Pretender,  and  he  pursued  a  similar  policy  towards  Austria  in 
connection  with  Ragotski  of  Transylvania  and  the  Sultan. 
An  alliance  which  he  formed  with  Russia  and  Sweden  led  to 
no  practical  results,  and  his  other  schemes  similarly  failed. 
England,  France,  Austria,  and  Holland  united  themselves 
in  what  is  known  as  the  Quadruple  Alliance  against  the 
aggressions  of  Spain;  and  though  their  first  proposals 
were  rejected  fearlessly  by  Alberoni,  they  were  strong 
enough  to  succeed  when,  in  a  second  negotiation,  they  re- 
quired of  Philip  the  dismissal  of  his  minister  as  an  indispen- 
sable condition  of  peace.  On  the  5th  December  1719  he 
was  ordered  to  leave  Spain,  Elizabeth  herself  having  taken 
an  active  part  in  procuring  tho  decree  of  banishment.  He 
went  to  Italy,  and  chere  had  to  take  refuge  among  the 
Apennines,  Pope  Clement,  who  was  his  bitter  enemy, 
having  given  strict  orders  for  his  arrest  On  the  death  of 
Clement,  Alberoni-  boldly  appeared  at  the  Conclave,  and 
took  part  in  the  election  of  Innocent  XHL  (1721), 
after  which  he  was  for  a  (short  time  imprisoned  by  the 
pontiff  on  the  demand  of  Spain.     At  tho  next  election  he 


was  himself  proposed  for  the  papal  chair,  and  secured  ten 
votes  at  the  Conclave  which  elected  Benedict  XIII.  Bone- 
diet's  successor,  Clement  XII.,  named  him  legate  of 
Ravenna,  in  which  capacity  he  incurred  the  pope's  dis- 
pleasure by  the  strong  and  unwarrantable  measures  he 
adopted  to  reduce  the  little  republic  of  San  Marino  to 
subjection  to  Rome.  He  was  consequently  replaced  by 
another  legate  in  1740,  and  soon  after  ho  retired  to  Pia- 
cenza, where  he  founded  a'  college  which  still  bears  his 
name.  He  died  on  the  16th  June  1752,  leaving  a  sum  of 
600,000  ducats  to  endow  the  seminary  he  had  founded, 
and  the  residue  of  the  immense  wealth  he  had  acquired  in 
Spain  to  his  nephew.  Alberoni  left  a  largo  quantity  of 
manuscripts;  but  the  genuineness  of  tho  Political  Testa- 
ment, published  in  his  name  at  Lausanne  in  1753,  has 
been  questioned. 

ALBERT  (Albeecht)  I.,  Duke  of  Austria,  and  after- 
wards King  of  Germany,  born  in  1248,  was  tho  son  of 
Rudolph  of  Habsburg,  the  founder  of  the  imperial  Austrian 
dynasty.  Rudolph  having  acquired  the  duchy  of  Austria 
"by  conquest,  vested  it  in  his  son,  with  consent  of  the 
electors,  in  1282,  and  thus  founded  the  dynasty  which  still 
reigns.  He  also  endeavoured  to  secure  for  Albert  the  suc- 
cession to  the  throne  of  Germany,  but  was  unsuccessful 
On  the  death  of  his  father  in  1291,  Albert  seized  the  in- 
signia of  sovereignty,  and  with  characteristic  presumption 
declared  himself  king  of  Germany,  without  regard  to  tho 
decision  of  the  electors.  Their  choice  fell  (1292)  upon 
Adolphus  of  Nassau,  and  Albert,  who  was  called  to  sup- 
press a  revolt  among  his  subjects  in  Switzerland,  found  it 
necessary  to  acknowledge  the  superior  claims  of  his  rival. 
The  government  of  Adolphus  having  become  displeasing 
to  the  electors,  they  formally  deposed  him  in  1298,  and 
named  Albert  his  successor.  As,  however,  tho  former 
refused  to  recognise  their  verdict,  the  matter  had  to  be 
referred  to  the  arbitrament  of  the  sword.  The  forces  of 
the  rival  kings  met  at  Golheim,  near  Worms,  where  the 
army  of  Adolphus  was  defeated,  and  he  himself  slain  by 
Albert's  own  hand  Upon  this,  Albert,  wishing  probably 
to  show  his  moderation,  resigned  his  claim  to  the  throne; 
but  he  was  re-elected,  and  crowned  at  Aix-la-Chapelle  on 
the  24th  August  1298  Pope  Boniface  VILL,  however, 
denied  the  right  of  the  electors,  and  refused  to  confirm  their 
choice,  alleging  that  the  empire  belonged  to  him  alone  to 
hold  or  bestow  at  his  pleasure.  In  league  with  Philip  the 
Fair  of  France,  Albert  at  first  openly  resisted  the  pope: 
but  soon  finding  it  advisable  to  change  his  policy,  he 
deserted  his  ally,  admitted  the  papal  jurisdiction,  and  was 
rewarded  with  the  kingdom  of  the  deposed  Philip.  It 
should  be  noted,  however,  that  he  never  received  from  tho 
pope  the  crown  of  the  Roman  empire,  though  his  name  is 
generally  included  in  the  list  of  emperors.  His  reign  as 
king  of  Germany  was  one  of  continual  warfare.  With  a 
rapacity  which  seems  to  have  known  no  bounds,  he  endea- 
voured to  subdue  Holland,  Zealand,  Friesland,  Hungary, 
and  Bohemia;  but  was  in  each  case  unsuccessful  The 
attempt  to  bind  his  yoke  more  firmly  upon  the  Swiss  can- 
tons caused  the  revolt  of  Unterwalden,  Schwyz,  and  Uri, 
in  January  1 308,  and  thus  laid  the  foundation  of  the  Swiss 
Confederation.  It  was  while  endeavouring  to  check  this 
revolt  that  Albert  met  his  death  at  the  hand  of  his  nephew, 
John  of  Habsburg,  whose  claim  to  his  father's  dominion  of 
Swabia  had  been  refused  in  the  most  insulting  terms  by 
the  king.  Incensed  at  the  denial  of  his  rights,  John 
formed  a  conspiracy  with  three  noblemen  of  the  king's 
suite.  On  the  1st  May  1308  the  four  crossed  the  river 
Reuss  at  Windisch  with  Albert,  who  was  slain  immediately 
on  landing,  and  before  the  eyes  of  the  other  members  of  tho 
suite,  who  had  been  left  on  the  opposite  side.  He  died  in 
the  arms  of  a  beggar  woman,  who  happened  to  be  passing. 


ALBERT 


451 


Albert  was  married  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  the  count  of 
Tyrol,  who  bore  him  eleven  children. 

Four  other  reigning  dukes  of  Austria  bore  the  name  of 
Albert.  Of  these,  Albert  II.,  surnamed  the  Wise,  reigned 
from  1330  to  1358;  Albert  III.  from  1365  to  1390;  and 
Albert  IV.,  surnamed  the  Pious,  from  1390  to  1402. 
Albert  V.,  surnamed  "The  Magnanimous,"  bom  in  1397, 
was  elected  king  of  Germany  in  April  1438,  and  is  therefore 
sometimes  styled  Albert  II.,  the  higher  dignity  having 
been  previously  borne  only  by  the  first  of  the  name. 
Through  his  marriage  in  1422  with  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Sigismund,  king  of  Bohemia  and  Hungary,  he  ultimately 
added  the  sovereignty  of  these  dominions  to  his  own,  being 
elected  king  of  Hungary  on  the  death  of  Sigismund  in  1437, 
and  king  of  .Bohemia  in  May  1438.  He  died  at  Langen- 
dorf  on  the  27th  October  1439,  while  engaged  in  an  ex- 
pedition against  the  Turks. 

ALBERT  I.,  margrave  of  Brandenburg,  surnamed  "  The 
Bear,"  from  the  heraldic  emblem  he  assumed%  born  in 
1106,  was  the  son  of  Otto  the  Eich,  count  of  Ballenstadt, 
by  his  marriage  with  Eilica,  eldest  daughter  of  the  duke  of 
Saxony.  In  1121  he  received  from  the  Emperor  Lothario 
the  marquisate  of  Lusatia,  to  be  held  in  fief,  and  he  served 
the  empire  faithfully  in  the  war  with  Bohemia  in  1 126.  In 
the  following  year,  from  some  unknown  motive,  the  emperor 
conferred  the  duchy  of  Saxony,  to  which  Albert,  as  son  of 
the  eldest  daughter  of  Magnus,  had  the  best  claim,  upon 
Henry  of  Bavaria,  son  of  a  younger  daughter;  and  in  1131 
Albert  was  deprived  of  Lusatia.  He  still  remained,  how- 
ever, loyal  to  the  empire,  and  received  as  a  reward  the 
margravate  of  Brandenburg  in  1134.  In  1136-7  he  made 
incursions  into  the  territory  of  the  Wends,  his  troublesome 
neighbours  on  the  north,  and  succeeded  in  strengthening  his 
position.  In  1138  the  Emperor  Conrad  III.  conferred  upon 
him  the  duchy  of  Saxony;  but  finding  himself  unable  to 
maintain  his  rights  against  Henry  the  Lion,  he  betook  himself 
in  1142  to  the  emperor,  who  restored  Saxony  to  his  rival, 
and  allotted  Swabia  to  him  in  compensation.  A  few  yeara 
later  Albert  again  attacked  the  Wends,  and  secured  by 
conquest  large  accessions  of  territory,  which  he  held  as  a 
fief  of  the  empire.  On  the  extinction  of  the  house  •  of 
Staden  in  1150,  Albert  wa3  raised  to  the  dignity  of  an 
elector.  •  A  third  expedition  against  the  Wends,  under- 
taken in  1157,  ended  in  their  almost  total  extinction,  and 
Albert  caused  the  depopulated  territory  to  be  colonised  by 
industrious  agriculturists  from  the  Rhine  and  the  Nether- 
lands, who  greatly  improved  the  face  of  the  country.  In 
1158  Albert  went  on  a  crusade  to  the  Holy  Land,  in  com- 
pany with  his  wife,  returning  the  following  year.  The 
close  of  his  reign  was '  signalised  by  another  war  with 
Henry  of  Saxony  (1164-8),  in  which  Albert  was  unsuc- 
cessful Immediately  on  peace  being  concluded,  he  abdi- 
cated in  favour  of  his  eldest  son;  and  after  two  years 
spent  in  retirement,  he  died  at  Ballenstadt  on  the  18th 
November  1170. 

ALBERT,  Margrave  of  Brandenburg  and  first  Duke 
of  Prussia,  third  son  of  the  Margrave  Friedrich  of  Ans- 
pach,  was  born  on  the  17th  May  1490.  Being  intended 
for  the  church,  he  was  educated  by  Archbishop  Hermann 
of  Cologne,  and  became  a  canon  of  Cologne  cathedral  He 
seems,  however,  to  have  himself  preferred  a  military  life, 
as  he  accompanied  his  father  in  the  train  of  the  emperor  on 
on  expedition  to  Venice,  and  was  present  at  the  siege  of 
Pavia.  On  the  13th  Feb.  1511  he  joined  the  Teutonic 
order;  and  a  few  days  after,  though  scarcely  twenty-one 
years  old,  was  chosen  grand  master,  it  being  expected  that, 
rs  nepnew  of  Sigismund  of  Poland,  he  would  be  able  to 
secure  the  privileges  and  immunities  which  the  order  were 
at  the  time  claiming  from  that  monarch.  The  refusal  of 
Albert  to  swear  allegiance  to  Sigismund  led,  after  pro- 


tracted negotiations,  which  proved  fruitless,  to  a  war  with 
Poland  in  1520.  A  four  years'  truce  being  concluded  at' 
Thorn  in  1521,  Albert  repaired  to  the  diet  at  Nuremberg 
to  invoke  the  aid  of  his  brother  German  princes  on  behalf' 
of  his  order.  The  diet  found  itself  unable  to  render  him 
any  assistance,  and  at  the  same  time  he  received  advice 
from  Luther  which  altogether  changed  his  purpose.  Em- 
bracing the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation,  he  was  declared 
Duke  of  Prussia,  consented  to  hold  the  duchy  as  a  fief  from 
Poland,  and  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  at  Cracow  on  the- 
9th  April  1525.  At  the  same  time  he  resigned  the. grand 
mastership  of  the  order.  In  1527  he .  married  Anne 
Dorothea,  daughter  of  the  king  of  Denmark.  His  subse- 
quent reign  was  marked  by  zealous  efforts,  amid  many 
difficulties,  to  promote  the  welfare  of  his  duchy.  He  inter* 
ested  himself  especially  in  the  advancement  of  learning, 
inviting  men  of  letters  to  his  court,  and  promoting  the 
publication  of  their  writings.  In  1544  lie  founded  the 
university  of  Konigsberg,  in  spite  of  great  opposition, 
chiefly  from  the  pope.  Keen  theological  disputes  between 
the  professors  of  this  university  were  among  the  many 
troubles  of  his  later  years.  He  died  of  the  plague  on  the 
20th  of  March  1568.  His  second  wife,  the  Princes  Anna 
Maria  of  Brunswick,  who  had  been  attacked  by  the  same 
disease,  survived  him  only  a  single  day. 

ALBERT,  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Magdeburg  and  Elector 
of  Mentz,  born  1489,  was  the  youngest  son  of  John,  Elector 
of  Brandenburg.  In  1513  he  was  consecrated  archbishop 
of  Magdeburg,  and  about  the  same  time  he  was  chosen 
administrator  of  the  diocese  of  Halberstadt.  Next  year  he 
was  raised  to  the  still  higher  dignity  of  archbishop  and 
elector  of  Mentz,  and  he  continued  to  hold  all  three  offices 
simultaneously.  For  the  pallium  in  connection  with  the 
latter  appointment  the  pope  demanded  the  exorbitant  sum 
of  30,000  ducats,  but  enabled  the  archbishop  to  recoup 
himself  by  granting  him  the  privilege  of  selling  indulgences 
throughout  his  diocese.  It  was  his  employment  of  the 
Dominican  Tetzel  in  this  service  which,  by  calling  forth, 
Luther's  famous  ninety-five  theses,  had  so  important  an 
influence  on  the  course  of  the  Reformation.  In  1518  he 
was  created  a  cardinal  as  a  reward  for  his  services  to  the 
Romish  church.  His  opposition  to  the  doctrines  of  Luther 
did  not  prevent  many  within  his  own  diocese  from  accept- 
ing the  Reformation;  and  he  found  it  necessary  to  grant 
religious  liberty  to  his  subjects  in  1541,  availing  himself  of 
the  opportunity  to  extort  from  them  in  return  for  the  boon 
the  payment  of  his  debts,  which  amounted  to  500,000 
florins.  Albert  was  a  patron  of  learning,  and  counted 
Erasmus  among  his  friends.  He  died  at  Mentz  on  the 
24th  September  1545. 

ALBERT  (PRINCE),  Francis  Charles  Augustus 
Albert  Emilanuel,  Prince  Consort  of  England,  born  at 
Rosenau  on  the  26th  Aug.  1819,  was  the  second  son  of  the 
hereditary  Duke  of  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha,  by  his  first  wife 
the  Princess  Louise  of  Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.  He  thus  be- 
longed to  the  Ernestine  or  elder  branch  of  the  royal  family 
of  Saxony,  which,  on  account  of  its  adherence  to  the 
doctrines  of  the  Reformation,  had  to  surrender  the  king- 
dom to  the  Albertine  or  younger  branch,  which  is  still  in 
possession  of  it.  The  marriage  of  his  parents  proving  an 
unhappy  one,  they  separated  in  1824,  and  the  young  prince 
never  again  saw  his  mother,  who.  died  in  1S31.  He  was 
educated,  along  with  his  elder  brother  Ernest,  under  the 
care  of  Consistorial-Balh  Florschutz,  who,  in  a  memoran- 
dum drawn  up  after  the  prince's  death,  speaks  in  the 
highest  terms  of  his  pupil's  benevolent  disposition  and 
studious  habits.  At  the  proger  age  the  brothers  proceeded 
to  the  university  of  Bonn,  where  Herr  Florschutz  still 
continued  to  exercise  a  general  superintendence  of  their 
studies.     Prince  Albert  devoted  himself  especially  to  tho 


452 


ALBERT 


natural  sciences,  political  economy,  and  philosophy,  having 
for  teachers  men  of  such  world-wide  fame  as  Fichte, 
Schlegel,  and  Perthes.  He  also  diligently  cultivated  at 
this  period  the  sister  arts  of  music  and  painting,  and  thus 
qualified  himself  for  some  of  the  most  valuable  services  he 
was  afterwards  to  render  to  the  land  of  his  adoption.  His 
feeling  for  art  in  all  its  forms  was  very  sensitive,  and  his 
executive  skill,  both  as  a  musician  and  painter,  very  con- 
siderable. In  gymnastic  exercises  he  greatly  excelled, 
carrying  off  the  first  prize  for  fencing  in  a  competition  with 
a  large  number  of  students. 

In  1836  the  prince  visited  England  in  company  with  his 
father,  and  met  his  future  consort  for  the  first  time.  The 
idea  of  a  matrimonial  alliance  between  the  cousins  had 
occurred  to  various  members  of  the  family,  and  had  been 
cherished  especially  by  their  grandmother  the  dowager- 
duchess  of  Coburg,  and  their  uncle  Leopold,  the  king  of 
the  Belgians.  From  the  time  of  the  queen's  accession 
there  seems  to  have  been  a  family  understanding  on  the 
subject,  though,  owing  to  the  youth  of  the  prince  and  his 
cousin,  no  formal  engagement  was  entered  into  till  two  years 
later.  In  the  winter  of  1838-9  the  prince  travelled  in 
Italy,  accompanied  by  Mr  Seymour,  a  young  English  gentle- 
man, who  was  selected  doubtless  out  of  regard  to  the  pro- 
bable future  of  his  charge.  A  year  later  the  hopes  of 
many  were  realised  when,  on  the  23d  Nov.  1839,  the 
queen  announced  to  the  Privy  Council  her  intended  mar- 
riage with  her  cousin.  The  circumstances  of  the  engage- 
ment have  been  fully  made  known  since  the  prince's  death, 
and  they  show  that  the  union  was  founded  upon  mutual 
choice,  springing  from  mutual  affection.  On  the  lOtb 
February  1840  the  marriage  was  celebrated  at  the  chapel- 
royal,  St  'James's,  amid  universal  rejoicings.  A  few  days 
before  the  event  two  bills  had  been  passed  in  parliament, 
one  naturalising  the  prince  as  a  British  subject,  and  the 
other  providing  an  annuity  of  £30,000  a  year  for  the 
maintenance  of  his  establishment.  The  ministry  had 
proposed  that  the  sum  should  be  £50,000,  following  the 
precedent  established  in  the  case  of  Prince  Leopold;  but 
the  reduction  was  made  on  the  motion  of  Colonel  Sibthorpe, 
who  received  the  support  of  the  radicals  and.  the  entire 
opposition.  The  result  of  the  vote  caused  the  prince  con- 
siderable vexation  and  disappointment,  which  were  enhanced 
when  difficulties  were  raise'd  in  parliament  as  to  the  pre- 
cedence to  be  accorded  to  him.  The  latter  question  was  only 
settled  by  an  exercise  of  the  queen's  prerogative.  Letters 
patent  were  issued  on  the  5th  March,  giving  the  prince 
precedence  next  to  the  queen. 

The  position  in  which  the  prince  was  placed  by  his 
marriage,  while  it  was  one  of  distinguished  honour,  was 
also  one  of  peculiar  difficulty,  and  it  was  only  the  posses- 
sion of  a  rare  discretion  that"  enabled  him  to  fill  it  so 
irreproachably  as  he  did.  Published  letters  and  .  memo- 
randa show  how  thoroughly  he  appreciated  the  delicate 
nature  of  his  duties,  and  how  clearly  he  perceived  the 
limits  within  which  his  influence  must  be  confined  if  it 
was  to  be  legitimately  and  usefully  exerted.  A  letter  to 
the  Duke  of  Wellington,  declining,  after  mature  considera- 
tion, to  be  designated  to  the  office  of  commander-in-chief 
of  the  army,  is  especially  noteworthy  as  containing  an 
admirable  description  of  the  proper  functions  of  a  prince- 
consort.  Generally,  his  idea  was  that  it  was  his  duty  to 
merge  his  personality  as  completely  as  possible  in  that  of 
the  sovereign,  while  giving  her  in  all  things  real  but  unob- 
trusive advice  and  support ;  and  that  he  acted  during  his 
whole  life  in  conformity  with  this  idea  those  who  had  the 
best  means  of  knowing  were  the  readiest  to  testify.  Once, 
indeed,  at  the  commencement  of  the  Crimean  war,  it  was 
generally  believed  that  he  had  overstepped  the  limits  of 
his  position  by  interfering  unwarrantably  with  the  foreign 


policy  of  the  country  and  the  patronage  of  the  army. 
The  charges  were  so  definite  and  so  widely  circulated  that 
it  was  deemed  necessary  to  take  notice  of  them  in  parlia- 
ment. They  were  met  by  a  complete  and  emphatic  denial 
on  the  part  of  the  ministry,  and  no  one  now  believes  that 
they  had  any  real  foundation.  It  was,  of  course,  both 
natural  and  proper  that  the  prince  should  interest  himself 
deeply  in  the  affairs  of  the  country  over  which,  by  an  Act 
passed  on  the  4th  Aug.  1840,  he  had  been  named  regent 
in  the  event  of  the  death  of  the  queen  before  the  heir  to  the 
crown  had  attained  the  age  of  eighteen  years.  He  had  also 
a  right  to  interest  himself  in  the  administration  of  the  army, 
as  being  himself  a  field-majsshal  and  a  colonel  of  hussars. 

It  was  fortunate  for  the  prince,  shut  out  as  he  was  by 
the  circumstances  of  his  station  from  any  share  in  party 
politics,  that  he  found  other  and  more  congenial  work 
sufficient  to  engage  all  his  energies.  He  was  qualified,  as 
few  of  his  rank  are,  to  deal  with  those  social  and  scientific 
problems  in  the  solution  of  which  men  of  all  parties  are 
equally  interested.  He  engaged  himself  especially  in  endea- 
vours to  secure  the  more  perfect  application  of  science  and 
art  to  manufacturing  industry.  The  Great  Exhibition  of 
1851  originated  in  a  suggestion  he  threw  out  at  a  meeting 
of  the  Society  of' Arts,  and  owed  the  greater  part  of  ita 
success  to  his  intelligent  and  unwearied  efforts.  Similar 
institutions,  on  a  smaller  scale  but  with  a  kindred  aim, 
always  found  in  him  warm  advocacy  and  substantial  sup- 
port. It  was  chiefly  at  meetings  in  connection  with  these 
that  he  found  occasion  for  the  delivery  of  addresses  cha- 
racterised by  profound  thought  and  comprehensiveness  of 
view,  a  collection  of  which  was  published  in  1857.  One 
of  the  most  favourable  specimens  of  his  powers  as  a  speaker 
is  the  inaugural  address  which  he  delivered  as  President  of 
the  British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science 
when  it  met  at  Aberdeen  in  1859,  printed  in  an  edition  of 
his  speeches  which  appeared  in  1862.  The  education  of 
his  family  and  the  management  of  his  domestic  affairs 
furnished  the  prince  with  another  very  important  sphere 
of  action,  in  which  he  employed  himself  with  conscientious 
devotedness.  The  training  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  was 
carried  on  under  his  own  superintendence,  in  accordance 
with  a  plan  he  himself  had  drawn  up;  and  it  may  be 
questioned  whether  so  much  wisdom  and  care  was  ever 
bestowed  on  the  upbringing  of  an  heir  to  the  British 
throne.  The  estates  of  the  Duchy  of  Cornwall,  the  here- 
ditary appanage  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  were  so  greatly 
•improved  under  his  father's  management  that  the  rent-roll 
rose  from  £11,000  to  £50,000  a  year.  Prince  Albert, 
indeed,  had  a  peculiar  talent  for  the  management  of  landed 
estates.  His  model  farm  at  Windsor  was  in  every  way 
worthy  of  the  name;  and  the  grounds  at  Balmoral  and 
Osborne,  so  universally  admired,  were  laid  out  entirely  in 
conformity  with  his  designs. 

A  character  so  pure,  and  a  lif e  so  useful  and  well-directed 
in  all  its  aims,  could  scarcely  fail  to  secure  universal  respect. 
As  the  prince  became  better  known,  the  mistrust,  of  which 
the  adverse  votes  in  parliament  were  undoubtedly  to  some 
extent  an  expression,  gave  way,  and  the  people  vied  with 
their  queen  in  showering  deserved  honours  upon  him. 
After  a  keen  contest  with  Earl'  Powis,  he  was  elected  chan- 
cellor of  the  university  of  Cambridge  in  1847 ;  and  he  was 
afterwards  appointed  master  of  the  Trinity  House.  In 
1857  the  formal  title  of  "  Prince-Consort "  was  conferred 
upon  him  by  letters  patent,  in  order  to  settle  certain 
difficulties  as  to  precedence  that  had  been  raised  at  foreign 
courts.  As  he  had  previously  possessed  no  distinctive  title, 
the  precedence  he  had  received  was  only  by  courtesy. 

It  was  in  the  prime  of  manhood  and  the  full  career  of 
his  usefulness  that  the  prince-consort  was  removed  by 
death.     He  had  been  greatly  occupied  during  the  autumn 


A  L  B  — A  L  B 


453 


ef  1861  with  the  arrangements  for  the  projected  interna- 
tional exhibition,  and  it  was  just  after  returning  from  one 
of  the  meetings  in  connection  with  it  that  he  was  seized 
with  hii  last  illness.  He  died  of  typhoid  fever  on  the  14th 
of  Dec.  1861.  Few  have  ever  been  more  sincerely  or  more 
universally  mourned.  The  grief  of  the  queen  was  deep  and 
lasting,  and  the  whole  nation  sympathised  in  the  truest  sense 
with  her  in  her  sorrow.  Perhaps  never  before,  except  on 
the  occasion  of  the  death  of  the  Princess  Charlotte,  had  all 
classes  of  the  people  been  so  closely  knit  together  in  the 
feeling  of  a  common  bereavement  and  a  common  sorrow. 
A  national  memorial,  to  be  erected  partly  by  parliamentary 
vote  and  partly  by  public  subscription,  was  at  once  resolved 
upon,  and  nearly  every  town  of  importance  throughout  the 
kingdom  embodied  in  a  statue  or  some  other  form  its 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  "  The  Good  Prince."  The  mag- 
nificent mausoleum  at  Frogmore,  in  which  his  remains 
were  finally  deposited,  was  erected  at  the  expense  of  the 
Queen  and  the  royal  family.  (See  Early  Years  of  H.R.H. 
the  Prince  Consort,  1867;  Principal  Speeches  and  Addresses 
of  Prince  Albert,  with  an  Introduction,  1862). 

ALBEET  NYANZA,  a  large  lake  in  East  Central 
Africa,  extending  from  2°  45'  N.  lat.  at  least  as  far  as 
2°  S.  Its  surface  is  2720  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea  : 
on  its  western  coast  are  the  Blue  Mountains,  rising  7000 
feet  higher ;  and  on  the  east  a  ridge  of  steep  cliffs,  with 
elevations  varying  from  1500  to  5000  feet.  The  White 
Nile,  flowing  in  a  north-westerly  direction  from  Lake 
Victoria  Nyanza,  enters  Lake  Albert  Nyanza  about  2° 
15'  N.  lat.,  and  issues  from  it  near  its  northern  extremity. ' 
Messrs  Speke  and  Grant  were  informed  of  the  existence 
of  this  lake  by  the  natives,  but  Sir  Samuel  (then  Mr) 
Baker  and  his  wife  were  the  first  Europeans  who  explored 
it  in  1864.  (See  Africa  and  Nile,  and  also  Sir  S.  W. 
Baker's  The  Albert  Nyanza,  the  Great  Basin  of  the  Nile,  and 
Explorations  of  the  Nile  Sources,  2  vols.,  London,  1866). 

ALBERTI,  Leon  Battista,  distinguished  as  a  painter, 
poet,  philosopher,  musician,  and  especially  as  an  architect, 
was  descended  from  the  noble  family  of  the  Alberti  of 
Florence.  The  place  and  date  of  his  birth  are  variously 
given,  but  it  is  most  probable  that  he  was  born  at  Venice 
about  the  year  1404.  He  was  so  skilled  in  Latin  verse 
that  a  comedy  he  wrote  in  his  twentieth  year,  entitled 
Philodoxius,  deceived  the  younger  Aldus,  who  edited  and 
published  it  as  the  genuine  work  of  Lepidus.  In  music 
he  was  reputed  one  of  the  first  organists  of  the  age.  He 
held  the  appointment  of  canon  in  the  metropolitan  church 
of  Florence,  and  thus  had  leisure  to  devote  himself  to  his 
favourite  art.  He  is  generally  regarded  as  one  of  the 
restorers  of  the  ancient  style  of  architecture,  and  has  been 
called  by  some  writers  the  Florentine  Vitruvius.  At  Rome 
he  was  employed  by  Pope  Nicholas  V.  in  the  restoration 
of  the  papal  palace  and  of  the  fountain  of  Acqua  Vergine, 
and  in  the  ornamentation  of  the  fountain  of  the  Piazza  de 
TrevL  At  Rimini  he  designed  the  celebrated  church  of 
San  Francesco,  which  is  generally  esteemed  his  finest 
work.  On  a  commission  from  Rucellai,  he  designed  the 
principal  facade  of  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  Novella  in 
Florence,  as  well  as  the  family  palace  in  the  Via  della 
Scala,  now  known  as  the  Palazzo  StrozzL  In  Mantua  he 
was  employed  by  the  Marchese  Ludovico  Gonzaga  to 
design  several  buildings,  the  most  important  b»ing  the 
church  of  Sant'  Andrea.  Alberti  wrote  works  on  sculp- 
ture, Della  Statua,  and  on  painting,  De  Pictura,  which 
are  highly  esteemed;  but  his  most  celebrated  treatise  is 
that  on  architecture,  De  Re  ^Edijicatoria,  which  has  been 
translated  into  Italian,  French,  Spanish,  and  English.  A 
splendid  edition  of  this  work  in  English  and  Italian,  by 
Leoni,  was  published  at  London  in  1726,  in  3  vols,  folio. 
Alberti.  being  of  an  amiable  and  generous  disposition,  was 


highly  esteemed  by  bis  contemporaries.  He  died  at  Roma 
in  1472,  or,  according  to  others,  in  1484. 

ALBERTRANDY,  Jan  CH»zciciEL,or  John-Ckristian, 
historian,  was  born  at  Warsaw  in  1731,  his  father  being 
an  Italian.  Educated  in  the  public  school  of  the  Jesuits, 
he  joined  their  order  in  his  fifteenth  year,  and  gave  such 
proof  of  his  ability  that,  at  the  early  age  of  nineteen,  he 
was  appointed  professor  at  the  college  of  Pultusk.  Alter 
having  successively  filled  similar  positions  in  Plock, 
Nieswiez,  and  Wihaa,  he  became,-  in  1766,  librarian  to 
Bishop  Zaluski,  who  designed  to  make  his  extensive  col- 
lection of  books  available  to  the  public.  A  detailed  catalogue 
of  the  200,000  volumes  which  it  contained  was  accordingly 
prepared  by  Albertrandy.  In  1764  he  was  chosen  by 
the  primate  Lubienski  tutor  to  his  grandson,  Count  Felix 
Lubienski,  afterwards  minister  of  justice.  In  this  capacity 
he  visited  Italy  in  1770  with  his  pupil,  residing  first  at 
Siena  and  then  at  Rome.  The  preference  Lubienski 
showed  for  numismatics  induced  Albertrandy  to  devote 
himself  while  in  Italy  to  the  special  study  of  that  science, 
and  he  was  soon  recognised  as  an  authority  on  the  subject. 
When  he  returned  to  his  native  country,  King  Stanislaus 
Augustus  appointed  him,  at  the  request  of  Lubienski, 
keeper  of  his  medals,  and  afterwards  his  reader  and 
librarian.  The  representations  he  made  to  the  king  as  to 
the  extent  and  value  of  the  materials  for  Polish  history 
that  were  scattered  throughout  the  libraries  of  Rome, 
induced  Stanislaus  to  send  Him  on  a  second  visit  to  Italy, 
in  order  that  he  might  collect  these  materials.  He  arrived 
at  Rome  in  1782,  and  devoted  three  years  to  the  task. 
The  Excerpta,  all  written  with  his  own  hand,  filled  110 
volumes  of  manuscript.  To  complete  the  collection,  he 
subsequently  visited  Sweden,  where  the  difficulty  of  the 
work  was  greatly  increased  by  his  being  forbidden  to  copy 
any  portions  of  the  books  or  manuscripts  he  consulted. 
An  excellent  memory,  however,  enabled  him  in  great 
measure  to  overcome  the  difficulty ;  and  from  the  libraries 
of  Stockholm  and  Upsala  he  made  extracts  which  increased 
the  entire  collection  to  200  volumes.  In  recognition  of 
his  merit  the  king  bestowed  on  him  the  bishopric  of 
Zenopolis.  He  was  the  first  president  of  the  Royal 
Society  of  the  Friends  of  Science  in  Warsaw,  and  took  a 
large  share  in  its  proceedings  up  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  on  the  10th  August  1808. 

ALBERTUS  MAGNUS,  a  celebrated  scholastic  philo- 
sopher, was  born  of  the  noble  family  Von  Bollstadt  at 
Lauingen  in  Suabia.  The  date  of  his  birth  is  most  pro- 
bably 1193.  He  was  educated  principally  at  Padua,  where 
he  received  particular  instruction  in  Aristotle's  writings. 
In  1223  he  became  a  member  of  the  Dominican  order, 
and  studied  theology  under  its  rules  at  Bologna  and  else- 
where. Selected  to  fill  the  position  of  lecturer  at  Cologne, 
where  the  order  had  a  house,  he  taught  for  several  years 
there,  at  Regensburg,  Freiburg,  Strasburg,  and  Hildesheim. 
In  1245  he  repaired  to  Paris  and  received  his  doctorate, 
teaching  for  some  time,  in  accordance  with  the  regulations, 
and  with  great  success.  In  1254  he  was  made  provincial 
of  his  order,  and  fulfilled  the  arduous  duties  of  the  office 
with  great  care  and  effectiveness.  During  the  time  he  held 
this  office  he  publicly  defended  the  Dominicans  against  the 
university  of  Paris,  commented  on  St  John,  and  answered 
the  errors  of  the  Arabian  philosopher,  Averroes.  In  1259 
the  pope  made  him  bishop  of  Regensburg,  which  office  he 
resigned  after  three  years.  The  remainder  of  his  life  he 
spent  partly  in  preaching  throughout  Bavaria  and  the 
adjoining  districts,  partly  in  retirement  in  the  various 
houses  of  his  order ;  almost  the  last  of  his  labours  was  the 
defence  of  the  orthodoxy  of  his  former  pupil,  Thomas 
Aquinas.  He  died  in  1280,  aged  87.  Albert's  works, 
published  in  twenty-one  folios  by  the  Dominican  Petei 


454 


A  L  B  — A  L  B 


Janrmy  in  1651,  sufficiently  attest  his  great  activity.  He 
was  the  most  widely  read  and  most  learned  man  of  his 
time.  Tho  whole  of  Aristotle's  works,  presented  in  the 
Latin  translations  and  notes  of  the  Arabian  commentators, 
were  by  him  digested,  interpreted,  and  systematised  in 
accordance  with  church  doctrine.  Albert's  activity,  how- 
ever, is  rather  philosophical  than  theological,  for  while 
pressing  philosophy  in  general,  and  Aristotle  in  particular, 
into  the  service  of  theology,  he  excludes  from  what  belongs 
to  the  natural  reason  all  that  is  specially  biblical,  as,  e.g., 
miracles,  the  atonement,  and  the  Trinity ;  though  he  does 
not  refuse  to  see  'with  Augustin  exemplifications,  shadow- 
ings,  of  the  latter  doctrine  even  in  nature.  The  philosophical 
works  occupying  the  first  six  and  the  last  of  the  twenty- 
one  volumes  are  generally  divided  according  to  the 
Aristotelian  scheme  of  the  sciences,  and  consist  of  inter- 
pretations and  condensations  of  Aristotle's  relative  works, 
with  supplementary  discussions  depending  on  the  questions 
then  agitated,  and  occasionally  divergences  from  the 
opinions  of  the  master.  In  logic,  he  attempts  to  unite 
the  three  rival  theories  of  universals,  holding  that  uni- 
wersals  exist  in  three  ways— (1.)  Ante  res,  as  ideas  in  the 
mind  of  God,  from  which  the  class  is  modelled,  and  which 
therefore  exist  before  individual  things ;  (2.)  In  rebus,  as 
the  common  basis  in  a  class  of  individual  objects;  (3.) 
Post  res,  as  the  mental  notion  of  the  class.  In  the  meta- 
physical and  physical  treatises  he  mainly  repeats  Aristotle, 
differing  from  him  as  regards  the  eternity  of  the  world 
and  tho  definition  of  the  bouL  His  principal  theological 
works  are  a  commentary  in  three  volumes  on  the  Books 
of  the  Sentences  of  Peter  Lombard  (Magkter  Sententiarum), 
and  the  Summa  Tlieologice,  in  two  volumes.  This  last 
is  4n  substance  a  repetition  of  the  first  in  a  more  didactic 
form.  Albert's  knowledge  of  physical  science  was  consider- 
able, and  for  the  age  accurate.  His  industry  in  every  de- 
partment was  great,  and  though  we  find  in  his  system  many 
of  those  inner  gaps  from  which  no  scholastic  philosophy  was 
ever  free,  yet  the  protracted  study  of  Aristotle  gave  him  a 
great  power  of  systematic  thought  and  exposition,  and  the 
results  of  that  study,  as  left  to  us,  by  no  means  warrant 
the  contemptuous  title  sometimes  given  him— the  "  Ape  of 
Aristotle."  They  rather  lead  us  to  appreciate  the  motives 
which  caused  his  contemporaries  to  bestow  on  him  the 
honourable  surname  "  The  Great,"  and  the  no  less  honour- 
able title,  "  Doctor  Universalis."  For  Albert's  life  the  best 
authorities  are  Sighart,  Albertus  Magnus,  sein  Leben  und 
seine  Wissenschaft,  1857;  and  D'Assailly,  Albert  le  Grand, 
1870.  The  most  comprehensive  surveys  of  his  philosophy 
are  those  of  Stock!,  Geschichte  d.  Scholastischen  Philosophic, 
and,  in  smaller  compass,  Erdmann,  Grundriss  d.  Ges.  d. 
Phil.,  vol.  i.  Haureau,  Hitter,  and  Prantl  may  also  be 
referred  to. 

ALBI,  a  city  of  France,  capital  of  the  department  of 
the  Tarn,  is  situated  on  the  river  Tarn,  41  miles  N.E.  of 
Toulouse.  It  is  a  place  of  great  antiquity,  and  was  a 
stronghold  of  the  early  French  Protestants,  giving  its 
name  to  the  Albigenses.  It  is  the  seat  of  -an  archbishop, 
and  has  a  chamber  of  commerce  and  a  public  library  of 
12,000  volumes.  The  cathedral)  dedicated  to  St  Cecilia, 
is  a  magnificent  Gothic  edifice,  in  the  style  of  the  13th 
century,  and  has  one  of  the  finest  choirs  in  France.  Here 
there  is  a  very  valuable  silver  shrine,  of  exquisite  mosaic 
work,  containing  the  relics  of  St  Clair,  the  first  bishop  of 
the  see.  The  environs  are  charming,  and  the  promenade 
of  La  Lice,  without  the  city,  is  a  beautiful  terrace  bordered 
with  two  rows  of  very  fine  trees.  At  one  end  is  the  con- 
vent of  the  Dominicans.  Albi  has  woollen  and  linen 
manufactures ;  coal,  iron,  and  copper  are  wrought  in  the 
vicinity ;  and  the  surrounding  district  is  very  fertile,  pro- 
ducing much  grain  and  fruit.    Population  (1872),  17,469. 


ALBIGENSES,  a  sect  opposed  to  the  Church  of  Rome, 
which  derives  its  name  from  Albiga  (the  modern  Albi, 
noticed  above),  either  because  its  doctrines  were  ex- 
pressly condemned  at  a  council  held  there,  or,  more  pro- 
bably, because  its  adherents  were  to  be  found  in  great 
numbers  in  that  town  and  its  neighbourhood.  The  Albi- 
genses were  kindred  in  origin  and  more  or  less  similar  in 
doctrine  to  the  sects  known  in  Italy  as  Paterins,  in 
Germany  as  Catharists,  and  in  France  as  Bulgarians,  but 
they  are  not  to  be  entirely  identified  with  any  of  these. 
StiU  less  ought  they  to  bo  confounded,  as  has  frequently 
been  the  case,  with,  the  TValdenses,  who  first  appear  at  a 
later  period  in  history,  and  are  materially  different  in  their 
doctrinal  views.  The  descent  of  the  Albigenses  may  be 
traced  with  tolerable  distinctness  from  tho  Paulicians,  a 
sect  that  sprang  into  existence  in  the  Eastern  Church  during 
the  6th  century.  (See  Paulicians.)  The  Paulicians  were 
Gnostics,  and  were  acoused  by  their  enemies  and  persecutors 
of  holding  Manichaean  doctrines,  which,  it  is  said,  they 
vehemently  disowned.  Their  creed,  wliateyer  it  was  pre- 
cisely, spread  gradually  westward  through  Europe.  In  the 
9th  century  it  found  many  adherents  in  Bulgaria,  and  300 
years  later  it  was  maintained  and  defended,  though  not 
without  important  modifications,  by  the  Albigenses  in  the 
south  of  France.  The  attempt  to  discover  the  precise  doc- 
trinal opinions  held  by  the  Albigenses  is  attended  with  a 
double  difficulty.  No  formal  creed  or  definite  doctrinal 
statement  framed  by  themselves  exists,  and  in  default  of 
this  it  is  impossible  to  depend  on  the  representations  of 
their  views  given  by  their  opponents  in  the  Church  of 
Rome,  who  did  not  scruple  to  exaggerate  and  distort  the 
opinions  held  by  those  whom  they  had  branded  as  heretics. 
It  is  probably  impossible  now  to  determine  accurately  what 
is  true  and  what  is  false  in  these  representations.  It  seems 
almost  certain,  however,  that  the  bond  which  united  the 
Albigenses  was  not  so  much  a  positive  fully-developed 
religious  faith  as  a  determined  opposition  to  the  Church  of 
Rome.  They  inherited  indeed,  as  has  been  already  said, 
certain  doctrines  of  eastern  origin,  such  as  the  Manichaean 
dualism,  docetism  in  relation  to  the  person  of  Christ,  and 
a  theory  of  metempsychosis.  They  seem,  like  the  Manichees, 
to  have  disowned  the  authority  of  the  Old  Testament;  and 
the  division  of  their  adherents  into  perfecti  and  credentes  is 
similar  to  the  Manichaean  distinction  between  electi  and 
auditores.  The  statement  that  they  rejected  marriage, 
often  made  by  Roman  Catholics,  has  probably  no  other 
foundation  in  fact  than  that  they  denied  that  marriage  was 
a  sacrament;  and  many  other. statements  as  to  their  doctrine 
and  practice  must  be  received  at  least  with  suspicion  as 
coming  from  prejudiced  and  implacable  opponents.  The 
history  of  the  Albigenses  may  be  said  to  be  written  in 
blood.  At  first  the  church  was  content  to'condemn  their 
errors  at  various  councils  (1165, 1176, 1178,  1179),  but  as 
their  practical  opposition  to  Rome  became  stronger,  more 
decided  measures  were  taken.  Innocent  HL  had  scarcely 
ascended  the  papal  throne  when  he  6ent  legates  to  Toulouse 
( 1 1 98)  to  endeavour  to  suppress  the  sect.  Two  Cistercians, 
Guy  and  Regnier,  were  first  commissioned,  and  in  1199 
they  wore  joined  by  Peter  of  Castelnau  and  others,  who 
were  known  throughout  the  district  as  inquisitors.  Ray- 
mond VL,  count  of  Toulouse,  took  the  part  of  hia  Albi- 
gensian  subjects,  though  not  himself  belonging  to  the  sect, 
and  for  this  he  was  excommunicated  in  1207.  A  year 
later  the  pope  found  a  pretext  for  resorting  to  the  most 
extreme  measures  in  the  assassination  of  his  legate  Peter  of 
Castelnau,  Jan.  15, 1208.  A  crusade  against  the  Albigenses 
was  at  once  ordered,  and  Raymond,  who  had  meanwhile 
submitted  and  done  penance,  was  forced  to  take  the  field 
against  his  own  subjects.  The  bloody  war  of  extennina 
tion  which  followed  has  scarcely  a  parallel  in  history.     As 


ALB-ALB 


45* 


town  after  town  wa3  taken,  the  Inhabitan' s  were  put  to  the 
swerd  without  distinction  of  age  or  sex,  and  the  numerous 
ecclesiastics  who  were  in  the  army  especially  distinguished 
themselves  by  a  bloodthirsty  ferocity.  At  the  taking  of 
Beziers  (July  22,  1209),  the  Abbot  Arnold,  being  asked 
how  the  heretics  were  to  be  distinguished  from  the  faithful, 
made  the  infamous  reply,  "  Slay  all ;  God  will  know  his 
own."  The  war  was  carried  on  under  the  command  of 
Simon  da  Montfort  with  undiminished  cruelty  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  Raymond's  nephew,  Viscount  Raymond 
Roger,  who  had  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Albigenses,  was 
taken  prisoner  at  Carcassone,  and  the  sect  became  fewer  in 
numbers  year  by  year.  The  establishment  of  an  In- 
quisition at  Languedoc  in  1229  accelerated  the  exterminat- 
ing process,  and  a  few  years  later  the  sect  was  all  but 
extinct. 

ALBINO.  The  name  Albinism,  or  Leucopathia,  is  ap- 
plied to  a  remarkable  peculiarity  m  the  physical  constitu- 
tion of  certain  individuals,  which  consists  in  the  skin  and 
hair  being  perfectly  white.  The  earliest  accounts  we  have 
of  it  refer  to  its  being  observed  among  the  negroes  of  West 
Africa  by  the  Portuguese,  who  called  the  persons  so  affected 
Albinoes.  They  have  also  been  called  Leuc&thiopes,  i.e., 
white  negroes.  Albinism  is  most  common  and  most 
marked  in  the  negro  and  Indian  races,  but  it  occurs  in  all 
parts  of  the  world  and  among  all  the  varieties  of  the 
human  race.  The  appearance  arises  from  the  absence  of 
the  minute  particles  of  colouring  matter  which  ordinarily 
occur  in  the  lowest  and  last-deposited  layers  of  the  epidermis 
or  outer  skin,  and  to  the  presence  of  which  the  skin  owes 
its  colour.  With  very  rare  exceptions,  it  affects  the  entire 
body,  and  continues  through  life.  The  skin  of  the  albino 
is  of  a  dull  milky  or  pearly  colour,  unrelieved  by  the 
slightest  tint  of  red  or  brown,  and  is  generally  of  rough 
texture.  All  the  hair  on  the  body  is  of  the  same  dull  hue, 
and  is  commonly  soft  and  silky.  Another  peculiarity  that 
invariably  accompanies  this  whiteness  of  skin  and  hair  is 
an  affection  of  the  eyes :  the  pupil  is  a  bright  red,  and  the 
iris  (or  white  of  the  eye)  that  surrounds  it  is  of  a  pale  rose 
colour.  This  rednes3  is  attributable  to  the  absence  of  a 
colouring  matter,  the  pigmentum  nigrum  of  the  membrane 
of  the  eye,  which  serves  to  protect  the  retina.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  defect,  the  eye  of  an  albino  cannot  bear  a 
strong  light.  Albinism  is  hereditary  in  the  same  limited 
degree  as  blindness,  deafness,  <fcc.  See  on  this  Darwin's 
Variation  of  Animals  and  Plants  under  Domestication 
(chap,  xii),  where  mention  is  made  that  "two  brothers 
married  two  sisters,  their  first  tfousins,  none  of  the  four  nor 
any  relation  being  an  albino ;  but  the  seven  children  pro- 
duced from  this  double  marriage  were  all  perfect  albinoes." 
Apart  from  the  peculiarities  mentioned  above,  there  is  no 
distinction  between  albinoes  and  other  men.  Albinism  is 
not  to  be  regarded  as  a  diseased  condition  of  body;  and 
the  idea,  once  entertained,  that  it  is  accompanied  with  a 
want  of  physical  and  mental  vigour  is  now  completely  ex- 
ploded. Probably  this  notion  arose  from  some  of  the 
albinoes  whose  condition  was  first  described  being  unhealthy 
or  imbecile;  and  even  still  more  (as  the  interesting  account 
of  Saussure,  Voyages  dans  les  Alpes,  1787,  suggests)  from 
the  temptation  to  which,  as  natural  curiosities,  they  were 
exposed  to  live  in  indolence  without  exerting  their  natural 
powers.  In  many  species  of  anirrals  albinism  occurs,  i.e., 
an  abnormal  whiteness  of  the  skin,  hair,  feathers,  <fcc,  due 
to  similar  causes  as  in  the  human  albino,  but  not  so  uni- 
formly permanent.  Of  this,  white  hares,  mice,  blackbirds, 
&c,  are  instances.  White  elephants  are  regarded  with 
particular  veneration  by  some  eastern  nations. 

ALBINUS  (originally  Weiss),  Bernard  Siegfried, 
a  celebrated  anatomist,  born  in  1697  at  Frankfort-on- 
the-Oder,  where  his  father  was  professor  of  the  practice  of 


medicine.  In  1702  the  latter  was  transferred  to  a  pr* 
fessorship  at  Leyden,  and  it  was  there  that  Bernart 
Siegfried  commenced  his  studies,  having  for  his  teachers 
such  men  as  Boerhaave,  Bidloo,  and  Rau.  His  great 
ability,  especially  in  surgery  and  anatomy,  was  early 
recognised,  and  Rau,  so  justly  celebrated  as  a  lithotomist, 
is  said  to  have  seldom  performed  an  important  operation 
without  inviting  him  to  be  present.  Having  finished  his 
6tudies  at  Leyden,  he  went  to  Paris,  where,  under  the 
instruction  of  Vaillant,  Winslow,  and  others,  he  devoted 
himself  especially  to  anatomy  and  botany.  After  a  year's 
absence,  he  was,  on  the  recommendation  of  Boerhaave, 
recalled  in  1719  to  Leyden  to  be  a  lecturer  on  anatomy 
and  surgery.  Two  years  later  he  succeeded  his  father  in 
the  professorship  of  these  subjects,  and  delivered  an 
address  at  his  installation  which  wa3  received  with  uni- 
versal approbation.  Albinus  speedily  became  one  of  the 
most  famous  teachers  of  anatomy  in  Europe,  his  class- 
room being  resorted  to  not  only  by  students,  but  by  many 
practising  physicians.  With  little  original  genius,  and 
no  special  talent  for  exposition,  he  possessed  those  habits 
of  accurate  observation  and  patient  research  which  are  the 
best  qualification  for  his  department  of  study.  The  en- 
gravings of  bones  and  muscles  executed  by  Wandelaar  for 
the  treatise  of  Albinus  on  these  organs  were  far  superior  in 
clearness  and  exactness  to  anything  that  had  previously 
been  produced.  In  1745  Albinus  was  appointed  professor 
of  -the  practice  of  medicine,  being  succeeded  in  the  anato- 
mical chair  by  his  toother  Frederick  Bernard,  who,  as  well 
as  another  brother,  Christian  Bernard,  attained  consider- 
able distinction.  Bernard  Siegfried  was  twice  rector  of 
his  university,  and  was  an  associate  of  the  learned  societies 
of  London,  St  Petersburg,  and  Haarlem.  He  died  on'the 
9th  September  1770. 

ALBINUS,  Flaccus.     See  Alcuin. 

ALBOIN,  a  king  of  the-  Lombards,  who  invaded  Italy, 
568  A.D.  He  was  murdered  at  Verona  on  the  8th  June 
573.     See  Italy  and  Lombards. 

ALBORNOZ,  Gil  Alvarez  Carulo  de„  a  cardinal  of 
Spain,  was  born  at  Cuenca  early  in  the  14th  century,  and 
was  related  to  the  royal  families  of  Leon  and  Arragon. 
While  still  young  he  was  appointed  archbishop  of  Toledo 
by  Alfonso  XL  of  Castile.  Uniting,  as  many  in  that  age 
did,  the  exercise  of  the  military  with  that  of  the  clerical 
profession,  he  was  able  to  show  his  gratitude  to  his  patron 
by  saving  the-  king's  life  at  the  battle  of  Tarifa  in  1340. 
He  conducted  the  siege  of  Algeciraa  in  1343,  when  the 
king  dubbed  him  a  knight.  Falling  into  disfavour  with 
Pedro  the  Cruel,  whose  licentious  life  he  had  rebuked,  he 
fled  to  Avignon,  then  the  papal  seat,  and  was  soon  after- 
wards made  a  cardinal  by  Pope  Clement  VI.  In  1353 
Innocent  VI.  sent  him  as  a  legate  into  Italy,  with  a  view 
to  the  restoration  of  the  papal  authority  in  the  'States  of 
the  Church.  He  wo3  recalled  in  1357,  but  was  sent  again 
to  Italy  after  a  brief  interval ;  and  in  1362  had  paved  the 
way  for  the  return  of  Urban  V.  to  Rome.  As  a  mark  of 
gratitude,  the  pope  appointed  him  legate  at  Bologna  in 
1367,  but  he  died  at  Viterbo  the  same  year.  According 
to  his  own  desire,  his  remains  were  carried  to  Toledo, 
where  Henry  of  Castile  caused  them  to  be  entombed  with 
almost  royal  honours.  A  work  by  Albornoz  on  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Church  of  Rome,  first  printed  at  Jes>  in 
1473,  js  now  very  rare.  The  college  of  St  Clement  at 
Bologna  was  founded  by  Albornoz. 

ALBRECHTSBERGER,  Johann  Georg,  a  celebrated 
musician,  born  at  Kloster-Neuburg,  jaear  Vienna,  on  the 
3d  February  1736.  He  studied  musical  composition  under 
the  court  organist,  Mann,  and  became  one  of  the  most 
learned  and  skilful  contrapuntists  of  hi3  age.  After  being 
employed  as  organist  at  Banb  and  Maria-Taferl,  he  was 


456 


ALB-ALB 


appointed  in  1772  organist  to  the  court  of  Vienna,  and  in 
1792  kapellmeister  of  St  Stephen's  cathedral  His  fame 
as  a  theorist  attracted  to  him  in  the  Austrian  capital  a 
large  number  of  pupils,  some  of  whom  afterwards  became 
eminent  musicians.  Among  these  were  Beethoven,  Hum- 
mel, Moscheles,  Seyfried,  and  Weigh  Albrechtsberger 
died  in  1809.  His  published  compositions  consist  of  pre- 
ludes, fugues,  and  sonatas  for  the  piano  and  organ,  string 
quartettes,  <tc. ;  but  the  greater  proportion  of  his  works, 
vocal  and  instrumental,  exist  only  in  manuscript,  and  are 
in  the  possession  of  Prince  Esterhazy.  Probably  the  most 
valuable  service  he  rendered  to  music  was  in  his  theoretical 
works,  which  to  a  great  extent  superseded  earlier  treatises, 
and  are  still  standard  authorities.  In  1790  he  published 
at  Leipsic  a  treatise  on  composition,  of  which  a  third 
rdition  appeared  in  1821.  A  collection  of  his  writings  on 
harmony,  in  three  volumes,  was  published  under  the  care 
of  his  pupil  Seyfried  in  1826.  The  English  translation  of 
the  latter  is  from  a  French  version,  and  not  from  the 
original. 

ALBUERA,  a  small  village  of  Spain,  in  the  province  of 
Badajoz,  13  miles  S.E.  of  the  town  of  that  name.  It  i3 
celebrated  on  account  of  the  victory  gained  there  on  the 
16th  of  May  1811  by  the  English,  Portuguese,  and 
Spaniards,  under  Marshal  Beresford,  over  the  French 
army  commanded  by  Marshal  Soult. 

ALBUFERA  DE  VALENCIA,  a  lagoon,  7  miles  south 
of  Valencia  in  Spain,  about  12  miles  in  length  and  4  in 
breadth,  12  feet  being  its  greatest  depth.  It  communi- 
cates with  the  sea  by  a  narrow  outlet,  which  can  be 
opened  or  closed  at  pleasure.  The  lake  is  crown  property, 
and  is  of  great  value  from  the  fish  and  wild  fowl  with 
which  it  abounds.  In  1812  Marshal  Suchet  was  created 
duke  of  Albuf era  by  Napoleon  for  his  conquest  of  Valencia, 
and  invested  with  the  domain;  but  the  battle  of  Vitoria 
soon  deprived  him  of  his  possession,  though  he  still  re- 
tained the  title.  Subsequently  .the  revenues  of  Albufera 
were  conferred  upon  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  in  token  of 
the  gratitude  of  the  Spanish  nation. 

ALBUM  (albus,  white),  .  originally  denoted  a  tablet 
on  which  decrees,  edicts,  and  other  public  notices  were 
inscribed  in  ancient  Rome.  It  was  so  called  probably 
because  the  tablet  was  made  of  white  or  whitened  material, 
though  some  authorities  say  that  the  inscription  was  in 
white  characters.  The  Pontifex  Maximus  wrote  his  annals 
(Annales  Maximi)  upon  an  album.  In  course  of  time  the 
term  came  to  be  restricted  almost  exclusively  to  lists  of 
official  names.  Such  were  the  Album  Judicum,  Album 
Senatorum,  Album  Decurionum,  Album  Centuriae.  In 
modern  times  album  denotes  a  book  in.  which  verses,  auto' 
graphs,  sketches,  photographs,  &c,  are  collected.  It  is 
also  applied  to  the  official  list  of  matriculated  students  in 
a  university,  and  to  the  roll  in  which  a  bishop  inscribes 
the  names'  of  his  clergy. 

ALBUMAZAR  (Abu-Maaschar),  a  celebrated  Arabian 
astronomer,  born  at  Balkh,  in  Turkestan,  in  805  A.D., 
died  at  Wasid  in  885.  He  had  reached  the  age  of  forty- 
seven  before  he  entered  on  the  studies  to  which  he  owes 
his  fame.  His  principal  works  are  An  Introduction  to 
Astronomy  and  the  Book  of  Conjunction,  both  published 
in  a  Latin  translation  at  Augsburg  in  1489,  and  again  at 
Venice  in  1515.  A  work  On  the  Revolution  of  the  Years  is 
also  attributed  to  him,  in  which  it  is  maintained  that  the 
world  was  created  when  the  seven  planets  were  in  con- 
junction in  the  first  degree  of  Aries,  and  that  it  will  come  to 
an  end  at  a  like  conjunction  in  the  last  degree  of  Pisces. 

ALBUMEN,  an  organic  substance  of  a  very  complicated 
structure.  It  is  typical  of  a  group  of  bodies  that  have 
the  same  chemical  composition  but  very  different  pro- 
perties.     The    principal  varieties   are   named    albumen, 


fibrin,  and  casein.  They  are  sometimes  called  the  histo- 
genetic  bodies,  because  they  are  essential  to  the  building 
up  of  the  animal  organism.  The  vegetable  kingdom  is 
the  original  source  of  the  albumenoid  group  of  substances. 
In  plants  the  albumen  is  found  in  greatest  quantity  in 
the  seed.  The  mean  average  percentage  composition  of 
the  albumenoids  is  as  follows — 

Carbon, 638 

Hydrogen, 7-0 

Nitrogen, 157 

Sulphur, ]-2 

Oiygen, ; 223 


100-0 


The  true  chemical  formula  of  these  bodies  is  unknown, 
but  if  wo  regard  the  sulphur  as  replacing  oxygen,  then 
the  simplest  empirical  formula  is  CyHjjN.O,. 

All  the  albumenoid  bodies  are  capable  of  existing  in  two 
forms— (a)  soluble,  (6)  insoluble.  They  belong  to  the  class 
of  bodies  called  colloids,  and  easily  pass  from  the  one  con- 
dition into  the  other.  Whether  in  the  soluble  or  insoluble 
condition,  they  are  easily  dissolved  by  caustic  potash,  and 
may  be  precipitated  by  the  addition  of  acetic  acid.  The 
soluble  varieties  are  coagulated  by  alcohol,  and  precipitated 
by  salts  of  copper,  lead,  and  mercury.  Strong  su'phuric  acid 
dissolves  them,  with  the  production  of  leucine,  tyrosine, 
and  ammoniacal  salts.  Strong  nitric  acid  produces  in 
their  solutions  a  coagulum  of  a  bright  orange'  colour, 
and  then  gradually  dissolves  it  with  effervescence.  A 
solution  of  nitrate  of  mercury,  when  heated  with  the 
members  of  the  group,  produces  a  deep  red  colour,  and 
this  is  one  of  the  most  delicate  tests.  Somo  varieties  of 
albumen  coagulate  when  heated.  All  the  albumenoid 
bodies  are  amorphous,  and  may  be  kept  when  dry  for  any 
length  of  time,  but  when  moist  they  rapidly  putrefy,  and 
produce  a  sickening  odour.  Among  the  products  of 
putrefaction  are  found  leucine  and  tyrosine,  and  carbonate, 
butyrate,  valerate,  and  sulphide  of  ammonium.  The  readi- 
ness with  which  these  bodies  change  in  the  moist  con- 
dition produces  the  digestive  and  other  ferments  in  tho 
body,  and  the  synaptase,  diastase,  and  emulsin  which  we 
find  in  plants.  The  special  properties  of  albumen,  fibrin, 
and  casein  will  be  described  in  the  article  Chemistry.  From 
its  property  of  coagulating  when  heated,  albumen  is  employed 
in  the  arts  to  remove  colouring  matters  from  liquids. 

ALBUQUERQUE,  a  town  of  Spain,  in  the  province  of 
Badajoz,  9  miles  from  the  frontiers  of  Portugal.  Situated 
on  an  eminence,  it  is  defended  by  an  almost  impregnable 
fortress  built  on  a  high  mountain.  It  was  taken  by  the 
allies  of  Charles,  at  that  time  a  competitor  for  the  Spanish 
throne,  in  1705,  but  was  restored  to  the  Spanish  crown  in 
1715.  It  has  woollen  and  linen  manufactures,  and  exports 
cattle  and  fruits.     Population,  7000. 

ALBUQUERQUE,  Alphonso  d'  (in  Portuguese  Affonso 
d'Alboquerque),  surnamed  "  The  Great,"  and  "  The  Portu- 
guese Mars,"  was  born  in  1453  at  Alexandria,  near  Lisbon. 
Through  his  father,  Gonzalvo,  who  held  an  important 
position  at  court,  he  was  connected  by  illegitimate  descent 
with  the  royal  family  of  Portugal,  and  through  his  mother, 
Dona  Leonora  de  Menezes,  he  could  claim  kindred  with 
Zarco  and  other  illustrious  navigators.  He  was  educated 
at  the  court  of  Alphonso  V.,  and  after  the  death  of  that 
monarch  seems  to  have  served  for  some  time  in  Africa. 
On  his  return  he  was  appointed  estribeiro-mor  (chief 
equerry)  to  Joao  II.  In  1503  he  set  out  on  his  first  expe- 
dition to  the  East,  which  was  to  be  the  scene  of  his  future 
triumphs.  In  company  with  his  kinsman  Francisco  he 
sailed  round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  India,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  the  king  of  Cochin  securely 
on  his  throne,  obtaining  in  return  for  this  service  per- 
mission to  build  a  Portuguese  fort  at  Cochin,  and  thus 


ALC- 

Uyiug  the  foundation  ol  his  country's  cmpLro  in  the  East. 
He  returned  home  in  July  150-1,  and  was  well  received 
by  King  Emmanuel,  who  entrusted  him  with  the  command 
of  a  squadron  of  five  vessels  in  the  fleet  of  sixteen  which 
sailed  for  India  in  1506  under  Tristan  da  Cunha.  After 
a  series  of  successful  attacks  on  tho  Moorish  cities  on  the 
east  coast  of  Africa,  Albuquerque  separated  from  Da 
Cunha,  and  sailed  with  his  squadron  against  the  island  of 
Ormuz,  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  which  was  then  one  of  the 
chief  centres  of  commerce  in  the  East.  He  arrived  on  the 
35th  September  1507,  and  soon  obtained  possession  of  the 
island,  though  he  was  unable  long  to  maintain  his  position. 
With  his  squadron  increased  by  three  vessels,  he  reached 
the  Malabar  coast  at  the  close  of  the  year  1508,  and  im- 
mediately made  known  the  commission  he  had  received 
from  the  king  empowering  him  to  supersede  the  governor 
Almeida.  The  latter,  however,  refused  to  recognise  Albu- 
querque's credentials,  and  cast  him  into  prison,  from  which 
he  was  only  released,  after  three  months'  confinement,  on 
the  arrival  of  the  grand  marshal  of  Portugal  with  a  large 
fleet.  Almeida  having  returned  home,  Albuquerque 
speedily  showed  the  energy  and  determination  of  his 
character.  An  unsuccessful  attack  upon  Calicut  in  Janu- 
ary 1510,  in  which  the  commander-in-chief  received  a 
severe  wound,  was  immediately  followed  by  the  investment 
and  capture  of  Goa.  Albuquerque,  finding  himself  unable 
to  hold  tho  town  on  his  first  occupation,  abandoned  it  in 
August,  to  return  with  reinforcements  in  November,  when 
he  obtained  undisputed  possession.  He  next  directed  hia 
forces  against  Malacca,  which  he  subdued  after  a  severe 
struggle.  He  remained  in  the  town  nearly  a  year  in  order 
to  strengthen  the  position  of  the  Portuguese  power.  In 
1512  he  sailed  for  the  coast  of  Malabar.  On  the  voyage 
a  violent  storm  arose,  Albuquerque's  vessel,  the  "  Flor  de 
la  Mar,"  which  carried  the  treasure  he  had  amassed  in  his 
conquests,  was  wrecked,  and  he  himself  barely  escaped 
with  his  life.  In  September  of  the  same  year  he  arrived 
at  Goa,  where  he  quickly  suppressed  a  serious  revolt 
headed  by  Idalcan,  and  took  such  measures  for  the  security 
and  peace  of  the  town  that  it  became  the  most  flourishing 
of  the  Portuguese  settlements  in  India.  Albuquerque 
had  been  for  some  time  under  orders  from  the  home 
government  to  undertake  an  expedition  to  the  Ked  Sea, 
in  order  to  secure  that  channel. of  communication  exclu- 
sively to  Portugal.  He  accordingly  laid  siege  to  Aden  in 
1513,  but  was  repulsed;  and  a  voyage  into  the  Eed  Sea, 
the  first  ever  made  by  a  European  fleet,  led  to  no  sub- 
stantial results.  In  order  to  destroy  the  power  of  Egypt, 
he  is  said  to  have  entertained  the  idea  of  diverting  the 
course  of  the  Nile,  and  so  rendering  the  whole  country 
barren.  His  last  warlike  undertaking  was  a  second  attack 
upon  Ormuz  in  1515.  The  island  yielded  to  him  without 
resistance,  and  it  remained  in  the  possession  of  the  Portu- 
guese until  1622.  Albuquerque's  great  career  had  a  pain- 
ful and  ignominious  close.  He  had  several  enemies  at 
the  Portuguese  court  who  lost  no  opportunity  of  stirring 
up  the  jealousy  of  the  king  against  him,  and  his  own 
injudicious  and  arbitrary  conduct  on  several  occasions 
served  their  end  only  too  welL  On  his  return  from 
Ormuz,  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbour  of  Goa,  ho  met  a 
vessel  from  Europe  bearing  despatches  announcing  that 
he  was  superseded  by  his  personal  enemy  Soarez.  The 
blow  was  too  much  for  him,  and  he  died  at  sea  on  tho 
16th  December  1515.  Before  his  death  he  wrote  a  letter 
to  the  king  in  dignified  and  affecting  terms,  vindicating 
bis  conduct  and  claiming  for  his  son  the  honours  and 
rewards  that  were  justly  due  to  himself.  His  body  was 
buried  at  Goa  in  the  Church  of  Our  Ludy,  and  it  is  per- 
haps the  most  convincing  proof  possiblo  of  the  justice  of 
his   administration,  that,  many  years   after,   Moors    and 


ALC 


457 


Hindoos  used  to  go  to  his  tomb  to  invoke  protcctiou 
against  the  injustice  of  his  successors.  The  king  of  Por- 
tugal was  convinced  too  late  of  his  fidelity,  and  endeav- 
oured to  atone  for  the  ingratitude  with  which  he  had 
treated  him  by  heaping  honours  upon  his  natural  son 
Affonso.  The  latter  published  a  selection  from  his  father's 
papers,  under  the  title  Commentarios  do  Grande  Affonso 
d'Alboquerque. 

ALCJEUS,  one  of  the  great  lyric  poets  of  Greece,  was 
a  native  of  Mitylene  in  Lesbos,  and  flourished  about  the 
year  600  B.C.  From  the  fragments  of  his  poems  which 
have  come  down  to  us  we  leam  that  his  life  was  greatly 
mixed  up  with  the  pelitical  disputes  and  internal  feuds 
of  hi3  native  city.  He  sided  with  the  nobles,  and  took 
an  active  part  against  the  tyrants,  who  at  that  time  set 
themselves  up  in  Mitylene.  He  was  obliged,  in  conse- 
quence, to  quit  his  native  country,  and  spend  the  rest  of 
his  life  in  exile.  The  date  of  his  death  is  unknown.  His 
poems,  which  were  composed  in  the  jEolian  dialect,  were 
collected  afterwards,  and  apparently  divided  into  ten 
books.  The  subjects,  as  wo  can  6till  see  from  the  frag- 
ments, were  of  the  most  varied  kind  :  some  of  his  poems 
were  hymns  to  the  gods ;  others  were  of  a  martial  or 
political  character ;  others  again  breathed  an  ardent  love 
of  liberty  and  hatred  of  the  tyrants ;  and  lastly,  some  were 
of  an  erotic  kind,  and  appear  to  have  been  particularly 
remarkable  for  the  fervour  of  the  passion  they  described 
Horace  looks  upon  Alcseus  as  his  great  model,  and  has,  in 
one  passage  (Od.  ii.  13.  26,  et  sqq.)  given  a  fine  picture  of 
the  poetical  powers  of  the  ^Eolian  bard  The  care  which 
Alcseus  bestowed  upon  the  construction  ol  his  verses  was 
probably  the  reason  why  one  kind  of  metre,  the  Alcaic, 
was  named  after  him.  Not  one  of  his  compositions  has 
come  down  to  us  entire,  but  a  complete  collection  of  all 
the  extant  fragments  may  be  found  in  Bergk's  Poeice 
Lyrici  Greed,  Lipsiae,  1852,  8vo. 

ALCAICS,  in  Ancient  Poetry,  a  name  given  to  several 
kinds  of  verse,  from  Alcseus,  their  reputed  inventor.  The 
first  kind  consists  of  five  feet,  viz.,  a  spondee  or  iambic, 
an  iambic,  a  long  syllable,  and  two  dactyles ;  the  second 
of  two  dactyles  and  two  trochees.  Besides  these,  which 
are  called  dactylic  Alcaics,  there  is  another,  simply  styled 
Alcaic,  consisting  of.  an  epitrite,  two  choriambi,  and  a 
bacchius;  thus — 

Cur  timet  fla\vum  Tiber im  \  tangere,  cur  |  olivum 

The  Alcaic  ode  is  composed  of  several  strophes,  each  con- 
sisting of  four  verses;  the  .first  two  of  which  are  always 
alcaics  of  the  first  kind;  the  third  verse  is  an  iambic 
diameter  hypercatalectic,  consisting  of  four  feet  and  a 
long  syllable;  and  the  fourth  verse  is  an  alcai'c  of  the 
second  kind  The  following  strophe  is  of  this  species, 
which  Horace  calls  "Alccei  minaces  camence" — ■ 

Non  possidentem  multa  vocaveria 
Rede  bealum;  rectius  oecupai 
Nomen  Beati,  qui  deorum 
Muneribus  sapientcr  uti. 

ALCAIDE,  or  Alcayde,  a  word  of  Moorish  origin, 
being  derived  from  the  Arabic  kdda,  to  head,  which  was 
applied  by  the  Spanish,  the  Portuguese,  and  the  Moors  to 
the  military  officer  appointed  to  take  charge  of  a  fortres* 
or  prison.     See  Alcalde. 

ALCALA  DE  GUADALRA,  a  town  of  Spain,  in  th« 
province  of  Seville,  Andalusia,  situated  on  tho  Gnadaira, 
7  miles  E.  of  Seville.  It  contains  an  old  castle  and  other 
Moorish  remains ;  but  it  is  now  chiefly  remarkable  for  the 
excellent  quality  of  its  bread,  whence  the  epithet  de  los 
Panaderos,  sometimes  applied  to  it.  Nearly  the  whole  of 
the  bread  required  by  the  town  of  Seville  is  made  here. 
Population,  7000. 


1— 10* 


4f>8 


A  L  C  —  A  L  C 


ALCALA  DE  HENARES,  an  ancient  Spanish  city  on 
tbe  river  Hcnares,  17  miles  E.N.E.  of  Madrid.  It  has 
been  identified  with  the  Roman  Complutum,  which  was 
destroyed  about  the  year  1000,  and  was  rebuilt  by  the 
Moors  in  1083.  In  later  times  it  was  renowned  for  its 
richly-endowed  university,  founded  by  Cardinal  Ximenea 
in  1510,  which,  at  the  height  of  its  prosperity,  numbered 
more  than  10,000  students,  and  was  second  only  to  that 
of  Salamanca.  Here  the  famous  edition  of  the  Holy 
Bible  known  as  the  Complutensian.  Polyglot  was  prepared. 
The  college  of  St  Ildefonso  contains  a  magnificent  chapel, 
in  which  Ximenes  is  buried,  and  is  distinguished  by  its 
splendid  architecture,  partly  Moorish  and  partly  Gothic, 
Alcala  is  further  celebrated  as  the  birthplace  of  the  Ger- 
man emperor  Ferdinand  L,  the  poet  Figueroa,  the  naturalist 
Bustamente  de  la  Camera,  the  historian  Solis,  and  last  and 
greatest  of  all,  Cervantes,  who  was  born  here  in  1547. 
Since  the  removal  of  the  university  to  Madrid  in  1836  the 
town  has  rapidly  declined.  It  contains  a  military  academy 
and  various  public  institutions,  but  is  of  little  commercial 
importance.     Population,  8745. 

ALCALA  LA  REAL,  a  town  of  the  province  of  Jaen  in 
Spain,  18  miles  S.W.  of  the  town  of  that  name.  It  stands 
on  a  declivity  between  two  mountain  ridges,  at  an  elevation 
of  about  3000  feet  above  the  sea.  It  possesses  a  fine  abbey. 
Its  distinctive  name  la  Real,  the  Royal,  is  derived  from  its 
capture  in  1340  by  Alphonso  XL  of  Leon,  in  person. 
In  1810  the  Spaniards  were  defeated  here  by  the  French 
under  Sebastiani.  Some  trade  is  carried  on  at  the  place 
in  wine  and  wool.     Population,  11,521. 

ALCALDE  (from  the  Arabic  al-cadi,  the  judge),  an 
official  title  given  in  Spain  to  various  classes  of  functionaries 
entrusted  with  judicial  duties.  Criminal  judges,  members 
of  courts  of  appeal,  magistrates,  and  even  parish  officers 
are  all  known  by  the  name  alcalde — secondary  descriptive 
titles  distinguishing  their  different  positions  and  functions. 
It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  word  is  entirely  distinct  from 
Alcaide,  the  latter  being  always  employed  to  designate  a 
military  officer. 

ALCAMENES  ('AXko/iot;?),  a  famous  Athenian  sculp- 
tor, a  pupil  of  Phidias,  who  is  celebrated  for  his  skill  in 
art  by  Cicero,  Pliny,  Pausanias,  Lucan,  &c.  He  flourished 
from  about  448  to  400  B.C.,  and  appears  as  one  of  the 
great  triumvirate  of  Greek  sculptors,  Phidias,  Alcamenes, 
and  Polycletus.  He  is  said  to  have  once  competed  with 
his  master,  the  subject  being  a  statue  of  Minerva.  In  this 
attempt  the  style  of  Alcamenes  was  exquisite  in  finish, 
but  he  had  overlooked  the  consideration  that  the  statue  was 
to  be  placed  on  a  high  column,  and  there  his  work  would 
not  bear  comparison  with  that  of  his  great  master.  His 
statue  of  Venus  Urania,  in  the  temple  of  that  deity  at 
Athens,  was  reckoned  his  masterpiece. 

ALCAMO,  a  city  of  Sicily,  in  the  Italian  province  of 
Trapani,  is  situated  22  miles  E.  of  Trapani,  near  the  Gulf 
of  Castellamare.  It  lies  in  a  district  of  peculiar  fertility, 
which  produces  some  of  the  best  wines  in  the  island.  The 
town  is  pleasantly  situated  on  elevated  ground,  but  its 
internal  appearance  is  mean  and  dirty.  It  contains  a  very 
strong  castle,  and  many  churches  and  monasteries.  Near 
it  are.  tho  ruins  of  the  ancient  Segesta,  including  a  Doric 
temple  and  a  theatre  in  good  preservation ;  and  there  are 
also  on  the  neighbouring  hiy  Moorish  towere  and  other 
remains,  standing  as  memorials  of  the  Saracen  occupation 
of  Sicily.     Population  (1865),  19,518. 

ALCANTARA,  the  ancient  Norba  Coesarea,  a  town  of 
Spain,  in  tho  province  of  Caceres,  on  a  rocky  height  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Tagus.  Alcantara  (in  Arabic,  the 
bridge)  derived  its  name  from  the  magnificent  Roman 
bridge  which  spanned  the  Tagus  at  this  point,  and  whica 
was  erected,  according  to  the  inscription,  A.D.  104,  in 


nonour  of  the  emperor  Trajan,  who  was  a  native  of  Spain. 
This  remarkable  structure  is  built  entirely  of  blocks  of 
granite  without  cement,  and  consisted,  until  its  partial 
destruction,  of  six  arches  of  various  span,  with  a  total 
length  of  670  feet  and  a  height  of  210  feet  The  second 
arch  on  the  right  bank  was  blown  up  by  the  English  in 
1809,  and,  although  temporarily  reconstructed,  was  again 
destroyed  in  1836  to  prevent  the  passage  of  the  Carlist 
troops.  The  bridge  has  never  since  been  repaired;  and  it 
is  a  striking  illustration  of  the  want  of  public  spirit  in 
Spain  that  the  river  is  crossed  by  means  of  a  ferry-boat  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  this  grand  engineering  work,  which 
it  is  a  national  duty  to  preserve.  The  population  of  the 
town  is  4200. 

ALCANTARA,  a  seaport  of  Brazil,  in  the  province  of 
Maranhao,  on  the  bay  of  San  Marcos.  It  has  a  tolerable 
harbour;  and  excellent  cotton  is  grown  in  tho  vicinity, 
forming  tho  chief  article  of  commerce.  Rico  and  salt, 
obtained  from  the  neighbouring  lagoons,  are  also  exported. 
Population,  10,000. 

ALCANTARA,  Knights  op  (la  Calalleria  de  Alcan- 
tara), an  order  of  knights  of  Spain,  instituted  about  1156 
A.D.  by  the  brothers  Don  Suarez  and  Don  Gomez  de  Bar- 
rientos  for  protection  against  the  Moors.  In  1177  they  were 
confirmed  as  a  religious  order  of  knighthood  under  Bene- 
dictine rule  by  Pope  Alexander  IIL  Until  about  1213 
they  were  known  as  the  Knights  of  San  Julian  del  Pereyro; 
but  when  the  defence  of  Alcantara,  newly  WTested  from 
the  Moors  by  Alphonso  IX.  of  Castile,  was  entrusted  to 
them,  they  took  their  name  from  that  city.  For  a  con- 
siderable time  they  were  in  some  degree  subject  to  the 
grand  master  of  the  kindred  order  of  Calatrava.  Ulti- 
mately, however,  they  asserted  their  independence  by 
electing  a  grand  master  of  their  own,  the  first  holder  of 
the  office  being  Don  Diego  Sanche.  During  the  rule  of 
thirty-seven  successive  grand  masters,  similarly  chosen,  the 
influence  and  wealth  of  the  order  gradually  increased  until 
the  Knights  of  Alcantara  were  almost  as  powerful  as  the 
sovereign.  In  1494-5  Juan  de  Zufiiga  was  prevailed 
upon  to  resign  the  grand  mastership  to  Ferdinand,  who 
thereupon  vested  it,  as  he  had  already  done  that  of  two  other 
orders,  in  his  own  person  as  king;  and  this  arrangement  was 
ratified  by  a  bull  of  Pope  Alexander  VL,  and  was  declared 
permanent  by  Pope  Adrian  VI.  in  1523.  The  yearly 
income  of  Zuiiiga  at  the  time  of  his  resignation  amounted 
to  150,000  ducats.  In  1540  Pope  Paul  III.  released  the 
knights  from  the  strictness  of  Benedictine  rule  by  giving 
them  permission  to  marry,  though  second  marriage  was 
forbidden.  Tho  three  vows  were  henceforth  obedientia, 
castiias  conjugalis,  and  conversio  morum.  In  modern  times 
tho  history  of  the  order  has  been  somewhat  chequered. 
When  Joseph  Bonaparte  became  king  of  Spain  in  1808,  he 
deprived  the  knights  of  their  revenues,  which  were  only 
partially  recovered  on  the  restoration  of  Ferdinand  VII. 
in  1814.  The  order  ceased  to  exist  as  a  spiritual  body  in 
1835,  though1  it  is  still  recognised  in  its  civil  capacity. 

ALCARAZ,  a  small  town  in  Spain,  in  the  province  of 
Albacete,  34  miles  W.S.W.  of  the  town  of  that  name.  It 
stands  on  very  hilly  ground  near  the  river  Guadarmena, 
and  has  the  remains  of.  a  once  strong  castle  and  of  a  mag- 
nificent Roman  aqueduct.  Weaving,  iron-founding,  and 
agriculture  are  the  chief  branches  of  industry.  Copper 
and  zinc  are  found  in  the  vicinity.     Population,  7325. 

ALCAVALA,  a  duty  formerly  charged  in  Spain  and  its 
colonies  on  all  transfers  of  property,  whether  public  or 
private.  It  was  originallyimposed  by  Alphonso  XI.  to  secure 
freedom  from  the  Moors  in  1341,  as  an  ad  valorem  tax  of 
10,  increased  afterwards  to  14  per  cent.,  on  the  selling 
price  of  all  commodities,  whether  raw  or  manufactured, 
which  was  chargeable  as  often  as  they  were  sold  or  ex- 


A  L  C  -  A  L  C 


459 


changed  It  subjected  every  farmer,  every  manufacturer, 
every  merchant  and  shopkeeper,  to  the  continual  visits  and 
examination  of  the  tax-gatherers,  whose  number  was  neces- 
sarily very  great.  This  monstrous  impost  was  permitted 
to  ruin  the  industry  and  commerce  of  the  greater  part  of 
the  kingdom  down  to  the  invasion  of  Napoleon.  Catalonia 
and  Aragon  purchased  from  Philip  V.  an  exemption  from 
the  alcavala,  and,  though  still  burdened  with  other  heavy 
taxes,  were  in  a  comparatively  flourishing  state,  in  con- 
sequence of  their  exemption  from  this  oppressive  duty. 
(See  M'Culloch  On  Taxation.) 

'  ALCAZAR  DE  SAN  JUAN,  a  Spanish  town,  in  the 
province  of  Ciudad  Real,  45  miles  N.E.  of  Ciudad  Real, 
and  on  the  railway  between  Alicante  and  Madrid  It  is  a 
well-built  town,  and  has  manufactures  of  soap,  saltpetre, 
and  gunpowder.  This  is  the  Alee  of  the  Romans,  taken 
by  T.  Sempronius  Gracchus  180  b.c.     Population,  7800. 

ALCAZAR  KEBIR,  a  city  of  Marocco  in  Africa,  80 
mile3  N.W.  of  Fez.  It  was  formerly  of  great  note  as  the 
magazine  and  place  of  rendezvous  for  the  Moorish  invasions 
of  Spain.  It  is  now  greatly  decayed,  probably  on  account 
of  its  low  and  unhealthy  situation.  Not  far  from  the  city  is 
the  river  Elmahassen,  famous  for  the  battle  fought  in  1578 
between  Sebastian,  king  of  Portugal,  and  the  Moors,  in 
which  the  Portuguese  were  defeated  and  their  king  slain. 
Population,  6000. 

ALCESTER,  pronounced  Auster,  a  market  town  in  the 
county  of  Warwick,  situated  at  the  junction  of  the  Arrow 
and  Alne,  14  miles  W.S.W.  of  Warwick.  Its  position  on 
the  Roman  way  known  as  the  Ickenild  Street,  and  the  dis- 
covery of  numerous  remains  of  ancient  art,  as  well  as  urns 
and  coins,  make  it  sufficiently  evident  that  this  was  a 
Roman  encampment.  A  monastery  was  founded  here  in 
1140;  but  the  building  has  totally  disappeared,  though 
sufficient  vestiges  remain  to  indicate  its  site.  The  church 
is  a  fine  building,  and  contains  several  interesting  monu- 
ments, one  of  which,  to  the  marquis  of  Hertford,  is  by 
Chantrey,  and  is  in  the  best  style  of  that  sculptor.  The 
town  possesses  a  free  grammar  school  and  an  elegant 
market-halL  Employment  is  afforded  to  about  1200  of 
the  inhabitants  in  the  manufacture  of  needles,  which  is  the 
chief  branch  of  industry.  Eish-hooks  are  also  manufactured 
Population  of  parish,  2363._ 

ALCESTIS,  or  Alceste,  the  daughter  of  Pelias  and 
Anaxibia,  and  wife  of  Admetus,  king  of  Pherae  in  Thessaly. 
She  consented  to  die  in  place  of  her  husband,  and  was 
afterwards  restored  to  lif«  by  Hercules.  This  beautiful 
instance  of  conjugal  devotion  forms  the  subject  of  one  of 
the  best  plays  of  Euripides,  the  Alcestis,  which  furnishes 
the  basis  for  Robert  Browning's  Balaustioris  Adventure.  - 

ALCHEMY,  Chemy,  or  Hermetics.  Considering  the 
present  state  of  the  science  and  the  advance  of  public 
opinion,  the  old  definition  of  alchemy  as  the  pretended  art 
of  making  gold  is  no  longer  correct  or  adequate. 

Modern  science  dates  from  three  discoveries — that  of 
Copernicus,,  the  effect  of  which  (to  borrow  St  Simon's 
words)  was  to  expel  the  astrologers  from  the  society  of 
astronomers;  that  of  Torricelli  and  Pascal,  of  the  weight 
of  the  atmosphere,  a  discovery  which  was  the  foundation 
of  physics;  lastly,  that  of  Lavoisier,  who,  by  discovering 
oxygen,  destroyed  the  theory  of  Stab],  the  last  alchemist 
who  can  be  excused  for  not  being  a  chemist. 

Before  these  three  grand  stages  in  the  progress  of  science, 
the  reign  of  astrology,  magic,  and  alchemy  was  universal 
and  almost  uncontested  Even  a  genius  like  Kepler,- who 
by  his  three  great  laws  laid  the  foundations  for  the  Coper- 
uicaD  system,  was  guided  in  his  investigations  by  astro- 
logical and  cabalistic  considerations.  Hence  it  follows 
that  a  philosophical  history  of  modern  science  is  certain 
to  fall  into  the  opposite  superstition  of  idolising  abstract 


reason,  if  it  does  not  do  full  justice  to  this  long  and  ener- 
getic intellectual  struggle  which  began  in  India,  Greece, 
and  Egypt,  and,  continuing  through  the  dark  ages  down 
to  the  very  dawn  of  modern  enlightenment,  preceded  and 
paved  the  way  for  the  three  above-mentioned  discoveries, 
which  inaugurated  a  new  era. 

It  was  the  alchemists  who  first  stated,  however  con- 
fusedly, the  problems  which  science  is  still  engaged  in 
solving;  and  to  them,  in  conclusion,  we  owe  the  enormous 
service  of  removing  the  endless  obstructions  which  a 
purely  rationalistic  method,  born  before  its  time  and  soon 
degenerating  into  verbal  quibbles  and  scholastic  jargon, 
had  placed  in  the  path  of  human  progress. 

Alchemy  was,  we  may  say,  the  sickly  but  imaginative 
infancy  through  which  modern  chemistry  had  to  pass  before 
it  attained  its  majority,  or,  in  other  words,  became  a  posi- 
tive science.  The  search  for  gold  was  only  one  crisis  in 
this  infancy.  This  crisis  is  over,  and  alchemy  is  now  a 
thing  of  the  past.  There  is  no  longer  any  need  to  exhort 
adventurous  spirits,  who  hope  to  find  Golconda  at  tho 
bottom  of  their  crucibles,  to  leave  such  visions  and  turn  to 
the  safer  paths  of  science  or  industry.  The  battle  has  been 
fought  and  won,  the  problem  of  the  unity  of  chemical 
elements  or  simple  bodies  belongs  rather  to  the  province 
of  metaphysics  than  to  that  of  experimental  science.  If 
here  and  there  an  honest  student  of  the  black  art'  still 
survives,  he  is  regarded  as  a  mad  but  harmless  enthusiast; 
and  as  for  the  pretended  searchers  for  the  philosopher's 
stone,  they  are,  if  possible,  less  interesting  objects  than  the 
dupes  they  still  continue  to  cheat.  Thu3  the  full  time  is 
come  for  applying  to  the  occult  sciences  the  same  searching 
analysis  to  which  the  other  myths  of  prehistoric  times 
have  been  so  rigorously  subjected  To  trace  its  earliest 
beginnings,  to  investigate  its  development  by  the  aid  of 
modem  criticism,  i3  the  province  of  physical  science,  no 
less  than  of  the  sister  science  of  morals.  Nay,  more,  we 
shall  find  that  both  had  a  common  origin.  Those  ancient 
cosmogonies,  those  poetical  systems  which  the  genius  of 
each  nation  and  race  has  struck  out  to  solve  the  problem 
of  the  universe  and  of  the  destiny  of  mankind,  were  the 
germs  of  science  no  less  than  of  literature,  of  philosophy 
as  well  as  of  religion.  And  a3  in  the  infancy  of  science 
its  various  branches  were  confused  and  confounded,  so  in 
a  like  stage  of  society  we' often  find  the  same  person  uniting 
the  parts  of  philosopher,  savant,  and  priest.  Besides  this, 
it  is  evident  that  in  the  absence  of  all  scientific  apparatus 
or  instruments,  the  ancients,  if  they  had  limited  them- 
selves to  the  exercise  of  their  reason,  must  have  remained 
observers  and  nothing  more.  It  is  true  they  did  observe, 
and  that  widely  and  well ;  but  observation  alone,  even 
when  aided  by  the  strongest  and  subtlest  reason,  can 
lead  to  nothing  but  contradictory  theories,  irreconcilable, 
because  they  cannot  be  verified  And  it  is  not  in  human 
nature  to  remain  a  simple  spectator.  Curiosity  was  first 
excited  by  fancy  (and  the  fancy  of  primitive  man,  we  must 
remember,  was  far  more  active  and  vigorous  than  ours), 
and  when,  it  found  itself  baffled  by  a  natural  reaction,  it 
had  recourse  to  divination. 

^  In  a  word,  the  ambition  of  these  earliest  philosophers 
was  more  intense,  because  its  sphere  was  narrower.  In 
the  first  stages  of  civilisation  the  magician  was  the  man  of 
science.  The  mysteries  of  this  magic  art  being  inseparable 
from  those  of  religion  and  philosophy,  were  preserved,  as  it 
were,  hermetically  sealed  in  the  adyta  of  the  temple.  Its 
philosophy  was  the  cabala.  We  must  consequently  look 
on  the  various  cabalas  or  oral  traditions,  transmitted  from. 
age  to  age  as  the  oracles  of  various  faiths  and  creeds,  aa 
constituting  the  elements  of  that  theory  which  the  Jewish, 
cabala  promulgated  some  centuries  later  in  a  condensed 
and  mutilated  form.    Astrology  and  magic  were  the  efforts 


460 


ALCHEMY 


made  in  various  ways  to  verify  and  apply  this  theory ; 
magic,  indeed,  or  rather  magical  power,  was  at  starting 
purely  cosmogouic,  i.e.,  regarded  as  an  attribute  of  God 
>r  nature,  before  it  was  counterfeited  by  the  magicians  of 
various  countries.  But,  as  St  Simon  has  well  observed, 
chemical  phenomena  aro  much  more  complicated  than 
astronomical — the  latter  requiring  only  observation,  the 
former  experiment— and  hence  astrology  preceded  alchemy. 
But  there  was  then  no  hard  and  fast  line  between  the 
several  branches  of  science,  and  hence  the  most  opposite 
were  united,  not,  as  now,  by  a  common  philosophical  or 
philanthropical  object,  but  by  reason  of  their  common 
theological  origin.  Thui  alchemy  was  the  daughter  of 
astrology,  and'it  was  not  till  tho  end  of  the  16th  century 
a.d.  that  she  passed  from  a  state  of  tutelage.  Just  in  the 
same  way  medicine  as.  a  magical  or  sacred  art  was  prior  to 
alchemy;  for,  as  was  natural,  before  thinking  of  forming 
new  substances,  men  employed  already  existing  herbs, 
atones,  drugs,  perfumes,  and  vapours.  The  medical  art  was 
indissolubly  bound  up  with  astrology,  but,  judging  from 
the  natural  inventiveness  of  the  ancients,  we  should  have 
expected  beforehand  that  chemical  preparations  would  have 
played  a  more  important  part  among  the  instruments  of 
priestly  thaumaturgy 

As  in  the  middle  ages  invention  busied  itself  with  instruments 
of  torture,  and  as  in  our  days  it  is  taken  up  almost  as  much  with 
the  destructive  engines  of  war  as  with  the  productive  arts  of  peace, 
so  in  those  early  age3  it  applied  itself  to  the  fabrication  of.  idols, 
to  the  mechanism  and  theatrical  contrivances  for  mysteries  and 
religious  ceremonies.  There  was  then  no  desire  to  communicate 
discoveries ;  science  was  a  sort  of  freemasonry,  and  silence  was  effect- 
ually secured  by  priestly  anathemas ;  men  of  science  were  as  jealous 
of  ono  another  as  they  were  of  all  other  classes  of  society.  If  we 
wish  to  form  a  clear  picture  of  this  earliest  stage  of  civilisation,  an 
age  which  represents  at  once  the  nalveti  o'f  childhood  and  tho  suspi- 
cious reticence  of  senility,  we  must  turn  our  eyes  to  the  priest,  on 
the  en*  hand,  claiming  as  his  own  all  art  and  science,  and  com- 
manding respect  by  his  contemptuous  silence ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  to  the  mechanic  plying  the  loom,  extracting  tho  Tyrian  dye, 
practising  chemistry,  though  ignorant  of  its  very  name,  despised 
and  oppressed,  and  only  tolerated  when  he  furnished  Religion  with 
her  trappings  or  War  with  arms.  Thus  the  growth  of  chemistry  was 
slow,  and  by  reason  of  its  backwardness  it  was  longer  than  any 
other  art  in  ridding  itself  of  the  leading-strings  of  magic  and  astro- 
logy .  Practical  discoveries  must  have  been  made  many  times  with- 
out science  acquiring  thereby  any  new  fact.  For  to  prevent  a  new 
discovery  from  being  lost  there  must  be  such  a  combination  of 
favourable  circumstances  as  was  rare  in  that  age  and  for  many 
succeeding  ages.  There  must  be  publicity,  and  publicity  is  of  quite 
recent  growth  ;  the  application  of  the  discovoiy  must  be  not  only 
possible  but  obvious,,  as  satisfying  some  want.  But  wants  are  only 
felt  as  civilisation  progresses.  '  Nor  is  this  all ;  for  a'  practical  dis- 
covery to  become  a  scientific  fact,  it  must  servo  to  demonstrate  the 
error  of  one  hypothesis,  and  to  suggest  a  new  one,  better  fitted  for 
the  synthesis  of  existing  facts.  But  old  beliefs  are  proverbially 
obstinate  and  virulent  in  their  opposition  to  newer  and  truer  theories 
which  are  destined  to  eject  and  replace  them.  To  sum  up,  even 
in  our  own  day  chemistry  rests  on  a  less  sound  b£sis  than  either 
physics,  which  had  the  advantage  of  originating  as  late  as  the  17th 
century,  or  astronomy,  which  dates  from  the  time  when  the  Chaldean 
shepherd  had  sufficiently  provided  for  his  daily  wants  to  find  leisure 
for  gazing  into  the  starry  heavens. . 

After  this  general  introduction  we  may  now  proceed  to 
consider  the  subject  in  detail  under  the  following  heads: — 
First,  we  will  cast  a  rapid  glance  at  certain  cosmologies 
and  philosophical  systems,  in  order  to  bring  prominently 
before  the  reader  those  points  which  throw  light  on 
chemical  theories.  Secondly,  we  will  consider  alchemy  at 
the  moment  when  it  ceased  to  be  purely  religious  and 
began  an  independent  existence ;  that  is  to  say,  during  the 
3d  and  4th  centuries  A.D.,  and  in  that  city  which  was  the 
battlefield  on  which  the  various  philosophical  and  religious 
creeds  of  the  East  met.  In  the  fierce  struggles  which  ensued, 
in  the  strange  alliances  which  they  there  made,  we  shall  find 
them, by  their  mutual  recriminations,  involuntarily  revealing 
to  us  their  hidden  secrets.  As  the  darkness  of  the  middle 
ages  approaches,  we  shall  follow  our  science  in  its  journey  to 


Arabia ;  from  Arabia  we  shall  trace  it  back  to  Europe,  and 
hear  it  taught  with  stammering  lips  and  feeble  tongue  by 
subtile  or  solemn  doctors.  We  shall  attempt  to  analyse  its 
ambitious  aspirations  and  its  barren  performances.  During 
the  Renaissance  we  shall  see  it  at  its  zenith,  inspired  by  a 
mad  enthusiasm  which  was  near  akin  to  genius,  an  enthu- 
siasm which  gave  birth  to  medicine  and  modern  chemistry. 
Lastly,  in  the  17th  and  18th  centuries  we  shall  see  it 
degenerate  into  pure  charlatanism.  In  conclusion,  wu 
shall  attempt  to  recover  the  few  grains  of  pure  ore  which 
may  bo  extracted  from  its  broken  alembics. 

L  Cosmogonies  and  Philosophies. 

In  India,  as  is  wea  known,  tho  contempt  in  which  the 
ca3te  of  artizans  was  held  was  still  farther  increased  by  tho 
tendency  of  religion  to  consider  birth  and  life,  and  tho 
actions  and  desires  which  are  part  and  parcel  of  man's  life, 
as  an  unmixed  eviL  Consequently,  outside  the  workshop, 
practical  chemistry  can  have  made  but  little  progress. 
Nevertheless,  among  the  priests  of  India,  as  in  later  times 
in  Europe,  we  find  the  ordeal  of  fire  and  of  serpents 
commonly  practised.  It  follows  that  the  Brahmins  musi 
have  possessed  some  chemical  secrets  to  enable  them  to 
kill  or  save  those  they  thought  guilty  or  innocent.  These 
secrets,  too,  must  from  time  to  time  have  been  divulged  by 
indiscretion  or  perfidy,  and  spread  beyond  the  temple ; 
for  we  read  of  accused  persons  escaping  unharmed  from 
the  ordeal,  even  when  their  accuser  was  a  Brahmin.  But 
the  Mussulman  traveller  of  the  9th  century,  who  has  pre- 
served this  curious  detail,  allows  that  the  trial  was  in  his 
day  becoming  more  elaborate  and  complicated,  and  that 
it  was  next  to  impossible  for  an  accused  person  to  escape. 
However  this  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  the  meditative 
genius  which  distinguishes  the  race  had,  even  before  they 
conquered  tho  yellow  and  black  races,  led  these  first 
speculators  to  certain  conceptions  which  have  an  important 
bearing  on  the  present  subject.  Some  had  conceived 
ether  as  composed  of  distinct  atoms,  others  imagined  an 
ether  decomposing  itself  into  atoms  by  the  free  play  of  its 
own  forces.  These  two  theories,  the  one  dualisjtic,  tho 
other  unitarian,  strangely  foreshadow  the  discoveries  of 
modern  dynamics.  Wo  find  the  speculators  of  another 
race  indulging  the  singular  fancy  that  thoy  could  observe 
in  atoms  what  we  may  call  oscultations  of  the  play  of 
forces.  This,  at  any  rate,  is  the  most  natural  explanation 
of  the  term  nodes  by  which  the  Phoenicians  designated 
atoms.  The  Persians,  who  considered  the  first  tree  and 
the  first  bull  as  the  two  ancestors  of  man,  discovered  in 
physics  generally  two  antagonistic  principles,  one  male  and 
one  female,  primordial  fire  and  primordial  water,  corre- 
sponding to  the  good  and  bad  principles  of  their  religion. 
Over  all  creatures  and  all  things  there  were  presiding  genii, 
Tzeds  or  Feroners.  They  had  already  formulated  the  paral- 
lelism between  the  Sephiroth,  the  empyrean,  the  primum 
mobile,  the  firmament,  Saturn,  Jupiter,  Mars,  Sun,  Mercury, 
Moon,  and  the  parts  of  the  body,  the  brain,  lungs,  heart, 
&c.  In  this  correspondence  between  the  heavenly  bodies 
and  the  human  frame  which  the  ancient  Persians  laid 
down,  and  the  Hindu  belief  in  the  peregrination  of  sinful 
souls  through  the  animal,  vegetable,  and  even  the  mineral 
world,  till,  by  these  pilgrimages,  they  at  last  won  absorp- 
tion into  the  Deity,  or  Moncli,  we  have,  in  their  original 
form,  the  two  fundamental  beliefs  of  alchemy.. 

The  Greeks,  unrivalled  as  they  were  in  poetry,  art,  and 
ethics,  made  little  way  in  occult  philosophy.  The  Greek 
intellect,  precise  and  anthropomorphic,  with  no  leaning  to 
transcendentalism,  was  a  protest  against  the  boldness  of 
oriental  metaphysics.  Thus  they  contented  themselves 
with  inventing  a  strange  gamut  of  deities  corresponding  to 
different  types  of  men.     This  gamut — Jupiter,  Salnra 


ALCHEMY 


401 


Apollo,  Mercury,  Mars,  aud  Venus — was  afterwards  com- 
pleted in  the  cabala  by  the  addition  of  the  moon,  typifying 
the  phlegmatic  character  of  northern  races,  and  forms  a 
connecting  link  between  astrology  and  alchemy,  by  estab- 
lishing a  double  correspondence  between  planets  of  the 
same  name  and  metals.  The  whole  was  systematised  in 
the  works  of  Paracelsus  and  Bohme,  and  called  the  theory 
of  signatures.  Whether  the  Greek  philosophers  taught 
that  the  principle  of  all  things  was  water,  like  Thales,  or, 
air,  like  Anaximander,  or  air  and  water,  as  Xenophanes,  or 
the  four  elements,  earth,  air,  fire,  and  water,  as  the  school 
of  Hippocrates,  the  tendency  of  Greek  speculation  was  to 
establish  those  profound  distinctions  which  resulted  later 
in  the  theory  of  the  four  elements,  the  four  humours,  &c, 
which  the  disciples  of  Aristotle  held.  Hippocrates,  for 
example,  thought  that  if  man  was  composed  of  a  single 
element,  he  would  never  be  ill ;  but  as  he  is  composed  of 
many  elements,  complex  remedies  are  required.  Thus 
Hippocrates  may  be  called  an  anti-alchemist ;  and  though 
the  theory  of  the  four  elements  reigned  supreme  through- 
out the  middle  ages,  it  easily  lent  itself  to  the  search  for 
the  philosopher's  stone  and  the  universal  panacea,  because 
tho  oriental  idea  of  the  transmutation  of  elements,  from 
tho  time  when  the  various  systems  of  the  East  were 
syncretised  at  Alexandria  and  received  their  final  develop- 
ment in  Arabia  in  the  writings  of  Geber  Rhasis  and  Hon 
Sina  (Avicenna),  was  a  universal  article  of  belief.  But 
even  in-  the  palmiest  days  of  Greek  anthropomorphism 
there  was  a  gradual  infiltration  of  Asiatic  ideas,  partly 
through  the  mysteries  of  Eleusis,  partly  through  the 
doctrines  of  certain  philosophers,  who  were  by  nature 
susceptive  of  barbaric  influences.  For,  besides  Greece 
proper,  there. was  a  second  Greece  in  Asia  Minor  and  a 
third  in  Italy,  not  to  mention  the  Pelasgic  tribes  who 
adhered  tenaciously  to  the  primitive  ideas  of  the  race. 

Among  the  Greek  philosophers,  then,  who  appreciably  influenced 
physics,   chemistry,  and  physiology  (the  three  sciences  were  then 
one),  we  may  notice  in  particular — 1.  Heraclitus  of  Ephesus,  sur- 
named  the  "Obscure."     Maintaining  that  fire  alone  was  the  prin- 
ciple of  all  things,  he  regarded  generation  as  an  ascending  road, 
i.e.,  a  volatilisation ;  and  decomposition  aa  a  descending  road,  i.e., 
a  fixation.    Here  we  have  the  first  idea  of  Jacob's  ladder  or  ' '  Homer's 
Chain "  of  the  alchemists.     2.  Empedocles,  who  is  indeed  the  first 
who  mentions  the  four  elements;   but  he  subordinates  them  as 
complex  products  to   his  primordial  indestructible  atoms,   which 
were  animated  by  love  and  hatred.     3.  Democritus,  who,  investing 
these  atoms  with  a  movement  of  their  own,  proceeds  to  construct 
the  universe  by  shocks  and  harmonies  of  shocks  or  vortices.     4. 
Anaxagoras,  who  saw  "the  all-in-all"  (Aristotle,  Met.   4,  5),  the 
infinitely  great  universe  in  the  infinitely  Email  atom,  and  ingeni- 
eosly  applied  the  principle  of  analogy  to  unravel  the  tangled  skein 
of  ancient  science.     5.  Aristotle,  who  added  to  the  four  elements  a 
filth,  ether,  eternal  and  unchangeable,   itself  the  primum  mobile 
(Arisl.,  Ve  Colo,  1,  2).     In  the  4th  century  a.d.,  Nemesius,  bishop 
of  Emesa  (the  modern  Horns,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Orontes),  is 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  representatives  of  Alexandrian  syn- 
cretism.    A  single  quotation  will  suffice  to  show  that  the  idea  of 
the  transmutation  of  metals,  from  the  time  when  Platonism,  magic, 
and  neo-Christianity  were  combined  in  a  species  of  eclectic  mysti- 
cism, was  regarded  as  an  article  of  orthodox  belief  : — "To  prevent 
the  destruction  of  elements,  or  things  which  are  compounded  of  ele- 
ments,  the  Creator  has  wisely  ordained  that  elements  should  be 
capable  of  transmutation  one  into  the  other,  or  into  their  compo- 
nent parts,  or  that  their  component  parts  should  be  resolved  again 
into  their  original  elements.      Thus   the  perpetuity  of  things  is 
secured  by  the  continual  succession  of  these  reciprocal  generations." 
This  statement  of  the  piou3  bishop  is  all  the  more  weighty,  inas- 
much as  the  author  of  The  Nature  of  Man  was  only  treating  of 
psychology  and  physiology.     The  study  of  gnosticism  would  carry 
us  too  far ;  and  one  more  quotation  from  this  work,  which  has  long 
fallen  into  unmerited  oblivion,  will  prove  to  what  an  extent  the 
most  scientific  theories  of  this  day  wero  tinged  and  vitiated  by 
mysticism :— r"  Porphyry,  in  his  treatise  on  sensation,  tells  us  that 
vision  is  produced  neither  by  a  cone  nor  an  image,  nor  any  other 
object,  but  that  the  mind,  being  placed  en  rujrport  with  visible 
objects,  only  sees  itself  in  these  objects,  which  are  nothing  else  than 
itself,  seeing  that  the  mind  embraces  everything,  and  that  all  that 

exists  is  nothing  but  the  mind,  which  contains  bodies  of  all  kinds." 


Another  step,  and  we  are  lauded  in  realism.  It  la  not  surprising, 
then,  to  find  that  the  alchemists,  while  working  in  the  laboratory, 
aspired  at  the  same  tilne  to  find  the  moral  quintessence  and  vc'rilj 
the  doctrines  of  revealed  religion.  For  mysticism  in  theory  u 
nothing  hut  a  reaction  against  tho  positivism  of  reason  aud  science  : 
the  mystic,  dissatisfied  with  these,  seeks  in  nature  a  reflection  of  hi* 
inner  feelings.  And  in  practice  mysticism  rests  on  confusions  or  cxag- 

f stations,  lite  those  of  Porphyry,  orsouie  such  dictum  as  the  one  whieli 
Temesius  quotes  with  the  following  uncritical  comment : — "Nov.. 
since  Porphyry  asserts  that  there  is  but  one  reasoning  soul  for  A\ 
things,  he  is  right  in  saying  that  the  soul  sees  itself  in  everything. " 

Such  visionaries,  though  they  may  to  a  certain  extent  have 
observed,  were  not  likely  to  experiment.  Thus,  at  Babylon,  where 
similar  theories  prevailed,  the  college  of  philosophers  was  divided 
into  three  classes,  the  "  Hhartumun,"  or  soothsayeis;  the  "Asa- 
phim,"  who  were  more  agriculturists  than  zoologists,  more  zoologists 
than  physicists,  more  physicists  than  chemists  ;  the  "Mechasphiuc, " 
or  doctors,  who  were  consulted  by  the  great,  as  often  to  rid  tucm  of 
their  enemies  as -to  cure  their  families  aud  dependants;  lastly,  the 
"Chasedim"  or  Chaldeans,  properly  so  called;  i.e.,  the  astronomers 
or  astrologers.  In  this  classification  of  sciences  ae-pui  sued  at  Babylon 
by  a  peculiar  caste,  chemistry  was  little  regarded.  Science  was  the 
monopoly  of  a  privileged  class  before  it  became  the  common  pro- 
perty of  the  human  race.  A  elass  is  sure  to  cling  to  a  monopoly ; 
an  individual  is  obliged  by  his  feebleness  to  impart  his  knowledge 
to  others. 

Iu  Egypt  the  doctrine  of  the  Palingenesis  was  symbolised  Dy  the 
Scarabaeus,  which  suggested  to  St  Augustine  the  following  strange 
comparison: — "Jesus  Christus  bonus  Ule  scarabaeus  meus,  non  ca 
tantum  de  causa  quod  unigenitus,  quod  ipsemet  sui  auctor  mor- 
talium  speciem  induxerit,  sed  quod  in  hac  fsece  nostra  sesc  volutarit 
et  ex  ipsa  nasci  homo  volucrit. 

These  ideas,  which  St  Augustine  borrowed  from  the  religious 
beliefs  of  Egypt,  were  adopted  by  certain  alchemists ;  and  Egypt, 
which  saw  in  the  Scarabosus  "  tie  Father,  Man,  a  world  of  trial,  a 
kdder  whereby  fallen  souls  may  rise,"  justly  claimed  to  be  the 
birthplace  of  ancient  chemistry,  to  which  it  assigned  a  peculiar  rank, 
calling  it  the  "sacred  art."  But  although  certain  Egyptian  priests 
may  have  spread  the  report  that  they  owed  their  enormous  fortunes 
to  their  knowledge  of  chemical  secrets,  this  veneration  produced  but 
few  practical  results.  It  was,  however,  this  report  which  made  the 
emperors  Severus  and  Diocletian  issue  an  edict  that  all  their 
magical  books  should  be  burned. 

n.  The  Sacred  Art. 

Paganism,  at  the  time  when  it  was  engaged  in  its  last 
struggle  with  Christianity,  had  long  ceased  to  be  exclu- 
sively Greek  or  Roman.  It  had  assimilated  Mithratic, 
Chaldean,  and  Egyptian  mysteries,  and  even  allied  itself 
to  a  certain  extent  with  the  Helleho-Hebraism  of .  the 
Cabala.  It  was  nob  likely,  then,  to  reject  what  purer 
times  would  have  regarded  as  an  utter  profanation.  The 
narrow  ground  on  which  the  battle  was  fought,  the  intel- 
lectual affinities  between  such  men  as  St  Basil  and  the 
emperor  Julian  rendered  the  struggle  as  desperate  and  san- 
guinary as  any  struggle  can  be  when  the  combatants  are 
only  rival  creeds.  The  sacred  and  divine  art  (rcxyv  $cia 
kcu  Upa),  the  sacred  science  (cVto-nJ/xj?  Upi),  was  one  of  the 
mysteries  which  paganism  derived  from  the  dim  religious 
light  of  the  temple.  But  we  may  presume  that  the  sacred 
art  of  the  Alexandrians  was  no  longer  the  6ame  as  that  of 
the  ancient  Egyptians,  that  their  Hermes  was  not  the 
Hermes  of  Egypt,  that  the  pseudo-Democritus  is  not  the 
true  Democritus,  that  Pythagoras,  as  retouched  by  Iamblicus, 
is  not  the  original  Pythagoras.  No  epoch  was  so  full  of 
forgeries  as  the  3d  and  4th  centuries  A.D. ;  and  these 
forgeries  were  in  one  sense  fabricated  in  good  faith.  An 
age  of  eclecticism  is  as  eager  for  original  documents  as  a 
parvenu  is  for  a  coat  of  arms  or  a  genealogical  tree.  These 
forgeries  Were  no  obstacle  to  human  progress;  but  in  an 
age  when  the  learning  of  Egypt  was  the  fashion,  it  was 
natural  that  Persian,  Jewish,  and  Platonic  doctrines  should 
be  tricked  out  in  an  Egyptian  dress.  One  of  the  masters 
of  the  sacred  art,  Alexander  of  Aphrodisias,  invented  the 
term  chyics  (xuucoV,  from  \iui,  to  pour,  x^'"".  to  fuse  or  melt), 
to  describe  the  operations  of  the  laboratory.  Hence  the 
word  chemics,  a  word  unknown  in  the  4th  century,  and 
only  popular  some  centuries  later.     The  reason  is,  that  the 


4G2 


ALCHEMY 


true  etymology  oi  tho  word  chemic  is  logical,  and  had 
therefore  no  charms  for  the  psychological  spirit  of  the  age. 
Later  on,  when  men  began  to  reflect  that  the  ancient  naino 
for  Egypt  was  Cham  or  Chemia,  because,  according  to 
Plutarch,  its  soil  was  black  like  the  pupil  of  the  eye  (xv/««i 
tov  6<f>0akjxov),  it  flattered  the  chemists  to  call  chemistry 
"  the  art  of  the  ancient  Chemi."  Hence  from  a  false 
derivation  the  art  received  a  fresh  impulse. 

The  discovery  of  the  principal  manuscripts  of  the  sacred 
art  we  owe  to  the  labour  of  M.  Ferdinand  Hoefer.  We 
can  take  no  safer  guide  than  the  judicious  and  profound 
author  of  the  History  of  C/iemistry  in  investigating  the 
delusions  into  which  a  master  of  the  sacred- art  was  most 
likely  to  fall. 

"Let  us  forget  for  an  instant  the  advances  which  this  science  ha3 
made  since  the  5th  century.  Let  us  fancy  ourselves  for  a  moment 
transported  to  the  laboratory  of  one  of  the  great  masters  of  the  sacred 
art,  and  watch  as  neophytes  some  of  his  operations.  1st  Experi- 
ment.—Some  common  water  is  heated  in  an  open  vesseL  The  water 
boils  and  changes  to  an  aeriform  body  (steam),  leaving  at  "the  bottom 
of  the  vessel  a  white  earth  in  the  form  of  powder.  Conclusion — water 
changes  into  air  and  earth.  What  objection  could  we  make  to  this 
inference,  if  we  were  wholly  ignorant  of  the  substances  which  water 
holds  in  solution,  and  wnich  are,  after  evaporation,  deposited  at  the 
bottom  of  the"  vessel!  2d  Experiment. — A  piece  of  red-hot  iron  is 
put  under  a  bell  which  rests  in  a  basin  full  of  water.  The  water 
diminishes  in  volume,  and  a  candle  being  introduced  into  the  bell 
sets  tire  at  once  to  the  gas  inside.  Conclusion — water  changes  into 
fire.  Is  not  this  the  natural  conclusion  which  would  present  itself  to 
any  one  who  was  ignorant  that  water  is  a  composite  body,  consisting 
of  two  gases,  one  of  which,  oxygen,  is  absorbed  by  the  iron,  while 
the  other,  hydrogen,  is  ignited  by  contact  with  the  flame?  3d  Ex- 
periment.— A  piece  of  lead,  or  any  other  metal  except  gold  or  silver, 
is  burned  (calcined)  in  contact  with  the  air.  It  immediately  loses 
its  primitive  properties,  and  is  transformed  into  a  powder  or  species 
of  ashes  or  lime.  The  ashes,  which  are  the  product  of  the  death  of 
the  metal,  are  again  taken  and  heated  in  a  crucible  together  with 
some  grains  of  wheat,  and  the  metal  is  seen  rising  from  its  ashes 
and  reassuming  its  original  form  and  properties.  Conclusion — metals 
are  destroyed  by  fire  and  revivified  by  wheat  and  heat.  No  objection 
could  be  raised  against  this  inference,  for  the  reduction  ef  oxides 
by  means  of  carbon,  such  as  wheat,  was  as  little  known  as  the 
phenomenon  of  the  oxidation  of  metals.  It  was  from  this  power  of 
resuscitating  and  reviving  dead,  i.e.,  calcined  metals,  that  grains  of 
wheat  were  made  the  symbol  of  the  resurrection  and  life  eternal. 
4th  Experiment. — Argentiferous  lead  is  burned  in  cupels  composed 
of  ashes  or  pulverised  bones,  the  lead  disappears,  and  at  the  end  of. 
the  operation  there  remains  in  the  cupel  a  nugget  of  pure  silver. 
NothAig  was  more  natural  than  to  conclude  that  the  lead  was  trans- 
formed into  silver ;  and  to  build  on  this  and  analogous  facts,  the  theory 
of  the  transmutation  of  metals,  a  theory  which,  later  on,  led  to  the 
search  for  the  philosopher's  stone.  6th  Experiment. — A  strong  acid 
is  poured  on  copper,  the  metal  is  acted  upon,  and  in  process  of  time 
disappears,  or  rather  is  transformed  into  a  green  transparent  liquid. 
Then  a  thin  plate  of  iron  is  plunged  into  this  liquid,  and  the  copper 
is  seen  to  reappear  in  its  ordinary  aspect,  while  the  iron  in  its  turn 
is  dissolved.  What  more  natural  than  to  conclude  that  iron  is  trans- 
formed into  copper?  If  instead  of  the  solution  of  copper,  a  solution 
of  lead,  silver,  or  gold  had  been  employed,  they  would  have  held 
that  iron  was  transformed  into  lead,  silver,  or  gold.  6th  Experi- 
ment.— Mercury  is  poured  in  a  gentle  shower  on  melted  sulphur, 
and  a  substance  is  produced  as  black  as  a  raven's  wing.  This  sub- 
stance, when  warmed  in  a  closed  vessel,  is  volatilised  without  chang- 
ing, and  assumes  a  brilliant  red  colour.  Must  not  this  curious 
phenomenon,  which  even  science  in  the  present  day  is  unable  to 
explain,  have  struck  with  amazement  the  worshippers  of  the  sacred 
art,  the  more  as  in  their  eyes  black  and  red  were  nothing  less  than 
the  symbols  of  light  and  darkness,  the  good  and  evil  principles,  and 
that  the  union  ofthese  two  principles  represented  in  the  moral  order 
of  things  their  God-universe.  1th  and  last  Experiment. — Organic 
substances  are  heated  in  a  still,  and  from  tho  liquids  which  are 
removed  by  distillation  and  the  essences  which  escape,  there  remains 
a  solid  residuum.  Was  it  not  likely  that  results  such  as  these  would 
go  far  to  establish  the  theory  which  made  earth,  air,  fire,  and  water 
the  four  elements  of  the  world?" 

But  neither  M.  F.  Hoofer's  explanation  of  the  appearances 
which  the  first  master  of  the  sacred  art  mistook  for  fact, 
nor  the  metaphysical  theory  of  Nemesius,  will  enable  us  to 
understand  how  Zosimua  the  Theban,  in  the  very  infancy 
of  the  art,  succeeded  in  discovering  in  sulphuric  acid  a 
advent  of  metals :  ia  assigning  to  mercury  (^wlrich  he 


called  "  holy  water")  its  proper  function,  a  function  which 
succeeding  generations  of  alchemists  so  monstrously  exag- 
gerated; and  finally  in  disengaging  from  tho  red  oxide  of 
mercury  oxygen  gas,  that  Proteus  which  so  often  eluded 
the  grasp  of  the  alchemists,  till  at  last  it  was  held  fast  by 
the  subtle  analysis  of  Lavoisier.  For  wo  must  remember 
that  solid  metals  wero  considered  as  living  bodies,  and 
gases  as  souls  which  they  allowed  to  escape.  Of  all  the 
ingenious  inventions  of  the  Jewess  Maria  for  regulating 
fusions  and  distillations,.. the  only  one  that  has  survived  is 
the  Balneum  Maria;.  The  principle  it  depends  on,  viz., 
that  the  calcination  of  violent  heat  is  less  powerful  as  a 
solvent  or  component  than  the  liquefaction  produced  by , 
gentle  heat,  was  afterwards  reasserted  by  the  Arabian 
Geber,  and  advocated  by  Francis  Bacon.  M.  Hoefer  ima- 
gines that  Maria  the  Jewess  discovered  hydrochloric  acid, 
the  formidable  rival  of  sulphuric  acid.  Succeeding  writers 
on  the  history  of  chemistry  have  remarked  that  the  band- 
ages of  Egyptian  mummies  were  not  more  numerous  than 
the  mysteries  of  the  sacred  art,  and  the  injunctions  not  to 
divulge  its  secrets,  "  under  pain  of  the  peach  tree,"  -or,  to 
translate  into  modern  English  the  language  of  an  ancient 
papyrus,  under  pain  of  being  poisoned  by  prussic  acid. 
We  Bhould  be  wrong  in  thinking  that  all  these  allegories 
had  no  meaning  for  the  initiated,  and  that  this  mystical 
tendency  of  the  sacred  art  arrested  its  growth  at  starting. 
Rather  the  truth  is,  that  these  myths,  which  at  a  later  stage 
prevented  the  free  development  of  alchemy,  at  first  served 
to  stimulate  its  nascent  powers. 

Modern  critics  have  pronounced  some  traditional  sayings 
of  Hermes  Trismegistus  to  be  apocryphal,  but  they  have 
not  given  sufficient  weight  to  the  remarkable  circumstance 
that  it  is  precisely  because  these  sayings  are  a  medley  of 
the  cabaljstic,  gnostic,  and  Greek  ideas  with  which 
Alexandria  was  then  seething,  that  the  seven  golden 
chapters,  the  Emerald  Table,  and  the  Pimander  obtained 
their  authority — an  authority  they  would  never  have  pos- 
sessed had  they  been  only  a  translation  of  some  obscure 
Egyptian  treatise.  No  Egyptian  priest  could  have  written 
a  sentence  like  that  we  find  so  often  quoted  as  an  axiom 
by  subsequent  alchemists  : — "  Natura  naturam  superat ; 
deiudc  ver6  natura  naturae  congaudet;  tandem  natura 
naturam  continet."  Plato  adds  (not  the  disciple  of 
Socrates,  but  a  pseudo-Plato  in  the  famous  collection 
called  Turba  Philosoplwrum) — "continens  autem  omnia 
terra  est."  For,  translated  into  modern  language,  this 
meand  that  there  may  indeed  be  in  this  universe  things 
which  pass  our  intellectual  ken  ;  but  that  all  that  exists, 
all  that  is  produced  by  tho  strife  and  changes  of  the 
elements,  all,  in  a  word,  that  appears  to  us  supernatural, 
is  really  natural.  That  this  is  his  meaning  we  may 
gather  from  the  singularly  bold  comment  which  Plato 
himself  adds,  and  which  we  may  thus  translate — "Every- 
thing, even  heaven  and  hell,  are  of  this  earth."  It  is  true 
that  the  alchemists  failed  to  draw  any  very  definite  con- 
clusions from  this  fundamental  axiom.  But  if  we  con- 
sider it  carefully,  we  shall  see  that  this  earliest  doctrine  of 
the  sacred  art,  which  was  now  rapidly  passing  into 
alchemy,  by  thus  excluding  the  supernatural,  was  makings 
a  great  advance  in  the  direction  of  positive  science.  This1 
early  advance  was,  however,  counterbalanced  by  an  early 
error  (which  itself  arose  from  a  noble  ambition),  viz.,  that 
art  ia  as  powerful  as  nature.  The  Emerald  Table  begins 
with  a  sentence  no  less  celebrated  than  that  quoted  above : — 
"  This  is  true,  and  far  distant  from  a  lie ;  whatsoever  is 
below  is  like  that  which  is  above,  and  that  which  is  above 
is,  like  that  which  13  below.  By  this  are  acquired  and 
perfected  the  miracles  of  tho  one  thing."  To  understand 
the  importance  of  this  emphatic  and  categorical  exordium, 
we  must  forget  the  sharp  distinction  we  now  draw  between 


ALCHEMY 


4G3 


art,  science,  and  literature ;  we  must  think  of  that  foolish- 
ness of  which  St  Paul  speaks,  by  which  he  sought  to  save 
those  that  believe,  because  of  the  insufficiency  of  human 
reason.  The  seekers  for  the  philosopher's  stone  were  in 
the  same  case.  In  the  'absence  of  clear  fact3  and  just 
notions,  reason  for  them  was  not  sufficient.  Thus  it  was 
that  they  and  the  masters  of  the  sacred  art,  and  after  them 
the  Arabs,  and  in  later  times  the  alchemists,  one  and  all 
listened  eagerly  to  the  "foolishness"  of  Trismegistus's 
doctrine,  which,  in  a  modern  form,  would  run  thus  :  "  We 
go  further  than  the  Zohar — the  sacred  book  of  the  cabala 
— which  says  that  as  soon  as  man  appeared,  the  world 
above  and  the  world  beneath  were  consummated,  seeing  that 
man  is  the  crown  of  creation  and  unites  all  forms.  We  go 
further  than  the  Zohar,  which  says  in  another  place  that 
the  lower  world  was  created  after  the  similitude  of  the 
upper  world.  We  perfect  the  doctrine  of  a  microcosm 
and  a  macrocosm,  and  declare  that  there  is  no  such. thing 
as  high  or  low — as  heaven  or  earth,  for  the  earth  is  a 
planet,  and  the  planets  are  earths;  we  affirm  that  the 
chemical  processes  of  our  alembics  are  similar  to  those  of 
the  sidereal  laboratories.  All  is  in  all.  Everywhere  analogy 
infers  the  same  laws."  From  analogy  to  identity  was  an 
easy  step  for  the  theorists ;  and  in  the  full  light  of  the 
19th  century  we  find  Hegel  a  devoted  admirer  of  the 
mystic  Bbhme  falling  into  this  pitfall  If  the  spectrum 
analysis  had  been  known,  the  Alexandrians,  the  Arabs, 
and  the  alchemists  would  have  been  able  to  verify  and 
limit  the  sweeping  generalisation  by  which  they  established 
a  vast  system  of  correspondencies  between  the  three  worlds, 
the  physical  or  material,  the  rational  or  intermediary,  and 
the  psychical  or  spiritual  Between  the  heavens  and  earth 
and  man's  nature  they  were  ever  seeking  to  discover 
affinities,  and  ignoring  differences  which  would  have  been 
fatal  to  their  system.  Thus,  according  to  them,  even 
heaven — the  abode  of  spirits — was  partly  physical;  and 
even  in  the  mineral  world  there  was  a  spiritual  element — 
viz.,  colour,  brightness,  or,  in  their  language,  tincture. 
Neither  Linnaeus,  Berzelius,  nor  Cuvier  had  yet  classified 
living  beings  and  things.  The'  distinction  between  the 
animal,  the  vegetable,  and  the  inorganic  world  was 
unknown,  and  indeed  it  was  impossible  that  it  should  be 
known.  The  alchemists  sought  for  physical  conditions  in 
the  invisible  and  spiritual  world,  and  for  a  spirit  even  in 
stocks  and  stones.  This  explains  the  magic  which  they 
found  in  nature, 'and  which  they  tried  to  imitate  by  their 
art.  But  to  establish  this  harmony  between  heaven,  man, 
and  nature,  they  required  some  fixed  standard  or  scale,  for 
in  their  eclectic  system  they  were  bound  to  find  room  for 
Pythagoras.  '  Where  was  this  scale  to  be  found  1  In  the 
heavens ;  for  there  must  be  the  sphere  of  true  music.  Hence 
arose  chemical,  medical,  and  physionomical  astrology. 
(See  Astrology.)  Hence  the  sun,  which  vivifies  all 
nature,  the  most  active  heavenly  energy,  or  rather  being — 
for  with  them  everything»had  life — in  the  o-uvyatita,  or 
marriage  between  heaven  and  earth,  represented  the  male 
principle,  ita  ut  ccelum  agat  et  terra  patiatur ;  and 
appearing  in  all  terrestrial  objects,  since  everything  is 
penetrated  by  heat,  fire,  or  sulphur,  presided  principally 
over  the  generation  of  gold — his  image  or  antitype — in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth.  Hence,  too,  the  moon  represented 
silver,  Venus  copper,  Mercury  (the  planet  and  the  god)  the 
metal  of  the  same  name,  Mars  iron,  Jupiter  tin ;  while  to 
Saturn,  the  most  distant  and  coldest  of  the  planets,  lead, 
the  most  unsightly  of  metals,  was  dedicated.  It  was  an 
old  belief  that  there  was  a  time  when  gods  and  men  dwelt 
together  on  earth,'  a  belief,  moreover,  for  which  they 
could  quote  chapter  and  verse.  Was  it  not  written  ttS-o-iv 
ovpaviW  koivtjv  yaZavl  Turther,  seeing  that  there  were 
three  worlds,  it  followed  that  there  were  three  heavens. 


three  suns,  and  three  golds.  For  spirits  still  engrossed 
with  matter  the  philosopher's  stone  meant  the  search  for 
riches — the  gold  of  the  third  world.  For  other  spirits 
which  belonged  to  the  first  world  it  signified  the  healing 
art — the  preservation  of  humanity  by  means  of  the 
universal  panacea  and  a  universal  theory  of  morals.  Hence 
two  rival  systems,  the  first  of  which  culminated  in  the 
great  doctor  Paracelsus,  the  second  in  the  great  niuminato 
PosteL  Did  not  Dante,  the  bitter  foe,  not  of  the  science 
of  alchemy,  but  of  that  miserable  search  for  gold — for  the 
riches  of  this  world — which,  with  keen  irony,  he  calls 
Peltro  (tin  whitened  by  mercury) — did  not  Dante  himself 
write  his  great  poem  in  order  to  bring  back  humanity  to 
the  right  road  from  which  it  had  strayed  (svia),  misled 
by  those  who  should  have  been  its  true  guides,  the  pope 
and  the  emperor?  For  the  symbolism  of  those  ancient 
masters  included  an  alchemy  of  morals  as  well  as*-an 
alchemy -of  medicine  and  metallurgy,  though  the  first  was 
even  less  known  and  less  appreciated. 

Recurring  to  our  former  illustration,  it  was  this  "  foolish- 
ness" of  St  Paul — this  divine  madness — which  inspired 
the  Alexandrians,  the  Arabs,  .Roger  Bacon,  Albertus 
Magnus,  and  the  host  of  anonymous  alchemists  of  the 
middle  ages :  such  was  the  madness  which  cast  a  ray  of 
genius  over  the  daring  spirit  of  even  a  second-rate  author 
like  Raymond  Lully,  which  sustained  Robert  Fludd, 
Paracelsus,  and  Postel,  who  tried  to  find  the  universal 
panacea  in  universal  peace.  The  fundamental  axiom,  the 
stronghold  from  which  these  terribly  logical  madmen  were 
never  wholly  dislodged,  may  perhaps  be  summarised  in  a 
single  sentence.  .  The  saying  of  Galen,  in  natura  nihil  planh 
sincerum,  was  adopted  by  his  implacable  adversaries: — 
Nature,  they  said,  is  in  appearance  an  illegible  scrawl,  but 
when  deciphered  there  will  be  found  a  single  element,  a 
single  force,  to  separate  and  reunite,  to  produce  decay  and 
growth — knowledge  is  power.  To  know  the  process  of 
generation  in  this  triple  universe,  wherein  one  world 
resembles  another;  to  know  by  its  signatures  this  universe, 
which  is  a  living  organism  in  the  eyes  of  all  alchemists 
(save  indeed  Jacob  Bbhme,  who,  anticipating  Hegel, 
regarded  it  as  a  mighty  tree);  this  is  the  first  step  towards 
counterfeiting  nature.  Monstrosities  are  the  production  of 
diseased  metals  (really  alloys),  which,  if  properly  treated, 
may  be  cured,  and  will  turn  to  gold,  or  at  least  silver.  The 
second  stage  in  this  imitation  of  nature  is  to  obtain  by 
tincture  or  projection  solid  or  liquid  gold — the  cure  of  all 
evils.  Finally,  to  surpass  material  and  rational  nature, 
this  is  the  crowning  end.  For  God  delegates  his  power 
to  the  sage. 

Alchemy  in  Arabia. — How  the  sacred  art  passed  into 
Moslem  lands  it  is  hard,  from  dearth  of  evidence,  to  say. 
Modern  criticism  now  does  more  justice  to  the  part  which 
Arabia  took  in  the  accumulation  of  scientific  facts,  and  in 
the  scientific  theories  which  we  find  in  the  books  of  Rhazes 
and  Geber.  It  is  certain  that  in  their  treaties  with  the 
European  Greeks  of  Constantinople  the  Arabs  always 
stipulated  for  the  delivery  of  a  fixed  number  of  manu- 
scripts. Their  enthusiasm  for  Aristotle  is  equally  noto- 
rious;  but  it  would  be  unjust  to  imagine  that,  in  adopting 
the  Aristotelian  method,  together  with  the-  astrology  and 
alchemy  of  Persia,  and  of  the  Jews  of  Mesopotamia'  and 
Arabia,  they  were  wholly  devoid  of  originality.  ,  On  the 
other  hand,  we  must  not  understand  Arabia  in  the  ethno- 
logical sense  of  the  word,  but  as  signifying  an  agglomera- 
tion of  various  races  united  by  a  common  religion.  Thus 
Djafar  (who  lived  in  the  middle  of  the  8th  century),  better 
known  to  us  as  Geber,  was  a  Sabaean.  Avicenna,  born  in 
978,  was  a  native  of  Shiraz.  The  remarkable  geographer 
and  geologist  Kazwyny  (geology  was  then  a  part  of  al- 
chemy), derived  his  name  from  his  birthplace.  Casbin,  in 


464 


ALCHEMY 


Persia.  Moliaimnctl-bon-Zakurlay  bo  culcbiated  iu  nicdi- 
aval  Europe'  under  the  name  of  Rhazfcs,  was  also  a  Persian. 
In  Spain  the  Jows  of  the  famous  school  of  Saadia  aud 
Juda  Halevy  exercised  considerable  influence  over  the 
academy  of  Cordova.  Lastly,  European  historians  have 
systematically  exaggerated  tie  ignorance  of  the  Arabs 
before  the  time  of  Mahomet  and  their  intolerance  after 
tho  establishment  of  Moslemism,  either  from  the  zeal 
which  prompted  them  to  carry  on  a  sort  of  literary  crusade 
in  honour  of  Christianity,  or  because  in  the  18th  century 
they  directed  against  Mahomet  attacks  which  were  intended 
for  Christianity  itself. 

Alchemy  received  from  the  Arabians  many  significant 
titles.  It  was  the  science  of  the  key,  because  it  opened  all 
the  mysteries  of  creation,  physiology,  and  medicine ;  it  was 
tho  science  of  the  letter  M  {misam  is  tho  Arabic  for 
balance),  because  by  means  of  the  balance  the  gain  or  loss 
of  all  bodies  could  bo  determined,  even  while  undergoing 
chemical  combinations.  Later  on,  as  is  well  known,  it  was 
by  a  rigorous  and  obstinate  uso  of  the  balance  in  the  hands 
of  Priestley,  Cavendish,  and  Lavoisier,  that  positive  che- 
mistry was  founded.  Lastly,  Rhazes  gave  to  the  science 
of  the  philosopher's  stone  a  name  which  plunges  us  again 
into  the  mythological  ages  of  chemistry.  He  called  it  the 
astrology  of  the  lower  world. 

The  discoveries  of  Gebcr  as  a  chemist  do  not  form  part  of  our 
subject ;  but  we  may  mention,  in  passing,  the  infernal  stone,  the 
corrosive  sublimate,  the  exact  process  of  the  cupoTlation  of  gold 
and  silver,  and  three  sorts  of  distillation  by  evaporation,  condensa- 
tion, and  simple  filtration.  In  another  direction  Geber,  by  re- 
inventing aqua  fortls,  and  by  discovering  ammoniacal  salts  for  his 
aqua  rcgalis,  laid  the  foundation  both  of  alchemy  and  chemistry. 
The  salt  of  ammonia,  so  easy  to  volatilise,  was  the  source  of  many 
baseless  dreams,  as  is  proved  by  its  various  names — waima  sensibilis, 
aqua  duorum  fratrum  ex  sorore,  cancer,  lapis  angeli  eonjungentis, 
&c.  Geber  believed  in  tho  parallelism  between  metals  and  planets ; 
he  thought  that  metals  were  all  equally  composed  of  mercury, 
arsenic,  and  sulphur,  and  that  in  tho  descending  scale  from  gold  to 
lead,  mercury,' arsenic,  and  sulphur  were  each  present  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree  of  purity  in  proportion  to  tho  colour  and  quality  of 
each  metal.  Later  on,  the  audition  of  the  four  elements — heat, 
cold,  dryness,  and  moisture— complicated  still  more  the  reasonings 
by  which  the  alchemists  sought  to  prove  that  the  transmutation  of 
metals  was- in  the  power  of  any  man  who  imitated  nature — i.e.,  per- 
fected the  imported  metal  by  correcting  its  excess  of  heat  or  mois- 
ture. Geber  did  not  think  that  an  operation  of  the  laboratory 
could  counterfeit  the  natural  work  of  purification,  which  demanded 
a  thousand  years.  But  with  him  moisture  played  the  same  part  as 
phlogiston  in  Stahl's  system.  In  other  words,  tho  philosopher  to 
whom  all  succeeding  searchers  for  tho  philosopher's  stone  swore 
allegiance  was  contented  to  formulate  his  theory  without  consider- 
ing the  possibility  of  putting  it  in  practice.  He  was  an  alchemist 
indeed,  but  no  gold-seeker.  This  forerunner  of  positive  science 
foresaw  the  part  which  the  gases  would  be  found  to  play  in  the 
composition  of  bodies  ;  he  called  them  spirits — a  figure  which  took 
strong  hold  on  tho  imagination  of  Geber,  as  well  as  of  the  masters 
of  the  sacred  art,  and  which  was  formalised  by  the  alchemists  of  tho 
middle  ages.  Rhazes,  who  re-invented  sulphuric  acid  and  aqua  vitoc, 
was  par  excellence  a  doctor  The  same  remark  applies  to  Avicenna, 
whoso  works  aro  a  methodical,  but  not  very  profound,  systematisa- 
tion  of  the  current  ideas  and  scienco  of  his  day.  Artephius  was  a 
cabalist,  as  his  theory  of  tho  apparent  and  latent  parts  of  man's 
nature  shows.  Tho  author  of  The  Key  of  Wisdom  and  A  Secret 
Book  on  the  Philosopher'  ■  Stone  was  the  reputed  possessor  of  an  elixir 
pita;.  .We  do  not  know  whether  this  was  potable  gold  or  a  quint- 
essence of  all  the  active  elements  of  the  three  kingdoms.  However 
this  may  be,  this  mysterious  alchemist,  who  lived  about  1130,  was 
the  inventor  of  soap,  and,  what  is  of  more  importance  for  our  sub- 
ject the  promoter  of  a  new  interpretation  of  Jacob's  ladder  or 
Homer's  chain.  Minerals,  lie  said,  come  from  the  primitive  ele- 
ments, plants  from  minerals,  animals  from  plants,  and  as  each 
body  is  resolved  into  another  body  of  the  order  immediately  below 
it,  animals  become  vegetables  and  vegetables  minerals.  We  see 
that  in  this  view  of  the  interdependence  of  the  three  kingdoms 
there  is  as  much  truth  as  error.  With  Calid,  tho  author  of  the 
Book  of  the  -Three  Words  and  of  the  Book  of  the  Secrets  of  Alchemy, 
the  parallelism  between  the  metals  and  planets  takes  a  retrograde 
!  astrology.  This  Calid,  a  soi-disant  king  of  Egypt, 
held  that  before  engaging  in  any  operation  of  alchemy  the  stars 
ought  to  bo  consulted.  This  recommendation  was  literally  followed 
by  tiie  thaumaturgists  of  the  middle  ages  aud  the  Renaissance.    The 


luToct  wis  Cut .il;  if,  wln-u  Calid  or  one  of  Ills  school  ww  the  metal" 
obstinately  refuse  to  bo  purified  iu  his  crucible,  he  did  not  wait  for 
a  happy  conjunction  of  constellations  above  in  order  to  try  his 
chance  again  with  tho  operations  of  inferior  astrology. 

The  East,  when  it  accepted  from  Aristotlo  tho  theory  of  form  and 
matter,  invested  it  with  a  signification  of  its  own  never  dreamed  of 
by  tho  Stagyrite,  and  invented,  as  it  were,  an  Arabian  Aristotle — 
that  is,  the  Aristotle  of  the  middle  ages.  Not  only  at  Alexandria 
had  tho  students  of  the  sacred  art  evolved  the  theory  of  the  trans- 
mutation of  tho  four  elements  (Cicero  assigns  tho  doctrine  to  the 
Stoics),  but  in  the  East  the  translators  of  Aristotle  added  to  the 
theory  a  corollary  more  important  than  the  proposition  itself,  viz., 
that  every  body  by  ite  form  and  natural  motions  indicates  its  soul, 
its  natural  properties,  &c.  ;  that  the  resemblance  between  the 
external  appearance  of  things  and  beings  indicates  their  natura, 
likenesses,  &c.  The  idea  of  destiny,  which  all  nations  who  accepted 
the  doctrine  of  the  Logos  expressed  by  some  term  or  other  analogous 
to  tho  Latin  fatum  (what  is  spoken),  Mahomet  translated  by  his 
famous  phrase  ntctoub  (it  was  written).  We  find  a  Turkish  writer, 
the  declared  enemy  of  astrology  and  elixirs,  Nabi  Effendf,  in  his 
remarkable  book,  Cou,isds  to  my  Son,  About  Khair,  saying  that 
heaven  is  covered  with  a  writing  that  only  God  can  read,  and  seek- 
ing what  letter  tho  eyes,  the  eyebrows,  the  mouth,  4c.,  form  to 
find  therein  the  secret  of  their  better  use.  Like  cno  of  the  Tal- 
mudiste,  the  obscure  Kallir  for  instance,  "he  decomposes  the  name 
Mahomet  in  order  the  better  to  offer  the  prophet,  a«  it  w«re,  the 
quintessence  of  praise,  more  worthy  of  God,  «<t«o  in  that  eaored 
name,  as  in  all  terrestrial  things,  has  written  at  least  one  letter  ol 
the  Word  which  will  serve  as  a  Icey  to  open  all  their  hidden  virtues. 
By  pursuing  an  analogous  direction,  medievalism,  and  more  espe- 
cially the  Renaissance,  introduced  new  subtleties  into  the  astro- 
logical branch  of  alchemy  —  tetragrams,  pentacles,  and  other 
mysterious  characters  and  figures. 

It  is  not  surprising,  then,  to  find  that  Nabi  Effendi,  who  lived  in 
the  second  half  of  the  17th  century,  can  produce  no  other  reasons  for 
dissuading  his  son  from  joining  tho  alchemists  than  the  fact  that 
some  were  poor,  others  quacks,  and,  as  the  most  important  ground  of 
all,  that  God  had  declared  his  wrath  against  those  who  dare  to  imi- 
tate his  works.  Indeed,  the  peculiar  symbolism  of  the  various  nations 
of  tho  East  had  been  broken  up  by  revolutions  and  conquests,  and 
the  disjecta  membra  again  reunited,  so  as  to  form  a  wonderful  phan- 
tasmagoria of  ideas  and  images — a  sort -of  scientific  Arabian  Nights. 

IIL  Alchemy  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

Tho  care  wo  have  taken  to  note  down  at  the  moment  of 
ite  birth  each  of  the  ideas  which  influenced  alchemy,  allows 
us  to  sketch  more  rapidly  the  history  of  its  decline  and 
fall  Albert  ,  Groot,  commonly  kiiown  .  as  Albertus 
Magnus  (1193-1280),  revived  the  theory  of  Gebcr;  and, 
in  spite  of  the  tendencies  of  the  time,  entertained  the  same 
doubts  as  his  illustrious  master  on  the  possibility  of  trans- 
mutation. He  is  the  first  to  speak  of  the  affinity  of  bodies, 
a  term  he  uses  in  reference  to  the  action  of  sulphur  on 
metals.  He  gives  the  savans  of  tho  day  the  sage  advice  not 
to  take  service  with  princes,  who  are  sure  to  treat  as  thieves 
those  who  do  not  succeed.  And,  indirectly,  he  warns 
princes  that  philosopher's  gold  is  only  tinsel.  Beginning 
with  nitric  acid,  which  he  calls  prime  water,  and  so  on, 
through  a  regular  series  of  secondary,  tertiary  waters,  &c, 
he  proposed  a  method  for  dissolving  all  metals.  Rogei 
Bacon,  while  opposing  magic,  calls  oxygen  aer  cibus  ignis, 
and  regards  tho  elixir  as  a  substitute  for  time,  that  agent 
of  which  nature  takes  no  account  Gold  is  perfect,  because 
nature  has  consummated  her  work.  But  Roger  Bacon 
seems  to  have  turned  his  genius  principally  to  physics  and 
mechanism.  St  Thomas  Aquinas,  in  lus  theological  writ- 
ings, forbids  the  sale  of  alchemist's  gold,  and  in  his  special 
treatise  on  the  subject  unmasks  an  imposture  of  the  char- 
latans of  the  day,  who  pretended  to  make  silver  by  projecting 
a  sublimate  of  white  arsenic  on  copper.  Further,  Aquinas, 
by  reducing  the  primitive  elements  of  metals  to  two,  revives 
and  corroborates  the  theory  of  Galen  and  Albertus  Magnus. 
About  the  same  time  we  find  a  pope,  Jonu  XXII.,  and 
a  king,  Alphonso  X.  of  Leon  and  Castile,  occupying 
themselves  with  alchemy.  But  the  pope  in  a  well-known 
bull  denounced  all  those  searchers  for  gold  "who  pro- 
mised more  than  they  could  perform;"  another  proof  that 
alchemy  and  the  search  for  gold,  though  distinguished  by 


A  LU  a  Ji  il  Y 


4to 


tLe  true  alchemist,  were,  confounded  by  many  adepts.  It 
is  evident  that  the  science.,  as  far  as  the  seeker  for  gold 
was  concerned,  was  approaching  the  times  of  king  John 
and  Philip  the  Fair,  who  found  in  unscrupulous  charlatans 
abettors  iu  their  debasement  of  the  currency,  and  that  for 
disinterested  alchemists  those  evil  days  were  at  hand  when, 
disgusted  at  attaining  no  practical  result,  the  most  serious 
of  them  sought  in  the  physiological  mysteries  of  generation, 
in  the  Adam  and  Eve,  the  red  man  and  the  white  woman, 
of  the  first  chapters  of  Genesis,  what  they  failed  to  find  in 
Ithazes,  in  Geber,  and  the  Arabian  Aristotle.  The  science 
was  still  called  cheiny.  It  was  as  a  compliment  to  the 
Arabian  masters,  who  were  still  quoted  side  by  side  with 
Genesis,  that  they  added  to  the  word  the  Arabic  article  al. 
The  popular  etymology  of  the  day  was  likewise  Arabic,  or, 
more  correctly  speakiug,  Semitic;  the  Hebrew  chom  or  the 
Arabic  cham  signified  heat.  Hence  their  furnaces  for 
heating,  the  alembics  for  modifying  heat,  and  the  Bains- 
Marie  for  imitating  the  temperature  of  warm  blood;  for 
they  could  only  proceed  by  analogy.  Nevertheless,  the 
great  men  of  the  day  were  the  alchemists.  The  boldness 
of  their  actions,  the  eccentricity  of  their  genius,  prove  it. 

Few  novels,  are  as  interesting  as  the  story  of  Raymond  Lully 
(1235-131 5).  He  began  life  as  the  passionate  lover  of  the  Lady 
Eleanor  of  Castello.  He  was  cured  of  his  passion  by  the  lady  her- 
self who  discovered  to  him  the  ulcer  which  was  eating  away  her 
breast.  At  her  desire  he  consecrated  himself  to  God,  to  the  service 
of  humanity  in  general,  and  especially  to  the  conversion  of  Mussul- 
mans. Christianity,  in  the  mouths  of  the  European  disciples  of 
Geber  and  Rhazes,  was  better  adapted  than  it  now  is  for  converting 
infidels,  whose  knowledge  it  respected  while  deploring  all  the  more 
their  errors.  In  his  eightieth  year  Raymond  Lully  died  in  sight  of 
the'  island  of  Minorca,  from  the  consequences  of  a  stoning  he  had 
received  at  Tuui9  a  few  days  before  while  preaching  the  gospel. 
This  was  on  his  third  mission,  and  he  did  not  hide  from  his  friends 
that  he  sought  the  crown  of  martyrdom.  He  had  invited  the  sup- 
port of  all  the  princes  of  Europe,  and  in  particular  of  the  kings  of 
France,  England,  and  Castile.  Alchemy,-  indeed;  with  him  seems 
to  Tiave  been  mainly  a  means  of  recommending  himself  to  these 
kings,  and  at  the  same  time  a  search  for  the  panacea.  But  his 
trust  was  placed  much  more  in  his  rhetoric,  which  he  borrowed 
from  the  cabala,  in  his  oriental  eloquence,  and  his  Christian  faith. 
By  the  number  of  conversions  he  made  at  Algiers,  at  Tunis,  and  at 
Bugia,  where  during  his  second  voyage  he  was  snatched  from 
imminent  martyrdom  by  his  friends  among  the  converted  Mussul- 
mans— that  is  to  say,  in  the  very  strongholds  of  Islamism — he  suc- 
ceeded in  demonstrating  that  his  idea  of  uniting  all  worshippers  of 
the  true  God  in  a  common  faith  was  not  chimerical.  Lully's  prin- 
cipal success  was  with  the  disciples  of  Averroes ;  and  no  one  who 
reflects  will  be  surprised  at  this.  As  the  moral  difficulties  of  mis- 
sions were  less  than  they  are  now,  so  the  practical  dangers  were 
greater.     This  too  needs  no  explanation. 

Raymond  Lully's  works  on  alchemy  are  hopelessly  obscure,  not- 
withstanding elucidations,  compendiums,  vade-mecums,  and  a  cer- 
tain dialogue  demogorgon,  which,  if  the  title  is  to  be  believed, 
I/ullianis  scriptis  multam  prozclare  lucem  adfert.  Nor  need  we 
wonder  at  this.  Eirenseus  Philalethes,  the  pseudonym  under  which 
some  English  adept,  whose  real  name  has  not  been  discovered, 
wrote,  states  positively  that  he  has  learned  nothing  from  Raymond 
Lully,  adding  at  the  same  time  a  curious  reason — "Some  who  are 
no  adepts  give  more  instruction  to  a  beginner  than  one  whom  per- 
fect knowledge  makes  cautious."  Eirenseus  is  fond  of  quoting 
Bernard  of  Trevisa,  who,  he  tells  us,  has  given  him,  more  especially 
in  his  letter  to  Thomas  of  Bologna,  "the  main  light  in  the  hidden 
secret."  But  of  all  writers  he  gives  the  palm  to  Sir  George  Ripley. 
Bernard  of  Trevisa,  whom  he  mentions,  spent  a  long  life  and  a  con- 
siderable fortune  in  romantic  travels,  in  the  purchase  of  books,  and 
in  the  pursuit  of  chemical  experiment's.  When  depressed  and  weary 
with  chasing  shadows  which  were  ever  eluding  his  grasp,  he  used, 
as  a  pastime  and  relaxation,  to  read  the  Turba  Philosophorum,  or 
the  Great  Rosary,  just  as  Don  Quixote  would  read  the  romances  of 
chivalry.  At  last,  when  seventy-five  years  old,  the  good  Bernard, 
for  so  the  adepts  called  him,  thought  he  had  discovered  the  secret, 
— at  least  the  joy  of  what  he  considered  a  real  success  served  for  a 
while  to  lull  his  restless  energies.  His  letter  to  Thomas  of  Bologna 
shows  no  ordinary  man.  "Dissolutions  of  this  sort,"  he  writes, 
"  by  acids  or  aquafortis,  are  not  the  true  foundations  of  the  art  of 
transmuting  metals;  but  rather  the  impostures  of  sophistical 
alchemists,  who  think  that  in  them  resides  the  secret  of  that  sacred 
art.  They  affirm  that  they  produce  dissolutions  (solutionis),  but 
what  thoy  catfnevcr  do  is  to  produce  the  various  kinds  of  metals  in 


tnelr  penection ;  Because  metals  wlien  dissolved  by  corrosives  do 
not  remain  in  the  same  proportion  and  original  form  as  they  do 
when  dissolved  by  mercury,  which  may  be  truly  called  the  water  of 
metals.  Bodies  dissolved  by  mercury  are  not  decomposed  (separa- 
buntur) ;  their  nature  remains  hidden  in  mercury  till  they  fill  up  its 
intervals  (usque  ad  sui  rcinspissationem).  Mercury  contains  inter- 
stices (lalentia),  and  therefore  metals  can  lie  hidden  in  mercury." 
He  then  goes  on  to  compare  the  part  that  mercury  plays  in 
amalgams  to  that  of  water  (simplex  aqua)  in  vegetable  and  animal 
structures.  He  is  well  acquainted  with  what  the  French  now  call 
Veau  de  composition;  but,  as  usual,  he  pushes  his  analogies  too  far. 
■We  may  remark  in  passing  that  it  was  his  opponents  the  alchemists 
who,  by  the  discovery  of  their  aquce  fortes,  provided  modern 
chemistry  with  one  of  its  most  powerful  agents. 

In  speaking  of  Bernard,  we  incidentally  hit  upon  a  word  which 
exactly  characterises  mediaeval  works  on  alchemy — they  are 
romances,  romances  full  of  interminable  allegories ;  they  sometimes 
begin  and  always  end  with  an  invocation  to  Christ  and  the  Trinity. 
From  time  to  time,  amid  the  old  abortive  attempts  to  read  the 
riddle  of  the  universe,  we  find  some  new  idea  cropping  up.  The 
generation  of  plants  andauimals  had  failed  to  explain  the  genera- 
tion of  metals;  so  they  turned  to  digestion  and  fermentation  for 
analogies,  and  though  they  never  reached  their  goal,  they  picked 
up  much  that  Was  valuable  on  the  way.  The  road  itself  was 
barred,  and  therefore  to  profit  by  their  works  we  must  follow 
them  into  bypaths  and  digressions.  Thus,  for  instance,  we 
may  study  with  advantage  their  dialectics.  Whilst  refuting  then- 
adversaries,  they  were  gradually  laying  the  foundations  of  the 
logic  of  science.  True  alchemists  were  generally  haughty  and  con-  . 
temptuous ;  the  mechanic  often  grew  rich  on  the  scraps  which  the 
alchemist  was  too  proud  to  touch.  We  cannot  always  make  sure 
of  understanding  them,  yet  from  the  medley  of  their  writings  more 
fragments  of  real  chemistry  may  be  gathered  than  is  generally  sup- 
posed. There  is  rhythm  and  harmony,  a  ring  of  true  genius  about 
the  best  of  their  works,  which  charms  us  if  it  does  not  send  ns  to 
sleep  with  its  sweet  but  monotonous  music.  In  reading  Laurent 
Ventura's  book,  De  Ratione  Conficiendi  Lapidis  Philosophici,  we 
are  tempted  for  a  moment  to  endorse  the  strange  fancy  of  the 
Dutch  Rabbins,  "that  even  if  a  man  do  not  understand  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Zohar,  he  ought  no  less  to  read  it ;  for  this  language, 
as  the  cabalists  have  written  it,  is  a  medicine  for  the  souL" 

Often  what  appeared  a  work  of  pure  fiction  (as  the  Roman  de  la 
Rose)  concealed  a  treatise  on  alchemy ;  often,  on  the  other  hand, 
what  purported  to  be  a  work  of  pure  alchemy  was  a  medium  for 
heretical  theology,  sometimes  for  the  ideas  of  Spinosa  and  Goethe. 
The  times,  moreover,  were  sad,  and  all  could  appreciate  the  advan- 
tage of  a  romance.  It  was  not  given  to  every  one  to  follow  the 
terrible  logic  of  Danstin,  the  contemporary  of  Kaymond  Lully,  the 
author  of  a  Rosarius,  which  has  never  been  published,  from  which  M. 
F.  Hbfer  gives  the  following  extract : — "  All  bodies  may  be  divided 
into  three  classes — 1.  Sensible  and  intellectual  beings  (animals  and 
men) ;  2.  Vegetables ;  3.  Minerals.  Like  always  tends  to  unite  with 
like.  Intellectual  elements  are  homogeneous  with  the  Supreme  Intel- 
ligence ;  that  is  why  the  soul  yearns  to  be  absorbed  into  the  Deity. 
The  elements  of  the  body  are  of  the  6ame  nature  as  the  surround- 
ing physical  world ;  hence  their  tendency  to  unite  the  one  with  the 
other.  Death  is  then  for  all  a  moment  to  be  desired. "  Dico  Amen 
tibi,  reverende  mi  Doctor,  to  borrow  Bernard's  favourite  expression. 

After  so  much  mist  *nd  fog  we  need  a  breath  of  fresh  air.  Let  us 
pass  at  once,  then,  to  the  Luther  of  science,  who  reproached  so  bitterly 
.the  Luther  of  theology  with  only  going  half-way — to  an  epoch  which 
witnessed  the  new  birth  of  intellectual  life,  and  to  a  man  who  was 
carried  by  the  new  movement  into  every  sort  of  extravagance, 
though  his  errors  were  those  of  a  generous  and  unselfish  nature. 
Let  us  treat  of  the  Renaissance  and  Paracelsus. 

IV.  Paeacelsus  and  his  Influence. 

Tempting  as  the  subject  is,  we  must  not  linger  either 
on  the  philosophical  doctrine  or  the  medical  system  of  this 
extraordinary  man,  for  fear  of  encroaching  on  the  article 
Medicine  or  the  article  Paeacelsus.  We  only  wish  to 
show  that  he  is  the  pioneer  of  modem  chemists,  and  the 
prophet  of  a  revolution  in  general  science.  Those  who 
only  know  Bacon  in  manuals  of  philosophy  are  never 
tired  of  repeating  that  the  great  English  philosopher  is  the 
father  of  experimental  science.  This  is  true,  indeed,  in  the 
sense  that  Bacon  insisted  with  inexhaustible  eloquence  on 
the  necessity  of  experimental  science,  but  it  is  false  if  t 
means  that  Bacon  inaugurated  modern  science  by  personal 
experiments.  It  was  this  popular  conception  of  Bacon 
which  Liebig  attacked,  and  he  thus  found  no  difficulty  iu 
drawing  up  a  long  and  crushing  indictment     Bacon  was 


466 


ALCHEMY 


the  prophet  of  experimentation,  and  this  title  is  sufficient 
to  secure  his  fame  against  tho  abuse  of  modern  dogmatists, 
who  think  that  science  increases  little  by  little,  with  here 
a  fact  and  there  an  idea,  without  a  single  pause,  a  single 
relapse  or  revolution.  Few  take  tho  trouble  to  consider 
how  far  Bacon's  philosophy  belongs  to  the  past ;  most  are 
satisfied  with  cut  and  dried  phrases  about  the  part  he 
played  in  modern  science.  Just  in  tho  same  way,  Para- 
celsus, tho  great  innovator,  who  thought  himself  even 
more  enfranchised  from  the  bondage  of  Aristotle  and 
Galen  than  he  really  was,  is  dispatched  with  ready-made 
phrases,  but,  unlike  Bacon,  ho  gets  nothing  but  ridicule 
and  ftbuse.  Madman,  charlatan,  impostor — no  name  is  too 
bad  for  him  with  tho  historians ;  and  yet  they  are  forced 
to  confess  that  this  impudent  adventurer  brought  about 
a  necessary  revolution.  Thomas  Thomson  is  very  severe; 
he  goes  so  far  as  to  reproach  Paracelsus  with  declining  the 
word  tonitru.  He  would  have  wished,  forsooth,  tho  revolu- 
tionist of  Basle  to  have  delivered  before  his  young  and 
enthusiastic  audience  "  the  sober  lectures  of  a  professor  in 
a  university."  Dryasdusts  are  fond  of  falling  into  such 
anachronisms  ;  a  far  truer  estimate  of  Paracelsus  has  been 
given  us  by  Mr  Browning  in  the  drama  which  bears  his 
name.  Thero  are  self-deceived  visionaries  who  are  always 
thinking  that  the  problem  is  solved,  who  compose  elaborate 
romances  with  which  enthusiasts  are  enchanted.  Raymond 
Lully  was  one  of  this  class.  There  are  spirits  of  light 
who  point  out  and  trace  the  road  along  which  humanity 
travels  slowly  in  their  wake.  Bacon  belongs  to  the  first 
category,  but  has  played  the  part  of  a  genius  of  the  second 
order.  Thirdly,  there  are  souls  of  fire  always  enveloped 
in  clouds,  from  which  ever  and  anon  the  lightnings  of 
genius  flash  forth,  who  bear  humanity  towards  a  goal 
foreseen  rather  than  seen  by  themselves,  by  a  rough  and 
rugged  road  with  endless  turns  and  windings.  Such 
a  nature  was  Paracelsus.  His  pride  was  more  towering 
than  tho  mountains  of  his  native  Switzerland.  He  be- 
lieved that  through  him  a  new  race,  tho  Germans,  were 
destined  to  succeed  to  science.  Tho  Greeks,  the  Arabians, 
and  the  Italians,  their  immediate  disciples,  had  had  their 
day  with  him,  and  through  him  the  German  era  was  to 
begin.  He  studied  under  Trithema,  the  abbot  of  Span- 
heim,  and  under  his  father,  a  distinguished  alchemist : 
Agrippa  was  his  fellow-student.  Afterwards  he  resorted 
to  strange  masters— old  wives  and  workmen,  his  beloved 
miners,  who  confided  to  him  their  secrets.  '  He  was  the 
greatest  traveller  in  that  age  of  scientific  travellers.  Lastly, 
he  practised  medicine  as  the  doctor  of  the  poor,  and 
inaugurated  lectures  in  the  vulgar  tongue.  Van  Helmont, 
his  real  successor,  who  inherited  his  goodness  of  nature, 
established  clinical  medicine,  i.e.,  lessons  at  the  bedside  of 
the  patient.  Stahl,  who  inherited  his  arrogance  and  his 
love  of  symbolism,  developed  from  ono  of  the  ideas  of  his 
master  the  phlogistic  theory,  tho  elaboration  of  which 
theory  was  for  chemistry  a  prosperous  period  of  incubation, 
while  from  the  refutation  of  this  theory  the  science  may 
be  truly  said  to  date  its  birth.  Paracelsus's  work,  like  his 
genius,  oscillates  perpetually  between  magic  and  science, 
but  what  has  not  been  sufficiently  observed  is,  that  science 
invariably  ends  by  carrying  the  day.  If,  for  instance,  he 
is  giving  us  "  the  green  Hon,"  a  recipe  for  making  gold, 
he  ends  by  breaking  a  lance  with  the  seekers  for  gold  : — 
"  Away  with  theie  false  disciples  who  hold  that  this  divine 
science,  which  they  dishonour  and  prostitute,  has  no  other 
end  but  that  of  making  gold  and  silver.  True  alchemy  has 
but  one  aim  and  object,  to  extract  the  quintessence  of 
things,  and  to  prepare  arcana,  tinctures,  and  elixirs,  which 
may  restore  to  man  the  health  and  soundness  he  has  lost" 
He  beards  the  "  white-gloved  "  disciples  of  Galen,  and,  in 
spite  of  their  juleps  and  draughts,  asserts  that  alchemy  is 


indispensablo,  and  that  without  it  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  medical  knowledge.  He  rejects  the  easy  explanation 
of  the  universe  by  means  of  an  entity,  stigmatising  it  as 
paganity,  meaning  thereby  a  necessary  consequence  of 
paganism,  which  as  a  theosophist  he  holds  in  abhorrence. 
He  rejects  the  favourite  instrument  of  tho  schoolmen,  the 
syllogism.  Nature,  as  he  views  it,  is  not  a  clear  and 
intelligible  system  of  which  the  form  declares  the  essence ; 
no,  it  is  mysterious.  There  is  a  spirit  at  work  beneath  the 
outside  shell.  What  is  written  on  this  shell  no  one  can 
read  but  tho  initiated  who  have  learned  to  separate  tho 
real  and  tho  apparent.  "  At  the  same  time,  everything  is 
not  active.  To  separate  the  active  portion  (the  spirit)  of 
this  outside  shell  from  the  passive,  is  the  proper  province 
of  alchemy."  Thus  we  see  that  with  Paracelsus  alchemy 
ceased  to  be  the  search  for  the  first  principles  of  bodies, 
and.  made  one  step  in  advance  towards  chemistry.  His 
innate  genius  for  medicine,  a3  he  boasted,,  but  more  truly 
his  noble  heart,  urged  him  to  learn  a  study  which  better 
satisfied  his  pride,  but  which  had  not  the  practical  useful- 
ness of  medical  chemistry  to  recommend  it.  The  name  ia(ro- 
chemics  marks  this  transition  from  alchemy  to  chemistry. 
A  remarkable  saying  of  Paracelsus  shows  us  tho  close 
connection  between  his  alchemy  and  his  medicine  :  "  Vita 
ignis,  corpus  lignum."  This  nation  of  the  importance  of 
combustion  was  taken  up  again  by  Becker  and  his  disciple 
Stahl,  the  inventors  of  the  term  phlogiston,  which  they 
thought  was  of  an  earthy  nature,  because  resin,  phos- 
phorus, sulphur,  and  other  combustible  bodies  are  insoluble 
in  water.  Paracelsus  was  too  well  initiated  in  the  cabal- 
istic theory  of  astral  light,  which  symbolised  the  universal 
agent  of  light  and  heat,  to  have  accepted  such  a  gross 
materialistic  theory.  A  distinguished  Frenchman  of  tho 
present  century,  who  prided  himself  on  being  a  follower  of 
the  cabalists,  has  in  one  of  his  novels,  called  La  Pcau  de 
Chagrin,  reproduced  the  theory  of  Paracelsus,  vita  ignis, 
corpus  lignum.  Each  act,  each  wish  of  the  possessor  of 
the  talisman,  causes  the  skin  to  shrink;  and  Mr  Huxley, 
in  his  remarkable  lecture  on  The  Physical  Basis  of  Life, 
has  not  been  ashamed  to  borrow  this  illustration  from  Balzac. 
What  renders  Paracelsus's  saying  so  valuable  is,  that  it  is 
neither  materialistic  nor  spiritualistic,  but  merely  dynamical 
Another  instance  of  Paracelsus's  oscillating  between  the 
modern  and  the  ancient  world  is  seen  in  the  hesitation  he 
shows  when  discussing  the  influence  of  the  planets  over  tho 
internal  organs  of  the  body.  Sometimes  he  seems  tc  take 
the  symbol  for  the  thing  itself,  but  ho  ends  by  admitting 
only  the  parallelism  of  the  macrocosm  and  the  microcosm. 
When  he  assigns  the  brain  to  the  moon  and  the  heart  to 
the  sun,  he  seems  to  say:  "  I  do  not  think  with  Plato  that 
the  brain  is  all ;  it  is  but  tho  reflector  and  guide — tho  heart 
is  tho  regulator  of  the  organism.  I  place  my  archeus  a 
little  above  the  heart,  as  a  connecting-link  between  the 
nervous  and  sanguine  circulation,  as  Hippocrates  has  his 
enormon."  li  he  had  lived  in  calmer  times,  and  known  the 
true  Aristotle,  Paracelsus  would  have  allowed  that  popifxri 
does  not  represent  the  orcA^a'a  °f  ^e  Stagyrite,  that 
evepyiia  is  the  true  meaning.  But  in  those  times  of  false 
Aristotelianism  the  Spagirism  of  Paracelsus  was  pitted 
against  the  Stagyrism  of  Aristotle.'  ■  By  making  the  viscera 
the  seat  of  diseases,  Paracelsus  claims  to  bo  the  founder  of 
the  organicists;  by  hi3  chemistry  of  the  blood — mercury 
which  evaporates,  sulphur  which  burns,  salt  which  is  con- 
stant— he  is  answerable  for  the  blunderings  of  Maitre 
Purgon;  by  his  archeus,  the  grand  motor  and  regulator  of 
the  astrology  of  tho  body,  he  is  the  ancestor  in  a  direct  lino 
of  animism,  and  collaterally  of  modern  Hippocratism  or 
vitalism  of  tho  Montpollior  school.  In  short,  it  is  hard  to 
name  anything  that  eannot  be  found  in  the  works  of  thia 
mad  genius,  who,  in  spite  of  the  jars  and  jolts  of  his  wild 


ALC-ALC 


4G7 


career,  still  manages  to  keep  the  road  without  upsetting 
either  at  Paiis  or  Moutpellier.  What,  we  may  ask,  would 
modern  therapeutics  be  without  the  opium  and  mercury  of 
Paracelsus — without  the  laudanum  of  his  disciple  Querce- 
tan,  physician  to  Henry  IV  ,  &.C  1  When  this  charlatan  had 
substituted  for  astrological  influence  a  simple-  parallelism, 
it  was  easy  for  Van  Helmont  to  rid  modern  science  of  this 
simple  parallelism.  Besides  all  this,  Paracelsus  was  a  real 
doctor.  The  death  of  Erasmus's  friend,  whom  ho  was 
attending,  did  him  less  harm  than  the  cure  of  another 
.patient,  who  was  dining  with  him  ninety-nine  days  after 
he  had  been  pronouhced  in  extremis;  more  fatal  still  was' 
the  case  of  Cornelius  do  Liec.htenfels,  who,  when  cured  by 
him  of  the  gout,- refuged  to  pay  his  benefactor  the  stipulated 
price.  Paracelsus  would  not  hold  his  tongue  or  submit 
to  the  magistrates,  and  in  consequence  had  to  resign  his 
professorship  at  Basle.  '  A  double  interest  attaches  to  this 
story;  it  hastened  Paracelsus's  death,  and  it  proves  that  he 
would  never  have  accepted  the  vis  medicatrix  natures-  of 
Stahl  We  have  seen  that  those  strange  bodies  which 
escaped  from  the  retorts  of  the  masters  of  the  sacred  art 
were  called  by  them  souls;  their  successors,  on  a  closer 
acquaintance  with  them,  called  them  spirits.  Basil  Valentin 
and  Paracelsus,  recognising  their  importance  in  the  trans- 
mutation of.  bodies,  gave  to  them  the  name  of  mercury. 
Van  Helmont  studied  them  more  minutely,  and  invented 
the  name  gas.  He  was  acquainted  with  carbonic  acid  under 
the  name  of  woody  gas:  But  his  ignorance  of  the  action  of 
the  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere  prevented  him  from  making 
the  fundamental  distinctions  between  experiments  per- 
formed in  a  closed  vessel  and  in  one  open  to  the  air.  Priest- 
ley, Lavoisier,  and  Scheele  by  the  use  of  the. test-tube  and 
the  balance  (both  Van  Helmont  and  Stahl  had  also  turned 
the  balance  to  good  account),  weighed  and  tested  the  results 
of  ancient  alchemy.  Hence  modern  chemistry  was  born. 
But  we  must  in  justice  add  that  the  work  had  already 
been  begun  by  men  of  genius,  such  as  Bernard  Palissy, 
Boylq  the  eminent  critic  and  experimentalist,  Homberg, 
the  two  Geoffreys,  Margraff,  Bergmann,  Rouelle  the  master 
of  Lavoisier,  who  may  be  called  the  Diderot  of  chemistry. 
Moreover,  the  most  important  discoveries  in  chemistry  have 
been  made  by  men  who  combined  with  chemical  experi- 
ments a  marked  taste  for  alchemic  theories.  We  may 
instance  Glauber,  ablest  of  mystics;  'Kunkel,  who  thought 
ho  had  found  in. tho  "shinirig  pills"  of  his  phosphorus 
mirabilis  as  efficacious  a  remedy  as  the  potable  gold  in 
which  he  also  believed;  Glaser  the  alchemist,  master  of 
Lemery,  'who  has  been  called  the  father  of  chemistry;. 
Robert  Fludd,  &,a. 

It  is  curious  to  observe  that  soou  after  chemistry  was 
established  as  a  science  there  was  a  regular  deluge  of 
searchers  for  the  philosopher's  stone.  The  limits  of  this 
article  pvevent  us  from  giving  a  full  list  of  their  names. 
Suffice  it  to  mention,  among  Frenchmen,  De  Lisle,  who 
died  in  the  Bastile  of  the  wounds  his -guardians  inflicted 
on  him  to  extort  his  secret;  among  Englishmen,  Dr  Price, 
who  committed  suicide  to  escape  from  a  public  trial  of.  his 
pretended  discovery.  As  to  the  theoretical  possibility  of 
making  gold,  the  great  French  chemist  Dumas  considered 
that  a  solution  might  be  found  in  the  doctrine  of  isomer- 
ism; and  the  great  English  chemist  Sir  Humphrey  Davy 
refused  to  pronounce  that  the  alchemists  must  be  wrong. 
Before  concluding  this  short  sketch  of  a  vast  subject,  wo 
must  give  a  brief  list  of  titles  of  the  most  important  autho- 
rities on  the  subject,  and- enumerate  the  principal  words 
which  alchemy  has  bequeathed  to  scientific  terminology, 
or  which  have  passed  into  the  language  of  common  life : — 

A  cmroMTiES. — Roger  Bacon,  Thesaurus  Chimicus,  gvo,  Francof., 
1603;  Francis  Bacon  Lord  Arorulam.  History  of'MetaK  fol., 
••ondon,  1670;.J.  J.  Becker,  Opera  Omnia,  Francof.,  1680 ;  Chymia 


Philosophies,  8vo,  Nuremberg,  1639  ;  John  ■  Espagnet,  Encluridion 
PhilosophiaaHermetica^Paris,  1638;  Robert  Fludd,  Cla vis  Alchimise, 
2  vols.,  Francof. ;  T.  R."  Glauber,  Works,  Chimistry,  fol.,  London, 
lflfi9  ;  Hermis  Trismegisti,  Traduction  par  J. -Mesnard,  8vo,  Paris 
(edited  by  Didier) ;  J.  Kunkel,  Experiments,  8vo,. London,  1705  ; 
Paracclsi  Opera  Omnia  (with  a  remarkable  preface  by  Fred.  Bitiski), 
2  vols.  fol. ;  J.  B.  Porta,  Do  iEris  Transmutationibus,  4to, 
Romoe,  1610  ;  Quercetan,  Hcrmetical  Physic,  4to,  London,  1605  ; 
Georgii  Ripley,  Opera  Omnia,  8vo,  Casscl,  1649;  J.  Trithcmius, 
De  Lapide  Philosophico,  8vo,  Par.  1611;  Basil  Valentin,  Last 
Will,  &c,  8vo,  Loudon,  1671.  Of  compilations  wo  may  mention— 
Artis  Aurifcrae  quani  Cliemiam  vocant  Duo  Volutnina  (this  work 
includes  the  Turba  Philosophorum),  Basilcx,  1610  ,  J.  J.  Mangctf 
Bibliotheca  Chemica  Curio'sa,  2  vols,  fol.,  1702;  Thcatrum  Chimi- 
cum,  6  vols.  8vo,  Argent.,  1662  ;  The  Lives  of  the  Adepts  iu 
Alchemystical  Philosophy,  with  a  critical  catalogue  of  the  books  in 
this  scieuce,  and  a  selection  of  the  most  celebrated' treatises,  &c, 
'8vo,  London,  1814  ;  Es3a'i  sur  la  Conservation  de  la  Vie  par  lo 
Vcte.  Le  Lapasse,  8vo,  Paris.  Among  the  best  historical  and  critical 
works  with  which  we  are  acquainted  we  will  mention— Petr.  Gregor. 
Tholozanus  Sy'ntaxcon  Artis  Mirabilis,  2  vols,,  Lugduni,  1576 ;  O. 
Borriehiue  de  Ortu  ct  Progrcssu  Chemiaj,  4to,  1663  ;  The  History 
of  Chemistry,  by  Thomas  Thomson,  2  vols.  8vo,  London,  1830; 
Eusebe-Salveitc,  Lcs  Sciences  Occultes,  8vo,  Paris,  1829;  Fcrd. 
Hoefer,  Histoire  dp  la  Chimie,  2  vols.  8vo,  Paris,  and  an  abridg- 
ment by  the  same. author  ;  Histoire  do  la  Physique  et  dc  la  Chiroic, 
8vo,  Paris,  1872  ;  Louis  Cruveilhicr,  Philosopliie  des  Sciences 
Me"dicales,  GSuvres  Choisies,  8vo,  Pari3,  1862  ;  Fred.  Morin,  Genese 
de  la  Science  (an  important  work,  which  we  only  know  from  quota' 
tions  in  French  reviews  and  encyclopaedias)  ;  Dumas,  .Philosophic 
Chimique.  Lastly,  if  we  wish  to  trace  the  transition  of  alchemy  to 
chemistry  we  shall  find  valuable  information  in  Le  Dictionnaire  da 
Physique,  dedicated  to  Mons.  le  Due  do  Berry,-  3  vols.  4to, 
Avignon,  1761,  under  the  words  Alkali,  Alum,  Chimie,  Pierre 
Philosophale,  Homberg/  Tho  reader  will  observe  that  in.-  this 
encyclopaedia,  written  with' the  express  purpose  of  propagating  the 
Newtonian  theory  in  'France,  the  classical  science  could  bring  no 
real  arguments  against  alchemy.  Ho  may  also  consult  the  remark- 
able work  of  LaMeth"rie,  which- has  been  undeservedly  forgotten— 
Essoi  Analytique  sur  l'Air  pur  et  les  Differentcs  Especes  dAir,  3 
vols.  Paris,  1785;  and  The  Birth  of  Chemistry,  by  G.  F.  liodwcll, 
London,  1874. 

Etymology. — Tho  idea  that  nature  must  bo  tortured  to  make 
her  reveal  her  secrets-is  preserved  in  tho  wovd  crucible:  Fr.  crcuscl, 
Ital.  eruciolo,  Span,  crisol — all  from  the  Latin  crux,  a  cross.  The 
word  matrass,  Fr.  malms,  is  probably  from  the  Celtic  matara,  an 
arrow,  through  the  old  French  verb  malrasser,  to  harass.  Bain-Marie 
and  amalgam  {^i\ayna)  are  a  legacy  of.  the  sacred  art.  We  can 
trace  the  two  principles,  male  and  female,  of  the  alchemists  in  tho 
word. arsenic  {kpaepiK6v,  male).  From  the  Arabs  we  get  alcohol  (al 
kohl),  properly  anything  burnt,  then  a  powder  of  antimony  ■  to 
darken  the  eyelids,  and  lastly,  spirits  of  wjue  ;  alkali,  ashes ;  borax, 
the  white  substanco  ;  lacker,  -from  toc.'resin  ;  elixir,  from  el  kesir, 
essence ;  alembic,  Arab.,  alanbiq.  Potash  is  obviously  the  ash  of  tho 
pot,  Germ,  potasch  ;  laudanum  is  a  corruption  of  laiulandum.  The 
derivation  of'  tartar,  Fr.-  tarlre,  is  etrnngo.  Paracelsus  considered 
tartar  to  be  the  cause  of  the  gout, -and  borrowed  the  name  from  tho 
infernal  regions  (Tartarus). ,  The  Spaniards  have  borrowed-  from 
tho  Arabs,  azoguc,  mercury  ;  azogar,  to  overlay  with  quicksilver  ; 
azogucr-o,  a  worker  in  mercury  ;  asogamicnlo,  agitation  ;  azogada- 
mente,  with  agitation.  Tho  scun'e  Celtic  root  which  gave  to  Latin 
the  word  vcflrngus,  used  by  Martial  for  greyhound,  and  to  Creek 
oiiipTayoi,  found  in  /Elian,  from  which  Dante  took  tho  word  vitro, 
has  also  created  a  large  family,  of  words — the  Hal.  pcllro;  tin  and 
mercury;  Span,  pcltre,  lead- and  tin;  old  Fl.'pcautre  = -pcllro; 
Eng.  pewter,  pewterer,  &c.  The  Placo  Maubcrt  at  Paris  derives  its 
namo  from  the  fact  that  Magistcr  Albertus  livod  there  (Maubert  = 
Ma'  Albert).  From  tho  alchemists  wo  get  both  tho  ideas  and 
the  words  affinity  (Albertus  Magnus),  precipitate  (li.  Valentin), 
reduce  (Paracelsus),  iaJuration(\ an  Helmont),  distillation,  calcina- 
tion, quintessence,  aqua  vita:  (brandy. was  originally  only  employed 
as  a  medicine),  aqua  rcgalis,aqua  secunda,  gas,  cobalt,  from  Kobolds, 
the  genii  of  mines,  &c.  (-T.  A.)' 

ALCIATI,  Andrea,  an  eminent  Italian  jurist,  born  nt 
Alzano,  near  Milan,  ontlie  12th  January  14(J2,  died  1550. 
He  displayed  great  literary  tkill  in  his  exposition  of  the 
laws,  for  which  De  Thou  highly  praises  him.  He  published 
many  legal  works,  and  some  annotations  on  Tacitus.  Hi." 
Emblems,  a  collection  of  moral  sayings  in  Latin  verse,  Las 
been  gTeatly  admired,  and  translated  into  French,  Italian, 
and  Spanish.  Alciati's  history,  of  Milan,  under  the  title 
Jierum  Patrice,  sen  Histories  Meilinlanensis,  libri  IV.,  waa 
published  posthumously  at  Milan  in-  1625. 


4G8 


ALC-ALG 


ALCIBIADES  was  born  at  Athens  about  450  B.C. 
Through  his  father,  detains,  ho  traced  hi3  descent  from 
Eurysaces,  the  son  of  Ajax,  and  through  hi3  mother, 
Deinomache,  from  Megacles,  the  head  of  the  Alcmoeonidae. 
He  was  thus  related  to  Pericles,  who,  after  the  death  of 
Cleinias  at  tho  battle  of  Coronca  (447  B.C.),  became  his 
guardian.  A  youth  early  deprived  of  his  father's  control, 
possessed  of  great  personal  beauty,  and  the  heir  to  great 
wealth  —  a  youth  consequently  universally  honoured, 
courted,  and  caressed — was  not  in  a  position  to  acquiro  a 
knowledge  of  the  virtue  of  self-restraint  in  any  shape  or 
form.  Spoilt  accordingly  by  flatteries  and  blandishments, 
the  boy  showed  himself  self-willed,  capricious,  and  pas- 
sionate, and  indulged  in  tho  wildest  freaks  and  most 
insolent,  tyrannical  behaviour.  Nor  did  the  instructors 
of  his  early  manhood  supply  the  corrective  which  his  boy- 
hood lacked.  The  collection  of  moral,  political,  and  reli- 
gious beliefs  which  the  earlier  Greeks,  from  custom,  con- 
venience, or  the  promptings  of  common  sense,  had  accepted 
as  a  standard  by  which  to  regulate  their  own  conduct  and 
judge  that  of  others,  had  been  exposed  by  the  sophists  to 
the  keenest  scrutiny  and  tho  widest  scepticism.  Negative 
criticism,  accompanied  with  showy  novel  paradoxes,  are 
always  attractive  to  a  young  man  of  intellectual  vigour ; 
and  thus  Alcibiades  learnt  from  Protagoras,  Prodicus,  and 
others,  tolaugh  at  tho  common  opinions  about  justice,  temper- 
ance, holiness,'  patriotism,  dec.  The  long,  patient,  laborious 
thought,  tho  self-sufficing  and  comparatively  ascetic  life 
of  his  master  Socrates,  he  was  able  to  admire,  but  not  to 
imitate  or  practise.  On  the  contrary,  his  ostentatious 
vanity,  his  amours,  Ms'  debaucheries,  and  his  impious 
revels,  became  notorious  throughout  Athens.  But  great 
as  were  Alcibiades's  moral  vices,  bis  .'intellectual  abilities 
were  still  more  conspicuous.  He  proved  his  courage  at 
the  battle  of  Potidea  (432  B.C.),  where,  wounded,  he  was 
rescued  by  Socrates  ;  at  the  battle  of  Delium  (424  B.C.), 
where  he  protected  his  former  deliverer ;  and  on  many 
subsequent  occasions.  Though  he  was  not  a  very  fluent 
speaker,  he  always  kept  to  the  point.  His  energy  was  im- 
mense, his  ambition  unbounded  but  selfish,  and  provided  he 
could  gratify  this  passion,  be  never  scrupled  at  the  means 
or  the  price.  He  could  read  the  character  of  others,  and  adapt 
himself  to  it  with  a  versatility,  adroitness,  and  flexibility 
which  if  any  even  of  his  shifty  fellow-countrymen  equalled 
they  never  surpassed.  Nor  were  his  personal  qualities 
his  only  recommendation  to  popular  favour.  His  ancestors 
and  relatives  had  been  for  generations  the  recognised 
leaders  of  the  people;  he  had  many  admirers  and  followers 
among  the  clubs  of  young  nobles ;  he  had  numerous  de- 
pendants who  partook  of  his  wealth  ;  and  he  gratified  the 
populace  by  the  lavish  expenditure  with  which  he  per- 
formed his  various  liturgical  duties.  On  his  first  entering 
prominently  into  public  life,  he  succeeded  by  a  clever  -but 
unscrupulous  trick  in  duping  the  Spartan  ambassadors,  and 
persuading  the  Athenians  to  conclude  an  alliance  with 
Argos,  Elis,  and  Mantinea  (420  B.C.)  Next  year  he  was 
appointed  general,  and  for  three  years  busily  traversed  the 
Peloponnesus,  endeavouring  to  advance  the  objects  of  the 
alliance.  But  to  be  tho  first  man  in  Athens  was  far  too 
limited  an  object  to  satisfy  the  ambition  of  Alcibiades  :  all 
Greece  must  be  dazzled  by  his  greatness.  As  the  first  step 
towards  the  accomplishment  of  this  scheme  he  fixed  upon 
the  conquest  of  Sicily,  which  would  necessarily  be  followed 
by  that  of  the  Peloponnesus  and  probably  by  that  of  Car- 
thage. 'With  this  view,  he  warmly  advocated  the  adoption 
of  measures  for  tho  relief  of  Segesta.  The  Sicilian  expedi- 
tion being  resolved  on  with  great  enthusiasm,  he,  Nicias, 
and  Lamachus,  were  appointed  generals.  But  shortly  before 
the  day  appointed  for  the  armaments  setting  sail  there  took 
j>laco  a  mysterious  crime,  which  was  destined  to  alter  the 


whoio  complexion  of  Alcibiades's  futuvo,  and  with  it  xlial 
of  tho  Athenian  state.  In  the  courso  of  one  night  (May, 
415  B.C.)  all  the  busts  of  Hermes  in  Athens  were  sacrilegi- 
ously mutilated.  The  enemies  of  Alcibiades  (many  of 
them  probably  the  actual  perpetrators)  endeavoured  to 
connect  him  with  the  sacrilege ;  ■  and  his  well-known 
impieties  gave  plausibility  to  a  chargo  which  could  never 
have  had  any  real  foundation.  Kccallcd  to  stand  his  trial 
almost  as  soon  as  he  reached  Sicily,  he  escaped,  and  made 
his  way  to  Sparta,  where  he  revealed  all  the  plans  of  tlio 
Athenians,  and  induced  the  Spartans  to  send  Gylippua  to 
Sicily  and  an  army  to  fortify  Decelea.  Ho  then  passed 
over  to  Asia  Minor,  and  prevailed  upon  many  of  the  Ionic 
allies  of  Athens  to  revolt.  But  in  a  few  months  he  had 
lost  the  confidence  of  the  Spartans  ;  and  at  the  instigation 
of  Agis  II.,  whose  personal  hostility  he  had  excited,  an 
order  was  sent  from  Lacedsemon  for  his  execution.  Re- 
ceiving timely  information  of  this  order,  he  crossed  over 
to  Tissaphernes  (412  B.C.),  and  quickly  worming  him- 
self into  the  satrap's  confidence,  he  persuaded  him  to 
cease,  giving  active  assistance  to  Sparta,  so  that  the  two 
Grecian  parties,  after  wearing  themselves  out  by  their 
mutual  struggles,  might  both  be  easily  expelled  from  Asia. 
But  Alcibiades  was  now  bent  on  returning  to'Athens,  and 
he  used  his  supposed  influence  with  Tissaphcrnes  to  effect 
his  purpose.  In  his  negotiation  with  Pcisander,  though 
he  failed  in  his  immediate  object,  he  succeeded  in  produc- 
ing the  impression  that,  whatever  side  he  joined,  he  could 
make  Tissaphcrnes  help.  Under  this  impression,  he  was 
recalled  by  Thrasybulus  and  the  armament  at  Samos, 
and  appointed  one  of  the  generals.  His  appointment  was 
followed  by  the  victories  at  Cynossema,  Abydos,  and 
Cyzicus,  and  by  the  recovery  of  Chalcedon  and  Byzantium. 
On  his  return  to  Athens  after  these  successes  ho  was 
welcomed  with  every  demonstration  of  joy  (407  B.C.);  all 
the  proceedings  against  him  were  cancelled,  and  he  was 
appointed  general  with  full  powers.  His  ill  success,  how- 
ever, at  Andros,  and  the  defeat  of  his  lieutenant  at  Notium, 
led  the  Athenians  to  dismiss  him  from  his  command.  He 
thereupon  retired  to  the  Thracian  Chersoncsus ;  but  after 
the  battle  of  jEgospotami,  and  the  establishment  of  the 
Spartan  supremacy  throughout  Greece,  he  crossed  the 
Hellespont,  and  took  refuge  with  Pharnabazus  in  Phrygia. 
There  an  attack  was  made  upon  him,  but  by  whom  or  for 
what  cause  historians  are  not  agreed;  his  residence  was  set 
on  fire,  and  on  rushing  out  on  his  cowardly  assassins, 
dagger  in  hand,  he  was  killed  by  a  shower  of  arrows,  404 
B.c.  By  his  wife  Hipparete,  Alcibiades  left  one  son,  who 
was  named  after  himself. 

ALCINOUS,  a  Tlatonic  philosopher  of  uncertain  date, 
author  of  a  work  entitled  'Ettito/i^'twi'  TlXdrtovos  SoyyaaTwr, 
which  has  been  translated  into  English  by  Stanley  in  his 
History  of  Philosophy.  The  best  edition  of  the  Greek 
original  is  that  by  Fischer,  Lips.  1783,  8vo. 

ALCINOUS,  a  mythical  king  of  the  Pha;acians,  in  the 
island  of  Scheria,  was  son  of  Nausithous,  and  grandson  of 
Neptune  and  Peribcea.  He  has  been  immortalised  in  the 
Odyssey,  the  description  of  his  reception  and  entertainment 
of  Ulysses,  who  when  cast  by  a  storm  on  the  shore  of  the 
island  was  relieved  by  the  king's  daughter,  Nausicaa,  form- 
ing the  main  subject  of  books  vi.  to  xiii.  of  that  poem. 
The  subjects  of  Akinous  loved  pleasure  and  good  cheer, 
yet  were  skilful  seamen ;  and  ho  himself  is  described  a3 
a  good  prince. 

ALCIl'iiRON,  the  most  eminent  of  the  Greek  epistolary 
writers,  was  probably  a  contemporary  of  Lucian.  His 
letters,  of  which  1 1 G  have  been  published,  are  written  in 
the  purest  Attic  dialect,  and  are  considered  models  of 
style.  The  imaginary  authors  of  them  are  country  people, 
Ssherwomec,  courtesans,  and  parasites,  -who  express  their 


ALC-ALC 


409 


^ntiments  and  opinions  on  familiar  subjects  in  refined  and 
elegant  language,  yet  without  any  very  •  apparent  incon 
sistency.  The  new  .Attic  comedy  being  the  principal 
source  from  which  Alciphron  derived  his  information, 
these  letters  are  valuable  as  delineating  the  private  life  of 
the  Athenians  at  that  period.  The  best  editions  arc  by 
Bergler,  Lips.  1715,  and  Wagner,  Lips.  1798. 

ALCLRA,  probably  the  Saetabicula  of  the  Romans,  s 
Spanish' town,  on  an  island  in  the  river  Xucar,  25  miles 
S.  W.  of  Valencia,  in  the  province  of  that  name.  It  is 
surrounded  by  walls,  and  has  two. fine  bridges.  There  is 
a  remarkable  stalactite  grotto  in  the  vicinity.  The  prin- 
cipal productions  are  silk,  rice,  and  oranges,  which  are 
largely  exported.     Population,  15,400. 

ALCMAN,  sometimes  also  called  Axcsleojt,-  one  of 
the  most  ancient,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Alexandrian 
critics,  the  most  distinguished  of  the  lyric  poets  of  Greece. 
According  to  one  account  he  was  by  birth  a  Lydian,  while 
others  state  that  he  was  a  native  of  Sparta,  where,  at  any 
rate,  he  lived  from  a  very  early -age.  The  time  at  which 
he  flourished  is  uncertain,  but  it  is  generally  assumed  that 
it  embraced  the  period  between  the  years  670  and  630  B.C. 
Alcman  may  in  some  respects  be  regarded  as  the  father  of 
lyric  poetry  among  the  Greeks,  and  it  was  probably  for 
this  reason  that  the  Alexandrian  critics  put  him  at  the 
head  of  their  lyric  canon.  His  poems,  which  seem  to  have 
formed  a  collection  of  six  books,  are  known  to  us  only- 
from  a  number  of  small  fragments.  Many  of  them  were 
of  an  erotic  character,  but  others  were  hymns  and  didactic 
pieces.  All  were  written  in  the  vigorous  broad  dialect  of 
the  Dorians.  The  best  collection  of  these  fragments  was 
published  by  F.  G.  Welcker,  Giesen,  1815,  4to;  they  are 
also,  contained  in  Bergk's  Foeloe  Lyrici  Grceci,  1852, 
Svo. 

ALCSIENE,  the  daughter  of  Electryon,  king  of  Mycense, 
and  wife  Of  Amphitryon.  She  was  the  mother  of  Hercules 
by  Jupiter,  who  assumed  the  likeness  of  her  husband  during 
his  absence,  and  of  Iphicles  by  Amphitryon. 

ALCOCK, . Jonx,-  doctor  of  laws,  and  bishop  of  Ely  in 
tea  reign  of  Henry  VIL,  was  born  at. Beverley  in  York- 
shire before  1440,  and  educated  at  Cambridge.  He  was 
made  dean  of  Westminster  and  master  of  the  rolls  in  1462. 
In  1470  he  was  appointed  ambassador  to  the  court  of 
Castile,  and  in  1471  was  consecrated  bishop  of  Rochester 
In  1477  he  was  translated  to  the  see  of  Worcester;  and 
in  1486.  to  that  of  Ely!  He  was  a  prelate  of  great 
learning  and  piety,  and  so  highly  esteemed  by  King  Henry 
that  he  appointed  him  lord  president  of  Wales,  and  after- 
wards lord  keeper  of  the  Great  Seal.  Vlcock  founded 
schools  at  Kingston-upon-Hull  and  Beverley,  nnd.  built 
the  spacious  hall  .belonging  to  the  episcopal  palace  at 
Ely.  He  was  also  the  founder  of  Jesus  College  ifi  Cam- 
bridge, for  a  master,  six  fellows,  and  as  many  scholars. 
This  house  was  formerly  a  nunnery,  dedicated  to  St  Radi- 
gund;  and  Godwin  says  that  the  building  being  greatly 
decayed;  and  the  revenues  reduced  almost  to  nothing,  the 
nuns  had  all  forsaken  it,  except,  two ;.  whereupon  Bishop 
Alcock  procured  a  grant  frxim  the  crown,  and  converted  it 
into  a  college.  But  Camden  and  others  tell  us  that,  the 
nuns  of  that  house  were  so  notorious  for  their  incontinence, 
that  King  Henry  VIL  and  Pope  Julius  IL  consented 
to  its  dissolution.  Bishop  .Alcock  wrote  several  pieces, 
among  which  are  the  ■  following: — 1.  Moris  Ferfectianis.; 
2.  In  Psalmas  FomiCentiales ;  3. '  Eomilice  Vulgares; 
4.  Meditationes  Pice.  He  died  at  Wisbeach,' '  October 
1, 1500,  and  was  buried  in  the  chapel  built  by  himself  in 
Ely  cathedral. 

ALCOHOL,  a  volatilo  organic  body,  constantly  formed 
during  the  fermentation  of  vegetable  juices  containing 
sugar  in  solution.     It  is  extracted  from  spirituous  liquors 


of  different  kinds  by  successive  distillations  or  rectifica- 
tions ;  the  alcohol  being  more  volatile  than  water,  gradually 
accumulates  in  the  first  portion  of  each .  distillate.  After 
a  few  operations  the  spirit  obtained  is  as  strong  as  it  can 
be  made  by  this  process,  and  further  repetition  docs  not 
enable  as  to  separate  more  water  from  it.  In  commerce 
the  strongest  spirit  is  known  as  spirit  of  wine,  and  contains 
about  90  per  cent,  of  alcohol  The  remaining  10  per  cent 
of  water  must  be  removed  by  some  chemical'  agent  that 
will  combine  with  water  and  retain  it  at  the  .boiling-point 
of  the  spirit,  and  bo  without  any  specific  action  on  the 
alcohol.  The  dehydrating  substances  in  general  use  are 
certain  anhydrous  salts,  such  as  carbonate  of-  potash,  acetate 
of  potash,  or  sulphate  of  copper.  Tbege  rapidly  absorb 
water  at  low  temperature,  and  part  with  it  at  a  red  heat; 
So  that  they  may  be  used  over  and  over  again.  The  most 
efficient  dehydrating  .agent  is  caustic  lime  or  caustic 
baryta.  Lime  is  generally  used  in  making  the  absolute 
alcohol  of  commerce.  For  this  purpose  the  caustic  lime 
is  broken  into  small  pieces  about  the  size'  of  a  walnut,  and 
placed  in  a  retort ;  spirits  of  wine  is  now  poured  into  the 
vessel,  just  sufficient  to  cover'  the  lime,  and  the  whole  is 
left  to  digest  for  a  night.  During  this  time  the  lime 
gradually  slakes  from  the  absorption,  of  water,  and  the 
anhydrous  alcohol  is  left,  ready  to  distill  off  at  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  water-bath.  Absolute  alcohol  is  a  very  mobile 
colourless  liquid,  having  a  high  refractive  power,  and 
possessing  a  feeble  agreeable  smell  and  an  acid  burning 
taste,  which, '  however,  diminishes  as  it  is  diluted  with 
water.  The  caustic '  taste  is  in  great  part  due  to  the 
rapidity  with  which  it  takes  water  from  any  living  tissue 
with  which  it  comes  in  contact,  producing  coagulation  if 
the  fluids  are  albuminous.  Alcohol  has  a  specific  gravity 
of  0-79.4  at  a  temperature  of  60°  Fahr.,  and  boils  at  173°-1 
Fahr.,  barometer  being  at  30  inches.  It  docs  not  conduct 
electricity,  arid  has  never  been  obtained  in  the  soUd  state, 
although  at  very  low  temperatures  it  becomes  viscid.  For 
this  reason  alcohol  is  always  used  to  fill  thermometers  for 
registering  low  temperatures,  as  mercury  freezes,  and  can- 
not be  employed  a3  an  index  of  temperature  below  -39° 
Fahr.  Its  high  co-efficient  of  expansion,  makes  alcohol  a 
very  sensitive  fluid  for  thermometric  purposes;.  Alcohol 
has  a  great  tendency  to  absorb  water  from  the  atmosphere, 
and  must  be  kept  in  thoroughly  sound  vessels.  It  mixes 
with  water  in  all  proportions,  and  during  the  dilution  there 
is  a  considerable  amount  of  heat  evolved.  When  alcohol 
and  water  are  mixed,  a  contraction  of  volume,  occurs,  which 
augments  until  100  parts  of  alcohol  are  mixad  with  116"23 
parts  of  water ;  103'775  volumes  of  alcohol  and  water 
mixed  in  that  ratio  contracting  to  100.  Addition  of 
water  beyond  the  proportion  given  above  .causes  less  and 
less  contraction,  and  finally  no  diminution  "of-  volume  can 
be  observed.  As  alcohol  is  diluted  with  water  its  volatility 
and  its  power  of  dilatation  diminish,  whereas  the  specific 
gravity  increases,  continually  approaching,  that  of  water. 
Next  to  water,  alcohol  is  the  substance  most  generally 
employed  as  a  solvent.  It  dissolves  many  organic  sub- 
stances, and  is  especially  used  in  the  arts  for  the  manu- 
facture of  varnishes.-  In  medicine  it  is  invaluable  as  a 
solvent  of  the  active  principle  of  many  substances  that  are 
insoluble  in  water,  and  would  soon  decompose  in  aqueous 
solution.  These  alcoholic  solutions  are  generally  called 
.tinctures. 

Alcohol  is  an  excellent  antiseptic  agent.  As  a  pre- 
servative of.  animal  structures  it  is  generally  used  in  the 
impure  states — known  in  commerce  as  methylated  spirit. 
This  .is  spirits  of  wine  .mixed  with  10  per  cent,  of  com- 
mercial wood  spirits;  which  does  not  interfere  with  its 
preservative  or  solvent  powers,  although  it  renders  it  unfit 
for  use  as  a  beverage. 


470 


ALCOHOL 


Alcohol  has  the  following  chemical  composition  : — 

Carbon 5267  percent 

Hydrogen. 1200 

Oxygen 34-43        ,, 

100-00 

Its  formula  in  chemical  symbols  is  CaII60.     During  the 

fermentation  of  sugar  the  change  that  takes  place  is  rcpre- 

tu'iiti  d  D  ■  follows  : — 

C8H10O,  =  2C21I60     +     2  CO, 
Grape  sugar.         AlcohoL  Carbonic  acid. 

The  complex  body,  grape-sugar,  breaks  up  by  the  action  of 
the  ferment  or  yeast  into  alcohol  or  carbonic  acid,  without 
anything  being  added.  This  kind  of  chemical  change  is 
Lines  called  an  action  of  presence,  or  catalytic  action, 
because  the  substance  inducing  it  does  not  enter  into  the 
composition  of  the  products  of  the  reaction.  The  alcohol 
ferment  or  yeast  is  a  minute  cellular  plant  that  grows 
rapidly  in  sugar  solution,  especially  if  albumenoid  matter 
is  also  present,  and  during  the  continuance  of  its  vital 
functions  causes  a  rearrangement  of  the  atoms  of  the  sugar. 
In  order  that  fermentation  may  proceed  regularly,  a  tempera- 
ture of  about  60°  Fahr.  is  required,  and  an  amount  of 
sugar  in  solution  not  exceeding  10  per  cent.  The  sugar 
is  principally  obtained  from  malt,  which  is  barley  that  has 
been  allowed  to  germinate  for  a.  certain  time,  and  is  then 
arrested  in  its  growth  by  heating  to  a  high  temperature. 
During  this  process  of  germination  there  is  a  peculiar 
ferment  produced  called  diastase ;  this  has  the  remarkablo 
property  of  changing  starch  into  grape-sugar.  When  the 
malt  is  treated  with  water,  the  ferment  causes  all  the  starch 
originally  present  in  the  grain  to  appear  in  solution  as 
grape-sugar.  All  kinds  of  starch  may  bo  changed  into 
grape-sugar  by  boiling  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  which 
in  this  case  acts  somewhat  like  a  ferment,  because  it  is  not 
decomposed  during  the  action.  The  sulphuric  acid  is 
afterwards  separated  by  treating  with  lime,  which  produces 
insoluble  sulphate  of  lime  (gypsum),  and  leaves  the  sugar 
in  solution.  In  this  way  sugar  for  the  alcohol  manufacture 
is  now  largely  made  from  the  potato  and  other  starch- 
yielding  plants.  Cane-sugar  is  too  expensive  to  bo 
employed  in  the  distillery.  Molasses,  or  the  uncrystallis- 
able  portion  of  the  cane-sugar,  is,  however,  largely  used. 

Alcohol,  when  acted  on  by  other  chemical  substances, 
produces  a  great  variety  of  new  compounds.  With  acids 
a  remarkable  class  of  bodies  are  produced  called  ethers,  of 
which  ordinary  ether  is  the  type..  The  majority  of  them 
are  very  volatile  fluids,  that  in  many  cases  have  a  very  agree- 
able odour,  and  are  not  readily  soluble  in  water.  Many 
ethers  are  obtained  by  simply  heating  a  mixture  of  the 
acid  and  alcohol  in  a  closed  vessel  to  a  temperature  of 
212°  Fair.,  and  subsequently  treating  with  water.  The 
water  dissolves  the  alcohol  not  acted  upon,  and  leaves  the 
ether  floating  on  tho  surface. 

When  alcohol  is  treated  with  chlorine,  absorption  occurs, 
and  hydrochloric  acid  is  continuously  evolved  for  many 
hours,  the  temperature  rising  considerably  during  tho 
action.  Many  substances  are  formed  in  succession,  but 
tho  principal  product,  after  long-continued  action,  is  tho 
substance  chloral,  now  largely  used,  as  an  anaesthetic. 
Bromine  produces  a  similar  body  called  bromaL  .  Iodine 
does  not  act  on  alcohol  at  ordinary  temperatures,  further 
than  to  pass  into  solution.  When  treated  with  a  solution 
of  chloride  of  lime,  alcohol  is  violently  attacked,  and  the 
result  of  the  action  is  the  well-known  substsice  chloroform. 
Acted  on  by  oxidising  agents,  alcohol  gives  \o  new  sub- 
stances— aldehyde  and  acetic  acid.  The  ease  .Sth  which 
acetic  acid  is  produced  by  heating  with  a  mL"ture  of 
bichromate  of  potash  and  sulphuric  acid  gives  a  delicate 
tnMhod  of  detecting  and  estimating  very  small  quantities 


of  alcohoL  When  tho  vapour  of  alcohol  is  passed  through 
a  red-hot  tube  filled  with  fragments  of  pumice-stone,  com 
plcte  decomposition  takes  place.  Among  the  products  are 
found  naphthalin,  benzol,  hydrogen,  marsh  gas,  ethylene, 
and  other  bodies. 

The  synthesis  of  alcohol  has  been  effected  by  means  of 
tho  hydro-carbon  called  defiant  gas,  which  may  be  made 
directly  from  carbon  and  hydrogen.  When  this  gas  is 
shaken  with  strong  sulphuric  acid  it  gradually  combine's 
with  it ;  and  if  it  is  afterwards  diluted  -with  water  and 
distilled,  alcohol  passes  over.  As  defiant  gas  is  one  of 
the  constituents  of  common  coal-gas,  this  substance  may 
be  used  to  make  alcohol  by  the  above  method.  The  action 
that  takes  place  is  represented  thus : — 

CaH,     +     HaO     =    C2H,0  ' 

OlcQant  Gas.        Water.  Alcohol. 

As  the  value  of  spirituous  liquors  depends  mainly  on  the 
quantity  of  alcohol  thoy  contain,  it  is  essential  to  find  some 
simple  and  rapid  means  of  ascertaining  the  percentage 
amount  of  the  substance  present.  For  this  purpose  three 
methods  may  be  employed,  viz.,  specifio  gravity  determina- 
tion, temperature  of  ebullition,  or  rate  of  expansion.  Tho 
easiest  plan,  and  tho  most  generally  used,  is  the  density 
method.  Very  accurate  tables  are  published  of  the  specific 
gravity  of  mixtures  of  alcohol  and  water  in  all  proportions, 
so  that  it  is  only  necssary  to  refer  to  these  tables  to  get 
the  percentage  composition.  In  the  caso  of  liquors,  like 
wines  or  beers,  that  contain  m?ny  other  substances  in  solu- 
tion in  addition  to  alcohol,  it  is  necessary  to  separate  the 
alcohol  from  the  extractive  matters — sugar,  salts,  <fec-  -by 
distillation,  and  to  take  the  density  of  tho  volatile  portion. 
As  wines  contain  many  volatile  ethers  that  would  pass 
over  with  the  alcohol  in  the  above  process,  and  interfere 
with  accurate  results  being  obtained,  they  aro  generally 
decomposed  by  heating  with  an  alkali  beforo  the  distillation 
commences. 

'  The  physiological  action  of  alcohol  is  a  subject  to  which 
considerable  attention  has  been  directed  of  late  years,  and 
many  investigators  have  attacked  the  problem.!  Tho  most 
important  contribution  to  our  knowledge  of  the  subject  is 
duo  to  Dr  Parkes,  who  has  made  a  long  scries  of  observa- 
tions on  soldiers  living  on  a  constant  diet  with  and  without 
tho  use  of  alcohoL  In  these  experiments  tho  weight  of 
the  body,  the  amount  of  nitrogen  in  the  urino  and  fxces, 
the  amount  of  urea,  the  pulse,  and  the  temperature  of  the 
body  were  all  determined  daily.  The  following  are  the 
principal  conclusions  deduced  from  the  investigation : — 

The  elimination  of  nitrogen  during  exercise  was  unaffected  by 
brandy ;  and  Bince  a  similar  result  occurred  in  a  series  of  experi- 
ments made  during  rest,  it  seems  certain  that  in  healthy  men  on 
uniform  good  diet  alcohol  does  not  interfere  with  the  disintegration 
of  nitrogenous  tissues. 

The  heat  of  tho  body,  as  judged  of  by  tho  axilla  and  rectum 
temperature,  was  unaffected  by  the  amount  given.  The  apparent 
heat  afcer  alcohol  must  thereforo  be  owing  to  subjective  feelings 
connected  with  tho  quickened  circulation,  rather  than  to  an  actual 
rise  of  temperature. 

Tho  pulse  was  increased  In  frequency  by  4  ounces  of  brandy,  and 
palpitation  and  breathlessness  were  brought  on  by  larger  doses  to 
such  an  extent  as  grea«!y  to  lessen  the  amount  of  work  the  man 
could  do,  aud  to  render  quick  movements  impossible.  As  the  effect 
of  labour  alone  is  to  augment  tho  strength  and  frequency  of  the 
heart's  action,  it  would  appear  obviously  improper  to  act  on  the 
heart  still  more  by  alcohol.  Whether  on  a  heart  exhausted  by 
exertion  alcohol  would  produce  good  or  bad  effects  is  not  shown  by 
these  experiments. 

Neither  exercise  nor  alcohol  produced  any  effect  on  the  phosphoric 
acid  of  the  urine,  or  the  free  acidity,  or  the  chlorine. 

As  the  action  of  alcohol  in  dietetic  doses  on  the  elimination  of 
nitrogen  and  on  the  bodily  temperature  is  so  entirely  negative,  it 
seems  reasonablo  to  doubt  if  alcohol  can  have  the  depressing  effect 
on  tho  excretion  of  pulmonary  carbon  which  is  commonly  attributed 
to  it.  It  can  hardly  depress,  one  would  think,  the  metamorphosis 
of  tissues  or  substances  furnishing  carbon,  without  affecting  eitbe* 
the  changes  of  the  nitrogenous  structures  or  bodily  heat. 


A  L  C  — A  L  C 


471 


The  elimination  of  alcohol  from  the  body  has  been  a 
matter  of  dispute  between  different  observers.  Previous  to 
the  year  1860  it  was  the  generally-received  opinion  that 
the  greater  portion  of  any  alcohol  taken  was  oxidised  in 
the  system,  and  only  a  small  fraction  eliminated  unaltered. 
In  that  year  Messrs  Perrin  and  Lallemand  published  an 
elaborate  memoir  on  the  subject,  in  -which  they  maintained 
that  all,  or  at  least  nearly  all,  the  alcohol  taken  is  eliminated 
unaltered.  •  This  subject  has  been  recently  reinvestigated 
by  Dr  Austin,  Dr  Thudichum,  and  especially  by  Dr  A. 
Dupre!  The  main  results  of  Dr  Dupre's  6eries  of  observa- 
tions may  be  summed  up  as  follows : — 

The  amount  of  alcohol  eliminated  per  day  .does  not  Increase 
with  the  continuance  of  the  alcohol  diet ;  and  therefore  all  tho 
alcohol  consumed  daily  must  of  necessity  be  disposed  of  daily; 
and  as  it  certainly  is  not  eliminated  within  that  time,  it  must  be 
destroyed  in  the  system. 

The  elimination  of  alcohol  following  the  ingestion  of  a  dose  or 
doses  of  alcohol  ceases  in  from  nine  to  twenty-lour  hours  after  the 
last  dose  has  been  taken. 

The  amount  of  alcohol  eliminated  in  both  fcreath  and  urine  is  a 
minute  fraction  only  of  the  amount  of  alcohol  taken. 

In  the  course  of  these  experiments  the  author  found  that,  after 
six  weeks  of  total  abstinence,  and  even  in  the  case  of  a  teetotaller, 
a  substance  is  eliminated  in  the  urine,  and  perhaps  also  in  the 
breath,  which,  though  apparently  not  alcohol,  gives  all  the  reactions 
ordinarily  used  for  the  detection  of  traces  of  alcohol.  The  quantity 
present  in  urine  is,  however,  so  small  that  the  precise  nature  of  the 
substance  has  not  as  yet  been  determined.  The  author  points  out 
an  apparent  connection  between  this  substance  and  alcohol.  It  was 
found  that,  after  the  elimination  due  to  the  ingestion  of  alcohol  had 
ceased,  the  amount  of  this  substance  eliminated  in  a  given  time 
at  first  remained  below  the  quantity  normally  excreted,  and  only 
gradually  rose  again  to  the  normal  standard.  .  A  careful  study  of 
this  connection  may  perhaps  servo  to  throw  some  light  upon  tha 
physiological  action  of  alcohol. 

ALCOY,  one  of  the  most  thriving  manufacturing  cities 
of  Spain,  on  the  river  Alcoy,  in  the  province  of  Alicante, 
24  miles  N.N.W.  of  the  town  of  that  name.  It  is  built 
on  an  elevated  site  at  the  foot  of  a  gorge  of  the  Sierra  de 
Mariola,  and  presents  a  picturesque  appearance.  There 
are  several  handsome  buildinga  and  a  number  of  public 
fountains,  but  the  industry  of  the  place  is  its  chief  character- 
istic. The  principal  employment  is  papermaking.  About 
200,000  reams  are  produced  annually,  the  extraordinary 
quantity  of  180,000  reams  being  a  paper  of  light  texture 
used  for  making  cigarettes.  Coarse  woollen  stuffs  are  also 
manufactured.  A  very  curious  festival  is  held  annually  in 
April  in  honour  of  St  George,  the  patron  saint  of  the  town. 
Population,  27,000. 

ALCUDIA,  Manuel  de  Godoy,  Duke  of,  "Prince 
of  the  Peace,"  Spanish  statesman,  was  born  of  poor  but 
noble  parentage  at  Badajoz  on  the  12th  May  1767  (died 
1851).  In  1784  he  came  to  Madrid  to  join  the  royal  body- 
guard, and  by  his  handsome  presence  and  agreeable 
manners  soon  attracted  notice.  The  queen  regarded  him 
with  great  favour,  and  the  weak-minded  Charles  IV.  raised 
him  rapidly  from  dignity  to  dignity,  until  in  1792,  on  the 
disgrace  of  Aranda,  he  became  prime  minister.  One  of 
the  first  steps  he  took  on  his  accession  to  power  was  to 
declare  war  against  the  French  convention.  Though 
success  at  first  attended  the  Spanish  arms,  the  position  of 
matters  was  reversed  in  a  second  campaign,  and  the  war 
was  concluded  by  the  treaty  of  Basle,  signed  on  the  22d 
July  1795,  for  negotiating  which  Godoy  received  his  title 
of  Prince  of  the  Peace  and  a  large  landed  estate.  He  was 
also  mado  at  the  same  time  a  grandee  of  Spain  Qf  the  first 
class.  In  1796  he  formed  an  offensive  and  defensive 
alliance  with  tho  French  republic,  which  involved  Spain 
in  a  war  with  England.  Next  year  he  was  married  to 
Maria  Theresa  de  Bourbon,  niece  of  the  king  by  a  mor- 
ganatic marriage  of  his  brother  Luis.  As  it  was  under- 
stood that  Godoy  had  already  married  Dona  Josef  a 
Tudo,  this  second  alliance,  though  it  brought  him  nearer 


to  the  king,"  did  much  to  increase  his  unpopularity  with 
the  nation.  On  the  28th  March  1798  he  found  himself 
forced  to  resign  his  position  in  the  ministry,  but  he.  never 
lost  the  favour  of  the  king,  who  -appointed  him  grand 
admiral  in  1799.  About  the  same  time  he  was  restored  to 
power,  and  entered  into  an  alliance  with  Napoleon,  having 
for  its  object  the  partition  of  PortugaL  The  war,  in  which 
Godoy  himself  commanded,  was  of  short  duration,  the 
treaty  of  Badajoz,  signed  on  the  6th  June  1801,  securing 
from  Portugal  a  subsidy  to  France  and  a  cession  of  terri- 
tory to  Spain.  Godoy  was  rewarded  for  his  service  with 
the  title  of  Count  of  Evoramente,  and  an  annual  income  of 
100,000  piastres.  In  1804  he  became  generalissimo  of 
the  land  and  sea  forces  of  Spain ;  but  the  honours  thus 
heaped  upon  him  by  the  king  were  accompanied  by  grow- 
ing dislike  on  the  part  of  the  nobility  and  the  people. 
The  higher  classes  regarded  him  with  jealousy  as  a  parvenu, 
and  he  was  necessarily  unpopular  with  a  nation  that  attri- 
buted to  him  the  defeat  of  Trafalgar,  and  the  stoppage  cf 
its  commerce  through  the  blockade  of  the  ports.  A  change 
of  policy,  by  which  he  endeavoured  to  break  off  his  alliance 
with  France  and  enter  into  friendly  relations  with  England, 
came  too  late  to  save  his  position.  Napoleon  determined 
to  remove  the  Bourbons  from  the  throne  of  Spain,  and  the 
invasion  of  the  French  troops  gave  Godoy's  enemies  the 
wished-for  opportunity  to  secure  his  downfall.  The  prime 
minister  had  retired  from  Madrid,  and  was  making  arrange- 
ments for  the  removal  of  the  king  and  queen  to  Mexico, 
when  the  project  was  discovered  by  the  Prince  of  Asturias, 
the  leader  of  the  party  opposed  to  him.  On  the.  18th 
March  1808  Godoy  was  seized  at  Aranjuez  by  tho  mub, 
who  were  only  restrained  from  executing  summary  ven- 
geance upon  him  by  the  promise  given  them  that  he  should 
undergo  a  fair  trial.  Napoleon,  however,  wishing  to  avail 
himself  of  his  influence  over  Charles,  sent  Prince  Murat  to 
effect  his  release.  He  was  removed  in  April  to  Bayonnc, 
where  on  the  5th  May  he  signed  the  deed  by  which  Charles 
IV.  abdicated  in  favour  of  the  Prince  of  Asturias.  He 
continued  to  enjoy  tho  undiminished  favour  of  Charle9, 
whom  he  accompanied  to  Rome,  his  possessions  in  Spain 
having  been  confiscated.  On  the  death  of  his  royal  master 
he  removed  to  Paris,  where  he  received  a  pension  of  5000 
francs  from  Louis  Philippe.  In  1836-8  he  published 
memoirs  of  his  life,  in  which  he  defends  his  policy.  In 
1847  his  -titles  and  the  greater  part  of  his  estates  were 
restored  to  him,  and  he  received  permission  to  return  to 
Spain.  He  continued,  however,  to  reside  in  Paris,  where 
he  died  on  the  4th  October  1851. 

ALCUIN,  in  Latin  Albinus,  surnamed  Flaccus,  an 
eminent  ecclesiastic  and  a  reviver  of  learning  in  the  8th 
century,  was  born  in. Yorkshire  about  735  (died  804). 
He  was  educated  at  York  under  the  direction  of  Arch- 
bishop Egbert,  as  we  learn  from  his  own  letters,  in  which 
he  frequently  calls  that  prelate  his  beloved  master,  and 
the  clergy  of  York  the  companions  of  his  youthful  studies. 
He  succeeded  Elbert  as  director  of  the  seminary,  and  in 
later  life  modelled  after  it  his  famous  school  at  Tours. 
He  survived  Bedo  about  seventy  years ;  it  is  thereforo 
hardly  uossible  that  he  could  have  received  any  part  of  hin 
education  under  him,  as  some  writers  of  literary  history 
have  affirmed;  and  it  is  worthy  of  observation  that  ha 
never  calls  Bede  his  master,  though  he  speaks  of  him 
with  the  highest  veneration.  It  is  not  well  known  to 
what  preferments  he  had  attained  in  the  church  before  he 
left  England,  though  some  say  he  was  abbot  of  Canter- 
bury. He  was  sent  to  Kome  by  Eanbald,  the  successor  of 
Ethelbert,  to  procure  the  pallium,  and,  in  returning,  at 
Parma  he  met  Charlemagne,  who,  as  Alcuin  had  already 
visited  the  French  court,  was  no  stranger  to  his  extra- 
ordinary merit      The  emperor  contracted  so  great  or 


472 


ALO-ALD 


estrom  and  friendship  for  Iiiin  that  Ire  curnestly  urged  nnd 
at  length  induced  him  to  take  up  his  residence  at  court 
and  become  his  preceptor  in  the  sciences.  Akuin  accord- 
ingly instructed  Charlemagne  and  his  family  in  rhetoric, 
logic,  mathematics,  and  divinity.  He  particularly  distin- 
guished himself  by  his  writings  in  defence  of  the  orthodox 
faith  against  the  adoptionists,  Felix,'  bishop  of  Urgel, 
and  Elipandus,  archbishop  of  Toledo,  convincing  the 
former  of  his  error  after  a  six  days'  debate  at  Aix-la- 
Chapelle  (799),  and  treating  the  latter  in  the  most  con- 
ciliatory manner;  and  on  more  than  one  occasion  he  was 
employed  in  important  missions  between  Charlemagne  and 
Offa,  king  of  Merciu.  "'France,"  says  one  of  our  best 
writers  of  literary  history,  with  some  degree  of  truth,  "  is 
indebted  to  Akuin  for  all  the  polite  learning  it  boasted  of 
in  that  and  the  following  ages.  The  universities  of  Paris, 
Tours,  Fulden,  Soissons,  and  many  others,  owe  to  him 
their  origin  and  increase,  those  of  which  he  was  not  the 
superior  and  founder  being  at  least  enlightened  by  his 
doctrine  and  example,  and  enriched  by  the  benefits  he 
procured-  for  them  from  Charlemagne."  Alcuin.  it  is 
alleged,  however,  forbade  the  reading  of  the  classical  poets. 
In  790  he  went  to  England  in  the  capacity  of  ambassador, 
and  returned  to  France  in  792,  never  again  to  visit  his 
native  land.  After  Alcuin  had  spent  many  years  in  the 
most  intimate  familiarity  with  the  greatest  prince  of  his 
age,  he  at  length,  in  801,  with  great  difficulty,  obtained 
leave  to  retire  from  court  to  the  abbey  of  St  Martin  at 
Tours,  of  which  he  had  been  appointed  the  head  by 
Charlemagne  in  796.  ■  Here  he  remained  and  taught  till 
his  death  in  804..  In  his  retirement  he  kept  up  a  constant 
correspondence  with  Charlemagne^,  which  displays,  on  the 
part  of  both,  an  ardent  love  of  learning  and  religion,  and 
great  zeal  and  earnestness  in  contriving  and  executing 
noble  designs  for  their  advancement.  Alcuin  composed 
many  treatises  on  a  great  variety  of  subjects,  in  a  style 
much  superior  in  purity  and  elegance  to  that  of  most 
writers  of  the  age  in  which  he  flourished.  His  works 
were  collected  and  published  by  Duchesne,  in  1  vol. 
folio,  Paris,  1617:  a  better  edition  is  that  of  Froben,  2 
vols,  folio,  Ratisbon,  1777.  They  consist  of  (1)  Tracts 
upon  Scripture  ;  (2)  Tracts  upon  doctrine,  discipline,  and 
morality ;  (3)  Historical  treatises,  letters,  and  poems.  It 
is  not  improbable  that  Alcuin  was  the  writer  of  the  famous 
Caroline  Books,  issued  under  the  name  of  Charlemagne, 
which  denounced  as  idolatrous  every  form  of  image-worship. 
A  Life  of  Alcuin,  by  Lorenz,  was  published  at  Halle  in 
1829,  and  appeared  in  an  English  translation,  by  Slee, 
in  1837. 

ALCYONTUS,  or  ALCiONrus,  Peteus,  a  learned 
Italian,  born  at  Venice  in  1487  (died  1527).  Distin- 
guished as  a  classical  scholar,  he  was  employed  for  some 
time  by  Aldus  Manutius  as  a  corrector  of  the  press,  and  in 
1522  was  appointed  professor  of  Greek  at  Florence  through 
the  influence  of  Oiulio  do  Medici.  When  the  latter  became 
pope,  under  the  title  of  Clement  VII.,  in  1523,  Alcyonius 
followed  him  to  Rome,  and  remained  there  until  his 
death.  Alcyonius  published  at  Venice,  in  1521,  a  Latin 
translation  of  several  of  the  works  of  Aristotle,  which  waa 
shown  by  the  Spaniard  Sepulveda  to  be  very  incorrect. 
He  wrote  a  dialogue  entitled  Medices  Legalus,  live  de 
tixilio,  in.  connection  with  which  he  was  charged  with 
plagiarism  by  his  personal  enemy,  Paulus  Manutius.  The 
accusation,  which  Tiraboschi  has  shown  to  be  groundless, 
bore  that  he  had  taken  the  finest  passages  in  the  work 
from  Cicero's  De  Gloria,  and  that  he  had  then  destroyed 
the  only  existing  copy  of  the  original  in  order  to  escape 
detection.  Two  orations  on  the  taking  of  Rome  by  Charles 
V.,  and  another  on  the  knights  who  perished  at  the  siege 
of  Rhodes,  arc  also  ascribed  to  Alcyonius. 


ALDAN,  a  river  of  Siberia,  in  the  government  of 
Yakutsk,  which  rises  about  55°  N.  lat.,  and  125°  E.  long., 
and  after  flowing  more  than  300  miles  in  a  north-east 
direction,  turns  to  the  north-west,  joining  the  Lena  about 
100  mile3  below  Yakutsk  It  has  a  total  length  of  over 
500  miles,  for  a  considerable  part  of  which  it  is  navigable. 

ALDAN  MOUNTAINS,  the  name  usually  applied  to 
a  branch  of  the  Stanovoi  mountains,  which  strikes  off 
from  the  main  chain  in  the  direction  of  the  Aldan  river, 
or  to  a  part  of  this  range.  According  to  some  geographers, 
however,  the  continuation  of  the  Stanovoi  range  to  Boh  ring 
Strait,  or  even  the  whole  mountain  system  of  eastern  Siberia, 
ought  to  receive  the  name. 

ALIiln  ilti  lUGH,  a  town  of  Es  land,  in  the  tVi  it! 
Riding  of  Yorkshire,  16  miles  W.N.W.  of  York.  It 
formerly  returned  two  members  to  parliament,  but  was 
disfranchised  by  the  Reform  Act  of  1832.  The  place  is 
remarkable  only  from  its  numerous  ancient  remains.  It 
was  the  Isurium  of  the  Romans,  and  here  and  in  the 
neighbourhood  the  remains  of  aqueducts,  spacious  build- 
ings, and  tesselated  pavements  have  been  found,  as  well 
as  numerous  implements,  coins,  and  urns.  Population 
(1871)  of  the  parish,  which  extends  into  the  North  Riding, 
2165  ;  of  the  town,  502. 

ALDEBUROH,  or  Axdborocoh,  a  market-town  and 
watering-place  in  the  county  of  Suffolk,  25  miles  E.N.E. 
of  Ipswich.  The  borough  was  incorporated  by  a  charter 
of  King  Edward  VI.,  and  in  former  times  was  a  place  of 
considerable  extent ;  but  the  old  town  was  gradually  sub- 
merged by  the  encroachments  of  the  sea.  Further  destruc- 
tion is  now  stayed  by  the  accumulated  sandbanks,  and  the 
place  has  become  a  favourite  resort,  of  summer  visitors. 
Fishing  affords  employment  to  many  of  the  inhabitants. 
The  town  is  noted  as  the  birthplace  of  the  poet  Crabbe, 
who  was  born  here  on  24th  December  1754.  A  marble 
bust  of  the  poet  has  been  placed  in  the  parish  church. 
Aldeburgh  was  formerly  a  parliamentary  borough,  but  was 
disfranchised  by  the  Reform  Act  of  .1832.  f  Population  of 
the  parish  in  1871,  1990. 

ALDEGREVER,  or  Axdecraf,  Heinrich,  a  German 
painter  and  engraver,  born  in  1502  at  Paderborn,  from 
which  he  removed  in  early  life  to  Soest.  From  the  close 
resemblance  of  his  style  to  that  of  his .  master,  Albert 
Diirer,  he  has  sometimes  been  ealled  the  Albert  of  West- 
phalia. His  numerous  engravings,  chiefly  from  his  own 
designs,  are  delicate  and  minute,  though  somewhat  hard  in 
style,  and  entitle  him  to  a  place  in  the  front  rank  of  the 
so-called  "Little  Masters."  Specimens  of  his  painting  are 
exceedingly  rare.  The  genuineness  of  the  works  in  the 
Vienna  and  Munich  collections  attributed  to  him  is  at 
least  doubtful,  the  only  uncnallenged  example  being  a 
portrait  in  the  gallery  at  Berlin.  Aldegrever  died  about 
the  year  1562. 

ALDER,  a  genus  of  plants  (Alnus)  belonging  to  the 
order  JJetulacece,  the  best  known  of  which  is  the  common 
alder  (A.  glutinosa).  This  tree  thrives  best  in  moist  soils, 
has  a  shrubby  appearance,  and  grows,  under  favourable 
circumstances,  to  a  height  of  40  or  50  feet.  Under  water 
the  wood  is  very  durable,  and  it  is  therefore  used  for  piles. 
The  supports  of  the  Rialto  at  Venice,  and  many  buildings 
at  Amsterdam,  are  of  alder-wood.  Furniture  is  sometimes 
made  from  the  wood,  and  it  supplies  excellent  charcoal  for 
gunpowder.  The  bark  is  astringent ;  it  is  used  as  a  gargle, 
and  also  in  tanning  and  dyeing. 

ALDERMAN,  a  word  derived  from  the  Anglo-Saxon 
ealdorman,  compounded  of  the  comparative  degree  of  the 
adjective  told  (old)  and  man.  The  term  implies  the  pos- 
session of  an  office  of  rank  or  dignity;  and  among  the 
Anglo-Saxons,  earls,  governors  of  provinces,  and  other 
persons  of  distinction  received  this  title.     Thus  we  read 


ALD-ALD 


473 


of  the  aldrrminnus  totvus  Anglioe,  who  seems  to  have  corre- 
sponded to  the  officer  afterwards  styled  capitalis  justi- 
tiarvus  Anglice,  or  chief  justice  of  England:  the  alder- 
mannus regis,  probably  an  occasional  magistrate,  answering 
to  our  justice  of  assize,  or  perhaps  an  officer  whose  duty  it 
was  to  prosecute  for  the  crown;  and  aldermannus comitates, 
a  magistrate  with  a  middle  rank  between  what  was  after- 
vards  called  the  earl  and  the  sheriff,  who  sat  at  the  trial 
Cf  causes  with  the  bishop,  and  declared  the  common  law, 
while- the  bishop  proceeded  according  to  ecclesiastical  law. 
Besides  these,  we  meet  with  the  titles  of  aldermannus 
tivitatis,  burgi,  castelli,  hunaredi  sive  wapentdchii,  &c.  In 
modern  times  aldennen  are  office-beareis  in  the  muncipal 
corporations  of  England  and  Wales,  and  Ireland.  Before 
the  passing  of  the  Municipal  Corporation  Act  their  func- 
tions varied  according'  to  -  the  charters  of  the  different 
burghs.  By  the  statute  5th  and  6th  WilL  IV.  c.  76,  and 
3d  and  4th  Vict.  c.  118,  the  aldermen  are  elected  by  the 
councillors  from  among  themselves  (in  Ireland,  by  the 
burgesses),  for  six  years,  one-half  going  out  every  three 
years.  The  number  of  councillors  in  each  borough  varies 
from  12  to  48,  according  to  its  magnitude.  One-fourth  of 
the  municipal  councd  consists  of  aldermen,  and  three-fourths 
of  councillors.  In  the  municipal  corporations  of  Scotland 
there  is  no  such  title  as  alderman,  the  office-bearers  of 
corresponding  rank  there  being  termed  bailies.  The  cor- 
poration of  London  was  not  included  in  the  Burgh  Reform 
Act,  and  the  antiquated  system  remains  there  in  full 
force.  The  Court  of  Aldermen  consists  of  twenty-six, 
twenty-five  of  whom  are  elected  for  life  by  the  freemen  of 
the  respective  wards,  who  return  two  persons,  one  of  whom 
the  Court  of  Aldermen  elect  to  supply  the  vacancy.  The 
eity  is  divided  into  twenty-six  wards ;  twenty-four  of  these 
send  lap  one  alderman  each,  the  other  two  combine  to 
choose  a  twenty-fifth.  The  twenty-sixth  alderman  serves 
for  the  independent  borough  of  Southwark,  and  is -appointed 
by  the  other  aldermen,  who  generally  select  the  senior  fiom 
■rnong  themselves  when  a  vacancy  occurs.  The  lord  mayor 
is  elected  from  such  of  the  aldermen  as.  have  served  the 
office  of  sheriff;  of  these  the  Common  Hall,  which  con- 
sists of  the  freemen  of  the  different  wards,  select  two,  and 
the  aldermen  elect,  one  of  these  to  the  mayoralty.  The 
Court  of  Aldermen  act  as  magistrates  for  the  city  of 
London,  and  also  possess  authority  of  a  judicial  nature  in 
the  affairs  of  the  corporation.  The  aldermen  are  members 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Council,  the  legislative  body  of 
the  corporation,  which  consists  in  all  of  232  members,  the 
remainder  being  elected  annually  by  the  freemen.  In  the 
United  States  aldermen  form  as  a  rule  a  legislative  rather 
than  a  judicial  body,  although  in  some  cities  they  hold 
courts  and  possess  very  considerable  magisterial  powers. 

ALDERNEF,  one  of  the  Channel  Islands,  and  the  most 
northerly  of  the  four,  lies  between  49"  41'  and  49°  45'  N. 
lat.,  and  2°  9'  and  2°  14'  W.  .long-.,  7  miles  to  the  westward 


—    tj^t."*^, 

*       X?uCLm4V£Xt<% ' 

aldeb:neyV\ 

Stints' 


p* 


Start  ai  VroiV 


TtpruT^c* 


of  Cape  la  Hogue,  and  is  separated  from  the  French  coast 
by  a  narrow  channel  called  the  Pace  of  Alderney ^  The 
-—age  through  this  strait  is  rendered  very  dangerous  in 


stormy  weather  by  its  conflicting  currents;  but  through  it 
the  scattered  remnant  of  the  French  fleet  under  Tourville 
succeeded  in  escaping  after  the  defeat  of  La  Hogue  in  1692. 
The  harbour  of  Alderney  is  20  miles  distant  from  St  Peter 
Port,  Guernsey,  45  miles  from  St  Helen's,  Jersey,  and  00 
miles  from  Poitland  Bill,  the  nearest  point  of  England. 
There  is  regular  steam  communication  with  Guernsey  The 
length  of  the  island  from  N.E.  to  S.W.  is  3^  miles;  its 
width  about  1  mile;  its  greatest  elevation  is  280  feet;  and! 
the  area  is  about  4  square  miles. 

The  greater  part  of  Alderney  is  a  level  table-laud,  more 
or  less  cultivated.  The  land  continues  flat  to  the  edge  of 
the  south-eastern  and  southern  cliffs,  which  present  a  mag- 
nificent succession  of  broken  and  perpendicular  walls  of 
rock.  Towards  the  north-west,  north,  and  east,  the  coast  ia 
less  rocky,  and  is  indented  by  several  bays  of  tame  and 
naked  aspect,  of  which  those  of  Crabby,  Braye,  and  Longy 
are  the  most  noticeable.  Sandstone,  granite,  and  por- 
phyry are  the  chief  geological  formations.  From  the 
importance  of  the  island  in  a  military  sense,  it  has.  been 
fortified  by  a  chain  of  defensive  works,  extending  round 
the  northern  coast  from  the  Clanque  Fort  on  the  west  to 
Fort  Essex  on  the  east.  The  cliffs  of  the  southern  shore 
form  a  very  strong  natural  bulwark.  An  extensive  granite 
breakwater  has  been  constructed,  protecting  the  bay  of 
Braye  towards  the  west,  intended  to  form  an  additional 
defence,  and  to  convert  the  bay  into  a  secure  harbour  of 
refuge.  The  works  have  cost  upwards  of  a  million  and  a 
quarter  sterling;  but  the  new  harbour  is  not  much  resorted 
to,  and  the  value  of  the  breakwater  as  a  means  of  defence 
has  been  questioned.  Fort  Touraille  stands  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  new  harbour,  and  is  a  strong  fortification, 
mounting  50  heavy  guns,  with  bomb-proof  barracks  and 
powder  magazine. 

The  population  of  Alderney  has  increased  rapidly  of 
recent  years,  on  account  of  the  extensive  public  works. 
In  1841  it  was  only  1030,  in  1871  it  was  2738.  The 
inhabitants  are  Protestants,  and  Alderney  forms  part  of 
the  diocese  of  Winchester.  Though  a  French  patois  lingers 
in  the  island,  English  is  generally  spoken  and  universally 
understood.  The  climate  is  healthy,  and  there  is  abun- 
dance of. good  water.  Corn  is  grown,  but  much  of  the 
sandy  soil  is  in  grass,  affording  -excellent  pasture  to 
the  diminutive  but  pretty  cows  for  which  Alderney  is 
famous.  The  only  exports  are  cattle  and  early  potatoes. 
St  Anne's;  the  town  of  the  island,  is  situated  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  beach,  overlooking  the  new  harbour.  It  is 
plainly  built,  but  has  a  fine  new  church  in  the  early 
English  style,  erected  as  a  memorial  of  the  family  of  Le 
Mesurier,  long  the  hereditary  governors  of  the  island. 
The  only  other  architectural  feature  worthy  of  notice  is  a 
Gothic  arch  built  as  a  memorial  of  the  late  Prince  Albert 
of  England. 

Alderney  seems  to  have  been  known  to  the  Romans  as 
Riduna,  and  Roman  as  well  as  Celtic  remains  have  been 
discovered.  It  is  subject  to  the  British  crown,  and  is  a 
dependency  of  Guernsey.  For  its  history  and  relation  to 
English  legislation,  see  the  article  on  the  Channel 
Islands.  The  internal  government  is  vested  in  a  judge 
appointed  by  the  crown,  and  six.  jurats,  chosen  for  life  by 
the  people;  and  these,  with  twelve  douzainiers,  who  are 
popular  representatives,  but  have  not  the  power  of  voting, 
form  the  legislature.  Justice  is  administered  by  the  same 
judge  and  jurats,  and  several  other  officers.  In  civil  cases 
an  appeal  may  be  taken  to  the  royal  court  of  Guernsey,  while 
all  criminal  cases  are  referred  to  Guernsey  for  decision. 
Two  companies  of  infantry  and  a  batterv  of  artillery  com- 
pose the  local  militia. 

Off  the  western  coast  of  Alderney  there  are  many  unin- 
habited rocky  islands:  and  six  miles  to  the  westward  lie 


474 


A  L  D  —  A  L  D 


the  Casqnets,  a  group  of  rocks  extremely  dangerous  to 
ships  coming  up  the  English  Channel.  On  these  rocks 
there  are  three  lighthouses,  with  revolving  lights  112  foet 
above  the  water. 

ALDERS1IOTT  CAMP,  a  standing  garrison  for  a  large 
force,  situated  about  35  miles  from  London,  on  the  confines 
of  Hampshire  and  Surrey.  It  was  established  in  May 
1855,  and  \va3  intended  as  a  military  training  scliool, 
especially  for  officers  of  the  higher  grades.  Its  germ  is 
to  be  found  in  the  temporary  camp  on  Chobham  Ridges, 
formed  in  1853  by  Lord  Hardinge,  then  commander-in- 
chief,  the  success  of  which  convinced  him  of  the  necessity 
of  giving  our  troops  practical  instruction  in  the  field,  and 
affording  our  generals  opportunities  of  manoeuvring  large 
bodies  of  the  three  arms.  He  therefore  advised  the  pur- 
chase of  a  tract  of  waste  land  whereon  a  permanent  camp 
might  be  established.  His  choice  fell  on  Aldershott,  a  spot 
also  recommended  by  strategic  reasons,  being  so  placed  that 
a  force  holding  it  covered  the  capital  Nothing  came  of 
Lord  Hardinge's  proposal  till  the  experience  of  the  Crimean 
campaign  fully  endorsed  his  opinion.  The  lands  at  Alder- 
shott— an  extensive  open  heath  country,  sparsely  dotted 
by  fir  woods  and  intersected  by  the  Basingstoke  canal — were' 
then  acquired  by  the  Crown. '  Tho  first  occupants  of  the 
camp  were  two  battalions  of  the  Guards  and  seven  of 
embodied  militia.  On  the  return  of  the  Crimean  army, 
cavalry,  artillery,  and  infantry  of  the  line  arrived  and  took 
possession  of  the  lines  of  wooden  huts  and  the  permanent 
barracks,  which  had  by  this  time  been  erected.  Since  then 
Aldershott  has  varied  Little  in  its  principal  features.  It  is 
separated  into  two  grand  divisions,  styled  the  north  and 
south  camps.  Beyond  the  latter  are  tbe  permanent  cavalry 
and  infantry  barracks  and  the  queen's  pavilion.  Farnham 
is  the  nearest  town,  being  only  4  miles  from  the  south 
camp;  Guildford  and  Godalming  are  10  and  12  respectively, 
Windsor  18J,  and  Reading  21  miles.  The  soil  on  which 
the  camp  stands  is  a  light  peat,  and  a  fruitful  source  of 
discomfort  to  its  inhabitants.  A  little  wet  turns  it  into 
tenacious  mud,  while  a  little  sunshine  produces  a  black 
dust,  not  soon  forgotten  by  those  who  have  campaigned 
in  the  "  Long  Valley."  The  force  stationed  at  Aldershott 
at  tho  beginning  of  1874  was  composed  of  1  cavalry 
and  3  infantry  brigades ;  in  the  former  there  were  3  full 
regiments,  in  tho  latter  a  total  of  11  battalions,  with  several 
depots  of  regiments  abroad.  Besides  these,  there  were  2 
batteries  of  horse  and  6  of  field  artillery,  2  companies  of 
Royal  Engineers,  and  4  troops  of  Royal  Engineers'  train 
(with  pontoon,  &a);  7  companies  of  the  Army  Service 
Corps  and  2  of  the  Army  Hospital  Corps — to  provide  for 
transport,  and  the  services  of  bakehouse  and  slaughter- 
house and  hospital — made  up  the  total  strength  of  all  ranks, 
as  shown  in  the  returns  dated  1st  January  1874,  to  10,601 
men,  2198  horses,  and  48  guns.  It  is  a  Lieutenant-general's 
command,  and  one  highly  prized,  from  its  essentially  military 
character  and  the  practical  experience  it  affords  in  handling 
a  considerable  force.  Sir  William  Knollys  (afterwards  comp- 
troller of  the  household  to  tho  Prince  of  Wales)  was  its 
first  chief.  He  was  succeeded  by  Sir  John  Pennefather; 
Sir  James  Scarlett  followed;  then  Sir  Hope  Grant,  who 
held  the  command  in  1874.  Naturally  so  large  a  military 
colony  soon  attracted  other  elements  to  Aldershott  heath. 
Within  a  few  years  a  town  of  Aldershott  sprang  up  close 
by,  and  increased  rapidly.  Here  the  professions  and  all 
trades  are  well  represented;  there  are  respectable  solicitors, 
surgeons,  bankers,  brewers,  many  schools,  a  steam  printing 
press,  a  weekly  military  paper,  and  numerous  shops.  Dur- 
ing the  summer  months  or  "drill  season"  tho  camp  is  a 
scene  of  incessant  activity;  field-days  and  parades  follow  in 
rapid  succession,  and  owing  to  the  camp's  accessibility 
from   London,  the  troops  arc  often  turned  out  at  a  few 


hours'  notice  to  make  a  show  for  royalty  or  foreign 
visitors.  .  Yet  there  is  much  to  beguile  vacant  hours ;  many 
clubs — for  cricket,  croquet,  racquets,  and  the  drama — a 
gymnasium,  and  several  excellent  libraries.  Admirable 
charities  also  exist  for  the  assistance  and  relief  of  the 
soldiers'  wives  and  children.  (a.  G.) 

ALDHELM,  or  Adelm,  St,  Bishop  of  Sherborne  in  the 
time  of  tho  Saxon  heptarchy,  was  born  about  the  middlo 
of  tho  7th  century  He  is  said  to  have  been  tho  son  of 
Kenred,  brother  to  Ina,  king  of  the  West  Saxons;  but,  in 
the  opinion  of  William  of  Malmesbury,  his  father  was  no 
more  than  a  distant  relation  to  the  king.  Having  received 
the  first  part  of  his  education  in  the  school  of  Meildulf,  a 
learned  Irish  monk,  he  travelled  in  France  and  Italy  for  his 
improvement.  On  his  return  home  he  studied  some  time 
under  Adrian,  abbot  of  St  Augustiu's  in  Canterbury,  the 
most  learned  professor  of  the  sciences  who  had  ever  been 
in  England.  The  fame  of  his  learning  soon  spread,  not 
only  in  England,  but  in  foreign  countries.  Learned  men. 
sent  him  their  writings  for  his  criticism;  among  others, 
a  son  of  the  king  of  Scotland  is  said  to  have  sent  his 
compositions  to  Aldhelm,  "  entreating  him  to  give  them 
the  last  polish  by  rubbing  off  their  Scotch  rust."  He  was 
the  first  Englishman  who  wrote  in  the  Latin  language, 
both  in  prose  and  verse ;  and  he  composed  a  book  for 
the  instruction  of  his  countrymen  on  the  prosody  of  that 
language.  Bcde  says  that  Aldhelm  "was  a  man  of  universal 
erudition,  having  an  elegant  style,  and  being  wonderfully 
well  acquainted  with  books  both  on  philosophical  and  reli- 
gious subjects."  His  Latin  was  in  later  times  considered 
somewhat  barbarous  and  corrupt^  From  one  of  his  letters 
to  Hedda,  bishop  of  Winchester,  concerning  the  nature  of 
his  studies  whilst  at  Canterbury,  he  appears  to  have  been 
indefatigable  in  his  endeavours  to  acquire  every  species 
of  learning  in  his  power.  For  a  copy  of  this  curious 
epistle  see  Henry's  History,  vol.  ii  p.  320.  King  Alfred 
declared  that  Aldhelm  was  the  best  of  all  the  Saxon 
poets;  and  a  favourite  song,  which  was  universally  sung  in 
his  time,  nearly  200  years  after  its  author's  death,  was  of 
his  composition.  He  was  a  musician  as  well  as  a  poet,  and 
made  his  own  songs  the  medium  of  instruction  and  refine- 
ment to  his  barbarous  countrymen.  After  having  governed, 
the  monastery  of  Malmesbury,  of  which  he  was  the  founder, 
about  thirty  years,  he  was  made  bishop  of  Sherborne,  where 
he  died  in  May  709. 

Re  wrote — 1.  De  octo  VUiis  Prinrip-iJibus.  This  treatise  is  extant 
in  tho  Billiotkeca  Patrupi  of  Caiiisius.  2.  JEnigmalum  Versus 
Mille.  This,  with  'several  other  poems  of  his,  was  published  by 
Martin  Delrio  at  Metitz,  17,01,  8vo.  3.  A  book  addressed  to  a 
certain  king  of  Northumberland  named  Alfiid,  on  various  subjects. 
4.  De  Vila  Monachorum.  5.  De  Laude  Sanctorum.  6.  Dc  Arilh- 
mctica.  7. -De  Astroloyia.  8.  A  book  on  the  mistake  of  the  Briton, 
concerning  the  celebration  of  Easter  ;  printed  by  Sonius,  157b". 
9.  De  Laude  Virginitalis;  published  among  Bcde's  Opuscula. 
Besides  these,  ho  wroto  many  sonnets,  epistles,  and  homilies  in  the 
Saxon  language. 

ALDINE  EDITIONS.     See  Manuttus. 

ALDINI,  Giovanni,  a  distinguished  physicist,  born  at 
Bologna  on  the  10th  April  17G2  (died  1834),  was  tho 
nephew  of  Galvani,  and  brother  of  the  statesman  Count 
Antonio  Aldini.  Devoted  from  his  youth  to  the  study  of 
natural  science,  he  was  chosen  in  1798  to  succeed  his  former 
teacher  Canterzani  in  the  chair  of  physics  at  Bologna. 
His  most  important  service  consisted  in  the  numerous 
experiments  by  which  he  sought  to  secure  tho  better  appli- 
cation of  science  to  practical  purposes.  The  subjects  of 
galvanism,  the  illumination  of  lighthouses  by  gas,  and  au 
asbestos  or  fireproof  fabric  engaged  his  special  attention, 
and  on  all  of  them  he  published  the  results  of  his  researches. 
He  was  master  of  the  leading  European  languages;  and 
most  of  his  works  were  published  in  Italian,  French,  and 


A  L  D~A  L  D 


475 


English.  Aldini  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  National 
Institute  of  Italy,  and  among  his  scientific  honours  he 
counted  the  gold  medal  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London, 
and  the  prize  of  the  Institute  of  France.  In  recognition 
of  his  merits,  the  emperor  of  Austria  made  him  a  knight 
of  the  Iron  Crown  and  a  councillor  of  state  at  Milan,  where 
he  died  on  the  17th  January  1834.  He  left  by  will  a 
considerable  sum  to  found  a  school  of  natural  science  for 
artisans  at  Bologna. 

ALDRED,  Eaxdred,  or  Axeej,  a  prominent  eccle- 
siastic in  tlie  11th  century,  was  successively  abbot  of 
Tavistock,  bishop  of  Worcester,  and  archbishop  of  York. 
He  was  promoted  to  the  see  of  Worcester'in  1046,  and  in 
1050  was  sent  on  a  special  mission  to  Rome  by  Edward' 
the  Confessor.  In  1054  he  went  as  ambassador  to  the 
court  of  the  Emperor  Henry  III.  with  the  object  of  ne'gc- 
tiatingforthe return  of  Edward  the  ^Ethelingfrom  Hungary, 
and  remained  a  year  at  Cologne.  In  1058  he  undertook 
and  accomplished  a  journey  to  Jerusalem,  a  pilgrimage 
which  no  English  bishop  had  ventured  on  before.  He  was 
appointed  archbishop  of  York  in  1060,  and  proceeded  to 
Rome  to  obtain  the  pallium;  but  the  pope  at  first  refused 
to  confirm  the  appointment.  At  length,  however,  Aldred 
was  duly  invested  with  the  robe  of  office  on  condition  of 
his  resigning  his  former  see,  which  he  had  continued  to 
hold  till  that  time.  On  the  death  of  Edward  (1066) 
Aldred  sided  with  Harold,  and  officiated  at  his  coronation; 
but  after  the  battle  of  Hastings'  he  made  submission  to 
William,  and  poured  the  sacred  oil  on  the  head  of  the 
Conqueror  ere  the  year  was  completed  in  which  he  had 
crowned  Harold.  There  are  several  traditions,  which  may 
be  regarded  as  haying  some  foundation  in  fact,  that  repre- 
sent Aldred  as  administering  rebuke  to  William  in  the 
interests  of  his  countrymen  or  in  defence  of  his  church's 
rights.  At  the  same  time,  he  remained  faithful  to  William, 
and  when  the  English  rose  in  the  north  against  the  Nor- 
mans, he  counselled  submission.  He  died  at  York,  Sept.  11, 
1 069,  of  grief,  it  is  said,  because  of  the  threatened  attack  on 
his  city  by  the  combined  forces  of  the  English  and  Danes. 

ALDRICH,  Dr  Hexry,  theologian  and  philosopher,  was 
born  in  1647  at  Westminster,  and  was  educated  at  the 
collegiate  school  there,  under  Dr  Busby.  ■  In  1662  he 
entered  Christ  Church  College,  Oxford,  with  which  he  con- 
tinued to  be  intimately  connected  during  his  whole  life. 
He  took  so  conspicuous  a  part  in  the  controversy  with  the 
Roman  Catholics  during  the  reign  of  James  II.,  that  at  the 
Revolution  the  deanery  of  Christ  Church  was  conferred 
upon  him,  Massey,  the  popish  dean,  having  fled  to  the  con- 
tinent. In  1702  he  was  appointed  rector  of  Wem  in  Shrop- 
shire, but  continued  to  reside  at  Oxford,  where  he  died  on 
the  1 4th  Dec.  1710.  He  was  buried  in  the  cathedral  without 
4ny  memorial,  at  his  own  desire.  Aldrich  was  a  man  of 
unusually  varied  gifts.  He  is  best  known  as  the  author  of 
a  Compendium  Artis  Logicae,  a  work  of  almost  no  value  in 
itself,  but  historically  important  as  being  for  upwards  of  a 
century  the  manual  in  exclusive  use  at  Oxford.  His  claims 
to  distinction  as  a  musician  and  an  architect,  though  not  so 
widely  recognised,  are  much  better  founded  than  his  repu- 
tation as  a  logician.  He  composed  a  number  of  anthems 
and  church  services  of  very  considerable  merit,  which  are 
still  frequently  sung  in  cathedrals.  He  also  adapted  much 
of  the  music  of  Palestrina  and  Carissimi  to  English  words 
with  great  skill  and  judgment.  The  catch  "  Hark,  the 
bonny  Christ  Church  bells"  is  one  of  his  most  admired 
compositions  in  the  lighter  style.  Aldrich  wrote  a  treatise 
on  architecture;  and  practical  evidence  of  his  skill  in  the 
art  may  be  seen  in  the  church  and  campanile  of  All  Saints, 
Oxford,  and  in  three  sides  of  the  so-called  Peckwatcr 
Quadrangle  of  Christ  Church  College,  which  were  erected 
after  his  designs. 


In  classical  scholarship  Di  Aldrich  had  some  reputation.  The 
Musx  Anglicanm  contains  two  specimens  of  his  Latin  verse,  the 
subjects  being  the  accession  of  King  William  and  the  death  of  the 
Duke  of  Gloucester.  A  humorous  Latin  version  by  Aldrich  of  the 
popular  ballad— 

"A  soldier  and  a  sano., 
A  tinker  and  a  tailor,"  ic, 

has  been  preserved  by  Sir  John  Hawkins.  Another  specimen  of 
his  wit  is  furnished  by  the  following  epigram,  entitled  ."  Causai 
Bitendi,"  which  some,  however,  have  ascribed  to  Pere  Sirmond  ;— 

Si  bene  quid  rnemini,  Causae  sunt  guinque  iibendi; 
Mospitis  Adventus,  prmsens  Sitis,  atquefutura, 
Aut  Villi  Bonilas,  aul  qucclibct  altera  Causa. 
The  translation  runs — 

If  on  my  theme  I  rightly  think, 
There  are  five  reasons  why  "men  drink  :— 
Good  wine  ;  a  friend ;  because  I'm  dry; 
Or  lest  1  should  be  by  and  by ; 
Or — any  other  reason  why. 

ALDROVANDI,  Ulisse,  a  celebrated  naturalist,  barn 
of  noble  parentage  at  Bologna  on  the  11th  Sept.  1522 
(died  1607).  While  a  boy  he  was  page  in  the  family  of  a 
rich  bishop,  and  afterwards  apprentice  to  a  merchant  in 
Brescia.  Commercial  pursuits  soon  became  distasteful  to 
him,  and  he  turned  his  attention  to  law  and  medicine, 
studying  first  in  his  native  town  and  afterwards  at  Padua. 
In  1550,  having  been  accused  of  heresy,  he  was  compelled 
to  proceed  to  Rome  in  order  to  vindicate  himself  before 
the  Inquisition,  which  gave  him  a  conditional  acquittal. 
In  Rome  he  published  his  first  work,  a  treatise  on  ancient 
*  statuary.  Here  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  eminent 
naturalist  Rondelet,  from  whom  it  seems  not  unlikely 
that  he  derived  the  impulse  towards  what  became  from  that 
time  his  exclusive  study.  On  his  return  to  Bologna  he 
devoted  himself  specially  to  botany,  under  the  teaching  ol 
Lucas  Ghino,  then  professor  of  that  science  at  the  univer- 
sity. In  1553  he  took  his  doctor's  degree  in  medicine, 
and  in  the  following  year  he  was  appointed  professor  of 
philosophy  and  also  lecturer  on  botany  at  the  university. 
In  1560  fee  was  transferred  to  the  chair  of  natural  history, 
which  he  continued  to  occupy  until  rendered  infirm  by  age 
At  his  instance  the  senate  of  Bologna  established  in  1568  a 
botanical  garden, of  which  hewas  appointed  the  first  director. 
He  was  also  instrumental  in  founding  the  still  existing 
public  museum  of  Bologna,  which  contains,  especially  in 
the  natural  history  department,  a  large  number  of  speci- 
mens collected  by  Aldrovandi.  To  procure  these  it  is  be- 
lieved that  he  visited  personally  most  of  the  countries  of 
Europe,  though  the  details  of  his  journeys  have  not  been 
preserved.  "Some  idea  of  the  extent  of  his  labours  may  be 
gathered  from  the  fact  that  his  herbarium  occupied  sixty 
large  folio  volumes.  To  the  other  offices  held  by  Aldro- 
vandi was  added  that  of  inspector  of  drugs,  in  which 
capacity  he  published  in  1574  a  work  entitled  Antidotarii 
Bononiensis  Epitome,  deserving  of  notice  as  furnishing  the 
model  according  to  which  nearly  all  subsequent  pharma- 
copaiias  have  been  compiled. 

The  results  of  Aldrovandi's  rarions  researches  were  embodied  in 
his  magnum  opus,  which  was  designed  on  the  most  complete  scale, 
so  as  to  include  everything  that  was  known  about  natural  history. 
The  first  three  volumes,  comprising  his  ornithology,  were  published 
in  1599.  Three  more,  treating^  of  insects  and  mollusea,  appeared 
during  the  author's  lifetime.  The  seven  volumes  which  completed 
the  work  were  compiled  from  Aldrovandi's  manuscript  materials, 
under  the  editorship  of  several  of  his  pupils,  to  whom  the  task  was 
entrusted  by  the  senate  of  Bologna.  The  work  was  enriched  by  a 
large  number  of  pictorial  illustrations,  prepared  at  great  expense, 
the  author  having,  it  is  said,  employed  several  celebrated  artists  for 
thirty  years.  Among  these  were  Lorenzo  Benini  of  Florence  and 
Christopher  Coriolanus  of  Kurembeig.  It  has  been  said,  indeed, 
that  the  cost  of  the  undertaking  was  so  great  as  to  exhaust  its 
author's  means,  and  that  he  died  penniless  and  blind  in  Uie  publio 
hospital  of  Bologna.  This,  however,  is  probably  incorrect,  at  least 
as  regards  the  allegation  of  poverty.  Published  records  of  the  senate 
of  Bologna  show  that  it  liberally  supported  Aldrovandi  in  his  undei^ 
Uking,  doubling  his  salary  soon  after  his  appointment  as  professot 


476 


A  L  D  —  A  L  E 


and  bestowing  on  liim  from  time  to  time  oiims  amouuttngjn  all  to 
40,000  crowns.     If,  therefore,  be  dud  In  the  public  hospital,  he 

Srobably  went  there  fur  the  better  treatment  of  his  disease.     Ilia 
rath  occurred  on  the  ltttli  Nov,  1607. 

AMrovandi  was  chiefly  remarkable  for  laborious  and  patient 
research.  He  seems  to  have  been  totally  destitute  of  the  critical 
faculty ;  and  hardly  any  attempt  is  made  in  his  great  work  to  classify 
facts  or  to  distinguish  between  the  true  and  the  fabulous,  the  im- 
portant and  the  trivial.  Much  is  thus  included  that  is  of  no 
scientific  value,  but  it  also  contains  much  information  of  very  great 
interest  to  the  naturalist. 

ALDSTONE,  or  Alston  Moor,  a  market-town  of 
England,  in  the  county  of  Cumberland,  situated  on  an 
eminence  near  the  South  Tyne,  19  miles  E.S.E.  from 
Carlisle,  with  which  it  is  connected  by  railway.  The 
surrounding  country,  which  is  bleak  and  desolate,  contains 
lead  mines,  mostly  belonging  to  Greenwich  Hospital,  for- 
merly very  valuable,  but  now  almost  exhausted.  Thread, 
flannel,  and  shot  are  manufactured  in  the  town.  Popu- 
lation (1871)  of  parish,  5G80 ;  of  town,  2G27. 

ALE,  a  fermented  liquor  obtained  from  an  infusion  of 
malt,  and  differing  from  beer  chiefly  in  having  a  less  pro- 
portion of  hops.  Before  the  introduction  of  hops  into 
England  from  Flanders,  about  1524,  ale  was  the  name 
exclusively  applied  to  malt  liquor,  the  term  beer  being 
gradually  introduced  at  a  later  period  to  describe  liquor 
brewed  with  an  infusion  of  hops.  The  two  words,  however, 
are  now  used  with  little  distinction  of  meaning.  Ale,  the 
wine  of  barley,  is  said  to  have  originally  been  made  in 
Egypt.  The  natives  alike  of  Spain,  France,  and  Britain 
all  use  an  infusion  of  barley  for  their  ordinary  liquor, 
whioh  was  called  c<elia  and  ceria  in  the  first  country, 
cerevisia  in  the  second,  and  curmi  in  the  third — all 
literally  importing  the  strong  water. 

"  All  the  several  nations,"  says  Pliny,  "  who  inhabit  the  west  of 
Europe  have  a  liquor  with  which  they  intoxicate  themselves,  made 
of  corn  and  water.  The  manner  of  making  this  liquor  is  sometimes 
dilTerent  in  Gaul,  Spain,  and  other  countries,  and  is  called  by  many 
various  names;  but  its  nature  and  properties  are  everywhere  the 
same.  The  people  of  Spain,  in  particular,  brew  the  liquor  so  well 
that  it  will  keep  good  a  long  time.  So  exquisite  is  the  conning  of 
mankind  in  gratifying  their  vicious  appetites  that  they  have 
thus  invented  a  method  to  make  water  itself  intoxicate." 

The  method  in  which  the  ancient  Britons  and  other 
Celtic  nations  made  their  ale  isHhus  described  by  Isidorus 
and  Orosius : — 

"  The  grain  is  steeped  in  water,  and  made  to  germinate,  by  which 
its  spirits  are  excited  and  set  at  liberty;  it  is  then  dried  and 
ground  ;  after  which  it  is  infused  in  a  certain  quantity  of  water, 
which,  being  fermented,  becomes  a  pleasant,  warming,  strength- 
ening, and  intoxicating  liquor." 

This  ale  was  most  commonly  made  of  barley,  but  some- 
times of  wheat,  oats,  and  millet.  Ale  was  the  favourite 
liquor  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  and  Danes.  Before  their  con- 
version to  Christianity,  they  believed  that  drinking  large 
and  frequent  draughts  of  ale  was  one  of  the  chief  felicities 
which  those  heroes  enjoyed  who  were  admitted  into  the 
hall  of  Odin.  Anciently  the  Welsh  and  Scots  had  two  kinds 
of  ale,  called  common  ale  and  spiced  ale,  the  relative  values 
of  which  -were  thus  appraised  by  law :  "  If  a  farmer  had 
no  mead,  he  shall  pay  two  casks  of  spiced  ale,  or  four 
casks  of  common  ale,  for  one  cask  of  mead."  By  this  law 
a  cask  of  spiced  ale,  nine  palms  in  height  and  eighteen 
palms  in  diameter,  was  valued  at  a  sum  of  money  equal  in 
value  to  £7,  10s.  of  our  present  money ;  and  a  cask  of 
common  ale  of  the  same  dimensions  at  a  sum  equal  to 
£3,  15s.  This  is  a  sufficient  proof  that  even  common  ale 
at  that  period  was  an  article  of  luxury  among  the  Welsh, 
which  could  only  be  obtained  by  the  great  and  opulent. 

For  details  as  to  the  process  of  manufacture,  statistics, 
4c.',  sea  Brewing. 

ALE-CONNER,  an  officer  appointed  yearly  at  the  court- 
lect  of  ancient  manors  for  the  assize  of  ale  and  ale-measures. 


The  gwstatorea  eervitice — called  in  different  lbcalitit*  by 
the  different  names,  "ale-tasters,"  "ale-founders,"  and 
"aleconners" — were  sworn  to  examine  beer  and  ale,  to 
take  caro  that  they  were  good  and  wholesomo  and  were 
sold  at  proper  prices.  In  London,  four  aleconners  are 
still  chosen  annually  by  the  liverymen  in  common  hall 
assembled,  on  Midsummer  Day.  Since  ale  and  beer  have 
become  excisablo  commodities  the  custom  of  appointing 
ale-tasters  has  in  most  places  fallen  into  disuse.  (For  the 
means  now  employed  to  test  the  quality  of  ales  see 
Adulteration,  p.  172.) 

VLEANDKO,  Girolamo  (Hieronymus),  cardinal, 
commonly  called  "the  Elder,"  to  distinguish  him  from  his 
grand-nephew  of  the  same  name,  was  born  at  Motta,  near 
Venice,  on  the  13th  of  February  1180  (died  1542).  He 
studied  at  Venice,  and  while  still  a  youth  acquired  great 
reputation  for  learning.  In  1508  he  went  to  Paris,  on. 
the  invitation  of  Louis  XII.,  as  professor  of  belles  lettres, 
and  he  held  for  a  time  the  position  of  rector  in  the  uni- 
versity. Entering  the  service  of  the  prince-bishop  of 
Liege,  he  was-  sent  by  that  prelate  on  a  mission  to  Koine, 
where  Pope  Leo  X.  retained  him,  giving  him  (1519)  the 
office  of  librarian  of  the  Vatican.  In  the  autumn  of  1 520 
he  went  to  Germany  to  be  present  as  papal  nuncio  at  the 
coronation  of  Charles  V.,  and  in  the  following  spring  he 
appeared  at  the  diet  of  Worms,  where  he  headed  the 
opposition  to  Luther,  advocating  the  most  extreme  measures 
to  repress  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformer.  His  conduct  not 
merely  called  forth  the  fiercest  denunciations  of  Luther, 
but  estranged  from  him  Erasmus,  who  had  been  his 
intimate  friend  at  Venice.  The  edict  against  the  Reformer, 
which  was  finally  adopted  by  the  emperor  and  the  diet, 
was  drawn  up  and  proposed  by  Aleandro.  After  the  close 
of  the  diet  the  papal  nuncio  went  to  the  Netherlands, 
where  ho  kindled  the  flames  of  persecution,  two  monks  of 
Antwerp,  the  first  martyrs  of  the  Reformation,  being  burnt 
to  ashes  in  Brussels  at  his  instigation.  In  1523,  Clement 
VII.,  having  appointed  him  archbishop  of  Brindisi  and 
Oria,  sent  him  as  nuncio  to  the  court  of  Francis  I.  Ho 
was  taken  prisoner  along  with  that  monarch  at  the  battle 
of  Pavia  (1525),  and  was  only  released  on  the  payment  cf 
a  heavy  ransom.  He  was  subsequently  employed  oa 
various  papal  missions,  especially  to  Germany,  but  was 
unsuccessful  in  preventing  the  German  princcsfrom  making 
a  truce  with  the  Reformers,  or  in  checking  to  any  extent 
the  progress  of  the  new  doctrines.  In  1538  Paul  III.  con- 
ferred upon  him  the  cardinal's  hat,  when  he  took  the  title 
of  St  Chrysogonus.  He  died  at  Rome  on  the  31st  January 
or  1st  February  15-12. 

Aleandro  compiled  a  Lexicon  Grmco-Lalinnm,  and  wrote  Latin 
verse  of  considerable  merit.  The  Vatican  library  contains  a  volume 
of  manuscript  letters  and  other  documents  written  by  him  in  con- 
nection with  his  various  missions  against  Luther.  Its  historical 
value  renders  this  the  most  important  of  his  works. 

ALEMAN,  Louis,  Archbishop  of  Aries,  and  Cardinal  of 
St  Cecilia,  was  born  at  Bugey  in  1390.  lie  was  one  of 
the  presidents  of  the  Council  of  Basle  in  1431,  and  led  the 
party  that  maintained  the  supremacy  of  councils  over  popes 
in  opposition  to  the  claims  of  Eugcnius  IV.  It  was  on 
his  motion  that  tho  latter  was  deposed  by  the  council,  and 
Felix  V.  elected  in  his  stead.  Eugenius  thereupon  deposed 
the  arch-pope,  and  deprived  Aleman  of  all  his  ecclesiastical 
dignities,  but  these  were  restored  by  Nicholas  V.  in  1447, 
Felix  V.  having  previously  resigned,  on  the  advice  of  tho 
cardinal.  In  1527  Aleman  was  canonised  by  Pope 
Clement  VII. 

ALEMAN NI,  a  large  German  tribe  on  the  Upper  Rhine. 
They  are  first  mentioned  by  Dion  Cassius,  who  relates 
that  the  Emperor  CaracaUa  gained,  in  213  A.D.,  a  victory 
over  them  on  the  banks  of  the  Maine,  and  thence  assumed 


A  L  E  —  A  L  JjJ 


47' 


the  surname  Alemanniats.  The  origin  of  this  tribe,  and 
the  country  from  which  they  came,  are  unknown  ;  but  we 
have  a  distinct  statement,  which  is  apparently  confirmed  by 
the  very  name  of  the  people,  that  they  had  flocked  together 
from  all  parts,  and  were  a  mixed  race.  They  proved  most 
formidable  enemies  to  the  Romans  as  well  as  to  the  Gauls, 
their  western  neighbours,  who  to  this  day  apply  the  name 
Alemanni  (Allemands)  to  all  the  Germans  indiscriminately, 
though  the  Alemanni,  properly  so  called,  occupied  only 
the  country  between  the  Maine  and  the  Danube.  In  the 
reign  of  Aurelian,  270  a.d.,  they  attempted  to  invade 
Italy,  but  were  repulsed.  After  the  death  of  that  emperor, 
however,  they  renewed  their  attacks  by  invading  Gaul, 
and  ravaging  the  country  at  different  times.  Several 
undertakings  against  them  were  of  little  avail,  untij  in 
357  a.d.  the  Emperor  Julian  completely  defeated  them  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Strasburg,  where  all  their  forces 
were  assembled  under  seven  chiefs.  This  and  other  defeats, 
however,  did  not  break  the  power  of  the  Alemanni,  who, 
being  pressed  on  by  other  barb?rians  in  the  north,  were 
forced  to  advance  southward  and  westward  to  conquer 
new  countries  for  themselves.  Hence,  after  the  middle  of 
the  5th  century,  we  find  them  established  not  only  in  the 
country  now  called  Suabia,  but  also  in  a  part  of  Switzer- 
land and  in  Alsace.  In  these  countries  the  Alemanni 
have  maintained  themselves  ever  since,  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  modern  Suabians  and  the  northern  Swiss  are 
descendants  of  that  ancient  race. 

ALEMBIC  (Arab,  alanbiq,  cognate  to  the  Greek  a/x/3i£), 
an  apparatus  for  distillation,  used  chiefly  by  the  alchemists, 
and  now  almost  entirely  superseded  by  the  retort  and  the 
worm-still.  It  varied  considerably  in  form  and  construc- 
tion, but  consisted  essentially  of  three  parts — a  vessel  con- 
taining the  material  to  be  distilled,  and  'Called,  from  its 
gourd  like  shape,  the  cucurbit ;  a  vessel  to  receive  and  con- 
dense the  vapour,  called  the  head  or  capital ;  and  a  receiver 
for  the  spirit,  connected  by  a  pipe  with  the  capital.  The 
entire  apparatus  was  sometimes  constructed  of  glass,  but 
as  this  rendered  it  very  expensive  and  brittle,  it  was  more 
usual  to  make  the  cucurbit  of  copper  or  earthenware,  and 
the  capital  alone  of  glass. 

ALEMTEJO  (Spanish  Alentejo),  a  province  of  Portu- 
gal, bounded  on  the  N.  by  Beira,  on  the  E.-'by  Spanish 
Estremadura  and  Andalusia,  on  the  S.  by  Algarve,  and  on 
the  W.  by  the  Atlantic  and  Portuguese  Estremadura.  It 
lies  between  37°  20'  and  39°  40'  N.  lat.,  and  6°  45'  and  8° 
53'  W.  long.,  and  has  an  area  of  10,225  square  miles. 
Alemtejo  is  traversed  by  several  mountain  ranges,  whose 
height  does  not  generally  rise  much  above  2000  feet,  though 
one  of  the  peaks  of  the  Sierra  de  Monchique  has  an  elevation 
of  4050  feet.  The  principal  rivers  are  the  Guadiana,  which, 
crossing  the  Spanish  frontier,  flows  southward  through  the 
province ;  and  the  Sado,  which  rises  in  the  Sierra  de  Mon- 
chique, and  flows  to  the  north.  Farther  northward  are  the 
Soro  and  the  Zatas,  tributaries  of  the  Tagus.  All  these 
rivers  receive  numerous  affluents."  There  are  several  exten- 
sive plains,  notably  that  of  Alemtejo,  the  largest  in  Portugal, 
lying  S.W.  from  the  mountains  of  Portalegre ;  and  that  of 
Ourique,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  province.  Some  por- 
tions of  these  plains  are  fruitful,  others  marshy,  while  large 
tracts  are  mere  desolate  wastes.  The  climate  in  the  lower 
parti.'  of  the  country  is  exceedingly  hot,  and  is  rendered 
unhealthy  in  summer  by  the  stagnant  marshes.  Towards 
the  Spanish  frontier  the  soil  is  fertile,  and  in  the  south 
the  country  i3  covered  by  extensive  forests  of  oak,  pine, 
chestnut,  cork,  and  holm,  especially  on  the  sides  of  the 
Sierras  de  Monchique  and  Caldeiraon.  In  the  more  fertile 
parca  of  the  province,  grapes,  figs,  citrons,  pomegranates, 
a-'.i\  other  fruits  are  produced.  Wheat,  maize,  and  rice  are 
iruayn,  and  some  attention  is  given  to  the  rearing  of  mules. 


asses,  goats,  cattle,  and  sheep.  Agriculture  is,  however,  in 
a  backward  state,  the  sparse  population  being  mostly  con* 
centrated  in  the  towns,  leaving  extensive  districts  unculti- 
vated and  almost  uninhabited,  Droves  of  swine  are  fed 
on  the  waste  lands,  growing  to  a  great  size,  and  affording 
excellent  hams.  Minerals  are  to  be  found  in  the  moun- 
tains, but  they  are  little  wrought.  Manufactures  scarcely 
exist,  being  confined  to  the  preparation  of  olive  oil  of 
particularly  good  quality,  and  the  making  of  earthenware, 
woollen  cloths,  and  leather.  For  administrative  purposes 
Alemtejo  is  divided  into  three  districts — Beja,  Evora,  and 
Portalegre;  and  it  contains  50  communal  divisions  and 
315  parishes.  The  chief  towns  are  Evora,  Portalegre, 
Elvas,  Beja,  Estamof,  and  Moura.  There  are  no  seaports 
of  importance  in  the  province.  Population  in  1868, 
332,237. 

ALENQON,  the-chief  town  of  the  French' department 
of  Orne,  situated  in  a  wide  and  fertile  plain,  on  the  Sarthe, 
close  to  its  confluence  with  the  Briante.  It  is  a  clean, 
regularly-built  town,  with  broad  handsome  streets.  It  is 
the  seat  of  a  bishop;  and  the  Gothic  church  of  Notre  Dame, 
called  the  cathedral,  is  a  fine  building  of  the  16th  century. 
The  only  remains  of  the  ancient  castle  of  Alencon  are 
three  towers  that  form  part  of  the  present  town-halL  The 
lace  known  as  "  point  d' Alencon  "  is  the  most  noted  manu- 
facture of  the  town,  although  of  late  years  its  importance 
has  somewhat  diminished.  Among  the  other  industries 
are  tanning,  spinning,  bleaching,  linen  manufacturing,  and 
cider-making.  The  cutting  of  quartz  crystals,  often  called 
Alencon  diamonds,  is  also  carried  on.  Alencon  was  a, 
plaoe  of  small  importance  when  it  was  handed  over  to  the 
Normans  by  Charles  the  Simple  in  the  beginning  of  the 
10th  century.  In  1025  it  became,  subject  to  the  De 
Belesmes,  counts  of  Alencon,  by  whom  it  was  enlarged, 
and  fortified.  It  was  ceded  to  King  Philip  Augustus  in 
1221  by  Alice,  the  .heiress  of  the  last  count.  The  duchy 
of  Alencon  was  created  about  the  end  of  the  14th  century, 
and  remained  with  the  original  family,  a  branch  of  the 
house  of  Valois,  until  the  middle  of  the  16th.  The  town 
was  repeatedly  taken  and  retaken  in  wars  with  Henry  V. 
and  Henry  VL  of  England,  and  also  in  the  time  of  the 
League.  In  the  war  between  France  and  Germany,  Alengon 
was  taken  by  the  Germans  under  the  Grand  Duke  of 
Mecklenburg  on' the  17th  of"  January  1871.  The  towns- 
people did  not  offer  much  resistance.  The  mayor  and 
municipality  were,  indeed,  in  favour  of  yielding^  without  a 
struggle ;  but  the  newly-appointed  prefect,  an  ultra-repub- 
lican, insisted  on  a  more  martial  policy.  A  feeble  skirmish 
took  place  outside  the  town  on  the  evening  of  the  16th  of 
January,  and  the  grand  duke  entered  on  the  following  morn- 
ing without  any  further  opposition.  The  Germans,  as  a 
punishment  for  the  previous  resistance,  imposed  on  the 
citizens  a  fine  of  300,000  francs,  besides  a  large  contribu- 
tion of  cattle,  corn,  and  other  provisions.  Population 
(1872),  16,037. 

ALENIO,  Giuxio,  a  missionary  of  the  Jesuit  order, 
born  at  Brescia  in  1582,  died  1 649.  He  became  a  member 
of  the  order  in  1 600,  and  arrived  at  Macao  as  a  propa- 
gandist in  1610.  For  upwards  of  thirty  years  he  laboured 
to  spread  Christianity  in  China,  adopting,  in  accordance  with 
the  principles  of  his  order,  the  dress  and  manners  of  the 
c6untry.  He  was  the  first  who  planted  the  faith  in  the 
province  of  Kiang-Si,  and  he  built  several  churches  in  the 
province  of  Fo-Kien.  He  composed  a  number  of  works  in 
thaChinese  language,  of  which  he  was  thoroughly  master,  the 
most  important  being  a  Life  of  Christ  and  a  Cosmography. 
■ALEPPO,  or  Haleb,  a  city  of  Syria,  capital  of  the 
Turkish  vilayet  of  the  same  name,  in  36°  12'  N.  lat,  37°  12' 
E.  long.,  70  niiles  E.  of  the  Mediterranean,  near  the  N.W. 
extremity  of  the  great  Syrian  desert      It  occupies  the  sit« 


478 


A  L  E—  A.  L  E 


of  the  ancient  Beroea,  and  is  a  plate  of  great  antiquity. 
After  the  destruction  of  Palmyra  it  speedily  became  the 
great  emporium  of  the  trade  between  the  Mediterranean 
and  the  countries  of  -the  East.  '  It  was  overwhelmed  by  the 
flood  of  Saracen  invasion  in  638;  and  in  1260,  and  again 
in  1401,  it  was  plundered  and  laid  waste  by  the  Tartars. 
It  finally  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Turks  in>  1517. 
To  the  east  of  the  modern  city  extensive  .remain?  of  its 
ancient  grandeur  have  been  discovered.- 

Aleppo  is  built  on  eight  low  hillocks,  and  is  encircled 
by  limestone  hills  of  greater  elevation,  while  beyond  these 
stretches  a  fertile  plain.  The  river  Koeik,  the  ancient 
Cfiaius,  flows  through  the  town,  and  loses  itself  in  a 
morass  18  miles  distant.  It  is  subjedt  to  floods  in  winter, 
when  it  overflows  its  banks,  and  inundates  the  neighbour- 
ing gardens.  The  city  is  surrounded  by  a  stone  wall,  40 
feet  high  and  3\  miles  in  circuit,  erected  by  the  Saracens. 
This  wall  is  flanked  by  frequent  towers,  but  the  ditch  is 
partially  choked  up;  and  the  city,  being  commanded  by 
the  adjacent  heights,  is  entirely  indefensible.  The  wall  is 
pierced  by  seven  gates,  which  are  known  by  different 
names.  Outside  the  city  there  are  large  irregular  suburbs, 
erected  after  the  great  earthquakes  of  1822  and  1830,  and 
increasing  the  circuit  of  the  place  to  7  miles.  The  city 
suffered  very  severely  by  the  earthquake  of  1822;  two- 
thirds  of  the  inhabitants  were  swallowed  up,  the  citadel 
and  many  of  the  mosques  were  overthrown,  and  a  great 
part  of  the  town  was  laid  in  ruins.  Before  the  occurrence 
of  these  disasters  Aleppo  was  the  fairest  and  cleanest  of 
Turkish  cities;  and  although  it  has  only  partially  recovered 
from  their  calamitous  effects,  it  has  still  an  attractive  ap- 
pearance, especially  when  the  white  minarets  of  its  nume- 
rous mosques,  and  its  houses,  picturesquely  plated  on  the 
terraces  of  the  hills,  are  viewed  from  a  distance.  The 
houses  are  built  of  freestone,  with  flat  roofs,  and  are  gene- 
rally of  two  or  three  storeys.  One  of  the  mosques,  that 
of  Zacharias,  is  held  in  peculiar  veneration  by  the  Moslem 
inhabitants.  A  new  citadel  has  been  erected  in  the  N.W. 
part  of  the  town;  and  besides  many  mosques,  warehouses, 
and  bazaars,  there  are  several  Christian  churches  and 
schools,  and  also  Turkish  schools,  libraries,  and  hospitals. 
Aleppo  is  the  seat  of  a  Greek  and  Armenian  patriarch, 
and  of  a  Maronite  bishop.  The  Mahometan,  the  Chris- 
tian, and  the  Jewish  portions  of  the  population  dwell  in 
separate  quarters  of  the  town.  Water  is  brought  to  the 
city  by  an  aqueduct  from  a  distance  of  8  miles,  and  sup- 
plies upwards  of  200  fountains,  massive  structures  stand- 
ing in  the  streets.  Among  the  chief  attractions  of  Aleppo 
are  its  gardens,  which  extend  continuously  for  about  12 
miles  S.E.  of  the  city.  They  are  watered  by  the  Koeik, 
and  produce  abundance  of  fruit  and  culinary  vegetables; 
but  their  most  celebrated  production  is  the  pistachio-nut, 
ii  is  regularly  cultivated 

Formerly  Aleppo  stood  "in  the  first  rank  among  the 
cities  of  Asia  Minor  as  a  place  of  trade;  and  it  is  still  the 
emporium  of  Northern  Syria,  and  has  extensive  commercial 
relations  with  Diarbekir  and  the  upper  parts  of  Anatolia, 
and  also  with  Mosul  and  Baghdad  Large  caravans  resort 
to  Aleppo  from  these  and  other  eastern  places,  and  the 
imported  foreign  goods  are  brought  by  caravans  from  the 
ports  of  Scanderoon  or  Alexandretta  and  Latakia.  The 
construction  of  a  carriage-road  between  Aleppo  and  Alex- 
andretta has  been  commenced,  but  no  progress  whatever 
was  made  with  it  during  1872.  Trade  is  conducted  in 
Aleppo  by  more  than  100  mercantile  houses,  several  of 
them  British;  but  no  commercial  bank  has  as  yet  been 
established  in  the  province.  The  principal  manufacture 
of  the  city  consists  of  various  kinds  of  cloth,  of  silk,  cotton, 
ar.d  wool,  some  flowered  and  striped,  others  woven  with 
gold  and  silver  thread.    These  cloths  have  long  been  famous 


throughout  the  East,  and  the  manufacture  of  them  employ* 
about  6400  looms. -A  large  amount  is  invested  in  the 
manufacture  of  carpets,  cloaks,  and  girdles.  There  are, 
besides,  numerous  soap,  dyeing,  and  print  works,  and  also 
rope-walks.  In  addition  to  cloths,  the  exports  include 
wheat,  sesame,  wool,  cotton,  oil,  scammony,  galls,  pistachio- 
nuts,  camels'  hair,  &c. ;  while  the  imports  chiefly  consist  of 
European  manufactured  goods  and  colonial  produce.  The 
aggregate  value  of  the  trade  of  the  province  exceeded 
JEl.500,000  in  1872 

The  air  of  Aleppo  is  dry  and  piercing,  but  not  insalu- 
brious. Tho  city,  however,  as  well  as  tho  environs,  is 
subject  to  a  singular  epidemic  disorder  called  tho  boil  of 
Aleppo.  It  attacks  the  inhabitants  chiefly  in  their  child- 
hood, and  the  ulcers,  which  last  for  a  year,  commonly 
break  out  on  the  face.  This  malady  is  seldoni  fatal,  and 
does  not  leave  any  hurtful  effects  except  the  scars,  by  which 
almost  all  the  inhabitants  are  disfigured  The  causes  of 
the  disease  have  not  been  discovered,  though  some  have 
Supposed  it  due  to  the  quality  of  the  water.  Aleppo  is 
also  subject  to  the  ravages  of  the  plague,  the  recurrence  of 
'  Which  is  anticipated  by  the  inhabitants  every  ten  years. 
Its  effects  are  rendered  the  more  deadly  by  tho  blind 
fatalism  of  the  Turks,  who  cannot  be  persuaded  to  take 
any  precautions  against  the  progress  of  this  dreadful  dis- 
ease. In  the  end  of  last  century  about  60,000  of  tho 
inhabitants  were  swept  off  by  one  visitation;  and  that  of 
1827  was  also  very  severe. 

By  the  visitations  of  the  plague,  the  earthquakes,  the 
cholera  of  1832,  and  the  oppression  of  the  Egyptians  while 
Syria  was  subject  to  Mehemet  Ali,  the  popidation  of 
Aleppo  has  been  much  reduced.  In  the  earlier  part  of  the 
century  the  inhabitants  numbered  over  200,000;  but  the 
population  is  now  estimated  at  less  than  100,000,  of  whom 
15,500  are  Christians,  4000  Jews,  and  the  remainder 
mostly  Mahometans.  Although  the  Christians  enjoy  tole- 
ration at  the  hands  of  the  Turkish  government,  they  have 
nevertheless  been  exposed  to  frequent  persecution  through 
the  jealousy  of  the  turbulent  Mahometan  population.  The 
tumults  of  1850  and  1862  occasioned  some  bloodshed,  and 
could  only  be  suppressed  by  force  of  arms.  In  the  former, 
property  to  the  amount  of  a  million  sterling  was  destroyed. 

ALES,  or  Aless  (Alesius),  Alexander,  a  celebrated 
divine  of  the  school  of  Augsburg,  was  born  at  Edinburgh 
on  the  23d  April  1500  (died  1565).  His  name  was  origi- 
nally Alane,  and  that  by  which  he  is  more  generally  known 
(derived  from  oAteuw)  was  assumed  by  him  when  he  went 
into  exile.  He  studied  at  St  Andrews  in  the  newly- 
founded  college  of  St  Leonards,  where  he  graduated  in 
1515.  Some  time  afterwards  he  was  appointed  a  canon  of 
the  collegiate  church,  and  in  this  office  ho  at  first  contended 
vigorously  for  the  scholastic  theology  as  against  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Reformers.  His  views  were  entirely  changed, 
however,  on  the  occasion  of  the  execution  of  Patrick 
Hamilton  in  1528.  Ho  had  been  chosen  to  meet  Hamil- 
ton in  controversy,  with  a  view  to  convincing  him  of  his 
errors,  but  the  arguments  of  the  Scottish  proto-martyr, 
and  above  all  the  spectacle  of  his  intrepid  conduct  at  the 
stake,  impressed  Alesius  so  powerfully  that  he  was  entirely 
won  over  to  the  cause  of  the  Reformers,  though  for  a  time 
he  did  not  make  the  fact"  known.  A  sermon  which  he 
preached  against  the  dissoluteness  of  the  clergy  gave  great 
offence  to  Prior  Hepburn,  who  cast  him  into  prison,  and 
might  have  carried  his  resentment. to  the  extrcmest  limit 
had  not  Alesius  contrived  to  escape  to  the  Continent  in 
1531.  After  travelling  in  various  countries  of  northern 
Europe,  he  settled  down  at  Wittenberg,  where  he  made 
the  acquaintance  of  Melancthon,  and  signed  the  Augsburg 
confession.  Meanwhile,  he  was  tried  in  Scotland  for 
heresy,  and  condemned  without  a  hearing.     In  1533  * 


ALE-ALE 


479 


decree  of  the  Scottish  clergy;"  prohibiting  the  reading  of 
the  New  Testament  by  the  laity,  drew  from  Alesius  an 
ably-argued  defence  of  the  right  of  the  people,  in  the  form 
of  a  letter  to  James  V.  A  reply  to  this  by  John  Coch- 
laeua,  also  addressed  to  the  Scottish  king,  occasioned  a 
second  letter  from  Alesius,  in  which  he  not  onlyrestates 
and  amplifies  his  argument  with  great  force  and  beauty  of 
style,  but  enters  at  some  length  into  more  general  questions 
connected  with  the  Reformation.  In  1535,  Henry  VIII. 
having  broken  with  the  Church  of  Rome,  Alesius  was 
induced  to  remove  to  England,  where  he  was  very  cor- 
dially received  by  the  king  and  his  advisers  Cranmer  and 
Cromwell.  After  a  short  residence  at  Lambeth  he  was 
appointed,  through  the  influence  of  Cromwell,  then  chan- 
cellor of  the  university,  to  lecture  on  theology  "at  Cam- 
bridge; but  when  he  had  delivered  a  few  expositions  of 
the  Hebrew  psalms,  he  was  compelled  by  the  opposition 
of  the  papal  party  to  desist.  Returning  to  London,  he  sup- 
ported himself  for  some  time  by  practising  as  a  physician. 
In  1537  he  attended  a  convocation  of  the  clergy,  and  at 
the  request  of  Cromwell,  the  president,  conducted  a  con- 
troversy with  Stokesley,  bishop  of  London,  on  tho  nature 
of  the  sacrament3.  His  argument,  which  was  marked  by 
great  ability,  was  afterwards  published  at  Leipsic.  In 
1539  Alesius  was  compelled  to  flee  for  the  second  time  to 
Germany,  in  consequence  of  the  enactment  of  the  perse- 
cuting statute  known  as  the  Six  Articles.  He  was  imme- 
diately chosen  to  fill  a  theological  chair  in  the  university 
of  Frankfort-on-the-Oder,  where  he  was  the  first  professor 
who  taught  the  Reformed  doctrines.  In  1543  he  quitted 
Frankfort  for  a  similar  position  at  Leipsic,  his  contention 
that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  civil  magistrate  to  punish  for- 
nication having  given  offence  to  some  of  the  authorities  of 
the  former  university.  At  Leipsic  Alesius  remained  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  on  the  17th  March  1565.  He 
enjoyed  the  intimate  friendship  of  Melancthon,  to  whom 
he  rendered  valuable  assistance  in  many  of  his  disputations 
with  the  Catholic  doctors. 

Alesius  was  the  author  of  a  large  number  of  exegetical,  dogmatic, 
and  polemical  works.  He  displayed  his  warm  interest  in  his  native 
land  by  the  publication  (1544)  of  a  Cohortatw  ad  Ccmcordiam  Pietatis, 
missa  in  Putnam  suam,  which  had  the  express  approval  of  Luther. 
In  1P0C  appeared  his  treatise,  De  Necessitate  et  Merilo  Borwrum 
Ope-wn.  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  synergistic  side  in  the 
controversy  on  good  works. 

ALESSANDRI,  Alessantro  {Alexander  ab  Alexandre*), 
a  learned  jurisconsult,  born  at  Naples  about  the  year  1461 
(died  1523).  He  studied  at  Naples  and  Rome,  and  after- 
wards practised  for  a  time  as  advocate  in  both  cities. 
At  Naples  he  is  said  to  have  been  royal  proto-notary  in 
1490.  Dissatisfied,  according  to  his  own  account,  with 
the  corrupt  administration  of  justice,  he  at  length  quitted 
the  bar,  and  devoted  himself  entirely  to  literary  pursuits, 
especially  to  the  study,  of  philology  and  antiquities.  '  A 
sinecure  appointment,  which  he  owed  to  the  favour  of  the 
pope,  enabled  him  to  lead  a  life  of  learned  leisure  at  Rome, 
where  he  died  on  the  2d  October  1523.  What  is  known 
of  his  biography  has  been  gathered  chiefly  from  detached 
statements  in  his  work  entitled  Dies  Geniales,  which 
appeared  at  Rome  in  1522,  and  is  constructed  after  the 
model  of  the  Nodes  Atiicw  of  Aulus  Gellius,  and  the 
Saturnalia  of  Macrobius.  The  work  consists  of  a  confused 
mass  of  heterogeneous  materials  relating  to  philology, 
antiquities, .  law,  dreams,  spectres,  &c,  and  shows  great 
credulity  and  want  of  judgment  on  the  part  of  its  author. 

ALESSANDRIA,  a  province  of  Italy,  in  the  former 
duchy  of  Piedmont,  bounded  on  the  N.  by  Novara,  on  the 
E.  by  Pavia,  on  the  S.  by  Genoa,  and  on  the  W.  by  Turin ; 
with  an  area  of  1951  square  miles.  There  are  no  hills  of 
much  elevation  in  the  province,  and  the  surface  generally 


is  flat.  .•  The  chief  rivers  are  the  Po,  the  Tanaro,  the  Belbo, 
the  Orba,  and  the  Bormida.  The  soil  is  fertile,  the  chief 
products  being  wheat,  maize,  wine,  silk,  madder,  hemp, 
flax,  and  fruit.  The  capital  is  Alessandria ;  population  of 
the  province  in  1871,  683,361. 

Alessandria,  a  city  of  Italy,  the  capital  of  tae  above 
province,  is  situated  in  a  marshy  district  near  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Tanaro  and  the  Bormida.  It  is  a  strongly 
fortified  place,  its  citadel,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Tanaro, 
being  one  of  the  most  important  in  Europe.  The  town 
itself,  which  lies  chiefly  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  is 
the  seat  of  a  bishop,  and  contains  a  cathedral  and  more 
than  a  dozen  other  churches,  besides  monasteries  and 
nunneries.  The  principal  manufactures  of  Alessandria 
are  silk,  linen,  and  woollen  goods,  stockings,  and  hats. 
Large  quantities  of  fruit  and  flowers  are  also  produced  in 
the  neighbourhood.  The  trade  of  the  city  is  extensive, 
and  there  are  two  important  fairs  held  every  year  that  are 
much  resorted  to  by  merchants  from  all  parts  of  Italy. 
Alessandria  was  built  in  1168  by  the  Lombard  League  as 
a  bulwark  against  Frederick  Barbarossa.  It  received  ita 
present  name  in  honour  of  Pope  Alexander  III.,  but  it 
was  also  called  Cesarea  for  a  time.  In  1174  it  was 
unsuccessfully  besieged  by  Frederick  Barbarossa,  who 
nicknamed  it  in  derision  Delia  Paglia,  i.e.  "of  straw." 
It  was  ceded  to  Savoy  by  the  peace  of  Utrecht  in  1713, 
after  having  belonged,  at  different  periods,  to  the  houses 
of  Montferrat  and  Milan.  Its  fortifications  were  greatly 
enlarged  and  strengthened  by  Bonaparte  during  the  French 
occupation,  which  lasted  from  1800  to  1814.  The  citadel 
of  Alessandria  was  taken  by  the  Austrians  after  the  battle 
of  Novara  in  1849.  Near  Alessandria  is  Marengo,  where 
Napoleon  defeated  the  Austrians  in  1800.  Inconsequence 
of  this  defeat  the  Austrians  concluded  the  armistice  of 
Alessandria,  ceding  all  Italy  north  of  the-  Mincio  to  the 
French.    Population  (1862),  27,027;  of  commune,  56,545. 

A  LESS  I,  Galeazzo  (1500-72),  a  distinguished  archi- 
tect, born  at  Perugia,  was  a  pupil  of  Caporali  and  a  friend 
of  Michael  Angelo.  He  was  an  enthusiastic  student  of 
ancient  architecture,  and  his  style  gained  for  him  a 
European  reputation.  Genoa  is  indebted  to  him  for  a 
number  of  its  most  magnificent  palaces,  and  specimens  of 
bis  skill  may  be  seen  in  the  churches  of  San-Paolo  and 
San-Vittoria  at  Milan,  in  certain  parts  of  the  Escurial, 
and  in  numerous  churches  and  palaces  throughout  Sicily, 
Flanders,  and  Germany. 

ALEUTIAN  ISLANDS,  so  called  from  the  Russian 
word  aleut,  signifying  a  bold  rock,  is  the  name  given  by 
the  Russian  discoverers  to  a  chain  of  small  islands  situated 
in  the  Northern  Pacific  Ocean,  and  extending  in  an  easterly 
direction  from  the  peninsula  of  Kamtchatka,  in  Asiatic- 
Russia,  to  the  promontory  of  Alaska,  in  North  America. 
This  archipelago  has  been  sometimes  divided  into  threo 
groups;  the  islands  nearest  Kamtchatka  being  properly 
called  Aleutia,  the  central  group  the  Andreanov  or  An- 
drenovian,  and  those  nearest  to  the  promontory  the 
Fox  Islands.  Thev  are  all  included  between  52°  and 
55°  N.  lat,  and  172°  E.  and  163°  W.  long.  The  Aleu- 
tian Islands  were  discovered  by  the  Russian  navigator 
Behring  in  1728,  and  were  carefully  explored  in  1760  by 
Captain  Krenitzin,  under  a  commission  from  the  Empres3 
Catherine.  During  his  third  and  last  voyage,  in  the  year 
1778,  Captain  Cook  surveyed  the  eastern  portion  of  th;- 
archipelago,  accurately  determined  the  positions  of  somo 
of  the  most  remarkable  islands,  and  corrected  many  errors 
of  former  navigators.  Subsequent  expeditions  of  tho 
Tiussians,  aided  by  the  settlement  of  fur  traders  on  tho 
islands,  as  well  as  on  the  neighbouring  coasts  of  the 
American  contineut,  have  afforded  further  information  aa 
to  this  remarkable  chain.     The  whole  of  the  islands  are 


180 


A  L  E  —  A  L  E 


bare  and  mountainous;  and  their  coasts  are  rocky  and 
BuiToundcd  by  breakers,  by  which  the  approach  is  rendered 
exceedingly  dangerous.  The  land  rises  immediately  from 
the  coasts  to  steep  bald  mountains,  gradual!}'  ascending 
;.ito  lofty  ranges  running  from  east  to  west.  Springs  take 
'heir  rise  at  the  bottom  of  the  mountains,  and  either  flow 
in  broad  and  rapid  streams  into  the  neighbouring  sea,  or, 
collecting  in  the  rocky  vales  and  gleus,  form  ample  lakes, 
which  send  off  their  superfluous  waters  by  natural  canals 


into  the  adjacent  bays.  These  islands  bear  evidciit  mark* 
ol  volcanic  formation,  and  several  of  them  have  still  active 
volcanoes,  which  continually  emit  smoke  and  sometimes 
flames.  The  most  important  group  of  the  chain  is  that 
called  the  Fox  Islauds,  of  which  tlio  largest  are  Uniinak 
and  Ounalaska,  both' near  the  western  extremity  of  Alaska. 
The  thin  argillaceous  soil  of  the  Aleutian  Islands  produces 
little  vegetation,  and  agriculture  is  almost  unknown.  The 
climate  is  subject  to  sudden  changes,  and  is  very  unfavoux- 


V 


ALEUTIAN  ISLANDS 

i     e      '     * 
\ 

•out»»t  \ 

IITCJ       Cjt 


■ »»' 


V. 


able  to  any  attempts  at  cultivation.  Few  trees  grow  on 
the  islands,  but  there  are  some  stunted  shrubs  of  birch, 
willow,  and  alder.  The  timber  required  for  building 
purposes  is  obtained  from  the  driftwood  thrown  on  the 
coasts.  The  principal  occupations  of  the  Aleutians  are 
fishing  and  hunting,'  and  the  preparation  of  the  imple- 
ments necessary  for  both.  Since  the  end  of  last  century 
the  fur  traders  have  had  settlements  here  for  the  capture 
of  the  seal  and  the  sea-otter,  which  are  found  in  great 
numbers  on  the  shores;  and  of  the  Arctic  fox,  which  roams 
over  the  islands.  Fish  are  abundant;  and  dogs  and  rein- 
deer are  common.  The  population  of  the  whole  group  is 
about  8000,  the  natives  being  a  kindred  race  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Kamtchatka.     They  are  described  as  rather  low 


in  stature,  but  plump  and  well-shaped,  with  short  ncckf. 
swarthy  faces,  black  eyes,  and  long  straight  black  hair. 
They  have  nominally  been  converted  to  Christianity  by) 
the  missionaries  of  the  Greek  Church,  but  are  said  to  be- 
unchaste-in  their  habits,  and  addicted  to  intemperance 
whenever  they  have  the  opportunity.  Until  1867  these 
islands  belonged  to  Russia,  but  they  were  included  in  the 
transfer  to  the  United  States  of  the  whole  Russian  posses- 
sions in  America  made  in  that  year.  They  now  form  part 
of  the  United  States  territory  of  Alaska.  (See  Alaska.) 
From  the  position  of  the  Aleutian  Islands,  stretching  like 
a  broken  bridge  from  Asia  to  America,  some  ethnologists 
have  supposed  that  by  means  of  them  America  was  first 
peopled. 


ALEXANDER   THE    GREAT 


ALEXANDER  OT.,  commonly  called  "The  Great,"  son 
of  Philip  II.,  king  of  Macedonia,  and  of  Olympias, 
daughter  of  the  Molossian  chief  Neoptolemus;  was  born  at 
Pclla,  356  b.o.  His  father  was  a  man  of  fearless  courage 
and  the  soundest  judgment ;  bis  mother  was  a  woman  of 
savage  energy  and  fierce  superstition.  Alexander  inherited 
the  qualities  of  both  his  parents,  and  the  result  was  the 
combination  of  a  boundless  ambition  with  the  most  sober 
practical  wisdom  The  child  grew  up  with  the  conscious- 
ness that  he  was  the  heir  of  a  king  whose  power  was 
rapidly  growing ;  ar.d  the  stories  told  of  him  attest  at  the 
least  the  early  awakening  of  a  mind  formed  in  the  mould 
of  the  heroes  of  mythical  Hellas.  Nay,  the  blood  of 
Achilles  was  flowing,  as  he  believed,  in  his  veins;  and 
the  flattery  of  his  Acarnauian  tutor  Lysimachus,  who 
addressed  hiin  as  the  son  of  Pelcms,  may  have  strengthened 
his  love  of  the  immortal  poems  which  told  the  story  of 
that  fiery  warrior.  By  another  tutor,  the  Molossian 
Leonida3,  his  vehement  impulses  were  checked  by  a 
wholesome  discipline.  But  the  genius  of  Alexander,  the 
greatest  of  military  conquerors,  was  moulded  in  a  far 
greater  degree  by  that  of  Aristotle,  the  greatest  conqueror 
in  the  world  of  thought  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  became 
for  three  years  the  pupil  of  a  man  who  had  examined  the 
political  constitutions  of  a  crowd  of  states,  and  who  had 
brought  together  a  vast  mass  of  facts  and  observations  for 


the  systematic  cultivation  of  physical  science.  Dump  , 
these  three  years  the  boy  awoke  to  the  knowledge  that  a 
wonderful  world  lay  before  him,  of  which  he  had  seen 
little,  and  threw  himself  eagerly,  it  u  said,  into  the  ln.sk 
of  gathering  at  any  cost  a  collection  for  the  study  of 
natural  history.  While  his  mind  was  thus  urged  in  one 
direction,  he  listened  to  stories  which  told  him  oi  the 
great  quarrel  still  to  be  fought  out  between  the  East  and 
the  West,  and  learnt  to  look  upon  himself  as  the  champion 
of  Hellas  against  the  barbarian  despot  of  StlSfl. 

The  future  conqueror  was  sixteen  years  of  age  when  he 
was  left  at  home  as  regent  while  his  father  besieged 
Byzantium  aud  Perinthus.  Two  years  later  the  alb'ance  of 
Thebes  and  Athens  was  wrecked  on  the  fatal  field  of 
Chaeronea,  where  Alexander,  now  eighteen  years  of  age,  en- 
countered and  overcame  the  Sacred  Band  which  had  been 
foremost  in  the  victories  of  Leuctra  and  Mautinea  (see  Epa- 
minoxdas);  but  the  prospects  of  Alexander  himself  became 
now  for  a  time  dark  and  uncertain.  Philip  had  divorced 
Olympias  and  married  Cleopatra,  the  daughter  of  Attains. 
This  act  roused  the  wrath  not  only  of  Olympias,  but  of  her 
son,  who  with  her  took  refuge  in  Epirus.  Cleopatra 
became  the  mother  of  a  son.  Her  father,  Attalus,  rose 
higher  in  the  king's  favour,  and  not  a  few  of  Alexander's 
friends  were  banished.  But  the  fends  in  his  '.amily  were 
subjects  of  serious  thought  for   Philip,   who  sought  to 


ALEXANDER     THE    GREAT 


481 


counteract  their  ill  effects  by  a  marriage  between  hi'3 
daughter  and  her  uncle,  the  Epirot  king  Alexander,  the 
brother  of  Olympias.  The  marriage  feast  was  celebrated 
at  iEgae.  Clothed  in  a  white  robe,  and  walking  purposely 
apart  from  his  guards,  Philip  was  approaching  the  theatre 
when  he  was  struck  down  by  the  dagger  of  Pausanias. 

It  is  certain  that  Alexander,  if  he  mourned  his  father's 
death  at  all,  deplored  it  only  as  involving  himself  in 
political  difficulties ;  but  he  took  care  to  act  as  if  he  were 
grieved  by  it,  and  he  revenged  it,  we  are  told,  by  putting 
out  of  the  way  some  whose  claims  or  designs  might  clash 
with  his  own.  The  Greeks  of  Thebe3  and  Athens  knew 
little  what  sort  of  man  had  taken  the  place  of  Philip. 
Demosthenes,  who,  although  he  was  mourning  for  the 
death  of  his  own  daughter,  appeared  in  festal  attire  to 
announce  the  death  of  the  Macedonian  king,  held  up 
Alexander  to  ridicule  as  a  bragging  and  senseless  Margites. 
But  they  had  to  reckon  with  one  who  could  swoop  on  his 
prey  with  the  swiftness  of  the  eagle.  Barely  two  months 
had  passed  from  the  death  of  his  father  before  the  youth 
of  twenty  years  Btood  with  his  army  on  the  plains  of 
Thessaly.  The  argument  of  the  Macedonian  phalanx  was 
cot  to  be  resisted.  The  Thessalians  recognised  him  as  the 
Eegemdn  or  leader  of  the  Greeks ;  and  the  young  king ' 
passed  on  to  Thebes,  the  citadel  of  which  had  been  held 
by  a  Macedonian  garrison  since  the  fight  at  Choeronea. 
Thence  he  took  himself  across  the  isthmus  to  Corinth. 
Here  he  was  met  by  Athenian  envoys,  who  brought  him 
apologies  more  abject  and  honours  more  extravagant  than 
any  which  had  been  paid  to  his  father.  He  received  them 
in  an  assembly,  from  which  he  demanded  and  obtained 
the  title  of  supreme  leader  of  the  Hellenic  armies,  and  to 
,which  he  guaranteed,  at  the  utmost  with  a  feigned  reluc- 
tance, the  autonomy  or  independence  of  every  Hellenic 
city.  No  one  knew  better  than  Alexander  that  from  the 
whole  armoury  of  weapons  which  might  be  employed  to 
reduce  Greeks  to  slavery,  none  could  more  effectually  do 
his  work  than  a  theory  of  freedom  which  meant  dissension, 
and  of  self-government  which  meant  endless  feud,  faction, 
and  war. 

Alexander  was  now  eager  to  carry  out  his  great  design 
against  Persia ;  but  he  could  not  do  so  with  safety  until 
he  had  struck  a  wholesome  terror  of  his  power  into  the 
mountain  tribes  which  hemmed  in  his  dominions.  His 
blows  descended  swiftly  and  surely  on  the  Thracians  of 
Mount  Hsmus  {the  Balkan),  on  the  Triballians,  and  on 
Borne  clans  of  Getae,  whom  he  crossed  the  Danube  to 
attack.  But  these  expeditions  led  him  away  from  the 
world  of  the  Greeks.  Silence  led  to  rumours  of  his  defeat, 
and  the  rumours  of  defeat  were  followed  by  more  confident 
assertions  of  his  death.  At  Thebes  and  at  Athens  the 
tidings  were  received  by  some  with  eager  belief.  The 
covenant-  made  with  Alexander  was  made  only  with  him 
personally.  The  Theban  exiles  at  Athens  were  anxious  to 
repeat  the  attempt  which  half  a  century  earlier  had  been 
made  against  the  Spartan  garrison  of  the  Cadmea  by 
Pelopidas.  With  help  in  arms  and  money  from  Demos- 
thenes and  other  Athenians,  they  entered  Thebes,  and 
summoned  the  Macedonian  garrison  to  surrender.  The 
answer  was  a  blunt  refusal,  and  a  double  line  of  circum- 
vallation  was  drawn  around  the  citadel,  while  envoys  were 
sent  to  call  forth  aid  from  every  quarter ;  but  these  efforts 
could  not  affect  the  issue.  The  belief  in  Alexander's 
death  wa3  to  be  dispelled,  by  no  gradual  reports  cf  his 
escape  from  the  barbarians,  but  by  his  own  sudden 
appearance  at  the  Boeotian  Onchestus.  He  had  just  de- 
feated the  Illyrians  when  he  heard  of  the  revolt,  and  he 
determined  to  smite  the  rebels  without  turning  aside  to 
takg  even  a  day's  rest  at  Fella.  In  little  more  than  a 
fortnight  his  army  was  encamped  on  the  southern  side  of 


Thebes,  thus  cutting  off  all  chances  of  aid  from  Athens. 
It  was  his  wish  to  avoid  an  assaidt,  and  he  contented 
himself  with  demanding  the  surrender  of  two  only  of  the 
anti-Macedonian   leaders.      The   citizens   generally  were 
anxious  to  submit,  but  the  exiles  felt  or  feared  themselves 
to  be  too  deeply  committed ;  and  the  answer  took  tba 
form  of  a  defiance,  accompanied  by  a  demand  for  the 
surrender  of  Antipatcr  and  Pbilotas.      They  had  scaled 
their  own  doom.     Personal  bravery  was  of  no  use  against 
the  discipline,  the  numbers,  and  the  engines  of  the  enemy. 
The  defenders  were  driven  back  into  the  city ;  the  invaders 
burst  in  with  them  ;  and  the  slaughter  which  followed  was 
by  no  means  inflicted  by  the  Macedonians  alone.     The 
Platosans,  Thespians,  and  Orchomcnians  felt  that  they  had 
old  scores  to  settle.     To  these  and  to  the  rest  of  his  Greek 
allies  Alexander  submitted' the  fate  of  the  city.     The 
sentence  was  promptly  pronounced.     The  measure  which 
the  Thebans  had  dealt  to  Plataese,  and  would  have  dealt 
to  Athens,  should  now  bo  dealt  out  to  themselves.     The 
whole  town  was  razed  to  tho  ground,  the  house  of  the 
poet  Pindar  being  alone  spared  from  demolition,  and  his 
descendants  alone  allowed  to  retain  their  freedom.     Alex- 
ander had  gained  his  end.     The  spirit  of  the  Greeks  was 
crushed;   a  great  city  was  blotted  out,  and  the  worship 
of  its  gods  was  ended  with  its  ruin.     These  gods,  it  was 
believed,  would  in  due  time  take  vengeance  on  the  con- 
queror ;   but  for  the  present  the  only  hindrance  to  his 
enterprise  was  removed  from  his  path.     Without  turning 
aside  to  Athens,  he  went  on  to  Corinth  to  receive  tho 
adulations  of  the  independent  Greeks,  and  to  find,  it  is 
said,  a  less  courtly  speaker  in  the  cynic  Diogenes. .    From 
Corinth  he  returned  to  Macedonia,  having  left  Greece  for 
the  last  time. 

Six  months  later  he  set  off  from  Pclla,  crossed  the  Helles- 
pont at  Sestus,  to  appease  at  Ilium  by  a  costly  sacrifice  the 
wrath  of  the  luckless  rriam ;  and  then  marched  on,  with  not 
more  perhaps  than  30,000  infantry  and  4000  cavalry,  and 
with  a  treasure-chest  almost  empty,  to  destroy  the  monarchy 
of  Cyrus.  With  liim  went  men  who  were  to  be  linked  with, 
the  memory  of  his  worst  crimes  and  of  his  most  astonishing 
triumphs — Clitus,  Hephxstion,  Eumenes,  Seleucus,  Ptcw 
lemy  the  son  of  Lagos, and  Parmenionrwith  his  sons  Philotad 
and  Nicanor.  The  effects  of  Macedonian  discipline  were  to 
be  seen  at  once  on  the  banks  of  the  Granicus,  a  little  stream 
flowing  to  the  Propontis  from  the  slopes  of  Ida.  Losing,  ill 
is  said,  only  60  of  his  cavalry  and  30  of  his  infantry,  he 
annihilated  the  Persian  force,  2000  out  of  20,000  foot 
soldiers  being  taken  prisoners,  and  nearly  all  the  rest  slain. 
The  terror  of  his  name  did  his  work  as  he  marched  south- 
wards. The  citadel  of  Sardis  might  with  ease  have  beep 
held  against  him  :  before  he  came  within  eight  niileo  of  thj 
city,  the  governor  hastened  to  surrender  it  with  all  it3 
treasure.  At  Ephesus  he  found  the  city  abandoned  by  its 
garrison.  Miletus  he  carried  by  storm.  Before  Hali- 
carnassus  he  encountered  a  more  obstinate  resistance  from 
the  Athenian  Ephialtes  ;  but  the  generalship  of  the  latter, 
was  of  no  avail  Alexander  entered  Halicarnassus,  and 
the  Rhodian  Memnon  remained  shut  up  in  the  citadel.' 
Leaving  Ptolemy  with  1000  men  to  blockade  it,  he  spent 
the  winter  in  conquering  Lycia,  Pamphylia,  and  Pisidia, 
ending  his  campaign  at  Gordium,  on  the  river  Sangarius. 
Here  was  preserved  the  ancient  waggon  of  Gordius,  tho 
mythical  Phrygian  king.  •  Whoever  could  untie  the  knot, 
curiously  twisted  with  fibres  of  the  cornel  tree,  which 
fastened"its  pole  to  the  yoke,  was,  so  tho  story  ran,  to  bo 
lord  of  Asia.  Alexander,  as  much  at  a  loss  as  others  to 
unloose  it,  cut  it  with  his  sword ;  but  the  prophecy  was 
none  the  less  held  to  be  fulfilled.  H  he  was  thus  favoured 
by  sentiment,  he  was  still  more  favoured  by- the  infatuation 
which  led  Darius  to  abandon  the  policy  of  defence  by  sea 


3-17 


482 


A  L  E  X  A  N  D  E  II     THE     GREAT 


for  offensive  warforo  by  land.  From  all  parts  of  his  vast 
cmpiro  was  gathered  a  host,  numbering,  as  some  eaid, 
600,000  men  ;  and  the  despot  was  as  much  elated  at  the 
eight  as  Xerxes,  when  he  looked  down  on  his  motley  multi- 
tudes at  Doriscus.  Like  Xerxes  he  had  one  (the  Athenian 
Charidemus)  by  his  side  to  warn  him  that  Asiatic  myriads 
were  not  to  be  trusted  in  an  encounter  with  the  disciplined 
thousands  of  Ak"<r.nder;  but  he  lacked  the  generosity 
which  made  Xerxes  dismiss  Demaratus  with  a  smile  for 
liU  good-will.  Darius  seized  the  e.rile  with  his  own  hand, 
and  gave  him  over  to  the  executioner.  "  My  avenger," 
eaid  C  :  S  "  will  soon  teach  you  that  I  have  spoken 

the  truth."  The  Persian  acted  as  though  he  wished  to 
bring  about  the  speediest  fulfilment  of  the  prediction. 
The  Greek  mercenaries  were  withdrawn  from  the  fleet  to 
be  added  to  the  land  forces ;  but  although  a  hundred  of 
those  could  have  effectually  barred  the  passage  of  Alex- 
ander across  the  range  of  Taurus,  and  the  passes  of  the 
Amanian,  Cilician,  and  Assyrian  gates,  the  invader  was 
suffered  to  cross  these  defiles  without  the  loss  of  a  man. 
Nay,  so  great  was  the  contempt  of  Darius  for  the  few 
thousands  of  the  enemy,  that  he  wished  to  give  them  a  freo 
path  until  they  reached  the  plain  from  which  he  would 
sweep  them  away.  But  he  could  not  wait  patiently  for 
them  in  his  position  to  the  east  of  the  Amanian  range. 
'Alexander  had  been  ill,  and  he  had  work  to  do  in  subju- 
gating western  Cilicia.  When  at  length  he  set  out  on 
his  march  to  the  southern  Amanian  pass,  Darius,  with  his 
unwieldy  train,  crossed  the  northern  pass,  and  entered 
Issus  two  days  after  Alexander  had  left  it.  He  had  placed 
himself  in  a  trap.  In  a  space  barely  more  than  a  mile  and 
a  half  in  width,  hemmed  in  by  the  mountains  on  the  one 
6ide  and  the  sea  on  the  other,  Darius,  in  his  royal  chariot, 
in  the  midst  of  multitudes  who  had  scarcely  room  to  move, 
awaited  the  attack  of  Alexander,  who  fell  suddenly  on  his 
right  wing.  The  first  onset  was  enough.  The  Persians 
broke  and  fled.  Darius,  thinking  himself  in  danger,  fled 
among  the  foremost.  The  Persian  centre  behaved  well ; 
but  it  mattered  little  now  what  they  might  do.  Even  the 
Greek  mercenaries  were  pushed  back  and  scattered.  Four 
thousand  talents  filled  the  treasure-chest  of  the  conqueror, 
and  the  wife,  mother,  and  son  of  Darius,  appearing  before 
him  as  prisoners,  were  told  that  they  should  retain  their 
royal  titles,  hi3  enterprise  being  directed,  not  against  Darius 
personally,  but  to  the  issue  which  was  to  determine  whether 
he  or  Alexander  should  be  lord  of  Asia. 

The  true  value  of  armed  Asiatic  hordes  was  now  as  clear 
[to  all  as  the  sun  at  noonday.  Parmenion  advanced  to 
attack  Damascus,  but  he  needed  not  to  strike  a  blow. 
The  governor  allowed  the  treasure  in  his  charge  to  fall 
into  his  hands,  and  then  surrendered  the  city.  Alexander 
himself  marched  southward  to  Phoenicia.  At  Marathus 
he  replied  to  a  letter  in  which  Darius  demanded  the 
restoration  of  his  family  and  reproached  him  for  his 
wanton  aggression.  His  answer  repeated  what  he  had 
already  said  to  his  wife,  adding  that,  if  he  WTOte  again, 
Darius  must  address  him,  not  as  his  equal,  but  as  his  lord. 
"  I  am  now  master  of  Asia,"  he  wrote,  "  and  if  you  will 
not  own  me  as  such,  I  shall  treat  you  as  an  evil-doer.  If 
you  wish  to  debate  the  point,  do  so  like  a  man  on  the 
battlefield.  I  shall  take  care  to  find  you  wherever  you 
may  be."  The  island  city  of  Aradus  was  surrendered  on 
his  approach.  Sidon  opened  her  gates.  From  the  Tynans 
he  received  a  submission  which  demurred  only  to  his 
entering  their  city.  A  siege  of  seven  months  ended  in  its 
fall ;  and  Alexauder  hanged  2000  of  the  citizens,  it  is  said, 
on  the  sea-shore.  The  survivors,  with  the  women  and 
children,  were  sold  as  slaves.  Before  the  catastrophe  of 
the  great  Phoenician  city  he  had  received  a  second  letter,  in 
xhich  Darius  offered  him  his  daughter  in  marriage,  to- 


gether with  the  cession  of  all  lands  to  the  west  of  the 
Euphrates.  "  Wero  I  Alexander,"  said  Parmenion  (if  we 
may  believe  the  story),  "  I  should  take  these  terms,  and 
run  no  further  risk."  "  So  should  I,"  answered  Alexander, 
"  if  I  wero  Parmenion  ;  but  as  I  am  Alexander,  I  cannot." 
"  You  offer  me,"  he  wrote  accordingly  to  Darius,  "  part  of 
your  possession,  when  I  am  lord  of  all.  U  I  choose  to 
many  your  daughter,  I  will  do  so  whether  you  like  it  or 
not."  Darius  sent  no  more  letters.  The  issue,  he  saw, 
must  be  determined  by  the  sword.  For  the  present  he 
was  left  to  himself.  Alexander's  face  was  turned  towards 
Egypt.  Gaza  dared  to  resist ;  but  a  siege  of  two  months 
was  followed  by  a  ruin  as  complete  as  that  of  Tyre.  From 
Gaza  a  march  of  seveu  days  brought  him  to  Pelusium. 
The  Persian  governor  opened  its  gates  to  receive  him ;  and 
the  Egyptians  expressed  their  delight  at  exchanging  a 
Persian  for  a  Macedonian  master.  Marching  in  triumph 
to  Memphis,  he  offered  solemn  sacrifice  to  the  calf-god 
Apis ;  and  then,  with  the  true  instinct  of  the  ruler  and  the 
statesman,  he  hastened  to  found  for  his  new  kingdom  a 
new  capital,  which,  after  more  than  two  millenniums, 
remains  a  highway  for  the  commerce  of  three  continents. 

Success  thus  unparalleled  was,  it  would  seem,  already 
producing  its  effects  upon  him.  Calmly  reviewing  tlio 
course  of  his  march  from  Sestus  and  Ilium  to  Memphis,  ho 
could  explain  it  only  on  the  supposition  that  he  was  no 
child  of  a  human  father,  and  he  determined  to  obtain  from 
the  oracle  of  Ammon,  in  the  Libyan  Oasis,  a  solution  of 
this  mystery.  The  response  greeted  him  as  the  son,  not 
of  Philip,  but  of  Zeus;  and  he  returned,  it  is  said,  with 
the  conviction  that  the  divine  honours  paid  to  Hercules  331  d.C 
and  Perseus  were  his  own  by  indubitable  right.  March- 
ing back  through  Phoenicia,  he  hastened  to  Thapsacus, 
and  then  crossed  the  Euphrates.  Thence  turning  north- 
wards, he  made  a  sweep  which  brought  him  to  the  Tigris 
below  Nineveh  (Mosul),  and  there,  without  opposition, 
crossed  a  stream  where  the  resistance  of  a  few  hundreds 
might  have  destroyed  his  army.  After  a  few  days'  march 
to  the  south-east,  he  received  the  news  that  Darius,  with  all 
his  host,  was  close  at  hand.  Still  convinced  that  mere 
numbers  must,  with  ample  space,  decide  the  issue  of  any 
fight,  and  attributing  his  defeat  at  Issos  only  to  the  cramped 
position  of  his  troops,  he  had  gathered  a  vast  horde,  which 
some  represent  as  more  than  a  million,  on  the  broad  plain 
stretching  from  Gaugamela  eastwards  to  Arbela.  His 
hopes  were  further  raised  by  changes  made  in  the  weapons 
of  his  troops,  and  more  especially  in  the  array  of  his  war- 
chariots.  For  the  Macedonians  it  is  enough  to  say  that 
they  were  led  by  a  man  whose  consummate  generalship 
had  never  shone  more  conspicuously  than  in  the  cautious 
arrangements  which  preceded  the  battle  of  Arbela,  or 
rather  of  Gaugamela.  All  went  as  he  had  anticipated.  As 
at  Issus,  Darius  fled ;  and  the  bravery  and  even  gallantry 
of  the  Persians  opposed  to  Parmenion  were  of  no  avail 
when  the  main  body  had  hurried  away  after  the  king. 
So  ended  the  last  bf  the  three  great  battles  (if  such  they 
may  bo  termed)  which  sufficed  to  destroy  the  Persian 
empire,  or  rather  to  make  Alexander  king  of  Persia ;  and 
so  ended  the  first  act  in  the  great  drama  of  his  life. 

The  victory  of  Gaugamela  opened  for  the  conqueror  the 
gates  of  Babylon  and  Susa.  The  treasures  found  in  the 
former  furnished  an  ample  donation  for  all  his  men  :  those 
of  Susa  amounted,  it  is  said,  to  nearly  twelve  millions  of 
pounds  sterling.  The  Persian  king  had  wasted  men  on 
the  battlefield ;  he  had  hoarded  coin  which,  freely  spent 
in  getting  up  a  Greek  army  under  Greek  generals,  might 
have  rendered-  the  enterprise  of  Alexander  impossible. 
From  Susa  the  conqueror  turned  his  face  towards  Per- 
sepolis,  the  ancient  capital  of  Cyras.  Before  him  lay  the 
fortresses  of  the  Uxii,  to  whom  the  Persian  monarchs  had 


ALFXANDFR    THE    GREAT 


483 


Oeen  accustomed  to  pay  tribute  when  they  went  from 
.he  one  capital  of  their  kingdom  to  the  other.  The  same 
demand  was  now  made  of  Alexander,  who  told  them  to 
;ome  to  the  pass  and  take  it,  and  then,  following  a  new 
track  which  had  been  pointed  out  to  him,  descended  on 
their  Tillages,  and  taught  them  that  they  had  now  to  deal 
with  a  sovereign  of  another  kind.  With  Persepolis,  Pasar- 
gads,  the  city  containing  the  tomb  of  Cyrus,  opened  its 
gates  to  receive  the  avenger  of  the  iniquities  of  Xerxes.  As 
Inch',  he  determined  to  inflict  on  Darius  a  signal  punish- 
fnent.  Five  thousand  camels  and  a  crowd  of  mules  bore 
«way  the  treasure,  amounting,  it  is  said,  to  nearly  thirty 
millions  of  pounds  sterling,  and  then  the  citadel  was  set 
pn  fire.  The  men  in  the  city  were  killed,  the  women 
uade  slaves. 

For  a  month  Alexander  allowed  his  main  army  to  rest 
flear  Persepolis  y  for  himself  there  could  be  no  repose. 
With  his  cavalry  he  overran,  and,  in  spite  of  the  rigours  of 
winter,  subdued,  the  whole  region  of  Farsistan.  Then  re- 
turning to  Persepolis,  he  set  forth  on  his  march  to  Media, 
where  the  fugitive  king  had  hoped  to  be  safe  from  his 
pursuit  Darius  had  left  Agbatana  (Ecbatana)  eight  days 
before  his  pursuer  could  reach  it.  In  this  ancient  fastness 
of  the  Median  and  Persian  sovereigns  Alexander  deposited 
his  treasures,  exceeding,  we  are  told,  forty  millions  sterling 
in  amount,  under  the  charge  .of  a  strong  Macedonian 
garrison  headed  by  Parmenion.  He  then  hastened  on 
towards  the  Caspian  gates,  and  learnt,  when  he  had  passed 
them,  that  Dariu3  had  been  dethroned,  and  was.  now  the 
prisoner  of  the  Bactrian  satrap  Bessus.  The  tidings  made 
Alexander  still  more  eager  to  seize  him.  His  efforts  were 
so  far  successful  that  Bessus  felt  escape  to  be  hopeless  unless 
Darius  could  be  made  to  leave  his  chariot  and  fly  on  horse- 
back. He  refused  to  obey,  and  was  left  behind,  mortally 
wounded.    Before  Alexander  could  reach  him,  he  was  dead. 

The  conqueror  now  regarded,  or  professed  to  regard, 
himself  as  the  legitimate  heir  and  successor  of  Xerxes.  His 
course  of  conquest  was  still  unbroken ;  but  successful 
forays  against  the  Mardians  on  the  northern  slopes  of 
Mount  Elburz,  against  the  Arians  of  the  modern  Herat,  and 
the  Drangians  of  the  present  Seistan,  were  followed  by  an 
exploit  of  another  sort.  He  had  heard  that  a  conspiracy 
against  himself  had  been  revealed  to  Philotas,  who  for  two 
days  had  kept  the  secret  to  himself. '  On  being  asked  why 
he  had  done  this,  Philotas  answered  that  the  information 
came  from  a  worthless  source  and  deserved  no  notice._ 
Alexander  professed  himself  satisfied  with  the  explanation; 
lut  Philotas,  it  seems,  had  spoken  freely  to  his  mistress 
Antigone  of  the  large  share  which  he  and  his  father  had 
bad  in  the  conquests  of  Alexander,  and  Antigone  had  in 
her  turn  become  an  informer.  Of  real  evidence  against 
Philotas  there  was  none  ;  and  a  letter  from  Parmenion  to 
his  sons,  found  when  Philotas  was  treacherously  arrested, 
could  tell  against  them  only,  in  the  eyes  of  one  who  was 
resolved  that  Philotas  should  die.  But  Alexander  could 
not  rest  content  with  his  death  alone.  There  had  been 
nothing  yet,  even  in  the  way  of  shadowy  slander,  to 
criminate  Parmenion,  and  he  resolved  that  the  needful 
charges  should  be  drawn  by  tortures  from  his  son.  Hidden 
by  a  curtain,  the  conqueror  of  the  world  watched  the 
agonies  and  scoffed  at  the  screams  of  the  friend  who  had 
fought  by  his  side  in  a  hundred  fights.  The  issue  was,  or 
was  said  to  be,  what  he  desired.  Philotas  had  confessed  ; 
and  Alexander  sent  off  to  Ecbatana  a  man  bearing  two 
despatches,  one  to  cheat  Parmenion  into  a  false  security, 
the  other  carrying  to  the  officers  next  to  him  in  command 
the  real  order  for  his  assassination.  The  old  man  was 
reading  the  lying  letter  of  the  despot  when  he  received  a 
mortal  stab  in  bis  back.  The  soldiers,  on  hearing  of  what 
Hod  been  clone  furiously  demanded  the  surrender  of  the 


murderers,  and  were  with  difficulty  withheld  from  taking 
summary  vengeance  on  seeing  the  written  orders  of 
Alexander.  The  command  of  Philotas,  who  had  been  at 
the  head  of  the  companion-cavalry,  was  shared  between 
Clitus  and  Hephasstion ;  and  Alexander  turned  from 
private  murder  to  public  war.  The  autumn  and  wintei 
were  spent  in  overrunning  parts  of  the  modern  Afghanistan 
and  Cabul,  in  the  formation  of  the  Caucasian  Alexandria, 
and  in  the  passage  of  the  Ilindu-Kush.  He  was  now  in 
the  satrapy  of  Bessus.  The  surrender  of  Aornus  and 
Bactra  was  followed  by  the  passage  of  the  Oxus  and  by 
the  betrayal  of  Bessus,  who  was  sent  naked  and  in  chains 
to  the  city  which  had  been  his  capital.  His  next  exploit 
(there  is  but  slender  ground  for  calling  it  into  question) 
was  the  slaughter,  in  Sogdiana,  of  the  descendants  of  the 
Milesian  Branchida?,  who,  having  incurred  the  hatred  of 
their  fellow  Greeks  by  surrendering  to  Xerxes  the  treasures 
of  their  temple,  had  followed  the  despot  on  his  retreat,  and 
by  him  had  been  placed  in  these  distant  regions.  Five 
generations  had  passed  away  since  that  time,  when  Alex- 
ander gave  the  order  that  not  one  of  them,  man,  woman, 
or  child,  should  be  left  alive.  From  the  ruined  city,  by 
way  of  Maracanda  {Samarkand),  he  reached  the  Jaxartes 
(which  he  believed  to  be  the  Tanais  or  Don),  and  having 
laid  on  its  banks  the  foundation  of  another  Alexandria,  ho 
crossed  the  river  to  chase  some  Scythians  who  had  shown 
themselves  on  the  further  side.  The  end  of  this  chase 
marked  the  northernmost  point  reached  in  his  campaigns. 
The  winter  was  spent  in  the  Bactrian  city  of  Zariaspa,  329-38? 
where  Alexander,  summoning  Bessus  before  him,  had  his  B-c- 
nose  and  ears  cut  off,  and  then  sent  him  to  be  killed  by 
his  countrymen  at  Ecbatana. 

In  the  following  summer  his  army  was  gathered  again 
at  Maracanda.  Repose  from  field-work  left  room  fon  the 
display  of  the  overbearing  pride  to  be  expected  from  one 
who  had  convinced  himself  that  he  was  a  god,  and  for  the 
boundless  flattery  of  those  who  found  their  interest  in 
keeping  up  the  delusion.  But  there  were  not  wanting 
others  to  whom  this  arrogance  and  servility  were  intensely 
disgusting,  and  whose  anger  was  the  more  fierce  from  the 
necessity  of  avoiding  all  open  expression  of  it ;  and  in  the 
banquets  of  the  divine  son  of  Ammon  there  was  always  a 
risk  that  these  pent-up  feelings  might  burst  forth  like  a 
winter  torrent.  The  catastrophe  was  not  long  in  coming. 
In  a  feast  at  Maracanda,  Alexander,  boasting  of  all  that  he 
had  done  since  the  death  of  his  father,  took  credit  further 
for  the  victories  of  Philip  in  the  later  years  of  his  reign. 
The  patience  of  Clitus  had  long  been  severely  taxed,  and 
in  the  heat  of  the  revel  all  thought  of  prudence  was  cast 
aside.  He  spoke  his  mind  plainly,  telling  Alexander  that 
all  his  exploits  taken  together  were  not  equal  to  those  of 
the  man  who  had  found  Macedonia  a  poor  and  distracted 
country,  and  had  left  it  a  mighty  and  coherent  state  ;  and 
that  his  own  greatest  victories  had  been  won  through  the 
aid  of  Philip's  old  soldiers,  some  of  whom  he  had  murdered. 
Stung  to  the  quick,  Alexander  gave  utterance  to  his  rage  ; 
but  his  retort  only  led  Clitus  to  remind  him  of  the  battle- 
field of  the  Granicus,  where  he  had  saved  him  from  death 
by  cutting  off  the  arm  of  the  Persian  whose  sword  was 
raised  to  smite  him,  and  to  warn  him  that,  if  he  could 
not  bear  to  listen  to  the  words  of  truth,  he  should  confine 
himself  to  the  society  of  slaves.  Alexander  felt  for  his 
dagger :  it  had  purposely  been  placed  out  of  his  reach. 
He  called  to  hi3  guards  to  sound  an  alarm  :  they  hesitated 
to.  obey  the  orders  of  a  raying  drunkard.  Some  of  the 
more  sober  and  moderate  of  the  party  held  him  in  their 
arms,  praying  him  to  do  nothing  hastily.  By  way  of  answer 
he  reviled  them  for  keeping  him  a  prisoner 'as  Bessus  had 
kept  Darius,  and  shaking  himself  free,  snatched  a  pike 
from  one  of  the  guards,  and  thrust  it  through  the  body  of. 


484 


ALEXANDER    THE    GREAT 


Clitus,  bidding  him  go  to  rhilip  and  Parmenion.  Tho 
rage  of  tbe  tiger  was  followed  by  a  furious  remorse,  in 
which,  with  considerable  truth,  he  denounced  himself  a3 
unfit  to  live.  For  three  daj-3  he  would  neither  eat  nor 
drink  ;  nnd  tho  army,  alarmed  at  the  threatened  starvation 
of  tfieir  king,  voted  that  Clitus  had  been  justly  slain, 
and  that  his  body  should  not  receive  the  rites  of  burial. 
By  reversing  this  vote,  Alexander  seemed  to  feel  that  ho 
had  gone  a  long  way  towards  acquitting  himself ;  whatever 
might  be  yet  lacking  to  restore  his  self-complacence  was 
supplied  by  the  prophets,  who  assured  hhu  that  the  disaster 
bad  been  brought  about  wholly  by  the  Thcbau  vine-god 
Dionysus,  to  whom  ho  had  effered  no  sacrifice  on  tho  day 
of  the  banquet. 

A  few  weeks  after  this  murder  Alexander  captured  the 
Sogd'an  rock,  a  fastness  from  which  common  oare  would 
have  sent  him  away  baffled.  Having  next  reduced  the  rock  of 
Cuorienes,  he  returned  to  Eactra  to  celebrate  his  marriage 
with  Eoxana,  the  daughter  of  Oxyartes.  who  had  been 
among  the  captives  taken  on  the  So.-dian  rock.  The  feast 
was  seized  by  Alexander  as  an  opportunity  for  extracting 
from  his  Greek  and  Macedonian  followers  a  public  acknow- 
ledgment of  his  divinity.  It  was  arranged  that  the  sophist 
Anaxarchus  (or,  as  somo  said,  the  Sicilian  Cleon)  should 
make  a  speech,  advising  all  to  worship  at  once  the  man 
whom  they  would  certainly  have  to  worship  after  his 
death.  The  speech  was  delivered.  The  silence  of  most 
of  the  Macedonian  officers  showed  their  disgust :  but  none 
ventured  to  speak  until  tho  Olynthian  Callisthenes,  the 
nephew  of  Aristotle,  insisted  on  the  inmiety  of  all  attempts 
to  confound  the  distinctions  between  gods  and  men.  Con- 
ceding to  the  conqueror  the  highest  place  amongst  military 
leaders  and  the  first  rank  amongst  statesmen,  he  rebuked 
Anaxarchus  for  making  a  suggestion  which  ought  to  have 
come  from  any  one  rather  than  from  himself.  The  applause 
which  his  words  drew  from  the  Macedonians  taught  Alex- 
r.nder  that  open  opposition  would  be  useless  ;  but  he  was 
none  the  more  turned  from  his  purpose,  nor  was  it  long 
before  ho  found  a  pretext  for  carrying  it  out.  A  con- 
spiracy was  discovered  amongst  his  pages.  These  un- 
fortunate men  were  tortured  (but  without  extracting  from 
them  anything  to  impb'cate  Callisthenes),  and  then  stoned 
to  death. — as  Alexander  would  have  it,  not  by  his  orders, 
but  by  tho  loyal  impulse  of  his  army.  Callisthenes  he  was 
rjsolvcd,  he  said,  to  punish  himself,  together  with  those 
who  had  sent  1dm, — an  insinuation,  manifestly,  against  his 
v.ncle  Aristotle,  possibly  also  against  all  other  Greeks,  for 
whom  freedom  of  speech  and  action  had  rot  yet  altogether 
lost  its  value.  The  philosopher  who  had  extolled  Alex- 
finder  as  the  greatest  of  earthly  generals  and  statesmen 
was  first  tortured  and  then  hanged ;  and  the  conqueror 
went  calmly  on  to  subdue  the  regions  between  the  Hindu- 
Kush  and  the  right  bank  of  the  Indus,  and  to  storm  the 
impregnable  rock  of  Aornus. 

The  next  river  to  be  crossed  was  the  Indus.  The  bridge 
was  constructed  by  Hephaestion  and  Perdiccas,  probably 
near  the  present  Attock.  The  surrender  of  Taxila  left 
Alexander  an  open  path  until  he  reached  the  Hydaspes 
(Jhchim),  where  Porus  was  beaten  only  after  a  severe 
struggle.  The  Indian  prince  was  ta"kcn  prisoner,  and 
treated  with  the  courtesy  which  the  family  of  Darius  had 
received  after  the  battle  of  Issus.  H«re  died  Alexander's 
horse  Eoukcphalos  (Bucephalus),  aud  the  loss  was  com- 
memorated by  the  founding  of  Bucephalia.  Tho  passage 
of  the  Acesines  (Chenab),  running  with  a  full  and  impetu- 
ous stream,  was  not  accomplished  without  much  danger; 
that  of  the  Hydraotes  (Ravee)  presented  less  formidable 
difficulties,  but  he  was  encountered  on  the  other  side  by 
Indians,  whoentrenched  themselves  in  their  town  of  Sangala. 
Their  resistauco  ended,  it  is  said,  in  the  slaughter  of  17,000 


and  the  capture  of  70.000.  About  40  miles  further  to 
the  south-east  flowed  the  Hyphasis  (Sittly).  Alexander 
approached  its  bank,  the  limit  of  the  Panjab,  in  the  full 
confidence  that  a  few  days  more  would  bring  him  to  tbe 
mighty  stream  of  the  Ganges;  but  ho  had  reached  the 
goal  of  his  conquests.  The  order  for  crossing  the  rivci 
called  forth  murmurs  and  protests  at  once  from  his  officers 
and  his  soldiers,  who  expressed  plainly  their  refusal  to 
march  they  knew  not  whither.  Alexander  in  vain  laid 
before  his  officers  his  schemes  of  further  conquest ;  and 
when  ho  offered  the  sacrifico  customaiy  before  crossing  a 
river,  the  signs  were  pronounced  to  be  unfavourable.  The 
die  was  cast.  Twelve  huge  altars  remained  to  show  that 
Alexander  had  advanced  thus  far  on  his  conquest  of  the 
world;  and,  in  the  midst  of  deluges  of  rain,  the  army  set 
out  on  its  westward  journey.  The  reinforcements  which 
he  found  on  reaching  the  Hydaspes  might,  if  they  had 
advanced  as  far  as  the  Hyphasis,  have  turned  the  scale  in 
favour  of  progress  to  the  east;  they  enabled  Alexander  to 
undertake  with  greater  ease  a  voyage  down  the  Hydaspes  to 
its  junction  with  the  Indus  after  receiving,  the  waters  of 
the  Acesines,  Hydraotes,  and  Hyphasis,  and  thence  on- 
wards to  the  Indian  Ocean.  From  the  mouth  of  the  Indus 
he  ordered  h;3  admiral  Nearchus  to  take  the  fleet  along  the 
shores  of  the  ocean  and  the  Persian  Gulf  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Tigris.  The  army  marched  by  land  through  the 
Gedrosian  desert,  suffering  more  from  thirst  and  sickness 
than  they  had  suffered  in  all  their  battles  and  forced 
marches.  At  length  he  reached  Pasargadae,  to  find  the 
tomb  of  Cyrus  broken  open  and  plundered,  and  to  avenge 
the  insult  offered  to  the  man  whom  he  now  regarded  as  the 
founder  of  his  own  dynasty.  Early  in  the  following  year 
he  entered  Susa,  and  there,  celebrating  his  marriage  with 
Statira,  the  daughter  of  Darius  and  of  Parysatis  the  daughter 
of  his  predecessor  Ochus,  he  offered  to  pay  the  debts  of 
those  soldiers  who  would  follow  his  example  by  taking  to 
themselves  Persian  wives — a  strange  mode  of  inviting  sober 
and  steady  men  who  had  no  debts,  but  an  effectual  argu- 
ment for  the  spendthrifts  and  ruffians  of  his  army.  His 
new  levies  of  Persian  youths,  armed  and  disciplined  after 
the  Macedonian  fashion,  had  now  made  him  independent 
of  his  veteran  soldiers;  and  his  declared  intention  of  send- 
ing homo  the  aged  and  wounded  among  them  called  forth 
the  angry  remonstrances  of  their  comrades,  who  bade  him 
complete  his  schemes  of  conquest  with  tbe  aid  of  his  father 
Amnion.  Alexander  rushed  into  the  throng,  seized  some 
and  had  them  executed,  and  then  disbanded  the  whole 
force.  For  two  days  he  shut  himself  up  in  his  palace;  on 
the  third  he  marshalled  his  Persian  levies  (Epigoni,  as  he 
called  them)  into  divisions  bearing  the  Macedonian  mili- 
tary titles,  under  Persian  officers.  The  spirit  of  the  veterans 
was  broken  by  this  ignoring  of  their  existence.  They 
threw  down  their  arms  at  the  palace  gates,  and  begged 
forgiveness  with  cries  and  tears.  Alexander  accepted  their 
contrition,  and  the  restoration  of  harmony  was  celebrated 
by  a  sumptuous  sacrifice. 

But  for  Alexander  past  victories  were  only  a  stimulus  to 
rurther  exploits.  Arabia  still  remained  unsubdued,  and 
for  this  conquest  a  large  addition  was  needed  to  his  fleet. 
Orders  were  sent  to  Phoenicia  for  the  construction  of  ships, 
which  were  to  bo  taken  to  pieces  and  sent  overland  to 
Thapsacus  on  "the  Euphrates,  while  others  were  to  be  built 
at  Babylon.  His  journey  to  Ecbatana  was  marked  by  a 
violent  quarrel  between  Eumenes  and  Hephaoalion.  Their 
reconciliation  was  soon  followed  by  the  death  of  the  latter 
from  an  attack  of  fever.  The  grief  of  the  conqueror  was 
as  fierce  as  that  of  Achilles,  if  we  may  not  set  it  down  as 
a  manifest  imitation  of  it.  For  two  days  he  neither  ate 
nor  drank ;  he  cut  his  hair  short,  and  ordered  that  the 
horses  and  mulea  in  his  army  should  have  their  manea 


ALEXANDER    THE     GREAT 


485 


docked  also.  Humsn  blood  could  scarcely  be  shed  with 
prudence  on  his  pyre ;  but  he  was  resolved  that  his  friend 
should  begin  his  life  in  the  unseen  world  with  unstinted 
wealth,  and  the  precious  things  destined  to  be  consumed 
on  his  funeral  pile  represented,  it  is  said,  a  sum  of  nearly 
two  millions  and  a  half  pounds  sterling.  Messengers  were 
sent  to  the  Egyptian  oracle  to  ask  if  the  dead  man  might 
be  worshipped  as  a  god,  and  Eumene3,  with  many  others, 
took  care  to  anticipate  its  answer  by  offering  him  such 
honours  as  might  fall  in  with  the  humour  of  the  divine 
mourner.  His  grief  seemed  only  to  render  his  bursts  of 
passion  more  fearful.  None  dared  to  address  him  except 
in  language  of  the  most  grovelling  flattery;  and,  in  the 
words  of  Plutarch,  his  only  consolation  was  found  in  his 
old  habit  of  man-hunting.  The  diversion  was  this  time 
23  b.c.  furnished  by  some  mountain  tribes  between  Media  and 
Farsistan.  His  march  to  Babylon  steeped  him  still  more 
in  the  intoxication  of  success.  As  he  advanced  on  his 
road  he  was  met  by  ambassadors  not  oaly  from  Illyrians 
and  Thracians,  from  Sicily  and  Sardinia,  from  Libya  and 
Carthage,  but  from  Lucanians  and  Etruscans,  and,  as 
some  said,  from  Rome  itself.  The  lord  of  all  the  earth 
could  scarcely  look  for  wider  acknowledgment  or  more 
devout  submission ;  but  his  :  self-gratulation  may  have 
been  damped  by  the  warning  of  the  Chaldean  priests  that 
it  would  be  safer  for  him  not  to  enter  the  gates  of  Babylon. 
For  a  while  he  hesitated,  but  he  had  more  to  do  than  to 
heed  their  words.  The  preparations  for  his  Arabian  cam- 
paign must  be  hurried  on ;  all  that  might  be  needed  must 
be  done  to  improve  the  navigation  of  the  Euphrates,  and  a 
new  city  must  be  builtto  rival,  perhaps,  the  Alexandria  which 
he  had  founded  by  the  banks  of  the  Nile.  More  than  all,  he 
had  to  celebrate  the  obsequies  of  Hephsestion,  whose  body 
had  been  brought  to  Babylon  from  Ecbatana.  The  feasting 
which  everywhere  accompanied  the  funeral  rites  of  the 
ancient  world  was  exaggerated  by  the  Macedonians,  as  by 
ether  half  rude  or  savage  tribes,  into  prolonged  revelry. 
Alexander  spent  the  whole  night  drinking  in  the  house  of 
his  friend  Medius,  and  the  whole  of  the  next  day  in  sleep- 
ing off  his  drunkenness.  Throughout  the  following  night 
the  same  orgies  were  repeated.  When  he  next  awoke  he 
was  unable  to  rise.  Fever  had  laid  its  grasp  upon  him, 
and  each  day  its  hold  became  tighter,  while  he  busied 
himself  incessantly  with  giving  orders  about  his  army,  his 
fleet,  his  generals,  until  at  length  the  powers  of  speech 
began  to  fail.  When  asked  to  name  his  successor,  he  said 
that  he  left  his  kingdom  to  the  strongest.  His  signet-ring 
he  took  from  his  finger  and  gave  to  Perdiccas.  Throughout 
the  army  the  tidings  of  his  illness  spread  consternation ; 
old  grudges  were  all  forgotten  ;  his  veterans  forced  them- 
selves into  his  presence,  and  with  tears  bade  farewell  to 
their  general,  who  showed  by  signs  that  he  still  knew  them. 
A  few  hours  later  Alexander  died,  after  a  reign  of  less 
than  thirteen  years,  and  before  he  had  reached  the  age  of 
thirty-three. 

That  the  schemes  of  conquest  with  which  almost  to  the 
last  moment  he  had  been  absorbingly  busied  would,  if  he 
had  lived,  have  been  in  great  part  realised,  can  scarcely  be 
doubted,  unless  we  suppose  that  causes  were  at  work  which  at 
no  distant  period  would  have  disturbed  and  upset  the  balance 
of  Lis  military  judgment,  and  deprived  him  of  that  marvel- 
lous power  of  combination  and  of  shaping  means  to  cir- 
cumstances in  which  Hannibal  and  Napoleon  are  perhaps 
his  only  peers.  It  would  be  rash  to  say  that  such  a 
daikcniny  of  his  splendid  powers  might  not  have  been 


brought  about,  even  before  he  could  reach  middle  age,  by 
habits  which,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  history  of  his  later 
years,  were  fast  becoming  confirmed.  In  truth,  except  as 
a  general,  he  had  lost  the  balance  of  his  mind  already. 
The  ruling  despot  who  fancied  himself  a  god,  who  could 
thrust  a  pike  through  the  body  of  one  friend  and  sneer  at 
the  cries  drawn  forth  from  another  by  the  agonies  of 
torture,  was  •  already  far  removed  from  the  far-sighted 
prudence  of  the  politic  statesman  and  ruler.  His  con- 
quests served  great  ends;  and  before  he  set  out  on  his 
career  of  victory  he  may  have  had  a  distinct  vision  of  theso 
ends.  Desire  for  knowledg3;  the  wish  to  r  >e  new  forms 
of  human  and  animal  life;  the  curiosity  of  traversing 
unknown  lands,  of  laying  open  their  resources,  of  bringing 
them  all  within  the  limits  and  the  influence  of  the  Mace- 
donian, or,  as  he  preferred  to  put  it,  the  Greek  world ;  the 
eagerness  to  establish  over  all  known,  possibly  over  all 
unknown,  regions  a  mighty  centralised  empire,  which 
should  avail  itself  of  all  their  forces,  and  throw  down  the 
barriers  which  rendered  the  interchange  of.  their  wealth 
impossible, — may  have  mingled  with  his  alleged  or  his  real 
purpose  of  avenging  on  the  Persian  king  the  misdoings  of 
Xerxes,  Darius,  and  Cyrus.  But  there  is  little  evidence  or 
none  that  these  motives  retained  their  power  undiminished 
as  he  advanced  further  on  his  path  of  victory,  while  there 
seems  to  be  evidence,  only  too  abundant,  that  all  other 
motives  were  gradually  and  even  fast  losing  strength  as 
the  lust  of  conquest  grew  with  his  belief  or  his  fancy  of 
his  superhuman  power  and  origin.  During  his  sojourn 
with  Aristotle  he  must  have  learnt  that  real  knowledge 
can  be  reached  and  good  government  insured  only  where 
there  is  freedom  of  thought  and  speech,  and  where  the 
people  obey  their  own  laws.  A  few  years  later  he  had 
come  to  look  on  Aristotle  as  an  enemy  to  be  punished 
with  scarcely  less  severity  than  Callisthenes.  But  at  the 
least  it  must  be  remembered  that  his  work  was  left  un- 
finished ;  possibly  he  may  have  regarded  it  as  little  more 
than  begun.  Looking  at  it  from  this  point  of  view,  we 
can  neither  shut  our  eyes  to  the  solid  benefits  accruing 
from  his  conquests  both  for  the  East  and  the  West,  nor, 
in  spite  of  his  awful  crimes,  can  we  place  him  in  the  rank 
of  those  scourges  of  mankind  among  wnom  Aiaric  and 
Attila,  Genghiz,  Timour,  and  Napoleon  stand  pre-eminent. 
Of  the  several  accounts  of  his  career  which  have  como 
down  to  us,  not  one,  unhappily,  is  strictly  contemporary ; 
and  mere  fairness  calls  upon  us  to  give  him  the  benefit  of 
a  doubt,  when  doubt  can  be  justly  entertained,  in  reference 
even  to  deeds  which  carry  with  them  an  unutterable  horror 
and  shame.  It  is  impossible  to  deny  that  with  a  higher 
sense  of  duty  Alexander  would  better  have  deserved  the 
title  of  Great ;  but  the  judgment  which  may  be  passed  on 
some  of  his  actions  cannot  affect  his  transcendent  glory  as 
the  most  consummate  general  of  ancient  times,  and  perhaps 
even  of  all  ages. 

For  an  examination  of  the  sources  of  the  history  of  Alexander  the 
Great,  see  Freeman,  Historical  Essays,  second  series,  essay  v. 
The  history  itself  is  presented  in  various  aspects  by  Thirlwall, 
History  of  Greece,  chaps,  xlvii.-lv. ;  Grote,  Hislory'of  Greece,  part 
ii.,  chaps,  xci.-xciv.  ;  Niebuhr's  Lectures  on  Ancient  History, 
lectures  xxiv.-lxxx. ;  Williams,  Life  oj  Alexander  the  Great;  St 
Croix,  Examcn  Critique  des  Ancicns  Hisloricns  cT Alexandre  le 
Grand;  Droysen,  Gcschich/e  Alexanders  der  Grosscn.  See  also 
Finlay,  Greece  under  the  Romans,  chap.  i.  ;  Arnold,  History  o] 
Rome,  chap.  xxx.  For  the  geography  of  Alexander's  Indian  cam- 
paigns, see  Cunningham's  Ancient  Geography  of  India;  and  for  tl  o 
scientific  results  of  his  conquests,  Humboldt's  Kosmos,  vol.  ii.. 
part  ii.,  section  2.  (a>  W.  a) 


486 


ALEXANDER 


ALEXANDER  of  Apheodisias,  the  most  celebrated 
of  the  Greek  commentators  on  the  writings  of  Aristotle, 
and  styled,  by  way  of  pre-eminence,  6  t'^yr^n/j,  the  Exposi- 
tor. He  was  a  native  of  Aphrodisias  in  Caria,  and  taught 
the  Peripatetic  philosophy  at  Athens  in  the  end  of  the 
2d  and  the  beginning  of  the  3d  centuries  of  the  Christian 
erx  Commentaries  by  Alexander  on  the  following  work3 
of  Aristotle  are  still  extant: — The  Analytica  Priora,  Lj  the 
Topica;  the  Meteorologica;  the  DeSensu;and  the  Metaphysial, 
L-V.,  together  with  an  abridgment  of  what  he  wiote  on  the 
remaining  books  of  the  Metaphysial.  His  commentaries 
were  greatly  esteemed  among  the  Arabians,  who  translated 
many  of  them.  There  are  also  several  original  writings 
by  Alexander  still  extant.  The  most  important  of  these 
are  a  work  On  Fate,  in  which  he  argues  against  the  Stoic 
doctrine  of  necessity;  and  one  On  t/ie  Soul,  in  which 
he  contends  that  the  undeveloped  reason  in  man  is 
material  (vovs  vAikos),  and  inseparable  from  the  body.  He 
identified  the  active  intellect  (vols  ttoh/tikos),  through  whose 
agency  the  potential  intellect  in  man  becomes  actual,  with 
God.  Several  of  Alexander's  works  were  published  in  the 
Aldine  edition  of  Aristotle,  Venice,  1495-98;  his  Be  Fito 
and  De  Anima  were  printed  along  with  the  works  of  The- 
mistius  at  Venice,  1534;  the  former  work,  which  has  been 
translated  into  Latin  by  Grotius  and  also  by  Schulthess, 
was  edited  by  Orelli,  Zurich,  1824;  and  his  commentaries 
on  the  Metaphysica  by  Bonitz,  Berlin,  1847.  Nourisson 
has  treated  of  his  doctrine  of  fate,  Paris,  1870.' 

ALEXANDER  of  Hales  (Alexander  Halensis),  sur- 
named  Doctor  Irrefragabilis  and  Fons  Vita;,  a  celebrated 
English  theologian  of  the  1 3th  century.  Born  in  Gloucester- 
shire, and  trained  in  the  monastery  of  Hales,  from  which 
he  takes  his  name,  he  was  early  raised  to  an  archdeaconry. 
Relinquishing  this  position,  however,  he  went,  like  most 
of  the  scholars  of  his  day,  to  study  at  the  university  of 
Paris,  where  he  took  the  degree  of  doctor,  and  became  cele- 
brated as  a  teacher  of  philosophy  and  theology.  Among 
his  pupils  was  Bonaventura;  but  it  is  evident  from  a 
comparison  of  dates  that  he  did  not  teach  Duns  Scotus 
and  Thomas  Aquinas,  as  has  been  frequently  asserted.  In 
1222,  when  at  the  height  of  his  fame,  Alexander  entered 
the  order  of  Minorite  Friars,  and  thenceforward  lived  in 
Btrict  seclusion.  He  refused,  however,  to  renounce  his 
degree  of  doctor,  and  was  the  first  of  his  order  who  con- 
tinned  to  bear  that  title  after  initiation.  He  died  in  1245, 
and  was  buried  in  the  convent  of  the  Cordeliers  at  Paris, 
where  he  had  spent  the  last  twenty-three  years  of  his  life. 
The'  most  celebrated  work  of  Alexander  was  his  Summa 
Theologian  (Nuremberg,  1452;  Venice,  1576),  undertaken 
by  the  orders  of  Pope  Innocent  IV,  and  approved  by 
Alexander  IV.,  after  he  had  submitted  it  to  the  examina- 
tion of  seventy  learned  theologians  as  a  system  of  .instruc- 
tion for  all  the  schools  in  Christendom.  Based  on  the 
Sentences  of  Peter  Lombard,  it  is  divided  into  four  parts; 
the  first  treating  of  the  nature  and  attributes  of  the  Deity; 
the  second  of  the  creation  and  of  the  various  orders  of 
creatures ;  the  third  of  the  scheme  of  redemption,  the 
incarnation  of  Christ,  the  law,  and  grace ;  and'  the  fourth  of 
the  sacraments.  The  form  is  that  of  question  and  answer, 
end  the  method  is  rigidly  scholastic. 

ALEXANDER  of  Tralles  (Alexander  Tralliants), 
a  medical  writer,  was  a  native  of  Tralles,  a  city  of  Lydia, 
and  lived  probably  about  the  middle  of  the  6th  century. 
He  is  the  author  of  a  work,  divided  into  twelve  books,  in 
which  he  treats  of  bodily  distempers.  He  was  the  first  to 
open  the  jugular  vein,  and  to  use  cantharides  as  a  blister 
for  the  gout.  Dr  Freind,  in  his  History  of  Physic,  styles 
him  one  of  the  most  valuablo  authors  since  the  time  of 
Hippocrates. 

Am  also  Dr  Milward'i  Tralliamu  IUvivUcens ;  or,  An  Account 


of  Alexander  Trallian,  one  of  (hi  Greek  Writers  (hat  flourished 
after  Oaten,  being  a  Supplement  to  Dr  FrcinoVs  History  of  Physict 
London,  1734,  8vo.  The  Greek  text  of  his  principal  work  was  first 
published  by  Jac  Goupylus,  Lutet.  1548,  lol.  It  was  reprinted* 
and  was  then  accompanied  with  a  Latin  Version  by  Jo.  Guiuterius, 
ll.isi),  1556,  8vo.  He  is  likewise  the  author  of  an  epistle  on  worma, 
De  Lumoricis,  which  was  published,  in  Greek  and  Latin,  by  Mer- 
curialis,  in  his  Varicc  Lectioncs,  Vend.  1570,  4to. 

ALEXANDER  BALAS'  (a  surname  that  probably 
means  "lord"),  a  man  of  low  birth  who  professed  to  bo 
the  son  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  and  eventually  became 
king  of  Syria.  His  claims  were  recognised  by  tho  Romans, 
who  desired  to  revenge  themselves  on  Demetrius  Soter; 
and  their  example  was  followed  by  the  king  of  Egypt  and 
other  monarchs.  Demetrius  was  at  first  victorious,  but  in 
150  B.C.  was  slain  in  battle,  and  Balas  obtained  possession 
of  the  kingdom.  The  new  king  soon  made  himself  hateful 
to  his  subjects  by  his  voluptuousness- and  debauchery,  and 
this  encouraged  Demetrius  Nicator,  the  eldest  son  of 
Demetrius  Soter,  to  claim  his  father's  crown.  Alexander 
took  the  field  against  him,  but  was  defeated  in  a  pitched 
battle,  and  fled  to  Abse  in  Arabia,  where  he  was  murdered 
by  the  emir,  with  whom  he  had  sought  refuge,  145  B.C. 

ALEXANDER  JANN^EUS,  king  of  the  Jews,  suc- 
ceeded his  brother  Aristobulus  in  104  B.C.,  and  died  in 
79  B.C.  His  reign,  which  he  commenced  by  putting  to 
death  one  of  his  brothers  who  claimed  the  throne,  was 
disgraced  by  the  cruelties  that  he  perpetrated  in  order  to 
keep  himself  in  power. 

ALEXANDER    SEVERUS,   Roman    emperor.      See 

SEYIKUa 

ALEXANDER  was  the  name  of  eight  Popes  : — 

Alexander  I.,  bishop  of  Rome,  succeeded  Evaristus  in 
108  or  109  a.d.,'  and,  according  to  Eusebius,  suffered 
martyrdom  under  Hadrian  in  the  year  119.  Catholic 
writers  ascribe  to  him  the  introduction  of  holy  water,  and 
of  the  custom  of  mixing  sacramental  wine  with  water. 

Alexander  LL,  whose  family  name  was  Anselmo 
Baggio,  was  born  at  Milan,  and  occupied  the  papal  chair 
from  1061  to  1073.  He  had  previously,  as  bishop  of 
Lucca,  been  an  energetic  coadjutor  with  Hildebrand  in 
endeavouring  to  suppress  simony,  and  to  enforce  tho 
celibacy  of  the  clergy;  and  his  efforts  to  augment  the 
influence  of  the  Roman  see  prepared  the  way  for  the  com- 
plete- ascendancy  which  was  established  by  his  celebrated 
successor.  The  imperial  sanction  being  withheld  from 
Alexander's  election,  a  council  at  Basle  chose  as  anti-pope 
Cadolaus,  bishop  of  Parma,  who  assumed  the  name  of 
Honorius  IT.,  and  marched  to  Rome.  He  was  deposed, 
however,  by  a  council  held  at  Mantua,  and  Alexander's  posi- 
tion remained  unchallenged.  Alexander  was  succeeded  by 
his  associate  Hildebrand,  who  took  the  title  of  Gregory  VIL 

Alexander  III.  {Rolando  Banuci  of  Siena),  cardinal 
and  chancellor  of  the  Roman  church,  was  elected  to  the 
popedom  in  1159,  and  reigned  until  1181.  His  career  is 
of  great  historical  importance  on  account  of  the  vigour  and 
ultimate  success  with  which  he  carried  out  the  ideas  and 
policy  of  Hildebrand  in  opposition  to  Frederick  Barbarossa 
and  Henry  II.  of  England.  Three  anti-popes  (Victor  IV., 
1159;  Pascal  ILL,  1164;  Calixtus  IH.,  1168)  were  con- 
firmed by  the  German  emperor  in  succession.  Alexander, 
however,  steadfastly  maintained  his  rights,  though  com- 
pelled to  take  refuge  in  France  between  the  years  1162 
and  1165.  The  contest  Between  pope  and  emperor  was 
continued  with  varying  fortune  until,  on  the  29th  May 
1176,  Frederick  was  decisively  defeated  at  Legnano,  when 
he  at  once  withdrew  his  support  from  the  anti-pope  and 
submitted  to  Alexander.  On  the  1st  August  1177  the 
emperor  yielded  tho  customary  homage  to  the  pope  at 
Vinice  by  kissing  his  foot,  and  was  freed  from  the  ban  of 


ALEXANDER 


467 


-excommunication  under  which  he  had  been  placed  ten 
years  previously.  There  seems  to  he  no  historical  autho- 
rity for  the  common  story  that  during  the  ceremony 
Alexander  placed  his  foot  upon  the  emperor's  neck. 

In  England  the  papal  supremacy  was  strenuously  main- 
tained against  Henry  II.  by  Thomas  a  Beclcct.  Here,  as 
in  the  case  of  Germany,  the  struggle  was  protracted  and 
severe,  but  in  the  end  the  victory  lay  wiih  the  pope. 
A  Becket  was  canonised  soon  after  his  assassination,  and 
Henry  II.  was  compelled  to  submit  to  a  humiliating 
penance.  A  contest  with  William  the  Lion  of  Scotland, 
who  insisted  on  instituting  his  chaplain  Hugo,  and  not 
the  papal  nominee,  into  the  see  of  St  Andrews,  ended  in 
the  excommunication  of  the  king  in  1181. 

Alexander  introduced  several  important  changes  in  the 
organisation  and  administration  of  the  church.  Chief 
among  these  were  the  restriction  of  the  right  of  canonisa- 
tion to  the  pope  alone,  the  still-existing  law  requiring  the 
votes  of  two-thirds  of  the  cardinals  for  a  valid  papal  elec- 
tion, and  the  exemption  of  the  clergy  from  civil  control 
and  of  church  lands  from  civil  burdens.  Several  of  these 
measures  were  ratified  by  the  third  general  council  of  the 
Lateran,  summoned  by  Alexander  in  1179. 
.  Alexa>~deb  TV.,  Count  Rinald.o  de  Segni,  cardinal- 
bixhop  of  Ostia,  occupied  the  papal  chair  from  December 
1254  till  his  death  in  Hay  1261.  He  seems  to  have  been 
of  a  weak  character,  and  in  the  struggle  against  the  house 
of  Hohenstaufen.  which  he  inherited  from  his  predecessors, 
he  did  little  to  strengthen  the  position  of  the  papacy.  The 
opposition  which  he  offered  to  Manfred,  natural  son  of 
Frederick  II.,  proved  unavailing,  although  he  obtained  the 
aid  of  England  by  promising  the  disputed  sovereignty  of 
the  Two  Sicilies  to  the  Euglish  Prince  Edward.  Manfred 
was  crowned  king  at  Palermo  in  1258,  and  in  1260  he 
invaded  the  States  of  the  Church,  and  compelled  the  pope 
to  recognise  him  as  legitimate  sovereign.  The  ecclesiastical 
administration  of  Alexander  was  signalised  by  his  efforts 
to  unite  the  Greek  and  Latin  churches,  by  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Inquisition  in  France  (1255),  and  by  the 
support  he  gave  to  the  orders  of  Mendicant  friars.  The 
last  years  of  his  pontificate  were  passed  at  Viterbo,  where 
he  was  compelled  to  take  refuge  on  account  of  the  violent 
struggles  at  Home  between  the  factions  of  the  Guelphs  and 
the  Ghibellines. 

Alexander  V.  (Pt'etro  riiUargi),  a  native  of  Candia, 
enjoyed  the  dignity  of  Pope  for  only  ten  months,  from  the 
26th  June  1409  to  the  3d  May  1410.  Born  of  poor 
parentage,  he  owed  his  admission  to  a  religious  house  to  a 
Franciscan  monk,  who  noticed  him  begging.  He  studied 
at  Paris  and  Oxford,  where  he  acquired  such  reputation 
for  scholarship,  that  on  his  return  to  Italy  he  was  rapidly 
promoted  from  dignity  to  dignity.  In  1402  he  was 
appointed,  through  the  influence  of  Galeazzo  Visconti,  to 
the  archbishopric  of  Mi'an,  and  in  1405  he  was  made  a 
cardinal  by  Innocent  VEL  The  council  of  Pisa,  after 
deposing  Benedict  XIII.  and  Gregory  XII.,  elected  him 
pops  on  the  understanding  that  he  would  set  himself  to 
reform  the  abuses  of  the  church.  The  weakness  of  his 
character  and  the  shortness  of  his  pontificate,  however, 
prevented  anything  effectual  being  done.  He  died,  as  was 
generally  believed,  of  poison  administered  by  Baltliasar 
Cossa,  who  became  his  successor  under  the  title  of  John 

xxrn. 

Alexander  VI.  {Rodrigo  Borgia),  memorable  as  the 
most  characteristic  incarnation  of  the  secular  spirit  of  the 
papacy  of  the  15  th  century,  was  born  at  Xativa  in 
Valencia,  1st  January  1431.  His  biographers  all  Lat 
unanimously  assert  his  patronymic  to  have  been  Lenzuoli 
{in  its  original  Valencian  form.  Llanjol),  and  the  name  of 
Borgia  (or  more  properly  Borja)  to  have  been  asfumed  on 


his  adoption  by  lus  maternal  uncle.  Francisco  Escolano, 
however,  a  compatriot,  positively  affirms  {Cronica,  lib.  vi 
cap.  23),  that  Llanijol  was  his  mother's  name,  and  that  his 
father  was  Giofre  Borja.  It  is  also  disputed  whether  ha 
originally  followed  the  legal  or  the  military  profession ; 
the  former  appears  more  probable.  In  cither  case,  his 
career  was  determined  by  has  uncle's  elevation  to  the 
papacy  as  CalLxtus  III.,  8th  April  1455,  and  his  own 
immediate  summons  to  Rome,  where  he  was  reserved  in 
petto  as  cardinal  in  the  ensuing  February,  publicly  pro- 
moted in  September,  and  by  an  unparalleled  act  of  nepotism 
elevated  to  the  lucrative  and  dignified  office  of  vice- 
chancellor  in  the  following  July.  He  also  succeeded  his 
uncle  as  archbishop  of  Valencia.  An  elder  brother,  Pedro 
Luis,  was  made  generalissimo  of  the  papal  forces  by  land 
and  sea.  The  animosity  created  by  so  invidious  an  exalta- 
tion prepared  Rodrigo's  subsequent  feud  with  the  Homan 
patriciate.  For  the  moment  he  was  all-powerful,  and 
the  letters  of  that  dexterous  courtiar  JEneas  Sylvius  attest 
the  importance  attached  to  his  good  word.  We  must  here 
notice  the  ridiculous  fiction  concerning  the  parentage  of 
Borgia's  natural  children,  which  owes  its  currency  to  the 
uncritical  credulity  of  Gordon,  his  first  formal  biographer. 
An  anonymous  MS.  romance,  professing  to  record  the 
secret  history  of  the  Borgia  family,  exists  in  many  Italian 
libraries ;  a  copy  is  in  the  British  Museum.  Gordon  fell 
in  with  this  fiction,  and  whether  from  lack  of  judgment  or 
love  of  marvel,  adopted  it  into  his  narrative.  According 
to  this  version,  Rodrigo,  when  summoned  to  Rome,  was 
living  with  a  beautiful  Valencian  courtesan,  Rosa  Vanozza, 
by  whom  he  had  already  had  several  children.  Despatch- 
ing his  family  to  Venice  under  the  care  of  a  major-domo, 
he  entered  upon  a  course  of  austere  hypocrisy,  designed  to 
secure  his  exaltation  to  the  papacy,  thus  remaining  apart 
from  his  mistress  and  children  for  a  period  of  nearly  forty 
years  I  This  legend,  originally  circulated  as  a  prime  piece 
of  scandal,  has  been  accepted  as  a  vindication  by  Rodrigo's 
apologists.  Vanozza,  they  contend,  was  not  his  concubine 
but  his  wife,  and  her  decease  must  have  preceded  his  ordi- 
nation :  Cassar  and  Lucretia  were  consequently  legitimate. 
The  Abbe  OLLivier  goes  a  step  further  still,  and  disposes 
of  two  scandals  at  a  stroke  by  identifying  Vanozza  with 
Giulia  Farnese,  whose  charms,  during  Alexander's  pontifi- 
cate forty  years  afterwards,  notoriously  procured  her 
brother's  elevation  to  the  cardinalate.  It  is  sufficient  to 
reply  that  in  this  case  the  beautiful  Lucretia  must  have 
espoused  the  Duke  of  Ferrara  at  forty,  and  have  borne 
him  children  at  sixty  The  date  of  Caesar's  birtb,  more- 
over is  known  to  an  hour,  being  fixed  by  the  horoscope 
preserved  in  Junctinus  (torn.  i.  p.  171)  at  18th  September 
1475.  Nor  is  the  history  cf  Vanozza  any  longer  a  secret. 
It  is  inown  that  her  family  name  was  De'  Cattanei ;  that 
after  bearing  five  children  to  Alexander  she  was  twice 
married,  on  each  occasion  to  a  petty  official  about  the  papal 
court ;  that  she  possessed  houses  and  other  property  in 
Rome  ;  that  she  survived  Alexander  many  years,  and  made 
use  of  the  name  of  Borgia  {Reumont,  BcL  3,  pp.  202,  203). 
Tho  fortune  of  the  Borgia  brothers  seemed  menaced 
with  eclipse  on  the  death  of  their  uncle,  Sth  August  1458. 
Pedro  Luis,  who  had  incurred  the  bitter  enmity  of  the 
Orsini  family,  escaped  under  the  escort  of  Cardinal  Barbo 
to  Civita  Vecchia,  where  a  fever  soon  carried  him  off! 
Rodrigo  remained  for  the  conclave.  No  papal  election  is 
more  dramatically  narrated  in  that  edifying  collection, 
Conclavi  de'  Pontefici  Romani,  than  the  one  which  resulted 
in  the  choice  of  JSneas  Sylvius  (Pius  LT.)  Borgia's  share 
in  it  had  earned  Pius's  gratitude ;  he  was,  nevertheless, 
compelled  to  submit  to  some  diminution  of  the  authority 
and  emoluments  of  tho  vice-chancellorship ;  and  a  subse- 
quent indiscretion  in  the  too  public  indulgence  of  hia. 


•Jss 


ALEXANDER     VI. 


taste  for  female  society  while  discharging  a  legation  at 
Siena  procured  him  one  of  the  severest  reprimands  ever 
addressed  to  a  cardinal  by  a  pope.  Pius's  reproof  is  pre- 
served in  Raynaldus  (Append,  ad  ann.  1460,  num.  31), 
and  alone  refutes  the  fiction  of  Borgia's  religious  hypocrisy. 
Cardinal  Barbo,  however,  who  succeeded  as  Paul  II.,  was 
the  same  spirited  patrician  who  had  befriended  the  Borgias 
in  their  hour  of  need,  and  his  ostentatious  pontificate 
ushered  in  the  era  of  Rodrigo's  unbroken  prosperity. 
"  He  is,"  writes  at  this  time  Gaspar  Veronensis  (Muratori, 
torn,  iil  pt.  2,  p.  1037),  "a  comely  man  of  cheerful 
countenance  and  honeyed  discourse,  who  gains  the 
tions  of  all  the  women  he  admires,  and  attracts  them  as  the 
loadstone  does  iron  ;  it  is  indeed  supposed  that  he  proceeds 
no  further."    A  supposition  rather  pious  than  probable. 

On  the  death  of  the  jovial  Paul  (1471),  Borgia  is  men- 
tioned, along  with  Cardinals  Orsino  and  Gonzaga,  as  one 
if  t.ho  three  who  chiefly  contributed  to  place  the  tiara  on 
the  brows  of  the  then  famous  preacher  and  exemplary 
ascetic  Sixtus  IV.,  who  immediately  (per  fuggire  I'ingrati- 
tudine)  bestowed  on  him  the  opulent  abbey  of  Subiaco, 
and  raised  him  to  the  dignity  of  cardinal-bishop.  About 
the  same  time  must  have  commenced  his  intimacy  with 
Vanozza,  In  1473  he  undertook  a  legation  to  Spain, 
avowedly  with  the  purpose  of  visiting  his  diocese  and  of 
composing  differences  between  the  kings  of  Castile  and 
Portugal,  but  in  reality  to  display  his  magnificence  to  his 
countrymen.  Hi3  demeanour  on  this  occasion  is  repre- 
sented in  the  most  unfavourable  light  by  the  cardinal  of 
Pavia,  who  had  previously  composed  for  him  that  elegant 
oration  to  his  Valencian  flock  which  the  Abbd  Ollivier 
has  the  simplicity  to  attribute  to  Borgia  himself.  The 
cardinal,  however,  is  too  much  of  a  time-server  and  a 
rhetorician  for  his  account-to  be  altogether  trustworthy. 
More  certain  is  the  occurrence  of  a  tremendous  tempest  on 
Borgia's  return,  in  which  part  of  his  retinue  perished, 
while  he  himself  narrowly  escaped.  Innocent  VIII.,  the 
successor  of  Sixtus,  owed  his  election  to  Borgia's  coalition 
with  the  late  pope's  nephew,  and  the  fortunes  of  the 
former  remained  unimpaired  throughout  his  tranquil  ponti- 
ficate. The  long  malady  which  terminated  it  afforded  scope 
for  the  intrigues  of  aspirants  to  the  succession ;  and  when 
the  cardinals  entered  into  conclave  (August  1492),  already 
the  rumour  ran  that  a  Spaniard  would  be  pope.  The 
eimoniacal  character  of  the  election  is  indisputable.  We 
need  not  believe  that  the  opulent  and  high-spirited 
Cardinal  Ascanio  Sforza  was  tempted  with  four  mule-loads 
of  silver,  but  his  instant  elevation  to  the  vice-chancellorship 
speaks  for  itself.  Cardinal  Orsino  was  bought  with  Borgia's 
palace  in  Rome ;  Cardinal  Colonna  with  the  abbey  of 
Subiaco ;  money  gained  the  minor  members  of  the  Sacred 
College ;  five  cardinals  alone  are  recorded  as  incorruptible. 
Borgia's  uneasiness  was  betrayed  by  his  hasty  assumption 
of  the  pontifical  vestments,  and  premature  announcement 
of  the  election  to  the  expectant  crowd.  He  assumed  the 
name  of  Alexander  VI.  His  allocution  to  the  cardinals 
breathed  spirit  and  dignity :  an  admonitory  discourse  to 
his  son  Cxsar,  which  may  be  read  in  Gordon,  is  an  inven- 
tion of  the  anonymous  romancer.  The  pomp  of  his  coro- 
nation far  surpassed  preceding  examples,  and  the  compli- 
ments of  foreign  ambassadors  on  the  majesty  of  his  mien 
and  the  maturity  of  hi3  wisdom  were  echoed  by  a  public 
accustomed  to  simony,  relieved  at  their  deliverance  from 
a  period  of  anarchy,  and  sensible  of  their  need  of  a  firmer 
hand.  This  hope  Alexander  justified  and  surpassed.  Ere 
long  he  had  divided  Rome  into  judicial  districts,  placed  a 
magistrate  at  the  head  of  each,  and  himself '  established  a 
weekly  audience,  at  which,  by  the  admission  of  the  mal- 
content Infessura,  "  he  administered  justice  after  a  marvel- 
lous sort.'' 


Alexander's  pontificate  might  have  been  less  eventful 
but  for  a  circumstance  beyond  his  control.  The  political 
system  of  Italy  was  on  the  eve  of  dissolution.  Ludovico 
the  Moor,  anxious  to  confirm  himself  in  his  ill-gotten 
duchy  of  Milan,  was  already  tempting  the  French  monarch 
across  the  Alps  by  the  bait  of  the  kingdom  of  Naples. 
As  of  old  in  Greece,  so  now  dissensions  and  political  cor- 
ruption were  about  to  cast  down  the  civilisation  of  Italy 
at  the  feet  of  the  stranger.  The  passion  for  family 
aggrandisement  on  this  occasion  impelled  Alexander  to  a 
patriotic  course.'  His  third  son  Giofr6  had  espoused  the 
illegitimate  daughter  of  the  king  of  Naples,  and  received 
as  dower  the  principality  of  Squillace.  When,  therefore, 
the  French  envoys  demanded  the  investiture  of  Naples, 
they  met  with  a  flat  refusal.  This  encouraged  Alexander's 
enemies.  Cardinal  della  Rovere  (Julius  II.)  withdrew 
from  the  papal  court,  seized  upon  Ostia,  and  from  thenc& 
addressed  urgent  appeals  to  the  French  king  to  march 
upon  Rome,  convene  a  council,  and  purge  Christendom  of 
the  simoniacal  pope.  On  this  side  Alexander  felt  himself 
indeed  vulnerable.  Casting  about  for  alliances,  he  de- 
spatched an  envoy  to  the  Sultan ;  the  ambassador  was 
arrested  as  he  returned  with  a  favourable  reply ;  and  the 
publication  of  his  instructions  created  a  fresh  scandaL 
Others  still,  had  Roman  manners  been  less  lax,  might  have 
arisen  from  the  marriage  of  the  pope's  acknowledged 
daughter  Lucretia  to  the  Lord  of  Pesaro,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  whole  Sacred  College,  biud  from  the  elevation 
of  his  second  son  Coesar  to  the  cardinalate  at  the  age  of 
eighteen,  unblushing  perjury  being  employed  to  conceal 
his  illegitimate  birth.  Yet,  at  the  samo  period,  the  suc- 
cessor of  Peter  appeared  for  the  last  time  in  history  as  the 
undisputed  bestower  of  kingdoms  and  the  ultimate  tribunal 
of  appeal  for  Christian  nations.  Spain  and  Portugal 
resorted  to  him  for  the  adjustment  of  their  claims  to  the 
New  World ;  and  by  tracing  a  line  upon  a  map  he  dis- 
posed of  three-fourths  of  the  human  race.  Never,  accord- 
ing to  mediceval  ideas,  had  a  pope  exerted  his  prerogative 
with  equal  grandeur ;  but  the  medieval  conception  of  the 
papacy  was  passing  away,  and  no  one's  faith  in  it  was 
feebler  than  the  pope's. 

Charles  VIH.  passed  the  Alps  in  the  autumn  of  1494 ; 
city  after  city  fell  before  him,  and  by  the  end  of  the  year 
Rome  was  added  to  the.  number.  Alexander  had  retired 
into  the  castle  of  St  Angelo.  His  deposition  was  uni- 
versally expected,  most  of  all  by  himself.  But  Charles's 
minister,  Brieonnet,  had  been  gained  by  the  promise  of  a 
cardinal's  hat.  On  16th  January  the  reconciliation  of 
king  and  pontiff  was  officially  celebrated :  they  rode 
together  through  the  city ;  but  distrust  still  prevailed 
between  them.  With  really  surprising  firmness  Alexander 
continued  to  refuse  the  investiture  of  Naples,  with  which 
Charles  may  have  thought  himself  able  to  dispense. 
Nothing,  indeed,  could  have  been  more  rapid  than  his 
conquest,  except  hi3  loss  of  that  kingdom.  By  March  the 
triumph  of  the  French  seemed  complete  :  on  6th  July 
their  retreating  army  cut  its  way  through  the  Italian  hosts 
at  Taro  in  Upper  Italy ;  on  7th  July  the  King  of  Naples 
re-entered  his  capital.  Nothing  remained  of  the  French 
incursion  except  a  fatal  contagion,  and  the  more  fatal 
revelation  of  the  weakness  of  Italy. 

The  retreat  of  the  French  left  Alexander  at  liberty  to 
pursue  what  must  have  been  the  main  object  of  any  pope 
of  intelligence  and  spirit  in  his  place — the  extirpation  of 
the  petty  feudal  vassals  of  the  church,  and  the  establish- 
ment of  the  temporal  independence  of  the  papacy.  This 
was  in  truth  but  a  phase  of  the  great  struggle  of  the 
crown  and  the  people  against  the  aristocracy,  universally 
a  characteristic  of  that  age;  but  the  pope's  principal  motive, 
was    unquestionably   the    insatiable    appetite    of    family 


ALEXANDER     VI. 


489 


•aggrandisement.  The  incurable  vice,  however,  of  his 
policy  was  imposed  upon  him  by  the  lack  of  men  and 
money  to  carry  it  into  effect.  To  obtain  the  former,  he 
was  compelled  to  incline  alternately  to  France  and  Spain, 
degrading  the  majesty  of  the  Holy  See,  and  forfeiting  his 
liberty  of  action  as  a  member  of  the  Italian  body  politic. 
The  finances  had  to  be  recruited  by  the  sale  of  offices  and 
spiritual  privileges  of  every  kind.  Such  practices  had  long 
been  prevalent  at  Rome,  but  never  had  they  attained  the 
enormity,  the  effrontery,  or  the  method  imparted  to  them 
by  Alexander. 

His  enterprise  was  at  first  unfortunate.  After  some 
petty  successes  the  papal  forces  were  routed  by  the  Orsini, 
January  1497.  Spanish,  aid  was  invoked;  the  Great 
Captain  checked  the  Orsini  and  recovered  Ostia.  Alex- 
ander's spirits  rose  ;  on  7th  June  he  alienated  Benevento 
in  favour  of  his  eldest  son,  the  Duke  of  Gandia.  That 
day  week  the  duke  disappeared ;  his  body,  pierced  with 
wounds,  was  soon  found  in  the  Tiber.  .  The  public  voice 
attributed  the  murder  to  the  pope's  second  son,  the 
Cardinal  Caesar  Borgia,  but  on  no  other  grounds  than  his 
capability  of  any  atrocity,  and  the  gain  that  accrued  to 
him  by  this.  Some  historians  know  what  he  said  to  the 
pope  in  confessing  his  fratricide,  and  can  report  the  pope's 
rejoinder;  so  is  history '  written.  Alexander  secluded 
himself  in  a  passion  of  grief.  He  talked  of  -abdication, 
and  actually  appointed  a  commission  to  inquire  into  the 
abuses  of  the  Church.  While  it  ineffectually  deliberated 
on  reforms,  the  stake  was  preparing  for  a  real  reformer. 
The  history  of  Savonarola  must  be  related  elsewhere ;  it 
can  only  be  said  here  that  Alexander  appears  to  have  been 
most  unwilling  to  proceed  against  him,  and  only  to  have 
consented  to  do  so  when  the  Dominican's  hostile  attitude 
rendered  further  forbearance  impossible. 

Cmsar  Borgia,  meanwhile,  was  bent  on  improving  the 
opportunity  which  he  had  found  or  made.  Three  months 
after  Savonarola's  death  he  propounded  to  the  assembled 
cardinals  hi3  desire  to  renounce  ecclesiastical  orders  for  his 
soid's  health,  and  was  soon  at  liberty  to  contract  a  royal 
alliance.  After  encountering  a  refusal  from  the  daughter 
of  the  King  of  Naples  he  repaired  to  France,  and  there 
(May  1499)  espoused  a  princess  of  the  house  of  Navarre, 
receiving  the  title  of  Duke  of  Valentinois  from  the  French 
king.  Lucretia  also  benefited  by  her  family's  enlarged 
views ;  her  alliance  with  the  lord  of  Pesaro  was  dissolved 
on  a  pretext  of  nullity,  and  she  married  the  Duke  of 
Bisceglia,  a  natural  son  of  the  King  of  Naples.  This  had 
occurred  a  year  previously,  when  Alexander  still  attached 
weight  to  the  Neapolitan  alliance  ;  but  the  political  horizon 
was  now  changed.  In  October  1499  a  French  army  crossed 
the  Alps  and  conquered  Lombardy,  almost  without  resist- 
ance. The  watchword  was  thus  given  for  the  papal 
campaign  in  the  Bomagna.  Caterina  Sforza,  regent 
of  Imola  and  Forli,  received  a  summons  to  discharge 
certain  arrears  long  owing  to  her  suzerain.  Caesar  Borgia 
fullowed  "with  an  army  on  the  heels  of  the  messenger,  and 
although  the  intrepid  princess  defended  herself  stoutly  by 
sword  and  poison,  she  was  compelled  to  succumb  to  the 
"  Gonfalonier  of  the  Church."  The  Borgias'  enterprise 
coincided  fortunately^  with  the  commencement  (according 
to  the  then  method  of  reckoning)  of  the  new  century 
and  the  mighty  concourse  of  pilgrims  to  Rome  for  the 
jubilee,  each  representing  some  substantial  contribution  to 
the  papal  exchequer.  France  and  Spain,  meanwhile,  had 
concerted  their  secret  arrangement  for  the  dispossession  of 
the  King  of  Naples,-  and  Caesar  Borgia  prepared  to  remove 
the  only  obstacle  to  his  own  participation  in  it.  In  July 
1500  the  Duke  of  Bisceglia,  Lucretia's  Neapolitan  husband, 
was  attacked  by  assassins  in  broad  day,  and  left  desper- 
ately wounded.     The  pope  placed  guards  over  the  prince  ; 


Lucretia  and  her  sister-in-law  prepared  his  food  to  avoid 
poison ;  but  none  the  less  "  quum  ex  vulneribua  sihi 
datis  mori  noluisset" — Alphonso  of  Bisceglia  was  strangled 
by  men  in  masks.  "  All  Rome,"  writes  the  Venetiafi 
ambassador,  "trembles  before  the  duke."  The  worst 
times  of  the  empire  seemed  returned,  even  to  the  amuse- 
ments of  the  amphitheatre,  where  Caesar,  whose  tasttfl 
were  those  of  a  Spaniard,  despatched  six  bulls  successively, 
severing  the  head  of  one  from  the  shoulders  at  a  stroke. 
The  pope  looked  on  helplessly  at  the  Frankenstein  of  his 
own  creation;  "he  love3  and  hugely  fears  his  son," 
reports  the  Venetian,  who  adds  that  Caesar  had  pursued 
his  father's  favourite  secretary  to  his  arms,  and  there 
butchered  him,  the  pope's  robe  being  saturated  with  the 
gushing  blood.  Alexander's  easy  temper  stood  him  in 
good  stead.  "  The  pope,"  according  to  the  same  authority, 
"grows  younger  every  day,  and  is  extremely  cheerful; 
his  cares  and  troubles  endure  only  for  a  night ;  he  thinks 
continually  of  aggrandising  his  children — ne  d'aitro  ha 
cura."  In  his  conversations  with  foreign  envoys  he 
excused  his  son's  violence  as  the  error  of  youth.  "  The 
duke,"  he  said,  "  is  really  a  good  fellow ;  it  is  only  a  pity 
that  he  cannot  endure  to  be  offended."  Lucretia  is 
extolled  by  all  as  "  lovely,  discreet,  and  bountiful." 
Rumour,  indeed,  imputed  to  her  an  incestuous  connection 
with  her  brother ;  but  this  aspersion,  like  all  others  upon 
her,  is  to  this  day  utterly  destitute  of  proof. 

"These   devils   cannot  be  -cast  out  by  holy  water," 
Cardinal  Juan  Borgia  had  formerly  reported  of  the  turbu- 
lent occupants  of  the  Romagna.    The  experiment  of  casting 
out  Satan  by  Beelzebub  remained  to  be  tried.     In  April 
1501    Caesar  entered  upon  his  second  campaign,  and  by 
perfidy  or  force  quickly  added  Pesaro,  Rimind,  and  Faenza 
to  his  former  possessions.     Attentive  to  the  maxims  of 
sagacious  tyranny,  he  governed  with  substantial  justice. 
If  his  coffers  had  to  be  nded  by  oppression,  the  odium 
would .  be  cast  on  some  subordinate  agent,  whose  body, 
his   mission   fulfilled,  would   be   found   dismembered   in 
the   market-place.      France  and   Spain,  meanwhile,   pro- 
ceeded to  the  spoliation  of  the  defenceless  king  of  Naples, 
and  Ca?sar  (July  1501)  shared  in  the  conquest  and  the 
booty.      In  September  Alexander  himself  undertook   a 
campaign  against  the  Colonnas,  and  humbled  those  haughty 
patricians  by  the  capture  of  all  their  castles.     Lucretia,  to 
the  general  scandal,  represented  him  in  his  absence.    Worse 
scandals  were  in  store,  could  we  implicitly  credit  the  con- 
temporary diarist's  account  of  the  scenes  enacted  in  the 
apostolic  palace  after  Alexander's  return,  but  the  passage 
is  probably  interpolated.     At  this  period  the  papal  court 
was  engrossed  with  preparations  for  Lucretia's  marriage  to 
Alphonso,  son  of  the  Duke  of  Ferrara,  which  was  celebrated 
by  proxy  in  December.     The  pope's  daughter,  cardinals 
and  prelates  in  her  train,  undertook  a  stately  progress 
through  Italy  to  Ferrara,  where  she  was  received  with 
extraordinary  splendour.     Piombino  was  reduced  at  this 
time,  and  in  July  Caesar  treacherously  rendered  himself 
master  of  Urbino.      Immediately  afterwards  his  power 
received  a  severe  shock  from  the  defection  of  his  principal 
condottieri.     Caesar  temporised  until,  to  the  admiration  of 
Machiavelli,  then  Florentine  envoy  at  his  camp,  his  adver- 
saries were  decoyed  into  his  hands,  seized,  and  executed 
(31st  December  1502).    The  news  gave  the  signal  at  Rome 
for  the  arrest  of  the  Orsini  and  the  occupation  of  their 
castles ;  thus  was  the  humiliation  of  the  Roman  aristocracy 
completed.     Cardinal    Orsino  was   committed   to   Saint 
Angelo,  where  the- services  of  the  papal  master  of  the 
ceremonies  were  soon  required  for 'his  interment.-    "But 
I,"  remarks  Burcardus  with  quaint  naivete,  "  turned  the 
business  over  to  my  assistant,  for  I  did  not  want  to  know 
more  than  was  good  for  me."    It  must  be  owned  that  in 


1-17' 


490 


ALEXANDER 


that  agb  it  would  have  Leon  impossible  to  bring  a  cardinal 
publicly  to  the  block.  This  apology  dues  not  apply  to  the 
charges  of  secret  poisoning  which  have  mainly  given  the 
Borgias  their  sinister  celebrity,  and  which  became  fearfully 
rife  in  Alexander's  latter  years.  They  are  unproved  as  yet, 
but  are  certainly  countenanced  by  the  opulence  of  the 
supposed  victims,  and  the  avidity  with  which  the  pope 
pounced  upon  their  effects,  especially  in  the  case  of  his 
rapacious  datary,  Cardinal  Ferrari. 

By  May  1503  Spain  had  dispossessed  France  of  her 
share  of  ill-gotten  Naples.  A  general  war  seemed  imminent ; 
Alexander  and  Caesar  leaned  to  the  side  of  Spain.  The 
Sacred  College  was  already  full  of  Spanish  cardinals,  docile 
instruments  of  their  countryman,  and  Alexander  might  well 
deem  that  he  had  fettered  the  Church  to  the  fortune  of  his 
house.  Men  looked  for  the  proclamation  of  Caesar  as  king 
of  Romagna,  and  the  division  of  the  temporal  and  the 
spiritual  power.  The  ancient  mutual  relations  of  pepe 
and  emperor  would  have  been  revived,  but  on  the  naiT  ,w 
area  of  Central  Italy.  But  this  was  not  to  be.  On  the 
morning  of  12th  August  "  Pope  Alexander  felt  ill;"  so  did 
Caesar  Borgia.  Every  one  knows  the  story  of  the  supper 
given  to  the  ten  cardinals  in  the  villa,  and  the  fatal 
exchange  of  the  poisoned  flask.  This  picturesque  tale  is 
almost  certainly  a  fiction.  An  attempt  to  destroy  ten 
cardinals  at  once  is  inconceivable ;  it  would  be  easier  to 
believe  Cardinal  Castellesi's  assertion  that  he  was  to  have 
been  the  victim,  as  his  sickness  at  the  tune  is  confirmed 
from  an  independent  source.  But  his  character  does  not 
stand  high,  and  the  symptoms  of  his  disorder,  as  described 
by  himself,  differ  totally  from  Alexander's,  which  were  those 
of  an  ordinary  Roman  fever.  The  progress  of  the  pope's 
malady  may  be  minutely  traced  in  the  diary  of  Burcardus 
and  the  despatches  of  the  Ferrarese  envoy.  He  expired 
on  the  evening  of  18th  August,  duly  provided  with  all  the 
needful  sacraments  of  the  Church.  From  his  own  point 
of  view  his  life  probably  appeared  fortunate  and  glorious ; 
but  the  vicissitude  of  human  affairs  is  ever  dramatically 
illustrated  by  the  death  of  a  pope.  Ere  the  corpse  was 
cold  the  pontifical  apartments  were  pillaged  by  the 
satellites  of  Caesar  Borgia ;  at  the  funeral  a  brawl  between 
priests  and  soldiers  left  it  exposed  in  the  body  of  the 
church ;  when  placed  before  the  altar,  its  shocking  decom- 
position confirmed  the  surmise  of  poison ;  finally,  stripped 
of  its  cerements  and  WTapped  in  an  old  carpet,  it  was  forced, 
with  blows  and  j(  ers,  into  a  narrow  coffin,  and  flung  into 
an  obscure  vault.  The  remains  were  subsequently  trans- 
ferred to  the  Spanish  church  of  St  Mary  of  Montserrat, 
where  they  repose  at  this  day. 

Alexander  has  become  a  myth,  and  his  "  acts"  are  in 
some  respects  almost  as  legendary  as  those  of  the  primitive 
saints  and  martyrs.  The  peculiar  odium  attached  to  his 
memory  rests  partly  on  the  charge  of  incest,  of  which  he 
must  be  acquitted;  partly  on  that  of  secret  poisoning, 
which  is  at  least  not  established;  partly  on  the  confusion 
between  his  actions  and  Caesar  Borgia's.  Nearly  every- 
thing actually  criminal  in  his  pontificate  is  subsequent  to 
the  preponderance  of  the  latter.  Profligate  alike  in  public 
and  private  life,  he  was  no  malignant  tyrant, — affable, 
familiar,  easy,  he  justly  took  credit  for  his  moderation 
towards  notorious  malcontents,  and  his  indifference  to 
personal  injuries.  These  virtues,  however,  as  well  as  his 
family  affection,  were  merely  constitutional  with  him, — as 
the  many  beneficial  acts  of  his  administration  were  rather 
prompted  by  a  sense  or  policy  than  a  sense  of  duty.  His 
ability  as  a  ruler  is  evinced  by  the  tranquillity  he  main- 
tained in  Rome,  his  effectual  provision  against  dearth,  the 
regular  discharge  of  financial  obligations,  the  energetic 
prosecution  of  useful  public  works.  As  a  statesman  he 
ranks  high  in  the  second  class.     He  was  too  destitute  of 


morality  to  have  the  least  insight  into  the  tendencies  of 
his  tunes;  but  from  the  point  of  view  of  political  expe- 
diency, his  policy  was  eminently  sagacious  and  adroit. 
He  cannot  be  accused  of  preparing  tho  misfortunes  of 
Italy,  but  he  did  not  disdain  to  profit  by  them.  His 
licentiousness  and  contempt  of  ecclesiastical  decorum  are 
partly  palliated  by  the  circumstances  of  his  initiation  into 
the  Church.  He  was  untrained  to  the  ecclesiastical  pro- 
fession, never  felt  himself  a  priest,  and  was  wholly  regard- 
less of  the  Church's  interest  as  such.  In  this  respect  he 
is  almost  unique  among  the  successors  of  St  Peter.  Were 
controversies  regulated  by  reason  rather  than  by  con- 
venience, the  parties  to  this  would  change  sides, — Alex- 
ander's accusers  would  become  his  advocates,  and  his 
advocates  his  accusers.  The  Church  in  her  secret  heart 
must  rate  him  the  lowest  of  her  chiefs;  the  world  must 
feel  that  he  deserves  much  better  of  it  than  many  much 
better  popes. 

The  principal  contemporary  authority  for  the  reign  of  Alei 
is  the  diary  of  the  papal  master  of  the  ceremonies,  Joanne..  Bur- 
cardus,  a  record  replete  with  trivialities  and  not  exempt  from  inter- 
polations, but  containing  indisputable  evidence  of  perfect  candour. 
An  excellent  edition,  commenced  in  1855  by  the  Abbe  Gemmn  Hi, 
was  discontinued  after  the  publication  of  a  few  parts.  The  un- 
critical histories  of  Gordon  and  Tomasi  are  indebted  to  Bui 
for  any  value  they  possess.  The  paltry  productions  of  modern 
fioman  Catholic  apologists  (Jorry,  Fave,  Cerri,  4c.)  are  beneath 
contempt.  The  Abb6  Ollivier  (Alexandre  VI.  el  Its  Borgia,  torn. 
i.,  Paris,  1870)  excites  respect  by  his  good  faith  and  amusement  by 
his  strange  alliance  of  perverse  ingenuity  with  infantine  unsuspi- 
ciousness.  Of  late  years  the  archives  of  the  Italian  courts  have 
become  accessible,  and  the  transactions  of  Alexander'9  reign  have 
been  sagaciously  investigated  from  this  -source  by  two  German 
scholars,  Von  Reumont  (Die  Siadt  Rom,  Bd.  3,  Abth.  1,  Berlin, 
1868)  and  Gregorovius  (Rom  in  MUtelaller,  Bd.  7,  Stuttgart,  1870). 
The  latter  is  the  more  copious,  but  his  general  estimate  of  Alex- 
ander is  much  too  low.  By  far  the  ablest  English  contribution 
to  the  history  of  Alexander  is  a  notice  of  Gregorovius  in  the 
North  British  Review,  voL  lib,  entitled  The  Borgias  and  lluAr  Latest 
Historian.  (n.  o.) 

Alexander  VEL  (Fahio  Chigi),  was  born  at  Siena  on 
the  13th  February  1599,  and  occupied  the  papal  chair 
from  the  7th  April  1655  to  the  22d  May  1667.  Before 
his  elevation  he  had  filled  successively  the  offices  of 
inquisitor  at  Malta,  vice-legate  at  Ferrara,  and  nuncio  to 
Germany  at  the  conference  of  Munster.  The  conclave 
elected  him  in  the  belief  that  he  was  strongly  opposed  to 
the  nepotism  and  other  abuses  that  had  characterised  the 
reign  of  his  immediate  predecessor,  Innocent  X.,  and  at 
the  beginning  of  his  pontificate  he  went  so  far  in  this 
direction  as  to  forbid  his  relatives  even  to  visit  Rome. 
In  a  year,  however,  all  was  changed,  and  nepotism  pre- 
vailed to  as  great  an  extent  as  under  any  lormer  pontiff. 
Alexander  was  a  patron  of  learning,  and  himself  wrote  a 
volume  of  Latin  poems  which  appeared  at  Paris  in  1656 
under  the  title  Philomathi  Labores  Juveniles.  He  also 
encouraged  architecture,  and  in  particular  constructed  the 
beautiful  colonnade  in  the  piazza  of  St  Peter's.  The  most 
noteworthy  events  of  his  pontificate  were  tho  reception  of 
the  ex-queen  Christina  of  Sweden  into  the  Catholic  Church, 
the  promulgation  of  a  bull  against  the  Jansenists,  and  a 
protracted  dispute  with  Louis  XIV.  of  France,  during 
which  the  papal  see  lost  possession  of  Avignon  (1662). 
Alexander  canonised  Francis  of  Sales  in  1665. 

Alexander  "VTLL  (Pielro  Otloboni),  born  at  Venice 
in  1610,  was  raised  to  the  pontificate  in  October  1689 
in  succession  to  Innocent  XI.  He  assisted  his  native  state 
in  its  wars  with  the  Turks.  Although  an  enemy  of  the 
Jansenists,  he  condemned  certain  doctrinal  errors  of  the 
Jesuits  as  advanced  by  Professor  Bougot  of  Dijon.  He 
carried  nepotism  to  such  an  extent  that  the  salaries  and 
gifts  bestowed  on  his  relatives  during  his  reign,  short 
though  it  was,  exhausted  the  papal  treasury.     He  added 


ALEXANDER 


491 


by  purchase  the  books  and  manuscripts  of  Queen  Christina 
to  the  Vatican  library.     He  died  in  Feb.  1691. 

ALEXANDER  I,  King  of  Scotland,  son  of  Malcolm 
Canmore,  succeeded  his  brother  Edgar  in  1107,  and  died 
in  1124.  He  was  better  educated  than  any  of  his  prede- 
cessors, owing  to  the  care  of  his  mother,  the  amiable  Mar- 
garet of  England.  All  the  qualities  of  his  nature,  both 
good  and  bad,  were  strongly  marked;  from  the  terror  he 
inspired,  he  was  styled  by  his  subjects  the  Fierce.  His  reign 
is  distinguished  by  the  determined  opposition  he  offered 
to  any  interference  on  the  part  of  English  bishops  in  the 
affairs  of  the  Scottish  Church.  He  contrived  by  energy 
and  valour  to  subdue  the  turbulence  of  his  kingdom; 
specially  noticeable  are  the  promptness  and  vigour  he  dis- 
played in  suppressing  the  insurrection  of  Angus,  grandson 
of  Lulach,  a  son  of  Macbeth's  queen.  He  died  at  Stir- 
ling, and,  being  childless,  was  succeeded  by  his  brother 
David  L 

Alexander  IX,  King  of  Scotland,  was  born  at  Had- 
dington in  1198  (died  1219),  and  succeeded  his  father, 
William  the  Lion,  in  1214.  Though  still  young,  he  exhi- 
bited the  same  prudence  and  firmness  which  marked  his 
whole  conduct  in  life.  He  was  excommunicated  in  1216 
for  associating  with  the  EngUsh  barons  in  their  opposition 
to  King  John;  but  his  prudence  enabled  bim  to  recover 
the  good  opinion  of  the  pope,  and  placed  him  on  the 
best  footing  with  the  English  king,  Henry  III.,  John's 
successor.  His  fidelity  to  Henry  was  shown  by  the 
assistance  he  rendered  him  in  protecting,  during  Henry's 
absence  in  France,  the  northern  borders  of  England,  and 
the  friendliness  of  the  kings  was  strengthened  by  the 
marriage  of  Alexander  to  Henry's  sister  Joan  (1221). 
Joan  died  in  1238,  and  in  May  1239  Alexander  married 
Mary  de  Coucy.  In  1244  Henry  marched  against  Scot- 
land to  force  from  Alexander  the  homage  due  to  him  for 
the  lands  he  held  in  the  north  of  England,  but  in  August 
a  peace  was  concluded  at  Newcastle.  Like  Alexander  I., 
he  was  zealous  in  defence  of  the  privileges  of  the  Scottish 
Church;  and  in  1222  he  put  to  death  400  persons  who 
had  been  implicated  in  the  murder  of  the  bishop  of 
Caithness.  While  engaged  in  quelling  an  insurrection  in 
Argyleshire,  he  died  of  fever  in  the  island  of  Kerrera  in 
1249. 

Alexander  III.,  King  of  Scotland,  son  of  Alexander 
IL  by  his  second  wife,  Mary  de  Coucy,  was  born  at  Box- 
burgh  on  the  4th  September  1241  (died  1286),  and  suc- 
ceded  to  the  throne  on  the  death  of  his  father  in  1249. 
The  fact  that  in  this  case  the  succession  of  a  minor  was 
unopposed  is  noteworthy,  as  showing  that  the  hereditary 
principle  had  now  established  itself.  By  a  provision  of 
the  treaty  of  Newcastle  Alexander  had  been  betrothed. in 
infancy  to  the  daughter  of  the  king  of  England,  and  it 
suited  Henry's  policy  to  insist  on  an  early  fulfilment  of 
'he  contract.  Notwithstanding  the  extreme  youth  of  the 
parties,  the  marriage  was  celebrated  at  York  on  the  25th 
December  1251.  On  this  occasion  Alexander  is  said  by 
Matthew  Paris  to  have  done  homage  for  his  estates  in 
England,  and  to  have  refused  homage  for  his  kingdom  of 
Scotland,  on  the  ground  that  he  had  not  consulted  on  the 
matter  with  his  proper  advisers.  The  story,  however, 
seems  inconsistent  with  Henry's  policy  at  the  time,  and  is 
therefore  questionable.  With  a  king  so  young,  in  times 
60  unsettled,  the  hopes  and  efforts  of  contending  factions 
were  naturally  stimulated.  At  the  commencement  of  his 
reign  Alexander  was  under  the  power  of  the  Comyns,  the 
most  influcutial  family  among  the  Scottish  nobility.  A 
rival  party,  under  the  leadership  of  Durftard  the  justiciar, 
was  supported  by  England,  and  in  1254  succeeded  in  seizing 
Edinburgh  castle,  and  freeing  the  king  and  queen  from  the 


domination  of  the  Comyns.  Meanwhile  Henry  bad  him- 
self marched  to  Scotland  with  an  army,  and  in  September 
he  met  Alexander  at  Boxburgh.  There  a  regency  was 
arranged,  from  which  the  Comyns  were  entirely  excluded. 
In  1257,  however,  the  latter  regained  their  ascendancy, 
and  obtained  possession  of  the  person  of  the  king,  whom 
they  kept  prisoner  at  Kinross  and  Stirling.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  a  new  regency  was  formed,  in  which  both  the 
opposing  parties  were  represented,  and  the  king  was 
liberated.  In  1260  he  and  hi3  queen  paid  a  visit  to  the 
court  of  England.  While  at  Windsor  the  queen  gave 
birth  to  a  daughter,  Margaret,  afterwards  married  to  Eric 
of  Norway.  An  account  of  the  invasion  of  Scotland  in 
1263  by  Haco,  king  of  Norway,  and  of  the  disastrous 
defeat  at  Largs,  belongs  rather  to  the  history  of  the 
country  than  to  the  personal  biography  of  the  king.  Three 
years  after  the  invasion,  Magnus,  king  of  Norway,  ceded 
to  Alexander  the  Isle  of  Man  and  the  Western  Isles, 
receiving  in  return  a  ransom  of  a  thousand  marks  and  an 
annual  rent  of  a  hundred  marks.  The  Orkney  and  Shet- 
land islands  still  remained  under  the  dominion  of  Norway. 
Alexander  was  involved  in  a  protracted  and  on  the  whole 
successful  struggle  with  the  papal  power  for  the  independ- 
ence of  the  Scottish  Church.  The  chief  matter  in  dispute 
was  the  proper  valuation  of  church  lands  for  the  purpose 
of  taxation.  In  connection  with  this,  Boiamund  or  Bagi- 
mond  came  from  Borne  in  1275  with  a  commission  to  draw 
up  the  valution  known  as  Bagimond's  roll,  which  remained 
the  basis  for  the  taxation  of  church  lands  down  to  the  time 
of  the  Beformation.  The  internal  condition  of  the  country 
seems  to  have  improved  greatly  during  the  latter  years  of 
Alexander's  reign.  A  wise  and  vigorous  administration 
ensured  peace  and  consequent  prosperity.  The  prospect  of 
Scotland  was  perhaps  never  brighter  in  all  her  early  his- 
tory than  towards  the  close  of  his  reign,  but  it  was  sud- 
denly overcast.  A  series  of  calamities,  following  each  other 
in  quick  succession,  left  the  nation  at  the  mercy  of  its  foes 
within  and  without.  In  1275  Alexander's  wife  died,  and 
a  few  years  later  he  lost  both  his  children.  The  succession 
in  the  direct  line  was  thus  left  to  the  precarious  chance  of 
the  single  life  of  the  infant  princess  known  in  history  as 
the  "Maid  of  Norway."  In  1285  Alexander  married 
Joletta,  daughter  of  the  Count  of  Dreux.  Any  hope  of 
strengthening  the  succession  by  this  union  was,  however, 
destroyed  by  the  calamitous  event  of  the  following  year. 
On  the  12th  March  12S6  the  king  was  killed  by  a  fall 
from  his  horse  while  riding  on  the  coast  of  Fife  opposite 
Edinburgh.  A  spot  near  Kinghorn,  known  as  the  King's 
Wud  End,  is  pointed  out  as  the  scene  of  the  tragical 
event.  The  death  of  Alexander  was  a  turning-point  in 
Scottish  history.  The  national  independence,  which  he 
maintained  so  steadfastly  against  the  insidious  claims  of 
England,  while  avoiding  an  open  rupture,  was  once  more 
placed  in  jeopardy.  The  popular  estimate  of  the  calamity 
is  well  expressed  in  the  following  lines,  believed  to  be  the 
earliest  specimen  of  Scotch  poetry  extant : — 

"  Quhen  Alysander  our  kyng  was  (kde, 
That  Scotland  led  in  luve  and  le, 
Awaye  was  sons  of  ale  and  brede, 
Of  wyne  and  wax,  of  gamvn  ami  gli. 
Our  gold  was  changyd  into  lede. 
Cryst,  born  into  virgynyte, 
Succour  Scotland  and  remede, 
That  stad  is  in  perplexyte." 

ALEXANDEB,  Baulovich,  Emperor  of  Russia — born 
on  28th  December  1777,  died  1825 — was  the  son  of  Paul 
afterwards  emperor,  by  Maria,  daughter  of  Prince  Eugene 
of  Wiirtemberg.  His  early  education  was  conducted  under 
his  excellent  mother,  and  afterwards  was  carefully  directed 
by  his  grandmother,  the  Empress  Catherine  II.,  who  con- 


492 


ALEXANDER 


fided  its  general  superintendence  to  Frederick  Caesar,  de 
La  Harpe.  On  the  assassination  of  his  father  Paul  in 
1801,  Alexander  succeeded  to  the  Russian  throne.  He 
had  been  married  in  1793  to  the  Princess  Louisa  Maria  of 
Baden,  but  the  union  proved  an  unhappy  one,  and  had  no 
issue. 

Tho  policy  of  the  young  emperor  was  indicated  by  his 
concluding  a  peace  with  Britain,  against  which  his  father 
had  declared  war.  In  1805  he  joined  Austria  and  Sweden 
in  a  coalition  with  Great  Britain  against  the  pretensions 
of  France.  The  war  that  followed  was  disastrous  to  the 
allies.  The  armies  of  Austria  were  totally  defeated  in  a 
succession  of  battles  between  the  6th  and  13th  October  of 
that  year;  and  the  combined  Austrian  and  Russian  armies, 
under  the  two  emperors,  were  defeated  by  Napoleon  in  the 
great  battle  of  Austerlitz  on  the  2d  December.  Austria 
concluded  a  separate  treaty  of  peace,  and  Alexander  led 
the  remains  of  his  army  into  his  own  dominions.  Prussia, 
which  had  injudiciously  stood  neutral  while  France  was 
humbling  Austria  and  Russia,  rashly  engaged  in  hostilities 
with  Napoleon  in  1806,  while  her  allies,  the  Russians, 
were  still  beyond  the  Vistula ;  but  the  defeats  at 
Auerstadt  and  Jena  laid  Prussia  prostrate ;  and  in  the 
succeeding  year  the  battles  of  Eylau  and  Friedland,  in 
which  the  Russians  were  fairly  beaten,  led  to  the  dis- 
memberment of  'Prussia,  and  the  treaty  of  Tilsit  with 
Russia.  A  few  days  after  the  last  battle,  Alexander  and 
Wapoleon  met  on  a  raft  anchored  in  the  river  Niemen,  and 
agreed  to  the  treaty,  which  was  signed  at  Tilsit  on  July  7. 
By  a  secret  article  of  this  treaty  Alexander  was  not  only 
to  withdraw  from  hi3  connection  with  Britain,  but  to 
become  her  enemy;  and  he  declared  war  against  her  on 
the  26th  October. 

For  nearly  five  years  Alexander  appeared  "attached  to 
the  alliance  of  France;  but  the  privations  of  his  subjects 
by  the  interruption  of  the  commerce  with  England,  and 
the  intolerable  load  of  Napoleon's  "  Continental  System," 
at  length  induced  him  to  return  to  his  old  alliance,  and  to 
declare  war  against  France  on  March  19,  1812.  On  the 
24th  April  he  left  St  Petersburg  to  join  his  armies  on  the, 
west  frontier  of  Lithuania.  Napoleon  assembled  the  most 
numerous  and  magnificent  army  that  had  ever  been  brought 
together  in  modern  times,  augmented  by  the  unwilling 
levies  of  Prussia  and  Austria,  and  entered  Russia  on  the 
25th  June  1812.  The  first  encounter  was  at  Borodino, 
where  there  was  a  well-contested,  action,  in  which  each 
army  suffered  the  loss  of  25,000  men.  The  burning  of 
Moscow,  and  the  subsequent  retreat  of  Napoleon,  during 
which  his  army  was  all  but  annihilated,  are  among  the 
best  known  events  of  modern  history. 

In  181 3  the  advancing  Russians  were  successively  joined 
by  the  forces  of  Prussia,  Austria,  and  Sweden.  Alexander 
continued  with  the  allied  armies,  and  in  particular  was 
present  at  the  battles  of  Dresden  and  Leipsic.  Napoleon 
had  made  wonderful  exertions  to  repair  his  losses  in 
the  early  part  of  1814;  but  the  victories  of  Wellington 
in  Spain,  and  his  advance  into  the  heart  of  France, 
favoured  the  progress  of  the  allies ;  and  on  March  30, 
1814,  150,000  men  of  the  allied  armies  took  possession  of 
Paris,  which  was  entered  next  day  by  Alexander  and  the 
king  of  Prussia. 

After  the  deposition  of  Napoleon  the  allied  sovereigns 
visited  England.  By  the  treaty  of  Vienna,  Alexander  was 
acknowledged  king  of  Poland ;  but  before  the  congress 
of  Vienna  broke  up,  Napoleon  had  escaped  from  Elba, 
and  was  enthusiastically  received  at  Paris.  The  two 
eastern  emperors  and  the  king  of  Prussia  remained  to- 
gether until  the  battle  of  Waterloo  gave  peace  to  Europe. 
On  the  advance  of  the  British  and  Prussians  to  Paris,  the 
three  allied  sovereigns  again  made  their  entry  into  that 


capital,  where  they  concluded,  on  September  26,  the  treaty 
which  has  been  designated  the  Holy  Alliance. 

Alexander  was  henceforward  chiefly  occupied  in  the 
internal  administration  of  his  vast  dominions,  which  cer- 
tainly improved  more  during  the  twenty-five  years  of  his 
reign  than  under  any  of  his  predecessors  from  the  time  of 
Peter  L  Tho  gradual  abolition  of  the  feudal  servitude  of 
the  peasantry,  begun  by  the  most  enlightened  of  his  pre- 
decessors, was  continued  under  Alexander.  Education, 
agriculture,  manufactures,  commerce,  were  also  greatly 
extended ;  while  literature  and  the  fine  arts  were  liberally 
encouraged.  His  disposition  has  been  represented  by  his 
subjects  as  mild  and  merciful ;  yet  his  influence  in  the 
affairs  of  Europe  was  not  exerted  in  the  cause  of  public 
liberty.  But  this  could  hardly  be  expected  from  the 
autocrat  of  an  unmitigated  despotism  in  his  own  terri- 
tories. He  will,  however,  bear  very  favourable  comparison 
with  any  Russian  sovereign,  or  even  with  any  contem- 
porary monarch. 

Early  in  the  winter  of  1825  he  left  St  Petersburg  for 
the  last  time  on  a  tour  of  inspection  of  his  southern  pro- 
vinces. .  About  the  middle  of  November  he  was  attacked 
by  a  violent  intermittent  fever,  which  proved  fatal  at 
Taganrog  on  December  1,  1825.  In  foreign  countries  his 
death  has  been  attributed  to  poison  ;  but  this  is  refuted 
by  the  history  of  his  disease,  and  is  very  improbable,  from 
his  great  popularity  with  his  countrymen.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded, in  accordance  with  a  family  compact,  by  his  second 
brother  Nicholas. 

ALEXANDER  JAROSLAWITZ  NEVSKI,  Saint, 
Grand  Duke  of  Wladimir,  second  son  of  the  Grand  Duke 
Jaroslaw  H.,  was  born' at  Wladimir  in  1219,  and  died 
14th  November  1263.  He  became  prince  of  Novgorod 
on  the  resignation  of  his  father  in  1239,  his  elder  brother 
having  died.  While  Batu  Khan  was  sweeping  with  his 
Tatars  over  the  south,  the  Swedes,  Danes,  and  Livonian 
knights  took  advantage  of  this  to  oppress  the  north  of 
Russia;  Alexander  accordingly  directed  his  arms  against 
them,  and  gained  a  brilliant  victory  with  his  small  army 
on  the  15th  July  1240.  His  surname  of  Nevski  was 
derived  from  this  event,  which  took  place  near  the  Neva, 
and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  modern  St  Petersburg.  In  a 
second  campaign  in  1241  he  was  no  less  successful,  and 
drove  his  enemies  out  of  Pleskow  in  Kiew.  In  a  third 
campaign  he  defeated  them  near  lake  Peipus  (1242),  and 
forced  the  Livonian  knights  to  sue  for  peace  and  retire  from 
the  district  of  Pskow,  which  they  had  conquered  a  short 
time  before.  On  his  father's  death  in  1247,  a  younger 
brother  (Andrew)  opposed  Alexander,  and  seized  the 
duchy  of  Wladimir;  but  in  1251  the  latter  was  estab- 
lished in  his  rights  by  the  khan  of  Kaptchak,  the  district 
which  the  Mongolian  Batu  had  taken  under  his  immediate 
authority.  He  firmly  opposed  the  proposal  of  Pope  Inno- 
cent rV.  to  unite  the  Greek  with  the  Roman  church.  He 
died  at  Gorodetz,  14th  November  1263,  on  his  return  from 
a  visit  to  Kassimcow.  Towards  the  close  of  his  life  he  is 
said  to  have  taken  holy  orders,  but  the  tradition  rests  on 
no  sure  basis.  At  his  death  the  people  universally  spoke 
of  him  as  their  father  and  protector,  and  afterwards 
recorded  his  deeds  in  their  songs,  and  honoured  him  as  a 
saint.  Peter  the  Great,  when  founding  St  Petersburg, 
erected  a- magnificent  monastery  to  the  east  of  the  city  in 
honour  of  the  victory  won  there  by  bis  great  predecessor, 
and  created  in  1722  one  of  the  eight  Russian  orders,  that 
of  Alexander  Nevski.  The  monastery  is  now  one  of  the 
wealthiest  in  Russia,  and  has,  according  to  Eckhardt,  a 
yearly  revenue  of  half  a  million  silver  roubles. 

ALEXANDER,  Archibald,  D.D.,  a  Presbyterian  divine 
of  America,  was  born  of  a  family,  originally  Scotch,  in 
Rockbridge  county,  Virginia,  on  the  17th  April  1772  (died 


A  L  E  —  A  L  E 


193 


1851).  After  completing  his  preliminary  education  at 
Timber  Ridge,  lie  came  under  the  influence  of  the  religious 
movement  known  as  the  "  great  revival,"  and  devoted 
himself  to  the  study  of  theology.  Licensed  to  preach  in 
1791,  he  was  engaged  for  seven  years  as  an  itinerant 
missionary  in  his  native  state,  and  acquired  during  this 
period  the  facility  of  extemporaneous  speaking  for  which 
he  was  remarkable.  For  a  time  president  of  Hampden 
Sidney  College,  he  resigned  that  position  in  1807  to 
become  pastor  of  Pine  Street  church,  Philadelphia.  In 
1810  the  degree  of  doctor  of  divinity  was  conferred  upon 
him  by  the  college  of  New  Jersey,  and  in  the  following 
year  he  was  appointed  first  professor  in  the  newly-estab- 
lished Presbyterian  theological  seminary  at  Princeton.  He 
filled  the  chair  until  his  death  in  1851.  Dr  Alexander 
wrote  a  considerable  number  of  works  in  theology,  which 
have  had  a  large  circulation.  Among  these  may  be  men- 
tioned his  Outlines  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity  (1823), 
which  has  passed  through  several  editions,  and  been  trans- 
lated into  various  languages;  and  his  Treatise  on  the  Canon 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  (1826).  He  was  also  a 
frequent  contributor  to  the  Biblical  Repertory,  edited  by 
Professor  Hodge. 

ALEXANDER,  Joseph  Addison,  D.D.,  third  son  of 
the  preceding,  one  of  the  most  eminent  biblical  scholars 
of  America,  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  1809  (died  1860). 
He  studied  at  New  Jersey,  devoting  himself  specially  to 
Hebrew  and  other  Oriental'languages.  He  graduated  in 
1826,  and  from  1830  to  1833  was  adjunct  professor  of 
ancient  languages  and  literature  in  his  alma  mater.  In 
1838  he  was  appointed  professor  of  biblical  criticism  and 
ecclesiastical  history  in  the  theological  seminary  at  Prince- 
ton. He  was  transferred  in  1852  to  the  chair  of  biblical 
and  ecclesiastical  history,  which  he  occupied  till  his  death 
in  January  1860.  Dr  Alexander  wrote  several  valuable 
works  in  his  own  department,  the  most  important  being  a 
Translation  of  and  Commentary  on  the  Psalms,  a  Critical 
Commentary  on  the  Prophecies  of  Isaiah,  and  a  treatise  on 
primitive  church  government.  He  also  contributed  nume- 
rous articles  to  the  Biblical  Repertory  and  the  Princeton 
Review.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  engaged  along 
with  Dr  Hodge  in  the  preparation  of  a  commentary  on  the 
New  Testament. 

ALEXANDER,  Sir  William,  earl  of  Stirling,  poet. 
The  family  of  Alexander  of  Menstrie — i.e.,  of  the  poet — 
is  of  ancient  lineage,  "tracing  its  descent  from  Somerled, 
lord  of  the  Isles,  in  the  reign  of  Malcolm  TV.,  through  a 
misty  Highland  genealogy,  to  John,  lord  of  the  Isles,  who 
married  the  Princess  Margaret,  daughter  of  King  Robert 
II.  Their  son,  Alexander,  was  father  of  Angus,  who 
founded  the  family  of  Macalister  of  Loup,  and  of  Alex- 
ander, who  obtained  from  the  Argyle  family  a  grant  of 
the  lands  of  Menstrie  in  Stirlingshire,  and  settled  there — 
his  descendants  assuming  his  christian  name  of  Alexander 
as  their  surname.  The  fifth  in  descent  from  this  personage 
was  Alexander  Alexander,  whose  successor  was  his  son, 
William  Alexander,  the  poet "  (Works :  Introductory 
Memoir,  voL  L  p.  ix.,  1870).  From  his  (rare)  engraved 
portrait,  William  was,  it  appears,  aged  57  in  1637;  so 
that  he  must  have  been  born  (at  Menstrie  House,  where 
afterwards  was  born  Sir  Ralph  Abercromby)  in  1580. 
The  grammar  school  of  neighbouring  Stirling  probably 
furnished  his  early  education ;  of  his  later,  it  is  simply 
known  that  he  attended  the  university  of  Glasgow.  On 
leaving  it  he  proceeded  on  his  travels  with  Archibald, 
seventh  earl  of  Argyle.  It  is  supposed  that  it  was  during  his 
6ojourn  on  the  Continent  he  composed  his  series  of  sonnets, 
afterwards  published  under  the  title  of  Avrora  (1604). 
lie  was  tutor  to  the  young  earl  Upon  his  return  he  pro- 
ceeded to  court,  and  won  for  himself  speedily  a  name  as 


a  gentleman  of  parts  and  learning.  The  first  of  hit 
Monarchkke  Tragedies  had  been  published  at  Edinburgh 
in  1603,  viz.,  T/ie  Tragedie  of  Darivs,  which,  like  his 
Parenesis  to  the  Prince  (1604),  bore  on  the  title-page 
simply,  "By  William  Alexander  of  Menstrie."  In  1604 
he  reprinted  Darivs  along  with  a  new  tragedy  of  Ccuar, 
giving  the  two  the  afterwards  more  celebrated  title  of 
Monarchiche  Tragedies  —  ultimately  increased  by  Thi 
Alexandraen  and  Julius  C&sar  (1607).  In  1607  he 
describes  himself  as  "  William  Alexander,  gentleman  of 
the  prince's  privy  chamber."  King  James  was  much  taken 
with  him.  He  held  his  office  with  the  prince  of  Wales  until 
his  lamented  death  in  1612,  on  which  he  published  his 
Elegie  on  the  Death  of  Prince  Henrie  (Edinburgh,  1612). 
In  1612  he  was  made  master  of  bequests,  and  knighted; 
his  title-page  of  the  Elegie  bearing  to  be  by  "  Sir  William 
Alexander  of  Menstrie."  In  1614  appeared  his  Doomesday; 
or,  the  Great  Day  of  tlie  Lord's  Ivdgement  (Edinburgh). 
In  1621  (September  21)  he  received  the  most  prodigious 
"gift"  ever  bestowed  on  a  subject,  viz.,  "a  gift  and 
grant"  of  Canada,  inclusive  of  Nova  Scotia,  or  Acadie, 
and  Newfoundland — a  fact  declarative  of  royal  ignorance 
of  what  the  gift  really  -was.  Yet  was  it  subsequently 
confirmed  by  Charles  I.  In  1624,  Alexander,  in  relation 
to  his  grant,  published  An  Encouragement  to  Colonies — ; 
twice  at  least  reprinted  (1625  and  1630).  The  gift  and 
grant  belong  to  history  rather  than  biography,  and  the:r 
later  results  to  the  romance  of  the  peerage  and  of  lav . 
In  1626  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State  for  Scotland, 
and  in  1630  created  a  peer,  as  Lord  Alexander  of  Tulli- 
body, and  Viscount  Stirling.  In  1631  he  was  made  rm 
extraordinary  judge  in  the  Court  of  Session.  In  1632  he 
built  Argyle  House,  a  quaint  building,  which  remains 
one  of  the  "lions"  of  Stirling.  In  1633  he  was  advanced 
a  step  in  the  peerage,  being  created  Earl  of  Stirling  and 
Viscount  Canada;  and  in  1639  Earl  of  Dovan.  In  1637 
he  collected  his  poetical  works,  and  issued  them  as  Recrea- 
tions with  the  Muses,  "by  William,  Earle  of  Sterline,"  with 
his  portrait  engraved  by  Marshall  This  folio  did  not 
include  either  Avrora  or  the  Psalms  of  King  David  (Oxford, 
1631),  although  there  seems  little  doubt  that  he,  rather 
than  King  James,  was  the  main  author  of  the  latter.  It, 
however,  first  gave  his  second  sacred  poem  (incomplete)  of 
Jonathan.  He  died  in  London  on  12th  February  1640, 
and  later  his  remains  were  transferred  to  Stirling.  Lauded 
by  Sir  Robert  Ayton  and  William  Drummond  of  Haw- 
thornden,  the  Earl  of  Stirling,  nevertheless,  soon  fell  out  of 
men's  memories.  The  recent  careful  and  beautiful  edition 
of  his  Poetical  Works  (3  vols.)  ought  to  revive  his  fame  ; 
for  while  there  is  too  often  a  wearying  wordiness,  the 
student-reader  is  rewarded  with  "full  many  a  gem  of 
purest  ray  serene."  His  Doomesday  has  some  grand  things; 
his  Avrora  suggests  comparison  with  Sidney's  Astrophel 
and  Stella.  (Works  a3  above;  Laing's  Baillie's  Letters 
and  Journals,  iii.  529 ;  Drummond  MSS.,  by  Laing ; 
Hunter's  MSS.,  in  Brit.  Museum.)  (a.  b.  o.} 

ALEXANDRETTA.     See  Scajtderoon. 

ALEXANDRIA,  a  city  of  Lower  Egypt,  and  for  a  long 
time  its  capital,  was  situated  on  the  Mediterranean,  12 
miles  west  of  the  Canopic  mouth  of  the  Nile,  in  31°  11' 
N.  lat,  and  29°  52'  E.  long.  The  ancient  city  was  oblong 
in  form,  with  a  length  from  east  to  west  of  3  to  4,  a  breadth 
from  north  to  south  of  1,  and,  according  to  Pliny,  a  circum- 
ference of  15  miles.  Lake  Mareotis  bathed  its  walls  on 
the  south,  and  the  Mediterranean  on  the  north  ;  on  the 
west  was  the  Necropolis,  and  on  the  east  the  Hippodrome. 
The  city  was  laid  out  in  straight  parallel  streets,  one  of 
which,  about  200  feet  wide,  ran  westward  from  the  Canopic 
gate  to  the  Necropolis.  This  street  was  decorated  with 
magnificent   houses,    temples,  and   public  buildings,  and 


49-4 


ALEXANDRIA 


was  intersected  by  another  of  the  same  breadth  and  magni- 
ficence, running  from  south  to  north.  Ancient  Alexandria 
was  divided  into  three  regions  :  (1.)  The  Jiegio  Judceorum, 
or  tho  Jews'  quarter,  funning  the  north-east  portion  of 
the  city.  (2.)  lihacotis  on  the  west,  occupied  chiefly  by 
iians.  Its  principal  building  was  the  Serapeum,  or 
temple  of  Serapis,  containing  an  image  <K  the  god,  brought 
probably  from  Pontus.  A  large  part  of  the  famous  library 
of  Alexandria  was  placed  in  the  Serapeum.  (3.)  Brucheuin, 
the  Royal  or  Greek  quarter,  forming  the  remaining  and 
most  magnificent  portion  of  the  city  In  tho  Brucheuin 
were  the  chief  pubii;  buildings  of  Alexandria,  the  most 
noted  of  which  was  the  splendid  palace  of  the  Ptolemies, 
on  a  peninsula  called  the  Lochias,  which  stretched  out 
into  tho  Mediterranean  towards  the  east  of  tho  city  ;  the 
library  proper,  and  the  museum,  a  sort  of  college,  with  a 
dining -hall  and  lecture-rooms  for  the  professors  (see 
Library);  the  Caesarium,  or  temple  of  the  Cajsars,  where 
divino  honours  were  paid  to  the  emperors ;  and  the 
Dicasterium,  or  court  of  justice.  An  artificial  mole,  called 
the  Ileptastadium,  nearly  a  mile  in  length,  stretched  from 
the  continent  to  the  isle  of  Pharos.  Between  this  mole 
and  the  peninsula  of  Lochias  was  the  greater  harbour  ;  on 
the  other  side  of  the  mole  was  the  harbour  called  Eunostos, 
or  Safe  Return.  The  two  were  connected  with  each 
other  by  two  breaks  in  the  mole,  crossed  by  two  bridges, 
which  could  be  raised  at  pleasure.  Within  tho  harbour  of 
Eunostos  was  an  artificial  basin  called  Kibolos,  i.e.,  the 
Chest,  communicating  with  lake  Mareotis  by  a  canal,  from 
which  a  separate  arm  stretched  eastward  to  the  Canopic 
mouth  of  the  Nile.  On  the  eastern  point  of  the  island  of 
Pharos  was  the  famous  lighthouse,  said  to  have  been  400 
feet  high.  It  was  begun  by  Ptolemy  Soter,  and  finished 
by  his  successor,  Philadelphus.  It  cost  800  talents,  which, 
if  Alexandrian,  is  equivalent  to  .£248,000.  In  the  time  of 
Diodorus  Siculus  (50  B.C.),  the  population  of  Alexandria 
was  estimated  at  300,000  freemen,  with  probably  at  least 
as  many  slaves. 

The  city  was  founded  by  Alexander  tho  Great  332  B.C.  ; 
but  the  island  of  Pharos  was  from  an  early  period  a  refuge 
of  Greek  and  Phoenician  sea-rovers,  a  fact  commemorated 
in  the  name  "  Pirates'  Bay,"  given  to  a  deep  indentation 
on  the  north  side  of  the  island ;  and  on  the  mainland 
was  the  little  town  of  Rhacotis,  subsequently  incorporated 
in  the  quarter  of  that  name.  The  architect  employed  by 
Alexander  was  the  celebrated  Dinocrates,  who  had  acquired 
a  high  reputation  by  rebuilding  the  temple  of  Diana  at 
Ephesus.  The  new  city  prospered  greatly  as  a  centre  both 
of  commerce  and  of  learning,  particularly  during  the  reigns 
of  the  earlier  Ptolemies,  to  whose  enlightened  liberality, 
indeed,  its  liteiary  importance  was  largely  due.  But  the 
later  monarchs  of  the  house  of  Lagus  were  mostly  weak 
andviciou3  men,  under  whom  the  city  declined  in  influence. 
In  80  B.C.  Ptolumy  Alexander  bequeathed  his  city  to  the 
Romans ;  but  the  bequest  did  not  immediately  take  effect 
owing  to  the  civil  convulsions  in  Italy,  into  which  Alexandria 
itself  was  eventually  drawn,  and  it  was  not  until  30  B.C. 
that  the  city  submitted  to  Augustus.  It  was  by  him  made 
an  imperial  city,  governed  by  a  prefect  appointed  by  the 
emperor,  while  the  functions  of  the  Alexandrian  senate 
were  suspended,  a  state  of  matters  which  continued  until 
196  A.D.,  when  Severus  restored  its  municipality. 

Alexandria  seems  from  this  time  to  have  regained  its 
old  prosperity,  becoming  an  important  granary  of  Rome, 
which,  doubtless,  was  one  of  tho  chief  reasons  that  induced 
Augustus  to  place  it  directly  under  the  imperial  power. 
In  215  a.d.  the  emperor  Caracalla  visited  the  city;  and, 
in  order  to  repay  some  insulting  satires  that  the  inhabitants 
bad  made  upon  him,  he  commanded  his  troops  to  put  to 
death  ?U  youths  capable  of  bearing  arms.     Thia  brutal 


order  seems  to  have  been  carried  out  even  beyond  the 
letter,  t<>r  a  general  massacre  wa3  the  result.  Notwith- 
standing this  terrible  disaster,  Alexandria  soon  recovered 
its  former  splendour,  and  fur  a  time  was  esteemed  the 
first  city  in  the  world  after  Rome. '  As  the  power  of  the 
Caesars  decreased,  however,  their  holdover  Alexandria  was 
weakened,  and  the  city  itself  suffered  from  internal  comr 
motions  and  insurrections,  which  gradually  destroyed  its 
importance.  In  616  it  was  taken  by  Chosrocs,  king  of 
Persia ;  and  in  640  by  the  Arabians,  under  Amru,  after 
a  siege  that  lasted  fourteen  months,  during  which  Ilerac- 
lius,  the  emperor  of  Constantinople,  did  not  send  a  singU 
ship  to  its  assistance.  Notwithstanding  the  losses  that  the 
city  had  sustained,  Amru  was  able  to  write  to  his  master, 
tho  caliph  Omar,  that  he  had  taken  a  city  containing  "4000 
palaces,  4000  bjths,  12,000  dealers  in  fresh  oil,  12,000 
gardeners,  40,000  Jews  who  pay  tribute,  4U0  theatres  or 
places  of  amusement"  The  following  story,  relating  to  tho 
destruction  of  the  library,  is  told  by  Abulfaragius  : — John 
the  Grammarian,  a  famous  Peripatetic  philosopher,  being 
in  Alexandria  at  the  time  of  its  capture,  and  in  high 
favour  with  Amru,  begged  that  he  would  give  him  tho 
ruyal  library.  Amrutold  him  that  it  was  not  in  his  power 
to  grant  such  a  request,  but  promised  to  write  to  the 
caliph  for  his  consent.  Omar,  on  hearing  the  request  of 
his  general,  is  said  to  have  replied  that  if  those  books 
contained  the  same  doctrine  witn  the  Koran,  they  could 
be  of  no  use,  since  the  Koran  contained  all  necessary 
truths ;  but  if  they  contained  anything  contrary  to  that 
book,  they  ought  to  be  destroyed;  and  therefore,  what- 
ever their  contents  were,  he  ordered  them  to  be  burnt 
Pursuant  to  this  order,  they  were  distributed  among  the 
public  baths,  of  which  there  was  a  large  number  in  the  city, 
where,  for  six  months,  they  served  to  supply  the  fires. 
Shortly  after  its  capture,  Alexandria  again  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Greeks,  who  took  advantage  of  Aniru's 
absence  with  the  greater  portion  of  his  army.  On  hearing 
what  had  happened,  however,  Amru  returned,  and  quickly 
regained  possession  of  tha  city.  About  the  year  646 
Amru  was  deprired  of  his  government  by  the  caliph  Oth- 
man.  The  Egyptians,  by  whom  Amru  was  greatly  beloved, 
were  so  much -dissatisfied  by  thi3  act,  and  even  showed 
such  a  tendency  to  revolt,  that  Constantine,  the  Greek 
emperor,  determined  to  make  an  effort  to  reduce  Alex- 
andria. The  attempt  proved  perfectly  successful,  Manuel, 
Constantine'3  general,  capturing  tho  city  with  inconsider- 
able loss.  The  caliph,  perceiving  his  mistake,  immediately 
restored  Amru,  who,  on  his  arrival  in  Egypt,  drove  the 
Greeks  within  the  walls  of  Alexandria,  but  was  only  able 
to  capture  the  city  after  a  most  obstinate  resistance  by  tha 
defenders.  This  so  exasperated  him  that  ho  completely 
demolished  its  fortifications,  although  he  seems  to  have 
spared  the  lives  of  the  inhabitants  as  far  a3  lay  m  hi» 
power.  Alexandria  now  rapidly  declined  in  importance. 
It  was  captured  by  Andalusian  adventurers  in  823 ;  by 
the  Moghrebins  in  924,  and  agp.in  in  928.  The  building 
of  Cairo  in  909,  and,  above  all,  the  discovery  of  the  routi 
to  the  East  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  in  1497,  nearly 
ruined  its  commerce;  and  after  this  we  hear  little  of  the 
city  until  the  beginning  of  the  present  century. 

Alexandria,  the  modern  city,  stands  partly  on  what 
was  the  island  of  Pharos,  now  a  peninsula,  but  mostly  on 
the  isthmus  by  which  it  is  connected  with  the  mainland. 
This  was  originally  an  artificial  dyke  connecting  the 
island  with  the  land  opposite ;  but,  through  the  constant 
accumulation  of  soil  and  nuns,  it  has  attained  its  present 
dimensions.  The  principal  public  and  government  build 
ings  are  on  the  peninsula.  Tho  ancient  city  was  situated 
on  the  mainland,  adjacent  to  the,  modern  town,  and  thf 
extent  of  tha  ruins  thai  still  exist  tnrnciuntly  attests  iu 


ALEXANDRIA 


495 


greatness.  Tie  general  appearance  of  Alexandria  is. by 
do  means  striking;  and  from  its  situation  its  environs  are 
sandy,  flat,  and  sterile.  It  was  formerly  surrounded  by 
fltrong  turreted  walls,  with  extensive  outworks,  but  in 
various  parts  the  walls  have  lately  been  destroyed  to  make 
way  for  improvements.  In  the  Turkish  quarter  the 
Streets  are  narrow,  irregular,  and  filthy,  and  the  houses 
mean  and  ill-built.  The  Frank  quarter,  on  the  other 
hand,  presents  the  appearance  of  a  European  town,  having 
handsome  streets  and  squares,  and  excellent  shops.  The 
streets  have  been  much  improved  lately  by  being  nearly 
all  paved.  The  principal  hotels,  shops,  and  offices  are 
situated  in  the  Great  Square,  the  centre  of  which  forms  a 
very  agreeable  promenade,  being  planted  with  trees,  and 
well  provided  with  seats.  It  has  also  a  fountain  at  each 
end.  In  the  suburbs  are  numerous  handsome  villas,  with 
pleasant  gardens.  Among  the  principal  public  buildings 
are  the  palace  of  the  pasha,  the  naval  arsenal,  the  naval 
and  military  hospitals,  custom-house,  bourse,  two  theatres, 
several  mosques,  churches,  convents,  &c.  There  is  an  im- 
portant naval  school,  and  a  number  of  other  educational 


institutions.  Among  the  charities  worthy  of  mention  is 
the  hospital  of  the  Deaconesses  of  Kaisersworth.  Formerly 
the  town  was  supplied  with  water  by  means  of  the  ancient 
reservoirs  formed  under  the  old  city,  which  are  in  many 
cases  as  perfect  now  as  when  first  made,  2000  years 
ago  These  were  annually  filled  with  water  by  means  of 
the  canal  from  the  Nile,  at  the  time  of  inundation;  but  a 
system  .of  water-works  has  been  formed  by  a  public  com- 
pany, and  a  constant  supply  of  water  is  now  obtained  from 
the  canak  at  some  distance  from  the  town.  The  principal 
streets,  squares,  and  railway  stations,  are  lighted  with  gas. 
Few  of  the  remains  of  the  ancient  city  are  now  visible. 
Most  of  those  that  were  to  be  seen  a  few  years  ago  have 
since  disappeared,  but  frequently  in  making  excavations 
portions  of  ancient  masonry,  broken  colu::.,j,3,  and  frag- 
ments of  statuss  are  discovered.  Among  the  best  known 
of  the  ancient  relics  are  the  two  obelisks  commonly  called 
"  Cleopatra's  Needles."  They  were  originally  brought 
from  Heliopolis  to  Alexandria  in  the  reign  of  Tiberius, 
and  were  set  up  in  front  of  the  temple  of  Caesar.  They 
are  of.  red  granite,  and  covered  with  hieroglyphics. 
One  is  still  standing,  and  is  71  feet  high  and  7  feet  7 
inches  in  diameter  at  the  base.    The  other,  which  is  fallen 


and  covered  with  debris,  is  in  a  less  perfect  state,  and  not 
quite  so  long  as  the  former.  It  was  offered  to  the  English, 
government  by  Mehemet  Ali,  but  after  soma  consideration 
was  declined.  Near  the  obelisks  are  the  ruins  of  an  old 
round  tower,  commonly  called  the  "  Roman  Towar."  >£ut 
the  most  striking  of  the  ancient  monuments  is  the  column 
styled  "  Pompey's  Pillar."  It  stands  on  a  mound  of  earth 
about  40  feet  high,  and  has  a  height  of  98  feet  9  inches. 
The  shaft  consists  of  a  single  piece  of  red  granite,  and  is 
73  feet  long  and  29  feet  8  inches  in  circumference.  The 
capital  is  Corinthian,  9  feet  high,  and  the  base  is  a  square 
of  about  15  feet  on  each  side.  From  an  inscription  it 
appears  to  have  been  erected  in  honour  of  the  emperor 
Diocletian,  and  it  was  formerly  surmounted  by  a  statue  of 
that  monarch.  To  the  S.W.  of  the  city  are  the  catacombs, 
which  served  for  the  burial  of  the  dead,  and  are  formed  by 
excavations  in  the  calcareous  rock  of  which  the  shore  i3 
composed.  They  are  of  great  extent,  and  one  of  the 
chambers  is  remarkable  for  its  elegance.  The  climate  of 
Alexandria  is  mild  and  salubrious.  The  heats  of  summer 
are  modified  by  the  N.W.  winds  from  the  sea,  which  prevail 
during  nine  months  of  the  year,  the  thermometer  seldom 
rising  above  85°  Fahr.  In  winter  a  good  deal  of  rain  falls, 
and  throughout  the  year  the  atmosphere  is  generally  moist, 
being  saturated  with  a  saline  vapour  from  the  sea. 

Alexandria  has  been  mainly  indebted  for  it3  prosperity 
to  the  advantages  of  its  position  for  trade.  It  was  this 
that  first  attracted  the  attention  of  its  far-seeing  founder 
to  the  site,  and  its  subsequent  history  in  no  way  belied  his 
penetration.  It  soon  rose  to  be  the  most  important  com- 
mercial city  in  the  world,  and  the  great  emporium  of  trade 
between  Europe  and  the  East.  Subsequently  its  fortunes 
fluctuated  with  those  of  its  possessors,  but  the  great  blow 
to  its  prosperity  was  the  discovery  of  the  route  to  India  by 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  under  the  Turks  it  sank  into 
insignificance,  numbering  only  about  6000  inhabitants. 
Soon  after  Mehemet  Ali  became  ruler  of  Egypt  he  turned 
his  attention  to  the  restoration  of  Alexandria.  One  of  the 
most  important  works  that  he  effected  with  this  view  was 
the  opening  of  the  Mahmoudieh  Canal  in  1820.  This  was 
accomplished  at  a  cost  of  about  £300,000,  and,  for  want  of 
proper  management,  at  a  melancholy  loss  of  human  life. 
It  is  about  50  miles  in  length,  with  an  average  width  of 
about  100  feet,  and  communicates  with  the  Rosetta  branch 
of  the  Nile  at  the  village  of  Atfeh.  Since  Alexandria 
became  the  centre  of  the  steam  communication  between 
Europe  and  Indo,  and  the  principal  station  on  the  Over- 
land Route,  its  progress  has  been  rapid  It  has  now  regular 
communication  with  England,  Marseilles,  Brindisi,  Con- 
stantinople, <fec.  In  1851  Mr  Stephenson  was  instructed 
to  form  a  railway  between  Alexandria  and  Cairo,  which 
was  accomplished,  and  the  line  opened  for  traffic,  in  1856. 
This  was  shortly  afterwards  extended  to  Suez,  and  several 
extensions  have  since  been  made  to  the  cotton  districts  of 
the  Delta.  A  short  line  of  railway  (net  belonging  to  the 
government)  connects  the  town  with  Ramleh,  a  sea-bathing 
village  about  7  miles  distant. 

Alexandria  has  two  ports,  an  eastern  and  a  western. 
The  latter,  called  also  the  Old  Port,  is  by  far  the  larger 
and  better  of  the  two.  It  extends  from  the  town  west- 
ward to  Marabout,  nearly  6  miles,  and  is  about  a  mile  and 
a-half  in  width.  It  has  three  principal  entrances.  The 
first,  or  that  nearest  the  city,  has  about  17  feet  of  water, 
but  is  narrow  and  difficult  of  access,  and  only  used  by 
6mall  vessels  and  boats.  The  second  or  middle,  which  is 
also  the  principal  entrance,  is  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
wide,  and  has,  where  shallowest,  27  feet  of  water.  The 
eastern  side  of  this  entrance  is  marked  by  buoys,  and  there 
are  landmarks  for  guiding  to  the  channel.  The  third  or 
western  entrance  has  its  western  boundary  about  three- 


496 


A  u  E  —  A  L  E 


eighths  of  a  milt,  from  Marabout  Island,  is  about  half  a 
mile  wide,  and  has  from  25  to  27  feet  of  water  where 
shallowest  Within  the  harbour  ships  may  anchor  close 
to  the  town  in  from  22  to  40  feet  of  water.  Further  im- 
provements, in  course  of  construction  by  a  firm  of  English 
contractors  (at  a  cost  to  the  Egyptian  government  of  little 
short  of  two  millions  sterling),  will  eventually  render  this  ' 
one  of  the  finest  and  most  capacious  harbours  on  the  Medi- 
terranean. Among  these  are  the  formation  of  a  breakwater, 
extending  in  a  south-westerly  direction  parallel  to  the 
shore  for  2550  yards  south-west  of  the  lighthouse  on  Cape 
Eunostos ;  a  mole,  springing  from  the  shore,  and  extending 
in  a  northerly  direction  for  1 100  yards,  and  having  a  width 
of  about  100  feet;  and  the  construction  of  nearly  3  miles 
of  quays  and  wharves,  for  vessels  of  the  largest  size,  and 
with  railway  connection.  The  foundation-stone  of  the 
breakwater  was  laid  by  the  viceroy  on  15th  May  1871. 
The  area  of  deep  water,  30  feet  and  upwards,  enclosed 
within  the  outer  breakwater,  is  1400  acres;  the  area  of 
28  feet  of  water,  enclosed  by  the  harboul  jnole,  will  be 
177-  acres.  The  workshops  of  the  company -are  at  the 
quarries  of  Mex,  about  3  miles  west  of  the  town.  In 
the  harbour  is  a  magnificent  floating  dock,  nearly  500 
feet  long  and  100  feet  broad.  The  old  lighthouse,  on 
the  site  of  the  ancient  Pharos,  having  been  found  insuffi- 
cient, a  new  lighthouse  has  been  erected  on  Eas-el-teen 
(1842),  bearing  a  one-minute  revolving  light,  visible  at  a 
distance  of  20  miles.  The  eastern  or  new  port,  formerly 
the  only  port  open  to  Christians,  is  now  little  used,  being 
exposed  to  the  northerly  gales,  and  having  very  limited 
space  for  anchorage. 

In  1S61  the  total  value  of  the  exports  was  £2,638,822;  and  in 
1871  this  had  risen  to  £10,251,608,  of  which  £7,706,442  was  to 
England.  The  value  of  the  imports  for  the  latter  year  was 
£5,753,020,  of  which  £2,469,026  was  from  England.  The  prin- 
cipal articles  of  export  were  cotton  (£6,402,756),  cotton  seed 
(£1,008,278),  heans  (£753,462),  corn  (£573,766),  sugar  (£379, 456), 
gums  (£307,932),  coffee  (£122,110),  ivory,  wool,  linseed,  senna, 
and  other  drugs.  The  principal  articles  of  import  were  manufac- 
tured goods  (£1,695,870),  wool  (£307,495),  oils  (£251,158),  wines 
and  liqueurs  (£239,944),  raw  silk,  fniita.  During  that  year  there 
entered  1841  sailing  vessels  and  883  steam  vessels  with  cargoes, 
and  1 43  sailing  vessels  and  54  steam  vessels  in  ballast ;  and  there 
left  1085  sailing  vessels  and  843  steam  vessels  with  cargoes,  and 
797  sailing  vessels  and  62  steam  vessels  in  ballast.  The  total 
tonnage  of  the  vessels  that  entered  was  1,262,602;  and  that  left, 
1,267,381.  The  opening  of  the  Suez  Canal  will  no  doubt  serve  to 
withdraw  a  portion  of  the  traffic  from  Alexandria,  but  the  improve- 
ments that  are  now  being  made  on  its  harbour,  and  its  direct  rail- 
way communication  with  Suez,  must  still  give  it  certain  advantages 
over  the  other  route,  while  it  must  continue  to  be  the  great  emporium 
for  the  rapidly  extending  trade  of  Egypt  itselt 

The  population  of  Alexandria  is  of  a  very  mixed  cha- 
racter, consisting,  besides  the  native  Turks  and  Arabs,  of 
Armenians,  Greeks,  Syrians,  Italians,  French,  English, 
Germans,  &c.  At  one  time  the  ancient  city  is  believed  to 
have  contained  600,000  inhabitants;  but  at  the  beginning 
of  this  century  the  number  probably  did  not  exceed 
6000.  In  1825  this  had  increased  to  16,000,  in  1840  to 
60,000,  and  in  1871  to  219,602,  of  whom  53,829  were 
foreigners. 

ALEXANDRIA,  a  town  of  Scotland,  in  the  parish  of 
Bonhill,  Dumbartonshire,  pleasantly  situated  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  river  Leven,  about  3  miles  from  Dumbarton, 
with  which  it  is  connected  by  a  branch  railway.  It  is  a 
place  of  comparatively  recent  growth,  owing  its  origin 
almost  entirely  to  the  cotton  print  and  bleaching  works  of 
the  vicinity,  for  which  there  is  an  abundant  supply  of 
excellent  water.     Population  (1871).  4650. 

ALEXANDRIA,  a  town  and  port  of  entry  of  the  United 
States,  capital  of  Alexandria  county,  Virginia,  is  beautifully 
situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Potomac,  7  miles  below 
Washington.     It  is  neat  and  well-built,  with  a  good  har- 


bour, and  exports  considerable  quantities  of  grain  and  flour ; 
but  ita  foreign  trade  has  decreased.  The  Chesapeake  and 
Ohio  canal  begins  here,  and  the  town  is  connected  with 
Washington  by  railway.     Population  (1870),  13,570. 

ALEXANDRIAN  MS.  (Codex  Alexandnnue),  the  name 
given  to  a  Greek  manuscript  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments, now  in  the  British  Museum.  This  celebrated 
MS.  is  known  to  biblical  scholars  as  Codex  A  This 
abbreviation  of  Alexandrinus  was  first  employed  by  Bishop 
Walton  to  indicate  the  various  readings  of  this  MS.,  ap- 
pended to  the  text  of  the  Septuagint  and  of  the  New 
Testament  in  his  great  Polyglott  Bible,  and  was  adopted 
by  Wetstein  in  conformity  with  an  arrangement,  since  fol- 
lowed by  all  editons  of  the  Septuagint  and  Greek  Testa- 
ment, by  which  the  capital  letters  of  the  alphabet  are 
applied  to  designate  the  uncial  MSS.  of  the  Greek  Bible. 
The  MS.  was  presented  in  the  year  1628  to  King  Charles 
L  through  his  ambassador  at  the  Porte,  Sir  Thomas  Rowe, 
by  Cyrillus  Lucaris,  patriarch  of  Constantinople.  There 
seems  no  good  reason  to  doubt  that  Cyrillus  had  brought 
the  document  from  Alexandria,  where  he  had  held  the 
office  of  patriarch,  although  Wetstein  is  of  opinion,  upon 
what  seems  inadequate  evidence,  that  he  procured  it  from 
the  monastery  of  Mount  Athos,  where  he  had  resided  prior 
to  his  coming  to  Alexandria.  It  was  transferred  in  1753 
from  the  king's  private  library  to  that  of  our  national 
museum,  where  the  volume  containing  the  text  of  the  New 
Testament  is  now,  or  was  lately,  open  to  public  inspection 
under  a  glass  case.  The  entire  MS.  consists  of  four  small 
folio  volumes,  three  of  which  contain  the  text  of  the  Old, 
and  one  that  of  the  New  Testament.  The  portion,  how- 
ever, containing  the  Old  Testament  is  more  complete  than 
that  which  contains  the '  New,  the  lacunce  in  the  former 
occurring  chiefly  in  the  book  of  Psalms ;  while  in  the  New 
Testament  the  following  portions  are  wanting — viz.,  the 
whole  of  Matthew's  Gospel  up  to  chap.  xxv.  6,  from  John 
vi.  50  to  viii.  52,  and  from  2  Cor.  iv.  13  to  xii.  6.  Occa- 
sionally, also,  single  letters,  as  well  as  the  titles  of  certain 
divisions,  have  been  destroyed  by  the  operations  of  the 
bookbinder.  The  material  of  which  the  MS.  is  composed 
is  very  thin  vellum,  the  page  being  about  13  inches  high 
by  10  broad,  containing  from  50  to  52  lines  in  each  page, 
each  line  consisting  of  about  20  letters.  The  number  of 
pages  is  773,  of  which  640  are  occupied  with  the  text  of 
the  Old  Testament,  and  133  with  that  of  the  New.  The 
characters  are  uncial,  but  larger  than  in  the  Vatican  MS. 
B.  There  are  no  accents  or  breathings,  no  spaces  between 
the  letters  or  words  save  at  the  end  of  a  paragraph;  and 
the  contractions,  which  are  not  numerous,  are  only  such  as 
are  found  in  the  oldest  MSS.,  and  are  indicated  by  a  line 
drawn  over  the  word  which  is  abbreviated,  as  02  for 
®eos.  "The  punctuation  consists  of  a  pcint  placed  at  the 
end  of  a  sentence,  usually  on  a  level  with  the  top  of  the 
preceding  letter.  As  regards  the  date  of  the  MS.  very 
opposite  opinions  have  been  held.  One  critic  placed  it  as 
low  down  as  the  10th  century,  but  this  supposition  has 
been  justly  characterised  by  Tregelles  as  so  opposed  to  all 
that  is  known  of  palaeography  as  not  to  deserve  a  serious 
refutation.  From  the  circumstance  that  the  MS.  does  not 
exhibit  any  traces  of  stichomelry — a  mode  of  arranging  the 
text  in  lines  consisting  of  a  larger  or  smaller  number  of 
words,  at  the  end  of  which  the  reader  was  to  pause, 
-which  was  applied  to  the  Pauline  epistles  by  Euthalius  of 
Alexandria  in  the  year  458,  and  which  soon  came  into 
general  use — it  has  been  inferred  that  the  MS.  is  not  of 
kt«r  date  than  the  middle  of  the  5th  century.  Again,  the 
presence,  in  the  text  of  the  Gospels  of  the  Ammonian 
sections  and  Eusebian  canons,  and  of  the  epistle  of 
Athauasius  (who  died  in  373)  to  Marcellinus,  which  is 
prefixed  to  the  Psalms,  shows  that  it  could  not  be  older 


ALEXANDRIAN    MS. 


407 


than  the  end  of  the  4th  century.  In  addition  to  this 
external  testimony,  palrcographic  reasons,  such  as  the 
general  style  of  the  writing,  and  the  formation  of  certain 
letters,  would  seem  to  refer  the  MS.  to  about  the  middle  of 
the  5  th  centtfry,  and  this  date  is  now  generally  acquiesced 
in  by  scholars.  There  is  an  Arabic  inscription,  indeed, 
written  on  the  page  which  contains  the  list  of  the  various 
books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  which  states  that 
the  MS.  was  written  by  the  hand  of  the  martyr  Thecla, 
while  a  Latin  inscription  by  Cyril  himself  gives  the  tradi- 
tion that  the  Thecla  who  wrote  the  MS.  was  a  noble 
Egyptian  lady  who  lived  shortly  after  the  Council  of  Nice. 
No  reliance,  however,  can  be  placed  on  these  statements, 
for,  according  to  Scrivener, 

''Tregelles  explains  the  origin  of  the  Arabic  inscription  on  which 
Cyril's  statement  appears  to  rest,  by  remarking  that  the  New 
Testament  in  our  SIS.  at  present  commences  with  Matt.  xxv.  6, 
tliis  lesson  (Matt,  xxv.  1-13)  being  that  appointed  by  the  Greek 
Church  for  the  festival  of  St  Thecla.  The  Egyptian,  therefore,  who 
wrote  this  Arabic  note,  observing  the  nanio  of  Thecla  in  the  now 
mutilated  upper  margin  of  the  codex,  where  such  rubrical  notes  are 
commonly  placed  by  later  hands,  hastily  concluded  that  she  wrote 
the  book,  and  thus  has  perplexed  our  biblical  critics.  It  is  hardly 
too  much  to  say  that  Ticgcllcs's  shrewd  conjecture  seems  to  be  cer- 
tain, almost  to  demonstration." 

This  MS.  contains  the  last  twelve  verses  of  St  Mark's 
Gospel.  It  is  defective  in  that  part  of  St  John's  Gospel 
where  the  pericope  adulterce  occurs  in  the  ordinary  text, 
but  Scrivener  shows  by  an  enumeration  of  the  letters 
in  each  page  that  the  two  missing  leaves  did  not  contain 
the  suspected  passage.  It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  say 
that  1  John  v.  7  is  not  found  in  this  or  in  any  uncial  MS. 
of  the  New  Testament.  The  reading  of  the  MS.  in 
1  Tim.  iii.  16  has  given  rise  to  a  good  deal  of  discussion. 
Woide  in  his  fac-simile  edition  gave  the  reading  ©2  for 
0EO2.  The  element  of  uncertainty  was  whether  the  cross 
bar  of  the  theta  had  not  been  added  by  a  later  hand,  so  that 
the  original  reading  may  have  been  02.  Bishop  Ellicott 
carefully  examined  the  passage  with  the  aid  of  a  strong 
lens,  and  the  result  of  his  investigation,  as  given  in  a  note 
appended  to  his  Critical  Commentary  on  First  Timothy,  in 
his  edition  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles,  was  to  satisfy  him 
that  the  original  reading  was  65,  the  cross  bar  of  the  theta 
having  arisen  from  the  central  line  of  e  in  the  word 
eJo-e/Jei'a,  which  is  directly  opposite,  shining  through  the 
leaf,  and  being  mistaken  by  a  scribe  for  part  of  the  theta, 
and  being  touched  up  accordingly, — a  view  which  was 
maintained  by  Wetstein.  On  the  other  hand,  both  Tregelles 
and  Scrivener,  who  made  the  same  investigation,  are  of 
opinion  that  the  stroke  of  the  epsilon  cuts  the  theta  much 
too  high  to  be  mistaken  by  any  ordinary  scribe  for  the 
cross  bar  of  the  theta.  When  critics  of  such  distinguished 
reputation  differ,  the  question  of  the  original  reading  will 
probably  remain  for  ever  uncertain. 

The  first  use  that  was  made  of  the  MS.  for  critical 
purposes  was  by  Bishop  Walton,  who  had  the  various  read- 
ings which  it  presents  inserted  in  his  great  Polyglott  Bible, 
under  tho  texts  of  the  Septuagint  and  New  Testament 
respectively.  It  was  collated  by  both  Mill  and  Wetstein 
for  their  editions  of  the  Greek  Testament.  In  17S6  the 
New  Testament  was  published  in  a  fac-simile  edition  by 
Dr  Woide,  at  that  time  librarian  to  the  British  Museum; 
the  types  of  this  edition  were  cut  so  as  to  represent  the 
general  appearance  of  the  letters;  and  the  edition  exhibits 
the  MS.  page  for  page,  line  for  line,  and  letter  for  let'ter. 
Tho  work  was  accompanied  by  valuable  prolegomena  on 
the  history,  age,  &c,  of  the  MS.;  and  is  allowed  to  have 
been  executed  with  remarkable  accuracy.  In  1828  the 
Ilev.  H.  II.  Baber  completed  the  publication  of  the  Old 
Testament  portion  in  three  large  folio  volumes  (181G-1828) 
also   in  fac-simile,  with  useful   prolegomena  and   notes. 


Tischendorf  considers  the  editorial  accuracy  ol  Baber  as 
inferior  to  that  of  Woide,  and  enumerates  a  number  of 
instances  where  the  readings  of  the  original  have  been 
incorrectly  given  by  Baber  (Prolegomena  to  Tischendorf 's 
4th  ed.  of  the  Septuagint,  p.  69,  sq.)  In  1860  the  text 
of  the  New  Testament  was  published  in  common  type  by 
B.  H.  Cowper,  the  defective  portions  being  supplied  from 
Kiister's  edition  of  Mill's  Greek  Testament,  and  some 
inaccuracies  in  Woide's  edition  corrected  from  the  original. 
In  1864  there  was  published  at  Oxford,  under  the  editor- 
ship of  Mr  Hansell,  the  text  of  the  Codex  Alexandrinus, 
along  with  that  of  three  of  the  most  ancient  MSS.,  viz., 
Codd.  B,  C,  D,  with  the  Dublin  Cod.  Z,  and  a  collation  of 
the  Cod.  Sinaiticus.  The  work  is  arranged  in  parallel 
columns,  and  thus  presents,  at  one  view,  the  readings  of 
four  of  our  earliest  authorities  for  the  text  of  the  New 
Testament.  (f.  c.) 

For  more  minute  information  regarding  this  MS.  wo  refer  to  the 
prolegomena  of  Woide  and  Baher;  to  Scrivener's  Introduction  to  the 
Criticism  of  the  New  Testament,  Cambridge,  1861;  to  the  fourth 
volume  of  Horpe's  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament  by  Tregelles, 
London,  1866;  and  to  Davidson's  Biblical  Criticism,  vol.  ii.,  Edin- 
burgh, 1852.  We  subjoin  a  list  of  the  books  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  found  in  the  MS. : — 


Tom.  I. 


TeKto-is  Ko<r/iov..._. Genesis. 
E{o8os  AiyviTTOu  ...Exodus. 

AtvtTiKov Leviticus. 

Aptdfioi Numbers. 

bsurtpovoixiov Deuteronomy. 

Irjcovs  Naun Joshua,  son  of 

Nun. 

Kpirat... ..Judges. 

Poufl v...Ruth. 


Bao-iAtcciin' Samuel   I.    (or 

Kings  I.) 

Bao-iXtmv  B' Samuel  II.  (or 

Kings  K.) 
Bao-iAtiaii/ -/...Kings  I.  (or  III.) 
Ba<nAei«K  5'. ..Kings  II.  (or  IV.) 
Tlapa\enTOfifvajy  a'  Chronicles  J 
napa\einou.(vwv  B1  Chronicles  II 


Tom.  II. 


tlane Hosca. 

Auu; Amos. 

Mixoiat Micah. 

IoiTjA Joel. 

A/35eiov Obadiah. 

I'x'iai Jonah. 

Haovn Nahum. 

AfiBaicovn. Habakkuk. 

2o<f>ocias Zephaniah. 

Ayyatos Haggai. 

Zaxaptas Zechariah 

MaAax'os Malachi. 

HTamr Isaiah. 

Iepe,uiay Jeremiah. 

Bapoi/x Baruch. 

&pnvoi ..Lamentations. 


EnoroXr  Itpe^'o"  Epistle  of  Jere- 
miah. 

IffeKirjA Ezekiel. 

Anvii)  \ Daniel. 

T.oBnp Esther. 

TwSit. Tobit 

IovSclS Judith. 

EaSpas  a Esdras  I. 

E<r5/>ns  B' Esdras  II.,  in- 
cluding Neeiiia,  and  part  of 
the  canonical  Book  of  Ezra. 

MaKKxBcuav  a' Maccabees  I. 

MaKKadmoy  0 Maccabees  II. 

MnnKiiSaiicj'  ■/ Maccabees  III 

MoKKaflaiai'  V Maccabees  IV. 


Tom.  IH. 

ABcu/airwu  EiriffToXij Epistle  of  Athanasius  to  Marcclliaus  on 

the  Psalms. 
EvTejSiou  TVoSeiJ-fit  (sic)  ...Hypothesis  of  Euscbius  on  the  Fsalrns. 

S'aATijpioi-  /itT'  HStuK Tsalms  151,  Hymns  15. 

]uB Job. 

Tlapoipaa Proverbs. 

EKK\?)o-iai7T7)f Ecclesiastes* 

Atrfia  Aufiaruv Canticles. 

So-pia  2o\ouwvros Wisdom  of  Solomon. 

2o$>ia  Itjo-ou  uiou  Sipax Ecclesiasticus,  or  Wisdom  of  Jesus,  sod 

of  Sirach. 


Evayy*\tov  Kara  NarQaiov 
Euayye\iov  Kara  MapKov... 
Eray/cAio*  Kara  AovKav.. 
EvayyeKtov  Kara  Itsavvnv 

rTpa£cis  AttottoKuv 

ETtOToAai  KaOoKiKat  £'... 


EiriiTToAai  ITai/Aoy  (8* 

AtokoAv^ij  loiavvov 

KA7)/xef  TO*  EtiotoXt)  a'. . . 
KAt)jU€jto*  EjtictoAt)  & .. 
YaAiini  2cAu/j«jto5  tj' — 


Tom.  IV. 

Matthew. 

Mark. 

Luke. 

John. 

Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

.Seven  Catholic  Epistles,  viz.,  1  of  James, 

2  of  Peter,  8  of  John,  and  1  of  Judc. 
Fourteen  Epistles  of  Paul. 
Revelation  of  John. 

1st  Epistle  of  Clement  to  the  Corinthians. 
2d  Epistle  of  Clement  to  the  Corinthians. 
Eight  Psalms  of  Solomon. 


498 


ALEXANDRIAN     SCHOOL 


ALEXANDRIAN  SCHOOL.  '  Under  this  title  are 
generally  iiicluded  certain  strongly-marked  tendencies  in 
literature  and  science  which  took  their  rise  in  the  city  of 
Alexandria.  That  city,  founded  by  Alexander  the 
about  the  time  when  Greece,  in  losing  her.  national  inde- 
pendence, lost  also  her  intellectual  supremacy,  was  in  every 
way  admirably  adapted  for  becoming  the  new  centre  of  the 
world's  activity  and  thought.  Its  situation  brought  it  into 
commercial  relations'  with  all  the  nations  lying  around  the 
Mediterranean,  and  at  the  same  time  rendered  it  the  one 
communicating  link  with  the  wealth  and  civilisation  of  the 
East.  The  great  natural  advantages  it  thus  enjoyed 
were  artificially  increased  to  an  enormous  extent  by  the 
care  of  the  sovereigns  of  Egypt  Ptolemy  Soter  (reigned 
306-285  B.C.),  to  whom,  in  the  general  distribution  of 
Alexander's  conquests,  this  kingdom  had  fallen,  began  to 
draw  around  him  from  various  parts  of  Greece  a  circle  of 
men  eminent  in  literature  and  philosophy.  To  these  he 
gave  every  facility  for  tho  prosecution  of  their  learned 
researches.  Under  the  inspiration  of  his  friend  Demetrius 
Phalcreus,  the  Athenian  orator,  this  Ptolemy  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  great  library,  and  originated  the  keen 
search  for  all  written  works,  which  resulted  in  the  forma- 
tion of  a  collection  such  cs  the  world  has  seldom  seen. 
Ho  also  built,  for  the  convenience  of  his  men  of  letters, 
the  Museum,  in  which,  maintained  by  the  royal  bounty, 
they  resided,  studied,  and  taught.  This  Museum  or  academy 
of  science  was  in  many  respects  not  unlike  a  modern  univer- 
sity. The  work  thus  begun  by  Ptolemy  Soter  was  carried 
on  vigorously  by  his  descendants,  in  particular  by  his  two 
immediate  successors,  Ptolemy  Philadelphia  and  Ptolemy 
Euergetes.  Philadelphus  (283-247  B.C.),  whose  librarian 
was  the  celebrated  Callimachus,  bought  up  all  Aristotle's 
collection  of  books,  and  also  introduced  a  number  of  Jewish 
and  Egyptian  works.  Among  these  appears  to  have  been 
a  portion  of  the  Septuagint.  Euergetes  (247-222  B.C.) 
largely  increased  the  library  by  seizing  on  the  original 
editions  of  the  dramatists  laid  up  in  the  Athenian  archives, 
and  by  compelling  all  travellers  who  arrived  in  Alexandria 
to  leave  a  copy  of  any  work  they  possessed. 

Tho  intellectual  movement  so  originated  extended  over 
a  long  period  of  years.  If  we  date  its  rise  from  the  4th 
century  B.C.,  at  the  time  of  the  fall  of  Greece  and  the 
foundation  of  the  Graecc-Macedonian  empire,  we  must  look 
for  its  final  dissolution  in  the  7th  century  of  the  Christian 
era,  at  the  time  of  the  fall  of  Alexandria  and  the  rise  of 
tho  Mahometan  power.  But  this  very  long  period  falls  into 
two  divisions.  The  first,  extending  from  about  306  B.C. 
to  about  30  B.C.,  includes  the  time  from  the  foundation  of 
tho  Ptolemaic  dynasty  to  its  final  subjugation  by  the 
Romans;  tho  second  extends  from  30  B.C.  to  640  a.d. 
The  characteristic  features  of  these  divisions  are  very  clearly 
marked,  and  their  difTerence  affords  an  explanation  of  the 
variety  and  vagueness  of  meaning  attaching  to  the  term 
Alexandrian  School.  In  the  first  of  the  two  periods  the 
intellectual  activity  was  of  a  purely  literary  and  scientific 
nature.  It  was  an  attempt  to  continue  and  develop,  under 
new  conditions,  the  old  Hellenic  culture  This  direction 
of  effort  was  particularly  noticeable  under  the  early  Ptole- 
mies, Alexandria  being  then  almost  tho  only  home  in  the 
world  for  puro  literature.  During  tho  last  century  and  a 
half  before  i)m  Christian  era,  the  school,  as  it  might  be 
called,  began  to  break  up  and  to  lose  its  individuality. 
This  was  Jue  partly  to  the  state  of  government  under  some. 
of  the  later  Ptolemies,  partly  to  the  formation  of  new  lite- 
rary circles  in  Rhodes,  Syria,  &c,  whose  supporters,  though 
retaining  the  Alexandrian  peculiarities,  could  scarcely  be 
included  in  the  Alexandrian  schooL  The  los3  of  active 
life,  consequent  on  this  gradual  dissolution,  was  much  in- 
creased wbon  Alexandria  fell  under  Roman  sway".     Then 


the  influence  of  the  school  was  extended  over  the  whole 
known  world,  but  men  of  letters  began  to  concentrate  at 
Rome  rather  than  at  Alexandria.  In  that  city,  however, 
thero  were  new  forces  in  operation  which  produced  a 
second  grand  outburst  of  intellectual  life.  Tho  new  move- 
ment was  not  in  the  old  direction — had,  indeed,  nothing 
in  common  with  it.  'With  its  character  largely  determined 
by  Jewish  elements,  and  even  more  by  contact  with  tho 
dogmas  of  Christianity,  this  second  Alexandrian  school 
resulted  in  tho  speculative  philosophy  of  the  Neo-Platonists 
and  the  religious  philosophy  of  tho  Gnostics  and  early 
church  fathers. 

Thero  appear,  therefore,  to  be  at  least  two  definite  signi- 
fications of  tho  title  Alexandrian  School;  or  rather,  there 
are  two  Alexandrian  schools,  distinct  both  chronologically 
and  in  substance.  The  one  is  the,  Alexandrian  school  of 
poetry  and  science,  the  other  the  Alexandrian  school  of 
philosophy.  As  regards  the  use  of  the  word  "  school"  to 
denote  these  movements,  it  must  be  observed  that  tho  term 
is  misleading.  It  has  not  the  same  meaning  as  when 
applied  to  the  Academics  or  Peripatetics,  the  Stoics  or 
Epicureans.  These  consisted  of  a  company  united  by 
holding  in  common  certain  speculative  principles,  by  having 
the  same  theory  of  things.  Thero  was  nothing  at  all  cor- 
responding to  this  among  the  Alexandrians.  In  literature 
their  activities  were  directed  to  the  most  diverse  objects ; 
they  have  only  in  common  a  certain  spirit  or  form. 
There  was  among  them  no  definite  system  of  philosophy. 
Even  in  the  later  schools  of  philosophy  proper  there  is 
found  a  community  rather  of  tendency  than  of  definite 
result  or  of  fixed  principles., 

Alexandrian  School  of  Literature. — Tho  general  character 
of  the  literature  of  the  school  appears  as  the  necessary  con- 
sequence of  tho  state  of  affairs  brought  about  by  the  fall 
of  Greek  nationality  and  independence.  The  great  works 
of  the  Greek  mind  had  formerly  been  the  products  of  a 
fresh  life  of  nature  and  perfect  freedom  of  thought.  All 
their  hymns,  epics,  and  histories  were  Bound  up  with  their 
individuality  as  a  free  people.  But  the  Macedonian  con- 
quest at  Chseronea  brought  about  a  complete  dissolution  of 
this  Greek  life  in  all  its  relations,  private  and  political. 
The  full,  genial  spirit  of  Greek  thought  vanished  when 
freedom  was  lost,  with  which  it  was  inseparably  united. 
A  substitute  for  this  originality  was  found  at  Alexandria  in 
learned  research,  extended  and  multifarious  knowledge. 
Amply  provided  with  means  for  acquiring  information,  and 
under  the  watchful  care  of  a  groat  monarch,  tho  Alexan- 
drians readily  took  this  new  direction  in  literature.  With 
all  the  great  objects  removed  which  could  excite  a  truo 
spirit  of  poetry,  they  devoted  themselves  to  minuto 
researches  in  all  sciences  subordinate  to  literature  proper. 
They  studied  criticism,  grammar,  prosody  and  metTe, 
antiquities  and  mythology.  The  results  of  this  study 
constantly  appear  in  their  productions.  Their  works  are 
never  national,  never  addressed  to  a  people,  but  to  a  circle 
of  learned  men.  Moreover,  tho  very  fact  of  being  under 
the  protection,  and,  as  it  were,  iu  tho  p>ay  of  an  absolute 
monarch,  was  damaging  to  the  character  of  their  literature. 
There  was  introduced  into  it  a  courtly  element,  clear  traces 
of  which,  with  all  its  accompaniments,  are  found  in  the 
extant  works  of  the  schooL  One  other  fact,  not  to  be  for- 
gotten in  forming  a  general  estimate  of  the  literary  value 
of  their  productions,  is,  that  tho  samo  writer  was  frequently 
or  almost  always  distinguished  in  several  special  sciences. 
The  most  renowned  poets  were  at  tho  samo  timo  men  of 
culture  and  science,  critics,  archaeologists,  astronomers,  or 
physicians.  To  such  writers  the  poetical  form  was  merely 
a  convenient  vehicle  for  the  exposition  of  science. 

The  forms  of  poetical  composition  chiefly  cultivated  by 
the  Alexandrians  were  epic  and  lyric  ur  elegiac.     Grea 


ALEXANDRIAN     SCHOOL 


499 


epic3  arc  wanting;  but  in  their  place,  as  might  almost  have 
teen  expected,  are  found  the  historical  and  the  didactic  or 
expository  enic3.  The  subjects  of  the  historical  epics  were 
generally  some  of  the  well-known  myths,  in  the  exposition 
of  which  the  writer  could  exhibit  the  full  extent  of  his 
learning  and  his  perfect  command  of  verse.  These  poems 
are  in  a  sense  valuable  as  repertories  of  antiquities;  but 
their  style  is  on  the  whole  bad,  and  infinite  patience  is 
required  to  clear  np  their  numerous  and  obscure  allusions. 
The  best  extant  specimen  is  the  Argonavtica  of  Apollonius 
Bhodius;  the  most  characteristic  is  the  Alexandra  or  Cas- 
sandra of  Lycophron,  the  obscurity  of  which  is  almost 
proverbial. 

The  subjects  of  didactic  epics  were  very  numerous ;  they 
seem  to  have  depended  on  the  special  knowledge  possessed 
by  tie  writers,  who  used  verse  as  a  form  for  nnfolding 
their  information.  Some,  e.g.,  the  lost  poem  of  CaUimacb.ua, 
tailed  Alria,  were  on  the  origin  of  myths  and  religious 
observances;  others  were  on  special  sciences.  Thus  we 
have  two  poems  of  Aratus,  who,  though  not  resident  at 
Alexandria,  was  so  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  Alexan- 
drian spirit  as  to  be  with  reason  included  in  the  school ; 
the  one  is  an  essay  on  astronomy,  the  other  an  account  of 
the  signs  of  the  weather.  Nicander  of  Colophon  has  also 
left  us  two  epics,  one  on  remedies  for  poisons,  the  other  on 
the  bites  of  venomous  beasts.  Of  many  other  epic  poets 
only  the  names  are  known,  as  Dicsearchus,  Euphorion, 
Ehianus,  Dionysius,  Oppianus.  The  spirit  of  all  their 
productions  is  the  same,  that  of  learned  research.  They 
are  distinguished  by  artistic  form,  purity  of  expression, 
and  strict  attention  to  the  laws  of  metre  and  prosody, 
qualities  which,  however  good  in  themselves,  do  not  com- 
pensate for  want  of  originality,  freshness,  and  power. 

In  their  lyric  and  elegiac  poetry  there  is  much  worthy 
of  admiration.  The  specimens  we  possess  are  not  devoid 
of  talent  or  of  a  certain  happy  art  of  expression;  Yet,  for 
the  most  part  they  either  relate  to  objects  thoroughly 
incapable  of  poetic  treatment,  where  the  writer's  endeavour 
is  rather  to  expound  the  matter  fully  than  to  render  it 
poetically  beautiful,  or  else  expend  themselves  on  short 
isolated  subjects,  generally  myths,  and  are  erotic  in  cha- 
racter. The  earliest  of  the  elegiac  poets  was  Philetas,  the 
sweet  singer  of  Cos.  But  the  most  distinguished  was  Oalli- 
maehus,  undoubtedly  the  greatest  of  the  Alexandrian 
poets.  Of  his  numerous  works  there  remain  to  us  only 
a  few  hymns,  epigrams,  and  fragments  of  elegies.  Other 
lyric  poets  were  Phanocles,  Hermesianax,  Alexander  of 
iEtolia,  and  Lycophron. 

Some  of  the  beat  productions  of  the  school  were  their 
epigrams.  Of  these  we  have  several  specimens,  and  the 
art  of  composing  them  seems  to  have  been  assiduously- 
cultivated,  as  might  uaturally  be  expected  from  the  court 
life  of  the  poets,  and  their  constant  endeavours  after  terse- 
ness and  neatness  of  expression.  Of  kindred  character 
were  the  parodies  and  satirical  poems,  of  which  the  best 
examples  we^e  the  2i%W  of  Timon. 

Dramatic  poetryappears  to  have  flourished  to  some  extent. 
There  are  still  extant  three  or  four  varying  lists  of  the  seven 
great  dramatists  who  composed  the  Pleiad  of  Alexandria. 
Their  works,  perhaps  not  unfortunately,  have  perished.  A 
ruder  kind  of  drama,  the  amcebsean  verse,  or  bucolic  mime, 
developed  into  the  only  pure  stream  of  genial  poetry  found 
in  the  Alexandrian  School,  the  Idylls  of  Theocritus,  fhe 
name  of  these  poems  preserves  their  original  idea;  they 
were  pictures  of  fresh  country  life. 

The  most  interesting  fact  connected  with  this  Alexan- 
drian poetry  is  the  powerful  influence  it  exercised  on 
Hoinan  literature.  That  literature,  especially  in  the 
Augustan  age,  is  not  to  be  thoroughly  understood  without 
due  appreciation  of  the  character  of  the  Alexandrian  School. 


Before  the  Alexandrians  had  begun  to  produce  original 
works,  their  researches  were  directed  towards  the  master- 
pieces of  ancient  Greek  literature.  If  that  literatnre  was 
to  be  a  power  in  the  world,  it  must  be  handed  down  to 
posterity  in  a  form  capable  of  being  understood.  This 
•was  the  task  begun  and  carried  out  by  the  Alexandrian 
critics.  These  men  did  not  merely  collect  work",  but 
sought  to  arrange  them,  to  subject  the  texts  to  critLiiC:, 
and  to  explain  any  allusion  or  reference  in  them  winch  at 
a  later  date  might  become  obscure.  The  complete  philo-, 
logical  examination  of  any  work  consisted,  according  to 
them,  of  the  following  processes :— Siop&ocris,  arrangement 
of  the  text;  avdyvuxns,  settlement  of  accents;  rexvr],  theory 
of  forms,  syntax;  t^yijcrt;,  explanation  either  of  words  or 
things ;  and  finally,  »cp«ns,  judgment  on  the  author  and  hia 
work,  including  all  questions  as  to  authenticity  and  integ- 
rity. To  perform  their  task  adequately  required  from 
the  critics  a  wide  circle  of  knowledge ;  and  from  this 
requirement  sprang  the  sciences  of  grammar,  prosody 
lexicography,  mythology,  and  archeology.  The  service 
rendered  by  these  critics  is  invaluable.  To  them  we  owe 
not  merely  the  possession  of  the  greatest  works  of  Greek 
intellect,  but  the  possession  of  them  in  a  readable  state. 
The  most  celebrated  critics  were  Zenodotus;  Aristophanes 
of  Byzantium,  to  whom  we  owe  the  theory  of  Greek 
accents;  and  Aristarchus  of  Samothrace,  confessedly  the 
Coryphaaus  of  criticism.  Others  were  Alexander  of  jEtolia, 
Lycophron,  Callimachus,  Eratosthenes,  and  many  of  a  later 
age,  for  the  critical  school  long  survived  the  literary. 
These  philological  labours  were  of  great  indirect  import- 
ance, for  they  led  immediately  to  the  study  of  the  natural 
sciences,  and  in  particular  to  a  more  accurate  knowledge 
of  geography  and  history.  Considerable  attention  began 
to  be  paid  to  the  ancient  history  of  Greece,  and  to  all  the 
myths  relating  to  the  foundation  of  states  and  cities.  A 
large  collection  of  such  curious  information  is  contained  in 
the  Bibliotheca  of  Apollodorus,  a  pupil  of  Aristarchus, 
who  flourished  in  the  2d  century  b.c.  Eratosthenes  was 
the  first  to  write  on  mathematical  and  physical  geography; 
he  also  first  attempted  to  draw  up  a  chronological  table 
of  the  Egyptian  kings,  and  of  the  historical  events  of 
Greece.  His  Egyptian  chronology,  along  with  that  of 
ilanetho,  is  still  of  great  interest  to  scholars ;  and  Bunsen 
speaks  with  the  highest  admiration  of  his  researches  in 
Greek  history.  The  sciences  of  mathematics,  astronomy, 
and  medicine  were  also  cultivated  with  assiduity  and 
success  at  Alexandria,  but  they  can  scarcely  be  said  to 
have  their  origin  there,  or  in  any  strict  sense  to  form  a 
part  of  the  peculiarly  Alexandrian  literature.  The  founder 
of  the  mathematical  school  was  the  celebrated  Euclid : 
among  its  scholars  were  Archimedes :  Apollonius  of  Perga, 
author  of  a  treatise  on  Conic  Sections;  Eratosthenes,  to  whom 
we  owe  the  first  measurement  of  the  earth ;  and^pparchus, 
the  founder  of  the  epicyclical  theory  of  the  heavens,  after- 
wards called  the  Ptolemaic  system,  from  its  most  famous 
expositor,  Claudius  Ptoleniajus.  Alexandria  continued 
long  after  the  Christian  era  to  be  celebrated  as  a  school  of 
mathematics  and  science. 

Alexandrian  School  of  Philosophy. — Although  it  is  not 
possible  to  divide  literatures  with  absolute  rigidity  by 
centuries,  and  although  the  intellectual  life  of  Alexandria, 
particularly  as  applied  to  science,  long  survived  the  Bonian 
conquest,  yet  at  that  period  the  school,  which  for  some 
time  had  been  gradually  breaking  up,  seems  finally  to  have 
succumbed.  The  later  productions  in  the  field  of  purr 
literature  bear  the  stamp  of  Borne  rather  than  of  Alexan- 
dria. '  But  in  that  city,  for  some  time  past,  there  had  been 
various  forces  secretly  working,  and  these  coming  in  con- 
tact with  great  spiritual  changes  occurring  in  the  world 
around,  produced  a  second  outburst  of  intellectual  activity. 


500 


ALE-ALE 


Among  the  natives  of  foreign  countnes  transplanted  to 
Alexandria  by  iis  founder  had  been  a  few  Jews.  These 
gradually  increased  in  number,  until,  about  the  time  of  the 
Christian  era,  they  formed  an  influential  part  of  the  populace 
of  Egypt,  inhabited  two  of  the  five  quarters  of  the  capital, 
and  held  high  offices  in  the  state.  They  had  been  well 
treated  by  the  Ptolemies,  and  for  some  time  experienced 
similar  treatment  from  the  Romans.  The  new  move- 
ment of  thought  was  in  great  measure  due  to  the 
presence  of  this  Jewish  element.  The  contact  of  free 
Oreek  speculation  with  the  peculiar  Jewish  ideas  of  the 
transcendence  of  God,  of  a  special  revelation,  and  of  a 
singular  subjective  ecstasy,  the  prophetic  state,  could  not 
fail  to  have  a  strong  effect  on  the  mode  of  thought  of  the 
most  highly  cultured  Jews.  From  many  causes  they  were 
more  than  ordinarily  open  to  receive  foreign  ideas.  Their 
1  position  had  been  broken  in  upon  by  their  long 
residence  as  a  small  minority  in  the  midst  of  an  atmo- 
sphere of  Greek  custom  and  thought,  and  in  the  most 
highly  cultivated  city  in  the  world.  Their  separation  from 
their  native  countty  had  tended  to  broaden  their  views  by 
weakening  the  strong  political  convictions  which  united 
their  destiny  and  their  sacred  writings  with  a  definite  land. 
It  was  a  necessary  consequence  that  they  should  endeavour 
so  far  as  possible  to  assimilate  their  principles  to  Greek 
ideas.  The  two  systems  were  not,  they  found,  in  total 
contradiction ;  they  had  several  points  in  common.  This 
was  specially  the  case  with  the  Platonic  writings.  There 
thus  arose  among  the  Jews  a  constantly  increasing  tendency 
to  modify  or  widen  their  doctrines  so  as  to  admit  of 
Greek  conceptions,  and  then,  with  the  aid  of  these  concep- 
tions, to  systematise  their  own  somewhat  vague  religious, 
views.  In  this  way  philosophy  and  religion  would  be 
united  or  identified.  There  is  truth  in  all  philosophy,  for 
philosophy  is  but  a  mangled  reproduction  of  the  sacred 
record  in  which  all  truth  is  contained.  The  Scriptures 
contain  all  philosophy,  but  not  explicitly ;  they  require  to 
be  interpreted.  The  system  thus  developed  has  a  philo- 
sophical aspect,  yet  never  ceases  to  be  essentially  Jewish, 
for  the  ultimate  resort  is  always  to  a  body  of  doctrine 
expressly  revealed.  Progress  in  this  direction  was  possible 
in  two  ways.  First,  the  pure  Greek  metaphysical  thought 
rejected  a  body  of  truth  said  to  have  been  revealed  to  a 
'special  people,  but  retained  the  idea  of  revelation  to  the 
individual  thinker.  A  doctrine  was  thus  evolved  which 
contained  most  of  the  oriental  or  Jewish  theosophical 
ideas,  but  in  logical  sequence  and  based  for  the  most  part 
on  the  earlier  works  of  Greek  thinkers.  Religion  was 
retained,  but  was  explained  or  had  a  meaning  given  by 
philosophy.  To  this  powerful  movement  of  thought  the 
name  Neo-Platonism  is  given  ;  its  chief  representatives 
■were  Ammonius  Saccas,  Plotinus,  Porphyry,  Jamblichus^ 
and  Proclus.  Second,  the  introduction  of  the  peculiar 
Christian  dogmas  could  not  fail  to  produce  a  lively  effect 
on  the  Alexandrian  thinkers.  These  dogmas  had  to  be 
reconciled  with  philosophy,  or  the  one  must  yield  to  and 
be  absorbed  by  the  other.  The  attempt  to  solve  the  pro- 
blem of  their  mutual  relation  gave  rise  to  Gnosticism  in 
all  its  phases,  and  was  the  cause  of  the  speculative  element 
in  the  works  of  such  fathers  as  Clement  of  Alexandria 
and  Origen. 

To  the  whole  of  this  great  movement  the  title  Alexan- 
drian philosophy  must  be  given,  although  that  term  is 
sometimes  identified  with  Neo-Platonism.  Of  the  exact 
historicil  origin  of  it  we  have  no  certain  notice.  Some, 
thinkers  are  of  opinion  that  even  in  the  Septuagint  traces 
of  rationalism  can  be  discovered.  (See  Frankel,  Ilistorisck. 
hritische  Studien  zur  Septuaginta,  1841.)  In  AristobuTUS 
(160  b.c.)  is  found  a  thoroughgoing  attempt  to  show  that 
early  Greek  speculations  were  in  harmony  with  the  divine 


record,  because  they  had  been  borrowed  from  it.  Traces 
of  allegorical  interpretation  are  also  found  in  him,  but 
no  conception  of  a  theosophical  system.  In  the  peculiar 
tenets  of  the  Therapeutx,  so  far  as  these  can  be  known,  may 
perhaps  be  traced  another  stream  of  influence,  the  Neo- 
Pythagorean.  The  complete  representative  of  the  Jewish 
religious  philosophy  was  Philo,  surnamed  Juda;us,  who 
lived  at  Alexandria  during  the  Christian  era.  In  him  are 
found  a  complete  aud  elaborate  theosophy  fusing  together 
religious  and  metaphysical  ideas,  a  firm  conviction  that  all 
truth  is  to  be  found  in  the  sacred  writings,  and  a  constant 
application  to  these  writings  of  the  principle  of  allegorical 
interpretation.  His  system  is  a  syncretism  of  Oriental 
mysticism  and  Greek  metaphysics,  and  the  effort  at  such 
a  combination  from  the  Jewish  side  could  go  no  further. 
After  Philo  Judajus  there  remained  as  possible  courses 
either  Neo-Platonism  or  Gnosticism. 

Of  Alexandrian  literature  there  are  notices  in  histories  pi 
Greek  literature,  as  Miiller  and  Donaldson,  or  Bernhardy ;  of 
Alexandrian  philosophy,  in  general  histories  of  philosophy 
and  of  early  Christianity.  Special  works,  which,  however, 
devote  most  attention  to  the  Neo-Platonists,  are — 

Matter,  Histoirt  de  I'Ecole  <F  Alexandrie,  2d  ed.~3  vols. 
1840-44  ;  Simon,  Histoire  de  I'Ecole  d'Alexandrie,  2  vols. 
1844—45  ;  Vacherot,  Histoire  critique  de  I'Ecole  d'Alex- 
andrie, 3  vols.  1846-51;  Kingsley,  Alexandria  and  Iter 
Schools,  1854;  Gfrorer,  Philo  und  die  Alexandrinischg 
Theosophie,  1835;  Daehne,  Geschic/tt  -  Darstellung  dei 
Jiidisch-AUxandrinischen  Religionsphilosophie,  2  vols.  1834. 

ALEXANDRINE  VERSE,  a  name  given  to  the  leading 
measure  in  French  poetry.  It  is  the  heroic  French  verse, 
used  in  epic  narrative,  in  tragedy,  and  in  the  higher  comedy. 
There  is  some  doubt  as  to  the  origin  of  the  name;  but 
most  probably  it  is  derived  from  a  collection  of  romances, 
published  early  in  the  1 3th  century,  of  which  Alexander  of 
Macedon  was  the  hero,  and  in  which  he  was  represented, 
somewhat  like  onr  own  Arthur,  as  the  pride  and  crown  of 
chivalry.  Before  the  publication  of  this  work  most  of  the 
trouv&re  romances  appeared  in  octo-syllabic  verse,  j  The 
new  work,  which  was  henceforth  to  set  the  fashion  to 
French  literature,  was  written  in  lines  of  twelve .  syllables, 
but  with  a  freedom  of  pause  which  was  afterwards  greatly 
curtailed.  The  new  fashion,  however,  was  not  adopted  all 
at  once.  The  metre  fell  into  disuse  until  the  reign  of 
Francis  I.,  when  it  was  revived  by  Jean  Antoine  de  Boeuf, 
one  of  the  seven  poets  known  as  the  Pleiades.  - '  It  was  not 
he,  however,  but  Ronsard,  who  made  the  verse  popular, 
and  gave  it  vogue  in  France.  From  his  time  it  became 
the  recognised  vehicle  for  all  great  poetry,  and  the  regula- 
tion of  its  pauses  became  more,  and  more  strict.  The  fol- 
lowing is  an  example  of  the  verse  as  used  by  Racine — 

11  Oil  8uis-je  ?  qu'ai-je  fait  ?  ||  que  dois-je  faire  encore  1 
Quel  transport  me  saisit  1  jj  quel  chagrin  me  devore  J" 

Two  inexorable  laws  came  tp  be  established  with  regard  to 
the  pauses.  The  first  is,  that  each  line  should  be  divided 
into  two  equal  parts,  the  sixth  syllable  always  ending  with 
a  word.  '-,  In  the  earlier  use  of  this  metre,  on  the  contrary, 
it  frequently  happened  that  the  sixth  and  seventh  syllables 
belonged  to  the  same  word.  The  other  is,  that,  except 
under'the  most. stringent  conditions,  there  should  be  none 
of  what  the  French  critics  call  enjambement,  that  is,  the 
overlapping  of  the  sense  from  one  line  on  to  the  next. 
Ronsard  completely  ignored  this  rule,  which  was  after  his 
time  settled  by  tho  authority  of  Malherbe.  Such  verses  as 
the  following  by  Ronsard  would  be  intolerable  in  modern 
French  poetry —  ' 

*'  Cette  nymphe  royale  est  digne  qu'on  lui  drcsse 
Dcs  autcls.  .  .  . 

Les  Parques  se  disoient;  Charles,  qui  doit  venir 
el  ii  monde.  .  . 


A  L  E  —  A  L  F 


501 


J  e  Tsux,  s'il  est  possible,  atteindre  la  lonague 
De  celle.  .  .  . 

JTichael  Drayton,  who  was  twenty-two  years  of  age  when 
rlonsard  died,  seemed  to  think  that  the  Alexandrine  might  be 
is  pleasing  to  English  as  it  was  to  French  ears,  and  in  this 
metre  he  wrote  a  long  poem  in  twenty-four  books  called 
the  Polyolbion.  The  metre,  however,  failed  to  catch  the 
English  ear.  Our  principal  measure  is  a  line  of  ten 
syllables,  and  we  use  the  Alexandrine  only  occasionally  to 
give  it  variety  and  weight.  In  our  ordinary  heroic  verse 
it  is  but  rarely  introduced;  but  in  the  favourite  narrative 
metre,  known  as  the  Spenserian,  it  comes  in  regularly 
as  the  concluding  line  of  each  stanza.  In  Englis.li 
usage,  moreover,  it  is  to  be  observed  that  there  is  no  fixed 
rule  as  to  the  position  of  the  pause,  though  it  is  true  that 
most  commonly  the  pause  occurs  at  the  end  of  the  sixth 
syllable.  Spenser  is  very  free  in  shifting  the  pause  about; 
and  though  the  later  poets  who  have  used  this  stanza  are 
not  so  free,  yet,  with  the  exception  of  Shenstone  and  of 
Byron,  they  do  not  scruple  to  obliterate  all  pause  between 
the  sixth  and  seventh  syllables.  Thus  Thomson  {Castle  oj 
Indolence,  i.  42): — 

"  And  music  lent  new  gladness  to  the  morning  air." 

The  danger  in  the  use  of  the  Alexandrine  is  that,  in 
attempting  to  give  dignity  to  his  line,  the  poet  may  only 
produce  heaviness,  incurring  the  sneer  of  Pope — 

"  A  needles3  Alexandrine  ends  the  song. 
That,  like  a  wounded  snake,  drags  its  slow  length  along." 

(E.  S.  D.) 

ALEXIS,  an  ancient  comic  poet,  born  about  394  b.c. 
at  Thurii  in  Magna  Graecia,  the  uncle  and  instructor  of 
Menander.  Plutarch  says  that  he  lived  to  the  age  of  106 
years,  and  according  to  Suidas  he  wrote  245  plays,  of 
which  the  titles  of  113  are  known.  The  fragments  that 
have  been  preserved  by  Athenaeus  and  Stobasus  attest  the 
wit  and  elegance  of  the  author.  The  plays  were  frequently 
translated  by  the  Latin  comic  writers.  (See  Meineke, 
Fragm.  Com.  Grose,  vol.  i.) 

ALEXIUS  I.,  the  nephew  of  Isaac  Comnenus,  and  the 
most  distinguished  member  of  the  Comnenus  family,  was 
born  in  1048,  and  died  in  1118.  In  early  life  he  signalised 
himself  in  the  wars  against  theenemiesof  hiscountry ;  but  the 
mean  jealousies  of  the  ministers  of  the  emperor  Nicephorus 
(surnamed  Botaniates)  drove  him  to  take  up  arms  against 
a  sovereign  whose  cause  he  had  thrice  gallantly  defended 
against  powerful  insurgent  leaders;  and  he  ascended  the 
throne  of  Constantinople  in  1081.  His  character  has  been 
too  partially  drawn  by  his  favourite  daughter,  Anna  Com- 
nena,  who  has,  however,  justly  remarked  that  the  disorders 
of  the  times  were  both  the  misfortune  and  glory  of  Alexius, 
and  that  he  paid  the  penalty  for  the  vices  of  his  pre- 
decessor:. In  his  reign  the  Turks  extended  their  conquests 
from  Persia  to  the  Hellespont;  on  the  north  the  empire 
was  assailed  by  hordes  of  barbarians  from  the  Danube,  and 
on  the  west  by  the  Normans;  while  Europe  pressed  on 
Asia  by  way  of  Constantinople,  in  the  excitement  of 
the  first  crusade.  Amid  these  disturbances-  Alexius 
managed  the  affairs  of  the  state  with  a  dexterous  and 
courageous  hand,  though  his  policy  was  ascribed  by 
the  Latins  to  cowardice  or  treachery.  He  was  politic 
enough  to  derive  solid  advantages  from  the  romantic  valour 
of  the  crusaders.  Alexius  outlived  the  love  of  his  sub- 
jects, and  their  patience  was  all  but  exhausted  in  the  latter 
part  of  his  long  reign.  The  nobility  were  irritated  by  the 
extravagance  of  his  relations;  the  people  by  his  severity 
and  exactions;  and  the  clergy  murmured  at  his  appropria- 
tion of  the  church  funds  to  the  defence  of  the  stato. 

ALFANI,  Domenico,  an  Italian  painter,  born  at  Perugia 
towards  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century.     The  precise 


date  is  uncertain,  but  he  was  a  contemporary  of  .Raphael, 
with  whom  he  studied  in  the  school  of  Perugino.  The 
two  artists  lived  on  terms  of  intimate  friendship,  and  the 
influence  of  the  more  distinguished  of  the  two  is  so  clearly 
traceable  in  the  works  of  the  other,  that  these  have  fre- 
quently been  attributed  to  Raphael.  Towards  the  close 
of  his  life  Alfani  gradually  changed  his  style,  and  approxi- 
mated to  that  of  the  'later  Florentine  school.  The  date  of 
his  death,  according  to  some,  was  1540,  while  others  say  he 
was  alive  iu  1553.  Pictures  by  Alfani  may  be  seen  iu 
collections  at  Florence,  and  in  several  churches  in  Perugia. 
AL-FARABI,  Abu  Nasb  Muhammad  Lbn  Taekhan, 
one  of  the  earliest  Arabian  philosophers,  flourished  during 
the  former  half  of  the  10th  century.  Philosophy,  among 
the  Arabs,  was  originally  an  extension  of  the  related 
sciences  of  astronomy  and  medicine,  and  the  first  philo- 
sophers were  physicians.  The  more  eminent  of  them  were 
court  physicians,  and  to  this  they  doubtless  owed  theii 
protection  against  the  jealous  suspicions  of  tlie  Maho- 
metan sects.  Al-Farabi  is  supposed  (for  the  detailed 
accounts  of  his  life  are  legendary)  to  have  concerned  him- 
self more  with  the  theory  than  the  practice  of  mediciue ; 
but  he  is  known  to  have  been  a  physician  at  the  court  of 
Seif-Eddaula,  and  died  when  it  was  at  Damascus  in  950. 
Unlike  some  of  his  successors,  Dotably  Avicenna,  he  was 
an  ascetic,  and  his  philosophy,  which  has  a  slight  Platonic 
infusion,  bears  traces  of  the  contrast.  He  was  unsystematic, 
and  the  sketches  and  aphorisms  of  his  which  have  come 
down  to  us  (many  of  his  treatises  ?r»  still  in  MS.)  only 
partially  enable  us  to  reconstruct  his  philosophy.  In  his 
opusculum  Be  Scientiis  he  enumerates  six  orders  of 
sciences  : — (1.)  Language,  by  which  he  means  little  more 
than  grammar.  (2.)  Logic,  which  he'names  as  an  art, 
conceives  generally  as  a  science,  and  confounds  in  its  details 
with  the  corresponding  art,  with  rhetoric,  and  with  criticism. 
(3.)  The  mathematical  sciences,  embracing  geometry, 
arithmetic,  optics,  the  science  of  the  stars,  music,  and  the 
sciences  of  weights  and  of  capacities  (ingenia).  Arithmetic 
is  abstract  and  concrete ;  geometry  is  active,  passive,  and 
speculative;  and  the  science  of  the  stars  includes  astronomy, 
astrology,  the  science  of  climates,  and  of  dreams  and 
auguries.  (4.)  The  natural  sciences,  ten  in  number,  (o.) 
Civil  science,  including  judicial  science  and  rhetoric.  (6.) 
Divine  science,  or  metaphysics.  This  hierarchy  has  striking 
approximations  to  the  most  modern  classifications.  Logic 
and  mathematics,  the  most  abstract  sciences,  are  near  the 
beginning,  if  not  quite  first ;  what  stands  for  social  science 
follows  the  physical  concrete  sciences ;  and  the  distinction 
between  abstract  and  concrete,  which  Comte  made  one  of  the 
basesof  his  classification,  and  which  has  been  more  accurately 
discriminated  by  Spencer,  is  on  the  whole  clearly  seized. 
But  art  is  throughout  confounded  with  science ;  supersti- 
tions are  mixed  up  with  facts ;  physical  and  mental 
phenomena  are  not  always  separated ;  the  subjective  and 
the  objective  (learning  and  science)  are  confused,  as 
they  afterwards  were  by  Bacon ;  and  there  is  no  science  of 
man — man  was  not  yet  conceived,  metaphysically,  as  an 
individual.  This  agrees  with  Al-Farabi's  science  of  politics 
as  expounded  in  another  work,  in  which  he  follows  his 
master,  Aristotle,  in  denying  the  permanence  of  the 
individual  soul,  and  anticipates  the  Averrhoistic  doctrine 
of  the  unity  of  souls.  For  his  metaphysics  is  Peripatetic, 
as  Peripateticism  was  interpreted  by  the  Neo-Platonist 
commentators  on  Aristotle.  Starting  with  the  distinction 
between  the  possible  and  the  necessary,  he  assumes  that 
there  must  be  some  supreme  necessary  existence  which 
accounts  for  all  actual  existence.  This  supreme  exist- 
ence has  infinite  life,  wisdom,  power,  beauty,  goodness, 
&c,  but  it  is  an  absolute  unity,  and  is  without  distinguish- 
able attributes.      How  does  the  world,  with  its  infinite 


502 


A  L  Jb1  —  A  L  I 


multi[>licity  and  diversity,  issue  from  this  absolutely  one 
and  identical  being  1  Hero  Al-Farabi  neo-platonises.  It 
proceeds  by  emanation.  The  absolute  Being  knows  itself, 
and  in  virtue  of  this  knowledge  the  first  intelligence  exists. 
He  does  not  explain  how  eelf-consciousness  comes  to  bo 
inseparable  from  necessary  existence,  but  his  dynamic,  at 
this  and  all  the  lower  stages,  is  self-knowledge;  and  indeed 
the  act  of  knowing  and  the  resultant  existence  ap| 
this  height  of  abstraction  to  be  all  but-identical  The  first 
intelligence,  intrinsically  a  unity,  contains  multiplicity, 
because  it  is  no  longer  devoid  of  attributes.  In  so  far  as 
it  necessarily  exists,  it  evolves  the  second  intelligence  ;  in 
so  far  as  it  is  merely  potential  being,  and  knows  itself,  it 
evolves  the  world-soul  and  the  uppermost  world-circle, 
which  is  moved  by  that  soul  Similarly  descending  intel- 
ligences, ever-wider  world-circles  and  the  corresponding 
souls,  are  evolved  by  the  same  process  of  emanation,  down 
to  tho  active  reason,  which  is  most  nearly  related  to  tho 
earthly  elements  and  human  souls.  The  active  reason, 
by  its  contact  witb  ii.atter,  impresses  on  it  forms,  of  which 
the  human  soul  is  one,  with  greater  or  less  permanence 
according  to  the  degree  in  which  it  is  immersed  in,  or 
rises  above,  matter.  The  forms  decline  in  permanence  tho 
further  we  descend  below  the  active  reason,  and  tho  matter 
which  has  least  form  is  the  limit  of  emanation.  There  is 
here  nothing  like  what  is  now  called  evolution :  the  con- 
ception of  the  universe  is,  as  in  all  theories  of  emanation, 
really  statical,  not  dynamical,  for  the  ideas  of  cause  and 
perpetual  causation  do  not  yet  exist ;  and  of  course  the 
process  is  the  reverse  of  that  implied  in  the  modern 
development  theory.  (For  information  on  Al-Farabi,  see 
Munk,  Melanges,  pp.  341-52;  and  Steinschncider,  Memoires 
de  F Acad*.' mie  de  St  Petersbourg^  vii.  serie,  torn.  xiii.  Two 
of  his  opusctda  have  "been  translated  by  Schmolders, 
Documenla  Philosophies  Arabum,  and  two  are  contained  in 
Alpharalii  Opera  Omnia,  Parisiis,  1633.) 

ALFIERI,  Vittoeio,  chiefly  celebrated  as  the  author 
who  raised  the  Italian  tragic  drama  from  its  previous  state 
of  degradation,  was  born  on  the  17th  January  1749,  at 
the  town  of  Asti,  in  Piedmont.  Ho  lost  his  father  in. 
early  infancy ;  but  he  continued  to  reside  with  his  mother, 
who  married  a  second  time,  till  his  tenth  year,  when  he 
was  placed  at  the  academy  of  Turin.,  After  he  had  passed 
»  twelvemonth  at  the  academy,  he  went  on  a  short  visit 
to  a  relation  who  dwelt  at  Coni ;  and  during  his  stay  there 
he  made  his  first  poetical  attempt,  &  a  sonnet  chiefly 
borrowed  from  lines  in  Ariosto  and  Metastasio,  the  only 
poets  he  had  at  that  time  read.  When  thirteen  years  of 
age  he  was  induced  to  commence  tho  study  of  civil  and 
canonical  law ;  but  the  attempt  only  served  to  disgust  him 
with  every  species  of  application,  and  to  increase  his  relish 
for  the  perusal  of  French  romances.  By  the  death  of  his 
uncle,  who  hod  hitherto  taken  some  charge  of  his  education 
and  conduct,  he  was  left,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  to  enjoy 
without  control  his  vast  paternal  inheritance,  augmented 
by  the  recent  accession  of  his  uncle's  fortune.  He  now 
began  to  attend  the  riding-school,  where  he  acquired  that 
rage  for  horses  and  equestrian  exercise  which  continued  to  be 
one  of  his  strongest  passions  till  the  close  of  his  existence. 

After  some  time  'spent  in  alternate  fits  of  extravagant 
dissipation  tind  ill-directed  study,  he  was  seized  with  a 
desire  of  travelling ;  and  having  obtained  permission  from 
the  king,  he  departed  in  1766,  under  the  care  of  an  English 
preceptor.  Restless  and  unquiet,  -  he  posted  with  the 
utmost  rapidity  through  the  towns  of  Italy;  and  bis 
improvement  wassnch  as  was  to  be  expected  from  his  mode 
of  travelling  and  his  previous  habits.  Hoping  to  find 
in  foreign  countries  some  relief  from  the  tedium  and  ennui 
with  which  he  was  opprsssed^and  being  anxious  to  become 
acquainted  with  the  French  theatre,  he  proceeded  to  Paris. 


But   he    appears   to   have   been    completely   dissatisfied 
with  everything  he  witnessed  in  France,  and  contracted  a 
dislike  to  its  people,  which  his  intercourse  in  future  year* 
rather  contributed  to  augment  than  diminish.    In  llollan  J 
he  became  deeply  enamoured  of  a   married  lady,  whi> 
returned  his  attachment,  but  who  was  soon  obliged  to 
accompany  her  husband  to  Switzerland.     Alfieri,  whose 
feelings  were  of  the  most  impetuous  description,  was  in 
despair  at  this  separation,  and  returned  to  his  own  country 
in  the  utmost  anguish  and  despondency  of  mind.     While 
under  this  depression  of  spirits  he  was  induced  to  seek 
alleviation  from  works  of  literature ;  and  the  perusal  of 
Plutarch's  Lives,  which  he  read  with  profound  emotion, 
inspired  him  with  an  enthusiastic  passion  for  freedom  and 
independence.    Under  the  influence  of  this  rage  for  liberty 
he  recommenced  his  travels ;  and  his  only  gratification,  in 
the  absence  of  freedom  among  the  Continental  states, 
appears  to  have  been  derived  from  contemplating  the  wild 
and  sterile  regions  of  tho  north  of  Sweden,  where  gloomy 
forests,  lakes,  and  precipices  conspired  to  excite  those 
sublime  and  melancholy  ideas  which  were  congenial  to  bis 
disposition.      Everywhere  his  soul  felt  as  if  confined  by 
the  bonds  of  society;  he  panted  for  something  more  free  in 
government,  more  elevated  in  sentiment,  more  devoted  in 
love,  and  more  perfect  in  friendship.    In  search  of  this  ideal 
world  he  posted  through  various  countries,  more  with  the 
rapidity-  of  a  courier  than  of  one  who  travels  for  amuse- 
ment or  instruction.     During  a  journey  to  Loudon,  he 
engaged  in  an  intrigue  with  a  married  lady  of  high  rank  ; 
and  having  been  detected,  the  publicity  of  a  rencounter 
with  the  injured  husband,  and  of  a  divorce  which  followed, 
rendered    it    expedient   and    desirable   for   him   to   quit 
England.     He  then  visited  Spain  and  Portugal,  where  he 
became  acquainted  with  the  AbbtS  Caluso,  who  remained 
through  life  the  most  attached  and  estimable  friend  ho 
ever  possessed.     In  1772  Alfieri  returned  to  Turin,  where 
he  again  became  enamoured  of  a  lady,  whom  he  loved  with 
his  usual  ardour,  and  who  seems  to  have  been  as  undeserv- 
ing of  a  sincere  attachment  as  those.he  had  hitherto  adored. 
In  the  course  of  a  long  attendance  on  his  mistress,  during 
a  malady  with  which  she  was  afflicted,  he  one  day  wrote  a 
dialogue  or  scene  of  a  drama,  which  ho  left  at  her  house. 
On  a  difference  taking  place  between  them,  the  piece  was 
returned  to  him,  and  being  retouched  and  extended  to 
five  acts,  it  was  performed  at  Turin  in  1775,  under  the 
title  of  Cleopatra. 

From  this  moment  Alfieri  was  seized  with  an  insatiable 
thirst  for  theatrical  fame,  and  the  remainder  of  his  hie 
wa3  devoted  to  its  attainment.  His  first  two  tragedies, 
FUippo  and  Polinice,  were  originally  written  in  French 
prose ;  and  when  he  came  to  ver&ify  them  in  Italian,  ho 
found  that,  from  his  Lombard  origin,  and  Jong  intercours"' 
with  foreigners,  he  expressed  himself  with  feebleness  and 
inaccuracy.  .  Accordingly,  with  the  view  of  improving  hi.i 
Italian  style,  he  went  to  Tuscany,  and,  during  an  alternato 
residence  at  Florence  and  Siena,  he  completed  his  FUippo 
and  Polinice,  and  conceived  the  plan  of  various  other 
dramas.  While  thus  employed,  he  became  acquainted  with 
the  Countess  of  Albany,  who  then  resided  with  her  husband 
at  Florence.  For  her  he  formed  an  attachment  which,  if 
less  violent  than  his  former  loves,  appears  to  have  been 
more  permanent.  With  this  motive  to  remain  at  Florence, 
he  could  not  endure  the  chains  by  which  his  vast  posses- 
sions bound  him  to  Piedmont.  He  therefore  resigned  Lis 
whole  property  to  his  sister,  the  Countess  Cumiana,  reserv- 
ing an  annuity  which  scarcely  amounted  to  a  half  of  his 
original  revenues.  At  this  period  the  Countess  of  Albary. 
urged  by  the  ill-treatment  she  received  from  her  husband, 
sought  refuge  in  Kome,  where  she  at  length  received  per- 
mission from  the  pope  to  live  apart  from  her  tormentor 


ALF-ALF 


503 


Alfieri  followed  the  countess  to  that  capital,  where  he  com- 
pleted fourteen  tragedies,  four  of  which  were  now  for  the 
first  time  printed  at  Sienna. 

At  length,  however,  it  was  thought  proper  that,  by  leav- 
ing Rome,  he  should  remove  the  aspersions  which  had 
been  thrown  on  the  object  of  his  affections.  During  the 
year  1783  he  therefore  travelled  through  different  states  of 
Italy,  and  published  six  additional  tragedies.  The  interests 
of  his  love  and  literary  glory  had  not  diminished  his  rage 
for  horses,  which  seems  to  have  been  at  least  the  third 
passion  of  his  souL  He  came  to  England  solely  for  the 
purpose  of  purchasing  a  number  of  these  animals,  which 
he  carried  with  him  to  Italy.  On  his  return  he  learned 
that  the  Countess  of  Albany  had  gone  to  Colmar  in  Alsace, 
crhere  he  joined  her,  and  resided  with  her  under  the  same 
roof  during  the  rest  of  his  life.  They  chiefly  passed  their 
time  between  Alsace  and  Paris,  but  at  length  took  up 
their  abode  entirely  in  that  metropolis.  While  here,  Alfieri 
made  arrangements  with  Didot  for  an  edition  of  hi3  trage- 
dies ;  but  was  soon  after  forced  to  quit  Paris  by  tho  storms 
of  the  Revolution.  He  recrossed  the  Alps  with  the 
countess,  and  finally  settled  at  Florence.  The  last  ten 
years  of  his  life,  which  he  spent  in  that  city,  seem  to  have 
been  the  happiest  of  his  existence.  During  that  long 
period  his  tranquillity  was  only  interrupted  by  the  entrance 
of  the  Revolutionary  armies  into  Florence  in  1799.  Though 
an  enemy  of  kings,  the  aristocratic  feelings  of  Alfieri 
rendered  him  also  a  decided  foe  to  the  principles  and 
•eaders  of  the  French  Revolution ;  and  he  rejected  with 
the  utmost  contempt  those  advances  which  were  made 
with  a  view  to  bring  him  over  to  their  cause.  The  con- 
cluding years  of  his  life  were  laudably  employed  in  the 
study  of  the  Greek  literature,  and  in  perfecting  a  series  of 
comedies.  His  assiduous  labour  on  this  subject,  which  he 
pursued  with  his  characteristic  impetuosity,  exhausted  his 
strength,  and  brought  on  a  malady  for  which  he  would 
not  adopt  the  prescriptions  of  his  physicians,  but  obstinately 
persisted  in  employing  remedies  of  his  own.  His  disorder 
rapidly  increased,  and  at  length  terminated  his  life  on  the 
8th  October  1803,  in  the  fifty-fifth  year  of  his  age. 

The  character  of  Alfieri  may  be  best  appreciated  from  the 
portrait  which  he  has  drawn  of  himself  in  his  own  Memoirs 
of  kis  Life.  He  was  evidently  of  an  irritable,  impetuous, 
And  almost  ungovernable  temper.  Pride,  which  seems  to 
hava  been  a  ruling  sentiment,  may  account  for  many 
apparent  inconsistencies  of  his  character.  But  his  less 
amiable  qualities  were  greatly  softened  by  the  cultivation  of 
literature.  His  application  to  study  gradually  tranquillised 
his  temper  and  softened  his  manners,  leaving  him  at  the 
same  time  in  perfect  possession  of  those  good  qualities 
which  he  had  inherited  from  nature, — a  warm  and  dis- 
interested attachment  to  his  family  and  friends,  united  to 
a  generosity,  vigour,  and  elevation  of  character,  which 
rendered  him  not  unworthy  to  embody  in  his  dramas  the 
actions  and  sentiments  of  Grecian  heroes. 

Jt  is  to  his  dramas  that  Al  fieri  is  chiefly  indebted  for  the  high 
reputation  he  has  attained.  Before  his  time  the  Italian  language,  so 
harmonious  in  the  Sonnets  of  Petrarch,  and  so  energetic  in  the 
Corn/media  of  Dante,  had  been  invariably  languid  and  prosaic  in 
dramatic  dialogue.  The  pedantic  and  inanimate  tragedies  of  the 
16th  century  were  followed,  during  the  iron  age  of  Italian  litera- 
ture, by  dramas  of  which  extravagance  in  the"  sentiments  and  im- 
probability in  tho  action  were  the  chief  characteristics.  The  pro- 
digious success  of  the  Mcrope  of  Maffei,  which  appeared  in  tho 
commencement  of  the  last  oantury,  may  be  attributed  more  to  a 
comparison  with  such  productions  than  to  intrinsic  merit.  In  this 
degradation  of  tragic  taste  the  appearanco  of  the  tragedies  of  Alfieri 
iras  perhaps  the  most  important  literary  event  that  had  occurred  in 
Italy  during  tho  ISth  century.  On  these  tragedies  it  is  difficult  to 
pronounce  a  judgment,  as  the  taste  and  system  of  the  author  under- 
went considerable  change  and  modification  during  the  intervals 
which  elapsed  between  the  three  periods  of  their  publication.  An 
excessive  harshness  of  style,  an  asperity  of  sentiment,  and  total 


want  of  poetical  ornament,  are  the  characteristica  of  Mb  first  four 
tragedies,  Filippo,  I'olinUx,  Antigone,  and  Virginia.  Theae  faults 
were  in  some  measure  corrected  in  the  six  tragedies  which  he  gave 
to  the  world  some  years  after,  and  in  those  which  he  published  along 
with  Saul,  the  dram  \  which  enjoyed  the  greatest  TOccess  of  all  his 
productions  ;  a  popularity  which  may  be  partly  attributed  to  the 
severe  and  unadorned  manner  of  Alfieri  being  well  adapted  to  the 
patriarchal  simplicity  of  the  age  in  which  the  scene  of  the  tragedy  is 
placed.  But  though  there  be  a  considerable  difference  in  his  dramas, 
there  are  certain  observations  applicable  to  them  all.  None  of  the 
plots  are  of  his  own  invention.  They  are  founded  either  on  mytho- 
logical fable  or  history  ;  most  of  them  had  been  previously  treated 
by  the  Greek  dramatists,  or  by  Seneca.  Rosmunda,  the  only  one 
which  could  be  supposed  of  his  own  contrivance,  and  which  is 
certainly  the  least  happy  effusion  of  his  genius,  is  partly  founded 
on  the  eighteenth  novel  of  the  third  part  of  Bandello,  and  partly  on 
Prevost's  Mimoires  cVun  Homme  de  Qualiti.  But  whatever  subject 
he  chooses,  his  dramas  are  always  formed  on  the  Grecian  model,  and 
breathe  a  freedom  and  independence  worthy  of  an  Athenian  poet. 
Indeed,  his  Agide  and  Bruto  may  rather  be  considered  oratorical 
declamations  and  dialogues  on  liberty  than  tragedies.  The  unities 
of  time  and  place  are  not  so  scrupulously  observed  in  his  as  in  the 
ancient  dramas ;  but  he  has  rigidly  adhered  to  a  unity  of  action  and 
interest.  He  occupies  his  scene  with  one  great  action  and  one 
ruling  passion,  and  removes  from  it  every  accessary  event  or  feeling. 
In  this  excessive  zeal  for  the  observance  of  unity  he  seems  to  have 
forgotten  that  its  charm  consists  in  producing  a  common  relation 
between  multiplied  feelings,  and  not  in  the  bare  exhibition  of  one, 
divested  of  those  various  accompaniments  which  give  harmony  to 
tho  whole.  Consistently  with  that  austere  and  simple  mauncr 
which  he  considered  the  chief  excellence  of  dramatic  composition, 
he  excluded  from  his  scene  all  coups  de  thidlre,  all  philosophical 
reflections,  and  that  highly  ornamented  versification  which  had 
been  so  assiduously  cultivated  by  his  predecessors.  In  his  anxiety, 
however,  to  avoid  all  superfluous 'ornament,  he  has  stripped  his 
dramas  of  the  embellishments  of  imagination  ;  and  fcrr  tho  harmony 
and  flow  of  poetical  language  he  has  substituted,  even  in  his  best 
performances,  a  styli  which,  though  correct  and  pure,  is  generally 
harsh,  elaborate,  and  ibrupt ;  often  strained  into  unnatural  energy, 
or  condensed  into  factitious  conciseness.  The  chief  excellence  of 
Alfieri  consists  in  tiowerful  delineation  of  dramatic  character.  In 
his  Filippo'he  has  ^presented,  almost  with  tho  masterly  touches  of 
Tacitus,  the  sombre  character,  the  dark  mysterious  counsels,  the 
suspensa  semper  et  obscura  verba,  of  the  modern  Tiberius.  In 
Polinice,  the  characters  of  the  rival  brothers  are  beautifully  con- 
trasted ;  in  Maria  Stuarda,  that  unfortunate  queen  is  represented 
unsuspicious,  impatient  of  contradiction,  and  violent  in  her  attach- 
ments. In  Mirra,  tho  character  of  Ciniro  is  perfect  as  a  father  and 
king,  and  Cecri  is  a  model  of  a  wife  and  mother.  In  the  representa- 
tion of  that  species  of  mental  alienation  where  the  judgment  has 
perished,  but  traces  of  character  still  remain,  he  is  peculiarly 
happy.  The  insanity  of  Saul  is  skilfully  managed  ;  and  the  horrid 
joy  of  Orestes  in  killing  JSgisthus  rises  finely  and  naturally  to  mad- 
ness, in  finding  that,  at  the  same  time,  he  had  inadvertently  slain 
his  mother. 

Whatever  may  be  the  merit3  or  defects  of  Alfieri,  he  may  be  con- 
sidered as  the  founder  of  a  new  school  in  the  Italian  drama.  His 
country  hailed  him  as  her  sole  tragic  poet ;  and  his  successors  in 
the  same  path  of  literature  have  regarded  his  bold,  austere,  and 
rapid  manner,  as  the  genuine  model  of  tragic  composition. 

Besides  his  tragedies,  Alfieri  published  during  his  life  many 
sonnets,  five  odes  on  American  independence,  and  the  poem  of 
Etruria,  founded  on  the  assassination  of  Alexander  I.,  duke  of 
Florence.  Of  his  prose  works  the  most  distinguished  for  animation 
and  eloquence  is  the  Panegyric  on.  Trajan,  composed  in  a  transport 
of  indignation  at  the  supposed  feebleness  of  Pliny's  eulogium.  The. 
two  books  entitled  La  Tirannidc  and  the  Essays  on  Literature  and 
Government,  are  remarkable  for  elegance  and  vigour  of  style,  but 
are  too  evidently  imitations  of  the  manner  of  Machiavel.  His 
Anligallican,  which  was  written  at  the  same  time  with  his  Defence 
is  XVI.,  comprehends  an  historical  and  satirical  view  of  the 
French  Revolution.  Tho  posthumous  works  of  Alfieri  consist  of 
satires,  six  political  comedies,  and  the  .'Jemoirs  of  his  Life — a  work 
which  will  always  be  read  with  interest,  in  spite  of  the  cold  and 
languid  gravity  with  which  he  delineates  the  most  interesting 
adventures  (id  the  strongest  passions  of  his  agitated  life.  See 
Mem.  di.  Vit.  Alfieri;  Sismondi  De  la  Lit.  da  Midi  de  V  Europe: 
Walker's  Memoir  on  Italian  Tragedy ;  Giorn.  dc  Pisa.  torn,  ltiii. } 
Life  of  Alfieri,  by  Centofanti  (Florence,  1842) ;  and  Vila,  Giornuli, 
Letters  di  Alfieri,  by  Teza  (Florence,  1S61). 

ALF07?D,  Henry,  D.D.,  Dean  of  Canterbury,  one  of 
the  most  variously-accomplished  churchmen  of  his  day — 
poet,  preacher,  painter,  musician,  biblical  scholar,  critic, 
and  philologist— wac  born  at  25  Alfred  Tlace,  Bedford 
Row,  London,  October  7th,  1810  (died  1S71)     ITe  oarae 


504 


A  L  F  0  It  D 


of  a  Somersctsnn-o  family,  fivo  generations  of  which,  in 
direct  succession,  contributed  clergymen  of  some  distinction 
to  the  English  Church.  The  earliest  of  these,  his  great- 
great-grandfather,  Thomas  Alford,  who  died  in  1708,  was 
for  many,  years  the  vicar  of  Curry  Rivell,  near  Taunton — a 
living  that  passed  from  one  to  another  of  his  descendants. 
The  father  of  Dean  Alford  studied  for  the  bar,  but  after 
practising  for  a'  short  time,  followed  the  course  of  his 
predecessors  by  taking  holy  orders;  and,  until  his  death  at 
a  venerable  age  in  1852,  had  long  been  familiarly  known 
and  revered  in  his  part  of  the  country  as  the  rector  of  Aston 
Sandford  in  Buckinghamshire.  His  first  wife,  the  dean's 
mother,  whose  ma:den  name  was  Sarah  Eliza  Privet,  was  the 
younger  daughter  of  a  well-to-do  banker  of  Tamworth  in 
■Staffordshire.  A  twelvemonth  after  their  marriage,  her 
husband,  then  practising  as  a  special  pleader,  was  by  her 
premature  death  in  childbed  left  a  widower.  The  newly-born 
infant,  who  remained  to  the  last  the  bereaved  parent's  only 
child,  was  confided  in  the  first  instance  to  the  affectionate 
care  of  the  home-circle  in  the  house  of  his  maternal  grand- 
father. Towards  the  close  of  181 3  he  was  taken  back  to  the 
lonely  hearth  of  his  father,  who  had  now  entered  upon  his 
clerical  duties  as  curate  of  Steeple  Ashton,  near  Trowbridge 
in  Wiltshire.  Being  the  only  son  of  a  secluded  scholar, 
the  boy's  education  was  from  an  unusually  early  period 
sedulously  cared  for;  his  father  being  his  first  instructor, 
and  at  the -outset  his  constant  companion.  So  exceptional 
was  his  precocity  that  at  six  he  had  already  written  a  little 
MS.  volume  entitled  (in  round  hand)  the  Travels  of  St 
Paul.  Before  he  was  eight  he  had  penned  a  collection  of 
Latin  odes  in  miniature.  When  he  was  scarcely  nine 
he  had  compiled,  in  the  straggling  characters  of  a  school- 
boy, a  compendious  History  of  the  Jews;  besides  drawing 
out  a  chronological  scheme  in  which  were  tabulated  the 
events  of  the  Old  Testament.  Prior  to  the  completion 
of  his  tenth  year  he  actually  produced  a  series  of  terse 
sermons  or  laconically  outlined  homilies,  the  significant 
title  of  which  was  Looking  unto  Jesus.  During  the  absence 
of  his  father,  who  had  gone  abroad  as  the  travelling  chaplain 
of  Lord  Calthorpe,  Henry,  at  seven  years  of  age,  began 
the  round  of  three  academies,  at  Charinouth  and  Hammer- 
smith ;  the  happiest  time  of  all  for  him  as  a  schoolboy 
being  three  years  and  upwards  passed  in  the  grammar- 
school  at  Dminster.  His  character  was  already  displaying 
a  marked  individuality.  He  could  repeat  not  only  readily 
but  appreciatively  an  astonishing  number  of  lines  in  Greek, 
Latin,  and  English,  selected  from  what  were  then  and  always 
afterwards  his  favourite  classic  authors.  He  indulged,  too, 
in  those  early  days,  in  the  luxury  of  original  versification. 
Then  it  was  also  that  he  first  began  to  manifest  that 
singular  capacity  for  ingenious  contrivance  and  that  sur- 
prising* neatness  and  dexterity  of  manipulation  for  which 
he 'was  afterwards  remarkable.  It  was  said  of  him  later 
in  life,  that  he  could  construct  an  organ  and  then  play 
upon  it ;  and  when  his  reputation  for  profound  scholarship 
had  been  long  established,  hi3  constructiveness  was 
curiously  manifested  by  bis  adaptation  to  the  purposes  of 
utility  of  the  seemingly  ordinary  walking-stick  he  carried 
when  travelling  on  the  Continent.  In  its  upper  joint  he 
secreted  his  surplus  money  and  his  drawing  materials ;  in 
its  lower  joint,  pens,  ink,  wax,  and  pencils.  Strangely 
contrasting-  with  this  ineradicable  passion  for  nicety  and 
precision  was  his  delight  at  all  time3  in  giving  himself  up 
to  the  most  diversified  occupations,  and  in  yielding,  often 
at  an  instant's  notice,  as  he  sometimes  notes  with  regret. 
to  the  temptation  of  mere  discursiveness. 

It  was  in  the  October  of  1827  that  the  university  life 
of  Alford  commenced.  At  seventeen  he  went  up  to  Cam- 
bridge, having  won  his  scholarship,  and  had  his  name 
entered  at  Trinity  College.     During  the  midsummer  of  his 


fourth  year  at  Cambridge,  in  the  Juno  of  1831,  he  hai! 
obtained  the  second  prize  essay.  As  the  autumn  deepened 
into  winter  he  was  nervously  preparing  to  go  in  for 
honours  at  the  examinations.  In  the  possibility  of  his 
success  he  had  not  the  slightest  confidence,  yet  on  tbo 
21st  January  1832  he  appears  as  thirty-fourth  wrangler; 
while  on  tho  25th  February  his  name  comes  out  eighth  on 
the  fi'st-class  list  of  the  classical  tripos.  He  now  began  to 
take  pupils,  and  within  tho  interval  which  elapsed  between 
his  taking  his  degree  and  giving  himself  up  more  completely 
to  the  great  work  of  his  life — the  elaboration  of  his  edition 
of  the  Greek  New  Testament — it  is  believed  that  he  had 
under  his  charge  at  least  sixty.  These  included  barristers, 
clergymen,  peers,  and  members  of  parliament;  many  of 
whom  afterwards  attained  positions  of  eminence,  all  of 
them  having  their  characters  moulded  more  or  less  under 
the  inspiring  influence  of  his.  In  his  twenty-sixth  year  he 
was  united  in  marriage  to  his  cousin  Fanny,  a  daughter  of 
his  uncle,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Alford,  who  was  then,  as  his 
father  and  his  great-grandfather  had  been  before  him,  vicar 
of  Curry  Rivell.  Surviving  her  husband  after  nearly  thirty- 
five  years  of  wedded  life,  during  which  she  had  seen  tho 
development  of  his  intellectual  powers  and  the  realisation 
of  some  portions  at  least  of  his  many-sided  ambition,  she 
brought  out  in  1872  his  journals  and  correspondence,  care- 
fully edited  by  herself.  A  curiously  characteristic  side-light 
is  thrown  upon  Alford's  inner  nature,  both  moral  and  intel- 
lectual, by  the  circumstance  there  recorded — that,  with  a 
view  to  enable  his  future  wife  to  read  the  New  Testament 
in  Greek,  he  wrote  with  his  own  hand,  in  the  interval  be- 
tween betrothal  and  marriage,  an  elementary  Greek  gram- 
mar of  sixty  folio  pages.  The  incident  is  all  the  more 
interesting  as  affording  the  earliest  glimpse  of  what  soor 
proved  to  be  his  dominant  aspiration.  His  researches  in 
secular  scholarship  were  at  this  time  becoming  every  year 
more  and  more  adventurous.  He  shrank  not  from  proclaim- 
ing even  then  that  he  regarded  Niebuhr  as  "  one  of  the 
greatest  men  in  this  ignorant  and  obstinate  world.".  Mean- 
while, in  the  midst  of  his  excursive  inquiries  as  a  student 
in  tho  mo3t  opposite  directions,  he  was  indulging  at  every 
available  opportunity  in  the  lotos-delight  of  his  own  day- 
dreamings;  and  in  February  1833,  he  published  his  maiden 
work  as  a  lyrist,  Poems  and  Poetical  Fragments.  Simply  as 
an  instructor  lie  was  working  steadily  seven  hours  a-day ; 
but  tlia  time  came  when,  in  furtherance  of  his  favourite 
researches,  he  was  known  to  toil  at  the  desk  sometimes 
twelve  or  fourteen. 

Resolved  from  childhood  to  tread  the  path  of  life  in 
the  footsteps  of  his  forefathers,  Alford  was  ordained  deacon 
on  the  26th  October  1833,  and  at  once  began  active  pro- 
fessional work  as  curate  of  Ampton.  So  modest  was  his 
own  estimate  of  his  intellectual  capabilities,  that  it  was  with 
unaffected  surprise  he  found  his  name  second  on  tho  list  ol 
the  six  Fellows  of  Trinity  who  were  elected  on  the  1st  of 
the  following  October.  On  the  6th  November  he  was 
admitted  to  priest's  orders,  and  four  months  afterwards, 
upon  the  4th  March  1835 — scarcely  a  week  before  bis 
marriage — entered  upon  his  parochial  labours  of  eighteen 
years'  duration  as  vicar  of  Wymeswold  in  Leicestershire. 
Twice  during  the  interval  of  his  scholarly  seclusion  in  that 
quiet  vicarage  he  was  vainly  tempted  with  the  offer  of  a 
colonial  bishopric,  first  in  1841  as  bishop  of  New  Zealand, 
and  again  in  1844  as  bishop  of  New  Brunswick.  He  con- 
tentedly drudged  on  for  years  together  in  comparative 
obscurity  among  his  pupils  and  parishioners.  Although 
a  ripe  scholar,  and  remarkable  for  his  splendid  versatility, 
it  was  less  by  the  brilliancy  of  his  achievements  than  by 
the  sheer  force  of  the  most  diligent  perseverance  that  he 
pushed  his  way  eventually  into  the  front  rank,  and  com- 
manded at  last  the  recognition   of  his   contemporarie.-. 


ALFORD 


505 


W>atcver  he  put  his  hand  to  he  carried  out  with  a  zeal 
that  at  times  looked  almost  like  dogged  determination. 
Thrown  from  hk  horse  in  the  February  of  1847  when 
going  to  deliver  his  first  lecture,  although  very  seriously 
shaken  and  disfigured,  he  nevertheless  punctually  appeared 
before  his  audience  with  his  face  and  head  covered  with 
surgical  bandages  and — resolutely  lectured.  His  reputa- 
tion as  a  lecturer  of  exceptional  power  was  within  a  few 
years  from  that  time  thoroughly  established.  Several  of 
his  discourses,  notably  one  on  Saul  of  Tarsus,  with  others 
on  themes  as  varied  as  astronomy,  music,  scenery,  and 
Christianity,  acquired  in  the  end  a  certain  amount  of 
celebrity.  For  two  years  together,  in  1841  and  1842,  he 
held  the  chair  at  Cambridge  of  Hulsean  lecturer.  As  the 
result  of  his  labours  in  that  capacity,  two  substantial 
volumes  afterwards  made  their  appearance.  Meanwhile,  in 
the  midst  of  his  more  serious  avocations,  he  was  at  uncertain 
intervals  making  good  his  claim  to  be  regarded  as  one  of 
the  more  subtle  and  tender  of  the  minor  religious  poets  of 
England.  Adopting  an  old  forgotten  title  of  Quarles's,  he 
brought  out,  on  his  arrival  at  Wymeswold  (1835),  in  two 
volumes,  his  School  of  the  Heart,  coupled  with  a  reissue 
of  his  minor  poems  and  sonnets.  In  1838,  he  edited,  in 
3ix  vols.,  the  works  of  Donne,  prefixing  a  luminous  preface, 
at  once  critical  and  biographical  Throughout  the  year  1839 
and  part  of  1840  he  edited  a  monthly  magazine  called 
Dearden's  Miscellany.  In  1841  he  published,  with  other 
new  poems,  his  Ahbot  of  Muchelnaye.  A  collection  of  Psalms 
and  Hymns  appeared  from  his  hand  in  the  spring  of  1844. 
A.  couple  of  years  before  that,  in  1842,  he  had  first  entered 
upon  his  duties  at  Somerset  House,  where  he  acted  for 
many  years  as  examiner  in  logic  and  moral  and  intellectual 
philosophy  in  the  university  of  London.  So  youthful  was 
his  appearance  at  the  date  of  his  first  receiving  this  appoint- 
ment, that  on  his  entering  the  apartment  where  he  was 
awaited  by  the  candidates,  he  was  mistaken  for  one  of 
themselves. 

What  eventually  proved  to  be  the  noblest  of  all  his 
literary  undertakings,  his  new  edition,  with  running 
commentary,  of  the  Greek  Testament,  engrossed  his  atten- 
tion for  fully  twenty  years  together,  from  1841  to 
1861.  Originally  designed  for  the  use  of  students  in 
the  universities,  the  work,  from  its  modest  first  projec- 
tion, grew  in  his  hands  to  enormous  proportions.  He 
fancied  at  starting  that  a  single  year  might  witness  its. 
completion,  and  that  a  couple,  of  thin  octavos  might  embrace 
both  text  and  commentary.  By  the  time  the  expanding 
scheme  was  actually  realised  twenty  years  had  elapsed,  and 
the'  work  had  swollen  into  four  ponderous  tomes,  the  con- 
tents of  which  were  as  weighty  as  they  were  comprehensive. 
The  idea  of  the  work  was  suggested  to  Alford's  mind  as  he 
listened  one  day  to  a  sermon  at  Cambridge.  What  he  pro- 
posed to  himself  at  the  outset  was  simply  to  adopt  the 
main  text,  and  to  combine  with  it  the  greater  part  of  the 
readings  of  Philipp  Buttmann  and  Karl  Lachmann.  This, 
however,  led  to  a  more  extended  plan  of  critical  labour  and 
research,  including  a  comprehensive  digest  of  the  various 
readings  founded  on  the  latest  collations  of  the  principal 
manuscripts,  the  Codex  Vaticanus,  the  Codex  Sinaiticus, 
the  Codex  Alexandrinus,  and  others.  With  a  view  to 
illustrate  more  clearly  than  ever  the  verbal  and  idiomatic 
or  constructional  usages  of  the  sacred  text,  an  entirely  new 
collection  of  marginal  references  was  compiled.  Added  to 
this  there  was  a  copious  abundance  of  English  notes,  both 
exegetical  and  philological.  Conscious  of  the  vast  stores  of 
learning  that  had  been  accumulating  in  Germany,  Alford 
from  an  early  date  determined  to  render  himself  as 
thoroughly  as  possible  a  master  of  the  German  language 
and  at  home  in  German  literature.  This  intention  was 
(airly  carried  out  at  Bonn  before  the  close  of  the  summer 


of  1847.  Then,  but  hardly  till  then,  b.9  felt  himself  at 
last  duly  qualified  to  edit  the  Greek  Testament.  From 
that  time  he  prepared  in  earnest  to  open  up  systematically 
to  the  contemplation  of  English  readers  the  wealth  of 
German  criticism,  actually  made  plain  for  the  first  time  in 
our  language  through  his  Prolegomena  and  subsequent  inci- 
dental commentary.  In  November  1849  (the  month  the 
author  took  his  B.D.  degree  at  Cambridge),  voL  i.  of  the 
Greek  Testament  was  published,  containing  the  four  Gospels. 
Through  it  theological  students  in  this  country  had  placed 
within  their  reach  in  an  epitomised  form  the  latest  results 
of  the  labours  of  continental  critics  on  the  Greek  text, 
including  portions  even  of  those  of  Constantino  Tischendorf. 
Issued  from  the  press  volume  by  volume,  the  work,  as' 
already  remarked,  was  not  completed  till  long  afterwards. 
In  January  1861  the  fourth  or  final  volume,  beginning  with 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  and  ending  with  the  Book  of 
Revelation,  made  its  appearance.  What  is  chiefly  notice- 
able in  regard  to  the  work  is  its  strictly  critical  character. 
It  is  the  production  of  a  philologist  rather  than  of  a  theo- 
logian. Abbreviations,  punctuations,  elisions  of  ortho- 
graphy, systematic  ellipses,  the  merest  turns  of  the  pen  in 
this  or  that  manuscript,  are  weighed  against  microscopic 
scruples  in  the  balance  of  his  judgment.  There  can  be  little 
question  that  the  work  appreciably  increased  the  aggregate 
amount  of  the  biblical  knowledge  of  Alford's  immediato 
contemporaries.  So  carefully  matured  were  his  researches 
in  the  regions  of  exegesis,  already  crossed  and  recrossed 
by  the  footprints  of  countless  commentators,  that  the  work 
is  regarded  as  in  many  respects  authoritative  even  among 
those  who  differ  from  him  widely  on  many  important 
questions. 

Early  in  1853  Alford  first  preached  in  Quebec  chapel, 
London,  the  building  in  which  his  father  had  been  ordained 
deacon  forty  years  before.  Before  the  year  was  out,  on  the 
26th  September,  he  had  removed  from  his  picturesque 
church  in  the  wolds  of  Leicestershire  to  the  plain  con- 
venticle in  Tyburnia.  There  he  remained  for  nearly  four 
years,  toiling  assiduously,  preaching  twice  every  Surday  to 
a- large  and  cultured  congregation.  Seven  volumes,  jssued 
from  the  press  at  intervals,  have,  under  the  title  of  The 
Quebec  Chapel  Sermons,  preserved  153  of  the  more  remark- 
able of  these  discourses — those  preached  by  him  in  the 
morning — all  of  which  were  carefully  prepared  beforehand. 
As  a  preacher  his  style  was  severe  and  earnest  rather  than 
eloquent  or  impassioned.  Perhaps  the  finest  discourse  he 
ever  delivered  was  the  one  on  the  text,  "  A  great  multitude 
which  no  man  could  number."  It  was  preached  from  tha 
cathedral  pulpit  shortly  after  his  advancement  by  Lord 
Palmerston,  in  March  1857,  to  the  deanery  of  Canterbury. 
Throughout  his  life,  but  especially  towards  its  cl<?se,  his 
chief  delight  intellectually  appears  to  have  been  the  rapid 
alternation  of  his  pursuits.  While  he  was  yet  in  the  midst 
of  his  biblical  researches  he  was,  simultaneously,  at  the 
beginning  of  1851,  translating  the  Odyssey,  arrarging  his 
poems,  with  additions  for  their  American  republication,  and 
preparing  an  article  for  the  Edinburgh  Review  on  the  St 
Paul  of  Conybeare  and  Howson.  A  series  of  ingenious 
lectures,  delivered  by  him  in  his  capacity  of  phiblogist,  on 
being  compacted  into  a  manual  of  idiom  and  usa^e,  entitled 
The  Queen's  English,  attained  a  high  degree  of  popularity. 
Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  their  wholly  unpretentious  and 
essentially  humorous  character,  these  mere  'casual  notes 
on  spelling  and  speaking  drew  down  upon  their  author 
one  of  the  sharpest  criticisms  he  ever  provoked,  sarcas- 
tically entitled  The  Dean's  English.  The  Contemporary 
Review  was  inaugurated  under  his  editorship;  and  from 
January  1866  to  August  1870  was  conducted  by  him  as  a 
sort  of  neutral  ground  for  religious  criticism.  Under  the 
title  of  The  Year  of  Prayer,  Alford  in  1866  published  a 


506 


A  L  F  —  A  L  if 


!    ok  of  family  dovotion;   and  in  1867,  a  collection  of 
Original  hymns  called  The  Year  of  Praise,  works  of  little 

asion,  but  by  which  his  name  was  widely  popularised. 
His  latest  poetic  effusion  of  any  considerable  length  was 
The  Children  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  which  appeared  in 
18G9  as  the  letterpress  accompaniment  to  designs  by  F.  R. 
Pickersgill,  R.A.  The  miscellaneous  papers  he  had  con- 
tributed to  periodicals  were,  the  same  year,  collected  under 
the  name  of  Essay*  and  Addresses.  He  brought  out,  in 
1SC5,  his  Letters  from  Abroad,  eminently  characteristic 
records  of  travel,  mainly  descriptive  of  Italian  cities  and 
scenery;  and  in  1S70,  a  collection  of  spirited  pen  and  pencil 
sketches  of  The  Rivii  r  (,  the  latter  being  reproduced  from 
his  water-colour  drawings  by  the  aid  of  chromo-litho- 
graphy.  The  artist  faculty,  it  has  been  observed,  and 
not  extravagantly,  "would  have  made  him  a  great  land- 
scape painter  had  he  not,  either  from  preference  or  neces- 

>>ecome  a  great  Greek  scholar  and  a  dean."  Such 
wera  the  pliancy  and  the  resilience  of  his  nature  that  he 
would  turn  with  zest,  after  hours  of  severe  study  given  to 
the  collation  of  a  Hebrew  manuscript  or  to  the  examination 
of  the  exegctical  subtleties  of  a  German  commentator  on 
the  Greek  Testament,  to  doctoring  the  hall  clock  and 
making  it  strike  the  half-hours,  to  tuning  the  piano  in 
the  drawing-room,  or  to  playing  games  with  his  children 
in  the  nursery.  Tho  wooden  front  of  the  organ  (which 
instrument  ho  could  play  with  the  hand  of  a  master)  was 
carved  according  to  his  own  ingenious  design  and  by  his 
own  dexterous  chiselling.  A  Masque  of  the  Seasons,  per- 
formed as  a  holiday  pastime  on  Now  Year's  Day  1861,  in 
the  deanery,  owed  to  him  both  tho  words  and  the  music — 
ho  himself,  besides,  enacting  in  it  the  part  of  "Father 
Christmas."  A  couple  of  years  beforo  his  death  he  appeared 
as  a  novelist,  conjointly  with  his  niece  producing  the  story 

lierton  on  Sea.  The  last  work  of  any  magnitude  upon 
which  he  adventured  as  a  biblical  scholar  was  his  Com- 
military  on  the  Old  Testament.  In  the  diversity  of  his  avoca- 
tions, and  the  thoroughness  with  which  they  were,  one  and 
all,  carried  to  a  successful  issue,  he  was  his  own  severest 
taskmaster.  Throughout  life,  until  he  was  stretched  upon 
his  deathbed,  he  never  seemed  to  indulge  in  the  luxury  of 
inaction.  The  end  came  at  length  to  him  calmly,  on  the 
12th  January  1871,  and  five  days  afterwards  his  remains 
were  interred  under  a  yew  tree  in  St  Martin's  churchyard, 
within  view  of  the  towers  of  Canterbury  Cathedral.  Jt  is 
significant  of  the  tender  poetical  quaintness  of  his  whole 
character,  that  there  is  inscribed  above  his  tomb,  in  obedience 
to  his  own  directions,  "  Diversorium  Viatoris  Hierosolymam 
Proficiscentis."  A  statue  of  the  dean,  by  Pfyffers,  was  un- 
veiled, before  the  year  of  his  demise  had  run  out,  in  a  niche 
on  the  west  front  of  tho  most  ancient  of  our  cathedrals. 
Dean  Alford  was  a  man  as  variously  accomplished  as  any  of 
his  generation;  and  he  would  unquestionably  have  risen  to 
far  greater  eminence  than  he  ever  achieved  in  poetry,  in 

ry,  in  music,  in  painting,  in  theology,  or  in  general 
literature,  if  he  had  aimed  at  excelling  in  one  or  two  alone 
of  those  arts  or  sciences,  instead  of  endeavouring  to  shine 
in  all  of  them  alike.  (c.  k.) 

ALFRED,  or  Mwkkd,  the  Geeat,  the  youngest  son 
of  iEthelwulf,  king  of  the  West  Saxons,  was  born  at 
Wantage  in  Berkshire  in  849  a.d.  At  an  early  ago  he 
was  summoned  to  the  assistance  t>f  his  brother  iEthelred 
against  the  Dane3.  These  formidable  enemies,  whose 
object  hitherto  had  been  mere  plunder,  were  now  aiming 
at  a  permanent-settlement  in  the  country,  and  after  ravag- 
ing and  subduing  Northumbria,  East  Anglia,  and  the 
greater  part  of  Mereia,  they  fell  with  their  united  forces  on 
Wessex  itself.  A  series  of  encounters  took  place,  in  which 
Alfred  greatly  distinguished  himself,  especially  at  Ashdown, 
•  liar*  the  Danes  were  routed  with  great  slaughter,  and 


left  several  of  t^.eir  most  famous  leaders  dead  on  the  field 
of  battle.  .iEthelred  dying  in  the  midst  of  the  struggle, 
Alfred  was  unanimously  elected  king  (871),  in  the  twenty- 
second  year  of  his  age.  About  a  month  after  his  accession 
he  met  the  enemy  at  Wilton,  where,  after  a  long  and 
doubtful  struggle,  he  was  defeated.  Both  parties  were  now 
becoming  tired  of  the  war.  Immense  loss  had  been 
suffered  on  both  sides,  and  although  the  Danes  on  the 
whole  had  been  victorious,  their  victories  had  brought 
them  no  substantial  results.  A  treaty  of  peace  was  con- 
cluded, and  the  Danes  withdrew  to  London. 

On  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  Alfred  was  enabled  to 
turn  his  attention  to  naval  affairs.  The  sea  was  swarming 
with  pirates,  and  their  descents  on  the  coast  kept  the 
country  in  a  state  of  perpetual  alarm.  To  cope  with  them 
successfully  Alfred  resolved  to  meet  them  on  their  own 
element,  and  a  naval  victory  which  he  gained  over  seven 
Danish  rovers  in  875  is  the  first  on  record  won  by 
Englishmen.  In  the  following  year  the  peaco  of  871  was 
broken.  An  army  of  Danes  from  East  Anglia,  under  their 
king,  Guthrum,  sailing  along  the  south  coast,  landed  in 
Wessex,  seized  upon  Warcham,  and  afterwards  upon  Exeter, 
then  the  centre  of  a  disaffected  Celtic  population,  and  it 
was  not  till  877  that  the  country  was  once  more  free  from 
the  invader. 

The  year  878  was  the  most  eventful  in  the  course  of 
Alfred's  reign.  At  mid-winter,  without  any  warning,  the 
Danes  came  pouring  into  Wessex  from  the  north,  seized 
Chippenham,  and  making  it  the  centre  of  their  operations, 
quickly  overran  the  country.  Many  of  the  inhabitants,  in 
despair,  fled  into  foreign  lands,  and  Alfred,  totally  unpre- 
pared to  meet  the  storm,  retired  to  tho  marshes  of  Somerset. 
Never  at  any  other  period,  either  before  or  after,  were  his 
fortunes  so  low,  and  the  national  existence  itself  was  at 
stake.  Had  Alfred,  like  his  kinsman  Burhed  of  Mercia?/; 
left  his  people  in  their  hour  of  need,  the  heathen  Dane 
in  all  probability  would  have  acted  like  the  heathen  / 
Englishmen  before  him — a  new  race  would  have  possessed 
tho  land,  and  the  names  of  England  and  Englishmen  would 
have  disappeared  from  the  page  of  history.  Alfred's  mis- 
fortunes only  roused  him  to  fresh  exertions,  and  his 
military  skill  and  valour  enabled  him  to  carry  his  people 
in  safety  through  this  momentous  crisis.  Fortifying  him- 
self at  Athelney  about  Easter,  he  secretly  matured  his 
plans  for  meeting  the  enemy,  and  seven  weeks  after, 
having  collected  his  forces  at  Brixton  near  Selwood,  he 
rapidly  advanced  in  a  north-easterly  direction,  and  was 
close  upon  the  Danes  before  they  had  any  intelligence  of 
his  approach.  A  fierce  conflict  ensued  at  Ethandun,  now 
Ediiigton,  in  which  the  Danes  were  entirely  defeated;  and 
about  fourteen  days  after  this  they  were  compelled  to  sue 
for  peace.  By  the  treaty  of  Wedmore,  Watling  Street  (the 
old  road  running  across  the  island  from  London  to  Chester 
and  the  Irish  Channel)  was  to  be  tho  boundary  between 
Alfred  and  the  Danes,  the  latter  were  to  be  vassals  to  the 
kings  of  Wessex,  and  their  chiefs  to  receive  baptism.  This 
treaty  was  observed  by  tho  Danes  with  much  greater  fidelity 
than  those  of  an  earlier  date  had  been.  G  uthrum  their  king 
and  about  thirty  of  their  chiefs  were  baptised  at  Wedmore, 
and  Alfred,  who  stood  sponsor  for  Guthrum,  gave  him  the 
name  of  iEthelstan.  The  Danish  army  after  this  slowly 
withdrew,  and  eventually  settled  down  peaceably  in  East 
Anglia.  The  acceptance  of  Christianity  by  their  chiefs 
seems  indeed  to  have  broken  for  a  time  the  fierce  crusading 
energy  which  gave  a  special  animus  to  the  piratical  expedi- 
tions of  the  heathen  Danes. 

As  soon  as  peace  had  been  concluded  Alfred  turned  his 
attention  to  the  internal  affairs  of  his  kingdom.  He 
vigorously  set  to  work  to  put  the  country  in  n.  complete 
state  of  defence.     Old  fortificatiots  were  repaired  and  new 


ALF-ALG 


507 


jncs  raised  in  suitable  localities.  •  The  fleet  was  brought 
into  a  state  of  greater  efficiency,  and  it  was  Alfred  indeed 
that  laid  the  foundation  of  England's  naval  greatness.  He 
«leared  the  land  of  the  bands  of  robbers  that  infested  it, 
and  took  care  that  justice  was  impartially  administered  to 
all  his  subjects,  severely  punishing  any  wilful  perversion  of 
it  on  the  part  of  the  judges.  In  his  code  of  laws,  which 
is  a  compilation  from  those  of  his  predecessors,  he  wisely 
abstained  from  introducing  much  of  his  own,  giving  as  his 
reason  that  he  was  afraid  it  might  not  be  accepted  by 
posterity.  He  greatly  encouraged  commerce,  and  took  a 
lively  interest  in  geographical  discovery.  We  have  from 
his  pen  a  minute  account  of  two  voyages  of  Ohthere, 
especially  of  the  one  round  the-North  Cape  into  the  YvTiite 
Sea,  and  also  of  a  voyage  of  Wulfstan  to  the  Baltic.  And 
it  is  to  Alfred  that  we  are  indebted  for  the  best  account  that 
has  reached  us  of  the  Germany  of  the  9th  century. 

Alfred's  devotion  to  learning,  and  his  exertions  in  the 
cause  of  education  are  among  the  most  remarkable  features 
of  his  reign.  So  deep  was  the  popular  ignorance  when 
Alfred  ascended  the  throne  that,  according  to  his  own 
testimony,  hardly  any  one  south  of  the  Thames  could  under- 
stand the  ritual  of  the  church  or  translate  a  Latin  letter. 
It  was  one  of  the  strongest  and  most  cherished  of  his 
purposes  that  this  state  of  matters  should  be  entirely 
changed,  and  that  every  free-born  English  youth  who  had 
the  means  should  qualify  himself  to  read  English  correctly. 
In  order  to  accomplish  this,  he  rebuilt  the  monasteries 
which  had  been  cast  down  in  the  late  wars,  and  which 
were  the  great-  centres  of  education  in  those  days,  invited 
learned  men  from  all  quarters  to  his  court,  and  by  their 
assistance  completed  a  number  of  works  for  the  diffusion 
of  knowledge  throughout  his  dominions.  These  were  not 
original  compositions  but  free  translations  of  Latin  authors 
that  were  held  in  much  esteem  at  the  time,  and  the  fact 
that  Orosius  and  Bede  are  two  of  the  works  he  selected, 
shows  the  high  value  he  set  upon  an  acquaintance  with 
history  and  geography.  A  copy  of  his  versioF  of  Gregory's! 
Pastoral  Care  was  sent  to  every  diocese  for  tne  benefit  of 
the  clergy.  It  is  in  the  preface  "to  that  work  that  Alfred 
gives  his  touching  account  of  the  decay  of  learning,  and 
expresses  his  desire  for  its  revival.  But  the  work  which 
seems  to  have  had  the  greatest  attraction  for  Mm  was 
The  Consolations  of  Philosophy  by  Boethius.  In  his 
translation  of  this  work  Alfred  gives  us  more  of  his  own 
original  composition,  and  a  deeper  insight  into  his  thoughts 
and  feelings,  than  in  any  other  of  his  works.  His  Manual 
or  Handbook,  which  is  known  to  have  been  in  existence  in 
the  12th  century,  is  lost,  and  this  is  the  more  to  be 
regretted  since,  besides  the  extracts  from  Latin  authors 
which  it  contained,  it  is  believed  that  he  had  inserted  in  it 
not  a  few  compositions  of  his  own. 

In  occupations  such  as  these  fifteen  years  of  comparative 
tranquillity,  disturbed  now  and  then  by  troubles  with  the 
Danes,  passed  away.  A  fresh  swarm  from  abroad  had  landed 
in  Kent  in  885  and  besieged  Rochester,  but  on  the  king's 
approach  they  raised  the  siege  and  returned  to  their  ships. 
The  next  eight  years  were  years  of  uninterrupted  peace; 
but  the  Danes,  suffering  a  severe  defeat  at  the  hands  of 
Arnulf,  king  of  the  East  Franks,  sailed  for  England  in  two 
divisions  in  893.  One  of  these  divisions  was  under  the 
command  of  the  terrible  Hastings.  Their  arrival  was  a 
signal'  to  the  Danes  of  Northiunbria  and  East  Anglia, 
who  rose  in  great  numbers  to  aid  their  kinsmen.  Alfred, 
however,  was,  better  prepared  to  meet  the  danger  than  he 
had  formerly  been.  His  towns  were  so  strong  that  the 
Danes  seem  studiously  to  have  avoided  them.  A  body  of 
the  enemy  was  routed  by  Alfred  at  Farnham  in  Surrey. 
Anothtr  great  host,  moving  to  the  west  in  the  line 
of  the  Thames,  was  followed  by  three  of  Alfred's  alder- 


men to  Buttington  in  Montgomeryshire  and  completely 
defeated.  Those  who  escaped  made  their  way  to  Essex. 
Leaving  their  wives-and  children  there,  and  receiving  coa» 
6iderable  additions  to  their  numbers,  they  crossed  the 
country  once  more  and  established  themselves  within  the 
fortifications  of  the  old  Boman  town  of  Chester,  which 
was  then  uninhabited.  There  they  remained  for  the 
winter,  when,  provisions  failing  them,  they  removed  to 
Wales,  and  with  the  harvest  of  plunder  they  gathered  there 
they  retreated  into  Essex  by  way  of  the  friendly  districts 
of  Northumbria  and  East  Anglia.  So  rapid  had  their 
movements  been  that  Alfred's  army  was  unable  to  keep 
up  with  them.  The  same  year  (895),  before  winter  set  in, 
the  Danes  sailed  up  the  Thames  into  the  Lea,  and' selecting 
an  advantageous  position  on  the  banks  of  the  latter  stream, 
constructed  a  fortress  about  20  miles  above  London.  As 
this  proved  a  considerable  annoyance  to  the  citizens,  they 
attacked  it  the  following  summer,  but  were  repulsed  with 
great  loss.  During  harvest  the  king  was  obliged  to  encamp 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  city  to  protect  the  reapers 
while  gathering  in  their  crops.  He  afterwards  raised  two 
forts  on  each  side  of  the  Lea,  and  so  effectually  blocked 
up  the  passage  of  the  river  that  the  enemy  abandoned  then 
vessels  and  proceeded  to  Bridgenorth  on  the  Severn.  Id 
the  summer  of  897  the  great  Danish  host  broke  up,  and 
part  of  them  returned  to  the  continent.  The  rest  dis- 
persed through  Northumbria  and  East  Anglia,  and  for 
some  time  gave  Alfred  no  little  trouble  by  their  piratical 
excursions.  By  means  of  vessels  formed  after  a  model  of 
his  own,  of  unusual  length  and  speed,  he  succeeded  at 
last  in  curbing  his  Danish  foes,  but  not  till  after  a 
desperate  encounter  wkh  them  on  the  south  coast,  in 
which  the  advantage  was  not  all  on  his  side.  The  war  was, 
as  usual,  accompanied  by  pestilence,  and  great  numbers 
perished,  many  being  persons  of  the  highest  rank  in  the 
state.  The  rest  of  Alfred's  reign,  about  which  we  know 
almost  nothing,  seems  to  have  been  passed  in  peace.  He 
died  in  the  year  901,  at  the  age  of  fifty- two,  and  was 
buried  at  Winchester. 

The  memory  of  Alfred  has  ever  been  gratefully  cherished 
by  his  countrymen.  There  never  perhaps  was  a  monarch 
so  highly  esteemed ;  and  traditional  stories  of  the  most 
fascinating  description  cluster  around  his  name,  in  which 
he  appears  almost  to  as  much  advantage  as  in  real  history. 
Institutions  that  existed  long  before  his  time,  but  whose 
origin  it  is  impossible  to  trace,,  have  erroneously  been 
attributed  to  him;  and  in  the  times  of  Norman  oppres- 
sion, when  the  people  were  groaning  under  the  burden  of 
slavery,  they  fondly  called  to  mind  the  "  Darling  of  the 
English,"  to  whom  they  ascribed  all  those  rights  and 
privileges  which  they  eo  highly  valued,  and  of  which  they 
had  been  unjustly  deprived.  Time  but  adds  to  Alfred's 
praises.  With  one  consent  our  historians  agree  in  char- 
acterising him  as  the  wisest,  best,  and  greatest  king  that 
ever  reigned  in  England. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  Alfred's  works : — 

1.  Manual  or  Handbook,  of  which  no  copy  is  known  to  oxist 
2.  Laws  (see  Wilkin's  leges  Anglo-Saxonica:,  1721,  and  Thorpe'i 
Ancient  Laws  and  Institutes  of  England,  London,  1840).  Transla- 
tions mto  Old  English  (Anglo-Saxon)  of  tho  following : — 3.  Bede'a 
Ecclesiastical  History,  edited  by  'Wheloc,  Cambridge,  1643-4,  and 
by  Smith,  Cambridge,  1722.  4.  The  Universal  History  of  Orosius, 
edited  by  Thorpe,  London,  1857.  E.  Tlu  Consolations  of  Philosophy, 
by  Boethius,  edited  by  Fox,  London,  1S64.  6.  Gregory's  Pastoral 
Care,  edited  by"  Sweet  for  the  Early  English  Text  Society,  London, 
1871-2. 

For  further  information  about  Alfred  see  Pauli's  Lift  of  Alfred  and 
Freeman's  Old  English  History  &niHis:ory  ofOuNorman  ConqiusL 

KLQM,'  or  Hydrophyta,  a  large  order  of  cellular, 
fiowerless,  cryptogamic  plants,  found  in  the  sea  (seaweeds), 
in  rivers,  lakes,  marshes,  hot  springs,  and  moist  places,  all 
over  the  world.     They  insist  of  a  brown,  red.  or  gr«er>. 


608 


A  L  G  M 


flattened,  cellular,  leaf-like  expansion,  called  a  tkallus, 
sometimes  stalked,  which  bears  the  organs  of  reproduction. 
Some  have  root-like  processes  by  which  they  are  attached 
to  rocks.  These  do  not  act  like  the  nourishing  roots  of 
flowering  plants ;  they  simply  fix  the  plants  and  enable 
them  to  sway  about  in  the  water.  This  is  markedly  the 
caae  with  the  Laminarias,  or  large  tangles  of  our  coasts. 
The  leafy  appendages  of  seaweeds  are  called  fronds.  They 
vary  in  size,  colour,  and  consistence.  Some  of  the  red  and 
green  delicate  fronds  form  beautiful  objects  when  carefully 
dried  and  laid  out  on  drawing-paper.  In  order  to  dry  sea- 
weeds they  must  be  first  washed  carefully  in  fresh  water 
to  separate  saline  matters,  and  then  placed  within  drying- 
paper  and  subjected  to  pressure.  Very  delicate  seaweeds 
should  be  floated  out  in  water,  drawing-paper  being  placed 
under  them,  and  their  fronds  being  carefully  arranged  on 
the  paper  before  they  are  raised  out  of  the  water.  They 
must-then  be  dried  partially  in  the  air,  and  afterwards  under 
pressure  between  sheets  of  drying-paper. 

Seaweeds  are  composed  entirely  of  cells,  which  in  some 
instances  become  elongated  so  as  to  have  the  appearance  of 
tubes.  Some  Algae  are  uni-cellular,  that  is,  are  composed 
of  a  single  cell,  as  occurs  in  some.  Desmidieae,  as  Closterium. 
At  other  times  they  are  composed  of  numerous  cells,  which 
are  kept  together  by  a  gelatinous  matter,  but  separating 
easily  from  each  other  so  as  to  have  an  independent  exist- 
ence. This  is  observed  in  the  red  snow  plant  (Protococcus 
or  Palmella  nivalis).  The  cells  of  seaweeds  are  sometimes 
joined  together  so  as  to  form  a  .linear  series,  and  to  give 
them  a  thread-like  appearance  ;  and  in  such  a  case,  when 
the  divisions  between  the  cells  are  marked,  the  whole 
appears  like  a  beaded  necklace  of  cells.  When  the  cells 
are  united  both  lengthwise  and  laterally  they  then  form 
an  expanded  flat  frond.  In  some  instances  the  frond  is 
gelatinous. 

The  germinating  bodies  or  spores  of  seaweeds  are  cells 
ofteu  contained  in  cavities  (Fig.  2).  They  vary  in  colour, 
and  the  fronds  have  frequently  the  same  colour  as  the 
spores.  In  reference  to  their  colour,  Algae  have  been 
divided  into  three  sub-orders:  1.  Melanospermeae,  brown 
coloured  seaweeds  (Fig.  1),  with  olive-brown  spores;  2. 
Rhodospermeae,  rose-coloured  seaweeds,  with  red  spores ; 
3.  Chlorospermeae,  green-coloured  seaweeds,  with  green 
»pores. 


Fig.  1. 


/ig.  3. 


Fig.  1.— Thallus,  It,  of  Fucm  ttstcuUnu,  the  common  Bladder  Seaweed,  with 
mir-rcside,  v,  and  masses  of  conceptacles  constituting  the  fructification  fr  fr 
which  Is  sometimes  called  gleba.  Fig.  2.— Fructification  of  a  Seaweed,  con- 
taining spores,  which  are  ultimately  discharged  at  an  opening,  o.  Fig.  8  — 
Tctraaporc  tf  one  of  the  rose-coloured  Seaweeds. 

Algae  are  multiplied  by  the  division  of  cells  and  by 
*pores.  By  cell-division  there  is  a  multiplication  of  cells, 
»ud  by  separation  from  the  parent  plant  these  cells  may 


bear  buds.  True  fertilisation  b  effected  by  means  of 
union  of  cells,  or  what  is  called  conjugation.  In  this  pro- 
cess two  kinds  of  cells  unite  by  means  of  a  tube,  and  the 
contents  of  the  one  passes  into  the  other,  thus  giving  rise 
to  germinating  spores.  This  is  seen  in  Confervae,  such  a3 
the  green  matter  ofteu  seen  in  ponds,  and  called  tilk-wced. 
There  are  also  observed  in  Algae  two  kinds  of  fertilising 
bodies,  one  set  called  Antheridia,  containing  moving  fila- 
ments or  spermatozoids ;  and  the  other  called  Archegdnia, 
containing  a  rudimentary  cell,  which,  afUr  contact  with 
the  spermatozoids,  becomes  a  spore  forming  a  new  plant. 
The  spores  produced  by  some  Algae  move  about  in 
water,  and  have  been  called  Zoospores.  Their  spontaneous 
movements  are  effected  by  means  of  vibratilo  slender 
threads  called  cilia.  These  zoospores  are  contained  in  a 
cell,  which  ultimately  bursts  and  scatters  them.  The  pro- 
cess is  well  seen  in  a  green  Alga  called  Vaucheria.  The  zoo- 
spores move  about  for  a  certain  time,  and  ultimately  the 
spores  get  fixed  to  a  rock  or  the  wood  of  a  pier,  and  then 
the  ciiia  disappear.  Cilia  sometimes  occur  in  pairs  at  one 
end  of  a  spore,  numbering  two  or  three ;  at  ether  times 
they  are  placed  round  the  whole  circumference  of  the  spore. 

Spores  have  a  tendency  to  divide  into  four ;  such  com- 
pound spores  are  called  tetraspores  (Fig.  3).  They  are 
common  in  the  sub-order  Rhodospermeae.  They  seem  to 
differ  from  ordinary  spores,  and  to  be  more  of  the  nature  of 
buds.  In  some  Algae,  such  as  Corallines,  there  is  a  coating 
of  calcareous  matter  which  conceals  their  tissue.  This  can 
be  removed  by  means  of  hydrochloric  acid.  Diatoms,  a 
subdivision  of  Algae,  are  so  called  from  two  Greek  words 
signifying  to  cut  through,  in  allusion  to  the  mode  of  divi- 
sion into  two  valves.  They  are  microscopic  one-celled 
bodies,  covered  externally  by  a  siliceous  or  flinty  coat. 
They  are  on  the  confines  of  the  animal  and  vegetable  king- 
doms, and  have  been  referred  sometimes  to  the  one  and 
sometimes  to  the  other.  Their  mode  of  reproduction  by 
conjugation  and  spores  seems  to  indicate  their  alliance 
with  Algae,  although  some  still  place  them  among  infusorial 
animalcules.  The  siliceous  markings  of  Diatoms  are  very 
beautiful  microscopic  objects.  After  exposure,  to  the  action 
of  fire  or  nitric  acid,  the  silex  remains  unaltered,  and  in  that 
state  the  streaks  of  the  covering  are  easily  observed. 

Many  of  the  Algae  supply  nutritious  food.  Rltodymenia 
palmata,  one  of  the  red  seaweeds,  is  the  dulse  of  the 
Scotch,  the  dillesk  of  the  Irish.  Chondrus  (Sphatrococcus) 
crispus  and  C.  mamrnillosus,  two  Rhodosperms,  receive  the 
name  of  carrageen,  or  Irish  moss.  Their  fronds  consist  in 
part  of  a  substance  allied  to  starch,  wluch  is  extracted  by 
putting  them  in  water,  and  on  cooling  it  forms  a  jelly. 
Species  of  Ulva,  one  of  the  Chlorosperms,  supply  the  green 
laver.  Species  of  Caulerpa  furnish  food  to  turtles.  Lamin- 
aria  digilata,  and  Laminaria  saccharina,  under  the  name 
of  tangle,  are  eaten  in  the  north  of  Europe.  Dulse 
and  tangle  was  formerly  a  common  cry  in  the  streets  of 
Edinburgh.  D'Urvillma  utilis  is  used  as  food  in  Chili 
Alaria  esculenta,  a  British  species,  is  also  edible.  Gigartina 
speciosa  is  used  for  jelly  in  the  Swan  River  settlement. 
Gracilaria  lichenoides,  under  the  name  of  Ceylon  moss,  is 
used  for  soups  and.  jellies.  Gracilaria  spinosa  supplies 
the  Agar-Agar  in  China.  Nosloc  edule  is  a  Chinese  article 
of  diet.  The  edible  nests  of  China  are  supposed  to  bo 
formed  from  seaweeds.  Plocaria  tenax  is  used  in  China 
to  furnish  glue.  Iridaa  edulis  is  edible.  Laurencia  pin- 
natifida  is  called  pepper- dulse  on  account  of  having 
pungent  qualities.  Seaweeds  form  an  excellent  manure. 
They  are  used  on  many  farms  situated  near  the  sea-shore. 
Seaweeds  after  burning  yield  barilla,  an  impure  carbonate 
of  soda.  Kelp  was  for  many  years  prepared  from  sea- 
weeds in  Scotland,  more  especially  in  the  Western  anc* 
Northern  Islands. 


ALG-ALG 


£09 


As  regards  the  distribution  of  seaweeds,  some  are  cosmo- 
politan or  pelagic,  as  species  of  Ulva  and  Enteromorpha, 
which  are  equally  abundant  in  high  northern  and 
southern  latitudes,  as  they  are  under  the  equator  and  in 
temperate  regions.  Many  Diatomaeeaa  are  distributed 
from  pole  to  pole.  In  general,  however,  seaweeds  are  more 
or  less  limited  in  their  distribution,  so  that  different  marine 
floras  exist  in  various  parts  of  the  ocean.  The  marine 
species  have  been  estimated  at  about  6000,  and  they  are 
distributed  in  various  regions.  The  Northern  Ocean,  from 
the  pole  to  the  40th  degree,  the  sea  of  the  Antilles,  the 
eastern  coasts  of  South  America,  those  of  New  Holland, 
the  Indian  Archipelago,  the  Mediterranean,  the  Red  Sea, 
the  Chinese  and  Japanese  seas,  all  present  very  large 
marine  regions,  each  of  which  possesses  a  peculiar  vegeta- 
tion. The  degree  of  exposure  to  light,  and  the  greater  or 
less  motion  of  the  waves,  are  important  in  the  distribution 
of  Algae.  The  intervention  of  great  depths  of  the  ocean 
has  an  influence  on  sea  plants  similar  to  that  of  high  moun- 
tains on  land  plants.  Melanospermeae  increase  as  we 
approach  the  tropics,  where  the  maximum  of  the  species  is 
found.  Rhodospermeae  chiefly  abound  in  the  temperate 
zone ;  while  Chlorospermeae  form*  the  chief  marine 
vegetation  of  the  polar  zone,  and  abound  in  the  colder 
temperate  zone.  The  green  colour  is  characteristic  of 
those  Algae  which  grow  either  in  fresh  water  or  in  the 
shallower  parts  of  the  sea;  the  olive-coloured  Algae  are 
abundant  between  the  tide-marks ;  while  the  red-coloured 
species  occur  chiefly  in  the  deeper  and  the  darker  parts  of 
the  sea. 

Some  seaweeds  are  worthy  of  note  on  account  of  the 
mode  of  their  growth  and  distribution.  Chorda  Filum,  a 
long  cord-like  seaweed,  lies  in  beds  of  15  to  20  miles  in 
length,  and  only  about  600  feet  in  breadth,  in  the  North 
Sea  and  the  British  Channel.  Sargassum  bacciferum  con- 
stitutes the  Gulf-weed,  which  has  been  noticed  by  all  who 
have  crossed  the  Atlantic.  The  Gulf-weed  has  never  been 
seen  attached,  but  always  floating.  From  the  abundance 
of  this  seaweed  its  locality  is  called  the  Sargasso  Sea. 
The  most  remarkable  of  the  seaweeds,  as  regards  size  and 
the  extent  of  range,  are  Macrocyslis  pyrifera  and  Zami- 
ixaria  radiaia.  Masses  of  Macrocystis,  like  green  meadows, 
are  found  in  every  latitude.  Many  specimens  have  been 
seen  about  300  feet  long ;  some  even  extend  to  700  feet 
or  upwards.  A  tree  seaweed,  Lessonia  fuscescens,  with  a 
stem  10  feet  long,  12  inches  in  circumference,  and  its 
fronds  2-3  feet  loDg  and  3  inches  broad,  is  found  in  im- 
mense masses  off  the  Patagonian  regions.  D'Urvillcea 
ulilis  is  another  large  Antarctic  seaweed,  which,  along  with 
Lessoniae,  occurs  at  the  Falkland  Islands,  formed  by  the 
surf  into  enormous  vegetable  cables,  several  hundred  feet 
long,  and  thicker  than  the  human  body.  In  Britain  we 
have  a  marked  distribution  of  seaweeds  as  regards  depth. 
There  is  a  littoral  zone  lying  between  high  and  low  water 
marks,  divided  into  sub-regions  characterised  by  the  follow- 
ing seaweeds  : — 1.  Fucus  canaliculalus ;  2.  Fucus  vesicu- 
lous ;  3.  Fucus  nodosus ;  4.  Fucus  scrralus.  Secondly, 
there  is  a  laminarian  zone,  commencing  at  low-water 
mark,  and  extending  for  a  depth  of  7  to  15  fathoms. 
Here  we  meet  with  the  great  tangle  seaweeds,  such  as 
Laminaria  digitata  and  L.  saccharina,  along  with  deep- 
water  Fuci.  (j.  h.  B.) 

ALGARDI,  Alessandro,  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
sculptors  of  Italy,  was  born  at  Bologna  in  1602,  and  died 
in  1654.  'While  he  was  attending  the  school  of  the  Caracci 
his  preference  for  the  plastic  art  became  evident,  and  he 
placed  himself  under  the  instruction  of  the  sculptor  Con- 
venti.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  was  brought  under  the 
notice  of  Duke  Ferdinand  of  Mantua,  who  gave  him 
fceveral  commissions.     He  was  also  much  employed  about 


the  same  period  by  jewellers  and  others  in  modelling  in 
gold,  silver,  and  ivory.  After  a  short  residence  in  Venice, 
he  went  to  Rome  in  1625  with  an  introduction  from  tho 
Duke  of  Mantua  to  the  pope's  nephew,  Cardinal  Ludovisi, 
who  employed  him  for- a  time  in  the  restoration  of  ancient 
statues.  The  death  of  the  Duke  of  Mantua  left  him  to  his 
own  resources,  and  for  several  years  he  earned  a  precarious 
maintenance  from  these  restorations  and  the  commissions 
of  goldsmiths  and  jewellers.  In  1640  he  executed  for 
Pietro  Buoncompagni  his  first  work  in  marble,  a  colossal 
statue  of  San  FilippQ  Neri,  with  kneeling  angels.  Imme- 
diately after,  he  produced  a  similar  group,  representing  the 
execution  of  St  Paul,  for.  the  church  of  the  Barnabite 
Fathers  in  Bologna,  These  works,  displaying  great  tech- 
nical bMU,  though  with  considerable  exaggeration  of 
expression  and  attitude,  at  once  established  Algardi's 
reputation,  and  other  commissions  followed  in  rapid  suc- 
cession. The  turning-point  in  Algardi's  fortune  was  the 
accession  of  Innocent  X.,  of  the  Bologuese  house  of  Panfili, 
to  the  papal  throue  in  1644.  Ho  was  employed  by 
Camillo  Panfili,  nephew  of  the  pontiff,  to  design  the 
Villa  Doria  Panfili  outside  the  San  Paucrazio  gate.  The 
most  important  of  Algardi's  other  works  were  the  monu- 
ment of  Leo  XL,  a  bronze  statue  of  Innocent  X.  for  the 
Capitol,  and,  above  all,  La  Fuega  d'Attila,  the  largest 
alto-rilievo  in  the  world,  the  two  principal  figures  being 
about  10  feet  high.  The  great  technical  excellence  of 
these  works  is  considerably  marred  by  an  exaggeration  of 
expression  resulting  from  the  vain  endeavour  to  produce 
in  marble  effects  which  can  only  be  legitimately  brought 
out  on  canvas.  From  an  artistic  point  of  view,  he  is  most 
successful  in  his  portrait-statues  and  groups  of  children, 
where  he  is  obliged  to  follow  nature  most  closely.  In  hi3 
later  years  he  became  very  avaricious,  and  amassed  a  great 
fortune. 

ALGAROTTI,  Francesco,  Cor/NT,  was  born  at  Venice 
on  the  11th  December  1712.  He  went  abroad  in  his 
youth,  and  in  1733  visited  Paris,  where  he  issued  his 
Newtonian  Philosophy  for  the  Ladies,  in  the  work  entitled 
The  Plurality  of  Worlds.  He  was  much  honoured  by 
Frederick  the  Great,  who,  when  crowned  at  Konigsberg  in 
1740,  created  him  a  count  of  Prussia.  He  died  at  Pisa  on 
the  23d  of  May  1764,  and,  by  his  own  direction,  the  follow- 
ing inscription  was  placed  upon  his  tomb  : — Hie  jacel 
Algarottus,  sed  non  omnis.  He  is  allowed  to  have  been  a 
great  connoisseur  in  painting,  sculpture,  and  architecture; 
and  he  contributed  much  to  the  reformation  of  the  Italian 
opera.  His  works  (6  vols.,  Leghorn,  1764  ;  17  vols., 
Venice,  1791-4)  are  numerous,  and  on  a  variety  of  sub- 
jects, abounding  with  vivacity,  elegance,  and  wit. 

ALGARVE,  the  most  southerly  province  of  Portugal,  is 
bounded  on  the  E.  by  the  Spanish  province  of  Seville, 
from  which  it  is  separated  by  the  river  Gundiana ;  on  tho 
N.  by  Alemtejo ;  and  on  the  W.  and  S.  by  the  Atlantic 
Ocean.  Its  length  from  east  to  west  is  85  miles,  the 
average  width  is  22  miles,  and  the  area,  according  to  the 
most  recent  measurement,  1865  square  miles.  In  1868 
the  population  was  177,342,  giving  the  small  proportion 
of  95  to  the  square  mile. 

The  Sierra  de  Caldeiraon  and  the  Sierra  de  Monchique 
extend  across  the  northern  part  of  the  province,  and, 
sweeping  to  the  south-west,  terminate  in  the  lofty  pro- 
montory of  Cape  St  Vincent,  the  south-west  extremity  of 
Europe.  Between  the  mountainous  tracts  in  the  north 
and  the  southern  coast  stretches  a  narrow  plain,  watered 
by  numerous  rivers  flowing  southward  from  the  hills.  In 
the  hilly  districts  the  roads  are  bad,  the  soil  unsuited  for 
cultivation,  and  the  inhabitants  few.  Flocks  of  goats  are 
reared  on  tho  mountain  sides.  The  level  country  along 
the  southern  coast  is  more  fertile,  and  produces  in  abun- 


510 


A  L  G  —  A  L  G 


dance  grapeB,  figs,  oranges,  lemons,  olives,  almonds,  and 
aloes,  and  even  the  plantain  and  the  date.  The  land  is, 
however,  not  well  suited  for  the  production  of  cereals ; 
little  wheat  or  other  corn  is  grown  in  the  province,  and  its 
grain  supplies  are  chiefly  derived  from  Spain.  .  On  the 
coast  the  people  derive  their  subsistence  in  great  measure 
from  the  fisheries,  tunny  and  sardines  being  caught  in 
considerable  quantities.  Salt  is  also  made  from  sea-water. 
There  is  no  manufacturing  or  mining  industry  of  any 
importance.  The  harbours  are  bad,  and  the  whole  foreign 
trade  is  carried  on  by  ships  of  other  nations,  although  the 
inhabitants  of  Algarve  are  reputed  to  be  the  best  seamen 
and  fishermen  of  Portugal.  The  chief  exports  are  dried 
fruit,  wine,  salt,  tunny,  sardines,  and  anchovies. 

The  name  of  Algarve  is  derived  from  the  Arabic,  and 
signifies  a  land  lying  to  the  west.  The  province  was  taken 
from  the  Moors  in  1253  by  Alphonso  ILL,  king  of  Por- 
tugal, who  then  assumed  the  additional  title  of  king  of 
Algarve.  It  is  sometimes  designated  the  district  of  Faro, 
and  is  subdivided  into  fifteen  communes  and  sixty-two 
parishes.  The  chief  town  is  Faro,  and  among  the  other 
towns  are  Castro  Marino,  Tavira,  Portimao,  Lagos,  and 
Sagres,  all  on  the  coast  or  on  the  estuaries  of  the  rivers, 
and  Silves,  on  the  river  Portimao,  the  ancient  Moorish 
capital  of  Algarve. 

ALGAU,  or  ALLOAtr,  the  name  now  given  to  a  compara- 
tively small  district  forming  the  south-western  corner  of 
Bavaria,  and  belonging  to  the  province  of  Swabia  and  Neu- 
burg,  but  formerly  applied  to  a  much  larger  territory,  which 
extended  as  far  as  the  Danube  on  the  north,  the  Inn  on 
the  south,  and  the  Lech  on  the  west.  The  Algau  Alps 
contain  several  lofty  peaks,  the  highest  of  which  is  Madele- 
Gabel,  8611  feet  above  the  sea.  The  district  is  celebrated 
for  the  cattle,  milk,  butter,  and  cheese  that  it  produces. 

AL-GAZALI,  Abu  Hamed  Muhammad,  usually  described 
as  an  Arabian  philosopher,  was  really  a  Moslem  theologian 
who  met  the  heretical  philosophers  on  their  own  ground. 
He  was  born  in  1058,  and  belonged  to  the  sect  of  the 
Ascharites,   or  extreme  right  of  the  Motecallemin,  who 
(and  not  the  philosophers)  were  the  real  Arabian  school- 
men.    At  thirty-three  he  became  the  head  of  a  theological 
college  at  Baghdad,  where  his  professor's  chair  was  sur- 
rounded by  eager  crowds,  including  all  the  imams  of  the 
country.     It  was  a  time  of  keen  speculation,  when  philo- 
sophic scepticism  was  encouraged  in  high  places ;  and  the 
premature  convictions  of  Al-Gazali  gave  way  under  a 
violent  reaction  against  the  orthodox  creed.     Driven  by 
mental  inquietude,  he  escaped  from  Baghdad  on  the  plea  of 
making  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  but  went  to  Syria,  and 
(after  visiting,  though  a  Mahometan,  the  Holy  Sepulchre 
at  Jerusalem)  settled  at  Damascus,  where  he  spent  ten 
years  in  seclusion  and  meditation.  '  Recalled  by  his  private 
affairs  as  he  was  on  his  way  to  Egypt,  he  returned  to 
Baghdad,  reluctantly  resumed  teaching  (which  he  continued 
for  fifteen  years),  then  retired  to  Tous,  his  native  town, 
and  devoted  his  remaining  years  to  the  contemplative  life 
of  the  Sufis,  who  had  been  his  earliest  instructors.     He 
died  in  1111.     His  outer  life,  so  restless  and  unquiet,  was 
the  reflex  of  a  mental  history  disturbed  by  prolonged  agita- 
tion.    Revolting,  in  the  height  of  his  success,  against  the 
current  creed,  he  began  to  examine  the  foundations  of 
knowledge.     Where  could  certainty  be  found?     In  the 
perceptions  of  the  senses  ?     But  these  are  contradicted  by 
one  another,  and  disproved  by  reason.     In  the  notions  of 
reason  ?      Reason,   indeed,   professes  to  furnish   us  with 
necessary  truths  ;   but  what  assurance  have  we  that  the 
verdicts  of  reason  may  not  be  reversed  by  some  higher 
authority?     Al-Gazali  then  interrogated  all  the  sects  in 
succession  to  learn  their  criterion  of  truth.    He  first  applied 
to  the  theological  schoolmen,  who  grounded  their  religion 


on  reason;  but  their  aim  was  only  to  preserve  tne  laid: 
from  heresy.  He  turned  to  the  philosophers,  and  examined 
the  accepted  Aristoteliauism  in  a  treatise  which  has  come 
down  to  us — The  Destruction  of  the  Philosophers.  He 
assails  them  on  twenty  points  of  their  mixed  physical  and 
metaphysical  peripateticism,  from  the  statement  of  which, 
in  spite  of  his  pretended  scepticism,  we  can  deduce  some 
very  positive  metaphysical  opinions  of  his  own.  He  claims 
to  have  shown  that  the  dogmas  of  the  eternity  of  matter 
and  the  permanence  of  the  world  are  false ;  that  their 
description  of  the  Deity  as  the'  demiurgos  is  unspiritual ; 
that  they  fail  to  prove  the  existence,  the  unity,  the  sim- 
plicity, the  incorporeality,  or  the  knowledge  (both  of 
species  and  accidents)  of  God ;  that  their  ascription  of 
souls  to  the  celestial  spheres  is  unproved  ;  that  their  theory 
of  causation,  which  attributes  effects  to  the  very  natures  of 
the  causes;  is  false,  for'  that  all  actions  and  events  are  to 
be  ascribed  to  the  Deity ;  and,  finally,  that  they  cannot 
establish  the  spirituality  of  the  soul,  nor  prove  its  mortality. 
These  criticisms  disclose  nothing  like  a  sceptical  state  of 
mind,  but  rather  a  reversion  from  the  metaphysical  to  the 
theological  stage  of  thought.  He  denies  the  intrinsic 
tendencies,  or  souls,  by  which  the  Aristotelians  explained 
the  motion  of  the  spheres,  because  he  ascribes  their  motion 
to  God.  The  sceptic  would  have  denied  both.  Mr  Lewes 
rightly  censures  M.  Renan  for  asserting  of  Al-Gazalii 
theory  of  causation — "Hume  ria  rien  dit  plus."  It  is 
true  that  Al-Gazali  maintains  that  the  natural  law  accord- 
ing to  which  effects  proceed  inevitably  from  their  causes 
is  only  custom,  and  that  there  is  no  necessary  connection, 
between  them.  So  far  the  Eastern  and  the  European 
sceptic  are  on  the  same  ground.  But  while  Hume  abso- 
lutely denies  the  necessity,  Al-Gazali  merely  removes  it 
one  stage  further  back,  and  plants  it  in  the  mind  of  the 
Deity.  This,  of  course,  is  not  metaphysics,  but  theology. 
Having,  as  he  believed,  refuted  the  opinions  of  the  philo- 
sophers, he  next  investigated  the  pretensions  of  the  Alle- 
gorists,  who  derived  their  doctrines  from  an  imam.  Thes,e 
Arabian  ultramontanes  had  no  word  for  the  doubter.  Did 
he  ask  for  the  proof  of  their  doctrine,  they  could  only 
answer  that  "  thus  it  was  written."  They  could  not,  he 
says,  even  understand  the  problems  they  sought  to  resolvo 
by  the  assumption  of  infallibility,  and  he  turned  again,  in 
his  despair,  to  the  instructors  of  his  youth — the  Sufis.  In 
their  mystical  intuition  of  the  laws  of  life,  and  absorption 
in  the  immanent  Deity,  he  at  last  found  peace.  This 
pathetic  close  of  his  stormy  career  negatives  the  idea  that 
he  ever  wrote  the  philosophical  work  he  once  contem- 
plated on  Tlie  Bases  of  Belief,  and  at  the  same  time  shows 
the  true  character  of  the  treatise  which,  alike  in  medieval 
and  modern  times,  has  been  quoted  as  containing  an 
exposition  of  his  opinions.  Tho  work  called  T/ie  Ten- 
dencies of  the  Philosophers,  and  which  was  translated  in 
1506,  with  the  title  Logka  et  Philosophia  Algazelis  Arabis, 
contains  neither  the  logic  nor  the  philosophy  of  Al-GazalL 
It  is  a  mere  abstract  or  statement  of  the  Peripatetic 
'systems,  and  was  made  preliminary  to  that  Destruction  of 
which  we  have  already  spoken.  With  this  work  Arabian 
philosophy  in  the  East  came  to  an  end ;  but  it  revived 
in  the  new  Arabia  which  had  been  planted  in  the  West — 
in  Mahometan  Spain.  If,  therefore,  Al-Gazali  was  the 
Oriental  Descartes  in  being  the  first  destructive  sceptic 
of  the  old,  he  was  its  Descartes  no  less  in  being  tho 
initiator  of  the  new  philosophy. 

For  direct  knowledge  of  Al-Cazali,  see  his  Dcstruciio,  &c,  in  the 
ninth  vol.  of  Averrhoes's  works,  but  especially  his  spiritual  auto 
biography,  translated  by  Schmoldcrs  in  his  Essai  sur  les  E.%y 
Philosophiques  chez  Us  Arabts.  See  also  Von  Hammer,  introduf  tv** 
to  0  Kind;  Munk,  Milnvga  ;  and  Oosche  in  Abhundliimgen  .w 
Krmig.  AkhtUker  WissmiMlmJUn  zu  JSerlit^  1858. 


511 


ALGEBRA 


ALGEBRA  is  that  branch  of  the  mathematical  sciences 
which  has  for  its  object  the  carrying  on  of  operations 
either  in  an  order  different  from  that  which  exists  in  arith- 
metic, or  of  a  nature  not  contemplated  in  fixing  the  bound- 
aries of  that  science.  The  circumstance  that  algebra  has 
its  origin  in  arithmetic,  however  widely  it  may  in  the  end 
differ  from  that  science,  led  Sir  Isaac  Newton  to  designate 
it  "  Universal  Arithmetic,"  a  designation  which,  vague  as  it 
is,  indicates  its  character  better  than  any  other  by  which  it 
has  been  attempted  to  express  its  functions — bettercertainly, 
to  ordinary  minds,  than  the  designation  which  has  been 
applied  to  it  by  Sir  William  Rowan  Hamilton,  one  of  the 
greatest  mathematicians  the  world  has  seen  since  the  days 
of  Newton — "the  Science  of  Pure  Time;"  or  even  than 
the  title  by  which  De  Morgan  would  paraphrase  Hamilton's 
words — "the  Calculus  of  Succession." 

To  express  in  few  words  what  it  is  which  effects  the 
transition  from  the  science  of  arithmetic  into  a  new  field  is 
not  easy.  It  will  serve,  probably,  to  convey  some  notion 
of  the  position  of  the  boundary  line,  when  it  is  stated  that 
the  operations  of  arithmetic  are  all  capable  of  direct  inter- 
pretation per  se,  whilst  those  of  algebra  are  in  many  cases 
interpretable  only  by  comparison  with  the  assumptions  on 
which  they  are  based.  For  example,  multiplication  of 
fractions — which  the  older  writers  on  arithmetic,  Lucas  de 
Burgo  in  Italy,  and  Robert  Recorde  in  England,  clearly 
perceived  to  be  a  new  application  of  the  term  multiplication, 
scarcely  at  first  sight  reconcilable  with  its  original  definition 
as  the  exponent  of  equal  additions, — multiplication  of 
fractions  becomes  interpretable  by  the  introduction  of  the 
idea  of  multiplication  into  the  definition  of  the  fraction 
itself.  On  the  other  hand,  the  independent  use  of  the  sign 
minus,  on  which  Diophantus,  in  the  4th  century,  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  science  of  algebra  in  the  West,  by  placing 
in  the  forefront  of  his  treatise,  as  one  of  his  earliest  defini- 
tions, the  rule  of  the  sign  minus,  "that  minus  multiplied  by 
minus  produces  plus" — this  independent  use  of  the  sign  has 
no  originating  operation  of  the  same  character  as  itself,  and 
might,  if  assumed  in  all  its  generality  as  existing  side  by 
side  with  the  laws  of  arithmetic,  more  especially  with  the 
commutative  law,  have  led  to  erroneous  conclusions.  As 
it  is,  the  unlimited  applicability  of  this  definition,  in  con- 
nection with  all  the  laws  of  arithmetic  standing  in  their 
integrity,  pushes  the  dominion  of  algebra  into  a  field  on 
which  the  oldest  of  the  Greek  arithmeticians,  Euclid,  in  hi3 
unbending  march,  could  never  have  advanced  a  step  with- 
out doing  violence  to  his  convictions. 

In  asserting  that  the  independent  existence  of  the  sign 
minus,  side  by  side  with  the  laws  of  arithmetic,  might  have 
led  to  anomalous  results,  had  not  the  operations  been  subject 
to  some  limitation,  we  are  introducing  no  imaginary 
hypothesis,  but  are  referring  to  a  fact  actually  existing. 
The  most  recent  advance  beyond  the  boundaries  of  algebra, 
as  it  existed  fifty  years  ago,  is  that  beautiful  extension  to 
\  which  Sir  W.  R.  Hamilton  has  given  the  designation  of  Qua- 
ternions, the  very  foundation  of  which  requires  the  removal 
of  one  of  the  ancient  axioms  of  arithmetic,  "  that  opera- 
tions may  be  performed  in  any  order." 

HISTORY.. 

At  what  period  and  in  what  country  algebra  was  invented? 
is  a  question  that  has  been  much  discussed.  Who  were  the 
earliest  writers  on  the  lubject?  What  was  the  progress  of 
its  improvement  ?  And  lastly,  by  what  means  and  at  what 
period  was  the  science  diffused  over  Europe?  It  was  a 
common  opinion  in  the  17th  century  that  the  ancient  Greek 


mathematicians  must  have  possessed  an  analysis  of  the 
nature  of  modern  algebra,  by  which  they  discovered  the 
theorems  and  solutions  of  the  problems  which  we  so  much 
admire  in  their  writings ;  but  that  they  carefully  concealed 
their  instruments  of  investigation,  and  gave  only  the  re- 
sults, with  synthetic  demonstrations. 

This  opinion  is,  however,  now  exploded.  A  more  inti- 
mate acquaintance  with  the  writings  of  the  ancient  geo- 
meters has  shown  that  they  had  an  analysis,  but  that  it 
was  purely  geometrical,  and  essentially  different  from  oui 
algebra. 

Although  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  great 
geometers  of  antiquity  derived  any  aid  in  their  discoveries 
from  the  algebraic  analysis,  yet  we  find  that  at  a  consider- 
ably later  period  it  was  known  to  a  certain  extent  among 
the  Greeks. 

About  the  middle  of  the  4th  century  of  the  Christian  era, 
a  period  when  the  mathematical  sciences  were  on  the  decline, 
and  their  cultivators,  instead  of  producing  original  works  of 
genius,  contented  themselves  with  commentaries  on  the 
works  of  their  more  illustrious  predecessors,  there  was  a 
valuable  addition  made  to  the  fabric  of  ancient  learning. 

This  was  the  treatise  of  Diophantus  on  arithmetic,  con- Diopter- 
sisting  originally  of  thirteen   books,  of  which  only  thetU3- 
first  six,  and  an  incomplete  book  on-  polygonal  numbers, 
supposed  to  be  the  thirteenth,  have  descended  to  our 
times. 

This  precious  fragment  does  not  exhibit  anything  like  a 
complete  treatise  on  algebra.  It  lays,  however,  an  excellent 
foundation  of  the  science,  and  the  author,  after  applying  his 
method  to  the  solution  of  simple  and  quadratic  equations, 
such  as  to  "find  two  numbers  of  which  the  sum  and  the 
sum  or  difference  of  the  squares  are  given,"  proceeds  to 
a  peculiar  class  of  arithmetical  questions,  which  belong  to 
what  is  now  called  the  indeterminate  analysis. 

Diophantus  may  hive  been  the  inventor  of  the  Greek 
algebra,  but  it  is  more  likely  that  its  principles  were  not 
unknown  before  his  time ;  and  that,  taking  the  science  ir. 
the  state  in  which  he  found  it  as  the  basis  of  his  labours,  he 
enriched  it  with  new  applications.  The  elegant  solutions  of 
Diophantus  show  that;  he  possessed  great  address  in  the 
particular  branch  of  which  he  treated,  and  that  he  was  able 
to  resolve  determinate  equations  of  the  second  degree. 
Probably  this  was  the  greatest  extent  to  which  the  science 
had  been  carried  amorig  the  Greeks.  Indeed,  in  no  country 
did  it  pass  this  limit,  until  it  had  been  transplanted  into 
Italy  on  the  revival  of  learning. 

The  celebrated  Hypatia,  the  daughter  of  Theon,  com- 
posed a  commentary  on  the  work  of  Diophantus.  This, 
however,  is  now  lost,  as  well  as  a  similar  treatise,  on 
the  Conies  of  Apollonius,  by  this  illustrious  and  ill- 
fated  lady,  who,  ai  is  commonly  known,  fell  a  sacrifice 
to  the  fury  of  a  fanatical  mob  about  the  beginning  of  the 
5th  century. 

About  the  rziiddle  of  the  16th  century,  the  work  of 
Diophantus  above  referred  to,  written  in  the  Greek  lan- 
guage, was  discovered  at  Rome  in  the  Vatican  library,  having 
probably  been  brought  there  from  Greece  when  the  Turkr. 
possessed  themselves  of  Constantinople.  A  Latin  transla- 
tion, without  the  original  text,  was  given  to  the  world  by 
Xylander  in  1575;  and  a  more  complete  translation,  by 
Bachet  de  Mezeriac  (one  of  the  earliest  members  of  the 
French  Academy),  accompanied  by  a  commentary,  appeared 
in  1621.  Bachet  was  eminently  skilful  in  the  indeterminate 
analysis,  and  therefore  well  qualified  for  the  work  he  had 
.  undertaken ;  but  the  text  of  Diophantus  was  so  much  in- 


512 


ALGEBRA 


(.HISTORY. 


jurod,  tliat  he  was  frequently  obliged  to'gnoss  the  mean- 
ing of  the  author,  or  supply  the  deficiency.  At  a  later 
period,  the  celebrated  French  mathematician  Fermat  supple- 
mented the  commentary  of  Bachet  by  notes  of  his  own  on 
tho  writings  of  the  Greek  algebraist.  .  These  are  extremely 
valuable,  on  account  of  Fermat's  profound  knowledge  of 
this  particular  branch  of  analysis.  This  edition,  the  best 
which  exists,  appeared  in  1670. 

Although  the  revival  of  tho  writings  of  Diophantus  was 
an  important  event  in  the  history  of  mathematics,  yet  it 
was  not  from  them  that  algebra  becamo  first  known  in 
Europe.  This  important  invention,  as  well  as  the  numeral 
characters  and  decimal  arithmetic,  was  received  from  the 
Arabians.  That  ingenious  people  fully  appreciated  the 
value  of  the  sciences;  for  at  a  period  when  all  Europe  was 
enveloped  in  the  darkness  of  ignorance,  they  preserved 
from  extinction  the  lamp  of  knowledge.  They  carefully 
collected  tho  writings  of  tho  Greek  mathematicians ;  they 
translated  them  into  their  language,  and  illustrated  them 
with  commentaries.  It  was  through  the  medium  of  the 
Arabic  tongue  that  the  elements  of  Euclid  were  first  in- 
troduced into  Europo ;  and  a  part  of  tho  writings  of 
Apollonius  are  only  known  at  the  present  day  by  a  trans- 
lation from  the  Arabic,  the  Greek  original  being  lost. 

Tho  Arabians  ascribe  the  invention  of  their  algebra  to  one 
of  their  mathematicians,  Mahommed-ben-Musa,  or  Moses, 
called  also  Mahommed  of  Buziana,  who  flourished  about 
the  middle  of  the  9th  century,  in  the  reign  of  the  Caliph 
Almamoun. 

It  is  certain  that  this  person  composed  a  treatise  on  this 
subject,  because  an  Italian  translation  was  known  at  one 
time  to  have  existed  in  Europe,  although  it  is  now  lost. 
Fortunately,  however,  a  copy  of  the  Arabic  original  is 
preserved  in  the  Bodleian  Library  at  Oxford,  bearing  a  date 
of  transcription  corresponding  to  the  year  1342.  The  title- 
page  identifies  its  author  with  the  ancient  Arabian.  A 
marginal  note  concurs  in  this  testimony,  and  further 
declares  tho  work  to  be  the  first  treatise  composed  on 
algebra  among  the  faithful ;  and  the  preface,  besides  in- 
dicating the  author,  intimates  that  he  was  encouraged  by 
Almamoun,  commander  of  the  faithful,  to  compile  a  com- 
pendious treatise  of  calculation  by  algebra. 

The  circumstance  of  this  treatise  professing  to  be  only  a 
compilation,  and,  moreover,  the  first  Arabian  work  of  the 
kind,  has  led  to  an  opinion  that  it  was  collected  from  books 
in  some  other  language.  As  the  author  was  intimately 
acquainted  with  the  astronomy  and  computations  of  the 
Hindoos,  he  may  have  derived  his  knowledge  of  algebra 
from  the  same  quarter.  The  Hindoos,  as  we  shall  presently 
eee,  had  a  science  of  Algebra,  and  knew  how  to  solve  in- 
determinate problems.  Hence  we  may  conclude,  with  some 
probability,  that  the  Arabian  algebra  was  originally  derived 
from  India. 

The  algebraic  analysis,  having  been  once  introduced 
«miong  the  Arabians,  was  cultivated  by  their  own  writers. 
One  of  these,  Mahommed  Abulwafa,  who  flourished  in  the 
last  forty  years  of  the  10th  century,  composed  commentaries 
on  the  writers  who  had  preceded  him.  He  also  translated 
the  writings  of  Diophantus. 

It  is  remarkable,  that  although  the  mathematical  sciences 
were  received  with  avidity,  and  sedulously  cultivated  during 
o  long  period  by  the  Arabians,  yet  in  their  hands  they 
received  hardly  any  improvement.  It  might  have  been 
expected  that  an  acquaintance  with  the  writings  of  Dio- 
phantus would  have  produced  some  change  in  their  algebra. 
This,  however, -did  not  happen:  their  algebra  continued 
nearly  in  the  same  state,  from  their  earliest  writer  on  the 
Bubject,  to  one  of  their  latest,  Behaudin,  who  lived  between 
the  years  953  and  1031. 

Writers  on  the  history  of  algebra  were   long  under  : 


mistake  as  to  the  time  and  manner  of  ita  Introduction  into 
Europe.  It  has  now,  however,  been  ascertained  that  the 
science  was  brought  into  Italy  by  Leonardo,  a  merchant  of 
Pisa,  This  ingenious  man  resided  in  his  youth  in  Bavbary, 
and  there  learned  the  Indian  method  of  counting  by  the 
nine  numeral  characters.  Commercial  affairs  led  him  to 
travel  into  Egypt,  Syria,  Greece,  and  Sicily,  where  wo  may 
suppose  he  made  himself  acquainted  with  everyth;ng 
known  respecting  numbers.  The  Indian  mode  of  computa- 
tion appeared  to  him  to  be  by  far  the  best.  He  accordingly 
studied  it  carefully ;  and,  with  this  knowledge,  and  some 
additions  of  his  own,  and  also  taking  some  things  from 
Euclid's  Geometry,  he  composed  a  treatise  on  arithmetic 
At  that  period  algebra  was  regarded  only  as  a  part  of  arith- 
metic. It  was  indeed  the  sublime  doctrine  of  that  science; 
and  under  this'  view  the  two  branches  were  handled  in 
Leonardo's  treatise,  which  was  originally  written  in  1202, 
and  again  brought  forward  under  a  revised  form  in  1228. 
When  it  is  considered  that  this  work  was  composed  two 
centuries  before  the  invention  of  printing,  and'  that  the 
subject  was  not  such  as  generally  to  interest  mankind,  we 
need  not  wonder  that  it  was  but  little  known ;  hence  it  has 
always  remained  in  manuscript,  as  well  as  some  other  works 
by  the  same  author.  Indeed  it  was  not  known  to  exist  from 
an  early  period  until  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  when 
it  was  discovered  in  the  Magliabccchian  library  at  Florence. 
The  extent  of  Leonardo's  knowledge  was  pretty  much 
the  same  as  that  of  the  preceding  Arabian  writers.  He 
could  resolve  equations  of  the  first  and  second  degrees,  and 
he  was  particularly  skilful  in  the  Diophantine  analysis. 
He  was  well  acquainted  with  geometry,  and  ho  employed 
its  doctrines  in  demonstrating  his  algebraic  rules.  Like 
the  Arabian  writers,  his  reasoning  was  expressed  in  words 
at  length ;  a  mode  highly  unfavourable  to  the  progress  of 
the  art.  The  use  of  symbols,  and  the  method  of  combin- 
ing them  so' as  to  convey  to  the  mind  at  a  single  glance  a 
long  process  of  reasoning,  was  a  much  later  invention. 

Considerable  attention  was  given  to  tho  cultivation  of 
algebra  between  the  time  of  Leonardo  and  the  invention  of 
printing.  It  was  publicly  taught  by  professors.  Treatises 
were  composed  on  the  subject ;  and  two  works  of  the 
oriental  algebraists  were  translated  from  the  Arabian 
language  into  Italian.  One  was  entitled  the  Rule  of 
Algebra,  and  the  other  was  the  oldest  of  all  tho  Arabian 
treatises,  that  of  Mahommed-ben-Musa  of  Corasan. 

The  earliest  printed  book  on  algebra  was  composed  by' 
Lucas  Paciolus,  or  Lucas  de  Burgo,  a  minorite  friar.  It 
was  first  printed  in  1494,  and  again  in  1523.  The  title 
is  Summa  de  Arithmetica,  Geomclria,  Propoitioni,  et  Pro 
porlionalita. 

This  is  a  very  complete  treatise  on  arithmetic,  algebra, 
and  geometry,  for  the  time  in  whish  it  appeared.  The 
author  followed  close  on  the  steps  of  Leonardo ;  and,  in- 
deed, it  is  from  this  work  that  one  of  his  lost  treatises  has 
been  restored. 

Lucas  de  Burgo's  work  is  interesting,  inasmuch  as  it 
shows  the  state  of  algebra  in  Europe  about  the  year 
1500 :  probably  the  state  of  the  science  was  nearly  the  same 
in  Arabia  and  Africa,  from  which  it  had  been  received. 

^The  power  of  algebra  as  an  instrument  of  research  is  in 
a  very  great  degree  derived  from  its  notation,  by  which  all 
the  quantities  under  consideration  are  kept  constantly  in 
view ;  but  in  respect  of  convenience  and  brevity  of  expres- 
sion, the  algebraic  analysis  in  the  days  of  Lucas  de  Burgo 
was  very  imperfect :  the  only  symbols  employed  were  a  few 
abbreviations  of  the  words  or  names  which  occurred  in 
the  processes  of  calculation,  a  kind  of  short-hand,  which 
formed  a  yery  imperfect  substitute  for  that  compactness 
of  expression  which:  has  been  attained  by  'the  modem 
notation. 


HISTORY.] 


ALGEBRA 


513 


The  application  of  algebra  was  also  at  this  period  very 
limited  ;  it  was  confined  almost  entirely  to  .the  resolution 
of  certain  questions  of  no  great  interest  about  numbers. 
No  idea  was  then  entertained  of  that  extensive  application 
which  it  has  received  in  modern  times. 

The  knowledge  -which  the  early  algebraists  had  of  their 
Science  was  also  circumscribed:  it  extended  only  to  the 
resolution  of  equations  of  the  first  and  second  degrees ;  and 
they  divided  the  last  into  cases,  each  of  which  was  resolved 
by  its  own  particular  rule.  The  important  analytical  fact, 
that  the  resolution  of  all  the  cases  of  a  problem  may  be 
comprehended  in  a  single  formula,  which  may  be  obtained 
from  the  solution  of  one  of  its  cases,  merely  by  a  change  of 
the  signs,  was  not  then  known :  indeed,  it  was  long  before 
this  principle  was  fully  comprehended.  Dr  Halley  ex- 
presses surprise,  that  a  formula,  in  optics  which  he  had 
found,  should  by  a  mere  change  of  the  signs  give- the  focus 
of  both  converging  and  diverging  rays,  whether  reflected 
or  refracted  by  convex  or  concave  specula  or  lenses;  and 
Holyneux  speaks  of  the  universality  of  Bailey's  formula 
as  something  that  resembled  magic 

The  rules  of  algebra  may  be  investigated  by  its  own  prin- 
ciples, without  any  aid  from  geometry;  and  although  in 
some  cases  the  two  sciences  may  serve  to  illustrate  each 
'other,  there  is  not  now  the  least  necessity  in  the  more 
elementary  parts  to  call  in  the  aid  of  the  latter  in  expound- 
ing the  former.  It  was  otherwise  in  former  times.  Lucas 
de  Burgo  found  it  to  be  convenient,  after  the  example  of 
Leonardo,  to  employ  geometrical  constructions  to  prove  the 
truth  of  his  rules  for  resolving  quadratic  equations,  the 
nature  of  which  he  did  not  completely  comprehend ; 
and  he  was  induced  by  the  imperfect  nature  of  his  nota- 
tion to  express  his  rules  in  Latin  verses,  which  will  not 
now  be  read  with  the  kind  of  satisfaction  we  receive 
from  the  perusal  of  the  well-known  poem,  "  the  Loves  of 
the  Triangles." 

As  Italy  was  the  first  European  country  where  algebra 
became  known,  it  was  there  that  it  received  its  earliest  im- 
provements. The  science  had  been  nearly  stationary  from 
the  days  of  Leonardo  to  the  time  of  Paciolus,  a  period  of 
three  centuries ;  but  the  invention  of  printing  soon  excited 
a  spirit  of  improvement  in  all  the  mathematical  sciences. 
Hitherto  an  imperfect  theory  of  quadratic  equations  was 
the  limit  to  which  it  had  been  carried.  At  last  this 
boundary  was  passed,  and  about  the  year  1505  a  particular 
case  of  equations  of  the  third  degree  was  resolved  by  Scipio 
Ferreus,  a  professor  of  mathematics  in  Bononia.  This  was 
an  important  step,  because  it  showed  that  the  difficulty  of 
resolving  equations  of  the  higher  orders,  at  least  in  the  case 
of  the  third  degTee,  was  not  insurmountable,  and  a  new 
field  was  opened  for  discovery.  It  was  then  the  practice 
among  the  cultivators  of  algebra,  when  they  advanced  a 
step,  to  conceal  it  carefully  from  their  contemporaries,  and 
to  challenge  them  to  resolve  arithmetical '  questions,  so 
framed  as  to  require  for  their  solution  a  knowledge  of  their 
own  new-found  rules.  In  this  spirit  did  Ferreus  make  a 
secret  of  his  discovery :  he  communicated  it,  however,  to  a 
favourite  scholar,  a  Venetian  named  Florido.  About  the 
year  1535  this  person,  having  taken  up  his  residence  at 
Venice,  challenged  Tartalea  of  Brescia,  a  man  of  great 
ingenuity,  to  a  trial  of  skill  in  the  resolution  of  problems 
by  algebra.  Florido  framed  ^is  questions  so  as  to  require 
for  their  solution  a  knowledge  of  the  rule  which  he  had 
learned  from  his  preceptor  Ferreus ;  but  Tartalea  had,  five 
years  before  this  time,  advanced  further  than  Ferreus,  and 
was  more  than  a  match  for  Florido.  He  therefore  accepted 
the  challenge,  and  a  day  was  appointed  when  each  was  to 
[propose  to  the  other  thirty  questions.  Before  the  time  came, 
Tartalea  had  resumed  the  study  of  cubic  equations,  and  had 
discovered  the  solution  of  two  cases  in  addition  to  two  which 


he  knew  before.  Florido's  questions  were  such  as  could 
be  resolved  by  the  single  rule  of  Ferreus;  while,  on  the 
contrary,  those  of  Tartalea  could  only  be  resolved  by  one  Of 
other  of  three  rules,  which  he  himself  had  found,  but  which 
could  not  be  resolved  by  the  remaining  rule,  which  was  alsd 
that  known  to  Florido.  The  issue  of  the  contest  is  easily 
anticipated ;  Tartalea  resolved  all  his  adversary's  questions 
in  two  hours,  without  receiving  one  answer  from  him  in 
return. 

The  celebrated  Cardan  was  a  contemporary  of  Tartalea. 
This  remarkable  person  was  a  professor  of  mathematics  at 
Milan,  and  a  physician.  He  had  studied  algebra  with  great 
assiduity,  and  had  nearly  finished  the  printing  of  a  tiook 
on  arithmetic,  algebra,  and  geometry ;  but  being  desirous 
of  enriching  his  work  with  the  discoveries  of  Tartalea,  which 
at  that  period  must  have  been  the  object  of  considerable 
attention  among  literary  men  in  Italy,  he  endeavoured  to 
draw  from  him  a  disclosure  of  his  rules.  Tartalea  resisted 
for  a  time  Cardan's  entreaties.  At  last,  overcome  by  his 
importunity,  and  his  offer  to  swear  on  the  holy  Evangelists, 
and  by  the  honour  of  a  gentleman,  never  to  publish  them, 
and  on  his  promising  on  the  faith  of  a  Christian  to  commit 
them  to  cypher,  so  that  even  after  his  death  they  would  not 
be  intelligible  to  any  one,  he  ventured  with  much  hesitation 
to  reveal  to  him  his  practical  rule3,  which  were  expressed 
by  some  very  bad  Italian  verses,  themselves  in  no  small 
degTee  enigmatical.  He  reserved,  however,  the  demonstra- 
tions. Cardan  was  not  long  in  discovering  the  reason  of 
the  rules,,  and  he  even  greatly  improved1' them,  so  as  to 
make  them  in  a  manner  his  own.  From  the  imperfect 
essays  of  Tartalea  he  deduced  an  ingenious  and  systematic, 
method  of  resolving  all  cubic  equations  whatsoever;  but 
with  a  remarkable  disregard  for  the  principles  of  honour, 
and  the  oath  he  had  taken,  he  published  in  1545  Tartalea'a 
discoveries,  combined  with  his  own,  as  a  supplement  to  a 
treatise  on  arithmetic  and  algebra,  which  he  had  published 
six  years  before.  This  work  is  remarkable  for  being 
the  second  printed  book  on  algebra  known  to  have 
existed. 

In  the  following  year  Tartalea  also  published  a  work  on 
algebra,  which  he  dedicated  to  Henry  VUL,  king  of 
England. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  in  many  instances  the  authors 
of  important  discoveries  have  been  overlooked,  while  the 
honours  due  to  them  have  been  transferred  to  others  hav- 
ing only  secondary  pretensions.  The  formulas  for  the 
resolution  of  cubic  equations  are  now  called  Cardan's  rules, 
notwithstanding  the  prior  claim  of  Tartalea.  It  must  be 
confessed,  however,  that  he  evinced  considerable  selfishness 
in  concealing  his  discovery ;  and  although  Cardan  cannot 
be  absolved  from  the  charge  of  bad  faith,  yet  it  must  be 
recollected  that  by  his  improvements  in  what  Tartalea 
communicated  to  him,  he  made  the  discovery  in  some 
measure  his  own ;  and  he  had  moreover  the  high  merit  of 
being  the  first  to  publish  this  important  improvement  in 
algebra  to  the  world. 

The  next  step  in  the  progress  of  algebra  was  the'di*. 
covery  of  a  method  of  resolving  equations  of  the  fourth 
order.  An  Italian  algebraist  had  proposed  a  question  which 
could  not  be  resolved  by  the  newly  invented  rules,  because 
it  produced  a  biquadratic  equation.  Some  supposed  that 
it  could  not  be  resolved  at  all;  but  Cardan  was  of  a  different 
opinion.  He  had  a  pupil  named  Lewis  Ferrari,  a  young  man 
of  great  genius,  and  an  ardent  student  in  the  algebraic 
analysis:  to  him  Cardan  committed  the  solution  of  this 
difficult  question,  and  he  was  not  disappointed.  Ferrari 
not  only  resolved  the  question,  but  he  also  found  a  general 
method  of  resolving  equations  of  the  fourth  degree,  bj 
making  them  depend  on  the  solution  of  equations  of  tin 
third  degree. 


1-18 


514 


ALGEBRA 


[histoey. 


This  was  another  great  improvement ;  and  although  tho 
procise  naturo  of  an  equation  was  not  then  fully  under- 
Htood,  nor  was  it  indeed  until  half  a  century  later,  yet, 
in  the  general  resolution  of  equations,  a  point  of  progress 
was  then  reached  which  the  utmost  efforts  of  modern 
analysis  have  never  been  able  to  pass. 

There  was  another  Italian  mathematician  of  that  period 
who  did  something  for  the  improvement  ofalgebra.  This 
was  Bombelli.  Ho  published  a  valuable  work  on  the 
subject  in  1572,  in  which  he  brought  into  one  view  what 
had  been  done  by  his  predecessors.  He  explained  the 
nature  of  the  irreducible  case  of  cubic  equations,  which 
had  greatly  perplexed  Cardan,  who  could  not  resolve  it  by 
his  rule ;  he  showed  that  tho  rule  would  apply  sometimes 
to  particular  examples,  and  that  all  equations  of  this  case 
admitted  of  a  real  solution ;  and  he  made  the  important 
remark,  that  the  algebraic  problem  to  be  resolved  in  this 
case  corresponds  to  the  ancient  problem  of  the  trieection 
of  an  angle. 

There  were  two  German  mathematicians  contemporary 
with  Cardan  and  Tartalea,  viz.,  Stifelius  and  Scheubelius. 
Their  writings  appeared  about  the  middle  of  the  16th 
century,  before  they  knew  what  had  been  done  by  the 
Italians.  Their  improvements  were  chiefly  in  the  notation. 
Stifelius,  in  particular,  introduced  for  the  first  time  the 
characters  which  indicate  addition  and  subtraction,  and 
the  symbol  for  the  square  root. 
first  The  first  treatise'  on  algebra  in  the  English  language  was 

English  written  by  Robert  Eecorde,  teacher  of  mathematics  and 
jjwrfj  0^  practitioner  in  physic  at  Cambridge.  At  this  period  it  was 
Cambridge.  c°ninion  for  physicians  to  unite  with  the  healing  art  the 
6tudies  of  mathematics,  astrology,  alchemy,  and  chemistry. 
This 'custom  was  derived  from  the  Moors,  who  were  equally 
celebrated  for  their  skill  in  medicine  and  calculation.  In 
Spain,  where  algebra  was  early  known,  the  title  of  physician 
and  algebraist  were  nearly  synonymous.  Accordingly,  in 
tho  romance  of  Don  Quixote,  when  the  bachelor  Samson 
Carasco  was  grievously  wounded  in  his  rencounter  with 
the  knight,  an  algebrista  was  called  in  to  heal  his 
bruises. 

Eecorde  published  a  treatise  on  arithmetic,  which  was 
dedicated  to  Edward  VL ;  and  another  on  algebra,  with 
the  title,  The  Whetstone  of  Wit,  &c  Here,  for  the  first 
time,  tho  modern  sign  for  equality  was  introduced. 

By  such  gradual  steps  did  algebra  advance  in  improve- 
ment from  its  first  introduction  by  Leonardo,  each  succeeding 
writer  making  some  change  for  the  better ;  but  with  the 
exception  of  Tartalea,  Cardan,  and  Ferrari,  hardly  any  one 
rose  to  the  rank  of  an  inventor.  At  length  came  Vieta,  to 
whom  this  branch  of  mathematical  learning,  as  well  .as 
others,  is  highly  indebted.  His  improvements  in  algebra 
were  very  considerable ;  and  some  of  his  inventions, 
although  not  then  fully  developed,  have  yet  been  the  germs 
of  later  discoveries.  He  was  the  first  that  employed 
genera  1  characters  to  represent  known  as  well  as  unknown 
quantities.  Simple  as  this  step  may  appear,  it  has  yet  led  to 
important  consequences.  He  must  also  be  regarded  as  the 
first  that  applied  algebra-  to  the  improvement  of  geometry. 
The  older  algebraists  had -indeed  resolved  geometrical  pro- 
blems, but  each  solution  was  particular;swhereas  Vieta,  by 
Introducing  general  symbols,  produced  general  formulas, 
which  were  applicable  to  all  problems  of  the  same  kind, 
without  tho  trouble  of  going  over  the  same  process  of 
analysis  for  each. 

This  happy  application  of  algebra  ■  to  geometry  pro- 
duced great  improvements  :  it  led  Vieta  to  the  doctrine  of 
angular  sections,  one  of  the  most  important  of  his  dis-' 
eoverics,  which  is  now  expanded  into  the  arithmetic  of  sipes 
or  analytical  trigonometry.  He  also  improved  the  theory 
of  algebraic  equations,  and  he  was  the  first  that  gave  a 


general  method  of  resolving  them  by  approximation.  As 
he  lived  between  the  years  1540  and  J 603,  his  writings 
belong  to  the  latter  half  of  the  16th  century.  He  printed 
them  at  his  own  expense,  and  liberally  bestowed  them  on 
men  of  science. 

The  Flemish  mathematician  Albert  Girard  was  one  of  Girari. 
the  improvers  of  algebra.  He  extended  the  theory  of 
equations  somewhat  further  than  Vieta,  but  he  did  not 
completely  unfold  their  composition  ;  he  was  the  first  that 
showed  the  use  of  the  negative  sign  in  the  resolution  of 
geometrical  problems,  and  the  first  to  speak  of  imaginary 
quantities.  He  also  inferred  by  induction  that  every  equation 
has  precisely  as  many  roots  as  there  are  units  in  the 
number  that  expresses  its  degree.  His  algebra  appeared 
in  1629. 

The  next  great  improver  of  algebra  was  Thomas  Harriot, 
an  Englishnwia.  As  an  inventor  he  has  been  tho  boast  of 
this  country.  The  French  mathematicians  have  accused  the 
British  of  giving  discoveries  to  hini*which  were  really  due 
to  Vieta.  It  is  probable  that  some  of  these  may  be  justly 
claimed  for  both,  because  each  may  have  made  the  discovery 
for  himself,  without  knowing  what  had  been  done  by  the 
other.  Harriot's  principal  discovery,  and  indeed  tho  most 
important  ever  made  in  algebra,  was,  that  every  equation 
may  be  regarded  as  formed  by  the  product  of  as  many  sim- 
ple equations  as  there  are  units  in  the  number  expressing 
its  order.  This  important  doctrine,  now  familiar  to  every 
student  of  algebra,  developed  itself  slowly.  It  was  quite 
within  the  reach  of  Vieta,  who  unfolded  it  in  part,  but  left 
its  complete  discovery  to  Harriot. 

We  have  se'fen  the  very  inartificial  form  in  which  algebra 
first  appeared  in  Europe.  The  improvements  of  almost 
400  years  had  not  given  its  notation  that  compactness  and 
elegance  of  which  it  is  susceptible.  Harriot  made  several 
changes  in  the  notation,  and  added  some  new  signs :  he 
thus  gave  to  algebra  greater  symmetry  of  form.  Indeed, 
as  it  came  from  his  hands,  it  differed  but  little  from  its 
state  at  the  present  time. 

Oughtreed,  another  early  English  algebraist,  was  a  con-  Oughtrei 
temporary  with  Harriot,  but  lived  long  after  him.     He 
wrote  a  treatise  on  the  subject,  which  was  long  taught  in 
tho  universities. 

In  tracing  the  history  of  algebra,  we  have  seen,  that  in 
the  form  under  which  it  was  received  from  the  Arabs, 
it  was  hardly  distinguishable  as  a  peculiar  mode  of  reason- 
ing, because  of  the  want  of  a  suitable  notation ;  and  that, 
poor  in  its  resources,  its  applicability  was  limited  to  the 
resolution  of  a  small  number  of  uninteresting  numeral 
questions.  We  have  followed  it  through  different  stages  of 
improvement,  and  we  aro  now  arrived  at  a  period  when  it 
was  to  acquire  additional  power  as  ■  an  instrument  of 
analysis,  and  to  admit  of  new  and  more  extended  applica- 
tions. Vieta  saw  the  great  advantage  that  might  be 
derived  from  the  application  of  algebra  to  geometry.  The 
essay  he  made  in  his  theory  of  angular  sections,  and  the 
rich  mine  of  discovery  thus  opened,  proved  the  importance 
of  his  labours.  He  did  not  fully  explore  it,  but  it  has 
seldom  happened  that  one  man  began  and  completed  a  dis- 
covery. He  had,  however,  an  able  and  illustrious  successor 
in  Descartes,  who,  employing  in  the  study  of  algebra  that  . 
high  power  of  intellect  with  which  he  was  endowed;  not 
only  improved  it  as  an  abstract  science,  but,  more  especially 
by  its  application  to  geometry,  laid  the  foundation  of  the 
great  discoveries  which  have  since  so  much  engaged  mathe 
maticians,  and  have  made  the  last  two  centuries  evei, 
memorable  in  the  history  of  the  progress  of  the  humar 
mind. 

Descartes'  grand  improvement  was  the  application  of 
algebra  to  the  doctrine  of  curve  lines.  As  in  geography  we 
refer  every  place  on  the  earth's  surface  to  the  equator,  and 


HISTORY  ] 


ALGEBRA 


515 


to  a  determinate  meridian,  so  he  referred  every  point  of  a 
curve  to  some  line  given  by  position.  For  example,  in  a 
circle,  every  point  in  the  circumference  might  be  referred 
to  the  diameter.  The  perpendicular  from  any  point  in  the 
curve,  and  the  distance  of  that  perpendicular  from  the 
centre  or  from  .the  extremity  of  a  diameter,  were  lines  which, 
although  varying  with  every  change  of  position  in  the  point 
from  which  the  perpendicular  wa3  drawn,  yet  had  a  deter- 
minate relation  to  each  other,  which  was  the  same  for  all 
points  in  the  curve  depending  on  its  nature,  and  which, 
therefore,  served  as  a  characteristic  to  distinguish  it  from 
all  other  curves.' 

The  relations  of  lines  drawn  in  this  way  could  be  readily 
expressed  in  algebraic  symbols ;  and  the  expression  of  this 
relation  in  general  terms  constituted  what  is  called  the 
equation  of  the  curve. 

This  might  serve  as  its  definition;  and  from  the  equation 
by  the  processes  of  algebra,  all  the  properties  of  the  curve 
could  be  investigated. 

.  Descartes'  Geometry  (or,  as  it  might  have  been  named, 
the  application  of  algebra  to  geometry)  appeared  first  in 
1637.  This  was  six  years  after  the  publication  of  Harriot's 
discoveries,  which  was  a  posthumous  work.  Descartes 
availed  himself  of  some  of  Harriot's  views,  particularly  the 
manner  of  generatingan  equation,  without  acknowledgment; 
and  on  this  account  Dr  Wallis,  in  his  algebra,  has  reflected 
with  considerable  severity  on  the  French  algebraist.  This 
spirit  has  engendered  a  corresponding  eagerness  in  the 
French  mathematicians  to  defend  him.  Montucla,  in  his 
history  of  the  mathematics,  has  evinced  a  strong  national 
prejudice  in  his  favour ;  and,  as  usually  happens,  in  order 
to  exalt  him,  he  hardly  does  justice  to  Harriot,  the  idol  of 
his  adversaries. 

The  new  views  which  the  labours  of  Vieta,  Harriot,  and 
Descartes  opened  in  geometry  and  algebra  were  seized  with 
avidity  by  the  powerful  minds  of  men  eager  in  the  pursuit 
of  real  knowledge.  Accordingly,  we  find  in  the  17th 
century  a  whole  host  of  writers  on  algebra,  or  algebra  com- 
bined with  geometry. 

Our  limits  will  not  allow  us  to  enter  minutely  into  the 
claims  which  each  has  on  the  gratitude  of  posterity. 
Indeed,  in  pure  algebra  the  new  inventions  were  not  so 
conspicuous  as  the  discoveries  made  by  its  applications  to 
geometry,  and  the  new  theories  which  were  suggested  by 
their  union.  The  curious  speculations  of  Kepler  concerning 
the  solids  formed  by  the  revolutions  of  curvilinear  figures, 
the  Geometry  of  Indivisibles  by  Cavalerius,  the  Arithmetic 
of  Infinites  of  Wallis,  and,  above  all,  the  Method  of  Fluxions 
of  Newton,  and  the  Differential  and  Integral  Calculus  of 
Leibnitz,  are  fruits  of  the  happy  union.  All  these  were 
agitated  incessantly  by  their  inventors  and  contemporaries; 
by  such  men  as  Barrow,  James  Gregory,  Wren,  Cotes,  Taylor, 
Halley,  De  Moivre,  Maclaurin,  Stirling,' and  others,  in  this 
country ;  and  abroad  by  Roberval,  Fermat.  Huyghens,  the 
two  Bernoullis,  Pascal,  and  many  others. 

The  first  half  of  the  18th  century  produced  little  in  the 
way  of  addition  either  to  pure  algebra  or  to  its  applications. 
Men  were  employed  rather  in  elaborating  and  working  out 
what  Newton,  Leibnitz,  and  Descartes  had  originated, 
than  in  exercising  themselves  in  independent  investigations. 
There  are,  indeed,  to  be  found  some  names  of  eminence 
associated  with  the  science  of  algebra,  such  as  Maclaurin, 
but  their  eminence  will  be  found  to  depend  on  their  con- 
nection with  the  extensions  of  the  science,  rather  than  with 
the  science  itself.  It  was  reserved  for  Lagrange,  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  century,  to  give  a  new  impulse  to  extension  in 
pure  algebra,  in  a  direction  which  has  led  to  most  important 
results.  Not  only  did  he,  in  his  Traiti  de  la  Resolution  des 
Equations  Numeriques,  lay  the  foundation  on  which  Budan, 
Fourier,  Stunn,  and  others,  have  built  a  goodly  fabric  after 


the  pattern  of  the  Universal  Arithmetic  of  Newton,  but  in 
his  Theoriedesfonclions  analytiques,  and  Calcul  desfonctiont. 
he  endeavoured,  and  with  a  large  amount  of  success,  to 
reduce  the  higher  analysis  (the  Fluxions  of  Newton),  to 
the  domain  of  pure  algebra.  Nor  must  the  labours  of  a 
fellow-workman,  Euler,  be  forgotten.  In  his  voluminous 
and  somewhat  ponderous  writings  will  be  found  a  perfect 
storehouse  of  investigations  on  every  branch  of  algebraical 
and  mechanical  science.  Especially  pertinent  to  our  present 
subject  is  his  demonstration  of  the  Binomial  Theorem  in 
the  Novi  Commentarii,  voL  xix.,  which  is  probably  the 
original  of  the  development  that  Lagrange  makes  the 
basis  of  his  analysis  (Calcul  des  fonctions,  lecon  seconde), 
and  which  for  simplicity  and  generality  leaves  nothing  to 
be  desired. 

This  brings  the  history  down  to  the  close  of  the  last 
century.  We  have  been  as  copious  as  our  limits  would 
permit  on  the  early  history,  because  it  presents  the  interest- 
ing -spectacle  of  the  progress  of  a  science  from  an  almost 
imperceptible  beginning,  until  it  has  attained  -a  mag- 
nitude too  great  to  be  fully  grasped  by  the.  hnmao 
mind. 

It  will  be  seen  from  what  precedes,  that  we  have  not 
limited  "algebra"  to  the  pure  science,  but  have  retained 
the  name  when  it  has  encroached  on  the  territories  of 
geometry,  trigonometry,  and  the  higher  analysis.  To 
continue  to  trace  its  course  through  all  these  branches  dur- 
ing the  present  century,  when  it  has  extended  into  new 
directions  within  its  own  borders,  would  far  exceed  the 
limits  of  an  introductory  sketch  like  the  present.  We 
must,  therefore,  necessarily  limit  ourselves  to  what  has 
been  done  in  the  Theory  of  Equations  (which  may  be 
termed  algebra  proper),  and  in  Determinants. 

Theory  of  Equations, — That  every  numerical  equation  Theory  of 
has  a  root — that  is,  some  quantity  in  a  numerical  form,  real  Equation*? 
or  imaginary,  which,  when  substituted  for  the  unknown 
quantity  in  the  equation,  shall  render  the  equation  a 
numerical  identity — appears  to  have  been  taken  for  granted 
by  all  writers  down  to  the  time  of  Lagrange.  It  is  by  no 
means  self-evident,  nor  is  it  easy  to  afford  evidence  for  it 
which  shall  be  at  the  same  time  convincing  and  free  from 
limitations. '  The  demonstrations  of  Lagrange,  Gauss,  and 
Ivory,  have  for  simplicity  and  completeness  given  way  to 
that  of  Cauchy,  published  first  in  the  Journal  de  VEcole 
Poly  technique,  and  subsequently  in  his  Cours  d'Analyse 
Algibrique. 

The  demonstration  of  Cauchy  (which  had  previous!  aucltf 
been  given  by  Argand,  though  in  an  imperfect  form,  k. 
Gergonne's  Annates  des  Matliematiqucs,  vol  v.).  consist  in 
showing  that  the  quantity  which  it  is  wished  to  prove 
capable  of  being  reduced  to  zero,  can  be  exhibited  as  the 
produ6t  of  two  factors,  one  of  which  is  incapable  of  assum- 
ing a  minimum  value,  or,  in  other  words,  that  a  less  value 
than  one  assigned  'can  always  be  found,  and  therefore 
that  it  is  capable  of  acquiring  the  value  zero.  This 
argument,  if  not  absolutely  free  from  objection,  is  less 
objectionable  than  any  of  the  others.  The  reader  may 
consult  papers  by  Airy  and  De  Morgan,  in  the  tenth 
volume  of  the  Transactions  of  the  Cambridge  Philosophical 
Society. 

Admitting,  then,  that  every  equation  has  a  root,  it  be- 
comes a  question  to  what  extent  are  Vfe  in  possession  of 
an  analysis  by  which  the  root  can  be  ascertained.  If  the 
question  be  put  absolutely,  we  fear  the  answer  must  be, 
that  in  this  matter  we  are  in  the  same  position  that  we 
have  held  for  the  last  three  centuries.  Cubic  and  biquad- 
ratic equations  can  be  solved,  whatever  they  may  be;  but 
equations  of  higher  orders,  in  which  there  exists  no  relation 
amongst  the  several  coefficients,  and  no  known  or  assumed 
connection  between   the  different   roots,   have  baffled  a1' 


51G 


ALGEBRA 


[history. 


attempts  at  their  solution.  Much  skill  and  ingenuity  have 
been  displayed  by  writers  of  more  or  less  eminence  in  the 
attempt  to  elaborate  a  method  of  solution  applicable  to 
equations  of  the  fifth  degree,  but  they  have  failed;  whether 
it  be  that,  like  the  ancient  problems  of  the  quadrature  of  the 
circle,  and  the  duplication  of  the  cube,  an  absolute  solution 
h  an  impossibility,  or  whether  it  is  reserved  for  future 
mathematicians  to  start  in  the  research  in  some  new  path, 
and  reach  the  goal  by  avoiding  the  old  tracks  which  appear 
to  have  been  thoroughly  traversed  in  vain. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  refer  to  such  writers  as  Hoene 
de  Wronski,  who,  in  1811,  announced  a  general  method  of 
eolving  all  equations,  giving  formulae  without  demonstra- 
tion. In  1 8 1 7,  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  Lisbon  proposed 
as  the  subject  of  a  prize,  the  demonstration  of  Wronski's 
formulae.  The  prize  was  in  the  following  year  awarded  to 
M.  Torriani  for  the  refutation  of  them. 

The  reader  will  find  in  the  fifth  volume  of  the  Reports  of 
the  British  Association,  an  elaborate  report  by  Sir  W.  R. 
Hamilton  on  a  Method  of  Decomposition,  proposed  by  Mr 
O.  B.  Jerrard  in  his  Mathematical  Researches,  published  at 
Bristol  in  a  work  of  great  beauty  and  originality,  but 
which  Hamilton  is  compelled  to  conclude  fails  to  effect  the 
desired  object.  In  fact,  the  method  which  is  valid  when 
the  proposed  equation  is  itself  of  a  sufficiently  elevated 
degree,  fails  to  reduce  the  solution  of  the  equation  of  the 
fifth  degree  to  that  of.  the  f-urth. 

But  although  the  absolute  Solution  of  equations  of  higher 
orders  than  the  fourth  remains  amongst  the  things  un- 
effected,  and  rather  to  be  hoped  for  than  expected,  a  very 
great  deal  has  been  done  towards  preparing  the  way  for 
approximate,  if  not  for  absolute  solutions. 

In  the  first  place,  equations  of  the  higher  orders,  when 
they  assume  certain  forms,  have  been  shown  to  be  capable 
of  solution.  An  equation  of  this  kind,  to  all  appearance 
of  a  very  general  and  comprehensive  form,  had  been  solved 
by  De"  Moivre  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions  for  1737. 
Binomial  equations  had  advanced  under  the  skilful  hands 
of  Gauss,  who,  in  his  Disquisitiones  Arilhmeticae,  which 
appeared  in  1801,  added  largely  to  what  had  been  done  by 
Vandermonde  in  the  classification  _and  solution  of  such 
equations ;  and  subsequently,  Abel,  a  mathematician  of 
Norwegian  birth,  who  died  too  early  for  science,  completed 
and  oxtendsd  what  Gauss  had  left  imperfect.  The  collected 
writings  of  Abel  published  at  Christiania  in  1839,  contain 
original  and  valuable  contributions  to  this  and  many 
other  branches  of  mathematics. 

But  it  is  not  in  the  solution  of  equations  of  certain 
forms  that  the  greatest  advance  has  been  made  during  the 
present  century.  The  basis  of  all  methods  of  solution 
must  evidently  be  found  in  the  previous  separation  of  the 
roots,  and  the  efforts  of  mathematicians  have  been  directed 
to  the  discovery  of  methods  of  effecting  this.  The  object 
is  not  so  much  to  classify  the  roots  into  positive  and 
negative,  real  and  imaginary,  as  to  determine  the  situation 
»nd  number  of  the  real  roots  of  the  equation.  The  first 
writer  on  the  subject  whose  methods  appeared  in  print  is 
Budan,  whose  treatise,  entitled  Nouvelle  mUhod'  pour  la 
resolution  del  Equations  hume'riques,  appeared  in  1807. 
But  there  is  evidence  that  Fourier  had  delivered  lectures 
on  the  subject  prior  to  the  publication  of  Budan's  work, 
and  consequently,  without  detriment  to  the  claims  of 
Budan,  we  may  admit  that  the  most  valuable  and  original 
contribution  to  the  science  is  to  be  found  in  Fourier's 
posthumous  work,  published  by  Navier  in  1831,  entitled 
Analyse  des  Equations  determinees.  The  theorem  which 
Fourier  gave  for  the  discovery  of  the  position,  within  narrow 
limits,  of  a  root  of  an  equation,  is  one  of  two  theorems, 
each  of  which  is  known  £y  mathematicians  as  "Fourier's 
Theorem."    The  other  is  a  theorem  of  integration,  and  occurs 


in  the  author's  magnificent  work  Theorie  de  la  Chaleur. 
During  the  interval  between  the  publication  of  Budan'a 
work  and  that  of  Fourier,  there  appeared  a  paper  in  the 
Philosophical  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  for  1819,  by 
W.  G.  Horner,  upon  a  new  method  of  solving  arithmetical 
equations.  From  its  being  somewhat  obscurely  expressed, 
the  great  originality  of  the  memoir  did  not  at  once  app-mr. 
Gradually,  however,  Mr  Horner's  method  came  to  be  appre- 
ciated, and  it  now  ranks  as  one  of  the  best  processes, 
approaching,  in  some  points,  to  Fourier's.  In  the  Mimoiret 
des  savans  etrangers  for  18b5,  appears  a  memoir,  which, 
if  it  does  not  absolutely  supersede  all  that  had  been 
previously  done  in  assigning  the  positions  of  the  real  roots 
of  equations,  yet  in  simplicity,  completeness,  and  uni-1 
versality  of  application,  surpasses  them  alL  The  author, 
M.  Sturm,  of  French  extraction,  but  born  at  Geneva,  has  Sturm, 
in  this  memoir  linked  his  name  to  a  theorem  which  is  likely  to 
retain  its  place  amongst  the  permanent  extensions  of  the 
domain  of  analysis  as  long  as  the -study  of  algebra  shall 
last     It  was  presented  to  the  Academy  in  1829. 

Determinants. — The  solution  of  simultaneous  equations  Detemum 
of  the  first  degree  may  be  presented  under  the  form  of  a  "its- 
set  of  tractions,  the  numerators  and  denominators  of  which 
are  symmetric  products  of  the  coefficients  of  the  unknown 
quantities  in  the  equations.  These  products  were  originally 
known  as  resultants,  a  name  applied  to  them  by  Laplace, 
and  retained  as  late  as  1841  by  Cauchy  in  his  Exercices 
d'analyse  et  de  physique  mathtmatique,  vol.  ii.  p.  161,  but 
now  replaced  by  the  title  determinants,  a  name  first  applied 
to  certain  forms  of  them  by  Gauss.  In  his  Cours 
d'analyse  algebrique,  Cauchy  terms  them  alternate  func- 
tions. The  germ  of  the  theory  of  determinants  is  to  be 
found  in  the  writings  of  Leibnitz,  who,  indeed,  was  far-  Leibnii 
seeing  enough  to  anticipate  for  it  some  of  the  power  which, 
about  a  century  aiter  his  time,  it  began  to  attain.  Mora 
than  half  that  period  had  indeed  elapsed  bofore  any  trace 
of  its  existence  can  be  found  in  the  writings  of  the 
mathematicians  who  succeeded  Leibnitz.  The  revival  of 
the  method  is  due  to  Cramer,  who,  in  a  note  to  his  Cramat 
Analyse  des  lignes  courbes  algebriques,  published  at  Geneva 
in  1750,  gave  the  rule  which  establishes  the  sign  of  a 
product  as  plus  or  minus,  according  as  the  number  of  dis- 
placements from  the  typical  form  has  been  even  or  odd. 
Cramer  was  followed  in  the  last  century  by  Bdzout,  Laplace, 
Lagrange,  and  Vandermonde.  In  1801  appeared  the 
Disquisitiones  Arilhmeticae  of  Gauss,  of  which  a  French  C  uus 
translation  by  M.  Poullet-Delisle  was  given  in  1807.  Not- 
withstanding the  somewhat  obscure  form  in  which  this 
work  was  presented,  its  originality  gave  a  new  impetus 
to  investigations  on  this  and  kindred  subjects.  To  Gauss 
is  due  the  establishment  of  the  important  theorem,  that  tlio 
product  of  two  determinants  both  of  the  second  and  third 
orders  is  a  determinant.  Binet,  Cauchy,  and  others  followed, 
end  applied  the  results  to  geometrical  problems.  In  1826, 
Jacobi  commenced  a  series  of  papers  on  the  subject  in 
Crelle's  Journal.  In  these  papers,  which  extended  over  a 
space  of  nearly  twenty  years,  the  subject  was  recast  and 
made  available  for  ordinary  readers;  and  at  the  same 
time  it  was  enriched  by  new  and  important  theorems, 
through  which  the  name  of  Jacobi  is  indissolubly  asso- 
ciated with  this  branch  of  science.  Following  the  steps  of 
Jacobi,  a  number  of  mathematicians  of  no  mean  power 
have  entered  the  field.  Pre-eminent  above  all  others  are 
two  British  names,  those  of  Sylvester  and  Cayley.  By 
their  originality,  by  their  fecundity,  by  their  grasp  of  all 
the  resources  of  analysis,  these  two  powerful  mathematicians 
have  enriched  the  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society,  Crelle's 
Journal,  the  Cambridge  and  Dublin  Mathematical  Journal, 
and  the  Quarterly  Journal  of  Mathematics,  with  papers  on 
this  and  on  kindred  branches  of  science  of  such  value  >u> 


HISTORY.] 


ALGEBRA 


517 


to  have  placed  their  aathors  at  the  head  of  living  mathe- 
maticians. The  reader  will  find  the  subject  admirably 
treated  in  Baltzer's  Theorie  und  Anwendung  der  Deter- 
minenten;  and  more  briefly  in  Salmon's  Higher  Algebra. 
ELmentary  treatises  have  also  been  published  by  Spottis- 
woode  in  1851,  by  Brioschi  in  1854,  by  Todhunter  in  his 
Theory  of  Equations  in  1861,  and  by  Dodgson  in 
1867. 

The  attention  of  the  learned  has,  during  the  present 
century,  been  called  to  a  branch  of  the  history  of  algebra, 
in  no  small  degree  interesting ;  we  mean  the  cultivation  of 
the  science  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  at  a  remote  period, 
in  India. 

J  We  are  indebted,  we  believe,  to  Mr  Reuben  Burrow  for 
some  of  the  earliest  notices  which  reached  Europe  on  this 
very  curious  subject.  His  eagerness  to  illustrate  the  history 
of  the  mathematical  sciences  led  him  to  collect  oriental 
manuscripts,  some  of  which,  in  the  Persian  language,  with 
partial  translations,  were  bequeathed  to  his  friend  Mr 
Dalby  of  the  Koyal  Military  College,  who  communicated 
them  to  such  as  took  an  interest  in  the  subject,  about  the 
year  1800. 

In  the  year  1813,  Mr  Edward  Strachey  published  in  this 
country  a  translation  from  the  Persian  of  the  Bija  Ganita 
(or  Vija  Ganita),  a  Hindoo  treatise  on  algebra;  and  in 
1816  Dr  John  Taylor  published  at  Bombay  a  translation 
of  Lelawati  (or  Lilavati),  from  the  Sanscrit  original.  This 
last  is  a  treatise  on  arithmetic  and  geometry,  and  both  are 
the  production  of  an  oriental  algebraist,  Bhascara  Acharya. 
Lastly,  in  1817,  there  came  out  a  work  entitled  Algebra, 
Arithmetic,  and  Mensuration,  from  the  Sanscrit  of  Brahme- 
gupta  and  Bhascara,  translated  by  Henry  Thomas  Cole- 
brooke,  Esq.  This  contains  four  different  treatises,  origi- 
nally written  in  Sanscrit  verse,  viz.,  the  Vija  Ganita  and 
Lilavati  of  Bhascara  Acharya,  and  the  Ganitad'haya  and 
Cuttaoad'hyaya  of  Brahmegupta.  The  first  two  form  the 
preliminary  portion  of  Bhascara's  Course  of  Astronomy, 
entitled  Sidd'hanta  Siromani,  and  the  last  two  are  the 
twelfth  and  eighteenth  chapters  of  a  similar  course  of 
astronomy,  entitled  Brahma-sidd'hanta. 

The  time  when  Bhascara  wrote  is  fixed  with  great  pre- 
cision, by  his  own  testimony  and  other  circumstances,  to 
a  date  that  answers  to  about  the  year  1150  of  the  Chris- 
tian era. .  The  works  of  Brahmegupta  are  extremely  rare, 
and  the  age  in  which  he  lived  is  less  certain.  Mr  Davis, 
an  oriental  scholar,  who  first  gave  the  public  a  correct 
riew  of  the  astronomical  computations  of  the  Hindoos,  is 
of  opinion  that  he  lived  in  the  7th  century ;  and  Dr 
William  Hunter,  another  diligent  inquirer  into  Indian 
science,  assigns  the  year  628  of  the  Christian  era  as  about 
the  time  he  flourished.  From  various  arguments,  Mr 
Colebrooke  concludes  that  the  age  of  Brahmegupta  was 
antecedent  to  the  earliest  dawn  of  the  culture  of .  the 
sciences  among  the  Arabians,  so  that  the  Hindoos  must 
have  possessed  algebra  before  it  was  known  to  that 
nation. 

Brahmegupta's  treatise  is  not,  however,  the  earliest 
work  known  to  have  been,  written  on  this  subject.  Ganessa, 
,a  distinguished  astronomer  and  mathematician,  and  the 
injst  eminent  scholiast  of  Bhascara,  quotes  a  passage  from 
a  much  older  writer,  Arya-Bhatta,  specifying  algebra  under 
the  designation  of  Vija,  and  making"  separate  mention  of 
Outtaca,  a  problem  subservient  to  the  resolution  of  inde- 
terminate problems  of  the  first  degree.  He  is  understood 
by  another  of  Bhascara's  commentators  to  be  at  the  head 
of  the  older  writers.  They  appear  to  have  been  able  to 
resolve  quadratic  equations  by  the  process  of  completing 
the  square;  and  hence  Mr  Colebrooke  presumes  that  the 
treatise  of  Arya-Bhatta  then  extant  extended  to  quadratic 
Wjuations  in  the  determinate  analvsis.  and  to  indeterminate 


equations  of  the  first  degree,  and  probably  to  those  of  the 
second 

The  exact  period  when  Arya-Bhatta  lived  cannot  be 
determined  with  certainty;  but  Mr  Colebrooke  thinks  it 
probable  that  this  earliest  of  known  Hindoo  algebraists 
wrote  as  far  back  as  the  fifth  century  of  the  Christian  era, 
and  perhaps  earlier.  He  lived  therefore  nearly  as  early 
as  the  Grecian  algebraist  Diophantus,  who  is  reckoned  to 
have  flourished  in  the  time  of  the  emperor  Julian,  or 
about  a.d.  360. 

Mr  Colebrooke  has  instituted  a  comparison  between  the 
Indian  algebraist  atfd  Diophantus,  and  found  reason  to 
conclude  that  in  the  whole  science  the  latter  is  very  far 
behind  the  former.  He  says  the  points  in  which  the 
Hindoo  algebra  appears  particularly  distinguished  from  the 
Greek  are,  besides  a  better  and  more  convenient  algo- 
rithm, 1st,  the  management  of  equations  of  more  than  one 
unknown  quantity;  2c?,  the  resolution  of  equations  of  a 
higher  order,  in  which,  if  they  achieved  little,  they  had 
at  least  the  merit  of  the  attempt,  and  anticipated  a 
modern  discovery  in  the  resolution  of  biquadratics;  3c?, 
general  methods  for  the  resolution  of  indeterminate  pro- 
blems of  the  first  and  second  degrees,  in  which  they  went 
far  indeed  beyond  Diophantus,  and  anticipated  discoveries 
of  modern  algebraists;  and  ith,  the  application  of  algebra  to 
astronomical  investigations  and  geometrical  demonstration, 
in  which  also  they  hit  upon  some  matters  which  have  been 
re-invented  in  modern  times. 

When  we  consider  that  algebra  made  little  or  no  pro- 
gress among  the  Arabians,  a  most  ingenious  people,  and 
particularly  devoted  to  the  study  of  the  sciences,  and  that 
centuries  elapsed  from  its  first  introduction  into  Europe 
until  it  reached  any  considerable  degree  of  perfection,  we 
may  reasonably  conjecture  that  it  may  have  existed  in 
one  shape  or  other  in  India  long  before  the  time  of  Arya- 
Bhatta;  indeed,  from  its  close  connection  with,  their  doc- 
trines of  astronomy,  it  may  be  supposed  to  have  descended 
from  a  very  remote  period  along  with  that  science.  Pro- 
fessor Playfair,  adopting  the  opinion  of  Bailly,  the  eloquent 
author  of  the  Astronomie  Indienne,  with  great  ingenuity 
attempted  to  prove,  in  a  Memoir  on  the  Astronomy  of  the 
Brahmins,  that  the  observations  on  which  the  Indian 
astronomy  is  founded  were  of  great  antiquity,  indeed  more 
than  3000  years  before  the  Christian  era.  The  very  remote 
origin  of  the  Indian  astronomy- had  been  strongly  ques- 
tioned by  many  in  this  country,  and  also  on  the  Continent; 
particularly  by  Laplace,  and  by  Delambre  in  his  Histoirt 
de  V Astronomie  Ancienne,  tome  i.  p.  400,  <fcc,  and  again  in 
Histoire  de  I' Astronomie  du  Moyen  Age,  Discours  Pre'lirm- 
naire,  p.  18,  &c,  where  he  speaks  slightingly  of  their 
algebra;  and  in  this  country,  Professor  Leslie,  in  his 
Philosophy  of  Arithmetic,  pp.  225  and  226,  calls  the  Lilavati 
"  a  very  poor  performance,  containing  merely  a  few  scanty 
precepts  couched  in  obscure  memorial  verses."  We  are 
disposed  to  agree  with  Professor  Leslie  as  to  the  value, 
and  with  Professor  Playfair  as  to  the  antiquity  of  this 
Hindoo  algebra.  That  it  should  have  remained  in  a  state 
of  infancy  for  so  many  centuries  is  accounted  for  by  the  latter 
author  in  the  following  passage  : — "  In  India  everything  [as 
well  as  algebra]  seems  equally  insurmountable,  and  truth  and 
error  are  equally  assured  of  permanence  in  the  stations  they 
have  once  occupied.  The  politics,  the  laws,  the  religion, 
the  science,  and  the  manners,  seem  all  nearly  the  same  as 
at  the  remotest  period  to  which  history  extends.  Is  it 
because  the  power  which  brought  about  a  certain  degree 
of  civilisation,  and  advanced  science  to  a  certain  height, 
has  either  ceased  to  act,  or  has  met  with  such  a  resistance 
as  it  is  barely  able  to  overcome  1  or  is  it  because  the  dis- 
coveries which  the  Hindoos  are  in  possession  of  are  ar> 
inheritance  from  some  more  inventive  and  more  aD':'", 


518 


ALGEBRA 


people,  of  whom  no  memorial  remains  but  some  of  their 
attainments  in  science  V 

Writers  on  Algebra. 


DiopUantus,      Arilh  metico- 
rum  Libri  sex,  about  A.  D.  360 
(First  edition  of  his  writ- 
ings,   1575;    the   best, 
1670.) 
Leonardo  Bonacci  fhisworks 

described  in  Cossali) 1202 

Lucas  Pacidhrs,  or  De  Burgo, 
Summa  de   Arithmetic/*, 

tc 1494 

Rodolff,  Algebra 1622 

Stiiclius,  Arilhmctica  In- 
tegra, &c 1544 

Cardan,    Ars  Magna  quam 

vulgo  Cossam  vocant  1545 

Fcrreus    1545 

Ferrari  (first  resolved  bi- 
quadratic equations) 1545 

Tartalea,  Quesiti  ed  Inven- 

tioni  diverse    1546 

Scheubelius,  Algebra  Com- 

pendiosa  1651 

Recorde,  lylietslone  of  Wit  1557 
Peletarius,  De  Occulta  parte 

Numerorum 1553 

Buteo,  De  Logistica  1559 

Ramus,  Arithmeticae  Libri 

duo  el  totidem  Algcbrae...  1560 
Tedro  Nuguez  or  Nonnius, 

Iabro  de  A  Igcbra,  kc.    ...  1 567 
Joeaalin,   De   Occulta  parte 

Mathemalicorum    1576 

Bombelli 1579 

Clavius    1580 

Bernard  Solignac,  Arith. 
Libri  ii.  et  Algcbtae  toti- 
dem   1580 

Stevinus,  A  rithmilique,  &c. 

aussi  V Algtbre    1585 

Vieta,  Opera  Matltemalica,  1600 
Folinus,  Algebra,  sive  Liber 

de  Rebus  Occullis    1619 

Tan  Ceulen 1619 

Bachet,     Diophantus    cum 

Commentariit 1621 

Albert     Girard,     Invention 

Nowvelle  en  Algibre  1629 

Ghetaldus,  De  Resolutions  ct 
Compositions     Mathema- 

tica  1630 

Harriot,    Artis   Analytical 

Praxis 1631 

Oughtreed,    Clavis  Mathe- 

malica 1631 

Herigonius,   Cursus  Mathe- 

maticus    1634 

Cavalerius,  Gcometria  In- 
divisibilibus       Continue- 

rum,  4c 16-35 

Descartes,  Qcomelria 1637 

Franciscus  a  Schooten, 
Florimond  de  Beaune, 
Erasmus  Bertliolinus.Joh. 
Hudde,  F.  Rabuel,  James 
Bernoulli,  John  de  Witt, 
4c. — Commentators  on 
Descartes. 
Roberval,  De   Recognitione 

Aequalionwm,  kc 1640 

De  Billy,  Nova  Oeometricae 

Clavis  Algebra   1643 

Benaldinus,  Opus  Algebrai- 

aim  1644 

Pascal 1654 

Wallis,  Arithmetica  Infini- 
torum,  1655  ;  Algebra,     1685 

Sliwiug,  Mcsolabum  1659 

Khonius,  Algebra  (trans- 
lated into  English) 1659 

Kinckhauscn,  used  as  a  text- 
book by  Sir  I.  Newton. ..1661. 


Sir  Isaac  Newton,  The  Bi- 
nomial Theorem 1666 

Freniclo,  Various  papers  in 

Mem.  of  French  Acad.  ...1666 
Pell    (translated    and     im- 
proved Khonius'  Algebra)  1668 
James    Gregory,     Exercita- 

tiones  Gcomelricae  1668 

Mercator,     Logarithmotech- 

nt«  1668 

Barrow,    in    Lcctiones  Oeo- 
metricae   1669 

Kersey,  Elements  of  Algebral673 
Prescot,  Nouveaux  Elimens 

de  Matliimatxques  1675 

Leibnitz,    in   Leipsic   Acts, 

&.c 1677 

Fermat,    in     Varia    Opera 

Mathematiea  1679 

Bulliald,    Opus  Novum  ad 
Arilhmeticam      Infinito- 

rum 1682 

Tschirnhausen,  in  the  Leip- 

sicActs 1683 

Baker,  Oeometrical  Key,  4c.  1684 
Dr  Halley,  in  Philosophical 

Transactions  ...1687  and  1694 
Bolle,  Une  Mlthode  pour  la 
Resolution  des  Equations 

Indilerminies 1690 

Raphson,   Analysis  Acqua- 

tionum  Universalis    1690 

Dechales,  Cursus  seu  Mun- 

dus  Mathcmaticus 1690 

De  Lagny,  various  pieces  on 

Equations    1692 

Alexander,   Synopsis  Alge- 

braica  1693 

Ward,      Compendium       of 
Algebra,    1695  ;    Young 
.Mathematician's  O-uide     1706 
De  MoivTe,  various  Memoirs 

in  Phil.  Trans  ...1697-1730 
Sault,     New    Treatise    of 

Algebra  1698 

Christopher,    De    Construct 

tione  Aequationum 

Ozanam,  Nouveaux  Elimens 

d'Algebre 1702 

Harris,  Lexicon  Technicum  1704 
Guisnee,      Application     de 

I'Algibre.d,  la  Oiomilrie..  1705 
Jones,    Synopsis    Palmari- 

orum  Matheseos 1706 

Newton,  Arithmetica  Uni- 
versalis     1707 

L'Hopital,    Traiti   Analy- 

tique  des  Sections  Coniques  1707 
Reyne&u,  AnalyseDimontriellQS 
Brooke    Taylor,    Melhodus 

Incrementorum  1715 

Stirling,  Lineae  Terlii 
Ordinis,  1717 ;  Melhodus 

Differcnlialis 1730 

Nicole,  On  Cubic  Equations, 
in  Mtm.  Acad. des  Scienccs\717 

S'Gravesande,  Algebra 1727 

Wolfius,   Algebra:    Cursus 

Mallumaticus 1732 

Kirby,       A  rithmelic     and 

Algebra  1735 

James  Gregory  1736 

Simpson,      Algebra,      and 

various  works 1740,  1742 

Saunderson,  Algebra,  2  vols. 

4to    1740 

La  Caillc,  Algebra  ii.  Lecota 

de  Mathimatiques 1741 

De  Gua,  On  the  Roots  of 
Equations,  in  Mem.  Acad, 
des  Sciences 1741 


Clairaut,  Elimens  d' Al- 
gtbre   1746 

Maclaurin,  Algebra  1747 

Fontaine,  L'Artde  Rlsoudre 

les  Equations 1747 

Donna  Maria  Gat-tana  Ag- 
nesi,   In3tiluiioni  Anali- 

tichi 1748 

Boscovich,      in     Elemcnta 

Universae  Matheseos 1754 

Segner,  Berlin  Mem 1766 

Castillon,  Arithmetica  Uni- 
versalis    Newtoni     cum 

Commentario  1761 

Emerson,  Algebra,  <tc 1763 

Landen,  Residual  Analysis, 

kc 1764 

Lagrange,  Traiti  dfi  la  Re- 
solution des  Equations 
Numiriques,  Recueil  des 
Mem.     de     VAcad.      de 

Berlin 1767 

Do.    republished  with 

Notes,  Paris    1707 

Euler,  Algebra  1770 

Waring,  Meditationts  Alge- 

braicae,  kc 1770,  1776 

Soladini,  Compendio  d'Ana- 

lisi    1775 

Paoli,  Elementi  oV Algebra  ..1791 
Ruilini,  Teoria  delle  Equa- 
zione  Algeb - 1799 


[history. 

Budan,  Nouvelle  ilithode 
pour  la  Resolution  de* 
Equations  Numiriques  ...1807 

Gonipertz,  Principles  and 
Application  of  Imaginary 
Quantities  1817  and  1818 

Biot,  Qergonne's  Annates,  voL  vi. 

Horner,  Philos.  Trans :.181» 

Dandelin,  Mem.  de  VAcad. 
Roy.  de  Bruxcllcs  1826 

Swinburne  and  Tylecote, 
on  the  Binomial  Theorem  1827 

Warren,  on  the  Geometric 
Representation  of  the 
Square  Roots  of  Negative 
Qualities   1828 

AbtL,  Mtmoire  sur  les 
Equations      Algtbriques, 

Christiania 1829 

and  in  Crclle,  vol.  i.  4. 

Fourier,  Analyse  des  Equa- 
tions Dtterminics  (post- 
humous), with  preface  by 
Navier 1831 

Malfatti,  Mem.  delta  Soc. 
Ital.,  vul,  xi. 

Davies  Gilbert,  Philos. 
Trans 1831 

Sturm,  Mi/rn.  prtsenlts  par 
les  Savans  Elrangers 1831 

Lockhart,  Resolution  of 
Equations    1837 


To  the  preceding  list  of  writers,  which  contains  almost  ult 
of  an  early  date,  the  following  are  to  be  added: — 


Arbogast,  Calcul  des  Derivations. 

The  Bemoullis,  Begnalt,  Ber- 
trand,  Bezout  (CoursdesMatlU- 
matiques),  Bossuet,  Burja, 
Brunacci,  Babbage,  Bridges, 
Bland,  Budan,  lionnycastle, 
Bourdon,  Barlow  (on  the 
Theory  of  Numbers),  Baltzer 
(on  Determinants). 

Cousin,  Cauchy,  Coignet,  Car- 
not,  Cayley,  Cockle. 

Degraave,  Ditton,  Dodgson  (on 
Determinants). 

Frisias,  Francoeur,  Frend. 

Gauss,  Disquisitioties  Arithme- 
ticae, 1801. 

Hemischius,  nales,  Hirsch, 
Hutton,  Holdred,  Horner, 
Hargreaves. 

Kuhnius,  Kramp,  Kaestner. 

Laloubre,  Lorgna,  Le  Blonde, 
Lee,   Lacioix,    Ludlam,    Le- 


gendre  (on  the  Theory  of 
Numbers),  L'Huillier,  Leroy. 

Mescher,  Malebrauche,  Maufredi, 
Maseres,  Murphy. 

Nicholson,  Nieuwentijdt,  (Ana- 
lysis Infinilorum). 

Polleti,  Poignard  (on  Magie 
Squares),  Playfair. 

Rowning,  Reiiner. 

Suremain-Missery  (on  Impossible 
Quantities),  Schonerus,  Salijj- 
nut,  Sturm,  Serret,  Salmon, 
Sylvester. 

Trail,  Tedenat,  Tb  acker. 

Vileut,  Vandermonde. 

Warren,  Wells,  WUsod,  Wood, 
Woodhouse. 

Young. 

Elementary  Treatises  of  Bryce, 
Colenso,  De  Morgan,  Hind, 
Kelland,  Peacock,  fodhunter. 


Writers  on  the  History  of  Algebra. 


Wallis,  in  his  Algebra;  Maseres, 
Scriptores  Logarithm) ci,  1791, 
Montucla,  in  Histoire  des 
Mathimatiques;  Bossuet,  His- 
toire des  Mat/iimatiques; 
Cossali,  Origine,  Trasporlo  in 
Italia,  e  Primi  Progressi  in 
Essa  dell'  Algebra,  2  vols, 
printed  in  1797;  Hutton,  in 


his  Dictionary,  and  more 
diffuselyin  his  Tracts,  vol.  ii.; 
Libri  Histoire  des  Sciences 
Mathimatiques  en  Italic,  Paris 
1838. 

Terquem,  Bulletin  de  Biblio- 
graphic. 

Peacock,  Report  of  British 
Association,  1833. 


For  the  titles  of  works  on  Algebra,  consult  Murhard, 
Bibliotheca  Mathematiea;  and  for  Memoirs  on  Algebra,  in  I 
Academical  Collections,  see  Reuss,  Iiepertorium  Commen- 
tationum,  torn.  vii. ;  Smith  (on  the  Theory  of  Numbers), 
Brit.  Assoc.  1859-60,  1862-63. 

NOTATION  AND  FIRST  PRINCIPLES. 

1.  In  arithmetic  there  are  ten  characters,  which  being 
variously  combined,  according  to  certain  rules,  serve  to 
denote  all  numerical  magnitudes  whatever.  But  this  me- 
thod of  expressing  quantities  (a  phrase  used  to  designate 


FIRST  PRINCIPLES.] 


ALGEBRA 


519 


■omething  more  than  mere  numbers),  is  found  to  be  inade- 
quate, taken  by  itself,  to  the  more  difficult  cases  of  mathe- 
matical investigation;  and  it  is  therefore  necessary,  in 
many  inquiries  concerning  the  relations  of  magnitude,  to 
have  recourse  to  that  moTe  general  mode  of  notation,  and 
more  extensive  system  of  operations,  which  constitute  the 
science  of  algebra. 

In  algebra  quantities  of  every  kind  may  be  denoted  by 
any  characters  whatever,  but  those  commonly  used  are  the 
letters  of  the  alphabet;  and  as  in  the  simplest  mathe- 
matical problems  there  are  certain  magnitudes  given,  in 
order  to  determine  other  magnitudes  which  are  unknown, 
the  first  letters  of  the  alphabet,  a,  b,  c,  &c,  are  used  to 
denote  known  quantities,  while  those  to  be  found  are 
represented  by  v,  x,  y,  &c,  the  last  letters  of  the  alphabet. 

2.  The  sign  +  (plus)  denotes,  in  arithmetic,  that  the 
quantity  before  which  it  is  placed  is  to  be  added  to  some 
other  quantity.  Thus,  a  +  b  denotes  the  sum  of  a  and  b ; 
3  +  5  denotes  the  sum  of  3  and  5,  or  8. 

The  sign  —  (minus)  signifies  that  the  quantity  before 
■which  it  is  placed  is  to  be  subtracted.  Thus,  a  -  b  de- 
notes the  excess  of  a  above  b;  6-2  is  the  excess  of  6 
above  2,  or  4. 

Quantities  which  have  the  sign  +  prefixed  to  them  are 
called  positive,  and  such  as  have  the  sign  -  are  called 
negative. 

When  no  sign  is  prefixed  to  a  quantity,  +  is  always 
understood,  or  the  quantity  is  to  be  considered  as  posi- 
tive. 

Quantities  which  have  the  same  sign,  either  +  or  - , 
are  said  to  have  like  signs.  Thus,  +  a  and  +  6  have  lite 
signs,  but  +  a  and  -  c  have  unlike  signs. 

3.  A  quantity  which  consists  of  one  term  is  said  to  be 
timple;  tut  if  it  consist  of  several  terms,  connected  by  the 
signs  +_  or  - ,  it  is  then  said  to  be  compound.  Thus,  +  a 
and  -c  are  simple  quantities;  and  6  +  e,  and  a  +  b-d, 
are  compound  quantities. 

4.  To  denote  the  product  arising  from  the  multiplica- 
tion of  quantities,  they  are  either  joined  together,  as  if 
intended  to  form  a  word,  or  else  they  are  connected  to- 
gether, with  the  sign  x  or  .  interposed  between  every 
two  of  them.  Thus,  ab,  or  a  x  b,  or  a .  b,  denotes  the  pro- 
duct of  a  and ,b;  also  abc,  or  a  x  b  x  c,  or  a.b.c,  denotes 
the  product  of  a,  b,  and  c.  If  some  of  the  quantities  to 
be  multiplied  be  compound,  each  of  these  has  a  line  drawn 
over  it  called  a  vinculum,  and  the  sign  x  is  interposed,  as 
before.  Thus,  axc  +  dxe  -/  denotes  that  a  is  to  be  con- 
sidered as  one  quantity,  the  sum  of  c  and  d  as  a  second, 
and  the  difference  between  e  and/  as  a  third;  and  that 
these  three  quantities  are  to  be  multiplied  into  one  another. 
Instead  of  placing  a  line  over  such  compound  quantities  as 
enter  a  product,  we  may  enclose  each  of  them  between  two 
parentheses,  so  that  the  last  product  may  be  otherwise 
expressed  thus,  a(c  +  d)(e-f);  or  thus,  ax(c  +  d)x  (e-f)K 

A  number  prefixed  to  a  letter  is  called  a  numerical  co- 
efficient, and  denotes  how  often  that  quantity  is  to  be 
taken.  Thus,  3a  signifies  that  a  is  to  be  taken  three 
times.  When  no  number  is  prefixed,  the  coefficient  is 
understood  to  bo  unity. 

5.  The  quotient  arising  from  the  division  of  one  quan- 
tity by  another  is  often  expressed  by  placing  the  dividend 

12 

above  a  line,  and  the  divisor  below  it.     Thus,  —  denotes 

o 

the  quotient  arising  from  the  division  of  12  by  3,  or  4;  - 

denotes  the  quotient  arising  from  the  division  of  b  by  a. 

6.  The  equality  of  two  quantities  is  expressed  by  putting 
the  sign  =  between  them.  Thus,  a  +  b  =  c  —  d  denotes 
that  the  sum  of  o  and  6  is  equal  to  the  excess  of  c 
above  d.  I 


7.  Simple  quantities,  or  the  terms  of  compound  quanti- 
ties, are  said  to  be  like,  which  consist  of  the  same  letter 
or  letters  taken  together  in  the  same  way.     Thus,  +  ab  and 

-  5ab  are  like  quantities,  but  +ab  and  +alb  are  unlike. 
There  are  some  other  characters,  such  as  >  for  greater 

than,  <  for  less  than,  .:  for  therefore,  which  will  be" 
explained  when  we  have  occasion  to  use  them;  and  in 
what  follows  we  shall  suppose  that  the  operations  and  no- 
tation of  common  arithmetic  are  sufficiently  understood. 

8.  As  the  science  extends  itself  beyond  its  original 
boundaries,  it  begins  gradually  to  appear  that  the  limits 
imposed  by  these  definitions  have  been  transgressed,  so 
that  almost  insensibly  the  symbols  have  acquired  for  them- 
selves significations  much  more  comprehensive  than  those 
originally  attached  to  them.  Thus,  were  +  a  to  signify  a 
gain  of  £a,  -  a  would  signify  a  loss  of  the  same  sum ; 
were  +  a  to  signify  motion  forwards  through  a  feet,  —  a 
would  signify  motion  backwards  through  the  same  space. 
The  extended  definitions  of  +  and  —  may  now  be  such 
as    the  following :    +   and  -   are  collective   symbols  of 

r  operations  the  reverse  of  each  other.     From  similar  con- 
siderations to  those  by  which  the  signification  of   +  and 

-  has.  been  extended,  we  extend  that  of  x  and  -f-  to 
something  like  the  following :  x  and  4-  are  cumulative 
symbols  of  operations  the  inverse  of  each  other.  We  may 
now  exhibit  the  most  general  definition  of  the  four  sym- 
bols in  the  following  form :  +  and  -  are  symbols  of 
operations  prefixed  to  algebraical  symbols  of  quantity,  and 
are  such  that  +  a  -  a  =  +  0  or  -0,  where  +  0  means 
simply  or  very  nearly  increased  by  0  ;  —  0,  diminished  by 
0.  x  and  +  are  symbols  of  operations  prefixed  to  alge- 
braical symbols  of  quantity,  and  are  such  that  xa-i-a  = 
x  1  or  + 1,  where  x  1  means  simply  or  very  nearly  multi- 
plied by  1 ;   + 1,  divided  by  1. 

9.  The  laws  i*y  which  the  symbols  are  combined  are  the  Laws  or 
same  as  in  arithmetic.     It  is  desirable,  however,  to  exhibit  combia* 
them.     They  are  three, —  -  * 

Law  I."  Quantities  affected  by  the  signs  +  and  -  are 
in  no  way  influenced  by  the  quantities  to  which  they  are 
united  by  these  signs. 

Law  LL  The  Distributive  Law. — Additions  and  subtrac- 
tions may  be  performed  in  any  order. 

Law  III.  The  Commutative  Law. — Multiplications  and 
divisions  may  be  performed  in  any  order. 

We  may  remark  that  these  laws  are  assumed  for  algebra, 
so  that  the  science  is  limited  by  their  applicability.  Algebra 
has  been  extended  into  the  science  of  quaternions  by  freeing 
it  from  part  of  the  limitation  imposed  by  the  third  of  these 
laws.     In  this  new  science  ab  is  not  the  same  thing  as  ba. 

We  add  a  few  examples  of  the  substitution  of  numbers  Example 
for  letters.     (Ex.  3  and  4  involve  processes  that  will  be 
explained  later.) 

Ex.  1.  If  n  =  l,  6  =  2,c  =  3,  find  the  value  of  (a  +  b  +  c). 
(a  +  2b-c).(b  +  2c-a). 

It  is  (1  +  2 +  3).  (1  +  4- 3).  (2  +  6 -1)  =  84. 

Ex.  2.  If  a  =  £,  5  =  £,  e<={,  x  =  0   find  the  value  of 

5-  +  -  +  -  +  X9 
b     c     a 

Itisf  +  $+i  +  0  =  3^ 

Ex.  3.  With  the  same  data  as  in  example  2,  find  the 

,        ,  o2-i2     b2-c2 

value  of j- 

x  x3 

The  first  term  is  infinite,  and  the  second  is  infinitely 

greater  than  the  first,  because  x2  =  xxx  .:  the  answer  is 


Ex.  4.  If  x  =  -  =  -=C;  find  the  value  of 


V    » 


»»-B<;+?:!(He?> 


520 


ALGEBRA 


[fundamental 


Write  down  the  expression  in  x  by  putting  -  for  y,  4c. 
Tt  becomes 

»-£+~S-i(-S(*+-3 

=  2  •  because  x  =  0. 

Sect.  I. — Fundamental  Operations. 

The  primary  operations  in  algebra  are  the  same  as  In 
common  arithmetic — namely,  addition,  subtraction,  multi- 
plication, and  division  ;  and  from  the  various  combinations 
of  these  four,  all  the  others  are  derived. 

I.  Addition. 

10.  In  addition  there  maybe  three  cases:  the  quanti- 
ties to  be  added  may  be  like,  and  have  like  signs ;  or  they 
may  be  like,  and  have  unlike  signs;  or,  lastly,  they  may 
be  unlike. 

Case  1.  To  add  quantities  which  are  like,  and  have  like 
signs. 

Rule.  Add  together  the  coefficients  of  the  quantities,  pre- 
fix the  common  sign  to  the  sum,  and  annex  the  letter  or 
letters  common  to  each  term. 


Add  together 


Add  together 


—  2ax 

—  ax 

—  5ax 
-12ax 


Sum,   +  13a         Sum,   -  20ax 

ijase  2.  To  add  quantities  which  are  like,  but  have  unlike 
signs. 

Rule.  Add  the  positive  coefficients  into  one  sum,  and  the 
negative  ones  into  another;  then  subtract  the  less  of 
these  sums  from  the  greater,  prefix  the  sign  of  the 
greater  to  the  remainder  and  annex  the  common  letter 
or  letters  as  before 

Exampijss. 

{+   2ax                           (  +  6a5  +   7 

„          Add -together^  "'  a,  _   fi 

+   9ax                           (  +  7a6-13 


Bum  of  the  pos. 
Bum  of  the  neg. 


-fllax     Sum  of  the  pos.  +  14a6  +  16 
—   Aax    Sum  of  the  neg.  -   4a6-  18 


8am  required,  +   7 ax    Sum  required,     +10ab-   2 

Case  3.  To  add  unlike  quantities. 

Rule.  Put  down  the  quantities,  one  after  another,  in  any 

order,  with  their  signs  and  coefficients  prefixed. 


Examples. 


2a 

36 

-4c 


ax  +  2ay 
bb-obz 


Sum.  ax  +  2ay  +  66  -  36f 


Sum,  2a  +  36  -4c 

IX  Subtraction. 

1.  General  Rule. — Change  the  signs  of  the  quantities  to 
be  subtracted,  or  suppose  them  changed,  and  then  add 
them  to  the  other  quantities,  agreeably  to  the  rules  of 
addition. 


Examples 

From         6a -126  From        6s-   8y  +  3 

Subtract    2a-   56  Subtract  2x+   9y-2 

Remainder  3a-   76 

5xy-2  +   8x-     y 
3yy-8-    Sx-    oy 


Remainder  4x-17j/  +  6 

aa-ax-  yy 
66  —by  +  zz 


2xy  +  6  +  16s  +  2y  aa-ax-yy-bb  +  by-ts 
The  reason  of  the  rule  for  subtraction  may  be  explained 
thus.  Let  it  be  required  to  subtract  2/>  -  3q  from  m  +  n. 
If  we  subtract  2/>  from  m  +  n,  there  will  remain  m  +  n-2p, 
but  if  we  aro  to  subtract  2p  -  3q,  which  is  less  than  2/>,  it 
is  evident  that  the  remainder  will  be  greater  by  a  quantity 
equal  to  3q;  that  is,  the  remainder  will  be  m  +  n  -  2v  +  Zq, 
hence  the  reason  of  the  rule  is  evident 

III.  Multiplication. 

12.  General  Rule  for  the  Signs. — If  the  quantities  to  be  Rule  o( 

multiplied  have  like  signs,  the  sign  of  the  product  is  + ;  signs. 

but  if  they  have  unlike  signs,  the  sign  of  the  product 

is-. 

This  rulo,  which  is  given  by  Diophantus1  as  the  defini- 
tion of  +  and  - ,  may  be  said  to  constitute  the  basis  of 
algebra  as  distinct  from  arithmetic. 

If  we  admit  the  definitions  given  above,  the  rule  may 
be  demonstrated  in  the  following  way : — 

(1.)   +  a  x  +  6  =  +  a6  is  assumed. 

(2.)  +ax  -6  will  have  the  same  value,  whatever  -b 
may  be  connected  with,  as  it  has  when  -  6  is  connected 
with  +6  (Law  1). 

Now  +ax(+J-M=+ax  +0  =  0  (Def.) 

But    +  ax(  +  6-6>  =  +  ax  +6,  and  +  ax  -6 
(Law  2). 

.%    +a   x +6    and  +ax  -  6  make  up  0' 
i.e.,  +  ab  and  +  a  x  -  6  make  up  0. 
Now  +a6-a6  =  0,  .-. +  ax  -6=  -a6. 

(3.)  Similarly  -ax  -6=  +a&. 

The  examples  of  multiplication  may  be  referred  to  two 
cases ;  the  first  is  when  both  the  quantities  are  simple, 
and  the  second  when  one  or  both  of  them  are  compound. 

Case  1.  To  multiply  simple  quantities 

Rule.  Find  the  sign  of  the  product  by  the  general  rule, 
and  annex  to  it  the  product  of  the  numeral  coefficients; 
then  set  down  all  the  letters,  one  after  another,  as  in 
one  word. 

Examples. 

/'Multiply  +a  (+56  (  -    3a* 

By  +c       „    1  -    4a       „    I  +   7a& 


1. 


(.Product    +ac  (-2005  {T2laahx 

Case  2.  To  multiply  compound  quantities. 

Rule.  Multiply  every  term  of  the  multiplicand  by  all  the 
terms  of  the  multiplier,  one  after  another,  according  to 
the  preceding  rule,  and  collect  their  products  into  one 
sura,  which  will  be  the  product  required. 

Examples. 

1.  Mult.  2x  +y  2.  a  -6   +c 

By      x     -2y a  +6   -c 


Prod.  2xx  +  xy 

-  ixy  -  2yy 


2xx  -  3xy  -  2yy 


aa  —  ab  +  ac 

+  ab        -bb  +  be 
-ac        +bc 


aa 


*      *-bb  +  2bc-ee 


Crtfltt  mil  XtT^n. — Diophmtaa,  Ed.    Fermat,    Tolosoc,  1670,  p.  7. 
T)of.  9. 


OPERATIONS.] 


ALGEBRA 


521 


When  several  quantities  are  multipiieu  together  so  as  to 
constitute  a  product,  each  of  them  is  called  a  factor  of  that 
product :  thus  a,,  b,  and  c  are  factors  of  the  product  abc ; 
also,  a+«  and  b-x  are  factors  of  the  product  (a  +  a) . 
(b-x). 

The  products  arising  from  the  continual  multiplication 
of  the  same  quantity  are  called  powers  of  that  quantity, 
which  is  called  the  root.  Thus  aa,  aaa,  aaaa,  &c,  are 
powers  of  the .  root  a.  These  powers  are  commonly  ex- 
pressed by  placing  above  the  root,  towards  the  right  hand, 
a  figure,  denoting  how  often  the  root  is  repeated.  This 
figure  serves  to  denominate  the  power,  and  is  called  its 
index  or  exponent.  Thus,  the  quantity  a  being  considered 
as  the  root,  or  as  the  first  power  of  a,  we  have  aa  or  a2  for 
its  second  power,  aaa  or  a3  for  its  third  power,  aaaa  or  a4 
for  its  fourth  power,  and  so  on. 

The  second  and  third  powers  of  a  quantity  are  generally 
called  its  square  and  cube. 

By  considering  the  notation  of  powers,  and  the  rales  for 
multiplication,  it  appears  that  powers  of  the  same  root  are 
multiplied  by  adding  their  exponents.  Thus  axa?  =  a*, 
also  x3xx*  =  x7 ;  and  in  general  a"  x  a"  =  am+\ 

When  the  quantities  to  be  multiplied  appear  under  a 
symmetrical  form,  the  operation  of  multiplying  them  may 
sometimes  be  shortened  by  detached  coefficients,  by  symmetry, 
and  by  general  considerations  suggested  by  the  particular 
^examples  under  consideration. 

13.  Detached  Coefficients. 

Ex7 1.  Multiply  x*  -  3r>  +  2x2  -  7x  +  3  by  a2  -  5x  +  4. 
Here  the  powers  of  x  occur  in  regular  order,  so  that  we 
need  only  write  down  the  coefficients  of  the  several  terms 
during  the  operation,  having  it  in  our  power  to  supply  the 
ir1*  whenever  we  require  them ;  we  write,  therefore, — 


1_3+   2-   7+   3 
1-5+   4 

1-3+   2-    7+   3 
-5  +  15-10  +  35- 
+   4-12+   8- 

-15 

-28  +  12 

1-8  +  21-29  +  46-43  +  12 

The  last  line  (for  which  the  result  might  have  been 
written  down  in  full  at  once)  is  equivalent  to 

xt-8x5  +  Six*  _  29a;s  +  46a;2  -  43a;  + 12 

When  any  terms  are  wanting,  they  may  be  supplied  by 
Beros ;  thus, 

Ex.  2.  Multiply  xi~7x3  +  x-  i  by x3-x  +  2. 
We  write 

1   _r     +0+    1     -    1 

1+0    -1+2 

1  -7    +0+    1     -    1 

-1+7    -   0    -1+1 

+2     -14    +0+2  -2 

a?  -  7a;6  -  x>  +  10a^  -  15ar»  -  a;2  +  3a:  -  2 
ftp  product  required. 

14.  Symmetry. 

We  may  take  advantage  of  symmetry  by  two  considera- 
tions either  separately  or  combined. 

(1.)  Symmetry  of  a  Symbol. 

Ex.  Find  the  sum  of  (a  +  b  -  2c)2  +  (a  +  c-  2M*  + 
(o  +  e-2a)2. 

Here  a2  occurs  with  1  as  a  multiplier  in  the  first  square, 
with  1  as  a  multiplier  in  the  second  square,  and  with  4  as 
k  multiplier  in  the  third  square, 

,%  6a2  is  part  of  the  result : 


ab  occurs  with  2  as  a  multiplier  in  the  first  square  with 
-  4  in  the  Becond.  and  with  -  4  in  the  third 

.*.    —  6ab  is  part  of  the  result. 

But  a2,  &*,  c2,  are  similarly  circumstanced,  as  also  db  'ae, 
be  ;  hence  the  whole  result  must  be  6(a2  + 12  +  ^2  -ab-ae 
-be). 

(2.)  Symmetry  of  an,  Expression. 

Ex.  Find  the  sum  of  (a  +  b  +  c)(x  +  y  +  z)  +  (a-fb-  c) 
(x  +  y-z)  +  (a-b  +  c)(x-y  +  z)+(-a  +  b  +  c)(-x  +  y  +  z). 

First,  the  product  of  (a  +  b  +  c)  by  x  +  y  +  z  is  to  be. 
found  by  multiplyiug  out  term  by  term. 

It  is  ax  +  ay  +  az  +  bx  +  by  +  bz  +  ex  +  cy  +  cz. 

The  product  of  (a  +  b-c)  (x  +  y-z)  is  nOw  simply 
written  down  from  the  above,  by  changing  the  sign  of  every 
term  which  contains  one  only  of  the  two  Quantities  affected 
with  a  -/sign,  i.e.,  in  this  case  c  and  z. 

Lastly,  the  four  products  may  be  arranged  below  eaob 
other,  the  signs  alone  being  written  down ;  thus, 

ax  +  ay  +  az  +  bx  +  by  +  bz  +  ex  +  cy + a 
+     +      -+      +      ---     + 
+     -      +-      +      -     +     -     + 
o._      __      +      +_      +     + 

and  the  sum  required  is  therefore  4ax  +  4by  +  ic\ 

15.  General  Considerations.' 

Ex.  Find  (a  +  6  +  c)8. 

By  multiplying  out  we  get 

(a  +  6)3  =  a3  +  3a26  + 

Now  a,  b,  c  are  similarly  involved  in  (a  +  b  +  c)3 ;  .•.  b* 
and  c3  must  appear  along  with  a3,  3a2c,  3b2a,  <tc,  along 
with  3a2b,  and  hence  we  can  at  once  write  down  all  the 
terms  except  that  which  contains  abc.  To  obtain  the  co- 
efficient of  abc,  we  observe  that  if  a,  b,  and  c,  are  each  equal 
to  1,  (a  +  6  +  c)3  is  reduced  to  33  or  27.  In  other  words, 
there  are  27  terms,  if  we  consider  3a-b  and  every  similar 
expression  as  thiee  terms;  and  as  the  terms  preceding  ahc 
are  in  this  way  found  to  be  21  in  number,  we  require  6abc 
to  make  up  the  full  number  27; 

.  •.  (a  +  b  +  c)3  =  a3  +  43  +  c3  +  3a-b  +  3a2c  +  3Z/2a  +  362c  + 
3c2a  +  3c26  +  6a&c 

It  is  desirable  to  introduce  here  some  examples  of  the 
application  of  the  process  of  the  substitution  of  a  letter 
for  any  number  or  fraction  to  the  properties  of  numbers, 
inequalities,  <fec. 

16.  Properties  of  Numbers. 

Ex.  1.  If  unity  is  divided  into  any  two.  parts,  the  dif- 
ference of  their  squares  is  equal  to  the  difference  of. the 
parts  themselves. 

Let  x  stand  for  one  part ;  1  -  x  for  the  otner. 

Now<l_-  xf  -  x2  =  1  -  2a;  +  u?  -  x"-  =  1  -  2a;  =  (1  f  x)  - x. 

i.e.,  the  difference  of  the  squares  of  the  parts  is  equal  to 
the  difference  of  the  parts. 

Ex.  2.  The  product  of  three  consecutive  even  numbers 
is  divisible  by  48. 

Let  2n,  In  +  2,  2n  +  4,  be  the  three  numoers  ,\  their  pro- 
duct is  8n(n  +  l)(n  +  2).  Now,  of  three  consecutive 
numbers,  n,  n  +  \,  n  +  2,  one  must  be  divisible  by  2,  and 
one  by  3, .". »(»+  l)(n  +  2)  is  divisible  by  6,  whence  the  pro- 
position. 

Ex.  3.  The  sum  of  the  squares  of  three  consecutive 
odd  numbers,  when  increased  by  1.  is  divisible  by  12,  but 
never  by  24. 

Let  2»  -  1,  2n  + 1,  2»  +  3,  be  the  three  odd  numbers 


1-18* 


522 


ALGEBRA 


[fundamental 


The  sum  of  their  squares  when  increased  by  1  is 
12n!+ 12*  +  12  =  12(rt2 +  n  +  l)  =  12(ti.  n  + 1  +  1). 

Now,  either  n  or  ri+1  is  even,  .'.  7i(»+l)+l  is  odd  ; 
hence  the  sum  under  consideration  is  12  times  an  odd 
number,  whence  the  proposition. 

Additional  Examples  in  Symmetry,  &t. 

ExA.(a  +  b  +  c)2  +  (a  +  b-e)2  +  (a+e-b)2  +  (b  +  e-af 
«4(a'  +  i2  +  c2). 

This  is  written  down  at  once,  from  observing  that  a3 
.  occurs  in  each  of  the  four  expressions,  and  that  2ab  occurs 
with  a  +  sign  in  two,  and  with  a  -  sign  in  the  other  two. 
There  is  no  other  form. 

Ex.  2.(a+b  +  cf  +  (a  +  b-cy  +  (a  +  c-b)3  +  (b  +  c-a)3 
-=  2(a3  +  ft3  +  c3)  +  G(a26  +  a-c  +  Pa  +  b2c  +  c-a  +  (~b)-l  2abc. 

1st,  a3  occurs  +  in  three,  and  -  in  one  term. 

2d,  3a-b  occurs  +  in  three,  and  -  in  one  term. 

3d,  When  a,  b,  c  are  all  units,  the  number  resulting  is 
30;  .-.  there  are  30  terms,  and  as  (1st)  and  (2d)  make  up 
42,  there  fall  to  be  subtracted  12,  i.e.,  the  coefficient  of 
abc  is  - 12. 

Ex.  3.  (ax  +  by  +  cz)2  +  (ax  +  cy  +  bz)2  +  (bx  +  ay  +  cz)2  + 
(bx  +  cy  +  az)2  +  (ex  +ay  +  bz)2  +  (ex  +  by  +  az)2  -  2(a2  +  b2 
+  e2)  (x2  +  y2  +  z-)  +  i(ab  +  ac  +  be)  (ry  +  xz  +  yz). 

Ex.  4.  The  difference  of  the  squares  of  two  consecutive 
numbers  is  equal  to  the  sum  of  the  numbers. 

Ex.  5.  The  sum  of  the  cubes  of  three  consecutive  num- 
bers is  divisible  by  the  sum  of  the  numbers. 

Ex.  6.  If  x  is  an  odd  number,  ap-x  is  divisible  by  24, 
and(x2  +  3)(z2  +  7)by32. 

Ex.  7.  If  (pq  -  r)-  +  i(p2  -  q)(pr - q)-  =  0,  then  will 
4(/>2-<?)3  =  03-3/*Z  +  r)2, 
and  i(q2-prf  =  (2<f-3pqr  +  ritf. 

Ex.  8.  Given  x  +  y  +  z-Q,  X  +  Y  +  Z  =  0,  to  prove  that 

(x2  +  XV  +  (y2  +  Y2)zx  +  (z2  +  Z2)zy  =  (x2  +  X2)YZ  + 
(y2  +  Y2)ZX  +  (22  +  Z2)XY. 

Let  the  left  hand  side  equal  the  right  +  u ;  then  multi- 
plying out, 

xyz(x  +  y  +  z)  +  XV  +  Y2zx  +  Zery  = 
XYZ(X  +  Y  +  Z)  +  z2YZ  +  y5ZX  +  z2XY  +  «, 
«.<;.,  X2y2  +  Y2zz  +  (X  +  Y)22:y  = 

*2YZ  +  y2ZX  +  (.e  +  y)2XY  +  u, 

or,  .    XV;  +  a-)  +  YM2  +  y)  = 

a;2Y(Z  +  X)  +  y2X(Z  +  Y)  +  u, 

or,  _  xy  -  Y  V-  =  -  a:2Y2  -  y2X2  +  u 

.:  «  =  0. 

Ex.  9.  If  4o*6se*(a?  +  y5  +  z2)  (aV  +  62y2 + A2)  = 

{(&2  +  ^A'  +.(c2  +  a2)62y2  +  (a2  +  &2)A)}», 

*hen~a  is  greater  than  6,  and  b  greater  than  c;  then  is  y 

■=0.     A3   the  argument' concerns  y,   multiply   out,   and 

arrange  in   order  of  powers  of  y.     After  reduction  this 

results  in 

(a2  -  c*)b  V  +  2  { (a2  -  c2)(&2  -  e'Ja2*2  +'(a2  -  c2Xa2  -  b^A?}  J  V 

+  { (&»  -  c*)ah?  -  (a2  -  52)cV } 2  =  0. 

Now  each  of  these  three  terms  is  a  positive  quantity,  if  it 
be  not  zero,  and  as  the  sum  of  three  positive  quantities 
cannot  be  equal  to  zero,  it  follows  that  each  term  must  be 
separately  equal  to  zero, 

i.e.,  y  =  0,  and  (68  -  c2)a2x2  =  (a2  -  &s)eV. 

17.  Inequalities. 

The  demonstrations  of  inequalities  are  of  so  simple  and 
instructive  a  character,  that  a  somewhat  lengthened  exhibi- 
tion of  them  forms  a  valuable  introduction  to  the  higher 
processes  of  the  science.  In  all  that  follows  under  this 
head,  the  symbols  x,  y,  z  stand  for  positive  numbers  or 
fractions,  usually  unequal. 


Ex.  1.  xt  +  yt>2ry. 

Because  (x  -  y)2  is  + ,  whether  x  be  greater  or  less  than 
y,  it  follows  that  x2  —  2xy  +  y2  is  +,  i.e.,  ia  some  positive 
number  or  fraction, 

.•.  x2  +  y2>2xy. 

It  will  bo  remarked  that  when  x  and  y  are  equal,  the  in- 
equality rises  into  an  equality,  and  this  is  common  to  all 
inequalities  of  the  character  under  discussion. 

Cor.  -  +  ->2;  i.e.,  the  sum  of  a  fraction  and  its  recipro- 
cal i3  greater  than  2. 

Ex.  2.  x2  +  y2  +  z2>xy  +  xz  +  yz. 

For  x2  +  y2>2xy,  x2  +  z2>2xz,  y2  +  z2>2yz;  which 
boing  added  and  divided  by  2,  gives  the  result  required. 

Ex.  3.  x"**  +  y~+'>x~y"  +  x"y~. 

For  (xm  -  y")  (x"  -  y")  is  + ,  whether  x  be  greater  or  leas 
than  y. 

As  a  particular  case  xs  +  y3  >x2y  +  xy2. 

Ex.  4.  x*"+l>xi-°'  +  xlr. 

For  (x2—1'  -  1)  (X*  -  1)  is  positive. 

Cor.1.  x*  +  -.>x-,'  +  ^-t. 

X  X""1' 

Cor.  2.  Similarly,  af  +  -.  >z—1  +  -_, , 
i.e.,  as  n  increases  x*  +  -„  increases,  .\  as  a  particular  caaw 
*"  +  -„>«+-• 

X  X 

Ex.  5.  If  a,  b,  c  are  the  sides  of  a  triangle,  a2  +  b2  +  c* 
>ab  +  ac  +  bc<2(ab  +  ac  +  bc).  The  former  inequality  ia 
proved  in  example  2.     For  the  latter  we  have 

(Euelid,  I.  20),  a<b  +  c  .:  a2<ab  +  ac. 
Similarly,  b2<  ab  +  be,  c2<  ae  +  bc . 
.:  a2  +  b2  +  c2<2(ab  +  ac  +  bc). 

Ex.  6.  The  arithmetic  mean  of  any  number  of  quantities 
(all  positive)  is  greater  than  the  geometric.  ■ 

(The  arithmetic  mean  is  the  sum  of  the  quantities 
divided  by  their  number ;  the  geometric  is.  that  root  of 
their  product  which  is  represented  by  their  number.)  Let 
the  quantities  be  denoted  by  xu  x2,  x3,  .  .  .  x„  the  num- 
bers 1,  2,  3,  placed  under  the  x,  indicating  order  only,  so 
that  xx  may  be  read  the  first  x,  x^  the  second  x,  Ac.     Ex- 


ample  1  gives 


2>  sfxfa,  if  we  suppose  tho  x  and  y 


of  that  example  to  be  Jxlt  Jxa  of  the  present 
It  also  gives  &+3+5LJ-3 


.    ,A+3 
V      2 


x,+x. 


>  V  Jxfo  Jxpt 

>  Uzppfr 

In  the  same  way  we  prove  the  proposition  for  8,  16,  or  any 
number  of  quantities  which  is  a  power  of  2. 

For  any  other  number,  such,  for  instance,  as  5,  the 
following  process  is  employed : — The  number  is  made  up 
to  8  by  the  insertion  of  three  quantities,  each  equal  to  the 

...  ,  .,        ^      rt  ■       x.+x2  +  x,  +  x.  +  x. 

arithmetic  mean  of  the  other  five,  viz.,  -* — ' — -r — * — * 

Call  this  quantity  y;  then 


gi  +  *i+ 


,'fc+J 


.8 


■  >  Z/z^  , 


xjjyy 


'Jf* 


or,  y8>x.ar9 .  .  .  xjf 


OPERATIONS.] 


ALGEBEA 


523 


y  or 


•  y'>*,x,  >••*» 

xl  +  x1+...xf>  y- 


Cor.  Aa  a  particular  case,  x*  +  y3  +  z3  >  3xyz. 

Ex.  7.  Given  x&  .  .  .  xn  =  y",  to  prove  that  (1+*,) 
(1 +*,)...  (l+*.)>(l+y)". 

The  demonstration  will  be  perfectly  general  in  fact, 
though  limited  in  form,  if  we  suppose  the  number  of 
quantities  to  be  5 ;  in  which  case, 

*A--  -x^y5- 
Make  the  number  up  to  8  by  introducing  three  y's ;  then 

(1  +#))  (1  +  x2)  >(1  +  >Jx^)2  by  example  1, 

(1+j;j)(1+Ii)>(1Wv1)2 

0+*.) (i+y)  >(i+^)2 
(i+y)(i+y)  =(i+  Jyy? 

.',  Multiplying  these  products  together,  and  combining  the 
right  hand  factors  two  and  two, 

(1+^(1+*,) (l+*.)(l+y)» 

>{(!+  VxA)(l  +  ^)(1  +  ^)(l+y)}» 

>f(l+  j/xlxji^{\+  ilxbtf)}* 

>(1+  Zlxp.Fpptff 

>(l+y)8 

.-.  (1+^(1+^....  (l+*,)>(l+y)». 

.£z.  8.  If  the  sum  of  n.  fractions  makes  up  1,  the  sum  of 
their  reciprocals  is  greater  than  the  square  of  their 
■limber. 


Let    xi  +  x,+  .  .  .  x,  =  l, 


1      1 
then,  -  +  _  + 


+  -  >n$ 


(example  6). 


But        Z/xfa  .  .  .  2T„< 


X. +I,+  , 


V  * 


>n, 


whence 


1      1 


Ex.  9, 


l  +  z2  +  x4  +  . 


n  +  1 


— -  (example  6)  <  - 


+  — >tta. 


a  +  x3+  .  .  .  x2"-1         2n 

Let  tha  numerator  and  denominator  of  this  fraction  be 
designated  by  N  and  D.  N  may  be  divided  into  pairs  of 
terms,  at  the  same  distance  from  either  end,  viz.,  1  +  x", 
rl  +  x^~2,  <fec,  with  or  without  a  middle  term,  each  of 
wfcich  (after  1  +  x1")  is,  by  example  4,  less  than  that 
quantity ;  the  middle  term,  if  there  be  one,  being  less  than 


4(1 +***), 


71+1 

in  either  case  N<— — (1 +X2") 


.  .  .  (i.) 

>nx*  .     (2.) 


Again  (example  6),     D  >n  "Jxx$  .  .  .  x2" 

±.     ,       .      N     n  +  1/  1\ 

.'.  the  fraction  =r <  — — («+-;)• 
D       2n  \         xf ) 

To  prove  the  second  proposition,  that  the  fraction  is 

yrcater  than  -r—  (  x  +  -  ),  it  is  only  necessary  to  multi- 

jjy  up  and  reduce  the  result ;  thus, 

<N. 
Whence  the  proposition. 


Ex.  1. 


Additional  Examples. 

(x  +  y  +  z)2<  3(x2  +  y2  +  z2),  and  generally, 

(x  +  y  +  z)"<3'-'(x*  +  y"  +  z").     (See  Induction.) 

Ex.  2.  (x  +  y)(y  +  z)(z  +  x)>8xyz<^  +  f  +  ^). 

Ex.  3.  (zi  +  yi  +  z*)>xyz(x  +  y  +  z). 

Ex.4.  (a2  +  b2  +  c2)(x2  +  y2  +  z2)>(ax  +  by  +  cz)2. 

Ex.  5.  The  arithmetic  mean  of  the  pth.  powers  of  n 
positive  quantities  is  greater  than  the  pih  power  of  their 
mean,  and  also  greater  than  the  mean  of  their  combina- 
tions p  together. 

Ex.  6.  (ax  +  by  +  cz)2  +  (ax  +  cy  +  bz)2  +  (bx  +  ay  +  cz)2 
+  (bx  +  cy  +  az)2  +  (ex  +  ay  +  bz)2  +  (ex  +  by  +  az)% 


>  6(ab  +  ae  +  be)  (xy  +  xz  +  yzy 
<G(a2  +  r 


■b2  +  z2)(x2  +  y2  +  z2). 

18.  Induction. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  numerical  multiplier  of  the 
second  term  of  the  powers  of  a  +  x  already  obtained  is  the 
same  as  the  index.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  this  law  is 
general.  To  demonstrate  the  fact  formally  we  employ  the 
method  of  induction. 

The  argument  may  be  divided  into  four  distinct  steps — 
1.  Inference;  2.  Hypothesis;  3.  Comparison;  4.  Conclusion. 

The  first  step,  inference,  is  the  discovery  of  the  pro- 
bable existence  of  a  law. 

The  second  step,  hypothesis,  is  the  assumption  that  that 
law  holds  to  a  certain  point,  up  to  which  the  opponent  to 
the  argument  may  be  presumed  to  admit  it. 

The  third  step  consists  in  basing  on  this  assumption  the 
demonstration  of  the  law  to  a  stage  beyond  what  the 
opponent  was  prepared  to  admit. 

The  fourth  step  argues  that  as  the  law  starts  fair,  and 
advances  beyond  a  point  at  which  any  opponent  is  prepared 
to  admit  its  existence,  it  is  necessarily  true. 

Ex.  1.  To  prove  that  (a  +  xf  =  a"  +  na'^x  -t- ,  &C. 

L  By  multiplication  we  get 

(a  +  x)*  =  a4  +  4a3x  + ,  <Ea 

II.  Let  it  be  granted  that  (a  +  x)m  =  a"  +  ma'~'ix  + ,  <tc, 
where  m  is  the  extreme  limit  to  which  the  opponent  will 
admit  of  its  truth. 

HI.  By  multiplying  the  equals  by  a  +  x,  we  get 

(a  +  x)*+1  =  a*+1  +  ma'x  + ,  <!rc., 
+  a'x  +  ,  ic, 
=  a"+I  +  (m  +  \)a"x  + ,  &c, 

i.e.,  if  the  law  be  admitted  true  for  m  it  is  proved  true  for 
m  + 1 ;  in  other  words,  at  whatever  point  the  opponent 
compeb  us  to  limit,  our  assumption,  we  can  advance  one 
step  higher  by  argument. 

IV.  Now,  the  law  is  true  for  4,  .\  it  is  proved  true  for  5 ; 
and  being  true  for  5,  it  is  proved  true  for  6,  and  so  on,  ad 
infinitum. 

Ex.  2.  The  sum  of  the  cubes  of  the  natural  numbore  ia 
the  squaie  of  the  sum  of  the  numbers, 

l3+23  =  9  =  (l  +  2)2=^y 
I.  Let  us  assume  that 

13+2'  +  ,*C.,+*3=(^)2. 

IL  If  this  be  so,  then  by  adding  (x  +  1  )3  we  get 

l'  +  23+...  +(x+iy  =  (j^y  +  (x+i)* 

_/(*+!)  (s+g)\i 

HI.  Hence,  if  the  law  be  true  for  any  one  number  .r,  it 
j  is  also  true  for  x+  1. 


524 


ALGEBRA 


[fuitdambntal 


IV.  But  it  is  true  for  2,  .-.  for  3, .-.  for  4,  4c 
Ex.  3.  To  prove  the  inequality, 

(x  +  y  +  f)»<  3-'(i"  +  y*  +  3")  . 

i.om  the  second  example  of  inequalities  we  get  at  once 
(*+*+•)•<  S(**+y»+»»). 

Let  us  assume  that  (x  +  y  +  z)"<  3*_1  (x"  +  y"  +  z"),  then 
by  multiplication  we  get 

(z  +  y +  *)"+'<  3— ,(x"+l  +  y-+\  +  r+l+x"y  +  ymx  + 
x'z  +  z'x  +  y'z  +  z"y). 

Now,  inequality,  example  3,  gives 

x*y  +  y'x<  xm+1  +  y"+1,  <fcc. 
.*.  x"y  +  y"x  +  x~z  +  z"x  +  y~t  +  z'y<  2(x"+>  +  y~+1  +  z"*'), 
and  (x  +  y  +  z)'+i  <  3"(  ■£-+'  +  y*+1  +  zT+l), 

i.e.,  the  law  is  true  for  m  +  1,  if  true  for  m;  but  it  is  true 
for  2,  .".  it  is  always  true. 

IV.   Division. 

19.  General  Rule  for  the  Signs. — If  the  signs  of  the 
divisor  and  dividend  be  like,  the  sign  of  the  quotient  is  + ; 
but  if  they  be  unlike,  the  sign  of  the  quotient  is 

This  rule  is  derived  from  the  general  rule  for  the  signs 
in  multiplication,  by  considering  that  the  quotient  must  be 
such  a  quantity  as,  when  multiplied  by  the  divisor,  shall 
produce  the  dividend,  with  its  proper  sign. 

This  definition  of  division  is  the  same  as  that  of  a 
fraction;  hence  the  quotient  arising  from  the  division  of 
one  quantity  by  another  may  be  expressed  by  placing  the 
dividend  above  a  line,  and  the  divisor  below  it ;  but  it  may 
also  be  often  reduced  to  a  more  simple  form  by  the  follow- 
ing rules. 

Case  1.  When  the  divisor  is  simple,  and  a  factor  of  every 
term  of  the  dividend. 

Rule.  Divide  the  coefficient  of  each  terra  of  the  dividend 
by  the  coefficient  of  the  divisor,  and  expunge  out  of 
each  term  the  letter  or  letters  in  the  divisor :  the  result 
is  the  quotient. 

Ex.  Divide  16a'xy-  28a2*z2  +  4a2r3  by  ia'x. 

The  process  requires  no  explanation.  It  is  founded  on 
Jaws  II.  and  III.,  together  with  the  rule  of  signs. 

The  quotient  is  iay  —  7^  +  x2. 

If  the  divisor  and  dividend  be  powers  of  the  same  quan- 
tity, the  division  will  ■evidently  be  performed  by  subtract- 
ing the  exponent  of  the  divisor  from  that  of  the  dividend. 
Thus  a6,  divided  by  a3,  has  for  a  quotient  a5-3  =  as. 

Case  2.  When  the  divisor  is  simple,  but  not  a  factor  of 
the  dividend. 

Rule.  The  quotient  is  expressed  by  a  fraction,  of  which 
the  numerator  is  the  dividend,  and  the  denominator  the 
divisor. 

Thus  the  quotient  of  Zab*,  divided  by  2mbc,  is  the  frac- 
3a&> 
2mbc 
It  will  sometimes  happen  that  the  quotient  found  thu3  ■ 
may  be  reduced  to  a  more  simple  form,  as  shall  be  ex- 
plained when  we  come  to  treat  of  fractions. 

Case  3.  When  the  divisor  is  compound. 

Rule.  The  terms  of  the  dividend  are  to  be  arranged 
in  the  order  of  the  powers  of  some  one  of  its  letters,  and 
those  of  the  divisor  according  to  the  powers  of  the  same 
letter.  The  operation  is  then  carried  on  precisely  as  fur 
division  of  numbers. 

To  illustrate  this  rule,  let  it  be  required  to  divide  8a2  + 
2a6  -  156^  by  2u  +  36,  the  operation  will  stand  thus : 


2a  +  36)8a2  +   2ab-  15&2(4a-5* 
8a2+12a6 

-10a&-1562 
-10a6-1562 

Here  the  terms  of  the  divisor  and  dividend  are  arranged 
according  to  the  powers  of  the  quantity  a.  We  now 
divide  8a2,  the  first  term  of  the  dividend,  by  2a,  the  first 
term  of  the  divisor ;  and  thus  get  4a  for  the  first  term  of 
the  quotient.  We  next  multiply  the  divisor  by  4a,  am 
subtract  the  product  8a2  + 1 2a6  from  the  dividend ;  we 
get  -  10a6  -  1562  for  a  new  dividend. 

By  proceeding  in  all  respects  as  before,  we  find  -  56  for 
the  second  term  of  the  quotient,  and  no  remainder:  the  opera- 
tion is  therefore  finished,  and  the  whole  quotient  is  4a  -  56. 

The  following  examples  will  also  serve  to  illustrate  the 
manner  of  applying  the  rule. 

Ex.  1. 
3a-  6)3a3  -  12a2  -  a26  +  10a&  -  262(a2  -  4a  +  26 
3a3  -  a26 


-12a2 
-12a2 

+  10a6 
+    4a6 

+    6a6-26* 
+    6a6-262 

1-*)1 
1 

Ex.  2. 

(l+x  +  x2+  <tc, 

-  X 

Tx 

■yx-x 

+  x2-xs 

+  x> 

Sometimes,  as  in  this  last  example,  the  quotient  will 
never  terminate  ;  in  such  a  case  it  may  either  be  considered 
as  an  infinite  series,  the  law  according  to  which  the  terms 
are  formed  being  in  general  sufficiently  obvious;  or  the 
quotient  may  be  completed  as  in  arithmetical  division,  by 
annexing  to  it  a  fraction  (with  its  proper  sign),  the  numer- 
ator of  which  is  the  remainder,  and  denominator  the  divisor 
Thus  the  completed  quotient,  in  last  example,  is — 

x3 
1  —x 

If  x  be  small  compared  with  unity,  the  remainders,  as  wa 
advance,  continually  become  smaller  and  smaller.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  x  be  large  compared  with  unity,  the  re- 
mainders continually  become  larger  and  larger.  In  this 
case  the  quotient  is  worthless.  To  obtain  a  quotient  which 
shall  be  of  any  practical  value,  we  must  reverse  the  order 
of  arrangement,  putting  -  x  +  1  in  place  of  1  -  x.  The 
division  then  becomes 


-">>    H-r 


ic. 


1-i 
x 

i 
+i 

i 

+  -- 

z 


1 

+^ 

As  it  is  generally  the  largest  of  the  quantities  that  we 
desire  to  divide  out,  we  observe  that,  in  order  to  effect 
this,  we  have  had  to  begin  with  that  quantity.  Hence  the 
Rule— 

The  terms  of  the  divisor  and  dividend  are  to  be  arranged 
according  to  the  powers  of  that  letter  which  it  is  wished 
(if  possible)  to  divide  out. 


OPERATIONS.] 


ALGEBRA 


525 


Ex.  3.  Divide  a*  +  b*  +  b(a  +  b)3  by  a2  +  6*  -  at>,  where  a 
is  large  compared  with  b. 

We  must  arrange  according  to  powers  of  a. 

V  -  ab  +  b2)a*  +  a?b  +  3a262  +  3a63  +  264(a2  +  2a6  +  462 
a4-a3i  +  a2t2 

+  2a36  +  2o262  +  3a63 
+  2a36-2a262  +  2a63 

+  4\z262  +   a&3  +  264 

+  iaW  -  Job3  +  4b* 

+  5aA3  -  264 

We  have  spoken  as  if  magnitude  alone  was  the  circum- 
IsUnte  which  should  determine  the  precedence  of  the  letters 
(in  a  division.  In  the  more  advanced  processes  of  algebra 
there  are  other  circumstances  which  give  precedence  to 
certain  tatters,  such,  for  example,  as  the  fact  that  x  may  and 
often  does  stand  for  the  phrase  "  quantity,"  whilst  a  stands 
for  some  determinate  numerical  quantity.  This  leads  us 
to  exhibit  a  proposition  in  division  of  the  greatest  value  and 
most  extensive  application.     It  is  as  follows  : — 

20.  Proportion. — If  any  function  of  x,  consisting  of 
powers  of  that  letter  with  numerical  multipliers,  is  divided 
by  x  -  a,  the  remainder,  when  all  the  x'a  are  divided  out,  is 
the  same  function  of  a  that  the  dividend  is  of  x;  in 
other  words,  the  remainder  is  the  dividend  altered  by  writ- 
ing a  in  place  of  x. 

To  prove  this  proposition  we  shall  employ  the  following 

Axiom  : — If  two  expressions  in  x  are  identical  in  form 
and  value,  but  one  multiplied  out  farther  than  the  other, 
we  may  write  any  numerical  quantity  we  please  in  place 
of  x  in  both,  and  the  results  will  be  equal. 

For  example,  (x-  1)2  +  (x-  1)-  3  is  identical  with 
sc2-2(x4-l)  -t-x-  1  ;  and  it  is  evident  that  if  we  write 
any  number  (say  1)  for  x,  the  results  are  the  same  in  both. 

We  now  proceed  to  prove  the  proposition. 

Let  the  dividend  be  x"+px"~x  +  qx*~2,  &c,  where  n  is 
a  whole  number,  and  p,  q,  &c,  positive  or  negative 
numerical  quantities. 

Let  the  quotient,  when  this  is  divided  by  x  -  a,  be  Q, 
the  remainder,  which  does  not  contain  x,  R ;  then 
a*  +px~~ '.+  qxT-1  + ,  &c.  =  Q(x  -  a)  +  R 

b)  the  definition  of  Division. 

Now  this  equality  is  in  reality  an  identity  in  terms  of 
the  axiom.  If  then  we  write  o  in  place  of  x,  the  results 
will  be  equal ;  this  gives 

a'+pa"-1  +  qam~*+  «fcc.   =Q.0  +  R 
=  R, 

which  is  the  proposition  to  be  proved. 

Examples. 

Ex.  1.  If  n  be  any  whole  number,  x"  -  a"  is  divisible  by 
*-  a  without  remainder. 

For  the  remainder,  by  the  proposition,  is  a"  -  a"  =  0 . 

Ex.  2.  If  n  be  an  even  number,  x"  -  a"  is  divisible  by 
X  +  a  without  remainder. 

For  the  remainder  is  (  -  a)"  -  a"  =  0,  since  n  is  even. 

Observe  that  the  divisor  here  has  to  be  changed  to 
x-(-a),  so  that  -  a  stands  in  place  of  the  a  of  the  pro- 
position. 

Ex.  3.  If  n  be  an  odd  number,  x"  +  a"  is  divisible  by 
x  +  a  without  remainder. 

For  the  remainder  is  ( -  a)"  +  a"  =  0,  because  n  is  odd. 

Ex.  4.  To  prove  that  46V  -  (b-  +  c3  -  a2)2  is  divisible  by 
—  a  +  b  +  c;  and  hence  to  resolve  it  into  simple  factors. 
Here  the  x  -  a  of  the  proposition  is  replaced  by  a  -  (b  +  c) 
(the  negative  sign  of  the  whole  divisor  being  of  no  conse- 
quence). 

To  determine  the  remainder,  therefore,  we  write  6  +  c  in 


place  of  o  in  the  dividend,  or  thing  to  be  divided ;  the 
result  is, 

46?<:2-(62  +  c2-6+lj2  =  0, 
hence  46V-  -  (62  +  c2  -  a2)2  is  divisible  by  -a  +  b  +  c. 

Now,  since  the  dividend  contains  only  squares  of  a,  and 
6,  and  c,  any  change  in  the  sign  of  a.  or  6,  or  c,  produces 
no  change  in  the  dividend.  What  we  have  just  proved 
then  becomes  (putting  —  a  for  a)  the  following : — 

46^  -  (62  +  c2  -  a2)2  is  divisible  by  a  +  b  +  c. 

This  last  becomes  (putting  -  6  for  b,  and  then  -  c  for  c) : — 
462c2  -  ( '•-  -1-  c2  -  a2)  is  divisible  by  a  -  6  +  c,  and  by  a  +  b  -  c 
Hence    unally,       462c2  -  (ft2  +  c2  -  a2)2  =  (a  +  b  +  c) 
(~a  +  b  +  c)(a-b  +  c)(a  +  b-c). 

The  above  example  is  a  good  exercise  for  the  student. 
■  The  result  may  be  more  simply  arrived  at  by  employing  a 
proposition  of  very  great  value  and  frequent  use — that  the 
difference  of  the  squares  of  two  quantities  is  the  product  of 
the  sum  and  difference  of  the  quantities. 

Ex.  5.  To  prove  that  (1  -a2)  (1  -62)(1  -<?)-(c  +  ab) 
(b  +  ac)  (a  +  be)  is  divisible  by  1  +  abc. 

It  is  simpler  here  to  write  a  single  letter  x  for  ale, 
whereby. the  given  quantity  becomes 

(1  -a2)(l  -62)(1  -  c2)-\{x  +  a2)(x  +  b2){x  +  <?), 

which  is  obviously  under  the  form  p-p,  when  -  1  is 
written  for  r,  and  .  \  is  divisible  by  1  +  x. 

Ex.  6.  Prove  that  (a* -*+l)  (**-**+  l)(xs-xi  + 1) 
(x™-x*  +  \). .  .  (.**•- a;" +  1)  is  the  quotient  of  x4"  +  x*+  1 
by  x2  +  x  +  1  ;  n  being  any  power  of  2. 

The  divisor  (x2  +  x+l)  being  multiplied  by  x2-  c+ I 
gives  x*  +  x2+\;  which,  being  again  multiplied  by 
x*-  -  x2  + 1,  gives  Xs  +  x*  + 1 ;  and  so  on  to  the  end. 

Additional  Examples  in  Division. 

Ex.  1.  Divide  1-10^  +  15^-6^  by  (1  -  x)>. 

We  must  first  multiply  out  (1  -x)3,  and  then  divide  the 
given  expression  by  the  product,  1  -  3x  +  3s2  —  x3.  The 
quotient  is  1  +  3x  +  6x2. 

Ex.  2.  Divide  65zV  -  (x*  +  64^)  by  x2  -  txy  -  8y2. 

We  must  arrange  dividend  and  divisor  in  terms  of  powers 
of  one  of  the  letters,  say  x  ;  the  division  will  then  assume 
the  form 

x2  -  Ixy  -  8y2)  -  x*  +  65x2y2  -  64/( 
giving  -  x2  -  Ixy  +  8y2 . 

Ex.  3.  Divide  x3  +  y3  +  z3  -  3xyz  by  x  +  y" + z. 
We  must  give  exclusive  attention  tn  some  one  letter,  say 
x,  in  dividing  out ;  thus 

x  +  y  +  z)x3  +  y3  +  z3-3xyz(x2-x(y  +  z)  +  (y2  +  z2-yz) 

x3  +  x2(y  +  z) 

—  x?(y  +  z) 

-  x2(y  +  z)  -  x(y  +  z)2 

x(y2  -  yz  +  z^  +  yt  +  z3' 


the  quotient  being  x2  +  y2  +  z2  -  xy  -  xz  -  yz. 
Ex.  4.  Divide  the  product  of 

xi  +  3x  +  2,x2-5x  +  i,  z*  +  5x>-U, 

by  the  product-of  x2-!,  x2-2.     Here  we  observe  thai 
x2  -  1  is  the  product  of  x  + 1,  x  -  1. 

Now  (Art.  20),  x2  +  3x  +  2  is  divisible  by  x  +  1,  and 
x2  -  5x  +  i  by  x  -  1.  Hence,  if  the  pioduct  is  divisible  by 
x2  -  1,  x2  -  2,  without  remainder,  the  third  factor,  x4  +  C-c1 
-  14  must  be  divisible  by  x2  -  2,  which  is  found  to  be  the 
i-ase.  The  quotient  required  is  therefore  the  product  of 
(ai  +  ^/(x-4)(x2  +  7)=x4-2x3-x2-14x-66. 


526 


Ex.  5.  Divide  12**-  lOx^y-Z^y*  +  30xys-  25^  by 
Sx*-4.ry  +  5y2. 

We  will  employ  tliij  example  to  indicate^  Homer's 
method  of  synthetic  division. 

Let  the  dividend  be  represented  by 

Aj*  +  Bx*  +  Cx3  +  Dx  +  E, 
the  divisor  by  ax3  +  bx  +  c, 

and  the  quotient  by  ax2  +  fix  +  y  +  (fee 

Then,  multiplying  the  quotient  by  the  divisor,  we  produce 
the  dividend,  which,  exhibited  by  the  method  of  detached 
coefficients,  stands  thus — 

aa  +  a/3  +  ay  +  &c 

+  ba  +  bfi  +  kc. 

+  ca  +  &C. 

A+B  +  C+&C. 

The  last  line  being  the  sum  column  by  column  of  the 
three  preceding  lines.  Now,  as  the  upper  of  these  three 
lines  contains  term  by  term  the  quantities  required,  we 
convert  this  addition  into  subtraction  ;  thus, 

A  +B  +C  +D+E 

-  6a  -  t/3  -  by  -  <fec. 
—  Ca  -  c/3  -  (fee. 


A  L  (j  E  B  R  A  [involution  and 

divided  by  subtracting  the  exponent  of  the  divisor  from 


-b 
—  c 


a  aa  +  a/3  +  ay  +  a8  +  ic 
The  first  vertical  column  gives  a ;  the  second  /?,  and  so 


on. 


In  the  example  before  us  we  write, — 
12-10-3  +30-25 

+  4a  +  4/J  +  4y  +  &C. 
—  5a  -  5/3  -  (fee. 


+  4 
-5 


3  3a  +  3/3+3y  +  (fec, 

whence  3a  =  12  give*  a-4;  3/9-  -10  +  4a  gives  /?— 2; 

3y  =  -  3  +  4/3  -r  5a  gives  y  =  -  5. 

Therefore  the  quotient  required  is  42*  +  2z  -  6. 

Sect.  II. — Involution  and  Evolution. 

21.  In  treating  of  multiplication,  we  have  observed,  that 
when  a  quantity  is  multiplied  by  itself  any  number  of 
times,  the  product  is  called  a  power  of  that  quantity,  while 
the  quantity  itself,  from  which  the  powers  are  formed,  is 
called  the  root.     Thus,  a,  a2,  and  a3  are  the  first,  second, 

and  tlurd  powers  of  the  root  a:  and  in  like  manner  -,  —x, 

and  —  denote  the  same  powers  of  the  root  -  . 

But  before  considering  more  particularly  what  relates  to 
powers  and  roots,  it  will  be  proper  to  observe,  that  the 

quantities  -,  —^  -5,  (fee,  admit  of  being  expressed  under  a 

different  form;  for,  just  as  the  quantities  a,  a2,  a3,  (fee, 
are  expressed  as  positive  powers  of  the  root  o,  so  the 

quantities  -,  —v  —v   (fee,   may  bo  respectively  expressed 

thus  o-1,  a-2,  a-3,  (fee,  and  considered  as  negative  powers 
of  the  root  a. 


1 

— ;,  as 
a? 


This  method  of  expressing  the  fractions  -, 

powers  of  the  root  a,  but  with  negative  indices,  is  a  conse- 
quence of  the  rule  which  has  been  given  for  the  division 

of  powers ;  for  we  consider  -  as  the  quo'tient  arising  from 

the  division  of  any  power  of  a  by  the  next  higher  power ; 
for  example,  from  the  division  of  the  2d  by  the  3d,  and  so 

1     u1 
we  have  -  »-j  J  but  skice  powers  of  the  same  quantity  are 


that  of  the  dividend  (Art.  19),  it  follows  that 


thus, 


therefore  the  fraction  -  may  also  be  expressed 

la' 
"*.    By  considering  —  as  equal  to  -j ,  it  will  appear 


aJ 
1      a' 


in  the  same  manner  that  —  =  —  =  a~° ;  and  proceeding  in 

...  .  1     a«         ,    1     a? 

this  way,  we  get  -j  =  -j  =  a'3,  —  =  —  =  a-4,  (fee,  and  so  on, 

as  far  as  we  please.     It  also  appears  that  unity  or  1  may 
be  represented  by  a0,  where  the  exponent  is  a  cypher,  for 

l=^  =  a2-2  =  a». 

The  rules  which  have  been  given  for  the  multiplication  DeMtiro 
and  division  of  powers  with  positive  integral  exponents of  *■** 
will  apply  in  every  case,  whether  the  exponents  be  positive 
or  negative,  integral  or  fractional,  provided  wo  assume  as 
the  definition  of  the  index  in  such  cases,  the  law  of  com- 
bination a"xa"  =  a*+*. 

* 
Involution. 

22.  Involution  is  the  method  of  finding  any  power  of 
any  assigned  quantity,  whether  it  be  simple  or  compound  : 
hence  its  rules  are  easily  derived  from  the  operation  of 
multiplication. 

Case  1.  When  the  quantity  is  simple. 

Rule.  Multiply  the  exponents  of  the  letters  by  the  index 
of  the  power  required,  and  raise  the  coefficient  to  the 
same  power. 

Note.  If  the  sign  of  the  quantity  be  + ,  all  its  powers  will 
be  positive ;  but  if  it  be  — ,  then  all  its  powers  whose 
exponents  are  even  numbers  are  positive,  and  all  its 
powers  whose  exponents  are  odd  numbers  are  nega^ 
tive. 

Ex.  1.  Required  the  cube,  or  third  power,  of  2a*x. 
(2a2*)3  =  2  x  2  x  2a2x3xlx3  =  So6*3,  the  answer. 

Ex.  2.  Required  the  fifth  power  of  -  3a2*3. 

(  -  3aV)5  =  -  243a10x16,  the  answer. 

2ax* 
Ex.  3.  Required  the  fourth  power  of  -  Trr-  • 

/-2axV     16a*!8   .. 

'w;r8i6y'tliean3wer' 

Case  2.  When  the  quantity  is  compound. 

Rule.  The  powers  must  be  found  by  a  continual  multipli- 
cation of  the  quantity  by  itself. 

Ex.  4.  Required  the  first  four  powers  of  tho  binomial 
quantity  a  +  x. 

a  +  x  the  root,  or  first,  power. 
a  +  x 
a2  +  ax 
+  ax  +  x2 


a2  +  2ax  +  x2  the  square,  or  second  power. 
a  +x 

a3+2a2x  +  cu2 
+   a2x  +  2ax2  +  x3 


a3  +  3a2x  +  3qj2  +  x3  the  cube,  or  third  power. 
a4  +  3a3x+3a2x2  +  ox> 

+   a3x  +  3a2x2  +  3ax3  +  x* 
a4  +  4a3x+6a2x2  +  4ax3  +  x4  the  fourth  power. 

If  it  be  required  to  find  the  same  powers  of  a  -  x, 
will  be  found,  writing  -  x  for  x,  that 


EVOLUTION.] 


ALGEBRA 


527 


a  -  z  being  the  root,  or  firat  power ;  then 
a2  -  2ax  +  x2  is  the  square,  or  second  power ; 
a3  -  3a?x  +  Zax2  -  x3,  the  cube,  or  third  power ; 
a«  _  4a3x  +  6a2.z2  -  lax3  +  x4,  th«  fourth  power. 

Hence  it  appears  that  the  powers  of  a  +  x  differ  from  the 
powers  of  a  —  x  only  in  this  respect,  that  in  the  former 
the  signs  of  the  terms  are  all  positive,  but  in  the  latter 
they  are  positive  and  negative  alternately. 

Besides  the  method  of  finding  the  powers  of  a  compound 
quantity  by  multiplication,  which  we  have  just  now  ex- 
plained, there  is  another  more  general,  as  well  as  more 
'  expeditious,  by  which  a  quantity  may  be  raised  to  any 
i  power  whatever  without  the  trouble  of  finding  any  of  the 
inferior  powers,  namely,  by  means  of  what  is  commonly 
called  the  binomial  theorem,  to  be  proved  hereafter.  This 
theorem  may  be  expressed  as  follows  : — Let  a  +  x  be  a 
binomial  quantity,  which  is  to  be  raised  to  any  power 
denoted  by  the  number  re,  then  (a  +  x)"  = 

.     «    _i      .  «(»-l)    _»  ,  ,  n(n-l)(n-2)       ,  « 

*  + 1 a     * +  f7T  a    x  +  1  .  2   .   3    a  V 

n(n-lX»-2)(n-3)  , 

+  1  .  2    .    3    .     4 

n(n-l)(n-2X»-3Xn-4) 
+  1  .2    .     3     .     4    .     6    a     ^  +  iC- 

This  series  will  always  terminate  when  re  is  any  whole 
positive  number,  by  reason  of  some  one  of  the  factors 
n  —  1,  re  -  2,  <tc,  becoming  =  0 ;  but  if  re  be  either  a  nega- 
tive or  fractional  number,  the  series  will  consist  of  an 
infinite  number  of  terms.  As,  however,  we  mean  to  treat 
in  this  section  only  of  the  powers  of  quantities  when  their 
exponents  are  whole  positive  numbers,  we  shall  make  no 
further  remarks  upon  any  other.  The  reth  power  of  a  —  x 
will  not  differ  from  the  same  power  of  a  +  x,  except 
in  the  signs  of  the  terms  which  compose  it,  for  it  will 
etand  thus  :   (a  -  x)"  = 

re    .  ,        n(n-l)  _.  „     ra(re -lVn-2)  ... 

a*  -  -  a"-1  x  +  — 'a*~2x2 a""3!3 

1  Tl .2  12         3 

n(n-l)(n-2Xn-3)  _.  ,       ,  ,         ..       . 

+  —  'd-^x*  -  &c,  where  the  signs  are  + 

and  —  alternately. 

Let  it  be  required,  for  instance,  to  raise  a  +  x  to  the  fifth 
power. 

Here  re,  the  exponent  of  the  power,  being  5,  the  first 
term  a"  of  the  general  theorem  will  be  equal  to  a5,  the 

second  na"~~lx  =  5a*x,  the  third  p — —  a*-2*2  =  7— -a3x2  = 

1  a  ss 

n(n-r-l)  (re 


lOa'.r2    the  fourth 


2)  _. 
—  a     : 


12  3 

n(n-l')(re-*2)(re-3) 


-2.^2  =  ^1^,2. 

1x2 
5X4X3  «V 


a*~*ir* 


1x2x3 
5x4x3x2 

=1x2x3x4 


ax4 


lOaV,  the  fifth  - 

1   .   2.      •     o      ■     4 
—  Sax4,  and  the  sixth  and  last 

ti(n - 1) (re - 2)  (re - 3)  (n - 4)  ■  =  5x4x3x2x1  = 

1.2.3.4.5  1x2x3x4x5 

the  remaining  terms  of  the  general  theorem  all  vanish,  by 
reason  of  the  factor  re  -  5  =  0  by  which  each  of  them  is 
multiplied,  so  that  we  get  (a  +  x)b  =  ab  +  5a4x  +  10a3.r2  + 
lOaV-f  5ax4  +  xi. 

U  the  quantity  to  be  involved  consists  of  more  than 
two  terms,  as,  if  p  +  q  -  r  were  to  be  raised  to  the  second 
power,  put  p  =  a  and  q  —  r  =  b,  then  (p  +  q  —  r)2  =  (a  +  b)2 
=  a2  +  2ab  +  b2=p2  +  2p(q-r)  +  (q-r)2,  but  2p(q-r)  = 
2pq  -  2pr,  and  by  the  general  theorem  (q  —  r)2  =  q3  —  2qr 
H-r2,  therefore  we  get  (p  +  q-- r)2*=p2  +  2pq-  2pr  +  q2- 
2qr  +  r2 ;  and  by  a  similar  method  of  proceeding  a  quantity 
consisting  of  four  or  more  terms  may  be  raised  to  any 
power. 


Additional  Examples. 


Ex.  I.  1  rom  the  value  of  (a  +  x)4  found  in  example  4, 
to  find  that  of  (a  +  b  +  c)4.  From  example  4  we  write  at 
once,  by  symmetry, 

(a  +  6  +  c)«  =  a4  +  ia3b  +  6a26*  +  R 
+  b4  +  4a3c  +  6a2c* 
+  c4  +  ib3a  +  66  V 
+  46*c 
+  4^ 
+  4c*6 
where  R  is  the  series  of  remaining  terms  denoting  the  three 
following  forms,  a2bc,  b2ac,  c2ab.      Now  when  a,  b,  c  are 
each  unity,  there  are  81  terms  (viz.  34).     But  the  number 
of  terms  already  written  down  (la3b  being  considered  as  4 
terms,   &c.)  is   45.     The  quantity  R  must  consequently 
make  up  the  other  36  terms,  .\  it  can  be  nothing  else  than 
12a2be  +  12b2ac  +  12c2ab. 

Ex.   2.   (p-\-q  +  r)2=p2  +  q2  +  r2  +  2(pq  +  qr  +  rp). 
Cor.  lip  +  g  +  r  =  0 ;  thenp^-H  q2  +  r2  +  2{pq  +  qr  +  rp)  =  0, 
Case  1.  a-b  +  b-c  +  c-a  =  Q,  gives 

(a-b)2  +  {b-c)2  +  (c-a)2  +  2{(a-b)(b-c)  +  (b-c){c-a) 
+  {c-a)(a-b)}=0. 

Case  2.  a(b  ~c)  +  b(c  -  a)  +  c(a  -  b)  -  0,  gire3 

a2(b  -  c)2  +  b2(c  -  a)2  +  c\a  -bf  +  2  {ab(b  -  c)(c  -a)  + 
bc(c  -  a)(a  -b)  +  ca(a  -  b)(b  -  c)}  =  0 

Ex.  3.  Prove  that  (x3  -  yz)3  +  (f  -  xz)3  +  (2*  -  xy)>  - 
3(ar2  —  yz){y2  -  xz){£  —  xy)  is  a  complete  square. 

The  expression  will  assume  symmetry  if  (x2  -  yz)(y2  -  xz) 
(z2—-xy),  instead  of  being  multiplied  by  3,  be  repeated 
three  times,  each  being  connected  with  one  of  the  cubes 
in  turn;  this  gives — 

*2  -  yz)  K*2  -  yzf  -  (y2  -  ^X*2  -  xv)} 


+  (y2  —  xz)  { (y2  —  xz)2  —  (xr  —  yz)(z2  —  xy)\ 
+  u2  -  xy)  { (z2  -  xy)2  -  (x2  -  yz)(y2  -  xz)) 
«=  (x2  -  yz)x{x3  +  y3  +  z3  -  3xyz) 

+  &c,  etc. 
=  (x3  +  f  +  z3  -  Zxyz^x3  +  y3  +  z>  -  Zxyz) . 

Ex.  4.  Prove  that  (a?  +  b2  +  c2)'  +  2(ab  +  bc  +  ca)> 

-  3(a2  +  b2  +  c?)(ab  +  bc  +  caf  =  (a3  +  b3  +  cs-  3abc)* . 

Combine  each  of  the  cubes  with  each  of  the  products  in 
succession,  and  reduce,  as  in  the  last  example. 

Ex.  5.  To  find  the  condition  that  px2  +  -qxy  +  ry2  may 
be  incapable  of  changing  its  sign  through  any  change  of 
sign  or  value  of  x  and  y.  It  is  evident  that  p  and  r  must 
have  the  same  sign.  Suppose  it  positive.  By  multiply- 
ing by  p,  the  quantity  may  be  thrown  into  the  form 
(px  +  qy)2  +  (pr  -  q2)y2,  which  is  the  sum  of  two  positive 
quantities  provided  pr>q2.  The  condition  required  is, 
therefore,  pr>q2;  or  as  a  particular  case  pr  =  q2. 

Ex.  6.  To  find  the  condition  that  ax2  +  by2  +  cz?  + 
2T,yz  +  2Qzx+2Rxy  may  be  incapable  of  changing  its  sign 
through  any  change  of  sign  or  value  of  x,  y,  z. 

We  will  suppose  a,  b,  c  to  be  all  positive,  in  which  case 
the  whole  result  is  also  positive. 

li  we  multiply  the  whole  by  a,  we  may  write  it  under 
the  form  of  a  square  and  a  supplement, 

viz.,  (ax  +  Qz  +  By)2  +  (ac-  Q2)*2  + 
(ab  -  Br)y2  +  2(aP  -  QR)i«. 

Now  as  the  first  term  of  this  expression  is  a  square,  h 
is  essentially  positive.  Hence  the  required  condition  can 
be  satisfied  only  by  rendering  the  remainder  positive. 

It  follows  that  ac>Q2,  ab>B.2,  and 

(Example  5)      (ac-  Q2)(ab  -  R2)  >  (aP  -  QR)», 
ie.,  aic4-2PQR>aP2+iQ2  +  cRs. 


528 


ALGEBRA 


[involution  a» 


If  we  had  begun  by  throwing  the  expression  into  the 
form  of  (6y+Pi  +  Iit)'  +■  &c,  a  resulting  condition 
would  have  been  bc>xn  The  four  conditions  nm  con- 
»equently 

«J>R,,<k>Qj,Jc>P!) 
a6c+2PQR>aF  +  AQs  +  eR». 

Results  of  this  kind  are  of  the  utmost  value  in  the 
higher  analysis. 

Evolution, 

23.  Evolution  is  the  reverse  of  involution,  or  it  is  the 
method  of  finding  the  root  of  any  quantity,  whether  simple 
or  compound,  which  is  considered  as  a  power  vi  that  root: 
hence  it  follows  that  its  operations,  generally  speaking, 
must  be  the  reverse  of  those  of  involution. 

To  denote  that  the  root  of  any  quantity  is  to  be  taken, 
the  sign  J  (called  the  radical  sfgn)  is  placed  before  it, 
and  a  small  number  placed  over  the  sign  to  express  the 
denomination  of  the  root.  Thus  Z/a  denotes  the  square 
root  of  a,  fja  its  cube  root,  i/a  its  fourth  root,  and  in 
general,  f/a  its  nth  root.  The  number  placed  over  the 
radical  sign  is  called  the  index  or  exponent  of  the  root,  and 
is  usually  omitted  in  expressing  the  square  root:  thus, 
either  fja  or  Ja  denotes  the  square  root  of  a. 

Case  1.  When  roots  of  simple  quantities  are  to  be  found. 

Rule.  Divide  the  exponents  of -the  letters  by  the  index 
of  the  root  required,  and  prefix  the  root  of  tho  numeral 
coefficient;  the  result  will  be  the  root  required. 

Note  1.  The  root  of  any  positive  quantity  may  be  either 
positive  or  negative,  if  the  index  of  the  root  be  an  even 
number;  but  if  it  be  an  odd  number,  the  root  can  be 
positive  only. 

8.  The  root  of  a  negative  quantity  is  also  negative  when 
the  index  of  the  root  is  an  odd  number. 

3.  But  if  the  quantity  be  negative,  and  the  index  of  the 
root  even,  then  no  root  can  be  assigned. 

Ex.  Required  the  cube  root  of  125a6*9. 

Here  the  index  of  the  root  is  3,  and  the  root  of  the  co- 
efficient 5,  therefore  t/125a6x9  =  5a-x3,  the  root  required; 
and  in  like  manner  the  cube  root  of-  125a6*9  is  found  to 
be  -  6a2*3. 

The  root  of  a  fraction  is  found  by  extracting  the  root 
of  both  numerator  and  denominator.      Thus  the  square 

,  4aJi*  .  .  2az» 
r0Ot°f9iY1S3V- 

Case  2.  When  the  quantity  of  which  the  root  is  to  be 
extracted  is  compound. 

I.  To  extract  the  square  root. 

Range  the  terms  of  the  quantity  according  to  the  powers 
of  one  of  the  letters,  as  in  division. 

Find  the  square  root  of  the  first  term  for  the  first  part 
of  the  root  sought,  subtract  its  square  from  the  given 
quantity,  and  divide  the  remainder  by  double  the  part 
already  found,  and  the  quotient  is  the  second  term  of  the 
root 

Add  the  second  part  to  double  the  first,  and  multiply 
their  sum  by  the  second  part ;  subtract  this  product  from 
the  remainder,  and  if  nothing  remain,  the  square  root  is 
obtained.  But  if  there  is  a  remainder,  it  must  be  divided 
by  the  double  of  the  parts  already  found,  and  the  quotient 
will  give  the  third  term  of  the  root,  and  so  on. 

■»  «r        I 

3&  Required  the  square  root  of  a*  -  2x*  +  _ar2  -  - "+  —  • 

*        S     16 


a*-  2*34-  -x2-%-  f*»-«  +  - 
2        2     10\  J 


2**- 


:): 

-2*»+f*« 

-2**+  x3 

2**- 

1 
x5 

xt 
2  ' 

X 

"2  + 

X 

"2  + 

1 

16 

1 

To 

To  understand  the  reason  of  the  rule  for  finding  the 
square  root  of  a  compound  quantity,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  involve  any  quantity,  as  a  +  6  +  c,  to  the  second  power, 
and  observe  the  composition  of  its  square;  for  we  have 
(a4-6  4-r)2  =  a24-2a6  4-624-2ac4-26c4-c2;  but  2a64-62  = 
(2a  +  6)6  and  2oc  +  26c  +  c2  =  (2a  +  26  +  c)c,  therefore, 

(a  +  6  +  c)2  =  a2  +  (2a  +  6)6  -1-  (2a  +  26  +  c)c ; 

and  from  this  expression  the  manner  of  deriving  the  rule 
is  obvious. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  common  rule  for  extracting  the 
square  root  of  any  proposed  number,  we  shall  suppose  that 
the  root  of  59049  is  required. 

Accordingly  we  have  (a  +  6  +  cf  =  59049,  and  from 
hence  we  are  to  find  the  values  of  a.  6.  and  c. 

a2  =  200x200  =  4o2of400°:6l   Hence  243  is  the  roc, 

3  =  cj  required. 

2a  =  400  19049 
6=   40 


2a  +  6  =  440 


17600  =  (2a  4- 6)6 


2a +  26  =  480 
c=      3 

2a  +  26  +  c  =  483 


1449 

1449  =  (2a  +  26  +  c)e 


LL  To  extract  the  cube  root. 

Range  the  terms  of  the  quantity  according  to  the  powers 
of  some  one  of  the  letters. 

Find  the  roof  of  the  first  term,  for  the  first  part  of  the 
root  sought ;  subtract  its  cube  from  the  whole  quantity, 
and  divide  the  remainder  by  three  times  the  square  of  tlio 
part  already  found,  and  the  quotient  is  the  second  part  ol 
the  root. 

Add  together  three  times  the  square  of  the  part  of  the 
root  already  found,  three  times  the  product  of  that  part 
and  the  second  part  of  the  root,  and  the  square  of  the 
second  part;  multiply  the  sum  by  the  second  part,  and  sub- 
tract the  product  from  tho  first  remainder,  and  if  nothing 
remain,  the  root  is  obtained ;  but  if  there  is  a  remainder, 
it  must  be  divided  by  three  times  the  square  of  the  sum, 
of  the  parts  already  found,  and  the  quotient  is  a  third  term 
of  the  root,  and  so  on,  till  the  whole  root  is  obtained. 

Ex.  Required  the  cube  root  of  a3  +'  3a2*  +  3a*2  4-  Xs 

a3  +  3a5*  +  3a*2  4-  ^(a  4-  x,  ihb  root  required. 


3a2  4-  3a*  4-  *2)3a2*  4-  3a*2  4-  x3 
3a2*  4-  3a*2-)-*3 


The  reason  of  the  preceding  rule  is  evident  from  the 
composition  of  a  cube ;  for  if  any  quantity,  as  a  +  b  +  c,  be 
raised  to  the  third  power,  we  have  (a  +  b  +  c)'  =  a9  4-  (3a* 
4-  3a6 4- 62)6 4-  {3(a 4- 6)2 4-  3(a 4-  b)e  +  c*}c,  and  by  consider- 


BVOLUTION.] 


ALGEBRA 


529 


m^  ia  what  manner  the  terms  a,  b,  and  c  are  deduced 
from  this  expression  for  the  cube  of  their  sum,  we  also  see 
the  reason  for  the  common  rule  for  extracting  the  cube 
root  in  numbers.     Let  it  be  required  to  find  the  cube  root 


of  1331205^,  where  the  root  will  evidently  oensist'of  three 
figures ;  let  us  suppose  it  to  be  represented  by  o  +  6  +  c, 
and  the  operation  for  finding  the  numerical  values  of  these 
quantities  may  stand  as  follows  : — 


13312053(200  =  a 
a3  =   8000000    30  =  6 
7  =  e 


3a2  =120000 

3o6=    18000 

62  =       900 


3al+3ab  +  J2  =  138900 


3(a  +  6)2  = 
3(a  +  b)c  = 


3(a  +  6)2  =  158700 
330 

4 'J 


5312053 


.•.  237  is  the  root  required. 


4167000  =  (3a2  +  3a&  +  &2)6 


1145053 


3(a  +  b)2  +  3(a  +  b)c  +  c2  =  1635791 145053  =  [3(a  +  b)'i  +  3(a  +  b)c  +  c2]e 


HI.  To  extract  any  other  root. 
Range  the  quantity  of  which  the  root  is  to  be  found, 
according  to  the  powers  of  one  of  its  letters,  and  extract 
the  root  of  the  first  term;  that  will  be  the  first  member 
of  the  root  required. 
Tnvolve  the  first  member  of  the  root  to  a  power  less  by 
inity  than  the  number  that  denominates  the  root  re- 
quired, and  multiply  the  power  that  arises  by  the  num- 
ber itself  ;  divide  the  second  term  of  the  given  quantity 
by  the  product,  and  the  quotient  shall  give  the  second 
member  of  the  root  required. 
Find  the  remaining  members  of  the  root  in  the  same 
manner  by  considering  those  already  found  as  making 
one  term. 

24.  In  the  preceding  examples,  the  quantities  whose 
roots  were  to  be  found  have  been  all  such  a3  could  have 
their  roots  expressed  by  a  finite  number  of  terras ;  but  it 
will  frequently  happen  that  the  root  cannot  be  otherwise 
assigned  than  ^by  a  series  consisting  of  an  infinite  number 
of  terms.  The  preceding  rules,  however,  will  serve  to  de- 
termine any  number  of  terms  of  the  series.     Thus,  the 

X2         X* 

square  root  of  a2  +  x-  will  be  found  to  bea+r —  —,  + 


S8 

16a6" 
thus. 


:  +  &c.      But  as  the  ex- 


Bz8 
,„„  ,  +  <fec,  and  the  cube  root  of  a5  +  x?  will  stand 
128a7 

a  +  3a2  ~  9a6  +  81a8  ~  243a11 
traction  of  roots  in  the  form  of  series  can  be  more  easily 
performed  by  the  aid  of  the  binomial  theorem,  we  shall 
refer  the  reader  to  the  section  where  this  subject  is  resumed. 

Additional  Examples. 

Ex.  1.  Write  down  the  square  root  of  x4  -  Zx3  +  -  x2  - 

-x  +  — ,  which  is  given  as  a  perfect  square. 

Since  the  square  contains  5  terms,  the  root  must  con- 
tain 3.    Of  these  the  first  is  x2  on  account  of  x*,  the  second 

-  x  on  account  of  2a;3,  and'the  third  =•=  -  on  account  of  — . 

4  16 

But  as  the  last  term  but  one  of  the  square  is  - ,  and  the 

List  term  but  one  of  the  root  also  -  ,  the  last  term  of  the 

root  must  be  + . 

.'.  x2  -  x  +  -  is  the  root  required. 

Ex.  2.  Extract  the  square  root  of  25ar»  +  16y*  -  Cry  (5a;2 
+  4y2)  +  49x2y2.  We  must  first  arrange  the  square  in  terms 
of  some  one  quantity  (say  x). 

The  first  term  of  the  square  is  25x*,  which  gives  5x*  as 
the  first  term  of  the  root     The  second  term  of  the  square, 


-  30xsy  gives  -  3xy  as  the  second  term  ol  the  root.    He 
last  term  16y*  gives  ±  4y2 ;  which,  since  the  last  term  but 
one  is  - ,  leads  to  the  root  5a;2  -  3xy  +  iy2 . 
Ex.  3.  Extract  the  cube  root  of 

8x*  -  36x*  +  66X4  -  63a?  +  33a;2  -  9x+ 1 . 

Since  there  are  seven  terms  in  the  cube,  there  must  be 
three  ierms  in  the  root.  The  first  is  2a;2,  the  second  -  3x, 
the  third  1,  as  will  be  seen  at  once  by  examining  the 
cube  of  p  -  q  +  1,  viz.,  p3  -  3p2q  +  ...  -  3q  + 1 . 

These  examples  have  been  solved  by  the  assumption 
that  the  root  is  capable  of  extraction  without  leaving  a 
remainder.  When  this  is  not  the  case,  or  when  there  is  no 
certainty  that  it  is  so,  the  only  resource  is  to  work  the 
example  through,  abbreviating  the  process  by  the  aid  of 
detached  coefficients. 

Ex.  4.  Extract  the  sa'uare  root  of  4a;6  +12^  +  5x*y2- 
2xsy3  +  7x2y*  -  2xyi  +  y°.     The  work  is  written  thus  : 

4  +  12  +  5  -  2  +  7  -  2  +  l(2.r»  +  3ar.2-*i/2+jr» 
4_ 

4  +  3)    12  +  5 
12  +  9 


4  +  6-1) 


■4-2  +  7 
■4-6+1 


4  +  6-2  +  1  )  4  +  6-2  +  1 
Ex.  5.  Extract  the  cube  foot  of 


i5x*t/2  +  35ary  +  30a~y  -  12xys  -  H/ 


27a;6-27afy 
We  have 

27  -  27  -  45  +  35  +  30  - 12  -  8(3x2 
27 


27     ) 


-27-45  +  35 
-27+   9-    1 


27 -18 +  3) -54 +  36 +  30 -12 -8 
■-54  +  36-   6 

+  36-12 

-8 


[" 


] 


Sect.  LTI. — Fractions: 

25.  In  the  operation  of  division,  the  divisor  may  be  some- 
times greater  than  the  dividend,  or  may  not  be  contained 
in  it  an  exact  number  of  times  :  in  either  case  the  quotient 
is  expressed  by  means  of  a  fraction.  There  can  be  no 
difficulty,  however,  in  estimating  the  magnitude  of  such  a 
quotient ;  if,  for  example,  it  were  the  fraction  f ,  We  may 
consider  it  as  denoting  either  that  some  unit  is  divided 
into  7  equal  parts,  and  that  5  of  these  are  taken,  or  thai 


530 


ALGEBRA 


[fuaotioks. 


5  times  the  same  unit  is  dividet  into  7  equal  parts,  and 
one  of  them  taken. 

In  any  fraction  tlio  upper  number,  or.  the  dividend,  is 
called  the  numerator,  and  the  lower  number  or  divisor  is 

called  the  denominator.     Thus,  in  tho  fraction  .-,  a  is  the 

numerator,  and  b  the  denominator. 

If  the  numerator  be  less  than  the  denominator,  such  a 
fraction  is  called  a  proper  fraction ;  but  if  the  numerator 
be  either  equal  to  or  greater  than  the  denominator,  it  is 
called  an  improper  fraction ;  and  if  a  quantity  be  made  up 
of  an  integer  and  a  fraction,  it  is  called  a  mixed  quantity. 

Thus,  is  a  proper  fraction  ;  -  and are  both  im- 

o+x  r    r  'a  a 

proper  fractions ;  and  b  +  -  is  a  mixed  quantity. 

The  reciprocal  of  a  fraction  is  another  fraction,  having 
its  numerator  and  denominator  respectively  equal  to  the 
denominator  and  numerator  of  the  former. 

Thus,  - 13  the  reciprocal  of  the  fraction  r  • 

26.  The  following  proposition  is  the  foundation  of  the 
operations  relating  to  fractions. 

If  the  numerator  and  denominator  of  a  fraction  be 
either  both  multiplied  or  both  divided  by  the  same  quan- 
tity, the  value  of  the  resulting  fraction  is  the  same  as  before. 

To  demonstrate  this  proposition  we  shall  throw  the 
definition  of  a  fraction  into  a  categorical  form.     We  shall 

accordingly  define  tho  fraction  r  as  such  a  magnitude,  that 

when  it  is  multiplied  by  b,  the  product  is  a. 


Then  since 


■xb  =  a. 


n  x  r  xb  =  na 
o 


i.e.  (Art.  9,  Law  3),      rx.nb  =  na 


But 


-7  xnb  =  na  (Def.) 


7,/, 


6     nb 


From  this  proposition,  it  is  obvious  that  a  fraction  may 
be  very  differently  expressed  without  changing  its  value, 
and  that  any  integer  may  be  reduced  to  the  form  of  a 
fraction,  by  placing  the  product  arising  from  its*  multipli- 
cation by  any  assumed  quantity's  the  numerator,  and  the 
assumed  quantity  as  the  denominator  of  the  fraction.  It 
also  appears  that  a  fraction  very  complex  in  its  form  may 
often  be  reduced  to  another  of  the  same  value,  but  more 
simple,  by  finding  a  quantity  which  will  divide  both  the 
numerator  and  denominator,  without  leaving  a  remainder. 
Such  a  common  divisor,  or  common  measure,  may  be 
either  simple  or  compound ;  if  it  bo  simple,  it  is  readily 
found  by  inspection,  but  if  it  be  compound,  it  may  be 
found  as  in  the  following  problem. 

27.  Peob.  L — To  find  the  greatest  common  Measure  of  two 
Quantities. 

Rule  1.  Range  the  quantities  according  to  the  power  of 
some  one  of  the  letters,  as  in  division,  leaving  out  the 
simple  divisors  of  each  quantity. 

3.  Divide  that  quantity  which  is  of  most  dimensions  by 
the  other  one,  and  if  there  be  a  remainder,  divide  it  by 
its  greatest  simple  divisor;  and  then  divide  the  last 
compound  divisor  by  the  resulting  quantity,  and  if  any- 
thing yet  remain,  divide  it  also  by  its  greatest  simple 
divisor,  and  the  last  compound  divisor  by  the  resulting 
quantity.     Proceed  in  this  way  till  nothing  remain, 


and  the  last  divisor  shall  bo  the  common  measure  n> 
quired. 
Note. — It  will  sometimes  be   necessary  to  multiply  the 
dividends  by  simple  quantities  in  order  to  make  the 
divisions  succeed. 

The  damonstration  of  this  proposition  depends  on  the 
Axiom,  that  whatever  divides  a  number  divides  any  mul- 
tiple of  tho  number ;  and  whatever  divides  two  numbers 
divides  their  sum  or  difference.  It  was  given  by  Euclid 
in  Prop.  2,  Book  vii.,  very  much  as  follows  : — 
,  Let  a,  b  be  tho  quantities,  the  smaller  of  which  is  b. 

Let  a  be  divided  by  b,  with  a  remainder  c, 

b  by  c,  with  a  remainder  d, 
c  by  d,  with  no  remainder, 

d  is  tho  greatest  common  measure  of  a  and  b. 

We  havo  a-pb  —  c,  b-qc  =  d,  c  =  rd. 

Now,  (1.)  d  is  a  common  measure  of  a  and  b  ;  for  d 
divides  c  .:  qc  .:  qc  +  d  .'.  b  .:  pb  .*.  pb  +  c  .:  a;  i.e.,  d 
divides  a  and  b. 

(2.)  It  is  the  greatest  common  divisor.  For  if  not,  lot  e 
be  the  greatest;  then,  since  e  divides  a  and  b,  it  divides  a 
and  pb,  .:  a—pb  .:  c  .:  qc  .:  b-qc  .:  d;  i.e.,  e  is  less 
than  d,  and  not  greater. 

Cor.  Every  other  divisor  of  a  and  b  divides  their  greatest 
common  measure. 

Observe  that  no  fraction  is  in  a  form  to  be  interpreted 
until  it  is  reduced  to  its  lowest  terms. 

Ex.  1.  .Required  the  greatest  common  measure  of  the 
quantities  a-x  -  x3  and  a3  -  2a2x  +  ax1.  The  simple  di- 
visor x  being  taken  out  of  the  former  of  these  quantities, 
and  a  out  of  tho  latter,  they  are  reduced  to  a-  -  x2  and 
a2- 2ax  +  a:2;  and  as  the  quantity  a  rises  to  the  same 
dimensions  in  both,  we  may  take  either  of  them  as  tho 
first  •  divisor :  let  us  take  that  which  consists  of  fewest 
terms,  and  the  operation  will  stand  thuc : 

a2-x2)a2-2a.r  +  a;2(l 
a2-x2 

-  lax  +  2x-  remainder, 

which,  divided  by  -  2x,  is  a  -  x)a2  -  x-(a  +  x 

a2 -ax 

+  OJC-X* 
+  OX-X1 


Hence  it  appears  that  a-x  is  the  greatest  common 
measure  required. 

Ex.  2.  Required  the  greatest  common  measure  of 
8a262  -  1  Oab3  +  2b\  and  9a46  -  9a342.+  3a263  -  Sab*. 

It  is  evident,  from  inspection,  that  b  is  a  simple  divisor 
of  both  quantities;  it  "will  therefore  be  a  factor  of  the 
common  measure  required.  Let  the  simple  divisors  be  now 
left  out  of  both  quantities,  and  they  are  reduced  to  4a2  - 
5ab  +  b2,  and  3a3  -  3a26  +  ab2  -  b3 ;  but  as  the  second  of 
these  is  to  be  divided  by  the  first,  it  must  be  multiplied 
by  4  to  make  the  division  succeed,  and  the  operation  will 
stand  thus : 

4a2  -  5a J  +  62)1 2a3  -1 2a26  +  iab2  -  4bs(3a 
12a3-15a2b+3ab2 


+   3a2b  +  ab2-ib3 


This  remainder  i3-  to  be  divided  by  b,  and  the  new  divi- 
dend multiplied  by  3,  to  make  the  division  again  succeed, 
and  the  work  will  stand  thus  : 

Sa2  +  ab-  462)1 2a2  -15a5+   352(4 
12a2+    4ab-  16b2 

-lQab+lW 


FRAfTroN  i   ' 


ALGEBRA 


531 


This  reinii.ukr  is  V  V  divided  by  —  196,  which  being 
done,  and  the  last  divisor  taken  as  a  dividend  as  befoiv, 
the  rest  of  the  operation  will  be  is  follows  : — 

•     a-6)3«2  +   a6-402(3a  +  46 
3a2  —  3ab 


+  4ab-4b"' 
+  4ab  -  4i2 


from  which  it  appears  that  the  common  divisor  sought  is 
a  -  b,  and  remarking  that  the  quantities  proposed  have 
also  a  simple  divisor  b,  the  greatest  common  measure 
which  is  required  will  be  b(a  -  b). 

■It  will  be  seen  that  the  examples  we  have  given  are  not 
ou  liumbers,  but  on  algebraic  quantities.  In  fact,  the 
axiom  and  the  demonstration  founded  on  it  apply,  with 
some  restrictions  and  modifications,  to  such  quantities. 
The  most  important  of  the  modifications  is  this  :  that  the 
divisor,  instead  of  being  a  whole  number,  is  an  expression 
of  the  form  x  +  in,  where  m  is  of  the  nature  of  a  numerical 
quantity,  and  does  not  depend  on  x. 

The  application  of  this  modified  form  of  the  axiom  has 
a  wide  range  in  the  higher  analysis.  We  offer  two  addi- 
tional examples  for  advanced  students. 

Ex.  1.  If  ax*  +  bx  +  c ,  a'x^  +  b'x  +  d  have  a  common 
divisor  of  the  form  x  +  m,  prove  that 

(a'b - ab')  (b'c -  be)  =  (a'c  —  ac'f . 

Multiply  the  first  expression  by  a',  and  the  second  by  o, 
and  subtract  the  products,  the  difference  {a'b  -  ab')x  +  a'c 
-  ad,  is  by  the  axiom  divisible  by  x  +  m, 


x  + 


a'b  -  ab' 


is  x  +  vi . 


Again,   multiply   the    first    expression    by  c,  and   the 

second  by  c,  and  subtract  them ;  the  difference  (a'c  —  ac')x'! 

,,,      ,  i\     •     •■■  -  1 1    i  •   b'c-bd  . 

+  (bc-bc)x  is  divisible  by  x  +  m,  .:  x  +  — , ux  +  m. 

a  c  -™  ac 

b't  -  be'      a'c  -  ad 


Consequently, 

^  ac  —  uc       ab  —  ao 

the  condition  required. 

Ex.  2.  If  ax3+  Zbx2  +  d,  bx3  +  3dx  +  e,  have  a  commou 

divisor;  theu 

(4bd-aef+21(ad?  +  b2ef  =  0. 

Treating  this- question  exactly  as  the  last,  viz.,  multiplying 
first  by  b  and  a,  and  then  by  e  and  rf,.and  subtracting, 
it  appears  (if  u  be  written  instead  of  bd  -  ae  for  brevity) 
that  the  two  following  expressions  have  a  common 
divisor, 

36V  -  3adx  +  u  and  ux-  -  Zbex  +  3d2 , 

whence,  by  the  last  example,  the  condition  is 

(3beu  -  9ad3)  (Zadu  -  We)  =  (u*  -  9  W)2 , 

from  which  u  divides  out  as  a  common  factor,  and  the 

result  reduces  to  that  enunciated. 

28.  Prob.  II. — To  Reduce  a  Fraction  to  its  Lowest  Terms. 

Rule.  Divide  both  numerator  and  denominator  by  their 
greatest  common  measure,  which  inay  be  found  by 
Prob.  I. 

Ex.  1.  Keduce    .  "J"  7  , — i  to  its  lowest  terms. 
a3  —  2a-x+ax' 

We  have  already  found  in  the  first  example  of  Prob.  I. 
that  the  greatest  common  measure  of  the  numerator  and 
denominator  is  a.  -  x ;  and  dividing  both  by  this  quantity, 

ah:  -  Xs  ax  +  x2 

we  have  jugate  +  ox2  =  a^ax ' 


In  like  manner  we  find 

datb-QaW  +  ZaW-Zab* 


9a3 + Zatfi 


8a-'62-10aA3+24«  804-2&2 

the  common  measure  being  b(a  -  b),  as  was  shown  in  Ex- 
ample 2,  Problem  I. 

a2-b2-c2  +  2bc 


Ex.  2.  Reduce 
2-b2-c2  +  2bc 


a2+b2-c2- 
a?-(b-cf 


to  its  lowest  terms. 


ai  +  b2~c2  +  2ab     (a  +  bf-c2 


■2ab 

(a+b- c)  (a-b-c) 
~(a  +  b  +  c)(a  +  b-c)~ 
(x+l)2-3x.-3 


-6  +  e 
a+b+c 


Ex.  3.  To  find  the  value  of  *-*-  £-=-*—   when  *  =  2. 

x2-2x 

Here  the  substitution  of  ?    in    place  of   x  renders  the 

numerator  and  denominator  separately  'equal  to  0.     This 

shows  (Art.  20)  that  x  -2  is  a  divisor  of  each  of  them. 

We  get,  therefore, 

(s+l)2-3s-3 

.     .    r.    ,,.         ,        ,      x3-4x2  +  2x+\ 

Ex.  4.  r  lnd  the  value  of    ._-3,  (-_2_4    ,     when  x  =  1. 

Dividing    numerator   and   denominator   by   *  — 1,   the 

—  i  which,  when  1  is  written  hi  place 


= >  which  when  x  =  2  becomes  -• 

x  2 


result  is   -,-    , 

x3  -  3x2  +  3x 
3 
of  x,  becomes    -  >  or  infinity. 


29.  Peob.  HI. — To  Reduce  a  Mixed  Quantity  to  an 
Improper  Fraction. 

Rule.  Multiply  the  integer  by  the  denominator  of  the 
fraction,  .aud  to  the  product  add  the  numerator;  and 
the  denominator  being  placed  under  this  sum,  the  result 
will  be  the  improper  fraction  required. 

x2 
Ex.  1.  Eeduce  a-x-i to  an  improper  fraction. 


■x+- 


a  +  x 


(a  +  x)  (a-x)  +  x2 
a+x 


a' 
a+x 


Ana. 


30.  Pkob.  TV. — To  Reduce  an  Improper  Fraction  to  a  Whole 

or  Mixed  dumber. 

Rule.  Divide  the  numerator  by  the  denominator  for  the 
integral  part,  and  place  the  remainder,  if  any,  over 
the  denominator;  it  will  be  the  mixed  quantity  re- 
quired. 

ax  +  Sx3  x2  —  y*  ,    ,  .     . 

Ex.  1.  Keduce  and  -  to  whole  or  mixed 

a+x  x-y 

quantities. 

^.        ax+2x*  Xs       j 

First  =  x  H >  the  answer. 

a  +  x  a  +  x 

And =  x  +  y   a  whole    quantity,   which    is  the 

x-y 

answer. 

31.  Prob.  V. — To  Reduce  Fractions  liaving  different  De- 
nominators to  others  of  the  same  value  which  sliall  have  a 
common.  Denominator. 

Rule.  Multiply  each  numerator  separately  into  all  the 
denominators  except  its  own  for  the  new  numerators, 
and  all  the  denominators  together  for  the  common  de- 
nominator. 

(IX  Or      "~  X^ 

Ex.  1.  Reduce —  — and -rr^r  to  tractions  of  equal  value, 


o-x  a+x 

having  a  common  denominator. 

ax(a  +  x)  =  a-x  +  ax2  1 

(d2-x*)(a-x)  =  a'-a"-x-ax2  +  x3  J 

(a  -  x)(a  +  x)  =  a2-  x2,  the  common  denominator. 
ax       a2!  +  ax2       .  a'-x2     a.3- a2x -  ox3 


the  new  numerator* 


Hence 


ar-x2 


aud  ■ 


ax>+x* 


a+x 


u2-s* 


532 


ALGEBRA 


[FRACTIONS, 


32.  Peob.  VI.—  To  Add  or  Subtract  Fractions. 

Rule.  Reduce  the  fractions  to  a  common  denominator,  and 
add  or  subtract  their  numerators ;  and  the  sum  or 
difference  placed  over  the  common  denominator  is  the 
sum  or  remainder  required. 

In  practice,  however,  it  is  generally  better  to  separate 
the  process  into  two  or  more  parts  analogous  to  the  addi- 
tion or  subtraction  of  sums  of  money,  where  the  pounds 
are  added  to  the  pounds,  the  shillings  to  the  shillings,  <fec, 
and  the  result  afterwards  combined. 

Ex.  1.  Add  together 


rb***-b. 


'The  latter  fraction  is —  • 

a-b 

»\  the  sum  required  is  — , =  ^-  =  1 


a-b 


Similarly. 1 ■ 

'J"im'"-y'  a--l     a— -1 


a-t 
1 


■i+r^. 


l-a« 
=  a»-l 


=  -1, 


Ex%  2.  Collect  into  a  single  fraction 
1  1  2a 

a-b     a  +  b     a2  — 63 
1  1  2i 

a-b     a  +  b~ai-V 
1  1  2a        S(b  +  a) 

'''a-b     a  +  b     a2-P~<0-b*~~ 

Km.  3. 'Collect 


Since 


I 

0-6' 


4x-8     3*-6     24-12s 
We  observe  that  x  —  2  is  common  to  all  the  denominators ; 
the  question  may  therefore  be  written, 

111 

12;-0 


Ex.  4.  Collect 


■2    x-2 
1 


25x+4y 
i2- lOy8' 


3x  +  2y     x»-4y     3x-2y     . 
Here  w«  commence  by  adding  tho  1st  and  3d  together, 
and  the  2d  and  4th  together ;  which  results  in  f 


6x 


24x 


9x2-4y2     x2-16ya 


-35i' 


210*3 


4y2)(x2-16y2) 


(93?-4y2)(x2-16y2) 


Ex.  5.  Find  the  sum  of 


1+X  +  XS  +  X3       1-X  +  X*-X* 


l-x+x2-*3  '  1+X+V  +  X3 

The  numerator  will  consist  of  the  sum  of  two  products, 
the  one  containing  +x,  exactly  in  the  same  way  that  the 
other  contains  —  x.  If,  then,  vo  write  down  one  of  these 
products,  and  double  the  even  powers  of  a;  in  it,  omitting 
the  odd  powers,  we  shall  obtain  the  required  result.  The 
product  of  the  denominators  again  may  be  readily  obtained 
by  regarding  it  as  that  of  the  difference  and  sum  of  1  +  x2 
aud  x  +  x3.  As  such  processes  are  of  constant  occurrence, 
we  will  indicate  the  work  in  full. 


Numerator, 


Double  of 


1+1+1+1 
1+1+1+1 

1+1+1+1 
+1+1+1+1 
+1+1+1+1 
+1+1+1+1 

1   +  3x2  +  3x*  +1 


Denominator,   f  1  +  x*-(x  +  x3)}    {1  +  x2  +  (x  +  x3)}  = 
(1  -1  «*)' - (x  +  r1)-  =  1  +  2-r2  +  x* -  x2- 2x* -a*  =  1  +  x2 


And  the  result  is 


2  +  6x!  +  6x«  +  2r« 


l+X2-!--!* 

Ex.  6.  Collect  into  one  fraction 
1  1 


l+X~-"  +  XT-' 


1  +  x— "  +  x*-»     l+xr-~  +  xr-m 

Multiply  numerator  and  denominator  of  the  first  frao- 

tion  by  x-",  <fec,  and  the  given  quantity  becomes 

x-"                      x-"                      x-»  , 

+  _  .   _  . =  1 


Ex.  7 


1  +  l+ln     1+m  +  ml  '  1  +  n  +  nm 

none  of  the  denominators  being  zero,  then  l  =  m  =  n. 
Multiply  the  first  quantity  by  /,   and  subtract,   there 

which,  when  substituted,  in  the  first 


results  I  = n 

1+71       ' 


quantity,  gives  m.  =  n,  whence  the  proposition. 

33.  The  converse  problem  to  collecting  many  fractions  1 

into  one  is  frequently  as  important  as  the  direct — the  pro- ' 

blem,  namely,  of  resolving  a  compound  fraction  into  its 

components  or  partial  fractions.     For  a  first  example,  if  it 

be  required  to  find  what  simple  fractions  make  up  the 

2x 
compound  fraction  —„ — 2,  we  commence  by  observing  that 

the  denominator  x2  -  a2  is  the  product  of  x  +  a  and  x  -  a. 

2x 
Hence,  -= — ;  i3  the  sum  of  the  fractions  whose  denomina- 
'  a2  -  o2 

tors  are  x  +  a  and  x  -  a. 

2x         A         6 

Let  -= — _  = 1 .  where  A  and  B  are  quantities 

x2-a2     x+a    x-a 

which  involve  a  only,  not  x,  since  x2  does  not  appear  in  th* 

numerator  of  the  sum. 

2x        A(x-o)+B(x+a)  _ 


:2-a2 


By  addition, 

.'.  2x  =  A(x-a)  +  B(x  +  a). 

To  obtain  A  and  B  from  this  equality,  we  remark  that  tie 
equality  is  an  identity,  as  in  Art.  20.  We  may,  therefore,- 
deal  with  it  in  either  of  two  woys  :  1.  Make  the  x's  on  the 
left  hand  side  to  coincide  with  the  x's  on  the  right,  and 
the  o's  in  like  manner.  2.  As  in  Art.  20,  write  wiy- 
thing  we  pleaso  in  place  of  x  on  both  sides.  We  will  in 
this  example  taka,  the  first  method,  and  illustrate  the 
second  method  by  the  subsequent  examples.  We  get 
2  =  A  +  B,0  =  A-B;  .-.  A  =  B*=  1,  and  the  result  is 

2x  1  1 

+  - 


Ex.  2. 


1 


a2 

A 
x  —  a 


x-a     x-a 

a 

x-b 


(x-a)  (x-b) 

.:  l=A(x-J)  +  B(x-a). 


a-6' 


Write  a  for  x,  then  1—A(a-  b)  .:  A  =  — r' 
Write  Jfor  x,thcn  1  =  B(6  -  a)  =  -  (a  -  b) .:  B  =  - 

henCe'  (x-a)(x-6)  =  a~^b  \x~^ " x~^b ) ' 

The  reader  will  observe  that  we  have  treated  — r  as  if 

a  —  o 

it  were  not  itself  a  fraction.  In  fact,  in  the  application  of 
the  subject  before  us,  the  letters  a  and  b  stand  for  arith- 
metical quantities,  and  the  fraction  — — r  is  simply  an  arith- 
metical fraction,  as  contradistinguished  from  an  algebrai«a 

1  fraction  like  • 
x-a 


fRACTIONS.] 

Ex.  3 
gives 


ALGEBRA 


533 


px  +  q 


]'. 


0 

-6  +  x-c 


(x-u)(x-6)(x-c)     x-a 
px  +.q  =  A(x  -  6)  (x  -  c)  +  B(x  -  a)  (x  - 
+  C(x-a)(x-b), 
.-.  pa  +  q  =  ACa  -  b)  (a  -  c),  &c, 


numerator   of  tlie  second  are  both   divisible   by  *  +  L 
Hence, 


and 


px+q 


pa  +  q 


(x  -  a)  (i  -  b)  (x  -  c) 

pb  +  q 1 

(6-a)(6-c)  '  x-b 

Ex.    4.  Find  the   sum  of 


(a  -  b)  (u.  -  c) 
pc  +  q 


x-a 

1 


(c-n)(c-6)     a-c 
a  +  6  6+e 


(b-c)(c-a,y  (c-a)(a-b) 
e+a 

f-i-6)(6-c) 

Let  a  +  6  +  c  =  s-  and  write  in  alphabetical  order;  it 
gives 


:  +  ; 


(a-4)(<i-c)     (4-o)(4-c>    (c-a)(a-b) 
i.e.  (Ex.  3),  the  A,  B,  C  of  the  resolved  fraction, 

x-s A_j  _B_     _C_ 

(x-a)(x-b)(x-c)~  x-a     x-b     x-c 

and    since    x  -  s  =  A  (x  -  b)  (x  -  c)  +  B(x  -  a)  (x  -  c)  + 

C(x  -  c.)  (:•  -  b),  the  sum  required,   being   the  coefficient 

of  x"*,  is  equal  to  0. 

The  reader  will  easily  extend  this  process   to  other 

cases,  as,  for  instance,  to  prove 

_     _                  bed  cda 

■Fx.  5.  , — — w      Js  +  „  -   , ,.     „  ,.    _v  + 


(a-b)(fl-c)(a-d)     (b  -  c)  {b  -  d)  (b -a) 

dab  abc 

(c-d){c-a^(c-b')  +  (d-a)(d-b)(d-c\ 


=  1, 


34.  Pkob.  VII. — To  Multiply  Fractions. 

little.    Multiply  the  numerators  of  the  fractions  for  the 
numerator  of  the  product,  and  the  denominators  for  the 
denominator  of  the  product. 
The  demonstration  follows  at  once  from  the  definition 

of  a  fraction  given  in  Art.  26 ;  thus  since  t  x  b  =  a,-jX.d  —  c, 

u  e  have  7  x  b  x  3  x  d  =  ac,  Le.,  by  the  commutative  law 

1  x-.xbd  =  ac . 
0     a 


But 


bd 

a 


xbd  =  ac 


c     ac 
bXd~bd' 


35.  Peob.  VIII. — To  Divide  Fractions. 

Rule.   Multiply    the   dividend  by  the  reciprocal  of   the 
divisor,  the  product  will  be  the  quotient  required. 
This  rule  requires  no  demonstration. 

Examples  in  Multiplication  and  Division  of  Fractions. 


Ex.  1.  Multiply 
,  tho  product  is 


by 


a2-62 


-  Since  r  —  =  - 
6     a 


-42 


Ex.  2.  Multiply 


a2-42        a1        a2  _  a 
ab        a3  — 6s     ab     b 

x3-3x  +  2  xl±l^+}  , 

z3+2x2+2i  +  l     y  x2-5x  +  4' 


x3-3x  +  2 


X2  +  2X+1 


x3  +  2x2  +  2x+l"i2-5x+4 
x2  +  x-2        x+l 


gJ-3x  +  2  x*  +  2z+\ 

V-5x  +  4*x3  +  2x2+23B+l 
x3  +  2x2-x-2 


"     x-4        x!  +  x+l     K3-3x2-3x-4 

a     b        a2     62 
Ex.3.  Divido^-by^-^. 

.    a2-62       a2!)2  ab 

The  quotient  is  -^-  x  ^-^  =  ^5  • 

Ex.  4.  Reduce  ,1  -  ( — ^—  J   to  factorials. 

/62  +  c2_a2\2     /,    ,   42  +  c2-a2\  /,        SN-c'-q^ 
1_r~Sk/      \        "^iT-J  V1  "       26c     ; 

'-(6-c)2 

(6  +  c  +  a)  (4  +  c-a)  (a+6-c)  (a-6  +  c) 
~~  462c2 

(a24.W_c2_(p\2 
-2{ab  +  cd)-)    t0fact0nal3- 


(4  +  c)2-a2  „  <*" 
=        26c~* 


_  /a2  +  62-c2-cf\2       f  ,    .   o2+o2-c2-d2  I 
1      V     <2(ab  +  cd)     J        \  2(ab  +  cd)      j 

'  j  2(u6  + 


a2  +  J2_c2_d2 


,(c  +  d)2 


X 

(a -4)' 


2(a6  +  cd)      j  2(ii6  +  cd)  2(a6  +  cd) 

=  4{ab  +  cdf 

Miscellaneous  Examples  in  Fractions. 

Ex.  1.  Find  the  value  of  ^r^"  6x^6  + (x-a)  (6c- ex) » 
Writing  down  every  term  with  x 


when  x=i 

ab  +  ac  +  oc 

first,  there  results — 


abc  _^_ 


(x-a)(x-6) 

1  1 

—  + . 4. , .  when 

3a     x-36     x+3c' 


Because  the  numerator  of  the  first  fraction,  and  the 
denominator  of  the  second  both  become  0,  when  1  is 
written  for  x,  each  is  divisible  by  x  -  1  (Art.  20).  In  the 
«une  way  tho  denominator  of  the  first  fraction,  and  the 


o(x-6)     6(x-a)     c(x-a)(x-b) 
Ex.  2.  Find  the  value  of 

-  +  7  =  -  and  x  =  2(a  +  b-c). 
abc 

Bestore  symmetry  by  writing  -  c  for  c ;  the  numerator 
of  the  sum  is  (x  -  36)  (x  -  3c)  +  (x  -  3a)  (x  -  3c)  +  (x  -  3a) 
ix  -  36)  =  3{x2  -  2(a  +  b  +  c)x  +  3(a6  +  ac  +  be)}.  But 
x  =  2(a  +  6  +  c),  whence  the  first  and  second  terms  make 

up  0  :  and  -  +  7  +  -  =  0,  is  the  third  term  divided  by  abc, 
r     '  abc 

.:  the  sum  required  is  0. 

Ex.  3.   Given  that  (a2  +  be)  (6J  +  ac)  (c2  +  ab)  +  (a2  -  6c) 

(62  -  ac)  (c2  -  a6)  =  0,  when  multiplied  out  and  reduced, 

may  be  written  a3  +  63  +  c3  +  a6c  =  0,  prove  that  (aJ  +  6c) 

(62  +  ac)  (c2  +  ab)  -  (a2  -  6c)  (62  -  ac)  (c2  -  a6)  =  0,    may  bo 

reduced  to^  +  Tr  +  -3+-r=0.    The  latter  given  equality, 
a4      b*      c       abc 

by  dividing  it  by  a26c  x  62ac  x  c2u6,  becomes. 
{fc+a*)  W  +  V)  \ab  +  ~c*)  ~ 
\6c     WW      V)\ab     Wj 

tft  {tc+h)Qc-+h)Qb+i)+ 

W~fo)\jP~a~c)\l?~al>)=Mi' 

which  is  identical  with  the  first  given  equality,  but  with 

-.  r,  -,  written  in  place  of  a,  6,  c     The  result  therefore  of 
abc 


534 


A  L  G  E  13  11  A 


[SOTO*, 


reducing  the  second  equality  will  be  identical  with  that  of 

reducing  the  first,  when  -,  -,  -,  are  written  in   place  of  a, 

6,  c     Now  the  former  result  is  a3  +  43  +  c3  +  abc  —  0,  .\  the 

latter  is  -7+Tj  +  -r  +  -r  =  0. 
a3     65     c3     abc 

Ex.  4.  Prove  that 


(o,-o^(o,-Oj) . . .  (0,-0.) 

; T-. *— r ; r+    &c,  is  equal  to  0  if  m>n, 

(«j-°i)(a*-a3)v  •  (a3-a.)       _  ^ 

and  equal  to  1  if  »i  =  n.     This  is  easily  proved  by  resolv- 

ing  , - : : .  into  partial  fractions  (Art.  33). 

"(x-o^x-Oj)..  .  (x-a„)  r  v  ' 

Wo  have 


x— » 


(x-o,)  .. 


_    A, 


+  &c, 


.  (x-a.)     x-a, 

=  AJx  -  at)  .  .  (x  -  a.)  +  <fec.  .  .  ( 1 ), 

whence,  writing  a„  a.^  &c.,  successively  for  x,  we  get  A„ 
A„  <kc. 

The  given  quantity  is  A,  +  A,  +  ...  +  A.,  and  the 
equation  marked  ( 1 ),  gives,  by  equating  coefficients  of  like 
powers  of  x,  the  result  required. 

r+s 
3     «'  p-q     r-i 

c  + 1  =  -  + 1  gives  - — *  = ,    and    -  - 1 


Ex.b.  If  l-r-t  then £±3. 


For 


gives 


1 


Ex.  6.  If  -+U-  = 

a      0     c      a+o+c 


{  8  g  s 

Divide  the  former  by  the  latter. 

1 


-  1 


,  then  a2  =  62  =  c3 


For  ——=-  +  -: 
ab       a     0 


I 


either  a  +  b  ■■ 


1 


a  +  6  +  c-    c 
1 


°'°rol  = 


a+6 
c(o-p6+c) 

J-_-L_i- 

ac      ic     e3 


T        *!_        1  1111 

In  the  latter  case,   rr«>-r  ■?, 1-  r-  > 

e*     00     oc    w 

which  is  not  changed  by  interchanging  c  and  6  or  c.  and  a, 

Jl 1 1_ 

'*'     ca-6»~o2' 
so  that  on  either  alternative  the  proposition  is  true. 

ad  — be  ac  —  bd 


Ex.  7.  Given  that 


and  a  not 


a-b  —  c  +  d     a-b  +  c-d' 
equal  to  b,  nor  c  equal  to  d ;  to  prove  that  «  +  b  =  c  +  d ; 

and  that  either  of  the  fractions  equals 

Write  the  equality  thus, — 

ac  —  bd     a  —  b  +  (c-d) 
ad  — be     a-b  —  (c  —  d) 
Apply  Example  5,  and  thero  results, 

ac-bd  +  ad-bc  _a-b 

ac  —  bd  — ad  +  be     c  —  d 
.  (a-b)(c  +  d)     a-b       .  . 

U  (c-d)(a  +  6)  =  ^'whenCea  +  6  =  <;  +  i 

If  now  a  -  c  or  d  -  6  be  written  by  a  single  symbol  x, 
the  first  fraction  becomes 


(c+x)(b  +  x)-cb     b  +  c  +  x  _a  +  b     a  +  b  +  c  +  d 
2  2  -1 

1 


2x 
fcc.  8.  If  *  = 


Vi  +  ^e-v'a'*'     Ve+Va-V6' 

J-  '  «.         -'     — • 

Va+Vi-Ve'        Va+V6-rv,c' 


prove  that 


(y+b-x  +  u)(3  +  x-y  +  u)(x+y-«+M)- 

(x  +  y+z-u)3 

(b  +  c-a)(c  +  a-b){a  +  b-c) 

Babe 

Deal  with  the  reciprocals  of  x,  y,  z,  u\  thus, 
y  +  z  -  x  +  u  =  y  +  2  -  (a:  -  «) 

~  ^C1  +  y)  -X"(u_x)  =  2  V«(^-^ 

=  4  J<iy:xu(c  +  b  -  a). 

Hence,  by  symmetry,  the  numerator  of  the  left  hand  frac- 
tion becomes 

■C  1  ^ra~bc'fzsxia\b  +  c-,t)(c  +  a-b)(n  +  b-c). 

Also,  x  -*-  y  +  z  -  u  =  xy(-  +  -)  +  zv(  ---  J 

=  2  ,/c(.ry  +  *u)  =  2  Jcxyzul  —  +  — 
v    v  *  \2U     xy, 

=  8  J  abc  xyzu, 
Hence  the  result 

Sect.  IV. — Sueds. 

36.  It  has  been  already  observed  (Art.  28),  that  the  root 
of  any  proposed  quantity  is  found  by  dividing  the  exponent 
cf  the  quantity  by  the  index  of  the  root ;  and  the  rule  has 
been  illustrated  by  examples,  in  all  of  which,  however,  the 
quotient  expressing  the  exponent  of  the  result  is  a  whole 
number;  but  there  may  be  cases  in  which  the  quotient  is  a 
fraction.  Thus,  if  the  cube  root  of  a2  were  required,  it 
might  be  expressed,  agreeably  to  the  method  of  notation 

already  explained,  either  thus,  $/a2,  or  thus,  a  . 

Quantities  which  have  fractional  exponents  are  called 
surds,  or  imperfect  powers,  and  are  said  to  be  irrational, 
in  opposition  to  others  with  integral  exponents,  which  are 
called  rational. 

Surds  may  be  denoted  by  means  of  the  radical  siga,  but 
it  will  be  often  more  convenient  to  use  the  notation  of 
fractional  exponents.  The  following  examples  will  show 
how  they  may  be  expressed  either  way. 

i/"a='<A  Jia~U*~'Zba*,  ^/a^=a^bi, 

JaUT^(a^  +  b')K  y(a~=bji  =  {a-b)$, 

Jab 
The  operations  concerning  surds  depend  on  the  following 
principles  : — 

1.  If  the  numerator  and  denominator  of  a  fractional 
exponent  be  either  both  multiplied  or  both  divided  by  the 
same  quantity,  the  value  of  the  power  is  the  same      Thus, 

ft  CN 

a  =a    . 

2.  The  product  of  like  powers  (integral  or  fractional)  is 

the  same  uower  of  the  product.     Thus  a*  b*  =  fab)*. 

37.  I. — Reduction  of  a  Rational  Quantity  to  the  form  of  a 
Surd  of  any  given  denomination. 

Rule.  Reduce  the  exponent  of  the  quantity  to  the  form  of 
a  fraction  of  the  same  denomination  as  the  given  surd 

Ex.   Reduce  «*  to  the  form  of  the  cube  root. 

Here  the  exponent  2  must  be  reduced  to  the  form  of  % 


sfeds.]  ALGEBE  A 

fraction  having  3  for  a  denominator,  which  will  be  the 
fraction  $;  therefore  ai  =  a?=  'Ja9. 

38.  H. — Reduction  of  Surds  of  different  denominations  to 
others  of  the  same  value  and  of  the  same  denomination. 

Rule.  Reduce  the  fractional  exponents  to  others  of  the 
same  value,  and  having  the  same  common  denominator. 

3_  1  3 

Ex.  Reduce  Ja  and   Jb2,  or  as  and  6'  to  other  equi- 
valent surds  of  the  same  denomination. 

The  exponents  I,  §,  when  reduced  to  a  common  deno- 
minator, are  f  and  £  ;  therefore  the  surds   required   are 

a  *         «  s  — 

uff  and  6%  or  Ja3  and    Jb*. 

39.  III. — Reduction  of  Surds  to  their  most  simple  terms. 

Rule.  Reduce  the  surd  into  two  factors,  so  that  one  of 
them  may  be  a  complete  power,  having  its  exponent  divi- 
sible by  the  index  of  the  surd.  Extract  the  root  of  that 
power,  and  place  it  before  the  remaining  quantities,  with 
the  proper  radical  sign  between  them. 

Ex.  1.  Reduce  ^/48  to  its  most  simple  terms. 
The  number  48  may  be  resolved  into  the  two  factors  16 
and  3,  of  which  the  first  is  a  complete  square ;  therefore 

s/48  =  (42x3)^  =  4x3^  =  4x/3T 

3   . 

Ex.  2.  Reduce  J98a*x,  and    J24a3x  +  40aV,  each  to 
its  most  simple  terms. 

First,  ^980^  =  (72a4  x  2xft  =  7o2  x  (2s)*  =  7a2  jTx . 
s 1  3 


535 


3 6 

Ex.  1.  Required  the  product  of  Ja?  and  J  a3 . 


ja?  x  J  a3  =  u?  x  a 


5  =  , 


3 


a' 


'=  ja1*,  Ana. 


Ex.  2.  Divide  Jul  -  62  by  ja  +  b . 

These  surds,  when  reduced  to  the  6ame  denomination, 


are  (a2 - 62)*  and  la  +  bf.     Hence  _»/g_rJ2  =  /("'-^Al 
V  '  K         '  3ja+b     \(a+b)*J 


Also  J2ia3x  +  40aV  =  (23a3(3s  +  5x2))ar=2a  J3x  +  5x*. 

40.  rV. — Addition  and  Subtraction  of  Surds. 

Rule.  If  the  surds  are  of  different  denominations,  reduce 
them  to  others  of  the  same  denomination,  by  prob.  2, 
and  then  reduce  them  to  their  simplest  terms  by  last  pro- 
blem. Then,  if  the  suid  part  be  the  same  in  them  all, 
annex  it  to  the  sum  or  difference  of  the  rational  parts, 
with  the  sign  of  multiplication,  and  it  will  give  the  sum 
or  difference  required.  But  if  the  surd  part  be  not  the 
same  in  all  the  quantities,  they  can  only  be  added  or 
subtracted  by  placing  the  signs  +  or  —  between  them. 

Ex.  1.  Required  the  sum  of   J27  and  JiS. 
By  prob.  3  we  find  ^27  =  3  ^3  and  ^48  =  4  ^3,  there- 
fore J27  +  JiS  =  3J3  +  iJ3  =  7J3. 

3    -  s  — 

Ex.  2.  Required  the  sum  of  3  j\  and  5  J-Jv . 

3Ji=3Ji  =  iJ2B.nd5j^  =  5j^  =  iJ2~; 

therefore  3  ji  +  5  V^=f  j~2  +  i  j%  =  V  *J2  . 
Ex.  3.  Required  the   difference   between  JS0a*x  and 
J20o?x3. 


J80a*x-- 


■■  (4V  x  5x)*  =  4a2  J5x,  and  J20a-x3  ■■ 
1 


(2W  x  5x)?=2ax  J5x;  therefore  ^80  a4  x-^ 
j20aV  =  (4a2  -  2ax)  J5x~ . 

41.  V. — Multiplication  and  Division  of  Surds. 

Rule.  If  they'  are  surds  of  the  same  rational  quantity,  add 
or  subtract  their  exponents. 

But  if  they  are  'surds  of  different  rational  quantities,  let 
them  be  brought  to  others  of  the  same  denomination,  by 
prob.  2.  Then,  by  multiplying  or  dividing  these  rational 
quantities,  their  product  or  quotient  may  be  set  under 
the  common  radical  sign. 

Note.  If  the  surds  have  any  rational  coefficients,  their  pro- 
duct or  quotient  must  be  prefixed. 


42.  VI. — Involution  and  Euolution  of  Surds. 
The  powers  and  roots  of  surds  are  found  in  the  same 
manner  as  any  other  quantities,  namely,  by  multiplying  or 
dividing  their  exponents  by  the  index  of  the  power  or  root 

3  —  2 

required.      Thus,  the  square  of  3  J3  is  3  x  3  x  (3)*  = 

i.        - 
The  nth  power  of  a;*  is  xm.     The  cube  root  of 

1  -?        — 

s  %/2~,  aud  the  nth  root  of  ar  is  x". 


9^9. 


43.  The  reduction  of  quadratic  surds  is  facilitated  by 
the  following  considerations,  which  appear  hardly  to  require 
demonstration  : 

1.  Ja  cannot  =  6  +  Jc,  when  Jc  is  a  surd. 

2.  a+  Jb  cannot  =  c+  Jd  when  jb,  Jd  are  unequal 
surds. 

3.  a  cannot  =  Jb  Jc  when  Jb,  Jc  are  surds  not  involv- 
ing the  same  irrational  part,  J2d.nd  J3(or  example. 

4.  Ja  cannot  equal  Jb  +  Jc  when  all  are  surds  not  in- 

volving the  same  irrational  part. 
Note.  The  irrational  part  of  J9>,  for  instance,  :jJ  J2,  for  J8 
=  2J2. 

44.  For  example,  we  extract  the  square  root  of  a  binomial 
surd  such  as  28  +  10  ,^3  in  the  following  way  : 

Let  ^28+10  J3  =  x  +  y,  where  one  or  both  of  *  and  jr 
must  be  a  surd. 

Then  28  +  10  J3  =  x-  +  y-  +  2xy, 

28=^  +  ^, 
10  J3  =  2xy, 
or  No.  2  above  would  be  violated. 


Hence    J28-10J3 
And 
or 


Jx2  +  y*-2xy  =  x-y, 


J7$i  -  300 
a^  +  y2  =  28 
s2-y2  =  22 

x=5,  y=  J3 

and  5  +  J3  is  the  root  required. 


Additional  Examples  in  Surds. 

Ex.  1.  Add  together  ^  ,  ^  ,  -^  , 

1  1  2 

l  +  V2+l-V2~l-2~ 
1  1  2V3 


and 


V3  -1 


.=  -2 


V3+1  '  V3-1     3-1      *3' 
J3  -  2  is  the  svim  required. 
Ex.  2.  Find  the  difference  between 

a+3+,'(g  +  i)  J  (a.+x)-*/(a+x)\ 

^{(a  +  x^-^a+x)3) 
V(a  +  a;)-H  1 

l  +  V(a+x)-V(a+xr 


(a+x)  +  V(a+x) 
The  former  is 


V(a  +  :r) 
The  latter  is  the  square  root  of 

1  VQz-t-s)-l       .  .  _1_ 

V(a+*)-l'  **'  M  «+*' 


a  +  x 
the  difference  reouired  is  0. 


536 


ALGEBRA 


[proportion  AND 


Ex.  3.  Find  the  value  of^<J^±? 


when 


(h 


-i2)- 
■c)  a 


X       2Vic 


At  the  first  reduction  o  divides  out,  and,  the  fraction  ia 
reduced  to 


1  + 


46c 
Jb^cJ 


)     2-Jbc 


A1'     4tc 
Ex.  4.  Find  the  value  of : 


b+e+(b-c) 
b  +  c-{b-e)' 


J     2</bc 

■  z  +  V(2a-i) 
[x-*/(2a-x)' 
when  x=  Jitf  +  iaty-b. 

By  the  process  explained  in  this  article 


J(2a  +  b-  ^s  +  4a6)=  sl 
V26+1 


,/2a-z 
whence  the  fraction  reduces  to 


4a +b        b 

I     ~  ^2' 


V26-1 

45.  In  arithmetic  the  square  root  of  a  number  is  another 
number,  which,  when  multiplied  by  itself,  shall  produce 
the  first  number.  In  algebra,  where  quantity  takes  the 
place  of  number,  the  definition  leads  to  a  less  limited 
result  than  in  arithmetic.  In  the  latter  science  there  can- 
not be  two  square  roots  of  the  same  thing ;  in  the  former, 
there  will  necessarily  be  two.  For  both  +  2  x  +  2  gives 
4,  and  -  2  x  -  2  gives  4 ;  hence  the  square  root  of  4  i3  -  2 
as  well  as  +  2. 

And,  further,  as  in  algebra,  -2. is  a  quantity  subject  to 
all  the  operations  and  definitions  of  the  science,  it  is  clearly 
competent  to  express,  in  some  form  or  other,  the  result  of 
extracting  its  square  root.  That  form  must  of  necessity 
be  something  very  different  in  character  from  J2,  'whether 
J2  be  -}-  or  - .  For  the  definition  requires  that  the  square 
root  of  -  2  shall  be  such  a  quantity  as  when  multiplied  by 
itself  shall  produce  -  2.  It  is  then  clearly  no  arith- 
metical quantity  either  +  or  - ,  but  some  quantity  con- 
nected with  numerical  quantities  by  its  properties,  but  not. 
by  its  nature.  It  is  termed  an  impossible  or  imaginary 
quantity,  and  may  be  written  J  -  2  or  J2  J  -  1,  and  the 
same  notation  applies  to  the  square  roots  of  all  negative 
quantities. 

The  properties  of  imaginary  quantities  are  almost  iden- 
tical with  those  of  surds,  and  we  need  not  stop  to  consider 
them.  One  example  of  their  application  will  suffice.  It 
affords  strong  confirmation  of  the  safety  of  assuming  the 
commutative  law  to  exist  in  every  branch  of  pure  algebra. 

Ex.  The  product  of  the  sum  of  two  squares  by  the  sum 
of  two  squares  can  always  be  represented  under  the  form 
of  the  sum  of  two  squares. 

For    (a*  +  62)  {<?  +  d?)  =  (a  +  6  J^l)  (a  -  6  J~l) 

x(c  +  dj-l)(c-dj-l) 
=  (a  +  bj-l)(c  +  dj-l)x(a-bj-l)(c-dj-l) 
"{ac-bd  +  ad  +  bc  J  -1)  (ac-bd-ad  +  bc  J  -  1) 
^(at-bdf  +  iad  +  bcY. 

Cor.  (as  +  6s)  {<?  +  d?)  =  {ac  +  bdf  +  (ad-  bcf,  or  the  pro- 
duct may  be  represented  in  two  different  wajs,  under  the 
form  of  the  sum  of  two  squares. 

Sect.  V. — Proportion  and  Progression. 

46.  In  Comparing  together  any  two  quantities  of  the 
same  kind  in  respect"  of  magnitude,  we  may  consider  how 
much  the  one  is  greater  than  the  other,  or  else  how  many 
times  the  one  contains  either  the  whole  or  some  part  of  the 
Other;  or,  which  h  the  tame  thing,  we  may  consider  either 


what  is  the  difference  between  the  quantities,  or  what  is 
the  quotient  arising  from  the  division  of  the  one  quantity 
by  the  other :  the  former  of  thesans  called  their  arithmetical 
ratio,  and  the  latter  their  geometrical  ratio.  These  deno- 
minations, however,  have  been  assumed  arbitrarily,  and 
have  little  or  no  connection  with  the  relations  they  are 
intended  to  express. 

I.  Arithmetical  Proportion  and  Progression, 

47.  When  of  four  quantities  the  difference  between  the 
first  and  second  is  equal  to  the  difference  between  the  third 
and  fourth,  the  quantities  ate  called  arithmetical  propor- 
tionals. Such,  for  example,  are  the" numbers  2,  5,  9,  12; 
and,  in  general,  the  quantities  a,  a  +  d,  b,  b  +  d. 

48.  The  principal  property  of  four  arithmetical  propor« 
tionals  is  this  : — If  four  quantities  be  arithmetically  pro- 
portional, the  cum  of  the  extreme  terms  is  equal  to  the 
sum  of  the  means.  Let  the  quantities  be  a,  a  +  d,  b,  b  +  d; 
where  d  is  the  difference  between  the  first  and  second,  and 
also  between  the  third  and  fourth,  the  sum  of  the  extremes 
is  a  +  b  +  d,  and  that  of  the  means  a  +  d  +  h;  so  that  the 
truth  of  the  proposition  is  evident. 

49.  If  a  series  of  quantities  be  such,  that  the  difference 
between  any  two  adjacent  terms  is  always  the  same,  these 
terms  form  an  arithmetical  progression.  Thus,  the  num- 
bers 2,  4,  6,  8,  10,  &c,  form  a  series  in  arithmetical  pro- 
gression, and,  in  general,  such  a  series  may  bo  represented 
thus: 

a,  a  +  d,  a  +  2d,  a  +  3d,  a  +  id,  a  +  5d,  a  +  6d,  <fec,  where 
a  denotes  the  first  term,  and  d  the  common  difference. 

By  a  little  attention  to  this  series,  we  readily  discover 
that  it  has  the  following  properties : 

1.  The  last  term  of  the  series  is  equal  to  the  first  term, 
together  with  the  common  difference  taken  as  often  as 
there  are  terms  after  the  first.  Thus,  when  the  number 
of  terms  is  7,  the  last  term  is  a  +  Gd;  and  so  on.  Hence 
if  «  denote  the  last  term,  n  the  number  of  terms,  and  a  and 
d  express  the  first  term  and  common  difference,  we  have 
z  =  a  +  (n  —  l)d. 

2.  The  sum  of  the  first  and  last  term  is  equal  to  the 
sum  of  any  two  terms  at  the  same  distance  from  them. 
Thus,  suppose  the  number  of  terms  to  be  7,  then  the  last 
term  is  a  +  6d,  and  the  sum  of  the  first  and  last  2a  +  6d; 
but  the  same  is  also  the  sum  of  the  6econd  and  last  but 
one,  of  the  third  and  last  but  two,  and  so  on  till  we  cme 
to  the  middle  term,  which,  because  it  is  equally  distant 
from  the  extremes,  must  be  added  to  itself. 

3.  To  find  the  sum  of  the  series,  it  is  only  necessary  to 
observe  that,  if  the  progression  is  written  down  twice,  1° 
from  the  beginning,  2°  from  the  end,  the  terms  of  the  former 
increase  by  the  same  amount  as  that  by  which  the  terms  of 
the  latter  diminish ;  so  that  the  sum  of  any  two  terms  which 
stand  under  each  other  is  always  the  same,  viz.,  the  same 
as  the  sum  of  the  first  and  last  terms;  hence  the  double 
series  converts  addition  into  multiplication;  so  that  if  » 
denote  the  sum  of  the  series,  we  have  2«  =  n(a  +  z),  and 

n.        . 

Ex.  The  sum  of  the  odd  numbers  1,3,  5,  7,  9,  <tc,  con- 
tinued to  n  terms,  is  equal  to  the  square  of  the  number  of 
terms.     For  in  this  case  a=\,  d=2,  2  =  1  +  (n  —  1)  d  =  2n 

—  1,  therefore  «  =  5x2ra  =  n2. 

LL  Geometrical  Proportion  and  Progression. 

50.  When,  of  four  quantities,  the  quotient  arising  from 
the  division  of  the  first  by  the  second  is  equal  to  that 
arising  from  the  division  of  the  third  by/ the  fourth,  these 
quantities  are  said  to  be  in  geometrical  proportion,  cr  arr 


PROGRESSION. J 


ALGEBRA 


537 


general  na,  a,  -  . 


called  simply  proportionals.     Thus,  12,  4,  15,  5,  are  four 
numbers  iu  geometrical  proportion;  and,  in  general,  na,  a, 

nb,  b,  may  express  any  four  proportionals,  for  —  =  n,  and 

,      nb 
also  -r-  =  n  . 
o 

To  denote  that  any  four  quantities  a,  b,  c,  d,  are  pro- 
portionals, it  is  common  to  place  them  thus,  a  :  b  : :  c  :  d ; 
or  thus,  a  :  b  =  c  :  d ;  -which  notation,  when  expressed  in 
words,  is  read  thus,  a  is  to  b  as  c  to  d,  or  the  ratio  of  a  to 
b  is  equal  to  the  ratio  of  c  to  d. 

The  first  and  third  terms  of  a  proportion  are  called  the 
antecedents,  and  the  second  and  fourth  the  consequents. 

When  the  two  middle  terms  of  a  proportion  are  the 
same,  the  remaining  terms,  and  that  quantity,  constitute 
three  geometrical  proportionals;  such  as  4,  6,  9,  and  in 

In  this  case  the  middle  quantity  is  called 

a  mean  proportional  between  the  other  two. 

61.  The  principal  properties  of  four  proportionals  are 
the  following : 

1.  If  four  quantities  be  proportionals,  the  product  of 
the  extremes  is  equal  to  the  product  of  the  means.  Let 
a,  b,  c,  d,  be  four  quantities,  such  that  a  :  b  : :  c  :  d;  then, 

from  the  nature  of  proportionals,  t  =  ^:  let  these  equal 

quotients  be  multiplied  by  h  d,  and  we  have  ad  =  be.     It 

follows,  that  if  any  three  of  four  proportionals  be  given, 

the  remaining  one  may  be  found.     Thus,  let  a,  b,  c,  the 

first  three,  bo  given,  and  let  it  be  required  to  find  x,  tho 

fourth  term;  because  a  :  b  :  :  c  :  r,  ax  =  bc,  and  dividing 

,  be 

by  a.  x  =  —  . 
a 

The  converse  is  obviously  true,  viz.,  if  four  quantities  be 
such  that  the  product  of  two  of  them  is  equal  to  the  pro- 
duct of  the  other  two,  these  quantities  are  proportionals.. 

2.  If  four  quantities  are  proportional,  that  is,  if  a  :  b  : : 
c :  d,  then  will  each  of  the  following  combinations  or  arrange- 
ments of  the  quantities  be  also  four  proportionals. 

1  st,  By  inversion,    b  :a::d  :c. 

2d,  By  alternation,  a  :  c  : :  b  :  d . 

Note. — The  quantities  in  the  second  case  must  be  all  of 

tho  same  kind. 

3d,  By  composition,  a  +  b  :a  ::c  +  d:c, 

or,  a  +  b  :b  ::c  +  d  :  d. 

ith,  By  division,        a-b  :a::c-d  :c , 

or,  a  — b  :b  ::c  —  d  :d  . 

5th,  By  mixing,         a  +  b  :a-b  ::c  +  d  :c-d. 

6th,  By  taking  any  equimultiples  of  the  antecedents,  and 

also  any  equimultiples  of  the  consequents, 

na  :  pb  : :  nc  :  pd . 

7th,  Or,  by  taking  any  parts  of  the  antecedents  and  con- 

a    b       c    d 
sequents,  -:-::-:-• 

*  n    p      n   p 

That  the  preceding  combinations  of  the  quantities  a,  I, 

c,  d,  are  proportionals,  may  be  readily  proved,  by  taking 

the  products  of  the  extremes  and  means ;  for  from  each  of 

them  we  derive  this   conclusion,   that  ad=bc,  which  is 

known  to  be  true,  from  the  original  assumption  of  the 

quantities. 

8th,  H  four  quantities  be  proportional,  and  also  other  four. 

the  product  of  the  corresponding  terms  will  be  proportional. 

Let      a  :  b   ::c   :d, 

And    e :/  : :g  :h; 

Then  ae  :  bf : :  eg  :  dh . 
For  ad=bc,  and  eh  =fg,  as  before,  therefore,  multiplying 
together  these  equal  quantities,  adeh  =  bc/g,  oc  aexdh  =  bf 
x  eg;  therefore,  by  the  converse  of  the  first  property,  ae  : 
lf::cg:dh. 


Hence  it  follows,  that  if  there  be  any  number  of  pro- 
portions whatever,  the  products  of  tho  coiTosponding  terms 
will  still  be  proportional 

52.  If  a  series  of  quantities  bo  so  related  to  ea;h  other, 
that  the  quotient  arising  from  the  division  of  any  term  by 
that  which  precedes  it  i3  always  the  same  quantity,  theso 
are  said  to  be  in  geometrical  progression;  such  are  tho 
numbers  2,  4,  8,  16,  32,  &c,  also  £,  \,  \,  x^,  &c,  and  in 
general,  a  series  of  such  quantities  may  be  represented 
thus,  a,  ar,  ar2,  a?-3,  a?"1,  ar",  &c.  Hero  a  is  the  first  tenn, 
and  r  the  quotient  of  any  two  adjoining  terms,  which  i3 
also  called  the  common  ratio. 

By  inspecting  this  series,  we  find  that  it  has  the  follow- 
ing properties: 

1.  The  last  term  is  equal  to  the  first,  multiplied  by  the 
common  ratio  raised  to  a  power,  the  index  of  which  is  one 
less  than  the  number  of  terras.  Therefore,  if  z  denote  the 
last  term,  and  n  the  number  of  terms,  z  =  a?'*-1. 

2.  The  product  of  the  first  and  last  term  is  equal  to  the 
product  of  any  two  terms  equally  distant  from  them : 
thus,  supposing  ar5  the  last  term,  it  is  evident  that 
a  x  ar6  =  arx  ar*  =  ar2  x  ar3,  &c. 

The  sum  of  n  terms  of  a  geometrical  series  may  be 
found  thus  : 

3...+ar"~1 
+  ar'~l  +1 


Let 

s  =  a  +  ar  -»-  ar2  +  at 

Then 

rs  =  ar  +  ar2  +  ar3... 

Subtract, 

rs-s  =  ar'  -  a . 

That  is, 

(r-l)s  =  o(r"-.l). 

Hence 


r--l 


Cor.  Tho  sum  to  infinity  =  i— -  . 

Additional  Examples  in  retortion  and  Progression. 
Ex.  1.  How  many  strokes  docs  a  clock  strike  iu  twelve 
hours'! 

If  s  denote  the  number 

«=    1+   2  +  .. .12 
«=12  +  11  +  ...   1 
.-.  2s=13  +  13+  ..13  =  13x12;  «  =  78. 
Ex.  2.  Find  the  number  of  shot  lying  close  together  in 
the  shape  of  an  equilateral  triangle. 

Let  n  be  the  number  of  shot  in  a'  side  of  the  triangle. 
Counting  from  one  angle,  and  taking  in  successive  rows 
parallel  to  tho  opposite  side,  we  get  aa  the  number  ns 

quired 

n(n+l) 
L  +  2  +  ...n=  » 

Ex.  3.  To  find  the  numbei  of  shot  in  a  pile  of  tho  form 
of  a  triangular  pyramid. 

As  each  shot  lies  in  the  hollow  formed  by  those  below 
it,  the  number  of  shot  in  the  successive  sides  from  the  base 
upwards  will  evidently  be 

n.-l,n-2,...l. 
Hence  tho  number  of  shot  in  the  pile  will  bo 

L? 

2  ' 

To  sum  this  series  induction  may  be  employea.  Tho 
result  is 

n()t-H)(n  +  2)< 
6 
Ex.  4.  A  ratio  of  greater  inequality  fs  diminishod,  and 
of  less  inequality  increased,  by  adding  tho  same  quantity 
to  each  of  its  terms. 

Let  a>b;  then  t —  <  r  . 

By  multiplying  out,  this  i.«  evident. 


«(n+l)    (n 

-2 


•l)ii  |  (n-2)(n-l)  t 


538 


ALGEBRA 


fsiMrLE  E0.UATION3 


Ex.  5.  Find  the  vulgar  fraction  which  ia  equivalent  to 
tlie  recurring  decimal. 


•3142 

let 

Jt=-3i42, 

then 

10^  =  3-142^ 

10,000*=  3142-] 

.'.  subtracting 

9990.r  = 

=  3T39 
ol39 

9990  , 
Ex.  6.  A  si  m  ot  money  doubles  itself  in  fifteen  years 
at  a  rate  a  little  below  5  per  ccut.  A  noble  Scotch  family 
have  retained  in  their  possession  gold  coins  of  the  value  of 
£500  since  the  days  of  Mary  Stuart  (300  years)  ;  what 
have  they  lost  by  not  allowing  the  money  to  accumulate  at 
the  above  rate  ? 

Every  pound  would  have  amounted  to  £2*° ;  '.', 
£500  (2-°-l)  is  the  loss.  It  amounts  to  upward?  of 
£524,000,000. 

Ex.  7.  The  sum  of  the  mixed  series 

a  +  (a  +  l)r  +  (a  +  25)r*  £_.  .  .  .  r 
a        ir(l-r~')     (a  +  n- U)r»  . 
"  1-r"*"     {l-ry  1-t 

Sect,  VI. — Resolution  of  Equations  involving  one 
Unknown  Quantity. 

53.  TJie  primary  object  of  algebraic  investigation  is  to 
discover  certain  unknown  quantities,  by  comparing  them 
with  other  quantities  which  axe  given,  or  supposed  to  be 
known.  The  relation  between  the  known  and  unknown 
quantities  is  either  that  of  equality,  or  else  such  as  may 
be  reduced  to  equality;  and  a  proposition  which  affirms 
that  certain  combinations  of  quantities  are  equal  to  one 
another  u  colled  an  equation.     Such  are  the  following: — 

x  ,  x      24 

2  +  3   =7' 

2x  +  3y  =  xy , 

The  first  of  these  equations  expresses  \he>  relation  between 
an  unknown  quantity  x  and  certain  known  numbers ;  and 
the  second  expresses  the  relation  which  the  two  indefinite 
quantities  x  and  y  have  to  each  other. 

The  conditions  of  a  problem  may  be  mien  as  to  require 
several  equations  and  symbols  of  unknown  quantities  for 
their  complete  expression.  These,  however,  by  rules  here- 
after to  be  explained,  may  be  reduced  to  one  equation, 
involving  only  one  unknown  quantity  and  its  powers,  be- 
sides the  known  quantities;  and  the  method  of  expressing 
that  quantity  by  means  of  the  known  quantities  consti- 
tutes the  theory  of  equations,  one  of  the  most  important 
as  well  as  most  intricate  branches  of  algebraic  analysis. 

An  equation  is  said  to  be  resolved  when  the  unknown 
quantity  is  made  id  stand  alone  on  one  side,  and  only 
known  quantities  on  the  other  side;  and  the  value  of  the  un- 
known quantity  is  called  a  root  of  the  equation.  The  general 
definition  of  a  root  of  an  equation  is,  that  it  is  a  numerical 
quantity  (i.e.,  some  combination  of  numbers)  which,  when 
written  in  place  of  the  unknown  quantity,  renders  the 
equation  a  numerical  ideality;  thus  1  is  the  root  of  the 
equation  ar=  1,1  and  - 1  are  both  roots  of  the  equation 

«^=lj  lj  «/-l.-  J -I  and  -1  are  all  roots  of  the 
equation  a4-  1. 

54.  Equations  containing  only  one  unknown  quantity 
and  its  powers,  are  divided  into  different  orders,  according 
to  the  highest  power  of  that  quantity  contained  in  any  one 
of  its  terms.  The  equation,  however,  is  supposed  to  be 
reduced  to  such  a  form  that  the  unknown  quantity  is  found 
only  in  the  numerators  of  the  terms,  and  that  the  exponents 
of  its  powers  are  expressed  by  positive  integers, 


If  an  equation  contains  only  the  tirst  power  of  the 
unknown  quantity,  it  is  called  a  sbnjyle  equation,  or  an 
equation  of  the  first  order.  Such  is  ax  +  b  =  e,  where  x 
denotes  an  unknown,  and  a,  b,  c,  known  quantities. 

If  the  equation  contains  tho  second  power  of  tfie  un- 
known quantity,  it  is  said  to  bo  of  tho  second  degree, 
or  is  called  a  quadratic  equation;  such  is  4rJ  +  3j;=12, 
and  in  general  ax-  +  Ix  =■-  c.  If  it  contains  the  third  power 
of  the  unknown  quantity,  it  is  of  tho  third  degree,  or 
is  a  culic  equation  ;  such  are  x3  +  2x2  +  ix  =  10,  and 
ax3  +  Lx-  +  c.r  =  d ;  aud  so  on  with  respect  to  equations  of 
tho  higher  orders.  A  simple  equation  is  sometimes  said  to 
bo  linear,  or  of  one  dimension.  In  like  manner,  quadratic 
equations  are  said  to  be  of  two  dimensions,  .and  cubic 
equations  of  three  dimensions. 

When  in  the  course  of  an  algebraic  investigation  wr 
arrive  at  an  equation  involving  only  one  unknown  quantity, 
that  quantity  will  often  be  so  entangled  in  tho  different 
terms  as  to  render  several  previous  reductions  necessary 
before  tho  equation  can  bo  expressed  under  its  character- 
istic form,  so  as  to  be  resolved  by  the  rules  which  belong 
to  that  form. 

These  reductions  depend  upon  tho  operations  which 
have  been  explained  in  the  former  part  of  this  treatise, 
and  the  application  of  a  few  self-evident  principles,  namely, 
that  if  equal  quantities  be  added  to  or  subtracted  from 
equal  quantities,  the  sums  or  remainders  will  be  equal;  if 
equal  quantities  be  multiplied  or  divided  by  the  same 
quantity,  the  products  or  quotients  will  be  equal ,  and, 
lastly,  if  equal  quantities  be  raised  to  tho  same  Dower,  or 
have  the  same  root  extracted  out  of  each,  the  Jesuits  will 
still  be  equal. 

From  these  considerations  are  derived  ^ho  following 
rules,  which  apply  alike  to  equations  of  all  orders,  and  are 
alone  sufficient  for  the  resolution  of  simple  equations. 

55.  Jiule  1.  Any  quantity  may  be  transposed  from  one 
side  of  an  equation  to  the  other,  by  changing  its  sign. 

Thus,  if  3*-10  =  2*  +  5, 
Then  s3x-  2x=  5  +  10, 

Or  _  *=15. 

Again,  if  ax  +  b  =  ex  -  ax  +  e  ,■ 

Then  ax  -  ex  +  dx  =  e  -  b  , 

Or  (a-c-r  d)x  =  e  -  b . 

Tho  reason  of  this  rule  is  evident,  for  tho  transposing  of 
a  quantity  from  one  side  of  an  equation  to  the  other  is 
nothing  more  than  adding  tie  same  quantity  to  each  side 
of  the  equation,  if  the  sign  of  the  quantity  transposed  wa§ 
— ;  or  subtracting  it,  if  the  sign  was  + . 

From  this  rule  wo  may  infer,  that  if  any  quantity  be 
found  on  each  side  of  the  equation  with  the  same  sign,  it 
may  be  left  out  of  both.  Also,  that  the  signs  of  all  the 
terms  of  an  equation  may  be  changed  into  the  contrary, 
without  affecting  the  truth  of  the  equation. ' 

Tims,  if  a  +  x  =  l  +  a  +  c, 
Then  x  =  b  +  c; 

And  if  a  —  x  =  b-d, 

Then  x  -  a  =  d  -  b  . 

56.  Ruh  2.  If  the  unknown  quantity  in  an  equation  be 
multiplied  by  any  quantity,  that  quantity  may  be  taken 
away,  by  dividing  all  the  other  terms  of  the  equatioj 
by  it. 

If  3*- 24. 


Then 

If 

Then 


*     24-R 

ax  =-&-<?*, 

b-c     8     b 

x  = = 1 

a.        a     a 


aiSIPi-E  EQUATIONS.] 


ALGEBRA 


539 


Here  equal  quantities  are  divided  by  the  same  quantity, 

and  therefore  the  quotients  are  equal 

67.  Rule  3.  If  any  term  of  an  equation  be  a  fraction,  its 
denominator  may  be  taken  away,  by  multiplying  all  the 
other  terms  of  the  equation  by  that  denominator. 


If 

The- 

i=7> 

x  =  35  . 

If 

-=b-c+d , 

Then 
If 

x=ab  —  ac  +  ad 

b 
a--  =  c 

We  have 


ax  —  b  =  cx  and  x  =  ■ 


In  these  examples,  equal  quantities  are  multiplied  by 
the  same  quantity,  and  therefore  the  products  are  equaL 
58.  Rule  4.  If  the  unknown  quantity  is  found  in  any  term 
which  is  a  surd,  let  that  surd  be  made  to  stand  alone 
on  one  side  of  the  equation,  and  the  remaining  terms 
on  the  opposite  side;  then  involve  each  side  to  a  power 
denoted  by  the  index  of  the  surd,  and  thus  the  unknown 
quantity  shall  be  freed  from  the  surd  expression. 

If  ^  +  6  =  10,  _ 

Then,  by  transposition,  ,/r  =  10  -  6  =  4; 
And,  squaring  both  sides,   Jx x  Jx  =  4xi , 


Or 

Also,  if 
By  trans. 
Aid,  squaring, 

Hence 


*=16. 


Jar  +  x2  -  b  =  x , 

ar  +  x'i  =  (b  +  xf  =  b'1  +  1hx  +  xi 

a?-b2 
a2  =  bi  +  2bx,x  =  -y--- 


69.  Rule  5.  If  the  side  of  the  equation  which  contains  the 
unknown  quantity  be  a  perfect  power,  the  equation  may 
be  reduced  to  another  of  a  lower  order,  by  extracting 
the  root  of  that  power  out  of  each  side  of  the  equation. 

Thus,  if  xs=6ia3, 

Then,  by  extracting  the  cube  root,  x  =  4a ; 
And  if  (a  +  xf^tf-a?, 

Then  a  +  z  =  Jb--a2. 

60.  In  these  examples  we  have  been  able  to  determine 
the  value  of  the  unknown  quantity  by  the  rules  already 
delivered,  because  in  every  case  the  first,  or  at  most  the 
second  power  of  that  quantity,  has  been  made  to  stand 
alone  on  one  side  of  the  equation,  while  the  other  con- 
sisted only  of  known  quantities;  but  the  same  methods  of 
reduction  serve  to  bring  equations  of  all  degrees  to  a  pro- 

1  —  p  4-  0  +  T 

per  form  for  solution.      Thus,  if  — - — ; — =1  -p-x  + 
r  '  x+l 

- ;  by  proper  reduction,  we  have  Xs  +px2  +  qx  =  r,  a  cubic 

equation  which  may  be  resolved  by  rules  to  be  afterwards 
explained. 

Sect.  VH. — Reduction  of  Equations  involving;  more 
than  one  Unknown  Quantity. 

61.  Having  shown  in  the  last  section  in  what  manner 
an  equation  involving  one  unknown  quantity  may  be 
resolved,  or  at  least  fitted  for  a  final  solution,  we  are  next 
to  explain-the  methods  by  which  two  or  more  equations, 
involving  as  many  unknown  quantities,  may  at  last  be 
reduced  to  one  equation  and  one  unknown  quantity. 

As  the  unknown  quantities,  may  be  combined  together 
in  very  different  ways,  so  as  to  constitute  an  equation,  the 
methods  most  proper  for  their  elimination  must  therefore 
be  various..  The  three  following,  however,  are  of  general 
application,  and  the   last   of  them  may  be  used  with 


advantage,  not  only  when  the  unknown  quantity  to  be 
eliminated  rises  to  the  same  power  in  all  the  equations, 
but  also  when  the  equations  contain  different  powers  of 
that  quantity. 

62.  Method  1.  Observe  which  of  the  unknown  quantities 
is  the  least  involved,  and  let  its  value  be  found  from  each 
equation,  by  the  rules  of  last  section. 

Let  the  values  thus  found  be  put  equal  to  each  other, 
and  hence  new  equations  will  arise,  from  which  that  quan- 
tity is  wholly  excluded.  Let  this  operation  be  now  re 
peated  with  these  equations,  thus  eliminating  the  unknown 
quantities  one  by  one,  till  at  last  an  equation  be  found 
which  contains  only  one  unknown  quantity. 

Ex.  Let  it  be  required  to  determine  x  and  y  from  these 
two  equations. 

2s  +  3y  =  23. 


5:e-2y  =  10. 


From  the  first  equation,        x  ■■ 
From  the  second  equation,    x  ■ 


23-3;/ 


2 

10  +  2y 

5 

Let  these  values  of  x  be  now  put  equal  to  each  other, 
10  +  2;/     23-3i/ 


And  we  have 
Or 


And 
And   since 


x  = 


23  -3y 


5  2 

20  +  4y=115-15y; 
19^  =  95, 
y=5: 


10+ 2y 


from   either  of 


2     '  5 

these  values  we  find  x  =  4. 

63.  Method  2.  Let  the  value  of  the  unknown  quantity 
which  is  to  be  eliminated  be  found  from  that  equation 
wherein  it  is  least  involved.  Let  this  value  and  its 
powers  be  substituted  for  that  quantity,  and  its  respec- 
tive powers  in  the  other  equations ;  and  with  the  new 
equations  thus  arising,  let  the  operation  be  repeated  till 
there  remain  only  one  equation  and  one  unknown  quantity. 

Ex.  Let  the  given  equations,  as  in  last  method,  be 

2x  +  3y  =  23, 
5x-2y=10. 

23  — 3v 
From  the  first  equation,  x  =  — r —  ; 

And  this  value  of  x  being  substituted  in  the  second 

,         _     23-3y     „ 
equation,  we  have  5  x  — ^ ly  ■ 

Or 


:10 


115-15y-4y  =  20; 
95  =  19y, 
And  y  =  5 

23  -3u      ,         ,    r 

And  hence  x  =  — — -  =  4,  as  before. 

64.  Method  3.  Let  the  given  equations  be  multiplied 
or  divided  by  such  numbers  or  quantities,  whether  known 
or  unknown,  that  the  term  which  involves  the  highest 
power  of  the  unknown  quantity  may  be  the  same  in  each 
equation. 

Then,  by  adding  or  subtracting  the  equations,  as  occa- 
sion may  require,  that  term  will  vanish,  and  a  new  equa- 
tion emerge,  wherein  the  number  of  dimensions  of  the 
unknown  quantity  in  some  cases,  and  in  others  the  number 
of  unknown  quantities  will  be  diminished ;  and  by  a  repeti- 
tion of  the  same  or  similar  operations,  a  final  equation 
may  be  at  last  obtained,  involving  only  one  unknown 
quantity. 

Ex.  Let  the  same  example  be  taken,  as  in  the  illustra- 
tion of  the  former  methods,  namely, 
2x+3y  =  23, 
6^-2^  =  10. 


540 


ALGEBRA 


^SIMPLE   EQUATIONS. 


To  eliminate  x,  let  the  first  equation  be  multiplied  by  5, 
and  the  second  by  2  ;  thus  we  have 

10*+15y=115, 

10*  -    4y  =   20. 

Hare  the  term  involving  *  is  the  same  in  both  equations ; 
and  it  is  obvious,  that  by  subtracting  the  one  from  the 
other,  the  resulting  equation  will  contain  only  y,  and  known 
numbers;  for  by  such  subtraction  we  find  19y  =  95,  and 
therefore  y  =  5. 

Having  got  the  value  of  y,  it  is  easy  to  see  how  x  may 
be  found  from  either  of  the  given  equations  ;  but  it  may 
also  be  found  in  the  same  manner  as  we  found  y.  For  let 
the  first  of  the  given  equations  be  multiplied  by  2,  and  the 
second  by  3,  we  have 

ix+  6y  =  46 , 
15«-6y=30. 

By  adding  these  equations,  we  find 

19*  =76,  and  x  =  i. 

65.  The  following  examples  will  serve  further  to  illus- 
trate these  different  methods  of  eliminating  the  unknown 
quantities  from  equations. 

Ex.  1.  Given   (  °f  +  h,y  =  C  \  to  determine  *  and  y. 
.  \dx+fy=g  j  <     *. 

To  eliminate  y,  let  the  first  equation  be  multiplied  'by 

/,  and  the  second  by  b,  and  we  have 

afx  +  bfy^cj , 

bdx  +  bfy  =  bg .  - 

Taking  now  the  difference  between  these  equations, 

afx  —  bdx  =  cf—bg, 
Or  (af  -  bd)x  =  cf  -  bg , 

And  therefore  x  =    ,    , , . 

af-od 

In  the  same  manner  may  y  be  determined,  by  multiplying 
the  first  of  the  given  equations  by  d,  and  the  second  by  "a ; 
for  we  find 

adx  +  bdy  =■  cd , 

adx  +  afy  =  ag  . 

And  taking  the  difference  as' before,  we  get 

bdy  —  afy  =  cd  -  ag , 
cd-ag 


And  therefore 


y=; 


bd  —  qf  •• 

66.  This  example  may  be  considered  as  a  general  solu- 
tion of  the  following  problem  Two  equations  expressing 
the  relation  between  the  first  powers  of  two  unknown 
quantities  being  given,  to  determine  those  quantities  ;  for 
whatever  be  the  number  of  terms  in  each  equation,  it  will 
readily  appear,  as  in  Art.  55,  that  by  proper  reduction 
they  may  be  brought  to  the  same  form  as  those  given  in 
the  above  example. 

67.  Let  us  next  consider  such  equations  as  involve 
three  unknown  quantities. 


Ex.  2.  Given 


-  +  -  +  -  =  47 
-+-^  +  -  =  38 

4     5T6 


to  find  c,  ;/,  and  r. 


tiun  be  multiplied  by  10,  the  second  bv  5,  and  the  third 
by  S,  the  results  will  be  these  : 

120x  +  80y  +  60z=  14880, 

100r  +  75i/  +  60j=14100, 

90x  +  72y  + 60:  =13680. 

Let  the  second  equation  be  now  subtracted  from  the  first , 
and  the  third  from  the  second,  and  we  have 

20*-r5y  =  780, 

10*  +  3y  =  420. 

Next,  to  eliminate  y,  let  the  first  of  these  aquations  be 
multiplied  by  3,  and  the  second  by  5  ;  hence, 
60x+15y  =  2340, 
•50x+15y  =  2100. 

Subtracting  now  the  latter  equation  from  the  forme 

10x  =  240andx  =  24, 
420  -10i 

y t—  =  60, 


And 


1448-12£-8i/ 
6 


120. 


Ex.  3.    Given  Xs  -  y:  =  a2,  yi-xz  =  62,  z3  -  ry  -  e3,  te 
find  x,  y,  and  ». 

By  subtraction,  we  have 


Squaring,  adding,  and  dividing  by  2,  we  get 

(x2  +  y-  +  z2  -  xy  -  xz  -  yz)  (x  +  y  +  z)2  =•' 
a*  +  b*  +  c*  -  atb2  -  aV  -  62c?  . 

But  xi  +  yi  +  z2~xy-xz-yz\&  the  sum  of  the  three  given 
expressions,  and  . ".  equal  to  a2  +  b2  +  c2. 

Hence  (as  +  b2  +  c2)  (x  +  y  +  zf  =  a*  +  b*  +  <* 

-  a2©2  -  aV  -  b2<?,  which  gives  x  +  y  +  z. 

Equations  (1)  and  (2)  are  now  two  simple  equations, 
which,  combined  with  the  value  of  x  +  y  +  z  as  determined, 
give  x,  y,  and  z. 

Ex.  4.  Given   Jz->  «/l«(-J  +  -  +  ^) 


■J'y-H  H+p 


Here  the  given  equations,  when  cleared  from  fractions.* 
become 

12x  +  8y+  6«-1488, 
20x  +  15y  +  12:  =  2820, 
30x  +  24y  +  20z  =  4560. 

To  eliminate  z  by  the  third  method,  let  the  first  equa- 


Multiply  the    first  by  Jxr  the  second  by  Jy,  and   tke 
third  by  Jz,  and  add  two  and  two.     There  results 

, —  2c 
x  +  y  =  -Jxyz  — 

. —  26 
x  +  z  =  Jxyz  — 

y  +  z  =  Jxyz  — 

i.e.  xz  +  yz  =  Jxyzlc 

xy  +  yz  —  Jxyz  26 
xy  +  xz=>  Jxyz  2a 

yz=  Jxyz(b  +  c-a) 
xz=  J.xyz  (a  +  c-bj 
xy  =  Jxyz(a  +  b-c) 
Multiplying  any  two  of  these  we  get  one  of  the  unknown 
quantities : 

x  =  (a  +  e  -  6)  (a  +  6  -i  c),  &c. 

Sect.  VilL — Questions  peoduclno  Simple  Equations. 
68.  When  the  conditions  of  a  problem  have  been  ex- 


SIMPLE  EQUATIONS.] 


ALGEBRA 


541 


pressed  by  equations,  or  translated .  from  the  common 
language  into  that  of  algebra,  we  must  consider  whether 
the  problem  be  properly  limited;  for  in  some  cases  the 
conditions  may  be  such  as  to  admit  of  innumerable  solu- 
tions, and  in  others  they  may  involve  an  absurdity,  and 
thus  render  the  problem  altogether  impossible. 

Now,  by  considering  the  examples  of  last  section,  it 
will  appear,  that  to  determine  any  number  of  unknown 
quantities,  there  must  be  given  as  many  equations  as  there 
are  unknown  quantities.  These,  however,  must  be  such 
as  cannot  be  derived  from  each  other,  and  they  must  not 
involve  any  contradiction ;  for  in  the  one  case  the  problem 
would  admit  of  an  unlimited  number  of  answers,  and  in 
the  other  case  it  would  be  impossible.  For  example,  if  it 
were  required  to  determine  s  and  y  from  these  two  equa- 
tions, 2s  -  Zy  =  13,  4s  -  6y  =  26;  as  the  latter  equation 
is  a  consequence  of  the  former  (for  each  term  of  the  one 
is  the  half  of  the  corresponding  term  of  the  other),  it  is 
evident  that  innumerable  values  of  x  and  y  might  be  found 
to  satisfy  both  equations.  Again,  if  x  and  y  were  to  be 
determined  from  these  equations,  s+2y  =  8,  3s  +  6y  =  26, 
it  is  easy  to  see  that  it  i3  impossible  to  find  such  values  of 
x  and  y  as  will  satisfy  both ;  for,  from  the  first,  we  find 
3s  =  24  -  Gy ;  and  from  the  second,  3s  =  26  -  6y;  and 
therefore  24  -  6y  =  26  -  Gy,  or  24  =  26,  which  is  absurd; 
and  so  also  must  have  been  the  conditions  from  which  this 
conclusion  is  drawn. 

69.  But  there  is  yet  another  case  in  which  a  problem 
may  be  impossible  ;  and  that  is,  when  there  are  more 
equations  than  unknown  quantities ;  for  it  appears,  that 
in  this  case,  by  the  rules  of  last  section,  we  should  at  last 
find  two  equations,  each  involving  the  same  unknown 
quantity.  Now,  unless  these  happened  to  agree,  the  pro- 
blem would  admit  of  no  solution.  On  the  whole,  therefore, 
it  appears  that  a  problem  is  limited  when  the  conditions 
furnish  just  as  many  independent  equations  as  there  are 
unknown  quantities  to  be  determined :  if  there  be  fewer, 
the  problem  is  indeterminate;  but  if  there  be  more,  the 
problem  in  general  admits  of  no  solution  whatever. 

70.  We  shall  now  apply  the  preceding  observations  to 
some  examples,  which  are  so  chosen  as  to  admit  of  being, 
resolved  by  simple  equations. 

Ex.  1.  What  is  that  number,  to  which  if  there  be 
added  its  half,  its  third,  and  its  fourth  parts,  the  sum  will 
be  50? 

Let  x  denote  the  number  sought ;  then  its  half  will  be 

- ,  its  third  -  ,  and  its  fourth  - ; 
2  3  4 

XXX        _. 

*  +  i  +  3  +  4  =  5°- 
Hence  24*+  1 2s  +  8s  +  6s  =  1200, 

Or  50s  =1200; 

s  =  24. 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  numoer  sought  is  24,  which 
upon  trial  will  be  found  to  answer  the  conditions  of  the 
question. 

Ex.  2.  A  post  is  \  of  its  length  in  the  mud,  £  in  the 
water,  and  10  feet  above  the  water;  what  is  its  whole 
length? 

Let  its  length  be  x  feet,  then  the  part  in  the  mud  is 

-,  and  that  in  the  water  -;  therefore,  from  the  nature  of 
the  question, 


-  +  -  +  10  =  s. 
4     3 


From  this  equation  we  find  7x'  +  120  =  12s,  and  s=24. 

Ex.  3.  A  market-woman  bought  a  certain  number  of, 
eggs  at  2  a  penny,  and  as  many  at  3  a  penny,  and  sold  them 
all  oat  again  at  5  for  2d. ;  but,  instead  of  getting  her  own 


money  for  them,  as  sne  expected,  she  lost  4d.  :  what  num- 
ber of  eggs  did  she  buy  ? 

Let  x  be  the  number  of  eggs  of  each  sort; 

Then  .will  -  be  the  price  of  the  first  sort; 

And  -  =  the  price  of  the  second  sort. 

Now,  the  whole  number  being  2x,  we  hav« 

4x 
5  :  2x  : :  2  :  —  =  price  of  both  sorts  at  5  fur  2d.  • 


Z       X 

2  +  3 


4x 


=  4,  by  the  question. 

Hence  15s  +  10s-  24s  =  120, 

And  s=  120,  the  number  of  each  sort. 

Ex.  4.  A  person  .at  play  lost  J  of  his  money,  and  then 
won  3s. ;  after  which  he  lost  ^  of  what  he  then  had,  and 
then  won  2s. ;  lastly  he  lost  |  of  what  he  then  had,  and, 
this  done,  found  he  had  only  12s.  left :  what  had  he  at  first? 

Suppose  he  began  to  play  with  s  shillings. 

He  lost  i  of  his  money,  or  -,  and  had  left  z  -  -  =  — . 

He  won  3s.  and  had  then  —  +  3  = . 

4  4 

He  lost  i  of  — - — ,  or  — — .  and  had  left 

«  4  4 

3x.+  12  *  s+4     2x  +  8 
4  4  4 

He  won  2s.  and  had  then f-  2  = 

4  4 


He  lost  \  of 
2x  +  16     2x+16 


2x  +  16 

4      ' 
12x+96 


2x  +  16         ...,«. 

or  ,  and  had  left 


4  28  28 

And  because  he  had  now  12s.  left,  we  have  this  equation, 
12x+96 


28 


=  12. 


Hence  12s  =  240,  ands  =  20. 

Ex.  5.  To  divide  the  number  90  into  4  such  parts,  that 
if  the  first  be  increased  by  2,  the  second  diminished  by  2, 
the  third  multiplied  by  2,  and  the  fourth  -divided  by  2,  the 
sum,  difference,  product  and  quotient  shall  be  all  equal  to 
each  other. 

In  this  question  there  are  four  quantities  to  be  deter- 
mined; but  instead  of  introducing  several  letters,  having 
put  s  to  denote  the  first  of  them,  we  may  find  an  expres- 
sion for  each  of  the  remaining  ones,  as  follows 

Because  s  +  2  =  second  quantity  -  2, 

s  +  4  =  the  second  quantity; 

And  because  s  +  2  =  third  x  2 ; 

x  +  2 

——  =  the  third  quantity. 

And  in  like  manner  2(s  +  2)  =  the  fourth  quantity. 
Now  by  the  question,  the  sum  of  all  the  four  =  90; 

s  +  s  +  4  +  ^  +  2(s  +  2)  =  90 

Hence  9s  =  162,  and  s=  18; 

Therefore  the  numbers,  required  are  18,  22,  10,  and  40. 

Ex.  6.  A  and  B  together  can  perform  a  piece  of  wore 
in  12  hours,  A  and  C  in  20,  and  B  and  C  in  15  hours;  in 
what  time  will  each  be  able  to  oerform  it  when  working 
separately? 

That  we  may  have  a  general  solution,  let  us  suppose  A 
and  B  can  perform  the  work  in  a  hours,  A  and  O  in  b 
hours,  and  B  and  C  in  c  hours.  •  Let  s,  y,  and  t,  denote 
the  times  in  which  A,  B,  and  C,  could  perform  it  respec- 
tively, if  each  worked  alone;  and  let  the  whole  work  be 
represented  by  1.     The  question  gives  at  once — 


542 


ALGEBRA 


[quadratic  equations. 


1111    11 


y    zv    c 


x     y     a '  x  '  z     b 
if  these  "be  added,  and  their  sum  divided  by  2,  we  find 

1,11      1       1       1 

_  +  _  +  _  =  _+      + 

x     y     z     2a    M     2c 

From  this  equation  let  each  of  the  three  preceding  be 
subtracted  in  its  turn :  thus  we  get 

1  111       +ab+ac-bc 

Z=  -ZZ  +  Zi  +  7T  = 


2a     26     2c 

=    1-1+1= 
2ct     26     2c 

=    1+1-1= 

2a     26     2c 


2a6c  ' 
+  ab  -  ac  +  6e 

2a6c  » 
—  ai+ar  +  ic 


Ilence 


2a6c 


y  = 


+  a6  +  ac  — 6c 

2a6c 
+  o6-ac  +  6c 

2o6c 
—  a6  +  ac  +  6c 


2a6c 
7200 

120 

7200 
:  3C0 

7200 
:  240 


=  60, 
=  20. 
=  30. 


Sect.  IX. — Solution  of  Quadratic  Equations. 

71.  We  are  next  to  explain  the  resolution  cf  equations 
of  the  second  degree,  or  quadratic  equations.  These  in- 
volve the  second  power  of  the  unknown  quantity,  and  may 
be  divided  into  two  kinds,  pure  and  adjected. 

L  Pure  quadratic  equations  are  such  as  after  proper 
reduction  have  the  square  of  the  unknown  quantity  in 
one  term,  while  tho  remaining  terms  contain  only  known 
quantities.  Thus,  x2  =  64,  and  ax-  +  b  =  c,  are  examples  of 
pure  quadratics. 

II.  Ad/ectod  quadratic  equations  contain  the  square  of 
the  unknown  quantity  in  one  term,  aDd  its  first  or  simple 
power  in  another;  tho  remaining  terms  consisting  entirely 
of  known  quantities.  Such  are  the  following,  x2  +  3x 
«=28,  2x2  =  33-5ar,  ax2  +  bx-c  =  d. 

The  manner  of  resolving  a  pure  quadratic  equation  is 
sufficiently  evident.  If  tho  unknown  quantity  be  made  to 
etand  alone  on  one  side,  with  unity  as  a  coefficient,  while 
the  other  side  consists  entirely  of  known  quantities,  and 
the  square  root  of  each  side  be  taken,  we  immediately  ob- 
tain the  value  of  tho  simple  power  of  the  unknown  quan- 
tity as  directed  by  rule  5th  of  Sect.  VL 

In  extracting  the  square  root  of  any  quantity,  it  is 
necessary  to  observe,  that  the  sign  of  the  root  may  be 
either  +  or  - ,  and  that  consequently  a  quadratic  must 
always  have  two  solutions. 

72.  When  an  adfected  quadratic  equation  is  to  be  re- 
solved, it  may  always,  by  proper  reduction,  be  brought  to 
the  following  form : 

x2  +  px  =  q; 
where  p  and  q  are  numerical  quantities,  +  or  — . 

Let  us  compare  the  sido  of  it  which  involves  the  un- 
known quantity  x  with  the  square  of  a  binomial  x  +  a ;.  that 
is,  let  us  compare  x2+px  with  x2  +  2ax  +  a?  =  (x  +  a)2,  and 

v 
it  will  presently  appear,  that  if  we  suppose  p  =  2a,  or  -  =  a, 

the  quantities  x2+px  and  x2  +  2ax  will  be  equal;  and  as 
x2  +  2ax  is  rendered  a  complete  square,  by  adding  to  it  a", 
so  also  may  x-  +px  be  completed  into  a  square  by  adding 

to  it  ~  ,  which  is  equal  to  a2;  therefore,  let  ^  be  added  to 

both  sides  of  the  equation  x-+px  =  q,  and  we  have 

*2+^+j  =  fJ+?,or(z+|)2  =  ^+!?; 

and,  extracting  the  square  root  of  each  side,- 


•+ws 


+  q\  heuce  ar=  — ?* 


V    4 


+  2. 


73.  From  these  observations  we  derive  the  following 
general  rides  for  resolving  adfected  quadratic  equations. 

1.  Bring  all  tho  terms  involving  the  unknown  quantity 
to  one  side,  and  the  known  quantities  to  the  other  side, 
and  so  that  the  term  involving  the  square  of  the  unknowu 
quantity  may  be  positive. 

2.  If  the  square  of  the  unknown  quantity  be  midtiplied 
by  a  coefficient,  let  the  other  terms  be  divided  by-it,  so 
that  the  coefficient  of  the  square  of  the  unknown  quantity 
may  be  1. 

3.  Add  to  both  sides  the  square  of  half  the  coefficient 
of  the  unknown  quantity  itself,  and  tho  side  of  the  equa- 
tion involving  the  unknown  quantity  will  now  be  a  com- 
plete square. 

4.  Extract  the  square  root  of  both  sides  of  tho  equation, 
by  which  it  becomes  simple  with  respect  to  the  unknown 
quantity;  and,  by  transposition,  that  quantity  may  be  made 
to  stand  alone  on  one  side  of  the  equation,  while  the  other 
sido  consists  of  known  quantities;  and  therefore  the  equa- 
tion is  resolved. 

Ex.  1.  Given  x2  +  2x=  35,  to  determine  x . 
Here  the  coefficient  of  the  second  term  is  2;  therefore, 
adding  the  square  of  its  half  to  each  side,  we  have 

x:  +  2x+l  =  35  +  l  =  36, 

And,  extracting  the  square  root,  x  + 1  =  >j2i6  =  ±  6 . 

Hence  x  =  ±6-1,  that  is,  x=  -1  5,  or*=  -7,  and  either 
of  these  numbers  will  be  found  to  satisfy  the  equation,  for 
5x5  +  2x5  =  35,  also  -7x  -7  +  2x-7  =  35. 

Ex.  2.   Given  ~  -  12  =  *,  to  find  a:. 

This  equation,  when  reduced,  becomes  x2  -  Gx  =  72  , 
And,  by  completing  the  square,  x2  -6x  +  9  =  72  +  9  =  81  . 
Hence,  by  extracting  the  square  root,  x  -  3  =  ±9,  and 
x=  ±9  +  3; 

Therefore  x  =  + 1 2,  or  x  =  -  6 ;  and  upon  trial  we  find  that 
each  of  these  values  satisfies  the  original  equation,  for 

12x12     ..      1t>     ,       -6x-6     10  c 

— 12  =  12,  also  — 12=  -6. 

D  O 

Ex.  3.  Given  x2  +  28  =  1  \x,  to  find ' x. 
Then.  *2-lLr=  -28. 

And,  by  completing  the  square, 


4  4 


11         3 

Therefore,  by  extracting  the  root,  x  -  —  =  ±  -  • 

Hence  x  =  —  ±  -  ;  that  is,  x  =  +  7,  or  x  =  +  4 , 

In  the  first  two  examples,  we  found  one  positive  value 
for  x  in  each,  and  also  one  negative  value;  but  in  this 
example  both  tho  values  of  x  are  positive,  and,  upon 
trial,  each  of  them  is  found  to  satisfy  the  equation;  for 
7x7  +  28  =  11x7,  also  4x4  +  28  =  11x4. 

74.  As  at  first  sight  it  appears  remarkable,  that  in 
every  quadratic  equation  the  unknown  quantity  admits 
always  of  two  distinct  values  or  roots,  it  will  be  proper  to 
consider  a  little  further  the  circumstances  upon  which  this 
peculiarity  depends. 

To  do  this,  let  u3  re-examine  the  equation  x2  +  2x  =  35 . 
By  bringing  all  the  terms  to  one  side,  the  equation  may 
be  expressed  thus,  x2  +  2x  —  35  =  0  ;  so  that  we  shall  have  » 
determined  x,  when  we  have  found  such  a  number  as,  when 
substituted  for  it  in  the  quantity  x2  +  2x  -  35,  will  render 
the  result  equal  to  0.  But  x2  +  2x  -  35  is  the  product  of 
these  two  factors  x  -  5  and  x  +  7,  as  may  be  proved  by 
actual  multiplication;  therefore,  to  find  x,  we  have  (x-5) 
(i  +  7)  =  0;  and  as  a  product  can  only  become  =0  when 
one  of  its  factors  is  reduced  to  0,  it  follows  that  either  of 
the  'two  factors  x  -  5  and  x  +  7  may  be  assumed  =0.    If 


QUADRATIC  EQUATIONS.  J 

x-5  =  0,  then  x  =  5  ;  but  if  x  +  7  =  0,  then  x  —  -  7 ;  so 
that  the  two  values  of  x,  or  two  roots  of  the  equation 
z2  +  2r=35,  are  +5  and  -7,  as  vre  hare  already  found 
in  a  different  manner. 

75.  What  has  been  shown  in  a  particular  case  is  true  of 
any  quadratic  equation  whatever;  that  is,  if  x-+px  =  q,  or, 
by  bringing  all  the  terms  to  one  side,  x-  +pix  -  q  =  0,  it 
is  always  possible  to  find  two  factors  x  -  a,  and  x  +  b, 
such,  that 

a:2  +px -q=(x-a)  (x  +  o), 

T.here  a  and  b  are  known  quantities,  which  depend  only 
upon  p  and  q,  the  given  numbers  in  the  equation;  and 
since  that  to  have  (x  —  a)  (x  +  b)  =  0,  we  may  either  assume 
x  —  a  =  Q  or  x  +  b  =  0,  it  evidently  follows  that  the  condi- 
tions of  the  equation  x2  +px  -q  =  0,OTx2  +]>x  =q,  are  alik»s 
satisfied  by  taking  x=+aoTx=-b. 

From  these  considerations  it  follows,  that  x  can  have 
only  two  values  in  a  quadratic  equation ;  for  if  it  could  be 
supposed  to  have  three  or  more  values,  then  it  would 
be  possible  to  resolve  x2+px-q  into  as  many  factors, 
x  —  c,x-d,  &c. ;  but  the  product  of  more  than  two  factors 
must  necessarily  contain  the  third  or  higher  powers  of  x, 
and  as  x-  +px  -  q  contains  no  higher  power  than  the  second, 
therefore  no  such  resolution  can  take  place. 

7G.  Solution  of  Questions  winch  produce  Quadratic 
Equations. 

Ex.  1.  It  is  required  to  divide  the  number  10  into  two 
such  parts  that  the  sum  of  their  squares  may  be  58. 

Let  x  be  the  one  part; 

Then,  since  their  sum  is  10,  the  other  is  10  -x; 

. :  by  the  question,     z2  +  ( 1 0  -  #)2  =  5  8 ; 

That  is,  ar2  +  100-20x  +  x2  =  5S\ 

Or  2x2-20j;  =  58-10a"= -42: 

Hence  a;2-10x=  -21  . 

And  completing  the  square,  x1  -  10x  +  25  =  25  -  21  =  4  ; 
Hence,  by  extracting  the  root,   a;-5=±v/4=±2 

And  a;  =  5±2, 

That  is,  x  —  7,  or  x  =  3 . 

Tf  we  take  the  greater  value  of  x,  viz.  7,  the  other 
number  10  -  x  will  be  3  ;  and  if  we  take  the  less  value  of 
x,  viz.  3,  then  the  other  number  is  7.  Thus  it  appears, 
that  the  greater  value  of  the  one  number  corresponds  to 
the  less  value  of  the  other ;  and  indeed  this  must  neces- 
sarily be  the  case,  seeing  that  both  are  alike  concerned  in 
the  question.  Hence,  the  only  numbers  that  will  answer 
the  conditions  of  the  question  are  7  and  3. 

Ex.  2.  A  grazier  bought  as  many  sheep  as  cost  him 
£60,  out  cf  which  he  reserved  15,  and  sold  the  remainder 
for  £54,  gaining  2s.  each  upon  them.  How  many  sheep 
did  he  buy,  and  what  did  each  cost  him  1 

Suppose  that  he  bought  x  sheep. 

Then  each  would  cost  him  — — r  shillings. 
x-  ° 

Therefore,  since  after  reserving  15,  he  sold  each  of  the 

remaining  x  -  15  for 1-  2  shillings,  he  would  receive 

x 

for  them  (x  -  1 5)  ( h  2 )  shillings.     And,  because  £54 

m  1080  shillings,  we  have  by  the  question. 


ALGEBRA 


543 


(«■ 


■»>0?t»> 


10SO; 


which,  by  proper  reduction,  becomes  x-  +  45  x  =9000; 

195     45 
whence  x  =  ±  — — — .     And,  taking  the  positive  root, 

1  =  75,  the  number  of  sheep;  and  consequently  -rr-  =  16 


shillings,  the  price  of  each. 


To 


Ex.  3.  It  is  required  to  find  two  numbers,  of  which  the 
product  shall  be  6,  and  the  sum  of  their  cubes  35. 

c 

Let  x  be  the  one  number;  then  -  will  be  the  other. 

x 

216 
Therefore,  by  the  question,  x*  +  —  =  35  ; 

Hence  xn+  216  =  35*3 , 

Or  a-«-35x3=  -210. 

This  equation,  by  putting  a~  =  y,  becomes 
y2-35y=.-216; 

Hence  we  find        y  =  27,  ory  =  8. 

And  since      xs  =  y,  .:  x=3,  orx-2, 

H  x  =  3,  then  the  other  number  is  2,  and  if  x  =  2,  the 
other  number  ;s  3;  so  that  2  and  3  are  the  numbers  re- 
quired. 

In  general,  if  it  be  required  to  find  two  numbers  which 
are  exactly  alike  concerned  in  a  question  that  produces  a 
quadratic  equation,  they  will  be  the  roots  of  that  equation. 
A  similar  observation  applies  to  any  number  of  quantities 
which  require  for  their  determination  the  resolution  of  an 
equation  of  any  degree  whatever. 

1 7.  On  some  Anomalies  in  the  Solution  of  a  Problem  which 
results  in  an  Equation. 

From  what  has  preceded,  it  will  be  evident  that  a  root  of 
an  equation  may  be  a  very  different  thing  from  the  solution 
of  the  problem  on  which  the  equation  is  based.  It  will  be 
proper  to  give  a  few  illustrations  of  this  difference  before 
passing  on  to  consider  equations  in  general. 

(1.)  A  solution  may  be  inapplicable  to  the  problem  as  a 
problem  of  arithmetic,  applying  only  to  the  algebraic  pro- 
blem. 

Ex.  Find  a  number  such  that  if  it  be  first  increased  by 
10,  and  then  diminished  by  10,  the  difference  of  the  squaro 
roots  of  the  results  shall  be  equal  to  1 0. 

Let  x  be  the  number;  then  the  problem  requires  that 

Vtf+10-  -s/z-10  =  10. 

Transposing  and  squaring,  we  get 

x+  10  =  100  +  20  .y^lO  +  x  -  10  . 

Transposing  and  squaring  again,  there  results  x  -  10  = 
16,  a;  =  26. 

Now,  it  is  obvious  that  26  does  not  satisfy  the  condi- 
tions of  the  problem,  but  that  it  is  the  solution  of  another 
problem,  viz.,  that  which  substitutes  "sum"  for  "differ- 
ence" in  the  enunciation.  Generally  we  may  remark  that 
an  algebraic  statement  is  not  definite  like  an  arithmetical 
one.  The  algebraic  square  root  of  a  quantity  being  +  or 
— ,  algebra  cannot,  as  arithmetic  does,  distinguish  between 
the  two.  The  equation  nfx  +  Til-  Vx-  lu  =  10  is  alge- 
braically the  same  as  Jx  +  10  +  -Jx  -  10  =  10,  <tc 

(2.)  A  solution  may  be  inverted,  or  rather  may  invert 
the  statement. 

Ex.  Divide  15  into  two  such  part3  that  the  greater  shall 
exceed  three  times  the  less  by  as  much  as  half  the  less 
exceeds  3. 

Let  x  be  the  greater,  and  .\  15  -  x  the  less.  The  state- 
ment produces  the  equation, 

«-3  (15 -«)=>}  (15-«)-3, 

which  gives  at  once  x  =  11,  so  that  11  is  the  greater,  4  the 
less  part.  But,  on  trying  the  solution,  we  find  it  is  not 
that  of  the  problem  given,  but  of  another  problem,  in  which 
"  exceeds"  is  replaced  by  "  falls  short  of."  Algebra  cannot, 
in  every  case,  as  arithmetic  does,  distinguish/the  order  of 
subtraction  in  stating  a  difference. 

Ex.  2.  Find  a  number  such  that  the  square  root  of  the 
difference  between  its  fourth  power  and  its  square  being 


544 


ALGEBRA 


[equations  in  general. 


found  and  increased  by  1,  the  square  root  of  the  sum  shall 
be  equal  to  the  given  number  diminished  by  1. 
Let  x  be  the  number,  then 

J(\  +  s/^?)  =  z-l, 

Jx*  -x"-  =  x2-  2x,  whence  x  =  0,  x  =  -  , 

neither  of  which  solves  the  problem  (is  stated. 

(3.)  A  solution  may  bo  illusory — that  is,  it  may  assume 

the  form  -. 

Ex.  1.  There  are  two  pieces  of  cloth  of  a  and  a'  yards 
respectively.  The  owner  sells  the  same  number  of  yards 
of  each  at  6  and  6'  shillings  per  yard  respectively,  he  then 
sells  the  remainder  at  c  and  c'  shillings  a  yard,  and  finds  that 
the  prices  received  for  both  pieces  are  the  same.  Required 
the  number  of  yards  first  sold. 

„  ,       .  ac  —  a'c' 

Tho  number  is  -r, — r- , . 

b  -b  +  c-c' 

As  a  particular  case,  if  a  and  a'  are  60  and  80;  6  and  b' 
10  shillings  and  9  shillings ;  and  c  and  c'  4  shillings  and  3 

shillings,  the  answer  assumes  the  form  - . 

The  answer  is  in  this  case  indeterminate ;  in  other  words, 
the  conditions  of  tho  problem  are  satisfied  independently 
of  the  number  of  yards  first  sold ;  any  number  will  do. 

It  is  not,  however,  a  necessary  interpretation  of  tho  form 

-,  that  it  may  be  replaced  by  any  number  whatever.    Most 

frequentlythis  form  results  from  tho  fact  that  some  frac- 
tion is  not  in  its  lowest  terms.  Solutions  of  this  kind  fre- 
quently occur — in  ordinary  equations  they  maybe  avoided; 
and  we  offer  an  example  simply  to  show  the  method  appli- 
cable to  cases  in  which  they  cannot  be  avoided. 

Ex.  2.  Find  two  numbers  such  that  the  sum  of  their 
products  by  a  and  6  respectively  is  c,  and  tho  difference  of 
their  squares  d. 

We  have  ax  +  by  =  c 

x2  -y2  =  d 

x>-(^ff  =  d 

(a2  -  62)  x3  -  2acx  =  -  (c2  +  b*  d) 

r  _  ae  ±  Jo?c2  -  (a2  -  fr2)  (ca + b2j) 

To  find  the  solution  when  a  =  b,  we  observe  that  (taking 
the  negative  sign  of  the  square  root)  x  =  -  . 

This  arises  from  the  fact  that  some  power  or  root  of  a  -  b 
is  common  to  the  numerator  and  denominator  of  the  frac- 
tion. 

To  divide  this  out,  we  may  put  a2  -  b2  =pa2,  and  we 
shall  get 


l  -  acV  1  - 


c2+bU 


pa' 
1 

V 


P  +  V-d 


pa? 
1  t2+bU     I  c'+aH 
'2 


ac         2      ac 
when  a  is  written  for  6,  and  0  for  p. 

(4.)  A  solution  may  be  introduced  by  the  operation. 

In  the  example  last  given,  the  positive  sign  presents  us 
with  a  solution  introduced  by  the  operation,  which,  when 
o  •»  b,  is  not  a  solution  of  the  problem  at  alL 

For  in  that  case  the  two  equations  become  *  +  y=-> 

t*  -  y*  =  d;  the  latter  of  which  is  at  once  reduced  to  the 


simple  equation  x  -  y  =  —  by  means  ol  tno  formor.  Accord- 
ingly, both  equations  are  in  this  case  simple  equations,  and 
can  admit  of  only  one  solution. 

(5.)  As  a  solution  may  bo  introduced  by  tho  operation, 
so  may  it  be  dropped  out,  even  when  the  operation  is  a 
perfectly  legitimate  one. 

Ex.      J(2x  +  1 )  -  J(x  +  4)  =  J(ix  +  4)  -  vT3x  +  7) . 
Taking  reciprocals,  we  have 

1 1 

V(-2.s+  1)  -  V(i  +  4)  ~  V(4*  +  4)-  V(3.t  +  7) 

V(2x-H)+V(J:+4)_V(4x  +  4)-t-V(33;+7) 

•ac-3  i-3 

or       V(2*+l)+  V(*  +  4)=  J(4x  +  4)+  „/(3*  +  7), 

which  either  added  to  the  original  equation,  or  subtracted 

from  it,  produces  x  =  -  - . 
ji 

But  x  =  3  is  a  solution  of  the  equation  which  has  been 
dropped  out  by  the  omission  of  the  common  denominator 
x-  3. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  point  out  that  a  solution  may 
appear  under  the  form  «,/  -a  or  oo  . 

In  neither  case  can  the  problem  be  solved  arithmetically. 

Sect.  X. — Equations  in  general. 

78.  Before  we  proceed  to  the  resolution  of  cubic  and  tho 
higher  orders  of  equations,  it  will  bo  proper  to  explain  some 
general  properties  which  belong  to  equations  of  every  degree, 
and  also  certain  transformations  which  must  frequently  bo 
performed  upon  equations  in  order  to  prepare  them  for 
solution. 

In  treating  of  equations  in  general,  wo  shall  supposo  all 
the  terms  brought  to  one  side,  and  put  equal  to  0;  so  that 
an  equation  of  the  fourth  degree  will  stand  thus: 

x*  +PX3  +  qx-  +  rx  +  s  =  0  , 

.where  x  denotes  an  unknown  quantity,  and  p,  q,  r,  n,  num- 
bers or  fractions,  either  positive  or  negative.  Hero  tho 
coefficient  of  the  highest  power  of  x  is  unity,  but  had  it 
been  any  other  quantity,  that  quantity  might  have  been 
taken  away,  and  the  equation  reduced  to  the  above  form  by 
rules  already  explained  (Sect.  VI). 

The  terms  being  thus  arranged,  if  such  a  quantity  be 
found  as,  when  substituted  for  x,  will  render  both  sides  =  0, 
and  therefore  satisfy  the' equation,  that  quantity,  whether 
it  be  positive  or  negative,  or  even  imaginary,  is  defined  to 
be  a  root  of  the  equation.  But  we  have  seen  that  every 
quadratic  equation  has  always  two  roots,  real  or  imaginary; 
we  may  therefore  assume  that  a  similar  diversity  will  take 
place  in  all  equations  of  a  higher  degree;  and  this  assump- 
tion appears  to  be  well  founded,  by  the  following  proposi- 
tion, which  is  of  great  importance  in  the  theory  of  equa- 
tions. • 

If  a  root  of  any  equation,  as  x*+px3 +  qxi  +  rx  +  s  =  0, 
be  represented  by  a,  the  first  side  of  that  equation  is  divi- 
sible  by  x  -a; 

For  since  x*  +  px3  +  gx2  +  rx  +  s  -  0, 

And  also  a4  +pa3  +  qa?  +  ra  +  s  =  0; 

Therefore,  by  subtraction, 

x*-a*+p  (x3  -  a3)  +  q  (x2  -a2)  +  r(x  -  a)  =  0  . 
But  any  quantity  of  this  form  x"  -  a",  where  »  denotes  a 
whole   positive   number,   is  divisible  by  x  -  a  (Ait.   20, 
Ex.  \). 

ilence,  since  every  term  contains  a  factor  of  this  form, 
the  equation  may  be  written  under  the  form 
(x -a)  (x3  +  p'x2  +  q'x  +  r)  =■  0 . 
i.e.,  the  expression  x*  +px* +  q.>2 +  rx  +  s  is  divisible  by 


EQUATIONS   IN   GENEHAL.J 


ALGEBRA 


545 


x-a;  and  since  tlie  same  mock  of  reasoning  will  apply  to 
any  equation  whatever,  the  truth  of  the  proposition  is 
evident. 

We  have  found  that  (x  -  a)  (x3  +p'x2  +  qx  +  rr)  =  0;  and 
as  a  product  becomes  =  0  when  any  one  of  its  factors  =  0, 
therefore  the  equation  will  have  its  conditions  fulfilled,  not 
only  when  x  -  a  =  0,  but  also  when  x3  +p'x2  +  q'x  +  r'  =  0. 

Let  us  now  suppose  that  b  is  a  root  of  this  equation; 
then,  by  reasoning  exactly  as  before, 

x3  +p'x2  +  q'x  +  r  =  (x  -  b)  (x!  +  f"-x  +  7") . 
By  proceeding  in  the  same  manner  with  the  quadratic 
equation  x2  +p"x  +  q"  =  0,  we  shall  find  that  if  c  denote  one 
of  its  roots,  then 

x2  +p"  x  +  q"  =  (x  -  c)  (x  +  c  +p") . 

So  that  if  we  put  d  —  -  (c  +  p"),  we  at  last  find  x4  +px*  + 
qx2  +  rx  +  s  =  (x-  a)  (x-  b)  (x  -c)  (x-d);  a,  b,  c,  d,  being 
the  roots  of  the  equation,  x*  +px?  +  qx2  +  rx  +  s  =  0 . 

The  mode  of  reasoning  which  has  been  just  now  employed 
in  a  particular  case,  may  be  applied  to  an  equation  of  any 
order  whatever;  we  may  therefore  conclude,  that  every 
equation  may  be  considered  as  the  product  of  as  many 
simple  factors  as  the  number  denoting  its  order  contains 
unity,  and  therefore,  that  the  number  of  roots  in  any  equa- 
tion is  precisely  equal  to  the  exponent  of  the  highest  power 
of  the  unknown  quantity  contained  in  that  equation. 

79.  By  considering  equations  of  all  degrees  as  formed 
from  the  products  of  factors  x  -  a,  x  -  b,  x-c,  &c,  we  dis- 
cover certain  relations  subsisting  between  the  roots  of  any 
equation  and  its  coefficients.     Thus,  if  we  limit  the  num- 
ber of  factors  to  four,  and  suppose  that  a,  b,  c,  d,  are  the 
roots  of  this  equation  of  the  fourth  degree, 
x*  +px3  +  qx2  +  rx  +  s  =  0  , 
we  shall  also  have  (x  -  a)  (x  -  b)  (x-c)  (x~d)  =  0;  and 
therefore,  by  actual  multiplication. 
+  ab 

—  abc  1 

—  abd  I 
-acd  f 
-bed  J 


■  x  +  abed  =  0 . 


If  we  compare  together  the  coefficients  of  the  same 
powers  of  x,  we  find  the  following  series  of  equations : 
a  +  b+c  +  d=  —p  , 
ab  +  ae  +  ad  -J-  be  +  bd  +  cd  =  +  q  , 
abc  +  abd  +  acd  +  bed  =  -  r  , 
abcd=  +$; 
and  as  similar  results  will  be  obtained  for  equations  of  all 
degrees,  we  hence  derive  the  following  propositions,  which 
are  of  great  importance  in  the  theory  of  equations. 

1.  The  coefficient  of  the  second  term  of  any  equation, 
taken  with  a  contrary  sign,  is  equal  to  the  sum  of  all  the 
roots. 

2.  The  coefficient  of  the  third  term  is  equal  to  the  sum 
of  the  products  of  the  roots  multiplied  together  two  and 
two. 

3.  The  coefficient  of  the  fourth  term,  taken  with  a  con- 
trary sign,  is  equal  to  the  sum  of  the  roots  multiplied  toge- 
ther three  and  three;  and  so  on  for  the  remaining  coeffi- 
cients, till  we  come  to  the  last  term  of  the  equation,  which 
is  equal  to  the  product  of  all  the  roots  having  their  signs 
changed. 

Instead  of  supposing  an  equation  to  be  produced  by  mul- 
tiplying together  simple  equations,  we  may  consider  it  as 
formed  by  the  product  of  equations  of  any  degree,  provided 
that  the  sum  of  their  dimensions  be  equal  to  that  of  the 
proposed  equation.  Thus,  an  equation  of  the  fourth  degree 
may  be  formed  cither  from  a  simple  and  cubic  equation,  or 
from  two  quadratic  equations 


80.  When  the  roots  of  an  equation  are  all  positive,  itt 
simple  factors  will  have  this  form,  x-a,  x-b,  x-c,  tic, 
and  if,  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  we  take  only  these  three, 
the  cubic  equation  whioh  results  from  their  product  will 
^ave  this  form, 

x3  -  px2  +  qx  -  r  =  0  , 
where  p  =  a  +  6  +  c,  q  =  ab  +  ac  +  bc,  r  =  abc; 

and  here  it  appears  that  the  signs  of  the  terms  are  +  and 
-  alternately. 

Hence  we  infer,  that  when  the  roots  of  an  equation  are 
all  positive,  the  signs  of  its  terms  are  positive  and  negative 
alternate)/. 

If  again  the  roots  of  the  equation  be  all  negative,  and 
therefore  its  factors  x  +  a,  x  +  b,  x  +  c,  then  p,  q,  and  r 
being  as  before,  the  resulting  equation  will  stand  thus: 

x3  +px2  +  qx  +  r  =  0 . 
And  hence  we  conclude,  that  when  the  roots  are  all  nega- 
tive, there  is  no  change  whatever  in  the  signs. 

In  general,  if  the  roots  of  an  equation  be  all  real,  that 
equation  will  have  as  many  positive  roots  as  there  are 
changes  of  the  signs  from  +  to  - ,  or  from  -  to  + ;  and 
the  remaining  roots  are  negative.  This  rule,  however,  does 
not  apply  when  the  equation  has  impossible  roots,  unless 
such  roots  be  considered  as  either  positive  or  negative. 

The  connection  between  the  signs  of  the  roots  and  the 
signs  of  the  terms  of  an  equation  can  be  deduced  from  the 
proposition,  that  the  introduction  of  a  new  positive  root 
introduces  a  new  change  of  signs  amongst  the  terms  of  the 
equation. 

The  demonstration  of  this  proposition  depends  on  the  Kule  a 
fact  already  established,  that  an  equation  may  be  resolved  s'g°* 
into  the  product  of  simple  factqrs,  so  that,  for  example, 
every  equation  of  the  fifth  degree  may  be  derived  from 
some  equation  of  the  fourth,  by  multiplying  the  latter  by 
x-a  where  a  is  the  additional  root.  We  shall  show  that 
the  introduction  of  a  new  positive  root  produces  an  equa- 
tion with  at  least  one  more  change  of  signs  than  the  origi- 
nal, and  the  introduction  of  a  new  negative  root  produces 
an  equation  with  at  least  one  more  continuation  of  the 
same  sign.  To  save  space,  it  will  suffice  if  we  write  the 
signs  without  the  letters ;  thus,  x2  +px  -  q  may  be  written 
+  -I — .     Let,  then,  any  equation  be  written  down  (of  the 

sixth  degree,  for  instance),  +  -\ +  —  +  ;  multiply  by 

x-a,  and  write  the  multiplication  in  the  usual  form, 

The  signs  of  the  product  are  all  determinate  except  two, 
which  we  have  marked  with  a  (1).  Now  the  changes  of 
sign  in  the  original  equation  are  three — one  between  tne 
1st  and  3d  terms,  one  between  the  3d  and  5  th,  and  one 
between  the  5th  and  6th;  and  it  is  evident  that  whatever 
be  the  signs  marked  (1),  the  produced  equation  has  as 
many  changes  of  sign  as  the  original  between  the  same 
limits,  and  one  change  beyond  those  limits,  viz.,  between 
the  7th  and  8th  terms.  This  proposition  is  perfectly 
general,  that  the  introduction  of  a  positive  root  causes  the 
introduction  of  at  least  all  the  original  changes  of  sign 
within  their  limits,  and  one  more  change  beyond  those 
limits.  In  the  same  manner  we  may  prove  that  the  intro- 
duction of  a  negative  root  introduces  at  least  one  more 
continuation  of  the  same  sign.  Hence  the  conclusion, 
that  an  equation  cannot  have  more  positive  roots  than  it  hoc 
clmnges  of  sign,  nor  more  negative  roots  than  it  has  cor* 
tinuations  of  the  same  sign.  This  proposition  is  known  at 
Descartes'  Rule  of  Signs. 

81.  Surd  and  impossible  roots  enter  equations  by  pairi 
Let  a  +  *Jb  be  a  root,  where  6  is  ft  positive  or  negative 
number  or  fraction  ;  then  a  -  ,Jh  is  also  a  root 


1-19 


54G 


A  L  G  E  B  li  A 


(.EQUATIONS   IN  QZHKOAXm 


If  a  +  fl  bo  written  fur  x  iu  tin;  quantity  x"  f  j)**-1  + 
<tc,  the  result  is  composed  of  a  series  of  powera  of  a  aud 
V*-  Of  these  all  but  tho  odd  powers  of  Jb  are  numerical, 
whilst  odd  powers  of  Jb  may  be  written  as  num 
products  of  Jb  itself.  Tho  result  of  the  substitution  is 
therefore  of  the  form  A  +  B  Jb.  But  sinco  a  +  Jb  is 
a  root  of  the  equation  x"+px"~'  +  <fcc.  =  0.  we  must  have 
A  +  B^  =  0,  aud.-.  A  =  0,  B  =  0. 

Now  if  a  -  </b  be  substituted  for  x,  tho  result  will  bo 
A.-BJb,  because  even  powers  of  -  Jb  are  the  samo  as 
those  of  +  Jb.  But  A  =  0,  B  =  0.-.  A-  B  Jb  =  Q;  con- 
sequently a  -  Jbisa  root  of  the  equation. 

From  this  proposition  it  appears  that  every  equation 
whose  degree  is  denoted  by  an  odd  number,  must  have  at 
least  one  real  root. 

•82.  We  shall  now  explain  some  transformations  which 
are  frequently  necessary  to  prepare  the  higher  orders  of 
equations  for  solution. 

Any  equation  may  have  its  positive  roots  changed  into 
negative  roots  of  the  same  value,  and  its  negative  roots  into 
such  as  aro  positive,  by  changing  the  signs  of  the  terms 
alternately,  beginning  with  the  second,  the  truth  of  this 
remark  will  be  evident  if  we  take  the  equation 

(x  -  a)  (x  -  b)  (x  +  c)  =  Xs  +px2  +  qx  +  r  =  0 , 

and  write  -  x  in  place  of  x,  producing 

-(x  +  a).-(x  +  b).(-x  +  c)  =  -x3+px2-qx  +  r  =  0, 
ie.,  (x  +  a)  (x  +  b)  (x-  c)  =  x3  -px2  +  qx  -  r  =  0 , 
where  it  appears  that  the  signs  of  the  first  and  third  terms 
are  the  same  as  in  the  original  equation,  but  the  signs  of 
the  second  and  fourth  are  the  opposite.  And  this  will  be 
found  to  hold  true  of  all  equations,  to  whatever  order  they 
belong. 

83.  It  will  sometimes  be  useful  to  transform  an  equa- 
tion into  another  that  shall  have  each  of  its  roots  greater 
or  less  than  the  corresponding  roots  of  the  other  equation, 
by  some  given  quantity. 

Let  (x  -  a)  (x  -  b)  (x  +_i) ■  0  be  any  proposed  equation 
which  is  to  bo  transformed  into  another,  having  its  roots 
greater  or  less  than  those  of  the  proposed  equation  by  the 
(liven  quantity  n;  then,  because  the  roots  of  the  trans- 
formed equation  are  to  be  +  a  ±  n,  +  6  ±  n,  and  -  c  ±  n, 
the  equation  itself  will  be 

(y  t  n  -  a)  (y  T  n  -  b)  (y  t  n  +  c)  =  0 . 
Hence  the  reason  of  the  following  rule  is  evident. 

If  the  new  equation  is  to  have  its  roots  greater  than 
those  of  the  proposed  equation,  for  x  and  its  powers  substi- 
tute y  -  n  and  its  powers;  but  if  the  roots  are  to  be  less, 
then,  for  x  substitute  y  +  n ;  and,  in  either  case,  a  new  equa- 
tion will  be  produced,  the  roots  of  which  shall  have  the 
property  required. 

84.  By  the  preceding  rule,  an  equation  may  be  changed 
into  another,  which  has  its-  roots  either  all  positive  or  all 
negative;  but  it  is  chiefly  used  in  preparing  cubic  and  bi- 
quadratic equations  tor  solution,  by  transforming  them 
into  others  of  the  same  degree,  but  which  want  their 
second  term. 

Let  x3  +  px2  +  qx  +■ r  —  0  be  any  cubic  equation;  if  we 
substitute  y-f  ?t  for  x,  the  equation  is  changed  into  the 
following :' 


f  +  3n\    „+  3n2\       +  n3  "J 
+  p  I  y  +  2»»  \  y  +pn2\ 


p\  "  +  2/>»S  y  +pn--y  =Q 

+  r  ■  ) 
Now,  that  this  equation  may  want  its  second  term,  it  is 
evident  that  we  have  only  to  suppose  Zn  +p  =  0,  or  n  = 

-^;  for  this  assumption  being  made,  and  the  value  of  n 

■mbstituted  in  the  remaining  terms,  the  equation  becomes 


7>'  2p3     pa 

or,  putting  --^  +  q  =  q',  and+ -;r -  — +  r  =  r',   the  same 

equation  may  stand  thus, 

y3  +  q'y  +  r  =  0 . 

85.  In  general,  any  equation  whatever  may  bo  trans- 
formed into  another,  which  shall  want  its  second  term,  by 
the  following  rule. 

Divido  the  coefficient  of  the  second  term  of  the  pro- 
posed equation  by  the  exponent  of  the  first  term,  and  add 
the  quotient,  with  its  sign  changed,  to  a  new  unknown 
quantity;  the  sum  being  substituted  for  the  unknown 
quantity  in  the  proposed  equation,  a  new  equation  will  be 
produced,  which  will  want  the  second  term,  as  required. 

By  this  rule  any  adfected  quadratic  equation  may  be 
readily  resolved;  for  by  transforming  it  into  another  equa- 
tion which  wants  the  second  term,  we  thus  reduce  its  solu- 
tion to  that  of  a  pure  quadratic.  Thus,  if  the  quadratic 
equation  x2  -  5x  +  6  =  0  be  proposed;  by  substituting  y  +  J 
for  x,  we  find 

-5y-¥>  =0,ory*-i  =  0. 
+  6j 

Hence  y  =  ±  f ,  and  since  *  =  y  +  |,  therefore  x  =  ±  '  +  J  = 
+  3,  or  +  2  . 

86.  Instead  of  taking  away  the  second  term  from  an 
equation,  any  other  term  may  be  made  to  vanish,  by  an 
assumption  similar  to  that  which  has  been  employed  to 
take  away  the  second  term.  Tims,  if  in  Art.  84  we  assume 
3n2  +  2pn  +  q  =  0,  by  resolving  this  quadratic  equation,  a 
value  of  ri  will  be  found  which,  when  substituted  in  tho 
equation,  will  cause  the  third  term  to  vanish;  and,  by  the 
resolution  of  a  cubic  equation,  the  fourth  term  may  be 
taken  away;  and  so  on. 

87.  Another  species  of  transformation,  of  use  in  tho 
resolution  of  equations,  is  that  by  which  an  equation,  hav- 
ing the  coefficients  of  some  of  its  terms  expressed  by  frac- 
tional quantities,  is  changed  into  another,  the  coefficients 
of  which  are  all  integers. 

Let  x3  +  -x2  +  \x  +  -=  0  denote  an  equation  to  be  so 
a         b       o 

transformed,  and  let  us  assume  y=>abcx,  and  therefore 

x  =  -4-  ;  then,  by  substitution,  our  equation  becomes 
abc 


V3  V      o        Q         r 

-2  +  -~y  +  --- 


■0j 


and  multiplying  the  whole  equation  by  aWc3,  we  have 
y3  +  bepy2  +  a2bc2qy  +  a3b3c2r  =  0  . 
Thus  we  have  an  equation  free  from  fractions,  while  at 
the  same  time  the  coefficient  of  the  highest  power  of  the 
unknown  quantity  is  unity,  as  before. 

Examples  of  the  Transformation  and  Solution  of  Equations 
when  certain  relations  artujngst  the  roots  are  hwivn. 

Ex.  1.  IS  a,b,c  aro  the  roots  of  the  equation  x3  -  x2  + 
1x  -  3  =  0,  to  form  tho  equation  of  which  the  roots  are 

(1.)  a  +  b,b  +  c,c  +  a. 

Let  y  be  any  one  root  of  the  required  equation;  put 
y  =  a+b  +  c-x=l-x  (Art.  79),  and  the  values  of  y  will 
be  the  roots  of  the  equation  required,  which  is  therefore 

(l_y)3_(l_y)2+2(l-y)_3  =  0, 

or  y3-2y2  +  3y+l  =  0. 

abc 


(2.) 


b+c-a'  a+c-b'  a+b-e' 


CUBIC  EQUATIONS.] 


ALGEBRA 


547 


Let 


a  +  b+c-2x     l-2x' 
.     29    ,16        3      - 

^+ny  +l7^+r7=0 


y{y  +  2f  =  {y  +  3f, 


is  the  equation  required. 

(3.)  a2,  62,  <?. 

If  y  =  x2,  the  values  of  y  are  a2,  ft2,  e*.    Accordingly  we 
require  to  throw  the  given  equation  into  a  form  which 
involves  no  odd  powers  of  x.     This  is  done  a3  follows: 
zi-x*+2x-3  =  x(x2  +  2)-(a*+3)  =  0; 
x(x2  +  2)  =  «2  +  3 
squaring, 
or- 
or  y3  +  3y2-2y'-9=0. 

(4)  -     -     - 

1    '  ^bc'  ac'  of 

Let    y=£=l'and^+y2-iy-i-° 

is  the  equation  required. 

Ex.  2.  Two  roots  of  the  equation 

*4-16z3  +  86z2-176z  + 105  =  0 
are  1  and  5.     Find  the  other  roots. 

The  quantity  on  the  left  hand  side  of  the  equation  is 
(Art.  78)  divisible  by  (x  -  l)(x  -  5),  or  by  x2  -  Gx  +  5. 

The  quotient  is  ^-lO-s  +  21,  which,  being  put  =0, 
gives  3  and  7,  the  roots  required. 

Ex.  3.  Tho  equation  x3-ix2  +  x  +  r  =  0  has  one  root, 
3;  find  r  and  the  other  roots. 

Write  3  for  x,  then  r  —  G,  and  the  equation  may  be 
written 

(x-3)(x2-x-2)  =  0, 
which  gives  '  x  =  2 ,  *  =  - 1 . 

Ex.  4.  The  equation  x3  +  a;2-l6a;-16  =  0  ha3  two  roots 
of  the  form  +  a ,  -a;  find  them. 

If  we  write  -  x  for  x,  we  get  the  equation 
x3-x2-\Gx  +  \G  =  0, 
which  has  also  two  roots,  -  a,  +  a, .  \  x2  -  a2  is  a  common 
measure  of  the  two  quantities.     But  x2  -  1 6  is  easily  found 
to  be  a  common  measure  of  the  two  quantities, . .  a  =  4 . 

Ex.  5.  The  roots  of  the  equation 

Xs-  6x2  + 11*  -6  =  0 
are  in  arithmetical  progression;  find  them. 

If  a,  a  +  b,  a  +  2b  be  the  roots,  their  sum  is  3(a  +  6), 
i.  e.,  three  times  the  middle  root  But  (Art.  79)  their  sum 
is  6,  V.  a  +  b  =  2, 

also  a(a  +  b)  (a  +  26)  =  6 , 

£«.,  a(4-a)  =  3,  a2-4a  +  3  =  0, 

«  =  l,a  =  3. 

Ex.  6.  The  three  roots  of  the  equation  a8 -7*'+ 16a 
—  8  =  0  are  in  geometrical  progression ;  find  them. 

Let  a,  ar,  a*2  be  the  roots;  then  their  product  is  (ar)3, 
.'.  (ar)3  =  8,  and  ar  =  2,  .:  their  sum  a  +  ar  +  ar£  =  7, 
which  gives  a=l,r=2, 

and  1  2,  4  are  the  roots. 

Seot.'  XL — Solution  of  Cubic  Equations. 

88.  Cubic  equations,  like  all  equations  above  the  first 
degree,  are  divided  into  two  classes:  they  are  said  to  be 
pure  when  they  contain  only  one  power  of  the  unknown 
quantity;  and  adfected  when  they  contain  two  or  more 
powers  of  that  quantity. 

Pure  cubic  equations  are  therefore  of  this  form,  x3  =  125, 
or  Xs  =  -  27,  or,  in  general,  xi  =  r;  and  hence  it  appears 
.hat  a  value  of  the  simple  power  of  the  unknown  quantity 
may  always  be  found  without  difficulty,  by  extracting  tho 
cube  root  of  each  side  of  the  equation ;  thus,  from  the  first 
of  the  three  preceding  examples  we  find  x  ■—  +  5,  from  the 
second  x  =  -  3,  and  from  the  third,  x  =  \/r. 


It  would  seem  at  first  sight  that  the  only  value  which 
x  can  have  in  the  cubic  equation  Xs.  =  r,  or  putting  r  =  e3, 
a3  -  c3  =  0,  is  this  one,  x  =  c;  but  since  x3  -  c3  may  be  re- 
solved into  these  two  factors,  x-c  and  xP  +  ex  +  c2,  it  fol- 
lows, that  besides  the  value  of  x  already  found,  which 
results  from  making  the  factor  x  -  e—  0,  it  has  yet  other 
two  values,  which  may  be  found  by  making  the  other  fac- 
tor x2  +  cx  +  c2  =  0;  and  accordingly,  by  resolving  the  qua- 
dratic equation  x2  +  cz~  -c2,  we  find  these  values  to  be 


-c+V-3c3 


and 


-c-d-Zc* 


-l  +  v^-3       ,-1-V- 

or c  and - — 


Thus  it  appears, 
x3  =  e3,  or  x3  -  c3  ■ 


2         '•"         2 
that  any  cubic  equation  of  this  form, 
» 0,  has  these  three  roots, 


-\  +  i/- 


-3            -l-VT-j 
-c,x  = e; 


the  first  of  which  is  real,  but  the  two  last  are  imaginary. 
If,  however,  each  of  the  imaginary  values  of  x  be  raised 
to  the  third  power,  the  same  results  will  be  obtained  as 
from  the  real  Value  of  x,;  the  original  equation  z?  -  e3  =  0 
may  also  be  reproduced,  by  multiplying  together  the  three 

factors  x-c,  x c,  and  x  -  —~ — —  e . 

89.  Let  U3  now  consider  such  cubic  eguations  as  have 
all  their  terms,  and  which  are  therefore  of  tnte  form, 

x3  +  Ax2  +  Bx  +  G  =  0, 
where  A,  B,  and  C  denote  known  quantities;  either  poai 
tive  or  negative. 

It  has  been  shown  (Art.  84)  how  an  equation  having 
all  its  terms  may  be  transformed  into  another  which  wants 

the  second  term    therefore,  assume  x  =  y  -  —  ,  as  directed 

3 

in  that  article;  then,  by  proper  substitution,  the  abore 
equation  will  be  changed  into  another  of  this  form, 

y3  +  q y  +  r  =  0 , 

where  q  and  r  denote  known  quantities,  whether  positive 
or  negative ;  now  the  roots  of  this  equation  being  found, 
it  is   evident  that  those  of  the  former  may  be  readily 

A 

obtained  by  means  of  the  assumed  equation  «=y-  — . 

3 

Resuming,  therefore,  the  equation  y3  +  qy  +  r  =  0,  let  us 

suppose  y  =  v  +  z,  and  it  becomes 

i?  +  3v2z  +  3vz2  +  z3 

+  qv  +  qz  )■  =  0. 


!  +  2M 

>  +  qz>=( 
+  r  ) 


Thus  we  have  a  new  equation,  which,  as  it  involves 
two  unknown  quantities,  o  und  t,  may  be  resolved  into  any 
two  others,  which  will  simplify  the  determination  of  those 
quantities. 

Now,  it  appears,  that  the  only  way  in  which  we  can 
divide  that  equation  into  two  othere,  so  as  to  simplify  tho 
question,  is  the  following : 

3v*z  +  3vz2  +  qv  +  qz  =  0, 
^  +  jS  +  r=0. 

The  first  of  these  may  also  be  expressed  thus, 

(3vz  +  q)(v  +  z)  =  0. 
Hence,  we  must  either  suppose  that  v  +  z  =  0,  or  that 
3vz  +  q  =  0 ;  but  the  former  supposition  cannot  be  admitted 
without  supposing  also  that  y  =  0 ;  therefore  we  must 
adopt  the  latter.  So  that  to  determine  v  and  z  we  have 
these  two  equations, 

3vz  +  q  =  0,    ti3  +  zs  +  r  =  0. 

This 


From  the  first,  we  find  vz  m  -|,  and.'.  1^2?=  —  sb* 


reduces  the  second  equation  to  a  quadratic  in  Vs,  vii 
y6  +  rv3  -  |c  =  0,  the  solution  of  which  equation  is 


548 

t>=\/ 


ALGEBRA 


^/iV?+P;  ««=  -ir-  J&f  +  p: 


aud  y  =  n  +  3 


«-V  -Jr-  VAs»+ir»i 


Thus  we  have  obtained  a  value  of  the  unknown  quantity 
y,  in  terms  of  the  known  quantities  q  and  r;  therefore  the 
equation  is  resolved. 

90.  But  this  is  only  one  of  three  values  which  y  may 
have.     Let  us,  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  put 

A-  -;r+  Jjrf  +  l**,  B-  -\r-  J&>+i*, 


and  put 


-l  +  V-3 


P  = 


-1-V/-3 


Then,  from  what  has  been  shown  (Art.  88),  it  is  evident 
that  v  and  t  have  each  these  three  values, 

z  =  »/B,  z  =  al/B,  2  =  /3Z/B. 
To  determine  the  corresponding  values  of  v  and  z,  we 


must  consider  that  vz=  -  z  =  ^/AB . 


Now  if  we  observe 


that  a/3  =  1,  it  will  immediate^-  appear  that  v  +  z  has  these 
three  values, 

v  +  z=     1/1+    ljB,~ 
«  +  z  =  ai/X  +  Pl/B 
v  +  z  =  pi/&.  +  a>/B, 
which  are  therefore  the  three  "values  of  y. 

The  first  of  these  formulas  is  commonly  known  by  the 
name  of  Cardan's  rule;  but  it  is  well  known  that  Cardan 
was  not  the  inventor,  and  that  it  ought  to  be  attributed  to 
Nicholas  Tartalea  and  Scipio  Ferreus,  who  discovered  it 
much  about  the  same  time,  and  independently  of  each 
other.     (See  the  Historical  Introduction.) 

The  formulae  given  above  for  the  roots  of  a  cubic  equa- 
tion may  be  put  under  a  different  form,  better  adapted  to 
the  purposes  of  arithmetical   calculation,   as  follows : — 

-\,   therefoio 

o  o 

U~K.--f-=  :  thus  it  appears  that  the  three  values 
vA 

of  y  may  also  be  expressed  thus : 

v-ayx-M 


Because 


<+*= 


?     1  h      , 


y=W\- 


91.  To  show  the  manner  of  applying  these  formulae,  let 
It  be  required  to  determine  x  from  the  cubic  equation  ' 
z3  +  3:r!  +  9s-13  =  0. 
As  this  equation  has  all  its  terms,  the  first  step  towards 
its  resolution  is  to  transform  it  into  another  which  shall 
want  the  second  term,  by  substituting  y  - 1  for  a;  as 
directed  (Art.  84).     The  operation  will  stand  thus : 
a?  =  y*-3y*  +  3y-    1 
+  3x"-=     +  3y2-6y  +   3 
+  9a;  =  +  9y  -    9 

-13=  -13 

,*.  adding  these,  the  transformed  equation  is 

3^  +  6^-20  =  0, 
which  being  compared  with  the  general  equation, 

y3  +  qy  +  r  =  0, 
jives  q  -  6,  r  =  -  20  ;  hence 

A  =  V  -ir+  ^/jl^+uj^  \V  10+  JlW. 


[cubic  EQUATIONS. 

second  formula  of  last  article  gives  y- 
2 

but  as  this  expression  in- 


therefore  the 

volves  a  radical  quantity,  let  the  square  root  of  108  be 
taken  and  added  to  10,  and  the  cube  root  of  the  sum 

found;  thus  we  have  Z/1Q+  ^108  =  2732  nearly,  aud 

2  2 

therefore    ,,         _==  r-rr^°  '732;  hence  we  at  last  find 

V10+V108     2733 
one  of  the  values  of  y  to  be  2732  -  732  =  2 . 
In    finding   the    cube    root   of    the    radical    quantity 

V  10+  ^/lOS,  we  have  taken  only  its  approximate  value, 
so  as  to  have  the,  expression  for  the  root  under  a  rational 
form,  and  in  this  way  we  can  always  find,  as  near  as  we 
please,  the  cube  root  of  any  surd  of  the  form  a+  Jb, 
where  b  is  a  positive  number.  But  it  will  sometimes 
happen  that  the  cube  root  of  such  a  surd  can  be  expressed 
exactly  by  another  surd  of  the  same  form;  and  accord- 
ingly, in  the  present  case,  it  appears  that  the  cube  root 
of  10+  .yiOS  is  1+  ^3,  as  may  be  proved  by  actually 
raising  1  +  J 3  to  the  third  power.  Hence  we  find 
2  2(1 -V3) 


4/10+^108     1  +  V3 
that  y=l+  ^/3  +  l 


:--(!-  J3)i 


(1-V3)(1  +  V3) 
^3  =  2,  as  before. 
The  other  two  values  of  y  will  be  had  by  substituting 


1+^3  and  1 


n 


J3  for   if  A.  and  J£=  in 

v'A 


the  second  ana 


third  formulae  of  last  article,  and  restoring  the  values  of  a 
and  /?.     We  thus  have 


V 

+ 


-l+V-3 


x  (i  +  Jb)  + 


-l-V-3 


1  x  (1  +  V3")  + 


-l+V-3 


x(l-V3)=-l 


(1-V3)~-1 


_2 

-V-9. 
So  that  the  three  values  of  y  are 

+  2,  -l+J^d,         _l_^T9; 

and  since  x  =  y  - 1,  the  corresponding  values  of  x  are 

+  1,         -2+7^9,         -2-  J^~9. 

Thus.it  appears  that  one  of  the  roots  of  the  proposed 
equation  is  real,  and  the  other  two  imaginary. 

The  two  imaginary  roots  might  have  been  found  other- 
wise, by  considering  that  since  one  root  of  the  equation  is 
1,  the  equation  must  be  divisible  by  x-1  (Art.  78), 
Accordingly,  the  division  being  actually  performed,  and 
the  quotient  put  =  0,  we  have  the  quadratic  equation, 

x2  +  4ar+13  =  0; 

which  gives  x  =  -  2  ±  J  -  9,  the  same  imaginary  values 
as  before. 

92.  In  the  application  of  the  preceding  formulae  to  the 
resolution  of  the  equation  y3  +  qy  +  r  =  0,  it  is  necessary  to 
find  the  square  root  of  ^g3  +  Ir2 ;  now,  when  that  quantity 
is  positive,  as  in  the  equation  y3  +  6y  -  20  =  0,  which  was 
resolved  in  last  article,  no  difficulty  occurs,  for  its  root  may 
be  found  either  exactly  or  to  as  great  a  degree  of  accuracy 
as  we  please. 

As,  however,  the  coefficients  q  and  r  are  independent  of 
each  other,  it  is  evident  that  q  may  be  negative,  and  such 
that  -~g^  is  greater  than  Jr2.  In  this  case,  the  expression 
■frf  +  fr2  will  be  negative,  and  therefore  its  square  root  an 
imaginary  quantity ;  60  that  all  the  roots  appear  under  an 
imaginary  form.  But  we  are  certain  (Art.  81)  that  every 
cubic  equation  must  have  at  least  one  real  root  The  truth 
is  that  roots  are  frequently  real,  though  they  appear  nnd.-i 


BIQUADRATIC  ZQUAH  OXS.T 

an   imaginary  form.      Take,  for   instance,   the   equation 
y*  -  6y  +  4  =  0,  of  which  the  roots  are  found  to  be 

y  =    Z/-2  +  2j^l  + 


ALGEBRA 


540 


v 


i^2+2  J 


1/2 -Z  J~- 

1+PJ/2-2J'- 


--Pl/2  +  2J-\  +  aU2-2J-\ 

It  will  be  found  by  actual  involution  that  the  imaginary 

expressions  2  +  2  ,/  -I  and  2  -  2  ,/  -  1  are  the  cubes  of 

-  1  +  J  -  1   and    -  1  -  J-~l    respectively,  whence   by 

substitution  we  find 

y  =  2,  y=l+  J3,  andy=l-  J3. 

93.  We  shall  now  prove,  that  as  often  as  the  roots  of 
the  equation  x3  +  qx  +  r  =  0  are  real,  q  is  negative,  and 
^q3  greater  than  jr2 ;  and,  conversely,  that  if  —q3  be 
greater  than  ^r2,  the  roots  are  all  real. 

Let  us  suppose  a  to  be  a  real  root  of  the  proposed 
equation 

Then  x3  +  qx  +  r  =  0 , 

And  o3  +  ja  +  r  =  0. 

And  therefore,  by  subtraction,  x3  -  a3  +  q(x  -  a)  =  0  ; 
hence,  dividing  by  x  -  a,  we  have 

x2  +  ax  +  a2  +  q  =  0. 

This  quadratic  equation  is  formed  from  the  two  remain- 
ing roots  of  the  proposed  eouation,  and  by  resolving  it  we 
find  

x=  -|a±  J-W-q- 

And  as,  by  hypothesis,  all  the  roots  are  real,  it  is 
evident  that  q  must  necessarily  be  negative,  and  greater 
than  {a2 ;  for  otherwise  the  expression  J  -  |a2  -  q  would 
be  imaginary.  Let  us  change  the  sign  of  q,  and  put 
q  =  {a2  +  d ;  thus  the  roots  of  the  equation  x3  -  qx  +  r  =  0 
will  be 

a,    -\a+  Jd,    -\a-  Jd, 

and  here  d  is  a  positive  quantity. 

To  find  an  expression  for  r  in  terms  of  a  and  d,  let 
fa2  +  d  be  substituted  for  q  in  the  equation  a3  -  qa  +  r  =  0; 
we  thence  find  r  =  -\a3  +  ad;  so  that  to  compare  together 
the  quantities  q  and  r,  we  have  these  equations, 

q  =  \a2  +  d,  r=  -\a3  +  ad. 
In  order  to  make  this  comparison,  let  the  cube  of  §#  be 
taken,  also  the  square  of  \r,  the  results  are 

and  therefore,  by  subtraction, 

=  Zd(±a>--frH+iTcP) 
=  3d(^a2-$d)2. 
Now  the  square  of  any  real  quantity  being  always  positive, 
it  follows  that  3d(~a2  -  \df  will  be  positive  when  d  is  posi- 
tive; hence  it  is  evident  that  in  this  case  -^q3  must  be 
greater  than  ir2,  and  that  -^q3  cannot  be  less  than  j-r2,  un- 
less d  be  negative,  that  is,  unless"  -  \a  +  *Jd,  -  \a  -  Jd, 
the  two  other  roots  of  the  equation  are  imaginary.  If  we 
suppose  d  =  0,  then  jjq3  =  \r2;  aiid  the  roots  of  the  equa- 
tions, which  in  this  case  are  also  real,  two  of  them  being 
equal. 

Upon  the  whole,  therefore,  we  infer,  that  since  a  cubic 
equation  has  always  one  real  root,  its  roots  will  be  all  real 
as  often  as  q  is  negative,  and  ^3  greater  than  Jr2;  and 
consequently,  that  in  this  case  the  formulas  for  the  roots 
must  express  real  quantities,  notwithstanding  their  imagin- 
ary form. 

94.  Let  y3  -  qy  +  r  =  0  denote  any  equation  of  the 
form  which  has  been  considered  in  last  article,  namely,- 
that  which  has  its  roots  all  real;  then,  if  we  put  a=  -\r, 


tf^^-Ljp  -  ir*,  one  of  the  roots,  as  expressed  by  the  first 
formaia  (Art.  90)  will  be. 

y=  Z/a  +  bs/~l+  l/a-bj^l. 
This  expression,  although  under  an  imaginary  form,  nmst 
(as  we  have  shown  in  last  article)  represent  a  real  quantity, 
although  we  cannot  obtain  it  by  the  ordinary  process  of 
arithmetic. 

The  case  of  cubic  equations,  in  which  the  roots  arc  all 
real,  is  now  called  the  irreducible  case. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  expression 

s/a  +  b  J^l+  Ja-b  J -I, 
and  in  general,    

i/a  +  b  J~^l  +  i/a-b  J~l , 
where  n  is  any  power  of  2,  admits  of  being  reduced  to 
another  form,  in  which  no  impossible  quantity  is  found. 

Thus,    J  a  +  b  V^l  +  'Ja  -  b J^l  =  J  2a  +  2  J^b~\ 
and  j/a  +  bj~l+  1/a - b  J~l  = 

j(  J 2a  +  2  jtf  +  &  +  2  1/aT+i?)  , 
as  is  easily  proved  by  first  squaring  and  then  taking  the 
square  root  of  the  imaginary  formulae.  But  when  n  is  3, 
it  does  not  seem  that  such  reduction  can  possibly  take  place. 
If  each  of  the  surds  be  expanded  into  an  infinite  series, 
and  their  sum  be  taken,  the  imaginary  quantity  J  -  I 
will  vanish,  and  thus  the  root  may  be  found  by  a  direct 
process. 

Sect.  XLT. — Solution  of  Biquadratic  Equations. 

95.  When  a  biquadratic  equation  contains  all  its  terms, 
it  has  this  form, 

xi  +  Ax3  +  Bx-  +  Cx  +  B  =  0 

where  A,  B,  C,  D  denote  any  known  quantities  whatever. 
We  shall  first  consider  pure  biquadratics,  or  such  as"  con- 
tain only  the  first  and  last  terms,  and  therefore  are  of  this 
form,  xi  =  bi.  In  this  case  it  is  evident  that  x  may  be 
readily  had  by  two  extractions  of  the  square  root;  by  the 
first  we  find  x2  =  b2,  and  by  the  second  x  =  b.  This,  how- 
ever, is  only  one  of  the  values  which  x  may  have;  for  since 
r<  =  &4,  therefore  xi-b,  =  0;  but  x*  -6*  may  be  resolved 
into  two  factors  x2  -  b-  and  x2  +  b2,  each  of  which  admits  of 
a  similar  resolution;  for  x2  -  b2  =  (x  -  b)(x  +  6)  and  x2  +  ll 
=  (x-b  J^l)(x  +  b  J~l).  Hence  it  appears  that  the 
equation  xi-bi  =  0  may  also  be  expressed  thus 

(*  -  b)  (x  +  b)  (x  -  b  j-1)  (x  +  b  V~l)  =  0; 
so  that  x  may  have  these  four  values, 

+  6,  -b,         +bj~l,         -5V~1, 

two  of  which  are  real,  and  the  others  imaginary. 

96.  Next  to  pure  biquadratic  equations,  in  respect  of 
easiness  of  resolution,  are  such  as  want  the  second  aud 
fourth  terms,  and  therefore  have  this  form, 

x*  +  qx2  +  «  =  0  . 
These  may  be  resolved  in  the  manner  of  quadratic  equa- 
tions; for  if  we  put  y  =  x2,  we  have 

y2  +  qy  +  s=Q, 

— ,  and  therefore 


froim  which  we  find  y  =^  — - — ^— 


7 


q  ±  -Jtf  -  is 


97.  When  a  biquadratic  equation  has  all  its  terms,  the 
manner  of  resolving  it  is  not  so  obvious  as  in  the  two  for- 
mer cases,  but  its  resolution  may  be  always  reduced  to  that 
of  a  cubic  equation.     There  are  various  methods  by  which 


550 


A  L  G  E  li  II  A 


[.DIO.U  U1HAT10  EQUATIONS 


such  a  reduction  may  bo  effected.  Tho  following,  which 
wo  select  as  cno  of  tho  most  ingenious,  was  first  given  by 
Euler  in  the  Petersburg  Commentaries,  and  afterwards  ex- 
plained more  fully  in  his  Elements  of  Algebra. 

We  have  already  explained,  Art.  92,  how  an  equation 
which  is  complete  in  its  terms  may  be  transformed  into 
another  of  the  samo  degree,  but  which  wants  the  second 
term;  therefore  any  biquadratic  equation  may  be  reduced 
to  this  form, 

whero  tho  second  term  is  wanting,  and  where  p,  q,  r,  de- 
noto  any  known  quantities  whatever. 

That  we  may  form  an  equation  similar  to  tho  above,  let 
us  assume  y  =  Ja  +  Jb  +  Jc,  and  also  suppose  that  the 
letters  a,  b,  c  denoto  the  roots  of  tho  cubic  equation 

23  +  P22  +  Q;-R=0; 
then,  from  tho-  theory  of  equations  we  havo 

a  +  b  +  c  =  -  P,         ab  +  ac  +  be  =  Q,         ahe  =  It . 
We  square  the  assumed  formula 

y  =  Ja  +  Jb  +  ($,__ 
and  obtain  jr  =  a  +  6  +  c  +  2(  Jab  +  Jae  +  J~bc), 
or,  substituting  -  P  for  a  +  b  +  c,  and  transposing; 

f-  +  P  =  2(  Jab  +  Ja~~c  +  Jbc) . 
Let  this  equation  be  also  squared,  and  we  have 

y*  +  2Pt/2 + P2  =  4(a6'+  ac  +  be)  +  8(Vo^c  +  VaPc  +  Vajc!) ; 
mid  since .  ab  +  ac  +  be  =  Q, 

mid     Vii'fcc  +  *JabIc~+  \fabc'  =  */abc{>Ja  +  Jb  +  Vc)  =  v'R .  y, 
the  same  equation  may  be  expressed  thus : 

^  +  2Py2  +  P2  =  4Q  +  8v/R-y. 
Thus  we  have  the  biquadratic  equation 

y4  +  2P/-8v/S.y  +  P2-4Q  =  0, 

one  of  the  roots  of  which  is  y  =  Ja  +  Jb  +  Jc,  while  a,  b,  c 
are  the  roots  of  the  cubic  equation  z3  +  Pz2  +  Qz  -  R  =  0. 

98.  In  order  to  apply  this  resolution  to  the  proposed 
equation  y*  +py2  +  qy  +  r  =  0,  we  must  express"  the  assumed 
coefficients  P,  Q,  II  by  means  of  p,  q,  r,  tho  coefficients  of 
that  equation.  For  this  purpose,  let  us  compare  the  equa- 
tions 

y*+py-  +  qy±r  =  Q, 
^  +  2Py2_8VRy+P2-4Q  =  0, 
and  it  immediately  appears  that 

2P=p,       -8JR  =  q,      P2-4Q  =  r 
and  from  these  equations  we  find 


P  = 


Q 


;>2-4r 


'-&■ 


2'     ^         16 

Hence  it  follows  that  the  roots  of  the  proposed  equation 
are  generally  expressed  by  tho  formula 

y  Ja+  Jb  +  Jc; 

whero  a,  b,  c  denote  the  roots  of  this  cubic  equation,' 


j3  +  ?2 


2  ,  P!~4r 

3  +     .„■    z  ■ 


r 


=  0. 


10  64 

But  to  find  each  particular  root,  we  must  consider,  that  as 
the  square  root  of  a  number  may  be  either  positive  or  nega- 
tive, eo  each  of  the  quantities  Ja,  Jb,  Jc  may  have 
either  the  sign  +  or  -  prefixed  to  it;  and  hence'  our 
formula  will  give  eight  different  expressions  for  the  root. 
It  is,  however,  to  be  observed,  that  as  the  product  of  the 
three  quantities  Ja,    Jb,    Jc  must  be  equal  to  JB,  or  to 

-  r ;  when  q  is  positive,  tbeir  product  "must  be  a  negative 

quantity,  and  this  can  only  be  effected  by  making  either 
one  or  three  of  them  negative;  again,  when  q  is  negative, 


.their  product  must  be  a  positive  quantity ;  so  that  in  this 
case  they  must  either  bo  all  positive,  or  two  of  them  must 
itiw.  These  considerations  enable. us  to  determine, 
that  four  of  the  tight  expressions  for  the  root  belong  to  the 
case  in  which  q  is  positive,  and  tho  other  four  to  that  in 
which  it  is  negative. 

99.  We  shall  now  give  tho  result  of  the  preceding  in- 

ition   in  tho  form  of  a   practical   rule;  and  as  tho 

coefficients  of  the  cubic  equation  which  has   bucn  found 

involve  fractions,  wo  shall  transform  it  into  another,  in 

which  the  coefficients  aro  integers,  by  supposing  z  =  Z' 

Thus  the  equation 


^ 


p*-4r 


■*-0 


10'  04 

becomes,  after  reduction, 

t/3  +  2pv-  +  (^  -  h)v  -q-  =  0, 
it  also  follows,  that  if  the  roots  of  the   latter  equation 


arc  a,  b,  c,  the  roots  of  tho  former  are  - , 


that 


c 
4'  4'  4  ' 
our  rulo  may  now  bo  expressed  thus: 

Let   yi+py2  +  qy  +  r  =  0   be   any  biquadratic  equation 
wanting  its  second  term.     Form  this  cubic  equation 

*3  +  2pv-  +  (p2  -  ir)v  -  q-  =  0 , 

and  find  its  roots,  which,  let  us  denote  by  a,  6,  c. 

Then  the  roots  of  the  proposed  biquadratic  equation  aro, 


when  q  is  negative, 
y  =  l(Ja  +  Jh  +  <J~c), 
y  =  l  (Vu  -  V6  -  Vc) , 

y  =  %  (_Va-V4  +  Vc). 


when  q  is  positive, 
y=£(-Va-VJ-V«)- 
y=I(-_V»+V,6+Vc), 

2/  =  i(Va-V6  +  \/c_), 
y  =  l(\/a  +  »/b->Jc). 


100.  As  an  example  of  the  method  of  resolving  a  bi 
quadratic  equation,  let  it  be  required  to  determine,  tho 
roots  of  the  following, 

^-25x'2  +  C0x-3C  =  0. 
Ily  comparing  this  equation  with  the  general  formula,  wo 
have  p  =  -  25,  q  =  +  CO,  r  =  -  3C  ;  hence 

2p  =  -  50,  i?  -  ir  =  769,  q-  =  3000 , 
and  the  cubic  equation  to  be  resolved  is 

t?-50v>+769v-3600-0j 
tho  roots  of  which  aro  found,  by  the  rules  for  cubics,  to 
bo  9,  16,  and  25,  so  that  Ja  =  3,  Jb  =  4,      c  =  5.     Now 
in  this  case  q  is  positive,  therefore 

s  =  |(-3-4-5)=-0, 
x  =  tt-3  +  4  +  S)=+3, 
a  =  I{+3-4  +  5)=+2, 
a  =  |(  +  3  +  4-5)=  +  l. 

101.  We  have  now  explained  the  particular  rules  by 
which  the  roots  of  equations  belonging  to  each  of  the  first 
four  orders  may  be  determined;  and  this  is  the  greatest 
length  mathematicians  have  been  ablo  to  go  in  tho  direct 
resolution  of  equations;  for  as  to  those  of  the  fifth,  and  all 
higher  degrees,  no  general  method  has  hitherto  been  fouin\ 
either  for  resolving  them  directly,  or  reducing  them  to 
others  of  an  inferior  degree. 

It  even  appears  that  tho  formulae  which  express  the  roots 
of  cubic  equations  are  not  of  universal  application;  for  in 
one  case,  that  is,  when  tho  roots  are  all  real,  they  become 
illusory,  so  that  no  conclusion  can  be  drawn  from  them. 
The  samo  observation  will  -also  apply  to  the  formulae  for 
the  roots  of  biquadratic  equations,  because,  before  they  can 
bo  applied,  it  is  always  necessary  to  find  the  roots  of  a 
cubic  equation.  But  both  in  cubics  and  in  b:  adratic 
equations,  even  when  the  formula:  involvo  no  imaginary 
quantities,  and  therefore  can  be  always  applied,  it  is  more 
convenient  in  practice  to  employ  other  methods,  which  we 
are  hereafter  to  explain. 


RECIPROCAL  EQUATIONS.] 


ALGEBRA 


55  \ 


Sect.  XTLI. — Solution  oe  Equations  in  which  certain 

BELATIONS  AEE  KNOWN  TO  EXIST  AMONGST  THE  ROOTS. 

102.  When  the  coefficients  of  the  terms  of  an  equation 
form  the  same  numerical  series,  whether  taken  in  a  direct 
or  an  inverted  order,  as  in  this  example, 

x4  +PX3  +  qx2  +px  +1  =  0, 
it  may  always  be  transformed  into  another  of  a  degree  de- 
noted by  half  the  exponent  of  the  highest  power  of  the 
unknown  quantity,  if  that  exponent  be  an  even  number; 
or  half  the  exponent  diminished  by  unity,  if  it  be  an  odd 
number. 

The  same  observation  will  also  apply  to  any  equation  of 
this  form, 

x*  +POX3  +  qa2x2  +pa3x  +  a4  =  0 . 

103.  That  we  may  effect  the  proposed  transformation 
upon  the  equation 

■x4  +px3  +  qx2  +px  +1=0, 
let  every  two  terms  which  are  equally  distant  from  the 
extremes  be  collected  into  one.  and  the  whole  be  divided 
fcy  x2,  then 


Let  us  assume 


*s  +  i+p(*+i)  +  2.=0 


x  +  - 


then 


x2  +  2  +  \  =  z2,  and  x2'+\=z2-2. 

3?  X* 


Z2+pZ  +  q-2  =  0 

x  +  -  =  z,  therefore  x2  -  zx  +  1  =  0 . 


Thus  the  equation  x2  +  —  +p(x  +  -)  +  q  =  0, 

becomes 

and  since 

Hence,  to  determine  the  roots  of  the  biquadratic  equation 

x4  +  px3  +  qx2  +px  +  1  =  0 , 
we  form  the  quadratic 

z2+pz  +  q-2  =  0, 

and  find  its  roots,  which,  let  us  suppose  denoted  by  z'  and 

d' ;  then  the  four  roots  of  the  proposed  equation  wifli  be 

found  by  resolving  two  quadratic  equations,  viz. 

x2-z'x+l=0,     x2-z"x  +  l=0. 

104.  It  may  be  observed,  respecting  these  two  quadratic 
equations,  that  since  the  last  term  of  each  is  unity,  if  we 
put  a,  a'  to  denote  the  roots  of  the  bne,  and  b,  b'  those  of 
the  other,  we  have  from  the  theory  of  equations,  aa'  =  l, 

and  therefore  a'  =  - ;  also  bb'  =  1,  and  6'  =  7  :  now  a,  a',  b, 
a  ■  b 

I'  are  also  the  roots  of  the  equation 

x4  +px?  +  qx2  +px  +1  =  0. 

Hence  it  appears  that  the   proposed   equation   has  this 

property,  that  one-half  of  its  roots  are  the  reciprocals  of 

the  other  half;  and  to  that  circumstance  we  are  indebted 

for  the  simplicity  of  its  resolution. 

105.  If  the  greatest  exponent  of  the  unknown  quantity 
in  a  reciprocal  equation  is  an  odd  number,  as  in  this 
example, 

x5  +px*  +  qx3  +  qx2  +px  +  1  =  0, 
the  equation  will  always  be  satisfied  by  substituting  -  1 
for  x;  hence,  —  1  must  be  a  root  of  the  equation,  and 
therefore  the  equation  must  be  divisible  byar  +  l.  Ac- 
cordingly, if  the  division  be  actually  performed,  we  shall 
have  in  the  present  case 

x4  +  (p-l)x3-(p-q-l)x2  +  (p-\)x  +  l=0, 
another  reciprocal  equation,  in  which  the  greatest  exponent 
of  a:  is  an  even  number,  and  therefore  resolvable  in  the 
manner  we  have  already  explained. 

106.  As  an  application  of  the  theory  of  reciprocal  equa- 
tions, let  it  be  proposed  to  find  x  from  this  equation, 


3?  :  1 

(x+\y      ' 
where  a  denotes  a  given  number. 

Every  expression  of  the  form  x"  + 1  is  divisible  by  x  +  1 
when  n  is  an  odd  number.  In  the  present  case,  the 
numerator  and  denominator  being  divided  by  *  +  1 ,  the 
equation  becomes 

&-X?  +  7?-X+\ 

xi  +  4xs+Gx2+4x+l~a' 
and  this  again,  by  proper  reduction,  becomes 

(a-l)^  +  (4a  +  l)x3^(6a-l)x5  +  (4a+l)x  +  a-l=0j 

,        „.  4o  +  l         6a- 1 

and,  putting  p  =*-—£,  1  =  ~~i  » 

x4  +PX3  +  qx2  +px  +  1=0; 
a  reciprocal  equation,  resolvable  into  two  quadratics. 

Equations  which  have  Equal  Roots. 
107.  When  an  equation  has  two  or  more  equal  roots, 
these  may  always  be  discovered,  and  the  equation  reduced 
to  another  of  an  inferior  degree,  by  a  method  of  resolution 
which  is  peculiar  to  this  class  of  equations. 

Although  the  method  of  resolution  we  are  to  employ 
will  apply  alike  to  equations  of  every  degree,  having  equal 
roots,  yet,  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  we  shall  take  a  biqua- 
dratic equation, 

x4  +px?  +  qx2  +  rx  +  s  =  0 , 
the  roots  of  which  may  be  generally  denoted  by  a,  I,  r, 
and  d.      Thus  we  have,  from  the  theory  of  equations, 
(x  ■-  a)(x  -  b)(x  -  c)(x  -  d)  =  X4  +p3?  +  qx2  +  rx  +  s. 
Let  us  put 

A  =  (x  -  a)(x  -  b)(x  -  c),  A"  =  (x  -  a)(x  -  c)(x  -  <1) , 
A'  =  (x  -  a)(x  -  b)(x  -  d),  A'"  =  (*  -  b)(x  -  c)l 
then,  by  actual  multiplication,  we  have 


J): 


A' 


A' 


3?-a 
-b 
—  c 

=  x3-a 
-b 
-d 

=3? 


+  a6) 
x2  +  ac  >  x  -  abc , 

+  bc  ) 

+  ab) 
x2+ad  >  x-ahd, 

+  bd) 


-c  >  x?+ad  \  x  — 
-d  )      +cd  ) 


acd. 


A^^-i)      +bc- 

-c  >  x2  +  bd\x- bed : 
-d)      +cd  ) 
and  taking  the  sum  of  these  four  equations ; 


A  +  A'+A"  +  A'"  =  4x3-3a' 
-36  I 
-3c 
-3d, 


x2 


+  2ab 
+  2ac 
+  2ad 
+  2bc 
+  2bd 
+  2cd 


-abe 
-nbd 
—  acd 
-bed. 


But  since  a,  b,  c,  d  are  the  roots  of  the  equation 
xi+px3  +  qx2+rx+s  =  0, 
we  have  -3(a  +  b  +  c  +  d)  =  3p, 
2(ab  +  ac  +  ad  +  bc  +  bd+cd)  =  2q, 
—  (abe  +  abd  +  acd+bed)  =  r ; 
A  +  A'+A"+A'"=4zs+3^i2+'22x+r. 
This  result  expressed  in  its  most  general  form  is  e>. 
follows  : — Let  A  represent  the  product  of  all  the  differences 
x  —  a,  etc.,  except  one,  2A,  the  sum  of  all  such  products ; 
then  2A  =  nx"'  +  (re  -  1  )px"-l>  +  (n-  2)qx~-*  -i    &c. 

10S.  Let  us  now  suppose  that  the  proposed  biquadratic 
equation,  has  two  equal  roots,  or  a  =6;  then  x-a  =  x-bt 
and  since  one  or  other  of  these  equal  factors  enters  each 
of  the  four  products  A,  A',  A",  A'",  it  is  evident  that 
A  +  A'  +  A"  +  A",  or  ix*  +  3/j.r2  +  2qx  +  r  must  be  divisible 
by  x  -  a,  or  x  -  b.  Thus  it  appears  that  if  the  proposed 
equation 


552 


ALGEBRA 


&  +  px*  +  qr!  +  rx  +  s  =  0 
have  two  equal  roots,  each  of  them  must  also  bo  if  root  of 
this  equation, 

4-r3  +  Zpx2  +^qx  +  r  =  0 ; 
for  when  the  first  of  these  equations  is  divisible  by  (x  -  a)2, 
the  latter  is  necessarily  divisible  by  x  -  a. 

Let  us  next  suppose  that  the  proposed  equation  has 
three  equal  roots,  or  a  =  b  =  c;  then,  two  at  least  of  the 
three  equal  factors  x  -  a,  x  -  b,  x  -  c,  must  enter  each  of 
the  four  products  A,  A',  A",  A'",  it  is  evident  that 
A  +  A'  +  A"  +  A'",  or  4r>  +  3px-  +  2qx  +  r  must  be  twice 
divisible  by  x  -  a.  Hence  it  follows  that  as  often  as  the 
proposed  equation  has  three  equal  roots,  two  of  them  must 
also  be  equal  roots  of  the  equation 

4x3  +  3px'!  +  2qx  +  r  =  0. 
II  3^  Proceeding  in  the  same  manner,  it  may  be  shown, 
that  whatever  number  of  equal  roots  are  in  the  proposed 
equation 

x*  +px*  +  qx2  +  rx  +  s  =  0, 
they  will  remain,  except  one,  in  this  equation 
4x3  +  3px2  +  2qx  +  r  =  0, 

which  may  be  derived  from  the  former,  by  multiplying 
each  of  its  terms  by  the  exponent  of  a:  in  that  terra,  and 
then  diminishing  the  exponent  by  unity. 

110.  If  wo  suppose  that  the  proposed  equation  has  two 
equal  roots,. or  a  =  b,  and  also  two  other  equal  roote,  or  c  =  d, 
then,  by  reasoning  as  before,  it  will  appear  that  the  equa- 
tion derived  from  it  must  have  one  root  equal  to  a  or  b, 
and  another  equal  to  c  or  d ;  so  that  when  the  former  is 
divisible  both  by  (x-a)2  and  (x-c)2,  the  latter  will  be 
divisible  by  (x -a)  (x-c). 

111.  As  a  particular  example,  let  us  take  this" equation, 

3?-  13^  +  67^-  171x2  +  216x-  108  =  0, 

jnd  apply  to  it  the  method  we  have  explained,  in  order  to 
discover  whether  it  has  equal  roots,  and  if  so,  what  they 
are.  We  must  seek  the  greatest  common  measure  of  the 
proposed  equation  and  this  other  Equation,  which  is  formed 
agreeably  to  what  has  been  shown  (Art.  109), 

5x*  -  52x»  +  201s2  -  342x  +  216  =  0  ; 

and  the  operation  being  performed,  we  find  that  they  have 
a  common  divisor,  s3-8x2  +  21x- 18,  which  is  of  the 
third  degree,  and  consequently  may  have  several  factors. 
Let  us  therefore  try  whether  the  last  equation,  and  the 
following, 

20.1s- 156x2  + 402* -042  =  0, 

which  is  derived  from  it  by  the  same  process,  have  any 
common  divisor  ;  and,  by  proceeding  as  before,  we  find 
that  they  admit  of  this  divisor,  x  -  3,  which  is  also  a 
factor  of  the  last  divisor,  x3  -  8X2  +  2\x  -  18 ;  and  therefore 
the  product  of  the  remaining  factors  is  immediately  found 
by  division  to  be  X*  -  5x  +  6,  which  is  evidently  resolvable 
into  x-  2  and  x-  3  . 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  common  divisor  of  the  original 
equation,  and  that  which  is  immediately  derived  from  it, 
is  (x-2)  (x-3)2;  and  that  the  common  divisor  of  the 
lecond  and  third  equations  is  x-3.  Hence  it  follows 
that  the  proposed  equation  has  (x  -  2)2  for  one  factor,  and 
[x  -  3)3  for  another  factor,  and  may  therefore  be  expressed 
thus,  (x-2f  (x-3)3  =  0.  The  truth  of  this  conclusion 
may  be  easily  verified  by  multiplication.  The  five  roots 
are  2,  2,  3,  3,  and  3. 

112.  The  property  proved  in  Art.  107  enables  us  to 
establish  numerous  relations  between  the  coefficients  and 
roots  of  an  equation,  in  addition  to  the  fundamental  one 
sstablished  in  Art.  79,  such  as  the  following:— 

Since  **  +  px*-'  +  gx—,+  &c.  =  (x-a)  (x-b)  (x-c)  itc 


LEOUATIONS  WITH 

and  nx—1  +  (n  - 1  )/>**-*  +  (n  -  2)qx—i  +  4c. » 
(x  -  l)(x  -  c) . . .  +(x-  a)lx  -  c) . . .  +  .... 
by  division 

ns— '.+  (x  -  l)pi— '  +  (n  -  2)qx— 3  +  &c 
&+px"-'  +  qz"-1+  &c. 

•^-  +  -^-T  +  —+  4c. 
x  —  a     x-b     x  —  c 

x      x-      X'      V 

where  S„  S2,  S3,  4c,  are  the  sums  of  the  first,  secono\ 
third,  &c,  powers  of  the  roots  of  the  equation. 

Multiplying  out  and  equating  coefficients,  we  get— 

(n-l)p  =  S1  +  np 
(n-2)q  =  S1+pSl  +  nq 

&c.  =  &c. 
Or  S!+p  =  0 

S2+yS,  +  2o  =  0 
Si+pS2  +  qSl  +  Zr  =  0 
&c.  &c. 

Ex.  1.  As  a  particular  case    take  the  cubic  equation 
x3  +  qx  +  r  =  0 . 

Here  S,  =  0 

S2+2j  =  0 
S,  +  3r  =  0 
S;  +  }Sj  =  0 

2S4=S,',  S6  =  52r. 
The  last  may  be  written — 

S*  _  ™  _  ^3 

i.e.,  if  a  +  b  +  c  =  0,  then  will 

aHf  +  c1     a3+b3  +  c3 
5         ~         3         ' 
From  S7  +  qS*  +  rS,  =  0,  we  get 


h 

2* 


Or 


s7=ss. 


+  Sj 


§.. 


,  4c.  4a 


7      0      2' 

Ex.  2.  Take  the  biquadratic  equation 
xt+qx2+rx+s=0 


Here 


S1  =  0 
S2+2$r  =  0 

53  +  3r  =  0. 

54  +  gS2  +  4»  =  0 
S6  +  2S3+rS2  =  0 


6       3*2' 

i.e.,  if  a  +  b  +  c  +  d  =  0, 

,         cfi+V  +  tf  +  d*     o'+M  +  c'  +  i3 
then    : =* ^ 


a*  +  V  +  c>+& 


Equations  whose  Roots  aee  Rational 

113.  It  has  been  shown  in  Art.  79,  that  the  last  term 
of  any  equation  is  always  the  product  of  its  roots  taken 
with  contrary  signs.  Hence,  when  the  roots  are  rational, 
they  may  be  discovered  by  the  following  rule : 

Bring  all  the  terms  of  the  equation  to  one  side;  find 
all  the  divisors  of  the  last  term,  and  substitute  them  suc- 
cessively for  the  unknown  quantity.  Then  each  divisor, 
which  produces  a  result  equal  to  0.  is  a  root  of  the 
equation. 

Ex.  Leta9-4x2-7x+10  =  0. 


EQUAL  ROOTS.] 


ALGEBRA 


.r>53 


The  divisors  of  10,  the  last  term,  are  1,  2,  5,  10,  each 
of  which  may  be  taken  either  positively  or  negatively;  and 
these  being  substituted  successively  for  x  we  obtain  the 
following  results: 

By  putting      +  lforz,     1-     4-   7  +  10=       0, 
-1,  -1  -     4+  7  +  10=     12, 

+  2,  8-   16-14+H>=-12, 

-2,  -8-    16+14  +  10=       0, 

+  5,  125-100-35  +  10=       0. 

Hero  the  divisors  which  produce  results  equal  to  0  are 
+  1,  -2,  aud  +5;  therefore  these  are  the  three  roots  of 
the  proposed  equation 

Sect.  XIV.  Solution  op  Equations  by  Approxi- 
mation 

114.  When  the  roots  of  an  equation  cannot  be  accu- 
rately expressed  by  rational  numbers,  it  is  necessary  to  have 
recourse  to  methods  of  approximation ;  and  by  these  we 
can  always  determine  the  numerical  values  of  the  roots  to 
as  great  a  degree  of  accuracy  as  we  please. 

The  application  of  methods  of  approximation  is  rendered 
easy  by  means  of  the  following  proposition  : 

If  two  numbers,  either  whole  or  fractional,  be  found, 
which,  when  substituted  for  the  unknown  quantity  in  any 
equation,  produce  results  with  contrary  signs,  we  may 
conclude  that  at  least  one  root  of  the  proposed  equation 
is  between  those  numbers,  and  is  consequently  real 

Let  the  proposed  equation  be 

a3 -5x2 +  10* -15  =  0, 

which,  by  collecting  the  positivo  terms  into  one  sum,  and 
the  negative  into  another,  may  also  be  expressed  thus, 

a3+10x-(5^  +  15)  =  0; 
then,  to  determine  a  root  of  the  equation,  we  must  find 
such  a  number  as,  wheu  substituted  for  x,  will  render 

a?  +  10a:  =  5** +  15. 

.Let  us  suppose  x  to  increase  and  to  have  every  degree 
of  magnitude  from  0  upwards  in  the  scale  of  number ; 
then  a^  +  10x  and  5x2+15  will  both  continually  increase, 
but  with  different  degrees  of  quickness,  as  appears  from 
the  following  table  : — 

Successive  values  of  x ;  0,    1,    2,    3,      4,      5,      6,  &c. 

of  x3  +  ^Qx;  0,  11,  28,  57,  104,  175,  276,  &c. 

of  5x2  +  15;  15,  20,  35,  60,    95,  140,  195,  &c. 

By  inspecting  this  table,  it  appears  that  while  x  increases 
from  0  to  a  certuin  numerical  value,  which  exceeds  3,  the 
positive  part  of  the  equation,  or  x3  +  10.r,  is  always  less  than 
the  negative' part,  or  5x2  +  15;  so  that  the  expression 

x3  +  10a  -  (5x2  +  15)  or  x3  -  5x2  +  10*  -  15 
must  necessarily  be  negative. 

It  also  appears,  that  when  x  has  increased  beyond  that 

numerical  value,  and  which  is  evidently  less  than  4,  the 

positive  part  of  the  equation,  instead  of  being  less  than  the 

negative  part,  is  now  greater,  and  therefore  the  expression 

ar>-5x2  +  10x-15 

is  changed  from  a  negative  to  a  positive  quantity. 

Hence  we  may  conclude  that  there  is  some  real  and 
determinate  value  of  x,  which  is  greater  than  3,  but  less 
than  4,  and  which  will  render  the  positive  and  negative 
parts  of  the  equation  equal  to  one  another ;  therefore  that 
value  of  x  must  be  a  root  of  the  proposed  equation ;  and 
as  what  has  been  just  now  shown  in  a  particidar  case  will 
readily  apply  to  any  equation  whatever,  the  truth  of  the 
proposition  is  obvious. 

115.  From  the  preceding  proposition  it  will  not  be 
difficult  to  discover,  by  means  of  a  few  trials,  the  nearest 
integers  to  the  roots  of  any  proposed  numerical  equation  ; 


aud  those  being  found,  we  may  approximate  to  the  roota 
continually,  as  in  the  following  example : 

To  determine  the  limits  of  the  roots,  let  0,  1,  2,  3,  4, 
be  substituted  successively  for  x;  thus  we  obtain  the  fol- 
lowing corresponding  results  T 

Substitutions  for  x,  0,       1,     2,     3,       4, 
Hqsults,  +27, +  21, +  5, -9, +  15. 

Hence  it  appears  that  the  equation  has  two  real  roots, 
one  between  2  and  3,  and  another  between  3  and  4. 

That  we  may  approximate  to  the  first  root,  let  us  sup- 
pose x  =  2  +  y>  where  y  is  a  fraction  less  than  uuity,  and 
therefore  its  second  and  higher  powers  small  in  com- 
parison to  its  first  power :  hence,  in  finding  an  approxi- 
mate value  of  y,  they  may  be  rejected.     Thus  we  have 

i4= +16  +  32i/,  &c 
-43-== -32-48;/,  &c 
-3x  =  -   6-3" 
+  27  =+27 


Hence  0  =       5  -  19i/  nearly, 

and  y  =  r^='26;  therefore,  for  a  first  approximation  we 

have  x  =  2-26. 

Let  us  next  suppose  x  =  2'26  +  y';  then,  rejecting  as 
before  the  second  and  higher  powers  of  y  on  account  of 
their  smallness,  and  retaining  three  decimal  places,  we  have 
135 


V 


18-119 


.  -0075,  and  x  =  2'26  +  y'  =  22G75.    This  value 

of  x  is  true  to  the  last  figure,  but  a  more  accurate  value 
maybe  obtained  by  supposing  x  =  2  2675  +  y",  and  pro- 
ceeding as  before. 

116.  The  method  we  have  hitherto  employed  for  approxi- 
mating to  the  roots  of  equations  is  known  by  the  name 
of  the  method  of  successive  substitutions,  and  was  first 
proposed  by  Newton.  It  has  been  since  improved  by 
Lagrange,  who  has  given  it  a  form  which  has  the  advan- 
tage of  showing  the  progress  made  in  the  approximation 
by  each  operation.  This  improved  form  we  now  proceed 
to  explain. 

Let  a  denote  the  whole  number  next  less  to  the  root 

sought,  and  -  the  fraction,  ^"jich,  when  added  to  a,  com- 
pletes the  root ;  then  x  =  a  +  - .  H  this  value  of  x  be  sub- 
stituted in  the  proposed  equation,  a  new  equation  involving 
y  will  be  had,  which,  when  cleared  of  fractions,  will  neces- 
sarily have  a  root  greater  than  unity. 

Let  b  be  the  whole  number  which  is  next  less  than  that 

root ;  then,  for  the  first  approximation,  we  havo  x  =  a  +  r . 

But  b  being  only  an  approximate  value  of  y,  in  the  same 
manner  as  a  is  an  approximate  value  of  x,  we  may  suppose 

y  =  J  +  -  •  then,  by  substituting  6  +  -,  for  y,  we  shall  have 

a  new  equation,  involving  only  y',  which  must  be  greater 
than  unity.  Putting  therefore  V  to  denote  the  next  whole 
number  less  than  the  root  of  the  equation  involving  y ',  wo 

have  y  =  b  +  r>;  and  substituting  this  value  in  that  of  x. 


b" 


the  result  is 


a.  =  a  +  - 


6  + 


for  a  second  approximate  value  of  x. 

To  find  a  third  value,  we  may  take  y1  =  V  +  — ,  and  so 
on,  to  obtain  mors  accurate  approximations. 


1  -1  9* 


554 


ALGEBRA 


[INDETERMINATE  PROBLEMS. 


Sect.  XV. — Indeterminate  Problems. 

117.  When  the  conditions  of  a  question  are  such  that 
the  number  of  unknown  quantities  exceeds  the  number  of 
equations,  that  question  will  admit  of  innumerable  solu- 
tions, and  is  therefore  said  to  be  indeterminate.  Thus,  if 
it  be  required  to  find  two  numbers  subject  to  no  other  limi- 
tation than  that  their  sum  be  10,  we  have  two  unknown 
quantities  x  and  y,  and  only  one  equation,  viz.  x  +  y  =  10, 
which  may  evidently  be  satisfied  by  innumerable  different 
values  of  x  and  y,  if  fractional  solutions  be  admitted.  It 
is,  however,  usual,  in  such  questions  as  this,  to  restrict 
values  of  the  numbers  sought  to  positive  integers,  and 
therefore,  in  this  case,  wo  can  have  only  these  nine  solu- 
tions, 

a;=l,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9; 

y  =  9,  8,  7,  6,  5,  4,  3,  2,1; 
which  indeed  may  be  reduced  to  five ;  for  the  first  four  be- 
come the  same  as  the  last  four,  by  simply  changing  x  into 
y,  and  the  contrary. 

118.  Indeterminate  problems  are  of  different .  orders, 
according  to  the  dimensions  of  the  equation  which  is 
obtained  after  all  tho  unknown  quantities  but  two  have 
been  eliminated  by  means  of  the  given  equations.  Those 
of  the  first  order  lead  always  to  equations  of  this  form, 

ex  +  ly  =  c, 

where  a,  6,  e,  denote  given  whole  numbers,  and  x,  y,  two 
numbers  to  be  found,  so  that  both  may  be  integers.  That 
this  condition  may  be  fulfilled,  it  is  necessary  that  the 
coefficients  a,  6,  have  no  common  divisor  which  is  not  also 
a  divisor  of  c;  for  if  a  =  Jitdand  6  =  me,  then  ax  +  by  =  mdx 


+  nw:y 


--c,  and  dx  +  ey  =  — ;  but  d,  e,  x,  y,  are  supposed  to 


lie  whole  numbers,  therefore  —  is  a  whole  number;  hence 
m 

m  must  be  a  divisor  of  c. 

We  proceed  to  illustrate  the  manner  of  resolving  inde- 
terminate equations  of  the  first  order,  by  some  numerical 
examples. 

Ex.  1.  Given  2x  +  3y  =  25,  to  determine  x  and  y  in  whole 
positive  numbers. 

25  —  3u 
From  the  given  equation  we  have  x  =  — — -  =  1 2  -  y  - 

*-r— .     Npw,  sinco  x  must  be  a  whole  number,  it  follows 


that 


y-i 


must  be  a  whole  number.      Let  us  assume 


y-i 


Then^ 


*=3; 
x=2, 
jr=7. 


2  _..  2 

=  z,  then  y  =  1  +  2z ;  and  x  —  1 1  -  3z,  where  z  might  be 
any  whole  number  whatever,  if  there  were  no  limitation  as 
to  the  signs  of  x  and  y.  But  since  these"  quantities  are 
required  to  bo  positive,  it  is  evident,  from  the  value  of  y, 
that  z  must  bo  oithcr  0  or  positive,  and  from  the  value  of 
r,  that  it  must  bo  less  than  4;  hence  z  may  have  these 
three  values,  0,  1,  2,  3. 

If  *=    0,  2=1,  2  =  2, 

s.j*  =  ll,        *  =  8,        *=6, 

ly=  1»       ^  =  3,       y  =  5, 

Ex.  2.  It  is  required  to  find  all  the  possible  ways  in 
which  £G0  can  be  paid  in  guineas  and  moidores  only. 

Let  x  be  the  number  of  guineas,  and  y  the  number  of 
moidores.  Then  the  value  of  the  guineas,  expressed  in 
"hillings,  is  21a:,  and  that  of  the  moidores  27y;  therefore, 
from  the  nature  of  the  question,  21x  +  27y  =  1200,  or, 
dividing  the  equation  by  3,  7x  +  $y  =  400;  hence,  proceed- 
ing as  before,  we  obtain 

y  =  7v-3, 
tf=Gl-9n. 
ifrom  the  value  of  x,  it  appears  that  v  cannot  exceed  6, 
and  from  the  value  of  y,  that  it  cannot  be  less  than  1 


Hencoifv  =   1,    2,    3,    4,    5,    6, 

we  have  a;  =  62,  43,  34,  25,  16,    7. 

y=   4,  11,  18,  25,32,39. 

110.  In  the  foregoing  examples  the  unknown  quantities 
z  and  y  have  each  a  determinate  number  of  positive  values; 
and  this  will  evidently  be  the  case  as  often  as  the  proposed 
equation  is  of  this  form,  ax  +  by  =  c.  If,  however,  b  be 
negative,  that  is,  if  the  equation  be  of  this  form,  ax -by 
=  c,  or  ax  =  by  +  c,  we  shall  have  questions  of  a  different 
kind,  admitting  each  of  an  infinite  number  of  solutions; 
these,  however,  may  be  resolved  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
preceding. 

120.  Lf  an  equation  were  proposed  involving  three 
unknown  quantities,  as  ax  +  by  +  cz  =  d,  by  transposition  we 
have  ax  +  by  =  d-cz,  and,  putting  d  -  c:  =  c',  ax  +  by  —  c. 
From  this  last  equation  we  may  find  values  of  x  and  y  of 
this  form, 

x  —  mr  +  tic',  y  —  m  r  +  u'c, 
or  x  =  mr  +  n(d-  cz),  y  =  mr  +  n'{d  -  cz) ; 

where  z  and  r  may  be  taken  at  pleasure,  except  in  so  far 
as  the  values  of  x,  y,  z,  may  be  required  to  be  all  positive ; 
for  from  such  restriction  the  values  of  z  and  r  may  be  con- 
fined within  certain  limits  to  be  determined  from  flic  given 
equation. 

121.  We  proceed  to  indeterminate  problems  of  the  second 
degree :  limiting  ourselves  to  the  consideration  of  the  for- 
mula y1  =  a  +  bx  +  ex2,  where  x  is  to  be  found,  so  that  y 
may  be  a  rational  quantity.  The  possibility  of  rendering 
the  proposed  formula  a  square  depends  altogether  upon  the 
coefficients  a,  b,  c;  and  there  are  four  cases  of  the  problem, 
the  solution  of  each  of  which  is  connected  with  some  pecu- 
liarity in  its  nature. 

Case  1.  Let  a  be  a  square  number;  then,  putting  g2  foi 
a,  we  have  y2  =  g2  +  bx  +  ex2.  Suppose  Jg2  +  bx  +  ex2  -=  <i  + 
mx;  then  g2  +  bx  +  ex2  =  g2  +  2gmx  +  nv'x2,  or  bx  +  ex-  =- 
•2ymx  +  m2x2,  that  is,  b  +  cx  =  2gm  +  m2x;  hence 

xJ-3^,y=  Jg2+bx  +  c*2  =  e!>-bm+r\ 

Case  2.  Let  c  be  a  square  nuniber=$r;  then,  putting 

■Ja  +  b&  +  g-x2  =  m+gx,  we  find  a  +  bz  +  g2x2  =  m2  +  - 

+g2x2,  or  a  +  bx  =  m2  +  2mgx;  hence  we  find 

m3-o  / — -7 — ; — 5—2     bm-gm'-ag 

x  =  ,    „     ,y=  */a  +  bx  +  g~x2  = — ,     c.  • 

o  —  2r,ig  o  —  2mg 

Case  3.  Wiien  neither  a  nor  c  is  a  square  number,  yet  if 
the  expression  a  +  bx  +  cx2  can  be  resolved  into  twe  simple 
factors,  as  f+gx  and  h  +  kx,  the  irrationality  may  bo  taken 
away  as  follows  : 

Assume  J  a  +  bx  +  ex2  =  >J{f  +  gx)(h  +kx)  =  m(f+  <jx), 
then  (f+gx)(k  +  kx)  =  m2(f+gx)2,  or  h  +  kx  =  m2(f+yx) ; 
hence  we  find 


fm? 


\,y=Af+9*){k+te)=y^r-, 


k-gm-' 

and  in  all  these  formulae  m  may  be  taken  at  pleasure. 

Case  4.  The  expression  a  +  bx  +  cx2  may  be  transformed 
into  a  square  as  often  as  it  can  be  resolved  into  two  parts, 
one  of  which  is  a  complete  square,  and  the  other  a  product 
of  two  simple  factors;  for  then  it  has  this  form,  p2  +  qr, 
where  p,  q,  and  r  are'  quantities  which  contain  no  power 
of  x  higher  than  the  first.  Let  us  assume  •Jp2  +  qr=p  + 
mq;  thus  we  have  p2  +  qr=p2  +  2mpq  +  m2q2  and  r  =  2mp 
+  m2q,  and  as  this  equation  involves  only  the  first  power 
of  x,  we  may  by  proper  reduction  obtain  from  it  rational 
values  of  x  and  y,  as  in  the  three  foregoing  cases. 

Tho  application  of  the  preceding  general  methods  of  reso- 
lution to  any  particular  case  is  very  easy;  we  shall  there 
foro  conclude  with  a  single  example. 


BINOMIAL  THEOREM.] 


ALGEBRA 


555 


Ex.  It  is  required  to  find  two  square  numbers  whose 
6um  is  a  given  square  number. 

Let  a2  be  the  given  square  number,  and  x2,  y2,  the  num- 
bers required;  then,  by  the  question,  x2  +  y2  =  a2,  and  y  = 
J  a2  -  x2.  This  equation  is  evidently  of  such  a  form  as  to 
be  resolvable  by  the  method  employed  in  case  1.  Accord- 
ingly, by  comparing  -J  a2  -x2  with  the  general  expression 
Jg2  +  bx  +  ex2,  we  have  </  =  o,  6  =  0,  c=  —  1,  and  substi- 
tuting these  values  in  tho  formulae,  and  also  -  n  for  +  m, 
we  find 

San  a(n2-l) 


n2+l 


,y  = 


ne+l 


[f  a=nt±\;  there  results  x=2n,  yf—n2-\,  a  =  rc2  +  1. 
Hence  if  r  be  an  even  number,  the  three  sides  of  a  rational 

right-angled  triangle  are  r, (-)-!,(-)  +1.     If  r  be  an 

odd  number,  they  become  (dividing  by  2)  r,  —=— ,  —~— 

For  example,  if  r  =  4j  4,  4-  1,  4  +  1,  or  4,  3,  5  are  the 
sides  of  a  right-angled  triangle;  if  r  =  7,  7,  24,  25  are  the 
sides  of  a  ri^ht-angled  triangle. 


Sect.  XVI. — Theorems  of  Expansion. 

1.  Binomial  Theorem. 

122.  To  demonstrate  this  theorem,  which  has  for  its 
object  the  expansion  of  (a  +  x)*  in  the  form  P  +  Qx-f-  Ax2 
+  Bx3  +  &c,  we  shall  first  find  P  and  Q;  and  then  de- 
termine the  other  coefficients  A,  B,  &c.  in  terms  of  P 
andQ. 

(!.)(«+*).=  {«(i+3,J'-e(i+3T. 

it  being  assumed  that  the  power  of  a  product  is  the  pro- 
duct of  the  powers  of  the  factors,  whatever  be  the 
index. 

(2.)  Let  n  be  a  whole  number.     Since 

(1+x^l+x 

(l+x)2  =  l  +  2x  +  x2 

(l+x)3=l  +  3x  +  &c. ; 

if  we  assume- (1  +x)*_1  =  l  +  (w-1)  x  +  &c,  and  multiply 
both  sides  by  1  +  x,  we  shall  obtain  (1+x)*=1+tz4;  +  &c. ; 
whence  our  induction  is  complete  to  prove  that  the 
numerical  of  coefficient  x  is  the  same  as  the  index. 

(3.)  Let  n  be  a  positive  fraction  -  •     We  may  take 

(1+  x)|  =  1  +  Qx  +&c. 
(1+  x)r=(l  +  Qx  +A.-C.)', 
or,  l+px  +  &c.=  l+qQx  +  &c.     (Case  2.) 


(4.)  If  n  be  negative  =  -  m. 
<\+x)'r--{\+x)- 
1 


1 


(i+*r 

(Case3.) 


l  +  mx+&c. 
=  1  -  mx  +  &c.  by  division. 

Hence,  generally  the  numerical  coefficient  of  x  is  the  same 
)&  the  index. 

To  obtain  A,  B,  &c,  in  terms  of  the  first  and  second 
terms,  we  break  up  x  into  two  parts,  y,  z,  which  enables 
us  to  write  the  expression  1  +  x  in  two  different  ways : 
\st,  retaining  the  part3  of  x  in  connection;  2d,  dissevering 
them.  In  the  first  form  we  simply  multiply  out,  and 
thus  exhibit  a  result  not  dependent  on  the  properties  of 
an  index,  except  in  so  far  as  relates  to  the  first  and  second 
terms.  _  Tn  the  second  form  we  apply  the  properties  of  an 


index  to  every  term.  The  consequence  is,  that  the  latter 
form,  bearing  a  more  intimate  connection  with  the  pro- 
perty of  an  index  than  the  former,  is  more  determinate 
than  the  other.  The  comparison  of  the  two  results  com- 
pletes the  demonstration. 

L     a  +  i)»=(l+i/+a)» 

=  l  +  n(y+z)    +A(y+zY  +  B{y+z)3+&x 
=  l  +  ny  +  Ay*  +By3    +&c 
+  713  +  2  AyV+  3By2z+ &c 
+  &c     +&c. 

II.  a  +  x)"  =  (l  +  y+2)-  =  (T+l+!/)» 


=a+2r(i+Ty* 

=  (I  +  »"  {l+T^ 


+  B, 


(1  +  z)2'  ~(l+s)'+&M 
=  (l  +  z)"+n(l+z)~ ly  +  A(l+z)"-hl2+&e. 
=    1  +  ny  +A;/2  +  &c. 


+  nz+n(n  —  l)zy+A(n-2)zy2+&c. 
+  &C.  +  &C  -f&c 

Now,  as  these  two  expansions  are  the  expansions  of  the 
same  thing  in  the  same  form,  the  coefficients  of  z,  zy,  zy2, 
&c,  must  be  the  same  in  both.     Comparing  them,  we  get 

n  =  n,  2A  =  n(n-\),  3B  =  A(m-2)&c 
n(n-l)    t,     A(n-2)     n(n-l)  (ra-2) 

—  ■      ■-  »    ■ 

1.2.3 


A.-' 


B< 


1.2     '  3 

&c.  =&c;  and  finally,  whatever  n  be, 

/i        \.     i  n(n-l)   „     n(n-l)  (n-2)  ,      0 

(l-fx),=  l+7tx-f--Y-^x2+  '^       .V  +  ccc 

Cor.  1.  If  n  is  a  positive  whole  number,  the  series  is 
finite,  since  every  term  after  the  (n  + 1  jth  will  involve  n  -  n 
as  a  factor. 

Cor.  2.  Since  the  coefficients,  when  the  index  is  a  whole 
number,  are  the  results  of  simple  multiplication,  they  are 
necessarily  whole  numbers,  i.e.,  any  such  expression  as 

™ — is  a  whole  number  when  n  is  such 

1.2.3 

Cor.  3.  The  sum  of  the  numerical  coefficients  is  2",  for 
it  is  equal  to  (1  + 1)*,  as  will  appear  if  we  write  1  for  x. 

Cor.  4.  The  sum  of  the  coefficients  in  the  even  places 
is  equal  to  the  sum  of  the  coefficients  in  the  odd.  This 
will  appear  if  we  write  -  1  in  place  of  x. 

Cor.  5.  If  the  index  is  a  whole  number,  the  coefficients 
from  the  end  are  the  same  as  those  from  the  beginning;  for 
they  occur  at  the  beginning  of  (x  + 1  )*  in  the  same  positions 
as  at  the  end  of  (1  +x)». 

Cor.  6.  The  product  1.2.3 r  ia  sometimes  expressed 

by  the  abbreviated  form  |n_    With  this  notation  the  coefti- 

|n 

cient  of  x'  in  (1  +x)*  may  be  written — = —  • 
x         '         *  lr  .  k  —  r 

Cor.  7.  The  sum  of  the  squares  of  the  coefficients  of 
(1  +x)*  is  the  coefficient  of  x"  in  the  expansion  of  (1  +  x)'-', 

|2n 
and  is  equal  to  t^=t<,  • 

Examyles. 

Ex.  L<i+.y*-.i+^,+^£^*+^J~*i 

+  &C 

=  l-2x  +  3x2-4x3  +  &c. 
generally      (1  +  x)  "*  =  1  -nx+  — — —  x2-&c 

and  (1-*)-*  =l+*x+!^L+^)x2  +  &c 

l .  & 

Ex.  2.  Find  the  coefficient  of  x1  in  (x  +  x2  +  Xs  f  t 
+  x5  +  x«)2. 
The  expression  may  be  written 


556 


ALGEBRA 


[theorems  of  expansion. 


Hi5?)r=* 


-x)  ) 
«=*-(l-2.r*  +  *1!!)(l  +  2.r+3xJ  +  4*3  +  &c.) 

The  coefficient  required  is  therefore  that  of  it8  in  the 
lust  factor,  via.  6. 

___.,.<  .,      ,        „n(n^l)      .  n(n-l)(n-2) 

Ex.  3.  Findthesumof  1  +  2ra  +  3  \-^  +  4    \    .A  , — ' 

+  &C. 

By  writing  1+1  for  2,  1+2  for  3,  &c,  this  series  may 
be  broken  up  into  the  sum  of  1  +  n  +  +  &c. 


and 


n+a^+a, 


on.    i  u      •        ft     ™-l     (n-l)(n-2)      p      ) 
The  latter  is  n<  1  +  — +  * p^ — '-  +  &.C.  > 

.  the  sum  required  is  2*  +  rc2*~'. 

.Ex.  4.  Find  the  sum  of  1  +  -  n  +  -    ,~~  '  +  &c. 

Multiply  by  n  + 1 ;  the  product  is 

1.2  1.2.3 


2"+'-l 

n+1 


»*.  the  sum  required  is 

Ex.  6.  If  jrr  denote  the  product  x(x  —  1)(*  —  2)  . . . 

(e-r+  1)  whatever  be  r,  and  a  similar  notation  be  applied 
to  y,  and  (%  +  y),  then 


(x  +  y)r  =  xr  +  rxr_lyl  + 


<r-l). 


^^5^3  +  &C 

We  have  (1  +a)*=  1  +  x,a  +  y  \  a2  +  7-f-,  a3  +  <fec. 
(l+a)'=l+y1a  +  Aa2  +  &c 
(1  +  a)*+»  =  their  product. 
But  (1  +  *Y**  =  1  +  (*  +  y),a  +  ^J-2  a2  +  &C. 

Equating  coefficients  of  a"  in  the  two  expressions  for 
(1  +a)*+»,  and  multiplying  by  1  .  2  ...  re,  the  required 
result  is  obtained. 

Ex.  6.  If  x  and  n  be  less  than  1,  then  (1  +  x)"<  (1  +  nx). 

For(l+*)"  =  l+n*  +  '-^^W 

-l+«*-^(l-^)-&c. 

Ex.  7.  On  the  same  hypothesis  (1  +*)*<  - — 

Prove  that  (1  +  x)~"  >  1  -  nx  exactly  as  in  the  last 
example. 

Ex.  8.  If  x<l;  ra>r<r+l;  then  (l+a;)">the  sum 
ff  the  first  r+1  terms  of  the  expansion;  and  <  the  sum 
of  the  first  r  +  2  terms. 

Ex.  9.  The  difference  between  the  sums  of  the  squares 
of  the  even  coefficients  of  the  expansion  of  (1  +x)",  when 
n  is  an  even  whole  number,  and  the  sum  of  the  squares 

•   JL 
of  the  odd  coefficients  is  f  —  1  )a  /  »»\* 


(J) 


2.  Logarithmic  Theorem. 
123.  The  definition  of  a  logarithm  is  precisely  the  same 
as  that  of  an  index  or  exponent  (Art.  21)  viz. — the  logarithm 
of  a  product  is  equal  to  the  sum  of  the  logarithms  of  the 
factors.  Such  being  the  case,  we  are  at  liberty  to  employ 
the  definition,  either  in  the  form  first  given,  or  in  the 
algebraic  form  a'  —  y.  In  this  last  form  x  is  called  the 
"logarithm  of  y  to  the  index  or  base  a.  The  base  of  the 
common  or  tabular  logarithms  is  10. 


124.  Before  proceeding  to  the  demonstration  of  the 
theorem  by  which  a  logarithm  is  expressed  in  the  form  of 
a  series,  it  may  be  as  well  to  illustrate  the  definition  as 
applied  to  common  logarithms. 

1st,  Since  1  is  the  logarithm  of  10,  we  may  inquire  of 
what  is  I  the  logarithm;  if  we  resume  the  form  10*  ~y, 
and  write  £  for  x,  we  have  to  inquire  what  is  y. 

10*-y,10*xl0*-jr*. 


Sinco 
But 


10^x10*  = 


10 


*+»  (def.)  =  10, 


2/2=10  and  y=  J 10  =  3  .  1622777, 


so  that  the  nunAjr  of  which  £  is  the  logarithm  is  not  a 
whole  number,"  but  a  fraction  lying  between  3  and  3 J. 

In  the  same  way,  we  may,  but  with  great  labour,  ascer- 
tain the  numbers  of  which  any  given  fraction  is  the 
logarithm, 

2d,  The  definition  will  evidently  enable  us  to  obtain  ft 
large  number  of  logarithms,  when  a  few  have  becoini 
known.  For  example:  Given  log  2  =  .30 103  to  find 
log  4  and  log  5. 

Log  4  =  log  (2x2)  =  log  2+ log  2  (def.) 
=  2  log  2  =  .  60206; 

Log  5  =  log  —  =  log  10  -  log  2 

-1 -log  2-.  69897. 

If  in  addition  to  log  2,  log  3  be  knovm,  we  can  finil  a 
vast  number  of  others.     For  example  :  Giwn— 
Log    3  =  .  47712  to  find  log  6  and  log  72. 
Log    6  =  log2x3  =  log  2  +  Iog3  =  .77815, 
Log  72  =  log  8  x  9  =  3  log  2  +  2  log  3  =  1 .  85733 . 

125.  To  expand  log  (1  +x)  in  terms  of  x. 

Since  log  1=0;  the  expansion  must  commence  with  the 
first  power  of  x,  the  coefficient  of  which  will  depend  ou 
the  radix  or  base.  This  coefficient  we  shall  determine 
afterwards  for  the  common  logarithms.  In  the  meantime 
we  shall  denote  it  by  A. 

Let  then  log  (1  +  x)  =  Ax  +  B*2  +  Cx3  J-  &c 

Put  y  +  z  for  x ;  then 

I.        Log  (l  +  y+z)  =  A(y+z)      +B(w+s)«  +  &r 
=Ay  +ByJ  +<V+&c. 
+  Az  +2Bi/z  +  3Cy2+&c 
+  &c.    +&c. 

IL         Log(i+2,+z)  =  log(i+2,)^+I±-) 

=log(i+y)+log(i+ji-) 

=Ay+ByJ  +  &c. 

+  Al 

l+y 
+&c. 

=  Ay  +  By>+&c 
+  Az(l-y+y'-&c) 
+  &c  - 

Equating  coefficients  of  z,  yz,  yh,  &c,  in  the  two  ex- 
pansions, there  results 

A  =  A,  2B=  -A,  30=  -A 
log(l+*)  =  A(*-|  +  |-<fcc.) 

126.  Cor.  If  x  =  a  -  1 ,  where  a  is  the  base  of  the  system, 

we  have  1  =  A  j  a  -  1  -  -  (a  -  l)2  +  &c.  | 

This  expansion  of  log  (1+x)  is  not  convergent,  i.e., 
the  terms  do  not  diminish  as  we  advance,  but  the  contrary, 
when  x  is  any  whole  number  greater  than  1.  We  can,  how 
ever,  readily  obtain  from  it  a  converging  series  for  the  dif- 
ference between  the  logarithms  of  the  consecutive  numbers 


THEOREMS  OF  EXPANSION.]  A    Li    (j    -Ci    X>    K    A 

For  log  (!+*)  =  A  fa;-  -g-  -I    :c.J 


557 


log(l-x)  =  A(-*-'--  &c.J 
log  (1  +  x)  -  log  (1  -  *)  =HA(x  +  y  +  j  +  &c.) 


log  (1  +z)-log  (1  -z)  =  log  - 
1+x 


Now 
and  x  has  to  be  found,  so  that 


1+x 
—  t 
x 


1  +  x 


shall  be  the  quotient  of 


consecutive  numbers  = 


This  gives 


1+M 


°!4+l' 


1. 


and      log— =  2A{-i-  +  ^— ^— 3  +  &C  1 
°     u  [  2u+l     3  (2u  +  ly  J 

127.  To  apply  this  formula  to  the  calculation  of  com- 
mon logarithms,  we  will  commence  by  finding  from  it 
a  few  logarithms  of  the  system  for  which  A=  1.  In  this 
Bystem 

If«  =  l,log2  =  2{i  +  i.i+&c.J 

=  .693,  147,  2. 

2.  If  n-4.log  6  =  log4  +  2_{  J  + J.  ^+&&} 

=  1.609,  437,  9. 
Hence  log  10  =  log  2  +  log  5 

=  2.302,585,  1. 

This  system,  for  which  A  =  1  is  the  so-called  Napierian 
system,  which  assumes  no  base,  but  defines  a  logarithm  to 
be  such  that  the  increment  of  the  number  shall  be  the 
product  of  the  number  by  the  increment  of  the  logarithm. 
In  this  system  the  number  of  which  the  logarithm  is  1  is 
2  .  718  ... .  and  is  generally  designated  by  the  letter  e. 

To.  pass  from  Napierian  logarithms  to  common,  we 
observe  that  if  e"  =  10v  =  re;  sis  the  logarithm  of  n  to  the 
base  e,  and  y  to  the  base  10.  Now,  taking  the  Napierian 
logarithm  of  each  side  of  this  equation,  we  obtain  x  = 
y  Nap.  log  10. 

V     Nap.  log  10     2  .  202,  585,  1  * 
=  xx  .4342944819 
=  x  x  .  4343  very  nearly. 

This  multiplier,,  which  was  previously  denoted  by  A,  is 
called  the  modulus  of  the  common  system  of  logarithms. 
A  celebrated  calculator  of  the  last  century,  Mr  A.  Sharp, 
found  it  to  be 

43429448190325182765112891891660508229439700 

5803666566114454. 
For  further  details  on  the  construction  and  use  of  loga- 
rithmic tables,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  Article  on 
Logarithms. 

3.  Exponential  Theorem. 

128.  It  is  now  required  to  expand  a"  in  terms  of  x. 
1.  Write  1  +  a  -  1  for  a,  and  apply  the  binomial  theorem ; 
the  result  is 

sQc-1) 


modulus  ot  the  system  of  logarithms  whose  base  is  a 
call  it  r.     We  have  now  to  determine  B,  C,  &c,  in  term* 
of  r,  from  the  form  of  expansion 

0*=  1  +rx  +  Bx3  +  Cx3  +  &C 
Write  y  +  zis  place  of  x ;  then 

L  o»+«  =  l  +  r(i/+s)       +B(y+2)'+&<J. 

=  l+ry  +  Bt/3   +&c 
+  rz  +  2Byz  +  &c 
+  &c 

EL  &+•  =  <!*  x«'    =  (l  +  ry +  Bi/»+&c) 

x(l+rz    +BZ2       +&c) 
=  1   +ry   +  By2      +&c 

+73  +  r2yz+rBy2z  +Ac 
+  &c 

Equating  coefficients  of  z,  yz,  y\  &c,  in  L  and  1L 
we  "et 

t  =  r,  2B  =  r*,  3C  =  rB,  &<5. 


and 


1.2.3 
a-  =  l+r*  +  — +  r-¥-3 


+  &c 


129.  Now,  since  e  is  such  (Art    127)  that  e-  1  - 

i(e-l)2  +  &c.  =  1,  and  r  =  a-  1  -\  (a-  l)2  +  &c,  what- 

ever  a  be,  it  follows  that  when  e  takes  the  place  of  o,  r 
becomes  1. 

and  putting      x=l,  e=  1  +  I  +  -=r- -  +  &c 


=  2.718281828459040.. 


Again 

«'=l+r  +— +  4o. 

buf  since, 

rh?      . 
aT  =  \+rx  +  — 2  +  &0m 

we  nave  . 

a=l+r   +  — +  &0. 

{l-r(a-l)}*  =  l+*(a-l)+- 


1    2 


(a-l)2  +  &c 


Here  the  only  term  which  does  not  contain  x  is  1 ;  and 
the  coefficient  of  x  being  traced  through  the  different  terms, 
is  easily  seen  to  be 

a  -  1  - 1  (a  -  1)2  + ^  (a  -  l)3  -  &a 

Thus  will  seem  (Art.'  126)  to  be  the  reciprocal  of  the 


From  this  equation  we  have  r  =  Nap.  log  a,  a  result 
obtained  before. 

130.  We  may  approximate  directly  to  the  value  of  > 

when  a  =  10,  thus 

G)"=a~"=i-rj;+i-i-<u 

so  that  the  coefficient  of  x  in  f  -1   is  -r. 

Now  (-Y  =  (l  +  -  -  lY,  whence  (Art  128)  the  a^ffl 
cient  of  a;  in  (-J   is 

■    ^-le-OHa11)'-* 

=  2.302...' 

Additional.  Jixampiet. 

Ex.  1.  To  find  the  value  to  which  (1  +'~  J  avrvioachci" 
as  m  becomes  larger  and  larger. 
By  the  binotelil  theorem 


558  ALGEBRA 

v        mj  m         1.2     \mj 


1.2 


1.2.3 


■l+*  + 


i3 


1.2     1.2.3 
+  -+-.+ &c. 

lH — )  approaches  the  value  l+a;  +  - +  & 

ur  e*,  as  m  becomes  larger  and  larger. 


;c. 


asm  increases. 


Ex.2.  flH — \  approaches  to  e'  (I-5-) 

Ex.  3.  „"-5(re-l)"  +  ^JlD(n_2)--&c. 

=  1.2...™ 

when  n  is  a  whole  number. 

n*x* 
e"  =  1  +  n.r  +  — -  &c 

«--"*  =  1  +  (n  -  \)x  +  &j^?  +  &C. 
Now  r.  («*-l)"  =  «"-n«<-1>*+'^1-)e<*-«>*-&c. 

X  *  — 

But  e*-l  =  l+a:  + ^2+&c.-l=a;  +  ^  +  &c. 

.-.     II.  (e*-l)"=j;"+pa:"+,  +  &c. 

Equating  coefficients  of  x"  in  I.  and  II.,  we  get 
n*  n(n-l)"     n(n-V)    (n-2)"       . 

1.2...n~r.2...ji+     1.2     1.2...n~        = 
•vhich  is  the  required  result. 
Cor.  When  r  is  less  than  re, 

n'  -n(n-l)'  +  -("-^- (re  -  2)'  -  &c.  =  0 . 

Ex.  4.  The  logarithm  of  a  number  to  the  base  o*  is 
a  mean  proportional  between  its  logarithms  to  the  bases 
a  and  a"2. 

Jf  x.  y,  z,  are  the  logarithms  to  the  three  bases  in  order, 
we  have 

(a")*  =  a»  =  (a"^' 
nx  =  y 
nx  =  n-z 
consequently  x2  =  yz. 

Ex.  5.  e*  >1  +x,  whatever  be  x. 
If  a;  be  positive,  or  if  it  be  negative  and  less  than  unity. 
*he  expansion  may  be  tkrowi;  into  the  form 

o.ery  term  of  which  after  1  +x  ia  positive. 

£a  6.  ?>&=£■. 

•re 

For  e">  1  +  x  .:  e»  >1  +  - 

n 

en">(\+n)" 
Hence  e.1^21 

e.22>32 

en">(\.+n)' 

and,  by  multiplication,  e"|re>(l  +n)'. 

Ex.  7.  If  re  be  a  whole  number  >  e,  n"+1  >  (re  +  1  )* 
yy  *ha  demonstration  of  Ex.  6, 

ere">(l+re)* 
But  n>e     .-.     n"+1>(l+m)*. 

£*.  B    If  »""  =  («+ 1)-,  then  n>I< <: 


[CONTIXCED   FRACTIONa 

For  re  is  evident]    >  1.     If  then  we  supposo  n  >  1  <  2, 


*i+S#G+t)* 


Ac 


=  2+a  series  of  positive  terms  by  the  hypo- 
thesis n<  2,  which  is  absurd,  .-.  71  >  2. 

Taking  the  Napierian  logarithms  of  each  side  of  the 


equation  re  =  ( 1  +  -  ]  .  we  get 
2re 

l(l-£)-&c- 


lo^re  =  l-l  +  i-&c. 


=  1 

<1 
n<e. 

Ex.  9.  Nap.  log  x>\~-  <x-\. 

X 

Because  log  x=  -log-=l  --+-  (1  -  -  ) 
0  x  x    2  \      x) 

log  x>\-~- 


+  &<x 


And  because  when  x  >  I,  x<  1  +  (x  -  1)  +  -—  (x  -  l)f  + 

1 . 2 


Sic 

when  x<  1, 


<e-> 
log  x<x-]  ; 
log  x  —  log  (1  -  1  -x) 

-  -  jl-z  +  ^l-xV  +  Jic.  I 

<x-h 

Ex.  10.  Nap.  log  .r  approaches  to   2"  (j-»"-  Dm  3 
increases. 

Sect.  XVII. — Continued  Fractions. 

131.  Every  quantity  which  admits  of  being  expressed 

by  a  common  fraction  may  also  be  expressed  in  the  form  of 

what  is  called  a  continued  fraction.     The  nature  of  such 

fractions  will  bo  easily  understood  by  the  following  example : 

Let  the  fraction  be  ,  or,  which  is  the  same,  3  +  ' 

1  \}\'U\J\J 

Since    100000  =  7  x  14159  +  887,   therefore 


l  linn 
tooooo 

14159         14159  1  ,    314159 


1   100000       7xl416»-i-887 

1 


a,ld  fb^uij =  3  + 


7  +  i1ir. 


14159 


7  + 


887 
14159* 


B87 


By  treating  the  fraction  -       -  in  the  same  way,  and  cotv 

tinuing  the  process,  we  readily  obtain 
314169  1      j 

100000  v  +  -     1      1 

25  +  T  +  ?  +  l 
7      4 
By  an  operation  in  all  respects  the  same  as  has  been 
just  now  performed,  may  any  proper  fraction  whatever  be 
reduced  to  the  form 

.     "3 
and  it  is  then  called  a  continued  fraction. 

(       132.  When  the  root  of  any  equation  is  found  by  the 


CON!  DOTED  FRACTIONS,] 


ALGEBRA 


359 


method  explained  in  Art.  116,  the  value  of  the  unknown 
quantity  ia  evidently  expressed  by  a  continued  fraction. 

For  if  *  be  the  root  sought,  we  have  x  =  a  +  -,  y  =  b  +  —; 

y  a  V  +  -r„  y"  =b"  +  -p,  &c.  where  a,  b,  b',  b",  &c.  denote 

the  whole  numbers,  which  are  next  less  than  the  true 
values  of  x,  y,  y",  y",  &c.     If,  therefore,  in  the  value  of  x 

we  substitute  b  +  — 7  for  y,  it  becomes 

y 

1 
x  =  a  +  - 


5  + 


t 


Again,  if  in  this  second  value  of  x  we  substitute  6'  +  - 
for  y,  it  become 


x  =  a  + 


i  + 


"*y 


And  so  on  continually, 

133.  It  is  easy  to  see  in  what  manner  the  inverse  of  the 
preceding  operation  ia  to  be  performed,  or  a  continued  frac- 
tion reduced  to  a  common  fraction. 

The  fractions  which  result  from  omitting  portions  of  a 
continued  fraction  are  termed  the  convergents  to  that  f rac- 

1 


tion. 


Thus,  if  the  fraction  be  o,  H ,    1 

°2  +  Z 


1 


is  the  first 


convergent,   %—r  the  second,  &c. 

134.  The  principal  practical  application  of  the  properties 
of  continued'  fractions  is  to  approximate  to  the  value  of  a 
given  fraction.  The  proposition  on  which  this  application 
depends  is  the  following  : — 

No  fraction,  in  terms  equally  low  can  give  so  good  an  ap- 
proximation to  the  value  of  a  fraction  as  a  convergent  to  the 
continued  fraction  which  expresses  it  does. 

To  demonstrate  this  proposition,  it  is  requisite  to  estab- 
lish three  preliminary  propositions,  which  we  shall  do  very 
briefly. 

135.  (1.)  If  —  denote  the  nth  convergent,  or  the  re- 

duced  fraction  which  results  from  stopping  at  a.,  and  reduc- 
ing, then  p.+l  =  a,+sp.  +p_, ,  qn+i  =  a,+lq.  +  ?_, . 

Since  no  denominator  can  be  multiplied  by  itself,  the  re- 
duced fraction  must  give  p,  =  a„A  +  B. 

Now  p,H  is  obtained  by  writing  a.  -1 '■  for  a„,  and 

reducing, 

• '-     .    P*+i  =  <Vn(a„A  +  B)  +  A  =  an+1p,  +  A; 
i.e.,  the  multiplier  of  any  a  is  the  previous  p,  and  the  other 
term  is  the*  multiplier  of  a  in  the  previous  convergent, 
henca  the  proposition. 

136.  (2.) Pn+lq„-qn+1p,  =  (-1)'. 

This  is  at  once  obtained  by  eliminating  a.+1  from  the  two 
equations  of  last  article. 

1 37.  (3.)  The  successive  convergents  are  alternatelygreater 
and  less  than  the  complete  fraction,  and  each  convergent 
approaches  nearer  in  value  to  it  than  the  pro-oding. 

If  A  denote  the  complete  denominator  am+l  +  Sec. ;  u  the 

complete  fraction:  then  u  =  -~  — ^^  ;  and  by  subtract- 

ing  successively  —  and  *2-2-  from  u  in  this  form,  it  will  be 

2»  9—i 

oce'u  at  once  that  the  results  have  different  signs,  and  that 
the  latter  difference  is  the  larger. 

138.  We  are  now  able  to  prove  the  proposition  enun- 
ciated. > 


Let   -  tea  fraction  nearer  to  u  than  -— ;  then  since 

2  SlH-l  . 

the  convergents  are  alternately  too  great  and  too  small; 
—  ,  - ,  —  ,  must  be  in  order  of  magnitude. 
•   T*  the  first  be  the  greatest, 


P-+i 
2.+i" 


2-     9    ,2» 


Reducing  and  applying  Prop.  2,  there  results  q>q.+x. 

Similarly  by  inverting  the  fractions,  it  may  be  proved 
that  p>p,+l. 

Ex.  1.  To  determine  when  a  transit  of  Venus  may  be 
expected. 

The  relative  sidereal  periods  of  Venus  and  the  earth  are 
224,700  days  and  365,256  days.  The  continued  fraction 
which  expresses  the  quotient  of  these  numbers  is 

1   i+s+* 


The  fifth  convergent  is 


8      .1,      --a  235 
-j  the  sixth  — . 


On  account  of  the  smallness  of  — ,  the  former  is  a  very 

close  approximation,  i.e.,  8  yeare  and  13  sidereal  periods 
of  Venus  are  very  nearly  equal. 

In  consequence  of  this,  a  transit  occurs  after  one  period 
of  8  years,  and  then  again  not  till  after  235  years  have 
been  completed. 

The  last  pair  of  transits  at  the  descending  node  occurred 
in  1769,  1777 ;  and  at  the  ascending  node  in  1639,  1647. 

The  next  pair,  will  accordingly  occur  at  the  latter  nodu 
in  1874  and  1882.  The  days  of  transit  will  be  December 
8  and  December  6,  respectively. 

Ex.  2.  To  find  the  periods  of  prooable  recurrence  of 
eclipses  of  the  sun. 

An  eclipse  of  the  sun  will  occur  whenever  the  place  of 

the  new  moon  is  within  about  13°  of  the  line  of  nodes. 

Now,  the  interval  between  two  new  moons  ia  295306 

days ;  and  the  mean  synodic  period  of  the  earth  and  the 

line  of  nodes  is  3466196  days.     The  proportion  of  the 

latter  of  these  numbers  to  the  former,  reduced  to  a  con- 

,  ,        •  -  47     223     ,, 

turned  fraction,  gives  as  convergents  —  ,  — ,  &c. 

Hence,  after  47  lunar  months,  things  have  come  nearly 
to  their  original  position,  and  after  223  lunar  months,  tery 
nearly.  This  latter  period,  termed  the  saros,  has  been 
known  from  the  remotest  antiquity.  It  enabled  the  Chal- 
dean shepherds  to  predict  the  return  of  eclipses.  It  amounts 
to  18  years  and  10  or  11  days.  Thus,  there  was  a  total 
eclipse  on  the  18th  July  1860 ;  adding  18  years  11  days, 
we  get  for  an  eclipse  29th  July  1878.  If  we  add  47 
lunations  or  1388  days,  we  get  6th  March  1864,  on  which 
day  there  was  an  eclipse. 

This  period  of  1388  days,  multiplied  by  5,  makes  exactly 
19  years — a  period  which  is  designated  as  the  cycle  nf 
Mdon,  giving  eclipses  which  occur  on  the  same  day  of  tL> 
month.  Thus,  eclipses  happened  18th  July  1841  and 
18th  July  1860,  and  another  will  happen  18th  July  1879. 

Ex.  3.  The  fraction  given  (Art.  131)  represents  the 
ratio  of  the  circumference  of  a  circle  to  its  diameter.  By 
taking  the  first  two  terms  we  have  ir=3  +  f=!T2  nearly; 
and  this  is  the  proportion  which  was  found  by  Archim?dft3. 

Again,  by  taking  the  first  three  ttrms,  we  hav? 

,-J+J.   1      =3+<15     333 


7  + 


1 
15 


i06     106 


which  is  nearer  the  truth  than  the  former. 
And,  by  taking  the  first  four  terms,  we  have 


560 


ALGEBRA 


(permutations,  etc 


—  3+5+1 


355 
'  113 


which  is  the  proportion  assigned  by  Metius. 

Ex.  4.  The  mean  tropical  year  consists  of  365-2422642 
days. 

Tho  fraction  -2422642,  reduced  to  a  continued  fraction, 
gives  as  successive  convergents 

4*  99'  33'  Nil  '  194'  1325'      °" 

To  make  the  civil  year  approximate  to  the  tropical,  1 
leap  year  in  4  (the  Julian  Calendar)  serves  but  imperfectly. 
7  leap  years  in  29  would  be  inconvenient.  The  Gregorian 
Calendar,  now  in  use,  is  based  on  combining  the  fractions 

.17  1 

—  and  -  .  by  doubling  the  numerator  and  denominator 

194         4'     '  ° 

of  the  former,  and  trebling  those  of  the  latter,  and  adding 

97 
them  respectively.     The  resulting  fraction  is  — ,  giving 

97  leap  years  in  400  years,  instead  of  100  as  the  Julian 
does.  This  diminution  of  3  leap  years  in  400  years  is 
produced  periodically,  by  causing  years  which  indicate  the 
completion  of  centuries  not  to  be  leap  years  unless  the 
number  of  centuries  is  divisible  by  4.  Thus,  1900  will 
not  be  a  leap  year. 


Sect.  XVTII. — Permutations,  Combinations,  and 
Probabilities. 

139.  Hitherto  we  have  supposed  the  letters  of  the  alphabet, 
a,  b,  c,  &c,  to  stand  for  arithmetical  quantities  of  some  kind 
or  other.  Now  we  have  to  employ  them,  as  in  geometry, 
to  represent  magnitudes  or  objects,  such  as  pens,  pencils, 
&c,  and  to  investigate  the  numbers  of  different  ways  in 
which  a  given  set  of  them  can  be  grouped  according  to  a 
certain  law. 

Permutations  are  their  arrangements  in  a  line,  reference 
being  had  to  the  order  of  sequence ;  thus  ab  and  ba  are 
the  two  permutations  of  a  and  6;  combinations  are 
their  arrangements  in  groups,  without  reference  to  the 
order  of  sequence ;  thus  abc  is  a  combination  involving 
a,  b,  and  c ;  and  bac  is  the  same  combination,  both  con- 
sisting simply  of  a,  b,  and  c  grouped  together. 

Prop.  1.  To  find  the  number  of  permutations  of  re  things 
(1),  two  and  two  (2),  three  and  three,  <tc,  together. 

Set  aside  a,  and  lay  down  the  other  things  in  a  line ; 
place  a  before  each  of  them  in  succession,  and  you  obtain 
ab,  ac,  ad,  ike,  i.e.,  re  -  1  arrangements,  each  containing 
two  things",  with  a  first. 

In  the  same  way  you  can  form  n  -  1  arrangements, 
each  containing  two  things,  with  b  first.  The  same  is  true 
of  each  of  the  other  letters,  and  as  there  are  n  of  them,  the 
total  number  of  arrangements  of  the  n  things,  two  together, 
is  n(n—  1). 

Again,  lay  aside  o,  and  group  the  other  re  - 1  things, 
two  together;  as  we  have  just  shown,  there  are  (re-  l)(re-  2) 
such  groups.  Place  a  before  each  of  them,  and  there  will 
be  formed  (re  —  1 )  (re  -  2)  arrangements,  each  containing 
three  things,  with  o  first;  and  there  can  be  no  more 
arrangements  with  a  first. 

Treat  6,  c,  itc,  in  the  same  manner,  and  it  will  appear 
that  there  are  (re- 1) (re -2)  groups  of  things,  three  to- 
gether, in  which  every  separate  thing  in  succession  stands 
first.  Hence,  the  total  number  of  arrangements,  three  and 
I  hree,  is  n(re  -  1 )  (re  -  2). 

By  proceeding  in  the  same  manner  we  shall  find  the 
total  number  of  permutations  of  a  things,  r  together,  to  be 
niu  -  1) (n-r+ I). 


Cor.  The  number  of  permutations  of  n  things,  all  to- 
gether, is  n(re -1).  ...3.2.1. 

Prop.  2.  To  find  the  number  of  combinations  of  re  things, 
r  together. 

Let  x  be  the  number  required. 

Take  any  one  of  the  x  groups  of  r  things.  The  number 
of  permutations  which  can  be  formed  with  it  will  be 
(Prop.  1.  Cor.)r(r-l) 1,  or  1.2...  r. 

Now,  since  each  of  the  x  groups  is  different  from  all 
the  others,  if  we  treat  each  of  the  x  groups  separately  in 

this  way,  we  shall  form  1.2 r  x  x  permutations,  all 

different.  Also,  since  the  x  groups  contain  every  possibl« 
combination  of  the  re  things,  r  together,  we  shall  thus  have 
formed  all  the  permutations  which  can  be  formed;  and  conse- 
quently (Prop.  1)  tho  number  is  n(n  -  1). . .  (re-r  +  1). 

n(ra-l) (n-r  +  1) 

*  X  =  ■■    ■  ■    - 

1.2....r 

Prop.  3.  To  find  the  number  of  combinations  which  caa 
bo  formed  of  n  sets  of  things,  containing  respectively  r,  *,  t, 
&c.  things,  by  taking  one  from  each  set  to  form  a  com- 
bination. 

1.  Let  there  be  two  sets,  one  containing  r  and  the  other 
s  things. 

Any  one  (say  a)  of  the  r  things  may  be  placed  succes- 
sively with  each  of  the  s  things,  and  thus  form  s  groups, 
in  each  of  which  a  appears.  The  same  is  true  of  6,  c,  <fec. ; 
i.e.,  each  of  the  r  things  gives  rise  to  a  groups,  .".  the 
number  required  is  rs. 

2.  Any  one  of  the  t  things  may  be  placed  in  succession 
with  each  of  the  groups  of  two  things  referred  to  in  Case  1, 
so  that  every  one  of  the  t  things  will  give  rise  to  rs  com- 
binations of  three  things;  .".  the  number  required  is  rst. 
The  same  may  be  indefinitely  extended. 

140.  The  first  and  most  obvious  application  of  the 
theory  of  combinations  is  to  the  doctrine  of  chances.  As, 
however,  this  application  will  form  the  subject  of  a  separate 
article,  all  that  is  requisite  for  us  now  to  do  is  to  indicate 
the  connecting  link  between  the  two  subjects. 

If  we  agree  to  designate  certainty  by  unity,  then  tho 
chance  of  an  event  happening,  when  it  is  less  than  cer- 
tainty, will  be  designated  by  a  proper  fraction.  Tims  if 
the  average  number  of  wet  days  and  of  dry  is  the  same, 
the  chance  of  any  day  named  at  random  turning  out  wet 

will  be  represented  by  the  fraction  - ;  that  is,  if  the  num- 
ber of  days  under  consideration  be  100,  the  chance  is 
_60  number  of  wet  days  _     Chance  is  accordingly  de- 

100  '       total  number  of  days 

number  of  favourable  events 
fined  by  the  fraction      total  nU]uber  of  events.     / 

The  only  proposition  by  which  chances  are  combined  that 
we  shall  offer  is  this. 

If  there  are  two  events,  and  the  probability  of  one  of 

them  happening  to  be  £  ,  and  of  the  ether  ^  ;  then  the  pro- 

.   ac 
bability  that  both  will  happen  is  ^  • 

For  o  and  c  may  be  taken  to  represent  the  favourable 
events  respectively,  and  be  combined  (Art.  139,  Prop.  3) 
so  as  to  give  ac  ways  in  which  they  may  happen  together. 
And  in  the  same  way  6  and  d  may  be  combined  to  give 
the  total  number  of  events. 

Ex.  A  bag  contains  3  white  and  4  black  balls.  Find 
the  chance  of  drawing  (1)  two  white  balls;  (2)  a  white  and 
a  black;  (3)  one  white  at  least,  when  two  balls  are  drawn. 

The  chance  of  drawing  two  wliite  balls  is  the  fraction. 
Number  of  combinations  of  3  ■thinRa,  2  together 
Number  of  combinations  of  7  things,  2  together. 


series,  i 


3.2 

1.2 
7.6 
1.2 


ALGEBRA 

Ex.  3. 


561 


The  chance  of  drawing  a  white  and  a  black  is  (Art.  139 
Prop  3), 

3j_i    ■      4 

7Ji      ~7  * 

1.2 

To  find  the  chance  of  drawing  at  least  a  white  ball,  we 
may  remark  that  it  is  the  same  as  the  chance  of  not  draw- 
ing two  black  balls,  i.e..  certainty — the  chance  of  drawing 
two  black  balls. 

Now  the  chance  of  drawing  two  black  balls  is 

4_._8 

1.2  2 

7.6      ~     7 
1.2 

. '.  the  chance  of  drawing  at  least  one  white  ball  is 
2     5 


1- 


7~7- 


Sect.  XIX. — On  Series  in  General;  their  Summation 
and  Convergence. 

141.  Certain  series,  from  their  very  appearance,  indicate 
that  they  are  really  the  sums  or  differences  of  two  other 
scries.  From  this  circumstance  their  sum  may  frequently 
be  determined,  as  in  the  following  examples : — 

Ex.\        -L  +  ^L  + -L- 

1.2^2.3  T  n(n+l) 

1      1  1 

Let  *  =  I  +  «j       +   .....         - 

_i+_L_M+ _L 

n+1     2X3 »+l 

.*.  by  subtraction, 

n+1     Vl     V     \2     ZJ  *     '     -     \n     n+1/ 

1  I  1 

'    1.2     +2.3       +      "     '      "         nfa+l) 

1  n 

and  the  sum  is  1 ,   that  is,   . 

n+1  '  '  ji+1 

142.  The  sum  of  a  series  may  often  be  easily  found  by 
the  method  of  increments  or  differences,  and  this  method  is 
especially  adapted  to  the  summation  of  integral  series, 
such  as  the  squares  of  the  natural  numbers.  We  shall 
exhibit  one  or  two  illustrations  only. 

If  we  write  S„  =  n(re  +  1),  we  have 

S.+,=  (»+l)0  +  2),  .-.   S,+1-S„-2(»  +  l). 

Hence  conversely,  and  dividing  by  2 ;  if 

S.+i  -  S.  =  n  +  1 , 
then  will  S„  =  *-M. 

Similarly,  if 

S»tl-S.  =  (»+l)(»  +  2)  .  .  .  (n  +  r-1), 

then  will  S.  =  *("  +  !)  ■  ■  •  (»  +  »•.- 1) 

r 

This  last  conclusion,  of  course,  assumes  that  S,  is  0  when 
n  is  0.  If  it  be  otherwise,  some  numerical  constant,  easy 
of  determination,  will  have  to  be  added. 

Ex.  2.  l2  +  22  +  32  +   .  .  .ifi. 

HereS.+1-S.  =  (n  +  l)2=(re+l)(n  +  2)-(n+I). 
n(n+l)(»  +  2)     n(n+l)     n(n  +  l)(2n+l) 
••      ?«"  3  "      2     "~~     e 


l«+2*  +  3<  +  .  ..  n* 
S.„-S.  =  («+l)* 


Let 

.(n+l)4  =  (n+l)(n  +  2)(rc  +  3)(n  +  4)  +  A{n  +  l)(n  +  2)(n  +  3) 
+  B(n+l)(n  +  2)  +  C(n+l). 

Dividing  by  n+1,  and  proceeding  as  in  Art.  33,  we  get 
A=  -6,  B  =  7,  C=  -1. 

S„  =  ^i(n  +  l)(re  +  2)(re  +  3)(»  +  4)- 


3  **  1 

^v(n  +  l)(n  +  2)(n  +  3)  +  ^i(n+l)(n  +  2)-^n{n  +  \) 

*  |  3«(«  +  1)-  1  | 


n(n+l)  (2n+l) 
30 


On  the  Convergence  mid  Divergency  of  Infinite  Series. 

143.  Be/.   If  the  limit  to  which  the  sum  of  a  series 

approaches,  as  the  number  of  terms  increases,  is  finite,  the 

series  is  a  converging  series;  if  otherwise,  diverging.     For 

example,    the   sum  of  the  series   1  +  r  +  r-  +   .  .  .  to   n 

1  -r* 
terms  is (Art.  52),  which,  when  r  is  less  than  1, 


approaches  to  - —  ,  in  which  case  the  series  is  a  con- 
verging series. 

Prop.  1.  It  is  necessary  and  sufficient  for  convergency 
that  the  remaining  terms  after  the  reth  have  zero  for  their 
limit,  both  individually  and  collectively,  as  n  increases. 

It  is  obviously  necessary  and  sufficient  for  convergency 
that  the  sum  of  the  series  after  the  nth  term  shall  have  0 
as  its  limit;  and  consequently,  when  all  the  terms  of  the 
series  are  positive,  the  same  must  be  true  of  each  indi- 
vidual term.  But  when  the  terms  are  alternately  positive 
and  negative,  though  it  is  necessary  for  convergency  that 
the  sum  of  the  consecutive  terms  with  their  proper  signs 
should  have  0  as  its  limit,  this  is  not  sufficient;  for,  were 
it  so,  the  sum  to  n  terms  would  depend  on  whether  n  is 
even  or  odd. 


Ex.  1. 


!       1       1 

1+2+3+ 


,  is  not  a  converging  series ;  for 

although  each  term  after  the  nth  tends  to  0  as  its  limit — 

the  sum  of  n  terms  after  the  nth,  viz., 1- h  .  .  . 

n+1     n+2 

,  which  is  greater  than  —  +  —  +   .  ...  —  to  re  terms. 


Sin 


2n     2»i 


2» 


i.e.,  greater  than  - ,  does  not  tend  to  0  as  its  limit. 


Ex.2.  1+1  +  -^  +  ^+. 

e  (Art.  129),  is  convergent. 

The  sum  of  the  terms  after  the  nth  is 


the  expression  for 


rfO+n+y-) 

i{l+n  +  ^+--) 


<!i  'i_i 


'(n-l)|n-l 


the  limit  of  which  as  n  increases  is  0. 

Prop.  2.  If  the  limit  of  the  nth  term  is  0,  and  the 
terms  continually  diminish ;  then  when  the  signs  of  the 
terms  are  alternately  +  and  - ,  the  series  is  convergent. 

Let  u,  -  u„  +  !<3  -  &c,  be  the  series ;  the  terms  after  the 
nth  ( +  or  -  )  make  up  the  series  of  positive  groups 

(u.+l  -  un+1)  +  (u^t  -  «.+,)  +  i-c. 

But  these  terms  may  also  be  written  «.+,  -  (m«+3  -  ««+j)  - 
<kc,  which,    since    the    whole   group    is    positive,    must 


r>G2 


A  L  G  —  A  L  G 


[series 


bo  loss  than  w„+„  the  only  positive  term  in  it     But  i/.+1 
has  0  for  its  limit,  therefore  the  series  is  convergent. 

.  is  convergent,  for  the  sum  of 


fc&i-£+{r 


the  series  after  the  nth  term  is  less  than  — - ,  which  has 

n+1 

0  as  its  limit. 

Prop.  3.  If  the  terms  of  the  series  are  all  positive,  and 

the  limit  of  tho  ?ith  term  is  0;  then  if  the  limit  of  tlic 

quotient  of  the  (»  +  l)th  term  by  tho  nth  be  less  than  1, 

the  series  is  convergent ;  but  if  the  limit  be  greater  than  1, 

the  sum  is  divergent, 

1.  Let  h  be  the  greatest  value  of  -™  ,   after  a  certain 

value  of  n,  and  k  <  1 ;  then, 

«.+l +  «„+!+•  •  .   <"„+i(l+£  +  *2+.  .  •). 
«.+i  • 
<\~b' 
■which  has  0  for  its  limit.     Hence  the  series  is  convergent 
(Prop.  1). 

2.  Let  Jc,  the  least  value  of  -^  after  a  certain  finito 

i(. 
value  of  n,  be  greater  than  1 ;  then 

«.+,  =  or  >hi„ 
"»+a  *=  or  >k-u. 
&c.  &c. 

w.+1  + 1!.+5  +  <fec.  =  or  >knn(l  -r  I- +  Jc2  +  &c), 

which  is  infinite.     Hence  the  series  is  divergent 

Prop.  4.  H  — —  be  less  than  1 ;  then  the  two  series 

r  v.  ' 

«(+   «a+   u3  +   u4+     ....     (1) 
u1  +  2u,  +  iui  +  8ua  +     ....     (2) 

are  both  convergent,  or  both  divergent  together. 

Series  (2)  +  k,=  2(«1  +  m,  +  2?<1  +  4?«s  +  .  .  .),  which  is 
ccmal  to  or  less  than  the  following,  term  by  term,  via. : — 

2  {«,  +  «J  +  («,  +  «4)  +  («4  +  «,  +  «,  +  «„)+•  •  •}. 
i.e.,  twice  series  (1). 

Hence  if  the  one  series  be  convergent,  the  other  will  be 
also  convergent;  and  if  series  (2)  be  divergent,  series  (1) 
is  also  divergent. 


Again,  scries  (2)  is  equal  to  or  greater  than  the  follow- 
ing, term  by  term, 

«.  +  (;/,  + w3)  +  (m4  +  «, +  «d +  «,)+.  .  . 

which  is  series  (1). 

Hence  if  series  (1)  be  divergent,  series  (2)  is  also 
divergent 

Ex.  1.  The  series  —  +  —  +  —  +  .  .  .  is  convergent  if 

r>l,  but  divergent  if  r=  or<l. 

The  two  series  (I)  and  (2)  now  become 

L   L    L 

1»  +2'  +3'  +  '  '  ' 

JL     1     i. 
l'+2'  +4'  +  '  '  ' 

the  latter  of  which  is  the  geometric  series 

*■  +  2^1 +  4^"!  +  •  •  •  > 

which  is  convergent  or  divergent  according  as  r>  1  or  the 
contrary.     Hence  the  same  is  true  of  the  given  series. 

Ex.  2.  The  binomial  series  1  +  nx  +  <tc,  is  convergent 
when  x<  1,  divergent  when  x>  1 . 

Ex.  3.  To  find  when  the  binomial  series  1  -  n  +  -^-~  ■  - 

<tc,  is  convergent. 
Let  7i<  1 ;,  the  (r  + 1)  term  may  be  written 

n     r-n-1     r-n-2 

;  •  r_i     ~t^2~  •  •  • 

'"(u,4ir('*,-!i)"-(«K^>i 

n{   r   \~"  fr-\\— 

<ih=0  •  (vzi)  •  • < 

n 

<^Ti  > 

whence  (Prop.  4,  Ex.  1)  the  scries  is  convergent     Similarly 
in  uther  cases.  (p.  k.) 


ALGECTRAS,  or  Axgeztras,  a  seaport  of  Spain,  in  the 
province  of  Cadiz,  6  miles  W.  of  Gibraltar,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  bay.  The  town  is  picturesquely  situated,  and 
its  name,  which  signifies  in  Arabic  the  island,  is  derived 
from  a  small  islet  which  forms  one  side  of  the  harbour.  It 
is  supplied  with  water  by  means  of  a  beautiful  aqueduct. 
It  has  a  dilapidated  fortress,  and  also  a  military  hospital. 
Though  the  harbour  is  bad,  and  the  commerce  of  the  town 
has  considerably  declined,  there  is  still  a  good  coasting 
trade;  the  exports  and  imports  averaging  about  £60,000 
annually.  Charcoal  and  tanned  leather  are  the  chief  articles 
of  export,  Algeciras  was  the  Portus  Albus  of  the  Romans, 
and  the  first  place  in  Spain  taken  by  the  Moors.  It 
remained  in  their  possession  from  713  till  1344,  when  it 
was  taken  by  Alphonso  XI.  of  Castile  after  a  celebrated 
siege  of  twenty  months,  which  attracted  crusaders  from  all 
parts  of  Europe,  among  whom  was  the  English  earl  of 
Derby,  grandson  of  Edward  ILL  It  is  said  that  during 
this  siege  gunpowder  was  first  used  by  the  Moors  in 
vfv™13  °f  EllroPe-  The  Moorish  city  was  destroyed  by 
Alphonso,  and  the  modern  town  was  not  erected  till  1760. 
During  the  siege  of  Gibraltar  in  1780-82,  Algeciras  was 
the  station  of  the  Spanish  fleet  and  floating  batteries. 
Near  Algeciras,  on  0th  July  1801,  the  English  admiral 
Saumarez  attacked  a  Franco-Spanish  fleet,  and  sustained  a 


reverse;  but  on  the  12th  he  again  attacked  the  enemy, 
whose  fleet  was  double  his  own  strength,  and  inflicted  on 
them  a  complete  defeat.     Population,  14,000. 

ALGER  of  Liege,  known  also  as  Alger  of  Clugny 
and  Aloerus  Magister,  a  learned  French  priest  who 
lived  in  the  first  half  of  the  12th  century.  He  was  first 
a  deacon  of  the  church  of  St  Bartholomew  at  Liege,  his 
native  town,  was  afterwards  translated  to  the  cathedral 
church  of  St  Lambert,  and  finally  retired  to  tin  monastery 
of  Clugny,  where  he  died  not  later  than  1145,  though  the 
precise  date  is  uncertain.  His  History  of  the  Church  of 
Liege,  and  many  of  his  other  works  are  lost.  The  most  im- 
portant of  his  still  extant  wwks  are: — 1.  Be  Misericordia 
et  Justitia,  a  collection  of  extracts  from  Fathers,  with 
reflections,  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  Anecdota  of 
Martenj,  vol.  v.  2.  De  Sacramento  Corporis  et  Sanguinis 
Domini;  a  treatise,  in  three  books,  against  the  Berengarian 
heresy,  highly  commended  by  Peter  of  Clugny  and  Erasmus. 

3.  De  Libero  Arbitrio;  given  in  Pez's  Anecdoia,  voL  iv. 

4.  De  Saerificio  Misses;  given  in  the  Collectio  Scriptor. 
Vet.  of  Angelo  Mai,  voL  ix. 

ALGERIA,  or  Algiers  (French,  L'Algerie),  the  largest 
and  most  important  of  the  French  colonial  possessions,  ia 
a  country  of  Northern  Africa,  bounded  on  the  N.  by  the 
Mediterranean,  W.  by  the  state  of  Marocco,  S.  by  the 


ALGERIA 


563 


desert  of  the  Sahara,  and  E.  by  Tunis.  The  boundaries, 
however,  are  in  many  parts  not  accurately  determined.  It 
extends  for  about  550  miles  along  the  coast,  and  stretches 
inland  from  320  to  380  miles;  lying  between  2°  10'  W. 
and  8°  50'  E.  long.,  and  32°  and  37°  N.  lat.  The  area  is 
estimated  at  about  150,500  English  square  miles. 

Surface.  The  country  is  generally  mountainous,  being  traversed 

by  lofty  ranges  of  the  Atlas  system,  which  run  nearly 
parallel  to  the  coast,  and  rise  in  some  places  to  the  height 
of  upwards  of  7000  feet.  These  are  commonly  divided 
into  two  leading  chains,  which  are  distinguished  as  the 
Great  and  Little  Atlas.  The  former,  which  is  the  more 
southern-  and  bordering  on  the  Sahara,  contains  some  of 
the  highest  points  in  the  country.  The  Little  Atlas  or 
Maritime  AtlaSj  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  lies  between  the 
sea  and  the  Great  Atlas,  and  is  composed  of  numerous 
•diversified  ranges  generally  of  no  great  elevation.  A 
number  of  smaller  chains  lie  between  these  principal  ones, 
and  also  between  the  latter  and  the  sea,  forming  so  many 
ascending  steps  or  degrees.  These  principal  ranges  are 
connected  by  numerous  transverse  ones,  thus  forming 
■extensive  table-lands  and  elevated  valleys,  with  no  connec- 
tion between  them  but  the  intervening  heights.  Occasion- 
ally the  principal  ranges  are  broken  by  deep  defiles  and 
narrow  vdleys.  The  maritime  region  presents  numerous 
narrow  valleys,  each  carrying  down  to  the  sea  its  mountain 
stream.  In  some  parts  the  mountains  rise  abruptly  from 
the  sea,  in  others  a  tract  of  flat  laud  intervenes  between 
the  mountains  and  the  coast,  and  this  is  usual'y  marshy, 
but  sometimes  fertile  and  well  cultivated.  There  are  a 
number  of  extensive  plains  near  the  coast,  one  of  the  most 
important  of  which  is  that  of  Metidja,  commencing  on  the 
•eastern  side  of  the  bay  of  Algiers,  and  stretching  thence 
inland  to  the  south  and  west.  It  is  about  60  miles  in 
length  by  10  or  12  in  breadth.  Another  great  alluvial 
plain  extends  south  and  west  for  many  miles  from  the 
vicinity  of  Bona.  A  third  similar  plain  lies  to  the  south- 
east and  south-west  of  Oran,  and  south  of  Mostaganem  is 
the  plain  of  Shellif.  The  coast  is  generally  steep  and 
rocky,  abounding  in  capes  and  gulfs,  but  very  deficient 
in  good  harbours,  and  even  in  secure  roadsteads,  in  conse- 
quence of  its  exposure  to  the  north  winds. 

Havers.  The  rivers  are  numerous,  but  the  majority  of  them  have 

short  courses.  They  mostly  rise  in  the  mountains  near  the 
coast,  and  rush  down  with  great  impetuosity  through  deep 
and  rocky  channels,  presenting  the  character  of  mountain 
torrents.  During  the  rainy  season  they  are  much  swollen, 
so  as  to  render  communication  with  different  parts  of  the 
country  extremely  difficult.  The  most  important  river, 
both  from  the  length  of  its  course  and  the  volume  of  its 
waters,  is  the  Shellif,  which,  rising  in  the.  northern  slopes 
of  the  Djebel  Amur,  flows  first  north  and  then  west  till  it 
empties  itself  into  the  Mediterranean  near  Mostaganem  after 
a  course  of  370  miles,  during  which  it  receives  numerous 
tributary  streams.  The  Seybouse  is  formed  by  the  union 
of  several  small  streams  in  the  interior  of  the  province  of 
Constantine,  south-east  of  the  town  of  that  name,  and  after 
a  course  of  about  120  miles  falls  into  the  Mediterranean 
near  Bona.  The  Sunimam,  which  contains  the  greatest 
body  of  water  after  the  Shellif,  rises  in  the  interior  of  the 
province  of  Algiers  near  Aumale,  and  pursues  a  generally 
north-east  direction  to  its  mouth  near  Bougie.  The  Bum- 
inel,  formed  of  several  small  streams  south  of  the  town 
of  Constantine,  passes  that  town  and  pursues  a  north-west 
direction  to  the  sea.  Among  the  less  important  rivers  whicn 
empty  themselves  into  the  Mediterranean  are  the  Harrach, 
lsser,  Mazefran,  Tafna,  and  Macta.  Besides  these,  there 
are  a  number  of  streams  in  the  interior,  but  they  are  less 
known  and  are  generally  dry  except  in  the  rainy  season. 
Algeria  abounds  in  extensive  lakes  and  marshes.     Of 


the  lakes  in  the  northern  part  of  the  country,  near  the 
coast,  the  principal  are, — the  Fezara  14  miles  south-west  of 
Buna;  the  two  lakes  Sebkha  and  El  Melah  south  of  Oran; 
the  three  small  lakes  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Calle,  and 
several  others.  In  the  southern  parts  of  the  country  aro 
the  extensive  lake3  of  Chott-el-Harbi  or  Western  Chott ; 
the  Chott-el-Chergui  or  Eastern  Chott;  the  Zarhez-Ghcrbi 
and  the  Zarhez-Chergui;  the  Grand  Sebkha-el-Chott,  and  a 
number  of  others.  These  are  mostly  dried  up  in  summer, 
leaving  a  thick  stratum  of  salt.  Many  of  the  marshes, 
especially  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  larger  towns,  have 
been  drained  by  the  French,  and  the  climate  has  thus  been 
rendered  more  salubrious.  There  are  also  a  number  of 
warm  mineral  springs,  containing  principally  salts  of  lime, 
which  are  used  with  success  by  the  Arabs  in  several  kinds 
of  disease.  Some  of  these  are  in  the  vicinity  of  Calle 
Bougie,  Milianah,  ifcc. 

Algeria  is  divided  by  a  line  running  nearly  east  and  Natui»i 
west  into  two  distinct  zones,  called  by  the  natives  the  TM  Divum* 
and  Sahara.  The  Tell  constitutes  the  zone  bordering  ujjon 
the  Mediterranean,  and  is  the  cultivated  land — the  land 
of  corn.  It  consists  of  a  series  of  fertile  basins,  yielding 
almost  exclusively  corn  of  different  kinds,  especially  wheat 
and  barley.  Some  parts  of  it  are  extremely  fertile,  but  at 
the  same  time  flat  and  uniform.  The  chains  separating 
the  basins  are  clothed  with  timber,  and  peopled  by  the 
Kabyles.  The  Sahara  lies  to  the  south  of  the  Tell,  and 
is  the  region  of  pastures  and  of  fruits.  Hence,  while  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Tell  are  agriculturists,  those  of  the 
Sahara  are  shepherds  and  gardeners.  The  Sahara  is  some- 
times spoken  of  as  a  desert,  at  other  times  as  the  country 
of  dates.  It  may  properly  be  divided  into  two  regions; 
the  northern  is  mountainous,  but  at  the  same  time  moro 
fertile,  better  watered,  and  more  populous  than  the  other, 
which,  bordering  on  the  Great  Desert,  consists  chiefly  of 
oases  of  greater  or  less  extent.  The  villages  of  the  Sahara 
are  surrounded  by  belts  of  fruit  trees,  of  which  the  palm  is 
the  chief,  though  there  are  also  pomegranate,  fig,  apricot, 
peach,  and  other  trees,  and  vines.  On  the  mountain  ranges 
near  the  coast  are  extensive  forests  of  various  species  of 
oak,  pine,  cedar,  elm,  ash,  maple,  olive,  &c.  The  cork  tree 
is  also  very  common.  The  trees,  especially  the  cedars  and 
oaks,  are  frequently  of  gigantic  size.  Great  injury  is  often 
done  to  the  forests  by  the  people  annually  burning  up  the 
grass  of  their  fields.  In  this  way  extensive  forests  are 
sometimes  consumed.  The  want  of  roads  and  navigable 
rivers  has  prevented  the  French  from  deriving  much  benefit 
as  yet  from  the  forests.  Besides  wheat  and  barley,  the  cotton 
plant,  sugar-cane,  and  tobacco  are  extensively  cultivated. 

The  animal  kingdom  presents  little  calling  for  notice. 
Lions,  formerly  very  plentiful,  are  now  extremely  rare; 
leopards,  panthers,  jackals,  and  hyaenas  are  still  common ; 
and  monkeys  and  apes  are  numerous.  The  wild  boar  is 
found  in  the  oak  forests,  and  the  brown  bear  in  the  higher 
parts  of  the  country.  There  are  also  various  species  of 
antelope.  Of  the  feathered  tribes,  eagles,  vultures,  hawks, 
and  owls  are  common ;  snipes,  curlews,  plovers,  storks,  and 
herons  frequent  the  marshy  parts;  and  the  ostrich  has  its 
habitat  in  the  desert.  Among  the  reptiles  are  various 
species  of  serpents,  tortoises,  turtles,  K  zards,  &c.  Locusts  are 
common,  and  sometimes  do  great  damage  to  the.  crops.  One 
of  the  severest  invasions  of  these  pests  ever  known  occurred 
in  1866,  when  the  crops  were  nearly  all  destroyed,  and  the 
loss  sustained  by  the  colonists  was  estimated  at  £800,000. 
The  coast  is  rich  in  coral  and  sponges,  and  the  obtaining 
of  these  forms  a  considerable  branch  of  industry.  The 
chief  wealth  of  most  of  the  Arab  tribes  consists  in  their 
sheep,  of  which  they  frequently  possess  immense  flocks; 
camels  are  also  common,  but  the  horses  and  mules  are 
more  esteemed,  and  are  noted  for  their  excellence. 


564 


ALGERIA 


From  its  position,  Algeria  might  be  supposed  to  enjoy  a 
■warm  climate;  but  the  temperature  varies  considerably  in 
different  parts,  according  to  the  elevation  and  configuration 
of  the  country.  In  the  northern  districts  the  climate  very 
much  resembles  that  of  the  south  of  Spain,  while  in  the 
Sahara  the  heat  is  often  excessive.  In  the  more  elevated 
regions  the  winter  is  frequently  very  severe ;  but  along 
the  coast  the  temperature  is  mild,  very  rarely  sinking  to 
the  freezing-point  even  in  winter,  when  heavy  rains  are 
of  frequent  occurrence.  Dr  Shaw  knew  the  thermometer 
?each  the  freezing-point  only  twice  during  twelve  years' 
■esidence  at  Algiers.  The  coldest  month  is  January,  the 
hottest  August.  The  >ains  prevail  from  December  to 
February;  the  temperate  season  continues  from  March  to 
June,  and  the  hot  seascn  lasts  from  July  to  November. 
The  mean  annual  temperature  of  the  town  of  Algiers  is 
about  66-5°  Fahr.;  being  for  the  coldest  month  48°,  and  for 
the  hottest  83°.  During  summer  there  is  a  great  difference 
between  the  day  and  night  temperature,  especially  in  the 
inland  districts.  The  simoom  or  hot  wind  of  the  desert 
sweeps  at  intervals  over  the  country,  between  May  and 
September,  impregnating  the  air  with  fine  sand  from  the 
desert.  In  general,  with  the  exception  of  places  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  marshes,  lUgeria  possesses  a  healthy  climate. 
Ophthalmia,  however,  is  very  common,  and  elephantiasis 
is  by  no  means  an  unusual  disease,  owing  to  the  want  of 
cleanliness  among  the  country  people.1 
taiabil-  Besides  the  Europeans  there  are  eight  distinct  races  of 

inhabitants  in  Algeria — (1.)  The  Kabyles  or  Berbers,  the 
descendants  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the  country, 
constitute  a  large  portion  of  the  entire  population.  They 
occupy  chiefly  the  more  elevated  and  mountainous  parts, 
but  numbers  of  them  also  inhabit  the  plains  and  valleys. 
They  are  described  as  an  active,  industrious  race,  living  in 
villages,  and  principally  engaged  in  agriculture  and  the 
cultivation  of  fruit  trees.  They  also  make  their  own 
agricultuifcl  implements,  guns,  gunpowder,  leather,  carpets, 
Ac  (2.)  The  Arabs  are  a  very  numerous  class,  and  inhabit 
principally  the  southern  parts  of  the  country.  Some  of  them 
are  cultivators  of  the  soil,  and  live  in  villages  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  towns;  but  the  majority  of  them  have  no 
fixed  habitation,  dwelling  in  tents  and  moving  about  from 
place  to  place.  These  are  the  Bedouins  or  nomadic  Arabs, 
and  are  the  most  unsettled  and  turbulent  of  the  Algerine 
population.  (3.)  The  Moors,  a  mixed,  race,  inhabit  the 
towns  and  villages  chiefly  on  or  near  the  sea-coast  (4.) 
The  Jews  are  also  to  be  found  in  the  towns,  and  are 
engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits.  (5.)  The  Turks,  though 
long  the  dominant  race,  were  nev^r  very  numerous,  and 
6ince  the  French  conquest  they  have  nearly  disappeared. 
(6.)  The  Kolougis  are  the  descendants  of  Turks  by  native 
women,  and  constitute  a  considerable  proportion  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Algiers  and  other  towns.  (7.)  The  Negroes 
were  originally  brought  from  the  interior  and  sold  as  slaves, 
but  slavery  now  no  longer  exists.  (8.)  The  Mozabites  are 
an  African  race,  to  be  found  inhabiting  the  coast  towns,  and 
chiefly  engaged  in  manual  labour.  They  are  described  as 
an  honest,  industrious,  and  peaceable  people. 

1  A  Parliamentary  Report  on  the  climate  of  Algeria  published  in 
1 867  is  of  great  interest,  particularly  as  investigating  the  causes  of  the 
great  reduction  in  the  mortality  of  the  French  troops  serving  there. 
The  death-rate  in  Algerian  hospitals  for  the  first  five  years  succeeding 
the  conquest  amounted  to  nearly  79  per  1000;  and  for  the  period  from 
1831  to  1S4G  it  is  given  as  high  as  80  per  1000.  In  1860  the  death- 
rate  per  1000  was  only  178;  in  1861,  11-3;  in  1862,  1221;  in 
1863,  1229;  and  in  1864,  14-48.  The  causes  of  this  remarkable 
difference  are  stated  to  be — the  former  existence  of  certain  unhealthy 
conditions  in  the  country  itself,  and  in  the  mode  of  life  of  both  troops 
and  colonists,  which  were  accompanied  by  a  high  death-rate ;  and  the 
subsequent  removal  to  a  certain  extent  of  these  conditions,  together  with 
the  introduction  of  improved  habits  and  modes  of  life,  accompanied 
by  improved  health  and  lower  death-rates. 


Tho  Europea*  civil  population  of  Algeria  amounted  »  only  46,000 
persons  in  1840,  and  in  1845  it  had  increased  to  75,867.  In  Dec 
1849  it  had  risen  to  112,607,  of  whom  58,006  were  French,  6943 
Maltese,  33,659  Spaniards,  6986  Italians,  2515  Germans,  1253 
Swiss,  and  3240  of  other  nations.  According  to  the  census  of  1861 
the  entire  population  of  Algeria  was  2,966,836,  of  whom  2,374,091 
were  nomadic  native  races,  112,229  French,  and  80,517  other 
Europeans.  In  1866  the  entire  population  was  2,921,246,  of  whom 
2,434,974  were  of  indigenous  wandering  tnbes,  217,990  Europeans, 
and  251,050  natives  settled  in  towns.  Of  the  Europeans,  122,119 
were  French,  58,610  Spaniards,  16,655  Italians,  10,627  Maltese, 
and  5636  Germans.  In  the  civil  territory  the  entire  population  in 
1870  is  given  as  478,342,  of  which  121,629  were  French,  97,918 
other  Europeans,  33,117  Jews,  and  225,693  Mahometans. 

When  under  the  dominion  of  the  Turks,  this  country 
was  governed  by  a  dey,  and  divided  into  four  provinces — 
Algiers  and  Titterie  in  the  centre,  Tlemcen  in  the  west, 
and  Constantine  in  the  east.  The  last  three  were  governed 
by  beys  under  the  dey.  At  present  it  is  divided  into  three 
provinces — Algiers  in  the  centre,  Oran  in  the  west,  and 
Constantine  in  the  east.  Till  1871  the  country  was 
entirely  under  military  rule,  but  in  that  year  various 
important  reforms  were  introduced;  and  in  place  of  the 
former  military  governor  a  civil  governor-general  was 
appointed  to  administer  the  affairs  of  the  colony,  and  to 
direct  the  action  of  both  civil  and  military  authorities. 
He  is  invested  with  legislative  powers  in  civil  matters;  but 
in  all  important  cases  he  has  to  take  the  advice  of  a 
colonial  council,  the  members  of  which  are  appointed  by 
the  French  government.  The  power  of  the  governor- 
general,  however,  extends  only  over  the  settled  districts. 
In  the  thinly-populated  parts,  and  the  districts  where  the 
nomadic  tribes  are  chiefly  found,  military  rule  still  prevails. 
The  three  provinces  are  subdivided  into  twelve  departments, 
at  the  head  of  each  of  which  is  a  prefect,  and  under  him 
are  sub-prefects  who  rule  over  smaller  divisions.  By  an 
Act  of  14th  July  1865,  the  natives,  both  Mahometan  and 
Jewish,  were  declared  entitled  to  the  lank  and  prerogatives 
of  French  citizens,  on  placing  themselves  completely  and 
absolutely  under  the  civil  and  political  laws  of  France, 
and  thus  were  made  admissible  to  all  the  grades  in  the 
army  and  navy,  and  to  many  posts  in  the  civil  service  of 
the  state. 

In  1840  the  revenue  amounted  to  5,610,706  frs.  and  the  expendi-  Revea  » 
ture  to  7,206,372  frs.;  in  1850  these  were  respectively  19,632,271 
frs.  and  27,959,358  frs.;  in  1860,  38,908,900  frs.  and  39.471,372 
frs.;  and  in  1870,  45,360,859  frs.  and  51,762,316  fra.  or  £r,814,434 
and  £2,070,492.  This  expenditure  does  not  include  the  cost  of  the 
maintenance  of  the  army,  the  expenditure  for  public  works,  and 
other  large  sums  disbursed  by  the  home  government.  In  th« 
French  financial  estimates  for  1873  the  home  expenditure  for 
Algeria  was  set  down  at  24,496,109  frs.  or  £979,844,  and  tho 
revenue  derived  from  the  colony  at  19,008,584  frs.  or  £760,343. 
According  to  a  statement  made  in  the  French  legislative  assembly 
in  1864,  Algeria  had  cost  the  mother  country  three  milliards  of 
francs,  or  £120,000,000  in  money  and  150,000  lives.  The  French 
army  in  Algeria  numbers  about  60,000  men,  and  consists  of  two 
classes,  namely,  French  troops,  who  remain  there  for  a  certain 
number  of  years,  and  then  return  to  France ;  and  native  trooos,  who 
never  quit  the  country  except  for  fighting  purposes. 

Algeria  in  the  time  of  the  Romans  was  noted  for  its  fertility,  and 
this  is  still  the  character  of  the  cultivated  parts  of  the  country. 
Many  parts  only  want  water  to  render  them  fertile,  and  the  govern- 
ment has  lately  sunk  a  number  of  Artesian  wells  with  the  most 
beneficial  results.  The  principal  grain  crops  are  wheat  and  barley. 
In  1866  there  were  in  the  three  provinces  4,163,367  acres  of  land 
under  different  kinds  of  groin,  and  the  produce  amounted  to 
2,802,208  quarters;  28,132  ncree  of  vineyards,  14,266  acres  under 
cotton,  5967  under  flax,  and  9793  under  tobacco.  In  the  province 
of  Algiers  the  total  area  of  land  under  cultivation  with  cereals  in 
1868  was,  in  the  civil  portion,  178,642  acres,  of  which  120,286  were 
cultivated  by  Europeans;  and  in  the  military  portion,  808, 89C 
acres.  The  total  yield  in  the  former  case  was  266,578,  and  in  the 
latter  668,666  quarters.  These  figures  do  not  include  other  agri- 
cultural produce,  such  as  beans,  maize,  &c,  of  which  about  277,062 
quarters  were  produced  by  99,603  acres.  The  produce  of  tobacco 
throughout  the  country  was  estimated  at  6,845,000  lb.  Olives  are 
grown  largely  and-  almost  exclusively  in  the  mountains  of  Kabylm. 


ALGERIA 


565 


In  that  portion  of  the  district  included  in  the  province  of  Algiers 
the  quantity  of  fruit  gathered  is  estimated  at  over  100,000,000  lb. 
At  present  not  much  attention  is  given  to  this  article  of  produc- 
tion ;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  with  more  care  and  attention 
Algeria  might  become  one  of  the  best  olive-producing  countries  in 
the  world.  Oranges  are  grown  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  the 
trade  in  this  article  is  increasing.  The  vine  is  cultivated ;  but  the 
produce  is  chiefly  for  home  consumption,  and  it  has  scarcely  yet 
become  an  article  of  export.  In  the  province  of  Algiers  in  1868 
about  1,350,000  gallons  of  wine  were  produced.  During  the  same 
year  the  exportation  of  cork  from  the  colony  amounted  to  £63,932. 
The  most  important  fibre  is  the  crin  vegetal,  or  vegetable  horse  hair, 
produced  from  the  dwarf  palm  (Chaijwerqps  humilis),  with  which  a 
vast  proportion  of  the  uncultivated  parts  of  the  country  is  covered. 
Throughout  the  entire  colony,  fibre  to  the  value  of  £89,332  was 
exported  in  1868.  The  alpha  fibre  or  esparto  grass  of  Oran  ranks 
next  in  importance,  and  is  largely  used  in  the  manufacture  of  paper. 
During  the  American  war  the  cultivation  of  cotton  was  extensively 
carried  on,  but  since  the  close  of  the  war  it  has  very  much  fallen  off. 
Flax  is  cultivated  to  a  considerable  extent  in  some  parts.  The  rear- 
ing of  the  silk-worm  is  also  prosecuted. 

Although  the  mineral  wealth  of  Algeria  is  enormous,  mining 
operations  have  not  hitherto  been  carried  on  very  extensively.  The 
most  important  mineral  products  are  iron,  copper,  lead,  mercury, 
and  antimony.  During  1868  the  iron  mines  in  the  province  of 
Constantine  turned  out  about  240,000  tons  of  ore,  valued  at 
£486,C72,  beinj' an  increase  of  £185,532  as  compared  with  the  pre- 
ceding year.  Nearly  the  whole  of  this  was  from  the  mine  of  Ain 
Mokra  or  Mokhta-el-Hadid,  which  yields  on  an  average  200,000 
tons  of  ore  per  annum.  The  ore  contains  65  per  cent,  of  the  metal.' 
Lead  ore  to  the  value  of  £125,745  was  exported  during  that  year. 
A»de  'The  trade  of  Algeria  has  very  much  increased  since  it  became  a 

French  colony.  The  imports,  which  in  1831  amounted  to  only 
£280,000,  rose  to  £1,600,000  in  1844,  to  £3,249,377  in  1854,  and 
to  nearly  £4,500,000  in  1863.-  The- exports,  however,  have  not 
grown  in  proportion;  and  during  the  ten  years  preceding  1863 
they  never  exceeded  from  14  to  2  millions  sterling.  In  1865  an 
Act  declared  the  navigation  not  only  between  France  and  Algeria  but 
also  between  Algeria  and  foreign  countries  open  to  all  nations,  and 
abolished  various  oppressive  taxes  affecting  foreign  shipping.  The 
following  year  these  privileges  were  extended:  the  coasting  trade 
was  thrown  open  and  free  navigation  permitted,  tonnage  duties  on 
foreign  shipping  were  abolished,  and  raw  manufactured  goods  enter- 
ing France  free  of  duty  had  the  same  advantage  conceded  to  them 
in  Algeria.  Algerian  products  might  enter  France  free  of  duty,  and 
the  same  privilege  was  accorded  to  French  products  in  Algeria, 
sugar  excepted.  In  1868  the  imports  amounted  to  £7,706,574, 
which  was  an  increase  of  £199,494  over  the  previous  year.  The 
proportions  received  from  the  different  countries  were — France,  75 
percent;  Turkey,  8-44;  Kussia,  4 '29;  Spain,  3 -99;  Great  Britain, 
3'54 ;  Italy,  2-56 ;  Barbary  States,  1'40.  The  imports  from  Turkey 
and  Russia  are  exceptionally  high,  owing  to  the  necessity  of  obtain- 
ing grain  supplies  from  these  countries  in  consequence  of  a  failure 
in  the  crops.  The  principal  ports  of  import  were— Algiers,  40  43 
per  cent.i  Oran,  33 '33;  Philippeville,  15 '04;  Bona,  7 '01;  Mosta- 
ganem,  2-33.  In  1869  the  imports  amounted  to  £7,332,192,  arid 
in  1870  to  £6,907,628.  The  principal  imports  are  cotton  goods, 
wines,  spirits,  sugar,  glass,  crystal,  cheese,  salt-fish,  soap,  &c.  The 
total  value  of  the  exports  during  1868  amounted  to  £4,122,772, 
being  an  increase  of  £236,293  as  compared  with  1867.  The  propor- 
tions sent  to  the  different  countries  were — France,  79'20  per  cent. ; 
Spain,  11-68;  Great  Britain,  5  84;  Italy,  T80.  The  principal 
exports  are  sheep,  oxen,  skins,  wool,  tobacco,  flour,  fresh  -and.  dried 
vegetables,'  olive-oil,  flax,  cotton,  ores,  crin  vegetal.  In  1869  the 
total  exports  amounted  to  £4,438,045,  and  in  1870  to  £4,978,250. 
The  overland  trade  between  Algeria  and  its  neighbours,  Marocco 
and  Tunis,  now  begins  to  assume  some  importance.  The  number  of 
vessels  that  entered  an<*.  left  the  various  ports  in  1868  was  8740,  of 
an  aggregate  burden  of  1,664,513  tons,  and  manned  by  16,173  men. 
This  is  an  increase  over  the  previous  year  of  18"40  per  cent,  as 
regards  the  number  of  ships,  and  of  12  63  per  cent,  as  regards  the 
tonnage.  As  engaged  in  the  direct  trade  with  Britain,  there  entered 
99  British  vessels  with  an  aggregate  of  17,940  tons,  and  cleared  109 
British  vessels  with  an  aggregate  of  12,523  tons.  Besides  these 
there  were  British  vessels  engaged  in  the  direct  or  carrying  trade 
with  other  countries,  of  which  entered  125  with  an  aggregate  burden 
of  14,972  tons,  and  cleared  106  with  an  aggregate  of  19,960  tons. 
The  number  of  British  vessels  trading  at  the  four  principal  ports, 
namely,  Algiers,  Oran,  Bona,  and  Philippeville  in  1872  was  as 
follows :— direct,  entered,  171— tonnage,  60,285 ;  left,  251— tonnage, 
76,973;  indirect,  entered,  170— tonnage,  79,454;  left,  125— 
tonnage,  63,646.  Daring  that  year  1595  vessels  of  3,746,130  tons 
entered,  and  1587  vessels  of  376,402  tons  cleared,  at  the  port  of 
Algiers.  The  most  important  articles  of  export,  as  far  as  British 
trade  is  concerned,  are  crin  vegetal  and  alpha  fibre.  During  the 
first  nine  months  of  .1872  about  6000  tons  of  the  former  were 
exported  from  the  Dort  uf  Algiers  alone ;  and  about  60,000  tons  of 


the  latter  from  the  whole  colony,  chiefly  from  Oran.  Some  idea  of  tn« 
rapidly  advancing  commercial  prosperity  of  Algeria  may  be  gathered, 
from  the  fact  that  the  amount  of  sums  discounted  at  the  Bank  of 
Algeria  (which  was  established  in  1851)  had  risen  from  £3,900,130 
in  1866-7  to  £8,131,535  in  1871-2.  Much  has  been  done,  particu- 
larly of  late  years,  in  the  way  of  opening  up  the  country  and  de- 
veloping its  resources.  Roads  have  been  formed  and  bridges  built 
in  various  parts,  harbours  have  been  improved,  and  lighthouses 
erected.  There  are  now  374  miles  of  railway  open  for  traffic, 
forming  a  line  from  Algiers  to  Oran  and  one  from  Philippeville  to 
Constantine. 

In  early  times  this  country  was  inhabited  by  two  nations, 
the  Massyli  and  the  Massaesyli.  During  the  struggle  be- 
tween Hannibal  and  the  Romans,  Syphax,  the  prince  of 
the  Massaesyli,  espoused  the  cause  of  the  former,  and 
Massinissa,  the  prince  of  the  Massyli,  that  of  the  latter. 
On  the  defeat  of  the  Carthaginians  the  territories  of  Syphax 
were  annexed  to  those  of  Masinissa,  who  received  the  title 
of  King  of  Numidia.  During  the  Roman  civil  war,  Juba, 
king  of  Numidia,  sided  with  Pompey,  and  being  defeated 
by  Caesar,  his  kingdom  became  a  Roman  province.  Under 
the  Romans  the  country  enjoyed  a  great  degree  of  pros- 
perity. Agriculture  was  encouraged,  commerce  extended, 
roads  were  formed,  and  towns  sprang  up.  Christianity,  too, 
was  early  introduced  and  flourished.  This  state  of  things, 
however,  received  a  severe  check  when  tiki  Romans  were 
driven  out  of  Africa  by  the  Vandals  about  the  middle  of  the 
5th  century.  These  in  turn  were  expelled  by  Belisarius, 
Justinian's  general,  in  533.  About  the  middle  of  the  7th 
century  the  Saracens  made  themselves  masters  of  the 
country,  which  came  afterwards  to  be  divided  into  a  num- 
ber of  petty  states  under  independent  chiefs,  and  the  people 
sank  into  a  state  of  barbarism.  About  the  middle  of  the 
11th  century  Abdallah-ben-Yazim,  a  learned  Arab,  formed 
a  numerous  sect  of  religionists,  known  as  Morabites,  who 
overran  the  country,  subdued  many  of  the  petty  chiefs, 
and  laid  the  foundation  of  the  dynasty  of  the  Almoravidea. 
That  dynasty  reigned  for  nearly  a  hundred  years,  and  at 
one  time  nearly  the  whole  of  Barbary  and  a  great  part  of 
Spain  were  under  their  government.  They  were  succeeded 
by  the  dynasty  of  the  Almohades,  who  reigned  over  the 
region  till  1273,  when  it  was  again  split  up  into  a  number 
of  small  states.  In  1505,  Ferdinand,  king  of  Spain,  sent  a 
powerful  fleet  and  army  against  the  country,  under  the 
Count  of  Navarre,  who  soon  made  himself  master  of  Oran, 
Bugia,  and  other  towns,  and  finally,  in  1509,  took  the  town 
of  Algiers.  The  Spanish  rule,  however,  was  very  distasteful 
to  the  Algerines ;  and  on  hearing  of  the  death  of  Ferdinand, 
in  1516,  one  of  the  native  princes  sent  an  embassy  to 
Aruch  Barbarossa,  the  famous  Turkish  pirate,  requesting 
his  aid  against  the  invaders.  This  was  readily  granted ; 
and  no  sooner  had  he  established  himself  in  the  country 
than  he  murdered  the  prince  and  caused  himself  to  be 
proclaimed  king  in  his  room.  He  introduced  that  system 
of  piracy  for  which  Algeria  was  afterwards  noted  down  to 
1830.  By  force  and  treachery  he  extended  his  dominion 
over  other  parts  of  the  country,  till  at  length  the  Spaniards 
marched  a  large  army  against  him  from  Oran,  and  being 
joined  by  many  of  the  natives,  defeated  him  in  various 
engagements,  took  him  prisoner,  and  beheaded  him,  His 
brother  Hayradin  was  then  chosen  sultan ;  and  he  feeling 
himself  unable  to  cope  with  the  Spaniards,  sought  the 
assistance  of  Turkey,  and  put  himself  under  the  protection 
of  the  Grand  Seignior.  Aid  was  readily  granted,  and  he 
himself  was  appointed  pasha  or  viceroy  of  Algiers.  Having 
thus  got  rid  of  his  enemies  the  Spaniards,  he  turned  his 
attention  to  the  extension  of  his  piratical  enterprises;  and 
in  order  to  do  this  with  the  greater  security,  he  fortified 
the  port  of  Algiers  and  built  a  strong  mole  for  the  protec- 
tion of  his  ships.  He  is  said  to  have  employed'  30,000 
Christian  slaves  for  three  years  in  the  construction  of  the 
mole.      The  Algerine  pirates  sood  became  dreaded,  uot 


566 


ALGERIA 


only  by  tho  Arabs  and  Moors,  but  also  by  the  maritime 
Christian  powers,  particularly  the  Spaniards.  At  length 
Pope  Paul  IIL  induced  Charles  V.  to  undertake  an  expedi- 
tion to  suppress  these  depredations,  and  issued  a  bull  offer- 
ing remission  of  sins  and  the  crown  of  martyrdom  to  all 
■who  either  fell  in  battle  or  were  made  slaves.  The  emperor 
Bet  sail  with  120  ships  and  20  galleys,  having  on  board 
30,000  chosen  men.  They  landed  in  safety,  and  were 
proceeding  to  attack  the  town  of  Algiers  when  a  fearful 
storm  arose,  and  in  one  night  (28th  Oct.  1541)  destroyed 
86  ships  and  15  galleys  with  all  their  crews  and  military 
stores,  so  that  the  army  on  shore  was  deprived  of  the 
means  of  subsistence.  This  was  then  fallen  upon  by  tho 
Algerines,  when  many  were  killed  and  a  great  number 
taken  prisoners,  Charles  himself  and  the  remains  of  his 
army  escaping  with  difficulty. 

Algiers  continued  to  be  governed  by  viceroys  or  pashas 
appointed  by  the  Porte  till  the  beginning  of  the  17th 
century,  when  the  janissaries  solicited  and  obtained  the 
right  to  choose  their  own  dey  or  governor  from  among  them- 
selves. This  subsequently  led  to  frequent  altercations 
between  the  pashas  and  the  deys,  the  former  seeking  to 
recover  their  lost  power,  the  latter  to  reduce  it.  In  1609, 
the  Moors  being  expelled  from  Spain,  flocked  in  great  num- 
bers to  Algiers,  and,  as  many  of  them  were  very  able  sailors, 
they  contributed  to  raise  the  power  of  the  Algerine  fleet. 
In  1616  it  consisted  of  forty  sail  of  ships,  of  between  200 
and  400  tons,  their  flagship  having  500  tons.  The  Algerine 
pirates  now  became  so  formidable  to  the  European  powers, 
that  in  1617  the  French  sent  against  them  a  fleet  of  fifty 
"Bail,  under  Beaulieu,  who  defeated  their  fleet  and  took  two 
of  their  vessels.  In  1620  the  English  sent  out  a  squadron 
Tinder  the  command  of  Sir  Robert  Mansel  on  the  same 
errand,  but  it  returned  without  effecting  anything.  Then- 
depredations  becoming  still  more  frequent  and  trouble- 
some, the  Venetians  equipped  a  fleet  of  twenty-eight  sail, 
under  the  command  of  Admiral  Capello,  with  orders  to 
bum,  sink,  or  take  all  the  Barbary  corsairs  he  should  meet. 
In  an  engagement  which  speedily  took  place  he  signally 
defeated  them,  and  took  and  destroyed  sixteen  of  their 
galleys.  They  soon,  however,  regained  their  former 
strength;  and  at  length  Louis  XIV.,  provoked  by  the 
outrages  committed  by  them  on  the  coasts  of  Provence  and 
Languedoc,  ordered,  in  1681,  a  considerable  fleet  to  be 
fitted  out  against  them,  under  the  command  of  Vice-admiral 
Duquesne.  He  attacked  them  near  the  island  of  Scios, 
and  destroyed  fourteen  of  their  ships.  This,  however,  had 
little  effect  upon  them,  and  the  following  year  he  bom- 
barded the  town  of  Algiers  and  nearly  reduced  it  to  ashes. 
The  Algerines,  by  way  of  reprisal,  sent  a  number  of  galleys 
to  the  coast  of  Provence,  where  they  committed  great 
ravages.  In  May  1683,  Duquesne  with  his  fleet  again 
cast  anchor  before  Algiers,  and  proceeded  to  bombard  the 
town.  The  dey  and  the  people  sued  for  peace ;  but  Mezo- 
morto,  the  Algerine  admiral,  who  was  to  have  been  delivered 
up  as  one  of  the  hostages,  violently  opposed  coming  to 
terms,  stirred  up  the  soldiery  against  the  dey,  and  caused 
him  to  be  murdered,  and  was  himself  chosen  as  his  suc- 
cessor. The  bombardment  was  renewed,  and  Mezomorto, 
reduced  to  extremities,  caused  all  the  French  in  the  city  to 
be  cruelly  murdered,  and  the  French  consul  to  be  tied 
to  the  mouth  of  a  mortar  and  shot  off  in  the  direction  of 
the  bombarding  fleet.  Duquesne  was  so  exasperated  by 
this  piece  of  cruelty  that  he  did  not  leave  Algiers  till  he 
had  utterly  destroyed  the  fortifications,  shipping,  almost  all 
the  lower,  and  about  two-thirds  of  the  upper  part  of  the 
to^vn.  The  Algerines,  now  thoroughly  humbled,  sent  an 
embassy  to  France  to  sue  for  peace,  which  was  readily 
granted  them.  In  1686  the  English  concluded  a  treaty 
with  the  Algerines  on  favourable  terms,  and  this  was 


several  times  subsequently  renewed;  but  it  was  not  till 
the  taking  of  Gibraltar  and  Port  Mahon  that  England  had 
sufficient  check  upon  them  to  enforce  the  observance  of 
treaties.  From  that  time  England  was  treated  with  greater- 
deference  than  any  other  European  power.  In  1710  the 
Turkish  pasha  was  expelled  and  his  office  united  to  that 
of  dey.  The  dey  thus  became  the  supreme  ruler  in  the- 
country.  Ho  had  the  charge  of  the  Turkish  militia, 
recruited  from  Constantinople  and  Smyrra,  because  their 
children  by  native  mothers  could  not  be  allowed  to  enjoy 
the  same  privileges  as  themselves  in  consequence  of  former 
rebellions  against  the  government.  Under  the  dey  there 
was  a  divan  or  council  of  state,  chosen  from  the  principal 
civic  functionaries. 

Matters  continued  very  much  in  the  same  state,  and  the 
history  of  Algiers  presents  little  calling  for  special  ■  notice' 
down  to  the  expedition  of  Lord  Exmouth.  The  principal 
States  of  Europe  had  had  their  attention  taken  up  with 
weightier  matters;  but  on  the  establishment  of  the  peace 
of  1815  tho  English  sent  a  squadron  of  ships,  under 
Lord  Exmouth,  to  Algiers,  to  demand  the  liberation  of  all 
slaves  then  in  bondage  there,  and  the  entire  discontinuance 
of  piratical  depredations.  Afraid  to  refuse,  the  Algerine* 
returned  a  conciliatory  answer,  and  released  a  number  of 
their  slaves;  but  no  sooner  had  the  ships  left  than  they 
redoubled  their  activity  and  perpetrated  every  sort  of 
cruelty  against  the  Christians.  Among  other  acts  of 
cruelty,  they  attacked  and  massacred  a  number  of  Neapo- 
litan fishermen  who  were  engaged  in  the  pearl-fishery  at 
Bona.  The  news  of  this  excited  great  indignation  in 
England,  and  Lord  Exmouth  was  again  despatched  with 
five  ships  of  the  line  and  eight  smaller  vessels,  and  at 
Gibraltar  he  was  joined  by  a  Dutch  fleet  of  six  frigates, 
under  Admiral  Capellen.  They  anchored  in  front  of  Algiers 
on  the  26th  August  1816.  Certain  terms,  which  were 
extremely  moderate,  were  proposed  to  the  dey;  but  these 
not  meeting  with  acceptance,  a  fierce  bombardment  was  at 
once  commenced.  At  first  the  assailants  were  subjected  to 
a  heavy  fire  from  the  enemy's  batteries;  but  after  a  time 
these  were  one  by  one  silenced,  and  ship  after  ship  caught 
fire,  till  the  destruction  of  the  Algerine  naval  force  was 
complete.  Next  day  the  terms  proposed  to  the  dey  were 
accepted;  Christian  slaves  to  the  number  of  1211  were 
set  at  liberty,  and  a  promise  was  given  that  piracy  and 
Christian  slavery  should  cease  for  ever.  The  Algerines, 
however,  did  not  long  adhere  to  the  terms  of  the  treaty. 
They  lost  no  time  in  putting  their  city  in  a  more  formid- 
able state  of  defence  than  before,  and  this  done,  they 
considered  themselves  in  a  condition  to  set  the  great  powers 
of  Europe  at  defiance. 

Various  injuries  had  from  time  to  time  been  inflicted  on 
the  French  shipping,  but  that  which  more  directly  led  to 
a  declaration  of  war  was  an  insult  offered  to  the  French 
consul  by  the  dey.  A  debt  had  been  contracted  by  the 
French  government  to  two  Jewish  merchants  of  Algiers  at 
the  time  of  the  expedition  to  Egypt,  and  the  dey  having  a 
direct  interest  in  thj  matter,  had  made  repeated  applications 
for  payment,  but  without  success  Annoyed  at  this  and 
at  what  he  considered  insulting  language  on  the  part  of 
the  consul,  he  struck  the  latter  on  the  face  in  public.  In 
consequence  of  this,  a  French  squadron  was  sent  to  Algiers 
which  took  the  consul  on  board,  and  for  three  years  main- 
tained an  ineffective  blockade.  At  length  war  on  a  great 
scale  was  resolved  on,  and  a  fleet  was  equipped  at  Toulon 
in  May  1830  under  the  command  of  AHrniral  Duperre. 
It  had  also  on  board  a  land  force,  under  the  command 
of  General  Bourmont,  consisting  of  37,000  infantry,  4000 
cavalry,  and  a  proportionate  number  of  artillery.  The 
troops  began  to  land  on  the  1 4th  June  upon  the  western 
side  of  the  peninsula  of  Sidi  Ferruch,  in  the  b»y  of  Tcte- 


ALGERIA 


56? 


Cliica.  They  did  ncA  meet  with  much  opposition  till  the 
19th,  when  a  general  attack  was  made  upon  them  by 
a  force  of  from  40,000  to  50,000  men.  These,  after  a 
ii  jrco  conflict,  were  completely  routed.  They  renewed  their 
attack  on  the  24th  and  25th,  but  were  on  both  occasions 
repulsed.  The  French  then  advanced  upon  Algiers,  and 
on  the  29th  the  trenches  were  opened.  On  the  morning 
of  the  4th  of  July  the  bombardment  commenced,  and  before 
night  a  treaty  was  concluded  for  the  eutire  surrender  of 
Algiers.  The  next  day  the  French  took  possession  of  the 
town;  and  12  ships  of  war,  1500  brass  cannon,  and  over 
.£2,000,000  sterling  came  into  their  hands  as  conquerors. 
The  Turkish  troops  were  permitted  to  go  wherever  they 
pleased,  provided  they  left  Algiers,  and  most  of  them  were 
conveyed  to  Asia  Minor.  The  dey  himself,  with  his  private 
property  and  a  large  body  of  attendants,  retired  to  Naples. 

When  the  French  undertook  the  expedition  against 
Algiers  a  pledge  was  given  to  the  English  government, 
that  they  did  not  aim  at  the  permanent  possession  of  the 
country,  but  only  at  obtaining  satisfaction  for  the  injuries 
and  insults  that  they  had  received,  and  putting  down  that 
system  of  piracy  which  had  so  long  outraged  Europe.  The 
French  government  engaged  that  these  objects  being  accom- 
plished, the  final  settlement  and  government  of  the  country 
should  be  arranged  in  concert  with  the  other  European 
powers  for  the  general  advantage.  Notwithstanding  this, 
the  French  ministry  in  1833  publicly  declared  that  it  was 
the  intention  of  their  government  to  retain  possession  of 
Algiers  and  to  colonise  it.  Subsequently,  the  English 
government  acquiesced  in  this,  on  receiving  an  engagement 
that  the  French  would  not  extend  their  conquests  beyond 
Algeria  either  on  the  side  of  Tunis  or  of  Marocco. 

The  capture  of  Algiers  was  celebrated  in  France  with 
great  demonstrations  of  joy.  General  Bourmont  was  raised 
to  the  rank  of  marshal,  and  Admiral  Duperre  was  promoted 
to  the  peerage.  The  revolution  of  1830  followed,  when 
Bourmont  was  deposed,  and  General  Clausel  appointed  to 
succeed  him.  The  conquerors,  instead  of  attempting  to 
gain  the  good-will  of  the  natives,  destroyed  a  number  of 
their  mosques,  seized  upon  lands  set  apart  for  religious  pur- 
poses, and  attempted  to  introduce  their  own  laws  and  usages 
in  place  of  those  of  the  country,  the  consequence  of  which 
was  that  the  natives  entertained  the  greatest  abhorrence 
for  their  oppressors,  whom  they  regarded  as  the  enemies  of 
God  and  their  prophet.  General  Clausel  incensed  them 
still  more  by  seizing  upon  the  possessions  of  the  dey, 
the  beys,  and  the  expelled  Turks  in  direct  opposition  to 
the  conditions  on  which  the  capital  had  been  surrendered. 
Bona  was  taken  possession  of,  and  an  incursion  was  made 
into  the  southern  province  of  Titterie,  when  the  troops  of 
the  bey  were  defeated  and  Mediah  taken.  The  beys  of 
Titterie  and  Oran  were  deposed,  and  tributary  rulers  set 
up  in  their  room.  Still  the  war  continued.  The  French 
were  incessantly  harassed  by  irruptions  of  hordes  of  the 
Arabs,  so  that  no  Frenchman  was  safe,  even  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  town ;  and  little  reliance  could  be  placed  on  the 
fidelity  of  the  beys  who  governed  the  provinces.  Mediah 
•was  evacuated,  and  Oran  abandoned.  In  February  1831 
General  Berthezene  was  appointed  commander-in-chief,  and 
undertook  several  expeditions  into  the  interior  to  chastise 
the  hostile  tribes,  but  met  with  little  success.  In  October 
Bona  was  surrounded  and  taken  by  the  Kabyles.  There  was 
now  no  safety  but  in  the  town  of  Algiers;  agriculture  was 
consequently  neglected,  and  it  was  necessary  to  send  to 
France  for  supplies  of  provisions  and  for  fresh  troops.  In 
November  1831  General  Savary,  Due  de  Rovigo,  was  sent 
out  with  an  additional  force  of  16,000  men.  The  new 
governor  sought  to  accomplish  his  ends  by  the  grossest 
acts  of  cruelty  and  treachery.  One  of  his  exploits  was  the 
massacre  of  a  whole  Arab  tribe,  including  old  men,  women, 


and  children,  during  night,  on  account  of  a  robbery  com- 
mitted by  some  of  them.  lie  also  treacherously  murdered 
two  Arab  chiefs  whom  he  had  enticed  into  his  power  by  a 
.written  assurance  of  safety.  These  proceedings  exasperated 
the  natives  still  further  against  the  French,  and  those 
tribes  that  had  hitherto  remained  quiet  took  up  arms 
against  them. 

About  this  time  Abd-el-Kader  first  appears  upon  the  field. 
His  father,  a  Marabout,  had  collected  a  few  followers,  and 
attacked  and  taken  possession  of  the  town  of  Oran.  On 
this  they  wished  to  elect  him  as  their  chief,  but  he  declined 
the  honour  on  account  of  his  great  age;  and  recommended 
his  son  who,  he  said,  was  endowed  with  all  the  qualities 
necessary  to  success.  Abd-el-Kader  was  born  about  the 
beginning  of  1807,  and  had  early  acquired  a  great  reputa- 
tion among  his  countrymen  for  learning  and  piety,  as 
he  was  also  distinguished  among  thein  for  skill  in  horses 
manship  and  other  manly  exercises.  He  had  made  two 
pilgrimages  to  Mecca  in  company  with  his  father,  once 
when  a  child  and  again  in  1828,  by  which  he  obtained  the 
title  of  Hadji.  At  this  time  he  was  living  in  obscurity, 
distinguished  by  the  austerity  of  his  manners,  his  piety, 
and  his  zeal  in  observing  the  precepts  of  the  Koran.  He 
collected  an  army  of  10,000  horsemen,  and,  accompanied 
by  hi3  father,  marched  to  attack  Oran,  which  had  been 
taken  possession  of  by  the  French.  They  arrived  before 
the  town  about  the  middle  of  May  1832,  but  after  con- 
tinuing their  attack  for  three  days  with  great  bravery  they 
were  repulsed  with  considerable  loss.  This  was  followed 
by  a  series  of  conflicts,  more  or  less  severe,  between  the 
parties,  but  without  any  permanent  or  decided  advantage 
to  either  side.  In  March  1833  the  Due  de  Rovigo  was 
obliged,  on  account  of  his  health,  to  return  to  France,  and 
General  Avizard  was  appointed  interim  governor;  but  the 
latter  dying  soon  after,  General  Voirol  was  nominated  his 
successor.  Abd-el-Kader  was  still  extending  his  influence 
more  and  more  widely  among  the  Arab  tribes;  and  the 
French  at  last  considered  it  to  be  their  interest  to  offer 
him  terms  of  peace.  A  treaty  was  accordingly  concluded 
with  him  by  General  Desmichels,  governor  of  Oran,  in 
February  1834,  in  which  he  acknowledged  the  supremacy 
of  France,  and  was  recognised  by  them  as  emir  of  the 
province  of  Mascara.  One  of  the  conditions  of  the  treaty 
was  that  the  emir  was  to  have  a  monopoly  of  the  trade 
with  the  French  in  corn.  This  part  of  the  treaty  was 
regarded  with  great  dissatisfaction  at  home,  and  the  general 
was  removed  from  his  post.  In  July  General  Drouct 
d'Erlon  was  sent  out  as  governor-general  of  the  colony. 
An  intendaut  or  head  of  the  civil  department  was  also 
appointed,  as  well  as  a  commissary  of  justice  at  the  head 
of  the  judicature.  Tribunals  of  justice  wore  also  estab- 
lished, by  which  both  French  and  natives  were  allowed  to 
enjoy  their  respective  laws.  From  the  tranquil  state  of 
the  country  at  this  time  the  new  governor  was  enabled  to 
devote  his  attention  to  its  improvement.  The  French, 
however,  soon  became  jealous  of  the  power  of  the  emir, 
and  on  the  pretence  that  he  had  been  encroaching  on  their 
territory,  General  Trczel,  who  had  succeeded  Desmichels 
in  the  governorship  of  Oran,  was  sent  against  him  with  a 
considerable  force.  The  armies  met  at  the  river  Makti, 
and  the  French  were  routed  with  great  slaughter  on  the 
28th  of  June  1835.  On  the  news  of  this,  defeat  Marshal 
Clausel  was  sent  to  Algiers  to  succeed  Count  d'Erlon.  In 
order  effectually  to  humble  the  emir,  he  set  out  for  his 
capital,  Mascara,  accompanied  by  the  Duke  of  Orleans, 
at  the  head  of  11,000  men.  On  reaching  the  town  the 
French  found  it  deserted,  and,  having  set  it  on  fire,  they 
returned  without  having  effected  anything  of  consequence. 
In  January  1836  Marshal  Clausel  undertook  an  expedition 
against  Tlemcen,  which  he  took  and  garrisuued.      Soon 


568 


ALGERIA 


after  this  the  emir  attacked  and  put  to  flight  a  body  of 
3000  men  under  Count  d'Arlanges  on  the  Tafna.  General 
Bugeaud,  who  had  succeeded  Marshal  Clause],  attacked 
the  Arabs  under  Abd-el-Kader  on  the  Sikak  river,  6th 
July  1836,  and  gained  a  complete  victory  over  them.  An 
expedition  against  the  bey  of  Constantino  was  next  resolved 
on,  and  Marshal  Clausel,  at  the  head  of  8000  men,  set  out 
from  Bona  for  this  purpose  in  November  1836.  They 
encountered  on  their  march  a  severe  storm  of  hail  and 
snow,  followed  by  a  sharp  frost,  so  that  many  of  them 
died;  and  when  they  arrived  before  the  walls  of  the  town 
they  were  unable  to  undertake  the  siege,  and  effected  their 
retreat  with  difficulty.  The  French  were  now  anxious  to 
conclude  a  peace  with  Abd-el-Kader,  and  with  this  view 
General  Bugeaud  arranged  a  meeting  with  him  on  the 
banks  of  the  Tafna,  and  a  treaty  was  signed,  30th  May 
1 837.  They  were  then  free  to  turn  their  strength  against 
the  bey  of  Constantine,  and  an  army  of  20,000  men  set' 
out  from  Bona  with  this  object  under  the  command  of 
General  Damremont  early  in  October.  The  town  was, 
after  a  very  gallant  defence,  taken  by  storm  on  the  1 2th 
of  that  month  by  General  Valee,  General  Damremont 
having  been  killed  by  a  cannon-ball  the  previous  day. 
On  the  capture  of  the  city  the  neighbouring  tribes  hastened 
to  make  their  submission  to  the  conquerors,  and  a  strong 
garrison  being  left  to  defend  the  town,  the  army  returned 
to  Bona.  As  a  reward  for  his  services,  General  Valee  was 
made  a  marshal  and  appointed  governor-general  of  the 
colony.  Disputes  with  the  emir  as  to  the  boundaries  of 
his  territory  were  frequent,  and  at  length  war  was  again 
declared  between  the  parties.  The  immediate  cause  of 
war  on  this  occasion  was  the  marching  of  an  armed  force 
of  French  troops  through  the  emir's  territory.  This  the 
latter  looked  upon  as  an  infringement  of  the  treaty,  and 
consequently  declared  war.  In  October  1839,  he  suddenly 
fell  upon  the  French  troops  in  the  plain  of  Metidja,  and 
routed  them  with  great  slaughter,  destroying  and  laying 
waste  the  European  settlements.  He  surprised  and  cut  to 
pieces  bodies  of  troops  on  their  march ;  outposts  and  encamp- 
ments were  taken  by  sudden  assault;  and  at  length  the 
possessions  of  the  French  were  reduced  to  the  fortified  places 
which  they  occupied.  On  the  news  of  these  events  reach- 
ing France,  reinforcements  to  the  amount  of  20,000  men 
were  sent  out.  The  spring  campaign  was  vigorously  opened 
on  both  sides,  and  numerous  skirmishes  took  place,  but 
without  decisive  results  to  either  party.  The  French  were, 
indeed,  everywhere  successful  in  the  field,  but  the  scattered 
troops  of  the  enemy  would  speedily  reassemble  and  sweep 
the  plains,  so  that  there  was  no  safety  beyond  the  camp 
and  the  walls  of  the  towns.  The  fort  of  Masagran,  near 
Mostaganem,  with  a  garrison  of  only  123  men,  gallantly 
withstood  a  fierce  attack  by  12,000  to  15,000  Arabs,  which 
lasted  for  three  days.  Marshal  Val^e  was  now  recalled, 
and  General  Bugeaud  appointed  to  succeed  him.  The 
latter  arrived  at  Algiers  on  the  22d  of  February  1841,  and 
adopted  a  new  system,  which  was  completely  successful 
He  made  use  of  movable  columns  radiating  from  Algiers, 
Oran,  and  Constantine,  and  having  from  80,000  to  100,000 
troops  at  his  disposal,  the  result  soon  told  against  the  emir. 
Many  of  the  Arab  tribes  were  thus  intimidated  or  brought 
under  subjection,  hard  pressed  garrisons  were  relieved  and 
victualled,  and  town  after  town  taken.  Tekedemt,  the 
principal  stronghold  of  Abd-el-Kader,  was  destroyed,  and 
the  citadel  blown  up ;  Mascara  was  taken ;  and  Saida, 
the  only  remaining  fortress  in  the  possession  of  the  emir, 
■was  entirely  demolished.  In  January  1842  the  town  of 
Tlemcen  was  taken,  and  ten  days  afterwards  the  fort  of 
Tafna,  which  was  demolished.  The  terrified  Arabs  sub- 
mitted on  all  sides,  and  now  almost  the  entire  country  was 
subdued.     The  emir  himself,  driven  to  extremities,  was 


compelled  to  take  refuge  in  Marocco.  Here  he  succeeded 
in  raising  a  considerable  force,  and  returned  to  Algeria. 
He  made  up  for  the  want  of  troops  by  the  rapidity  of  his 
movements,  and  would  suddenly  make  an  attack  on  one 
place  when  he  was  supposed  to  be  in  quite  an  opposite 
quarter.  In  November  1842  the  Duke  of  Aumale  arrived 
in  Algiers  to  take  part  in  the  operations  against  the  emir ; 
and  in  the  spring  of  the  following  year  he  suddenly  fell 
upon  the  camp  of  Abd-el-Kader  while  the  great  body  of 
his  troops  were  absent,  and  took  several  thousand  prisoners 
and  a  largo  booty,  the  emir  himself  making  his  escape 
with  difficulty.  Not  long  afterwards  the  latter  again  took 
refuge  in  Marocco,  and  so  excited  the  fanatical  passions  of 
the  people  of  that  country  that  their  ruler  was  forced  into 
a  war  with  France.  The  army  which  was  sent  into  Algeria 
was  attacked  and  defeated  by  Bugeaud  at  the  river  Isly, 
14th  August  1844.  The  emperor  of  Marocco  soon  after- 
wards sued  for  peace,  which  was  granted  him  on  condition 
that  he  should  no  longer  succour  or  shelter  the  emir,  but 
aid  in  pursuing  him.  Abd-el-Kader  was  now  reduced  to 
great  extremities,  and  obliged  Jo  take  refuge  in  the  moun- 
tain fastnesses,  whence  he  would  from  time  to  time  come 
down  to  annoy  the  French.  In  June  1845  a  tribe  of 
Arabs,  who  were  being  pursued  by  a  body  of  -French  troops 
under  General  Pelissier,  took  refuge  in  a  cava  As  they 
refused  to  surrender,  the  general  ordered  a  fire  to  be  kindled 
at  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  and  the  whole  of  those  within, 
men,-  women,  and  children,  to  the  number  of  600,  were 
suffocated.  The  emir  at  length  was  brought  to  such  straits 
that  he  agreed  to  deliver  himself  up  to  the  Fronch  on  being 
allowed  to  retire  to  Alexandria  or  St  Jean  d'Acre.  Not- 
withstanding this  promise,  which  was  given  by  General 
Lamoricicre,  and  ratified  by  the  governor-general,  he  was 
taken  to  France,  where  he  arrived  on  the  29th  of  January 
1848;  and  was  imprisoned  first  in  the  castle  ef  Pau,  and 
afterwards  in  that  of  Amboise,  near  Blois.  In  October 
1852  Louis  Napoleon,  then  president  of  the  French  Re- 
public, gave  him  his  liberty  on  condition  that  he  should 
not  return  to  Algeria,  but  reside  at  Brousso  in  Asia  Minor. 
Here  he  remained  till  1855  when,  in  consequence  of  the 
destruction  of  that  town  by  an  earthquake,  he  obtained 
permission  to  remove  to  Constantinople,  and  afterwards  to 
Damascus.  At  the  latter  place  he  rendered  valuable  aid 
to  the  Christians  by  protecting  them  during  the  massacre 
by  the  Turks  in  Syria  in  1860. 

On  the  revolution  in  France  of  1848,  General  Cavaignao 
was  appointed  governor-general  of  the  colony;  and  the 
National  Assembly,  wishing  to  establish  a  closer  connection 
between  the  country  and  France,  offered  to  incorporate  it 
with  the  republic.  This  proposal,  however,  met  with  con- 
siderable opposition,  and  Algeria  was  simply  declared  a 
permanent  possession,  with  the  right  to  send  four  deputies 
to  the  National  Assembly,  to  be  heard  on  all  matters 
affecting  the  interests  of  the  colony.  Colonists  were  also 
sent  out  to  settle  there,  and  other  means  taken  to  further 
its  prosperity.  Still  the  republic  did  not  seem  to  be  more 
successful  in  the  administration  of  affairs  than  the  monarchy 
had  been.  The  colonists  died  off  or  left  in  disgust,  the 
natives  were  not  more  reconciled  to  the  French  yoke,  and 
many  of  them  rose  in  open  rebellion.  The  Kabyles,  in 
particular,  the  most  intelligent  and  industrious  of  the  native 
population,  manifested  the  greatest  repugnance  to  the  im- 
position of  taxes  and  of  the  usages  of  civilisation.  In  1849 
General  Pelissier  marched  against  several  of  the  rebellious 
tribes,  and  reduced  them  to  subjection.  Generals  Canrobert 
and  Herbillon  were  sent  into  the  district  of  Zaab  to  quell  an 
insurrection  excited  by  the  Marabout  Bon-Zian.  The  latter 
was  driven  to  take  refuge  in  Zaatcha,  which  resisted  the 
utmost  efforts  of  the  French  to  take  it  for  fifty-one  days, 
but  at  last  it  was  carried  by  storm.      In  1850  there 


A  L  G  — A  L  G 


569 


■were  several  expeditions  Bent  out  against  tlic  natives,  and 
in  1851  General  St  Arnaud  succeeded  in  reducing  to  sub- 
jection Little  Kabylia.  In  1852  General  M'Mahon  set 
out  against  Eastern  Kabylia,  and  Pelissier,  in  the  south, 
took  Laghouat  by  storm.  The  next  few  years  present 
us  with  several  expeditions  against  the  Kabyles,  but  these 
were  not  productive  of  very  marked  results.  In  1854 
there  was  an  expedition  against  certain  Arab  tribes  in  the 
.°outh,  who  were  reduced  to  subjection.  In  1856  a  great 
expedition,  under  the  command  of  General  Kandon,  was 
organised  against  the  tribes  of  Great  Kabylia  that  had  not 
yet  submitted  to  the  French ;  and  after  many  months' 
lighting  they  were  brought  under  subjection.  The  autho- 
rity of  France  was  now  undisputed  over  the  country,  and 
peace  for  a  time  was  established. 

In  1858  the  administration  of  the  colony  was  confided 
to  a  special  minister,  the  first  nominated  being  Prince 
Napoleon ;  but  he  only  held  office  for  a  short  time ;  and 
soon  after,  the  special  ministry  was  abolished.  In  October 
1859  certain  Arab  tribes  rose  in  rebellion,  but  were  speedily 
subdued.  In  1860  Marshal  Pelissier  was  made  governor- 
general,  with  a  vice-governor,  a  director-general  of  civil 
affairs,  and  a  council  of  thirty  members.  In  the  beginning 
of  1863  the  emperor  promised  to  Algeria  a  constitution, 
with  a  representative  assembly  for  provincial  matters ;  and 
said  that  it  was  not  a  colony  properly  so  called,  but  an 
Arab  kingdom,  and  that  the  natives  had  an  equal  right  to 
his  protection  with  the  colonists.  In  April  1864  a  for- 
midable insurrection  of  the  Arabs  broke  out  in  the  south, 
in  consequence  of  an  insult  offered  to  one  of  their  chiefs  in 
a  court  of  justice,  and  they  suddenly  fell  upon  and  cut  to 
pieces  a  detachment  of  French  troops.  A  large  force  was 
speedily  assembled  and  eent  against  them,  and  after  they 
had  been  beaten  in  several  encounters  tho  insurrection  was 
at  length  put  down.  Marshal  Pelissier  died  in  May,  and 
Marshal  M'Mahon  was  appointed  to  succeed  him.  A  fresh 
insurrection  of  the  Arabs  broke  out  in  October,  but  after 
several  defeats  they  were  brought  to  subjection.  In  May 
1865  the  Emperor  Napoleon  visited  Algeria,  and  was 
everywhere  received  with  the  greatest  demonstrations  of 
joy.  After  his  return  to  France  he  wrote  a  letter  to 
Marshal  M'Mahon  respecting  the  future  government  of 
the  colony.  He  particularly  pointed  out  the  necessity  of 
seeking  to  gain  the  good-will  of  the  natives  by  permitting 
them  to  enjoy  their  territories  unmolested,  and  to  maintain 
their  own  customs,  and  that  they  should  be  held  as  equal 
with  the  colonists  before  the  law.  He  further  directed 
him  to  seek  to  stimulate  the  industry  of  the  colonists,  and 
to  strive  to  develop  the  resources  of  the  country.  In 
October  a  fresh  insurrection  broke  out  in  the  province  of 
Oran.  It  commenced  with  an  attack  upon  a  friendly  tribe, 
but  was  at  length  put  down  by  a  body  of  troops  under  the 
command  of  Colonel  de  Colomb.  It  again  broke  out  in 
March  1866,  and  Colonel  de  Colomb  was  a  second  time 
sent  out  against  the  insurgents.  He  encountered  them  on 
the  1 6th,  and,  after  a  fierce  engagement,  put  them  to  flight 
with  great  loss.  In  the  beginning  of  1867  a  new  expedi- 
tion was  organised  against  the  refractory  Arabs  in  the 
south,  and  these  being  effectually  put  down,  a  period  of 
comparative  peace  followed.  The  crops  in  1866  were 
almost  entirely  destroyed  by  an  invasion  of  locusts,  and 
in  January  1867  a  violent  earthquake  destroyed  several 
villages  in  the  vicinity  of  Blidah.  A  prolonged  drought 
followed,  which  dried  up  the  sources  of  the  springs  and 
produced  a  famine,  from  which  the  natives  suffered  much. 
A  visitation  of  cholera  succeeded,  which  is  estimated  to 
have  carried  off  not  less  than  50,000  persons.  In  January 
1868  a  fresh  revolt  broke  out  among  the  Arabs,  instigated 
by  Si-Hamed,  who  had  led  on  more  than  one  of  the  pre- 
vious revolts.     They  assailed  and  plundered  some  of  the 


friendly  tribes,  and  being  pursued  and  attacked  by  a 
body  of  French  troops,  a  fierce  engagement  took  place, 
in  which  Si-Hamed  was  killed  and  his  followers  put  to 
Might.  Peace  was  enjoyed  for  the  rest  of  that  year ;  but 
towards  the  end  of  January  1869  several  large  bands  of 
insurgent  Arabs  in  the  extreme  south  marched  northward, 
took  by  surprise  Tagguin,  and  being  joined  by  others,  in  a 
short  time  they  numbered  3000  horse.  A  body  of  French, 
troops  was  sent  out  against  them  from  Laghouat,  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  Sonis,  and  after  two  and  a  half 
hours'  hard  fighting  the  insurgents  were  put  to  flight  with 
great  slaughter.  In  1871  a  widespread  insurrection  of 
Arab  and  Kabyle  tribes  broke  out,  stimulated  no  doubt 
by  a  knowledge  of  the  weakened  condition  of  France  at 
home.  It  commenced  with  El-Mokrani,  the  hereditary 
bach-agha  of  the  Medjana,  attacking  and  burning  the 
village  of  Brody-Bon-Arreredy,  destroying  isolated  houses 
and  posts  throughout  the  district  subject  to  his  influence, 
the  colonists  who  did  not  succeed  in  reaching  a  place  of 
safety  being  massacred.  All  his  attacks  against  the  forti- 
fied places,  however,  failed ;  and  as  soon  as  the  French 
were  able  to  assume  the  offensive  he  was  beaten  in  every 
engagement,  and  subsequently  killed  in  action.  When 
this  rebellion  appeared  almost  overcome,  the  whole  or 
Kabylia  rose  in  arms  at  the  command  of  the  sheikh  El- 
Haddad,  one  of  the  most  powerful  chiefs  in  Kabylia,  and 
head  of  an  influential  religious  confraternity.  The  Kabyles, 
for  the  first  time  in  history,  descended  from  their  mountain 
fastnesses,  and  attempted  to  invade  the  plains  of  the 
Metidja.  The  most  horrible  massacres  were  perpetrated, 
and  all  the  principal  ports  on  the  coast  were  strictly 
blockaded  on  the  landward  side.  It  was  not  till  after  the 
fall  of  the  commune  in  Paris  that  troops  could  be  spared 
in  sufficient  numbers  to  suppress  the  insurrection.  But 
this  was  at  length  effected,  and  a  war  contribution  of 
£1,200,000  imposed  upon  the  rebels,  whose  lands  were  also 
sequestrated,  but  the  owners  were  permitted  to  resume 
possession  on  comparatively  easy  terms.  The  greater  part 
of  the  sum  recovered  was  distributed  among  the  colonist* 
who  had  suffered  during  the  insurrection,  and  a  consider- 
able portion  of  it  has  been  allotted  for  public  works  The 
sequestration  has  also  opened  up  much  valuable  territory 
for  European  colonisation.  Since  the  insurrection  many 
new  colonists  have  arrived  here,  and  among  them  many 
from  Alsace  and  Lorraine.  A  law  passed  by  the  French 
Chamber,  15th  September  1871,  authorises,  on  certain 
conditions,  the  gratuitous  concession  of  247,000  acres  of 
land  to  such  natives  of  Alsace  &nd  Lorraine  as  might 
desire  to  preserve  their  French  nationality.  A  more 
favourable  era,  it  is  believed,  has  now  dawned  for  the 
colony.  Down  to  1871  it  had  continued  under  military 
rule,  and  this,  it  was  thought,  had  had  not  a  little  to  do 
with  the  frequent  insurrections  that  had  broken  out  in 
the  country.  Accordingly,  in  October  of  that  year,  a  civil 
government  was  established,  as  has  been  already  noticed, 
and  since  that  time  the  colony  has  continued .  in  a  more 
peaceable  and  flourishing  condition.  (d.  k.) 

ALGHERO,  a  seaport  of  Italy,  in  the  province  of 
Sassari,  Sardinia,  situated  on  the  west  coast  of  the  island, 
14  miles  S.W.  of  Sassari.  It  was  founded  by  the  Genoese, 
and  was  afterwards  taken  by  the  Catalonians,  *hose 
language  is  still  spoken.  Though  strongly  fortified  towards 
the  sea,  the  landward  side  of  the  town  is  commanded  by 
the  overhanging  hills.  Alghero  is  an  episcopal  see,  and 
has  a  cathedral,  erected  in  1517,  several  monasteries, 
convents,  and  public  schools.  Many  of  the  houses  are  of 
antique  architecture.  Near  the  town  are  some  fine 
stalactite  grottoes.  The  neighbourhood  produces  oil  and 
fruit,  and  the  best  wine  of  the  island ;  and  the  corals  of 
Alghero  are  the  most  beautiful  found  in  the  Mediterranean. 


570 


A  L  G  — A  L  H 


The  other  exports   n  an,  'wool,  tobacco,  bones, 

skins,  and  anchovies.  Porte  Conte,  9  miles  to  the  N.W., 
is  the  roadstead  frequented  b)'  the  largest  vessels,  and  is  a 
secure  and  fortified  anchorage,  capable  of  accommodating 
a  large  fleet.     Population  of  commune  (1865),  8419. 

ALGIERS  (Fr.  Alger,  Arab.  AUezair,  i.e.,  The  Islands), 
a  city  and  seaport  of  Northern  Africa,  and  capital  of 
Algeria,  is  situated  on  the  west  side  of  a  bay  of  the  same 
name  in  the  Mediterranean.  Lat.  (of  lighthouse),  36°  47' 
20*  N.,  long.  3°  4'  32'  E.  It  is  built,  in  the  form  of  an 
amphitheatre,  on  the  northern  slope  of  a  steep  hill  rising 
abruptly  from  the  coast.  It  ascends  the  side  of  the  hill  in  the 
form  of  an  irregular  triangle,  the  apex  of  which  is  occupied 
by  the  Casbah,  or  ancient  fortress  of  the  deys>,  -which  is 
about  500  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  As  seen  from  a 
distance,  the  city  presents  a  very  imposing  and  picturesque 
appearance  ;  and  the  houses  rising  one  above  the  other,  and 
being  all  built  of  white  stone,  it  has  been  compared  to  a 
ship  under  sail.  It  consists  of  two  towns — the  new,  which 
is  entirely  European  in  its  character,  and  i3  built  on  the 
lower  part  of  the  slope  and  along  the  shore  ;  and  the  old 
town,  which  occupies  the  higher  region,  and  is  entirely 
Oriental  in  its  character.  The  new  town  consists  of  hand- 
some streets  and  squares,  and  contains  the  government 
houses,  hotels,  warehouses,  barracks,  <fcc.  In  the  centre  of 
the  new  town  is  the  Place  du  Gouvernement,  a  large  and 
handsome  square  in  the  European  style,  with  a  fountain, 
and  planted  with  orange  and  lime  trees.  The  streets  are 
regular,  spacious,  and  handsome,  and  adorned  with  arcades. 
In  the  Arab  or  old  town  the  streets  are  narrow,  winding, 
and  dirty.  The  houses  are  square  substantial-looking 
buildings,  presenting  to  the  street  bare  walls,  with  only  a 
few  slits  protected  by  iron  gratings  in  place  of  windows. 
Each  house  has  a  quadrangle  in  the  centre,  into  which  it 
looks,  and  which  is  entered  by  a  low  narrow  doorway. 
Algiers  is  surrounded  by  walls  and  otherwise  fortified,  but 
its  landward  defences  are  weak  and  exposed,  while  the 
batteries  which  defend  it  towards  the  sea  are  very  strong. 
It  has  two  handsome  suburbs,  and  numerous  elegant  villas 
are  scattered  over  the  vicinity.  The  town  is  the  residence 
of  the  governor-general  of  Algeria,  of  the  prefect  of  the 
department  of  Algiers,  and  of  the  chiefs  of  the  different 
administrative  services.  It  is  also  the  seat  of  a  bishop 
and  of  the  supreme  courts  of  justice,  and  has  a  chamber 
and  tribunal  of  commerce,  a  royal  college,  various  schools, 
a  bank,  public  library,  and  museum.  Among  the  principal 
buildings  are  a  cathedral  and  several  Roman  Catholic 
churches,  a  Protestant  church,  several  synagogues,  and  a 
number  of  mosques.  The  town  is  well  supplied  with 
■rater,  and  there  are  numerous  public  arid  private  foun- 
tains and  baths.  Various  markets  are  held  here,  and 
horse-racing  is  a  favourite  amusement:  Algiers  has  of 
late  come  to  be  noted  as  a  winter  residence  for  invalids. 
The  French  have  spent  large  sums  of  money  in  the  improve- 
ment of  the  port  of  Algiers.  It  has  an  area  of  220  acres, 
and  it  is  calculated  that  when  a  rock  near  the  centre, 
called  Hocfie  Sans  Nom,  is  removed,  it  will  be  capable  of 
accommodating  40  vessels  of  war  and  300  trading  vessels. 
It  has  two  docks,  capable  of  containing  the  largest  vessels. 
The  lighthouse  has  a  revolving  light  visible  at  the  distance 
of  15  miles.  Population  (1866),  52,614.  (For  the  trade 
and  climate  of  Algiers,  see  Algeria.) 

ALGOA  BAY,  an  inlet  in  Cape  Colony,  on  the  S.E. 
coast  of  Africa,  425  miles  east  from  the  Cape'  of  Good 
Hope.  Lat  of  Croix  Island,  in  the  bay,  30°  47'  N.,  and 
long.  25°  46'.  Algoa  Bay  lies  between  capes  Recife  and 
Padrone,  on  the  former  of  which  there  is  a  lighthouse.  It 
receives  the  rivers  Sunday  and  Baasher.  The  best 
anchorage  is  on  the  west  side  of  the  inlet,  near  Port 
Elizabeth,  which  is  the  most  imnortant  seaport  on  the 


south  coast  of  Africa.  TIere  the  holding  ground  is  good, 
and  the  anchorage  is  sheltered,  except  from  the  south-east 
winds.  Fort  Frederick  stands  on  a  hill  overlooking  Port 
Elizabeth.  Algoa  Bay  was  the  first  landing-place  of  the 
British  emigrants  to  the  eastern ° province  of  the  Cape 
Colony,  and  as  the  harbour  of  that  province  it  enjoys  a 
rapidly  increasing  trade 

ALHAMA,  a  city  of  Spain,  in  the  province  of  Granada, 
24  miles  S.W.  of  Granada.  It  is  very  picturesquely  situated 
on  the  edge  of  a  gorge  in  the  hills  of  the  Sierra  de 
Alhnma,  the  streets  rising  in  terraces  one  above  another. 
The  river  Marchan  flows  through  the  chasm,  and  the 
mountains  behind  the  town  reach  a  height  of  8000  feet. 
The  name  Alhnma  signifies  in  Arabic  "  the  bath,"  and  is 
derived  from  the  hot  mineral  springs  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. These  springs,  which  have  a  temperature  of  118° 
Fahr.,  are  considered  beneficial  in  cases  of  dyspepsia  and 
rheumatism,  and  in  former  times  had  as  many  as  14,000 
visitors  annually.  Alhama  was  a  most  important  fortress 
while  the  Moors  ruled  in  Granada,  and  its  capture  by  the 
Marquis  of  Cadiz  in  1482  was  the  most  decisive  step  in 
the  reduction  of  their  power.  Remains  of  the  Moorish 
castle  and  walls  are  still  to  be  seen,  as  well  as  an  aqueduct 
of  Roman  or  Moorish  origin.  Many  of  the  houses  are  of 
Moorish  architecture,  and  the  antiquities  of  the  town,  the 
mineral  springs,  and  the  wild  scenery  of  the  environs 
attract  numerous  visitors.     Population,  about  7000. 

ALHAMA,  a  town  in  Spain,  in  the  province  of  Murcia, 
13  miles  S.W.  of  the  town  of  that  name.  It  is  celebrated 
for  its  sulphur  springs,  which  have  a  temperature  ranging 
from  91°  to  113°  Fahr.,  and  attract  numerous  visitors. 
The  town  has  a  hospital  and  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  castle. 
Population,  about  6500. 

ALHAMBRA,  the  ancient  fortress  and  residence  of  the 
Moorish  monarchs  of  Granada,  lies  on  a  bill  overlooking 
the  city  of  Granada,  on  the  north.  The  name,  signifying 
in  Arabic  "  the  red,"  is  derived  from  the  colo\\y  of  the  sun- 
dried  lapia,  or  bricks  made  of  fine  gravel  and  clay,  of 
which  the  outer  walls  are  built.  This  famous  Moorisl1 
palace  was  erected  at  various  dates,  chiefly  between  124$ 
and  1354,  under  the  reigns  of  Ibn-1-Ahmar  and  his  suc- 
cessors. The  splendid  decorations,  and  in  particular  the 
exquisite  painting  of  the  interior,  are  ascribed  to  Yusuf  I., 
who  died  in  1354.  Immediately  after  the  expulsion  of 
the  Moors  in  1492,  their  conquerors  began,  by  innumer- 
able acts  of  vandalism,  to  spoil  the  marvellous  beauty  of 
the  Alhambra.  The  open  work  was  filled  up  with  white- 
wash, the  painting  and  gilding  effaced,  the  furniture  soiled, 
torn,  or  removed.  Charles  V.  rebuilt  portions  in  the 
modern  style  of  the  period,  and  destroyed  the  greater  part 
of  the  Winter  Palace  to  make  room  for  a  modern  structure 
which  has  never  been  completed.  Philip  V.  Italianised 
the  rooms,  and  completed  the  degradation  by  running  up 
partitions  which  blocked  up  whole  apartments,  gems  of 
taste  and  patient  ingenuity.  In  subsequent  centuries  the 
carelessness  of  the  Spanish  authorities  permitted  this  pearl 
of  Moorish  art  to  be  still  further  defaced;  and  in  1812 
some  of  the  towers  were  blown  up  by  the  French  under 
Sebastiani,  while  the  whole  buildings  narrowly  escaped  the 
same  fate.  In  1821  the  ancient  pile  was  shattered  by 
an  earthquake.  Directions  were  given  in  1862,  by  Isabella, 
then  queen  of  Spain,  for  the  restoration  of  the  Alhambra 
to  its  original  condition.  The  work  has  been  carried  on 
with  considerable  skill,  but  the  sums  devoted  to  it  have 
been  too  small  for  its  satisfactory  accomplishment. 

The  hilly  terrace  on  which  the  Alhambra  stands  is  about 
2430  feet  in  length  by  674  in  breadth  at  the  widest  part. 
A  strongly-fortified  wall,  flanked  by  thirteen  square  towers, 
encloses  an  area  of  35  acres,  within  which  the  palace  k 
built.     Approaching  from  the  city,   the  viator  pssses 


ALHAMBRA 


571 


through  the  Gate  of  Pomegranates  and  enters  the  grounds 
of  the  Alhambra,  which  are  well  wooded,  and  in  spring 
are  covered  by  sweet-scented  wild  flowers.     The  gardens, 
though  weedy  and  ravined,  are  a  charming  resort,  adorned 
by  beautiful  waterfalls  and  sparkling  fountains,  and  en- 
livened by  the  song  of  the  nightingale.     Passing  the  pillars 
of  Charles  V.,  a  steep  ascent  leads  to  the  chief  entrance 
to  the  Alhambra,  the  Gate  of  Judgment — a  massive  arch- 
way, surmounted  by  a  square  tower  62  feet  high,  which, 
while  serving  as  an  outwork  of  the  fortress  and  as  an 
entrance-hall  to  the  palace,  was  principally  used  as  an 
open-air  court  of  justice,  according  to  the  patriarchal 
custom  of  the  east     The  pillars  of  the  gate  are  of  sculp- 
tured marble,  and  the  horse-shoe  arch  is  28  feet  high.     A 
narrow  passage  leads  to  the  Plaza  de  los  Algibes,  the  Place 
of  the  Cisterns,  so  called  from  the  tanks  underneath  filled 
with  water  from  the   Darro,  which  foams   through   the 
ravine  to  the  north  of  the  hill.     The  Plaza  is  about  225 
feet  long  by  187  wide.     To  the  left  rises  Alcazaba,  the 
ruined  fortress  of  the  Alhambra,  with  the  Torre  de  la  Vela 
or  Watch  Tower,  where  the  Christian  flag  was  first  hoisted 
on  the  expulsion  of  the  Moors  in  1492.     It  commands  a 
noble  prospect.     Below  lies  the  city  of  Granada,  with  its 
hundred  churches;  and  above  rise  overhanging  heights, 
with  white  houses  glancing  out  from  the  green  foliage, 
reminding  one  of  the  saying  of  the  Arabic  poet,  that 
Granada  is  like  a  pearl  set  round  with  emerald.     In  the 
Place  of  the  Cisterns  stands  an  isolated  Moorish  tower, 
the  Torre  del  Vino,  erected  in  1345 ;  and  to  the  right  lies 
the  palace  of  Charles  V.,  displacing  so  much  that  was 
curious  in  Moorish  art.     It  is  a  majestic  but  cold-looking 
structure  in  the  Renaissance  style,  unfinished  and  roofless, 
and  presenting  a  desolate  and  ruinous  aspect.     Behind 
tkis  edifice  lies  the  Moorish  palace,  the   exterior  being 
severe,  plain,  and  almost  forbidding  in  appearance,  accord- 
ing to  the  peculiarity  of  Moorish  architecture,  by  which 
they  contrived  to  heighten  the  splendour  of  the  interior 
1>y  contrast  with  the  bare  and  unadorned  structure  of  the 
outer  walls.     But  within,  the  palace  stands  unrivalled  in 
the   gorgeous   splendour  of   its  halls  and  the   exquisite 
beauty  of  its  decorations.     Everywhere  are  seen  evidences 
of  the  delicate  taste  and  the  artistic  luxury  of  the  Moors. 
Spacious  courts,  with  marble  pillars  and  fretted  ceilings, 
partitions  coloured  and  gilt  like  the  sides  of  a  Stamboul 
casket,  and  filagree  stuccos  of  veil-like  transparency,  all 
distinguished  by  airy  lightness  and  grace,  are  among  the 
main  features  of  this  palace  of  the  voluptuous  caliphs  of 
Granada,  who  held  dominion  over  that  sunny  land  which 
their  poets  described  as  a  terrestrial  paradise.    The  colours 
chiefly  employed  are  blue,  red,  and  a  golden  yellow.     In 
the  hey-day  of  Moorish  prosperity  the  palace  must  have 
been  the  most  delicious  of  royal  residences.     Odoriferous 
gardens,  in  which  the  orange  and  the  myrtle  bloomed, 
alternated  with   sparkling   fountains    and   soft   couches, 
inviting  to  a  luxurious  repose.     Everything  contributed 
to  render  the  whole  the  most  splendid  abode  of  Oriental 
magnificence,  to  which  only  the  fantastic  creations  of  the 
Arabian  Nights  can  be  fitly  compared. 

The  present  entrance  is  by  a  small  insignificant  door, 
from  which  a  corridor  conducts  to  the  Patio  de  la  Berkah, 
the  Court  of  the  Blessing.  This  court  is  140  feet  long  by 
74  broad ;  and  in  the  centre  there  is  a  large  pond  set  in 
the  marble  pavement,  full  of  gold-fish,  from  which  some 
have  called  this  the  Court  of  the  Pond.  It  is  also  known 
as  the  Court  of  the  Myrtles,  from  the  myrtles  which  grow 
along  its  sides.  There  are  galleries  on  the  north  and 
south  sides;  that  on  the  south  27  feet  high,  and  supported 
by  a  marble  colonnade.  Underneath  it,  to  the  right,  was 
the  principal  entrance,  and  over  it  are  three  elegant 
windows  with  arches  and  miniature  pillars.     The  columns 


supporting  the  galleries  are  light  in  structure,  and  arches, 
slender  and  bending  gracefully  like  palms,  spring  from 
the  capitals  and  meet  overhead.  From  this  court  the 
walls  of  the  Torre  de  Comares  are  seen  rising  over  the 
roof  to  the  north,  and  its  tower  and  colonnades  are  reflected 
in  the  crystal  mirror  of  the  pond. 

The  Hall  of  Ambassadors  (Sala  de  Anibajadores)  is  the 
largest  in  the  Alhambra,  and  occupies  all  the  Tower  of 
Comares.  It  is  a  square  room,  the  sides  being  37  feet  in 
leugth,  while  the  centre  of  the  dome  is  75  feet  high. 
This  was  the  grand  reception-room,  and  the  throne  of  the 
sultan  was  placed  opposite  the  entrance.  The  azulejos  are 
nearly  4  feet  high  all  round,  and  the  colours  vary  at  inter- 
vals. Over  them  is  a  series  of  oval  medallions  with  in- 
scriptions, interwoven  with  flowers  and  leaves.  There  are 
nine  windows,  three  on  each  facade,  and  the  ceiling  is 
admirably  diversified  with  inlaid  work  of  white,  blue,  and 
gold,  in  the  shape  of  circles,  crowns,  and  stars — a  kind  of 
imitation  of  the  vault  of  heaven.  The  walls  are  covered 
with  varied  stucco-work  of  most  delicate  pattern,  surround- 
ing many  ancient  escutcheons. 

Another  of  the  more  celebrated  courts  of  the  palace  ia 
the  Patio  de  los  Leones,  the  Court  of  the  Lions.  This  is 
an  oblong  court,  116  feet  in  length  by  66  in  breadth,  sur- 
rounded by  a  low  gallery  supported  on  124  white  marble 
columns.  A  pavilion  projects  into  the  court  at  each 
extremity,  with  filigree  walls  and  light-domed  roof,  elabor- 
ately ornamented.  The  square  is  paved  with  coloured 
tiles,  and  the  colonnade  with  white  marble  ;  while  the 
walls  are  covered  5  feet  up  from  the  ground  with  blue 
and  yellow  tiles,  with  a  border  above  and  below  enamelled 
blue  and  gold.  The  columns  supporting  the  roof  and 
gallery  are  irregularly  placed,  with  a  view  to  artistic  effect ; 
and  the  general  form  of  the  piers,  arches,  and  pillars  is 
most  graceful  They  are  adorned  by  varieties  of  foliage, 
<fec;  about  each  arch  there  is  a  large  square  of  arabesques; 
and  over  the  pillars  is  another  square  of  exquisite  filigree 
work.  In  the  centre  of  the  court  is  the  celebrated  Fountain 
of  Lions,  a  magnificent  alabaster  basin  supported  by  the 
figures  of  twelve  lions  in  white  marble,  not  designed  with 
sculptural  accuracy,  but  as  emblems  of  strength  and 
courage.  When  the  fountain  was  in  good  order  a  great 
volume  of  water  was  thrown  up,  which  fell  into  the  basin, 
passed  through  the  lions,  and  issued  from  their  mouths. 

The  Hall  of  the  Abencerrage3  derives  its  name  from  a 
legend  according  to  which  Boabdil,  the  last  king  of 
Granada,  having  invited  the  chiefs  of  that  illustrious  line 
to  a  banquet,  massacred  them  here.  This  room  is  a  perfect 
square,  with  a  lofty  dome,  and  trellised  windows  at  its 
base.  The  roof  is  exquisitely  decorated  in  blue,  brown, 
red,  and  gold,  and  the  columns  supporting  it  spring  out 
into  the  arch  form  in  a  remarkably  beautiful  manner. 
Opposite  to  this  hall  is  the  Hall  of  the  Two  Sisters,  so 
called  from  two  very  beautiful  white  marble  slabs  laid  as 
part  of  the  pavement.  These  slabs  measure  15  feet  by  7i, 
and  are  without  flaw  or  stain.  There  is  a  fountain  in  the 
middle  of  this  hall,  and  the  roof  is  composed  of  stalactites, 
nearly '5000  pieces  entering  into  its  construction.  The 
whole  decorations  here  are  of  the  most  exquisite  description. 
Among  the  other  wonders  of  the  Alhambra  are  the  Hall 
of  Justice ;  the  mosque ;  the  Mirador  de  Lindaraja,  or 
boudoir  of  the  sultana;  the  Patitfde  la  Reja ;  the  Tocador 
de  la  Reina,  or  queen's  boudoir;  and  the  Sala  de  los  Banos, 
in  all  which  are  to  be  seen  the  same  delicate  and  beautiful 
architecture,  the  same  costly  and  elegant  decorations. 
There  must  also  be  noticed  the  celebrated  vase  of  the 
Alhambra,  a  splendid  specimen  of  Moorish  ceramic  art, 
dating  from  1320,  and  belonging  to  the  first  period  of 
Moorish  porcelain.  It  is  4  feet  3  inches  high ;  the  ground 
is  white,  and  the  enamelling  is  in  blue,  white,  and  gold. 


572 


UH-ALI 


A  new  hall,  called  the  Hall  of  the  Shields  or  Escutcheons, 
has  recently  been  discovered  ;  and  the  palace  contains, 
besides  the  more  important  halls  already  mentioned,  ranges 
of  bed-jooms  and  summer-rooms,  a  whispering  gallery  and 
labyrinth,  and  vaulted  sepulcln 

The  towers  of  the  fortress  havo  abo  much  of  the  orna- 
mented character  of  the  palace.  Separated  from  the 
Alhambra  by  a  ravine  lies  Gencralife,  the  Garden  of  the 
Architect,  probably  in  the  first  instance  an  outwork  of  the 
fortress,  afterwards  the  summer  villa  of  the  sultans  of 
Granada.  It  is  impossible  to  conclude  the  description  of 
tho  Alhambra  without  remarking  now  admirably  every 
thing  wa3  planned  to  render  thia  palace  the  most  voluptu- 
ous of  all  retreats — the  numerous  fountains  which  cooled 
the  air,  the  judicious  disposition  of  doors  and  windows 
securing  a  free  ventilation,  tho  •  Bhady  gardens,  and  the 
noble  views  of  the  hills  and  plains  around.'  Some  idea  of 
the  beauty  of  the  original  is  afforded  by  the  Alhambra 
Court  in  tho  Crystal  Palace  at  Sydenham,  imitating  the 
Moorish  palace  in  gorgeousness  of  colouring,  elaborateness 
of  ornamentation,  and  quaint  grace  of  architectural  style. 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  the  Alhambra  is 
the  appliance  of  poetical  conceits  and  passages  from  the 
Koran  to  enhance  and  form  part  .of  the  ornamentation. 
"  There  ia  no  God  but  Allah,"  "  There  is  no  conqueror 
but  God,"  "  Glory  be  given  to  our  Lord,"  and  other  similar 
inscriptions  are  everywhere  to  be  observed. 

(See  Mr  Owen  Jones's  Plans,  Elevations,  and  Sections  of 
the  Alhambra,  2  vols.  foL,  1818.) 

ALHAZK>T  (full  name,  Abu  Ali  al-Hasan  Ibn  Al- 
hasa_n),  a  mathematician  of  tho  11th  century,  was  born 
at  Bassora,  and  died  at  Cairo  in  1038.  He  is  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from  another  Alhazen  who  translated  Ptolemy's 
Almagest  in  the  10th  century.  Alhazen  having  boasted  that 
he  could  construct  a  machine  for  regulating  the  inundations 
btthe  Nile,  was  summoned  to  Egypt  by  the  caliph  Hakem; 
but,  aware  of  the  impracticability  of  his  scheme,  and  fearing 
the  caliph'sanger,  he  feigned  madness  until  Hakem's  death 
in  1021.  Alhazen  was,  nevertheless,  a  diligent  and  success- 
ful student,  being  the  first  great  discoverer  in  optics  after 
the  time  of  Ptolemy.  His  researches  were  prosecuted  under 
the  greatest  disadvantages,  as  he  was  compelled  to  eke  out 
a  livelihood  by  copying  his  own  works  and  selling  them. 
To  him,  and  not  to  Ptolemy,  is  due  the  explanation  of  the 
apparent  increase  of  heavenly  bodies  near  the  horizon.  He 
correctly  attributed  the  phenomenon  to  the  fact  that  the  eye 
compares  these  bodies  with  intervening  terrestrial  objects. 
He  taught,  previous  to  Vitello,  that  vision  does  not  result 
from  the  emission  of  rays  from  tho  eye,  and  wrote  also  on 
the  refraction  of  light,  especially  on  atmospheric  refraction, 
showing,  e.g.,  the  cause  of  morning  and  evening  twilight. 
He  solved  the  problem  of  finding  the  point  in  a  convex 
mirror  at  which  a  ray  coming  from  one  given  point  shall  be 
reflected  to  another  given  point.  As  a  writer,  Alhazen  is 
remarkable  for  prolixity  and  scholastic  subtilty.  Only  two 
of  his  works  have  been  printed — his  Treatise  on  Twilight, 
and  his  Thesaurus  Optica;.  (See  Casiri,  Bill.  Arab,  llisp. 
Escur.) 

ALI,  the  fourth  in  order  of  the  caliphs  or  successors  of 
Mahomet,  was  born  at  Mecca,  about  the  year  600  A.D. 
His  father,  Abu  Taleb,  was  an  uncle  of  the  prophet,  and 
Ali  himself  was  adopted  by  Mahomet  and  educated 
under  his  care.  While  he  was  still  a  mere  boy  he  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  being  the  first  to  declare  his  adhesion 
to  the  cause  of  Mahomet,  who  in  return  made  him  his 
vicegerent,  and  some  years  after  gave  Mm  his  daughter 
Fatima  in  marriage.  Ali  proved  himself  to  be  a  bravo  and 
faithful  soldier ;  and  when  Mahomet  died  without  male 
issue,  he  seemed  to  Lave  the  best  claims  to  become  the 
recognised  head  of  Lslamism.     Three  other  companions  of 


Mahomet,  however,  Abubckr,  Omar,  and  Othmau,  oc*...picd 
this  position  before  him,  and  it  was  not  until  C5G,  after 
the  murder  of  Othman,  that  he  assumed  tho  title  of 
caliph.  Almost  tliu  first  act  of  his  reign  was  the  suppres- 
sion of  a  rebellion  under  Telha  and  Zobcir,  who  were 
instigated  by  Ayi  ba,  tho  widow  of  Mahomet,  a  bitter 
enemy  of  Ali,  and  hitherto  one  of  the  chief  hindrances  to 
his  advancement  to  tho  caliphate.  The  rebel  army  was 
defeated  at  Kharibah,  near  Bassorah,  tho  two  generals 
being  killed,  and  Aycsha  taken  prisoner.  "All's  next  caro 
was  to  get  rid  of  tho  opposition  of  Moawyah,  who  had 
i  iked  himself  in  Syria  at  the  head  of  a  numerous 
army.  A  bloody  battle  took  place  in  the  plain  of  Suffein, 
near  the  Euphrates,  which  seemed  at  first  to  be  going  in 
favour  of  Ali ;  when  suddenly  a  number  of  the  enemy, 
fixing  copies  of  the  Koran  to  tho  points  of  their  .spears, 
exclaimed  that  "  the  matter  ought  to  be  settled  by  refer- 
ence to  this  book,  which  forbids  Mussulmans  to  shed  each 
other's  blood."  On  hearing  this  the  superstitious  soldicis 
of  Ali  refused  to  fight  any  longer,  and  demanded  that  the 
matter  should  be  referred  to  arbitration.  Abu  Musa  was 
appointed  umpire  on  the  part  of  Ali,  and  Ainru,  ono  of 
the  shrewdest  men  in  the  kingdom,  on  the  part  of  Moawyah. 
Amru  persuaded  Abu  Musa  that  it  would  bo  for  the 
advantage  of  Moslemism  that  neither  candidate  should 
reign  ;  and  also,  with  a  pretence  of  deference,  asked  hiin 
to  give  his  decision  first.  Abu  Musa,  falling  into  tho 
snare,  proclaimed  that  ho  deposed  both  Ali  and  Moawyah; 
thereupon  Amru  declared  that  he  also  deposed  Ali,  but 
that  he  invested  Moawyah  with  the  caliphate.  This 
treacherous  decision  greatly  injured  the  cause  of  Ali, 
which  was  still  further  weakened  by  the  loss  of  Egypt, 
Syria,  and  Persia,  including  tho  sacred  cities  of  Mecca  and 
Medina.  Ali,  however,  resolved  to  make  a  final  effort, 
and  collected  a  large-  army  for  that  purpose.  He  was  not 
destined  to  see  the  result  of  his  plans.  /  Three  of  the 
fanatic  sect  of  the  Karigites  made  an  agreement  to  assas- 
sinate Ali,  Moawyah,  and  Amru  as  tho  authors  of  dis- 
astrous feuds  among  the  faithful  The  only  victim  of  this 
plot  was  Ali,  who  died  at  Kufa  in  CGI,  of  the  wound  in- 
flicted by  a  poisoned  weapon.  Ho  had  eight  wives  besides 
Fatima,  and  in  all,  it  is  said,  thirty-three  children,  one  of 
whom,  Hassan,  a  son  of  Fatima,  succeeded  him  in  the 
caliphate.  Ali  is  described  as  a  bold,  noble,  and  generous 
man,  "  the  last  and  worthiest  of  the  primitive  Moslems, 
who  imbibed  his  religious  enthusiasm  from  companionship 
with  the  prophet  himself,  and  who  followed  to  the  last  the 
simplicity  of  his  example."  He  was  also  remarkable  for 
learning  and  wisdom,  and  there  are  still  extant  collections 
of  proverbs,  verses,  &c,  which  bear  his  name,  especially 
tho  Sentences  of  Ali,  an  English  translation  of  which,  by 
William  Yule,  was  published  at  Edinburgh  in  1832.  Tho 
question  of  Ali's  right  to  succeed  to  the  caliphato  is  an 
article  of  faith  which  dirided  the  Mahometan  world  into 
two  great  sects,  the  Sunnis  and  the  Shiahs,  the  former 
denying  and  the  latter  affirming  his  right..  The  Turks, 
consequently,  who  aro  usually  Sunnis,'  hold  his  memory 
in  abhorrence  ;  whereas  the  Persians,  who  are  generally 
Shiahs,  venerate  him  as  second  only  to  the  prophet,  and 
celebrate  the  anniversary  of  his  martyrdom. 

ALI  BEY  (1728-73),  an  adventurer,  said  to  have  been  a 
native  of  the  Caucasus,  and  to  have  been  sold  about  tho 
ago  of  twelve  or  fourteen  for  a  slave  in  Cairo.  The  two 
Jews  who  became  his  masters  presented  him  to  Ibrahim, 
then  one  of  tho  most  influential  men  in  the  kingdom.  In 
the  family  of  Ibrahim  he  received  the  rudiments  of  a 
literary  education,  and  was  also  instructed  in  tho  military 
art  He  gradually  gained  the  affection  of  his  patron  to 
such  a  degree  that  he  gave  him  his  freedom,  permitted  him 
to  marry,  and  promoted  him  to  the  rank  of  governor  of  a 


A  L  I  — A  L  I 


573 


district.  Afterwards  lie  was  elected  to  the  elevated  station 
of  ono  of  the  governors  of  provinces.  Deprived  of  his 
protector  by  death,  and  engaging  in  the  dangerous  intrigues 
that  pave  the  way  to  power  in  an  unstable  government,  he 
procured  his  own  banishment  to  Upper  Egypt.  Here  he 
spent  two  years  in  maturing  his  schemes  for  future  great- 
ness;  and  in  1766,  returning  to  Cairo,  he  either  slew  or 
expelled  the  beys,  and  seized  the  reigns  of  government. 
Emboldened  by  success,  he  rescued  himself  from  the  power 
of  the  Porte,  coined  money  in  his  own  name,  and  assumed 
the  rank  of  sultan  of  Egypt.  Occupied  in  more  important 
concerns,  the  Porte  made  no  vigorous  opposition  to  his 
measures,  and  Ali  seized  the  opportunity  to  recover  a  part 
of  the  Said,  or  Upper  Egypt,  which  had  been  taken  pos- 
session of  by  an  Arab  sheik.  He  next  sent  out  a  fleet 
from  Suez,  which,  seizing  upon  Djedda,  entered  the  port  of 
Mecca;  -while  a  body  of  cavalry,  commanded  by  Mahomet 
Bey,  his  favourite,  took  and  plundered  Mecca  itself.  Hav- 
ing formed  an  alliance  in  1770  with  the  Sheik  Daher,  a 
rebel  against  the  Porte  in  Syria,  he  aimed  at  the  conquest 
of  all  Syria  and  Palestine.  He  first  endeavoured  to  secure 
Gaza  ;  then  his  army,  forming  a  junction  with  that  of 
Daher  at  Acre,  advanced  to  Damascus.  There,  on  the  6th 
of  June  1771,  a  battle  was  fought  with  the  Turkish 
pashas,  and  Mahomet  and  Daher,  All's  generals,  routed 
them  with  great  slaughter.  The  latter  instantly  took  pos- 
session of  Damascus,  and  the  castle  itself  had  also  capitu- 
lated, when  Mahomet  unexpectedly  hastened  back  to 
Egypt  with  all  his  Mamelukes.  Some  ascribe  this  strange 
conduct  to  an  impression  made  upon  Mahomet  by  the 
Turkish  agents,  and  others  to  a  report  of  the  death  of 
Ali  Bey. 

Although  unsuccessful,  Ali  never  lost  sight  of  his 
favourite  object;  and  Mahomet,  losing  his  confidence, 
was  forced  to  save  his  life  by  exile.  Mahomet,  however, 
quickly  returned  with  an  army,  and  drove  Ali  Bey  from 
Cairo.  In  this  unfortunate  state  of  affairs  Ali  fled  to 
Daher,  and,  combining  their  forces,  they  attacked  the 
Turkish  commander  at  Sidon,  and  came  off  victorious, 
although  the  Turkish  army  was  three  times  their  number. 
After  a  siege  of  eight  months,  they  next  took  the  town  of 
Jaffa.  Deceived  by  letters  from  Cairo,  which  were  only 
intended  to  ensnare  him,  and  stimulated  by  his  recent 
victories,  Ali  returned  to  Cairo.  Entering  the  deserts 
which  divide  Gaza  from  Egypt  he  was  furiously  attacked 
by  a  thousand  chosen  Mamelukes  led  on  by  Murad  Bey, 
who  was  enamoured  of  Ali's  wife,  and  had  obtained  the 
promise  of  her,  provided  that  he  could  take  Ali  captive. 
Ali  was  wounded,  made  prisoner,  and  carried  to  Mahomet. 
He  died  three  days  after,  from  the  effects  either  of  poison 
or  of  his  wounds. 

ALI  PASHA,  surnamed  Arslan  or  "  The  Lion,"  was  born 
at  Tepelini,  a  village  of  Albania,  on  the  Voyutza,  at  the 
foot  of  the  Klissoura  Mountains,  in  1741.  He  belonged 
to  the  Toske  tribe,  and  his  ancestors  had  for  some  years 
held  the  title  of  Boy  of  Tepelini,  this  dignity  having 
become  hereditary  in  his  family.  His  grandfather  fell  in 
1716  at  the  siege  of  Corfu,  which  was  then  held  by  the 
Venetians.  His  father,  who  died  when  Ali  was  in  his 
fourteenth  year,  is  represented  by  most  authorities  aa  a 
man  of  amiable  character  and  peaceful  habits,  who  was 
despoiled  of  his  territories  by  the  chiefs  that  lived  around 
him ;  but  his  mother  was  a  woman  of  fierce  and  unyield- 
ing disposition.  Inciting  her  son  to  recover  the  posses- 
sions of  his  father,  she  roused  in  him  a  spirit  of  cruelty  and 
aggression,  tempered,  however,  by  a  considerable  amount 
of  cunning  and  foresight,  which  bore  bitter  fruit  in  his 
riper  years.  Many  romantic  stories  are  told  of  Ali's 
adventures  at  the  outset  of  his  career,  but  the  only  fact3 
that  are  known  with  certainty  are,  that  after  living  in  the 


mountains  as  a  robber  for  some  years,  and  enduring  great 
privations,  he  made  himself  master  of  his  beylik  of  Tepe- 
lini by  the  aid  of  his  associates.  He  is  said  to  have  then 
murdered  his  brother  and  imprisoned  his  mother,  who 
died  shortly  after,  on  a  charge  of  attempting  to  poison 
him.  In  order  to  increase  and  establish  his  power,  he 
then  made  overtures  to  tho  Turkish  government,  by  whose 
orders  he  attacked  and  defeated  the  pasha  of  Scutari,  then 
in  rebellion  against  the  sultan,  and  put  to  death  Selim. 
pasha  of  Delvino.  For  these  acts  he  was  rewarded  by 
being  placed  in  possession  of  the  whole  of  his  father's 
territories,  and  he  was  appointed  lieutenant  to  the  Derwend- 
pacha  of  Rum-ili,  an  officer  who  was  charged  with  tho 
suppression  of  brigandage  and  highway  robbery  in  tho 
district.  Ali,  however,  by  permitting  the  robbers  to  go 
unchecked  in  return  for  a  share  of  the  spoil,  brought  his 
superior  to  disgrace  and  death,  but  escaped  himself  by 
sending  bribes  to  the  ministers  of  the  sultan.  For  his 
services  in  the  field  in  the  war  between  Prussia  and  Turkey 
in  1787  he  was  appointed  pasha  of  Trikala  in  Thessaly, 
and  Derwend-pasha  of  Rum-ili.  He  soon  cleared  the 
country  of  robbers,  mainly  by  summoning  to  his  standard 
all  who  were  willing  to  serve  under  him,  and  by  their  aid 
he  took  forcible  possession  of  Joannina  in  1788.  By 
means  of  the  powerful  body  of  troops  at  his  command, 
and  the  wise  measures  that  he  introduced,  he  wrought 
considerable  amelioration  in  the  districts  under  his  charge, 
and  the  Porte  seeing  this,  confirmed  him  in  the  pashalik 
of  Joannina.  His  whole  attention  was  now  turned  to  the 
aggrandisement  of  his  territory  and  personal  power.  He 
obtained  possession  of  the  western  part  of  Northern  Greece, 
or  Livadia  as  it  was  then  called ;  but  was  baffled  for  many 
years  in  his  attempts  to  occupy  the  country  of  the  Suliotoa 
in  the  south-west  of  Epirus.  These  brave  and  hardy 
mountaineers  at  last,  in  1803,  agreed  to  evacuate  theii 
country,  and  were  treacherously  massacred  by  Ali  whi'e  on 
their  way  to  the  coast  to  embark  for  Corfu.  When  the 
French  took  Venice  in  1797,  Ali,  by  pretending  admiration 
for  the  principles  of  the  revolution,  induced  Napoleon  to 
send  him  engineers,  by  whose  aid  he  fortified  Joannina ; 
but  failing  to  obtain  from  him,  as  he  had  hoped,  the 
Venetian  ports  on  the  seaboard  of  Epirus,  he  took  occasion, 
after  the  defeat  of  Napoleon  in  Egypt,  to  lay  siege  to 
Prevesa,  which  was  surrendered  by  the  French  troops. 
Ali  had  now  a  difficult  part  to  play,  but  he  succeeded  so 
well  with  his  master  the  sultan,  that  ho  was  confirmed  in 
the  possession  of  the  whole  of  Albania  northwards  from 
Epirus  to  Montenegro,  over  which  he  had  asserted  his  author 
rity,  partly  by  intrigue  and  partly  by  force  of  arms.  He 
also  held  the  high  position  of  governor  of  Rum-ili  for  a 
brief  period  (1799),  during  which  he  amassed  a  large 
sum  of  money  by  his  extortions.  The  cruel  massacre  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Gardiki,  for  an  alleged  insult  to  his 
mother  and  sister  about  forty  years  previously,  was  perpe- 
trated about  this  time.  He  contrived  to  make  his  peace 
with  the  French  in  spite  of  the  capture  of  Prevesa,  ami 
in  1807  once  more  entered  into  alliance  with  them,  with 
the  view  of  obtaining  Parga,  which  he  had  attempted  to 
capture,  but  without  success,  in  1800.  Napoleon,  however, 
neglected  to  secure  Parga  for  him  at  the  peace  of  Tilsit, 
and  the  fortress  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  French 
until  it  was  taken  in  1814  by  the  English,  who  gave  it  up 
in  1817,  ostensibly  to  the  sultan,  but  in  reality  to  Ali. 
Ali  was  now  at  the  height  of  his  power :  he  was  almost 
supreme  over  Albania,  Epirus,  part  of  Thessaly,  and  tho 
western  part  of  Northern  Greece;  while  one  of  his  sons 
held  the  pashalik  of  the  Morca.  So  powerful  was  ho 
that,  though  he  was  nearly  eighty  years  of  age,  the  Porto 
feared  and  hated  him,  and  desired  his  death,  but  could 
find  no  good  pretext  for  taking  measures  against  him  until 


574 


ALI-aLI 


1820,  n-Len  Ali  procured  the  assassination  of  an  officer  who 
had  left  him  and  taken  service  under  the  sultan  at  Con- 
stantinople. For  this  daring  act  the  .sultan  proscribed 
Ali,  and  ordered  all  the  European  pashas  to  inarch  : 
him.  He  resisted  every  effort  to  capturo  him,  but  was  at 
]ast  induced  by  Kourschid  Fasha  to  surrender  in  January 
1822  on  promise  of  a  pardon  from  the  sultan.  On 
5th  Februar;',  on  pretence  of  handing  him  the  necessary 
document,  Kourschid  Pasha  procured  an  interview  with 
him,  and  then  produced  the  firman  authorising  his  execu- 
ti  on.  The  brave  old  despot  defended  himself  with  his 
usual  resolution  and  courage,  but  was  overpowered  by 
numbers,  and  his  head  wa3  struck  from  his  body  and  sent 
to  Constantinople. 

ALIAS,  signifying  at  another  time,  is  used  in  judicial 
proceedings  to  connect  the  several  names  of  a  person  who 
attempts  to  conceal  his  true  name,  or  to  pass  under  a 
feigned  one ;  as  Smith  alias  Jones,  James  alias  John. 

ALIBI,  in  Law,  denotes  the  absence  of  the  accused  from 
the  placa  where  he  is  charged  with  having  committed  a 
crime ;  or  his  being  elsewhere,  as  the  word  imports,  at  the 
time  specified. 

ALICANTE,  a  province  of  Spain,  bounded  on  the  N. 
by  Valencia,  on  the  W.  by  Albaceto  and  Murcia,  on  the  S. 
by  Murcia,  and  on  the  S.E.  and  E.  by  the  Mediterranean 
Sea.  It  was  formed  in  1834  of  districts  taken  from  the 
ancient  provinces  of  Valencia  and  Murcia,  the  former  con- 
tributing by  far  the  larger  portion.  Its  length  is  about  73 
miles,  its  breadth  68  miles,  and  the  area  2090  square  miles. 
The  surface  of  the  province  is  extremely  diversified.  In 
the  north  and  west  there  are  extensive  mountain  ranges 
of  calcareous  formation,  intersected  by  deep  ravines ;  while 
farther  south  the  land  is  more  level,  and  there  are  many 
fertile  valleys.  On  the  Mediterranean  coast,  salt  marshes, 
exhaling  an  insalubrious  miasma,  alternate  with  rich  plains 
and  pleasant  and  productive  huertas  or  gardens,  such  as 
those  of  Alicante  and  Denia.  There  is  no  considerable 
river  in  the  province,  but  a  few  rivulets  flow  cast  through 
the  valleys  into  the  Mediterranean.  The  sky  is  clear,  the 
climate  temperate,  and  the  rainfall  very  slight.  Notwith- 
standing the  want  of  rivers  and  of  rain,  agriculture  is  in  a 
very  flourishing  condition.  The  inhabitants  possess  a 
spirit  of  steady  industry  uncommon  in  Spain,  and  by 
inean3  of  wells  and  canals  they  have  to  a  large  esteut  suc- 
ceeded in  overcoming  the  disadvantages  of  nature.  Many 
tracts  originally  rocky  and  sterile  have  been  levelled,  and 
now  present  terraces  covered  with  the  vine  and  with  use- 
ful trees.  Cereals  are  grown,  but  the  inhabitants  prefer 
to  raise  such  articles  of  produce  as  are  in  demand  for 
export,  and  consequently  part  of  the  grain  supply  of  the 
province  has  to  be  imported.  Esparto  grass,  rice,  the 
sugar-cane,  and  tropical  fruits  and  vegetables  are  largely 
produced.  Great  attention  is  given  to  the  rearing  of  bees 
and  silk-worms ;  and  the  wine  of  the  province  i3  held  in 
high  repute  throughout  Spain,  while  some  inferior  kinds 
are  sent  to  France  to  be  mixed  with  claret.  Cattle  are 
not  extensively  reared.  The  most  important  minerals  of 
the  province  are  lead,  copper,  iron,  and  coaL  There  are 
about  twenty  lead  and  copper  mines ;  and  mineral  springs 
are  found  at  various  places.  The  manufactures  consist  of 
fine  cloths,  silk,  cotton,  woollen  and  linen  fabrics,  girdles 
and  lace,  paper,  hats,  leather,  earthenware,-  and  soap. 
There  are  nume-ous  oil-mills  and  brandy  distilleries. 
Many  of  the  inhabitants  are  engaged  in  the  carrying  trade, 
while  the  fisheries  on  the  coast  are  also  actively  prosecuted, 
tunny  and  anchovies  being  caught  in  great  numbers. 
Barilla  is  obtained  from  the  sea-weed  on  the  shores,  and 
Borne  of  the  saline  marshes  yield  large  supplies  of  salt 
Dy  spontaneous  evaporation.  The  province  is  divided  into 
16  judicial  divisions  »ud  206  parishes.     Alicante  is  the 


chief  town,  and  the  other  piacca  of  importance  are  Denis* 
and  Villajoyosa  on  the  coast;  and  Orihuela,  Elche,  Villena, 
and  Alcoy  in  the  interior.  Education  is  in  a  low  stato ; 
of  the  criminals  arrested  it  is  found  that  14  in  15  can 
neither  read  nor  write.  The  peoplo  aro  of  a  lively  and 
irascible  temperament,  and  offences  against  the  person  are 
frequent.     Population  (1870),  estimated  at  4-10,000. 

Alicante,  the  capital  of  the  above  province,  and,  after 
Cadiz  and  Barcelona,  tho  most  considerable  seaport  of 
Spain.  It  is  situated  at  the  head  of  the  bay  of  Alicante, 
in  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  in  38°  20'  N.  lat.,  and  0°  30' 
W.  long.  The  city  is  built  on  tho  bay  in  the  form  of 
a  half -moon,  and  is  overlooked  by  a  rock  400  feet  high, 
surmounted  by  a  castle,  which  has  been  suffered  to  fal] 
into  decay.  There  is  good  anchoring-ground  in  the  bay, 
but  only  tho  smaller  vessels  can  come  up  to  the  mole  or 
pier.  Tho  bay  is  protected  by  batteries,  and  there  is  a 
fixed  light  on  the  mole,  95  feet  high,  and  visible  for  a 
distance  of  15  miles.  Alicante  was  the  Lucenlum  of  the 
Romans ;  but  notwithstanding  its  antiquity,  the  town  pre- 
sents a  modern  appearance,  and  has  few  remains  of  Roman, 
medkcval,  or  Moorish  times.  It  is  the  seat  of  a  bishop, 
and  has  a  cathearal  and  episcopal  palaco.  It  has  also  a- 
good  town-house,  an  orphanage,  a  lyceum,  a  public  libran', 
and  a  school  of  navigation.  Cotton,  linen,  and  woollen 
goods,  cigars,  and  confections  are  manufactured.  There 
is  a  considerable  trado  in  tho  fruit  and  other  produce  of 
the  surrounding  plain ;  and  the  vino  tinto,  or  dark  red 
wine,  produced  in  the  vicinity,  is  sent  to  Franco  for  mixing 
purposes.  At  the  island  of  Plana,  on  the  coast,  very 
beautiful  marble  is  procured.  The  foreign  trade  of  the 
port,  though  still  considerable,  has  greatly  declined  on 
account  of  tho  imposition  of  an  excessive  import  tariff. 
In  1871,  besides  coasting  traders,  372  Spanish  and  foreign 
vessels,  with  a  tonnage  of  62,546,  entered  tho  port.  Of 
these  vessels,  78  were  British,  measuring  29,021  tons. 
The  value  of  tho  imports  under  foreign  and  native  flags 
was  £542,526,  and  the  duties  paid  were  £90,421,  without 
reckoning  duties  corresponding  to  material  and  fuei  io» 
railways,  which  are  admitted  free.  The  chief  imports  are 
coals,  iron,  machinery,  and  guano ;  and  the  chief  exports 
esparto — of  which  11,000  tons  were  shipped  in  1871 — • 
raisins,  almonds,  oranges,  olive  oil,  silk,  saffron,  wine,  lead, 
salt,  and  soda.  There  are  here  English  and  other  European 
consuls.  Alicante  was  besieged  by  the  Moors  in  1331, 
and  again  by  the  French  in  1709,  when  the  English  com- 
mandant and  his  staff  were  killed  by  tho  explosion  of  a- 
mine.     Population,  31,500. 

ALICATA,  or  Licata,  a  seaport  of  Italy,  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Girgenti,  Sicily,  situated  on  the  south  coast,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Salso,  the  largest  river  in  the  island.  It 
is  supposed  to  occupy  the  site  of  the  ancient  J'hintias, 
built  by  Phintias,  tyrant  of  Agrigentum,  in  280  B.C.,  after 
the  destruction  of  Gela.  The  neighbourhood  was  the  scene 
of  many  of  the  most  memorable  events  of  the  Punic  wars. 
On  the  hill  overlooking  the  modern  town  there  are  extensive 
ancient  remains.  Alicata  is  now  tho  most  iniyortan*  com- 
mercial town  on  the  south  coast  of  Sicily,  though  the  port 
is  only  an  open  shallow  roadstead.  The  larger  vessels  He 
a  mile  off  shore,  and  are  laden  and  discharged  by  means  of 
barges.  The  chief  trade  is  in  sulphur,  and  the  other 
exports  include  corn,  fruit,  macaroni,  soda,  and  excellent 
Population,  16,000. 

ALICUDI,  one  of  the  Lipari  Islands,  fee  Lzpaei 
Islands. 

ALIEN,  obviously  derived  from  tho  Latin  c'itnus,  is 
the  technical  term  applied  by  British  constitutional  law  to 
any  one  who  does  not  enjoy  the  privileges  of  a  British 
subject.  The  jealousy  which  has  generally  existed  against 
COEin  Uiicatiiig  the  privileges  of  citizenship  to  foreigners." 


ALIEN 


575 


has  its  foundation  in  mistaken  views  of  political  economy. 
It  arose  from  the  impression  that  the  produce  of  the  energy 
and  enterprise  of  any  community  is  a  limited  quantity, 
of  which  each  man's  share  will  be  the  less  the  more  com- 
petitors there  are ;  superseding  the  just  view  that  the 
wealth  of  a  state  depends  on  the  number  and  energy  of  the 
producers.  Thus  the  skilled  workmen  who  would  increase 
its  riches  have  often  been  jealously  kept  out  of  a  country. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  special  temptations,  including  the 
gift  of  citizenship,  have  often  been  offered  to  skilled 
foreigners  by  states  desiring  to  acquire  them  as  citizens. 
Britain  has  occasionally  received  industrious  and  valuable 
citizens,  driven  forth  by  the  folly  or  tyranny  of  other 
powers,  as  in  the  memorable  instance  of  the  revocation  of 
the  edict  of  Nantes,  which  sent  the  Spitalfields  colony  and 
many  other  Frenchmen  to  this  country.  Looking  on  the 
full  benefit  of  British  citizenship  as  a  transcendent  boon, 
the  principle  of  our  older  legislation  on  the  subject  has 
been  to  allow  friendly  aliens  to  possess  at  least  a  portion 
of  it.  There  never  existed  in  Britain  a  law  so  harsh  as 
the  Droit  oVAubaine  of  France,  which  confiscated  to  the 
crown  all  the  property  of  a  deceased  alien.  The  courts  of 
justice  have  ever  been  opened  to  them,  and  they  have  thus 
been  entitled  to  protect  themselves  from  any  inequalities 
which  do  not  apply  to  them  by  special  law.  It  seems  to 
be  a  rule  of  the  general  public  law  that  an  alien  can  be 
sent  out  of  the  realm  by  exercise  of  the  crown's  prero- 
gative ;  but  in  modern  practice,  whenever  it  has  seemed 
necessary  to  extrude  foreigners,  a  special  Act  of  Parliament 
has  been  obtained  for  the  purpose.  (See  Phillimore's 
Iniernat.  Law,  voL  i.,  p.  133;  Forsyth's  Cases  and 
Opinions  on  Const.  Law,  p.  181.) 

Our  law,  save  with  the  special  exceptions  mentioned 
afterwards,  admits  to  the  privileges  of  subjects  all  who  are 
born  within  the  British  dominions.  In  the  celebrated 
question  of  the  post^nati  in  the  reign  of  James  I.  of 
England,  it  was  found,  after  solemn  trial,  that  natives  of 
Scotland  born  before  the  union  of  the  crowns  were  aliens 
in  England,  but  that  those  born  subsequently  enjoyed  the 
privileges  of  English  subjects.  A  child  born  abroad, 
whose  father  or  whose  grandfather  on  the  father's  side 
was  a  British  subject,  may  claim  the  same  privilege,  unless 
at  the  time  of  his  birth  his  father  was  a  traitor  or  felon,  or 
engaged  in  war  against  the  British  empire  (4th  Geo.  II. 
c.  22).  Owing  to  this  exceptional  provision,  some  sons  of 
Jacobite  refugees,  born  abroad,  who  joined  in  the  rebellion 
of  1745,  were  admitted  to  the  privilege  of  prisoners  of 
war,  because,  as  the  conduct  of  their  fathers  deprived  them 
of  the  privileges  of  citizenship,  they  were  held  not  to  be 
liable  to  its  burdens. 

It  has  been  enacted  with  regard  to  the  national  status 
of  women  and  children  that  a  married  woman  is  held  to 
be  a  citizen  of  the  state  of  which  her  husband  is  for  the 
time  being  a  subject ;  that  a  natural-born  British  woman, 
having  become  an  alien  by  marriage,  and  thereafter  being 
a  widow,  may  be  rehabilitated  by  certificate  of  the  Secretary 
of  State  ;  that  where  a  father  or  a  widow  becomes  an  alien, 
the  children  in  infancy  becoming  resident  in  the  country 
where  the  parent  is  naturalised,  and  being  naturalised  by 
the  local  law,  are  held  to  be  subjects  of  that  country ; 
that  those  of  a  father  or  of  a  widow  readmitted  to 
British  nationality  become  British  subjects  also;  and  that 
the  children  of  a  father  or  of  a  widow  who  obtains  a 
certificate  of  naturalisation,  becoming  resident  with  such 
parent  in  the  United  Kingdom,  become  naturalised  (33  and 
34  Vict.  c.  14,  s.  10).  The  same  statute  provides  that  a 
declaration  of  alienage  before  a  justice  of  peace  or  other 
competent  judge,  having  the  effect  of  divesting  the  declarant 
of  the  character  of  a  British  subject,  may  be  made  by  a 
naturalised  British  subject  desiring  to  resume  the  nationality 


of  the  country  to  which  he  originally  belonged,  if  there  ds 
a  convention  to  that  effect  with  that  country ;  by  natural- 
born  subjects  who  were  also  born  subjects  of  another  state 
according  to  its  law ;  or  by  persons  born  abroad  having 
British  fathers. 

The  main  characteristic  disabilities  to  which  aliens  have 
been  subjected  are  incompetency  to  exercise  political  pri- 
vileges, such  as  that  of  electing  or  being  elected  to  sit 
in  Parliament,  and  incapacity  to  hold  landed  property. 
The  privilege  of  sitting  on  a  jury  was  also  counted  among 
the  political  rights  from  which  they  are  excluded;  but 
when  a  foreigner  is  en  trial,  he  had  in  England  the 
privilege  of  the  jury  de  medietate  lingua,  in  which  half 
the  panel  consisted  of  foreigners,  a  privilege  which  was 
taken  away  in  1870,  and  never  existed  in  Scotland.  An 
alien  enemy  can  neither  by  himself  nor  assignee  sue  for 
the  recovery  of  a  debt  due  to  him  in  this  country,  unless 
by  the  Queen's  special  licence.  But  his  right  to  do  so 
revives  when  the  War  is  terminated.  (See  Mr  Justice  Story's 
judgment  in  Society  for  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  v. 
Wheeler,  2  Gallison's  Reports,  127,  and  Phillimore's  Inter- 
national Law,  hi.  121). 

Many  of  the  special  disabilities  to  which  aliens  were 
subject  under  the  Navigation  Act  and  other  laws  connected 
with  our  old  restrictive  commercial  policy,  have  been 
removed  or  neutralised  by  the  free  trade  measures  of  later 
years ;  but  it  is  still  impossible  for  an  alien  to  be  the 
owner  of  a  British  ship.  In  other  respects  the  tendency 
has  been  to  communicate  some  of  the  right3  of  citizenship 
to  aliens,  and  to  widen  the  definition  of  subjects. 

Most  of  the  acts  of  Parliament  passed  with  regard  to 
aliens  during  the  last  and  the  present  centuries  have  been 
repealed  by  33  &.  34  Vict.  c.  14 — the  Naturalisation  Act, 
1870.  It  enables  aliens  to  take,  acquire,  hold,  and  dispose 
of  real  and  personal  property  of  every  description  (except 
British  ships),  and  to  transmit  a  title  to  land,  in  all  respects 
as  natural-born  British  subjects.  But  the  act  expressly 
declares  that  this  relaxation,  of  the  law  does  not  qualify 
aliens  for  any  office  or  any  municipal,  parliamentary,  or 
other  franchise,  or  confer  any  right  of  a  British  subject 
other  than  those  above  expressed  in  regard  to  property, 
not  does  it  affect  interests  vested  in  possession  or  expect- 
ancy under  dispositions  made  before  the  act,  or  by  devolu- 
tion of  law  on  the  death  of  any  one  dying  before  the  act. 

The  Act  6  <fc  7  Will.  IV.  ell  has  not  been  repealed  by 
the  Act  of  1870.  It  requires  masters  of  vessels  to  intimate 
the  arrival  of  all  aliens,  who  are  thereby  bound  to  have 
their  names  registered  and  to  obtain  certificates  of  regis- 
tration. It  is  believed  that  these  conditions  have  seldom 
been  complied  with  or  enforced. 

,  It  may  be  remarked  that  the  repealed  Act  of  1864 
(7  &  8  Vict.  c.  66)  was  the  first  considerable  relaxation  of 
the  alien  law.  It  communicated  to  the  children  born 
abroad  of  a  British  mother  the  privilege  of  acquiring  land 
by  purchase  or  succession.  It  gave  friendly  aliens  the 
privilege  of  holding  leases  for  any  time  not  exceeding 
twenty-one  years.  Before  this  act  the  rights  of  citizenship 
could  only  be  conferred  on  aliens  by  statute ;  and  it  was 
enacted  at  the  commencement  of  the  Hanover  succession, 
that  no  private  naturalisation  bill  should  be  brought  in 
unless  it  contained  a  clause  disqualifying  the  person  it 
applied  to  from  being  a  privy  councillor  or  a  member  of 
Parliament,  and  from  holding  any  office,  civil  or  military, 
and  from  being  a  freeholder;  but  this  restriction  is  repealed 
by  the  act  of  1844.  Limited  privileges  could  formerly  be 
given  by  the  sovereign's  letters  of  denization ;  but  by  the 
act  of  1844  an  alien  intending  to  reside  and  settle  in 
Britain  was  enabled,  by  application  to  the  Home  Secretary, 
to  obtain  a  certificate  giving  him  all  the  rights  of  a  natural- 
born   subject,  with  certain   exceptions.      Naturalisation. 


:>76 


ALl-ALI 


which  is  accompanied  by  political  and  other  rights, 
privileges,  and  obligations,  may  now,  under  the-  act  of 
1870,  bo  obtained  by  applying  to  tho  Home  Secretary  and 
producing  evidence  of  having  resided  for  not  less  than  five 
years  in  tho  United  Kingdom,  or  of  having  been  in  tho 
service  of  the  crown  for  not  less  than  five  years,  and  of 
intention  to  reside  in  the  United  Kingdom  or  serve  under 
the  crown.  Such  a  certificate  may  be  granted  by  the 
Secretary  of  State  to  one  naturalised  previously  to  the 
passing  of  the  act,  or  to  a  British  subject  as  to  whose 
nationality  a  doubt  exists,  or  to  a  statutory  alien,  i.e.,  one 
who  has  become  an  alien  by  declaration  in  pursuance  of 
tho  act  1870.  The  laws  of  a  British  colony  with  regard  to 
naturalisation  have  effect  only  within  tho  limits  of  that 
colony.  Naturalisation  is  also  effected  by  the  operation 
of  the  law  upon  tho  acts  of  individuals,  as  a  woman  by 
marriage  acquires  the  nationality  of  her  husband.  The 
naturalisation  of  a  father  carries  with  it  that  of  his  children 
in  minority ;  and  Fcelix  holds  that  that  of  a  widow  has  the 
eame  effect  upon  her  minor  children.  (See  Fcelix,  Traitr 
de  Droit  Internal.  Priv.,  1.  i.  t.  2,  s.  2 ;  Savigny,  Frio. 
Inlernat.  Law,  translated  by  Guthrie,  pp.  26,  31,  32; 
Phillimore's  Internat.  Law,  vol.  i. ;  Bar,  Das  Internal. 
Privat  mid  Strafrccht,  §  30;  Gand,  Code  des  Etrangers ; 
llansard  on  Aliens;  Heffter,  Europ.  Volkerrecht,  §  59  sqq. ; 
Sir  A.  E.  Cockburn  on  Nationality,  Lond.  1869;  Cutler 
on  Naturalisation,  Lond.  1871). 

In  the  United  States  an  alien  desiring'  to  be  naturalised 
must  declare  on  oath  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of 
tho  United  States ;  two  years  afterwards  must  declare  on 
oath  his  intention  to  support  the  constitution  of  tho  United 
States  and  renounce  allegiance  to  every  foreign  power, 
including  that  of  which  he  was  before  a  subject;  must 
prove  residence  in  tho  United  States  {or  five  years,  and  in 
the  state  where  his  application  is  macVe  for  one  year,  as  a 
good  citizen ;  and  must  renounce  any  title  of  nobility.  In 
France  an  alien  desiring  naturalisation  must  obtain  per- 
mission to  establish  his  domicilo  in  France ;  three  years 
after  (in  special  cases  one  year)  he  is  entitled  to  apply  for 
naturalisation,  which  involves  the  renunciation  of  any 
existing  allegiance.  (See  further,  Allegiance  and 
International  Law.) 

ALIGARH,  a  district  of  British  India,  in  the  Mecrut 
division,  and  under  tho  jurisdiction  of  tho  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  tho  North-West  Provinces,  lies  between  lat. 
27°  29'  and  28°  10'  30"  N.,  and  between  long.  77° 
32'  30"  and  78°  42'  30"  E.  It  contains  an  area  of  1954 
square  miles,  of  which  upwards  of  two-thirds,  or  884,060 
acres,  are  under  cultivation.  Population  in  1 865  returned 
at  925,538  souls,  and  by  the  census  of  1872  ascertained 
to  be  1,073,108.  Alfgarh  is  bounded  on  the  N.  by 
the  Bulandshahr  district  and  a  portion  of  Budaon;  on 
the  E.  by  Etah  district;  on  the  S.  by  Mathura  district; 
and  on  the  W.  by  Gurgaon  and  Mathura  districts.  Tho 
district  is  nearly  a  level  plain,  but  with  a  slight  elevation 
in  the  centre,  between  the  two  great  rivers,  the  Ganges  and 
Jamna.  The  only  other  important  river  is  the  Kali  Nadf, 
■which  traverses  the  entire  length  of  the  district  from 
north-west  to  south-east. 

The  civil  station  and  principal  town  is  Koel,  situated  a  short 
distance  to  the  south  of  Aligarh  Fort.  The  chief  products  are 
wheat,  barley,  joar,  bajra,  pulses,  oil-seeds,  gram,  and  indigo. 
There  are  no  manufactures.  In  1870-71  the  total  net  revenue  of 
the  district  was  returned  at  £233,709,  and  tho  erpenditure  at 
£45,433;  the  land  revenue  in  the  same  year  amounted  to  £190,655, 
or  84  per  cent,  of  the  total  net  revenue.  Nine  towns  are  returned 
as  containing  a  population  of  upwards  of  5000  souls,  as  follows : — 
Koel,  the  civil  station  and  principal  city,  population  within  muni- 
cipal limits,  65,228;  Hatris,  population,  33,100;  Atraulf,  popula- 
tion within  municipal  limits,  15,895 ;  Sikandra  Rao,  population 
withra  municipal  limits,  11,988  ;  JaHli,  population,  7616;  Mursito, 
population.  6113;  Topal,  population,  6031;  Bfjaigarh,  population, 


6779 ;  and  Hardcoganj,  population,  6202.  There  are  five  municipal 
towns  in  the  district,  the  revenue  raised  being  derived  from  octroi 
duties.  The  following  was  tho  municipal  revenuo  and  its  incidence 
per  head  in  1871 -72 :— Koel  (Aligarh),  municipal  revenue,  £5407  ; 
incidence,  Is.  11JJ.  per  head  of  the  municipal  population.  Hatris, 
iniiTiii  ipol  revenue,  £5221, 10s. ;  incidence  per  head,  3s.  1  jd.  Sik- 
andra  Rao,  municipal  income,  £505,  12s. ;  incidence,  lOd.  per  head. 
ArxauK,  municipal  income,  £709  ;  incidence,  10Jd.  per  head. 
Hardeoganj,  municipal  income,  £462,  18s.  ;  incidence,  Is.  fl^d. 
per  head,  in  1371—72,  the  district  contained  370  schools,  attended 
by  a  total  of  7939  pupils,  of  whom  6706  were  Hindus  and  1173 
Mahometans.  For  tho  protection  of  person  and  property,  a  regular 
police  force  is  maintained,  consisting  of  1056  men  of  all  grades, 
equal  to  one  man  to  every  1'85  square  mile  of  area,  or  one  to  every 
1016  of  the  population.  The  Village  Watch  or  rural  police  numbered 
2000  in  1871,  equal  lo  one  man  to  every  '67  square  miles,  or  one  to 
every  536  inhabitants. 

ALfcAEH  Fort,  in  the  district  of  tho  same  name,  ia 
situated  on  the  Grand  Trunk  Road,  in  lat.  27°  56'  N., 
and  long.  78°  8'  E.  The  fort  consists  of  a  regular  poly- 
gon, surrounded  by  a  very  broad  and  deep  ditch.  It  was 
captured  from  the  Marhattas  under  the  leadership  of  Tcrron, 
a  French  officer,  by  Lord  Lake's  army,  in  September  1803, 
since  which  time  it  has  been  much  strengthened  and  im- 
proved. In  the  rebellion  of  1857  the  troops  stationed  at 
Aligarh  mutinied,  but  abstained  from  murdering  their 
officers,  who,  with  the  other  residents  and  ladies  and 
children,  succeeded  in  reaching  Hatras. 

ALIMENT,  in  the  Law  of  Scotland,  is  the  sum  paid  or 
allowance  given  in  respect  of  tho  reciprocal  obligation  of 
parents  and  children,  husband  and  wife,  grandparents  and 
grandchildren,  to  contribute  to  each  other's  maintenance. 
Tho  term  is  also  used  in  regard  to  a  similar  obligation  of 
other  parties,  as  of  creditors  to  imprisoned  debtors,  tho 
payments  by  parishes  to  paupers,  kc.  Alimentary  funds, 
whether  of  the  kind  above  mentioned,  or  set  apart  as  such 
by  the  deed  of  a  testator,  are  intended  for  the  mere  support 
of  the  recipient,  and  are  not  attachable  by  creditors. 

ALIMONY  is,  in  English  Law,  the  allowance  for  main- 
tenance to  which  a  wife  is  entitled  out  of  her  husband's 
estate  on  a  decree,  obtained  at  the  wife's  instance,  for 
judicial  separation  or  for  the  dissolution  of  the  marriage. 
It  ia  settled  by  the  judge  of  tho  Divorce  Court  on  a  con- 
sideration of  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case. 

ALISON,  Rev.  Archibald,  an  author  of  great  reputa- 
tion in  his  own  day,  was  born  on  the  13th  Novembei 
1757  at  Edinburgh,  of  which  his  father  was  for  a  timt 
lord  provost  After  studying  at  the  university  of  Glasgow 
and  at  Balliol  college,  Oxford,  he  took  orders  in  the  Churcl 
of  England,  and  was  appointed  in  1778  to  the  curacy  oi 
Brancepeth,  near  Durham.  In  1780  he  married  Dorothea, 
youngest  daughter  of  Professor  Gregory  of  Edinburgh. 
The  next  twenty  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  Shropshire, 
where  he  held  in  succession  the  livings  of  High  Ercall, 
Roddington,  and  Kenley.  In  1800  ho  removed  to  Edin- 
burgh, having  been  appointed  senior  incumbent  of  St 
Paul's  chapel  in  the  Cowgate.  For  thirty-four  years  he 
filled  this  position  with  great  acceptance,  his  preaching 
attracting  so  many  hearers  that  a  new  and  larger  church 
was  built  for  him.  His  last  years  were  spent  at  Colinton, 
near  Edinburgh,  where  he  died  on  the  17th  May  1839. 
Mr  Alison  published,  besides  a  Life  of  Lord  Woodhouselee, 
a  volume  of  sermons,  which  passed  through  several  editions, 
and  a  work  entitled  Essays  on  the  Nature  and  Principles 
of  Taste,  which  received  a  very  laudatory  criticism  from 
Lord  Jeffrey  in  the  Edinburgh  Review  for  May  181 1.  His 
theory  of  the  beautiful,  which  is  based  on  the  principle 
of  association,  is  incomplete  and  unsatisfactory,  and  his 
work  is  now  only  of  historical  importance.  Two  sons 
of  Mr  Alison  attained  distinction.  The  elder,  Dr  Wil- 
liam Pulteney  Alison,  born  in  1790,  was  from  1820 
•until  within  a  few  years  of  his  death,  in  1859,  a  pro- 
minent member  of  the  medical  faculty  in  the  university 


A  L  I  -  A  L  I 


577 


of  Edinburgh.     The  younger  son  is  the  subject  of  the 
following  notice. 

ALISON,  Sua  Archibald,  Bart,  the  celebrated  his- 
torian, younger  son  of  the  preceding,  was  born  at  Kenley, 
Shropshire,  on  the  29th  December- 1792.  He  studied  at 
the  university  of  Edinburgh,  distinguishing  himself  espe- 
cially in  the  classes  of  Greek  and  mathematics.  In  1814 
he  passed  at  the  Scotch  bar,  but  he  did  not  at  once  enter 
on  the  regular  practice  of  his  profession.  The  close  of  the 
war  had  opened  up  the  Continent,  and  Alison,  sharing  with 
many  of  his  countrymen  the  desire  to  witness  the  scene  of 
the  stirring  events  of  the  previous  twenty  years,  set  out  in 
the  autumn  of  1814  for  a  lengthened  tour  in  Franca  It 
was  during  this  period,  as  he  tells  us  in  a  characteristic 
passage  of  the  work  itself,  that  he  "conceived  the  first 
idea"  of  writing  his  History,  and  "inhaled- that  ardent 
spirit,  that  deep  enthusiasm,"  which  enabled  him  to  accom- 
plish his  self-imposed  task.  A  more  immediate  result  of  the 
tour  was  his  first  literary  work  of  any  importance,  Travels 
in  France  during  the  Years  1814—15,  which  appeared  in 
the  latter  year.  On  his  return  to  Edinburgh,  Mr  Alison 
practised  at  the  bar  for  some  years  with  but  very  moderate 
success.  In  1822,  however,  he  became  one  of  the  four 
advocates-depute  for  Scotland.  The  extensive  and  varied 
experience  gained  in  this  office,  which  he  held  until  1830, 
gave  him  the  necessary  qualifications  for  writing  his  Prin- 
ciples of  the  Criminal  Law  of  Scotland  (1832),  and  Practice 
of  the  Criminal  Law  of 'Scotland  (1833),  works  that  are 
still  of  standard  authority.  It  was  the  acknowledged  merit 
of  these  treatises  that  chieffy  induced  Sir  Robert  Peel, 
during  his  brief  administration  of  1834,  to  confer  on  Mr 
Alison  the  important  judicial  office  of  sheriff  of .  Lanark- 
shire, which  ranks  next  in  dignity  and  emolument  to  a 
judgeship  in  the  supreme  court.  The  office,  though  by  no 
means  a  sinecure,  afforded  considerable  leisure,  which  Mr 
Alison  employed  in  not  only  making  frequent  contribu- 
tions to  periodical  literature,  but  also  writing  the  long- 
projected  History  of  Europe,  for  which  he  had  been  collect- 
ing materials  for  more  than  fifteen  years.  The  history  of  ! 
the  period  from  the  commencement  of  the  French  revolu- 
tion till  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbons  in  1815  was 
completed  in  ten  volumes  in  1842,  and  met  with  a  success 
almost  unexampled  in  works  of  its  class.  Within  a  few 
years  it  ran  through  ten  editions,  and  was  translated  into 
most  of  the  languages  of  Europe,  as  well  as  into  Arabic 
and  Hindustani.  At  the  time  of  the  author's  death  it  was 
stated  that  108,000  volumes  of  the  library  edition  and 
439,000  volumes  of  the  popular  edition  had  been  sold.  A 
popularity  so  wide-spread  must  almost  of  necessity  have 
had  some  basis  of  real  merit  on  which  to  rest,  and  the 
good  qualities  of  Mr  Alison's  work  lay  upon  the  surface. 
It  brought  together,  though  not  always  in  a  well-arranged 
form,  an  immense  amount  of  information  that  had  before 
been  practically  inaccessible  to  the  general  public.  It 
made  an  attempt  at  least  to  show  the  organic  connection 
in  the  policy  and  progress  of  the  different  nations  of 
Europe ;  and  its  descriptions  of  what  may  be  called  ex- 
ternal history — of  battles,  sieges,  and  state  pageants — were 
always  spirited  and  interesting.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
faults  of  the  work  were  so  numerous  and  glaring  as  to 
preventjt  from  ever  taking  rank  as  a  classic  The  general 
style  was  prolix,  involved,  and  vicious;  inaccurate  state- 
ments and  fallacious  arguments  were  to  be  found  in  almost 
every  page;  and  the  constant  repetition  of  trite  moral 
reflections  and  egotistical  references  seriously  detracted 
from  its  dignity.  A  more  grave  defect  resulted  from  the 
luthor's  strong  political  partisanship,  which  entirely  un- 
fitted, him  for  dealing  with  the  problems  of  history  in  a 
philosophical  spirit.  In  the  position  of  unbending  Toryism 
which  he  occupied,  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  give  any 

1-2U 


explanation!  of  so  complex  a  fact  as  the  French  revolution 
that  would  be  satisfactory  to  reflective  minda  Accordingly, 
his  treatment  of  what  may  be  called  the  inner  history  of 
those  forces  hidden  in  the  French  revolution  which  have 
made  modern  Europe  what  it  is,  was  meagre  and  incomplete 
in  the  last  degree. 

A  continuation  of  the  History,  embracing  the  period  from 
1815  to  1852,  which  was  completed  in  four  volumes  in 
1856,  did  not  meet  with  the  same  success  as  the  earlier 
work.  The  course  of  events  did  not  afford  the  same 
material  for  the  exercise  of  the  author's  powers  of  descrip- 
tion, and  the  period  being  so  near  as  to  be  almost  contem- 
porary, there  was  a  stronger  temptation,  which  he  seems 
to  h?.ve  found  it  impossible  to  resist,  to  yield  to  political 
prejudice.  Three  great  measures  of  English  legislation — 
the  Act  restricting  the  paper  currency,  the  Reform  Act  of 
1832,  and  the  Act  abolishing  the  corn  laws — were  the 
object  of  his  special  aversion ;  and,  with  little  regard  for 
consistency,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  tracing,  now  to  one  and 
now  to  another  of  these  measures,  all  the  real  and  many 
imaginary  evils  in  the  state  of  the  nation.  On  the  currency 
question,  in  regard  to  which  he  stood  from  the  first  almost 
alone  in  opinion,  he  has  inserted  several  tedious  disserta- 
tions in  the  continuation  of  his  History,  besides  publishing 
a  separate  pamphlet  in  1847.  On  the  two  other  great 
measures  he  clung  tenaciously  to  his  opinion  long  after  the 
more  intelligent  of  his  party  had  admitted  the  necessity,  if 
not  the  justice,  of  the  concessions  that  had  been  made. 
The  use  which  Mr  Alison  made  of  statistics  in  the  .con- 
tinuation of  his  History  to  support  his  peculiar  political 
and  economic  theories  was  little  short  of  astounding.  He 
will  be  acquitted  of  intentional  unfairness  only  by  those 
who  are  aware,  not  merely  how  easy  it  is  to  make  figures 
yield  any  result  that  may  be  wished,  but  also  how  difficult 
it  is  to  bring  out  the  correct  result,  even  with  the  most 
honest  purpose,  unless  there  be  special  aptitude  and  special 
training. on  the  part  of  the  investigator. 

Mr  Alison's  successful  literary  career  received  from  time 
to  time  due  recognition  in  the  form  of  public  honours. 
In  1845  he  was  chosen  rector  of  Marischal  College,  Aber- 
deen, and  in  1851  he  was  raised  to  the  same  honourable 
position  by  the  students  of  Glasgow  University.  In  1852 
the  dignity  of  baronet  was  conferred  upon  him  by  Lord 
Derby,  and  in  the  following  year  he  was  made  a  D.C.L.  of 
Oxford.  His  literary  activity  continued  till  within  a  short 
time  of  his  death,  the  chief  works  he  published  in  addition 
to  his  History  being  the  Principles  of  Population  (1840), 
in  answer  to  Mai  thus ;  a  Life  of  Marlborough  (1847);  and 
the  Lives  of  Lord  Castlereagh  and  Sir  C.  Stewart  (1861). 
Three  volumes  of  his  political,  historical,  and  miscellaneous 
essays  were  reprinted  in  1850.  Sir  Archibald  died  at 
Possil  House,  Glasgow,  on  the  23d  May  1867. 

ALIZARIN,  the  principal  colouring  matter  of  madder, 
may  be  obtained  by  subliming  on  paper  an  alcoholic  extract 
of  madder,  or  by  exhausting  the  root  with  water,  precipi- 
tating with  sulphuric  acid,  dissolving  the  moist  precipitate 
in  a  solution  of  chloride  of  alumina,  and  separating  the 
impure  alizarin  by  the  addition  of  hydrochloric  acid.  The 
impure  alizarin  is  dissolved  in  alcohol,  and  separated  as  a 
lake  on  treating  with  hydrate  of  alumina,  which  is  now 
boiled  with  carbonate  of  soda  to  separate  another  colouring 
matter  called  purpurin,  and  is  finally  treated  with  hydro- 
chloric acid,  which  dissolves  the  alumina  and  leaves  the 
pure  substance. 

Alizarin  in  the  anhydrous  state  forms  red  prisms",  and 
in  the  hydrated  condition,  cryscals  like  mosaic  gold.  It 
dissolves  sparingly  in  water  even  at  the  -boiling  point,  but 
is  soluble  in  alcohol  or  ether.  Mineral  acids  do  not  de- 
compose the  colouring  matter  at  ordinary  temperatures. 
Caustic  alkalis  or  alkaline  carbonates  dissolve  alizarin. 


578 


ALK-ALL 


forming  deep  purple  solutions,  from  which  acids  precipitate 
in  orange-coloured  flakes.  Alizarin  has  the  atomic  com- 
position C14H,04,  and  has  recently  been  made  synthetically 
from  the  hydrocarbon  C14H10  called  anthracene,  which 
occurs  amor.g  the  products  of  the  destructive  distillation 
of  coaL  This  is  the  first  example  of  the  artificial  forma- 
tion of  a  natural  colouring  matter.  For  further  details 
see  Chemistry. 

ALKALI,  a  term  originally  applied  to  the  ashes  of 
plants,  now  employed  in  inorganic  chemistry  as  a  generic 
name  given  to  the  group  of  compounds  that  have  the  pro- 
perty of  neutralising  acids.  The  use  of  the  term  is, 
however,  generally  confined  to  such  members  of  the  group 
as  aro  solublo  in  water.  The  most  solublo  alkaline  bodies 
aro  the  oxides  of  potassium  (potash),  sodium  (soda),  lithium 
(lithia),  and  ammonium  (aqueous  ammonia);  and  next  in 
order  the  oxides  of  calcium  (lime),  barium  (baryta),  and 
strontium  (strontia).  The  solutions  of  these  bodies  exert 
a  caustic  or  corrosive  action  on  vegetable  and  animal  sub- 
stances, and  precipitate  the  oxides  of  the  heavy  metals  from 
solutions  of  their  salts.  Many  vegetable  colouring  matters 
aro  changed  in  tint  by  alkaline  solutions — for  instance, 
reddoned  litmus  becomes  blue,  yellow  turmeric  brown,  and 
syrup  of  violets  and  infusions  of  red  cabbage  green. 

ALKALOIDS,  the  name  of  a  group  of  organic  bodies  that 
possess  alkaline  properties.  They  are  characterised  by  the 
property  of  combining  with  acids  to  form  salts,  and  many 
have  the  power  of  giving  an  alkaline  reaction  with  vege- 
table colours.  All  the  natural  alkaloids  contain  nitrogen 
as  an  essential  constituent,  and  they  are  especially  marked 
by  possessing  great  medicinal  power.  Many  artificial 
alkaloids  have  been  made  of  recent  years  in  which  phos- 
phorus, arsenic,  and  antimony  occupy  the  place  of  nitrogen. 
For  the  individual  properties,  tests,  &c,  of  different  alka- 
loids, see  Chemistry. 

AT.K  A  NET  (Alkanna  tinctoria,  or  Aur/msa  tinctoria), 
a  plant  of  the  order  Boraginaceae,  indigenous  to  the  south 
of  France  and  the  shores  of  the  Levant.  It  is  extensively 
cultivated  on  the  Continent  for  the  sake  of  the  root,  which 
yields  a  fine  colouring  matter,  imparting  a  beautiful  car- 
mine tint  to  oils,  wines,  wax,  and  all  unctuous  substances. 
Being  perfectly  harmless,  alkanet  is  much  used  for  colour- 
ing in  pharmacy.  Some  of  the  mixtures  styled  port  wine 
owe  their  colour  to  this  dye,  and  it  is  also  employed  in 
staining  furniture. 

AL-KINDI,  Abu  Yusuf,  &c.,.  styled  by  pre  eminence 
"  The  Philosopher  of  the  Arabs,"  flourished  during  the  first 
half  of  the  10th  century,  and  died  at  some  unknown  date 
posterior  to  961.  His  literary  activity  was  encyclopedic,  and 
spread  itself  over  all  the  sciences.  The  titles  of  his  works 
number  nearly  200  in  the  catalogue  of  Casiri,  and  amount  to 
265  in  that  of  Fliigel;  but  the  latter  appears  in  aome  cases  to 
have  enumerated  the  same  works  under  two  diviiions,  and  it 
is  doubtful  whether  the  philosopher  has  not  been  confounded 
■with  another  writer  of  the  same  name.  His  treatises  are 
arranged  under  the  following  heads,  which  throw  some 
light  on  his  classification  of  the  sciences  : — Philosophy  in 
general,  logic,  politics,  ethics,  arithmetic  (under  which  he 
discusses  the  unity  of  God),  spherology,  theory  of  music 
(which  was  closely  connected  with  all  primitive  speculation 
from  its  religious  character),  astronomy,  meteorology,  geo- 
metry, cosmology  (the  form,  &c,  of  the  heavens),  astrology, 
medicine,  and  on  various  arts,  besides  his  commentaries 
and  controversial  writings.  Of  all  these,  none  except  some 
treatises  on  medicine  and  astrology  remain.  Others  of 
them  must  have  been  known  in  the  Middle  Ages,  for 
Al-Kindi  is  placed  by  Roger  Bacon,  along  with  Alhazen, 
in  the  first  rank  after  Ptolemy  as  a  writer  on  perspective 
(optics).  Some  of  them  were  certainly  translated  by 
Gerard  of  Cremona.   Whatever  his  influence  may  have  been 


on  the  BcLoolmen,  he  was  undoubtedly  a  great  initiutut 
as  regards  his  countrymen.  Ho  was  one  of  the  earliest 
translators  and  commentators  of  Aristotle,  but  he  appears 
to  have  been,  like  Al-Farabi,  superseded  by  Avicennu 
He  marks  the  first  philosophic  revolt  against  Islamisn, 
and  his  doctrine  on  the  simplicity  and  unity  of  the  Deitj 
was  apparently  equally  Aristotelian  and  un-Mohometan 
See  Fliigel,  Abhandlungen  fur  die  Kunde  du  Morgen- 
landes,  erster  Band,  1859.) 

ALKMAAR,  a  town  of  the  Netherlands,  in  the  province 
of  North  Holland,  situated  on  the  Helder  canal  and  on 
the  railway  between  Haarlem  and  the  Helder,  about  20 
miles  N.N.W.  of  Amsterdam.  The  streets  of  Alkmaar 
are  extremely  neat  and  regular,  and  are  intersected  by 
canals  lined  with  trees,  while  the  ramparts  of  the  town 
have  been  converted  into  beautiful  boulevards.  Many  of 
the  public  buildings  are  elegant,  especially  tho  church  of 
St  Lawrence,  a  Gothk  edifice  of  the  15th  century.  Alk- 
maar is  the  seat  of  a  court  of  primary  jurisdiction  and  of 
a  tribunal  of  commerce,  and  possesses  good  schools  as  well 
as  several  literary  and  scientific  societies.  Its  principal 
article  of  commerce  is  cheese,  for  which  it  is  said  to  be  the 
chief  market  in  the  kingdom,  if  not  in  the  world.  Besides 
cheese,  it  has  a  good  trade  in  butter,  corn,  and  cattle,  and 
manufactures  of  salt,  sailcloth,  soap,  vinegar,  and  leather. 
Alkmaar  successfully  sustained  a  siege  by  the  "Duke  of 
Alba  in  1573,  and  in  1799  gave  its  name  to  a  convention 
signed  by  the  Duke  of  York  and  the  French  general 
Brune,  in  accordance  with  which  the  Russo-British  army 
evacuated  Holland.     Population,  12,000. 

ALKMAAR,  Heinrik  von,  the  German  translator  of 
the  celebrated  satirical  poem  Reineke  de  Vos,  flourished  in 
the  latter  half  of  the  15th  century.  In  the  preface  to  his 
work,  which  is  the  only  source  of  information  as  to  his  life, 
he  states  that  he  was  tutor  to  the  Duke  of  Lorraine,  and 
that  he  translated  the  poem  from  the  Walsch.  In  spite  of 
the  latter  statement,  many  have  attributed  the  authorship 
to  him ;  but  it  is  now  known  that  the  story  had  a  much 
earlier  origin.  Some  have  supposed  the  name  Alkmaar  to 
be  a  pseudonym. 

ALL-SAINTS  DAY,  All-Hallows,  or  Hallowmas,  a 
festival,  first  instituted  about  610  a.d.,  on  the  1st  of  May, 
in  memory  of  the  martyrs,  and  celebrated  since  834  on  the 
1st  of  November,  as  a  general  commemoration  of  all  the 
saints.  A3  the  number  of  saints  increased,  it  became  im- 
possible to  dedicate  a  feast-day  to  each.  Hence  it  was 
found  expedient  to  have  an  annual  aggregate  commemora- 
tion of  such  as  had  not  special  days  for  themselves.  The 
festival  is  common  to  the  Roman  Catholic,  English,  and 
Lutheran  churches.     See  Beltane. 

ALLAH,  the  Arabic  name  for  the  one  true  God  which 
is  employed  in  the  Koran,  and  has  been  adopted  into  the 
language  of  all  Mahometan  nations.  It  is  compounded  of 
al,  the  definite  article,  and  ilah,  meaning  worthy  to  be 
adored.     See  Mahometanism. 

ALLAHABAD,  a  division,  district,  and  city  of  British 
India,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  lieutenant-governor  of 
the  North-Western  Provinces.  The  Allahabad  Division 
comprises  the  six  districts  of  Allahabad,  Cawnpur,  Fatlii- 
pur,  Hamfrpur,  Banda,  and  Jaunpur.  It  is  bounded  on 
the  north  and  east  by  the  Etawah  and  Farrakhabad 
districts  and  the  province  of  Oudh;  on  the  south  by  the 
Benares  division  and  the  Rewah  state;  and  on  tho  west 
by  the  states  of  Bandelkhand  and  the  Jhansi  division. 
Total  population  (1872),  5,466,116. 

Allahabad  District  lies  between  24°  49'  and  25°  44' 
N.  lat,  and  between  81°  1 4'  and  82°  26'  E.  long.  In  shepe 
the  district  is  that  of  an  irregular  oblong;  and  it  is  diffi- 
cult accurately  to  describe  its  boundaries,  as  at  one  extre- 
mity it  wanders  into  Oudh,  while  on  the  south  the  villages 


A  L  1j  -  A  L  L 


579 


of  the  state  of  Rewah  and  those  of  this  district  are  hope- 
lessly intermingled.  Roughly  speaking,  however,  the  boun- 
daries may  be  described  as  follows : — On  the  north  by  the 
district  of  Jaunpur  and  by  the  Ganges;  on  the  west  by  the 
districts  of  Fathipur  and  B&nda;  on  the  south  by  the  inde- 
pendent state  of  Rewah;,  and  on  the  east  by  the  districts 
of  Mirzipur  and  Jaunpur.  The  settlement  of  the  district 
is  at  present  undergoing  revision;  and  as  the  measurements 
are  still  incomplete,  it  is  impossible  to  state  the  exact  area. 
For  practical  purposes,  it  may  be  estimated  at  2802  square 
miles,  or  1,793,906  acres,  of  which  1,065,990  acres  are 
cultivated,  and  727,916  acres  are  uncultivated;  of  this 
latter,  however,  there  are  about  250,000  acres  capable  of 
being  brought  under  tillage,  although  not  actually  culti- 
vated. The  census  of  1872  returned  the  population  of  the 
district  at  1,394,245  souls,  of  whom  1,211,778  are  Hindus, 
181,574  Mussulmans,  and  893  Christians.  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  manifest  error  in  these  figures,  as  the  European  and 
Eurasian  population  of  Allahabad  city  alone  cannot  be  set 
at  a  lower  figure  than  3500.  The  census  returns  are  in 
consequence  undergoing  revision.  Of  the  Hindu  popula- 
tion, 173,916  are  returned  as  Brahmans. 

The  Jamni  and  the  Ganges  meet  at  Allahabad  city,  and  enclose 
within  their  angle  a  fertile  tract,  well  irrigated  by  mean3  of  tanks 
and  wells.  The  East  Indian  Railway  and  the  Grand  Trunk  road 
afford  the  principal  means  of  land  communication.  The  former 
enters  the  district  from  the  east,  crosses  the  Jamni  at  Allahabad 
city,  and-  travels  westward,  leaving  the  district  near  Khiga  station. 
The  Grand  Trunk  road  enters  Allahabad  from  the  north-east,  meets 
the  railway  at  Allahabad  city,  and  thence  runs  almost  parallel  with 
it  till  it  leaves  the  district.  Only  three  towns  are  returned  as"  con- 
taining a  population  of  over  (5000  souls — viz.,  Allahabad,  population 
144,164 ;  ilanaima,  population  6146 ;  and  Chizwi,  population  5791. 
Rice  is  the  principal  crop,  the  area  under  it  being  returned  at 
139,000  acres,  and  the  average  produce  at  5l  cwt.  per  acre.  A 
little  more  than  half  of  the  total  rice  crop  is  retained  for  local  con- 
sumption, and  the  remainder  exported.  The  average  price  of  com- 
mon rice  in  February  1873  was  6s.  9d.  per  cwt.  Pulses  are  also 
grown  in  large  quantities,  the  area  under  the  various  sorts  being 
about  the  same  as  rice,  and  the  yield  also  about  the  same.  Joar 
and  bajra  cover  as  large  an  area  as  either  rice  or  pulses,  but  the 
yield  is  neither  so  large  nor  of  such  value.  About  half  the  crop 
is  said  to  be  annually  exported.  Wheat  is  cultivated  to  the  extent 
of  about  150,000  cwt.  per  annum,  of  which  about  one-half  is 
exported;  the  average  yield  is  said  to  be  about  6J  cwt.  per  acre, 
and  the  average  price  from  6s.  2d.  to  6s.  9d-  per  cwt.  Mustard, 
tobacco,  opium,  linseed,  and  indigo  are  also  cultivated  largely,  with 
cotton  and  sugar-cane  in  small  quantities.  Indigo  stands  first  among 
the  manufactures  of  the  district,  and  large  factories  exist  at  Alam- 
chind,  Sarai  Salem,  Gadupur,  Kansaridh,  Thardai,  and  Dum-duma. 
These  are  generally  under  the  supervision  of  European  managers, 
and  the  produce  is  forwarded  direct  to  the  Calcutta  market.  Next 
to  indigo,  the  most  important  industry  is  stone-cutting.  The  stone 
is  chiefly  quarried  from  a  low  range  of  hills  neai  Shiorajpur,  whence 
it  is  carried  in  country  carts  to  the  Jamna  river ;  and  after  crossing 
it  in  flat-bottomed  boats,  it  is  finally  landed  at  Balwa.  Ghat.  Here 
the  stone-masons  take  it  in  hand.  The  gross  income  of  the  Balwi 
Ghat  stone  traders  is  estimated  at  £2000  per  annum.  A  brisk 
trade  is  also  carried  on  in  hides,  the  principal  mart  being  the  village 
of  Karwi,  in  Arail  fiscal  division,  where  it  is  estimated  that  the 
sale  of  skins  amounts  to  upwards  of  £10,000  per  annum  for  the 
Mirzipur  and  Calcutta  hide  markets.  Paper  is  manufactured  in 
the  fiscal  division  of  Karri,  and  a  considerable  quantity  exported  to 
Oudh.  Several  villages  in  the  fiscal  divisions  of  Karri  and  Chail 
are  noted  for  the  manufacture  of  brass  and  copper  vessels ;  and  iron 
vessels  are  largely  manufactured  in  Khairdgarh,  Karri,  andPhulpur. 
The  East  India  Railway  Company  have  a  large  castor-oil  manufac- 
tory at  the  village  of  Manauri.  The  total  net  revenue  of  the  district 
in  1871  -72  is  returned  at  £244,537,  and  the  total  net  civil  expenditure 
at  £51,770.  .  The  district  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  English  in 
1801,  by  a  treaty  between  the  Vazir  of  Oudh  and  the  East  India 
Company. 

AtxahXbId-  City,  the  capital  of  the  North-Western 
Provinces,  is  also  the  administrative  headquarters  of 
the  Allahabad  division  and  of  the  district  of  the  same 
name.  It  is  situated  at  the  confluence  of  the  Ganges  and 
Jamna  rivers,  in  25°  26'  N.  lat,  and  81°  55'  E.  long. 
Its  most  conspicuous  feature  is  the  fort,  which  rises 
directly  from  the  banks  of  the  confluent  rivers,  and  com- 


pletely commands  the  navigation  of  both  streams.  Within 
the  fort  are  the  remains  of  a  splendid  palace,  erected  by 
the  Emperor  Akbar,  and  once  a  favourite  residence  of  his. 
A  great  portion  of  it  has  been  destroyed,  and  its  .hall  ifl 
converted  into  an  arsenal.  Outside  the  fort,  the  places 
most  of  importance  are  the  Sarai  and  garden  of  Khasru, 
the  son  of  the  Emperor  Jahangir,  and  the  Juma  Masjid, 
or  great  mosque.  When  the  town  first  came  into  the 
hands  of  the  English  this  mosque  was  used  as  a  residence 
by  the  military  officer  commanding  the  station,  and  after- 
wards as  an- assembly-room.  Ultimately  it  was  returned 
to  its  former  owners,  but  the  Mahometans  considered  it 
desecrated,  and  it  has  never  since  been  used  as  a  place  of 
worship.  Allahabad  is  one  of  the  most  noted  resorts  of 
Hindu  pilgrimage.  It  owes  its  sanctity  to  its  being  the 
reputed  confluence  of  three  sacred  streams — the  Ganges, 
the  Jamna,  and  the  Saraswati  This  last  stream,  however, 
is  not  visible.  It  leaves  the  Himalayas  to  the  west  of  the 
Jamna,  passes  close  to  Thaneswar  in  the  Panjab,  'and 
loses  itself  in  the  sands  of  Sirhind,  400  miles  north-west 
of  Allahabad.  The  Hindus,  however,  assert  that  the  stream 
joins  the  other  two  rivers  under  ground,  and  in  a  subter- 
raneous temple  below  the  fort  a  little  moisture  trickling 
from  the  rocky  walls  is  pointed  out  as  the  waters  of  tha 
Saraswati.  An  annual  fair  is  held  at  Allahabad,  at  tha 
confluence  of  the  streams,  on  the  occasion  of  the  great 
bathing  festival,  at  the  full  moon  of  the  Hindu .  month  of 
Magh.  Allahabad  was  taken  by  the  British,  in  the  year 
1765,  from  the  Vazir  of  Oudh,  and  assigned  as  a  residence 
for  Shah  Alam,  the  titular  Emperor  of  Dehli.  Upon  that 
prince  throwing  himself  into  the  hands  of  the  Marhattas, 
the  place  was  resumed  by  us  in  1771,  and  again  trans- 
ferred to  'the  Nawdb  of  Oudh,  by  whom  it  was  finally 
ceded,  together  with  the  district,  to  the  British  in  1801, 
in  commutation  of  the  subsidy  which  the  Vazir  had  agreed 
to  pay  for  British  protection.  The  population  and  trade 
of  Allahabad  city  have  rapidly  increased  of  late  years. 
According  to  the  census  of  1853,  the  city  and  suburbs 
contained  72,098  inhabitants.  Before  1872  the  popula- 
tion had  exactly  doubled,  the  census  returns  for  that  year 
exhibiting  a  total  population  of  144,464.  The  municipal 
income  and  expenditure  of  Allahabad  city  in  1871-72  were 
as  follows: — Income — Octroi  duties,  £13,676, 14s.;  tax  on 
professions,  £220, 10s.;  carriage  tax,  £1264,  4s.;  proceeds 
of  the  Hindu  fair  and  ground  rents,  £5364:  total  municipal 
income,  £20,525,  8s.;  incidence  of  taxation,  2s.  lid.  per 
head  of  the  population.  Expenditure — Establishment,  in- 
cluding cost  of  collection,  police,  conservancy,  and  b'ghting, 
£9906, 4s. ;  street  watering,  £1002, 12s. ;  new  works,  £7677 
16s.;  repairs,  £1088,  2s.;  vaccination,  £20;  dispensary 
£330;  charities,  £250;  Alfred  Park,  £800;  other  items' 
£223,  2s. :  total,  £21,297,  16s.  Allahabad  forms  the  June 
tion  of  the  great  railway  system  which  unites  Bengal  with 
Central  India  and  Bombay,  and  it  is  rapidly  developing 
into  a  great  centre  of  inland  and  export  trade. 

ALLAMAND,  Jean  Nicolas  Sebastian,  natural  philo- 
sopher, born  at  Lausanne  in  1713,  was  educated  for  the 
church,  and  held  for  a  short  time  a  clerical  appointment 
at  Leyden.  Here  he  enjoyed  the  patronage  and  friendship 
of  the  celebrated  S'Gravesende,  who  made  him  his 
literary  executor.  In  1747  he  was  appointed  professor  of 
philosophy  and  natural  history  at  Franekor,  and  two  years 
later  he  was  transferred  to  a  similar  chair  at  Leyden,  which 
he  occupied  until  his  death  in  1787.  Allamand's  chief 
service  to  science  consisted  in  translating  and  editing  the 
scientific  works  of  others,  but  he  also  made  some  original 
discoveries  of  importance,  especially  in  connection  with 
electricity.  He  was  the  first  to  explain  fully  the  pheno- 
mena of  the  Leyden  jar,  and  he  made  a  near  approach  to 
the  discovery  of  negative  electricity.     He  greatly  enriched 


;„so 


A  L  L  —  A  L  L 


the  botanical  garden  and  natural  history  museum  at 
Leyden  by  specimens  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe.  His 
translation  of  Buffon's  works  was  published  at  Amsterdam, 
in  thirty-eight  quarto  volumes,  between  1766  and  1779. 
AHamand  was  a  member  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London 
and  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Haarlem. 

ALLAN,  David,  a  Scottish  historical  painter  of  consider- 
able celebrity,  was  born  at  Alloa  on  the  13thFebruary  1744. 
At  a  very  early  age  he  gave  such  proofs  of  natural  artistic 
talent  as  led  to  his  being  placed  under  the  care  of  the  Messrs 
Foulis,  who  some  time  before  had  instituted  an  academy 
in  Glasgow  for  painting  and  engraving.  On  leaving  the  ) 
academy  (1762),  after  seven  years'  successful  study,  he 
obtained  the  patronage  of  Lord  Cathcart  and  of  Erskine  of 
Mar,  on  whose  estate  he  had  been  born.  The  latter  furnished 
him  with  the  means  of  proceeding  to  Eome  (1764),  where 
he  remained  for  a  number  of  years  engaged  principally  in 
copying  the  old  masters.  Among  the  original  works  which  he 
then  painted  was  the  "Origin  of  Portraiture" — represent- 
ing a  Corinthian  maid  drawing  her  lover's  shadow — well 
known  through  Cunego's  excellent  engraving.  This  gained 
for  him  the  gold  medal  given  by  the  Academy  of  St  Luke 
in  the  year  1773  for  tho  best  specimen  of  historical  com- 
position. Returning  from  Rome  in  1777,  he  resided  for  a 
time  in  London,  and  occupied  himself  in  portrait-painting. 
In  1780  he  removed  to  Edinburgh,  where,  on  the  death  of 
Alexander  Runciman  in  1786,  he  was  appointed  director 
and  master  of  the  Academy  of  Arts.  There  he  painted  and 
etched  in  aquatint  a  variety  of  works,  those  by  which  he  is 
best  known — as  the  Scotch  Wedding,  the  Highland  Dance, 
the  Repentance  Stool,  and  his  Illustrations  of  the  Gentle 
Shepherd — being  remarkable  for  their  comic  humour.  He 
has  had  frequently  applied  to  him  the  name  of  the  "  Scottish 
Hogarth ;"  but  his  drolleries  are  not  to  be  compared  for  a 
moment  with  the  productions  of  the  great  English  satirist. 
Allan  died  at  Edinburgh  on  the  6th  August  1796. 

ALLAN,  Sir  William,  R.A.,   and  president  of  the 
Royal  Scottish  Academy,  was  born  at  Edinburgh  in  1782. 
At  an  early  age  he  was  entered  as  a  pupil  in  the  School 
of   Design   established  in   Edinburgh   by  the   Board  of 
Trustees  for  Arts  and  Manufactures,  where  he  had  as 
companions,   Wilkie,    Burnet  the    engraver,    and  others 
who  afterwards  distinguished  themselves  as  artists.     Here 
Allan  and  Wilkie  were  placed  at  the  same  table,  studied 
the  same  designs,  and  contracted  a  friendship  which  termi- 
nated only  with  their  lives.      Leaving  the   Edinburgh 
school,   Allan   prosecuted  his   studies  for  some  time  in 
London  ;  but  his  attempt  to  establish  himself  there  was 
unsuccessful,  and  after  exhibiting  at  the  Royal  Academy 
(1805)  his  first  picture,  A  Gipsy  Boy  and  Ass,  an  imitation 
in  style  of  Opie,  he  determined,  in  spite  of  his  scanty 
resources,  to  seek  his  fortune  abroad.     He  accordingly  set 
out  the  same  year  for  Russia,  but  was  carried  by  stress  of 
weather  to  Memel,  where  he  remained  for  some  time,  sup 
porting  himself  by  his  pencil.   At  last,  however,  he  reached 
St  Petersburg,  where  the  kindness  of  Sir  Alexander  Crichton, 
£he  court  physician,  and  other  friends  procured  him  abundant 
employment.     The  emoluments  of  his  profession  enabled 
him  by  and  by  to  make  excursions  into  southern  Russia, 
Turkey,  the  Crimea,  and  Circassia,  where  he  filled  his 
portfolio  with  vivid  sketches,  of  which  he  made  admirable 
use  in  his  subsequent  pictures.     In  1814  he  returned  to 
Edinburgh,  and  in  the  two  following  years  exhibited  at 
the  Royal  Academy  The  Circassian  Captives  and  Bashkirs 
conducting  Convicts  to  Siberia.     The  former  composition, 
which  united  graceful  forms  and  powerful  expression  with 
novel  and  picturesque  costumes,  established  his  reputation 
as  a  master  in  the  highest  walk  of  art ;  but  the  picture 
remained  bo  long  unsold  in  the  studio  of  the  artist,  that, 
thoroughly  disheartened,  he  threatened  to  retire  to  Circassia 


when,  througn  the  kindness  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  a  sub- 
scription of  1000  guineas  was  obtained  for  tho  picture, 
which  fell  by  lot  into  the  possession  of  the  Earl  of  Wemyss. 
About  the  same  time  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas,  after- 
wards emperor  of  Russia,  visited  Edinburgh,  and  purchased 
his  Siberian  Exiles  and  Haslan  Gheray  crossing  the  River 
Kuban,  giving  a  very  favourable  turn  to  the  fortunes  of 
the  painter,  \^hose  pictures  were  now  sought  for  by  col- 
lectors. From  this  time  to  1834  we  find  him  pursuing 
his  art  in  the  sphere  in  which  he  achieved  his  greatest 
success  and  firmly  established  his  fame,  the  illustration  of 
Scottish  history.  His  most  important  works  of  this  class 
were  Archbishop  Sharpe  on  Magus  Moor;  John  Knox 
admonishing  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  (1823),  engraved  by 
Burnet;  Mary  Queen  oj  Scots  signing  her  Abdication 
(1824);  and  Regent  Murray  shot  by  Hamilton  of  Bothwell- 
haugh.  The  last  procured  his  election  as  an  associate  of 
the  Royal  Academy  (1825).  Later  Scottish  subjects  were 
Lord  Byron  (1831),  portraits  of  Scott,  and  The  Orphan 
(1834),  which  represented  Anne  Scott  seated  near  the  chair 
of  her  deceased  father.  In  1830  he  was  compelled,  on 
account  of  an  attack  of  ophthalmia,  to  seek  a  milder  cli- 
mate, and  visited  Rome,  Naples,  and  Constantinople.  He 
returned  with  a  rich  store  of  materials,  of  which  he  made 
excellent  use  in  his  Constantinople  Slave  Market  and  other 
productions.  In  1834  he  visited  Spain  and  Morocco,  and 
in  1841  went  again  to  St  Petersburg,  when  he  undertook, 
at  the  request  of  the  Czar,  his  Peter  the  Great  teaching  his 
Subjects  the  Art  of  Shipbuilding,  exhibited  in  London  in 
1845,  and  now  in  the  Winter  Palace  of  St  Petersburg. 
His  Polish  Exiles  and  Moorish  Love-letter,  be,  had  secured 
his  election  as  a  Royal  Academician  in  1835;  he  was 
appointed  president  of  the  Royal  Scottish  Academy  (1838), 
and  limner  to  Her  Majesty  for  Scotland,  after  Wilkie's 
death  (1841);  and  in  1842  received  the  honour  of  knight- 
hood. His  later  years  were  occupied  with  battle-pieces, 
the  last  he  finished  being  the  second  of  his  two  companion 
pictures  of  the  Battle  of  Waterloo.  He  died  on  the  22d 
February  1850,  leaving  a  large  picture  unfinished — Bruce  at 
Bannockburn — which  exhibits  no  traces  of  impaired  power. 

ALLEGHANY,  Allegheny,  or  Allegany  Moun- 
tains, is  the  name  often  given  to  the  Appalachian  Moun- 
tains in  the  United  States.  A  more  exact  use  of  the  name 
restricts  it  to  the  portion  of  the  system  that  lies  west  of  the 
Hudson  river,  and  forms  the  watershed  of  the  Mississippi 
basin  on  the  south-east.     See  Appalachian  Mountains. 

ALLEGHANY,  a  river  of  the  United  States,  which 
rises  in  the  north  of  Pennsylvania,  and  after  flowing  about 
300  miles,  first  in  a  northerly,  but  for  the  greater  part  of 
its  course  in  a  westerly  direction,  during  which  it  passes 
for  a  short  distance  into  the  state  of  New  York,  unites 
with  the  Monongahela  at  Pittsburg  to  form  the  Ohio. 
The  country  through  which  it  flows  is  mostly  hilly,  and 
large  numbers  of  pines,  white  oaks,  and  chestnuts  grow 
upon  its  banks.  It  is  navigable  for  small  steamers  for 
about  200  miles  above  Pittsburg. 

ALLEGHENY,  a  large  suburb  of  Pittsbubg  (q.v.)  In 
1870  it  contained  53,180  inhabitants. 

ALLEGIANCE,  either  derived  from  the  French  alle- 
geance  or  taken  from  the  same  Latin  source,  has  been  used 
to  express  that  duty  which  a  person  possessing  the  privi- 
leges of  a  citizen  owes  to  the  state  to  which  he.  belongs, 
and  is  technically  applied  in  law  to  the  duty  which  a 
British  subject  owes  to  the  sovereign  as  representing  the 
state.  It  has  been  divided  by  ths  English  legal  com- 
mentators into  natural  and  local ;  the  latter  applying  only 
to  the  deference  which  a  foreigner  must  pay  to  the  institu- 
tions of  the  country  in  which  he  happens  to  live;  but  it 
is  in  its  wider  sense  that  (lie  word  is  important,  as  repre- 
senting a  condition  attached  to  mankind  of  which  it  is 


A  L  L  — A  L  L 


581 


/cry  difficult  in  theory,  ana  still  more  in  practice,  to  adjust 
the  true  character  and  limits.  For  a  state  to  decide  what 
persons  a're  bound  to  it  by  allegiance  may-  be  easy,  but  for 
a  man  to  know  where  his  allegiance  lies  when  two  or  more 
states  claim  him — and  hence  for  jurists  to  decide  what  is 
che  reasonable. extent  to  which  any  state  ought  to  make 
such  a  claim — is  often  involved  in  difficulty.  The  English 
doctrine,  which  was  also  adopted  in  the  United  States, 
asserted  that  allegiance  was  indelible;  Nemo  potest  exuere 
patriam  (Forsyth's  Cases  and  Opinions  in  Constitutional 
Law,  jp.  257,  sqq.,  333,  sq.)  Accordingly,  as  the  law 
stood  before  1870,  every  person  born  within  the  British 
dominions,  though  he  should  be  removed  in  infancy  to 
another  countrywhere  his  family  resides,  owes  an  allegiance 
co  the  British  crown  which  he  could  never  resign  or  lose, 
except  by  Act  of  Parliament  or  by  the  recognition  of  the 
independence  or  the  cession  of  the  portion  of  British  terri- 
tory in  which  he  resided.  By  the  Naturalisation  Act,  1870, 
33  &  31  Vict,  c.  14  (see  Alien),' it  was  made  possible  for 
British  subject's  to  renounce  their  nationality  and  allegiance, 
and  the  ways  in  which  that  nationality  is  lost  are  defined. 
So  British  subjects  voluntarily  naturalised  in  a  foreign  state 
are  deemed  aliens  from  the  time  of  such  naturalisation, 
unless,  in  the  case  of  persons  naturalised  before  the  passing 
of  the  Act,  they  have  declared  theit  desire  to  remain  British 
subjects  within  two  years  from  the  passing  of  the  Act. 
Persons  who,  from  having  been  born  within  British  territory 
are  British  subjects,  but  who  at  birth  became  under  the 
law  of  any  foreign  state  subjects  of  such  state,  and  also 
persons  who,  though  born  abroad  are  British  subjects  by 
reason  of  parentage,  may  by  declarations  of  alienage  get  rid 
of  British  nationality.. ' 

Allegiance,  Oath  of,  an  'oath  of  fidelity  to  the  sove- 
reign taken  by  all  persons  holding  .public  office.  By 
ancient  common  law  it  might  be  required  of  all  persons 
above  the  age  of  twelve,  and  it  has  repeatedly  been  used 
as  a  test  for  the  disaffected.  It  was  first  imposed  by 
statute  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  (L  c.  1),  and  its  form  has 
more  than  once  been  altered  since.  Up  to  the  time  of  the 
Revolution  the  promise  was  "  to  be  true  and  faithful  to 
the  king  and  his  heirs,  and  truth  and  faith  to  bear  of  life 
and  limb  and  terrene  honour,  and  not  to  know  or  hear  of 
any  ill  or  damage  intended  him  without  defending  him 
therefrom."  This  was  thought  to  favour  the  doctrine  of 
absolute  non-resistance,  and  accordingly  the  Convention 
Parliament  enacted  the  form  that  has  been  in  use  since 
that  time — "  I  do  sincerely  promise  and  swear  that  I  will 
be  faithful  and  bear  true  allegiance  to  Her  Majesty  Queen 
Victoria."  These  words  are  included  in  the  form  pre- 
scribed by  21  &  22  Vict.  c.  48,  which  substitutes- one  oath 
for  the  oaths  of  allegiance,  supremacy,  and' abjuration. 

ALLEGORY.  (dAAos,  other,  and  dyopevw,  to  speak),  a 
figurative  representation  conveying  a  meaning  other  than 
and  in  addition  to  the  literal  It  is  generally  treated  as  a 
figure  of  ^h'etorjc,  but  the  medium  of  representation  is 
not  necessarily  language.  An  allegory  may  be  addressed 
to  the  eye,  and  is  often  embodied  in  painting,  sculpture, 
or  some  form  of  mimetic  art.  The  etymological  meaning 
of  the  word  is  wider  than  that  which  it  bears  in  actual 
use.  An  'allegory  is  distinguished  from  a  metaphor  by 
being  longer  sustained  and  more  fully  carried  out  in  its 
details,  and  from  an  analogy  by  the  fact  that  the  one 
appeals  to  the  imagination  and  the  other  to  the  reason. 
The  fable  or  parable  is  a  short  allegory  with  one  definite 
moral.  The  allegory  has  been  a  favourite  form  in  the 
literature  of  nearly  every  nation.  The  Hebrew  scrip- 
tures present  frequent  instance's  of  it,  one  of  the  most 
Beautiful  •  being  the  comparison  of  the  history  of  Israel 
to  the  growth  of  a  vine,  in  the  80th  psalm.  ■  In  classical 
Sfferature    one    of    the    best    known    allegories    is    the 


story  of  the  stomach  and  its  members  in  the  speech  oJ 
Menenius  Agrippa  (Livy,  ii.  32);  and  several  occur  in 
Ovid's  Metamorphoses.  Perhaps  the  most  elaborate  and 
the  most  successful  specimens  of  allegory  are  to  be  found 
in  the  works  of  English  authors.  Spencer's  Faerie  Queine, 
Swift's  Tale  of  a  Tub,  Addison's  Vision  of  Mirzn,  and, 
above  all,  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress,  are  examples  that 
it  would  be  impossible  to-match  in  elaboration,  beauty,  and 
fitness,  from  the  literature  of  any  other  nation. 

ALLEGRI,  Antonio.     See  Coebeggio. 

ALLEGRI,  Geeooeio,  musical  composer,  probably  of 
the  Correggio  family,  was  born  at  Rome  about  1580.  He 
studied  music  under  Nanini,  the  intimate  friend  of  Pales- 
trina.  Being  intended  for  the  church,  he  obtained  a 
•benefice  in  the  cathedral  of  Fermo.  Here  he  composed  a 
large  number  of  motetts  and  sacred  pieces,  which,  being 
brought  under  the  notice  of  Pope  Urban  VIII.,  obtained 
for  him  an  appointment  in  the  choir  of  the  Sistine  chapel 
at  Rome.  He  held  this  from  Dec.  1629  till  his  death  on 
the  18th  Feb,  1652.  His  character  seems,  to  have  been 
singularly  pure  and  benevolent.  Among  the  musical 
compositions  of  Allegri  were  two  volumes  of  •  Concerti, 
published  in  1618  and  1619;  two  volumes  of  Motetts, 
published  in  1620  and  1621 ;  besides  a  number  of  worka 
still  in  manuscript.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest  .composers 
for  stringed  instruments,  and  Kircher  has  given  one  speci- 
men of  this  class  of  his  works  in  the  Musurgia.  But'  the 
most  celebrated  composition  of  Allegri  is  the  Miserere, 
still  annually,  performed  in  the  Sistine  chapel  at  Rome. 
It  is  ■written  for  two  choirs,  the  one  of  five  and  the  other 
of  four  voices,  and  has  obtained  a  celebrity  which,  if  not 
entirely  factitious,  is  certainly  not  due  to  its  intrinsic 
•merics  alone.  .  The  mystery  in  which  the  composition  was 
long  enshrouded,  no  single  copy  being  allowed  to  reach  the 
public,  the  place  and  circumstances  of  the  performance, 
and  the  added  embellishments  of  the  singers,  account  to  a 
great  degree  for  much  of  the  impressive  effect  of  which  aH 
who  have  heard  the  music  speak.  This  view  is  confirmed 
by  the  fact,  that  when  the  music  was  performed  at  Venice 
by  permission  of  the  pope,  it  produced  so  little  effect  that 
the  Emperor  Leopold  I.,  at  whose  request  the  manuscript 
had  been  sent,  thought  that  something  else  had  been  sub- 
stituted. In  spite  of  the  precautions  of  the  popes,  the 
Miserere  has  long  been  public  property.  In  1769  Mozart 
was  able  to  write  it  down  after  hearing  it  twice ;  and  in 
1771  a  copy  was  procured  and  published  in  England  by 
Dr  Burney.  The  entire  music  performed  at  Rome  in  Holy 
Week,  Allegri's  Miserere  included,  has  been'  issued  at 
Leipsic  by  Breitkopf  and  HarteL  Interesting  accounts  of 
the  impression  produced  by  the  performance  at  Rome  may 
ba  found  in  the  first  volume  of  Mendelssohn's  letters,  and 
in  Miss  Taylor's  Letters  from  Italy. 

ALLEINE,  Joseph,  Nonconformist  divine,  the  author 
of  An  Alarm  to  t/ie  Unconverted — a  book  which  remains 
as  potential  as  when  first  modestly  sent  forth,  scarcely 
second  to  Richard  Baxter's  Call  to  the  Unconverted — was 
otherwise  noticeable.  Baxter  himself  wrote  a  characteristic 
introduction  to  his  Life  fully  two  centuries  ago  (1672); 
while  recently  (1861)  the  Rev.  Charles  Stanford  has  retold 
his  story  and  the  story  of  his  age  with  great  fulness  of 
knowledge  and  historical  fidelity.  The  Alleines  came  out 
of  Suffolk,  and  as  early  as  1430  some  of  them^sprung  of 
Alan,  lord  of  Buckenhall — settled  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Calne  and  Devizes,  whence  descended  the  immediate  ances- 
tors of  "  worthy  Mr  Tobie  AUeine  of  Devizes,"  father  of  our 
worthy.  Joseph  AUeine,  fourth  of  a  large  family,  .was  born 
at  Devices  early  in  1634.  1645  is  marked  in  the  title-page 
of  a  quaint  old  tractate,  by  an  eye-witness,  as  his  "  setting 
forth  in  the  Christian  race."  His  eldest  brother  Edward 
had  been  a  clergyman,  but  in  this  year  died,  in  his  twenty 


582 


ALL-ALL 


seventh  year  ;  and  Joseph  entreated  Lis  father  that  he 
might  be  educated  to  succeed  his  brother  iu  the  work 
of  the  ministry.  His  father  consented,  and  ho  was 
immediately  sent  to  Poolshot,  then  under  a  fellow  of 
Exeter  College,  Oxford  (William  Spiuage).  Iu  April 
164'J  ho  set  out  for  Lincoln  College,  Oxford,  iu  the  pre- 
sidency of  Dr  Paul  Hood,  with  Dr  John  Owen  as  the 
vice-chaucellor  of  the  university.  A  Wiltshire  place  be- 
coming vacant  in  Corpus  Christi  College,  on  the  3d  Nov. 
1651  he  was  chosen  scholar  of  that  house.  Of  his  student 
life  it  was  \mtten  contemporaneously,  "lie  could  toil 
terribly."  On  6th  July  1653  he  took  the  degreo  of  B.D., 
and  thereupon  became  a  tutor  of  his  college  Ho  became 
also  chaplain  of  Corpus  Christi,  preferring  this  to  a  fellow- 
ship. In  1654  he  had  offers  of  high  preferment  in  the 
state,  which  he  declined.  Tho  succeeding  year  (1655) 
brought  him  another  offer,  which  he  did  not  decline. 
George  Newton,  of  the  great  church  of  St  Maiy  Magdalene, 
Taunton,  sought  hiui  for  assistant ;  and  putting  from  hini 
all  other  things,  even  forsaking  further  academical  honours 
within  his  immediate  grasp,  he  accepted  the  invitation  by 
proceeding  at  once  to  Taunton,  undergoing  the  accustomed 
probation,  and  at  last  being  ordained  as  the  associate 
of  one  of  tho  most  venerable  of  the  later  Puritan  fathers. 
Tho  ministry  that  resulted  stauds  out  lustrous  and  noble 
in  the  history  of  historical  Taunton,  and  in  the  Life  of  tho 
junior  pastor,  as  told  by  Baxter  and  Stanford.  Almost 
coincident  with  ordination  came  the  marriage  of  the 
associate -pastor  with  Theodosia  Alleine,  daughter  of 
Richard  Alleine.  Friendships  among  "gentle  and  simple" 
—of  the  former,  with  Lady  Farewell,  grand-daughter  of  Pro- 
tector Somerset — hear  witness  to  the  attraction  of  AUeine's 
private  life.  His  public  life — in  preaching  after  the  in- 
tense, awakening,  wLstfid  type;  in  catechising  with  all 
diligence  and  fidelity;  in  visitation  among  the  poor  and 
mean  and  sad ;  in  letter-writing,  tender  and  sympa- 
thetic; in  devotional  intercession  through  long  consecrated 
hours  of  day  and  night— was  a  model  of  pastoral  devo- 
tion. This  is  all  the  more  remarkable  as  the  pastor 
continued  the  student-toil  of  Coqnts  Christi,  one  monu- 
ment of  which  was  his  Tluologia  Philosophica,  a  lost 
MS.,  establishing  tho  harmony  between  revelation  and 
nature,  and  whose  learning — classical,  patristic,  and 
recondite— drew  forth  tho  wonder  of  Baxter.  Alleine- 
was  no  mere  scholar  or  divine,  but  a  man  who  asso- 
ciated on  equal  terms  with  the  patriarchs  of  the  Eoyal 
Society,  then  laying  those  broad  and  deep  foundations  on 
which  rests  England's  present  scientific  renown.  These 
scientific  studies  and  experiments,  nevertheless,  were  ever 
kept  in  subordination  to  his  proper  work.  The  extent  of  his 
influence  was,  iu  so  young  a  man,  unique,  resting  fundament- 
ally on  the  earnestness  of  his  nature  and  the  manifest  power 
of  his  ministry.  The  year  1662  found  senior  and  junior 
pastors  like-minded,  and  both  were  of  the  Two  Thousand. 
Alleine,  when  the  Ejection  blow  fell,  with  John  Wesley 
(grandfather  of  the  celebrated  John  Wesley)  for  fellow^ 
labourer,  also  ejected,  carried  on  a  kind  of  itineracy  where- 
cver  opportunity  was  found  for  preaching  the  gospeL  For 
this  he  was  cast  into  prison,  indicted  at  sessions,  and 
suffered  as  hundreds  of  England's  noblest  men  have  suf- 
fered. His  Letters  from,  Prison  were  an  earlier  Cardi- 
phonia.  He  was  released  on  26th  May  1664;  and  spite 
of  the  Conventicle  Act  (Five  Mile  Act),  he  returned  to 
his  beloved  work  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospeL  Se  found 
lumself  again  in  prison,  and  again  and  again  a  sufferer. 
Tempestuous  and  troubled  were  his  remaining  years.  Now 
in  hiding,  now  in  great  bodily  weakness,  now  coining  to 
the  front  in  some  act  of  charity  or  patriotism,  now  at  the 
waters  of  Bath,  slowly  but  serenely  wearing  out  He 
died  November  17,  1668;  and  the  mourners,  remember- 


ing their  beloved  minister's  words  while  yet  with  them, 
"HI  should  die  fifty  miles  away,  let  me  be  buried  at 
Taunton."  found  a  grave  for  him  in  St  Mary's  chancel 
Pilgrims  from  over  the  sea  read  with  dim  eyes  the  brief 
Latin  inscription  on  his  stone.  No  Puritan-Nonconformist 
name  is  60  affectionately  cherished  as  is  that  of  Joseph 
Alleine.  "  Being  dead  he  yet  speaketh"  through  his  im- 
perishable practical  books.  (Life,  edited  b}'  Baxter;  Joseph 
Alleine:  his  Companions  and  Times,  by  Charles  Stanford, 
1861;  Wood's  Athena;;  Palmer's  None.  Ifcm.,s.v.;  Har- 
leian  MSS.,  and  Williams  MSS.)  (a.  b.  o.) 

ALLEINE,  BicnAED,  M.A.,  author  of  Yindicice  Pictaiu, 
was  educated  at  St  Albans  Hall,  Oxford,  where  Anthony 
a  Wood  states  ho  was  entered  commoner  in  1627,  aged 
sixteen ;  and  where,  having  taken  the  degree  of  B.A.,  he 
transferred  himself  to  New  Inn,  and  continued  there  until 
he  proceeded  M.A.  He  and  the  like-minded  William 
Alleine  were  sons  of  Richard  Alleine,  rector  for  upwardfe 
of  fifty  years  of  Diehet,  Somerset.  The  younger  Richard 
being  ordained;  became  assistant  to  his  venerable  father, 
and  immediately  stirred  the  entire  county  by  his  burning 
eloquence.  In  March  1641  he  succeeded  to  many-sided 
Richard  Bernard  as  rector  of  Batcomb  (Somerset).  He 
declared  himself  on  the  side  of  the  Puritans  by  subscribing 
"  The  testimony  of  the  ministers  in  Somersetshire  to  the 
truth  of  Jesus  Christ "  and  "  The  Solemn  League  and 
Covenant."  He  continued  for  twenty  years  rector  of 
Batcomb.  On  the  Act  of  Uniformity  being  passed,  he  cast 
in  his  lot  with  the  Two  Thousand  of  the  ejected.  Upon 
the  Five-ftlile  Act  he  removed  to  Frome  Selwood,  and 
preached  there  and  around  until  his  death  on  December 
22,  1681.  His  works  are  all  of  the  lichest  spiritual  cha- 
racter, with  a  wistfulness  of  appeal  that  goes  right  to  the 
heart.  His  Yindicim  Fietatis  (which  appeared  succes- 
sively in  1660,  1663,  and  1665)  was  refused  licence  by 
Sheldon,  and  was  published,  in  common  with  other  Non- 
conformist books,  without  it.  It  was  rapidly  bought  up, 
and  "  did  much  to  mend  this  bad  world."  Roger  Norton, 
the  king's  printer,  caused  a  large  part  of  the  first  impres- 
sion to  be  seized,  on  the  ground  of  not  being  licensed,  and 
to  be  sent  to  the  royal  kitchen.  Glancing  over  its  pages, 
he  was  struck  with  what  he  read,  and  on  second  thoughts 
it  seemed  to  him  a  sin  that  a  book  so  holy — and  so  sale- 
able— should  be  destroyed.  He  therefore  bought  back  the 
sheets,  says  Calamy,  for  an  old  song,  bound  them,  and 
sold  them  in  his  own  shop.  This  in  turn  was  complained 
of  against  him,  and  the  shrewd  publisher  had  to  beg  pardon 
on  his  knees  before  the  council-table  ;  and  the  remaining 
copies  were  sentenced  to  be  "  bisk'd,"  or  rubbed  over  with 
an  inky  brush,  and  sent  back  to  the  kitchen  for  lighting 
fires.  Such  "  bisk'd  "  copies  occasionally  occur  still.  The 
book  was  not  killed.  It  was  reissued,  with  additions, 
and  a  contribution  by  Joseph  Alleine,  and  went  forth  on 
a  mission  which  has  endured  to  our  day.  (Calamy,  s.v. ; 
Palmer's  Nonconf.  Mem.  m.  pp.  167-8;  C.  Stanford's 
Joseph  Alleine;  Researches  at  Batcomb  an! Frome  Selwood; 
Wood's  Athena:,  s.v.)  (a.  b.  o.) 

ALLEN,  Boa  or,  the  namo  given  to  a  congeries  of 
morasses  in  Kildare  and  King's  County,  Ireland.  Clane 
Bog,  the  eastern  extremity,  is  within  17  miles  of  Dublin, 
and  the  morasses  extend  westward  almost  to  the  Shannon. 
Their  total  area  is  about  238,500  acres.  They  do  not 
form  one  continuous  bog,  the  tract  of  the  country  to 
which  the  name  is  given  being  intersected  by  strips  of  dry 
cultivated  land.  The  rivers  Brosna;  Barrow,  and  Boyne 
take  their  rise  in  these  morasses ;  and  the  Grand  Canal 
crosses  them.  The  Bog  of  Allen  has  a  general  elevation 
of  250  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  the  average 
thickness  of  the  peat  of  which  it  consists  i£  25  feet  It 
rests  on  a  subsoil  of  clay  and  marl 


ALL-ALL 


583 


ALLEN,  John  (1770-1843),  was  born  Dear  Edinburgh, 
and  educated  at  the  university  of  that  city,  where  he  took 
the  degree  of  M.D.  in  1791.  With  youthful  enthusiasm, 
Allen  joined  the  Scottish  movement  of  that  period  for 
parliamentary  reform.  He  was  an  acute  metaphysician, 
and  the  prelections  on  physiology  which  he  delivered  in 
Edinburgh  are  distinguished  by  clearness  and  precise 
philosophical  views.  Leaving  Edinburgh,  he  took  up  his 
abode  at  Holland  House  as  the  friend  and  private  secre- 
tary of  the  late  Lord  Holland.  In  181.1  he  was  elected 
warden  of  Dulwich  College;  and  in  1820  obtained  the 
:omfortable  sinecure  of  master  of  that  institution,  where 
he  died  in  1843.  Allen's  detached  publications,  though 
well  written,  are  not  very  important,  if  we  except  his 
valuable-  Inquiry  into  the  Growth  of  the  Royal  Prerogative 
(1830),  "a  learned  and  luminous  work;"  but  he  was  an 
able  contributor  to  the  Edinburgh  Review,  to  which  he  is 
said  to  have  furnished  no  less  than  forty  articles,  chiefly 
on  physiological,  metaphysical,  and  political  subjects;  and 
eomo  of  his  contributions  on  French  and  Spanish  history 
are  very  interesting.  For  this  last  department  he  was 
peculiarly  fitted  by  his.  residence  with  Lord  Holland  in 
France  and  Spain ;  he  had  even  collected  materials  for  a 
history  of  Spain,  but  was  hindered  from  fulfilling  his  pur- 
pose by  his  deep  interest  in  politics.  The  latter  portion 
of  his  life  was  divided  between  politics  and  the  study  of 
the  history  of  the  British  constitution.  Brougham,  in  his 
eloge  of  Allen  ( Works,  vol.  iv.,  1 872),  has  highly  commended 
him  for  extensive  learning  and  philosophical  talent. 

ALLEN,  or  Alleyn,  Thomas  (1542-1632),  a  famous 
English  mathematician,  was  born  at  Uttoxeter  in  Stafford- 
shire, 21st  December  1542.  He  was  admitted  scholar 
of  Trinity  College,  Oxford,  in  1561 ;  and  in  1567  took 
his  degree  of  master  of  arts:  In  1580  he  quitted  his 
college  and  fellowship,  and  retired  to  Gloucester  Hall, 
where  he  studied  very  closely,  and  became  famous  for  his 
knowledge  of  antiquity,  philosophy,  and  mathematics. 
Having  received  an  invitation  from  Henry,  Earl  of  Nor- 
thumberland, a  great-  friend  and  patron  of  men  of  science, 
he  spent  some  time  at  the  earl's  house,  where  he  became 
acquainted  with  Thomas  Harriot,  John  Dee,  and  other 
famous  mathematicians.  He  wa3  also  intimate  with 
Cotton,  Camden,  and  their  antiquarian  associates.  Robert, 
Earl  of  Leicester,  had  a  particular  esteem  for  Allen,  and 
would  have  conferred  a  bishopric  upon  him,  but  his  love 
of  solitude  made  him  decline  the  offer.  His  great  skill  in 
mathematics  earned  him,  as  was  usual  in  those  times,  the 
credit  of  being  a  magician ;  and  the  author  of  Leicester's 
Commonwealth  accuses  him  of  employing  the  art  of 
"  figuring "  to  further  the  Earl  of  Leicester's  unlawful 
designs,  and  of  endeavouring  by  the  black  art  to  bring 
about  a  match  between  his  patron  and  Queen  Elizabeth. 
Allen  was  ihdefatiga-ble  in  Collecting  scattered  "manuscripts 
relating -to  history,  antiquity,-  astronomy,  philosophy,  and 
mathematics.  A  considerable  part  of  his  collection  was 
presented  to  the  Bodleian  library  by  Sir  Kenelm  Digby. 
He  published  in  Latin  the  second  and  third  books  of 
Claudius  Ptolemy  of  Pelusium,  Concerning  the  Judgment 
of  the  Stars,  or,  as  it  is  commonly  called,  of  the  Quadri- 
partite Construction,  with  an  exposition.  He  wrote  also 
notes  on  some  of  Lilly's  books,  aird  on  Bale's  Be  Scrip- 
toribus  M.  Britannia. 

ALLENTOWN,  formerly  called  Northampton,  a  thriv- 
ing town  of  the  United  States,  capital  of  Lehigh  county. 
Pennsylvania,  is"  pleasantly  situated  on  a  height  on  the 
western  bank  of  the  Lehigh  River,  85  miles  EN.E.  of 
Harrisburg.  It  is  a  well-built  place,  and  contains  a  good 
court-house,  a  military  institute,  an  academy,  and  a  theo- 
logical seminary.  Most  of  fhe  inhabitants  are  of  German 
descent ;  the  German  language  is  commonly  spoken,  and 


is  used  along  with  English  both  iu  the  newspapers  and  in 
the  courts  of  law.  The  valley  of  the  Lehigh  i3  very  rich 
in  iron  ore  and  anthracite,  and  in  the  town  and,  neigh- 
bourhood extensive  iron-works  and  anthracite  furnaces  are 
in  operation.  This  trade  is  being  rapidly  developed,  and 
is  favoured  by  good  railway  communication,  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  being  both  within  100  miles  of  Allentown 
by  rail.  A  tenth  of  the  whole  iron  manufactured  in  the 
United  States  is  said  to  be  produced  here.  Population 
(1870),  13,884. 

ALLESTRY,  or  Axlestree,  Richard,  D.D.,  was 
born  at  Uppingtown  in  Shropshire  in  1619,  and  educated 
in  the  grammar  school  of  Coventry,  and  afterwards  at 
Christ  Church,  Oxford.  After  passing  as  bachelor  of 
arts  he  was  made  successively  moderator  in  philosophy, 
canon  of  Christ  Church,  doctor  of  divinity,  chaplain  in 
ordinary  to  the  king,  and  regius  professor  of  divinity. 
His  early  studies,  however,  were  interrupted  by  the  hos- 
tilities of  the  times.  In  the  year  1641  he  and  many  other 
students  of  Oxford  entered  the  royal  service,  and  gave 
signal  proofs  of  their  courage  and  loyalty.  A  short 
interval  of  hostilities  permitted  Allestry  to  return  to  his 
literary  pursuits ;  but  soon  after,  he  again  took  up  arms, 
and  was  present  at  the  battle  of  Keintonfield.  On  his 
way  to  Oxford  to  prepare  for  the  reception  of  the  king  he 
was  taken  prisoner,  but  was  released  by  the  king's  forces. 
A  violent  disease  which  then  prevailed  in  the  garrison  of 
Oxford  brought  Allestry  to  the  brink  of  the  grave ;  but 
recovering,  he  again  joined  a  regiment  of  volunteers, 
chiefly  consisting  of  Oxford  students.  Here  he  served  as 
a  common  soldier,  and  was  often  seen  with  the  musket  in 
one  hand  and  a  book  in  the  other.  At  the  close  of  tho 
revolutionary  struggle  he  returned  to  his  favourite  studies, 
but  still  continued  true  to  his  party.  This  occasioned  his 
expulsion  from  the  college ;  but  he  was  provided  with  a 
comfortable  retreat  in  the  families  of  the  Honourable 
Francis  Newport  and  Sir  Anthony  Cope.  Such  was  the 
confidence  reposed  in  him  that  when  the  friends  of  Charles 
IX  were  secretly  preparing  the  way  for  his  restoration, 
they  entrusted  him  with  personal  messages  to  the  king. 
In  returning  from  one  of  these  interviews  he  was  seized  at 
Dover,  and  upon  examination  committed  a  prisoner  to 
Lambeth  House.  The  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  obtained  his 
release  in  a  few  weeks.  His  valuable  library  was  be- 
queathed to  the  university.  He  died  in  January  1681. 
He  erected  at  his  own  private  expense  the  west  side  of'  the 
outward  court  of  Eton  College,  and  the  grammar  school 
in  Christ  Church  College  J  besides  settling  several  liberal 
pensions  upon  individual,  persons  and  families.  His  only 
extant  work  is  a  volume  of  sermons,  printed  at  Oxford 
in  1684. 

ALLEYN,  Edward,  eminent  as  a  stage-player  in  the 
reigns  of  Elizabeth  and  James  I.,  but  better  remembered 
in  after-times  as  the  founder  of  Dulwich  eollege,  was  born 
in  London,  in  tho  parish  -of  St  Botolph,  Bishopsgate,  on 
the  1st  of  September  1566.  When  he  was  only  four  years 
old,  his  father,  an  innkeeper,  died,  and  his  mother  soon 
afterwards  married  an  actor  named  Browne.  This  change 
in  lus  domestic  surroundings  brought  young  Alleyn  into 
early  and  close  association  with  the  stage,  for  which  he 
possessed  great  natural  aptitude.  Thus  it  chanced  that 
"he  was  bred  a  stage-player,"  as  stated  by  Fuller  ( Worthies) 
A  tenacious  memory,  a  polished  elocution,  a  stateliness  o 
figure  and  countenance,  and  a  genial  temperament,  were 
among  the  natural  and  acquired  accomplishments  that  b« 
brought  to  bear  on  his  chosen  pursuit.  He  gained  distino 
tion  in  his  calling  while  yet  quite  a  young  man,  asd  by 
common  consent  was  eventually  rated  as  the  foremost 
actor  of  his  time.  Several  prominent  dramatists  and  other 
writers  of  the  period  have  left  forcible  testimony  to  his 


584- 


A  L  L  E  Y  N 


rare  excellence  in  the  histrionic  art.  Ren  Jonson,  a  critic 
nowise  prone  to  exalt  the  merits  of  nieu  of  mark  among 
his  contemporaries,  but  addicted  rather  to  disparagement, 
and  even,  as  Drummond  of  Hawtbornden  tells,  to  bitterest 
detraction,  bestowed,  nevertheless,  unstinted  praise  on 
Alleyn's  acting  (see  Jonson's  Epigrams,  No.  89).  Nash, 
in  Pierce  Pennyless,  his  Supplication  to  the  Devil,  expresses 
in  prose  the  same  eulogy  that  Jonson  renders  in  verse.  Hey- 
wood  calls  Alleyn  "  inimitable,"  "the  best  of  actors,"  and 
"  Proteus  for  ahspes  and  Roscius  f  :>r  a  tongue." 

— (Prologue  to  Marlowe's  Jew  of  Malta.) 

Peele's  letter  to  Marlowe,  quoted  by  Beveral  of  Alleyn's 
biographers,  telling  of  a  merry  meeting  at  which  Shake- 
speare, Ben  Jonson,  and  Alleyn  figure  in  the  front  rank  of 
a  group  of  choice  spirits,  has  long  been  numbered  among 
literary  forgeries.  (See  the  Life  prefixed  to  Dyce's  Peele's 
Works,  1829.) 

But  ample  and  clear  evidence  remains  to  show  his  great 
celebrity  as  an  actor.  His  professional  earnings  as  a  player 
formed,  however,  one  only,  and  not  the  chief,  among  several 
sources  from  which  he  drew  the  wealth  that  afterwards 
sustained  his  great  foundation ;  and  his  fame  as  an  actor 
must  long  since  have  faded  into  a  dim  tradition,  of  little  or 
no  concern  to  present  times,  but  for  the  association  of  his 
name  with  an  institution  around  which  cluster  interesting 
historic  reminiscences,  and  whose  future  is  fraught  with 
high  promise.  He  inherited  house  property  in  Bishops- 
gate  from  his  father.  His  marriage,  in  1592,  with  Joan 
Woodward,  stepdaughter  to  Henslowe,  a  successful  specu- 
lator in  theatrical  and  kindred  enterprises,  brought  him 
eventually  much  wealth.  He  became  successively  part 
owner  in  Henslowe's  ventures,  and  in  the  end  sole  pro- 
prietor of  sundry  play-houses  and  other  resorts  for  the 
diversion  of  plea°ure-scekers.  Among  these  were  the  Rose 
Theatre  at  Bankside,  in  close  contiguity  to  Shakespeare's 
Globe  Tbeitre ;  the  Paris  Garden,  in  the  same  vicinage, 
where  were  enacted  such  pastimes  as  bear-baiting,  bull- 
baiting,  and  other  sports  of  the  period ;  and  the  Fortune 
Theatre  in  St  Luke's.  H«j  filled,  too,  in  conjunction  with 
Henslowe,  the  post  of  "macter  of  the  king's  games  of  bears, 
bulls,  and  dogs."  He  continued  to  discharge  the  duties  of 
this  office  long  after  he  had  relinquished  his  other  profes- 
sional work. 

Alleyn's  ownership  in  Dulwich  lands  began  in  1606,  and 
further  acquisitions,  made  in  the  course  of  the  next  five 
years,  during  which  he  was  gradually  breaking  away  from 
the  actual  practice  of  the  histrionic  art,  though  not  from 
theatrical  speculations  or  kindred  enterprises,  increased 
his  holding  to  more  than  1300  acres.  His  residential  con- 
nection with  Dulwich  began  in  1607.  He  occupied  the 
manor-house,  a  mansion  even  then  very  ancient,  but  which 
is  still  tenanted,  after  many  additions  and  alterations. 
The  priors  and  abbots  of  Bennondsey  owned  and  occupied 
it  through  the  four  centuries  preceding  their  expulsion 
in  1537,  when  Henry  VIIL  assigned  their  house  and 
adjacent  church  lands  to  Thomas  Calton,  grandfather  to 
the  Calton  who  sold  his  heritage  to  Alleyn.  Some  details 
respecting  this  and  other  purchases  of  neighbouring  estates 
are  set  forth  in  Alleyn's  own  writing,  in  a  small  thick 
memorandum-book  which,  with  other  Alleyn  papers  pre- 
served at  Dulwich,  has  been  carefully  scrutinised  by  the 
writer  of  this  notice. 

The  landed  property  stretches  from  the  crest  of  that 
range  of  Surrey  hills  on  whose  summit  rests  the  Crystal 
Palace,  to  the  crest  of  the  parallel  ridge,  three  miles  nearer 
London,  known  in  its  several  portions  as  Heruo  Hill, 
Denmark  Hill,  and  Champion  HilL  Alleyn  acquired  this 
largo  suburban  property  for  little  more  than  £10,000, 
which  may  be  estimated  as  equivalent  to  £50,000  in  the 
present  day.    But  the  present  value  of  the  lands  which  he 


bought  for  such  a  price  is  hardly  under  a  million  and 
a-half  sterling,  so  enormous  has  been  the  rise  in  the 
value  of  land  in  and  near  Loudon.  Alleyn  had  barely  got 
full  possession  of  this  property  before  the  question  how 
to  dispose  of  it  began  to  press  upon  him.  He  was  still 
childless,  after  twenty  years  of  wedded  life.  Then  it  was 
that  the  prosperous  player — the  man  "so  acting  to  tho 
life  that  he  made  any  part  to  become  him "  (Fuller, 
Worthies) — began  "playing  the  last  net  of  his  life  so  well' 
(Bacon's  Letter  to  the  Marquis  of  Buckingham,  dated  18th 
August  1618),  as  to  gain  the  general  applause  of  his  own 
age,  and  a  large  measure  of  admiration  in  after  times.  He 
built  and  endowed  in  his  own  lifetime  the  College  of  God'e 
Gift  at  Dulwich.  All  was  completed  in  1617,  except  the 
charter  or  deed  of  incorporation  for  setting  his  lands  in 
mortmaia  Tedious  delays  occurred  in  the  Star  Chamber, 
where  Lord  Chancellor  Bacon  was  scheming  to  bring  the 
pressure  of  kingly  authority  to  bear  on  Alleyn  with  the 
aim  of  securing  a  large  portion  of  the  proposed  endow- 
ment for  the  maintenance  of  lectureships  at  Oxford  and 
Cambridge.  Alleyn  finally  carried  his  point,  and  the 
College  of  God's  Gift  at  Dulwich  was  founded,  and 
endowed  under  letters  patent  of  James  I.  dated  21st  of 
June  1619.  The  college,  as  thus  incorporated,  consisted 
of  twelve  "poor  scholars"  and  as  many  pensioners,  the 
latter  comprising  equal  numbers  of  men  and  women — 
"  poor  brethren  "  and  "  poor  sisters," — together  with  a 
teaching  and  governing  staff  of  six  higher  officials.  These 
latter  included  a  master  and  a  warden,  whe  were  always  to 
be  of  the  founder's  surname,  and  four  fellows,  all  "graduates 
and  divines,"  among  whom  weie  apportioned  the  ministerial 
work  of  the  chapel,  the  instruction  of  the  boys,  and  the 
supervision  of  the  almspeople  or  pensioners.  The  scholars 
and  pensioners  were  to  be  drawn  in  equal  numbers  from 
the  four  London  parishes  out  of  which  the  founder  drew 
his  wealth.  A  curious  legend,  dating  from  the  time  of  the 
founder,  and  always  current  afterwards  among  the  pen- 
sioners on  his  bounty,  tells  that  he  was  scared  into  his 
generous  and  charitable  scheme  by  an  apparition  of  the 
devil,  in  propria  persona,  among  some  theatrical  demons 
in  a  drama  in  which  he  was  acting.  In  the  fright  thus 
occasioned  he  was  said  to  have  made  a  vow,  which  ho 
redeemed  in  the  founding  of  Dulwich  College. 

Alleyn  was  never  a  member  of  his  own  foundation,  as 
stated  by  Heywood,  and  copied  by  succeeding  writers. 
The  college  records  clearly  set  this  point  at  rest.  But  h<> 
continued  to  the  close  of  his  life  to  guide  and  control  the 
affairs  of  his  foundation,  under  powers  reserved  to  himself 
in  the  letters  patent.  His  diary  shows  that  he  mixed 
much  and  intimately  in  the  daily  life  of  the  college.  Many 
of  the  jottings  in  that  curious  record  of  daily  doings  and 
incidents  favour  the  inference  that  he  was  genial,  kind, 
amiable,  and  withal  a  religious  man.  His  fondness  for 
his  old  professional  work  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  he 
engaged  the  boys  in  occasional  theatrical  performances. 
At  a  festive  gathering  on  the  6th  of  January  1622  "tie 
boyes  play*d  a  playe." 

Shakespeare's  name  is  interwoven  with  local  traditions 
bearing  on  Alleyn's  life  at  Dulwich,  and  the  links  of 
association  between  these  famous  contemporaries  afford 
strong  antecedent  probability  that  the  tradition  sprang 
from  something  more  solid  than  "  such  stuff  as  dreams  are 
made  of."  Each  began  and  closed  his  professional  career 
as  a  stage-player  in  nearly  the  self-same  period  and  in 
neighbouring  theatres.  During  several  years  they  were 
near  neighbours  in  their  homes  at  Bankside,  then  the 
headquarters  of  players  and  play-houses.  Leading  actors 
then,  as  afterwards,  came  much  in  contact  with  the  living 
authors  whose  creations  they  personated.  Alleyn  per- 
formed in  5'Leir,"  the   "Moore  of   Venis,"   "Romeo," 


A  L  L.—  ALL 


585 


"Pericles,"  and  "Henry  VITL."  as  appears  from  his 
inventory  of  his  own  theatrical  wardrobe.  Among  the 
intimate  friends  of  both  were  Ben  Jonson,  Michael  Dray- 
ton, and  other  members  of  the  goodly  company  of  poets 
and  dramatists  whose  genius  shed  a  lustre  on  their  day. 
Shakespeare  had  not  finally  betaken  himself  to  the  retire- 
ment of  Stratford-on-Avon  until  seven  years  after 
AUeyn  took  up  his  abode  at  Dulwich.  In  the  face  of  all 
these  facts,  it  can  hardly  be  said  the  local  tradition  is 
groundless,  though  no  direct  proof  has  yet  been  brought 
to  bear  on  the  point. 

Alleyn's  first  wife  died  in  the  summer  of  1623.  In 
December  of  the  same  year  he  married  Constance  Donne, 
who, 'survived  him.  This  lady  was  a  daughter  of  Dr 
Donne,  dean  of  St  Paul's.  Her  maiden  name  was  mis- 
quoted by  an  early  biographer.  This  mistake  gave  rise  to 
the  further  error  which  attributes  to  Alleyn  a  third  wife. 
He  died  in  November  1626,  in  the  sixty-first  year  of  his 
age.  His  gravestone  at  Dulwich  fixes  the  date  of  his 
death  on  21st  November,  but  there  are  grounds  for  the 
belief  that  the  true  date  is  the  25  th  of  the  same  month. 

Besides  dispensing  bounties  within  the  bounds  of  his 
college,  Alleyn  provided,  by  an  after-thought,  some  years 
later  than  his  deed  of  foundation,  for  certain  extensions  of 
the  benefits  of  his  endowment.  But  successive  actions  at 
law,  carried  on  at  various  periods,  resulted  in  the  ruling 
that  it  was  not  within  the  competence  of  the  founder  to 
divert  any  portion  of  the  revenues  of  his  foundation  to 
the  use  of  others  than  the  members  thereof,  as  specified  in 
the  letters  patent.  Chief  among  the  good  intents  on  the 
part  of  the  founder  that  were  thus  frustrated  was  his 
scheme  for  embracing  in  the  school  work  within  the 
college  as  many  outsiders  as  would  bring  the  total  number 
to  eighty  boys,  inclusive  of  the  twelve  foundationers.  But 
as  this  was  not  within  the  bond,  his  successors  in  the 
administration  of  the  trust,  for  more  than  two  centuries 
after  his  death,  declined  the  work.  In  the  latter  part  of 
that  period,  decay,  and  not  development,  fixed  on  the 
time-honoured  memorial  of  Alleyn's  high  but  thwarted 
purposes  the  stigma  of  a  public  scandaL  Then  came,  in 
1842,  a  grudging  and  partial,  rather  than  a  full  and  loyal, 
concession  towards  the  realisation  of  the  founder's  aims. 
Finally,  however,  an  Act  of  Parliament,  in  1857,  ex- 
tinguished the  stagnant  and  unprogressive  corporation. 
Alleyn's  College  of  God's  Gift  at  Dulwich  entered  thence- 
forward on  that  prosperous  career  which  already  links  its 
name  with  the  front  rank  of  institutions  doing  good  ser- 
vice in  the  educational  work  of  the  day.  (j.  go.) 

ALLIANCE,  a  league  between  independent  states  for 
the  purpose  of  combined  action,  defensive  or  offensive,  or 
both — a  subject  which  falls  to  be  treated  under  the  heading 
Law  of  Nations.  The  alliances  of  greatest  historical 
importance  are  the  Triple  Alliance  (1688)  of  Great  Britain, 
Sweden,  and  the  Netherlands  against  France ;  the  Grand 
Alliance  (1689)  of  the  Emperor  Leopold  I.  and  Holland, 
subsequently  joined  by  England,  Spain,  and  Saxony,  against 
Louis  XIV;  the  Quadruple  Alliance  (1718)  of  Great 
Britain,  France,  Austria,  and  Holland,  against  Spain ;  the 
Holy  Alliance  (1815)  of  Russia,  Austria,  and  Prussia,  for 
the  maintenance  of  peace  and  the  establishment  of  the 
existing  dynasties;  and  the  alliance  (1854)  of  Great 
Britain,  France,  and  Turkey,  against  Russia.  ■ 

ALLIER,  a  department  in  the  centre  of  France,  so 
called  from  the  river  of  the  same  name ;  bounded  on  the 
N.  by  the  department  of  Cher  and  Nievre,  on  the  E  by 
those  of  Saone-et-Loire  and  Loire,  on  the  S.  by  that  of 
Puys  de  Dome,  and  on  the  W.  by  those  of  Creuse  and 
Cher;  extending  at  the  widest  points  82  miles  from  E.  to 
W.,  and  55  from  N.  to  S.  ;  and  containing  an  area  of 
5821  square  miles.     Its  surface  is  in  general  undulating, 

1-20* 


rising  to  considerable  elevations  among  the  mountains  of 
Forez  on  the  south-east,  and  among  those  of  Auvcrgne 
towards  the  west  The  river  Allier,, £ows  northward 
between  these  rauges,  receiving  the  Andelot,  the  Sioule, 
and  the  Bioudre,  all  from  the  left ;  cast  of  the  Allier  is 
the  Bebre,  which  joins  the  Loire  within  the  limite  of  the 
department ;  and  on  the  west  the  Cher,  with  its  tributary 
the  Aumance.  The  soil  is  for  the  most  part  fertile,  espe- 
cially in  the  valleys  of  the  Allier,  the  Sioule,  and  the  Bebre, 
yielding  wheat,  oats,  barley,  rye,  fruits,  and  potatoes,  in 
quantities  exceeding  what  is  required  for  home  consump- 
tion, as  well_  as  some  red  and  white  wines.  Good  timber  is 
grown,  and  cattle,  sheep,  goats,  and  horses  are  reared  in 
large  numbers;  but  agriculture  is  on  the  whole  in  a  back- 
ward condition,  owing  to  the  inhabitants'  aversion  to 
change.  The  mineral  wealth  of  the  department  is  very 
considerable,  including  iron,  coal,  antimony,  marble,  and 
manganese — the  coal  mines  of  Commentry  being  among  the 
most  important.  The  chief  manufactures  are  of  cutlery, 
earthenware,  glass,  cloth,  leather,  and  paper.  The  climate 
is  healthy,  but  is  liable  to  sudden. variations  of  tempera- 
ture. The  mineral  waters  at  Vichy,  Neris,  and  Bourbon 
1'Archambault,  in  the  department,  are  in  much  repute. 
Allier  comprehends  the  greater  portion  of  the  old  province 
of  Bourbonnais,  and  is  at  present  divided  into  four  arron- 
dissements — Moulins,  Gannat,  La  Palisse,  and  Montluyon, 
which  are  subdivided  into  28  cantons  and  317  communes. 
Moulins  is  the  capital,  and  the  seat  of  a  bishop  whose 
diocese  is  co-extensive  with  the  department.  The  other 
important  towns  are  La  Palisse,  Cusset,  Vichy,  Gannat, 
Saint  Pourcain,  Montlucon,  and  Commentry.  Population 
in  1871,  390,812;  of  whom  196,831  were  males,  and 
193,981  females.  Of  the  total  population,  223,374  could 
neither  read  nor  write,  and  36,786  could  read  but  could 
not  write. 

Allier,  the  ancient  Slaver,  a  river  of  France,  which 
rises  in  the  department  of  Lozere,  among  the  Margerida 
mountains,  a  few  miles  east  of  the  town  of  Mende,  and, 
after  traversing  Haute  Loire,  Puys  de  Dome,  and  Allier, 
forms  the  boundary  between  Cher  and  Nievre,  until  it 
falls  into  the  Loire  four  miles  west  of  Nevers.  Its  length  is 
200  miles,  for  a  considerable  portion  of  which  it  is  navi- 
gable, and  its  chief  tributaries  are  the  Dore  and  the  Sioule. 

ALLIGATOR,  (probably  derived  from  the  Spanish  el 
lagarto,  the  lizard),  an  animal  so  closely  allied  to  the 
crocodile  that  some  naturalists  have  classed  them  together 
as  forming  one  genus.  It  differs  from  the  true  crocodile 
principally  in  having  the  head  broader  and  shorter,  and 
the  snout  more  obtuse  ;  in  having  a  large  canine  tooth  of 
tho  under  jaw  received,  not  into  an  external  furrow,  but 
into  a  pit  formed  for  it  within  the  upper  one ;  in  wanting 
a  jagged  fringe  which  appears  on  the  hind  legs  and  feet  of 
the  crocodile;  and  in  having  the  toes  of  the  hind  feet 
webbed  not  more  than  half-way  to  the  tips.  The  principal 
species,  all  found  in  America  only,  are  the  common  alligator 
(Alligator  Mississippiensis  or  Crocodilus  Lucius),  occurring 
in  the  southern  United  States;  the  caiman  or  cayman 
(A.  palpebrosus),  in  Surinam  and  Guiana ;  and  the  spec- 
tacled alligator  or  jacare  (A.  sclerops),  -principally  in 
Brazil,  The  names  alligator  and  crocodile  are  often  con- 
founded in  popular  speech ;  and  the  structure  and  habits 
of  the  two  animnla  are  so  similar  that  both  may  be  con- 
veniently considered  under  the  heading  Cbocodlle. 

ALLITERATION.  As  Milton  defined  rhyme  to  De 
"  the  jingling  sound  of  like  endings,"  so  alliteration  is  the 
jingle  of  like  beginnings.  All  language  has  a  tendency  to 
jingle  in  both  ways,  even  in  prose.  Thus  in  prose  we 
speak  of  "  near  and  dear,"  "  high  and  dry,"  "  health  and 
wealth."  But  the  initial  form  of  jingle  is  much  more 
common — "  safe  and  sound."  "  thick  and  thin,"  "  weal  or 


586 


A  L  L  -  A  L  L 


wee,"  "fair  or  foul,"  Spick  and  span,"  "fish,  flesh,  or 
fowl,"  "kith  and  kin."  The  poets  of  nearly  all  times  and 
tongues  have  not  been  slow  to  seize  upon  the  emphasis 
which  could  thus  be .  produced.  Accordingly  wo  read  in 
Shakespeare  : — 


"Full  fathom  five  thy  father  lies: 
Of  his  bones  are  corals  made." 


In  Pope : — 

"Here  files  of  pins  extend  their  shining  rows 
Polls,  powders,  patches,  bibles,  billet-doux 

In  Gray : — 

'"  Weave  the  warp  and  weave  the  woof, 
The  winding-sheet  of  Edward's  race." 

In  Coleridge « — 

"  The  fair  breeze  blew,  the  white  foam  flew. 
The  furrow  followed  free ; 
We  were  the  first  that  ever  burst 
Into  that  silent  sea." 

Churchill  describes  himself  as  one 

"  Who  often,  but  without  success,  had  prayed 
For  apt  alliteration's  artful  aid, — " 

an  example  which  is  itself  a  proof  of  his  failure;  for  allitera- 
tion is  never  effective  unless  it  runs  upon  consonants. 

As  thus  far  considered,  alliteration  is  a  device  wholly 
dependent  on  the  poet's  fancy.  He  may  use  it  or  not, 
or  use  it  much  or  little,  at  his  pleasure.  'But  there. is 
an  extensive  range  'of  poetry  whose  metrical  laws  are 
entirely  based  on  alliteration.  This,  for  example,  is  the 
principle  on  which  Icelandic  verse  is  founded ;  and  we 
have  a  yet  nearer  interest  in  it,  because  it  furnishes  the 
key  to  Anglo-Saxon  and  a  large  portion  of  early  English 
verse.  For  a  specimen  take  the  following  lines,  the  spelling 
modernised,  from  the  beginning  of  Piers  the  Ploughman: — 

"But  in  a  May  morning  |  on  .Valvern  hills, 
He  be/el  a/erly  |  of  /airy  methought; 
'I  was  weary  of  wandering  |  and  went  me  to  rest 
Under  a  Jroad  &ank  |  by  a  turn-side.; 
'And  as  I  /ay  and  leaned  |  and  looked  on  the  waters, 
I  slumbered  in  a  sleeping  |  it  sounded  so  merry." 

The  rule  of  this  verse  is  indifferent  as  to  the  number  of 
syllables  it  may  contain,  but  imperative  as  to  the  camber 
rif  accented  ones.  The  lino  is  divided  in  the  middle  by  a 
pause,  and  each  half  ought  to  contain  two  accented.syllables. 
Of  the  four  .accented  syllables,  the  first  three  should  begin 
-with  the  same  letter ;  tho  fourth  is  free,  and  may  start 
with  any  letter.  Those  who  wish-  for  a  more  minute 
analysis  of  the  laws  of  alliterative  verse,  as  practised  by 
the  Anglo-Saxon  and  early  English  poets,  may  consult 
an  exhaustive  essay. on  the  subject  by  the  Rev.  W.  \7. 
Skeat,  prefixed  to  voL  iii.  of  Bishop  Percy's.  Folio  Manu- 
tcript;  only  the  reader  must  bo  on  his  guard  against  an 
error  which  pervades  it,  and  which  this  "able  writer  seems 
to  have  derived  frcm  Bask.  Tho  question  arises— What 
is  the  nature  of  tho  cadence  in  alliterative  verse  \  Now 
all  metrical  movement  is  of  two  kinds,  according  as  the 
beat  or  emphasis  begins  the  movement  or  ends  it.  If  the 
beat  is  initial,  we  say  in  classical  language  that  the  move- 
ment is  trochaic  or  dactylic,  according  to  the  number  of  its 
syllables ;  and  if  the  beat  is  final,  we  in  like  manner  say 
that  the  movement  is  iambic  or  anapaestic.  Mr  Skeat  and 
many  others  object  with  some  reason  to  use  the  classical 
terms,  and  therefore  brushing  them  aside,  let  us  put  the 
question  in  the  simplest  form — Has  the  movement  of 
alliterative  verse  got  the  initial  or  the  final  beat?  In  the 
middle  of  last  century  Bishop  Percy  decided  this  question' 
with  sufficient  accuracy,  though  he  mixed  up  his  statement 
with  a  blunder  which  it  is  not  easy  to  account  for.  He 
joints  out  how  the  poets  began  to  introduce  rhyme  into 
alliterative  yerse,  until  at  length  rhyme  came  to  pre- 
dominate over  alliteration,  and  "thus  was  this  kind  of 


metre  at  length  swallowed  up  and  lost  in  our  common 
burlesque  Alexandrine  or  anapaestic  verse,  as 

A  cobbler  there  was,  and  he  lived  in  a  stall." 

Percy  made  a  serious  mistake  when  he  gave  the  name  of 
Alexandrine  to  anapaestic  verse ;  but  ho  is  quite  right  in 
his  general  statement  that  alliterative  verse  became  lost  in 
a  measure,  the  movement  of  which  had  the  final  beat. 
Conybeare  has  stated  the- fact  still  more  accurately.  "In 
the  Saxon  poetry  a  trochaic  character  is  predominant.  In 
Piers  Plowman  there  is  a  prevailing  tendency  to  an 
anapaestic  cadence."  It  is  the  result  of  a  change  in  the 
language — the  loss  of  inflection.  Take  tho  word  man. 
Tho  genitive  in  Saxon  would  be  mannes,  a  trochee;  in 
English,  of  man,  an  iambus.  The. tendency  of  the  language 
was  thus  to  pass  from  a  metrical  movement,  in  which  the 
beat  was  initial,  to  one  in  which  it  was  final.  It  may 
therefore  bo  quite  right  to  speak  of  Anglo-Saxon  alliterative 
poetry  as  trochaic  or  dactylic,  and  quite  wrong  to  apply  tho 
same  terms  to  tho  cadence  of  •our  later  alliterative  verse. 
And  this  is  precisely  the  error  into  which  Mr  Skeat  has 
fallen.  He  says — "Lines  do  not  always  begin  with  a  loud 
syllable,  but  often  one  or  two  and  sometimes  (in  early 
English  .especially)  even  three  soft  syllables  precede  it 
These  syllables  are  necessary  to  the  sense,  but  not  to  the 
scansion  of  the  line."  That  is  just  the  point  at  issue. 
By  leaving  out  of  account  the  light  syllable  or  syllables  at 
the  beginning  of  a  line,  and  taking  his  start  from  the  first 
syllable  that  has  the  alliterative  beat,  Mr  Skeat  may  certainly 
prove  that  all  the  later  alliterative  poetry  has  a  movement 
of  initial  beat.  But  English  ears  will  not  submit  to  this 
rule.  It  is  those  light  syllables  of  no  account  which  have 
altered  the  rhythm  of  English  descant  from  one  of  initial 
to  one  of  final  beat  (e.  s.  d.). 

ALLIX,  Plek.ee,  a  distinguished  divine  of  the  French 
Reformed  Church,  was  born  at  Alencon  in  1641.  He  was 
pastor  first  at  St  Agobile  in  Champagne,  and  -then  at 
Charenton,  'near  Paris.  The  revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes  in  1685  compelled  him  to  take  refuge  in  London, 
where,  under,  the  sanction  of  James  H.,  he  opened  a  church 
for  the  French  exiles.  His  reputation  for  learning  wa9 
such  ais  to  obtain  for  him,  soon  after  his  arrival,  the  degree 
of  doctor  of  divinity  from  both  universities,  and  in  1690  ha 
received  from  Bishop  Burnet  the  more  substantial  honour 
of  the  treasurership  and  a  canonry  in  Salisbury  cathedral. 
He  died  at  London  in  March  1717. 

The  works  of  ALLLx,  which  are  very  numerous,  aro 
chiefly  of  a  controversial  and  apologetic  character,  and,  like 
most  works  of  that  class,  are  not  thoroughly  trustworthy. 
At  the  invitation  of  a  number  of  .English  ministers,  he  is 
said  to  have  written  a  history  of  the  councils  of  the  church, 
which,  however,  owing  to  want  of  support,  never  was 
published.  In  opposition  to  Bossuet  he  issued  Some 
Remarks  upon  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  the  Ancient 
Churches  of  Piedmont  (1690),  and  Remarks  upon  the  Eccle- 
siastical History  of.  the  Ancient  Churches  of  the  Albigenses 
(1692),  wilh  tho  view  of  showing  that  the  Albigenses  were 
not  Manichaeans,  but  historically  identical  with  the  Wal- 
deuses.  His  Dissertation  on  the  First  Rise  of  the  Trisagium 
or  Doxology  (1674),  and  Reflections  upon  the  Books  of  Holy 
Scripture  (1688),  are  of  little  present  value. 

ALLOA,  a  seaport  town  of  Scotland,  in  the  county  of 
Clackmannan,  situated  on  the  north  side  of  the  Firth  of 
Forth,  25  miles  from  Edinburgh,  and  6  below  Stirling,  with 
which  it  is  connected  by  railway.  The  town,  as  a  whole  is 
irregularly  built,  although  in  the  modern  portions  there 
are  several  spacious  streets,  with  good  shops  and  houses. 
The  parish  church,  opened  in  1819,  is  a  fino  Gothio 
edifice,  with  a  handsome  spire  200.  feet  high;  there  are 
also  piaces  of  worship  belonging  to  the  other  denomina- 


ALL-ALL 


587 


tions,  as  well  as  the  county  court-house,  a  corn  exchange, 
and  schools  of  various  grades.  In  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  town  is  an  ancient  tower,  89  feet  high,  with  walls  1 1 
feet  in  thickness,  said  to  have  been  built  about  the  year 
1315,  formerly  the  residence  of  the  powerful  family  of 
Erskine,  descendants  of  the  Earls  of  Mar.  Here  many  of 
the  Scottish  princes  received  their  education  as  wards  of 
the' Lords  Erskine  and  the  Earls  of  Mar,  the  last  of  these 
educated  here  being  Henry,  the  eldest  son  of  James  VL 
Among  the  manufactures  of  Alloa  are  ale,  whisky,  iren 
goods,  glass  (especially  bottles),  bricks,  yarns,  shawls,  and 
blankets.  Shipbuilding  is  also  carried  on  to  some  extent, 
and  in  the  neighbourhood  there  are  several  collieries.  The 
harbour  is  safe  and  commodious,  having  a  depth  of  16 
feet  at  neap,  and  22  at  spring  tides;  adjoining  it  is  an 
excellent  dry  dock,  and  a  capacious  wet  dock  was  con- 
structed in  1863.  In  1872,  446  vessels  of  49,941  tons 
entered,  and  533  of  70,499  cleared  the  port  of  Alloa,  in 
addition  to  coasting  vessels  in  ballast;  and  in  the  same 
year  £453  were  derived  from  customs  duties.  The  chief 
exports  were  p:g-iron,  ale,  glass,  and  coals;  the  imports, 
timber,  grain,  iron,  linseed,  and  flax.  There  is  a  ferry 
here  across  tho  Forth.     Population  in  1871,  9362. 

ALLODIUM  or  ALODIUM  denotes  lands  which  are 
the  absolute  property  of  their  owner,  and  not  subject  to 
any  service  or  acknowledgement  to  a  superior.  It  is  thus 
the  opposite  of  feodum,  or  fief.  The  proper  derivation  of 
the  word  has  been  much  discussed  and  is  still  doubtful, 
though  it  is  probably  compounded  of  all,  whole  or  entire, 
and  odh,  property.  Allodial  tenure  seems  to  have  been 
common  throughout  northern  Europe.  It  exists  in  Orkney 
and  Shetland,  where  the  proprietor  of  an  allodial  estate 
was  known  until  recently  as  an  udaller.  (See  Sir  Walter 
Scott's  Pirate.)  In  England  allodial  tenure  is  unknown, 
the  feudal  system  having  been  made  universal  by  William 
the  Conqueror. 

ALLORI,  Alsssanteo,  a  painter  of  the  Florentine 
school,  was  born  at  Florence  in  1535,  and  died  in  1607. 
Having  lost  his  father  in  his  fifth  year,  he  was  brought 
up  and  trained  in  art  by  his  uncle,  Angelo  Bronzino,  whose 
name  he  sometimes  assumed  in  his  pictures.  Visiting 
Rome  in  his  nineteenth  year,  he  carefully  studied  the 
works  of  Michael  Angelo;  but  having  himself  little  genius 
and  no  originality,  the  influence  of  that  great  master  can 
only  be  traced  in  the  anatomical  correctness  of  his  draw- 
ing of  nude  figures.  He  was  very  successful  as  a  portrait- 
painter. 

ALLORI,  Ckistofajto,  son  of  the  preceding,  was  born 
at  Florence  on  the  17th  October  1577,  and  died  in  1621. 
He  received  his  first  lessons  in  painting  from  his  father, 
but  becoming  dissatisfied  with  the  hard  anatomical  drawing 
and  cold  colouring  of  the  latter,  he  entered  the  studio  of 
Pagani,  who  was  one  of  the  leaders  of  that  later  Florentine 
school  which  endeavoured  to  unite  the  rich  colouring  of 
the  Venetians  with  the  correct  drawing  of  Michael  Angelo's 
disciples.  Allori  became  one  of  the  foremost  of  this  school. 
His  pictures  are  distinguished  by  their  close  adherence  to 
nature  and  the  delicacy  and  technical  perfection  of  their 
execution.  His  technical  skill  is  proved  by  the  fact  that 
several  copies  he  made  after  Correggio  have  been  taken 
to  be  duplicates  by  Correggio  himself.  His  extreme 
fastidiousness  limited  his  power  of  production,  though  the 
number  of  his  works  is  not  so  small  as  is  sometimes 
asserted.  Several  specimens  are  to  be  seen  at  Florence 
2nd  elsewhere.  The  finest  of  all  his  works  is  his  ".Judith 
and  Holofernes,"  in  the  Pitti  palace.  The  model  for  the 
Judith  was  his  mistress,  the  beautiful  Mazzafirra,  who  is 
also  represented  in  his  Magdalene ;  and  the  head  of  Holo- 
fernes is  generally  supposed  to  represent  himself,  though 
Clin  is  questioned  by  the  best  authorities. 


ALLOTROPY  (from  oXAos,  other,  and  Tpoa-os,  manner), 
a  name  applied  to  a  property,  whereby  certain  substances, 
chemically  simple,  assume  different  forms  and  conditions 
without  undergoing  chemical  change.  Sulphur  and  phos- 
phorus, for  instance,  occur  sometimes  in  crystals  and 
sometimes  in  an  amorphous  state,  being  in  the  latter  case 
sometimes  translucent  and  sometimes  opaque,  and  present 
very  different  properties  under  these  different  conditions. 
Ozone  is  an  allotropic  form  of  oxygen.  The  name 
isomerism  is  given  to  the  similar  by  no  means  uncommon 
property  whereby  compound  bodies,  although  entirely 
distinct,  are  made  up  of  the  same  chemical  elements  in 
precisely  the  same  proportions. 

ALLOXAN,  a  product  of  the  action  of  oxidising  agenta 
on  uric  acidr  obtained  by  adding  slowly,  in  small  quantities, 
uric  acid  to  strong  nitric  acid  of  specific  gravity  1  '4,  kept 
cool,  and  stirring  constantly.  Carbonic  acid  and  nitrogen 
are  evolved  during  the  action,  and  the  alloxan  crystallises 
out  on  standing.  It  is  purified  by  recrystallisation  from 
water,  and  then  has  the  composition  CjHJs'.Oj  +  aq.  The 
crystals  of  this  compound  °xe  large  and  colourless,  and 
wheD  heated  to  a  temperature  of  150°  C,  lose  the  water  of 
crystallisation,  and  acquire  a  red  colour.  Alloxan  is  readily 
soluble  in  water  and  alcohol,  and  its  aqueous  solution 
reddens  litmus,  has  an  astringent  taste,  and  colours  the 
skin  purple  after  some  time.  It  produces  a  great  number 
of  derivatives,  for  which  see  Ueic  Acid. 

ALLOY,  the  name  given  to  a  combination  obtained  by 
fusing  metals  with  each  other.  Few  metals  are  employed 
in  the  pure  state,  with  the  exception  of  iron,  copper,  lead, tin, 
zinc,  platinum,  aluminium ;  metals  are  more  frequently  used 
in  the  forms  of  alloys  for  technical  purposes.  Every  indus- 
trial application  necessitates  special  qualities  that  may  not 
occur  in  any  isolated  metal,  but  which  may  be  produced 
by  the  proper  mixture  of  two  or  more  of  these  substances. 
Thus  gold  and  silver,  which  in  their  pure  state  are  too  soft 
and  flexible  for  the  manufacture  of  plate,  coin,  trinkets,  <fcc, 
are  hardened  by  the  addition  of  a  tenth  part  of  copper, 
while  the  colour  and  other  valuable  qualities  are  not  mate- 
rially impaired.  Similarly  copper  is  rendered  hard  by 
mixture  with  zinc,  when  we  obtain  brass,  an  alloy  of  a 
beautiful  yellow  colour,  easier  to  work  than  the  pure  metaL 
H  brass  has  to  be  used  in  turning  operations  it  is  found  to 
tear  under  the  action  of  the  chisel,  unless  a  small  quantity 
of  lead  has  been  added.  These  examples  are  sufficient  to 
show  that  an  alloy  is  really  an  industrial  metal,  often  oi 
greater  importance  than  the  metals  which  compose  it. 

Alloys  are  equally  interesting  from  a  purely  scientific 
point  of  view.  They  are  not  only  mixtures  of  metals 
having  certain  particular  qualities,  but  in  reality  are  true 
chemical  compounds,  generally  dissolved  in  au  excess  of 
one  of  the  constituent  metals.  In  the  appearances  which 
accompany  the  union  of  the  metals,  and  in  the  properties 
of  the  resulting  products,  we  observe  that  which  charac- 
terises the  manifestation  of  affinity,  that  is,  an  evolution 
of  heat  and  light,  resulting  in  the  formation  of  substances 
having  a  definite  composition,  distinct  crystalline  form,  and  a 
variety  of  properties  different  from  those  of  the  constituents. 
li  a  piece  of  clean  sodium  is  rubbed  in  a  mortar  with  a 
quantity  of  dry  mercury,  the  metal  dissolves,  producing  a 
harsh  sound  resembling  the  immersion  of  red  hot  iron  in 
water.  This  phenomenon  is  due  to  the  large  evolution  of 
heat  which  accompanies  the  combination,  as  the  mercury 
rises  rapidly  in  temperature  on  the  addition  of  each  succes- 
sive piece  of  sodium.  If  the  mass  is  allowed  to  cool  after 
the  action,  long  needles  of  a  white  brilliant  alloy  of  definite 
composition  crystallise  from  the  middle  of  the  liquid,  from 
which  the  excess  of  mercury  may  be  separated  by  decant*- 
tion.  Platinum,  iridium,  gold,  rhodium,  ruthenium,  and 
silver  unite  with  tin,  producing  an  evolution  of  heat  :  if 


o8S 


A  L  L-  A  L  L 


the  tin  is  in  excess  after  cooling,  a  metallic  ingot  is 
obtained  resembling  closely  tho  original  substance ;  but  if 
the  mass  is  treated  with  strong  hydrochloric- acid,  tho 
excess  of  tin  is  dissolved  and  crystals  remain  of  a  definite 
alloy  of  tin  and  the  precious  metaL  -These  alloys  are  in- 
soluble in  strong  hydrochloric  acid,  which  dissolves  tin  so 
easily ;  but  they  are  soluble  in  aqua  regia,  even  when  the 
precious  metal  contained  therein  (rhodium,  ruthenium, 
iridium)  is  in  the  free  state  absolutely  insoluble.  This  is 
no  proof  that  tho  industrial  alloys  are  always  tho  result  of 
one  definite  combination  dissolved  in  excess  of  one  of  the 
metals,  as  many  combinations  are  able  to.  co-exist  in  -the 
same  alloy.  This  may  be  proved  by  taking  an  alloy  of  tin, 
lead,  and  bismuth,  which  melts  below  the  boiling  point  of 
water,  heating  to  a  temperature  of  25°  C,  and  observing 
the  rate  of  .cooling  by  means  of  a  thermometer.  The 
thermometer  falls  at  first  regularly  as  far  as  a  certain 
degree,  where  it  remains  stationary  for  some  time,  after 
which  it  descends  to  a  lower  temperature,  where  it  is  again 
similarly  arrested.  These  two  stoppages  in  the  rate  of 
tooling  can  only  bo  explained  by  admitting  the  production 
of  a  less  fusible  alloy  in  the  fluid  mass,  which  solidifies 
with' an  evolution  of 'heat,  rendering  the  thermometer 
stationary  for  a  timo.  Each  successive  arrest  will  therefore 
correspond  to  the  formation  of  more  fusible  combinations. 
Thus  the  metals  form  amongst  themselves  true  chemical 
combinations ;  and  alloys  are  often  formed  by  the  mixture 
of  one  or  more  of  these  compoifnds  with  excess  of  one  of 
the-  constituents. 

Recently  hydrogen,  which,  although  a  gaseous  substance, 
has  chemical  properties  resembling' those  of  the  true  metals, 
has  been  combined  with  palladium,  sodium,  and  potassium, 
producing  compounds  similar  in  properties  to  the  recognised 
alloys. 

Properties  op  Alloys.  Density. — If  the  density  of 
any  alloy  is  calculated  from  that  of  the  components — assum- 
ing that  there  is  no  condensation  of  volume — the  resulting 
number  is  sometimes  greater  than,  equal  to,  or  less  than, 
the  experimental  result.  Thus  the  alloys  of  gold  and  silver 
are  less  dense  than  the  theoretical- mean  density ;.  whereas 
brass  and  the  alloys  of  lead  and  antimony  vary  in  the 
opposite  direction.  The  former  are  therefore  produced 
through  an  expansion,  the  latter  through  a  condensation  of 
their  constituents.  In  the  formation  of  many  alloys  there 
is  no  alteration  of  volume,  and  then  the  calculated  density 
is  correct.  Colour. — This  is  generally  grey,  unless  when 
we  have  a  coloured  metal  like  copper'  or  gold  present  in 
sufficient  quantity.  Hardness,  Ductility,  and  Tenacity. — 
Alloys  are  for  the  most  part  harder  and  more  brittle,  and 
are  generally  less  ductile  and  possess  less  tenacity  than  the 
constituent  metal  that  has  these  properties  in  excess. 
Aluminium  bronze  is  an  exception,  as  its  tenacity  is 
greater  than  that  of  either  of  the  components.  Fusibility. 
— This  is  always .  greater  than  that  of  tho  least  fusible 
metal  entering  into  tho  composition  of  the  alloy,  and  is 
sometimes  greater  than  in  any  of  the  components.  Thus  an 
alloy,  composed  of  5  parts  of  bismuth,  3  of  lead,  and  2  of 
tin,  melts  at  91°  C.  Alloys  of  lead  and  silver,  containing 
a  small  quantity  of  the  latter,  are  more  fusible  than  lead, 
and  potassium  and  sodium  form  an  alloy  fluid  at  the  ordi- 
nary temperature  of  the  air.  Liquation. — The  constituents 
of  an  alloy  heated  gradually  to  near  its  point  of  liquefication 
frequently  unite  anew  in  such  proportions  as  to  form  a  mass 
that  is  fusible  at  the  given  temperature.  If  the  fluid  por- 
tion is  poured  off,  there,  remains  a  solid  alloy  less  fusible 
than  the  original.  Copper  is  separated  from  silver  -by  this 
process.  Decomposition. — When  the  alloy  contains  a  vola- 
e  metal  like  zinc  or  mercury,  heat  decomposes  it,  but 
the  temperature-  required  to  expel  the.  last  trace  of  tho 
volatile   metal   must    be   considerably   higher   than    that 


metal's  normal  temperature  of  ebullition.     Temper. The 

alloy  of  94  parts  of  copper  and  6  parts  of  tin  forms  a 
bronze  so  brittle  that  it  may  be  pulverised  with  a  hammer 
when  it  has  been  slowly  cooled;  but  if,  on  the  contrary,  it 
is  cooled  rapidly  by  tempering  it  in  cold  water,  it  becomes 
malleable.  _  Influence  of  the  Constituent  Metals.^-llcrcuTj, 
bismuth,  tin,  and  cadmium  give  fusibility  to  alloys  into 
which  they  enter;  tin  also  gives  hardness  and  tenacity  if 
present  in  considerable  quantity;  lead  and  iron  give  hard- 
ness; arsenic  and  antimony  render  alloys  brittle. 

Composition  of  Alloys. — A  statement  of  the  average 
proportions  in  which  the  metals  enter  into  the  best  known 
alloys,  the  composition  of  which  is  generally  very  variable, 
is  given  in  the  following  table : — 


Coinage  of  gold,, 


I! 


Gold,  90. 

Copper,  10. 

Gold        Jewellery  j  Gold,  75  to  35. 

and  plate, 1  Copper,  25  to  8. 

c,       '    ,  (  Silver,  90. 

Silver  coinage, j  Coppc'r|  10. 


Silver  veasela, 

Sliver  Jewellery,.. 

Aluminium 
Bronze, 

Bronze.  —  Coins, 
Medals, 


Bronze. — Cannon, 

Bronze.— Bells,.... 
Bronze.  —  Cym- 


bals,.. 


Silver,  93. 
Copper,  C. 
Silver,  80. 
Copper,  20. 
Copper,  90  "to  93. 
Aluminium,  10  to  5. 
Copper,  94  to  90. 
Tin,  *  to  6. 
Zinc,  I  to  S. 
Copper,  90. 
Tin,  10. 
Copper,  78.* 
Tin,  22.      * 
Copper,  80. 
Tin,  20. 


Specula    of      tele-  (  Copper,  87. 
•copes, (  Tin,  33. 

Pinchbeck, j  ^PJ*;--90- 

I  Zinc,  10. 

Brass, I  CoWer' e7  **  •* 

t  Zinc,  33  to  28. 

{Coppei,  GO. 
Zinc,  25. 
Nickel,  2«, 

T^™"J. {£££.-*» 

|  Tin,  100. 


i  Bismuth,  1. 
Copper,  4. 


rnrt-r. j  T" 


Liquid  measures, J 

Plumbers'  solder, { 


Lead,  8. 
Tin,  8S. 
Lead,  18. 
Tin,  07. 
Lead,  33. 


Preparation  of  Alloys. — The  metals  are  generallj 
fused  together  under  a  layer  of  charcoal  to  prevent  oxida- 
tion, thoroughly  mixed  by  agitating,  and  the  mass  left  to 
Cool  slowly.  This  process  can  only  be  employed  when  the 
constituent  metals  are  all  non-volatile  at  the  temperature 
required  for  combination.  If  the  mixture  contains  volatile 
metals,  like  sodium,  potassium,  magnesium,  or  zinc,  they 
are  added  after  the  more  refractory  metal  is  fused. 

ALLSTON,  Washington,  an  eminent  American  .his- 
torical painter  and  poet,  was  born  5th  November  1779,  at 
Waccamaw,  in  South  Carolina^  where  his  father  was  a 
planter.  He  early  -displayed  a  taste  for  the  art  to'  which 
he  afterwards  devoted  himself.  He  graduated  at  Harvard 
in  1 800,  and  for  a  short  time  pursued  his  artistic  studies 
at  Charleston  with  Malbone  and  Charles  Fraser.  He  then 
removed  to  London,  and  entered  the  Royal  Academy  as  a 
student  of  Benjamin  West,'  with  whom  he  formed  a  life- 
long friendship.  In  .1804  he  repaired  to  Paris,  and  from 
that  city,  after  a  few  months'  residence,,  to  Rome,  where  he 
spent  the  greater  part  of  the'  next  four  years  studying 
Italian  art  and  Italian  scenery.  During  this  period  he 
became  intimate  with  Coleridge  and  Thorwaldsen.  From 
1809  to  1811  he  resided  in  his  native  couLtry,  and  from 
this  latter' date  to  1817  he  painted  in  England.  After 
visiting  Paris  for  a  second  time,  he  returned  to  the  United 
States,  and  practised  his- profession  at  Boston  (i818-30), 
and  .  afterwards  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  where  he 
died  on  the  9th  July  1843.  He  was  elected  an  associate 
of  the  Royal  Academy  in  1819.  The  paintings  of  Allston 
are  characterised  rathtrr  by  grandeur  of  conception  than  by 
skilful  execution.  In  colour,  and  the  management  of  light 
and  shade  he  closely  imitated  the  Venetian  school,  and  he 
has  hence  been  styled  "  the  American  Titian."  Many  of  his 
pictures  have  biblical  subjects,  and  Allston  himself  had  a 
profoundly  religious  nature.  His  first  great  painting,  "The 
Dead  Man  Revived,"  executed  shortly  after  his  second 
visit  to  England,  gained  a  prize  of  200  guineas  from  the 
British  Institution;  in  England  he  also  prepared  his  "St 
Peter  Liberated  by  the  Angel,"  "  Uriel  in  the  Sun,"  "Jacob'* 
Dream,"  and  "Elijah  in  the  Wilderness."    To  the  period  o/ 


A  L  L  — A  L M 


589 


his  residence  in  America  belong  "  The  Prophet  Jeremiah," 
"  Saul  and  the  Witch  of  Endor,"  "  Miriam,"  "  Beatrice," 
"Rosalie,"  "Spalatro's  Vision  of  the  Bloody  Hand,"  and  the 
vast  but  unfinished  "  Belshazzar's  Feast,"  at  which  he  was 
working  at  the  time  of  his  death  As  a  writer,  AUston 
shows  great  facility  of  expression  and  imaginative  power. 
Ilis  friend  Coleridge  said  of  him  that  he  was  surpassed  by 
no  man  of  his  age  in  artistic  and  poetic  genius.  His  literary 
works  are — The  Sylplix  of  the  Seasons  and  other  Poems 
(1813),  where  he  displays  true  sympathy  with  nature  and 
deep  knowledge  of  the  human  heart;  Monaldi  (1841),  a 
tragical  romance,  the  scene  of  which  is  laid  in  Italy ;  and 
Lectures  on  Art,  edited  by  his  brother-in-law,  R.  H.  Dana 
the  novelist  (1850). 

ALLUVIUM,  soil  or  land  made  up  of  the  sediment 
deposited  by  running  water.  Rivers  act  on  the  rocks  in 
their  course  both  mechanically  and  chemically,  and  are  in 
consequence  always  more  or  less  loaded  with  detritus, 
which  in  its  turn  again  aids  the  water  in  abrading  other 
rocks.  A  great  proportion  of  the  matter  with  which  rivers 
are  thus  charged  is  carried  out  to  sea.  But  in  level  tracts, 
where  the  motion  of  a  river  is  slow,  it  frequently  overflows 
its  banks,  and  leaves  a  sediment  of  earth,  mud,  gravel,  &c, 
when  it  returns  to  its  ordinary  channel  The  principal 
alluvial  tracts  are  the  deltas  or  deltoid  formations  at  the 
mouths  of  large  rivers.  These  vary  in  character  very  con- 
siderably. The  Delta  of  the  Nile  is  the  best-marked  speci- 
men ;  the  waters  of  the  Rhine,  Ganges,  &c.,  arrested  by 
the  solid  matter  they  have  washed  down,  force  their  way 
through  it  in  numerous  smaller  channels ;  the  Mississippi 
has  carried  the  solid  matter  it  holds  in  suspension  far  into 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  forming  long  spits  of  land  on  the 
banks  of  the  stream.  The  cognate  term  diluvium  (now 
little  used)  has  been  applied  to  formations  produced  by 
extraordinary  aqueous  agencies.1 

ALMA,  a  river  of  Russia,  in  the  S.W.  of  the  Crimea, 
which  falls  into  the  sea  about  L6  miles  N.  of  Sebas- 
topol.  It  gives  its  name  to  a  battle  gained  over  the 
Russians,  on  the  20th  September  1854,  by  the  allied 
British,  French,  and  Turkish  armies.  The  British  num- 
bered 25,000  men,  with  60  guns,  and  were  commanded 
by  Lord  Raglan ;  the  French  force  consisted  of  30,000 
men  and  G8  guns,  to  which  were  added  7000  Turkish 
infantry — all  under  the  command  of  Marshal  St  Arnaud. 
To  these  were  opposed  36,000  Russians,  with  122  guns, 
tinder  Prince  Menschikoff,  strongly  posted  on  the  heights 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  river.  The  victory  was  largely  due 
to  the  determined  advance  of  the  British  in  face  of  the 
Russian  fire. 

ALMADEN,  or  Almaden  del  Azogue  (in  Arabic,  the 
"Mine  of  Quicksilver"),  a  town  of  Spain,  in  the  province  of 
Ciudad  Real,  lies  in  the  Sierra  Morena,  55  miles  S.W.  of 
the  town  of  Ciudad  ReaL  It  is  the  Sisapon  of  the  Romans, 
and  is  famous  for  its  quicksilver  mines,  which  have  been 
wrought  extensively  both  in  ancient  and  in  modern  times. 
They  were  the  richest  and  most  productive  in  the  world 
until  the  discovery  of  quicksilver  at  New  Almaden  in 
California.  The  annual  yield  is  about  1,400,000  lb,  and 
4000  workpeople  are  employed.  The  principal  vein  is  25 
feet  thick ;  a  depth  of  1000  feet  has  been  reached,  and  the 
ore  increases  in  richness  with  the  depth  of  the  descent. 
These  mines  belong  to  the  Spanish  Government,  and  yield 
a  large  revenue.  At  various  periods  they  have  been  leased 
to  private  speculators.  The  town  has  a  good  hospital  and 
mining  schools.     Population,  9000. 

ALMAGEST,  compounded  of  the  Arabic  al  and  /uryiirn/, 
the  name  applied  by  the  Arabians  to  their  translation  of 
the  ^UyaX-q  2wra£is  of  Claudius  Ptolemy,  which  contains  a 
large  collection  of  problems  in  geometry  and  astronomy. 
The  translation  was  made  about  the  year  827  A.D.  by  order 


of  the  caliph  Al-Maaaun.  The  name  is  also  applied  to 
other  editions  and  translations  of  the  work,  as  well  as  to 
other  scientific  compilations.  Thus  Riccioli  published  a 
book  of  astronomy,  the  New  Almagest,  and  Plukenet  au 
Almagestum  Botanicum. 

ALMAGRO,  a  town  of  Spain,  in  the  province  of  Ciudad 
Real,  12  miles  E.S.E.  of  the  town  of  that  name.  It  stands 
in  a  fertile  plain,  and  is  a  well-built  town,  with  spacious 
streets  acd  a  fine  square.  It  was  once  almost  exclusively 
inhabited  by  monks  and  the  Knights  of  Calatrava,  aud 
contains  several  ruined  churches,  monasteries,  and  con- 
vents. In  the  town  and  neighbourhood  lace  is  extensively 
manufactured,  as  many  as  9000  workmen  being  employed. 
Brandy,  soap,  earthenware,  and  leather  are  also  made;  and 
the  surrounding  district  is  famous  for  its  breed  of  asses  and 
mules,  for  the  sale  of  which  two  great  fairs  are  annually 
held.  Excellent  red  wine  is  produced  in  the  district. 
Population,  14,000. 

ALMAGRO,  Diego  de,  a  Spanish  commander,  the  com- 
panion and  rival  of  Pizarro,  was  born  at  Aldea  del  Rey  in 
1475.  According  to  another  account  he  was  a  foundling 
in  the  village  from  which  he  derived  his  name.  Nothing 
is  known  of  his  life  until  1525,  when  he  joined  Pizarro 
and  Hernando  de  Luque  at  Panama  in  a  scheme  for  the 
conquest  of  Peru.  The  details  of  his  subsequent  career 
are  given  at  length  in  the  article  Peru.  He  was  executed 
by  order  of  his  former  associate  Pizarro  in  1538. 

ALMALI,  a  prosperous  town  of  Asiatic  Turkey,  situated 
on  the  river  Myra,  25  miles  from  its  mouth,  and  50  miles 
W.S.W.  of  Adalia.  It  lies  5000  feet  above  the  sea,  in  a 
valley  at  the  extremity  of  an  extensive  plain,  the  neigh- 
bouring mountains  rising  to  a  height  of  10,000  feet.  The 
town  is  well  built,  with  handsome  houses,  several  mosques, 
and  a  bazaar;  and  its  appearance  is  rendered  very  attractive 
by  the  lofty  trees  interspersed  through  the  streets,  and  by 
the  gardens  of  the  environs.  There  are  numerous  mills 
and  factories,  tanyards  and  dyeworks;  and  the  inhabitants 
are  exceedingly  industrious.  The  town  is  much  frequented 
by  merchants  from  Smyrna  and  other  places,  who  purchase 
the  produce  of  the  district  and  send  it  to  the  coast  for  ship- 
ment.    Population,  8000. 

AL-MAMUN  (also  written  Al-Majiotjn,  Al-Masion, 
and  simply  Mamun),  one  of  the  most  renowned  of  the 
Abbasside  dynasty  of  caliphs,  was  born  in  786  a.d.  '  He 
was  the  son  of  Harun-al-Raschid,  whose  caliphate  is  the 
golden  age  of  Mahometan  history.  Harun,  dying  in  808, 
left  the  supremacy  to  his  son  Al-Amin,  Al-Mamun  being  at 
the  time  governor  of  Khorassan,  and  favourable  to  the 
succession  of  his  brother.  Irritated,  however,  by  the  treat- 
ment he  received  at  the  hands  of  Amin,  and  supported  by 
a  portion  of  the  army,  Mamun  speedily  betook  himself  to 
arms.  The  result  was  a  five  years'  struggle  between  the 
two  brothers,  ending  in  the  death  of,  Amin,  4th  October 
813,  and  the  proclamation  of  Al-Mamun  as  caliph  at 
Baghdad.  Various  factions  and  revolts,  which  disturbed 
the  first  years  of  his  reign,  were  readily  quelled  by 
his  prudent  and  energetic  measures.  But  a  much  more 
serious  rebellion,  stirred  up  by  his  countenancing  the  here- 
tical sect  of  Ali  and  adopting  their  colours,  soon  after 
threatened  his  throne.  His  crown  was  actually  on  the 
head  of  his  uncle  Ibrahim  ben  Mahdi  (surnamed  Mobarek) 
for  a  short  time,  and  a  civil  war  with  the  orthodox  Mussul- 
mans was  imminent,  when  the  timely  death  of  Mamun's 
vizier  and  of  the  imam  Rizza  removed  his  principal  here- 
tical advisers,  and  restored  the  people  to  their  allegiance. 
This  inaugurated  a  period' of  tranquillity,  which  Al-Mamun 
employed  in  patronising  and  fostering  the  cultivation  of 
literature  and  science  throughout  his  empire.  He  had 
already,  while  governor  of  Khorassan,  founded  a  college 
there,  and  attracted  to  it  the  most  eminent  men  of  the 


590 


A  L  MI— A  L  M 


day;  end  now  Baghdad  became,  tinder  his  auspices,  the 
seat  of  academical  instruction  and  the  centre  of  intelli- 
gence. At  his  own  expense  ho  caused  to  be  translated 
into  Arabic  many  valuable  books  from  the  Greek,  Persian, 
Chaldean,  and  Coptic  languages;  and  he  was  himself  an 
ardent  student  of  mathematics  and  astronomy.  The  first 
Arabic  translation  of  Euclid  was  dedicated  to  him  in  813. 
Mamun  founded  observatories  at  Baghdad  and  Kassiun 
(near  Damascus)  for  astronomical  purposes,  and  he-  suc- 
ceeded in  determining  the  inclination  of  the  ecliptic.  He 
also  caused  a  degree  of  the  meridian  to  be  measured  on  the 
plain  of  Shinar;  and  he  constructed  astronomical  tables, 
which  are  said  to  be  wonderfully  accurate.  The  supposed 
antagonism  of  orthodoxy  and  science  receives  some  support 
from  the  conduct  of  Mamun.  A  lover. of  philosophy  and 
letters,  he  did  not  concern  himself  about  the  creed  of  the 
piofessors  he  appointed  to  his  colleges,  or  the  physicians  he 
employed  at  hi 3  court;  and  on  the  occasion  of  his  marriage 
he  distributed  largesses  to  Mussulmans,  Jews,  and  Chris- 
tians indiscandnately.  These  liberal  measures  culminated, 
however,  in  his  becoming  a  convert  in  827  to  the  heterodox 
faith  of  the  Motasali,  who  asserted  the  free-will  of  man 
and  denied  the  eternity  of  the  Koran.  The  later  years 
(829-830)  of  his  reign  were  distracted  by  hostilities  with 
the  Greek  emperor  Theophilus,  occasioned,  it  is  said,  by  a 
dispute  about  an  eminent  Greek  priest  whom  the  caliph 
wished  to  attach  to  his  college  at  Baghdad.  A  series 
of  revolts  in  different  parts'  of  the  Arabian  empire  be- 
tokened the  decline  of  the  military  glory  of  the  caliphs. 
Already  had  Spain  and  part  of  Africa  asserted  their  inde- 
pendence, and  Egypt  and  Syria  were  now  inclined  to  follow. 
In  833,  after  quelling  Egypt,  at  least  nominally,  Mamun 
marched  into  Cilicia  to  prosecute  the  war  with  the  Greeks; 
but  with  this  expedition  the  career  of  one  of  the  most 
famous  of  the  caliphs,  was  to  terminate.  He  died  near 
Tarsus,  leaving  his  crown  to  a  younger  brother,  Motassem. 
The  death  of  -Al-Mamun  ended  an  important  epoch  in 
the  history  of  science  and  letters,  and  the  period  of  Arabian 
prosperity  which  his  father's  reign  had  begun.  The  in- 
fluence of  these  two  sovereigns  is  sometimes  exaggerated; 
but  there  can  be  no  doubt  we  owe  much  to  their  exertions 
at  a  time  when  Europe  was  sunk  in  barbarism.  Mamun 
was  the  author  of  Inquiries  into  the  Koran,  of  a  tract  on 
the  Signs  of  Prophecy,  and  of  one  on  the  Rhetoric  of  the 
Priests  and  Panegyrists  of  the  Caliphs. 

ALMANAC,  a  book  or  table,  published  from  year  to 
year,  containing  a  calendar  of  the  days,  weeks,  and  months 
of  the  year,  a  register  of  ecclesiastical  festivals  and  saints' 
days,  and  a  record  of  various  astronomical  phenomena, 
particularly  the -rising  and  setting  of  the  sun,  the  changes 
and  phases  of  the  moon,  eclipses  of  the  sun  and  moon,  the 
times  of  high  water  at  particular  ports,  <kc  In  additipn 
to  these  contents,  which  may  be  regarded  as  essential  to' 
the  almanac,  it  generally  presents  additional  information, 
which  is  more  or  less  extensive  and  varied  according  to 
the  many  different  special  objects  contemplated  in  works 
of  this  kind.  The  derivation  of  tho  word  is  doubtful 
The  first  syllablo  is  the  Arabic  definite  article;  the  rest  of 
tho  word  has  beeri  variously  derived  from  the  Greek  nty, 
a  month;  the  Anglo-Saxon  mona,  the  moon;  and  (which 
appears  the  most  probable  derivation)  the  Arabic  manah, 
to  reckon. 

The  Calendar  will  be  treated  of  in  a  separate  article 
(which  see).  Here  we  have  to  do  with  the  publication 
which  contains  the  calendar  of  any  particular  year,  along 
with  other  matter,  astronomical,  statistical,  political,  &c. 
The  Ephemeris  again,  it  is  to  be  observed,  is  a  strict 
astronomical  term,  being  a  register  from  day  to  day  of  tho 
places  and  motions  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  • 

The  attention  given  to  astronomy  by  Eastern  nations, 


a"nd  tho  practice  that  prevailed  among  tnem  of  divination 
by  means  of  tho  stars,  must  have  led  to  tho  early  con- 
struction of  such  tables  as  are  comprised  in  our  almanacs. 
Our  information  respecting  these  is  extremely  scanty;  but 
we  are  not  left  in  the  same  ignorance  with  regard  to  the 
practice  of  the  ancient  Romans.  The  peculiar  arrangement 
of  their  calendar  is  well  known,  and  their  fasti  sacri  or 
halendaru  were  very  similar  to  modern  almanacs.  Origin- 
ally knowledge  of  the  calendar  was  confined  to  the.  class  of 
poiitilices  or  priests,  whom  the  people  had  to  consult  not 
only  about  tho  dates  of  the  festivals)  but  also  regarding 
tho  proper  times  of  instituting  various  legal  proceedings. 
But  about  300  B.C.  one  Cn.  Flavius,  the  secretary  of 
Appius  Claudius,  possessed  himself  of  the  secret,  either  by 
tho  stealthy  use  of  documents  in  the  possession  of  his 
master,  or,  according  to  Pliny,  by  repeatedly  consulting 
the  pontifices  and  jurists,  and  collating  the  particulars  of 
the  information  he  obtained  from  them.  It  was  neither 
more  nor  less  than  publishing  an  almanac  when,  as  Livy1 
relates,  "he  exhibited  the  fasti  on  white  tablets  round  the 
forum.  From  this  time  tablets  containing  the  calendar, 
the  festivals,  astronomical  phenomena,  and  sometimes 
historical  notices,  seem  to  have  been  common.  The  Fasti 
of  Ovid  is  a  poetical  relation  of  incidents  and  traditions 
connected  with  the  calendar.  Tho  researches-  of  anti- 
quaries have  brought  to  light  numerous  fasti  or  calendaria 
cut  on  marble  and  other  kinds  of  stone.  Representations 
of  several  of  these  will  be  found  in  Grater's  Inscripliones. 
One  figured  there,  the  Farncse  rustic  calendar,  is  a  cubical 
block  of  stone,  on  each  of  tho  four  vertical  faces  of  which 
three  columns  are  engraved,  detailing  for  each  different 
month  tho  number  of  days,  the  date  of  the  nones,  the 
lengths  of  the  day  and  night,  the  sun's  place  in  the  zodiac 
(which  is  also  indicated  by  a  representation  of  the  sign  at 
the  top  of  the  column),  the  tutelary  deity  of  the  month, 
the  rural  operations' of  the  season,  and  the  chief  festivals. 

Almanacs  of  a  ruder  kind,  known  as  clogg  almanacs, 
were  in  use  in  some  parts  of  England  as  late  as  the  end  of 
the  1 7th  century. '  Dr  Robert;  Plot,  keeper  of  the  Ashmolean 
Museum  and  professor  of  chemistry  at  Oxford,  gives  a 
figure  of  one  of  these,  with  a  very  minute  description,  111 
his  Natural  History  of  Staffordshire  (Oxford,  1686);  and 
another  is  represented  in  Gough's  edition  of  Camden's 
Britannia  (1806,  voL  ii.  p..499).  The  cloggs  were  squarj 
blocks  of  hard  wood,  about  8  inches  in  length,  with! 
notches  along  the  four  angles  corresponding  to  the  days  of 
the  year.     The  accompanying  illustration  shows  the  angle 


on  which  is  registered  the  almanac  for  the  months  of 
January,  February,  and  March,  taking  it  from  left  to  right. 
The  marks  on  the  under  side  in  the  figure  exhibit  the 
primes  or  golden  numbers  of  a  cycle,  which  ia  fully 
described  in  Plot's  work.  They  generally  increase  by  8, 
19  being  struck  off  when  that  number  is  exceeded;  and 
tho  same  number  will  be  found  to  stand  against  all  tha 
dates  (approximately)  of  new  moon  throughout  the  year. 
Tho  cross  mark  is  for  X,  and  the  hook  at  the  end  of  a  line 
fo~  V.  The  weeks  are  indicated  by  a  deeper  notch  for 
evr*y  seventh  day,  and  a  broadening  stroke  on  the  upper 
aid''  in  the  figure -represents  the  first  day  of  eoahmooUi 


1  «« ^astcra  circa  forum  in  albo 
sciretuo"  (ix.  46). 


v*  *-  — .'-   wt  «uAoa«  i*c*  up 


ALMANAC 


591 


The  other  characters  on  the  upper  side  are  for  saints'  days 
and  festivals.  Thus  Epiphany  (Jan.  6)  is  indicated  by  a 
star,  St  Hilary  (Jan.  13)  by  a  bishop's  double  cross,  the  con- 
version of  St  Paul  (Jan.  25)  by  an  axe,  St  Valentine  (Feb. 
14)  by  a  true  lover's  knot,  St  Matthias  (Feb.  24)  by  a 
battle-axe,  &c.  All  the  feasts  of  the  Virgin,  as  the  Puri- 
fication (Feb.  2)  and  the  Annunciation  (March  25),  are 
denoted  by  a  heart^Dr  Plot  was  greauy  puzzled  to  know 
why.  St  Blaise  (Feb.  3),  St  Agatha  (Feb.  5),  and  otners 
were  indicated  by  their  initials;  and  opposite  the  day 
(March  1)  consecrated  to  David,  the  patron  saint  of 
Wales,  is  a  svmbol  which  some  consider  a  harp  and  others 
a  leek. 

The  earliest  almanac  regarding  which  Lalande  (whose 
Bibliographie  Astronomique,  Paris,  1803,  is  the  best  autho- 
rity on  publications  of  this  kind)  could  obtain  any  definite 
information  belongs  to  the  12th  century.  Manuscript 
almanacs  of  considerable  antiquity  are  preserved  in  the 
British  Museum  and  in  the  libraries  of  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge. Of  these  the  most  remarkable  are  a  calendar 
ascribed  to  Roger  Bacon  (1292),  and  those  of  Peter  de 
Dacia  (about  1300),  Walter  de  Elvendene  (1327),  John 
Somers  (1380),  &c.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  early 
calendars  (such  as  the  Kalendarium  Lincolniense  of  Bishop 
Robert  Grosseteste)  frequently  bear  the  names,  not  of 
their  compilers,  but  of  the  writers  of  the  treatises  on 
ecclesiastical  computation  on  which  the  calendars  are 
based.  In  1812  there  was  printed  at  Hackney  what  pur- 
ported to  be  a  transcription  of  the  greater  part  of  an 
almanac  for  1386.  This,  if  it  exists,  must  be  one  of  the 
earliest,  perhaps  the  earliest,  in  the  English  language  that 
has  been  preserved.  The  earliest  English  calendar  in  the 
British  Museum  is  one  for  the  year  1431.  The  first 
printed  almanac  known  is  one  for  the  year  1457;  the 
first  of  importance  is  that  of  Joannes  de  Monte-Regio, 
better  known  as  Eegiomontanus,  which  appears  to  have 
been  printed  at  Nuremberg  in  1472.  In  this  work  the 
almanacs  for  the  different  months  embrace  three  Metonic 
cycles,  or  the  57  years  from  1475  to  1531  inclusive.  The 
Ephemerides  of  Eegiomontanus,  which  are  to  be  distin- 
guished from  his  almanac,  were  sold,  if  is  said,  for  ten 
crowns  of  gold,  considerably  more  than  their  own  weight. 
The  earliest  almanac  printed  in  England  was  The  Kalendar 
of  Shepardes,  a  translation  from  the  French,  printed  by 
Richard  Pynson  about  1497. 

The  exclusive  right  to  sell  "  almanacs  and  prognostica- 
tions," enjoyed  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth  by  two  members 
of  the  Company  of  Stationers,  was  extended  by  James  I. 
to  the  two  universities  and  the  Stationers'  Company  jointly; 
but  the  universities  commuted  their  privilege  for  an  annuity 
from  the  company.  About  a  century  ago  one  Thomas 
Carnan,  a  bookseller,  conceiving  that  the  company  had  no 
just  title  to  its  monopoly,  published  an  almanac  for  three 
successive  years,  and  was  thrice  imprisoned  on  that  account 
by  the  company.  In  1775  the  case  came  before  the  Court 
of  Common  Pleas,  and  was  decided  in  Carnan's  favour. 
The  question  argued  was,  "  Whether  almanacs  were  such 
public  ordinances,  such  matters  of  state,  as  belonged  to  the 
king  by  his  prerogative,  so  as  to  enable  him  to  communi- 
cate an  exclusive  right  of  printing  them  to  a  grantee  of  the 
crown  1"  and  the  judges  were  unanimously  of  the  opinion 
that  the  crown  had  no  such  right.  The  minister,  Lord 
North,  made  an  attempt  in  1779  to  put  the  company  in 
possession,  by  a  parliamentary  enactment,  of  what  the 
judges  had  denied  it;  but  the  proposed  monopoly  was 
denounced  by  Erskine  and  others  with  such  ability  and 
severity  that  the  bill  was  thrown  out  by  a  majority  of 
forty-five.  In  consequence  of  this  loss  to  the  company  of 
its  exclusive  right  to  issue  almanacs,  the  universities  lost 
their  title  to  their  annuity,  and  in  lieu  of  it  they  received 


a  parliamentary  grant.  The  company  continued,  however, 
virtually  to  retain  its  monopoly  by  buying  up  as  much  aa 
possible  all  the  almanacs  issued  by  other  publishers,  and 
by  means  of  the  great  influence  it  possessed  over  the  book 
trade.  In  more  recent  times  the  power  to  control  the  sale 
of  this  class  of  publications  has  altogether  ceased,  but  a 
considerable  proportion  of  the  almanacs  published  in  this 
country  still  issue  from  the  hall  of  the  Stationers'  Company. 
A  lively  description  of  "Almanac  Day"  at  Stationers' 
Hall  will  be  found  in  Knight's  Cyclopaedia  of  London 
(1851),  p.  588. 

The  influence  of  the  heavenly  bodies  on  the  conditions 
and  affairs  of  men  has  beer  believed  in,  and  a  superstitious 
importance  has  been  attached  to  particular  times  and 
seasons  by  the  credulous  from  the  remotest  times.  As 
might  be  imagined,  therefore,  since  the  bases  on  which  the 
whole  system -of  judicial  astrology  rested  all  fall  ■Within 
the  field  of  the  almanac-makers'  labours,  great  prominence 
was  given  to  omens  and  predictions  in  many  of  these 
publications.  The  early  almanacs  had  commonly  the  name 
of  "prognostications"  in  addition,  and  what  they  pro- 
fessed to  show  may  be  gathered  from  titles  like  the  fol- 
lowing, which  is  quoted  by  Mr  Halliwell : — "  Pronosty- 
cacyon  of  Mayster  John  Thybault,  medycyner  and  astro- 
nomer of  the  Emperyall  Majestie,  of  the  year  of  our  Lorde 
God  mcccccxxxiij.,  comprehending  the  iiij.  partes  of  this 
yere,  and  of  the  influence  of  the  mone,  of  peas  and  warre, 
and  of  the  sykenesses  of  this  yere,  with  the  constellacioos 
of  them  that  be  under  the  vij.  pianettes,  and  the  revolu- 
cions  of  kynges  and  princes,  and  of  the  eclipses  and 
comets."  In  1579  Henry  III.  of  France  deemed  it  neces- 
sary to  prohibit  all  almanac-makers  from  indulging  in 
predictions.  No  such  restriction,  however,  existed  in  this 
country;  and  it  was  to  their  prophesyings  that  the  almanacs 
of  the  Stationers'  Company  were  long  indebted  for  much 
of  their  popularity.  Among  almanacs  of  this  class  pub- 
lished in  England,  and  principally  by  the  Stationers'  Com- 
pany, are  Leonard  Digges's  Prognostication  Everlasting  of 
Right  Good  Effect,  for  1553,  1555,  <tc;  William  Lilly's 
Merlinus  Anglicus  Junior,  for  1644,  <fcc,  and  other  al- 
manacs and  "prognostications;"  Booker's  Bloody  Almanac 
and  Bloody  Irish  Almanac,  for  1643,  1647,  <tc. — the  last 
attributed  erroneously  to  Napier ;  Partridge's  Ma-curius 
Coslestis,  for  1681,  Merlinus  Redivivus,  <fcc.  The  name 
of  Partridge  has  been  immortalised  in  Pope's  Rape  of  lite 
Lock;  and  his  almanacs  were  very  cleverly  burlesqued  by 
Swift,  who  predicted  Partridge's  own  death,  with  all  details 
of  time  and  circumstance,  in  genuine  prognosticator's  style. 
The  most  famous  of  all  the  Stationers'  Company's  predict- 
ing almanacs  was  the  Vox  Stellarum  of  Francis  Moore, 
dating  from  about  1680.  Of  a  different  but  not  a  better 
sort  was  Poor  Robin,  dating  from  1663,  and  published  by 
the  company  down  to  1828,  which  abounded  in  coarse, 
sometimes  extremely  coarse,  humour. 

On  the  1st  of  January  1828  the  Society  for  the  Diffu- 
sion of  Useful  Knowledge  issued  the  British  Almanac  for 
that  year — a  publication  greatly  superior  in  every  way  to 
the  almanacs  of  the  time.  To  qtfote  the  society's  Almanav 
for  1829— 

"  This  was  almost  the  6rst  attempt  in  this  country  to  produce  aD 
almanac  that  should  not  only  be  useful  to  all  classes,  and  of  which 
the  information  should  be  wholly  of  a  popular  character,  but  which 
should  be  purified  from  the  superstitions,  prejudices,  and  indecencies 
which  have  characterised  some  of  the  almanacs  of  whicil  the  circula- 
tion has  been  the  most  extensive.  By  a  parliamentary  return  of  tho 
year  1828  we  find  that  the  stamp  duty  paid  upon  the  almanacs  ot 
England  exhibits  a  circulation  of  451,593  annually,  it  may  be 
safely  asserted  that  two-thirds  of  these  publications  contain  some 
large  portion  of  the  matter  just  described  ;  and  they  thus  keep  alive 
a  spirit  of  ignorance  utterly  opposed  to  the  desire  for  sound  and 
practical  information  which  distinguishes  our  own  times." 
The  success  of  the  British  Almanac,  with  its  valuable 


592 


ALM-ALM 


supplement,  the  Companion  to  the  Almanac,  led  to  a  great 
improvement  in  this  class  of  publications.  The  Stationers' 
Company  issued  the  English  Almanac,  a  'work  of  a  similar 
kind.  The  entiro  repeal  in  1834,  by  the  3d  and  4th  Will. 
IV.,  o.  57,  of  the  heavy  stamp  duty  on  all  almanacs  of 
fifteenpence  per  copy,  gave  an  additional  stimulus  to  the 
publication  of  almanacs  of  a  better  class,  and  from  that 
time  the  number  has  greatly  increased.  It  is  interesting 
to  remark  that  the  British  Almanac  and  Companion  still 
exist,  and  retain  their  original  form  and  character,  and 
that  this  has  from  1870  been  the  principal  almanac  pub- 
lished by  the  Stationers'  Company. 

The  variety  of  extraneous  matter  included  in  almanacs, 
corresponding  to  the  very  numerous  other  objects  to  -which 
the  almanac  proper  is  often  only  secondary,  can  be  merely 
alluded  to  here.  A  number  of  publications,  issued  in  Ger- 
many from  the  middle  of  the  18th  to  the  middle  of  the  19th 
century,  under  such  titles  as  Musenalmanack,  or  A  Imanach  des 
Muses,  contain  some  of  the  best  works  of  some  of  the  most 
celebrated  German  poets.  The  Almanack  de  Gotha,  which 
has  existed  since  1764,  and  is  published  at  present  both  in 
French  and  German,  gives  a  particular  account  of  all  the 
royal  and  princely  families  of  Europe,  and  ample  details, 
compressed  into  little  space,  concerning  the  administration 
and  the  statistics  of  the  different  states  of  the  world.  As 
works  of  general  statistical  reference,  the  two  national 
almanacs,  Oliver  and  Boyd's  New  Edinburgh  Almanac 
(from  1837)  and  Thorn's  Irith  Almanac  (from  1843),  are  of 
very  great  value. 

The  Nautical  Almanac  is  a  publication  the  object  of 
which  is  to  supply  information  that  is  indispensable  to  the 
navigator  and  the  astronomer.  It  gives  with  the  utmost 
precision  the  positions  of  the  principal  heavenly  bodies  at 
short  intervals  of  time,  and  other  important  details  of 
celestial  phenomena.  The  moon's  exact  position  is  regis- 
tered for  every  hour,  and  also  the  angular  distances  at 
noon  and  midnight  daily  of  the  moon  from  the  sun  and 
several  fixed  stars.  By  means  of  the  data  thus  supplied,  in 
connection  with  observations  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  time, 
latitude,  and  longitude  can  be  determined.  The  Nautical 
Almanac  has  been  published  regularly  since  the  issue  in 
1766  of  the  Almanac  for  1767.  It  was  originated  by  Dr 
Maskelyne,  the  astronomer-royal,  who  conducted  it  for 
many  years.  About  1830  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty 
were  induced  by  complaints  of  its  defects  to  bring  the 
subject  under  the  notice  of  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society. 
The  society  appointed  a  committee  to  consider  what  changes 
seemed  necessary,  and,  on  the  committee's  recommendation, 
the'  form  was  adopted  which  has  continued  with  little 
change  from  1834  to  the  present  time.  During  that  period 
the  Almanac  has  been  published  under  the  superintendence 
of  the  Admiralty.  It  is  issued  generally  three  years  at  least 
before  it  comes  into  use.  The  Connaissance  des  Temps 
(from  1679),  the  Berliner  Jahrbuch  (from  1776),  and  the 
American  Ephemeris  and  Nautical  Almanack  (from  1855) 
are  publications  of  a  similar  kind. 

(See,  in  addition  to  works  referred  to  above,  interesting 
papers  by  Sir  J.  O.  Halliwell  and  Professor  De  Morgan  in 
the  Companion  to  the  Almanac  for  1839,  1840,  1845, 
1846.) 

ALMANSA,  a  town  of  Spain,  in  the  province  of  Al- 
bacete,  35  miles  E.S.E.  of  the  town  of  that  name,  on  the 
Madrid  and  Alicante  railway.  Tho  surrounding  plain  is 
very  fertile,  and  irrigated  by  means  of  a  large  reservoir. 
There  are  manufactures  of  linen  and  cotton  fabrics,  and 
also' of  brandy,  leather,  and  soap.  A  Moorish  castle  is  to 
be  seen  on  a  hill  to  the  north-west  of  the  town.  About  a 
milo  from  Almansa  stands  an  obelisk  commemorating  the 
decisive  battle  fought  here  on  25th  April  1707,  in  which 
the  French,  under  the-Duko  of  Berwick,  the  natural  son 


of  James  II.  of  England,  completely  defeated  the  allkd 
English  and  Spanish  armies.  Tho  French  greatly  ou> 
numbered  the  opposing  force.  This  battle  hastened  thB 
conclusion  of  tho  war  of  the  Spanish  succession.  Popula- 
tion of  the  town,  about  8000. 

ALME,  or  Almai  (from  Alim,  wise,  learned),  the  nam* 
of  a  distinct  class  of  singing  girls  in  Egypt  To  be  received 
into  it,  according  to  M.  Savary,  it  is  necessary  to  have  a 
good  voice,  to  understand  the  language  well,  to  know  the 
rules  of  poetry,  and  be  able  to  composo  and  dng  impromptu 
couplets  adapted  to  the  circumstances.  The  almai  aro 
present  at  all  festivals  and  entertainments,  and  also  at 
funerals,  where  they  act  the  part  of  hired  mourners.  They 
are  to  be  distinguished  from  the  ghawazce,  or  dancing 
girls,  who  perform  in  the  public  streets,  and  are  of  a  lower 
order. 

ALMEIDA,  a  strongly-fortified  town  of  Portugal,  in  the 
province  of  Beira,  situated  between  the  Coa  and  the  Duas 
Casas,  a  branch  of  the  Agueda,  95  miles  N.E.  of  Coimbra, 
and  25  miles  from  the  Spanish  fortress  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo. 
It  was  taken  by  the  Spaniards  in  1762,  and  again  by  the 
French  in  1810.  The  recapture  of  it  by  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  in  1811  was  deemed  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
exploits  of  the  Peninsidar  war.  It  is  well  fortified,  and 
contains  an  ancient  church  "nd  two  hospitals.  Popula- 
tion, 6580. 

ALMEIDA,  Don  Francisco  de,  the  first  viceroy  of 
Portuguese  India,  was  born  at  Lisbon  about  the  middle  of 
the  15th  century.  He  was  the  seventh  son  of  the  second 
Count  of  Abrantes,  and  thus  belonged  to  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  families  in  Portugal.  In  his  youth  he  took 
part  under  Ferdinand  of  Aragon  in  the  wars  against  the 
Moors  (1485-92).  In  March  1505,  having  received  from 
Emmanuel  I.  the  appointment  of  viceroy  of  the  newly-con- 
quered territory  in  India,  he  set  sail  from  Lisbon  in  com- 
mand of  a  large  and  powerful  fleet,  and  arrived  in  July  at 
Quiloa,  which  yielded  to  him  almost  without  a  struggle. 
A  much  more  vigorous  resistance  was  offered  by  the  Moors 
of  Mombaza,  but  the  town  was  taken  and  destroyed,  and 
its  large  treasures  went  to  strengthen  the  resources  of 
Almeida.  At  other  places  on  his  way,  such  as  the  island 
of  Angediva,  near  Goa,  and  Cananore,  he  built  forts,  and 
adopted  measures  to  secure  the  Portuguese  supremacy. 
On  his  arrival  in  India  he  took  up  his  residence  at  Cochin, 
where  a  Portuguese  fort  had  been  built  by  Albuquerque 
in  1503.  The  most  important  events  of  Almeida's  brief 
but  vigorous  administration  were  the  conclusion  of  a  com- 
mercial treaty  with  Malacca,  and  the  discoveries  made  by 
his  son  Lorenzo,  who  acted  as  his  lieutenant.  The  latter 
was  probably  the  first  Portuguese  who  visited  Ceylon, 
where  he  established  a  settlement,  and  is  also  celebrated  as 
the  discoverer  of  Madagascar  and  the  Maldive  islands.  In 
1508  he  was  killed  at  Dabul  in  a  naval  engagement  with 
the  Moors.  His  father  was  preparing  signally  to  avenge 
his  death  when  Albuquerque  arrived  in  Cochin,  and  pre- 
sented a  commission  empowering  him  to  supersede  Almeida 
in  the  government.  It  was  probably  Almeida's  unwilling- 
ness to  be  thwarted  in  his  scheme  of  vengeance  that  chiefly 
induced  him  to  refuse  to  recognise  Albuquerque's  com- 
mission, and  to  cast  bim  into  prison.  (See  Albuqueko.ue.) 
The  punishment  he  inflicted  on  the  Moors  was  speedy 
and  terrible.  Selling  along  the  coast,  he  pillaged  and 
burned  various  ports,  including  Goa  and  Dabul,  and 
finally  encountering  the  enemy's  combined  fleet  off  Diu 
early  in  1509,  he  completely  destroyed  it.  Returning 
immediately  to  Cochin,  he  held  out  for  a  few  months 
against  the  claims  of  Albuquerque,  but  in  November  1509 
he  was  compelled  to  yield.  On  the  1st  December  he  set 
sail  for  Europe  with  an  escort  of  three  vessels.  On  tht 
voyage  the  fleet  called  at  Saldanha  Bay,  in  South  Africa,  t( 


A  LI-ALM 


593 


procure  water,  and  here  Almeida  was  killed  (March  1, 
1510)  in  an  unprovoked  attack  upon  the  Caffre  natives, 
during  which  he  showed  great  personal  courage.  ?-  His  body 
was  recovered  on  the  following  day,  frightfully  mutilated, 
and  received  a  hasty  buriaL 

ALMERIA,  a  modern  province  of  Sp"aTn,  comprehending 
the  eastern  portion  of  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Granada. 
It  is  bounded  on  the  N.  by  Jaen  and  Murcia,  on  the  R 
and  S.  by  Murcia  and  the  Mediterranean,  and  on  the  W. 
by  Granada;  with  an  area  of  about  3300  square  miles. 
The  province  is  traversed  by  mountain  ridges,  some  of 
them  of  considerable  elevation,  with  corresponding  valleys 
and  plains  of  great  fertility.  The  principal  sierras  are 
those  of  Maria,  Almahilla,  Cabrera,  Aimagrera,  Gata,  and 
Gador,  and  in  the  W.  some  offshoots  of  the  Sierra  Nevada. 
The  most  considerable  rivers  are  the  Almanzora,  running 
from  west  to  east,  with  a  course  of  about  50  miles ;  the 
Almeria,  flowing  from  north-west  to  south-east ;  and  the 
Adra  from  north  to  south,  watering  the  fertile  district 
between  the  Sierra  de  Gador  and  the  Alpujarras.  On  the 
S.  coast  is  the  Gulf  of  Almeria,  a  spacious  bay,  25  miles 
wide  at  the  entrance,  and  about  10  miles  in  depth.  The 
climate  of  the  province  is  mild,  except  in  the  interior, 
where  the  winter  is  cold.  On  the  coast  rain  seldom  falls, 
and  south-west  winds  prevail  The  inhabitants  are  prin- 
cipally engaged  in  mining  and  agriculture.  Many  of  the  pro- 
prietors farm  their  own  land,  the  number  of  landed  pro- 
perties being  44,858,  while  the  tenants  are  only  7365.  Of 
the  area  of  the  province,  376,698  acres  are  arable  and  pasture 
land;  13,538  acres  vineyards;  5360  acres  olive  plantations; 
30,797  acres  cultivated  mountain  and  wood  lands ;  and 
1,686,738  acres  uncultivated.  There  are  438,357  head  of 
live  stock.  All  kinds  of  grain  are  raised  in  abundance. 
The  common  fruits  are  plentiful,  as  well  as  oranges,  lemons, 
and  vines.  Much  excellent  silk  is  produced  in  the  western 
districts ;  cotton  is  raised  to  some  extent  along  the  coast, 
and  the  sugar-cane  is  also  cultivated.  Cattle  are  extensively 
bred  ;  those  of  the  valley  of  the  Almeria  are  especially 
remarkable  for  their  size  and  beauty.  The  province  is  one 
of  the  richest  in  minerals  of  all  Spain,  the  mountains 
yielding  silver,  mercury,  lead,  antimony,  copper,  and  iron. 
The  silver  mines  of  the  Sierra  de  Aimagrera,  opened  in 
1839,  produced  in  1843  nearly  1,700,000  ounces ;  while 
the  lead  mines  of  the  Sierra  de  Gador  are  computed  to 
have  yielded,  from  1795  to  1841  inclusive,  11,000,000 
quintals  of  lead,  and  the  present  annual  output  is  from 
30,000  to  40,000  tons  of  ore.  In  the  Sierra  de  Gata, 
jaspers  and  agates  are  found ;  in  the  Sierra  Nevada,  to  the 
west,  are  the  celebrated  quarries  of  Macael  marble;  and  the 
Sierra  Cabrera  yields  antimony,  malachite,  gypsum, 
magnetic  iron,  <tc.  The  manufactures  of  the  province 
consist  chiefly  of  esparto  cordage,  white-lead,  shot,  salt- 
petre, soap,  leather,  and  earthenware.  The  principal 
exports  are  lead,  esparto,  barilla,  and  soap ;  while  the 
imports  include  coal  and  machinery  from  England,  woollen 
and  cotton  stuffs  from  Catalonia,  silk  from  Valencia  and 
Malaga,  and  linen  from  Marseilles  and  Gibraltar.  From 
the  want  of  adequate  facilities  for  communication,  the 
development  of  the  agricultural  and  mining  resources  "of 
Almeria  has  not  been  so  rapid  as  might  have  been  expected. 
The  disturbances  attending  the  revolution  of  1868  1  we 
also  had  a  prejudicial  effect  Education  is  in  a  back1  ard 
state,  the  proportion  of  the  population  at  school  being 
only  fifteen  in  the  thousand.  Crime,  although  great,  is 
not  excessive,  offences  against  the  person  forming  the 
gr'iter  number  of  the  cases  tried.  The  people  generally 
are  simple,  sober,  and  religious.  Population  in  1870, 
estimated  at  361,553. 

Axmeeia,  the  capital  of  the  above  provinpe,  lies  on 
the  Gulf  of  Almeria,  on  the  Mediterranean,  72  miles  E.S.E. 


of  Granada.  From  the  strength  of  the  port  it  was  deemed 
by  the  Moorish  kings  of  Granada  one  of  the  most  valuable 
of  their  fortresses  and  their  best  commercial  harbour. 
Sailing  hence,  their  cruisers  overawed  the  Catalans  and 
Italians,  and  their  merchant  ships  conveyed  the  produce 
of  the  country  to  Africa,  Egypt,  and  Syria.  In  the  time 
of  the  Moors  Almeria  was  the  seat  of  hordes  of  pirates. 
The  walls  of  the  town,  and  the  Moorish  fortress,  or 
Alcazaba,  overlooking  it,  as  well  as  the  architecture  of 
many  of  the  houses,  still  attest  it3  Moorish  origin.  It  is 
pretty  well  built,  and  has  several  handsome  squares, 
although  the  streets  are  generally  narrow.  Almeria  is  the 
seat  of  a  bishop,  and  has  a  cathedral  and  theological 
seminaries.  Off  the  port  there  is  good  anchorage  in  12 
and  14  fathoms  water;  and  in  addition  to  its  landward 
defences  the  place  is'  protected  towards  the  sea  by  the 
forts  of  Trinidad  and  Tiro.  In  1866,  46  vessels,  of  21,603 
tons,  with  cargoes,  entered  and  cleared  the  port;  and 
the  annual  value  of  the  exports  is  about  £50,000;  The 
manufactures  are  trifling,  but  there  is  a  good  export  trade 
in  wine,  soda,  esparto,  silk,  and  lead;  while  the  imports 
consist  chiefly  of  coal  and  manufactured  goods.  Here 
there  are  also  some  mineral  springs.  Population  (1857), 
27,036. 

ALMOHADES  (Almoahedun,  Unitarian),  a  Mahometan 
dynasty  that  flourished  in  Africa  and  in  Spain  during  the 
12th  and  13th  centuries.  Mohammed-Ibn-Abdallah,  the 
founder  of  the  Almoahedun  sect,  was  the  son  of  a  lamp- 
lighter in  the  great  mosque  at  Sous-el-Aksa.  He  studied 
at  Cordova,  and  afterwards  visited  Cairo  and  Baghdad, 
where  he  became  the  disciple  of  the  famous  philosopher 
AlgazalL  In  order  to  establish  his  power  with  his  country- 
men, he  connected  himself  with  Abd-el-Mumen,  a  young 
Mussulman  of  great  abilities,  whom  he  sent  forth  as  his 
apostle  to  propagate  the  new  doctrine  (1116-17);  while 
in  his  own  person  he  affected  an  unusual  degree  of  piety 
and  mortification,  appearing  in  tattered  garments,  and 
interdicting  the  use  of  wine  and  music  and  every  gratifica- 
tion of  the  senses.  His  fame  spread  rapidly  among  the 
mountain  tribes  of  Mahgreb,  and  the  ignorant  multitude 
adopted  his  opinions  with  eager  zeaL  His  followers  saluted 
him  as  the  Al-Mehedi  on  the  28th  November  1121. 
Entering  the  city  of  Marocco,  this  new  prophet  foretold 
the  downfall  of  the  existing  dynasty,  and  mocked  the 
authority  of  the  feigning  prince  Ali-Ibn-Yussef.  Ali,  lulled 
in  security,  despised  his  predictions  as  the  mere  ravings  of 
a  fanatic ;  and  it  was  not  without  some  difficulty  that  he 
was  at  length  prevailed  on  to  banish  him  from  the  city. 
Mohammed  retired  to  tho  mountains,  and  fortified  the 
town  of  Tinmal,  which  he  defended  against  every  assault 
of  his  enemies  (1123).  His  retreat  became  the  rendezvous 
of  a  numerous  sect,  who  assumed  the  title  of  Almoahedi, 
or  Almohades,  and  asserted  that  they  alone  of  all  the 
Mussulmans  maintained  the  religion  of  Islam  in  its  original 
purity.  Many  Arab  and  Berber  tribes  acknowledged  him 
as  their  political  chief,  and  20,000  soldiers  rallied  around 
his  standard.  Ali  only  perceived  the  error  he  had  com- 
mitted when  it  was  too  late  :  his  armies,  at  each  encounter, 
were  panic-struck,  and  fled.  Yet  notwithstanding  the 
great  success  of  the  Almohades,  the  vast  empire  of  the 
Almoravides  was  not  at  once  subdued :  and  Mohammed, 
after  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  reduce  the  city  of  Marocco, 
died  in  the  year  1130,  having  failed  to  pccomplish  the 
object  of  his  ambition,  the  possession  of  a  throne.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Abd-el-Mumen,  who  assumed  the  title  of 
Emir-d-Mumenin,  or  Commander  of  the  Faithful  During 
the  thirty  years  that  he  reigned,  and  under  his  descendants, 
Yussef  and  Yakub,  called  Almanzor-Biliah,  the  dynasty  of 
the  Almohades  was  exceedingly  illustrious,  and  the  arts 
flourished  greatly.     They  rendered  themselves  masters  of 


594 


ALM-ALM 


the  provinces  of  Fez,  Marocco,  Tlcmcen,  Oran,  and  Tunis; 
and  passing  into  Spain,  thoy  overran  Andalusia,  Valencia, 
end  a  part  of  Aragon  and  Portugal,  as  far  the  Ebro  on  one 
side  and  the  Tagua  on  the  other.  But  this  vast  empire 
was  not  of  long  continuance;  for  in  the  year  1212,  when 
the  Moslems  under  Mohammed  were  defeated  by  tho 
Christian  princes  of  Spain  in  the  great  battle  of  Las  Navas, 
near  Tolosa,  the  governors  of  the  several  provinces  took 
advantage  of  that  disaster  to  throw  off  their  allegiance,  and 
declared  themselves  independent — an  example  that  was  the 
signal  for  a  general  revolt.  The  dynasty  of  the  Almohades 
became  extinct  in  Spain  in  the  year  1 257,  and  in  Africa  in 
1269.  The  last  sovereign  of  this  race,  Abu  Dabus  Edris, 
who  had  with  difficulty  maintained  a  shadow  of  power  in 
the  city  of  Marocco,  was  assassinated  by  a  slave.  They 
were  succeeded  by  the  dynasties  of  the  Hafsides,  the 
Mevanides,  and  the  Merinides.     See  Almoeavtdes. 

ALMON,  John,  a  political  pamphleteer  and  publisher 
of  considerable  note,  was  born  at  Liverpool  about  1738. 
In  early  life  he  was  apprentice  to  a  printer  in  his  native 
town,  and  he  subsequently  spent  two  years  at  sea.  He 
came  to  London  in  1758,  and  at  once  commenced  a  career 
which,  if  not  important  in  itself,  had  a  very  important 
influence  on  the  political  history  of  the  country.'  The 
opposition,  hampered  and  harassed  by  the  government  to  an 
extent  that  threatened  the  total  suppression  of  independent 
opinion,  were  in  great  need  of  a  channel  of  communication 
with  the  public,  and  they  found  what  they  wanted  in 
Almon.  He  had  become  personally  known  to  the  leaders 
through  various  publications  of  his  own  which  had  a  gTeat 
though  transient  popularity;  the  more  important  of  these 
being  The  Conduct  of  a  late  Noble  Commander  [Lord 
Gecrge  Sackville]  Examined  (1759);  a  Review  of  the  Reign 
of  George  II,  published  on  the  death  of  that  monarch;  a 
Review  of  Mr  Pitt's  Administration  (1761);  and  a  collec- 
tion of  letters  on  political  subjects.  The  review  of  Pitt's 
administration  passed  through  four  editions,  and  secured 
for  its  author  the  friendship  of  Lord  Temple,  to  whom  it 
was  dedicated.  Being  thus  in  the  counsels  of  the  party, 
he  was  persuaded  in  1763  to  open  a  bookseller's  shop  in 
Piccadilly,  chiefly  for  the  publication  and  sale  of  political 
pamphlets.  As  he  generally  received  with  every  pamphlet 
a  sum  sufficient  to  secure  him  against  all  contingencies,  it 
cannot  be  said  that  he  acted  entirely  from  disinterested  or 
patriotic  motives.  At  the  same  time,  he  deserves  the  credit 
of  intrepidity;  and  it  cannot  be  denied  that,  whether  he 
knew  the  full  value  of  the  principle  for  which  he  was  con-, 
tending  or  not,  he  did  very  much  to  secure  the  freedom  of 
the  press.  The  government  of  course  were  not  unobservant 
of  Almon'8  proceedings,  and,  as  has  often  been  the  case, 
strengthened  his  influence  by  the  very  measures  they  took 
to  repress  it.  In  1765  the  Attorney-General  moved  to  have 
him  tried  for  the  publication  of  the  pamphlet  entitled 
Juries  and  Libels,  but  the  prosecution  failed;  and  in  1770, 
for  merely  selling  a  copy  of  the  London  Museum  con- 
taining Jonius's  celebrated  "Letter  to  the  King,'  he  was 
sentenced  by  Lord  Mansfield  to  pay  a  fine  of  ten  marks, 
and  give  security  for  his  good  behaviour.  It  was  this  trial 
that  called  forth  the  letter  to  Lord  Mansfield,  one  of  the 
most  bitter  of  the  Junius  series.  Almon  himself  published 
an  account  of  the  trial,  and  of  course  did  not  let  slip  the 
opportunity  of  reprinting  the  matter  that  had  been  the 
ground  of  indictment,  but  no  further  proceedings  were 
taken  against  him.  In  1774  Almon  commenced  the  pub- 
lication of  his  Parliamentary  Register,  and  he  also  issued 
an  abstract  of  the  debates  from  1742,  when  Chandler's 
Reports  ceased,  to  1774.  About  the  same  time,  having 
earned  a  competency,  he  retired  to  Boxmoor  in  Hertford- 
shire, though  he  still  continued  to  write  on  political  subjects. 
He  afterwards  became  proprietor  of  the  General  Advertiser, 


in  the  management  of  which  he  lost  his  fortune,  and  was 
declared  insolvent.  To  these  calamities  was  added  an 
imprisonment  for  libel  and  a  sentence  of  outlawry.  Being 
enabled  at  last  to  return  to  Boxmoor,  he  continued  for 
some  years  a  career  of  undiminished  literary  activity.  Hia 
last  work,  a  Life  of  Wilkes,  in  five  volumes  (1805),  was 
perhaps  his  worst,  being  entirely  wanting  in  proportion 
and  arrangement.  He  died  on  the  12th  December  1805. 
A  complete  list  of  Almon's  works,  most  of  which  appeared 
anonymously,  is  given  in  Watt's  Bibiiotheca  Britannica. 
Though  their  literary  merit  is  not  great,  they  are  of  very 
considerable  value  to  the  student  of  the  political  history 
of  the  period. 

ALMOND.  This  is  the  fruit  of  Amygdalut  communis, 
a  plant  belonging  to  the  natural  order  Rosacese,  sub-order 
Amygdaleae  or  Drupiferae.  The  tree  appears  to  be  a  native 
of  Asia,  Barbary,  and  Marocco;  but  it  has  been  extensively 
distributed  over  the  warm  temperate  region  of  the  Old 
World.  It  is  a  tree 
of  moderate  size ;  the 
leaves  are  oblong- 
lanceolate,  and  ser- 
rated at  the  edges; 
and  the  flowers, 
which  appear  early  in 
spring,  are  of  a  pink 
colour.  The  fruit. is 
a  drupe,  having  a 
downy  outer  coat, 
called  the  epicarp, 
covering  a  tough 
portion  called  the 
mesocarp,  which  en- 
closes the  reticulated 
hard  stony  shell  or 
endocarp.  The  seed 
is  the  kernel  which 
is  contained  within 
these  coverings.  The 


bVipII    -jlmnnHo    r\f  The  Almond-tree  {.Amygdaliu  communis),  tbc  frait  of 

snen-aimonas    OI  which  is  a  drupe  with  a  tough  metocarp.     The 

trade  consist  of  the  Hebrew  word  S/mktd  Is  generally  translated  Al- 

,  ,      .  mond  (Gen.  xllli.  11;  E-od.xxv.  33,  84;  xixvil.lgj 

endOCarpS  enclosing  Numb.  xvil.  8).    The  word  liu,  which  occurs  In 

thfi  spprlq       TVia  trpp.  Gencsla  xxx.  87,  and   Is  there  translated  Hazel 

uie  seeos.     ine  wee  appcar8 10  be  „„  n,me  0,  ,hc  Almond-tree,  while 

grows  in  Syria  and  Shaked  Is  the  name  of  the  fruit. 


Palestine ;  and  i3  referred  to  in  the  Bible  under  the  name 
of  Shaked,  meaning  "  hasten.'"  The  word  Luz,  which  occurs 
in  Genesis  xxx.  37,  and  which  has  been  translated  hazel, 
is  .supposed  to  be  another  name  for  the  almond.  In  Pales- 
tine the  tree"  flowers  in  January,  and  this  hastening  of  the 
period  of  flowering  seems  to  be  alluded  to  in  Jeremiah  i. 
11,  12,  where  the  Lord  asks  the  prophet,  "What  seest 
thou  1"  and  he  replies,  "The  rod  of  an  almond-tree;"  and 
the  Lord  says,  "  Thou  hast  well  seen,  for  I  will  hasten  my 
word  to  perform  it."  In  Ecclesiastes  xii  5  it  is  said  the 
"  almond-tree  shall  flourish."  This  has  often  been  supposed 
to  refer  to  the  resemblance  of  the  hoary  locks  of  age  to 
the  flowers  of  the  almond;  but  this  exposition  is  not  borne 
out  by  the  facts  of  the  case,  inasmuch  as  the  flowers 
of  the  almond  are  not  white  but  pink.  The  passage  is 
more  probably  intended  to  allude  to  the  hastening  or  rapid 
aj  >roach  of  old  age.  The  application  of  Shaked  or  hasten 
to  the  almond  is  similar  to  tie  use  of  the  name  "  May" 
for  the  hawthorn,  which  usually  flowers  in  that  month  in 
Britain.  The  rod  of  Aaron,  mentioned  in  Numbers  xviL, 
was  taken  from  an  almond-tree;  and  the  Jews  still  carry 
rods  of  almond-blossom  to  the  synagogues  on  great  festival 
days.  The  fruit  of  the  almond  supplied  a  model  for  certain 
kinds  of  ornamental  carved  work^  (Exodus  xxv.  33,  34; 
xxxvii.  19,  20).  Dr  Tristram  remarks:  " The  blossom  of 
the  almond  is  a  very  pale  pink,  but  where,  as  in  the 


ALM-ALM 


595 


orchards  near  Nablous  (Shecliem),  the  peach  and  almond 
trees  are  intermingled,  the  almond  looks  white  by  com- 
parison. In  early  spring  it  forms  a  beautiful  feature  in  the 
landscape  there,  as  the  lower  slopes  of  Gerizim,  as  well  as 
the  valley,  are  studded  with  almonds  and  peaches,  in  lively 
contrast  with  the  deep  green  foliage  of  the  orange-trees, 
and  rivalling  an  apple  orchard  in  splendour  of  colour. 
There  are  also  many  wild  almond-trees  on  Mount  CarmeL 
The  tree  seldom  exceeds  12  to  16  feet  in  height."  Thero 
are  two  varieties  of  the  plant,  the  one  producing  sweet,  the 
other  bitter  almonds.  The  kernel  of  the  former  contains  a 
fixed  oil  and  emulsin ;  while  that  of  the  latter  has  in  addi- 
tion a  nitrogenous  substance  called  amygdalin,  which,  by 
combination  with  emulsin,  produces'  a  volatile  oil  and  prus- 
8ic  acid.  The  flowers  of  the  bitter  almond-tree  (Amygdalus 
communis,  variety  amara)  are  larger  and  whiter  than  those 
of  the  sweet  almond-tree  (Amygdalus  communis,  variety 
dulcis).  The  sweet  almond  is  bland  and  inodorous.  There 
are  numerous  commercial  varieties,  of  which  the  most 
esteemed  is  the  Jordan  almond,  imported  from  Malaga. 
Valentia  almonds  are  also  valued.  Fresh  sweet  almonds 
are  nutritive  and  demulcent,  but  as  the  outer  brown  skin 
or  episperm  sometimes  causes  irritation  of  the  alimentary 
canal,  they  are  blanched  by  removal  of  this  skin  when  used 
at  dessert.  When  bitter  almonds  are  pounded  in  water 
a  ratafia  odour  is  produced,  on  account  of  the  formation  of 
prussic  acid.  The  essential  oil  or  essence  of  almonds,  so 
much  employed  for  flavouring  dishes,  requires  to  be  used 
with  caution,  as  it  possesses  marked  poisonous  qualities. 
In  some  cases  the  oil,  even  when  taken  in  small  quantities, 
produces  nettle-rash.  The  import  of  sweet  almonds  into 
Britain  in  1870  amounted  to  36,189  cwt.;  of  bitter  almonds, 
7618  cwt. 

ALMONDBURY,  au  extensive  parish  and  township  of 
Yorkshire  in  England,  lying  to  the  S.E.  of  Huddersfield 
As  the  manufactures  of  Huddersfield  have  increased, 
various  outlying  districts  have  been  built  on,  so  that  the 
parish  of  Almondbury  now  includes  a  considerable  part  of 
that  important  and  flourishing  town.  The  parish  contains 
28,092  acres.  The  town  lies  on  the  river  Calder,  2  miles 
S.E.  of  Huddersfield,  and  had  formerly  a  cathedral  and  a 
strong  castle.  By  some  writers  it  is  supposed  to  occupy 
the  site  of  the  Roman .  Campodunum  mentioned  by 
Antoninus;  but  whether  or  not,  the  place  can  boast  a 
Roman  origin — it  was  at  least  a  town  of  importance  in 
Saxon  times,  and  a  seat  of  the  kings  of  Northumbria.  It 
has  a  free  grammar  school  founded  by  James  I.,  a  good 
church,  and  several  other  public  buildings.  The  inhabitants 
of  the  town  and  parish  are  chiefly  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  fine  cloths,  and  woollen,  cotton,  and  silk  goods. 
In  1871  the  population  of  the  parish  was  46,299;  of  the 
township,  11,669. 

ALMONER,  in  its  primitive  sense,  denotes  an  officer  in 
Teligious  houses,  to  whom  belonged  the  management  and 
distribution  of  the  alms  of  the  house.  By  the  ancient 
canons,  all  monasteries  were  to  spend  at  least  a  tenth 
part  of  their  income  in  alms  to  the  poor,  and  all  bishops 
were  required  to  keep  almoners. 

Lord  Almoner,  or  Lord  High  Almoner  of  England, 
is  an  ecclesiastical  officer,  generally  a  bishop,  who  has  a 
right  to  the  forfeiture  of  all  deodauds  and  the  goods  of  a 
feio  de  se,  which  he  is  to  distribute  among  the  poor.  He 
has  also,  by  virtue  of  an  ancient  custom,  the  power  of 
giving  the  first  dish  from  the  king's  table  to  whatever  poor 
person  he  pleases,  or,  instead  of  it,  an  aims  in  money. 
See  Maunday  Thursday. 

ALMORA,  the  principal  town  in  the  British  district  of 
Rumaon,  within  the  lieutenant-governorship  of  the  North- 
Western  Provinces,  is  situated  in  29°  35'  N.  lat.,  and  79° 
42'  E.  long.     The  town  is  built  on  the  crest  of  a  ridge  of 


the  Himalayas,  running  east  and  west,  and  5337  feet  above 
sea-level.  It  consists  chiefly  of  a  single  street,  about  50 
feet  wide  and  three-quarters  of  a  mile  long,  closed  by  a 
gate  at  each  end.  A  few  detached  houses,  inhabited  by 
Europeans,  are  scattered  along  the  face  of  the  mountain 
below  the  town.  The  town  was  captured  by  the  Gurkhas 
in  1790,  who  constructed  a  fort  on  the  eastern  extremity 
of  the  ridge.  Another  citadel,  Fort  Moira,  is  situated  on 
the  other  extremity  of  the  ridge.  Almora  is  also  celebrated 
as  the  scene  of  the  British  victory  which  terminated  the 
war  with  Nepal  in  April  1815,  and  which  resulted  in  the 
evacuation  of  Kumaon  by  the  Gurkhas,  and  the  annexa- 
tion of  the  province  by  the  British.  According  to  the 
census  of  1872,  the  town  contains  a  population  of  5900 
souls.  It  has  been  constituted  a  municipality,  the  revenue 
and  expenditure  of  which  in  1871-72  is  returned  as  fol- 
lows: — Revenue — Receipts  from  octroi,  £29,  Ms.;  house- 
tax,  £211,  8s.;  other  sources  of  income,  £30,  14s.:  total, 
£271,  18s.  Expenditure — Establishment,  including  cost 
of  collection,  police,  and  conservancy,  £182;  repairs.  £90, 
16s.;  other  items,  £3,  16s.  :  total,  £276,  12s. 

ALMORAVIDES,  a  family  of  Mahometan  princes  who 
reigned  in  Africa  and  in  Spain  between  1073  and  1147 
A.D.  This  appellation  was  derived  from  the  sect  of  AU 
Morabethun  (Dedicated  to  the  service  of  God),  which  arose 
about  the  middle  of  the  11th  century,  among  a  poor 
ignorant  tribe  of  Berbers  inhabiting  the  mountains  of 
Atlas,  on  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  At  the"  request 
of  a  sheik  of  Lamtouna,  who  had  acquired  some  taste  for 
learning  by  travelling  in  the  East,  Abdallah-ben-Yazim, 
an  Arabian  of  extraordinary  erudition,  consented  to  instruct 
the  people  in  the  truths  of  Islam.  The  enthusiasm  of 
Abdallah  created  a  like  zeal  in  the  hearts  of  his  ignorant 
hearers ;  and  by  the  energy  and  novelty  of  his  discourses 
he  so  inflamed  the  minds  of  his  disciples  that  they  com- 
pelled those  whom  persuasion  could  not  move  to  embrace 
the  new  religion.  Thu3  Abdallah  found  himself  at  the 
head  of  a  numerous  sect,  who  soon  began  to  regard  him  as 
their  leader  both  in  temporal  and  spiritual  matters.  Under 
the  name  of  Almorabethun  or  Almoravides,  they  overran 
the  country  of  Daza,  lying  between  the  desert  of  Sahara 
and  the  ancient  Getulia,  and  ultimately  extended  their 
conquests  from  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  to  the 
frontiers  of  Nigritia.  Abdallah  died  on  the  field  of  battle  in 
the  year  1058.  He  was  succeeded  by  Abu-Bekr-Ibn-Omar, 
a  man  whose  abilities  were  scarcely  equal  to  the  difficulties 
of  the  position  in  which  he  was  placed.  In  1072  he 
was  supplanted  by  Yussef-Ibn-Tashf3-n,  to  whom  he  had 
entrusted  the  government  on  setting  out  for  Atlas  to 
quell  an  insurrection  of  the  Berbers.  Yussef  completely 
established  the  Almoravide  power  in  Al-Magreb  in  1073. 
On  the  invitation  of  Mohammed  of  Seville,  he  crossed  to 
Algeciras  in  1086,  and  at  once  marched  against  Alphonso 
VI.,  the  most  powerful  prince  in  Christendom.  They  met  in 
the  plains  of  Zalaca  (23d  Oct.  1086),  and  Alphonso  was 
defeated  with  terrible  slaughter.  The  news  of  Yussefs 
success  induced  many  of  the  Arabs  of  Spain  to  enlist 
under  his  victorious  banner.  In  a  third  expedition  to 
Spain  (1091),  he  attacked  Mohammed,  and  after  a  protracted 
siege  became  master  of  Seville.  This  conquest  was  followed 
by  the  subjugation  of  Alincria,  Denia,  Xativa,  and  Valen- 
cia. The  acquisition  of  the  Balearic  Isles  was  the  com- 
pletion of  this  vast  empire,  which  extended  from  the  Ebro 
and  the  Tagus  to  the  frontiers  of  Soudan.  Although 
Marocco  was  his  capital,  he  frequently  visited  his  Spanish 
dominions  ;  and  on  the  last  occasion,  having  assembled  the 
governors  of  the  province  at  Cordova,  he  appointed  Ali, 
the  youngest  of  has  sous,  as  his  successor.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Marocco,  where  he  died  at  a  very  advanced  age, 
1106  a.d.  (500  of  the  Hegira),  after  a  reign  of  forty  years. 


596 


ALM-ALN 


Few  kings  have  received  so  noble  a  heritage  as  that  to 
which  AU  succeeded.  The  first  years  of  his  reign  were 
prosperous,  though  disturbed  by  the  Almohades,  who  were 
preparing  the  way  for  the  destruction  of  the  Alinoravides. 
Ali  was  at  last  obliged  to  recall  from  Spain  his  son  Tashfyn, 
who  was  using  his  utmost  endeavours  to  oppose  the  victo- 
rious career  of  Alphonso  of  Aragon,  surnamed  the  Fighter. 
But  the  valour  of  Tashfyn  was  of  little  avail  against  the 
rising  power  of  the  Almohades:  disaster  followed  disaster ; 
and  when,  in  1143,  he  succeeded  to  the  throne,  but  a 
moiety  of  the  kingdom  remained.  It  was  in  vain  that  he 
received  succours  from  Spain,  the  troops  from  that  soft 
climate  being  Little  fitted  for  service  in  the  wild  regions  of 
Atlas.  Driven  from  Tlemecen,  he  sought  refuge  in  Oran  ; 
but  Abd-el-Mumen  appeared  before  its  walls,  and  by  threats 
so  intimidated  the  inhabitants  that  Tashfyn  was  compelled 
to  attempt  escape  on  horseback,  with  his  favourite  wife 
behind  him  ;  but  being  closely  pursued,  he  urged  his  horse 
over  a  precipice,  and  with  his  wife  was  dashed  to  pieces. 
With  Tashfyn  expired  the  domination  of  the  Almoravides  ; 
for  although  they  still  remained  in  possession  of  the  city 
of  Marocco,  their  power  was  completely  broken.  Ishak- 
Ibrahim,  the  son  of  Tashfyn,  was  taken  and  put  to  death 
at  Alcazar  in  1147,  on  the  surrender  of  Marocco  by 
treachery,  and  with  him  the  dynasty  of  the  Almoravides 
became  extinct.  The  remnant  of  the  sect,  driven  from  Spain, 
took  refuge  in  the  Balearic  Islands,  but  it  was  finally  sup- 
pressed in  1208.  (For  the  history  of  the  Arabians  in  Spain, 
see  the  works  of  Cardonne,  Conde,  St  Hilaire,  D'Herbelot, 
Al-Makkari,  and  Dozy.) 

ALMQVIST,  Kael  Jonas  Ludwig,  one  of  the  most 
extraordinary  figures  that  the  history  of  literature  can 
produce,  was  born  at  Stockholm  in  1793.  He  began  life 
under  highly  favourable  auspices  ;  but  becoming  tired  of  a 
university  career,  ho  threw  up  the  position  he  held  in  the 
capital  to  lead  a  colony  of  friends  to  the  wilds  of  Werm- 
land.  This  ideal  Scandinavian  life  soon  proved  a  failure ; 
Almqvist  found  the  pen  easier  to  wield  than  the  plough, 
and  in  1829  we  find  him  once  more  settled  in  Stockholm. 
Now  began  his  literary  life;  and  after  bringing  out  several 
educational  works,  he  made  himself  suddenly  famous  by  the 
publication  of  his  great  novel,  The  Book  of  the  Thorn-Rose. 
The  career  so  begun  developed  with  extraordinary  rapidity; 
few  writers  have  equalled  Almqvist  in  productiveness  and 
versatility  ;  lyrical,  epic,  and  dramatic  poems  ;  romances  ; 
lectures ;  philosophical,  sesthetical,  moral,  political, .  and 
educational  treatises;  works  of  religious  edification,  studies 
in  lexicography  and  history,  in  mathematics  and  philology, 
form  the  most  prominent  of  his  countless  contributions  to 
modern  Swedish  literature.  So  excellent  was  his  style, 
that  in  this  respect  he  has  been  considered  the  first  of 
Swedish  writers.  His  life  was  as  varied  as  his  work. 
Unsettled,  unstable  in  all  his  doings,  he  passed  from  one 
lucrative  post  to  another,  at  last  subsisting  entirely  on  the 
proceeds  of  literary  and  journalistic  labour.  More  and  more 
vehemently  he  espoused  the  cause  of  socialism  in  his 
brilliant  novels  and  pamphlets  ;  friends  were  beginning  to 
leave  him,  foes  beginning  to  triumph,  when  suddenly  all 
minor  criticism  was  silenced  by  the  astounding  news  that 
Almqvist,  convicted  of  forgery  and  charged  with  murder, 
had  fled  from  Sweden.  This  occurred  in  1851.  For  many 
years  no  more  was  heard  of  him;  but  it  is  now  known 
that  he  went  over  to  America,  and  settled  at  St.  Louis. 
During  a  journey  in  Texas  he  was  robbed  of  all  his  manu- 
scripts, among  which  are  said  to  have  been  several  unprinted 
novels,  lie  appealed  in  person  to  President  Lincoln,  but  the 
robbers  could  not  be  traced.  In  L86S  he  returned  to  Europe, 
»nd  hi .  strange  ami  sinister  existence  came  to  a  close  at  Bre- 
men on  the  !  Itisby  his  romances,  un- 


doubtedly the  ocst  in  Swedish,  that  his  literary  fame  will 
mainly  be  supported  ;  but  his  singular  history  will  always 
point  him  out  as  a  remarkable  figure  even  when  his  works 
are  no  longer  read.  He  was  another  Eugene  Aram,  but  of 
greater  genius,  and  so  far  more  successful  that  he  escapee 
the  judicial  penalty  of  his  crimes.  (e.  w.  o.) 

ALMUO  or  ALGUM  TREE.  The  Hebrew  words 
Almuggivi  or  Algummim  are  translated  Almug  or  Algum 
trees  in  pur  version  of  the  Bible  (see  1  Kings  x.  11,  12; 
2  Chron.  u.  8,  and  ix.  10,  11).  The  wood  of  the  tree  was 
very  precious,  and  was  brought  from  Ophir  (probably  some 
part  of  India),  along  with  gold  and  precious  stones,  by 
Hiram,  and  was  used  in  the  formation  of  pillars  for  the 
temple  at  Jerusalem,  and  for  the  king's  house;  also  for  the 
inlaying  of  stairs,  as  well  as  for  harps  and  psalteries.  It  is 
probably  the  red  sandal-wood  of  India  (Pterocarpus  santa- 
linus).  This  tree  belongs  to  the  natural  order  Leguminosa:, 
sub-order  Papilionacese.  The  wood  is  hard,  heavy,  close- 
grained,  and  of  a  fine  red  colour.  It  is  different  from  the 
white  fragrant  sandal-wood,  which  is  the  produce  of  San- 
talum  album,  a  tree  belonging  to  a  distinct  natural  order. 

ALMUNECAR,  a  small  seaport  town  of  Spain,  in  the 
province  of  Granada,  about  33  miles  south  of  the  town  of 
that  name.  It  is  a  place  of  Moorish  origin,  and  is  toler- 
ably well  built  The  harbour  is  fit  for  small  vessels  only, 
and  is  much  exposed  to  gales  from  the  east.  Sugar, 
cotton,  and  fruits  are  the  chief  products  of  Almunecar  and 
the  surrounding  country,  which  is  naturally  very  fertile, 
but  the  trade  is  small  compared  with  that  of  former  times. 
Population,  5000. 

ALNWICK,  the  county  town  of  Northumberland,  13 
situated  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river  Alne,  310  miles  N. 
of  London,  34  N.  of  Newcastle,  and  29  S.  of  Berwick. 
There  are  remains  of  the  old  wall  which  surrounded  the 
town,  and  one  of  the  four  gates  still  exists;  but  most  of  the 
houses  are  comparatively,  modern,  and  are  laid  out  in  well- 
paved  spacious  streets.  In  the  market-place  there  is  a 
large  town-hall,  and  a  handsome  building  containing  an 
assembly-room  and  a  reading-room.  Besides  the  parish 
church,  Alnwick  possesses  a  beautiful  district  church,  a 
Roman  Catholic  chapel,  and  several  Protestant  dissenting 
places  of  worship.  The  chief  employments  are  brewing, 
tanning,  and  brickmaking,  but  these  manufactures  are 
here  of  little  importance.  A  small  export  trade  is  carried 
on  through  Alnmouth  in  corn,  pork,  and  eggs,  and  a 
market  is  held  every  Saturday  chiefly  for  these  articles. 
The  local  government  consists  of  a  bailiff,  nominated  by  the 
Duke  of  Northumberland,  and  twenty-four  common  coun- 
cilmen,  four  of  whom  are  elected  annually  as  chamberlains; 
the  councilmen  fill  up  vacancies  in  their  body  from  the 
freemen,  who  usually  are  about  300  in  number.  The 
ceremony  of  making  freemen  is  of  a  very  peculiar  kind. 
The  candidates,  mounted  on  horseback,  assemble  in  the 
market-place  very  early  in  the  morning  of  St  Mark's  day — 
the  25th  April — clad  in  white  from  head  to  foot,  with 
swords  by  their  sides,  and  attended  by  the  bailiff  and 
chamberlains,  who  are  mounted  and  armed  in  the  same 
manner.  From  the  market-place  they  proceed,  with  music 
playing  before  them,  to  a  large  pool  called  Freeman's  Well, 
where  they  dismount  and  draw  up  in  a  body  at  some  dis 
tance  from  the  water,  and,  on  a  given  signal  from  the 
bailiff,  rush  into  the  pool,  and  scramble  through  the  mud 
as  fast  as  they  can.  As  the  water  is  generally  very  foul, 
they  come  out  in  a  dirty  condition;  but  they  put  on  dry 
clothes,  remount  their  horses,  and  ride  at  full  gallop  round 
the  boundaries  of  the  town.  According  to  tradition,  the 
observance  of  this  custom  was  enjoined  by  King  John  to 
punish  the  inhabitants  for  their  carelessness,  the  king 
having,  it  is  said,  lost  his  way,  and  been  bemired  in  a  bog, 
from  their  neglect  of  the  roads  near  the  town.     To  the 


ALO-ALP 


597 


north  west  of  the  town  is  Alnwick  Castle,  which  has 
belonged  to  the  Northumberland  family  Bince  1310.  In 
early  times  this  fortress  was  an  important  defence  against 
the  Scotch,  and  was  besieged  by  them  on  several  occasions, 
most  memorably  in  1093,  when  Malcolm  Canmore  and  his 
son  Edward  were  slain  under  its  walls;  and  in  1174,  when 
William  the  Lion  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner.  For 
a  long  time  it  was  permitted  to  fall  into  decay,  but  it  has 
recently  been  restored,  and  to  some  extent  remodelled,  and 
ia  now  one  of  the  most  magnificent  specimens  of  a  baronial 
residence  in  England.  The  grounds  are  extensive,  and 
contain  the  remains  of  two  abbeys,  Alnwick  and  Hulme. 
The  population  of  Alnwick  in  1871  was  5822. 

ALOE  Aloes  is  a  medicinal  substance  used  as  a 
purgative,  and  produced  from  various  species  of  aloe,  such 
as  A.  spicata,  vulgaris,  socotrina,  indica,  and  purpurascens, 
all  belonging  to  the  natural  order  Liliacese.  Several  kinds 
of  aloes  are  distinguished  in  commerce — Barbadoes,  soco- 
trine,  hepatic,  Indian,  and  Cape  aloes.  The  first  two  are 
those  commonly  used  for  medicinal  purposes.  Aloes  is  the 
inspissated  juice  of  the  leaves  of  the  plant.  When  the 
leaves 'are  cut  the  juice  flows  out,  and  is  collected  and 
evaporated.  After  the  juice  has  been  obtained,  the  leaves 
are  sometimes  boiled,  so  as  to  yield  an  inferior  kind  of 
aloes.  The  active  principle  is  called  aloein.  Aloes  is  used 
in  the  form  of  extract,  pill,  tincture,  and  wine.  It  is 
irritant,  and  requires  to  be  used  with  caution. 

The  plant  called  American  aloe  belongs  to  a  different 
order,  viz.,  Amaryllidaceae.  The  plant  is  called  Agave 
Americana.  The  juice  of  the  plant,  taken  immediately 
before  flowering,  is  used  in  America  for  the  manufacture 
of  an  intoxicating  beverage.  In  Ecuador  the  spongy 
substance  of  the  flower  stem  is  used  instead  of  tinder,  and 
in  the  schools  the  green  leaves  serve  as  paper.  A  punish- 
ment among  the  Aztecs  was  introducing  the  spiny  points 
of  the  leaves  into  the  skin.  The  plant  often  delays  flower- 
ing for  many  years,  and  then  pushes  up  a  flowering  stalk 
with  great  rapidity,  sometimes  at  the  rate  of  1  foot  or  even 
2  feet  in  twenty-four  hours.  The  fibrous  matter  procured 
from  the  agave  by  maceration  supplies  pita  flax  , 

The  aloes  or  lign  aloes  of  the  Bible  (Numb.  xxiv.  6,  and 
Psalm  xlv.  8)  is  quite  different  from  the  medicinal  aloes. 
The  Hebrew  words  ahalim  and  ahaloth,  and  the  Greek 
word  aloe,  are  rendered  aloes  in  our  version  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. The  substance  is  supposed  by  some  to  be  the 
fragrant  wood  of  A  quilaria  Agallochum,  a  plant  belonging 
to  the  natural  order  Aquilariaceae.  There  are,  however, 
considerable  doubts  as  to  the  correctness  of  this  view,  more 
especially  as  the  tree  is  a  native  of  Cochin  China,  Silhet, 
and  Northern  India,  and  is  not  found  in  Chaldea  or  Syria. 
From  the  allusion  made  to  the  trees  of  lign  aloes  by  Balaam, 
it  seems  probable  that  they  were  known  as  growing  in 
Syria.  It  i3  quite  possible,  however,  that  the  precious 
fragrant  substance  called  aloes,  and  mentioned  in  Scripture 
along  with  cinnamon,  cassia,  myrrh,  and  spices,  may  have 
been  brought  from  India.  As  a  perfume  it  is  noted  in 
Psalm  xlv.  8;  Prov.  vii.  17;  Song  of  SoL  iv.  14.  The 
use  of  aloes  in  perfuming  the  coverings  of  the  dead  is 
referred  to  in  John  xix.  39,  40. 

ALOIDjE,  or  Aloiad2B,  the  designation  of  Otus  and 
Ephialtes,  sons  of  Poseidon  by  Iphimedea,  wife  of  Aloeus. 
They  are  celebrated  for  their  extraordinary  stature,  being 
27  cubits  in  height  and  9  in  breadth  when  only  nine  years 
old.  The  story  of  their  piling  Pelion  upon  Ossa  in  then- 
war  with  the  Olympian  gods  is  one  of  the  best  known  of 
the  early  Greek  myths.  According  .to  Homer's  account, 
they  were  destroyed  by  Apollo  ere  their  beards  began  to 
grow.     (Odyssey,  xi.  305;  Iliad,  v.  385.) 

ALOMPRA,  Aloung  Phouea,  lounder  of  the  reigning 
dynasty  in  Burmah,  was  born  vn  17  VI  at  Monohaboo,  a 


small  village  50  miles  north-west  of  Ava.  Of  humble 
origin,  he  had  risen  to  be  chief  of  his  native  village  when 
the  invasion  of  Birmah  by  the  king  of  Pegu  in  1752  gave 
him  the  opportunity  of  attaining  to  the  highest  distinction. 
The  whole  country  had  tamely  submitted  to  the  invader, 
and  the  leading  chiefs  had  taken  the  oaths  of  allegiance. 
Alompra,  however,  with  a  more  independent  spirit,  not 
only  contrived  to  regain  possession  of  his  village,  but  was 
able  to  defeat  a  body  of  Peguan  troops  that  had  been  sent 
to  punish  him.  Upon  this  the  Birmese,  to  the  number  ef 
a  thousand,  rallied  to  his  standard,  and  marched  with  him 
upon  Ava,  which  was  recovered  from  the  invaders  before 
the  close  of  1753.  For  several  years  he  prosecuted  the 
war  with  uniform  success.  In  1754  the  Peguans,  to 
avenge  themselves  for  a  severe  defeat  at  Keoum-nuoum, 
slew  the  king  of  Birmah,  who  was  their  prisoner.  The  son 
of  the  latter  claimed  the  throne,  and  was  supported  by  the 
tribe  of  Quois;  but  Alompra  resisted,  being  determined  to 
maintain  his  own  supremacy.  La  1755  Alompra  founded 
the  city  of  Rangoon.  In  1757  he  had  established  his 
position  as  one  of  the  most  powerful  monarchs  of  the 
East  by  the  invasion  and  conquest  of  Pegu.  Ere  a  year 
elapsed  the  Peguans  revolted-  but  Alompra,  with  his  usual 
promptitude,  at  once  quelled  the  insurrection.  The  Euro- 
peans were  suspected  of  having  instigated  the  rising,  and 
the  massacre  of  the  English  at  Negrais  in  October  1759  is 
supposed  to  have  been  approved  by  Alompra  after  the  event, 
though  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  ordered  it.  Against 
the  Siamese,  who  were  also  suspected  of  having  abetted 
the  Peguan  rebels,  he  proceeded  more  openly  and  severely. 
Entering  their  territory,  he  was  just  about  to  invest  the 
capital  when  he  was  seized  with  an  illness  which  proved 
fatal  on  the  15th  May  1760.  Alompra  is  certainly  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  figures  in  modern  Oriental  history. 
To  undoubted  military  genius  he  added  considerable  poli- 
tical sagacity,  and  he  deserves  particular  credit  for  his 
efforts  to  improve  the  administration  of  justice.  His 
cruelty  and  deceitfulness  are  faults  common  to  all  Eastern 
despots. 

ALOST,  or  Aaxst,  a  town  of  Belgium,  on  the  eastern 
frontier  of  the  province  of  East  Flanders,  about  midway 
between  Ghent  and  Brussels.  The  Dender,  a  navigable 
tributary  of  the  Scheldt,  passes  through  the  town,  which  is 
a  clean,  well-built  place,  surrounded  by  a  wall  with  five 
gates.  The  church  of  St  Martin,  a  fine  edifice,  although 
unfinished,  contains  a  celebrated  picture  by  Rubens,  "St 
Roche  Praying  for  the  Cessation  of  the  Plague."  Among 
the  other  public  buildings  are  a  town-hall,  which  was 
founded  about  1200  A.D.,  a  college,  and  an  hospital  The 
trade  is  extensive,  chiefly  in  corn,  oil,  hops,  and  beer;  and 
there  are  linen,  lace,  and  cotton  manufactories,  and  iron 
foundries  of  considerable  importance.  Alost  was  formerly 
the  capital  of  imperial  Flanders.  The  French  under 
Turenne  took  it  in  1667,  but  were  obliged  to  abandon  it 
after  the  battle  of  Ramillies  in  1706.     Population,  19,000. 

ALPACA  is  a  name  applied  generally  to  several, allied 
South  American  wool-bearing  animals,  but  more  properly 
restricted  to  one  of  the  species.  It  is  further  used  to  dis- 
tinguish the  wool  obtained  from  these  animals,  and  the 
woven  textures  manufactured  from  the  wool  are  also  known 
as  alpacas.  The  alpacas  or  llamas  are  natives  of  the  lofty 
table-lands  and  mountain  range  of  the  Andes  in  Peru  and 
Chili,  and  in  that  region  of  the  globe  they  long  occupied  the 
position  held  in  the  Old  World  by  their  congeners  of 
larger  size,  the  camels.  To  the  ancient  Peruvians  the  llamas 
were  the  only  available  beasts  of  burden  and  wool-bearing 
creatures,  just  as  to  the  present  day  the  camel  is  to  the  tribes 
of  the  Asiatic  deserts.  The  camel  (Camelus)  and  the  llama 
(Auchenia)  form  the  two  existing  genera  of  the  family 
Camelida?;   and  thus  ia  a  zoological  sense  also  the  one 


598 


A  L  P  — A  L  P 


represents  the  other  in  different  regions  of  the  earth.  A 
great  deal  of  doubt  and  confusion  has  existed  as  to  the 
number  of  species  into  which  the  llamas  can  be  divided — a 
very  common  occurrence  in  dealing  with  domesticated  or 
semi-domesticated  creatures.  Most  authorities  now,  how- 
ever, agree  in  regarding  them  as  separable  into  four 
species,  following  the  classification  of  Von  Tschudi,  who 
has  given  much  careful .  consideration  to  the  subject.  The 
species,  according  to  that  naturalist,  are  the  llama  {Auchenia 
lama),  the  huanaco  or  guanaco  (A.  huanaco),  the  alpaca  or 
paco  (A.  paco),  and  the  vicugna  (A.  vicunna.)  The  two 
first-named  species  are,  or  rather  were,  more  valued  as 
beasts  of  burden,  and  for  their  flesh,  than  as  sources  of 
wool,  being  able  to  bear  from  120  to  150  lb  burden  over 
long  distances  daily.  The  guanaco  attains  a  size  not  much 
less  than  our  red  deer;  and  is  the  largest  and  moat  widely 
spread  of  all  the  species,  being  found  from  the  equator 
southward  to  Patagonia.  The  llama  is  next  in  size,  but 
its  habitat  is  limited  to  the  loftier  mountains  of  North 
Peru.  Although  both  species  yield  a  serviceable  quality  of 
wool,  which  is  used  by  the  Peruvians  and  found  in  com- 
merce, it  is  chiefly  to  the  alpaca  we  owe  the  supply  of 
wool  imported  into  this  coi  ntry  under  that  name.  The 
alpaca  is  considerably  smaller  than  either  the  llama  or  the 
guanaco,  but  in  general  outline  all  the  species  resemble 
each  other.  In  its  native  condition  tho  alpaca  ranges 
between  10°  and  20°  S.  lat,  from  the  centre  of  Peru  into 
Bolivia,  not  coming  lower  down  in  vertical  distribution 
than  between  8000  and  9000  feet  above  the  sea-level. 
At  and  above  these  heights  it  lives  in  herds  in  a  semi- 
domesticated  condition,  being  only  driven  into  the  villages 
to  be  shorn.  The  wool,  which  varies  in  length  from  2  to 
6  inches,  is  of  a  very  lustrous  and  fine  quality,  and  is 
mostly  white,  black,  or  gray,  shades  of  brown  or  fawn 
being  rarer.  The  vicugna  is  a  much  rarer  animal  than 
the  alpaca,  being  found  sparsely  scattered  from  Ecuador, 
throughout  Peru,  into  Bolivia,  but  seldom  descending 
under  13,000  feet  above  the  sea-level.  It  is  about  the 
same  size  cs  the  alpaca,  and  yields  an  exceedingly  delicate 
wool,  varying  in  colour  from  a  reddish  yellow  to  a  dull 
white.  It  is  usually  worth  about  twice  as  much  as 
alpaca,  and  is  greatly  valued  for  fine  felts. 

There  is  evidence  of  these  animals  having  been  held 
domesticated  and  used  for  their  wool  in  their  native  regions 
from  remote  antiquity.  Remains  of  clothing  made  from 
alpaca  wools  have  been  found  in  the  graves  of  the  Incas; 
and  when,  in  the  early  part  of  the  1 6th  century,  Europeans 
first  visited  Peru,  these  animals  formed  the  chief  wealth  of 
the  natives,  being  the  carriers  of  their  commerce  as  well  as 
the  main  source  of  their  food  and  clothing.  Small  quan- 
tities of  the  wool  were  occasionally  met  with  in  English  com- 
merce; but  it  was  not  till  1836  that  it  became  established 
as  a  regular  trading  commodity  with  Europe.  In  that  year 
Mr  (now  Sir)  Titus  Salt,  a  wool-broker  and  manufacturer 
in  Bradford,  purchased  a  quantity  he  met  with  in  a  Liver- 
pool warehouse  at  8d.  per  ft,  and  set  himself  to  discover 
its  capabilities.  The  amount  and  manner  of  his  success 
will  be  described  in  the  articles  Wool  and  Worsted 
Manufactures;  it  need  only  be  remarked  here  that  his 
experiments  have  resulted  in  making  alpaca  a  staple  second 
in  importance  to  wool,  and  so  creating  an  industry  of 
great  and  rapidly  increasing  dimensions.  The  success  of 
bis  experiments  led  to  the  erection  of  his  great  manu- 
facturing establishment  of  Saltaire,  in  which  upwards  of 
3000  hands  are  employed  in  the  alpaca  manufacture.  The 
quantity  of  alpaca  imported  into  England  from  1836 — the 
year  of  Sir  Titus  Salt's  first  experimental  purchase — to 
1840,  averaged  560,800  ft  yearly,  which  sold  at  about 
10d.  per  lb.  In  1852  the  imports  had  risen  to  2,186,480 
ft,  and  the  price  advanced  to  2s.  6d.  per  ft.     In  1864  the 


imports  amounted  to  2,664,027  lb,  and  in  1872  they  wew 
3,878,739  ft;  the  value  of  average  qualities  being  from 
2s.  6d.  to  2s.  10d.  per  lb.  The  introduction  of  the  various 
species  of  llama  into  Eulope  has  been  frequently  urged. 
Geoffrey  St  Hilaire  and  other  French  naturalists  having 
specially  pointed  out  the  desirability  of  their  introduction 
into  France,  and  at  one  time  a  herd  existed  in  the 
Pyrenees;  but  in  Europe  the  creatures  must  be  still  re- 
garded as  curiosities  of  zoological  collections.  In  1859 
systematic  and  costly  attempts  weie  made  to  acclimatise 
the  alpaca  in  our  Australian  colonies  by  Mr  Ledger,  a  gen- 
tleman who  had  devoted  many  years  to  observation  of  the 
conditions  of  life  of  the  animal  At  first  the  experiment 
presented  most  encouraging  prospects;  the  herds  continued 
healthy  and  increased  in  numbers;  but  gradually  the  subtle 
influences  of  the  loss  of  their  native  mountain  climate 
became  apparent, — the  creatures  drooped,  their  numbers 
dwindled,  and  for  the  present  the  undertaking  must  be 
regarded  as  a  complete  failure. 

ALP  ARSLAN  or  AXAN;  Mohammed  Ben  Daoud,  tho 
second  sultan  of  the  dynasty  of  Seljuk,  in  Persia,  and  great- 
grandson  of  Seljuk,  the  founder  of  the  dynasty.  He  wan 
born  in  the  year  1029  a. d.,  421  of  the  Hegira.  Heassumed 
the  name  of  Mohammed  when  he  embraced  the  Mussulman 
faith;  and  on  account  of  his  military  prowess  he  obtained 
the  surname  Alp  Arslan,  which  signifies  "a  valiant  lion." 
He  succeeded  his  father  Daoud  as  ruler  of  Kborassan  in 
1059,  and  his  uncle  Togrul  Bey  as  sultan  of  Oran  in  1063, 
and  thus  became  sole  monarch  of  Persia,  from  the  river 
Oxus  to  the  Tigris.  In  consolidating  his  empire  and  sub- 
duing contending  factions  he  was  ably  assisted  by  Nizani- 
al-Mulk,  his  vizier,  one  of  the  most  eminent  statesmen 
in  early  Mahometan  history.  Peace  and  security  being 
established  in  his  dominions,  he  convoked  an  assembly  of 
the  states,  and  declared  his  son  Malik  Shah  his  heir  and 
successor.  With  the  hope  of  acquiring  immense  booty  in 
the  rich  temple  of  St  Basil  in  Caesarea,  the  capital  of 
Cappadocia,  he  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Turkish 
cavalry,  crossed  the  Euphrates,  and  entered  and  plundered 
that  city.  He  then  marched  into  Armenia  and  Georgia, 
which,  in  the  year  1064,  he  finally  subdued.  To  punish 
the  Georgians  for  the  brave  defence  which  they  had  made, 
and  as  a  badge  of  their  humiliating  condition,  the  conqueror 
obliged  them  to  wear  at  their  ears  horse-shoes  of  iron.  In 
the  year  1068  Alp  Arslan  invaded  the  Roman  empire, 
the  seat  of  which  was  then  at  Constantinople.  The  Emperor 
Romanus  Diogenes,  assuming  tho  command  in  person, 
met  the  invaders  in  Cilicia.  In  three  several  campaigns 
his  arms  were  victorious,  and  the  Turks  were  forced  to 
retreat  beyond  the  Euphrates.  In  the  fourth  he  advanced 
with  an  army  of  100,000  men  into  the  Armenian  territory, 
for  the  relief  of  that  country.  Here  he  was  met  by  Alp 
Arslan;  and  the  sultan  having  proposed  terms  of  peace, 
which  were  insultingly  rejected  by  tho  emperor,  a  bloody 
and  decisive  engagement  took  place  near  Malazkurd,  in 
which  the  Greeks,  after  a  terrible  slaughter,  were  totally 
routed.  Romanus  was  taken  prisoner  and  conducted  into 
the  presence  of  Alp  Arslan,  who  treated  him  with  a  noble 
generosity.  A  ransom  of  a  million  and  an  annual  tribute  of 
3000  pieces  of  gold,  an  intermarriage  between  the  families, 
and  the  deliverance  of  all  the  captive  Mussulmans  in  the 
power  of  the  Greeks,  having  been  agreed  to  as  the  terms 
of  peace  and  the  liberty  of  the  emperor,  Romanus  was 
dismissed,  loaded  with  presents  and  respectfully  attended 
by  a  military  guard.  He  was  unable,  however,  to  fulfil 
the  terms  of  the  treaty,  and  the  war  was  accordingly 
renewed.  At  this  time  the  dominion  of  Alp  Arslan 
extended  over  the  fairest  part  of  Asia:  1200  princes  or 
sons  of  princes  surrounded  his  throne,  and  200,000  soldiers 
ware  ready  to  execute  his  commands.     Ho  now  decL 


ALF-ALP 


5W> 


hla  purpose  of  attempting  the  e-.nquest-of  Turkestan,  the 
original  seat  of  his  ancestors.  After  great  preparations 
for  the  expedition,  he  marched  with  a  powerful  army,  and 
arrived  at  the  banks  of  the  Oxus.  Before  he  could  pass 
the  "river  with  safety,  it  was  necessary  to  gain  possession 
of  some  fortresses  in  its  vicinity,  one  of  which  was  for 
several  days  vigorously  defended  by  the  governor,  Yussuf 
Kpthual,  a  Kharizrnian.  He  was,  however,  obliged  to  sur- 
render, and  was  carried  a  prisoner  before  the  sultan. 
Being  condemned  to  suffer  a  cruel  death,  Yussuf  became 
incensed,  Tushed  upon  the  sultan,  and  stabbed  him 
in  the  breast.  The  wound  proved  mortal,  and  Alp  Arslan 
expired  a  few  hours  after  he  received  it,  on  the  15th  Dec. 
1072. 

ALPES,  the  name  of  three  departments  in  the  south- 
east of  France, — Basses  Alpes,  Hautes  Alpes,  and  Alpes 
Maritime*. 

Basses  Alpes  is  bounded  on  the  N.  by  the  department 
of  Hautes  Alpes;  on  the  E.  by  the  kingdom  of  Italy  and 
the  department  of  Alpes  Maritimes;  on  the  S.  by  the 
departments  of  Var  and  Bouches  du  Rhone;  and  on  the 
W.  by  those  of  Vaucluse  and  Drome.  It  extends  at  the 
widest  points  90  miles  from  N.E.  to  S.W.,  and  70  from 
E.  to  W.,  and  contains  an  area  of  2680  square  miles.  Its 
surface  is  mountainous,  especially  on  the  north-east,  where 
offshoots  of  the  Maritime  Alps  penetrate  into  the  country, 
rising  near  the  river  Ubaye  to  an  elevation  of  over 
9000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  the  south-eastern  corner,  which  is  drained  by 
the  Var,  the  whole  department  is  in  the  basin  of  the 
Durance,  which  for  a  considerable  distance  separates 
Basses  from  Hautes  Alpes,  but  eventually  strikes  south- 
ward through  the  former.  Its  chief  tributaries  are  the 
Buech  and  tke  Jabron  on  the  right,  and  the  Ubaye,  the 
Ble'one,  the  Asse,  and  the  Verdon  on  the  left.  The  climate 
in  the  mountainous  districts  of  the  north  is  cold  and 
variable.  The  soil  there  is  poor,  but  it  is  cultivated  with 
great  industry  —  producing  rye,  oats,  barley,  potatoes, 
and  timber.  In  the  south  and  south-west,  however,  where 
the  country  is  comparatively  flat,  the  temperature  is  milder 
and  the  soil  more  fertile;  here  plums,  almonds,  apricots, 
peaches,  and  other  fruits  are  produced  in  large  quantities, 
as  well  as  wine  of  an  excellent  description,  chiefly  for  home 
consumption.  Considerable  numbers  of  cattle,  sheep,  goats, 
and  pigs  are  reared  in  the  Basses  Alpes,  besides  which 
many  flocks  of  sheep,  from  Var  and  Bouches  du  Rh6ne, 
are  pastured  during  summer  in  the  upper  valleys  of  the 
department.  Game  is  abundant.  There  are  mines  of  lead 
and  other  metals  of  some  value.  The  manufactures  are 
few  and  of  little  importance,  the  chief  being  leather, 
coarse  woollen  cloths,  cutlery,  earthenware,  and  paper. 
Basses  Alpes,  one  of  the  departments  formed  out  of  ancient 
Provence,  is  divided  into  five  arrondissements — Digne,in  the 
centre;  Barcelonnette  and  Castellan e,  on  the  east;  Sisteron 
and  Forcalquier  on  the  west;  which  together  contain  30 
cantons  and  251  communes.  Digne  is  the  capital  and 
the  seat  of  a  bishop,  whose  diocese  is  co-extensive  with  the 
department;  and  among  the  other  towns  are  Barcelonnette, 
Castellane,  Sisteron,  Forcalquier,  and  Manosque.  Popu- 
lation (1871),  139,332. 

Haoies  Alpes  is  bounded  on  the  N.  by  the  depart- 
ments of  Isere  and  Savoir;  on  the  E.  by  the  kingdom 
of  Italy;  on  the  S.  by  the  department  of  Alpes  Basses; 
and  on  the  W.  by  that  of  Drome.  It  extends  nearly  80 
miles  from  N.E.  to  S.W.,  and  contains  an  area  of  2158 
square  miles.  Its  surface  is  very  mountainous,  being  tra- 
versed in  all  directions  by  the  Cottian  and  Dauphine"  Alps, 
which,  in  Mont  Pelvoux  and  other  peaks,  rise  to  an  eleva- 


tion of  about  13,000  feet  above  the  sea,  the  highest  sum- 
mits in  France.  The  Drac, -flowing  northwards  into  the 
Isere,  and  the  Durance,  with  its  tributaries  the  Guil  and 
the  Buech,  are  the  chief  rivers  of  Hautes  Alpes.  The 
climate  is  cold  in  winter,  and  in  summer  variable ;  the  soil 
is  barren,  yielding  only  oats,  barley,  potatoes,  rye,  and 
timber,  except  in  a  few  favoured  valleys,  where  wine  of 
a  fair  quality  and  fruits  of  various  kinds  are  produced. 
Large  numbers  of  sheep  and  other  domestic  animals  are 
reared  or  pastured  in  the  department.  Game,  both  large 
and  small,  is  found  in  great  abundance.  The  mines 
produce  lead,  copper,  iron,  and  other  metals.  There  are 
no  manufactures  of  any  commercial  importance,  although 
some  leather,  coarse  woollen  cloth,  hats,  woodwork,  and 
iron  wares  are  made.  Hautes  Alpes,  a  part  of  the  old 
province  of  Dauphin^,  is  divided  into  three  arrondisse. 
nients:  Gap  on  the  west,  Enibrun  on  the  South-east,  and 
Briancon  on  the  .north-east,  with  24  cantons  and  89  com- 
munes. The  capital  is  Gap,  the  seat  of  the  bishop  ;  Eni- 
brun and  Briancon  being  the  only  other  towns  of  any  size. 
Population,  118,898. 

Alpes  Makitimes,  bounded  on  the  N.  by  Basses  Alpes 
and  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  which  also  forms  its  boundary 
on  the  E. ;  on  the  S.  by  the  Mediterranean  Sea;  and  on 
the  W.  by  Var  and  Basses  Alpes.  It  extends  at  the 
widest  points  55  miles  from  N.  to  S.,  and  50  from  E.  to 
W.;  and-  contains  an  area  of  1517  square  miles.  The 
surface  of  this  department,  like  that  of  the  two  former,  is 
more  or  less  mountainous,  branches  of  the  Maritimes  Alpes 
covering  the  greater  part  of  the  territory.  It  is  watered 
by  the  Roya,  the  Paillon,  the  Var  (with  its  tributaries  the 
Tine'a  and  the  Esteron),  the  Loup,  and  the  Siagne.  The 
climate  is  on  the  whole  warm  and  gentle,  except  among 
the  higher  mountains;  while  the  mildness  of  the  tempera- 
ture along  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  has  made  that 
portion  of  the  department  a  favourite  resort  for  invalids. 
The  upper  valleys  and  mountain  slopes  are  chiefly  devoted 
to  pasture  for  sheep,  being  ill-suited  for  cultivation,  although 
a  little  barley  and  maize  is  grown ;  the  richer  districts  of  the 
south  produce  fruits  of  various  kinds,  tobacco,  honey,  and 
flowers,  used  in  the  making  of  perfumes.  The  other  manu- 
factures are  of  dried  fruits,  olive-oil,  preserved  anchovies 
and  sardines,  silk,  soap,  and  paper.  Alpes  Maritimes  is 
divided  into  three  arrondissements — Grasse  and  Nice  on 
the  south,  and  Puget  Theniers  on  the  north,  containing 
25  cantons  and  146  communes.  The  arrondissements  of 
Nice  and  Puget  Theniers  constitute  the  bishopric  of  Nice ; 
Grasse  belongs  to  that  of  Frejus.  Nice  is  the  capital;  and 
among  the  other  towns  are  Mentone,  ViUafranche,  Grasse, 
Antibes,  Cannes,  and  Puget  The'niers.  The  Marseilles, 
Nice,  and  Ventimille  railway,  skirting  the  coast,  connects 
Cannes,  Antibes,  Nice,  and  Mentone,  and  joins  an  Italian 
line  which  affords  direct  railway  communication  with 
Genoa.  The  department  of  Alpes  Maritimes  was  formed 
in  1860  from  the  territory  of  Nice,  which  had  been  ceded 
to  France,  together  with  Mentone  and  Roccabruna,  pur- 
chased from  the  Prince  of  Monaco,  and  the  arrondisse- 
ment  of  Grasse,  transferred  from  Var.  It  had  a  popula- 
tion of  119,037  in  1871. 

ALPHA  and  OMEGA  (A  and  ft),  the  first  and  last 
letters  of  the  Greek  alphabet,  frequently  employed  to 
symbolise  the  idea  of  completeness  or  infinity.  They  are 
used  as  a  designation  of  himself  by  the  speaker  in  Rsv.  L 
8;  xxi.  6;  xxii.  13.  In  the  last  passage  the  speaker  is 
undoubtedly  Jesus  Christ.  In  the  symbolism  of  the  early 
church  A  and  ft,-  combined  with  a  cross  or  with  the  mono- 
gram of  Xptords,  represented  Christianity,  or,  more  speci- 
fically, faith  in  the  divinity  of  Christ. 


600 


ALPHABET 


1.                                   2. 

3. 

4. 

8. 

f. 

Names  of 
LzTTEns. 

HIERATIC 
EGYPTIAN. 

ANCIENT 
PHOENICIAN. 

moabitic. 

OLD  HEBREW. 

OLD  HEBREW. 
(liOCK 

Inscriptions.) 

SQPARE 
HEBREW. 

Aleph 

a 

<"** 

*■ 

// 

* 

Jfc 

Beth 

^ 

S4 

9 

3 

J 

a 

Gimel 

-s 

7/ 

"\ 

a 

Daleth 

-$ 

<*^ 

^ 

T 

<l 

*> 

He                    ftj 

^4^\ 

A 

^r 

T 

n 

Vav                  ^ 

1Y 

1 

^ 

f   T 

Zayin 

^ 

J^A* 

X 

z^  ^ 

9             1 

Cheth 

e 

QR^/1 

% 

a 

n 

Teth 

<=>► 

©@ 

ta 

Yodh 

v 

V>LS 

^ 

/>>• 

n 

H 

Kaph 

<\ 

7  A;* 

> 

^ 

J/ 

5             1 

Lamedh    I          J 

6V 

e 

L 

1 

^ 

Mem 

3         vjy 

VM 

~) 

> 

b        D 

Nun 

> 

yss      I 

j 

3 

>  ; 

a      1 

Samekb 

-tS 

^y^V5.       $ 

1* 

^ 

D 

Ayin 

i  0                         0 

\s* 

4    o 

5 

Pe 

■3      9T7 

; 

? 

s    n 

Tsadhe 

s3      U  >■ 

/* 

AAyJ 

/*■ 

s    v 

Koph 

^      cf  94? 

<s> 

p 

-? 

P 

Resh 

9    I  q  ^ 

<\ 

4 

q 

n 

Shin 

2 

w 

w 

UU 

w 

a 

Tav 

6 

+  X 

X 

X 

+ 

n 

Greek  Letters — 

a 

iB 

7 

s 

e,«J) 

* 

€ 

i(» 

)  3- 

t 

K 

>. 

/» 

V 

MUM 

T 

<i 

g 

a 

T 

v      I 

:   * 

X. 

-f' 

7 

8a 

81 

fa 

OLD 

ATHENIAN 

AA 

*B 

rA 

DA 

6£ 

i 

B 

o 

i 

K 

t-L 

r 

K 

o 

r 

P 

F>P 

2  X 

T 

V 

®<t> 

x+ 

CORINTHTAN 
(Old  Form) 

CORINTHTAN 
(Y0TOO8B 

Form) 

AA 

D 

C  1 

A> 

K  B 
X 
.,1, 

f*F 

— 

a 

'  OG 

it 
i 

K 

rr 

m 

1" 

Oo 

o.w 

pr 

9 

pp 

R 

rtM 

T 

vr  - 

Y     ■ 

r    (BO 
"     <P 

x  + 

Y 

- 

E 

A 

« 

£ 

f" 

CHALCIDIAN 

COLONIES 

in  Italy 

(Inscriptions) 

AA 
A 

B 

c 

Dt> 
A 

4-^ 

Bt 

uo 

I 

KK 

L    / 

*YM 

"Ay 

00 

nr 

? 

PR 

*  2 

* 

TT 

vy  ; 

(  (D4> 

V 

9J 
11) 

Ditto 
(Vases) 

AA 
A 

B 

c 

>D 
A 

|5^ 

E 

c 

i 

Bt 

.oe 
1  o 

l 

K 

L 

/* 

/"A' 

Oo 

rn 

90 

V 

*£ 

T 

VY  - 

h      0 

4.Y 

OLD  LATIN 

A  A 
A 

>B 

<  c 

>D 
1) 

E 

H 

n 

K 

LL 

X 

N 

00 

P  r 
P 

9Q 

It  R 
R 

TT 

1 

V    ) 

c 

Z 

601 


ALPHABET 


BY  an  alphabet  we.mean.a  list  of  Symbols  which  repre- 
sent conventionally  to  the  eye  the  sounds  which  are 
heard  in  the  speech  of  a  nation.  An  alphabet  will 
therefore  be  perfect  if  the  number  of  its  symbols  exactly 
corresponds  to  the  number  of  simple  sounds  which  are 
commonly  distinguishable  in  the  spoken  language.  But 
this  perfection  has  probably  never  yet  been  reached  :  all 
known  alphabets  have  failed,  either  by  defect,  i.e.,  from 
not  representing  all  the  simple  sounds ;  or  by  redundancy, 
in  having  more  than  one  symbol  for  the  same  sound. 
They  must  also  necessarily  become  imperfect  by  lapse  of 
time.  No  nation  keeps  the  sound  of  its  language  unaltered 
through  many  centuries :  sounds  change  as  well  as 
grammatical  forms,  though  they  may  endure  longer,  so 
that  the  symbols  no  longer  retain  their  proper  values ; 
often,  too,  several  different  sounds  come  to  be  denoted  by 
the  same  symbol ;  and  in  strictness  the  alphabet  should  be 
changed  to  correspond  to  all  these  changes.  But  little 
inconvenience  is  practically  caused  by  the  tacit  acceptance 
of  the  old  symbol  to  express  the  new  sound ;  indeed  the 
change  in  language  is  so  gradual  that  the  variation  in  the 
values  of  the  symbols  is  imperceptible.  It  is  only  when 
we  attempt  to  produce  the  exact  sounds  of  the  English 
language  less  than  three  centuries  ago  that  we  realise  the 
fact  that  if  Shakespeare  could  now  stand  on  our  stage  he 
would  seem  to  us  to  speak  in  an  unknown  tongue ;  though 
one  of  his  plays,  when  written,  is  as  perfectly  intelligible 
now  as  then.  Such  changes  of  sound  are  most  developed 
in  countries  where  many  different  dialects,  through  con- 
quest, immigration,  or  otherwise,  exist  side  by  side  :  they 
are  checked  by  the  increase  of  education  and  by  facility  of 
locomotion — both  of  which  causes  tend  to  assimilate  all 
dialects  to  that  one  which  by  some  lucky  chance  has  become 
the  literary  speech  of  the  nation. 

The  term  alphabet  has  come  to  us  from  the  Latin 
alpkabetum,  which,  however,  occurs  in  no  prose  writer 
before  Tertullian.  It  could  not  have  been  used,  for 
metrical  reasons,  by  Juvenal,  when  he  wrote,  "  Hoc  discunt 
omnes  ante  alpha  et  beta  puellas  " — their  a  b  c.  But  there 
is  no  reason  why  it  should  not  have  existed  earlier :  the 
word  was  borrowed  from  the  Greek,  as  seems  clear  from 
the  compound  avakfyafirjTos,  which  is  as  old  as  the  comedian 
JPhilyllius  (Meineke,  Com.  Frag.  ii.  857),  and  he  was  alive 
in  392  b.o.  It  does  not  seem  likely  that  this  compound 
adjective  would  have  been  coined  if  the  noun  itself  had 
not  already  existed  in  the  same  sense  which  it  now  bears. 

The  symbols  of  our  alphabet  are  nearly  those  of  the 
Latin ;  these  in  their  turn  were  borrowed  from  a  Greek 
alphabet;  and  there  seems  no  reasonable  ground  for 
doubting -the  common  tradition  that  the  Greeks  derived 
their  characters  from  a  Phoenician  source.  All  these 
borrowings  will  be  fully  described  hereafter.  At  this 
point  absolute  certainty  ends.  We  cannot  prove  to  de- 
monstration the  origin  of  our  alphabet ;  but  positive  facts 
and  analogical  arguments  may  be  adduced  which  enable 
us  to  attain  a  very  high  degree  of  probability.  It  is  now 
commonly  believed  that  the  characters  were  originally 
hieroglyphics,  and  in  that  ultimate  form  were  devised  in 
Egypt.  There,  for  convenience  of  writing,  they  took  a 
himpler  form  (called  hieratic).  In  this  shape  they  were 
borrowed  by  the  Phoenicians ;  and  thus,  in  their  long 
course  down  to  us;  .they  passed  gradually  from  being  the 
written  expression  of  an  idea  into  the  written  expression 
each  of  a  single  sound.  It  is  true  that  the  proof  is  not 
clear  throughout :  sometimes  the  links  are  feeble,  and  here 
we  have  to  employ  the  analogy  of  other  languages,  in  which 


the  particular  step  which  we  want  to  prove  has  un- 
doubtedly beeu  made  under  similar  circumstances.  Still, 
it  may  with  some  truth  be  said  that  we  can  only  prove  the 
possibility  of  such  a  process,  while  any  given  alphabet  may 
have  had  a  perfectly  independent  origin ;  the  Phoenician 
alphabet  may  have  been  developed  in  Phoenicia  itself,  and 
never  been  hieroglyphic  at  alL  But  this  is  very  difficult 
to  conceive.  The  a  priori  argument  for  the  derivation  of 
phonetic  from  hieroglyphic  characters  is  strong.  Hiero- 
glyphics have  unquestionably  been  the  first  attempt  of 
many  nations  in  a  rude  state  to  record  their  thoughts  in  a 
permanent  and  universally  intelligible  form.  It  is  also 
certain  that  these  hieroglyphics  have  undergone  progressive 
degradation,  of  shape,  so  that  their  visible  connection  with 
the  thing  signified  was  Often  lost ;  they  became  in  many 
cases  the  expression  of  those  combinations  of  sounds  by 
which  the  things  were  denoted  in  the  spoken  language, 
though  they  still  generally  retained  their  original  value  as 
welL  Here,  at  all  events,  a  certain  connection  between 
hieroglyphics  and  sounds  establishes  itself ;  and  a  priori  it 
is  more  probable  that  all  alphabets  should  have  derived  the 
single  sounds  of  which  they  consist  from  hieroglyphics, 
through  the  medium  of  their  derived  phonetic  values,  than 
that  any  alphabet  should  have  been  produced  independently 
of  hieroglyphics  (which  are  admitted  to  have  existed),  by 
some  arbitrary  process  of  formation  for  which  absolutely 
no  testimony  can  be  adduced.  As  we  have  said  above, 
such  a  process  is  not  impossible,  and  may  be  true  for  any 
particular  alphabet ;  but  the  opposite  theory  has  the  most 
internal  probability  and  all  the.  evidence  of  which  the  case 
admits.  Against  this  it  seems  insufficient  to  urge  (as  has 
been  done)  that  there  exist  upon  earth  savages  who  have 
never  developed  any  alphabetic  writing  out  of  their  rude 
attempts — a  fact  which  may  be  readily  granted ;  or  that 
civilised  men  often  return  to  the  simple  methods  employed 
by  uncivilised  nations,  such  as  cutting  notches  on  sticks  or 
tying  knots  in  strings — such  return  being  apparently 
adduced  to  prove'  that  two  totally  different  methods  of 
expression  can  co-exist  without  there  being  any  tendency 
to  pass  from  one  to  the  other ;  nay,  it  is  added  that  in 
Egypt  the  hieroglyphic  and  the  common  (or  demotic) 
character  did  certainly  exist  side  by  side  ;  and  if  the  latter 
were  borrowed  from  the  former,  it  would  have  superseded 
it,  which  it  did  not  do.  Now,  in  answer  to  this,  reasons 
will  appear  shortly  why  the  hieroglyphic  characters  lingered 
so  persistently,  even  when  the  later  phonetic  character  was 
in  common  use — nay,  in  the  very  same  inscription  or  docu- 
ment with  the  hieroglyphic.  Still,  the  argument  would 
have  some  weight  if  it  were  not  grounded  on  the  false 
assumption  that  the  demotic  alphabet  was  a  purely  phonetic 
one,  totally  unconnected  with  its  more  aged  rival  But 
modern  research  has  proved  incontestably  that  the  demotic 
characters  can  be  traced  back  to  their  original  hieroglyphic 
shape  through  the  medium  of  the  hieratic ;  in  fact,  that 
the  cumbrous  hieroglyphics  were  successively  put  into 
more  and  more  abbreviated  shapes,  for  convenience  of 
writing,  as  its  use  increased. 

Excluding,  then,  attempts  of  savages  such  as  have  been 
mentioned  above,  whioh  were  neither  durable  nor  in- 
telligible enough  to  make  them  of  service,  except  for  the 
smallest  number  of  men  during  the  most  limited  time — 
excluding  these  as  not  deserving  the  name,  we  derive  all 
real  writing  from  hieroglyphics,  such  hieroglyphics  being 
either  purely  pictorial,  the  expression  of  visible  objects  in 
the  external  world ;  or  symbolic,  when  some  external 
object  is  conventionally  chosen  to  represent  some  action  cr 


G02 


ALPHABET 


some  abstract  idea.  These  two  methods  were  probably 
nearly  contemporaneous  in  their  origin,  because  the 
necessity  of  writing  at  all  supposes  a  considerable  advance 
in  civilisation,  and  therefore  a  considerable  development  of 
ideas.  To  this  system  as  a  whole  the  convenient  term 
ideography  is  now  generally  applied.  From  this  men  have 
passed  to  phonetic  writing,  first,  apparently,  in  the  form 
of  syllabism,  in  which  each  syllable  of  a  word  is  regarded 
as  an  independent  whole  and  represented  by  a  siugle  sign  ; 
then  from  this  to  alpkabetum,  in  which  the  syllable  is  no 
longer  denoted  by  an  indivisible  symbol,  but  is  resolved 
into  vowel  and  consonant,  each  with  its  own  accepted 
sign. 

It  seems  probable  that  all  known  alphabets  (with  one  or 
two  possible  exceptions)  may  be  traced  back  to  four  orfivo 
parents.  These  have  differed  much  in  fruitfulness,  but  all 
were  originally  hieroglyphic  These  five  systems  of  writing 
are  the  Egyptian,  the  cuneiform,  the  Chinese,  the  Mexican 
or  Aztec,  and  the  curiously  cumbrous  characters  of  Yucatan 
and  central  America  :  these  last  may  be  seen  interspersed 
with  figurative  paintings  in  a  facsimile  given  by  M.  de 
Rosny  at  p.  20  of  his  very  useful  little  summary,  Les  Ecri- 
tures  Figurative^  desDifferentsPeuples  Anciens  et  Modernes. 
Of  these,  the  first  three  alone  can  be  said  to  have  had  any 
great  extension ;  and  the  first,  if  the  Phoenician,  and  by 
consequence  the  European  alphabets,  were  derived  from  it, 
far  exceeds  in  importance  all  the  rest  together.  These 
systems  were  perfectly  independent,  and  developed  them- 
selves, each  in  the  same  course,  but  in  its  own  manner,  and 
each  in  the  main  to  a  different  dogree.  At  certain  points 
in  their  history  all  but  one  became  crystallised,  and 
remained  to  show  us  the  steps  by  which  the  progress  to 
phonetism  can  be  made.  We  do  not  propose  to  describe 
here'  fully  any  of  these  systems  of  hieroglyphics.  We  are 
only  cpneerned  to  point  out  their  relative  degrees  of  de- 
velopment, their  deficiencies,  and  the  consequent  motives 
which  must  have  impelled  men  by  degrees  to  the  produc- 
tion of  a  genuine  alphabet.1 

There  are  obvious  deficiencies  even  in  the  most  highly 
developed  hieroglyphics.  In  the  first  place,  they  must 
have  been  excessively  burdensome  to  the  memory.  They 
speedily  lost  their  original  form,  which  was  in  most  cases 
too  cumbrous  to  be  retained  when  writing  became  frequent ; 
their  pictorial  value  was  therefore  lost,  and  the  new  form 
could  not  generally  have  been  intelligible  to  a  learner,  who 
was  thus  obliged  to  acquire  by  memory  an  enormous 
number  of  symbols,  compared  with  which  even  the  Sans- 
krit alphabet  may  be  regarded  as  easy.  Secondly,  it  is 
impossible  by  hieroglyphics  to  express  grammatical  rela- 
tions :  the  order,  indeed,  in  which  the  symbols  are  placed 
may  denote  the  distinction  between  subject  and  object ; 
plurality  may  be  expressed  by  the  repetition  of  a  symbol ; 
some  even  of  the  relations  in  space,  denoted  in  more 
advanced  languages  by  cases,  may  be  pictorially  rendered ; 
but  all  these  helps  do  not  go  far  to  remedy  this  obvious 
want.  Experience,  however,  shows  bow  much  incon- 
venience a  nation  will  undergo  rather  than  make  any 
radical  change  in  its  phonetic  system.  We  have  only  to 
look  at  our  own  alphabet,  with  its  numerous  and  univer- 
sally confessed   deficiencies   and  redundancies,  and   then 

1  The  authorities  referred  to  chiefly  are  Endlicher  (Cliincsischt 
Orammatik't,  Oppert  (Expedition  Scuntifique  en  MUopotamie,  torn.  2), 
and  Bunaet  (Eoypts  Place  in  History,  vol.  v.)  Frequent  use  has 
been  made  of  De  Rosny's  book  mentioned  above,  and  still  more  of  the 
Essai  sur  la  Propagation  de  V Alphabet  Phtnicim  dans  VAneien Monde, 
by  M.  Francois  Lenormant,  of  which  the  first  volume  only  has  yet 
appeared.  It  contains  an  introduction  to  his  special  subject,  in  which 
the  labours  of  Champollion,  Young,  Lepsius,  Bunsen,  De  Rouge,  in 
Egyptian  hieroglyphics,  and  of  Grotefend,  Rawlinson,  Hincks,  and 
'M'l>ert,  among  the  cuneiform  characters,  are  ably  summarised,  and  set 
forth  with  mu;b.  clearness. 


remember  the  fruitless  attempts  which  have  been  made  to 
work  a  reform  in  it,  to  be  convinced  that  no  people  will  of 
its  own  accord  strike  out  a  thoroughly  new  system  of 
writing.  Such  revolutions  can  only  be  produced  by  the 
meeting  of  two  different  civilisations,  and  the  reception 
by  the  one  of  the  arts  and  ideas  of  the  other.  But  such  a 
meeting  may,  and  more  commonly  does,  only  stimulate  the 
inferior  race  to  some  partial  development.  For  the  new 
ideas  new  names  are  required  :  these  may  be  metaphori- 
cally represented  out  of  the  old  vocabulary,  as  when  the 
Romans  called  the  unknown  elephant  the  Lucanian  ox, 
and  of  course  wrote  it  so.  But  suppose  '.he  inferior  people 
to  be  one  which  has  not  yet  advanced  beyond  hiero- 
glyphic writing ;  their  simplest  and  most  obvious  plan 
will  be  to  take  the  strange  name,  and  express  it  by  those 
symbols  out  of  their  old  stock  which  denote  the  nearest 
sounds  to  that  of  the  name  required.  Such  symbols  tlien 
cease  to  represent  ideas  only,  as  they  used  to  do  ;  they  are 
consciously  employed  to  represent  mere  sounds,  and  thus 
arise  the  first  beginnings  of  phonetism.  A  good  example 
of  this  process  may  be  found  in  the  Aztec  (Lenormant,  i. 
29;  Do  Rosny,  p.  19,  who  also  gives  others).  When 
Christianity  was  introduced  into  Mexico,  the  Lord's  Prayer 
was  reduced  to  writing  in  the  following  manner : — The 
Mexican  symbols  nearest  to  the  two  syllables  of  patei  were 
a  Hag  (sounded  sspantli),  and  a  rock  {tell)  -.pater  was  there- 
fore represented  pictorially  by  a  flag  and  a  rock ;  we  cannot 
tell  whether  it  was  sounded  as  pan-tetl,  or  only  as  pa-te — 
the  nearest  possible  equivalent  in  the  Mexican  language, 
which  has  no  r.  Similarly,  noster  was  phonetically  repre- 
sented by  noch-tctl,  pictorially  by  the  Indian  fig  (nochtli) 
and  the  rock  as  before.  Here,  then,  we  have  the  application 
of  symbols  to  denote  sound  without  regard  to  the  original 
sense ;  just  as  we  might  draw  the  figures  of  an  eye,  a  saw, 
and  a  horse,  and  convey  by  them  the  idea,  "  I  saw  a  horse." 
The  Aztec  would  not  long  have  the  ideas  of  a  flag,  a  rock, 
and  a  fig  presented  to  his  mind  when  ho  read  these  symbols; 
and  so  the  first  conception  of  phonetism  was  gained,  the 
first  move  from  hieroglyphic  to  alphabetic  writing.  Yet 
he  had  not  attained  the  first  real  step  in  the  progress — i.e., 
syllabic  writing — because  if  he  had  decomposed  his  new 
words,  pan  would  not  have  represented  to  his  mind  merely 
so  much  sound — a  syllable  by  itself  meaningless  :  it  would 
have  given  him  only  the  idea  of  a  flag.  And  further  than 
this  the  Aztec  language  did  not  pass :  probably  it  only 
reached  this  stage  incompletely  .with  a  small  number  of 
words.  The  great  advance  to  syllabic  writing  is  to  be 
found  elsewhere ;  first  in  the  Chinese,  perhaps  through  the 
accident  of  the  monosyllabic  nature  of  the  language ;  but 
with  a  clearly-developed  purpose  in  the  Aramaic  cuneiform 
inscriptions. 

In  the  Chinese  written  character  we  find  a  considerable 
number  of  symbols  which  were  unquestionably  at  first 
pictorial.  Though  but  very  slight  vestiges  of  their  original 
meaning  can  now  be  seen  in  them,  yet  they  can  be  traced 
back  to  older  forms  which  are  unnmtakeable  :  and  their 
origin  is  further  attested  by  the  name  "  images,"  which 
the  Chinese  give  them,  as  distinguished  from  others  which 
they  call  "  letters."  These  symbols  were  simple,  and 
denoted  very  ingeniously  natural  objects — the  sun  (by  a 
circle  with  a  dot  inside),  the  moon  (by  a  crescent  with  a 
line  inside),  a  mountain  (by  three  peaks  side  by  side),  rain 

(by  drops  under  an  overarching  line),  a  child  (thus  (\    ), 

a  mother  ( "f*fif,  a  figure  expressing  the  arms  and  bosom 

effectively  enough),  &c.  These  symbols  could  be  combined : 
thus  the  symbols  for  water  and  eye  combined  denoted 
tears,  an  ear  and  &  door  expressed  hearing  and  under- 


ALPHABET 


603 


standing;  but  such  combinations  of  pure  hieroglyphics 
were  rare,  as  they  would  have  been  liable  to  be  confused 
with  combinations  of  the  same  kind  used  in  a  different 
way,  as  will  be  seen  immediately.  There  were  also  some 
hieroglyphs  used  symbolically ;  e.g.,  a  hand  to  denote  a 
workman,  the  two  valves  of  a  shell-fish  to  denote  friends. 
These  also  are  few  in  number,  and  not  very  ingenious. 
Last  in  this  class  come  some  symbols  which  are  essentially 
pictorial,  though  they  represent  no  visible  object ;  e.g., 
"  above  "  was  expressed  by  a  dot  above  a  horizontal  line  ; 
"below,"  by  a  dot  below  it;  the  numerals  one,  two,  three, 

by  so  many  horizontal  lines ;  "  right,"  by  the  symbol  — ^ 

"  left,"  by   fC  ,  &c     So  far,  we  have  simple  hieroglyphs, 

or  ideograms  (a  more  convenient  term), — pictorial  repre- 
sentations, expressing  not  merely  visible  objects,  but  also 
abstract  ideas,  and  even  actions ;  but  each  of  these  could 
also  have  the  phonetic  value  of  the  name  of  the  object 
which  it  depicted. 

Distinct  from  these  are  the  "  letters  " — in  use,  though 
not  in  origin.  These  have  two  parts — one,  a  symbol  which 
was  originally  an  ideogram,  and  which  could  still  be  used 
as  such,  but  which  in  this  particular  combination  lost  its 
ideographic  value,  and  retained  only  the  phonetic  value  of 
the  name  of  its  object ;  the  other,  an  ideogram,  which  laid 
aside  its  phonetic  value,  and  only  restricted  to  a  particular 
class  the  phonetic  symbol  which  it  accompanied.  Thus, 
for  example,  the  ideogram  of  a  ship  had  also  the  phonetic 
value  tcheu — i.e.,  the  name  denoting  ship  in  the  spoken 
language ;  the  ideogram  of  fire  had  the  phonetic  value  hvo: 
these  two  symbols  combined  were  still  pronounced  tcheu, 
and  meant  the  flickering  of  flame.  The  second  symbol 
dropped  its  phonetic  value  altogether,  but  kept  the  generic 
idea  of  fire  :  the  ship  was  lost,  but  the  idea  of  undulating 
motion  modified  that  of  fire,  and  the  complex  symbol  com- 
bined the  two  ideas,  with  the  one  sound  tcheu.  Similarly, 
the  ideogram  ship  and  speech  combined  expressed 
loquacity,  and  this  in  the  spoken  language  was  also  tcheu, 
the  phonetic  value  of  the  symbol  for  speech  being  dropped, 
just  like  that  of  the  symbol  fire  above.  In  this  way  there 
are  teu  different  ideas  given  by  Endlicher  (p.  10),  all  called 
in  the  spoken  language  tcheu,  and  all  expressed  to  the  eye 
by  different  complex  symbols  formed  on  this  principle. 
These  symbols,  he  reckons,  form  at  least  J^-ths  of  the 
written  language. 

This  is  a  very  imperfect  sketch  of  the  Chinese  system 
of  writing,  and  into  the  history  of  the  "  keys,"  which  indeed 
belong  rather  to  Chinese  lexicography,  we  do  not  propose 
to  enter.  But  it  is  enough  to  throw  light  on  some 
questions  connected  with  our  subject.  First  of  all,  we  see 
ideography  and  phonetism  existing  side  by  side  ;  and  even 
the  same  symbol,  having  in  most  cases  (not  in  all)  either 
an  ideographic  or  a  phonetic  value  at  will.  Therefore,  in 
this  case  the  passage  from  the  one  system  to  the  other 
may  be  considered  as  certain  ;  but  how  it  was  made  there 
is  not  sufficient  evidence  to  show.  It  must  have  been 
earlier  than  the  combination  of  pure  ideograms  mentioned 
above.  It  was  probably  greatly  facilitated  by  the  Chinese 
being  a  monosyllabic  language  ;  each  syllable  is  a  complete 
word  in  itself,  expressing  a  complete  notion  :  hence  the  idea 
of  completeness  and  individuality  would  attach  to  such  a 
combination  of  sound  more  easily  than  would  be  possible 
in  polysyllabic  language  ;  and  it  would  seem  more  natural 
to  givo  that  sound  a  symbol  for  itself,  quite  apart  from  its 
ideographic  meaning.  Further,  as  the  whole  number  of 
single  syllables  of  which  the  language  consists  is  only  450, 
the  effort  of  remembering  the  symbols  could  not  be  great, 
and  the  memory  must  have  been  already  trained  in  that 


direction,  because  the  symbols  (even  in  their  ideographic 
acceptation)  had  lost  their  obviously  pictorial  character, 
and  must  have  been  kept  by  the  memory,  not  recognised 
each  time  by  the  eye ,  just  as  children,  in  learning  to  read, 
commonly  remember  short  and  familiar  words  as  a  whole, 
without  analysing  them  into  the  component  letters. 

The  explanation  of  the  cumbrous  "  letters ;:  described 
above  is  simple ;  and  it  will  show  us,  secondly,  how  so  ap- 
parently monstrous  a  system  of  writing  could  be  maintained, 
and  has  been  in  its  essence  maintained,  down  to  the  present 
day.  With  so  few  radical  sounds  in  the  language,  it  was 
inevitable  that  many  different  objects  must  have  {>(■■■» 
expressed,  as  ideas  grew  and  multiplied,  by  the  same  sound, 
as  we  saw  above  that  there  were  eleven  different  ideas 
(including  the  ship  itself)  all  called  tcheu.  These  could 
be  distinguished  in  the  spokeD  language  by  tone  or  accent, 
and  actually  were  so  distinguished.  But  how  were  they 
to  be  distinguished  in  writing  ?  Now,  writing  is  but  the 
visible  exponent  of  language,  and  therefore  is  naturally 
formed  under  the  same  conditions — those  conditions  v.  Iiich, 
because  the  effect  is  obvious  while  the  reason  is  often 
difficult  to  detect,  we  vaguely  call  the  genius  of  the 
language:  and  it  must  accommodate  itself  to  the  defects 
as  well  as  the  strength  of  the  language.  There  is  an 
inherent  evil  in  Chinese  speech — inevitable  in  a  mono- 
syllabic language  with  a  limited  number  of  radicalsr— that 
the  same  combination  of  sound  should  serve  to  express 
many  ditferent  ideas.  A  combination,  therefore,  of  symbols 
is  absolutely  necessary,  which  shall  represent  to  the  mind 
through  the  eye  the  fact  that  the  sound  which  is  heard 
has  changed  its  meaning  to  meet  that  of  another  sound 
which  is  not  heard — that  tcheu  no  longer  means  a  ship,  but 
means  the  flickering  of  flame,  or  something  else  quite 
different.  It  would  have  been  easy  enough  to  have  had 
different  symbols  for  the  different  meanings  of  tcheu  ;  but 
it  would  not  practically  have  been  so  convenient,  because 
it  would  not  have  represented  so  well  the  facts  of  the 
language.  If  the  Chinese  had  chosen  in  their  speech  to 
do  universally  what  they  did  occasioually,  to  form  com- 
pounds like  "  ear-dooring  "  for  "  hearing  "  a  thing,  the 
native  genius  for  pictorial  representation  would  have  pro- 
duced a  symbolism  which  might  have  supplied  all  its 
wants  down  to  the  present  day.  But  that  was  not  the 
bent  of  the  language ;  and  the  writing  therefore  remains 
to  the  present  day  a  mixture  of  ideography  and  phonetism, 
and  is  perhaps  better  so.  Still,  a  great  deal  of  confusion 
is  possible.  In  modern  writing,  according  to  Endlicher,  each 
syllable  has  several  symbols,  partly  because  of  the  extra- 
ordinary number  of  meanings  belonging,  as  we  have  seen, 
to  each  combination  of  souud,  partly  from  considerations  of 
calligraphy,  because  it  is  not  every  symbol  which  will 
combine  neatly  with  every  other;  and  therefore  for  par- 
ticular combinations  a  different  symbol  with  the  same 
phonetic  value  is  required,  so  that  the  shapes  of  the  mixed 
symbols  increase  in  number.  Also,  the  pictorial  symbols 
being  comparatively  few,  and  many  of  these  being  em- 
ployed phonetically  for  the  same  syllable,  it  is  obvious 
that,  with  the  growth  of  ideas,  many  new  symbols  must 
have  been  required.  To  meet  this  want,  the  mixed 
symbols  so  often  mentioned  were  employed  purely  phoneti- 
cally, each  in  new  combination  on  the  old  principle  with 
an  ideogram,  whose  meaning  was  disregarded.  Generally 
these  symbols  kept  their  phonetic  worth,  but  sometimes  in 
combination  with  particular  ideograms  they  change.  Thus 
we  see  a. double  evil  arise  in  the  language.  Not  only  have 
we  several  symbols  for  each  combination  of  sound,  but 
also  the  same  symbol  can  under  certain  circumstances  have 
different  phonetic  values.  But  the  difficulties  thus  caused 
seem  greater  to  a  stranger  than  to  a  native ;  and  tba 
Chinese  have  never  been  moved  thereby  to  exchange  thei^ 


804 


ALPHABET 


picturesque  but  unwieldy  system.  The  impure  syllabism 
marked  out  for  them  by  tho  genius  of  their  language  has 
been  their  furthest  development.  It  was  reserved  for  the 
Japanese  to  borrow  the  Chinese  characters,  and;  expelling 
all  ideographic  associations,  to  employ  them  simply  as 
syllables,  thus  advancing  to  a  pure  syllabic  writing.  This 
borrowing  and  extension  of  a  system  by  a  foreign  nation 
will  be  more  fully  dwelt  upon  hereafter.  It  should  perhaps 
be  added  that  the  expression  of  many  different  senses  by 
one  symbol,  which  has  so  largely  modified  the  Chinese 
writing,  is  not  peculiar  to  monosyllabic  language.  It  ia 
found  in  all  languages,  though  not  to  the  same  extent : 
roots  of  different  sense  have  been  worn  down  by  phonetic 
decay  till  they  reach  the  same  form,  and  thi3  cause  may 
have  operated  to  some  extent  in  China,  though  it  cannot 
have  been  very  important. 

The  cuneiform  writing,  so  called  from  the  wedge-like  i 

shape  of  the  characters,   I   or  f  ,  which  compose  it,  was 

employed  by  different  nationalities.  It  was  first  deci- 
phered by  Grotefend  on  inscriptions  of  Persepolis,  and 
was  found  to  be  the  exponent  of  the  Aryan  spoken 
by  the  conquering  Persians,  which  belonged,  as  is  well 
known,  to  the  Indo-European  family  of  languages.  But 
cuneiform  inscriptions  in  three  languages  were  found  on  a 
monument  at  Behistun:  the  first  was  the  Persian,  and 
much  the  simplest  in,  form ;  the-  second^  and  third  were 
composed  of  elements  of  the  same  shape  in  much  more 
unwieldy  combinations.1  It  was  obvious  that  the  three 
inscriptions  were  identical  in  meaning,  but  in  different 
languages;  and  principally  by  the  help  afforded  by  recur- 
ring proper  names,  whose  value  could  be  compared  with 
the  known  values  in  Persian,  the  characters  of  the  last  two 
inscriptions  were  deciphered,  and  found  to  belong,  one  to 
the  language  of  the  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  subjects  of 
Darius,  the  other  to  the  old  Scythian  population  of  Media, 
who  used  a  Turanian  speech.  Other  languages,  the  old 
Armenian  and  that  of  Susa,  were  found  afterwards  to  be 
represented  by  the  same  characters ;  and  to  these  different 
systems  the  collective  name  Anarien  (i.e.  non-Aryan)  has 
been  given  by  French  writers  (Oppert,  <fec),  to  distinguish 
them  from  the  Aryan-Persian,  which  is  a  purely  phonetic 
character. 

It  seems  clear  that  the  origin  of  this  system  was 
Turanian,  and  that  it  was  borrowed  by  the  Semitic  races 
who  used  it.  It  was  originally  hieroglyphic,  though  the 
stiff  combinations  of  wedges  give  but  little  indication  of 
such  an  origin.  But  both  in  Assyrian  and  Babylonian 
there  is  an  older  character  and  a  newer  one,  and  the  older 
forms  can  again  be  traced  back  to  a  still  more  archaic 
shape,  which  was  unquestionably  the  original  of  both,  and 
which  is  not  cuneiform,  but  composed  of  straight  lines  only.2 
These  show  little  of  thebrilliancy  of  invention  of  the  Chinese ; 
they  seem  to  appeal  to- the  reason  rather  than  to  the  eye; 
they  are  obviously  intended  to  recall  the  image  of  the 
object,  but  they  must  have  been  first  explained  in  order 
to  be  intelligible  at  all,  and  then  they  might  be  remembered. 


'  For  example,  a  house  was  denoted  by 


;  a  town  by 


Neither  of  these  are  symbols  which  will  be  intelli- 
gible as  soon  as  seen  by  a  person  who  has  not  been  taught 
them.  This  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  they  were 
produced,  not  by  the  hair-pencil  of  the  Chinese,  but  by  the 
chisel;  they  were  intended  to  be  written  on  rock,  and  for 
this  straight  lines  are  more  convenient;  and  the  wedge 
shape  which  they  assumed  afterwards  may  be  explained 

A  part  of  this  trilingual  inscription  is  printed  in   Do   Rosnv's 
EcrtiuTU  Figurative),  p.  .70. 

•For  specimens,  see  Oppert,  toL  11. ,  p.  63. 


by  the  ease  with  which  it  can  be  made  by  two  strokes  of 
the  chisel — perhaps  no  other  figure  so  clear  can  be  produced 
with  such  facility. 

This  system  seems  to  have  reached  syllabism  before  it 
was  adopted  by  the  Aramaic  peoples.  But  the  syllabism 
was  still  mixed  up  with  ideography,  just  as  we  have  seen 
was  the  case  in  China — that  is,  the  same  symbol  denoted 
ideographically  the  object,  and  phonetically  the  sound,  of 
the  name  of  the  object;  as  though  in  English  we  should 
denote  by  the  symbol  B  both  the  insect  bee  and  the  sound  be. 
But  there  is  a  difference  between  this  idiom  and  the  Chinese ; 
it  was  polysyllabic,  whereas  Chinese  was  syllabic.  When, 
then,  the  name  of  the  object  contained  more  than  one 
syllable,  the  first  alone  was  taken  to  be  denoted  phoneti- 
cally by  the  symbol.  The  evidence  for  this  is  small  in 
quantity,  owing  to  the  scanty  remains  of  the  language  of 
that  Turanian  element  of  the  Chaldee  nation  from  which 
the  cuneiform  writing  was  borrowed.  To  this  language 
the  name  Accadian  has  been  given  by  Dr  Hincks,  and 
this  name  seems  to  be  now  generally  received.  But  tho 
Medo-Scythic,  mentioned  above,  which  is  a  closely-con- 
nected dialect,  supplies  us  with  forms  sufficiently  close  to 
the  old  Scythian  spoken  originally  by  all  the  Turanian  stock 
in  that  part  of  Asia.  Thus  one  symbol  in  Assyrian  denotes 
ideographically  God  and  phonetically  an;  now  the  name 
for  God  in  Medo-Scythic  is  Annap.  Another  denotes  a  city 
and  but;  batin  is  a  city  in  Scythian.  Another  is  a  father 
and  at;  in  Scythian  a  father  is  atta.  (Oppert,  i<.  79; 
Lenormant,  L  41.)  This  evidence  will  doubtless  be 
strengthened  with  time,  but  even  now  it  is  conclusive; 
and  the  principle  thus  established,  the  arbitrary  selection  of 
the  first  part  of  a  name  to  have  a  particular  phonetic  value, 
seems  to  be  exactly  the  principle  which  we  should  a  priori 
have  expected  to  find  if  we  had  tried  to  conceive  the 
possible  ways  in  which  ideography  could  pass  into 
phonetism. 

The  confusion  which  was  occasioned  by  the  imperfection 
of  Assyrian  writing  was  immensely  increased  by  the  fact 
of  their  characters  being  borrowed,  not  indigenous,  as  in 
China.  There  is  first  of  all  the  obvious  difficulty  of 
adapting  Turanian  symbols  to  a  Semitic  language,  in  which 
the  short  vowels  were  not  written,  and  the  meaning  of  the 
radical  group  of  consonants  in  any  particular  place  had  to 
be  determined  by  the  context.  Instead  of  being  able  to 
retain  the  same  symbol  to  express  a  root  in  its  modified 
forms,  e.g.  in  the  conjugation  of  a  verb,  a  new  symbol 
would  be  necessary  for  each  person-form,  which  could  be 
expressed  by  mere  vowel  change  in  the  root,  and  these  sym- 
bols might  be  totally  unconnected,  so  that  all  sense  of  the 
connection  of  different  parts  of  a  verb  would  be  lost.  This 
is  bad  enough,  but  it  is  an  evil  inherent  in  the  borrowing 
of  such  a  system  of  writing  to  express  a  language  whose 
genius  was  so  essentially  different.  But  there  was  another 
evil,  much  greater,  which  might  have  been  avoided,  and 
was  not.  This  is  polyphony — the  expression  of  many 
different  sounds  by  the  same  symbol.  When  the  Assyrians 
took  an  Accadian  symbol,  they  should  have  taken  only 
its  phonetic  value,  or  one  of  them,  if  it  had  more  than  one, 
and  in  this  way  they  might  have  acquired  a  purely  syllabic 
character,  as  the  people  of  Susa  afterwards  actually  did. 
But,  aa  was  not  unnatural  at  the  time,  they  took  it  with  all 
its  values,  ideographic  and  phonetic,  and  added  more  of  their 
own.     A  striking  example  given  by  Oppert  (ii  85)  will 

make  this  plain.     In  Accadian  this  symbol  "jA  was  tha 

ideogram  for  an  open  hand,  doubtless  originally  in  a  more 
elaborate  form.'  In  the  spoken  language  a  hand  was  called 
hurpi,  and  therefore,  by  the  principle  mentioned  above, 
this  symbol  had  also  the  phonetic  value  htr.  But  by  a 
metaphor  the  hand  symbol  had  the  furthw'  ideographic 


ALPHABET 


605 


values  of  seizing,  possessing,  and  understanding:    To  seize 
in  the  spoken  language  must  have  been  mat,  or  something 
very  like  it  (imid  occurs  in  this  sense  in  the  Scythian),  for 
this  phonetic  value  also  belonged  to  one  symbol.     But 
further,  in  Accadian  a  mountain  was  called  kur;  sunrise, 
kurra;  earth  was  mat;  to  go  was  mit;  and  these  sounds, 
identical  or  nearly  identical,  were  every  one  expressed  by 
the  same  symbol,  which  thus  had  eight  ideographic  and 
two  phonetic  values,  kur  and  mat;  and  in  this  wretched 
condition  it  was  taken  by  the  Assyrians,  and  employed  by 
them  in  all  these  different  senses.     But  this  was  not  all 
In  the  Assyrian  language  kur  was  the  name  of  a  furnace, 
and  mat  meant  to  die;  and  as  it  must  have  been  to  obtain 
a  visible  exponent  for  these  sounds  that  the  foreign  symbol 
was  adopted,  both  of  these  ideas  were  necessarily  denoted 
by  it.     Again,  in  Assyrian,  "  to  understand "  was  pro- 
nounced as  not,  and  to  "  possess  "  was  rial;  and  so  were 
added  two  more  phonetic  values  by  reason  of  the  meta- 
phoric  value  of  mat  in  Accadian.     Lastly  was  added  the 
phonetic  value  shat,  because  that  was  the  Assyrian  name 
for  a  mountain,  which  we  saw  was  denoted  in  Accadian  by 
kur.     Thus,  when  an  Assyrian  came  upon  this  little  plain- 
looking  symbol  he  had  to  determine  whether  it  meant  the 
earth,  a  mountain,  sunrise,  a  furnace,  or  seizing,  possessing, 
understanding,  going,  or  dying;  or  whether  it  had  only 
one  of  the  phonetic  values,  kur,  mat,  slvat,  nal,  or  nat. 
And  a  large  list  of  other  symbols  is  given  by  M.  Oppert, 
which,  in  a  similar  way,  have  two,  three,  four,  and  even 
six  different  phonetic  values.     It  may  seem  incredible  that 
a  people  under  such  difficulties  should  ever  have  been  able 
to  express  what  they  wished  to  say,  much  less  to  understand 
what  was  written.     It  is  a  great  witness  to  the  strength  of 
the  feeling  which  must  have  existed  in  these  old  people 
that   ideography  was  the  natural  and  proper  method  of 
writing,  and  phonetics  were  only  a  supplement  to  eke  out 
its  deficiencies.     To  us  such  a  feeling  is  at  first  incompre- 
hensible, but  after  such  an  example  we  cannot  doubt  its 
existence.     With  respect,  indeed,  to  the  difficulty  caused 
by  one  symbol  having  many  ideographic  values,  we  have 
only  to  think  of  the  many  different  significations  expressed 
in  our  own  language  by  the  same  combination  of  sound, 
without   any   confusion    arising,    because    the    particular 
meaning  is  marked  out  by  the  context;  for  instance,  when 
the  one  sound  but  denotes  a  conjunction,  a  verb,  and  a 
noun  with  two  senses — one  original  and  one  derived,  but 
now  quite  different, — we  should  therefore  only  see  in  the 
Assyrian  an  aggravated  case  of    this  want  of  clearness. 
But  the  difficulty  is  much  more  serious   when  the  same 
symbol  has  different  phonetic  values ;   and  much  help  can- 
not have  been  obtained  from  the  grammatical  lists  which 
have  actually  been  dug  out  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr 
Layard,  in  which  the  Assyrian  kings  state,  avowedly  for  the 
instruction  of  their  subjects,  the  different  values  which  each 
symbol  could  possess.    (See  Oppert,  ii.  53.)    By  these  lists 
some  limit  might  undoubtedly  be  put  to  the  further  multipli- 
cation of  values  for  the  same  sign,  but  it  could  not  help  a 
reader  to  trace  which  of  all  the  authorised  values  he  was 
to  give  to  a  symbol  at  any  particular  time.     It  would 
appear  that  in  the  cuneiform,  as  unquestionably  in  the 
Egyptian,  conventional  phonetic  symbols  could  be   used 
as  complements  to  other  symbols,  which  might  represent 
an  idea  or  a  mere  syllable,  and  by  these  phonetic  comple- 
ments the  special  sense  could  be  defined  with  some  approach 
to  exactness.     But  into  these  remedies  of  the  ills  of  poly- 
phony we  need  not  further  enter. 

It  is  far  beyond  the  scope  of  the  present  article  to 
describe  fully  the  development  of  hieroglyphism  in  Egypt, 
the  country  in  which  the  last  step  to  alphabetism — the 
separation  of  the  vowel-symbols  from  those  which  mark  the 
consonants — was  undoubtedly  taken,  though  with  much 


faltering,  and  even  turning  back.  According  to  M.  Lenor- 
mant,  the  Egyptians  passed  through  every  stage  which  w« 
have  alreacly  seen  successively  reached  by  different  peoples; 
and  at  one  of  which  every  one  of  these  peoples  halted,  with- 
out ever  achieving  for  themselves  the  triumph  of  alphabetic 
writing.  And  evidence  of  each  stage,  more  or  less  distinct, 
certainly  lingers  in  the  Egyptian,  producing  an  extra- 
ordinary medley,  little  suited  for  popular  or  even  literary 
use,  but  well  adapted  for  the  transmission  of  occult  records 
and  rituals,  the  purpose  for  which  the  Greeks  not  un- 
naturally supposed  the  whole  hieroglyphic  system  to  have 
been  invented  by  the  priests.  As  we  have  already  de- 
scribed the  phenomena  of  each  stage  with  some  fulness,  it 
is  not  necessary  to  do  more  here  than  to  indicate  their 
occurrence  in  Egyptian.  The  hieroglyphs  themselves  arc 
certainly  the  finest  of  their  kind.  Whether  they  represent 
the  full  contour  of  the  object  with  all  the  assistance  of 
vivid  colouring,  or  whether  they  are  simply  formed  by 
lines  which  convey  its  essential  character — a  practice  which 
doubtless  owed  its  origin  to  the  increased  use  of  writing — 
it  is  impossible  not  to  admire  the  extraordinary  complete- 
ness of  the  representation.  Nothing  can  be  more  perfectly 
pictorial  than  the  portraiture  of  the  different  emotions,  each 
by  the  figure  of  a  man  affected  by  it :  the  position  of  the 
body  and  the  gestures  of  the  arms  are  simply  perfect. 
These  belong  in  the  main  to  the  symbolic  use  of  the 
hieroglyphs :  this  use  we  saw  in  Chinese  was  but  slight, 
but  in  Egypt  it  was  immense.  Thus,  the  sun,  with  rays 
streaming  from  it,  denoted  to  the  Egyptian  light  and  clear- 
ness ;  the  moon,  with  its  horns  turned  downward,  denoted 
the  month, — in  these  cases  the  cause  is  put  for  the  effect. 
Sometimes  the  part  is  put  for  the  whole  :  two  arms,  one 
holding  a  shield  and  one  an  offensive  weapon,  express 
battle ;  two  legs  with  the  feet  denote  movement,  forward 

or  backward  according  to  the  direction  of  the  feet,  J±  or 

/\,  ;  an  arm  holding  a  stick  denotes  force.    Sometimes 

the  symbol  is  purely  metaphorical :  as  when  a  king  is 
expressed  by  a  bee ;  knowledge  by  a  roll  of  papyrus ; 
or  justice  by  the  feather  of  an  ostrich,  because  all  feathers 
of  that  bird  were  supposed  to  be  of  equal  length.  Such 
symbols  are  clearly  of  later  origin  than  the  other ;  they 
imply  the  existence  of  conventional  rules,  which  could 
acquire  currency  for  meanings  quite  unintelligible  in  them- 
selves. These  symbolic  ideograms  were  not  very  often 
used  alone ;  most  commonly  they  accompanied  other 
symbols  used  phonetically,  merely  to  determine  then- 
special  meaning  in  each  place  :  as  such  they  are  commonly 
called  determinatives;  this  practice  we  also  saw  in  China, 
less  skilfully  employed.  Thus,  for  example,  on  the  Rosetta 
stone — whose  trilingual  inscription,  hieroglyphic,  demotic, 
and  Greek,  is  the  hasis  of  all  our  knowledge  of  Egyptian 
writing — the  word  for  a  decree  is  expressed  by  characters, 
consonant  and  vowel,  which  denote  the  sounds  of  which  it 
is  composed,  just  as  in  any  modern  writing ;  but  at  the 
end  of  these,  forming  part  of  the  word,  though  adding 
nothing  to  its  pronunciation,  is  the  figure  of  a  man  with 
his  hand  raised  to  his  mouth,  which  adds  the  idea  of  pas- 
sive obedience  to  the  phonetic  combination,  and  limits  it 
to  the  idea  of  a  decree.  In  like  manner,  the  arm  with  the 
stick,  which  as  we  said  denotes  force,  is  added  as  a  deter- 
minative to  express  actions  which  require  force ;  and  the 
ideogram  of  motion  is  also  very  frequent.  This  seems  tf 
us  unnecessary  and  cumbrous ;  but  when  a  phonetic  com- 
bination might  have  two  diTerent  meanings,  they  could 
hardjy  have  been  differentiated  in  a  more  intelligible 
manner.  A  good  list  of  these  symbols  may  be  seen  in  Dg 
Kosny,  p.  46. 
The  traces  of  the  rebus  stage  which  we  saw  in  the  Azteo, 


606 


ALPHABET 


in  which  a  symbol  could  be  transferred  from  one  object  to 
another,  because  the  names  of  the  two  had  the  same  sound 
in  the  spoken  language,  are  not  very  distinct,  and  have  not 
been  fully  examined  ;  on  this  point  wo  may  hope  for  more 
light  from  M.  Lenormant  He  points  out  that  the  same 
symbol  denotes  "holiness"  and  a  "slave."  No  meta- 
phorical explanation  seems  possible  here ;  but  both  are 
sounded  lien  in  the  spoken  language,  and  the  community 
of  symbol  becomes  at  once  intelligible.  In  such  a  pi 
as  this  we  see  at  once  a  cause  of  great  confusion,  especially 
when  the  same  symbol  was  employed  to  denote  two  things 
the  names  of  which  were  not  exact  homophones,  and  yet 
sufficiently  near  in  sound  to  allow  themselves  to  be  ex- 
pressed by  the  same  symbol;  e.g.,  when  the  circle  wThich 
denoted  the  sun  was  also  taken  to  denote  the  idea  of  day, 
the  sun  was  called  ra,  the  day  hru,  and  so  the  symbol 
became  a  polyphone  ;  it  had  two  not  very  different  sounds. 
It  is  true  that  here  the  application  of  the  symbol  for  the 
sun  to  denote  the  day  was  not  caused  only  by  the  similarity 
of  sound  in  the  two  words — it  was  probably  employed  at 
first  metaphorically ;  but  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  it 
was  helped  to  its  double  use  by  the  indistinctnep1:  of  the 
Egyptian  vowel-sounds,  which  caused  the  two  words  to  be 
sounded  nearly  alike.  From  this  and  similar  causes  arose 
that  polyphony  which  necessitated  the  use  of  the  deter- 
minatives described  above.  Vestiges  of  the  syllabic  stage  in 
Egyptian  exist  beyond  a  doubt,  and  they  point  to  a  slowly- 
effected  transition  from  the  older  to  the  newer  form  of 
writing.  Thus  the  symbol  of  a  fish  represented  at  the 
syllabic  stage  the  syllable  an  ;  later  on,  the  letter  a  alone 
came  to  be  denoted  by  a  reed,  and  n  by  a  waving  line. 
Vow  we  find  the  syllable  an  represented  not  merely  by  its 
own  simple  exponent,  the  fish,  but  also  by  tho  reed  and 
fish  together,  that  is,  in  phonetic  value,  by  A  .  an;  by  the  reed 

above  the  waving  line  ( — )  ;  and  even  by  all  three  (a.  — ) 

(Lenormant,  ii  44).  This  surely  points  to  a  stage  at  which 
the  alphabetic  values  of  the  reed  and  line  were  not  yet  so 
firmly  fixed  that  the  writer  could  dispense  with  the  older 
and  more  familiar  sign  of  the  fish  to  specialise  the  other 
two.  Of  Egyptian  alphabetism  proper  it  is  not  necessary 
to  give  examples ;  we  are  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the 
use  of  letters  pure  and  simple,  and  their  use  in  Egypt  is 
not  denied. 

To  what  cause  are  we  to  assign  the  progress  of  the 
Egyptian  beyond  the  Assyrian  method  of  writing  1  What 
circumstances  enabled  the  one  nation  to  develop  at  least  an 
imperfect  alphabetism,  while  the  other  never  advanced 
beyond  syllabism?  No  certain  answer  can  be  given;  but  at 
least  a  probable  suggestion  is  made  by  M.  Lenormant.  The 
Egyptian  vowel-sounds  were  indistinct:  the  consonants  were 
clear  and  definite.  Therefore  it  was  natural  (as  Lepsius 
pointed  out)  that  in  each  syllable  the  consonant  should 
come  to  be  regarded  as  the  important  element,  and  should 
finally  extrudo  the  following  vowel  altogether.  Thus  a  large 
number  of  symbols,  which  originally  represented  syllables 
beginning  with  the  same  consonant  but  followed  by  differ- 
ent vowels,  would  become  in  time  absolutely  identical  in 
value,  the  different  representatives  of  the  same  consonant. 
And  a  great  abundance  of  such  homophones  is  actually 
found  in  Egyptian.  The  method,  therefore,  which  was 
followed  in  passing  from  the  syllable  to  the  mere  alphabetic 
sign,  was  identical  with  that  which  we  have  already  pointed 
out  in  Assyrian,  by  which  the  symbol  of  a  polysyllabic 
word  was  taken  to  have  the  phonetic  value  of  the  first 
syllable  of  that  word;  in  each  case  it  denoted  the  first 
element  of  the  name — the  syllable  in  Assyrian,  the  single 
sound  in  Egyptian.  And  in  each  language  the  symbol  thus 
applied  to  a  new  use  still  retained  for  a  long  time  its  old  value 
fit  the  hieroglyphic  or  at  least  conventional  exponent  of  a 


material  object  or  of  an  idea.  Thus  in  Egypt  nefer  meant 
good.  This  word  in  writing  is  expressed  in  two  ways : 
first,  by  a  single  symbol — which  had  originally  been  the 
pictorial  representation  of  some  material,  object,  but  was 
afterwards  tho  conventional  symbol  of  the  idea  of  good- 
ness ;  secondly,  by  this  same  symbol  followed  by  two 
others,  which  had  also,  from  being  originally  hieroglyphs, 
acquired  the  phonetic  values  of  /  and  r  ;  that  is  to  say, 
one  symbol  could  at  will  express  the  whole  word  nefer  and 
its  initial  letter  n.  This  is  the  natur.il,  perhaps  the  only 
possible  way  of  eliminating  tho  single  sound  ;  but  it  is 
obvious  that  great  difficulties  would  attend  it  at  the  outset 
Thcro  could  be  at  first  no  convention  to  restrict  the  symbol 
for  n  to  that  of  the  particular  word  nefer;  any  other  begin- 
ning with  n  would  have  served.  There  was  no  law  to 
prevent  a  writer  taking  as  many  symbols  for  n  as  took  bis 
fancy  ;  and  in  fact  each  letter  in  this  way  did  have  several 
different  symbols. 

It  follows  that  while  Egypt  must  be  credited  with  having 
first  invented  an  a'phabetic  system,  and  must  for  ever 
claim  for  this  tho  gratitude  of  the  world,  yet  that  system 
was  far  too  imperfect  to  become  the  instrument  of  a  popular 
literature.  It  suffered  equally  from  the  opposite  diseases 
of  homophony  and  polyphony,  from  the  expression  of  the 
same*sound  by  many  different  symbols,  and  from  the  use 
of  one  symbol  to  denote  many  different  syllables.  And 
each  of  these  evils  was  only  aggravated  by  time.  The 
earlier  Egyptian  writing  is  much  more  simple  than  the 
later,  wherein  homophones  increased  to  a  degree  to  which 
there  was  practically  no  limit  except  the  strength  of  the 
memory;  and  the  numerous  phonetic  devices  to  unravel  the 
confusions  of  polyphony  must  haro  been  equally  burden- 
some. It  might  have  been  expected  that  polyphony  at 
least  would  have  become  extinct  with  time ;  that  the 
different  symbols  for  the  same  syllable  would  all  have  been 
worn  down  into  single  letters,  and  thus,  though  homophony 
might  %have  multiplied,  polyphony  would  have  perished. 
This  might  have  been  the  case  if  these  symbols  had  ever 
become  perfectly  clear  of  their  originally  pictorial  or  con- 
ventional origin.  But  this  was  never  the  case.  To  the 
last,  the  employment  of  a  symbol  to  express  an  object  or 
idea  continued  side  by  side  with  its  employment  as  a  single 
letter.  The  spirit  of  hieroglyphism,  real  if  not  apparent, 
could  not  be  vanquished  by  alphabetism ;  and  in  order 
that  ideography  may  be  finally  expelled,  it  would  seem 
that  circumstances  are  needed  more  favourable  than  can 
be  often  found  combined  at  any  period  of  any  nation's 
history.  In  fact,  a  purely  phonetic  alphabet  is  most  likely 
to  be  produced  when  one  nation  borrows  from  another  such 
portion  of  that  nation's  symbols  as  it  requires  for  its  own 
needs,  and  rejects  that  superfluity  which  only  leads  to 
confusion.     We  have  already  seen  indications  of  this  fact. 

Many  circumstances  combine  to  render  it  difficult  for  u 
nation  to  reach  of  itself  pure  phonetism  in  writing.  There 
is  the  strong  disinclination  to  change,  of  which  we  have 
before  spoken.  It  is  always  easier  to  put  up  with  diffi- 
culties to  which  we  have  been  accustomed  all  our  life  than 
to  make  any  radical  change,  especially  when  that  change 
causes  at  once  serious  difficulties  at  every  moment  It 
was  easier  for  the  Egyptians  to  retain  the  odd  mixture  of 
ideographic,  syllabic,  and  alphabetic  writing,  and  occasion- 
ally to  add  some  new  key  for  unlocking  the  difficulties  to 
the  formidable  list  wliich  was  already  in  use.  The  in- 
genuity of  these  grammatical  devices  almost  surpasses 
belief.  We  can  only  refer  the  curious  to  the  hieroglyphic 
grammar  in  the  fifth  volume  of  Bunsen's  Egypt's  Placr  »'» 
Universal  Uistary.  In  the  second  place,  a  good  deal  must 
be  allowed  to  tho  restraining  influence  of  religion.  It  is 
well  known  that  most  of  the  ancient  nations  ascribed  a 
divine  origin  to  their  systems  of  writing.     It  might  well 


ALPBTABET 


607 


seem  to  thern  to  be  too  wonderful  a  thing  for  the  result  of 
human  ingenuity.  Thus  in  one  of  the  Assyrian  lists  of  the 
different  values  of  syllables,  published,  as  has  been  already 
mentioned,  by  royal  authority,  Sardanapalus  V.  states  that 
the  god  Nebo  has  revealed  to  the  kings,  his  ancestors,  the 
cuneiform  writing,  which  he  thus  endeavours  to  simplify 
for  the  better  understanding  of  his  people  (Oppert,  iL  53). 
The  Sanskrit  character,  which  is  now  known  to  be  due  to 
a  Phoenician  source,  was  called  Devandgari,  "  belonging  to 
the  city  of  the  gods,"  unless,  as  Prof.  M.  Muller  suggests 
(Sanskrit  Grammar,  p.  1),  we  are  to  understand  by  the 
gods  here  only  the  Brahmans ;  but  whatever  the  name  may 
mean,  their  belief  in  its  divine  origin  is  certain  enough. 
And  M.  Lenormant  points  out  (i.  80)  that  the  native 
Egyptian  term  for  writing  meant  "writing  heavenly  words." 
Now  it  is  clear  that  no  nation  among  which  this  belief 
lingered  in  any  degree  would  be  likely  to  alter  fundament- 
ally the  spirit  of  their  system  of  writing.  Lastly,  it  is 
possible,  though,  as  we  have  suggested  above,  not  very 
probable,  that  the  obscurities  of  the  existing  system  may 
have  recommended  it  to  the  priests.  These  reasons  may 
suffice  to  show  that  it  was  not  in  Egypt  that  we  should 
expect  to  find  the  development  of  a  purely  phonetic  system. 
But  just  as  the  Japanese  took  the  Chinese  characters,  and 
gave  them  a  development  which  they  have  never  had  in 
the  land  of  their  creation — just  as  the  people  of  Susiana 
took  the  cuneiform  writing  and  made  it  purely  phonetic, 
without  any  remnant  of  ideography, — so  the  work  of  ex- 
tracting order  out  of  the  chaos  of  Egyptian  writing  was 
reserved  for  the  Phoenicians. 

The  Phoenicians  were  peculiarly  fitted  to  perform  this 
inestimable  part  in  the  history  of  human  development. 
An  active  and  enterprising  nation,  they  were  early  brought 
into  commercial  relations  with  Egypt,  and  must  of  neces- 
sity have  learnt  something  of  their  system  of  writing; 
they  could  see  its  advantages  and  its  perfectly  remediable 
faults ;  the  advantage  of  one  definite  symbol  for  one  sound, 
and  the  disadvantage  of  a  dozen ;  the  desirability  that  this 
symbol  should  signify  that  sound  only,  and  the  undesir- 
ability  of  its  denoting  a  horse  or  a  man  as  well  And  the 
religious  scruples  which  may  have  affected  the  Egyptians 
need  have  no  weight  for  strangers.  If  the  characters  were 
divine  for  the  priests  of  Isis,  they  were*  a  convenient  instru- 
ment to  supply  every-day  wants  for  the  sailors  of  Tyre.1 

These  considerations  do  not,  of  course,  amount  to  a  proof 
that  the  Phoenician  alphabet  was  derived  from  Egypt.  '  It 
is  of  course  possible  that  it  disengaged  itself  by  degrees 
out  of  an  earlier  hieroglyphic  system  at  home.  But  of 
such  a  system  no  vestiges  remain ;  and  the  correspondence 
between  the  Phoenician  characters  and  those  of  the  earlier 
Egyptian  hieratic  is  sufficiently  striking  to  warrant  us  in 
regarding  it  as  at  least  provisionally  true  that  what  was 
natural  and  perfectly  possible  did  actually  take  place.2  The 
general  testimony  of  the  early  Greek  and  Roman  writers, 
that  the  alphabet  was  invented  in  Phoenicia,  must  then  be 
limited  to  the  sense  in  which  Tacitus  says  that  the  Phoeni- 
cians had  this  credit — tanquam  repererint,  quce  acceperant. 

It  cannot  be  known  with  certainty  whether  the  Phoeni- 
cians took,  together  with  the  Egyptian  symbols,  the 
phonetic  values  which  they  had  in  Egypt,  or  whether 
they  totally  disregarded  those  values,  and  simply  assigned 
to  the  symbols  the  value  of  their  own  sounds  at  will.  The 
first  vie-w,  however,  seems  clearly  the  more  probable.  The 
Phoenicians  could  only  become  acquainted  with  the  Egyptian 

1  M.  Lenormant  (p.  83)  -will  have  it  that  the  Phoenicians  must 
have  been  "tres  peu  religieux,  et  au  fond  presque  athee."  They 
may  have  been  so,  but  surely  not  merely  in  order  to  borrow  an 
alphabet  from  Egypt.  It  is  enough  that  that  alphabet  could  have 
bad  no  sanctity  for  them. 

*  For  evidence  of  this,  see  plate,  p.  600. 


symbol  and  sound  together ;  the  one  would  naturally  sug- 
gest the  other ;  and  we  should  expect  that  they  would  first 
take  the  symbols  belonging  to  those  sounds  which  exactly 
corresponded  in  Egyptian  and  Phoenician,  then  the  symbols 
of  other  Egyptian  sounds  which  did  not  exactly  correspond 
to  their  own,  but  which  seemed  in  each  case  the  most 
analogous  to  them ;  but  that  there  would  never  be  any 
violent  rupture  between  the  symbo.  and  its  old  sound. 
Yet  it  seems  quite  certain  that  there  is  no  connection 
between  the  names  which  the  letters  bore  in  Phoenicia 
and  the  original  object  of  which  the  Egyptian  character  is 
the  debased  representation.  Thus  the  first  letter  of  the 
Phoenician  alphabet  (corresponding  to'the  Hebrew  aleph) 
was  named  from  its  fancied  resemblance  to  an  ox's  head, 
the  second  (Hebrew  beth)  to  a  house,  and  so  on.  But  the 
symbol  which  strangely  seemed  to  the  Phoenicians  like  an 
ox  is  only  the  form,  rapidly  drawn,  of  an  eagle ;  beth,  in 
like  manner,  is  the  quickly-drawn  figure  of  a  crane.  It 
would  seem,  then,  that  the  Phoenicians  ion-owed  sound 
and  symbol,  but  no  name.  They  cared  nothing  for  the 
history  of  the  symbols;  and  when  they  found  it  convenient 
to  have  a  name  for  each  symbol  they  chose  some  object 
whose  name  began  with  the  letter  in  question  ;-and  we  should 
have  said  that  it  was  totally  impossible  that  any  similarity 
in  form  between  the  letter  and  the  object  whose  name  it 
borrowed  could  have  helped  to  give  currency  to  the  nomen- 
clature, did  we  not  see  evidence  of  similar  and  apparently 
equally  impossible  fancies  in  the  names  of  the  constella- 
tions, let  the  origin  of  those  names  be  what  it  may. 

Such,  very  briefly  traced,  seems  to  have  been  tie  origin 
of  the  Phoenician  alphabet,  the  parent  of  almost  every 
alphabet,  properly  so  called,  existing  on  the  earth.  For 
the  main  ramifications  of  this  alphabet  in  subsequent  times 
we  cannot  do  better  than  translate  the  summary  of  an 
author  already  often  referred  to,  M.  Francois  Lenormant 
He  distinguishes  (p.  110)  five  main  sterna     These  are — 

1.  The  Semitic  stem,  wherein  the  values  of  the  letters  have  re- 
mained exactly  the  same  as  those  of  the  Phoenicians,  except  in  a 
few  derived  alphabets  framed  in  Persia  and  the  countries  imme- 
diately adjacent,  which  being  employed  to  write  Indo-European 
languages,  turn  the  soft  breathings  of  the  Phoenician  into  genuine 
vowels.  This  stem  subdivides  itself  into  two  main  branches — the 
Hebrseo-Samaritan  and  the  Aramaic 

2.  The  Central  stem,  whose  province  includes  Greece,  Asia 
Minor,  and  Italy.  The  transformation  of  the  symbols  of  the 
smooth,  and  even  of  the  rough,  breathings  into  symbols  of  vowels 
is  here  the  invariable  rule.  This  stem  contains  first  the  different 
varieties  of  the  Hellenic  alphabet,  then  the  alphabets  derived  from 
the  Greek,  including  three  families — the  Albanian,  Asiatic  (taking 
Asia  in  the  same  sense  as  the  old  Greeks  did),  and  the  Italian.  In 
the  Asiatic  family  we  distinguish  two  groups — one  for  the  Phiygian 
alphabet  only,  which  is  made  up  of  elements  whose  origin  is  exclu- 
sively Greek;  the  other  containing  the  Lycian  and  Carian,  where 
these  elements  are  mixed  up  with  Cypriote^  characters.  The  Italian 
family  must  also  be  subdivided  into  an  Etruscan  group  and  a  Latin 
group,  between  which  stands  the  Faliscan  alphabet,  of  a  mixed 
character.. 

3.  The  Western  stem,  containing  the  systems  of  writing  which 
resulted  from  the  spread  of  the  alphabet  "by  the  colonists  of  Tyre 
among  the  indigenous  inhabitants  of  ancient  Spain.  This  stem 
reckons  but  one  single  family.  It  has,  as  that  which  precedes  it, 
for  its  fundamental  character  the  change  of  the  value  of  the  Phoeni- 
cian breathings.  But  the  direction  in  which  the  forms  of  the  letters 
vary  is  signally  different.  .  .  . 

4.  The  Northern  stem,  containing  only  one  branch,  the  runes 
of  the  Teutonic  and  Scandinavian  peoples,  who  were  settled  at  a 
particular  epoch  in  the  north  of  Europe,  but  had  arrived  from  Asia, 
where  they  still  lived  during  a  part  of  historic  time,  and  where  they 
must  have  had  imparted  to  them  the  alphabet  produced  by  the 
Phoenicians.  Some  elements  in  the  runic  writing  seem  to  point  to 
a  direct  reception  of  the  writing  from  the  seamen  of  Canaan  ;  others, 
on  the  contrary,  bear  a  certain  stamp  of  Greek  influence.  .  .  . 

8  The  only  two  alphabets,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term,  which  M. 
Lenormant  cannot  classify  as  of  Phoenician  origin  are  the  Cypriote 
and  the  Persian  cuneiform — the  former  still  imperfectly  deciphered, 
but  seemingly  to  some  extent  syllabic  ;  the  latter  pwhapa  not  pure 
alphabetic,  but  retaining  certain  ideograms. 


GOB 


ALPHABET 


6.  The  Indo-Bomeritt  stem,  distinguished  by  the  appearance  of  a 
new  principle,  the  expression  of  vowel  sounds  by  means  of  conven- 
tional adjuncts  attached  to  the  symbol  of  the  consonant,  and  thus 
sometimes  considerably  modifying  its  shape.  The  place  of  its  origin 
seems  to  have  been  southern  Arabia.  From  thence  it  has  radiated 
on  the  one  side  to  Africa,  where  the  Abyssinian  and  the  African 
systems  form  a  separate  family  with  the  Himyaritic,  or  alphabet  of 
the  old  inhabitants  of  Yemen  ;  on  the  other  aide  to  Ariana,  where 
a  special  form  of  writing  established  itself ;  and  to  India,  whoso 
most  ancient  alphabet,  Magadhi,  now  referred  by  A.  Weber  to  a 
Phoenician  origin,  has  given  birth  to  an  enormous  list  of  derivatives, 
which  can  be  classified  among  six  famines — Devanagart,  Pali, 
Dravidian,  Transgangetic,  Oceanic,  and  Thibetan— which  we  here 
enumerate  in  their  chronological  order  of  descent 

It  will  of  course  be  observed  that  this  classification  of 
alphabets  runs  entirely  counter  to  the  universally-accepted 
classification  of  languages  into  certain  well -recognised 
groups  under  three  main  heads — Indo-European,  Semitic, 
and  that  family  which,  rather  because  its  members  differ 
from  the  two  first-named  than  from  any  especial  bond  of 
union  among  themselves,  is  called  Turanian.  This  is  in 
nowise  surprising.  There  is  no  necessary  connection  what- 
ever between  the  sound  and  the  symbol  which  signifies  it 
— between  the  language  and  the  alphabet  The  languages 
of  nearly  all  Europe  are  Indo-European  (or  Aryan,  as  they 
are  sometimes  called) ;  the  alphabets  are  universally  Semitic 
— that  is  the  fact,  explain  it  as  we  may.  In  fact,  if  we 
wish  to  maintain  that  sound  and  symbol  correspond,  so 
that  the  second  is  the  only  natural  exponent  of  the  first, 
we  must  form  two  hypotheses  which  refute  themselves — 
first,  that  it  was  possible  that  any  race  of  men,  when  they 
first  felt  the  need  of  an  alphabet,  deliberately  set  them- 
selves to  form  their  letters  so  as  to  represent  the  different 
positions  of  the  organs  of  speech  as  each  sound  was  pro- 
duced ;  secondly,  that  such  forms  could  have  been  exactly 
preserved  through  long  lapse  of  time,  so  as  to  convey  to 
subsequent  generations  exactly  the  same  idea  as  they 
gave  to  their  inventors.  But  each  supposition  is  clearly 
impossible.  An  alphabet  so  formed  would  also  be  an 
artificial  alphabet,  such  as  could  never  have  entered  the 
minds  of  men  who  needed  to  supply  just  their  actual 
wants  as  they  arose,  not  to  construct  a  scientific  table  of 
signs  to  denote  all  possible  sounds.  But  the  construction 
of  such  a  pictorial  alphabet  as  wo  have  supposed  is  quite 
possible,  and  it  has  actually  been  formed  most  ingeniously 
by  Mr  Melville  Bell.  La  his  system,  which  he  calls 
"  Visible  Speech,"  consonants  are  denoted  by  curved  lines, 
which  represent  the  position  of  the  tongue  or  lips  in  their 
formation.  For  example,  in  forming  the  gutturals  k,  g,  n<j, 
the  back  of  the  tongue  is  raised,  and  this  is  expressed  by 

the  curve  Q ;  in  pronouncing  y,  the  front  of  the  tongue  is 
arched,  and  this  is  denoted  by  (*j ;  in  pronouncing  dentals, 
the  point  of  the  tongue  is  raised,  and  this  is  expressed  by 
0>  i°  sounding  labials,  the  lips  are  closed,  and  this  is 
denoted  by  Q ;  where  the  passage  of  the  mouth  is  com- 
pletely closed  by  the  symbolised  organ  (as  in  k,  g,  t,  d, 
p,  6),  the  ends  of  the  curve  are  shut  by  a  connecting  line — 

thus  C\  denotes  k;  the  consonants  which  are  voice  articu- 
lations {i.e.,  in  producing  which  the  chordm  vocales  vibrate, 
and  so  produce  voice),  as  g,  d,  b,  &c,  are  further  distin- 
tinguished  by  a  short  straight  line  within  the  curve,  the 
physiological  sign  which  is  chosen  (conventionally,  it  must 
be  allowed)  to  represent  voice  being  (I)  a  straight  line; 
and  the  other  distinguishing  marks  of  the  consonants  are 
similarly  expressed  either  by  added  marks  or  by  slight 
modifications  of  the  primary  curve.  Equally  ingeniously, 
the  vowels  are  expressed  by  the  straight  line  which  is  the 
sign  of  voice,  a  subordinate  symbol,  or  "definer,"  being 


added  to  denote  the  part  of  the  mouth  which  modifies  tht 
vowel — e.g.,  a  hook  or  a  solid  point  at  the  top  or  bottom 
of  the  vowel-line,  a  bar  across  the  lino  to  express  that  the 
lips  are  contracted  or  drawn  across  the  aperture  of  the 
mouth,  4c,  <tc.  '  We  need  not  enter  further  into  the 
minutiae  of  the  system ;  enough  las  been  said  to  show  the 
principle  on  which  it  is  formed.  It  is  obvious  that  there 
would  be  no  greater  difficulty  in  teaching  this  alphabet  to 
a  child  than  in  teaching  it  a,  b,  c,  except  that  the  number 
of  symbols  is  greater,  because  one  is  provided  for  everj 
sound  in  the  language,  which  our  alphabet  certainly  fails 
to  do ;  still,  to  learn  either  our  alphabet  or  "  visible 
speech "  must  for  a  child  be  simply  an  effort  of  memory. 
And  one  great  practical  gain  which  would  be  derived  from 
the  general  adoption  of  such  a  system  is  the  ease  with 
which  foreign  languages  could  be  mastered.  The  great 
difficulty  in  learning  to  speak  a  foreign  language  does  not 
consist  in  the  mere  mastering  so  many  declensions ;  it  lies 
in  the  fact  that  two  alphabets  may  be  composed  of  exactly 
the  same  symbols,  and  yet  many  of  these  symbols  may 
express  to  the  two  nations  quite  different  sounds.  This  is 
a  preliminary  difficulty  which  must  be  mastered  at  once  ; 
and  it  would  be  immensely  lessened  if  such  dissimilar 
sounds — as,  e.g.,  the  German,  French,  and  English  u — were 
not  all  presented  to  the  learner  under  the  same  symbol.  It 
seems  certain  that,  with  the  lapse  of  time  and  the  progress 
of  invention,  the  intercourse  between  nations  must  be 
largely  increased ;  and  the  need  of  some  more  perfect 
instrument  of  speech  between  them  must  increase  propor- 
tionately. But  in  spite  of  the  obvious  gains,  it  is  Utopian 
to  suppose  that  the  world  will  ever  be  converted  to  a 
system  of  universal  writing ;  and  the  real  and  immense 
gain  of  such  a  method  is  the  power  which  it  give3  to  a 
linguistic  inquirer  to  denote  accurately  on  paper  the  exact 
sounds  heard  in  any  dialect  spoken  in  any  part  of  the 
world,  civilised  or  uncivilised ;  for  it  is  as  competent  to 
register  the  click  of  the  Hottentot  as  the  most  subtle 
vowel  sound  of  Europe.  With  our  present  alphabet  it  is 
utterly  impossible  to  represent  adequately  the  strange 
sounds  of  some  out-of-the-way  dialect  (which  for  students 
of  language  may  be  as  important  as  the  literary  speech)  in 
such  a  way  as  to  be  generally  intelligible,  because  there 
often  is  no  symbol  to  correspond  exactly,  and  naturally  no 
two  inquirers  agree  upon  the  nearest  out  of  the  existing 
symbols.-  The  science  of  language  is  therefore  greatly 
indebted  to  Mr  Bell  for  providing  so  effective  a  method 
for  preserving  for  ever  those  dialectic  peculiarities  which 
are  vanishing  with  startling  rapidity  in  these  days  of  con 
stant  communication  between  different  parts  of  a  country 
Another  system,  equally  valuable  scientifically,  has  been 
invented  by  the  eminent  philologer,  Mr  Alexander  J.  Ellis. 
In  his  "  Palaeotype"only  the  ordinary  symbols  are  employed, 
but  they  are  printed  in  different  ways  to  denote  different 
sounds — sometimes  as  capitals,  sometimes  in  italics,  some- 
times turned  upside  down ;  so  that,  despite  the  familiarity 
of  the  letters,  a  page  of  palaeotype  is  at  least  as  appalling  to 
the  uninitiated  as  the  curves  and  lines  of  "visible  speech." 
We  may  proceed  to  trace  the  variations  from  the  Phoenician 
alphabet  to  our  own,  down  the  central  stem  of  Greece  and 
Italy.  The  Phoenician  alphabet  consisted  of  twenty-eight 
letters,  which  for  convenience  we  may  call  by  the  names  of 
their  Hebrew  equivalents.  These  were  (1)  Aleph,  (2)  Beth, 
3)  Gimel,  (4)  Daleth,  (5)  He,  (6)  Vav,  (7)  Zayin,  (8)  Cheth, 
9)  Teth,  (10)  Yodh,  (11)  Kaph,  (12)  Lamedh,  (13)  Mem, 
(14)  Nun,  (15)  Samekh,  (16)  Ayin,  (17)  Pe,  (18)  Tsadhc, 
(19)  Koph,  (20)  Resh,«(21)  Shin,  (22)  Tav.  None  of  these 
were  vowel  sounds.  Aleph  was  the  lightest  guttural  or 
rather  faucal  sound,  being  pronounced  below  the  guttural 
point  at  the  very  top  of  the  larynx :  it  can  have  been  barely 
audible  even  before  a  vowel.      He  corresponded  nearly 


ALPHABET 


609 


to  our  h.  Cheth  was  a  strongly-marked  ch,  a  continuous 
guttural  sound  produced  at  the  back  of  the  palate.  Ayin 
represents  a  faucal  sound  peculiar  to  the  Semitic  race, 
varying  between  an  evanescent  breathing  and  a  g  rolled  in 
the  throat. 

The  Phoenicians  employed  hardly  any  vowel  signs :  in 
Hebrew  the  three  principal  sounds  a,  i,  u  (see  article  A) 
were  sometimes  expressed  in  writing,  and  long  i  and  u  were 
denoted,  not  by  special  signs,  but  by  consonants  akin  to 
them,  yodh  and  vav:  a  was  regularly  omitted  except  at  the 
end  of  a  word,  where  it  was  denoted  by  He  and  sometimes 
by  Aleph.  In  fact,  in  all  Semitic  languages  the  practice 
was  to  ignore  vowels  in  writing,  leaving  it  to  the  reader 
to  fill  in,  according  to  the  context,  the  unvarying  frame- 
work of  consonantal  sounds:  the  Hebrew  vowel-points 
were  a  later  invention,  rendered  necessary  when  the  lan- 
guage had  ceased  to  be  spoken. 

When  the  Greeks  received  the  Phoenician  alphabet  it  is 
obvious  that  they  must  have  made  considerable  changes 
in  the  values  of  the  symbols.  Several  of  them  would  be 
■unnecessary,  for  they  had  no  sounds  in  their  language  to 
correspond  to  them :  while  for  other  most  important  sounds, 
€.g.,  the  vowels,  no  symbol  was  provided.  It  is  clear  how 
imperfect  any  previous  alphabet  of  the  Greeks  must  have 
been  when  they  adopted  in  its  stead  another  so  foreign  to 
the  genius  of  their  language,  which  developed  the  vowels 
and  marked  strongly  the  momentary  consonants  and  nasals, 
but  rejected  as  far  as  possible  the  continuous  consonants, 
both  palatal  and  labial,  and  even  under  many  circumstances 
tho  dental  s,  the  one  sibilant  they  employed.  But  they 
ingeniously  adopted  the  strange  signs  to  new  ends.  Aleph, 
He,  and  Ayin  were  turned  without  difficulty  into  a,  t,  and 
o  .•  Yodh  became  t,  as  it  seems  that  the  semi-vowel  y  had 
totally  disappeared  from  Greece  even  at  that  early  period: 
on  the  same  principle  Vav  might  have  served  to  express 
v,  although  apparently  the  ti>-sound  was  still  sufficiently 
common  to  require  the  retention  of  Vav  with  its  con- 
sonantal value.  But  from  what  source  they  took  their 
upsilon  cannot  be  known  with  certainty.  Professor  Key 
thinks  that  it  is  the  Hebrew  form  of  Ayin,  which  differs 
much  in  shape  from  the  nearly  perfect  circle  of  the  old 
Phoenician.  This  is  possible  enough,  for  the  sound  of 
Ayin  was  not  more  like  o  than  u;  and  if  the  Greeks  knew 
the  two  forms,  it  is  not  likely  that  they  may  have  taken 
both.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  equally  possible  that  v  may 
be  a  remnant  of  an  earlier  native  alphabet.  Among  the 
consonants  /3,  y,  S,  k,  X,  /*,  v,  ir,  p,  t  were  borrowed  with 
little  change  of  form,  and  probably  of  value.  And  these 
letters  (with  o-  and  the  vowels  already  mentioned)  are 
stated  by  tradition  to  have  been  the  only  ones  brought 
to  Greece  from  Phoenicia  by  Cadmus,  others  having  been 
added  by  Palamedes,  Simonides,  or  Epicharmus;  but  which 
were  the  letters  added  by  each  of  these  is  a  question  on 
which  the  different  authorities  do  not  agree;  and  the  incor- 
rectness of  most  of  them  is  proved  by  the  letters  being  found 
in  Greek  inscriptions  before  the  time  of  their  supposed 
inventor.  In  fact,  all  tradition  on  this  point  is  worthless, 
unless  it  is  borne  out  by  inscriptions.  It  is  at  least  probable 
that  the  whole  alphabet  was  borrowed  at  one  time,  for  all, 
or  nea?ly  all,  the  characters  occur  on  the  oldest  inscriptions 
we  possess.  Thus  on  inscriptions  of  Thera  dating  from 
Olympiad  40  (see  Franz,  Epigraphice  G  rosea,  pp.  51-59; 
Kirchhoff,  Studien  zur  Geschichte  des  Griechischen  Alphabets, 

p.  41),  we  find  Cheth  in  the  form  Q  .  denoting  mainly  the 

rough  breathing  h,  but  also  applied  to  denote  e,  as  it 
afterwards  did  regularly  by  the  name  Eta:  Teth  occurs 

as  ©,  nearly  the  later  Theta ;  and  Koph  as  G  ,  Koppa,  a 

symbol  which  was  once  current  throughout  Greece,  and 

1—21 


remained  universally  as  the  numeral  90,  though  as  a  letter 
it  was  retained  only  by  the  Dorians,  and  _passed  with  the 
Doric  alphabet  into  Italy  as  Q.  It  may  be  observed  that 
in  this  alphabet,  and  in  some  later  ones  of  Crete,  Corinth, 
r.nd  Corcyra,  Iota  appears  not  as  a  straight  line,  but  in 
many  curved  shapes,  approximating  much  nearer  to  the  old 
Phoenician ;  and  the  same  is  true  of  Pi,  which  has  the  top 
rounded  like  a  crook.  We  have  then  left  only  the  four 
sibilants,  Zayin,  Samekh,  Tsadhe,  and  Shin.  These  are 
believed  to  have  had  the  values  dz,  s,  Is,  sh  respectively. 
We  have  already  said  that  the  Greeks  had  no  ^reat  affec- 
tion for  sibilants ;  witness  the  manner  in  which  o-  was 
constantly  dropped,  e.g.,  in  yeWos  for  ytvecr-os.  It  was 
therefore  not  to  be  expected  that  they  could  employ  all 
the  wealth  of  the  Phoenicians;  and  one  symbol  (Tsadhe) 
appears  in  no  Greek  alphabet.    The  name,  however,  recalls 

the  name  Zeta;  but  the  shape  of  Zeta  (always  ^T )  is 

unquestionably  that  of  Zayin ;  and  its  place  in  the  alphabet 
agrees  to  this.  It  seems,  therefore,  most  probable  that  the 
Greeks  confounded  together  the  two  compound  sounds 
dz  and  ts,  and  kept  but  one  symbol,  perhaps  with  the 
name  of  the  other  (Tsadhe),  because  it  was  most  like  that 
of  the  neighbouring  letters  Eta  and  Theta.  This  con- 
fusion of  the  two  sounds  seems  the  more  probable  when 
we  remember  that  no  symbol  was  required  for  the  com- 
pound ts  at  the  time  when  a  special  symbol  for  ps  was 
added,  and  that  for  ks  (another  analogous  compound) 
perhaps  revived.  There  is  also  much  uncertainty  with 
regard  to  the  relations  of  Samekh  and  Shin  in  their  Greek 
dress.  Xi  (  —  ks)  occupies  the  place  of  Samekh,  sigma  of 
Shin.  One  form  of  Samekh  seems  unquestionably  to  have 
furnished  that  of  the  Greek  2  (see  the  forms,  p.  600); 

another  Hh    is  exactly  the  Greek  £  of  all  the  inscriptions. 

Sigma  had  the  sound  (s)  of  Samekh,  and  cannot  be  shown 
ever  to  have  had  the  sound  (sh)  of  Shin.  Two  names  were 
preserved  among  the  Greeks,  sigma  and  san.  Herodotus 
(L  139)  speaks  of  the  "same  letter  which  the  Dorians  call 
<rdv,  the  Ionians  o-ry/io;"  and  though  san  was  no  letter 
of  the  Ionic  alphabet,  the  compound  sampi  ( =  <rav  +  m) 
denoted  900.  The  name  san  is  obviously  the  Semitic  shin 
or  sin:  it  is  just  possible  that  crty/ia  may  be  an  attempt  to 
turn  samekh  into  a  form  which  should  explain  its  meaning 
to  Greek  ears.  The  oldest  Greek  alphabets  known  to  us — 
those  of  Thera,  Melos,  Crete,  and  the  earlier  forms  of 

those  of  Argos,  Corinth,  and  Corcyra — have  the  form  ^ 

to  denote  s, — that  is,  the  equivalent  of  Shin.  It  seems 
fair  to  infer  that  this  was  originally  the  -  case  in  the  other 
alphabets  also.  Then  this  symbol  was  dropped  by  degrees 
to  avoid  confusion  with  m,  while  one  form  of  samekh,  with 
the  name  sigma,  was  introduced  into  its  place :  another 
form  was  kept  in  its  old  place  to  denote  the  compound 
ks  (xi). 

We  now  come  to  the  apparently  non-Phoenician  letters 
of  the  Greek  alphabet,  <f>,  x»  "/s  *>■  Of  v  we  have 
already  spoken :  we  may  add  that  its  sound  was  not  a 
pure  u,  but  modified,  perhaps  as  is  the  German  u.  This 
appears  from  the  fact  that,  when  the  Romans  borrowed 
Greek  words  in  the  later  times  of  the  republic  (when 
Roman  taste  had  grown  more  scrupulous),  they  did  not 
use  their  own  symbol  u  to  denote  the  Greek  vpsilon  (as 
their  forefathers  had  done),  but  together  with  the  sound 
borrowed  the  symbol  also:  which  clearly  shows  that  the 
sound  of  vpsilon  was  different  from  the  ordinary  u.  We 
now  take  the  aspirates  <j>  and  %.  It  is  most  probable  that 
the  sounds  of  the  Greek  aspirates  x,  6,  <t>,  were  not  those  of 
the  German  ch,  and  the  English  th  and  /:  that  is,  they 
were  probably  not  continuous  consonants,  but  momentary 


610 


ALPHABET 


Bounds,  followed  in  each  caso  by  a  slight  but  distinctly 
audible  breath ;  so  that  x  might  be  represented  in  English 
characters  by  Wk,  though  the  following  breath  is  not  so 
distinct  as  an  English  k, — if  it  were,  we  should  have 
a  compound,  not  a  simple  sound.  Now  two  of  these 
aspirates  were  actually  written  in  the  oldest  alphabets  KH 

and  P  H  (pi  having  the  right  down-stroke  much  shorter 

than  the  left) :  for  the  dental  the  single  symbol  6,  borrowed 
from  the  Phoenician,  sufficed.  Afterwards  the.  symbols 
<f>  and  x  (variants  (D  and  + )  were  taken  to  supply  the 
place  of  these  compounds,  from  what  source  cannot  be 
certainly  known;  but  it  is  not  impossible  that  they  may 
have  been  characters  of  an  older  Greek  alphabet  which 
originally  had  the  values  p  and  k.  This  draws  some  proba- 
bility from  the  history  of  \fr.     That  letter  was  originally 

written  P£  ;  and  £,  of  which  we  have  already  spoken, 

written  aSiKS  (or  KM).  But  each  of  these  also  appears 
as  #2  and  X2;  so  that  here  at-least  <£  and  %  appear  as  no 

more  than  p  and  k:  the  compound  Q)  J  remained  perma- 
nently in  the  Western  alphabets.  It  is  to  Epicharmus  that 
tradition  (here  with  some  probability)  ascribes  the  estab- 
lishment of  i/f  in  the  alphabet  The  history  of.<u  is  closely 
connected  with  that  of  ij.  At  an  early  period,  certainly 
before  the  40th  Olympiad,  in  the  eastern  part  of  HeUas 
an  attempt  was  made  to  distinguish  the  different  kinds 
of  e.  The  symbol  e  had  hitherto  denoted  both  c  and  the 
diphthong  «,  where  the  i  waa  probably  not  a  much  more 
important  sound  than  the  y — e.g.,  in  our  day.  The  habit 
of  writing  the  two  symbols  came  in  late  in  the  Ionic 
alphabet,  and  so  spread  through  Greece.  But  at  the  earlier 
time  of  which  we  speak  the  symbol  H  began  to  denote 
some  e.  It  is  commonly  supposed  that  this  was  long  e  as 
distinguished  from  epsilon,  which,  by  the  way,  does  not 
mean  $hort  e,  but  "e  unaccompanied,"  perhaps  by  that 
after  sound  of  i  mentioned  above,  though  a  different  reason 
is  commonly  given  for  the  name.  It  seems  very  strange 
that  the  Greeks  should  have  introduced  symbols  to  express 
long  e  and  o,  and  none  to  mark  the  length  of  the  other 
vowels,  which  must  have  been  just  as  urgently  needed: 
surely  this  would  have  been  done  at  Athens  at  the  time  of 
the  formal  introduction  of  the  Ionian  alphabet.  Again, 
there  are  a  great  many  recognisable  varieties  of  sound 
which  border  closely  on  pure  e  and  o  (but  none  of  im- 
portance near  i  and  u),  and  such  varieties  are  clearly 
marked  in  the  south  of  Europe  now.  For  these  two 
separate  reasons,  it  seems  at  least  more  probable  that  t) 
was  adopted  to  express  a  sound  the  same,  or  nearly  the 
same,  as  the  open  e  of  the  Italians.  For  the  same  reasons, 
it  seems  probable  that  oi  was  taken  not  to  denote  long  o, 
but  a  more  open  sound ;  perhaps  something  between  open  o 
and  the  English  aw.  The  form  fi  is  of  doubtful  origin.  It 
is  found  in  an  alphabet  of  Miletus  of  about  Olympiad  60 ; 
not  earlier.     It  looks  like  a  conscious  modification  .of  O. 

Greek  writing  in  the  earliest  times  was  from  right  to 
left,  following  the  example  of  Phoenicia:  several  specimens 
of  this  still  exist.  The  more  convenient  practice  of  writing 
from  left  to  right  soon  became  universal.  It  was  preceded, 
however,  by  an  intermediate  method,  in  which  the  direction 
of  the  lines  was  alternately  right  to  left  and  left  to  right, 
&■>  that  it  was  not.  necessary  to  carry  the  eye  back,  as  with 
us,  from  the  end  of  one  line  to  the  beginning  of  the  next, 
l^iis  was  called  /3ovo~rpo<f>rj&6v,  because  the  lines  were  made 
u.  the  same  way  as  the  furrows  by  oxen  in  ploughing. 

Kirchhoff  distinguishes  two  main  divisions  of  Greek 
alphabets — the  East  and  the  West;  not  that  this  geographi- 
cal distribution  is  exact,  but  it  is  the  most  convenient.  The 
•astern  includes  first  tie  alphabets  of  the  towns  of  Asia 


Minor — Halicarnassns,  Ephcsua,  Teos,  Miletus,  Colophon, 
and  Rhodes,  which,  agreeing  essentially,  became  that  Ionic 
alphabet  that  was  adopted  at  Athens  463  B.C.,  and  is 
the  Greek  alphabet  with  which  we  are  familiar ;  secondly, 
those  of  the  yEgean  islands — Thera,  Melos,  Crete,  Paros, 
Siphnos,  Thasos,  Naxos, — in  which  fi  does  not  stand  for 
Omega,  but  occasionally  appears  as  well  as  o  for  Omicron, 
and  there  are  other  minute  differences  in  the  shape  of  the 
letters ;  thirdly,  some  of  the  alphabets  of  the  mainland  of 
Greece,  which  have  a  closer  affinity  to  the  Ionic  than  to 
their  neighbours,  viz.,  the  old  one  of  Attica,  down  to 
01.  94 — Argos,  Corinth  and  its  colonics,  Corcyra,  and  even 
Syracuse.  The  western  division  includes  the  •  remainder 
of  the  towns  of  Greece  proper  and  their  Sicilian  and 
Italian  colonies;  these  are  marked  by  peculiar  variations 
of  certain  characters,  especially  g,  e,  h,  th,  I,  r,  and  s,  by 
the  use  of  A  as  the  aspirate  only,  by  the  absence  of  omega, 

and  by  the  universal  application  of  the  symbol  ^  or  ^ 

to  denote,  not  ps,  but  ch,  whilst  X  or  +,  the  symbol  of 
ch  in  the  eastern  alphabets,  here  denotes  x.  Compare  with 
this  last  variation  what  we  have  said  above  of  the  use  of 
X2  to  express  X :  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  it  was 
from  the  occurrence  of  X  in  this  collocation,  and  no  other, 
that  this  new  value  for  it  arose,  and  2  was  dropped.  It 
is  significant  that  in  the  old  Latin  alphabet  XS  appear 
instead  of  X.  The  difference  in  value  of  V  in  the  eastern 
and  western  alphabets  is  perplexing :  it  seems  that  in  one 
or  the  other  the  original  value  must  have  been  consciously 
changed,  but  it  is  not  easy  to  say  in  which.  The  most 
important  alphabet  of  this  group  for  our  purpose  is  that  of 
the  Chalcidian  colonies  of  Sicily  and  the  west  coast  of 
Italy — Cumas,  Neapolis;  <fcc. — because  from  this  was  derived 
the  Latin  alphabet,  the  direct  progenitor  of  our  own.  It 
is  distinguished  from   others  of  the  same  clas3  by  the 

rounded  form  of  the  Gamma  £ ,  by  the  peculiar  form  of 

the  Lambda  L  ,  by  the  very  old  Mu  (/w)>  and  by  a  rounded. 

Sigma  ^  ,  though  it  has  also  the  two  other  ordinary  forms. 

^  and  2;:  in  common  with  some  other  western  alphabets, 
it  has  a  double  rho  (P  and  R).     (See  p.  600.) 

From  this  Chalcidian  alphabet  it  seems  clear  that  all 
the  Italian  alphabets  were  derived.  They  fall  into  two 
families,  which  differ  from  each  other-  considerably,  but 
principally  in  the  loss  of  old  letters  and  the  insertion  of 
new — differences  which  do  not  militate  against  their  com- 
mon origin,  but  show  the  cause  of  their  separate  develop- 
ment. Thelfirst  family  contains  the  Etruscan,  Umbrian, 
and  Oscan  alphabets ;  the  second  the  Latin  and  Faliscan. 
Into  the  peculiarities  of  the  members  of  the  first  group  we 
do  not  propose  to  enter  at  length  :  they  agree  in  the  total 
rejection  of  O  and  X,  and  the  addition  of  a  strange  symbol 

Q  to  denote  the/ sound,  van  being  retained  with  a  slightly 

modified  form  for  v:  the  Etruscan  retains  the  symbols 
CD  and  V  which  the  other  two  dropped,  and  the  Etruscan 
and  Umbrian  agree  in  rejecting  the^  soft  mutes.  The 
Umbrian,  however,  has  a  new  symbol  for  a  modified  d, 
peculiar  to  itself,  and  also  for  a  modified  k ;  the  Oscan. 
has  new  symbols  for  a  modified  i  and  a,  and  in  general 
shows  a  difference  in  the  shape  of  its.  characters  from  all 
the  other' Italian  dialects,  which  does  not  seem  due  to  any 
other  foreign  influence  so  much  as  to  its  own  individuality. 
These  three  languages  are  all  written  from  right  to  left, 
in  which  the  Faliscan  agrees  with  them  :  the  Latin  alone, 
from  the  earliest  time  of  which  we  have  any  records,  was 
written  from  left  to  right ;  but  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  it  did  not  originally  differ  from  its  fellows,  but 
changed  at  a  later  time,  just  as  the  Greek  alphabet  itself 


ALPHABET 


<)11 


had  done.  The  fact  that  X,  found  in  the  Latin  and 
Faliscan  alphabets,  hag  the  value  of  x,  and  not  of  ch,  and 
that  V.  aa  already  mentioned,  is  found  with  the  value  of 
eh  in  Etruscan,  shows  that  the  common  source  of  these  five 
alphabets  was  a  western,  not  an  eastern  Greek  alphabet ; 
and  the  rounded  form  of  C,  and  the  peculiar  L  (V,  not  A) 
limit  the  choice  to  the  Chalcidian  family.  The  points  in 
which  the  Latin  differs  from  the  Chalcidian  alphabet  of 
Cuma?,  from  wliich  it  was  probably  derived  through  com- 
mercial intercourse,  lie — 

(1.)  In  the  application  of  the  symbol  van  (F),  to  denote 
not  the  v  but  the  /  sound,  which  was  probably  strange  to 
the  Greeks. 

(2.)  In  allowing  K  to  fall  almost  out  of  use — it  was 
employed  only  in  abbreviations,  such  as  the  first  letter  of  a 
pramomen,  as  Kaeso,  or  for  Kalenda?,  &c. — and  employing  C 
instead,  which  had  of  course  in  the  present  Greek  alpha- 
bet the  power  of  g.  This  change  may  point  to  a  time  when 
the  distinction  of  the  sounds  k  and  g  was  obliterated,  to 
be  afterwards  restored. 

(3.)  In  the  formation  of  the  new  symbol  G — i.  e.,  C 
with  a  distinguishing  line — to  mark  the  soft  gutturals, 
when  the  want  of  a  distinctive  symbol  was  again  felt. 
This  was  some  time  in  the  3d  century  B.C. ;  but  instead  of 
replacing  K  for  the  hard  guttural  sound,  they  preferred  to 
leave  C  in  its  old  place,  but  with  a  new  value,  k  instead  of 
g;  while  the  modified  form  G  was  inserted  into  the  place 

of  j~  (Z),  which  may  have  been  taken,  by  the  Romans 

(as  it  certainly  was  found  in  the  other  Italian  alphabets), 
but  which  fell  out  of  use  absolutely  without  any  record. 

(4.)  In  absence  of  the  aspirates  V>  ©.  and  ©:  these 
sounds  were  not  natural  to  the  Roman  tongue,  and  there- 
fore the  symbols  were  never  regularly  received  into  their 
alphabet,  though  liu-y  were  taken  to  represent  numerals. 
Their  forms,  howe.er,  were  much  altered,  and  so  in  process 
of  time  they  became  confused  with  other  letters  :  thus  Y 
denoted  50;  but  it  came  to  be  written  _L,  and  so  naturally 
passed  into  the  quite  meaningless  L :  ©  denoted  1 0, 
but  being  too  cumbrous  to  write,  the  circle  was  dropped, 
and  the  cross  (X)  alone  remained.  A  variant  form  of  the 
same  letter  (0)  seems  to  have  originally  represented  100, 
and  either  to  have  been  shortened  into  the  common  form 
C,  or  C  superseded  it  as  being  the  first  letter  of  centum. 
Q)  was  taken  for  1000,  but  for  convenience  of  writing  it 
was  broken  up  into  CIO,  and  this  was  the  more  easily  done 
because  the  parts  were  characters  in  use;  but  this  symbol 
also  was  replaced  by  M,  the  first  letter  of  mille.  It  is 
probable  that  ©  was  simply  divided,  and  the  half  of  it  (D) 
then  stood  for  half  of  1000,  or  500;  and  half  of  X,  ten, 
became  V,  five.  Neither  D  nor  V  have  any  other  propriety 
as  symbols. 

(5.)  In  the  addition,  in  the  1st  century  B.C.,  of  the  two 
symbols  Y  and  Z  after  X  (which  had  long  been  the  last 
letter  of  the  alphabet),  to  express  the  Greek  sounds  v  and 
Z.  In  borrowed  words  these  in  earlier  times  had  been 
roughly  denoted  by  u  and  ss;  but  in  Cicero's  day  greater 
precision  was  desired;  and  not  being  able  to  compound 
two  characters  of  their  own  to  denote  the  strange  sound 
(as  they  did  for  the  aspirates  kh,  th,  ph,  formerly  denoted 
ouly  by  k,  t,  and  p  or  6),  they  took  sound  and  symbol 
together,  so  that  <I>puyes  appeared,  not  as  Bruges,  but  as 
Phryges :  Tpairt&Trjs  ceased  to  bo  tarpesslla,  and  sona  be- 
came zona,  &c. 

The  Latin  alphabet  agrees  with  the  Chalcidian  in  the 
retention  of  koppa  ( 9 ) ;  the  downward  stroke  became  by 
degrees  more  oblique.  This  symbol  had  a  much  wider 
use  in  Latin  than  it  had  in  any  Greek  language  :  it  was 
needed  to  express  a  modified  i-sound  which  the  Latins 
liked,  wherein  a  slight  w  60und  was  heard  after  the  k. 


This  sound  was  distasteful  to  the  Greeks,  and  consequently 
they  changed  this  kw  (or  qu)  into/);  so  also  did  the  other 
Italians  (compare  equos,  hnros,  Epoiva,  ic);  but  the  Romans 
liked  it.  and  therefore,  alone  in  Italy,  kept  the  ?  to  denote 
it.  It  is  true  that  the  Q  was  generally  followed  by  a. 
written  ii,  though  not  always  in  the  older  inscriptions  ; 
but  it  was  fully  recognised  that  thi3  u  was  not  a  real 
letter.  It  was  only  a  symbol  expressing  further,  and 
somewhat  unnecessarily,  the  indistinct  after-sound  which 
made  Q  different  from  K ;  it  would  have  been  more  logical 
to  have  written  Q  alone,  as  was  actually  attempted  under 
the  empire,  where  we  find  on  inscriptions  forms  such  as 
qis,  qidem,  qaerella;  but  this  never  became  general.  The 
Latin  and  Chalcidian  alphabets  are  again  at  one  in  not 
having  the  s3Tnbol  M  for  s,  differing  in  this  respect  from 
the  alphabets  of  South  Italy,  and  also  fiom  the  Etiuscan 
and  Umbriau,  which  had  both  forms.  Lastly,  the  Chal- 
cidian (as  we  saw)  had  two  forms  for  r,  P  and  R;  of  these 
the  Latin  chose  the  last,  and  generally  employed  the  first 

for  p;  though  for  that  leiter  the  genuine  Crock  form  P 

also  appears  rarely. 

The  Romans  did  not  retain  the  Greek  names  for  the 
characters  of  the  alphabet.  The  vowels  were  known  by 
their  sounds  only.  The  momentary  sounds  and  h  were 
denoted  by  their  own  sound  followed  by  a  vowel,  as  he,  cer 
de,  ge,  pe,  and  te,  but  ka,  ha  ;  q,  as  we  saw,  had  sufficient 
vowel  sound  to  float  it ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  continuous} 
consonants  were  preceded  by  the  vowel,  as  ef,  el,  em,  en, 
er,  es ;  x  was  called  ix.  The  difference  in  the  names  of 
the  consonants  obviously  was  caused  by  their  nature  : 
momentary  sounds  are  produced  by  a  complete  closure  and 
opening  of  the  organs  required  in  each  case  ;*when  this 
opening  is  made,  the  organs  are  so  placed  as  to  form  a 
vowel,  which  naturally  is  produced  by  the  remnant  of 
sound  required  for  the  consonant ;  whereas  a  vowel  cannot 
be  produced  before  any  one  of  these  sounds  without 
conscious  effort :  hence  it  was  simpler  to  call  k,  ka,  than  tt> 
call  it  ok.  But  the  continuous  sounds  are  pronounced, 
when  the  necessary  organs  only  approximate  more  or  less 
closely  to  each  other;  the  .channel  through  which  the 
sound  passes  from  the  larynx  to  the  lips  i3  never,  closed 
altogether,  and  by  reason  of  this  slightly  open  position  a 
certain  amount  of  vowel  sound  tends  to  escape  just  as  the 
organs  are  drawing  together  to  produce  the  consonant,  and 
thus  is  heard  before  it ;  but  to  sound  a  vowel  after  one  of 
these  '.onsonants  the  organs  must  be  intentionally  put  into 
the  p.oper  position.  Thus,  then,  exactly  the  same  principle. 
— the  conscious  or  unconscious  striving  for  ease  of  articula- 
tion— produces  exactly  opposite  results  in  the  case  of  the 
momentary  and  the  continuous  consonants.  The  same 
reason  caused  a  different  vowel  to  be  employed  for  h  and  h 
from  that  which  is  used  for  the  other  letters.  In  sounding 
a  the  organs  are  in  nearly  the  same  position  as  in  sounding 
these  two  gutturals,  only  a  little  more  open ;  whereas  the 
position  of  e  is  more  nearly  that  of  all  the  other  consonants. 
It  must  of  course  be  remembered  that  a  Roman,  if  he  bad 
wished  to  speak  of  his  ABC,  would  not  have  said,  as  we 
do,  a-bee-see,  but  ah-bay-kay. 

The  arrangement  of  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  hast 
caused  much  ingenious  speculation.  It  has  been  more 
than  once  pointed  out  (as  by  Prof.  Key,  The  Alphabet,  p.  2tf) 
that  there  are  enrtainly  traces  of  regularity  of  arrangement 
The  three  soft  momentary  sounds  b,  g,  rf,  were  placed 
together ;  and  it  is  possible  that  p,  k,  t  (if  denoted  by 
Pe,  Koph,  Tau),  may  have  once  been  together,  and  sepa- 
rated by  later  intrusions ;  7,  m,  n  have  an  affinity  more 
apparent  than  real,  which  was  perpetuated  by  their 
meaningless  designation  as  "liquids;"  still, the  appearance 
is  sufficient  to  justify  the  idea  that  they  may  have  beeg 


612 


ALP  Hi.E  E-'l 


purposely  put  together.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the 
alphabet  was  at  first  composed  of  "  four  quaternions"  of 
letters,  each  headed  by  a  vowel,  and  the  scattered  position 
of  the  vowels  lends  itself  to  this  arrangement ;  but  it  must 
be  remembered  that  the  arrangement  of  the  European 
alphabets  is  certainly  the  same  as  that  of  Phoenicia,  and  in 
the  Phoenician  there  were  breathings  but  no  vowel  symbols. 
Besides,  the  remaining  letters  are  just  as  necessary  as  any 
sixteen  which  we  might  so  arrange,  and  to  all  appearance 
just  as  ancient.  The  author  of  the  New  Cratylus,  indeed 
(p.  170,  ed.  3),  actually  drew  up  his  list  of  fours :  the 
three  soft  momentaries  headed  by  aleph ;  then  came  h, 
followed  by  vau,  cheth,  and  tetk,  oddly  grouped  .  as 
aspirates ;  then  the  three  "  liquids,"  with  eamekh  behind 
them ;  and  lastly,  pe,  hoph,  and  tau,  under  the  care  of  ayin. 
This,  of  course,  renders  it  necessary  to  "  omit  caph,  which 
is  only  a  softened  form  of  coph,  the  liquid  resh,  and  the 
eemi-vowel  yodh,  which  are  of  more  recent  introduction." 
Also  it  is  "  quite  certain  that  at  the  first  there  was  only 
one  sibilant,  same/eh."  In  this  way  Dr  Donaldson  satisfies 
himself  that  the  "  original  Semitic  alphabet  contained  only 
sixteen  letters."  We  give  this  futile  attempt  at  arrange- 
ment with  no  wish  to  sneer  at  a  philologer  who  did  good 
work  in  his  day,  but  simply  to  show  the  arbitrary  nature  of 
all  such  attempts,  resting  as  they  must  do  simply  on  internal 
evidence.  If  we  bear  in  mind  the  history  of  the  derivation 
of  the  Phoenician  alphabet,  as  we  have  attempted  to  give 
it,  from  the  Egyptian  hieratic,  we  shall  conclude  that  it  is 
hardly  probable  that  symbols  borrowed  for  practical  uses 
should  have  been  arranged  upon  any  scientific  method ; 
that  chance  guided  the  general  arrangement,  though  a  few 
sounds  obviously  similar  may  have  been  put  intentionally 
together.  No  argument  can  be  drawn  (as  by  Rodiger  in 
his  Hebrew  Grammar)  from  the  juxtaposition  of  two  letters 
meaning  a  hand  (yodh  and  kaph),  two  meaning  a  head 
(koph  and  resh),  &c. ;  reasons  have  been  given  above  for 
believing  that  these  names  have  no  relation  to  the  original 
import  of  the  signs,  but  were  merely  fanciful  analogies 
drawn  by  the  Phoenicians  themselves;  and  it  seems  as 
possible  that  the  juxtaposition  may  have  suggested  the 
idea  of  the  names  as  that  the  names  caused  the  arrange- 
ment. But  if  the  argument  be  sound,  it  is  valid  against 
the  supposition  that  the  order  was  fixed  throughout  on 
scientific  grounds. 

It  is  quite  certain  that  the  Teutonic  tribes  of  north- 
western Europe  possessed  characters  of  some  sort  before 
they  received  the  Greek  or  Latin  alphabets.  These 
characters  are  generally  called  runes,  and  have  been  the 
subject  of  some  sound  scholarship  and  much  baseless 
speculation.  They  may  be  divided  into  three  main  classes 
— the  Anglo-Saxon,  the  German,  and  the  Scandinavian ; 
each  of  these  contain  a  number  of  lists  of  characters, 
which,  however,  do  not  differ  from  each  other  more  than 
the  Greek  alphabets ;  and  there  is  so  much  likeness  in  the 
whole  family  that  we  may  infer  a  common  origin  for  alL 
The  term  rune  is  recognised  as  the  name  of  a  German 
letter  by  Venantius  Fortunatus  at  the  beginning  of  the 
seventh  century,  in  the  lines — 

Barbara  fraxineis  pingatur  rhuna  tabellia ; 
Quodque  papyrus  agit,  virgula  plana  valet. 

i.e.,  these  characters  were  cut  on  smoothed  ash-boughs. 
The  meaning  of  the  word  run  in  Anglo-Saxon  is  a  "  secret;" 
end  the  verb  rynan,  which  is  derived  from  the  same, 
means  "  to  whisper" — the  same  verb  which  appears  in  the 
now  disused  phrase,  to  "  round  in  the  ear."  Runa  denoted  a 
magician ;  the  word  is  contained  in  the  German  alruna, 
the  well-known  designation  of  those  prophetesses  whom 
the  German  tribes  venerated,  which  appears  corrupted  by 
Tacitus  (Germ.  c.  viiL)  into  aurinia.  There  is  sufficient 
jBvidence  to  show  that  the  knowledge  of  these  runes  was 


confined  to  a  6mall  class ;  that  they  were  used  as  magical 
characters,  and  also  as  means  of  augury.  It  was  for  this 
reason  undoubtedly  that  they  were  generally  proscribed  on 
the  introduction  of  Christianity ;  and  the  reception  of  the 
Latin  characters  by  the  Anglo-Saxons  was  regarded  as 
important  as  their  reception  of  the  Christian  doctrines. 

It  is  impossible  to  believe  that  the  barbarous  inhabitants 
of  the  German  forests  should  havo  worked  out  for  them- 
selves a  genuine  alphabet  before  they  came  into  intercourse 
with  the  civilised  nations  of  the  south.  When  we 
remember  the  long  process  through  which  a  pure  alphabet 
was  reached  by  the  highly-developed  nations  which  dwelt 
on  the  eastern  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  it  is  utterly 
incredible  that  such  success  should  have  been  achieved,  as 
it  were,  per  saltum,  under  so  much  more  unfavourable 
circumstances  in  the  West.  It  may  be  asserted  with  some 
confidence  that  if  the  runes  were  genuine  alphabets  (which 
there  seems  no  reason  to  deny),  they  must  have  been  derived 
from  the  Phoenicians  in  process  of  commerce.  There  is  quite 
sufficient  similarity  in  several  of  the  characters  to  make 
this  view  antecedently  probable,  but  any  historical  proof 
would  be  extremely  difficult,  if  not  impossible.  It  is  true 
that  even  where  the  characters  resemble  the  Phoenician  the 
names  of  the  letters  differ  altogether ;  but  this,  as  we  have 
before  seen  in  the  case  of  the  Phoenicians  themselves,  is 
nowise  unnatural  when  an  alphabet  is  borrowed ;  the  form 
is  important,  the  name  signifies  little,  and  new  names  are 
attached  according  to  the  fancy  of  the  borrowers.  It  is 
highly  probable,  both  from  the  meaning  of  the  word  rune 
itself  and  from  the  evidence  of  foreign  writers,  that  these 
symbols  were  not  used  by  their  owners  for  any  of  the 
ordinary  ends  of  an  alphabet  (except,  perhaps,  for  inscrip- 
tions) until  the  Teutonic  nations  came  into  contact  with 
Greek  and  Roman  civilisation ;  by  the  mass  of  the  people 
they  were  probably  looked  on  simply  as  charms,  the 
unknown  symbols  of  an  occult  science.  Nay,  it  might  be 
held  that  even  to  the  initiated  they  had  merely  a  sort  of 
hieroglyphic  value,  and  were  developed  into  phonetic 
significance  only  by  the  contact  of  the  Greek  and  Roman 
alphabets;  For  this  view,  indeed,  there  is  no  evidence, 
and  it  is  not  in  itself  probable.  But  we  should  be  driven 
to  it  if  we  were  to  suppose  that  the  runes  were  the  creation 
of  the  Teutonic  intellect. 

These  ancient  characters  occur  plentifully  on  memorial 
stones,  rings,  coins,  &c,  in  Scandinavia.  In  England  they 
have  been  found  principally  in  Northumbria,  Mercia,  and 
East  Anglia.  It  has  been  suggested  (by  Mr  Haigh)  that 
this  may  be  due  to  the  milder  principles  of  the  Irish 
monks,  who  restored  Christianity  to  the  north  of  England 
after  its  fall  with  Edwin  in  633,  and  did  not  pursue  that 
system  of  eradicating  every  trace  of  paganism  which  had 
been  originally  commanded  by  Gregory.  Runic  writing 
was  even  employed  in  the  service  of  Christianity.  Mr 
Kemble  (Archceologia,  vol.  xxviii.  p.  349)  interpreted  with 
great  ingenuity  the  mutilated  inscription  on  tho  famous 
cross  discovered  at  Ruthwell,  and  showed  that  it  refers  to 
the  Crucifixion.  But  the  Anglo-Saxon  alphabet  was  soon 
— early  in  the  7th  century — conformed  to  the  Latin  type, 
those  letters  of  the  older  form  alone  being  retained  which 
were  required  to  denote  sounds  that  had  no  counterparts 
in  Latin  ;  these  were  J>  (wen),  and  f  (thorn),  the  latter  of 
which  expresses  the  surd  breathing  heard  in  "thin:"  in 
order  to  express  the  corresponding  sonant  (heard  in  "Mat," 
and  confusedly  denoted  by  the  same  compound  th)  a  stroke 
was  drawn  across  the  simple  d  (6),  and  the  new  letter 
was  called  edh.  The  symbol  3  is  sometimes  found  instead 
of  y.  Curious  admixtures  of  runes  with  Latin  characters 
occasionally  occur  even  to  late  times.  Thus,  in  the  Codex 
Exoniensia  (p.  400,  ed.  Thorpe),  an  enigma  occurs  in  verso, 
and  the  parts  apparently  of  the  subject  to  be  guessed  arp 


ALPHABET 


61S 


written  in  runes;  the  odd  effect  is  increased'by  these  runes 
being  written  in  the  regular  way — (sometimes  they  were 
written  jiovo-Tpo^-qhov) — from  right  to  left,  contrary  to  the 
general  run  of  the  words.  Kemble,  in  the  Archoeologia,  has 
given  an  interesting  translation  of  an  Anglo-Saxon  poem, 
each  stanza  of  which  begins  with  the  name  of  a  runic 
letter;  thus  the  first  stanza  begins  with  Fesh,  "  money," 
the  name  of/)  the  first  runic  letter,  and  goes  on  to  say — 

"  Money  is  a  consolation 
To  every  man : 
Yet  shall  every  man 
Liberally  distribute  it ; 
If  he  will  that,  before  God, 
Honour  shall  fall  to  his  lot.'' 

The  second  stanza  is  dedicated  to  the  bull,  Ur  (a),  the 
third  to  thorn  (th),  fcc.  This  poem  accordingly  gives  the 
order  of  the  alphabet,  which  agrees  in  the  main  with  that 
of  all  other  runic  alphabets.  Yet  the  poem  is  not  old,  for 
the  name  of  s  (Sigel,  "  the  sun  ")  is  treated  by  the  writer 
as  though  it- had  been  Segel  "  a  sail" — clearly'a  mistake  of 
a  later  time,  when  the  true  name  had  passed  out  of  use. 
It  may  be  added  that  the  names  of  this  alphabet  are  some- 
times strangely  abstract ;  thus  we  find  "  gift,"  "  hope," 
"  need,"  "  war,"  which  differ  much  from  the  very  concrete 
objects  which  the  Phoenicians  chose  to  denote  their  letters. 
In  consequence  of  all  these  old  alphabets  beginning  with 
the  letters /,•«,  th,  o,  r,  c,  in  the  same  order,  the  alphabets 
are  called  by  some  antiquarians  "  futhorcs,"  just  as  we 
commonly  speak  of  the  ordinary  alphabet  as  the  ABC. 

The  doctrines  of  Christianity  were  first  presented  to  a 
Teutonic  people  in  a  written  form  by  Ulfilas,  who,  though 
not  the 'first  successful  missionary  to  the  Goths,  has  thereby 
established  his  claim  to  be  regarded  as  the  apostle  of  his 
race  ;  and  while  the  main  body  of  the  Goths,  spurning  the 
weak  control  of  Home,  poured  westward  in  their  fierce 
career  of  victory  towards  Italy  and  Spain,  a  remnant  was 
left  in  Msesia,  to  whom  Ulfilas  gave  the  gospel  in  their  own 
tongue.  This  was  at  the  end  of  the  4th  century  of  our  era. 
He  emplo}Ted  an  alphabet  of  twenty-four  or  twenty-five 
letters,  some  of  which  are  unmistakably  Greek  in  form ; 
others  are  common  (or  nearly  so)  to  the  Greek  and  the 
pinic  alphabets,  and  may  therefore  have  been  derived 
from  either  ;  but  if  they  were  runic,  they  at  least  received 
a  more  rounded  form,  it  being  no  longer  necessary  to 
retain  those  angles  which  (as  we  saw  above  in  describing 
the  cuneiform  characters)  were  most  convenient  in  days 
when  writing  meant  cutting  on  stone  or  wood.  But  some 
of  the  letters  seem  to  be  beyond  doubt  runic :  most  clearly 
so  are/,  r,  u,  y,  and  the  symbol  for  the  compound  sound 
kw  ;  and  the  reason  for  all  these  (except  r)  appears  to  be 
the  lack  of  a  proper  equivalent  in  Greek.  The  letter  which 
Ulfilas  adopted  to  denote  the  surd  breath  th  is  not  runic, 
so  that  the  Gothic  and  Anglo-Saxon  alphabets  here  differ : 
it  is  apparently  the  Greek  <p.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that 
this  letter  still  denoted  an  aspirate  (p'h)  in  Greek,  and  not 
a  breath,  otherwise  it  would  surely  have  been  taken  for/; 
here,  on  the  contrary,  it  seems  to  have  been  selected  at 
random  from  a  list  of  symbols  which  denoted  no  corre- 
sponding sounds  in  Gothic.  On  the  same  lack  of  principle 
G  was  taken  to  denote  hw.  X  was  the  exponent  of  the 
breath  ch,  as  heard  in  German  words  :  here  the  difference 
between  the  true  aspirate  and  the  breath  is  not  great. 
Long  o  formed  a  symbol  which  is  very  like  omega. 

Another  alphabet  which  has  had  an  important  influence 
on  Europe,  and  which  may  be  destined  to  a  yet  wider 
extension  as  the  alphabet  (in  a  modified  form)  of  the 
great  and  progressive  Russian  empire,  is  the  Cyrillic.  This 
was  the  work  of  Cyril,  a  monk  of  Constantinople,  who, 
together  with  Methodius  preached  the  gospel  among  the 
Sclavonic  tribes  of  Bulgaria  and  Moravia,  in  the  9th 
eentury,  long  after  the  Teutons  had  come  under  the  influ- 


ence of  Christianity.  Cyril  held  the  services  of  the  church' 
among  his  new  converts  in  the  vulgar  tongue,  into  which 
he  also  translated  certain  books  of  the  Scriptures.  The 
alphabet  which  he  employed  for'  this  purpose  is  more 
thoroughly  Greek  than  that  of  Ulfilas ;  but  since  the 
Greek  alphabet  was  not  nearly  sufficient  to  express  all  the 
Sclavonic  sounds — especially  the  numerous  sibilants — ho 
added  further  signs,  the  history  of  which  is  not  clear. 
This  alphabet  has  been  largely  adopted  by  the  eastern 
branches  of  the  Sclavonic  race,  including  the  Russians, 
Bulgarians,  and  the  IUyrian  division  of  the  Sclaves.  The 
old  Bulgarian  (commonly  called  the  Ecclesiastical  Sclavonic) 
is  the  language  into  which  Cyril  translated  the  Scriptures ; 
in  philology  it  holds  the  same  rank  as  the  Gothic  has 
among  the  Teutonic  languages  :  it  is  the  parent,  however, 
only  of  one  of  the  least  important  dialects,  the  modern 
Bulgarian.  The  Illyrian  family  is  divided  into  the  Servians 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Croats  and  Slovenian  peoples  on 
the  other.  These  parties  are  separated  by  difference  of 
religion  :  the  Servians  belong  mainly  to  the  Greek  Church, 
while  the  others  are  exclusively  Roman  Catholic ;  and  tho 
members  of  the  Greek  Church  naturally  cling  to  tho 
Cyrillic  characters,  while  the  Catholics  have  adopted  the 
Latin  alphabet.  It  is  not  easy  to  predict  which  characters 
will  ultimately  predominate.  The  Latin  letters  are  in- 
sufficient to  express  the  Sclavonic  sounds ;  but  this  deficiency 
can  be  eked  out  by  diacritical  signs,  and  the  greatest 
literary  activity  is  shown  by  the  Latinising  party.  Lastly, 
the  Cyrillic  alphabet  has  been  adopted  by  the  Wallachians, 
through  the  influence  of  their  Sclavonic  neighbours, 
though  it  is  little  adapted  to  express  their  essentially 
Latin  speech,  derived  from  the  colonists  whom  Trajan 
settled  in  the  new  Roman  province  of  Dacia.  Most  of 
the  needless  symbols  have  been  dropped  in  the  newest 
form  of  the  Wallachian  alphabet.  (See  Max  Miiller. 
Survey  of  Languages,  pp.  39-84.) 

Cyril's  original  alphabet  consisted  of  forty-eight  symbols, 
but  some  of  these  are  slightly  different  representations  of 
the  same  sound;  others  are  tachygraphies  for  combina- 
tions of  sound,  as  sht,  ts,  &.C.  The  names  were  not  Greek, 
with  the  exception  of  three — ksi,  ,psi,  and  thita — which 
were  relegated  to  the  end  as  unnecessary,  but  they  retained 
their.original  Greek  place  as  numerical  signs.  The  alphabet 
is  printed  at  the  end  of  this  article.  It  will  be  seen  that 
B  occupies  the  third  place,  while  a  modified  B  stands 
-second:  the  reason  is,  that  B  had  come  to  denote  the 
v  sound  in  Greek,  and  therefore  carried  this  value  into 
the  Sclavonic.  The  modified  letter  denotes  the  old  b  sound. 
The  7th  letter,  which  is  not  Greek,  had  the  sound  of 
English  soft/,  a  little  softer  than  the  French/  in  jamais. 
The  8th  and  9th  symbols  are  the  Greek  *  and  z:  they 
are  supposed  to  have  had  the  same  sound,  that  of  the  soft 
English  2  (not  dz) — perhaps  one  of  them  may  have  originally 
denoted  dz,  a  sound  which  easily  passes  into  dj;  dj  had  a 
special  symbol  both  in  the  Servian  and  Wallachian,  though 
it  had  none  in  the  Cyrillic,  probably  because  the  sound 
had  not  then  been  produced;  if  it  had,  we  may  conclude, 
from  the  exactness  which  the  Cyrillic  alphabet  everywhere 
shows,  that  it  would  not  have  been  left  without  a  mark. 
The  8th  letter  has  been  expelled  from  the  Russian  alphabet  aa 
superfluous :  the  Russians  have  no  dj  sound.  The  1  Oth  and 
1  lth  letters  were  sounded  alike  as  i;  the  10th  is  the  Greek 
Eta,  which  had  therefore  become  undistinguishable  from 
Iota  in  Cyril's  day,  as  it  is  in  modern  Greek.  The  1 2th 
letter,  /  pure  and  simple,  denoted  the  semi-vowel  y.  The 
22d  was  t,  followed  by  a  parasitic  y.  The  23d  and  24th 
are  only  different  ways  of  writing  the  same  combination  ou; 
the  Greeks  having  changed  the  u  sound  into  ii,  Cyril  was 
obliged  to  write  ou  for  u,  as  the  Greeks  themselves  did. 
The  Russian  has  one  symbol  (y)  to  denote  this  sound:  it  is 


614 


alphabet 


probably  a  tachygraphy  of  the  24th.  The  25th  and  26th 
denoted  respectively  the  breathings /and  German  ch.  We 
may  recall  here  the  different  treatment  of  <f>  by  Ulfilas;  it 
seems  a  fair  inference  that  the  sound  of  <£  had  changed 
from  an  aspirate  to  a  breathing  between  the  times  of 
Ulfilas  and  CyriL  The  27th  and  28th  are  the  Greek 
Omega  in  the  simple  and  in  a  modified  form:  they  de- 
noted the  sounds  heard  in  note  and  not  respectively; 
these  have  been  dropped  in  all  the  derived  alphabets,  in 
■which  the  17th  letter  does  -work  for  both.  We  now  come 
to  a  series  of  letters  (29-44)  which  are  not  Greek,  and 
denote  sounds  which  were  probably  unknown,  or  at  least 
had  no  separate  exponents,  in  the  Greek  system.  The  first 
four  are  sibilants,  simple  or  compound.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered how  the  Greek  dropped  the  large  Phoenician  stock 
of  sibilants,  through  their  own  disinclination  to  such 
.sounds.  CyriL  however,  did  not  go  back  to  the  original 
types,  but  had  recourse  to  the  inartistic  expedient  of 
using  two  or  three  upright  strokes,  with  Bmall  modifiers 
below.  Letter  29  is  the  compound  ts,  30  denotes  the  fuller 
compound  tsch  (English  ch  in  "  church"),  31  is  the  simple 
sh,  32  is  sht,  which  in  Russian  is  said  to  be  expressible 
only  by  schtsch,  unquestionably  a  very  strong  sibilant;  the 
newer  form  of  Wallachian  -used  29  to  express  dj.  The 
letters  33-36  were  attempts  to  express  the  neutral  vowel 
(heard  in  English  in  fir,  sun,  &c),  the  first  two  in  its 
aspect  nearest  to  u,  the  last  two  nearer  to  i.  The  first  and 
last  are  important  in  Russian:  they  are  written,  but  not 
pronounced;  but  the  first  hardens  a  preceding  letter,  or, 
if  it  be  a  continuous  consonant,  makes  it  be  sounded  as 
though  it  were  double.  The  36th,  on  the  contrary,  softens 
a  preceding  letter,  giving  it  the  mouille  sound.  The  34th 
letter  has  been  dropped  in  Russian;  the  35th  has  a  pecu- 
liar kind  of  i  sound.  The  37th  letter  has  an  e  sound;  it 
was  apparently  introduced  into  the  alphabet  in  consequence 
of  the  polyphony  of  the  original  e,  which  in  Russian  does 
the  work  of  e,  o,  and  as,  and  also  of  each  of  these  preceded 
by  the  semi-vowel  y ;  but  as  the  new  letter  has  three  of  these 
sounds,  there  is  not  much  gain  of  clearness.   A  third  symbol, 

however,  has  been  introduced — an  inverted  e,  P,  which  did 

not  belong  to  the  Cyrillic  alphabet:  it  is  used  at  the  begin- 
ning of  words  where  the  pure  e  sound  is  heard — not  ye,  and 
also  in  foreign  words  beginning  with  os.  Letters  38-40  are 
compounds  expressing  the  v.,  a,  and  e  sounds,  preceded 
by  y.  The  combinations  seem  to  us  needless,  but  the 
Greek  had  no  symbol  for  y;  therefore  Cyril  probably 
thought  it  necessary  to  connect  the  I-symbol  with  the 
following  vowel,  in  order  to  show  that  it  was  only  the 
eeroi-vowel,  not  a  full  vowel,  which  would  have  caused 
another  syllable.  The  first  of  these  symbols  has  been 
retained  in  Russian  unchanged;  the  second  is  now  written 


rather  like  an  invertca  r  A;  the  third  was  suffered  to 
drop— whenco  arose  the  confusion  respecting  «  which  we 
have  just  mentioned.  Nos.  41  and  42  denote  nasalised 
voweb,  e  and  o,  as  heard  in  the  French  en  and  on:  these 
sounds  seem  to  have  fallen  out  of  all  Sclavonic  languages, 
except  the  Polish.  43  and  44  denote  the  same  vowels 
"  pre-iotised,"  like  'the  three  38—40 :  theso  aiso  are  now 
unknown.  Then  came  the  Greek  Ksi  and  Psi,  the  char- 
acters being  very  slightly  altered :  they  have  fallen  out  of  use 
altogether.  No.  47,  Thita, is  retainedin  Russian,  but  sounded 
as  an  f,  which  has  thus  two  exponents,  0  and  <j>.  Lastly 
came  the  equivalent  of  the  Greek  Upsilon  called  ijica:  this 
is  employed  in  Russian  in  words  borrowed  from  the  Greek. 
Fourteen  of  these  letters  have  been  expelled  from  the 
Russian  alphabet,  namely  8,  11,  22,  23,  27,  28,  34,  40-46; 
their  list  of  35  letters  is  made  up  by  the  addition  of  the 
inverted  e,  which  stands  in  the  31st  place  of  the  alphabet. 
The  forms  of  the  letters  are  more  rounded  than  those  of 
Cyril,  as  will  be  seen  by  a  comparison  of  the  two.  This 
refcrm,  among  others,  was  due  to  Peter  the  Great,  who 
printed  the  first  Russian  periodical  at  Moscow  in  1704. 
(Max  Miiller,  Survey,  p.  49.) 

,  The  Servian  alphabet  differs  from  the  Russian  chiefly 
by  the  insertion  of  symbols  to  denote  modification  of  sound 
caused  by  a  following  y.  Thus  we  find  a  character  to 
express  dy  (equivalent  to  the  Hungarian  gy  heard  in 
"Magyar");  another  for  ly,  denoting  the  sound  of  the 
Italian  gli;  another  for  ny,  the  Italian  and  French  gn; 
and  one  for  ty,  a  softer  sound  than  the  tsch,  the  symbol 
for  which  is  common  to  Russian  and  Servian. 

The  Wallachian  adopted  nearly  all  the  Cyrillic  charac- 
ters, except  the  superfluous  vowel-symbols  and  the  nasalised 
vowels.  The  list  was  soon  considerably  shortened,  as  was 
natural  in  a  language  originally  non-Sclavonic,  though  m 
the  course  of  time  it  has  naturally  borrowed  many  words 
from  its  neighbours.  Since  it  has  been  used  for  literary 
purposes,  it  has  been  further  diminished  to  27  symbols  by 
the  loss  of  the  short  sibilant  (32),  the  second  e,  and  tho 
iotised  a;  the  other  iotised  vowels  had  gone  before.  The 
forms  of  the  characters  have  also  been  much  assimilated  to 
the  Latin  types:  instead  of  the  peculiar  symbol  for  sch, 
which  the  Russian  retains,  the  new  Wallachian  has  a  J 
with  a  wavy  stroke  through  the  middle;  n  is  written  as  N, 
not  as  H ;  and  Cyril's  combinations  of  perpendicular  lines 
are  more  rounded  than  the  Russian.     The  Wallachian  has 


f 


to  denote  the  sound  tin. 


one  special  symbol 

We  have  thus  described  the  alphabets  used  in  modern 
Europe.  The  only  others  which  have  any  special  interest 
for  Englishmen  are  the  different  Indian  alphabets;  but 
these  are  too  numerous  and  complicated  to  be  fully 
described  here.  (j.  P.) 


CYRILLIC  AND  RUSSIAN  ALPHABETS. 

CYR    ; 

RUSS. 

CYR.    |     RUSS. 

CYR      j    RUSS. 

CYR 

RUSS. 

CYR 

RUSS. 

CYR     :     RUSS. 

a    a 

A    a 

H 

h II II  n ft 

P        f 

P    P 

G)    co 

%      * 

'B   * 

% 

5  ! 

n    c 

B     6 

1 

■  1 

C     c 

C    c 

M    M 

U.   H 

D      3 

i|C 

* 

K      E 

B      B 

1 

ijl  iX 

T       T 

Ttiu 

Y      Y 

^   T. 

K)  io 

10    H> 

e 

*  |  9    e 

r    r 

r   r 

K 

k|k   k 

H    t 

HI    ui 

lllou 

IA    n 

K    A 

Y 

v  j  y  v 

A    A 

A   A 

A 

n\JL   ji 

0\  oy 

ql  .,. 

lUm 

l€    k\ 

e    e 

E    e 

M 

1.1 '  -M     M 

r>    h 

y  y 

'L    * 

T>  t 

Ik     A 

Sti     SK 

)K  a 

II 

H    II      H 

O  $ 

<£   « 

11  i,i 

Si    s 

S    s 

O 

oiO    o 

X    ?s 

X  x 

LI     M 

LI  ii 

IA     IA 

3     * 

3      3 

JL 

n  n    n 

(O    (0 

h     b 

b     B 

\J\    Hi 

ALF-ALf 


615 


ALPHEUS,  (A\<£«os),  the  chief  river  of  Peloponnesus, 
now  called  Patfia  or  Eoiiphi.  Its  sources  are  in  the 
mountains  of  Arcadia,  to  the  east  of  Megalopolis.  Being 
•fed  by  a  great  number  of  small  streams,  it  becomes  navi- 
gable, and  traversing  Elis,  empties  itself  into  the  Ionian 
sea.  At  several  points  in  its  course  it  run3  in  a  subter- 
ranean channel  This  fact  probably  gave  rise  to  the  well- 
known  myth  which  represents  Alpheus,  the  river-god, 
as  passing  under  the  sea  to  the  nymph  Arethusa,  who  had 
been  changed  into  a  fountain  in  the  island  of  Ortygia. 
Milton  in  his  Arcades  thus  alludes  to  the  story — 

"  That  renowned  flood,  so  often  sung, 
Divine  Alpheus,  who  by  secret  sluice 
Stole  under  seas  to  meet  hi3  Arethuse." 

ALPHOXSO,  Alfonso.  Alonzo,  Affoxso,  or  Ildefoxso. 
This  name,  so  famous  in  the  annals  of  the  Spanish  peninsula, 
has  been  borne  by  no  fewer  than  twenty-two  of  its  sovereigns 
— viz.,  by  ten  of  the  Asturias  and  Leon,  one  of  Castile  when 
separate  from  Leon,  five  of  Aragon,  and  six  of  Portugal. 

1st,  Asturias  and  Leon. — ALrnoxso  I.,  surnamed  "  The 
Catholic,"  King  of  the  Asturias,  the  son  of  Pedro,  duke  of 
Biscay,  was  born  in  the  year  693.  On  the  death  of  Favila, 
the  sou  of  Pelayo,  Alphonso,  who  had  married  Ormisinda, 
the  daughter  of  the  latter,  was  proclaimed  king  of  Asturias. 
During  his  whole  reign  he  was  engaged  in  almost  perpetual 
conflicts  with  the  Moors,  and  is  said  to  have  wrested  Leon, 
Galicia,  and  Castile  from  their  hands.  His  zeal  for  the 
church,  displayed  in  endowing  and  repairing  monasteries 
and  churches,  gained  for  him  his  surname  of  "  The 
Catholic."  Alphonso  died  at  Cangas  in  757,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  Fruela  I. 

Alphoxso  II.,  surnamed  "The  Chaste,"  King  of  the  Astu- 
rias, the  son  of  Fruela  I.,  was  but  a  child  when  his  father 
was  assassinated  in  768,  and  consequently  his  claims  to 
the  throne  were  passed  over  in  favour  of  Aurelio,  who  was 
probably  a  cousin  of  Fruela.  Alphonso  was  invested  with 
regal  authority  by  Silo,  the  successor  of  Aurelio  j  on  whose 
death,  in  7S3,  he  became  sole  ruler.  He  was  afterwards 
dethroned  by  his  uncle  Mauregato,  and  was  compelled  to 
retire  into  Biscay.  Mauregato,  after  a  reign  of  about  five 
years,  was  succeeded  by  Bermudo,  who,  in  791,  took 
Alphonso  as  his  partner  on  the  throne.  Bermudo  reigned 
for  only  about  four  years  longer.  A  rebellion  of  many  of 
the  chief  nobles  in  802  compelled  Alphonso  to  surrender 
lis  throne  for  the  third  time ;  but  he  was  soon  afterwards 
restored,  mainly  through  the  assistance  of  Theudius,  one 
of  his  most  faithful  followers.  In  addition  to  having  to 
defend  himself  against  these  internal  dissensions,  Alphonso 
was  during  the  greater  part  of  his  reign  at  war  with  the 
Moors,  obtaining,  among  other  successes,  a  signal  victory 
over  Mohammed,  governor  of  Merida,  in  830.  Alphonso 
died  in  8-13,  in  the  city  of  Oviedo,  which  he  had  greatly 
adorned  and  made  the  capital  of  his  kingdom.  He  had 
some  years  previously  abdicated  in  favour  of  Kamiro,  son 
of  Bermudo.  His  surname  of  "  The  Chaste  "  has  been 
connected  by  some  with  the  legend  that  he  refused  to  pay 
the  Moors  their  tribute  of  a  hundred  Spanish  virgins,  but 
is  rather  to  be  ascribed  to  his  vow  to  preserve  an  absolute 
continence. 

Alphonso  LTL,  surnamed  "The  Great,"  King  of  the  As- 
turias, was  born  in  the  year  848,  and  succeeded  his  father 
Ordono  I.  in  866.  In  the  following  year,  Fruela,  count  of 
Galicia,  disputed  Alphonso's  right  of  succession,  and  forced 
Mm  to  retire  to  Alava ;  but  Fruela's  tyranny  so  exasper- 
ated the  people  that  he  was  assassinated  before  he  had 
been  a  year  in  power,  and  they  gladly  recalled  Alphonso  to 
the  throne.  Other  conspiracies  marked  the  beginning 
of  Alphonso's  reign,  but  he  soon  felt  himself  tolerably 
.secure  at  home,  and  turned  his  arms  against  the  Moors. 
13y  901,  the  year  in  which  he  gained  a  splendid  victory  at 


Zamora,  he  had,  it  is  said,  extended  his  empire  to  the 
banks  of  the  Guadiana,  and  had,  by  founding  and  fortifying 
cities,  made  good  his  hold  over  a  large  part  of  the  con- 
quered territory.  But  Alphonso's  victories  abroad  wero 
greatly  neutralised  by  discontent  among  his  own  subjects, 
who  found  it  difficult  to  bear  the  heavy  war  taxes  that  had 
been  imposed  upon  them.  There  was  a  rising  under  Ano 
in  885,  and  another  under  Witiza  in  894 ;  and  in  907  a 
more  formidable  insurrection  broke  out,  headed  by  Garcia, 
the  king's  eldest  son.  Garcia  was  defeated  and  taken 
prisoner ;  but  as  the  greater  part  of  the  nation  sided  with 
the  queen  in  demanding  that  he  should  bo  released, 
Alphonso,  either  wishing  to  prevent  a  civil  war,  or  think- 
ing that  his  cause  was  hopeless,-  resigned  his  crown  to  his 
son  in  901.  After  his  abdication,  Alphonso,  offering  hi* 
services  to  his  son  in  the  true  spirit  of  the  ago,  led  an 
expedition  against  the  Moors,  in  which  he  gaiued  fresh 
victories.  He  died  towards  the  end  of  the  same  year  (901). 
He  was  the  last  monarch  who  bore  the  title  King  of  Astu- 
rias, his  successors  being  called  kings  of  Leon,  from  the 
new  capital  of  the  kingdom.  It  wa3  in  his  reign  that  the 
counts  of  Navarre  became  independent.  There  is  still 
extant  a  Latin  chronicle,  treating  of  the  history  of  Spain 
from  the  Moorish  invasion  down  to  the  death  of  Ordoiio, 
which  is  usually  attributed  to  Alphonso. 

Axphokso  IV.,  "  The  Monk,"  King  of  Leon,  succeeded 
Fruela  II.,  his  uncle  in  924.  On  the  death  of  his  wLe, 
about  six  years  afterwards,  he  resigned  his  crown  to  his 
hrother  Bamiro,  and  retired  into  a  cloister ;  but  soon  grow- 
ing weary  of  monastic  life,  he  made  an  attempt  to  resume 
the  sceptre.  He  was,  however,  taken  prisoner  at  Leon, 
and  confined  in  the  monastery  of  St  Julien,  where  he  died, 
probably  about  two  and  a  half  years  after. 

AxrHoxso  V.  succeeded  his  father  Bermudo  IT.  in  999, 
being  then  about  five  years  of  age.  Gonsalez,  count  of 
Galicia,  and  his  wife,  were,  by  appointment  of  Bermudo  II., 
guardians  of  the  young  king ;  and  on  arriving  at  manhood 
he  married  their  daughter  Elvira.  The  regency  is  remark- 
able for  the  defeat  and  death  of  the  famous  Moor  Almansur 
in  1002 — a  success  that  led  ultimately  to  the  conquest  of 
Cordova  by  the  Christians.  Alphonso  himself  made  war 
upon  the  Moors,  recapturing  Leon  and  other  places  that 
had  been  lost  during  his  minority.  Alphonso  died  at  the 
siege  of  Viseo  in  1028.  He  was  succeeded  in  the  king- 
dom of  Leon  by  his  son  Bermudo  III.,  while  the  hitherto 
dependent  countship  of  Castile  became  a  separate  kingdom 
under  the  sovereignty  of  Sancho  el  Mayor,  king  of  Navarre, 
and  husband  of  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  late  count. 

Alphonso  VI.  of  LeoD,  and  eventually  I.  of  Castile, 
surnamed  "  The  Valiant,"  was  born  in  the  year  1030.  His 
father,  Fernando  the  Great,  who  in  his  own  right  was 
king  of  Castile  only,  but  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Leon 
in  right  of  his  wife,  died  in  1065,  leaving  his  kingdom 
divided  among  his  children.  Sancho,  the  eldest  son, 
received  as  his  portion  Castile ;  to  Alphonso  was  given  the 
kingdom  of  Leon,  the  territory  of  Campos,  part  of  Asturias, 
and  some  towns  in  Galicia ;  and  Garcia  the  youngest 
brother,  received  a  part  of  Galicia  and  of  Portugal;  while 
the  towns  of  Toro  and  Zamora  were  left  to  Urraca  and 
Elvira,  Fernando's  two  daughters.'  Peace  was  not  long 
maintained  between  the  three  brothers;  In  1068  Sancho 
made  war  upon  Alphonso,  and  defeated  him  in  a  bloody 
battle  at  Piantica,  on  the  Pisuerga.  In  1071,  hostilities, 
which  seem  to  have  been  suspended,  again  commenced, 
and  Alphonso  having  recruited  his  army,  defeated  Sancho 
at  a  place  called  Valpellage,  on  the  banks  of  the  Carrion  ; 
but  the  latter,  being  reinforced,  it  is  said  by  the  famous 
Koderigo  Diaz  de  Bivar,  commonly  called  "  The  Cid,"  made 
an  attack  during  the  night,  and  almost  exterminated  the 
Leonnese  army,  Alphonso  himself  being  taken  prisoner.  _  Ha 


616 


ALFHONSO 


was  compelled  to  abdicate  his  throne,  and  was  imprisoned 
in  the  monastery  of  Sahagun,  probably  with  the  intention 
of  making  him  become  a  monk ;  but  escaping  from  this 
place  of  confinement,  he  sought  refuge  with  Almamun,  the 
Moorish  king  of  Toledo,  who  received  him  with  great  hospi- 
tality. Sancho  having  taken  possession  of  Leon,  advanced 
into  Oalicia  against  Garcia.  The  two  brothers  met  at 
Santarem,  when  the  Galicians  were  defeated  with  great 
slaughter,  and  Garcia  himself  captured  and  thrown  into 
prison.  Sancho  was  assassinated  in  1073,  and  Alphonso, 
after  making  a  solemn  declaration  that  ho  was  guiltless  of 
his  brother's  death,  was  reinstated  in  his  own  dominion, 
besides  receiving  his  brother's  kingdom  of  Castile.  Garcia, 
who  had  been  liberated  on  the  death  of  his  brother,  was 
preparing  to  recover  his  throne,  when  Alphonso,  having 
treacherously  invited  him  to  his  court,  shut  him  up  in  the 
castle  of  Luna,  where  he  died  ten  years  afterwards.  Being 
now  the  undisputed  master  of  nearly  all  his  father's  king- 
dom, Alphonso  was  at  liberty  to  turn  his  arms  against  the 
Moors.  His  first  expedition,  in  1074,  was  in  defence  of 
Almamun  of  Toledo,  who  had  befriended  him  in  his  ad- 
versity, and  whose  kingdom  was  now  invaded  by  the  Cor- 
dovans. Some  years  later,  however,  disregarding  the 
ties  of  gratitude,  he  himself  laid  waste  the  territories  of 
Yahia  ben  Ismail,  the  son  and  successor  of  Almamun,  and 
ended  by  taking  the  city  of  Toledo  itself  in  1085.  Many 
parts  of  Spain,  hitherto  subject  to  the  Moors,  were  now 
added  to  the  empire  of  Alphonso ;  and  it  is  not  improbable 
that  he  would  have  reduced  the  entire  peninsula  to  his 
sway,  had  not  a  new  and  formidable  power  arisen,  which 
threatened  to  undo  all  he  and  his  predecessors  had  accom- 
plished. A  large  army  of  Moors  from  Africa,  under  Yussef 
ben  Tashfyn,  one  of  the  Almoravides,  entered  Spain,  and, 
with  the  assistance  of  Ben  Abad,  king  of  Seville,  inflicted 
i  terrible  defeat  upon  Alphonso  near  Zalaca,  in  the  year 
108G.  Fortunately  for  the  Christian  cause,  the  Moorish 
chiefs  began  to  quarrel  among  themselves,  and  Alphonso 
was  enabled  not  only  to  recover  his  position,  but  even  to 
extend  his  conquests  in  some  directions.  In  1108,  how- 
ever, the  Almoravides  made  another  serious  attempt  to 
destroy  the  power  of  Alphonso.  A  bloody  battle  was 
fought  at  Ucles,  in  which  the  Leonnese  army  was  com- 
pletely defeated,  and  Sancho,  Alphonso's  only  son,  who 
commanded  in  place  of  his  father,  slain.  Alphonso  died 
at  Toledo  in'  1109,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  daughter 
(Jrraca,  whose  husband,  Alphonso  I.  of  Aragon,  is  by 
some  historians  enumerated  among  the  kings  of  Leon 
as  Alphonso  VII.  Through  his  illegitimate  daughter 
Teresa,  whom  he  gave  in  marriage  to  Henry  of  Burgundy, 
Alphonso  became  an  ancestor  of  the  kings  of  Portugal. 
Alphonso  VII.,  the  same  as  Alphonso  L  of  Aragon 

(*■"■> 

Alphonso  VIII.  of  Leon  (or  v  L,  according  to  those 

who  do  not  consider  Alphonso  ui  Aragon  as  properly  a 
king  of  Leon)  and  II.  (or  IIL)  of  Castile,  often  called 
Alphonso  Raymond  and  "  The  Emperor,"  was  born  in 
the  year  1106.  He  was  the  son  of  Urraca,  daughter 
of  Alphonso  VL,  and  Raymond  of  Burgundy,  her  first 
husbaud.  In  1112  he  was  proclaimed  king  of  Galicia,  by 
whom  it  does  not  clearly  appear;  in  1122  he  was  associated 
with  his  mother  in  the  government  of  Leon  and  Castile ; 
and  on  her  death  in  1126  he  became  sole  monarch.  Soon 
after  this  event  he  made  war  upon  his  stepfather,  Alphonso 
of  Aragon,-  in  order  to  recover  the  territories,  properly 
belonging  to  Leon  and  Castile,  which  had  been  lost  owing 
to  his  mother's  misgovernment.  The  two  kings  came  to 
an  agreement  about  the  year  1129,  Alphonso  of  Leon 
having  regained  most  of  .his  possessions.  In  1135, 
Alphonso,  elated  by  the  homage  of  the  king  of  Navarre 
and  the  cs-.ir.t3  of  Barcelona  and  Toulouse,  caused  himself 


to  be  solemnly  crowned  emperor  of  Spain.  This  dignity 
was,  however,  little  more  than  a,  name,  for  Alphonso 
llenriqucz  of  Portugal  and  Garcia  Ramiro  of  Navarro 
declared  war  upon  the  new  emperor  almost  immediately 
after  his  elevation.  Intestine  feuds  between  the  various 
Christian  princes  of  Spain,  which  resulted  in  no  very 
definite  gain  to  any  of  them,  lasted  until  the  advance  of 
large  Moorish  armies  under  the  Almohades  compelled  tbo 
Christians  to  turn  against  their  common  foe.  Alphonso 
invaded  Andalusia  in  1150,  and  gained  several  victories, 
which  contributed  greatly  to  the  extension  of  ChristiaD 
territory  in  Spain.  He  died  in  1157  at  Tremada,  on  hi* 
return  from  an  indecisive  battle  with  Cid  Yussef  at  Jaen  ; 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  elder  son,  Sancho,  in  the  throne  of 
Castile,  and  by  his  younger,  Fernando,  in  that  of  Leon. 
In  1156  he  instituted  the  order  of  St  Julien,  afterwards  so 
celebrated  under  the  name  Alcantara  (q.v.\ 

Alphonso  IX.  (VIII.),  King  of  Leon  only,  succeeded  his 
father  Fernando  in  1 1 88.  In  1 1 90  he  sought  to  strengthen! 
his  position  by  marrying  his  cousin  Teresa  of  Portugal. 
This  marriage,  being  within  the  forbidden  degrees,  was  pro- 
nounced null  by  the  pope  (Celestine  III.),  who  excom- 
municated Alphonso  and  his  queen  until  1195,  when  they 
agreed  to  separate.  In  1197  Alphonso  a  second  time  defied 
the  papal  authority  by  marrying  his  cousin  Berengaria, 
daughter  of  Alphonso  III.  of  Castile,  with  a  view  of  putting 
a  stop  to  the  frequent  quarrels  between  the  two  kingdoms. 
As  before,  the  pope  (Innocent  III.)  prevailed,  and  in 
1204  the  separation  took  place,  Innocent,  however,  granting 
that  the  children  already  born  should  be  recognised  as 
legitimate.  After  the  dissolution  of  the  marriage  the  old 
chronic  state  of  feud  between  the  two  kings  returned,  and 
was  kept  up,  although  with  little  actual  warfare,  until  the. 
death  of  Alphonso  of  Castile  inl214.  In  1217,  Fernando, 
the  eldest  son  of  Alphonso  and  Berengaria,  became  king 
of  Castile.  Alphonso,  thinking  that  his  own  claims  had 
been  unjustly  passed  over,  declared  war  upon  his  son ;  but 
finding  that  the  people  preferred  Fernando,  he  relinquished 
his  claims.  The  remainder  of  Alphonso's  reign  was  chiefly 
spent  in  campaigns  against  the  Moors.  Along  with  his 
son,  he  captured  Merida,  Badajoz,  and  other  cities  ;  and  in 
1230  gained  a  brilliant  victory  over  Mohammed  Ibn  Hud 
at  Merida.  He  died  in  the  same  year,  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  son  Fernando,  who  thus  finally  united  the  kingdoms 
of  Leon  and  Castile.. 

Alphonso  X.,  surnamed  El  Sabio,  or  "  The  Wise,"  King 
of  Leon  and  Castile,  was  born  in  1221,  and  succeeded  his 
father  Fernando  IIL  in  1252.  Ho  ascended  the  throne 
with  the  entire  approbation  cf  his  subjects,  and  with  every 
prospect  of  a  happy  reign ;  but,  through  the  ill-directed 
aims  of  his  ambition,  few  sovereigns  have  been  more 
unfortunate.  He  first  attempted  to  gain  possession  of 
Gascony,  contending  that  he  had  a  better -right  to  that 
province  than  Henry  IIL  of  England.  The  arms  of 
England,  however,  proved  too  formidable ;  and  he  agreed 
to  renounce  his  claim  on  condition  that  Henry's  son, 
afterwards  Edward  I.,  should  many  his  sister  Eleonora. 
The  marriage  was  solemnised  with  great  pomp  and  magni- 
ficence towards  the  end  of  October  1254.  Alphonso's  next 
act  was  to  lay  claim  to  the  duchy  of  Swabia,  which  ho 
believed  to  be  his  in  right  of  his  mother  Beatrix,  daughter 
of  the  late  duke.  This  claim  was  passed  over,  but  when 
advancing  it  Alphonso  formed  a  connection  with  tho 
German  princes,  and  in  1256  became  a  competitor,  against 
Richard,  Earl  of  Cornwall,  for  the  imperial  crown.  Ho 
was  again  unsuccessful,  the  Earl  of  Cornwall  being  elected 
by  a  small  majority.  In  1271,  on  the  death  of  Richard, 
he  a  second  time  attempted  to  make  himself  emperor  of 
Germany,  and  even  after  Rodolph  of  Hapsburghad  actually 
been  elected,  he  undertook  a  fruitless  journey  to  Beaucaire 


ALPHONSO 


617 


in  order  to  prevent  the  pope  (Gregory  X.)  from  confirm- 
ing the  election.  These  repeated  attempts  to  increase  hk 
dignity  weakened  rather  than  strengthened  the  power  of 
Alphonso,  and  forced  him  to  impose  heavy  taxes  upon  his 
subjects,  and  even  to  debase  the  coinage,  thus  producing 
much  discontent  and  disturbance,  while  the  Moors  were 
ever  ready  ta  take  advantage  of  any  misfortunes  that 
might  happen  to  him.  From  1261  to  1266  he  was 
engaged  in  a  war  with  Mohammed  of  Granada,  during 
which  hi3  army  suffered  several  defeats.  In  1270  an 
insurrection  broke  out,  headed  by  Felipe,  brother  of  the 
king,  who  was  assisted  by  Mohammed  of  Granada ;  it 
was  only  quelled  after  nearly  all  their  demands  had  been 
conceded  to  the  rebels.  In  1275,  when  Alphonso  was 
absent  on  his  fruitless  journey  to  Beaucaire,  his  eldest  son, 
Fernando  de  la  Cerda,  died,  an  event  which,  raising  as  it 
did  the  question  of  the  succession  to  the  crown,  threatened 
anew  to  involve  the  kingdom  in  war.  Sancho,  Alphonso's 
second  son',  was,  according  to  the  law  of  the  Visigoths, 
proclaimed  heir  by  the  Cortes  at  Segovia;  but  Philip 
of  France,  uncle  of  the  two  young  sons  of  Fernando, 
declared  war  with  Alphonso  on  their  behalf;  actual 
hostilities  were,  however,  prevented  by  the  intercession  of 
Pope  Nicolas  III.  'In  1281,  Sancho,  irritated  probably  by 
some  attempt  that  Alphonso  had  made  to  favour  the  sons 
of  Fernando,  raised  the  standard  of  revolt  against  his 
father.  Sancho,  who  was  a  favourite  with  the  people, 
having  secured  the  assistance  of  Mohammed  of  Granada, 
reduced  hia  father  to  such  extremities  that  the  latter 
solemnly  cursed  and  disinherited  his  son,  an  act  which  he 
confirmed  by  Ms  will  in  1283,  and  at  the  same  time 
solicited  aid  from  the  king  of  Marocco.  At.  the  com- 
mencement of  the  following  year,  however,  Alphonso,  on 
receiving  intelligence  from  Salamanca  that  Sancho  was 
dangerously  ill,  pardoned  him.  Alphonso  died  a  few  days 
afterwards,  on  4th  April  1284  He  was  a  learned  prince, 
and  a  great  encourager  of  learning,  brave  and  energetic, 
but  at  the  same  time  restless  and  ambitious.  He  has  befe 
charged  with  impiety,  chiefly  on  account  of  a  well-known 
saying  of  his,  that  "  had  he  been  present  at  tha  creation,  he 
could  have  given  some  useful  hints  for  the  better  ordering  of 
the  universe."  To  him  science  is  indebted  for  a  set  of  astro- 
nomical observations  known  as  the  Alphonsine  Tables,  which 
were  drawn  up  under  his  auspices  by  the  best  astronomers  of 
the  age;  and  in  the  palace  of  Segovia  a  room  is  still  shown 
as  the  observatory  of  Alphonso.  He  was  also  distinguished 
as  a  poet  and  as  a  legislator.  In  the  Escurial  is  preserved 
a  curious  manuscript  containing  some  hymns  of  his  com- 
position ;  and  he  was  the  principal  compiler  of  a  code  of 
laws  which  is  still  extant  under  the  name  of  Las  Sieie 
Partidas. 

Alphonso  XI.,  "  The  Avenger,"  was  an  infant  when  he 
succeeded  his  father,  Ferdinand  IV.,  in  1312.  During 
his  long  minority  the  kingdom  was  cruelly  distracted  by 
intestine  warfare.  Assuming  the  reins  of _  government  in 
1324,  he  strove  to  repress  the  turbulent  spirit  of  the 
nobility,  and  to  put  down  that  system  of  brigandage  to 
which  it  had  given  rise,  acquiring  by  his  inflexible  severity 
the  title  of  "  The  Avenger."  He  lost  Gibraltar  in  1 329,  but 
as  commander  of  the  allied  armies  of  Catholic  Spain,  on 
the  29th  Oct.  1340  he  gained  a  complete  victory  over  the 
kings  of  Morocco  and  Granada  at  the  Salado.  The 
slaughter  was  immense,  and  the  booty  so  rich  that  the 
value  of  gold  is  said  to  have  fallen  one-sixteenth.  "In 
1342  Alphonso  laid  siege  to  Algeciras,  where  cannon 
were  employed  for  the  first  time  in  Europe  by  the  Moors 
in  defence  of  their  walls.  This  siege  had  lasted  two  years, 
when  the  Moors  capitulated  on  condition  of  a  truce  between 
the  two  nations  for  ten  years;  but  the  king  of  Castile 
broke  his  word  a  few  years  after  by  besiegiag  Gibraltar, 

1—21* 


where  he  died  of  the  plague  on  the  26th  March  1350, 
aged  40.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Pedro  the  Cruel. 
From  this  reign  dates  the  institution  of  regidors  or 
jurats,  to  whom  was  committed  the  administration  of 
the  communes;  and  these  regidors  became  the  exclusive 
electors  of  the  Cortes,  in  which  the  people  ceased  to  have 
a  voice. 

2c?,  Castile. — Alphonso  III.  (according  to  other  enume- 
rations, Viri.  or  IX.),  surnamed  "  The  Noble,"  is  the  only 
king  of  Castile  of  the  name  who  was  not  also  king  of  Leon. 
He  was  born  in  1155,  and  succeeded  his  father,  Sancho  III., 
in  1158.  Hia  minority  was  disturbed  by  the  contention 
of  the  two  powerful  houses  of  Lara  and  Castro  for  the 
regency ;  but  after  his  marriage  with  Eleanor,  daughter 
of  Henry  II.  of  England,  he  was  proclaimed  sole  ruler. 
After  compelling  the  kings  of  Aragon,  Navarre,  and  Leon 
to  surrender  the  territories  they  had  taken  possession  of 
during  his  minority,  he  turned  his  arms  against  the  Moors, 
and  at  Alarcos,  in  1195,  sustained  one  of  the  most  terrible 
defeats  recorded  in  the  annals  of  Spain.  This  disaster 
encouraged  the  kings  of  Leon  and  Navarre  to  renew  their 
hostilities,  which  were  carried  on  for  several  years  with 
varying  success.  In  1211  the  Moors  again  threatened 
Castile ;  but  in  the  following  year,  Alphonso,  along  with 
Pedro  II.  of  Aragon  and  Sancho  VIL  of  Navarre,  gained 
a  most  complete  and  splendid  victory  over  them  at  La 
Navas  de  Tolosa.  Alphonso  died  at  Garci  Mufioa  in 
1214,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Enrique  I.  Alphonso 
was  a  patron  of  literature,  and  in  1208  founded  a  university 
at  Ealencia,  the  first  in  Christian  Spain.  ,  This  university 
was  afterwards  transferred  to  Salamanca. 

3c?,  Aragon. — Alphonso  I.,  surnamed  El  Batallador, 
"The  Fighter,"  King  of  Navarre  and  Aragon,  was  the 
second  son  of  Don  Sancho  Ramirez,  and  succeeded  hia 
brother  Pedro  I.  in  1104.  '  By  his  marriage  in  1109  with 
Urraca,  daughter  and  heiress  of  Alphonso  VI.  of  Leon  and 
Castile,  he  became  her  associate  in  the  government  of 
these  kingdoms,  and  in  the  same  year  assumed  the  title 
of  "  Emperor  of  all  Spain."  Misunderstandings  soon 
arose  between  Alphonso  .and  his  wife,  and  he  separated 
from  her  shortly  after  their  marriage,  an  act  which  was 
confirmed  by  the  council  of  Palencia  in  1114.  Alphonso, 
however,  refusedto  give  up  his  claims  to  the  kingdoms  of 
Leon  and  Castile,  and  maintained  a  constant  struggle  with 
Urraca  till  her  death  in  1126.  Alphonso's  chief  victories 
were  gained  over  the  Moors.  He  laid  siege  to  Saragossa 
for  the  first  time  in  1114,  but  the  city  was  not  captured 
until  1118,  after  several  bloody  battles  had  been  fought  in 
its  neighbourhood.  In  1120  his  territories  were  menaced 
by  a  large  force  sent  against  him  by  Ali  ;  but  engaging  tha 
enemy  near  Daroca,  he  left  20,000  Almoravides  dead  on 
the  field.  Three  years  afterwards,  while  the  king  of 
Marocco  was  fully  occupied  at  home  by  the  rise-  of  a 
dangerous  sect  of  Almohades,  Alphonso  seized  the  oppor- 
tunity to  invade  Valencia.  In  1125  he  undertook  a  new 
expedition  against  Granada  in  aid  of  the  Mozarabcs  or 
Christian  Moors.  The  Moors  in  their  reprisals  invaded 
Estremadura,  and  defeated  the  Castiliana  near  Badajoz. 
The  king  of  Aragon,  so  far  from  rendering  his  neighbour 
any  assistance,  determined  to  take  advantage  of  the 
critical  position  of  Alphonso  Raymond,  as  well  as  of  the 
troubles  which  the  death  of  Urraca  had  occasioned  in 
several  parts  -of  his  dominions,  but  when  on  the  point  of 
battle  the  two  kings  came  to  an  agreement  Alphonso 
next  crossed  the  Pyrenees,  and  captured  the  cities  of 
Bordeaux  in  1130,  and  Bayonne  in°1131.  On  his  return 
to  Spain  he  took  Mequinenza  from  the  Moors  in  1133,  and 
invested  Fraga  in  1134,  where,  during  a  sally  from  the 
town,  he  received  a  wound  from  which  he  died  a  few  days 
after. 


618 


ALPHONSO 


Alphonso  TI.  was  born  in  1152,  aud  in  1163  succeeded 
his  father,  Raymondo  V.,  as  count  of  Barcelona,  his 
mother,  Petronilla,  daughter  of  Ramiro  II.,  king  of  Aragon, 
at  the  same  time  resigning  that  kingdom  to  him.  He  was 
frequently  at  war  with  Raymondo  of  Toulouse,  and  also 
directed  an  expedition  against  the  Almohades,  from  which 
the  invasion  of  Aragon  by  Sancho  of  Navarre  recalled  him. 
tHe  assisted  Alphonso  of  Castile  against  Cuenca,  for  which 
service  he  was  relieved  from  doing  homage  to  Castile.  He 
died  in  1196.  He  was  a  patron  of  the  troubadours,  and 
wrote  some  poems  in  the  Provencal  language. 

Alphonso  III.,  the  son  of  Pedro  HI.,  was  born  in  1265, 
and  in  1285,  on  the  death  of  his  father,  being -absent  in 
Majorca  on  an  expedition  against  his  uncle  Jayme,  assumed 
the  title  of  king  without  taking  the  oaths  of  adherence  to 
the  articles  to  which  his  predecessors  had  subscribed. 
When  he  returned  in  1286,  however,  he  was  compelled  to 
go  through  the  usual  coronation  ceremony.  In  1287  ho 
signed  the  Privilege  of  Union,  which  permitted  his  subjects 
to  have  recourse  to  arms  to  defend  their  liberties,  and 
invested  the  jmtizero  with  the  power  of  citing  the  king 
himself  to  appear  before  the  Cortes.  Alphonso's  chief 
■wars  were  with  Jayme  of  Majorca,  Sancho  of  Castile,  and 
the  pope.     He  died  in  1291. 

Alphonso  IV.,  son  of  Jayme  II.,  was  born  in  1299, 
and  ascended  the  throne  in  1327.  During  almost  the 
whole  of  his  reign  he  was  occupied  in  war  with  the 
Genoese  about  the  possession  of  Corsica  and  Sardinia. 
He  died  in  1336. 

Alphonso  V.  of  Aragon,  L  of  Sicily  and  Sardinia,  and 
latterly  I.  of  Naples,  was  born  in  1385,  and  succeeded  his 
father,  Fernando  the  Just,  as  king  of  Aragon  and  of  SicUy 
and  Sardinia,  in  1416.  In  1420  Joanna  I.  of  Naples 
offered  to  make  Alphonso  her  successor  if  he  would  assist 
her  against  Louis  of  Anjou.  This  he  did;  but,  owing  to 
misunderstandings,  the  queen  revoked  her  adoption  of 
Alphonso  in  1423,  making  Louis  of  Anjou  her  heir. 
Recalled  to  Spain  immediately  after  by  an  attack  made  by 
the  Castilians  upon  his  hereditary  kingdom,  he  left  his 
brother  Pedro  as  his  lieutenant  at  Naples,  which  he  had 
taken  by  storm  the  year  before.  On  his  way  to  Spain  he 
captured,  but  generously  refrained  from  pillaging,  Marseilles, 
a  city  belonging  to  his  rival  the  duke  of  Anjou.  After 
restoring  peace  at  home,  Alphonso  again  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  Naples,  where  his  cause  now  appeared  to  be  hope- 
less. Louis  of  Anjou  died  in  1434,  and  Queen  Joanna  the 
following  year,  leaving  Naples  to  Louis's  brother  Rene, 
who  had  in  his  possession  the  whole  kingdom  except  a  few 
fortresses  which  still  held  out  for  Alphonso.  In  the  same 
year  (1435)  Alphonso  laid  siege  to  Gaeta,  but  the  siege  was 
raised,  and  Alphonso  himself  taken  prisoner  by  Philippo 
Maria  Visconti,  duke  of  Milan.  Visconti,  however,  being 
greatly  pleased  with  the  high  character  and  noble  appear- 
ance of  Alphonso,  soon  released  him,  and  even  made  him 
his  ally.  Immediately  on  recovering  his  liberty,  Alphonso 
made  a  third  attempt  upon  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  The 
issue  of  the  war  at  first  was  doubtful,  but  latterly  the  arms 
of  Alphonso  were  nearly  everywhere  victorious.  He  laid 
siege  to  Naples,  and  after  an  obstinate  resistance  captured 
it  in  1442.  The  States-General  were  then  convoked,  and 
solemnly  proclaimed  Alphonso  king;  hia  election  being 
sanctioned  by  Pope  Eugenius  IV.,  who  had  previously 
promised  that  honour  to  Ren&  Alphonso  now  fixed  his 
residence  at  Naples,  and  devoted  himself  chiefly  to  the 
improvement  of  his  kingdom ;  although  he  was  also  fre- 
quently involved  in  the  wars  and  disputes  of  the  Italian 
princes.  He  died  at  Naples  on  the  27th  June  1458 ;  and 
was  succeeded  in  his  kingdoms  of  Aragon  and  of  Sicily  and 
Sardinia  by  his  brother  John,  and  in  that  of  Naples  by 
his  natural  son  Ferdinand.      Alphonso  was  undoubtedly 


oue  of  the  best  monarchs  of  his  name.  His  bravery  arrl 
generalship  fitted  him  for  the  warlike  enterprises  he  had 
to  undertake ;  and  it  is  evident  that,  from  his  generous 
and  humane  disposition,  as  well  as  from  his  love  of  litera- 
ture and  encouragement  of  law  and  justice,  his  rule  would 
have  been  equally  successful  had  it  been  his  lot  to  live  in 
more  peaceful  times. 

it/i,  Portugal. — Alphonso  I.,  Enriquez,  son  of  Henry 
of  Burgundy,  count  of  Portugal,  and  Teresa  of  Castile,  was> 
born  at  Guimaraens  in  1094.  He  succeeded  his  father  in 
1112,  and  was  placed  under  the  tutelage  of  his  mother. 
When  he  came  of  age  he  was  obliged  to  wrest  from  her 
by  force  that  power  which  her  vices  and  incapacity  had 
rendered  disastrous  to  the  state.  Being  proclaimed  sole 
ruler  of  Portugal  in  1128,  he  defeated  his  mother's  troops 
near  Guimaraens,  making  her  at  the  same  time  his  prisoner. 
He  also  vanquished  Alphonso  Raymond  of  Castile,  his 
mother's  ally,  and  thus  freed  Portugal  from  dependence 
on  the  crown  of  Leon.  Next  turning  his  arms  against  the 
Moors,  he  obtained,  on  the  26th  July  1139,  the  famous 
victory  of  Ourique,  and  immediately  after  was  proclaimed 
king  by  his  soldiers.  Not  satisfied  with  this,  however,  he 
assembled  the  Cortes  of  the  kingdom  at  Lamego,  where  he 
received  the  crown  from  the  archbishop  of  Braganza;  the 
assembly  also  declaring  that  Portugal  was  no  longer  a 
dependency  of  Leon.  Alphonso  continued  to  distinguish 
himself  by  his  exploits  against  the  Moors,  from  whom  he 
wrested  Santaremin  1146,  and  Lisbon  in  1147.  Some  years 
later  he  became  involved  in  a  war  that  had  broken  out  among 
the  kings  of  Spain;  and  in  1167,  being  disabled  during  an 
engagement  near  Badajoz  by  a  fall  from  his  horse,  he  was 
made  prisoner  by  the  soldiers  of  the  king  of  Leon,  and  was 
obliged  to  surrender  as  his  ransom  almost  all  the  conquests 
he  had  made  in  Galicia  In  1184,  in  spite  of  his  great  age, 
he  had  still  sufficient  energy  to  relieve  his  son  Sancho, 
who  was  besieged  in  Santarem  by  the  Moors.  He  died 
shortly  after,  in  1185.  Alphonso  was  a  man  of  gigantic 
stature,  being  7  feet  high  according  to  some  authors.  Ha 
has  long  been  regarded  as  a  saint  by  the  Portuguese,  who 
reverence  him  both  on  account  of  his  personal  character 
and  as  the  founder  of  their  kingdom. 

Alphonso  II.,  "The  Fat,"was  born  in  1185, and  succeeded 
his  father,  Sancho  L,  in  1211.  He  was  engaged  in  war 
with  the  Moors,  and  gained  a  victory  over  them  at  Alcazar 
do  Sal  in  1217.  He  also  endeavoured  to  weaken  the  power 
of  the  clergy,  and  to  apply  a  portion  of  their  enormous 
revenues  to  purposes  of  national  utility.  Having  been, 
excommunicated  for  this  by  the  pope  (Honorius  III.),  he> 
promised  to  make  amends  to  the  church;  but  he  died  in 
1223  before  doing  anything  to  fulfil  his  engagement. 
Alphonso  framed  a  code  which  introduced  several  bene- 
ficial changes  into  the  laws  of  his  kingdom. 

Alphonso  IIL,  son  of  Alphonso  II.,  was  born  in  1210, 
and  succeeded  his  brother,  Sancho  II.,  in  1248.  Besides, 
making  war  upon  the  Moors,  he  was,  like  his  father,  fre- 
quently embroiled  with  the  church.  In  his  reign  Algarve 
became  part  of  Portugal.     Alphonso  died  in  1279 

Alphonso  TV.  was  born  in  1290,  and  in  1325  succeeded 
his  father,  Dionis,  whose  death  he  had  hastened  by  his 
intrigues  and  rebellions.  Hostilities  with  the  Castilians 
and  with  the  Moors  occupied  many  years  of  his  reign, 
during  which  he  gained  some  successes;  but  by  consenting 
to  the  barbarous  murder  of  Inez  de  Castro,  who  was  secretly 
espoused  to  his  son  Pedro,  he  has  fixed  an  indelible  stain 
on  his'  character.  Enraged  at  this  barharous  act,  Pedro- 
put  himself  at  the  head  of  an  army,  and  devastated  the . 
whole  of  the  country  between  the  Douro  and  the  Minho- 
before  ho  was  reconciled  to  his  father.  Alphonso  died 
almost  immediately  after,  on  the  12th  May  1357. 

Alphonso  v..  Africano.  was  born  in  1432,  and  succeeded 


A  L  P  —  A  L  P 


619 


his  father  Edward  in  1438.  During  his  minority  he  was 
placed  under  the  regency,  fiwt  of  his  mother,  and  latterly 
of  his  uncle,  Don  Pedro.  In  1448  he  assumed  the  reins 
of  government,  and  at  the  same  time  married  his  cousin 
Isabella,  daughter  of  Don  Pedro.  In  the  following  year, 
being  led  by  what  he  afterwards  discovered  to  be  false 
representations,  he  declared  Don  Pedro  a  rebel,  and  de- 
feated his  army  in  a  battle  at  AJfarrobeira,  in  which  his 
ancle  was  slain.  In  1458,  and  with  more  numerous  forces 
in  1471,  he  invaded  the  territories  of  the  Moors  in  Africa, 
and  by  his  successes  there  acquired  his  surname  of  "The 
African."  On  his  return  to  Portugal  in  1475  his  ambition 
led  him  into  Castile,  where  two  princesses  were  disputing 
the  succession  to  the  throne.  Having  been  affianced  to 
the  Princess  Juana,  Alphonso  caused  himself  to  be  pro- 
claimed king  of  Castile  and  Leon;  but  in  the  following 
year  he  was  defeated  at  Toro  by  Ferdinand,  the  husband 
of  Isabella  of  Castile.  Alphonso  went  to  France  to  obtain 
the  assistance  of  Louis  XL,  but  finding  himself  deceived 
by  the  French  monarch,  he  abdicated  in  favour  of  his  son 
Joan.  When  he  returned  to  Portugal,  however,  he  was 
compelled  by  his  son  to  resume  the  sceptre,  which  he  con- 
tinued to  wield  for  two  years  longer.  After  that  he  fell 
into  a  deep  melancholy,  and  retired  into  a  monastery  at 
Cintra,  where  he  died  in  1481. 

Alphonso  VI. ,  the  second  king  of  the  house  of  Braganza, 
was  born  in  1643,  and  succeeded  his  father  in  1656.  In 
1667  he  was  compelled  by  his  wile  and  brother  to  abdicate 
the  throne,  and  was  banished  to  the  island  of  Terceira. 
These  acts,  which  the  vices  of  Alphonso  had  rendered 
necessary,  were  sanctioned  by  the  Cortes  in  1668.  Alphonso 
died  at  Cintra  in  1675. 

ALPHONSUS  a  Sancta  Maria,  or  Alphonso  de 
Cartagena,  a  celebrated  Spanish  historian,  was  born  at 
Carthageua  in  1396,  and  died  on  the  12th  July  1456. 
He  succeeded  his  father,  Paulus,  as  bishop  of  Burgos.  In 
1431  he  was  deputed  by  Juan  EL  of  Castile  to  attend  the 
council  of  Basle,  in  which  he  made  himself  conspicuous  by 
his  learning.  He  was  the  author  of  several  works,  the  prin- 
cipal of  which  is  a  History  of  Spain  from  the  earliest  times 
down  to  the  year  1496,  printed  at  Granada  in  1545,  foL 

ALPLNI,  Peospeeo  (in  Latin  Prosper  Alpinus),  a  cele- 
brated physician  and  botanist,  was  born  at  Marostica,  in 
the  republic  of  Venice,  on  the  23d  November  1553.  In 
his  youth  he  served  for  a  time  in  the  Milanese  army,  but 
in  1574  he  quitted  it,  and  went  to  Padua  to  study  medi- 
cine. He  was  admitted  to  the  degree  of  doctor  of  physic  in 
1578,  soon  after  which  he  left  the  university,  and  settled 
as  a  physician  in  Campo  San  Pietro,  a  small  town  in  the 
Paduan  territory,  at  the  invitation  of  its  citizens.  In  the 
course  of  his  studies  he  had  paid  particular  attention  to 


botanical  science ;  but  the  sphere  of  his  present  practice 
was  too  limited  to  afford  him  much  opportunity  of  prose- 
cuting his  favourite  study.  He  wished  particularly  to 
extend  his  knowledge  of  exotic  plants,  by  observing  their 
economy  and  habits  in  their  native  soil  To  gratify  this 
laudable  curiosity  an  oppu.rtunity  presented  itself  when 
George  Emo  or  Hemi,  the  consul  for  the  Venetian  republic 
in  Egypt,  appointed  Alpini  his  physician.  They  sailed 
■from  Venice  in  September  1580,  and  arrived  at  Grand 
Cairo  in  the  following  year.  Alpini  spent  three  years  in 
Egypt,  and  by  his  industry  and  assiduity  greatly  im- 
proved his  botanical  knowledge,  having  travelled  along 
the  banks  of  the  Nile,  visited  every  place,  and  consulted 
every  person  from  whom  he  expected  any  new  information. 
From  a  practice  in  the  management  of  date-trees  which, 
he  observed  in  this  country,  Alpini  seems  to  have  deduced 
the  doctrine  of  the  sexual  difference  of  plants,  whicn  was 
adopted  as  the  foundation  of  the  celebrated  system  of 
Linnaeus.  He  says  that  "  the  female  date-trees  or  palms 
do  not  bear  fruit  unless  the  branches  of  the  male  and 
female  plants  are  mixed  together;  or,  as  is  generally  done, 
unless  the  dust  found  in  the  male  sheath  or  male  flowers 
is  sprinkled  over  the  female  flowers."  His  treatise  Be 
Medicina  JEgyptiorum  contains  the  first  account  of  the 
coffee-plant  that  was  published  in  Europe.  When  Alpini 
returned  to  Venice  in  1586  he  was  appointed  physician 
to  Andre  Doria,  prince  of  Melfi;  and  during  his  residence 
at  Genoa  he  was  esteemed  the  first  physician  of  his  age. 
The  Venetians  were  unwilling  that  the  Genoese  state  should 
number  among  its  citizens  a  person  of  such  distinguished 
merit  and  reputation;  and  in  the  year  1593  he  was  recalled 
to  fill  the  botanical  chair  in  the  university  of  Padua,  with 
a  salary  of  200  florins,  afterwards  increased  to  750.  He 
discharged  the  duties  of  his  professorship  for  many  years 
with  great  reputation,  till  his  declining  health  interrupted 
'  his  labours.  He  died  of  slow  fever  on  the  6th  February 
1617,  in  the  sixty -fourth  year  of  his  age,  and  was  succeeded 
as  botanical  professor  by  one  of  his  sons.  The  genu3 
Alpini  a,  belonging  to  the  order  Zingiberaceae,  is  named  after 
him.  Alpini  wrote  the  following  works  in  Latin : — 1.  Be 
Medicina  jEgyptiorum  Libri  iv.,  Venice,  1591,  4to;  2.  Be 
Plantis  JSgypti  Liber,  Venice,  1592,  4to;  3.  Be  Bahama 
Bialogus,  Venice,  1592,  4to;  4.  Be  Pra?sagienda  Vita  et 
Morte  uEgrotantium  Libri  vii.,  Venice,  1601,  4to;  5.  Be 
Medicina  Methodica  Libri  xiii.,  Padua,  1611,  folio;  6.  Be 
fikapontico  Bhputatio,  Padua,  1612,  4to.  Of  all  these 
works  various  editions  have  appeared;  and  besides  these, 
two  posthumous  treatises  were  published  by  his  son — 
1.  Be  Plantis  Exoticis  Libri  ii.,  Venice,  1627,  4to ;  2. 
Historim  Naturalis  Egypti  Libri  iv.,  Lugd.  Bat  1635,  4to. 
Several  other  works  of  Alpini  remain  in  ■manuscript. 


ALPS 


TAKING  a  general  view  of  the  earth's  surface,  the 
continent  of  Europe  appears  to  be  no  more  than  a 
great  peninsula  extending  westward  from  the  much  vaster 
continent  of  Asia.  Its  shores  are  deeply  indented  by  twp 
inland  seas  connected  by  narrow  straits  with  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  and  these  in  their  turn  are  divided  into  gulfs  that 
penetrate  still  more  deeply  into  the  land,  and  form  a 
number  of  secondary  peninsulas.  The  Mediterranean  Sea, 
by  its  branches — the  Gulf  of  Genoa,  the  Adriatic,  and  the 
/Egean  Sea — forms  the  Iberian,  the  Italian,  and  the  Greek 
peninsulas ;  and  the  Baltic  Sea,  extending  northward  into 
the  Gulf  of  Bothnia,  forms  on  one  side  the  great  Scandi- 
navian peninsula,  and  on  the  other  that  of  Denmark. 
Save  the  last,  all  these  peninsulas  of  Europe  are  essentially 
mountain  regions,  traversed  by  lofty  chains  that  occupy 


a  large  portion  of  their  surface.  But  in  height  and  im- 
portance these  are  much  srrpassed  by  a  great  mountain 
zone  stretching  from  the  south-east  of  France  to  the  fron- 
tiers of  Hungary,  and  between  Italy  and  the  plains  of 
southern  Germany,  which  is  collectively  known  as  the 
Alps,  and  which  must  be  considered  as  the  most  important 
feature  in  the  physical  geography  of  our  continent  Of 
{he  influence  of  this  mountain  system  on  the  climate  of 
the  surrounding  regions,  on  the  distribution  of  animal  and 
vegetable  life,  and,  indirectly,  on  the  political  condition  of 
Europe,  some  brief  notice  will  here  be  given;  but  it  may 
be  well  to  remark  that  owing  to  the  peculiar  disposition 
of  the  greater  massed  which  form  this  system,  the  Alps  do 
not  present  do  continuous  a  barrier  as  might  be  expected 
from  a  comparison  with   other  great  mountain   ranges, 


620 


ALPS 


Thus  if  we  take  the  great  masses  of  the  Himalaya  in  Asia, 
the  Andes  in  South  America,  or  even  such  lesser  ranges 
as  the  Pyrenees  or  the  Great  Atlas,  we  find  that  they 
interpose  a  far  more  absolute  limit  between  the  regions 
lying  on  their  opposite  flacks  than  occurs  in  respect  to  the 
Alps.  These  are  formed  of  numerous  ranges  divided  by 
comparatively  deep  valleys,  which,  with  many  local  excep- 
tions, tend  towards  parallelism  with  the  general  direction 
of  the  entire  mass.  This,  between  Dauphin^  and  the 
borders  of  Hungary,  forms  a  broad  band  convex  towards 
the  north,  and  most  of  the  main  valleys  lie  between  the 
directions  west  to  east  and  south-west  to  north-east.  But 
in  many  parts  deep  transverse  valleys  intersect  the  pre- 
vailing direction  of  the  ridges,  and  facilitate  the  passage 
not  only  for  purposes  of  human  intercourse,  but  also  for 
the  migration  of  animals  and  plants,  and  for  currents  of 
air  which  mitigate  the  contrast  that  would  otherwise  be 
found  between  the  climates  of  the  opposite  slopes. 

The  received  opinion  is,  that  the  name  Alps  is  derived 
from  a  Celtic  root — alp  or  a/6 — signifying  height.  This 
has  been  connected  by  some  writers  with  the  Latin  alb, 
albus,  white,  referring  to  the  colour  of  the  peaks.  Strabo 
says  that  the  name  "AA7rta  was  formerly  "AA/?m.  Alp  in 
south  Germany — alpa  in  old  High  German — is  exclusively 
applied  to  mountain  pastures.  For  the  present  the  deriva- 
tion must  remain  somewhat  uncertain. 

To  define  the  precise  limits  of  the  Alps,  as  will  be  seen 
fully  in  describing  the  several  groups,  is  a  somewhat  arbi- 
trary operation.  To  the  W.  they  extend  through  a  large 
portion  of  the  French  departments  of  Savoie,  Haute-Savoie, 
Hautes  Alpes,  and  Basses  Alpes,  being  divided  from  the 
mountain  district  of  the  Cevennes  by  the  broad  and  deep 
valley  through  which  the  Rhone  flows  from  Lyons  to 
the  Mediterranean.  The  Jura  range,  usually  regarded  as 
distinct  from  the  Alps,  is  nevertheless  closely  connected 
on  one  side  with  the  outer  ranges  of  the  Alps  of  western 
Savoy,  and  on  the  other  with  those  of  northern  Switzer- 
land. On  the  N.  side  the  Alps  are  definitely  bounded  by 
the  lake  of  Constance,  the  plain  of  Bavaria,  and  the  low 
country  extending  from  Salzburg  to  the  neighbourhood  of 
Vienna.  By  these  they  are  completely  separated  from  the 
mountainous  districts  of  central  Germany,  which  extend 
through  western  Bohemia  and  Saxony  in  one  direction  to 
the  Hartz  mountains,  and  in  the  other  to  the  Sudeten, 
or  Riesengebirge,  of  Silesia.  Hence  it  happens  that  the 
drainage  of  the  northern  slopes  of  the  Alps  flows  either  to 
the  North  Sea  through  the  Rhine,  or  is  diverted  through 
the  Danube  to  the  Black  Sea,  and  no  portion  of  it  reaches 
the  Baltic.  The  eastern  limit  of  the  Alps  is  not  easily 
defined  with  accuracy.  The  region  of  high  hills,  chiefly 
formed  of  tertiary  strata,  that  extends  from  the  left  bank 
of  the  Mur  into  Hungary  ia  continued  by  the  north,  side 
of  Lake  Balaton  to  the  Danube  near  Buda ;  and  some 
geographers  see  in  the  hilly  district  that  stretches  thence 
to  the  northern  Carpathians  a  connection  between  that 
range  and  the  Alp3.  For  practical  purposes  it  seems  that 
the  line  of  depression,  partly  formed  by  the  valley  of  the 
Mur,  through  which  the  railway  is  carried  from  Vienna  to 
Laybach,  may  be  considered  as  the  eastern  boundary  of 
the  Alpine  chain.  On  the  southern  side  the  difficulty  of 
firing  the  precise  limits  of  the  Alpine  chain  is  still  more 
apparent.  For  a  distance  of  some  350  roiles,  from  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Turin  to  that  of  Gorizia,  the  boundary  is 
sufficiently  obvious.  The  mountains  subside  into  the  con- 
tinuous plain  which  includes  the  greater  part  of  Piedmont, 
Lombardy,  and  Venetia;  and  their  drainage  is  all  borne 
eastward  to  the  Adriatic.  But  on  the  west  side  of  Piedmont 
the  Alpine  chain  dividing  Italy  from  Frarca  extends  nearly 
due  southward  till  it  approaches  to  the  Mediterranean  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Nice.    About  4.0  miles  north  of  this  city, 


that  which,  from  its  superior  height  and  its  geological  strut 
ture,  we  call  the  main  chain,  is  bent  round  from  west  to  east 
in  a  curve,  slightly  convex  towards  the  south,  till  it  becomes 
parallel  to  the  Mediterranean  shore,  and  is  merged  in  the 
chain  of  the  Apennines.  For  reasons  hereafter  mentioned  it 
would  appear  that  the  limits  of  the  Alps  in  this  direction  may 
best  be  fixed  at  the  Col  dAJtare,  west  of  Savona,  though 
the  boundary  commonly  adopted  is  that  of  the  Col  di 
Tendat  lying  considerably  farther  to  the  west.  At  the  south- 
eastern extremity  of  the  Alpine  chain  the  difficulty  of  flying 
its  limits  arises  rather  from  the  vague  use  of  geographical 
terms  by  ancient  and  modern  writers  than  from  the  physical 
structure  of  the  region.  Taking  no  account  of  the  arbitrary 
proceedings  of  geographers  who  have  included  in  the  Alps 
the  mountains  dividing  Bosnia  from  Croatia  and  Dalmatia, 
and  regarding  only  the  natural  features  of  the  country,  it 
seems  clear  that  the  south-eastern  extremity  of  the  Alps 
must  be  looked  for  in  the  group  of  lofty  peaks  between  the 
head  waters  of  the  Isonzo  and  those  of  the  Save,  whos6 
highest  summit  is  the  Terglou ;  and  if  we  are  not  to  include 
all  the  mountain  ranges  of  European  Turkey  and  Greece 
within  the  same  designation,  the  plateau  of  the  Karst  must 
be  held  to  form  the  boundary  between  these  and  the  Alps. 
Within  these  limits  the  Alps  extend  from  about  the  44th 
to  the  48th  parallel  of  N.  lat.,  and  from  about  5°  10'  to 
18°  10'  E.  long; 

In  every  mountain  system  geographers  are  disposed  to 
regard  the  watershed,  or  boundary  dividing  the  waters 
flowing  towards  opposite  sides  of  the  range,  as  marking 
the  main  chain ;  and  this  usage  is  often  justified  by  the 
fact  that  the  highest  peaks  lie  on,  or  very  near,  the 
"boundary  so  defined.  In  applying  this  term  in  the  case 
of  the  Alps,  there  are,  however,  difficulties  arising  from 
their  great  extent  and  the  number  of  their  branches  and 
ramifications.  Many  of  the  loftiest  groups  lie  altogether 
on  one  side  of  that  which'  we  call  the  main  chain,  and  at 
the  eastern  extremity,  where  all  the  drainage  is  ultimately 
borne  to  the  Black  Sea,  we  must  be  partly  guided  by 
geological  considerations  in  deciding  which  of  several 
ranges  deserves  to  be  considered  pre-eminent. 

Starting  from  the  pass  of  Altare  or  Cadibona,  west  of 
Savona,  the  main  chain  extends  first  south-west,  then 
nearly  due  west,  to  the  Col  di  Tenda,  but  nowhere  rising 
beyond  the  zone  of  coniferous  trees.  Beyond  that  limit 
the  range  is  more  lofty,  and  includes  four  peaks  exceeding 
10,000  feet  in  height,  till  the  line  dividing  the  waters 
flowing  to  the  Adriatic,  through  the  Po,  from  the  short 
streams  that  flow  into  the  Gulf  of  Genoa,  reaches  the 
Mont  Enchastraye.  -Beyond  that  point,  although  the  line 
of  watershed  is  very  sinuous,  its  general  direction  for  a 
distance  of  about  75  miles  is  nearly  due  north.  On  the 
east  side  the  waters  run  to  the  Po ;  on  the  west  they  flow 
through  the  Durance  to  join  the  Rhone,  near  Avignon. 
The  most  considerable  peaks  in  the  range  immediately 
north  of  the  Mont  Enchastraye  are  the  Grand  Rioburent 
and  the  Aiguille  de  ChambeyTon  ;  but  these  are  much 
surpassed  by  the  Monte  Viso,  which  is  the  highest  peak 
in  the  range  dividing  Piedmont  from  Dauphin^.  On  the 
north  side  of  Monte  Viso  the  main  chain  diminishes  much 
in  average  height,  and  presents  no  prominent  peaks  .until 
we  reach  the  Mont  Tabor.  That  summit  forms  the  apex 
of  a  salient  angle  which  the  main  chain  here  presents  on 
the  side  of  France.  For  a  distance  of  about  28  miles  this 
extends  eastward  to  the  prominent  peak  of  the  Roche 
Melon,  which  may  be  considered  as  a  re-entering  angle  ia 
the  great  rampart  by  which  Italy  is  guarded  from  her 
northern  neighbours.  Here  the  main  chain  resumes  its 
northerly  direction,  and  attains  a  greater  average  height 
than  it  had  previously  exhibited.  Several  of  the  prominent 
peaks  in  the  range  connecting  the  Roche  Melon  with  Monl 


ALPS 


621 


Blanc  exceed  11,000  English  feet  in  height,  though  they 
are  much  surpassed  by  the  highest  group  of  the  Graian 
Alps,  lying  on  the  side  of  Piedmont,  and  that  of  the 
Tarentaise  Alps  in  Savoy ;  while  there  is  in  this  part  of  the 
main  range  but  one  considerable  depression,  which  is  that 
crossed  by  the  road  of  the  Little  St  Bernard.  In  the  range 
crowned  by  the  summit  of  Mont  Blanc  the  Alpine  chain 
attains  its  highest  elevation.  From  thence  to  the  Pass  of 
St  Gotthard  its  general  direction  varies  between  east  and 
north-east.  To  the  east  of  Mont  Blanc  a  comparatively 
low  tract  allows  of  several  comparatively  easy  passes 
between  Switzerland  and  Piedmont,  one  of  which  has  long 
been  famous  as  the  Pass  of  the  Great  St  Bernard ;  but  from 
that  to  the  Simplon  Pass,  a  distance  of  about  52  miles  in 
a  straight  line,  or  about  75  miles  if  measured  along  the 
watershed,  the  main  chain  preserves  a  greater  average 
height  than  in  any  other  part.  Several  peaks  lying  in  the 
dividing  ridge,  such  as  the  Grand  Combin,  Matterhorn, 
Lyskamm,  and  Monte  Rosa,  exceed  14,000  feet  in  height; 
and  these  are  rivalled  by  at  least  six  summits  on  the  north 
side  of  the  same  ridge,  which  at  two  points  only  sinks 
below  the  level  of  10,000  feet.  The  Simplon  Pass  corre- 
sponds to  what  may  be  called  a  dislocation  of  the  main 
chain.  From  thence  to  the  St  Gotthard  the  dividing  ridge 
runs  nearly  due  north-east,  and  does  not  present  any 
dominant  summit  excepting  the  Monte  Leone.  On  the 
east  and  south-east  side  of  the  St  Gotthard  Pas3,  as  far  as 
that  of  the  Maloya,  the  line  of  watershed  between  the 
affluents  of  the  Rhine  and  that  of  the  Po  is  determined  by 
what  may  be  called  accidental  conditions.  The  chief 
mountain  ridges,  which  culminate  in  the  Cima  Camadra, 
Piz  Valrhein,  and  Tambohorn,  instead  of  being  arranged 
along  the  parting  of  the  waters,  lie  in  a  transverse  direc- 
tion, and  hence  the  natural  frontier  of  Italy  is  here  more 
broken  and  irregular  than  elsewhere  ;  and  it  is  only  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Maloya  Pass  that  the  main  chain  assumes 
a  tolerably  continuous  direction  from  west-south-west  to 
east-north-east,  as  between  Piz  Giiz  and  the  Bernina  Pass 
it  rises  into  the  lofty  group  whose  dominant  peaks  are 
Piz  Tremoggia,  Piz  Bernina,  and  Piz  Cambrena.  East- 
ward of  the  Bernina  Pass  the  same  direction  is  preserved, 
and  in  the  range  including  the  Gorno  di  Campo,  Monte 
Zembrasca,  and  Monte  Foscagno  the  level  scarcely  sinks 
below  9000  feet ;  but  beyond  the  last-named  summit, 
in  the  space  lying  between  the  Lower  Engadine,  the  head 
waters  of  the  Adige,  and  those  of  the  Adda,  the  semblance 
of  a  continuous  ridge  forming  the  watershed  between  the 
Inn  and  the  Adriatic  altogether  disappears.  If  we  adhere 
to  the  usage  of  designating  as  the  main  chain  the  ridges 
which  part  the  waters  flowing  in  different  directions,  it 
must  be  owned  that  the  disposition  of  the  chief  mountain 
masses  has  no  connection  with  the  direction  of  that  chain. 
Lying  between  the  great  mass  of  the  Orteles  Alps  to  the 
south  and  the  considerable  group  of  the  Silvretta  Alps  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Inn,  the  greater  part  of  the  mass  in 
question  is  drained  by  streams  that  flow  into  the  latter 
river;  but  the  arrangement  of  the  valleys  seems  to  be 
largely  due  to  erosive  action.  Few  summits  in  this  part 
of  the  main  chain  exceed  10,000  feet,  the  highest  being 
Piz  Scesvenna,  on  the  east  side  of  Val  Scarla. 

The  break  in  the  continuity  of  the  Alpine  chain  marked 
by  the  deep  valley  through  which  the  main  branch  of  the 
Adige  descends,  first  southward  and  then  eastward  from 
its  source  tc  Meran  and  Botzen,  is  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able features  in  the  orography  of  the  Alps.  The  little 
lake  which  is  regarded  as  the  chief  source  of  the  river  lies 
within  less  than  five  miles  of  the  Inn,  where  that  river 
enters  the  Tyrol,  and  no  apparent  barrier  divides  the  lake 
frcni  the  Inn  valley.  Eastward  of  this  limit  the  Alpine 
chain  exhibits  e  degree  of  order  ir  its  general  arrange- 


ment which  it  is  impossible  to  trace  in  its  western  and 
central  portions.  For  a  distance  of  some  250  miles  a 
broad  zone  of  crystalline  rocks  extends  from  west  to  east, 
flanked  on  the  north  and  south  sides  by  parallel  zones  of 
sedimentary  rocks,  chiefly  belonging  to  the  older  secondary 
formations.  Two  great  valley  systems  on  the  opposite 
sides  of  the  central  zone  closely  coincide  with  those 
geological  boundaries,  and  mark  out  in  the  physical  aspect 
of  this  region  the  limits  between  the  central  and  the 
secondary  zones.  In  the  former  are  situated  all  the 
highest  peaks  of  the  eastern  Alps.  For  a  distance  of 
about  140  miles,  from  the  Schafkogcl,  south-east  of 
Nauders,  to  the  Markkahrspitz,  the  average  level  of  the 
main  chain  is  nearly  as  high  as  in  any  equally  long  section 
of  the  central  or  western  Alps.  There  is  one  very  con- 
siderable depression  which  is  marked  by  the  Bieuner  Pass, 
but  elsewhere  in  that  long  barrier  there  are  but  three 
points  where  the  range  is  passable  by  beasts  of  burden. 
Between  the  two  main  sources  of  the  Adige,  at  the  Reschen 
Scheideck  aad  the  Brenner  Pass,  the  considerable  groups 
of  the  Oetzthal  and  Stubay  Alps  attain  a  great  average 
elevation,  though  two  points  only — the  Wildspitz  and  the 
Weisskugel — surpass  the  level  of  12,000  feet.  .  The 
drainage  of  these  groups  is  mostly  carried  to  the  Inn,  and 
the  line  of  watershed,  about  53  miles  in  length,  is  much 
less  direct  than  in  the  more  easterly  portion  of  the  chain. 
This  extends  nearly  due  east  for  about  90  miles  from  the 
Brenner  Pass,  nowhere  falling  below  the  level  of  8000  feet, 
and  in  two  prominent  peaks^the  Gross  Venediger  and  the 
Gross  Glockner — rising  considerably  above  the  limit  ol 
12,000  feet  At  a  point  somewhat  north  of  the  Mark- 
kahrspitz the  central  chain  divides  into  two  parallel  ranges, 
between  which  lies  the  upper  valley  of  the  Mur.  This 
river  flows  for  a  distance  of  fully  80  miles  nearly  due  east, 
till  at  Bruck-an-der-Mur  it  turns  southward  to  approach 
the  Drave,  and  ultimately  joins  that  stream,  Various 
reasons  combine  to  induce  geographers  to  regard  the  more 
northern  of  the  two  ranges  above  mentioned,  which  divides 
the  Enns  and  other  minor  tributaries  of  the  Danube  from 
those  of  the  Drave,  as  constituting  the  eastern  extremity 
of  the  main  chain  of  the  Alps.  This  extends  a  little  north 
of  due  east  for  more  than  110  miles,  with  a  comparatively 
low  mean  elevation,  from  the  Arlscharte  to  the  Semmering 
Pass,  which  we  regard  as  the  eastern  limit  of  the  main 
chain  of  the  Alps. 

Measured  along  the  watershed,  as  above  defined,  but 
without  taking  into  account  the  minor  sinuosities,  which 
would  considerably  increase  the  total,  the  length  of  the 
main  chain  is  about  790  English  miles. 

For  ages  before  there  existed  any  correct  knowledge  of 
the  configuration  of  the  Alpine  chain,  the  needs  of  war  and 
Commerce  had  urged  the  people  dwelling  on  the  opposite 
sides  of  the  great  barrier  to  seek  out  the  easiest  and  most 
direct  routes  for  traversing  it.  Hence  the  chief  passes  of 
the  Alps  have  been  known  and  frequented  from  a  period 
antecedent  to  authentic  history,  while  until  a  quite  modern 
period  little  attention  was  given  to  the  parts  of  the  chain 
which  did  not  lie  in  or  near  the  lines  of  traffic.  It  is 
highly  probable  that  many  other  passes,  affording  the 
easiest  means  of  communication  between  adjacent  valleys, 
have  been  known  and  used  by  the  native  population  from 
a  very  remote  period,  but  only  those  which  served  for 
international  purposes  of  war  or  peace  became  known  at  a 
distance,  and  are  alluded  to  by  ancient  writers.  A  pass  is 
a  depression  between  two  adjacent  mountains,  and  the 
track  is  usually  carried  over  the  lowest  part  of  that  depres- 
sion ;  but  nevertheless  nearly  all  the  passes  of  the  Alps 
involve  a  long  ascent  to  reach  the  summit,  and  a  long 
descent  upon  the  opposite  slopes.  Hence  the  Romans, 
who  were  the  first  semi-civilised  people  to  make  extensive 


622 


ALPS 


uje  ui  tho  Aiijiuu  p.issea,  upplied  to  Buoli  ol  them  tlio  term 
Mons.  The  same  names,  more  or  lesa  modified  in  the 
middle  ages,  have  been  preserved  in  the  dialects  of  Latin 
origin  that  prevail  throughout  the  western  half  of  the 
Alpine  chain,  and  the  modern  name  for  the  chief  passes  are 
still  Mont  Genevre,  Mont  Cenis,  Mont  Isiran,  Petit  Mont 
St  Bernard,  Grand  Mont  St  Bernard,  Monte  Moro,  and 
Monte  San  Gottardo.  In  more  recent  times,  since 
geographers  have  attempted  to  fix  the  names  and  positions 
of  the  chief  summits  of  the  Alps,  they  have  been  con- 
tinually misled  by  the  supposition  that  a  name  of  high 
antiquity  designating  a  mountain  must  belong  to  some 
prominent  peak.  The  errors  arising  from  that  source  have 
not  yet  disappeared  from  geographical  works  of  high 
repute,  but  in  point  of  fact  each  of  the  names  above 
pnumnraiM  belongs  solely  to  the  pass,  and  there  is  no 
neighbouring  peak  entitled  to  the  same  designation.  The 
more  important  passes  of  the  Alps  are  enumerated  in  the 
following  description  of  the  chief  groups  of  the  Alps ;  but 
it  may  be  here  remarked  that  the  direction  of  the  main 
routes  for  traffic  is  not  exclusively  determined  by  the 
position  of  the  lowest  and  easiest  passes  over  the  main 
chain.  The  configuration  of  the  mountains  is  such  that  a 
traveller  proceeding  from  Italy  to  France,  Switzerland,  or 
Germany,  after  crossing  a  comparatively  easy  pass  over 
the  main  chain,  may  find  it  necessary  to  traverse  a  second 
and  loftier  pass  over  a  lateral  chain,  or  else  follow  a 
circuitous  route  that  may  double  the  length  of  his  journey. 
Thus  a  traveller  going  from  Turin  to  Lyons,  who  should 
take  what  appears  to  be  the  direct  course  over  the  pass  of 
Mont  Genevre,  the  easiest  in  the  whole  range  of  the 
western  Alps,  will  find  on  descending  to  Briancon  that  he 
must  cross  the  much  higher  and  more  difficult  pass  of  the 
Col  de  Lautaret,  or  else  descend  along  the  Durance  till  it 
emerges  into  the  lower  country  near  Gap,  and  thus  more 
than  double  the  length  of  his  journey.  Including  the 
Semmering  Pass,  there  are  now  not  less  than  60  Alpine 
passes  that  are  traversed  by  carriage  roads  5  and  besides 
three  lines  of  railway  now  open  for  traffic,  several  others 
are  in  course  of  construction. 

From  the  time  of  Julius  Ctesar  downwards,  the  Romans,  in  the 
prosecution  of  their  policy  of  universal  dominion,  or  for  the  purpose 
of  maintaining  communication  with  their  military  colonies,  had 
become  acquainted  with  all  the  easiest  and  most  serviceable  passes 
of  the  Alps,  and  were  thus  naturally  led  to  attach  names  to  the 
chief  groups.  As  their  acquaintance  with  the  entire  region  was 
very  incomplete,  the  exact  boundaries  of  these  groups  were  imper- 
fectly understood,  and  the  denominations  adopted  by  them  were 
never  accurately  defined.  As  might  have  been  expected,  the 
divisions  thus  roughly  established  had  reference  rather  to  the  aspect 
of  the  mountains  as  presented  to  one  travelling  from  Italy  towards 
the  north  or  west,  than  to  a  general  view  of  the  physical  conforma- 
tion of  the  entire  region.  Hence  the  ancient,  divisions  are  essentially 
defective,  as  taking  no  note  of  some  important  groups,  or  including 
under  a  single  designation  groups  entirely  distinct.  Notwith- 
standing these  defects,  the  ancient  divisions  have  been  adhered  to 
by  all  but  a  few  modern  geographers,  and  it  is  therefore  desirable 
to  record  them  separately. 

1.  Maritimt  Alps  (Alpes  Maritimee). — These  included  the  portion 
of  the  main  chain  dividing  sonth-westem  Piedmont  from  the  coast 
of  the  Mediterranean,  and  extending  northward  tc  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  conspicuous  peak  of  Monte  Viso. 

2.  Coiiian  Alps  (Alpes  Cottiae  or  Cottianae)  included  the  portion 
of  the  main  chain  dividingPiedmont  from  Dauphine  and  Savoy, 
and  extending  from  Monte  viso  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Mont 
Cenis.  The  name  appears  to  be  derived  from  Cottius,  the  king  or 
chief  of  a  powerful  tribe  who  ruled  the  greater  part  of  this  region 
when  the  paramount  authority  of  Augustus  was  established  in 
Cisalpine  Gaol. 

3.  Graian  Alps  (Alpes  Graise). — Under  this  designation  was 
known  the  great  group  of  mountains  between  Turin  and  the  upper 
Vol  d'Aosta,  and  the  portion  of  the  main  chain  lying  between  the 
Mont  Cenis  and  the  Little  St  Bernard.  ?liny  and  other  Latin 
writers  derive  the  name-  from  the  legendary  passage  of  a  body  of 
Greeks  led  by  Hercules  through  thi3  region  ;  but  the  true  derivation 
ts  probably  from  some  lost  Celtic  appellation. 

■i.  Pcnniru  Alps  (Alpes  Pennine)  was  the  name  applied  to  the 


great  range  including  Mont  Blanc  and  lloute  Kosa,  which,  from 
Hie  time  of  Julius  Caaar,  if  not  earlier,  was  recognised  as  the  highest 
portion  of  the  entire  chain.  The  word  Pen  or  Ben  is  still  in  use  in 
the  living  dialects  of  the  Celtic  stock  as  a'common  designation  foi 
a  conspicuous  mountain,  and  was  certainly  in  use  in  the  speech 
of  this  part  of  Cisalpine  Gaul,  when  inauy  other  Celtic  terms  are 
1  in  the  local  names.  The  Human  designation  JupiUr 
1  1  was  undoubtedly  taken  from  the  Celtic  root,  but  the 

asserted  use  of  the  name  Pen  for  a  divinity  by  the  native  tribes  is 
not  established  by  valid  evidence. 

6.  Lepontint  Al,  \  ontinoe). — It  would  appear  that  this 

denomination  was  originally  restricted  to  the  parts  of  the  I 

chain  lying  ou  cither  side  of  the  pass  of  St  Gotthard,  including  tlie 
sources  of  the  river  Ticiuo,  with  those  of  its  tributaries,  of  which 
the  most  important  is  the  Tosa  or  Toccia,  draiuing  the  range 
between  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Simplon  Pass  aud  that  of  the 
Gries.  The  name  is  derived  from  the  Lepontii,  a  tribe  of  doubtful 
extraction  (lihitian,  according  to  Strabo)  who  inhabited  the  main 


valley  of  the  Tessin  or  Ticino,  the  upper  part  of  which  is  still  called 
Val  Leventina.  The  eastern  limit  of  this  group  was  usually  fixed 
at  the  pass  of  San  Bernardino. 

6.  Khatian  Alps  (Alpes  Hhitticse)  derived  their  name  from  tLe 
Rhteti,  a  powerful  tribe  or  nation  holding  a  largo  tract  of  territory 
which  appears  to  have  extended  from  the  sources  of  the  Hliino  anil 
the  Ticino  on  the  west,  to  those  of  the  Adige  and  the  Salza  on  the 
east.  The  area  included  under  this  vague  heading  is  at  least  equal 
in  area  to  that  of  the  five  divisions  hitherto  enumerated. 

7.  Noric  Alps  (Alpes  Noricae). — Under  this  name  the  entire 
region  lying  north  of  the  Drave,  and  extending  thence  to  the  valley 
of  the  Danube  on  the  north  and  the  plains  of  Hungary  on  the  east, 
was  included. 

8.  Carnic  Alps  (Alpes  Carnicje). — This  name  was  given  to  the 
mountain  tract  lying  between  the  upper  Drave  and  the  low  country  of 
Friuli.  By  some  writers  it  has  been  limited  to  the  ranges  that  feed 
the  Tagliamento  ( Tilavcntiis)  and  its  tributaries ;  by  others  the  raDgn 
seems  to  have  been  held  to  extend  from  the  sources  of  the  Piave  to 
those  of  the  Save.  The  name  Carnia  is  stdl  in  use  in  Friuli,  but  is 
strictly  limited  to  the  basin  of  the  Tagliamento. 

7.  jidian  Alps  (Alpes  Julia:). — This  designation  has  been  still 
more  vaguely  used  by  ancient  and  modern  geographers  than  any  of 
the  preceding  The  lofty  group  of  peaks  crowned  by  the  Terglou, 
and  lying  between  the  head  waters  of  the  Isonzo  and  those  of  the 
Save,  undoubtedly  forms  the  chief  nucleus  of  the  group  distinguished 
by  this  name  ;  but  it  also  appears  to  have  included  the  ranges  of 
eastern  Friuli,  which  province,  as  well  as  the  Alps  in  question,  took 
its  name  trom  the  Konian  Forum  Julii,  now  known  as  Cividale. 
By  others,  and  even  by  contemporary  Italian  writers,  tho  term 
Julian  Alps  is  made  to  extend  southward  through  the  district  of 
Kai  <t  between  Carniola  and  tho  shores  of  the  Adriatic,  and  thence 
through  Croatia  to  the  frontiers  of  Bosnia.  A  great  part  of  this 
district  is  an  undulating  plateau,  in  part  not  attaining  to  2000  feet 
above  the  sea-level,  to  which  by  no  stretch  of  language  can  the 
term  Alps  be  properly  applied. 

In  addition  to  the  groups  above  mentioned  some  writers  have  enume- 
rated the  Dinaric  A  Ips  (Alpes  Dinaricse),  and  include  under  that  term 
the  mountain  range  extending  along  the  western  frontier  of  Bosnia, 
port  ion  of  the  extensive  mountainsystem  of  European  Turkey, 
which  in  one  direction  includes  the  Balkan,  and  in  another  is  continued 
through  Albania  into  Greece.  The  Romans  probably  applied  to  these 
the  designation  Alps  as  some  of  their  later  writers  did  to  the  Pyrenees 
and  the  mountains  of  southern  Spain  ;  but  it  can  merely  cause 
confusion  to  speak  of  them  as  a  portion  of  the  great  system  to  which 
the  name  Alps  specially  applies.  For  the  reasons  already  mentioned 
it  is  impossible  to  regard  the  ancient  groups  above  enumerated  as 
affording  a  satisfactory  division  of  the  region  under  consideration  } 
but  so  far  as  they  con  be  made  to  correspond  with  the  division* 
suggested  by  a  more  exact  knowledge  of  its  physical  configuration, 
it  seems  desirable  to  retain  the  established  nomenclature. 

Actual  observation  of  the  Alpine  region  through  the 
greater  part  of  its  extent,  or  even  the  careful  study  of 
accurate  models,  must  convince  any  one  who  seeks  to 
divide  it  into  groups  that  it  is  not  possible  to  do  this  by 
adhering  rigidly  to  any  single  test  or  rule.  In  a  general 
way,  it  is  natural  and  desirable  to  include  under  the  same 
name  mountain  masses  that  are  not  divided  by  a  broad 
and  deep  opening;  bul  it  is  sometimes  more  convenient  to 
include  in  one  group  disjoined  masses  that  have  some 
natural  connexion  with  each  other,  rather  than  multiply 
groups  to  an  inconvenient  extent.  In  some  cases  the 
geological  structure  may  supply  a  rational  ground  for  pre- 
ferring one  arrangement  to  another,  when  the  choice  would 
otherwise  be  arbitrary;  and  in  a  few  cases  it  may  be  well 
to  yield  something  to  ancient  usage,  based  upon  political 


ALPS 


623 


or  f  thiiological  grounds.  Accurate  knowledge  of  the  Alps 
la  so  recent  that  few  attempts  have  been  made  to  establish 
a  general  division  of  the  entire  region,  and  it  cannot  be 
said  that  any  one  arrangement  has  obtained  such  general 
recognition  as  not  to  be  open  to  future  modification ;  but 
there  is  a  pretty  general  agreement  as  to  the  main  features 
of  that  here  proposed,  to  which  a  few  general  remark 
must  be  premised. 

Whatever  may  "have  been  the  original  cause  of  those 
disturbances  of  the  earth's  crust  to  which  great  mountain 
chains  owe  their  existence,  it  is  generally,  though  not 
universally,  true  that  the  higher  masses  (formed  of  rocks 
geologically  more  ancient)  are  found  towards  the  central 
part,  and  that  these  are  flanked  by  lower  ranges,  composed 
of  more  recent  rocks,  which  surround  the  central  groups 
very  much  as  an  outer  line  of  entrenchment  may  be  seen 
to  surround  a  fort.  In  most  cases  it  is  not  possible  to 
descend  continuously  in  a  nearly  direct  line  from  the  crest 
of  a  great  mountain  chain  to  the  plains  on  either  side,  for 
there  are  usually  intermediate  valleys,  running  more  or 
less  parallel  to  the  central  range,  which  separate  this  from 
outer  secondary  ranges.  These,  in  their  turn,  are  often 
accompanied  by  external  ranges,  intermediate  between 
them  and  the  plains,  and  related  to  them  as  they  are  to 
the  central  ranges.  The  type  of  arrangement  here  described 
is  more  or  less  traceable  throughout  the  greater  part  of  the 
Alps,  but  i3  most  distinctly  exhibited  in  the  eastern  por- 
tion lying  between  the  Adige  and  the  frontier  of  Hungary. 
"We  have  a  central  range,  composed  mainly  of  crystalline 
rock ;  a  northern  range,  formed  of  secondary  rocks,  sepa- 
rated from  the  first  by  the  great  valleys  of  the  Inn,  the 
Salza,  and  the  Enns ;  a  southern  range,  somewhat  similar 
to  the  last  in  geological  structure,  divided  from  the  central 
one  by  the  Rienz,  or  east  branch  of  the  Adige,  and  the 
Drave.  Flanking  the  whole,  as  an  external  entrenchment 
on  the  north  side,  are  the  outer  ranges  of  the  Bavarian 
Alps,  of  the  Salzkammergut,  and  of  Upper  Austria,  to 
•which  correspond  on  the  south  side  the  Monti  Lessini, 
near  Verona,  the  mountains  of  Eecoaro,  those  of  the  Sette 
Comuni,  and  the  considerable  masses  crowned  by  the 
summits  of  the  Grappa,  the  Col  Vicentino,  the  Monte 
Cavallo,  the  Monte  Matajur,  and  Monte  Nanos.  Where, 
as  in  the  cases  above  mentioned,  the  secondary  ranges  of 
the  Alps  rise  to  a  greater  altitude,  and  are  completely 
separated  from  the  neighbouring  portions  of  the  central 
chain,  it  i3  impossible  not.  to  distinguish  them  as  distinct 
groups  j  but  the  outermost  ranges,  which  rarely  rise  above 
the  forest  zone,  are  in  all  cases  regarded  as  appendages  of 
the  adjoining  groups:  These  outer  ranges  are  called  in 
German  Voralpen,  and  in  Italian  Prealpi,  and  it  is  to  be 
desired  that  equivalents  should  be  introduced  in  other 
European  languages.  A  complete  catalogue  of  the  peaks 
and  passes  of  the  Alps  would  exceed  the  limits  of  this 
article,  but  it  seems  desirable  to  append  to  each  of  the 
main  groups  in  the  following  arrangement  the  names  of 
the  more  conspicuous  summits,  with  the  height  of  each 
above  the  sea-level  in  English  feet  No  limit  of  absolute 
height  has  been  fixed  in  selecting  the  peaks  here  enume- 
rated, as  the  highest  summits  of  the  less  lofty  groups  would 
appear  insignificant  in  those  whose  average  elevation  is 
much  greater.  The  more  important  passes  are  also  enu- 
merated, distinguishing  those  traversed  —  (1)  by  carriage 
road,  (2)  by  bridle-path,  practicable  for  beasts  of  burden, 
and  (3)  by  footpath ;  and  (4)  snow  passes,  involving  the 
necessity  of  crossing  snow-fields  or  glacier 

Main  Divisions  of  the  Alps. 

1.  Maritime  Alps. — On  examining  a  map  of  the  region 
^vhere  the  chain  of  the  Alps  approaches  the  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean,   it  will    be   seen    that,   about   50   miles 


N.N.W.  of  Nice,  and  about  20  S.S.W.  of  the  Monte  Viso, 
several  valleys  diverge  in  various  directions,  disposed, 
roughly  speaking,  like  the  rays  of  a  fan.  These  are  formed 
by  a  number  of  ridges  which  converge  towards,  although 
they  do  not  actually  meet  at,  the  Mont  Enchastraye  or 
Cima  dei  Quattro  Vescovadi.  On  the  west  side  one  of 
these  ridges  divides  the  upper  valley  of  the  Ubaye  from 
that  of  the  Verdon,  and  sands  out  a  branch  which  sepa- 
rates the  latter  irom  the  Bleone.  A  third  ridge  divides 
the  Verdon  from  the  Var,  and  a  fourth  separates  this  from 
its  main  affluent,  the  Tinea.  As  already  mentioned,  the 
range  extending  S.E.  from  Mont  Enchastraye  is  regarded 
as  the  main  chain  of  the  Maritime  Alps,  and  extends,  with 
numerous  diverging  secondary  ridges,  in  a  curved  line, 
gradually  approaching  nearer  to  the  coast  till  it  is  merged 
in  the  chain  of  the  Apennines.  To  fix  the  limit  between 
the  Alp8  and  the  Apennines  in  this  direction  is  necessarily 
a  somewhat  arbitrary  process,  and  different  criteria  may 
be  applied  with  different  results ;  but  it  seems  most  natural 
to  fix.  on  the  depression  west  of  Savona  known  as  the 
Col  d'Altare  or  Col  di  Cadibona,  over  which  the  road  is 
carried  which  leads  in  one  direction  to  Alessandria,  and  in 
the  other  to  MondovL  This  is  by  far  the  lowest  depres- 
sion in  the  barrier  dividing  the  Adriatic  from  the  Mediter- 
ranean, the  summit  being  only  1 608  feet  above  the  sea- 
level;  and  during  the  Miocene  epoch  it  formed  a  strait 
connecting  those  seas.  In  modern  times  the  project  of 
utilising  the  same  pass  for  the  construction  of  a  canal  to 
connect  the  Po  with  the  Gulf  of  Genoa  is  an  illustration  of 
its  geographical  significance.  On  the  north  side  of  the 
Mont  Enchastraye,  a  comparatively  low  pass,  Col  de 
PArgentiere,  divides  that  mountain  from  the  adjoining 
portion  of  the  main  chain.  This  might  properly  be  regarded 
as  the  northern  limit  of  the  Maritime  Alps,  but  ancient 
usage  has  included  in  that  group  the  ranges  that  enclose 
the  Val  Maira,  and  separate  it  on  one  side  from  the  Stura 
di  Demonte,  and  on  the  other  from  the  Vraita.  Conform- 
ing to  that  practice,  we  fix  the  northern  limit  of  the 
Maritime  Alps  at  the  Col  de  Longet,  S.E.  of  the  peak  of 
Monte  Viso,  connecting  the  head  of  Val  Vraita  in  lied- 
mont  with  the  sources  of  the  Ubaye  in  France. 

Chief  Peaks  of  the  Maritime  Alps. 
(The  heights  arc  given  in  English  feet.) 

Monte  Gale  5.649    Monte  Matto 10,230 

Monte  Fronte  7,198    Mont  Tinibras 30,223 

Monte  Bertrand 8,209    Mont  Enchastrayo 9,747 

Rocca  dell' Abisso 9,193     Grand  Kiobarent. 11,142 

Cima  dei  Gelas 10,433    Aiguille  de  Cbambeyron 11,155 

Rocca  dell'  Argentera 10,617     Pointe  Haute  de  Mary 10,537 

Chief  Passes  of  the  Maritime  Alps. 

Col  di  San  Bernardo  (Albenga  to  Garessio),  carriage  road .3301 

Col  di  Nava  (Oneglia  to  Ormea),  carriage  road 3150 

Col  di  Tenda  (Tenda  to  Cuneo),  carriage  road 6158 

Col  delle  Finestre  (S.  'Martino  to  Entracque),  footpath  8189 

Col  delle  Cerese  (S.  Martino  to  Valdieri),  footpath S412 

Col  di  Frema  Morta  (Val  Tinea  to  Valdieri),  bridle-path  8839 

Col  della  Lombarda  (Val  Tinea  to  Vinadio),  footpath 7858 

Col  di  Sta.  Anna  (same),  footpath  8009 

Col  de  Pouriac  (San  Stefano  to  Bersesio),  fuotpaui 8360 

Col  de  1' Argentine  (Val.  of  the  Stura  to  Barcefpnnette),  bridle-path  6545 

Col  de  Sautron  (Val  -Maira  to  Barcelonnette),  footpath about  8000 

Col  de  Lanzanier  (Val  Tinea  to  the  Ubaye),  footpath about  8300 

2.  Cottian  Alps. — In  the  well-known  panorama  pre- 
sented to  an  observer  who  takes  his  stand  on  the  Superga, 
or  some  other  eminence  near  Turin,  the  most  distant 
objects  are  the  peaks  of  the  Maritime  Alps  south  of  Cuneo 
and,  exactly  in  the  opposite  direction,  the  great  mass  of 
Monte  Rosa.  In  the  western  horizon,  subtended  by  this 
chord,  about  120  miles  in  length,  the  eye  follows  the 
irregular  curve  traced  out  by  the  main  peaks  of  the  western 
Alps,  that  separate  upper  Italy  from  France.  More  than 
any  other  part  of  the  Alpine  chain,  this  is  characterised  by 
extreme  irregularity  in  the  disposition  of  the  mountain 
masses  and  the  chief  valleys.     On  the  west  side  the  ire- 


624 


ALPS 


Mont  Albaron 12,014 

Mont  Chardonnet  12.373 

La  Levanna  11,516 

Pointe  de  Sainte  Anne,  or 

Pte.  des  Orches about  11,000 

Roche  Brune    10,906 

Mont  Chaberton 10,258 


vailing  direction  seems  to  be  from  south-west  to  north-east, 
while  on  the  east  side  it  is  more  nearly  from  west  to  cast; 
but  the  valleys  and  the  ridges  that  enclose  them  are  often 
curved  or  irregularly  sinuous.  Convenience  seems  to  confirm 
immemorial  usage  in  subdividing  this  rogion  into  two  or 
more  groups ;  but  it  is  not  easy  to  decide  how  this  is  to  bo 
effected.  The  great  valley  of  the  Dora  Riparia,  and  the 
low  passes  connecting  it  with  the  valley  of  the  Durance, 
seem  to  afford  the  most  natural  division.  Ancient  and 
modern  usage  being  alike  opposed  to  this,  it  appears  that 
the  valley  of  the  Oreo  in  Piedmont  and  that  of  the  Arc  in 
Savoy,  with  the  connecting  pass  of  the  Col  del  Carro,  may 
best  be  taken  as  the  boundary  between  the  northern  and 
southern  portions.  The  latter  is  distinguished  as  the  group 
of  the  Cottian  Alps.  This  includes  a  number  of  secondary 
ridges  that  extend  from  the  main  chain  on  the  side  of 
Piedmont,  with  a  general  direction  from  west  to  east;  and 
on  the  French  side  one  considerable  range,  stretching  south- 
west from  the  neighbourhood  of  Monte  Viso,  that  divides 
the  Ubaye  from  the  Guil,  besides  a  lesser  parallel  ridge  lying 
between  the  Guil  and  the  head  waters  of  the  Durauce. 

Chief  Peaks  of  the  Cotlian  Alps. 

Monte  Viso  12,605 

Monte  Meldassa 10,991 

Mont  Albergian  9,990 

Roche  du  Grand  Galibier  ...10,637 

Mont  Tabor  10,436 

Rocbe  d'Ambin  11,096 

Roche  Melon 11.621 

Ciamarella 12,081 

Chief  Passes  of  the  Cotlian  Alps. 

Col  de  Longet  (Val  Vraita  to  the  Ubaye),  footpath  8,727 

Col  de  St  Veran  (Val  Vraita  to  Queyras),  footpath 9,564 

Col  de  la  Traversette  (Crissolo  to  Abries),  footpath  9,827 

Col  de  la  Croix  (La  Tour  de  Luserne  to  Abries),  bridle-path 7,611 

Col  de  Sestrieres  (Pigncrol  to  Cesanne),  carriage  road 6,335 

Mont  Genevre  (Cesanne  to  Briancon),  carriage  road 6,102 

Col  d'Izouard  (Quevras  to  Briancon),  bridle-path about    6,580 

Col  dea  Echelles  de  Planpinet  ( Bardonneche  to  Briancon),  footpath  6,873 

Col  de  la  Roue  (Bardonneche  to  Modane),  bridlepath 8,334 

Col  d'Etiaches  (Bardonneche  to  Braroans),  footpath 9,301 

Col  du  Clapier  (Bramans  to  Susa),  footpath 8,107 

Mont  Cenis  (Susa  to  Lanslebourg),  carriage  road  6,772 

Col  de  l'Autaret  (Via  to  Lanslebourg),  enow 10,170 

Col  do  Colorin  (Ala  to  Lanslebourg),  glacier 10,662 

Col  de  Sea  (GrOscavallo  to  Lanslebourg),  glacier n*15! 

Col  della  Crocetta  (Groscavallo  to  Ceresole),  footpath 9,179 

3.  BauphinS  Alps. — On  the  west  side  of  the  Cottian 
Alps,  and  separated  from  these  by  the  broad  valley  of  the 
Durance,  rises  a  group  of   lofty  peaks,  surpassing  them 
considerably  in   height,  and   almost  completely  isolated 
from  their  neighbours.     This  group  has  not  usually  been 
included  amongst  the  Cottian  Alps  by  geographers,  and 
it  is  more  natural  to  regard  it  as  the  nucleus  of  a  distinct 
division  constituting  the  Dauphine"  Alps.     On  the  north 
side  of  this  central  mass,  and  separated  by  the  valley  of 
the  Romanche  and  the  Col  de  Lautaret,  is  a  considerable 
group,  including  three  principal  ridges,  whose  direction  is 
nearly  due  north  and  south,  separated  from  the  neighbour- 
ing mountains  of  Savoy  by  the  deep  valleys  of  the  Arc 
and  the  Isere,  which  may  best  be  regarded  as  an  outlying 
portion  of  this  division.     On  the  south  side  of  the  main 
group  another  outlying  mass,  which  on  one  side  feeds  the 
chief  sources  of  the  Drac,  and  on  the  other  several  short 
tributaries  to  the  Durance,  must  also  be  included  in  this 
division.     The  ranges  of  secondary  rocks  lying  west  of  the 
broad  valley  between  Grenoble  and  Chambery,  which  are 
geologically  and  orographically  a  southern  extension  of  the 
chain  of  the  Jura,  are  at  the  same  time  exactly  parallel  to 
the  northern  ranges  of  the  Dauphine"  Alps,  and  must  be 
regarded  as  the  outer  range  or  "Border  Alps" (Voralpen) 
of  the  group.     The  only  doubt  in  fixing  the  limits  of  the 
Dauphine"  Alps  is  as  to  the  boundary  between  their  northern 
group  and  the  adjoining  mass  of  the  Cottian  Alps.    It 
eeema  that  this  may  best  be  fixed  at  the  Col  de  Galibier, 


conntcting  the  chiet  source  of  the  Durance  with  the  Tallej- 
ot  Valloires  in  Savoy. 

Chief  Peaks  of  the  Dauphinl  Alps. 


Pic  des  Ecrins,   or  Pointe 

des  Arcines  13,462 

La   Meiie,   or  Aiguille    du 

Midi  do  la  Grave  13,081 

Pic  d'Ailefroide about  13,000 

Mont  Pelvoui  (highest  peak)  12,973 

ric  d'Olan 11.739 

Aiguille  d'Arve  (highest) 11,529 

Aiguille  delaSausse(high'st)  10,896 


Grandes  Rousses 11 ,395 

Taillefer 9,387 

Pic  de  Belledonne 9,780 

Ho  du  Frene 9,203 

Pic  Bonvoisin  11,503 

Dormillouse 10,571 

Chamechaude  6,847 

Mont  Granier  6,348 

Cent  du  Chat  5,302 


Chief  Passes  of  the  Dauphinl  Alps. 

Col  de  Galibier  (Briancon  to  St  Michel),  footpath 9,151 

Col  de  Lautaret  (Monestierto  Bourg  d'Oisans),  carriage  road 6,791 

Col  dea  Ecrins  (Vallouise  to  La  Berardo),  glacier  11,071 

Col  du  Glacier  Blanc  (Vallouise  to  La  Grave  en  Oisans),  glacier.. .10,811 

Col  do  l'Echauda  (Vallouise  to  Monestier),  bridle-path  7,938 

Col  de  la  Lauze  (St  Christophe  to  La  Grave  en  Oisans),  glacier  ...10,509 

Col  de  Venose  (Venose  to  Freney),  bridle-path 6,292 

Col  de  Sais  (La.Be>arde  to  Val  Goderaar),  glacier 10,289 

Col  de  Celar  (Vallouise  to  Val  Godemar), glacier 10,092 

Col  des  Tourettes  (Orcieres  to  Chateauroux),  footpath 8,465 

Col  de  l'lnfernet  (La  Grave  en  Oisans  to  St  Jean  de  Maurienne), 

footpath  8,826 

Col  de  la  Croix  de  Fer  (Bourg  d'Oisans  to  St  Jean  de  Maurienne), 

bridlepath 6,600 

4.  Graian,  Alps. — The  lofty  group  of  snowy  mountains 
lying  between  the  plain  of  Piedmont  and  Mont  Blanc  has 
from  a  remote  period  borne  the  designation  Graian  Alps. 
To  the  north  they  are  bounded  by  the  Val  d'Aosta,  and  to 
the  south  by  the  yalley  of  the  Oreo;  but  on  the  west  side 
the  boundary  is  not  so  easily  determined.  The  portion  of 
the  main  chain  dividing  Savoy  from  Piedmont,  between 
the  Levana  and  Mont  Blanc,  must  undoubtedly  be  in- 
cluded in  this  division;  but  it  is  not  so  easy  to  determine 
the  relations  of  a  group  of  lofty  summits  that  are  divided 
from  the  rest  of  the  Graian  Alps  by  the  upper  valley  of 
the  Isere,  filling  the  space  between  the  upper  course  of 
that  river  and  that  of  the  Arc.  This  is  further  geologically 
distinguished  by  the  fact  that  the  higher  summits  are 
chiefly  composed  of  nearly  unaltered  sedimentary  rocks. 
This  group  has  by  some  writers  been  associated  with  the 
mountains  of  Beaufort,  lying  between  the  Isere  and  the 
Arly,  to  form,  with  some  subordinate  branches,  a  group  of 
south  Savoy  Alps  ;  but  we  prefer  to  adhere  to  the  older 
usage  of  those  who  have  united  them  with  the  Graian 
Alps.  The  exact  boundary  between  these  and  the  Mont 
Blanc  group  may  best  be  fixed  at  the  pass  of  the  Little 
St  Bernard,  the  lowest  in  the  main  chain  between  the 
Mont  Cenis  and  the  Simplon. 

Chief  Peaks  of  the  Graian  Alp: 


La  Grivola  13,028 

Becca  di  Nona  10,384 

Mont  Emilius 11,677 

Punta  di  Tersiva ,  11,603 

Savoy  Group. 

Grande  Motte  about  11,800 

Grande  Casse 12,780 

Dent  Parassee  12,137 

Roche  Chevriere  10,765 

Mont  Pourri  12,491 


Main  Chain. 

Grand  Apparei 11 ,491 

Aiguille  de  la  Sassiere  12,326 

Mont  Bassao 11,200 

Onnelune 10,833 

Ruitor  11,480 

Piedmontcse  Group. 

Grand  Paradis  13,300 

Tour  du  Grand  St  Pierre*.  12,069 

Punta  di  Lavina  10,824 

Bee  d'luvergnuon about  12,100 

Chief  Passes  in  the  Graian  Alps. 

Col  del  Carro  (Locana  to  Lanslebourg),  glacier   10,292 

Col  de  Galeae  (Locana  to  Tignes),  snow  < 8,839 

Col  de  Gailletta  (Tignes  to  Val  de  Rhcmes),  glacier 10,049 

Col  Vaudet  (Tignes  to  Val  Grisanche),  snow 9,305 

Col  du  Mont  (Sainte  Foi  to  Val  Grisanche),  footpath  8,635 

Pass  of  Little  St  Bernard  (Bourg  St  Maurice  to  Aosta),  car.  road  7,192 
Col  de  la  Croix  de  Nivolet  (Ceresole  to  Val  Savaranche),  bridlepath  8,624 

Col  de  Grancrou  (Cogne  to  Noasca),  glacier    11,034 

Col  de  Telleccio  (Cogne  to  Locana),  glacier  10,925 

Col  della  Nouva  (Ponte  to  Cogne),  glacier 9,664 

Col  de  Lauzon  (Cogne  to  Val  Savaranche),  bridle-path about  9,500 

Fenetre  de  Cogne  (Cogne  to  Bard),  bridlepath 8,860 

Col  de  Lore  (Cogne  to  Brissogne),  glacier  10,049 

Col  d'Iseran  (Bourg  St  Maurice  to  Lanslebourg),  bridle-path  9,085 

Col  de  la  Leisse  (Tignes  to  Entre-deux-Eaux),  snow 9,127 

Col  de  la  Vanoise  (Moutiers  Taxentaise  to  Lanslebourg),  footpath  8,271 

Col  de  Chaviere  (Pralognan  to  Modane),  snow 9,144 

Col  de  la  Platiere  (Moutiers  Tarentaiae  to  St  Jean  de  Maurienne), 

footpath  6,800 

Col  do  la  Madeleine  (Albertville  to  La  Chambre),  bridle-path 6,637 


ALPS 


025 


5.  Pennine  Alps. — The  portion  of  the  great  chain  that 
includes  the  peaks  of  Mont  Blanc  and  Monte  Kosa  has 
always  been  recognised  as  the  most  important  among  the 
divisions  of  the  Alps.  This  pre-eminence  is  due  not  only 
to  its  surpassing  height,  but  to  the  fact  that  its  peaks  are 
so  conspicuous.  Throughout  the  plain  of  Upper  Italy, 
from  Turin  to  Milan,  and  even  as  far  as  the  slopes  of  the 
Apennines,  Monte  Kosa,  with  its  attendant  peaks,  is  com- 
monly the  most  remarkable  object  in  the  northern  horizon ; 
while  in  western.  Switzerland,  and  as  far  westward  as  the 
heights  above  Lyons,  the  dome  of  Mont  Blanc,  rising  in 
the  distant  eastern  horizon,  attracts  the  frequent  attention 
alike  of  natives  and  strangers.  Some  doubts  may  arise  as 
to  the  precise  limits  that  should  be  assigned  to  this  group. 
Towards  the  north-east.it  is  generally  agreed  that  the 
Simplon  Pass  is  the  most  natural  limit.  In  the  opposite 
direction  most  writers  have  fixed  on  the  Col  de  Bonhomme, 
south-west  of  Mont  Blanc,  as  the  proper  boundary;  but  it 
seems  reasonable  inageneral  arrangement  to  regard  the  range 
extending  from  the  last-named  pass  to  Grand  Cceur,  in  the 
valley  of  the  Isere,  as  a  south-western  prolongation  of  the 
range  of  Mont  Blanc.  From  the  portion  of  the  main  chain 
connecting  the  Mont  Combin  with  Monte  Rosa,  numerous 
branches,  with  peaks  that  rival  these  in  height,  diverge 
northward.  The  secondary  ranges  that  extend  on  the  side 
of  Italy,  southward  and  eastward  from  Monte  Rosa,  are 
much  inferior  in  altitude.  On  the  north  and  west  sides 
of  Mont  Blanc  an  extensive  mountain  district,  including 
the  French  department  of  Haute  Savoie,  must  be  considered 
as  an  appendage  to  the  group  of  the  Pennine  Alps.  On 
the  south  side,  the  short  range  extending  parallel  to  that 
of  Mont  Blanc,  from  Courmayeur  to  the  Val  de  Bellaval, 
corresponding  to  the  range  of  the  Aiguilles  Rouges  and  the 
Brevent,  on  the  opposite  side,  mav  best  be  included  within 
the  group  of  the  Pennine  Alps. 

Chief  Peaks  of  the  Pennine  Alps, 


Fletschhorn  (Laquinhorn)    13,176 

Grauhaupt  10,702 

Corno  Bianco 11,014 

Pointe  de  Salles    about  10,200 

Buet  10,207 

Tour  Salliere 10,587 

Dent  du  Midi : 10,450 

Pigne  d'Arolla  12,471 

Rouinette 12,727 

Mont  Blanc  de  Cheillon  ...  12,700 

Dent  Blanche 14,318 

Grand  Cornier  13,022 

Sasseneire  • 10,692 

Gabelhom   13,363 

Rothhorn,  or  Morning  13,855 

Weisshorn  14,804 

Strablhorn  13,750 

Mischabelhbrnor  (Doni)  ...  14,935 


Cima  des  Fours 12,615 

Aiguille  de  Trelatete 12,907 

Aiguille  de  Bionnassay 13,324 

Mont  Blanc  (Calotte) 15,781 

Aiguille  Verte 13,527 

Grandes  Jorasses 13,799 

Aiguille  d'Argentiere 12,796 

Grande  Rossere 10,904 

Mont  Velan 12,353 

Grand  Combin .-. 14,164 

MontGele  11,539 

Mont  Colon 12,264 

Dent  d'Herens 13,714 

Bee  de  Luseney 12,350 

Matterhorn.orMontCervin  14,780 

Breithorn 13,685 

Lyskaram 14,889 

Mle.  Rosa  (highest  peak)...  15,217 
Weissmies  : 13,225 

Chief  Passes  of  the  Pennine  Alps. 

Col  de  Bonhomme  (Contamines  to  Chapiu),  bridle-path 8,193 

Col  de  la  Seigne  (Chapiu  to  Courmayeur),  bridle-path 8,327 

Col  du  Mont  Tondu  (Contamines  to  AlUe  Blanche),  glacier 9,204 

Col  de  Miage  (Contamines  to  Courmayeur),  glacier  11,076 

Col  du  Geant  (Chamouni  to  Courmayeur),  glacier 11,030 

Col  du  Tour  (Chamouni  to  Orsieres),  glacier 11,213 

Colde  Ferrei  (Courmayeur  to  Orsieres),  bridle-path 8,320 

Great  St  Bernard  Pass  (Orsieres  to  Aosta),  bridle-path  8,120 

Col  de  Fenetre  (Chables  to  Aosta),  bridle-path 9,141 

Col  de  Colon  (Aosta  to  Evolena),  glacier 10,269 

Col  de  la  Val  Pellina  (Aosta  to  Zermatt),  glacier. .' 11,687 

Col  de  Vessona  (Oyace  to  St  Barthelemi),  footpath about  8,600 

Col  de  Vacornere  (Prarayen  to  Val  Tournanche),  snow  , 10,335 

Col  de  Chermontane  (Chermontane  to  Evolena),  glacier 10,349 

Col  d'Herens  (Evolena  to  Zermatt),  glacier 11,418 

Col  do  Torrent  (Evolena  to  Vissoie),  footpath 9,593 

Pas  du  Bosuf  (St  Luc  to  Turtmanthal),  footpath 9,154 

Augstbord  Pass  (Griiben  to  St  Niklaus),  bridle-path 9,515 

Trift  Joch  (Zinal  to  Zermatt),  glacier 11,614 

Col  de  St  Theodule  (Zermatt  to  Val  Tournanche),  glacier 10,899 

Schwarz  Thor  (Zermatt  to  Val  d'Ayas),  glacier  12,777 

Lys  Joch  (Zermatt  to  Val  de  Lys),  glacier - 14,050 

Weiss  Thor  (Zermatt  to  Macugnaga),  glacier. 11.851 

Betta  Fuike  (Val  d'Ayas  to  Val  de  Lys),  footpath 8,639 

Col  d'OUen  (Gressouay  to  Alagna),  bridle-path „._.. 9,544 


Col  di  Vnl  Dolibia  (Gressonay  to  P-iva),  bridle-path «..  8,360 

Turlo  Pass  (Alagna  to  Macugnaga),  snow 9,088 

Col  di  Barranca  (Varallo  to  Ponte  Grande),  bridle-path 5,749 

Alphubel  Joch  (Zermatt  to  Saas),  glacier. 12,474 

Adler  Pass  (Zermatt  toDistel  Alp),  glacier 12,461 

Monte  Moro  (Saaa  to  Macugnaga),  snow 9,390 

Saas  Pass,  or  Passo  d'Antrona  (Saas  to  Val  Antrona),  glacier 9,331 

Zwischbergen  Pass  (Saas  to  Gondo),  glacier 10,732 

Simplon  Pass  (Brieg  to  Domo  d'Ossola),  carriage  road. 6,595 

Col  de  Balme  (Chamouni  to  Martigny),  bridle-path 7,231 

Col  d'Anterne  (Servoz  toSixt),  bridle-path 7,612 

Col  de  Sesanfe  (Champe'ry  to  Martigny),  footpath 7,940 

6.  Bernese  Alps. — There  is  no  considerable  mass  of 
Alpine  summits  whose  boundaries  are  better  defined  than 
that  which  is  generally  known  as  the  group  of  the  Bernese 
Alps.  By  the  number  and  height  of  the  peaks,  that  rise 
far  above  the  limits  of  perpetual  snow,  it  ranks  next  in 
importance  to  the  Pennine  group ;  and  its  position  with 
reference  to  that  group  has  largely  contributed  to  the  fame 
of  the  region  which  they  occupy  for  a  marvellous  and 
almost  unique  combination  of  grandeur  and  variety.  The 
most  characteristic  feature  in  the  orography  of  Switzerland 
is  the  great  valley  system  that  extends  in  a  nearly  direct 
line  from  Martigny  to  Coire — interrupted,  it  is  true,  by 
two  passes  (the  Furka  and  Oberalp)  of  small  elevation 
compared  to  the  surrounding  heights.  On  the  opposite 
sides  of  this  great  trench  the-  chief  groups  of  the  central 
Alps  are  arranged  in  masses  that,  amid  much  apparent 
irregularity,  approach  to  parallelism  T?ith  the  direction  of 
the  central  valley.  Hence  the  traveller  who  attains  any 
considerable  height  on  either  side  sees  over  against  him 
the  dominant  summits  of  the  opposite  group  in  constantly 
varying  combination.  The  highest  groups  (the  Pennine 
and  Bernese)  are  so  placed  that  the  chief  peaks  on  the  one 
side  are  rarely  more  than  20  miles  apart  from  their  rivals 
in  the  opposite  chain,  and  the  projecting  summits  of  the 
secondary  ridges  between  them  afford  panoramic  views  of 
wonderful  beauty  and  grandeur.  What  may  be  called  the 
main  chain  of  the  Bernese  Alps,  forming  the  boundary 
between  the  Swiss  cantons  of  Bern  and  Valais,  extends 
parallel  to  the  course  of  the  Rhone,  from  the  glacier  which 
is  the  main  source  of  that  river,  to  Martigny,  a  distance  of 
about  70  miles ;  and  we  must  regard  as  a  dependency  of 
that  chain  the  mountain  district  that  lies  on  its  northern 
side,  between  the  upper  course  of  the  Aar  and  the  head  of 
the  Lake  of  Geneva.  Desiring  to  adhere  to  the  divisions 
of  the  Alps  admitted  by  ancient  geographers,  many  modern 
writers  have  included  the  Bernese  group  among  the  Lepon- 
tine  Alps  ;  but  this  arrangement  is  not  consistent  with  any 
rational  criterion  that  can  be  applied.  The  only  question 
admitting  of  doubt  is  as  to  the  eastern  limit  of  this  group. 
The  Aar  issues  from  its  parent  glacier  at  a  point  very  near 
to  the  chief  source  of  the  Rhone,  and  separated  only  by  a 
comparatively  deep  and  broad  depression,  the  Grimsel 
Pass;  and  it  might  appear  that  the  Bernese  Alps. should 
be  defined  as  the  group  enclosed  between  those  rivers. 
But  some  ten  miles  east  of  the  Grimsel  Pass  the  range 
lying  north  of  the  great  valley  of  Switzerland  is  completely 
cut  through  by  the  valley  of  the  Reuss,  where  that  stream 
descends  towards  the  Lake  of  Lucerne  through  the  famous 
defile-  of  the  Devil's  Bridge;  and  as  it  would  be  incon- 
venient to  reckon  the  comparatively  small  group  that  lies 
between  the  head  waters  of  the  Reuss  and  those  of  tho 
Aar  as  a  separate  division,  we  prefer  to  include  this  as  a 
portion  of  the  Bernese  Alps. 

Chief  Peaks  of  the  Bernese  Alps. 

Grand  Moveran  10,043  |  Aletschborn  13,803 

Diablerets 10,666 

Wildhorn  10,722 

Wildstrubel  10,715 

Balmhora  12,100 


Doldenhorn  ..11,965 

Blvimlis    Alp    (Blurolisalp- 

hom)   12.041 

Bietschhorn  12.969 


Jungfrau 13,671 

Mdnch 13,438- 

Eiger 13,045 

Finsteraarhorn 14,025 

Schreckhorn 13,394 

Wetterhorn  (Mittelhorn) 12,166 

Rizlihorn 10.774 

EgFjisrhhoro 9,649 


620 


ALPS 


Titlis 10,627 

Uri  Rothstock 9,620 

Niesen 7,763 

Brienzer  Rothhorn 7,917 

Pilatus  (Oberuaupt) 7,290 


Loffelhora 10,139 

Galenstock 1 1 ,966 

Dammastock 1 1 ,990 

Sustenhorn 11,519 

Gross  Spaouort  10,515 

Chief  Passes  in  the  Bernese  A  lps. 

Col  da  Chevilte  (Bex  to  Sion),  bridle-path 6,630 

S.onetsch  Pass  (Sion  to  Sa  path  7,369 

Rawyl  Pass  (Sion  to  Zweisimmen),  bridlepath  7,943 

Geromi  Pass  (Kandersteg  to  Leuk),  bridle-path 7,553 

LOtaeheD  Pass  (Eandenug  to  Turtman),  glacier    8,796 

Tschingel  Pass  (Kandersteg  to  Lauterbrunnen),  glacier 9,252 

Peteisgrat  (Lauterbrunnen  to  Kippel),  glacier. 10,550 

Lotscben  LUcke  (Kippel  to  the  jEggiscblom),  glacier 10,512 

Kleine  Scheidegg  (Lauterbrunnen  to  Grindelwald),  bridle-path...  6,768 

Grosse  Scheidegg  (Grindelwald  to  Meyringen),  bridlepath  6,910 

Munch  Joch  (Grindelwald  to  Viescb),  glacier about  11,600 

Strahleck  Pass  (Grindelwald  to  the  Gnmsel),  glacier  10,994 

Briinig  Pass  (Brienz  to  Sarnen),  carriage  road 3,648 

Engelberger  Joch  (Meyringen  to  Engelberg),  bridle-path  7,'-M4 

rn),  carriage  road  (?)  7,440 

Triftlimmi  ('lVift  Glacier  to  Grimsel),  glacier about  10,200 

nanlinimi  (Gcschenen  to  Stein  Alp),  glacier about  10,170 

Surenen  Pass  (Engelberg  to  Altdorf),  bridle-path 7,562 

7.  North  Siviss  Alps. — Attention  has  already  been  called 
to  the  great  line  of  valley  that  traverses  Switzerland  from 
Martigny  to  Coire.  The  range  of  high  peaks  lying  on  the 
north  side  of  this  valley  is  interrupted  at  one  point  only, 
■where  the  Reuss  flows  through  the  deep  defile  of  the 
Devil's  Bridge  from  Andermatt  to  Altdorf,  and  this  breach 
in  the  continuity  of  the  range  has  been  here  regarded  as 
the  eastern  limit  of  the  Bernese  Alps.  The  range  extend- 
ing eastward  from  that  boundary  to  the  neighbourhood  of 
Coire  might  perhaps  be  considered  as  a  prolongation  of 
the  range  of  the  Bernese  Alps ;  but  independently  of  the 
inconvenience  of  assigning  such  wide  boundaries  to  a  single 
group,  there  are  geologic  as  well  as  orographic  grounds  for 
preferring  to  class  this  along  with  the  dependent  ranges 
lying  further  north  as  a  separate  division  of  the  Alps. 
With  regard  to  the  latter  ranges,  those  lying  between  the 
valley  of  the  Reuss  and  the  Lake  of  Lucerne,  on  one  side, 
and  the  ancient  valley  of  the  Rhine,  which  included  the 
lakes  of  Wallenstadt  and  Zurich,  on  the  other,  manifestly 
correspond  to  the  outer  ranges  of  contral  Switzerland, 
■which  we  regard  as  appendages  of  the  Bernese  Alps.  The 
case  is  somewhat  different  as  regards  the  small  detached 
group  culminating  in  the  Hoh  Sentis,  and  lying  in  the 
angle  between  the  ancient  course  of  the  Rhine  and  the 
modern  Rhine  valley  from  Sargans  to  the  Lake  of  Con- 
stance. This  is  so  far  separated  orographically  and  by 
geological  structure  that  it  might  proporly  rank  as  a 
separate  division,  but  it  is  on  the  whole  more  convenient 
to  reckon  it  as  an  outlying  portion  of  this  group.  The 
Oberalp  Pass,  a  few  miles  east  of  Andermatt,  forms  the 
<*-  ttershed  between  tho  Reuss  and  the  main  branch  of  the 
I' nine,  and  the  waters  meet  again  at  the"  confluence  with 
the  latter  of  the  united  streams  of  tho  Aar  and  the  Reuss 
at  Waldshut,  so  that  the  entire  territory  comprehending 
this  division  of  the  Alps  is  enclosed  between  the  two  first- 
named  rivers. 


Chief  Peaks  of  the 

Crispalt  (Piz  Giuf) 10,164 

Oberalpstock  (Piz  Cotschen)  10,925 

:odl 11,887 

Piz  Tumbif, or  Brigelserhorn  10,668 
Bifertenstock.or  Pis  Durgin  11,237 

Hausstock 10,355 

Segnesbom 10,870 

Halanda  9,213 

Bristenstock 10,089 

Scheerhorn .'....11,142 

Claridenstock  10,709 

Selbsanft. 9,921 


North  Swiss  A  lps. 

Karpfstock 9,180 

Saurenstock 10,026 

Scheibe 9,687 

Mythen  (higher  peak) 6,244 

Glamisch     (highest     peak, 

Bachistock)  9,584 

MUrtschenstock  - 8,012 

Mageren  — ., 8,294 

Churfirsten    (highest    peak, 

Scheibenstoll) 7,654 

Faulfirst 7,916 

Hoh  Sentis .?. 8,215 


Chief  Passes  of  the  North  Swiss  A  lps. 

Ob<:ralp  Pass  (Dissentis  to  Andermatt),  carriage  road 6,732 

Kreuzli  Pass  (Dissentis  to  Amsteg),  footpath  - 7,710 

Band  Grat  Pass  (Dissentis  to  Stachelberg),  glacier 9,188 

Clariden  Grat  (Amsteg  to  Stachelberg),  glacier  9,842 

Kisten  Pass  (Tlanz  to  Stachelberg),  snow   8,281 

tanixar  Pass  (Uanz  to  Elm),  bridle-path 7,907 


Segnes  Pass  (Reicbenau  to  Elm),  snow 8,611 

Sardona  Pass  (Elm  to  Vattis),  glacier  about  9,500 

Ramin  Pass  (Elm  to  Sargans),  footpath  6,772 

Klausen  Pass  (Altdorf  to  Stachelberg),  bridle-path  6,437 

Pragel  Pass  fSchnyz  to  Glarus),  bridle-path 5,062 

Kamor  1  o J  to  KUti),  bridle-path about  6,300 

8.  Lepontine  Alps. — The  portion  of  tho  Alpine  chain 
lying  between  the  Simplon  and  Spliigen  passes,  and  form- 
ing the  boundary  between  the  tributaries  of  the  Po  and 
those  of  the  Rhine,  presents  some  peculiar  orographic 
characteristics.  The  line  of  ■watershed  is  pretty  nearly 
parallel  to  that  great  line  of  depression  traced  across 
Switzerland  by  the  valley  of  the  Rhone,  the  Ursorenthal, 
and  the  valley  of  tho  Vorderrhein ;  and  a  tendency  to 
parallelism  with  the  same  system  may  be  traced  in  many 
parts  of  this  group.  But  the  dominant  direction  of  the 
secondary  valleys  and  ridges  is  that  of  tho  meridian  ;  and 
on  the  south  sido  we  find  a  series  of  long  valleys  running 
from  north  to  south,  with  occasional  slight  distortions.  The 
most  considerable  of  these  are  partly  .occupied  by  the  two 
famous  Lombard  lakes — Maggiore  and  Como — which  have 
from  an  early  period  attracted  the  admiration  of  strangers 
to  this  region.  Ancient  geographers  limited  the  term 
Lepontine  Alps  to  the  portion  of  this  group  that  sends  its 
drainage  on  the  south  side  to  the  river  Ticino ;  but  the 
ranges  between  the  Spliigen  and' Bernardino  passes,  and  be- 
tween the  lakes  Maggiore  and  Como,  evidently  belong  to  the 
same  system,  and  must  be  united  in  any  natural  arrange- 
ment of  the  Alps.  On  considering  a  tolerably  correct 
model,  it  is  impossible  not  to  be  struck  by  the  fact  that  all 
the  valleys  that  contain  the  most  considerable  streams  of 
the  central  Alps  appear  to  radiate  from  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  St  Gotthard  Pass.  If  we  measure  from  the 
summit  of  that  pass  to  the  head  valleys  of  the  Rhone,  the 
Aar,  the  Reuss,  the  Vorderrhein,  the  Ticino,  and  the 
Toccia,  we  find  that  the  most  distant  lies  within  i)  English 
miles  from  that  point.  This  fact  has  doubtless  a  signifi- 
cance which  we  are  not  yet  able  fully  to  appreciate,  but 
scarcely  suffices  to  justify  the  view  of  those  who  regard  the 
St  Gotthard  Pass  as  in  some  special  sense  the  central  point 
of  the  whole  system  of  the  Alps.  It  is  worth  remarking 
that,  so  far  from  being  distinguished  by  superior  height, 
the  neighbouring  peaks  are  surpassed  by  all  the  surround- 
ing groups,  and  that  the  valleys  are  much  deeper  than  in 
many  other  districts,  and  especially  than  those  of  eastern 
Switzerland. 

Chief  Peaks  of  the  Lepontine  A  lps. 


Piz  Vial,  or  Gallinario 10.387 

PizVahhein 11,148 

Vogelberg  10,564 

Piz  Tern 10,338 

Piz  Cavel 9,659 

Fanellabom  10,248 

Lochliberg 9,990 

PizBerenn 9,843 

Tambohorn    10,748 

Cima  di  Balniscio  9,967 

Monte  Camoghe 7,304 


Monte  Leone 11,696 

Wasenhom. 10,628 

Ofenhom,or  Punta  d'Arbola  10,728 

Blinnenhorn 10,932 

Monte  Basodine 10,748 

Bizzo  Rotondo 10,489 

Pizzo  di  Campo  Tenca 10,096 

Piodi  di  Crana 7,959 

Cima  di  Laurasca  7,264 

Badus,  or  Six  Maduna. 9,616 

Scopt 10,499 

Cima  Camadra 10,609 

Chief  Passes  in  the  Lepontine  Alps. 

Rittor  Pass  (Viescb  to  IsoUa),  snow  8,854 

Albrun  Pass  (Viescb  to  Premia),  bridle-path 8,005 

Grics  Po3s  (Obergestelen  to  Fonnazza),  bridle-path 8,050 

Nufenen  Pass  (Obergestelen  to  Airolo),  bridle-path 8,009 

Passo  di  San  Giacomo  (Fonnazza  to  Airolo),  bridle-path  7,572 

Furka  Pass  (Obergestelen  to  Hospenthal),  carriage  road 7,992 

St  Gotthard  Pass  (Bospcnthal  to  Airolo),  carriage  road 6,936 

Criner  Furka  (Locarno  to  Val  Fonnazza),  footpath  7,631 

Passo  di  Narret  (Locarno  to  Airolo),  footpath 8,013 

Passo  dell'  Uomo  (Dissontis  to  Airolo),  footbath. 7,257 

Lukmanier  Pass  (Dissentis  to  Olivone),  bridle-path _ 6,289 

Greina  Pass  (Trons  to  Olivone),  bridle-path - 7,743 

Disrut  Pass  (llanz  to  OUvone),  footpath 7,953 

Scaradra  Pass  (llanz  to  Gnu-one),  snow  9,088 

Passo  di  Buffalora  (Val  Calanca  to  Mesocco),  bridle-path 6,686 

Bernardino  Pass  (Hinterrhein  to  Val  Mesocco),  carriage  road. 6,769 

Valserborg  Pass  (llanz  to  Hinterrhein),  bridle-path 8,226 

LSch^ibcrg  Paaa  (Reichenan  to  Bplugen),  footpath. ™~  8  Jf  * 


A  L 

BplUgen  Pass  (Spliijen  to  Chiavenna),  carriage  road 6,945 

Passo  di  Balniscio  (Campodolcino  to  Mesocco),  footpath 7,715 

Passo  della  Forcola'(Chiaveuna  to  Roveredo),  footpath  7,274 

Passo  di  San  Jorio  (Gravedona  to  Bellinzona),  footpath 6,417 

9.  The  Rhaetian  Alps. — The  older  geographers  included 
under  the  term  Rhaetian  Alps  a  vast  mountain  region 
extending  over  6°  of  long.,  from  the  east  side  of  the  Lago 
Maggiore  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Salza,  and  through  2£° 
of  lat.,  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Brescia  to  the  plain  of 
Bavaria.  There  is  no  assignable  reason  for  uniting  in  a 
single  division  mountain  groups  so  distinct  as  many  of 
those  included  -within  this  wide  space — scarcely  less  than 
that  occupied  by  all  the  divisions  hitherto  enumerated — 
save  the  fact  that  at  an  early  period  they  received  a  com- 
mon designation  from  writers  who  had  a  most  imperfect 
acquaintance  with  their  topography.  It  might  be  expe- 
•dient  to  discard  a  term  to  which  it  is  difficult  to  assign  a 
limited  meaning  without  incurring  the  risk  of  confusion  ; 
but  general  usage  has  so  constantly  applied  the  term 
Rhastia  to  the  mountain  region  of  Switzerland  lying  east 
of  the  Rhine,  with  the  adjoining  portion  of  Tyrol,  that 
it  seems  best  to  preservathe  ancient  name  while  endeavour- 
ing to  restrict  it  within  juster  limits.  With  that  object  it 
is  necessary  to  take  account  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
features  in  the  orography  of  the  Alps — the  great  breach  in 
the  continuity  of  the  main  chain  shown  in  the  upper  valley 
of  the  Adige.  On  a  general  view  of  western  Tyrol  it  is 
apparent  that  the  lakes  which  feed  the  head  of  that  stream 
lie  on  the  northern  side  of  the  axis  of  elevation  of  the 
main  chain,  and  in  fact  several  streams  draining  the 
northern  slopes  of  the  central  mass  are  borne  southward 
to  the  Adriatic  through  that  opening.  This  is  not  the 
place  to  take  into  consideration  the  important  influence 
that  this  breach  in  the  line  of  defence  between  Italy  and 
the  north,  and  the  equally  deep  opening  of  the  Brenner 
Pass  at  the  head  of  the  other  main  branch  of  the  Adige, 
las  had  on  the  history  of  Europe,  nor  to  discuss  the 
geological  significance  of  the  same  depression  throughout 
an  incalculably  longer  period  ;  but  it  is  sufficiently  clear 
that  this  should  be  taken  as  the  eastern  limit  of  the  group 
to  which  the  term  Rhaetian  Alps  most  properly  applies. 
On  the  west  the  limit,  as  we  have  already  seen,  is,  marked 
by  the  valley  of  the  Rhine,  *nd  the  line  of  depression  over 
which  the  Spliigen  road  is  carried  to  the  head  of  the  lake 
of  Como.  In  the  space  between  these  boundaries  the 
chief  mountains  of  the  Rhaetian  Alps  appear  as  islands  of 
crystalline  rock,  divided  by  intervening  masses  of  palaeozoic 
and  older  secondary  strata;  but  on  the  south  side  lies  a  district 
which  differs  considerably  in  geological  structure,  and  is 
cut  off  by  a  distinct  orographic  boundary.  A  straight  line 
drawn  from  the  head  of  the  lake  of  Como  to  Cles  in  Tyrol, 
will  throughout  lie  close  to  a  trench  formed  by  the  valley 
of  the  Adda,  the  low  pass  of  Aprica,  the  head  of  Val 
Camonica,  the  Tonale  Pass,  and  the  Tyrplese  Val  di  Sole. 
On  the  south  side  of  this  trench,  and  parallel  to  it,  extend 
in  succession  a  broad  baud  of  palaeozoic  rock  and  a  still 
broader  zone  of  trias,  bordered  on  he  southern  slope  by  a 
narrow  girdle  of  Jurassic  rocks  which  decline  towards  the 
jJain  of  Lombardy.  Towards  the  east  these  are  interrupted 
by  a  great  mass  of  very  peculiar  granite,  the  most  consider- 
able tract  of  true  granite  to  be  found  in  the  Alps.  Beyond 
this  the  ridges  and  valleys  no  longer  preserve  the  direction 
from  east  to  west,  bat  become  parallel  to  the  lake  of 
Garda  and  the  valley  of  the  Adige.  The  district  thus 
limited  is  enumerated  hereafter  as  a  distinct  division  under 
the  designation  Lombard  Alps,  the  boundary  between  this 
and  the  Rhaetian  division  being  the  trench  above  described, 
which  is  prolonged  from  near  Cles  over  the  low  Gampen 
Pass  to  tie  neighbourhood  of  Meran.  On  the  northern 
side  the  Rhaetian  Alps  are  divided  from  the  Vindelician 
by  a  well-marked  trench    closely  corresponding  with  the 


i?  s 


627 


Ofen  Wand 11 ,55S 

Venezia  Spitze 11,095 

Hasenobr  10,873 

PaUon  della  Mare  12,038 

Tresero 11,636 

Monte  Confinale 11,079 

Monte  Sobretta about  ll.OOU 

Piz  Curver 9,761 

Piz  Starlera  10,001 

Piz  Platta  11,109 

Gravasalvas  (Piz  Lungen)  ...10,421 

Piz  d'Aela  10,893 

Pizd'Err 11.13t 

Cima  da  Flix 10,947 

Piz  Munteratsch 1 1 ,106 

PizOtt 10,660 

Piz  Uertsch 10,738 

Piz  Kesch  11,211 

PizVadred 10,610 

Schbne  Bleise  9,794 

Scesa  Plana  9,738 

Blankahora  10,382 

Piz  Linard 11,208 

Fluchthorn 11,142 

Muttler   10,824 

PizMondin 10,377 

Vesulspitz 10,154 


northern  limit  of  the  crystalline  rocks  of  the  Silvretta 
group,  formed  by  the  valley  of  the  HI,  the  Vorarlberg  Pass, 
and  the  course  of  the  Rosanna.  Within  the  limits  here 
assigned  the  Rhaetian  Alps  occupy  an  area  measuring 
about  80  miles  by  60.  The  entire  mass  is  divided  into 
two  nearly  equal  portions  by  the  upper  valley  of  the  Inn, 
known  in  Switzerland  as  the  Engadine. 

Chief  Peaks  of  the  Rhalian  Alps, 

Piz  d'Emet 10,502 

Pizzo  Stella   10,266 

Pizzo  della  Duana 10,279 

Piz  Margna  10,355 

Piz  Giiz   17,066 

PizTremoggia 11.326 

Piz  Eoseg  12,986 

Piz  Bernina  

Piz  Cambrena  11,-35 

Punta  Trubinesca  11,106 

Cima  del  Largo 11,162 

Monte  della  Disgrazia 12,074 

Pizzo  di  Verona  11,353 

Corno  di  Campo 10,843 

Monte  Foscagno 10,148 

Piz  Languard 10,715 

Piz  Quatervals 10,359 

PizMurterol 10,424 

Pizzo  di  Sena. 10,099 

Como  di  Dosde 10,597 

Piz  Pisoch 10,427 

Piz  Scesvenna  10,568 

Piz  Umbrail 9,954 

Monte  Cristallo  11,370 

Orteler  Spitze  12,814 

Konigs  Spitze  12,646 

Monte  Cevedale  12,505 

Pederspitz  (highest  peak)  ...11,349 

Chief  Passes  in  the  Khartian  A  !ps. 

Passo  di  Madesimo  (Campo  Dokino  to  Avers  Thai), footpath  7,480 

Passo  della  Duana  (Casaccia  to  Avers  Thai),  glacier 8,720 

Septimer  Pass  (Casaccia  to  Molins),  bridle-path 7,582 

Maloya  Pass  (Casaccia  to  Silvaplana),  carriage  road 5,942 

Passo  di  Zov.-ca  (Casaccia  to  Val  Masino),  glacier 8,957 

Muretto  Pass  (Casaccia  to  Sondrio),  snow  8,616 

Bernina  Pass  (Pontresina  to  Poschiavo),  carriage  road 7,658 

Passo  di  Canciano  (Chiesa  to  Poschiavo),  footpath 8,366 

Lavinim  Pass  (Ponteto  Val  Livigno),  snow  9,249 

Passo  di  Val  Viola  (Poschiavo  to  Bonnio),  footpath about  7,900 

Foscagno  Pass  (Bormio  to  Zernetz),  bridle-path 6,329 

Ofen  Pass  (Zernetz  to  Santa  Maria),  carriage  road 7,070 

Umbrail  Pass  (Bormio  to  Santa  Maria),  footpath 8,342 

Stelvio  Pass  (Bormio  to  Prad),  carriage  road 9,213 

Passo  Cevedale  (Sta.  Catarina  to  Latsch),  glacier  10,765 

Passo  di  Vios  (Sta.  Catarina  to  Pejo),  glacier  10,868 

Passo  di  Sforzellina  (Val  Gavia  to  Pejo),  glacier 9,950 

Gavia  Pass  (Sta.  Catarina  to  Val  Camonica),  bridle-path about  8,600 

Hohenferner  Joch  (Martell  Thai  to  Val  della  Mare),  glacier 9,904 

Saent  Pass  (Martell  Thai  to  Eabbil,  glacier  9.954 

Kirchberger  Joch  (Ulten  Thai  to  Rabbi),  footpath 8,134 

Julier  Pass  (Molins  to  Silvaplana),  carriage  road  7.503 

Albula  Pass  (Bergiin  to  Ponte),  carriage  road  7,589 

Sertig  Pass  (Scanfs  to  Bergiin),  footpath _ 9,062 

Strela  Pass  (Coire  to  Davos),  bridle-path 7,739 

Laret  Pass  (Bergiin  to  Klosters),  carriage  road 5,338 

Scaletta  Pass  (Davos  to  Scanfs),  snow  - 8,613 

Fluela  Pass  (Davos  to  Sus),  carriage  road 7,891 

Vereina  Pass  (Klosters  to  Siis),  footpath 8,133 

Silvretta  Pass  (Klosters  to  Guarda),  glacier  9,928 

CavellJoch  (Bludenzto  Seewia),  footpath 7,562 

SchweixerthoT  (Vadans  toSchiersch),  footpath 7,120 

Dnisenthor  (Scbxuns  to  Schiersch),  footpath 7,822 

Schlappiaer  Joch  (St  Gallenkirch  to  KJosters),  bridle-path  (?) 7,185 

Fermunt  Pass  (Pattenen  to  Guarda),  glacier 9,206 

Bieler  Joch  (Montafun  to  Paznaun  Thai),  bridle-path about  6,000 

Fimber  Joch  (Ischgl  to  Remiis),  snow 8,547 

Vignitz  Pass  (Kappel  to  Samnaunthal),  snow  8,855 

10.  Lombard  Alps. — The  limits  of  the  Lombard  Alps 
have  been  already  pointed  out  They  are  enclosed  on  the 
east  and  west  sides  by  the  Adige  and  the  lake  of  Como, 
extending  through  about  90  miles  from  near  Meran  to 
Lecco.  Their  northern  boundary  is  the  great  orographic 
trough  that  stretches  from  the  head  of  the  lake  of  Como 
along  the  valley  of  the  Adda  to  Tresenda,  thence  by  the 
low  Aprica  Pass  to  the  upper  Yal  Camonica,  and  over  the 
Tonale  Pass  to  the  Val  di  Sole.  Where  that  valley  bends 
abruptly  to  SSE.,  the  trough  still  keeps  its  original  direc- 
tion across  the  Gampen  Pass  to  the  right  bank  of  the 
Adige  below  Meran,    In  spite  of  the  zeal  with  which 


628 


ALPS 


travellers  have  of  late  years  explored  the  unfrequented 
parts  of  the  Alps,  this  group  continues  to  be  very  im- 
perfectly known,  although  it  offers  abundant  attractions  to 
the  naturalist  and  the  lover  of  picturesque  and  grand 
scenery. 

Chief  Peaks  of  the  Lombard  Alps. 

L«gnone 8,568 

Puzo  del  Tre  Signori,  about  8,600 

Origna  (Monte  Codeno)  7,908 

Corno  Stella 8,846 

Aralalta  6,585 

Monte  Arera 8,255 

Monte  Redorta. 9,980 

Pizao  del  Diavolo  9,574 

Pizzo  di  Cocca 9,705 

Monte  Presolana 8,202 

Monte  Frerone 8.676 

Monte  Blumone  9,321 

Chief  Passes  in  the  Lombard  Alps. 
Passo  di  San  Marco  (Morbegno  to  Val  Brerabana),  bridle-path  ... 

Passo  del  Salto  (Sondrio  to  Val  Seriana),  footpath about 

Presolana  Pass  (Castione  to  Val  di  Scalve),  footpath   

Aprica  Pass  (Sondrio  to  Edolo),  carriage  road 

Tonale  Pass  (Edolo  to  Val  di  Sole),  carriage  road  

Gampen  Pass  (Cles  to  Meran),  bridlepath about 

Croce  Domini  Pass  (Breno  to  Lodron),  bridle-path about 

Passo  di  S.  Valentino  (Val  di  Fum  to  Tioue),  snow  about 

Passo  del  Lago  Ghiacciato  (Ponte  di  Legno  to  Pinzolo),  snow 

Passo  di  Lares  (Pinzolo  to  Val  di  Fum),  glacier 

Ginevrie  Pass  (Pinzolo  to  Val  di  Non),  bridlepath   

Bocca  di  Brenta  (Pinzolo  to  Molveno),  snow 

Mendelscharte  (Cles  to  Botzen),  bridle-path 


Crozzon  di  Laris 10,889 

Monte  Adamello ,...11,832 

Care  Alto  11,352 

Preaanella,  or  Cima  di  Nar- 

dis 11,688 

Cima  delle  Rochettc 10,777 

Brenta  Alta (?)  10,771 

Monte  Baldo  (highest  peak 

—La  Colma) 7,212 

Mendola  (Monte  Koen)   6,919 

Monte  Bondone  7,412 


6,997 
7,500 
4,265 
4,052 
6,483 
4,000 
6,500 
9,300 
9,437 
9,230 
5,200 
8,502 
4,964 


1 1 .  Vindelieian  Alps. — Reference  has  already  been  made 
to  the  contrast  offered  by  the  orderly  arrangement  of  the 
Eastern  Alps,  as  compared  with  the  far  more  complicated 
and  irregular  disposition  of  the  masses  that  make  up  the 
Western  and  Central  Alps.  In  the  former  wo  have  a  broad 
zone  of  crystalline  or  metamorphic  palaeozoic  rocks,  extend- 
ing from  the  upper  valley  of  the  Adige  to  the  frontier  of 
Hungary,  flanked  on  either  side  by  a  parallel  zone  of 
secondary  rocks,  which  rise  into  peaks  that  do  not  much 
exceed  the  limit  of  perpetual  snow.  The  northern  zone 
extends  for  a  distance  of  fully  260  miles  from  the  lake  of 
Constance  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Vienna,  with  an  average 
width  varying  from  30  to  40  miles.  For  the  greater  part 
of  that  distance  this  is  separated  from  the  central  range  by 
broad  and  deep  valleys,  through  which  the  Inn,  Salza,  and 
Enns  flow  from  west  to  east,  till  each  of  them,  turning 
abruptly  northward,  runs  through  an  opening  that  cuts 
across  the  general  strike  of  the  stratification  to  reach  the 
plain  of  South  Germany.  In  geological  structure  and 
general  aspect  the  mountains  of  this  tract  show  many 
common  characteristics,  and  convenience  supplies  the  only 
good  reason  for  dividing  it  into  two  main  groups,  separated 
by  the  valley  of  the  Inn,  the  greatest  of  the  tributaries 
which  the  Alps  send  to  the  Danube.  Of  the  western 
portion  of  this  region  the  larger  part  belongs  to  Bavaria, 
but  a  considerable  share  lies  in  the  Austrian  provinces  of 
Tyrol  and  Vorarlberg;  and  on  this  account  the  designa- 
tions Bavarian  Alps  and  North  Tyrol  Alps  are  open  to 
objection,  and  have  the  further  disadvantage  of  excluding 
the  Alpine  districts  of  Bavaria  and  North  Tyrol  lying  east 
of  the  Inn.  The  name  Suabian  Alps  is  liable  to.  the 
serious  objection  that  none  but  a  very  small  part  of  this 
district  was  ever  included  in  the  circle  of  Suabia.  On 
the  whole,  it  seems  that  the  region  lying  north  of  the 
Vorarlberg  road  and  the  valley  of  the  Inn,  between  the 
lake  of  Constance  and  the  latter  river,  may  best  be 
termed  the  Vindelieian  Alps.  The  whole  was  included 
within  the  territory  of  .the  Vindelici  before  that  powerful 
tribe  was  conquered  by  the  Romans,  and  their  territory 
joined  to  that  of  the  Rhaetians  to  form  a  single  Roman 
province.  In  height  the  mountains  of  this  division  fall 
considerably  short  of  those  hitherto  enumerated,  not  more 
than  four  *r  five  exceeding  9000  feet.  It  is  impossible  to 
consider  a  man  of  this  region  without  being  struck  by  the 


Miemingergebirge  (highest)  8,856 

Karwandlspitz 8,259 

Kreuzspitz 7,156 

Solstein  8,649 

Edkorspitz 8,911 

Lavatscherspitz  9,081 

Vomperjoch 7,.r>'k"> 

Soiernspitz 7,303 

Jmfen  7,144 


fact,  that  although  the  general  slope  inclineb  northward 
towards  the  plain  of  Bavaria,  or  southward  towards  the 
111  and  the  Inn,  nearly  all  the  ridges  and  minor  valleys 
lie  east  and  west  parallel  to  the  course  of  those  rivers  and  to 
the  outcrop  of  the  sedimentary  strata,  which  is  equally  the 
direction  of  the  line  of  depression  followed  by  the  Vorarl- 
berg road  forming  the  southern  boundary  of  this  group. 
Chief  Peaks  of  the  Vindelieian  Alps. 

Mittagspitz   6,851 

Rothewand 8,842 

Schafberg  8,774 

Madelegabel 8,674 

Biberkopf 8,543 

Widderstein  8,294 

Hoch  Vogel  8,501 

Stanzerkopf  9,041 

Muttekopf 9,077 

Zugspitz 9,716 

Chief  Passes  in  the  Vindelieian  A  Ips. 

Arlberg  Pass  (Bludenz  to  Landeck),  carriage  road 5,902 

Haldenwanger  Eck  (Scbrecken  to  Oberstdorf),  footpath 0,070 

Schrofen  Pass  (Oberstdorf  to  Stcg  in  Lechthal), bridle-path 6,569 

Madelejoch  (Oberstdorf  to  Holzgau),  footpath about  7,000 

Kaiserjoch  (Steg  to  Petnou  in  Stanzerthal),  footpath' about  7,000 

Zamserjoch  (Elbigen  Alp  to  Landeck  or  Imst),  footpath about  7,000 

Fern  Pass  (Lermoos  to  Telfs),  carriage  road 4,063 

Seefeld  Pass  (Partenkirch  to  Zirl),  carriage  road 3,900 

.Geissel  Pass  (Mittenwald  to  Lermoos),  footpath t..  4,258 

Stempeljoch  (Scharnitz  to  Hall),  footpath, 7,;t4" 

Haller  Anger  (Scharnitz  to  Schwaz),  footpath  6,835 

Plumserjoch  (Hinter-Kiss  to  Pertisau),  bridle-path 5,492 

Pfans  Joch  (Fall  to  Pertisau),  footpath about  5,800 

Stockeralp  Pass  (Schliersee  to  Brudegg),  bridle-path about  4,000 

HbrhagPass  (Bairisch-zell  to  Kufstein),  bridle-path about  4,000 

12.  Northern  Noric  Alps. — We  have  already  spoken  of 
the  broad  mountain  zone  extending  from  the  Inu  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  Vienna,  and  bearing  a  general  resem- 
blance in  orographic  and  geological  character  to  the  group 
last  described.  For  reasons  given  hereafter,  it  seems 
impossible  to  preserve  the  ancient  designation  Noric  Alps 
for  any  portion  of  the  central  chain  of  the  Eastern  Alps, 
but  the  name  Northern  Noric  Alps  seems  the  most  suitable 
for  a  region  which  was  altogether  included  in  the  Roman 
province  of  Noricum,  and  which  closely  coincides  with  the 
northern  half  of  the  Alpine  district  known  to  them  as 
Alpes  Noricce.  The  boundaries  of  this  division  are  easily 
determined.  To  the  north  and  east  the  mountains  subside 
towards  the  valley  of  the  Danube.  To  the  west  it  is 
bounded  by  the  Inn,  which  bends  first  to  north-east,  then 
to  north,  to  enter  the  plain  of  Bavaria.  On  the  south  side 
the  boundary  runs  .from  the  Inn  through  a  part  of  the 
Zillerthal,  over  the  low  Gerlos  Pass,  and  along  the  valleys 
of  the  Salza  and  the  Enns,  evidently  forming  a  single  line 
of  depression;  but  where  the  Enns  enters  the  defile  of 
Gesause,  a  broad  and  low  valley,  through  which  runs  the 
road  from  Rottenmann  to  Leoben,  seems  to  form  the  most 
natural  division  between  this  and  the  central  chain.  The 
line  of  separation  is  completed  by  the  valley  of  *he  Mur 
and  the  depression  of  the  Semmering  Pass,  over  which  the 
railroad  is  carried  to  Vienna.  The  highest  peaks  of  the 
Dachstein  group  form  the  most  considerable  prominence 
in  the  entire  range  of  the  Northern  Alps;  but  the  average 
height  of  the  mountains  of  this  division  does  not  exceed 
that  of  the  Vindelieian  Alps. 

Chief  Peaks  of  the  Northern  Noric  Alps. 


Thorhelm  8,548 

Hohe  Salve 6,993 

Rettensfein    7,750 

Scheffauer  Kaiser  7,611 

Bu-nhom 8,635 

Staufen   6,950 

Watzmann 8,9S8 

Untersberg  (highest  point)...  6,487 

Hohe  Gtill 8,286 

Hochkalter   8,595 

TJebergoasene  Alp  or  Hoch- 

konig  9,643 

Tannengebirge(Raucheck)...  7,947 

Schafberg  5,837 

Hollkogl 6,754 

Traunatein 6,638 


Thorstein  9,677 

Dachstein  9,845 

Sarstein  6,558 

Grlmming 7,700 

Grosser  Priel   8,238 

Waschenegg 8,H2 

Buchstein 7,266 

Hochthor   7,478 

Eiscnerzer  Reichenstein 7,08* 

Kaiserschild 6,817 

Oetscher 6,320 

Brandstein 6,642 

Hochschwab 7,441 

Razalp 6,676 

8chneeberg 6,809 


ALPS 


G29 


/Chief  Passes  in  the  Northern  Noric  Alps. 

GotIos  Pass  (Jenbach  to  Mittersill),  bridle-path 4,717 

Pass  Thurn  (Kitzbiihel  to  Mittersill),  carriage  road  4,371 

Salza  Joch  (Kelschau  to  Wald),  footpath  ..... 6,533 

Waidring  Pass  (St  Johann  to  Lofer),  carriage  road.....'.. 2,518 

Hochfitzen  Pass  (St  Johann  to  Saalfelden),  bridle-path  ."about  3,200 

Pihwarzbachwaeht  (Reichenhall  to  Ramsan),  carriage  road 2,907 

Hirschubel  Pass  (Berchtesgaden  to  Saalfelden),  carriage  road 3,896 

Diesbach  Scharte  (Kbnigssee  to  Frohnwies),  footpath 6,679 

Weissbach  Scharte  (Kb'nigssee  to  Saalfelden),  footpath  7,402 

Torrener  Joch  (Berchtesgaden  to  Golling),  footpath t -...  5,697 

Urschlauerscharte  (Werfen  to  Saalfeldeu),  footpath 6,859 

Filzen  Sattel  (Saalfelden  to  Lend),  bridle-path 3,953 

Wagram  Sattel  (St  Johann  im  Pongau  to  Radstadt),  carriage  road  2,933 

Pass  Gschiitt  (Abtenau  to  Gosau),  carriage  road 3,247 

Pyrhn  Pass  (Windischgarsten  to  Lietzen),  carriage  road 3,162 

Prebichel  Pass  (Eisenerz  to  Leoben),  carriage  road   4,014 

Eisenerzer  Hohe  (Eisenerz  to  Wildalpen),  bridle-track 4,760 

Kastenriegel  Pass  (Weichs^lboden  to  Wegscheid),  bridle-path 3,556 

Seeberg  Pass  (Mariazell  to  Aflenz),  carriage  road  4,099 

Niederalpl  (Mariazell  to  Miirzsteg),  carriage  road 3,994 

Semmering  Pass  (Bruck-an-der-Mur  to  Wiener  Neustadt),  c.  rd.    3,256 

13.  Central  Tyrol  Alps. — To  the  eye  of  the  geologist, 
taking  a  cursory  view  of  the  Eastern  Alps,  it  may  appear 
that  the  great  central  zone,  extending  from  the  upper 
valley  of  the  Adige  eastward  to  the  neighbourhood  of 
Gratz,  forms  but  a  single  district  of  tolerably  uniform 
structure.  He  will,  however,  remark  that  about  the  centre 
of  the  range  the  prevailing  crystalline  rocks — gneiss  and 
mica-schist — give  place  to  metamorphic  schists,  probably 
of  palaeozoic  age,  that  rise  into  several  of  the  highest  peaks 
of  the  entire  mass.  Those  who  are  disposed  to  regard  the 
above-named  crystalline  rocks  as  merely  extreme  forms  of 
metamorphic  sedimentary  strata,  may  not  attach  much 
importance  to  this  circumstance;  but  it  is-  a  still  more 
significant  fact  that  at  a  short  distance  east  of  the  same 
extension  of  the  metamorphic  rocks  we  have  proof  of  the 
former  existence  of  a  depression  which  seems  to  have  cut 
completely  through  the  central  range.  On  the  north  side 
triassic  rocks  extend  from  the  Enns  to  the  upper  valley  of 
the  Mur,  and  the  presence,  of  miocene  deposits  at  several 
points  in  the  latter  valley,  the  Lieserthal  and  the  Malta- 
thai,  seems  to  show  that  at  a  much  later  period  this  portion 
of  the  ehain  underwent,  great  relative  depression  as  com- 
pared with  those '  on  either  side.  Another  and  more 
obvious  character  that  distinguishes  the  western  from  the 
eastern  portion  of  the  central  zone,  is  the  fact  that  in  the 
latter  the  great  range  that  extends  like  a  vertebral  column 
from  the  Weisskugel  to  the  Hochalpenspitz  forks  into  two 
branches  of  inferior  height,  that  enclose  between  them  the 
upper  valley  of  the  Mur.  Ancient  geographers  divided 
the  main  mass  of  the  Alps  between  the  Bernardine  Pass 
and  the  frontier  of  Hungary  into  two  vast  divisions,  respec- 
tively called  the  Rhaetian  and  Noric  Alps,  placing  the 
boundary  between  these  at  or  about  the  Dreiherrnspitz,  at 
the  head  of  the  Ahrenthal,  and  their  example  has  been 
followed  by,  some  modern  geographers.  Nothing  in  the 
form  or  structure  of  the  chain  justifies  the  adoption  of 
that  arbitrary  boundary  between  two  main  divisions  of  the 
Alps  We  have  already  assigned  reasons  for  fixing  the 
western  boundary  of  the  Rhaetian  Alps  at  the  upper  valley 
of  the  Adige,  and  we  propose  to  retain  the  designation 
Central  Tyrol  Alps  for  the  portion  of  the  main  chain 
extending  thence  to  the  head  of  the  Malta  Thai  in  Carin- 
thia,  nearly  the  whole  of  which  lies  within  the  limits  of 
Tyrol.  The  exact  boundaries  of  this  division  are,  on  the 
north,  the  course  of  the  Inn-  from  Landeck  to  the  opening 
of  the  Zillerthal,  the  track  thence  over  the  Gerlos  Pass  to 
the  head  of  the  Pinzgau,  and  the  valley  of  the  Salza  to 
the  opening  of  the  Gross  Arl  Thai ;  to  the  east,  the  way 
through  the  latter  valley,  over  the  Arlscharte,  through  the 
Malta  Thai  to  Gmiind,  and  the  toad  thence  to  Villach ;  on 
the  south,  the  continuous  trough  extending  from  near  the 
latter  town,  to  Miihlwald,  on  the  Reinz,  through  the  Gail 
Thai,  the  Lessach  Thai,  the  head  of  the  Drauthal  and  the 


upper  valley  of  the  Rienz.  From  Miihlwald  the  tortuous 
course  of  the  Eisack  forms  the  boundary  as  far  aa  Botzen, 
whence  the  high  road  running  N.W.  along  the  Adige  and 
though  the  Finstermiinz  completes  the  western  boundary. 
Although  the  region  thus  limited  does  not  present  many 
prominent  peaks,  it  is  remarkable  for  the  great  average 
height  of  the  main  chain  which  forms  the  watershed 
between  the  affluents  of  the  Danube  on  one  side,  and 
those  of  the  Adige  and  the  Drave  on  the  other.  In  a  dis- 
tance of  120  miles — wEiich  would  be  much  increased  if 
measured  along  the  sinuosities  of  the  main  chain — there  is 
but  a  single  low  pass,  that  of  the  Brenner,  none  other  being 
below  8000  feet  in  height,  or  suited  for  the  construction 
of  a  carriage  road.  The  Brenner  is  the  lowest  pass  in  the 
entire  range  of  the  Alps,  and  has  from  a  remote  period 
afforded  the  easiest  access  from  middle  Europe  to  the  plains 
of  northern  Italy,  but  is  properly  described  as  a  pass 
rather  than  as  a  breach  in  the  continuity  of  the  chain. 


Chief  Peaks  of  the 

Karls-spitz 10,253 

Glockenthurm 10,998 

Portles-spitz 10,066 

Rems-spitz _........lu,611 

Blickspitz  11,045 

Weiskugel 12,277 

Wildspitz  12,390 

Anichspitz - 11 ,654 

Similaun 11,810 

Rothbergspitz  (The  "Kothen- 

spitz  "  of  Sonklar) 11 ,904 

Texelspitz  10,890 

Birkkogel  9,281 

Grieskogel  (highest  peak)  ...10,638 

Ruderhofspitz 11,393 

Schrankogl 11,474 

Series-spitz,  or  Waldraster- 

spitz 8,898 

Schaufelspitz -...10,924 

Wilder  Pfaff  (Zuckerhutl)  ...11,512 

Sonklarspitz 11,410 

Habicht  ...» 10,746 

Samer  Scharte 8,255 

Rittnerhorn  8,064 

Glungetzer : 8,781 

Gilfertsberg  8,201 

Olperer  Fuss-stein 11,451 

Hochfeiler 11,535 


Central  Tyrol  Alps. 

Lbffelspitz 11 ,108 

Reichenspitz 10,866 

Wildgerlos-spitz 10,771 

Eidechsberg,  or  Hegedex 8,975 

Dreiherrnspitz 11,494 

Rbdtspitz  11 ,459 

Gross  Durreck 10,325 

Gross  Venediger 12,053 

Hohe  Fiirleg 11,114 

Lasbrling 10,171 

Hochgall,  or  Rieser 11,284 

Schneebige  Nock,  or  Ruth- 

nerhorn  11,068 

Tauernkogel 9,790 

Kitzsteinhorn  10,482 

Johannisberg   11,425 

Gross  Glockner 12,405 

Hoch  Schober 10,628 

Petzeck    10,761 

Vischbachhom 11,738 

Fuscherkahrkopf  10,957 

Hochnarr   10,692 

Ankogl 10,674 

Hochalpenspitz  11,026 

Sauleck   .'. 10,108 

Kreuzkofel 8,979 

Dobratch.or  Villacher  AJp   7,067 


Chief  Passes  of  the  Central  Tyrol  Alps. 

Reschen  Scheideck  (Landeck  to  Meran),  carriage  road .r.....  4.596 

Weisse  See  Joch  (Glurns  to  Kaunser  Thai),  glacier  9,657 

Langtauferer  Joch  (Mallag  to  Fend),  glacier 10,335 

Hoch  Joch  (Fend  to  Kurzras),  glacier  9,515 

Nieder  Joch  (Fend  to  Obervemagt),  glacier  9,847 

Gebatsch  Joch  (Fend  to  Kaunser  Thai),  glacier about  10,800 

Timbler  Joch  (Oetzthal  to  Meran),  bridle-path 8,298 

Langthaler  Joch  (Gurgl  to  Pfelders  Thai),  glacier  9,939 

Gruben  Joch  (Pfelders  to  Schnalser  Thai),  glacier 9,548 

Gurgl  Joch  (Gurgl  to  Schnalser  Thai),  glacier 9,956 

Pitzthaler  Jbchl  (Pitzthal  to  Sblden),  glacier 9,806 

Jaufen  Pass  (Meran  to  Sterzing),  bridle-path  .« 6,872 

Penser  Joch  (Botzen  to  Sterzing),  footpath 7,040 

Gries  Joch  (Selrain  to  Lengenfeld),snow , 8,652 

Mutterberger  Joch  (Neustift  to  Lengenfeld),  glacier 9,893 

Bildstbckl  Pass  (Neustift  to  Sbluen),  glacier 10,294 

Grub  Joch  (Pflersch  to  Oberbergthal),  footpath  7,021 

Brenner  Pass  (Innsbruck  to  Sterzing),  carriage  road 4,588 

Pfitscher  Joch  (Sterzing  to  Mayrhofen),  bridle-path 7,297 

Tuier  Joch  (Stafflach  to  Lanersbach),  footpath 7,618 

Lappacher  Joch  (Lappach  to  Ahrenthal),  footpath 7,763 

Hbrndl  Joch  (Mayrhofen  to  Steinhaus),  snow  „...  8,368 

Heiligengeist  Jbchl  (Mayrhofen  to  Kasern),  footpath  8,309 

Krimmler  Tauern  (Krimml  to  Kasern),  snow 9,071 

Dorfer  Sulzbach  Thbrl  (Pregratten  to  Wald),  glacier 9,438 

Velber  Tauern  (Windisch  Matrey  to  Mittersill),  footpath 8,024 

Vorder  Umbal  Thbrl  (Pregratten  to  Kasern),  glacier 9,723 

Troyer  Thbrl  (Pregratten  to  Defereggen),  snow 4,845 

Mufjtz  Thbrl  (Virgen  to  Defereggen),  snow 8,911 

Klamml  Joch  (Defereggen  to  Taufers),  footpath 7,608 

Staller  Sattel  (Defereggen  to  Antholz),  bridle-path 6,738 

Gsiesser  Joch  (Defereggen  to  Gsiess),  footpath 7,353 

Kaiser  Tauem  (Kals  to  Uttendorf),  snow 8,410 

Kaprnner  Thbrl  (Stubachthal  to  Kaprun),  glacier 8,740 

Riffelthor  (Kaprun  to  Heiligenblut),  glacier ■. 9,958 

Pfandelscharte  (Ferleiten  to  Heiligenblut),  glacier .'. 8,817 

Fuscher  Thbrl  (Ferleiten  to  Seidelwinkelthal),  footpath 7.998 

Hoch  Thor  (Buche*)en  to  Heiligenblut),  footpath  8,551 

Berger  Thbrl  (Kala  to  Heiligenblut),  footpath 7,971 


630 


ALPS 


Auf  der  Stanz  (Buoneoen  to  Gastein),  bridle-path ?....  6,920 

Tramerscharte  (Kauris  to  Dollach),  glacier 8,391 

Klein  Zirknitzscharte  (Rauris  to  Fragant),  snow _ 8,855 

MallnitzerTu  i  to  Mal'.nitz),  bridle-path 8,038 

Arlscharte  (St  Johaun  in  Pongau  to  Gmund),  footpath 7,499 

Klein  Elendscharte  (Gastein  to  Gmund),  glacier 8,231 

Dossner  Scharte  (Gmund  to  Ober  Vcllach),  snow  - 8,748 

Toblacher  Felil  (Bruneck  to  Lienz),  carriage  road  3,951 

Zochen  Pass  (Licnz  to  Maria  Lukau),  footpath 7,394 

Kotschach  Sattel  (Oberdrauburg  to  Kbtscbach),  carriage  road 3,210 

14.  Styrian  Alps. — The  boundary  between  the  central 
range  of  lofty  peaks  that  extends  through  Tyrol  and  tho 
adjacent  province  of  Salzburg,  and  the  much  lower  masses 
that  spread  eastward  through  Styria  to  the  frontier  of 
Hungary,  has  bben  already  fixed  at  the  Arlscharte.  On 
the  east  side  of  that  pass  the  mass  whose  conspicuous 
summits  are  the  Markkahrspitz  and  the  Hafnereck  is 
divided  into  two  parallel  branches  that  enclose  between 
them  the  upper  valley  of  tho  Mur.  The  northernmost 
of  these  ranges  is  cut  through  by  the  broad  and  deep 
valley,  traversed  by  the  road  that  leads  from  Liesing  on 
the  Enns  to  Leoben,  which  we  have  regarded  as  the  limit 
between  the  Northern  Noric  Alps  and  the  central  mass. 
The  eastern  boundary  of  this  division,  which  we  at  the 
same  time  regard  03  the  proper  limit  of  the  Alps,  is 
marked  by  the  river  Mur,  which,  after  flowing  eastward 
for  about  100  miles  to  Bruck-an-der-Mur,  turns  southward, 
and  finally  joins  the  Drave  in  Hungary.  The  eastern 
limit  of  the  Alps  is  completed  by  the  depression  between 
Spielfeld  and  Marburg,  over  which  is  carried  the  railway 
from  Vienna  to  Trieste.  The  southern  boundary  of  the 
central  range  is  unmistakably  marked  by  the  great  valley 
of  the  Drave.  The  whole  of  this  region  was,  along  with 
large  portions  of  the  adjoining  divisions,  included  under 
the  term  Noric  Alps  by  ancient  geographers;  but  as  the 
retention  of  that  designation  can  only  lead  to  confusion, 
we  readily  adopt  the  name  Styrian  Alps,  proposed  by 
Karl  v.  Sonklar,  whose  writings  have  done  so  much  to 
increase  our  knowledge  of  the  Eastern  Alps.  It  must, 
however,  be  remarked  that  the  region  above  defined  also 
includes  a  considerable  district  of  Carinthia,  along  with  a 
small  part  of  the  province  of  Salzburg,  which  extends  to 
the  head  of  the  valley  of  the  Mur.  Excepting  the  com- 
paratively lugh  muss  in  which  that  river  takes  its  source, 
the  summits  of  this  region  do  not  attain  nearly  so  great  a 
height  as  those  of  the  other  main  divisions  of  the  Alps, 
and  only  two  or  threo»  reach  the  limit  of  perpetual  snow. 

Chief  Peaks  of  the  Styrian  Alps. 
Markkahrspitz 9,245  |  Eisentmt ....  8,008 


Wollancr  Nock 7,019 

Sirbitzkogel  7,863 

Sau  Alp  :..  6,800 

KorAJp 7,010 

Rappenkogcl 6,310 

Obdacher  Speikkogel    6,625 

Gleinalpen  Speikkogel 6,508 


Hafnereck 10,044 

Kaschauner  Nock  9.130 

Hoch  Colling  9,383 

Predigtstuhl 8,834 

Knallstein 8,511 

Bb'sec^tein 8,018 

Hoch  Reichart 7,900 

Kbnigstuhl 7,648 

Chief  Passes  in  the  Styrian  Alps. 

Radstadter  Tanern  (Radstadt  to  St  Michael),  carriage  road  ..* 5,703 

Katschberg  (St  Michael  to  Gmund),  carriage  road 5,261 

Windsfeld  (Flachau  to  Zederhaus),  footpath 7,037 

Waldhornthorl  (Schladming  to  Tamsweg),  footpath ^,437 

Bblkerscharte  (Grobming  to  Murau),  bridle-path 5,767 

RottenmannerTauern(KottenmanntoJudenburg),c.  road.. .about  4,900 

Tun-acH  Pass  (Feldkirchen  to  Tamsweg),  carriage  road 5,825 

Fladnitz  Pass  (Friesach  to  Stadl),  bridle-path about  5,000 

Perchauer  Pass  (Friesach  to  Scheining),  carriage  road 3,274 

Obdacher  Sattel  (Wolfsberg  to  Judenburg),  carriage  road  3,174 

Stubalp  Pass  (Kbflach  to  Weisskircheir),  carriage  road 5,130 

Die  Pack  (Kb'liach  to  Wolfsberg),  carriage  road  3,870 

Gleinalp  Pass  (Peggau  to  Knittelfeld),  footpath  about  5,500 

15.  South  Tyrol  and  Venetian  Alps. — It  has  been  seen 
that  thfl  mountain  zone  on  the  northern  side  of  the  main 
range  of  Tyrol  extends  from  the  lake  of  Constance  to 
near  Vienna,  with  a  remarkable  uniformity  both  of  general 
aspect  and  of  geological  structure,  so  that  no  reason  much 
more  valid  than  convenience  could  be  assigned  for  form- 
ing it  into  two  separate  divisions-     Tb«  same  remark  does 


not  hold  good  on  the  southern  side  of  tho  main  range. 
There  is,  indeed,  a  general  similarity  between  the  northern 
and  southern  zones,  especially  in  their  geological  structure, 
so  far  as  regards  the  sedimentary  rocks;  but  in  the  western 
portion  of  the  latter — in  the  region  lying  between  tho 
Adige  and  the  sources  of  the  I'iave — the  intrusion  of 
igneous  rocks  on  a  large  scale,  and  tho  accumulation  of 
deposits  formed  from  ejected  volcanic  matter,  have  pro- 
foundly modified  the  structure  and  outward  aspect  of  the 
country.  Nowhere  else  in  the  Alps  do  the  peaks  rise  so 
abruptly  and  with  so  little  apparent  connection,  and 
nowhere  are  the  contrasts  depending  on  differences  of 
geological  structure  so  marked  as  those  which  strike  the 
mere  passing  traveller,  when,  beside  rounded  masses  of 
rod  and  black  porphyry,  he  sees  white  and  pink  crystalline- 
dolomite  limestone  rising  in  towers  and  pinnacles  of  extra- 
ordinary height  and  steepness.  Dolomite  limestone  is 
found  in  many  other  parts  of  the  Alps,  but  nowhere  else 
is  it  developed  on  so  grand  a  scale,  and  the  exquisite 
beauty  of  this  region  has  of  late  years  led  an  increasing 
number  of  travellers  to  spots  that  before  were  scarcely 
known  even  to  the  inhabitants  of  adjoining  valleys. 
Though  there  are  abundant  grounds  for  regarding  the 
district  here  spoken  of  as  a  separate  division  of  the  Alps, 
it  is  very  difficult  to  assign  to  it  a  satisfactory  designation. 
The  larger  portion  of  the  region  has  long  been  politically 
connected  with  Tyrol,  and  is  partly  inhabited  by  a  German- 
speaking  population,  while  the  remainder  has  been  poli- 
tically connected  with  Venice,  and  the  inhabitants  are 
thoroughly  Italian  in  language  and  manners.  Were  it  not 
for  a  reluctance  to  introduce  new  and  unfamiliar  terms,  the 
present  division  might  be  denominated  Cimbiic  Alps,  as, 
according  to  ancient  tradition,  the  Cimbri,  after  their  final 
defeat  by  Marius,  sought  and -found  a  refuge  in  this  part  of 
the  Alps ;  but  for  the  present  it  seems  best  to  designate  as 
Smith  Tyrol  and  Venetian  Alps  the  region  lying  between 
the  valley  of  the  Adige  and  the  sources  of  the  Drave 
and  the  Piave,  and  south  of  the  great  valley  traversed  by 
the  Eisack  and  the  Rienz  between  Botzen  and  Innichen. 
The  eastern  limit  may  best  be  fixed  by  the  track  leading 
through  the  Sextenthal  from  Innichen  to  San  Stefano  in 
the  head  valley  of  the  Piave,  and  by  the  road  from  that 
place  to  Conegliano. 

Chief  Peaks  of  the  South  Tyrol  and  Venetian  Alps. 

Schlern  8,405 

Rosengarten 10,163 

Langkofel 10,392 

Marmolata  (?)  11,045 

Monte  Tofana....- 10,724 

Croda  Rossa,  or  Ilohe  Gai-i 

Monte  Cristallo 10,644 

Drei   Zinnen,  or    Cima    di 

Lavaredo above  10,300 

Dreischusterspitz 10,368 

Cimadi  Posta 7,547 

Covelalto about    7,500 

Chief  Passes  in  the  South  Tyrol  and  Venetian  Alps 
Piano 
Passo 
Caressa  _  _ 

Mahlknecht  Pass  (Vols  to  Campidello),  bridle-path 7,016 

Fedaya  Pass  (Val  di  Fassa  to  Caprile),  footpath 6,884 

La  Costonzclla  (Paneveggio  to  Primiero),  carriage  road  6,657 

Passo  di  Valles  (Paneveugio  to  Cencenighe),  bridle-path 6,877 

Grodncr  Joch  (St  Ulrich'to  Bruneck),  bridle-path 7,042 

Carnpolungo  (Corfara  to  Araba),  bridle-path 6,200 

Pordoi  Pass  (Gries  to  Araba),  bridle-path  7.396 

Passo  dei  Tre  Sassi  (Andraz  to  Cortina),  carriage  road 7,073 

Monte  Gian,  or  P.  di  Falzarego  (Caprile  to  Cortina),  bridlepath...  7,511 

Pcutclstein  Pass  (Niederndorf  to  Cortina),  carriage  road about  5,000 

Passo  delle  Tre  Croci  (Cortina to  Auronzo),  bridle-path 5,970 

Forcella  Grande  (Auronzo  to  San  Vito),  footpath 7,536- 

Kreuzberg  (Innichen  to  S.  Stephano),  carriage  road 5,361 

16.  South-Eastern  A  Ips.  —Ancient  geographers,  and  those 
who  have  followed  their  example,  use  the  terms  Carnic 
Alps  and  Julian  Alps  to  designate  two  of  the  main  divi- 
sions of  the  Alps  j  but  the  latter  of  these  at  lea3t  hat 


Cima  delle  Dodici 7,651 

Cima  d'Asta 9,132 

Monte  Paviouo,  or  Col  di 

Luna  7,877 

Palle  di  S.  Martino (?)  10,643 

Cimon  Jella  Pala about  11, 000 

Monte  Civetta 10,440 

Pelmo 10,377 

Sorapis  : 10,798 

Autelao 10,679 

Marmarolo  above  10,000- 


L/il«/  fosses  \n  me  oouill  J  yrut.  wnc*    rciieiiuit  .-I'^a. 

)  delle  Fugazze  (Roveredo  to  Schio),  carriage  road *>V.' 

i  di  Manazzo  (Asiago  to  Levico),  bridle-path  4,662 

sa  Pass  (Botzen  li  Vigo  di  Fassa),  bridlepath 5,966 


ALPS 


631 


been  applied  in  a  vague  and  inconsistent  way.  in  point  of 
fact,  the  south-eastern  portion  of  the  AJps,  which  includes 
both  the  groups  above  specified,  presents  three  principal 
groups  ■which  are  very  closely  connected  together.  Tho 
first  of  these — the  Carnic  Alps,  properly  so  called — have 
been  defined  as  including  the  legion  between  the  upper 
valley  of  the  Drave  and  the  plain  of  Friuli.  But  to  the 
orographer  the  true  head  of  the  Drave  valley  is  the  Gail- 
thai,  which  extends  in  an  almost  straight  and  broad  trench 
from  near  Innichen  to  Villacb,  while  the  main  stream  flows 
through  a  sinuous  and  contracted  valley.  For  this  reason 
we  have  taken  the  Gail  thai  as  the  boundary  between  the 
Central  Tyrol  and  the  Carnic  Alps.  Almost  continuous  with 
the  Carnic  Alps  is  a  range,  very  similar  in  geological  struc- 
ture, which  divides  the  Drave  from  the  northern  branch  of 
the  Save,  and  includes  the  mountains  locally  known  as  the 
Karawankas  and  the  Sulzbacher  Alp3.  Throughout  these, 
which  may  be  called  the  maiu  range  of  the  South-Eastern 
Alps,  palaeozoic  rocks,  probably  of  carboniferous  age,  extend 
in  a  narrow  band  for  a  distance  of  fully  100  miles,  giving 
place  at  the  eastern  extremity  to  the  small  granitic  mass 
that  forms  the  hills  of  the  Bacher  Gebirge  near  Marburg. 
On  the  south  side  of  the  main  range  of  the  Carnic  Alps 
two  mountain  masses,  mainly  formed  of  triassic  rocks  and 
Dachstein  limestone,  attain  a  considerable  height  in  the 
Monte  Cavallo  on  the  west,  and  the  Monte  Canin  on  the 
east  side  of  Friuli.  In  a  similar  position  as  regards  the 
Karawankas  is  a  still  loftier  mass  which  is  crowned  by  the 
Terglou — the  highest  peak  of  the  South-Eastern  Alps.  This 
group  is  referred  by  geographers  to  the  Julian  Alps,  which 
are  said  to  divide  the  Save  and  its  tributaries  from  the 
Adriatic.'  A3  has  been  already  said,  there  is  no  range  to 
which  the  term  Alps  can  properly  be  applied  forming  such  a 
boundary.  The  plateau  of  the  Karst,  though  rising  here  and 
there  into  hills  of  moderate  height,  has  an  average  eleva- 
tion of  about  2000  feet  above  the  sea,  and  cannot  correctly 
be  spoken  of  as  a  mountain  chain.  The  orographer,  if 
peeking  an  eastern  prolongation  to  the  Terglou  group, 
would  prefer  the  hilly  region  between  the  Save  and  the 
southern  Gurk ;  but  the  low  country  through  which  the 
railway  is  carried  from  Marburg  to  Lay  bach,  and  the  road 
thence  to  Qorizia,  may  for  all  practical  purposes  be  taken 
as  the  south-eastern  limit  of  the  Alps  and  of  the  division 
here  described. 

Chief  Peaks  of  the  South-Eastern  Alps. 


Monta  Paralba 9,097 

Kelleiwand  about  9,500 

Monte  Cridola 8,474 

Monte  Premaggiore  8,127 

Monte  Cavallo 7,377 

Monte  Crostis 7,384 

Jof  di  Montasio  about  9,000 

Monte  Canin  (Prestrelenick)  8,711 

Stou 7,326 

Koschotta  6,895 


Ovir ,001 

Grintouz 8,386 

Oistritza 7,701 

Bacber   Gebirgo  ( Velka 

Kappa)   5,041 

Mangart 8,776 

Terglou  9,371 

Km  7,858 

Kuk  6.829 


Chief  Passes  of  the  South-Eastern  Alps. 

KartUclier  Jocb  (Sillian  to  Tilliach),  carriage  road  5,363 

Passo  di  Mauria  (Ampezzo  to  Pieve  di  Cadore),  carriage  road 4,191 

Piano  di  Sappada  (San  Stefano  to  Fomo  Avoltri),  car.  road,  about  4,100 

Giogo  Veranis  (Fomo  Avoltri  to  Lorenzen),  footpath  7,521 

Wolaver  Joch  (Fomo  Avoltri  to  Rorschach),  footpath  6,563 

Monte  Croce  (Tolmezzo  to  Kbtschach),  bridle-path 4,337 

Nosfeld  Pass  (Pontebba  to  Hermagor),  footpath about  5,000 

Saifnitz  Pass  (Pontebba  to  Tarvis),  carriage  road  2,682 

Predil  Pass  (Tarvis  to  Flitsch),  carriage  road 3,522 

Wurzener  Ber£  ,Villach  to  Wurzen),  carriage  road 3,497 

Loibl  Piss  (NeaTiarktl  to  TJnterbergen),  carriage  road    4,445 

Seeberg  Pass  (Krainburg  to  Katjpel),  carriage  road  3,976 

Bt  Leonhard  Sattel  (Kappel  to  Sulzbach),  bridle-path 4,666 

Schkaria  Pass  (Sulzbach  to  Stein),  footpath  0,193 

Worschez  Sattel  (Flitsch  to  Kronau),  footpath - 5,254 

Kerma  Pass  (Moistrana  to  Feistritz),  footpath 6,332 

Bkarbinja  Joch  (To)mino  to  Feistritz),  footpath about  6^000 

It  is  well  known  that  as  we  rise  from  the  sea-level  into 
the  upper  regions  of  the  atmosphere  the  temperature 
decreases.     The  effect  of  mountain  chains  in  prevailing 


winds  is  to  carry  warm  air  belonging  to  the  lower  region 
into  an  upper  zone,  where  it  expands  in  volume  at  the  cost 
of  a  proportionate  loss  of  heat,  often  accompanied  by  the 
precipitation  of  moisture  in  the  form  of  snow  or  rain.  The 
position  of  the  Alps  about  the  centre  of  the  European 
continent  has  profoundly  modified  the  climate  of  all  the 
surrounding  regions.  The  accumulation  of  vast  masses  of 
snow,  which  have  gradually  been  converted  into  permanent 
glaciers,  maintains  a  gradation  of  very  different  climates 
within  the  narrow  space  that  intervenes  between  the  foot  of 
the  mountains  and  their  upper  ridges;  it  cools  the  breezes 
that  are  wafted  to  the  plains  on  either  side,  but  its  most 
important  function  is  to  regulate  tho  water  supply  of  that 
large  region  which  is  traversed  by  the  streams  of  the  Alps. 
Nearly  all  the  moisture  that  is  precipitated  during  six  or 
seven  months  is  stored  up  in  the  form  of  snow,  and  gradually 
diffused  in  the  course  of  the  succeeding  summer:  and  ever, 
in  the  hottest  and  driest  seasous  the  reserves  accumulated 
during  a  long  preceding  period  of  years  in  the  form  cf 
glaciers  are  available  to  maintain  the  regular  flow  of  the 
greater  streams.  Nor  is  this  all;  the  lakes  that  fill  several 
of  the  main  valleys  on  the  southern  side  of  the.  Alps  are 
somewhat  above  the  level  of  the  plains  of  Loiubardy  and 
Venetia,  and  afford  an  inexhaustible  supply,  which,  from  a 
remote  period,  has  been  used  for  that  system  of  irrigation 
to  which  they  owe  their  proverbial  fertility.  Six  regions  or 
zones,  which  are  best  distinguished  by  their  characteristic 
vegetation,  are  found  in  the  Alps.  It  has  been  a  common 
error  to  suppose  that  these  are  indicated  by  absolute  height 
above  the  sea-leveL  Local  conditions  of  exposure  to  the 
sun,  protection  from  cold  winds,  or  the  reverse,  are  of 
primary  importance  in  determining  the  climate  and  tho 
corresponding  vegetation. 

1.  Olive  Region. — The  great  plain  ol  upper  Italy  has  a 
winter  climate  colder  than  that  of  the  British  Islands.  The 
olive  and  the  characteiistic  shrubs  of  the  northern  coasts 
of  the  Mediterranean  do  not  thrive  in  the  open  air,  but 
the  former  valuable  tree  ripens  its  fruit  in  sheltered  places 
at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  and  penetrates  along  the 
deeper  valleys  and  the  shores  of  the  Italian  lakes.  The 
evergreen  oak  is  wild  on  the  rocks  about  the  lake  of  Garda; 
and  lemons  are  cultivated  on  a  large  scale,  with  partial 
protection  in  winter.  The  olive  has  been  known  to  survive 
severe  cold  when  of  short  duration,  but  it  cannot  be  culti- 
vated with  success  where  frosts  are  prolonged,  or  where 
the  mean  winter  temperature  falls  below  42°  Fabx;  and 
to  produce  fruit  it  requires  a  heat  of  at  least  75c  Fahr. 
during  the  day,  continued  through  four  or  five  months  of 
the  summer  and  autumn. 

2.  Vine  Region. — The  vine  is  far  more  tolerant  of  cold 
than  the  clive,  but  to  produce  tolerable  wine  it  demands, 
at  the  season  of  ripening,  a  degree  of  heat  not  much  lesj 
than  that  needed  by  the  more  delicate  tree.  These  con- 
ditions are  satisfied  in  the  deeper  valleys  of  the  Alps,  even 
in  the  interior  of  the  chain,  and  up  to  a  considerable  height 
on  slopes  exposed  to  the  sun.  The  protection  afforded  by 
winter  snow  enables  the  plant  to  resist  severe  and  prolonged 
frosts,  such  as  would  be  fatal  in  more  exposed  situations. 
Along  with  the  vine,  many  wild  plants  characteristic  ol 
the  wanner  parts  of  middle  Europe  are  seen  to  flourish. 
A  mean  summer  temperature  of  at  least  68"  Fahr.  is  con- 
sidered necessary  to  produce  tolerable  wine,  but  in  ordinary 
seasons  this  is  much  exceeded  in  many  of  the  great  valleys 
of  the  Alps. 

3.  Mox:ntain  Region,  or  Region  of  Deciduous  Trees. — 
Many  writers  take  the  growth  of  corn  as  the  characteristic 
of  thia  region;  but  so  many  varieties  of  all  the  common 
specief  are  in  cultivation,  and  these  have  such  different 
climataJ  requirements,  that  they  do  not  afford  a  satisfactory 
criterion.    A  more  natural  limit  is  afforded  by  the  presents 


632 


ALPS 


of  tne  chief  deciduous  trees — oak,  beech,' ash,  and  syca- 
more. These  do  not  reach  exactly  to  the  same  elevation, 
nor  are  they  often  found  growing  together;  but  their  upper 
limit  corresponds  accurately  enough  to  the -change  from  a 
temperate  to  a  colder  climate  that  is  further  proved  by 
a  change  in  the  wild  herbaceous  vegetation.  This  limit 
usually  lies  about  4000  feet  above  the  sea  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Alps,  but  on  the  southern  slopes  it  often  rises 
to  5000  feet,  sometimes  even  to  5500  feet.  It  must  not 
be  supposed  that  this  region  is  always  marked  by  the 
presence  of  the  characteristic  trees.  The  interference  of 
man  has  in  many  districts  almost  extirpated  them,  and, 
excepting  the  beech  forests  of  the  Austrian  Alps,  a  con- 
siderable wood  of  deciduous  trees  is  scarcely  anywhere  to 
be  found.  In  many  districts  where  such  woods  once  existed, 
"Jieir  place  has  been  occupied  by  the  pine  and  Scotch  fir, 
which  suffer  less  from  the  ravages  of  goats,  the  worst 
enemies  of  tree  vegetation.  The  mean  annual  temperature 
of  this  region  differs  little  from  that  of  the  British  islands; 
but  the  climatal  conditions  are  widely  different.  Here 
snow  usually  lies  for  several  months,  till  it  gives  place  to  a 
spring  and  summer  considerably  warmer  than  the  average 
of  our  seasons. 

4.  Subalpine  Region,  or  Region  of  Coniferous  Trees. — 
This  is  the  region  which  mainly  determines  the  manner  of 
life  of  the  population  of  the  Alps.  On  a  rough  estimate. 
we  may  reckon  that,  of  the  space  lying  between  the  summits 
Of  the  Alps  and  the  low  country  on  either  side,  one  quarter 
is  available  for  cultivation,  of  which  about  one-half  may 
be  vineyards  and  corn-fields,  and  the  remainder  produces 
forage  and  grass.  About  another  quarter  is  utterly  barren, 
consisting  of  snow-fields,  glaciers,  bare  rock,  lakes,  and  the 
beds  of  streams;  and  there  remains  about  one-half,  which  is 
divided  between  forest  and  pasture,  and  it  is  the  produce 
of  this  which  mainly  supports  the  relatively  large  popula- 
tion. For  nearly  half  the  year  the  flocks  and  herds  are 
fed  on  the  upper  pastures;  but  the  true  limit  of  the  wealth 
of  a  district  is  the  number  of  animals  that  can  be  sup- 
ported during  the  long  winter,  and  while  one  part  of  the 
population  is  engaged  in  tending  the  beasts  and  in  making 
cheese  and  butter,  the  remainder  is  busy  cutting  hay  and 
storing  up  winter  food.  The  larger  villages  are  mostly 
in  the  mountain  region,  but  in  many  parts  of  the  Alps  the 
villages  stand  in  the  subalpine  region  at  heights  varying 
from  4000  to  5500  feet  above  the  sea,  more  rarely  extend- 
ing to  about  6000  feet.  The  most  characteristic  feature 
of  this  region  is  the  prevalence  of  coniferous  trees,  which, 
where  they  have  not  been  artificially  reduced,  form  vast 
forests  that  cover  a  large  part  of  the  surface.  These  play 
a  most  important  part  in  the  natural  economy  of  thu 
country.  They  protect  the  valleys  from  destructive  ava 
lanches,  and,  retaining  the  superficial  soil  by  their  roots, 
they  mitigate  the  destructive  effects  of  heavy  rains.  In 
valleys  where  they  have  been  rashly  cut  away,  and  the 
waters  pour  down  the  slopes  unchecked,  every  tiny  rivulet 
becomes  a  raging  torrent,  that  cuts  away  and  carries  off  the 
grassy  slopes  and  devastates  the  floor  of  the  valley,  cover- 
ing the  soil  with  gravel  and  debris.  In  the  pine  forests  of 
the  Alp3  the  prevailing  species  are  the  common  spruce  and 
the  silver  fir;  on  siliceous  soil  the  larch  flourishes,  and 
surpasses  every  other  European  species  in  height.  The 
Scotch  fir  is  chiefly  found  at  a  lower  level,  and  rarely  forms 
forests.  The  Siberian  fir  is  found  scattered  at  intervals 
throughout  the  Alps,  but  is  not  common.  The  mughus, 
creeping,  pine,  or  Krummholz  of  the  Germans,  is  common 
in  the  Eastern  Alps,  and  sometimes  forms  on  the  higher 
mountains  a  distinct  zone  above  the  level  of  its  con- 
geners. In  the  Northern  Alps  the  pine  forests  rarely 
surpass  the  limit  of  6000  feet  above  the  sea,  but  on 
the  south  aide  they  commonly  attain  to  7000  feet;  and  the 


larch,  Siberian  fir,  and  mughus  often  extend  above  that 
elevation. 

5.  Alpine  Region. — Throughout  the  German  Alps  tho 
word  alp  is  used  specifically  for  the  upper  pastures,  where 
cattle  are  fed  in  summer,  but  this  region  is  held  to  include 
the  whole  space  between  the  uppermost  limit  of  trees  and 
the  first  appearance  of  permanent  masses  of  snow.  It  is  here 
that  the  characteristic  vegetation  of  the  Alps  is  developed 
in  its  full  beauty  and  variety.  Shrubs  are  not  wauting. 
Three  species  of  rhododendron  vie  with  each  other  in 
the  brilliancy  of  their  masses  of  red  or  pink  flowers;  tho 
common  juniper  rises  higher  still,  along  with  three  species 
of  bilberry;  and  several  dwarf  willows  attain  nearly  to  the 
utmost  limit  of  vegetation.  The  upper  limit  of  this  region 
coincides  with  the  so-called  limit,  of  perpetual  snow,  which 
demands  further  explanation. 

6.  Glacial  Region. — On  the  higher  parts  of  lofty  moun- 
tains more  snow  falls  in  ea^h  year  than  is  melted  on  the 
spot.  A  portion  of  this  is  carried  away  by  tho  wind  before 
it  is  consolidated ;  a  larger  portion  accumulates  in  hollows 
and  depressions  of  the  surface,  and  is  gradually  converted 
into  glacier-ice,  which  descends  by  a  slow  secular  motion 
into  the  deeper  valleys,  where  it  goes  to  swell  perennial 
streams.  As  on  a  mountain  the  snow  does  not  lie  in  beds 
of  uniform  thickness,  and  some  parts  are  more  exposed  to 
the  sun  and  warm  winds  than  others,  we  commonly  find 
beds  of  snow  alternating  with  exposed  slopes  covered  with 
brilliant  vegetation ;  and  to  the  observer  near  at  hand 
there  is  no  appearance  in  the  least  corresponding  to  the 
term  limit  of  perpetual  snow.  But  the  case  is  otherwise 
when  a  high  mountain  chain  is  viewed  from  a  distance. 
Similar  conditions  are  repeated  at  many  different  points, 
so  that  the  level  at  which  large  snow-beds  show  themselves 
along  its  flanks  is  approximately  horizontal  But  this 
holds  good  only  so  far  as  the  conditions  are  similar.  On 
the  opposite  sides  of  the  same  chain  the  exposure  to  the 
sun  or  to  warm  winds  may  cause  a  wide  difference  in  the 
level  of  permanent  snow;  but  in  some  cases  the  increased 
fall  of  snow  on  the  side  exposed  to  moist  winds  may  more 
than  compensate  the  increased  influence  of  the  sun's  rays. 
Still,  even  with  these  reservations,  the  so-called  line  of 
perpetual  snow  is  not  fixed.  The  occurrence  of  favourable 
meteorological  conditions  during  several  successive  seasons 
may  and  does  increase  the  extent  of  the  snow-fields,  arid 
lower  the  limit  of  seemingly  permanent  snow;  while  an 
opposite  state  of  things  may  cause  the  limit  to  rise  higher 
on  the  flanks  of  the  mountains.  From  these  remarks  it 
may  bo  inferred  that  all  attempts  to  fix  accurately  the 
level  of  perpetual  snow  in  the  Alps  are  fallacious,  arid  can 
at  the  best  approach  only  to  local  accuracy  for  a  particuleir 
district.  In  some  parts  of  the  Alps  the  limit  may  be  set 
at  about  8000  feet  above  the  sea,  while  in  others  it  cannot 
be  placed  much  below  9500  feet.  As  very  little  snow  czn 
rest  on  rocks  that  lie  at  an  angle  exceeding  60°,  and  this 
is  soon  removed  by  the  wind,  some  steep  masses  of  rock 
Eemain  bare  even  near  the  summits  of  the  highest  peaks, 
but  as  almost  every  spot  offering  the  least  hold  for  vegeta- 
tion is  covered  with  snow,  few  flowering  plants  are  seen 
above  10,000  feet.  There  is  reason  to  think,  however, 
that  it  is  the  want  of  soil  rather  than  climatal  conditions 
that  checks  the  upward  extension  of  the  Alpine  flora. 
Increased  direct  effect  of  solar  radiation  compensates  for  the 
cold  of  the  nights,  and  in  the  few  spots  where  plants  have 
been  found  in  flower  up  to  a  height  of  12,000  feet,  nothing 
has  indicated  that  the  processes  of  vegetation  were  arrested 
by  the  severe  cold  which  they  must  sometimes  endure. 
The  climate  of  the  glacial  region  has  often  been  compared 
to  that  of  the  polar  regions,  but  they  are  widely  different 
Here,  intense  solar  radiation  by  day,  which  raises  the 
surface  when  dry,  to  a  temperature  approaching  80°  Fahr., 


ALPS 


033 


alternates  with  severe  frost  by  night.  There,  a  sun  which 
never  sets  sends  feeble  rays  that  maintain  a  low  equable 
temperature,  rarely  rising  more  than  a  few  degrees  above 
the  freezing-point.  Hence  the  upper  region  of*  the  Alps 
sustains  a  far  more  varied  and  brilliant  vegetation. 

At  the  earliest  period  of  which  records  are  preserved 
the  Alps  appear  to  have  been  mainly  inhabited  by  Celtic 
tribes,  some  of  which,  before  they  were  subjugated  by 
the  I?  jmans,  had  made  considerable  progress  in  the  know- 
ledge of  the  useful  arts.  The  Rhastians  and  Vindelicians 
especially,  in  whum  a  primitive  Turanian  stock  seems  to 
have  been  amalgamated  with  a  dominant  Celtic  race, 
readily  assimilated  the  civilisation  of  Rome  ;  and  the 
language  of  the  conqueror,  modified  by  peculiarities  of 
pronunciation  and  the  retention  of  some  native  terms, 
still  survives  in  Eastern  Switzerland,  and  in  a  few  isolated 
valleys  of  Tyrol.  Throughout  by  far  the  larger  part  of 
the  Alps,  however,  the  flood  of  Teutonic  invasion  either 
exterminated  or  drove  into  exile  the  previous  population. 
The  Alemanui  and  other  kindred  tribes  settled  in  the 
main  valleys  of  the  Eastern  Alps,  and  finally  became 
masters  of  the  greater  part  of  Switzerland,  leaving  to  tie 
original  CeUic  population  the  Western  Alps  and  both 
slopes  of  the  great  Pennine  chain.  At  a  later  period  the 
invasion  of  Slavonic  hordes  threatened  to  substitute  a  new 
nationality  throughout  the  same  region,  but  after  pro- 
longed contests  these  tribes  were  restricted  to  its  south- 
eastern portion,  being  nearly  confined  to  the  upper  valleys 
of  tho  Drave  and  the  Save,  with  their  tributaries.  The 
Italian  valleys  of  the  Alps,  from  the  Val  d'Ossola  to  the 
Tagliamento,  inhabited  by  people  of  mixed  race,  have, 
with  a  few  exceptions,  preserved  the  language  of  Italy, 
much  varied  in  the  local  dialects;  while  the  western  dis- 
tricts, in  which  the  Celtic  element  remained  predominant, 
have  for  the  most  part  clung  to  the  French  tongue.  The 
estimates  formed  of  the  present  population  of  the  Alps  are 
uncertain,  because  they  usually  include  towns  and  populous 
districts  lying,  withoixt  the  mountain  region.  It  is  usually 
reckoned  that  there  are  about  1,500,000  of  Celto-Gallic 
stock  in  the  French  and  Savoy  Alps,  western  Switzerland, 
and  some  valleys  of  Piedmont;  about  4,000,000  of  Teutonic 
origin  in  the  Swiss  and  German  Alps  ;  about  1,000,000  of 
Slavonic  sfock,  chiefly  Slovenes;  and  about  1,000,000  of 
Italians  in  the  valleys  of  Northern  Italy,  the  Swiss  cantons 
of  Tessin  and  Grisons,  and  in  the  Italian  Tyrol,  making  an 
aggregate  of  7,500,000.  To  these  should  be  added  about 
70,000  people  speaking  some  dialect  of  the  Rhseto-Roman 
or  Romansch.  All  these  numbers  excepting  the  last  are 
excessive,  if  we  would  restrict  the  estimate  within  the 
proper  limits  of  the  Alps. 

.  Although  no  conspicuous  species  of  quadruped  or  bird 
is  known  to  be  exclusively  confined  to  the  Alps,  they  have 
afforded  an  asylum  to  many  animals  that  have  become 
rare  or  extinct  elsewhere.  The  great  urus,  the  elk,  and 
the  wild  swine  have  disappeared  since  the  Roman  period, 
and  the  beaver  in  more  recent  .times  ;  but  the  brown  bear, 
the  lynx,  the  wild  cat,  and  the  wolf  still  survive.  Among 
Ruminants,  the  red  deer,  fallow  deer,  and  roebuck,  chiefly 
found  in  the  lower  forest  region,  are  common  to  other 
mountain  districts,  More  characteristic  of  the  Alps  is  the 
chamois,  which  is  found  elsewhere  only  in  the  Carpathians, 
Pyrenees,  and  the  mountains  of  European  Turkey,  and  is 
the  sole  representative  of  the  antelopes  in  this  part  of  the 
world.  Much  rarer  is  the  ibex  or  bouquetin,  which  still 
lives  in  the  higher  Alpine  region  of  the  Graian  Alps,  and 
possibly  also  in  some  recesses  of  the  Pennine  chain.  Un- 
like the  chamois,  which  descends  at  night  to  find  suste- 
nance as  low  as  the  verge  of  the  pine  forests,  thi3  fine 
animal  remains,  at  least  in  the  summer,  in  the  upper 
region,  on  the  verge  of  the  snow-fields,  or  on  the  rocks  that  I 

ff"- 


rise  amidst  the  glaciers.  The  massive  horns  of  the  male 
are  often  a  yard  or  more  in  length.  Closely,  allied  species 
are  found  in  the  Pyrenees  and  other  mountain  ranges  of 
the  Iberian  peninsula,  and  in  the  Caucasus,  but  the  mis 
ibex  seems  to  be  now  confined  to  this  small  cor  :er  of  the 
Alps.  The  few  endemic  8pecie3  of  Mammalia  found  in 
the  Alps  are  chiefly  small  Rodentia  and  Ii;.<wtivora,  whi«ii 
alone  can  multiply  rapidly  in  the  midst  of  a  large  and 
increasing  human  population.  The  marmot,  which  is  the 
most  characteristic  of  the  Rodentia,  maintains  its  ground 
in  the  stony  recesses  of  the  Alpine  rej/ion,  and  does  not 
diminish  in  numbers  as  most  other  wild  animals  have 
done.  The  most  singular  of  this  group  is  the  snow-vole 
(Arvicola  nivalis),  whose  nearest  ally  is  a  native  of  East 
Siberia.  Several  forms  (varieties  or  sub-species)  are  found 
in  various  parts  of  the  Alps.  They  ascend  through  the 
Alpine  region  to  the  rocks  of  the  glacial  zone,  at  least  as 
far  as  12,000  feet  above  the  sea;  aud,  unlike  other  animals 
framed  to  endure  severe  cold,  they  continue  in  activity 
throughout  the  long  winter.  There  is  at  least  one  species 
of  shrew  (Sorex  alpinus)  peculiar  to  the  Alps.  The 
Cheiroptera  are  represented  by  numerous  forms,  which, 
with  one  exception  (Vespeiugo  maurus),  are  not  confined 
to  this  region  ;  but  the  Alps  form  a  limit  to  the  distribu- 
tion of  many  of  this  order  :  some  species  of  middle  Europe 
do  not  cross  the  main  range,  while  several  Bpecies  of  the 
Mediterranean  region  find  their  northern  limit  iu  tho 
valleys  on  the  southern  side. 

The  Birds  of  the  Alps  are  proportionately  very  numer-  liirdu 
ous.  Many  southern  species  find  a  home  in  the  warmer 
Italian  valleys,  and  there  meet  northern  forms  that  descend 
during  the  winter  and  spring,  but  return  to  the  upper  zone 
in  the  warm  season.  Of  the  more  conspicuous  species  of 
the  high  Alps,  the  lammergeyer  (Gypa'etos  barbatus) — once 
common,  but  now  become  very  rare — is  pre-eminent.  It 
is  also  found  in  Algeria,  in  Syria,  and  in  Northern  Asia, 
but  is  one  of  those  animals  that  is  threatened  with  ex- 
tinction by  the  progress  of  civilisation.  The  rock  chough 
(Pyrrhocorax  alpinus),  distinguished  by  golden-yeUow  bill 
and  feet,  builds  on  rocks  in  the  glacial  region  as  high  as 
10,000  feet  above  the  sea.  Several  song  birds,  such  as 
the  snow  lark  and  snow  finch,  ascend  to  the  limits  of 
vegetation.^  The  Gallinacese  are  well  represented.  The 
cock  of  the  woods  (Tetrao  urogallus),  the  grouse,  ptarmigan, 
blackcock,  gelinotte,  and  rock  partridge  (Caccabis  saxalilis), 
are  the  most  ■  remarkable.  The  first,  .which  is  somewhat 
rare  and  extremely  shy,  surpasses  the  dimensions  of  an 
ordinary  well-grown  fowL 

Several  Reptiles  are  found  even  in  the  upper  region  of  Reptile 
the  Alps,  though  none  are  very  common.  Of  three 
venomous  species  of  viper,  Vipera  herns  ascends  to  about 
8000  feet ;  and  the  black  viper  ( V.  prester)  also  reaches 
the  Alpine  region.  V.  Eedii  is  confined  to  the  warmer 
Italian  valleys.  The  snakes  and  lizards  frequent  the 
lower  zones,  excepting  Lacerla  pyrrhogaslra,  which  is 
sometimes  seen  in  the  upper  region. 

Batrachians  are  more  common  than  true  reptiles.  An 
Alpine  frog  attains  the  extreme  limit,  of  vegetation,  and  a 
toad  ascends  nearly  as  far.  These  have  been  considered 
by  some  as  distinct  species,  by  others  as  varieties  of  the 
common  animals.  At  least  one  triton  (T.  Wur/beinii)  is 
peculiar  to  the  Alps.  The  spotted  salamander  is  common 
in  the  sub- Alpine  region,  but  in  the  Eastern  Alps  it  is  re- 
placed by  S.  atra,  which  is  entirely  black.  This  is  some- 
times found  far  above  the  limit  of  the  pine  forests. 

The  great  lakes  of  the  Alps  are  very  rich  in  Fish,  not 
only  as  regards  the  number  of  individuals,  but  in  species 
also.  Thus  in  the  Chiemsee,  at  the  northern,  foot  of  the 
Bavarian  Alps,  thirty-three  species  have  been  found,  in 
the  lake  of  Constance  twenty-six  species,  and  twenty-four 


(534 


IS 


LiJS 


in  the  lake  of  Lucerne.  The  most  esteemed  are  those  of 
the  trout  and  salmon  tribe,  whose  specific  differences  have 
not  yet  been  fully  investigated  by  ichthyologists.  First  in 
rank  is  the  saibling  (Salmo  salvelliniu),  which  flourishes  in 
lakes  between  2000  and"  4000  feet  above  the  sea,  and 
occasionally  extends  to  those  of  the  Alpine  region  between 
C000  and  7000  feet.  The  fish  of  the  northern  side  of  tho 
Alps  are  fully  described  in  Siebold's  Siisswasser-Fische 
Mttt'leuropa*.  Those  of  the  waters  running  to  the 
Mediterranean  have  not  been  so  fully  investigated.  Two 
or  three  peculiar  species  have  been  found  in  the  lake  of 
Geneva.  In  some  of  the  Lombard  lakes,  tho  agone,  a  small 
fish  of  the  herring  tribe  (Clupea  finta),  is  a  much  esteemed 
article  of  diet. 

In  the  classes  hitherto  noticed  the  number  of  species 
'peculiar  to  the  Alps  is  very  small.  This  rule  is  reversed 
among  tho  Invertebrata,  especially  as  regards  the  Articu- 
lata  and  Mollusca.  The  number  of  insects  is  very  great, 
and  a  considerable  proportion  extend  to  the  limit  of  per- 
petual snow.  Oswald  Ileer  has  pointed  out  several  pecu- 
liarities in  the  insect  fauna  of  tho  higher  Alps.  In  ascend- 
ing from  the  mountain  region  the  proportion  of  the 
carnivorous  tribes  rapidly  increases,  and  the  families  that 
feed  on  living  vegetable  matter  either  disappear  or  are 
much  reduced  in  numbers.  Beetles  and  other  insects 
either  lose  their  wings  in  the  upper  region,  or  are  represented 
by  allied  wingless  species.  Along  with  the  tendency  to 
lose  the  power  of  flight,  a  diminution  of  brilliancy  of  colour 
appears,  the  prevailing  hues  being  black  or  dingy  grey. 
These  peculiarities  are  to  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  in 
the  upper  Alpine  zone  most  insects  live  under  stones,  and 
the  power  of  flight  generally  proves  injurious  to  animals 
liable  to  be  carried  by  the  wind  and  upward  air-currents 
over  the  snow-fields,  whence  they  are  unable  to  return. 
This' is  often  seen  to  occur  to  butterflies  and  a  few  moths, 
which  ascend  as  far  as  the  highest  flowering  plants.  The 
snow-fields  and  glaciers  are  not  devoid  of  insect  life. 
Several  species  of  snow-flea  have  been  detected;  and 
further  observation  will  probably  bring  to  light  other 
minute  animals  living  in  the  pools  that  form  on  the  surface 
of  glaciers,  or  on  the  snow-beds,  although  their  activity 
is  often  interropted  by  the  freezing  of  the  surface. 

The  Arachnida  are  eminently  characteristic  of  the  fauna 
of  the  high  Alps,  where  they  abound  both  in  species  and 
individuals.  Spiders  ascend  to  the  utmost  limit  of  vegeta- 
tion, and  are  even  to  be  found  on  the  bare  rocks  that  rise 
out  of  the  snow  up  to  a  height  of  11,000  feet. 

Although  most  of  the  orders  of  Articulata  are  repre- 
sented in  the  Alps  by  numerous  forms,  these  are  far  out- 
numbered by  the  total  number  of  European  species  of  that 
class ;  but  among  land  and  fresh- water  Mollusca  the  pro- 
portion is  reversed,  and  as  many  as  seVen-eighths  of  all 
the  species  known  in  middle  Europe,  and  a  large  propor- 
tion of  those  of  the  Mediterranean  region,  have  been  found 
in  the  Alps.  Still  more  remarkable  is  the  large  propor- 
tion of  endemic  species.  In  the  important  group  of  the 
Heliceae  fully  one  hundred  species,  or  four-tenths  of  the 
whole  number,  are  peculiar  to  the  Alps.  Between  thirty 
and  forty  species  only  have  been  found  in  the' Alpine  zone, 
and  of  these  but  five —  Vitrina  diapkana,  V.  glacialis,  fli  I  ix 
glacialis,  H.  fodens,  and  Vertigo  Charpentieri — attain  the 
■upper  limit  of  vegetation. 

The  Annulosa  and  Itadiata  of  the  Alps,  so  far  as  they 
are  known,  do  not  offer  any  points  of  special  interest;  and 
the  study  of  the  minute  organisms,  which  have  been 
proved  to  exist  a3  high  as  12,000  feet  above  the  sea,  is 
atill  in  its  infancy. 

In  describing  the  several  regions  which  are  found  in 
ascending  from  the  low  country  to  the  snow-clad  summits 
of  the  Alps,  and  whose  existence  is  due  to  climatal  differ- 


ences, it  was  necessary  to  refer  to  tho  characteristic  vege- 
tation of  each  zone,  inasmuch  as  this  affords  the  chief 
apparent  distinction  which  climatal  conditions  impress  on 
the  earth's  surface.     The  most  cursory  observation  suffice? 
to  show  that  within  each  of  the  zones  thus  broadly  sketched 
out  there  exist  marked  differences  in  the  vegetable  popula- 
tion, so  that  a  comparison  of  the  local  floras  in  two  spots 
possessing  a  similar  climate  as  regards  temperature  may 
exhibit  but  few  points  of  agreement  along  with  many 
marked  contrasts.     This  partly  depends  on  external  con- 
ditions, of  which  tho  most  important  are  differences  in  the 
amount  and  distribution  of  moisture  in  tho  air  and  the 
soil,  and  differences  in  the  composition  and  state  of  aggre- 
gation of  the  soil  itself.     But  a  more  important  element  in 
determining  the  flora  of  any  particular  district  depends 
upon  the  causes  which  have  operated  throughout  the  whole 
period  since  it  has  become  dry  land  to  facilitate  migration 
for  certain  species,  and  to  impede  it  for  others.     The  sub- 
ject of  the  distribution  of  Alpine  plants,  so  far  as  regards 
tho  eastern  half  of  the  chain,  has  been  very  well  discussed 
in  an  essay  by  Dr  A.  Kerner  in  the  1st  vol  of  the  2d  edit, 
of  Schaubach's  Deutsche  Alpen,  although  some  of  the  con- 
clusions of  the  writer  may  not  bear  careful  criticism.     He 
divides  the  natural  floras  of  the  Alps  into  four — named 
respectively  Arctic,  Baltic,  Pontic,  and  Mediterranean,  the 
term  Baltic  referring  to  the  region  that  includes  Germany, 
Southern  Scandinavia,  and  North- Western  Russia;  while 
Pontic  comprehends  the  region  north  and  west  of  the  Euxine 
— the  northern  provinces  of  Turkey  and  the  whole  space 
between  the  Carpathians  and  the  Crimea.     It  does  not 
appear  that  the  writer  holds  that  tho  plants  existing  in  the 
Alps  have  actually  migrated  to  their  present  homes  from 
the  geographical  regions  corresponding  to  the  above  deno- 
minations, but  merely  that  they  belong  to  the  types  of 
vegetation  characteristic  of  each  of  them.     It  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  Alps,  and  especially  the  mountain 
and  sub- Alpine  regions,  produce  a  large  number  of  peculiar 
forms,  many  of  which  have  no  near  allies  in  the  other 
mountain  regions  of  Europe,  while  at  the  same  time  the 
differences  are  seldom  so  wide  as  to  place  these  in  distinct 
generic  groups;  and  it  seems  quite  inadmissible  to  suppose 
that  the  flora  has  been  altogether  formed  by  colonisation 
from  surrounding  districts.     No  space  can  be  here  found 
for  details,  but  it  may  broadly  be  said  that  while  the 
highest  zone  of  all,  lying  close  to  the  limit  of  permanent 
snow,  exhibits  throughout  the  whole  chain  an  approach  to 
uniformity,  several  of.  the  most  conspicuous  species  being 
common  to  this  and  to  Arctic  flora,  the  zone  immediately 
below  this,  as  well  as  those  lower  down,  shows  a  large 
admixture  of  quite  distinct  elements.     This  is  especially 
true  of  the-  southern  slopes.     In  truth,  but  a  very  few  of 
the  well-marked  endemic  species  of  the  Alps  are  confined 
to  the   north  side  of   the   main   chain.     A  considerable 
number  are  common  to  both  slopes,  and  a  still  larger  pro- 
portion are  restricted  exclusively  to  the  southern  side.     Of 
the  larger  groups  which  are  represented  in  the  Alps  by 
numerous  well-marked  endemic  species,  the  genera  Alsine, 
Androsace,  Arabis,  Campanula,  Crepis,  Gentiana,  Pedicu- 
laris,   Primula,  and  Saxifraga   may  be   especially  noted. 
Without  attempting  to  enter  into  details,  it  may  be  said 
that,  along  with  a  general  Alpine   flora,  which  extends 
throughout  the  entire  chain,  there  are  three  large  districts 
where,  along  with  species  common  to  all,  we  find  a  con- 
siderable number  of  others   either   absolutely  local    and 
endemic,  or  else  representative  in  the  Alps  of  the  floras  of 
other  distant  mountain  groups.     Only  a  few  of  the  more 
remarkable  species  characteristic  of  each  can  be  cited.    The 
West  Alpine  Flora  is  found  in  Dauphhae,  South  Savoy, 
and  Western  Piedmont,  as  far  north  as  the  group  of  the 
Graian  Alps.     In  the  following  list  of  the  more  remark- 


ALPS 


G35 


able  species  those  which  are  either  identical  with  or 
nearly  allied  to  Pyrenean  forms  have  an  asterisk  pre- 
fixed : — 

Arabia  pcdemontana,  Eugucnina  tanacelifolia,  "Dianthus  ne- 
glectus,  Silcne  cordifolia,  "Saponaria  lutea,  'Hypericum,  nummu- 
lariafolium,  Astragalus  alopccuroidcs,  Saxifragi  fiorulcnla,  S. 
diapensioides,  *S.  pcdemontana,  "Asperula  hexaphylla,  Cephalaria 
alpina,  Achillea  Herbarota,  Bcrardia  subacaulis,  Campanula 
Allionii,  C.  elatines.  Primula  marginata,  P.  Allionii,  'Erinus 
Mpinus,  Veronica  Allionii,  Thymus  pipcrella,  and  Alopecurus 
Oerardi. 

The  Lombard  Flora  is  marked  by  a  considerable  number 
of  very  distinct  species  that  are  limited  to  the  southern 
declivity  of  the  Alps,  between  the  Lago  Maggiore  and  the 
lake  of  Garda.  jlost  of  these  are  absolutely  confined 
■within  these  boundaries,  but  a  few  extend  some  distance 
east  of  the  lake  of  Garda.  The  following  deserve  .to  be 
specified : — 

Viola  Comollia,  V.  heterophylla,  Silcne  Elhabethce,  Arcnaria 
grimcensis,  Cytisus  glabrescens,  Sanguisorba  dodecandra ,  Saxifraga 
Vandellii,  S.  arachnoidca,  Laserpitium  nilidum,  Telehia  speciosis- 
sima,  Leontodon  tenuiflorus,  Hieracium  porrifolium,  Campanula 
Maineri,  C.  elatinoides,  Daphne  rupeslris,  Euphorbia  variabilis,  and 
Carex  baldensis. 

The  Fast  Alpine  Flora,  extending  through  the  region 
east  of  the  valley  of  the  Adige,  is  characterised  by  a  large 
number  of  peculiar  species,  and  by  a  perhaps  equal  number 
of  plants  not  seen  elsewhere  in  the  Alps,  but  also  natives 
of  the  Carpathians,  or  of  the  region  lying  between  Servia 
and  the  Adriatic.  In  the  following  list' those  included  in 
,  he  latter  category  are  marked  with  an  asterisk  : — - 

Arabis  vochinensis,  *A.  Scopoliana,  "Cardamine  trifolia,  Braya 
alpina,  CochXearia  brevicaulis,  Silcne pumilio,  S.  a'.pcslris,  Dianthus 
alpinus,  'Genista  scricea,  Mcdicago  Pironce,  'Potentilla  Clusiana, 
Saxifraga  Burscriana,  S.  tenella,  *S.  petrcca,  *S.  hieracifolia, 
'Hacquetia  Epipactis,  Aslraniia  carniolica,  Bladnikia  golacensis, 
Anihemis  alpina,  Achillea  Clusiana,  'Scnecio  abrotani/olius,  Cen- 
iaurea  alpina,  C.  rupestris,  *  Saussurea  pygmcsa,  Phyleuma  comosum. 
Campanula  pulla,  *C.  alpina,  C.  morctliana,  C.  Zoysii,  Rhododen- 
dron chamcecistus,  Oentiana  imbricata,  'G.  frigida,  G.  Fr'ohlichii, 
'Primula  minima,  P.  glutinosa,  Androsace  Hausmanni,  P&derota 
Bonarota,  P.  Ageria,  Wulfenia  carinthiaca,  Sesleria  sphcerocephala, 
and  S:  microcephala. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  central  and  highest  part 
of  the  Alpine  chain,  including  the  Pennine  and  Bernese 
groups,  the  Lepontine  Alps,  and  those  of  .North  Switzer- 
land, produce  scarcely  a  well-marked  species — with  the 
doubtful  exceptions  of  Rumex  nivalis  and  of  Potentilla 
fframmopetala,  which  is  confined  to  a  small  district  south 
east  of  Monte  Rosa — that  does  not  spread  throughout  the 
rest  of  the  chain. 
Glaciers  of  The  phenomena  of  glaciers  have  been  chiefly  studied  in 
the  Alps,  the  Alps,  but  they  are  not  especially  characteristic  of  the 
mountains  of  central  Europe.  The  investigation  of  their 
origin  and  structure,  and  the  laws  of  their  motion,  fall 
within  the  province  of  the  physical  philosopher,  and  are 
discussed  elsewhere.  See  Glaciers. 
Geology  of  The  geological  structure  of  the  Alps  is  a  subject  that  has 
1*  occupied  the  labours  of  many  eminent  men  of  science, 
especially  during  the  last  thirty  years,  yet  it  may  be  safely 
asserted  that  it  will  continue  to  offer  new  problems  to  the 
researches  of  at  least  another  generation.  There  is  scarcely 
a  single  difficult  question  regarding  the  nature  and  mode 
of  deposition  of  the  strata  that  make  up  the  earth's  crust, 
the  mode  of  elevation  of  mountain  chains,  the  causes  of 
the  formation  of  valleys  and  lake  basins,  the  action  of 
meteoric  forces,  of  rivers  and  ice-streams,  that  must  not  be 
decided  before  we  can  give  a  rational  account  of  the  struc- 
ture of  the  Alps.  Along  with  these,  and  scarcely  less  im- 
portant, is  the  study  of  the  various  agencies  involved  in 
the  phenomena  of  metamorphism,  and  that  of  the  part 
played  by  volcanic  action  in  some  parts  of  the  chain.  The 
study  of  the  organic  remains  embedded  in  the  rocks  is  not 
so  constantly  the  duty  of  the  geologist  in  the  Alps  as  it  is 


in  most  other  mountain  districts;  but  of  late  years  this  has 
been  actively  pursued;  and  has  tended  to  clear  up  man7 
difficulties,  while  much  room  is  left  for  further  investiga- 
tion. The  reader  is  referred  to  the  article  Geology,  and, 
with  reference  to  detailed  information  as  to  the  structure 
of  the  Alps,  to  the  list  of  works  on  alpine  geology  given 
below. 

The  number  of  publications  relating  to  the  Alps  has  been  so 
largely  increased  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  that  a  bare 
catalogue  would  fill  a  considerable  space.  The  majority  of  these 
are  of  a  narrative  and  descriptive  character,  and  do  not  add  mu<ra 
to  our  knowledge  of  the  Alps,  either  topographically  or  scientifically. 
It  will  suffice  to  give  here  a  brief  list  of  the  chief  works  that  may 
fairly  be  considered  to  have  achieved  that  object.  Works  of  exclu- 
sively scientific  character,  especially  those  relating  to  Alpine  geology, 
are  separately  enumerated. 

Scheuchzer  (J.  J.),  Itinera  Alpina,  Leydcn,  1723.  Griiner,  Die 
Eisgebirge  des  -Schweizerlandes,  Bern,  1760.  Saussnre  (H.  B.  de), 
Voyages  dans  les  Alpes,  Neuchatel,  1803-C.  Hugi  (J.  J.),  Natur- 
bistorische  Alpenreise,  Solothurn,  1830.  Agassiz  (L.),  Etudes  sur 
les  Glaciers,  Neuchatel,  1840  ;  Systemc  Glacaire,  ou  Nouvelles 
Etudes,  Ice,  Paris,  1847.  Forbes  (J.  D.),  Travels  through  the 
Alps  of  Savoy,  &c,  Edinburgh,  1843.  Desor  (E.),  Excursions  et 
Sejours  dans  les  Glaciers  et  les  Hautcs  Regions  des  Alpes  ;  2  series, 
Neuchatel,  1844-5.  Saluzzo  .(A.  di),  Le  Alpi  che  cingono  l'ltalia, 
l""-  Parte,  Torino,  1S45..  Schlagintweit  (H.  und  A),  Untersu- 
chungen  iiber  die  Physicalische  Geographic  die  Alpen  j  2  series, 
Leipzig,  1850-4.  Tyndall  (J.),  The  Glaciers  of  the  Alps,  London, 
I860.  Berlepsch  (H.  A.),  Die  Alpen  in  Natur-  und  Lebensbildern 
dargestellt,  Leipzig,  1861.  Brown»  (Rev.  G.  F.),  Ice-caves 
of  France  and  Switzerland,  London,  1865.  Morell,  Scientific 
Guide  to  Switzerland,  London,  1866.  Sonklar  (Karl  von),  Die 
Oetzthaler  Gebirgsgruppe,  Jcc,  Gotha,  1860  ;  Die  Gebirgsgruppe 
der  Hohen  Tauern,  &c,  Wien,  1866.  Schaubach  Die  Deutsche 
Alpen;  2d  edition,  Jena,  1865-71.  Bonney  (Rev.  T.  G.),  The 
Alpine  Regions  of  Switzerland  and  the  neighbouring  countries, 
Cambridge  and  London,  1868.  Ball  (J.),  The  Alpine  Guide;  new 
edition,  in  ten  parts,  London,  1873.  Considerable  additions  to  our 
knowledge  of  the  Alps  are  also  to  be  found  in  the  periodical  publi- 
cations of  the  English,  Swiss,  Austrian,  Italian,  and  German  Alpine 
Clubs ;  and  also  in  papers  that  have  appeared  in  Petermann's 
Gcographische  Mittlieilungen. 

No  general  zoological  works  of  a  purely  scientific  character  relat- 
ing exclusively  to  the  fauna  of  the  Alps  can  be  quoted ;  but  much 
valuable  information,  conveyed  in  a  popular  form,  will  be  found  in 
Tschudi's  Thierleben  der  Alpenwelt,  of  which  translations  have 
appeared  in  English  and  French.  The  want  of  a  compact  work 
containing  descriptions  of  all  the  plants  of  the  Alps  has  been  much 
felt  by  botanists.  Those  of  Switzerland  and  the  Eastern  Alps  are 
included  in  Koch's  Synopsis  Florae  Germanicae  et  Helveticae,  a 
work  of  high  authority,  written  in  Latin ;  but  it  does  not  compre- 
hend the  species  'peculiar  to  Piedmont  and  the  Western  Alps.  An 
illustrated  work,  by  J.  C.  Weber,  Die  Alpenpflanzen  Deutschlands 
und  der  Schweiz,  may  also  be  recommended.  Of  numerous  books 
and  memoirs  connected  with  the  geology  of  the  Alps,  the  following 
deserve  special  mention : — L.  von  Bueh,  Geologische  Beobachtung- 
en  auf  Reisen,  1802.  Sir  R.  I.  Murchison,  .On  the  Geological 
Structure  of  the  Alps,  the  Apennines,  and  the  Carpathians,  Quart. 
Journal  Geol.  Soc.  of  London,  vol.  v. ;  a  translation  of  this  im- 
portant memoir  into  Italian,  with  an  appendix,  by  P.  Savi  and 
G.  Meneghini,  Florence,  1851.  Sedgwick  and  Murchison,  On  the 
Geology  of  the  Eastern  Alps,  Trans.  Geol.  Soc.  Lond.  1832.  J.  de 
Charpentier,  Essai  sur  les  Glaciers  et  sur  le  Terrain  Erratique  du 
Bassin  du  Rhone,  1841.  B.  Studer,  Geologie  der  Schweiz,  1853  ; 
Id.  Index  der  Petrographie  nnd  Stratigraphie  der  Schweiz,  &c, 
Bern,  1S72.  A.  Stoppani,  Studii  Geologichi  e  Paleontologichi  suRa 
Lombardia,  1857.  C.  Lory,  Description  Geologique  du  Dauphine, 
1860.  Giimbel,  Geologie  des  Kbnigrcichs  Bayern,  1861.  O.  Heer, 
Die  Urwelt  der  Schweiz,.  Zurich,  1865.  £.  Desor,  Der  Gebirgsbau 
der  Alpen,  &c,  Wiesbaden,  1865.  A.  Favre,  Recherches  Geo- 
logiques  dans  les  Parties  de  la  Savoie,  ic. ;  Voisines  du  Mont  Blanc, 
Geneve,  1867.  L.  Riitimeyer,  TJeber  Thai-  und  Seebilding,  Basel, 
1869.  A  copious  collection  of  facts  and  observations  bearing  on 
the  physics  and  recent  geology  of  the  Alps  will  be  found  in  a  work 
by  M.  DoUfuss-Ausset,  Matcriaui  pour  l'Etude  des  Glaciers,  ol 
which  nine  volumes  have  appeared.  Many  important  contributions 
to  Alpine  geology  are  scattered  through  the  Proceedings  of  scientific 
societies.  The  Bulletin  of  the  French  Geological  Society  contains 
valuable  papers  by  CoUegno,  Dausse,  Gras,  Huber,  MortiUet, 
Omboni,  Rozet,  and  others.  The  geology  of  the  Austrian  Alps  is 
iUustrated  by  numerous  papers  in  the  Jahrbuch  der  k.  k.  Reichsan- 
stalt.  The  memoirs  of  A.  Sismonda  and  B.  Gastaldi,  in  the 
Memorie  della  R.  Acadcmia  di  Torino,  must  be  consulted  by  those 
who  would  study  the  geology  of  Piedmont  The  phenomena  of  the 
motion  and  structure  of  glaciers  have  been  discussed  in  numerous. 


626 


ALP-ALS 


papers  that  have  appeared  in  the  London  and  Edinburgh  Philoso- 
phical Magazine  during  the  last  thirty  years.  The  important 
memoirs  of  Professor  Tyndall  were  published  in  the  Philosophical 
Transactions  for  1857,  1858,  and  1859  ;  and  those  of  the  late  Mr 
Hopkins  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Cambridge  Philosophical  Society, 
vol.  viii.  Various  contributions  to  illustrate  and  enforce  the  views 
first  set  forth  by  the  late  Principal  Forbes  in  his  Travels  through 
the  Alps  were  published  in  a  collected  form  by  Messrs  Black,  Edin- 
burgh, in  1859. 

With  the  exception  of  special  maps  of  small  districts,  the  only 
maps  of  the  Alps  founded  on  actual  survey  are  those  which  have 
been  published  under  the  authority  of  the  governments  whose 
territory  is  concerned.  Among  these  the  first  place  is  due  to  tho 
federal  map  of  Switzerland,  executed  under  the  direction  of  General 
Dufour,  on  the  scale  no'oaii,  in  25  sheets.  Considering  the  diffi- 
culty of  the  task,  this  is  unsurpassed  both  for  accuracy  and  skill  in 
execution.  The  Austrian  War  Office  has  brought  out,  during  the 
last  sixty  years,  a  series  of  maps,  executed  on  a  large  scale,  of  the 
several  states  of  the  empire.  These  are  of  very  unequal  merit. 
That  of  the  kingdom  of  Venetian  Lombardy,  in  42  sheets,  on  the 
scale  of  B>'oa,  has  considerable  merit,  but  falls  short  of  the  stand- 
ard of  the  Swiss  map.  A  new  map  of  Tyrol  is  in  preparation,  and 
will  doubtless  sustain  the  reputation  of  Austrian  cartographers. 
The  "eneral  map  of  Piedmont,  in  91  sheets,  on  the  scale  rrfiin,  is 
sufficiently  correct  as  regards  the  inhabited  districts,  but  quite 
unsatisfactory  as  '■egards  the  higher  region.     Until  latelv  there 


existed  no  tol  .able  map  of  tho  Alpines  provinces  of  France.  The, 
general  map  ol  France,  on  the  scale  ltlu.  has  of  late  years  been 
extended  to  the  greater  pai  t  of  Dauphine,  and  will  before  long  include 
the  newly-acquired  departments  of  Savoy  and  Dice.  The  portion 
already  published  is  quite  on  a  level  with  modern  requirements,  and 
reflects  credit  on  the  French  war  department.  The  only  tolerable 
map  that  includes  the  entire  chain  of  the  Alps  is  that  compiled  by 
.!.  Q  Mayr.  It  is  on  a  small  scale  (IHViil,  and  is  not  free  from 
serious  errors.  A  map  published  by  W'orl,  in  48  sheets,  on  a  scale 
TTTt'sTTJ,  entitled  "Atlas  von  Sudwest  Deutschland  und  deni  Alpen- 
lande,"  is  very  unsatisfactory.  Scheda's  general  map  of  the  Aus- 
trian Empire  and  adjoining  territories,  in  20  sheets,  is  an  excellent 
compilation.  It  includes  the  Alps  as  far  west  as  Monte  Rosa 
and  the  lake  of  Thurj,  but  the  scale  (rr*V<nj)  is  inconveniently 
small. 

Of  geological  maps  including  any  considerable  portion  of  th» 
Alps  the  following  deserve  to  be  specified  : — 

Favrc(AA  Carte  Geologique  des  Parties de  la Savoie,  &c,  Toisines 
du  Mont  Wane.  Giimbel,  Geognostische  Karte  des  Kbnigreichs 
Bayern.  Hauer  (F.  von),  Geologische  UebersichtskaKc  der  Oester- 
reichischen  Monar-hie  ;  sheets  5  and  6  include  tho  Austrian  Alps. 
Lory  (C. ),  Carte  Geologique  du  Dauphine'.  Morlot,  Uebersichts- 
karte  der  Nordbstlichen  Alpen.  Sismonda  (A.),  Carta  Geologies 
di  Savoja,  Piemonte,  e  Liguria.  Societe  Geologique  de  France, 
Carte  Geologique  de  la  Savoie.  Studer  (B.i  u.  Escher  v.  d.  Linth, 
Carte  Geologique  de  la  Suisse.  (J.  B.) 


ALPUJAKKAS,  or  Alpttxaras,  a  mountainous  district 
'n  the  south  of  Spain,  in  the  province  of  Andalusia,  lyirfg 
between  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  the  Sierras  Lugar  and 
Contravieca,  and  consisting  principally  of  valleys,  -which 
descend  at  right  angles  from  the  crest  of  the  Sierra  Nevada. 
These  valleys  are  among  the  most  beautiful  and  fertile  in 
Spain.  They  contain  a  rich  abundance  of  fruit  trees, 
especially  vines,  oranges,  lemons,  and  figs,  and  in  some 
parts  present  scenes  of  almost  Alpine  grandeur.  The 
inhabitants  are  the  descendants  of  the  Moors,  who  vainly 
sought  to  preserve  the  last  relics  of  their  independence  in 
their  mountain  fastnesses,  and  many  of  the  names  of  places 
in  the  district  are  of  Moorish  origin.  The  principal 
villages  are  Lanjaron,  Orgiba,  Trevelez,  and  Ugijar,  all 
•situated  at  a" considerable  elevation — the  highest,  Trevelez, 
being  5333  feet  above  the  sea — and  containing  from  1500 
to  4000  inhabitants. 

ALREDUS,  Altjred,  or  Alttkedtjs,  of  Beverley,  one 
of  the  earliest  English  historians,  was  born  at  Beverley, 
in  Yorkshire.  He  wrote  in  tho  reign  of  Henry  I.,  but 
little  is  known  with  certainty  of  his  life.  It  is  generally 
believed  that  he  was  educated  at  Cambridge,  and  afterwards 
became  one  of  the  canons  and  treasurer  of  the  church  of 
St  John's  at  Beverley.  We  learn  from  a  note  in  Bishop 
Tanner's  Bibliotkeca  Brit.-Hib.  that,  for  the  sake  of  im- 
provement, ho  travelled  through  France  and  Italy,  and  at 
Rome  became  domestic  chaplain  to  Cardinal  Othoboni. 
He  died  in  the  year  1128  or  1129.  His  chief  work, 
entitled  Annates  give  Historia  de  gestis  Begum  Britannicce, 
was  edited  by  Thomas  Hearne  from  a  manuscript  belonging 
to  Thomas  Rawlinson,  and  was  published  at  Oxford  in 
1716.  It  contains  an  outline  of  the  history  of  England 
from  Brutus  to  Henry  I.,  written  in  elegant  Latin,  and 
with  remarkable  accuracy  as  to  facts  and  dates,  though,  of 
course,  much  of  the  earlier  portion  is  fabulous.  A  manu- 
script entitled  Liber-tales  Ecclesia?  S.  Jokannis  de  Beverla?, 
in  the  Cottonian  library,  is  also  ascribed  to  him,  but  on 
doubtful  authority.  It  is  a  collection  of  records  relative  to 
the  church  of  Beverley,  translated  from  the  Saxon. 

ALRESFORD  (New),  a  market  town  in  Hampshire,  so 
named  from  a  ford  on  the  river  Arle,  a  tributary  of  the 
Itchin,  on  which  it  is  situated.  It  is  58  miles  distant  from 
London  and  7  from  Winchester.  It  suffered  severely  from 
a  series  of  conflagrations,  and  partly  on  this  account  and 
from  the  decline  of  a  small  manufacture  of  linseys,  it  is  now 
a  place  of  little  importance.     Alresford  House,  the  seat  of 


the  Rodney  family,  is  in  the  neighbourhood  and  the  naval 
hero  of  that  name  was  interred  in  New  Alresford  church 
in  1792.  Miss  Mitford  was  a  native  of  Alresford.  Alres- 
ford is  a  station  on  tho  L.  and  S.-W.  Railway.  Population 
of  the  parish  of  New  Alresford  (1871),  1623. 

ALSACE  (Germ.  Elsass),  a  former  province  of  France, 
divided  after  the  Revolution  into  the  departments  of 
Haut  Rhin  and  Bas  Rhin,  and  incorporated  since  the  war 
of  1870  with  the  German  empire.  It  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  the  Rhine  palatinate,  on  the  east  by  the  Rhine, 
on  the  south  by  Switzerland,  and  on  the  west  by  the 
Vosges  Mountains;  arid  it  comprises  an  area  of  3344 
English  square  miles.  The  district  possesses  many  natural 
attractions,  and  is  one  of  the  most  fertile  in  central  Europe. 
There  are  several  ranges  of  hills,  but  no  point  within  the 
province  attains  a  great  elevation.  The  only  river  of 
importance  is  the  111,  which  falls  into  the  Rhine  after  a 
course  of  more  than  100  miles,  and  is  navigable  below 
Colmar.  The  hills  are  generally  richly  wooded,  chiefly 
with  fir,  beech,  and  oak.  The  agricultural  products  are 
corn,  flax,  tobacco,  grapes,  and  various  other  fruits.  Tho 
country  has  a  great  wealth  of  minerals,  silver  having  been 
found,  and  copper,  lead,  iron,  coal,  and  rock-salt  being 
wrought  with  profit.  There  are  considerable  manufactures, 
chiefly  of  cotton  and  linen.  The  chief  towns  are  Miihl- 
hausen  and  Colmar  in  the  upper  district,  and  Strasburg 
in  the  lower.  The  province  is  traversed  from  east  to  west 
by  the  railway  from  Strasburg  to  Nancy,  and  the  main  line 
north  and  south  runs  between  Basle  and  Strasburg. 

From  a  very  early  period  and  for  many  ages  Alsace  has  been  a 
disputed  territory,  afld  has  suffered  in  the  contentions  of  rival  races. 
It  formed  part  of  ancient  Gaul,  and  was  therefore  included  in  the 
Roman  empire.  The  Romans  held  it  nearly  five  hundred  years, 
and  on  the  dissolution  of  their  power  it  passed  under  tho  swny  of 
the  Franks  and  of  the  early  French  monarchy  by  whom  it  was 
governed  until  the  time  of  Otho  I.,  Emperor  of  Germany,  who 
reigned  about  the  middle  of  the  10th  century.  It  was  at  that 
period  that  Alsace  became  Cerman  :  its  original  population  of  Celtic 
tribes,  which  had  been  first  Romanised  and  then  further  qualified 
by  a  Frankish  element,  was  now  to  a  great  extent  supplanted  by  a 
purely  Teutonic  stock.  By  Otho  II.  the  province  was  erected  into 
a  landgraviate,  and  it  subsequently  came  into  the  possession  of  the 
House  of  Austria,  which  succeeded  in  1273  to  the  imperial  dignity 
of  Germany.  This  state  of  things  continued  until  1648,  when  o 
large  part  of  Alsace  was  ceded  to  France  by  the  treaty  of  Miinster. 
In  the  war  which  preceded  this  peace  (generally  known  as  '1/ 
Thirty  Years'  War)  Alsace  had  been  so  terribly  devastated  by  tht 
French  that  the  German  emperor  found  himself  unable  to  hold  it 
The  population  was  greatly  reduced  in  numbers,  and  much  of  the 


A  L  S  — A  L  S 


637 


land  was  left  uncultivated.  In  the  subsequent  war  between  France 
and  the  empire  of  Germany,  arising  out  of  the  attempt  of  Louis  XIV. 
to  wize  Holland,  that  part  of  Alsace  which  remained  to  Germany 
was  again  overrun  by  the  French.  Although  this  war  was  termi- 
nated in  1678  hy  the  treaty  of  Nimeguen,  the  French  monarch  was 
desirous  of  incorporating  a  still  larger  amount  of  Khine  territory  ; 
and  accordingly,  in  1680  he  laid  claim  to  a  number  of  territories, 
belonging  10  princes  of  the  empire,  which  he  alleged  had  been  dis- 
membered from  Alsace.  It  was  ordered  that  these  territories  should 
be  at  once  restored  to  that  province  under  the  crown  of  France,  and 
several  independent  sovereigns  were  cited  to  appear  before  two 
chambers  of  inquiry  which  Louis  had  established  at  Brissac  and 
Jletz.  Tho  princes  appealed  to  the  German  emperor  and  to  the 
Diet ;  but  the  previous  wars  had  so  exhausted  the  power  of  the 
former  that  nothing .  could  be  done  to  resist  the  aggression.  In 
1681  the  French  troops  under  Louvois  seized  Strasburg,  aided  by 
the  treachery  of  the  bishop  and  other  great  men  of  the  city.  A 
further  war  broke  out,  but  by  the  treaty  of  Ratisbon  in  1684, 
Strasburg  was  secured  to  France.  Again  the  war  was  renewed  in 
1688,  and  continued  for  nine  years,  when,  at  the  peace  of  Ryswick, 
iu  1697,  another  considerable  portion  of  Alsace  was  ceded  to  France. 
Some  remaining  territories  of  small  extent  were  acquired  by  the 
French  after  the  revolution  of  1789. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  sketch  that  Alsace  was 
originally  French,  that  it  then  became  German,  and  then  French 
agui;  From  the  middle  of  the  tenth  century,  however,  the  popu- 
lation has  in  the  maiu  been  Teutonic  ;  and  the  French  conquests  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  while  modifying  this  element,  still  left  it 
predominant.  The  people  continued  to  use  German  as  their  native 
tongue,  though  the  educated  classes  also  spoke  French.  Pro- 
testantism was  professed  by  a  large  number  of  the  inhabitants  ;  and 
in  many  respects  their  characteristics  identified  them  rather  with 
the  race  to  the  east  than  that  to  the  west  of  the  Rhine.  In  process 
of  time,  however,  they  considered  themselves  French,  and  lost  all 
desire  for  re-annexation  to  any  of  the  German  States. 

Alsace  suffered  a  good  deal  in  the  war  of  1870-71. 
The  earlier  battles  of  the  campaign  were  fought  there ; 
Strasburg  *and  other  of  its  fortified  towns  were  besieged 
and  taken ;  and  its  people  were  compelled  to  submit  to 
very  severe  exactions.  The  civil  and  military  govern- 
ment of  the  province,  as  well  as  that  of  Lorraine,  was 
assumed  by  the  Germans  as  soon  as  they  obtained  pos- 
session of  those  parts  of  France,  which  was  very  shortly 
after  the  commencement  of  the  war.  The  Alsatian  rail- 
ways were  reorganised  and  provided  with  a  staff  of  German 
officials.  German  stamps  were  introduced  from  Berlin  ; 
the  occupied  towns  were  garrisoned  by  the  Landwehr ;  and 
requisitions  on  a  large  scale  were  demanded,  and  paid  for 
in  cheques  which,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  were  to  be 
honoured  by  whichever  side  should  stand  in  the  unpleasant 
position  of  the  conquered.  The  people,  notwithstanding 
their  German  origin,  showed  a  very  strong  feeling  against 
the  invaders,  and  in  no  part  of  France  was  the  enemy 
resisted  with  greater  stubbornness.  It  wa3  evident  from 
an  early  period  of  the  war,  however,  that  Prussia  was 
resolved  to  reannex  Alsace  to  German  territory.  When  the 
preliminaries  of  peace  came  to  be  discussed  at  Versailles  in 
February  1871,  the  cession  of  Alsace,  together  with  what 
is  called  German  Lorraine,  was  one  of  the  earliest  con- 
ditions laid  down  by  Count  Bismarck  and  accepted  by  M. 
Thiers.  This  sacrifice  of  territory  was  afterwards  ratified 
by  the  National  Assembly  at  Bordeaux,  though  not  without 
a  protest  from  the  representatives  of  the  departments  about 
to  be  given  up ;  and  thus  Alsace  once  more  became  German. 
By  the  bill  for  the  incorporation  of  Alsace  and  German 
Lorraine,  introduced  into  the  German  Parliament  in  May 
1871,  it  was  provided  that  the  sole  and  supreme  control  of 
the  two  provinces  should  be  vested  in  the  Emperor  of 
Germany  and  the  Federal  Council  until  January  1st,  1873, 
when  the  constitution  of  the  German  empire  was  to  be 
established.  Bismarck  admitted  the  aversion  of  the  popu- 
lace to  Prussian  rule,  but  said  that  everything  would  be 
done  to  conciliate  the  people.  This  policy  appears  really 
to  have  been  carried  out,  and  it  was  not  long  in  bearing 
fruit.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  conquered  districts, 
however,  siill  clung  to  the  old  connection,  and  on  the  30th 


of  September  1872 — the  day  by  which  the  people  were 
required  to  determine  whether  they  would  consider  them- 
selves German  subjects  and  remain,  or  French  subjects  and 
transfer  their  domicile  to  France — 45,000  elected  to  be 
still  French,  and  sorrowfully  took  their  departure.  The 
German  system  of  compulsory  education  of  every  child 
above  the  age  of  six  was  introduced  directly  after  the 
annexation.  The  population  in  1871  amounted  to  upwards 
of  1,060,000. 

ALSEN,  an  island  in  the  Baltic,  situated  off  the  coast 
of  Schleswig,  in  the  Little  Belt.  It  formerly  belonged  to 
Denmark,  but,  as  a  result  of  the  Danish  war  of  1864,  was 
incorporated  with  Germany.  Its  area  is  105  square  miles ; 
the  length  nearly  20,  and  the  breadth  from  3  to  12  miles. 
The  island  is  fertile,  .ichly  wooded,  and  yields  grain  and 
fruit.  Sonderburg,  the  capital,  a  town  of  5475  inhabitants, 
with  a  good  harbour  and  a  considerable  trade,  is  situated 
on  the  narrow  channel  that  separates  Alsen  from  the 
mainland.     Population,  22,500. 

ALSOP,  Vincent,  a  celebrated  Nonconformist  divine, 
was  educated  in  St  John's  College,  Cambridge.  He  received 
deacon's  orders  from  a  bishop,  whereupon  he  settled  as 
assistant-master  in  the  free  school  of  Oakham,  Rutland. 
He  was  recovered  from  indifferent  associates  here  by  a  very 
worthy  minister,  the  Bev.  Benjamin  King.  Subsequently 
he  married  Mr  King's  daughter,  and  "  becoming  a  convert 
to  his  principles,  received  ordination  in  the  Presbyterian 
way,  not  being  satisfied  with  that  which  he  had  from  the 
bishop."  He  was  presented  to  the  living  of  Wilby  in 
Northamptonshire ;  but  was  thence  ejected  by  the  Act  of 
Uniformity  in  1662.  After  his  ejection  he  preached 
privately  at  Oakham  and  Wellingborough,  sharing  the 
common  pains  and  penalties  of  Nonconformists — e.g.,  he 
was  imprisoned  six  months  for  praying  with  a  sick  person. 
A  book  against  Sherlock,  called  Antisozzc  (after  Socinus), 
written  in  the  vein  of  Andrew  Marvell's  Rehearsal  Trans- 
prosed,  procured  him  much  celebrity  as  a  wit.  Dr  Robert 
South,  who  cannot  be  supposed  to  have  been  favourably 
disposed  towards  the  Nonconformists,  publicly  pronounced 
that  Alsop  had  the  advantage  of  Sherlock  in  every  way. 
Besides  fame,  Antisoizo  procured  for  its  author  an  invita- 
tion to  succeed  the  venerable  Mr  Cawton  in  Westminster. 
He  accepted  the  call,  and  drew  great  multitudes  to  his 
chapeL  The  other  books  he  published  showed  a  fecundity 
of  wit,  a  playful  strength  of  reasoning,  and  a  provoking 
indomitableness  of  raillery.  Even  with  Dr  Goodman  and 
Dr  Stillingfleet  for  antagonists,  he  more  than  held  his 
own.  His  Mischief  of  Impositions  in  answer  to  the  tatter's 
Mischief  of  Separation,  and  Melius  Inquirendum  in  answer 
to  the  former's  Compassionate  Inquiry,  remain  historical 
landmarks  in  the  history  of  Nonconformity.  Later  on, 
from  the  entanglements  of  a  son  in  alleged  treasonable 
practices,  he  had  to  sue  for  and  obtained  pardon  from 
King  James  IL  This  seems  to  have  given  a  somewhat 
diplomatic  character  to  his  closing  years,  inasmuch  as, 
while  remaining  a  Nonconformist,  he  had  a  good  deal  to 
do  with  proposed  political-ecclesiastical  compromises.  He 
died  May  8,  1703.  (a.  b.  g.) 

ALSTED,  Johann  Hedtrich,  a  German  Protestant 
divine,  and  one  of  the  most  voluminous  writers  of  the 
17th  century,  was  born  in  1588.  He  was  some  time  pro- 
fessor of  philosophy  and  divinity  at  Herborn,  in  the  county 
of  Nassau,  and  afterwards  at  Weissenburg  in  Transylvania, 
where  he  continued  till  his  death  in  1638.  His  Fncyclo- 
pcedia,  the  most  considerable  of  the  earlier  works  of  that 
class,  was  long  held  in  very  high  estimation.  It  was  pub- 
lished in  1630,  in  two  large  folio  volumes,  the  whole 
having  been  composed  by  himself.  His  Thesaurus  Chrono- 
logies has  gone  through  several  editions.  He  published 
in  1627  a  treatise,  Be  Mille  Annis,  in  which,  he  asserted 


63b 


ALS-ALT 


that  tlio  reign  of  the  saints  on  earth  was  to  begin  in 

ALSTON,  Charles,  M.D.,  a  botanical  and  medical 
writer,  was  born  in  the  west  of  Scotland  in  the  year  1683. 
He  began  his  studies  at  the  university  of  Glasgow;  and  on 
the  death  of  his  father,  prosecuted  them  under  the  patron- 
age of  the  Duchess  of  Hamilton.  After  studying  at  Ley- 
den  under  Boerhaave,  along  with  Alexander  Monro  (1716- 
19),  he  returned  to  Edinburgh,  and  shared  with  Monro, 
Rutherford,  Sinclair,  and  Plummer,  the  honour  of  laying 
the  foundation,  of  the  renowned  school  of  medicine  there. 
He  lectured  on  botany  and  materia  medica  with  increasing 
reputation  till  his  death  in  November  1760.  He  was  a 
man  of  great  ability,  and  an  assiduous  student  of  science. 
His  most  valuable  work  is  his  Lectures  on  Materia  Medica, 
2  vols.,  1770. 

ALSTROEMER,  Jonas,  a  Swedish  industrial  reformer, 
was  born  at  Alingsaes,  in  West  Gothland,  on  the  7th  Jan. 
1685.  He  left  his  native  village  at  an  early  age,  and  in 
1707  became  clerk  to  Alberg,  a  merchant  of  Stockholm, 
whom  he  accompanied  to  London.  After  carrying  on 
business  for  three  years,  Alberg  failed,  and  Alstrom  (as 
the  clerk  then  called  himself)  engaged  in  the  business  of 
shipbroker  on  his  own  account,  which  eventually  proved 
very  successful  After  travelling  for  several  years  on  the 
Continent,  he  was  seized  with  the  patriotic  desire  to  trans- 
plant to  his  native  country  some  of  the  industries  he  had 
Been  flourishing  in  Britain.  He  accordingly  returned  to 
Alingsaes,  and  in  1724  established  a  woollen  factory  in  the 
village,  which  after  preliminary  difficulties  was  completely 
successful  He  next  established  a  sugar  refinery  at  Gothen- 
burg ;  introduced  improvements  in  the  cultivation  of 
potatoes  and  of  plants  suitable  for  dyeing ;  and  directed 
attention  to  improved  methods  in  shipbuilding,  tanning, 
and  the  manufacture  of  cutlery.  But  his  most  successful 
undertaking  was  the  importation  of  sheep  from  England, 
Spain,  and  Angora.  In  return  for  his  services  he  received 
many  marks  of  distinction.  He  was  created  (1748)  knight 
of  the  order  of  the  North  Star ;  and  a  few  years  later  re- 
ceived letters  of  nobility,  with  permission  to  change  his 
name  to  Alstromer.  He  died  June  2,  1761,- leaving  several 
works  on  practical  industrial  subjects.  A  statue  was  erected 
to  his  honovr  in  the  exchange  at  Stockholm.  One  of  his 
sons,  Clas  {i.e..  Claude),  was  a  naturalist  of  considerable 
eminence. 

ALT,  or  Alcjta,  a  tributary  of  the  Danube,  which, 
rising  in  the  eastern  Carpathian  mountains,  flows  through 
Transylvania  and  Wallachia,  entering  the  latter  by  the 
pass  of  Rothenthurm,  and  joins  the  Danube  opposite 
Nicopoli,  after  a  course  of  more  than  300  miles. 

ALTAI  MOUNTAINS,  a  group  of  mountains  in  central , 
Asia,  separating  the  table-lands  of  Mongolia  from  Siberia. 
The  irregular  chains  of  which  the  group  consists  extend 
from  85°  to  103"  E.  long.,  and  from  48°  to  34°  N.  lat. 
The  great  Siberian  rivers,  the  Obi,  Irtish,  and  Yenesei, 
take  their  rise  in  these  mountains,  which  are  said  to  abound 
in  scenes  of  picturesque  beauty.  The  highest  summits 
exceed  12,000  feet.  The  rauge'is  rich  in  mineral  produc- 
tions, particularly  silver,  copper,  and  iron.  See  Asia,  and 
Geography,  Physical. 

ALTAMUKA,  a  cathedral  town  in  the  south  of  Italy, 
province  of  Terra  di  Bari,  28  miles  S.W.  of  Bari.  It  is 
Bitoated  in  a  fertile  country,  which  produces  wine  and  oil, 
and  is  said  to  occupy  the  site  of  the  ancient  Lupatia. 
Population,  17,365. 

ALTAR,  in  Classical  Antiquity,  was  a  solid  base  or 
pedestal  on  which  supplication  was  made  and  sacrifice 
offered  to  tho  gods  and  deified  heroes.  According  to  this 
difference  in  the  service  for  which  they  were  employed, 
altars  fell  into  two  classes.  <jf  which  the  one,  smaller  and 


Fio.  I  —Greek  altar: 
usual  /oroi. 


lower  so  that  the  suppliant  could  klittl  upon  it,  stood 
inside  temples,  in  front  of  the  sacred  imn^a  ;  while  the 
other,  destined  for  burnt  sacrifice,  was  jmi.-.d  in  the  opeu 
air,  and,  if  connected  with  a  temple,  in  from  til  t lie  entrance. 
Possibly  altars  of  the  former  class  were  sulialiinles  for,  and 
rendered  the  same  service  in  historical  times  a*,  in  an  early 
age,  the  base  of  the  sacred  image  within  a  temple.  In 
this  case  the  altar  of  Apollo  at  Delphi,  on  which  Neopto- 
lemus  is  frequently  represented  on  the  Greek  vases  a» 
taking  refuge  from  Orestes,  might  bo  regarded  as  tht.- 
pedestal  of  an  invisible  image  of  the  , 

god,  and  as  fulfilling  the  same  function  <^>.  no^ 
as  did  the  base  of  the  actual  iifage  of  (^ 
Minerva  in  Troy,  towards  which  Cas- 
sandra fled  from  Ajax.  The  other  class 
of  altars,  called  /3cu/ioi'by  the  Greeks  and 
altaria  by  the  Romans,  appear  to  have 
originated  in  such  temporary  construc- 
tions as  heaps  of  earth,  turf,  or  stone, 
made  as  occasion  offered  for  kindling 
a  fire  for  sacrifice.  The  next  step  was 
to  allow  the  bones  and  ashes  of  the  victims  sacrificed 
to  accumulate,  and  upon  this  to  kindle  new  fires.  Altars 
so  raised  were  viewed  with  particular  sanctity,  the  most 
remarkable  recorded  instances  of  them  being  thb  altar* 
of  Juno  at  Samus  ind  at  Olympia  (Pausanias,  v.  14,  E; 
v.  15,  6),  of  Apollo  at  Thebes  (Pausanias,  ix.  11,  5),  aud 
of  Jupiter  at  Olympia.  The  last-mentioned  stood  on  a 
platform  (irp66vm.<;)  measuring  125  feet  in  circumference, 
and  led  up  to  by  steps,  the  altar  itself  being  22  feet  high. 
Women  were  excluded  from  the  platform.  Where  heca- 
tombs wero  sacrificed,  the  Trp69v<ri<:  necessarily  assumed 
colossal  proportions,  as  in  the  case  of  the  altar  at  Parion, 
where  it  measured  on  each  side  600  feet.  The  altar 
of  Apollo  at  Delos  (£  Kcparwos  ftufjo;)  was  made  of 
tho  horns  of  deer  believed  to  have  been  slain  by  Diana ; 
while  at  Miletus  was  an  altar  composed  of  the  blood  of 
victims  saenfieed.  The  altar  used  at  the  festival  in  honour 
of  D«dalus  on  Mount  Citha;ron  was  of  wood,  and  was 
consumed  along  with  the  sacrifice  (Pausanias,  ix.  3,  2). 
Others,  of  bronze,  are  mentioned;  but  while  these  were 
exceptional,  the  usual  material  of  an  altar  was  marble, 
and  its  form,  both  among  the  Greeks  and  Eomans,  either 

nqaralta0;rT^hiPc0hyfx°:  ^M^^W 
amples  still  exist,  being 
exceptions.  When  sculp- 
tured decorations  were 
added  -  they  frequently 
took  the  form  of  imita- 
tions of  the  actual  festoons 
with  which  it  was  usual  to 
ornament  altars,  or  of  sym- 
bols, such  as  crania  and 
horns  of  oxen,  referring 
to  the  victims  sacrificed. 
As  a  rult,  the  altars 
which  existed  apart  from 
temples  bore  tho  name 
of  the  person  by  whom 
they  were  dedicated,  and 
the  names  of  the  deities  in  whose  service  they  were;  or,  if 
not  tho  name,  some  obvious  representation  of  the  deity. 
Such  is  the  purpose  of  the  figures  of  the  Muses  on  an  altar 
to  them  in  the  British  Museum.  An  altar  was  retained  for 
the  service  of  one  particular  god,  except  where,  through  local 
tradition,  two  or  more  deities  had  become  intimately  asso- 
ciated, as  in  the  case  of  the  altar  at  Olympia  to  Diana  and 
Alpheus  jointly,  or  that  of  Neptune  and  Erecatheus  in  the- 
Erechtheum  at  Athens,  and  others.   Such  deities  were  styled 


Fia.  2. — Polygonal  Greek  Altar. 


ALTAR 


639 


oTj/i/?o>/xot,  each  having  a  separate  part  of  the  altar,  if  we 
may  judge  from  that  at  the  Ampuiareum  at  Oropos  (Pau- 
sanias,  i.  34,  2).  Deities  of  an  inferior  order,  who  were 
conceived  as  working  together — e.g.,  the  wind  gods — had 
an  altar  in  common.  In  the  same  way,  the  "  unknown 
gods"  were  regarded  as  a  unit,  and  had  in  Athens  and  at 
Olympiu.  one  altar  for  all  (Pausanias,  i.  1,  4;  v.  14,  5; 
^.cts  of  Apostles,  xvii.  18).  An  altar  to  all  the  gods  is 
mentioned  by  iEschylus  (SuppL  v.  225).  Among  the  excep- 
tional classes  of  altars  are  also  to  be  mentioned  those  on 
which  fire  could  not  be  kindled  (/3<a/Aol  airvpoi),  and  those 
which  were  kept  free  from  blood  (/3<o/ioi  dvat/uzKTot),  of 
which  in  both  respects  the  altar  of  Zeus  Hypatos  at  Athens 
was  an  example.  The  eoria  was  a  round  altar ;  the  ecr^apa, 
one  employed  apparently  for  sacrifice  to  inferior  deities  or 
heroes,  or  on  comparatively  unimportant  occasions,  as  was 
also  the  ara  among  the  Romans ;  though  ara  is  sometimes 
used  with  tie  same  signification  as  allare,  and  etymo- 
logically  would  have  the  same  meaning  if  it  is  correctly 
derived  from  adpa,  not  from  ardere;  while  allare  is  con- 
nected with  alius,  "  high." 

Egyptian  altars  were  monoliths,  in  the  form  of  a  truncated 
cone  about  four  feet* in  height.  Some  are  extant,  made  of 
granite,  others  of  green  basalt;  in  almost  every  case  they 
bear  hieroglyphical  inscriptions.  In  the  temple  of  Jupiter 
at  Babylon  there  was  an  altar  of  massive  gold.  Assyrian, 
Egyptian,  and  Persian  altars  were  either  square  or  oblong. 

The  most  ancient  altars  of  which  any  record  has  been 
preserved  are  those  mentioned  in  the  Bible.  As  sacrifice 
implies  an  altar,  there  must  have  been  altars  for  those  of 
Cain  and  Abel ;  but  the  first  which  is  mentioned  is  that 
which  Noah  after  the  flood  "builded  unto  Jehovah"  (Gen. 
viii  20).  The  three  patriarchs,  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
are  repeatedly  said  to  have  built  an  altar  in  the  different 
parts  of  the  land  of  Canaan  in  which  they  sojourned  ;  and 
though  it  is  not  stated  expressly,  yet  it  may  be  inferred 
from  there  having  evidently  been  a  place  where  Abraham 
was  accustomed  to  "  stand  before  Jehovah"  (ibid.  xix.  27), 
that,  once  built,  it  remained  during  the  whole  period  of 
the  encampment  at  the  particular  place,  and  was  frequently 
used  for  the  purpose  of  sacrificing. 

But  the  most  remarkable  altar  mentioned  in  the  book  of 
Genesis  is  that  which  Abraham  built  for  the  sacrifice  of 
his  son  Isaac,  from  which  we  glean  several  particulars 
relative  to  the  patriarchal  worship.  The  altar  was  evi- 
dently something  distinct  from  the  wood  by  whose  fire  the 
sacrifice  was  to  be  burnt,  for  Abraham  "  built  an  altar  and 
laid  the  wood  in  order,"  which  he  had  brought  with  him 
from  Beersheba,  as  if  he  could  not  count  upon  finding  it  at 
the  place.  The  victim  also  was  bound,  laid  upon  the 
wood,  and  there  slain.  This  was  contrary  to  the  practice 
under  the  Levitical  dispensation,  when  the  fire  on  the  top 
of  the  altar  was  kept  continually  burning,  and  the  animal 
was  killed  before  being  carried  up  to  it;  but  it  is  pro- 
bably alluded  to  in  a  verse  of  the  Psalms,  which  has  given 
much  trouble  to  commentatoa.  who  have  tried  to  reconcile 
it  with  the  precepts  of  the  Mosaic  law — "  Bind  the  sacrifice 
with  cords  unto  the  horns  of  the  altar  "  (Ps.  cxviii.  27). 
To  this  simple  patriarchal  ritual  belong  also  the  rules 
about  the  construction  of  altars  given  to  the  Israelites 
shortly  after  they  left  Egypt  (Exod  xx.  24-26).  While 
sojourning  in  that  country  they  do  not  seem  to  have 
offered  any  sacrifice  to  Jehovah,  till,  just  as  they  were 
leaving  it,  they  were  commanded  to  sacrifice  the  passover. 
[t  is  not  unlikely  that  they  might  have  despised  the  simple 
altars  of  their  forefathers,  and  tried  to  imitate  those  which 
they  had  seen  in  Egypt,  as  they  so  soon  copied:  their  late 
oppressors  in  a  still  graver  matter,  the  making  a  supposed 
likeness  of  the  Deity.  They  were  therefore  ordered  to 
make  ti-eir  *?'£*»  of  «.rth,     froeaa  mijfht  also  be  used. 


.  but  they  were  not  to  be  hewn,  nor  were  the  altars  to  he  so 
high  as  to  require  the  offerer  to  go  up  by  steps  to  arrange 
the  sacrifices  upon  them. 

The  first  altar  that  is  mentioned  as  haviug  been  built 
after  these  directions  were  given,  was  the  one  for  the 
solemn  covenanting  sacrifice  between  God  and  the  Israelites 
(Ex.  xxiv.  4-8).  There  it  is  mentioned  that  Moses  "  builded 
an  altar  under  the  bill,  and  twelve  pillars,  according  to 
the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel."  Its  being  under  the  hill 
may  have  been  a  significant  protest  against  the  prevalent 
heathen  error  of  localising  the  Deity  in  the  sky,  and  the 
twelve  pillars  or  rough  blocks  of  stone  appear  to  have  been 
a  principal  part  of  the  materials  used  in  constructing  it. 
They  may  be  compared  with  the  "  twelve  stones,  according 
to  the  number  of  the  tribes  of  the  sous  of  Jacob,"  with 
which  Elijah  built  his  altar  on  Carmel  (1  Kings  xviii.  31). 
We  seem  to  learn  from  these  examples  that  when  an  altar 
was  to  be  constructed  for  a  special  occasion,  it  was  fitting 
that  it  should  bear  a  symbolism  of  all  in  whose  name  the 
sacrifice  was  offered.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  this  precept 
about  making  altars  of  earth  or  of  unhewn  stones  was 
anterior  to  the  Levitical  ceremonial,  and  was  superseded 
by  it.  After  the  sin  of  making  the  golden  calf,  the  whole 
ceremonial  of  the  worship  of  the  Israelites  was  alteied 
According  to  the  new  ritual,  two  different  altars  were 
required,  and  they  were  permanent,  being  carried  about  in 
the  people's  wanderings,  and  replaced  by  others,  similar, 
but  larger  and  more  costly,  when  the  ark  was  placed  in 
the  temple  on  Mount  Moriah. 

The  first  of  these  altars  was  that  for  burnt  offerings. 
For  the  tabernacle  this  was  hollow,  made  of  boards  of 
shittim-wood,  covered  with  brass.  It  was  three  cubits  or 
about  five  feet  high,  and  five  cubits  or  eight  feet  square. 
It  had  a  horn  at  each  corner,  and  was  carried  about  by 
means  of  staves.  The  corresponding  altar  in  the  temple 
was  of  greatly  larger  dimensions,  ten  cubits  or  about  18  feet 
high,  and  in  the  first  temple  20  cubits  square,  and  in  the 
second  24  cubits.  The  tradition  of  the  Jews  is,  that  it  was 
32  cubits  (about  50  feet)  square  at  the  base,  contracting  to 
24  at  the  top,  by  several  ledges  round  it  at  different 
heights.  It  must  therefore  have  been  an  immense  struc- 
ture, and  though  called  "  an  altar  of  brass,"  was  probably 
built  of  stones,  and  merely  covered  with  plates  of  that 
metal  From  the  account  of  the  building  of  the  altar  in 
the  second  temple  given  in  1  Mace.  iv.  45-47,  it  is  pro- 
bable that  it  consisted  merely  of  a  mass  of  masonry  of 
the  proper  form.  EzekLel,  in  his  vision  of  the  temple, 
gives  a*  description  of  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings,  from 
which  we  learn  that  it  was  surrounded  by  several  ledges 
or  steps,  each  a  cubit  broad.  The  uppermost  of  these 
was  two  cubits  (about  3  feet)  below  the  top  of  the  altar, 
so  that,  standing  upon  it,  the  priest  was  able  to  arrange 
the  sacrifice  upon  the  fire,  which  was  kept  always  burning, 
to  supply  it  with  fuel,  ard  to  remove  the  ashes.  The 
lower  ledges  were  to  enable  him  to  sprinkle  the  blood  on 
the  sides  of  the  altar,  which  (according  to  the  Levitical 
ritual)  was  sometimes  to  be  done  on  the  upper  part  of  the 
altar,  and  sometimes  on  the  lower  part.  The  lowest  step 
is  said  to  have  had  a  raised  ledge  on  the  outside,  by  which 
the  blood  poured  upon  it  was  confined  till  it  ran  through 
a  hole  into  a  subterranean  pipe. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  questions  about  the  Levitical 
altars  is  their  having  horns  ;  for  these  do  not  seem  to  have 
been  used  in  that  ritual,  yet  they  are  specially  ordered  to 
be  made,  not  only  in  the  altar  of  burnVofferings,  but  also 
in  that  of  incense ;  and  on  certain  solemn  occasions  they 
were  sprinkled  with  blood,  as  if  they  were  not  mere  append- 
ages or  ornaments  of  the  altar,  but  had  a  special  signi- 
ficance of  their  own.  From  the  way  they  are  spoken  of  in 
the  book  oi  Exodus,  we  see  that  they  must  then  have  beorv 


C40 


ALTAR 


well  known,  aud  it  might  almost  bo  thought  that  tney  were 
retained  from  the  older  ritual,  according  to  which  they 
were  used  to  bind  the  victim  that  was  slain  upon  the  altar. 

The  second  temple  having  suffered  gTeatly  in  the  wars 
between  the  kings  of  Syria  and  Egypt,  and  been  plundered 
by  the  Romons,  was  almost  rebuilt  by  Herod,  the  restora- 
tion occupying  forty-six  years.  The  altar  of  burnt-offering 
erected  then  is  thus  described  by  Josephus  ( De  Bell.  Jud. 
v.  5,  6)  : — "  Before  this  temple  stood  the  altar,  15  cubits 
high,  and  equal  both  in  length  and  breadth,  each  of  which 
dimensions  was  50  cubits.  The  figure  it  "'as  built  in  wa3 
a  square  :  it  had  corners  like  horns,  aud  the  passage  up  to 
it  was  by  an  insensible  acclivity  from  the  south.  It  was 
formed  without  any  iron  tool,  nor  did  any  iron  tool  so 
much  as  touch  it  at  any  time."  A  pipe  was  connected 
with  the  south-west  horn,  through  which  the  blood  of  the 
victims  was  discharged  by  a  subterraneous  passage  into  the 
brook  Kedron.  Under  the  altar  was  a  cavity  to  receive 
the  drink-offerings.  This  was  covered  with  u  marble  slab, 
and  cleansed  from  time  to  time.  On  the  north  side  of  the 
altar  several  iron  rings  were  fixed  to  fasten  the  victims. 
Lastly,  a  red  line  was  drawn  round  the  middle  of  the  altar 
to  distinguish  betweeu  the  blood  that  was  to  be  sprinkled 
above  and  below  it. 

The  second  altar  belonging  to  tlie  Jewish  worship  was 
the  altar  of  incense,  the  golden  altar  (Ex.  xxx.  1).  It  was 
placed  in  the  holy  place,  between  the  table  of  shew-bread 
and  the  golden  candlestick.  This  altar,  in  the  tabernacle, 
was  made  of  shittim-wood  overlaid  with  gold  plates,  1  cubit 
in  length  and  breadth,  and  2  cubits  in  height.  It  had 
horns  of  the  same  materiab ;  and  round  the  flat  surface 
was  a  border  of  wrought  gold,  underneath  which  were  the 
rings  to  receive  "  the  staves,  made  of  shittim-wood  overlaid 
with  gold,  to  bear  it  withal ;''  (Exod.  xxx.  1-5  ;  Joseph. 
Antiq.  iii.  6,  8).  The  altar  in  Solomon's  temple  was  similar 
in  form,  but  made  of  cedar  overlaid  with  gold  (1  Kings 
vi.  20).  It  is  a  question  whether  it  was  hollow  or  filled 
up  with  stones,  the  construction  of  the  Hebrew  being  doubt- 
ful, but  the  former  supposition  appears  the  more  probable. 
The  altar  in  the  second  temple  was  taken  away  by  Antiochus 
Epiphanes  (1  Mace.  i.  21),  and  restored  by  Judas  Maccabaeus 
(1  Mace.  iv.  49).  The  archangel  Gabriel  stood  at  the  right 
side  of  this  altar  when,  he  announced  the  birth  of  John 
the  Baptist  to  Zacharias,  who  was  burning  incense  upon  it 
(Lukei  11);  and  it  is  alluded  to  in  the  vision  shown  to 
St  John  (Rev.  viii.  3),  where  it  is  immediately  "before  the 
throne,"  the  veil,  which  under  the  Mosaic  dispensation 
had  separated  it  from  the  holy  of  holies,  having  been  rent 
asunder  at  the  crucifixion. 

On  tins  altar  incense  was  offered  twice  every  day,  aud 
thi3  was  the  only  use  of  incense  under  theLevitical  ritual; 
for  though  the  word  "censer"  is  repeatedly  used  in  our 
common  translation  of  the  Old  Testament,  neither  in  the 
Hebrew  nor  the  Greek  has  the  word  any  connection  with 
incense,  but  denotes  the  fire-pan  in  which  the  burning 
charcoal  was  carried  from  the  brazen  altar  to  be  emptied 
out  upon  that  of  iucense.  The  true  equivalent  for  censer 
is  only  used  of  sinful  or  heathen  worship  (2  Chron.  xxvi.  1 4 ; 
Ezek.  viiL  11,  and  perhaps  2  Chron.  xxx.  14).  The  fire- 
pans used  as  censers  in  the  story  of  Korah,  and  of  the 
atonement  subsequently  made  by  Aaron  burning  incense 
among  the  people,  do  not  belong  to  the  Leviticai  ritual, 
but  were  to  prove  whether  it.  was  to  be  observed  or 
not. 

The  single  exception  to  the  exclusive  use  of  the  golden 
altar  for  incense  was  on  the  great  day  of  atonement,  when 
the  high  priest  went  into  the  holy  of  holies,  carrying  a 
fire-pan  containing  lighted  charcoal  from  the  great  altar, 
and  having  set  it  down,  threw  incense  upon  it,  and  left  it 
for  some  time  before  the  ark    while  he  went  and  came 


back  once  and  again  to  sprinkle  it  with  the  blood  of  the 
sacrifices.  This  fire-pan  is  accordingly  called  a  golden 
censer  by  the  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (ix.  4); 
but  even  this  is  no  precedent  for  the  swinging  censors 
which  have  been  used  for  so  many  ceuturies  iu  the  Latin 
churches.  Incense,  indeed,  was  put  on  the  loaves  of  shew- 
bread  ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  it  was  burned  upon 
that  table,  which  is  nowhere  called  an  altar.  More  pro- 
bably, when  the  loaves  were  taken  away,  the  incense  was 
burnt  on  the  proper  altar.  But  the  shew-bread  was  so 
completely  special  an  appointment  of  the  Mosaic  ritual 
that  it  is  impossible  to  class  it  among  sacrifices. 

Among  the  early  Christians,  alike  in  the  East  and  West, 
that  on  which  the  bread  and  wine  were  put  in  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Eucharist  appears  to  have  been  regarded  as  an 
altar,  and  accordingly  sacrificial  words  were  used  in  connec- 
tion with  it,  such  as  "offering,"  "unbloody  sacrifice."  It 
should  be  observed,  however,  that  the  Greek  fathers 
scarcely  ever  apply  the  word  /3w/xos  to  Christian  altars, 
confining  themselves  to  Ovo-iacm'/ptov  ;  while  in  the  West 
there  seems  to  have  been  a  preference  for  allare  rather 
than  ara,  though  the  latter  term  is  often  found.  As  the 
Christians  generally  shrunk  from  disclosing  to  the  heathen 
the  details  pf  their  worship,  their  enemies  used  to  taunt 
them  with  having  neither  temples  nor  altars,  and  some  of 
tho  apologists  admit  this  ;  but  all  they  meant  by  this  was 
that  they  had  no  such  altars  as  the  heathen  had,  altars  for 
slain  beasts  and  for  the  burning  of  their  bodies. 

From  the  privacy  with  which  the  early  believers  bad  to 
meet,  their  altars  at  first  woidd  naturally  be  simple  and 
unobtrusive.  We  have  seen  that  the  Leviticai  altars  were 
four-square,  but  Christian  altars  seem  to  have  been  always 
longer  than  they  were  broad,  and  to  have  been  placed 
"  athwart"  the  length  of  the  basilica  or  church,  so  as  to 
present  one  of  the  broad  sides  and  both  the  sacred  vessels 
to  the  eyes  of  the  great  body  of  the  worshippers. 

There  docs  not  seem  to  have  been  any  rule  as  to  the 
material  of  which  altars  might  be  made.  At  first  they 
appear  to  have  been  mostly  of  wood,  as  being  easily  pro- 
cured and  fashioned.  But  when  the  persecutions  ceased, 
and  the  Christians  began  to  erect  churches  for  worship, 
there  seems  to  have  sprung  up  some  diversity  of  usage, 
each  province  following  its  own  traditional  custom,  which 
perhaps  was  affected  in  some  degree  by  the  nature  of  the 
buiidiig-stone  found  there,  and  the  use  commonly  made 
of  it.  It  seems  that  in  Egypt  and  the  region  afterwards 
called  Barbary  the  altars  were  of  wood ;  and  there  is  a 
tradition  that  this  was  also  the  case  originally  at  Borne. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  the  latter  half  of  the  4th  century, 
they  were  made  of  stone  in  Asia  Minor.  Early  in  the  6th 
century  a  council,  held  at  Epaone  in  Burgundy,  ordered 
that  only  altars  made  of  stone  should  be  consecrated  with 
the  chrism,  which  shows  that  wooden  altars  also  were  still 
made  in  that  province.  In  England  the  change  from  wood 
to  stone  seems  to  have  taken  place  about  the  time  of  the 
Norman  Conquest,  Wulfstan,  bishop  of  Worcester,  being 
mentioned  as  having  introduced  it  in  his  diocese.  No 
doctrinal  significance  can  be  ascribed  to  the  change,  which 
was  simply  in  keeping  with  the  greater  costliness  of  the 
whole  structure,  when  the  cessation  of  the  inroads  of  the 
Scandinavian  sea-kings  allowed  the  nations  of  Western 
Europo  to  accumulate  wealth,  of  which  a  portion  was 
dedicated  to  religion.  A  few  exceptional  instances  are 
mentioned  of  altars  of  silver,  and  they  were  sometimes 
even  covered  in  part  with  plates  of  gold ;  but  the  current 
set  in  steadily  in  favour  of  stone  as  the  most  suitable 
material,  and  by  degrees  the  legislation  of  the  Latin  church 
on  this  point  grew  more  definite.  The  altar  could  only  be 
of  stone ;  not  that  it  was  necessary  that  the  whole  struc- 
ture should  be  so,  for  it  was  enough  if  there  was  a  slab  at 


A  E  T  A  E 


641 


sttme  on  the  top  large  enough  for  the  sacred  vessels  to 
stand  upon ;  the  upper  face  of  the  altar  must  have  five 
crosses  incised  in  the  stone ;  before  being  used,  it  must 
have  been  consecrated  by  the  bishop  with  the  chrism, 
according  to  the  ritual  prescribed  in  the  pontificals,  which 
by  decrees  grew  more  elaborate;  and  at  first  a  plain  cross, 
and  afterwards  a  crucifix,  was  placed  erect  upon  it. 

At  the  Reformation  the  altars  in  churches  were  looked 
npon  as  symbols  of  the  old  Catholic  doctrine,  in  those 
countries  where  the  struggle  lay  between  the  Catholics  and 
the  "  Reformed  "  or  Calvinists,  who  on  this  point  went 
much  further  than  the  Lutherans.  In  England  the  name 
"  altar"  was  retained  in  the  Communion  Office  in  English, 
printed  in  1548,  and  in  the  complete  English  Prayer-book 
of  the  following  year,  known  to  students  as  the  First  Book 
of  Edward.  But  orders  were  given  soon  after  that  the 
altars  should  be  destroyed,  and  replaced  by  movable 
wooden  tables;  while  from  the  revised  Prayer-book  of 
1552  the  word  "altar"  was  carefully  expunged.  The  short 
reign  of  Mary  reversed  all  this,  but  the  work  was  resumed 
on  the  accession  of  Elizabeth,  and  has  been  carried  out  so 
thoroughly  that  the  industry  of  recent  antiquaries  has  only 
been  able  to  find  about  thirty  cases  in  all  England  where 
the  old  stone  altar-slabs  still  exist,  and  of  these  that  at 
Arundel  is  almost  the  only  one  which  is  still  used. 

The  name  "  altar"  has  been  all  along  retained  in  the 
Coronation  Office  of  the  kings  of  England,  where  it  Occurs 
frequently.  It  was  also  recognised  in  the  canons  of  1640, 
and  an  important  change  was  then  made  in  the  posi- 
tion of  the  communion  tables,  which  has  become  universal 
throughout  the  Church  of  England.  La  primitive  times 
the  position  of  the  Christian  altar  seems  to  have  been  such 
that,  like  the  Jewish  and  patriarchal  altars,  they  could  be 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  the  worshippers.  The  chair  of 
the  bishop  or  celebrant  was  on  their  west  side,  and  the 
assistant  clergy  were  ranged  on  each  side  of  him.  But  in 
the  Middle  Ages  the  altars  were  placed  against  the  east  wall 
of  the  churches,  or  else  a  screen,  called  a  reredos  (generally 
much  decorated  with  carving),  was  erected  close  to  the  east 
of  the  altar,  so  as  to  cut  off  any  one  on  that  side  from 
joining  in  the  worship,  and  the  celebrant  was  brought 
round  to  the  west  side,  to  stand  between  the  people  and 
the  altar;  while  there  were  often  curtains  on  the  north 
and  south  sides.  When  tables  were  substituted  for  altars 
in  the  English  churches,  these  were  not  merely  movable, 
but  at  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  were  actually 
moved  into  the  body  of  the  church,  and  placed  table-wise 
as  it  was  called — that  is,  with  the  long  sides  turned  to  the 
north  and  south,  and  the  narrow  ends  to  the  east  and 
west — the  officiating  clergyman  standing  at  the  north  side. 
In  the  time  of  Archbishop  Laud,  however,  the  present 
practice  of  the  Church  of  England  was  introduced.  The 
communion  table,  though  still  of  wood  and  movable,  is,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  never  moved;  it  is  placed  altar-wise — 
that  is,  with  its  longer  axis  running  north  and  south,  and 
close  against  the  east  wall,  with  for  the  most  part  a  reredos 
behind  it ;  it  is  also  fenced  in  by  rails,  within  which  the 
laity  do  not  enter. 

When,  under  the  superintendence  and  partly  at  the 
charge  of  the  Camden  Society,  the  church  of  Saint  Sepul- 
chre at  Cambridge,  founded  1101,  was  restored,  a  stone 
altar,  consisting  of  a  flat  slab  resting  upon  three  other 
upright  slabs,  was  presented  to  the  parish,  and  set  up  in 
the  church  at  the  east  wall  of  the  chancel.  This  circum- 
stance was  brought  before  the  Court  of  Arches  in  1845, 
and  Sir-  H.  Jenner  Fust  (Faulkner  v.  Lichfield  and  Steam) 
ordered  it  to  be  removed,  on  the  ground  that  a  stone  struc- 
ture- so  weighty  that  it  could  not  be  moved,  and  seeming 
to  be  a  mass  of  solid  masonry,  was  not  a  communion-table 
rithin.the  meaning  of  the  Church  of  England.    No  attempt 

1—  i> 


has  been  made  to  obtain  a  reversal  of  this  judgment ;  but 
from  other  decisions  some  infer  that  only  such  altars  an 
cannot  also  be  considered  as  tables  are  forbidden. 

Few  particulars  have  come  down  to  us  regarding  the 
construction  of  the  wooden  altars  used  by  the  Christian 
Church  in  early  times,  except  that  several  circumstances 
indicate  that  they  were  hollow.  Gregory  of  Tours  applies 
the  word  "area"  or  "chest"  to  them;  and  in  other  cases 
they  must  have  been  simply  like  ordinary  tables  supported 
by  legs,  since  we  read  of  persons  taking  refuge  beneath 
them.  There  is  nothing,  therefore,  either  in  the  matter 
or  the  form  of  the  ordinary  English  communion-tables,  to 
prevent  them  serving  as  altars.  The  stone  altars  at  first 
were  probably  only  one  or  more  blocks  of  rough  hewn 
stone;  but  by  degrees  they  were  ornamented,  and  this 
produced  two  different  types.  Either  the  altar  remained 
a  solid  mass  of  masonry,  but  had  its  front  richly  panelled 
(in  later  times  it  had  figures  in  bas-relief),  or  the  upper 
slab  was  supported  by  from  one  to  five  columns,  often  of 
highly-polished  stone.  It  was  in  the  16th  century  that  a 
new  fashion  was  introduced  in  France,  according  to  which 
the  altar  was  regarded  as  being  itself  a  tomb  or  sarcophagus, 
and  to  Tyhich  are  due  the  unsightly  altars  which  now  dis- 
figure the  wonderfully  beautiful  mediaeval  churches  of  that 
country.  So  complete  was  the  change,  that  now,  perhaps, 
there  are  not  more  ancient  altars  in  France  than  there  are 
in  England. 

In  early  times,  before  the  altars  were  placed  close  to  the 
east  wall  or  to  a  large  reredos,  they  were  often  surmounted 
by  a  canopy  or  baldacchino,  supported  by  four  pillars  rising 
from  the  ground  just  beyond  the  corners  of  the  altar. 

At  first  there  was  but  one  altar  in  a  church;  but  for 
many  centuries  this  rule  has  been  disregarded  in  the  Latin 
churches,  and  almost  every  large  church  contains  several 
altars  dedicated  in  honour  of  different  saints,  and  sometimes 
appropriated  to  the  use  of  particular  guilds,  or  endowed  for 
a  series  of  masses  for  the  repose  of  the  founder.  These, 
however,  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  principal  altar, 
called  the  high  altar  or  maitre  axdel,  situated  towards  the 
east  end  of  the  choir  or  chanceL  A  few  cases  occur  where 
there  are  two  high  altars,  the  second  being  placed  near  the 
west  end  of  the  church. 

Altars  are  "vested"  during  service;  that  is,  covered 
with  cloths  of  various  kinds.  There  is  often  a  frontal, 
richly  embroidered,  whose  colour  depends  upon  the  ecclesi- 
astical season  or  the  particular  festival;  but  in  all  cases 
the  uppermost  cloth  on  the  top  is  of  linen,  to  represent 
that  in  which  the  body  of  the  Lord  was  wrapped  in  the 
sepulchre. 

Since  the  age  of  Bede,  portable  altars  have  been  used  in 
the  Latin  Church;  but  the  East  has  never  adopted  them, 
and  they  quite  put  out  of  sight  the  symbolism  of  the  form 
of  an  altar.  They  consist  simply  of  a  small  slab  of  stone, 
large  enough  to  support  the  chalice  and  paten.  This  must 
bear  the  incised  crosses  and  must  have  been  consecrated 
by  the  bishop.  They  may  be  carried  about  on  a  journey 
by  a  bishop  or  priest  in  a  heathen  or  heretical  country,  as 
now  it  is  not  allowed  to  say  mass  except  on  a  duly  conse- 
crated altar,  and  they  are  also  used  in  oratories  attached 
to  private  houses. 

Those  who  wish  to  investigate  the  matter  further  may 
be  referred  to  the  standard  works  on  church  ritual  and 
ecclesiastical  architecture.  For  the  altars  of  the  Israelites, 
much  information  will  be  found  in  Lightfoot's  two  treatises 
on  the  Temple  Service,  and  in  Carpzov*s  notes  to  his  trans- 
lation of  Godwin's  Moses  and  Aaron.  Christian  altars  are 
described  by  Bona,  Martene,  and  Bingham ;  but  the  stand- 
ard work  on  the  subject  is  probably  that  by  the  Lutheran 
|  'ublished  after  bis  death  by  J.  A.  Fabricius.  Nearly 
twenty  years  ago  an  £ssay  on  Christian  Altars,  by  Lain 


642 


A  L  T  —  A  L  T 


and  Schwartz,  appeared  at  Rottenburg ;  while  for  France, 
the  Abbe1  Thiers'  Dissertation  on  the  subject  is  full  of 
curious  information,  like  all  his  works.  Drawings  of 
mediaeval  altars  which  have  been  preserved  will  be  found 
in  many  works  on  architecture,  Parker's  Glossary  gives 
the  most  noticeable  preserved  in  England ;  but  the  Dic- 
tionnaire  de  V Architecture  of  Viollet  le  Due  is  much 
superior,  and,  with  its  beautiful  illustrations  and  careful 
descriptions,  has  nearly  exhausted  the  subject  so  far  as 
regards  French  examples,  to  which  it  is  almost  exclusively 
confined.  (o.  h.  f.) 

ALTDORF,  or  Altorf,  a  town  in  Switzerland,  capital 
of  tho  canton  of  Uri,  situated  at  the  northern  end  of 
the  pass  of  St  Gotthard,  near  the  lake  of  Lucerne.  It 
contains  the  oldest  Capuchin  monastery  in  Switzerland, 
but  is  otherwise  of  little  interest,  except  as  the  place  pointed 
out  by  tradition  where  William  Tell  shot  the  apple  from 
his  son's  head.  The  lime  treo,  under  which  it  is  alleged 
the  boy  stood,  has  disappeared,  but  a  fountain  still  marks 
the  spot  There  is  also  an  old  tower,  with  rude  frescoes 
commemorating  the  feat.  Biirglen,  a  village  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, is  Tell's  reputed  birthplace.     Population,  2724. 

ALTDORFER,  Albrecht,  a  painter  and  engraver  of 
the  early  German  school,  was  born  at  Regensburg,  not 
later  than  1480,  and  died  in  1538.  His  paintings  are 
remarkable  for  minute  and  careful  finish,  and  for  close 
study  of  nature.  The  most  important  of  them  are  to  be 
found  in  the  Pinakothek  at  Munich.  A  representation  of 
the  battle  of  Arbela,  included  in  that  collection,  is  usually 
considered  his  chief  work.  His  engravings  on  wood  and 
copper  are  very  numerous,  and  rank  next  to  those  of 
Albert  Diirer. 

ALTENBURG,  a  town  in  Germany,  capital  of  tho 
duchy  of  Saxe-Altenburg,  situated  near  the  river  Pleisse, 
about  24  miles  south  of  Leipsic.  The  town,  from  its  hilly 
position,  is  irregularly  built ;  but  many  of  its  streets  are 
wide,  and  contain  a  number  of  large  and  beautiful  build- 
ings. Its  ancient  castle  is  picturesquely  situated  on  a  lofty 
rock,  and  is  memorable  as  the  place  from  which,  in  1455,  - 
Kunz  von  Kaufungen  carried  off  the  young  princes  Albert 
and  Ernest,  the  founders  of  the  present  royal  and  ducal 
families  of  Saxony.  Altenburg  is  the  seat  of  the  higher 
courts  of  the  duchy,  and  possesses  a  cathedral  and  several 
churches,  a  gymnasium,  a  library,  a  gallery  of  pictures  and 
a  school  of  art,  several  elementary  schools,  an  infirmary, 
and  various  learned  societies.  There  is  considerable  traffic 
in  grain  and  cattle  brought  from  the  surrounding  district ; 
twice  a  year  there  are  large  horse  fairs ;  and  the  book 
trade  is  extensive.  Cigars,  woollen  goods,  gloves,  hats, 
and  porcelain  are  among  the  chief  manufactures.  Popula- 
tion (1871),  19,966. 

ALTEN  OETTLNG,  or  Altoetting,  a  small  market 
town  in  Upper  Bavaria,  situated  on  the  Morn,  not  far  from 
its  junction  with  the  Inn.  It  has  long  been  famous  as  a 
place  of  pilgrimage  to  which  Roman  Catholics  resort  in 
very  large  numbers,  especially  from  Austria,  Bavaria,  and 
Swabia,  oh  account  of  a  celebrated  image  of  the  Virgin 
Mary  in  one  of  the  churches.  Another  church  contains  the 
tomb  of  Tilly.     Population,  1500. 

ALTENSTEIN,  a  castle  upon  a  rocky  mountain  in 
Saxe-Meiningen,  on  the  south-western  slope  of  the  Thiir- 
inger  Wald,  not  far  from  Eisenach.  It  is  the  summer 
residence  of  the  duke3  of  Meiningen,  and  is  surrounded 
by  z  poble  park,  which  contains,  among  other  objects  of 
interest,  a  remarkable  underground  cavern,  500  feet  long, 
through  which  flows  a  large  and  rapid  stream.  Boniface, 
the  apostle  of  the  Germans,  lived  and  preached  at  Alten- 
stein  in  724  ;  and  near  the  castle  is  the  place  from  which, 
in  1521,  Luther  was  seized,  to  be  carried  off  to  the  Wart- 
burg.     There  used  to  be  an  old  beech  called  "  Luther's 


tree,"  which  association  connected  with  the  Reformer,  but 
it  was  blown  down  in  is  11,  and  a  small  monument  now 
stands  in  its  place. 

ALTIN,  a  lake  of  Siberia,  which  gives  rise  to  the  Bija, 
one  of  the  head  streams  of  the  Obi,  is  situated  among  the 
Altai  mountains,  320  miles  south  of  the  city  of  Tomsk. 
It  is  about  80  miles  long,  and  its  greatest  breadth  is  about 
50  miles ;  but  the  large  quantities  of  melted  snow  which 
flow  down  from  the  surrounding  mountains  mako  it  larger 
in  summer  than  in  winter.  It  is  remarkablo  that  iu 
winter  the  northern  part  is  frozen  se  hard  as  to  be  passable 
on  sledges,  while  the  southern  is  never  covered  with  ice. 

ALTLNG,  Heinrich,  a  German  divine,  was  born  at 
Embden  in  1583.  His  father,  Menso  Alting,  was  minister 
of  Embden,  and  early  destined  his  son  to  tho  same  pro- 
fession. He  studied  with  great  assiduity  and  success  at 
the  universities  of  Herborn  and  Groningen.  In  1608  he 
was  appointed  tutorof  Frederick, afterwards  elector-palatine, 
at  Heidelberg,  and  in  1612  accompanied  him  to  England. 
Returning  in  1613  to  Heidelberg  after  the  marriage  of  tho 
elector  with  the  Princess  Elizabeth  of  England,  he  wa3 
appointed  professor  of  theology,  and  in  1616,  director  of 
the  Collegium  Sapienlice.  In  1618,  along  with  Scultcius, 
he  represented  the  university  in  the  synod  of  Dort.  When 
Count  Tilly  took  the  city  of  Heidelberg,  and  handed  it 
over  to  plunder,  Alting  fuund  great  difficulty  in  escaping 
the  fury  of  the  soldiers.  He  first  retired  to  Schomdorf ; 
but  in  1623  he  removed  with  his  family  to  Embden,  and 
afterwards  followed  to  the  Hague  his  late  pupil,  tho  Elector 
Frederick,  who  had  been  compelled  to  flee  from  his  new 
kingdom  of  Bohemia.  Such  was  the  regard  this  prince 
had  for  Alting  that  he  made  him  preceptor  to  his  eldest 
son,  and  prevented  him  from  accepting  the  charge  of 
the  church  at  Embden,  and  likewise  a  professorship  in 
the  university  of  Franeker.  In  1627,  Alting,  with  some 
difficulty,  obtained  leave  from  his  patron  to  remove  to 
Groningen,  where  he  was  appointed  to  the  chair  of  divinity; 
and  there  he  continued  to  lecture,  with  increasing  reputa- 
tion, until  his  death,  which  took  place  in  1644.  Alting  was 
a  man  of  great  ability  and  extensive  learning.  Among 
the  productions  of  his  pen  are: — Notae  in  Decadem  Pro- 
blematum  Jacobi  Behm,  Heidelberg,  1618;  Scrijita  T/teolo- 
gica  Heidelbergensia,  Amst.  1662;  Exegesis  Augustunce 
Confessionis,  Amst.  1647. 

ALTING,  Jacob,  son  of  the  preceding,  was  born  at 
Heidelberg  in  1618.  He  studied  theology  and  the  Oriental 
languages  at  Groningen,  and  in  1638  he  put  himself  under 
the  tuition  of  a  Jewish  rabbi  at  Embden.  In  1640  he 
went  to  England,  and  was  admitted  to  clerical  orders  by  Dr 
Prideaux,  bishop  of  Worcester;  but  an  offer  of  the  Hebrew 
professorship  in  the  university  of  Groningen  induced  him 
to  return  to  Holland  in  1643.  In  1667  he  was  appointed 
professor  of  theology  in  the  university.  In  this  office  he 
gave  great  offence  to  his  colleague,  Samuel  Desmarets,  by 
his  disuse  of  the  scholastic  method  of  teaching.  Desmarets 
preferred  a  charge  of  heresy  against  him;  but  the  divines 
at  Leyden  pronounced  that  Alting  was  not  guilty  of  any- 
thing more  serious  than  imprudent  fondness  for  innovation. 
Alting  died  of  a  fever  in  1679.  The  fondness  which  he 
showed  for  rabbinical  learning  gave  birth  to  the  general  re- 
port that  he  was  inclined  to  become  a  Jew.  His  opinions, 
which  seem  to  have  excited  more  general  attention  than 
they  deserve,  may  be  seen  in  his  writings,  which  wero 
collected  a  few  years  after  his  death,  and  published  in 
five  volumes  folio,  by  his  pupil,  the  well-known  Balthasar 
Bekker. 

ALTON,  a  town  of  Hampshire,  on  the  Wey,  17  miics 

E.  of  Winchester,  and  47  S.  W.  of  London  by  road;  by  the 

London  and  South- Western  Railway  it  is  60  miles  from. 

.  Lr^doa.     Large  markets  and  fairs  are  held  for  corn,  hops, 


ALT-ALU 


643 


cattle,  and  sheep;  and  the  town  contains  some  highly 
reputed  ale  breweries,  besides  paper  manufactories  and  an 
iron'  foundry.  The  church,  a  fine  old  building,  was  the 
scene  of  a  fierce  conflict  between  the  royalist  and  parlia- 
mentary troops  in  1643.     Population  in  1871,  4092. 

ALTON,  a  town  in  Madison  county,  Illinois,  United 
States,  stands  on  a  high  bluff  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Mississippi,  21  miles  above  St  Louis,  and  3  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Missouri.  It  is  a  place  of  considerable 
importance,  and  carries  on  a  thriving  export  trade  in  the 
produce  of  the  surrounding  country — grain,  hay,  fruit, 
coal,  and  lime.  It  has  an  excellent  wharf,  and  good  means 
of  communication  by  railway,  the  two  great  lines  from 
Chicago  and  Indianopolis  having  their  junction  at  Alton. 
The  town  contains  a  Koman  Catholic  cathedral,  about  ten 
other  churches  belonging  to  various  sects,  and  several 
schools.  It  has  also  a  printing  trade,  with  daily  and 
weekly  newspapers.     Population  in  1870,  8665. 

ALTON  A,  the  richest  and  most  populous  city  of  the 
Prussian  province  of  Schleswig-Holstein,  is  situated  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  Elbe,  so  close  to  Hamburg  that  the  two 
cities  are  virtually  one.  The  rise  of  Altona  to  its  present 
position  has  been  rapid,  at  least  for  a  continental  city,  and 
is  mainly  due  to  the  fostering  care  of  the  Danish  govern- 
ment, who  established  it  as  a  rival  to  Hamburg.  In  1640, 
when  it  became  the  property  of  Denmark,  it  was  a  small 
fishing  village ;  in  1871  it  contained  74,131  inhabitants. 
After  the  war  of  1864  it  ceased  to  belong  to  Denmark, 
and  eventually  became  part  of  Prussia,  although,  with 
Hamburg,  it  is  not  included  in  the  Zollverein.  It  carries 
on  a  large  trade  with  Britain,  France,  the  "West  Indies, 
and  other  countries;  but  it  has  by  no  means  succeeded  in 
depriving  Hamburg  of  its  commercial  pre-eminence — great 
part  of  the  business  of  Altona  being,  indeed,  transacted 
on  the  Hamburg  exchange.  Tobacco  is  probably  the  chief 
manufacture,  but  there  are  also  breweries,  tanneries,  oil- 
works,  soap-works,  and  linen  factories.  Altona  is  a  well- 
built  modern  town,  really  dating  from  1713  (when  the 
Swedes  burnt  it  to  the  ground),  with  a  higher  situation 
than  that  of  Hamburg,  and  consequently  a  purer  and 
healthier  atmosphere.  It  contains  an  observatory  of  some 
celebrity,  several  churches,  two  synagogues,  a  gymnasium, 
and  an  infirmary.  It  is  the  terminus  of  the  Altona-Kiel 
Railway,  which  places  it  in  connection  with  the  principal 
towns  of  Schleswig-Holstein. 

ALTOONA,  a  town  of  the  United  States,  in  Blair  county, 
Pennsylvania,  on  the  Central  Railway,  244  miles  west  of 
Philadelphia,  situated  near  the  eastern  base  of  the  Alle- 
ghany Mountain,  where  the  railroad  begins  to  ascend  it. 
It  contains  extensive  locomotive  and  railway  carriage  manu- 
factories belonging  to  the  Pennsylvania  Central  Railway 
Company.  Near  Altoona  is  the  famous  "  Horse  Shoe 
Bend,"  where  trains  of  but  ordinary  length  are  seen  to  be 
moving  in  opposite  directions  at  the  same  time.  The  line 
of  railway,  in  its  ascent  between  Altoona  and  Cresson, 
winds  round  the  side  of  the  mountain,  affording  some  of 
the  finest  mountain  scenery  on  the  continent.  Population 
in  1870,  10,610. 

ALTO-RILIEVO  {high  relief)  is  the  term  applied  to 
sculpture  that  projects  from  the  plane  to  which  it  is  attached 
to  the  extent  of  more  than  one-half  the  outline  of  the 
.  principal  figures.  It  is  thus  distinguished  from  basso-riliew, 
in  which  there  is  a  greater  or  less  approximation  to  the 
pictorial  method,  the  figures  being  made  to  appear  as  pro- 
jecting more  than  half  their  outline  without  actually  doing 
so.     See  Relief  and  Scdxptctue. 

ALTRINGHAM,  or  Alteixcham,  a  market  town  in 
the  north  of  Cheshire,  8  miles  south  of  Manchester,  with 
which  it  is  connected  by  railway.  It  is  a  neat,  clean  place, 
surrounded  by  villas  of  Manchester  manufacturers,  who 


are  attracted  by  its  healthy  climate  and  pleasant  situation. 
It  has  no  parish  church,  but  there  is  a  chapel  of  ease 
belonging  to  the  parish  of  Bowdon,  in  which  it  is  situated, 
and  also  a  Roman  Catholic  and  several  dissenting  places 
of  worship.  Yarn,  worsted,  and  cotton  are  the  chief 
manufactures;  and  large  quantities  of  fruit  and  vegetables 
are  sent  to  the  Manchester  market.  Population  in  1871, 
8478. 

ALUM,  a  compound  salt  employed  in  dyeing  and 
various  other  industrial  processes.  It  is  soluble  in  water, 
has  an  astringent,  acid,  and  sweetish  taste;  reddens  vege- 
table blues,  and  crystallises  in  regular'octahedrons.  When 
heated,  it  liquefies ;  and  if  the  heat  be  continued,  the 
water  of  crystallisation  is  driven  off,  the  salt  frotlies  and 
swells,  and  at  last  a  white  matter  remains,  known  by  the 
name  of  burnt  alum. 

Its  constituents  are  sulphuric  acid,  alumina,  an  alkali, 
and  water.  The  alkali  may  be  either  potash,  soda,  or 
ammonia.  Hence  there  are  three  distinct  species  of  alum, 
depending  upon  the  nature  of  the  alkali  which  each  con- 
tains. Potash  alum  (in  which  the  alkali  is  potash)  is  the 
common  alum  of  this  country,  although  both  soda  alum 
and  ammoniacal  alum  are  manufactured.  The  term  alum 
is  now  used  in  chemistry  as  a  generic  one,  and  is  applied 
to  the  class  of  double  salts  formed  by  the  union  of  the 
sulphates  of  alumina,  chromium,  or  iron  with  the  sulphates 
of  the  alkalies.  The  composition  of  the  ordinary  potash 
alum  is  represented  by  the  formula  ALK(SOJ2-  12H,0. 

The  progress  made  by  chemists  in  the  discovery  of  the 
constitution  of  alum  was  very  slow.  The  species  first 
investigated  was  potash  alum.  That  it  contained  sulphuric 
acid  as  a  constituent  was  known  even  to  the  alchemists. 
Pott  and  Marggraff  demonstrated  that  alumina  was  another 
constituent.  Pott,  in  his  Lithogeognosia,  showed  that 
the  earth  of  alum,  or  the  precipitate  obtained  when  an 
alkali  is  poured  into  a  solution  of  alum,  is  quite  different 
from  lime  and  chalk,  with  which  it  had  been  confounded 
by  Stahl  Marggraff  went  much  farther.  He  not  only 
showed  that  alumina  is  one  of  the  constituents  of  alum, 
but  that  this  earth  possesses  peculiar  properties,  is  different 
from  every  other  substance,  and  is  one  of  the  ingredients 
in  common  clay  ("  Experiences  faites  sur  la  Terre  d'Alun," 
Marggraff 's  Opusc.  ii.  111).  Marggraff  showed  likewise, 
by  many  experiments,  that  crystals  of  alum  cannot  be 
obtained  by  dissolving  alumina  in  sulphuric  acid,  and 
evaporating  the"  solutions.  The  crystals  formed  are  always 
soft,  and  quite  different  in  their  appearance  from  alum 
crystals.  But  when  a  solution  of  potash  or  ammonia  is 
dropt  into  this  liquid,  it  immediately  deposits  perfect 
crystals  of  alum  ("  Sur  la  Regeneration  de  l'Alun,"  Marg- 
graff's  Opusc.  ii  86).  He  mentions  likewise  that  manu- 
facturers of  alum  in  general  were  unable  to  procure  the 
salt  without  a  similar  addition,  that  at  first  it  had  been 
customary,  to  add  a  quantity  of  putrid  urine,  and  that 
afterwards  a  solution  of  carbonate  of  potash  was  sub- 
stituted in  its  place.  But  subsequent  chemists  do  not 
seem  to  have  paid  much  attention  to  these  important 
observations  of  Marggraff:  they  still  continued,  without 
any  rigid  examination,  to  consider  alum  as  a  sulphate  of 
alumina. 

Bergmann  indeed  had  observed  that  the  addition  of 
potash  or  ammonia  made  the  alum  crystallise,  but  that  the 
same  effect  was  not  produced  by  the  addition  of  soda  or  of 
lime  ("  De  Confectione  Aluminis,"Bergmann's  Opusc.  i.  225). 
He  had  observed  likewise  that  sulphate  of  potash  is  fre- 
quently found  in  alum.  He  decomposed  the  solution  of 
alum  by  means  of  ammonia,  evaporated  the  filtered  liquid 
to  dryness,  and  exposed  the  residue  to  a  red  heat  A 
quantity  of  sulphate  of  potash  often  remained  behind  in 
the  crucible  (ibid.,  p.  326).     From  these  facts  he  drew 


644 


ALUM 


tie  conclusion  that  sulphate  of  potash  readily  combines 
with  sulphate  of  alumina. 

After  Klaproth  had  discovered  the  existence  of  potash 
as  an  ingredient  in  leucite  and  lepidolite,  it  occurred  to 
Vauquelin  that  it  was  probably  an  ingredient  likewise  in 
many  other  minerals  He  recollected  that  alum  crystals 
often  make  their  appearance  during  the  analysis  of  stony 
bodies ;  and,  considering  that  alum  cannot  be  obtained 
in  crystals  without  tho  addition  of  potash,  he  began  to 
suspect  that  this  alkali  constituted  an  essential  ingredient 
in  the  salt.  A  set  of  experiments,  undertaken  on  purpose 
to  elucidate  this  important  point,  soon  satisfied  him  that 
his  conjecture  was  well-founded.  Accordingly,  in  the 
year  1797  he  published  a  dissertation  demonstrating  that 
alum  is  a  double  salt,  composed  of  sulphuric  acid,  alumina, 
and  potash  (Annates  de  Chimie,  xxii.  258}.  Soon  after, 
Chaptal  published  the  analysis  of  four  different  kinds  of 
alum,  namely,  Roman  alum,  Levant  alum,  British  alum, 
and  alum  manufactured  by  himself.  This  analysis  led 
to  the  same  result  as  that  of  Vauquelin  (Ann.  de  Chim, 
sxii.  280). 

Since  that  time  alum  has  been  admitted  by  chemists  to 
be  a  triple  salt,  and  various  analyses  of  it  have  been  made 
to  determine  its  constituents.  Vauquelin  (Ann.  de  Chim. 
L  167),  Thenard  and  Board  (ibid.,  torn.  lix.  72),  Curaudau 
(Journal  de  Physique,  lxvii.  1),  and  Berzelius  (Ann.  de 
Chim.  lxxxii.  258),  successively  published  the  results  of 
their  experiments.  These  analyses  gradually  led  to  an 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  composition  of  this  salt. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  differences  between  the 
three  species  of  alum  is  tho  solubility  of  each  in  water. 
At  the  temperature  of  60°,  100  parts  of  water  dissolve — 

937  parts  of  ammoDiacal  alum 
1479  parts  of  potash  alum, 
827 '6    parts  of  soda  alum. 

This  great  solubility  of  soda  alum  renders  the  manufacture 
of  it  very  difficult.  It  does  not  easily  crystallise;  indeed, 
when  the  weather  is  hot,  crystals  of  it  can  hardly  1  ■ 
obtained.  Its  great  solubility  would  render  it  more  con- 
venient and  more  economical  for  dyers  and  calico-printers, 
provided  it  could  be  furnished  at  the  same  rate  with 
common-  alum.  But  the  greater  difficulty  attending  the 
making  of  it  would  probably  prevent  it  from  being  sale- 
able at  a  price  sufficiently  low  to  make  it  available  as  a 
mordant. 

Soda  alum  was  first  mentioned  by  Mr  Winter  in  1810, 
in  his  account  of  the  Whitby  alum  processes  (Nicholson's 
Jour.  xxv.  pp.  254,  255);  but  before  that  time  it  had 
been  made  by  Mr  Charles  Macintosh  of  Crossbasket.  Mr 
William  Wilson,  at  Hurlet,  near  Glasgow,  afterwards  made 
it  in  considerable  quantities.  Specimens  of  it  have  been 
sent  by  Dr  Gillies  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Mendoza, 
in  South  America,  where  it  occurs  native  in  considerable 
quautity. 

These  three  different  species  of  alum  differ  also  some- 
what from  each  other  in  their  SDecific  gravities,  which  are 
is  follows: — 

Ammoniacal  alum 156 

Potash  alum 175 

Soda  alum 1881 

The  word  alumen,  which  we  translate  alum,  occurs  in 
Pliny's  Natural  History.  In  the  15th  chapter  of  his  35th 
book  he  gives  us  a  detailed  description  of  it.  By  com- 
paring this  with  the  account  of  a-nnrrnpia  given  by  Diosco- 
rides  in  the  123d  chapter  of  his  5th  book,  it  is  obvious 
that  the  two  are  identical.     Pliny  informs  us  that  alumen 

1  The  soda  alum  whose  specific  gravity  is  here  given  was  the  native, 
from  the  province  of  St  Juan,  on  the  north  of  Mendcia.  It  contains 
leal  water,  and  therefore  is  probably  heavier  thui  common  soda  alum. 


was  found  naturally  in  the  earth.  He  calls  it  sahugo> 
terra}.  Different  substances,  he  informs  us,  were  dis- 
tinguished by  tho  name  of  alumen ;  but  they  were  all 
characterised  by  a  certain  degree  of  astringency,  and  were 
all  employed  in  dyeing  and  medicine.  The  light-coloured 
alumen  was  useful  in  brilliant  dyes,  the  dark-coloured  only 
in  dyeing  black  or  very  dark  colours.  One  species  was  a 
liquid,  wliich  was  apt  to  bo  adulterated;  but  when  pure 
it  had  the  property  of  striking  a  black  with  the  juice  of 
the  pomegranate.  This  property  seems  to  characterise  a 
solution  of  sulphate  of  iron  in  water.  It  is  quite  obvious 
that  a  solution  of  our  alum  would  possess  no  such  property. 
Pliny  says  that  there  is  another  kind  of  alum  which  the 
Greeks  call  schistos.  It  forms  in  white  threads  upon  the 
surface  of  Certain  stones.  From  the  name  schistos,  and 
the  mode  of  formation,  there  can  bo  little  doubt  that  this 
species  was  the  salf  which  forms  spontaneously  on  certain 
slaty  minerals,  as  alum  slate  and  bituminous  shale,  and 
which  consists  chiefly  of  sulphate  of  iron  and  sulphate  of 
alumina.  Possibly  in  certain  places  the  sulphate  of  iron 
may  have  been  nearly  wanting,  and  then  the  salt  would 
be  white,  and  would  answer,  as  Pliny  says  it  did,  for  dye- 
ing bright  colours.  Several  other  species  of  alumen  are 
described  by  Pliny,  but  we  are  unable  to  make  out  to  what 
minerals  he  alludes. 

The  alumen  of  the  ancients,  then,  was  not  the  same 
with  the  alum  of  the  moderns.  It  was  most  commonly  a 
sulphate  of  iron,  sometimes  probably  a  sulphate  of  alumina, 
and  usually  a  mixture  of  the  two.  But  the  ancients  were 
unacquainted  with  our  alum.  They  were  acquainted  with 
sulphate  of  iron  in  a  crystallised  state,  and  distinguished 
it  by  the  names  of  misy,  sory,  chakanthum  (Pliny,  xxxiv. 
12).  As  alum  and  green  vitriol  were  applied  to  a  variety 
of  purposes  in  common,  and  as  both  are  distinguished  by 
a  sweetish  and  astringent  taste,  writers,  even  after  the 
discovery  of  alum,  do  not  seem  to  have  discriminated  the 
two  salts  accurately  from  each  other.  In  tho  writings  of 
the  alchemists  we  find  the  words  misy,  sory,  chalcanthum, 
applied  to  alum  as  well  as  to  sulphate  of  iron;  and  tho 
name  atramentum  sutorium,  which  ought  to  belong,  one 
would  suppose,  exclusively  to  green  vitriol,  applied  in- 
differently to  both. 

When  our  alum  was  discovered  is  entirely  unknown. 
Beckmann  devoted  a  good  deal  of  attention  to  the  history  of 
this  salt,  and  published  a  curious  dissertation  on  the  sub- 
ject; but  his  attempts  to  trace  its  origin  were  unsuccessful 
The  manufacture  of  it  was  discovered  in  the  East,  but  at 
what  time  or  place  is  totally  unknown.  It  would  appear 
that,  about  four  or  five  hundred  years  ago,  there  was  a 
manufactory  of  it  at  Edessa  in  Syria,  at  that  time  called 
Rocca, — hence,  it  is  supposed,  the  origin  of  the  term  rock 
alum,  commonly  employed  in  Europe;  though  others  allege 
that  the  term  originated  at  Civita  Vecchia,  where  alum  is 
made  from  a  yellow  mineral  which  occurs  in  the  state  of  a 
hard  roclf. 

Different  alum  works  existed  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Constantinople.  About  the  time  of  the  fall  of  the  Grecian 
empire  the  art  of  making  alum  was  transported  into  Italy, 
at  that  period  the  richest  and  most  manufacturing  country 
in  Europe.  Bartholomew  Pernix,  a  Genoese  merchant, 
discovered  alum  ore  in  the  island  of  Ischia,  about  the 
year  1459.  Nearly  at  the  same  time  John  di  Castro, 
who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  alum  works  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Constantinople,  suspected  that  a  mine- 
ral fit  for  yielding  alum  existed  at  Tolfa,  because  it  was 
covered  with  the  same  trees  that  grew  on  the  alum  mine- 
ral near  Constantinople.  His  conjecture  was  verified  by 
trials,  and  the  celebrated  manufactory  at  Tolfa  established. 
Another  was  begun  ir.  the  neighbourhood  of  Genoa ;  and 
the  manufacture  Nourished  in  diffarent  parts  of  Italy.     To 


ALUM 


645 


this  country  it  wa3  confined  for  the  greater  part  of  a 
century.  Various  manufactories  of  it  were  established  in 
Germany  by  the  year  1544. 

England  possessed  no  alum  works  till  the  reign  of 
Charles  I.  Thomas  Chaloner,  son  of  Dr  Chaloner,  who 
had  been  tutor  to  Charies,  while  hunting  on  a  common 
in  Yorkshire  took  notice  of  the  soil  and  herbage,  and 
tasted  the  water.  He  found  them  similar  to  what  he  had 
seen  in  Germany  where  alum  works  were  established.  In 
consequence  of  this  he  got  a  patent  from  Charles  for  an 
alum  work.  Since  that  time  various  alum  works  have 
been  established  in  different  parts  of  Great  Britain, — 
the  most  important  now  in  operation  being  the  Whitby 
works,  originally  established  by  Mr  Chaloner ;  and  the 
works  at  Pendleton,  near  Manchester,  and  Goole,  York- 
shire, and  at  Hurlet  and  Campsie,  both  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Glasgow. 

Several  alum  works  exist  in  Sweden,  particularly  in 
West  Gothland.  There  is  one,  for  example,  at  Haensaeter, 
near  the  borders  of  the  Wener  Lake.  But  for  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  Swedish  works  we  refer  to  Bergmann's  Opus- 
cida,  i.  284,  or  English  translation,  L  342. 

Various  minerals  are  employed  in  the  manufacture  of 
alum,  but  by  far  the  most  important  of  them  are  the  fol- 
lowing three  :  alum-stone,  alum-slate,  bituminous  shale. 

Alum-stone  or  Alunite  was  first  observed  at  Tolfa,  near 
Borne,  in  the  15th  century,  and  afterwards  in  Hungary 
and  several  other  places,  chiefly  in  trachyte  or  other  vol- 
canic rocks.  It  appears  to  be  produced  by  the  action  of 
sulphureous  vapours  on  the  felspars  they  contain,  and  gene- 
rally occurs  in  compact,  granular,  or  earthy  masses,  mixed 
with  quartz  or  felspar.  Small  crystals  are  found  in  cavities, 
and  are  either  rhombohedrons  with  angles  of  89°  10',  and 
thus  nearly  cubes,  or  these  with  the  polar  angles  replaced 
by  the  basal  plane.  The  specific  gravity  ranges  from  2-58 
to  2-752,  the  compact  varieties  being  the  lighter.  Its 
hardness  is  3-5  to  4,  or  rather  softer  than  fluor  spar.  It 
has  a  distinct  cleavage  perpendicular  to  the  axis  of  the 
rhombohedron,  and  conchoidal  fracture  in  other  directions. 
The  pure  varieties  are  white  and  colourless,  but  it  is  often 
coloured  greyish,  yellowish,-  or  reddish.  The  crystals  de- 
crepitate before  the  blowpipe,  but  are  infusible,  as  well  as 
the  compact  alunite.  The  alum  is  extracted  from  this 
mineral  by  repeated  roasting  and  treating  with  water. 
The  absence  oi"  iron  accounts  for  the  superior  purity  for 
which  the  Soman  alum  was  long  celebrated. 

Alum-slate  is  a  far  more  abundant  substance,  occurring 
in  beds  in  different  formations.  Thus  it  is  common  in 
the  older  Palaeozoic  or  Silurian  strata  of  Scandinavia  and 
Scotland.  Generally  it  is  distinctly  slaty,  but  sometimes 
forms  rounded  balls  or  concretions.  It  contains  much 
carbonaceous  matter,  and  hence  its  colour  is  greyish  or 
bluish-black.  It  has  a  dull  lustre,  is  soft  and  sectile.  It 
contains  much  disseminated  iron  pyrites,  and  on  decom- 
position in  the  air  yields  sulphate  of  iron,. and  alum  as  an 
efflorescence  on  the  surface. 

Many  of  the  shales  or  slate  clays  in  the  coal  formation 
also  contain  much  iron  pyrites,  and  thus  also  produce 
alum  when  acted  on  by  the  atmosphere.  Such  are  those 
used  for  manufacturing  alum  at  Campsie  and  other  places 
near  Glasgow.  Where  thqy .  contain  much  bituminous 
matter  they  show  a  shining  resinous  streak  and  greyish- 
black  colour,  and  are  named  bituminous  shales.  These 
burn  when  heated,  with  a  pale  flame  and  sulphureous 
odour. 

The  alum  slates  at  Whitby  in  Yorkshire  belong  to 
the  Lias,  and  are  used  in  the  alum  works  in  that  neigh- 
bourhood. In  other  places,  as  in  many  parts  of  Germany, 
similar  beds  are  found  in  Tertiary  formations,  particularly 
in  connection  with  the  brown  coal  deposits.     When  fresh 


dug  they  often  snow  no  trace  of  alum,  which  only  appears 
after  exposure  to  the  air,  or  when  the  decomposition  of 
the  iron  pyrites  is  assisted  by  the  action  of  heat. 

Several  native  varieties  of  sulphate  of  alumina  and  soda' 
alum  occur  in  South  America,  some  of  the  most  remarkable 
of  which  it  may  be  proper  to  specify. 

1.  Sulphate  of  alumina,  or  Alunogene,  was  first  found 
at  Bio  Saldanha,  but  is  now  obtained  from  several  places 
in  Europe  and  America.  The  colour  is  white,  here  and 
there  tinged  yellow,  obviously  from  external  impurities. 
It  occurs  in  fine  crystalline  needles ;  lustre  silky;  taste  that 
of  alum,  but  stronger;  specific  gravity,  1-6  to  1-7;  soft; 
before  the  blowpipe  behaves  like  alum. 

2.  Soda-alum.  It  occurs  native  in  the  province  of  St 
Juan,  situated  to  the  north  of  Mendoza,  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Chilian  Andes,  at  about  30°  S.  lat.  The  alum  is 
white,  and  composed  of  fibres  adhering  longitudinally,  and 
having  a  certain  breadth,  but  very  thin.  It  bears  some 
resemblance  to  fibrous  gypsum,  but  it  is  harder,  not  being 
scratched  by  the  nail,  though  the  knife  scratches  it  with 
great  ease.  It  is  sectile.  The  outer  fibres  are  white  and 
only  slightly  translucent,  as  if  they  had  lost  a  portion  of 
their  water ;  but  the  internal  fibres  are  transparent,  and 
have  a  silky  aspect.  It/ tastes  precisely  like  alum,  and  is 
very  soluble,  water  at  the  temperature  of  62°  dissolving 
3-773  parts  of  it,  and  boiling  water  dissolving  any  quantity 
whatever.  When  exposed  to  heat,  it  behaves  very  nearly 
as  common  alum. 

3.  There  is  a  mineral  called  aluminite,  which  was  ob- 
served in  the  environs  of  Halle  many  years  ago,  and  which 
was  afterwards  detected  by  Mr  Webster  in  clay  resting  on 
chalk  at  Newhaven  in  Sussex.  This,  if  it  were  sufficiently 
abundant,  would  constitute  an  excellent  material  for  the 
manufacture  of  alum.  Its  colour  is  snow-white.  It  occurs 
in  reniform  pieces  of  greater  or  smaller  size  ;  fracture  fine 
earthy ;  dull ;  streak  glistening ;  opaque ;  adheres  feebly  to 
the  tongue ;  soils  very  slightly ;  very  soft ;  feels  fine,  but 
meagre;  specific  gravity,  L7054.  It  consists  of  alumina, 
sulphuric  acid,  and  water. 

Four  different  processes  are  employed  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  alum,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  mineral  from 
which  the  alum  is  to  be  extracted. 

The  process  employed  at  Tolfa  is  the  simplest  of  all. 
If  the  Tolfa  stone  be  kept  constantly  moistened  with 
water  for  about  two  months,  it  falls  to  powder  of  itself, 
and  yields  alum  by  lixiviation.  But  this  is  not  the  pro- 
cess employed  by  the  manufacturers.  The  alum-stone  is 
broken  into  small  pieces,  and  piled  on  the  top  of  a  per- 
forated dome,  in  which  a  wood  fire  is  kindled.  The  smoke 
and  flame  of  the  wood  penetrate  through  the  pieces  of 
alum-stone,  and  a  sulphureous  odour  is  disengaged,  owing 
to  the  decomposition  of  a  portion  of  the  sulphuric  acid  in 
the  stone.  This  roasting  is  twice  performed  ;  the  pieces  of 
ore  which  the  first  time  were  at  the  edge  of  the  dome, 
being  the  second  time  put  in  the  middle.  The  process 
of  roasting  this  stone  requires  considerable  attention.  If 
the  heat  be  too  great,  the  quality  of  yielding  alum  is 
destroyed :  if  the  heat  be  too  small,  the  stone  does  not 
readily  fall  to  powder.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the 
unroasted  stone  would  yield  more  alum  than  the  roasted  ; 
but  probably  the  additional  labour  requisite  in  the  latter 
case  would  more  than  swallow  up  the  increase  of  product. 

The  roasted  stone,  which  has  now  acquired  a  reddish 
colour,  is  placed  in  rows  between  trenches  filled  with 
water.  This  liquid  is  so  frequently  sprinkled  on  it  that 
the  stone  is  always  moist.  In  two  or  three  days  it  falls 
to  powder,  like  slacked  quicklime ;  but  the  daily  watering 
is  continued  for  a  month.  The  success  of  this  part  of  the 
operation  is  said  to  depend  very  much .  on  the  weather. 
When'  the  weather    is  rainy,   the    alum  is  _ all  .washed 


046 


A  L  V  M 


out,  and  little  or  nothing  left  for  the  manufacturer  to 
extract 

When  the  stone  has  by  this  process  been  reduced  to  a 
sufficiently  fine  powder,  it  is  thrown  into  a  leaden  boiler 
filled  two-thirds  with  water.  During  the  boiling  the 
powder  is  frequently  stirred  up,  and  the  water  that  eva- 
porates is  replaced.  When  the  boiling  has  been  continued 
for  a  sufficient  time,  the  fire  is  withdrawn,  and  time 
allowed  for  the  earthy  matter  to  subside  to  the  bottom. 
A  cock  is  then  opened,  which  allows  the  clear  liquor  to 
flow  out  into  deep  wooden  square  vessels^  so  made  that 
they  can  be  easily  taken  to  pieces.  Here  the  alum  gradu- 
ally crystallises,  and  attaches  itself  to  the  sides  and  bottom 
of  the  vessel.  The  mother  liquid  is  then  drawn  off  into 
shallower  wooden  troughs,  where  more  alum  crystals  are 
deposited.  The  liquid  has  now  a  red  colour,  and  is 
muddy ;  and  the  last  alum  crystals  are  mixed  with  this 
red  matter.  They  are  washed  clean  in  the  mother  liquor, 
which  is  finally  pumped  into  a  trough,  and  used  in  subse- 
quent processes. 

The  alum  obtained  at  Tolfa  is  known  by  the  name  of 
Roman  alum,  and  is  in  very  high  estimation.  It  is  always 
mixed  with  a  little  reddish  powdery  matter,  which  is  easily 
separated  from  it. 

Alum-slate,  being  very  different  in  its  composition,  re- 
quires a  different  treatment  to  fit  it  for  yielding  alum.  If 
the  alum-slate  contain%a  notable  quantity  of  lime  or  mag- 
nesia, it  does  not  answer  the  purposes  of  the  manufacturer 
so  well.  The  essential  ingredients  in  alum-slate,  for  the 
alum-makers,  are  alumina  and  iron  pyrites. 

The  first  process  is  to  roast  the  ore.  In  Sweden,  where 
the  fuel  is  wood,  and  consequently  expensive,  it  is  cus- 
tomary to  use  the  alum-slate  itself  as  fuel  for  roasting  the 
ore.  For  this  purpose  a  small  layer  of  brushwood  is 
covered  with  pieces  of  alum-slate,  and  set  on  fire ;  and,  as 
the  combustion  proceeds,  new  layers  of  alum-slate  are 
added.  It  is  usual  to  place  alternate  layers  of  roasted  and 
unroasted  alum-slate.  The  combustion  continues  for  a 
month  or  six  weeks.  At  Whitby,  coal  is  employed  for 
roasting  the  alum-slate.  .  Indeed  the  alum-slate  of  Whitby 
is  lighter  coloured  than  that  of  Sweden,  and  probably 
would  not  burn  of  itself.  So  great  is  the  quantity  of  com- 
bustible matter  in  the  Swedish  alum-slate  that  it  is  em- 
ployed as  fuel  for  burning  limestone.  Great  quantities  of 
limestone  are  burnt  in  this  manner  at  Hunneberg,  near 
the  south  side  of  the  lake  Wener.  The  roasted  ore  has 
usually  a  brown  colour.  When  it  is  red  the  quantity  of 
alum  which  it  yields  is  considerably  diminished. 

Bj  this  roasting  the  pyrites  is  oxidised  into  sulpnate  of 
iron  and  sulphuric  acid,  thus  : — 

FeS3  +  07  +  H?0  =  FeS01  +  H1SO, 
The  sulphuric  acid  as  it  is  produced  is,  however,  at  once 
neutralised  by  the  large  excess  of  alumina  producing  sul- 
phate, so  that  the  result  of  the  action  is  to  produce  a 
mixture  of  the  sulphates  of  iron  and  alumina. 

The  roasted  o^  has  an  astringent  taste,  owing  to  the 
sulphate  of  iron  and  sulphate  of  alumina  which  it  con- 
tains. The  next  process  is  to  lixiviate  it  with  water,  in 
order  to  dissolve  these  salts.  For  this  purpose  it  is  put 
into  reservoirs  made  of  wood  or  masonry,  with  a  stop- 
cock at  the  bottom  to  draw  off  the  water.  The  usual 
method  is  to  keep  the  water  for  twelve  hours  in  contact 
with  ore  that  has  been  twice  lixiviated ;  then  to  draw 
t  off,  and  allow  it  to  remain  for  an  equal  period  on  ore 
that  has  been  once  lixiviated.  Lastly,  it  is  run  upon 
freeh  ore,  and  allowed  to  remain  on  it  for  twelve  hours 
longer.  If  the  specific  gravity  of  the  liquid  thus  treated 
*25  at  the  temperature  of  55°,  it  may  be  considered  as 
«turated  with  sulphate  of  alumina  and  sulphate  of  iron ; 
out  probably  this   specific  gravity  is  not  often  obtained. 


The  liquid,  thus  impregnated  with  salt,  is  now  boiled 
down  in  leaden'  vessels  to  the  proper  consistency  for  crys- 
tallisation. In  Sweden  the  fuel  employed  for  this  pur- 
pose is  »Ium-slate.  By  this  means  a  double  effect  is 
produced — the  liquid  is  evaporated,  and  the  alum-slate 
is  roasted.  During  the  boiling  abundance  of  oxide  of 
iron  falls,  mixed  with  selenite,  if  lime  be  one  of  the  con- 
stituents of  the  alum-slate.  When  the  liquid  is  suffi- 
ciently concentrated  it  is  let  into  a  square  res'irvoir,  in 
order  to  crystallise.  Great  quantities  of  sulphate  of  iron 
crystals  are  usually  deposited  in  this  vessel.  These  are 
collected  by  drawing  the  liquid  off  into  another  reservoir. 
When  all  the  sulphate  of  iron  that  can  be  obtained  has 
been  separated,  a  quantity  of  sulphate  of  potash  or  am- 
monia, muriate  of  potash,  or  putrid  urine,  is  mixed  with 
the  liquid.  The  sulphate  of  potash  is  procured  from- the 
sulphuric  acid  makers,  and  the  muriate  of  potash  from  the 
soap-makers.  By  this  addition  alum  i3  formed  in  :he 
liquid,  and  it  gradually  deposits  itself  in  crystals  bn  the 
sides  of  the  vessel  These  crystals  are  collected,  and  dis- 
solved in  the  smallest  quantity  of  boiling  water  that  will 
take  them  up.  This  solution  is  poured  into  large  wocden 
casks.  In  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks  the  alum  crystal- 
lises, and  covers  the  sides  and  bottom  of  the  cask.  The 
hoops  aro  now  taken  off,  and  the  staves  of  the  cask 
removed.  A  mass  of  alum  crystals,  laving  the  shape  of 
the  cask,  remains.  This  mass  is  pierced,  the  mother  liquor 
allowed  to  run  out,  and  preserved  for  a  subsequent  process; 
The  alum,  being  now  broken  in  pieces,  is  fit  for  sale. 

The  manufacture  of  alum  from  bituminous  shale-  and 
slate-clay  bears  a  considerable  resemblance  to  the  manu- 
facture from  alum-slate,  but  differs  in  several  particu- 
lars. We  shall  give  a  sketch  of  the  processes  followed  in 
two  works  of  this  kind  that  are  in  operation  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Glasgow.  The  bituminous  shale  and  slate- 
clay  employed  are  obtained  from  old  coal-prts,  which  are 
very  extensive  near  Glasgow.  The  air  in  these  coal-pits 
is  moist,  and  its  average  temperature  about  62°.  Tho 
shale  having  been  exposed  for  many  years,  .'ias  gradually 
opened  in  the  direction  of  its  slaty  fracture,  so  as  to  re- 
semble in  some  respects  a  half -shut  fan ;  and  all  the  chinks 
in  it  are  filled  with  a  saline  efflorescence  in  threads.  This 
salt  is  white,  with  a  shade  of  green,  has  a  sweetish  as- 
tringent taste,  and  consists  of  a  mixture  of  sulphate  of 
iron  and  sulphate  of  alumina.  In  order  to  obtain  these 
salts  in  a"  state  of  solution,  nothing  more  is  requisite  than 
to  lixiviate  this  shale  with  water.  The  lixiviated  ore 
being  left  exposed  to  the  weather,  forms  more  salt,  which 
is  gradually  washed  out  of  it  by  tho  rain-water,  and  this 
water  is  collected  and  preserved  for  use. 

The  next  step  in  tho  process  is  to  boil  down  the  liquid 
to  a  sufficient  state  of  concentration.  At  Campsie  all 
the  boilers  are  composed  of  stone,  and  the  heat  is  applied 
to  the  surface.  This  is  a  great  saving,  as  leaden  vessels 
are  not  only  much  more  expensive,  but  require  more  fre- 
quent renewal  When  the  liquid  is  raised  to  a  sufficiently 
high  temperature  in  the  stone  reservoir,  pounded  sulphate 
of  potash,  or  muriate  of  potash,  as  they  can  be  procured, 
is  mixed  with  it ;  and  there  is  an  agitator  in  the  vessel,  by 
which  it  is  continually  stirred  about.  This  addition  con- 
verts the  sulphate  of  alumina  into  alum.  The  liquid  is 
now  let  into  another  trough,  and  allowed  to  remain  till  it 
crystallises.  In  this  liquid  there  are  two  salts  contained 
in  solution — viz.,  sulphate  of  iron  and  alum ;  and  it  is  an 
object  of  great  consequence  to  separate  them  completely 
from  each  other.  The  principal  secret  consists  in  drawing 
off  the  mother  liquor  at  the  proper  time ;  for  the  alum  is 
much  less  soluble  in  water  than  the  sulphate  of  iron,  and 
therefore  crystallises  first.  Tho  first  crystals  of  alum 
formed  are  very  impure.     They  have  a  veUow  colour,  and 


ALU-ALV 


G47 


seem  to  be  partly  impregnated  with  sulphate  of  iron. 
They  are  dissolved  in  hot  water,  and  the  solution  poured 
into  troughs,  and  allowed  to  crystallise  a  second  time. 
These  second  crystals,  though  much  purer,  are  not  quite 
free  from  sulphate  of  iron ;  but  the  separation  is  accom- 
plished by  washing  them  repeatedly  with  cold  water ;  for 
sulphate  of  iron  is  much  more  soluble  in  that  liquid  than 
alum.  These  second  crystals  are  now  dissolved  in  as  small 
a  quantity  of  hot  water  as  possible,  and  the  concentrated 
liquid  poured  while  hot  into  large  casks,  the  surface  of 
which  is  covered  with  two  cross  beams.  As  the  liquor 
cools,  a  vast  number  of  alum  crystals  form  on  the  sides 
and  surface.  The  casks  are  allowed  to  remain  till  the 
liquid  within  i3  supposed  to  be  nearly  of  the  temperature 
of  the  atmosphere.  This,  in  winter,  requires  eleven  days ; 
in  summer,  fourteen  or  more.  The  liquid,  after  standing 
eleven  days  in  summer,  has  been  observed  to  be  still  above 
blood  heat.  The  hoops  are  then  removed,  precisely  as  in 
the  manufacture  of  alum  from  alum-slate. 

There  always  remains  in  the  boilers  a  yellowish  sub- 
stance, consisting  chiefly  of  peroxide  of  iron.  This  is 
exposed  to  a  strong  heat  in  a  reverberatory  furnace,  and  it 
becomes  red.  In  this  state  it  is  washed,  and  yields  more 
*dum.  The  red  residue  is  ground  to  a  fine  powder,  and 
dried.  It  then  answers  all  the  purposes  of  Venetian  red 
as  a  pigment.  By  altering  the  temperature  to  which  this 
matter  is  expopd,  a  yellow  ochre  is  obtained  instead  of 
a  led. 

In  France,  where  alum  orGS  are  by  no  means  abundant, 
alum  is  manufactured  from  clay.  This  method  of  making 
the  salt  was  first  put  in  practice  by  Chaptal  when  pro- 
fessor of  chemistry  at  Montpellier.  His  methods  have 
been  since  gradually  improved,  and  brought  to  a  state  of 
considerable  perfection.  The  first  process  tried  was  this  : 
The  clay  was  reduced  to  a  fine  powder  in  a  mill,  and  then 
mixed  with  sulphuric  acid.  After  remaining  some  days, 
it  was  exposed  for  twenty-four  hours  to  a  temperature  of 
about  1 30°.  It  was  then  lixiviated,  and  the  liquid  mixed 
with  urine  or  potash.  This  method  being  found  incon- 
venient, was  abandoned  for  the  following: — The  clay  being 
well  ground,  was  mixed  with  half  its  weight  of  the  saline 
residue  from  a  mixture  of  sulphur  and  nitre.  This  residue 
is  little  else  than  sulphate  of  potash.  The  mixture  was 
formed  into  balls  about  5  inches  in  diameter,  which  were 
calcined  in  a  potter's  furnace.  They  were  then  placed  on 
the  floor  of  a  chamber  in  which  sulphuric  acid  was  made. 
The  acid  vapour  caused  them  to  swell,  and  to  open  on  all 
sides.  In  about  a  month  they  were  sufficiently  penetrated 
with  the  acid.  They  were  then  exposed  to  the  air,  under 
shades,  that  the  saturation  might  become  more  complete. 
Finally,  they  were  lixiviated,  and  the  liquid  being  evapo- 
rated, yielded  pure  alum. 

This  process  was  considerably  improved  by  Berard,  of 
the  Montpellier  alum  work.  Instead  of  exposing  the 
calcined  balls  to  the  fumes  of  sulphuric  acid,  he  sprinkled 
them  with  a  quantity  of  sulphuric  acid  of  the  specific 
gravity  1  '367,  equal  to  the  weight  of  the  clay  employed; 
but  it  is  obvious  that  the  proportion  must  vary  with  the 
nature  of  the  clay.  The  solution  takes  place  with  the 
greatest  facility,  and  crystals  of  alum  are  obtained  by 
e%*aporating  the  liquid. 

Another  process  was  put  in  practice  by  Chaptal,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Paris.  A  mixture  is  made  of  100  parts 
of  clay,  50  parts  of  nitre,  and  50  parts  of  sulphuric  acid 
of  the  specific  gravity  1*367 ;  and  this  mixture  is  put  into 
a  retort  and  distilled.  Aquafortis  comes  over,  and  the 
residue  in  the  retort  being  lixiviated  with  water,  yields 
abundance  of  excellent  alum. 

For  chemical  constitution  and  relations  of  the  alums, 
see  Cuemistky. 


ALUMBAUH,  the  name  of  a  large  park  or  walled 
enclosure,  containing  a  palace,  a  mosque,  and  other  build- 
ings, as  well  a3  a  beautiful  garden,  situated  about  4  mile9 
from  Lucknow,  near  the  Cawnpore  road.  It  was  converted 
into  a  fort  by  the  mutineers  in  1857;  and  after  its  capture 
by  the  British  was  of  importance  in  connection  with  the 
military  operations  around  Lucknow.     See  Ltjcknow. 

ALUMINIUM,  a  metallic  substance, first  separated  from 
the  chloride  by  Wohler  in  1828.  It  remained  a  laboratory 
product  until  Deville,  about  1858,  succeeded  in  improving 
the  mode  of  production,  so  as  to  render  the  operations 
capable  of  management  on  the  manufacturing  scale.  The 
process  consists  in  heating  to  a  red  heat  a  mixture  of  the 
double  chloride  of  aluminium  and  sodium,  or  the  double 
fluoride  of  aluminium  and  sodium  (cryolite),  with  the  metal 
sodium.  A  vigorous  action  takes  place,  chloride  of  sodium 
being  formed  and  the  metal  aluminium  separated.  On  the 
large  scale  the  reduction  is  effected  by  throwing  a  mixture 
of  10  parts  of  the  double  chloride,  5  parts  of  cryolite,  and 
2  parts  of  sodium  on  the  hearth  of  a  reverberatory  furnace. 
Immediately  after  the  action,  the  fused  metal  and  slag, 
consisting  of  common  salt  and  fluoride  of  aluminium,  are 
run  out,  and  a  new  quantity  of  the  previous  mixture  intro- 
duced. The  various  patents  that  have  been  secured  with 
reference  to  this  manufacture  have  all  regard  to  the  saving 
of  the  metal  sodium.  The  metal  aluminium  may  be 
separated  from  the  double  chloride  by  electrolysis.  For 
this  purpose  the  fused  salt  has  the  electric  current  from 
ten  cells  of  a  battery  passed  through  it,  carbon  poles  being 
used.  The  metal  appears  at  the  negative  pole  in  large 
globules,  which  may  be  collected  and  melted  together 
under  a  layer  of  fused  salt. 

Aluminium  is  a  white  metal  resembling  silver  in  appear- 
ance. It  is  very  malleable  and  ductile,  and  may  be  beaten 
and  rolled  into  thin  sheets,  or  drawn  into  fine  wire.  By 
hammering  in  the  cold  it  becomes  as  hard  as  soft  iron,  but 
may  be  softened  again  by  fusion.  Being  highly  sonorous, 
it  has  been  used  for  making  bells.  It  is  very  light,  being 
only  2i  times  heavier  than  water,  and  is  thus  four  times 
lighter  than  silver.  After  fusion  it  has  a  specific  gravity 
of  2 '5  6;  by  hammering  this  may  be  increased  to  2-67. 
It  melts  at  a  red  heat,  and  is  non-volatile  at  very  high 
temperatures.  The  metal  conducts  heat  and  electricity  as 
well  as  silver.  Aluminium  does  not  oxidise  in  air,  even 
at  a  red  heat,  has  no  action  on  water  at  ordinary  tempera- 
tures, and  i3  not  acted  upon  by  sulphuretted  hydrogen  or 
sulphide  of  ammonium,  and  thus  preserves  its  lustre  where 
silver  would  be  tarnished  and  blackened.  It  is  not  at- 
tacked by  nitric  acid,  even  when  concentrated,  and  is  not 
soluble  in  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  but  is  readily  soluble  in 
dilute  or  concentrated  hydrochloric  acid  with  evolution  of 
hydrogen.  Solutions  of  caustic  potash  or  soda  dissolve 
the  metal  with  great  ease,  forming  alum  in  ate  of  potash  or 
soda,  and  giving  off  hydrogen.  Aluminium  forms  alloys 
with  most  metals.  The  copper  alloy  called  aluminium- 
bronze  is  the  most  important  because  of  its  colour,  hard- 
ness, and  malleability,  and  is  largely  used  for  articles  of 
jewellery,  for  mounting  sextants  and  other  astronomical 
instruments,  and  for  making  balance  beams. 

ALUTA,  an  afiiuent  of  the  Danube.     See  Alt. 

ALVA,  a  village  in  Stirlingshire,  Scotland,  situated  at 
the  foot  of  Craigleith,  one  of  the  Ochil  range,  7  miles  N.E. 
of  Stirling,  with  which  it  is  connected  by  railway.  Besides 
the  parish  church,  there  are  places  of  worship  belonging  to 
the  Free  and  United  Presbyterian  churches.  Yarn  spin- 
ning and  the  manufacture  of  shawls  and  tweeds  are  carried 
on  to  a  considerable  extent.     Population  in  1871,  4096. 

ALVA,  or  Alba,  Fernando  Alvarez  de  Toledo, 
Duke  of,  born  in  1508,  was  descended  from  one  of  the  most 
illustrious  families  in  Spain.     His  grandfather,  Ferdinand 


648 


A  L  T  —  A  L  V 


of  Toledo,  educated  him  in  military  science  and  politics ; 
and  he  was  engaged  with  distinction  at  the  battle  of  Pavia 
while  still  a  youth.  Selected  for  a  military  command  by 
Charles  V.,  he  took  part  in  the  siege  of  Tunis  (1535),  and 
successfully  defended  Perpignan  against  the  Dauphin  of 
France.  He  was  present  at  the  battle  of  Miihlberg  (1547), 
and  the  victory  gained  there  over  John  of  Saxony  was  due 
mainly  to  his  exertions.  He  took  part  in  the  subsequent 
siege  of  Wittenberg,  and  presided  at  the  court-martial 
which  tried  the  Elector  and  condemned  him  to  death.  In 
1552  Alva  was  intrusted  with  the  command  of  the  army 
intended  to  invade  France,  and  was  engaged  for  several 
months  in  an  unsuccessful  siege  of  Metz.  In  consequence 
of  the  success  of  the  French  arms  in  Piedmont,  he  was 
made  commander-in-chief  of  all  the  emperor's  forces  in 
Italy,  and  at  the  same  time  invested  with  unlimited  power. 
Success  did  not,  however,  attend  his  first  attempts,  and 
after  several  unfortunate  attacks  he  was  obliged  to  retire 
into  winter  quarters.  After  the  abdication  of  Charles  he 
was  continued  ia  the  command  by  Philip  II.,  who,  how- 
ever, restrained  him  from  extreme  measures.  Alva  had 
subdued  the  whole  Campagna,  and  was  at  the  gates  of 
Rome,  when  he  was  compelled  by  Philip's  orders  to  nego- 
tiate a  peace.  One  of  its  terms  was,  that  the  Duke  of 
Alva  should  in  person  ask  forgiveness  of  the  haughty 
pontiff  whom  he  had  conquered.  Proud  as  the  duke  was 
by  nature,  and  accustomed  to  treat  with  persons  of  the 
highest  dignity,  yet  such  was  the  superstitious  veneration 
then  entertained  for  the  papal  character  that  he  confessed 
his  voice  failed  him  at  the  interview,  and  his  presence  of 
mind  forsook  him.  Not  long  after  this  (1559)  he  was  sent 
at  the  head  of  a  splendid  embassy  to  Paris,  to  espouse,  in 
the  name  of  his  master,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Henry, 
king  of  France.  In  1567,  Philip,  who  was  a  bigoted 
Catholic,  sent  Alva  into  the  Netherlands  at  the  head  of  an 
army  of  10,000  men,  with  unlimited  powers  for  the  extir- 
pation of  heretics.  When  he  arrived  he  soon  showed  how 
much  he  merited  the  confidence  which  his  master  reposed 
in  him,  and  instantly  erected  a  tribunal  which  soon  became 
known  to  its  victims  as  the  "  Court  of  Blood,"  to  try  all 
persons  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  late  commotions 
which  the  civil  and  religious  tyranny  of  Philip  had  excited. 
He  imprisoned  the  counts  D'Egmont  and  Horn,  the  two 
popular  leaders  of  the  Protestants,  brought  them  to  an 
unjust  trial,  and  condemned  them  to  death.  In  a  short 
time  he  totally  annihilated  every  privilege  of  the  people, 
and,  with  unrelenting  cruelty,  put  multitudes  of  them  to 
death.  The  executioner  was  employed  in  removing  all 
those  friends  of  freedom  whom  the  sword  had  spared.  In 
most  of  the  considerable  towns  Alva  built  citadels.  In  the 
city  of  Antwerp  he  erected  a  statue  of  himself,  which  was 
a  monument  no  less  of  his  vanity  than  of  his  tyranny :  he 
was  figured  trampling  on  the  necks  of  two  smaller  statues, 
representing  the  two  estates  of  the  Low  Countries.  By 
his  unusual  and  arbitrary  demand  of  now  supplies  from 
the  states  he  greatly  aggravated  this  insult.  .The  exiles 
from  the  Low  Countries,  roused  to  action  by  his  opprersion, 
fitted  out  a  fleet  of  privatee;-s,  and  after  strengthening 
themselves  by  successful  depredations,  ventured  upon  the 
bold  exploit  of  seizing  the  town  of  Breil.  Thus  Alva,  by 
his  cruelty,  became  the  unwitting  instrument  of  the  future 
independence  of  the  seven  Dutch  provinces.  The  fleet  of 
the  exiles  having  met  the  Spanish  fleet,  totally  defeated 
it,  and  reduced  North  Holland  and  Mons.  Many  cities 
hastened  to  throw  off  the  yoke;  while  the  States-General, 
assembling  at  Dordrecht,  openly  declared  against  Alva's 
government,  and  marshalled  under  the  banners  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange.  Alva's  preparations  to  oppose  the 
gathering  storm  were  made  with  his  usual  vigour,  and  he 
succeeded    ;ja   recovering    Mons,   Mechlin,   and   Zutphen. 


under  the  conduct  of  his  son  Frederick.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  Zealand  and  Holland,  he  regained  all  the  provinces; 
and  at  List  his  son  stormed  Waerdan,  and  massacring  its 
inhabitants,  proceeded  to  invest  the  city  of  Haarlem, 
which,  after  standing  an  obstinate  siege,  was  taken  and 
pillaged.  Their  next  attack  was  upon  Alkmaar ;  but  the 
spirit  of  desperate  resistance  was  raised  to  such  a  height  in 
the  breasts  of  the  Hollanders  that  the  Spanish  veterans 
were  repulsed  with  great  loss,  and  Frederick  constrained 
reluctantly  to  retire.  Alva's  feeble  state  of  health  and  con- 
tinued disasters  induced  him  to  solicit  his  recall  from  the 
government  of  the  Low  Countries;  a  measure  which,  in 
all  probability,  was  not  displeasing  to  riiilip,  who  was 
now  resolved  to  make  trial  of  a  milder  administration.  In 
December  1573  the  much  oppressed  country  was  relieved 
from  the  presence  of  the  Duke  of  Alva,  who,  returning  home 
accompanied  by  his  son,  made  the  infamous  boast  that  during 
the  course  of  six  years,  besides  the  multitudes  destroyed 
in  battle  and  massacred  after  victory,  he  had  consigned 
18,000  persons  to  the  executioner.  (For  further  details  of 
his  administration  in  the  Netherlands,  see  Holland.) 

On  his  return  he  was  treated  for  some  time  with  great 
distinction  by  Philip.  A  tardy  and  imperfect  justice,  how- 
ever, overtook  him,  when  he  was  banished  from  court  and 
confined  in  the  castle  of  Uzeda  for  complicity  in  certain 
disgraceful  conduct  of  his  son.  Here  he  had  remained 
two  years,  when  the  success  of  Don  Antonio  in  assuming 
the  crown  of  Portugal  determined  Philip'o  turn  his  eyes 
towards  Alva  as  the  person  in  whose  fidelity  and  abilities  he 
could  most  confide.  A  secretary  was  instantly  despatched 
to  Alva  to  ascertain  whether  his  health  was  sufficiently 
vigorous  to  enable  him  to  undertake  the  command  of  an 
army.  The  aged  chief  returned  an  answer  full  of  loyal 
zeal,  and  was  immediately  appointed  to  the  supreme  com- 
mand in  Portugal.  It  is  a  striking  fact,  however,  that  the 
liberation  and  elevation  of  Alva  were  .not  followed  by 
forgiveness.  In  1581  Alva  eutered  Portugal,  defeated 
Antonio,  drove  him  from  the  kingdom,  and  soon  reduced 
the  whole  under  the  subjection  of  Philip.  Entering  Lisbon, 
he  seized  an  immense  treasure,  and  suffered  his  soldiers, 
with  their  accustomed  violence  and  rapacity,  to  sack  the 
suburbs  and  vicinity.  It  is  reported  that  Alva,  being 
requested  to  give  an  account  of  the  money  expended  on 
that  occasion,  sternly  replied,  "  U  the  king  asks  mo  for  an 
account,  I  will  make  him  a  statement  of  kingdoms  pre- 
served or  conquered,  of  signal  victories,  of  successful  sieges, 
and  of  sixty  years'  service."  Philip  deemed  it  proper  to 
make  no  further  inquiries.  Alva,  however,  did  not  enjoy 
the  honours  and  rewards  of  his  last  expedition,  for  he  died 
in  January  1583,  at  the  age  of  74. 

ALVARADO,  Pedeo  de,  one  of  the  Spanish  leaders  in 
the  discovery  and  conquest  of  America,  was  born  at  Badajoz 
about  1495.  He  held  a  command  in  the  expedition  sent 
from  Cuba  against  Yucatan  in  the  spring  of  1518,  and 
returned  in  a  few  months,  bearing  reports  of  tHe  wealth 
and  splendour  of  Montezuma's-empire.  In  February  1519 
he  accompanied  Hernando  Cortez  in  the  expedition  for  the 
conquest  of  Mexico,  being  appointed  to  the  command  of 
one  of  the  eleven  vessels  of  the  fleet.  (For  the  details  of 
this  expedition  and  of  Hernando's  share  in  it,  see  Cobtez 
and  Mexico.)  He  was  engaged  (1523—4)  in  the  conquest 
of  Guatemala,  of  which  he  was  subsequently  appointed 
governor  by  Charles  V.  In  1534  he  attempted  to  bring 
the  province  'of  Quito  under  his  power,  but  had  to  content 
himself  with  the  exaction  of  a  pecuniary  indemnity  for  the 
expenses  of  the  expedition.  During  a  visit  to  Spain,  three 
years  later)  he  had  the  governorship  of  Honduras  conferred 
upon  him  in  addition  to  that  of  Guatemala.  He  died  in 
Guatemala  in  1541. 

ALVAREZ,  Francisco,  born  at  Coimbra  alter  1460,  a 


A  L  V  — A  L  Y 


649 


priest  and  almoner  to  Dom  Manuel,  king  of  Portugal,  was 
eent  in  1515  as  secretary  to  Duarte  Galvao,  on  an  embassy 
to  David,  king  of  Abyssinia.  The  expedition  having  been 
delayed  by  the  way,  it  was  not  until  1520  that  he  reached 
Abyssinia,  where  he  remained  six  years,  returning  to  Lisbon 
in  1527.  In  1533  he  was  sent  to  Rome  on  an  embassy 
to  Pope  Clement  VTL  The  precise  date  of  his  death,  like 
that  of  his  birth,  is  unknown;  but  it  must  have  been  later 
than  1540,  in  which  year  he  published  at  Lisbon,  under 
the  king's  patronage,  an  account  of  his  travels,  in  one 
volume  folio,  entitled  Verdadeira  Informacam  do  Preste 
Joas  das  ludias.  This  curious  work  was  translated  in 
Latin,  under  the  title  of  De  Fide,  Regime,  et  Moribus 
jEthiopum,  by  Damien  Goez,  a  Portuguese  gentleman;  and 
has  often  been  reprinted  and  translated  intj  other  lan- 
guages. The  information  it  contains  must,  however,  be 
received  with  caution,  as  the  author  is  prone  to  exaggerate, 
and  does  not  confine  himself  to  what  came  within  his  own 
observation. 

ALVAREZ,  Don  Jos£,  the  foremost  Spanish  sculptor  of 
modern  times,  was  born  at  Priego,  in  the  province  of 
Cordova,  in  1768,  and  died  at  Madrid  in  1827.  Bred  to 
his  father's  trade  of  a  stone-mason,  he  devoted  all  his 
spare  time  to  drawing  and  modelling.  In  his  twentieth 
year  he  became  a  pupil  of  the  Academy  of  Granada.  A 
work  he  executed  soon  afterwards  for  a  fountain  in  hi3 
native  town  attracted  the  notice  of  the  Bishop  of  Cordova, 
who  took  the  young  artist  into  his  house  and  maintained 
him  for  several  years.  In  1799  he  obtained  from  Charles 
IV.  a  pension  of  12,000  reals,  to  enable  him  to  visit  Paris 
and  Rome.  In  the  former  city  he  executed,  in  1804,  a 
statue  of  Ganymede,  which  placed  him  at  once  in  the  front 
rank  of  sculptors.  Shortly  afterwards  his  pension  was 
more  than  doubled,  and  he  left  Paris  for  Rome,  where  he 
remained  till  within  a  year  of  his  death.  The  most  im- 
portant of  his  numerous  works,  executed  during  this  period, 
was  a  group  representing  Antilochus  and  Memnon,  which 
was  commissioned  in  marble  (1818)  by  Ferdinand  VIL, 
and  secured  for  the  artist  the  appointment  of  court  sculptor. 
It  is  now  in  the  Museum  of  Madrid.  Alvarez  modelled  a 
few  portrait  busts  (Ferdinand  VH.,  Rossini,  .the  Duchess 
of  Alba),  which  are  remarkable  for  their  vigour  and  fidelity. 

ALVAREZ,  Don  Manuel,  a  Spanish  sculptor,  was  born 
at  Salamanca  in  1727,  and  died  in  1797.  He  followed 
classical  models  so  closely  that  he  was  styled  by  his 
countrymen  El  Griego,  "  The  Greek"  His  works,  which 
are  very  numerous,  are  chiefly  to  be  found  at  Madrid. 

ALWAR,  a  semi-independent  state  of  Rajputana,  and 
under  the  control  of  the  Governor-General's  agent  for 
Rajputana,  lies  between  28°  13'  25"  and  27°  14'  34"  N. 
lat,  and  between  77°  15'  35"  and  76°  14'  10"  E.  long. 
It  is  bounded  on  the  E.  by  the  state  of  Bhartpur  and 
the  British  district  of  Gurgaon,  on  the  N.  by  Gurgaon 
district  and  the  states  of  PatialA  and  NabhA,  on  the  W. 
by  the  states  of  Nabhd  and  Jaipur,  and  on  the  S.  by 
the  states  of  Jaipur  and  Bhartpur.  Its  configuration  is 
irregular,  the  greatest  length  from  north  to  south  being 
about  80  miles,  and  breadth  from  east  to  west  about  60 
miles,  with  a  total  area  of  about  3000  square  miles.  The 
total  population  of  the  state,  as  ascertained  by  a  census 
taken  in  1872,  was  778,596,  consisting  of  598,333  Hindus, 
180,225  Mahometans,  and  38  Christians.  The  number 
of  males  was  returned  at  418,723,  and  females  at  359,873, 
the  proportion  of  males  to  the  total  population  being  53'76 
per  cent.  The  eastern  portion  of  the  state  is  open  and 
highly  cultivated ;  the  western  is  diversified  by  bills  and 
peaks,  which  form  a  continuation  of  the  Aravalli  range, 
from  12  to  20  miles  in  breadth.  These  hills  run  in  rocky 
and  precipitous  parallel  ridges,  in  some  places  upwards  of 
2200  feet  in  height.     The  Sabhi  river  flows  through  the 

"] 22* 


north-western  part  of  the  state,  the  only  other  stream  of 
importance  being  the  Ruparel,  which  rises  in  the  Alwar 
hills,  and  flows  through  the  state  into  the  Bhartpur  terri- 
tory. 

The  one  attempt  at  road-making  in  the  state  is  a  line  which  con- 
nects the  chief  town,  Alwar,  with  Bajghar  on  the  one  side  and  with 
Tijari  on  the  other.  The  greater  portion  of  this  road  was  metalled 
during  the  minority  of  the  present  raja,  but  it  has  been  neglected 
since  he  took  the  management  of  the  state  into  his  own  hands,  and 
is  now  said  to  be  almost  impassable,  and  worse  than  the  ordinary 
cart  tracks.  The  earthwork  for  a  road  from  Alwar  to  the  Bhartpur 
border  was  thrown  up,  but  it  has  never  been  metalled,  and  the  fine 
is  not  used  for  traffic.  The  Alwar  hills  are  rich  in  minerals.  Iron 
ore  is  found  in  large  quantities  close  to  the  surface.  Thirty  smelting 
furnaces  are  kept  at  work,  and  are  capable  of  turning  out  390  tons 
a-year.  They  give  employment  to  a  large  number  of  people.  Two 
copper  mines  have  been  in  operation  for  a  number  of  years,  but  with 
doubtful  advantage  to  the  state.  Silver,  lead,  and  sulphur  are  also 
found  in  small  quantities,  and  attempts  have  been  made  to  work 
them,  but  without  success.  The  principal  agricultural  products  are 
wheat  and  barley  during  the  cold  weather,  with  grain  to  a  less 
extent.  Joar,  bajra,  and  Indian  com  are  raised  during  the  rains. 
Cotton  is  extensively  cultivated,  and  exported  on  a  considerable 
scale.  A  ten  yeare'  land  settlement,  which  was  formed  by  a  lata 
political  resident,  is  now  expiring,  and  a  fresh  settlement  for  a 
longer  term  is  being  made.  The  revenue  of  the  state  has  for  some 
time  been  in  an  unsatisfactory  state.  When  the  raja  attained  his 
majority,  and  was  invested  with  the  full  administration  of  his  terri- 
tory in  1863,  the  treasury  contained  a  surplus  of  £205,000.  Within 
seven  years  this  surplus  had  dwindled  away,  and  debts  to  the  extent 
of  £160,000  accumulated.  Under  these  circumstances,  the  govern- 
ment found  it  necessary  to  place  the  administration  of  the  state  in 
the  hands  of  the  political  resident,  assisted  by  a  council  of  manage- 
ment consisting  of  five  of  the  principal  chiefs  and  native  gentlemen 
of  the  state.  In  1870-71,  the  first  year  under  the  new  management, 
the  revenue  of  the  state  amounted  to  £213,085,  and  the  expenditure 
to  £135,201,  leaving  a  surplus  of  £77,884,  part  of  which  was  devoted 
to  the  liquidation  of  the  state  debt,  the  remainder  being  "kept  as  s 
working  balance.  An  allowance  of  £18,000  a-year  is  made  for  the 
household  expenses  of  the  raja,  besides  an  establishment  of  horses, 
carriages,  and  elephants  maintained  for  his  use.  The  educational 
institutions  consist  of  a  high  school,  attended  in  1871-72  by  382 
students  ;  a  Thakur  school,  for  the  education  of  the  sons  of  chiefs 
and  native  gentlemen,  and  attended  by  51  pupils  ;  and  sixty  other 
schools,  containing  a  total  of  2785  pupils.  Seven  towns  in  the 
state  are  returned  as  containing  a  population  of  upwards  of  5000 
souls— namely,  Alwar,  52,357;  KAjghar,  12,070;  Tijara,  7382; 
Govindgarh,  5720  ;  Ramgarb,  5581  ;  Eampur,  5381 ;  and  Bahror, 
5213.  The  only  municipality  is  the  town  of  Alwar.  It  derives  its 
municipal  revenue  from  a  tax  of  1  per  cent  on  the  supposed  income 
of  the  owners  of  houses.  This  tax  yields  about  £800  per  annum, 
out  of  which,  with  some  assistance  from  the  state,  the  city  police, 
conservancy  establishment,  &c,  are  paid. 

ALYPIUS,  one  of  the  seven  Greek  writers  on  music 
whose  works  are  collected  and  published,  with  a  com- 
mentary and  explanatory  notes,  by  Meibomius  (Antiques 
Musicce  Audores  Septem,  Amstel.,  1652).  The  time  in 
which  he  flourished  cannot  be  precisely  ascertained.  He 
is  said  to  have  written  before  Euclid  and  Ptolemy;  and 
Cassiodorus  arranges  his  work,  entitled  Introduction  to 
Music,  between  those  of  Nicomachus  and  Gaudentius. 
The  work  consists  solely  of  a  list  of  symbols  of  the  various 
scales  and  modes,  and  is  therefore  probably  only  a  fragment 

ALYPIUS  of  Antioch,  a  geographer  of  the  4th  century, 
who  was  sent  by  the  Emperor  Julian  into  Britain  as  prefect, 
and  was  afterwards  commissioned  to  rebuild  the  temple  of 
Jerusalem.  Amo;.g  the  letters  of  Julian  are  two  (29  and 
30)  addressed  to  Alypius;  one  inviting  him  to  Rome,  the 
other  thanking  hiiu.  for  a  geographical  treatise,  which  no 
longer  exists. 

ALYTH,  a  town  on  the  eastern  borders  of  Perthshire, 
in  a  parish  of  the  same  name,  situated  in  the  valley  of 
Strathmore,  1 3  miles  west  of  Forfar.  It  is  tolerably  well 
built,  and  contains  a  handsome  parish  church,  and  also 
Free,  United  Presbyterian,  and  Scottish  Episcopal  churches. 
The  chief  industrial  employments  are  linen  manufacturing 
and  wool  spinning,  and  there  is  a  fair  nearly  every  month. 
Alyth  was  created  a  burgh  of  barony  by  -James  IIL 
Population  in  1871,  2134. 


650 


A  M  A  —  A  M  A 


AMADEUS  V.,  surnamed  tho  Great,  Count  of  Savoy, 
was  born  at  Bourget  in  1249,  and  succeeded  his  uncle 
Philip  in  1285.  The  cautious  prudence  of  Amadeus 
enabled  him  greatly  to  incrcaso  his  territory  by  means  of 
marriage,  purchase,  and  donations.  He  gradually  rose  to 
such  eminence  among  the  European  powers,  that  he  was 
constituted  their  umpire  to  settlo  their  differences — an 
office  which  he  performed  with  much  reputation  to  himself 
and  advantago  to  them.  In  1310  he  was  created  a  prince 
of  the  empire  by  Henry  VII.  When  the  Turks  attempted 
to  retake  Ehodes  from  the  knights  of  St  John  of  Jerusalem, 
he  acquired  great  renown  by  tho  valour  with  which  he  led  an 
expedition  to  the  relief  of  the  island.  A  Maltese  cross  with 
the  letters  F.E.R.T.  (Fortifudo  ejus  Jihodum  tenuit),  it  is 
said,  becamo  tho  arms  of  Amadeus  and  his  successors,  in 
memory  of  this  victory.  Amadeus  undertook  a  journey  to 
Avignon  to  persuade  Pope  John  XXIL  to  preach  a  crusade 
in  favour  of  Andronicus.     He  died  there  in  the  year  1323. 

AMADEUS  VIIL,  Count  and  first  Duke  of  Savoy,  and 
latterly  pope  or  anti-pope,  under  the  name  of  Felix  V.,  was 
born  at  Chambery  in  1383,  and  succeeded  his  father, 
Amadeus  VII.,  in  1391.  Having,  by  purchase  or  other- 
wise, added  large  territories  to  his  patrimonial  possessions, 
he  became  so  powerful  that  tho  Emperor  Sigismund  erected 
Savoy,  into  a  duchy  in  1416;  and  after  his  elevation 
Amadeus  added  Piedmont  and  other  provinces  to  his 
dominions.  After  this  increase  of  rank  and  of  territory 
he  suddenly,  in  1434,  retired  to  a  monastery  at  Ripaille. 
He  does  not  appear,  however,  to  have  resigned  his  duchy, 
but  continued  to  administer  it  through  his  son  Louis.  It 
is  said,  too,  although  some  historians  have  cast  doubts 
upon  the  story,  that,  instead  of  leading  a  life  of  asceticism, 
he  spent  much  of  the  ducal  revenues  in  furthering  his  own 
luxury  and  enjoyment.  In  1439,  when  the  pope,  Eugenius 
IV,  was  deposed  by  the  council  at  Basle,  Amadeus,  although 
not  in  orders,  was  elected,  through  bribery  some  say,  his 
successor;  and  after  resigning  his  duchy,  was  crowned  in 
the  following  year  as  Felix  V.  In  the  stormy  conflict  that 
followed,  the  Emperor  Frederick  sided  with  Eugenius,  and 
the  nations  of  Europe,  except  Germany,  which  remained 
neutral,  declared  for  the  one  pope  or  the  other.  In  1449 
Amadeus  thought  it  prudent  to  renounce  his  claim  to  tho 
pontificate  in  favour  of  Nicholas  V.,  who  had  been  elected 
on  the  death  of  Eugenius.  He,  however,  induced  Nicholas 
to  annul  all  the  acts  of  Eugenius;  to  confirm  the  determi- 
nation of  the  council  of  Basle  to  appoint  him  perpetual 
apostolical  legate  in  Savoy,  Piedmont,  and  the  other  places 
of  his  own  dominions;  and  even  to  confer  on  him  the 
bishoprics  of  Basle,  Lausanne,  Strasburg,  and  Constance. 
It  was  also  conceded  to  Amadeus  that  he  should  continue  to 
wear  the  pontifical  dress,  except  in  a  very  few  particulars; 
that  he  should  not  bo  obliged  to  go  to  Rome  to  attend  any 
general  council;  and  that  he,  instead  of  kissing  the  pope's 
toe,  should  be  permitted  to  kiss  his  cheek.  Amadeus  died 
at  Geneva  in  1451. 

AMADIS  OF  GAUL.  The  best  edition  for  English 
readers  of  this  famous  work  is  to  be  found  in  the  abridged 
translation  of  Southey,  and  the  best  account  of  it  is  to  bo 
found  in  his  preface,  which,  however,  is  not  void  of  error. 
Here,  for  example,  is  its  final  sentence : — "Amadis  of  Gaul 
is  among  proso  what  Orlando  Furioso  is  among  metrical 
romances — not  the  oldest  of  its  kind,  but  the  best."  We, 
of  course,  in  England  would  place  the  Morte  a" Arthur 
above  all  romances  of  the  kind;  and  the  praise  that  we 
allow  to  Amadis  of  Gaul  is  precisely  that  which  Cervantes 
bestows  upon  it — of  being  the  earliest  and  best  of  the 
Spanish  romances.  When  the  licentiate  and  the  barber 
burnt  the  library  of  Don  Quixote,  they  spared  from  the 
flames  only  three  romances— Amadis  of  Gaul,  Palmerin  of 
England,  and  Tirante  the  White.     "I  have  heard."  said 


the  licentiate,  "  that  Amadis  of  Gaul  was  tho  first  book  of 
chivalry  printed  in  Spain,  and  that  all  the  rest  sprung 
from  it;  I  think,  therefore,  as  head  of  so  pernicious  a  sect, 
we  ought  to  condemn  hiin  to  the  fire  without  mercy-' 
"  Not  so,  sir,"  said  the  barber,  "  for  I  have  hoard  also  that 
it  i3  the  best  of  all  the  books  of  this  kind ;  and  therefore — 
as  being  unequalled  in  its  way — it  ought  to  bo  spared." 
"  You  are  right,"  said  tho  priest,  "  and  for  that  reason  its 
life  is  granted."  Although  Cervantes  speaks  of  tho  romance 
83  a  Spanish  one,  and  although  Southey  translated  it  from 
the  oldest  extant  edition,  which  is  also  Spanish,  it  is  cur- 
rently supposed  to  have  been  originally  written  in  Portu- 
guese by  Vasco  Lobeira,  himself  a  good  knight,  who  re- 
ceived his  spurs  on  the  field  of  battle  from  King  Joam,  and 
who  died  in  1 403.  Tho  work,  however,  has  been  claimed 
as  of  French  origin  by  the  Comto  do  Tressan.  Southey 
ridicules  this  theory,  and  insists  upon  tho  claims  of  the 
Portuguese  author.  It  is  quite  certain  that  the  Comte  de 
Tressan  attempted  to  prove  too  much;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  Southey  has  not  allowed  weight  enough  to  the  fact 
that  the  Amadis  of  Gaul  is  but  the  first  work  of  romanco 
which  appeared  in  the  Portuguese  and  Castilian  languages ; 
that  it  was  preceded  for  moro  than  a  century  by  other 
romances  of  Anglo-Norman  origin ;  and  that,  if  not  in  its 
names  and  personages,  yet  in  its  idea — in  the  character  of 
its  incidents  and  in  much  of  its  geography — it  belongs  to 
tho  world  of  Anglo-Norman  romance.  What  though  we 
cannot  lay  our  hands  on  the  French  original  from  which 
Lobeira  translated,  any  more  than  we  can  lay  our  hands  on 
Lobeira's  own  work  from  which  the  Castilian  version  has 
been  made,  we  still  know  that  all  the  ideas  and  materials, 
all  the  design,  all  the  machinery  of  Amadis  of  Gaul,  belong 
to  the  Anglo-Norman  cycle  of  romance  which  was  in  vogue 
before  Lobeira  was  born.  And  in  this  creed  we  cheat  him 
of  nothing  when  we  say  that  we  know  not  to  what  extent 
he  is  entitled  to  the  praise  of  originality.  Knowing  what 
we  do  of  these  romances,  it  is  not  enough  to  say,  for  tho 
establishment  of  Lobeira's  claims,  that  we  cannot  trace  the 
Amadis  of  Gaul  to  any  one  before  him.  Expressions  of 
his  own  throughout  his  work  show  that  if  ho  was  not  a 
literal  translator,  he  was  at  least  a  borrower.  Thu3,  towards 
the  end  of  his  third  chapter  he  writes — "  Tho  author 
ceaseth  to  speak  of  this,  and  rcturncth  to  tho  child  whom 
Gandales  brought  up."  The  Spanish  translator,  Montalus, 
confesses  to  have  taken  liberties  with  the  Portuguese  version 
from  which  he  worked,  altering,  adding,  and  abridging. 
The  Comte  de  Tressan  maintains  that  the  original  French 
work  must  have  ended  with  the  third  book  and  the  rescuo 
of  Oriana;  and  that  from  this  point  we  can  distinctly  trace 
the  work  of  Spanish  hands.  Southey,  again,  thinks  that 
the  work,  as  it  left  the  hands  of  Lobeira,  ended  in  the 
fourth  book  with  the  marriage  of  Amadis  and  Oriana",  and 
that  all  which  follows  is  due  to  the  tasteless  accretions  of 
Montalus.  Although  this  is  mere  conjecture,  still  it  is 
natural  that  we  should  attach  no  little  force  to  the  correct 
feeling  of  Southey.  For  the  story  itself,  it  is  impossible 
to  give  a  summary  of  it — tho  plot  being  too  discon- 
nected; but  he  who  has  read  one  such  tale,  or  even  a 
few  chapters  of  one,  may  have  a  general  impression  of  all — 
hacking  and  hewing  in  every  page,  knights  always  at  war 
and  seeking  adventures,  giants  in  the  path,  b'ons  in  tho 
forest,  damsels  in  durance,  castles  to  be  attacked,  wizards 
and  witches  with  hate  in  their  hearts,  kings  everywhere 
plentiful  as  blackberries,  and  lovely  ladies  abounding  in 
tenderness.  The  sentiment  of  the  work  is  very  noble,  and 
some  of  tho  descriptions  are  full  of  fire;  but  tho  reader 
owes  more  than  he  is  aware  to  the  curtailments  of  Southey. 
AMADOU  (Polyporus  fomentarius),  a  fungus  that  grows 
upon  old  trees,  especially  the  oak,  ash,  fir,  and  cherry.  When 
beaten  soft  it  is  used  as  a  styptic  for  slight  hemorrhage. 


A  M  A  — A  M  A 


651 


^  das  material  for  surgical  pads.  After  being  boiled  in  a 
aonition  of  nitre  it  is  employed  as  tinder. 

AMAGER,  or  Amak,  a  small  island  belonging  to  Den- 
mark, lying  in  the  Sound,  close  to  the  east  coast  of  See- 
land.  The  channel  which  separates  its  northern  extremity 
from  Seeland  forms  the  harbour  of  Copenhagen ;  and 
nearly  the  third  part  of  that  city,  the  suburb  of  Christians- 
hafen,  is  situated  in  Amager.  The  island  is  about  9  miles 
long  and  4  broad,  with  a  fertile  soil,  which  produces  large 
quantities  of  vegetables  for  the  Copenhagen  market.  It  is 
peopled  chiefly  by  the  descendants  of  a  Dutch  colony 
which  Christian  U.  brought  there  in  1516,  who  still 
retain  many  of  the  old  peculiarities  of  dress,  language,  and 
manners.  Population  about  9000,  exclusive  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Christianshafen.  The  other  towns  are  Dragoe  and 
Castrup. 

AMALASONTHA,  or  Amalasuentha,  daughter  of 
Theodoric,  king  of  the  Ostrogoths,  was  born  about  498 
A.D.  In  515  she  married  Eutharic,  the  last  representative 
of  the  Amali  family,  who  died  (524-5),  leaving  an  only 
son,  Athalaric.  The  latter  was  designated  by  his  grand- 
father Theodoric  as  the  heir  to  the  throne,  and  Aruala- 
eontha  was  appointed  his  guardian.  On  the  death  of 
Theodoric  in  526,  Amalasontha  became  regent,  and  en- 
deavoured by  a  wise  and  vigorous  aclministration  to  carry 
on  the  work  of  crvilisation  and  enlightenment  which  her 
father  had  commenced.  She  devoted  herself  with  special 
solicitude  to  the  education  of  Athalaric,  but  her  efforts 
were  frustrated  by  the  opposition  of  the  Gothic  nobles. 
Encouraged  by  them,  the  young  heir  to  the  throne  threw 
off  the  restraints  imposed  by  his  mother,  plunged  into 
debauchery,  and  died  at  the  age  of  sixteen  (534).  In  the 
same  year  Amalasontha  married  her  cousin  Theodahadus, 
and  made  him  co-regent  with  herself.  A  few  months  later 
(April  535)  she  was  assassinated  by  order  of  her  husband 
in  an  island  on  Lake  Bolsena. 

AMALEKITES,  an  ancient  people,  widely  spread 
throughout  the  country  lying  on  the  south  and  east  of 
Palestine,  often  mentioned  in  the  Jewish  Scriptures,  and 
celebrated  also  in  Arabian  tradition.  In  Scripture  they 
occur  first  in  Gen.  xiv.  7,  occupying  the  territory  around 
Kadesh,  and  suffering  from  the  invasion  of  Chedorlaomer 
and  his  confederates.  They  appear  next  assaulting  the 
Israelites,  shortly  after  the  exodus  from  Egypt,  at  Rephidim, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mount  Sinai  (Ex.  xvii.  8 ;  cf. 
Oeut.  xxv.  17).  They  again  occur  falling  upon  a  party 
of  the  Israelites  on  the  southern  verge  of  the  promised 
land  (Num.  xiv.  45 ;  cf.  xiii.  29).  In  the  time  of  the 
judges  they  are  found  associated  with  the  Moabites,  the 
Ammonites,  the  Midianites,  and  "  the  children  of  the 
east,"  in  repeated  attacks  upon  the  Israelites,  invading 
their  territory  from  the  eastern  side  of  Jordan  (Judges  iii 
13;  vi.  3).  SauL  by  divine  command,  led  an  expedition 
into  the  country  of  Amalek,  waging  against  them  an 
exterminating  war,  "  smiting  them  from  Havilah  until 
thou  comest  to  Shur,  that  is  over  against  Egypt"  (1  Sam. 
xv.  1).  David  also  "  invaded  the  Geshurites,  and  the 
Gezrites,  and  the  Amalekites ;  for  these  nations  were  of 
old  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  as  thou  goest  to  Shur, 
even  unto  the  land  of  Egypt"  (1  Sam.  xxvii.  8).  The 
last  notice  occurs  in  1  Chron.  iv.  43,  from  which  we 
learn  that  in  the  days  of  Hezekiah  a  body  of  Simeonites 
"  went  to  mount  Seir  "  and  "  smote  the  rest  of  the  Ama- 
lekites that  were  escaped  ; "  a  notice  showing  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  doom  of  extermination  which  had  been 
denounced  against  them  (Ex  xvii  14-16  ;  Num.  xxv.  20), 
and  finding  an  echo  in  the  words  of  an  Arabian  poet,  "The 
race  of  Amlak  has  disappeared,  and  there  is  left  of  it 
neither  mean  man  nor  mighty"  (Macoudi,  Les  Prairies 
d'Qr,  par  Meynard  et  Courteille,  vol  iii.  104).     We  twice 


hear  of  Agag  as  the  name  of  the  king  of  the  nation  (Num. 
xxiv.  7  j  1  Sam.  xv.  8);  and  it  is  reasonably  supposed 
that  this,  like  Pharaoh  in*  Egypt,  was  a  name  common  to 
all  their  kings.  It  has  been  generally  supposed  that  the 
Haman  of  the  book  of  Esther,  called  "  the  Agagite,"  be- 
longed to  the  royal  line  of  the  Amalekites;  but  it  is  now 
found,  from  Assyrian  records,  that  Agagi  was  the  name  of  a 
country  east  of  Assyria,  from  which  it  may  be  assumed  that 
the  title  was  derived.     See  Lenormant,  Lettres  Ass.  i.  45. 

Josephus  agrees  with  Scripture  in  assigning  to  the  Ama- 
lekites the  territory  immediately  to  the  south  of  Palestine. 
Thus  he  speaks  of  them  as  inhabiting  "  Gobolitis  and 
Petra"  (Gobolitis  =  Gebal,  in  Ps.  lTTnriii.  7;  cf.  Eeland, 
Palcestina,  p.  71) ;  and  as  reaching  "from  Pelusium  to  the 
Red  Sea"  (Ant.  Jud.  iii.  2,  1 ;  vi.  7,  3 ;  cf.  ii.  1,  2). 
The  country  which  they  are  thus  represented  as  occupying 
is  suited  only  to  a  nomadic  population ;  and  accordingly 
the  indications  of  the  Scripture  narrative  point  to  this  as 
the  general  character  of  the  Amalekite  people.  They 
appear  as  the  Bedouins  of  ancient  times,  rapid  and  de- 
vastating in  their  movements  (1  Sam.  xxx.  1);  and  in 
their  expeditions  "  coming  up  with  their  cattle  and  their 
tents "  (Jud.  vi.  5).  At  the  same  time,  in  the  mero 
fertile  portions  of  their  territory  they  doubtless  had  settled 
abodes.  We  read  in  1  Sam.  xv.  5  of  "a  city  of  Amalek;" 
and  Josephus  speaks,  apparently  in  an  exaggerated  way, 
of  their  cities  being  captured  by  means  of  elaborate  siege 
operations  (Ant.  Jud.  vi.  7,  2). 

The  ethnical  character  and  relation  of  this  people,  and  their  com- 
plete national  history,  it  is  impossible  satisfactorily  to  make  out 
from  the  fragmentary  materials  in  our  hands.  They  are  not  men- 
tioned in  the  table  of  nations  in  Gen.  x.,  while  in  Gen.  xxxvi.  12, 
16,  their  ancestry  seems  to  be  referred  to  Esau.  At  the  same  time, 
the  existence  of  the  nation  is  noticed  in  Gen  xiv.,  long  before  Esau  ; 
and  it  seems  unnatural  to  understand  this,  with  Hengstenberg  and 
others,  in  a  proleptic  sense,  especially  as  there  are  other  independent 
grounds  for  referring  the  beginning  of  their  history  to  an  earlier 
date.  It  is  certain  that  the  genealogical  tables  of  Scripture,  like 
those  of  Arabia,  include  cases  of  adoption  or  affiliation  as  well  aa 
of  direct  descent,  and  probably  it  is  in  this  sense  that  the  notica 
referring  Amalek  to  Esau  should  be  understood.  In  Balaam's  pro* 
phecy  Amalek  i3  called  "the  first  of  nations"  (B,'u  R,P!f?,  praestan. 
tissima  gentium,  Gesenius),  Num.  xxiv.  20,  an  expression  scarcely 
reconcilable  in  the  circumstances  with  descent  from  Jacob's  brother. 
Again,  though  found  in  Jewish  scripture  located  in  the  immediate 
south  and  east  of  the  Israelitish  territory,  yet  there  are  indications 
in  Scripture  itself  that  at  one  time  they  had  had  a  wider  extension. 
"  The  mount  of  the  Amalekites  "  is  mentioned  as  situated  in  "  the 
land  of  Ephraim  "  (Jud.  xii.  15),  apparently  warranting  the  infer- 
enca  that  they  once  held  possessions  on  the  west  of  the  Jordan  (see 
Stanley,  Sin.  and  Pal.,  p.  237,  n.)  "Amalek"  also  is  found  in 
some  copies  of  the  LXX.,  as  the  translation  of  Maacah,  in  2  Sam.  x. 
6,  8,  giving  some  ground  for  the  belief  *hat  a  section  of  the  same 
race  had  once  been  settled  on  tie  no~th-east  of  Palestine  (see 
Ewald,  Gesch.  Israel's,  Bd.  I.  335).  Tl  ere  is  little  in  the  Bible  to 
illustrate  their  linguistic  affinity  ;  but  so  far  as  appears  their 
language  was  Shemitic,  identical  with  or  very  closely  allied  to  the 
Hebrew.  Samuel  and  the  captive  Agag  (1  Sam.  xv.  32K  and  David 
and  the  Amalekite  youth  (2  Sam.  i.  13)  converse  together;  and  it 
has  been  attempted  also  to  explain  the  names  Amalek  and  Agag 
by  Shemitic  analogies  (Meier,  Zcitschrifl  d.  morg.  Qes.,  Bd. 'xvii. 
p.  577).  By  Philo  ( Vita  Mosis,  §  39)  th»  Amalekites  of  the  Sinaitio 
peninsula  are  called  Phoenicians.  ' 

The  traditions  of  the  Arabians  regarding  this  race  are  oonfused 
and  conflicting,  yet  certainly  are  not  to  be  summarily  rejected  as 
destitute  of  any  claim  to  historic  credibility ;  and  with  all  their 
entanglement  they  speak  strongly  for  the  ancient  and  far-extended 
power  of  the  people  in  question,  and  also  more  doubtfully  for  their 
Shemitic  affinities.  In  these  traditions,  Amlak  or  Amlik,  the  father 
of  the  Amalekites,  is  represented  sometimes  as  the  son  of  Laud  (i.e., 
Lud),  tho  son  of  Shem  ;  sometimes  as  the  son  of  Aram,  the  son  of 
Laud ;  while  sometimes  also  he  is  spoken  of  as  a  son  of  Ham. 
They  belong,  with  the  Adites,  Thamudites,  and  others,  to  the 
primitive  races  of  Arabia.  They  ars  said  to  have  been  expelled 
from  Babylonia  by  the  Assyrian  conquerors,  and  driven  westward 
into  Arabia  and  Syria,  to  have  built  and  reigned  in  Aleppo,  to  have 
conquered  and  for  some  centuries  retained  possession  of  Egypt,  and  to 
bo  the  ancestors  of  the  Berbers  in  North  Africa  (see  Abuifeda,  Hist. 
Anie-Isl,  pp.   16.  17S  ;  Macoudi,  ej>.  tit.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  106  ;  C.  do 


652 


A  M  A  —  A  M  A 


Perceval,  Hist,  des  Arabcs,  vol.  i.,  p.  18)  ;  Knobcl,  Volkertafel, 
p.  198;  Sloven).  Pltonizier,  2ter  Th.,  Bd.  ii.,  p.  422).  With 
these  Arabian  accounts  it  is  natural  to  bring  into  connection  the 
irrated  by  llanetho,  and  now  in  substance  ascertained  from 
old  Egyptian  records,  regarding  the  conquest  of  the  Nile  valley  by 
an  Arabian  race,  called  Iiycsos  by  the  former,  and  ilenti,  or  shep- 
liordfl,  iu  the  latter  (see  Bunsen,  Egypt*  Place,  vol.  iii.,  p.  266; 
■h,  Hist.  d'Ki]>jptc,  vol.  i.,  p.  75;  Chabas,  Les  Pasteurs  en 
Egtjpte,  p.  9)  Now,  from  the  time  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty, 
northern  Arabia  is  found  in  Egyptian  monuments  to  bo  in  posses- 
sion of  a  people  called  Shasu,  a  name  which  Egyptologers  generally 
compare  with  the  second  syllable  of  Hyesos,  and  wluch  also,  per- 
haps, corresponds  with  Zuziin  of  Gen.  xiv.  5.  These  Shasu  may 
with  confidence  be  identified  with  the  Amahkites  of  Scripture  ; 
their  locale  and  their  habits  'are  the  same  ;  and  of  them  we  learn 
that  "  they  were  Bpread  over  a  vast  territory,  quite  like  the  wander- 
ing Arabs  of  our  day.  They  are  found  near  Djor,  on  the  north- 
east frontier  of  Egypt,  as  well  as  in  the  defiles  of  Lebanon,  where 
their  depredations  made  themselves  felt  fourteen  centuries  before 
our  era  (Chabas,  Eludes  sur  V  Antiquiti  Historique,  p.  114;  cf. 
his  Voyage  dun  Egyplien,  p.  111).  "They  wear  short  tunics,  a 
turban  like  head-dress,  and  are  armed  with  spears  and  axes.  A 
characteristic  feature  is  the  long  beard,  as  among  the  Canaanitish 
nations"  (Brugsch,  Ocog.  Inschrijlen,  lid.  ii.  53). 

The  notices  occurring  in  Arabian  writers,  which  speak  of  Amalck- 
ites  as  spread  over  various  more  southern  portions  of  Arabia,  may 
probably  be  referred  to  the  period  subsequent  to  their  expulsion 
liom  their  northern  seats  by  the  Israelites  and  other  enemies.  The 
liouu-Kerker,  who  dwell  around  Mecca,  are  by  some  referred  to  this 
stock  ;  the  same  is  true  of  the  Benu-Amila,  who,  before  migrating 
northwards  into  Syria,  dwelt  in  Yemen.  We  hear  of  Amalekites 
also  iu  "Cheibar,  Jatrib,  and  other  parts  of  Hedjaz"  (Abulfeda, 
op.  cit.,  p.  179) ;  in  regard  to  which  notice  a  certain  degree  of 
confirmation  is  afforded  by  the  mention  by  Piiny  of  an  Arabian 
town,  the  name  of  which  reads  JIarippa  Palmalacum,  but  which 
probably  should  be  read  Jatrippa  Alamalacum,  that  is,  Jatrib  the 
Ainalek'ite  (see  Pliny,  Hist.  Nat.  vi.  32  ;  Blau,  Zcitschrifl  d.  m. 
Oes.,  Bd.  xxii.  668;  cf.  Noldeke,  Ubcrd.  AmalckiUr,  37).  Accord- 
ing to  some  (Tuch,  Blau,  and  others),  the  famous  Sinaitic  inscrip- 
tions, ascertained  to  be  written  in  a  Shemitic  dialect,  are  to  be  ascribed 
to  the  Amalekite  race.  Doubtless  their  authors  dwelt  in  the  country 
once  inhabited  by  this  people,  but  that  they  belonged  to  them, 
and  not  to  some  succeeding  race,  has  not  yet  been  demonstrated. 

From  the  cuneiform  records  we  have  gained  as  yet  no  illustration 
of  this  subject,  unless  the  people  Malikhu,  or  Malaku,  mentioned  in 
the  inscriptions  of  Sennacherib  among  certain  Aramsan  tribes  in- 
habiting the  valley  of  the  Euphrates,  may  be  identified  with 
Amalek  (see  Records  of  the  past,  vol.  i.,  pp.  26,  67). 

AMALFI,  a  town  of  Italy,  in  the  Principato  Citeriore, 
situated  at  the  entrance  of  a  deep  ravine  on  the  north  side 
of  the  Gulf  of  Salerno.  It  was  founded,  according  to  the 
common  account,  under  Constantino  the  Great,  and  was 
one  of  the  first  cities  to  recover  from  the  irruption  of  the 
barbarians  into  Italy.  During  the  10th  and  11th  centuries 
it  was  an  independent  republic  of  gTeat  commercial  im- 
portance, with  a  trade  which  extended  to  Egypt  and  the 
east,  and  a  population  of  50,000.  Its  code  of  maritime 
laws  (Tabula  Amaifitana)  is  said  to  have  regulated  com- 
merce at  one  time  throughout  the  whole  of  Italy,  but  the 
truth  of  this  statement  appears  to  be  extremely  question- 
able. In  1 135  Amalfi  was  plundered  by  the  Pisans,  who  are 
said  to  have  then  discovered  and  carried  off  the  far-famed 
manuscript  of  the  Pandects  of  Justinian,  which  is  now  in  the 
Laurentian  library  at  Florence.  Soon  after  this  the  town 
passed  under  the  dominion  of  Naples,  and  from  that  timo 
rapidly  declined.  In  1343  a  terrible  storm  buried  a  large 
part  of  the  town  under  the  sea,  and  at  the  present  day  it 
is  a  mere  wTeck  of  its  former  greatness.  It  has  only  about 
6500  inhabitants,  whose  chief  employments  are  fishing 
and  the  manufacture  of  macaroni,  silk,  and  paper.  It  is 
still  the  seat  of  an  archbishop,  and  contains  an  ancient 
cathedral  dedicated  to  St  Andrew.  Flavio  Gioja,  to  whom' 
the  invention  of  the  mariner's  compass  has  been  ascribed, 
and  Masaniello  were  born  at  Amalfi. 

AMALGAM,  the  name  given  to  an  alloy  of  mercury  and 
another  metaL  The  amalgams  are  a  very  numerous  class 
of  compounds,  and  many  of  them  are  used  largely  in  the 
arts.  Many  amalgams  are  produced  by  direct  contact  of 
tho  metals,  with  evolution  of  heat.     Others  are  obtained 


by  the  action  of  mercury  on  a  salt  of  the  metal,  or  tho 
action  of  the  metal  on  a  salt  of  mercury,  assisted  by  the 
passage  of  a  weak  electric  current  in  some  cases.  Some 
amalgams  are  solid,  others  liquid.  They  are,  generally 
speaking,  weak  compounds,  many  of  them  being  decom- 
posed by  pressure,  and  all  are  decomposed  at  a  white  heat. 
Tin  amalgam  is  used  for  "  silvering "  mirrors,  gold  and 
silver  amalgam  in  gilding  and  silvering,  cadmium  and 
copper  amalgam  in  dentistry,  and  an  amalgam  of  zinc  and 
tin  for  the  rubbers  of  electrical  machines.  See  Mercury 
and  Chemistry. 

AMALIA,  Anna,  Duchess  of  Saxe- Weimar,  was  born 
at  W<>lfenbiittel  on  the  24th  October  1739,  and  married 
Duke  Ernest  of  Saxe- Weimar  in  1756.  Her  husband  died 
in  1758,  leaving  her  regent  for  their  infant  son.  Karl 
August.  During  the  protracted  minority  she  administered 
the  affairs  of  the  duchy  with  the  greatest  prudence, 
strengthening  its  resources  and  improving  its  position  La 
spite  of  the  troubles  of  the  Seven  Years'  War.  She  was  a 
warm  patroness  of  art  and  literature,  and  attracted  to 
Weimar  many  of  the  most  eminent  men  in  Germany. 
Wieland  was  appointed  tutor  to  her  son ;  and  the  names 
of  Herder,  Goethe,  Knebel,  Bottiger,  Musaeus,  and  Schiil;r 
shed  au  undying  lustre  on  her  court.  In  1775  she  retired 
into  private  life,  her  son  having  attained  his  majority. 
In  1788  she  set  out  on  a  lengthened  tour  through  Italy, 
being  accompanied  by  Goethe.  She  died  on  the  10th 
April  1807.  A  memorial  of  the  duchess  is  included  in 
Goethe's  works  under  the  title  Zum  Andenken  der  Fiirstin 
Anna-Amalia. 

AMALRIC  or  Amauri  of  Bena,  so  called  from  his 
birthplace,  a  small  village  in  the  diocese  of  Chartres,  was 
the  founder  of  a  school  of  pantheists  known  by  his  name. 
He  lectured  at  Paris  about  the  year  1200,  and  attracted  a 
large  circle  of  hearers.  In  1204  his  doctrines  were  con- 
demned by  the  university;  and  on  a  personal  appeal  to 
Pope  Innocent  IH.  the  sentence  was  ratified,  Amalno 
being  ordered  to  return  to  Paris  and  recant  his  errors. 
This  he  did  in  1207.  His  death,  two-  years  later,  w.is 
caused,  it  is  said,  by  grief  at  the  humiliation  to  which  he 
had  been  subjected.  In  the  same  year  (1209)  ten  of  his 
followers  were  burnt  before  the  gates  of  Paris,  and 
Amalric's  own  body  was  exhumed  and  burnt,  and  the 
ashes  given  to  the  winds.  The  doctrines  of  the  Amal- 
ricians  were  formally  condemned  by  the  fourth  Lateran 
Council  in  1215. 

AMALTEO,  the  name  of  a  family  belonging  to  Oderzo, 
Treviso,  several  members  of  which  were  distinguished  in 
literature.  The  best  known  are  three  brothers,  Geronimo 
(1507-74),  Giambattista  (1525-73),  and  Corneb'o  (1530- 
1603),  whose  Latin  poems  were  published  in  one  collection 
under  tho  title  Trium  Fratrum  Amalthiorum  Carmina 
(Venice,  1627;  Amst.  1689).  The  eldest  brother,  Geronimo, 
was  a  celebrated  physician ;  the  second,  Giambattista, 
accompanied  a  Venetian  embassy  to  England  in  1554,  and 
waa  secretary  to  Pius  IV.  at  the  Council  of  Trent;  the 
third,  Cornelio,  was  a  physician  and  secretary  to  the  re- 
public of  Ragusa. 

AMALTEO,  Pomponio,  a  painter  of  the  Venetian 
school,  was  born  at  San  Vito  in  Friuli  in  1505,  and  died 
in  1584.  He  was  a  pupil  of  Pordenone,  whose  style  he 
closely  imitated.  His  works  consist  chiefly  of  frescoes  and 
altar-pieces,  and  many  of  them  have  suffered  greatly  from 
the  ravages  of  time. 

AMAKA  SLNHA,  a  Sanscrit  grammarian  and  poet,  of 
whose  personal  history  hardly  anything  is  known.  He  is 
said  to  have  been  "  one  of  the  nine  gems  that  adorned  tho 
throne  of  Vikramaditya,"  and  accordingly  to  have  flourished 
about  56  B.C.  This  seems  on  the  whole  the  most  pro- 
bable date,  though  the  fifth  century  of  the  Christian  era. 


AIA-AMA 


653 


And  even  the  eleventh,  have  also  been  assigned,  on  the  sup- 
position that  the  Vikramaditya  spoken  of  was  not  the  first 
but  a  later  monarch  of  the  name.  Amara  seems  to  have 
been  a  Buddhist;  and  an  early  tradition  asserts  that  his 
works,  with  one  exception,  were  destroyed  during  the  per- 
secution carried  on  by  the  orthodox, Brahmins  in  the  fifth 
century.  The  exception  is  the  celebrated  Amara-Kosha 
(Treasury  of  Amara),  a  vocabulary  of  Sanscrit  roots,  in 
three  books,  and  hence  sometimes  called  Trikanda,  or  the 
"  Tripartite."  It  contains  10,000  words,  and  is  arranged, 
like  other  works  of  its  class,  in  metre,  to  aid  the  memory. 
The  first  chapter  of  the  Kosha  was  printed  at  Rome  in 
Tamil  character,  in  1798.  An  edition  of  the  entire  work, 
with  English  notes  and  an  index  by  Colebrooke,  appeared 
at  Serampore  in  1808.  The  Sanscrit  text  was  printed  at 
Calcutta  in  1831.  A  French  translation  by  Loiseleur- 
Deslongchamps  was  published  at  Paris  in  1839. 

AMARANTH,  or  Amarant  (from  the  Greek  d/idpavros, 
anwithering),  a  name  chiefly  used  in  poetry,  and  applied 
to  certain  plants  which,  from  not  soon  fading,  typified 
immortality.     Thus  Milton  {Paradise  Lost,  iiL  353)  : — 

*'  Immortal  amarant,  a  flower  which  once 
In  paradise,  fast  by  the  tree  of  life, 
Began  to  bloom;  but  soon  for  man's  offence 
To  heaven  removed,  where  first  it  grew,  there  grows, 
And  flowers  aloft,  shading  the  fount  of  life-, 
And  where  the  river  of  bliss  through  midst  of  heaven 
Kolls  o'er  elysian  flowers  her  amber  stream: 
With  these  that  never  fade  the  spirits  elect 
Bind  their  resplendent  locks." 

The  famous  flowers,  however,  still  live  upon  earth,  and 
are  known  in  our  gardens  as  love-lies-bleeding,  prince's 
feather,  cockscomb,  and  the  globe  amaranth.  As  we 
wreathe  our  churches  in  winter  with  holly  and  ivy,  the 
churches  in  Portugal  and  other  southern  countries  are 
adorned  with  the  purple  tints  of  the  globe  amaranth, 
which  is  said  to  retain  its  colour  for  years.  It  should  be 
noted  that  the  proper  spelling  of  the  word  is  amarant; 
the  more  common  spelling  seems  to  have  come  from  a 
hazy,  notion  that  the  final  syllable  is  the  Greek  word  for 
flower,  which  entera  into  a  vast  number  of  botanical  names. 

AMARAPURA,  literally  "  the  City  of  the  Gods„"  a  town 
of  independent  Burmah,  situated  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
Irawadl  river,  in  21°  57'  N.  lat.,  and  73°  4'  E.  long.  The 
town  was  founded  in  1783,  and  made  the  capital  of  the 
Burmese  kingdom.  It  increased  rapidly  in  size  and  popu- 
lation, and  in  1810  -was  estimated  to  contain  170,000 
inhabitants;  but  in  that  year  the  town  was  destroyed  by 
fire,  and  this  disaster,  together  with  the  removal  of  the 
native  court  in  1819  oaused  a  decline  in  the  prosperity  of 
the  place.  In  1827  its  population  was  estimated  at  only 
30,000.  Since  then  it  has  suffered  another  severe  calamity 
from  an  earthquake,  which  in  1839  destroyed  the  greater 
part  of  the  city.  It  is  regularly  laid  out,  but,  with  the 
exception  of  some  temples,  is  built  only  of  bamboos, 
although  several  of  the  buildings,  being  richly  gilt,  have  a 
showy  appearance.  The  most  remarkable  edifice  is  a  cele- 
brated temple,  adorned  with  250  lofty  pillars  of  gilt  wood, 
and  containing  a  colossal  bronze  statue  of  Buddha.  The 
remains  of  the  ancient  palace  of  the  Burmese  monarchs 
still  survive  in  the  centre  of  the  town.  During  the  time 
of  its  prosperity  Amarapura  was  defended  by  a  rampart 
and  a  large  square  citadel,  with  a  broad  moat,  the  walls 
being  7000  feet  long  and  20  feet  high,  with  a  bastion  at 
each  corner. 

AMASIA,  or  Amasiayah,  a  town  in  Anatolia,  Turkey, 
situated  on  both  sides  of  the  Yeshil-Irmak,  or  Iris,  in  a 
narrow  gorge  about  80  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
The  houses  being  ill-built  and  the  streets  narrow,  the  town 
would  have  a  mean  appearance  but  for  its  situation  and 
She  splendid  remains  of  antiquity  in  ita  neighbourhood. 


The  most  remarkable  of  these  are  the  Acropolis,  which  ia 
built  on  a  lofty  rock  overhanging  the  town;  the  tombs  of 
the  kings  of  Pontus,  described  by  Strabo  the  geographer, 
a  native  of  Amasia;  and  a  handsome  mosque,  erected  in 
1 490  by  the  Sultan  Bajazet  IL  The  chief  productions  c4 
Amasia  and  the  surrounding  districts  are  silk,  salt,  wheat, 
wine,  and  cotton.     Population  of  the  town,  25,000. 

AMASIS,  King  of  Egypt,  ascended  the  throne  569  B.C. 
From  the  rank  of  a  common  soldier  he  gradually  rose  to  be 
one  of  the  principal  officers  in  the  court  of  Apries,  the  last 
king  of  the  line  of  Psammetichus.  Being  commissioned  by 
Apries  to  quell  an  insurrection,  he  went  over  to  the  rebels, 
who  proclaimed  him  king.  Apries,  whose  tyranny  had 
caused  nearly  all  his  subjects  to  desert  him,  took  the  field 
with  an  army  of  mercenaries,  and  meeting  Amasis  near 
Memphis,  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner.  The  usurper 
treated  the  captive  prince  with  great  lenity;  but  so  violent 
was  the  popular  hatred,  that  he  was  compelled  to  deliver 
him  into  the  hands  of  his  enraged  countrymen,  who  in- 
stantly put  him  to  death  by  strangling.  Under  the  pru- 
dent administration  of  Amasis,  Egypt  enjoyed  the  greatest 
prosperity.  He  adorned  it  with  numerous  and  splendid 
buildings,  among  which  were  a  portico  to  the  temple  of 
Minerva  at  Sais,  and  the  great  temple  of  Isis  at  Mem- 
phis. He  also  erected  a  colossus  before  the  temple  of 
Vulcan,  75  feet  in  length,  resting  on  its  back;  and  on  the 
basis  stood  two  statues,  each  20  feet  high,  cut  out  of  the 
3ame  stone.  To  gain  the  alliance  of  the  Greeks,  he  allotted 
settlements  for  them  on  the  sea-coast,  permitting  them  to 
build  temples,  and  to  observe  all  the  rites  of  their  religion 
unmolested;- and  when  the  temple  of  the  Delphians  was 
burnt  he  presented  them  with  1000  talents  to  assist  them 
in  rebuilding  it.  He  also  married  a  Grecian  lady,  named 
Ladice,  the  daughter  of  -"Battus  of  Cyrene,  and  had  a 
bodyguard  of  Greeks  in  his"  pay.  Solon,  the  celebrated 
lawgiver,  is  reported  to  have  visited  Amasis.  The  close 
of  his  reign  was  disturbed  by  the  threatened  invasion  of 
Cambyses,  king  of  Persia,  and  by  the  rupture  of  the 
alliance  between  Amasis  and  Polycrates  of  Samos. .  (See 
Polycrates.)  Amasfe,  however,  did  not  live  to  see  the 
conquest  of  Egypt,  for  he  died  in  525,  before  the  Persians 
had  entered  the  country. 

AMAT,  Felix,  a  Spanish  ecclesiastical  historian,  was 
born  at  Sabadell,  in  the  diocese  of  Barcelona,  10th  August 
1750.  He  entered  the  church  in  1767,  and  after  taking  his 
doctor's  degree  at  Grenada  in  1770,  was  made  professor 
of  philosophy  and  librarian  in  the  episcopal  seminary  at 
Barcelona.  In  these  offices,  and  in  that  of  director  of 
the  seminary,  which  he  subsequently  held,  his  talents  and 
energy  did  much  to  advance  the  efficiency  of  the  institu- 
tion. In  1803  he  was  made  archbishop  of  Palmyra  by  the 
Eope,  and  in  the  same  year  the  king,  Charles  TV".,  created 
im  abbot. of  St  Hdefonso.  When  the  war  with  France 
broke  out  in  1794,  Amat  was  at  first  looked  upon  as  an 
undoubted  patriot,  but  latterly  he  was  suspected,  and  with 
some  reason,  of  favouring  the  French  cause.  He  was 
compelled  to  leave  Madrid  on  the  entry  of  the  British  in 
1812;  and  was  subsequently,  in  1814,  banished  to  Cata- 
lonia. He  died  in  a  Franciscan  convent  near  Salent  on 
28th  September  1824.  Amat's  chief  work  is  his  Ecclesias- 
tical History,  from  the  birth  of  Christ  to  the  end  of  the 
18th  century,  originally  published  in  twelve  volumes 
(1793-1S03).  It  was  condemned  by  the  Inquisition,  but 
rather  on  political  than  on  religious  grounds.  His  other 
works  are  numerous,  the  most  important  being  his 
Observations  on  Ecclesiastical  Power  and  his  Six  Letters  to 
Irenictu,  in  which  he  attacked  the  theory  that  consent  of 
the  subjects'  is  the.  necessary  foundation  of  sovereignty. 
Amat  was  a  man  of  gigantic  stature,  being,  it  is  said,  at 
the  age  of  seventeen,  7  feet  2  inches  in  height. 


654 


AMA-AMA 


AMATI,  tho  name  of  a  family  of  violin-makers  who 
flourished  at  Cremona  from  about  1500  to  1692.  Accord- 
ing to  Fdtis,  Andrea  and  Nicolo  Amati,  two  brothers,  were 
the  first  Italians  who  made  violins.  They  were  succeeded 
by  Antonio  and  Geronimo,  sons  of  Nicolo.  Another 
Nicolo,  son  of  Geronimo,  was  alive  in  1692.  The  violins 
made  by  this  family  are  distinguished  by  their  small  size, 
exquisite  finish,  and  the  mathematical  proportion  of  tho 
parts.  Their  tone  is  soft  and  sweet,  but  deficient  in  inten- 
sity, owing  to  tho  flatness  of  their  model.  Stradivari  was 
a  pupil  of  the  Amatis 

AMATITLAN,  the  name  of  a  lake  and  town  in  Gmte- 
mala,  Central  America.  The  lake  is  IS  miles  from  tho 
city  of  Guatemala,  and  is  about  9  miles  long  and  3  broad. 
The  town,  which  is  sometimes  called  St  Juan  d'Amatitlan, 
is  situated  on  the  shores  of  the  lake.  The  houses  are  all 
of  one  storey,  and  are  mostly  built  of  mud.  The  Jesuits 
formerly  had  extensive  sugar  plantations  at  Amatitlan,  but 
the  chief  industry  now  is  the  raising  of  the  cochineal.  The 
wells  of  the  town  are  strongly  impregnated  with  salt  and 
alum,  and  in  the  vicinity  there  are  several  hot  springs. 
Population  about  10,000,  chiefly  mulattoes  and  samboes. 

AMAUROSIS  (anaipuicris),  a  deprivation  of  sight.  Tho 
term  is  now  limited  chiefly  to  those  for^ns  of  defect  or  loss 
of  vision  which  are  caused  by  diseases  riot  directly  involv- 
ing tho  eye,  although  sooner  or  later  the  optic  nerve 
undergoes  changes  recognisable  by  the  ophthalmoscope. 
Sometimes  tho  amaurosis  is  temporary,  disappearing  with 
the  removal  of  the  disease  with  which  it  is  associated ;  but 
in  many  cases,  more  especially  where  the  brain  and  spinal 
cord  are  affected,  the  amaurosis  remains  permanent. 

AMAXICHI,  a  seaport  town  on  the  N.  of  the  Ionian 
island  of  Santa  Maura.  It  is  the  capital  of  the  island,  and 
the  residence  of  a  Greek  archbishop.  The  frequent  occur- 
rence of  earthquakes  compels  tho  inhabitants  to  construct 
their  houses  of  wood ;  hence  the  town  is  of  mean  appear- 
ance. Its  harbour  admits  small  craft  only.  Population, 
7000." 

AMAZON,  Maranon,  Orellana,  or  Solimoens,  a 
river  of  South  America,  tho  largest  in  the  world.  Its 
head  stream  is  either  the  Ucayale  or  Apurimac,  which 
rises  in  Peru  about  16°  S.  lat.,  and  72°  W.  long. ;  or  the 
more  northerly  Maranon,  also  called  Tunguragua,  which 
flows  from  Lake  Lauricocha,  10°  30'  S.  lat,  and  76°  10' 
W.  long.  The  former  is  the  longer  river,  but  the  latter 
has  perhaps  the  weight  of  authority  in  its  favour.  The 
Maranon  flows  in  a  north-westerly  direction,  parallel  to 
the  Ucayale,  as  far  as  6°  S.  lat.,  when  it  bends  to  the 
north-east,  and,  on  reaching  the  frontiers  of  Equador, 
turns  almost  due  east.  It  thence  forms  the  boundary 
between  Equador  and  Peru,  with  an  easterly  direction, 
until  it  joins  the  Ucayale.  The  united  river  continues  to 
separate  Equador  and  Peru  as  long  as  these  countries  are 
conterminous,  and  thereafter  strikes  through  Brazil,  the 
general  direction  being  north-north-east  It  finally  dis- 
charges itself  into  the  Atlantic  under  the  equator.  From 
the'  source  of  the  Apurimac  to  the  ocean  this  mighty  river 
has  a  length,  including  windings,  of  nearly  4000  miles. 
It  receives  enormous  tributaries — from  the  north,  the 
Napo  and  the  Putumayo,  each  about  700  miles  long ;  the 
Yapura,  1000  miles;  the  Negro,  1400;  as  well  as  others 
of  less  importance  :  from  the  south,  besides  the  Yavari,  the 
Yutai,  the  Yurua,  Tefe,  the  Puruo,  and  others,  there  are  the 
Madeira,  of  nearly  2000  miles  ;  the  Topayos,  of  1200 ;  the 
Xingu,  of  1300  ;  and. the  Tocantins,  of  1200.  In  addition 
tQ  these,  the  Huallaga,  of  500  miles,  joins  the  Maranon, 
from  the  south,  above  its  union  with  the  Ucayale.  The 
area  drained  by  the  Amazon  and  its  tributaries  is  pro- 
bably not  less  than  2,500,000  square  miles,  or  more  than 
a  third  part  of  South  America.     The  breadth  of  the  river, 


of  course,  varies  at  different  points.  At  some  distance 
below  Jaen,  on  the  Maranon,  it  was  found  to  be  860  feet 
wide  ;  at  a  pass  called  the  Pongo  de  Manscriche  its  bed 
is  suddenly  contracted  from  250  to  25  fathoms,  being 
enclosed  on  either  side  by  rocks,  which  rise  like  perpen- 
dicular walls  to  a  great  height ;  at  the  junction  with  the 
Napo  its  breadth  has  increased  to  900  fathoms.  Between 
the  Negro  and  the  Madeira  it  has  the  breadth  of  a  league, 
which  extends  to  two  leagues  at  those  parts  where  islands 
abound ;  but  during  the  annual  rise  of  the  water  it  covers 
a  great  part  of  the  adjacent  country,  and  has  then  no 
determinate  limits.  The  main  mouth  is  about  50  miles 
wide  abovo  the  island  of  Caviana,  but  the  whole  delta, 
including  tho  Para  mouth  and  the  island  of  Joannes,  is 
nearly  200  miles  from  shore  to  shore.  The  depth  of  tho 
Amazon  in  some  parts  exceeds  50  fathoms,  and  the  river 
is  navigable  for  vessels  of  tho  largest  size  up  to  the  con- 
fluence of  tho  Maranon  and  the  Ucayale.  Beyond  this 
point  vessels  of  a  smaller  size  can  proceed  as  far  as  San 
Borja,  on  tho  Maranon,  and  a  considerable  distance  up  tho 
Ucayale  and  the  Huallaga.  The  velocity  of  the  water 
above  San  Borja  so  greatly  exceeds  the  average  (which  is 
about  2£  miles  an  hour),  that  navigation  becomes  difficult, 
and  among  the  rapids  is  impossible,  even  to  canoes. 
Nearly  all  the  branches  of  the  Amazon  are  navigable  to  a 
great  distance  from  their  junction  with  the  main  stream; 
and  collectively  the  whole  presents  an  extent  of  water 
communication  unparalleled  in  any  other  part  of  tho 
globe.  It  may  be  mentioned,  too,  that  as  the  wind  and 
current  are  usually,  at  least  from  July  to  December, 
opposed  to  each  other,  a  vessel  can  make  her  way  either 
up  or  down  with  great  facility  by  availing  herself  of  her 
sails  in  the  one  case,  and  committing  herself  to  the  force 
of  the  current-  in  the  other.  Since  the  introduction  of 
steamers,  however,  this  circumstance  is  of  less  importance. 
The  influence  of  the  tides  is  felt  400  miles  abovo  the 
mouth  of  tho  Amazon,  while  on  the  other  hand  the  river 
current  is  distinctly  perceptible  in  the  ocean  for  more 
than  200  miles  from  the  shore.  The  curious  tidal  pheno- 
menon called  the  bore,  or  proroca,  is  thus  described  by  La 
Condamine '. — 

"  During  three  days  before  the  new  and  full  moons,  the  period  of 
the  highest  tides,  the  sea,  instead  of  occupying  six  hours  to  reach 
its  flood,  swells  to  its  highest  limit  in  one  or  two  minutes.  The 
noise  of  this'terrible  flood  is  heard  five  or  six  miles  off,  and  increases 
as  it  aoproach.es.  Presently  you  see  a  liquid  promontory  12  or  15 
feet  high,  followed  by  another,  and  another,  and  sometimes  by  a 
fourth.  These  watery  mountains  spread  across  the  whole  channel, 
and  advance  with  a  prodigious  rapidity,  rending  and  crushing 
everything  in  their  way.  Immense  trees  are  sometimes  uprooted 
by  it,  and  sometimes  wholo  tracts  of  land  are  swept  away." 

The  Amazon  traverses  a  region  thickly  covered  with  lofty 
forests,  which  are  the  haunts  of  the  jaguar,  bear,  panther, 
and  other  wild  animals,  and  are  inhabited  by  numerous 
small  tribes  of  savages,  among  whom  the  Spaniards  and 
Portuguese  have  established  missionaries.  Tho  river 
abounds  with  fish,  many  of  which  arc  delicious  eating; 
and  turtles  of  an  excellent  quality  are  numerous.'  Large 
alligators  may  be  frequently  seen  stretched  motionless  in 
the  mud  like  trunks  of  trees.  The  name  Amazon  (which 
is  also  written  Amazons  and  Amazonas)  is  derived  from  the 
Indian  word  Amassona,  or  "boat-destroyer,"  the  reference 
being  to  the  destructive  proroca.  According  to  native 
usage,  tho  name  Amazon  ought  to  be  restricted  to  the 
lower  part  of  the  river,  below  the  mouth  of  the  Eio 
Negro,  the  portion  above  that  point,  as  far  at  least  as  the 
juuetion  of  the  Marafion  and  the  Ucayale,  being  termed 
by  the  natives  Solimoens.  The  other  two  designations  by 
which  the  river  is  sometimes  known  owe  their  origin 
respectively  to  Francis  Orellana,  who  in  1540  sailed  from 
the  mouth  of  tho  Eio  Napo  to  the  ocean,  and  Maraion, 


A  M  A  — A  M  B 


655 


who  visited  the  upper  waters  in  1513.  Yanez  Puizod, 
however,  visited  the  river  before  either,  having  discovered 
the  mouth  in  1500.'  (Sec  the  works  of  Bates,  Wallace, 
and  W.  H.  Edwards,  and  the  article  Brazil.) 

AMAZONS  ('A/jLa^ovcs),  a  race  of  women  represented 
in  Greek  legend  as  having  lived  in  the  north-east  of  Asia 
Minor,  near  the  shore  of  the  Black  Sea,  and  as  having 
there  formed  an  independent  state,  with  a  queen  at  its 
head,  and  with  the  mythical  town  of  Themiscyra,  on  the 
river  Thermodon,  as  its  capital.  From  this  centre  they 
made  warlike  excursions,  sometimes  northward,  but  chiefly 
against  the  people  on  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor.  From  the 
traditions  that  to  repel  and  conquer  them  was  assigned  as 
a  task  to  Bellerophon  by  the  King  of  Lycia,  and  again  to 
Hercules  by  Eurystheus,  it  may  be  inferred  that  they 
were  regarded  by  the  Greeks  at  least  as  a  permanent 
source  of  danger.  But  equally,  if  the  task  of  conquering 
them  is  to  be  strictly  compared  with  the  other  tasks  in 
which  these  heroes  were  generally  opposed  to  monsters 
and  beings  impossible  in  themselves,  but  possible  as  illus- 
trations of  permanent  danger  and  damage,  it  would  follow 
that  the  Amazons  were  mythical  illustrations  of  the 
dangers  which  beset  the  Greeks  on  the  coast  of  Asia 
Minor.  Their  impossibility  as  actual  beings  is  further 
recognised  in  works  of  art,  in  which  combats  between 
them  and  Greeks  are  placed  on  the  same  level  as,  and 
often  associated  with,  combats  of  Greeks  and  centaurs. 
The  belief  in  the  existence  of  the  Amazons,  however, 
having  been  once  accepted  and  introduced  into  the  national 
poetry  and  art,  it  became  necessary  to  surround  them  as 
far  a3  possible  with  the  appearance  of  not  unnatural 
beings.  Their  occupation  was  hunting  and  war ;  their 
arms  the  bow,  spear,  axe,  a  half  shield,  nearly  in  the 
shape  of  a  crescent,  called  pelta,  and  in  early  art  a  helmet, 
the  model  before  the  Greek  mind  having  apparently  been 
the  goddess  Athene  (Minerva).  In  later  art  they  approach 
the  model  of  Artemis  (Diana),  wearing  a  thin  dress,  girt 
high  for  speed ;  while  on  the  later  painted  vases  their 
dress  is  often  peculiarly  Persian — that  is,  close-fitting 
trousers,  and  a  high  cap  called  the  L-idaris.  They  fought 
partly  on  foot,  partly  on  horseback,  and  always  without 
quarter;  so  that  the  epithet  of  avSpoKTovoi,  or  oiorpata, 
which  is  the  Scythian  equivalent  (Herod,  iv.  110),  was 
applied  to  them.  To  maintain  their  stock,  annual  visits 
were  paid  to  the  neighbouring  peoples ;  and  when,  in  con- 
sequence of  this,  children  were  born,  the  males  were  either 
sent  over  the  borders  or  retained  and  brought  up  crippled, 
and  in  the  condition  of  slaves,  while  the  female  children 
were  assiduously  trained  to  hunting  and  war.  So  as  to 
have  freedom  in  the  use  of  the  bow,  the  right  breast  was 
either  removed  by  burning  and  other  processes,  or  was 
checked  in  its  growth ;  hence  the  ancient  derivation  of  the 
name  Amazon  from  d-/ia£os,  "  breastiess."  But  instead  of 
there  being  any  indication  of  this  in  works  of  art,  it  is 
noticeable  that  in  the  case  of  wounded  Amazons  the  wound 
is  in  the  breast,  as  if  the  artist  conceived  them  as  truly 
womanly  in  that  region.  The  other  derivations  are — (1) 
from  d-fia£os,  in  the  sense  of  "  strong-breasted,"  so  as  to 
compare  with  their  deity  Artemis  Polymazos ;  (2)  from 
d'/wo-ci),  "not  touching  (men);"  (3)  from  the  Scythian 
amazzen,  a  "virago."  The  deities  of  the  Amazons  were 
Ares  (Mars)  and  Artemis,  the  former  being  consistently 
assigned  to  them  as  a  god  of  war,  and  as  a  god  of  Thracian 
and  generally  northern  origin.  In  the  case  of  Artemis,  it 
was  not  here  the  usual  Greek  goddess  of  that  name,  but  an 
Asiatic  deity  in  some  respects  her  equivalent,  but  different, 
among  other  points,  in  this,  that  troops  of  women  {hiero- 
dulce)  were  associated  with  her  worship,  especially  as  it 
existed  at  Ephesus  in  historical  times.  That  it  may  have 
been  so  also  in  the   early  myth-making  age,  and  that 


accordingly  the  idea  of  the  Amazons  as  a  jace  may  have 
originated  in  the  ecstatic  lawless  life  of  these  women,  has 
been  conjectured.  With  regard  to  Ephesus,  it  was  said 
that  a  body  of  Amazons,  under  a  princess  named  Lampedo, 
had  founded  that  town,  and  established  the  worship  of 
Artemis  ;  though  in  another  account  they  appear  as 
enemies  of  this  religion,  and  -as  having  burnt  the  temple 
of  Artemis  at  Ephesus.  Several  other  towns  of  Asia 
Minor  claimed  to  have  been  founded  by  Amazons;  but 
according  to  Diodorus  (ii.  52,  55),  the  Amazons  in  this 
case  were  a  race  of  women  who"  inhabited  the  west  of 
Libya,  and  who  once,  led  by  their  queen  Myrina,  advanced 
through  Asia  Minor  and  on  to  Thrace,  where  they  were 
defeated  by  Mopsus,  and  compelled  to  return.  Other 
memorials  of  the  expeditions  and  battle-fields  of  the  Ama- 
zons were  recognised  in  the  tumuli  in  the  Troad  and 
elsewhere  in  Asia  Minor.  These  ancient  local  traditions 
derived  a  strong  colour  of  reality  afterwards,  when  inroads 
of  barbarians,  under  a  female  leader,  occurred,  as  in  the 
time  of  Cyrus,  or  when  Thalestris  appeared  before  Alex- 
ander the  Great,  announcing  herself  as  the  queen  of  the 
Amazons ;  but  chiefly  when  it  was  observed  that  certain 
characteristics  of  the  Amazons  actually  existed  among  the 
women  of  Sarmatia.  The  effect  of  this  mixture  of  fact 
and  legend  may  be  seen  in  the  account  given  by  Herodotus 
(iv.  110)  of  the  collapse  of  the  Amazonian  state,  or  in  the 
origin  of  it  as  related  by  Justin  (ii.  4).  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Persian  war  seems  to  have  freshened,  as  if  to 
supply  a  mythical  prototype,  the  national  legends  of 
combats  between  Greeks  and  Amazons.  These  legends 
recounted  the  defeat  of  the  Amazons,  first,  by  Bellerophon, 
and  secondly  by  Hercules,  who  had  been  ordered  by 
Eurystheus  to  bring  him  the  girdle  of  their  queen  Hippo- 
lyte,  or,  in  other  words,  since  the  girdle  of  their  queen 
would  in  Greek  eyes  be  the  most  sacred  object,  to  conquer 
the  whole  race  of  Amazons.  It  is  supposed  that  he  was 
accompanied  by  his  friend  Theseus,  and  that  this  was  the 
occasion  on  which  the  latter  became  possessed  of  the 
Amazon  princess  Antiope.  From  his  possession  of  her 
originated  a  third  legend,  which  described  an  invasion  cf 
Attica  by  a  body  of  Amazons,  with  the  view  of  carrying 
off  Antiope.  Their  utter  defeat  by  Theseus  must  have 
seemed,  in  the  light  of  Marathon  and  Salamis,  as  a  fore- 
cast of  the  glory  then  won  by  Athens.  The  fourth  legend, 
which  deals  with  the  appearance  of  an  army  of  Amazons, 
led  by  their  queen  Penthesilea  on  the  side  of  the  Trojans 
in  the  Trojan  war,  wa3  developed  by  Arctinus  of  Miletus 
in  his  poem  the  ^Ethiopis.  Achilles  and  the  queen  meet 
in  battle,"  and  she  falls  by  his  hand  ;  but  the  hero  is 
smitten  with  grief,  and  lifts  her  gently  before  she  dies.  It 
is  this  feeling  of  regret  on  the  part  of  a  hero  who  is  com- 
pelled to  kill  a  woman  in  his  own  defence,  that  gives  the 
principal  tone  to  the  existing  works  of  Greek  art,  in  which 
combats  with  Amazons  are  represented,  and  especially  to 
works  of  sculpture.  Of  this  class  there  exist  (besides-  a 
number  of  reliefs,  among  which  those  from  the  temple  of 
Apollo  at  Phigalia,  now  in  the  British  Museum,  are  con- 
spicuous for  many  touching  motives  of  this  kind),  several 
statues  of  wounded  Amazons,  the  sad  expression  of  which, 
combined- with  the  nobility  of  form  and  power  of  limb, 
shows  what  was  the  highest  conception  of  them  in  the  best 
days  of  Greek  art.  (a.  8.  M.) 

AMBALA,  a  division,  district,  and  city  of  British  India, 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the 
Panjab.  The  AmMla  division  comprises  the  districts  of 
Ambald  and  Ludhiana  in  the  plains,  and  the  district  of 
Simla  in  the  Himalayas.  The  last-named  district  consists 
of  a  few  detached  patches  of  territory,  scattered  among 
the  territories  of  the  petty  chieftains  by  whom  the  neigh- 
bouring hills  are  held.     Simla  district  is,  however,  the 


656 


AMB-AMB 


seat  of  the  supreme  government  of  India  during  the  not 
weather,  and  its  chief  town",  of  the  same  name,  is  the  largest 
hill  station  in  India  The  other  two  districts  of  the  divi- 
sion lie  upon  the  plains  at  the  foot  of  the  Himalayas. 
They  are  bounded  on  the  N.E.  by  those  mountains,  on  the 
N.W.  by  the  river  Satlej,  on  the  S.W.  by  .the  district  of 
Firozpur,  the  independent  native  state  of  Patiala,  and  the 
district  of  Kama],  and  on  the  S.E.  by  the  river  Jamna. 

AmbAlA  District  stretches  N.W.  and  S.E.  along  the 
lower  face  of  the  Himalayas,  and  lies  between  29°  55'  and 
31"  14'  N.  lat.,  and  between  76°  37'  and  77°  38'  E.  long. 
It  is  bounded  on  the  N.E.  by  the  Himalayas,  on  the  N.W. 
by  the  river  Satlej,  on  the  S.E.  by  the  river  Jamna,  and 
on  the  S.W.  by  the  district, of  Ludhiana,  the.  state  of 
Patiala,  and  the  district  of  Karnal.  The  total  area  of  the 
district  is  2628  square  miles,  or  1,681,930  acres,  of  which 
945,526  acres  are  cultivated,  283,989  acres  are  cultivable, 
but  not  actually  under  tillage,  and  452,415  acres  are 
uncultivable  and  waste.  The  total  population  of  the 
district,  according  to  the  census  of  1868,  amounts  to 
1,035,488  souls,  divided  into  the  following  classes  : — 
Hindus,  689,333;  Mahometans,  286,874;  Sikhs,  56,440; 
others,  2841.  The  males  numbered  567,930,  and  the 
females  467,558;  the  proportion  of  males  to  the  total 
population  being  54'84  per  cent.  The  principal  tribes  and 
castes  in  point  of  numbers  are — (1.)  Jits,  viz.,  Hindus  and 
Sikhs,  161,967;  Mahometans,  13,368:  total,  175,335.  (2.) 
Chamars  (Hindus),  125,638.  (3.)  Rajputs— viz.,  Hindus 
and  Sikhs,  20,121;  Mahometans,  62,866:  total,  82,987. 
(4.)  Brahmans,  63,744.  (5.)  Gujjars — viz.,  Hindu*  end 
Sikhs,  24,500;  Mahometans,  24,195  total  48,695.  (6.) 
Banias  (Hindui),  39,053.  The  total  agricultural  popula- 
tion was  501,056.  Taking  the  population  as  compared 
with  the  area,  the  result  give3  1"62  acres  per  head  of  the 
population,  or  3'35  acres  per  head  of  the  agricultural 
population.  Putting  aside  the  uncultivable  and  waste  land, 
there  are  1"18  acres  of  cultivated  or  cultivable  land  per 
head  of  the  population,  or  2'45  acres  per  head  of  the  agri- 
cultural population.  Taking  only  the  area  under  actual 
cultivation,  there  are  -91  acres  per  head  of  population,  or 
1"88  acres  per  head  of  the  agricultural  pooulation.  With 
one  small  exception,  the  whole  district  consists  of  a  level 
alluvial  plain,  sloping  away  gradually  from  the  foot  of  the 
Himalayas,  and  lying  between  the  rivers  Jamna  and  Satlej. 
These  rivers  do  not  materially  affect  the  district,  which 
ha3  a  drainage  system  of  its  own,  consisting  of  the  numerous 
torrents  and  water-courses  which  pour  down  upon  it  from 
the  hills.  In  the  southern  portion  of  the  district  these 
torrents  run  in  broad  sandy  beds  scarcely  below  the  sur- 
faco  of  the  country,  and  vary  from  200  yards  to  a  mile  in 
width,  until,  at  a  distance  of  20  or  30  miles  from  the  hills, 
thej"  assume  the  form  of  comparatively  docile  streams, 
with  well-defined  clay  banks.-  Towards  the  northern  por- 
tion of  the  district  the  torrents  run  in  deep  beds  from  the 
point  where  they  debouch  from  the  hills;  they  also  differ 
from  the  streams  of  the  southern  tract  in' being  free  from 
sand.  The  principal  of  these  northern  streams  is  the 
Ghaggar,  into  which  all  the  other  minor  3treams  sooner  or 
later  empty  themselves,  some  within  and  some  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  district.  Whatever  surplus  water  of 
this  river  is  not  swallowed  up  by  irrigation  passes  on 
through  Patiala  state  and  Sirsa,  and  is  finally  lost  in  the 
Einds  of  Rajputanl  The  Ghaggar  is  the  only  perennial 
Etream  within  the  district,  and  even  it  dwindles  down  to  a 
tiny  rivulet  in  the  dry  weather,  and. disappears  altogether 
beyond  the  border  of  the  district. 

The  Sind,  Tanjab,  and  Dehli  railway  passes  through  the  centre  of 
the  district  from  south-east  to  north-west  The  other  principal  land 
routes  are  two  main  lines  of  road,  one  passing  through  the  district 
farallel  to  the  line  of  railway,  and  the  other  coming  from  Dehli  and 


Karnal,  entering  it  on  the  «onth,  and  running  northward  till  the  two 
roads  meet  at  Ambala  city.  A  less  important  rond  runs  northward 
from  this  town  to  the  foot  of  the  Himalayas,  and  forms  the  route  to 
the  hill  station  of  Simli.  The  principal  agricultural  products  o( 
Ambala  district  are  wheat,  grain,  and  barley  for  the  spring  harvest 
and  rice,  joar  (spiked  millet),  and  Indian  corn  in  the  autumn.  The 
total  area  under  cultivation  in  1871-72  was,  for  the  spring  harvest 
437,377  acres,  and  for  the  autumn  crop  496,542  acres.  The  land 
settlement  of  the  southern  portion  of  the  district  was  completed  in 
1853,  and  that  of  the  northern  part  in  1855.  Both  will  expire  in 
1880.  The  following  eight  towns  are  returned  as  containing  a 
population  of  upwards  of  5000  souls,  the  first-named  seven  being 
also  municipalities  ;  Ambala,  population,  60,662  souls ;  Shahabad, 
11,678;  Jagadhrl,  11,678;  Sadhaura,  11,198;  Riipar,  8700;  Buna, 
8351 ;  Thaneswar,  7929 ;  Mani  Majrd,'  6989.  A  municipal  in- 
come is  also  raised  from  the  following  seven  towns : — Kharar, 
Siswan,  Morindah,  Pihewah,  Radaur,  Ladwah,  and  Khizirabad.  All 
the  municipalities  derive  their  rdvcnue  from  a  system  of  octroi 
duties.  The  total  revenue  of  Ambala  district  for  1871  was  £101,362, 
of  which  74  per  cent,  or  £74,446,  was  derived  from  the  land.  The 
other  principal  items  of  revenue  were  as  follows:— Distilleries, 
£3594,  14s. ;  drugs  and  opium,  £3181,  4s. ;  income-tax,  £2709, 14s. ; 
Btamps,  £9308,  14«. ;  local  rates  levied  under  Act  xx.  of  1871, 
.£7653,  18s.  Ambala  is  one  of  the  territories  previously  held  by 
a  Sikh  Sarddr  which  lapsed  to  the  East  India  Company  in  default 
of  rightful  heirs.  The  district  was  seized  by  Ranjit  Singh  during 
one  of  his  marauding  expeditions.  This  aggression  caused  the 
movement  of  British  troops  in  1809  which  resulted  in  the  treaty 
with  Ranjit  Singh  by  which  he  was  required  to  withdraw  his  army 
from  the  left  bank  of  the  Satlej,  and  to  relinquish  his  recent  con- 
quests in  Sirhind. 

Ambala  City,  the  capital  of  the  district  of  the  same 
name,  is  situated  in  30°  24'  N.  lat.,  and  76°  49'  E.  long. 
It  forms  a  large  and  important  station  on  the  Sind,  Pan- 
jab,  and  Dehli  railway.  The  military  station  and  can- 
tonments lie  a  few  miles  south-east  of  the  town.  Ambala 
is  a  large  walled  town,  situated  in  a  level  and  highly-culti- 
vated country,  well  supplied  with  water,  and  capable  of 
furnishing  abundant  supplies.  The  houses  are  built  of 
burnt  brick,  and  the  streets  are  very  narrow.  The  town 
population  is  returned  at  50,662  souls,  but  this  probably 
includes  the  English  station.  The  population  within  muni- 
cipal limits  numbers  24,040,  divided  as  follows: — Agricul- 
turists, 3226;  non-agriculturists,  20,814.  The  town  has 
been  constituted  a  second-class  municipality,  the  affairs  of 
which  are  conducted  by  a  committee  consisting  of  six 
official  and  five  non-official  members.  The  municipal  in- 
come is  derived  from  an  octroi  duty,  and  the  revenue  has 
increased  from  £836,  *16s.  in  1867-68,  to  £1520  in 
1871-72.  The  average  incidence  of  municipal  taxation  in 
the  latter  year  was  Is.  3Jd.  per  head  of  the  population 
within  municipal  limits. 

AMBARVALIA,  or  Ambarvale  Sacrum  (ambio  and 
arvum,\o  go  round  the  field), an  annual  festival  celebrated  in 
ancient  Pome  on  three  «days  during  the  month  of  May. 
The  private  ambarvalia  is  to  be  distinguished  from  the 
sacrificium  decs  dice  celebrated  by  the  twelve  fratres 
arvalet,  though  the  two  festivals  were  coincident  in  point 
of  time  and  had  a  common  object,  namely,  to  obtain  from 
the  gods  a  favourable  harvest.  The  sacrificium  was  offered 
up  on  behalf  of  the  entire  state ;  the  ambarvalia  was  cele- 
brated by  each  proprietor  for  himself.  The  victims  were 
a  sow,  a  sheep,  and  a  bull,  and  were  called  by  the  combined 
name  suovelaurilia.  Previous  to  the  sacrifice  these  were 
led  round  the  fields,  while  the  peasants  sang  hymns  to 
Ceres.  The  form  of  prayer  used  (carmen  ambarvale)  is 
preserved  in  an  inscription  of  the  date  of  the  Emperor 
Elagabalus  (218  A.r  ),  which  was  discovered  in  1777. 
The  same  inscription  gives  an  interesting  account  of  the 
entire  ceremony.  (See  Marini's  Gli  Atti  e  Monumenti  de 
' Fratelli  Arvali,  Pome,  1792.)  The  Christian  festival  that 
seems  to  have  taken  tho  place  of  the  ambarvalia  is  the 
Rogation  or  Gang  Week  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
for  which  the  perambulation  of  the  parish  boundaries  was 
substituted  at  the  Reformation. 


AMBASSADOR 


657 


AMBASSADOR,  a  word  introduced  into  the  English 
language  from  the  Fr.  ambassadeur,  the  Ital.  ambasciatore, 
or  the  Span,  embaxador,  which  Wicquefort  derives,  perhaps 
without  sufficient  authority,  from  the  Span,  embiar,  to  send. 
The  word  denotes  a  public  minister  of  the  highest  rank, 
accredited  and  sent  by  the  head  of  a  sovereign  stake  to  a 
foreign  court  or  country,  with  power  to  represent  the 
person  of  the  sovereign  by  whom  he  is  sent,  to  negotiate 
with  a  foreign  government,  and  to  watch  over  the  interests 
of  his  own  nation  abroad.  The  power  thu3  conferred  is 
contained  in  the  credentials  or  letters  of  credence  of  which 
the  ambassador  is  the  bearer,  and  in  the  instructions 
under  the  sign-manual  delivered  to  himself.  The  creden- 
tials consist  in  a  sealed  letter  addressed  by  the  sovereign 
in  person  whose  representative  he  is,  to  the  sovereign  to 
whom  he  is  sent,  and  they  contain  a  general  assurance  that 
the  sovereign  by  whom  he  is  despatched  will  approve  and 
confirm  whatever  is  done  by  the  ambassador  in  his  name. 
In  England  these  letters  of  credence  are  under  the  sign- 
manual  of  the  Queen,  and  are  not  countersigned  by  the 
Secretary  of  State.  On  special  occasions,  as  for  the  nego- 
tiation of  treaties,  additional  an  express  powers  are  given 
to  an  ambassador  under  the  great  seal,  and  sometimes 
(but  very  rarely)  full  general  powers  to  treat  on  all  subjects. 
Lord  Clarendon  held  such  powers  at  the  congress  of  Paris 
in  1856 

Diplomatic  envoys  are  of  three  ranks,  as  was  finally 
determined  by  a  common  agreement  of  all  the  powers 
which  was  annexed  to  the  final  act  of  the  treaty  of  Vienna 
in  1815: — 1.  Ambassadors;  the  ambassador  of  the  pope 
being  called  a  nuncio,  and  the  ambassador  of  the  Emperoi 
of  Austria  to  the  Sublime  Porte  being  called  his  Lnter-nuncio. 
These  only  have  representative  rani.  2.  Envoys  extraordi- 
nary or  ministers  plenipotentiary,  accredited  to  sovereigns 
(auprks  des  souverains).  3.  Charges  d'affaires,  who  are  only 
entitled  to  transact  business  with  the  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs.  We  shall  confine  ourselves  in  this  article  to  the 
diplomatic  officers  of  the  first  rank.  The  relative  number  of 
ambassadors,  as  distinguished  from  ministers,  has  of  late 
years  been  considerably  increased.  The  Emperor  Nicholas 
refused  for  many  years  to  send  an  ambassador  to  the  court 
of  France,  and  he  therefore  suppressed  the  grade  for  a  time 
altogether.  His  example  was  imitated  by  other  powers. 
But  the  old  practice  has  now  been  reverted  to.  The  Queen 
of  England  has  embassies  at  Paris,  Constantinople,  Vienna, 
St  Petersburg,  and  Berlin.  The  number  of  British  ministers 
plenipotentiary  is  twenty-three,  and  three  charge's  d'affaires ; 
but  these  numbers  vary. 

From  the  15th  century,  when  the  practice  of  sending 
resident  embassies  may  be  said  to  have  commenced  in 
Europe,  down  to  the  close  of  the  18th  century,  these 
missions  were  surrounded  with  a  prodigious  amount  of 
splendour,  ceremonial,  and  contentious  dignity.  British 
ambassadors  were  commonly  sent  out  till  within  the  last 
thirty  years  in  ships  of  war.  The  ambassador  represented 
a  monarch,  and  was  to  play  the  part  of  one.  The  memoirs 
of  those  ages  are  full  of  the  magnificence  and  profuse 
display  which  marked  their  progress — lacqueys,  liveries, 
state  coaches,  led  horses,  and  all  the  pageantry  of  state. 
Fierce  disputes  frequently  arose  between  rival  ambassadors 
for  precedence ;  sometimes  these  disputes  even  extended  to 
the  courts  and  ministers  to  whom  these  envoys  were 
despatched  as  messengers  of  peace,  and  a  vast  deal  of  time 
was  lost  (especially  at  the  Congress  of  Munster)  in 
adjusting  them.  On  the  part  of  the  sovereign  to  whom 
they  were  to  present  their  credentials  the  same  display  was 
made.  The  new  ambassador  was  fetched  by  the  master  of 
the  ceremonies  in  the  king's  coaches  and  feasted  at  the 
king's  expense.  The  solemn  entry  and  the  public  audience, 
as  they  were  termed,  were  an  essential  part  of  the  mission. 


The  ambassador  had  the  right  to  stand  covered  in  the 
presence-  of  royalty.  At  Venice  the  doge  placed  Sir 
Harry  Vane,  covered  and  seated,  on  his  right  hand  in  the 
Council  of  Ten.  A  speech  was  then  delivered,  in  which 
the  ambassador  declared  the  friendly  sentiments  of  his  own 
sovereign,  andhis  own  humble  desire  to  give  effect  to  them. 
Modern  simplicity  and  the  facility  of  intercourse  has  swept 
away  many  of  these  formalities.  Traces  of  them  survive 
at  the  courts  of  Berlin  and  Vienna,  but  elsewhere  an  am- 
bassador is  presented  with  little  more  than  the  customary 
ceremony  of  a  court.  It  has  long  been  held  that  every 
state  is  at  liberty  to  receive  ambassadors  with  or  without 
ceremony,  just  as  it  pleases,  provided  they  are  all  treated 
alike.  Formalities  of  this  kind  are,  however,  still  of 
moment  in  dealing  with  Oriental  states,  where  ceremony  is 
the  language  of  power.  Perhaps  it  is  nowhere  carried  to 
higher  perfection  than  at  the  court  of  Japan.  The  knotty 
question  of  precedence  was  also  settled  at  the  Congress  of 
Vienna  by  an  agreement  that  precedency  should  be  regu- 
lated by  seniority,  dating  from  the  notification  of  the 
arrival  of  the  envoy.  In  foreign  countries  the  senior  am- 
bassador is  known  as  the  dean  or  doyen  of  the  diplomatic 
body;  but  in  England  the  diplomatic  body  has  no  general 
mouthpiece  or  representative. 

Every  state  or  sovereign  has  the  right,  if  it  thinks  fit,  to 
refuse  to  receive  a  particular  person  as  an  ambassador,  or 
even  to  receive  any  ambassador  at  all.  It  is  therefore 
customary  to  ascertain  beforehand  whether  the  person  desig- 
nated for  an  embassy  is  favourably  regarded,  and  will  be  well 
received.  There  have  been  instances,  not  very  remote,  of 
unfavourable  answers  or  refusals  to  receive  given  individuals. 

The  rank  of  an  ambassador,  as  regards  the  society  of  the 
nation  to  which  he  is  accredited,  places  him  immediately 
after  the  princes  of  the  blood  royal,  because  he  represents 
a  sovereign  power,  and  this  rank  is  universally  conceded  to 
him.  The  rank  of  a  minister  plenipotentiary  is  rather 
more  dubious,  but  by  a  rule_  laid  down  by  Her  Majesty  for 
the  court  of  St  James  they  follow  dukes  and  precede 
marquises.  An  ambassador  or  minister  not  actually 
accredited  to  this  court  has  of  course  no  official  rank  at 
all,  and  must  take  his  personal  rank.  No  distinction  is 
made  between  the  ambassadors  of  monarchies  and  of 
republics.  The  Venetian  ambassadors  held  in  their  time 
a  very  prominent  rank  in  Europe ;  so  in  our  day  do  the 
ministers  of  the  United  States;  but  the  United  States  have 
never  sent  any  ambassador  to  Europe — their  representatives 
therefore  rank  in  the  second  class  of  public  ministers. 

We  shall  now  proceed  briefly  to  enumerate  that  which 
constitutes  the  essential  dignity  and  utility  of  an  ambassador 
— on  the  one  hand  his  rights  and  privileges,  on  the  other 
his  duties. 

A.  The  first  right  of  an  ambassador  is  that  of  personal 
audience  of  the  sovereign.  His  credentials  must  invariably 
be  presented  to  the  sovereign  in  person,  and  he  may  ask 
for  an  audience  on  any  fitting  occasion.  In  England, 
however,  the  sovereign  does  not  officially  receive  an 
ambassador  except  in  the  presence  of  one  or  more  of  the 
ministers  of  the  crown.  Mr  Canning  complained  bitterly 
of  the  influence  of  Prince  Lieven  and  Prince  Esterhazy 
over  George  IV,  who  lived  on  intimate  terms  with  these 
ambassadors,  and  used  to  say  "  his  father  would  never 
have  done  so."  In  England  the  right  of  audience  is  now 
generally  limited  to  the  presentation  of  some  congratulatory 
letter ;  but  at  Continental  courts  it  is  not  without  con- 
siderable utility  •  and  importance,  as  was  shown  by  the 
memo- able  conversation  of  Sir  Hamilton  Seymour  with  t!  : 
Emperor  Nicholas,  and  the  personal  interviews  of  Lord 
Cowley  and  Lord  Clarendon  with  the  Emperor  Napoleon  IIL 

In  all  ages  the  perfect  personal  security  of  persons  in- 
vested with  high  diplomatic  functions,  as  the  representa- 


658 


AMBASSADOR 


tivos  of  a  foreign  power,  has  beeu  mi  essential  and  funda- 
mental principle  of  the  law  of  nations.  Indeed  it  was  the 
law  of  nations  when  there  was  no  other.  Alexander  the 
Great  destroyed  Tyre  for  an  insult  offered  to  his  ambas- 
sador; and  it  stands  recorded  in  the  Roman  law,  "  Si  quia 
legatuni  hostium  pulsasset,  contra  jus  gentium  id  commis- 
sum  ec"  existimatur,  quia  sancti  habentur  legati"  (Dig.  L. 
Tit.  vii.  §  17).  In  moments  of  excessive  excitement  or 
revolutionary  frenzy  even  this  principle  has  been  vio- 
lated, as  in  the  murder  of  Dr  Dorislaus  at  the  Hague 
(1649),  and  of  the  French  envoys  at  Eastadt  (171)0); 
but  such  acts  leave  an  indelible  disgrace  on  those 
who  have  committed  them.  For  it  is  the  interest  of 
all  mankind  that  ambassadors  and  envoys  should  have 
absolute  security  to  perform  ■  their  missions  with  freedom 
of  speech  and  the  liberty  "eundi  et  redeundi"  undis- 
turbed, insomuch  that  to  intercept  or  refuse  passage  to  an 
ambassador,  even  through  the  territory  of  a  third  party,  is 
justly  regarded  as  a  base  action,  though  probably  the  leave 
of  the  third  party  to  grant  the  passage  ought  to  be  asked. 
It  was  the  barbarous  custom  of  Turkey  to  send  an  ambas- 
sador to  the  Seven  Towers  on  a  declaration  of  war,  and 
detain  him  there  as  long  as  the  war  lasted;  but  the  Porte 
formally  relinquished  and  abandoned  this  practice  on  the 
breaking  out  of  war  with  Russia  in  1827.  To  secure  this 
immunity  from  all  interference,  an  accredited  ambassador 
or  envoy  is  wholly  free  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts 
of  law,  or  of  any  other  authority  in  the  country  in  which 
he  is  sent  to  reside.  This  constitutes  the  doctrine  of  extra- 
territoriality. His  house  is  as  sacred  as  his  person.  It  is 
supposed,  like  a  ship  at  sea,  to  form  part  of  the  territory 
represented  by  the  flag  which  he  may  hoist  over  it.  All 
the  members  of  the  embassy,  and  even  the  servants  of  the 
ambassador,  share  the  same  inviolability.  They  cannot  even 
be  arrested  and  prosecuted  for  offences  without  his  consent. 
Hence,  as  the  courts  of  justice  have  no  jurisdiction  over 
them,  and  indeed  would  have  no  means  of  enforcing  an 
adverse  decision  either  by  distress  or  imprisonment,  these 
diplomatic  agents  cannot  be  impleaded  or  sued.  The  only 
means  of  obtaining  redress  for  an  injury  or  breach  of  con- 
tract is  an  appeal  to  the  head  of  the  mission,  or  a  further 
appeal  to  the  government  which  he  represents,  which,  it 
must  be  presumed,  -will  not  allow  a  vrong  to  be  committed 
with  impunity  under  the  shelter  of  privilege.  In  England, 
by  the  statute  7  Anne,  c.  12,  it  is  expressly  enacted  that 
any  process  against  foreign  ambassadors  or  ministers,  or 
their  goods  and  chattels,  shall  be  altogether  void.  This 
Act  was  passed  in  consequence  of  an  attempt,  made  in 
1708,  to  arrest  an  ambassador  of  Peter  the  Great  in  London 
for  a  debt  of  £50,  and  it  is  still  law;  but  in  fact  it  is  only 
declaratory,  and  in  confirmation  of  the  common  law  and  the 
law  of  nations. 

An  ambassador  or  envoy  pays  no  taxes  or  contributions 
to  the  public  revenue  of  the  country  in  which  he  resides, 
and  on  this  principle  he  is  entitled  to  receive  commodities 
from  abroad  free  of  customs  duties.  But  he  is  not 
exempted  from  the  payment  of  local  rates, — though,  indeed, 
if  he  were  to  decline  to  pay  them,  no  process  could  issue 
against  him  for  the  purpose  of  levying  them.  He  also, 
pays  the  ordinary  rates  of  postage,  but  he  has  the  privi- 
lege of  sending  his  own  couriers  carrying  sealed  despatches, 
which  exempts  him  from  the  monopoly  of  the  post  office. 
These  ojariers,  and  their  despatches  or  mails,  are  also 
regarded  by  common  consent  as  inviolable  messengers, 
unless  they  chance  in  time  of  war  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
a  hostile  belligerent.  In  some  countries  ambassadors  and 
their  couriers  have  been  allowed  to  have,  a  prior  claim  for 
post  horses  over  private  travellers. 

Another  of  the  important  privileges  of  an  ambassador  or 
bnvoy  is  the  free  exercise  of  the  religion  or  form  of  worship 


to  which  ho  adheres;  but  it  is  laid  down  by  the  best  writer* 
on  the  subject  that  a  foreign  minister  has  not  the  right  of 
maintaining  a  ehapel  or  chaplain  within  his  hotel,  under 
the  law  of  nations;  hence  the  liberty  of  religious  worshin 
for  the  ambassador  and  his  suite  was  made  a  matter  of 
treaty  engagement  between  Catholics  and  Protestants,  and 
between  Christians  and  Mussulmans.  By  courtesy,  though 
not  of  strict  right,  the  usage  of  ambassadors'  chapels  has, 
however,  become  general;  and  it  had  a  real  importance  in 
countries  where  the  free  exercise  of  different  forms  of  belief 
was  not  tolerated  by  law.  Thus,  at  the  timo  when  the 
rites  of  the  Church  of  Rome  were  forbidden  in  England, 
the  Spanish  and  Bavarian  chapels  in  London-  were" free; 
and  they  have  remained  in  existence  till  our  own  days, 
although  the  enlarged  tolerance  of  the  present  age  has 
removed  in  every  civilised  country  those  barriers.  In 
China  and  Japan  the  free  exercise  of  the  Christian  religion 
by  the  Christian  embassies  is  formally  secured  by  treaty. 

JB.  We  now  pass  to  the  duties  of  an  ambassador,  and  we 
place  at  the  head  of  them  that  of  keeping  bis  own  sove- 
reign well  informed  of  all  that  may  concern  his  interests 
in  foreign  countries.  He  is  the  eye  of  the  government  he 
serves,  specially  directed  tr  a  pan.cular  spot,  and  he  ought 
to  be  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  course  of  policy,  the 
movements  of  parties,  the  character  and  disposition  of 
individual  statesmen,  and  the  material  and  commercial 
resources  of  the  country  in  which  he  resides.  His  public 
despatches,  and  his  private  correspondence  with  the  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs  under  whom  he  serves,  ought  to  be  a 
record  of  all  that  can  interest  t>r  concern  the  state  which 
he  represents.  In  this  sense  the  diplomatic  reports  of  the 
ambassadors  of  former  times  are  invaluable  materials  for 
history.  His  next  duty  is  to  protect  and  defend,  if  neces- 
sary, the  persons  Lnd  interests  of  his  fellow-countrymen 
abroad;  and  this  is  of  especial  moment  in  the  case  of  a 
British  ambassador,  whose  countrymen  are  to  be  met  with 
as  travellers,  navigators,  or  merchants  in  all  parts  of  the 
globe.  To  them  the  presence  and  influence  of  the  diplo- 
matic representatives  of  their  country  is  of  incalculable 
value,  and  nothing  can  be  more  ill-judged  than  the  pro- 
posals that  have  been  made  to  cut  down  and  contract 
our  foreign  embassies  and  missions.  A  third,  but  not  less 
important,  duty  of  an  ambassador  is  to  maintain  the  most 
amicable  relations  with  the  sovereign  to  whom  he  is 
accredited,  and  with  his  ministers,  and  to  observe  towards 
them  the  strictest  respect,  veracity,  and  good-will.  It  has 
been  said  in  joke  that  the  first  duty  of  an  ambassador  is  to 
keep  a  good  cook ;  but  if  this  implies  that  he  is  to  exercise 
a  liberal  hospitality  and  to  make  his  house  agreeable,  those' 
no  doubt  are  means  whkh  may  powerfully  assist  him  in 
the  objects  of  his  mission.  In  former  times  it  was  con- 
sidered to  be  essential  to  good  diplomacy  to  act  as  a  spy 
upon  the  motives  and  conduct  of  foreign  statesmen,  to 
cheat  without  being  cheated,  to  use  clandestine  means  to 
obtain  information,  to  endeavour  to  form  a  party  in  foreign 
states  favourable  to  the  ambassador's  own  national  interests, 
to  observe  and  resist  with  the  utmost  jealousy  the  demeanour 
of  other  foreign  envoys,  and  to  carry  on  a  species  of 
warfare  under  the  mask  of  courtesy  and  good-breeding. 
These  practices  have  given  diplomacy  and  the  functions 
of  ambassadors  a  bad  name,  but  it  must  be  said  that 
they  are  repudiated  by  the  principles  and  practice  of 
the  present  time,  and  more  especially  by  the  foreign 
policy  of  this  country.  Down  to  a  recent  period, 
these  struggles  for  ascendancy  in  foreign  countries  were 
carried  on  with  great  eagerness,  and  they  led  to  unfor- 
tunate results.  In  Spain,  for  example,  the  untoward 
marriage  of  Queen  Isabella  was  notoriously  brought  about 
by  the  violent  and  arbitrary  interference  of  the  French 
Embassador :  and  in  1848.  when  Lord  Palmers  ton  instructed 


AMB-AMB 


659 


Sir  Henry  Bulwer  to  represent  to  the  Spanish  minister 
that  they  Tould  do  well  to  adopt  a  more  liberal  and  con- 
stitutional system  of  government,  General  Narvaez  imme- 
diately sent  the  British  envoy  out  of  the  country.  This 
was  the  exercise  of  an  extreme  right,  for  which  the  British 
government  could  claim  no  redress.  So,  again,  when  in 
the  course  of  the  Russian  war  (1855)  it  appeared  to  the 
American  government  that  the  British  envoy  in  Wash- 
ington had  infringed  the  neutrality  laws  of  the  United 
States  by  endeavouring  to  enlist  recruits  for  the  service 
of  Her  Majesty,  he  was  compelled  to  leave  the  country, 
and  Great  Britain  had  no  just  cause  of  complaint.  These 
modern  cases  are  important,  because  they  prove  that  no 
state  which  respects  itself  will  tolerate,  on  the  part  of  a 
•foreign  envoy,  a  direct  interference  in  the  internal  affairs 
of  government  or  an  infraction  of  its  own  laws.  HenCe 
arises  the  great  principle  on  which  our  modern  practice  is 
founded,  namely,  that  it  is  the  duty  of  an  ambassador  W 
observe  a  strict  neutrality  between  contending  parties  in 
the  state  to  which  he  is  accredited;  to  accept  the  govern- 
ment de  facto  with  which  he  communicates  as  the  govern- 
ment and  sovereign  of  the  nation;  to  pay  implicit  obedience 
to  the  laws  of  that  state,  whatever  they  be;  and  to  abstain 
as  much  as  possible  from  all  intervention  in  its  internal 
affairs.  These  doctrines  are  comparatively  new,  but  they 
are  sound,  and  they  may  be  said  to  have  received  the 
assent  and  the  approval  of  the  most' enlightened  govern- 
ments of  Europe.  Great  changes  have  occurred  within 
the  last  few  years  in  France,  Germany,  Austria,  Italy,  and 
Spain;  but  they  have  all  the  distinguishing  mark  that 
they  are  wholly  independent  of  foreign  diplomatic  influ- 
ence. The  first,  perhaps  we  ought  to  say  the  sole  duty,  of 
an  ambassador  is  to  protect  his  own  national  interests  and 
to  promote  the  most  friendly  relations  with  the  sovereign 
to  whom  he  is  accredited ;  and  experience  has  proved  that 
these  objects  are  best  secured  by  confining  himself  to  the 
principal  objects  of  his  mission,  and  by  relying  on  no  arts 
but  those  of  sincerity,  forbearance,  and  truth        (h.  k.) 

AMBATO,  or  Asiento  d'Ambato,  a  town  of  Ecuador, 
on  the  northern  slope  of  Chimborazo,  about  65  miles  south 
of  Quinto,  8859  feet  above  the  sea.  It  was  destroyed  by 
an  eruption  of  Cotopaxi  in  1698,  but  was  soon  rebuilt, 
and  now  carries  on  a  flourishing  trade  in  grain,  sugar,  and 
cochineal.     Population,  12,000. 

AMBER  (Gr.  "HXexiyw;  Lat,  Succinum,  Electrum; 
Ft.  Succin,  Ambre ;  Ger.  Bernstein)  is  a  hard,  brittle 
substance  with  a  resinous  lustre,  sometimes  found  perfectly 
transparent,  but  more  usually  of  varying  degrees  of  trans- 
lucency,  and  possessing  a  prevailing  yellow  colour,  passing 
from  a  pale  straw  tint  to  a  deep  orange.  It  occurs  in 
irregular  masses,  and  has  neither  taste  nor,  at  ordinary 
temperatures,  odour.  It .  develops  electrical  phenomena 
by  friction,  a  property  which  doubtless  early  drew  atten- 
tion to  amber,  and  invested  it  with  the  romantic  interest 
which  attached  to  it  in  ancient  times.  The  popular  regard 
for  the  substance  among  the  nations  of  antiquity  was 
further  maintained  by  the  fabulous  tales  of  the  manner  in 
which  amber  was  formed  and  the  mystery  connected  with 
its  occurrence. 

The  earliest  notice  of  amber  we  .find  occurs  in  the 
Odyssey  of  Homer,  where  in  the  list  of  jewels  offered  by 
Phoenician  traders  to  the  Queen  of  Syra  occurs  "  the  gold 
necklace  hung  with  bits  of  amber  "  (Od.  xv.  460).  Thales 
of  Miletus,  600  B.C.,  noticed  that  amber  when  rubbed 
attracted  light  bodies,  and  that  remote  and  simple  observa- 
tion is  the  foundation  of  the  modern  science  of  electricity, 
so  named  from  the  Greek  tjXcktpov.  Among  the  Greek 
fables  purporting  to  account  for  the  origin  of  amber,  it  is 
narrated  that  the  Heliadae,  on  seeing  their  brother  Phsethon 
hurled  by  the  lightning  of  Jove  into  the  Eridanus,  were 


by  the  pitying  gods  transformed  into  poplar  trees,  and  the 
tears  they  shed  were  dropped'  as  amber  on  the  shores  of 
^the  river.  Hence  arose  the  Greek  term  for  amber, 
"HXtKTtap  being  one  of  the  names  of  the  sun  god.  A  less 
poetical  theory  of  its  origin  states  that  it  was  formed  from 
the  condensed  urine  of  the  lynx  inhabiting  northern  Italy, 
the  pale  varieties  being  produced  by  the  females,  while  the 
deeper  tints  were  attributed  to  males.  In  such  repute  was 
amber  in  Rome  in  the  time  of  Pliny  that  he  sarcastically 
remarks,  "  the  price  of  a  small  figure  in  it,  howevei 
diminutive,  exceeds  that  of  a  living  healthy  slave." 
Besides  its  application  to  jewellery  and  carved  ornaments, 
and  its  use,  partly  decorative  and  partly  prophylactic,  aa 
necklaces,  peculiar  virtues  were  attributed  to  it.  Pliny 
observes — "  True  it  is  that  a  collar  of  amber  beads  worn 
about  the  necks  of  young  infants  is  a  singular  preservative 
to  them  against  secret  poisen,  and  a  counter-charm  for 
witchcraft  and  sorceries."  As  an  article  of  personal  orna- 
mentation, the  same  authority  states  that  amber  was  used 
to  produce  imitations  of  precious  stones  by  artificial 
staining,  a  use  to  which  it  was  peculiarly  adapted  owing 
to  its  brilliant  lustre  combined  with  the  ease  with  whichit 
could  be  worked  and  polished. 

The  great  source  of  supply  of  amber  in  all  age3  appears 
to  have  been  the  Baltic  coasts,  from  vhich  the  supplies  of 
commerce  still  continue  to  be  drawn.  During  the  reign 
of  Nero  an  expedition  was  sent  from  Rome  to  explore  the 
amber-producing  country,  and  so  successful  was  the  party 
that  a  present  of  13,000  fi  of  amber  was  brought  back 
to  the  emperor,  including  a  piece  weighing  13  lb.  It 
occurs  in  regular  veins  along  the  Baltic  coast,  but  in 
greatest  abundance  between  Pillau  and  Grosz  Hubenicken, 
on  the  Prussian  coast.  Professor  Phillips  thus  describes 
the  mines  :— 

"  Near  the  sea-coast  in  Prussia  there  are  regular  mines  for  the 
working  of  amber  :  under  a  stratum  of  sand  and  clay,  about  20  feet 
thick,  a  stratum  of  bituminous  wood  occurs,  from  40  to  50  feet 
thick,  of  a  blackish  brown  .colour,  and  impregnated  with  pyrites. 
Parts  of  these  trees  are. impregnated  with  amber,  which  sometimes 
is  found  in  stalactites  depending  from  them.  Under  the  stratum 
of  trees  were  found  pyrites,  sulphate  of  iron,  and  coarse  sand,  in 
which  were  rounded  masses  of  amber.  The  mine  is  worked  to  the 
depth  of  100  feet ;  and  from  the  circumstances  under  which  the 
amber  is  found  it  seems  plain  that  it  originates  from  vegetable 
juices." 

After  heavy  storms  large  ■  quantities  are  usually  found 
thrown  up  on  the  coast-  at  the  localities  where  it  is 
regularly  excavated,  and  the  assumption  is,  that  amberifer' 
ous  deposits  crop  up  in  the  shallow  waters  near  the  shores, 
from  which  pieces  become  detached  during  the  violent  com- 
motion of  the  water.  It  is  further  sparingly  cast  on  the 
Swedish  and  Danish  coasts,  and  occasionally  pieces  are 
picked  up  along  the  shores  of  Norfolk,  Essex,  and  Sussex 
in  .England.  It  occurs  at  numerous  localities  inland 
throughout  Europe,  among  which  may  be  noted  the 
neighbourhood  of  Basle  in  Switzerland,  the  departments 
of  Aisne,  Loire,  Gard,  and  Bas  Rhin  in  France,  and  in  the 
Paris  clay  it  is  associated  with- bituminous  deposits.  In 
England  it  ha3  been  found  in  the  sandy  deposits  of  the 
London  clay  at  Kensington.  The  coasts  of  Sipily  and  the 
Adriatic  likewise  afford  amber.  The  most  beautiful 
specimens  are  perhaps  these  which  are  found  at  Catania, 
They  often  possess  a  beautiful  play  of  colour,  approaching 
to  purple,  not  to  be  observed  in  the  product  of  other  places. 
Professor  Dana  gives  the  following  note  on  its  occurrence 
in  America : — 

"It  has  been  found  in  various  parts  of  the  greensand  formation  of 
tie  United  States,  either  loosely  embedded  in.  the  soil  or  engaged  in 
msrl  or  lignite,  as  at  Gay  Head  or  Slather's  Vineyard,  near  Trenton, 
and  also  at  Camden,  in  New  Jersey,  and  at  Cape  Sable,  sear 
Magothy  river,  in  Maryland." 


0130 


A  M  B-A5IC 


It  is  said  to  be  taken  in  large  quantities  from  the  north  of 
Burmah  to  the  markets  of  China,  where  it  is  highly  prized. 

The  appearance  of  enclosed  foreign  bodies,  such  as 
insects,  leaves,  twigs,  «kc,  which  amber  very  often  presents, 
and  the  markings  on  its  surface,  very  early  led  to  correct 
inferences  as  to  its  origin.  Pliny  states  that  "  amber  is 
an  exudation  from  trees  of  the  pine  family,  like  gum  from 
the  cherry  and  resin  from  the  ordinary  pine ;  and  in 
accordance  with  this  opinion  is  its  Latin  name  succinum, 
the  gum-stone.  The  opinion  expressed  by  Pliny  is  that 
which  at  tho  present  day  may  be  fairly  held  as  established ; 
but  of  course  amber  differs  from  other  resins  owing  to 
changes  induced  by  its  fossilised  condition.  Sir  David 
Brewster  has  pointed  out  that  in  optical  properties  it 
agrees  with  other  resinous  exudations.  The  insects  found 
enclosed  in  amber  aro  for  the  most  part  of  extinct  species, 
and  so  also  are  the  remains  of  plants.  A  species  of  conifer 
has  been  established  provisionally  as  the  amber-yielding  tree, 
Pinites  succinifer,  but  Gopptrt  has  shown  that  many  trees 
may  have  yielded  tho  exudation,  and  these  not  all  neces- 
sarily belonging  to  the  pine  order. 

The  close  relation  of  amber  to  ordinary  resins  is  further 
brought  out  by  its  chemical  properties  and  composition. 
According  to  Berzelius,  it  consists  mainly  of  a  resin, 
succinite,  insoluble  in  alcohol,  in  combination  with  small 
proportions  of  two  others,  isomeric  with  the  first,  but  soluble 
in  alcohol  and  ether.  By  dry  distillation  it  gives  off  at  a 
low  temperature  water,  succinic  acid,  and  oil  of  amber, 
which  last  substance  was  formerly  used  in  medicine  in 
combination  with  alcohol  and  ammonia  under  the  name  of 
eau  de  luce;  but  now  amber  and  all  its  products  have 
disappeared  from  the  standard  pharmacopoeias.  Its  com- 
position is,  according  to  Schrotter — 

Carbon 7894 

Hydrogen 1053 

Oxygen 10-53 

and  mineralogically  it  belongs  to  Dana's  class  of  oxygenated 
hydrocarbons.  It  burns  with  a  pale  yellow  flame,  with  a 
good  deal  of  black  smoke,  evolving  an  agreeable  odour,  and 
leaving  a  shining  black  carbonaceous  residue. 

It  is  said  that  by  exposing  amber  covered  with  sand  in 
an  iron  pot  to  tho  influence  of  heat  for  forty  hours,  or 
boiling  it  for  twenty  hours  in  rape  oil,  it  will  become 
trauspatent,  and  pieces  will  cement  and  mould  together. 
The  great  size  of  vessels  of  amber  which  have  come 
down  from  ancient  times  suggests  the  probability  of  some 
such  art  being  practised  in  remote  periods.  It  is  now 
applied  to  few  useful  purposes  among  western  nations 
beyond  forming  tho  mouthpieces  for  tobacco-pipes  and 
cigar-holders.  Fine  pieces  are  in  some  demand  for  public 
collections  and  for  the  purposes  of  the  carver.  In  tho  East, 
besides  its  being  highly  prized  for  ornamental  purposes,  a 
feeling  of  veneration  for  its  mystic  properties  still  en- 
hances its  value.  The  Turks  esteem  it  highly  as  a  mouth- 
piece for  tobacco  pipes,  and  believe  that  it  resists  the 
transmission  of  infection.  The  principal  demand  for  the 
amber  of  commerce  is  among  tho  Armenians,  through 
whom  it  is  conveyed  to  Egypt,  Persia,  China,  and  Japan ; 
and  a  great  quantity  is  purchased  to  be  consumed  at  the 
shrine  of  Mahomet  by  the  pilgrims  bound  to  Mecca.  The 
value  of  amber  depends  upon  its  colour,  its  lustre,  and  its 
size.  In  1576  a  mass  weighing  11  lb  was  found  in 
Prussia,  and  deemed  worthy  of  being  presented  to  the 
ror;  later,  a  mass  of  13  lb  was  found,  for  which  it  is 
said  5000  dollars  were  refused.  In  the  royal  cabinet  at 
Berlin  a  piece  is  shown  weighing  IS  lb;  but  such  masses 
are  of  very  great  rarity. 

AMBERG,  a  walled  town  of  Bavaria,  formerly  the 
capital  of  tho  Upper  Palatinate,  and  at  present  the  scat  of 
the  appeal  court  for  the  district,  is  situated  on  both  sides 


of  the  Vil-..  3">  miles  cast  of  Nuic.nbcrg.  It  is  a  well- 
built  town,  and  has  a  bbrary,  a  gymnasium,  a  lyceum, 
elementary  schools,  an  arsenal,  and  several  churches,  tho 
finest  of  which  is  St  Martin's,  with  many  fine  paintings, 
and  a  tower  300  feet  high.  Ttic  principal  manufactures  aro 
fire-arms,  ironmongery,  earthenware,  woollen  cloth,  beer, 
and  salt;  in  the  neighbourhood  arc  iron  and  coal  mines. 
The  French  under  Jourdan  were  defeated  by  the  Austriana 
near  Amberg  in  1796.     Population  in  1871,  11,688. 

AMBERGRIS  (Ambra  grisea,  Ambre  gris,  or  Grey 
Amber)  is  a  solid,  fatty,  inflammable  sabstance  of  a  dull 
grey  or  blackish  colour,  the  shades  being  variegated  hko 
marble,  possessing  a  peculiar  sweet  earthy  odour.  It  is 
now  known  to  be  a  morbid  secretion  formed  in  tho  intes- 
tines of  the  spermaceti  whale  (Phi/scter  macroceplialus),  and 
is  found  floating  upon  the  sea,  on  the  sea-coast,  or  in  the 
sand  near  the  sea-coast.  It  is  met  with  in  the  Atlantic 
Occau,  on  tho  coasts  of  Brazil  and  Madagascar;  also  on 
the  coast  of  Africa,  of  the  East  Indies,  China,  Japan,  and 
the  Molucca  Islands;  but  most  of  the  ambergris  which  is 
brought  to  England  comes  from  the  Bahama  Islands, 
Providence,  <tc.  It  is  also  sometimes  found  in  tho  ab- 
domen of  whales,  always  in  lumps  in  various  shapes  and 
sizes,  weighing  from  i  oz.  to  100  or  more  lb..  A  piece  which 
the  Dutch  East  India  Company  bought  from  the  King 
of  Tydore  weighed  182  lb.  An  American  fisherman  from 
Antigua  found,  inside  a  whale,  about  52  leagues  south-cast 
from  the  Windward  Islands,  a  piece  of  ambergris  which 
weighed  about  130  lb,  and  sold  for  ,£500  steriing.  Like 
many  other  substances  regarding  the  origin  of  which  there 
existed  some  obscurity  or  mystery,  ambergris  in  former 
times  possessed  a  value,  and  had  properties  attributed  to  it, 
moro  on  account  of  tho  source  from  which  it  was  drawn 
than  from  its  inherent  qualities.  Many  ridiculous  hypo- 
theses were  started  to  account  for  its  origin,  and  among 
others  it  was  conjectured  to  be  the  solidified  foam  of  tho 
sea,  a  fungoid  growth  in  the  ocean  similar  to  the  fungi 
which  form  on  trees,  the  excreta  of  sea-birds,  <tc  The 
true  source  and  character  of  ambergris  was  first  satisfac- 
torily established  by  Dr  Swediaur  in  a  commuuicatio.n  to 
the  Royal  Society  (Philosophical  Transactions,  vol.  lxxiii. ) 
It  wa3  found  by  Dr  Swediaur  that  ambergris  very  fre- 
quently contained  the  horny  mandibles  or  beaks  of  the 
squid  (Sepia  moschata),  on  which  spenn  whales  are  known 
to  feed.  That  observation,  in  connection  with  the  fact  of 
ambergris  beiug  frequently  taken  from  the  intestines  of 
the  sperm  whale,  sufficiently  proved  that  it  was  formed 
within  that  creature,  and  not  an  extraneous  substance 
swallowed  by  the  .whale.  It  was  further  observed  that  the 
whales  in  which  ambergris  was  found  were  cither  dead 
or  much  wasted  and  evidently  in  a  sickly  condition. 
From  this  it  was  inferred  that  ambergris  was  in  some  way 
connected  with  a  morbid  condition  of  the  sperm  whale. 
Ambergris,  when  taken  from  the  intestinal  canal  of  the 
sperm  whale,  is  of  a  deep  grey  colour,  soft  consistence,  and 
a  disagreeable  smell  On  exposure  to  the  air  it  gradually 
hardens,  becomes  pale,  and  develops  its  peculiar  sweet 
earthy  odour.  In  that  condition  its  specific  gravity  ranges 
from  0-780  to  0-926.  It  melts  at  a  temperature  of  about 
145°  Fahr.  into  a  fatty  yellow  resinous-like  liquid;  and  at 
212°  it  is  volatilised  into  a  white  vapour.  It  is  soluble  in 
ether,  volatile  and  fixed  oils,  but  only  feebly  acted  on  by 
acids.  By  digesting  in  hot  alcohol,  a  peculiar  substance 
termed  ambrein  is  obtained,  which  deposits  in  brilliant 
white  crystals  as  the  solution  cools.  In  chemical  constitu- 
tion ambrein  very  closely  resembles  cholesterin,  a  principle 
found  abundantly  in  biliary  calculi.  It  is  therefore  more 
than  probable  that  ambergris,  from  the  position  in  which  it 
is  found  and  its  chemical  constitution,  is  a  biliary  concrc 
I  tion  analogous  to  what  is  formed  in  other  mammals.     The 


AMB-AMB 


661 


use  of  ambergris  in  Europe  is  now  entirely  confined  to 
perfumery,  though,  it  formerly  occupied  no  inconsiderable 
place  in  medicine.  As  a  material  of  perfumery  its  price 
varies  from  15s.  to  25s.  per  ounce;  and  in  minute  quantities 
its  alcoholic  solution  is  much  used  for  giving  a  "  floral" 
fragrance  to  bouquets,  washes,  and  other  preparations  of 
the  perfumer.  It  occupies  a  very  important  place  in  the 
perfumery  of  the  East,  and  there  it  is  also  used  in  phar- 
macy, and  as  a  flavouring  material  in  cookery.  The  high 
price  it  commands  makes  it  peculiarly  liable  to  adultera- 
tion, but  its  genuineness  is  easily  tested  by  its  solubility 
in  hot  alcohol,  its  fragrant  odour,  and  its  uniform  fatty 
consistence  on  being  penetrated  by  a  hot  wire. 

AMBERT,  chief  town  of  an  arrondissement  of  the  same 
name  in  the  department  of  Puy  de  Dome,  France,  situated 
on  the  Dore,  35  miles  from  Clermont.  Its  chief  manu- 
factures are  paper,  linen,  lace,  ribands,  and  pins;  it  has 
also  an  extensive  trade  in  cheese  of  a  very  fine  quality. 
Population  in  1872,  7625. 

AMBLESIDE,  a  small  market  town  in  Westmoreland, 
situated  about  a  mile  from  the  head  of  Lake  Windermere, 
and  14  miles  from  Kendal.  .  During  the  summer  it  is  much 
frequented  by  tourists  on  account  of  its  beautiful  situation. 
In  its  vicinity  is  Rydal  Mount,  for  many  years  the  resi- 
dence of  the  poet  Wordsworth.  Some  indistinct  remains 
of  Roman  fortifications,  in  which  coins,  urns,  and  other 
relics  have  been  frequently  discovered,  exist  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. Coarse  woollen  cloths  are  manufactured  at 
Ambleside.     Population  in  1871,  1988. 

AMBLETEUSE,  a  seaport  town  of  France,  in  the 
department  of  the  Pas  de  Calais,  on  the  English  Channel, 
6  miles  north  of  Boulogne.  From  the  accumulation  of 
sand  in  its  harbour  it  has  lost  its  importance  as  a  seaport, 
and  the  town  is  now  almost  deserted.  It  possesses  an 
historical  interest  as  the  landing-place  of  James  IL  after 
his  abdication  in  1688;  and  Napoleon  I.  in  1804  attempted 
to  improve  the  harbour  for  the  flat-bottomed  boats  by 
means  of  which  he  was  to  invade  England.  Near  Amble- 
teuse  is  the  column  which  he  erected  to  the  grand  army  in 
1805.     Population,  about  700. 

AMBO,  or  Ambon  (Gr.  afipwv,  from  avapaivto),  a  read- 
ing-desk or  pulpit  in  early  Christian  churches  which  was 
placed  in  the  middle  of  the  nave.  It  was  ascended  by  a 
flight  of  steps  on  both  the  east  and  west  sides,  and  was  in 
some  cases  so  large  as  to  accommodate  fifty  persons.  From 
it  the  lessons  were  read,  and  hence  it,  was  sometimes 
called  suggestus  lectorum,  and  (Srju.a  t£>v  dvayvcucnw.  It 
was  also  occasionally  used  by  the  preacher.  Two  movable 
anibos  may  be  seen  in  the  church  of  St  John  Lateran  at 
Kome.  The  purposes  of  the  ambo  were  served  in  mediaeval 
churches  by  the  rood-loft,  a  gallery  across  the  chancel-arch, 
and  in  modern  churches  it  has  given  place  to  the  lectern 
and  the  pulpit. 

AMBOISE,  a  town  situated  in  a  rich  wine-producing 
district  in  the  department  of  Indre-et-Loire,  France,  on 
the  left  tank  of  the  Loire,  14  miles  east  of  Tours.  Its 
chief  manufactures  are  cloth  and  files.  At  Amboise  the 
French  Protestants  were  first  called  Huguenots,  and  1200 
of  them  were  massacred  there  in  1560  on  the  discovery  of 
their  conspiracy  against  the  Guises.  The  ancient  castle, 
which  is  situated  on  a  height  above  the  town,  was  a  seat 
of  the  French  kings,  and  it  was  set  apart  as  a  residence 
for  the  Arab  chief  Abd-el-Kader  during  his  captivity  in 
France.     Population,  4570. ' 

AMBOYNA,  one  of  the  Moluccas  or  Spice  Islands,  be- 
longing to  the  Dutch,  lying  south-west  of  Ceram,  in  3° 
41'  S".  lat.  and  128°  10'  E.  long.  It  is  32  miles  in  length, 
with  an  area  of  about  280  square  miles,  and  is  of  very 
irregular  figure,  being  almost  divided  into  two.  The  south- 
eastern and  smaller  portion  (called  Lcitimor)  is  united  to 


the  northern  (known  as  Hitoe)  Dy  a  neck  of  land  about 
a  mile  broad.  The  island  is  mountainous,  but  is  for  the 
most  part  fertile  and  well-watered.  Large  tracts  are 
covered  with  rich  tropical  forests,  which  embrace  a  great 
variety  of  trees,  although  ordinary  building  timber  u 
scarce.  The  climate  is  comparatively  pleasant  and  healthy; 
the  average  temperature  is  80°  Fahr.,  rarely  sinking  below 
72°.  The  rainfall,  however,  after  the  eastern  monsoons, 
is  very  heavy,  and  the  island  is  liable  to  violent  hurricanes 
and  earthquakes.  Amboyna  produces  most  of  the-common 
tropical  fruits  and  vegetables,  including  the  sago-palm, 
bread-fruit,  cocoa-nut,  sugar-cane,  maize,  coffee,  pepper, 
and  cotton.  Cloves,  however,  form  its  chief  product, 
and  the  only  one  that  is  of  any  real  commercial  import- 
ance. The  Dutch'  have  done  much  to  foster  the  cultiva- 
tion of  this  article  in  the  island,  and  at  one  time  prohibited 
the  rearing  of  the  clove-tree  in  all  the  other  islands  subject 
to  their  rule,  in  order  to  secure  the  monopoly  to  Amboyna. 
Each  tree  yields  annually  from  2  to  5  lb  of  cloves,  and 
sometimes  even  more;  while  the  total  annual  quantity 
produced  probably  averages  about  500,000  lb.  The  animal 
kingdom  is  poorly  represented.  Indigenous  mammals  are 
feeble  in  species  as  well  as  few  in  number;  birds  are  more 
abundant,  but  of  no  greater  variety.  The  entomology  of  the 
island  is,  however,  very  rich,  particularly  among  the  Lepi- 
doplera.  The  aborigines  of  Amboyna  are  a  race  called 
Horaforas,  but  Malays  constitute  the  main  body  of  the 
population ;  there  are  also  Chinese,  Dutch,  and  a  few  Por- 
tuguese. The  Malays  in  most  points  resemble  those  of 
Java.  They  are  naturally  lazy  and  effeminate,  but  when 
properly  trained  make  good  soldiers.  The  inhabitants 
are  mostly  Christians  or  Mahometans.  Amboyna  is  the 
chief  island  of  the  Dutch  residence  of  the  Moluccas,  which 
comprises,  in  addition,  the  islands  of  Boeroe,  Amblauw, 
Ceram,  Manipa,  Kilang,  Bonoe,  Haroekoe,  Honimoa  or 
Saparoa,  Noesa-laut,  and  Hila.  The  Portuguese  were  the 
first  European  nation  to  visit  Amboyna  (1512).  They  esta- 
blished a  factory  there  in  1521,  but  did  not  obtain  peace- 
able possession  of  it  till  1580,  and  were  dispossessed  by 
the  Dutch  in  1605.  About  the  year  1615  the  British 
formed  a  settlement  in  the  island,  at  Cambello,  which  they 
retained  until  1623,  when  it  was  destroyed  by  the  Dutch, 
and  frightful  tortures  inflicted  on  the  unfortunate  persons 
connected  with  it.  In  1654,  after  many  fruitless  nego- 
tiations, Cromwell  compelled  the  United  Provinces  to 
give  the  sum  of  £300,000,  together  with  a  small  island, 
as  compensation  to  the  descendants  of  those  who  suffered 
in  the  "Amboyna  massacre."  In  1796  the  British,  under 
Admiral  Rainier,  captured  Amboyna,  but  restored  it  to 
the  Dutch  at  the  peace  of  Amiens  in  1802.  It  was 
recaptured  by  the  British  in  1810,  but  once  more  restored 
to  the  Dutch  in  1814.  Population,  about  50,000.  See 
Moluccas. 

Amboyna,  the  chief  town  of  the  above  island,"  and  also 
of  the  Dutch  Moluccas,  is  situated  towards  the  north-west 
of  the  peninsula  of  Leitimor.  The  streets  are  broad  and 
unpaved,  running  at  right  angles  to  one  another,  and  inter- 
sected by  numerous  rivulets.  The  houses  are  of  wood, 
roofed  with  palm  leaves,  and  mostly  of  one  storey,  on 
account  of  the  frequent  earthquakes.  An  esplanade  of 
250  yards  reaches  from  Fort  Victoria  to  the  town,  and  is 
terminated  by  a  handsome  range  of  houses.  The  town- 
house  is  a  neat  structure  of  two  storeys ;  and  among  the 
other  buildings  are  two  Protestant  churches  and  a  hospital. 
The  government  offices  are  in  Fort  Victoria.  The  road- 
stead of  Amboyna  is  safe  and  commodious.  Population, 
about  13,000. 

AMBRACIA,  or  Ampracia,  an  important  city  of  ancient 
Epirus,  situated  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river  Arach- 
thus,   about  seven    miles    from    the    Ambracian    Gulf. 


662 


A  M  B  —  A  M  13 


According  to  tradition,  it  was  originally  a  Thesprotian 
town,  founded  by  Ainbrax,  son  of  Thesprotus,  or  by 
Ambracia,  daughter  of  Augeas.  About  635  B.C.  it  was 
colonised  by  Corinthians,  and  so  became  a  Greek  .city. 
Its  power  increased  rapidly  until  the  time  of  the  Pelopon- 
nesian  war,  when  it  commanded  the  whole  of  Amphilochia,- 
including  tho  town  of  Argos,  from  which  the  original 
inhabitants  were  expelled.  In  432  B.c.  the  ex] 
citizens,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Athenians  under 
Phorrnion,  retook  Argos.  In  430  the  Anibracians  made 
an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  recover  the  town,  and  a  second 
attack  in  426  resulted  in  a  still  more  disastrous  failure. 
The  power  of  Ambracia  now  declined  as  rapidly  a3  it  had 
grown.  In  338-7  it  was  compelled  to  submit  to  Philip  of 
Macedonia,  and  it  remained  subject  to  that  kingdom  until 
it  was  ceded  by  Alexander  V.  to  Pyrrhus  of  Epirus  about 
295.  The  latter  made  it  his  capital,  and  enriched  it  with 
numerous  works  of  art  It  subsequently  came  under  the 
power  of  the  JEtolian  League  (239),  and  sustained  a 
memorable  siege  in  the  war-  between  the  latter  and  Rome 
(189).  In  the  end  the  city  opened  its  gates  to  the 
enemy,  who  removed  many  of  its  most  valuable  works  of 
art  to  Rome.  In  31  B.c.  the  inhabitants  of  Ambracia 
were  removed  by  Augustus  to  Nicopolis,  the  town  he  had 
founded  in  commemoratidn  of  the  victory  of  Actium.  The 
site  of  Ambracia  is  occupied  by  the  modern  Arta,  near 
which  remains  of  the  ancient  fortifications  may  be  seen. 

AMBROSE  of  Alexandria  lived  in  the  beginning  of 
the  third  century.  Jerome  and  Eusebius  differ  in  the 
account  they  give  of  him,  the  one  calling  him  a  Marcionite, 
the  other  a  Valentinian ;  but  they  agree  in  alleging  that 
he  was  converted  to  the  orthodox  faith  by  the  preaching 
of  Origen.  Origen  dedicated  many  of  his  works,  among 
others  his  book  On  Martyrdom,  to  Ambrose,  at  whose 
desire  and  expense  they  were  published,  and  the  two  lived 
on  terms  of  the  most  intimate  friendship.  According  to 
some,  Ambrose  died  a  martyr  in  the  persecution  under 
Maximin,  about  the  year  236;  but  the  dedication  of 
Origen's  Eight  Books  against  Celsus  proves  that  ho  lived 
to  the  year  250,  or  near  that  period.  -  Origen  speaks  of 
him  as  a  man  of  sincere  piety,  and  much  devoted  to  the 
study  of  the  Scriptures. 

AMBROSE,  Saint,  Bishop  of  Milan,  was  one  of  the 
most  eminent  fathers  of  the  church  in  the  fourth  century. 
He  was  a  citizen  of  Rome,  born  in  Gaul, — according  to 
some  historians,  in  the  year  334,  but  according  to  others 
in  340.  At  the  period  of  his  birth  his  father  was  prae- 
torian prefect  of  Gallia  Narbonensis ;  and  upon  his  death 
the  widow  repaired  to  Rome  with  her  family.  Ambrose 
received  a  religious  education,  and  was  reared  in  habits  of 
virtue  by  his  mother,  an  accomplished  woman,  and  eminent 
for  her  piety.  The  names  of  his  instructors  in  the  rudi- 
ments of  Greek  and  Roman  literature  have  not  been  trans- 
mitted to  posterity ;  but  in  these  branches  he  made  early 
proficiency,  and  having  directed  his  attention  to  the  law, 
he  employed  his  eloquence  with  such  reputation  in  the  prae- 
torian court  of  Anicius  Probus,  that  he  was  soon  deemed 
worthy  of  a  place  in  the  council.  After  he  had  continued 
in  this  station  for  some  time,  Probus  appointed  him  con- 
sular prefect  of  Liguria  and  /Emilia,  comprehending  the 
territories  of  Milan,  Liguria,  Turin,  Genoa,  and  Bologna. 
Milan  was  chosen  as  the  place  of  hi3  residence ;  and,  by 
the  prudent  and  gentle  use  of  his  power,  ho  conducted  tho 
affairs  of  the  province  with  general  approbation  and  grow- 
ing popularity. 

The  death  of  Auxentius,  bishop  of  Milan,  in  the  year  374, 
made  a  sudden  change  in  the  fortune  and  literary  pursuits 
of  Ambrose.  At  that  period  the  tide  of  religious  conten- 
tion ran  Li^h  between  the  orthodox  and  the  Arians,  and  a 
violent  content  arose  concerning  the  choice  of  a  successor 


to  Auxentius.  When  the  people  were  assembled  in  the 
church  to  elect  the  new  bishop,  Ambrose,  in  the  character 
of  governor  of  the  place,  presented  himself  to  the  assembly, 
and  in  a  grave,  eloquent,  and  pathetic  address,  admonished 
the  multitude  to  lay  aside  their  contentions,  and  proceed  to 
the  election  in  tho  spirit  of  religious  meekness.  It  is 
reported  that  when  Ambrose  had  finished  his  address, 
a  child  cried  out,  "Ambrose  is  bishop,"  and  that  the 
ted  multitude,  regarding  this  as  a  miraculous  inti- 
mation, unanimously  elected  Ambrose  bishop  of  Milan. 
Some  suppose  that  this  was  entirely  a  device  of  Ambrose 
or  his  friends ;  others  ascribe  it  to  mere  accident  Am- 
brose professed  strong  reluctance,  and  even  fled,  or  pre- 
tended to  fly,  from  tho  city  in  order  to  avoid  the  intended 
honour.  The  place  of  his  concealment,  however,  was  soon 
discovered ;  the  emperor's  confirmation  of  his  election  was 
made'  known  to  him ;  and  after  being  baptized,  he  was 
ordained  bishop  of  Milan,  about  the  end  of  tho  year  374. 
Whatever  we  may  think  of  the  singular  conduct  of  Ambrose 
in  accepting  an  office  for  which  he  was  certainly  unqualified 
in  respect  of  previous  studies,  habits,  and  employments, 
it  must  be  admitted  that  he  immediately  betook  himself 
to  the  necessary  studies,  and  acquitted  himself  in  his  new 
elevation  with  ability,  boldness,  and  integrity.  Having 
apportioned  his  money  among  the  poor,  and  settled  his  lands 
upon  the  church,  with  the  exception  of  making  his  sister 
tenant  during  life,  and  having  committed  the  care  of  his 
family  to  his  brother,  he  entered  upon  a  regular  course 
of  theological  study,  under  the  care  of  Simplician,  a  pres- 
byter of  Rome,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  labours  of  the 
church. 

The  irruption  of  the  Goths  and  the  northern  barbarians, 
who  rushed  down  upon  the  Roman  empire  at  this  time, 
spreading  terror  and  desolation  all  around,  compelled 
Ambrose,  along  with  several  others,  to  retire  to  Illyricum 
but  his  exile  was  of  short  duration,  for  the  northern  in- 
vaders  were  quickly  defeated  by  the  forces  of  the  emperor, 
and  driven  back  with  considerable  loss  into  their  own 
territories. 

The  eloquence  of  Ambrose  soon  found  ample  scope  in 
the  dispute  between  the  Arians  and  the  orthodox.  About 
this  era  the  doctrine  of  Arius  concerning  the  person  ot 
Christ  had  been  extensively  received,  and  had  many  power- 
ful defenders  both  among  the  clergy  and  the  common 
people.  Ambrose  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Catholics. 
Gratian,  the  son  of  the  elder  Valentinian,  took  the  same 
side;  but  the  younger  Valentinian,  whohadnow  become  his 
colleague  in  the  empire,  adopted  the  opinions  of  the  Arians; 
and  all  the  arguments  and  eloquence  of  Ambrose  were  in- 
sufficient to  reclaim  the  young  prince  to  the  orthodox  faith. 
Theodosius,  the  emperor  of  the  East,  also  professed  the 
orthodox  belief ;  but  there  wero  many  adherents  of  Arius 
scattered  throughout  his  dominions.  In  this  distracted 
state  of  religious  opinion,  two  leaders  of  the  Arians,  Pal- 
ladius  and  Secundianus,  confident  of  numbers,  prevailed 
upon  Gratian  to  call  a  general  council  from  all  parts  of 
that  empire.  This  request  appeared  so  equitable  that  he 
complied  without  hesitation ;  but  Ambrose,  foreseeing  the 
consequence,  prevailed  upon  the  emperor  to  have  the  matter 
determined  by  a  council  of  the  Western  bishops.  A  synod, 
composed  of  thirty-two  bishops,  was  accordingly  held  at 
Aquileia  in  the  year  381.  Ambrose  was  elected  president; 
and  Palladius  being  called  upon  to  defend  his  opinions, 
declined,  insisting  that  the  meeting  was  a  partial  one,  and 
that  the  whole  bishops  of  tho  empire  not  being  present, 
the  sense  of  the  Christian  church  concerning  the  question 
in  dispute  could  not  be  obtained.  A  vote  was  then  taken, 
when  Palladius  and  his  associate  Secundianus  were  de- 
posed from  the  episcopal  office. 

Ambrose  was  equally  zealous  in  combating  tho  heathen 


AMBROSE 


663 


superstitions  Upon  the  accession  of  Valentinian  II. ,  many 
of  the  senators  who  remained  attached  to  the  pagan  idolatry 
made  a  vigorous  effort  to  restore  the  worship  of  the  heathen 
deities.  Symmachus,  a  very  opulent  man  and  a  great  orator, 
who  was  at  that  time  prefect  of  the  city,  was  intrusted  with 
the  management  of  the  pagan  cause,  and  drew  up  a  forcible 
petition,  praying  for' the  restoration  of  the  altar  of  Victory 
to  its  ancient  station. in  the  hall  of  the  senate,  the  proper 
support  of  seven  vestal  virgins,  and  the  regular  observance 
of  the  other  pagan  ceremonies.  In  the  petition  he  argued 
that  this  form  of  religion  had  long  been  profitable  to  the 
Roman  state,  and  reminded  the  emperor  howmuch  Rome  had 
been  indebted  to  Victory,  and  that  it  had  been  the  uniform 
custom  of  the  senators  to  swear  fidelity  to  the  government 
upon  that  altar.  He  likewise  adduced  many  facts  to  prove 
the  advantages  accruing  to  the  state  from  its  ancient  religious 
institutions,  and  pleaded  that,  as  it  was  one  divinity  that 
all  men  worshipped  under  different  forms,  ancient  practice 
should  not  be  rashly  laid  aside.  He  even  proceeded  so 
far  as  to  assert  the  justice  of  increasing  the  public  revenue 
by  robbing  the  church,  and  attributed  the  late  famine  which 
had  overtaken  the  empire  to  the  neglect  of  the  ancient 
worship.  To  this  petition  Ambrose  replied  in  a  letter  to 
Valentinian,  arguing  that  the  devoted  worshippers  of  idols 
had  often  been  forsaken  by  their  deities ;  that  the  native 
valour  of  the  Roman  soldiers  had  gained  their  victories, 
and  not  the  pretended  influence  of  pagan  priests;  that 
these  idolatrous  worshippers  requested  for  themselves  what 
they  refused  to  Christians;  that  voluntary  was  more 
honourable  than  constrained  virginity ;  that  as  the  Christian 
ministers  declined  to  receive  temporal  emoluments,  they 
should  also  be  denied  to  pagan  priests ;  that  it  was  absurd 
to  suppose  that  God  would  inflict  a  famine  upon  the 
empire  for  neglecting  to  support  a  religious  system  con- 
trary to  His  will  as  revealed  in  the  Scriptures ;  that  the 
whole  process  of  nature  encouraged  innovations,  and  that 
all  nations  had  permitted  them,  even  in  religion  ;  that 
heathen  sacrifices  were  offensive  to  Christians;  and  that  it 
was  the  duty  of  a  Christian  prince  to  suppress  pagan 
ceremonies.  In  the  epistles  of  Symmachus  and  of  Ambrose 
both  the  petition  and  the  reply  are  preserved,  in  which 
sophistry,  superstition,  sound  sense,  and  solid  argument 
are  strangely  blended.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that 
the  petition  was  unsuccessful. 

The  increasing  strength  of  the  Arians  proved  too 
formidable  for  Ambrose.  In  384  the  young  emperor  and 
his  mother  Justina,  along  with  a  considerable  number  of 
clergy  and  laity  professing  the  Arian  faith,  requested  from 
the  bishop  the  use  of  two  churches,  one  in  the  city,  the 
other  in  the  suburbs  of  Milan.  The  prelate  believing  the 
bishops  to  be  the  guardians  both  of  the  temporal  and 
spiritual  interests  of  the  church,  and  regarding  the  religious 
edifices  as  the  unquestionable  property  of  the  church, 
positively  refused  to  deliver  up  the  temples  of  the  Lord 
into  the  impious  hands  of  heretics.  Filled  with  indig- 
nation, Justina  resolved  to  employ  the  imperial  authority 
of  her  son  in  procuring  by  force  what  she  could  not  obtain 
by  persuasion.  Ambrose  was  required  to  answer  for  his 
conduct  before  the  council.  He  went,  attended  by  a 
numerous  crowd  of  people,  whose  impetuous  zeal  so  over- 
awed the  ministers  of  Valentinian  that  he  was  permitted 
to  retire  without  making  the  surrender  of  the  churches. 
The  day  following,  when  he  was  performing  divine  service 
in  the  Basilica,  the  prefect  of  the  city  came  to  persuade 
him  to  give  up  at  least  the  Portian  church  in  the  suburbs. 
As  he  still  continued  obstinate,  the  court  proceeded  to 
violent  measures  :  the  officers  of  the  household  were  com- 
manded to  prepare  the  Basilica  and  the  Portian  churches 
to  celebrate  divine  service  upon  the  arrival  of  the  emperor 
and  his  mother  at  the  ensuing  festival  of  Easter.    Perceiving 


the  growing  strength  of  the  prelate's  interest,  the  court 
deemed  it  prudent  to  restrict  its  demand  to  the  use  of  one 
of  the  churches.  But  all  entreaties  proved  in  vain,  and 
drew  forth  the  following  characteristic  declaration  from 
the  bishop  : — "  If  you  demand  my  person,  I  am  ready  to 
submit :  carry  me  to  prison  or  to  death,  I  will  not  resist ; 
but  I  will  never  betray  the  church  of  Christ.  I  will  not 
call  upon  the  people  to  succour  me ;  I  will  die  at  the  foot 
of  the  altar  rather  than  desert  it.  The  tumult  of  the  peoplo 
I  will  not  encourage ;  but  God  alone  can  appease  it." 

Many  circumstances  in  the  history  of  Ambrose  are 
strongly  characteristic  of  the  general  spirit  of  the  times. 
The  chief  causes  of  his  victory  over  his  opponents  were 
his  great  popularity  and  the  superstitious  reverence  paid 
to  the  episcopal  character  at  that  period.  But  it  must  also 
be  noted  that  he  used  several  indirect  means  to  obtain  and 
support  his  authority  with  the  people.  He  was  liberal  to 
the  poor ;  it  was  his  custom  to  comment  severely  in  his 
preaching  on  the  public  characters  of  his  times ;  and  he 
introduced  popular  reforms  in  the  order  and  manner  of 
public  worship.  It  is  alleged,  too,  that  at  a  time  when 
the  influence  of  Ambrose  required  vigorous  support,  he  was 
admonished  in  a  dream  to  search  for,  and  found  under  the 
pavement  of  the  church,  the  remains  of  two  martyrs, 
Gervasius  and  Protasius.  The  vulgar  crowded  to  behold 
these  venerable  relics,  and,  according  to  report,  a  number 
of  sick  persons  were  healed  by  touching  the  bones. 
Ambrose  exulted  in  these  miracles,  and  appealed  to  them 
in  his  eloquent  sermons ;  while  the  court  derided  and 
called  in  question  their  existence.  It  is  remarkable  that 
these  and  many  other  miracles  obtained  current  credit 
among  the  Christian  historians  of  the  second,  third,  and 
fourth  centuries;  and  Dr  Cave,  in  speaking  of  them, 
says — "  I  make  no  doubt  but  God  suffered  them  to  be 
wrought  at  this  time  on  purpose  to  confront  the  Anan 
impieties." , 

Although  the  court  was  displeased  with  the  religious 
principles  and  conduct  of  Ambrose,  it  respected  his  great 
political  talents ;  and  when  necessity  required,  his  aid  was 
solicited  and  generously  granted.  When  Maximus  usurped 
the  supreme  power  in  Gaul,  and  was  meditating  a  descent 
upon  Italy,  Valentinian  sent  Ambrose  to  dissuade  him  from 
the  undertaking ;  and  the  embassy  was  successful.  On  a 
second  attempt  of  the  same  kind  Ambrose  was  again 
employed  ;  and  although  he  was  unsuccessful,  it  cannot  be 
doubted  that,  if  his  advice  had  been  followed,  the  schemes 
of  the  usurper  would  have  proved  abortive ;  but  the  enemy 
was  permitted  to  enter  Italy,  and  Milan  was  taken. 
Justina  and  her  son  fled ;  but  Ambrose  remained  at  his 
post,  and  did  good  service  to  many  of  the  sufferers  by 
causing  the  plate  of  the  church  to  be  melted  for  their 
relief.  Theodosius,  the  emperor  of  the  East,  espoused 
the  cause  of  Justina,  and  regained  the  kingdom. 

In  the  year  390  a  tumult  happened  at  Thessalonica,  in 
which  Botheric,  one  of  the  imperial  officers,  was  slain. 
Theodosius  was  so  enraged  at  this  that  he  issued  a  royal 
mandate  for  the  promiscuous  massacre  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  place,  and  about  7000  persons  were  butchered 
without  distinction  or  mercy.  The  deed  called  forth  a 
severe  rebuke  from  Ambrose,  who  charged  the  emperor  not 
to  approach  the  holy  communion  with  his  hands  stained 
with  innocent  blood.  The  emperor  reminded  him  that 
David  had  been  guilty  of  murder  and  of  adultery.  The 
bishop  replied,  "You  have  imitated  David  in  his  guilt; 
go  and  imitate  him  in  his  repentance."  The  prince  obeyed, 
and  after  a  course  of  eight  months'  penance  he  was 
absolved,  on  condition  that  in  future  an  interval  of  thirty 
days  should  intervene  before  any  sentence  of  death  or  con- 
fiscation was  executed. 

The  generosity  of  Ambrose  was  favouraoly  exhibited  in 


G64 


AMBROSE 


the  year  392,  after  the  assassination  cf  Valentinian  and 
the  usurpation  of  Eugenius.  Rather  than  join  the  Btandard 
of  the  usurper,  he  fled  from  Milan  ;  but  -when  Theodosius 
was  eventually  victorious,  he  supplicated  the  emperor  for 
the  pardon  of  those  who  had  supported  Eugenius.  Soon 
after  acquiring  the  undisputed  possession  of  the  Roman 
empire,  Theodosius  died  at  Milan  (395).  Bishop  Ambrose 
did  not  long  survive  him,  having  died  in  the  year  397. 

On  many  accounts  the  character  of  the  bishop  of  Milan 
stands  high  among  the  fathers  of  the  ancient  church. 
With  unvarying  steadiness  he  delivered  his  religious  senti- 
ments on  all  occasions;  with  unwearied  assiduity  he  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  his  office;  with  unabated  zeal  and 
boldness  he  defended  the  orthodox  cause  in  opposition  to 
the  Arians;  with  a  liberal  hand  he  fed  the  numerous  poor 
who  flocked  to  his  dwelling;  with  uncommon  generosity  he 
manifested  kindness  to  his  adversaries;  and  with  Christian 
affection  he  sought  the  happiness  of  all  men.  His  general 
disposition  and  habits  were  amiable  and  virtuous,  and  his 
powers  of  mind  vigorous  and  persevering.  Ambition  and 
bigotry  were  the  chief  blemishes  in  his  character. 

The  writings  of  Ambrose  are  voluminous,  but  many  of 
them  are  little  more  than  reproductions  of  the  works  of 
Origen  and  other  Greek  fathers.  The  great  design  of  them 
was  to  defend  and  propagate  the  Catholic  faith.  His 
expositions  of  Scripture  contain  many  extreme  examples 
of  allegorical  and  mystical  interpretation.  Modern  readers 
will  regard  much  in  the  writings  of  Ambrose  as  trivial, 
and  even  as  ludicrous;  but  bis  style  is  vigorous,  and  the 
sentiment  is  often  weighty.  Gibbon's  judgment  appears 
to  be  too  severe  :  "  Ambrose  could  act  better  than  he  could 
write ;  his  compositions  are  destitute  of  taste  or  genius, 
without  the  spirit  of  Tertullian,  the  copious  elegance  of 
Lactantius,  the  lively  wit  of  Jerome,  or  the  grave  energy 
of  Augustin."  His  exegetical  writings  include  an  exposi- 
tion of  the  Gospel  of  St  Luke,  and  commentaries  on  certain 
Psalms.  Hia  Htxa'emeron  is  a  homiletical  treatise  on  the 
history  of  the  creation.  "  The  Hymns  of  St  Ambrose 
have  qxercised  a  powerful  influence  on  Christendom.  They 
were  designed  by  him  to  be  a  preventive  against  the  errors 
of  Arianism,  and  to  confirm  the  professors  of  the  true  faith 
in  the  doctrines  of  the  Trinity  and  the  divinity  of  Christ. 
.  .  Very  many  of  them  have  found  a  place  in  the  liturgies 
of  the  western  Church.  On  account  of  the  celebrity  of  St 
Ambrose,  many  hymns  have  been  attributed  to  him  which 
are  not  his ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  some  critics  have 
gone  into  the  opposite  extreme,  and  have  deprived  him  of 
his  property.  In  the  Benedictine  edition  of  his  works 
only  twelve  hymns  are  admitted ;  and  Dom.  Biraghi  [of 
the  Ambrosian  Library,  who  has  endeavoured,  in  his 
Inni  Sinceri  di  Sent'  Ambrogio,  to  restore  the  hymns  to 
their  primitive  form]  shows  reason  for  believing  that  only 
seven  of  these  are  genuine  "  (Journal  of  a  Tour  in  Italy, 
by  Chr.  Wordsworth,  D.D.,  1863.)  The  most  accurate 
and  complete  edition  of  his  works  is  that  published  by  the 
Benedictines,  printed  at  Paris  in  1G8G  and  1G90,  in  two 
volumes  folio. 

A  liturgical  form,  the  Ambrosian  Ritual,  which  is  still 
in  use  in  the  arch-diocese  of  Milan,  has  been  tradition- 
ally ascribed  to  Saint  Ambrose.  Several  attempts  were 
made,  in  particular  by  the  Emperor  Charlemagne  and  Pope 
Nicolas  II.,  to  secure  uniformity  by  enforcing  the  adoption 
of  the  Roman  breviary  throughout  the  Western  Church,  but 
the  clergy  of  Milan  refused  to  yield.  The  ritual  of  Ambrose 
is  included  in  the  Liiurgia  Latinorum  of  Pamelius  (Cologne, 
1571-6).  "Full  information  concerning  its  history  will  be 
found  in  the  Ceremoniale  AmbrosM.no,  by  Dom.  Giovanni 
Dozio,  published  at  Milan,  1853"  (Wordsworth's  Tour, 
1863). 

For  a  description  of  the  famous  churoh  of  St  Ambrose, 


founded  by  him  at  Milan  387  a.d.,  see  Milan.  For  the 
Ambrosian  Library,  see  Libraries.  Notices  of  his 
Liturgy  and  Hymns  will  be  found  under  these  headings. 
AMBROSE,  Isaac,  a  Puritan  divine.  Formerly  the 
practical  and  devotional  writings  of  this  eminent  Noncon- 
formist rivalled  John  Bunyan's  in  popularity,  and  his 
Looking  to  Jesus  holds  its  own  even  now.  Prominent 
name  as  his  was  in  his  generation,  very  scanty  are  the 
personal  memorials  of  him.  His  own  "  Media,"  under  the 
head  of  "  Experiences,"  yields  a  few  incidents  of  his  life. 
According  to  Anthony  a  Wood,  he  was  a  minister's  son, 
descending  from  those  of  the  name  living  at  Lowick,  and 
they  from  the  Ambroses  of  Ambrose  Hall  in  Lancashire. 
It  is  probable  that  his  father  was  Richard  Ambrose,  vicar 
of  Ormskirk,  who  was  succeeded  by  another  son,  Henry. 
It  seems  improbable  that  any  of  his  line  could  descend  of 
the  Lowick  Ambroses,  inasmuch  as  they  were  the  most 
"persistent  Catholics  of  Lancashire;"  and  there  is  the 
additional  consideration  that,  while  in  our  worthy's  writ- 
ings there  are  many  references  to  the  Papists,  he  makes 
not  the  slightest  allusion  to  his  conversion  from  Popery, 
or  to  any  Catholic  relatives  or  associations.  He  entered 
Brazenose  college,  Oxford,  in  1621,  in  the  seventeenth  year 
of  his  age,  and  must  therefore  have  been  born  in  1603-4. 
Having  proceeded  M.A.  and  been  ordained,  he  received 
at  the  outset  a  little  cure  in  Derbyshire,  which  was  at 
that  time  and  onward  to  Puritanism  what  Goshen  was  to 
Egypt  and  Israel.  By  the  influence  of  the  Earl  of  Bed- 
ford, he  was  appointed  one  of  the  king's  itinerant  preachers 
in  Lancashire.  Having  later  served  for  a  time  a  curacy 
in  Garstang,  he  was  selected  by  the  Lady  Margaret 
Hoghton  as  vicar  of  Preston.  He  was  on  the  celebrated 
committee  for  the  ejection  of  "scandalous  and  ignorant 
ministers  and  schoolmasters"  during  the  Commonwealth. 
So  long  as  Ambrose  continued  at  Preston  he  was  favoured 
with  the  warm  friendship  of  the  Hoghton  family,  as  was 
John  Howe, — their  ancestral  woods  and  the  tower  near 
to  Blackburn  affording  him  sequestered  places  for  those 
devout  meditations  and  "experiences"  that  give  such  a 
charm  to  his  diary.  The  immense  auditory  of  his  sermon 
at  the  funeral  of  Lady  Hoghton  is  a  living  tradition  still 
all  over  the  county.  For  some  reason  which  i3  unknown, 
perhaps  failing  strength  for  so  onerous  a  charge,  Ambrose 
left  his  great  church  of  Preston,  and  became  minister  of 
Garstang,  where  before  he  had  been  curate.  He  was 
vicar  of  Garstang  when  the  Act  of  Uniformity  was  passed. 
He  could  have  conscientiously  complied  with  many  of  its 
requirements,  for  he  was  willing  to  use  the  Prayer-book, 
and  did  not  stickle  at  things  whereat  other  tender  con- 
sciences did ;  but  the  enforcement  was  so  absolute,  not  to 
say  brutal,  that  he  found  himself  constrained  to  form 
one  of  the  Two  Thousand.  His  after  years  we're  passed 
among  old  friends  at  Preston.  He  spent  a  great  part  of 
his  time  every  summer  in  Widdicre  wood,  where,  seldom 
seen  by  any  except  on  the  Sabbath,  he  communed  with 
his  own  heart  and  his  God.  The  last  time  he  was  seen 
alive  was  by  some  friends  from  Garstang,  of  whom  he  is 
said  to  have  taken  leave  with  unusual  affection  and  gravity. 
Immediately  after  they  left  him  he  retired  to  his  wonted 
place  of  meditation,  where  he  was  found  by  an  attendant 
in  artichlis  mortis.  He  died  in  1 664  at  the  age  of.  sixty-one. 
Calamy  says  he  was  seventy-two,  but  his  college  entry  shows 
he  was  mistaken.  As  a  religious  writer,  Ambrose  has  a 
vividness  and  freshness  of  imagination  possessed  by  scarcely 
any  of  the  Puritan  Nonconformists.  He  is  plaintive  as 
Flavel  and  as  intense  as  Baxter.  Many  who  have  no  love 
for  Puritan  doctrine,  nor  sympathy  with  Puritan  expe- 
rience, have  appreciated  the  pathos  and  beauty  of  his  writ- 
ings, which  have  never  been  out  of  print  from  their  original 
issue  until  now.  (a.  b.  a.) 


AMB-AMB 


665 


AMBROSIUS,  Aitbexiant/s,  a  leader  of  the  Britons 
during  the  5th  century.  He  is  said,  on  somewhat  doubt- 
ful authority,  to  have  been  a  son  of  Constantine,  who  was 
elected  emperor  by  the  Roman  army  in  Britain  in  407. 
The  usually  received  account  of  his  life,  based  chiefly 
upon  the  history  of  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  contains  much 
that  is  evidently  fabulous.  It  seems  probable  that  he  was 
educated  at  the  court  of  Aldroen,  king  of  Armorica,  who 
sent  him  over  with  a  strong  force  to  assist  his  countrymen 
against  the  Saxons,  whom  Vortigern  had  invited  to  Britain. 
There  is  also  little  doubt  that,  having  defeated  Vortigern, 
he  was  chosen  to  succeed  him  as  king  of  Britain.  Geoffrey 
also  states  that  he  built  Stonehenge  (see  Stonehenge), 
that  he  defeated  Hengist,  and  that  he  compelled  the 
Saxons  to  surrender  at  York;  but  these  stories  are  inhe- 
rently improbable.  The  circumstances  of  his  death  are  in- 
volved in  equal  obscurity.  According  to  Geoffrey's  account, 
he  died  of  poison  at  Winchester;  but  others  state  that  he 
was  killed  in  a  battle  with  Cerdic  the  Saxon  in  508. 

AMBULANCE,  the  French  ambulance,  h&pital  ambulant, 
derivod  from  the  Latin  ambulare,  to  move  from  place  to 
place. 

Ambulances,  in  military  phraseology,  are  hospital  esta- 
blishments moving  with  armies  in  the  field,  and  organised 
for  providing  early  surgical  assistance  to  the  wounded 
after  battles.  They  are  only  prepared  for  affording  help 
of  a  more  or  less  temporary  kind,  and  they  are  thus 
distinguished  from  the  stationary  or  fixed  hospitals,  in 
which  sick  and  wounded  soldiers .  receive  care  and  treat- 
ment of  a  permanent  character.  The  term,  is  not  un- 
frequently  misapplied  in  common  speech  in  England  to  the 
ambulance  waggons,  or  other  conveyances  by  which  the 
wounded  are  carried  from  the  field  to  the  ambulances  and 
fixed  hospitals.  Such  vehicles  form  part  of  the  ambulance 
equipment,  and  will  be  noticed  presently. 

The  constitution  of  an  ambulance  includes  (1)  a  certain 
staff  of  officers  and  subordinates,  and  (2)  a  certain  equip- 
nent.  The  equipment  naturally  divides  itself  into  (a)  the 
medical  and  surgical  equipment,  and  (6)  the  equipment 
forming  the  means  of  transport  for  the  wounded.  But  the 
constitution  would  hardly  be  understood  without  a  general 
comprehension  of  the  system  on  which  the  functions  of 
ambulances  are  discharged,  or,  in  other  words,  the  plan  of 
administering  surgical  assistance  in  the  field  to  the  wounded 
of  armies.  Ambulance  administration  will  therefore  be 
first  noticed,  keeping  in  view  the  circumstances  of  armies 
operating  in  Europe,  and  the  ambulance  staff  and  equipment 
subsequently. 

Ambuxance  Admlnistbation. — The  origin  of  the  ambu- 
lance system  which  now  prevails  in  all  civilised  armies, 
though  variously  modified  among  them  in  particular  details, 
only  dates  from  the  last  decade  of  the  last  century.  Be- 
fore that  time  no  ambulance  establishments  had  been 
organised  for  effecting  the  removal  of  the  wounded,  or  for 
giving  the  requisite  surgical  attention  to  them,  while 
battles  were  in  progress.  Soldiers  wounded  in  the  ranks 
were  either  carried  to  the  rear  by  comrades,  or  were  left 
to  lie  exposed  to  all  risks,  and  unheeded,  until  after  the 
fighting  had  ceased.  The  means  of  surgical  assist- 
ance did  not  reach  the  battle-field  till  the  day  after  the 
engagement,  or  often  later,  and  to  a  large  proportion  of 
the  wounded  it  was  then  of  no  avail  In  1792  Larrey 
'introduced  his  system  of  ambulances  volantes,  or  flying 
field  hospitals,  establishments  capable  of  moving  from 
place  to  place  with  speed,  like  the  flying  artillery  of  the 
time.  They  were  adapted  both  for  giving  the  necessary 
primary  surgical  help,  and  also  for  removing  the  wounded 
quickly  out  of  the  sphere  of  fighting.  The  first  Napoleon 
warmly  supported  Larrey  in  hi«  endeavours  to  introduce 
and  perfect  the  new  system  of  surgical  aid  to  the  wounded 


in  battle ;  and,  being,  received  with  much  favour  by  the 
troops,  the  plan  obtained  a  firm  footing,  and  was  subse- 
quently brought  to  a  high  state  of  perfection.  About  the 
same  time  another  distinguished  surgeon  of  high  position 
in  the  French  army,  Baron  Percy,  introduced  and  developed 
a  corps  of  brancardiers,  or  stretcher-bearers.  These  con- 
sisted of  soldiers  trained  and  regularly  equipped  for  the 
duty  of  collecting  the  wounded  while  a  battle  wa3  in  pro- 
gress, and  carrying  them  on  stretchers  to  places  where 
means  of  surgical  aid  were  provided. 

From  the  period  when  these  improvements  were  intro- 
duced most  civilised  armies  have  had  ambulance  establish- 
ments formed  for  giving  surgical  help  near  to  the  com- 
batants. *  It  is  only,  however,  during  the  last  twenty  years 
that  ambulances  have  acquired  the  completeness  of  organisa- 
tion which  they  have  now  attained  in  some  armies,  espe- 
cially in  those  of  Germany.  In  the  armies  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  during  the  late  great  civil  war,  the 
ambulance  system  attained  a  very  complete  organisation, 
particularly  from  March  1864,  when  an  Act  was  passed  by 
Congress,  entitled  "  An  Act  to  establish  a  uniform  system 
of  Ambulances  in  the  United  States."  This  law  fixed  a 
definite  and  single  system  of  ambulance  arrangements  for  all 
the  armies  of  the  United  States  at  that  time  in  the  field. 

The  ambulance  arrangements  of  the  British  army  have 
never  reached  the  degree  of  completeness  which  they  have 
reached  in  Continental  armies.  During  the  Peninsular  wax 
the  want  of  a  trained  ambulance  corps,  and  of  properly- 
constructed  sick-transport  carriages,  formed  a  theme  of 
constant  complaint.  For  the  former,  soldiers  from  the 
ranks  were  substituted — a  double  evil,  as  they  were  un- 
suited  for  the  work,  while  their  employment  lessened  the 
fighting  strength;  for  the  latter,  commissariat  waggons, 
or  the  agricultural  carts  of  the  country  in  which  the  troops 
were  operating.  It  was  not  from  want  of  attention  being 
called  to  the  subject,  as  the  writings  of  Sir  J.  M'Grigor, 
Hennen,  Millingen,  and  other  Peninsular  surgeons  suf- 
ficiently testify.  The  last-named  military  surgeon  published 
a  very  complete  scheme  of  an  ambulance  establishment 
shortly  after  the  war  was  concluded,  approaching  closely 
in  its  principles  to  those  put  into  prance  of  late  years  in 
the  armies  of  Germany.  There  is  reason  for  believing  that 
had  the  operations  of  the  British  troops  on  the  Continent 
not  been  discontinued,  some  plan  of  the  kind  would  have 
been  introduced.  As  it  was,  subsequently  to  1815,  so  far 
as  army  hospitals  were  concerned,  administrative  atten- 
tion was  chiefly  given  to  improving  those  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  sick  in  peace  time.  The  wars  that 
British  troops  were  engaged  in  in  India,  Chinar.the  south 
of  Africa,  and  elsewhere,  did  not  lead  to  improvements 
like  those  which  have  been  made  in  Continental  armies;  for 
either  the  habits  of  the  natives  of  the  respective  countries, 
or  the  nature  of  the  climate,  or  the  state  of  the  country, 
necessitated  special  arrangements  for  the  care  of  the  sick 
and  wounded  unsuited  for  meeting  the  circumstances  of 
European  warfare.  Thus,  when  the  Crimean  war  broke 
out  the  English  army  was  still  without  an  ambulance 
corps,  or  an  ambulance  establishment  of  materiel.  An 
ambulance  corps  of  military  pensioners  was  hastily  raised, 
but  failed  from  the  habits  and  enfeebled  constitutions  of 
the  men.  They  were  succeeded  by  a  corps  formed  of 
civilians,"  unused  to  the  discipline  and  habits  of  military 
life,  which  likewise  failed  Several  forms  of  sick-transport 
vehicles  were  tried,  but  only  indifferently  answered  their 
intended  purposes.  Fortunately,  as  the  troop3  were  for 
the  most  part  stationary  during  the  war,  the  want  of 
thoroughly  organised  ambulances  was  not  felt  to  the  same 
extent  as  it  would  have  been  had  the  operations  been 
extended  far  into  the  interior  of  the  country.  ^The  ex- 
perience of  the  Crimean  war  led  to  efforts  to  repair  the 


6(30 


A  3IBULANCE 


defects  which  wererthen  made  manifest.  Since  that  time 
a  trained  army  hospital  corps  has  been  constituted,  and 
much  of  the  ambulance  equipment  has  been  revised. 

One  serious  impediment  to  perfecting  an  ambulance 
system  is  the  costliness  of  maintaining,  in  time  of  peace, 
establishments  which  will  only  be  required  for  use  in  time 
of  war.  All  that  can  be  done  is  to  form  a  nucleus  which 
can  be  expanded  according  to  need  when  war  breaks  out. 
But  even  in  Continental  armies,  with  frequent  wars  pressing 
upon  them,  the  urgency  of  giving  close  attention  to  the 
subject,  and  in  countries  where  the  existence  of  conscrip- 
tion furnishes  a  greater  supply  of  men  at  less  cost  than  in 
England,  the  deficiencies  of  the  ambulance  establishments 
have  hitherto  been  so  great  in  respect  to  the  numbers  and 
necessities  of  the  wounded  on  occasions  of  great  battles, 
that  an  extensive  volunteer  organisation,  with  national 
societies  in  every  country  of  Europe,  has  sprung  up  for 
giving  additional  assistance.  This  is  not  the  place  to  dis- 
cuss the  advantages  of  such  volunteer  aid;  buf.'if  accepted, 
all  who  have  considered  the  subject  well  have  admitted  the 
necessity  for  its  being  placed  under  military  authority,  and 
under  distinct  regulations,  in  order  to  secure  maintenance 
of  order  and  discipline.  It  is  also  generally  admitted  that 
volunteer  aid  to  wounded  soldiers  is  out  of  place  in  the 
ambulances,  and  can  best  be  employed  in  the  fixed  hospitals; 
by  which  means  some  of  the  regular  military  personnel 
may  be  set  free  for  work  in  the  field. 

One  important  step,  taken  a  few  years  since,  towards 
the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  wounded  of  armies 
in  the  field  must  be  just  mentioned.  This  was  the  Euro- 
pean Convention  signed  at  Geneva  in  1804,  by  the  terms. 
of  which,  subject  to  certain  regulations,  not  only  the 
wounded  themselves,  but  the  official  staff  of  ambulances 
and  their  equipment  have  been  rendered  neutral ;  the 
former,  therefore,  not  being  liable  to  be  retained  as 
prisoners  of  war,  nor  the  latter  to  be  taken  as  prize  of 
war.  This  convention  has  greatly  favomred  the  develop- 
ment of  ambulance  establishments. 

The  conditions  of  modern  warfare  have  led  to  the  need 
of  army  ambulances  being  arranged  on  printiples  different 
from  what  were  applicable  only  a  few  years  ago.  The 
immensely  increased  range  of  rifles  and  artillery  in  the 
present  day,  the  consequent  extension  of  the  area  over 
which  fire  i3  maintained,  the  suddenness  with  which 
armies  can  be  brought  into  the  field  from  increased 
facilities  of  locomotion,  the  rapidity  of  their  movements, 
the  shortened  duration  of  campaigns,- the  large  numbers  of 
wounded  which  have  to  be  dealt  with,  not  merely  from 
the  destructive  qualities  of  the  fire-arms,  but  from  the 
vast  forces  collected  on  occasions  of  important  battles,  the 
increased  proportion  of  severe  wounds, — are  all  circum- 
stances which  have  entailed  need  for  revision  of  am- 
bulances and  their  administration.  The  ambulances  must 
be  so  organised  as  to  be  able  to  keep  up  with  the  troops, 
and  so  disposed  as  in  no  way  to  interfere  with  their 
movements.  They  must  be  capable  of  meeting  the  wants 
of  a  partial  or  general  engagement  at  any  moment,  and  if 
the  troops  advance,  must  be  prepared  to  accompany  them, 
so  as  to  be  ready  to  meet  future  wants. 

Whatever  the  details  of  organisation  may  be  when  ai 
important  battle  is  fought,  the  ambulance  system  must 
admit  of  three  help  stations  at  least  being  established  in 
rear  of  the  combatants.  There  must  be  a  station  of  limited 
character  immediately  in  rear  of  the  troops  for  attention 
to  such  wounds  as  entail  speedy  loss  of  life  if  no  assistance 
be  rendered  ;  a  second  station,  more  remote,  where  tem- 
porary assistance  of  a  more  general  nature  can  be  afforded ; 
a  third,  where  more  thorough  attention  can  be  given,  and 
where  the  wounded  can  receive  food  and  protection  until 
there  are  means  of  sending  them  away.     Recently,  in  some 


armies,  the  ambulance  arrangements  have  been  calculated 
for  furnishing  aid  at  four  stations ;  and,  indeed,  owing  to 
the  increased  range  of  fire,  and  the  consequent  distance 
between  the  help  stations  when  only  three  are  formed,  the 
fatigue  thrown  on  the  bearers  is  so  great,  and  the  time  the 
wounded  are  left  without  help  so  long,  that  the  division 
of  the  ambulances  into  four  stations  has  become  almost 
essential.  If  this  arrangement  be  followed,  there  will  be 
— 1st,  the  field  station,  for  help  of  prime  urgency;  2d,  the 
transfer  station,  where  the  wounded  will  be  transferred 
from  the  hand  conveyances  to  wheeled  vehicles ;  3d,  the 
dressing  station,  where  the  provisional  dressings  will  be 
applied ;  and  4th,  the  field  hospital  station,  where  defini- 
tive treatment  will  be  adopted. 

The  disposition  and  distances  of  these  four  ambulance 
sections  must  vary  according  to  the  nature  of  the  battle, 
the  configuration  of  the  terrain,  and  other  circumstances, 
but  in  a  general  way  will  be  as  follows  : — 1st,  the  field 
station,  in  the  immediate  rear  of  the  troops,  moving  with 
them,  and  therefore  under  fire ;  2d,  the  transfer  station, 
clear  of  the  enemy's  rifle  fire,  but  not  too  far  for  the 
bearers,  and  at  a  place  practicable  for  waggons,  from  800 
to  900  yards  behind  the  troops  engaged ;  3d,  the  dressing 
station,  beyond  range  of  artillery  fire,  at  a  spot  easily 
reached  by  the  ambulance  waggons,  and  on  the  way  to 
the  fourth  station,  with  a  running  stream  or  well  at  hand  if 
possible,  from  800  to  1000  yards  in  rear  of  No.  2;  and 
4th,  the  field  hospital  station,  at  a  place  free  from  risk  of 
being  brought  within  the  sphera  of  fighting,  from  2  to  4 
miles  in  rear  of  the  combatants.  This  last  station  may  be 
at  a  farm  or  country  house,  or  in  a  village,  but  should  not 
be  in  a  place  of  strategical  importance,  or  in  one  likely  to 
be  blocked  by  the  general  transport  of  the  army.  When 
the  four  stations  are  in  working  order,  as  men  fall  badly 
wounded,  those  within  reach  will  be  placed  on  stretchers  by 
the  men  told  off  for  duty  as  bearers,  and,  after  hasty  inspec- 
tion by  the  field  surgeon,  and,  as  far  as  practicable,  receiv- 
ing such  help  as  is  of  vital  importance,  they  will  be  borne 
to  the  second  or  transfer  station,  and  placed  in  ambulance 
waggons,  or  on  wheeled  stretchers  if  they  are  in  use.  The 
bearers,  then  taking  vacant  stretchers,  will  return  to  the 
field  station  for  more  wounded.  The  wounded  who  havo 
been  transferred  to  the  wheeled  conveyances  will  be  driven 
by  the  men  of  the  ambulance  train  to  the  third  or  dressing 
station,  and  there  receive  whatever  provisional  dressing 
may  be  necessary  before  being  sent  on  to  the  fourth  or  field 
hospital  station,  where  definitive  treatment  will  be  adopted, 
and  any  surgical  operations  performed  that  may  be  re- 
quired. 

It  is  obvious  that  such  a  system  of  help  can  only  be 
carried  out,  with  any  approach  to  regularity  and  requisite 
speed,  with  ambulance  establishments  proportionate  to  the 
number  of  troops  in  the  field,  each  ambulance  being  well 
organised,  provided  with  a  sufficient  staff  and  complete 
equipment,  and  acting  under  the  general  supervision  of 
an  experienced  director,  whose  duty  it  is  to  watch  the 
varying  events  of  the  contest  while  it  is  in  progress,  and 
to  order  changes  in  the  ambulance  arrangements  according 
as  the  troops  advance,  retire,  or  otherwise  change  position. 
Even  with  these  advantages,  the  difficulties  of  adequately 
meeting  the  wants  of  the  wounded  must  always  be  very 
great,  owing  to  the  rapid  manoeuvres  of  the  troops,  the 
varying  features  of  the  ground  over  vhich  battles  are 
extended,  and  the  rapidity  with  which  the  wounded  fall ; 
but  without  a  proper  organisation  arranged  beforehand, 
the  difficulties  are  insuperable,  and  no  help  of  much  value 
can  be  afforded  until  all  fighting  has  ceased. 

Ambulance  arrangements  have  to  be  modified  to  suit  par- 
ticular military  operations,  such  as  when  troop3  disembarV 
on  a  hostile  shore,  on  occasion  of  sieges,  <tc 


AMBULANCE 


667 


Ambtjlance  Staff. — The  scheme  of  ambulance  adminis- 
tration and  action  just  described  involves  the  necessity  of 
a  staff  comprising  the  following  personnel,  viz.  :  —  1. 
Bearers  of  wounded ;  2.  Surgeons  and  attendants ;  3. 
Ambulance  train .  personnel  ;  4.  Ambulance  police ;  5. 
Servants  to  officers. 

Bearers  of  Wounded.  —  These  are  soldiers  specially 
trained  and  told  off  for  the  duty  of  picking  up  and  carry- 
ing the  badly  wounded  on  stretchers.  In  Continental 
armies  special  provision  is  made  to  meet  this  particular 
want,  but  under  different  systems  in  different  armies.  In 
the  Prussian  army  companies  of  bearers,  distinguished  by 
a  particular  uniform,  and  denominated  "  sanitats-detache- 
ments,"  have  the  duty  assigned  to  them  of  gathering  the 
wounded  during  battles,  and  carrying  them  to  the  dressing 
and  field  hospital  stations.  Each  of  these  bearer  columns 
consists  of  a  military  staff  of  officers  for  discipline  and 
direction,-  non-commissioned  officers,  buglers,  and  a  large 
number  of  bearers ;  a  special  medical  staff,  with  assistantn 
and  dressers;  a  transport  staff  of  non-commissioned  officers 
and  drivers,  with  a  certain  number  of  stretchers,  wheeled 
stretcher  supports,  sick  transport  waggons,  and  store 
waggons  for  the  carriage  of  instruments,  dressings,  and 
other  necessary  materials.  Separate  establishments  exist 
for  the  field  hospitals.  In  addition  to  these  sanitary 
detachments,  auxiliary  sick-bearers  {Hilfs-krarkentrager) 
are  provided  for  service  on  occasions  of  great  battles.  To 
form  these  auxiliaries,  four  men  in  each  company  of  every 
battalion  of  the  army  are  practised  at  regular  periods  with 
the  sanitary  detachments  in  time  of  peace  in  the  modes 
of  picking  up,  temporarily  attending  to,  and  carrying 
wounded  These  auxiliary  bearers  wear  the  uniform  of 
their  regiments,  of  which  they  perform  the  ordinary  duties, 
but  have  a  distinguishing  badge  on  the  left  arm  when 
serving  as  bearers.  When  a  battle  is  imminent,  the  auxi- 
liary bearers  fall  out,  are  provided  with  stretchers  and 
other  needful  appliances  from  the  ambulance  waggons, 
and  act  under  the  orders  of  the  officers  of  the  divisional 
sanitary  detachments.  The  system  in  the  Austrian  army 
is  very  like  that  in  the  Prussian.  In  the  British  army  no 
corresponding  establishment  exists.  The  hospital  attend- 
ants belonging  to  the  Army  Hospital  Corps  are  trained 
in  all  that  refers  to  the  care  of  wounded  men,  but  in  time 
of  war  they  will  be  too  urgently  needed  for  their  duties  in 
the  field  and  fixed  hospitals  to  be  spared  for  duty  as 
bearers  of  the  wounded  from  the  field  to  the  dressing 
stations.  The  regimental  bandsmen  are  generally  regarded 
as  available  for  these  duties  in  the  British  service ;  but 
though  the  army  regulations  order  that  bandsmen  are 
liable  to  serve  in  the  ranks  on  an  emergency,  they  nowhere 
constitute  them  bearers  of  wounded,  nor  do  bandsmen 
receive  the  necessary  training  to  fit  them  for  the  duties. 
As  it  is  understood  that  the  ambulance  arrangements  of 
the  British  army  are  at  present  under  consideration,  this, 
with  other  details,  will  probably  be  shortly  placed  on  a 
settled  basis. 

Surgical  Staff.  —  This  section  embraces  the  medical 
officers  (administrative  and  executive),  the  dispensers  of 
medicine,  and  the  officers,  non-commissioned  officers,  and 
men  of  the  Army  Hospital  Corps.  The  last-named  corps 
includes  the  dressers,  nurses,  cooks,  and  all  the  hospital 
subordinates  who  are  required  for  the  care,  dieting,  watch- 
ing, arid  protection  of  the  patients,  for  the  hospital  •  cor- 
respondence, &c.  The  men  act  professionally  under  the 
directions  of  the'  surgeons ;  in  respect  of  other  matters, 
under  their  own  officers.  The  constitution  and  duties  of 
the  several  divisions  and  grades  of  the  army  medical 
department  are  shown  in  a  special  code  of  instructions 
known  as  the  "  Army  Medical  Regulations." 

Amlivlance.   Train. — On   the    officers  and  men  of   the 


ambulance  train  devolve  the  duties  of  conducting  the 
wheeled  transport,  and  the  mule  litters  and  cacolets  when 
such  conveyances  are  used  In  the  British  service  these 
duties  are  entrusted  to  the  ordinary  transport  branch  of 
the  Control  department.  It  has  been  recommended  that 
the  officers  and  men  to  whom  these  duties  are  entrusted 
should  be  specially  selected  and  trained,  as  well  as  fami- 
liarised, to  co-operate  with  the  bearers  and  ambulance 
corps.  They  would  thus  form  an  ambulance  train  some- 
what like  that  which  exists  in  the  sanitary  detachments 
of  the  Prussian  army. 

Military  Servants. — Orderlies  are  required  as  servantfl 
to  the  ambulance  surgeons  and  other  officers,  in  order  that 
they  may  give  their  time  fully  to  the  concerns  of  the  sick 
and  wounded  When  special  orderlies  are  not  provided, 
men  of  the  Army  Hospital  Corps  usually  act  as  servants  to 
officers, — a  bad  system,  for  the  whole  time  and  services  of 
these  trained  men  should  be  devoted  to  their  legitimate 
functions. 

Ambulance  Police. — Many  irregularities  are  liable  to 
occur  in  the  rear  of  troops  engaged  in  a  general  action ; 
not  so  much  from  acts  of  the  troops  themselves  as  from 
camp  followers,  hired  drivers,  and  others.  The  officers 
charged  with  the  military  discipline  pf  the  bearer,  train, 
and  hospital  corps  have  other  pressing  duties  to  engage 
them  on  such  occasions.  In  the  British  army  it  devolves 
on  the  provost-marshal  to  arrange  for  this  service. 

Ambulance  Equipment. — As  before  mentioned,  ambu- 
lance equipment  divides  itself  into  two  categories: — 1. 
The  medical  and  surgical  equipment;  2.  The  equipment 
for  the  transport  of  wounded.  These  divisions  will 
therefore  be  noticed  separately,  and  the  description  will 
be  confined  tc/  the  equipment  supplied  in  the  British 
army  for  service  in  Europe.  In  India  and  in  tropical 
countries  special  ambulance  equipments  are  rendered 
necessary. 

Medical  and  Surgical  Equipment. — This  portion  of  am- 
bulance equipment  consists  of  the  articles  necessary  for  the 
service  of  the  wounded  in  the  field  itself,  at  the  dressing 
stations,  and  in  the  field  hospitals.  It  has  to  be  distributed 
in  forms  such  that  it  may  be  readily  conveyed  to  the  places 
where  it  is  required,  and  such  also  as  will  admit  of  its 
being  hastily  packed  up  and  removed  should  the  circum- 
stances of  the  field  operations  require  it.  At  the  same 
time,  these  forms  must  be,  adapted  for  use  at  all  seasons  of 
the  year,  for  passage  over  all  descriptions  of  ground  that 
troops  can  march  over,  and  must  be  protected  against  the 
effects  of  exposure  to  all  varieties  of  weather. 

It  would  occupy  too  much  space  to  name  the  articles 
comprising  this  equipment.  The  special  forms  under  which 
it  is  issued  will  be  mentioned,  and  a  brief  explanation  of 
them  and  the  nature  of  their  contents  be  added 

Tie  equipment  is  distributed  as  follows: — Supplies  of 
instruments,  dressings,  medicines,  and  restoratives,  of 
first  necessity,  in  small  cases  named  "  medical  field  com- 
panions," and  in  large  cases  named  "field  panniers;"  of 
cooking  utensils  and  other  articles  for  field  hospital  service 
in  "canteens;"  of  articles  of  light  nourishment,  stimu- 
lants, <fcc,  in  "medical  comfort  boxes;"  of  hospital  tents, 
bedding,  and  the  bulkier  articles  of  surgical  equipment,  in 
ambulance  equipment  carts  or  store  waggons.  In  addi- 
tion, every  soldier  on  taking  the  field  is  supplied  with  a 
"field dressing;"  each  surgeon  carries  a  pouch-belt,  ar- 
ranged both  for  distinguishing  his  functions  and  at  the 
same  time  carrying  his  "  pocket  case "  of  instruments ; 
and  each  Army  Hospital  Corps  man  has  his  "orderly'e 
dressing-case."  Every  wounded  man  has  therefore  on  his 
person  the  means  of  a  first  dressing  for  his  wound,  every 
surgeon  has  at  hand  instruments  for  affording  surgical 
aid,  and  every  ambulance  and  field  hospital  attendant  tke 


r,68 


AMB-AME 


means  of  assisting  the  surgeon  in  his  duties.  Moreover, 
wherevor  the  sohlier  can  go,  there  the  first  two  forms  of 
the  surgical  equipment — the  medical  field  companion  and 
tho  field  panniers — can  also  be  taken.  The  articles  for 
use  in  the  field  hospitals,  being  carried  in  wheeled  vehicles, 
can  only  move  where  tho  other  transport  of  the  army  can 
be  taken. 

Mrdleal  Field  Companions. — These  are  small  cases  car- 
ried by  men  of  the  Army  Hospital  Corps  selected  to  accom- 
pany surgeons.  They  consist  of  two  pouches  and  a  wallet, 
worn  nearly  in  the  same  way  as  the  pouches  and  belt-bag 
in  which  ammunition  is  carried  by  combatant  troops.  The 
two  pouches,  carried  on  the  waist-belt,  contain  small  sup- 
plies of  essential  medicines  and  styptics;  the  surgical 
wallet,  also  carried  on  the  waist-belt,  and  supported  by 
valine  straps,  contains  materials  for  surgical  dressings  and 
other  articles.  As  these  attendants  are  not  armed  with 
rifles,  they  can  carry  their  valises  and  the  medical  field 
companions  at  the  same  time  without  inconvenience.  With 
each  medical  field  companion  is  carried,  by  a  shoulder-strap, 
a  witer-bottle  and  a  drinking-cup. 

Field  Panniers. — These  are  tough  wicker  baskets  covered 
with  hide,  each  being  2  feet  2  inches  in  length,  by  1  foot 
2i  inches  in  breadth,  and  1  foot  4i  inches  in  depth.  They 
are  supplied  in  pairs,  and  are  arranged  for  being  attached 
to  a  pack-saddle  and  carried  on  a  bat-pony  or  mule.  They 
are  capable  of  being  opened  while  on  the  animal  in  such  a 
way  that  all  the  contents  can  be  readily  got  at.  The  field 
panniers  contain  instruments  for  important  surgical  opera- 
tions, chloroform,  surgical  materials  (such  as  splints,  ban- 
dages, plaisters,  <fcc),  a  lamp,  supplies  of  wax  candles, 
restoratives,  and  medical  comforts  in  concentrated  forms, 
and  other  articles  necessary  for  urgent  cases  at  the  dressing 
stations  and  field  hospitals.  Each  pannier  has  a  double 
lid,  and  the  four  lids  of  the  two  panniers,  when  they  are 
laid  on  the  ground,  can  be  connected  so  as  to  form  a  substi- 
tute for  an  operating  table. 

Field.  Hospital  Canteens. — These  are  also  supplied  in 
pairs,  and  are  distinguished  as  A  and  B  canteens.  They 
are  wooden  boxes  nearly  similar  in  size  to  the  field  panniers, 
so  that,  although  usually  carried  in  the  equipment  vehicles, 
they  can,  in  case  of  need,  be  carried  on  the  backs  of  bit- 
Eniinals.  Their  contents  consist  of  camp-kettles  and  other 
utensils  for  cooking  purposes;  tin  plates,  drinking-cups, 
and  other  such  requisites;  sets  cf  measures  and  weights; 
a  lantern  of  coloured  glass  for  indicating  the  field  hospital 
at  night;  together  with  various  articles  required  for  the 
service  of  patients  in  a  tent  or  other  field  hospital. 

Medical  Comfort  Boxes. — These  also  are  supplied  in 
pairs,  and  resemble  the  canteens  in  shape  and  dimensions. 
The  contents  of  tho  two  are  different,  and  they  are  there- 
fore marked  No.  1  rnd  No.  2  respectively.  Each  box  is 
partitioned  and  fitted  with  cases  or  bottles  with  labels  in- 
dicating their  contents.  These  principally  consist  of 
essence  of  beef,  groceries,  arrowroot,  preserved  vegetables, 
brandy,  wine,  and  sundry  accessory  articles.  The  wounded 
are  supplied  with  the  same  rations  as  the  healthy  troops, 
and  they  are  turned  to  the  best  account  available  for  their 
nutriment,  supplemented  by  such  medical  comforts  as  are 
named  above. 

Ambulance  Equipment  Waggons. — In  these  vehicles  are 
carried  the  "tents  for  forming  the  field  hospital  in  case  o/  no 
building  being  available,  with  a  supply  of  blankets,  water- 
proof covers,  and  other  articles  of  bedding  for  the  patients. 
The  canteens  and  medical  comfort  boxes  are  also  carried 
in  these  vehicles.  Certain  implements,  as  reaping-hooks, 
spades,  pickaxes,  saws,  which  are  constantly  required  when 
men  are  thrown  so  much  on  their  own  resources  as  they 
must  be  in  campaigning,  are  also  carried  in  the  equipment 
waggons. 


Ambulance  Equipment  /or  /Ac  Transport  of  Wounded 
Trou/)s. — The  auibidance  conveyances  authorised  for  use 
in  the  British  army  are  of  four  kinds.  They  are  the  fol- 
lowing:—  i.  Conveyances  carried  by  the  hands  of  bearers, 
called  stretchers;  2.  Conveyances  wheeled  by  men,  wheeled 
stretchers;  3.  Conveyances  borne  by  mules,  mule  litters 
and  mule  cacolets;  and  4.  'Wheeled  con\cyancc3  drawn 
by  horses,  ambulance  waggons.  The  forms  of  all  these 
conveyances  have  been  lately  revised  by  a  committee  which 
was  appointed  in  18C8  by  Sir  J.  Pakiugton,  then  Secretary 
of  State  for  War,  to  inquire  into  the  geneial  question  of 
ambulance  and  hospita'  conveyances  for  the  army,  and 
the  new  pattern  vehicles  have  now  been  authorised  for 
use.  (t.  l.) 

AMELOT  DE  LA  HOUSSAYE,  Abraham  Nicolas, 
historian  and  publicist,  was  born  at  Orleans  in  February 
1634,  and  dief5.  pA  Paris  8th  December  1706.  Little  is 
known  of  his  personal  history  beyond  the  fact  that  he  was 
secretary  to  an  embassy  from  tho  French  court  to  the 
republic  of  Venice.  At  a  later  period  he  was  imprisoned 
in  tho  Bastile  by  order  of  Louis  XIV.  In  1676  he  pub- 
lished at  Amsterdam  his  Histoire  duGouvernement  deVenise, 
in  three  volumes.  Under  the  assumed  name  of  De  la 
Motho  Josseval,  he  published  in  1683  a  translation  of  Fra 
Paolo  Sarpi's  History  of  the  Council  of  Trent.  This  work, 
and  especially  certain  notes  added  by  the  translator,  gave 
great  offence  to  tho  advocates  of  the  unlimited  authority 
of  the  pope,  and  three  separate  memorials  were"  presented 
to  have  it  repressed.  Amelot  also  published  translations 
of  Machiavel's  Prince,  and  of  the  Annals  of  Tacitus,  besides 
several  other  works. 

AMELOTTE,  Denis,  a  French  ecclesiastic  and  author, 
was  born  at  Saintes  in  Saintonge  in  1606,  and  died  October 
7,  1678.  Soon  after  receiving  priest's  orders  he  became  a 
member  of  the  congregation  of  the  oratory  of  St  Philip 
Neri.  In*1643  he  published  a  Life  of  Charles  de  Goudren, 
second  superior  of  the  congregation,  which  by  some  of  its 
remarks  on  the  famous  abbot  of  St  Cyran,  gave  great 
offence  to  the  Port  Royalists.  Another  work,  containing 
a  vehement  attack  on  the  doctrines  of  the  Jansenists,  still 
further  embittered  the  feelings  of  the  partv  towards  hici, 
and  elicited  from  Nicole  a  se- 
verely satirical  reply  entitled 
Idie  Genirale  de  I' Esprit  el  du  > 
Livre  du  P.  Amelotte.  Amelotte 
in  revenge  availed  himself  of  his 
influence  with  the  chancellor  to 
prevent  the  publication  of  the 
newly  -  completed  Port  Bujalist 
translation  of  the  New  Testament, 
which  had  therefore  to  be  issued 
at  Mons  in  Flanders.  He  thus 
secured  a  free  field  for  a  transla- 
tion of  his  own  with  annotations, 
which  appeared  in  4  vols,  octavo 
in  1666-8.  The  dedication  to  the 
archbishop  of  Paris  contained  an- 
other abusive  denunciation  of  the  Bstuia  ana  (the  common  birch), 

Jansenists  ftn  amentlferons  tree,  the  male 

,  ,„XT '-._,__  _  ,  flowers,  a.  are  produced  In  scalj 

AMElNTIrEKiE,     or      AMEN-      catkins,  and  to  are  the  female 

tacejE.  Under  this  name  are  fl°w,:™'& 
included  apetalous  unisexual  plants  bearing  their  flowers 
in  catkins  {amenta).  This  group  of  plants  includes 
trees  and  shrubs  chiefly  of  temperate  climates.  It  is 
divided  into  the  following  orders  : —  Salicaceo?,  willows  and 
poplars ;  Corylacex  or  Cvpuliferw,  hazel,  oak,  beech,  chest- 
nut, hornbeam,  <tc. ;  Betulacew,  birch,  alder;  Casuarinacea:, 
Casuarina  (beefwood);  Altingiacece  or  Ealsami/luoB,  liquid- 
ambar ;  Platanaceoz,  the  plane ;  Jvglandaceo?,  walnut  ; 
Guri'/3cci£  (iarryaj  Myrkacca:,  bog  myrtle. 


^ 


c 


669 


AMERICA 


OUR  object  in  this  article  is  to  take  a  comprehensive 
survey  of  the  American  continent  in  its  physical, 
moral,  and  political  relations.  In  attempting  this,  we  shall 
dwell  at  some  length  upon  those  great  features  and  peculiar- 
ities which  belong  to  it  as  a  whole,  or  facts  which  can  be  most 
advantageously  considered  in  connection  with  one  another. 
The  new  continent  may  be  styled  emphatically  "  a  land  of 
promise."  The  present  there  derives  its  greatest  impor- 
tance from  the  germs  it  contains  of  a  mighty  future.  It  is 
this  prospective  greatness  which  lends  an  interest  to  the 
Western  continent  similar  to  that  which  the  Eastern  derives 
from  its  historical  associations.  But  the  Western  continent 
also  has  its  past,  which  abounds  in  points  of  interest  relating 
to  both  the  historic  and  prehistoric  periods.  Facts  show 
that  although  America  may  be  called  the  New  World  in 
consequence  of  its  having  been  the  last  to  come  under  the 
general  knowledge  of  geographers,  it  is  from  most  other 
points  of  view  an  old  world.  It  abounds  in  the  oldest 
known  strata;  it  has  yielded  some  of  the  oldest  known 
remains  of  man,  indicating  that  he  has  long  been  a  denizen 
there ;  and  it  has  afforded  evidences  of  a  civilised  era, 
which  may  even  have  preceded  that  of  Western  Europe. 

The  new  continent,  when  compared  with  the  old,  enjoys 
three  important  advantages.  First,  it  is  free  from  such  vast 
deserts  as  cover  a  large  part  of  the  surface  of  Asia  and 
Africa,  and  which  not  only  withdraw  a  great  proportion  of 
the  soil  from  the  use  of  man,  but  are  obstacles  to  communi- 
cation between  the  settled  districts,  and  generate  that  ex- 
cessive heat  which  is  often  injurious  to  health,  and  always 
destructive  to  industry.  Secondly,  no  part  of  its  soil  is  so 
far  from  the  ocean  as  the  central  regions  of  Asia  and  Africa. 
Thirdly,  the  interior  of  America  is  penetrated  by  majestic 
rivers,  the  Mississippi,  Amazon,  and  Plata,  greatly  surpass- 
ing those  of  the  old  continent  in  magnitude,  and  still  more 
in  the  facilities  they  present  for  enabling  the  remotest 
inland  districts  to  communicate  with  the  sea. 

In  the  physical  formation  of  North  and  South  America 
there  is  a  remarkable  resemblance.  Both  are  very  broad 
in  the  north,  and  gradually  contract  towards  the 'south  till 
they  end,  the  one  in  a  narrow  isthmus,  and  the  other  in 
a  narrow  promontory.  Each  has  a  lofty  chain  of  moun- 
tains near  its  western  coast,  abounding  in  volcanoes,  with 
a  lower  ridge  on  the  opposite  side,  destitute  of  any  recent 
trace  of  internal  fire  ;  and  each  has  one  great  central  plain 
declining  to  the  south  and  the  north,  and  watered  by  two 
gigantic  streams,  the  Mississippi,  corresponding  to  the 
Plata,  and  the  St  Lawrence  to  the  Amazon.  In  their 
climate,  vegetable  productions,  and  aninial  tribes,  the  two 
regions  are  very  dissimilar. 

The  extent  of  the  American  continent  and  the  islands 
connected  with  it  is  as  follows  : — 

Square  Eng.  miles. 

North  America 7,400,000 

S  'Uth  America 6,500,000 

Islands 150,000 

Greenland;   and  the  islands  connected  with  it  lying  j        Qfm  nnn 
north  of  Hudson's  Straits,  may  be  estimated  at j       »ou,uuu 


14,950,000 


The  American  continent,  therefore,  with  its  dependent 
islands,  is  four  times  as  large  as  Europe,  and  about  one- 
third  larjrer  than  Africa,  but  somewhat  less  than  Asia,  while 
it  is  nearly  five  times  the  size  of  the  Australian  continent 
It  constitutes  about  three-tenths  of  the  dry  land  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  globe.  It  is  characterised  by  having  a  greater 
length  from  N.  to  S.  than  any  other  continent ;  and  by 
Mie  northern  and  southern  portions  being  connected  by  a 


comparatively  narrow  strip  of  land.  South  America  has 
a  more  regular  form,  and  as  a  mass  is  situated  much 
farther  east  than  North  America.  In  South  America  the 
most  central  point  lies  in  about  58°  W.;  but  in  North 
America  the  most  central  point  would  be  in  about  100°  W. 


Sketch  Map  of  America. 

As  regards  continuity  of  land,  America  comprises  some 
islands  at  the  southern  end ;  a  main  continental  portion, 
including  South  America,  Central  America,  and  North 
America;  some  islands  off  the  north  shore,  and  many  other 
islands  along  the  east  and  west  coasts,  those  on  the  east 
being  the  most  important.  The  most  northern  point  of  the 
mainland  is  that  of  Boothia  Felix,  in  Bellot  Strait,  71°  55' 
N.,  02°  25'  W.  The  islands  to  the  north  extend  beyond 
82°  1 6'  N.,  65°  W.,  which  point  was  reached  by  the  "Polaris" 
in  August  1871.  The  southernmost  point  of  the  mainland 
is  Cape  Froward,  which  lies  close  to  54°  S.,  71°  W. ;  while 
Cape  Horn, the  most  southern  pointof  the  islands, isin56°S., 
67°  20'W.  The  extreme  points  traced  are  consequently  138s 
apart;  and  the  continental  part  stretches  over  about  126 
degrees  of  latitude.  This  corresponds  to  lengths  of  8280 
and  7560  geographical  miles  respectively.  The  extreme  east) 
points  of  the  continent  are  Cape  St  Koque,  in  5°  28'  S.,  35°  40' 
W.,  in  South  America,  and  Cape  St  Charles,  in  52°  17'  N., 
55°  35'  W.,  in  North  America.  The  most  western  point  of 
South  America  is  Point  Parina,  in  4°  40'  S.,  81°  10'  W.; 
and  of  North  America,  Prince  of  Wales  Cape,  in  65°  30' 
N.,  167°  W.     The  greatest  breadth  of  North  America  is 


670 


AMERICA 


[3.    AMERICA. 


between  Cape  Lisbume  and  Melville  Peninsula ;  and  of 
South  America,  between  Pernambuco  and  Point  Aguja. 
The  narrowest  part  is  28  miles,  at  the  isthmus  of 
Panar-a.  The  nearest  approach  to  the  Old  World  is  at 
Behring  Strait,  which  is  48  miles  across,  and  shallow. 
On  the  east  6ide  the  nearest  point  to  the  Old  World  is 
Cape  St  Roque,  which  is  opposite  the  projecting  part  of 
;he  African  coast  at  Sierra  Leone.  Greenland  is  separated 
from  the  archipelago  of  Arctic  America  by  a  deep  and  for 
the  most  part  broad  sea,  and  seems  naturally  to  belong  to 
the  European  rather  than  the  American  area. 

North  America,  with  the  general  form  of  a  triangle,  natu- 
rally divides  itself  into  five  physical  regions :  1.  The  table-land 
of  Mexico,  with  the  strip  of  low  country  on  its  eastern  and 
western  shores;  2.  The  plateau  lying  between  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  a  country  with  a  mild 
and  humid  atmosphere  as  far  north  as  the  55th  parallel, 
but  inhospitable  and  barren  beyond  this  boundary ;  3.  The 
great  central  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  rich  and  well  wooded 
on  the  east  side ;  bare  but  not  unfertile  in  the  middle ;  dry, 
sandy,  and  almost  a  desert  on  the  west;  4.  The  eastern 
declivities  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  a  region  of  natural 
forests,  and  of  mixed  but  rather  poor  soil;  5.  The  great 
northern  plain  beyond  the  50th  parallel,  four-fifths  of  which 
is  a  bleak  and  bare  waste,  overspread  with  innumerable 
lakes,  and  resembling  Siberia  both  in  the  physical  char- 
acter of  its  surface  and  the  rigour  of  its  climate. 

South  America  is  a  peninsula  likewise  of  triangular  form. 
Its  greatest  length  from  north  to  south  is  4550  miles;  its 
greatest  breadth  3200 ;  and  it  covers  an  area,  as  already  men- 
tioned, of  6,50O,0OOsquare  English  miles,  about  three-fourths 
of  which  lie  between  the  tropics,  and  the  other  fourth  in  the 
temperate  zone.  From  the  configuration  of  its  surface,  this 
peninsula  also  may  be  divided  into  five  physical  regions — 
1.  The  low  country  skirting  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
from  50  to  150  miles  in  breadth,  and  4000  in  length.  The 
two  extremities  of  this  territory  are  fertile,  the  middle  a 
sandy  desert.  2.  The  basin  of  the  Orinoco,  a  country  con- 
sisting of  extensive  plains  or  steppes,  called  Llanos,  either 
destitute  of  wood  or  merely  dotted  with  trees,  but  covered 
with  a  very  tall  herbage  during  a  part  of  the  year. 
During  the  dry  season  the  heat  is  intense  here,  and  the 
parched  soil  opens  into  long  fissures,  in  which  lizards  and 
serpents  lie  in  a  state  of  torpor.  3.  The  basin  of  the  Amazon, 
a  vast  plain,  embracing  a  surface  of  more  than  two  millions 
of  square  miles,  possessing  a  rich  soil  and  a  humid  climate. 
It  is  covered  almost  everywhere  with  dense  forests,  which 
harbour  innumerable  tribes  of  wild  animals,  and  are  thinly 
inhabited  by  savages,  who  live  by  hunting  and  fishing. 
4.  The  great  southern  plain,  watered  by  the  Plata  and  the 
numerous  streams  descending  from  the  eastern  summits  of 
the  Cordirieras.  Open  steppes,  which  are  here  called  Pampas, 
occupy  the  greater  proportion  of  this  region,  which  is  dry, 
and  in  some  parts  barren,  but  in  general  is  covered  with  a 
strong  growth  of  weeds  and  tall  grass,  which  feeds  prodigious 
herds  of  horses  and  cattle,  and  affords  shelter  to  a  few  wild 
animals.  5.  The  country  of  Brazil,  eastward  of  the  Parana 
and  Uruguay, presentingalternate  ridges  and  valleys,  thickly 
covered  with  wood  on  the  side  next  the  Atlantic,  and  open- 
ing into  steppes  or  pastures  in  the  interior. 

In  our  more  particular  description  of  the  physical  con- 
formation, the  geological  structure,  the  mountains,  rivers, 
and  forests,  and  the  climates  of  America,  we  shall  first 
deal  with  the  southern  peninsula,  as  having  the  more 
strongly  marked  conditions. 

The  mountain  areas  of  South  America  are,  as  a  general 
rule,  those  which  have  received  the  thickest  accumulations 
of  sedimentary  matter,  and  this  thickness  is  nearly  pro- 
portional'to  their  height.  During  the  periods  of  the 
formation  of  such  deposits,  these  areas  were  to  a  great 


extent  areas  of  subsidence,  and  since  those  beds  which 
once  formed  the  sea  bottoms  now  constitute  the  highest 
peaks,  these  areas  must  have  been  subjected  to  subsequent 
upheaval.  Vertical  movements  of  this  kind  have  occurred 
again  and  again,  indicating  that  these  areas  are  specially 
liable  to  disturbance,  either  from  comparative  weakness 
or  from  the  greater  comparative  power  of  the  moving 
forces.  The  history  of  the  mountain  chains  is  almost  co- 
extensive with  that  of  the  continent  itself.  In  the  sea  the 
beds  were  deposited  horizontally,  or  nearly  so ;  and  at  certain 
intervals  the  deposition  was  arrested,  in  consequence  of  the 
beds  being  uplifted  above  the  sea.  Each  successive  sub- 
mergence and  emergence  occupied  a  long  period  of  time, 
during  which  the  rocks  were  at  one  time  faulted,  folded, 
and  metamorphosed,  and  at  other  times  denuded  both  by 
the  sea  and  by  meteoric  agents.  As  a  general  rule,  the  strike 
or  line  of  direction  of  the  strata  ran  approximately  parallel  to 
the  trend  of  the  shore  line  on  the  large  scale,  and  the  dip  was 
at  right  angles  to  their  direction.  During  each  elevation 
the  land  was  uplifted  in  a  broad  band,  the  axis  of  which 
ran  parallel  to  the  shore  of  the  sea  in  which  the  beds 
were  formed.  The  axes  of  the  principal  folds  and  faults 
usually  run  parallel  to  the  stratigraphical  axis  or  strike. 
The  principal  ridges  formed  during  the  same  period  usually; 
coincide  in  direction  with  the  stratigraphical  striko  of  the* 
bed  forming  them.  In  the  mountains  of  South  America, 
and  especially  in  the  Andes,  several  of  these  groups  of 
ridges,  formed  at  different  periods,  combine  to  make  up  a. 
single  system  of  mountains.  The  high  range  of  moun- 
tains which  extends  from  the  most  southern  parts  of  South 
America,  and  runs  approximately  on  the  samo  meridian 
of  72°  to  the  isthmus  of  Panama,  forms  the  Andes.  Theso 
consist  of  a  vast  rampart,  having  an  average  height  of  some 
11,000  or  12,000  feet,  and  a  width  varying  from  20  to  300 
or  400  miles.  In  most  places  the  chain  rises  to  heights 
of  several  thousand  feet,  and  upon  this  chain  rest  two  or 
three  principal  ridges  01  mountains,  enclosing  lofty  plains 
or  valleys,  separated  one  from  another  by  mountain  knots, 
which  mark  the  spots  where  ridge3  belonging  to  different 
systems  intersect.  In  one  sense,  the  lofty  plains  of  the 
Desaguadero,  Quito,  and  others,  are  valleys,  since  they  are 
encompassed  by  mountains;  but  in  a  certain  sense  they 
are  plateaus,  since  they  form  the  broad  summit  of  the 
range  or  platform  on  which  the  bounding  ridges  them- 
selves stand.  Further  details  respecting  the  Andes  are 
given  under  Andes,  and  in  the  geological  remarks  of  this 
article. 

Three  branches  or  transverse  chains  proceed  from  the 
Andes,  nearly  at  rigLt  angles  to  the  direction  of  the  prin- 
cipal chain,  and  pass  eastward  across  the  continent,  about 
the  parallels  of  18°  of  S.  and  4°  and  9°  of  N.  latitude, 
thus  forming  the  three  natural  areas  of  the  Orinoco, 
Amazon,  and  La  Plata  river  basins.  The  most  northern 
of  these  is  "  the  Cordillera  of  the  coast,"  which  parts  from 
'  the  main  trunk  near  the  south  extremity  of  the  lake 
Maracaybo,  reaches  the  sea  at  Puerto  Cabello,  and  then 
passes  eastward  through  Caraccas  to  the  Gulf  of  Paria. 
Its  length  is  about  700  miles,  and  its  medium  height  from 
4000  to  5000  feet;  but  the  Silla  de  Caraccas,  one  of  its 
summits,  has  an  elevation  of  about  8632  feet ;  and  its 
western  part,  which  is  at  some  distance' from  the  sea, 
contains  the  Sierra  of  Merida,  15,000  feet  in  height.  The 
second  transverse  chain  is  connected  with  the  Andes  at 
the  parallels  of  3°  and  4°  north,  and  passing  eastward, 
terminates  in  French  Guiana,  at  no  great  distance  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Amazon.  It  consists  properly  of  a  suc- 
cession of  chains  nearly  parallel  to  the  coast,  and  is  some- 
times called  the  Cordillera  of  Parimd,  but.  is  named  by 
Humboldt  the  "  Cordillera  of  the  Cataracts  of  the  Orinoco," 
because  this  river,  which  flows  amidst  its  ridees  in  the 


MOUNTAINS.] 


AMERICA 


671 


upper  parts  of  its  course,  forms  the  cataracts  of  Maypure 
at  the  point  where  it  descends  into  the  plains.  Its  mean 
height  is  estimated  at  4000  feU  above  the  level  of  the  sea; 
but  at  about  70°  and  75°  W.  longitude,  it  sinks  to  less  than 
1000  feet,  and  at  other  points  rises  to  10,000.  This  chain 
divides  the  waters  of  the  Orinoco  and  the  rivers  of  Guiana 
from  the  basin  of  the  Amazon,  and  is  covered  with  mag- 
nificent forests.  Its  breadth  is  supposed  to  be  from  200 
to  400  miles,  and  it  encloses  amidst  its  ridges  the  great 
lake  Parime,  in  longitude  60°,  and  several  of  smaller  size. 
At  the  Caratal  gold-field,  which  lies  south  of  Angostura, 
the  range  is  about  60  miles  across,  and  the  watershed 
about  1100  feet  above  the  sea.  On  a  table-land  forming 
part  of  it,  about  the  67th  degree  of  longitude,  the  Cassi- 
quiari  forms  an  intermediate  channel  which  connects  the 
rivers  Orinoco  and  Negro,  so  that,  during  the  annual 
floods,  a  part  of  the  waters  of  the  former  flows  into  the 
latter.  This  singular  phenomenon  was  made  known  long 
ago  by  the  Spanish  missionaries,  but  was  thought  to  be  a 
fable  till  the  truth  was  ascertained  by  Humboldt.  The 
length  of  this  chain  is  about  1500  miles.  The  third 
transverse  chain  leaves  the  main  trunk  near  17°  25'  S., 
and  extends  almost  as  far  as  Santa  Cruz,  near  the  river 
Mamore.  Some  of  the  mountains  in  the  western  part  are 
of  considerable  height.  South  of  this  range  are  a  number 
of  ridges  having  an  east  and  west  direction,  an  average 
height  of  about  10,000  feet,  and  terminating  in  the  plains 
near  the  Paraguay.'  This  country,  which  divides  the  waters 
of  the  Amazon  from  those  of  the  Plata,  is  a  broad  plateau 
of  elevated  land,  rather  than  a  distinct  mountainous  ridge, 
and  consists  of  low  hills  or  uneven  plains,  with  very  little 
wood,  presenting  in  soine  places  extensive  pastures,  and  in 
others  tracts  of  a  poor  sandy  soil  Its  average  height 
probably  does  not  exceed  2000  or  3000  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea. 

The  mountains  of  Brazil,  which  are  of  moderate  height, 
and  occupy  a  great  breadth  of  country,  form  an  irregular 
plateau,  bristled  with  sharp  ridges  running  in  a  direction 
approximately  parallel  to  the  eastern  coast,  connected  by 
offsets  running  in  a  more  or  less  east  and  west  direction. 
They  extend  from  5°  to  25°  of  south  latitude,  and' their  ex- 
treme breadth  may  be  about  1000  miles.  Between  Victoria 
on  the  north  and  Morro  de  St  Martha  on  the  south,  a  range 
with  numerous  curves  lies  a  little  way  back  from  the  coast, 
and  is,  for  the  greater  part  of  its  length,  known  as  the 
Sierra  do  Mar;  somewhat  farther  inland  is  a  higher  range, 
the  different  parts  of  which  have  different  names,  but 
it  is  best  known  as  the  Sierra  de  Mantiqueira.  It  con- 
tains the  highest  peaks  in  Brazil,  amongst  which  may 
be  mentioned  Mount  Itacolumi,  famous  for  the  gold  and 
diamond  yielding  strata  in  its  vicinity;  the  Pico  dos 
Orgaos,  which  is  7700  feet  high;  and  Itambe,  8426  feet 
Some  of  the  peaks  are  believed  to  be  even  higher.  West 
of  this  the  uplands  of  Brazil  stretch  far  into  the  interior, 
and  at  length  sink  into  the  great  central  plain  through 
which  flows  the  Paraguay  and  its  tributaries. 

Although  large  areas  of  South  America  remain  as  yet 
unexplored  by  geologists,  the  researches  of  D'Orbigny, 
Humboldt,  Boussingault,  Darwin,  Forbes,  Agassiz,  and 
many  other  travellers,  suffice  to  give  an  approximately  cor- 
rect general  view.  This  is  mainly  owing  to  the  simplicity- 
of  the  stratigraphy  of  the  country.  The  same  groups  of 
rocks  spread  over  such  extensive  areas,  that,  from  what  is 
seen  in  the  areas  which  have  been  examined,  we  can  safely 
infer  the  general  condition  of  those  which  have  not  been 
explored.  The  general  disposition  of  the  rocks  is  as  fol- 
lows:— The  oldest  rocks,  which  are  Pre-Silurian,  possibly 
Laurentkn,  form  the  outermost  rim  of  the  continent,  of 
which  the  N.E.  and  S.E.  corners  have  probably  been  swept 
*way.     These  cornera  now  correspond  with  the  hiouuuj  j 


of  the  Orinoco,  the  Amazon,  and  the  La  Plata  rivers. 
Within  this  basin,  and  following  close  upon  these  old 
rocks,  are  schists  and  quartzites,  which  are  in  all  proba- 
bility of  Silurian  age.  These  enter  largely  into  the  transverse 
ranges  by  which  the  central  hollow  is  subdivided  into  three 
basins.  Within  this  again  are  sandstones  and  limestones, 
usually  refejred  to  the  Carboniferous  period,  which  also  form 
part  of  the  transverse  ridges.  A  band  of  rocks  of  secondary 
age  follow,  some  of  which  are  believed  to  be  Triassic,  while 
others  are  identified  as  Cretaceous.  Tertiary  beds,  some  of 
Miocene  date,  together  with  Post-Tertiary  beds,  cover  the 
largest  part  of  the  areas  of  the  great  river  basins  and  the 
hollows  in  the  mountain  range,  and  also  occur  on  the  sea- 
ward flanks  of  the  principal  chains. 

By  following  the  development  of  these  beds,  we  shall  be 
able  to  give  a  brief  account  of  the  growth  of  the  present 
continent.  In  the  Argentine  Confederation  a  few  bosses  of 
gneiss  protrude  through  the  more  recent  beds  constituting 
the  Pampas.  Granite,  supporting  gneiss  and  quartzite, 
occurs  along  the  coast  of  Chili  In  Bolivia  we  find  a 
range  of  granitic  mountains  which  have  a  general  direction 
somewhat  to  the  E.  of  N.,  and  which  are  flanked  on  either 
side  by  zoaes  of  gneiss  and  quartzite.  The  gneiss  also 
prevails  along  the  shores  of  Peru,  Ecuador,  and  New 
Granada,  ort  to  call  it  by  the  name  which  it  received  in  1861, 
Columbia.  The  gneiss  is  again  seen  at  the  eastern  base 
of  the  Andes,  in  the  last-mentioned  State,  associated  with 
quartzites,  and  both  these  can  be  traced  along  the  Vene- 
zuelan coast.  Gneiss  is  largely  developed  near  Angostura, 
and  has  a  strike  approaching  E.  and  W.  At  Limones, 
which  is  near  the  Caratal  gold-field,  the  country  consists 
largely  of  granite  and  gneiss,  which  latter  lies  here  a  little 
to  the  E.  or  to  the  W.  of  N.  In  Brazil  the  gneiss  forms  a 
long  band  from  Bahia  to  the  southern  portion  of  the  pro- 
vince of  Santa  Catharina.  Near  the  coast  it  rests  upon 
and  apparently  passes  into  granite;  but  towards  the  west, 
as  far  as  the  Mantiqueira  chain,  it  gradually  becomes  more 
and  more  schistoid.  Gneiss,  again,  is  met  with  in  the 
mountains  which  stretch  through  the  Bolivian  provinces  of 
Moxos  and  Chiquitos.  It  has  not  been  ascertained  if  these 
older  rocks  appeared  above  the  waters  before  the  deposi- 
tion of  those  which  follow,  and  which  will  next  be  noticed. 

In  Chili  the  succeeding  rocks  are  slaty  schists.  In 
Bolivia  the  mountainous  district. crossing  the  country  is 
largely  composed  of  talcose  schists,  which,  where  exposed 
to  the  weather,  have  formed  by  their  decomposition  a 
layer  of  clay;  in  advancing  from  the  east  towards  the  west 
the  schists  become  more  and  more  crystalline,  and  are  at 
last  replaced  by  gneiss.  This,  as  has  already  been  stated, 
rests  against  granite,  on  the  west  side  of  which  gneiss  is 
again  brought  in  by  an  anticlinal  arrangement  of  the  beds, 
and  dips  beneath  a  thick  mass  of  schists,  which  constitute 
the  great  bulk  of  the  Andes  in  this  district  In  this 
mountain  range  the  lower  portion  of  the  formation  is 
mainly  siliceous  schist,  alternating  with  beds  of  compact 
quartz;  above  this  come  talc-bearing  quartzites,  alternating 
with  slaty  schists,  which  latter  become  more  and  more 
prevalent  as  we  ascend  in  the  strata,  and  at  last  constitute 
the  predominating  rock.  They  form,  indeed,  the  crest  of 
the  range ;  the  thickness  of  the  formation  may  be  roughly 
estimated  at  10,000  feet  These  rocks  are  much  dis- 
turbed and  faulted  against  other  and  probably  newer 
rocks,  which  with  them  constitute  the  great  bulk  of  the 
lofty  eminences  in  the  range  of  which  Mount  Illimani 
forms  so  cbnspicuous  a.  feature.  The  lower  argillaceous 
schist,  which  is  associated  with  gneiss  all  along  the  Pacific 
coast  from  lower  Peru  to  Panama,  possibly  belongs  to  this 
group  of  rocks.  In  the  high  valleys  of  Ecuador  the  oldest 
rocks  visible. are  granite,  gneiss,  and  schists,  which  are  fro- 
quenuy  in  a  vertical  position.    The  6chistose  group  appear? 


672 


AMERICA 


[s.    AMERICA. 


to  be  absent  on  the  east  side  of  the  Andes  in  Columbia,  as 
also  along  the  coast  of  Venezuela.  In  the  mountain  range 
south  of  the  Orinoco,  hornblende,  talcose,  and  mica  schists 
again  appear  on  a  largo  scale,  more  especially  in  the  Caratal 
district,  where  auriferous  veins  occur.  In  Brazil  the  mi- 
caceous and  talcose  schists  enter  into  the  composition  of 
the  Mantiqueira  chain  and  of  the  uplands  to  the  west; 
they  probably  pass  beneath  the  valley  of  the  Panama,  since 
they  occur  to  the  west  of  it,  and  extend  through  the  pro- 
vinces of  Goyaz  and  Matto  Grosso,  so  as  to  approach  within 
a  moderate  distance  of  the  similar  strata  in  Bolivix  They 
are  associated  with  talc-bearing  quartzites,  which  are  famous 
for  the  diamonds  and  auriferous  particles  they  have  yielded 
in  the  district  around  Mount  Itacolumi  The  soil  is 
usually  a  clay,  such  as  would  result  from  the  decomposit  inn 
of  talcose  schist;  but  we  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  to  the 
soil  of  South  America  subsequently.  Borne  of  these  rocks  in 
various  parts  of  the  continent  have  yielded  Silurian  fossils. 
Facts  are  not  sufficient  yet  to  warrant  the  correlation  of 
these  strata  with  thoso  of  other  cor-ntries,  or  to  settle  how 
far  they  belong  to  distinct  geological  periods.  The  pre- 
valent strike  of  the  rocks  is  abof  t  east  and  west,  but  some- 
times the  strike  approaches  to  a  north  and  south  direction. 
At  any  rate,  the  rocks  which  overlie  them  do  so  uncon- 
formably, indicating  that,  prior  to  the  deposition  of  these 
newer  rocks,  land  had  appeared  at  least  once  on  areas  now 
constituting  part  of  South  America.  At  this  early  date 
the  continent  was  represented  by  a  few  islands  only;  one 
corresponded  with  part  of  Brazil,  another  with  parts  of 
Venezuela  and  Columbia;  perhaps  a  third  more  or  less 
with  Peru,  Bolivia,  Ecuador,  and  Chili;  while  a  few  small 
islands  appeared  where  now  we  have  the  Pampas.  These 
were  the  nuclei  around  which  the  present  land  has  accumu- 
lated, and  already  wo  see  faint  indications  of  the  existing 
outline  and  broad  geographic  features  of  the  future  con- 
tinent. 

The  next  group  of  rocks  are  always  in  stratigraphies! 
discordance  with  those  beneath  them;  and,  in  consequence 
of  the  highly  metamorphosed  condition  of  those  on  the 
west  side  of  the  continent,  it  is  difficult  to  correlate  them 
with  the  rocks  of  Brazil.  In  the  Andes  of  Chili  they  are 
represented  by  enormous  stratified  masses  of  quartzoso 
porphyries,  which  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  are 
metamorphosed  argillaceous  schists  and  felspathic  sand- 
stones, into  which  rocks  they  have  been  seen  gradually  to 
pass.  These  porphyries  not  only  form  the  great  bulk  of 
the  principal  chain  of  the  Andes,  but  also  the  smaller 
chain  on  the  west,  the  interval  between  them  being  formed 
by  the  longitudinal  valley  of  Chili.  Further  west  they 
rest  on  syenitic  rocks,  beyond  which  come  the  older  rocks 
already  noticed.  On  passing  into  Bolivia,  we  find  that  to 
the  west  of  the  great  fault  developed  there,  the  beds  con- 
sist of  micaceous  sandstones  and  dark  bituminous  schists, 
which  are  believed  to  be  the  equivalents  of  the  porph\  riea 
of  Chili  Such  formations  constitute  the  west  slope  of  the 
Andes  from  Sorata  to  Illimani,  and  also  form  two  bands, 
one  stretching  from  Illiinani  to  Cochabamba,  the  other 
between  Calamarca  and  Chayanta.  Towards  the  west  they 
dipbeneath  black  bituminous  and  siliceous  limestones,  which 
are  well  developed  near  Tiahuanaco.  Carboniferous  strata 
with  seams  of  coal  occur  near  Pisco  And  Arequipa  in  Peru. 
In  Brazil  the  beds  which  succeed  those  previously  men- 
tioned are  quartzites,  rich  in  mica  and  magnetic  oxide  of 
iron;  talcose  schists;  and  crystalline  limestones,  containing 
a  great  deal  of  talc  These  rocks  form  the  highest  regions 
and  loftiest  peaks  in  Brazil.  Unconformably  upon  these 
rest  micaceous  sandstones  and  argillaceous  schists,  which 
occupy  the  western  part  of  St  Paul  province  between  Ytu 
and  the  banks  of  the  Parana.  In  Mount  Arasoyaba  and 
some  other  places,  a  carboniferous  limestone  succeeds  and 


is  overlain  by  a  thick  white  or  yellowish  sandstone,  siliceous 
limestones,  and  bituminous  schists.  The  limestones  occupy 
most  of  tho  area  between  the  Uruguay  and  the  Parana.  In 
tho  Diamantina  district  the  carboniferous  limestone  is  over- 
lain by  rod  sandstone,  which  belongs  to  the  succeeding 
group  of  beds.  The  beds  in  Brazil  appear  to  be  fuller  than 
thoso  on  the  west  side  of  the  continent,  and  represent  pro- 
bably both  the  Devonian  and  Carboniferous  periods.  Rocks 
of  this  age  are  also  exposed  in  a  narrow  band  round  por- 
tions of  the  basin  of  tho  river  Amazon.  The  strata  next 
in  succession  are  of  secondary  age.  The  lowest  formation 
is  a  red  sandstone,  which  is  spread  over  a  very  extensive 
area.  It  is  remarkably  well  developed  in  Chili,  where, 
together  with  more  recent  beds,  it  is  a  marked  feature  in 
the  crest  of  the  Andes.  In  the  small  chain  to  the  west  it 
is  associated  with  conglomerates.  In  tho  small  chain  of 
Colorado,  near  Tiahuanaco,  a  thick  conglomerate  rests  on 
tho  older  limestones,  and  supports  red  sandstones  and  con- 
glomerates dipping  west  beneath  marls.  The  red  sand- 
stone extends  across  the  province  of  Carangas,  and  unin- 
terruptedly over  both  slopes  of  the  western  Cordillera.  In 
the  desert  of  Atacama  the  red  sandstone,  with  the  over- 
lying marls,  forms  a  number  of  parallel  chains  directed  north 
and  south.  Red  sandstones  and  conglomerates  form  the 
base  of  the  Cordilleras  of  Quito ;  they  stretch  north  into  the 
basins  of  the  Magdalena  and  Cauca  rivers,  and  east  over 
the  basin  of  the  Orinoco.  In  the  province  of  Bahia,  and  far 
away  to  the  north,  there  is  a  great  development  of  red 
sandstone.  The  age  of  these  sandstones  has-been  variously 
stated ;  their  stratigraphical  position  would  indicate  a 
secondary  age.  and  possibly  they  may  be  Triassic.  After 
their  deposition,  and  prior  to  that  of  tho  marls,  syenitic 
rocks  were  introduced  amongst  the  strata  in  the  Andes, 
causing  the  red  sandstones,  as  also  the  older  sandstones 
and  schists,  to  be  converted  into  porphyries.  This  erup- 
tion was  also  accompanied  by,  and  probably  connected 
with,  the  formation  of  auriferous  veins,  the  elevation  of  the 
strata,  and  the  faulting  of  the  rocks.  The  strike  of  the 
strata,  as  also  of  the  faults,  was  about  8°  to  the  E.  of  N., 
but  subsequent  movements  have  modified  the  direction  in 
places.  The  red  sandstone  has  a  similar  strike  from 
Venezuela  in  the  north  to  Magalhaens  Strait  on  the  south, 
and  this  favours  the  idea  that  all  are  of  the  same  age. 
Several  of  the  ranges  in  the  Andes  have  a  corresponding 
direction.  As  tho  sandstone  is  believed  to  underlie  the 
basins  of  the  great  rivers,  it  appears  that  during  its  deposi- 
tion South  America  was  still  represented  by  a  few  large 
islands  only.  Its  elevation  gave  rise  to  north  and  south 
trending  mountains,  whereby  these  scattered  portions  were 
connected,  and  the  Andes  received  their  first  development. 
The  great  features  of  the  continent  were  then  first  dis< 
tinctly  marked  out,  and  only  a  few  gaps  remained  to  b« 
filled  up.  The  next  succeeding  period,  represented  by 
strata,  is  characterised  by  saliferous  and  gypseous  marls, 
which  rest  unconformably  on  the  rocks  beneath.  Iu  C'hib 
they  occur  in  the  lower  plains,  or  abut  against  the  western 
spurs  of  the  Andes;  but  they  have  been  largely  denuded, 
so  that  they  now  occur  in  isolated  plateaux  or  basins,  and 
there  is  a  patch  capping  the  lofty  Aconcagua.  It  is  stated 
that  in  Chili  the  marls,  or  at  least  some  of  them,  are  Liassicj 
In  Bolivia,  also,  they  form  plateaux  between  Ban  Andre.*' 
and  the  mountains  of  Tarija.  Here  they  consist  of  alter, 
nations  of  greenish  marls  and  wine-coloured  beds  support 
ing  limestones,  with  interstratified  beds  of  gypsum  and 
saliferous  clay.  There  are  beds  of  gypsum  and  limestone 
in  the  Orinoco  plains.  Marls  are  associated  with  marly 
sandstones  in  the  Gulf  of  Bahia  and  in  the  plains  of 
Reconcavo.  These  beds  are  arranged  along  strikes  which 
are  approximately  east  and  west,  and  their  elevation  if 
apparently  connected  with  the  formation  of  chains  running 


r.] 


AMERICA 


G73 


in  the  same  direction,  as,  for  instance,  most  of  the  lateral 
spurs  from  the  Andes.  Some  geologists  think  it  is  also 
connected  with  the  east  and  west  faults,  through  which,  in 
the  Andes,  labradorite  and  hypersthenite  rocks  have  been 
erupted.  This  eruption,  it  is  said,  has  caused  the  metamor- 
phism  of  the  calcareous  rocks  into  crystalline  limestones, 
marls  into  jaspers,  and  red  sandstones  into  porphyries;  and 
has  also  given  rise  to  the  copper-bearing  veins.  Calcare- 
ous beds  occupy  large  areas  in  Venezuela,  Columbia,  and 
other  parts  of  the  continent.  Miocene  strata  occur  in 
Venezuela,  and  probably  in  other  districts.  Finally,  there 
Bre  deposits  of  Post-Miocene  date,  which  chiefly  belong 
to  the  Post-Pliocene  and  recent  periods,  and  which  cover 
most  of  the  lower  lands  along  the  coasts  and  in  the  interior 
of  the  continent.  In  Chili  they  occur  in  the  valleys,  and 
fill  up  the  gulfs  in  the  old  granite  range  near  the  coast. 
Here  the  succession  is  a  calcareous  sandstone  abounding  in 
marine  shells  and  beds  of  lignite;  above  this  is  a  pumiceous 
conglomerate,  which  passes  in  places  into  a  pebbly  con- 
glomerate, and  then  follow  the  marine  sands  which  stretch 
from  Coquimbo  across  the  desert  of  Atacama.  The  most 
recent  formation  is  drift,  which  occurs  in  patches  and  sheets. 
In  the  valley  plains  of  the  Desaguadero  there  are  clays  and 
sindy  marls  overlain  by  pumiceous  conglomerates,  which 
near  La  Paz  are  surmounted  by  drift.  Near  this  place  the 
drift  is  many  hundred  feet  thick,  and  formed  of  large 
blocks;  but,  on  receding  from  the  mountains,  it  passes 
into  a  sand  which  encircles  the  plains  of  the  Desaguadero, 
which  are  chiefly  formed  by  limestone  deposits,  such  as 
concretionary  limestone,  which  abounds  in  the  fossil  remains 
of  plants  and  fresh  water  shells.  The  lacustrine  beds  ap- 
proximate in  age  to  the  marine  tertiary  beds  near  the 
coast.  In  Peru  the  pumiceous  conglomerate  is  overlain  by 
drift  Tertiary  beds  occur  at  Guayaquil  in  Ecuador,  while 
in  the  valley  of  Quito  there  are  enormous  layers  of  pumice, 
scoriae,  and  drift,  which  last  has  yielded  the  remains  of 
various  Post-Pliocene  mammals  and  terrestrial  shells.  Drift 
withsimilarremains  occurs  in  the  lowergrounds  of  Columbia. 
In  the  Gulf  of  Bahia  there  are  recent  beds;  and  near  St 
Paul,  as  also  in  many  other  parts  of  Brazil,  there  are 
patches  of  lacustrine  deposits.  On  the  west  side  of  the 
continent  the  pumiceous  conglomerate  is  intimately  con- 
nected with  trachytes,,  and  indeed  is  formed  from  them. 
It  is  intermediate  in  age  between  the  lacustrine  beds, 
th«  marine  deposits  near  the  shore,  and  the  drift,  which 
is  in  its  turn  covered  by  the  more  recent  lava  overflows  ; 
and  it  is  in  this  intermediate  age  that  the  upheaval  of  the 
principal  chain  of  the  Andes  occurred.  The  ranges 
and  faults  which  are  assigned  to  this  period,  probably 
Pliocene  or  Post-Pliocene,  run  very  nearly  north  and  south. 
This  elevation  did  not  materially  alter  the  extent  of  land 
west  of  the  Andes,  its  general  effect  being  to  add  a  strip 
about  thirty  miles  in  width.  On  he  east  the  change  was 
great,  since  the  larger  proportion  of  the  great  central  plain 
then  emerged,  and  thus  connected  the  high  lands  on  the 
east,  west,  and  north  into  one  great  continent.  The  erup- 
tion of  the  trachytes,  which  form  so  marked  a  feature  in 
the  Andes,  was  accompanied  by  a  metamorphism  distinct 
in  character  from  those  of .  earlier  ages.  The  rocks  were 
then  subjected  not  only  to  heat  and  water,  but  also  to  acid 
vapours,  which  changed  the  felspar  into  sulphates  of 
alumina  and  iron,  salt  into  anhydrous  sulphate  of  soda; 
and,  probably,  by  freeing  the  chlorine  and  iodine,  originated 
the  chlorides  and  iodides  which  are  80  abundant  in  the 
argentiferous  veins.  Since  the  drift  there  has  been  a  slight 
elevation  along  a  meridional  axis. 

Such  is  a  brief  account  of  the  growth  of  South  America, 
We  must,  however,  mention  that  Professor  Agassiz  and  hie 
coadjutors  believe  that  the  red  soil  and  immediately  under- 
lying beds,  seen  near  Bio  Janeiro  and  in  the  valley  of 

1—23 


the  Amazon,  are  true  glacial  formations,  and_  infer  that 
the  similar  beds  which  are  spread  over  such  an  enormoua 
area  in  South  America  have  been  formed  under  similar 
conditions.  Professor  Agassiz  has  found  moraines  and 
ice-transported  boulders  in  various  places  in  the  mountains 
of  Brazil,  as  also  indications  of  valley  glaciers.  Professor 
Orton  has  found  marine  shells  in  these  beds  at  Pebas  in 
Ecuador. 

The  foregoing  sketch  indicates  that  there  have  been  seve- 
ral periods  of  volcanic  activity ;  and  that,  so  far  as  our  present 
knowledge  goes,  such  activity  has  only  been  manifested 
along  the  line  of  the  Andes.  Volcanic  rocks  have  rarely 
been  observed  on  the  east  side  of  the  continent,  but  some 
of  the  Tertiary  and  Post-Tertiary  beds  of  the  plains  contain 
matter  which  has  been  showered  upon  them  during  erup? 
tions,  and  which  now  forms  a  portion  of  the  Pampean  de- 
posits. At  one  period  or  other  the  whole  system  of  the 
Andes  has  been  subjected  to  volcanic  disturbance,  but  at 
the  present  time  the  active  volcanoes  occur  in  groups  more 
or  less  widely  separated  The  most  southern  active  volcano 
is  Corcovado,  in  43°  10'  S.  There  are,  besides,  some  twenty 
or  more  volcanic  cones,  of  which  about  a  dozen  are  known 
to  be  active.  Bolivia  has  one  or  two  active  vents,  and 
Peru  several;  but  it  is  in  Ecuador,  with  its  dozen  igni- 
vomous  vents,  that  have  occurred  the  grandest  and  most 
frequent  displays.  Columbia  has  four  or  five  volcanoes. 
With  the  exception  of  the  Moluccas,  no  country  in  the 
world  has  had  so  many  and  so  destructive  earthquake  shocks 
as  South  America.  But  these  are  concentrated,  both  as 
regards  frequency  and  strength,  along  the  Andes,  and  more 
particularly  their  western  slope.  Comparatively  few  are  felt 
in  the  plains  to  the  east  of  them;  but  occasionally  it 
happens  that  shocks  are  felt  at  points  on  the  opposite  slopes 
of  this  great  range  without  being  perceived  in  the  inter- 
mediate higher  regions.  Peru  seems  to  be  the  principal 
focus  of  action ;  and  next  to  it  in  importance  as  a  seismic 
area  comes  Chili;  but  although  some  earthquake  shocks 
spread  over  both  these  areas,  there  does  not  seem  to  be 
the  community  of  action  which  we  should  expect  between 
the  two  areas.  In  Peni  the  maxima  of  seismic  intensity 
were  in  the  decades  ending  1590, 1610, 1660, 1690, 1710, 
1720, 1730, 1750, 1770, 1790, 1840, 1870.  In  Chili  they 
occurred  in  the  decades  ending  1580,  1640,  1650,  1660, 
1690,  1730,  1780, 1800, 1820, 1840, 1850.  Nearly  every 
other  portion  of  the  continent  is  subject  "to  earthquakes. 
Bolivia,  which  lies  between  Peru  and  Chili,  is  compara- 
tively free  from  them,  as  also  are  Brazil,  Patagonia,  and  the 
Argentine  Confederation,  but  they  are  more  frequent  in 
Ecuador,  Columbia,  Venezuela,  and  the  three  Guianas. 

The  mountains  of  North  and  Central  America  will  not 
detain'  us  long.  The  ranges  of  Central  America  have  no 
relation  to  the  Andes,  differing  from  them  both  as  regards 
age  and  direction,  which  is  generally  N.  55°  W.,  and  being 
separated  from  them  by  gaps  only  a  few  hundred  feet  above 
the  sea,  and  upwards  of  100  miles  wide.  During  the 
Tertiary  period  the  mountains  of  N.  and  S.  America  had 
still  less  connection  than  at  present,  lor  where  the  isthmus 
now  forms  a  bridge  of  land  there  was  a  broad  strait, 
which  lasted  up  to  the  end  of  the  Pliocene,  or  beginning 
of  the  Post-Pliocene  period  Volcanoes  are  frequent  in 
Central  America;  and  basalt  and  other  volcanic  products 
cover  a  large  portion  of  the  country.  The  large  develop- 
ment of  trachytes  indicates  an  earlier  period  of  volcanic 
activity,  during  which  most  of  the  Tertiary  strata  were 
metamorphosed  into  porphyries.  At  any  rate  these  rest 
upon  cretaceous  limestones.  In  many  places  the  clays  and 
sandstones  of  the  Cretaceous  age  have  been  metamorphosed 
into  granite  rocks.  From  Puebla  to  Durango  the  Mexican 
mountains  no  longer  present  the  appearance  of  a  chain, 
but  spread  out  U>  a  Uble-l^nd  or  elevated  plain,  from  5000 


G74 


AMERICA 


[N.    AM.  .«.    AMi:i:I(\\. 


to  9000  feet  in  height,  and  from  100  to  300  miles  in 
breadth.  Across  this  plain,  close  to  tho  19th  parallel,  six  vol- 
canoes aro  distributed  in  a  line  running  east  and  west,  as 
if  a  vast  rent,  extending  from  tho  Atlantic  to  tho  Pacific, 
had  opened  a  passage  for  tho  internal  fires  of  the  globo  at 
this  spot.  Two  of  those  on  the  east  sido  of  tho  continent, 
■with  a  group  of  four  or  five  other  cones  lying  between 
Jalapa  and  Cordoba,  have  an  elevation  exceeding  17,000 
feat,  and  are  tho  only  mountains  in  New  Spain  that  rise 
to  the  region  of  perpetual  snow,  which  commences  here  at 
15,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Jorullo,  the  lowest 
of  the  Bix  volcanoes,  rose  suddenly  in  the  middle  of  a 
plain,  in  September  1759,  after  ftarful  concussions  of  the 
ground,  which  continued  for  fifty  or  sixty  days.  Near  the 
tropic  tho  Mexican  Cordillera  divides  into  thrco  parts.  One 
runs  parallel  to  the  eastern  coast  at  the  distance  of  thirty 
or  forty  leagues,  and  terminates  in  New  Leon.  Another 
proceeds  in  a  north-western  direction,  and  sinks  gradually 
as  it  approaches  the  Californian  Gulf  in  Sonora.  The  third 
or  central  Cordillera  traverses  Durango  and  New  Mexico, 
divides  the  sources  of  the  Rio  Gila  from  the  Rio  Bravo  del 
Norte,  and  dies  out  before  reaching  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
In  a  recent  scientific  survey  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
conducted  by  Professor  Hayden  of  Yale  College,  a  higher 
peak  has  been  discovered  than  was  formerly  known.  Holy 
Cross  mountain  was  computed  to  reach  17,000  feet  above 
the  sea,  or  2000  feet  higher  than  Big  Horn  (15,000),  which 
has  hitherto  been  supposed  to  be  the  highest  of  tho  chain. 
The  great  est  altitudes  on  the  North  American  continent  are 
now  said  to  be  the  following — St  Elias  (17,850)  in  Alaska, 
Popocatepetl  (17,884)  in  Mexico,  Orizaba  (17,337)  in 
Mexico,  Holy  Cross  (17,000),  Rocky  Mountains,  Big  Horn 
(15,000),  and  Mount  Lincoln  (14,300),  both  in  the  same 
chain.  The  Great  Salt  Lake  of  Utah  is  in  41°  N.  and  1 1 2° 
W.,  and  has  intensely  salt  waters.  It  is  nearly  300  miles  in 
circumference,  and  its  shores,  for  a  breadth  of  several  miles, 
are  covered  with  an  incrustation  of  very  pure  salt.  It  lies 
in  a  basin,  which  measures  about  500  miles  each  way,  and 
contains  much  fertile  soil. 

H  we  run  a  line  westward  across  the  continent  of  North 
America  at  the  latitude  of  Delaware  Bay  (38°),  the  geolo- 
gical formations  present  themselves  in  the  following  order: 
— 1.  Tertiary  and  Cretaceous  strata  on  the  shores  of  the 
Atlantic  •  2.  Gneiss  underlying  these  strata,  and  present- 
ing itself  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Alleghany  or  Appala- 
mountains,  but  covered  in  parts  by  New  Red  Sand- 
stone; 3.  Palaeozoic  rocks,  consisting  of  Silurian,  Devonian, 
and  Carboniferous  strata,  curiously  bent  into  parallel  fold- 
ings, with  synclinal  and  anticlinal  axes,  the  crests  of  the 
latter  forming  the  ridges  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  which 
in  this  region  rise  to  the  height  of  2500  feet.  Upon  these 
Palaeozoic  rocks  rest  three  great  coal-fields — the  Appala- 
chian, that  of  Hlinois,  and  that  of  Michigan,  covering  a 
large  portion  of  the  space  between  the  Alleghanies  and  the 
Mississippi,  and  embracing  collectively  an  area  equal  to 
the  surface  of  Great  Britain.  From  the  Mississippi  west- 
ward to  Utah  tho  Palaeozoic  rocks  occur  in  great  folds,  be- 
tween which  are  extensive  areas  of  Triassic,  Oolitic,  Creta- 
ceous, and  Tertiary  beds.  In  California  the  rocks  are 
chiefly  metamorphosed  secondary  strata  on  which  lie  patches 
of  Tertiary  sediments.  In  British  America  there  is  an 
enormous  development  of  the  Laurentian  and  Huronian 
rocks,  which  ire  the  oldest  yet  discovered,  and  occupy 
most  of  the  country  immediately  north  of  the  largo  lakes. 
Newfoundland  and  the  neighbouring  British  territories  con- 
sist of  Pre-Silurian,  Silurian,  Devonian,  Carboniferous^  which 
includes  coal-fields  of  considerable  extent),  and  Triassic 
rocks.  The  area  north  of  about  40°  N.  is  also  covered  and 
strewed  with  glacial  drift  and  boulders. 

The  Ozark  Mountains  resemble  the  Alleghanies  in  their 


mineral  structure,  containing  the  same  rocks  from  the 
granite  to  tho  carboniferous,  and  probably  upwards  to  the 
chalk. 

In  no  single  circumstance  is  tho  superiority  of  America 
over  the  old  world  so  conspicuous,  as  in  the  number  and 
magnitude  of  its  navigable  rivers.  The  Amazon  alone  dis- 
charges a  greater  quantity  of  water  than  the  eight  prin- 
cipal rivers  of  Asia,  the  Yenesei,  Indus,  Ganges,  Oby,  Lena, 
Amoor,  and  the  Hoang-ho  and  Yang-tse  of  China.  The 
Mississippi,  with  its  .branches,  affords  a  greater  amount 
of  inland  navigation  than  all  the  streams,  great,  and  small, 
which  irrigate  Europe;  and  tho  Plata,  in  this  respect,  may 
probably  claim  a  superiority  over  the  collective  water  of 
Africa.  But  the  American  rivers  not  only  surpass  those 
of  tho  Old  World  in  length  and  volume  of  water, — they 
are  so  placed  as  to  penetrate  everywhere  to  the  heart  of 
the  continent.  By  the  Amazon,  a  person  living  at  the 
eastern  foot  of  tho  Andes,  2000  miles  of  direct  distance 
from  tho  Atlantic,  may  convey  himself  or  his  property  to 
tho  6hores  of  that  sea  in  forty-five  days,  almost  without 
effort,  by  confiding  bis  bark  to  the  gliding  current.  H  he 
wish  to  return,  he  has  but  to  spread  his  sails  to  the 
eastern  breeze,  which  blows  perennially  against  the  stream. 
The  navigation  is  not  interrupted  by  a  single  cataract  or 
rapid,  from  tho  Atlantic  to  Jaen,  in  west  longitude  78° 
where  the  surface  of  the  stream  is  only  1240  feet  above 
the  level  of  its  estuary  at  Para.  The  part  of  North 
America  most  remote  from  the  sea  is  the  great  interior 
plain  extending  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Alle- 
ghanies and  the  lakes,  between  the  parallels  of  40°  and 
50° ;  but  the  Mississippi,  Missouri,  and  St  Lawrence, 
with  their  branches,  are  wonderfully  ramified  over  this 
region,  and  tho  Missouri  is  in  some  degree  navigable 
to  the  centre  of  the  continent.  It  is  only  necessary 
to  cast  the  eye  over  a  map  of  South  America,  to  see 
that  all  the  most  sequestered  parts  of  the  interior  are 
visited  by  branches  of  the  Plata  and  the  Amazon.  These 
streams,  having  their  courses  in  general  remarkably 
level,  and  seldom  interrupted  by  cataracts,  may  be  con- 
sidered ,without  a  figure  of  speech,  as  a  vast  system  of 
natural  canals,  terminating  in  two  main  trunks,  which 
communicate  with  the  ocean  at  the  equator  and  the  35th 
degree  of  south  latitude.  Since  the  invention  of  steam 
navigation,  rivers  are,  in  the  truest 'sense  of  the  term, 
Nature's  highways,  especially  for  infant  communities, 
where  the  people  are  too  poor,  and  live  too  widely  dis- 
persed, to  bear  the  expense  of  constructing  roads.  There 
is  little  risk  in  predicting,  that  in  two  or  three  centuries 
the  Mississippi,  the  Amazon,  and  the  Plata,  will  be  the 
scenes  of  an  active  inland  commerce,  far  surpassing  in 
magnitude  anything  at  present  known  on  the  surface  of 
the  globe.  The  Mississippi  is  navigable  for  boats  from 
the  sea  to  the  falls  of  its  principal  branch  the  Missouri, 
1700  miles  from  the  Mexican  Gulf  in  a  direct  line,  or 
3900  by  the  stream ;  and  the  whole  amount  of  boat 
navigation  afforded  by  the  system  of  rivers,  of  which  the 
Mississippi  is  the  main  trunk,  has  been  estimated  as 
e.qual  to  40,000  miles  in  length,  spread  over  a  surface  of 
1,350,000  square  miles.  This,  however,  is  perhaps  an 
exaggeration;  a  navigable  length  of  35,000  miles  may  be 
nearer  the  truth. 

The  Amazon  contains  many  islands,  is  broad,  and  in  the 
upper  part  so  deep,  that  on  one  occasion  Condamine  found 
no  bottom  with  a  line  620  feet  long.  At  its  mouth,  two 
days  before  and  after  the  full  moon,  the  phenomenon  called 
a  Bore  occurs  in  a  very  formidable  shape.  It  is  a  high, 
upright  wave  of  water  rushing  from  the  sea,  which  no 
small  vessel  can  encounter  without  certain  destruction. 

Tho  estuaries  of  all  these  great  American  rivers  open  to> 
the  eastward ;  and  thus  Providence  seems  to  have  plainly 


CtlMATE.] 


AMERICA 


675 


-ength, 
miles. 

Area  of 

basin, 

eq.  miles. 

Navigable 
waters, 
miles. 

4300 

1,850,000 

85,000 

2200 

600,000 

4,000 

1800 

400,000 

8,000 

4000 

2,100,000 

60,000 

2400 

1,200,000 

20,000 

indicated  that  "the  most  intimate  commercial  relations  of 
the  inhabitants  of  America  should  be  with  the  western 
shores  of  the  Old  World.  It  should  at  the  same  time  be 
observed,  that  this  position  of  the  great  rivers  of  America 
is  but  one  example  of  a  physical  arrangement  which  is 
common  to  the  whole  globe;  for  it  is  remarkable  that, 
in  the  Old  World  as  well  as  in  the  New,  no  river  of  the 
first  class  flows  to  the  westward.  Some,  as  the  Nile,  the 
Lena,  and  the  Oby,  flow  to  the  north;  others,  as  the  Indus 
and. the  rivers  of  Ava,  to  the  south;  but  the  largest,  as 
the  Volga,  the  Ganges,  the  Yang-tse,  the  Hoang-ho,  the 
Euphrates,  and  the  Amoor,  have  their  courses  to  the  east 
or  south-east.  This  arrangement  is  not  accidental,  but 
depends  most  probably  on  the  inclination  of  the  primary 
rocks,  which,  in  all  cases  where  their  direction  approaches 
to  the  south  and  north,  seem  to  havo  their  steepest  sides  to 
the  west  and  the  longest  declivities  to  the  east.  We  have 
examples  in  the  Scandinavian  Alps,  the  mountains  of  Bri- 
tain, the  Ghauts  of  India,  the  Andes,  and  the  Rocky 
Mountains. 

The  following  table  exhibits  the  lengths,  size  of  the 
basins,  and  probable  extent  of  the  navigable  water3  of  the 
greater  rivers  of  America. 

Table  of  Principal  American  Rivers. 


Mississippi    to    source    of 

Missouri  

8t    Lawrence   through   the  ; 

lakes 

Orinoco. 

Amazon,  not  including  Ara- 1 

guay S 

Plata,  including  Uruguay... 

The  latitude  and  elevation  of  the  land  in  each  country, 
its  position  in  reference  to  the  sea,  and  the  direction  of  the 
prevailing  winds,  are  the  chief  circumstances  which  deter- 
mine the  nature  of  the  climate.  We  have  already  men- 
tioned that  three-fourths  of  South  America  lie  within  the 
tropics,  and  the  remaining  fourth  in  the  temperate  zone ; 
but,  in  both  divisions,  it  might  be  naturally  inferred  that  a 
huge  wall  like  the  Andes,  rising  into  the  atmosphere  to  the 
height  of  two  or  three  miles,  and  running  across  the  course 
of  the  tropical  and  extra-tropical  winds,  would  exert  a 
powerful  influence  on  the  temperature,  the  humidity,  and 
the  distribution  of  the  seasons.  This  is  actually  the  case; 
and  it  is  this  vast  chain  of  mountains,  with  its  prolonga- 
tion in  North  America,  which  affords  a  key  to  the  most 
remarkable  peculiarities  in  the  climate  of  the  whole  con- 
tinent. The  subject,  which  has  been  frequently  mis- 
understood, admits  of  being  explained  in  a  very  simple 
manner. 

The  trade-winds  blowing  from  the  east  occupy  a  zone  60 
degrees  in  breadth,  extending  from  30°  of  N.  to  30°  of 
S.  latitude.  Beyond  these  limits  are  variable  winds; 
but  the  prevailing  direction  in  the  open  sea,  where  no  acci- 
dental causes  operate,  is  well  known  by  navigators  to  be 
from  the  west.  Now  these  winds  are  the  agents  which 
transport  the  equable  temperature  of  the  ocean,  and  the 
moisture  exhaled  from  its  surface,  to  the  interior  of  the 
great  continents,  where  it  is  precipitated  in  the  shape 
of  rain,  dew,  or  snow.  Mountains  receive  the  moisture 
which  floats  in  the  atmosphere ;  they  obstruct  and  lift  the 
aerial  currents,  and  by  causing  a  reduction  of  temperature, 
favour  precipitation.  Rain,  accordingly,  in  all  countries 
falls  most  abundantly  on  the  elevated  land.  Let  us  con- 
lider,  then,  what  will  be  the  effect  of  a  mural  ridge  like 
»he  Andes  in  the  situation  which  it  occupies.  In  the 
region  within  the  30th  parallel,  the  moisture  swept  up  by 


the  trade-wind  from  the  Atlantic  will  be  precipitated  in 
part  upon  the  mountains  of  Brazil,  which  are  but  low,  and 
so  distributed  as  to  extend  far  into  the  interior.  The  por- 
tion which  remains  will  be  borne  westward,  and,  losing  a, 
little  as  it  proceeds,  will  be  arrested  by  the  Andes,  and  fall 
down  in  showers  on  their  slopes.  The  aerial  current 
will  now  be  deprived  of  all  the  humidity  which  it  can  part 
with,  and  arrive  in  a  state  of  complete  exsiccation  at  Peru, 
where  no  rain  will  consequently  fall.  That  even  a  much 
lower  ridge  than  the  Andes  may  intercept  the  whole  mois- 
ture of  the  atmosphere,  is  proved  by  a  well-known  pheno- 
menon in  India,  where  the  Ghauts,  a  chain  only  3000  or 
4000  feet  high,  divide  summer  from  winter,  as  it  is  called) 
that  is,  they  have  copious  rains  on  their  windward  side, 
while  on  the  other  the  weather  remains  clear  and  dry;  and 
the  rains  regularly  change  from  the  west  side  to  the  east, 
and  vice  versa,  with  the  monsoons.  In  the  region  beyonc] 
the  30th  parallel  this  effect  will  be  reversed.  The  Andes 
will  in  this  case  serve  as  a  screen  to  intercept  the  mois1 
ture  brought  by  the  prevailing  west  winds  from  the  Pacifiii 
Ocean ;  rains  will  be  copious  on  their  slopes,  and  in 
Chili  on  their  western  declivities,  but  none  will  fall  on  the1 
plains  to  the  eastward,  except  occasionally,  when  the  winds 
blow  from  the  Atlantic.  The  phenomena  of  the  weathei 
correspond  in  a  remarkable  manner  with  this  hypothesis. 
On  the  shoretf  the  Pacific,  from  Coquimbo,  at  the  30th 
parallel,  to  Amatapu,  at  the  5th  of  south  latitude,  no  rain 
falls ;  and  the  whole  of  this  tract  is  a  sandy  desert,  except 
the  narrow  strips  of  land  skirting  the  streams  that  descend 
from  the  Andes,  where  the  soil  is  rendered  productive  by 
irrigation.  From  the  30th  parallel  southward  the  scene 
changes.  Rains  are  frequent;  vegetation  appears  on  the 
surface,  and  grows  more  vigorous  as  we  advance  south- 
ward. "At  Conception,"  says  Captain  Hall,  "the  eye  was 
delighted  with  the  richest  and  most  luxuriant  foliage;  at 
Valparaiso  the  hills  were  poorly  clad  with  a  stunted  brush- 
wood and  a  poor  attempt  at  grass,  the  ground  looking 
starved  and  naked;  at  Coquimbo  the  brushwood  was  gone, 
with  nothing  in  its  place  but  a  vile  sort  of  prickly  pear 
bush,  and  a  thin  sprinkling  of  gray  wiry  grass  ;  at  Huasco 
(latitude  28|°)  there  was  not  a  trace  of  vegetation,  and  the 
hills  were  covered  with  bare  sand."1  It  follows  from  the 
principle  we  have  laid  down,  that  in  this  southern  part  of 
the  continent  the  dry  tract  should  be  found  on  the  east 
side  of  the  mountains,  and  such  is  the  fact.  At  Mendoza, 
in  latitude  32°,  rain  scarcely  ever  falls,  and  the  district 
along  the  east  foot  of  the  Andes  is  known  to  consist  chiefly 
of  parched  sands,  on  >which  a  few  stunted  shrubs  grow, 
and  in  which  many  of  the  streams  that  descend  from  the 
mountains  are  absorbed  before  they  reach  the  sea.  The 
whole  country,  indeed,  south  of  the  Plata,  suffers  from 
drought ;  but  on  the  eastern  side  this  is  remedied  to  some 
extent  by  winds  from  the  east  or  south-east,  which  bring 
occasional  rains  to  refresh  the  soil.  From  Amatapu  north- 
ward, on  the  other  hand,  the  west  coast  is  well  watered 
and  fruitful;  and  this  is  easily  accounted  for.  The  line  of 
the  coast  here  changes  its  direction,  and  trends  to  the 
north-east  as  far  as  the  isthmus  of  Panama,  where  the 
mountains  sink  to  a  few  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  leave 
a  free  passage  to  the  trade-wind,  which  here  often  assumes 
a  direction  from  the  north-east,  or  even  the  north.  The 
exhalations  of  the  Atlantic  are  thus  brought  in  abundance 
to  the  coast  of  Quito,  which  is  in  consequence  well  watered ; 
while  the  neighbouring  district  of  Peru  suffers  from  per- 
petual aridity. 

Our  principle  applies  equally  to  the  explanation  of  soma 
peculiar  facts  connected  with  the  climate  of  North  Ame- 
rica.    The  western  coast  of  Mexico,  as  far  as  St  Bias  or 

i '  Hall's  Extract*  from  a  Journal,  vol  ii.  p.  12. 


676 


AMERICA 


[n.    AND   S.    AMERICA. 


Mazutlan,  in  latitude  23°  N.,  is  well  watered,  because.^rrf, 
the  continent  here  is  narrow;  secondly,  the  table-land  of 
Mexico,  which  is  much  lower  than  the  Andes  of  Chili,  is 
not  so  effectual  a  screen  to  intercept  the  moisture ;  and, 
third/)/,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  a  branch  of  the 
trade-wind,  which  crosses  the  low  part  of  the  continent  at 
Panama  and  Nicaragua,  sweeps  along  the  west  coast  during 
part  of  the  year,  and  transports  humidity  with  it.  But 
beyond  the  point  we  have  mentioned  drought  prevails. 
Sonora,  though  visited  occasionally  by  rains,  consists  of 
Bandy  plains  without  herbage,  where  the  streams  lose  them- 
selves in  the  parched  soil  without  reaching  the  sea ;  and 
even  Old  California,  which  has  the  ocean  on  one  side,  and 
a  broad  gulf  on  the  other,  and  ought  apparently  to  be  ex- 
cessively humid,  is  covered  with  sterile  rocks  and  sandy 
hills,  where  the  vegetation  is  scanty,  and  no  timber  is  seen 
except  brushwood.  This  dry  region  extends  as  far  as  33° 
or  34°  N. ;  but  immediately  beyond  this  we  have  another 
change  of  scene.  New  California  is  in  all  respects  a 
contrast  to  the  Old.  It  is  rich,  fertile,  and  humid, 
abounding  in  luxuriant  forests  and  fine  pastures ;  and  the 
other  American  possessions  to  the  northward  preserve  the 
same  character.  How  can  we  account  for  this  singular 
diversity  of  climate,  except  upon  the  principle  which  has 
been  explained,  namely,  that  in  all  regions  where  ranges 
of  mountains  intersect  the  course  of  the  constant  or  pre- 
dominant winds,  the  country  on  the  windward  side  of  the 
mountains  will  be  moist,  and  that  on  the  leeward  dry;  and 
hence  parched  deserts  will  generally  be  found  on  the  west 
side  of  countries  within  the  tropics,  and  on  the  east  side 
of  those  beyond  them  t  Our  hypothesis  applies  equally  to 
the  country  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  For  the  space 
of  about  3000  miles  along  the  foot  of  this  chain -the  surface 
consists  of  dry  sands  or  gravel,  sometimes  covered  with 
saline  incrustations,  almost  destitute  of  trees  and  herbage, 
and  watered  by  streams  flowing  from  the  mountains,  which 
are  sometimes  entirely  absorbed  by  the  arid  soil  The 
central  and  eastern  part  of  the  basin  of  the  Mississippi 
would  in  all  probability  have  been  equally  barren  had  the 
configuration  of  the  land  been  a  little  different  in  the 
south.  A  tract  of  country  extremely  low  and  level  extends 
along  both  sides  of  this  river;  and  a  portion  of  the  trade- 
wind  blowing  from  the  Mexican  Gulf,  finding  its  motion 
westward  obstructed  by  the  high  table-land  of  the  Cordil- 
lera, is  deflected  to  the  right,  and  ascends  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi  and  Ohio.  This  wind,  whose  course  was  first 
traced  by  Volney,  bears  with  it  the  humidity  of  the  torrid 
rone,  and  scatters  fertility-over  a  wide  region  that  would 
otherwise  Be  a  barren  waste. 

The  views  on  the  subject  of  climate  we  have  been  un- 
folding will  enable  us  to  throw  some  light  on  an  interest- 
ing point — the  distribution  of  forests.  We  are  induced  to 
think,  that  in  all  countries  having  a  summer  heat  exceed- 
ing 70°,  the  presence  or  absence  of  natural  woods,  and 
their  greater  or  less  luxuriance,  may  be  taken  as  a  measure 
of  the  amount  of  humidity,  and  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil. 
Short  and  heavy  rains  in  a  warm  country  will  produce 
grass,  which,  having  its  roots  near  the  surface,  springs  up 
in  a  few  days,  and  withers  when  the  moisture  is  exhausted ; 
but  transitory  rains,  however  heavy;  will  not  nourish  trees, 
because  after  the  surface  is  saturated  with  water,  the  rest 
runs  off,  and  the  moisture  lodged  in  the  soil  neither  sinks 
deep  enough,  nor  is  in  sulhcient  quantity  to  furnish  the 
giants  of  the  forest  with  the  necessary  sustenance.  It  may 
be  assumed  that  20  inches  of  rain  falling  moderately,  or  at 
intervals,  will  leave  a  greater  permanent  supply  in  the  soil 
than  40  inches  falling,  as  it  sometimes  does  in  the  torrid 
zone,  in  as  many  hours.  It  is  only  necessary  to  qualify 
this  conclusion  by  stating,  that  something  depends  on  the 
•absoil.     If  that  is  gravel,  or  a  rtck  full  of  fissures,  the 


water  imbedded  will  soon  drain  o9  ;  if  it  is  clay  or  a  com- 
pact rock,  the  water  will  remain  in  the  soil.  It  must  bo 
remembered,  also, 
that  both  heat  and 
moisture  dim i nish as 
we  ascend  in  the  at- 
mosphere, while  eva- 
poration increases ; 
and  hence  that  trees 
will  not  grow  on 
very  high  ground, 
though  its  position 
in  reference  to  the 
sea  and  the  prevail- 
ing winds  should  be 
favourable  in  other 
respects.  In  speak- 
ing of  the  region  of 
forests,  we  neither 
restrict  the  term  to 
those  districts  where 
the  natural  woods 
present  an  unbroken 
continuity,  nor  ex- 
tend it  to  every  place 

where  a    few    trees       Sketch  Map  showing  the  Forest  Regions 
grow  in  open  plains.  of  America. 

It  is  not  easy  to  give  a  definition  that  will  be  always 
appropriate ;  but  in  using  the  expression,  we  wish  to  be 
understood  as  applying  it  to  ground  where  the  natural 
woods  cover  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  surface. 

The  small  map  of  America  prefixed  will  enable  the  reader 
to  follow  our  statements  with  ease.  The  long  black 
lines  show  the  positions  of  the  chains  of  mountains  ;  the 
shading  represents  the  regions  of  forests  ;  the  dense  forests 
being  marked  by  the  double  shading,  and  the  thinner  ones 
by  the  open  lines.  The  white  spaces  represent  the  lands 
on  which  little  or  no  wood  grows.  The  equator  and  the 
parallel  of  30°  on  each  side  are  indicated  by  the  horizontal 
lines  marked  0  and  30.  The  arrows  show  the  direction  of 
the  prevailing  winds;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that, 
though  the  intertropical  wind  is  assumed  to  have  its  course 
right  from  the  east,  this  is  only  true  at  the  equator,  its 
direction  inclining  to  north-east  as  we  approach  the  northern 
tropic,  and  to  the  south-east  as  we  approach  the  southern. 
In  North  America  A  is  the  woody  region  on  the  west 
coast,  extending  from  latitude  35°  to  about  58°,  and  of 
unknown  breadth.  B,  the  region  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  partly  a  bare  desert,  partly  covered  with 
grass  and  dotted  with  trees.  C,  the  forests  of  the  Alleghany 
chain,  thick  on  the  east  and  south,  and  thin  on  the  west; 
bounded  by  a  curved  line  passing  from  St  Luis,  in  Mexico, 
through  Lake  Huron,  to  the  mouth  of  the  St  Lawrence,  in 
latitude  50°  N.  The  arrow  at  M  points  out  the  direction 
of  the  wind,  which  ascends  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  nourishes  the  western  part  of  these  forests ;  and  the 
arrow  at  R  that  which  blows  across  the  isthmus  of  Panama, 
D  is  the  table-land  of  Mexico,  graduating  on  the  north- 
west into  the  dry  plains  of  Sonora  and  California,  all  bare, 
or  nearly  bare,  of  wood.  E  is  the  Llanos  or  bare  plains  of 
Caraccas,  nearly  fenced  round  with  mountains.  F  G  is 
the  long  strip  of  bare  dry  sands  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Andes  which  constitutes  Lower  Peru  and  the  north  part  of 
Chili ;  and  N  is  Amatapu,  its  northern  boundary.  H  is 
the  great  region  of  forests  which  constitutes  the  basin  of 
the  Amazon,  and  occupies  ail  the  rest  of  Brazil.  Near  the 
equator  the  moisture  is  so  excessive,  that  after  150  or  200 
inches  of  rain  have  fallen  on  the' east  coast,  there  is  still 
sufficient  humidity  in  the  atmosphere  to  afford  copious 
showers  to  all  the  country  up  to  the  Andes,     riere.  there- 


CLIMATE.] 


AMERICA 


677 


fore,  the  woods  reach  from  side  to  side  of  the  continent. 
But  as  we  recede  from  the  equator  the  humidity  diminishes 
rapidly ;  and  though  the  continent  becomes  narrower  to- 
wards the  south,  the  supply  of  rain  falls  off  in  a  still 
greater  proportion,  and  the  forests  extend  over  a  much 
smaller  space.  At  the  foot  of  the  Andes  the  forests  ex- 
tend to  16°  or  18°  of  S.  latitude;  on  the  east  coast  to 
2S°  or  probably  30°.  K  L  are  the  Pampas  or  open  lands  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  extending  on  the  east  side  of  the  Andes  from 
Cape  Horn  to  the  latitudes  just  mentioned.  If  we  divide 
this  region  into  three  parts,  the  most  easterly,  refreshed 
by  occasional  rains  from  the  Atlantic,  is  covered  with  a 
strong  nutritive  herbage ;  the  second,  which  is  drier,  dis- 
plays a  thin  coarse  wiry  grass ;  and  the  third  portion,  which 
extends  to  the  Andes,  receiving  little  or  no  rain,  is  nearly 
a  desert  :  all  the  three  are  destitute  of  timber,  but  the  sur- 
face of  the  third  is  dotted  with  dwarfish  shrubs.  I  is  the 
southern  part  of  Chili.  Here  the  prevailing  winds,  which 
are  from  the  west,  coming  loaded  with  the  moisture  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  produce  copious  rains  to  nourish  the  herbage 
and  the  forests.  This  applies,  however,  chiefly  to  the 
country  south  of  the  35th  parallel.  From  that  to  Coquimbo, 
in  latitude  30°,  the  wood  is  scanty.  Beyond  50°  on  the  east 
coast  of  North  America,  and  55°  or  58°  on  the  west,  very 
little  wood  grows,  in  consequence  of  the  rigour  of  the  climate, 
wcrat'ng  Great  misapprehensions  have  arisen  with  regard  to  the 
iuroces  climate  of  America,  from  comparisons  being  drawn  between 
the  east  side  of  the  new  continent  and  the  west  side  of  the 
old.  We  have  already  pointed  out  the  influence  of  winds 
blowing  from  the  sea  in  modifying  the  state  of  the  atmo- 
sphere over  the  land,  both  as  to  heat  and  humidity.  "When 
this  circumstance  is  attended  to,  and  when  the  east  and  west 
sides  of  the  old  and  the  new  continents  are  respectively  com- 
pared with  one  another,  the  difference  is  found  to  be  small, 
and  easily  accounted  for.  In  the  torrid  zone,  and  on  the 
sea-shore,  the  temperature  of  both  continents  is  found  to  be 
the  same,  viz.,  82°;  but  in  the  interior  the  difference  is 
rather  in  favour  of  America.  There  is  no  counterpart  in 
the  New  World  to  the  burning  heats  felt  in  the  plains  of 
Arabia  and  N.  Africa.  Even  in  the  western  and  warmest 
part  of  the  parched  steppes  of  Caraccas,  the  hottest  known 
region  in  America,  the  temperature  of  the  air  during  the 
day  is  only  98°  in  the  shade,  which  rises  to  1,12°  in  the 
sandy  deserts  which  surround  the  Ked  Sea.  At  Calabozo, 
farther  east  in  the  Llanos,  the  common  temperature  of  the 
day  is  only  from  88°  to  90°;  and  at  sunrise  the  thermo- 
meter sinks  to  80°.  The  basin  of  the  Amazon  is  shaded 
with  lofty  woods;  and  a  cool  breeze  from  the  east,  a  minor 
branch  of  the  trade  wind,  ascends  the  channel  of  tie  stream, 
following  all  its  windings,  almost  to  the  foot  of  the  Andes. 
Hence  this  region,  though  under  the  equator,  and  visited 
'  with  almost  constant  rains,  is  neither  excessively  hot  nor 
unhealthy.  Brazil,  and  the  vast  country  extending  west- 
ward from  it  between  the  Plata  and  the  Amazon,  is  an 
uneven  table-land,  blest  with  an  equable  climate.  At  Eio 
Janeiro,  which  stands  low,  and  is  exposed  to  a  heat 
comparatively  great,  the  temperature  in  summer  varies 
from  68°  to  82°  Fahr.,  and  the  mean  is  only  about 
74°.  Farther  north,  and  in  the  interior,  the  Indians  find 
it  necessary  to  keep  fires  in  their  huts ;  and  in  the  country 
near  the  sources  of  the  Paraguay,  hoar-frost  is  seen  on 
the  hills  during  the  colder  months,  and  the  mean  tem- 
perature of  the  year  falls  below  65°  or  67°.  On  the  de- 
clivities of  the  Andes,  and  on  the  high  plains  of  Upper 
Peru,  the  heats  are  so  moderate  that  the  plants  of  Italy, 
France,  and  Germany  come  to  maturity.  Lower  Peru, 
though  a  sandy  desert,  enjoys  a  wonderful  degree  of  cool- 
ness, owing  to  the  fogs  which  intercept  the  solar  rays. 
LAt  Lima,  which  is  540  feet  above  the  sea,  the  temperature 
varies  from  53°  to  82°,  but  the  mean  for  the  whole  year  is 


only  72°.  In  the  plains  cf  La  Plata  the  mean  temperature 
of  the  year  is  very  nearly  the  same  as  at  the  corresponding 
north  latitudes  on  the  east  side  of  the  Atlantic.  At  Buenos 
Ayres,  for  instance,  the  mean  annual  heat  is  19°-7  of  the 
centigrade  thermometer  (68°  Fahr.),  while  that  of  places  on 
the  same  parallel  in  the  Old  World  is  19°'8.  The  range  of 
temperature  is  probably  greater  in  the  basin  of  the  Plata; 
but  as  we  advance  southwards,  the  diminishing  breadth  of 
the  continent  makes  the  climate  approximate  to  that  of  an 
island,  and  the  extremes  of  course  approach  each  other.  In 
the  Strait  of  Magalhaens  the  temperature  of  the  warmest 
month  does  not  exceed  43°  or  46°;  and  snow  falls  almost 
daily  in  the  middle  of  winter,  though  the  latitude  corre- 
sponds with  that  of  England.  But  the  inference  drawn  from 
this,  that  the  climate  is  unmatched  for  severity,  is  by  no 
means  just,  for  the  winter  at  Staten  Island  is  milder  than 
in  London.  In  point  of  fact,  the  climate  of  Patagonia  is 
absolutely  colder  than  that  of  places  in  the  same  latitude 
in  Europe ;  but  the  difference  lies  chiefly  in  the  very  low 
temperature  of  the  summer.  This  peculiarity  no  doubt 
results  chiefly  from  the  greater  coolness  of  the  sea  in  the 
southern  hemisphere ;  for  beyond  the  parallel  of  48°,  the 
difference  of  temperature  in  the  North  and  South  Atlantic 
amounts,  according  to  Humboldt,  to  10°  or.  12°  of  Fahren- 
heit's scale.  H  we  push  our  researches  a  step  farther,  and 
inquire'  what  is  the  cause  of  the  great  warmth  of  the 
Northern  Sea,  we  shall  be  forced  to  admit  that  a  very 
satisfactory  answer  cannot  be  given.  Something  may  be 
due  to  the  influence  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  a  minute  branch 
of  which  is  supposed  to  carry  the  waters  of  the  torrid  zone 
to  the  shores  of  Shetland  and  Norway;  but  such  an  agent 
seems  too  trifling  to  account  for  the  phenomenon.  The 
sum,  then,  of  the  peculiar  qualities  which  distinguish  the 
climate  of  South  America  may  be  briefly  stated.  Near 
the  equator  the  new  continent  is  perhaps  more  humid  than 
the  old;  and  within  the  tropics  generally,  owing  to  its  vast 
forests,  the  absence  of  sandy  deserts,  and  the  elevation  of 
the  soil,  it  is  cooler.  Beyond  the  tropics  the  heat  is  nearly 
the  same  in  the  south  temperate  zope  of  America  and 
the  northern  one  of  the  old  continent,  till  we  ascend  to  the 
latitude  of  Cape  Horn,  where  we  have  cold  summers  and 
a  very  limited,  range  of  the  thermometer. 

_  The  mountain  ranges  of  North  America  form  two  widely  Highland* 
distant  highland  regions,  separated  from  each  other  by  the  of  N- 
vast  interior  plain,  which  contains,  in  its  southern  slope,  America 
the  Mississippi  with  all  its  tributaries,  and  the  other  rivers 
flowing  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  while  its  northern  part 
contains  the   great  fresh-water   lakes,  and  many  rivers 
taking  a  northward  course  to  Hudson's  Bay  or  to   the 
Arctic  seas.     The  watershed  of  this  plain,  dividing  the 
streams  that  nin  into  the  Missouri  and  Mississippi  from 
those  communicating  with  the  Saskatchewan,  with  Lake 
Winnipeg,  and  with  Lake  Superior,  is  along  a  line  from 
west  to  east  nearly  coinciding  with  the  48th  parallel  of 
latitude,  and  has  a  mean  elevation  of  1500  feet. 

Along  the  whole  of  the  western  side,  from  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  in  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  from 
Alaska  on  the  Pacific  shore,  to  the  Isthmus  of  Nicaragua 
and  Panama,  that  is,  across  60°  of  latitude  from  north  to 
south,  extends  with  a  grand  double  curve  the  continuou; 
length  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  others  which  prolong 
the  line,  having  a  position  in  North  America  similar  to 
that  of  lhe  Andes  in  South  America,  and  shutting  off,  in 
some  parts,  a  comparatively  narrow  portion  of  the  con- 
tinent., with  the  Pacific  shore,  from  the  great  central  plain. 
But  several  minor  ranges,  branching  off  or  confronting  the 
principal  mountain-ridge  or  backbone  of  North  America, 
enclose  large  spaces  of  a  table-land,  traversed  by  the 
Columbia,  the  Fraser,  and  the  Colorado  rivers,  with  those 
which  join  them,  and  holding  the  Great  Salt  Lake  of 


678 


AMERICA 


[N.    AMERICA. 


Utah  in  its  central  basin.  The  Cascade  Mountains  of 
Washington  and  Oregon,  the  Sierra  Nevada  of  California, 
and  the  Coast  Range  prolonged  through  the  Californian 
peninsula,  have  a  general  direction  from  north  to  south; 
while  the  Wan  itch,  the  Humboldt,  the  Blue  Moun- 
tains, the  Salmon  River,  and  other  ranges,  stand  rather 
across  the  table-land,  or  obliquely,  from  west  to  cast.  It 
may  be  convenient  to  speak  of  the  former  scries,  regarded 
altogether,  as  the  general  Pacific  Coast  Range,  which  we 
also  observe  to  be  continued  northward,  with  some  intervals, 
beyond  latitude  GO0  N.  to  the  peninsula  of  Alaska,  pre- 
senting summits  of  increased  height,  that  of  Mount  St 
Elias  being  above  17,000  feet,  and  Mount  Fairweather 
nearly  15,000  feet.  In  the  Cascade  Range  are  Mount  St 
Helens,  north  of  the  Columbia  River,  attaining  an  eleva- 
tion of  15,750  feet;  Mount  Hood  and  Mount  Jefferson, 
about  15,500  feet.  The  Sierra  Nevada,  at  its  northern 
extremity,  where  it  forms  an  acute  angle  with  the  coast 
range,  displays  the  lofty  terminal  peak  of  Mount  Shasta, 
having  an  altitude  of  1  -1,400  feet.  The  minor  Californian 
Coast  Range  nowhere  rises  to  4000  feet.  The  main  Cor- 
dillera or  spine  of  Western  North  America,  which  in  the 
British  Dominion  and  in  the  United  States'  territory  is 
called  the  Rocky  Mountains,  but  which  takes  the  name  of 
the  Sierra  Madre  in  Mexico,  and  in  the  isthmus,  farther 
south,  is  split  into  two  lower  groups  of  a  volcanic  character, 
attains  the  height  of  16,000  feet  in  Mount  Brown,  and 
15,700  feet  in  Mount  Hooker,  both  near  the  54th  degree 
of  latitude,  above  the  source  of  the  Saskatchewan  river; 
but  Fremont,  in  the  Wind  River  group,  between  Oregon 
and  Nebraska,  is  13,560  feet  high,  and  there  are  peaks  of 
10,000  feet  or  12,000  feet  in  Utah  and  New  Mexico. 
The  highest  mountains,  however,  in  North  America,  ex- 
celling even  Mount  St  Elias,  belong  to  a  volcanic  series 
which  crosses  the  table-land  of  southern  Mexico  from  west 
to  east,  and  of  which  the  culminating  points  are  Popo- 
catepetl, 17,884  feet,  and  Orizaba,  17,373  feet;  while 
Agua,  in  Guatemala,  rises  to  13,000  feet.  Thus  we  may 
remark,  at  each  extremity  of  the  Cordillera,  at  its  north 
end,  towards  Alaska,  and  at  its  south  end,  in  Central 
America,  it  is  encountered  by  a  cluster  of  volcanoes, 
Mount  St  Elias  being  one  of  this  description,  which  exceed 
the  height  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  spaces  enclosed 
between  the  main  trunk  and  branches  of  this  immense 
system  of  mountains  are  several  hundred  miles  wide,  and 
their  surface  is  elevated  5000  feet  of  6000  feet  above  tie 
Bea-level,  as  in  the  Utah  lake-basin,  the  Nevada  territory, 
and  the  plateau  of  Anahuac,  or  southern  Mexico,  which 
last  has  an  elevation  of  6000  feet  to  8000  feet,  and  has 
therefore  a  temperate  climate  within  the  tropics. 

An  outline  merely  has  been  given  of  the  western  high- 
land region  of  North  America.  The  eastern  highlands  of 
this  continent  are  mainly  constituted  by  the  Alleghanies 
or  Appalachian  system  of  mountains,  with  then:  dependen- 
cies, which  are  of  no  great  height,  the  Black  Mountain,  or 
Mount-  Guyot,  in  North  Carolina,  being  the  highest,  at 
6476  feet;  but  they  extend  nearly  2000  miles,  from  the 
Gulf  of  St  Lawrence  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  having  a  gene- 
ral direction  from  north-east  to  south-west.  The  strip  of 
land,  one  or  two  hundred  miles  wide,  between  these  moun- 
tains and  the  Atlantic  coast,  is  of  the  greatest  historical 
interest,  as  it  includes  the  seats  of  all  the  older  English 
■nents  on  this  continent,  which  seems  destined  for 
the  grandest  dweliing-place  of  our  nation.  North  of  the 
Gulf  of  St  Lawnece,  through  the  peninsula  that  terminates 
with  Labrador  between  the  Atlantic  and  Hudson's  Bay, 
the  Appalachian  system  of  mountains  is  continued,  or 
resumed,  in  a  range  called  the  Watchish,  only  1500  feet 
high,  but  in  the  severe  climate  of  that  region  covered  with 
perpetual  enow.     The  Alleghanies,  south  of  the  St  Law- 


rence, including  the  Green  Mountains  of  Vermont  and  the 
White  Mountains  of  New  Hampshire,  are  not  so  much  a 
chain  of  mountains  as  a  long  plateau,  crested  by  several 
different  ridges,  and  intersected  by  wide  valleys  of  con- 
siderable elevation,  but  altogether  on  a  much  smaller  scalo 
than  the  highlands  of  Western  America.      East  of  the 
Hudson   the   mountains  are   chiefly  granitic,   with 
rounded  summits,  often  covered  with  turf  or  moss  to  the 
top;  they   assume   a  more   regular  formation   in   Penn- 
sylvania, Virginia)  and  North  Carolina,  but  again  decline 
and  break  into  detached    groups    in   approaching    their 
southern  extremity  in  Alabama.     Next  to  the  summit  in 
North  Carolina,  which  is  named  above,  Mount  Washington 
in  New  Hampshire  stands  pre-eminent,  with  an  altitude  of 
6428  feet.     The  scenery  of  these  "  White  Mountains"  is 
very  striking,  especially  where  the  Saco  river  cleaves  its 
way  through  the  barrier  of  granite  by  a  cutting  two  miles 
long,  in  one  place  only  22  feet  wide,  between  lofty  pre- 
cipitous walls.     It  is  in  the  "  Green  Mountains,"  succeed- 
ing these  to  the  west,  and  giving  their  name  in  French  to 
the  neighbouring  State,  that  the  prevalent  form  becomes 
that  of  round  humps  on  a  broad  base,  with  firs  or  shrubs 
growing  on  the  slopes,  and  with  scanty  grass  or  lichens  on 
the  summits.     Both  these  two  contrasted  groups  of  New 
England  mountains  enter  the  State  of  Massachusetts  from 
the  north;  the  Hoosacand  Taconic  extensions  of  the  Green 
Mountains  rise  on  the  west  side,  while  the  White  Moun- 
tains are  continued  by  those  of  which  Mount  Holyoke  and 
Wachusett  are  the  most  conspicuous;  and  between  their 
parallel  ranges  is  the  Connecticut  river,  with  the  Housa- 
tonic,  Mount  Tom,  and  Blue  Hills  to  overlook  its  lower 
course.     These  features  of  the  country,  though  of  far  less 
physical  importance  than  the  towering  peaks  of  Colorado 
and  California,  will  always  be,associated  with  the  genuine 
traditions  of  English  rural,  domestic,  and  social  life,  trans- 
planted  to  the   New  World  in  the  17th  century,  and 
defended    by  a  long  struggle   against  stern  nature  and 
savage  men  in  the  early  age  of  the  American  colonies. 
The  natural  boundary  separating  New  England  from  the 
great  and  more  modern  State. of  New  York  is  that  noble 
river  the  Hudson,  rising  in  the  Adirondack  Mountains, 
near  Lake  Champlain  and  the  waters  of  the  St  Lawrence, 
but  pouring  its  beautiful  and  useful  stream  directly  south, 
to  the  greatest  of  American  commercial  ports  and  cities. 
This  river  passes  close  by  the  Catskill  and  Shawangunk 
Mountains,  from  which  is  continued  the  general  distribu- 
tion of  the  eastern  American  highlands  along  the  Atlantic 
states,  but  with  a  more  westerly  declination  from  the  coast, 
running  through  Pennsylvania,  West  Virginia,  the  borders 
of   Tennessee,  and   North    CaroUna,  the   upper   parts  of 
Georgia  and  Alabama.     It  is  in  Virginia  that  the  Alle- 
ghanies have  their  greatest  breadth,  which  is  about  150 
miles.     They  rise  highest  in  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee, 
and  subsequently  keep  up  a  distinct  line  of  position,  across 
the  cotton-growing  States,  between  those  of  the  Atlantic 
seaboard  and  those  of  the  Lower  Mississippi     This  cir- 
cumstance, it  may  be  remarked,  has'  had  most  important 
effects  on  the  political  and  military  events  of  late  years, 
in  the  results  of  the  attempted  secession  of  the  slavehold- 
ing  States  from  the  Union.     Another  feature  of  physical 
geography,  which  probably  conditioned  the  earlier  stages 
of  that  momentous  civil  struggle,  in  the  disputes  relating 
to  the  Missouri  compromise  and  to  the  admission  of  Kansas 
as  a  free-soil  State,  is  the  existence  of  the  Ozark  range  of 
mountains.     These  stand  in  the  middle  of  the  great  Mis- 
sissippi valley,  stretching  across  from  northern  Texas  to 
Arkansas  and   the  confluence  of  the  Missouri  with  the 
Mississippi     By  the  elevation  they  give  to  the  soil,  in 
latitudes  between  30°  and  40°,  as  well  as  by  the  raised 
table-land  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  farther  west,  the 


CEOLOftv] 


AMERICA 


079 


area  of  United  States'  territory  suitable  for  cotton  planta- 
tions and  for  slave  labour  was  so  far  limited,  and  confined 
to  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  Atlantic  sea- 
board. At  the  sam'e  time,  in  the  latitudes  north  of  these, 
between  40°  and  50°,  the  whole  vast  prairie  region  from 
the  Ohio  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  was  adapted  to  the 
growth  of  corn,  while  it  had  such  continuity  and  unifor- 
mity of  surface,  and  was  so  pervaded  by  the  grand  river- 
system  of  this  middle  plain  of  North  America,  that  it 
couldt  not  well  undergo  political  division.  The  entire 
West  being  thus  secured  to  the  Union,  and  the  better 
part  of  the  South  being  thus  rescued  from  the  curse  of 
Negro  slavery,  by  the  moulding  hand  of  nature  in  planning 
the  distribution  of  mountain  ranges  and  the  level  ground 
all  over  this  continent,  we  may  conr'der  that  the  political 
and  social  destinies  of  the  great  English  Republic,  vindi- 
cated in  the  civil  war  from  1861  to  1865,  were  predeter- 
mined in  the  formation  of  the  land. 

The  North  American  continent  affords  an  interesting 
study  of  the  geological  changes  and  adjustments,  by  which 
the  mighty  work  of  preparation  for  what  promises  to  be  a 
noble  development  of  humanity  was  slowly  effected  in 
the  remote  epochs  of  the  past.  The  oldest  sedimentary 
rocks  anywhere  found  on  the  globe  are  those  which  under- 
lie the  whole  of  Canada,  New  Brunswick,  and  Newfound- 
land, the  Labrador  peninsula,  and  the  country  north  of 
Lake  Superior,  perhaps  also  the  less  explored  regions  of 
the  far  north-west  towards  the  Arctic  Sea.  This  series, 
named  the  Laurentian,  from  the  St  Lawrence  river,  is  per- 
ceived to  exist  in  Europe  only  in  a  fewscattered  instances, 
in  the  Hebrides,  and  in  Norway  or  Sweden.  In  North 
America  it  occupies  the  most  extensive  areas;  the  thick- 
ness of  its  beds  is  estimated  by  Sir  William  Logan  at 
30,000  feet;  it  rises  to  hills  or  mountains  4000  feet  high, 
and  in  the  deep  gorge  of  the  Saguenay  river,  forms  per- 
pendicular cliffs  of  1500  feet.  Only  one  fossil  animal, 
which  has  been  called  the  Eozoon  Canadense,  has  been  dis- 
covered to  have  left  its  trace  in  this  most  ancient  bottom 
of  the  primeval  ocean;  it  was  one  of  the  Foraminifera, 
which  covered  its  gelatinous  body  with  a  thin  crust  of 
carbonate  of  lime,  having  numerous  holes  or  pores  for  the 
emission  of  its  filament-members,  with  which  to  feel  and 
to  feed  outside.  Next  to  the  Laurentian,  but  with  a  vast 
unknown  interval  of  time,  comes  the  Huronian  or  Lower 
Cambrian  series.  It  .'is  suggested  by  geologists  that,  as 
the  vast  .level  bed  of  the  Laurentian  sea  was  cracked  by 
internal  changes  of  the  earth's  density,  these  cracks  threw 
up  certain  ridges  along  the  surface  of  the  present  con- 
tinent, which  laid  a  foundation  for  the  principal  mountain 
ranges  we  have  described.  At  the  borders  and  extremities 
oi  these  mountain  ranges,  it  is  evident  that  there  were 
intense  volcanic  emptions,  producing  great  quantities  of 
lava  and  conglomerate,  basalt,  greenstone,  and  other 
formations  resulting  from  igneous  action.  The  northern 
shores  of  Lake3  Huron  and  Superior  exhibit  results  of  this 
land;  but  it  is  in  the  table-lands  between  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  tho  west  coast  ranges,  as  in  the  singular 
lava  beds  near  the  Klamath,  on  the  frontier  of  Oregon 
and  North  California,  that  volcanic  forces  havo  made  their 
strongest  marks  on  the  earth.  On  the  eastern  side  also  of 
the  grand  Cordillera,  between  the  sources  of  the  Missouri 
and  of  the  Yellowstone  rivers,  is  a  wonderful  region  of 
boiling  springs  or  geysers,  of  sulphur  beds  and  other 
natural  curiosities,  which  have  recently  been  described  by 
Dr  Hayden,  of  the  United  States'  Government  Survey. 
To  speak  more  generally  of  tho  local  arrangement  of  dif- 
ferent geological  formations,  it  may  be  remarked  that 
crystalline  rocks  are  spread  over  the  western  parts  of  North 
America,  from  Alaska  to  Nicaragua,  and  over  the  most 
jiortheru  parts,  also  including  Greenland;    but  some  of 


later  date  are  found  in  the  eastern  or  Appalachian  range, 
consisting  of  felspathic  gneiss  and  quartz  rocks,  mingled 
with  talcose  and  chloritic  schists.     The  Palaeozoic  forma- 
tions occupy  that  middle  part  of  the  continent  which  lies 
between  the  Rocky  Mountains  and-  the  great  l?kes,  as  well 
as  the  shores  of  Hudson's  Bay,  and  some  portions  of  the 
Atlantic  coasts.     With  reference  to  the  Lower  Silurian  or 
Siluro-Cambrian  period,  it  is  abundantly  illustrated  by  the 
Trenton  and  associated  limestones,  which  can  be  traced 
over  40°  of  longitude,  their  beds  consisting  entirely  of 
dibris  of   coral,  shells,    and   crinoids,  from  the   shallov 
inland  sea,  teeming  with  animal  life,  that  once  filled  the 
whole  level  space  between  the  Alleghanics  and  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  separated  by  these  ridges  from  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  Oceans,  and   sheltered  from  the  cold  Arctic 
currents   by   the   northern   Laurentian   highlands.      This 
space,  which  is  now  the  central  plain  of  North  America, 
comprising  the  prairies  and  the  Mississippi  valley,  was  then 
a  coral  sea  with  archipelagos  of  volcanic  isles,  resembling 
that  of  Australasia  in  the  South  Pacific,     The  next  forma. 
tion  succeeding  the  Silurian  presents  immense  deposits  of 
sandstone  and  shale  from  the  muddy  waters  troubled  by 
subterranean  motions ;    this  is  the  Devonian  formation, 
which  in  America  has  been  called  the  Erian,  on  account  of 
the  great  development  of  such  beds  south  of  Lake  Erie. 
The  deposits  of  this  period  in  the  western  continent  are 
stated  to  be  15,000  feet  in  thickness.     They  include  the 
cliff  limestones,  studded  with  calcareous  corals  of  great 
size  and  beauty  of  shape,  noticed  by  Sir  Charles  Lyell  at 
the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  near  Louisville;  these  limestones  are 
estimated  to  extend,  as  an  ancient  coral  reef,  over  500,000 
square  miles  of  the  American  middle  plain.     In  the  Stata 
of  New  York  and  in  Western  Canada  there  is  the  corni- 
ferous  limestone,  in  which  the  imbedded  corals  have  been 
replaced,  in  the  cavities  they  once  filled,  by  flinty  horn- 
stones  which  present  the  perfect  coral  forms,  as  though 
cast  in  a  mould.      In  the   Carboniferous  age  the  great 
internal  sea  of  the  continent  was  slowly  changed  into 
swampy  flats  and  shallow  lakes  or  creeks,  and  gradually 
filled  with   a   rank   vegetable  growth,  afterwards  buried 
under  later  marine  deposits  and  pressed  into  the  existing 
coal-beds.      Of  this  period  there  are  very,  extensive  de- 
velopments throughout  the  eastern  half  of  the  great  middle 
plain  to  the  AUeghanies.     This  portion  of  America  seems 
to  have  been  land,  covered  with  the  forests  of  that  period, 
while  the  western  half  of  the  middle  plain,   a  northward 
extension  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  was  still  under -water. 
As  the  eastern  half  of  North  America,  between  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  the  Atlantic,  was  thus  in  the  Carboniftfrou? 
era  well  raised  out  of  the  sea,  it  exhibits  no  traces  of  the 
succeeding  Permian  age,  such  as  we  find  in  Europe.     The 
earliest  periods  also  of  Mesozoic  time  have  failed  to  leave 
any  record  here,  but  their  formations  appear  towards  the 
western  range  of  mountains  in  what  was  the  bed  of  a 
Mediterranean  Sea.     It  is,  however,  the  Cretaceous  system, 
wuth  its  characteristic  greensand,  its  sands,  clays,  marls, 
and    soft  grey  limestones,  that  occupies    most  space  in 
Western  America,  between  the  meridians  of  97°  and  112°. 
These  strata,  overlaid  sometimes  by  those  of  the  Tertiary 
periods,  extend  through  the  country  up  the  Missouri,  the 
Platte,  tho  Arkansas,  and  the  Red  River,  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains;  they  also  form  parts  of  the  plains  enclosed  by 
different  mountain  ranges  beyond  the  Cordillera.     Along 
the  eastern  side  of  the  Appalachians  there  is  a  broad  belt 
of  the  Cretaceous  formation,  stretching  from  the  Delaware 
across  the  upper  parts  of  Virginia,  Carolina,  Georgia,  and 
Alabama.     Among  the  fossil  animal  remains  discovered  in 
this  formation  in  North  America,  which  are  enumerated  in 
a  separate  list,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  is  that  of  the 
Mosasaurus,  a  combination  of  tho  serpent  with  the  lizard 


680 


A  M  ERICA 


In.    AMERICA. 


form,  sometimes  80  feet  in  length,  and  of  aquatic  habits. 
The  Tertiary  deposits,  including  the  boulder  clay,  prevail 
chiefly  along  the  seaward  districts,  from  Long  Island, 
above  New  York,  to  the  peninsula  of  Florida,  and  around 
the  shores  of  the  Mexican  Gulf,  and  likewise  on  the  Pacific 
shore  from  Lover  California  to  Vancouver  Island,  also  in 
some  detached  instances,  as  in  Nebraska,  in  the  midst  of 
the  interior  plain.  The  newer  Pliocene  is  met  with  in  the 
southern  part  of  Maine,  and  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain.  The  drift  formation  lies  mostly  north  of  40°  lati- 
tude. Alluvial  deposits  are  of  great  amount  from  the 
large  rivers  and  lakes,  especially  in  the  delta  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, which  has  an  area  of  13,600  square  miles,  and  must, 
by  Sir  Charles  Lyell's  reckoning,  have  taken  67,000  years 
for  its  composition,  at  the  rate  of  the  bringing  down  of  solid 
matter  by  that  mighty  river. 

The  mineral  products  of  North  America  are  of  unequalled 
richness  and  variety.  Gold  is  abundant,  to  a  proverb,  in 
California,  and  likewise  in  Nevada  and  Montana.  It  is 
also  found  in  British  Columbia,  Mexico,  Central  America, 
and  Canada,  and  sparingly  in  Virginia  and  South  Caro- 
lina Silver  is  obtained  from  Mexico  in  larger  quantities 
than  from  any  other  country;  it  is  supplied  also  by  Cali- 
fornia and  by  Honduras,  and  a  vein  of  this  metal  is  worked 
in  Newfoundland.  Great  masses  of  almost  pure  copper 
are  found  in  the  Quronian  rock  strata,  the  north  and  east 
shores  of  Lake  Superior  being  the  richest  of  copper-mining 
regions;  while  New  York  State  and  Indiana  possess  a 
Bhare  of  the  same  metal,  and  it  is  found  among  the  wes- 
tern mountains  in  different  countries  from  British  Columbia 
to  the  isthmus.  The  iron  ores  of  Pennsylvania,  and  thoso 
of  Canada,  including  New  Brunswick,  are  of  the  greatest 
importance;  the  former  are  rendered  more  available  by 
their  occurring  close  to  the  beds  of  bituminous  coal,  giving 
materials  for  the  manufacturing  industry  of  Pittsburg; 
while  anthracite  coal  is  obtained  from  the  eastern  districts 
of  Pennsylvania.  It  is  estimated  that  one-third  of  the 
total  area  of  thJ3  State  is  occupied  by  coal-fields,  which 
can  scarcely  be  exhausted.  Lead  is  found  in  Wisconsin, 
Illinois,  and  Missouri,  in  New  York  State,  in  Canada,  in 
California,  and  in  Central  America,  as  well  as  quicksilver ; 
white  zinc  is  got  from  Arkansas  and  New  Jersey ;  both 
Canada  and  Mexico  produce  tin.  lleverting  to  the  subject 
of  coal,  as  having  an  intimate  economic  connection  with  all 
metallic  wealth,  it  should  be  observed  that  the  united  area 
of  all  the  coal-fields  in  the  United  States  is  estimated  at 
190,000  square  miles,  exceeding  twentyfold  those  of  Europe. 
The  chief  of  these  coal-fields  are,  first,  the  Appalachian, 
extending  from  the  Susquehanna,  in  Pennsylvania,  to  the 
Tuscaloosa,  in  Alabama,  along  the  west  side  of  the  Alle- 
ghany Mountains ;  the  area  of  this  coal-field  is  70,000 
square  miles,  and  its  greatest  thickness  2500  feet ;  secondly, 
the  coal-field  of  Michigan,  about  the  centre  of  that  State; 
thirdly,  the  extensive  coal-field  between  the  Ohio  and  the 
Mississippi,  across  the  States  of  Indiana  and  Illinois ; 
lastly,  the  Iowa  and  Missouri  coal-field,  which  occupies  a 
large  space  in  the  very  centre  of  the  continent.  Coal  is 
found  also  in  Nova  Scotia,  in  British  Columbia,  and  Van- 
couver Island,  and  wherever  the  Upper  Palsozoic  strata 
prevail  in  the  geological  structure.  But  in  the  vast  extent 
of  British  American  territory  north-west  of  Lake  Superior, 
around  Lake  Winnipeg  and  up  the  Saskatchewan  river, 
even  as  far  as  the  Peace  river,  in  latitude  56°  N.,  it  may 
be  expected  that  manufacturing  as  well  as  agricultural 
prosperity  will  result  from  the  use  of  immense  stores  of 
natural  wealth  existing  in  the  soil  of  that  long-neglected 
land,  which  is  now  proved  to  have  a  climate  not  more 
severe  than  the  inhabited  provinces  of  Canada.  The  iron 
and  copper,  more  especially  of  the  Canadian  Dominion, 
will  einploy  and  enrich,  in  all  probability,  at  some  future 


period,  a  nation  that  may  become  greater  in  material 
resources  than  the  most  powerful  kingdoms  of  Europe. 
In  view  of  these  prospects  from  the  working  of  the  useful 
metals,  by  the  aid  of  that  most  useful  product  of  the 
earth  which  supplies  heat  and  mechanical  force  to  the 
service  of  human  industry,  we  may  regard  the  Californian 
gold-fields  as  a  matter  of  secondary  importance.  They 
have  indeed  been  surpassed  by  the  productiveness  of  thoso 
in  Australia  and  New  Zealand. 

Nine-tenths  of  North  America  lying  under  the  tempe- 
rate zone,  the  climate  follows  a  different  law  from  what  is 
observed  in  the  southern  peninsula, and  presents  more  strik- 
ing contrasts  with  that  of  the  best  known  parts  of  the  Old 
World.  The  long  narrow  region  now  denominated  Central 
America,  which  connects  the  two  great  divisions  of  the  con- 
tinent, stretching  from  Panama  to  Tehuantepec,  has  iu 
general  a.  very  humid  atmosphere;  but,  for  a  tropical  coun- 
try, it  must  be  only  moderately  hot,  as  every  part  of  it  is 
within  a  small  distance  of  the  sea.  At  Vera  Paz  the  rains 
fall  during  nine  months  of  the  year.  Mexico  is  hot,  moist, 
and  unhealthy  on  the  low  coasts;  but  two-thirds  of  its  area, 
comprising  all  the  populous  districts,  consist  of  table-land, 
from  5000  to  9000  feet  in  height.  In  consequence  of  this 
singular  configuration  of  its  surface,  Mexico,  though  chiefly 
within  the  torrid  zone,  enjoys  a  temperate  and  equable  cli- 
mate. The  mean  heot  at  the  capital,  which  is  7400  feet 
above  the  sea,  is  62J°,  and  the  difference  between  the 
warmest  and  coldest  months,  which  exceeds  30°  at  London, 
is  hero  only  about  12°;  but  the  atmosphere  is  deficient  in 
moisture,  and  the  country  suffers  from  drought.  Beyond 
the  parallel  of  24°  N.  the  western  shores  are  hot  and  arid. 

In  the  extensive  region  lying  between  the  parallels  of 
30°  and  50°  N.,  which  compreheuds  three-fourths  of  the 
useful  soil  of  North  America,  we  have  three  well-marked 
varieties  of  climate,  that  of  the  east  coast,  the  west  coast, 
and  the  basin  of  the  Mississippi.  On  the  east  coast,  from 
Georgia  to  Lower  Canada,  the  mean  temperature  of  the 
year  is  lower  than  in  Europe  by  9°  at  the  latitude  of  40°, 
and  by  12i°  at  the  latitude  of  50°,  according  to  Humboldt's 
calculation.  In  the  next  place,  the  range  of  the  thermo- 
meter is  much  greater  than  in  Europe,  the  summer  being 
much  hotter  and  the  winter  much  colder.  At  Quebec  the 
temperature  of  the  warmest  month  exceeds  that  of  the 
coldest  by  no  less  than  60^°  of  Fahr.;  while  at  Paris,  which 
is  nearly  under  the  same  latitude,  the  difference  is  only  31°. 
In  the  third  place,  the  climate  undergoes  a  more  rapid 
change  in  America  as  we  proceed  from  south  to  north,  a 
degree  of  latitude  in  the  middle  of  the  temperate  zone  pro- 
ducing a  decrease  of  annual  temperature  of  lc,13  Fahr. 
in  Europe,  and  of  10,57  Fahr.  in  America  The  comparison 
is  greatly  to  the  disadvantage  of  America  when  made  in 
this  form;  but  when  the  east  coasts  of  the  two  continents 
are  compared,  the  case  is  altered ;  the  Old  World  is  found 
to  have  no  superiority  over  the  New,  for  Pekin  has  still 
colder  winters  and  warmer  summers  than  Philadelphia, 
which  is  under  the  same  latitude.  It  is  the  west  coast  of 
the  new  continent  which  ought  to  exhibit  the  climate  of 
Europe  ;  and  from  the  observations  made,  we  have  reason  to 
believe  that  it  is  quite  as  mild  and  equable.  At  the  mouth 
of  Columbia  river,  in  latitude  46  j°  N.,  it  appears  that 
the  mean  heat  of  the  warmest  month  was  about  62°  Fahr.  of 
the  coldest  about  36°,  and  of  the  whole  year  51°.  Now 
the  place  is  under  the  same  latitude  with  Quebec,  where  the 
snow  lies  five  months,  and  the  mean  temperature  during 
the  three  winter  months  is  18°  below  the  freezing  point. 
This  single  circumstance  marks  emphatically  the  contrast 
in  the  climate  of  the  east  and  west  coasts  of  North  America. 
But  the  mouth  of  Columbia  river  is  also  under  the  same 
parallel  with  Nantes  at  the  mouth  of  the  Loire ;  and  we 
have,  therefore,  good  grounds  to  conclude  that  the  west 


CLIMATE.] 


AMERICA 


681 


coast  of  America,  in  the  middle  latitudes,  has  nearly  as  mild 
and  equable  a  climate  as  the  west  coast  of  Europe.     The 
climate  of  the  great  central  valley,  or  basin  of  the  Mississippi, 
has  a  considerable  affinity  to  that  of  the  east  coast.    It  wa3 
long  a  matter  of  dispute  in  what  the  difference  between  the 
two  consists,  but  this  seems  at  last  to  have  been  clearly 
settled  by  the  meteorological  registers  kept  at  the  military 
posts  of  the  United  States.     From  a  comparison  of  four  of 
these  registers,  from  posts  near  the  centre  of  this  great  val- 
ley, with  others  kept  on  the  Atlantic  coast  in  the  same 
latitudes,  it  appears  that  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold 
in  the  basin  of  the  Mississippi  are  from  5°  to  6°  higher 
and  lower  than  on  the  coasts  of  New  England.     The  pro- 
portion of  fair  weather  to  cloudy  is  as  5  to  1  in  favour 
of  the  east  coast.     The  climate  of  the  interior,  therefore, 
exhibits   in   still   greater   excess   those   extremes  of  tem- 
perature which  distinguish  the  eastern  coast  of  this  con- 
tinent from  the  western,  and  from  the  shores  of  Europe. 
The    fourth    region    of    extra-tropical    America   includes 
the   parts   beyond   Mount    St   Elias    on   the  west  coast, 
and,  in.  the  interior,  the  plains  extending  from  the  50th 
parallel  to  the  Polar  Seas.       The  intensity  of  the  cold 
in  this  tract  of  country  is  scarcely  equalled  by  anything 
that  is  known  under  the  same  parallels  in  Northern  Asia. 
The  northernmost  spot  in  America  where  grain  is  raised  is 
at  Lord  Selkirk's  colony,  on  lied  River,  in  latitude  50°. 
Wheat,  and  also  maize,  which  requires  a  high  summer 
heat,   are  cultivated  here.      Barley  would  certainly  grow 
as  far  north  as  Fort  Chippewyan,  in  latitude  58f°,  where 
the  heat  of  the  four  summer  months  was  found  by  Captain 
Franklin  to  be  4'  higher  than  at  Edinburgh.     There  is 
even  reason  to  believe,  that  both  this  species  of  grain  and 
potatoes  might  thrive  as  far  north  as  Slave  Lake,  since  the 
spruce  fir  attains  the  height  of  50  feet  three  degrees  farther 
north,  at  Fort  Franklin,  in  latitude  65°.     These,  however, 
are  low  and  sheltered  spots;   but   in   this  dreary  waste 
generally,  it  will  not  be  found  practicable,  we  suspect,  to 
carry  the  arts  of  civilised  life  beyond  the  60th  parallel; 
'and  the  desirable  country,  capable  of  supporting  a  large 
population,   and   meriting  the   name   of   temperate,    can 
scarcely  be  said  to  extend  beyond  the  5  2d  parallel.     At 
65°  the  snow  covers  the  ground  in  winter  to  the  depth  of 
only  two  feet,  but  small  lakes  continue  frozen  for  eight 
months.  The  sea  is  open  only  for  a  few  weeks,  fogs  darken 
the  surface,  and  the  thermometer  in  February  descended  in 
one  instance  to  minus  58°,  or  90°  below  the  freezing  point. 
At  Melville  Island,  under  the  75th  parallel,  such  is  tne 
frightful  rigour  of  the  climate,  that  the  temperature  of  the 
year  falls  1°  or  2°  below  the  zero  of  Fahrenheit's  scale.    It 
is  a  peculiarity  in  the  climate  of  America,  that  beyond  the 
parallel  of  50°  or  52°,  it  seems  to  become  suddenly  severe 
at  both  extremities.     At  the  one,  summer  disappears  from 
the  circle  of  the  seasons;  at  the  other,  winter  is  armed 
with  double  terrors, 
logy  :         The  zoology   of   America   is  especially  interesting,  on 
mmalia-  account  of  the  contrast  which  exists  between  the  faunas  of 
the  north. and  south  portions  of  the  continent — a  contrast 
which  is  especially  exhibited  in.the  case  of  the  Mammalia. 
The  zoological  province  which  naturalists  mark  off  as  con- 
stituted by  South  America  and  part  of  Central  America 
has  been  termed   the  neotropical  region,    and   the  area 
which  has  the  nearest  relationship  to  this  is  the  Indian 
region.      As   regards    South   America,    the   Andes   have 
the  highest  -value  as*  zoological  boundaries ;  next  to  them 
in  importance  are  the  rivers,   and  then  the  confines  of 
the  forest  region.     The  Quadrumana  are  well  represented, 
and   are    especially   characteristic    of   the    forest    region 
which  principally  prevails  in  the  western  half  of  the  con- 
tinent.    None  are  known  to  occur  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Andes  south  of  Guayaquil.     The  sub-order  Platyrhina  is 

1-23- 


peculiar  to  South  America,  and  so  far  as  research  has  yet 
extended,  it  is  not  known  even  to  have  existed  on  any 
other  area.     On  the  other  hand,  no  catarhine  or  lemurine 
Quadrumana  have  yet  been  found  in  South  America.    Some 
of  the  lower  forms  of  monkey  appear  to  have  some  affinity 
with  the   Lemuridae,   which  occur  in  India,  Africa,  and 
Madagascar.     There  are  two  families, 'viz.,  the  Cebidae  and 
Hapalidse,  all  the  members  of  which  are  strictly  arboreal 
in  habits.     Some  of  these  monkeys  are. the  most  highly 
developed  tree-climbers  known,  and  in  many  cases  they  rarely 
if  ever  descend  to  the  ground ;  and  since  the  monkeys  of 
South  America  have  never  been  seen  to  swim,  it  might  be 
expected  that  the  broad  streams  of  the  continent  effectually 
limit  the  distribution  of  certain  monkeys.     The  largest 
species  is  Lagothrix  Eumboldtii,  so  that  as  a  whole  the 
American  monkeys  are  smaller  than  those  of  Asia  and  Africa. 
As  they  are  the  most  powerful  of  arboreal  Mammalia, 
they  rule  the  forests,  and  this  may  in  part  account  for  the 
scarcity  of  squirrels  in  this  region.    The  Cebids  have  a  wide 
range,  extending  from  the  south  of  Mexico  to  the  Uruguay. 
They  include  the  highest  forms  of  American  monkey,  and 
its  most  specialised  representatives  are  those  which  have  the 
best  adaptation  for  life  in  trees,  as  may  be  exemplified  by 
Ateles,  with  its  long  limbs  and  prehensile  tail    This  latter 
organ  serves  all  the  purposes  of  a  fifth  hand;  the  under 
surface  is  bare  and  provided  with  tactile  papillae,  so  that  a 
monkey  not  only  holds  by,  but  also  feels  with  it.     It  is  as 
mobile  and  flexible,  and  in  its  way  as  useful  to  this  genus 
of  monkey  as  is  the  trunk  to  the  elephant.^   The  genus 
includes  numerous  species,  the  estimate  of  different  natural- 
ists varying  from  8  to  40,  but  about  10  species  have  been 
well  established.     Most  of  them  occur  in  Brazil  and  the 
Guianas;  but   each  species  generally  has   circumscribed 
limits.     Thus  A.  paniscus  occurs  in  the  north-east  corner 
of  the  continent,  between  the  Rio  Negro  and  the  Amazon. 
On  the  south  side  of  the  Amazon  its  place  is  taken  by 
another  species,  A.  marginatus.      A.  Bartlettii  occurs  on 
the  Upper  Amazon.    Brachyteles  is  represented  by  a  single 
species  in  South-East  Brazil.     Several  species  of  Lagothnx 
have  been  described,  although  perhaps  all  are  but  varie- 
ties of   but   one   species.     L.  Humboldtii  is   confined  to 
the  Upper  Amazon,  west  of  the  Bio  Negro,  and  in  some  of 
the  contiguous  valleys  of  the  Orinoco  basin.     Mycetes  has 
six  species,  ranging  from  Guatemala  to  South  Brazil     if. 
seniculus  occurs  on  the  north  side  of  the  Lower  Amazon ; 
if.  caraya  on  the  Upper  Amazon  ;  and  if.  behebuth  is  the 
species  which  occurs  near  Para,  and  south  of  the  Lower 
Amazon.     All  the  above  genera  have  prehensile  tails,  with 
bare  under  surfaces.  Nyctipithecus,withthreeorfourspecies, 
occurs  in  the  upper  portions  of  the  Bio  Negro,  Amazon, 
and   Orinoco  basins.      Callithrix   ranges   over   the   same 
ground,  but  also  extends  into  South-East  Brazil.  Cnrysoth  rix 
occurs  throughout  the  northern  part  of  the  region.     The 
genus  Pithecia  (including  Brachyurus)  is  represented  by 
about  12  species  in  the  Amazon  basin.      F.  irrorata  is 
confined  to  the  south  bank  of  the  Upper  Amazon  ;  another 
species  only  occurs  on  the  north  side  to  the  west  of  the  Rio 
Negro.     P.  satanas  is  the  species  east  of  the  Rio  Negro,  and 
there  is  a  species  limited  to  the  south  side  of  the  Upper 
Amazon.     The  family  Hapalidae,  or  marmosets,  has  about 
30  species,  belonging  to  the  genera    Hapale  and  Midas, 
which  range  throughout  the  forests   of   South  America. 
One  species,  H.  cedipiis,  occurs  in  Costa  Rica,  but  this  is  the 
northernmost   limit   of   the  family.      It   seems   that  the 
distribution  of  the  monkeys  is  restricted  to  the  areas  elad 
with  continuous  forests,  so  that  the  absence  of  monkeys  in 
the  Pampean,  Andisian,  and  Peruvian  sub-regions  is  mainly 
due  to  the  absence  of  continuous  forests.    It  is  also  notice- 
able that  the  sub-orders,  families,  and  genera  extend  over  the 
greater  portion  of  the  Brazilian  sub-region ;   whereas  iu 


G82 


AMERICA 


[zoology. 


many  instances  this  sub-region  is  parcelled  out  into  districts 
by  the  larger  streams,  which  are  characterised  by  distinct 
species.     Hence   i  able  that  the  continuousness  of 

the  forest  area  has  lasted  throughout  the  duration  of  those 
species,  but  not  so  long  as  the  genera  have  existed ;  and 
that  those  species  wliich  occur  on  both  sides  of  the  Amazon, 
Rio  Negro,  and  other  large  rivers,  originated  at  an  earlier 
period  than  those  restricted  to  one  side.  The  want  of 
meano  0f  communication  with  North  America  -would  account 
for  vhe  absence  of  monkeys  in  that  region.  Our  space 
wi'.i  not  allow  of  our  dwelling  so  fully  on  the  other  orders, 
but  we  may  notice  that  the  arboreal  habit  is  strongly 
marked  in  many,  and  that  the  strictly  arboreal  groups  are 
frequently  represented  in  river-bounded  areas  by  distinct 
species.  It  often  happens  that  genera,  both  of  vertebrates 
and  invertebrates,  which  are  elsewhere  terrestrial,  are 
represented  in  the  Amazonian  forests  by  arboreal  species. 
TheCarnivorado  not  present  so  marked  a  feature  as  regards 
distribution  as  the  monkeys.  The  families  Felidse,  Canidte, 
Mustelidea,  and  Orsidffl  are  represented;  but  the  Hyajnidae 
and  Viverridae  are  absent,  unless  Bassaris  of  Mexico  be 
referred  to'  the  latter  family.  The  Felidas  comprise  two 
groups  one  formed  of  species  which  are  uniformly  coloured, 
the  other  of  those  which  are  striped  or  spotted.  Felis  onca, 
the  jaguar,  is  the  largest  feline  animal  of  this  region, 
and  ranges  from  La  Plata  to  Louisiana,  and  on  both  sides  of 
the  Peruvian  Andes.  Tho  puma  or  F.  concolor  is  known 
everywhere  from  Patagonia  to  as  far  as  50°  or  60°  N.,  a 
range  from  north  to  south  of  about  110°,  which  is  probably 
greater  than  that  of  any  other  mammal.  F.  payeros  occurs 
on  all  the  pampas  of  tho  southern  portion  of  South  America. 
/'.  mitis  and  F.  macrura  belong  to  South-East  Brazil ;  F. 
tigrina  and  cdidogaster  to  tho  Amazon  basin  ;  while  F. 
pardalis,  F.  eyra,  and  F.  yagouaroundi  range  from  Brazil 
to  Texas.  .  The  Canidoe  family  is  represented  by  the  genera 
Icticyon  and  Canis.  The  former  comprises  but  one  species, 
which  is  confined  to  Brazil,  viz.,  I.  venaticus,  which  is  an 
aberrant  form  between  dogs  and  badgers.  The  dogs  com- 
prise C.  jubatus,  C.  cancrivorus,  C.  velulus,  C.  fulvicaudus, 
C.  azarce,  C.  magellanicus,  and  one  or  two  other  species. 
Tho  Mustelidae  are  not  abundant,  there  being  only  a  few 
species  of  each  of  the  sub-families  Mustdin.ee,  Isutrina;  and 
Melinae;  and  among  others  Mustelafrenata;  two  species  of 
Galklis,  a  genus  only  found  in  this  region;  Lutra  chilensis 
and  brazil iensis;  and  several  species  of  Mephitis  belonging 
to  the  sub-genus  Thiosmus.  Of  Ursidae  there  occur  Ursus 
omatut  in  Peru,  and  perhaps  Ursus  frugilcgus ;  Procyon 
cancrivorus,  Nasua,  and  Cercoleptes.  The  last  two  genera 
are  characteristic  of  South  America.  In  this  order  the 
species,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  which  range  into  North 
America,  are  restricted  to  this  area ;  but  only  four  of  the 
eleven  genera  are  peculiar,  the  others  ranging  not  only  into 
North  America,  but  also  into  the  Old  World.  The  latter 
genera  do  not  form  a  prominent  feature  in  tho  fauna,  and 
the  species  have  probably  migrated  from  North  America  in 
comparatively  recent  times  from  a  geological  point  of  view. 
In  the  order  Artiodactyla  the  sub-order  Ruminantia  is 
represented  by  a  fow  species  only  of  Cervus,  belonging  to 
the  neotropical  sub-genera  Furcifer,  Coassus,  and  Blastocerus, 
and  even  these  only  occur  sparingly  in  the  open  tracts. 
There  is  nothing  to  represent  the  enormous  herds  of 
Antelopes  and  Bovida?,  wliich  are  so  characteristic  of  North 
America  and  portions  of  the,  Old  World.  Anchenia,  how- 
ever, is  a  characteristic  genus  frequenting  the  Andes,  and 
i  interesting  on  account  of  its  being  the  only  genus  of 
iuants  which  is  confined  to  South  America.  It  is 
isolated  and  far  distant  from  the  other  members  of  the 
family  Camclida:,  which  are  now  special  to  Asia ;  but,  as 
we  shall  presently  find,  the  gap  in  distribution  and  structure 
is  supplied  by  the  extinct  species  of  North  America.     The 


characteristic  genus  Dicotyles  is  the  sole  representative  in 
South  America  of  the  sub-order  Omnivora  and  of  the  family 
Soidffi,  a  family  wliich  is  restricted  (naturally)  to  the 
Neotropical,  /Ethiopian^  and  Indian  regions.  Another 
remarkable  genus  is  Tapirus,  which  repreaentsin  this  region 
the  elephants  and  rhinoceroses  of  the  Old  World.  Until 
recently,  the  tapirs  of  Sumatra  and  tho  Malay  Archipelago 
were  considered  to  belong  to  tho  same  genus,  but  Dr  Gray 
has  proposed  that  the  latter  be  ranked  in  a  distinct  genus, 
Rhinochourus.  There  are  several  species  of  South  American 
tapirs,  viz.,  T.  americanus,  T.  villosus,  T.  Laurillardii,  T. 
Roulinii,  and  perhaps  one  or  two  others  not  determined. 
An  albed  form  exists  in  the  isthmus  of  Panama,  namely 
•Elasmognathus  Bairdii,  which  is  considered  as  the  typo  of 
a  distinct  sub-family.  There  are  no  true  Proboscideans  in 
this  region.  The  order  Sirenia  is  represented  by  the  genus 
Manatus,  of  which  three  or  four  species  occur  in  the  Amazon 
and  other  large  rivers.  This  genus  is  remarkable  for  its 
distribution,  since  species  belonging  to  it  frequent  the  fresh- 
water streams  of  tho  opposite  coast  of  Africa.  Si 
species  of  dolphins  and  porpoises  occur  in  tho  larger  rivers  ; 
some  of  them  range  up  almost  to  their  sources,  and  are 
strictly  river  species,  being  unknown  in  the  adjoining  seas. 
The  presence  of  these  cetaceans,  together  with  the  distance 
of  the  shores  (several  miles)  and  the  high  waves,  impart  to 
some  portions  of  these  rivers  a  more  or  less  oceanic  aspect. 
The  order  Bruta  i3  abundantly  represented  in  this  region,  of 
tho  fauna  of  which  it  constitutes  themost  marked  peculiarity. 
Marsupialism  is  not  a  prominent  feature  in  this  region,  but 
its  presence  is  important,  because  it  now  occurs  nowhere  else 
out  of  the  Australian  region.  It  should  be  observed  that  tho 
connection  is  stronger  with  the  extinct  marsupial  fauna  6i 
Paloearctic  regions  than  with  the  living  one  of  Australia. 

The  fossil  and  living  mammalia  of  this  region  seem  to 
indicate  that  at  present  our  knowledge  of  the  extinct  faunas 
is  very  fragmentary.  This  is  shown  in  various  ways. 
None  of  the  remains  can  be  definitely  assigned  to  an  older 
period  than  the  Post-Pliocene.  The  region  was  essentially 
the  same  as  at  present,  zoologically,  the  same  characteristic 
groups  of  platyrhine  apes,  rodents,  cats,  dogs,  edentates,  and 
opossums  being  represented ;  while  the  catarhine  apes, 
insectivora,  oxen,  rhinoceroses,  and  other  groups  were  ex- 
cluded, or  at  any  rate  are  not  known  to  have  existed  in  it, 
so  that  its  isolation  from  the  other  zoological  regions  must 
have  commenced  before  the  Post-Pliocene  period.  The  extra- 
ordinary development  of  large  forms  allied  to  the  sloths  and 
ant-eaters ;  the  restriction  of  the  Toxodontia  amongst  the 
Post-Pliocene  mammals,  and  of  the  subungulated  Rodents 
among  the  living  mammals  to  this  region, — these  and  other 
facts  would  lead  the  palaeontologist  to  believe  that  the  area 
must  have  been  inhabited  by  mammals  during  the  periods 
which  preceded  the  Post-Pliocene,  as  far  back,  perhaps,  as 
the  Miocene  or  Eocene.  The  Toxodontia  include  tho  forms 
of  Pachyderms  most  nearly  allied  to  the  Rodents,  while  the 
subungulated  Rodents  are  those  of  the  order  which  approach 
nearest  to  the  Pachyderms.  As  both  these  groups  occur 
hnre,  and  hero  only,  we  may  reasonably  expect  to  find 
genera  partaking  of  the  geucral  features  of  both  orders  in 
beds  of  an  earlier  geological  age  in  South  America.  The 
principal  genera  and  species  found  fossil  in  this  region  are 
the  following.    In  the  Argentine  Confederation  we  have — 


Macrauclienia  patachonica. 
Ulyptodou  spiuicauJus 

clavipes. 

tuberculatum 

pumilio. 

clavicaudatns. 

clavatus. 

asper. 

elougatus. 
MachairoJua  ncugacua. 


mgifrons. 
italopex, 
avus. 
I  primfflva, 

Myupotauius  bonitrcnsis. 

antiimus. 
Ctcuomys  bonrerensis. 
1  i  liduna. 

I  Uavia  breviplicata. 


SOOLOG 


s 


AMERICA 


683 


Megatherium  americanum 
Mylodou  giganteus. 

gracilis. 

robustus. 

darwinii. 
Scelidotherium  leptocephalum. 
Cuvieri. 


Megalonyx  meridionalis. 
jeifersoni.   ' 
Equus  curvidens. 

devillei. 
Toxodon  burmeisten. 

owenii. 
Mastodon  humboldtii. 


Some  of  these  also  occur  in  Brazil,  where  species  have 
also  been  found  belonging  to  the  genera  Callithrix,  Cebus, 
Protopitheeus,  Chlamydotherium,  Ccelogenys,  Colodon, 
Dasypus,  Equus  neogmus,  Equus  principalis,  Euryidon, 
lleterodon,  Hoplophorus,  Myrmecophaga,  Nesodon,  Pachy- 
iherium,  and  Xenurus.  Remains  of  many  of  these  genera 
have  also  been  found  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Negro  in 
Uruguay,  and  those  of  some,  such  as  Mastodon,  Equus, 
Auchenia,  &c,  in  Ecuador.  As  space  forbids  our  dwelling 
upon  the  points  of  interest  -which  these  fossil  forms  present, 
we  pass  *on  to  the  lists  of  the  extinct  faunas  of  North 
America. 

The  oldest  species  yet  found  in  North  America  belongs 
to  Dromatherium,  and  was  found  in  the  Triassic  beds  of 
Virginia.  Then  nothing  is  known  until  we  come  to  the 
Tertiary  deposits  which  were  formed  in  lakes  along  the  base 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  neighbouring 
ranges,  and  in  the  marine  beds  which  lie  nearer  the  pre- 
sent sea  margin.  The  following  lists  are  given  by  Dr 
Leidy,1  who  considers  the  oldest  beds  in  Nebraska,  which 
rest  on  the  Cretaceous  series,  as  of  Miocene  age.  They 
contain  Titanotherium prouti,  Lophiodons,  and  several  other 
forms  which  would  induce  U3  to  regard  them  as  Eocene. 
1  lowever,  we  follow  his  lists.     The  Miocene  species  are — 


Carnivora, 
Canidaj. 
Ainphicyon  vetus. 
gracilis. 
Hyrenodontidae. 
Hytcnodon  horridus. 
cruentus. 
crucians. 
Felidae. 
Drepanodon  (Machairodus) 
primxvus. 
(Machairodus) 
occidentalis. 
Dinictis  felina. 
C.iminantia. 
Oreodontida?. 
Oreodon  culbertsoni 
gracilis, 
major, 
affinis. 
hybridus. 
bullatus. 
Merycockcerus  proprius 
Leptauchcnia  major, 
decora, 
nuida. 
Agriochceridce. 
Agviochoerus  antiquus. 
major, 
la  t  if  ions. 
Carnelidas. 
Pocbrotlicrium  wilsoni. 
Protomeryx  halli. 
Mosckid.e. 

Leptomcryx  evansi. 
Artiodactyla. 
Suidoe. 

Elotherium  mortonii 

Since  this  list  was  published  numerous  genera  and  species 
have  been  discovered  in  Wyoming  and  other  districts  in  the 
far  west  from  what  appear  to  be  the  older  or  Eocene  group 
of  beds.  Amongst  these  the  most  remarkable  is  the  large 
Dinoceras  mirabili$,a.n  animal  which  had  three  pairs  of 
horns,  and  which  was  intermediate  in  character  between 
the  Proboscideans  and  the  Perissodactylcs.  There  are  also 
1   J.-.-irn.   Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  Philadelphia,  vol.  vii      1869. 


Artiodactyla. 
Suidas. 

Elotherium  ingens. 

super  bum. 
leidyanum. 

Perchcerus  probus. 

Leptochcerus  spectabilis. 

Nanohyus  percinus. 
Anthracotherida;. 

Hyopotamus  americanus. 
Anoplotheridae. 

Titanotherium  prouti. 
Perissodactyla. 
Rhinocerotidne, 

Rhinoceros. 

Hyrocodon. 
Tapiridoe. 

Lophiodon. 
Solidungula. 
Anchitheriida;. 

Anchitherium 

Anchippus. 

Hypohippus. 

Parahippus. 

Anchippodua. 
Rodentia. 
Leporidre. 

Palaiolagus  liaydeni. 
Castorida:. 

Palaeocastor  nebrascensis. 
Murida?. 

Eumys  elegans. 
Insectivora. 
Erinacidas. 

Leptictis  liaydeni. 

Ictops  dakotensis. 

Omomys  cartcri. 


several  generalised  forms  in  the  foregoing  lists,  which  present 
a  fauna  with  numerous  remarkable  features,  which  we  can 
only  briefly  allude  to.  It  is  quite  distinct  in  character 
from  the  present  South  American  fauna,  and  yet,  like  it,  it 
has  a  strong  Asiatic  facies  ;  at  the  same  time  it  resembles 
in  many  point3  the  older  Tertiary  fauna  of  Europe.  The 
occurrence  of  rhinoceroses,  camels,  and  musk-deer,  is  notice- 
able ;  but  its  great  feature  is  the  abundance  of  oreodoiits 
(which  family  is  not  known  elsewhere)  and  of  equine  forms. 
The  Pliocene  fauna  consists  of  the  following  genera  and 
species : — 


Carnivora. 
Canidae. 

Canis  sffivus. 
temerariu 
vafer. 
haydeni. 
Fclida. 
Pseudaelurus  intrepidus. 
iElurodon  ferox. 
Ursidas. 
Leptarctus  primus. 
Ruminantia. 
Oreodontidae. 
Merychyus  elegans. 
medius. 
major. 
Camclidae. 
Procamelus  robustus. 

occidentalis. 
gracilis. 
Homoeamelus  caninus. 
Megalomeryx  niobrarensis. 
Merycodus  necatus. 
Cervidae. 
Cervus  warreni. 


Ruminantia. 
Antilopidae, 

Cosoryx  furcates. 
Artiodactyla. 
Suidae. 
Dicotyles. 
Perissodactyla. 
Rhinocerotidai 
Rhinoceros. 
Proboscideae. 
Mastodon. 
Elephas. 
Solidungula. 
Equidae. 
Hipparion. 
Protohippus. 
Merychippus. 
Equus. 
Rodentia. 
Castorida:. 
Castor. 
Hystricidae. 
Hystrix. 


The  Post-Pliocene  forms  are— 

Perissodactylsc 

Proboscidea3. 

Mastodon. 


Carnivora. 

Canidae. 

Canis. 

Felidae. 

Felis. 

Orsidae. 

Procyon  lotor. 

priscus. 
Ursus  americanus 
amplidens. 
Arctodon  pristinus. 
Mustelidae. 

Galera  macrodon. 
Tuminantia. 
Camelidie. 

Camelops  kansanus, 
Cervidae. 
Cervus  virginianus. 
canadensis, 
tarandus. 
americanus. 
Capridae. 

Ovis  mammillaris. 
Ovibos  moschatus. 
bombifrons, 
lavifrons. 
Bovidae. 
Bison  americanus. 
latifrons. 
antiquus. 
priscus.  " 
Artiodactyla. 
Suidce. 

Dicotyles  nasutus. 
Platygonus  compressus, 
Perissodactyla. 
Tapiridas. 
Tapirus  americanus. 


Elephas. 
Solidungula. 
Equidae. 

Hipparion  venuitum. 
Equus  major. 

fraternus. 
pacificus. 
conversidena. 
tau. 
fossilis. 
Rodentia. 
Leporidae. 

Lepus  sylvatlca 
Sciuridae. 
Arctomys  monax. 
Sciunis\ 
Castorida;. 

Castor  canadensis. 
Castoroides  ohioensis. 
Cavidae. 

Hydrochcerus  aesopi. 
Chincliillida;. 

Amblyrhiza  inundafei 
Muridae. 
Ncotoma  m  agister. 
Marsupialia. 

Didelphys  virginiana. 
Edentata. 

Megatherium  mirabile. 
Mcgalonyx  jeffersoni. 
dissimilis. 
validus. 
Megalocinus  rodens. 
Eivntodon  priscus. 
Mylodon  harlani. 


haysii 

Here  it  is  observable  that,  while  this  fauna  has  a  general 

|  resemblance  to  that  of  the  preceding  period,  most  of  the 

genera  are  distinct.      Several  existing  genera  make  their 

appearance,  as  also  a  number  of  forms  which  appear  to  have 

migrated  from  South  America,  and  after  a  temporary  estabr 


684 


AMERICA 


[zoology* 


lishment  to  have  disappeared.  Ono  remarkable  feature 
is  the  abundance  of  horses,  which  is  such  that  North 
America  may  be  regarded  as  the  land  of  horses  during  the 
Plioceno  and  Post-Pliocene  period. 

The  existing  mammals  of  North  America  must  now  be 
considered.  We  can  only  refer  to  a  few  of  the  more  con- 
spicuous species  here.  South  America  has  numerous 
families  peculiar  to  itself,  but  North  America  has  none 
which  are  not  also  represented  in  South  America.  There 
are  numerous  representatives  of  the  Canid(B  or  dog  family, 
such  as  the  prairie,  Mexican,  and  mancd  wolves,  and 
several  foxes,  of  which  the  Arctic,  common  American,  cross, 
and  silver  foxes  are  of  high  commercial  value  on  account 
of  their  furs.  Amongst  the  cats  are  three  or  four  species 
of  lynx,  which  afford  valuable  furs.  The  beaver,  though 
abundant  in  some  places,  is,  like  the  bison,  fast  diminish- 
ing before  the  encroaching  steps  of  the  colonists.  The 
grizzly,  the  black,  and  the  polar  bears  are  common  in  the 
more  mountainous  and  colder  regions  of  the  continent,  and 
are  much  hunted  by  the  fur  traders.  Ilacoons  and  Vir- 
ginian opossums  are  prevalent  in  the  south  portion  of  the 
United  States.  The  Rocky  Mountain  goat  reigns  supreme 
amidst  the  rocks  in  inaccessible  fastnesses  of  the  Kocky 
Mountain  range;  while  the  rein-deer,  the  elk,  and  the 
wapiti  give  a  character  to  the  mammalian  fauna  of  the  more 
level  districts.  Further  details  respecting  the  mammals  of 
North  America  will  be  found  under  the  names  of  the 
separate  countries;  and  those  who  wish  for  still  fuller 
information  may  consult  the  works  of  Lord,  Small,  Mttller, 
Harlan,  and  Allen  on-the  mammals  of  various  regions,  The 
Quadrupeds  of  North  America  by  Audubon  and  Bachman, 
the  articles  by  Gilpin  in  the  publications  of  the  Institute 
of  Natural  Science  at  Halifax/  Adams'  Field  and  Forest 
Rambles,  The  North-West  Passage  by  Viscount  Milton  and 
Dr  Cheadle,  Morgan's  work  on  the  Beaver,  and  the  nume- 
rous reports  issued  by  exploration  expeditions. 
Bird*.  The  birds  of  America  are  very  numerous  in  almost  every 

great  family.  The  researches  of  Wilson,  Charles  Lucien 
Bonaparte,  Audubon,  Richardson,  Dekay,  Blakiston,  Cassin, 
Gundlach,  Lord  Lawrence,  Sclater,  Salvin,  and  Baird,  have 
beautifully  illustrated  the  ornithology  of  North  America ; 
while  those  of  Azara,  Hunboldt,  Swainson,  Waterton, 
JSdnionstone,  Darwin,  Landbeck,  Philippi,  Cassin,  <tc,  have 
thrown  great  light  on  that  of  South  America.  The  North 
American  species  of  birds  already  described  amount  to 
nearly  700 ;  the  species  of  South  America  are  over  2300  ; 
so  that  we  may  fairly  estimate  the  ornithology  of  America 
to  include  upwards  of  3000  species.  The  fossil  remains 
deserve  particular  notice.  It  is  very  probable  that  the 
footprints  on  the  older  secondary  rocks  of  North  America 
are  those  of  birds.  A  large  number  of  remarkable  genera 
found  in  the  Cretaceous  rocks  have  recently  been  described 
by  Professor  Marsh  and  others. 

The  serpents  of  America  are  very  numerous,  and  in- 
clude amongst  others,  the  following  genera : — Tortrix, 
Calamaria,  Coronella,  Xeuodon,  Heterodon,  Lycodon, 
Coluber,  Herpetodryas,Psainmophis,  Dendrophis,  Dryophis, 
Dipsas,  Tropidoaotus,  Homalopsis,  Boa,  Elaps,  Trigono- 
cephalus,  Crotalus. 

Of  these  the  genera  Heterodon  and  Crotalus  or  rattle- 
snake are  entirely  peculiar  to  America,  and  the  latter  are 
by  far  the  most  deadly  of  serpents.  The  reptilia  of  North 
America  have  besn  well  described  by  Dekay  and  Hol- 
brooke. 

The  North  American  saurians  belong  to  the  genera 
Crocodile,  Alligator,  Anobs,  Skink,  Agama,  Tropidolepis, 
Ophisaurus,  Leptophis.  Of  the  Ranidae  there  are  Rana, 
Bufo,  and  Hyla. 

_  The  North  American  and  Asiatic  regions  form  a  zoological 
kingdom,  according  to  Dr  Straucb,  which  is  characterised 


by  the  prevalence  of  Emydcs  and  by  the  presence  of 
Trionychides.  In  the  North  American  region  there  are  44 
species  distributed  over  four  sub-regions — viz.,  the  north- 
west part,  which  lies  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  the 
north-east  part,  which  lies  east  of  them;  the  south-east  part 
and  the  south-west  part,  which  embraces  Central  America. 
South  America  and  Australia  together  form  another  king- 
dom, characterised  by  the  prevalence  of  Chelydcs,  and  the 
total  absence  of  Trionychides.  There  are  about  35  species 
in  the  South  American  region. 

The  multitude  of  fishes  in  South  America  is  extraordinary,  I 
and  still  more  so  is  the  marvellous  variety  of  form  which 
they  exhibit.  A  large  number  of  species  have  very  circum- 
scribed ranges,  so  that  not  only  does  each  rh\,T  basin  have 
a  distinct  fauna,  but  a  number  of  distinct  faunas  occupy 
different  portions  of  the  same  river,  as  is  well  exemplified 
in  the  Amazons,  Tocantins,  Rio  Negro,  and  other  rivers, 
where  most  of  the  fishes  at  stations  a  few  hundred  miles 
apart  are  for  the  most  part  specifically  distinct.  Professor 
Agassiz,  in  his  scientific  journey  through  Brazil,  collected 
about  2000  species  from  the  Amazon  basin  only.  In 
fishes,  as  in  other  classes,  there  is  a  remarkable  difference 
between  the  faunas  of  North  and  South  America,  and  in 
this  class  also  North  America  has  much  in  common  with 
Europe  and  North  Asia.  The  sturgeons  abound  in  North 
America,  but  are  absent  in  South  America,  where  the  corre- 
sponding group  is  theGoniodonts;  the  Siluroids  are  abundant 
in  both  portions  of  the  continent ;  the  perches  are  numerous 
throughout  North  America,  but  none  occur  in  South  America) 
where,  however,  they  are  represented  by  the  Chromids. 
The  Cyprinoids  are  abundant  in  North  America,  but  absent 
in  South  America,  where  we  have  the  allied  group  of 
Cyprinodonts.  The  Characines  of  South  America  represent 
the  Salmonidoe  of  North  America,  each  group  being  confined 
to  its  *0wn  portion  of  the  continent.  »  There  are  several 
other  small  families  present  in  South  America,  such  as  the 
Erythrinoids,  Gymnotines,  and  others. 

In  the  meagre  outline  of  American  vegetation-  which  it  Botany, 
is  possible  to  attempt  here,,  we  shall  more  or  less  strictly' 
adhere  to  the  principle  laid  down  by  Schouw,  viz.,  that 
in  constituting  a  botanical  region,  at  least  one-half  of  the 
species  and  one-fourth  of  the  genera  should  be  peculiar 
to  it.  We  shall  therefore  divide  the  horizontal  range  of 
the  vast  continent  into  zones,  commencing  with  the  Arctic, 
and  proceeding  towards  the  Antarctic  Circle. 

In  the  Arctic  Region  or  Region  of  Saxifragacea?,  as  near 
to  the  Pole  as  man  has  yet  penetrated,  is  found  the  red 
snow  plant  (Pi-olococcus  nivalis),  penetrating  the  snow 
itself,  sometimes  to  the  depth  of  12  feet,  and  covering 
for  miles  with  its  crimson  tints  the  cliffs  and  ice-floes  of 
the  Polar  Sea.  Greenland  is  bctanically  distinguishable 
from  Arctic  America  proper,  inasmuch  as  it  produces 
heath  {Calluna  vulgaris),  which,  it  is  somewhat  remark- 
able, is  nowhere  to  be  found  on  the  continent. 

The  most  remarkable  of  the  sub-arctic  lichens  is  that 
known  as  Tripe  tie  Roche,  which  has  often  preserved  tho 
lives  of  famished  "  trappers,"  who,  but  for  its  sustenance, 
must  have  perished  of  hunger.  Tho  Saxifrages  which  dis- 
tinguish this  region  vary  in  species,  and  solnctiines  in 
genera,  from  those  of  Europe,  but,  generally  speaking, 
there  is  a  strong  resemblance,  which  amounts  almost  to 
identity,  as  the  Arctic  shores  are  approached. 

Emerging  from  the  region  of  Saxifraguceae,  we  find 
ourselves  in  that  of  the  Asters  and  Solidagos,  extending  to 
the  parallel  of  36"  N.  This  region  not  only  produces 
many  species  of  aster  and  solidago,  but  also  a  great  variety 
of  oaks  and  firs,  and  numerous  species  of  Vaccinium. 
Among  the  oaks  of  Canada  and  the  United  States  are,  the 
lime  oak  (Qiiercus  virens),  the  laurel  oak  (Que reus  laurifolia), 
the  black  oak  (Quercus  tinctoria),  the  white  or  iron  ouk 


BOTAOT.] 


AMERICA 


685 


(Quercus  aioa  and  Quercus  obtusiloba),  and  the  scarlet  oaK 
(Quercus  eoccinea).  None  of  these,  in  regard  to  the  quality 
of  their  timber,  can  stand  comparison  with  the  British  oak, 
though  some  of  them  are  very  valuable. 

The  western  or  Califomian  and  Oregon  districts  of  this 
region  are  in  many  respects  distinct  in  character.  Poh- 
inoniacece  abound;  also  Eschscholtzia  californica,  species  of 
Platysttmon,  Nemophila,  Gilia,  Collinsia,  Clarkia,  Bar- 
tonia,  and  EutocJia.  Conifers  also  exist  in  abundance,  some 
of  them  possessing  great  botanical  interest,  such  as  Abies 
Douglasii,  Paltoniana,  nobilis,  amabilis,  grandis,  lasiocarpa, 
Pinus  Lambertiana,  Sabinidna,  insignis,  Jeffreyi,  pon- 
derosa,  monticola,  californica,  Fremontiana,  Coxdteri,flej:ilis, 
Thuja  gigantea,  Sesquoia  giganiea,  Juniperus  dealbata  and 
occidental  is,  and  Castanea  chrysophylia.  Pinus  pondtrosa 
predominates  in  the  forests  of  Upper  Oregon,  and  along 
frith  it  occur  Abies  balsamea,  canadensis,  Douglasii,  nobilis, 
and  alba.  Yivid  colours  mark  the  basaltic  region  of 
Upper  Oregon.  Rhododendron  macrophyllum  is  found  in 
Vancouver  Island.  Barley,  oats,  rye,  wheat,  buckwheat, 
and  maize,  along  with  the  common  fruit-trees  and  culinary 
vegetables  of  the  temperate  regions,  are  cultivated. 

The  region  of  Magnolias  lies  between  parallels  30°  and 
36",  embracing  the  southern  portion  of  North  America. 
Nearly  seventy  species  are  known  to  exist.  Cycadacece, 
Anonaceo?,  Sapindacece,  Zingiberacece,  Melastomacea?,  Cac- 
tacece,  and  numerous  other  tropical  forms,  show  themselves. 

The  forest  trees  display  either  broad  shining  foliage  like 
the  Liriodendron  and  ^Esculus,  or  pinnated  leaves  like  the 
Acacia  and  F.obinia.  They  are,  moreover,  decked  with 
magnificent  blossoms.  Rice,  sugar-cane,  and  cotton  are 
the  special  objects  of  culture  in  this  region. 

The  region  of  Cactuses  and  Peppers  includes  Mexico, 
Guatemala,  and  South  America  to  the  Amazon  (to  an 
elevation  of  5000  feet  above  the  sea-level),  as  also  Guiana, 
certain  parts  of  Peru,  and  New  Granada.  The  leaves  of  the 
plants  of  the  isthmus  of  Panama  are  covered  with  hair  and 
tomentum,  while  greenish  and  yellow  flowers  predomi- 
nate. The  included  portion  of  South  America  produces 
Mauritia  ftexuosa,  tho  Murichi  or  Ita  Palm,  and  Victoria 
regia.  The  vegetable-ivory  palm  (Phytelephas  macrocarpa) 
is  a  native  of  Columbia  and  Peru.  Yams,  plantains, 
chocolate,  sugar,  coffee,  cocoa-nut,  <tc,  are  cultivated  in 
this  region. 

The  Mexican  highlands,  rising  over  5500  feet  above  the 
sea-level,  produce  Pinus  religiosa,  Pinus  apulcensis,  Pinus 
Hartwegii,  Pinus  Montezumce,  and  Taxodium.  distichum. 
European  grains  are  cultivated  with  success. 

The  region  of  medicinal  bark  tiees  (Cinchonas)  em- 
braces the  Cordilleras  between  parallels  5°  N.  and  20°  S., 
where  the  elevation  ranges  between  5000  and  9600  feet. 
In  the  lower  part3  of  this  region  coffee,  maize,  and  potato 
are  cultivated. 

The  region  of  Calceolarias  and  Escallonias  is,  generally 
speaking,  coextensive  with  the  preceding,  but  at  an  ele- 
vation greater  than  9G00. 

The  AVest  Indian  region  is  marked  by  the  prevalence  of 
ferns  and  orchids,  and  has  a  vegetation  intermediate  be- 
tween that  of  Mexico  and  the  north  of  South  America, 

We  next  come  to  the  region  of  Palms  and  Melaslomas, 
which  lies  to  the  east  of  the  Andes,  between  the  Equator 
and  the  Tropic  of  Capricorn.  Here  the  luxuriance  of 
vegetable  life  is  almost  startling  to  European  eyes.  The 
forest  trees  of  Brazil  tower  to  an  almost  incredible  height, 
while  the  very  underwood  is  composed  of  Paims,  Melasto- 
maceae,  Myrtaceae,  Crotons,  and  Tree  Ferns.  In  the  tree- 
less belts  are  found  Heb'  :oniafi,  Dorstenias,  and  tall  grasses. 
Immense  Compositae,  Vernonias,  arborescent  Solanums, 
and  pecies  of  Fuchsia,  Solan  dra,  Lasiandra,  Laurus,  Ficus, 
and.Cassia  abound.    The  trees  are  covered,  stem  &nH  branch. 


with  Ferns,  Araceae,  Tillandrias,  Orchids,  Cactuses,  Pepero 
mias,  Gesneras,and  innumerable  other  epiphytic  plants. 

The  region  of  arborescent  Composites,  extending  from 
the  Tropic  of  Capricorn  to  lat.  40°  S.,  embraces  Southern 
Brazil,  La  Plata,  and  Chili.  The  distinctive  features  of  the 
Upper  Cordilleras  reappear  here;  Calceolarias  and  Escal- 
lonias abound.  Thuja  telragona,Podocarpus  chiliana,  Thuja 
chilensis,  and  Chili  pine  (Araucaria  imbricala),  are  native  t<r 
this  region,  the  last-named  being  a  hardy  conifer,  extend 
ing  along  the  Chilian  Andes  from  37°  to  40°  S.  In  the 
neighbourhood  of  Rio  Janeiro  is  found  Araucaria  brazir 
liana.  Wheat,  vine,  peach,  and  many  European  plants 
are  cultivated  to  great  perfection  in  this  region. 

The  Antarctic  region  comprehends  the  Strait  of  Magal- 
haens,  Tierra  del  Fuego,  and  the  Falkland  Islands.  Many 
European,  and  more  especially  British,  genera  appear  in 
this  region,  and  species  of  Srmfraga,  Gentiaua,  Arbutus, 
Primula,  and  other  Arctic  and  North  Temperate  forms  are 
common.  In  Fuegia  the  evergreen  beech  (Feigns  Forsteri), 
the  deciduous  beech  (Fagus  antartica),  and  Drymis  JTui- 
teri,  correspond  to  the  birch,  oak,  and  mountain  ash  of 
Scotland.  The  Fuchsia  is  a  native  of  Fuegia.  Among  ' 
shrubs  maybe  mentioned  Chiliolricum  amelloides,  YeronUa 
elliptica  and  decussala,  Empetrum  rubrum,  and  Pernettya 
empetrifolia ;  among  ferns,  Lomaria  alpina  and  MagtU 
lanica;  and  among  lichens,  Usnea  melaxantha. 

Northern  America,  though  its  vast  forests  have  now  Chief  ia 
been  exposed  for  centuries  to  the  axe  of  civilised  man,  is  dijenoos 
still  one  of  the  best  wooded  regions  of  the  world.    Among  j^f^J 
the  principal  forest-tree3  are  the  pine,  oak,  ash,  hickory,  can  con. 
red-beech,  Canadian  poplar,  chestnut,  black  walnut,  maple,  tinenu 
tulip-tree,  and  white  cedar. 

Central  America  produces  extensively  mahogany,  pimento, 
sarsaparilla,  vanilla,  Peruvian  balsam,  and  many  other 
valuable  woods  and  drugs. 

Nearly  two-thirds  of  the  surface  of  South  America  ara 
still  covered  with  gigantic  forests,  which  must  ultimately 
disappear,  like  many  of  those  in  the  north,  before  the 
combined  efforts  and  necessities  of  commerce  and  agri- 
culture. The  most  distinctive  and  valuable  forest-trees  of 
South  America  are  the  greenheart  and  the  mora.  The 
cow-tree,  which  yields  a  juice  very  like  milk  in  its  pro- 
perties, is  also  a  remarkable  product  of  this  region. 

Maize  is  by  faf  the  most  important  farinaceous  product 
of  the  New  World.  It  was  the  only  grain  which  the 
earliest  European  settlers  found  cultivated,  t'o  some  extent, 
by  the  natives.  For  nutrition  it  is  inferior  to  wheat,  but 
it  is  much  more  prolific,  and  is  suited  to  a  greater  variety 
of  soils.  Tobacco  is  also,indigenous  to  America,  whence 
its  use  has  extended  over  the  whole  world.  AmoDg  roots 
the  potato,  which  we  also  owe  to  America,  is  without  a 
rival  Millet,  tapioca,  arrow-root,  cocoa,  copaiva,  cinchona, 
jalap,  sassafras,  nux-vomica,  the  cochineal  plant,  the  agave 
or  American  aloe,  and  the  pine-apple  are  also  indigenous 
to  the  coutinent 

It  is  impossible  here  to  do  more  than  touch  on  the  vast 
subject  of  the  botany  and  the  indigenous  vegetable  pro- 
ducts of  the  New  World.  For  fuller  information,  in  addi- 
tion to  that  contained  in  articles  in  the  present  work  that 
treat  of  the  geographical  distribution  of  plants,  the  reader 
is  referred  to  the  numerous  valuable  American  works  of 
such  authors  as  Beck,  Bigelow,  Breckenridge,  Brown, 
Carson  (Medical  Botany),  Darby,  Darlington  (Agricultural 
Botany).  Asa  Gray,  Harvey  (Algae),  Ravenel,  Sprague, 
Strong,  Torrey,  <tc.  An  extended  description  of  the  forest 
trees  of  North  America  will  be  found  in  the  great  work  of 
Michaux  and  Nuttall,  The  North  American  Sylva. 

The  origin,  history,  languages,  and  condition  of  tho 
American  nations  present  ample  materials  for  speculation  ; 
but  before  touching  on  these  subiects,  the  question  presents. 


(586 


A  M  E  11  ICA 


[eTHUOLOG*. 


itself,  Whr.t  is  tlic  total  of   the  indigenous  population  1 
Humboldt,  in  1823,  estimated  the  number  of  Indians  at 
ated  the  number  existing  in  1863 
as  follows  : — 

Mexico...... 4,000,000 

Peru l.COO.000 

i 1,400,000 

rica 1,000,000 

Paraguay 700,000 

Ecuador. 500,000 

United  States 500,000 

1,314,710 


Abori- 
gines :. 

Divisionsof  , 
race. 


Total 11,014,710 

It  is  pr.  il  theso  numbers  have  been  diminished : 

the  l;'  ial  returns  for  the  United  State?,  in  1872, 

estimate  the  Indian  population  at  300,000.  (See  Indians.) 

The  indigenous  population  of  America  presents  man 
under  many  aspects,  and  society  in  various  stages,  from 
tho  regular  but  limited  civilisation  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  to 
savagejifc  in  its  most  brutal  state  of  abasement.  At  one 
extremity  of  the  country  we  find  the  pigmy  Esquimaux  of 
four  feet  and  a  half  .  other  the  Pata- 

gonian  standing  above  six  feet.  In  complexion  the  variety  is 
great,  and  may  be  said  to  embrace  almost  every  hue  known 
elsewhere  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  except  the  pitchy  black 
of  the  Negro.  About  one-half  of  all  the  known  languages 
belong  to  America;  and  if  we  consider  every  little  wander- 
ing horde  a  distinct  community,  we  have  a  greater  number 
of  nations  here  tlian  in  all  the  rest  of  the  world.  Amidst 
all  this  diversity  philosophers  have  thought  they  were  able 
to  discover  certain  general  characters,  sufficiently  marked 
to  distinguish  the  American  nations  from  those  of  tho  old 
continent.  It  is  foreign  to  our  purpose  to  inquire  whether 
the  varieties  of  form,  stature,  and  complexion,  in  the 
human  species,  are  modifications  produced  by  external 
causes  operating  differently  on  distinct  portions  of  the 
progeny  of  one  primitive  pair,  or  whether  several  races 
were  originally  created,  and  have  given  birth,  by  their 
mixture,  to  the  amazing  varieties  we  witness.  We  assume 
the  former  opinion  as  true,  because  the  probabilities  seem 
to  bo  in  its  favour  ;  but  the  phenomena  present  themselves 
to  us  in  the  same  light  in  whichever  way  they  originated. 

Physiologists  are  not  at  one  in  their  accounts  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  aborigines  of  the  new  world,  nor  are 
hey  agreed  as  to  whether  they  should  be  considered  one 
race  or  several.  Blumenbach  places  them  all  under  one 
class,  except  the  Esquimaux.  Bory  St  Vincent  divides 
them  into  four  races,  or  five  if  we  include  tho  Esqui- 
maux, under  the  following  designations: — 1.  The  Colom- 
bian, which  comprehends  the  tribes  formerly  inhabiting 
the  Alleghany  Mountains,  Canada,  Florida,  the  eastern 
coasts  of  Mexico,  and  Central  America ;  and  the  Caribs, 
who  occupied  the  West  India  Islands  and  Guiana.  2.  The 
American,  embracing  the  tribes  which  occupy  all  the  other 
parts  of  South  America  east  of  the  Andes,  except  Pata- 
gonia. 3.  The  Patagonian  race,  inhabiting  the  southern 
extremity  of  the  continent.  4.  The  Neplvmkm,  inhabiting 
the  western  coasts  of  both  divisions  of  the  continent,  from 
California  to  Cape  Horn,  and  which  he  considers  as  essen- 
tia y  the  same  with  the  race  spread  over  the  Malay  Pcnin- 
stil  and  the  Indian  Archipelago.  With  this  race  arc  classed 
nsand  Peruvians.  Py  another  writer  the  species 
are  reduced  to  two,  the  Cdombian  and  the  American; 
the  former  including  all  the  North  American  tribes,  with 

e  Caribs,  tho  Mexicans,  and  Peruvians,  and  other  in- 
habitants of  the  Cordillera;  and  the  latter  the  Brazilian 
Indians  and  Pataspnams.  Neither  of  these  svstems,  when 
tested  by  facts,  is  very  satisfactory.  Dr  Prichard  thinks 
that  the  mutual  resemblance  anion-  the  American  nations 
.has  been  exaggerated  by  some  writers;  yet  it  is  certain 


that  there  is  more  of  a  common  family  character  in  their 
organisation  than  in  that  of  the  indigenous  population 
of  Asia  or  Africa.  "  The  Indians  of  New  Spain,"  says 
11  urn!.  I  i-  a  general  resemblance  to  those  who  in- 

habit Canada,  Florida,  Peru,  and  Brazil.     We  have  the 
w; u  thy  and  copper  colour,  straight  and  smooth  hair, 
small  1  ly,  long  eye,  with  the  corner  director" 

upwards  towards  the  temples,  prominent  check-bones,  Unci" 
ion  'of  gentleness  in  the  mouth,  strongly 
contrasted  with  a  gloomy  and  severe  look.  Over  a  million 
and  a  half  of  square  leagues,  from  Cape  Horn  to  the  river 
St  Lawrence  and  Bchring's  Straits,  we  arc  struck  at  the 
first  glance  with  the  general  resemblance  in  the  features  of 
the  inhabitants.  We  think  wo  perceive  them  all  to  be 
descended  from  the  same  stock,  notwithstanding  the  pro- 
digious diversity  of  their  languages.  In  the  portrait  drawn 
by  Volncy  of  the  Canadian  Lidians,  we  recognise  the  tribes 
scattered  over  the  savannahs  of  the  Apure  and  the  Carony. 
The  same  style  of  features  exists  in  both  Americas." 

On  the  authority  of  Dr  Morton,  tho  most  natural  division 
of  the  Americans  is  into  two  families',  the  Toltccan  and 
the  American;  the   former  of   which    bears  evidence   of 
centuries  of  half-civilisation,  while  the  latter  embraces  all  the 
barbarous  nations  of  the  New  World,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Polar  tribes,  which  are  evidently  of  Mongolian  origin.   In 
each  of  these,  however,  there  are  several  subordinate  groups, 
which   may  be   distinguished    as    the   Appalachian,   the 
.  and  the  Fuegian.     The  Appa 
lachian  branch  includes  all  the  nations  of  North  America, 
except  the  Mexicans,  together  with  the  tribes  of   South 
America  north  of  the  river  Amazon  and  east  of  tho  Andes. 
In  this  race  the  head  is  rounded,  the  nose  large,  salient,  and 
aquiline;  the  eyes  dark  brown,  with  little  or  no  obliquity  of 
position ;  the  mouth  large  and  straight ;  the  teeth  nearly 
vertical ;  and  tho  whole  face  triangular.     The  neck  is  long, 
the  chest  broad  but  rarely  deep,  the  body  and  limbs  mus- 
cular, and  seldom  disposed,  to  fatness.     In  character  these 
nations  aro  warlike,  cruel,  and  unforgiving ;  they  turn  with 
aversion  from  the  restraints  of  civilised  life,  and  have  mado 
but  little  progress  in  mental  culture  or  the  useful  arts.     The 
Brazilian  branch  is  spread  over  a  great  part  of  South  Ame- 
rica, east  of  the  Andes,  including  the  whole  of  Brazil  and 
Paraguay,  between  the  Kivcr  Amazon  and  35°  S.  latitude. 
Their  physical  characteristics  differ  but  little  from  those  of 
the  Appalachian  branch  ;  they  possess,  perhaps,  a  larger  and 
more  expanded  nose,  with  larger  mouths  and  lips.     The 
eyes  are  small,  more  or  Jess  oblique,  and  far  asunder  ;   the 
neck  short  and  thick;   the  body  and  limbs  stout  and  full, 
even  to  clumsiness.     In  character,  also,  they  differ  little. 
None  of  the  Americans  are  less  susceptible  of  cultivation  ; 
and  what  they  are  taught  by  compulsion  seldom  exceeds  the 
humblest  elements  of  knowledge.     The  Patagonian  branch 
includes  the  nations  to  the  south  of  the  Plato,  as  far  as  the 
Strait  of  Magalhaens,  including  also  the  mountain  tribes 
of  Chili.    They  are  chiefly  distinguished  by  their  tall  stature, 
handsome  forms,  and  indomitable  courage.     The  Fuegians, 
who  call  themselves   Yacannacnnnce,  rove  over  the  sterile 
wastes  of  Tierra  del  Fucgo,  which  is  computed  to  be  half 
the  size  of  Ireland,  and  yet  their  whole  number  has  been 
computed  as    not  exceeding.  2000.     The  physical  aspect 
of  the  Fuegians  is  altogether  repulsive.     They  are  of  low 
stature,  with    large   heads,  broad  faces,  .and  small   eyes. 
Their  cheats  are  large,  their  bodies  clumsy,  wif  b  large  knees, 
and  ill-shaped  legs.     Their  hair  is  lank,  black,  and  coarse, 
and  their  complexion  a  decided  brow  n,  like  that  of  the  more 
northern  tribe3.     Their  expression  of  face  is  vacant,  and 
their  mental  operations  are  to  the  last  degree  slow  and 
stupid  ;  they  are  almost  destitute  of  the  usual  curiosity  of 
savpges,  caring  little  for  anything  that  does  not  minister  to 
their  present  wants. 


ETHNOLOGY.] 


AMERICA 


687 


The  American  race  is  distinguished  by  the  form  of  the 
skull,  which,  except  in  its  greater  length,  resembles  the 
Mongol  type.  The  cheek-bones  are  prominent,  but  not  so 
angular,  as  in  the  Mongol  head ;  the  occiput  is  rather  flat, 
•  the  cavity  for  lodging  the  cerebellum  small,  the  orbits  large 
and  deep.  The  nose  is  generally  aquiline,  but  ii>  some 
tribes  flat,  and  the  nasal  cavities  are  large.  Compared 
with  the  head  of  the  Negro,  that  of  the  American  is 
broader,  and  the  teeth  are  less  prominent :  when  placed  by 
the  side  of  the  Caucasian  bead,  it  is  seen  to  be  smaller  in 
size,  less  rounded  aud  symmetrical,  and  less  developed  in  the 
part  before  the  ear.  The  skull  is  generally  thin  and  light. 
There  are,  however,  many  deviations  from  this  typical  form. 
The  Carib  skull  aud  the  Araucanian  are  large ;  the  Peru- 
vian small,  and  singularly  flattened  behind,  so  as  to  nresent 
a  short  line  from  the  forehead  to  the  occiput. 

The  colour  of  the  Americans,  though  it  includes  a  con- 
siderable diversity  of  shade,  is  more  uniform  than  that  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Asia  or  Africa ;  and,  what  is  more  re- 
markable, its  varieties  do  not  bear  any  visible  relation  to  the 
temperature  of  the  climate.  A  brownish  yellow,  or  copper 
colour,  as  it  has  been  called,  pervades  nearly  all  the  nume- 
rous tribes  from  the  Arctic  Ocean  to  Cape  Horn,  but  still 
with  many  different  degrees  of  intensity.  The  eastern  na- 
tions of  Chili  have  but  a  slight  tinge  of  the  brown  colour, 
and  the  Boroanes  are  still  whiter.  On  the  north-west 
coast,  from  latitude  48°  to  60°,  there  are  tribes  who, 
though  embrowned  with  soot  and  mud,  were  found,  when 
their  skins  were  washed,  to  have  the  brilliant  white  and 
red  which  is  the  characteristic  of  the  Caucasian  race. 
But  within  the  tropics,  the  Malapoques  in  Brazil,  the 
Guaranis  in  Paraguay,  the  Guiacas  of  Guiana,,  the  Scheries 
of  La  Plata,  have  tolerably  fair  complexions,  sometimes 
united  with  blue  eyes  aud  auburn  hair;  and,  in  the 
hot  country  watered  by  the  Orinoco,  Humboldt  found 
tribes  of  a  dark,  and  others  of  a  light  hue,  living  almost  in 
juxtaposition.  It  is  remarkable,  too,  that  the  nations  whose 
colour  approaches  nearest  to  black  are  found  in  the  tempe- 
rate zone  namely,  the  Charruas  of  the  Banda  Oriental,  in 
latitude  33°  3  and  the  Cochimies,  Pericus,  and  Guay- 
curus,  spread  over  the  peninsula  of  California.  These  people 
have  skins  of  a  very  deep  hue,  but  are  not  absolutely  black ; 
and  they  have  neither  the  woolly  hair  of  the  Negroes,  nor 
their  social  and  good-humoured  disposition.  The  Charruas, 
especially,  are  distinguished  by  a  high  degree  of  that  auste- 
rity and  stern  fortitude  which  are  common  to  the  American 
nations.  The  Caribs  and  some  Brazilian  tribes  have  the 
yellowish  hue  of  the  Chinese,  and  the  same  cast  of  features. 
Among  the  nations  dwelling  on  the  west  side  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  and  near  the  northern  lakes,  there  is  also  a  con- 
siderable variety  of  complexion ;  but  the  brown  or. copper 
shade  i3  found  more  or  less  in  them  all.  It  may  be  said, 
then,  of  the  American  nations,  thaf;  with  the  exception  of 
two  or  three  tribes  on  the  north-west  coast,  who  probably 
arrived  from  Asia  at  a  later  period  than  the  others,  the  two 
extremes  of  complexion,  the  white  of  Northern  Europe  and 
the  black  of  Ethiopia,  are  unknown  amongst  them;  and 
that,  when  compared  with  the  Moors,  Abyssinians,  and  other 
swarthy  nations  of  the  Old  World,  their  colour  inclines  less 
to  the  yellow,  and  more  to  the  reddish  brpwn. 

Long,  black,  lank  hair  is  common  to  all  the  American 
tribes,  among  which  no  traces  of  the  frizzled  locks  of  the 
Polynesian,or  the  woolly  texture  of  the  African  Negro  have 
ever  been  observed.  The  beard  is  very  deficient,  and  the 
little  that  nature  gives  them  they  assiduously  root  out.  A 
copper-coloured  skin  has  been  also  assumed  by  most  writers 
as  a  characteristic  distinction  of  the  Americans ;  but  their  real 
colour  is  in  general  brown,  of  the  hue  most  nearly  resem- 
bling that  of  cinnamon ;  and  Dr  Morton  coincides  in  opinion 
with  Dr  M'C"Uoch,  that  no  epithet  derivable  from  the  colour 


of  the  skin  so  correctly  designates  the  Americans  as  that  of 
the  brown  race.  There  are,  however,  among'  them  occa- 
sional and  very  remarkable  deviations, -including  all  the  va- 
rieties  uf  tint  from  a  decided  white  to  an  unequivocally  black 
skin.  That  climate  has  a  very  subordinate  influence  in 
producing  these  different  huas  must  be  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  the  tribes  which  wander  in  the  equinoctial  regions 
are  not  darker  than  the  mountaineers  of  the  temperate  zone. 
The  Puelches,  and  other  tribes  of  the  Magellanic  regions, 
beyond  55°  S.  latitude,  are  darker  than  the  Abipones, 
Mocobies,  and  Tobas,  who  are  many  degrees  nearer  the 
equator ;  and  the  Botocudos  are  of  a  clear  brown  colour, 
sometimes  approaching  nearly  to  white,  at  no  great  distance 
from  the  tropic ;  while  the  Guiacas  under  the  line  are  cha- 
racterised bya  fair  complexion ;  the  Charruas,  who  are  almost 
black,  live  at  the  30th  degree  of  S.  latitude ;  and  the  still 
blacker  Californians  are  25°  north  of  the  equator,  v  Every- 
where, indeed,  it  is  found  that  the  colour  *of  the  American 
depends  very  little  on  the  local  situation  which  he  actually 
occupies;  and  never,  in  the  same  individual,  are  those  parts 
of  the  body  which  are  constantly  covered  of  a  fairer  t-olour 
than  those  which  are  exposed  to  a  hot  and  moist  atmosphere. 
Children  are  never  white  when  they  are  born,  as  is  the  case 
among  even  the  darkest  of  the  Caucasian  races  ;  and  the 
Indian  caciques,  who  enjoy  a  considerable  degree  of  luxuty, 
and  keep  themselves  constantly  dressed,  have  all  parts  of 
their  body,  except  the  palms  of  the  hands  and  the  soles  of 
the  feet,  of  the  same  brownish-red  or  copper  colour.  These 
differences  of  complexion  are,  however,  extremely  partial, 
forming  mere  exceptions  to  the  general  tint  which  charac- 
terises all  the  Americans,  from  Cape  Horn  to  Canada.  The 
cause  of  such  anomalies  is  not  easily  ascertained ;  that  it  is 
not  climate  is  sufficiently  obvious ;  but  whether  or  not  it 
arises  from  partial  immigrations  from  other  countries  re- 
mains yet  to  be  decided. 

The  Americans  of  indigenous  races  might  also  be 
divided  into  three  great  classes  distinguished  by  the  pur- 
suits on  which  they  depend  for  subsistence,  namely,  hunt 
ing,  fishing,  and  agriculture.  The  greater  number  of  them 
are  devoted  to  hunting ;  the  fishing  tribes  are  not  numerous, 
•and  are  wholly  destitute  of  the  spirit  of  maritime  adven- 
ture, and  even  of  fondness  for  the  sea.  A  few  tribes  were 
strictly  agricultural  before  the  arrival  of' Europeans,  but 
a  much  greater  number  have  becomo  so  since.  Many 
tribes  regularly  resort  to  all  these  modes  of  subsistence, 
according  to  the  seasons ;  employing  the  spring  in  fishing, 
the  summer  in  agriculture,  and  the  autumn  and  winter  in 
hunting. 

The  intellectual  faculties  of  this  great  family  appear  to  be 
decidedly  inferior,  when  compared  with  those  of  the  Cauca- 
sian or  Mongolian  race.  The  Americans  are  not  only  averse 
to  the  restraints  of  education,  but  are  for  the  most  part  in- 
capable of  a  continued  process  of  reasoning  on  abstract  sub- 
jects. Their  minds  seize,  with  avidity  on  simple  truths,  but 
reject  whatever  requires  investigation  and  analysis.  Their 
proximity  for  more  than  two  centuries  to  European  in- 
stitutions has  made  scarcely  any  perceptible  change  in 
their  modo  of  thinking  or  their  manner  of  life ;  and,  as  to 
their  own  social  condition,  they  are  probably  in  most  respects 
exactly  as  they  were  at  the  earliest  period  of  their  national 
existence,  They  havo  made  few  or  no  improvements  in 
constructing  their  houses  or  their  boats  ;  their  inventive  and 
imitative  faculties  appear  to  be  of  very  humble  capacity, 
nor  have  they  the  smallest  taste  for  the  arts  and  sciences. 
One  of  the  Most  remarkable  of  their  intellectual  defects  is 
the  great  difficulty  they  find  in  comprehending  the  relations 
of  numbers ;  and  Mr  Schoolcraft,  the  United  States  Indian 
agent,  assured  Dr  Morton  that  this  deficiency  was  one  cause 
of  most  of  the  misunderstanding  in  respect  to  treaties  en- 
tered into  between  the  United  States  Government  and  the 


,;ss 


AMERICA 


[AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


native  tribes.  The  natives  sell  their  land  for  a  sum  of 
money,  without  having  any  conception  of  the  amount ;  and 
it  is  only  when  the  proceeds  come  to  be  divided  that  each 
man  becomes  acquainted  with  his  own  interest  in  the 
transaction.  Then  disappointment  and  murmurs  invariably 
ensue. 

Everyunwritten  tongue  is  subject  to  continual  fluctuations, 
which  will  be  numerous  and  rapid  in  proportion  as  the  tribe 
using  it  is  exposed  to  frequent  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  and 
the  individuals  composing  it  have  little  intercourse  with  one 
auother.  When  the  population  of  one  of  these  societies  in- 
creases, it  splits  into  several  branches ;  and  if  these  have 
little  intercourse,  the  original  language  divides  by  degrees 
into  as  many  dialects.  These  smaller  societies  subdivide  in 
their  turn  with  the  same  effects ;  and,  in  such  continual  sub- 
divisions, the  dialects  of  the  extreme  branches  deviate  farther 
and  farther  from  one  another,  and  from  the  parent  tongue, 
till  time,  aided  by  migrations  and  wars,  producing  mixtures 
of  different  hordes,  obliterates  all  distinct  traces  of  a  com- 
mon origin.  The  cause  of  these  changes  becomes  more  ob- 
vious when  we  reflect  on  the  principles  which  give  stability 
to  a  language.  These  are — 1.  The  abundant  use  of  writing ; 
2.  The  teaching  of  a  language  as  a  branch  of  education  ;  3. 
Frequency  of  intercourse  among  all  the  people  speaking 
it ;  4.  The  existence  of  an  order  of  men,  such  as  priests 
or  lawyers,  who  employ  it  for  professional  purposes;  5. 
Stability  of  condition  in  the  people,  or  exemption  from 
vicissitudes  and  revolutions;  6.  A  large  stock  of  popular 
poetry,  which,  if  universally  diffused,  may  almost  become 
a  substitute  for  writing.  All  these  conditions  were  wanting 
(with  some  trifling  exceptions)  in  the  whole  of  the  wan- 
dering tribes  of  America.  The  great  multiplication  of 
languages,  therefore,  proves  two  things — first,  that  the 
people  are  in  a  low  state  of  savage  life ;  and,  secondly,  that 
they  have  been  for  many  ages  in  this  condition  ;  for  time 
is  a  necessary  element  in  the  process  of  splitting  human 
speech  into  so  many  varieties. 

Among  the  seven  or  eight  millions  of  American  aoori- 
gines,  it  is  estimated  that  there  are  as  many  languages 
spoken  as  among  the  seven  or  eight  hundred  million 
inhabitants  of  the  Old  World.  Just  as  there  is  a  marked 
physiological  resemblance  attaching  to  all  the  New  World 
tribes,  so  judged  by  the  evidence  of  language,  the  native 
American  is  sui  generis,  having  no  connection,  except  the 
most  remote,  with  the  rest  of  the  human  family.  The 
few  corresponding  words  in  Old  and  New  World  lan- 
guages, which  are  not  of  an  imitative  character,  bear 
the  stamp  of  fortuitous  coincidence  rather  than  that 
of  common  origin.  Vater,  in  his  Linguarum  Totius  Orbis 
Index,  estimated  the  number  of  American  aboriginal 
languages  at  about  500,  and  Balbi  at  423,  of  which  211 
belonged  to  North,  44  to  Central,  and  158  to  South 
America.  In  the  absence  of  cert;  in  data,  it  maybe  safe 
to  set  down  the  number  of  native  American  languages  at 
about  450. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  these  runs  a  thread  of  con- 
nection. They  are  all  characterised  by  polysynthesis,  as 
Duponceau  calls  it,  or  holophrasm,  to  adopt  the  phraseology 
of  Dr  Lieber.  Holophrasm  is  a  process  more  or  less  com- 
mon to  every  language  at  a  particular  stage  of-  its  develop- 
ment. We  have  glimpses  of  it  in  most  of  tho  Turanian 
group  of  languages,  and  it  appears,  in  a  faint  degree,  in  the 
Basque;  but  it  belongs  to  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
languages  of  America,  so  extremely  numerous,  and  many  of 
"which  have  nothing  else  in  common.  This  diffusion  of  a 
peculiar  and  common  character  over  materials  so  dissimilar 
has  been  plrjsibly  accounted  for  by  the  supposition  of 
a  community  of  origin  in  the  tribes,  whether  few  or 
many,  which  peopled  the  continent.  As  no  person  has 
the  full  command  of  all  the  vocables  in  his  native  lan- 


guage, individual  terms  must  be  continually  dropping  out 
of  dialects  preserved  by  oral  communication;  and  new 
ones  will  bo  introduced  a9  new  wants  and  new  objects 
solicit  attention.  But  during  the  gradual  change  which 
thus  takes  place,  the  new  words  will  be  combined  and 
modified  according  to  the  rule3  wliich  belong  to  tho 
genius  of  the  spoken  dialect  with  which  they  are  incor- 
porated; and  thus  it  may  happen  that  the  grammatical  forms 
of  an  ancient  language  may  live,  while  its  material* 
perish.  The  changes  of  structure  which  Dresent  them- 
selves in  the  history  of  European  languages,  it  must  be 
remembered,  took  place  in  progressive  communities. 
Among  nations  like  the  American  Indians,  whose  bar- 
barism, we  may  suppose,  remained  almost  stationary,  tlio 
forms  of  speech  might  be  more  permanent,  though  its  sub- 
stance was  in  a  state  of  slow  but  constant  mutation.  But 
even  were  this  community  of  origin  admitted,  it  cannot 
be  looked  on  as  entire  and  absolute  among  the  American 
nations. 

Analysis  and  generalisation  are  processes  that  distinguish 
the  languages  of  reflective  and  civilised  races.  "  Nothing," 
says  Schoolcraft,  "could  apparently  be  further  removed  from 
the  analytical  class  of  languages  than  the  various  dialects 
spoken  by  the  Indians  of  America,  who  invariably  express 
their  ideas  of  objects  and  actions  precisely  as  they  are  pre- 
sented to  their  eyes  and  ears,  i.e.,  in  all  their  compound 
associations."  To  "  encapsulate "  words,  as  Dr  Lieber 
expresses  it,  "  is  the  striking  feature  of  all  these  languages, 
and  hence  a  word  will  consist  sometimes  of  seven  or  eight 
syllables,  each  one  conveying  one  individual  idea,  like  a  set 
of  boxes  each  one  contained  in  the  other."  This  common 
feature  of  American  languages  is  both  psychologically  and 
philologically  of  the  greatest  interest.  Of  all  the  groups  of 
American  languages,  the  various  dialects  of  the  Algonquin 
stock  furnish  the  most  inviting  field  for  the  philologist. 
It  is  from  the  Algonquin,  therefore,  that  we  draw  the  follow 
ing  examples  of  the  process  of  syllabical  agglutination  :— 

Thus,  waul  is  the  root  of  the  verb  to  see,  and  of  the  word 
light.  Waubun  is  the  east  or  sunlight,  and  inforentially 
place  of  light.  Aub  is  the  eye-ba\l ;  hence,  aiaub  =  to  see, 
to  eye.  Waub  itself  appears  to  be  a  compound  of  aub 
and  the  letter  w,  which  is  the  sign  of  the  third  person. 
Waubuno  is  a  member  of  a  society  of  men  who  continue 
their  orgies  till  daylight.  The  simplest  concrete  forms  of 
tho  verb  to  see  are  as  follow : — 

Ne  waub  =  I  see. 

Ke  waub  =  Thou  seest. 

0  waub   =  He  or  she  sees. 

But  all  this  is  vague  to  the  Indian  mind  until  the  verb 
is  made  transitive,  and  the  class  of  objects  acted  on  is 
thereby  shown.  The  Indian  order  of  thought,  moreover, 
requires  that  the  object  should  generally  precede  the 
verb,  e.g — 

Inine  ne  wau  bum  ok  =  man,  I  see  him.  Wah  He-gun 
ne  ne  wau  bun  daun  =  house,  I  see  it. 

Such  examples  show  the  tendency  of  these  languages 
to  accretion.  The  verb  is  made  to  include  within  itself, 
as  it  were,  the  noun,  pronoun,  and  adjective.  "  Declen- 
sion, cases,  articles,  are  deficient,"  says  Bancroft,  "  but 
everything  is  conjugated.  The  adjective  assumes  a  verbal 
termination,  ■  and  is  conjugated  as  a  verb ;  the  idea 
expressed  by  a  noun   is   clothed   in  verbal   forms,   and 

at  once  does  i.\e  office  of  a  verb Then,  since  tho 

Indian  verb  imludes  within  itself  the  agent  and  the 
object,  it  may  piss  through  as  many  transitions  as  the 
persons  and  numbers  of  the  pronouns  will  admit  of  dif- 
ferent combinations ;  and  each  of  these  combinations  may 
be  used  positively  or  negatively,  with  a  reflex  or  a  cansa- 
tivo  signification.  In  this  manner  changes  are  so  multi- 
plied, that  the  number  of  possible  forms  of  a  Chippewa 


ASIEMCAN   INDIANS.] 


AMERICA 


68:i 


verb  is  said  to  amount  to  five  or  six  thousand :  in  other 
words,  the  number  of  possible  variations  is  indefinite." 
The  formidable  array  of  syllables  arises  partly  from  the 
fact,  that  there  are  some  sixteen  modes  of  forming  the 
plural  of  nouns  represented  in  the  verb  by  sixteen  corre- 
sponding modifications.  Nouns  are  divided,  as  in  the 
Dravidian  languages  of  South  India,  into  animate  and 
inanimate. 

The  best  account  of  those  peculiarities,  as  well  as  the 
best  general  distribution  of  the  American  languages,  are 
given  by  Professor  Whitney  of  Yale  College,  in  his  work 
on  Language  and  the  Study  of  Language,  pp.  346-351 : — 

"The  conditions  of  the  linguistic  problem  presented  by  the 
American  languages  are  exceedingly  perplexing,  for  the  same  reason 
is  those  presented  by  the  Polynesian  and  African  dialects,  and  in 
n  yet  higher  degree.  The  number,  variety,  and  changeableness  of 
the  different  tongues  is  wonderful.  Dialectic  division  is  carried  to 
its  extreme  among  them ;  the  isolating  and  diversifying  tendencies 
have  had  full  course,  with  little  counteraction  from  the  conserving 
and  assimilating  forces.  The  continent  seems  ever  to  have  been 
peopled  by  a  congeries  of  petty  tribes,  incessantly  at  warfare,  or 
standing  off  from  one  another  in  jealous  and  suspicious  seclusion. 
Certain  striking  exceptions,  it  is  true,  are  present  to  the  mind  of 
every  one.  Mexico,  Central  America,  and  Peru,  at  the  time  of  the 
Spanish  discovery  and  conquest,  were  the  seat  of  empires  possessing 
an  organised  system  of  government,  with  national  creeds  and  insti- 
tutions, with  modes  of  writing  and  styles  of  architec.ure,  and  other 
appliances  of  a  considerably  developed  culture,  of  indigenous  origin. 
Such  relics,  too,  as  the  great  mounds  which  are  scattered  so  widely 
through  our  western  country,  and  the  ancient  workings  upon  the 
veins  and  ledges  of  native  copper  along  the  southern  shore  of  Lake 
Superior,  show  that  other,large  portions  of  the  northern  continent 
had  not  always  been  in  the  same  savage  condition  as  that  in  which 
our  ancestors  found  them.  Yet  these  were  exceptions  only,  not 
changing  the  general  rule ;  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that,  as 
the  civilisation  of  the  Mississippi  valley  had  been  extinguished  by 
the  incursion  and  conquest  of  more  barbarous  tribes,  so  a  similar  fate 
was  threatening  that  of  the  southern  peoples :  that,  in  fact,  American 
culture  was  on  its  w-ay  to  destruction  even  without  European  inter- 
ference, as  European  culture  for  a  time  had  seemed  to  be  during 
the  Dark  Ages  which  attended  the  downfall  of  the  Roman  empire. 
If  the  differentiation  of  American  language  had  been  thus  un- 
checked by  the  influence  of  culture,  it  has  been  also  favoured  by 
the  influence  of  the  variety  of  climate  and  mode  of  life.  While  the 
other  great  families  occupy,  for  the  most  part,  one  region  or  one 
zone,  the  American  tribes  have  been  exposed  to  all  the  difference  of 
circumstances  which  can  find  place  between  the.  Arctic  and  the 
Antarctic  oceans,  amid  ice-fields,  mountains,  .valleys,  on  dry  table- 
lands, and  in  reeking  river-basins,  along  shores  of  every  clime. 
Moreover,  these  languages  have  shown  themselves  to  possess  a 
peculiar  mobility  and  changeableness  of  material.  There  are  groups 
of  kindred  tribes  whose  separation  is  known  to  be  of  not  very  long 
standing,  but  in  whose  speech  the  correspondences  are  almost  over- 
whelmed and  bidden  from  sight  by  the  discordances  which  have 
sprung  up.  In  more  than  or.3  tongue  it  has  been  remarked  that 
books  of  instruction  prepared  by  missionaries  have  become  anti- 
quated and  almost  unintelligible  in  three  or  four  generations.  Add 
to  all  this,  that  our  knowledge  of  the  family  begins  in  the  most 
recent  period,  less  than  four  hundred  years  ago ;  that,  though  it 
has  been  since  penetrated  and  pressed  on  every  side  by  cultivated 
nations,  the  efforts  made  to  collect  and  preserve  information  respect- 
ing it  have  been  only  spasmodic  and  fragmentary ;  that  it  is 
almost  wholly  destitute  of  literature,  and  even  of  traditions  of  any 
authority  and  value ;  and  that  great  numbers  of  its  constituent 
members  have  perished,  in  the  wasting  away  of  the  tribes  by 
mutual  warfare,  by  pestilence  and  famine,  and  by  the  encroach- 
ments of  more  powerful  races — and  it  will  be  clearly  seen  that  the 
comprehensive  comparative  study  of  American  languages  is  beset 
with  very  great  difficulties. 

"  Yet  it  is  the  confident  opinion  of  linguistic  scnolars  that  a  fun- 
damental unity  lies  at  the  base  of  all  these  infinitely  varying  forms 
of  speech ;  that  they  may  be,  and  probably  are,  all  descended  from 
a  single  parent  language.  For,  whatever  their  differences  of 
material,  there  is  a  single  type  or  plan  upon  which  their  forms  are 
developed  and  their  constructions  made,  from  the  Arctic  Ocean  to 
Cape  Horn,  and  one  sufficiently  peculiar  and  distinctive  to  con- 
stitute a  genuine  indication  of  relationship.  This  type  is  called  the 
incorporative  or  polysynthetic  It  tends  to  the  excessive  and 
abnormal  agglomeration  of  distinct  significant  elements  in  its  words; 
whereby,  on  the  one  hand,  cumbrous  compounds  are  formed  as  the 
names  of  objects,  and  a  character  of  tedious  and  time-wasting  poly- 
s)Uabisni  is  given  to  the  language — see,  for  example,  the  three  to 
ten-syllabled  numeral  and  pronominal  words  of  our  western  Indian 


tongues;  or  the  Mexican  name  for  'goat,*  lira-lcieaith  tt\Jsnney 
literally  '  head-tree  (horn)  -  Up  hair  (beard),'  or  'the  horned  and 
bearded  one'— and,  on  the  o'her  hand,  and  what  is  of  y.  t  more 
importance,  an  unwieldy  aggregation,  verUil  or  qiCasi-  verbal,  is 
substituted  for  the  phmso  or  sentence,  with  its  distinct  and  bal.mred 
members.  Thus,  tho  Mexican  bays,  '  1-flcsh-cat,'  as  a  single  word, 
compounded  of  three  elements;  or  if,  for  emphasis,  the  object  is 
left  to  stand  separate,  it  is  at  least  fust  represented  l.y  a  pronoun 
in  the  verbal  compound;  as,  '1-it-eat,  the  flesh;'  or,  '  I-it-him-gives 
tihe  bread,  my  son,'  for  'I  give  my  son  the  bread.' 

"The  incorporative  type  is  not  wholly  peculiar  to  the  languages 
of  our  continent.  A  trace  of  it  (in  tho  insertion,  among  the  verbal 
forms,  of  an  objective  as  well  as  a  subjective  pronominal  ending)  is 
found  even  in  one  of  the  Ugiiau  dialects  of  the  Scythian  family, 
the  Hungarian;  and  the  Basque,  of  which  we  shall  presently  s|»ak 
more  particularly,  exhibits  it  in  a  very  notable  measure.  It  is 
found,  too,  in  considerably  varying  degree  and  style  of  development 
in  the  dillerent  branches  of  the  American  family.  But  its  general 
effect  is  still  such  that  the  linguist  is  able  to  claim  that  the  lan- 
guages to  which  it  belongs  are,  in  virtue  of  their  structure,  akin 
with  one  another,  and  distinguished  from  all  other  known  tongues. 
"Not  only  do  the  subjective  and  objective  pronouns  thus °ntcr 
into  the  substance  of  the  verb,  but  also  a  great  variety  of  modifiers 
of  the  verbal  action,  adverbs,  in  the  form  of  particles  and  frag- 
ments of  words;  thus,  almost  everything  which  helps  to  make  ex- 
pression formsa  part  of  verbal  conjugation,  and  the  verba]  paradigm 
becomes  well-nigh  interminable.  An  extreme  instance  of  excessive 
synthesis  i3  afforded  in  the  Cherokee  word-phrase  wi-ni-taic-ti-gr-gi- 
na-H-skaw-hing-la-naw-ne-li-ti-se-sli,  'they  will  by  that  time  have 
nearly  finished  granting  [favouis]  from  a  distance  to  thee  and  me.' 

"Other  common  traits,  which  help  to  strengthen  our  conclusion 
that  these  languages  are  ultimately  related,  are  not  wanting.*  Such 
are,  for  example,  the  habit  of  combini-ig  words  by  fragments,  by 
one  or  two  representative  syllables ;'  tbj  direct  conversion  of  nouns, 
substantive  and  adjective,  into  verbs,  and  their  conjugation  as  such  ; 
peculiarities  of  generic  distinction — many  languages  dividing  animate 
from  inanimate  beings  (somewhat  as  we  do  by  the  use  of  who  and 
what),  with  arbitrary  and  fanciful  details  of  classification,  like  those 
exhibited  by  the  Indo-European  languages  in  their  separation  of 
masculine  and  feminine ;  the  possession  of  a  very  peculiar  scheme 
for  denoting  the  degrees  of  family  relationship ;  and  so  on. 

"As  regards  their  material  constitution,  their  assignment  of  cer- 
tain sounds  to  represent  certain  ideas,  our  Indian  dialects  show,  as 
already  remarked,  a  very  great  discordance.  ■.  It  has  been  claimed 
that  there  are  not  less  than  a  hundred  languages  or  groups  upon  the 
continent,  between  whose  words  are  discoverable  no  correspondences 
which  might  not  be  sufficiently  explained  as  the  result  of  accident 
Doubtless  a  more  thorough  and  sharpsighted  investigation,  a  mere 
penetrating  linguistic  analysis  and  com]  arison — though,  undcrexist- 
ing  circumstances,  any  even  distant  approximatiou  to  the  actual 
beginning  may  be  hopeless— would  considerably  reduce  this  number ; 
yet  there  might  still  remain  as  many  unconnected  groups  as  are  to  be 
found  in  all  Europe  and  Asia.  It  i3  needless  to  undeitake  here  an 
enumeration  of  the  divisions  of  Indian  speech :  we  will  but  notice 
a  few  of  the  most  important  groups  occupying  our  own  portion  of 
the  continent. 

"  In  the  extreme  north,  along  the  whole  shore  of  tlie  Arctic  Ocean, 
are  the  Eskimo  dialects,  with  which  is  nearly  allied  the  Grcenlandish. 
Below  them  is  spread  our,  on  the  west,  the  great  Athapaskan  group. 
On  the  east,  and  as  far  south  as  the  line  of  Tennessee  and  Xorlh 
Carolina,  stret-hes  the  immense  region'oC'-upied  by  the  numerous 
dialects  of  the  Algonquin  or  Delaware  stock;  within  it,  however,  is 
enclosed  the  distinct  branch  of  Iroquois  languages.  Our  south- 
eastern  states  were  in  possession  of  the  Florida  gioup,  comprising 
the  Creek,  Choctaw,  and  Cherokee.  The  great  nation  of  the  Sioux 
or  Dakotas  gives  its  name  to  the  branch  which  occupied  th?  .Mis- 
souri valley  and  parts  of  the  lowir  Mississippi.  Another -wide- 
spreid  sub-family,  including  the  SLoshonee  and  Comanche,  ranged 
from  ;**«  shores  of  Texas  north-westward  to  the  borders  of  Califoi  ma 
and  the  ."»rritory  of  the  Athapaskas;  and  the  Pacific  coast  was 
occupied  by  a  medley  of  tribes.  Mexico  and  Central  America, 
finally,  were  the  home  of  a  great  variety  of  tongues,  that  of  the 
cultivated  Aztecs,  with  its  kindred,  having  the  widest  range." 

For  further  information  regarding  the  aboriginal  lan- 
guages of  America,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  researches 
of  Balbi,  Gallatin,  Vater,  and  Schoolcraft;  to  Lewis  LT. 
Morgan's  Tables,  with  accompanying  text  and  forms,  vol. 
xvii.  of  the  Smitltsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge  (1871), 
entitled  "  Systems  of  Consanguinity  and  Affinity  of  the 
Human  Family,"  and  to  an  invaluable  work,  The  Literature 
of  American  Aboriginal  Languages,  by  Dr  Ludewig,  edited 
by  Nicolas  Trubner,  1858. 

Though  any  attempt  to  reduce  the  American  popula- 
tion under  a  few  general  classes,  either  on  physical  or 


690 


A  M  E  Jl   t  C  A 


[AMERICAN   IXDIANS. 


tfhn  '  grounds,  *  He,  we  may  notice  ono 

cr  two  of  the  most  rcmai  I  alics. 

All  the  nortkern  coast  of  tho  continent  is  tenanted  by 
"the  Esquimaux;  a  dwarfish  race,  rarely  exceeding  five  feet 
in  height.  TLeir  territories  commence  near  Mackenzie's 
River,  in  GS°  N.  lat.,  and  extend  to  the  Arctic  Ocean.  They 
occupy  all  the  nortl  dpelago,  tho  shores  of  Hud- 

son's rador,  and  of  Hussion  Ame- 

rica round  by  Bearing's  Straits,  to  the  peninsula  of  Al- 
aska. They  live  entirely  by  fishing,  the  whale  and  the  seal 
being  their  most  common  food  ;  they  inhabit  skin  tents 
during  their  short  slimmer  and  in  winter  caves  or  houses 
built  with  snow  in  the  shape  of  domes,  within  which  a 
single  rude  lamp  is  kept  perpetually  burning.  They  are 
crafty  and  dirty,  but  appeared  to  Captain  Franklin  more 
intelligent  and  provident  than  the  northern  Indians.  There 
is  a  wide  diversity  in  their  dialects,  which  still  i 
decided  marks  of  identity  in  their  roots. 

The  north-west  coast  of  Alaska,  Srom  Cook's  Inlet  to  ine 
48th  parallel,  is  inhabited  by  four  tribes,  of  whom  the 
Kaluschi  are  the  most  remarkable.  These  people  are 
distinguished  from  all  the  native  races  of  America  by 
having  as  fair  a  complexion  when  their  skins  are  washed 
as  the  inhabitants  of  Europe;  and  this  distinction,  accom- 
panied sometimes  with  auburn  hair,  has  been  considered 
as  indicating  an  origin  different  from  that  of  the  copper- 
coloured  tribes  who  people  all  the  rest  of  the  continent. 
Tmlian  ft  The  Indians  of  the  east  coast  belong  almost  entirely  to 
'Iribes.  three  stems;  and,  befoTa  the  arrival  of  the  English  colo- 
nists, occupied  both  sides  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains, 
from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  Canada  and  New  Bran 
1.  The  Delaware  or  Algonquin  Indians,  compreh' 
the  Ottogamies,  Shawnees,  Narragansets,  Chipp 
Knisteneaux,  Delawares,  and  other  nations,  to  the  number 
of  thirty  or  forty,  were  spread  over  the  space  between  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Atlantic,  as  far  math  as  Hudson's  Bay, 
and  all  spoke  dialects  of  one  language.  2.  IThe  Iroquois, 
often  called  the  "  Five  Nations,"  and  the  "  Six  Nations," 
but  comprehending  15  tribes  or  more,  among  whom  were 
the  Mohawks,  Oneidas,  Hurons,  and  Scnecas,  all  spoke 
dialects  of  one  language.  They  lived  on  the  south  side  of 
tho  great  lakes,  and  finally  obtained  a  complete  ascend- 
ency over  the  Algonquin  race.  3.  The  Florida  Indians, 
including  the  Creeks,  Seminoles,  Choctaws,  Chickasaws, 
Natches,  and  Mobiles.  Tribes  belonging  to  these  three 
families  (with  the  Wocons  and  Catawbas)  occupied  nearly 
all  the  region  east  of  the  Mississippi,  from  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  to  Hudson's  Bay,  comprising  more  than  a  million 
of  square  miles.  The  Catawbas  alone,  however,  are  said  to 
have  included  20  tribes,  and  nearly  as  many  dialects.  The 
Powhattans  were  a  confederacy  of  33  tribes,  comprehend- 
ing 10,000  persons.  It  is  probable  that  when  the  E 
settlers  landed  in  the  country,  the  region  mention! 
inhabited  by  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  Indians,  divided  into 
many  tribes,  and  speaking  dialects  belonging  to  half  a 
dozen  radically  distinct  languages. 

These  nations  have  the  virtues  of  savage  life — a  high  sense 
of  honour,  according  to  their  perceptions  of  duty,  mutual 
fidelity  among  individuals,  a  fortitude  that  mocks  at  the 
most  cruel  torments,  and  a  devotion  to  their  tribe  which 
makes  self-immolation  in  its  defence  easy.  On  the  other 
hand,  they  treat  their  wives  cruelly,  and  their  children 
with  indifference.  li_>e  apathy  under  the  good  and  ill  of 
life  which  the  Stoic  affected,  is  the  grand  element  of  the 
Indian'3  character.  Gloomy,  stern,  and  severe,  he  is  a 
stranger  to  mirth  and  laughter.  All  outward  expression 
of  pleasure  or  pain  he  regards  as  a  weakness;  and  the 
onJy  feeling  to  which  he  ever  yields  is  the  boisterous  joy 
which  he  manifests  in  the  moment  of  victory,  or  under 
the  excitement  of  intoxication.     He  is  capable  of  great 


na  in  war  cr  tne  chase.  Diit  has  an  unconquerable 
aversion  to  re]  ular  labour.     He  is  extremely  improvident; 

eats  enormously  while  he  has  abundance  of  food,  without 
thinking  of   the    famine  which  may    follow ;   and,  when 

3  are  supplied  to  him,  will  continue  drunk  for  days. 
Most   of    the    Indians   of    North    America   believe   in 
the  existence  of  a   supreme  being,   whom  they  call  the 
I  Spirit ;  and  of  a  subordinate  one,  whose  nature  is 

evil  and  hostile  to -man.     To  the  hitter  their  worship  is 
piincn  ;  tlio  Good  Spirit,  in  their  opinion, 

■  ers  to  induce  hi  in  to  aid  and  protect  his 
creatures.  They  generally  belie\e  in  a  future  state,  in 
which  the  souls  of  brave  warriors  an 
a  tranquil  and  happy  existence  with  their  ancestors  and 
ding  their  time  in  those  exercises  in  which 
they  delighted  when  on  tho  earth.  The  Dakotas  believe 
that  the  road  to  these  "villages  of  the  dead"  leads  over 
a  rock  with  an  edge  as  sharp  as  a  knife,  on  which  only  tho 
good  are  ablo  to  keep  their  footing.  The  wicked  fall  off, 
and  descend  to  the  region  of  the  Evil  Spirit,  where  they  are 
hard  worked,  and  often  flogged  by  their  relentless  master. 

y  is  allowed ;  and  a  number  of  wives  is  con  Customs 
sidered  as  adding  to  a  man's  consequence.  Marriage  cus- 
toms differ  in  different  tribes,  but  in  every  case  the  pre- 
senting of  gifts  to  the  father  of  the  intended  wife  is  an 
essential  feature  of  the  transaction,  and  shows  that  tlio 
wife  is  considered  as  procured  by  purchase.  Deformed 
children,  and  lame  or  decrepit  old  persons,  are  destroyed 
sometimes ;  but  the  practice  is  uncommon.  Incest  and 
rises  are  practised  in  some  tribes,  but  they  are 
always  viewed  as  matters  of  reproach.  The  Indian  fune- 
rals are  conducted  with  much  decorum.  The  deceased  is 
dressed  in  his  best  clothes,  and  laid  in  a  grave,  in  a  verti- 
cal, horizontal,  or  inclined  position,  according  to  his  own 
previous  directions,  with  his  moccasins,  knife,  money,  and 
silver  ornaments  beside  him,  and  a  small  quantity  of  food 
near  his  head.  It  is  usual  to  mark  tho  graves  with  a  post, 
on  which  figures  aro  carved  expressive  of  tho  nature  of  the 
pursuits  and  achievements  of  the  deceased. 

Some  nations  of  Indians  wear  little  or  no  clothing ;  but  Clothes, 
tne  general  dress  of  tho  men  in  the  temperate  and  cold  l'""'«i  an< 
parts  of  the  country,  previous  to  the  arrival  of  the  Euro-  oraan":D',i 
peans,  consisted  of  three  articles  :  a  cloak  of  buffalo-skin 
hanging  from  the  shoulders,  a  piece  of  skin  used  as  an 
apron,  and  a  pair  of  moccasins  or  loose  boots,  made  of  un- 
dressed skin  also.     The  women  wore  a  long  robe  of  the 
same  material,  which  was  fastened  round  the  waist ;  but 
among  the  tribes  living  near  tho  whites,  coarse  woollens 
are  now  frequently  substituted  for  the  hides  of  wild  ani- 

i  xcept  for  the  moccasins.  The  habitations  of  the 
Indians  are  huts  or  cabins,  generally  of  a  circular  form  and 
small  size,  but  sometimes  of  30  or  40  feet  in  diameter, 
formed  by  stakes  fixed  in  the  ground,  and  covered  with 
the  bark  of  trees.  ■  Sometimes  the  spaces  between  the 
stakes  are  filled  up  with  twigs,  grass,  and  mud,  and  the 
roof  i3  covered  nearly  in  the  same  way.     A  hole  in  the 

rves  for  the  escape  of  the  smoke,  and  the  skins 
of  wild  beasts  form  the  beds  and  seats.  When  they  go 
to  a  distance  to  hunt,  they  erect  for  temporary  use  large 
tents,  which  aro  covered  with  skins.  On  the  west  side 
of  the  Mississippi,  where  the  ground  is  open,  many  of 
the  tribes  make  use  of  horses,  which  are  seldom  em- 
ployed amidst  the  woods  covering  the  territories  east 
of  that  river.  The  custom  of  painting  their  bodies  is 
nearly  universal.  They  introduce  the  colours  by  making 
punctures  on  their  skin  ;  and  the  extent  of  surface  which 
this  ornament  covers  is  proportioned  to  the  exploits  they 
have  performed.  Some  paint  only  their  arms,  others 
both  their  arms  and  legs,  others  again  their  thighs ; 
ivhile  those  who   have  attained  the  summit  of  warlike. 


%iI£RICA>'  nTDIAKS.] 


AMERICA. 


691 


ienovm  have  their  bodies  painted  from  the  'waist  upwards. 
This  is  the  heraldry  of  the  Indians,  the  devices  of  which 
are  probably  more  exactly  adjusted  to  the  merits  of  the 
persons  who  bear  them  than  those  of  more  civilised  coun- 
tries. Besides  these  ornaments,  the  warriors  also  carry 
plumes  of  feathers  on  their  heads,  their  arms,  or  ancles. 
Their  arms  were  the  tomahawk,  the  war-club,  knife,  the 
bow  and  arrow,  but  now  they  have  .muskets. 

Each  tribe  is  governed  by  a  chief  and  council,  who  are 
elective ;  but  in  matters  of  importance  the  whole  warriors 
are  consulted ;  and  Mr  Keating  informs  us  that  questions 
are  not  decided  by  the  vote3  of  a  majority,  but  the  reso- 
lution adopted  must  have  the  consent  of  every  individual 
warrior.  Their  assemblies  are  conducted  with  much  for- 
mality and  decorum.  The  eldest  chief  commences  the 
•debate,  -which  is  often  carried  on  by  set  speeches,  abound- 
ing iu  bold  figures  and  metaphors,  and  bursts  of  a  rude  but 
impassioned  eloquence.  The  young  are  permitted  to  be 
present  aud  to  express  their  approbation  by  cries,  but 
not  to  speak.  In  their  wars  the  object  commonly  is,  to 
secure  the  right  of  hunting  within  particular  limits,  to 
maintain  the  liberty  of  passing  through  their  accustomed 
tracts,  and  to  guard  from  infringement  those  lands  which 
they  consider  as  their  own  tenure.  War  is  declared  by 
sending  a  slave  with  a  hatchet,  the  handb  of  which  is 
painted  red,  to  the  nation  they  intend  to  break  with. 
They  generally  take  the  field  in  small  numbers.  Each 
■warrior,  besides  bis  weapons,  carries  a  mat,  and  supports 
himself  till  he  is  near  the  enemy  by  killing  game.  From 
the  time  they  enter  the  enemy's  country,  no  game  is 
killed,  no  fires  lighted,  or  shouting  heard,  and  their  vigi- 
lance and  caution  are  extreme.  They  are  not  even  per- 
mitted to  speak,  but  must  communicate  by  signs  and 
motions.  .Having  discovered  the  objects  of  their  hostility, 
they  first  reconnoitre  them,  then  hold  a  council ;  and  they 
generally  make  their  attack  just  before  daybreak,  that 
they  may  surprise  their  enemies  while  asleep.  They  will 
lie  the  whole  night  flat  on  their  faces  without  stirring, 
and.  at  the  fit  moment  for  action,  will  creep  on  their  hands 
and  feet  till  they  have  got  within  a  bow-shot  of  those 
they  have  doomed  to  destruction.  On  a  signal  given  by 
the  chief  warrior,  which  is  answered  by  the  yells,  of  the 
whole  party,  they  start  up,  and,"after  discharging  their 
arrows,  they  rush  upon  their  adversaries,  without  giving 
them  time  to  recover  from  their  confusion,  with  their 
war-clubs  and  tomahawks.  If  they  succeed,  the  scene  of 
horror  which  follows  baffles  description.  The  savage  fury 
of  the  conquerors,  the  desperation  of  the  conquered,  the 
horrid  yells  of  both,  and  trroir  grim  figures  besmeared 
with  paint  and  blood,  form  -an  assemblage  of  objects 
worthy  of  pandemonium.  When  the  victory  is  secured, 
they  select  a  certain  number  of  their  prisoners  to  carry 
home :  they  kill  the  rest  in  cold  blood,  take  their  scalps, 
and  then  march  off  with  the  spoil.  The  prisoners  des- 
tined to  death  are  soon  led  to  the  place  of  execution, 
where  they  are  stripped,  have  their  bodies  blackened,  and 
are  bound  to  a  stake.  In  this  situation,  while  the  burn- 
ing  faggots  embrace  his  limbs,  and  the  knives  of  his 
revengeful  enemies. are  inflicting  a  thousand  tortures,  it 
is  common  for  the  warrior  to  recount  his  exploits,  boast 
of  the  cruelties  he  has  committed  upon  his  enemies,  and 
to  irritate  and  insult  his  tormenters  in  every  way.  Some- 
times it  happens  that  this  has  the  effect  of  provoking  one 
of  the  spectators  to  dispatch  him  with  a  club  or  toma- 
hawk. Sometimes  the  male  adult  prisoners  are  given  as 
slaves  to  women  who  Lave  lost  their  husbands  in  the  war, 
end  by  whom  they  are  often  married.  The  women  taken 
are  distributed  among  the  warriors ;  the  boys  and  girls 
Vc  considered  as  slaves. 

Nea.lv  all  the  Indian  tribes  raise  maize,  beans,  and 


pumpkins,  by  the  labour  o»  their  women,  but  only  to  a 
small  extent,  and  as  a  resource  against  famine,  their  chief 
reliance  being  upon  the  chase.  The  buffaloes  which 
wander  over  the  prairies  of  the  west,  in  herds  of  tens  of 
thousands,  are  their  great  support ;  but  deer,  bears,  and 
in  time  of  need  otters,  beavers,  foxes,  squirrels,  and  even 
reptiles,  are  devoured. 

The  Toltecan  family  embraced  the  civilised  nations  of 
Mexico,  Peru,  and  Bogota,  extending  from  the  Bio  Gila  in. 
333  N.  latitude  along  the  western  shore  of  the  conti-' 
nent  to  the  frontiers  of  Chili ;  and  on  the  eastern  coast,  along 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  in  North  America.  In  South  America, 
on  the  contrary,  this  family  chiefly  occupied  a  narrow  B*r!p 
of  land  between  the  Andes  and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  bounded 
on  the  south  by  the  great  desert  of  Atacama.  Farther  north, 
however,  in  New  Granada,  were  the  Eopotese,  a  people 
whose  civilisation,  like  their  geographical  position,  was 
intermediate  between  that  of  the  Peruvians  and  the  Mexi-. 
cans.  But,  even  before  the  Spanish  conquest,  the  Toltecan 
family  were  not  the  exclusive  possessors  of  the  regions  which 
we  have  assigned  to  them ;  they  were  only  the  dominant 
race  or  caste,  while  other  tribes  of  the  American  race.always 
constituted  a  large  mass  of  the  population.  The  arrival  ol 
the  Spaniards  reduced  both  classes  alike  to  vassalage  ;  aud 
three  centuries  of  slavery  and  oppression  have  left  few  traces 
of  Mexican  and  Peruvian  civilisation,  except  what  may 
be  gleaned  from  their  history  and  antiquities.  These  nations 
can  no  longer  be  identified  in  existing  communities ;  and 
the  mixed  and  motley  races  which  now  respectively  bear  the 
name,  are  as  unlike  their  predecessors  in  moral  and  intellec- 
tual character,  as  the  degraded  Copts  are  unlike  the  ancient 
Egyptians.  It  is  in  the  intellectual  faculties  that  the  great 
difference  between  the  Toltecan  and  the  American  families 
consists.  In  the  arts  and  sciences  of  the  former  we  see  the 
evidences  of  an  advanced  civilisation  ;  their  architectural 
remains  everywhere  surprise  the  traveller  and  confound  the 
antiquary.  Among  these  are  pyramids,  temples,  grottoes, 
bas-reliefs,  and  arabesques;  while  their  roads,  aqueducts, 
and  fortifications,  and  the  traces  of  their  mining  operations, 
sufficiently  attest  their  attainments  in  the  practical  arts  of 
life. 

The  origin  of  the  populations  of  America  is  a  problem  i 
which  has  yet  to  be  solved.  It  is  known  that  in  Europe j 
man  was  in  existence  at  a  very  remote  period ;  and  there . 
are  facts  which  lend  some  support  to  the  view  that  man 
has  also  been  a  denizen  of  America  for  ages.  Thus  there 
have  been  found  portions  of  the  human  skeleton  and 
fragments  of  human  handiwork,  associated  with  the  bones 
of  mammals  which  now  have  no  existence,  under  circum- 
stances which  imply  great  antiquity.  In  most  instances, 
however,  it  is  not  certain  that  such  relics  are  of  the  age'  of 
the  deposit  in  which  they  have  been  found.  Human 
skeletons  and  bones  in  a  fossilised  state,  or  associated  with 
bones  of  extinct  mammals,  have  been  found  at  Guadaloupe, 
in  Missouri,  near  Natchez,  at  New  Orleans,  in  the  coral 
reef  of  Florida,  near  Charleston,  in  California,  in  Orchilla, 
at  Petit  Anse,  and  in  Kansas.  Some  of  these  are  referred 
to  a  very  distant  period.  Thus  the  conglomerate  in  which 
the  remains  occur  in  the  Florida  reef  is  estimated  by  Agassiz 
to  be  10,000  years  old;  but,  what  is  still  more  amazing, 
the  skeleton  found  by  Dr  Dowler  beneath  four  buried 
forests  in  the  delta  near  New  Orleans,  is  said  to  be  50,000 
years  old,  and  the  remains  from  California  were  found  in  a 
deposit  beneath  Table  Mountain,  which  deposit  was  formed 
in  an  old  river  of  the  Post-Pliocene,  or  Pliocen<  period. 
At  any  rate,  when  this  deposit  was  formed  there  was  a  river 
valley  here,  down  which  an  overflow  of  volcanic  matter  was 
poured.  Since  that  time  denudation  has  been  so  great,  and 
the  volcanic  matter  so  hard,  that  the  sides  of  the  valley  have 
been  swent  awav.  leaving  the  valley  bottom  with  its  Dro- 


692 


AMERICA 


[antiquities. 


tecting  cover  standing  up  far  above  the  level  of  the  neigh- 
bouring country.  Articles  made  by  man  also  occur  under 
conditions  indicating  great  antiquity.  Thus  along  the  coast 
of  Ecuador  there  are  volcanic  deposits  which  belong  to  the 
period  of  volcanic  activity  preceding  the  present,  which  may 
prol  ibly  bo  referred  to  the  Post- Pliocene  period.  This 
matter  is  arranged  in  terraces,  and  in  one  of  these  terraces, 
now  24  miles  from  the  coast  and  150  feet  above  the  sea, 
Mr  Wilson  has  found  beneath  the  vegetable  mould,  beds  of 
clay  with  sand  and  gravel  which  contain  fragments  of  pot- 
tery. These  beds,  it  is  believed,  were  deposited  beneath 
the  sea.  implying  an  elevation  of  150  feet  since  their  forma- 
tion. On  the  coast  there  is  a  pottery-containing  stratum, 
which  has  been  followed  for  80  miles,  and  patches  of  a 
similar  bed  occur  over  a  further  distance  of  200 
These  facts,  taken  in  conjunction  with  wli.it  wo  learn  from 
the  traditions  and  histories  of  numerous  nations,  as  also  the 
characters  of  the  present  Datives,  render  it  highly  probable 
that  r  ■  1  in  America  long  before  the  origin  or  arrival 

of  the  civilised  communities  to  which  allusion  will  be  pre- 
sently made.  The  histories  of  these  communities  gem 
agree  that  civilisation  was  introduced  by  persons  who  first 
appeared  as  strangers  amidst  the  people  already  in  possession 
of  the  country.  Eence  the  question  has  a  twofold  aspect, 
viz.,  the  origin  of  the  earliest  uncivilised  as  well  as  that  of 
the  earliest  civilised  tribes.  It  is  possible,  as  the  traditions 
suggest,  that  people  have  arrived  from  various  quarters  and 
at  various  times.  As  yet  we  have  little  positive  evidence 
to  rely  upon,  and  caution  is  required  in  drawing  conclusions 
from  resemblances  in  customs  or  religion.  For  instance, 
to  take  one  remarkable  case.  Amongst  tribes  living  high 
up  the  Amazon  basin  there  are  customs  which  correspond 
with  those  in  Borneo.  In  both  areas  we  find  blow-pipes 
for  discharging  arrows;  large  houses  inhabited  by  several 
families  and  similarly  constructed;  baskets  and  bamboo 
boxes  of  almost  identical  form  and  construction;  and  the 
smoke-dried  heads  of  enemies  hung  up  in  the  houses.  In 
one  tribe  on  the  Amazon  the  throwing-stick  is  used,  and 
not  the  blow-pipe,  which  is  employed  by  all  the  surrounding 
tribes  ;  the  throwing-stick  is  also  used  by  the  Esquimaux, 
the  Andaman  Islanders,  and  the  Australians.  On  the 
Amazon  an  arrow  or  spear  is  used  for  catching  turtle, 
which  has  the  barb  loosely  attached  to  the  shaft,  so  that 
wlu.-n  the  turtle  disappears  the  shaft  floats  on  the  surface 
and  indicates  its  movements  and  position.  The  Australians 
catch  turtle  in  precisely  the  same  way.  Again,  many 
other  customs  are  common  to  the  Americans,  and  tribes 
living  in  areas  far  remote  from  them,  with  which  they 
have  no  apparent  direct  relationship.  If  these  analogies 
were  always  proofs  of  affinities,  then  we  might  infer, 
as  has  been  done,  that  America  was  first  peopled  by 
emigrants  from  the  opposite  shores  of  Africa,  W.  Europe, 
E.  Asia,  and  Polynesia. 

In  the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  mighty 
tributaries,  the  Ohio  and  Missouri,  are  the  remains'  of  the 
works  of  an  extinct  race0  of  men, -who  seem  to  have  made 
advances  in  civilisation  far  beyond  the  races  of  red  men  dis- 
covered there  by  the  first  European  adventurers.  These 
remains  consist  chiefly  of  tumuli  and  ramparts  of  earth, 
enclosing  areas  of  great  extent  and  much  regularity  of  form. 
Some  of  them  recall  the  barrows  of  Europe  and  of  Asia,  or 
the  huge  mounds  and  ramparts  of  Mesopotamia,  as  displayed 
at  Babylon  and  Nineveh  ;  while  others  remind  us  of  the 
ruined  hippodromes  and  amphitheatres  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans.  In  that  part  of  North  America  the  barrows  are 
usually  I  uncated  cones ;  but  in  advancing  farther  south, 
they  ofteL  assume  the  figure  of  four-sided  pyramids  in  suc- 
cessive staces,  with  flattened  topSj  like  the  Teocallh,  or 
temples  of  Mexico  and  Yucatan.  They  have  been  accurately 
described,  and  many  of  them  delineated  in  the  Smithsonian 


Contributions  to  Knowledge,  from  the  researches  of  Messrs 
Squier  aud  Davis. 

The  barrows  and  ramparts  are  constructed  of  mingled 
earth  and  stones  ;  and  from  their  solidity  and  extent,  must 
have  required  the  labour  of  a  numerous  population,  with 
leisure  and  skill  sufficient  to  undertake  combined  and  vast 
operations.  The  barrows  often  contain  human  bones,  and 
the  smaller  tumuli  appear  to  have  been  tombs ;  but  the 
larger,  especially  the  quadrangular  mounds,  wovdd  seem  to 
have  served  as  temples  to  the  early  inhabitants.  These 
barrows  vary  in  size,  from  a  few  feet  in  circumference  and 
elevation,  to  structures  with  a  basal  circumference  of  1000 
or  2000  feet,  and  an  altitude  of  from  60  to  90  feet,  resem- 
bling, In  dimensions,  the  vast  tumulus  of  Alyattes  neai 
Sardis.  One  in  Mississippi  is  said  to  cover  a  base  of  six 
acres.     The  also  vary  in  thickness,  and  in  height 

from  6  to  30  feet,  and  usually  enclose  areas  varying  from 
100  to  200  acres.  Some  contain  400  ;  and  one  on  the  Mis' 
Bouri  has  an  area  of  600  acres.  Tho  enclosures  generally 
are  very  exact  circles  or  squares,  sometimes  a  union  of  both  ; 
occasionally  they  form  parallelograms,  or  follow  the  sinuo- 
sities of  a  hill ;  and  in  one  district,  that  of  Wisconsin,  they 
assume  the  fanciful  shape  of  men,  quadrupeds,  birds,  or  ser- 
pents, delineated  with  some  ingenuity,  on  the  surface  of 
undulating  plains  or  wide  savannahs.' 

These  ramparts  are  usually  placed  on  elevations  or  hills, 
or  on  the  banks  of  streams,  so  as  to  show  that  they  were 
erected  for  defensive  purposes,  and  their  sites  are  judiciously 
chosen  for  this  end.  The  area  enclosed,  therefore,  bears  no 
proportion  to  the  relative  labour  bestowed  on  such  ramparts  : 
thus,  in  Ohio,  an  area  of  not  more  than  40  acres  is  enclosed 
by  mounds  of  a  mile  and  a  half  in  circumference ;  and  on  the 
Little  Miami,  in  the  same  state,  is  found  an  enclosure  fully 
four  miles  round,  that  contains  an  area  of  about  100  acres. 
These  remains  are  not  solitary  and  few,  for  in  the  state 
of  Ohio  they  amount  to  at  least  10,000. 

The  enclosures  in  the  form  of  animals  are  more  rare  than 
those  now  noticed,  and  seem  nearly  confined  to  Wisconsin. 
One  of  these  represents  a  gigantic  man  with  two  heads,  the 
size  of  which  may  be  estimated,  by  the  body  being  50  feet 
long,  and  25  feet  across  the  breast.  Another  on  a  slope  near 
Brush  Creek,  represents  a  tolerably  designed  snake,  with  an 
oval  ball  in  its  mouth  ;  the  undulating  folds  of  its  body  and 
spiral  of  its  tail  extending  to  a  length  of  700  feet.  The 
forms  of  quadrupeds  and  birds  are  also  characteristically 
represented  in  these  works.  Those  that  have  been  explored 
rarely  contain  human  bones ;  though  the  Indians  deposit 
their  dead  within  them  occasionally,  they  have  no  tradition 
of  their  having  belonged  to  their  ancestors.  The  most  pro- 
bable supposition  respecting  them  is  that  of  Mr  R.  C.  Taylor, 
that  each  was  the  sepulchral  monument  of  a  different  tribe, 
who  have  all  disappeared  from  America. 

The  question  immediately  suggests  itself,  to  what  people 
must  we  ascribe  those  vast  works  ?  They  can  scarcely  be 
the  works  of  the  ancestors  of  the  red  men  discovered  by 
Europeans  in  North  America.  Neither  can  we  ascribe 
them  to  the  early  Greenland  and  Iceland  colonists,  wlw 
seem  never  to  have  passed  westward  of  the  Alleghanies. 
We  can  scarcely  attribute  them  to  the  somewhat  apocryphal 
advent  of  the  Welsh  Madoc.  Can  their  authors  be  the 
people  obscurely  mentioned  in  the  Icelandic  sagas,  as.  the 
inhabitants  of  New  Iceland.} v 

A  curioifs  tradition  of  the  present  Iroquois  records.'that 
when  th'e  Lenni  Lenapi,  the  common  ancestors  of  tho  Iro- 
quois and  other  tribes,  whose  language  is  still  widely  spread 
among  the  Indians,  advanced  from  the  north-west  to  the 
Mississippi,  they  found  on  its  eastern  side ,  a^great  nation 
more  civilised  than  themselves,  who  lived  in  fortified  towns 
and  cultivated  the  ground.  This  people  at  first  granted  the 
Lenni  Lenapi  leave  to  pass  through  their  territories  to  seA 


aimiioiTiEs.J 


AMERICA 


693 


an  eastward  settlement,  but  treacherously  attacked  them 
while  crossing  the  river.  This  conduct  gave  rise  to  inve- 
terate hostilities,  that  terminated  in  the  extermination  or 
subjugation  of  their  opponents,  and  the  establishment  of  the 
red  men  in  those  regions.  This  not  improbable,  though 
imperfect,  account  of  such  rude  communities,  where  neither 
letters  not  hieroglyphics  existed,  is  probably  all  that  we 
shall  ever  learn  of  the  people  who  executed  those  works 
that  now  excite  our  surprise. 

As  we  advance  southward  we  find  proofs'  of  still  greater 
refinement  on  the  table-land  of  Anahuac  or  Mexico ;  and 
on  descending  into  the  humid  valleys  of  Central  America, 
the  peninsula  of  Yucatan,  and  the  shores  of  Honduras,  we 
find  striking  remains  of  the  .semi-eivilisation  of  the  races 
that  inhabited  those  countries  before  the  Spanish  invasion. 
The  barbarous  policy  of  Cortez  and  other  invaders  was  to 
eradicate  every  trace  of  the  former  grandeur  of  the  native 
races,  and  thereby  to  inure  them  to  a  degrading  servitude. 
The  systematic  destruction  of  the  native  works  of  art  and 
gorgeous  buildings  in  Mexico  was  relentlessly  carried  on  for 
ages,  to  the  infinite  regret  of  the  modern  ethnographical 
inquirer.  Little  positive  information  on  these  subjects  can 
be  gleaned  from  the  early  Spanish  historians  of  the  con- 
quest ;  and  it  was  not  until  the  publication  of  Humboldt's 
Researches  that  Europe  knew  anything  of  the  state  of  the 
Great  Mexican  pyramid,  or  of  the  wonderful  remains  of 
Palenque  and  Papantla. 

In  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  however,  some  Spanish 
adventurers  penetrated  with  difficulty  the  dense  forests  of 
the  Mexican  province  of  Chiapas,  in  which  they  discovered 
the  remains  of  an  ancient  city,  of  which  all  memory  had 
been  lost,  and  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  Palenque, 
from  a  poor  adjacent  village.  Stimulated  by  their  report, 
the  Spanish  Government  some  years  afterwards  despatched 
two  intelligent  travellers  to  explore  those  wilds ;  but  the 
report  of  Del  Kio  and  Du  Paix,  from  the  commotions  that 
agitated  Europe  and  convulsed  Spain,  remained  unpublished 
until  a- few  years  ago.  It  has  since  appeared,  with  very  in- 
teresting designs  of  the  ruins  they  explored.  Our  know- 
ledge of  such  remains,  however,  has  been  greatly  enlarged 
by  the  labours  of  an  enterprising  North  American  traveller, 
Mr  Stephens,  given  to  the  world  in  four  volumes,  entitled 
Incidents  of  Travel  in  Central  America,  Chiapas,-  and 
Yucatan,  1838,  and  Incidents  of  Travel  in  Yucatan,  1842. 
rhia  gentleman  discovered,  in  the  almost  impenetrable 
forests  of  those  regions,  the  remains  of  no  less  than  44 
towns,  some  of  them  with  extensive  and  highly  decorated 
structures.  These  exhibit  walls  of  hewn  stone,  admirably 
put  together  with  mortar,  often  enriched  by  sculptures 
in  bold  relief,  and  hieroglyphical  inscriptions,  exactly 
resembling  the  Aztec  MSS.  in  the  museums  of  Europe, 
and  in  the  publications  of  Humboldt ;  well  executed 
vaulted  roofs,  and  obelisks  covered  with  mythic  figures 
and  pictorial  or  hieroglyphical  inscriptions.  These  curi- 
ous remains  have  been  concealed  for  ages  by  a  luxu- 
riant tropical  vegetation,  so  dense  that  they  seem  to  have 
been  unknown  to  people  living  within  half  a  mile  of  their 
site. 

The  most  conspicuous  ruins  are  those  of  temples  and 
palaces,  which  almost  invariably  have  a  pyramidal  form,  in 
several  stages,  with  wide  intervening  terraces,  the  ascent  to 
which  is  by  grand  flights  of  steps.  The  chambers  in  those 
buildings  have  generally  a  length  disproportioned  to  their 
width,  they  have  no  windows,  but  receive  their  light  from 
the  doors,  just  as  the  rooms  do  at  this  day  in  Barbary  and 
some  other  eastern  countries.  The  apartments  are  in  two 
parallel  rows,  a  narrow  corridor  or  series  of  chambers  runs 
along  the  front,  and  the  apartments  behind  this  receive  their 
light  only  from  the  front  rooms  into  which  they  open.  Yet 
these  interior  apartments  aie  often  richly  decorated  with 


sculptures,  ornamented  with  stuccos,  and  gaily  painted  red, 
yellow,  white,  and  black. 

The  ruins  of  Palenque,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  researches 
of  Humboldt,  have  the  characters  just  mentioned.  They 
are  covered  with  hieroglyphics,  and  sculptures  in  relief,  with 
ornamental  cornices.  The  largest  building  stands  on  a 
terrace,  faced  with  stone,  measuring  310  by  2G0  feet;  the 
building  itself  is  200  by  180  feet;  its  walls  are  25  feet 
high.  The  stone  has  been  originally  covered  with  painted 
stucco ;  fronts  the  east,  and  contains  1 4  doors,  separated 
by  piers  ornamented  with  stucco  figures.  In  this  building 
some  of  the  figures  are  erect,  while  others  sit  cross-legged, 
in  what  we  term  the  oriental  fashion ;  one  statue,  10|  feet 
high,  was  found  at  Palenque ;  and  two  fragments  of  two 
torsos  and  a  head  were  also  discovered  that  exhibited  a 
severe  but  fair  style  of  sculpture,  that  recalls  something  of 
the  early  style  of  Greek  art. 

The  ruins  at  Copan,  in  Honduras,  are  of  vast  extent. 
Here  a  pyramidal  structure  remains,  with  an  elevation  of 
150  feet  measured  along  its  slope,  and  this  appears  to  be  a 
principal  temple,  included  with  several  smaller  structures 
within  a  sacred  enclosure,  in  the  manner  of  the  temples  of 
ancient  Egypt.  On  its  walls  are  many  skulls  of  a  quadru- 
manous  animal,  well  executed  in  high  relief ;  a  large  figure 
of  a  baboon  was  discovered  among  the  ruins,  bearing  no  in- 
considerable resemblance  to  the  cynocephalus  of  the  Egyp- 
tians. Here  also  several  sculptured  obelisks  occur,  from 
11  to  13  feet  in  height,  and  from  3  to  4  feet  wide,  which, 
as  well  as  the  walls  of  the  temple,  were  highly  ornamented 
with  sculptures  in  bold  relief. 

The  similarity  between  the  ruins  at  Copan  and  Palenque, 
and  the  identity  of  the  hieroglyphic  tablets  in  both,  show 
that  the  former  inhabitants  of  Chiapas  and  Honduras  had 
the  same  written  language,  though  the  present  Indians  of 
those  provinces  do  not  understand  each  other. 

At  several  places,  but  more  especially  at  Uxmal,  in 
Yucatan,  are  very  magnificent  ruins  of  the  same  kind. 
Here  are  found  sculptured  obelisks,  bearing  on  their  prin- 
cipal face  the  figure,  probably,  of  some  deity,  with  a  be- 
nignant countenance  represented  in  full,  and  the  hands 
applied  to  the  breast.  The  other  sides  of  the  obelisks  are 
covered  with  hieroglyphical  tablets,  proving  that  the  same 
race  once  inhabited  the  plains  of  Honduras  and  the  table- 
land of  Anahuac.  The  principal  building  at  Uxmal  seems 
to  have  been  a  very  magnificent  pyramid  in  three  stages  or 
terraces,  faced  with  hewn  stone,  and  neatly  rounded  at  the 
angles.  The  first  terrace  is  575  foet  long,  15  feet  broad, 
and  3  feet  high,  serving  as  a  sort  of  plinth  to  the  whole  ; 
the  second  terrace  is  545  feet  long,  250  feet  wide,  and  20 
feet  high  ;  the  third  terrace  is  360  feet  long,  by  30  feet 
wide,  and  19  feet  in  height.  From  the  centre  of  the  second 
terrace,  the  upper  part  is  gained  by  a  vast- flight  of  well- 
constructed  steps  130  feet  wide.  This  leads  to  the  temple, 
the  facade  of  which  is  no  less  than  322  feet  long,  but  has 
not  had  a  greater  elevation  than  25  feet ;  yet  its  grandeur 
is  enhanced  by  the  rich  sculpture  that  covers  the  upper  part 
above  a  fillet,  or  cornice,  that  surrounds  the  whole  building 
at  about  half  its  elevation.  The  interior  consists  of  two 
parallel  ranges  of  chambers,  1 1  in  each  row.  The  front 
apartments  are  entered  by  11  doorways,  enriched  with 
sculpture,  which  gives  sufficient  light  to  those  rooms;  but  the 
posterior  row  receives  no  light  except  what  enters  by  their 
doors  from  the  exterior  rooms.  The  roofs  here,  unlike  those 
of  Palenque  and  Copan,  are  not  stone  arches,  but  are  sup- 
ported on  bearers  of  a  very  hard  wood,  that  must  have  been 
brought  from  a  distance  of  some  hundred  miles,  and  these 
beams  too  are  covered  with  hieroglyphics.  The  flat  roof 
of  this  building  has  .been  externally  covered  with  a  hard 
cement.  In  a  building  placed  on  a  lower  level  is  a  rectan- 
gular court,  which  has  been  once  wholly  paved  with  well- 


t)94 


AMERICA 


[\NT1QUITIE3. 


carved  figures  ot  tortoises  in  demi-relief.  These  are  ar- 
ranged in  groups  of  four,  with  their  heads  placed  together ; 
and  from  the  dimensions  of  the  court,  this  sala  de_  las  Tor- 
tugas  must  have  required  43,600  of  such  carved  stones  for 
its  pavement. 

The  ruins  of  Chichcn,  also  in  Yucatan,  extend  over  an 
area  of  two  miles  in  circumference.  One  of  the  best  pre- 
served buildings  with  an  ambit  of  C38  feet,  is  constructed  in 
three  terraces,  which  gave  it  an  apparent  altitude  of  C5  feet. 
The  buildings  here,  on  the  second  terrace,  have  the  facades 
highly  sculptured,  both  above  and  below  the  horizontal  fil- 
let; and  the  doorways  are  enriched  with  mouldings,  and 
•ru&s-liko  ornaments  supporting  a  drip-stone.  The  staircase 
here  is  56  feet  wide.  The  front  apartments  are  47  feet 
long  and  only  9  wide.  There  are  three  doors  in  the  front,  and 
in  the  central  apartment  are  nine  niches.  The  roofs  are 
stone  arches ;  and  all  has  been  once  painted  of  various 
colours.  A  curious  adjoining  structure  consists  of  two 
parallel  stone  walls,  274  feet  long,  and  30  feet  apart.  The 
walls  are  30  feet  thick.  It  has  been  conjectured  to  have 
been  connected  with  the  celebration  of  some  public  games, 
like  the  palcestrce  of  the  Greeks. 

In  several  of  the  ruins  now  noticed  are  found  buildings 
to  -which  there  is  no  access.  They  have  doorways,  but  these 
eeem  to  have  been  walled  up  when  the  buildingswere  erected. 
Their  use  is  unknown  ;  they  are  named  casa»  cerradas,  or 
-'  shut  up  houses."  Their  interior  does  not  differ  from  the 
other  apartments  above  described. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  the  builders  of  those  cities  took 
great  pains  to  supply  them  with  one  of  the  primo  essentials 
of  human  comfort— abundance  of  good  water,  by  means  of 
wells  and  cisterns  of  excellent  construction. 

The  remains  in  all  the  44  ancient  towns  visited  by 
Stephens  have  a  similar  character;  so  that  we  can  have  no 
hesitation  to  ascribe  them  to  the  same  nation,  or  to  kindred 
races  of  men,  who  had  certainly  attained  no  inconsiderable 
civilisation,  although  unacquainted  with  the  use  of  iron,  or 
oven  of  bronze.  Many  of  these  towns  are  repeatedly  referred 
to  in  the  native  histories,  and  it  is  almost  certain  that  a 
large  proportion  of  them  were  founded  and  inhabited  by 
the  Tutul-Xius,  Nahoas,  and  other  tribes  speaking  the 
Nahuatl  tongue.  In  not  a  few  instances  the  dates  and  the 
aames  of  the  founders  have  been  preserved. 

It  has  been  generally  admitted  by  physiologists,  that 
the  temperate  regions  of  the  globe  are  best  fitted,  to  de- 
velope  all  the  powers  of  our  nature ;  and  it  is  a  fact  in 
accordance  with  this  Opinion,  that  among  the  aborigines 
of  America,  civilisation  xollowed  very  closely  the  chain  of 
the  Andes,  and  was  found  either  upon  their  sides  or  the 
table-land  of  their  summits,  where  the  elevation  of  the 
ground  moderates  the  heat  of  the  tropical  sun,  and  pro- 
duces a  climato  analogous  to  that  of  Central  and  Southern 
Europe.  This  civilisation  did  not  exist  merely  at  the  two 
distant  and  isolated  points  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  but  pre- 
sented itself  at  intermediate  places,  and  may  be  said  to  have 
formed  a  continuous  line  from  lat.  35°  N.  to  lat.  35°  S,  with 
fow  interruptions,  except  at  those  parts  where  the  moun- 
tainous chain  disappears,  or  sinks  down  to  a  trifling  eleva- 
tion. Some  large  buildings  near  the  Rio  Gila,  in  lat.  33°  N., 
with  fragments  of  porcelain,  indicate  the  existence  of  a 
people  there  who  had  some  knowledge  of  the  arts.  These 
were  most  probably  a  branch  of  the  Aztecs  or  Toltecs, 
who  afterwards  occupied  Mexico,  as  the  annals  of  that 
country  tell.  Though  some  pursued  their  march  south- 
ward, it  may  be  reasonably  supposed  that  a  part  remained 
in  the  district ;  and  the  Indians  living  here,  who  culti- 
vate corn,  weave  cloth,  and  live  in  villages  consisting  of 
houses  built  of  solid  materials,  sometimes  two  stories  in 
height,  may  either  be  their  descendants,  or  have  bor- 
rowed from  them  the  improvements  they  possess.     Next 


in  order  as  we  proceed  southward,  are  the  various  natiens 
of  Mexico,  of  whose  condition  we  shall  speak  by  and  by. 
In  Chiapa  were  the  Zapotecs,  in  Yucatan  the  Mayas,  ia 
Guatemala  the  Quiches  and  Kachiquels,  all  nearly  a» 
much  advanced  in  civilisation  as  the  Mexicans,  and  pro- 
bably of  the  samo  primitive  stock.  From  this  point,  whcre> 
the  Andes  lose  their  elevation,  or  break  into  isolated  cones, 
no  distinct  traces  of  civilisation  appear  till  we  enter  the 
southern  continent.  Here  were  found  the  Muyscas  or 
Moscas,  on  the  table-land  of  Bogota,  a  nation  consisting, 
of  several  tribes,  who  worshipped  the  sun  and  practised 
some  of  the  useful  arts.  To  these  succeeded  the  nations  of 
Peru,  living  under  the  Incas,  whose  dominion  expended 
from  the  equator  to  the  35th  degree  of  S.  latitude. 
Beyond  this  boundary  were  the  Chilian  tribes,  who,  though 
inferior  to  .the  Peruvians,  had  made  some  advances  beyoud 
tho  rudeness  of  the  savage  state.  It  is  proper  to  mentioD 
that  some  of  the  nations  named  were  extinct  before  the 
arrival  of  the  Spaniards ;  but  the  degree  of  civilisation  the} 
had  attained  is  attested  by  the  monuments  they  have  lefl 
behind  them.  There  were  no  other  tribes  in  the  new 
continent  which  had  made  any  progress  in  social  improve-, 
ment.  We  would  not  except  the  Guaranis  of  Brazil,  and  a 
few  others,  who  derived  their  subsistence  chiefly  from 
agriculture,  but  were  in  other  respects  savages.  We  place 
among  the  exceptions,  however,  the  extinct  race  of  tho 
Allegowis,  or  whatever  was  the  name  of  the  people,  who 
erected  tho  military  works  existing  between  the  Ohio  and 
the  northern  lake*;  but  they  also,  it  must  be  remembered, 
Bd  a  temperate  climate,  though  not  a  mountainous 
country.  It  may  be  affirmed,  then,  as  a  general  proposi- 
tion, that  from  35°  of.N.  to  35°  of  S.  latitude,  the  sides 
and  summits  of  the  Andes  were  the  exclusive  seats  of 
American  civilisation.  We  admit  that  some  of  tho  tribes 
in  Chiapa,  Oaxaca,  and  Yucatan,  inhabited  low  districts  j 
but  they  were  still  near  the  Cordillera,  and  may  he  fairly 
considered  as  offsets  from  the  nations  dwelling  upon  it. 
The  fact  is  important,  as  marking  the  effect  of  climate  on 
the  active  energies  of  our  species.  There  is  no  doubt 
that,  with  the  improved  arts  of  modern  times,  civilisation 
can  subsist  under  the  burning  sky  of  the  torrid  zone,  but  not 
in  such  vigour  as  in  countries  which  enjoy  a  more  moderate 
temperature.  Perhaps  it  will  be  found  that  the  moral 
and  physical  powers  of  man  attain  their  highest  perfection 
in  those*  regions  where  he  is  accompanied  by  wheat  and 
tho  vine.  The  zone  occupied  by  the  former  extends 
from  the  30th  to  the  57th  or  58th  parallel ;  and  within  the 
tropics  the  corresponding  climate  is  found  on  the  flanks 
or  summits  of  mountains,  from  4500  to  10,000  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  Mexican  annals  reach  tc  a  Mexiccv 
very  remote  date,  although  they  were  preserved  merely  by 
picture-writing.  Wo  do  not  pretend  to  enter  into  the 
question  as  to  the  authenticity  of  the  records  themselves, 
and  their  correctness.  It  is  enough  that  they  have  received 
credit  from  Humboldt,  Vater,  and  other  men  of  learning 
and  judgment.  From  the  annals  thus  preserved,  of  which 
further  details  will  bo  subsequently  given,  we  learn  that  at 
the  earliest  dawn  of  history  the  Quinames  were  in  possessioD 
of  the  country,  that  civilisation  was  introduced  by  strangers 
coming  from  the  east,  and  that  several  nations  belonging  to 
one  race  migrated  in  succession  from  the  north- west,  and 
settled  in  Anahuac  or  Mexico.  The  Tojtecs,  it  is  stated, 
left  their  original  seat,  far  to  the  west,  in  544  of  our  era, 
and  after  a  long  journey  invaded  Mexico,  then  occupied 
by  wandering  hordes,  in  648.  This  people,  who  penetrated 
to  Nicaragua,  if  not  to  South  America,  were  nearly 
destroyed  after  the  lapse  of  some  centuries ;  but  were 
followed  by  the  Chichlmecs,  a  half  savage  tribe,  about 
1 1 20,  and  these  a  few  years  afterwards  by  tin  Anahautlnls. 


AKCIENT  MEXICO.] 


AMERICA 


G95 


Or  seven  tribes,  including  the  Acolhuans,  the  Tlasoaltccs',  and 
the  Aztecs  or  proper  Mexicans.  All  these  people  spoke 
dialects  of  one  language,  and  had  similar  arts,  customs, 
tmd  institutions.  The  town  of  Mexico  or  Tenochtitlan 
was  founded  in  1325,  and  the  series  of  Mexican  kings 
which  commenced  in  1352  was  continued  through  eight 
monarchs  to  Montezuma.  The  monarchy  was  small  at  first, 
find  passed  through  many  vicissitudes  ;  but  it  was  gradually 
enlarged,  especially  by  the  policy  and  enterprise  of  the  later 
princes  of  the  line.  When  Cortes  arrived,  it  embraced 
what  are  now  the  provinces'of  Vera  Cruz,  Oaxaca.  Puebla, 
Mexico,  and  part  of  Valladolid.  a  surface  of  130.000  square 
miles;  but  within  this  were  comprehended  three  small 
independent  slates,  Tlascala,  C'holullan,  and  Zapeaca.  The 
pastoral  state,  which  forms  the  intermediate  stage  between 
savage  and  civilised  life,  had  never  existed  in  Mexico  ;  for 
the  native  wild  ox  had  not  been  tamed,  and  the  use  of  milk 
as  food  was  unknown.  The  Mexican  nations  derived  their 
n>e  arts  in  subsistence  from  agriculture,  which,  however,  was  conducted 
Mexico.  ju  the  rudest  manner,  with  very  imperfect  instruments. 
They  cultivated  maize,  potatoes,  plantains,  and  various 
other  esculent  vegetables.  They  raised  cotton,  and  under- 
stood the  art  of  spinning  and  weaving  it  into  cloth,  of  a 
texture  which  excited  the  admiration  of  the  Spaniards. 
They  had  no  iron,  but  showed  considerable  skill  in  fashion- 
ing the  gold,  silver,  and  copper,  found  in  a  native  state, 
into  domestic  utensils  and  ornamental  articles.  In  some 
of  their  buildings  the  stones  were  hewn  into  regular  forms, 
and  accurately  joined  ;  and  from  the  ruins  of  the  palace  of 
Mitla,  in  Oaxaca,  still  existing,  it  appears  that  they  had 
the  art  of  designing  ornaments  like  arabesques,  in  paste, 
with  great  neatness,  and  attaching  them  to  the  walls ;  but 
solid  structures  of  masonry  evincing  any  considerable  skill 
are  extremely  rare  in  the  country.  Their  carvings  in 
wood  were  tolerably  well  executed,  but  the  figures  were 
dispropovtioned  and  uncouth.  The  same  remark  applies 
to  their  hieroglyphical  drawings,  which  were  far  inferior 
in  taste  and  design  to  those  of  the  Hindoos,  Japanese, 
and  Thibetians.  For  paper  they  employed  sometimes 
the  large  leaves  of  the  aloe,  sometimes  cotton  cloth,  or  the 
skins  of  deer  dressed.  Their  books  consisted  of  strips  or 
webs  of  such  materials,  composed  of  pieces  neatly  joined, 
one  or  two  feet  broad  and  twenty  or  tliirty  long,  which 
were  divided  into  pages  by  folding  them  in  a  zig-zag 
manner ;  and  two  pieces  of  thin  deal  attached  to  the  outer- 
most folds  served  as  boards,  and  gave  these  manuscripts, 
when  closed,  an  appearance  very  much  like  our  old  folios 
in  wooden  binding.  The  written  language  of  Mexico  con- 
tained a  few  real  hieroglyphics  or  symbols,  purely  conven- 
tional, to  designate  such  objects  as  water,  earth,  air,  day, 
night,  speech,  and  also  for  numbers;  but  it  was  essentially  a 
system  of  picture-writing  in  which  objects  were  represented 
by  coloured  figures  having  a  resemblance  more  or  less 
exact  to  themselves.  With  all  its  necessary  imperfections, 
this  instrument  was  familiarly  employed  to  a  prodigious  ex- 
tent in  deeds  and  instruments  for  effecting  the  transmission 
and  sale  of  property.  The  government  kept  couriers  for 
conveying  intelligence  from  all  parts  of  the  empire  ;  and  the 
capital  was  watched  and  cleaned  by  a  sort  of  police  estab- 
lishment. This  is  the  bright  side  of  Mexican  civilisation. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  kept  in  view,  that  the  Mexi- 
cans had  no  tame  animals,  no  made  roads,  no  money  to 
serve  as  a  universal  medium  of  exchange  in  commercial 
transactions.  The  government  was  originally  a  perfect 
feudal  monarchy,  in  which  all  power  was  monopolised  by 
a  numerous  nobility  and  the  priesthood.  The  great  mass 
of  the  people  were  serfs,  attached  to  the  soil,  and  trans- 
ferred with  it  from  owner  to  owner  by  descent  or  purchase. 
(The  peasants  or  slaves  of  a  nobleman  were  allowed  a  cer- 
ifiin  portion  of  land,  which  they  cultivated  in  common 


for  their  subsistence :  the  rest  of  their  labo-jr  belonged 
to  their  lord.  The  country  swarmed  with  beggars,  and 
thousands  were  swept  off  every  few  years  by  famine.  As 
among  the  ancient  Egyptians  and  the  Chinese,  immutable- 
custom,  regulating  every  act  of  civil  and  common  life, 
chained  up  the  course  of  improvement,  and  spread  a 
languid  monotony  over  society.  The  crown  was  elective, 
and  the  powers  of  the  monarch  small,  till  the  privileges  of 
the  nobles  were  destroyed  by  the  policy  and  ambition  of 
Montezuma.  The  religion  of  the  Mexicans  breathed 
a  savage  spirit,  which  degraded  them,  in  a  moral  point  of 
view,  far  below  the  hordes  of  wandering  Indians.  Their 
deities,  represented  by  mis-shapen  images  of  serpents 
and  other  hideous  animals,  were  the  creation  of  the 
darkest  passions  of  the  human  breast,  of  terror,  hatred, 
cruelty,  and  revenge.  They  delighted  in  blood,  and  thou- 
sands of  human  sacrifices  were  annually  offered  at  their 
shrines.  The  places  of  worship,  called  Teocallis,  were  pyra- 
mids composed  of  terraces  placed  one  above  another, 
like  the  temple  of  Belus  at  Babylon.  These  were  built  of 
clay,  or  of  alternate  layers  of  clay  and  nnburnt  bricks, 
but  in  some  cases  faced  with  slabs  of  polished  stone,  on 
which  figures  of  animals  are  sculptured  in  relief.1  One  or 
two  small  chapels  stood  upon  the  summit,  enclosing 
images  of  the  deity.  The  largest  known,  which  is  com- 
posed of  four  stories  or  terraces,  has  a  breadth  of  480 
yards  at  the  base,  and  a  height  of  55.  These  structures 
served  as  temples,  tombs,  and  observatories ;  and  it  is  re- 
markable that  their  sides  are  always  placed  exactly  in  the 
direction  of  the  meridian.  This  leads  us  to  the  most  in- ' 
teresting  fact  connected  with  Mexican  civilisation,  we 
mean  the  perfection  of  their  calendar.  The  civil  year  was 
composed  of  365  days,  divided  into  18  months  of  20 
days,  and  5  supplementary  days.  The  Mexicans  had 
besides  a  ritual  or  religions  year  for  the  regulation  of  their 
festivals ;  and,  by  means  of  a  cycle  of  52  years,  and  a  very 
complicated  method  of  computation,  the  religious  and  civil 
periods  were  connected  with  one  another,  and  the  civil  year 
was  made  to  correspond  with  the  natural  by  the  inter- 
calation of  13  days  at  the  end  of  the  cycle.  The  month 
was  divided  into  four  weeks  of  five  days,  but  each  day  of 
the  month  had  a  distinct  name  ;  and  Humboldt  has  given 
strong  reasons  for  believing  that  these  names  were  bor- 
rowed from  an  ancient  zodiac  formed  of  27  or  28  lunar 
houses,  which  was  made  use  of  from  the  remotest  anti- 
quity in  Tartary,  Thibet,  and  India.  The  calendar  of  the 
Mexicans  bespeaks  a  degree  of  scientific  skill,  and  an 
accuracy  of  observation,  which  are  not  easily  reconciled 
with  their  semi-barbarous  habits,  their  general  ignorance 
in  other  things,  and  the  recent  date  of  their  civilisation 
according  to  their  own  account.  It  is  here,  indeed,  and 
not  in  their  language,  that  we  find  distinct  traces  of  their 
connection  with  Asiatic  nations.  The  character  of  the 
Mexicans  is  probably  the  same  at  this  day  as  before  the 
conquest,  which,  we  are  disposed  to  think,  made  less 
change  in  the  situation  of  the  people  than  is  often  sup- 
posed, though  it  annihilated  the  rank  and  privileges  of 
the  nobles.  The  Mexican  Indian  is  grave,  suspicious, 
and  taciturn  ;  quiet  and  placid  in  his  external  deportment, 
but  rancorous  in  his  spirit ;  submissive  to  his  superiors, 
harsh  and  cruel  to  thoso  beneath  him.  His  intellect  i» 
limited,  aud  chiefly  developcs  itself  in  imitative  labours 
and  mechanical  arts.  Slow,  cautious,  and  persevering,  ho 
loves,  both  in  his  acts  and  thoughts,  to  travel  in. a  beaten 
track.  The  people,  though  speaking  man)'  different  lan- 
guages, have  nearly  the  same  physical  character.  The 
Mexicans  have  olive  complexions,  narrow  foreheads,  black 

1  Robertson  was  mistaken  in  believing  that  the-  Teocallis  were  in  aH 
cases  mere  masses  of  earth,  without  masonry.  Sea  UuUiin'Mt's 
Researches,  vol.  i.  p.  Ill,  English  translation. 


flor, 


AMERICA 


[ANCIENT   PERU. 


eyes,  coarse  glossy  black  hair,  and  thin  beards.  Tlicy 
are  of  the  middle  size,  and  well-proportioned  in  their 
limbs.  A  person  with  any  defect  or  deformity  is  rarely 
seen  amongst  them.  They  are  healthy,  and  live  to  an 
advanced  age,  when  life  is  not  shortened  by  drunken- 
ness. The  Toltec  and  Aztec  races,  when  they  established 
themselves  in  the  country,  diffused  their  own  language 
initially  from  the  Lake  of  Nicaragua  to  the  37th  ] 
Th  y  reclaimed,  by  degrees,  many  of  the  neighbouring 
p  tribes  to  a  settled  mode  of  life,  and  spread  a  feeble 
degree  of  civilisation  over  a  mixed  mass  of  nations,  speak- 
ing, according  to  Clavigero,  35  languages,  of  which  Hum- 
boldt tells  us  that  20  still  exist.  The  Aztec  language  is  one 
of  the  mo  '  and  polished  of  the  American  tongues, 

and  abounds  in  words  of  the  immoderate  length  of  12  or  15 
syllables.  It  is  uncertain  what  was  the  number  of  sub- 
jects over  whom  Montezuma  ruled.  The  ruins  in  the 
valley  of  Tenochtitlan,  on  which  the  capital  stands,  show 
that  it  must  have  been  more  populous  bfcfore  the  conquest 
than  now ;  but  the  population  at  present  is  diffused  over 
an  incomparably  wirier  space  ;  and,  upon  the  whole,  there 
are  no  good  grounds  for  believing  that  the  number  of 
civilised  Indians  was  much  greater  when  Cortes  landed, 
than  in  1803,  when  it  amounted  to  2,000,000. 

The  civilisation  of  Mexico,  as  well  as  of  Peru,  owed  its 
existence  to  a  single  cause, — the  patient,  submissive,  and 
superstitious  character  of  the  people,  which  fitted  them 
to  be  beasts  of  burden,  under  an  aristocracy  of  priests 
and  nobles,  who  were  led,  perhaps,  partly  by  influences 
from  abroad,  partly  by  the  instincl  of  self-interest,  to 
devise  means  for  holding  the  mass  ol  the  community 
in  subjection.  Many  of  the  nations  which  continued 
savage,  such  as  the  Algonquins  and  Iroquois,  were  pro- 
bably equal  to  the  Mexicans  in  intellect ;  but  their 
propensity  to  superstition  was  less,  and  their  energy  of 
character  was  too  great  to  permit  of  their  being  enslaved 
by  their  chiefs.  It  is  chiefly  in  the  variety  of  their  pri- 
mitive character  that  we  must  seek  for  the  cause  of  the 
diversity  of  manners  and  institutions  we  find  among  the 
American  nations. 
n«ru.  The  ancient  empire  of  Peru,  more  extensive  than  that 

of  Mexico,  embraced  the  whole  sea-coast  from  Pastos  to 
the  river  Mauie,  a  line  of  2500  miles  in  length.  Its 
breadth  is  uncertain  ;  but  as  it  included  both  declivities 
of  the  Andes,  it  must  have  extended  in  some  cases  to 
500  miles,  and  the  entire  surface  of  the  empire  probably 
exceeded  500,000  square  miles.  It  is  plain,  however, 
from  the  imperfect  history  of  the  Incas  which  has  been 
preserved,  that  within  this  space  there  were  many  dis- 
tricts where  their  authority  was  feeble,  and  others  inhabited 
by  tribes  which  were  entirely  independent.  One  part 
of  the  country,  besides,  consisted  of  a  sandy  desert,  while 
the  most  elevated  tracts  were  uninhabitable  from  cold. 
It  must  not  therefore  be  supposed  that  the.  capacity  of 
the  country  to  support  population  was  commensurate 
with  the  extent  of  its  surface.  Still  the  magnitude  of  the 
Peruvian  empire,  in  the  midst  of  an  immense  multitude 
of  independent  savage  communities,  so  extremely  minute, 
that  a  hundred  of  them  might  have  been  planted  with- 
out crowding  in  one  of  its-  provinces,  is  an  extraordinary 
phenomenon.  •  The  creating  and  maintaining  of  such  an 
empire  is  a  proof  that  the  Peruvians  had  made  no  trifling 
progress  in  the  useful  arts  and  in  the  science  of  government. 
To  keep  in  subjection  so  many'remote  provinces,  there  must 
.have  been  an  efficient  military  force,  rapid  means  of  com- 
munication, considerable  revenues,  and  an  organised  magis- 
tracy capable  of  understanding  and  executing  the  plans 
of  rulers,  who  had  sufficient  political  skill  and  knowledge 
of  human  nature  to  adapt  their  institutions  and  arrange- 
ments  to   the    wants,   habits    and  character  of  a  great 


variety  of  dissimilar  nations,  spread  over  a  territory  reach, 
ing  as  far  as  from  Lisbon  to  the  banks  of  the  Volga.  It 
is  clear  that  the  ruling  tribe,  which  was  able  to  extend 
its  dominion,  and  to  a  considerable  extent  its  language, 
over  a  space  of  2500  miles,  must  have  possessed  a  marked 
superiority  of  some  kind  over  the'  hordes  that  surrounded 
it.  We  must  remember,  besides,  that  the  Peruvians  lay 
under  the  disadvantage  of  being  destitute  of  even  such  an 
imperfect  instrument  of  communication  as  the  hieroglyphic 
language  of  the  Mexicans,  and  that  they  were  extremely 
nt  in  military  spirit.  Indeed,  it  is  one  of  the  most 
singular  facts  connected  with  the  history  of  America,  that 
by  far  the  largest  empire  it  contained  was  formed  by  the 
most  unwarlike  people  in  it.  The  dominion  of  the  Incas 
was  founded  entirely  on  policy,  superstition,  and  the  arts. 
It  could  only  be  by  the  intelligence  and  skill  which  civi- 
lisation developes,  that  the  Peruvians  conquered  tribes 
superior  to  themselves  in  courage;  and  it  was  by  policy 
and  superstition  that  the  Incas  tamed  the  rudeness  of 
savage  tribes,  and  held  distant  countries  in  subjection. 
Robertson  justly  observes,  that  the  Peruvians  "  had  ad- 
vanced far  beyond  the  Mexicans,  both  in  the  necessary  arts 
of  life,  and  in  such  as  had  some  title  to  tho  name  of 
elegant."  In  two  points  only  were  they  inferior;  in  then- 
calendar  or  mode  of  computing  time,  and  in  their  want 
of  such  a  substitute  for  writing  as  the  Aztecs  possessed 
in  their  hieroglyphics. 

Agriculture  was  conducted  with  greater  carj  and  sue  .««  b 
cess  in  Peru  than  in  "Mexico.  The  lands  capable  of  cul- 
tivation  were  divided  into  three  shares.  One  was  conse- 
crated to  the  service  of  religion,  the  erection  of  temples, 
and  the  maintenance  of  priests  ;  the  second  was  set  .apart 
as  a  provision  for  the  support  of  the  government;  and 
the  third  and  largest  share,  which  was  reserved  for  the 
.  was  parcelled  out,  not  among  individuals,  but 
the  hamlets  and  villages,  according  to  the  number 
and  rank  of  the  inhabitants  ;  and  a  new  division  was  made 
every  year  to  meet  any  change  that  might  arise  in  the 
circumstances  of  the  parties.  The  members  of  each 
little  community  went  to  the  fields  under  overseers,  and 
cultivated  the  land  by  their  joint  labour.  The  produce 
was  distributed  among  the  families  and  individuals  accord- 
ing to  their  wants,  while  the  evils  of  famine  were  pro- 
vided against  by  storing  up  the  corn  in  granaries.  The 
Peruvians  having  no  draught  animals,  and  no  ploughs, 
turned  up  the  earth  with  wooden  mattocks ;  but  their 
skill  and  care  were  exemplified  in  irrigation,  which  they 
practised  extensively,  and  in  their  employing  as  manure 
guano,  or  the  dung  of  sea"  birds,  which  abounds  on 
tho  islands  near  the  coast.  Their  masonry  was  superior 
to  that  of  the  Mexicans.  Like  the  ancient  Egyptians, 
they  understood  mechanics  sufficiently  to  move  stones 
of  vast  size,  even  of  30  feet  in  length,  of  which  speci- 
mens are  still  existing  in  the  walls  of '  the  fortress  of 
Cuzco.  They  had  the  art  of  squaring  and  cutting  blocks 
for  building  with  great  accuracy  ;  and  they  did  not  effect 
their  purpose,  as  Robertson  supposes,  merely  by  chip, 
ping  the  stones,  or  rubbing  them  together  so  as  to  fit 
the  surface  of  the  one  to  that  of  the  other,  without  re- 
gard to  symmetry  of  form,  i  It  is  now  known  that  they 
had  hard  chisels,  made  of  copper,  with  a  mixture  of  § 
per  cent,  of  tin,— a  proof  of  considerable  skill  in  the  work- 
ing of  metals.  With  these  they  hewed  the  stones 
into  parallelopipeds,  which *were  disposed  in  "courses  as 
regular,"  says  Humboldt,  "  as  those  of  Roman  workman- 
ship." They  are  joined  with  such  nicety,  that  the  line 
which  divides  the  blocks  can  scarcely  be  perceived ;  and 
the  outer  surface  is  in  some  cases  covered  with  carving. 
The  palaces  or  lodges  of  the  Incas,  of  which  there  are 
many   remains,   had  doors   with  slanting  sides  bike  the 


ANCIENT   PERU.] 


AMERICA 


G97 


Egyptian ;  sloping  roofs,  which,  it  is  supposed,  were  covered 
with  rushes  or  stone  slabs;  no  windows,  but  niches 
symmetrically  distributed.1  Ancient  stone  structures, 
which  are  so  rare  in  Mexico,  are  pretty  abundant  in 
perU) — a  fact  for  which  we  can  only  account  by  the  dif- 
ficulty with  which  the  Mexicans  erected  buildings,  in 
consequence  of  their  inferiority  in  the  art  of  masonry. 
The  architecture  of  the  Peruvians,  like  everything  else 
connected  with  their  social  state,  displays  a  remarkable 
uniformity,  not  only  of  style,  but  of  plan.  "It  is  impos- 
sible," says  Humboldt,  "to  examine  a  single  edifice  of 
the  time  of  the  Incas,  without  recognising  the  same  type 
in  all  the  others  which  cover  the  ridge  of  the  Andes, 
along  an  extent  of  450  leagues." 

The  ancient  public  roads  of  Peru  are  justly  considered 
as   striking   monuments   of    the  political  genius   of   the 
government.     One  of  these  extended  along  the  sides  of  the 
Andes  from  Quito  to  Cuzco,  a  distance  of  1500  miles.     It 
is  about  forty  feet  broad,  and  paved  with  the  earth  and 
atones  which  were  turned  up  from  the  soil ;  but  in  some 
marshy  places  it  is  formed,  like  the  old  Roman  roads,  of  a 
compact  body  of  solid  masonry.     A  tolerably  level  line  is 
preserved,  by  filling  up  hollows,  cutting  down  small  emi- 
nences, and  winding  round  the  sides  of  large  ones.     At 
proper  distances  tambos  or  storehouses  were  erected,  -for 
the  accommodation  of  the  Inca  and  his  messengers.     A 
similar  road  was  made  along  the  coast  in  the  low  country. 
Fissures  a  few  yards  in  breadth  were  passed  by  bridges 
formed  of  beams  laid  horizontally ;  and  an  invention,  at 
once  bold  and  ingenious,  afforded  the  means  of  crossing 
deep   ravines,    or    the    channels    of    rivers,    which   hap- 
pened to  intersect  the  route.     This  consisted  of  a  suspen- 
sion bridge,  perfectly  analogous  in  its  principle  to  those 
with  which  we  are  familiar.      It  was  formed  of  half  a 
dozen   of   cables   of   twisted  osiers,   passed  over  wooden 
supports,  and  stretched  from  bank  to  bank ;  then  bound 
together  with  smaller  ropes,  and  covered  with  bamboos. 
Humboldt  passed  over  one  of  these  pendulous  bridges,  of 
120  feet  span  ;  and  Mr  Miers  crossed  one  of  225  feet  span, 
over  which  loaded  animals  might  travel.     In  low  grounds 
the  rivers  were  crossed  on  rafts  with  a  mast  and  sail,  which, 
by  a  particular  contrivance,  could  be  made  to  tack  and 
veer.      In   this   respect   the    Peruvians  were   a  stage  in 
advance  of  all  the  other  American  races,  who  had  nothing 
superior  to  the  canoe  with  paddles.     The  Peruvians  manu- 
factured a  rude  species  of  pottery :  they  understood  the 
art  of  spinning,  and,  in  an  imperfect  degree,  that  of  weav- 
ing.    They  procured  native  gold  by  washing  the  gravel  of 
rivers ;  and  silver,  and  perhaps  copper,  by  working  veins 
downward  from  the  outcrop.     They  knew  how  to  smelt 
and  refine  the  silver  ore ;  and  they  possessed  the  secret  of 
giving  great  hardness  and  durability  to  copper  by  mixing 
it  with  tin.     Their  utensils  and  trinkets  of  gold  and  silver 
are  said  to  have  been  fashioned  with  neatness  and  even 
taste.     On  the  other  hand,  they  had  no  money,  no  know- 
ledge of  iron  or  glass ;  and  they  were  ignorant  of  the 
mode  of  mortising  or  joining  beams,  and  of  casting  arches. 
They  had  no  animals  fitted  for  draught ;  but  the  llama,  a 
small  species  of  camel,  which  they  had  tamed,  was  em- 
ployed to  some  extent  as  a  beast  of  burden. 

The  political  organisation  of  Peru,  which  was  artificial 
in  a  high  degree,  reminds  one,  in  some  of  its  features,  of 
the  old  system  of  the  Saxons  in  England,  but  bears  a 
more  general  resemblance  to  that  of  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tians. The  mass  of  the  people  were  in  a  state  of  servi- 
tude, except  a  small  number,  who  were  free ;  above  these 
in  rank  were  the  Curacas,  or  chiefs  of  districts,  who  formed 


1  See  Humboldt's  account  of  the  ancient 
Cunnitr,  vols.  i.  and  ii.  of  Lis  licsearchts. 


buildings  of  Callo   and 


a  sort  of  nobility;  and  above  the  whole,  the  family 
of  the  Incas,  the  members  of  which,  by  intermarrying 
only  with  themselves,  formed  a  numerous  and  distinct 
caste.  For  the  purposes  of  police  and  civil  jurisdiction, 
the  people  were  divided  into  parties  of  ten  families,  like 
the  tithings  of  Alfred,  over  each  of  which  was  an  officer. 
A  second  class  of  officers  had  control  over  five  or  ten 
tithings,  a  third  class  over  fifty  or  a  hundred.  These 
last  rendered  account  to  the  Incas,  who  exercised  a 
vigilant  superintendence  over  the  whole,  and  employed 
inspectors  to  visit  the  provinces  as  a  check  upon  mal- 
administration. Each  of  these  officers,  down  to  the  lowest, 
judged,  without  appeal,  in  all  differences  that  arose  within 
his  division,  and  enforced  the  laws  of  the  empire, 
among  which  were  some  for  punishing  idleness,  and  com- 
pelling every  one  to  labour.  It  is  probable  that  the 
tithings  and  hundreds,  as  in  England,  would  lose  their 
numerical  signification  in  course  of  time,  and  become 
mere  local  allotments.  In  the  hamlets  and  villages  a 
person  mounted  a  tower  every  evening,  and  announced 
where  and  how  the  inhabitants  were  to  be  employed  next 
day.  The  taxes  were  paid  in  the  produce  of  the  fields, 
and  magazines  for  receiving  them  were  established  in 
every  district.  Such  is  the  account  given  by  Acosta  and 
Garcilasso  of  the  civil  institutions  of  Pern,  which  may  be 
correct  with  regard  to  the  oldest  possessions  of  the  Incas 
near  Cuzco,  where  their  power  had  been  long  established ; 
but  it  is  not  probable  that  such  a  complicated  system  was 
ever  fully  in  operation  in  the  more  distant  narts  of  the 
empire. 

The  government  of  Peru  was  a  theocracy.  '  The  Inca  Govern- 
was  at   once   the    temporal   sovereign   and   the   supreme  meat  and 
pontiff.     He   was  regarded  as  the. descendant  and  repre- Kellgl0n- 
sentative  of  the  great  deity  the  sun,  who  was  supposed  to 
inspire  his  counsels,  and  speak  through  his  orders  and 
decrees.     Hence  even  slight  offences  were  punished  with 
death,  because   ihey  were  regarded  as  insults  offered  to 
the  divinity.     The  race  of  the  Incas  was   held   sacred. 
To  support  its  pretensions,  it  was  very  desirable  that  it 
should  be  kept  pure  and  distinct  from  the  people;  but 
human  passions  are  often  too  strong  for  the  dictates  of 
policy ;  and  though  the  marriages  of  the  family  were  con- 
fined to  their  own  race,  the  emperor,  as  well  as  the  other 
males  of  the  blood  royal,  kept  large  harems  stocked  with 
beauties  drawn  from  all  parts  of  the  empire,  and  multi- 
plied  a   spurious   progeny,    in   whom   the   blood  of  the 
"  children  of  the  sun"  was  blended  with  that  of  the  "  chil- 
dren of  the  earth."    Among  a  simple-minded  and  credulous 
people  the  claims  of  the  Incas  to  a  celestial  origin  seem 
to   have   been   implicitly   believed.      They   were   blindly 
obeyed,  and  treated  with  a  respect  bordering  on  adora- 
tion, by  the  nobles  as  well  as  the  common  people.     The 
Peruvians  worshipped  the  sun,  the  moon,   the   evening 
star,   the  spirit  of  thunder,   and  the  rainbow,  and   had 
erected  temples  in   Cuzco  to  all  these  deities.     That  of 
the   sun,  which  was  the  most  magnificent,  had  its  walls 
covered  with  plates  of  gold.     The  sacrifices  consisted  oi 
the  objects  most  prized  by  the  people,  of  grain  and  fruits, 
of  a  few  animals,  and  of  the  productions  of  their  own  in- 
dustry.    Sabianism,  as  it  is  the  most  "rational  of  all  the 
forms  of  idolatry,  is  also  generally  the  most  mild;  and 
doubtless  this  results  from  the  tendency  which  it  has  to 
fix  the  thoughts  on  the  marks  of  beneficence  and  wisdom 
which  are  displayed  in  the  works  of  nature.     The  Peru- 
vian temples  were  accordingly  never  polluted,  like  those 
of  Mexico,   with  the  blood  of  human  victims;  and  the 
Incas  even  went  farther,  and  signalised  their  zeal  against 
such  horrid  rites,  by  suppressing  them*  in  all  the  countrieo 
they    conquered.      Though   their   history   exhibits   some 
bloody  deeds,  the  general  character  of  their  government 


l>!»« 


A  M  E  It  1  C  A 


I  ancient  r-Eim. 


was  the  reverse  of  crucl.~  Tlie  severe  punishments  pre- 
scribed by  their  laws  were  rarely  inflicted,  and  rebellion 
was  scarcely  known  in  their  dominions.  The  Inca  not 
only  assumed  the  title  of  the  father  of  his  people,  but  the 
vices  as  well  as  the  merits  of  his  government  sprung 
partly  from  the  attempt  mode  to  construct  the  go 
ment  on  the  model  of  paternal  authority,  and  partly 
the  blending  of  moral  ana  religious  injunctions  with  civil 
duties.  Hence  the  idle  pretension  of  the  state  to  reward 
virtuous  conduct,  as  well  as  to  punish  crimes ;  hence 
too  the  plan  of  labouring  in  common,  the  ex 
individual  property,  the  absurdities  of  eating,  drinking, 
sleeping,  tilling,  building,  according  to  fixed  urn 
rules;  in  fiue,  that  minute  and  vexatious  regulation  i 
the  acts  of  ordinary  life,  which  converted  the  people  into 
mere  machines  in  the  hands  of  an  immense  corps  of  civil 
and  religious  officers.  Such  a  system  may  have  served 
to  reclaim  some  tribes  from  the  savage  state;  but  it  must 
have  stifled  the  seeds  of  improvement,  and  left  the  mass 
of  the  people  more  stupid  and  imbecile  than  it  found 
them.  The  government  was  as  pure  a  despotism,  pro- 
bably, as  ever  existed ;  but  its  theocratic  character,  no 
doubt,  helped  to  mitigate  the  ferocity  of  its  spirit.  Super- 
stition and  force  are  the  two  base3  on  which  tyranny 
tests  in  all  countries ;  and  in  proportion  as  it  is  firmly 
uated  on  the  one,  it  stands  less  in  need  of  the  support  of 
the  other.  The  Inca  had  so  completely  enslaved  the 
Hinds  of  his  subjects^  and  the  apparatus  he  wielded  for 
d"-»ctjrg  and  controlling  their  acts  was  so  perfect,  that 
he  was  able  in  a  great  measure  to  dispense  with  those  ter- 
rific examples  of  cruelty  and  bloodshed,  by  which  the  pure 
military  despot  operates  on  the  fears  of  those  who.  live 
under  his  authority. 

This  system  of  the  Peruvian  monarchs,  by  which  the 
pec^la  "were  kept  in  a  state  of  perpetual  tutelage,  merits 
■the  greater  attention,  because  it  is  precisely  that  which 
the  Jesuits  employed,  in  Paraguay  and  other,  districts,  to 
reduce  the  natives  to  a  settled  mode  of  life ;  and  it  seems, 
in  fact,  to  be  the  only  method  by  which  a  semblance  of 
civilisation  can  be  introduced  amongst  t*ie  American 
nations.  Two  things  must  be  supposed  to  account  lor  its 
prevalence :  first,  a  certain  amount  of  timidity,  passive- 
ness,  and  superstition,  in  the  body  of  the  people,  implying 
weak  passions,  but  not  necessarily  smallness  of  intellect ; 
and,  secondly,  a  few  minds  of  a  higher  class,  to  give  an 
impulse  to  the  rest,  and  to  control  and  regulate  their 
acts.  In  the  case  of  Peru,  did  these  ruling  intellects 
spring  from  the  body  of  the  people,  end,  after  striking  out 
new  lights  in  morals  and  legislation  for  themselves,  devise 
a  complex  and  artificial  system  for  establishing  their  power 
over  the  minds  of  the  rest,  by  the  help  of  superstition  and 
force  ?  or  were  they  strangers  from  another  country,  and 
imbued  with  the  principles  of  a  higher  civilisation  !  1  f 
we  may  believe  the  Peruvian  annals,  the  latter  was  the 
case.  About  the  year  1000  of  our  er,a,  or  perhaps  a  cen- 
tury later,  Manco  C'apac,  with  his  wife  and  sister 
Ocello,  appeared  as  strangers  on  the  banks  of  the  lake 
Titicaca.  They  were  persons  of  majestic  appearance,  and 
announced  themselves  as  "  children  of  the  sun,"  sent  by 
their  beneficent  parent  to  reclaim  the  tribes  living 
from  the  miseries  of  savage  life.  Their  injunctions,  ad- 
dressed to  a  people  who  probably  worshipped  the  god  of 
day,  were  listened  to  by  a  few,  who  settled  around  them, 
and  founded  Cuzco.  By  degrees,  other  tribes  were  in- 
duced to  renounce  their  wandering  habits.  Manco  Capac 
instructed  the  men  in  agriculture  and  the  arts,  and  Mama 
Ocello  taught  the  women  to  spin  and  to  weave.  I.aw?, 
institutions,  and  religious  rites,  were  added.  The  form  of 
a  civilised  society  arose,  which  was  gradually  extended  by 
persuasion  or  conquest. — the  Inca»  having  always  planted 


their  arts  and  religion  wherever  they  established  their 
authority,  liu.iyna  C'apac,  the  twelfth  in  succession  from 
the  founder  of  the  dynasty,  occupied  the  throne  when  the 
first  party  of  Spaniards  visited  Peru  in  1627,  and  the  em- 
pire was  then  still  in  a  state  of  progress.  There  is,  however, 
little  doubt  that  some  advance  in  civilisation  had  been 
made  in  tames  before  the  Incas. 

Such  is  the  account  which  the  Peruvians  give  of  the 
origin  of  their  civilisation,  which  we  should  be  disposed  to 
>  ,  if  thi  not  peculiar  circumstances 

which  give  it  some  credibility.  Fir.!,  their  institutions, 
tin  the  mass,  do  not  present  what  may  be  called  llio 
•pe.  The  mild  and  paternal  character  which 
,  the  injunction  to  "love  one  another"  i 
to  the  rank  of  a  positive  precept,  the  preference  of  the 
useful  arts  to  war,  all  breathe  a  spirit,  not  only  foreign  to 
the  genius  of  the  American  tribe?,  but  exactly  opposed  in 
character  to  anything  which  a  native  self-taught  lej 
tor  was  likely  to  produce.  Secondly,  the  artiCci:'1.  and 
form  of  the  Peruvian  institutions  renders' it 
improbable  that  they  were  developed  by  the  natural  ac- 
tion of  political  causes,  but  strongly  favours  the  idea,  that 
they  were  framed  by  a  few  designing  heads,  as  an  inst  in- 
to tame  and  govern  a  patient,  feeble,  and  credulous 
people  of  rude  or  .savage  habits.  A  small  number  of 
Jesuits  were  led,  by  a  sagacious  study  of  the  savage  charac- 
ter, to  devise  a  system  extremely  similar  in  its  nature, 
which  worked  admirably.  These  missionaries  were  the 
Manco  Capacs  of  Paraguay ;  and,  like  the  Incas,  might, 
in  the  course  of  two  or  three  centuries,  have  extended 
their  theocracy  over  as  large  a  space  as  Peru,  if  then 
situation  had  permitted  them  to  employ  force.  Thirdly,  a 
million  of  native  Peruvians  yet  survive,  the  living  descen 
dants  of  those  who  built  the  temples  of  Cuzco ;  and  thei 
extreme  stolidity,  apathy,  and  feebleness  ■  of  character 
sufficiently  testify  that  the  chances  were  nearly  as  grea 
against  a  legislator  like  Manco  Capac  arising  amongs 
them,  as  against  the  Jews  in  the  time  of  Augustus  pro- 
ducing a  being  like  Jesus  Christ.  They  have  the  weak 
ness  and  passiveness  which  fit  them  to  receive  an  ini 
pression  from  superior  directing  minds ;  but  they  discover 
no  trace  of  the  intelligence,  energy,  and  originality  which 
must  have  been  united  in  the  persons  who  planned  and 
carried  into  effect  the  political  system  of  the  Incas.  We 
admit  that  oppression  may  have  degraded  their  character, 
but  it  cannot  have  entirely  changed  it. 

If,  then,  the  civilisation  of  Peru  was  exotic,  whence  was 
it  derived  ?  To  us  it  appears  most  probable,  that  the  legis- 
lators of  Peru  were  either  Chinese,  or  persons  who  had 
received  at  second-hand  a-  knowledge  of  the  arts  and  in- 
stitutions of  China ;  and  our  opinion  is  grounded  on  traits 
of  resemblance  in  the  manners,  laws,  arts,  and  institutions 
of  the  two  nations,  which,  in  our  opinion,  are  too  mime 
rous,  striking,  and  peculiar,  to  be  the  effect  of  chance. 
We  eha'l  mention  Eome  of  the  most  prominent. 

1.  The  first  and  most  obvious  resemblance  is  in  tho 
rly  artificial  frame  of  society  in  both  countries.  In 
,  as  in  Peru,  the  legislation  is  directive  as  well  as 
punitive,  and  is  distinguished  by  that  minute  and  elaborate 
system  of  regulation,  inspection,  and  control,  which  inter- 
feres with  the  most  trifling  actions  of  ordinary  life,  and 
reduces  the  mass  of  the  people  to  the  condition  of  automata, 
moved  and  guided  in  everything  by  the  rulers.  China, 
says  Mr  Barrow,  is  a  great  school,  in  which  the  magis- 
trates are  the  masters,  and  the  people  tho  scholars.  It 
might  be  more  correctly  compared  to  a  largo  monastio 
establishment,  in  which  each  person  has  his  place  and  hia 
duty  assigned  to  him,  and  all  his  acts  directed  by  supe- 
riors, whose  wisdom  and  authority  he  is  not  permitted  to 
question.     The  Chinese  have  the  same  immense  multitude 


O.NCIENT  PERU.] 


AMERICA 


699 


■of  civil  officers  which  the  Peruvians  had,  and  the  same 
chain  of  subordination  from  the  emperor  down  to  the 
petty  constable.  In  China  this  system  was  undoubtedly 
the  growth  of  many  centuries ;  but  it  was  too  artificial  to 
occur  to  the  thoughts  of  a  cacique,  educated  amongst  a 
tribe  of  savages  on  the  sides  of  the  Andes.  2.  In  China 
as  in  Peru,  the  emperor  assumes  the  title  of  the  "  father 
of  his  people;"  and  his  government  is  modelled  upon 
this  figure  of  speech.  •  He  affects  to  be  sprung  from  pro- 
genitors who  descended  from  heaven  like  the  children  of 
the  sun,  and  he  unites  the  character  of  supreme  pontiff 
•with  that  of  temporal  prince.  There  are  vestiges,  too, 
■of  the  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies  in  China.1  3.  The 
Chinese  emperor  extends  an  ostentatious  patronage  to 
agriculture,  by  celebrating  an  annual  festival  in  its 
honour,  on  which  occasion  he  proceeds  to  the  field  in 
great  pomp,  and  takes  a  part  in  the  labour  of  cultivating 
the  ground  with  his  own  hands.  This  singular  custom 
existed  in  Peru,  where  the  Incas  went  through  an  annual 
ceremony  perfectly  similar.  How  .foreign  was  such  an 
institution  to  the  spirit  of  the  American  tribes  I  4.  In 
China  agriculture  is  in  a  rude  state,  and  exhibits  proofs 
of  intelligence  and  skill  only  in  two  things — the  use 
of  manures,  and  a  laborious  system  of  irrigation.  Pre- 
cisely the  same  circumstances  characterised  the  agricul- 
ture of  Peru.  5.  The  internal  taxe3  of  China,  like 
those  of  Peru,  are  paid  in  kind  (maize,  rice,  silk,  cotton, 
Ac),  and  stored  in  public  magazines  or  granaries.  6.  The 
Chinese  government  maintained  public  roads,  even  in 
those  provinces  where  neither  carriages  nor  beasta  of 
burden  were  used,  of  course  for  the  use  of  pedestrians, 
«,nd  storehouses  or  places  of  refreshment  were  built  upon 
them  at  proper  distances.  The  Peruvians  constructed 
loads  on  precisely  the  same  plan,  and  for  the  same  pur- 
poses ;  and  this  was  done  by  no  other  people  in  America. 
7.  The  Chinese  do  not  inter  the  bodies  •  of  the  jdead, 
but  lay  them  on  the  ground  and  raise  a  tumulus  or  conical 
heap  of  earth  over  them.  Such  was  also  the  practice 
in  Peru.  The  only  barbarously  cruel  rite  practised  in 
Peru,  that  of  immolating  the  Inca's  domestics  at  the 
obsequies  of  their  master,  was  brought  into  China  by  the 
Tartars.  Its  existence  is  an  anomaly  in  each  case,  for 
the  geniu3  of  both  nations  was  peaceful  and  mild.  8.  The 
.architecture  of  the  Chinese  displays  little  taste,  but  is 
distinguished  by  two  peculiarities — the  power  shown  of 
cutting  and  moving-  immense  masses  of  stone,  and  the 
•uniformity  of  style  which  pervades  their  structures,  of 
every  size  and  description.  "All  the  buildings,"  says 
Mr  Barrow,  "from  the  meanest  hut  to  the  viceroy's 
palace,  are  upon  one  plan."  Humboldt  remarks  the  same 
adherence  to  a  single  model  among  the  Peruvians,  and 
the  walls  of  Cuzco  show  that  they  were  acquainted  with 
the  method  of  moving  stones  of  prodigious  size.  The 
Chinese  were  fond  of  covering  their  walls  with  carving, 
and  examples  of  the  same  practice  occur  in  Peru.  J£ 
any  of  the  Peruvian  buildings  had  remained  entire  with 
their  roofs  on,  it  would  perhaps  have  been  found,  that 
the  type  or  primary  architectural  form  employed  in 
the  two  countries  was  not  very  dissimilar,  and  some 
allowance  should  be  made  for  the  circumstance,  that 
Peru  must  have .  borrowed  her  models  from  China  700 
or  perhaps  1000  years  ago.  9.  The  Peruvians  made 
coarse  pottery,  and  all  the  world  knows  that  this  is  an 
art  in  which  the  Chinese  excel.  The  Peruvians  were 
the  only  American  nation  who  had  mado  any  progress  in 
the  art  of  fusing  and  alloying  metals,  in  which  the  Chinese 
have  long  been  distinguished  by  their  skill.     10.  The 

1  See  accounts  of  the  temples  at  Pekin  dedicated  to  the  heavens,  the 
north  star,  the  moon,  tho  earth,  &c,  and  of  the  festival  kept  at  the 
summer  solstice,  like  the  grand  solar  festival  in  Peru. 


Peruvians  had  dramas  and  dramatic  spectacles.  Whence 
could  a  people  so  uninventive  havo  derived  the  idea  of  such 
entertainments,  if  not  from  China,  where  they  have  been 
long  familiar  to  the  people?  There  were  mimics  and  buf- 
foons in  Mexico,  but  nothing,  we  believe,  to  which  the 
term  drama  could  be  applied.  11.  But  perhaps  the  most 
!:able  coincidence  is  found  in  an  invention  entirely 
confined  to  the  two  countries.  We  have  described  the  sus- 
pension bridges  made  of  ropes,  employed  by  the  Peruvians 
in  crossing  deep  ravines.  Now,  it  is  singular  that  bridges 
of  the  very  same  description,-  some  of  chains,  and  some  of 
ropes,  are  found  in  the  south  of  Cluna,  and  nowhere  else 
except  in  Thibet,  which  has  interchanged  arts  and  cus- 
toms with  China  from  time  immemorial.  .  This  single  fact 
we  would  consider  as  a  proof  of  communication  between 
the  two  countries.  The  Peruvians  made  their  ropes  of 
twisted  osiers,  and  the  Chinese  had  ropes  also  of  this 
description.  12.  From  what  people  nearer  than  the  Chinese 
could  the  Peruvians  borrow  the  idea  of  rafts  with  a  mast 
and  sail?  These  rafts,  supporting  covered  huts,  may  be 
considered  as  literal  copies  of  some  that  are  used  in  China ; 
and  the  peculiar  mechanism  employed  in  lieu  of  a  rudder 
is  no  doubt  borrowed  from  the  paddles  attached  to  the 
Chinese  boats,  fore  and  aft.  13.  The  Chinese  in  ancient 
times  made  use  of  quipus  or  knotted  cords  to  facilitate 
calculation.  Is  it  not  probable  that  this  invention  had 
passed  from  them  to  the  Peruvians,  the  Mexicans,  the 
Kalusehi,  and  other  American  nations  who  employed  it  J 
It  would  be  easy  to  trace  similar  analogies  in  many  other 
customs,  laws,  and  institutions  of  the  two  nations.  Both 
had  nunneries  or  religious  societies  of  women,  who  lived 
under  a  vow  of  celibacy;  both  had  a  class  of  literary  men 
(the  Haravecs  and  Amautas,  or  poets  and  philosophers,  in 
Peru),  patronised  by  the  government;  both  divided  tho 
year  into  twelve  months,  and  placed  the  beginning  of  it  in 
January  (a  coincidence  the  more  remarkable,  as  the  year 
of  the  Mexicans  and  other  northern  nations  consisted 
of  18  months);  both  were  strangers  to  the  use  of  milk, 
cheese,  and  butter.2  These  facts  may  suffice,  for  we  have 
not  room  for  lengthened  inquiries,  neither  are  we  anxious 
to  press  our  argument  beyond  its  proper  limits.  Our  po- 
sition is,  not  that  the  Peruvians  are  descended  from  the 
Chinese,  but  simply  that  Peru  had  been  inoculated  with 
civilisation  by  persons  who  derived  their  ideas  from  China. 
If  it  be  asked  why  these  persons  did  not  import  from  China 
the  use  of  letters,  the  method  of  casting  arches,  and  many 
other  arts  practised  there,  our  answer  is,  that  no  individual, 
and  still  less  any  casual  assemblage  of  individuals  such  as 
the  purposes  of  trade  or  navigation  might  bring  together, 
possesses  a  knowledge  of  every  art  and  science  which 
exists  in  his  country.  How  many  men  are  there  in  Eng- 
land at  this  day,  who  could  not  even  carry  the  knowledge 
of  the  alphabet  to  another  country  1  We  must  remember, 
too,  that  all  the  arts  existing  in  China  do  not  exist  in 
every  province  of  it,  and  have  not  always  existed  in 
those  provinces  where  we  now  find  them.3  As  to  the 
means  of  communication,  it  is.  evident  that  the  trade- 
wind  renders  Peru  almost  unapproachable  from  Eastern 
Asia,  between  the  parallels  of  30°  K.  and  30°  S.  latitude. 

a  Sir  John  Barrow  is  our  authority  for  this  fact,  which  is  the  more 
remarkable,  as  the  Mongols,  the  neighbours  and  conquerors  of  the 
Chinese,  had  the  use  of  all  the  three  articles  .immemorial ly. 

3  The  uniformity  and  unchangeableness  of  customs  in  China  have 
evidently  been  much  exaggerated.  The  empire  is  formed  of  an 
assemblage  of  small  states,  conquered  one  after  another,  each  of  which 
must  have  had  its  peculiar  laws,  manners,  and  superstitions  ;  and 
common  sense  tells  us,  that  to  blend  these  into  one  perfectly  homo- 
geneous mass,  must  have  required  a  much  longer  period  than  has 
elapsed  since  tho  empire  attained  its  present  magnitude.  It  would 
be  easy,  too,  to  find  instances  of  the  Chinese  having  changed 
their  customs,  both  in  matters  of  business  and  matters  of  domestio 
ecouomy- 


700 


AMERICA 


[rERtTVIAX  CIVILISATION. 


But  beyond  these  limits  the  west  winds  prevail,  and  hence 
China,  in  point  of  facility  of  access,  is  nearer  to  Peru  than 
the  Society  or  Marquesas  Islands.  The  Chinese  have 
long  exposed  themselves  to  the  casualties  of  a  maritime 
life,  in  vessels  of  large  size,  provisioned  for  many  months ; 
and  at  this  day  they  perform  voyages  of  3000  or  4000 
miles,  to  Ceylon  and  Polynesia. 

The  Quichua  language,  or  that  of  Peru,  was  spread,  by 
the  care  of  the  Incas,  over  all  the  countries  .which  they 
conquered,  so  far  at  least  as  to  bo  understood,  if  not 
spoken,  by  the  great  variety  of  tribes  subject  to  their 
sway.  It  is  understood  at  present  as  far  as  Santiago  del 
Estero,  1200  miles  of  direct  distance  south-east  from 
Cuzco.  This  singlo  fact  proves  both  the  long  duration  of 
their  power,  and  the  efficiency  of  their  internal  adminis- 
tration. It  is  said  to  be  the  most  rich,  polished,  and  har- 
monious of  the  South  American  languages,  abounding  in 
vowel  sounds,  but  wanting  thoso  corresponding  to  the 
Spanish  consonants  6,  d,  f,  g,  I,  x,  v.  Like  all  the  other 
American  tongues,  it  wants  terms  for  abstract  and  uni- 
versal ideas,  such  as  tinu,  space,  being,  substatice,  matter, 
body,  and  even  such  as  virtue,  justice,  liberty,  gratitude. 
There  are  five  dialects  of  the  Quichua,  which  are  spoken 
in  Peru  proper,  and  in  Quito,  New  Granada,  and  a  con- 
siderable part  of  La  Plata,  and  not  only  by  the  aborigines, 
but  by  many  Spaniards  of  the  higher  classes.  The  Peru- 
vians had  no  alphabetic  writing.  They  possessed  a  very 
rude  species  of  hieroglyphics,  of  which  little  use  was 
made,  and  the  quipus  or  knotted  cords  of  various  colours, 
which  last  were  originally  employed  simply  as  aids  to 
calculation,  but  latterly  as  records  of  facts,  laws,  &c. 
Each  quipu  required  a  verbal  commentary.  About  ten 
years  ago  a  copy  of  an  old  MS.  was  discovered,  which 
contained  an  account  of  the  Maya  alphabet  of  Yucatan 
I — the  only  alphabet  yet  known  to  have  existed  in  America. 
The  Peruvians  of  the  aboriginal  Quichua  race  are  of  a 

rks  people,  copper  colour,  with  a  small  forehead,  the  hair  growing  on 
each  side  from  the  extremities  of  the  eye-brow3 ;  they 
have  small  black  eyes,  a  small  nose,  a  moderately  sized 
mouth,  with  beautiful  teeth  ;  beardless  chin  (except  in  old 
age),  and  a  round  face.  Their  hair  is  black,  coarse,  and 
sleek,  the  body  well  proportioned,  the  feet  small,  the 
stature  rather  diminutive.  Their  intellectual  qualities, 
according  to  M.  Ulloa,  are  of  the  lowest  order.  The  most 
prominent  trait  in  their  character  is  an  imperturbable  and 
incurable  apathy.     Though  half-naked,  they  are  as  con- 

Mannere.  tented  as  the  Spaniard  in  his  most  ^splendid  raiment. 
Gold  and  silver  have  so  little  influence  over  them,  that  the 
greatest  recompense  will  not  induce  them  to  perform  the 
slightest  service  voluntarily.  Neither  power  nor  dignity 
moves  them,  and  they  receive  with  the  same  indifference 
the  office  of  alcalde  and  that  of  executioner.  They  are 
habitually  slow  in 'their  motions,  and  extremely  indolent. 
When  employed  at  any  piece  of  labour,  if  the  master  with- 
draws his  eye  for  a  moment,  they  cease  to  work.  They 
are  timid,  shy,  secretive,  and  always  grave,  even  in  the 
dances,  which  are  their  favourite  pastime.  The  love  of 
intoxicating  liquors  is  deeply  footed  in  their  nature.  They 
prepare  a  fermented  beverage  called  chicha  from  maize, 
by  a  process  known  to  them  before  the  conquest,  and  at 
their  festivals  drink  till  their  senses  fail  them,  day  after 
day.  This  vicious  habit,  however,  is  common  to  all  the 
American  nations,  and  is  confined  to  the  men,  for  the 
women  are  in  general  strictly  sober.  The  Peruvians  are 
a  gentle  and  mild  people  ;  they  are  fond  of  their  dogs,  and 
breed  up  hogs,  geese,  and  chickens,  for  which  they  have 
so  tender  a  regard,  that  they  will  often  neither  kill  nor 
sell  them.  Their  huts,  says  Mr  Stevenson,  consist  of 
6tones-  laid  upon  one  another  without  any  cement  or 
mortar,  thatched  over  with  long  grass  or  straw,  affording 


no  defence  from  cither  the  wind  or  the  rain.  One  small 
room  contains  the  whole  family ;  their  bed  a  shecp-skiu 
or  two ;  their  furniture  one  or  two  earthen  pots.  Tho 
principal  food  of  tho  Peruvians  is  maize  ;  but  they  raise  also 
potatoes,  wheat,  beans,  tomatos,  yucas,  pumpkins,  and 
other  vegetables.  Christianity,  imposed  upon  them  dogma- 
tically, by  priests  who  take  no  pains  to  enlighten  them, 
has  scarcely  gained  admission  to  their  understandings, 
and  has  no  hold  on  their  affections.  They  attend  diviuo 
service  from  the  dread  of  chastisement,  and  give  an  out" 
ward  assent  to  whatever  they  arc  taught,  but  without  any 
real  religious  impression  being  made  upon  their  minds. 
They  meet  death  with  the  same  6tupid  indifference  as 
the  ordinary  accidents  of  life,  and  rather  decline  than  seek 
the  assistance  of  a  priest  in  their  last  hours.  It  ought  not 
to  be  forgotten,  however,  that  the  intellectual  torpor  which 
the  Peruvians  display  may  be  attributed  in  part  to  the 
ing  and  debasing  effects  of  three  centuries  of  brutal 
oppression.  They  still  cherish  in  secret  a  strong  venera- 
tion for  their  ancient  faith  and  their  native  government, 
which  displays  itself  even  in  the  large  towns.  |The  story 
of  Manco  Capac  (whom,  since  numbers  of  our  countrymen 
appeared  in  Peru,  they  affect  to  call  an  Englishman)  and 
Mama  Ocello,  the  wealth,  power,  and  beneficence  of  the 
Incas,  are  still  fresh  in  their  memories,  and  are  handed 
down  from  father  to  son  with  a  degree  of  fund  admiration 
which  three  centuries  of  humiliation  and  misfortune  seem 
only  to  have  rendered  more  intense.  The  barbarous  murder 
of  the  Inca  Atahualpa  by  Pizarro  is  annually  represented 
in  the  form  of  a  tragedy.  "  In  this  ^performance,"  says 
Mr  Stevenson,  "  the  grief  of  the  Indians  is  so  natural, 
though  excessive,  their  songs  so  plaintive,  and  the  whole  is 
such  a  scene  of  distress,  that  I  never  witnessed  it  without 
mingling  my  tears  with  theirs.  The  Spanish  authorities 
have  endeavoured  to  prevent  this  exhibition,  but  without 
effect.  The  Indians  in  the  territory  of  Quito  wear  black 
clothes,  and  affirm  that  it  is  mourning  for  their  Incas,  of 
whom  they  never  speak  but  in  a  doleful  tone." 

The  oppression  of  the  mita,  or  forced  labour  in  the  Populate 
mines,  with  the  introduction  of  the  small-pox  and  the  use 
of  spirituous  liquors,  has  destroyed  prodigious  multitudes 
of  the  Indians  since  the  conquest.  What  their  number 
was  before  that  event  it  is  impossible  to  tell ;  but,  judging 
from  the  extent  of  the  Inca's  dominions,  he  probably  had 
not  less  than  three  or  four  millions  of  subjects.  A  pre- 
tended Spanish  account,  assigning  a  population  of  eight 
millions  to  Peru  shortly  after  the  conquest,  is  known  to 
be  fictitious.  An  official  estimate  in  18G2  made  the  nuni- 
ber'of  Indians  in  Peru  amount  to  1,600,000,  being  three- 
fourths  of  the  entire  population.1 

In  Chili  there  were  several  tribes  who  possessed  nearly  Chili 
all  the  arts  known  to  the  Peruvians,  but  were  distin- 
guished from  them  by  a  finer  physical  constitution  and 
an  unconquerable  spirit.  When  the  Spaniards  arrived, 
Chili,  according  to  Molina,  was  inhabited  by  fifteen  tribes 
independent  of  each  other,  who  were  spread  over  the 
country  on  both  side3  of  the  Andes,  from  latitude  30°  to 
the  Strait  of  Magalhaens.  They  all  spoke  dialects  of  one 
language,  which  is  described  as  rich,  harmonious,  abound- 
ing in  compound  words,  and  Laving,  like  the  other  Ameri- 
can tongues,  very  complicated  grammatical  forms.  It  has 
no  affinity  to  the  Quichua  or  Peruvian.  The  inhabitants 
of  the  plains  are  a  stout  people,  of  middle  stature ;  those 

1  In  this  account  of  tho  Peruvians  we  have  chiefly  followed  Garci- 
lasso,  Acosta,  Frezier,  and  Ulloa,  of  whose  statements  a  copious  digest 
is  given  by  Prevost  in  tho  13th  volume  of  his  Histoire  QfntraU  da 
Voyages.  We  have  also  taken  some  facts  from  Humboldt's  Researches, 
Balbi's  Ethnographical  Atlas,  and  W.  B.  Stevenson's  Narrative  of 
Twenty  Years  Residence  in  South  America,  a  useful  work,  although 
the  author  has  shown  rather  too  great  an  anxiety  to  exalt  the  cb&racw 
of  the  Indians. 


CHILIAN  TRIBES.] 


AMERICA 


701 


of  the  mountains  are  tall ;  and  one  tribe,  the  Tehuels  or 
Patagonians,  surpass  in  size  every  other  nation  in  the 
world.  AH  the  tribes  inhabiting  the  plains,  except  those 
of  the  extreme  south,  now  make  use  of  horses.  The  com- 
plexion of  the  Chilian  tribes  is,  like  that  of  the  other 
American  nations,  a  reddish  brown  ;  but  one  tribe  is  said  to 
be  of  a  clear  red  and  white.  They  do  not  paint  their 
bodies.  The  Chilians  lived  partly  by  hunting,  but  chiefly 
by  agriculture,  before  they  had  any  intercourse  with 
Europeans.  They  cultivated  maize,  magu,  guegen,  tuca, 
quinoa,  the  potato,  pumpkins,  and  some  species  of  pulse ; 
and  to  these  they  added,  as  food,  the  flesh  of  the  biz- 
cacho,  and  of  the  llama  or  Araucanian  camel,  of  whose 
wool  they  are  said  to  have  manufactured  cloth.  Like 
the  Peruvians,  they  understood  the  use  of  manure,  prac- 
tised irrigation  with  considerable  skill,  and  turned  up  the 
ground  with  a  wooden  spade  or  mattock.  They  boiled 
their  grain  in  earthen  pots,  or  brayed  it  into  meal  after 
roasting  it  in  hot  sand  ;  of  the  meal  they  made  puddings 
or  bread,  which  they  knew  how  to  leaven,  and  various 
species  of  fermented  drink.  They  had  gold,  silver,  copper, 
tin,  andlead,  procured  probably  by  washing;  but  they  seem 
to  have  had  few  or  no  edge-tools  of  metal,  those  found 
being  allmost  always  of  basalt.  They  made  baskets  and 
mats,  extracted  salt  from  sea-water,  and  were  able  to  give 
various  dyes  to  their  cloths.  They  used  quipus  or  knotted 
cords  for  calculation,  and,  according  to  Mr  Stevenson, 
for  the  transmission  of  intelligence  and  for  recording 
events.  They  lived  in  villages  formed  of  houses  standing 
at  a  distance  from  one  another,  under  hereditary  chiefs, 
but  whose  power  was  limited.  It  is  remarkable  that 
the  Chinese  mode  of  catching  wild  ducks  on  the  rivers,  by 
covering  the  fisher's  head  with  a  gourd,  was  practised  in 
Chili. 

The  Araucanians,  the  most  intelligent,  improved,  and 
warlike  of  the  Chilian  tribes,  occupy  about  200  miles  of 
the  sea-coast,  between  the  37th  and  39th  parallels.  They 
are  of  ordinary  stature,  but  vigorously  formed ;  bold, 
hardy,  hospitable,  faithful  to  their  engagements,  generous 
to  a  fallen  enemy,  ardent,  intrepid,  and  enthusiastic  lovers 
of  liberty.  Their  vices  are  drunkenness,  and  a  contempt 
of  other  nations,  springing  from  pride.  Their  govern- 
ment, in  the  regularity  of  its  form  and  its  sub-division  of 
authority,  has  an  outward  resemblance  to  the  Peruvian  ; 
but  the  spirit  of  the  two  systems  differs  as  widely  as  the 
genius  of  the  two  nations.  Araucania  contains  four 
tetrarchies,  under  four  toquis  or  princes,  who  are  inde- 
pendent of  one  another,  but  confederated  for  their  joint 
security  against  foreign  enemies.  Each  tetrarchy  is 
divided  into  five  provinces,  ruled  by  five  chiefs  called  apo- 
ulmen;  and  each  province  into  nine  districts,  governed  by 
as  many  idmen,  who  are  subject  to  the  apo-ulmen,  as 
the  latter  are  to  the  toquis.  These  various  chiefs  (who  all 
bear  the  title  of  ulmen,  as  our  nobility  of  all  orders  are 
barons)  compose  the  aristocracy  of  the  country  "  hey 
hold  their  dignities  by  hereditary  descent  in  the  male 
line,  and  in  ihe  order  of  primogeniture.  Ihe  supreme 
power  of  each  tetrarchy  resides  in  a  diet  or  great  coun- 
cil of  the  ulmen,  who  assemble  annually  in  a  large  plain, 
like  the  Poles  and  Germans  in  old  times ;  but  a3  the 
people  are  all  armed,  and  have  a  high  love  of  liberty,  no 
resolution  of  the  diet  is  of  any  avail  if  it  has  not  their  hearty 
concurrence.  The  chiefs,  indeed,  are  little  more  than 
leaders  in  war;  for  the  right  of  private  revenge,  which  is 
fully  admitted,  limits  their  authority  in  judicial  mat- 
ters ;  and  they  receive  no  taxes.  Their  laws  are  merely 
primeval  usages.  The  Araucanians  can  raise  altogether 
6000  or  7000  men,  besides  a  body  of  reserve.  When  war 
is  declared  by  the  great  council,  messengers  bearing  "ar- 1 
tows  dipt  in  blood  "  are  sent  to  all  parts  of  the  country 


to  summon  the  men  to  arms.  Unlike  many  barbarous 
nations,  which  are  immovably  attached  to  their  ancient  cus- 
toms, the  Araucanians  were  not  slow  in  copying  the  mili- 
tary arts  and  tactics  qf  the  Spaniards.  Their  troops  now 
consist  of  infantry  and  cavalry ;  the  former  armed  with 
pikes  or  clubs,  the  latter  with  swords  and  lances.  The 
infantry  are  formed  into  regiments  of  ten  companies)  each 
company  containing  a  hundred  men.  When  they  take  the 
field,  they  carry  parched  meal  with  them  for  provisions ; 
they  station  sentinels,  send  out  scouts,  and  have  advanced 
guards  preceding  their  main  body.  When  necessary  for 
their  security,  they  dig  ditches,  and  plant  stakes  along 
their  sides,  and  throw  up  mounds  of  earth.  They  advance 
to  battle  in  lines,  well  formed,  and  fight  with  intrepidity. 
Their  history  affords  a  brilliant  example  of  what  a.  brave 
nation,  animated  by  an  enthusiastic  love  of  liberty,  can 
accomplish  under  the  greatest  disadvantages.  After  re- 
sisting the  best  troops  and  the  best  generals  of  Spain  for 
two  hundred  years,  they  at  last  compelled  their  proud 
enemies  to  acknowledge  their  independence.  The  Arau- 
canians were  indebted  for  their  success  to  a  deliberate 
species  of  courage,  to  which  even  the  bravest  of  the  North 
American  tribes  are  strangers  ;  and  they  combined  with  it  a 
degree  of  sagacity  and  intelligence  which  led  them  to  adapt 
their  mode  of  fighting  to  the  new  circumstances  in  which 
they  were  placed.  Experience  having  taught  them  the 
inefficiency  of  their  old  missiles  when  opposed  to  musket 
balls,  they  soon  laid  aside  their  bows,  and  armed  them- 
selves with  spears,  swords,  or  other  weapons  fitted  for 
close  combat.  Their  practice  was  to  advance  rapidly 
within  such  a  distance  of  the  Spaniards  as  would  not  leave 
them  time  to  reload  after  firing.  Here  they  received 
without  shrinking  a  volley,  which  was  certain  to  destroy 
a  number  of  them,  and  then  rushing  forward  in"  a  close 
column,  fought  their  enemies  hand"  to  hand.  In  this  way 
they  gained  many  victories,  and  impressed  the  Spaniards 
with  such  a  respect  for  their  courage  that  an  individual 
of  that  nation  made  their  achievements  the  subject  of  an 
epic  poem.  Combining  the  moral,  intellectual,  and  physi- 
cal qualities  of  the  Araucanians,  they  were  certainly  the 
finest  native  race  in  the  New  World.  They  had  nearly 
all  the  germs  of  civilisation  which  belonged  to  the  Mexi- 
cans and  Peruvians,  without  the  ferocity  of  the  former,  the 
apathy  of  the  latter,  or  the  slavish  habits  common  to  both ; 
.  and  without  having  their  minds  stupified  by  that  grovel- 
|  ling  superstition  which  the  rulers  of  these  two  nations 
seem  to  have  considered  as  the  only  secure  foundation  of 
their  authority.  In  true  courage,  in  manliness  and  energy 
of  character,  they  take  precedence  of  all  the  American 
nations. 

The  Araucanians  believe  in  a  supreme  being,  and  in 
many  subordinate  spirits,  good  and  bad.  They  believe 
also  in  omens  and-  divination,  but .  they  have  neither 
temples  nor  idols,  nor  religious  rites ;  and  discover  upon 
the  whole  so  little  aptitude  for  the  reception  of  religious 
ideas  that  the  Catholic  missionaries  who  have  settled 
among  them  have  had  very  little  success  in  imbuing  their 
minds  with  a  knowledge  of  Christianity.  They  believe  in 
a  future  state,  and  have  a  confused  tradition  respecting  a 
deluge,  from  which  some  persons  were  saved  on  a  high 
mountain.  They  divide  the  year  into  twelve  months  of 
30  days,  which  have  significant  names,  and  add  five  days 
by  intercalation.  They  esteem  poetry  and  eloquence,  but 
can  scarcely  be  induced  to  learn  reading  or  writing. 
Chess,  a  game  of  -oriental  origin,  is  said  to  have  been 
known  among  them  from  time  immemorial ;  and  it  may 
be  further  observed,  that  the  numbers  5  and  9,  employed 
in  their  geographical  and  civil  divisions,  are  favourite  num- 
bers in  China. 

The  other  Chilian  tribes  are  all  much  behind  the  Aran- 


702 


AMEBIC  A 


[CHILIAN   TKIBE?. 


jnnians  in  civilisation ;  but  some,  as  tile  Puelches  and 
the  Tehuels,  surpass  them  iu  strength  and  stature.  Part 
of  them  live  on  horse  flesh,  part  by  keeping  sheep  and 
cattle,  and  part  by  hunting.  Some  of  these  tribes  paint 
their  faces.  AVith  regard  to  the  height  of  the  Patago- 
nians,  M.  Lesson,  an  eminent  French  naturalist,  has  col- 
lected the  authorities  on  the  subject  in  a  noto  published 
by  Balbi  in  his  Ethnographical  Atlas ;  and  they  appear  to 
us  to  remove  every  rational  doubt  as  to  the  fact  of  a  race 
of  men  existing  there  whose  average  stature  is  about  six 
feet,  and  among  whom  men  seven  feet  high  are  perhaps 
more  frequently  to  be  met  with  than  among  an  equal  num- 
ber of  men  in  any  other  country.  They  have  large  heads, 
but  their  hands  and  feet  are  small,  and  they  are  not  strong 
in  proportion  to  their  tall  stature.  They  ride  on  horse- 
back, and  hunt  the  huanaco  or  the  ostrich  with  a  sling, 
which  they  cast  so  as  to  entangle  the  animal's  legs.  They 
dwell  in  tents,  and  lead  a  wandering  life. 

Of  the  numerous  nations  that  inhabited  Brazil  there 
is  only  one  to  which  we  can  afford  any  special  notice  in 
tliis  article.  Tho  Guaranis  have  at  one  time  formed  a 
numerous  people,  which  seems  to  have  been  spread  over  a 
larger  surface  than  any  other  now  existing  in  America. 
Tribes,  or  remnants  of  tribes,  whose  relationship  to  the 
Guaranis  is  attested  by  the  strong  evidence  of  their  lan- 
guage, are  found  diffused  over  the  wide  space  between  the 
Orinoco  and  the  embouchure  of  the  Plata,  or  more  than 
the  half  of  South  America.  They  are  met  with  among 
the  Andes  of  Peru,  in  the  province  of  Chiquitos,  in  Matto 
Grosso,  in  Paraguay,  in  Minas  Geraes ;  and  the  Omaguas, 
in  tho  republic  of  Ecuador,  who,  from  their  nautical  habits, 
and  the  influence  they  obtained  on  the  upper  part  of  the 
Amazon,  have  been  called  the  Phoenicians  of  the  new  world, 
are  believed  to  be  of  the  same  race.  They  constituted  the 
bulk  of  the  native  population  of  Brazil  when  the  Portu- 
guese gained  possession  of  it,  but  were  divided  into  many 
distinct  tribes,  quite  independent  of  one  another,  and  living, 
"not  in  contiguity,  but  mixed  with  other  nations.  Tli<y 
are  of  low  stature,  two  inches  shorter  than  the  Spaniards, 
according  to  Azara;  of  a  square  form,  fleshy,  and  ugly. 
Their  colour  has  a  strong  shade  of  the  copper  red,  while 
that  of  the  other  Brazilian  tribes  inclines  generally  to  the 
tawny  or  black.  Their  character,  like  their  physical  form, 
resembles  that  of  the  Peruvians.  They  are  patient,  tor- 
pid, silent,  downcast  in  their  mien,  mild,  and  passionless. 
Nearly  all  tho  Indians  whom  tho  Portuguese  have  civi- 
lised or  converted  belong  to  this  race.  It  is  difficult  to 
account  for  their  dissemination  through  the  southern  con- 
tinent, amidst  nations  much  more  brave  and  powerful  than 
themselves.  May  we  suppose  that,  like  the  subjects  of 
the  Incas,  they  had  been  at  one  time  the  dominant  tribe 
of  an  extensive  empire,  which  derived  its  force  from 
union  and  civilisation  ]  But  if  such  a  state  did  exist,  its 
date  cannot  be  very  ancient ;  for  the  identity  or  close 
resemblance  of  the  dialects  spoken  by  the  scattered  portions 
bof  tho  Guaranis  shows  that  their  dispersion  from  a  com- 
mon point  did  not  happen  at  a  very  remote  period.1  Yet 
no  memorial  of  its  existence  survives,  either  in  traditions 
or  monuments.  The  supposition,  therefore,  that  the 
Guarani  tribes  aie  the  remnants  of  a  once  powerful  and 
united  people,  is  scarcely  admissible ;  and  Azara  thinks 
it  more  probable  that  they  have  crept  gradually  from 
north  to  South.  Their  dispersion  is  the  more  remarkable, 
as  they  are  not  a  wandering  but  an  agricultural  people. 
They  live  in  the  woods,  or  in  small  open  spaces  in  the 
forerta;  cultivate  maize,  beans,  gourds,  yams,  mandioc; 
and  eat  also  wild  honey,  and  the  flesh  of  monkeys  and 
Tf.riou3  small  quadrupeds. 

1  T)r  Prichard's  Ramrchts,  voL  ii.  p.  487. 


The  Indians  whom  the  Jesuits  civilised  and  collected 
into  communities  in  rated  settlements  of  Para- 

guay   I  chiefly   to  the    nation   of   the   Guaranis. 

These  missionaries  arc  said  to  havo  borrowed  tho  plan 
of  tho  theocracy  which  they  established  hero  from  that 
which  the  Incas  had  introduced  into  Peru.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  the  spirit  of  their  system  was  the  same  ; 
and,  considering  that  they  were  precluded  from  any  other 
i  of  extending  and  supporting  their  authority  than 
persuasion,  their  success  was  remarkable.  The  settle- 
were  commenced  al  ■  ■  gradually 
extended  ever  the  country  l>y  the  Parana  and 
lay,  betwi  .  ih  and  30th  degrees  of  south 
'1  the  order  of  the  .  is  suppressed  in 
17C7.  The  plan  of  the  government  may  bo  called  paro- 
chial,  for  i\  wi  i  administered  entirely  by  the  parochial 
clergy.  The  Indians  were  collected  into  villages.  Eac'i 
village  had  its  church  and  its  curate,  who  .  ted  by 
one,  two,  or  more  priests,  according  to  the  number  of  In- 
dians under  his  charge.  Tho  curate  and  assistant  priest* 
were  nominated,  not  by  the  Spanish  authorities,  but  by 
the  father  superior,  also  a  Jesuit,  who  exercised  a  vigilar.t 
superintendence  over  the  whole.  Indians  wero  appointed 
in  each  village  with  the  titles  of  regidors  aud  alcaldes; 
but  they  wero  merely  instruments  in  the  hands  of  the 
curate  and  his  assistants,  in  whom  all  power  was  lodged. 
The  curate  gave  his  whole  attention  to  religious  offices, 
saying  mass  in  the  church,  and  visiting  tho  sick;  while 
the  assistant  priests  managed  all  secular  matters,  direct- 
ing tho  labour  of  the  Indians  who  cultivated  the  ground, 
aud  training  others  to  the  crafts  of  the  weaver,  mason, 
carpenter,  goldsmith,  painter,  and  sculptor;  for  the  fine 
arts  were  by  no  means  neglected.  Private  property  did 
not  exist.  The  produce  of  the  labour  of  the  community 
was  stored  in  magazines,  from  which  each  family  was  sup- 
plied according  to  its  wants,  special  provision  being  made 
for  aged  persons,  widows,  and  orphans.  The  surplus  was 
I  iy  agents  at  Buenos  Ayres,  and  the  proceeds  em- 
ployed in  paving  the  taxes  to  the  king,  in  procuring  or- 
naments for  tho  churches,  and  various  articles  which 
the  colonists  could  not  manufacture  for  themselves.  Tho 
religious  instruction  was  of  the  most  simple  kind  ;  but  tho- 
service  of  the  church  was  conducted  with  a  well-trained 
choir,  a  pompous  ceremonial,  and  every  accessory  calculated 
to  strike  tho  senses.  Tho  punishments  were  mild;  and 
they  were  always  accompanied  with  such  admonitions  as 
a  parent  would  address  to  a  child  whom  he  was  chastising. 
Crimes,  in  truth,  were  rare.  The  Indians,  who  regarded 
their  spiritual  chiefs  with  the  veneration  due  to  beneficent 
beings  of  a  superior  order,  scarcely  felt  humbled  in  confess- 
ing their  misdeeds ;  and  offenders  may  have  solicited  correc- 
tion, as  Raynal  says,  for  the  quieting  of  their  consciences. 
The  incursions  of  the  Portuguese  compelled  the  Jesuits 
to  take  means  for  repelling  force  by  force.  All  the  male 
Indians  of  the  proper  age  were  accordingly  armed  with 
muskets,  and  disciplined  as  a  militia.  In  1 732,  according 
to  Dobrizhoffer,  the  thirty  villages  or  parishes  under  the 
care  of  tho  missionaries  contained  a  population  of  141,000 
souls.  Tho  Jesuits  had  another  establishment  of  the 
same  kind  among  the  Chiriguas,  a  branch  of  the  Guara- 
nis, in  the  province  of  Chiquitos,  containing  30,000  or 
40,000  Indians;  a  third,  of  smaller  size,  in  the  province 
of  Moxos;  a  fourth  in  California;  and  probably  others. 
After  the  suppression  of  the  order,  all  these  were  com- 
mitted to  the  care  of  friars  of  other  descriptions ;  and  wo 
believe  they  have  universally  fallen  into  a  state  of  decay. 
The  social  system  established  in  Paraguay  was  the  most 
effectual  ever  contrived  for  reclaiming  the  Indians  frcm 
their  savage  mode  of  life  ;  but  even  its  success  shows  how 
hopeles3  the  attemut  is  to  raise  the  American  tribes  to 


INDIAN  RACES.] 


AMERICA 


703 


the  rank  of  thoroughly  civilised  nations.  The  Jesuits 
were  able  to  introduce  settled  habits  and  a  slight  know- 
ledge of  religion  and  the  arts  among  the  Indians  only  by 
means  of  the  personal  ascendancy  they  acquired  over 
them.  It  was  a  few  superior  minds  gaining  the  respect 
and  confidence  of  a  horde  of  savages,  then  employing  the 
influence  they  acquired  to  lead  tLem  as  children ;  giving 
them  such  portions  of  instruction  as  taught  them  to  trust 
implicitly  in  their  guides,  working  alternately  on  their 
fears,  their  pride,  their  kind  affections,  but  never  fully 
revealing  to  them  the  springs  of  the  machinery  by  which 
they  were  governed.  The  incurable  indolence  of  the 
savages  rendered  it  necessary  to  prescribe  the  labour 
as  task-work,  and  to  carry  it  on  under  the  constant  in- 
spection of  the  missionaries.  The  plan  of  cultivating  the 
ground  in  common,  and  of  storing  the  produce  in  maga- 
zines, out  of  which  the  wants  of  each  family  were  supplied, 
was  resorted  to  as  a  check  upon  their  improvident  habits. 
In  short,  the  eye  and  the  hand  of  the  missionaries  were 
everywhere ;  and  the  social  system  was  held  together  en- 
tirely by  their  knowledge  and  address.  When  these  were 
withdrawn,  the  fabric  soon  fell  into  ruins,  and  the  Indiana 
relapsed  into  their  idolatry  and  savage  habits. 

To  complete  our  general  view  of  the  aboriginal  races,  a 
<'ew  particulars  remain  to  be  mentioned.  Many  of  the 
tribes  who  inhabit  the  Pampas  of  South  America  make 
use  of  horses.  Dobrizhoffer  enumerates  eight  equestrian 
tribes  in  the  province  of  Chaco,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river  Paraguay,  who  are  generally  distinguished  by  tall 
and  vigorous  forms,  and  a  bold  and  active  character. 
The  Abipones  and  Mbayas  are  the  most  celebrated  of 
these.  The  woods  of  Brazil  are  too  dense  for  eques- 
trians; but  horses  are  used  by  a  few  hordes  in  the  great 
plain  of.  the  Mississippi  and  in  the  north  of  Mexico. 
The  American  tribes  in  general  either  kill  their  prisoners 
or  adopt  them;  but  a  few  retain  them  as  slaves,  and 
compel  them  to  work.  The  Guaycuru3  of  Brazil  are  an 
example.  The  food  of  different  tribes  is  extremely  va- 
rious.  Maize,  beans,  pumpkins,  and  mahdioc  are  raised 
in  small  quantities  by  some;  natural  fruits,  berries,  bulbous 
roots,  and  bananas  are  gathered  by  others.  Those  who 
dwell  on  the  sides  of  rivers  live  greatly  on  fish ;  in  the 
.plains,  buffaloes,  horses,  and  sheep  are  killed.  In  the 
forests  of  Brazil,  monkeys,  pigs,  armadillos,  pacas,  agoutis, 
and  tapirs  are  the  favourite  food ;  but  birds,  turtles, 
deer,  and  the  coati  are  also  taken ;  and  in  an  emergency 
the  Indians  do  not  scrapie  to  feed  on  serpents,  toads,  and 
lizards,  the  larvaa  of  insects,  and  other  disgusting  sub- 
stances. Salt  is  used  where  it  can  be  easily  obtained, 
and  some  season  their  food  with  capsicum.  Some  roast 
their  meat,  others  boil  it ;  and  not  only  several  savage 
tribes,  but  even  the  civilised  Peruvians,  ate  their  flesh 
raw.  The  Ottomaques,  a  tribe  near  the  Orinoco,  eat  a 
species  of  unctuous  clay ;  this  strange  diet,  which  no 
doubt  owed  its  introduction  to  the  stern  monitor' famine, 
is  not  extremely  rare  in  Brazil,  and  Captain  Franklin 
found  the  same  food  in  use  among  an  Indian  tribe  near 
the  Frozen  Ocean.  The  clay  is  stated  by  that  traveller 
to  have  a  milky  and  not  disagreeable  taste.  A  great 
proportion  of  the  tribes  in  Brazil  and  the  basin  of  the 
Orinoco,  and  some  in  other  parts  of  America,  indulge  in  the 
horrid  banquet  of  human  flesh.  Shame,  in  our  sense  of 
tho  term,  is  nearly  a  stranger  to  the  breasta  of  these  sa- 
vages. _  In  the  warm  regions  of  Brazil  men  and  women 
go  entirely  naked,  except  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
Portuguese  settlements,  where  some  wear  a  band  of  cloth 
round  the  loins.  In  such  situations,  where  the  want  of 
shelter  is  little  felt,  their  dwellings  are  often  nothing 
more  than  a  sort  of  arbour  formed  by  interlacing  the  open 
space  between  two  cr  three  trees  with  twipa.  widicopeiv 


ing  it  with  leaves  so  as  to  form  a  screen  on  the  windward 
side,  while  it  fa  left  entirely  open  on  the  other.  The 
manufacture  of  bows  and  arrows,  war-clubs,  baskets, 
mats  (which,  swung  from  a  tree,  serve  them  both  as 
seats  and  hammocks),  and  in  some  cases  a  coarse  pottery, 
comprises  the  sum  of  their  practical  skill  in  the  arts.  It 
has  long  been  the  practice  of  bands  of  Portuguese,  con- 
sisting chiefly  of  outlaws  and  vagabonds,  to  make  maraud- 
ing expeditions  among  the  Indians  living  near  the  great 
rivers,  and  to  carry  them  off  and  sell  them  clandestinely 
for  slaves.  This  infamous  trade  is  carried  on  in  despite 
of  the  orders  of  the  government,  which  has  issued  many 
decrees  for  the  protection  of  the  Indians,  and,  besides 
employing  missionaries  to  convert  them,  enjoined  the 
governors  of  provinces  to  furnish  them  with  hoe3  and 
other  agricultural  implements.  Wherever  the  negroes 
are  introduced  in  great  numbers,  as  in  the  Capitanias 
of  Santo  Paulo  and  Bio  Janeiro,  and  in  the  whole  of 
the  West  India  islands,  the  aborigines  rapidly  disappear,  the 
former  being  more  intelligent,  more  tractable  in  their 
habits,  and  more  active  and  industrious.  The  negroes  are 
indeed  a  superior  race  to  the  Indians ;  and  the  existence  of 
one  or  two  hundred  blacks,  as  slaves,  among  some  thousands 
of  the  Cherokees,  does  not  detract  from  the  accuracy  of 
this  opinion.  Missions  for  the  conversion  of  the  Ladians 
have  been  supported  for  more  than  two  centuries  by  the 
governments  of  Spain  and  Portugal  They  are  thinly  spread 
over  those  parts  of  Mexico,  La  Plata,  Peru,  Brazil,  and  Co- 
lombia, which  are  still  occupied  by  the  savages;  but  there 
are  extensive  districts  in  all  these  provinces  in  which  they 
have  never  been  established,  owing  to  the  fierce  character 
of  the  tribes,  or  the  remote  and  inaccessible  nature  of  the 
country.  A  mission  consists  in  general  of  one  or  two 
friars  or  priests,  who  settle  among  the  savages,  learn  their 
language,  and,  besides  teaching  them  the  elements  of 
Christianity,  always  endeavour  to  instruct  them  in  the 
more  simple  and  useful  arts,  and  to  train  them  to  settled 
habits.  We  believe  that  many  of  these  establishments  have 
been  abandoned,  owing  to  the  failure  of  the  funds  with 
which  they  were  supported;  and  that  the  success  of  the 
others  has  been  extremely  trifling.  The  late  revolutions 
in  those  countries,  by  liberating  the  Indians  from  their 
ancient  state  of  tutelage  under  the  whites,  have  in  many 
cases  broken  up  the  little  settlements  which  the  mission- 
aries  had  formed.  This  has  been  the  result  even  in  Brazil, 
where  the  political  changes  have  been  least  felt. 

Owing  to  the  fanaticism  of  the  Spaniards  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  manuscripts  of  the  natives  were  destroyed,  so 
that  now  we  are  unable  to  acquire  so  full  and  accurate  a 
history  of  the  more  civilised  nations  as  we  might  otherwise 
have  done.  The  literature  which  still  exists,  together  with 
the  numerous  remains  of  cities,  temples,  roads,  bridges,  and 
other  works  of  art,  testify  to  the  general  truth  of  the  his- 
torical narratives.  However  obscure  they  may  now  be,  01 
however  difficult  the  reconciliation  of  statements,  it  seem* 
clear  they  have  been  founded  on  facts.  As  in  the  case  o! 
other  histories,  there  is  much  error  and  tradition,  mingled 
with  truth,  which  renders  'Leir  correct  interpretation  diffi- 
cult. Amongst  some  of  the  nations  we  know  that  historians 
were  appointed  by  the  government,  and  that  such  hstonana 
were  severely  punished  if  they  ventured  to  tamper  with  the 
rrnth  wiUullv  The  best  connected  recount  of  these  his- 
£t TofSs  concerns  the  nations  of  Central  America, is 
that  given  by  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg.i  If  we 
cSiftha  native  accounts,  the  earliest  traces  of  cmhsation 
originated  in  Yacatan  and  the  neighbouring  districts,  » 
region  which  is  amongst  the  most  fertile  in  the  New  World 

-l  Ilistoire  des  Nations  civilisies  du  Mcxiqae  et  de  VAmMque  central, 
iurant  lea  eteUs  anterUur,  d  Chrulofhe  Columb.  4  tomea.  8m- 
1857-59. 


704 


AMERICA 


It  is  stated  that  many  centuries  before  the  Christian  era, 
Votan,  the  oldest  of  the  American  legislators,  established 
himself  in  the  region  watered  by  the  rivers  Tabasco  and 
Usumasinta.  It  is  near  the  sources  of  this  latter  river,  in 
the  highlands  of  Vera  Paz,  that  cities  of  civilised  Indians 
still  exist,  according  to  travellers  who  have  recently  visited 
the  adjoining  districts.  However  this  may  be,  this  river 
was  the  principal  highway  into  the  interior  of  Central 
America  lor  the  earliest  civilised  tribes,  as  it  is  now  for  the 
existing  natives.  Near  the  mouths  of  the  rivers  mentioned 
the  ground  is  scarcely  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  is  foi 
the  most  part  a  recent  alluvial  formation.  Duriug  the 
rainy  season  it  is  covered  with  water,  and  all  intercourse 
between  village  and  village  takes  place  by  water.  Just 
where  the  laud  acquires  a  slight  rise,  Palenque,  said  to  be 
the  oldest  city  in  Central  America,  was  founded.  At  this 
time,  according  to  the  tradition,  the  low  land  was  occupied 
by  a  lake.  Votan,  it  seems,  came  from  some  foreign  laud, 
and  found  the  whole  of  the  country  from  Darien  to  California 
occupied  by  a  barbarouspeople,  who  used  the  skins  of  wild 
beasts  for  clothing,  caverns  and  huts  made  with  branches 
for  shelter,  and  wild  fruits  and  roots,  with  raw  flesh,  for 
food.  Votan  announced  to  these  people  a  knowledge  of 
the  Supreme  Deity,  who  was  at  first  worshipped  as  the 
God  "  of  all  truth."  At  first  no  temples  or  altars  were 
dedicated  to  him,  and  it  was  not  until  long  after  that 
Nezahualcoyotl  erected  a  teocalli,  or  "  house  of  God,"  as  it 
means  in  the  Mexican  language,  and  dedicated  it  "  to  the 
unknown  God."  At  a  later  period  the  religious  ideas  were 
considerably  debased.  In  Votan's  time  there  seems  to 
have  been  but  one  lauguage  prevalent  over  a  large  area, 
and  this  language  was  probably  the  Maya,  which  is  the 
stock  of  many  of  the  languages  formerly  in  use  among  the 
natives,  and  is  still  the  language  of  Yucatan.  The 
people  apparently  formed  tribes  differing  somewhat  in 
manners,  the  most  prominent  of  which  tribes  are  referred 
to  as  the  Quinames  or  giants.  Votan  and  his  companions 
arrived  iu  large  ships,  woro  long  flowing  garments,  and 
spoke  the  Nahuatl  lauguage.  These  strangers  married  the 
daughters  of  the  country,  and  established  a  settled  form  of 
government.  According  to  one  document,  the  year  955 
B.C.  is  assigned  to  these  events;  but  it  is  quite  imprac- 
ticable to  give  any  trustworthy  fixed  date.  Votan,  it  is 
said,  wrote  an  account  of  the  origin  of  the  Indians,  and  of 
their  immigration  into  America.  He  attempted  to  prove 
that  they  were  the  descendants  of  Imos,  of  the  race  of  Chan, 
or  the  serpent.  Votan  made  four  voyages  to  his  original 
country,  and  described  the  route  he  followed.  On  one 
of  these  voyages  he  visited  the  dwelling  of  the  thirteen 
serpents,  as  also  the  ruins  of  an  old  building  which  had 
been  erected  by  men  for  tho  purpose  of  reaching  heaven. 
The  people  who  lived  in  its  vicinity  told  him  it  was-  the 
place  where  God  had  given  to  each  family  its  particular 
language.  Allusion  is  also  made  by  him  to  certain 
mysteries  like  those  of  Egypt  and  Greece,  of  which  traces 
were  still  discoverable  amongst  the  civilised  nations 
of  America.  On  returning  from  1  is  first  voyage  to  his 
native  country  he  found  the  pec  pie  at  Palenque  had 
attempted  to  usurp  his  authority  and  overturn  his  power. 
Thereupon  he  parted  his  monarchy  into  four  divisions. 
One  of  these  had  for  its  capital  the  town  -of  Tulha,  the 
ruins  of  which  may  be  see  a  near  Ocosingo  in  Chiapa. 
Votan  also  is  the  reputed  founder  of  Tsequil,  which  was 
afterwards  called  Ghowel,  and  the  site  of  which  is  now 
occupied  by  a  suburb  of  Ciudad  Real.  Some  time,  pos- 
sibly not  many  years,  after  Votan,  Zamna  appeared  in 
Yucatan.  He  introduced  the  Maya  civilisation,  founded 
the  town  of  Mayapan,  and  called  the  country  Maayha,  or 
land  without  water,  a  term  well  applied  to  the  extremity 
of  the  peninsu  a  of  Yucatan,  where  rivers  are  almost  absent. 


LTBADITIONAL  history. 

Mayapan  was  once  the  capital  of  Yucatan,  and  in  Zamna'a 
lime  tho  sea  covered  the  country  to  within  a  short  distance 
of  it.  He  lived  to  a  great  age,  and  during  the  later  years 
of  his  life  dwelt  on  the  sea-coast.  ar,d  was  buried  at 
this  place.  The  spot  became  the  site  of  a  large  temple 
erected  to  his  honour,  which  was  visited  by  pilgrims  from 
great  di  taiiccs.  A  town  sprung  up  aiuund  it  called 
Itzamal,  which  is  believed  to  correspond  with  the  modern 
Isamal,  now  about  30  miles  distant  from  the  sea.  The 
region  to  seaward  is  reported  to  be  geologically  very  recent 
as  land,  and  the  remarkable  absence  of  names  of  any 
antiquity  in  a  country  where  almost  every  locality  has  its 
ition  is  some  confirmation  of  the  traditions.  The 
architectural  character  of  the  oldest  towns  also  lends  some 
support  to  the  considerable  antiquity  claimed  for  them. 
The  forest-covered  nuns  of  Mexico  and  Central  /bnerica 
present  so  many  different  architectural  styles  that  it  seems 
very  probable  they  w-ere  built  at  different  periods  and  by 
different  people.  Those  which  appear  to  be  the  oldest,  and 
which  are  most  uniform  in  style,  are  the  substructures  in 
Mayapan,  some  of  the  buildings  in  Tulha,  many  of  thosa 
in  Palenque,  and  others  which  occur  in  the  country  of  tho 
Lacandons. 

The  names  of  the  successors  to  Votan  are  mentioned,  buj 
without  details.  One  of  the  last  of  the  dynasty  was  Chinax', 
in  whose  reign  mention  is  made  of  the  Nahuatl  people.  Not 
long  after  liis  death,  this  people,  who  were  called  Nahoas 
or  Toltecs,  obtained  the  dominion  of  the  country,  and  the 
throne  was  occupied  by  Nahoa  princes.  They  originally 
came  from  Huehue-Tlapallan  (but  where  this  country  was 
situated  is  not  known),  having  been  induced  to  leave  it  in 
consequence  of  a  revolutiou.  This  event  seems  to  have 
occurred  shortly  before  the  Christian  era.  The  journey  to 
America  from  ilieir  native  country  was  a  long  and  painful 
one,  and  indicates  that  seas  and  lands  intervened  between 
them.  The  traditions  report  it  to  be  in  the  far  cast,  nnd 
that  the  first  comers  filled  seven  ships  and  disembarked  at 
Tanipico,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Panuco.  The  leader  of  the 
band  bore  the  title  of  Quetzalcohuatl,  and  was  the  first 
known  by  that  name.  They  then  coasted  along  the  shore 
as  far  as  Tamoanclia,  which  place  was  evidently  somewhere 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Tabasco.  In  this  district  there 
was  a  tradition  in  the  time  of  the  Spaniards  that  twenty 
illustrious  chiefs  from  the  east  landed  there  many  centuries 
before,  who  had  long  flowing  garments  and  large  beards, 
of  whom  the  principal  was  Cukulcan,  a  name  which 
has  the  same  meaning  as  Quetzalcohuatl.  Quetzalcohuatl 
and  his  comrades  soon  obtained  possession  of  the  capital  of 
the  country,  Xibalba,  which  is  believed  to  be  the  same  as 
Palenque.  Their  success  induced  others  of  the  Nahoa 
nation  to  join  the  first  colonists,  and  their  power  gradually 
spread  over  a  large  portion  of  Central  America.  The 
strangers,  however,  met  with  considerable  resistance  from 
the  princes  of  Xibalba,  who  compelled  the  Nahoa  to  leave 
their  country  and  disperse  themselves  over  the  surrounding 
region.  This  dispersion  is  stated  to  have  occurred  in 
a.d.  174.  Before  this  date,  the  lunar  calendar,  so  prevalent 
among  the  civilised  nations  of  America,  was  introduced.  It 
was  one  of  these  parties  of  Nahoa  that  established 
itself  in  Mexico,  and  founded  many  of  the  more  im- 
portant cities.  They  were  called  ©lmeques,  and  were  led 
by  Olmecatl  and  Xelhua.  The  latter  was  one  of  Quetzal- 
cohuatl's  companions,  and  was  once  shipwrecked  along 
with  him.  In-order  to  commemorate  his  delivery  he 
erected  the  greai  pyramid  of  Cholullan.  Before  the  arrival 
of  the  Olmeques  he  valley  of  Mexico  was  inhabited  by  the 
Quinames  or  giai.ts,  and  they  continued  to  dwell  in  the 
mountains  arounc  for  centuries  after  they  had  been 
driven  from  their  native  valley.  The  Totonacs,  Mixtccas, 
and   Othomis    were  the  contemporaries,   or  possibly   tho 


TRADITIONAL   HISTORY.] 


AMERICA 


705 


predecessors,  of  the  Olmeques.  The  first  mentioned  people 
erected  the  pyramids  of  the  Teotihuocan,  or  the  City  of  the 
Oods,  near  Mexico.  These  tribes  spoke  a  language  quite 
distinct  from  the  Nahuatl.  The  Totonacs  placed  the  cradle 
of  their  race  at  Chicomoztoc,  which  was  said  to  be  far  to 
the  north ;  but  the  Othomis  seem  to  have  been  in  posses- 
sion of  the  land  from  time  immemorial.  According  to  the 
traditions  of  the  Quiches  and  other  nations  of  North 
America,  they  originally  carrie  from  Tulan.  They  allude 
t )  several  places  of  this  name.  One  was  in  the  region  of 
the  setting  sun  and  beyond  the  sea;  and  another,  from 
which  the  Quiches  came,  was  also  in  the  direction  of  the 
setting  sun  and  was  apparently  situated  in  California.  In 
the  descriptions  given  of  the  migrations  from  the  more 
distant  Tulan,  which  seem  to  have  occurred  at  frequent 
intervals,  each  migration  consisting  of  a  moderate  number 
of  people,  the  difficulties  and  hardships  are  prominently 
noticed.  They  pointedly  allude  to  the  intense  cold,  to  the 
long  daTk  night,  and  to  the  sterility  of  the  country,  which 
allusions  seem  to  point  to  travels  in  Arctic  regions.  The 
travellers  were  reduced  to  such  extremities  as  to  be  obliged 
to  suck  juicy  woods  in  order  to  sustain  life.  The  name 
Chichimecs,  which  means  suckers  of  maguey,  given  to  the 
invading  hordes  from  the  north,  may  have  some  connection 
with  this  traditional  fact.  Chicomoztoc  has  been  identified 
by  some  with  the  extensive  ruins  near  the  Rio  Gila,  in 
California.  The  history  of  these  early  nations  is  somewhat 
obscure,  but  it  may  be  gathered  from  the  preserved  records 
that  the  worship  of  the  sun  and  the  practice  of  human 
sacrifice  had  nearly  or  wholly  superseded  the  earlier  and 
purer  religions.  Towards  the  end  of  the  7th  century  we 
first  hear  of  the  Chichimecs  invading  Mexico  from  the 
north.  This  name  is  a  general  one  given  to  all  invading 
hordes  from  the  north,  and  is  similar  to  that  of  barbarians 
applied  to  the  people  who  invaded  the  Roman  empire. 
The  first  invasion  was  by  the  Chichimecs-Culhuas,  headed 
by  Mixcohuatl  Mazatzm.  They  commenced  their  march, 
or  rather  progress,  from  Chicomoztoc  about  635,  and 
reached  the  valley  of  Mexico  about  40  years  after.  After 
many  years'  fighting  the  Toltec  empire  was  established 
in  about  686 ;  and  from  this  period  we  enter  upon  more 
detailed  and  trustworthy  historical  ground.  At  first  the 
government  of  the  Toltecs  was  republican  and  theocratical, 
but  it  soon  became  monarchical,  and  Nauhyotzin  was  elected 
the  first  king.  The  most  illustrious  of  his  successors  was 
Topiltzin  Ceacatl  Quetzalcohuatl,  during  whose  reign  the 
Toltec  empire  arrived  at  its  most  flourishing  condition. 
According  to  tradition,  the  Toltecs  were  taller  and  of 
larger  build  than  the  existing  Indians,  were  great  runners, 
and  were  as  white  as  Europeans.  They  carried  many  of 
the  arts  to  a  high  state  of  perfection,  such  as  weaving, 
building,  jewelling,  and  making  ornaments  with  the 
feathers  of  birds.  There  were  astrologers  and  poets, 
sorcerers  and  philosophers  and  orators.  They  were  well 
acquainted  with  the  medical  properties  of  plants,  and  were 
in  the  habit  of  recording  in  books  their  observations  on  dis- 
eases. Quetzalcohuatl's  reign  was  for  the  most  part  one 
of  prolonged  peace,  but  this  peace  was  disturbed  by  the 
religious  party  who  advocated  human  sacrifice,  a  practice 
which  be  used  every  effort  to  abolish.  The  rebellion 
becoming  very  formidable,  Quetzalcohuatl  left  the  country 
with  a  few  chosen  attendants,  and  founded  a  new  Toltec 
empire  on  the  plain  of  Huitzilapan,  which  corresponds 
with  the  one  on  whi^h  La  Puebla  now  stands.  This  occurred 
in  895.  The  town  ot  La  Puebla  stands  on  the  site  of  the  old 
Uuitzilapan,  and  at  the  time  of  Quetzalcohuatl's  arrival 
it  was  said  that  the  pyramids  of  Cholullan  had  existed  from 
time  immemorial,  and  had  been  built  by  the  giants. 
According  to  this  legend,  the  country  was  inhabited  by 
giants,  all  but  seven  of  whom  were  either  destroyed  by  a 


grgat  inundation  or  turned  into  fishes.  These  seven  took 
refuge  in  a  cave,  and  when  the  waters  abated,  one  of  then; 
named  Xelhua,  went  to  Cholullan,  and  built  the  famoui 
pyramid  to  commemorate  his  escape.  Quetzalcohuatl  built 
a  temple  here,  which  he  dedicated  to  the  "  creator  of  light," 
and  around  this  temple  sprang  up  Cholullan,  or  the  "  town 
of  the  exile."  His  disciples  carried  the  Toltec  civilisation 
into  Oaxaca.  After  having  reigned  at  Cholullan  about  ten 
years,  during  which  period  his  subjects  erljoyed  all  the 
blessings  of  peace,  he  was  attacked  by  enemies  again. 
Huemac  had  ascended  the  throne  which  he  had  vacated, 
and  being  jealous  of  Quetzalcohuatl's  power  and  prosperity, 
he  suddenly  resolved  to  march  with  his  army  against 
Cholullan.  In  order  that  the  town  might  be  spared  the 
horrors  of  a  siege,  Quetzalcohuatl  informed  his  priests  of 
his  intention  to  leave  the  place  and  to  visit  other  countries. 
Accordingly  he  proceeded  to  the  mouth  of  the  Coatzocualco 
river,  then  entered  a  boat  with  four  companions,  and 
nothing  more  was  heard  of  him.  Huemac  finding  his 
enemy  had  escaped,  wreaked  his  vengeance  on  Cholullan,  and 
took  up  his  residence  there  with  a  view  to  subjugating  the 
surrounding  districts.  He  also  re-established  the  practice 
of  human  sacrifice.  During  Huemac's  absence  from  his 
kingdom  of  Tulan,  Nauhyotl  was  elected  king  in  his 
stead.  A  battle  took  place  between  the  rivals,  which 
resulted  in  the  defeat  and  subsequent  death  of  Huemac 
and  the  establishment  of  Nauhyotl's  power.  His  reign 
lasted  for  fifteen  years,  and  as  he  was  one  of  Quetzalcohuatl's 
disciples,  he  governed  according  to  similar  principles,  so 
that  the  reign  was  a  prosperous  one.  Hi3  death  occurred 
in  945.  After  this  a  series  of  disasters  broke  over  the 
country,  and  these,  with  constant  civil  war,  weakened  the 
power  of  the  empire  in  Anahuac.  This  soon  became  known 
to  other  nations,  and  led  to  the  Chichimecs-Teotenancaa 
leaving  their  homes  in  Texas  and  New  Mexico  to  make  an 
irruption  upon  the  valley  of  Mexico.  This  occurred  between 
1041  and  1047.  The  internal  discord  continued,  and  the 
disorder  was  increased  by  the  uprising  of  the  sect  of 
Ixcuinames,  the  devotees  of  which  practised  the  most 
abominable  rites.  In  the  midst  of  this  corruption  another 
horde  of.  barbarians,  the  Teo-Chichimecs,  poured  down  from 
the  north,  and  took  possession  of  the  country.  The  Toltec 
power  rapidly  declined,  and  the  last  king  of  the  empire 
was  Huemac  Atecpanecatl,  who  after  his  dethronement  lived 
for  some  years  at  Chapultepec,  and  died  there  in  1070. 

According  to  the  Guatemalan  traditions,  four  individuals 
of  the  Tutul-Xius,  a  nation  speaking  a  Nahuatl  lai:guage, 
left  their  country  of  Tulapan,  to  the  west  of  Zuyna,  in  a.d. 
174,  and  arrived  the  same  year  at  Chacnouitan,  which  seems 
to  be  the  name  for  some  place  in  Yucatan.  In  258  another 
migration  of  Tutul-Xius  occurred,  the  new  colony  being 
established  in  the  province  of  Zyan-Caan,  which  is  believed 
to  be  the  district  around  Chetumal  Bay.  About  the  end 
of  the  10th  century,  it  is  stated  that  a  venerable  personage 
arrived  in  Yucatan,  called  Cukulcan,  who  retrieved  the 
falling  fortunes  of  the  Tutul-Xius.  -According  to  the  Abta 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  this  personage  was  no  other  than 
the.  Ceacatl  Quetzalcohuatl  whose  departure  from  the 
Coatzocoalco  river  has  already  been  mentioned.  After 
reigning  here  ten  years,  he  voluntarily  abdicated  the  throne 
and  left  the  country.  According  to  a  Mexican  legend  be 
went  to  Tlapallan,  and  died  there.  His  successor  trans- 
ferred the  capital  of  the  Tutul-Xius  from  Mayapan  to 
Uxmal,  a  town  which  seems  to  have  been  founded  some 
centuries  before,  but  which  first  rose  to  importance  at  this 
period,  or  near  the  end  of  the  10th  century.  Numerous 
temples  and  public  buildings  were  erected,  the  ruins  of 
which  are  now  so  abundantly  met  with  in  Yucatan. 
Artificial  ponds  or  zonotes  were  constructed;  and  the 
number  and  magnitude  of  these  indicate  a  large  number  of 


1-24 


706 


AMEKICA 


[discovery. 


towns  as  well  as  a  thickly-populated  country.      At  tho 
present  day  they  have  all  the  appearance  of  being  natural 
ponds,  and  indeed  wero  long  considered  to  be  such,  not- 
withstanding the  repeated  assertions  of  the  Indians  that 
they  had  been  built  by  their  aucestors,  until  chance  led 
to  the  discovery  that  the  muddy  floor  of  one  was  entirely 
composed  of  flat  stones,  the  interstices  between  which  were 
stopped  with  a  kind  of  clay  not  known  in  the  neighbourhood. 
The  centre  was  occupied  by  four  artificial  wells,  the  walla 
of  which  were  formed  of  polished  stones.   Further  research 
led  to  the  discovery  of  numerous  other  zonotes.    After  the 
final  fall  of  the  Toltec  empire  there  commenced  the  great 
movement   of   the   northern    tribes  towards  tho  south,  a 
movement  which  continued  throughout  the  11th,  12th,  and 
13th  centuries.     The  movement  consisted  of  a  succession 
of  migrations,  and  its  starting-point  appears  to  have  been 
in  New  Mexico  and  California,  which  region  was  evidently 
the  seat-  of  a  semi-civilised  empire.      Amongst  these  in- 
vading tribes  was  one  which  subsequently  rose  to  high 
importance.     The  Aztecs,  or  Mexicans  proper,  were  living 
at  Atzlan  in  the  11th  century,  a  country  which  was  sur- 
rounded by  water,  and  where  their  usual  occupation  was  as 
boatmen  and  carriers  of  wood.     Other  tribes  also  lived  in 
this  region,  which  is  believed  to  be  that  of  Lower  California. 
The  Aztecs  commenced  their  journey  towards  Mexico  in 
1090.     In  1116  they  reached  Chicomoztoc,  and  in  1177 
they  entered  Anahuac.     Settlements  were  gradually  estab- 
lished in  the  valley,  towards   which   peoples   of  various 
nations  converged  from  the  south  as  well  as  the  north. 
The  numbers  of    the  Aztecs  were  slowly  augmented  by 
fresh  arrivals;  but  it  was  not  until   1325  that  they  were 
able  to  lay  the  foundations  of  Mexico-Tenochtitlan,  and 
thus  to  inaugurate  their  assumption  of  power.    In  1464  the 
empire  of  the  Tutul-Xius  was  overthrown.      The  Mexican 
empire  had,  however,  acquired  large  proportions,  and  was 
conducted    with  a  magnificence   and   splendour   scarcely 
equalled  by  any  other  court  in  America,  and  this  empire 
continued  up  to  the  time  of  tho  Spanish  conquest. 
Discovery        The  discovery  of  a  continent  so  large  that  it  may  be  said 
of  Aperies  to  have  doubled  tho  habitable  world,  is  an  event  so  much 
nLf"0*     t'ie  more  grand  and  interesting  that  nothing  parallel  to  it 
can  ever  occur  again  in  tho  history  of  mankind.     America 
had  of  course  been  known  to  tho  barbarous  tribes  of  eastern 
Asia  for  thousands  of  years ;  but  it  is  singular  that  it  should 
have  been  visited  by  one  c-f  the  most  enterprising  nations  of 
Europe  five  centuries  before  the  time  of  Columbus  without 
awakening  tho  attention  of  either  statesmen  or  philosophers. 
Iceland  was  discovered  about  860,  and  colonised  by  the  Nor- 
wegians in  874.     About  50,  or,  according  to  other  accounts, 
100  years  later,  the  same  people  planted  colonies  in  Green- 
land.    Into  tho  disputes  respecting  the  situation  of  these 
colonies  we  have  not  room  to  enter.    Sir  Charles  Giesecke, 
a  good  authority,  states  that  their  ruins,  exist  near  the  south- 
ern point  of  the  peninsula.     It  is  obvious  that  the  same  ad- 
venturous spirit  which  enabled  these  northern  mariners  to 
discover  the  southern  extremity  of  the  country,  would  not 
permit  them  to  stop  short  without  visiting  what  is  now  known 
to  be  the  most  habitable  part  of  it — the  western  coast ;  and 
the  fact  has  been  established  by  an  inscription  in  runic  cha- 
racters found  on  a  stone  four  miles  beyond  Upernavik,  at 
the  73d  parallel,  intimating  that  "  Erling  the  son  of  Sigvat, 
and  Enride  Oddsoen,  had  cleared  that  place  and  raised  a 
hillock  on  the  Friday  after  Rogation  day."     The  marking  of 
the  date  is  indistinct,  but  it  is  supposed  by  Professor  Rask, 
the  translator,  to  be  either  1135  or  1170;  and  the  runic 
characters  show  at  any  rate  that  it  was  anterior  to  the  Refor- 
mation, when  this  mode  of  writing  was  prohibited.1  Whoever 
looks  at  the  map  of  Greenland,  and  reflects  on  the  fact 

1  Fenusac,  Bulletin  da  Scienca  UUtoriquet,  Jtdliet  1828. 


[■fans. 


tint  the  Norwegians  must  have  been  ascending  through 
Divis'  Straits  as  high  as  the  latitudo  mentioned,  aunuallyf 
perhaps  for  two  or  three  centuries,  will  admit  that,  with  half 
the  spirit  of  enterprise  which  had  carried  them  so  far,  tho 
discovery  of  some  portion  of  tho  west  coast  of  these  strait* 
was  almost  unavoidable.  Now,  the  position  and  direction 
of  this  coast  once  known,  it  required  no  great  effort  to  traca 
it  southwards  to  Labradorand  Newfoundland.  We  mention 
these  particulars  because  Mr  Murray,  one  of  the  few  who 
have  denied  the  discovery  of  America  by  the  Norwegians, 
grounded  his  disbelief  chiefly  on  the  hypothesis  that  the 
colonies  and  the  navigation  of  that  people  at  the  period 
alluded  to  were  confined  to  the  east  coast  of  Greenland. 

In  1001  an  Icelander,  sailing  to  Greenland,  was  driven 
away  by  a  tempest  far  to  tho  south-west,  where  he  saw  a' 
level  country  covered  with  wood.  The  wind  abating,  he 
turned  his  course  homeward,  and  on  his  arrival  gave  such  a 
flattering  account  of  the  country  he  had  seen  as  induced 
Lief,  the  son  of  the  founder  of  the  Greenland  colony,  to 
undertake  a  voyage  thither.  Lief  and  Bjorn,  who  sailed 
together,  first  reached  a  rocky  island,  to  which  they  gave 
the  name  of  Helluland  ;  then  a  low  country,  thickly  wooded, 
which  they  called  Markland ;  and  some  days  afterwards  they 
found  trees  loaded  with  fruits  on  the  banks  of  a  river.  They 
spent  the  winter  in  the  country ;  and  one  of  them,  who  was 
a  German,  having  found  wild  vines  growing,  they  called  it 
Vinland.  They  had  some  intercourse  and'  traded  for  furs 
with  a  people  who  came  in  leathern  boats,  and  were  called 
Skrcelings,  from  their  dwarfish  size.  A  colony  was  planted, 
and  remained  for  many  years  in  the  country,  the  situation 
of  which  is  indicated  by  a  fact  casually  mentioned,  that  the 
sun  remained  nine  hours  above  the  horizon  at  the  shortest 
day.  This  indicates  the  41st  parallel  of  latitude ;.and  tho 
actual  latitude  of  Rhode  Island,  the  country  which  every  col- 
lateral circumstance  would  lead  us  to  fix  upon  as  the  seat  of 
the  colony,  is  from  4 1  °  to  42°.  The  Skraelings  were  of  course 
the  Esquimaux.2  The  vine  appears  to  be  the  fox  grape 
( Titis  vulpina),  which  grows  wild  in  that  part  of  America. 
Only  a  few  unimportant  particulars  respecting  the  settle- 
ment are  preserved ;  but  it  was  probably  abandoned  oi 
destroyed,  like  tho  Greenland  colonies,  of  which  it  was  an 
offset.  The  account,  though  meagre,  is  distinct  and  consis- 
tent. Its  authenticity  can  scarcely  be  disputed ;  and  it  is 
almost  equally  obvious  that  the  country  it  refers  to  undei 
the  name  of  Vinland  is  in  the  vicinity  of  Rhode  Island.  A 
conclusion  resting  on  such  strong  grounds  scarcely  requires 
to  be  supported  by  the  high  authority  of  Humboldt  and 
Malte-Brun.  That  the  colony  disappeared,  and  that  the 
discoveries  made  were  not  prosecuted  farther,  are  not  cir- 
cumstances which  will  shake  the  credit  of  the  narrative  in 
tho  minds  of  those  who  know  tho  numerous  reverses  which 
befell  the  early  colonies  in  New  England  and  other  parts  of 
America.  The  hostilities  of  the  Skralings  was  no  doubt 
the  principal  cause  of  the  abandonment  of  the  colony.  The 
Norsemen  describe  Vinland  as  a  rich  country,  with  a  de- 
lightful climate.  Helluland,  Markland,  and  Vinland,  were 
no  doubt  regarded  as  countries  either  connected  with  or 
similar  to  Greenland,  the.  flattering  descriptions  of  which, 
given  by  the  first  discoverers  were  sadly  belied  by  later  ex- 
perience.3    The  interest  excited  by  the  obscure  accounts 

*  See  the  curious  work  of  Torfeus  called  Vinlandia  Anliqua,  Hafn, 
1705  ;  and  the  valuable  AnUquitates  Americana,  published  at  Copen- 
hagen in  1837.  Also  Humboldt's  Cosmos,  vol.  ii.  p.  233,  Sabine's 
transl.  1848. 

3  M.  Rafn,  a  Dane,  who  was  much  engaged  in  researches  respecting 
these  early  voyages,  announced  that  he  had  ascertained,  from  original 
documents,  various  facts  previously  unknown  ;  among  others,  that 
America  (first  discovered  in  935)  was  repeatedly  visited  by  the  Ice- 
landers in  tho  11th,  12th,  and  13th  centuries  ;  that  the  eranouclmw 
of  the  St  Lawrence,  and  in  particular  the  bay  of  Gaspe,  was  their 
principal  station  ;  that  they  had  penetrated  along  the  coast  as  far 
south  as  Carolina  :  and  that  they  introduced  a  knowh-dge  of  Chris 


DISCOVERY. 


■•] 


AMERICA 


707 


of  these  countries  was  probably  such  as  the  announcement 
of  a  new  island  eastward  of  Spitzbergen  would  produce  at 
the  present  day.  No  reasonable  doubt  can  exist,  however, 
that  the  north-eastern  portions  of  America  (considering 
Greenland  as  a  distinct  country)  were  familiarly  known  to 
the  Norwegians  in  the  eleventh  Century. 

The  obscure  allusions  of  Aristotle,  Plato,  and  Seneca,  to 
&  country  hid  in  the  Western  Ocean,  must  have  derived  fresh 
importance  from  the  discovery  of  the  Canary  Isles,  Madeira, 
and  the  Azores  in  the  early  part  of  the  fifteenth  century. 
The  love  of  maritime  adventure  was  excited  by  these  events ; 
and  among  the  active  spirits  who  were  attracted  to  nautical 
life  by  the  career  of  distinction  which  was  then  opened  up, 
was  Christopher  Columbus.  Our  limits  do  not  permit  us  to 
enter  into  details  respecting  this  great  man,  an  outline  of 
whose  life  will  be  found  under  the  proper  heading.  He  had 
received  a  learned  education,  and  the  study  of  the  geographi- 
cal systems  then  in  vogue  impressed  him  with  a  strong  con- 
viction that  a  voyage  to  India  by  a  course  directly  westward 
was  quite  practicable  with  the  degree  of  nautical  science 
which  his  contemporaries  possessed.  From  the  old  and  im- 
perfect maps  of  Ptolemy  he  was  led  to  believe  that  the  parts 
of  the  globe  knowu  to  the  ancients  embraced  15  hours,  or 
225  degrees  of  longitude,  which  exceeds  the  truth  by  more 
than  one-third.  The  discovery  of  the  Azores  on  the  west 
Bide  had  lengthened  the  space  by  one  hour;  and  the  accounts 
gleaned  by  Marco  Polo  in  Asia  induced  him  to  think  that 
the  isles  connected  with  this  continent  stretched  out  so  far 
to  the  eastward  that  their  distance  from  Europe  could  not  be 
great.  Columbus  was,  however,  without  the  fortune  neces- 
sary to  fit  out  ships  ;  and  when  he  attempted  to  interest  some 
of  the  princes  of  those  times  in  his  project,  he  encountered 
neglects  and  difficulties  which  would  have  exhausted  the 
patience  of  any  mind  less  ardent  than  his  own.  At  length, 
after  many  delays  and  discouragements,  Ferdinand  and  Isa- 
bella of  Spain  supplied  him  with  three  small  vessels,  two  of 
them  only  half-decked ;  and  in  this  little  armament,  accom- 
panied by  120  men,  he  set  sail  from  the  port  of  Palos  on  the 
3d  of  August  1492.  He  proceeded  first  to  the  Canary  Isles, 
where  he  was  detained  three  weeks  in  repairing  one  of  his 
vessels.  On  leaving  these  isle3  he  entered  on  a  region  of 
ocean  where  all  was  mystery.  The  trade-wind,  however, 
bore  him  steadily  along,  and  the  labour  of  the  ships  pro- 
ceeded cheerfully,  till  the  increasing  length  of  the  voyage, 
the  failure  of  prognostics  which  had  from  time  to  time  kept 
alive  the  hopes  of  the  crew,  and  various  circumstances 
interpreted  by  their  superstition  as  evil  omens,  produced  a 
mutinous  spirit,  which  all  the  address  and  authority  of  Co- 
lumbus would  not  have  been  able  to  quell  had  the  discovery 
of  land  happened  one  day  later  than  it  did.  Columbus, 
says  Humboldt,  on  sailing  westward  of  the  meridian  of  the 
Azores,  through  an  unexplored  sea,  sought  the  east  of  Asia 
by  the  western  route,  not  as  an  adventurer,  but  according 
to  a  pre-conceived  and  steadfastly-pursued  plan.  He  had 
on  board  the  sea-chart  which  the  Florentine  astronomer 
Tobcanelli  had  sent  him  in  1477.  H  he  had  followed  the 
chart,  he  would  have  held  a  more  northern  course,  along  a 
parallel  of  latitude  from  Lisbon.  Instead  of  this,  in  the  hope 
of  reaching  Zipangu  (Japan),  he  sailed  for  half  the  distance 
in  the  latitude  of  Gomcra,  one  of  the  Canary  Islands.  Un- 
easy at  not  having  discovered  Zipangu,  which,  according  to 
his  reckoning,  he  should  have  met  with  21 G  nautical  miles 
more  to  the  east,  he  after  a  long  debate  yielded  to  the 

tianity  among  the  natives.  The  announcement  was  contained  in  a  letter 
•ddressed  to  a  person  in  Washington,  and  published  in  Nile's  Register 
(Baltimore),  in  November  1828.  But  M.  Rafn  afterwards  found  reason 
to  change  his  opinion  as  to  the  site  of  the  Icelandic  colony,  and  he 
latterly  considered  that  it  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  River  Taunton, 
which  falls  into  the  sea  in  Narraganset  Bay.  at  the  north  end  if 
Rhode  Island. 


opinion  of  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  and  steered  to  the  south- 
west. The  effect  of  this  change  in  his  course  curiously  ex- 
emplifies the  influence  of  small  and  apparently  tririal  events 
on  the  world's  history.  H  Columbus,  resisting  the  connsel- 
of  Pinzon,  had  kept  his  original  route,  he  would  have  en- 
tered the  warm  current  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  have  reached 
Florida,  and  thence  perhaps  been  carried  to  Cape  Hatteras 
and  Virginia.  The  result  would  probably  have  been  to  giro 
the  present  United  States  a  Roman  Catholic  Spanish  popula- 
tion, instead  of  a  Protestant  English  one,  a  circumstance  of 
immeasurable  importance.  Pinzon  was  guided  in  forming' 
his  opinion  by  a  flight  of  parrots  towards  the  south-west. 
Never,  says  the  Prussian  philosopher,  had  the  flight  of  hiids 
more  important  consequences.  It  may  be  said  to  have  de- 
termined  the  first  settlements  on  the  new  continent,  andits 
distribution  between  the  Latin  and  Germanic  races.  It-was 
on  the  12th  of  October  that  the  western  world  revealed 
itself  to  the  wondering  eyes  of  Columbus  and  his  companion* 
What  a  triumph  for  thik  extraordinary  man,  who  had  trea- 
sured in  his  breast  for  twenty  years,  amidst  neglect, .  dis- 
couragement, and  ridicule,  the  grand  truth  which  his  own 
incomparable  skill,  wisdom,  and  firmness  had  now  demon- 
strated in  the  eyes  of  an  incredulous  world  !  The  spot  which 
he  first  touched  was  Guanahani,  or  Watling  Island,  as  ■wa* 
suggested  by  Munoz  in  1793,  and  proved  by  Mr  R.  H. 
Major  in  1870.  After  spending  nearly  three  months  ia 
visiting  Cuba,  Hispaniola,  and  other  isles,  he  returned 
to  Spain.  He  made  three  other  voyages,  and  in  the  second. 
coasted  along  a  part  of  South  America,  which  he  rightly 
judged  to  be  a  continent  from  the  volume  of  water  poured 
into  the  sea  by  the  Orinoco.  But  he  died  ignorant  of  the-, 
real  extent  and  grandeur  of  his  discoveries,  still  believing 
that  the  countries  he  had  made  known  to  Europe  be- 
longed to  that  part  of  Eastern  Asia  which  the  ancients 
called  India.  Hence  the  name  of  West  Indies  which, 
the  tropical  islands  and  part  of  the  continent  have  ever 
since  received. 

We  should  extend  this  article  to  an  unreasonable  length  Progresc 
were  we  to  describe  in  detail  the  discoveries  and  settlements'1' jcovi'.r- 
made  by  the  several  nations  of  Europe  in  America.     We  sation. 
shall  therefore  confine  ourselves  to  a  very  brief  chronologi 
cal  notice  of  the  more  important  events. 

1495.  The  first  pl2<-«  in  which  the  Spaniards  established 
their  power  was  the  l.irge  island  of  Hayti  or  Hispaniola, 
which  was  inhabited  by  a  numerous  race  of  Indians  of  a 
mild  and  gentle  character,  a  third  part  of  whom  are  said  to 
have  perished  within  two  or  three  vears  after  the  Spaniards 
conquered  them. 

1497.  John  Cabot  discovered  Newfoundland  June  24th, 
and  coasted  along  the  shores  of  North  America  to  Florida 

1498.  Columbus  first  saw  the  mainland,  May  30. 
1500.  Cabral,  a  Portuguese,  visited  the  coast  of  Brazil 

and  discovered  the  mouth  of  the  Amazon.  It  was  probablv 
colonised  before  1515.  In  1500,  too,  Cortereal  touched  at 
Labrador. 

1508.  Vincent  Pinzon  is  said  to  have  entered  the  Rio  de- 
la  Plata.  It  was  in  the  same  year  that  the  Spaniards,  find- 
ing the  aborigines  too  weak  for  the  labour  of  the  mines  in 
Hayti,  first  imported  negroes  from  Guinea,  and  thus  laid 
the  foundation  of  a  traffic  which  continued  to  disgrace  the- 
civilisation  of  Europe  for  three  centuries. 

1511.  Diego  Columbus  conquered  the  island  of  Cuba 
with  300  soldiers,  of  whom  he  did  not  lose  one. 

1513.  Balboa  crossed  the  Isthmus  of  Darien  with  290 
men,  and  discovered  the  South  Sea. 

1519.  Hernando  Cortes  sailed  from  Cuba  with  11  ships 
and  550  men,  and  landed  on  the  coast  of  Mexico,  which  had 
been  discovered  in  the  previous  year.  The  conquest  of  the 
empire  was  finished  in  1521  by  950  Spaniards,  assisted  hy 
a  vast  number  of  the  Indians  of  Tlascaia. 


70« 


AMERICA 


[colonisation. 


1531.  Peru  invaded  by  Pizarro,  and  conquered  in  little 
more  than  one  year,  with  a  force  of  1000  men. 

1535.  Jacques  Cartier,  a  Frenchman,  discovers  the  Gulf 
of  St  Lawrence. 

1535.  Mendoza,  a  Spaniard,  with  2000  followers,  founds 
Buenos  Ayres,  and  conquers  all  the  country  as  far  as 
Potosi,  at  which  silver  mines  were  discovered  nine  years 
after. 

1537.  Cortes  discovers  California. 

1511.  Chili  conquered;  Santiago  founded;  Orellana 
sails  from  the  sources  of  the  Rio  Napo  down  the  Amazon 
to  the  Atlantic. 

1578.  New  Albion,  on  the  north-west  coast  of  Ame- 
rica, discovered  by  Sir  Francis  Drake. 

1586.  The  Spaniards  found  St  Thomas'  Island,  in 
Guiana. 

1587.  Davis'  Straits  and  Cumberland  Islands  discovered 
l>y  John  Davis. 

1604.  De  Monts,  a  Frenchman,  founded  the  first  set- 
tlement in  Nova  Scotia,  then  called  Acadie. 

1607.  After  many  ineffectual  attempts  during  more 
than  twenty  years,  the  first  permanent  settlement  of  the 
English  in  North  America  was  made  this  year,  on  the 
banks  of  tho  James  River,  in  Virginia. 

1608.  Quebec  founded  by  tho  French,  who  had  had  a 
email  neglected  colony  in  Canada  from  1542. 

1611.  Newfoundland  colonised  by  tho  English  ;  a  Dutch 
colony  established  at  Hudson's  River. 

1614.  New  York  founded. 

1618.  Baffin  penetrates  to  the  78th  degree  of  latitude, 
in  the  bay  which  bears  his  name. 

1620.  The  first  English  colony  estabb'shed  in  New 
England  at  Plymouth.  It  was  in  1619  that  the  first 
negroes  were  imported  into  Virginia.  They  were  brought 
by  a  Dutoh  vessel. 

1635.  A  French  colony  established  in  Guiana. 

1655.  Jamaica  conquered  by  the  English. 

1664.  The  Dutch  colonies  on  Hudson's  River  capitu- 
late to  the  English. 

1666.  The  Buccaneers  begin  their  depredations  on  the 
Spanish  colonics. 

1682.  William  Penn  establishes  a  colony  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. La  Sallo  takes  possession  of  Louisiana  in  the 
name  of  the  French  king. 

1698.  A  colony  of  1200  Scots  planted  at  Darien.  In 
the  following  year  the  settlement  was  attacked  by  the 
Spaniards,  and  abandoned. 

1733.  Georgia  colonised  by  the  English. 

1760.  Canada  and  all  the  other  French  settlements  in 
North  America  conquered  by  the  English. 

We  must  pause  at  this  point  to  give  a  very  short  ac- 
count of  the  colonial  system  introduced  by  the  principal 
European  nations  who  occupied  extensive  tracts  of  the 
new  world.  The  English  settlements  extended  from 
the  31st  to  the  50th  degree  on  the  east  coast,  and  were 
divided  into  15  oiv  16  provinces.  The  colonists  had  car- 
ried the  love  of  liberty  characteristic  of  their  country- 
men with  them  ;  and  after  many  struggles  with  their  Bri- 
tish rulers,  all  the  provinces,  with  one  or  two  exceptions, 
were  permitted  to  enjoy  a  form  of  government  extremely 
popular.  The  executive  power  was  vested  in  a  governor 
appointed  by  the  king.  He  was  assisted  by  a  council, 
which  sometimes  conjoined  the  functions  of  a  Privy  Council 
and  a  House  of  Peers.  Tho  people  were  represented  by 
a  House  of  Assembly,  consisting  of  persons  chosen  by  tho 
freeholders  in  the  country  parts,  and  the  householders  or 
corporations  of  towns.  The  governor  could  levy  no 
money  without  the  consent  of  the  House  of  Assembly :  the 
British  parliament,  however,  claimed,  but  scarcely  ever 
exercised,  the  privilege  of  imposing  taxes  upon  the  colonists 


without  consulting  them.  Against  this  assumption  of 
power  the  local  legislatures  always  protested  as  an  in- 
fringement of  their  rights.  Tho  vessels  of  foreign  states 
were  not  permitted  to  trade  with  the  colonics ;  but  tho 
colonists  were  allowed  to  trado  in  their  own  ships  with 
one  another,  with  the  mother  country,  and,  to  a  limited 
extent,  with  foreign  states.  Their  taxes,  which  were 
always  small,  were  all  consumed  in  defraying  interna 
expenses  ;  and,  compared  with  any  other  people  in  tho  new 
world,  they  enjoyed  an  unexampled  degree  of  commer 
cial  and  political  liberty.  Ii  was  the  growing  prosperity  (A 
the  colonies  and  the  increasing  debt  of  the  mother  country, 
which  induced  the  British  ministers,  for  the  first  time,  in 
1764,  to  attempt  raising  a  revenue  in  America,  for  purposes 
not  colonial.  The  experiment  was  made  by  imposing  a 
stamp-duty  on  newspapers  and  commercial  writings.  The 
sum  was  trifling ;  but  the  Americans,  far-sighted  and 
jealous  of  their  rights,  saw  in  it  the  introduction  of  a 
principle  which  deprived  them  of  all  security  for  their 
property.  The  people  declared  themselves  against  it  as 
one  man,  in  local  assemblies,  and  by  petitions  and  publi 
cations  of  all  kinds.  The  ministers  became  uneasy,  and 
repealed  the  tax ;  but,  as  a  salve  to  the  pride  of  tho 
mother  country,  a  declaratory  Act  was  passed,  asserting  hei 
right  "to  bind  the  colonies  in  all  cases  whatsoever." 
The  idea  of  raising  a  revenue  in  America,  was  not  re- 
nounced, but  another  mode  was  to  be  tried.  Duties 
were  laid  on  glass,  colours,  paper,  and  tea,  and  were  met 
by  an  opposition  in  the  colonies  still  more  zealous  and 
determined.  Tho  British  ministers,  irritated,  but  waver- 
ing in  their  purpose,  dropped  all  the  taxes  but  that  on 
tea,  and  commenced  at  the  samo  time  a  series  of  alarm- 
ing innovations.  They  closed  the  port  of  Boston,  changed 
the  charter  of  the  province,  placed  judges  and  juries  on 
a  footing  to  render  them  more  subservient  to  tho  view? 
of  the  government,  and  introduced  a  strong  military  force 
to  overawe  the  people.  On  the  other  side,  the  colonist* 
passed  resolutions  not  to  import  or  consume  any  British 
goods,  and  hastened  to  supply  themselves  with  powdei 
and  arms.  Blood  was  at  length  shed  in  April  1775,  at 
the  village  of  Lexington  ;  and  in  the  following  year  the 
American  Congress  published  their  celebrated  declaration 
of  independence.  We  shall  not  enter  into  the  details  of 
the  war,  which  was  closed  in  1782.  Suffice  it  to  say 
that,  on  the  part  of  the  Americans,  it  rested  on  high 
grounds ;  it  was  a  war  to  vindicate  a  principle — for  tho 
practical  grievance  was  admitted  to  bo  slight ;  and  it  was 
conducted  with  a  regard  to  humanity  of  which  there  are 
few  examples  in  history. 

The  Spanish  possessions  in  America  before  the  revolu-  Spannt 
tion  formed  nine  distinct  governments,  all  constructed  colon,* 
on  the  same  plan  and  independent  of  one  another.  Four 
of  these,  of  the  first  rank,  were  vice-royalties,  viz.,  Mexico, 
Peru,  La  Plata,  and  New  Granada ;  and  five  were  captain- 
generalships,  viz.,  Yucatan,  Guatemala,  Chili,  Venezuela, 
and  the  island  of  Cuba.  The  government  was  vested 
in  the  viceroy  or  captain -general,  who  was  held  to  repre- 
sent tho  king,  and  to  enjoy  all  his  prerogatives  within 
the  colony.  But  in  these  countries,  as  in  others  where 
the  supreme  power  is  apparently  unlimited,  it  was  in- 
directly restrained  by  tho  influence  of  the  courts  of  jus- 
tice, corporations,  and  other  public  bodies.  The  royal 
audiencias  or  supreme  courts,  composed  of  Spaniards 
nominated  by  the  crown,  had  extensive  judicial  powers, 
and  were  independent  of  the  viceroys.  The  cabildos  or 
municipalities,  and  the  fueros  or  corporations  (similar  to 
our  guilds),  also  possessed  considerable  privileges,  which 
derived  security  and  importance  from  long  prescrip- 
tion. Lastly,  the  clergy,  who  were  numerous  and  rich, 
necessarily  possessed  great  influence  among  a  supersti- 


COLONISATION.] 


A  SI  E  11  I  C  A 


70> 


tious  people.  The  vices  naturally  inherent  in  the  colo- 
nial system  existed  in  full  force  in  the  Spanish  American 
dominions.  There  was  tolerable  security  for  all  classes 
except  the  miserable  Indians,  who  were  regarded  and 
treated  precisely  as  beasts  of  burden,  out  of  whose  toil 
and  sufferings  a  provision  as  ample  as  possible  was  to  be 
extracted,  first  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  royal  treasury, 
ind  next  to  provide  for  and  satisfy  the  cupidity  of  a 
jhoal  of  do-nothing  public  officers  and  priests.  Edicts 
were  indeed  issued  for  the  protection  of  the  Indians,  and 
persons  appointed  to  enforce  them  ;  but  these  were  feeble 
correctives  of  the  evils  rooted  in  the  system,  and  not 
unfrequently  increased  their  weight.  The  Indians,  after  the 
conquest,  were  at  first  slaves ;  they  paid  a  capitation 
tax  to  the  crown,  and  their  labour  was  entirely  at  the 
disposal  of  their  lord.  This  system  was  modified  from 
time  to  time  ;  but  all  the  changes  introduced  down  to  the 
revolution  did  not  release  them  from  their  state  of  vas- 
salage. They  still  continued  liable,  in  a  less  or  greater 
degree,  to  the  performance  of  compulsory  labour,  under 
the  orders  of  persons  against  whom  they  had  no  protection, 
This  wa3  an  enormous  grievance ;  but,  what  was  equally 
bad,  being  held  incompetent  in  law  to  buy  or  sell,  or 
enter  into  any  pecuniary  engagement  beyond  the  value  of  a 
few  shillings,  without  the  agency  of  white  men,  the  swarm 
of  public  functionaries  had  an  unlimited  power  of  inter- 
fering in  their  concerns,  of  vexing,  harassing,  and  plunder- 
ing them,  under  the  forms  of  law.  The  memoir  of  Ulloa, 
long  buried  amidst  the  Spanish  archives,  with  various 
other  documents  published  since  the  revolution,  depicts 
acts  of  extortion,  perfidy,  cruelty,  and  oppression  prac- 
tised upon  the  Indians  which  have  rarely  been  paralleled. 
Men  rose  to  affluence  in  offices  without  salaries ;  and  the 
priests  rivalled  the  laymen  in  the  art  of  extracting  money 
from  those  whom  they  ought  to  have  protected.  As  the 
sole  aim  of  the  Spaniards  in  the  colonies  was  to  enrich 
themselves,  so  the  government  at  home  made  all  its  acts 
and  regulations  subordinate  to  the  grand  object  of  raising 
a  revenue.  Spain  retained  in  her  hands  the  whole  trade 
of  the  colonies,  and  guarded  her  monopoly  with  the  most 
severe  penalties.  The  price  of  all  European  commodities 
was  enhanced  three,  four,  or  six  fold,  in  America.  The 
colonists  were  not  allowed  to  manufacture  or  raise  any 
article  which  the  mother  country  could  supply;  they 
were  compelled  to  root  up  their  vines  and  olives  ;  and  for 
a  long  period  one  colony  was  not  even  permitted  to  send 
a  ship  to  another.  To  support  such  a  system  it  was 
necessary  to  keep  the  people  in  profound  ignorance,  and  to 
cherish  prejudices  and  superstition.  The  schools  were 
extremely  few,  and  permission  to  establish  them  was  often 
refused,  even  in  towns  where  the  Spaniards  and  Creoles 
^ere  numerous.  The  importation  of  books,  except  books 
of  Catholic  devotion,  was  rigorously  prohibited.  Even 
the  more  grave  and  dry  sciences,  such  as  botany,  che- 
mistry, and  geometry,  were  objects  of  suspicion.  And 
the  more  effectually  to  crush  all  mental  activity,  natives 
of  America  could  rarely  obtain  leave  to  go  abroad,  to 
seek  in  foreign  countries  what  was  denied  them  in  their 
own.  On  the  other  hand,  the  priests,  sharing  in  the  spoil, 
filled  the  minds  of  the  people  with  childish  superstitions, 
as  a  means  of  confirming  their  own  power,  and  employed 
the  terrors  of  religion  to  teach  them  patience  under 
oppression.  To  create  a  race  of  servants  devoted  to  its 
purposes,  the  court  bestowed  all  offices,  from  the  highest 
to  the  lowest,  on  natives  of  the  peninsula  exclusively. 
The  wisdom  of  the  plan  seem3  questionable,  but  that  it 
*as  adhered  to  with  wonderful  pertinacity  is  certain.  "  It 
was  tho  darling  policy  of  Spain,"  says  Mr  Ward,  "  to  dis- 
seminate through  her  American  dominions  a  class  of  men 
distinct  from  the  people  in  feelings,  habits,  and  interests, 


taught  to  consider  themselves  as  a  privileged  caste,  and  to 
regard  their  own  existence  as  intimately  connected  with 
that  of  the  system  of  which  they  were  the  principal  sup- 
port." With  all  those  means  and  appliances,  it  is  extra- 
ordinary that  Spain  should  have  been  able  to  uphold  foi  > 
three  centuries  a  system  in  which  the  interests  of  bu 
many  millions  of  human  beings  were  so  habitually  and 
unrelentingly  sacrificed.  It  was  the  course  of  events,  much 
more  than  it3  own  inherent  weakness,  which  ultimately 
caused  its  subversion. 

After  the  seizure  of  Ferdinand  and  the  elevation  of 
Joseph  Buonaparte  to  the  throne  of  Spain,  orders  were  dis- 
patched to  all  the  colonies  with  the  view  of  securing  theii 
obedience  to  the  new  dynasty.  The  men  in  office  were 
generally  disposed  to  submit,  but  the  treacherous  conduct 
of  the  French  excited  a  universal  hatred  of  their  cause 
among  the  people ;  and  when  the  regency  established  ifl 
Spain  presented  the  semblance  of  a  patriot  government, 
the  loyalty  of  the  Americans  blazed  forth,  and  poured 
large  contributions  of  money  into  the  hands  of  Ferdi- 
nand's adherents.  The  weak  and  suspicious  conduct  of 
the  regency,  however,  and  its  subserviency  to  the  gTasp-1 
ing  spirit  of  the  merchants  of  Cadiz,  at  length  alienated 
the  colonists,  and  roused  them  to  take  measures  for  their 
own  security.  But  the  diversity  of  views  and^interests 
among  the  colonists  rendered  the  course  to  be  adopted  a 
matter  of  some  delicacy.  Ferdinand,  being  a  prisoner, 
was,  politically  speaking,  a  nonentity.  Napoleon's  brother 
was  clearly  an  usurper,  odious  to,  and  rejected  by,  the  mass 
of  the  Spanish  people.  The  regency,  shut  up  in  Cadiz, 
without  troops  or  revenue,  was  but  a  phantom ;  and  the 
little  power  it  had  was  so  employed  as  to  raise  doubts 
whether  its  membere  were  not  secretly  in  league  with  tho 
enemy.  In  these  circumstances,  when  the  only  govern- 
ment to  which  the  colonists  owed  allegiance  had  fallen 
into  abeyance,  the  wisest  course  they  could  have  pursued 
was  to  declare  themselves  independent.  This  would  at 
once  put  a  stop  to  the  machinations  "of  France,  which  they 
dreaded,  and  prevent  the  regency  from  compromising  or 
sacrificing  their  interests  by  its  weakness  or  treachery.1 
The  Spaniards,  however,  who  occupied  all  public  situa- 
tions, were  averse  to  a  change  which  they  foresaw  must 
lead  to  the  downfall  of  their  power.  This  was  perfectly 
understood  by  the  other  classes ;  and  in  the  first  move- 
ments which  took  place  in  the  different  colonies  nothing 
was  said  derogatory  to  the  supremacy  of  Spain,  though 
independence  was  clearly  aimed  at.  By  spontaneous  efforts 
of  the  people  "juntas  of  government"  were  formed, 
at  Caraccas  in  April  1809,  at  La  Paz  in  Upper  Peru  Chili  ana 
in  July,  at  Quito  in  August,  at  Santa  Fe  and  at  Bue-  Peru- 
nos  Ayres  in  May  1810,  and  at  Santiago  in  Chili  in 
September  the  same  year.  In  1810,  also,  the  first  insur- 
rection broke  out  in  Mexico.  The  colonists  unluckily  had 
been  too  long  the  slaves  of  superstition  and  tyranny  to 
be  fit  for  conducting  so  bold  an  experiment ;  and  after  a 
straggle,  which  was  generally  short,  but  almost  every- 
where bloody,  the  juntas  were  all  put  down  except  in 
Colombia  and  Buenos  Ayres.  But  in  the  stir  and  tumult 
of  the  contest  old  prejudices  had  received  a  shock,  and 
the  seeds  of  political  change  had  struck  their  roots  too 
deep  in  the  soil  to  be  eradicated.  A  desultory  war  was 
carried  on  for  six  years  between  Buenos  Ayres  and  Upper 
Peru,  with  little  advantage  on  either  side.  At  length,  in 
1817,  the  former  state,  which  had  assumed  the  style  of 
an  independent  republic  four  years  before,  sent  an  army 
across  the  Andes  to  Chili,  under  General  San  Martin,  and 
defeated  the  Spaniards  at  Chacabuco.  A  second  victory, 
gained  at  Maipo  in  April  1818,  led  to  the  entire  subver- 
sion of  the  Spanish  power  in  this  colony.  The  war  was 
now  transferred  to  Peru,  where  the  Spaniards  continued 


710 


AMERICA 


[kevolutiohp 


,*>  loeo  ground,  till  the  decisive  battle  of  Ayacucho  put 
an  end  to  their  power  in  December  1824.  Rodil  and 
OUveta,  with  the  obstinacy  of  their  nation,  held  out  for 
6«*ue  months  longer,  when  every  chance  of  success  was 
.gone  ;  but  after  the  surrender  of  Callao  in  January  182G, 
the  Spanish  flag  no  longer  waved  on  any  spot  in  the  land 
of  the  Iucas. 

In  New  Granada  and  Venezuela  the  struggle  was  more 
bloody,  .variable,  and  protracted  than  in- any  other  part 
of  South  America.  As  this  portion  of  the  dominions  of 
Spain  was  comparatively  easy  of  access,  and  from  i«s  cen- 
tral position  was  in  some  measure  the  key  to  the  whole, 
•he  made  immense  efforts  for  its  preservation.  No  Less 
than  ten  thousand  troops  were  sent  out  to  it  within  the 
:ooarse  of  one  year.  The  patriots,  on  the  other  hand,  pos- 
•aessed  advantages  here,  in  the  greater  intelligence  of 
tin-  population,  and  the  easy  intercourse  with  the  West 
Indies.  From  1809,  when  juntas  were  established  in 
Caraccas  and  Quito,  to  the  surrender  of  Porto  Cabcllo 
ki  1823,  the  vicissitudes  of  the  war  were  numerous  and 
^eitraoidiinary.  The  patriots  were  repeatedly  on  the  eve  of 
ji  complete  triumph,  and  as  often  the  state  of  their  affairs 
leeemed  nearly  hopeless.  But  the  spirit  of  resistance  never 
was  entirely  subdued.  The  cause  was  rooted  in  the  hearts 
of  the  people,  and  was  insensibly  gaining  ground  even 
.during  its  reverses.  .To  attempt  tho  faintest  outline  of 
the  military  operations  would  lead  us  beyond  our  proper 
limits.  It  is  enough  to  state  that  the  decisive  victory  of 
Carabobo,  gained  by  the  patriots  in  1819,  gave  them  an 
ascendancy  which  they  never  afterwards  lost ;  but  the 
Spaniards,  according  to  their  custom,  continued  to  main- 
■taiu  the  contest  as  long  as  they  had  a  foot  of  land  in  the 
country,  and  were  only  finally  expelled  in  1823. 

In  Mexico  the  revolutionary  movement  began  at  Dolores 
in  1810,  and  soon  wore  a  very  prosperous  appearance; 
but  the  weakness  or  false  pride  of  the  Creoles,  who 
«tero  cajoled  into  the  ranks  of  their  oppressors  the  old 
Spaniards,  armed  against  the  patriots  those  who  should 
have  been  their  firmest  supporters,  and  by  one  or  two 
mischances  the.  force  of  the  independent  party  was  ruined 
in  November  1815,  when  Morelos,  their  able  leader, 
icas  taken  prisoner  and  executed.  For  six  years  after 
this  period  many  guerilla  bands  maintained  themselves  in 
the  provinces,  and  greatly  annoyed  the  Spaniards ;  but 
they  did  not  act  in  concert,  and  no  congress  or  junta 
[fnafmring  to  represent  the  Mexican  people  existed. 
Even  during  this  interval  the  desire  for  independence  was 
making  great  progress  among  the  population ;  but  the 
establishment  of  a  constitutional  government  in  Spain  in 
1820,  and  its  extension  to  the  colonies,  gave  a  new  aspect 
to  the  affairs  of  Mexico.  The  viceroy  Apodaca,  while 
outwardly  yielding  obedience  to  the  new  system,  was 
silently  taking  measures  to  effect  its  overthrow;  but  he  mis- 
took the  character  of  the  agent  he  employed.  This  per- 
son, tho  celebrated  Iturbide,  turned  his  own  arms  against 
him,  proclaimed  a  constitution  under  the  name  of  "the 
three  guarantees,"  and  put  an  end  to  the  dominion  of 
Spain  in  1821,  almost  without  bloodshed.  Iturbide,  who 
had  nothing  in  view  but  his  own  aggrandisement,  called  a 
congress,  which  he  soon  dissolved  after  getting  himself 
proclaimed  emperor.  His  usurpation  kindled  a  spirit  of 
resistance.  He  was  exiled  in  1823,  made  a  new  attempt 
on  the  liberties  of  his  country  in  1824,  was,taken  prisoner, 
and  expiated  his  crimes  by  a  military  death  within  a 
few  weeks  after  he  landed. 

Guatemala  was  the  last  portion  of  the  American  con- 
tinent which  threw  off  the  Spanish  yoke.  In  1821  the 
persons  in  office  assembled  and  formed  a  junta.  Divi- 
sions arose,  which  were  fomented  by  the  intrusion  of  a 
Mexican  .array   sent   by   Iturbide.     This  force,  however, 


was  beaten,- and  an  elective  assembly  called,  which  df 
clared  the  country  independent,  and  established  a  consti 
tution  in  July  1823.  Spain  now  retains  none  of  her  pos- 
sessions in  the  new  world  but  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico. 
.  Tho  government  of  Brazil  was  conducted  by  the  Por-  Portneoe* 
tugucse  on  a  system  extremely  similar  to  that  of  the  iij^'i'f. 
Spanish  colonics.  The  monopoly  which  the  mother  coun- 
tiy  retained  of  the  commerce  of  the  colony  was  equally 
rigorous ;  tho  restrictions  on  its  internal  industry  as  se 
vere ;  and  the  same  means  were  employed  to  keep  the 
people  in  a  state  of  pupilage  and  ignorance.  Down  te 
180C  a  single  printing-press  had  never  existed  in  Brazil. 
In  180",  when  tho  emperor  Napoleon  had  resolved  to 
possess  himself  of  Portugal,  and  if  possible  to  get  the 
royal  family  into  his  power,  the  king,  seeing  no  othei 
means  of  escaping  from  the  clutches  of  his  enemy,  em- 
barked with  his  suite  in  several  ships,  and  sailed  for 
Brazil,  where  he  arrived  in  January  1808.  He  was  received 
with  joy  by  the  colonists,  who  anticipated  great  benefits 
from  his  residence,  of  which  they  were  not  disappointed. 
One  by  one  the  fetters  of  colonial  dependence  fell  off. 
Within  a  few  months  printing-presses  and  newspapers 
were  established,  the  ports  were  opened  to  the  trade  of  all 
nations,  and  the  people  were  invited  and  encouraged  to 
prosecute  all  those  brnnches  of  internal  industry  frotrj 
which  they  had  till  now  been  interdicted.  To  crown  and 
secure  these  advantages,  Brazil  was  declared  an  inde- 
pendent kingdom  in  1815,  subject  to  the  crown  of  Portugal, 
but  entitled  to  its  separate  administration  and  its  own 
laws.  The  revolutionary  spirit  pervading  the  Spanish, 
colonics  now  found  its  way  into  Brazil,  and  produced  an 
insurrection  at  Peinambuco  in  1817.  It  was  soon  sub-' 
dued,  but  received  a  new  impulse  from  the  constitutional 
systems  suddenly  introduced  into  Spain  and  Portugal  in 
1820.  To  quiet  tho  popular  feeling,  it  was  announced 
that  the  Portuguese  constitution  would  be  extended  to 
Brazil.  Before  this  had  been  done,  however,  tho  old  king 
had  sailed  for  Europe,  leaving  his  son  Dom  Pedro  to  rulo 
in  his  absence.  The  people  now  discovered,  or  believed, 
that  the  object  of  the  king  was  to  degrade  Brazil  again  to 
the  rank  of  a  colony,  and  to  restore  the  old  system  in  all 
its  rigour.  Meetings  were  held,  and  resolutions  adopted 
to  maintain  the  independence  of  the  country  at  all 
hazards  ;  and  the  patriots,  gaining  confidence  by  degrees, 
called  loudly  for  the  establishment  of  a  legislature,  and 
besought  Dom  Pedro  to  put  himself  at  the  head  of  tho 
independent  government.  Ambition  or  policy  induced  Empire  ol 
Pedro  to  listen  to  the  solicitation  :  in  1822  he  was  pro-  BraziL' 
claimed  emperor,  and  had  his  own  title  and  the  inde]  i  n- 
dence  of  Brazil  acknowledged  by  his  father  three  years  • 
afterwards.  A  representative  system  was  at  the  samo 
time  introduced.  An  unlucky  war  now  arose  with  Buenos 
Ayres,  which  weakened  both  countries ;  but  it  was  at 
length  terminated  in  1828  by  the  recognition  of  the  dis- 
puted territory  as  an  independent  state  under  the  title  of 
the  Banda  Oriental. 

Having  finished  this  brief  notice  of  the  series  of  revo- 
lutions which  broke  the  fetters  of  America,  we  shall  now 
give  a  very  short  sketch  of  the  new  political  order  ofj 
things  which  has  arisen  out  of  these  changes,  referring  for, 
a  detailed  account  of  the  several  states  to  the  artick^ 
appropriated  to  them  ir  the  different  volumes  of  the  prc-i 
sent  work. 

America,  with  its  islands,  embraces  at  present  (1874) 
twenty-one  independent  states,  and  various  colonies  belong- 
ing to  six  European  powers.  The  former  are — 1,  Tha 
United  States  of  North  America ;  2.  Brazil ;  3.  Mexico  • 
4.  Venezuela ;  5.  Colombia ;  6.  Ecuador  or  Quito ;  7. 
Peru;  8.  Bolivia  or  Upper  Peru  ;  9.  Chili;  10.  La  Plata; 
or  the  Argentine  Republic;  11.  Uruguay;  12.  Paraguay, 


STATES.]  A    M    E 

13.  Patagonia;  14.  Costa  iiic-.i ,  15.  Mosquitia ;  10.  Gua- 
temala ;  17.  Honduras  ;  18.  Nicaragua;  10.  Saul Salvador; 
20.  Hayti ;  21.  San  Domingo.  The  colonics  belong  to 
Britain,  Denmark,  Sweden,  Holland,  France,  and  Spain. 
Patagonia  is  merely  the  geographical  name  of  a  district  of 
Chili,  occupied  by  independent  tribes  of  Indians ;  Mos- 
quitia,  or  the  Mosquito  coast,  is  a  small  Indian  state  ruled 
by  a  native  king  ;  and  Hayti  is  a  negro  republic  proclaimed 
in  1867.  For  detailed  accounts  of  these  various  states  and 
colonies  we  refer  to  the  articles  under  the  proper  heads.  At 
present  we  must  confine  ourselves  to  a  brief  notice  of  the 
more  important  ones. 

The  United  States  were  colonised  a  century  later  than 
Spanish  America;  but  their  brilliant  and  rapid  progress 
shows  in  a  striking  light  how  much  more  the  prosperity 
of  nations  depends  on  moral  than  on  physical  advantages. 
The  North  Americans  had  no  gold  mines,  and  a  territory  of 
only  indifferent  fertility,  covered  with  impenetrable  woods ; 
but  they  brought  with  them  intelligence,  industry,  a  love 
of  freedom,  habits  of  order,  and  a  pure  and  severe  morality. 
Armed  with  these  gifts  of  the  soul,  they  have  converted  the 
wilderness  into  a  land  teeming  with  life  and  smiling  with 
plenty ;  and  they  have  built  up  a  social  system  so  pre-emi- 
nently calculated  to  promote  the  happinpss  and  moral  im- 
provement of  mankind,  that  it  has  truly  become  the  "  envy 
of  nations."  The  republic  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Canada,  on  the  south-west  by  Mexico,  and  on  the  other 
sides  by  the  sea.  At  present  (1874)  it  consists  of  thirty  - 
seven  states,  with  one  district  and  eleven  territories,  which 
latter  will  be  converted  into  states  as  soon  as  each  acquires 
a  sufficient  population.  The  extent  of  the  country,  including 
the  Indian  lands  stretching  west  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  over 
which  it  claims  a  right  of  pre-emption,  embraces  3,003,844 
square  miles  of  land.  The  agriculture  of  the  United  States 
partakes  to  some  extent  of  a  tropical  character.  The  sugar- 
cane is  cultivated  in  Louisiana,  Florida,  and  other  states 
as  far  north  as  the  latitude  of  31£°.  Cotton  is  raised  in 
all  the  south-east  states  S.  of  the  37th  parallel,  and  tobacco 
chiefly  in  the  middle  states.  Wheat  succeeds  in  the  middle 
and  northern  states,  and  maize  thrives  in  every  part  of  the 
Union.  Agriculture  is  conducted  with  considerable  skill;  but 
the  "  high  farming  "  practised  in  England  would  not  pay  in 
America,  where  money  is  of  much  value  and  land  of  little. 
Scarcely  any  portion  of  the  soil  is  rented  in  the  United 
States  :  the  farmers  are  almost  universally  proprietors  ;  and 
when  their  property  is  extensive,  which  rarely  happens,  it  is 
soon  broken  into  small  occupancies  under  the  law  of  equal 
division.  The  advance  the  Americans  have  made  in  manu- 
factures may  be  judged  of  from  the  fact  that  in  1870, 
according  to  the  census  then  taken,  there  were  upwards  of 
35,000  operatives  employed  in  909  cotton  factories,  and 
77,870  in  1938  manufactories  of  woollen  goods.  The  iron 
industries  gave  employment  to  upwards  of  140,000hands,the 
iron  produced  in  the  country  reaching  nearly  two  millions 
of  tons.  In  the  useful  arts  generally  America  is  on  a  level 
■with  France  and  England".  The  internal  commerce  of  the 
United  States  is  conducted  with  extraordinary  spirit.  The 
amount  of  capital  expended  on  roads,  canals,  harbours, 
bridges,  and  other  public  works,  is  very  great.  The  length 
of  the  lines  of  railway  open  for  traffic  now  exceeds  70,000 
miles,  and  is  rapidly  increasing.  The  extent  of  the  foreign 
trade  of  the  country,  and  the  amount  of  its  shipping,  place 
it  next  to  Great  Britain  in  the  list  of  commercial  nations. 

Tho  population  of  the  United  States  in  1S70  was  )       „„  ,-<,  ... 

by  census f       »8.5aS,3<l 

In  1S00  it  was 5,308,483 

Increase  in  70  years.. 33,24P,8S3 

Since  .1800  the  rate  of   increase  has  been  remarkably 
n:«form  at  nearly  3h  per  cent,  per  annum.     In  1871  the 


RICA 


711 


number  of  immigrants  was  340,938,  of  whom  198,843 
migrated  from  the  British  Isles,  107,201  from  Germany, 
6030  from  China,  and  the  remainder  from  British  North 
America,  Sweden,  Norway,  France,  Austria,  Italy,  Switzer- 
land, Denmark,  and  Russia. 

Slaves  were  first  introduced  in  1619.  In  1775  slavery 
was  abolished  in  Rhode  Island;  in  1780  Massachusetts' 
abolished  it ;  then  numerous  northern  states  followed, 
and  in  December  1865  slaver}'  was  abolished  throughout 
the  United  States.  By  subsequent  amendment  of  the 
constitution  all  negroes  were  admitted  to  all  the  privileges 
of  citizenship.  Thus  it  was  enacted  on  March  30,  1870, 
that  "  no  discrimination  should  be  made  in  the  United 
States  among  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  in  the 
exercise  of  their  elective  franchise,  or  in  the  right  to  hold 
office  in  any  state,  on  account  of  race,  colour,  nativity, 
property,  education,  or  creed."  Every  person  born  or 
naturalised  in  the  United  States  is  recognised  to  be  a 
citizen  thereof. 

The  American  government  is  a  pure  representative  de- 
mocracy in  which  the  people  are  recognised  as  the  fountain 
of  all  power;  and  the  sole  object  of  all  its  mechanism  is 
to  give  effect  to  their  deliberate  opinions.  The  federal 
government  and  the  governments  of  the  separate  states  are 
constituted  on  the  same  plan.  The  legislature  consists  in 
every  case  of  two  bodies,  a  House  of  Representatives  chosen 
for  one  or  two  years,  and  a  Senate  for  a  period  varying 
from  two  years  to  six — all  chosen  by  popular  election,  except 
in  the  case  of  the  Federal  Senate,  which  is  elected  by  the 
legislatures  of  the  thirty-seven  states.  The  President  holds 
his  office  for  four  years,  but  is  occasionally  re-elected  for 
four  years  more. 

The  characteristic  facts  in  the  condition  of  America  are 
the  non-existence  of  titles,  of  privileged  classes,  of  corpora- 
tions in  our  sense  of  the  term,  of  a  landed  aristocracy,  of 
mendicity  except  to  a  very  limited  extent,  and  of  an  en- 
dowed church  ;  the  cheapness  and  efficiency  of  its  govern- 
ment, the  universality  of  education,  the  omnipresence  of  its 
periodical  press,  the  high  feeling  of  self-respect  which  exists 
in  the  very  humblest  classes,  and  the  boundless  spirit  of 
enterprise  which  pervades  all  classes  of  society.  The 
higher  classes  are  less  polished  than  ^n  England,  the  middle 
are  perhaps  less  carefully  instructed;  but  the  American 
people,  taken  collectively,  are  at  least  as  well  educated  and 
have  as  much  intelligence  and  manliness  of  character  as  any 
other  nation  in  the  world. 

In  1807  the  territory  formerly  known  as  Russian  America 
was  purchased  by  the  United  States,  and  called  Alaska. 
It  occupies  the  north-west  corner  of  the  continent,  and 
extends  along  the  coast  as  far  south  as  Mount  Elias,  where 
it  is  bounded  by  British  Columbia  and  the  southern  end  of 
Prince  of  Wales  Island,  in  54°  40'  N.  It  comprises  an 
area  of  about  570,390  square  miles.  Furs  and  fish  aro 
the  most  valuable  commodities.  Sitka  is  the  capital.  It 
is  situated  on  an  island  in  57°  2'  45"  N.  and  135°  17'  10* 
W.  It  has  a  population  of  over  2000  persons.  The 
Yukon  river,  which  is  about  2000  miles  long,  flows  through 
the  territory. 

British  North  America  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  the 
United  States,  on  the  north  by  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  or 
the  west  by  Alaska.  In  18G7  the  provinces  of  Ontario 
(formerly  Upper  Jauada),  Quebec  (formerly  Lower  Canada), 
Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  Manitoba  (formerly  Hudson's 
Bay  Territory),  and  British  Columbia,  were  united  under 
the  title  of  "  The  Dominion  of  Canada,"  while  Newfound- 
land and  Prince  Edward  Island  still  remained  independent. 
The  executive  power  is  vested  in  the  sovereign  of  the 
British  empire,  but  is  carried  out  by  a  Governor-General  and 
Privy  Council.  The  Parliament  consists  of  a  Senate  ar.d  a 
House  of  Commons.     The  senators  are  nominated  for  life 


712 


AMERICA 


[state 


by  the  Governor-General,  and  are  75  in  number.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  House  of  Commons  are  elected  by  the  people  in 
the  proportion  of  one  member  for  each  17,000  souls.  The 
eeat  is  retainable  for  five  years,  and  each  member  is  allowed 
a  salary  and  travelling  expenses.  Ottawa  is  the  capital  of 
the  Dominion.  According  to  the  latest  census,  taken  on 
April  3,  1871,  the  area  and  population  of  the  several  pro- 
vinces are  as  under  : — 


Area,  iqcarc  miles. 

Ontario , 121, 2C0 

Quebec 210,020 

Nova  Scotin  18,660 

New  Brunswick 27,105 

Manitoba 2.8D1.734 

British  Columbia 213,000 


3,481,779 

Newfoundland  (1869) 40,200 

Prince  Edwards  Island  (May  1871)    2,173 


Population. 

1,620,842 

1,191,505 

887,800 

285,777 

111,963 

50,000 

3,647,887 

146,536 

94,021 


In  1871  the  Dominion  had  2854  miles  of  railway  open, 
1173  miles  in  preparation,  and  3000  miles  for  which  con- 
cessions had  bc;n  granted  by  the  government.  A  line  has 
been  projected  to  extend  from  Lake  Superior  to  the  Pacific 
0:ean. 

Brazil  is  the  largest  state  in  South  America,  and  enjoys 
the  greatest  combination  of  natural  advantages.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  south,  west,  and  north,  by  La  Plata, 
Paraguay,  Uruguay,  Bolivia,  Peru,  Ecuador,  Colombia, 
Venezuela,  and  Guiana.  Embracing  an  area  of  3,100,000 
English  miles,'  ft  is  nearly  as  large  as  Europe,  and  is  capable 
of  supporting  a  much  greater  population.  Its  climate  is 
probably  cooler  and  more  salubrious  than  that  of  any  other 
extensive  tropical  country  ;  and  every  part  of  its  soil  is  rich 
and  fruitful,  as  its  magnificent  forests  and  the  exuberance 
and  boundless  variety  of  its  vegetable  productions  attest. 
Its  commerical  advantages  are  admirable.  No  country  in 
the  new  world  has  the  same  facilities  for  carrying  on  in- 
tercourse with  Europe  and  with  all  its  neighbours.  The 
Amazon,  with  its  numerous  branches,  the  Parana,  the  Tc- 
cantins,  the  St  Francisco,  and  other  streams,  supply  the  most 
remote  parts  of  the  interior  with  easy  means  of  communi- 
cation with  the  sea.  Brazil  possesses  iron,  copper,  and  pro- 
bably all  the  other  metals ;  but  her  mines  of  gold  and  dia- 
monds are  remarkably  rich.  Her  most  valuable  productions 
for  exportation  are  cotton,  sugar,  coffee,  hides,  tobacco, 
vanilla,  dyewoods,  aromatic  plants,  timber,  &c.  Her  com- 
merce is  much  greater  than  that  of  all  the  Spanish  colonics 
put  together.  The  Brazilians  are  lively,  irritable,  hospitable, 
but  ignorant,  superstitious,  and  rather  inclined  to  indol- 
ence. Their  acquisition  of  independence  in  1822,  however, 
worked  like  a  charm,  and  produced  an  extraordinary  change 
in  their  industry,  opinions,  and  modes  of  thinking.  There 
we  numerous  schools,  but  although  the  education  is  gra- 
tuitous, they  are  not  well  attended.  The  advance  litera- 
ture has  made  will  be  allowed  to-be  great  when  it  is 
remembered  that  printing  was  unknown  in  the  country  in 
1807.  According  to  the  constitution  introduced  by  Dom 
Pedro,  the  legislature  consists  of  a  Senate  of  52  members, 
who  hold  their  places  for  life,  and  a  House  of  Congress  of 
107,  elected  by  the  people  for  four  years;  upon  the  acts  of 
both  of  which  bodies  the  emperor  has  a  negative.  The 
members  of  the  lower  house  are  chosen  by  elections  of  two 
stages.  The  householders  of  a  parish  meet  and  appoint 
one  elector  for  every'  thirty  of  their  number,  and  the 
^electors  thus  chosen  meet  in  districts  and  choose  the  depu- 
ties. The  members  of  both  houses  receive  salaries.  The 
executive  power  is  invested  in  the  emperor  assisted  by  a 
ministry  and  a  council  of  state. 

The  population  of  Brazil  amounted  to  3,671,558,  accord- 
ing to  returns  published  in  1818,  and  procured  probably  for 
the  purpose  of  taxation.    This  was  exclusive  of  the  wander- 


ing Indians.  In  1823  it  was  estimated  at  4,000,000 
by  Humboldt.  M.  Schceffer  carries  it  to  5,700,000,  and 
an  estimate  for  18G7  makes  it  9,858,000,  comprising 
8,148,000  free  persons,  and  1,674,000  slaves.  The  census 
taken  in  1872  gives  a  population  of  10,095,978,  including 
1,683,864  slaves. 

Brazil,  unlike  the  Spanish  American  provinces,  has  re- 
mained, subject  to  its  ancient  sovereign  ;  and  its  govern- 
ment, from  being  colonial,  has  become  imperial  and  inde- 
pendent, without  any  violent  revolution.  The  result  has 
been  greatly  in  favour  of  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the 
country.     See  Brazil. 

The  portion  of  South  America  next  to  the  isthmus  in- 
cludes the  states  of  Venezuela,  Colombia,  and  Ecuador.  From 
1820  till  1831,  when  a  separation  took  place,  it  formed 
one  state  under  the  name  of  Colombia;  which  name  has 
recently  been  assumed  by  the  republic  long  known  as  New 
Granada.  The  territories  of  these  three  states  are  bounded 
on  the  south  by  Peru,  on  the  south-east  and  east  by  Brazil 
and  Guiana,  on  the  other  sides  by  the  sea,  and  embrace  an 
area  of  1,020,000  square  English  miles.  The  ooil  is 
fruitful  and  the  climate  salubrious,  except  along  the  coast 
and  in  a  few  other  low  situations.  The  eastern  part 
consists  chiefly  of  the  llanos  or  steppes  of  the  Orinoco, 
which  are  very  hot ;  the  western,  of  the  mountain  ridges 
of  the  Andes,  which  support  tracts  of  table-land  where  the 
blessings  of  a  temperate  climate  are  enjoyed,  and  the 
cerealia  of  Europe  can  be  successfully  cultivated.  The 
tropical  vegetation  extends  to  the  height  of  4000  feet; 
from  4000  to  9000  is  the  region  where  wheat;  barley,  and 
leguminous  plants  thrive.  Above  the  level  of  9000  feet 
the  climate  becomes  severe  ;  and  at  15,700  feet  vegetation 
ceases.  The  situation  of  Colombia  is  highly  favourable 
for  commerce.  It  has  excellent  ports  on  both  seas ;  and 
being  mistress  of  the  isthmus  of  Panama,  it  ha3  superior 
facilities  for  establishing  a  communication  from  the  one  to 
the  other.  The  Orinoco  and  the  Amazon  afford  the  inmost 
districts  of  Venezuela  and  Ecuador  the  advantages  of 
water  carriage  to  the  ocean.  The  Cassiquiari,  an  inter- 
mediate obannel,  by  which  the  Orinoco  bifurcates  or  con- 
nects with  the  Amazon  (a  remarkable  hj  drographical  pheno- 
menon), is  within  the  limits  of  Venezuela.  The  territory 
contains  much  gold  and  silver- — the  former  in  alluvial  depo- 
sits :  it  has  mines  of  copper  and  mercury  also,  with  platinum, 
iron,  end-coal.  Its  tropical  productions  are  similar  to  those 
cf  Brazil ;  but  it  has  as  yet  cultivated  few  articles  for  foreign 
markets,  and  its  exports  are  inconsiderable.  The  civilised 
population  of  this  country  is  chiefly  located  in  the  districts 
near  the  coast,  and  in  the  high  valleys  or  table-land  of  the 
Andes.  Its  amount,  according  to  the  Statesman's  Tear- 
Book,  is — 

Venezuela 1,564,438 

Colombia ....2,794,473 

Ecuador 1,300,000 


6,658,906 


It  is  always  of  importance  to  know  in  what  proportions  the 
different  races  are  blended,  but  on  this  subject  we  have 
only  approximate  data.  In  Colombia  the  whites  form  about 
half  of  the  population,  the  Indians  about  one-third,  and 
the  negroes  about  one-tenth,  the  remainder  being  of  mixed 
blood.  In  Venezuela  the  whites  form  about  one-third,  the 
Indians  about  one-thirtieth,  and  Zamboes  (from  Indiana 
and  negroes)  about  one-half.  In  Ecuador  the  proportions 
are,  roughly — whites  one-sixth,  Indians  nearly  one-half, 
negroes  one-thirteenth. 

All  the  three  states  are  republican.  See  Venezuela, 
Colombia,  and  Ecuador. 

The  Argentine  Kepublic,  or  La  Plata,  is,  in  point  of 
natural  advantages,  the  second  state  of  importance  in  South 


1 


STATES.] 


AMERICA 


713 


America.  It  is  bounded  on  the  west  by  Chili ;  on  the  north 
by  Bolivia;  on  the  east  by  Paraguay,  Brazil,  Uruguay,  and 
the  sea;  and  on  the  south  by  Patagonia.  It  embraces  an 
area  of  515,000  square  miles  if  we  include  Tucuman,  Salta, 
Santiago  del  Estero,  and  Jujuy,  which  scarcely  acknowledge 
its  authority.  Nearly  the  whole  territory  of  this  republic 
consists  of  open  plains  destitute  of  timber,  called  pampas, 
extending  from  the  Atlantic  and  the  river  Paraguay  to  the 
Andes.  The  eastern  part  of  these  plains  exhibits  a  vigorous 
growth  of  herbage,  intermixed  with  a  forest  of  gigantic  plants, 
9  or  10  feet  high,  which  have  been  called  thistles,  but  are 
now  known  to  be  artichokes ;  in  the  middle  they  are  covered 
with  grass ;  and  the  western  division,  which  extends  to  the 
foot  of  the  Andes,  consists  of  barren  sandy  plains,  thinly 
sprinkled  with  shrubs  and  thorny  trees.  The  openness 
and  dryness  of  the  country,  however,  render  it  healthy ; 
and  by  the  Parana,  the  Paraguay,  and  their  branches,  it 
possesses  a  great  extent  of  natural  inland  navigation.  It 
has  mines  of  gold,  silver,  copper,  lead,  and  probably  iron ; 
but  its  mineral  riches  have  been  greatly  diminished  by  the 
separation  of  Potosi,  Cochabamba,  La  Paz,  and  other  pro- 
vinces now  forming  part  of  Bolivia.  The  force  of  this 
republic  lies  almost  entirely  in  the  wealth,  intelligence, 
and  commercial  spirit  of  its  capital,  Buenos  Ayres,  which 
contains  150,000  souls,  including  a  large  proportion  of 
foreigners.  A  small  number  of  estancias,  or  grazing  farms, 
are  sparingly  diffused  over  its  boundless  plains,  the  pro- 
prietors of  which  keep  multitudes  of  horses  and  mules, 
flocks  of  sheep,  and  vast  herds  of  cattle ;  the  latter  being 
chiefly  valued  for  their  skins.  These  people  are  a  bold, 
frank,  hardy,  half-civilised  race,  who  live  isolated  in  the 
wilderness,  and  scarcely  acknowledge  any  government. 
The  census  of  1869  gives  a  total  population  of  1,736,922. 
See  Argentine  .Republic,  and  for  the  two  small  states 
formed  out  of  the  north-eastern  portion  of  its  territory,  see 
Paraguay  and  Uruguay.  Entre  Rios,  formerly  a  sepa- 
rate state,  is  now  a  province  of  La  Plata. 

,  Chili  extends  along  the  coast  of  the  Pacific  from  24°  to 
56°  of  south  latitude:  its  length  is  2270  miles;  its  breadth 
varies  from  40  to  200;  and  its  surface,  exclusive  of  Arau- 
cania,  which  has  an  area  of  88,000  sq.  miles,  is  estimated 
at  130,977  English  square  miles.  The  country  consists 
properly  of  the  western  slope  or  declivity  of  the  Andes, 
for  the  branches  of  the  mountains  running  out  in  tortuous 
directions  from  the  main  trunk  reach  to  the  sea-shore.  It 
enjoys  an  excellent  and  healthful  climate ;  severe  cold  is  un- 
known in  the  inhabited  parts,  and  the  heat  is  seldom  exces- 
sive. The  useful  soil  bears  a  small  proportion  to  the  entire 
surface  of  the  country,  consisting  merely  of  the  bottom  of 
the  valleys.  It  has  rich  mines  of  gold,  silver,  and  copper  in 
the  northern  provinces ;  but  very  few  of  them  can  be  worked 
in  consequence  of  the  absolute  sterility  of  the  adjacent 
country.  Its  two  northern  provinces,  occupying  450  miles 
of  the  coast,  are  nearly  perfect  deserts.  The  soil  continues 
extremely  .dry,  and  yields  nothing  without  irrigation,  till  we 
reach  the  latitude  of  35° ;  a  id  it  is  believed  that  not  one- 
fiftieth  part  of  the  country  L<  fit  for  cultivation.  But  south 
of  the  river  Maule  the  land  :s  covered  with  fine  timber,  and 
bears  crops  of  wheat  and  other  grain  without  the  aid  of  any 
other  moisture  than  what  is  supplied  by  the  atmosphere. 
This  is  in  truth  the  fine  and  fruitful  part  of  Chili ;  and  the 
project  was  once  entertained  of  selecting  its  chief  town,  Con- 
ception, for  the  seat  of  the  government.  '  Chili  has  no  manu- 
factures, and  is  unfavourably  situated  for  commerce.  It 
has  no  navigable  rivers,  while  its  mountainous  surface  is  an 
obstacle  to  the  formation  of  roads;  but  nevertheless  it  has 
bow  upwards  of  500  miles  of  railway  opened.  A  represen- 
tative ^institution  was  established  in  Chili  in  1833.  An 
enumeration  dated  1869  makes  the  population,  exclusive  of 
Araucauia(with  70.000  aborigines),  1,938,801.   See  Chiu. 


Peru  may  be  regarded  as  a  continuation  of  Chili,  consist-, 
ing  of  the  western  declivities  of  the  Andes,  from  the  4th 
to  the  22d  degree  of  south  latitude,  with  the  addition  of 
a  considerable  tract  on  the  east  side  of  the  mountains,  be- 
tween the  4th  and  15th  parallels.  There  are  few  countries 
in  the  world  which  have  a  more  singular  physical  charac- 
ter than  the  western  part  of  Peru.  It  is  a  belt  or  zone 
of  sands,  1240  miles  in  length  and  from  70  to  600  in 
breadth,  with  inequalities  of  surface  which  might  be  called 
mountains  if  they  were  not  seen  in  connection  with  the 
stupendous  background  of  the  Andes.  This  long  line  of 
desert  is  intersected  by  rivers  and  streams,  which  are  seldom 
less  than  20  or  more  than  80  miles  apart,  and  on  the  sides 
of  which  narrow  strips  of  productive  soil  are  created  by 
means  of  irrigation.  These  isolated  valleys  form  the 
whole  habitable  country.  Some  of  the  large  rivers  reach 
the  sea ;  the  smaller  are  either  consumed  in  irrigating 
the  patches  of  cultivated  land  or  absorbed  by  the  encom- 
passing desert,  where  it  never  rains,  where  neither  beast 
nor  bird  lives,  and  a  blade  of  vegetation  never  grew.  No 
stranger  can  travel  from  one  of  these  valleys  to  another 
without  a  guide,  for  the  desert  is  trackless ;  and  the  only 
indications  of  a  route  are  an  occasional  cluster  of  bones, 
the  remains  of  beasts  of  burden  fhat  have  perished.  Even 
experienced  guides,  who  regulate  their  course  by  the  stars, 
the  sun,  or  the  direction  of  the  wind,  sometimes  lose  thtir 
path,  and  they  almost  inevitably  perish.  Of  a  party  of  300 
soldiers  thrown  ashore  by  a  shipwreck  in  1823  on  one  of 
these  desert  spaces,  nearly  a  hundred  expired  before  they 
reached  the  nearest  valley.  Ignorance  and  wonder  have 
been  busy  with  this  singular  region  :  legends  are  current, 
which  tell  that  descendants  of  the  ancient  Peruvians  have 
lived  in  some  of  these  mysterious  valleys,  hid  from  the  know- 
ledge of  their  merciless  invaders,  since  the  days  of  the 
Incas.  We  have  no  reason  to  beiieve  that  more  than  one 
acre  in  a  hundred  of  maritime  Peru  will  ever  be  available 
for  the  sustenance  of  mankind.  The  country  ha3  two  ad- 
vantages— its  mines  of  the  precious  metals,  and  a  temperate 
and  delightful  climate,  in  consequence  of  the  absence  of  rain 
and  the  fogs  which  intercept  the  solar  heat.  It  can  never 
be  rich  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term,  or  make  much  pro- 
gress in  the  improvements  which  depend  upon  a  dense  popu- 
lation. Like  Chili,  it  has  no  navigable  rivers — and  nature 
has  deprived  it  of  the  means  of  forming  good  roads.  There 
are  indeed  few  countries  in  the  world  whose  natural  advan- 
tages have  been  so  much  overrated  as  Peru';  and  it  requires 
little  sagacity  to  discover  that  its  future  career  cannct  cor- 
respond with  its  past  celebrity.  The  districts  east  of  the 
Andes,  which  have  a  hot  climate  accompanied  with  a  rich 
,soil,  will  ultimately  be  the  most  valuable  part  of  the  country; 
but  their  secluded  situation  and  want  of  communication 
with  other  countries  must  keep  them  long  in  a  backward 
state.  The  government  is  republican.  Peru  comprehends 
a  surface  of  502,760  square  miles ;  the  capital,  Lima, 
contained  in  1862  a  population  of  121,370.  Inthatv*ar 
a  rough  calculation  W3s  made  which  gave  3,199,000  as  the 
entire  population  of  the  republic.  It  was  also  estimated 
that  the  proportions  of  races  were  : — 

Indians 57  per  cent! 

Mixed  races 23        ,, 

Spaniards,  Negroes,  Chinese,  &c 20        ,, 

Bolivia,  or  Upper  Peru,  lies  eastward  of  Lower  Peru,  and 
is  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  Argentine  Republic,  and  on 
the  north  and  east  by  Brazil.  It  is  of  an  irregular  form,  and 
comprehends  a  space  of  473,300  square  miles.  The  climate 
is  pleasa  .t  and  healthful,  the  soil  is  generally  dry,  and  in  the 
eastern  parts,  as  well  as  the  elevated  table-land,  its  aridity 
produces  b^.rrenness.  Nature,  however,  as  a  compensation 
for  its  other  disadvantages,  has  bestowed  upon  it  some  of 
the  richest  mines  in  the  world.     The  country  was  erected 


1—24* 


14 


AMERICA 


[states. 


inio  an  independent  state  only  in  182C,  and  named  Bolivia 
m  honour  of  its  liberator  Bolivar.  It  has  a  small  strip  of 
barren  territory  on  the  slices  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  between 
the  22d  and  25th  parallel ;  but  it  is,  properly  speaking, 
entirely  an  inland  country,  and  more  deficient  in  the  means 
of  communicating  with  foreign  nations  than  any  other  state 
in  America.     See  Bolivia. 

Guatemala  or  "Central  America"  originally  occupied  all 
the  narrow  part  of  the  continent  from  the  83d  to  the  94th 
degree  of  west  longitude,  extending  800  miles  in  length, 
and  covering  a  space  of  130,000  square  miles.  The  surface 
of  the  country  is  hilly,  and  in  most  parts  mountainous ;  the 
climate  warm  and  very  moist.  The  mineral  wealth  of  the 
country  is  not  great ;  but  this  is  compensated  by  the  rich- 
ness of  its  soil  and  its  excellent  commercial  position.  It 
was  a  federal  republic,  but  its  five  provinces  have  now 
become  independent  states.  Humboldt  estimated  the 
population  of  the  five  states  at  1,600,000.  According 
to  a  statement  furnished  to  Mr  Thomson,  a  former  British 
envoy  by  the  government,  it  was  2,000,000 ;  while  the 
most  recent  of  the  estimates  made  by  the  resident  officials 
give  a  total  of  2,335,019,  viz.  :— 

Guatemala  (1865) 1,180,000 

St  Salvador  (1870) 434,520 

Honduras 250,000 

Nicaragua 350,000 

Costa  Rica '120,499 


2,335,019 


The  proportions  of  the  different  races  have  been  esti- 
mated as  follows . — 

Humboldt.  Thomson. 

Whites  and  Creoles 20  per  cent.  20  per  cent. 

Mixed  classes 28        ,,  40        ,, 

Indians 52       „  40       „ 

Mexico  Mexico  is  the  most  populous  and  powerful  of  all  the  new 

states  erected  in  America  since  the  commencement  of  the 
present  century.  Previous  to  the  war  with  the  United 
States  it  embraced  an  area  of  1,600,000  square  miles,  which 
was  reduced  to  1,030,442  by  the  cession  of  the  northern 
provinces  in  1848.  About  three-fourths  of  the  surface  con- 
sists either  of  mountains  or  table-land,  raised  from  5000  to 
10,000  feet  above  the  sea.  Owing  to  this  extraordinary 
elevation,  even  those  parts  of  the  country  which  lie  within 
the  torrid  zone  (the  low  ground  on  the  coast  excepted) 
enjoy  a  dry,  cool,  and  salubrious  atmosphere ;  but  this 
advantage  is  counterbalanced  by  the  insufficient  supply  of 
moisture  and  the  rapid  evaporation  resulting  from  the 
same  cause,  which  render  the  soil  generally  rather  arid, 
and  in  many  parts  absolutely  barren ;  by  the  smallness 
of  the  rivers  and  the  almost  entire  absence  of  inland 
navigation ;  and  by  the  obstacles  which  the  steep  and 
rugged  ascents  from  the  coast  presnt  to  land-carriage. 
The  republic  is,  besides,  almost  destitute  of  ports  on  the 
Atlantic  side.  Mexico  is  extremely  rich  in  the  precious 
metals  ;  and  there  are  few  regions  upon  which  nature  has 
lavished  so  g~eat  a  variety  of  vegetable  productions,  or 
where  plants  fitted  to  the  coldest  and  the  hottest  climates 
may  be  seen  so  nearly  in  juxtaposition.  The  low  ground 
on  the  east  coast  is  admirably  adapted  for  raising  sugar; 
and  no  country  is  more  favourably  situated  for  growing 
the  other  great  articles  of  West  India  produce — coffee, 
cotton,  cocoa,  indigo,  and  tobacco.  The  raising  of  bread- 
ttnjft — as  they  are  termed  by  the  Anglo-Americans — wheat, 
maize,  and  barley,  with  potatoes,  the  cassava  root,  beans, 
pumpkins,  fruit,  <fec. — for  domestic  consumption,  will  neces- 
sarily be  the  chief  branch  of  industry  on  the  table-lands. 
The  mines  have  never  employed  above  30,000  labpurers ; 
and  their  superior  productiveness  depends  chiefly  on  two 
circumstances — the  great  abundance  of  the  ore,  which  is 
only  of  poor  quality,  and  the  comparative  facility  with 


which  they  can  be  worked  owing  to  their  being  generally 
situated  in  fertile  districts,  where  provisions,  wood,  and  all 
materials  can  be  easily  procured. 

Mexico  has  had  her  full  share  of  the  ignorance  and  super- 
stition which  belonged  to  Spain;  and  these  evils,  with  her 
internal  dissensions  and  her  rapacious,  immoral,  and  intole- 
rant clergy,  are  great  obstacles  to  her  improvement.  That 
excessive  inequality  of  fortune  which  corrupts  both  extremes 
of  society  has  been  nowhere  in  the  world  more  prevalent  than 
in  Mexico.  ■  Individual  proprietors  possessed  immense  tracts 
of  land  and  boundless  wealth,  while  all  the  great  towns 
swarmed  with  beggars,  and  thousands  fell  a  sacrifice  to  fa- 
mine from  time  to  time.  The  Mexican  constitution,  which 
is  federal  and  almost  a  literal  copy  of  that  of  the  United 
States,  was  established  in  1824.  The  distinction  >i  castes, 
which  was  maintained  in  the  greatest  rigour  under  the  colo- 
nial system,  has  now  disappeared,  and  power  and  office  are 
open,  not  only  legally  but  practically,  to  men  of  all  colours. 
The  African  blacks  formed  an  extremely  small  proportion  of 
the  Mexican  population  at  all  times ;  and  since  the  ^evolution 
slavery  has  ceased.  The  number  of  inhabitants  was  estimated 
at  6,800,000  by  Humboldt  in  1823,  and  classed  as  follows : — 

Nnmber*.  Proportion*. 

Whites  ....  1,230,000  19  per  cent 

Mixed  races.. 1,860,000  27        „ 

Indians 3,710,000  64 

Mr  Ward  states  that  very  few  of  the  whites,  so  called,  are 
free  from  a  mixture  of  Indian  blood  and  now  when  tha 
odious  distinctions  founded  on  complexion  are  abolished, 
they  readily  acknowledge  it.  Mr  Ward  estimated  the 
population  at  8,000,000  in  1827.  In  1869  that  of 
Mexico  with  its  present  boundaries  was  stated  to  be 
9,176,082.     See  Mexico. 

Hayti,  called  formely  Hispaniola  and  St  Domingo,  was  Hayti 
a  colony  belonging  partly  to  France  and  partly  to  Spain 
till  1791,  when  the  blacks  rose  in  arms,  killed  a  number  of 
whites,  and  expelled  the  rest  The  attempts  of  England  in 
1793,  and  of  France  in  1801,  to  conquer  the  island,  both 
failed,  and  Hayti  has  at  length  been  acknowledged  as  an 
independent  state  by  all  the  great  powers,  including  France. 
The  island,  which  contains  about  28,000  square  miles,  is 
remarkably  fertile ;  but  its  climate,  like  that  of  the  West 
Indies  generally,  is  rather  unhealthy.  The  population, 
which  before  the  revolution  was  estimated  at  600,000,  is 
now  said  to  amount  to  900,000  or  1,000,000,  and  it  is  almost 
entirely  composed  of  blacks  and  mulattoes.  The  island 
formed  one  state  till  1844,  when  the  eastern  or  Spanish 
portion  revolted,  and  established  its  independence.  It  is 
now  the  republic  of  "  Dominica,",  ruled  by  a  president, 
while  the  western  portion,  retaining  the  name  of  Hayti, 
was  formed  into  an  empire  under  Faustin  I. ;  but  in  1867  a 
republican  constitution  was  proclaimed.  After  long  negotia- 
tions, the  French  government  agreed  in  1838  to  acknow- 
ledge the  independence  of  Hayti  on  condition  of  the  latter 
paying  60,000,000  of  francs  by  small  annual  instalments 
continued  for  30  years.  The  money  was  destined  chiefly 
to  indemnify  the  French  proprietors  who  were  chased  from 
the  uJand  in  1791.     Nothing  has  been  paid  of  late  years. 

The  multifarious  naturesof  the  subject  prevents  us  from 
attempting  any  description  of  the  West  India  colonies,  in- 
sular and  continental.  The  islands  have  been  variously 
denominated,  but  the  most  convenient  division  seems  to  us 
the  following : — 1.  The  Great  Antilles,  comprehending 
Cuba,  Hayti,  Jamaica,  and  Porto  Rico;  2.  The  Small 
Antilles,  extending  in  a  semicircle  from  Porto  Bico  to  the 
coast  of  Guiana ;  3.  The  Bahama  Isles,  about  500  in  num- 
ber, of  which,  however,  only  a  small  number  are  inhabited. 

The  British  colonies  are  18  in  number,  viz.,  16  insvlai — 
Jamaica,  Antigua,  Barbadoes,  Dominica,  Grenada,  Mont- 
serrat,  Nevis.  St  Kitts,  St  Lucia.  St  Vincent,  Tobago, 


COMMUNICATION.] 


AMERICA 


715 


Jransit 
from  the 


the  Pacific. 


Tortola,  Trinidad,  Bahamas,  Bermuda,  Falkland  Island; 
and  2  continental-—  British  Guiana  and  Honduras.  The 
colonies  contained  a  population  of  1,228,967  in  1871,  of 
whom  probably  four-fifths  were  persons  of  colour. 

The  Spanish  colonies  are  Cuba  and  Porto  Kico.  Cuba  has 
an  area  of  45,883  square  miles,  and  in  1 867  the  population 
was  1,41 4,508.  Porto  Rico  has  an  area  of  3530  square  miles, 
and  in  1866  a  population  of  646,362  persons.  In  1867 
there  were  upwards  of  700,000  slaves  in  these  two  colonies. 

It  August  1872  the  Spanish  government  issued  a  decree 
ordering  that  arrangements  should  be  made  for  the  gradual 
emancipation  of  the  slaves ;  and  in  December  1872  a  bill 
was  laid  before  the  Spanish  Cortes  for  the  abolition  of  slavery 
in  Porto  Rico  in  1873 ;  so  that  probably  slavery  will  soon 
be  extinct  throughout  the  whole  of  America. 

The  French  colonies  in  the  West  Indies  include  Mar- 
tinique, Guadaloupe,  and  some  smaller  isles  ;  and  on  the 
continent,  Guiana.  According  to  a  recent  authority  the 
population  of  these  colonies  was  318,934. 

The  Dutch  have  Surinam  on  the  continent,  with  the 
islands  of  Curaeoa,  St  Eustatius,  and  St  Martin. 

In  1870  the  population  of  the  islands  was  35,482,  and 
of  Surinam  59,885,  occupying  an  area  of  2812  geographical 
square  miles.  Slavery  has  ceased  since  July  1863,  when  the 
Dutch  government  compensated  theownersfor44,645  slaves. 

The  Danes  have  the  small  islands  of  Santa  Cruz 
and  St  John,  containing  a  population  of  24,698  in 
1860,  of  whom  most  are  freed  slaves,  and  St  Thomas, 
which  had  in  the  same  year  a  population  of  13,463. 
St  Bartholomew,  another  of  the  Lesser  Antilles,  belongs 
to  Sweden. 

The  problem  of  making  a  grand  highway  for  travel  and 
traffic  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  either  across  the 
AUantic  to  breadth  of  the  American  continent  or  by  taking  advantage 
of  the  narrow  isthmus  that  joins  its  northern  to  its  southern 
portion,  has  been  the  subject  of  many  schemes  since  its 
western  as  well  as  its  eastern  shores  have  been  inhabited  by 
enterprising  nations,  skilled  in  commerce  and  in  mechanical 
arts.  It  ia  interesting  to  remark  that,  whereas  the  hope  of 
sailing  to  India  by  a  westward  route  was  the  motive  which 
guided  the  navigators  of  the  15th  century  to  the  disco- 
very of  America,  the  means  of  internal  communication  for 
this  part  of  the  earth,  and  the  geographical  exploration  of 
its. remote  extremities,  have  been  more  recently  advanced 
by  the  desire  of  finding  a  path  in  this  direction  to  the 
Asiatic  resorts  of  mercantile  activity.  Arctic  voyarers 
were  at  first  invited  to  the  icy  Beas  of  high  latitudes  by 
the  dream  of  a  north-west  passage  to  China  and  the  East 
Indies.  It  was  a  passage  by  sea  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific  which  Sir  John  Franklin  went  to  seek  in  his  last 
expedition  in  1845,  but  which  Captain  Maclure  effected  in 
1856,  though  by  an  opposite  course  from  Behring's  Strait 
to  Baffin's  Bay.  But  it  is  scarcely  possible  that  this  route 
along  the  north  coasts  of  America  should  ever  be  habitually 
frequented  by  mariners  going  to  and  fro  between  the  two 
oceans.  At  the  opposite  extremity  of  the  continent  arrange- 
ments have  lately  been  made  to  substitute  a  shorter  way 
to  the  Pacific  for  that  round  Cape  Horn  by  improving  the 
navigation  of  the  Strait  of  Magalhaens,  which  separates 
Tien-a  del  Fuego  from  the  south  portion  of  the  mainland. 
The  project  of  cutting  a  canal  through  the  central  American 
isthmus  has  often  been  discussed.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
of  the  practicability  of  a  system  of  inland  navigation  from 
the  Atlantic  coast  by  the  river  San  Juan  to  Lake  Nicar- 
agua, and  thence  by  a  canal  to  the  neighbouring  Lake 
Managua  or  Leon,  with  a  short  artificial  channel  of  exit  to 
the  Pacific.  A  different  route,  of  combined  river  and  canal 
navigation,  has  more  recently  been  proposed,  which  would 
cut  off  the  whole  of  the  isthmus  from  the  body  of  South 
America — entering  the  uppermost  part  of  that  mainland 


by  the  river  Atrato  from  the  Gulf  of  Darieu,  ascending 
this  river  150  miles,  then  following  up  the  course  of  tke 
Napipi  or  the  Bajaya,  tributaries  of  the  Atrato — crossing 
the  coast  range  of  hills  by  a  canal  with  several  locks,  and 
descending  to  the  Pacific  either  in  Limon  Bay  or  in  the 
Gulf  of  Cupica.  But  these  projects  could  be  adapted  oniy 
to  the  admission  of  vessels  of  smaller  size  than  such  as  in 
the  present  day  are  commonly  employed  for  commercial 
traffic  between  distant  regions  of  the  world.  In  spite  of 
the  grand  example  of  the  Suez  Canal,  it  seems  likely  that, 
in  a  country  tolerably  productive  of  wealth  and  capable  of 
supporting  population,  the  more  profitable  means  of  provid- 
ing for  a  through  traffic  will  be  found  in  railroads,  which 
serve  also  for  the  accommodation  of  intermediate  districts. 
In  this  class  of  undertakings  North  America  has  of  late 
years  displayed  a  wonderful  degree  of  active  enterprise. 
The  line  of  60  miles  from  AspinwalL,  near  Chagres,  across 
the  neck  of  land,  which  is  there  so  narrow,  to  Panama,  on 
the  Pacific  side,  though  situated  in  the  territory  of  a  Spanish 
republic,  was  constructed  by  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
expressly  for  the  traffic  between  New  York  and  San 
Francisco.  But  since  that  first  opening  of  a  gateway 
of  communication  with  California,  Australia,  or  China, 
for  the  travellers  and  merchandise  of  the  Atlantic  statea- 
or  of  Europe,  the  whole  breadth  of  the  continent  where  it 
widens,  in  latitudes  between  35°  and  45°  N.,  all  belonging 
to  the  United  States,  has  been  traversed  by  a  continuous 
railroad  system.  The  middle  link  of  this  system  is  the 
Union  Pacific  Railway,  1600  miles  long,  from  Omaha,  on 
the  Missouri,  in  the  state  of  Nebraska,  through  that  state; 
up  the  course  of  the  Platte  river,  and  through  Wyoming, 
Idaho,  Utah,  and  Nevada,  crossing  the  summits  of  three 
great  mountain  ranges  from  7000  feet  to  8250  feet  high,, 
and  meeting  the  Central  Pacific  Railway  of  California.-. 
This  line  was  through  a  barren  desert  for  several  hundred 
miles,  in  the  arid  uplands  of  Idaho  and  the  salt  plains  of 
Utah;  but  its  construction  has  served  to  bring  the  com-- 
mercial  cities  of  the  Atlantic  and  of  the  Pacific  within  six 
or  seven  days'  journey  of  each  other.  Three  or  four  rival 
projects  of  railways  across  the  width  of  the  United  States, 
or  extensions  of  the  existing  railway  system  westward  from 
the  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  have  been  taken  up  w!.a 
some  promise  of  their  realisation.  The  one  which  offers' 
the  greatest  advantages  is  that  designed  to  ascend  the  long_ 
and  broad  valley  of  the  Arkansas  river,  and  to  cross  the 
Rocky  Mountains  with  a  southerly  inclination  into  New 
Mexico,  opening  up  the  Rio  Grande  and  San  Juan  country, 
which  is  said  to  be  very  rich,  and  thence  passing  on  to  the 
Grand  Caiion  of  the  Colorado,  and  to  the  Nevada  mining 
district.  Near  the  northern  frontier  of  the  United  States 
territory,  where  it  borders  on  the  British  Dominion  oft 
Canada,  another  continental  bine  from  east  to  west  is  now~ 
in  progress — that  is,  from  the  western  extremity  of  Lake 
Superior,  through  Minnesota,  Dakotah,  and  Washington,  to 
Puget  Sound,  just  below  Vancouver  Island.  But  the  work 
of  this  kind  that  will  be  most  interesting  to  many  of  our- 
readers  is  that  undertaken  in  1871  by  the  government  of 
the  Canadian  Dominion.  By  the  extension  of  the  Dominion, 
beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  include  British  Columbia, 
and  the  incorporation  of  thj  vast  territories  of  the  Hudson's. 
Bay  Company,  nearly  the  whole  of  North  America  above 
the  49  th  parallel  is  united  in  one  grand  British  colonial 
province,  and  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  will  do  muck 
to  promote  a  compact  union  between  the  widely-scattered 
communities  of  Her  Majesty's  subjects  on  this  great  con- 
tinent The  line  will  proceed  from  a  port  on  the  northern 
shore  of  Lake  Superior,  westward  to  the  Red-  River  settle- 
ment, near  Lake  Winnipeg,  now  forming  the  province  of 
Manitoba  ;  and  will  thence  be  conducted  up  the  valley 
of  the   river   SiSLitcl^v-..-    i;    the   foot   of   the   Rocky 


71G  A  M  E 

Mountains,  whien  it  will  cross  by  the  Ycllowhead  Pass, 
to  descend  along  the  Thomson  and  Fraser  rivers,  in 
British  Columbia,  till  it  finally  reaches  the- coast  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  possibly  connecting  Vancouver  Island  with 
the  mainland  by  a  bridge  over  the  narrowest  part  of  the 
straits.  In  connection  with  the  Grand  Trunk  and  other 
railways  of  Canada,  supplemented  by  the  Intercolonial 
Railway  between  Lower  Canada,  New  Brunswick,  and 
Nova  Scotia,  this  new  western  line  will  afford  the  most 
direct  and  expeditious  means  of  transit  across  North  Ame- 
rica, and  will  probably  become  the  favourite  route  for  mails 
and  passengers  and  light  traffic  from  Europe  to  China.  It' 
will  open  a  country  which  abounds  in  mineral  wealth, 
especially  of  iron,  coal,  and  copper;  while  the  Saskat- 
chewan valley,  and  the  belt  of  fertile  soil  lying  at  the  base 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  (where  the  climate,  as  far  north  as 
Fort  Dunvegan  on  the  Peace  river,  is  not  more  severe  than 
that  of  Toronto,  though  in  latitudes  beyond  56°  N.,  nearly 
thirteen  degrees  above  that  place),  are  capable  of  sustaining 
an  agricultural  population.  The  progress  of  railroad  con- 
struction in  North  America,  stimulating  and  assisting  the 
development  of  industrial  resources  with  amazing  rapidity, 
is  a  feature  of  high  importance  in  the  most  recent  phases  of 
the  world's  civilisation.  Its  average  rate  of  advance  in  the 
Uiiited  States  alone,  during  the  five  years  preceding  January 
1873,  was  nearly  6000  miles  annually  of  new  railway;  and 
the  aggregate  length  of  railway  lines  in  the  Union,  all  com- 
pleted and  in  actual  working,  was  then  computed  at  71,000 
miles.  British  America,  as  we  have  seen,  will  not  be  left 
deficient  of  similar  appliances  for  its  internal  improvement. 
Gold  A  great  auriferous  deposit  was  discovered  in  Upper  Cali- 

Mines.  fornia  in  the  end  of  1847,  just  before  its  formal  cession 
to  the  United  States.  It  is  situated  in  the  valley  of  the 
Sacramento  river,  and  its  principal  branch  the  Joaquin,  and 
is  believed  to  extend  over  a  range  of  country  200  miles  in 
length,  or  more.  The  gold  is  found  in  its  virgin  state  in 
small  grains  in  three  different  situations— first,  in  sand 
and  gravel  beds;  secondly,  among  decomposed  or  disin- 
tegrated granite;  and  thirdly,  intermixed  with  a  friable 
talcose  slate  standing  in  vertical  strata,  and  containing 
j  white  quartz,  interlaminated  or  in  veins.  The  largest 
pieces  of  gold  are  found  in  and  near  the  talcose  slate  rocks, 
over  which  the  streams  flow ;  but  the  finer  particles  and 
scales  have  been  carried  down  by  the  water  to  the  lowest 
part  of  the  valleys.  It  was  known  before  that  gold  existed 
in  the  country  ;  but  the  wonderful  richness  of  the  deposit 
■was  only  discovered  in  1847,  in  making  a  mill-race  on 
American  Fork,  a  small  branoh  of  the  Sacramento.  It 
soon  became  widely  known,  and  attracted  multitudes  of 
persons,  first  from  the  neighbouring  districts,  and  by  and 
by  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  population,  which 
•was  estimated  at  15,000  in  1848,  had  increased  to  92,000 
in  1850,  and  in  1870  was  found  to  bo  500,247. 
Popula-  Humboldt  gave  the  following  estimate  of  the  entire  popu- 

tion.'  lation  of  America  in  1823  : — 

Nomber.  Proportion. 

Whites 13,471,000        88  per  cent. 

Indiana .' 8,010,000        25       „ 

**-  HS^iSSoSI 6'433-000  l9  ■• 

Mixed  races '. 6,428,000        18 

34,942,000 
Bollaert  made  the  following  estimate  for  1863  :— 

Number.  Proportion. 

Whites 38,074,423  62  per  cent. 

Indians 11,014,710  15       „ 

Negroes .12,122,030  17       „ 

Mestizoes 6,031,000 

Mulattoes '.  4,037,440  ^  16 

£»mboe« 1,563,230 

72,842,833 


RICA 


[population. 


What  will  be  the  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  new 
continent  two  or  three  centuries  hence,  and  of  what  races 
will  it  consist?  Setting  aside  the  negroes,  to  simplify  the 
question/and  the  Indians,  who  will  gradually  disappear,  it 
is  evident  that  the  soil  of  America  is  destined  to  be  occupied 
by  two  races,  who  may  be  designated  as  the  Anglo-Saxon 
and  the  Spanish-Indian.  In  the  latter  the  Indian  blood 
greatly  predominates,  for  the  Creoles  or  pure  progeny  of 
the  Spaniards  probably  do  not  constitute  more  than  20  per 
cent,  of  the  population,  while  the  civilised  Indians  may 
amount  to  50,  and  the  Mestizoes  to  30. 

The  whites  in  the  United  States  were  in  1850 19,500,000 

The  population  of  British  America 2,500,000 


The  pop  .j.  lion  of  Spanish  and  Portuguese  America, 
exclub. . ,  of  slaves,  was  in  round  numbers 


22,000,000 


20,000,000 

The  Anglo-Saxon  population  in  America  increases  at  3 
per  cent,' annually,  and  doubles  its  numbers  in  25  years. 

Its  amount  in  1850  was 22,000,000 

In  1875  it  will  be 44,000,000 

In  1900 88,000,000 

In  1925 176,000,000 

A  population  of  176,000,000  spread  over  the  territories 
of  the  United  States  and  Canada  would  only  afford  an 
average  of  40  persons  to  each  square  mile,  about  l-7th  part 
of  the  density  which  England  now  exhibits,  and  could  occa- 
sion no  pressure.  But  let  us  suppose  the  rate  of  increase 
after  1925  to  fall  to  2  per  cent.,  the  period  of  doubling  will 
then  be  35  years. 

In  1960  the  number  will  be 352,000,000 

In  1995        do.         do-         704,000,000 

Suppose  the  rate  again  to  decline  to  \\  per  cent.,  which 
scarcely  exceeds  that  of  England  and  Prussia,  the  period  of 
doubling  will  then  be  50  years. 

In  2045  the  number  will  be 1,408,000,000 

In20D5         do.         do 2,816,000,000 

Let  us  now  compare  with  this  the  growth  of  the  Spanisn- 
Indian  population,  doubling  its  numbers  in  75  years. 

Its  amount  in  1850  was 20,000,000 

In  1925  it  will  be 40,000,000 

In  2000        do 80,000,000 

In  2075        do 160,000,000 

In  2095  (interval  of  20  years) 200,000,000 

It  hence  appears  that,  supposing  both  races  to  have  free  Prpspeci* 
space  for  expansion,  the  Anglo-Saxon  population  in  220  of  Amencd 
years  from  the  present  time  will  amount  to  2816  millions, 
while  the  Spanish-Indian  population  will  only  have  multi- 
plied to  200  millions,  or  one-fourteenth  fart  of  the  other. 
It  will  be  shown  by  and  by,  on  probable  grounds,  that  the 
new  continent,  if  fully  peopled,  could  support  3600  millions, 
and  there  would  consequently  be  room  enough  for  both;  but 
long  before  this  density  is  attained  the  two  races  will  inevi- 
tably come  into  collision.  In  new  settlements,  where  the 
best  lands  are  invariably  first  occupied  and  the  inferior 
neglected,  the  population  is  always  thinly  diffused.  The 
Anglo-Saxons  will  therefore  crowd  to  the  richer  fields  of 
the  south,  while  millions  of  acres  of  their  own  poorer  lands 
are  still  untenanted  ;  for  we  may  rest  assured  that  before 
cultivation  is  extended  to  the  third-rate  soils  on  the  north 
side  of  the  boundary,  means  will  be  found  to  appropriate 
the  first-rate  soils  on  the  south  side.  These  may  be  acquired 
by  purchase  like  the  lands  of  Louisiana,  or  by  conquest 
like  those  of  New  Mexico  and  California,  but  in  one  way 
or  another  they  will  be  acquired.  Nearly  forty  years  ago 
M.  de  Tocqueville  calculated  that  along  the  great  space 
from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Canadian  lakes  the  whius 
were  advancing  over  the  wilderness  at  an  average  rate  of 
17  miles  per  annum,  and  that  enlightened  observer  was 
powerfully  impressed  by  the  grandeur  and  solemnity  of 
this  deluge  of  men,  for  ever  swelling  and  flowing  onward, 


t>BOSPECTS.] 


AMERICA 


71<- 


lents. 


to  the  west,  tie  south,-  and  the  north,  as  "  driven  by  the 
hand  of  God."     Since  he  wrote  the  rate  of  progress  has 
perhaps  doubled,  and  every  year  will  quicken  its  pace.     If, 
then,  we  take  a  glance  at  the  state   of  America  at  any 
future  period,  say  220  years  hence  (a.d.  2095),  we  must  take 
the  ratio  of  increase  of  the  two  civilised  races  as  the  prime 
element   of  our   calculation.     We  may  assume  that  the 
whole  continent,  from  Behring's  Straits  and  Hudson's  Bay 
to  Cape  Horn,  will  be  divided  between  the  two  races  in 
some  such  proportion  as  their  rate  of  growth  indicates — it 
may  be  10,  15,  or  20  to  1.     Supposing  them  to  maintain  a 
separate  existence,  the  weaker  race  will  probably  be  driven, 
like  the  Welsh  before  the  English,  into  the  mountainous  and 
inhospitable  regions.     On  the  other  hand,  it  is  possible,  and 
not  improbable,  that  the  smaller  population  may  be  absorbed 
into  the  mass  of  the  greater,  be  incorporated  with  it,  and 
adopt  its  language.     The  result,  like  other  things  in  the 
womb  of  time,  may  be  modified  by  causes  yet  unseen  ;  but 
in  whatever  shape  it  may  present  itself,  there  is  little  risk  in 
predicting  that  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  is  destined  bj  its 
superior  intelligence  and  energy  to 'rule  the  New  World 
from  end  to  end.     American  statesmen  now  speak  of  the 
whole  continent  as  the  heritage  of  their  people. 
TJm£u1  soil       Paradoxical  as  the  fact  may  appear,  we  are  satisfied  that 
in  New  and  the  new  continent,  though  less  than  half  the  size  of  the  old, 
Old  Conti-  contains  at  least  an  equal  quantity  of  useful  soil  and  much 
more  than  an  equal  amount  of  productive  power.     America 
is  indebted  for  this  advantage  to  its  comparatively  small 
breadth,  which  brings  nearly  all  its  interior  within  reach  of 
the  fertilising  exhalations  of  the  ocean.     In  the  old  conti- 
nent, owing  to  its  great  extent  from  east  to  west,  the  cen- 
tral parts,  deprived  of  moisture,  are  almost  everywhere  de- 
serts ;  and  a  belt  round  the  western,  southern,  and  eastern 
shores,  comprises  nearly  all  that  contributes  to  the  support 
of  man.    How  much  fruitful  land,  for  instance,  is  there  in 
continental  Asia?     If  we  draw  a  line  from  the  Gulf  of 
Cutch  (near  the  Indus)  to  the  head  of  the  Yellow  Sea,  we 
cut  off  India  and  China,  with  the  intervening  Birman  em- 
pire and  the  southern  valleys  of  Thibet ;  and  this  space, 
which  comprises  only  about  one-fifth  of  the  surface  of  Asia, 
embraces  five-sixths  of   its   productive  power.      Arabia, 
Persia,  Central  Thibet,  Western  India,  Chinese  and  Inde- 
pendent Tartary  are  deserts,  with  scattered  patches  of  use- 
ful soil  not  amounting  to  the  twentieth  part  of  their  extent. 
Siberia,  or  Northern  Asia,  is  little  better,  owing  to  aridity 
and  cold  together.     Anatolia,  Armenia,  the  Punjab,  and  a 
narrow  strip  along  the 'western  shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
north  as  far  as  the  60th  parallel,  compose  the  only  valuable 
agricultural  territory  beyond  India  and  China.     Europe, 
which  is  merely  the  western  margin  of  Asia,  is  all  fruitful  in 
the  south  ;  but  on  the  north  its  fruitf ulness  terminates  at  the 
COth  or  62d  parallel.     Africa  has  simply  a  border  of  useful 
soil  round  three-fourths  of  its  sea-coast,  with  3om'e  detached 
portions,  of  tolerably  good  land  in'  its  interior.     Of  the 
31,000,000  of  square  miles  which  these  three  continents 
occupy,  we  cannot  find,  after  some  calculation,  that  the  pro- 
ductive soil  constitutes  so  much  as  one-third,  and  of  that 
third  a  part  is  but  poor. 

Now,  in  estimating  the  useful  soil  in  America  we  reject — 
1.  Most  of  the  region  north  of  the  latitude  of  53°,  amounting 
to  2,600,000  square  miles ;  2.  A  belt  of  barren  land  about 
300  miles  broad  by  1000  in  length,  or  300,000  square  miles, 
lying  on  the  east  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains;  3.  A  belt  of 
arid  land  of  similar  extent  situated  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Andes,  between' 24°  and  40°  of  south  latitude;  4.  Tie  desert 
shore  of  Peru,  equal  to  100,000  square  miles;  5.  An  extent 
of  100,000  square  miles  for  the  arid  country  of  Lower  Cali- 
fornia and  Sonora ;  and  6.  An  extent  of  500,000  square 
miles  for  the  summits  of  the  Andes  and  the  south  extremity 
of  Patagonia.      These  make  an  aggregate  of  3,900,000 


square  miles;  and  this,  deducted  from  13,900,000,  leaves 
10,000,000  square  miles  as  the  quantity  of  useful  soil  in 
the  New  World. 

The  productive  powers  of  the  soil  depend  on  two  circum- 
stances, heat  and  moisture;  and  these  increase  as  we 
approach  the  equator.  Now,  it  appears  that  the  produc- 
tive or  rather  nutritive  powers  o'  the  soil  will  be  pretty 
correctly  indicated  by  combining  the  ratios  of  the  heat  and 
the  moisture,  expressing  the  former  of  these  in  degrees  of 
the  centigrade  scale.  Something,  we  know,  depends  on  tha 
distribution  of  the  heta  through  the  different  seasons;  but  as 
we  do  not  aim  at  minute  accuracy,  this  may  be  overlooked 

Latitude.       Inches  of  Rain.       Mean  Heat.         Product.  Eatlo. 

60  16  7  112  4 

45  29  14  406  15 

0  96  28  2688  100 

Thus,  if  the  description  of  food  were  a  matter  of  indiffer- 
ence, the  same  extent  of  ground  which  supports  four  persons 
at  the  latitude  of  60°,  would  support  15  at  the  latitude  of 
45°,  and  100  at  the  equator.  But  the  food  preferred  will 
not  always  be  that  which  the  land  yields  in  greatest  abund- 
ance; and  another  most  important  qualifying  circumstance 
must  be  considered— it  is  labour  which  renders  the  ground 
fruitful,  and  the  power  of  the  human  frame  to  sustain  labour 
is  greatly  diminished  in  hot  climates.  We  shall  therefore 
consider  the  capacity  of  the  land  to  support  population  as 
proportional  to  the  third  power  of  the  cosine  (or  radius  of 
gyration)  of  the  latitude.  It  will  therefore  stand  thus  to 
round  numbers : — 

Latitude,  0'        15°        30"        45'        60" 

Productiveness,  100         90  65         35         12J 

In  England  the  density  of  population  is  about  389  per-  increase 
sons  per  square  mile ;  but  England  is  in  some  measure  the  ^0vnopa> 
workshop  of  the  world,  and  supports,  by  her  foreign  trade, 
a  greater-  population  than  her  soil  can  nourish.  In  France 
the  density  of  population  is  about  1.77 ;  in  Germany  it  varies 
from  100  to  200.  On  these  grounds,  we  may  assume  that 
the  number  of  persons  which  a  square  mile  can  properly  sus- 
tain without  generating  the  pressure  of  a  redundant  popula- 
tion is  150  at  the  latitude  of  50°,  and  26  is  the  sum  which 
expresses  the  productiveness  of  this  parallel.  Then  taking, 
for  the  sake  of  simplicity,  35  as  the  index  of  the  productive- 
ness of  the  useful  soil  beyond  30°  in  America,  and  85  as  that 
of  the  country  within  the  parallel  of  30°  on  each  side  of  the 
equator,  we  have  about  4,000,000  square  miles,  each  capable 
of  supporting  200  persons,  and  5,700,000  square  miles,  each 
capable  of  supporting  490  person.  It  follows  that  if  the 
natural  resources  of  America  were  fully  developed  it  would 
afford  sustenance  to  3,600,000,000  of  inhabitants,  a  number 
nearly  five  times  as  great  as  the  entire  mass  of  human  beings 
now  existing  upon  the  globe  1 

Alphabetical  Contents. 


nc. 


Aborigines,  686. 

Alaska,  711. 

Amazon,  674. 

Anglo-Saxon  race. 

Antiquities,  692. 

Andes,  670. 

Araucanians,  701. 

Area,  669. 

Argentine  Republic,  713. 

Aztecs,  695. 

Barrows,  692. 

Birds,  6S4. 

Bolivia,  713. 

Botany,  684. 

Brazil    empire,  710,  712; 

Indians.  702. 
Canada,  711. 
Carnivore.  S.  A,  682. 
Central  America,  an.  ient, 

703. 
Chili,  709,  713. 
Climate,  C.  A.,  680;  N.A., 

676,  680 ;  S.  A.,  675. 
Colombia,  713. 
Colonisation,  708 
Columbus,  707. 
Discovery,  European,  706. 
Earthquakes,  S.  A»673. 
Ecuador,  7U. 


English  settlements,  708. 
Esquimaux.  690. 
Ethnology,  685. 
Fertility,  717. 
Fishes,  684. 
Foresta,  676. 
FossU  animals,  682. 
Geology,  N.  A,  679;  S.A., 

671. 
Gold,  716. 
Guarania,  702. 
Guatemala,  710,  714. 
Havti,  714. 
Indians,  686,  690. 
Isthmus,  central.  715. 
Languages,  688;  Peruvian, 

700. 
Mammalia,  N-A 

681. 
Mexico,      ancient, 

Spanish.  710.  714. 
Minerals,  N.  A.,  680 

ppl,  674. 
Mountains.    Brazil, 

C.  A,  f.73;    N.  A. 

677;  S.  A,  670. 
New  Granada,  710. 
Nicaraguan  iaUunus,  715 
Panama,  715. 


I;S.A, 
694; 


671; 
.  674, 


Patagonlans,  702. 

Peru,  ancient,  696 ;  Span- 
ish. 709,  713.' 

Physical  regions,  670. 

Plateaux,  677. 

Population,  716,  717. 

Productiveness,  717. 

Quadrumana,  S.  A,  68L 

Kivers,  674. 

Rocky  mountains,  674, 
677. 

Rumlnantia.  S.  A,  682. 

Russian  America,  711. 

Serpents.  '  -4. 

Spanish  settlements,  707. 

Spani?h-Indianrace,  716. 
710. 

Table-land,  677. 

Toltec  empire,  705. 

Tolteeans,  691. 

Trade  win  : 

United  States  711 

Venezuela,  712. 

Volcanoes.  Mexico,  JtV74 
S.  A,  673. 

Votan.  704. 

West  Indies,  714. 

Whitney,  Professor,  6S8 

Zoology,  68L 


71b 


AMERICAN    LITERATURE 


I. — Introductory. 
The  literature  of  the  United  States,  while  still  half  our 
own,  is  pervaded,  to  a  degree  not  easily  estimated,  by  a 
foreign  element     The  relationship  between  Englishmen 
and  Americans,   making  them  ignorant  of  their  mutual 
ignorance,  operates  against  the  soundness  of  their  judg- 
ment on  each  other's  work     Community  of  speech,  which 
ought  to  be  a  bond  of  union,  is  often  a  medium  of  offence; 
for  it  dispenses  with  a  study  of  the  language,  and  in 
studying  a  language   wa   learn   something   also  of   the 
habits  and  social  histories  which  are  reflected  in,  and 
serve  to  interpret,  distinctly  alien  literatures.      Facility  of 
travel,  making  it  easy  to  acquire  first  impressions,  is  a 
temptation  to  such  hasty  estimates  as  many  of  the  most 
accomplished  Americans  have  formed    of   England,  and 
many  of  the  most  accomplished  Englishmen  have  formed 
of  America.     The  least  satisfactory  works  of  some  of  their 
foremost  writers,  as  Mr  Hawthorne's  Old  Heme  and  Mr 
Emerson's  English  Traits,  are  those  associated  with  their 
transatlantic  experiences.      But  of  the  mistakes  on  both 
sides,  ludicrous  and  grave,  we  have  had  perhaps  the  larger 
share.      Few   Americans    have   ever   so   misconceived   a 
British  statesman  as  we  misconceived  Mr  Lincoln,  or  gone 
so  far  astray  in  regard  to  any  crisis  of  our  history  as  we 
did  in  reference  to  the  moving  springs  and  results  of  their 
Civil  War.     The  source  of  this  greater  ignorance  lies  not 
so  much  in  greater  indifference  as  in  greater  difficulty. 
England  is  one,  compact  and  stable.     The  United  States 
are  many,  vast,  various,  and  in  perpetual  motion.     An  old 
country  is  a  study,  but  a  new  country  i3  a  problem. 
Antiquity  is  brought  to  our  firesides  in  the  classics,  till 
Athens  and  Kbme 

"  To  us  are  nothing  novel,  nothing  strange." 

We  are  more  familiar  with  the  Acropolis  than  with  the 
Western  Capitol — with  Mt.  Soracte  than  with  the  Catskills. 
Our  scholars  know  more  about  Babylon  than  about  Chicago. 
Dante  immortalises  for  us  the  Middle  Age  ;  Plantagenet 
England  is  revived  in  Chaucer  ;  the  inner  life  of  modern 
England  has  a  voice  in  Tennyson  and  the  Brownings. 
Where  is  the  poet  who  will  reveal  to  us  "  the  secrets  of  a 
land,"  in  some  respects  indeed  like  our  own,  but  separated 
in  other  respects  by  differences  which  the  distance  of  3000 
miles  of  ocean  only  half  represents  ;  which,  starting  on 
another  basis,  has  developed  itself  with  energies  hitherto 
unknown  in  directions  hitherto  unimagined?  Who  will 
become  the  interpreter  of  a  race  which  has  in  two  centuries 
diffused  itself  over  a  continent,  the  resources  of  which  are 
not  more  than  half  discovered,  and  which  has  to  absorb 
within  itself  and  harmonise  the  discordant  elements  of 
other  races  for  whom  the  resources  of  the  Old  World  are 
well-nigh  exhausted?  Caret  vote  sacro;  but  it  does  not 
want  poetical  aspirations  as  well  as  practical  daring  : 

"  This  land  o'  ourn  I  tell  ye's  gut  to  be 
A  better  country  than  man  ever  see ; 
1  feel  my  sperit  swellin'  with  a  cry 
That  seems  to  say,  '  Break  forth  and  prophesy.' 
0  strange  New  World,  thet  yet  wast  never  young, 
"Whose  youth  from  thee  by  gripin'  want  was  wrung, 
Brown  foundlin  o'  the  woods,  whose  baby  bed 
"Was  prowled  round  by  the  Iujun's  cracklin'  tread, 
An"  who  grew'st  strong  thru'  shifts  an'  wants  an'  pains 
Nursed  by  stern  men  with  empires  in  their  brains." 

Q- — Conditions  and  Characteristics  of  American 
Literature. 
The  number  of  writers  who  have  acquired  some  amount 


of  well-founded  reputation  in  the  United  States  is  startling. 
The  mere  roll  of  their  names  would  absorb  a  great  part  of 
the  space  here  available  for  an  estimate  of  the  works 
which  best  represent  them.     Mr  GrisN  old  informs  us  that 
he  has  in  his  own  library  more  than  700  volumes  of  native 
novels  and  tales,  his  list  of  "remarkable  men"  is  liko 
Homer's  catalogue  of  ships.     Almost  every  Yankee  towa 
has  indeed  its  local  representatives  of  literature,  reflecting 
in  prose  or  verse  the  impulses  and  tendencies  of  the  time. 
But  while  America  has  given  birth  to.  mure  than  a  fair 
proportion  of  eminent  theologians,  jurists,  economists,  and 
naturalists,  hardly  any  great  modern  country,  excepting 
Russia,  has  in  the  same  number  of  years  produced  fewer 
works  of  general  interest  likely  to  become  classical  j  and 
Bishop  Berkeley's  prophecy  of  another  golden  ago  of  arts  in 
the  Empire  of  the  West  still  awaits  fulfilment.     This  fart, 
mainly  attributable  to  obvious  historic  causes,  is  frankly 
recognised  by  her  own  best  authors,  one  of  whom  has 
confessed — "  From  Washington,  proverbially  the  city  of 
magnificent  distances,  through  all  its  cities,  states,   and 
territories,  ours  is  a  country  of  beginnings,  of  projects,  of 
designs,  of  expectations."     The  conditions  under  which 
the  communities  of  the  New  World  were  established,  and 
the  terms  on  which  they  have  hitherto  existed,  have  been 
unfavourable  to  Art.     The  religious  and  commercial  en- 
thusiasms of  the  first  adventurers  to  her  shores,  supplying 
themes  for  the  romancers  of  a  later  age,  were  themselves 
antagonistic  to  romance.     The  spirit  which  tore  down  the 
aisles  of  St  Regulus,  and  was  revived  in  England  in  a 
reaction  against  music,  painting,  and  poetry,  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  bore  with  them  in  the  "  Mayflower,"  and  planted 
across  the  seas.     The  life  of  the  early  colonists  left  no 
leisure  for  refinement.     They  had  to  conquer  nature  before 
admiring  it,   to  feed  and  clothe  before  analysing  them- 
selves.    The  ordinary  cares  of  existence  beset  them  to  the 
exclusion  of  its  embellishments.     While  Dryden,  Pope, 
and  Addison  were  polishing  stanzas  and  adding  grace  to 
English  prose,  they  were  felling  trees,  navigating  rivers, 
and  fertilising  valleys.     We  had  time,  amid  our  wars,  to 
form  new  measures,  to  balance  canons  of  criticism,  to  dis- 
cuss systems  of  philosophy ;  with  them 

"  The  need  that  pressed  sorest 
Was  to  vanquish  the  seasons,  the  ocean,  the  forest.' 

The  struggle  for  independence,  absorbing  the  whole 
energies  of  the  nation,  developed  military  genius,  states- 
manship, and  oratory,  but  was  hostile  to  what  is  called 
polite  literature.  The  people  of  the  United  States  have 
had  to  act  their  Iliad,  and  they  have  not  had  time  to  sing 
it.  They  have  had  to  piece  together  the  disjecta  membra  of 
various  races,  sects,  and  parties,  in  a  TravronwXiov  ttoXltciCiv. 
Their  genius  is  an  unwedded  Vulcan,  melting  down  all 
the  element*  of  civilisation  in  a  gigantic  furnace.  An 
enlightened  people  in  a  new  land,  "  where  almost  every- 
one has  facilities  elsewhere  unknown  for  making  his 
fortune,"  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  that  the  pursuit  of 
wealth  has  been  their  hading  impulse  ;  nor  is  it  perhap3 
to  be  regretted  that  much  of  their  originality  has  been 
expended  upon  inventing  machines  instead  of  manufactur- 
ing verses,  or  that  their  religion  itself  has  taken  a  practical 
turn.  One  of  their  own  authors  confesses  that  the  "  com- 
mon New  England  life  is  still  a  lean  impoverished  life,  in 
distinction  from  a  rich  and  suggestive  one ; "  but  it  is 
there  alone  that  the  speculative  and  artistic  tendencies  of 
recent  years  have  found  room  and  occasion  for  develop- 
ment Our  travellers  find  a  peculiar  charm  in  the  manly 
force  and  rough  adventurous  spirit  of  the  Far  West,  but 


AMERICAN    LITE  RAT  QUE 


719 


the  poetry  of  the  pioneer  is  unconscious.  Bret  Hart, 
Hay,  and  Joaquin  Miller  have  caught  the  spirit  of  the 
new  and  energetic  West,  and  have  embalmed  in  stirring 
lyrics  the  heroic  age  of  the  pioneer  and  the  miner.  The 
literature  of  the  South,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  fruit 
rather  of  leisure  and  of  culture  than  the  rugged  devel- 
opment of  a  stern  struggle  with  natural  forces.  Some 
of  the  sweetest  poetry  ever  written  has  been  traced  by 
Southern  pens,  and  the  most  distinctively  American 
writer  whom  we  can  call  to  mind— preeminent  alike  in 
Action  and  in  poetry — Edgar  Allan  Poe,  was  educated 
in  and  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  too  brief  life  in  the 
South,  his  productions  appearing  almost  exclusively 
in  Southern  magazines.  In  the  higher  branches  of 
culture  the  South  long  reigned  supreme,  and  from  her 
soil  sprang  the  authors  of  the  organic  law,  the  immor- 
tal Declaration  of  Independence,  the  state  papers 
which  have  become  embodied  in  the  history  of  the 
land.  Her  sons,  inheriting  great  names  and  placed 
above  the  need  of  continued  literary  labor  for  the  sup- 
ply of  their  daily  needs,  devoted  themselves  to  the 
cultivation  of  oratory  and  the  att  of  government,  and 
for  three  quarters  of  a  century  practically  controlled 
the  executive,  the  judicial,  and  the  legislative  branches 
of  the  government.  The  new  South  of  to-day  gives 
every  assurance  of  a  rapid  and  gratifying  development 
of  literary  production  distinctively  American,  and  pre- 
senting a  faithful  portraiture  of  life  and  manners 
which  we  would  not  willingly  see  pass  away  unre- 
corded, and  which  is  full  of  interest  to  American  read- 
ers. The  names  of  George  W.  Cable,  Opie  Read  and 
others  will  serve  to  illustrate  this  agreeable  fact. 

When  we  remember  that  the  Romans  lived  under  the 
sky  of  Italy,  that  the  character  of  the  modern  Swiss  is 
like  that  of  the  modern  Dutch,  we  shall  be  on  our 
guard  against  attributing  too  much  to  the  influence  of 
external  nature.  Another  race  than  the  Anglo  Saxon 
would  doubtless  have  made  another  America;  but  we 
cannot  avoid  the  belief  that  the  climate  and  soil  of 
America  have  bad  something  to  do  in  moulding  the 
Anglo-Saxon  race,  in  making  its  features  approximate 
to  those  of  the  Red  Indian,  and  stamping  it  with  a  new 
character.  An  electric  atmosphere,  and  a  temperature 
ranging  at  some  seasons  from  50°  to  100°  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  have  contributed  largely  to  engender  that 
restlessness  which  is  so  conspicuous  " a  note-' of  the 
the  people.  A  territory  which  seems  boundless  as  the 
ocean  has  been  a  material  agent  in  fostering  an  ambi- 
tion unbridled  by  traditionary  restraints.  When 
European  poets  and  essayists  write  of  nature,  it  is  to 
contrast  her  permanence  with  the  mutahility  of  human 
life.  We  talk  of  the  everlasting  hills,  the  perennial 
fountains,  the  ever-recurring  seasons.  "Damnatamen 
celeres  reparant  coelestia  lunae — nos  ubi  decidimus'  — 
In  the  same  spirit  Byron  contemplates  the  sea  'and 
Tennyson  a  running  stream.  In  America,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  is  the  extent  of  nature  that  is  dwelt  upon— 
the  infinity  of  6pace,  rather  than  the  infinity  of  time, 
is  opposed  to  the  limited  rather  than  to  the  transient 
existence  of  man.  Nothing  strikes  a  traveler  in  that 
country  so  much  as  this  feature  of  magnitude.  The 
rivers  like  rolling  lakes,  the  lakes  which  are  inland 
seas,  the  forests,  the  plains,  Niagara  itself,  with  its 
world  of  waters,  owe  their  magnificence  to  their 
immensity ;  and  by  a  transference,  not  unnatural 
although  fallacious,  the  Americans  generally  have 
modeled  their  ideas  of  art  after  the  same  standard  of 
size.  Their  wars,  their  hotels,  their  language,  are 
pitched  on  the  huge  scale  of  their  distances. 
"Orphaned  of  the  solemn  inspiration  of  antiquity,"' 
they  gain  in  surface  what  they  have  lost  in  age  ;  in 
hope,  what  they  have  lost  in  memory. 

" That  untravelled  world  whose  margin  fades 

For  ever  and  for  ever  when  they  move," 

is  all  their  own  and  they  have  the  arena  and  the  expec- 
tations of  a  continent  to  set  against  the  culture  and 


the  ancestral  voices  of  a  thousand  years.  Where  Eng< 
lishmen  remember..  Americans  anticipate.  In  thought 
and  action  they  are  ever  rushing  into  empty  spaces. 
Except  in  a  few  of  the  older  States,  a  family  mansion 
is  rarely  rooted  to  the  same  town  or  district ;  and  the 
tie  which  unites  one  generation  with  another  being 
easily  broken,  the  want  of  continuity. in  life  breeds  a 
want  of  continuity  in  ideas.  The  American  mind 
delights  in  speculative  and  practical,  social.and  polit- 
ical experiments,  as  Shakerism,  Mormonism,  Panta- 
gamy ;  and  a  host  of  authors,  from  Emerson  to  Walt 
Whitman,  have  tried  to  glorify  every  mode  of  human 
life  from  the  transcendental  to  the  brutish.  The  habit 
of  instability,  fostered  by  the  rapid  vicissitudes  of  their 
commercial  life  and  the  melting  of  one  class  into 
another,  drifts  away  all  landmarks  but  that  of  a  tem- 
porary public  opinion ;  and  where  there  is  little  time 
for  verification  and  the  study  of  details,  men  satisfy 
their  curiosity  with  crude  generalisations.  The  great 
literary  fault  of  the  Americans  thus  comes  to  be  impa- 
tience. The  majority  of  them  have  never  learnt  that 
"raw  haste  is  half-sister  to  delay;'"  that  "  works  dooe 
least  rapidly,  art  most  cherishes."  The  makeshifts' 
which  were  at  first  a  necessity  with  the  Northern  set- 
tlers have  grown  into  a  custom.  They  adopt  ten  half 
measures  instead  of  one  whole  one;  and,  beginning 
gravely,  like  the  grandiloquent  preambles  to  their 
Constitution,  end  sometimes  in  the  sublime,  some- 
times in  the  ridiculous. 

■  Many  of  the  artistic  as  well  as  many  of  the  social 
peculiarities  of  the  United  States  may  doubtless  be 
traced  to  their  form  of  government.  After  the  most 
obvious  wants  of  life  are  provided  for,  Democracy  stim- 
ulates the  production  of  literature.  When  the  heredi- 
tary privileges  of  rank  have  ceased  to  be  recognised, 
the  utility,  if  not  the  beauty,  of  knowledge  becomes 
conspicuous.  The  intellectual  world  is  spurred  into 
activity;  there  is-  a  race  in  which  the  prize  is  to  the 
swift.  Everyone  tries  to  draw  the  eyes  of  others  by 
innumerable  imperfect  efforts  with  a  large  insignifi- 
cant sum  total.  Art  is  abundant  and  inferior:  white- 
washed wood  and  brick  pass  for  marble,  and  rhythmi- 
cal spasms  for  poetry.  It  is  acknowledged  that  the 
prevailing  defect  of  Aristocratic  literatures  is  formal- 
ity; they  are  apt  to  be  precise  and  restricted.  A  Dem- 
cratic  literature  runs  the  risk  of  lawlessness,  inaccur- 
acy, and  irreverence.  From  both  these  extremes  the 
Athenian,  the  Florentine,  and  the  Elizabethan  classics 
were  preserved  by  the  artistic  inspirations  of  a  flexible 
tradition.  The  one  is  exemplified  in  the  so-called  Aug-- 
ustan  ages  of  letters,  in  the  France  of  Louis  XIV.  and 
the  England  of  Queen  Anne,  when  men  of  genius,  car- 
ing more  to  perfect  their  style  tha'n  to  establish  truth, 
more  to  captivate  the  taste  than  to  st;r  the  passions, 
moved  with  dipt  wings  in  a  charmed  circle  of  thought. 
The  other  has  its  best  illustration  in  the  leaders  of  our 
own  romantic  schools,  but  its  most  conspicuous  devel- 
opment in  America;  a  country  which  is  not  only  dem- 
ocratic but  youthful  without  the  modesty  of  youth, 
unmellowed  by  the  past  and  untrammelled  by  author- 
ity, where  the-  spirit  of  adventure  is  unrestrained  by 
feelings  of  personal  loyalty — where  order  and  regular- 
ity of  all  kinds  are  apt  to  be  misnamed  subservience — 
where  vehemence,  vigour,  and  wit  are  common,  good 
taste,  profundity,  and  imagination  rare; — a  country 
whose  untamed  material  infects  the  people,  and  diverts 
them  from  the  task  of  civilization  to  the  desire  of  con- 
quest. 

American  literature  is  cramped  on  another  side 
by  the  spirit  of  imitation.  It  has  been  in  great 
measure  an  offshoot  or  prolongation  of  our  own.  As 
English  sculptors  study  at  Rome  and  Naples,  the 
most  prominent  Western  artists  in  every  department 
have  almost  invariably  inaugurated  their  careers  by 
traveling  in  Europe,  and  writing  descriptions  of  the 
foreign  lands  where  they  have  found  their  richest  intel- 


720 


AMERICAN    LITERATURE 


lertua!  culture.  Thoy  have  Bought  the  sources,  the  themes, 
the  rules,  and  the  sanctions  of  their  art  in  the  Old  World, 
and  their  highest  ambition,  like  that  of  all  colonists,  has 
hitherto  been  to  receive  a  favourable  verdict,  not  from  the 
country  of  their  birth,  but  from  that  of  their  ancestors. 
Even  Franklin — in  some  respects  an  American  of  the 
Americans — was  in  philosophy  a  practical  disciple  of 
Locke,  as  Jefferson  was  of  the  French  Revolution.  "  The 
literary  genius  of  Great  Britain,"  says  Do  Tocqucville,  "still 
darts  its  rays  into  the  recesses  of  the  West.  .  .  .  The  small 
number  of  men  who  write  aire  English  in  substance,  and 
Btill  more  in  form."  Of  the  great  number  of  men  who 
have  written  in  America  since  the  date  of  this  criticism, 
only  a  few  have  written  much  to  confute  it.  Washington 
Irving,  who,  in  the  course  of  four  distinct  visits,  spent 
much  of  his  life  in  Europe,  only  escapes  from  the  influence 
of  Addison  in  his  Knickerbocker  and  Dutch  sketches.  On 
land  at  least,  Cooper — though  in  many  respects  an  original 
writer — everywhere  remembers  Scott  As  in  the  works  of 
the  Scotch  novelist,  the  semi-barbarous  feudal  spirit  is  repre- 
sented in  conflict  with  modern  law,  in  those  of  the  Ameri- 
can the  enterprise  of  New  England  is  struggling  against 
the  ruggedness  of  nature  and  a  savage  life.  The  writers 
of  the  last  thirty  years  have  been  making  strenuous,  some- 
times spasmodic,  efforts  after  originality,  but  they,  are  still 
affected  by  transatlantic  associations.  *In  the  style  of  Mr 
Motley  we  cannot  help  observing  the  stamp  of  Carlyle. 
The  Transcendental  movement  begun  by  Emerson  is  ad- 
mitted to  have  derived  its  first  impulse  from  Sartor 
Resartut ;  and  among  the  eccentricities  that  mark  its 
followers  none  is  more  remarkable  than  their  mania  for 
German  and  Oriental  quotations.  The  tyranny  which  five 
centuries'  load  of  classics,  in  the  same  tongue,  exercises  over 
the  mind  of  a  nation  not  yet  a  century  old  is  very  much 
strengthened  by  the  non-existence  of  an  international 
copyright,  which  leads  to  the  intellectual  market  being 
glutted  with  stolen  goods.  As  long  as  a  publisher  in 
Boston  or  New  York  can  .republish  a  good  book  written 
in  Edinburgh  or  London  without  paying  for  it,  he  is  likely 
to  prefer  an  undertaking  which  involves  no  risk  and  com- 
paratively no  outlay,  to  another  which  involves  both;  that 
u,  the  republication  of  the  English  to  the  first  publication 
of  an  American  book ;  for  the  English  book  has  already 
attained  its  reputation,  and  its  popularity  in  America  is 
secured,  while  the  American  book;  for  the  copyright  of 
which  he  has  to  pay,  has,  except  in  the  case  of  a  few  authors, 
still  to  win  its  spurs.  If  the  people  of  the  United  States 
had  spoken  a  language  of  their  own,  it  13  probable  they 
would  have  gained  in  originality;  as  it  is,  they  are  only 
now  beginning  to  sign  their  intellectual  declaration  of 
independence, — a  fact  confessed  among  the  latest  words  of 
their  own  greatest  prose  artist : — "  Bred  in  English  habits 
of  thought  as  most  of  us  are,  we  have  not  yet  modified  our 
instincts  to  the  necessities  of  our  new  modes  of  life.  Our 
philosophers  have  not  yet  taught  us  what  is  best,  nor  have 
our  poets  sung  to  U3  what  is  most  beautiful  in  the  kind  of 
life  that  we  must  lead,  and  therefore  we  still  read  the  old 
English  wisdom,  and  harp  upon  the  ancient  strings." 

JJL — Earlier  American  Literature. 

We  may  trace  the  influence  of  the  foregoing  controlling 
tacts  or  tendencies,  subject  to  various  phases  of  personal 
power,  through  the  three  great  periods  under  which  Anglo- 
American  history  obviously  falls: — The  Colonial,  the 
Revolutionary,  and  that  of  the  19th  Century. 

1.  The  Colonial  Period. — Little  of  interest  in  the  world 
of  letters  has  come  down  to  us  from  the  17th  century  in 
the  West.  Sandvs's  Ovid,  translated  on  the  banks  of  the 
Jamas'  River,  dedicated  to  Charles  L,  and  published  1626, 


is  worthy  of  note  as  the  first  contribution  to  English 
literature  frcn  America.  About  the  same  date  the  Welsh 
Puritan  Vaughan  sent  home  his  Golden  Fleece  from  New- 
foundland, and  Captain  Smith  gave  to  the  world  his 
descriptions  of  Virginia.  But  the  earliest  verse  that  has  a 
real  claim  to  be  regarded  as  American  is  a  doggerel  list, 
by  an  anonymous  author,  of  New  England's  annoyances, 
which,  if  wo  remember  the  date — a  generation  after 
Spenser  had  celebrated  "  the  Indian  Peru  "  in  his  Faery 
Queeh — will  confirm  our  view  of  the  backwoodsman's  want 
of  leisure  for  "  polishing  his  stanza:" — 

"  Tho  place  where  we  live  is  a  wilderness  wood, 
"Where  grass  is  much  wanting  that's  fruitful  and  good 
•  •  •  • 

If  fresh  meat  be  wanting  to  fill  up  our  dish, 
We  have  carrots  and  pumpkins,  and  turnips  and  fish; 
Ws  have  pumpkins  at  morning  and  pumpkins  at  noon, 
If  it  was  not  for  pumpkins  we  should  be  undone." 

A  little  later  we  have  a  Puritan  version  of  the  Psalms,  the 
worst  of  many  bad;  and  about  1650  the  poems  of  Anne 
Bradstreet  and  Benjamin  Thomson,  worthy  of  mention, 
but  scarcely  readable.     In  prose  are  relics  of  tho  sermons 
and  controversies  of  Roger  Williams  and  John  Cotton  and 
Eliot,    the  apostle   of   the   Indians,   with   the   ponderous 
Magnalia   and   witch   denunciations   of    Cotton   Mather. 
The  main  literary  event  of  the  century  was  the  founda- 
tion (1636)  of  Harvard  diversity.     Yale  College  followed 
at  a  long  interval,  and  subsequently  Princeton  College,  and 
Brown  University  (Rhode  Island).     In  all  new  countries  in- 
dustrial and  commercial  interests  are  at  first  the  strongest. 
The  febrile  activity  produced  by  fear  of  a  sterile  future  leave* 
little  room  for  speculative  imagination.     But  in  the  New 
World,  colonised  in  part  by  adventurers,  in  part  by  reli- 
gious refugees  and  enthusiasts,  another  influence  was  from 
the  first  at  work.     When  her  solitudes  began  to  give  place 
to  cities,  the  brains  of  her  people  were  expended  on  the 
farm  or  the  exchange  with  a  zeal  materially  modified  by 
the  spirit  and  formula?  of  the  faith  which  led  the  founders 
of  the  Northern  States  across  the  sea,  and  continued  to 
infuse  a  religious  element  into   their  enterprises.     This 
element,  which  elevated  the  settlers  of  New  England  above 
ordinary  emigrants,  adding  to  their  strength  and  giving  a 
faster  dye  to  their  morality,  was  yet,  in  its  original  form, 
no  more  favourable  to  freedom  or  variety  of  thought  than 
the  industrialism  by  which  it  was  surrounded.     But  it 
begat  and  fostered  the  Puritan  theological  literature  which 
was  concentrated  in  the  massive  yet  incisive  treatises  and 
discussions  of  Jonathan  Edwards  of  Connecticut — .(1703-  Edward*. 
1758) — who,  if  not,  as  asserted  by  American  panegyrists, 
"  the  first  man  of  the  world  during  the  second  quarter  of 
the  18th  century,"  was  yet,  by  the  clear  vigour  of  his 
thought  and  the  force  of  its  expression,  one  of  the  fore- 
most figures  of  that  era.     An  estimate  of  his  rank  as  a 
theologian  belongs  to  a  distinct  branch  of  the  history  of 
American  literature.     It  i3  enough  here  to  refer  to  the 
testimony  of  all   competent  judges   as   to  tho   singular 
lucidity  of  his  style,  and  to  that  of  his  contemporaries  as 
to  the  fervour  of  his  eloquence  and  the  modest  simplicity 
of  his  life.     Passages  of  his  occasional  writings,  as  the 
description  of  his  future  wife,  evince  a  grace  and  sweet- 
ness of  temper  not  always  associated  with  the  views  of 
which  he  was  and  remains  the  most  salient  English  advo- 
cate.    A  slightly  junior  contemporary  of   Edwards,   the 
exponent  kot'  i£oxfp  of  the  other — that  is,  the  secular  side 
of  early  American  life — was  destined  to  see  the  end  of  one 
and  play  a  prominent  part  in  opening  another  era  of  his 
country's  history.     Benjamin  Franklin,  as  long,  as  Utili 
tarian  philosophy  endures,  will  be  a  name  to  conjure  with. 
It  is  clarum  et  venerabile,  though  its  owner  was  endowed 
with  as  little  as  possible  for  a  great  man  of  the  "  faculty 
divine."     Franklin's  autobiography,  the  details  of  which, 


AMERICAN    LITERATURE 


721 


need  not  find  place  here,  is  a3  romantic  as  the  life  of  an 
onromantic  person  can  be.  The  incidents  of  the  young 
candle-moulder  —  the  printer's  apprentice  —  the  ballad- 
monger  wisely  discouraged  by  the  wise  paternal  criticism, 
"  Versemakers  are  generally  beggars" — the  runaway, 
eating  rolls  on  the  Philadelphia  street — his  struggling  life 
in  London  with  Ralph  of  the  Dunciad — his  return,  "  cor- 
recting the  erratum "  of  his  infidelities  by  marriage  with 
his  old  Pennsylvanian  friend — his  success  as  a  printer, 
economist,  statesman,  and  diplomatist — his  triumphs  in 
natural  and  political  philosophy,  clenched,  in  Turgot's 
line,  adapted  from  Manilius — 

"  Eripuit  caelo  fulmen,  eceptrumque  tyranma  " — 

his  examination  before  the  House  of  Commons,  resulting 
in  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  when  Lord  Chatham  spoke 
of  Tiim  as  one  who  was  "  an  honour  not  to  England  only, 
but  to  human  nature  " — his  signature  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence — his  ministry  in  France  and  popular  triumph 
with  Voltaire,  who  said,  "  Je  n'ai  pu  register  au  desir  de 
parler  un  moment  la  langue  de  Franklin" — the  acclamations 
of  shouting  multitudes  on  his  return  home — Mirabeau's 
announcement  of  his  death  (in  1790,  in  his  eighty-fourth 
year)    to   the   Assembly — "  the  genius   which   has   freed 
America,  and  poured  a  flood  of  light  over  Europe,  has 
returned  to  the  bosom  of  the  divinity  " — are   elementary 
facts  of  schoolboy  history.     They  are  the  records  of  the 
successive  stages  of  the  greatest  success  achieved  in  modern 
times  by  the  genius  of  common-sense,  integrity,  and  in- 
dustry indomitable.     Franklin's  experiments  and  physical 
discoveries  form  a  chapter  in  the  history  of  science ;  but 
half  of  his  fame  even  in  this  field  is  due  to  the  precision 
and  clearness  of  the- manner  in  which  they  are  announced. 
*'  The   most   profound  observations,"   says   Lord   Jeffrey, 
"  are  suggested  by  him  as  if  they  were  the  most  obvious 
and   natural   way  of   accounting   for   phenomena."     The 
same  literary  merit  characterises  the  financial  pamphlets 
and  treatises  which  first  brought  him  into  celebrity.     Both 
are  marked  by  the  same  spirit, — the  love  of  the  Useful, 
which   was   hi3    passion   through  life.     Franklin   follows 
Bacon,  to  an  extreme  opposed  to  that  of  the  Platonists,  in 
decrying  abstractions.    Archytas  is  said  to  have  apologised 
for   inventing   the  arch.     Franklin    is   ashamed   to  have 
wasted   time    over   pure    mathematics   in    his    "  magical 
squares."     His   aim  is  everywhere  to  bring  down  philo- 
sophy, like  the  lightning,  from  heaven  to  earth,  "illustrans 
commoda  vitce."     His  ethics — those  of   Confucius  or  the 
Seven  Sages,  modified  by  the  experience  and  the  circum- 
stances of  a  later  age — are  embodied  in  the  most  famous  of 
popular  annuals,  Poor  Richard's  Almanack,  in  which  for 
twenty-six   years   he   taught   his   readers    (rising   to   the 
number  of  10,000)  "the  way  to  be  healthy  and  wealthy 
and  wise,"  by  following  simple  utilitarian  rules,  set  forth 
in  plain  incisive  prose  and  rhyme,  rendered  attractive  by 
a  vein  of   quaint   humour  and  the  homely  illustrations 
always  acceptable  to  his  countrymen.     The  same  train  of 
thought  appears  in  the  "  Whistle,"  among  the  letters  from 
Passy,  where  his  persistent  deification  of  thrift  appears 
side   by   side   with   graceful   compliments   to    Mesdames 
Helvetius  and  Brillon,  records  of  the  aftermath  of  senti- 
ment that  often  marks  a  green  old  age.     Franklin  remains 
the  most  practical  of  philosophers  in  perhaps  the  most 
practical  of  nations. 

2.  The  Revolution,  Period. — It  has  been  often  remarked 
that  periods  of  political  national  crisis  are  more  favourable 
to  the  preparation  than  to  the  actual  production  of  litera- 
ture. Wordsworth's  assertion,  that  poetry  is  the  outcome 
of  emotion  recollected  in  tranquillity,  applies  with  slight 
modification  also  to  artistic  prose.  The  demands  of  instant 
action  cast  the  reflective   powers  into  abeyance,   but  a 


stormy  era  is  the  seed-tune  of  a  later  harvest.     There  is 
only  one  exercise  of  the  imagination  that  it  directly  stimu- 
lates— that  of  the  orator ;  and  the  conditions  of  his  success, 
save  in  a  few  instances,  make  a  drain  oh  his  posthumous 
reputation.     In  reading  even  the  greatest  speeches  of  the 
past,  divested  of  the  living  presence  which  gave  them 
colour  and  force,  we  find  it  difficult  to  account  for  the 
effect  which  they  are  known  to  have  produced.     They  are 
the  ashes  or  the  fossils  of  genius.     Little  that  is  of  per- 
manent literary  value  is  left  us  of  the  harangues  that 
were  the  trumpet-calls  of  patriotism  during  the  American' 
Revolutionary  War.    The  triumphs  of  Patrick  Henry,  who 
"  wielded  at  will  that  young  democraty,"  are  commemor- 
ated in  the  judicious  biography  of  Wirt,  but  few  of  his 
orations  are  accurately  preserved ;  and  of  the  speeches  of 
James  Otis,  which  were  compared  to  "  flames  of  fire,"  ws 
have  mainly  a  tradition.     His  pamphlet  (1762),  entitled 
A  Vindication  of  the  conduct  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, is  considered  to  contain  the  germ  of  the  Declaration 
of   Independence.     Among  other  considerable  efforts  of 
eloquence,  those  of  Fisher  Ames  are  worthy  of  note  as 
being  directed  in  great  measure  against  the  excesses  of 
democracy.     The  master-minds  of  the  era  were  the  states-  Statesmen 
men  and  jurists,  who  fought  for  the  free  soil,  sunk  the 
deep  foundations,  and  reared  the  superstructure  of  the  new 
Commonwealth. .  The  history  of  American  law  is  a  distinct 
theme.    It  must  suffice  here  to  mention,  as  claiming  recog- 
nition in  the  field  of  letters,  Washington  himself,  in  his  WashiDg- 
clear  and  incisive  though  seldom  highly-polished  corre- ton. 
spondence ;  his  biographer  John  Marshall,  chief  justice  of  Marshall 
the  supreme  court  from  1801  to  1835,  one  of  the  early 
pilots   of   the  state,  who  left  behind   him  a  noble  and 
stainless  name,  and  laid  down  the  first  principles  of  that 
international    code    afterwards    elaborated    by  Wheaton; 
Madison,   John   Jay,   the    elder    Adams,   and   Alexander 
Hamilton,  during  the  war  Washington's  "  most  confiden-  Hamilton, 
rial  aid,"  afterwards  the  presiding  genius  of  the  movement 
represented   by  the  Federalist,    the    organ   of   the   anti- 
democratic party.     To  this  he  contributed  three-fourths  of 
the  material,  marked,  as  are  all  his  papers  and  speeches,  by 
originality  of  thought,  breadth  of  view,  and  purity  of  style. 
As  secretary  of  the  treasury,  he  became  .perhaps  the  greatest 
of  financiers.     The  general  judgment  of  his  countrymen 
acquiesces  in  the  terms  of  the  tribute  paid  to  his  memory  by 
Guizot.     "  He  must  be  classed  among  the  men  who  have 
best   known  the  vital   principles '  and  fundamental  con- 
ditions of  a  government  worthy  of  its  name  and  mission." 
Of   Hamilton's   numerous   historical    sketches,   the   most 
celebrated  is  his  letter  to   Colonel   Laurens   giving  an 
account  of  the  fate  of  Major  AndriS,  in  which  refinement 
of  feeling   and  inflexible   impartiality  of  view  are  alike 
conspicuous.      The  great  and  unhappily  the  bitter  anta-  Jeffersoa 
gonist  of  the  Federalists  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous 
figures  in   the  history  of   American   thought     Thomas 
Jefferson  (1743-1826),  President  from  1801  to  1809,  is  the 
representative  in  chief  of  the  revolutionary  spirit  of  his 
age  and  country.     While  his  rival  compeers  stood  firmly 
on  the  defensive  against  the  encroachments  of  an  arbitrary 
government,  his  desire  was,  in  politics  as  in  speculation 
generally,  to  break  with  the  past     Inspired  with  patriotic 
zeal    by  Patrick    Henry's   denunciations   of    the    Stamp 
Act,  he  came  forward  prominently  in  1769  as  a  member 
cf  the  Colonial  Assembly  of  Virginia,     In  1776  the  main 
part  of  the  responsibility  of  drawing  up  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  fell  upon  him.     In  1784  he  was  appointed 
minister  of   the  congress  in  Paris,  where  he  spent  the 
greater  part  of  six  years,  and  brought  back  an  admiration 
for  those   phases  of  the   French  Revolution  from  which 
the  more  temperate  judgments  of  Hamilton  and  Fisher 
Ames  had  recoiled.    He  threw  himself  heart  and  soul  into 


722 


AMERICAN    LITE.RA  T  IT  R  E 


the  arms  or  the  Democndic  party,  nnd  in  the  constitutional 
struggle  that  ensued  his  keener  sense  of  tho  direction 
in  which  popular  sympathies  were  tending,  with  the 
weight  of  his  half  physical  cnorgics,  gave  him  tho  ascend- 
ancy over  tho  wider  knov,  1  more  far-seeing  intel- 
lects of  his  adversaries.  Jeti'erson  might  be  termed  the 
Danton  of  the  West,  but  his  forte  lay  not  so  much  in  oratory 
as  in  political  management  and  incisive  vivacity.  More 
perhaps  than  any  other  great  statesman  of  his  age,  he 
aspired  to  be  an  author,  to  which  title  the  best  passages 
in  his  Notes  on  Virgin  ia,  his  Autobiography,  and  Con; 
ence,  give  him  a  fair  claim.  His  descriptions  of  scenery  in 
the  first  are  always  pleasing  and  generally  graphic.  His 
sketches  of  Continental  society  are  lively,  and  his  occasional 
flights  of  fancy,  as  the  dialogue  between  the  head  and  heart, 
at  least  ingenious.  His  roligion  and  ethics  wc.ro  those  of 
hi*  fiisnd  Tom  Taiiie  and  tho  Encyclopedic 

Winor  The  age  of  the  Titans  in  transatlantic  history  abounds  in  minor 

Tritera.        literati,  whose  light  effusions,  mainly  satirical  or  descriptive  si 

in  prose  and  verse,  throw  a  somewhat  dim  ami  ragged  lustre  over 
its  graver  page.  The  bulk  of  theso  obvious  rellcctions  of  the 
manner  and  thought  of  Butler,  Pope,  and  Swift,  or  of  Gay, 
and  Shcnstone,  are  a  penance  to  wade  through,  and  scarce  claim  re- 
membrance for  their  authors.  A  few  stand  out  conspicuously  by 
the  celebrity  of  the  names  with  which  they  aro  associated,  or  a 
certain  raciness  and  approach  to  originality  in  their  style.  Of  these 
the  chief  are  :— The  social  caricatures  of  Judge  Brackcnridge  (who, 
though  born  in  Scotland,  lived  in  Ameri  ocy),  and  his 

doggerel  but  vigorous  lines  on  Bunker's  Hill ;  the  once  popular 
humorous  lyric  entitled  M'Finjal,  by  J.  Trumbull,  also  the  author 
of  The  Progress  of  Dulness,  in  the  Hudibrastic  metre  whii  a 
seems  to  have  been  used  by  imitators  to  show  how  intolerable  it  is 
in  any  but  the  original  hands  ;  the  more  flowing  but  on  the  whole 
commonplace  odes  of  Philip  Freneau,  including  his  patriotic  hymns 
to  Washington,  with  the  more  musical  lyrics  th"  "Wild  Honeysai  kle" 
and  the  "Indian  Death  Song,  "and  his  prose  cut  itled./'/n'cc  to  Authors; 
the  political  satires  of  Mercy  Warren,  authoress  of  Things  necessary 
to  a  Woman  (the  obvious  model  of  the  more  modern  squib.  Nothing 
to  JVear),  and  of  a  History  of  the  Revolution,  remembered  only  as 
being  the  first  in  date  ;  the  patriotic  rhapsodies  of  Phillis  Wheatley, 
interesting  as  the  production  of  a  young  ncgress  brought  from 
Africa  in  17G1,  and  soon  afterwards  sold  in  Boston  to  the  mistress 
from  whom  she  took  her  name  ;  Francis  Hopkinson's  Battle  of  the 
Kegs  and  his  Pretty  Story — a  burlesipio  closely  fashioned  after 
Arbutbnot's  John  Bull—  his  New  Poof ,  meaning  the  Ameri 
stitution,  and  his  satire  on  tho  pedantry  of  the  sciences  entitled 
the  Salt  Box;  Joel  Barlow's  Hasty  Pudding ;  the  humorous 
of  Man,  by  Quincy  Adams,  more  prominent  as  a  statesman  than  as 
a  poet ;  and  on  a  similar  but  higher  platform  the  best  of  too  large 
a  volume  of  verses,  in  which  the  "  Triumph  of  Infidelity"  (after  the 
manner  of  Cowper),  the  "Conquest  of  Canaan, "and  "Coluni! 
the  leading  pieces,  by  the  amiable  theologian  Dr  Timothy  1 
Dwight's  prose  descriptions,  as  that  of  the  Notch  of  the  White  Moun- 
tains and  the  evening  on  Lake  George,  are  superior  in  grace  to  his 
efforts  in  rhyme. 
Ballad  The  ballad  literature  of  the  revolution  days  is  said  to  have  at- 

literature.  traded  the  attention  of  Lord  Chatham,  less  probably  from  its 
intrinsic  merit  than  from  its  faithful  though  rough  embodiment  of 
the  sentiment  that  not  only  moved  over  the  surface,  bi 
tho  depths  of  the  national  life.  The  anonymous  popular  literature 
of  a -country  is  the  best  "abstract  and  brief  chronicle  of  the  time" 
in  which  it  is  produced.  The  songs  current  in  America  during  this 
era,  inspired  by  the  same  spirit  and  pit  1"  i  in  the  same  I 
historically  interesting  and  artistically  monotonous.  They  celebrate 
in  rude  verse  the  achievements  of  native  heroes,  like  "  Bold  Haw- 
thorne ;"  or  ridicule,  like  "Jack  Brag,"  the  British  Lion,  or,  like  the 
"  Fate  of  Burgoyne,"  the  overthrow  of  vaulting  ambition  ;  or,  as  in 
"  Wyoming  Massacre,"  bewail  the  fate  of  the  fallen  ;  or,  as  in  "  Free 
America,"  celebrate  with  schoolboy  huzzahs  the  triumph  of  the  good 
cause.      Among    the  very  rude   nai  ':'ms   of   the 

"Yankee  Doodle"  is  remarkable  as  having  been  an  old  Dutch 
catch  adapted  into  an  English  satirical  chant,  and  adopted,  with 
conscious  or  unconscious  irony,  by  the  American  troops.  "Hail 
Columbia,"  which  as  a  poetical  production  takes  even  a  lower  rank 
than  "Rule  Britannia,"  was  a  somewhat  later  production  by 
Joseph  Hopkinson  (1798);  and  the  "Star-Spangled  Banner"  of 
Francis  S.  Key  is  associated  with  the  traditions  of  the  second 
British  war.  As  inspired  with  the  spirit  of  the  18th,  though  be- 
longing in  date  to  the  early  years  of  the  19th  century,  we  may 
mention  in  advance  the  "  Pilgrim  Fathers"  of  J.  Pierpont,  Wood- 
worth's  "Old  Oaken  Bucket,"  "Home,  Sweet  Home,"  by  J.  H. 
Parne  ;  the  humorous  burlesque  of  J.  G.  Saxe.  "Miss  MacBride  ;" 


verses  of  the  great  painter  and  creditablo  romancer  Wcsh* 
ington  Allston,  with  the  refrain  "  We  urc  one." 

English  philology  and  literature  were  during  this  period 
represented  by  tho  famous  Lindlcy  Murray,  and  Noah 
Webster  (1758-18  13),  the  author  of  the  best  dictionary  of 
our  language  that  has  appeared  sinco  Johnson'a  In 
Datura]  the  two  Bertrams;  Alexander  Wilson  the 

omithcJ  lubon,  the  literary  glory  of  LouisL ins, 

whose  descriptions  of  auimate  nature  rival  those  of  Buffon, 
are  illustrious  names. 

IV. — The  Literature  of  the  Nineteenth  Century. 
Prose  Writings. 
1.  In  a  rapid  estimate  of  the  literature  of  this  prolific 
age  we  can  only  signalise  its  contributions  to  the  several 

es  of  physical  and  mental  science.      The  United 

have  iluiing  the  last  two  generations  been  justly 
proud  of  the  names  of  Morton  and  Schoolcraft  in  ethnology, 
of  Bowditch  in  mathematics,  of  Sullivan  and  Dana  in 
chemistry  and  mineralogy.  Their  classical  scholarship, 
which  hardly  competes  with  that  of  England,  has  yet  been 
fairly  maintained  by  Everett,  Felton,  Woolsey,  Anthon, 
and  Robinson.  Dr  Marsh  is  an  accomplished  English 
scholar,  while  Professor  Whitney  is  a  learned  and  accurate 

:ist,  whose  researches  iu  Sanscrit  are  well  known 
and  appreciated  by  European   Orientalists.      The  mrta- 

.1  schools  of  Locke  and  Reid  aro  nowhere  better 
represented  than  in  America  by  Dr  Bowen  and  Dr  N. 
Porter.  The  place  of  Marshall  as  a  jurist  has  been 
worthily  filled  by  Chief-Justice  Kent  and  Judge  Story ; 
the  latter  of  whom  ranks,  by  virtue  of  his  essay  on  classical 
studies  and  his  graceful  descriptions  of  natural  scenery, 
among  the  most  accomplished  of  the  numerous  professional 
men  who  have  in  the  New  World  devoted  their  leisure 

to  lighter  literature. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  have  always  been  Oraton. 
noted  for  remarkable  fluency,  sometimes  a  super-fluency 
of  speech.  The  early  years  of  the  century  were  illustrated 
by  the  fiery  zeal  of  Randolph  and  the  practical  force  and 
occasional  impassioned  eloquence  of  Henry  Clay.  The 
great  political  controversies  inherited  from  the  preceding 
age  found  their  most  conspicuous  popular  exponents  in 
two  leading  minds  laying  claim  to  diverse  kinds  of  great- 
ness, and  destined  to  be  in  almost  incessant  antagonism. 
John  C.  Calhoun,  the  most  illustrious  representative  of  Calhous 
the  Southern  States,  of  whose  rights,  real  or  imaginary,  he 
was  during  his  life  the  foremost  champion,  was  by  educa- 
tion and  choice  a  professional  statesman.  Secretary  of 
War  in  1817,  and  Vice-President  of  the  Commonwealth  in 
1825,  ho  resigned  the  latter  office  on  occasion  of  the  dis- 
pute about  the  tariff    law  in  1832,  to  become  the  leader 

I  )pposition ;  and  in  vindicating  the  attitude  of  South 
Carolina  was  the  first  to  lay  the  strands  of  tho  future 
Secession  war.  The  most  accomplished  modern  apologist 
for  slavery,  it  is  probable  that  he  only  hastened  the  conflict 
between  opposing  principles  which  was  sooner  or  later 
le.  Calhoun's  eloquence,  as  attested  by  his  audi- 
tors and  the  numerous  speeches  and  papers  preserved  in 
the  six  volumes  of  his  published  works,  was  notable  for  its 
earnestness  and  gravity,  the  terse  polish  of  its  manner,  for 
phic  generalisations  and  analytical  dialectic.  His 
prevailing  sincerity  and  candour  have  made  his  memory 
respected  by  those  farthest  removed  from  him  in  sentiment 

nion.  Daniel  Webster,  on  the  whole  the  grandest  Webste$ 
orator  of  the  New  World,  wras  during  the  greater  part  of 
his  career  the  champion  of  Massachusetts  and  the  assertor 
of  her  policy.  His  defence  of  that  State  in  the  Senate 
(1830)  against  General  Hayneof  Carolina, and  his  oratorical 
duel  with  Calhoun  (1838),  resulting  in  tho  temporary  over- 
throw of  the  doctrine  of  nullification,  aro  among  the  most 


A  M E  R I C  A  N    LITERATURE 


723 


remarkable  triumphs  of  debate  in  history.  Smut  of  his 
pleadings  on  criminal  trials  have  an  almost  terrible  power. 
But  his  literary  genius  and  richness  of  illustration  found 
freer  scope  in  his  famous  appeal  for  the  Greeks  in  1824, 
his  great  speech  (1820)  on  the  second  centennial  anni- 
versary of  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  or  his  address 
(1825)  on  laying  the  corner-stone  of  Bunker  Hill  monu- 
ment. Webster's  eloquence,  everywhere  solid,  massive, 
and  on  great  occasions  glowing  with  a  lurid  light,  is  not 
the  mere  record  of  half-forgotten  strifes;  it  is  "vital  in 
every  part,"  and  belongs  to  the  permanent  literature  of  his 
country,  in  whose  political  arena  he  was  during  his  life 
perhaps  the  most  powerful  actor.  The  art  of  making 
commemorative  speeches,  technically  called  "  orations," 
ha3  been  cultivated  in  North  America  to  excess.  The 
great  master  in  this  species  of  composition  was  Edward 
Everett,  distinguished  by  his  early  association  with  Lord 
Byron  in  Greece,  the  high  dignities — governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts, minister  to  the  court  of  St  James's,  and  president 
of  Harvard — to  which  he  attained,  and  by  the  variety  of 
his  accomplishments.  Mr  Everett  was  for  ten  years  a 
useful  member  of  Congress.  In  his  literary  work  he 
displayed  an  almost  fatal  fluency,  having  contributed  to 
the  "  North  American  Review,"  of  which  he  was  for  some 
time  editor,  upwards  of  a  hundred  articles  in  the  space  of 
a  few  years.  These  articles  are  inevitably  of  unequal 
merit,  but  they  everywhere  evince  the  ripe  scholarship 
of  a  highly  cultivated  mind.  The  volume  by  which  he 
is  best  remembered — twenty-seven  Orations — published 
in  1836,  is  marked  by  the  same  characteristics.  Discoursing 
on  a  wide  range  of  subjects — among  which  the  refrains  are 
America  and  Greece,  the  "  Mayflower,"  the  Progress  of  Dis- 
covery, Patriotism,  Reform,  the  Republic,  Concord,  Lex- 
ington, and  the  inevitable  Bunker  Hill — these  speeches 
are  always  able,  but  seldom  inspiring:  carefully  elaborated 
and  richly  adorned,  they  are  the  production  of  the  first  of 
rhetoricians  rather  than  a  genuine  orator. 

Among  the  remaining  lawyers  and  statesmen,  remarkably  nume- 
rous in  the  States,  who  have  in  the  course  of  their  professional 
careers  made  highlv  creditable  contributions  to  literature,  it  may 
suffice  to  mention  H.  Swinton  Legare  of  Charleston,  at  one  time  a 
student  of  law  at  Edinburgh,  a  prominent  speaker  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  afterwards  President  Tyler's  attorney -general,  who 
published  in  the  Southern  Quarterly  and  New  York  Reviews  a  series 
of  masterly  criticisms  mainly  relating  to  Greek  and  Roman  litera- 
ture ;  J.  P.  Kennedy  of  Baltimore,  a  successful  barrister  and  Con- 
gressman, also  a  vigorous  essayist  and  author  of  some  remarkably 
lively  sketches  of  country  life  and  manners  in  the  Old  Dominion ; 
Richard  H.  Wilde,  of  Georgia,  in  which  State,  after  surmounting 
unusual  difficulties  with  remarkable  perseverance,  he  roso  at  the  bar 
to  be  attorney-general,  author  of  the  song  entitled  the  "Lament  of 
the  Captive,"  and  of  a  Life  of  Tasso,  displaying  great  research 
and  occasionally  subtle  criticism,  written  after,  two  years'  residence 
in  Europe  ;  and,  taking  higher  rank  as  an  author,  Richard  Dana,  a 
barrister  of  the  early  years  of  the  century,  and  adherent  in  politics  of 
the  old  Federalist  party  in  the  state.  Dana  became  known  in  the 
world  of  letters  as  the  author  of  a  Fourth  of  July  Oration  in  1814, 
and  somewhat  later  as  the  contributor  to  the  North  American 
Review  of  appreciative  and  discriminating  criticisms  of  the  English 
lake  poets.  In]S27hepublishedhisfantasticghoststoryofthe  "Buc- 
caneer" and  other  poems,  to  which  he  continued  to  add  at  intervals. 
Many  of  his  minor  verses  are  characterised  by  remarkable  grace, 
but  they  want  original  force.  Among  contemporary  politicians, 
Mr  Wendell  Phillips  is  the  only  one  who  can  be  called  a  great  orator ; 
the  ease  and  energy  of  his  style  at  its  best  being  rarely  surpassed. 
'But  the  speeches  of  Mr  Sumner  are  eloquent,  and  his  arrange- 
ment of  facts  converging  to  clench  his  argument  is  often  masterly. 

2.  History,  as  the  reflection  of  philosophy  on  the  states- 
manship and  the  struggles  of  the  past,  seldom  comes  very 
early  in  national  literature.  The  18th  century  in  America 
supplied,  in  letters,  journals,  and  contemporary  chronicles, 
material  for  more  elaborate  and  comprehensive  treatment 
in  the  19th  at  the  hands  of  George  Bancroft,  a  leading 
Democrat,  who  held  the  post  of  representative  of  his  country 
in  Great  Britain  from  1846  to  1849.     His  great  work — 


three  volumes  of  which  are  devoted  to  the  Colonisation 
and  seven  to  the  Revolutionary  period — published  at  in- 
tervals between  1834  and  1874,  has  been  generally  ac- 
cepted as  the  standard  history  of  the  United  States  up 
to  this  time.  The  book  is  written  for  the  most  part  in  a 
sufficiently  vigorous  style ;  somewhat  defective,  however, 
-  in  elegance,  and  characterised  by  a  certain  monotony  and 
want  of  ease,  which  detracts  from  the  pleasure  of  the  reader. 
Bancroft's  statements  of  matters  of  fact  are  generally 
reliable  ;  but  his  comments  are  moulded  even  more  than 
is  usual  by  the  foregone  theories  of  a  political  partisan. 
The  rival  history  of  Richard  Hildreth,  which  appeared  in 
six  volumes,  issued  in  rapid  succession  (1849-53),  while 
marked  by  the  same  Puritan  tone,  is  even  more  severe 
in  its  judgments.  The  style  is  more  animated,  but  more 
prone  to  the  torva  voluptas  of  false  rhetoric.  The  key- 
note of  the  sentiment  which  pervades  Mr  Hildreth's  book 
is  to  be  found  in  his  keen  abolitionist  views,  previously 
expressed  in  a  juvenile  work  of  th«  author,  The  White 
Slave.  One  of  its  merits  i3  its  appreciation  of  th« 
Federalists,  and  especially  of  the  genius  and  character 
of  their  leader,  Hamilton.  Of  the  host  of  national  bio- 
graphies in  which  the  West  abounds,  Sanderson's  Lives 
of  the  Signers,  the  historical  sketches  of  G.  C.  Verplanck, 
Wirt's  Patrick  Henry,  and  the  stupendous  series  edited 
and  largely  written  by  Jared  Sparks,  may  be  signalised. 
Nearly  one-half  of  the  works  of  the  most  classic  American 
prose  writers  of  the  generations  previous  to  our  own  are 
historical  or  biographical.  Washington  Irving's  Conquest  Irving 
of  Granada,  and  his  lives  of  Columbus,  the  Followers  of 
Mahomet,  Goldsmith,  and  Washington,  if  not  the  most  ori- 
ginal, are  among  the  most  interesting  of  his  works — accu- 
rate in  their  leading  estimates,  and  marked  by  the  usual 
smoothness  and  even  flow  of  his  style.  Irving  contemplated 
a  continuation  of  the  record  of  the  early  relations  of  Spain 
to  the  New  World,  but,  with  his  wonted  generosity, 
abandoned  the  theme  on  hearing  that  the  task  had 
been  assumed  by  worthy  hands.  The  works  of  William  H.  Prescott 
Prescott,  the  most  artistic  historian  to  whom  the  United 
States  have  hitherto  given  birth,  are  remarkable  from  the 
difficulties  under  which  they  were  produced,  and  for  the  well- 
deserved  success  which  they  have  achieved.  This  success 
is  due  in  part  to  the  genius  and  indomitable  industry  of 
the  writer,  in  part  to  the  steady  concentration  of  his  powers 
on  the  arduous  undertaking  of  which  he  had  at  an  early 
age  formed  a  just  estimate.  In  a  diary  of  1819  (that  is 
in  his  twenty-third  year)  he  allows  ten  years  for  preliminary 
studies  and  ten  more  for  the  execution  of  his,  task — a 
notable  example  to  his  countrymen,  nine-tenths  of  whose 
literary  performances  will  prove  ephemeral,  less  from  lack 
of  ability  in  the  writers  than  from  an  utterly  inadequate 
sense  of  the  time  and  toil  that  every  true  Muse  demands 
of  her  votaries.  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  given  to  the 
world  in  1S38,  was  written  while  Mr  Prescott  was,  owing 
to  an  accident  at  college,  almost  wholly  deprived  of  his 
sight.  His  authorities,  in  a  foreign  tongue,  were  read  to  him 
by  an  assistant,  and  by  aid  of  a  writing-case  for  the  blind 
he  scrawled  the  pages  of  his  great  work.  It  soon  attained 
a  European  as  well  as  an  American  fame,  and  superseded 
all  other  records  of  the  period  of  which  it  treats.  No  such 
comprehensive  view  of  Spain  at  the  zenith  of  her  greatness 
has  ever  appeared  in  English.  The  proportion  of  its  parts 
and  the  justice  of  its  estimates  are  universally  acknow- 
ledged; while  hypercriticism  of  the  style — graceful,  correct, 
and  sufficiently  varied — can  only  point  to  the  occasional 
possibility  of  greater  condensation.  Among  the  most 
notable  of  the  descriptions,  which  can  seldom  be  detached 
from  the  whole  into  which  they  are  woven,  we  may  refer 
to  the  return  of  Columbus  and  the  contrasted  characters  of 
Queen  Isabella  and  Elizabeth.     The  Conquest  of  Mexico, 


724 


AMERICAN    LITERATURE 


written  with  somewhat  improved  sight,  followed  in  1843; 
that  of  Peru  in  1847.     Theso  have  attained  an  even  wider 
popularity  than  their  precursor,  owing  to  the  more  con- 
densed  romance   and   greater    novelty   of    their  themes. 
They  are  "open  sesames"  to  an  old  world  of  wonders, 
real,  and  yet  from  its  strangeness  invested  with  half  the 
charms   of   fairyland.      Few   passages   of    fiction   are   so 
enthralling    to    the    youthful    reader    as    the    story    of 
Nezahualcoyotl,  king  of  Tezcuco,  the   life  and  exploits 
of  Montezuma,  the  night  retreat  from  the  Aztec  capital, 
or   the   account  of   the   sun -worshippers  in   the   Golden 
City.     Both  works  are  dramas  in  which  our  sympathy  is 
divided   between  the  chivalry  of   Spain  in   her  hey-day 
and  the  poetical  traditions  and  innocent  patriotism  of  a 
vanished  race.     But  their  author  has  never,  in  the  midst 
of  his  "  Claude-like  descriptions "  and  charmingly  vivid 
narratives,  allowed  himself  to  forget  that  he  is  writing 
history.     Boys  read  his  Mexico  and  Peru  as  they  read  the 
Arabian  Nights;  critics  can  point  to  few  flaws  in  the 
accuracy  of  the  author's  judgment     Philip  II,  Mr  Pres- 
cott's  latest  work,  has  similar  excellencies  in  dealing  with 
a  less  attractive  theme.      John  Lothrop  Motley,  a  dis- 
tinguished ambassador  in  foreign  courts,  and  author  of 
the  best  existing  history  of   Holland,    is   Mr   Prescott's 
only  more  recent  rival     Less  faultless,  he  is  more  strik- 
ingly original ;  and  the  greater  complexity  of  the  theme, 
which  he  has  made  Ms  own,  calls  for  the  exercise  of  even 
higher  powers.     The  Dutch  Republic,  which  appeared  in 
1856,  at  once  arrested  attention  by  its  evidence  of  careful 
and   long   research,    comprehensive    grasp,    rich   pictorial 
power,  and  the  enthusiasm  which,  only  here  and  there 
interfering  with  the  impartial  judgment  of  the  author, 
gives  colour  and  life  to  the  work.     Mr  Motle/s  style,  even 
to  minute  turns  in  his  sentences,  bears  the  impress  of  the 
influence  of  Carlyle.      The  very  titles  of   his  chapters, 
especially  in  the  first  volume,  seem  transferred  from  the 
French  Revolution.     Such  are  "  Sowing  the  Wind,"  "  The 
Harvest  Ripening,"  "The  First  Whirlwind,"  "The  Taciturn 
against  King,  Cardinal,  and  Elector,"  <fcc     From  the  same 
source   he  may  have  caught  some  of   his  hero-worship, 
which,  however,  by  the  choice  of  a  worthy  object,  he  has 
done  much  to  vindicate.     The  Dutch  Republic,  preluded 
by  the  overture  of  a  masterly  and  vivid  historical  survey, 
is  a  drama,  which  facts  have  made  highly  sensational,  of 
the  most  terrific  struggle  against  temporal  and  spiritual 
despotism  that,  within  the  same  space  of  years,  modern 
times  have  seen.    It  is  divided,  not  inappropriately,  though 
perhaps  with  some  regard  for  effect,  into  a  prologue  and 
five  acts,  to  each  of  which  in  succession  the  name  of 
the  Spanish  governor  for  the  time  is  attached.     The  por- 
traits of  those  emissaries,  particularly  those  of  Granvelle 
of  Arras  and  Duchess  Margaret  of  Alva,  Don  John  of 
Lepanto,  and  Alexander  of  Parma,  are  drawn  with  bold 
Btrokes  and  in  lasting  colours.    Behind  the  scenes,  director 
of  the  assailing  forces,  is  the  evil  genius  Philip  himself,  to 
whose  ghastly  figure,  writing  letters  in  the  Escurial,  our 
attention  is  called  with  a  wearisome,  if  not  affected,  itera- 
tion of  phrat  t ;  while  the  presence  of  the  great  champion, 
like  that  of  Achilles  in  the  Iliad,  is  felt  at  every  crisis 
retrieving  the  retreat  and  urging  on  the  victory.    The  most 
horrible  chapter  of  modern  history — that  of  the  Inquisition 
— i3  unfolded  with  a  power  that  brands  its  records  into  the 
memory  of  the  reader;  and  amid  a  throng  of  scenes  of- 
pageantry  and  pathos  we  may  refer  to  those  of  the  "resigna- 
tion of  Charles  V.,  Egmont's  triumph  at  St  Quentin  and 
his  death,  the  misery  of  Mook  Heath,  the  siege  of  Leyden, 
and  the  .hero's  death.     The  United  Netherlands  (1867-69) 
is  a  continuation  of  the  same  history  in  the  same  spirit ; 
but,  as  regards  style,  a  somewhat  calmer  and  more  matured 
composition.     The  most  thrilling'  chapters  in  those  four 


later  volumes  are  the  siege  of  Antwerp — which  compares 
with  that  of  Syracuse  in  Thucydides — and  that  on  the 
wreck  of  the  Armada,  unsurpassed  in  vividness  and  vigour 
by  either  Froude  or  Kingsley;  to  which  wo  should  add 
the  episodes  of  the  battle  of  Ivry  and  the  skirmish  at 
Zutphen,  with  one  of  the  most  eloquent  tributes  ever  paid 
to  the  genius  and  character  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney.  Of  the 
other  full-length  pictures,  which,  with  the  campaigns  of 
Parma,  Spinola,  and  Maurice,  and  the  intrigues  of  England 
and  France,  divide  the  interest  of  the  book,  are  those  of 
Queen  Elizabeth  (whose  habitual  treachery,  real  meanness, 
and  shallow  pretences  to  magnanimity  are  exposed,  as 
afterwards  by  Mr  Froude),  Henry  of  Navarre,  St  Alde- 
gonde,  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  and  the  great  Barneveld, 
who,  with  tho  Prince  of  Nassau,  divides  our  sympathy  at 
the  close  of  the  book.  Since  the  death  of  Lord  Macaulay 
no  equally  solid  and  valuable  contribution  has  been  made 
to  historical  literature.  As  supplementary  in  some  measure  Ticknc* 
to  the  volumes  of  Mr  Prescott,  we  may  mention  here  the 
History  of  Spanish  Literature  by  his  coadjutor  Geo.  Ticknor, 
incomparably  tho  best,  tho  most  comprehensive,  most  criti- 
cal, and  most  interesting  work  which  exists  on  the  subject 
Of  other  contributions  to  literary  criticism,  from  which,  owing  to 
their  superabundance,  it  is  hard  to  select,  those  of  George  S.  llillard, 
one  of  the  most  highly  cultured  writers  in  New  England  ;  of 
Henry  T.  Tuckermann,  author  of  Thoughts  on  the  Poets,  an  elegant 
but  sentimental  essayist ;  of  E.  P.  Whipple,  a  critic  who,  according  to 
Mr  Griswold,  combines  "  the  strength  of  the  Areopagitica  with  the 
liveliness  of  the  Spectator"  (!)  ;  of  Margaret  Fuller  D'Ossoli,  a  pre- 
cocious linguist,  translator  of  Eckermann's  Conversations •vrith 
Ooethe,  herself  a  brilliant  conversationalist  and  somewhat  cloudy 
transcendentalist  and  advocate  of  the  superiority  of  women  to  men ; 
the  always  lively  reviews  of  Mr  Lowell,  with  numerous  papers  in 
the  North  American  and  Atlantic  Revuws, — may  be  referred  to.  To 
these  we  should  add  the  discriminating  "Essays  on  recent  Engllih 
Poets  "  contributed  to  Scribner's  Monthly  by  E.  C.  Stcdman. 

3.  Politk  LiTEBATrrRE,  of  any  excellence,  in  the  lighter 
branches  is,  in  the  West,  almost  wholly  a  growth  of  the 
present  century.  .,  The  most  widely  and  justly  celebrated  of 
transatlantic  authors  in  this  field,  during  its  earlier  half, 
was  the  amiable  and  versatile  Washington  Irving.  Of  his  irvin* 
numerous  writings,  we  have  referred  in  last  section  to 
those  which  are  directly  historical.  The  rest  fall  under 
two  heads,  according  as  they  are .  concerned  mainly  "with 
American  or  with  European  themes.  On  the  same  principle 
on  which  Agassiz,  and  Follen,  and  Paine,  even  Berkeley 
and  Priestley,  have  been  claimed  by  the  United  States, 
Irving  is  associated  with  the  progress  of  English  litera- 
ture; for  in  virtue  of  his  Scotch  parentage,  and  in  the 
course  of  four  distinct  and  extended  visits  to  Europe — 
1803-6,  1815-20,  1827-32,  and  1841-46— he  may  be 
said  to  have  become  half  an  Englishman.  His  style  is  in 
the  main  that  of  the  essayists  of  Queen  Anne,  modified  by 
the  humour  of  Charles  Lamb;  and  many  of  his  most  effective 
sketches  of  life,  manners,  and  society  relate  to  the  eastern 
hemisphere.  Such  are  his  Histories,  the  Tales  of  a  Travel* 
ler,  Bracebridge  Hall,  Newstead  and  Abbots/ord,  tha 
Alhambra,  and  half  of  the  Sketch  Book.  In  reference  to 
those  works — the  best  passages  of  which  are  classical — a 
French  critic  has  said  that  Irving  describes  al)  countries 
but  his  own  in  the  style  of  Addison.  In  others,  however, 
and  these  the  earliest  and  latest  of  his  works,  he  treats  of 
national  legend  and  scenery  in  a  manner  peculiar  to 
himself.  His  first  literary  efforts,  which  resulted  in  the 
series  of  papers  entitled  Salmagundi,  were  gently  satirical 
descriptions  of  the  features  of  society  in  American  cities. 
The  History  of  New  York,  by  "  Diedrich  Knickerbocker,"  in 
point  of  pure  originality  his  masterpiece,  is  one  of  the 
richest  farragoes  of  fact,  fancy,  and  irony  that  have  ever 
issued  from  the  press.  In  later  life,  his  Tour  of  the 
Prairies — The  Adventures  of  Bonneville,  and  Astoria,  are 
instinct  with  the  spirit  of  western  discovery  and  adventnr*. 


AMERICAN    LITERATURE 


725 


In  this,  as  in  other  points  of  view,  versatility  and  grace  are 
his  prevailing  characteristics.  He  belonged  historically 
to  both  worlds,  and  was  equally  at  home  in  each-;  he 
reflected  the  quiet  philosophy  of  the  Tatler  and  Spectator, 
adding  to  it  the  pathos  which  dims  the  eye  of  the  reader 
over  his  "Wife,"  and  "Widow  and  Son,"  and  "Broken 
Heart,"  and  "  Pride  of  the  Village."  He  started  the  vein 
of  burlesque  that  has  run  through  his  country's  literature, 
but  under  the  restraints  of  taste  and  temperance  that  have 
unfortunately  been  often  discarded.  The  even  grace  of  his 
manner  often  leads  hasty  critics  to  do  scant  justice  to  the 
range  of  bis  sympathy.  His  manly  but  gentle  style  is  at 
home  in  Spanish  history,  English .  essay,  and  American 
legend ;  in  the  Alhambra  and  among  the  slopes  of 
"  Sleepy  Hollow,"  where,  as  in  the  famous  "  Rip  Van 
Winkle,"  we  have  some  of  the  earliest  models  of  amuse- 
ment with  grave  faces  and  the  melancholy  parties  of 
pleasure  that  are,  under  various  forms  of  buffoonery,  still 
typical  of  American  humour.  Associated  with  Irving  in  his 
Salmagundi,  the  name  of  J.  K.  Paulding  deserves  a  distinct 
place  for  the  humorous  vigour  of  his  character  sketches, 
and  his  vivid  pictures  of  early  colonial  life,  in  the  Dutch- 
man's Fireside  and  Westward  Ho!  where  the  features  of 
the  contest  between  the  new  settlers  and  the  aborigines  are 
brought  before  U3  in  clear  relief.  His  apologue  of  "  Bull 
and  Jonathan,"  and  the  thirteen  good  farms  over  which 
they  squabbled — founded  on  Swift's  Tale  of  a  Tub — pre- 
sents us,  in  a  satire  which  lies  on  the  border  of  irony  and 
a  rougher  form  of  wit,  with  an  early  American  view  of  the 
relations  between  his  own  and  the  mothe?  country. 
Some  of  the  same  themes  have  been  handled  with  superior 
richness  of  illustration  and  force  by  the  greatest,  with  one 
exception,  of  transatlantic  novelists — J.  Fenimore  Cooper 
(1789-1831) — a  man  remarkable  no  less  for  the  somewhat 
defiant  independence  of  his  character,  which  led  him  to 
defend  his  countrymen  in  Europe,  where  he  travelled  from 
1827-33,  and  to  •assail  their  foibles  in  America,  than  by 
the  marked  originality  of  his  genius.  His  first  consider- 
able work,  The  Spy,  appeared  in  1821,  and  from  its  fresh 
treatment  of  a  patriotic  theme  obtained  a  European  reputa- 
tion. His  second,  The  Pioneers  (1823),  with  a  vivid  repre- 
sentation of  the  scenery  of  the  author's  early  life,  introducing 
for  the  first  time  his  ever-recurring  hero  the  famous  Natty 
Bumpo,  or  Leather-Stocking,  established  bis  place  as  a 
new  actor  on  a  crowded  stage.  Then  followed  The  Pilot, 
in  which  he  first  asserted  hi3  claim  to  an  empire  since 
indisputably  made  bis  own  among  novelists — that  of  the 
sea ;  and  somewhat  later  The  Last  of  the  Mohicans  and 
T/ie  Prairie,  in  which  he  asserted  a  similar  sway  over  the 
" gardens  of  the  desert  "  and  the  hills  of  the  remoter  West 
While  abroad  he  wrote  his  Red  Rover  and  The  Bravo — a 
graphic  tale  of  Venice,  and  flung  on  the  aspersors  of 
his  country  the  American  in  Europe.  Shortly  after  his 
return  he  issued  his  satirical  assault  on  newspaper  editors 
and  other  delinquents  —  his  Homeward  Bound,  which 
led  him  into  several  actions  for  libel,  in  which  he  claims 
to  have  been  almost  invariably  successful — The  Pathfinder, 
and  The  Deerslayer  (1840-41).  The  latter,  perhaps  the  best 
of  the  Leather-Stocking  series,  completes  the  list  of  his 
gTeat  novels;  to  which  must  be  added  another  important 
work — The  History  of  the  American  Navy — published  in 
1839.  There  is  a  certain  severity  about  Cooper's  genius, 
showing  itself  in  a  hardness  in  his  style,  which  restricts  the 
range  of  his  readers.  He  wastes  perhaps  too  many  words 
on  descriptions,  is  exhaustive  where  he  might  have  been 
suggestive,  and  his  plots  are  apt  to  be  deficient  in  interest 
— The  Red  Rover  conspicuously  excepted.  But,  deducting 
the  echoes  of  Scott,  to  which  we  have  referred,  he  is 
American  to  the  core  ;  he  needs  no  slang  or  affectation  to 
establish  his  originality,  but  moves  on  his  own  way  with 


something  like  disdain  of  comment.  His  best  descriptions 
-. — as,  for  example,  those  of  the  prairie  on  fire,  of  the 
"Ariel"  among  the  shoals,  of  the  capture  of  the  whale 
and  the  panther  in  The  Pioneers,  of  the  last  sea-fight  in 
The  Rover,  of  the  regatta  in  The  Bravo — are  unsurpassed. 
His  ships  move  over  the  seas  like  things  of  life.  His 
hunters  traverse  the  prairies  with  a  sense  of  possession. 
His  best  characters  are  few ;  but  Natty  Bumpo,  Bob  Yarn, 
Nightingale,  Long  Tom  Coffin,  Hetty  Hunter,  and  Brand 
Merideth  are  undying  creations.  The  earliest  American 
romancer  of  note,  Charles  Brockden  Brown  (1771-1810), 
who  came  before  the  world  (1797)  in  Alcuin,  a  Dialogue 
on  the  Rights  of  Women  (first  of  a  mob  of  tracts  on  the 
same  theme),  set  the  example  on  his  side  of  the  Atlantic  of 
that  love  of  the  anomalous,  fantastic,  and  horrible,  repre- 
sented on  our  own  by  Beckford,  Walpole,  and  Godwin, 
and  later  by  Mrs  Radcliffe  and  Mrs  Shelley.  His  main 
works — Wieland,  Ormond,  Arthur  Mervyn,  and  Edgar 
Huntly — are  unmistakably  the  productions  of  a  man  of 
genius.  None  are  wanting  in  passages  of  thrilling  interest, 
striking  situations,  and  subtle  analysis  of  character.  But 
they  dwell  too  prevailingly  on  the  night-side  of  nature — 
on  such  themes  as  insanity  and  somnambulism,  and  all  the 
repulsive  anatomy  of  mental  disease.  Brown's  account  of 
the  yellow  fever  in  Arthur  Mervyn  may  be  compared  with 
•the  corresponding  narratives  in  Thucydides,  Lucretius,  and 
Defoe ;  and  Wieknd's  confession  of  the  murder  of  his  wife 
(a  favourite  subject  of  Western  fiction)  is  hideously  vivid ; 
but  the  author's  plots  as  a  whole  are  wanting  in  method, 
his  bursts  of  passion  are  dulled  by  intervening  tediousness, 
and  his  style  deformed  by  pedantic  circumlocutions. 
Brown  must  be  credited  with  considerable  originality  of  con- 
ception, and  blamed  for  introducing  a  morbid  v^in  of 
thought.  His  influence  is  apparent  in  two  novels  of 
Richard  Dana — to  whom  we.  have  before  referred — Tom 
Thornton  and  Paul  Felton,  in  which  a  mote  graceful  style 
is  employed  with  almost  equal  vigour  to  illustrate  similar 
monstrosities  of  character  on  the  basis  of  incidents  almost 
equally  unnatural.  Of  the  same  school  are  many  of  the 
sketches  of  Charles  F.  Hoffmann,  as  "Ben  Blower's  Story"  noSuui 
of  being  immured  in  a  steam-boiler,  and  the  "  Flying 
Head ;"  but  alongside  of  these  are  others,  as  his  "  Winter 
in  the  West,"  "  Romance  of  the  Mohawks,"  and  "  Adiron- 
dacks,"  that  are  steeped  in  the  fresh  atmosphere  of  the 
green  fields  and  hills.  Hoffmann  is  also  the  author  of 
three  deservedly  popular  songs,  "  Myrtle  and  Steel," 
"Sparkling  and  Bright,"  and  "Rosalie  Clare."  The 
influence  of  those  writers,  along  with  that  of  a  profonnder 
analyst,  the  French  Balzac,  is  apparent  in  the  works  of 
the  most  morbid  genius  the  modern  world  of  letters  has 
known.  In  the  regions  of  the  strangely  terrible,  remotely 
phantastic,  and  ghastly,  Edgar  Allan  Poe  reigns  supreme. 
For  clearness  of  style,  aptness  of  illustration,  and  subtilty 
of  thought,  he  distances  in  this  field  all  his  predecessors 
except  Balzac,  who  in  the  mental  dissecting-room  is  his 
only  master.  '  But  while  the  N  Frenchman  deals  with 
anomalous  realities,  the  power  of  the  American  consists  in 
making  unrealities  appear  natural.  One  of  his  great 
charms  is  his  perpetual  interest.  Confining  his  imagina- 
tion within  limited  bounds  of  space,  he  is  never  dull,  save 
in  his  acridly  jealous  criticisms  and  miserable  attempts  at 
humour.  Criticism  would  hardly  strike  a  line  from  the 
longest  and  perhaps  the  most  thrilling  of  his  narratives, 
that  of  "  Arthur  Gordon  Pym."  In  fictitious  verisimilitude 
it  u  only  equalled  by  De  Quincey's  "Flight  of  the  Kalmuck 
Tartars."  With  the  "Adventure  of  Hans  PfaalT'inhis 
balloon,  and  the  "  Descent  into  the  Maelstrom,"  it  is  the 
obvious  source  of  the  ingenious  pseudo-scientific  romances 
of  Jules  Verne,  which  have  lately  attained  so  wide  a 
popularity.     Poe's  most  hideous  tales,  as  "  Thou  art  the 


726 


AMERICAN    LITERATURE 


Mc-,"  "The  Black  Cat,"  "The  Premature  Burial,"  "The 
Pit  end  the  Pendulum,"  "  The  Cask  of  Amontillado,"  "  The 
Tell-Tale  Heart,"  are  redeemed  by  their  literary  merits  and 
their  reference,  under  the  form  of  grotesque  circumstances, 
to  dominant  fears  and  passions  of  mankind.  In  the  "  Fall 
of  the  House  of  Usher,"  "  The  Domain  of  Arnheim," 
"  William  Wilson,"  arid  "  Ligeia,"  a  more  purely  poetic 
or  deeply  psychological  element  is  added  to  the  horror.  In 
the  "  Murders  of  the  Rue  Morgue,"  "  The  Mystery  of  Marie 
Roget,"  "The  Purloinod  Letter,"  and  "The  Gold  Bug," 
he  is  on  the  borderland  between  romance  and  reality,  and 
seems  to  prove  himself  in  potentiality  the  prince  of  all 
detectives.  We  shall  have  to  refer  to  him  again  as  a  poet. 
The  super-subtilty  of  Balzac  and  Poe  appears  with  higher 
qualities  in  the  works  of  the  greatest  of  New  England 
romancers,  on  the  whole  the  most  artistic  of  American  prose 
writers,  Nathaniel  Hawthorne.  Of  his  style  it  is  impossible 
to  speak  too  highly ;  for  without  any  of  the  defects  often 
found  in  the  writings  of  his  countrymen,  it  has  a  healthy 
flavour  of  nationality.  It  is  accurate  and  strong,  terse  and 
yet  full,  rich  and  yet  simple,  harmonious,  varied,  and 
suggestive.  These  excellencies  of  form  give  a  fascination 
to  his  most  ordinary  themes  as  to  his  descriptions  of  scenery 
and  works  of  art.  The  only  modern  pictures  ui  Italy 
comparable  to  those  of  Rome  and  her  sculptures  in 
Transformation  are  Ruskin's  Venice  and  the  finest  stanzas 
in  the  fourth  canto  of  Childe  Harold.  But  Hawthorne's 
scenery  can  seldom  be  disentangled  from  the  mood  of  mind 
in  which  he  views  it,  and  which  constantly  associates  it 
with  some  remoter  purpose  or  underlying  allegory.  Amid 
the  din  of  voices  in  the  Custom-house  or  half-buried  in 
the  mosses  of  his  Manse,  walking  along  the  Appian  Way  or 
gliding  down  the  Assabeth,  he  dwells  among  strange 
visions.  The  sea-shore  tells  him  secrets  of  the  past,'  and 
the  prattling  village  is  full  of  a  present  sympathy.  But 
the  features  of  nature,  and  life,  and  character  which  he 
loves  to  draw  are  peculiar.  They  are  for  the  most  part 
sombre  and  mysterious ;  not  with  the  sort  of  mystery  that 
attends  unprecedented  events  and  unnatural  marvels,  but 
with  the  mysterv  which  he  finds  underneath  the  current  of 
common  lives.  One  of  his  prevailing  thoughts  is,  things 
are  not  what  they  seem — he  is  so  fond  of  peering  beneath 
the.  surface  of  existence,  that  in  his  pages  it  almost  loses 
its  ordinary  reality  ;  he  tries  so  constantly  to  look  through 
life  that  he  scarcely  takes  time  to  look  at  it.  The 
highest  art  of  all  is  that  which  comprehends  both  aspects, 
and,  seeing  the  face  of  nature  as  it  is,  also  penetrates  to  its 
hidden  meanings.  Hawthorne,  on  the  other  hand,  weaves 
his  fictions,  to  borrow  a  phrase  from  himself,  in  "  the 
moonlight  of  romance  ;"  and  while  he  admits  that  materials 
for  a  better  book  than  he  has  written  "  lie  scattered  on  the 
page  of  life  open  before  him,  he  has  seldom  stooped  to 
gather  them." 

"  Moonlight,"  he  repeats  in  ms  preface  to  the  Scarlet  LMtr, 
"  moonlight  in  a  familiar  room,  falling  so  white  upon  the  carpet 
»nd  showing  all  its  figures  so  distinctly,  making  every  object  so 
distinctly  visible,  yet  so  unlike  a  morning  or  noontide  visibility,  is 
a  medium  the  most  suitable  for  a  romance  writer  to  get  acquainted 
with  his  illusive  guests.  The  room  becomes  a  neutral  territory, 
somewhere  between  the  real  world  and  fairyland,  where  the  actual 
and  imaginary  may  meet,  and  each  imbue  itself  with  the  nature  of 
the  other." 

Hawthorne  itas  sometimes  abandoned  this  neutral  terri- 
tory, and  given  us  a  few  short  sketches  which  show  that 
he  is  eminently  capable,  when  he  chooses,  of  illustrating 
and  characterising  common  things  ;  such,  among  his  minor 
tales,  are  "  The  Old  Apple  Dealer,"  "  Little  Annie's 
Ramble,"  "  A  Rill,  from  the  Town  Pump,"  "  Sights  from  a 
Steeple,"  "The  Village  Uncle,"  that  well-named  "Buds 
and  Bird  Voices,"  and  "  The  Seven  Vagabonds,"  the  most 
humorous  and  genial  of  his  lighter  pieces.     His  prevailing 


themes  are  drawn  on  a  border-land  or  twilight  between 
two  worlds,  half  real  and  half  ideal ;  fairy  tales,  in  which 
human  beings  are  the  fairies,  and  are  made  to  point  morals 
of  their  own  histories.  He  haunts  us,  as  he  himself  was 
haunted,  by  problems.  Of  the  five  volumes  of  his  minor 
sketches,  three  at  least  are  filled  with  allegories — riddles, 
some  of  them  hard  to  read,  anil  open  to  doubtful  because 
double  interpretations.  "  The  Great  Stone  Face "  is  a 
noble  piece  of  writing,  apart  from  the  lesson  it  is  intended 
to  convey.  "  Drowne's  Wooden  Image  "  and  "  The  Artist 
of  the  Beautiful "  are  in  themselves  "beautiful  exceedingly." 
The  exquisite  pathos  of  "  Lily's  Guest "  and  "  Edward 
Fane's  Rosebud  "  lies  on  the  surface.  "  Lady  Eleanor's 
Mantle  "  tells  its  own  story  in  a  parable  of  the  Nemesis  of 
pride;  but  in  "Roger  Malvin's  Burial,"  "The  Wedding 
Knell,"  "Young  Goodman  Brown,"  and  others,  the  meaning 
is  either  more  intricate  or  more  remote.  Hawthorne's 
longer  works  are  all  conceived  in  the  same  spirit.  Their 
incidents  are  comparatively  few,  and  might  have  easily 
been  condensed  into  one  of  his  shorter  tales  ;  which  iu 
their  turn  might  easily  have  been  expanded  into  elaborate 
romances — what  a  consummate  story,  for  instance,  might 
have  been  reared  on  the  basis  of  "  Rappacini's  Daughter ! " 
His  forte  lies  in  the  analysis  of  character  and  situations, 
rather  than  the  dramatic  arrangement  of  events.  "  To 
live  in  other  lives,  and  to  endeavour  to  learn  the  secret 
which  was  hidden  even  from  themselves,"  is  the  purpose 
set  before  himself  by  a  character  which  in  one  of  those 
romances  nearly  represents  the  author.  Everywhere  he 
seems  to  be  carrying  out  this  purpose,  ■  'operating  upon 
some  thiee  or  four  characters,  and  removing  them — as  he 
tells  us  in  the  introduction  to  Blithedale — a  little  from  the 
highway  of  ordinary  travel  to  a  theatre  where  these 
creatures  of  bis  brain  may  play  their  phantasmagorical 
antics  without  exposing  them  to  too  close  a  comparison 
with  the  actual  events  of  real  lives.  A  small  group  of 
figures  is  thus  made  to  work  out  some  problem-  of  life,  or 
at  least  to  throw  by  theix  ideal  actions  a  light  on  some 
puzzle  in  the  autK.r's  mind.  The  great  question  over 
which,  in  one  form  or  other,  he  perpetually  broods,  is  the 
nature  of  evil — the  effect  of  sin  and  error  on  the  soul — 
and  their  relation  to  virtue  and  human  progress.  In  the 
Blithedale  Romance,  for  instance,  his  theme  is  that  the 
exaggeration  of  good  may  turn  to  eviL  This  almost  pain- 
fully minute  anatomy  of  four  lives,  relieved  by  passages  of 
delicate  description  and  a  few  scenes  of  thrilling  power,  is 
designed  to  show  the  blighting  effects  of  a  one-sided  idea, 
even  though  it  assumes  the  guise  of  a  benevolent  impulse, 
when  it  overrides  private  and  personal  claims.  In  Trans- 
formation, or  tlit  Romance  of  Monte  Beni,  a  conception  in 
some  respects  the  converse  of  this,  is  wrought  out  of  richer 
materials ;  and  we  are  taught  to  appreciate  the  possibilities 
of  good  that  there  may  be  in  evil,  by  the  effect  which  an 
impulsive  crime  has  in  inspiring  a  simple  instinctive  nature 
with  a  stronger  life.  The  Scarlet  Letter,  which  is  at  once 
the  most  solid  and  the  subtlest  of  the  author's  works, 
illustrates  the  fatal  influence  which  a  single- sin  exerts  on 
all  the  persons  whom  it  involves ;  but  unlike  the  Blithedale 
Romance,  which  is  a  dismal  tragedy,  it  ends  with  a  magnifi- 
cent triumph  of  expiation.  The  Scarlet  Letter  appears  to 
us  to  be  the  best  analytical  novel  of  this  century,  the 
nearest  approach  to  it  in  artistic  finish  and  pyschological 
penetration  being  Goethe's  Elective  Affinities.  The  IIousp 
of  the  Seven  Gables  has  more  variety,  and  mixes  humour 
with  its  pathos  ;  but  the  web  of  this  last  romance,  which 
has  for  its  moral  the  malign  influences  which  may  be 
transmitted  from  one  generation  to  another,  is  woven  of 
thinner  threads.  Hawthorne's  Protean  genius  is  a  power 
in  American  thought.  His  influence  as  a  teacher  and  an 
artist   is   still   crescent  among  tho    contemporaries   from 


AMERICAN    LITERATURE 


727 


'Whom  he  has  lately  passed.  His  symbolic  yet  real  cha- 
racters— Hester  and  Pearl  by  the  forest  brook;  Dimmesdale 
by  the  scaffold,  with  the  red  morning  upon  his  brow ;  the 
dead  Judge  sitting  with  his  watch ;  the  Cleopatraf  of  Brook 
Farm  plunging  in  the  pool ;  Miriam  and  Hilda,  and 
Donatello  the  Faun — are  stamped  in  letters  of  fine  gold  on 
the  pages  of  his  country's  literature,  and  the  music  of  his 
quiet  sentences  yet  lingers  on  the  ear  of  strangers  as  of 
friends.  But  his  name  remains  as  a  warning  as  well  as  an 
example.  In  one  sense  he  was  a  patriot,  glorying  in  the 
great  deeds  of  his  country's  past.  Of  this  feeling  the 
"  Gray  Champion  "  and  "  Howe's  Masquerade  "  give  suffi- 
cient evidence.  At  the  close  of  the  last  he  writes,  as  we 
may  /ancy  with  a  grim  Puritan  smile  :  "  On  the  anniver- 
sary night  of  Britain's  discomfiture  the  ghosts  of  the 
ancient  governors  of  Massachusetts  still  glide  through  the 
portals  of  the  Province  House."-  But  as  a  politician  he 
wrecked  himself  with  the  democratic  party.  He  looked 
upon  slavery  as  "  one  of  those  evils  which  Providence  does 
not  leave  to  be  remedied  b>y  human  contrivances."  He 
had  no  sympathy  with  the  abolitionists,  and  at  least  a  half 
sympathy  with  the  planters.  "  As  regards  human  progress," 
he  wrote,  "  let  them  believe  it  who  can  ; "  and  in  the  pre- 
face to  his  last  completed  work,  as  his  excuse  for  laying 
the  scene  in  Italy, — "  There  is  in  our  country  no  shadow, 
n.j  ambiguity,  no  mystery,  no  picturesque  and  gloomy 
wrong."  "  Romance  and  poetry,  ivy,  lichens,  and  wall- 
flowers, need  ruin  to  make  them  grow."  Hawthorne  lived 
to  see  the  beginning  of  what  he  could  only  regard  as  ruin : 
he  did  not  live  to  see  his  country  rising  stronger  after 
a  great  struggle  with  a  gloomy  wrong. 

Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  the  accomplished  physician  of 
Harvard,  better  known  as  a  humourist  and  author  of 
occasional  verses,  has  contributed  to  psychological  romance 
two  remarkable  volumes  :  Elsie  Venner  and  The  Guardian 
Angel.  The  former,  and  more  striking  of  the  two,  is  a 
weird  tale  of  destiny,  dwelling  upon  the  idea  of  transmitted 
qualities  in'  a  manner  which  suggests  comparison  with  The 
House  of  the  Seven  Gables;  but  Holmes's  story  has  a  more 
Incredible  plot,  the  chief  character  being  a  sort  of  sprite, 
having  mysterious  relations  to  the  animal  world,  a  snake- 
charmer,  herself  half  a  snake  (as  Donatello  in  Transforma- 
tion is  half  a  faun),  like  the  Lamia  of  tradition  and  Keats, 
but  endowed  with  the  graces  of  Undine.  The  vigorous 
sketch  of  the  hero  Langdon,  with  which  the  book  opens,  13 
impaired  by  the  somewhat  obtrusive  manner  in  which  h.9 
is  vaunted  as  a  type  of  the  blue-blooded  or  Brahmin  caste 
of  New  England.  The  same  pathological  treatment  of 
human  nature  pervades  The  Guardian  Angel,  which  turns 
partly  on  mysterious  physical,  and  psychical  affinities.  The 
Margaret  of  Sylvester  Judd,  a  Unitarian  clergyman  of 
Maine,  belongs,  by  virtue  of  some  of  the  problems  with 
which  it  deals,  to  the  category  of  metaphysical  novels. 
Thi3  work  of  decided  genius,  to  which  a  just  tribute  is 
paid  by  Mr  Lowell  in  his  Fable  for  Critics,  has  hardly 
attained  the  popularity  it  merits,  owing  to  the  slender  cha- 
racter of  the  plot,  and  the  frequency  of  the  dissertations 
by  which  the  author  endeavours  to  impress  his  own  views 
of  society,  art,  and  religion.  But  it  is  a  powerful  picture 
of  the  more  ideal  sides  of  New  England  life ;  the  character 
of  Margaret  and  Chilion  are  permanent  types,  and  the 
whole  book  is  extremely  fresh  and  original  The  most 
genuine  successor  of  Hawthorne  is  Theodore  Winthrop, 
who  left  a  counting-house  in  New  York  for  an  adventurous 
life,  and  fell  at  Great  Bethel  in  1861  in  his  thirty-third 
year.  His  best  novel,  Cecil  Dreeme,  teems  with  life-like 
characterisation,  bathed  in  a  poetic  element  of  mystery  ; 
and  John  Brent,  the  next  in  merit,  is  a  graphic  sketch  of 
romantic  incidents  ir>  the  Far  West,  drawn  from  his  own 
experience. 


Of  tales  evincing  talent  there  la  a  pletho.-*  ;  they  lis  on  the 
shelves  of,  the  libraries  "thick  as  the  leaves  on  Vallombrosa." 
Among  those  worthy  of  note  are  the  pictures  of  Southern  society 
by  W.  G.  Simms,  whose  fertile  brain  is  said  to  have  produced  fifty 
volumes  in  twenty  years  ;  The  Bee  Hunter,  and  other  narratives  of 
the  south-west,  by  T.  B.  Thorpe  of  Baton  Bouge  ;  John  Neal'g 
Rachel  Dyer  and  Ruth  Elder;  the  classical  romances  of  Ware, 
Zenobia  and  Probus  and  Julian;  Mrs  E.  0.  Smith's  Indian 
Reminiscences;  The  IAnwoods,  Hope  Leslie,  and  other  philan- 
thropic tales  of  New  England,  by  Miss  Sedgwick  ;  Mrs  Lydia 
Child's  Hobomok,  and  her  Philothea,  a  romance  of  Pericles  and 
Aapasia,  somewhat  too  sentimental  in  its  style,  and  not  free  from 
anachronisms  ;  with  the  anti-slavery  pictures  represented  by  Mrs 
Stowe's  Uncle  Tom,  a  book  which,  inspired  by  ordinary  talent  and 
written  in  an  earnest  spirit,  owed  its  success  to  the  air  ot  simple 
narration  which  pervades  it,  and  its  having  the  aggressive  strength 
of  a  political  pamphlet  appearing  at  the  right  time  in  harmony  witv. 
the  passion  on  one  side  of  an  impending  struggle.  The  light  brj 
graceful  and  often  incisive  sketches  of  N.  P.  Willis  take  a  somt- 
what  higher  rank.  A  rapid  writer,  but  at  his  best  a  brilliant 
colourist,  his  fertile  fancy  has  been  employed  in  almost  all  the 
countries  of  Europe,  and  in  his  own,  in  prose  and  verso,  with  mora 
than  average  success.  His  Pencillings  by  the  Way  and  People  I 
have  Met  are  among  the  most  agreeable  of  books  for  a  leisure  hour ; 
his  descriptions  are  always  interesting  as  well  as  accurate,  and  his 
characters,  grave  and  gay,  are  generally  life-like.  His  picture  of 
the  Indian  girl,  Nunu,  in  the  Inklings  of  Adventure,  is  fascinating 
ajid  vivacious  enough  to  be  worthy  of  a  higher  artist. 

Books  of  Travel,  among  which  those  of  Mr  Willis  hold  a  Traveit 
respectable  place,  superabound  in  the  literature  of  the  West. 
Nine-tenths  of  the  literary  men  of  America  have  crossed 
the  Atlantic,  and  nine-tenths  of  those  who  have  done  so  have 
published  their  impressions  of  the  Old  World,  with  every 
variety  of  good  and  bad  taste,  from  the  Old  Home  to  the 
Innocents  Abroad.  After  that  of  his  birth,  an  American 
author's  travels  are  the  first  essential  of  his  being.  We 
may  next  predict  his  praise  of  Italy,  his  half  satirical  half 
curious  view  of  England,  and  his  wonder  at  the  Pyramids. 
Of  the  multifarious  descriptions  of  Europe  to  which  thi3 
habit  has  given  birth,  the  worthiest  of  note  are  tho3e  of 
Hawthorne  and  Emerson,  of  Story  and  Cheever,  and 
Curtis's  Nile  Notes.  In  the  "  Lotus  Eating  "  of  the  last 
named  we  have  pleasing  reminiscences  of  the  watering- 
places  of  his  own  country.  But  the  most  interesting 
records  of  western  scenery  are  those  of  Fremont ;  Win- 
throp's  Canoe  and  Saddle,  and  Life  in  the  Open  Air;  and 
the  numerous  remarkable  "  Excursions "  of  Emerson's 
leading  pupil,  H.  D.  Thoreau — his  "  Maine  Woods,"  "Cape 
Cod,"  and  "  Merrimack ; "  with  the  vacation  voyage  to 
Cuba  of  the  younger  Dana. 

4.  A  leading  feature  of  transatlantic  literature  is  its 
Htjmotje.  Humour  is  a  word  of  many  meanings :  it 
begins  on  the  low  level  of  any  laughter-provoking  absurdity, 
and  rises,  as  in  the  speeches  of  Lear's  Fool,  to  a  tragic 
height.  In  the  Greek  classics  it  shows  itself  in  the 
Rabelaisian  exuberance  of  Aristophanes  or  in  the  Socratic 
irony :  in  the  English  we  have  an  even  more  subtle  appre- 
ciation of  the  curiosities  of  character,  and  a  deeper  senso 
of  the  contradiction  or  conflict  between  the  higher  and 
lower  phases  of  human  nature.  In  Sterne  and  Fielding, 
as  in  Ben  Jonson,  we  have  every  man  in  his  humour.  As 
developed  in  America,  thi3  quality  of  the  mind  seldom 
penetrates  to  the  under-currents  of  life ;  its  insight  is  clear 
but  not  profound ;  it  relies  mainly  on  exaggeration,  and  a 
blending  of  jest  and  earnest  which  has  the  effect  of  singing 
comic  words  to  a  sad  tune,  or  telling  a  preposterous  story 
with  a  grave  face.  Mr  Lowell  makes  us  laugh  by  his 
description  of  a  negro  "  so  black  that  charcoal  made  a  chalk 
mark  upon  him,"  and  of  a  wooden  shingle  "  painted  so  like 
marble  that  it  sank  in  the  water."  Mr  Browne  (Artemus 
Ward)  excited  the  same  sort  of  laughter  by  his  remark  in 
pointing  to  a  hill  daubed  on  his  canvas,  "  the  highest  part 
of  this  mountain  is  the  top."  In  both  cases  there  is  ft 
surprise,  excited  in  the  one  by  a  falsehood  plausibly  pre- 
tending to  be  the  truth,  in  the  other  by  a  truism  asserting 


728 


AMERICAN    LITERATURE 


itself  as  a  novelty.      Similarly,  when  the  latter  writer, 
among  his  anecdotes  of  tho  conscription,  tells  us  that  "  one 
young  man  who  was  drawn  claimed  to  be  exempt  because 
he  was  the  only  son  of  a  widowed  mother — who  supported 
him,"  the  amusement  is  all  in  the  unexpected  turn  of  the 
last  three  words.     In  contradistinction  to  this,  the  humour 
of  Don  Quixote,  of  Falstaff,  of  Uncle  Toby,  of  Major  Bath, 
of  the  Vicar  of  Wakefield  and  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley,  of 
Major  Pendennis  and  Bishop  Blougram,  consists  in  its 
truih.     What  these  people  do  or  say  never  surprises  us. 
It  is  absurd  as  a  great  part  of  human  life  is  absurd,  and, 
laughing  at  them,  we  feel  we  are  laughing  at  something  in 
ourselves.     The  best  recent  instances  of  this  higher  kind 
of   humour  which  American  literature  affords  are  to  be 
found   in    Washington   Irving,    in    Mr    Lowell's    Biglow 
Papers  (to  which,  as  a  considerable  national  poem,  we 
shall   have   to   revert),   in   passages  of   Mr  Longfellow's 
Kavanagh,  in   Mr    Hawthorne's   Seven  Gahles  and  Seven 
Vagabond*,  and  in  the  prose  and  verse  of  Dr  Holmes.     In 
his  three  pleasant  volumes,  The  Autocrat,  The  Professor, 
and  Tlve  Poet  at  the  Breakfast  Table,  there  is  much  that 
might  have  been  omitted,  more  that  should  have  been 
compressed.      They  contain  too  many  jokes,  good,   bad, 
and  indifferent,  and  are  tainted  here  and  there  with  what 
we  must  be  excused  for  regarding  as  New  England  slang. 
But  they  are  pervaded  by  a  genial  glow  of  kindly  sym- 
pathy, and  they  exhibit,  with  a  quaint  mannerism — not 
without   its  attractions — personages,  and   situations,   and 
sentiments  which  we  recognise  as  at  once  odd  and  real.    Dr 
Holmes's  works  have  frequent  reflections  of  Montaigne  and 
Burton,  and  the  Nodes  Ambrosiana; ;  he  mixes  pathos  and 
whimsicality  after  the  manner  of  Lamb  and  Sterne.     His 
humorous  verses,  the  best  known  of  which,  "  Daily  Trials," 
"  Evening,  by  a  Tailor,"  and-the  "  Music-grinders,"  inevi- 
tably recall  the  drolleries   of    Hood.       His   genius    has, 
nevertheless,  an  original  vein,  less  mellow,  but  at  its  best 
as  genuine  as  that  of  his  older  masiers.     Several  of  the 
miscellaneous  papers,  essay3,  and  periodicals  belonging  to 
the    earlier   years   of  the    century,    as  Salmagundi,   The 
Talisman  of  Bryant  and  Verplanck,   The  Olipodiana  of 
W.  G.  Clarke,   and  the  Sparrow  Grass  Papers,  are   fre- 
quently enlivened  by  sparkles  of  wit  and   evidences  of 
keen  discrimination.     In  others  we  trace  the  germs  of  a 
vicious  style  which  threatens  to  degrade  the  lighter  litera- 
ture of  the  States.     The  Charcoal  Sketches  of  Joseph  Neal 
— which  might  be  entitled  Comicalities  of  the  Mississippi 
— are  among  the  earliest  examples  of  the  habit  of  playing 
with    slang  terms    characteristic  of  his  successors.       An 
author   who   relies   for    effect   on    giving   his   imaginary 
personages  such  nicknames  as  "  Dawson  Dawdle,"  "  Peter 
Ploddy,"  "  Tippleton  Tipps,"  and  "  Shiverton  Shanks,"  is 
more  likely  to  be  the  cause  of  wit  in  others  than  the  source 
of  humour  liimself.     During  the  last  generation  in  America 
the  anxiety  to  be  national  has  led  many  of  her  minor 
authors  to  make  themselves  ridiculous.     To  avoid  walking 
like  Englishmen,  they  have  gone  on  all-fours ;  to  escape  the 
imputation   of   Anglo-Saxon  features,  they  have  painted 
their  faces  with  ochre    and  put  ear-rings   through   their 
nostrils;  forsaking  the  speech  of  Addison  and  Steele,  they 
have   expressed   themselves   in    an    unseemly  jargon    of 
strange  tongues.     Of  this  mocking-bird  humour  the  most 
legitimate  form  is  that  of  the  Biglow  Papers,  whero  the 
New  England  dialect  is  employed  with  effect  to  give  voice 
to  the  sentiments  of  that  district  of  the  country  during  the 
national  struggle,  on  one  side  of  which  it  took  the  lead. 
A  similar  justification  may  be  put  forward  in  behalf  of  the 
Californian  peculiarities,  which  are  perhaps  not  too  promi- 
nent in  the  often  really  humorous  pieces  of  Bret  Harte. 
The  mixture  of  two  dialects  in  the  Breitmann  Ballads  is  a 
bolder  licence,  though  for  the  best  of  these   Mr  Leland 


may  plead  the  wide-spread  use  of  the  nongrel  speech,  and 
the  original  success  of  a  drollery  which  has  only  become 
tiresome  from  his  not  knowing  when  his  readers  have  had 
more  than  enough  of  it.     The  parodies  of  Mr  Browne 
(Artemus  Ward)  are  open  to  the  same  criticism.     The 
writer  was  a  man  of  wit-  and  talent,  and  therefore  his 
writings  are  amusing.     They  are  good  specimens  of  tho 
worst  style  of  satire  :  for  the  wit  that  relies  on  bad  spelling 
is  almost  as  false  as  that  which  consists  in  bad  language. 
In  vindication  of  the  "  Showman,"  it  must,  however,  be 
observed  that  his  sarcasm  is  generally  directed  against 
mean  or  ridiculous  things.     But  his  example  has  paved, 
for  those  who  have  caught  the  trick  of  his  phrase  and 
who  aro  unrestrained  by  his  good  feeling  and  good  sense, 
an  easy  descent  to  the  lowest  form  of  light  literature— 
that  which  panders. to  the  vice  of  moral  scepticism  and 
thrives   on   the   buffoonery  of   making   great  and  noble 
things  appear  mean  or  ridiculous.     The  names  of  those 
who  habitually  fee"d  on  mental  garbage  should  be  left  to 
sink   into   the   oblivion  from   which  they  have  unfortu- 
nately emerged.     It  is  painful  but  necessary  to  observe 
that  some  of  the  more  considerable  writers  and  thinkers  of 
the  New  World  are  apt  to  condescend  on  occasion  to  this 
burlesque   way   of.   writing.      American    light   literature 
bristles  in   puns  wnich  are    at    best   the    "  a-b   abs "   of 
wit.     Of  these,  Mr  Lowell  (a  severe  critic  of  everything 
English)  has  made  the  worst — "  Milton  is  the  only  man 
who  has  got  much  poetry  out  of  a  cataract — and  that  was 
a  cataract  in  his  eye."      Mr  Leland,  tho  next  worst,  in  his 
book  of  travels — "  If  a  thing  of  beauty  be  a.  jaw  for  ever, 
as  the  American  said  of  his  handsome,  scolding  wife,  then 
the   donkey  boys   of    Cairo   are   the   most  jaw-ous   and 
beautiful  creatures ;  for  the  sound  of  their  voices  drieth 
not  up."      Eccentricities  of   this   sort,   with   the   graver 
irreverences    wh'ch    intrude    themselves    even    into    the 
pulpits  of  the  West,  should  be  universally  discredited  as 
blasphemies  against  the  first  principles  of   taste.      They 
are  as  "  flat,  stale,  and  unprofitable  "  as  the  contortions  of 
a  wearied  clown.     True  humour — as  ever  in  our  classics 
— must  go  hand-in-hand  with  seriousness ;  it  must  never 
forget  that  behind  the  comic  there  is  a  tragic  'element  in 
human  life.     Tho  mere  "  farco  "  is  contemptible,  because 
it  is  as  unnatural  as  the  expression  of  a  countenance  dis- 
torted by  a  continual  grin.      In  forgetfulness  of  this  lies 
tho  greatest  danger  of  the  recent  literature  of  America, 
and  we  can  only  trust  to  the  higher  intellectual  instincts 
and  tendencies  of  the  age  to  detect  and  resist  it. 

5.  New  England  Transcendentalism. — Religion,  the  Theology 
first  motive  power  of  thought  in  America,  has  continued 
to  flow,  both  in  its  old  channel— that  of  the  orthodox 
Puritanism  which  came  down  from  Eliot  and  Edwards 
through  Dwight  to  Hodge  and  the  Princeton  Essays — and 
in  another,  that  of  the  new  forms  of  faith  advocated  by 
W.  E.  Channing,  and  with  gravely  heterodox  modifica-  Wianntag. 
turns  by  Theodore  Parker.  Criticism  of  Channing's 
theological  position  is  apart  from  our  purpose  here.  He 
claims  notice  in  a  review  of  literature  by  the  vigour  of 
his  conceptions  and  his  graceful  and  correct  expression  of 
them.  His  earliest  considerable  essay,  the  Moral  Argu- 
ment against  Calvinism,  one  of  the  best  known  of  his 
numerous  controversial  works,  indicates  by  its  title  his 
prevailing  attitude.  He  relied  through  life  on  a  priori 
moral  arguments,  and  employed  them  as  his  engines  of 
attack  against  all  persons,  institutions,  or  practices  that 
offended  his  rigid  sense  of  justice  or  his  enthusiastic 
benevolence — e.g.,  Napo/eon  I.,  War,  and  Slavery.  A 
generous  indignation  agamst  wrong,  and  keen  practical 
sense  of  the  duties  of  life  are  more  conspicuous  in  his 
writings  than  speculative  power ;  but  his  insight  into  the 
political  position  of  parties  and  the  probability  of  future 


AMERICAN    LITERATURE 


729 


conflicts  is  remarkable.  Though  at  variance  with  the 
older  creeds  of  Christendom,  Channing's  writings  are 
everywhere  marked  by  a  reverential  spirit,  and  not  un- 
frequontly  by  a  touch  of  asceticism  inherited  from  the 
Puritan  days,  whose  abstract  doctrines  alone  he  proposed 
to  modify.  On  the  other  hand,  he  admired  the  higher 
forms  of  Art,  and  in  his  eloquent  essays  on  Self-culture 
anticipated  much  that  has  been  said  more  recently  by 
Emerson.  He  loved  beauty  as  well  as  virtue  for  itself, 
and  his  style,  except  on  rare  occasions,  is  free  from  the 
defects  of  taste  so  frequent  in  tho  writings  of  his  con- 
temporaries. His  reviews  of  Milton  and  Fenelon  abound 
in  passages — as  the  picture  of  religious  peace  in  the  latter 
— which  exhibit  the  delicacy  and  the  breadth  of  his 
sympathies.  Theodore  Parker — unlike  Channing — assails 
the  whole  basis  of  the  old  theology,  and  frequently  errs 
from  arrogance  and  impetuosity.  He  had,  perhaps,  a 
more  powerful  but  a  less  highly  cultivated  mind.  He 
was  a  pupil  of  the  transcendental  movement  of  New 
England,  to  which,  because  of  its  influence  on  literature 
and  its  association  with  the  most  original  thinker  of  the 
New  World,  we  must  accord  some  space. 

In  the  early  years  of  this  century  the  mental  philosophy 
of  the  West,  beyond  that  which  was  a  handmaid  to  the 
Calvinistic  theology,  was  limited  to  commentaries  on  Locke 
and  Brown  and  the  eclecticism  of  Cousin,  when  the  repub- 
lication of  Sartor  Resartus,  and  the  works  of  the  German 
idealists  which  it  introduced,  gave  life  and  voice  to  a  new 
intellectual  world.  Ideas  which  filter  slowly  into  English 
soil  and  abide  there  for  a  generation,  flash  like  comets 
through  the  electric  atmosphere  of  America.  Coleridge  and 
Carlyle  were  hailed  as  prophets  in  Boston  while  their  own 
countrymen  were  still  examining  their  credentials.  The  rate 
of  this  transformation  was  surpassed  by  its  thoroughness. 
The  converts  put  their  teachers  to  the  blush  ;  and  in  recoil 
from  solid  Scotch  psychology  and  practical  materialism, 
rushed  to  the  outer  verges  of  idealism,  mysticism,  and  pan- 
theism. Their  quarterly  magazine,  the  Dial,  during  the 
space  of  four  years  represented  their  views  throughout  four 
volumes  of  miscellaneous  merit.  The  Dial  is  a  pantheon 
from  which  only  Calvinists  and  Utilitarians  are  excluded, 
where  the  worshippers,  Parker,  Fuller,  Alcott,  and  a 
host,  neet  and  sing  hymns  to  Confucius,  Zoroaster, 
Socrates,  Goethe,  Tieck,  and  Richter,  set  to  German 
music;  and  pass  from  antiquated  laudations  of  Homer 
and  Shakespeare  to  friendly  recognitions  of  new  heresies ; 
from  thoughts  on  labour  to  puffs  of  poetasters;  from 
Hindoo  mythology  and  Chinese  ethics  to  19th  century 
truisms  about  progress  and  union,  prudence  and  humanity; 
from  soaring  among  the  heights  of  a  modern  religion  of 
beauty  to  raking  among  the  tangled  roots  and  dead  leaves 
of  a  second-hand  Orientalism.  But  those  vapours  of  ideal- 
ism might  have  soon  faded  into  the  light  of  common  day, 
had  not  all  their  best  aspirations  been  concentrated  and 
vitalised  by  Mr  R.  W.  Emerson.  His  first  oration,  delivered 
at  Cambridge  thirty-five  years  ago — the  refrain  of  which  is 
the  independence  of  American  literature — is  referred  to  by 
recent  critics  as  a  landmark  in  the  annals  of  their  country. 
In  this  discourse — as  in  the  six  volumes  through  which  the 
author  enforces  the  same  conceptions — there  is  scarce  any- 
thing of  which,  taken  separately,  we  need  fail  to  trace  the 
pedigree.  Fichte  had  many  years  before  spoken  in  the 
same  strain  of  the  vocation  and  nature  of  the  scholar;  the 
view  of  science  comes  from  Swedenborg  and  Schelling;  and 
the  dignity  of  labour  from  Carlyle.  The  originality,  as  is  the 
case  with  the  author's  whole  system  of  thought,  is  in  the 
combination — which,  it  may  be,  is  the  only  kind  of  origin- 
ality now  possible.  His  position,  as  far  as.it  is  tenable, 
illustrates  the  fact  that  the  divisions  of  philosophy  are  being 
continually  altered  as  old  systems  form  affinities  with  new 


beliefs  and  historical  conditions.  Mysticism  in  the  Now 
World  has  been  combined  with  the  opposite  extravagances 
of  Mount  Lebanon  and  Oneida  Creek,  but  it  has  been  dis- 
tinguished from  idealism  proper  by  its  exaltation  of  emotion 
above  reasoning.  Mr  Emerson,  defining  transcendentalism 
as  "  the  saturnalia  of  faith,"  differs  from  the  older  mystics 
in  his  absolute  rejection  of  all  external  authority,  his  almost 
arrogant  confidence  in  the  sufficiency  of  the  inner  light,  and 
his  new  American  preference  for  the  active  to  the  passive 
side3  of  life.  He  has  an  historical  sympathy  with  the  un- 
satisfied aspirations  of  all  ages,  with  the  day-dreams  of 
restlessness  in  search  of  rest  that  inspired  the  quest  of  the 
Sangreal,  and  led  the  monks  to  Christianise  the  eastern 
Nirvana;  that  laid  out  Brook  Farm  in  Massachusetts,  and 
gave  Novalis  and  Newman  back  to  the  fold  of  Rome :  but 
he  will  not  be  drawn  by  them  into  any  church  with  walls. 
All  religions  are  to  him  "  the  same  wine  poured  into  dif- 
ferent glasses."  He  drinks  the  wine,  and  tries  to  shatter 
the  glasses.  His  unflinching  scepticism  pierces  the  armour 
of  all  definite  dogmas,  while  he  entrenches  himself  behind 
an  optimism  like  that  of  Spinoza.  Mysticism  has  in  the 
main  been  fatalistic.  As  a  developed  system,  its  natural 
home  is  in  the  East;  where  the  influence  of  great  uniform- 
ities of  soil  and  climate  have  only  in  recent  years  been 
partially  counteracted  by  the  conquering  activities  of  an 
energetic  race.  Beneath  her.burning  sun  and  surrounded  by 
her  tropic  vegetation,  the  mass  of  men  were  overwhelmed 
by  a  sense  of  their  insignificance,  and  this  feeling  of  sub- 
jugation was  intensified  by  absolute  forms  of  government. 
The  same  listlessness  which  permitted  a  secular  and 
priestly  despotism,  led  its  victims  to  welcome  the  idea  of  a 
final  absorption  of  their  individuality.  Their  philosophical 
ambition  was  to  pass  into  the  framework  of  a  gigantic 
nature,  to  be  "rolled  round  the  earth's  diurnal  course  with 
rocks  and  stones  and  trees."  There  is  a  relic  of  this  spirit 
in  the  drapa^ia,  a7ra0«a,  and  rjpep.la,  which  are  the  aims  at 
once  of  the  Epicurean  and  Stoic  systems;  but  the  doctrines 
of  passive  obedience  had  been  banished  from  Greece  as 
early  as  the  overthrow  of  the  Pythagorean  institute.  They 
revived  in  the  dark  and  middle  ages,  when  the  church  took 
upon  itself  the  task  of  legislating  for  the  intellect ;  and 
even  the  precursors  of  the  Reformation  were  possessed 
with  an  almost  oppressive  sentiment  of  resignation. 
The  reproduction  of  the  Oriental  spirit  in  America,  in  so 
far  as  it  is  genuine  and  not  the  mere  expression  of  a  love 
of  far-fetched  quotations,  may  be  attributed  to  external 
influences  in  some  respects  comparable  to  those  which 
weighed  on  the  inhabitants  of  ancient  India.  In  the 
Western,  as  formerly  in  the  Eastern  World,  nature  still 
struggles  to  assert  her  old  supremacy,  and  threatens  to 
domineer  over  men's  minds  by  the  vastness  of  her  empire. 
But  in  other  respects  the  conditions  are  reversed.  In  place 
of  stagnation  and  uniform  although  magnificent  decay,  we 
have  to  deal  with  the  manifold  progress  of  19th  century 
civilisation  in  a  land  where  every  one  is  more  or  less 
inspired  by  the  resolve  of  the  modern  mariner  with  an 
ancient  name  to  "  sail  beyond  the  sunset "  in  pursuit  of 
fresh  adventures ;  where  the  energies  of  the  individual  are 
in  constant,  and  in  the  long  run  triumphant,  struggle  with 
all  that  tends  to  restrict  the  full  sweep  of  his  arm  .or  to 
retard  the  freest  activities  of  his  mind.  Where  every  moon 
sees  new  forests  felled,  new  rivers  crossed,  new  fleets  built, 
new  tribes  amalgamated,  new  discussions  raised,  and  new 
problems  solved,  mysticism,  if  it  exist  at  all,  must  take 
on  a  form  very  different  from  that  handed  down  from  the 
East  of  3000  years  ago  to  the  Alexandrians,  and  trans- 
mitted to  the  European  ages  of  implicit  faith  by  the  pseudo 
£)ionysius.  Mr  Emerson  strikes  the  key-note  of  the  dif- 
ference when  ho  writes,  "  Feudalism  and  orientalism  had 
long  enough  thought  it  majestic  to  do  nothing;  the  modern 


730 


AMERICAN    LITERATURE 


majesty  consists  in  work."  Retaining  from  the  mystics  his 
belief  in  the  supremacy  of  the  higher  emotions,  he  substi- 
tutes for  a  religious  creed  an  idealised  view  of  modern 
physical  science.  His  combination  of  stern  practical  recti- 
tude with  an  ideal  standard  is  his  point  of  contact  .with 
Puritanism.  A  chivalric  nobility,  in  which  beauty  and 
goodness  are  blended,  is  at  once  the  goal,  the  sanction,  and 
the  motive  of  his  ethical  system.  Praise  of  the  virtue 
which,  transcending  all  prudence  and  disdaining  all  conse- 
quences, is  its  own  reward,  is  the  refrain  of  his  moral 
monologue.  His  severe  censure  of  Goethe's  artistic  indif- 
ferentism  recalls  the  age  when  the  Bible  and  theological 
commentaries  were  regarded  as  the  sum  of  honest  literature. 
He  writes  of  our  great  dramatist  in  the  spirit  of  the  men 
who  closed  the  theatres :  "  He  was  the  master  of  the  revels 
to  mankind" — a  sentence  far  removed  from  the  spirit  of 
modern  art-worship.  But  those  which  follow,  protesting 
against  the  opposite  extremes  of  austerity,  indicate  his 
divergence  on  the  other  side  from  the  old  faith  of  New 
England. 

Mr  Emerson  is,  wo  believe,  most  widely  known  in  this 
country  by  his  Representative  Men:  by  no  means  the  most 
satisfactory  of  his  works.  A  seric3  of  generally  acute  criti- 
cisms, pervaded  by  no  well-marked  ethical  idea,  it  leaves 
on  the  mind  a  somewhat  indefinite  impression.  Its  cate- 
gories are  not  exhaustive,  and  it  is  difficult  to  determine  on 
what  principle  they  are  chosen :  but  it  serves  as  an  interest- 
ing point  of  comparison  with  the  corresponding  lectures  of 
the  great  English  advocate  of  hero-worship,  to  the  sugges- 
tions of  which  it  probably  owes  its  existence.  Mr  Carlyle, 
whose  whole  faith  is  centred  in  strong  individualities,  adopts 
the  view  of  history  which  practically  resolves  it  into  a 
series  of  biographies.  Mr  Buckle,  caring  little  for  persons, 
and  confiding  rather  in  general  laws,  resolves  biography 
into  history.  Mr  Emerson  on  this  question  steers  a  middle 
course.  He  believes  in  great  men,  "to  educate  whom 
the  state  exists,  with  the  appearance  of  whom  the  state 
expires;"  but  he  regards  them  as  inspired  mouthpieces  of 
universal  or  national  ideas  rather  than  as  controlling  forces. 
Their  mission  is  not  so  much  to  regulate  our  action  a3  to 
"  fortify  our  hopes."  Possessed  of  a  larger  share  of  the 
Over  Soul  which  "  makes  the  whole  world  kin,"  they  appre- 
hend and  explain  phenomena  which  have  hitherto  passed 
unheeded;  but  their  indirect  services  are  the  best.  Then- 
examples,  more  weighty  than  their  acts  or  discoveries,  are 
perpetual  encouragements.  The  great  man  is  an  encyclo- 
paedia of  fact  and  thought;  the  belief  born  in  his  brain 
spreads  like  a  current  over  humanity,  and  he  becomes  for 
a  time  the  golden  key  to  the  ill-defined  ideal  of  the  multi- 
tude. .But  his  career  should  rouse  us  to  a  like  assertion 
of  our  liberties.  We  ought  not  to  obey,  but  to  follow  some- 
times by  not  obeying  him.  Our  author  accepts  the  position 
upheld  by  Aristotle  and  popularised  by  Macaulay,  that 
different  forms  of  government  are  adapted  to  different  social 
conditions;  but  maintains  that  the  tendency  of  modern 
times,  attaching  more  weight  to  the  equality  of  persons  and 
les3  to  the  inequalities  of  property,  is  towards  Democracy, 
with  which  and  the  industrialism  of  his  age  he  has  in  the 
main  a  cordial  sympathy.  He  believes  in  collective  wisdom 
as  the  best  check  on  collective  folly,  and,  allowing  that  the 
state  exists  for  its  members,  he  thinks  they  can  act  best  in 
union  when  all  are  subject  to  the  fewest  external  restraints. 
He  differs  from  Thoreau  and  others  of  his  disciples  in 
having  no  share  in  their  selfish  isolation.  His  best  essays, 
woven  of  two  curiously  intersecting  threads,  present  us  with 
a  unique  conjunction  of  shrewdness  and  idealism.  There 
never  was  a  mystic  with  so  much  of  the  spirit  of  the  good 
farmer,  the  inventor,  or  the  enterprising  merchant. 

As  regards  form,  Mr  Emerson  is  the  most  unsystematic 
of  writers.     The  concentration  of  his  style  resembles  that 


of  a  classic,  but,  as  with  others  who  have  adopted  the 
aphoristic  mode  of  conveying  their  thoughts,  he  everywhere 
sacrifices  unity  to  riches  of  detail  His  essays  aro  bundles 
of  loose  ideas  tacked  together  by  a  common  title,  handfuls 
of  scraps  tossed  down  before  his  audience  liko  the  contents 
of  a  conjuror's  hat.  He  delights  in  proverbs  and  apt 
quotations;  ho  exaggerates  like  an  American,  loves  a  con- 
tradiction for  itself,  and  prefers  a  surprise  to  an  argument 
His  epigrams  are  electric  shocks  He  sacrifices  everything 
to  directness.  His  terse  refinement  of  phrase  and  trenchant 
illustrations  are  his  charm.  His  ideas  are  on  the  scale  of 
a  continent;  his  sentences  are  adapted  for  a  cabinet  of 
curiosities — bits  of  mosaic  work,  sweeping  generalisations 
given  in  essences.  His  style,  armed  with  points  like  the 
bristles  of  a  hedgehog,  wants  repose.  This  feature  is  con- 
spicuous in  the  English  Traits,  where  his  estimates  of  men 
and  things,  frequently  felicitous  and  generally  racy,  are 
often  marred  by  an  unpruncd  violence.  His  eye  is  keen, 
but  its  range  is  narrow,  and  ho  is  ignorant  of  the  fact. 
Unconsciously  infected  by  the  haste  which  ho  condemns, 
ho  looks  at  other  nations  through  the  folding  telescope  of. 
a  tourist.  [_  His  representations  of  our  leading  writers  and 
statesmen  seldom  rise  above  the  level  of  Mr  Willis's  Pen- 
cillings  by  the  Way.  His  taste  is  constantly  at  fault,  and 
an  incessant  straining  after  mots  often  leads  him  into 
caricature.  His  judgments  of  those  whose  lives  and  writ- 
ings do  not  square  with  his  theories  are  valueless ;  and  in 
dealing  with  foreign  languages  he  betrays  the  weakness  of 
bis  scholarship. 

One  qualification  for  a  good  critic  is  a  well-defined 
artistic  standard,  another  is  the  dramatio  capacity  of 
placing  himself  for  the  time  in  the  position  of  the  person 
who  is  being  criticised.  Mr.  Emerson  has  neither  of  these. 
With  the  spirit  of  a  fearless  inquirer,  he  unfortunately 
blends  so  much  presumption  as  to  feel  an  absolute  indif- 
ference regarding  the  opinions  of  others;  and  this  in  excess 
constitutes  a  moral  as  well  as  an  artistic  defect.  Thought 
is  free,  and  the  expression  of  it  ought  to  be  so;  but  when 
our  thought  wanders  very  far  from  that  of  the  majority  of 
the  wise  and  good,  we  are  bound  to  watch  it,  to  sift  its 
conclusions,  and  to  state  them  moderately.  Mr  Emerson's 
thought  does  wander  far,  and  it  runs  fast;  he  does  not 
know  what  moderation  in  expression  means,  and  his  almost 
childish  love  of  contradiction  perpetually,  and  often  justly, 
provokes  offence.  He  rides  rough-shod  over  the  most 
cherished  convictions,  or  waves  them  aside  with  a  com- 
placent smile  and  a  sort  of  divine  impudence.  Every 
claim  of  authority  he  receives  as  a  challenge  to 'his  per. 
sonal  rights,  and  he  stabs  the  bull  Apis,  in  utter  disregard 
of  the  historian's  warning.  His  impatient  anticipations 
natural  detract  from  his  reliability  in  matters  of  detail, 
while  by  a  similar  carelessness  he  repeats  and  contradicts 
himself  with  equal  frequency.  His  soundest  judgments 
relate  to  the  men  around  him,  of  whom  he  is  at  once  the 
panegyrist  and  the  censor.  All  that  is  weak  and  foolish 
in  their  mode  of  life  ho  condemns,  all  fhat  i3  noblest  and 
most  hopeful  he  applauds. 

Mr  Emerson  has  left  his  mark  on  the  century;  to  use  a 
favourite  phrase  of  his  own,  "he  cannot  be  skipped." 
Even  where  his  results  are  least  satisfactory,  his  intense 
suggestiveness  is  the  cause  of  thought  in  others;  and  as 
one  of  the  "  genetic"  powers  of  modern  literature,  his  fer- 
tilising influence  will  survive  his  inconclusive  speculations. 
His  faults  are  manifest:  a  petulant  irreverence,  frequent 
superficiality,  a  rash  bravery,  an  inadequate  solution  of  diffi- 
culties deeming  itself  adequate,  are  among  the  chief.  But 
he  is  original,  natural,  attractive,  and  direct — limpid  in 
phrase  and  pure  in  fancy.  His  best  eloquence  flows  as 
easily  as  a  stream.  In  an  era  of  excessive  reticence  and 
cautious  hypocrisy  he  lives  within  a  case  of  crystal  where 


AMERICAN    LITERATURE 


731 


thero  are  no  concealments.  We  never  suspect  him  of  with- 
holding half  of  what  he  knows,  or  of  formularising  for  our 
satisfaction  a  belief  which  he  does  not  sincerely  hold.  He 
is  transparently  honest  and  honourable.  His  courage  has 
no  limits.  Isolated  by  force  of  character,  there  is  no  weak- 
ness in  his  solitude.  He  leads  us  into  a  region  where  we 
escape  at  once  from  deserts  and  from  noisy  cities ;  for  he 
rises  above  without  depreciating  ordinary  philanthropy, 
and  his  philosophy  at  least  endeavours  to  meet  our  daily 
wants.  In  every  social  and  political  controversy  he  has 
thrown  his  weight  into  the  scale  of  justice,  on  the  side  of 
a  rational  and  progressive  liberty;  and  his  lack  of  sym- 
pathy with  merely  personal  emotions  is  recompensed  by  a 
veneration  for  the  ideal  of  the  race  which  recalls  the  beau- 
tiful sentiment  of  Malebranche :  "  When  I  touch  a  human 
hand  I  touch  heaven." 

Poetry. 

Half  the  literary  men  and  all  the  literary  women  of  this 
century  in  America  have  mitten  verses;  most  of  them  are 
respectable  and  many  are  excellent.  But  a  brief  review  of 
the  poetry  of  the  West  must  dwell  on  the  works  of  four  or 
five  authors  who  most  clearly  and  saliently  express  the 
main  tendencies  of  their  nation.  It  must  suffice  here  to 
name  as  familiar,  or  worthy  to  be  so,  the  graceful  vers  de 
sociele  of  Holmes,  'especially  his  "  Punch  Bowl"  and  "  Old 
Ironsides;"  the  patriotic  chants  of  James  Percival;  the 
sparkling  fancies  of  J.  R.  Drake's  "Culprit  Fay;"  the 
fashionable  satires  of  Halleck ;  the  lyrics  and  romances  of 
Ihe  great  traveller  and  prolific  author,  J.  Bayard  Taylor ; 
the  well-balanced  stanzas  of  Hjllhouse ;  the  plays  of  Conrad 
and  Bird  •  "  Woodman,  spare  that  Tree  "  and  the  "  Whip- 
poor-Will."  by  G.  P.  Morris ;  A.  B.  Street's  "  Settler,"  and 
"  Forest  Walk ;"  and,  pre-eminent  among  female  minstrels, 
Mrs  Sigourney,  whose  blank  verse  descriptions  of  nature 
approach  those  of  Bryant;  the  youthful  prodigies,  Lucretia 
and  Maria  Davidson;  and  Maria  Brooks,  authoress  of  the 
richly  imaginative  southern  romance  of  Zophitl,  whom 
Southey,  her  friend  and  admirer,  pronounced  to  be  "  the 
most  impassioned  of  poetesses."  We  proceed  to  review  the 
position  of  the  really  great  poets  of  the  United  States,  as  re- 
presentingsome  what  different  mannersand  modes  of  thought. 

1.  The  European  School. — Of  these,  in  our  judgment, 
Mr  Longfellow  is  still  the  first.  His  works  are  free  from 
the  defects  that  stamp  the  national  literature  of  his  country. 
He  has  none  of  the  uncouth  r^ower  and  spasmodic  exag- 
geration of  his  contemporaries.  He  is  all  grace,  polish, 
and  sweetness.  His  prose  masterpiece,  "  Hyperion,"  is  the 
key-note  of  his  minor  poems.  The  source  of  their  inspira- 
tion is  "  Outre  Mer  "  among  feudal  towers,  Flemish  towns, 
and  Alpine  passes.  Like  Irving  in  the  variety  of  his 
culture  and  superior  in  genius,  his  imagination  is  Teutonic 
rather  than  American.  He  lingers  in  Nuremberg,  Bruges, 
and  Prague;  and  chooses  for  his  emblem  of  life's  river, 
not  the  Ohio,  nor  the  Hudson,  nor  the  Assabeth,  but  the 
"Moldau's  rushing  stream."  His  "  New  England  Trage- 
dies" are  perhaps  his  least  successful  efforts,  partly  because 
dramatic  literature  has  seldom  yet  flourished  in  American 
soil,  and  partly  because  his  sympathy  with  the  ruder  age 
is  not  keen  enough  to  enable  him  to  vitalise  it.  Mr  Long- 
fellow has  given  us  the  best  translations  in  the  world  from 
Swedish,  German,  Spanish,  and  Italian  authors,  and  many 
of  his  best  verses  are  avowedly  suggested  by  proverbs 
or  sentences,  or  bits  of  old  romance.  A  few  words  from 
an  old  French  author  give  him  the  burden  of  the  "  Old 
Clock  on  the  Stairs;"  a  leaf  out  of  Mather's  Magnalia 
Christi  is  rhymed  into  the  "  Phantom  Ship ;"  the  ballad 
of  the  Count  Arnaldos  sets  him  dreaming  over  the  secret 
of  the  sea;  a  verse  of  Euripides  is  the  key-note  to  his 
"  Voices  of  the  Night;"  a  few  lines  from  Goethe  gather 


up  the  essence  of  the  "  Psalm  of  Life.''  In  tho  JSew 
World,  but  not  of  it,  he  dwells  with  almost  wearisome 
fondness  on  the  word  "  old."  Volumes  of  old  days,  old 
associations  that  we  cannot  buy  with  gold,  quaint  old 
cities,  old  poets  and  painters,  sweet  old  songs,  old  haunted 
houses,  dear  old  friends,  the  grey  old  manse,  Nature  the 
dear  old  nurse,  dear  old  England, — on  phrases  and  thoughts 
like  these  his  fancy  broods.  American  verse  is  fre- 
quently rough-hewn  and  audacious,  sometimes  obscure  and 
pedantic;  its  novelty  is  often  more  striking  than  its  truth. 
Every  sentence  that  Longfellow  has  penned  is-  as  clear  as 
crystal  and  as  pure  as  snow.  He  wears  his  weight  of 
learning  lightly  as  a  flower;  and  though  he  cannot  create, 
he  cannot  touch  without  adorning.  He  seldom  gives  us 
thoughts  absolutely  new,  but  he  puts  our  best  thoughts 
in  the  best  language.  Critics  react  against  his  popularity, 
and  complain  of  h:3  want  of  concentration  and  the  con- 
ventionality of  his  epithets  (a  fault  more  rare  in  his  later 
volumes);  but  his  place  as  the  laureate  of  women  and 
children  and  gentle  men  is  unassailable ;  and  there  are 
seasons  when  we-^>refer  his  company  to  that  of  the  grand 
old  masters,  when  we  seek  an  anodyne  rather  than  a 

stimulant — 

"  His  eongs  have  power  to  quiet 
The  restless  pulse  of  care. 

Longfellow's  command  of  verse  alone  proves  him  to  be  a 
genuine  poet.  There  are  passages  in  the  "  Arsenal,"  the 
"  Occupation  of  Orion,"  the  "  Building  of  the  Ship,"  and 
the  "  Household  Poems"  unsurpassed  in  melody  by  any  in 
contemporary  English  verse.  The  introduction  to  "  Hia- 
watha," the  closing  lines  of  "Evangeline,"  and  some  of 
the  character  sketches  which  preface  the  "Tales  of  the 
Wayside  Inn,"  have  a  music  equally  attractive  and  more 
decidedly  original  The  highest  flights  of  Longfellow's 
imagination  are  in  the  strangely-confused  old-world  story 
of  the  "Golden  Legend;"  but  the  work  on  which  his  fame 
most  securely  rests  is  "  Hiawatha."  This  poem,  in  which 
a  series  of  idylls  are  strung  together  on  the  thread  of  an 
idea  common  to  Indian  and  Scandinavian  legend,  has  that 
exhilarating  flavour  of  nationality  wanting  in  many  of  the 
author's  works,  and  it  yields  to  none  of  them  in  artistic 
finish.  The  monotony  of  the  verse  is  like  that  of  a 
bird's  song  which  has  only  two  or  three  notes,  and  yet 
from  its  everlasting  freshness  never  palls  upon  the  ear. 
Most  modern  attempts  to  reproduce  old  ballads  put  new 
wine  into  old  bottles;  but  the  American  poet  has  thrown 
himself  as  completely  into  the  spirit  of  aboriginal  western 
life  as  he  has  into  that  of  Gothic  paganism  in  the  "  Chal- 
lenge of  Thor."  Like  Chibiabos  the  musician  he  is  at 
home  among  the  pine-groves  and  the  prairies  and  "the 
great  lakes  of  the  Northland ;"  and 

"  All  the  many  sounds  of  Nature 
Borrow  sweetness  from  his  singing." 

Longfellow's  descriptions  charm  us  more  than  they  astonish. 
Inferior  in  luxuriance  to  those  of  "  Enoch  Arden,"  in  in- 
tensity to  those  of  "  Locksley  Hall,"  in  subtilty  to  Brown- 
ing's Italian  pictures,  they  are  superior  in  simplicity.  II 
they  do  not  adorn  Nature  as  a  mistress  with  the  subjective 
fancies  of  a  lover,  they  bring  her  before  us  as  a  faithful 
nurse,  careful  for  her  children.  In  "  Evangeline"  the  poet 
follows  the  wheels  of  the  emigrant's  waggon  over 

"  Billowy  bays  of  grass,  ever  rolling  in  sunshine  and  shadow  " 
and 

"  Over  them  wander  the  buffalo  herds  and  the  elk  and  the 
roebuck." 

Hiawatha  speaks  of  Nature  with  the  familiarity  of  an 
inhabitant ;  there  is  no  trace  of  the  grandiose  style  of  the 
tourist.  In  the  best  episodes  of  the  volume— as  tho 
account  of  the  hero's  childhood  and  his  friends — of  the 
wooing  of  Minnehaha — of  the  son  of  the  evening  star — of 


732 


AMERICAN    LITERATURE 


the  ghosts  and  the  famine — the  parable  of  human  life, 
with  its  incidents  of  birth,  love,  and  death — of  civilisation 
and  decay — is  told  in  a  narrative  of  child-like  tenderness 
as  well  as  masculine  grasp.  He  who  runs  may  read  it, 
and  yet  the  whole  is  lit  up  by  an  imagination  like  an 
aurora  borealis.  A  recent  New  York  critic  ridicules  tho 
European  view  of  "  Hiawatha"  as  an  American  poem.  It 
is  true  that  the  feverish  ardour  of  Wall  Street  has  no 
place  in  iU  pages;  but  it  is  none  the  less  manifestly 
transatlantic  and  sui  generis.  In  celebrating  Red  Indian 
life,  it  inevitably  discloses  some  of  the  features  of  the  race 
which  has  come  into  close  contact  with  that  life.  The 
New  Zealand  myth  about  the  strength  of  the  dead  enemy 
passing  into  his  conqueror  applies  here.  Mr  Dixon  has 
dwelt  very  justly  on  the  extent  to  which  the  aborigines 
of  America  have  communicated  their  spirit  to  the  pioneers 
before  whom  they  have  given  way.  Hiawatha  sings  of, 
the  decadence  of  a  primitive  people  in  strains  that  recall  by 
their  pathos  the  old  British  legends  of  the  death  of  Arthur, 
but  has  also  a  prophetic  side ;  from  the  meeting-point  of 
two  races  it  looks  before  as  well  as  after. 
Poe,  More  devoid  of  national  sentiment  and  local  colouring 

are  the  remarkable  verses  of  Edgar  Allan  Poe,  to  whom 
we  have  before  referred  as  a  romancer.     If  the  aim  of 
poetry  be  to  astonish  or  to  fascinate,  Poe  takes  a  high 
rank  among  poets.     According  to  Wordsworth's  definition 
of  the  art,  he  has  hardly  a  place  among  them  at  alL     He 
teaches  nothing,  and  living  in  one  world  writes  in  another. 
AH  we  know  of  the  personality  of  most  of  the  authors  we 
have  named  adds  to  the  charm  of  their  works.     Regarding 
Poe's  career  it  is  otherwise.     The  vain  and  captious  jea- 
lousy of  his  criticism  is  as  repulsive  as  his  grayer  defects. 
It  has  been  said  that  he  is  the  greatest  of   American 
writers  in  verse.     This  is  an  exaggeration  of  his  powers 
only  surpassed  by  his  own  exaggeration  of  them.     It  is 
true,  however,  that  by  pure  intensity  of  delirium  he  now 
and  then  takes  a  flight  beyond  that  of  any  other  Western 
poet.     His  "  Politian"  is  perhaps  the  stupidest  fragment 
of  a  play  that  exists.     But  in  his  lyrics  the  fervour  of  his 
sympathy  with  himself  makes  artistic  recompense  for  his 
want  of  sympathy  for  others.     The  passion  of  "  Annabel 
Lee  "  is  at  a  white  heat,  and  is  pervaded  by  a,  true  pathos. 
The  class  finish  of  the  best  of  his  verses  is  unsurpassed, 
and  his  musical  cadences  give  a  charm  even  to  those  which 
are  comparatively  meaningless.     The  "  Raven"  is  at  the 
worst  a  marvellous  piece  of  mechanism;  and  the  same  deli- 
cacy of  touch  is  everywhere  visible  in  the  rushing  lines  of 
"Annie,"  "Eulalie,"  "Ulalume,"  "  Lenore,"  and  the  "City 
in  the  Sea."   The  purity  of  those  poems  is  one  of  their  most 
remarkable  features.  By  the  side  of  the  author's  life,  they  are 
like  nuns  in  the  convent  of  a  disorderly  city;  but  they  are 
at  the  same  disadvantage — their  isolation  gives  them  an  air 
of  unreality.   The  "banners,  yellow,  glorious,  golden,"  of  his 
fancy  "  float  and  flow  "  on  the  roof  of  an  imaginary  palace. 
2.  School  of  American  Scenery  and  Adventure. — 
The  French  critic  M.   De  Tocqueville   remarks  that,  in 
democratic  communities,  where  men  are  all  socially  insig- 
nificant, poetry  will  be  less  apt  to  celebrate  individuals, 
but  will  incline  to  dwell  on  external  nature  or  on  the  ideas 
which   concern  mankind  in  general.      It  will  be  either 
descriptive  or  abstract       The  works  of   Mr  Bryant,  the 
earliest  considerable  American  poet,  help  to  vindicate  the 
generalisation.     His  "  Thanatopsis,"  written  in  his  19th 
year,  is  perhaprthe  masterpiece  of  his  (.ombre  contempla- 
tive imagination      The  reason  why  the  author  has  never 
surpassed  this  effort  of  his  youth  is  be  found  partly  in  the 
cast  of  his  mind,  characterised  by  a  narrow  greatness,  and 
partly  in  the  fact  that,  during  the  major  part  of  his  life 
he  has  been  constrained  to  "  scrawl  strange  words  with  the 
barbarous  pen"  as  the  editor  of  a  daily  newspaper:  a  fact 


to  which,  at  the  close  of  his  "  Green  River,"  he  makes  a 
touching  reference.  Mr  Bryant  has  lived  in  thronging 
cities,  an  honest  and  energetic  politician ;  but  in  his  leisure 
hours  his  fancy  has  roamed  to  breezy  hills  and  valleys  and 
the  undulating  sea  of  the  prairies.  The  perpetual  autumn 
of  his  writings  is  peculiar.  He  has  written  smoothly  in 
various  measures,  but  he  is  never  lively.  An  American 
Alastor,  he  loves  "  the  air  that  cools  the  twilight  of  the 
sultry  day "  better  than  morning  "  clad  in  russet  vest." 
In  the  beautiful  verses  on  the  "Death  of  the  Flowers" 
his  ear  catches  a  dirge  in  the  wind 

"The  south  wind  searches  for  the  flowers  whose  fragrance  late 
he  bore, 
And  sighs  to  find  them  in  the  wood  and  by  the  stream  no 
more." 

Tho  high  rank  grass  of  the  meadow  is  to  his  eye  the. 
garniture  of  tho  graves  of  a  race  represented  by  his  "  Dis- 
interred Warrior."  His  "  Evening  Wind,"  "  Forest  Hymn," 
"  Monument  Mountain,"  "  The  Burial  Place,"  and  "  The 
Past,"  are  set  to  the  same  slow  music,  and  pervaded  by 
the  thought  of  life  as  the  avenue  of  death.  If  we  com- 
pare his  "  Address  to  a  Waterfowl"  with  Wordsworth's  or 
Shelley's  "  Skylark,"  we  appreciate  the  monotony  of  his 
mind,  which  is  like  that  of  Cowper  without  Cowper's 
occasional  vivacity.  Mr  Bryant  stands  on  a  high  level, 
but  the  space  he  covers  is  limited;  he  has.no  touch  of 
humour,  and  only  the  distant  pathos  of  prevailing  melan- 
choly. Master  of  his  position  where  he  is  at  home  in  the 
woods,  he  loses  his  inspiration  when  he  draws  near  his 
own  cities.  His  nature-worship  has  a  parallel  in  the 
feeling  which  animates  some  of  the  most  graphic  passages 
in  New  England  prose;  as  when  Emerson  writes — 

"  At  the  gates  of  the  forest,  the  surprised  man  of  the  world  is 
forced  to  leave  his  city  estimates  of  great  and  small,  wise  and 
foolish.  The  knapsack  of  custom  falls  olF  his  back  with  the  firat 
step  he  makes  into  these  precincts.  Here  is  sanctity  which  shames 
our  religions,  and  reality  which  discredits  our  heroes.  .  .  .  "We 
have  crept  out  of  our  crowded  houses  into  the  night  and  morning. 
....  The  incommunicable  trees  begin  to  persuade  us  to  live  with 
them,  and  quit  our  life  of  solemn  trifles.  Here  no  history  or  church 
or  state  is  interpolated  on  the  divine  sky  and  the  immortal  year." 

The  whole  life  and  writings  of  the  morbidly  eccentric 
genius  H.  D.  Thoreau  are  a  comment  on  the  results  of 
this  one-sided  spirit  It  pervades  half  the  volumes  of 
Theodore  Winthrop,  a  manlier  though  less  original  mind. 
It  has  taken  possession  of  the  poetic  advocate  of  Far 
Western  and  wild  Indian  life,  Joaquin  Miller,  whose 
"  Songs  of  the  Sierras "  in  their  best  passages  add  to 
Bryant's  descriptive  power  more  of  the  fire  of  adventure, 
finding  expression  in  the  quicker  pulse  of  the  verse.  But  the 
lyrics  of  this  writer,  though  the  vehicle  of  national  thought, 
bear  tho  mark  of  foreign  influence.  Their  cadences  are 
echoes  of  Mr  Swinburne.  The  impulse  which  made  captive 
the  "  Scholar  Gipsy,"  which  the  hero  of  "  Locksley  Hall" 
welcomes  and  then  rejects,  is  a  leading  feature  of  Western 
literature.  Imaginative  and  ardent  minds,  oppressed  by 
what  Mr  Arnold  calls  "this  strange  disease  of  modern 
life,"  try  to  escape  from  the  region  of  tho  real  drama  into 
that  of  the  ideal  lyric, — "  arva,  beata  petanms  arva,  divites 
et  insulas," — and  have  now  and  then  endeavoured  to  convert 
it  into  an  actual  idyll,  as  when  Thoreau  buried  himself  in 
a  log  hut  by  Walden  lake,  or  Theodore  Winthrop,  leaving 
his  ledgers  in  New  York,  scoured  over  the  crags  of  Oregon; 
or  Home,  with  his  "  Orion"  still  unsold,  was  found  mining 
in  a  quarry  of  New  South  Wales.  But  this  emigre  spirit, 
when  put  into  practice,  ultimately  cures  itself:  a  poet 
soon  tires  of  working  with  his  hands  for  a  livelihood.  The 
aspirations  of  dough's  "  Bothie"  are  stifled  by  the  vitwsB 
euros  of  a  hard  life,  or  terminate  in  the  catastrophes  of  a 
fanaticism,  such  as  Hawthorne  has  branded  with  his  genius 
in  the  BlithedaU  Romance.      The  philosophical  refugees 


AMERICAN    LITERATURE 


733 


find  that  tne  solitude  they  desired  charms  only  by  its 
eontrast  with  the  civilisation  they  have  left ;  as  the  beauty 
of  the  sea  is  its  contrast  with  the  shore.  But  this  wander- 
ing impulse,  strong  in  the  ancient  Greek  and  the  modern 
English  race,  has  colonised  and  civilised  the  world:  it  is 
especially  strong  in  the  Anglo-American.  The  very  restless- 
ness which  makes  his  cities  so  noisy  bid  him  long  for  a 
remoter  rest,  and  this  longing  acta  in  conjunction  with 
more  material  demands  to  drive  him  across  the  Mississippi, 
and  pioneer  the  way  to  the  Pacific. 

3.  Transcendental  and  Eccentric  School.  —  The 
freshness  which  breathes  through  Mr  Emerson's  essays 
reappears  in  his  poems:  but  they  are  seldom  so  successful 
as  his  prose.  .Apart  from  the  obscurity  of  their  matter, 
which  is  great — for  he  has  chosen  verse  as  the  vehicle  of 
his  remoter  mysticism — they  are  defaced  by  frequent 
mannerisms  and  incongruities:  most  of  them  are  wanting 
in  melody,  many  in  syntax.  The  writer  seems  to  trust  to 
providence  for  his  rhymes,  and  changes  his  metres  at  will 
Nevertheless,  his  genius  has  a  lyric  side,  and  the  imagina- 
tive sympathy  with  nature  which  makes  his  prose  poetical,- 
prevents  his  verse,  even  when  awkward,  from  becoming 
prosaic.  The  rippling  of  rivers,  the  sough  of  the  pine, 
the  murmur  of  the  harvest,  and  the  whirr  of  insects  per- 
vade/and give  life  to  his  descriptions.  A  morning  light  is 
thrown  over  his  happiest  pages,  and  some  of  his  quieter 
reflective  pictures  are  not  unworthy  of  the  author  of  the 
"  Excursion."  Interleaved  between  the  gold-dust  of  Alex- 
andrian rhapsody  there  are  pieces  that  speak  of  a  love 
that  is  neither  "initial,"  "daemonic,"  nor  "celestial,"  but 
human.  Of  these,  "  The  Dirge,"  "  In  Memoriam,"  "  Tie 
Farewell,"  the  lines  "  To  J.  W.,"  "  To  Ellen,"  and  the 
"Threnody,"  are- the  most  conspicuous.  The  prevailing  tone 
of  the  greater  part  of  Emerson's  poetry  is  cheerful  Unlike 
those  of  Bryant,  his  "woodnotes"  are  those  of  the  spring. 
"  Thousand  minstrels  wake  within  me, 
Our  music's  on  the  Kills, " 

is  the  perpetual  refrain  of  the  exulting  worshipper  of 
nature.  His  lines  entitled  "  Good-bye,  proud  World," 
breathe  the  hermit-like  spirit  of  Quarles  or  Andrew  Mar- 
veil;  but  the  Puritanism  of  older  days  has  here  assumed 
another  shape.  There  are  other  pieces  relating  to  the 
intercourse  of  men  with  each  other  showing  a  keen  obser- 
vation of  common  life  and  sound  worldly  wisdom,  in  neat 
quatrains  and  a  few  vigorous  political  songs.  The  "Hymn 
on  Coneord  Monument"  is  strong  and  dignified,  while  the 
verses  relating  to  the  civil  war  address  the  nation  in  forcible 
terms  both  of  warning  and  encouragement.  Those  prac- 
tical manifestoes  are  the  more  striking  from  the  fact  that 
they  are  printed  by  the  side  of  others  proclaiming  in  tran- 
scendental enigmas  the  emptiness  of  transitory  things, 
the  fixity  of  fate,  and  the  doctrine  of  the  absorption  of 
the  individual  in  the  infinite, 
litman.  Mr  Emerson  was  one  of  the  first  to  praise  the  extra- 
ordinary rhapsodies  of  Mr  Walt  Whitman,  which  have 
since  attracted  too  much  attention  to  be  passed  without 
notice.  But  although  this  author  on  varioas  occasions 
displays  an  uncouth  power,  his  success  is  in  the  main 
owing  to  the  love  of  novelty,  wildness,  and  even  of  ab- 
surdity, which  has  infected  a  considerable  class  of  critics 
and  readers  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  Mr  Whitman 
does  not  write  in  verse;  he  discards  not  only  rhyme,  but 
all  ordinaiy  rhythm.  What  there  is  of  the  latter  seems  to 
come  by  accident  in  lines  of  various  length,  and  arranged 
either  on  no  principle  or  on  one  which  we  have  failed  to 
discover.  "  The  Leaves  of  Grass"  is  redeemed  by  a  few 
grand  descriptive  passages  from  absolute  barbarism  both 
of  manner  and  matter.  It  is  a  glorification  of  nature  in 
her  most  unabashed  forms,  an  audacious  protest  against  all 
that  civilisation  has  done  to  raise  men  above  the  savage 


state.  The  "Drum  Taps,"  a  set  of  generally  vigorous 
pictures  of  the  war,  are  less  objectionable;  the  dirge  on 
Lincoln  in  particular  has  many  qualities  of  a  noble  elegy, — 
the  imagery  is  rich  though  sometimes  fantastic,  and  there 
is  he.-e  and  there  a  wild  music  in  the  composition, — but  it 
is  still  defaced  by  pedantic  words  and  unjustifiable,  because 
unnecessary,  novelties  of  phrase. 

4.  Patriotic  and  Political  Poetry. — The  assertion 
of  Henri  Beyle,  that  politics  are  like  a  stone  tied  round 
the  neck  of  literature,  must  be  accepted  with  a  reservation ; 
for  if  the  songs  make  the  laws,  Uie  battles  often  make  the 
songs  of  a  nation.  The  growth  of  a  history  on  their  own 
soil  is,  in  the  minds  of  most  Americans,  a  requisite  to  the 
full  development  of  national  art.  English  history  inade- 
quately supplies  the  desired  background,  for  they  cannot 
associate  it  with  what  they  see  around  them.  Memories 
of  the  Revolution  war  have,  during  this  century,  been 
recalled  in  some  stirring  verses,  as  "  Paul  Revere's  Ride," 
in  Mr  Longfellow's  "  Wayside  Inn;"  but  the  most  effective 
national  poetry  has  been  suggested  by  more  recent  events. 
The  "  Biglow  Papers,"  a  series  of  metrical  pamphlets,  born  r.owel . 
of  the  last  great  social  and  political  struggle  of  the  New 
World,  are  among  the  most  original  contributions  to  its 
literature.  Mr  James  Russell  Lowell  is  the  author  of 
several  volumes  of  miscellaneous  verse.  His  earlier  efforts, 
buoyant  and  vigorous,  but-  bearing  the  marks  of  haste, 
display  more  impetuosity  than  power.  His  genius  every- 
where appears  in  contrast  to  Bryant's.  Far  from  shrinking 
into  solitary  places,  he  loves  great  cities  and  their  cries, 
and  sets  them  to  rhyme  with  hearty  good-will  When  he 
goes  into  the  country,  it  is  on  a  "  day  in  June,"  to  have 
his  blood  sent  faster  through  his  veins  by  the  spring 
morning,  and  not  to  dream  among  the  autumn  woods  of 
"  Thanatopsis."  His  "  Allegra,"  "  Fountain,"  and  "  Indian 
Summer  Reverie,"  are  marked  by  the  same  jubilant  energy 
and  the  same  apparent  carelessness.  Mr  Lowell's  diffuse- 
ness  is  only  half  redeemed  by  his  fluency.  He  writes 
currente  calamo;  and,  unchecked  by  any  spirit  of  reverence, 
contemns  what  he  is  pleased  to  call  "  the  blaspheming 
past"  and  the  "dotard  Orient."  In  dealing  with  the 
forms  of  nature  around  him,  he  shows  a  keen  eye  and  a 
fine  sense  of  analogies :  his  images  drawn  from  history  are 
less  successful.  Few  Americans  know  how  to  use  the 
classics  with  reticence,  and  Mr  Lowell's  page3  are  infected 
with  schoolboy  commonplaces.  His  "  Ode  to  Freedom," 
"  The  Present  Crisis,"  with  other  semi-political  and  social 
pieces,  are  noble  and  stirring  platform  verse,  but  they  will 
not  bear  analysis.  His  "  Irene,"  "  Requiem,"  and  "  Beg- 
gar Bard"  are  marked  by  genuine  sentiment  and  true 
pathos.  But  the  prevailing  flaw  of  his  earlier  and  later 
serious  poems — as  "  The  Cathedral,"  and  "  Under  the 
Willows,"  is  the  confusion  of  inspiration  with  aspiration. 
In  the  "  Fable  for  Critics,"  which  may  be  compaied  with 
Leigh  Hunt's  "  Feast  of  the  Poets,"  he  breaks  ground  on 
the  field  in  which  he  has  found  his  harvest.  The  merit  of 
this  piece  lies  in  its  candour  and  the  general  fairness  of  its 
criticisms,  in  the  course  of  which  "  the  whole  tuneful  herd" 
of  American  authors  are  reviewed  with  good-humoured 
banter.  In  several  instances,  as  in  the  following,  he  shows 
himself  alive  to  the  defects  which  he  shares  with  the 
majority  of  his  countrymen — 

"  Neal  wants  balance ;  he  throws  his  mind  always  too  Car, 
And  whisks  out  flocks  of  comets  and  never  a  star; 
He  has  so  much  muscle,  and  longs  so  to  show  it, 
That  he  strips  himself  naked  to  prove  he's  a  poet* 

The  author's  style  is  rapid  and  sparkling;  his  points  fol- 
low one  another  like  the  sparks  from  a  Leyden  jar ;  his 
love  of  freedom  and  truth  and  detestation  of  pretence  are 
always  admirable;  but  his  earlier  poems  are  constantly 
defaced  by  violences. 


734 


AMERICAN    LITERATURE 


Mr  Lowell  informs  us  that  the  Mexican  war,  which  he 
regarded  as  a  crime  perpetrated  in  behalf  of  slavery,  led  to 
the  publication,  in  1846,  of -the  first  of  his  series  of  "Big- 
low  Papers."  After  an  interval  of  thirteen  years,  the 
second  began  to  appear  in  1861,  and  closed  with  the  war 
in  1865.  In  his  preface  to  those  remarkable  productions 
the  author  makes  a  successful  defence  of  the  language  in 
which  they  are  written.  The  more  homely  standards  of 
the  present  as  compared  with  those  of  the  last  century 
give  countenance  to  his  mottoes — "  Unser  Sprach  ist  auch 
ein  Sprach,"  and  "  Vim  rebus  aliquando  ipsa  verborum 
humilitas  affert.  *  The  essential  to  the  use  of  a  patois  is 
that  it  be  natural  to  the  writer.  Mr  Lowell  has  taken 
pains  to  show  that  the  peculiarities  of  the  Yankee  dialect 
are  not  indigenous;  that  the  pronunciation  and  meanings 
given  to  familiar  words,  and  the  employment  of  words  now 
Unknown  in  England,  are  authorised  by  the  example  of 
our  elder  classics.  We  are  more  concerned  to  know  that 
he  has  been  happy  in  his  use  of  the  words  and  phrases  in 
question.  The  popularity  of  his  work  is  in  this  respect  a 
voucher  for  his  success.  The  rural  dialect  seems  to  suit 
his  genius  better  than  the  English  of  his  university.  The 
quasi-dramatic  form  he  has  adopted  confines  within  limits 
a  too  discursive  fancy.  The  letters  of  Mr  Sawin  are  excel- 
lent exan.  pies  of  the  form  of  satire  in  which  contemptiblo 
qualities  .-.re  stripped  of  their  varnish  by  the  sheer  effrontery 
of  the  wearer.  The  style  of  the  book  is  more  trenchant 
and  better  matured  than  that  of  Lowell's  other  works,  and 
it  is  really  humorous.  The  humour  of  the  "  Biglow 
Papers"  is  broad  and  obvious.  They  derive  their  force 
from  the  incisive  expression  given  to  the  sentiments  shared 
by  the  author  with  a  large  section  of  his  countrymen;  and 
the  lines  most  frequently  quoted  owe  everything  to  a 
startling  directness,  something  bordering  on  irreverence. 
Mr  Lowell's  poetical  powers  are  set  on  fire  by  political 
zeal,  and  his  animosity  sharpens  the  edge  of  his  most 
effective  verse.  The  satiric  scorn  of  the  lines  put  into  the 
mouth  of  Calhoun,  with  the  speeches  of  Garrison,  Phillips, 
and  Sumner,  helped  to  hasten  the  irrepressible  conflict  of 
the  contending  forces  in  the  Western  Continent.  The 
second  series  of  the  "  Biglow  Papers"  are  animated  by  tho 
spirit  of  an  uncompromising  Unionist  as  well  as  that  of 
an  Abolitionist.  In  these  the  poet's  patriotism  glows  with 
a  deeper  fervour,  and  his  songs  rise  out  of  the  battlefield 
"  like  rockets  druv*  by  their  own  burnin'."  The  graver 
poetry  of  this  volume  reaches  a  higher  standard  than  tho 
author  has  elsewhere  attained.  The  short  rural  romance 
entitled  "The  Courtin'"  is  one  of  the  freshest  bits  of  pas- 
toral in  the  language.  The  stanzas  beginning  "  Under  the 
yallar  pines  I  house,"  and  ending  "  A  nation  saved,  a  race 
delivered,"  are  his  masterpieces. 

Mr  John  Greenleaf  Whittier  is  the  political  lyrist  par 
excellence  of  America;  and  the  best  of  his  lyrics  have  a 
verve,  swing,  and  fire  that  impart  to  the  reader  a  share  of 
the  writer's  enthusiasm.  His  verse,  rapid  as  a  torrent,  is 
perpetually  overflowing  its  banks.  No  one  stands  more 
in  need  of  the  advice  once  given  to  Southey,  "  squeeze  out 
the  whey;"  and  to  no  works  more  than  to  his  is  the 
maxim  irXeov  tjixutv  ^euro's  more  applicable.  There  are 
few  more  graceful  tales  in  verse  than  those  of  his  "  Tent 
on  the  Beach."  They  are  remarkable  for  their  smooth- 
ness and  quiet  beauty  of  sentiment.  The  music  of  "  River- 
mou'.h  Rocks,"  "  Revisited,"  and  the  "  Grave  by  the  Lake" 
recalls  that  of  Longfellow's  best  ballads.  The  most  strik- 
ing is  the  "  Brother  of  Mercy,"  Piero  Luca,  who,  like  Abu 
Ben  Adhem,  loves  his  fellow-men.  The  same  trust  in  tho 
divine  love  which  is  the  sum  of  Whittier's  ardent  faith, 
appears  in  the  beautiful  verses  entitled  "  The  Eternal 
Goodness  "  and  "  Our  Master."  The  strongest  lines  in  the 
book,  addressed  to  "  Thorns  Stzxt  iiing,"  have  the  rare 


merit  of  condensation.  Of  Whittier's  national  lyriet,  the 
most  powerful  is  "  Laus  Deo,"  the  burst  of  acclamation 
suggested  by  the  passing  of  Lincoln's  constitutional  amend- 
ment. His  narrative  power  is  best  illustrated  in  "  Maud 
Muller,"  an  original  and  more  innocent  version  of  Brown- 
ing's "  Statuo  and  the  Bust,"  springing  up  in  an  American 
meadow. 

V. — Summary. 

The  cntic3  of  one  nation  must,  to  a  certain  extent, 
regard  the  works  of  another  from  an  outside  point  of 
view.  Few  are  able  to  divest  themselves  wholly  of  th& 
influence  of  local  standards;  and  this  is  pre-eminently 
tho  caso  when  the  early  efforts  of  a  young  country  aro 
submitted  to  the  judgment  of  an  older  country,  strong  in 
its  prescriptive  rights,  and  intolerant  of  changes  the 
drift  of  which  it  is  unable  or  unwilling  to  appreciate. 
English  critics  are  apt  to  bear  down  on  the  writers  and 
thinkers  of  the  New  World  with  a  sort  of  aristocratic  hauteur; 
they  are  perpotually  reminding  them  of  their  immaturity 
and  their  disregard  of  the  golden  mean.  Americans,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  impossible  to  please.  Ordinary 
men  among  them  are  as  sensitive  to  foreign,  and  above 
all  to  British,  censure,  as  tho  ir  ritabile  genus  of  other  lands. 
Mr  Emerson  is  permitted  to  impress  home  truths  on/his 
countrymen,  as  "Your  American  eagle  is  very  well;  but 
beware  of  tho  American  peacock."  Such  remarks  are  not 
permitted  to  Englishmen:  if  they  point  to  any  flaws  in 
transatlantic  manners  or  ways  of  thinking  with  an  effort 
after  politeness,  it  is  "  tho  good-natured  cynicism  of  well- 
to-do  age;"  if  they  commend  transatlantic  institutions  or 
achievements,  it  is,  according  to  Mr  Lowell,  "with  that 
pleasant  European  air  of  self-compliment  in  condescending 
to  be  pleased  by  American  merit  which  we  find  so  con- 
ciliating." Now  that  the  United  States  have  reached 
their  full  majority,  it  is  time  that  England  should  ceaso 
to  assume  the  attitude  of  their  guardian,  and  time  that 
they  should  cease  to  be  on  the  alert  to  resent  the  assump- 
tion. Foremost  among  the  more  attractive  features  of 
transatlantic  literature  is  its  freshness.  The  authority 
which  is  the  guide  of  old  nations  constantly  threatens  to 
become  tyrannical :  they  wear  their  traditions  like  a  chain ; 
and,  in  tho  canonisation  of  laws  of  taste,  the  creative 
powers  are  depressed.  Even  in  England  we  write  under 
fixed  conditions;  with  tho  fear  of  critics  before  our  eyes, 
we  are  all  bound  to  cast  our  ideas  into  similar  moulds,  and 
the  name  of  "  free-thinker "  has  grown  into  a  term  of 
reproach.  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress  is  perhaps  the 
last  English  book  written  without  a  thought  of  being 
reviewed.  There  is  a  gain  in  the  habit  of  self-restraint 
fostered  by  this  state  of  things;  but  there  is  a  loss  in  the 
consequent  lack  of  spontaneity;  aud  we  may  learn  some- 
thing from  a  literature  which  is  ever  ready  for  adventures. 
In  America  the  love  of  uniformity  gives  place  to  im- 
petuous impulses :  the  most  extreme  sentiments  are  made 
audible,  the  most  noxious  "  have  their  day,  and  cease  to 
be;"  and  truth  being  left  to  vindicate  itself,  the  overthrow 
of  error,  though  more  gradual,  may  at  last  prove  more 
complete.  A  New  England  poet  can  write  with  confi- 
dence of  his  country  as  the  land 

"  Where  no  one  suffers  loss  or  bleeds 
For  thoughts  that  men  call  heresies." 

Another  feature  of  American,  literature  is  its  comprehen- 
siveness: what  it  has  lost  in  depth  it  has  gained  in  breadth. 
Addressing  a  vast  audience,  it  appeals  to  universal  sym- 
pathies. In  the  Northern  States,  where  comparatively 
few  have  leisure  to  write  well,  almost  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  can  read  and  does  read.  Books  are  to  be  found 
in  every  log-hut,  and  public  questions  are  discussed  by 


A  M  E  — A  M  E 


735 


every  scavenger.  .During  the  war,  when  the  Lowell  fac- 
tory girls  were  writing  verses,  the  "  Biglow  Papers "  were 
being  recited  in  every  smithy.  The  consequence  is,  that 
(setting  aside  the  newspapers)  there  is  little  that  is  sec- 
tional in'  the  popular  religion  or  literature;  it  exalts  and 
despises  no  class,  and  almost  wholly  ignores  the  lines  that 
in  other  countries  divide  the  upper  ten  thousand  and  the 
lower  ten  million.  Where  manners  make  men  the  people 
are  proud  of  their  peerage,  but  they  blush  for  their  boors. 
In  tie  New  World  there  are  no  "  Grand  Seigniors,"  and 
no  human  vegetables;  and  if  there  are  fewer  giaDts,  there 
are  also  fewer  mannikins.  American  poets  recognise  no 
essential  distinction  between  the  "  Village  Blacksmith"  and 
the  "  caste  of  Vere  de  Vere."  Burns  speaks  for  the-  one ; 
Byron  and  Tennyson  for  the  other;  Longfellow,  to  the 
extent  of  his  genius,  for  both.  The  Same  spirit  which 
glorifies  labour  denounces  every  form  of  despotism  but  that 
of  the  multitude.     American  slavery,  being  an  anachron- 


ism based  on  the  antipathies  of  race,  was  worse  than 
Athenian  slavery.  But  there  is  no  song  of  an  Athenian 
slave.  When  the  ancients  were  unjust  to  their  inferiors, 
they  were  so  without  moral  disquietude:  the  lie  had  got 
into  the  soul  Christianity,  which  substituted  the  word 
"  brother  "  for  "  barbarian,"  first  gave  meaning  to  the  word 
"  humanity."  But  the  feudalism  of  the  Middle  Ages  long 
contended  successfully  against  the  higher  precepts  of  the 
church  :  the  teaching  of  Froissart  held  its  ground  agaiust 
that  of  Langland.  The  hero-worship  of  our  greatest  living 
author  is  apt  to  degenerate  into  a  reassertion  of  the  feudal 
spirit.  The  aspirations  of  our  descendants  in  the  West 
point,  on  the  other  hand,  to  a  freedom  which  is  in  danger 
of  being  corrupted  by  licence.  But  if  the  vulgarism  of 
demagogic  excess  is  restrained  and  overcome  by  the  good 
taste  and  culture  of  her  nobler  minds,  we  may  anticipate 
for  the  literature  of  America,  under  the  mellowing  influ- 
ences of  time  an  illustrious  future.  (j.  u.) 


AMERIGO  VESPUCCI.    See  Vespucci. 

AMERSFOORT,  a  town  of  Holland,  in  the  province  of 
Utrecht,  situated  12  miles  E.N.E.  of  the  city  of  that  name, 
on  the  Eem,  which  here  is  navigable.  It  contains  a  town- 
house,  several  churches— Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic 
— a  court  of  primary  jurisdiction,  a  Jansenist  college,  an 
industrial  and  several  other  schools.  Woollen  goods, 
eotton,  Bilk,  glass,  and  brandy  are  the  chief  manufactures, 
and  there  is  a  large  trade  in  corn,  tobacco,  and  dried 
herrings.  Amersfoort  received  its  municipal  privileges  in 
1249.  It  was  taken  by  the  Archduke  Maximilian  in 
1483,  and  by  the  French  in  1672  and  in  1795.  Popula- 
tion, 13,200. 

AMERSHAM,  or  Aghondesham,  an  old  market  town 
in  Buckinghamshire,  pleasantly  situated  in  the  valley  of 
the  Misbourn,  a  small  tributary  of  the  Colne,  32  miles 
from  Buckingham,  and  26  from  London.  It  consists 
chiefly  of  a  main  street  crossed  by  a  smaller  one ;  and 
possesses  a  handsome  church,  containing  some  beautiful 
monuments,  several  dissenting  places  of  worship,  a  town- 
hall,  built  in  1642  by  Sir  William  Drake,  and  a  grammar 
school.  It  has  manufactures  of  black  lace,  cotton,  straw- 
plait,  wooden  chairs-,  flour,  and  beer.  Edmund  Waller, 
the  poet,  was  born  near  Amersham,  and  sat  for  the 
borough,  which  sent  two  members  to  parliament  until 
1832.     Population  of  parish  in  1871,  3259. 

AMES,  Fisher,  an  eminent  American  statesman  and 
political  writer,  son  of  Nathaniel  Ames,  a  physician,  was 
born  at  Dedham,  in  Massachusetts,  on  9th  April  1758. 
He  studied  at  Harvard  college,  where  he  graduated  in 
1774.  After  practising  the  law  for  some  little  time,  he 
abandoned  that  profession  for  the  more  congenial  pursuit 
of  politics,  and  in  1788  became  a  member  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts convention  for  ratifying  the  constitution.  In  this 
assembly  he  bore  a  conspicuous  part,  and  in  the  next  year, 
having  passed  to  the  house  of  representatives  in  the  state 
legislature,  he  distinguished  himself  greatly  by  his  elo- 
quence and  sprightliness  and  readiness  in  debate.  Dur- 
ing the  eight  years  of  Washington's  administration  he 
took  a  prominent  part  in  the  national  councils ;  and  on 
Washington's  retirement,  he  returned  to  his  residence  at 
Dedham  to  resume  the  practice  of  the  law,  which  the  state 
of  his  health  after  a  few  years  obliged  him  to  relinquish. 
He  still  continued  his  literary  labours,  and  published 
numerous  essays,  chiefly  in  relation  to  the  contest  between 
Great  Britain  and  revolutionary  France,  as  it  might  affect 
the  liberty  and  prosperity  of  America.  Four  years  before 
bis  death  he  was  chosen  president  of  Harvard  college,  an 
honour  which  his  broken  state  of  health  obliged  him  to 


decline.  Ho  died  on  the  4th  July  1808,  admired  and 
respected  by  his  countrymen  from  the  brilliancy  of  his 
talents  and  his  private  virtues.  His  writings,  which  abound 
in  sparkling  passages,  displaying  great  fertility  of  imagina- 
tion, were  collected  and  published,  with  a  memoir  of 
the  author,  in  1809,  by  the  Rev.  Dr  Kirkland,  in  one  large 
octavo  volume.  A  more  complete  edition  in  two  volumes 
was  published  by  bis  son,  Seth  Ames,  in  1854. 

AMES,  Joseph,  author  of  a  valuable  work  on  the  pro- 
gress of  printing  in  England,  called  Typographical  Anti- 
quities (1749),  which  is  often  quoted  by  bibliographers. 
He  was  born  in  1689,  and  died  in  1759.  The  best  editions 
of  his  work  are  those  published  with  the  additions  of 
Herbert  (1785-90),  and  of  Dibdin  (1810-16).  These  both 
include  a  life  of  Ames  written  by  Mr  Goughl 

AMES,  William,  D.D.  In  the  Latinised  form  of 
Amesius  this  distinguished  English  theol6gian  is  now 
better  known  on  the  Continent  than  in  our  own  country, 
through  works  that  were  a  power  in  their  day,  and  are  not 
yet  spent  of  their  force.  He  was  born  at  Ipswich,  Suffolk,  in 
1576.  He  received  an  excellent  education  at  the  grammar 
school  of  Ipswich ;  and  proceeded  next  to  the  university 
of  Cambridge,  where  he  was  entered  of  Christ's  college. 
From  the  outset,  as  to  the  latest,  he  was  an  omnivorous 
student.  Entering  half-carejessly  into  the  church  where 
the  great  Master  William  Perkins  was  the  preacher,  he 
was,  under  the  sermon,  roused  and  alarmed  in  such  fashion 
as  was  not  rare  under  so  burning  and  intense  an  orator  as 
Perkins.  Like. another  Nicodemus  he  visited  the  vener- 
able preacher,  and  was  taught  and  comforted  so  as  never 
through  life  to  forget  his  interviews  with  the  "  old  man 
eloquent."  Perkins  having  died  at  a  ripe  old  age,  was 
succeeded  by  one  of  kindred  intellect  and  fervour,  Paul 
Bayne,  and  his  friendship  also  was  gained  by  Ames.  He 
proceeded  B.A.  and  M.A.  in  due  course,  and  was  chosen 
to  a  fellowship  in  Christ's  collega  He  was  universally 
beloved  in  the  university.  His  own  college  (Christ's)  would 
have  chosen  him  for  the  mastership ;  but  a  party-opposi- 
tion led  to  the  election  of  a  Dr  Carey,  who  at  once  sought 
a  quarrel  by  arraigning  Ames  for  disapproving  of  the  sur- 
plice and  other  outward  symbols.  Not  succeeding  by 
threats  of  expulsion,  which  were  illegal  and  powerless,  tho 
master  resorted  to  transparent  flattery.  Ames  stood  firm, 
was  led  to  re-examine  former  opinions,  and  the  result  was 
that  more  absolutely  than  ever  he  decided  against  con- 
formity. Nevertheless,  he  preached  in  season  and  out  of 
season,  and  always  with  profound  impression.  One  ser- 
mon became  historical  in  the  Puritan  controversies.  It 
was  delivered  on  St  Thomas'  day,  before  the  feast  of  Christ's 


736 


AME-AMK 


nativity,  and  in  it  ho  rebuked  ah&rply  Lusory  Lotts  and 
the  "  heathenish  debauchery "  of  the  students  during  the 
twelve  days  ensuing.  His  exposures  and  scathing  denun- 
ciations won  thunders  of  applause,  but  there  were  sheathed 
in  them  lightnings  of  wrath  among  the  High  Church  party. 
He  was  summoned  before  the  vice-chancellor  and  whole 
senate  of  the  university.  He  appeared,  and  in  presence  of 
as  brilliant  an  assembly  as  ever  met  in  the  congregation- 
house,  defended  himself  triumphantly.  Nonconformity, 
admittedly  in  lesser  things,  was  regarded  as  excluding  him 
from  the  Church  of  England.  He  left  the  university, 
and  would  have  accepted  the  great  church  of  Colchester  in 
Essex,  but  the  relentless  bishop  of  London  refused  to  grant 
institution  and  induction.  Like  furtive  persecution  awaited 
him  elsewhere,  and  at  last  he  passed  over  to  Holland.  To 
leave  England  was  not  so  simple  or  easy  a  thing  then,  and 
Ames  had  to  disguise  himself  for  safety.  His  disguise  was 
singularly  timed,  for  it  produced  an  incident  that  has  long 
been  worked  into  the  very  fabric  of  church  history  in  Eng- 
land and  Holland.  Coincident  with  his  arrival  at  Rotterdam 
a  congress  of  theologians — Remonstrant  and  non-Remon- 
strant— was  being  held.  Ames  went  into  the  meeting  in 
his  "  habit  of  a  fisherman,  with  his  canvas  slops  about  his 
body,  and  a  red  cap  on  his  head."  As  the  debate  pro- 
ceeded, the  English  visitor  rose  and  craved  permission  to 
oppose  Grevinchovius — a  theologian  long  since  in  oblivion, 
but  a  tower  of  strength  in  heresy  at  that  day — in  Latin. 
The  Remonstrant  champion  was  rather  taken  aback  at  first; 
but  jeered  and  flouted  the  plain  countryman,  "  like  an- 
other Goliath  scorning  David."  The  question  was  the  old- 
new  one  of  the  "  self-determining  power  of  the  human  will 
to  spiritual  good,  without  any  need  of  tho  previous  effica- 
cious operations  of  divine  grace."  Ames'  bore  his  op- 
ponent's gibes  at  his  dress,  and  overwhelmed  him  with  his 
logical  reasoning  from  Phil.  ii.  .13,  "  It  is  God  that  worketh 
in  us  both  to  will  and  to  do."  The  fisherman-contro- 
versialist made  a  great  stir,  and  from  that  day  became 
known  and  honoured  in  the  Low  Countries.  Subsequently 
Ames  entered  into  a  controversy  in  print  with  Grevin- 
chovius on  universal  redemption  and  election,  and  cognate 
problems.  He  brought  together  all  he  had  maintained  in 
his  Coronis  ad  Collationem  Hagiensem — his  most  master- 
ful book,  which  figures  largely  in  Dutch  church  history. 
At  Leyden,  Ames  became  intimate  with  the  venerable  Mr 
Goodyear,  pastor  of  the  English  church  there.  While  thus 
resident  in  comparative  privacy  he  was  sent  for  to  the 
Hague  by  Sir  Horatio  Vere,  who  appointed  him  a  minister 
in  the  army  of  the  states-general,  and  of  the  English 
soldiers  in  their  service,  a  post  held  by  some  of  the  greatest 
of  England's  exiled  Puritans.  Ho  married  at  the  Hague  a 
daughter  of  Dr  Burgess,  who  was  domestic  pastor  of  Vere. 
On  his  father-in-law's  return  to  England,  Ames  succeeded 
to  his  place.  It  was  at  this  time  he  began  his  memorable 
controversy  with  Episcopius,  who,  in  attacking  the  Coronis, 
railed  against  the  author  as  having  been  "a  disturber  of 
the  public  peace  in  his  native  country,  so  that  the  English 
magistrates  had  banished  him  thenco;  and  now,  by  his 
late  printed  Coronis,  he  was  raising  new  disturbances  in 
the  peaceable  Netherlands."  It  was  a  miserable  libel.  Mr 
Goodyear  being  present  in  the  lecture-room  when  Epis- 
copius vented  his  malice,  there  and  then  rebutted  his 
charge  against  his  absent  friend.  None  the  less  did  the 
controversy  proceed.  Ultimately  Ames  reduced  the  Re- 
monstrants to  silence.  Tho  Coronis  had  been  primarily 
prepared  for  the  Synod  of  Dort,  which  sat  from  November 
1618  until  May  1619.  At  this  celebrated  synod  the  posi- 
tion of  Dr  Ames,  if  an  extremely  honourable,  was  a 
peculiar  one.  The  High  Church  party  in  England  had  in- 
duced the  king  to  interfere  and  bring  about  his  removal 
from  the  Hague,  on  the  ground  of  his  nonconformity ;  but 


he  was  still  held,  deservedly,  in  such  reverence  that  it  was 
arranged  he  should  attend  the  synod  informally.  Through- 
out its  sittings  Dr  Ames  appears  to  have  been  the  most 
active  and  influential  of  the  foreign  divines.  It  is  o 
sorrowful  fact  that,  from  1611-12  onward,  Ames  was 
interfered  with  harassingly  by  the  High  Church  party  in 
England.  Twice  over,  when  chosen  professor,  the  most 
envenomed  opposition  was  led  from  England.  He  waa 
kept  from  the  university  of  Leyden ;  and  when  later  in- 
vited by  the  state  of  Friesland  to  a  professoriate  at  Franeker, 
the  persecution  was  renewed,  but  this  time  abortively. 
He  was  installed  at  Franeker  on  7th  May  1622,  and  de- 
livered a  most  learned  discourse  on  tho  occasion  on  "  Urim 
and  Thummim."  He  soon  brought  renown  to  Franeker  as 
professor,  preacher,  pastor,  and  theological  writer.  He 
prepared  his  Medulla  Tluologica  for  his  students.  His 
Casus  Conscientice  followed.  Both  these  treatises  left  their 
mark  on  the  thought  of  the  century.  His  "  Cases  of  Con- 
science "  was  a  new  thing  in  Protestantism.  The  work  shows 
much  insight  into  human  nature,  and  may  be  favourably 
compared  with  the  bulkier  Ductor  Dubitantium.  Having 
continued  twelve  years  at  Franeker,  his  health  gave  way,  and 
he  contemplated  removal  to  New  England.  But  another 
door  was  opened  for  him.  His  English  heart  yearned  for 
more  frequent  opportunities  of  preaching  the  gospel  to  his 
fellow-countrymen,  and  an  invitation  to  Rotterdam  gave 
him  such  opportunity.  His  friends  at  Franeker  were 
passionately  opposed  to  the  transference,  but  ultimately 
acquiesced.  At  Rotterdam  he  drew  all  hearts  to  him  by 
his  eloquence  and  fervour  in  the  pulpit,  and  his  irrepres- 
sible activity  as  a  pastor.  Home-controversy  engaged  him 
again,  and  he  prepared  his  Fresh  Suit  against  Ceremonies — 
extrinsically  having  the  distinction  of  being  the  book  which 
made  Richard  Baxter  a  Nonconformist.  It  was  posthu- 
mously published.  He  did  not  long  survive  his  removal  to 
Rotterdam.  Having  caught  a  cold  from  a  flood  which 
drenched  his  house,  he  died  in  November  1633,-  in  hit 
fifty-seventh  year. 

Few  Englishmen  have  exercised  so  formative  and  controlling  ar, 
influence  on  continental  thought  and  opinion  as  Dr  Ames.  He  was 
a  master  in  theological  controversy,  shunning  not  to  cross  swords 
with  the  formidable  Bellarmine.  He  was  a  scholar  among  scholars, 
being  furnished  with  extraordinary  resourcos  of  learning.  His 
works,  which  even  the  JBiographia  Britannica  (1778)  testifies,  were 
famous  over  Europe,  were  collected  at  Amsterdam  in  6  vols  iio. 
Only  a  very  small  proportion  were  translated  into  his  mother  tongue. 
His  Lectiones  in  omnes  Psahws  Davidis  (1635)  is  exceedingly  sug- 
gestive and  terse  in  its  style,  reminding  of  Bengel's  Gnomon,  as 
does  also  his  Commtnlarius  utriusque  Epist.  S.  Petri.  His 
"Replies"  to  Bishop  Morton  and  Dr  Burgess  on  "Ceremonies" 
tell  us  that  even  kinship  could  not  prevent  him  from  "  contending 
earnestly  for  the  faith."  (John  Quicks  MS.  lames  Sacra;  Anglicance, 
who  gives  the  fisherman  Anecdote  on  the  personal  authority  of  one 
who  was  present ;  Brook's  Puritans,  vol.  iii.  pp.  405-8 ;  Win- 
wood's  Memorials,  vol.  iii.  pp.  346-7  ;  Neal'a  Puritans;  Fuller's 
Cambridge  (Christ's  College) ;  Sylvester's  Life  of  Baxter,  part  i.  pp. 
13,  14  ;  Biogr.  Brit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  172-3  ;  Mather's  New  England, 
book  iii.  ;  Palmer's  Nomamf.  Memorial.  ;  Mosheim's  Eccles.  Eist., 
who  mistakenly  calls  him  a  Scotsman;  Hanburg,  s.v.  ;  Collections 
of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  vol.  vi.,  fourth  series,  1863, 
pp.  576-7.)  (A.  B.  G.) 

AMESBURY,  an  old  town  in  'Wiltshire,  on  the  Avon, 
8  miles  north  of  Salisbury,  and  78  west  of  London.  It 
is  an  ill-built  place,  with  little  trade.  It  contains  an  old 
parish  church,  which  probably  belonged  to  an  abbey,  a 
chapel  for  the  Wesleyan  Methodists,  and  a  beautiful  house 
erected  by  Inigo  Jones  for  the  Duke  of  Queensberry. 
Near  Amesbury  are  Stonehenge,  and  Milston,  where  Addi- 
son was  born.     Population,  1169. 

AMETHYST,  properly,  is  only  a  variety  of  quartz  or 

rock-crystal  distinguished  by  its  fine  violet-blue  or  purple 

colour.     This  tint  seems  to  be  caused  by  a  minute  mixture 

of  the  peroxide  either  of  iron  or  of  manganese,  and  is  lost 

{  when  the  stone  is  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  fire      It 


AMH-AMH 


737 


then  changes  through  yellow  and  green  to  colourless; 
end  in  this  condition  is  often  sold  for  the  aquamarine  or 
topaz.  Amethyst  is  generally  found  in  thick  columnar 
masses,  of  short  hexagonal  prisms  terminating  in  pyramids. 
The  faces,  especially  in  Brazilian  specimens,  are  often 
marked  by  zig-zag  or  undulating  lines,  and  the  colour  in 
many  is  similarly  disposed,  showing  a  peculiar  internal 
structure  in  the  stone.  It  has  been  proposed  to  name  all 
varieties  of  quartz,  whether  coloured  or  uncoloured,  show- 
ing this  peculiarity,  amethyst,  but  without  sufficient  reason. 
Amethyst,  according  to  Pliny,  got  its  name,  6.jj.i6vo-ro<;,  from 
its  supposed  power  of  preventing  drunkenness.  Though 
not  a  true  gem,  it  was  formerly  much  valued  as  an  orna- 
mental stone,  but  has  greatly  declined  in  value  in  the 
present  century,  being  obtained  in  great  abundance  from 
Brazil.  There  it  is  often  white  or  yellow,  and  named  topaz. 
The  finest  blue  stones  are  found  in  Ceylon  and  Siberia; 
and  less  remarkable  ones  in  many  places  in  Europe,  India, 
and  Australia.  Amethysts  may  be  counterfeited  by  glasses, 
to  which  the  proper  colour  or  stain  is  given  by  mineral 
matter.  There  were  fine  ones  made  in  France  about  the 
year  1690,  which  even  .imposed  on  connoisseurs,  but  with 
the  decrease  in  price  there  is  now  less  danger  of  such 
deceptions. 

AMHERST,  a  district  and  city  within  the  Tenasserim 
division  of  British  Burmah,  and  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  chief  commissioner  of  that  province.  The  District 
forms  a  narrow  strip  of  land  between,  the  Indian  Ocean 
and  the  mountains  which  separate  it  from  the  independent 
kingdom  of  Siam.  It  lies  in  16°  N.  lat.,  98°  E,  long., 
and  consists  partly  of  fertile  valleys  formed  by  spurs  of 
the  mountain  system  which  divides  it  from  Siam,  and 
partly  of  a  rich  alluvial  tract  created  by  the  great  rivers 
which  issue  from  them.  The  most  important  of  these  are 
the  Salween  river  and  the  Houng-da-raw  Khyoung.  The 
river  highways  bring  down  inexhaustible  supplies  of  rice 
to  Maulmain,  the  chief  town  of  the  district,  as  also  of  the 
province  of  Tenasserim,  and  the  second  city  in  British 
Burmah.  The  district  comprises  an  area  of  15,144  square 
miles,  of  which  346  are  cultivated,  4889  are  capable  of 
being  brought  under  cultivation,  and  the  remaining  9909 
square  miles  are  returned  as  uncultivable.  The  population 
in  1872  numbered  235,738  souls,  occupying  38,945  houses, 
and  consisting  of  203,774  Buddhists,  15,598  Hindus, 
12,279  Mahometans,  and  4081  Christians.  The  town  of 
Maulmain  contains  53,653  inhabitants.  The  rainfall  is 
ceryheavy,245'85  inches  being  registered  in  1871-72.  The 
temperature  is  uniform,  but  not  excessive,  and  averaged 
83°  at  2  p.m.  throughout  the  month  of  May  1871,  80°  at 
2  p.m.  throughout  July,  and  the  same  at  2  p.m.  through- 
out December  1871. 

Amherst  Town,  situated  in  the  district  of  the  same 
name,  about  30  miles  south  of  Maulmain.  It  was  founded 
by  the  English  in  1826  on  the  restoration  of  the  town  of 
Martaban  to  the  Burmese,  and  named  in  compliment  to 
the  Governor-General  of  India  who  projected  it.  The 
proclamation  inviting  the  natives  to  people  the  town  was 
well  adapted  to  the  character  and  capacities  of  those  whom 
it  addressed.  "-The  inhabitants  of  the  towns  and  villages 
who  wish  to  come  shall  be  free  from  molestation,  extortion, 
and  oppression.  They  shall  be  free  to  worship  as  usual, 
temples,  monasteries,  priests,  and  holy  men.  The  people 
shall  go  and  come,  buy  and  sell,  do  and  live  as  they 
please,  conforming  to  the  laws.  In  regard  to  slavery, 
since  all  men,  common  people  or  chiefs,  are  by  nature 
equal,  there  shall  be  under  the  English  government  no 
slaves.  Whoever  desires  to  come  to  the  new  town  may 
come  from  all  parts  and  live  happy,  and  those  who  do 
not  wish  to  remain  may  go  where  they  please  without 
hindrance."     Shortly  after  its  settlement  the  number  of 

1—25 


houses  amounted  to  230,  and  the  population  to  1200. 
Large  teak  forests  abound  in  its  neighbourhood,  and  the 
timber  is  esnorted  in  considerable  quantities.  The  harbour, 
tnougn  large  and  capable  of  accommodating  ships  of  any 
burden,  is  difficult  of  access,  and  dangerous  during  the 
south-west  rnonsoni  A  aiherst  town  has  been  eclipsed  by 
the  rapidly  rising  ciiy  of  Maulmain,  which  has  absorbed  to 
itself  the  trade  and  mercantile  enterprise  alike  of  Amherst 
district  and  of  the  Tenasserim  province. 

AMHERST,  a  post  t:wnship  of  Hampshire  countT 
Massachusetts,  United  States.  It  is  a  picturesque  village 
intersected  by  two  branches  of  the  Connecticut  river. 
Its  water-power  is  utilised  for  manufactories  of  machinery, 
edge  tools,  cotton  goods,  paper,  <fec;  but  it  is  principally 
Iinown  as  the  seat  of  Amherst  college,  a  valuable  institu- 
tion founded  in  1821,  mainly  for  the  purpose  of  educating 
poor  and  pious  young  men  for  the  ministry.  The  charity 
fund  is  large,  and  pays  the  tuition  fees  of  forty  or  fifty 
students.  The  faculty  of  the  college  consists  of  eighteen 
professors,  beside  the  president.  The  number  of  students 
in  1873  was  261.  The  buildings  of  Amherst  college  are 
situated  on  a  hill  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  village. 
An  octagonal  building  in  advance  of  the  line  of  college 
halls  is  devoted  to  the  purposes  of  a  museum.  Some  of 
the  collections  are  of  great  value,  especially  those  in  the 
palaeontological  department.  The  Massachusetts  Agri- 
cultural school,  founded  in  1863,  has  also  its  seat  at 
Amherst.  Its  handsome  buildings  are  on  the  edge  of  a 
rich  plain  from  which  fine  views  are  obtained  of  the  moun- 
tains on  the  west  and  south.  There  is  a  large  farm  for 
experiment  attached  to  the  school,  which  is  esteemed  ono 
of  the  best  in  America.  The  population  of  Amherst  in 
1870  was  403.5. 

AMHERST,  Earl  (William  Pitt  Amherst),  born  in 
1773,  was  the  nephew  of  Jeffery  Amherst,  who,  for  his 
services  in  America,  where  he  was  commander-in-chief  at 
the  time  of  the  conquest'  of  Canada,  was  raised  to  the 
peerage  as  Baron  Amherst  in  1776.  The  patent  of  nobility 
was  renewed  in  1788  with  remainder  to  the  subject  of  this 
notice,  who  succeeded  to  the  title  in  1797.  In  1816  he 
was  sent  as  ambassador  extraordinary  to  the  court  of  China, 
with  the  view  of  establishing  more  satisfactory  commercial 
relations  between  that  country  and  Great  Britain.  On 
arriving  in  the  Peiho,  he  was  given  to  understand  that  he 
could  only  be  admitted  to  the  emperor's  presence  on  condi- 
tion of  performing  the  ko-tov,  a  ceremony  which  Western 
nations  have  always  considered  degrading,  and  which  is, 
indeed,  a  homage  exacted  by  the  Chinese  sovereign  from  his 
tributaries.  This  Lord  Amherst,  .following  "the  advice  of 
Sir  George  T.  Staunton,  who  accompanied  him  as  second 
commissioner,  refused  to  consent  to,  as  Lord  Macartney 
had  done  in  1793,  unless  the  admission  was  made  that  his 
sovereign  was  entitled  to  the  same  show  of  reverence  from 
a  mandarin  of  his  rank.  In  consequence  of  this  he  was  not 
allowed  to  enter  Peking,  and  the  object  of  his  mission  was 
frustrated;  His  ship,  the  "  Alceste,"  after  a  cruise  along  the 
coast  of  Corea  and  to  the  Loo-Choo  Islands,  on  proceeding 
homewards  was  totally  wrecked  on  a  sunken  rock  in  Gaspar 
Strait.  Lord  Amherst  and  part  of  his  shipwrecked  com- 
panions escaped  in  the  ship's  boats  to  Batavia,  whence  relief 
was  sent  to  the  rest  The  ship  in  which  he  returned  to 
England  in  1S17  having  touched  at  St  Helena,  he  had 
several  interviews  with  the  Emperor  Napoleon  (Ellis's 
Proceedings  of  the  Late  Embassy  to  China,  1817;  M'Leod's 
Narrative  of  a  Voyage  in  H.M.S.  "Alceste,"  1817).  Lord 
Amherst  held  the  office  of  governor-general  of  India  frcir. 
August  1823  to  February  1S28.  The  principal  event  of 
his  government  was  the  Burmese  war,  resulting  in  the 
cession  of  Aracan  and  Tenasserim  to  Great  Britain  U* 
was  created  Earl  Amherst  of  Aracan  in  lo26.      Qi  ?ii& 


738 


A   T\I  H  -  A  M  L 


return  to  England  ho  lived  iu  rotireiuout  till  Lis  death  in 
March  1857. 

AMHURST,  NicnoLAS,  an  English  poet  and  political 
jrritcr  of  the  18th  century,  was  born  at  Harden  in  Kent, 
and  entered  (171G)  at  St  John's  college,  Oxford,  from 
which    he   v  Hod,  ostensibly    for   libertinism    aud 

irregular  conduct,  but  really,  according  to  his  own  state- 
ment, on  account  of  the  liberality  of  his  opinions.  Retain- 
ing great  resentment  against  the  university  on  this  account, 
bo  gave  expression  to  his  feeling  in  a  poem  published  in 
1724,  called  0:uliis  Britannia,  and  in  a  book  <" 
Trrra  Filius.  He  published  a  Miscellany  of  Poems,  sacred 
and  profano;  and  The  Convocalioji,  a  poem  in  five  cantos, 

a  satire  on  the  bishop  of  Bangor's  ant.ip 
3 '.at  he  is  best  known  for  the  share  Le  had  in  the  political 
paper  called  The  Craftsman,  which  he  conducted  for 
several  years.  It  attained  a  circulation  of  10,000  or  12,000 
copies,  and  had  very  considerable  influence  in  inflaming 
popular  opinion  against  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  and  in  bring- 
ing about  tho  political  change  of  1742.  Amhurst's  party 
made  no  provision  for  him,  however,  on  their  accession  to 
power,  and  their  neglect  is  supposed  to  have  hastened  his 
death,  which  occurred  at  Twickenham  on  the  27th  April 
1742. 

AMIANTHUS  (unstained,  from  a  privative,  and  /uiatVu>, 
to  stain),  the  best  known  and  most  beautiful  of  the 
asbestos  clas3  of  substances.     See  Asbestos. 

AMICI,  Giovanni  Battista,  a  celebrated  designer  and 
constructor  of  optical  instruments,  was  born  at  Modena  in 
1764.  While  studying  mathematics  at  Bologna,  he 
acquired  a  taste  for  astronomical  science,  and  devoted 
himself  early  in  life  to  the  improvement  of  astronomical 
instruments  with  great  ingenuity  and  success.  .  For. the 
specula  of  his  reflecting  telescopes  he  prepared  a  very  hard 
alloy,  capablo'  of  receiving  .and  retaining  a  fine  polish,  and 
to  prevent  spherical  aberration  he  wrought  the  specula  into 
an  elliptical  form.  About  1812  he  undertook  the  con- 
struction of  a  telescope  with  a  five-foot  speculum,  and  the 
gun-foundry  at  Pavia  was  put  at  his  disposal  for  this 
purpose  by  the  war  minister  of  Italy,  but  the  project  was 
broken  off,  owing  apparently  to  political  complications. 
Amici  is  still  better  known  from  his  microscopes.  His 
reflecting  microscopes,  with  ■  ellipsoidal  specula,  were  an 
improvement  on  all  that  had  preceded  them,  and  he 
attained  still-  greater  success  in  tho  construction  of  com- 
pound achromatic  object-glasses.  His  compound  micro- 
scope was  the  first  that  could  be  used  either  in  a  vertical 
or  in  a  horizontal  position.  His  prism,  too,  for  the  oblique 
illumination  gf  objects  of  microscopical  observation  is  much 
commended  _  Amici  was  a  very  diligent  and  skilful 
observer;  and  his  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  principles 
of  optical  science  enabled  him  to  arrange  his  apparatus  to 
tho  very  best  advantage.  Various  papers  recording  the 
results  of  his  observations,  which  he  read  before  learned 
societies,  were  published  in  scientific  journals.  They  treat 
of  the  measurement  of  the  diameters  of  the  sun  (by  i 
of  a  micrometer  he  invented)  and  other  astronomical 
subjects,  the  circulation  of  the  sap  in  plants,  the  fructifica- 
tion of  plants  infusoria,  ic.  After  holding'for  some  time 
a  professorship  of  mathematics  in  Modena,  he  was  in  1831 
appointed  inspector-general  of  studies  in  the  duchy.  A 
few  years  later  he  was  entrusted  with  the  charge  of  the 
observatory  at  Florence,  where  he  also  delivered  lectures 
as  professor  of  mathematics  at  the  museum  of  natural 
history.     He  died  in  April  18C3. 

AMIENS,  an  ancient  city  of  France,  capital  of  the 
department  of  Somme,  and  formerly  of  the  old  province  of 
Picardy,  situated  on  the  Somme,  about  40  miles  from  its 
mouth,  and  71  miles  N.  of  Paris.  It  was  once  a  place  of 
great  strength,  ami  still  nossesses  a  citadel,  but  the  ramnarts 


which  surrounded  it  have  been  replaced  by  beautiful  boule- 
vards. The  new  part  of  the  town  is  well  built,  but  the 
streets  of  the  old  quarter  are  narrow  and  irregular,  and  are 
so  cut  up  h  n  canals  into  wdiich  the  Somme  is 

hero  divided,  that  Louis  XI.  is  said  to  have  called  the  town 
"  little  Venice."  The  most  interesting  object  in  Amiens 
is  its  magnificent  cathedral,  one  of  tho  finest  in  Europe, 
commenced  in  the  year  1220  and  finished  in  1288,  alth 
additions  to  it  were  altera  i  le.  Among  the  other 
important  public  buildings  are  the  1  Intel  de  Ville,  the 
Chateau  d'Eau,  the  theatre,  the  museum,  the  hospital,  and 
several  churches.  The  town  is  the  scat  of  a  bishop,  of  a 
prefect,  and  of  tho  departmental  courts  of  justice;  and 
possesses  a  library  containing  more  than  50,000  volumes, 
besides  manuscripts,  an  academy  of  sciences,  various  other 
learned  societies,  a  theological  Bominary,  a  lyceuin,  and 
several  ordinary  schools.  It  has  many  important  manu- 
factures, the  chief  being  cotton  velvets,  kerseymeres, 
woollen  and  linen  cloths,  flax,  beetroot  sugar,  soap,  leather, 
and  paper.  Amiens  occupies  the  site  of  the  ancient 
Samarobriva,  capital  of  the  Ambiani,  from  whom  it 
probably  derives  its  name..  After  the  dissolution  of  the 
empire  of  the  west  it  repeatedly  changed  owners,  becoming 
fur  the  first  time  a  dependency  of  the  French  crown  in 
11S5,  when  Philip  of  Alsace  oiled  it  to  Philip  Augustus; 
and  since  that  date  it  has  more  than  once  passed  out  of  tho 
power  of  the  French  kings.  f  The  famous  treaty  between 
Britain,  France,  Spain,  and  Holland,  which  took  its 
name  from  this  city,  was  signed  in  the  Hotel  do  Ville  on 
March  25th,  1802.  During  the  recent  war  between  France 
and  Germany  Amiens  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Prussians 
on  the  28th  of  November  1870.  General  Manteuffe!-  was 
operating  against  the  French  army  of  the  north,  which  had 
been  formed  with  the  view  of  helping  the  armies  of  Pans 
and  of  the  Loire  to.  effect  a  junction,  and  thus  raise  tho 
siege  of  the  capital.  The  French,  however,  were  defeated 
in  a  battle  in  front  of  Amiens,  which  was  fought  on  tbo 
27th  of  November,  along  a  line  stretching  from  Saleux  to 
Marceleane,  and  extending,  it  is  said,  more  than  four 
leagues.  They  retreated  northward  in  the  direction  of 
Arras,  and  Amiens  surrendered  on  the  following  day,  after 
a  very  slight  demonstration  of  force  on  the  part  of  the 
Prussians.  Peter  the  Hermit  was  born  at  Amiens  about 
1050      Population  (1872),  03,747. 

AMIOT,  Pere  Joseph,  a  learned  Jcsilit  missionary  to 
China,  was  born  at  Toulon  in  1718.  In  1750  he  arriv-d, 
along  with  two  others  of  his  order,  at  Macao,  from  which. 
on  a  favourable  answer  to  a  petition  being  received  from 
the  emperor  Kien-Lung,  he  removed  to  Peking  in  the 
autumn  of  the  following  year  He  continued  to  reside  in 
the  capital  until  his  death  in  1704,  devoting  himself 
almost  exclusively  to  the  study  of  Chinese  and  Mancho 
Tatar  literature.  The  results  of  Ids  labours  were  ccm- 
municated  at  frequent  intervals  to  Europe  in  works  which 
did  more  than  had  ever  been  done  before  to  make  knoTn 
to  the  Western  world  the  thought  and  life  of  the  furthest 
East.  Many  of  his  statements,  however,  are  not  trust- 
worthy, and  his  works  are  practically  superseded  by  thosj 
of  others  who  entered  the  field  later.  His  Diclionncirc 
TatarmanicJiou-Francais  (Paris,  17S9)  was  a  work  of  great 
value,  the  language  having  been  previously  quite  unknown 
in  Europe.  His  other  writings  are  to  be  found  chiefly  in 
the Memoires  concernanl VIIistoire,les Sciences,  et  lesArts  de 
.Chinois  (15  vols.  4to,  Paris,  1776-91).  The  Vie  de 
Cunfucius,  which  occupies  the  twelfth  volume  of  that 
collection,  is  very  complete  and  accurate. 

AMLWCH,  a  town  of  Anglesey,  North  Wales,  situated 
on  a  rising  ground  on  tho  north  coast  of  the  island,  15 
miles  from  Beaumaris.  It  owes  its  importance  almost 
entirely  to  the  copper  mines  of  the  Parys  Mountain:  before 


A  M  M  —  A  M  M 


73S 


the  discovery  of  the  ore  in  17G8  it  was  a  small  hamlet  of 
some  six  houses.  At  one  time  the  mines  produced  3000 
tons  of  metal  annually,  but  in  recent  years  the  quantity 
has  greatly  diminished.  The  harbour  has  been  cut  out  of 
rock  at  considerable  expense,  and  is  protected  by  a  break- 
water. A  branch  of  the  Chester  and  Holyhead  Railway 
terminates  in  the  town.  Amlwch,  which  is  associated 
with  Beaumaris,  Holyhead,  and  Llangefni,  in  returning 
•me  member  to  parliament,  had  a  population  of  29G8  in 
1871. 

AMMAN,  Joiiaxn  Conead,  a  physician,  and  one  of  the 
earliest  writers  on  the  instruction  of  the  deaf  and  dumb,  was 
born  at  Schaffhausen,  in  Switzerland,  in  1GG9.  In  1687 
he  graduated  at  Basle,  and  commenced  the  practice  of  his 
profession  at  Amsterdam,  to  which  he  had  to  flee  on 
account  of  his  religious  views.  He  first  called  the  atten- 
tion of  the  public  to  his  method  of  training  the  deaf  and 
dumb  in  a  paper  which  was  inserted  in  the  Philosophical 
Transactions,  and  which  appeared  in  a  separate  form  in 
the  year  1G92,  under  the  title  Surdus  Loquens.  It  was 
again  issued,  with  much  additional  matter,  in  1702  and 
1728,  under  the  title  Dissertvtio  de  Loquela.  In  this 
work,  which  Haller  terms  "vere  aureum,"  he  develops, 
with  great  ability,  the  mechanism  of  vocal  utterance,  and 
describes  the  process  which  he  employed  in  teaching  its 
use.  This  consisted  principally  in  exciting  the  attention 
of  his  pupils  to  the  motions  of  his  lips  and  larynx  while 
he  spoke,  and  then  inducing  them  by  gentle  means  to 
imitate  these  movements,  till  he  brought  them  to  repeat 
distinctly  letters,  syllables,  and  words.  As  his  method 
was  .excellent,  we  may  readily  give  him  credit  for  the  all 
but  universal  success  to  which  he  laid  claim.  The  edition 
of  Cselius  Aurelianus,  which  was  undertaken  by  the  'Wet- 
steins  in  1709,  and  still  ranks  as  one  of  the  best  editions 
of  that  author,  was  superintended  by  Amman.  He  died 
about  1730. 

AMMAN,  Jost,  an  artist  celebrated  chiefly  for  his  en- 
gravings on  wood,  was  born  at  Zurich  in  June  1539.  Of 
his  personal  history  little  is  known  beyond  the  fact  that 
he  removed  in  15G0  to  Nuremberg,  where  he  continued  to 
reside  until  his  death  in  March  1591.  His  productiveness 
was  very  remarkable,  as  may  be  gathered  from  the  state- 
ment of  one  of  his  pupils,  that  the  drawings  he  made 
during  a  period  of  i^ur  years  would  have  filled  a  hay- 
waggon.  A  large  number  of  his  original  drawings  are 
contained  in  the  Berlin  collection  of  engravings.  The 
genuineness  of  not  a  few  of  the  specimens  to  be  seen  else- 
where is  at  least  questionable.  A  series  of  copperplate 
engravings  by  Amman  of  the  kings  of  France,  with  short 
biographies,  appeared  at  Frankfort  in  1576.  He  also 
executed  many  of  the  woodcut  illustrations  for  the  Bible 
published  at  Frankfort  by  Feierabend.  Another  serial 
work,  the  Panoplia  Omnium  Liberalium  Mechanicarum  et 
Sedeniariarum  Artium  Genera  Continens,  containing  115 
plates,  is  of  great  value.  Amman's  drawing  is  correct  and 
spirited,  and  his  delineation  of  the  details  of  costume,  &c, 
is  minute  and  accurate.  He  executed  too  much,  however, 
to  permit  of  his  reaching  the  highest  style  of  art.  Paint- 
ings in  oil  and  on  glass  are  attributed  to  him,  but  no 
specimen  of  these  is  known  to  exist. 

AMMAN,  Paul,  a  physician  and  botanist,  was  born  at 
Breslau  on  the  30th  August  1634.  In  1662  he  received 
the  degree  of  doctor  of  physic  from  the  university  of 
Leipsic,  and  in  1G64  was  admitted  a  member  of  the  society 
Naturm  Curiosorum,  under  the  name  of  Dryander. 
Shortly  afterwards  he  was  chosen  extraordinary  professor 
of  medicine  in  the  above-mentioned  university;  and  in 
1674  he  was  promoted  to  the  botanical  chair  which  he 
again  in  1682  exchanged  for  the  physiological.  He  died 
on  the  4th  February  1691.     Paul  Amman  seems  to  have 


been  a  man  of  acute  mind  and  extensive  learning;  but  a 
restless  and  irritable  disposition  led  him  to  engage  too 
much  in  controversy,  and  to  indulge  in  raillery  in  his 
writings  to  a  degree  which  the  nature  of  the  subjects  hardly 
warranted. 

Aniiuau's  principal  works  were— llediciua  Crilica,  ten  Centuria 
Casuum  hi  Facilitate  Lipsiensi  raoliUor um  variis  Discureibus  aucta  ; 
Paramesh  ad  DoccnUs  occuputa  circa  InsliliUiouum  Medicarum 
tmcndniionem ;  Ircnicvm  Nnrrnt  Pornpilii cum  Eippocratc ;  Supellcx 
Botanicn,  el  Hanuduetio  ad  llalcriam  lledicam;  and  Ckaractor 
Naturulis  Planlarum. 

AMMANATI,  BAr.Tor.OMEo,  a  celebrated  Florentine 
architect  and'  sculptor,  was  born  in  1511,  and  died  in 
1592.  Ho  studied  under  Bandinelli  and  Sansovius,  ami 
closely  imitated  the  style  of  Michael  Augelo.  He  wa^ 
more  distinguished  in  architecture  than  in  sculpture.  Ho 
designed  many  buildings  in  Rome,  Lucca,  and  Florence, 
an  addition  to  the  Pitti  palace  in  the  last-named  city  bei:.g 
one  of  his  most  celebrated  works.  He  also  planned  t!:e 
beautiful  bridge  over  the  Arno,  known  as  Ponte  ■ 
Trinita — one  of  his  celebrated  works.  The  three  arches  are 
elliptic,  and  though  very  light  and  elegant,  have  resisted  thr 
fury  of  the  river,  which  has  swept  away  several  other  bridged 
at  different  time3.  Ammanati's  wife,  daughter  of  Giov. 
Antonio  Battil'erri,  an  elegant  and  accomplished  woman, 
published  a  volume  of  poems  of  considerable  merit 

AMMIANUS,  Marcel linus,  a  Roraauohistorian  of  the 
4th  century,  was  bom  in  the  city  of  Anticch,  in  Syria.    la 
his  youth  he  was  enrolled  among  the  protectores  domestici, 
or  household  guards,  which  proves  him  to  have 'been  of 
noble  birth.     In  the  year  350  he  entered  the  service  of 
Constantius,  the  emperor  of   the   East,   and,   under  the 
command  of  Ursicinus,  a  general  of  the  horse,  he  served 
during  several  expeditions.     According  to  his  own  modest 
account,  it  appears  that  he  acquired  considerable  military 
fame,  and  that  he  deserved  well  of  his  sovereign.     He 
attended  the  Emperor  Julian  in  his  expedition  into  Persia, 
but  it  is  not  known  that  he  obtained  any  higher  military 
promotion  than  that  which  has  already  been  mentioned. 
He  was  either  in  the  city  or  in  the  vicinity  of  Antioch  when 
the  conspiracy  of  Theodorus  was  discovered,  in  the  reign 
of  Valens,  and  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  severe  tortures  to 
which  many  persons  were  subjected  by  the  emperor  on 
that  account.     But  his  lasting  reputation  was  not  to  be 
acquired  from  military  service.      He  left  the  army  and 
retired  to  Rome,  where  he  employed  himself  in  writing  a 
history  of  the  Roman  empire,  comprising  a  period  of  282 
years.     Though  a  Greek  by  birth,  he  wrote  in  the  Latin 
language;  but,  according  to  the  remark  of  Vossius,  his 
Latin  shows  that  he  was  a  Greek,  and  also  a  soldier.     His 
history  extended  from  the  accession  of  Nerva  to  the  death 
of  Valens  ;  and  the  work  was  originally  divided  into  thirty- 
one  books.     Of  these  the  first  thirteen  have  perished,  and 
the  eighteen  which  remain  commence  with  the  seventeenth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Constantius,  and  terminate  at  the  year 
378.     But  there  are  several  facts  mentioned  in  the  history 
which  prove  that  the  author  was  alive  in  the  year  380. 
Of  this  number  are  the  accession  of  Theodosius  to  the 
Eastern  empire,  the  character  of  Gratian,  and  the  consulate 
of  Neothorius.     The  style  is  harsh  and  redundant,  as  was 
to  be  expected  from  the  author's  education  and  military 
life;  but  the  work  is  valuable  as  a  source  of  information 
for  the  period  of  which  it  treats.     Gibbon  appears  to  give 
a  correct  estimate  when  he  says  that  Ammianns  is  "an 
accurate  and  faithful  guide,  who  composed  the  history  of 
his  own  times  without  indulging  the  prejudices  and  pas 
sions  which  usually  affect  the  mind  of  a  contemporary.'' 
From  the  respectful  manner  in  which  he  speaks  of  pr.gar» 
deities,  and  of  the  advantage  of  heathen  auguries  in  fore- 
telling future  events,  it  is  evident  that  Ammianus  was  ■ 


740 


A  M  M  —  A  M  M 


heathen.  The  favourable  account  which  he  gives  of  the 
religion,  manners,  and  fortitude  of  Christians,  is  the  result 
of  his  candour  and  impartiality  as  an  historian.  The  work 
of  Ammianus  has  passed  through  several  editions,  of  which 
the  best  are  tho  Ley  den  edition  of  1G93,  by  Gronovius, 
and  those  of  Leipsic,  published  in  1773  and  1808.  The 
latter  was  edited  by  Wagner  and  Erfurdt. 

AMMIBATO,  Scipio,  an  Italian  historian,  born  at 
Lecce,  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  on  the  27th  September 
1531.  His  father  intending  him  for  the  profession  of 
law,  sent  him  to  study  at  Naples,  but  his  own  decided 
preference  for  literature  prevented  him  from  fulfilling  his 
father's  wishes.  Entering  the  church,  he  resided  for  a 
time  at  Venice,  and  afterwards  engaged  in  the  service  of 
Pope  Pius  IV.  In  15G9  he  went  to  Florence,  where  he 
■was  fortunate  in  securing  the  patronage  and  support  of 
Duke  Cosmo  I.  It  was  at  the  suggestion  of  this  prince 
that  he  wrote  the  work  by  which  he  is  best  known,  hij 
Istoric  Florentine  (1G00).  In  1595  he  was  made  a  canon 
of  the  cathedral  of  Florence.  He  died  in  1601.  Among 
the  other  works  of  Ammirato,  some  of  which  were  first 
published  after  his  death,  may  be  mentioned  discourses 
on  Tacitus  and  histories  of  the  families  of  Naples  and 
Florence. 

AMMON,  the  name  of  an  Egyptian  deity,  called  by  the 
ancient  Egyptians  Amen  or  Amun,  and  one  of  the  chief  gods 
of  the  country.  His  namo  meant  the  hiddeD  or  concealed 
god,  and  in  this  respect  was  analogous  to  Hapi  or  Apis, 
which  conveyed  the  same  idea.  He  was  tho  local  deity  of 
Thebes  or  Diospolis,  and  supposed  by  tho  Greeks  to  be 
the  same  as  Zeus  or  Jupiter.  His  type  was  that  of  a  man 
wearing  on  his  head  the  red  crown  teshr,  emblem  of 
dominion  over  the  lower  world  or  hemisphere,  surmounted 
by  the  sun's  disc  to  indicate  his  solar  nature,  flanked  by 
two  tail  feathers  of  a  hawk,  also  symbolical  of  his  relation 
to  the  gods  of  light.  Ammon  was  not  one  of  the  oldest 
deities  of  Egypt,  for  his  form  and  name  do  not  appear  till 
the  eleventh  or  Diospolitan  dynasty,  when  the  kings  of 
that  line  assumed  his  name,  and  built  a  sanctuary  to  him  at 
Medinat  Habu.  From  this  period  the  monarchs  of  Thebes 
introduced  his  name  into  their  titles,  and  the  worship  of 
Amen  became  the  predominant  one  of  ancient  Egypt;  and 
the  embellishment  of  his  shrine  and  enrichment  of  his 
treasury  were  the  chief  object  of  the  policy  of  the  Pharaohs. 
Victory  and  conquest  were  the  chief  gifts  he  offered  to  his 
adorers;  and  he  is  often  seen  leading  up  the  conquered  nations 
of  the  north  and  south  to  the  monarchs  whom  he  endows 
with  power  and  victory.  In  this  character  Amen  is  often 
represented  holding  the  Egyptian  scimitar  kkepsh.  In  his 
celestial  character  his  fl'ish  was  coloured  blue,  that  of  the 
heaven.  He  in  said  to  have  been  called  on  some  monu- 
ments the  son  of  Hapimaa  (or  the  Nile) ;  but  in  the  hymns 
addressed  to  him  tho  title  of  self-engendered  is  applied  to 
him,  and  he  was  one  of  the  self-existent  deities.  His 
principal  titles  are — lord  of  tho  heaven,  king  of  the  gods, 
substance  of  the  world,  and  resident  on  the  thrones  of  the 
world,  eternal  ruler, — appellatives  of  his  celestial  and  ter- 
restrial functions.  He  was  also  lord  of  heaven  and  earth, 
streams  and  hills,  and  as  a  demiurgos,  the  creator  of  beings. 
The  hymns  addressed  to  him  designate  him  as  the  sole  or 
only  god,  in  terms  applicable  to  one  god  who  alone  exists, 
who  moulds  and  governs  tho  world.  At  one  time  an 
attempt  was  made  to  identify  him  with  the  solar  orb.  Con- 
sidered as  the  active,  intelligent,  and  pervading  spirit  of 
the  universe,  he  transfuses  the  breath  of  life  into  the 
nostrils  of  king3  and  other  persons.  In  his  solar  characters, 
Ammon  was  allied  with  Ea,  and  called  Amen  Ra,  or  Amen 
Ha  Harmachis,  or  "  the  sun  in  the  horizon,"  Amen  being 
considered  one  of  the  forms  of  the  sun  itself.  The  worship 
of  the  celestial  Ammon  prevailed  chiefly  at  Thebes,  where, 


with  the  Mut,  or  "mother"  goddess,  ar\d  his  son  Khonsu  or 
Chons,  he  formed  the  Theban  triad,  and  tho  sacred  name 
of  Thebes  was  ''the  ubodo  of  Amen."  Besides  Thebes,  his 
worship  has  been  found  at  Siuah  inLybia,  at  Beit  Oually, 
and  at  Meroe  in  Ethiopia,  marked  respect  being  shown  to 
his  worship  by  the  later  Ethiopian  monarchs.  At  Phila:  and 
Debud  his  namo  also  appears  as  one  of  the  dominant 
deities.  In  the  representations  at  Hermonthis  he  assists  at 
the  birth  of  Har-pa-Ra;  and  in  the  scenes  of  the  passago 
of  Ra,  or  the  sun,  through  tho  hours  of  the  night,  tho 
gigantic  arm  of  Amen  strangles  the  serpent  Apophis,  "  the 
great  dragon"  of  Egyptian  mythology,  the  spirit  of  dark- 
ness, who  warred  against  the  gods  of  light.  Another 
of  the  types  of  Amen  represents  him  as  the  reproductive 
power  of  nature,  still  in  the  human  form,  but  mummied, 
and  holding — instead  of  the  usual  sceptre,  uasm,  or  so- 
called  kukupka  sceptre — the  whip  nekhekh.  In  this  type 
he  was  supposed  to  be  Amen  the  father  and  Homs  the 
child  of  the  triad,  which  then  consisted  of  Amen,  Anient, 
or  the  female  Ammoii,  and  Harka.  His  titles  in  this 
character  are  Amcn-ka-mut-f, — Amen,  "the  husband  of  hia 
mother,"  considered  as  the  final  avatar  of  tho  god,  the 
alpha  and  omega,  the  oldest  and  youngest  of  created 
beings.  He  is,  considered  in  his  youthful  character,  called 
Harnekht,  or  "the  powerful  Horus,"  and  identified  with 
Kkons,  the  local  god  of  Chemmo  or  Panopolis.  As  Horus 
he  is  called  the  "  son  of  Isis,"  but  this  is  clearly  a  later 
fusion  of  the  two  myths.  In  the  inscriptions  it  is  said 
"  he  has  tall  plumes,"  and  in  the  esoterical  explanations  of 
the  seventeenth  chapter  of  tho  Ritual,  these  plumes  are 
explained  by  "his  two  eyes,"  or  Isis  and  Ncphtbys,  who 
are  seen  accompanying  Horus  in  certain  scenes.  This 
type  of  Amen  was  not  usually  exhibited,  but  brought  out 
on  the  occasion  of  his  festival,  called  the  manifestation  of 
Khem,  ono  of  the  oldest  fetes  of  Egypt.  This  type  of 
Amen  is  principally  found  at  the  Ruan,  or  valley  of  El 
Hammamat,  on  the  way  to  Coptos;  and  at  Wady  Haifa, 
where  a  temple  was  erected  to  him  by  Amenophis  III.  As 
the  god  of  the  reproductive  powers  of  nature,  the  kings  of 
Egypt  are  seen  hoeing  the  ground  before  him,  or  offering 
various  coloured  calves  and  gazelles  to  him.  A  great  fes- 
tival in  his  honour  is  represented  at  Medinat  Habu,  where 
his  statue  is  carried  by  twenty  priests,  and  Rameses  III. 
cuts  down  before  him  the  corn  which  has  just  ripened  for 
the  sickle.  The  negroes  of  Arabia,  or  else  the  lierjio 
Barbarica  of  later  geographers,  appear  as  assistants  at  this 
festival.  .  Another  type  of  Amen  connected  him  with  the 
god  Khnum  or  Chnoumis,  the  spirit  of  the  waters.  In 
this  relation  he  has  the  head  of  a  ram  instead  of  the  usual 
human  one.  Khnum  was  ono  of  the  demiurgi,  and  creator 
of  mankind,  whom  he  had  made  as  a  potter  out  of  clay  on 
the  wheel,  as  also  Osiris  and  Horus.  Sometimes  the  typo 
of  Khnum  bears  the  name  of  Amen;  and  with  the  ram'a 
head  he  was  worshipped  in  the  Oasis  of  Ammon,  as  also 
up  the  Nile  at  the  cataracts,  Syene,  Elephantine,  Beghc, 
Beit  Oually,  and  Meroe.  It  is  this  type  of  Amen  witli 
which  the  later  Greek  and  Roman  writers  were  most  fami- 
liar; and  Rameses  TL\  as  the  son  of  Amen,  assumes  the  ram'a 
horn,  which  Alexander  the  Great  adopted  at  a  later  date. 
The  worship  of  Khnum  was  older  than  that  of  Amen,  as 
it  appears  on  the  Pyramids  and  at  the  Wady  Magarcsh, 
but  became  less  important,  and  finally  fused  into  that  of 
Amen.  Although  it  has  been  supposed  that  the  worship  of 
Amen  came  from  Meroe,  it  is  now  known  that  the  Ethiopian 
civilisation  was  comparatively  of  much  more  recent  date 
than  tho  Egyptian,  and  that  it  was  implanted  in  Ethiopia 
by  the  conquests  of  the  Pharaohs,  and  subsequently  adopted 
by  the  later  rulers  of  Meroe;  and  that  the  statements  of 
Herodotus,  that  it  was  brought  from  thence  to  the  Oasis 
of  Ammon  are  incorrect,  the  existing  tempie  ai  the  Oasis 


A  M  M  —  A  M  M 


741 


not  being  older  than  the  Persian  rulers  of  Egypt,  while  the 
worship  of  the  god  at  Thebes  dates  from  a  much  older  epoch. 
The  later  chapters  of  the  Ritual,  -added  at  the  time  of  the 
twentieth  dynasty,  which  contain  the  mystic  names  and 
appellatives  of  the  god  in  the  language  of  the  negroes  of 
Punt,  are  also  of  too  late  a  date  to  throw  any  light  on  the 
origin  of  Amen,  which  appears  prior  to  the  Hykshos,  when 
the  Egyptian  princes  were  driven  to  the  south.  The  sheep 
was  sacred  to  the  god,  and  the  inhabitants  of  Thebes  in 
consequence  abstained  from  it;  but  it  is  said  they  annually 
sacrificed  a  ram  to  Amen,  and  dressed  the  figure  of  the 
god  in  the  hide  of  the  animal.  The  reasons  assigned  by 
classical  authorities  for  this  action,  as  well  as  for  the 
astronomical  meaning  of  his  horns,  are  rt3t  confirmed  by 
monumental  evidence.  On  the  conquest  of  Egypt  Alex- 
ander the  Great  called  himself  the  son  of  Ammon,  and  his 
portraits  wear  the  ram's  horn.  In  this  he  had  only 
imitated  the  Pharaohs  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty.  Amen 
is  only  mentioned  by  the  Hebrew  prophets  in  speaking  of 
Diospolis  as  the  city  of  No  or  No  Amon. 

Jablonski,  Panth.  JEgypt.,  L  160-184;  Birch,  Gallery 
of  Antia.,  pt.  i.  1 ;  Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs,  iii. 
313,  iv.  246,  /.;  Goodwin,  Traris.  Soc.  Bibl.  Arch.,  ii. 
pp.  353-9;  Herodotus,  ii  42,  54;  Diodorus,  iii  72;  Jer. 
xlvi.  25;  Nah.  iii.  8.'  (s.  B.) 

AMMON,  Christoph  Friedrich  von,  a  distinguished 
theological  writer  and  preacher,  was  born  at  Baireuth  in 
January  1766,  studied  at  Erlangen,  held  various  professor- 
ships in  the  philosophical  and  theological  faculties  of 
Erlangen  and  Gottingen,  succeeded  Reinhard  in  1813  as 
court  preacher  and  counsellor  at  Dresden,  retired  from 
these  officesin  1849,  and  died  May  21, 1850.  He  sought 
to  establish  for  himself  a  middle  position  between  rational- 
ism and  supernaturalism,  inclining,  however,  decidedly  to 
the  former.  He  declared  for  a  "  rational  supernaturalism," 
and  contended  that  there  must  be  a  gradual  development 
of  Christian  doctrine  corresponding  to  the  advance  of  know- 
ledge and  science.  He  was  a  man'  of  great  versatility  and 
extensive  learning,  and  a  very  voluminous  author,  his 
principal  work  being  the  Fortbildung  des  Christenthums  zur 
Weltreligion,  in  4  vols.  (Leipsic,  1833—40).  Eidunirf '  einer 
rein  bibliscken  Theologie  appeared  in  1792  (second  edition. 
1801  ),and  Summa/Fheologica  in  1803  (other  editions,  1808, 
1816,  1830).  Yon  Amnion's  style  in  preaching  was  terse 
and  lively,  and  some  of  his  discourses  are  regarded  as 
models  of  pulpit  treatment  of  political  questions. 

AMMONIA  (NH3),  sometimes  called  the  Volatile 
alkali,  or  Alkaline  air,  was  known  to  the  alchemists  in 
aqueous  solution.  Priestley  first  separated  it  in  the  gase- 
ous state  in  1774.  Scheale  in  1777  discovered  that  it 
contained  nitrogen,  and  its  true  composition  was  ascer- 
tained by  Berthollet  about  1785.  Ammonia  occurs  in 
the  atmosphere  as  carbonate  and  nitrate,  in  sea-water,  and 
in  many  mineral  springs.  Iron  ores  and  many  clayey 
soils  contain  it  in  small  quantity,  and  sal-ammoniac  and 
ammonia  alum  are  found  as  minerals  in  volcanic  districts. 
Carbonate  of  ammonia  is  obtained  in  large  quantity  by 
the  putrefaction  of  the  urine  of  animals,  or  the  dry  distilla- 
tion of  animal  matter.  \_  Ammonia  is  obtained  from  its 
salts  by  the  acting  of  slaked  lime  or  solutions  of  potash 
or  soda,  and  is  freed  from  water  by  passing  over  quick- 
lime or  solid  potash,  and  finally  collected  over  mercury. 
It  is  a  colourless  gas,  of  a  pungent  smell,  and  alkaline 
taste  and  reaction.  It  does  not  support  combustion  or 
respiration,  and  is  feebly  combustible.  It  is  remark- 
ably soluble  in  water,  1  volume  dissolving  nearly  700  of 
the  gas.  It  may  by  the  action  of  a  low  temperature 
and  great  pressure  be  changed  into  the  liquid  or  solid 
state.  •■  The  gas  is  easily  decomposed  into  its  elements  by 
a  succession  of  electric  sparks,  or  by  passing  it  over  red- 


hot  iron  or  platinum  wire.  The  aqueous  solution  in  pre* 
sence  of  finely  divided  platinum  and  atmospheric  air  is 
converted  into  nitrite  of  ammonia  *  and  conversely,  the 
oxides  of  nitrogen,  mixed  with  exce'ss  of  hydrogen  and 
passed  oyer  platinised  asbestos,  are  changed  into  ammonia. 
Nitrogen  and  hydrogen  have  not  by  any  process  been  in- 
duced to  combine  so  as  to  yield  this  compound  directly, 
unless  in  very  small  quantity.  For  theoretical  relations  of 
ammonia,  salts,  &c,  see  Chemistry. 

AMMONIAC,  Sal  (NH4C1),  the  earliest  known  salt  of 
ammonia,  now  named  chloride  of  ammonium,  formerly 
much  used  in  dyeing  and  metallurgic  operations. 

The  name  Hammoniacus  sal  occurs  in  Pliny  (Xat. 
Hist.  xxxi.  39),  who  relates  that  it  wa3  applied  to  a  kind 
of  fossil  salt  found  below  the  sand,  in  a  district  of  Cyre- 
naica.  It  was  similar  in  appearance  to  the  alumen  scissile, 
and  had  a  disagreeable  taste,  but  was  useful  in  medicine. 
The  general  opinion  is,  that  the  sal-ammoniac  of  the 
ancients  was  the  same  as  that  of  the  moderns ;  but  the 
imperfect  description  of  Pliny  is  far  from  being  sufficient 
to  decide  the  point.  The  native  sal-ammoniac  of  Bucharia 
described  by  Model  and  Karste"n,  and  analysed  by  Klaproth, 
has  no  resemblance  to  the  salt  described  by  Pliny.  The 
same  remark  applies  to  the  sal-ammoniac  of  volcanoes. 
Dioscorides  (v.  126),  in  mentioning  sal-ammoniac,  makes 
use  of  a  phrase  quite  irreconcilable  with  the  description  of 
Pliny,  and  rather  applicable  to  rock-salt  than  to  our  sal- 
ammoniac.  Sal-ammoniac,  he  says,  is  peculiarly  prized  if 
it  can  be  easily  split  into  rectangular  fragments.  Finally, 
we  have  no  proof  whatever  that  sal-ammoniac  occurs  at 
present,  either  near  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Ammon,  or  iii 
any  part  of  Cyrenaica.  These  circumstances  induce  us  to 
conclude  that  the  term  sal-ammoniac  was  applied  as  inde- 
finitely by  the  ancients  as  most  of  their  other  chemical 
terms.  It  may  have  been  given  to  the  same  salt  which 
is  known  to  the  modems  by  that  appellation,  but  was  not 
confined  to  it. 

Some  derive  thenameW-ammoni'acfrom  Jupiter  Ammon. 
near  whose  temple  it  is  alleged  to  have  been  found;  others 
from  a  district  of  Cyrenaica  called  Ammonia.  Pliny's 
derivation  is  from  the  sand  (a/i/xos)  in  which  it  occurred. 

Whether  our  sal-ammoniac  was  known  to  the  ancients 
or  not,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  was  well  known  tc 
the  alchemists  as  early  as  the  13th  century.  Albertus 
Magnus,  in  his  treatise  De  Alchymia,  informs  us  that 
there  were  two  kinds  of  sal-ammoniac,  a  natural  and  a:i 
artificial.  The  natural  was  "sometimes  white,  and  some- 
times red ;  the  artificial  was  more  useful  to  the  chemist 
He  does  not  tell  us  how  it  was  prepared,  but  he  describes 
the  method  of  subliming  it,  which  can  leave  no  doubt  that 
it  was  real  sal-ammoniac.  In  the  Opera  Mineralia  of 
Isaac  Hollandus  the  elder,  there  is  likewise  a  description 
of  the  mode  of  subliming  sal-ammoniac.  Basil  Valentine, 
in  his  Currus  Triumphalis  Antimonii,  describes  some  ol 
the  peculiar  properties  of  sal-ammoniac  in,  if  possible  o 
still  less  equivocal  manner. 

Egypt  is  the  country  where  sal-ammoniac  was  first 
manufactured,  and  from  which  Europe  for  many  years  was 
supplied  with  it.  This  commerce  was  first  carried  on  by 
the  Venetians,  and  afterwards  by  the  Dutch.  Nothing 
was  known  about  the  method  employed  by  the  Egyptians 
till  the  year  1719.  In  1716  the  younger  Geoffroy  read  a 
paper  to  the  French  Academy,  showing  that  sal-ammoniac 
must  be  formed  by  sublimation ;  but  his  opinion  was 
opposed  so  violently  by  Homberg  and  Lemery,  that  tho 
paper  was  not  printed.  In  1719  M.  Lemaire,  tho  Frenph 
consul  at  Cairo,  sent  the  Academy  an  account  of  the  mode 
of  manufacturing  sal-ammoniac  in  Egypt.  The  salt,  it 
appeared,  was  obtained  by  simple  sublimation  from  soot 
In  the  year  J7CQ  Linnxus  communicated  to  the  Royal 


74.! 


A  M  M  —  A  M    M 


Society  a  ooivcct  detail  uf  the  whole  process,  -which  ho  had 
received  from  Dr    II  who  had  travelled  in  that 

country  as  a  naturalist.  This  account  is  published  in  the 
51st  volume  of  the  Philosophical  Transactions,  1760,  p. 
501.  Almost  the  only  fuel  used  in  Egypt  is  the  dung  of 
cattle.  The  dung  of  black  cattle,  horses,  sheep,  goats,  .fcc,, 
which  contains  the  sal-ammoniac  ready  formed,  is  collected 
during  the  first  four  months  of  the  year,  when  the  animals 
feed  on  the  spring  grass,  a  kind  of  clover.  It  is  dried, 
and  sold  to  the  common  people  as  fuel.  The  soot 
this  fuel  is  carefully  collected  and  sold  to  the  sal-ammoniac 
makers,  who  work  only  during  the  months  of  March  and 
April,  for  it  is  only  at  that  season  of  the  year  that  the 
dung  is  fit  for  their  purpose. 

The  composition  of  this  salt  seems  to  have  been  first 
discovered  by  Tournefort  in  1700.  The  experiments  of 
the  younger  Geoffroy  in  171G  and  1723  were  still  more 
ive,  and  thoso  of  Duhamcl,  in  1735,  left  no  doubt 
t.  Dr  Thomson  first  pointed  out  a  process 
by  synthesis,  which  has  the  advantage  of  being  very  simple, 
and  at  the  same  time  rigidly  accurate,  resulting  from  hi  i 
observation  that  when  muriatic  gas  and  ammoniacal  gas, 
both  as  dry  as  possible,  are  brought  in  contact  with  each 
other,  they  always  combine  in  equal  volumes. 

The  first  attempt  to  manufacture  sal-ammoniac  in 
Europe  was  made,  about  the  beginning  of  tho-18th  cen- 
tury, by  Mr  Goodwin,  a  chemist  of  London,  who  appears  to 
have  used  the  mother  ley  of  common  salt  and  putrid  urine 
as  ingredients.  The  first  successful  manufacture  of  sal- 
nmmoniac  in  this  country  was  established  in  Edinburgh 
by  Dr  Hutton  and  Mr  Davy,  about  the  year  1760.  It  was 
first  manufactured  in  France  about  the  same  time  by 
15aume\  Manufactories  of  it  were  afterwards  established 
in  Germany,  Holland,  and  Flanders. 

Chloride  of  ammonia  is  now  manufactured  in  large  quan- 
tity from  the  crude  carbonate  of  ammonia  obtained  in  gas- 
works, or  from  the  destructive  distillation  of  animal 
matter.  This  salt  is  changed  into  chloride  by  the  addition 
of  hydrochloric  acid  or  the  mother  liquor  of  salt-works, 
called  bittern,  containing  the  chlorides  of  calcium  and 
magnesium.  When  hydrochloric  acid  is  not  easily  got  for 
neutralisation,  the  crude  gas  liquor  is  transformed  into 
sulphate,  and  this  is  mixed  with  an  equivalent  quantity  of 
common  salt.  During  the  subsequent  evaporation  the 
sulphate  of  soda  separates  in  hard  granular  crystals,  which 
are  apt  to  adhere  to  the  sides  of  the  boiler.  The  liquor  is 
agitated  to  prevent  this  adhesion  taking. place,  and  assist 
in  the  separation  of  the  sulphate  of  soda.  The  sulphate 
of  soda  is  removed  by  drainers  as  it  is  formed,  and  the 
mother  liquor  boiled  up  to  the  crystallising  point,  and  run 
off  into  coolers.  The  crystals  of  impure  muriate  of  am- 
monia are  dried  carefully  and  subsequently  sublimed. 

Sal-ammoniac  occurs  usually  in  the  form  of  a  hard, 
white  cake,  opaque,  or  only  slightly  translucent.  Its  taste 
is  cooling,  saline,  and  rather  disagreeable.  It  dissolves  in 
272  parts  of  water  at  18°  7  C.  with  great  reduction  of  tem- 
perature, and  in  about  an  equal  weight  of  water  at  the 
boiling-point.  The  feathery  crystals  it  forms  are  found 
on  microscopic  examination  'to  be  masses  of  cubes  or 
octahedrons;  their  specific  gravity  is  about  1-5.  When 
exposed  to  a  moist  atmosphere,  the  salt  gradually  absorbs 
water,  and  deliquesces,  though  very  slowly,  becoming 
slightly  acid.  When  heated,  it  sublimes  unaltered  in  a 
white  smoke,  having  a  peculiar  smell,  very  characteristic 
of  sal-ammoniac.  If  a  cold  body  be  presented  to  this 
smoke,  the  sal-ammoniac  condenses  on  it,  and  forms  a 
white  crust.  When  thus  sublimed,  it  has  the  property  of 
carrying  along  with  it  various  bodies,  which,  when  heated 
by  themselves,  are  perfectly  fixed. 

For  the  other  ammoniacal  salts  see  Chemistry. 


AMMOXJACUM.  or  Ammoniac,  a  gum-rcsinous  exuda- 
tion from  the  stem  of  a  perennial  herb  (Dorema  ammonia- 
cum)  belonging  to  the  natural  order  Umbcllifcra;.  The 
plant  grows  to  the  height  of  8  or  9  feet,  and  its  whole 
stem  is  pervaded  with  a  milky  juice,  which  oozes  out  on 
an  incision  being  mado  at  any  part.  This  juice  quickly 
hardens  into  round -tears,  forming  tho  "tear  ammonia 
cum"  of  commerce.  Lump  ammoniacum,  the  other  form 
in  which  the  substance  is  imported,  consists  of  aggrega- 
tions of  tears,  frequently  incorporating  large  quantities  of 
the  fruits  of  the  plant  itself,  as  well  as  other  foreign  bodies. 
In  order  to  free  lump  ammoniacum  from  these  impurities, 
it  has  to  be  melted  and  strained,  operations  which  depre- 
ciate its  therapeutical  value.  Ammoniacum  has  a  faintly 
t  odour,  which  becomes  more  distinct  on 
heating ;  externally  it  possesses  a  reddish  yellow  appear- 
ance, and  when  the  tears  or  lumps  are  freshly  fractured 
i  liiliit  an  opalescent  lustre.  It  is  chiefly  collected 
in  the  province  of  Irak  in  Persia;  but  some  quantity  is 
also  produced  in  the  Punjab,  and  comes  to  the  European 
I  Bombay.  Its  composition,  according  to 
Hagen,  is — resin,  686 ;  gum,  193;  gluten,  5-1;  volatile 
oil  and  water,  28;  extractive,  <tc,  3-9.  Ammoniacum  is 
closely  related  to  assafoctida,  not  only  in  the  plant  yielding 
it,  but  also  in  its  therapeutical  effects.  It  may  be  used  as 
a  substitute  for  assafoctida,  although,  containing  a  much 
smaller  proportion  of  volatile  oil,  its  effect  is  less  powerful. 
Internally  it  is  used  in  conjunction  with  squills  in  bronchial 
affections ;  and  in  asthma  and  chronic  colds  it  is  found 
useful.  It  is,  however,  more  used  externally  in  the  form 
of  plasters,  as  a  discutient  or  resolvent  application  in  indo- 
lent tumours,  affections  of  the  joints,  &c. 

African  ammoniacum  is  a  totally  different  substance, 
though  often  confounded  with  tho  real  gum-resin,  which 
is  produced  only  in  the  East.  It  is  the  product  of  an  un- 
known plant  growing  in  North  Africa,  and  occasionally 
shipped  to  our  markets  from  Marocco.  It  is  a  dark- 
coloured  gum-resin,  possessed  of  a  very  weak  odour  and  a 
persistent  acrid  taste.  A  considerable  commerce  in  it  is 
carried  on  between  Mogador  and  Alexandria,  where  it  is 
in  demand  for  purposes  of  fumigation. 

AMMONITES,  called  also  very  frequently  the  children 
of  Amnion,  a  people  allied-  by  descent  to  the  Israelites, 
and  living  in  their  vicinity,  sprung  from  Lot,  Abraham's 
nephfiw,  by  the  younger  of  his  daughters,  as  the  imme- 
diately adjoining  people,  the  Moabites,  were  by  the  elder 
(Gen.  six.  37-38).  Both  peoples  are  sometimes  spoken 
uf  under  the  common  name  of  the  children  of  Lot  (Deut. 
ii.  19;  Ps.  h-xriii.  8);  and  the  whole  history  shows  that 
they  preserved  throughout  the  course  of  their  national 
existence  a  sense  of  the  closest  brotherhood.  The  original 
territory  of  the  two  tribes  was  the  country  lying  imme- 
diately on  the  cast  of  the  Dead  Sea  and  of  the  lower  half  of 
the  Jordan,  having  the  Jabbok  for  its  northern  boundary; 
and  of  this  tract  the  Ammonites  laid  claim  to  the  northern 
portion,  the  "half  mount  Gilead"  (Deut.  iii  12),  h  in- 
between  the  Arnon  and  the  Jabbok,  out  of  which  they  had 
expelled  the  Zamzummini  (Judg.  xL  13;  Deut.  ii.  20,  21 ; 
b.  xiv.  5),  though  apparently  it  had  been  held,  in 
part  at  least,  conjointly  with  the  Moabites,  or  pcrhaj  s 
under  their  supremacy  (Num.  xxi.  26,  xxii.  1;  Josh.  xiii. 
32).  From  this  their  original  territory  they  had  been  in 
their  turn  expelled  by  the  Amoritcs,  who  were  found 
by  the  Israelites  after  theit  deliverance  from  Egypt  in 
possession  of  both  Gilead  and  Bashan,  that  is,  of  the 
whole  country  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Jordan,  lying  to  the 
north  of  the  Arson  (Num.  xxi.  13).  By  this  Amorite 
invasion,  as  the  Moabites  were  driven  to  the  south  of 
the  Anion,  which  formed  their  northern  boundary  from 
that  time    60  the  Ammonites  were  driven  out  of  Gilead 


A  M  M -AMU 


743 


across  the  upper  waters  of  the  Jabbok  where  it  flows  from 
south  to  north,  which  henceforth  continued  to  be  their 
western  boundary  (Num.  xri.  24;  Deut.  ii.  37,.  iii.  16). 
The  other  limits  of  the  Ammoniiis,  or  country  of  the 
Ammonites  ('A/j/Lavins  x^P0;  2  Mac.  iv.  26),  thero  are  no 
means  of  exactly  defining.  On  the  south  it  probably 
adjoined  the  land  of  Moab  (but  cf.  Ewald,  Gesch.  Israels, 
ii.  266);  on  the  north  it  may  have  met  that  of  the  king  of 
Geshur  (2  Sam.  xiii.  37);  and  on  the  east  it  probably 
melted  away  into  the  desert  peopled  by  Amalekites  and 
other  nomadic  races. 

The  chief  city  of  the  country,  called  Rabbah,  or  Rabbath  of  the 
children  of  Amraon,  i.e.,  the  metropolis  of  the  Ammonites  (Deut.  iii. 
11),  and  Rabbathamniana  hy  the  later  Greeks  (Polyb.  v.  7,  4).  whose 
name  wa3  changed  into  Philadelphia  by  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  a 
large  and  strong  city  with  an  acropolis,  was  situated  on  both  sides  of 
a  branch  cf  tho  Jabbok,  bearing  at  the  present  day  the  name  of 
Moiet  or  Nahr  Amman,  the  water  or  river  of  Amnion,  whence  the 
designation  "city  of  waters"  (2  Sam.  xii.  27;  cf.  Burckhardt,  Syria, 
p.  361).  The  ruins  called  Amman  by  the  natives  are  extensive  and 
imposing.  The  country  to  the  south  and  east  of  Amman  is  dis- 
tinguished by  its  fertility ;  and  ruined  towns  are  scattered  thickly 
over  it,  attesting  that  it  was  once  occupied  by  a  population  which, 
however  fierce,  was  settled  and  industrious  (see  Burckhardt,  op.  cit., 
357,  cf.  Lindsay,  Holy  Land,  5th  ed.,  p.  279),  a  fact  indicated  also 
by  the  tribute  of  corn  paid  annually  to  Jotham  (2  Chron.  xxvii.  5). 
The  Israelites  on  their  journey  out  of  Egypt  to  the  land  of  promise 
were  forbidden  to  meddle  with  the  territory  of  Amnion  as  of  Moab 
(Deut.  ii.  19);  and  it  seems  to  indicate  that  friendly  relations  sub- 
sisted at  first  between  this  people  and  the  chosen  nation,  that  after 
the  laMer  had  conquered  and  slain  Og,  the  giant  king  of  Basban,  the 
enemy  of  both,  his  bedstead  was  placed  in  Rabbah  (Deut.  iii.  11). 
Like  Moab,  however,  the  Ammonites  beheld  with  jealousy  the  rising 
greatness  of  Israel.  They  joined  the  former  in  hiring  Balaam  to 
curse  them  (Deut  xxiii.  4) ;  and  thenceforward  their  history,  so 
far  as  known,  reveals  a  spirit  of  bitter  hostility  against  the  people 
of  Jehovah—-shown  in  invasions  repeated  and  violent,  and  cruelties 
the  most  outrageous  and  unsparing  (Judg.  x.  8  ;  Amos  i.  13).  They 
could  not  forget  that  the  Gileadite  portion  of  the  inheritance  of 
Israel  had  once  been  their  possession,  nor  cease  to  press  their  claim 
for  its  recovery  (Judg.  xi.  13).  We  find  them  joined  first  with 
Moab  (Judg.  iii.  12),  and  then  with  the  Philistines  (Judg.  x..  7,  8), 
in  the  invasion  and  oppression  for  lengthened  periods  of  the  land  of 
their  enemies. '  Subdued  by  the  prowess  of  Jephthah,  they  began 
again  to  act  on  the  offensive  in  the  days  of  Saul,  laying  siege  to 
Jabesh-Gilead  (1  Sam.  xi.  1).  David  offered  his  friendship  to 
the  king  of  Ammon,  but  his  offer  was  rejected  with  contumely  and 
outrage,  for  which  a  terrible  vengeance  was  exacted  in  the  capture 
and  overthrow  of  their  metropolis,  and  the  deliberate  slaughter  of 
the  people  (2  Sam.  x.)  They  were  united  with  Moab  against  Judah 
in  the  days  of  Jehoshaphat  (2  Chron.  xx.  1) ;  they  paid  tribute  to 
Uzziah  and  Jotham  (2  Chron.  xxvi.  8,  xxvii.  5) ;  and  with  the 
neighbouiing  tribes  helped  the  Chaldean  monarch  against  Jehoiakim 
(2  King3  xxiv.  2).  When,  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  the 
poor  remnants  of  the  Israelites  were  gathered  together  under  the 
protectorate  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  it  was  by  tho  instigation  of  a 
king  of  Ammon  that  Gedaliah,  the  ruler  appointed  over  them,  was 
murdered,  and  new  calamities  were  incurred  (Jer.  xii.  14) ;  and 
when  Jerusalem  was  to  be  rebuilt,  the  foremost  in  opposing  the 
patriotic  Jews  were  a  Moabite  and  an  Ammonite  (Neh.  ii.  10, 19;  iv. 
1-  3).  True  to  their  antecedents,  the  Ammonites,  with  some  of  the 
neighbouring  tribes,  did  their  utmost  to  resist  and  check  the  revival 
of  the  Jewish  power  under  Judas  Maccabseus  (1  Mace.  v.  6  ;  cf.  Jos. 
Ant.  Jud.  xiii.  8,  1).  The  last  historical  notice  of  them  is  in  Justin 
Martyr  (Dial,  cum  Tryph.  §  119),  where  it  is  affirmed  that  they  were 
still  a  numerous  people.  Tho  Ammonites  are  repeatedly  mentioned 
under  the  form  Bit-Amman,  i.e.,  house  of  Amman,  in  the  inscrip- 
tions of  Nineveh  among  tho  tributaries  of  the  kings  of  Assyria 
(Schrader,  Keilinschriftcn  mid  d.  A.  T.  52).  The  names  of  their 
kings,  so  far  as  known, — in  Scripture,  ~  Nahash,  Hanun,  Baalis, 
or  Baalim  (2  Sam.  x.  2;  Jer.  xl.  14);  in  Assyrian,  Puduilu  (cf. 
Pedahel  (Num.  xxxiv.  23),  Basa  (cf.  Baasha,  1  Kings  xv.  33),  and 
Sanibi  (of  less  obvious  analogy), — testify,  in  harmony  with  other 
considerations,  that  their  language  was  Semitic,  closely  allied  to 
the  Hebrew ;  and  this  fact  is  now  placed  beyond  question  by  the  dis- 
covery of  the  Mesha-stele,  presenting  the  languago  of  the  Moabites, 
and  doubtless  that  also  of  the  brother  tribe  (see  Moabites).  Their 
national  deity,  Moloch  or  Milcom  (see  Moloch),  was  worshipped 
with  cruel  rites, — a  circumstance  tending  to  foster  that  fierceness 
•of  character  which  distinguished  this  people  throughout  their 
history. 

AMMONIUS,surnamed  Hermit, or  the  son  of  Hermias, 
studied  at  Alexandria,  along  with  his  brother  Heliodorus, 


under  the  neo-Platonist  Proclus  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  5th  century  a.d.  He  was  afterwards  the  head  of  a 
school  for  philosophy;  and  among  his  scholars  wero 
Asclepias,  John  Philoponus,  Damascius,  and  Simplicius. 
Although  a  neo-Platonist,  Ammonius  appears  to  have 
devoted  most  of  his  attention  to  the  works  of  Aristotle. 
Commentaries  on  some  of  these  are  all  that  remains  of  his. 
reputedly  numerous  writings.  Of  the  commentaries  we 
have— 1.  One  on  the  Isagoge  of  Porphyry,  published  at 
Venice,  1500,  fol.;  2.  One  on  the  Categories,  Venice,  1503, 
fol.,  the  authenticity  of  which  is  doubted  by  Brandis;  3. 
One  on  the  Be  Interpretatione,  Venice,  1503,  foL  01 
each  of  the  commentaries  there  are  several  Latin  transla 
tions,  and. the  three  have  been  published  in  a  collected 
form,  with  a  Latin  translation,  Venice,  1546,  3  vols.  8vo. 
They  are  also  printed  in  Brandis'  Scholia  to  Aristotle, 
forming  the  fourth  volume  of  .the  Berlin  Aristotle.  Tho 
special  section  on  fate  has  been  published  separately  by 
Orelli,  Alex.  Aphrod.  Ar.im.onii  et  all.  de  Fato  quae  super- 
sunt,  Zurich,  1824.  A  life  of  Aristotle,  generally  ascribed 
to  Ammonius,  but  with  more  accuracy  to  John  Philoponus, 
is  often  prefixed  to  editions  of  Aristotle.  It  has  been 
printed  separately,  with  Latin  translation  and  Scholia,  at 
Leyden,  1621,  and  again  at  Hehnstadt,  1606.  Other  com- 
mentaries on  the  Topics  and  the  first  six  books  of  tho 
Metaphysics  still  exist  in  manuscript.  Of  the  value  of  the 
logical  writings  of  Ammonius  there  are  various  opinions. 
PrantL  perhaps  the  highest  recent  authority,  speaks  of  them 
with  great  but  hardly  merited  contempt  (Geschichte  der 
Logik,  i.  612).  (For  list  of  his  works,  see  Fabricius, 
Bibliotheca  Graica,  v.  704-707;  and  also  Brandis,  Memoiii 
of  the  Berlin  Academy,  1833.) 

AMMONIUS,  siirnamed  Saccas,  or  "  The  Sack  Carrier," 
from  the  fact  of  his  having  been  obliged  in  the  early  part 
of  his  life  to  gain  his  livelihood  by  acting  as  a  porter  n 
the  market,  lived  at  Alexandria  during  the  2d  century 
.A.D.,  and  died  there  241  a.d.  Very  little  is  known  of  the 
events  of  his  life.  He  is  said  by  Porphyiy  to  have  been 
born  of  Christian  parents,  and  to  have  belonged  originally 
to  their  faith,  from  which  he  afterwards  apostatised. 
Eusebius  (Church  History,  vi.  19)  denies  this  apostasy, 
and  affirms  that  Animonius  continued  a  Christian  to  the 
end  of  his  life.  It  is  clear,  however,  that  Eusebius  is 
referring  to  another  Ammonius,  a  Christian  who  lived  at 
Alexandria  during  the  3d  century  a.d.  Ammonius,  after 
long  study  and  meditation,  opened  a  school  for  philosophy 
in  Alexandria.  Among  his  pupils  were  Hcrennius,  the 
twoOrigens,  Longinus,  and,  most  distinguished  of  all, 
Plotinus,  who  in  his  search  for  true  wisdom  found  himself 
irresistibly  attracted  by  Ammonius,  remained  bis  close 
companion  for  eleven  years,  and  in  all  his  later  philosophy 
professed  to  be  the  mere  exponent  of  his  great  mas-«r. 
Ammonius  himself  designedly  wrote  nothing,  and  the 
doctrines  taught  in  his  school  were,  at  least  during  his  life, 
kept  secret,  after  the  fashion  of  the  old  Pythagorean 
society.  Thus,  while  all  the  later  developments  of  neo- 
Platonism  are  in  a  general  way  referred  to  him  as  their 
originator,  little  is  known  of  his  special  tenets.  From  the 
notices  of  Hierocles,  a  scholar  of  Plutarch,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  (5th  century  a.d.,  preserved  in  Photius,  we 
learn  that  his  fundamental  doctrine  was  an  eclecticism,  or 
union  of  Plato  and  Aristotle.  He  attempted  to  show  that 
a  system  of  philosophy,  common  to  both  and  higher  than 
their  special  views,  was  contained  in  their  writings.  He 
thus,  according  to  his  admirers,  put  an  end  to  the  inter- 
minable disputes  of  the  rival  schools.  What  other  elements 
Ammonius  included  in  his  eclectic  system,  and  in  par- 
ticular how  he  stood  related  to  the  Jewish  and  Christian 
theosophies,  are  points  on  which  no  information  can  be 
procured.     Few  direct  references  to  him  exist  and  c-a 


'44 


A  M  M  —  A  M  M 


theso  are  not  of  unquestionable  authority.  He  un- 
doubtedly originated  the  neo-Platonic  movement,  but  it 
cannot  be  determined  to  what  extent  that  philosophy,  as 
known  to  us  through  Plotinus  and  Proclus,  represents  his 
ideas.  Eusebius  (Church  History,  vi.  19)  mentions  some 
Christian  works  by  Ammonius.  As  Porphyry  expressly 
tells  us  that  Ammonius  the  philosopher  wrote  nothing, 
Eusebius  must  be  referring  to  the  later  Christian  of  the 
same  name.  To  this  later  Ammonius  belongs  the  i 
saron,  or  Harmony  of  the  Four  Gospels,  sometimes  ascribed 
to  the  philosopher.  (See  Fab'ricius,  Bibliotheca  Graeca, 
v.  701,  713;  and  Zeller,  Phil.  d.  Griechen,  2d  cd.,  iii.  2, 
398,  note  6.)  On  Ammonius  the  philosopher,  besides 
general  works  on  the  Alexandrian  school  and  the  history 
of  philosophy,  see  Rosier,  De  Commentitiit  Philosophies 
Ammoniacce  Fraudibus  et  2\Toxis,  Tubingen,  1786;  and 
Dehaut,  Fssai  Historique  sur  la  Vie  el  la  Doctrine 
d'Ammonitu  Saccas,  Brussels,  1836. 

AMMUNITION  in  its  general  sense  comprises  not  only 
the  powder  and  projectiles  emploj-ed  in  guns  of  all  classes, 
but  also  all  stores  directly  connected  with  artillery  fire,  such 
as  friction-tubes,  fuses,  percussion-caps,  and  rockets. 

Gunpowder,  as  manufactured  in  England,  consists  of  75 
parts  of  saltpetre,  15  parts  of  charcoal,  and  10  parts  of 
-sulphur,  reduced  to  a  fine  powder  and  mechanically  mixed 
together,  pressed  into  a  cake,  and  granulated  to  a  size 
varying  according  to  the  purpose  which  it  is  designed  to 
fulfil.  In  cannon,  a  large  grain  is  necessary  for  regular 
and  thorough  burning,  a  fine  powder  choking  up  the  inter- 
stices, and  so  preventing  the  flame  from  finding  its  way 
through  the  entire  charge.  On  the  other  hand,  a  large 
grain  is  blown  out  of  a  small  piece  before  it  is  burnt  to 
the  centre.  For  the  very  heavy  guns  recently  introduced 
into  the  British  service  powder  formed  into  "  pellets  "  or 
"  pebbles  "  has  been  adopted,  by  which  the  pressure  of  the 
gas  is  kept  up  till  the  shell  leaves  the  muzzle,  without 
being  at  any  instant  excessive  and  likely  to  injure  the 
gun.  Modified  forms  of  powder  and  gun-cotton  have  been 
employed  experimentally  as  the  charges  of  guns. 

For  heavy  guns  or  cannon  the  charge  is  carefully 
weighed  and  made  up  in  a  serge  cartridge  sewn  with 
worsted,  which  entirely  consumes  in  firing — any  residue  left 
ignited  in  the  bore  being  liable  to  cause  explosion  when  the 
cartridge  of  the  succeeding  round  is  rammed  down  on  it, 
and  so  to  blow  off  the  arms  of  the  gunner  using  the  sponge 
stave.  The  shell  or  other  projectile  employed  is  forced 
home  on  the  cartridge  (vide  fig.  1)  in  muzzle-loading 
guns.  In  breech-loader3  the  shell  is  introduced  first,  and 
pressed  into  the  shot  chamber,  beyond  which  it  can  only 
pass  by  the  "  lands  "  of  the  rifling  cutting  into  the  lead 
coat,  which  is  effected  by  the  explosion  uf  the  charge. 
The  cartridge  is  pressed  forward  against  the  base  of  the 
projectile. 

Rifled  guns—  that  is,  guns  constructed  to  impart  rotation 
to  the  projectiles  they  discharge — have  superseded  smooth- 
bored  cannon  in  the  armaments  of  all  civilised  nations ; 
elongated  projectiles,  which  are  impeded  by  the  resistance 
of  the  air  much  less  than  spherical  ones,  being  in  all  cases 
employed.      Fig.    1  shows  a  section  of  the  bore  of  the 


*"ia.  1.— 1, 1,  wronght-lron  colls ;  5,  steel ;  8,  copper  studs ;  4,  worsted  braids. 

muzzle-loading  gun,  whose  projectiles  are  made  to  rotate 


by  means  of  gun-metal  studs  which  fit  in  the  spiral  grooves 
of  the  bore.  The  following  kinds  of  projectiles  aro  fired 
from  rifled  cannon  in  the  British  service : — Common  shell, 
Shrapnel  shell,  Palliser  shell  and  shot,  and  case-shot. 
Light  balls,  carcasses,  and  spherical  shells  are  discharged 
from  smooth-bored  mortars.  The  two  last  mentioned,  as 
well  as  spherical  Shrapnel,  round  shot,  grape,  and  case,  are 
fired  from  smooth-bored  guns. 

Common  shell  for  rilled  guns  are  simply  hollow  elongated 
projectiles  filled  with  powder,  which  is  fired  by  the  action 
of  a  fuse,  and  bursts  the  shell  with  great  violence,. acting 
in  walls  or  earth  into  which  it  has  penetrated  like  a  small 
mine,  the  largest  shells,  which  are  twelve  inches  in  diameter, 
containing  nearly  37  lb.  of  powder.  Gun  cotton,  nitro- 
glycerine, and  other  substances,  have  been  tried  for  burst- 
ing purposes,  but  it  has  been  found  very  difficult  to  prevent 
premature  explosion  from  the  sudden  shock  of  discharge 
of  the  gun.  Picrate  of  potash,  or  "  picric  powder,"  has 
been  recommended  as  stronger  than  gunpowder  and  quite 
cafe,  but  it  is  not  as  yet  adopted.  Common  shells  are 
generally  fired  at  earthworks,  buildings,  and  wooden  ships. 
When  carried,  as  in  English  men-of-war,  filled  and  fused 
with  percussion  fuses,  they  can  be  discharged  as  rapidly  as 
shot.  The  most  terrible  instance  of  their  use  in  history  is 
the  entire  destruction  of  the  Turkish  frigates  by  tho 
Russian  fleet  at  Sinope  on  November  30th,  1853.  At  the 
battle  of  Sedan  in  1870  the  Prussians  made  such  havoe 
among  the  crowded  French  troops  that  the  ground  became 
covered  with  "  heaps  of  flesh  and  rags ; "  and  a  similar 
result  was  produced  by  the  fire  of  mortars  concentrated  on 
the  Russian  troops  in  the  Redan  at  the  termination  of  the 
siege  of  SebastopoL  The  slaughter  in  the  two  last  named 
instances  is,  however,  to  be  attributed  to  the  concentration 
of  fire  on  masses  of  men  rather  than  to  the  description  of 
shell  used,  for  the  showers  of  bullets  ejected  by  Shrapnel 
shell  would  have  struck  many  more  men,  although  the 
ghastly  spectacle  of  dismembered  human  bodies  would  not 
have  been  exhibited. 

Shrapnel  shell  are  hollow  projectiles  containing  bullets 
and  a  very  small  bursting  charge.  Fie.  2  exhibits  the 
construction  of  the  Boxer  Shrapnel 
shell  for  the  40-pounder  breech-load- 
ing Armstrong  gun,  and  is  a  good 
specimen  of  this  class  of  projectile. 
The  shell  follows  the  usual  course  of 
flight  up  to  within  about  100  yards 
of  the  object,  when  the  time  fuse,  if 
properly  set,  fires  the  bursting  charge, 
and  opens  the  shell  by  splitting  it 
along  certain  grooves  forming  lines 
of  least  resistance.  The  bullets  and 
fragments  then  continue  their  course 
in  the  form  of  a  shower  of  missiles. 
This  class  of  shell  was  designed  for 
smooth-bore  guns  by  General  Shrap- 
nel. It  was  used  with  great  effect 
during  the  Peninsular  war,  especially 
in  clearing  the  breach  and  ramparts 
of  St  Sebastian  of  defenders,  over 
the  heads  of  the  English  storming 
party,  who  drew  back  into  the  ditch 
for  a  time.    The  projectile  has  never  | 

been    understood    and     thoroughly  k — ■ — 

taken  up  by  foreign  powers,  and  has  ^£!&ffiZ*££t 
never  been   used  to  full  advantage    iron  or  mud  steel ;  s,  lead; 
on   service.     In  skilful  .hands  it  is     6'  I"1I>er- 
capable  of  producing  results  far  bevond  any  that  have  as 
yet  been  achieved. 

The  Armstrong  segment  shell  fulfils  the  same  general 
purpose, — that  is  to  say,  it  is  designed  to  sweep  down  bodies 


AMMUNITION 


745 


of  troops,  but  ft  opens  rather  more  suddenly,  segments  of 
iron  taking  the  place  of  lead  and  antimony  bullets,  which 
segments  being  built  up  in  a  ring  with  the  bursting  charge 
in  the  centre,  are  dispersed  more  widely  when  the  shell 
opens  than  the  bullets  of  the  Shrapnel  The  segment  shell 
consequently  is  rather  suited  for  the  action  of  a  percussion 
fuse  on  striking  the  head  of  a  column  of  men,  or  the  ground 
close  in  front  of  it.  In  this  way  results  have  been  obtained 
which  are  out  of  all  proportion  to  anything  that  has  ever 
occurred  in  actual  service.  At  Dartmoor  'in  1869  the 
average  number  of  hits  for  every  segment  shell  fired  durii.g 
the  series  of  experiments,  including  failures  of  all  kinds, 
was  1 7*1.  The  meaning  of  this  estimate  maybe  appre- 
ciated bj  applying  it  to  some  action.  For  example,  at 
Waterloo  the  English  artillery  fired  9467  rounds.  On  the 
Dartmoor  scale  this  would  give  161,885  casualties.'  This 
result  shows  that  after  making  the  most  liberal  deductions 
for  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  war,  appalling  effects 
might  be  produced  by  modern  artillery  with  segment  or 
Shrapnel  shells. 

Palliser  shell  and  shot  are  projectiles  made  with  specially 
hard  and  rigid  heads,  with  the  object  of  piercing  the  sides 
of  armour-clad  vessels.  The  form  of  the  head,  which  is 
termed  "ogival,"  is  seen  inside  the  gun  in  Fig.  1.  A  point  of 
this  shape  causes  the  resistance  of  the  plate  to  fall  on  the 
shell  as  an  increasing  pressure,  acting  inwards  towards 
points  distributed  along  the  axis,  rather  than  as  the  full 
sudden  blow  that  would  be  experienced  by  a  round  shot 
This  enables  chilled  iron  to  be  used,  which  has  great  hard- 
ness and  crushing  strength,  but  is  very  brittle.  Sir  W. 
Palliser  first  proposed  chilled  projectiles ;  subsequently 
mottled  iron  projectiles  with  chilled  heads  have  been  used. 
Sir  J.  Whitworth  has  obtained  great  results  with  flat^headed 
projectiles  of  a  special  quality  of  steel,  which  have  been  made 
to  penetrate  iron  plates  at  an  angle  even  more  oblique  than 
45°.  Solid  and  hollow  shot,  as  well  as  shell,  have  been 
employed  against  plates.  The  shot,  having  thicker  sides 
or  walls,  have  some  advantage  in  penetration.  Shells,  by 
their  explosion,  destroy  wood  backing  better  than  shot, 
when  the  front  plating  is  not  too  thick  for  them  to  pene- 
trate. They  are  charged  with  powder  through  a  filling 
hole  in  the  base  of  the  shell,  closed  with  a  strong  screw 
plug.  No  fuse  is  required,  impact  against  thick  iron  being 
sufficient  to  explode  the  bursting  charge  of  a  shell  without 
any  fuse.  The  greatest  penetration  that  has  yet  been 
obtained  in  armour  was  achieved  by  the  35-ton  Woolwich 
gun  (termed  the  Woolwich  "  infant "),  at  Shoeburyness  on 
June  20th,  1872,  the  head  of  a  Palliser  projectile  passing 
entirely  through  18i  inches  of  iron  ancTlfi  of  teak,  a  thick- 
ness of  armour  exceeding  that  of  any  iron-clad  vessel  afloat. 

Solid  shot  have  gradually  disappeared  since  the  introduc- 
tion of  rifled  guns,  and  the  reasons  are  obvious.  A  round 
shot  fired  from  a  smooth-bored  gun,  after  its  first  graze, 
continued  to  ricochet  in  a  straight  line;  it  produced,  there-' 
fore,  a  considerable  moral  effect,  and  on  smooth  ground 
was  actually  formidable.  A  rifled  shot,  on  the  other  hand, 
Is  violently  deflected  after  each  graze,  from  the  fact  that 
it  is  rotating  rapidly  as  it  touches  the  ground,  and  this, 
coupled  with  its  liability  to  bury  itself,  detracts  greatly 
from  its  efficiency.  Shells  for  any  rifled  gun  may  be  made 
of  such  length  as  to  bring  them  to  the  same  wight  as  the 
corresponding  shot,  which  wa3  not  the  case  with  smooth- 
bore projectiles,  they  being  all  of  one  size  instead  of  one 
weigM.  In  short,  Palliser  shell  with  thick  walls  (fired  as 
hollow  shot)  excepted,  the  only  projectiles  of  the  shot  class 
now  employed  with  rifled  guns  are  case  shot.  Owing,  how- 
ever, to  the  fact  that  the  charge  of  a  rifled  gun  vpries  from 
| th  to  \th.  the  weight  of  the  projectile,  while  in  smooth- 
borod  guns  it-was  sometimes  as  great  as  £d  that  of  the  shot, 
the  effect  of  rifled  case  is  comparatively  weak.    At  any  time 

V-EF* 


the  range  of  case  shot  hardly  exceeds  300  yards,  while 
its  efficiency  depends  on  the  ground  along  which  it  bounds 
being  haid  and  leveL  Each  shot  consists  of  a  number  of 
balls  enclosed  in  a  thin  metal  cylinder,  which  breaks  up 
in  the  gun,  the  balls  scattering  from  the  muzzle,  but  sweep, 
ing  the  ground  with  great  effect  under  favourable  circum- 
stances. Grape  differs  only  in  the  balb  being  larger.  At 
the  battle  of  Friedland,  at  the  bridge  of  Lodi,  and  at 
Sebastopol,  grape  and  case  were  fired  with  great  effect. 

Time  and  percussion  fuses  have  been  mentioned.  Time 
fuses  are  those  which  open  a  shell  at  any  given  time, 
whether  in  the  air  or  during  penetration.  Fig.  2  shors 
the  "  Boxer  9-sacond  fuse  "  for  breech-loading  guns,  fixed 
in  the  shell.  On  the  shell  moving,  the  hammer  in  the  head, 
by  its  inertia,  shears  a  copper  wire,  fires  a  detonating  patch 
of  composition  beneath  it,  and  lights  the  fuse  composi- 
tion. .  This  burns  until  it  reaches  the  point  at  which  a 
hole  is  bored  in  the  fuse,  when  it  flashes  down  the  channel 
shown  on  the  left  side  of  the  cut,  and  fires  the  powder 
primer  and  bursting  charge  of  loose  powder.  The  action 
of  this  fuse  therefore  depends  on  its  correct  boring  and 
regular  burning.  A  percussion  fuse  is  one  that  acts  on 
impact  or  graze.  Fig.  3  shows  the  Pettman  general  service 
fuse.  On  the  first  movement  of  the 
shell,  the  detonating  ball  A,  and  the 
plugs  above  and  below  it,  by  their  '" 
inertia,  crush  the  lead  eap  C,  and  shear 
the  copper  pin  above  F.  During  flight 
the  ball  becomes  detached  from  the 
upper  or  steady  plug  B,  and  on  im- 
pact is  fired  by  its  momentum  against 
the  part  in  front  of  it.  The  steady  plug 
itself  has  also  a  ring  of  detonating 
composition,  DD,  which,  should  the 
plug  fail  to  escape  from  the  detonating 
ball,  and  so  hold  against  it,  is  thrown  Fio.  %.— l,  copper  part»;  a, 
against  the  little  plain  ball  E.  The  ^^M-  *•  '<**• 
flash  in  either  case  acts  down  the  tube-F,  and  fires  the  burst- 
ing charge  of  the  shell.  This  fuse-  is  made  not  to  explode 
against  a  wave,  being  chiefly  used  for  sea'service.  It  acts 
both  with  smooth-bored  and  rifled  guns.  For  land  service 
more  sensitive  ones  are  employed  to  explode  on  graze. 

Friction  tubes   are   copper  tubes   driven  with  mealed 
powder,  and  pierced  from  end  to  end.     A  friction  bar  in 


r\ 


the  head  is  rubbed  against  patches  of  de- 
tonating composition  by  pulling  a  lanyard, 
which  hooks  into  a  loop  at  the  end  of  it 
The  tube  is  entered  in  the  vent  of  a  gun, 
which  is  thus  fired  by  pulling  the  lanyard. 

For  mitrailleuses  and  breech-loading  small 
arms,  lead  bullets  or  lead  and  tin  bullets, 
fixed  in  central-fire  cartridges,  are  used.  The 
cases  are  made  of  sheet  brass,  with  a  thick 
base  disc  containing  a  cap  chamber,  cap,  and 
anviL  Fig.  4  shows  the  Boxer-Henry  am- 
munition for  the  Martini-Henry  rifle.  These 
metal-cased  cartridges  are  not  liable  to  ex- 
plode in  store,  even  from  the  firing  of  a  small 
charge  of  powder  confined  inside  the  same 
packing-case  with  them.  They  admit  of  a 
very  rapid  rate  of  firing. .  The  Gatling  mitrail- 
leuse has  discharged  657  rounds  in  two 
minutes  at  Shoeburyness.  Tha  Martini- 
Henry  rifle  has  fired  25  rounds  in  a  minute. 

Rockets  are  projectiles  containing  composi-  r,§"r^..1*2;  <^. 
tion  -which,  as  it  bufns,  generates  sufficient  j>re0rn;\WTOang" 
gas  to  drire  forward  trie  rocket  by  an  action  «,  6,miii-tio»rd| 
resembling  that  of  the  recoil  of  a  gun.  Of  '•  »"«'-?•"- 
rockets  there  are  three  kinds :  first,  war  rockets,  with 
iron  cases,  introduced  by  Sir  W.  Congreve,  and  subsequently 


we 


A  M  N  —  A  M  O 


Fia. 


orougut  by  Mr  Ilale  to  the  form  shown  in  Fig.  5.     Con- 

greve  rockets  were  kept  point  first  by  sticks  screwed  into 

their  bases,  which  acted  on  the  principle 

of  the  feathers   of  an   arrow.     The    Hale 

rocket  is  kept  point  first  by  rotation,  caused 

by  the  gas  escaping  from  the  vents  pressing 

ugainst  the  curved  shields.      The   second 

class  of  rockets  are  signal  rockets,  made  of 

paper,  and  containing  stars,   which  throw 

a  bright  light  in  falling.     The  third  class 

are  the  rockets  used  to  carry  a  line  and 

establish  communication  between  a  wrecked 

vessel  and  the  sea-shore.  (c.  o.  B.) 

AMNESTY  (d/xnj(m'a,obb:vion),  an  act  of 
grace  by  which  the  supreme  power  in  a  state 
restores  those  who  may  have  been  guiltyof  anyoffence  against 
it  to  the  position  of  innocent  persons.  It  includes  more  than 
pardon,  inasmuch  as  it  obliterates  all  legal  remembrance 
of  the  offence.  It  is  chiefly  exercised  towards  asso<  •' 
of  political  criminals,  and  is  sometimes  granted  absolutely, 
though  more  frequently  there  are  certain  specified  excep- 
tions. Thus  in  the  case  of  the  earliest  recorded  amnesty, 
that  of  Thrasybulus  at  Athens,  the  thirty  tyrants  and  a 
few  others  were  expressly  excluded  from  its  operation  ;  and 
the  amnesty  proclaimed  on  the  restoration  of  Charles  II. 
did  not  extend  to  those  who  had  taken  part  in  the  execu- 
tion of  his  father.  Other  celebrated  amnesties  arc  that 
proclaimed  by  Napoleon  on  13th  March  1815,  from  which 
thirteen  eminent  persons,  including  Talleyrand,  were 
excepted;  the  Prussian  amnesty  of  10th  August  1840; 
and  the  general  amnesty  proclaimed  by  the  Emperor 
Francis  Joseph  of  Austria  in  1857.  The  last  Act  of 
amnesty  passed  in  Great  Britain  is  20  Geo.  II.,  c.  52, 
which  proclaimed  a  pardon  to  those  who  had  taken  part  in 
the  second  Jacobite  rebellion. 

AMOL,  or  Amdx,  a  town  of  Persia,  in  the  province  of 
Mazanderan,  about  12  milc3  above  the  mouth  of  tholleraz, 
a  river  which  flows  into  the  Caspian  Sea.  It  is  not 
walled,  and  is  now  a  place  of  no  great  importance,  but 
in  and  around  it  there  are  ruins  and  ancient  buildings 
which  bear  witness  to  its  former  greatness.  Of  these  the 
most  conspicuous  is  the  magnificent  mausoleum  of  Seyed 
Quam-u-deen,  king  of  Sari  and  Amol,  who  died  in  1378. 
At  Amol  there  is  a  bridge  of  twelve  arches  over  the  Hcraz, 
and  the  bazaars  of  the  town  are  large  and  well  supplied. 
The  population  is  about  40,000,  but  a  great  number  of 
these  leave  the  city  in  summer  to  tend  their  flocks. 

AMONTONS,  GmLLATTME,  a  celebrated  French  ex- 
perimental philosopher,  was  the  son  of  an  advocate  who 
had  left  his  native  province  of  Normandy  and  established 
himself  at  Paris,  where  ths  subject  of  this  notice  was  born 
on  the  31st  August  1663.  The  exertions  of  genius  fre- 
quently take  a  particular  direction  from  accidental  circum- 
stances. A  severe  illness  with  which  Amontons  was 
afflicted  in  his  early  youth  had  the  effect  of  rendering  him 
almoet  entirely  deaf,  and  consequently  of  secluding  him  in 
a  great  measure  from  the  ordinary  in  tercourse  of  society. 
Being  compelled  by  this  accident  to  depend  for  his  enjoy- 
ments on  the  resources  of  his  own  mind,  he  began  to  take 
great  pleasure  in  the  construction  of  machines  of  various 
kinds,  and  in  the  study  of  the  laws  of  mechanics,  a  path 
of  inquiry  which  he  pursued  through  life  with  unremitting 
ardour  and  distinguished  success.  One  of  the  first  objects 
which  engaged  his  attention  was  the  discovery  of  the 
perpetual  motion, — an  attempt  which,  though  necessarily 
unsuccessful,  was  productive  of  greater  advantage  to  him 
than  it  has  usually  been  to  thoso  who  have  pursued  that 
vain  chimera,  Amontons  devoted  himself  particularly  to 
tho  improvement  of  instruments  employed  in  physical 
experiments,  a  subject  which  requires  the  finest  replica- 


tions of  mechanical  principles,  and  whicli  till  that  time  had 
not  met  with  a  due  share  of  attention.  In  1687,  before  he 
had  attained  his  2  1th  year,  he  presented  to  the  Academy 
of  Sciences  an  hygrometer  of  his  own  invention,  which  was 
received  with  approbddon  by  that  learned  body.  In  1695 
he  published  the  only  work  which  he  has  given  to  the 
world.  It  was  dedicated  to  tho  Academy,  and  entitled 
Jiemarques  et  Experiences  Physiques  sur  la  Construction 
d'tin  XouvelClcpsydre,  sur  les  Baromilres,  les  Thermci,, 
et  les  Hygromclrcs.  After  Huyghens's  beautiful  application 
of  the  pendulum  to  the  regulation  of  the  motion  of  clocks, 
any  attempt  to  revive  tho  clepsydra,  an  incommodious 
instrument,  and  not  susceptible  of  much  accuracy,  might 
seem  to  subject  its  author  to  the  imputation  of  not  suf- 
ficiently appreciating  the  great  importance  of  a  discovery 
which  has  so  completely  changed  the  face  of  astronomical 
science ;  but  the  object  of  Amontons  was  to  produce  an 
instrument  capable  of  measuring  time  on  board  ship,  in 
circumstances  where  the  motion  of  the  vessel  rendered 
such  timekeepers  as  were  then  known  useless.  The 
machine  which  he  constructed  is  said  to  have  been 
extremely  ingenious,  and  probably  differed  entirely  froin 
those  of  the  ancients,  among  whom  the  clepsydra  was  in 
common  use.  In  1689  Amontons  was  admitted  into  the 
Academy  of  Sciences,  the  Memoirs  of  which  ho  enriched 
with  many  important  contributions.  The  first  paper 
which  he  presented  after  his  admission  was  one  on  the 
theory  of  friction,  a  subject  then  involved  in  great 
obscurity,  and  on  which  his  inquiries  tended  to  throw  con- 
siderable light.  After  that  appoared  in  succession  de- 
scriptions of  a  new  thermometer,  and  of  numerous  experi- 
ments made  with  the  barometer  relative  to  the  nature  and 
properties  of  air, — a  detailed  account  of  all  which  is  given 
in  the  history  of  the  Academy.  In  the  course  of  these 
investigations  he  found  that  the  boiling  point  of  watei 
varies  with  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere,  a  discovery 
made  almost  contemporaneously  in  England  by  Dr  Halley. 
By  his  countrymen  he  is  generally  regarded  as  the  inventor 
of  the  telegraph;  and  he  had  the  honour  of  exhibiting  the 
methods  by  which  he  proposed  to  accomplish  the  object  in 
view  before  some  members  of  the  royal  family.  It  appears, 
however,  from  a  paper  read  by  Dr  Hooke  to  the  Royal 
Society  in  1684,  that  that  ingenious  philosopher  had 
brought  the  telegraph,  in  theory  at  least,  to  a  state  of  far 
greater  maturity  than  Amontons,  and  nearly  20  years 
earlier.  The  experiments  of  the  latter  were  made  about 
the  year  1702.  It  may  be  regarded  as  a  curious  fact  in 
the  history  of  inventions,  that  although  the  great  import- 
ance of  telegraphic"  communication  is  obvious,  and  the 
method  of  accomplishing  it  was  clearly  explained  by  Hooke, 
and  its  practicability  demonstrated  by  Amontons,  it  con- 
tinued to  be  regarded  as  of  no  practical  value,  and  was  not 
regularly  applied  to  useful  purposes  till  nearly  a  century 
afterwards,  at  the  time  of  the  French  Revolution. 
Amontons  died  in  1705,  aged  42. 

AMOOR,  Amotje,  or  Amlts,  a  large  and  important  river 
of  eastern  Asia,  formed  by  the  confluence  of  the  Argun 
and  the  Shilka,  at  a  place  called  Ust  Strelkoi,  in  53°  19'  N. 
lat.  and  121°  50' E.  long.  Both  these  rivers  come  from 
the  south-west:  the  Argun,  or  Kerulen  as  it  is  called  "above 
Lake  Kulon,  through  which  it  flows  about  half-way  between 
its  source  and  Ust  Strelkoi,  rises  near  Mount  Kentei,  in 
49°  N.  lat.  and  109°  E.  long. ;  tho  Shilka  is  formed  by  the 
union  of  the  Onon  and  the  Ingoda,  both  of  which  rise  in 
the  Kingan  mountains,  not  far  from  j.he  source  of  the 
Argun.  The  Amoor  proper  flows  at  first  in  a  south-easterly 
direction  for  about  800  miles,  as  Jar  as  47°  42'  lat. ;  it  then 
turns  to  the  north-cast,  and  after  a  total  course  of  over 
1600  miles  discharges  itself  into  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk, 
opposite  to  the  island  of  Saghalien.     Its  principal  tribu- 


A  M  U  —  A  JBL  (J 


74Y 


taries  from  the  south  are  the  Songari,  which  the  Chinese 
consider  to  be  the  true  head  river  of  the  Amoor,  and  the 

Ussuri;  from  the  north  it  receives  the  Zeya,  the  Bureia, 
the  Gyrin,  and  the  Omogun.  The  climate  of  the  valley  of 
the  Amoor  varies  very  much  in  different  parts  :  in  the 
upper  portion  of  its  course  there  are  long  and  cold  winters 
and  short  summers;  as  the  river  descends  into  more  southern 
latitudes  the  rigour  of  the  climate  relaxes,  and  the  heat 
becomes  almost  tropical ;  the  vegetation  is  rich  and  luxu- 
riant, and  large  forests  of  oaks,  limes,  and  elms  replace 
barren  larches  and  firs ;  while  on  the  lower  Amoor  the  cold 
again  to  a  certain  extent  prevails,  and  at  the  mouth  the 
river  is  ice-bound  for  more  than  half  the  year,  a  circum- 
stance which  greatly  impairs  its  otherwise  admirable  facilities 
for  navigation.  The  river  is  abundantly  stocked  with  fish, 
and  the  mountains  near  it  are  believed  to  contain  iron  and 
gold.  The  Amoor  became  known  to  the  Kussians  in  1639, 
and  they  resolved  to  annex  it  to  their  empire  along  with 
the  territory  through  which  it  flows.  In  1651  a  party  of 
Cossacks,  under  a  bold  leader  named  Khabaroff,  built  a 
fort  at  Albazin,  about  100  miles  below  Ust  StrelkoL  Many 
sanguinary  conflicts  between  the  Chinese  and  the  Russians 
followed.  Albazin  mors  than  once  changed  owners ;  but 
at  last,  in  1689,  a  treaty  was  concluded,  by  which  the 
river  Gorbiza  or  Kerbeche  became  the  easterly  limit,  of  the 
Russian  empire  on  the  Amoor,  the  boundary  stretching 
from  the  source  of  the  Gorbiza,  along  the  Yablonnoi  moun- 
tains, to  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk.  This  state  of  matters  con- 
tinued till  1847,  when  the  Russians  again  began  to  make 
preparations  for  the  conquest  of  the  Amoor  valley.  In 
1850  and  the  three  succeeding  years,  expeditions  were 
sent  up  the  river,  and  the  towns  of  Nikolaevsk,  Marinsk, 
and Blagovchenk  were  founded;  in  1854  a  powerful  flotilla 
Bailed  down  from  Ust  Strelkoi  to  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
A  large  and  very  important  tract  was  added  to  the  Russian 
empire  by  the  cession  in  1858  of  the  whole  left  bank  of 
the  Amoor  and  the  right  bank  below  the  Ussuri,  and  the 
further  cession  in  1860  of  all  the  territory  between  the 
Ussuri  and  the  Eastern  Sea. 

,  AMORITES,  a  powerful  people,  widely  spread  through 
the  Promised-  Land  before  the  settlement  of  the  Israelites, 
belonging  to  the  Canaanitic  stock,  according  to  Gen.  x.  16, 
though  some  think  they  belong  rather  to  the  pre-Canaanitic 
inhabitants  of  the  Jordan  basin  (see  Knobel,  Vblkertafel, 
201,  sq.,  who  refers  them  to  the  Shemitic  race  of  Lud).  In 
all  probability  there  were  incorporated  among  them  the 
remnants  of  the  older  tribe  of  the  Rephaim.  Their  name, 
"  the  high  ones,"  has  by  Ewald  (Gesch.  Israels,  i.  315),  after 
Simonis  (Onomasticon,  s.v.)  been  interpreted  highlanders, 
or  inhabitants  of  the  heights,  as  Canaanites  is  supposed 
to  mean  lowlanders,  or  inhabitants  of  the  plains  (cf.  Num. 
xiii.  29;  Deut.  i.  44;  Josh.  v.  1,  x.  6).  Others  call  this  in 
question,'  and  find  an  explanation-rather  in  the  tallness  of 
stature  by  which  they  seem  to  have  been  distinguished 
(Num.  xiii.  32,  33;  Amos  ii.  9,  cf.  Kurtz,  Gesch.  d.  Alt. 
Bundes,  L  §  45  ;  Pusey,  Minor  Prophets,  174,  n.)  . 

That  thJ9  people  had  a  certain  preponderance  among  the  Canaan- 
itic tribes  is  shown  by  their  name  often  standing  in  Scripture  for 
Canaanites  in  general  (Gen.  xv.  16  ;  Josh.  xxiv.  48  ;  Jud.  vi.  10). 
Their  principal  seat  on  the  west  of  the.  Jordan  was  the  mountains 
of  Judah  and  their  southern  slopes, — to  the  whole  of  which  moun- 
tainous region,  indeed,  the  name  the  Mount  of  the  Amorites  is 
applied  (Gen.  xiv.  7,  13  ;  Num.  xiii.  29  ;  Deut  i.  7,  20,  44;  Josh. 
xL  3  ;  Jud.  i.  36).  We  hear  of  them  also  at  Gibeon,  north-west  of 
Jerusalem  (2  Sam.  xxi.  2),  at  Aijalon,  west  of  Gibeon,  and  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  Philistine  plain  (Jud.  i.  34,  35),  and  in  the 
land  of  Ephraim.  (Gen.  xlviii.  22).  On  the  east  of  Jordan,  after 
having  driven  back  the  Ammonites  and  Moabites,  they  occupied 
the  whole  of  Gilead  and  Bashan,  from  the  Arnon,  the  northern 
limit  of  Moab,  as  far  as  Mount  Hermon,  forming  in  this  region  at 
the  epoch  of  Moses  two  powerful  kingdoms, — that  of  Sihon,  whose 
capital  was  Heshbon,  the  more  southerly ;  and  that  of  Og,  whose 
capital  was  Ashtaroth.  the  more  northerly  (Num.  xxi.  21-36  ;  Deut 


iii.  8,  10  ;  iv.  48).  It  was  with  this  east-Jordanic  section  of  th-s 
Amorites  that  the  Israelites  first  came  into  conflict  After  these 
had  been  subdued,  and  after  the  Israelites  had  crossed  the  Joiian 
and  had  begun  to  capture  the  Canaanitish  towns,  five  of  the  most 
powerful  of  the  Amorite  kings  of  the  western  section  formed  a  con- 
federacy to  oppose  the  advancing  host  (Josh.  x.  6,  sq.)  Yv'hen  this 
combination  had  been  overthrown,  a  final  attempt  at  resistance 
was  made  by  the  more  northerly-portion  of  the  Canaanites,  under 
the  auspices  of  Jabin,  king  of  Hazor ;  and  in  the  united  forces, 
which  were  overthrown  at  the  waters  of  Merom,  Amorites  were 
included  (Josh.  xi.  3).  Those  of  this  and  the  other  tribes  of  the 
Canaanites  who  survived  the  conquests  of  Joshua,  either  gradually 
became  mingled  with  the  Philistines  and  others  of  the  neighbour- 
ing nations,  or  they  continued  to  live  among  the  Israelites  in  the 
condition  of  tributaries  and  slaves  (Josh.  xi.  22  ;  Jud.  i.  34,  35  ; 
1  Kings  ix.  21  ;  2  Chron.  viii.  8).' 

In  old  Egyptian  literature  mention  is  frequently  made,  from  the 
time  of  Sethos  I.,  of  an  Asiatic  people  called  the  Amar  or  Amaor, 
whom  Egyptologers  agree  in  identifying  with  the  Amorites  (Bunsen, 
Egypt's  Place,  voL  iii.  212).  There  is  as  yet  less  agreement  in 
regard  to  the  position  of  their  country.  Brugsch  is  of  opinion  that 
the  people  in  question  are  located  in  the  north  of  Syria,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Orontes  (see  his  Geog.  Inschriflen,  Bd.  ii.  21 ;  Hist. 
cCEgypte,  132,  187).  The  later  researches  of  Chabas,  however, 
have  rendered  the  interpretation  on  which  this  view  depends  very 
doubtful,  and  shown  that  in  all  probability .  their  territory  lies, 
in  entire  harmony  with  the  representations  of  Scripture  regarding 
the  Amorites,  on  the  west  of  the  Dead  Sea  and  south  of  the  land 
of  Judah  (Chabas,  Eludes  sur  VAntiquUe",  267,  f. ;  Eechcrches,  44, 
107.)  Among  the  towns  of  the  Amaor  are  mentioned  Dapur  and 
Kodesh,  evidently  to  be  identified  with  the  scriptural  Debir  and 
Kadesh. 

The  language,  &c,  of  the  Amorites  will  he  more  conveniently 
considered  under  Caxaanites.. 

AMORPHISM  (from  a  privative,  and  /lop^,  form), 
a  term  used  in  chemistry  and  mineralogy  to  denote  the 
absence  of  regular  structure  in  a  body.  Glass,  resin,  coal, 
albuminous  substances,  &c,  are  amorphous,  exhibiting 
uniformity  of  properties  in  every  direction  :  they  have  no 
planes  of  cleavage,  as  crystals  have;  they  conduct  heat 
equally  in  all  directions' ;  and  they  do  not  show  double 
refraction  unless  in  a  constrained  state.  A  moronism  is  not 
peculiar  to  one  kind  of  substances,  for  the  same  molecules 
may  exist  either  in  the  amorphous  or  the  crystalline  state. 
Thus  charcoal  or  lamp-black  is  the  amorphous  form  of  the 
diamond;  sulphur  and  phosphorus,  when  slowly  cooled, 
assume  a  crystalline  arrangement,  but  when  rapidly  cooled 
are  perfectly  homogeneous — the  suddenness  of  transition 
from  the  liquid  or  fused  state  giving-  no  time  for  definite 
arrangement  of  particles. 

AMOS  (not  the  same  as  Amoz,  the  father  of  Isaiah) 
was  an  inhabitant  of  the  district  of  Tekoa,  a  fortified  town 
(2d  Chron.  xi  6)  among  the  hills  of  the  south  of  Judah, 
where  a  breed  of  stunted  sheep  and  goats,  prized,  how- 
ever, for  their  wool  and  hair,  found  a  scanty  pasturage 
(Amos  L  1).  Possibly  he  was  a  common  day  labourer; 
certainly  he  was  far  from  wealthy,  as  the  Jewish  com- 
mentators would  have  him ;  for  though  he  is  called 
a  "noked"  (loc.  cit.),  like  one  of  the  kings  of  Moab 
(2  Kings  iii  4),  he  tells  us  himself  that  he  was  glad  to  x>m- 
bine  this  employment  with  that  of  a  dresser  of  sycateire 
fruit  (vii.  14).  He  may  thus  be  contrasted,  as  the  peasant 
prophet,  with  Isaiah,  the  prophet  of  the  capital  and  thfl 
court.  It  does  not,  however,  follow  that  Amos  was  devoid 
of  such  cultivation  as  could  then  be  had.  Distinctions  of 
rank  were  not,-  among  the  primitive  Semitic  races,  co- 
incident with  those  of  culture ;  it  is  enough  to  refer  to  the 
pre-Mohammedan  Arabs,  whose  poetry  has  been  so  accu- 
rately reproduced  by  Riickert.  And  in  the  case  of  Amos 
there  is  evidence  in  his  own  works  that  he  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  literature  of  his  day.  It  is  true  that 
he  boldly  admits  the  irregularity,  from  an  official  point  of 
view,  of  his  prophetic  ministrations — "  No  prophet  I,  end 
no  prophet's  disciple  I"  (vii.  14);  but  his  discourses  are 
not  only  full  of  references  (sometimes  dubious)  to  the 
book  of  Joel  and  the  Pentateuch,  but  framed,  however 


748 


AM0-A11P 


imperfectly,  on  a  genuine  artistic  plan.  Tkis  is  unmis- 
takably the  case  in  the  discourse  contained  in  i.  3-ii.  1G; 
but  with  greater  or  less  correspondence  to  the  course  of 
thought  in  the  remainder  of  the  book.  Thus,  according 
to  Ewald  (who  aims,  it  is  true,  at  an  unattainable  pre- 
cision), chapters  iii.  and  iv.  consist  of  five  strophes — iii. 
1-8,  iii.  9-15,  iv.  1-3  (incomplete),  iv.  5-11,  iv.  12,  13; 
chapters  v.  and  vi.  of  a  prologue  (v.  1-3)  and  four  strophes 
—v.  4-G,  8,  9;  v.  7, 10-17  j  v.  18-27;  vi.  1-10;  with  a  sort 
of  epilogue  in  vi.  11-14;  And  the  great  critic  De  AVctto 
goes  so  far  as  to  declare  that  no  Hebrew  prophet  has 
shown  an  equal  regard  for  clearness  and  harmony  of  pro- 
portion.    (Comp.  Dr  Pusey,  Minor  Prop/iets,  p.  152.) 

The  date  of  the  first  public  appearance  of  Amos  cannot 
be  ascertained.  From  the  heading  of  the  book  (i.  1), 
which,  though  not  by  the  prophet  himself,  has. the  air  of  a 
genuine  tradition  (Ewald,  Die  Prophetcn,  L  123),  we  learn 
that  he  "saw" — that  is,  prophesied — "two  years  before 
the  earthquake."  This  earthquake  is  referred  to  again  in 
Zech.  xiv.  5,  and,  as  some  think,  in  passages  of  Joel  and 
other  prophets.  It  seems,  therefore,  to  have  constituted 
an  era  in  popular  tradition,  but  is  of  no  significance  for 
chronology,  as  has  been  well  shown  by  Dr  Fusey  (Minor 
PropJiets,  p.  148).  More  to  our  purpose  is  the  former 
part  of  the  heading,  which  limits  the  prophetic  career  of 
Amos  to  the  twenty-five  years  that  Uzziah  and  Jeroboam 
II.  were  contemporary — i.e.,  810-784,  according  to  the 
common  chronology ;  775-750,  according  to  the  Assyrian. 
(Comp.  Schrader,  Die  Keilinsckriftcn  und  das  Alte  Testa- 
ment, p.  120.)  He  flourished,  therefore,  in  the  greatest 
age  of  Hebrew  prophecy.  He  seems  to  have  been  younger 
than  Joel,  to  whose  prophecy  he  makes  several  references, 
and  more  or  less  senior  to  Hosea  and  Isaiah.  This  view 
is  fully  borne  out  by  the  gradual  emergence  of  the  Assy- 
rians on  the  prophetic  horizon.  Altogether  absent  from 
Joel's  prophecy,  they  are  but  vaguely  alluded  to  in  Amos, 
and  first  mentioned  by  name  in  Hosea  and  Isaiah. 

It  was  while  "following  the  flock"  (vii.  14,  15)  that 
Amos  received  a  prophetic  impulse  to  leave  his  home  and 
preach  in  the  sister  country.  The  circumstances  are  on 
several  accounts  worthy  of  notice.  They  indicate — 1.  A 
distinction  between  Hebrew  prophecy,  in  its  mature  stage, 
and  non-Hebrew — viz.,  that  the  former  is  not  dependent 
on  a  special  artificial  training ;  2.  That  though  his  writ- 
ings are  included  in  the  prophetic  canon,  Amos  did  not 
consider  himself  officially  a  prophet  (which  has  a  bearing 
on  the  great  controversy  of  Daniel);  and  3.  That  prophets 
of  the  higher  or  spiritual  order  did  not  recognise  the  revolt 
of  the  first  Jeroboam  (comp.  ix.  11 ;  Hos.  iii  5).  But 
the  prophecies  of  Amos  had  a  wider  scope  than  the  destiny 
of  Israel.  They  show  a  dim  presentiment  of  the  philosophy 
of  history,  and  of  the  reproductive  power  of  revolutions. 
Accordingly,  Syria,  Philistia,  Phoenicia,  Edom,  Ammon, 
Moab,  and  Judah  were  successively  rebuked  by  the  in- 
spired messenger.  But  the  chief  blame  fell  u^on  Israel, 
whose  unparalleled  prosperity  under  Jeroboam  II.  had 
developed  the  germs  of  vices  inconsistent  with  the  religion 
of  Jehovah.  The  denunciations  of  Amos  produced  a  power- 
ful impression.  He  was  expelled  with  contumely  by 
Amaziah,  a  priest  of  the  reactionary  image  cultus  at  the 
frontier  town  of  Bethel  (vii.  10-17). 

It  is  not  to  bo  supposed  that  the  discourses  of  Amos 
were  delivered  exactly  as  they  stand.  This  view,  is  pre- 
cluded by  their  elaborate  literary  character,  and  by  the 
allusions  to  the  prophet's  experience  in  Israel  in  ii.  12,  v. 
10,  13.  He  probably  put  them  together,  with  the  addi- 
tion of  a  grand  Messianic  epilogue,  after  his  return  to 
Tekoa.  There  has  never  been  a  doubt  of  their  genuineness. 
The  text  is  good,  but  there  are  a  few  corrupt  passages. 

Some  of  the  characteristics  of  Amo3  have  been  already 


mentioned.  The  tradition  that  he  was  a  stammerer  (Lascu 
on  an  absurd  etymology  of  his  name),  and  the  statement 
of  Jerome  that  he  was  "  hnperitus  sernioue  (sed  nou 
scientia),"  only  prove  the  incapacity  of  the  ancients  for 
literary  criticism.  The  simplicity  of  his  style  is  that  of 
the  highest  art.  He  delights  in  abrupt  short  clauses,  but 
they  are  linked  together  by  the  closest  parallelism.  And 
the  supposed  rusticity  of  his  dialect  is  deduced  from  the 
spelling  of  only  five  words,  analogies  to  which  may  be 
traced  in  the  great  poem  of  Job.  All  that  we  can  admit 
as  probable  is,  that  the  native  force  and  talent  for  observa- 
tion displayed  by  this  prophet  were  derived  from  his  early 
converse  with  nature  on  the  wild  hills  of  Judah.  His 
imagery,  in  fact,  from  its  freshness  and  appropriateness 
(comp.  ii.  13;  iii.  5,  12;  iv.  2,  9;  v.  19;  vi.  12;  ix.  9), 
almost  reminds  us  of  Dante,  and  entitles  him  to  as  high  a 
place  in  the  history  cf  literature  as  in  that  of  theistic 
religion.  (t.  k.  c.) 

AMOY,  a  city  and  seaport  in  the  province  of  Fo-kicn, 
China,  situated  on  the  slope  of  a  hill,  on  the  south  coast 
of  a  small  and  barren  island  of  the  same  name,  in  24° 
28'  N.  lat.  and  118°  10  E.  long.  It  is  a  largo  and  exceed- 
ingly dirty  place,  about  *>  miles  in  circumference,  and  is 
divided  into  two  portions,  an  inner  and  an  outer  town, 
which  are  separated  from  each  other  by  f.  ridge  of  hilb, 
on  which  a  citadel  of  considerable  strength  has  been  built. 
Each  of  these  divisions  of  the  city  possesses  a  large  and 
commodious  harbour,  that  of  the  inner  town,  or  city  proper, 
being  protected  by  strong  fortifications.  Amoy  may  be 
regarded  as  the  port  of  the  inland  city  of  Chang-chu,  with 
which  it  has  river  communication;  and  its  trade,  both 
foreign  and  coastwise,  is  extensive  and  valuable.  In  1870, 
560  vessels,  exclusive  of  Chinese  junks,  entered  the  port, 
of  an  aggregate  burden  of  224,436  tons;  of  these,  315,  of 
150,171  tons,  were  British.  The  chief  articles  imported 
were  sugar,  rice,  raw  cotton,  and  opium,  as  well  as  cotton 
cloths,  iron  goods,  and  other  European  manufactures;  their 
value  was  £1,915,427.  In  the  same  year,  554  vessels,  of 
226,911  tons,  cleared  the  port,  including  314  British,  of 
150,826  tons;  the  chief  exports  were  tea,  porcelain,  and 
paper,  and  their  value  was  £1,144,046.  It  is  not  pos- 
sible to  give  the  statistics  of  the  trade  that  is  carried  on 
by  means  of  Chinese  junks,  but  it  is  said  to  be  large;  and 
the  native  merchants  are  considered  to  be  among  the 
wealthiest  and  most  enterprising  in  China.  Amoy  was 
captured  by  the  British  in  1841,  after  a  determined  resist- 
ance, and  is  one  of  the  five  ports  that  were  opened  to 
British  commerce  by  the  treaty  of  1842;  it  is  now  open  to 
the  ships  of  all  nations.  The  population  of  Amoy  is  esti- 
mated at  250,000. 

AMPERE,  Andr£-Makie,  the  founder  of  the  science  of 
electro-dynamics,  was  born  at  Lyons  in  January  1775.  He 
took  a  passionate  delight  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  from 
his  very  infancy,  and  is  reported  to  have  worked  out  lengthy 
arithmetical  sums  by  means  of  pebbles  and  biscuit-crumbs 
before  he  knew  the  figures.  His  father  began  to  teach 
him  Latin,  but  left  this  off  on  discovering  the  boy's  greater 
inclination  and  aptitude  for  mathematical  studies.  The 
young  Ampere,  however,  soon  resumed  his  Latin  lessons, 
to  enable  him  to  master  the  works  of  Euler  and  Bernouill:. 
In  later  life  ho  was  accustomed  to  say  that  he  knew  as 
much  about  mathematics  when  he  was  eighteen  as  ever  1<  i 
knew;  but  his  reading  embraced  nearly  the  whole  round  oi 
knowledge, — history,  travels,  poetry,  philosophy,  and  the 
natural  sciences.  At  this  age  he  had  read  the  whole  of  the 
Encyclopedic,  and  with  such  interest  and  attention  that  he 
could  repeat  passages  from  it  fifty  years  after.  When 
Lyons  was  taken  by  the  army  of  the  Conventior  in  1793, 
the  father  of  Ampere,  who,  holding  the  office  of  juge  de 
paix,  had  stood  out  resolutely  against  the  previous  rcvolu- 


AMP-AMP 


749 


tionary  excesses,  was  at  once  thrown  into  prison,  and  soon 
after  perished  on  the  scaffold.  This  event  produced  such 
an  impression  on  the  susceptible  mind  of  Ampere,  that  he 
continued  for  more  than  a  year  in  a  state  little  removed 
from  idiocy.  But  Rousseau's  letters  on  botany  falling  into 
his  hands,  the  subject  engrossed  him,  and  roused  him  from 
his  apathy.  His  passion  for  knowledge  returned.  From 
botany  he  turned  to  the  study  of  the  classic  poets,  and  to 
the  writing  of  verses  himself.  About  this  time  (1796)  an 
attachment  sprang  up,  the  progress  of  which  he  naively 
recorded  in  a  journal  {Amorum).  In  1799  he  was  happily 
married  to  the  object  of  his  attachment.  From  about 
1796  Ampere  gave  private  lessons  at  Lyons  in  mathe- 
matics, chemistry,  and  languages;  and  in  1801  he  removed 
to  Bourg,  as  professor  of  physics  and  chemistry,  leaving 
his  ailing  wife  and  infant  son  at  Lyons.  His  wife  died  in 
1801.  After  two  years'  absence  he  returned  to  Lyons,  on 
his  appointment  as  professor  of  mathematics  at  the 
Lyceum.  His  small  treatise,. Considerations  sur  la  Theorie 
Matfdmatique  du  Jeu  (Lyons,  1802),  in  which  he  success- 
fully solved  a  problem  that  had  occupied  Buffon,  Pascal, 
and  others,  and  demonstrated  that  the  chances  of  play  are 
decidedly  against  the  habitual  gambler,  attracted  consider- 
able attention.  It  was  this  work  that  brought  bim  under 
the  notice  of  M.  Delambre,  whose  recommendation  obtained 
for  him  the  Lyons  appointment,  and  afterwards  (1805)  a 
subordinate  position  in  the  Polytechnic  School  at  Paris, 
where  he  was  elected  professor  of  analysis  in  1809.  Here 
he  continued  to  prosecute  his  scientific  researches  and  his 
multifarious  studies  with  unabated  diligence.  He  was 
admitted  a  member  of  the  Institute  in  1814.  It  is  on  the 
service  that  he  rendered  to  science  in  establishing  the  rela- 
tions between  electricity  and  magnetism,  and  in  developing 
the  science  of  electro-magnetism,  or,  as  he  called  it,  electro- 
dynamics, that  Ampere's  fame  mainly  rests.  On  the  11th 
of  September  1820  he  heard  of  the  discovery  of  Professor 
Oersted  of  Copenhagen,  that  a  magnetic  needle  may  be 
deflected  by  a  voltaic  current.  On  the  18th  of  the  same 
month  he  presented  a  paper  to  the  Academy,  containing  a 
far  more  complete  exposition  of  the  phenomenon,  which  he 
had  in  the  interval  investigated  by  experiment,  and  show- 
ing that  magnetic  defects  can  be  produced,  without  magnets, 
by  aid  of  electricity  alone.  In  particular  he  showed  that 
two  wires  connecting  the  opposite  poles  of  a  battery  attract 
or  repel  each  other  according  as  the  currents  pass  in  the 
same  or  in  opposite  directions.  According  to  the  theory 
of  magnetism  which  Ampere's  subsequent  investigations 
led  him  to  adopt,  every  molecule  of  magnetic  matter  is 
acted  on  by  a  closed  electric  current,  and  magnetisation 
takes  place  in  proportion  as  the  direction  of  these  currents 
approaches  parallelism.  The  whole  field  thus  opened  up 
he  explored  with  characteristic  industry  and  care.  He 
anticipated  the  invention  of  the  electric  telegraph,  having 
suggested  in  1821  an  apparatus  of  the  kind  with  a  sepa- 
rate wire  for  each  letter.  Late  in  life  he  prepared  a 
remarkable  work  on  the  classification  of  the  sciences,  which 
was  published  after  hi3  death.  In  addition  to  this  and 
one  or  two  works  of  less  importance,  he  wrote  a  great 
number  of  memoirs  and  papers  that  appeared  in  scientific 
journals.  He  died  at  Marseilles  in  June  183G.  The  great 
amiability  and  child-like  simplicity  of  Ampere's  character 
are  well  brought  out  in  his  Journal  et  Correspondence, 
published  by  Madame  Chevreux  (Paris,  1872). 

AMPERE,  Jean-Jacqfes-Antoine,  the  only  child  of 
the  preceding,  was  born  at  Lyons,  August  12,  1800.  He 
showed  an  early  preference  for  literary  pursuits,  and  this 
was  strengthened  by  his  intimate  intercourse  with  the 
brilliant  circle  to  whi:h  his  introduction  to '  Madame 
Rccamier's  celebrated  reunions  admitted  him.  He  began 
his  literary  career  as  a  contributor  to  the  Globe  and  Revue 


Franchise,  which  Guizot  conducted  in  opposition  to  the 
government  of  Charles  X.  After  spending  some  time  in 
travel,  he  commenced  a  course  of  lectures  at  the  Athenaeum 
of  Marseilles  in  1830,  the  first  of  which,  De  V  Histoire  dc 
la  Poesie,  he  published.  The  revolution  of  July  led  to  his 
return  to  Paris,  where  he  lectured  at  the  Sorbonne,  till, 
in  1833,  he  succeeded  Andrieux  as  professor  of  the  history 
of  French  literature  in  the  college  of  France.  His  lectures 
here,  which  were  greatly«admired,  form  the  basis  of  seVeral 
works,  particularly  of  his  Histoire  litteraire  de  la  France 
avant  le  12me  Siecle,  3  vols.,  Paris,  1S39,  1840.  Ampere 
was  a  constant  contributor  to  various  periodical  publica- 
tions. He  wrote  for  the  Revue  des  Deux  Ifondes  sprightly 
accounts  of  his  long  journeys  in  Egypt  and  North  America, 
as  well  as  in  various  parts  of  Europe,  which  were  after- 
wards collected  under  the  title,  Litterature  et  Voyages  (2 
vols.,  1834).  His  principal  work  is  the  Histoire  Romaint 
a  Rome  (4  vols.,  1856-64),  a  series  of  papers,  reprinted  in 
part  from  the  Revue  des  Deux  Monies,  showing  shrewd 
sense  and  great  and  varied  learning,  particularly  on 
archaeological  questions,  and  written  in  an  attractive  though 
often  discursive  style.  Ampere  was  officer  of  the  Legion 
of  Honour  from  1846,  and  in  1847  was  admitted  to  the 
French  Academy.  '  He  died  March  27,  1864. 

AMPHIAEAUS,  in  Greek  legend,  a  son  of  Oicles  and 
Hypennnestra,  descended  on  the  paternal  side  from  the 
kingly  seer  Melampus,  and,  like  his  ancestor,  endowed  with 
the  prophetic  gift ;  but  at  the  same  time  known  for  his 
valour  in  the  great  enterprises  of  his  time — the  expedition 
of  the  Argonauts  and  the  hunt  of  the  Calydonian  boar. 
The  expedition,  however,  on  which  the  chief  events  of  his 
life  hinge  is  that  of  the  Seven  against  Thebes,  into  which 
he  was  unwillingly  driven  by  the  treachery  of  his  wife, 
Eriphyle  {Odyssey,  xi.  326),  a  sister  of  Adrastus,  who  then 
ruled  in  Sicyon,  and  by  whom  the  enterprise  was  planned 
to  restore  Polynices  to  the  throne  of  Thebes.  As  prince  of 
Argos,  Amphiaraus  was  in  a  position  to  assist  greatly;  but 
when  called  upon  by  Adrastus  to  take  a  part,  he  declined,  on 
the  ground  that  the  cause  was  unholy,  and  would  end 
fatally.-  His  marriage  with  Eriphyle,  however,  had  not 
only  been  meant  to  heal  previous  quarrels  between  him 
and  Adrastus,  but  was  to  be  a  bond  of  peace  for  the 
future  in  this  way,  that  she  should  always  arbitrate  between 
them.  To  secure  her  favour  now,  Polynices  gave  her  the 
fatal  necklace  which  Cadmus  had  once  given  to  Harmonia, 
and,  though  warned  of  the  consequences,  Eriphyle  accepted  it 
and  decided  against  her  husband.  Knowing  that  he  would 
never  return,  Amphiaraus  enjoined  his  son  Alcmason,  then 
a  boy,  to  avenge  his  death  upon  his  mother;  and  to  his 
children  generally  he  gave  wise  counsel  As  he  stepped  into 
his  chariot  to  depart  he  turned  with  a  look  of  anger  towards 
his  wife,  a  scene  which  was  represented  on  the  chest  of 
Cypselus.  The  assault  of  Thebes  was  disastrous  to  the 
Seven ;  and  Amphiaraus,  pursued  by  Periclymenus,  would 
have  fallen  by  his  spear  had  not  Jupiter,  at  a  critical 
moment,  struck  the  earth  with  a  thunderbolt,  and  caused  il 
to  open  and  swallow  him  with  his  horses,  Thoas  and  Dias, 
his  chariot,  and  his  charioteer,  Baton.  Jupiter  and  Apollo,  it 
is  said  in  the  Odyssey  (xv.  245),  loved  Amphiaraus  dearly; 
yet  he  did  not  reach  an  old  age,  but  fell  at  Thebes,  through 
the  gift  accepted  by  his  wife.  After  death  he  continued, 
as  a  deified  hero,  to  exercise  his  prophetic  power  by  giving 
oracles  on  the  spot  where  he  had  sunk  into  the  earth.  In 
earlier  times  this  was  believed  to  have  happened  at  Harma, 
on  the  way  from  Thebes  to  Potniae,  and  it  was  there  that 
the  oracle  of  Amphiaraus  was  which  Croesus  and  Mar- 
doniu3  consulted  {Herodotus,  L  49,  52;  viii.  134).  After- 
wards this  oracle  yielded  to  that  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Oropus,  where  was  also  a  sanctuary  to  Amphiaraus 
(Jupiter  Amphiaraus,  as  he  was  styled),  with  athletic  auJ 


750 


A  M  P  —  A  i\I  P 


musical  festivals  in  Lis  honour,  and  with  a  sacred  enclosure 
(temenos)  in  which  were  two  springs.  At  one  of  them  he 
was  thought  to  have  risen  from  the  lower  world,  and  hence 
its  water  was  employed  for  no  sacred  purpose.  Invalids 
who  had  been  cured  by  oracular  prescriptions  threw  a  piece 
of  money  in  it  The  water  of  the  other  spring  was  ex- 
cellent to  drink  and  to  bathe  in  ('A/i<£(apdou  kovrpd).  The 
oracle3  were  conveyed  in  dreams,  to  obtain  which  it  was 


necessary  to  fast  for  a  tim,e,  then  to  offer  sacrifice  at  th6 
great  altar  (Pausanias,  L  31,  2),  and  again  to  sacrifice  a 
ram  and  to  sleep  on  its  skin.  The  ruins  of  the  temple, 
with  inscriptions  which  identify  them  as  such,  exist  still 
at  Maurodilissi,  in  the  ancient  Oropia.  In  the  derivation 
of  his  name  from  u/«£i-d/jao/*ai,  the  piety  for  which  Am  phi- 
araus  was  celebrated  is  expressed.  (a.  S.  m.) 


AMPHIBIA 


LINN7EUS  originally  employed  this  term  to  denote  a 
class  of  the  Animal  Kingdom  comprising  crocodiles, 
lizards  and  salamanders,  snakes  and  Cceciliae,  tortoises 
and  turtles,  and  frogs  ;  to  which,  in  the  later  editions  of 
the  Sifstema  Ndtura:,  he  added  some  groups  of  fishes.  In 
Oia  Tableau  Elimenlaire,  published  in  1795,  Cuvier 
I  Linnrcus's  term  in  its  earlier  sense,  but  uses  the 
French  word  "  Reptiles,"  already  brought  into  use  by 
Brisson,  as  the  equivalent  of  Amphibia.  In  addition, 
Cuvier  accepts  the  Linnsean  subdivisions  of  Amphibia- 
Reptilia  for  the  tortoises,  lizards  (including  crocodiles), 
salamanders,  and  frogs;  and  Amphibia-Serpentes  for  the 
snakes,  apodal  lizards,  and  C&cilia:. 

In  1799 l  Brongniart  pointed  out  the  wide  differences 
which  separate  the  frogs  and  salamanders  (which  he  terms 
Batrachia)  from  the  other  reptiles;  and  in  1804,  Latreille,2 
rightly  estimating  the  value  of  these  differences,  though  he 
»U3  not  an  original  worker  in  the  field  of  vertebrate 
zoology,  proposed  to  separate  Brongniart's  Batrachia  from 
the  class  of  Reptilia  proper,  as  a  group  of  equal  value,  for 
which  he  retained  the  Linnaean  name  of  Amphibia. 

Cuvier  went  no  further  than  Brongniart,  and,  in  the 
Rerjne  Animal,  he  dropped  the  term  Amphibia,  and  substi- 
tuted Reptilia  for  it.  Meckel,8  on  the  other  hand,  while 
equally  accepting  Brongniart's  classification,  retained  the 
term  Amphibia  in  its  earlier  Linnsean  sense ;  and  his 
example  has  been  generally  followed  by  German  writers  ; 
as,  for  instance,  by  Stannius,  in  that  remarkable  monument 
of  accurate  and  extensive  research,  the  Sandbuch  der 
Zootomie  (Zweite  Aufiage,  1856). 

In  181 6,  De  BlainviUe,' adopting  Latreille's  view,  divided 
the  Linnsean  Amphibia  into  SquamifSres  and  Nudipeiliferes, 
or  Amphibiens  ;  though  he  offered  an  alternative  arrange- 
ment, in  which  the  class  Reptiles  is  preserved  and  divided 
into  two  sub-classes,  the  Ornithoidcs  and  the  Ichthyoides. 
The  latter  are  Brongniart's  Batrachia,  plus  the  Cacili&, 
whose  true  affinities  had,  in  the  meanwhile,  been  shown 
by  Dumeril ;  and,  in  this  arrangement,  the  name  Amphibiens 
i3  restricted  to  Proteus  and  Siren. 

Merrem's  Pholidota  and  Batrachia  (1820),  Leuckart's 
Monopnoa  and  Dipnoa  (1821),  Miiller's  Squamata  and 
Nuda  (1832),  are  merely  new  names  for  De  Blainville's 
Ornitltoides  and  Ichthyoides,  though  Muller  gave  far  better 
anatomical  characters  of  the  two  groups  than  had  pre- 
viously been  put  forward.  Moreover,  following  the  indica- 
tions already  given  by  Von  Bar  in  1828,*  Muller  calls 
the  attention  of  naturalists  to  the  important  fact,  that 
while  all  the  Squamata  possess  an  amnion  and  an  allantois, 
these  structures  axe  absent  in  the  embryos  of  all  the  Nuda. 


1  Brongniart's  "Esmi  d'nne  Classification  Natnrci^  des  Reptiles" 
wa»  not  published  in  full  till  1803.  It  appears  in  the  vJnmij  of  the 
Mhnoires  presenile  d  Clnstilut  par  divers  Savans  for  1806. 

*  Jfouveau  Dictiemnaire  d'JIistoire  Nalurelle,  xxiv.,  cited  in  La- 
treille's Families  Naturtlla  du  lilgne  AnimaL 

System  der  Vergkichtrulen  Analomie,  1821. 

*  "  Prodrome  d'nne  Nouvelle  Distribution  dn  Regno  Animal." 
Bulletin  da  Sciences  var  la  SocilU  Philomati^ue  de  Paris,  1816, 
n    IKj. 

0  Hiltvulxlunjs-Qeschiehte  der  Thiers,  ?   OTI 


Miillcr  makes  an  appeal  for  observations  on  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Qcecilioe,  and  of  those  Amphibia  whi  h  retain 
gills  or  gill-clefts  throughout  life,  which  has  unfortunately 
yielded  no  fruits  from  that  time  to  this. 

In  1825,  Latreille  published  a  new  classification  of  the 
Vertebrata,6  which  are  primarily  divide  ■  matherma, 

containing  the  three  classes  of  Mammifera,  Monotremata, 
and  Aves ;  and  Ilmmacryma,  also  containing  three  classes 
— Reptilia,  Amphibia,  and  Pisces.  This  division  of  the 
Vertebrata  into  hot  and  cold  blooded  is  a  curiously  retro- 
grade step,  only  intelligible  when  we  reflect  that  the  excel- 
lent entomologist  had  no  real  comprehension  of  vertebrate 
morphology ;  but  he  makes  some  atonement  for  the  blunder 
by  steadily  upholding  the  class  distinctness  of  the  Amphibia. 
In  this  he  was  followed  by  Dr  J.  E.  Gray;  but  Dumeril  and 
Bibron  in  their  great  work,7  and  Dr  Giinther  in  his  Cata- 
logue, in  substance,  adopt  Brongniart's  arrangement,  the 
Batrachia  being  simply  one  of  the  four  orders  of  the  class 
Reptilia.  Professor  Huxley  has  adopted  Latreille's  view 
of  the  distinctness  of  the  Amphibia,  as  a  class  of  the  Verte- 
brata, co-ordinate  with  the  Mammalia,  Aves,  Reptilia,  and 
Pisces;  and  the  same  arrangement  is  accepted  by  Gegenbaur 
and  HaeckeL  In  the  Hunterian  lectures  delivered  at  the 
Royal  College  of  Surgeons  in  1863,  Professor  Huxley  divided 
the  Vertebrata  into  Mammals,  Sauroids,  and  Ichthyoids,  the 
latter  division  containing  the  Amphibia  and  Pisces.  Sub 
sequently  he  proposed  the  names  of  Sauropsida  and  Ichlhy- 
opsida  for  the  Sauroids  and  Ichthyoids  respectively.  It 
is  proper  to  mention,  finally,  that  Professor  Owen,  in  his 
work  on  The  Anatomy  of  Vertebrates,  follows  Latreille  in 
dividing  the  Vertebrata  into  Ilavmatotherma  and  Ilamia- 
tocrya,  aud  adopts  Leuckart's  term  of  Dipnoa  for  the 
Amphibia. 

The  Amphibia  are  distinguished  from  the  Sauropsida 
and  Mammalia  by  very  important  and  sharply-defined 
characters.  The  visceral  arches  of  the  embryo  develop 
gills,  which  temporarily,  or  permanently,  perform  the 
ratory  function.  There  is  no  trace  of  an  amnion,  and  it  is 
still  a  question  whether  the  urinary  bladder,  which  all  Am- 
phibia ■possess,  answers  to  the  allantois  of  the  higher  Verte- 
brata or  not.  At  any  rate,  it  plays  no  part  in  the  respira- 
tion of  the  embryo,  nor  is  it  an  organ  by  which  nutriment 
Lined  from  the  parent.  There  are  two  occipital 
[as,  and  the  basi-occipital  region  of  the  skull  is  either 
very  incompletely,  or  not  at  all,  ossified.  There  is  no  basi- 
sphenoidal  ossification.  'When  young,  the  Amphibia  are 
provided  with,  at  fewest,  three,  and  usually  four,  cartilagin- 
ous, or  more  or  less  ossified,  branchial  arches.  Prom 
Pisces,  "on  the  other  hand,  they  are  distinguishable  only  by 
the  characters  of  their  locomotive  apparatus.  When  they 
possess  median  fins  and  limbs,  these  never  present  fin- 
rays  ;  and  the  limbs  exhibit,  in  full  development,  the  typo 
of  structure  ■which  obtains  among  the  Sirniropsida  and 
Mammalia,  and  differ  very  widely  from  the  fins  of  any 
fish  at  present  known.     This  difference  obtains  even  among 

*  Families  Naturelles  du  Rerrnc  Animal. 

7  BrpUolu'jie  Otncrale.  on  llutoire  Naturelle  aimpUle  des  Reptile*. 
1836. 


AMPHIBIA 


'51 


the  long  extinct  Amphibia  of  the  Carboniferous  epoch.  In 
other  respects,  the  lower  Amphibia  approach  the  Chimcerae, 
the  Ganoidei,  and  the  Dipnoi  very  closely ;  while,  in  their 
development,  they  present  'curious  approximations  to  the 
Marsipobranchii. 

With  respect  to  the  primary  subdivisions,  or  orders,  of 
the  class  Amphibia,  no  one  can  doubt  the  propriety  of  the 
separation  of  the  recent  forms  into  what  may  be  broadly 
♦  termed  Newts  (Urodela) ;  Frogs  and  Toads  (Anura);  and 
Concilia  (Peromela)  effected  by  Dumeril ;  while  all  that  is 
known  of  the  organisation  of  the  extinct  Amphibia  of  the 
newer  Palasozoic,  and  older  Mesozoic,  formations, tends  to 
show  that  they  form  a  fourth  natural  assemblage  of  equal 
value  to  each  of  the  others. 

The  names  of  Urodela  and  Anura,  given  to  the  first  two 
■of  these  divisions,  are  undoubtedly  open  to  criticism ;  but 
if  well-understood  terms,  which  have  acquired  a  definite 
scientific  connotation,  are  to  be  changed  whenever  ad- 
vancing knowledge  renders  them  etymologically  inappro- 
priate, the  nomenclature  of  taxonomy  will  before  long 
become  hopelessly  burdened;  and,  to  set  a  good  example, 
the  names  of  Urodela,  Anura,  Peromela,  and  Labyrintho- 
donta  are  adopted  here  for  the  four  orders  of  the  Amphibia, 
even  although  it  be  true  that  the  Labyrinthodonta  do 
not  all  possess  the  dental  structure  on  which  the  name 
"was  founded;  though  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  some 
Labyrinthodonts  were  devoid  of  limbs,  or  peromelous ;  that 
the  Anura  are  not  more  tail-less  than  are  the  Peromela; 
and  that  the  tails  of  the  Urodela  are  not  more  conspicuous 
than  were  those  of  the  Labyrinthodonts. 

The  Ueodela  are  Amphibia  with  elongated  bodies  and 
relatively  ijhort  limbs,  devoid  of  scales  or  pectoral  plates, 
with  numerous  prae-caudal  vertebra;,  and  with  amphiccelous, 
or  opisthoccelous,  vertebral  centra.  The  byoidean  arch  re- 
mains connected  with  the  suspensorium  throughout  life, 
and  its  cornua  are  large  in  proportion  to  its  body.  The 
mandible  is  dentigerous.  There  are  one  or  two  pairs  of 
limbs,  the  pectoral  arch  and  limbs  being  always  present. 
The  manus  never  possesses  more  than  four  digits.  The 
bones  of  the  antebrachium  and  of  the  eras  remain  distinct, 
and  the  tarsus  is  not  elongated.  So  far  as  the  spermatozoa 
are  known,  they  are  elongated  filaments  with  a  vibratile 
fringe.  The  larva  develops  external  gills  only ;  and,  except 
Siren,  none  are  known  to  possess,  at  any  time,  a  horny 
masticatory  apparatus.1 

The  Anura  have  relatively  short  and  broad  bodies,  and 
both  pairs  of  limbs  are  constantly  present,  the  hinder 
being  the  longer  and  stronger.  There  are  no  scales,  nor 
pectoral  plates,  but  ossification  sometimes  occurs  in  the 
dorsal  integument.  The  vertebra!  vary  in  character,  but 
are  usually  proccelous.  The  proa-sacral  vertebra;  never 
exceed  nine  in  number,  and  the  caudal  portion  of  the  verte- 
bral column  is  represented  by  a  peculiar  styliform  coccyx. 
The  hyoidean  arch  detaches  itself  from  the  suspensorium, 
and  almost  always  becomes  connected  with  the  pro-otic 
region  of  the  skull.  The  cornua  are  usually  slender,  as 
compared  with  the  broad  body  of  the  hyoid.  The  mandible 
is  almost  always  devoid  of  teeth.  The  bones  of  the  ante- 
brachium and  of  the  crus  early  ankylose,  and  the  astragalus 
and  calcaneum  are  much  elongated.  The  manus  has  a 
rudimentary  fifth  digit.  Except  in  Bombinator,  the  sperma- 
tozoa have  flagelliform  appendages,  like  those  of  ordinary 
Yertebrata.  The  larva;  develop  first  external,  and  after- 
wards internal,  gills,  and,  so  far  as  is  known  at  present,  are 
provided  with  deciduous  horny  masticatory  plates.    The  gill 

1  This  circumstance  appears  to  have  been  remarked  only  by  Muiler. 
Speaking  of  tho  larva;  of  the  Salamanders,  he  says—"  Sie  haben  nicht 
den  Hornschuabel  der  Froscblarven." — (Bcilrag  zur  Anat.  der  Amphi- 
Wen,  p.  209.)  Dumeril  and  Bibron  affirm  the  contrary  top.  cit.,t.  ix. 
p.  10). 


apertures  are  closed  by  the  growing  over  them  of  an  oper- 
cular membrane. 

The  Peromela  have  snake-like  bodies,  totally  devoid  of 
limbs  and  limb  arches.  In  most,  the  integument  is  pro- 
vided with  transverse  rows  of  imbedded  cycloid  scales,  but 
there  are  no  pectoral  plates.  The  vertebra;  of  the  trunk 
are  very  numerous,  and  are  amphiccelous;  those  of  the 
caudal  region  are  very  few,  and  are  free.  The  hyoidean 
arch  is  attached  neither  to  the  suspensorium,  nor  b 
skull;  its  cornua  are  veiy  slender,  and  no  distinct  body 
is  developed;  it  is  followed  by  several  slender,  hoop- 
like, branchial  arches.  The  mandible  is  dentigerous. 
Nothing  is  known  of  the  early  stages  of  development;  but 
Muiler  discovered  branchial  clefts,  with  rudimentary  bran- 
chial filaments,  in  young  Cacilice. 

The  Labyrinthodonta  for  the  most  part  resembled  the 
Urodela  in  the  proportions  of  the  tail  and  limbs  to  the 
body,  but  some  (as  Ophiderpeton)  were  serpen tiform,  and 
apparently  apodal ;  no  raniform  Labyrinthodonts  have  yet 
been  discovered.  The  vertebra;  are  amphiccelous.  The 
mandible  is  dentigerous.  The  bones  of  the  antebrachium 
and  eras  remain  distinct,  and  the  tarsus  is  not  elongated. 
The  manus  and  pes  appear  to  have  been  pentadactyle. 
Three  sculptured  pectoral  plates  and  a  peculiar  dermal 
armour  of  small  scales,  confined  to  the  ventral  face  of  tho 
body,  are  present  in  many  genera.  Nothing  is  known  of 
the  early  stages  of  development,  but  the  youngArchrgosauria 
appear  to  have  possessed  ossified  branchial  arches. 

In  giving  a  sketch  of  the  organisation  of  the  Amphibia, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  enter  much  more  fully  into  tho 
characters  of  the  skeleton  than  into  those  of  the  other 
systems  of  organs. 

The  Vertebral  Column,  Ribs,  and  Sternum. — Leaving  tho 
extinct  Archegosauria  aside  for  the  present,  all  the  Amphibia 
possess  well-ossified  vertebra;,  the  arches  of  which,  in  the 
adult  condition  (except,  perhaps,  in  some  Labyrinthodonts), 
are  not  separated  by  a  neuro-central  suture  from  the 
centra.  The  latter  may  be  amphiccelous,  as  in  the  lower 
Urodela,  the  Peromela,  and  the  Labyrinthodonta;  or  opis- 
thocoelous,  as  in  the  higher  Urodela  and  some  Anura  (e.g., 
Pipa  and  Bombinator) ;  or  proccelous,  as  in  the  majority 
of  the  Anura  (with  the  exception  of  the  eighth  vertebra, 
which  is  usually  amphiccelous ;  and  of  the  ninth,  which 
commonly  has  one  convexity  in  front  and  two  behind). 
In  all  the  recent  forms  which  have  been  examined,  the 
centra  and  intervertebral  masses  contain  more  or  less  dis- 
tinct remains  of  the  notochord.  The  arches  of  the  trunk 
vertebra;  are  connected  by  zygnpophyses  ;  the  spinous  pro- 
cesses are  usually  low,  but  attain  a  great  relative  length  in 
the  caudal  region  of  some  of  the  Labyrinthodonts  (e.g. 
Urocordylus).  Transverse  processes  are  present  in  all  the 
trunk  vertebra;,  except  the  atlas;  they  are  shortest  in  '.La 
Peromela,  longest  in  the  Anura.  In  most  Urodela,  these 
transverse  processes,  at  any  rate  in  the  anterior  trunk  ver- 
tebrae, are  divided  into  two  portions,  a  dorsal  and  a  ventral, 
which  diverge  towards  their  free  ends ;  or,  more  strictly 
speaking,  these  processes  are  made  up  of  two  subequal  trans- 
verse processes,  a  dorsal  "tubercular"  process,  and  a  ventral 
"capitular  "  process.  Sometimes  this  division  prevai  Is  throu  g  b  • 
out  the  whole  length  of  the  trunk,  but,  more  commonly,  the 
two  transverse  processes  become  fused  into  one,  posteriorly. 

In  tho  long-bodied  Urodela  (Siren,  Proteus,  Amphiuma), 
only  a  small' number  of  the  vertebra;  which  succeed  the 
atlas  present  traces  of  double  transverse  processes ;  further 
back,  the  coalesced  transverse  processes  form  trihedral  pro- 
jections, their  dorsal  and  ventral  contours  converging 
instead  of  diverging,  and  giving  a  very  characteristic  aspect, 
to  these  vertebrae 


752 


AMPHIBIA 


In  fome  Labyrinthodonts,  the  capitular  and  tubercular 
processes,  divergent  and  subequal  in  some  (probably  the 
anterior)  vertebrae,  coalesce  into  one  in  other  vertebras ; 
and  the  capitular  division  being  shorter  than  the  tubercular, 
transverse  processes,  like  those  of  the  middle  thoracic  region 
of  the  crocodiles,  are  thus  produced. 

In  the  Peromela,  there  is  a  short  capitular  process,  but 
the  tubercular  process  is  represented  by  a  mere  facet 
placed  below  the  prezygapophysia 

In  the  Anura,  finally,  the  vertebrae  have  oniy  a  singlo 
transverse  process'  (possibly  representing  the  coalesced 
double  transverse  processes  of  the  posterior  trunk  vertebra 
of  such  Urodela  as  Menopoma),  which,  in  some  of  the 
vertebras,  may  attain  a  great  length. 

B  Lbs  are  present  in  a  few  Anura,  in  all  Urodela,  Peromela, 
and  Lahyrinthodonta;  and,  in  the  last-named  and  some  Uro- 
dela, they  attain  as  great  relative  dimensions  as  in  other 
Yertebrata.  But  they  are  always  vertebral  ribs,  no  Amphibian 
being  known  to  possess  more  than  rudiments  of  sternal  ribs. 
The  atlas  is  never  provided  with  ribs.    In  the  Peromela,  ribs 
are  borne  by  all  the  other  vertebra,  except  the  very  hind- 
most.   In  the  long-bodied  Urodela,  on  the  other  hand,  they 
are  restricted  to  a  few  ot  the  anterior  vertebrae.     In  tho 
other  Urodela  they  are  usually  confined  to  tho  pra-sacral 
and  sacral  vertebras ;  but,  in  some  cases,  one  or  two  of  the 
anterior  caudal  vertebra  have  free  ribs.     The  form  of  the 
proximal   end  of  the   rib  corresponds  with  that  of  the 
transverse  processes  or  process.     Where  thi3  is  double, 
the  rib  presents  a  fork,  formed  by  the  capiluluni  and 
tuberculum  ;  and  when  the  capitular  and  tubercular  trans- 
verse processes  are  of  equal  length,  the  capitula  and  tuber- 
cula  of  the  ribs  are  equal ;  but  when  cither  of  the  former 
is  shorter  than  the  other,  the  corresponding  part  of  the 
rib  is  longer.     The  Peromela  have  no  sternum,  and  that 
of  the  Lahyrinthodonta  (if  they  possessed   any)  is  un- 
known.    In  the  Urodela,  tho  sternum  never  ossifies,  and 
there  is  no  trace  of  even  a  cartilaginous  sternum  in  Proteus. 
In  Menobranchus,  there  is  a  very  small  cartilaginous  sternal 
plate,  which  sends  Literal  prolongations  into  two  of  the  inter- 
muscular ligaments,  representing  rudimentary  sternal  ribs. 
In  the  Newts1  tho  sternum  becomes  a  broad  and  stout 
plate  of  cartilage,  with  a  median,  posterior,  cristate,  xiphoid 
process,  and  with  articular  surfaces  on  its  antero-lateral 
margins  for  the  reception  of  the  coracoids.     The  sternum 
attains  its  highest  development  in  the  ranifonn  Anura,  the 
xiphoid  process  becoming  elongated  and  dilated  at  its  ex- 
tremity, and  more  or  less  converted  into  bone,  while  calci- 
fication of  the  body  of  the  sternum  itself  may  also  occur. 


f\a  1.— The  first  two  rcrtebrB  of  Mmopama  /x  ^Y  W,  atlas;  FT',  second 
Yertebra ;  o.  Intercondylold  process  of  tho  atlas ;  Mbe  artlcnltx  surfaces  for  tho 
ocop.tal  condyles.  The  ribs  of  the  second  vertebra  are  not  represented.  A. 
dorsal ;  B,  Teritr«l ;  C,  Initial  rievr. 

1  3»  Parker  On  the  Shoulder  Girdle,  pp.  63.  68. 


In  tho  Urodela,  the  first  vertebra  always  presents  two 
slightly  concave  articular  facets,  the  faces  of  which  look 
outwards  and  forwards  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  occipital 
condyles.  Between  these  facets,  the  dorsal  moiety  of  the 
anterior  face  of  the  centrum  gives  rise  to  a  process,  which 
is  little  more  than  a  ridge  in  Proteus,  but  in  other  genera 
becomes  very  prominent,  and  has  a  curious  resemblance  to 
the  odontoid  process  of  tho  axis  vertebra  of  a  bird.  This 
"intcrcondyloid"  process  of  the  atlas  sometimes (Amphiuma, 
e.g.)  exhibits  on  each  side,  near  its  termination,  an  articular 
facet,  which  plays  on  a  corresponding  facet  of  the  adjacent 
face  of  the  occipital  condyle. 

Mayer  (Analecten,  p.  10)  -was  misled  by  the  form  of  this 
process  into  the  supposition  that  the  vertebra  to  which  it 
belongs  is  not  the  atlas,  but  the  odontoid,  vertebra.  But 
there  is  a  similar  process  of  the  first  vertebra  in  the  Kays, 
and  the  relations  of  the  vertebra  to  the  nerve3  show  that 
it  is  certainly  not  the  homologue  of  the  axis  vertebra  of 
other  Vertebrates.  The  first  spina)  nerve,  which  has  tho 
distribution  of  the  hypo-glossal  of  the  higher  Yertebrata, 
passes  out  of  the  spinal  canal,  either  between  tho  first  and 
second  vertebrae,  or  through  a  foramen  in  the  arch  of  the 
first,  in  the  Amphibia,  which  have  no  proper  suboccipital 
nerve.  This  is  a  very  curious  circumstance,  and  requires 
elucidation  by  the  study  of  development. 

In  the  Anura,  the  atlas  has  the  same  general  form,  but 
the  median  process  is  either  inconspicuous,  a3  in  Rana 
esculenta,  or  may  be  absent,  0> 

Among  the  Labyrintliodonta,  the  atlas  of  Mastodonsaurus 
only  is  known.  It  presents  two  concave  facets  anteriorly, 
separated  for  about  half  their  length  by  a  notch,  which 
probably  lodged  a  ligament. 

The  atlas  of  the  Peromela  has  the  two  characteristic 
facets  for  the  occipital  condyles,  but  the  intercondyloid 
process  is  absent,  and  the  anterior  margin  of  the  arch  of 
the  vertebra  projects  forwards  towards  tho  corresponding 
margin  of  the  occipital  foramen  {Epicrium). 

In  those  ITrotWa  whicly>ossess  posterior  limbs  (except  Pro 
tens  and  Amphiuma),  one  vertebra,  or  sometimes  two  \Meno- 
poma),axe  distinguished 
from  the  rest  as  "sacral" 
by  having  stouter  ribs, 
the  outer  ends  of  winch  sb 
abut  against,  and  are 
united  by  ligaments 
with,  the  ilia. 

The  Anura  always 
possess  a  sacral  verte- 
bra (sometimes  anky- 
losed  with  its  predeces- 
sor or  successor),  the 
transverse  processes  of 
which  are  often  en- 
Jarged,  and  sometimes 
greatly  expanded,  at 
their  iliac'  ends.  The 
characters  of  the  sa- 
crum of  the  Lahyrintho- 
donta are  not  known. 

In  the  Urodela,  the 
anterior  caudal  verte- 
brae, except  the  first, 
have  inferior  arches, 
which,  like  the  neural 
arches,  are  continuously  ossified  with  the  centra ;  and  the 
same  condition  obtained  in  the  caudal  vertebrae  of  the 
Labyrinthodonts. 

In  the  Anura,  the  caudal  vertebrae  are  replaced  by  a 

long  coccyx,  consisting  of  an  osseous  Gtyle,  to  the  dorsal 

I  aspect  of  the  anterior  end  of  which  two  neural  arches  aro 


s.v.. 


^fe 


Sfi" 


Fin.  2.— Menopoma.  Posterior  (A)  una"  Tentrnl 
(B)  views  of  the  sacral  vertebra  (S.F.);  &A1, 
8.K*,  ucral  ribs;  11.  Ilium;  It.  Ischium. 


AMPHIBIA 


753 


s.v 


A  caudal  vertebra  of  ifenopoma.  W,  neural 
arch;  C,  centrum;  Z,  Zx,  prse-  and  post-zygapo- 
physes;  T.p.  transverse  process;  S.V,  sub-verte- 
bral arch.    A,  lateral;  B,  posterior  view. 


an&ylosed.  The  anterior  face  of  the  style  usually  presents 
two  concavities  (one  in  Bombinator  and  some  other  genera), 
which  articulate  with  the  corresponding  convexities  on  the 
posterior  face  of  the  «  n 

centrum  of  the  sa'- 
cral  vertebra.  The 
number  of  the  verte- 
brae in  the  spinal 
column  of  the  Uro- 
dela and  Peromela 
varies  very  much. 
In  the  long-bodied 
Urodela  and  Pero-  F">- 8. 
mela  they  may  be 
very  numerous. 
According  to  Cuvier,  Ccscilia  has  230;  Siren,  99;  Amphi- 
uma,  75 ;  in  Mendbranchus  there  are  18  prse-sacral  and  25 
caudal;  in  Sa.lamand.ra,  15  and  26;  and  a  similar  varia- 
tion appears  to  have  obtained  in  the  Labyrinthodonts.  On 
the  other  hand,  in  the  Anura  the  number  of  vertebrae  (ex- 
cluding the  coccyx)  is  very  constantly  nine ;  though  this 
number  undergoes  an  apparent  reduction,  in  some  cases, 
by  the  ankylosis  of  the  first  and  second  vertebrae  (Cera- 
loplirys  dorsata,  Pipa,  Dactylethra,  Breviceps),  and  in  others 
by  that  of  the  sacral  vertebra  with  the  coccyx  (Pipa, 
Dactylethra,  Breviceps,  Pelobales). 

In  the  carboniferous  Labyrinthodont,  A  vchegosaurus,  the 
notochord  appears  to  have  persisted  throughout  life,  and 
the  ossification  of  the  centra  of  the  vertebrae  to  have  gone 
no  further  than  the  development  of  bony  rings,  such  as 
those  with  which  the  ossification  of  the  centra  of  the  verte- 
brae of  a  tadDole  commences. 

The  Cranium. — The  skull  is  always  very  depressed, 
and  is'usually  broad  in  proportion  to  its  length,  though,  in 
this  respect,  there  is  considerable  variation,  the  skulls  of 
Proteus,  Menobranchus,  and  Amphiuma  being  narrow,  when 
compared  with  those  of  Siredon,  Menopoma,  and  the  Anura. 
The  occipital  foramen  is  situated  in  the  middle  of  the 
posterior  face  of  the  cranium,  and  there  are  always  two 
nccipital  condyles.  The  long  axis  of  the  suspensorium,  or 
pedicle  by  which  the  mandible  is  connected  with  the  side- 
walls  of  the  brain-case,  varies  much  in  its  direction — 
passing  obliquely  downwards  and  forwards  in  the  lower 
Amphibia  and  in  the  larval  condition  of  all,  but  swinging 
back  until  it  stands  out  at  right  angles  to  the  axis  of  the 
skull,  or  becomes  directed  downwards  and  backwards,  in 
ihe  higher  Amphibia.  The  suspensorium  is  almost  immov- 
able upon  the  skull,  being  clamped  thereto  by  the  squa- 
mosal bone,  besides  being,  as  a  general  rule,  united  with 
some  part  of  the  wall  of  the  skull  by  synchondrosis. 
The  "  primordial  skull,"  or  chcndro-cranium,  usually 
remains,  to  a  great  extent,  unossified,  even  in  the  adult. 
In  the  Urodela,  the  hyoidean  arch  is  always  connected  by 
strong  ligaments  with  the  suspensorium;  but,  in  the  Anura 
iiid  in  the  Peromela,  it  becorres  completely  detached  from 
the  suspensorium,  and  may  be  free  (Peromela),  or  acquire  a 
new  attachment,  to  the  periotic  region  of  the  skull  in  front 
jf  the  fenestra  ovalis  (Anura). 

The  bones  which  are  always  present  in  the  Amphibian 
skull  are  the  exoccipital,  pro-otic,  parasphenoid,  vomer, 
parietal,  frontal,  squamosal,  premaxillary,  palatine,  quad- 
rate, dentary,  splenial,  and  angular.  The  basi-occipital 
and  the  basisphenoid  are  always  absent,  or  are  repre- 
sented by  mere  partial  calcifications  of  the  chondro- 
cranium.  There  is  always  a  fenestra  ovalis  closed  by  a 
stapes.  The  branchial  arches  do  not  exceed  four  pairs  in 
number,  and,  in  the  perennibranchiate  Amphibia,  there  are 
never  fewer  than  three  pairs. 

The  skull  of  the  Frog  ('Figs.  4-7),  as  the  most  accessible 


member  of  the  group,  and  that,  the  development  of  wnicn 
has  been  most  carefully  studied,  may  be  taken  a3  the 
starting-point  from  whence  to  follow  the  various  modifica- 
tions of  the  AmDhibian  skull  At  the  sides  of  the  occifi- 
tal  foramei., 
it  presents  two 
large  exoccipi- 
tal ossifica- 
tion's (E.  0.), 
which  bear  the 
prominent  oc- 
cipital con 
dyles,  and,  in 
old  specimens, 
may  meet  in 
the  middle 
ventral  line. 
Dorsally,  how 
ever,  they  re- 
cain  sepa- 
rated by  a 
narrow  tract 
of  cartilage, 
which  may  be- 
come more  or 
less  calcified. 
External  to 
the  condyles, 
are  the  fora- 
niina,by  which 
the  vagus  and 
glosso-pharyn- 
geal  nerves 
emerge  from 
the  cranial 
cavity;  and, 
beyond,  these, 
the  bones  ex- 
pand outwards 
and  forwards, 
so  as  to  em- 
brace the  pos- 
terior half  of 
the  fenestra 
ovalis,  while 
above,  they 
enclose  the 
greater  part  of 
the  posterior 
vertical  semi- 
circular canaL 
The  cartilage 
which  incloses 
the  summit  of  Fi«,  7.  "•" 

the     arch    Of  f|05  4  5  6  7.— Dorsal,  ventral,  lateral,  and  posterior  view-. 

that  Canal,  of  the  skull  of  Rana  ticultnla.  Tho  letters  have  the  sama 
signification  throughout.  P/nj.prcma=llla;  J/r.nnxilla; 
Co.  vomer;  A'a,  nasal;  Sj.  sphen-cthnioid ;  Ft.  frontal; 
Pa.  parietal;  E  o.  exoccipital;  Ep.  cpiotic  process;  Fr.O 
pro-otic;  t.t.  legmen  tympanl;  So. squamosal ;  QJ.  n,nad- 
rato-jugal;  Pt.1  pterygoid,  anterior  process;  PI.2  Il 
process:  Pt.3  posterior  or  external  process;  Co.  columella 
St.  stapes  Ily. hyoidean  cornu;  P.S.  parasphenoid; 
^tn.  ungulate;  D.  dentalc  V.  for.imcn  of  exit  of  the  tric- 
minal;  II.  of  tho  optic;  X.  of  the  pncumoga*1rie  and 
glntso-pliaiyngetl  ncr\i  . :  V.'  Lumen  by  which  tho 
oibito-ia-oi  or  first  division  of  the  Mm  passes  to  tho 
nasal  cavity 


Fig.  5. 


however,  ap- 
pears always 
to  remain  un- 
ossified, and 
its  place  is  oc- 
cupied by  a 
groove  in  the 
dry  skull  (Fig. 

4,  Ep.)  These  ossifications,  tnerefore,  answer  primarily 
to  the  exoccipitals,  but,  in  addition,  represent  tho 
opisthotic  and  epiotic  elements.  Above  the  fenestra 
ovalis,  the  wall  of  the  otic  capsule  is  produced  out- 
wards into  a  stout  shelf,  which  forms  the  roof  of  the 
tympanic  cavity,  and  corresponds  with  the  tegmen  tymr 


754 


AMPHIBIA 


pani  in  man  (t.t.)    This  is  largely  ossified  in  continuity 
with    the    exoccipital1   posteriorly,   and   the  pro-otic  (to 
which   in  all   probability  it  properly  belongs)  in  front. 
The  outer  extremity  of  the  tegmen,  however,  remains  car- 
tilaginous, and,  in  front,  it  passes  into  a  curved  band 
of  cartilage,  which,  as  it  is  continued  backwards  into  the 
euspensorium,  may  be  termed  the  "  dorsal  crus"  of  the 
puspensorium  (Fig.  9,  c.d.)     The  T-shaped  squamosal  bone 
(Sq.)  sends  a  broad,  flat  process  inwards,  which  rests  upon 
the  teamen  tympani,  while  its  long  descending  process  lies 
external  to  the  cartilaginous  Euspensorium,  and  the  pos- 
terior half  of  its  cross-piece,  or  proper  squamoso-zygomatic 
part,  has  the  same  relation  to  the  dorsal  crus  of  the  suspen- 
sorium.     The  suspensorium  has  a  second  attachment  to 
the  skull,  by  a  "ventral  crus"  (Fig.  9,  c.v.),  which  diverges 
from  the  dorsal  crus  at  the  anterior  extremity  of  the  sus- 
pensorium, and  is  continued  into  two  branches.     One  of 
these,  passing  outwards  and  forwards,  becomes  the  ptery- 
goid cartilage.     The  other  (Fig.  9,  pd.),  directed  backwards 
and  inwards,  may  bo  termed  the  "  pedicle  of  the  suspen- 
sorium ;"  it  becomes  thickeneiat  its  inner  extremity,  and 
articulates  with  a  facet  in  front  of  the  fenestra  ovalis,  and 
close  to  the  attachment  of  the  hyoidean  cornu.     A  thin 
fibrous  band  extends  from  this  inferior  crus  to  the  side 
walls  of  the  skull,  passing  between  the  first  division  of  the 
fifth  nerve  in  front,  and  the  second  and  third  divisions 
behind.     The  space  between  the  dorsal  crus  of  the  suspen- 
sorium and  the  pedicle  is  filled,  in  the  fresh  state,  with 
fibrous  tissue,  which  constitutes  the  anterior  boundary  of 
the  tympanum.    It  is  traT.  ersed  (as  Duges  long  sinco  pointed 
out)  by  the  posterior  division  of  the  seventh  nerve,  which 
therefore  bes  above  the  pedicle.     The  pro-otic  ossification 
(Pr.  0.)  not  only  walls  in  the  anterior  part  of  the  otic 
capsule,  but  extends  for  a  short  distance  forwards  in  the 
side  walls  of  the  skulk     Hence,  the  foramen  of  exit  for 
the  trigeminal  and  portio  dura  (V.)  is  pierced  in  this  por- 
tion of  the  pro-otic;  and  the  foramen  for  the  sixth  nerve 
is  b,  *>  at  its  lower  margin.     In  front  of  the  pro-otic,  the 
lateral  walls  of  the  skull  remain  cartilaginous  for  some 
distance,  and  are  perforated  by  the  large  optic  foramen 
(II.)     Anteriorly  to  the  exit  of  the  optic  nerves,  the  side 
walls  of  the  skull  are  formed  by  elongated  plates  of  bone, 
which  are  parts  of  an  extensive  ossification  of  the  anterior 
moiety  of  the  brain-case  and  the  posterior  part  of  the  nasal 
capsules,  constituting  the  complex  structure  termed  by 
Uuvier  "  os  en  ccinture,"  and  by  Duges  "  ethmoide."    As 
it  takes  the  place  of  the  ethmoid,  presphenoid,  and  orbito- 
sphenoids,  it  may  be  termed  tne  sphen-ethmoid  (S.e.)    It 
may  be  compared  to  a  dice-box,   one-half  of  ■  \ich  is 
divided  by  a  longitudinal  partitioa     Thi3  half  is  anterior, 
the  longitudinal  partition  being  represented  by  the  ossified 
mesethmoid;  while  the  posterior,  undivided,  half  lodges 
the  anterior  portion  of  the  cerebral  hemispheres  and  the 
olfactory  lobes.     The  front  wall  of  this  posterior  cavity  is 
perforated  by  the  olfactory  foramina;  while  the  outer  and 
posterior  wall  of  each  anterior,  or  nasal,  chamber  presents, 
where  it  forms  the  anterior  and  inner  boundary  of  the 
orbit,  a  small  aperture  (V1)  through  which  the  orbito-nasal 
nerve  passes.  The  exoccipitals,  pro-otics,  and  sphen-ethmoid 
are    ossifications    wbich    involve    the    chondrocranium, 
though  they  largely  consist  of  secondary  bone.    The  supra- 
occipital  is  represented,  if  at  all,  by  a  mere  calcification 
of  the  cartilage,  and  the  bke  is  true  of  the  quadrate,  which 
is  an  ossification  of  the  distal  end  of  the  suspensorium. 
The  quadrate,  however,  very  early  becomes  continuous  with 
a  slender  style  of  membrane  bone,  the  proper  jugal,  which 
eppbes  itself  to  the  inner  face  of  the  posterior  end  of  the 

*  Duges  (p.  37)  states  that  the  pro-otic  end  the  eioccipital  always 
remain  distinct  in  Sana  esculmla  ;  but  it  is  common  to  find  them 
extensively  onkyloscd  nod  inseparable  in  old  frogs  of  this  species. 


maxilla,  and  thus  gives  rise  to  the  quadrato-jugal  (Q.J.) 
Ligamentous  fibres  also  connect  the  anterior  cud  of  the 
zygomatic  process  of  the  squamosal  directly  with  the  ptery- 
goid, and  indirectly  with  the  maxilla  and  jugal,  and  pass 
from  the  same  process  to  .the  frontoparietal  bone,  forming 
a  fascia  over  the  levators  of  the  mandible,  and  encircling 
tho  orbit  A  strong  band  is  continued  forwards,  over  tho 
ascending  process  of  the  maxilla,  to  the  alinasal  cartilage 
of  the  chondrocranium. 

The  short  premaxillae  (Pmx.)  arc  united  suturally  in  tho 
middle  line,  and  have  stout  ascending  processes,  which 
becomo  closely  connected  with  the  "rhinal  processes"  by 
means  of  oval  nodules  of  cartilage  adherent  to  their  poste 
rior  surfaces.  The  long  maxillae  unite  with  the  premaxilko 
in  front,  and  with  the  jugals  behind:  each  sends  up  a  short 
anterior  ascending  process  towards  the  alinasal  cartilage, 
with  which  it  is  united  by  ligament,2  and  further  back, 
givc3  off  a  longer  ascending  process  which  becomes  con- 
nected with  the  nasal  bones.  The  palatine  bones  (PI.)  are 
straight,  slender,  and  flattened.  They  be  transversely 
to  the  axis  of  the  skull,  behind  the  posterior  nares, 
closely  applied  to  the  ventral  surface  of  the  sphen-ethmoid 
and  of  the  antorbital  processes  of  the  chondrocranium. 
Externally  they  come  into  contact  with  the  pterygoids 
and  maxillae ;  internally  and  anteriorly  with  the  vomers. 
Each  pterygoid  (Pi.)  is  a  triradiate  bone,  with  an  anterior, 
an  inner,  and  a  posterior,  or  outer,  ray.  The  first,  or 
anterior,  process  of  the  pterygoid  (Ptl)  is  the  longest, 
and  bes,  for  a  considerable  distance,  in  contact  with  the 
maxilla,  reaching  forward  to  the  outer  extremity  of  the 
palatine.  The  second  (Pi-)  underlies  the  pedicle  of  the 
suspensorium,  and  come3  into  contact  with  the  end  of  th/ 
transversely  elongated,  sub-auditory,  portion  of  the  para 
sphenoid.  The  third,  or  posterior,  process  of  the  pterygoid 
(PP)  is  prolonged,  in  correspondence  with  the  backward 
elongation  of  the  suspensorium,  along  the  inner  side  of 
which  it  bes,  as  far  as  the  articulation  of  the  mandible. 

The  vomers  ( Vo.)  are  broad  triangular  plates  of  bone,  with 
irregularly-notched  outer  edges,  which  are  closely  applied 
to  the  ventral  surface  of  the  sphen-ethmoid.  Their  inner 
edges  are  separated  by  a  narrow  interval,  and  each  bears 
numerous  teeth,  set  along  a  line  which  is  not  quite  trans- 
verse to  the  axis"  of  the  skull.  On  the  dorsal  aspect  of  tho 
skull  two  elongated  flattened  bones,  united  in  a  median 
suture,  represent  the  coalesced  frontal  and  parietals  (/>., 
Pa.),  which  are  separate  in  the  young  frog. .  In  front  of 
these,  also  meeting  in  the  middle  line,  are  two  triangular 
bones,  the  apices  of  which  extend  outwards  to  the  ascend- 
ing processes  of  the  maxillae,  and  which  roof  over  the  nasal 
capsules  (ATa.)  These  correspond  in  position  and  relations 
with  the  nasal  and  so-caUed  "prefrontal"  bones  of  Saurop- 
sida,  and  perhaps  with  the  lachrymals  :  for  brevity's  sake, 
they  may  be  termed  nasals. 

The  parasphenoid  has  the  form  of  a  dagger  with  a  very 
wide  guard  and  short  handle.  The  latter  bes  beneath  the 
ventral  junction  of  the  exoccipitals,  while  the  blade  extends 
forwards,  and  its  point  underlies  the  posterior  moiety  of  the 
sphen-ethmoid,  but  does  not  reach  tho  vomers.  The  "guard" 
passes  outwards  on  each  side  beneath  the  auditory  capsules, 
and  ends  by  an  abruptly-truncated  extremity,  its  anterior 
and  external  angle  coming  into  relation  with  the  inner 
process  of  the  pterygoid. 

The  slender,  permanently  cartilaginous,  hyoidean  cornu 
(Ily.)  pesse3  into  the  cartilage  of 'the  auditory  capsule  on 
the  ventral  side,  between  ike  fenestra  ovalis  and  the  articu- 
lar surface  for  the  inferior  cms  of  the  suspensorium.  Th  I 
fenestra  ovalis  bes  in  a  cartilaginous  interspace  between 
the  exoccipital  and  the  pro-otic,  and  is  filled  by  the  oval 

*  Tho  small  ossifications  in  this  region,  termed  "  cornets  "  bj  Dugts, 
were  absent  in  the  skull  figured. 


AMPHIBIA 


755 


cartilaginous  stapes  (St.)  The  anterior  face  of  this  pre- 
sents a  concave  facet,  for  articulation  -frith  a  corresponding 
surface  occupying  the  posterior  half  of  the  inner  end  of 
the  columella  auris  (C.  a.),  the  anterior  half  of  which  fits 
into  a  fossa  in  the  pro-otic  bone.  The  columella  auris 
itself  consists  of  three  portions — a  middle  elongated  osseous 
rod,  an  inner  swollen  and  enlarged  cartilaginous  part,  which 
articulates  partly  with  the  pro-otic  and  partly  with  the  stapes, 
and  an  outer  portion,  which  is  elongated  at  right  angles 
to  the  rest,  fixed  into  the  tympanic  membrane,  and  attached 
by  its  dorsal  end  to  the  tegmen  tympani. 

The  mandiblo  presents  one  cartilaginous  and  three 
osseous  constituents  on  each  side.  Of  the  latter,  one, 
the  "  Mento-Meckelian  "  (Parker),  i3  a  short  curved  rod  of 
bone,  which  unites  with  its  fellow  in  the  symphysis,  and  is, 
in  fact,  the  ossified  symphysial  end  of  Meckel's  cartilage, 
which  extends  thence  through  the  length  of  the  ramus, 
becoming  thicker  posteriorly,  and  furnishing  the  articular 
surface  for  the  quadrate.  The  second,  and  largest,  bony 
constituent  of  the  mandible  is  a  long  membrane  bone, 
which  ensheaths  the  inner  and  under  region  of  the  outer 
surface  of  Meckel's  cartilage,  rising  at  one  part  into  a 
low  coronoid  process.  It  obviously  represents  the  angular, 
coronary,  and  splenial  elements,  and  may  be  termed  the 
angulo-splenial  (An.)  A  small  dentary  element,  which 
bears  no  teeth,  lies  over  the  outer  face  of  the  anterior  half 
of  Meckel's  cartilage. 

The  hyoidean  apparatus  of  the  adult  frog  (Fig.  8)  pre- 
sentsm  body  and  two  slender  cornua.  The  body  consists  of 
a  broad  and  thin  squarish  plate  of 
cartilage,  produced  on  each  side  into 
three  processes,  which  may  be  called 
anterior,  lateral,  and  posterior.  The 
anterior  process  (a)  is  slender,  curves 
outwards,  and  very  soon  divides  in- 
to two  processes,  one  short,  anterior, 
farming  a  loop  by  its  ligamentary 
connection  with  the  second,  or  pos- 
terior, branch,  which  passes  into 
the  long  and  slender  cornu  of  the 
hyoid.  The  lateral  process  (b)  passes  yl0.  s._ ventral  view  of  tne 
outwards   and  slightly  dorsad— ex-    hyoid  of  yj.m, ««/«««.  «, 

o~    J  anterior,    6  lateral,    c,  pos- 

panding  into  a  broad,  hatchet-shaped  terior  processus;  4  tnyro- 
free  extremity.  The  posterior  pro-  . 
cess  (c)  is  a  mere  prolongation  of  the  postero-lateral  angles 
of  the  body  of  the  hyoid.  Finally,  from  the  middle  of  the 
posterior  margin  of  the  body  of  the  hyoid  there  projeet 
two  strong  bony  rods,  wider  at  the  ends  than  in  the 
middle,  which  embrace  the  larynx,  and  have  been  termed 
the  thyro-hyals  (d). 

The  parieto-frontals,  nasals,  premaxilloe,  maxillae,  squa- 
mosals, palatines,  pterygoids,  and  parasphenoid,  the  dentary 
aad  angulo-opercular  bones,  may  be  removed  from  the  frog's 
skull  without  injury  to  the  chondrocranium,  the  structure 
of  which  then  becomes  apparent  (Fig.  9). 

It  furnishes  a  floor,  side  walls,-  and  roof  to  the  brain 
•case,  interrupted  only  by  a  large  space  (fontanelle),  covered 
in  by  membrane,  which  lies  in  the  interorbital  region  under 
the  parieto-frontals ;  and  by  the  foramina  for  the  exit  of  the 
cranial  nerves.  It  consists  entirely  of  cartilage,  except 
where  the  exoccipitals,  the  pro-otics,  and  the  sphen-eth- 
moid  invade  fts  substance.  In  front  of  the  septum  of  the 
anterior  cavity  of  the  sphen-ethmoid,  it  is  continued  for- 
ward, between  the  two  nasal  sacs,  as  the  cartilaginous 
septum  narium,  from  which  are  given  off,  dorsally  and  ven- 
t rally,  transverse  alee  of  cartilage,  which  furnish  a  roof  and 
a  floor,  respectively,  to  the  nasal  chamber.  Of  these,  the 
floor  is  the  wider.  The  dorsal  and  ventral  aloe  pass  into 
one  another  where  the  chondrocranium  ends  anteriorly, 
and  give  rise  to  a  truncated  terminal  face,  which  is  wide 


from  side  to  side,  narrow  from  above  downwards,  and 
convex  in  the  latter  direction.-  The  lateral  angles  of  this 
truncated  face  are  produced  outwards  and  forwards  into 
two  flattened  prae-nasal  processes  {p.  nl.);  these  widen  ex- 
ternally, and  end 


"       -\   % -* 


.CA 


CLu.Ji 

77.0.  Qit-J. 

Fio.  9. — Chondrocranium  of  Rana  esmUnta — vcntvsl 
aspect,  r.p.  the  1  hioal  process;  pnl.  the  prjenasai  pro- 
cesses; a.n.  the  alinasal  processes,  shown  by  the  removal 
of  part  of  the  floor  of-the  left  nasal  chamber;  AO.  the 
antorbital  process ;  pd.  the  pedicle  of  the  suspense  ism 
continued  Into  c.v.  the  ventral  cms  of  the  suspaa* 
solium ;  e.d.  its  dorsal  crus;  It.  the  tcgroen  tymjanl; 
S.E. the  sphen-ethmoid;  £.0.  the  exoccipitals;  QuJ.  the 
quadratojugal.  II.  V.  VI.  foramina  by  which  the  optic, 
t  tgeminal  and  portio  dura,  and  ubducens  nerves  leave 
the  skull. 


by  free  edges, 
which  support 
the  adjacent  por- 
tions cf  the  pre- 
maxillae  and 
maxillae.  From 
the  ventral  face, 
just  behind  the 
truncated  ante- 
rior end  of  the 
chondrocranium, 
spring  two  slen- 
der cartilages 
(r.p.,  r.p.),  which 
do  not  seem  to 
have  been  no- 
ticed hitherto. 
Each  of  these 
inclines  towards 
the  middle  line, 
and  ends  against 
the  middle  of  the  posterior  face  of  the  ascending  process 
of  the  premaxilla  by  a  vertically  elongated  extremity. 
These  may  be  termed  the  rkinal  processes.  An  oval 
nodule  of  cartilage  is  attached  to  the  posterior  face  of 
the  dorsal  end  of  the  ascending  process  of  the  premaxilla, 
and  serves  to  connect  it  with  the  rhiial  process.  On  the 
dorsal  face  of  the  chondrocranium,  just  above  the  point  of 
attachment  of  the  rhinal  processes,  the  external  nasal  aper- 
tures are  situated,  and  the  outer  and  posterior  margins  of 
each  of  these  apertures  is  surrounded  and  supported  by  a 
curious  curved  process  of  the  cartilaginous  ala  —  the 
alinasal  process  (a.n.)  TVbere  the  sphenoidal  and  the 
ethmoidal  portions  of  the  sphen-ethmoid  meet,  a  stout,  trans- 
verse, partly  osseous  and  partly  cartilaginous,  bar  (A.O.) 
is  given  off,  which  is  perforated,  at  its  origin,  by  the  canal 
for  the  orbito-nasal  nerve.  It  then  narrows,  but  becoming 
flattened  from  above  downwards,  rapidly  widens  again, 
and  its  axe-head-like  extremity  abuts  against  the  inner  face 
of  the  maxilla.  The  anterior  angle  of  the  axe-head  is  free; 
theposterior  angle  is  continued  back  into  a  slender  cartilagin- 
ous rod,  w  hie  h  bifurcates  posteriorly ;  the  outer  division  passes 
into  the  ventral  eras  (c.v.)  of  the  suspensorium.  The  inner 
(pd.)  is  the  pedicle  of  the  suspensorium  already  described. 

Meckel's  cartilage,  articulated  to  the  free  end  of  the 
suspensorium,  is  unossified  throughout  the  greater  part  of 
its  extent,  no  osseous  articulare  being  developed ;  but,  at  its 
symphysial  end,  each  cartilage  becomes  ossified,  and  forms 
the  "mento-Meckelian"  element  of  the  mandible. 

The  slender  cornu  of  the  hyoid  passes  directly  into  the 
periotic  cartilage  immediately  in  front  of,  though  below,  the 
fenestra  ovalis.  It  is  unossified  throughout  its  whole  length.' 

With  many  variations  in  detail,  the  skulls  of  the  Anura 
in  general  are  readily  reduciblo  to  the  type  of  that  of  the) 
frog.  In  the  Aglossa,  which  differ  so  widely  in  many 
respects  from  the  other  Anura,  the  cranium  presents  some 
notable  peculiarities. 

In  Dactylethra-  the  skull  is  similar  to  that  of  the  ordi- 
nary Anura  in  general  form,  but  the  nasal  region  is  small 
in  proportion  to  the  orbito-temporal  space.  The  fronto- 
parietals are  ankylosed  together,  and  extend  forwards  as 
far  as  a  line  drawn  along  the  anterior  edge  of  the  antorbital 

1  Compare  Mr  Parker's  full  account  of  the  structure  of  the^kull  ol 
Rana  Umporaria,  Philosophical  Transactions,  1S71. 
'  This  description  applies  especiJly  to  D.  lavis- 


756 


AMPHIBIA 


processes.  Here  they  overlap  a  very  singular  bone,  consist- 
ing of  two  broad  al«,  which  lie  between  the  anterior  edge  of 
the  frontal  and  the  external  nares,  and  of  a  median  portion 
which  is  continued  forwards,  as  a  narrow,  flat,  curved  process, 
between  the  nasal  chambers,  being  received  into  a  sort  of 
groove  of  the  chondrocranium.  The  bone  is  readily  raised 
up  from  the  subjacent  chondrocranium,  of  which  it  appears 
to  be  quite  independent  At  the  outer  end  of  each  of  its 
alae,  and  between  the  antorbital  process  and  the  nasal 
capsule,  is  a  small,  transversely  elongated,  slender  bone, 
loosely  connected  by  fibrous  tissue  with  the  foregoing. 
The  ethmoid  is  completely  cartilaginous.  The  paraspheu- 
oid  has  the  ordinary  sword  shape,  except  that  the  "  guard" 
is  extremely  short;  but  its  point  extends  along  the  base 
of  the  skull,  passing  between  the  nasal  sacs,  underlying 
their  septum,  and  terminating  close  to  the  prcmaxllla:. 
The  vomers  are  represented  by  a  transversely  elongated 
rhomboidal  osseous  plate,  devoid  of  teeth,  which  lies  be- 
tween the  two  posterior  nasal  apertures,  and  therefore 
much  behind  the  anterior  end  of  the  parasphenoid.  The 
side  walls  of  the  cranial  cavity  are  ossified  from  the  antor- 
bital process  to  the  anterior  boundary  of  the  foramen  for 
the  fifth  nerve,  just  in  front  of  which  they  are  pierced 
by  the  optic  foramen.  There  is  no  palatine  bone.  The 
pterygoid,  in  the  main,  resembles  that  of  the  ordinary 
frogs ;  but,  in  consequence  of  the  shortness  and  little  back- 
ward extension  of  the  suspensorium,  the  outer  process 
passes  almost  directly  outwards,  with  hardly  any  back- 
ward inclination.  A  bony  plate,  which  extends  backwards 
from  the  posterior  edge  of  the  inner  and  outer  branches 
of  the  pterygoid,  underlies  the  tympanic  cavity  and  the  audi- 
tory capsule,  and  forms  the  floor  of  the  Eustachian  canaL 
The  squamosal  is  a  short  broad  bone,  with  a  long  anterior 
process,  which  becomes  connected,  by  direct  articulation, 
with  the  pterygoid,  and  by  ligament  with  the  maxilla.  The 
premaxilla?  are  small,  and  the  maxillae  are  connected  merely 
by  ligaments  with  the  suspensorium,  there  being  no  jugal. 
The  columella  auris  is  remarkably  strong,  and  is  bent  in 
the  middle,  so  that  its  two  halves  form  an  obtuse  angle ; 
the  anterior  half  lies  against  the  inner  face  of  the  tympanic 
membrane.  The  posterior  half  runs  parallel  with  the 
posterior  edge  of  the  tegmen  tympani,  towards  the  fenestra 
ovalis.  Ligamentous  fibres  fix  the  columella  firmly,  though 
movably,  to.  the  superior  margin  of  .the  tympanic  cavity, 
where  it  is  bounded  by  the  squamosal.  The  stout  car- 
tilaginous hyoidean  cornua  are  attached  just  beneath  the 
anterior  and  inferior  part  of  the  margin  of  the  fenestra 
ovalis.  The  body  of  the  hyoid  is  very  small,  but  the  two 
"thyro-hyals"  are  extremely  long  and  broad  cartilages. 
There  is  no  ossified  "  mento-Meckelian"  element. 

In  Pipa,  the  skull  is  extraordinarily  depressed  and 
broad.  The  nasal  bones  are  wide,  flat,  triangular,  and 
quite  distinct  from  one  another,  a  forward  prolongation  of 
the  coalesced  fronto-parietals  extending  between  the  two. 
The  parasphenoid,  very  broad  in  the  greater  part  of  its  ex- 
tent, and  having  the  guard  rudimentary,  sends  a  narrow 
median  process  forwards  underneath  the  nasal  septum,  as 
in  Dactyletkra.  No  trace  of  a  vomer  or  palatine  bone,  was 
to  be  found  in  the  specimen  examined.  The  pterygoid  is 
very  like  that  of  Daclylcthra,  but  its  inner  branch  is  greatly 
prolonged,  and  the  floor  sent  under  the  Eustachian  tube 
unites  much  more  closely  with  the  produced  exoccipitaL 
The  squamosal  is  very  small,  and  the  place  of  its  zygomatic 
process  is  taken  by  ligament.  This  ligament,  however, 
unites  with  the  pterygoid  in  the  same  way  as  the  bony 
process  which  answers  to  it  in  Dactyletkra.  The  columella  is 
less  massive  than  in  Dactyletkra,  and  the  end  which  abuts 
against  the  tympanic  membrane  is  imbedded  in  a  disk  of 
cartilage.  The  occipital  condyles  look  outwards  and  back- 
wards, instead  of  inwards  and  backwards,  as  in  Dactyletkra. 


The  hyoidean  cornua  are  wanting,  the  thyro-hyals  being 
large,  but  not  so  large  proportionally  as  in  Dactyletkra. 

The  skulls  of  the  Urodela  present  a  very  interesting 
series  of  modifications,  leading  from  a  condition  in  which 
the  cranium  retains,  throughout  life,  a  strongly-marked 
embryonic  character,  up  to  a  structure  which  closely  ap- 
proximates that  found  in  the  Anura. 

In  Menobranckus,  for  example,  the  chondrocranium  o.f 
the  adult  is  in  nearly  the  same  state  as  that  in  which  il 


AO. 


V-^ 


Fig.  12. 


Fiob.  10,  11,  12.— Lateral,  dorsal,  and  ventral  vfews  of  the  cranium  of  iftno- 
branchui  lateralis.  In  the  dorsal  view,  the  bones  are  remored  from  the  left 
half  of  the  eknll ;  In  the  ventrtl  view,  the  parasphenoid,  paloto-ptcrygoid,  and 
tomen  arc  given  in  outline.  The  letters  have,  for  the  most  part,  tlie  same 
signification  as  before.  VII. p.  posterior  division  of  the  seventh  nerve;  VII. 
chorda  tympani;  V>,  V1,  V*.  flut,  second,  and  third  divisions  of  the  tri- 
geminal ;  f.i.//atapcdio-5uspcnsoriai ligament;  n.i./.hyo-suspensorial  ligament; 
m.  ft.  t.  mandlbulo-hyold  ligament ;  a,  ascending  process  of  the  susptnsorium ; 
p,  pterygopalatine  process;  a,  quadrate  process »  o,  otic  process;  h'a.  posterior 
nares;  Ifek.  Meckel's  cartilage;  01.  (Fig.  10),  tbe  position  of  tho  glottis.  £b\ 
£b*,  basi  branch  I  ols. 

exisU  in  a  young  taapoie  or  larval  salamander  (Figs.  10, 
11,12). 


AMPHIBIA 


757 


Instead  of  there  being  a  well-developed  cartilaginous 
brain-case,  interrupted  only  by  a  dorsal  fontanelle,  as  in 
the  frog,  both  the  floor  and  roof  of  the  cramal  cavity  are 
formed  by  merely  fibrous  tissue,  which  underlies  the 
frontal  and  parietal  bones,  and  overlies  the  parasphenoid  ; 
and  only  its  sides  and  its  anterior  end  are  bounded  by 
cartilage. 

The  occipital  region  remains  membranous  in  the  middle 
line,  both  dorsally  and  ventrally,  and  exhibits,  in  the  latter 
aspect,  the  remains  of  the  notochord.  The  cartilaginous 
rods  (Tr.),  which  bound  the  cranial  cavity  laterally,  and 
represent  the  trabecules  of  the  embryonic  vertebrate  skull, 
ire  separated  by  a  .wide  oval  space,  which  occupies  the 
whole  length  of  the  floor  of  the  cranial  chamber.  An- 
teriorly, they  converge,  and,  just  before  they  do  so,  give 
attachment  to  the  slender  antorbital  processes  (A.  0.)  which 
lie  behind  the  posterior  nares.  They  then  unite,  and,  be- 
coming applied  together,  coalesce  into  a  flattened  narrow 
rnesethmoid,  to  the  anterior  extremity  of  which  the  pre- 
maxillary  bones  are  applied.  They  give  off  neither  alinasal 
nor  subnasal  processes,  and  therefore  furnish  neither  roof 
nsr  floor  to  the  nasal  chamber.  Posteriorly,  they  become 
flattened  from  above  downwards,  and  coalesce  with  the 
auditory  capsules,  and  with  the  cartilage  which  extends  be- 
neath these,  and  gives  rise  to  the  occipital  condyles  (E.  0.) 

Each  auditory  capsule  has  a  generally  oval  form,  but  is 
produced  posteriorly,  so  as  to  give  rise  to  a  conical  epiotic 
process  (Ep.  0.),  which  projects  beyond  the  level  of  the 
occipital  condyle.  Fitted  into  the  outer  wall  of  each  is 
the  relatively  large,  conical,  stapes,  whence  strong  ligament- 
ous fibres  proceed  to  the  posterior  face  of  the  suspensorium. 

Immediately' in  front  of  the  auditory  capsule,  the  suspen- 
sorium passes  by  a  strong  pedicle  (shown,  but  not  lettered 
in  Fig.  12)  into  the  trabecida,  and  then,  directed  outwards, 
downwards,  and  forwards,  ends  in  the  quadrate  process 
(q),  with  which  the  dorsal  end  of  Meckel's  cartilage  arti- 
culates. A  large  process  (o)  ascends  from  the  posterior 
face  of  the  suspensorium,  and  applies  itself  to  the  outer 
and  anterior  face  of  the  auditory  capsule.  A  small  and 
hardly  perceptible  elevation  (p)  is  seen  near  the  quadrate 
process  of  the  suspensorium.  Finally,  a  flat  process  (a, 
Fig.  11)  ascends  above  the  pedicle,  and  applies  itself  to  the 
dorsal  face  of  the  trabecula. 

On  comparing  this  with  the  suspensorium  of  the  frog, 
it  is  clear  that  the  rudimentary  process  (p)  answers  to  the 
pterygoid  cartilage;  and  that  the  process  o  (the  otic  process) 
answers  to  the  dorsal  crus  of  the  suspensorium.  In  fact, 
tho  posterior,  or  hyo-mandibular,  branch  of  the  seventh 
nerve  passes  back  beneath  this,  and  above  the  stapedial 
ligamert,  to  its  distribution. 

The  pedicle  answers  to  the  part  so  named  (including  the 
ventral  crus  of  the  suspensorium)  in  the  frog,  though  it 
retains  the  embryonic  relations  to  the  trabecula,  such  as 
exnt  in  the  tadpole.  The  ascending  process  (a)  lies  be- 
tween the  orbito-nasal  and  the  other  branches  of  the  trige- 
minal, the  orbito-nasal  passing  between  it  and  the  trabecula. 
A  similar  process  is  very  generally  found  in  the  Urodcla 
(being  particularly  large,  for  example,  in  Menopoma),  but 
appears  to  be  represented  only  by  fibrous  tissue  in  the 
Anura. 

Meckel's  cartilage  (Mck.,  Fig.  12)  is  thick  and  deep  at 
its  articular  end,  but,  after  furnishing  a  surface  of  attach- 
ment for  the  elevator  muscles  of  the  jaw,  it  rapidly  narrows, 
and  ends  in  a  point,  at  some  distance  from  the  symphysis 
of  the  dentary  bones. 

The  hyoidean  apparatus  (Fig.  i  3)  is  represented,  on  each 
side,  by  a  cartilaginous  rod,  subdivided  into  a  short  hypo- 
hjail(ll.  h.)  and  long  cerato-hyal  (C.  h.)  A  strong  liganfent 
extends  from  the  front  face  of  the  latter,  below  its  free 
summit,  to  the  suspensorium,  reaching  this  at  the  same 


Ryoid  and  branchial  apparatus  of  Mtne- 
bronchus  latrraha.  UK  hypo-hyal:  Ch.  cerato- 
hyal ;  Bbx.  first  basibrant  hial  ;  Bb1,  osidried 
second  basibranchial  ;  Ep.b1.  Ep.b2,  Ep.b3,  first, 
second,  and  third  epibrauchiala;  £7/.  glottis. 


place  as  the  stapedial  ligament,  into  which  it  is  continued. 
From  a  point  a  little  above  the  attachment  of  this  ligament, 
another  ligamentous  band  arises,  and,  crossing  the  former, 
on  the  inner  side  of  which  it  passes,  becomes  attached  to 
the  angle  of  the  mandible.  It  answers  to  the  inter- 
operculum  of  a  fish,  and  has  nearly  the  same  relations  aa 
the  stylo-maxillary  ligament  of  the  higher  Vertebrata. 

In  the  ventral  median  line,  the  hypo-hyals  are  connected 
only  by  fibrous  tissue.  Firmly  united  with  this,  however, 
there  is  a  median 
first  basibranchial 
cartilage  (Bbx),  suc- 
ceeded by  a  second 
basibranchial  (Bb2), 
which  is  ossified,  and 
is  the  only  bony  con- 
stituent of  the  hyo- 
branchial  apparatus. 
There  are  only  three 
branchial  arches. 
The  first  consists  of 
a  stout  and  long 
cerato-branchial 
(Cbl),  bearing  sn 
equally  well  -  deve 
loped  epibranchial 
(Epb1).  The  second 
is  represented  by  a  fig.  13 
mere  nodule  of  car- 
tilage (Cb2),  with 
which  the  expanded 
end  of  the  second  epibranchial  (Ep.b2)  articulates.  The 
third  and  smallest  epibranchial  (Ep.  o3)  is  articulated  with 
the  step-like  broad  end  of  the  second.  There  is  no  trace 
of  any  fourth  branchial  arch,  such  as  exists  in  tadpoles 
and  in  young  salamanders ;  and  in  Siredon,  Siren,  Amphi 
uma,  and  Menopoma. 

The  most  curiousfeatureinthebonyskiiUjOrosteo-crantMm, 
of  Menobranchus  is  the  presence  of  the  prominent  conical 
ossifications  which  lie  external  to  the  exoccipitals,and  occupy 
the  place  of  the  epiotic  and  opisthotic  bones.  In  possessing 
these  elements  of  the  skull,  in  so  large  and  distinct  a  form, 
Menobranchus  differs  from  all  Amphibia,  save  Proteus  and 
the  extinct  Labyrinthodonts.  The  parietal  bones  are  sepa- 
rate from  the  frontals,  and  send,  as  is  usual  in  the  Urodela, 
a  long  process  forwards  on  each  side  of  the  latter.  In 
Menobranchus,  this  process  is  extremely  long,  reaching  the 
olfactory  foramen,  the  posterior  margin  of  which  it  bounds. 
There  are  no  nasal  nor  prefrontal  bones,  nor  any  distinct  ali- 
sphenoidal,  orbito-«phenoidal,  or  ethmoidal  ossifications;  of 
the  maxilla,  nothing  but  a  rudiment  appears,  and  this  is 
sometimes  absent.  There  are  no  jugal  or  quadrato-jugal 
ossifications.  A  palato-pterygoid  plate,  bearing  teeth  on 
its  expanded  palatine  portion,  extends  from  the  antorbital 
process  to  the  inner  face  of  the  suspensorium,  which,  as 
stated  above,  has  a  mere  tubercle  in  the  place  of  a  pterygoid 
process.  The  vomers  are  long,  bear  teeth  along  their  outer 
edges,  and  diverge  backwards  so  as  to  leave  an  interspace 
between  their  inner  edges.  Posteriorly,  they  articulat-1 
with  the  anterior  ends  of  the  palato-pterygoids. 

The  squamosal  is  a  long,  slender,  curved  bone,  devoid  of 
any  zygomatic  process,  which  extends  from  the  articular 
end  of  the  suspensorium,  along  its  outer  edge,  to  the  outer 
side  of  the  epiotic.  From  its  posterior  margin  it  sends 
down  a  short  process  over  the  stapedial  ligament. 

The  parasphenoid  is  a  broad  thin  plate  of  bone,  which 
extends  from  near  the  junction  of  the  vomers  to  the 
occipital  foramen.  The  distal  end  of  the  suspensorium  is 
incompletely  ossified,  as  a  quadrate  bone ;  and  a  dentary 
and  a  splenial  element,  both  dentigerous  lie    the  formci 


753 


A  31  P  H  I  1)  J  A 


external  to  aud  below    tho  latter  internal  to,  Meckel's 
cartilage. 

The  skull  of  Protects  is,  in  its  general  characters,  similar 
co  that  of  Mcnobranchus,  but  is  more  extensively  ossified. 

In  Siren,  the  skull,  which  has  tho  same  elongated  form 
and  forwardly  directed  suspensoria  as  in  Mcnobranchus 
and  Proteus,  possesses,  in  tho  epiotic  region,  two  strong 
crests,  which  project  backwards  beyond  tho  level  of  tbe 
occipital  condyles,  but  are  otherwise  very  different  from 
the  epiotics  of  the  latter  genera.  Tho  "  exoccipitals  "  and 
prootics  are  completely  fused  together,  even  in  half-grown 
specimens,  a  mere  rim  of  cartilage  being  left  around  tho 
fenestra  ovalis.  Tho  lateral  walls  of  the  skull  present  ossi- 
6cations  extending  from  tho  exits  of  tke-orbito-nasal  nerves, 
forwards  to  tho  mesethmoid,  or  internasal  portion  of  the 
trabecule,  and  completely  encircling  the  olfactory  fora- 
mina. Hut  these  ossifications  remain  distinct  for  a  con- 
siderable time,  if  they  ever  coalesce.  Each,  therefore, 
represents  half  of  the  splien-ethmoid  of-  the  Frog. 

The  flat  and  w-ido  parasphenoid  extends  forwards  to 
the  space  left  by  the  divergenco  of  the  vomers.  On  the 
roof  of  the  skull,  each  broad  parietal  sends  forward  a  pro- 
longation along  the  outer  edge  of  the  frontal,  which  reaches 
tts  antorbital  process.  Tho  premaxilko  have  very  long 
ascending  processes,  which  lie  upon  the  mesethmoid,  and 
arc  received  between  the  ends  of  the  frontal  bones.  Between 
tl;"so  ascending  processes  one  or  two  elongated  ossifica- 
tions are  situated.  These  were  termed  "nasals"  by  Cuvicr, 
but  their  position  does  not  accord  with  this  determination. 
The  horizontal,  or  oral,  portions  of  tho  premaxilla?,  on  tho 
other  hand,  arc  very  short  and  edentulous,  each  being  coated 
by  a  thin  plate  of  horny  substance.  The  maxilla;  are  rudi- 
mentary or  absent.  The  vomers  are  two,  flat,  oval,  bony 
plates,  the  ventral  aspect  of  which  is  beset  with  parallel  rows 
of  teeth  set  in  obliquely-disposed  curved  lines,  the  con- 
vexities of  tho  curves  being  turned  inwards  and  backwards. 
The  vomers  are  in  contact  anteriorly,  but  diverge  posteriorly. 
The  posterior  extremity  of  each  abuts  upon  a.  plate  of 
similar  form,  but  much  smaller,  and  bearing  fewer  series  of 
teeth,  which  lies  on  the  ventral  side  of  the  origin  of  the 
antorbital  process,  and  represents  the  palatine  bone.  The 
eperture  of  the  posterior  nares  lies  just  opposite,  and  ex- 
ternal to,  the  junction  of  these  two  bones. 

The  suspensorium  is  short,  thick,  and  completely  carti- 
laginous. Dorsally  and  internally,  it  is  attached  by  a  stout 
pedicle  to  the  trabccula  in  front  of  tho  auditory  capsule, 
while  its  dorsal  and  posterior  face  lies  against  the  trun- 
cated anterior  face  of  the  pro-otic.  The  angle  formed  where 
this  face  joins  the  outer  faco  represents  the  otic  process  of 
Maiobranchus.  There  is  no  pterygoid  process,  nor  any 
trace  of  a  pterygoid  bone.  Just  abovo  the  suspensorium, 
and  seemingly  connected  wTith  it,  there  proceeds  from  the 
anterior  face  of  the  pro-otic  region  of  tho  skull,  a  strong, 
triangular,  forward ly-dirccted  cartilaginous  process, 
the  free  anterior  end  of  this,  a  band  of  fibrous  tissue  passes, 
and,  encircling  the  eye,  is  attached  to  the  antorbital  process. 
Tbe  squamosal  is  a  slender  curved  bone,  extending  from 
the  epiotic  ridge  to  the  articular  end  of  tho  suspensorium, 
where  it  is  widest.  It  exhibits  only  a  rudiment  of  the 
well-marked  process  which  extends  towards  the  stapes  in 
Menolranchus  and  Proteus.  The  mandible  presents  a 
dentary,  an  angular,  tind  a  dentigerous  splcnial  element; 
and  the  proximal  end  o  f  Meckel's  cartilage  is  ossified,  giving 
rise  to  a  dense  nodular  arliculare.  The  dentary  is  tooth- 
less, and  supports  the  inferior  horny  beak. 

The  cornu  of  tho  hyoid  is  very  stout,  and  its  ventral 
moiety  is  ossified.  The  much  thicker  dorsal  moiety  is 
cartilaginous,  and  its  recurved  dorsal  end  extends  beyond 


tho  extremity  of  the  skull.  At  a  considerable  distance- 
below  its  apex,  a  strong  short  ligament  proceeds  from  ita 
anterior  face  to  the  stapes.  A  broad  sheet  of  ligamentous 
fibres  further  unites  the  hyoid  with  tho  lateral  walls  of  tho 
ear  capsule,  and  with  the  posterior  face  of  tho  suspen- 
sorium  (hyo-suspcnsorial  ligament) ;  and  a  slender  ligament 
(mandibulo-hyoid)  proceeds  from  near  tho  insertion  of  tho 
hyo-stapcdial  ligament  to  the  angle  of  tho  mandible.  There 
are  two  basibranchials,  both  ossified,  the  posterior  ending 
in  short  radiating  processes;  two  cerato-brauehials  and  four 
.inchiala. 

in  Amphiuma,  the  suspensoria  are  very  little  inclined 
forwards,  and  their  long  axes  make  nearly  a  right  anglo 
with  that  of  the  skulL  Tho  portion  of  tho  skull  which 
lies  bohind  a  line  joining  the  articular  ends  of  the  ossa 
quadrala  is  very  much  shorter  than  the  region  in  front  of 
it.  Moreover,  although  tho  epiotic  processes  aro  pro- 
minent, the  occipital  condyles  project  far  beyond  tLcm. 
One  bono  represents  tho  exoccipital,  epiotic,  and  opis- 
thotic  on  each  side.  The  pro-otic  is  large,  and  gives  riso 
to  the  anterior  moiety  of  a  strongly-marked  temporal 
ridge.  Its  exposed  surface  presents  two  fossa;,  divided  by 
a  nearly  vertical  linear  elevation.  The  large  parietals  form 
the  posterior  portion  of  the  temporal  ridge,  and  divergo 
ily,  to  be  continued  forwards,  on  each  side  of  the 
frontals,  to  the  sphen-ethmoid.  The  frontals,  in  like  man- 
ner, diverge  in  front  to  receive  a  median  ossification,  which 
is  continuous  with  the  coalesced  median  processes  of  the 
prcmaxillie.  The  anterior  half  of  each  frontal  is  rugose, 
as  arc  the  exposed  surfaces  of  the  sphen-ethmoid  and  of  tho 
nasal  bones,  and  the  integument  is  firmly  adherent. to  these 
rugosities.  Tho  nasals  are  broad  and  triangular.  Tho 
truncated  base  of  each  lies  over  the  nasal  aperture  ;  the 
inner  edge  articulates  with  the  ascending  process  of  the  pre- 
maxilla ;  the  outer  edge  joins  first  the  maxilla,  and  then  tho 
sphen-ethmoid.  The  premaxillse  are  so  thoroughly  ankyloscd 
that  no  trace  of  their  primitive  distinctness  is  to  be  seen. 
The  large  maxilla;  extend  back  for  half  the  length  of  tho 
skull,  are  firmly  united  with  tho  adjacent  bones,  and  aro 
connected  by  dense  ligament  with  the  extremity  of  the 
rate  bone.  The  greatly  elongated  vomers  diverge  but 
little  ;  nevertheless,  they  come  in  contact  only  by  their 
anterior  extremities.  In  the  rest  of  their  extent  they  are 
separated,  in  front,  by  a  median  ossification  representing 
the  anterio'r  part  of  the  spheu-ethmoid,  and,  behind,  by 
tho  anterior  forked  prolongation  of  the  parasphenoid  which 
ccs  this  ossification.  The  rest  of  the  parasphenoid  i3 
broad  and  fiat ;  it  widens  a  little,  in  front  of  the  auditory 
capsules,  so  as  to  form  a  rudiment  of  tho  "guard"  in  tLo 
frog's  skull. 

The  osseous  pterygoid  is  a  curved  plate  of  bone,  convex 
inwards  and  concave  outwards,  which  articulates  posteriory 
with  the  quadrate,  and,  in  front,  stops  short,  at  little  more 
than  half  the  distance  from  its  posterior  end  to  the  internal 
nostril.  The  cartilaginous  pterygoid  process  of  the  sus- 
pensorium extends  some  way  beyond  it,  and,  widening,  is 
attached  by  ligament  to  the  maxilla.  Posteriorly,  the  car- 
tilaginous pterygoid  is  traceable,  as  a  comparatively  narrow 
band,  on  the  inner  side  of  the  bony  pterygoid,  to  the  pcdiclo 
of  tho  suspensorium,  which  is  attached  in  front  of  the 
fenestra  ovalis,  and  above  the  rudimentary  "guard"  of  the 
parasphenoid.  An  ascending  process  passes  from  it  be- 
tween the  orbito-nasal  and  the  other  divisions  of  tho 
trigeminal.  The  otic  process  of  the  suspensorium,  which 
is  articulated  with  the  outer  face  of  the  auditory  capsule, 
is  cartilaginous;  but  the  rest  of  the  suspensorium  is  ossified 
as  a  quadrate  bone.  This  is,  as  usual,  clamped  to  the  skull 
by  the  sqnami  al,  which  is  broad  and  expanded  above,  and 
narrow  below.    Uehind,  the  suspensorium  is  directly  articu- 


AMPHIBIA 


lated  with  the  styliform  projection  of  the  centre  of  the 
stapes.  A  very  strong  hyo-suspensorial  ligament  passes 
from  near  the  distal  end  of  the  suspensorium  to  the  cornu  of 
the  hyoid.  The  mandibulo-hyoid  ligament  is  much  weaker. 
The  hyoidean  apparatus  presents  a  median  basi-hyal,  con- 
nected by  a  rounded  hypo-hyal  on  each  side,  with  a  long, 
and  curved  cerato-hyal,  which  is  almost  completely  ossified. 
The  first  basibranchial  is  elongated  and  cartilaginous — the 
second  is  absent.  The  first  branchial  arch  is  a  single  elon- 
gated bone,  representing  the  similarly  coalesced  cerato- 
branchial  and  epibranchial  in  Menopoma.  The  second 
cerato-branchial  is  small  and  cartilaginous.  The  three 
pnsterior  epibranchials  are  simple  curved  cartilages ;  and 
the  single  branchial  cleft  is  placed  between  the  third  and 
fourth  epibranchials. 

The  skulk  .of  the  four  genera,  Menobranchus,  Proteus, 
Siren,  and  Amphiuma,  now  described,  resemble  one  another, 
and  differ  from  those  of  other  Amphibia,  in  their  elongated 
form ;  and,  especially,  in  the  relative  narrowness  of  the 
facial  region  in  front  of  the  orbits,  which,  as  the  case  of 
Amphiuma  shows,  arises,  not  from  any  want  of  development 
of  the  maxillary  bones,  when  they  exist,  but  from  their 
taking  a  direction  which  but  slightly  diverges-  from  paral- 
lelism with  the  axis  of  the  skulk  Moreover,  they  all 
possess  well-marked  epiotic  prominences.  Amphiuma  differs 
widely  from  the  other  three,  in  the  .great  size  of  its  maxil- 
lary bones,  in  the  absence  of  ^palatine  bones,  in  the  pro- 
jection of  the  occipital  condyles  beyond  the  epiotic  pro- 
cesses, in  the  ankylosis  of  the  premaxillse,  in  the  presence 
of  well-developed  nasal  bones,  in  the  coalescence  of  the 
first  cerato-branchial  with  the  first  epibranchial.  and  in  the 
transverse  direction  of  the  suspensorium. 

In  most  of  those  respects,  in  which  Amphiuma  differs 
from  Menobranchus,  Froteus,  and  Siren,  it  approaches  the 
Salamanders ;  especially  if  we  take  such,  forms  as  Anaides 
into  account.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  entire  absence  of 
a  palatine  bone,  and  in  the  fusion  of  the  first  cerato-bran- 
chial with  its  epibranchial,  it  agrees  with  Menopoma  and 
Cruptobranchus. 

In  Menopoma,  the  skull  has  a  broadly-rounded  snout,  and 
its  posterior  contour  slopes  forwards  and  outwards  (with- 
out being  interrupted  by  conspicuous  epiotic  prominences), 
in  the  manner  characteristic  of  the  higher  Urodela.  The 
small  pro-otics  are  separated  from  the  exoccipitals  (which 
also  represent  the  epiotics  and  episthotics),  by  a  wide  car- 
tilaginous interspace,  in  which  the  fenestra  oValis  is  situated. 
The  parietal  sends  a  process  forwards,  along  the  outer  edge 
of  the  frontal,  between  it  and  the  orbit o-sphenoid.  This 
meets  a  curved  flat  bone,  which  bounds  the  orbit  anteriorly 
and  internally,  and  articulates  with  an  ascending  process  of 
the  maxillary  bone.  It  may  therefore  be  regarded  as  a 
prefronto-lachrymal.  The  frontals  unite  in  a  long  median 
suture,  and  then,  diverging,  embrace  the  nasal  bones,  and 
articulate  externally  with  the  fore  part  of  the  ascending 
process  of  the  maxillary  bone,  which  is  thus  received  be- 
tween the  frontal  and  the  prefronto-kohrymal.  The  very 
broad  parasphenoid  extends  from  the  exoccipitals  to  the 
vomers,  with  wiich  it  unites  by  a  detiv.'culated  squamous 
Buture.  The  wide  vomers  are  united  by  a  median  suture, 
and  expand  in  frout,  ending  in  arched  edges,  close  behind 
which  the  teeth  are  set.  The  premaxilln  ire  separate  and 
small,  articulate  with  the  arched  edges  of  >he  vomers,  and 
send  up  strong  ascending  processes  to  the  dorsal  face  of 
the  skull,  where  they  firmly  unite  with  the  nasals.  The 
squamosal  is  a  flattened  prismatic  bone,  as  broad  at  one 
end  as  at  the  other,  which  articuli  tea  with  the  parietal 
externally,  and  with  the  quadrate  laternahy.     Like  tho 


7r>9 


suspensorium,  which  it  covers,  it  stands  out  at  right  angles 
with  the  axis  of  the  skull.  There  u.  no  palatine  bone! 
Ine  pterygoid  is  broader  and  more  square  than  in  u^y 
other  Amphibian,  in  consequence  of  the  great  expansion  of 
its  internal  process,  which  articulates  by  its  whole  length 
with  the  parasphenoid.  The  anterior  process  ends  in  a 
free  pointed  cartilage,  directed  outwards  and  forwards,  and 
united  with  the  maxilla  by  ligament,  as  in  the  higher 
Urodela.  The  external  process  extends  to  the  articular 
end  of  the  quadrate,  as  usual,  and  is  continued  thence  alon" 
the  cartilaginous  suspensorium  to  its  attached  end. 

The  chondrocranium  forms  a  complete  ring  of  cartilage 
round  the  occipital  foramen,  continuous  at  the  sides  with 
the  auditory  capsules.  From  these  the  trabecule  are  con- 
tinued forwards,  as  in  Menobranchus,  leaving  a  very  wide 
ventral  fontanelle.  At  the  anterior  end  of  this  they  unite 
and  form  the  mesethmoid,  from  which  roof  and  floor  plates 
of  the  nasal  capsules  are  continued.  The  suspensorium  is 
connected  by  a  pedicle  with  the  trabecula,  in  front  of  the 
auditory  capsule,  and  gives  off  a  broad  ascending  process, 
which  becomes  ossified  continuously  with  the  pterygoid, 
over  the  orbito-nasal  nerve.  A  stout  otic  process  is  articu- 
lated with  a  facet  on  the  antero-external  region  of  the 
periotic  capsule,  and  is  further  connected 'with  it  by  liga- 
mentous fibres.  The  quadrate  ossification  involves  a  small 
portion  of  the  articular  end  of  the  suspensorium ;  it  thence 
extends  upwards,  on  the  dorsal  aspect  of  the  suspensorium, 
gradually  becoming  more  slender,  and  nearly  reaches  tho 
point  at  which  the  otic  process  of  the  suspensorium  articu- 
lates with  the  periotic  cartilage. 

The  osseous  skull  of  Crvvtobranchus  is  extremely  like 
that  of  Menopoma. 

In  Menopoma  the  hyo-branchial  apparatus  presents  the 
same  general  structure  as  that  of  Siredon,  except  that  the 
second  basibranchial  seems  to  be  wanting,  while  the  first 
is  very  broad  and  rounded ;  at  the  same  time,  the  epi- 
branchial and  the  cerato-branchial  of  the  first  arch  are 
represented  by  only  one  continuous  cartilage. 

In  Cruptobranchus,1  however,  a  considerable  reductior 
has  taken  place,  the  two  posterior  pairs  of  branchial  arches 
present  in  Menopoma  having  disappeared.  The  second 
arch  SviU  presents  a  division  into  cerato-branchial  and 
epibranchial,  but  the  dorsal  end  of  the  latter  is  closely 
united  with  that  of  the  preceding  arch.  It  is  interesting 
to  observe,  however,  that  the  modification  thus  effected  is 
quite  different  from  that  which  occurs  in  the  Salamanders, 
in  which,  in  the  adult  state,  the  first  branchial  arch  retain? 
its  two  segments ;  while  the  second,  reduced  to  its  cerato- 
branchial,  is  applied  against  the  first,  at  the  junction  of 
the  ceratp-  and  epi-branchial;  and  the  second  basibranchial 
persists  as  the  ossiculum  thyroideum  of  Von  Siebold. 

Menopoma  and  Cryptobranchus  further  differ  from-  the 
proper  Salamanders  in  having  the  vomerine  teeth  disposed 
along  tho  anterior  edges  of  the  expanded  vomers.  Unfor- 
tunately nothing  is  known  of  the  larva  of  these  forms,  but 
it  would  seem  as  if,  in  them,  the  primitive  vomers  enlarge 
by  extension  of  ossification  behind,  and  not  in  front  of, 
the  criginally  existent  teeth. 

In  the  remaining  Uroaela,  tne  Salamanders  proper,  the  skull 
has  the  broadly-arched  snout  and  the  shelving  posterior  contour  of 
,iia,  but  the  vomers  and  pterygoids  are  very  different. 

The  structure  of  the  skull  in  these  animals  will  be  best  under- 
stood by  commencing  with  that  of  Siredon,  which,  though  pertnno- 
branchiate  under  ordinary  circumstances,  is  totally  unlike  the 
other  so-called  Pcrcnnibranchiata  in  cranial  structure,  and  is,  in 
fact,  to  all  intents  and  purposes  a  larval  Salamander. 

An  ossification  on  each  side  of  the  occipital  foramen  represents 
the  exoccipitals,  epiotics,  and  episthotics.    In  front  of  each  of  these 


1  Sea  Hj-rtl,  "  CryptobTanckus  jajponicus,  Schediasma  anatomicum," 
tab.  iii. 


GO 


AMPHIBIA 


Is  a  pro-otic,   and  an  orbito  sphenoid.     The  latter  is   sometimes 
united  with  its  fellow  of  the  opposite  side.1    Tlie  skull  is  roofed  in 
by  pairs  of  parietal,  frontal,  picfionto-lachrymal,  and  nasal  bones. 
The  maxilla:  are  short,  and  are  united  with  the  ends  of  the  suspen- 
solium  only  by  fibrous  tissue.     There  is  a  very  broad  and  Sal 
sphenoid,  which  extends  from  the  inferior  margin  of  the  occipital 
foramen,  and  ends,  anteriorly,  by  a  wide,  irregularly  convex  edge, 
which  does  not  reach  tho  vomers.     Tho  latter  bones  are  elongated 
and  curved,  and  their  long  axes  diverge  posteriorly,  as  in 
branchus ;  but  their  anterior  ends  are  far  apart,  and  they  lie,  separ- 
ated by  tho  whole  breadth  of  the  parasphenoid,  and  between  that 
bone  and  the  premaxilla  and  maxilla,  adherent  to  the  vent: 
of  the  subnasal  process  of  tho  chondiocranium. 

The  short  palatine  bones  are  situated  immediately  behind,  and 
on  the  inner  sido  of,  the  posterior  nares,  but  their  somewhat  taper- 
ing, external  and  posterior,  ends  do  not  articulate  directly  with  the 
pterygoids.  The  latter  are  triradiate  bones,  with  an  inner  process 
which  passes  towards  the  base  of  the  skull ;  an  outer,  which  run3 
down  the  suspensorium  ;  and  a  long  anterior  process,  which  gradu- 
ally diminishes  in  breadth  forwards,  and  is  connected  only  by 
palatine.  Three  ossifications  embrace  M 
^■e.  The  dentary  covers  its  outer  face  throughout  its  whole 
length.  The  angular  lies  on  the  inner  face  of  its  posterior  two- 
thirds,  and  the  small  dentigerous  splenial  is  also  applied  to  its 
inner  face  between  the  angular  and  the  dentary.  The  chondro- 
cranium  is  in  much  tho  same  condition  as  that  of  Mcnopoma. 
is  a  broad  basicranial  cartilage  situated  between  the  auditory  cap- 
sules, and  passing,  at  the  sides  and  above,  into  a  complete  occi- 
pital arch,  but,  in  front,  the  trabecular,  tve  in- 
creased in  vertical  height,  remain  united  by  fibrous  tissue  only, 
both  in  the  floor  and  in  the  roof  of  the  skull,  which  thus  presents 
two  great  "  fontanelles "  when  the  parasphenoid,  parietals,  and 
frontals  are  removed.  In  front,  they  coalesce,  each  giving  off,  as 
it  does  so,  a  flat  antorbital  process,  which  is  expanded  at  its  outer 
end,  where  it  supports  the  maxilla.  Below,  this  process  gives  at- 
tachment to  the  palatine.  By  their  coalescence,  the  trabecular  give 
rise  to  a  broad  internasal  septum  (or  mesetlunoid  cartilage),  and 
they  expand,  on  each  side,  below,  into  subnasal  plates,  which  aro 
separated,  anteriorly,  by  a  wide  notch  in  the  middle  line.  The 
curved  outer  edges  of  .these  plates  give  attachment  to  the  premaxilla 
and  niaxillx,  and  they  answer  to  the  pra-nasal  processes  of  the 
chondrocrauium  of  the  frog.  Between  tho  posterior  edge  of  each 
of  these  and  the  anterior  edge  of  the  corresponding  antorbital  pro- 
cess, the  posterior  nostril  is  situated  ;  and  tho  inferior  surface  of 
the  subnasal  plate  gives  attachment  to  the  vomer.  Superiorly,  the 
mesethmoid  cartilage  expands  into  a  very  thin  (alinasal)  plate, 
which  roofs  in  each  nasal  chamber,  and  supports  the  prefronto- 
lachrymal  and  nasal  bones. 

Tho  suspensorium  is  connected,  above  and  internally,  with  tho 
trabecula  of  its  side  by  a  pedicle  ;  and  it  has  an  ascending  process 
which  lies  over  the  orbito-nasal  nerve  (which  is  therefore  included 
between  the  pcdicU  and  the  ascending  process)  immediately  after 
its  exit  from  the  skull.  Posteriorly  and  superiorly,  it  gives  off  an 
otic  process,  which  is  articulated  with  the  outer  and  front  part  of 
the  auditory  capsule  ;  while,  inferiorly  and  externally,  it  fui  i 
an  articular  surface  to  the  mandible.  The  pterygoid  process  has 
the  form  of  a  style  tapering  forwards,  and  nearly  reaching  the  ant- 
orbital process,  with  which  it  is  connected,  however,  only  by  liga- 
mentous fibres.  The  posterior  moiety  of  Meckel's  cartilage  is  very 
stout  as  far  as  the  coronoid  process,  and  then  tapers  rapidly  to  its 
free,  pointed,  eymphysial  extremity. 

Tho  hyoidean  and  branchial  apparatus  is  entirely  fibrous  and 
cartilaginous,  none  of  its  parts  having  undergone  ossification.  Each 
cornu  of  the  hyoid  is  connected  with  the  upper  and  posterior  face 
of  the  suspensorium,  and  with  the  angle  of  the  mandible,  by  liga- 
mentous fibres — the  hyosuspensorial  and  mandibulosuspensorial 
ligaments.  The  cornua  are  not  subdivided,  and  are  united  in  tho 
median  ventral  line  by  ligament.  A  triangular  first  basibranchial 
extends  back  from  their  junction,  and  is  succeeded  by  a  second,  as 
in  Mtnebranckus ;  but  this  second  basibranchial  is  not  ossified. 
Two  cerato-branchials  are  attached  to  the  posterior  extremity  of  tho 
first  basibranchial  on  each  side,  and  the  anterior  is,  as  usual,  fol- 
lowed by  a  long  and  strong  epibranchial,  which  supports  the  an- 
terior gill.  The  posterior  cerato-branchial  supports  the  second 
epibranchial  directly,  and  tho  third  and  fourth  epibranchials  in- 
directly. 

The  interesting  observations  of  Professor  A  Dumeril  have  shown 
that,  under  certain  conditions,  the  ordinarily  perenni-btanchiate 
Sircdon  passes  into  tho  caduci-branchiate  Amblystoma;  and  this 
metamorphosis  is  accompanied  by  some  very  interesting  modifica- 
tions in  the  structure  of  the  cranium,  especially  in  the  vomerine, 
palatine,  and  pterygoid  regions.    Ossification  extends  forwards  from 

1  See  Fnedrich  and  Gegenbaur — "  Dcr  Schadel  des  Axolotl  {Sircdon 
injciformis)"  in  the  Jlcrichte  der  Kuniglichm  Zoolomischen  Anslall 
tu  \YUrzburg,  1849.  This  memoir  contains  an  excellent  account  of 
the  cbondrocranium  of  tho  Axolotl 


the  vomers  beneath  the  pra-nasal  processes,  !io  that  the  series  of 
teeth,  which  originally  lay  along  the  anterior  margins  of  these  bones, 
come  to  be  situated  at  their  posterior  edges.  At  the  same  tima 
they  take  up  a  direction  at  right  angles  to  the  axis  of  the  skull, 
instead  of  being  greatly  inclined  to  that  axis,  as  they  are  in  Sircdon, 
and  the  two  sets  of  vomerine  teeth  thus  form  a  single  transverse 
row.  Jlorcovi  r,  the  anterior  process  of  the  pterygoid  moves  out- 
until  it  comes  into  contact  with  the  inner  face  of  the  maxilla. 
me  remaining  attached  to  the  vomer,  the 
other  swings  outwards,  in  correspondence  with  the  change  of  posi- 
tion of  i  lid  thus  becomes  directed  transversely  to  the 
axis  of  the  skull,  immediately  behind  the  posterior  nostril,  its  teeth 
continuing  tho  transverse  line  of  tho  tectli  of  the  vomers.  Sala- 
manders with  tii"  teeth  thus  disposed  have  been  termed  "lechrio- 
dont."  Tho  maxillary  bones  are  larger  than  in  Sircdon,  but  the 
jugal  arch  remains  ligamentous.  The  dorsal  ends  of  the  cornua  of 
tho  hyoid  i  ligamentous  connection  with  the  suspen- 
sorium, and  the  ventral  ends  with  the  anterior  basibranchial.  The 
first  cerato-branchial  and  epibranchial  persist,  and  retain  their 
artinu  ono  another.  The  second  cerato-branchial  re- 
mains, but  its  dorsal  or  outer  end  becomes  attached  to  the  preced- 
ing, and  all  tho  three  posterior  epibranchials  disappear.  The  second 
basibranchial  becomes  detached  as  a  Y-shaped  piece,  which  lies  in 
them           line,  in  front  of  the  larynx. 

In  all  tho  other  Salamanders,  tho  vomers,  in  tho  adult,  present 
the  same  enlargement  of  the  part  in  front  of  the  teeth,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  region  behind  them,  as  in  Amblystoma.  But  the  teetth 
rarely  oiler  the  same  disposition.  More  commonly  they  form  two 
scries,  inclined  to  one  another  at  a  more  or  less  acute  angle,  open 
forwards,  and  supported  upon  bony  plates,  which  appear  like  pro- 
longations of  tho  vomers,  extending  Backwards  on  the  ventral  face 
of  the  parasphenoid.  This  "mccodont"  arrangement  is  strikingly 
exemplified  by  Salamandra  maculosa,  and  still  more  remarkably 
by  Plcthcdon  and  Anaidts,  where  these  longitudinal  series  of  teeth 
beneath  tho  parasphenoid  are  commonly  termed  "sphenoidal" 
teeth.  Duges3  and  other  observers,  however,  have  shown  that,  in 
larval  Salamandra;  and  Tritoncs,  the  vomerine  and  palato-pterygoid 
apparatus  have,  at  first,  the  same  disposition  as  in  Sircdon ,-  and 
Duges  has  described  the  process  by  which  the  palatine  bones,  be- 
coming detached  from  tho  pterygoids,  which  rotate  outwards,  onky- 
lose  with  tho  vomers,  taking  up  a  position  beneath  the  parasphe- 
noid, and  more  or  less  parallel  with  the  axis  of  the  skull ;  and  it 
can  hardly  bo  doubted  that  the  so-called  "sphenoidal"  dentigerous 
plates  of  other  genera  of  Salamandrida  have  tho  same  origin.  II 
this  conclusion  be  correct,  it  indicates  a  very  curious  morphological 
uce  between  the  "mecodont"  and  "lechriodont "  Salaman- 

In  all  tho  Salamandrida  the  parietal  bones  send  long  processes 
forwards  on  each  side  of  the  frontals.  The  parasphenoid  is  a  broad 
flat  plate.  Very  often  the  premaxillae  aro  ankyloscd  into  one  bone, 
and  tho  bones  of  tho  periotic  capsule  coalesce.  In  somo  cases  there 
are  epiotic  processes  or  ridges.  Maxillae  are  always  present,  and 
the  snout  is  usually  broadly  arched.  Nasal  bones,  distinct  from 
tho  prefronto-lachrymals,  aro  usually  present. 

In  the  genus  Anaidcs  tho  skull  is  comparatively  long  and  nar- 
row, and  the  muzzle  is  less  arched  than  usual.  The  single  pre- 
maxilla, and  the  two  well-developed  maxillno,  follow  the  semieir 
cular  curve  of  the  broad  subnasal  plates,  to  the  edges  of  which  the; 
are  attached.  The  hinder  free  extremities  of  the  maxillae  are  curved 
upwards,  and  the  jugal  arch  is  represented  only  by  ligament.  Thus 
far  the  skull  is  salamandrine  ;  as  it  is  also  in  tho  presence  of  dis- 
tinct nasal  and  prcfronto-lachrymal  bones,  in  the  disposition  of  the 
vomerine  and  so-called  "sphenoidal"  teeth,  in  the  absence  of  an 
apparent  palatine  bone,  and  in  the  manner  in  which  tho  pterygoid 
is  produced  into  a  long  process,  which  becomes  connected  with  the 
inner  face  of  the  maxilla.  But,  in  the  well-marked  downward  and 
forward  inclination  of  the  suspensorium,  and  in  the  strong  crests 
into  which  the  epiotic  processes  are  developed,  the  skull  of  Anaidts 
is  very  like  that  of  Siren. 

In  the  skull  of  Epicrium  ghdinosum  (Fig.  14),  which  may  be 
selected  as  an  examplo  of  the  Pep.omela,  tho  strong  occipital  con- 
dyles are  continued  into  two  ossifications,  which  rise  on  to  the  roof 
of  the  skull,  where  they  unite  in  a  short  suture,  and,  spreading 
out  so  as  to  embrace  tho  parietals,  are  continued  over  the  auditory 
apparatus,  as  far  as  the  squamosal  and  the  quadrate  bones.  Vent- 
rally,  no  indication  of  any  suture  between  these  bones  rnd  the  broad 
parasphenoid  is  visible ;  laterally,  they  pass  forward  into  a  con- 
tinuous ossification,  which  constitutes  the  side  walls  of  the  auditory 
capsule,  and,  in  front  of  this,  is  perforated  by  tho  wide  foramen  for 
the  trigeminil  nerve,  and  enters  largely  into  the  lateral  wall  of  tho 
cranial  cavity.  The  parietal  bone  rests  on  the  dorsal  edge  of  this 
lateral  ossification,  which  terminates,  anteriorly,  by  an  irregularly 

•  Rechercha,  pp.  172,  173,  pi.  xiv.  fig.  89.  EuscrrJ,  Obxnaliunt 
Analomijucs  sur  la  Si-tne,  1 1.  vi.  £g3.  3  -nd  10. 


AMPHIBIA 


VG1 


excavated  border,  between  which  and  the  posterior  margin  of  the 
•uhen-ethmoid  the  cranial  wall  is  unossified.    Throughout  its  whole 


Flo.  14. — The  skuTl  of  Epicrium  glutinosum.    A.  dorsal:  B,  venfrAlt  C,  lateral, 
view.    The  letters  have  the  same  signification  as  before. 

extent,  this  large  ossification,  which  represents  the  exoccipitals, 
the  elements  of  the  periotio  capsule,  and  the  alisphenoids,  is  firmly 
ankylosed  with  the  parasphenoid.  There  is  a  well-developed  sphen- 
ethmoid,  similar  in  its  general  characters  to  that  of  the  frog.  It  is 
very  closely  united,  if  not  ankylosed,  with  the  vomers  and  pre- 
maxillaB.  The  roof  of  the  skull  is  completed  by  two  parietals,  two 
frontals,  and  two  large  nasals,  which  unite  in  a  long  suture,  except 
fn  front,  where,  for  a  short  distance,  they  are  separated  by  the 
ascending  processes  of  the  premaxillae.  The  dentigerous  oral  pro- 
cesses of  these  bones  are  short,  and  unite  by  suture  with  the  maxilla?. 
These  send  up  broad  plates  which  lie  in  front  of  and  below  the  orbit, 
on  the  sides  of  the  face.  The  canal  for  the  suborbital  tentacle  per- 
forates the  maxilla  in  front  of  the  orbit.  Posteriorly,  the  maxilla 
unites  with  the  squamosal,  which  is  a  broad  plate  firmly  fixed 
to  the  quadrate,  but  somewhat  loosely  united  with  the  frontal 
and  parietal  and  with  the  complex  occipito-otic  bone.  A  small 
crescentio  post-orbital  bone  (denoted  by  1  in  Fig.  14)  articulates 
with  the  maxillary  and  squamosal,  and  with  another  bone  (2),  which 
answers  very  nearly  to  the  prefrontal  of  a  reptile.  Between  the 
nasal  bone  and  the  premaxilla,  above  and  below,-and  the  maxilla 
behind,  a  small  bone  (3)  is  fitted.  The  quadrate  bone  is  repre- 
sented by  the  ossification  of  the  distal  end  of  the  suspensorium, 
which  is  inclined  a  little  backwards.  The  stapes  is  large  and  well 
ossified.  Two  distinct  ossifications,  an  angul--articular  and  a 
dentary,  are  discernible  in  the  mandible  ;  and  the  second  short  row 
of  teeth,  inside  those  of  the  dentary,  seems  to  indicate  the  existence 
of  a  splenial  element. 

In  the  Labyrinthodonta  the  skull  presents  the  extremes  of 
form  which  are  met  with  among  the  Amphibia,  from  the  elonga- 
tion observable  in  Archegosaurus,  to  the-  short  and  broad  form  of 
Uetopias  and  Brachyops.  The  chief  characters  by  which  the  Iaby- 
rinthodont  cranium  differs  from  that  of  its  existing  allies  are  the 
following  : — 

The  occipital  condyles  in  some  genera  remained  long,  if  not  per- 
manently, cartilaginous;  and  one  or  two  supra-occipital  ossifica- 
tions (probably  membrane  bones)  very  generally  occur.  The  epiotics 
are  prominent,  and  appear  to  remain  permanently  separate  from  the 
adjacent  bones.  In  front  of  them,  and  articulated  with  the  outer 
edges  of  the  parietal  and  fronUl,  are  two  bones,  which  are  com- 
monly identified  with  the  "squamosal"  and  "post-frontal"  of  the 
higher  Vertebrata.  The  "  post-frontal "  articulates  anteriorly  with 
a  Targe  "prefrontal"  bone,  vhich  bounds  the  dorsal  and  anterior 
contour  of  the  orbit.  Tht  outer  edges  of  the  "squamosal"  and 
"post-frontal"  articulate  with  two  bones,  termed  the  "post- 
orbital  "  and  the  "  supra-temporal."  The  post-orbital  lies  in  front 
of  the  other,  and  contributes  to  the  posterior  margin  of  the  orbit, — 
the  rest  of  the  contour  of  which,  between  the  post-orbital  and  the 


tends  into  the  articular  surface  for  the  lower  jaw,  and  in  6ome  cases, 
at  any  rate,  overlaid  a  quadrate  ossification.  There  are  long  paired 
nasals,  between  the  anterior  ends  of  which  the  ascending  processes 
of  .the  premaxilla  »re  received:  and  between  these  bones,  the  un- 


usually long  maxillae,  and  the  prefrontals,  distinct  "lachrymal1 
ossifications  occur. 

The  vomers  are.  large,  meet  in  a  long  median  suture,  and  bear 
teeth.  The  palatine  bones,  also  dentigerous,  bound  the  posterior 
nares  in  front,  and  are  elongated  antero-posteriorly. 

The  mandible  presents  a  dentary  (probably  including  a  splenic!) 
clement,  an  angular  and  an  articular  ossification. 

Those  surfaces  of  the  cranial  bones  which  .were  covered  by  the 
skin  are  usually-rugose,  and  sculptured  much  in  the  same  way  as 
those  of  the  crocodiles,  and  they  frequently  present  symmetrically- 
disposed  grooves,  the  so-called  "mucous  canals,"  which,  very  pro- 
bably, lodged  sensory  apparatuses  resembling  the  similarly-named 
structures  in  fishes — the  homologues  of  which  are  found  in  existing 
Urodela. 

The  hyoid  is  unknown,  and  what  appears  to  be  traces  of  a  branchial 
apparatus  have  been  observed  only  in  young  specimens  of  Arclicgo- 
saurus.  Hence  it  is  probable,  not  only  that  no  known  Labyrinth- 
odonts  were  perennibrancbiate,  but  that  the  ait-breathing  condition 
supervened  early  in  the  course  of  their  development. 

The  Labyrinthodonts  doubtless  possessed  a  well-developed  chon- 
drocranium,  but  such  a  structure  would  necessarily  perish  in  the 
course  of  fcssilisation.  The  singular  resemblance  of  the  labyriuth- 
odont  skull  to  that  of  the  Pcromela,  in  the  arrangement  of  the 
bones  which  bound  the  cavity  of  the  mouth,  and  the  disposition  of 
the  teeth  upon  "them,  suggests  a  comparison  of  the  other  cranial 
bones  in  the  two  groups.  Starting  from  the  nasals  of  Epicrium, 
which  may  be  safely  identified  with  those  of  the  Labyrinthodonts, 
the  bone  marked  (2)  in  Epicrium  corresponds  very  closely  with  the 
labyrinthodont  "prefrontal;"  and  that  numbered  (1),  with  th- 
" post-orbital."  No.  3  in  Epicrium,  in  some  respects  answers  to 
the  so-called  "lachrymal"  of  the  Labyrinthodonts;  While  tin 
maxilla  of  the  Caecilian  may  be  taken  to  represent  both  maxilla  and 
jugal  of  the  Labyrinthodont.  But  if  this  be  so,  the  squamosal  ol 
Epicrium  corresponds  with  the  supra-temporal  of  the  Labvrinth- 
odout :  and  a  question  arises  as  to  the  true  nature  of  the  "squa- 
mosal "  and  "  post-frontal "  of  the  latter.1 

The  Limbs. — The  pectoral  arch  in  the  Amphibia  is  distinguish- 
able into  a  scapular,  a  coracoidal,  and  a  prsecoracoidal  region, 
although  the  extent  to  which  these  parts  of  the  primitive  cartilagin- 
ous arch  become  separately  ossified  vajies  very  much  iu  the  different 
members  of  the  group. 

In.  Proteus,  Menobranehus,  Cryptobranchtis,  and  Menopoma, 
ossification  occurs  only .  in  the  scapular  region.  In  Siren  and 
Amphiuma  an  additional  broad  coracoidal  ossification  occurs,  but  it 
does  not  meet  the  scapular  ossification  in  the  glenoidal  cavity.  Tho 
junction,  however,  takes  place  in  Siredon  and  the  Salamanders.  In 
none  of  the  Urodela  does  any  ossification  appear  in  or  upon  the 
prEecoracoidal  or  supra-scapular  cartiiage. 

A  supra-scapular  ossification  exists  in  all  known  Annra.  All  but 
Microps  and  Hylccdactylus1  have  a  pnecoracoid,  which  acquires  a 
sheath  of  -bony  matter.  The  glenoidal  cavity  is  bounded  by  tho 
pracoracoid,  coracoid,  and  scapula  ;  and  in  some  cases  (e.g.,  Dacty- 
Icthra)  the  ossified  ends  of  the  three  unite  and  give  rise  to  a  tri- 
radiate  suture  in  the  glenoidal  cavity,  just  as  the  pubis,  ischium, 
and  ilium  of  most  Vertebrata  unite  in  the  acetabulum.  In  Sljstcma 
gibbosum,  contrary  to  the  usual  rule,  the  pnecoracoid  is  far  broader 
than  the  coracoid  (Parker). 

In  the  higher  Anura,  a  median  piece,  of  very  variable  size,  form, 
and  consistency,  extends  forwards  from  the  junction  of  tho  pre- 
coracoids.  Mr  Parker  considers  it  to  be  an  outgrowth  from  these, 
and  terms  it  the  omosternum. 

The  long  bones,  both  in  the  fore  and  hind  limbs,  consist  of  an 
axis  of  cartilage,  sheathed  in,  and  more  or  less  replaced  by,  a  dia- 
physis  of  membrane  bone.  The  extremities  of  the  cartilages  fre- 
quently undergo  calcification,  and  are  thus  converted  into  epiphyses. 
A  strong  crest  characterises  the  humerus  in  many  male  Anura. 
In  the  latter,  the  radius  and  ulna  coalesce  into  one  bone,  while  in 
all  other  Amphibia  they  remain  distinct. 

In  Siredon,  Cryptobranchus,  and  Mencpoma,  the  carpus  contains 
eight  separate  cartilages,  of  which  three— the  radiate,  inla-medium, 
and  ulnare — form  a  proximal  row  ;  and  four  distalia,  a  distal  row. 
Between  these  two  series  lies  a  single  centrale. 

In  Menobranehus,  there  are  only  six  carpal  cartilages — the  ulmrc 
and  intermedium,  and  the  radiale  and  radial  distale,  respectively, 
having  apparently,  as  Gegenbaur  suggests,  coalesced. 

In  Amphiuma  didaclytum,  the  number  of  carpal  cartiUges  is 
reduced  to  four,  and  in  Prolcus  to  three.  In  both  these  cases  the 
two  largest  cartilages  form  a  proximal  row. 

1  On  the  structure  of  the  skull,  as  of  whatever  else  is  known  of  the 
organisation  of  the  Labyrinthodonts,  the  reader  will  find  full,  ex- 
cellently arranged,  and  well-digested  information  in  the  "  Keport  of  the 
Committee  of  the  British  Association  ou  the  Labyrinthodonts  of  tbc 
Coal  Measures,"  drawn  up  by  Mr  Miall,  British.  Association  jftejiorU, 
1873. 

«  r.irker  'in  (he  FJiouWer  Girdle,  p.  !"■ 


:«;•_> 


A  M  1>  11  1  13  1  A 


The  Salamandrida  usually  have  erven  carpal  elements.  In  t!ie 
proximal  row  there  are  two — a  radiale  and  a  coalesced  intermedium 
and  ulnare.  There  is  a  single  oentrale  and  four  distalia.  These  are 
variously  ossified  until,  in  Triton  crista!  us  an  J  iifyji's/m.all  arc  ossified. 

No  nrodcle  amphibian  has  more  than  four  digits  in  the  manus, 
and  the  number  may  be  reduced  to  three,  or  even  two  (Amphiuma 
!um).     When  four  dibits   are  present  the   number  of  the 
phalanges  is  usually  2,  2,  3,  2. 

Among  the  Anura,  Dugcs  a]  tax  have  shown  that  Bom- 

bina'.ur  and  i  carpal  bones— two  in  tho 

proximal  row  (radiale,  i  a  ulnare),  tivo  in  the  di 

one  between  theso  two  rows.    This  last,  which  is  the  cent! 

■  radial  siJo  of  the  manus,   and  articulates  with  the  three 

radial  distulia,   much  as  the  navicular  bono  articulates  with   the 

threo  cunciformia  in  the  mammalian  tarsus.     In  Ram  esculcnta, 

there  are  also  two  bones  in  tho  proximal  row,  and  tho  contrale  lies 

1  side  of  tho  carpus.     Hut  there  are  only  three  I 

tal  row  ;  on  on  the  ulnar  side,  which  bears  the  third, 

i,  end  fifth  metacarpals,  and  two  email  ossicles  on  the  radial 

side,  which  articulate  with  tho  first  and  second  metacarpals. 

Thero  are  five  digits  in  the  manus  of  the  Anura  ;  but  the  pollex 
is  rudimentary,  being  represented  only  by  a  cartilaginous  or  more 
le.     Tho  second  and  third  digits  usually  have  two 
,,'es  each,  and  tho  fourth  and  fifth,  three  (2,  2,  3,  3). 

The  pectoral  arch  of  the  Labyrinthodonts  is  best  known  in 
wsaurus,  where  it  presents  three  ossified  elements,  which  pro- 
bably answer  to  tho  coracoid,  prrecoracoid,  and  scapula.  The  bones 
of  tho  fore-limb  in  the  Labyrinthodonts  are  always  wi 
lo  the  size  of  tho  body.  There  appear  to  have  been  five  digits,  tho 
carpus  remaining  unossified. 

In  Proteus,  Menobranchus,  and  Amphiuma,  the  pelvic  arch  is  not 
connected  with  any  distinctly  modified  sacral  vertebra,  and  tho 
ilium  is  very  small.  The  pubes  and  ischia  are  represented  by  broad 
cartilaginous  plates,  which  unite,  and  may  become  fused  together 
in  the  middle  line. 

In  ifenobrancAu),  the  pubic  portion  of  the  pelvis  is  continued  for- 
wards into  a  broad  triangular  median  process.  In  Sircdon,  Aft 
poma,  Cryptobranchus,  and  the  Salamanders,  there  is  a  similar 
median  process,  reminding  one  of  the  omosternum  in  the  pectoral 
arch  of  the  Anura.  It  becomes  bifurcated  anteriorly.  The  ilium 
is  always  ossified ;  and  there  are  ischial  ossifications  in  all  but 
Proteus.  On  the  other  hand,  the  pubic  region  always  remaius 
•artilaginou3  in  the  Urodcta. 

Hyrtl  has  shown  that  Cryptobranchus  has  no  proper kiiee-joint,  the 
femur  being  united  with- the  tibia  and  fibula  by  a  solid  fibrous  mass  ; 
and  that,  in  Menopoma,  tho  cavity  of  the  knee-joint  is  very  small. 

The  tibia  and  fibula  in  the  Urodela  are  always  separate,  and  the 
proximal  elements  of  tho  tarsus  are  not  elongated.  The  g 
number  of  tarsal  elements  is  found  in  Cryptobranchus  ana 
poma,  which,  according  to  Hyrtl,  have  three  cartilages  in  the  proxi- 
mal, and  five  in  the  distal,  row,  while  two  are  central.  In  Sircdon, 
the  tarsus  completely  resembles  the  carpus,  but  there  is  one  more 
distal  cartilage.  Tho  tarsus  therefore  consists  of  three  proximal 
cartilr.  •  intermedium,  fibularc),  one  central  {oentrale),  and 

five  distal  (distalia).  In  the  Salamanders,  there  is  usually  the  same 
number  and  disposition  of  tho  tarsal  cartilages  ;  but  more  or  fewer 
are  ossified,  and  it  is  interesting  to  remark  that  tho  two  fibular 
distalia  sometimes  become  united  into  a  "cuboid." 

Alcnobranchus  has  two  (or  three)  proximal,  one  central,  and  three 
distal  tarsal  cartilages  ;  Amphiuma,  three  proximal  and  two 
Proteus,  two  cartilages  on  the  fibular,  and  one  on  the  tibia! 

Sircdon,  Cryptobranchus,  Menopoma,  and  most  Salamanders  have 
five  digits  in  the  pes;  Menobranchus,  four;  Amphiuma,  three; 
and  Proteus,  two.  The  number  of  the  phalanges  in  the  pentadactyle 
foot  is  usually  2,  2,  3,  3,  2.     In  Siredon,  Hyrtl  found  1,  2,  3,  4,  2. 

In  tho  Anura,  the  ilium  is  greatly  elongated,  and  tho  pubes  and 
Ischia  are  flattened,  discoidal,  and  applied  together  by  thoir  inner 
Burfaces.  The  ilium  and  the  ischium,  alone,  become  completely 
ossified,  and  there  is  no  prapubic  process. 

The  tibia  and  fibula  coalesce  into  one  bone.   Two  elongated  bones 
form  a  proximal  row  in  the  tarsus,  and  are  commonly  united  by 
their  epiphysial  ends  {e.g.,  Sana;  they  remain  separate  in  Bom- 
•a  cscuicnta,  the  distal  confluent  ends  of  these 
bones  (which  possibly  answer  to  the  astragalus  and  calcancum)  pre- 
sent a  transversely  elongated  articular  surface,  which  is  convex  from 
the  dorsal  to  tho  plantar  side.     Between  this  and  the  proximal  end 
I  third  metatarsals  lies  a  discoidal,  more  or  less 
calcified,  cartilage.     The  convex  distal  faco  of  this  cartilage  articu- 
ith  these  two  metatarsals.     From  its  fibular  sido  a  strong 
ligamentous  band  passes  to  the  proximal  end  of  the  fifth  metatarsal, 
and  a  fibrous  plate  to  the  fibular  and  plantar  edge  of  the  fourth 
metatarsal,  60  that  tho  band  and  plate  are  interposed  between  these 
the  coalesced  astragalus  and  calcaneum.     On  the 
:oidal  cartilage  lies  another,  which  is  clonuated 
from  the  doi-sal  to  the  plantar  side,  and  concave  proximal!;/,  to 
articulate  with  tho  tibial  side  of  the  distal  end  of  the   • 
I  aneum     Tho  inner  or  tibial  fare,  of  ' 


articulate)  with  the  proximal  end  of  the  elongated  first  joint  of  the 

en/car.     Its  distal  end  is  i  tnd  of  ligament'  us. 

within  which  a  nodule  of  cartilage  may  uocncioscd,  with  the 

proximal  he  first  and  sccon-1  Is.   The  second  joint 

m  of  an  ungual  phalanx. 

.-,  according  to  Gegenbaur,  the  calcar  con 

sists  of  only  a  single  piece. 

The  pelvic  arch  of  tho  Labyrinthodonts  appears  to  have  container' 

a  well-ossified  pubic  clement,  i  peel   it  differs  from  that 

of  ."11  other  Amphibia,     The  hind-limb,  liko  tho  fore-limb,  was 

tibia  and  fibula  are  distinct.     In  tho  few 

cases  in  which  the  pes  is  preserved  it  is  pentadactyle,  with  a  short 

nuns  tarsus. 

The  Integumentary  Organs. — In  all  recent  Amphibia,  the  integu- 
ment i  for  the  great  abundance   of  simple   follicular 
which  are  distributed  through  it,  and  are  sometimes  all  of 
one  kind  (e.g.,  Proteus),  though  in  other  cases  two  sort3  of  such 
Sana).    In  many  Anura  and  Urodela, 
these  glandular  structures  attain  a  greater  complication  of  structure, 
r  the  anglo  of  the  jaw,  and  constitute  what  are  termed 
irotoid  "  glands.    In  some  coses,  the  secretion  of  these  glands 
is  extremely  acrid  and  tn  In  (Proteus  and 
Siredon),  and  in  t'                              pidcrmis  becomes  modified  in 
i  with  the  t                  i  of  sensory  nerves,  in  the  head  and 
along  the  body,  in                  i  •  >!  the  norvo  of  tho  lateral  line,  and 
gives  riso  to  sensory  orgni                            ituro  as  those  which  are 
ii  the  lateral  lino  and  the  so-called  mucous  sacs  and  canals 

in  a  few  Anura,  ossification  takes  place  in  the  dorsal  integument, 
and  this  process  may  go  so  far  as  to  give  rise  to  bony  plates,  which 
may  become  closely  connected  with  the  spines  of  the  subjacent 
vertebra;  (Brackyccphalus,  Ceratophrys).  In  the  majority  of  the 
Peromcla,  oval,  cycloid  scales  are  imbedded  in  tho  transversa  folds 
of  the  integument,  and  constitute  another  point  of  resemblance  be- 
I  lie  members  of  this  group  and  the  Labyrinthodonts.  But  the 
rows  of  scales  are  not  confined  to  the  ventral  surface,  and  the  scales 
themselves  differ  in  structure  from  those  of  the  Labyrinthodonts. 

In  tho  Urodela  and  A nura,  tho  epidermis  is  periodically  exuri 
ated. 

The  Alimentary  Organs. — The  teeth  of  the  recent  A  mpl  it  ia 
vary  a  good  deal  in  form.  In  the  Urodela,  they  are  usually 
conical  and  pointed ;  frequently  more  or  less  curved ;  some- 
times, as  in  Anaides,  lancet-shaped.  Siren  has  the  surface? 
of  the  vomers  and  palatines  covered  with  parallel  series  of 
small  dents  en  brosse.  In  Ceratophrys,  the  baseo  of  the 
teeth  are  slightly  grooved  longitudinally.  In  Archego- 
saurus,  similar  grooves  are  more  marked,  and  give  rise  to 
folds  of  the  wall  of  the  tooth.  These,  extending  inwards 
and  ramifying,  givo  rise  tp  the  complicated  or  "  labyrin- 
thic''  structure  exhibited  by  transverse  sections  of  the 
teeth  of  the  typical  Labyrinthodonts.  Very  generally,  the 
teeth  become  ankylosed  with  tho  subjacent  bones,  and  are 
replaced  by  others  developed  at  their  bases.  In  the  Laby- 
rinthodonts, some  of  the  anterior  teeth  frequently  become 
larger  than  the  rest.  Tho  Anura  are  remarkable 
for  the  total  absenco  of  teeth  in  the  mandibles,  in  all  but 
one  or  two  genera,  while  many  have  no  premaxillary  oi 
maxillary  teeth.  The  Toads  have  no  teeth  in  the  upper 
jaw.  Pipa  is  altogether  edentulous.  Siren  alone  presents 
plates  of  horn  upon  the  gingivel  surfaces  of  the  premaxillay 
and  of  the  dentary  elements  of  the  mandible. 

Teeth,  may  be  developed  upon  tho  premaxilta  and 
e,  the  palatines,  and  the  dentary  and  the  splenial 
elements  of  the  mandible ;  but  they  do  not  occur  else- 
where,— the  eo-called  sphenoidal  teeth  of  some  Salaman- 
ders being  really  borne,  as  Las  been  seen,  on  the  peculiar!} 
modified  palatines. 

The  buccal  cavity  is  usually  spacious,  and  the  widely-separated 
posterior  nare3  open  into  the  anterior  part  of  it.  In  the  lower  Uro- 
dela; the  branchial  clefts  lie  at  the  sides  of  the  pharynx,  and  th« 
median  aperture  of  tho  glottis  is  situated  far  back.  In  the  Urodela, 
and  some  Anura,  there  are  no  Eustachian  passages  ;  but,  in  moss 
Anura,  these  passages  have  the  form  of  wide  recesses  leading  ou' 
of  the  pharynx.  In  Pipa  and  Daetyleihra  alone,  the  "recesses' 
are  converted  into  Eustachian  "tubes,"  which  open  by  &  common 

*  Jtccherches  sur  les  organs  eensiti/s,  qui  ee  'trouvent  dans  I'epiderv-' 
■iu  I'rotle  et  dt  V  Axolotl,  Sr  E  n-asnion.     Lorsanne,  1873. 


AMPHIBIA 


763 


median  aperture ;  tms  W  relatively  wider  in  Dadylethra.  Two 
riooves  iu  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  roof  of  the  mouth  pass 
trom  the  Eustachian  to  the  posterior  nasal  apertures,  and.  enclose  a 
lyrate  space,  in  these  genera. 

The  tongue  is  rudimentary  in  the  lower  Urodcla;  but,  in  the 
Salamanders,  it  may  he  free,  fleshy,  and  even  mushroom-shaped. 
Iu  Pipa  and  Dadylethra,  no  trace  of  a  tongue  i3  to  be  observed. 
In  liana,  as  in  most  Anura,  tiie  anteiior  end  of  the  tongue  is  com- 
paratively small  and  little  elevated  above  the  mucous  membrane  of 
the  floor  of  tho  mouth,  but  the  posterior  end'is'prodaced  into  a 
free  fleshy  mass,  bifurcated  at  its  extremity.  It  is  this  free  end 
which  is  thrown  forward  in  the  act  of  preht  nsion,  the  tongue  turn- 
ing on  its  anterior  end  as  on  a  hinge.  Fihinopjirymts  is  the  only 
Aimran  in  which  the  anterior  end  of  the  tongue  alone  is  free. 

In  the  males  of  many  Anura  the  mucous  membrane  of  tho  mouth 
is  produced  outwards,  on  each  side,  between  the  mandible  and  the 
hyoid,  into  a  sae,  which  becomes  Idled  with  air,  and  gives  rise  to  a 
conspicuous  projection  of  the  integument  of  the  throat,  In  some 
cases  these  two  sacs  coalesce  into  one. 

Salivary  glands  have  not  been  discovered  in  any  Amphibia. 

Except  in  the  Pervmcla,  the  gullet  is  short.  It  passes  into  an 
elongated  stomach,  the  long  axis  of  which  coincides  with  that  of 
the  body  in  the  Urodcla  and  Peromela,  but  becomes  oblique,  or 
transverse,  in  the  Anura.  The  intestine  is  never  very  long,  and, 
consequently,  its  convr'.utions  are  few  and  simple.  There  is  always 
a  marked  distinction  between  the  small  and  the  large  intestine.  The 
latter  opens  into  a  cloaca,  which  receives  the  ducts  of  the  urinary 
and  genital  apparatus.  The  stomach  and  intestine  are  enclosed  in 
•"-eritoneum,  and  suspended  to  the  roof  of  the  abdominal  cavity  by 
a  mesenteric  fold.  The  liver  is  always  provided  with  a  gall-bladder. 
It  is  distinctly  bilobed  in  most  Anura;  and,  in  Pipa  and  Dady- 
lethra, the  two  lobes  are  completely  separate,  the  gall-bladder  being 
attached  to  the  right  lobe.  In  the  Peromela,  the  liver  has  an  ex- 
ceptional form,  being  divided  into  a  great  number  of  small  lobes, 
arranged  in  a  longitudinal  series  so  as  to  overlap  one  another. 

A  pancreas  is  always  present ;  but  sometimes,  as  in  Plana,  it  is 
small,. and  'its  glandular  substance  surrounds  the  hepatic  duct.  The 
spleen,  enclosed  in  the  mesentery,  is  elongated  in  the  Urodcla  and 
Peromela,  rounded  in  the  Anura. 

The  Organs  of  Circulation. — The  heart  is  contained  within 
s  pericardium,  the  walls  of  which  generally  exhibit 
numerous     scat-  L.s.v.e. 

tered  pigment 
cells,  and  though 
delicate  in  the 
fresh  state,  are 
apt  to  become 
tough  and  almost 
perganientaceous 
in.  spirit  speci- 
mens. The  heart 
(if  we  apply  that 
name  to  the 
whole  apparatus 
enclosed  within 
the  pericardium, 
except  the  vena 
cavas),  presents  a 
aeries  of  five 
segments,  to 
which,  enumera- 
ting them  from 
behind  forwards,  the  following  terms  may  be  applied: — 1, 
Tho  sinus  venosus  ;  2,  tho  atrium;  3,  the  venlricidus;  4,  tho 
pylangium  (from  wukuiv,  a  gateway,  and  ayyelov,  a  vessel); 
and  5,  the  synangium.  Atrium  here  denotes  the  auricular 
division  of  the"  heart,  comprising  the  right  and  left 
auricles.  Pylangium  and  synangium,  together,  are  the 
equivalents  of  that  portion  of  tho  heart  which  lies  between 
the  ventricle  and  the  anterior  wall  of  the  pericardium,  and 
which  has  been  variously  named  bulbus,  cavus,  and  Iruncus. 
arteriosus. 

These  five  segments  of  tho  heart  arc  so  arranged,  that 
tho  sinu3  and  atrium  lie  on  the  dorsal  and  posterior  aspoct 
of  the  organ,  while  the  others  occupy  its  ventral  and  anterior 
region-     Viewed  sideways,  in  fact,  tho  heart  *w  the  shape 


l  A. 


Fio.15— Theheartof  SirftfomnerininM.  lateral  view  of 
the  heart  contained  within  the  pericardium,  the  left 

'  wall  of  tho  sinus  venosu9  end  of  the  auricles  being 
removed;  5.  sinus  venosus ;  I.v.c.  Inferior  vena  cava; 
L.  s.  v.  c.  left  superior  vena  cava;  L.A.  left  auricle; 
R.  A.  right  auricle;  Spt.  septum  auriculorum  j  V. 
ventricle;  T.  a.  tnjncns  arteriosus;  1,  '-,  3,  4,  the 
aortic  arches.  The  arrow  traverses  the  sinu-auricular 
aperture.  The  auriculo-ventricular  aperture  lies  to 
the  right  of  the  arch  formed  by  the  free  edge  of  the 
septum. 


— -  •* 


JlS.vc. 


Z.S.rr. 


of  a  ;S,  of  whicn  the  sinus  and  atrium  occupy  the  upper, 
and  the  other  segments  tho  lower  half.  But  it  als 
always  presents, 
more  or  less,  a 
lateral  ■  flexure, 
between  its  an- 
terior and  poste- 
rior points  of 
adherence  to  the 
middle  line  of 
the  pericar- 
dium; so  that, 
viewed  from 
above,  it .  ap- 
proximates- the 
form  of  an  N,  of 
which  the  right 
half  is  repre- 
sented by  the 
synangium,  py- 
langium, and  Fig.  16.— Ventral  view  of  the  iame  henrf  contained  In  thf 
+  '  lo  o  ti  A  pericardium.  R  i.v.c.  right  superior  vena  cava.  Thr 
Ventricle,  anu  pylangium  l"id  open  to  show  the  two  tiansverse  rowt 
the  left  half  by  ot  valves,  V,  V-.  The  cumnienceraeDt  of  the  synan- 
,,  ...  ,      gium  'Sq\  cut  across. 

the  atrium  and 

sinus.  The  pylangium,  in  fact,  always  arises  from  the 
right  side  of  the  Ventricle,  while  a  large  part  of  the  atrium 
and  of  the  sinus  very  often  lies  to"  the  left  of  the  ventrich 
the   auriculo-ventricu-  Fi- 

lar aperture  of  the  ven-       T  fl.r 
tricle  .looking   to   the 
left  side  and  forwards. 
There  is  an  interest- 
ing difference    to-  be 
observed  in  the  relative 
position  of  these  seg- 
ments of  the  heart  in 
the     lower     and    the 
higher  Amphibia.     In 
Siredon,   for  example, 
the  greater  part  of  the 
sinus    lies    completely 
behind    the    ventricle, 
and  the  sinu-auricular  ' 
aperture  is  situated- on 
the  posterior  face  of  the  atrium,  on  a  level  with  the  posterioi 
part  of  the  ventricle ;  but,  in  the  Frogs,  the  sinus  lies 
altogether  above  the  ventricle,  without  sensibly  projecting 
behind  it,  and  the  sinu- 
auricular  opening  lies  in 
the  dorsal  face  of  the 
atrium,  in  front  of  the 
level    of    the    auriculo- 
ventricular  aperture.   In 
other    words,    the  seg- 
ments of  the  heart  have 
a  less  marked  vertical 
flexure    in    the    lower, 
than  in  the  higher  Am- 
phibia, and  more  nearly 
approach  the  condition 
of  the  embryonic  heart. 

T  j  ;t\,  T7,n  is The  atrium  of  the  same  heart  Ulo 

In  correspondence  with  ^^"ft,  ,515.  spread  oat.  so  as  to  sho- 

this,  the   superior  cavte       the  opening  of  the  rulmonary  vein,  P.v.,  auo 
'  .,     £  j-    the  sinu-auricular  aperture,  S.a 

traverse  the  pericardium    luo  3U1  r  t 

to  enter  the  sinus  near  its  posterior  end  in  Siredon,  but 

about  its  middle  in  the  Frog.  . 

The  sinus  venosus  is  a  thin  walled  sac,  which  is  relatively 
largest  in  the  lower  Amphibia  and  smallest  in  the  Frotis 
Anteriorly,  it  usually  receives,  on  each  side,  one  of  tU 
two  superior  venne  cavse ;  posteriorly,  the  single  vena  cav» 


Etr. 

Fig.  17. — Posterior  view  of  the  same  heart,  r» 
.noved  f roai  the  pericardium ;  P.v.  pulmoaarj 
vein. 


Wrl 


s;,t. 


704 


AMPHIBIA 


hiforin  opens  into  it.  But,  in  some  cases  (as  in  heno- 
branchus  and  Pipa,  according  to  Meyer)  the  inferior  vena 
cava  divides  in- 
to two  branches, 
each  of  which 
coalesces  with 
the  superior 
vena  cava  of  its 
sidebeforcopen- 
ing  into  the 
sinus.  The  supe- 
rior cava*  may 
open  into  the 
sinus 

ately  after  they 
have  traversed 
the  pericardi- 
um, as  in  J//  ;io- 
branchus  ;  or, 
they  may  be 
short  trunks,  as 
in  the  Frogs;  or, 


lmmedl-Fl°-  ,9-— The  Heart  of  Rana  tKtilmta.— Lateral  view  of  the 

pericardium,    fThe  heart  has 
irefully  dram)  to  scale  inula,  and  tlie  parts  shown 
pat  in  u  if  the 
A  sinus  venosus;  I.e.  Inferior  vena  cava;   s.vs  I.  left 
superior   cava;    8.VX  ..  .,    the  right  superior 

cava;  p.v.  pulmonary  rein  mi  dotlcd  contour  is  seen 
through  the  left  superior  cava) ;  c,  style  introduced  Into 
the  pulmonary  vein  and  pasting  Into  the  left  auricle; 
0,  style  introduced  into  the  sinii-auricular  aperture  and 
passing  Into  the  right  auricle  (R.A.I.  where  Its  end  is 
risible  to  the  right  of  the  Septum,  Spl.  IV.  ventricular 
cavity.  T.a.  truncus  arteriosus.  Ao.  aortic  arch;  a, 
ligament  passing  from  the  wall  of  the  pericardium  to  the 
ventricle. 


Fio.  50.— Ventral  view  of  the  heart  of  Rana  neti- 
Unta.  obtained  in  the  same  way.  A  stylo  Is 
pa-sed  through  the  aperturo  which  leads  from 
the  vmtrlcle  into  the  prlanglam;  LA.  left 
auricle;  Ao.  Ao*.  aortic  arches;  R.m.v.  c.  right, 
and  L.t.  v.  c.  left  superior  cava. 


as    in    Siredon 
and  the  Salamanders,  the  right  cava  may  be  long  and  the 
left  short. 
_  The  sinu-auricukr  aperture,  by  which  the  sinus  and  the 
right  auricle  communicate,  is  small,  relatively  to  the  size  of 
these  two  cavities,  and 
has  an  oval  form.    Its 
lips  may  be  slightly 
prolonged       towards 
the     cavity    of     the 
auricle,    but   do  not 
give  rise  to  very  de- 
finite  sinu  -  auricular 
valves. 

The  auricular  seg- 
ment of  the  heart,  or 
atrium,  is  always 
more  or  less  bi-lobed, 
the  truncus  arteriosus 
being  embraced  by 
the  two  lobes,  one  of 
■which  projects  on  its 
right  side  and  the 
other;  on  the  left.  The 
right  and  left  lobes  are  equal  in  Proteus ;  both  lobes  are 
large  and  sacculated  in  Siren ;  in  Menobranchus,  the  left 
lobe  seems  to  be  large,  in  Epicrium,  the  right ;  but  many 
of  these  differences  are  pro- 
bably accidental  In  the 
Bullfrog  (Ranapipiens)  the 
two  lobes  of  the  atrial 
segment  of  the  heart  com- 
pletely envelop  the  truncus 
•sus,  and  become 
united  together  by  fibrous 
tissue,  which  connects  their 
walls  on  the  ventral  side  of 
the  truncus.  The  atrium 
is  usually  divided  into  two 
cavities,  of  which  the  left 
Is  smaller  than  the  right, 
by  a  septum,  which  ex- 
tends from  the  left  wall  of 
the  atrium  towards  the 
•uriculo-ventricular  aperture.  The  cavity  of  the  auricular 
legment  thus  becomes  divided  into  a  smaller,  left,  auricle, 
which  lies  behind  and  to  the  left  of  the  septum,  and  a 
Wrger,  jight,  auricle,    to  the  right  and  in  front  of  the 


l.s.v.c 


Z.ft.v. 


Fio. 21. — Theheart  of  Ftna  tscuttnta.  rleir. 
ed  from  above  ami  Lehind.  .The  aortic 
arches  seen  through  the  auricles.  Z.p.r, 
R.p.v.  left  and  right  pulmonary  veins. 


o.  22. — The  left  auricle  of  the  bullfrog  (Rana  prpxem) 
laid  open  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  the  septum 
with  its  nerves  (n)  and  ganglia  (?),  and  the  manner 
in  which  it  descends  upon  the  free  surfaces  of  the 
auriculo-ventricular  valves,  F1,  F1.  /».r.  opening  of 
the  pulmonary  vein;  L.t.v.c.  left  superior  vena 
cava ;  V.  ventricular  cavity. 


septum.  Tn  the  Frogs,  the  septum  auriculorum  is  a  com- 
plete partition,  containing  muscular  fibres,  and  the  septal 
branches,  with  their  ganglia,  of  the  cardiac  nerves  of  the 
pneumogastric. 
It  divides  the 
auriculo  -  ventricu  - 
lar  aperture,  pass- 
ing from  one  au- 
riculo -  ventricular 
valve  to  the  other, 
and  ending  be- 
tween tbem  by  a 
free  edge,  which 
might  almost  be 
said  to  lie  in  the 
cavity  of  the  ven- 
tricle (Fig.  23). 

In  Lissotriton 
punctatus,  and  in 
Siredon,  the  sep- 
tum, still  com- 
plete, ends  fn  the 
cavity  of  the  au- 
ricular segment  by 
a  free  edge,  which 
arches  over  the  auriculo-ventricular  aperture.  In  Meno- 
branchus, the  septum  is  reduced  to  little  more  than  a 
wide-meshed  network  of  branched  muscular  bands,  and,  in 
Proteus,  the  existence  of  a  septum  is  doubtful 

The  auriculo-ventricular  aperture  is  always  situated  at 
the  left  side  of  the  posterior  end  of  the  auricular  segment, 
where  the  latter  joins  the  ventricle.  In  Rana  esculenla 
and  pipiens  it  possesses  distinct,  though  short,  membrane- 
ous valves,  the  free  edges  of  which,  directed  towards  the 
ventricular  cavity,  are  kept  down  by  fine  tendinous  filaments. 
The  common  trunk,  formed  by  the  union  of  the  two 
pulmonary  veins,  runs  over  the  dorsal  wall  of  the  sinus 
venosus,  passes  between  the  two  superior  cavae,  and,  usually 
dilating,  opens  into  the  cavity  of  the  left  auricle,  close 
to  the  sinu-auricular  aperture ;  and,  in  fact,  separated 
from  it  only  by  the  septum,  which  continues  the  direction 
of  the  right  wall  of  the  pulmonary  vein. 

The  ventricular  segment  always  has  thick  walls  and  a 
comparatively  small  cavity,  which  lies  in  the  anterior  half 
or  base  of  the  ventricle,  and  takes  a  direction  from  left  to 
right,  or  from  the  auriculo-ventricular  aperture  to  that  of 
the  truncus  arteriosus.  In  consequence  of  the  loose  and 
spongy  texture  of  the  greater  part  of  the  thickness  of  the 
ventricular  wall,  it  must  be  recollected  that  its  apparent 
cavity  by  no  means  represents  its  capacity. 

The  truncus  arteriosus  of  Menobranchus  is  subcylindrical, 
in  that  half  which  is  nearest  the  ventricle,  but,  in  the  other 
half,  has  a  dilated  and  ovoid  form.  The  latter,  in  reality, 
consists  of  the  origins  of  the  aortic  arches,  closely  united 
.together  (synangium),  while  the  former  subdivision  is  tho 
gateway  between  the  ventricle  and  the  great  vessels,  or  the 
pylangium.  It  presents  two  transverse  rows  of  semilunar 
valves,  three  in  each  row;  the  lower  or  posterior  row  being 
close  to  the  opening  of  communication  between  the  pylan- 
gium and  the  ventricle,  while  the  other  row  is  near  tha 
anterior  end  of  the  pylangium. 

In  Siredon  (Figs.  15andlG)  there  13  the  same  division  into 
a  pylangium  proper  and  a  large  oval  bulb-like  synangium, 
formed  by  the  united  aortic  arche3.  Three  valves  in  8 
transverse  row  are  situated  at  each  end  of  the  pylangium. 
An  oblique  ridge  projects  from  the  dorsal  wall  of  the 
pylangium,  beginning  low  on  tho  left  side,  and  gradually 
increasing  in  size,  until  it  passes  into  the  dorsal  valve  of 
the  anterior  row.  There  is  a  small  space  in  front  of  thi 
aniennr  row  of  valves,  into  which  projects  the  oosterkx 


AMPHIBIA 


765 


free  end  of  an  oblique,  but  nearly  horizontal  septum,  which 
divides  the  cavity  of  the  synangium.  From  this  thick  parti- 
tion thinner  septa  radiate  to  the  walls  of  the  synangium, 
which  they  thus  divide  into  five  longitudinal  canals,  of  which 
that  which  lies  to  the  right  is  twice  as  large  as  any  of 
the  others.  In  fact,  it  also  becomes  subdivided,  further 
forwards,  by  a  longitudinal  septum,  and  then  there  are  six 
canals'  answering  to  the  six  aortic  arches  which  spring  from 
?he  synangium,  where  it  reaches  the  anterior  end  of  the 
pericardium.  According  to  Hyrtl's  account,  the  pylan- 
gium  of  Cryptobranchus  has  a  very  similar  structure;  but 
the  synangium  is  completely  split  into  two  trunks,  each  of 
which  contains  three  canals. 

This  'leads  to  the  structure  of   the  truncus  arteriosus 
observed  in  the  Frogs,  which  consists  almost  wholly  of  the 
oylangium.     Three  thick  semilunar  valves  are  placed  at 
the  ventricular 
end    of    this    re-    Aa 
gion,    and    three 
others,  also  of  un- 
equal dimensions, 
at    its    synangial 
end.   A  longitudi- 
nal ridge,  with  a 
rounded,  free,  ven- 
tral edge,  projects 
from    the    dorsal 
wall    of    the  py- 
langium.      It    is 
thicker  anteriorly 
than    posteriorly, 
and     is    idirected 
obliquely,  so  that 
its    anterior    end 
passes    into    the 
right    anterior 
valve,    while    its 
posterior  extre- 
mity is   close 
the  left  posterior 
valve.     The  ante- 
rior valves  of  the 
pylangium   (V) 
are    much   larger 
than  the  posterior  valves;  and,  of  the  three  anterior  valves, 
that  which  lies  on  the  dorsal  side  is  the  smallest.     Imme- 
diately beyond  it  is  situated  the  aperture  (p),  which  leads 
into  the  pulmonary  trunks.     In  front  of  the  pulmonary 
aperture  is  a  wide  cavity,  whence  the  two  great  aortic  trunks 
(Ao,  Ao1)  spring.     A  tongue-like  projection  springs  from 
the  dorsal  wall,  and  divides  the  cavity  imperfectly.     On  the 
ventral  side  of  the  base  of  this  tongue  are  the  two  open- 
ings (Ca)  which  lead  into  the  carotid  trunks.     The  three 
trunks — carotid,  aortic,  and  pulmonary — pass  out  of  tho 
pericardium  together,  so  closely  united  that  they  appear 
one.     It  is  only  at  some  distance  beyond  the  pericardium 
that  they  separate, — tho  anterior  ending  in  the  rete  mirabile, 
which  has   received  the  name  of  the  ."carotid  gland;" 
the  middle  becoming  the  arch  of  the  aorta;  the  posterior, 
the  pulmo-cutaneous  artery.1 

In  the  Peromela  (e.g.  Eptcrium),  the  heart  presents  many 
singular  peculiarities  (Fig.  24).  In  tho  first  place,  it  is 
moved  back  to  a  distance  which  i3  relatively  far  greater 
than  in  any  other  Amphibia  and  in  most  lizards.  Next,  it  is 
extremely  elongated,  and  the  trujicus  arteriosus  is  relatively 
more  prolonged  than  any  other  part  of  the  heart.     But 


Ky 


tO  Fio.  23.— The  heart  oT  Ttana  pipien*.  The  ventricle  (7!), 
the  truncus  arteriosus,  and  ihe  aortic  trunks  (Ao.)  are 
laid  open  from  the  ventral  side.  Spt.  free  edge  of 
the  septum  auriculorum;  vl.  semilunar  valves  at  the 
ventricular  end  of  the  pylangium  ;  t?1.  valves  nt  Its 
synangial  end;  <%  the  septum  of  the  pylangium; 
ps  the  aperture  of  the  pulmonary  trunks;  Co,  the 
apertures  of  the  carotid  trunks. 


1 


"y 


r.A— I 


/Br' 
,-Er3 


\A» 


5  The  structure  of  the  heart  in  the  Amphibia  has  heen  recently  dis- 
cussed with  great  ability,  by  M.  Annand  Sabatier  in  his  Etudes  sur  le 
«tur  Montpellier.  1871 


the  relative  proportions  of  the  pylangium  and  synangium 
are  the  reverse  of  those  which  obtain  in  the  Anura.  The 
two  transverse  rows  of  valves  which  mark  the  boundaries 
of  the  pylangium  are  situated  close  to  one  another,  near 
the  origin  of  the  truncus,  all  the  rest  of  which  is  made  up 
of  the  synangium.  A  longitudinal  partition,  at  first,  divide! 
the  cavity  of  the  synangium  into  two 
unequal  passages;  but,  towards  its 
anterior  end,  it  contains  four  equal 
canals.  Having  reached  the  anterior 
extremity  of  the  pericardium,  the 
synangium  divides,  and  the  two  pairs 
of  canals  become  independent,  but 
closely  united,  trunks,  which  run,  on 
each  side  of  the  trachea,  to  about  the 
level  of  the  glottis.  Here  the  two 
trunks  join,  and  pass  into  the  single 
arch  of  the  aorta,  which  turns  sharply 
back  beneath  the  vertebral  column. 
The  carotid  artery  is  given  off  from 
the  junction  of  the  two  trunks  with 
the  single  dorsal  aortic  arch.  Shortly 
before  the  two  trunks  join,  that  upon 
the  dorsal  side  gives  off  the  pulmon- 
ary artery.  A  single  pulmonary  vein 
opens  into  the  left  auricle ;  and  it  is 
worthy  of  notice,  that  the  auricles 
and  sinus  are  situated  as  far  forwards 
on  the  dorsal  aspect  of  the  heart  as  in 
the  Frogs. 


As  regards  the  number  and  destination 
of  the  great  vessels  which  arise  from  the 
synangium,  great  differences  obtain  in  the 
different  groups  of  the  Amphibia. 

In  the  perennibranchiate  Urodela,  each 
of  the  three,  or  four,  branchial  arches  has  its 
appropriate  aortic  trunk,  which  springs 
mediately,  or  immediately,  from  the  synan- 
gium. The  three  anterior  aortic  trunks 
supply  the  gills,  but  are  not  wholly  distri- 
buted to  them;  so  that  the  trunks  which 
unite  to  form  the  dorsal  aorta  are  derived 
partly  from  the  gills  and  partly  come  di- 
rectly from  the  ventral  aorta.  The  anterior 
aortic  arch  gives  off,  on  its  ventral  side, 
a  hyomandibular  artery  to  the  walls  of  the 
oral  cavity,  which  appears  to  represent  the 
remains  of  the  hyoiaean  and  mandibular 
aortic  arches,  while,  dorsally,  it  supplies 
the  internal  carotid.  The  pulmonary  artery  F|(J  w  _  Venlra.  ,|ew  0,  ttl, 
is  given  off  from  the  fourth  aortic  arch,  or  head  an.l  trunk  of  i>t- 
from  the  common  trunk,  which  is  formed 
by  the  union  of  this  with  those  which  pre- 
cede it. 

In  Cryptobranchus,  according  to  Hyrtl, 
three  trunks  are  given  off  on  each  side  from 
the  synangium.  The  most  anterior  cor- 
responds with  the  hyomandibular  artery  of 
the  perennibranchiate  forms.  The  second 
belongs  to  the  first  branchial  arch.  It 
gives  off  no  branch,  but  unites  with  the 
third  and  largest  vessel  to  form  a  common 
trunk,  which  unites  with  its  fellow  beneath 
the  vertebral  column,  and  gives  rise  to  the 
dorsal  aorta.  The  posterior  aortic  arch  gives  off  the  pulmonary 
artery  (which  supplies  a  branch  to  the  alimentary  canal).  From 
tho  common  trunk  a  maxillary  and  an  internal  carotid  artery 
are  supplied ;  while  a  third  branch  passes  to  the  ventral  side  of  the 
atlas,  and,  turning  bad.  wards,  passes  between  the  transverse  process 
of  the  second  and  succeeding  vertebrae  as  a  collateral  vertebral  artery. 

In  Salamandra,  there  are  four  aortic  arches.  The  most  anterior 
of  these  belongs  to  the  first  branchial  arch.  It  gives  off  a  hyoman- 
dibular branch,  then  breaks  up  into  a  r-te  mirabile,  whence  the 
internal  carotid  artery  is  continued,  and  is  connected  by  a  mere 
ductus  Botalli  with  the  second  arch.  The  eecond  and  third  arches 
give  off  no  branches ;  but,  along  with  the  slender  ductus  Botalli 
of  the  fourth  arch,  coalesce  into  the  trunk  which  unites  with  its 
j  fellow  to  form  the  dorsal  aorta.      The  fourth  arch  gives  off  the 


mum  glvtinoium.  Mn. 
mandible ;  Hy.  hyoid  ; 
Jtr>,  &•*,  Br*,  branchial 
arches;  Gl.  glottis;  TV- 
trachea  ;  I.v.c  Inferior 
vena  cava;  V,  ventricle; 
Au.  auricles  ;  ft*.r.c., 
Lj.v.c.  right  and  left 
superior  cavje.  T.u.  trun- 
cus arteriosus;  Ao.  left 
aortic  arch;  PA.  right 
pulmonary  artery.  Tho 
pericardium  (lightly 

shaded)  extends  as  far 
as  the  bifurcation  of  the 
synangium. 


766 


AMPHIBIA 


pulmonary  artery,  and  a  smaller  dorsal  cutaneous  branch  (Hyitl). 
Tho  pulmonary  artery  gives  twigs  to  tho  stomach. 

It  is  deal  chat  the  posterior  trunk  ol  mehui  repre- 

tents  the  second,  third,  i  »  tic  arches  of  Salamandra.imd 

that  the  first  aortic  arch  of  Salamandra  first  end 

second  trunks  which  spring  frpm  the  syuangium  of  Cryptobranchus. 

In  the  Anura  tliere  are  apparently  only  two  aortic  arches;  but, 
as  has  already  been  observed,  each  of  thcin  is  divided  into  three 
canals.  The  anterior  canal  ends  in  a  rele  mirabil  , 
internal  carotid  artery  proceeds,  and  it  gives  off  the  hyomandibular 
or  lingual  artery.  It  therefore  answers  to  tho  first  arch  of  the 
Salamanders.  The  second  or  middle  canal  is  the  largest,  an  1 
into  a  trunk  which  runs  along  the  side3  of  the  gullet;  and  curving 
backwards,  unites  with  that  of  the  opposite  side  in  the  dorsal  aorta. 
The  third  canal  ends  in  a  trunk  which  divides  into  the  pulmonary 
and  tho  great  cutaneous  arteries,  which  latti-r  i3  distributed  to  the 
dorsal  integument.  It  answers  to  the  third  and  fourth  arches 
in  the  Salamanders. 


tin.  25.— The  heart,  great  arterial  trunks,  and  tho  adjacent  principal  nerves  of 
Rnna  ucultnta,  drawn  to  scale.  Tho  positions  of  the  auditory  capsule  (Ait.), 
Eustachian  tube  (Eu ),  and  hyotdean  corrm  (//j/.),  are  .indicated  diagram- 
maflcaljy.  L,  root  of  the  left  lung;  &.V.  sinus  venosui;  it.  vcntric.e,  Au. 
anricle;.  TV.  A.  truncus  arteriosus;  CO.  carotid  gland;  ly.  Ungos] 
Cr.  cauotld  artery;  Oph.  ophthalmic  ailery.  2.  Left  arch  of  theaorti 
lag  tbcaugh  the  muscular  diaphragm  to  the  aorta  Mo.)  beneath;  Ir.  til.  the 
transverse  process  of  the  third  vertebra,  br.  the  brachial  artery.  3.  Puimo- 
cuioneoua  artery ;  cl.  Us  cutaneous,  p.  its  pulmonary  division.  Nerves: — V, 
V,"  V5,  first,  second,  and  third  divisions  of  the  trigeminal;  VUo,  VlJp, 
anterior  and  posterior  divisions  of  the  portlo  dura;  LX.t  the  glossopharyngeal ; 
X1,  the  cutaneous  branch  of  the  vagus;  Xa,  the  viscera]  trunk,  giving  off 
X1,  the  cardiac,  X*.  the  pulmonic,  and  X*,  the  gastric  brandies:  X',  the 
laryngeal  branch.  Sp.l.  the  first  spinal  (hypoglossal)  nerve;  Sp.ll.  the  cut 
trunk  of  the  accond  spinal  nerve. 

In  the  Peromela  (Epicrium)  the  two  aortic  trunks  which  spring 
from  the  truncus  arteriosus  would  seem  to  correspond  witli  the 
second  and  third  of  the  frog,  the  first  having  become  absorbed  into 
the  second.  'fids  is  a  point  which  can  be  cleared  up  satisfactorily 
only  by  the  study  of  development;  but  it  is  obvious  that  the  heart 
and  its  arches  have  undergono  greater  changes  in  this  group  than 
in  any  of  the  others. 

With  respect  to  the  venous  system,  it  is  worthy  of  notice  that 
the  blood  returning  from  the  hinder  part  of  the  body  and  the  pos- 
terior extremities  is,  in  part,  carried  to  the  kidneys,  and  in  part 
poured  into  a  vein  which  runs  in  the  anterior  wall  of  the  abdominal 
cavity, — the  anterior  abdominal  vein.  Of  the  branches  in 
this  vein  terminates  anteriorly,  one  communicates  with  tho  portal 
vein,  and  one  is  distributed  to  the  liver  directly.  In  the  Anura, 
venous  radicles  in  the  integument  covering  the  back  of  the  head 
and  shoulders,  unite  to  form  a  great  cutaneous  vein,  which  passes 
backwards,  perforates  the  external  oblique  muscle,  and  then  turn- 
ing abruptly  forwards,  ends  in  the  subclavian  vein.  This  vein 
carries  away  a  large  part  of  the  blood  of  the  cutaneous  artery, 
which  accompanies  it  in  a  great  part  of  its  course. 

The  lympltatic  system  has  been  most  carefully  studied  in 
the  frog,  where  it  consists  of  ( 1 . )  widely-distributed  lymphatic 
capillaries,  and  sinuses  which  ensheath  the  blood-vessels;  (2.) 
subcutaneous  lymph  sacs;  (3.)  a  large  subvertebral  cislerna, 
enclosed  between  the  diverging  lamellas  of  the  mesentery, 
and  placed  in  commu  lication  with  the  peritoneal  cavity  by 
minute  openings  or  stomata;  (4.)  four  lymph  hearts,  two 
situated  close  to  the  transverse  process  of  tho  third  ver- 
tebra and  two  at  the  sides  of  the  coccygeal  stvle.     These 


hearts  pump  tho  lymph  into  the  adjacent  veins.  Ai  the 
two  pairs  of  lymph  hearts  have  been  discovered  in  Triton 
and  Salamandra  as  well  as  in  Junta,  it  is  probable  that 
they  are  present  in  the  Urodda  generally.  No  Amphibia 
I  a  lymphatic  glands. 

The  Thymus  gland  in  the  Urodda  lies  behind  tho  angle 
of  the  mandible  (Triton,  Salamandra),  or  closo  to  tho 
dorsal  end3of  the  branchial  arches  (Proteus,  Menobranchus, 
(,  Amphiuma,  Menopoma).  In  the  Peromela  it  has 
the  same  position  as  in  the  abranchiate  Urodda.  In  the 
tadpolo  tho  thymus  occupies  a  place  similar  to  that  which 
it  possesses  in  the  branchiate  Urodela.  Iti  the  adult  frog  it 
is  to  be  found  just  behind  the  suspensorium.  The  Thyroid 
gland,  usually  double,  but  Binglc  (according  to  Leydig) 
in  Proteus,  always  lies  in  tho  immediate  vicinity  of  thn 
lingual  vessels.1 

The  ry  Organs. — Tho  glottis  in  the  Amphibia 

is  situated  in  tho  middle  line  of  the  floor  of  tho  pharynx 
In  the  perennibianchiate  Urodda,  it  is  a  very  small  longi- 
tudinal slit  leading  into  a  narrow  passage,  which  widens 
into  a  chamber  into  which  the  elongated  pulmonary  sacs 
open.  The  Urodela  and  the  Peromela  present  mero  car- 
tilaginous rudiments  of  a  larynx;  but,  in  the  Anura,  this 
structure  attains  a  great  development,  and  becomes  tho 
instrument  of  the  powerful  voice  with  which  many  of  these 
animals  are  provided.  The  larynx  is  lodged  in  the  anglo 
between  the  two  thyro-hyals,  with  which  it  is  closely  con- 
nected. The  chief  part  of  tho  larynx  is  an  annular  cricoid 
cartilage,  with  which  two  arytenoid  cartilages  are  articu- 
lated. Membranous  folds,  or  freely  projecting  cartilagin- 
ous processes  of  the  arytamoid  cartilages  (Pipa),  play  the 
part  of  vocal  ligaments.  In  Pipa  the  larynx  is  extensively 
ossified.  In  Proteus,  the  lungs  are  long  tubes,  dilated  at  their 
posterior  blind  ends,  and  fixed  to  the  dorsal  walls  of  tho 
abdominal  cavity  by  folds  of  tho  peritoneum.  In  Triton 
they  are  somewhat  wider  sacs,  but,  in  both,  the  inner  sur- 
faces of  the  pulmonary  sacs  are  smooth.  In  Siren  and 
Salamandra,  the  walls  of  the  sacs  become  cellular,  and  in 
Amphiuma,  Menopoma,  Cryptobranchus,  and  tho  Anura, 
the  cellulation  acquires  a  considerable  development. 

In  Amphiuma,  Menopoma,  Cryptobranchxts,  and  in  the 
Peromela,  there  is  a  distinct  trachea,  which  is  of  great 
length  in  the  Peromela.  In  Pipa  and  DactyleUaa  there  ia 
no  trachea,  but  each  lung  is  connected  with  tho  laryngeal 
cavity  by  a  bronchus. 

The  Penal  Organs. — Tho  kidney  is  a  moro  or  less 
elongated  organ — longer  in  the  Urodela  and  Peromela, 
shorter  in  tho  Anura — which  lies  on  each  side  oi  the 
vertebral  column,  its  posterior  end  being  close  to,  or  'even 
extending  back  on  the  dorsal  side  of,  the  cloaca. 

In  tho  female  the  efferent  ducts  of  each  kidney  unite 
into  a  longer  or  shorter  common  trunk,  which  appears 
always  to  open  into  tho  cloaca  by  an  aperture  distinct 
from  that  of  the  oviduct,  though  the  contrary  statement 
is  very  generally  received.2  In  Rana  esculenla,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  as  to  the  distinctness  of  the  minute  urinary 
apertures  from  the  large  and  conspicuous  oviducal  openings, 
close  to  whieh  they  are  situated.  Hyrtl  aay3  of  Crypto- 
branchus— "Ureter  ....  super  latera  cloacae  descendens 
in  collum  allantoidis  exoneratur"  (op.  cit.,  p.  84). 

In  the  male  Amphibia,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  a 
longer  or  shorter  duct  common  to  both  the  renal  and 
the  genital  products,  which  opens  into  the  cloaca.  In 
the  Urodela,  the  duct  is  continued  forwards  along  tho 
outer  sido  of  the  kidney  to  tho 'anterior  end  of  the  al> 

1  See  Leydig,  AnatomiscMiistolo'jiuhe  Untersuctomgen  iibor  Fische 
und  Rcptilien,  1853. 

*  See,  for  example,  Stannius,  ITandtmch  der  Amphibian,  pp.  250, 
251.     On  the  other  side,  comp,  Milne-Edwards,  Lectins,  t.  vii.  p.  333 


AMPHIBIA 


76'i 


dominal  cavity,  and  clearly  represents  the  Wolffian  duct 
of  the  embryo.  Both  the  urinary  tubuli  and  the  vasa 
efereiuia  of  the  testis  open  into  this  duct.  In  Crypto- 
branchus  the  kidney  is  divided  by  a  constriction  into 
two  portions — a  slender,  anterior,  and  a  much  thicker  and 
longer,  posterior,  division.  From  the  latter  the  efferent 
urinary  canals  proceed,  and,  curving  outwards  and  back- 
wards, join  the  posterior  part  of  the  Wolffian  duct.  The 
former  is  traversed  by  the  vasa  efferenlia  of  the  testes, 
which  pass  from  its  outer  edge  to  the  anterior  portion  of 
the  Wolffian  duct,  so  that  it  resembles  an  epididymis.1 

In  Proteus,  according  to  Leydig,  the  anterior  end  of  the 
Wolffian  duct  is  infundibuliform  and  open  ;  the  vasa  effer- 
entia  of  the  testes  open  into  the  anterior  moiety  of  the  duct, 
the  renal  ducts,  into  its  posterior  moiety.  The  numerous 
arcuated  renal  ducts  of  the  Salamanders  and  Tritons  unite 
together,  and  open  into  the  Wolffian  duct  near  its  cloacal  end. 
The  Wolffian  duct  persists  in  Bomhinator  igneus  and  Disco- 
glossus  pictus2  ;  but,  in  most  Anura,  it  becomes  obliterated 
for  the  greater  part  of  its  extent,  and  the  same  canals 
serve  to  convey  both  the  urinary  and  the  spermatic  fluids 
to  the  persistent  cloacal  end  of  the  Wolffian  duct,  which 
ordinarily  receives  the  name  of  ureter.  The  urinary  bladder 
is  always  large,  and  is  often  bifurcated  anteriorly. 

The  Nervous  System. — The  amphibian  brain  is  remark- 
able for  the  rudimentary  condition  of  the  cerebellum,  which 
has  the  form  of  a  mere  band  arching  over  the  anterior  part 
of  the  fourth  ventricle.  The  mesencephalon  is  divided 
above,  more  or  less  distinctly,  into  two  optic  lobes.  The 
cerebral  hemispheres  are  always  relatively  large,  subcylin- 
drical  in  the  Urodela,  but  wider  behind  than  in  front  in 
the  Anura,  and  they  are  generally  closely  united  together 
by  their  inner  faces. 


Fis.  28.— Diatrram  'of  the  chief  cranial  nerves  of  Rana  ucufenta.  IT.  optic ;  IV. 
pathetic;  V1,  orbito-nasal;  V2,  superior  maxillary;  V3,  inferior  maxillary; 
Vila.  VIIp.  anterior  and  posterior  divisions  of  the  portio  dura;  IX.  the 
glosso-pharyngeal ;  X.  the  pneumogastric;  X\  its  dorsal  branch.  Sp.I.Jbe 
Brat  spinal  neive  (hypoglossal).  01.  olfactory  nerve;  Tg.  tongue;  •i/y.cornu 
of  the  byoid;  Ed.  Haiderian  gland. 

Ten  pairs  of  cranial  nerves  are  always  found— viz.,  1, 
The  olfactory;  2,  optic;  3,  oculomotor;  4,  pathetic;  5, 
trigeminal;  6,  abducens;  7,  portio  dura;  8,  auditory;  9, 
glossopharyngeal;  10,  pneumogastric.  The  hypoglossal  is 
always  an  extra- cranial  nerve. 

1.  The  olfactory  is  usually  a  rounded  cord,-  not  dilated 
at  its  anterior  end.  Fischer  has  observed  it  to  arise  by 
two  roots  in  Pipa. 

.  2.  The  optic  nerves  are  attached,  as  usual,  to  the  floor  of 
the  thalamencephalon.  Fischer3  found  no  chiasma  in 
Siredon  or  Menobranchus.     Dr  Humphrey  found  none  in 

1  Schmidt,  Goddard,  and  Van  der  Hoeven,  Aanleekningen  over  de 
Anatomie  van  den  Oryptobranchus  japonicua. 

a  According  to  Von  Wittich.  "  Beitrage  zur  morphologischen  und  his- 
tologischen  Entwickelung  der  Ham  und  Geschlechtswerkzeugo  der  nack- 
ten  Amphibien,"  Zeitschrift  fur  Wissenschaftliche  Zoologie,  hi.  iv. 

*  Anatomisehe  Abhandlungen,  p.  123,  et  seq. 


Cryplobranchus ;  but  sections  of  the  brain  are  needful 
before  the  actual  absence  of  the  chiasma  can  be  considered 
to  be  satisfactorily  proved. 

3.-  The  oculomotor  nerve  remains  distinct  from  the 
trigeminal  in  most  Amphibia,  but  its  branch  to  the  superior 
rectus  muscle  appears  to  coalesce  with  the  orbito-nasal 
division  of  the  fifth  in  Salamandra  terrcstris  (Fischer). 

4.  The  pathetic  nerve  remains  distinct  in  Siredon  and 
Cryptobranchus,  and  in  the  Anura;  but  in  Salamandra  ter- 
restris,  Fischer  found  that  tho  superior  oblique  muscle  was 
supplied  by  a  branch  from  the  orbito-nasal,  with  which, 
therefore,  the  pathetic  had  probably  coalesced. 

5.  The  trigeminal  gives  rise,  as  usual,  to  a  Gasserian 
ganglion;  .and  this  ganglion  remains  distinct  from  that  of 
the  seventh  nerve  in  all  the  Urodela,  though  united  with 
it  by  a  commissural  band,  which  appears  to  answer  to  the 
nervus  petrosus  superficialis  minor  of  the  higher  Vertebrata. 
In  the  Anura,  on  the  contrary,  the  two  ganglia  are  closely 
approximated  (Pelobates,  BombinalorY,  or  confounded 
together  {Rana,  Jlyla,  Bufo)  in  the  adult,  though  they  are 
distinct  in  the  tadpole.  The  orbito-nasal,  or  first  division 
of  the  trigeminal,  is  always  separated  from  the  second  and 
third  divisions  by  the  ascending  process  of  the  suspen- 
sorium,  when  this  structure  is  present.  It  supplies  the 
tentacles  of  the  Peromela.  In  the  tadpole,  and  in  some 
Urodela,  a  cutaneous  branch  to  the  dorsum  of  the  head  is 
given  off  from  the  fifth. 

6.  The  abducens  is  distinct  from  the  trigeminal  in  Sala- 
mandra and  Bufo,  but  coalesces  with  the  Gasserian  gan 
glion  in  Rana,  Pipa,  and  most  Anura. 

7  and  8.  The  portio  dura  and  portio  mollis  arise  by  a 
common  trunk,  from  which  the  portio  dura  soon  separates, 
and  either  forms  a  distinct  ganglion,  as  in  the  Urodela 
and  Peromela,  or  fuses  with  the  trigeminal 

9.  The  ganglion  of  the  glossopharyngeal  nerve  appears 
to  coalesce  with  that  of  the  vagus,  and  the  roots  of  t^ie 
two  nerves  pass  out  of  the  same  foramen  in  all  ihe-Ampltibia 
except  Siren,  where,  according  to  Fischer  (op.  cit.,-p .  1 47),  the 
nerve  leaves  the  skull  by  a  distinct  aperture,  close  in  front  of 
that  for  the  pneumogastric,  and  forms  a  ganglion  of  its  own. 

10.  The  vagus  ox  pneumogastric,  in  the  perennibranchiate 
Amphibia,  supplies  the  second  and  third  branchia,  and  the 
cucullaris  muscle ;  gives  off  cutaneous,  laryngeal,  cardiac, 
pulmonic,  and  gastric  branches,  and  sometimes  as  many  as 
three  cutaneous  branches,  one  of  which  runs  along  the 
junction  of  the  dorsal  and  ventral  muscles  to  the  hinder 
part  of  the  body.  These  lateral  nerves  of  the  pneumo- 
gastric exist  also  in  Menopoma,  Amphiuma,  and  Triton,  and 
in  tadpoles ;  but  appear  to  be  absent  in  Salamandra  ter- 
rcstris and  in  the  adult  Anura  (Fischer,  I.e.)  These, 
however,  possess  a  cutaneous  branch  of  the  vagus,  which 
accompanies  the  cutaneous  branch  of  the  pulmo-cutaneous 
artery,  and  is  distributed  more  or  less  widely  to  the  dorsa) 
integument  of  the  head  and  trunk. 

Fischer  considers  that  a  fine  nerve,  arising  lower  down 
than  the  vagus,,  and  distributed  to  the  abductors  of  the 
head  in  Pipa,is  to  be  regarded  as  an  accessorius.  •  But,  seeing 
that,  in  the  Amphibia  generally,  the  motor  nerves  of  the 
larynx,  and,  where  a  cucullaris  exists,  the  nerves  of  that 
muscle  also,  are  supplied  from  the  pneumogastric,  th« 
question  of  the  presence  or  absence  of  an  accessorius  seems 
to  reduce  itself  to  this  :  Docs  the  pneumogastric  receive 
nerve  fibres  arising  from  the  sides  of  the  medulla  oblongata 
and  spinal  cord  between  the  roots  of  the  spinal  nerves  1 
And,  as  it  certainly  does  not,  the  accessorius,  as  it  exists 
in  the  higher  Vertebrata,  must  be  admitted  to  be  absent  in 
Amphibia. 

In  most  Amphibia,  the  first  cervical  nerve  has  the  dis- 

*  According  to  Staunius,  Handbuji,  p.  160. 


768 


AMPHIBIA 


tribatlon  of  tho  hypoglossal ;  in  Menobranchts,  however, 
tho  corresponding  nervous  supply  is  furnished  by  the 
second  and  third  cervical  nerves, — the  first  spinal  nerve, 
in  this  genus,  perforating  the  sides  of  tho  body  of  tho 
atlas,  and  being  distributed  to  a  muscle  which  passes  from 
this  vertebra  to  the  occiput  (Fischer,  I.e.,  p.  158).  In 
Pipa  the  hypoglossal  is  furnished  by  the  second  cervical 
nerve;  in  Salamandra,  by  tho  first  and  second.  There  is 
no  trace  of  any  suboccipital  nerve  in  the  Amphibia;  and 
as,  in  the  absence  of  this  nerve,  tho  first  spinal  would 
appear  to  anrwei  to  the  second  cervical  of  the  higher  Verte- 
brata,  the  fact  that  it  takes  the  place  of  tho  hypoglossal 
becomes  very  perplexing. 

In  the  An ura  (liana)  the  sympathetic  is  represented  by 
a  double  chain  of  ganglia,  situated  at  the  sides  of  the  aorta, 
and  receiving  branches  from  tho  anterior  divisions  of  the 
spinal  nerves.  It  appears  to  be  continued  in  the  skull  by 
commissural  cords  which  pass  forwards  on  the  inner  side  of 
the  auditory  capsule,  and  connect  the  ganglion  of  the 
vagus  with  that  of  the  trigeminal. 

The  Organs  of  the  Higher  Senses. — The  nasal  sacs  arc 
elongated  in  Prot'us,  Menobranchus,  and  Siren,  and  not 
covered  by  nasal  bones  or  alinasal  cartilages.  In  tho  other 
Amphibia  they  are  broader,  and  enclosed  by  cranial  carti- 
lages and  ossifications.  The  olfactory  mucous  membrane 
is  variously  folded;  and,  in  liana,  some  of  these  folds  are 
supported  by  ingrowths  of  the  anterior  cartilaginous  wall 
of  the  nasal  chamber. 

In  Proteus  tho  eye  is  completely  hidden  by  the  continua- 
tion of  the  unaltered  integument  over  it,  and  the  organ  of 
vision  is  almost  as  much  obscured  in  the  Peromela.  In 
the  other  perennibrancliiate  Urodela,  and  in  Pipa,  the  in- 
tegument covering  the  eye  forms  a  transparent  cornea,  but 
there  are  no  eyelids.  The  abranchiate  Urodela  have  an 
upper  and  a  lower  lid;  and,  in  the  higher  Anura,  the  lower 
lid  becomes  transparent,  and  is  usually  regarded  as  a 
membrana  nictitans,  as  it  is  provided  with  a  peculiar  motor 
apparatus.  In  the  Anura,  the  eye  possesses  not  only  the 
ordinary  four  recti  muscles  and  the  two  obliqui,  but  there 
is  a  retractor  bulbi.  The  Frogs  and  probably  other  Anura, 
possess  a  Harderian  gland  ;  but  no  lachrymal  gland  has 
been  observed.  The  sclerotic  may  be  chondrified,  but  it  is 
not  ossified.     There  is  no  pecten. 

With  regard  to  the  organ  of  hearing,  the  membranous 
labyrinth  is  enclosed  between  the  pro-otic  bone,  in  front, 
and  the  representatives  of  the  opisthotic  and  epiotic  (usually 
confounded  with  the  exoccipital),  behind.  The  fenestra  ovalis 
always  occupies  a  space  in  the  line  of  junction  of  the  pro- 
otic  with  the  posterior  ossification,  whether  it  be  occupied  by 
a  broad  unossified  space,  as  in  Menopoma,  or  the  two  bones 
be  ankylosed  together,  as  in  Siren,  Triton,  and  old  Frogs. 
The  stapes  is  more  or  less  ossified,  and  its  outer  face  is 
frequently  provided  with  a  styliform  appendage,  in  the 
Urodela.  In  the  Urodela  (which  have  no  tympanic  cavity), 
a  ligament  passes  from  the  stapes  to  the  suspensorium,  and 
there  is  no  columella  auris.  The  like  absence  of  columella 
auris  and  of  a  tympanum  obtains  in  several  Anura.  Dugcs 
states  that  the  columella  is  wanting  in  Bombinalor  and 
Pelobates1  (Recherches,  p.  41),  and  the  absence  of  the  colu- 
mella auris,  as  of  the  tympanum  and  Eustachian  tubes, 
has  since  been  noticed  in  Telmatobius,  Phryniscus,  Atelopus 
virius,  and  Brachycephalus  ephippium  (Stannius,  op.  cit., 
p.  61).  In  the  higher  Anura,  there  is  a  complete  tym- 
panum, with  Eustachian  tubes,  and  a  columella  auris, 
which  extends  from  the  stapes  to  the  membrana  tympani. 
The  tympanic  membrane  is  either  quite  similar  to  the  rest 

•/WoVito.  howeve '.  has  an  extremely  minute,  osaified,  columella 
aurii. 


of  the  integument  or  markedly  different  from  it.  In  some 
genera  (e.g.  liana),  the  tympanic  membrane  is  set  in  a 
frame  of  cartilage.  In  Pipa  and  Dactylethra,  the  Eusta- 
chian tubes,  as  already  remarked,  have  a  common  opening, 
and  the  columella  is  very  peculiar.  Recent  investigations 
make  it  probable  that  the  Amphibia  possess  a  rudimentary 
cochlea.2  Whether  the  opening,  which  in  the  Frogs  has  been 
described  as  a  fenestra  rotunda,  is  really  of  that  nature,  is 
doubtful. 

The  Reproductive  Organs. — The  ovana  and  testes  aro 
attached  to  the  dorsal  wall  of  the  abdominal  cavity,  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  kidneys,  by  the  mesoarial  and 
mcsorchial  folds  of  the  peritoneum,  which  invest  them. 

The  ovaria,  when  fully  developed,  become  hollow,  and  in 
the  Anura  their  internal  cavities  may  be  divided  by  septa. 

The  oviducts  are  long,  usually  more  or  less  convoluted, 
tubes,  which  open  posteriorly  into  the  cloaca ;  while,  ante- 
riorly, their  funnel-shaped  apertures  lie  in  the  anterior 
part  of  the  abdomen,  sometimes,  as  in  the  Frogs,  as  far 
forward  as  the  root  of  the  lung.  Their  walls  are  glandular, 
and  secrete  a  viscid  substance  which  invests  the  ova  in  their 
passage  down  the  oviduct. 

In  the  male  Urodela,  tho  persistent  Wolffian  duct,  al- 
ready mentioned,  occupies  the  position  of  the  oviduct  in 
the  female,  and  the  vasa  efferenlia,  after  traversing  the 
kidney,  open  into  it.  This  duct  persists  in  Bombiualor 
and  Discoglossus  pictus  ;  but  in  the  male  Anura,  in 
general,  the  greater  part  of  it  is  obliterated,  only  so  much 
remaining  as  plays  the  part  of  ureter  and  vas  deferent. 
In  the  Urodela  accessory  glands  open  into  the  cloaca,  and 
in  Triton  there  is  a  rudimentary  copulatory  papilla.  Some 
female  Urodela  are  provided  with  receptacula  seminis.  In 
the  terrestrial  Salamanders  and  in  the  anurous  Rhinoderma 
Gayi  the  young  are  developed  within  the  dilated  uterine 
terminations  of  the  oviducts.  In  Pipa  the  eggs  are  deposited 
on  the  back  of  the  female,  and  the  integument  grows  up 
round  each,  and  encloses  it  in  a  cell,  in  which  it  undergoes 
its  development.  In  some  tree-frogs  (Nototrema  and  Opis- 
tliodelphys)  the  eggs  are  received  into  a  sort  of  marsupial 
pouch  formed  by  an  up-growth  of  the  margins  of  the  dorsal 
integument,  which,  when  complete,  has  a  small  posterioraper- 
ture.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  the  male  Alyles  obstetricant 
which  twists  the  strings  of  eggs  laid  by  the  female  round 
his  hind-legs,  and,  thus  cross-gartered,  retires  into  seclusion 
until  the  young  are  ready  to  be  hatched,  when  he  resorts 
to  the  water  in  which  the  tadpoles  are  to  perform  their 
further  metamorphoses. 

Development  of  the  Amphibia. — The  yelk  of  the  ovum  undergoes 
complete  division,  in  which  respect  tho  Amphibia  agree  with  the 
Pliaryngobranchii,  ilarsipobranchii,  and  Mammalia,  and  differ 
from  other  Vcrlcbrata;  though  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
process  of  yelk  division  in  the  Ganoidei  and  Dipnoi  is  not  yet 
known. 

Except  in  some  viviparous  species,  the  embryo,  when  hatched,  is 
piscifonn  and  apodal;  and  threo  pairs  of  external  gills,  which  become 
more  or  less  branched,  are  developed  from  the  first,  second,  and 
third  branchial  arches.  In  the  larval  Triton  a  very  singular  elongated 
appendage  makes  its  appearance  on  each  side  of  the  head,  in  front 
ok  the  branch!®  ;*  and  in  the  tadpole  two  eminences  of  the  ventral 
integument,  with  glandular  terminal  faces,  are  developed— one  on 
each  side  of  the  middle  line,  behind  the  mouth.  The  larvoe  of 
Dactylelhra  have  two  long  tentacles  attached  near  tho  angle  of  the 
mouth.  An  opercular  fold  of  the  integument  glows  back  from  each 
hyoidean  arch,  and  the  two  are  connected  by  a  free  fold  of  the  sub- 
gular  integument.  The  limbs  make  their  appearance  as  buds  from 
the  sides  of  the  body,  the  anterior  pair  appearing  first.  The  anterior 
limbs  attain  a  considerable  size  before  the  posterior  pair  are  developed 
in  Triton;  but,  in  the  Frogs,  the  posterior  limbs  grow  much  faster 
than  the  anterior,  which  long  remain  inconspicuous  and  hidden. 

In  the  Urodele  larvae,  teeth  are  very  early  developed  in  the  prc> 
maxillary,   maxillary,   vomerine,   palatine,    splcniaL    and  dentarr 

s  See  Hasse,  Die  vergleichende  Anatomic des Kauliqcn  Gchvrorgcme*, 
Leipsic,  1873. 

'  The  larval  Sircdon  has  no  such  hyoidean  (!)  appendage. 


AMPHIBIA 


769 


regions  ;  and,  indeed,  in  Triton  and  Siredon,  the  teeth  precede  the 
eorrcsponding  bones,  which  arise  by  the  ossification  of  the  mucous 
membrane  about  the  bases  of  the  teeth  ;  and  there  are  no  labial 
cartilages,  and  no  horny  labial  papillae,  or  beak-like  armature  of  the 
jaw.  The  abdomen  is  slender,  in  accordance  with  the  brevity  of  the 
intestine,  and  the  little  animal  is  altogether  carnivorous. 

In  the  Anura,  on  the  other  hand,  teeth  are  not  developed  until 
a  later'stage.  A  pair  of  cartilages  appear  in  the  roof  of  the  mouth 
in  front  of  the  ends  of  the  trabeculae  ("rostraux  tuperieurs,' 
Dnges  ;  "upper  labials,"  Parker),  and  another  pair  opposite  them 
("  rostraux  inferieurs,"  Dugea  ;  "lower  labials,'  Parker);  and  the 
epithelium  of  the  mucous  membrane  covering  them  becomes  con- 
verted into  an  upper  and  a  lower  brown  horny  toothed  plate,  having 
si;me  resemblance  to  the  beaks  of  a  Chelonian,  The  curtain-like 
lips,  which  surround  the  oral  aperture,  are  also  beset  with  horny 
papillae,  which  call  to  mind  the  corneous  teeth  of  the  Marsipo- 
branchii.  The  abdomen  is  swollen  and  almost  globular,  and  lodges 
a  long  and  spirally-coiled  intestine.'  The  animal  is  herbivorous, 
though  it  does  not  despise  animal  food,  even  in  the  shape  of  the 
weaker  members  of  its  own  family. 

The  space  allotted  to  this  article  does  not  allow  the  details  of  the 
development  of  the  Amphibia  to  be  even  sketched  ;  but  attention 
may  be  directed  to  one  or  two  of  the  more  important  points. 

The  skull  presents  some  singular  differences  in  the  course  of  its 
development  in  the  Urodela  (Triton,  Siredon)  and  the  Anura  {Rana, 
Alytes)  respectively.  In  the  former,  the  mandibular  and  trabecular 
arches  become  connected  only  at  their  dorsal  ends,  by  the  pedicle  of 
the  mandibular  arch ;  the  pterygoid  arch  is  developed  late ;  and  the 
mandibular  arch  appears  to  give  rise  to  no  orbital  process.  In  the 
latter,  the  mandibular  and  trabecular  arches  not  only  unite  at  their 
lorsal  ends  by  the  pedicle,  but,  at  a  very  early  period,  the  mandi- 
bular arch  is  united  with  the  antorbital  process  of  the  trabecula ; 
and  the  pterygoid  grows  pari  passu  with  the  subsequent  divergence 
of  the  mandibular  and  the  trabecular  arches.  A  large  orbital  pro- 
cess is  developed  from  the  mandibular  arch. 

In  the  Urodela,  the  hyoidean  and  branchial  apparatus  consists,  at 
first,  of  elongated  cartilaginous  hyoidean  cornua,  united  with  a 
median  chondrification,  which  represents  the  basihyal  and  basi- 
branchial  pieces,  to  which  last  two  cerato-branchials  are  attached. 
The  first  cerato- branchial  is  continued  dorsally  into  the  first 
epibranchial,  while  the  second  cerato-branchial  supports  the  other 
three  epibranchials.  As  the  development  of  the  Triton  proceeds, 
the  hyoidean  arch  becomes  connected  with  the  Buspensonum,  and 
with  the  stapes,  by  ligament.  The  second  basi-branchial  ossifies, 
detaches  itself  from  the  first,  and  lies  as  a  forked  bone  in  front  of 
the  larynx  ;  and  only  the  two  cerato-branchials,  with  the  first  epi- 
branchial, remain — the  rest  of  the  branchial  apparatus  disappearing. 

In  the  Anura,  the  hyoidean  arches  are,  at  an  early  period,  very 
thick,  and  relatively  short,  and  are  articulated  with  the  suspensoria. 
A  relatively  broad  and  short  cartilage  represents  the  basihyal  and 
basibranchiaL  and  at  the  sides  of  this  are  two  very  broad  cartilages, 
which  correspond  with  the  two  cerato-branchials,  inasmuch  as  their 
dorsal  edges  bear  the  four  epibranchial  cartilages.  As  the  tadpole 
grows  older,  the  hyo-branchial  apparatus  becomes  more  like  that  of 
the  Urodele  larva,  the  hyoid  arch  elongating  into  a  slender  rod,  and 
the  two  cerato-branchials  becoming  distinct.  The  basibranchial 
region  of  the  median  cartilage,  which  unites  the  cerato-branchials 
rentrally,  becomes  forked,  and  the  processes  which  form  the  fork 
ossify  and  become  the  thyro-hyals,  which  therefore  would  seem  to 
correspond  with  the  os  ypsrloides  of  the  Urodela.  Finally,  the 
extreme  dorsal  end  of  the  hyoidean  arch  detaches  itself  from  the 
suspensorium,  and  enters  into  close  union  with  the  periotic  capsule, 
from  the  outer  wall  of  which  the  columella  auris  is  developed.^ 

The  Distribution  of  the  Amphibia. — Darwin  has  pointed  out 
(Origin  of  Species,  p.  350)  that  Amphibia  are  met  with  on  no  islands 
out  New  Zealand,  New  Caledonia,  the  Andaman  Islands,  and 
perhaps  the  Solomon  Islands  and  the  Seychelles.  "This  general 
absence  of  frogs,  toads,  and  newt3  in  so  many  true  oceanic  islands 
cannot  be  accounted  for  by  their  physical  conditions;  indeed,  it 
seems  that  these  are  peculiarly  fitted  for  those  animals,  for  frogs 
have  been  introduced  into  Madeira,  the  Azores,  and  Mauritius,  and 
have  multiplied  so  as  to  become  a  nuisance.  But  as  these  nTn'maU 
and  their  spawn  are  immediately  killed  (with  the  exception,  so  far 
as  is  known,  of  one  Indian  species)  by  sea-water,  there  would  be 
gTeat  difficulty  in  their  transportal  across  the  sea,  and  therefore  we 
can  see  why  they  do  not  exist  in  strictly  oceanic  islands." 

Leaving  the  oceanic  Islands  aside,  the  distribution  of  the  Am- 


1  See  the  Memoirs  of  Dnges  and  Parker,  already  cited,  for  the 
details  of  thesa-metamorphoses.  The  account  given  by  Mr  Parker  of 
the  modifications  of  the  dorsal  extremity  of  the  hyoidean  arch,  how- 
ever, does  not  accord  with  the  results  of  the  present  writer's  later 
investigations.  No  coalescence  of  the  hyoidean  with  the  mandibular 
arch  takes  plac«  ;  and  the  "  supra-hyo-mandibular "  has  nothing  to 
do  with  the  columella  auris. 


philia  is  world-wide,  but  the  different  groups  are  very  remarkably 
localised. 

The  Urodela,  for  example,  are  limited  not  only  to  the  arctogaeal 
province,  but  to  the  temperate  parts  of  that  province ;  and,  in  curi- 
ous correspondence  with  the  Ganoid  fishes,  their  headquarters  axe 
in  North  America.  Siren,  Afcnobranchus,  Amphiuma,  Menopoma, 
Dicamptodon,  Heredia,  Anaides,  Dcsmognathus,  Bairachoseps,  Semi- 
dactylus,  and  Plethodon  are  exclusively  North  American ;  and  the 
majority  of  species  of  Amblystoma  and  Spelerpes  appertain  to  that 
region, — Amblystoma  being  represented  in  North  Asia,  and  Spelerpes 
in  the  circum-Mediterranean  area.  Triton  alone  is  spread  over 
the  whole  temperate  arctogaeal  area.  Salamandra,  Pleurodeles, 
Bradybates,  Chioglossa,  arid  Salamandrina  are  confined  to  Europe 
and  North  Africa.  The  singular  Salamandra  atra  is  limited  to  the 
Swiss  and  Austrian  Alps,  Proteus  to  Carniola  and  Carinthia.  Four 
genera — Ellipsoglossa,  Isodadyiium,  Onychodactylus,  and  Ranodon — 
are  confined  to  North  Asia ;  and  Cryptobranchus,  if  it  be  a  distinct 
genus,  is  limited  to  Japan. 

If  the  distribution  of  the  Urodela  calls  to  mind  that  of  the  Ganoid 
fishes,  that  of  the  Peromela  is  rather  comparable  to  the  distribution 
of  the  Tapirs.  Of  the  four  genera,  Siphonops  and  Rhinalrema  are 
exclusively  inhabitants  of  the  hotter  part  of  the  Austro-Columbian 
province — as  are  the  great  number  of  the  species  of  Ccecilia;  but 
the  remaining  species  of  that  genus  are  East  Indian,  and  Epierium 
is  confined  to  Java  and  Ceylon. 

In  strong  contrast  with  the  foregoing,  the  Anura*  are  of  world- 
wide distribution,  being,  abundantly  represented  in  all  the  great 
provinces.  A  great  preponderance  of  the  genera  and  species,  how- 
ever, are  Austro-Columbian,  the  Anura  having  their  headquarters 
in  South  America,  as  markedly  as  the  Urodela  have  theirs  in  the 
northern  division  of  that  continent.  North  America,  in  fact,  is  poor 
in  Anura,  having  only  three  pe^'iliar  genera,  viz.,  Scaphiopus, 
Acris,  and  Pseudacris;  while  the  rest  o'  northern  Arctogaea  ha3  five, 
viz.,  Pelodytes,  Discoglossus,  Alytes,  Pelobates,  and  Bombinator. 

The  genus  Rana  itself,  however,  is  characteristicaUy  arctogaeal, 
having  only  a  single  species  in  the  Mexican  border-land  of  Austrc- 
Columbia,  and  none  in  Australia.  Rana  esculenta  extends  from 
France  to  China  and  Japan,  and  from  North  Europe  to  Tunis. 
Rana  temporaria  covers  even  a  larger  area,  as  it  occurs  in  the 
British  Islands  and  in  North  America,  as  well  as  in  North  Asia  and 
Japan. 

The  Austro-Columbian  region  not  only  presents  the  greatest 
number  of  species,  but  among  them  are  some  of  the  most  singular 
forms,  such  as  Pseudis,  Ceratophrys,  Braehycephalus,  Rhinoderma, 
Engystoma,  Otilophus,  Notolrema,  Opisthodelphys,  Rhinophrynus, 
and  Pipa;  in  which  respect  the  South  American  Anura  run  parallel 
with  the  birds  of  the  same  region.  And,  as  is  seen  in  other  cases, 
the  nearest  allies  of  many  of  these  singular  forma  are  to  be  found 
in  DltTa-Saharal  (JJthiopic)  Africa,  e.g.,  Bemisus  (Braehycephalus), 
Breviceps  (Engystoma),  Dactylethra  (Pipa).  It  is  remarkable  that 
Pseudophryne,  which  is  closely  allied  with  the  .Sthiopic  Hemisus 
and  the  Austro-Columbian  Braehycephalus;  and  Chelydobatrachus, 
which  is  similarly  related  to  the  Jithiopic  Breviceps  and  the  Austro- 
Columbian  Engystoma,  are  Australian. 

The  Australian  region  is  remarkable  for  the  absence  of  the  genera 
Rana  and  Bufo,  which  occur  everywhere  else ;  an^  "or  the  occurrence 
of  Cystignalhus,  which  is  an  Austro-Columbian,  North  American, 
and  ^Ethiopian  form,  but  does  not  occur  in  India.  If  it  were  not  for 
its  tree-frogs,  Australia  would  be  poorer  in  Anura  than  Europe  is. 

These  Anura,  modified  for  arboreal  life,  or  "  free-frogs,"  are  repre- 
sented in  all  the  distributional  provinces — the  genus  Hyla  having 
its  chief  seat  in  Austro-Columbia,  and  extending  thence  over  North 
America,  Europe,  North  Africa,  Western  and  Eastern  Asia,  and 
Australia,  but  not  into  India  or  Ultra-Saharal  Africa,  in  which 
other  forms  of  the  same  group  are  met  with. 

The  British  Islands  possess  the  following  species  of  Amphibia: 
— Rana  temporaria,  Bufo  vulgaris,  B.  calamita,  Triton  cristatus,  T. 
Bibronii,  Lissotriton  punctatus,  L.  palmipes. 

Geological  Distribution. — No  fossil  Peromela  are  known,  Anura 
occur  in  the  Miocene  deposits  of  France  and  Germany.  The  best 
preserved  forms  belong  to  the  genera  Palceobatrachus  and  Latonia, 
and  occur  in  the  schists  of  (Eningen  along  with  their  tadpoles. 
They  possess  maxillary  teeth,  and  present  no  important  differences 
from  existing  Anura,  except  that,  in  Palceobatrachus,  the  sacral 
vertebra  has  coalesced  with  the  two  preceding  vertebras,  while,  in 
existing  forms,  only  one  of  the  prse-sacral  vertebras  is  known  to 
become  confluent  with  the  sacral.  Urodela  also  occur  in  the  same 
Miocene  deposits.  Of  these  the  famous  Andrias  Scheuchzeri  is  very 
closely  allied  to  Menopoma  and  Cryptobranchus,  while  other  forms 
appear  to  be  generically  identical  with  Triton  end  Salamandra. 
The  singular  genus  Orihophysis  presents  a  good  deal  of  resemblance 
to  Proteus,  but  appears  to  have  possessed  no  limbs. 

The  older  Cainozoic  and  the  upper  and  middle  Mesozoic  forma- 
tions have  yielded  no  Amphibia,     A  doubtful  form,  Rhinosaurus, 


*  Seo  Dr  Gunther'«  valuable  Catalogue  of  the  Batrachia  salientia. 


1—26 


770 

oocors  in  the  Lias  of  Simbirsk.  Iu  the  earliest  Mesozoic  deposits — the 
Trias, — and  in  the  later  Palaeozoic — the  Permian  and  the  Carboni- 
ferous formations.  Amphibia  occur,  sometimes  in  great  abundance. 
In  the  Trias,  they  have  been  found  in  greatest  numbers  in  Germany, 
while  the  Carboniferous  formations  have  furnished  the  largest  supply 
in  the  British  Islands,  Germany,  and  North  America.  Jt  is  inter- 
esting to  observe  that  the  last-named  region  has  recently  yielded 
elongated  apodal  forms,  allied  to  the  Ophiderpeion  of  the  Kilkenny 
coal  measures. 

^Etiology  of  the  Amphibia. — In  taking  a  general  survey  of  the 
relations  of  the  different  great  divisions  of  the  Amphibia,  the  most 
striking  fact  is  their  singular  distinctness  and  isolation  from  one 
another.  None  of  the  Peromela  present  the  slightest  indication  of 
an  approximation  towards  the  Anura  or  the  Urodela. 

It  may  be  suggested  that  the  incompleteness  of  the  jugal  arch  in 
Freviceps,  Pipa,  and  Daclylethra;  the  absence  or  rudimentary  condi- 
tion of  the  palatine  bones  in  Brericeps,  Bombinator,  and  Alytes; 
the  rudimentary  condition  of  the  tympanum,  and  the  absence,  or 
reduction  to  a  rudiment,  of  the  columella  auris,  in  so  many  forms  ; 
the  presence  of  rudimentary  ribs  attached  to  some  of  the  anterior 
vertebrae  of  Bombinator  and  Alytes;  the  presence  of  mandibular 
teeth  in  Hemiphractus  and  Grypiscus;  and  the  peculiar  spermatozoa 
of  Bombinator,  are  so  many  indications  of  an  approach  towards  the 
type  of  structure  observed  in  the  higher  Urodela. 

But,  without  underestimating  the  force  of  these  considerations,  it 
must  be  admitted  that  they  count  for  very  little,  when  we  take  into 
consideration  the  fixity  of  the  number  of  the  vertebrae,  and  of  the 
characters  of  the  pelvis  and  of  the  limbs,  in  the  Anura. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  nothing  is  known  of  the  development  of 
any  of  the  Peromtla;  of  any  of  the  Urodela,  except  Salamandra, 
Triton,  and  Siredon  (A  mblystoma) ;  and  of  more  lean  a  few  of  the 
Anura.  Among  the  lower  forms  of  this  division,  the  development 
•f  Alyta  and  Ptlabales  has  been  studied  thoroughly  by  Vogt'  and 
Van  Bambeke;1  and  the  more  advanced  conditions  of  the  tadpole 
of  Daclyltthra  are  known.  So  far  as  these  observations  go,  however, 
they  tend  to  show  that  the  larvae  of  all  the  Anura  possess  the  horny 
beak,  which  distinguishes  them  from  those  of  the  Urodela. 

If  we  assume,  as  the  fundamental  similarities  between  the  different 
divisions  of  the  Amphibia  lead  us  to  do,  that  they  have  resulted 
from  the  modification  of  some  one  primitive  form,  the  problem, 
at  present  seemingly  insoluble,  presents  itself,  whether  these  differ- 
ences in  structure  and  habit  of  the  larvae  of  the  Urodela  and  Anura 
indicate  that  the  caudate  ancestor  of  the  Anura  was  already  different 
from  the  ancestor  of  the  Urodela,  or  whether  they  result  from  modi- 
fications which  have  taken  place  in  the  larvae  of  the  Anura,  since 
that  group  came  into  existence. 

In  view  of  this  problem,  Siren  possesses  a  particular  interest.  Its 
horny  jaw-sheaths  might  be  compared  to  those  of  the  Anuran  tad- 
pole, and  it  might  be  regarded  as  showing  the  way  by  which  the 
Anuran  became  differentiated  from  the  caudate  original  stock.  But 
the  horny  sheaths  in  Siren  rest  directly  upon  the  premaxillae  and 
the  dentaries,  and  not  on  labial  cartilages ;  and  as  to  its  habits 
of  life,  Siren  appears  to  be  eminently  carnivorous  (Dume'ril  et 
Bibron,  Erpltologic  Glnlralc,  i.  196).  As  has  been  already  stated, 
no  fossil  remains  of  Peromela  are  known,  but  Urodela  and  Anura 
occur  in  some  abundance,  and,  in  certain  cases,  in  an  excellent  state 
of  preservation,  as  far  back  as  the  middle  of  the  Tertiary  epoch. 
Now,  these  fossils  show  that  the  Anurous  and  Urodelous  types  of 
organisation  were,  at  that  time,  thoroughly  differentiated  from  one 
another.  Pulaobatrachus,  with  its  three  vertebrae  ankylosed  into  a 
sa;rum,  is,  in  fact,  a  singularly  modified  frog  ;  while  among  the 
Urodela,  the  Salamandrido,  the  Menopomida,  and  very  possibly  the 
Proieida,  are  severally  represented.  The  young  of  the  Miocene 
Anura  were  tadpoles  so  similar  in  form  to  those  of  the  existing 
frogs  and  toads,  that  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  their  resembling 
them  in  other  respects. 

There  can  be  little  question,  then,  that  the  Anurous  and  the  Uro- 
delous types  must  have  been  represented  before  the  Tertiary  epoch  ; 
but  here  their  history  breaks  off,  no  amphibian  belonging  to  any 
livin"  groups  having  been  discovered  in  Mesozoic  or  older  strata,  as 
far  as  the  Lias. 

From  the  Trias  to  the  Carboniferous  formations,  inclusively,  the 
fresh-water  deposits  abound  in  Amphibia.  But  all  these,  so  far  as 
we  have  any  positive  knowledge,  are  referable  to  the  Labyrintho- 
dont  type.  No  Labyrinthodont  presents  the  slightest  approxima- 
tion towards  the  Anura;  but  elongated  and  apodal,  as  well  as  sala- 
mandroid  forms  occur  ;  and  in  their  cranial  structure,  no  less  than 
in  the  presence  of  scale-like  dermal  ossifications,  they  approach  the 
Peromtla.  In  regard  to  their  possible  relations  with  tne  Urodela, 
it  is  interesting  to  observe  that  in  some  Labynnthodouts,  at  .any 

1  Vogt,  UnUrsuchungen  fiber  dU  Entwickehtngsgeschkhte  der  Qeburts- 
lelferkrSU  (Alyta  obstetricans),  1842. 

*  Van  Bambeke,  "  Recherches  sur  le  developpement  dc  Pelobate 
briin,"  Miin.  de  V Acad,  de  Bcbjiyu,  186S. 


AMPHIBIA 


rate,*  the  mahus  has  the  five  digits;  one  of  which,  at  least,  is  lost  in 
all  the  Urodela,  and  the  pelvis  appears  to  have  had  a  distinct  and 
completely  ossified  pubic  element,  which  has  also  disappeared  in  all 
existing  Amphibia  (Miall,  Report,  I.e.) 

The  Labyrinthodonts  present  a  few  characters — such  as  the  paired 
supra-occipital  ossifications  and  the  complications  of  the  folds  of 
their  teeth — by  which  they  approach  the  Ganoid  fishes  more  than 
any  other  Vertebrata ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  lowest 
Labyrinthodonts,  such  as  Archegosaurus,  present  no  approxima- 
tion to  the  cranial  characters  of  the  lower  Urodela,  and  show  no 
evidence  of  the  largely-developed  branchial  apparatus  which  is  so 
characteristic  of  the  latter. 

Thus,  if  upon  such  slender  evidence  as  exists,  it  is  justifiable  to 
speculate  at  all  concerning  the  "  phylogeny  "  of  the  Amphibia,  the 
most  probable  conclusion  appears  to  be  that  the  I.abynnthodonta, 
the  Urodda,  and  the  Anura  diverged  from  one  another  at  a  very 
early  period  of  geological  history;  while,  possibly,  the  Peromela  are 
the  last  remnants  of  the  peromelous  modification  of  the  Labyrintho- 
dont type. 

With  respect  to  the  origin  of  the  amphibian  stook  itself,  the  fol- 
lowing considerations  appear  to  be  of  fundamental  importance : — 
1.  The  early  stages  of  development  of  the  Amphibia  do  not  resemble 
those  of  any  known  Ganoid,  Telostean,  or  Elasmobranch  fish,  and 
are  similar  to  the  corresponding  stages  of  the  ilarsipobranchii.  2. 
The  skull  of  the  lowest  Urodela  has,  in  some  respects,  advanced 
but  little  beyond  the  Marsipobranch  stage.  In  the  higher  Urodela 
there  are  numerous  points  of  resemblance  with  the  Ganoids.  The 
skull  of  the  tadpole,  on  the  other  hand,  has  much  in  common  with 
that  of  Chimcera  (as  Miiller  has  pointed  out),  and  with  that  of  th< 
Dipnoi,  while '  the  chondrocranium  of  the  adult  frog  has  many 
singular  affinities  with  that  of  the  Elasmobranchii,  and  particularly 
of  the  Rays.  3.  The  only  Vertebrata,  besides  the  Amphibia,  whicfk 
have  transitory  external  gills  are  the  Elasmobrancliii,  the  Dipnoi, 
and  perhaps  some  Ganoids.  4.  The  only  fishes  in  which  the  cere- 
bellum is  rudimentary  are  the  ilarsipobranchii  and  Oanoidei.  6. 
The  only  fishes  in  which  the  amphibian  and  embryonic  connection 
between  the  male  reproductive  organs  and  the  renal  efferent  ducts 
is  observed  are  the  Ganoids.  6.  The  only  fishes  which  have  t 
"pylangium,"  with  valves  disposed  as  in  the  Amphibia,  are  th« 
Ganoids,  Elasmobranchs,  and  Dipnoi.  7.  The  only  fishes  which  pos- 
sess morphological  (Polypterus)  or  functional  (Dipnoi}  lungs  are  the 
Ganoids  and  Dipnoi.  The  conclusions  suggested  by  these  facts 
appear  to  be  that  the  Amphibia  took  their  origin  from  some 
primordial  form  common  to  them,  the  Elasmobranchii,  the  Oanoidei, 
and  the  Dipnoi;  and  that  the  main  distinction  by  which  their 
earliest  forms  were  marked  off  from  those  of  the  other  groups,  was 
the  development  of  that  pentadactyle  type  of  limb,  which  is  commoa 
to  all  the  higher  Vertebrata.  And  Beeing  that  the  Elasmobranch, 
Ganoid,  and  Dipnous  types  were  fully  differentiated  from  one  another 
in  the  Devonian  epoch,  it  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  the  existence 
of  the'  Amphibia,  as  a  group,  dates  back  »t  least  as  far  as  that 
remote  period  of  the  earth's  history. 

Taionomio  Synopsis  or  the  Amphibia. 

I.  The  Urodela. 

A.  Branchiae  persistent  throughout  life.    (Perennibranchiata.) 

1.  Trachystomala. — Skull  eitngated ;  prsemaxillae  and  den- 

tiry  piece  of  the  mandible  provided  with  horny  plates ; 
premaxillae  not-  ankylosed ;  no  nasal  bones,  but  ossi- 
fications between  the  ascending  processes  of  the  prc- 
maxillse ;  maxillae  rudimentary  or  absent ;  palatines 
small,  ovaL  and  beset  with  "dents  en  brosse;"  ptery- 
goid absent ;  four  persistent  branchial  arches ;  pelvie 
arch  and  limbs  absent. 
Siren. 

2.  Proteida. — Skull  elongated ;  premaxillae  and  dentaiica 

dertigerous  ;  maxillae  rudimentary  or  absent ;  pre- 
maxillae not  ankylosed;  no  nasal  bones;  palatmei 
bearing  a  single  row  of  teeth,  and  coalescent  wiih  the 
pterygoids  ;  three  persistent  branchial  arches ;  both  the 
pectoral  and  the  pelvic  arches  and  limbs  developed. 
Proteus,  Menobranchus. 

B.  Branchiae  caducous;  gill-clefts  persistent     (DerUremaia.) 

3.  Amphiumida.— Skua  elongated ;  premaxiUie  and  den- 

taries  dentigerous;  maxillae  large;  premaxillae  anky- 
losed ;  large  nasal  bones ;  palatines  absent ;  pterygoid 
present,  elongated;  a  basihyal  cartilage;  four  persis- 
tent branchial  arches ;  both  the  pectoral  and  the  pelvic 
limbs  developed,  though  very  smalL 

Amphiuma. 

»  "Description  of  the  Vertebrate  Remains  from  the  Jarrow  Colliery,' 
by  Prof.  Huxley,  F.R.S.,  Transactions  of  Uu  Moyat  Iruh  Academy, 
voL  xaiv.  1867,  pi.  xix.  fis,  2. 


A  11  r  H  I  B  1  A 


77} 


4  ifenopomida. — Skull  broad ;  premaxilUe  and  dentarics 
dentigerous  ;  maxiU.c  large  ;  premaxillae  not  anky- 
losed;  large  nasal  bones;  palatines  absent;  pterygoid 
present  and  very  broad  ;  a  basihyal  cartilage  ;  per- 
sistent branchial  arches  may  be  reduced  to  the  first 
nnd  second ;  the  cerato-hyal  and  epibranchial  are 
confluent  in  the  first,  distinct  in  the  second  bran- 
chial arch ;  both  pectoral  and  pelvic  limbs  well  de- 
veloped. 

Menopoma,  Cryptobranchus. 

C  Branchis  caducous,  and  gill-clefts  closed  in  the  adult  condi- 
tion.    (Myctodera.) 
5.  Sulamandrida. — Skull  broad ;  premaxillae  and  dentaries 
dentigerous;  maxilla;  large;   premaxillae  separate  or 
ankylosed ;  nasal  bones  present,  and  usually  large ; 
palatines  present  in  the  young  state,  and  situated  as 
in  the  Trachystomata  xoA  Prole-idea,  but  changing  their 
relations  in  th«  adult;  pterygoids  present;  the  first 
and  second  branchial  arches  persistent, — the  first  two- 
iointed,  the  second  a  single  piece. 
[The  latest  writer  on  the  classification  of  the  Urodcla,  Professor 
Strauch  ('*  Revision  der  Salamandrinen-gattungen,"  Mem.  de  V Acad. 
Imp.  des  Sciences  de  St  Petcrsbourg,  se.  vii.  tome  xvi. ),  divides  the 
Salamandrida  into  two  tribes, — Mccodonla  and  Lechriodonta  ;  the 
first  comprising  all  those  species,  the  vomero-palatine  teeth  of  which 
ire  disposed  along  the  inner  edges  of  two  backwardly  diverging  pro- 
sesses   of  the  bones,   and   therefore   form  two  longitudinal  series 
divergent  posteriorly ;  and  the  second,  those  which  have  the  teeth 
disposed  along  the  posterior  edges  of  the  vomero-palatine  bones, 
■rluch  are  sometimes  truncated   posteriorly,    sometimes  produced 
into  a  longer  or  shorter  median  process,  and  on  which,  therefore, 
the  teeth  are  either  directed  transversely,  or  form  two  oblique  series, 
aore  or  less  rapidly  converging  backwards.] 
a.  Mecodonta — 

Salamandra,    Pleurodeles,    Bradybales,    Triton, 
Ckioglos3a,  Salamandrina. 
A.  Lcchrwdonla — 

Ellipsoglossa,  Tsodaclylium,  Onychodaclylus,  Am- 
blystoma,  Banodon,  Dicamptodon,  Plethodon, 
Dcsmognathus,  Anaides,  Hemidactylium, 
Hercdia,  Spelerpes,  Batrachoscps. 

II.  Tije  Anuea. 

[For  the  classification  of  the  Anura,  consult  Dr  GUnther's  valu- 
able Catalogue  of  the  Batrachia  saliemibia  ;  Jfr  Cope's  papers  in  the 
Natural  History  Beuiew,  1865,  and  in  the  Journal  of  the  Academy 
>f  Natural  Science  of  Philadelphia,  N.S.,  vol.  vi. ;  and  llr  Mivart's 
jssay  "On  the  Classification  of  the  Anurous  Batrachians,"  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Zoological  Society^  1869.  Far  more  minute  in- 
vestigation of  the  structure  of  the  Anura  than  has  yet  been  carried 
out  seems  to  be  requisite  before  their  classification  can  be  placed 
apon  more  than  a  provisional  footing.  The  phases  through  which 
the  Frog  passes  in  the  course  of  its  development,  show  that  those 
Anura  which  are  devoid  of  a  tympanic  cavity  are  of  a  more  em- 
bryonic character  than  those  which  possess  one.  The  arboreal  habit 
Is  so  evidently  adaptive,  that  it  can  hardly  be  regarded  as  a  safe 
basis  for  classification.  Even  Bana  lemporaria,  at  a  year  old,  will 
:limb  up  the  vertical  side  of  a  glass  vessel,  flattening  out  the  ends 
A  iU  lota,  and  applying  its  belly  against  the  surface  of  the  glass, 
oke  a  Tree-frog.  ] 

A.  The  tympanic  cavity,  with  its  Eustachian  passage  of  com- 
munication with  the  mouth,  may  be  present  or  absent. 
"When  present,  the  oral  apertures  of  the  Eustachian  tubes 
are  separate,  and  the  pterygoid  bones  do  not  furnish  a 
floor  to  them. 

<v  Vo  teeth  in  the  premaxillae  or  maxilla; ;  tongue 
free,  either  in  front  or  behind,  but  usually  be- 
hind. 

a.  No  tympanic  cavity.     Eustachian  recesses 
sometimes  present. 
Bhinophrynus  <1),  Phryniseus,  Psevdophryne, 
Bmchyccphalus(2),  I£cmisus(3),  Micro- 
hyla 
C.   A  tympanic  cavity  and  Eustachian  tubes. 
I/yUipicsia,   Kalophrynus.  Bufo,   Otilophus, 
Pc.iaphryne,  Patudubufo,  Schismaderma, 
Xenorhina  (4),    Engystoma  (4).    Diplo. 
pclrna  (4),  Cacopus  {Systoma)  (4),  Gly- 
phoglossus  (4),       Callula  (4),      Brachy- 
merus  (4  >,     Adenomera  (4),      Pachyba- 
trnchus(X),  Breviceps,  Chclydobatrachus, 
llypopaclius,     Bhinoderma,     Atelopus, 
Copca,  Paludicnla. 

.1)  Tnorur  frt*  In  front.  ('.»)  Dorsal  dcrroal  oaslficjtiotia.  (3)  T-tncue  retrac- 
slo.    (4)  No  prfccontcuida. 


4.  Teeth  in  the  prcmaxiUae  and  maotlllae;;  the  "tonga 
may  be  fixed  by  its  whole  circumference,  hut  i> 
usually  free  behind. 
o.  No  tympanic  cavity ;  Eustachian  Kcewe 
sometimes  present. 
Bombinator  (1),  Pelobales,  Didocut,  Alsoda. 
Tclmatobius,  Cacotus,  Liopclnux. 
0.  A  tympanic  cavity  and  Eustachian  tubes. 
PLdromanlis,  Alytes(l),  Scaphropus,  Hy 
perolius,  Helioporus,  A'ullereria,  Phyi 
Ivmedusa,  Pelodryas,  Clurodryas,  ByUi. 
Bylclla,  Otolygon,  Bseudacris,  BJdiu, 
LUoria,  Triprion,  Opisthodelphys, 
Trachycephalus,  Notolrema,  Izaha, 
Megalixalus,  Bylarava,  XeptomarUii, 
Bylambal/M,  Platymantis,  Cornuf..r, 
Bemimantis,  Bkacophorus,  Chiromantis, 
Polypedatcs,  Theloderma,  Bappia,  Acris, 
LeiylJi,  Elosia,  Epirhexis,  Phyllobata, 
llylodes,  Crossodadylus,  Sliaiomantis, 
Calostctkus,  Bana,  Odtmtoplirynua, 
ZHcroglossus,  Oxyglossus,  -PhryzwLo- 
traehus,  Boplobatrachus,  Phrynoglossus, 
Clinotarsus,  Pscudis,  Pilkecopsis,  Mixo- 
J'hyes,  Pyocephalus,  Ccratophryt  {2> 
Zachanus,  PlatypUctrumyNeobatrachi~. 
Cvclorhamphus,  LimnodynasUs,  Crinia. 
Eusoph/eus,  Pleurodema,  Leiuperus, 
Jfylorhina,  Limnocftaris,  Cystignalkus, 
Jlemiphractus (3),  ChiroUpUs,  Cahjpto- 
crphalus',  Cryptolis  (4),  AsUrophrys  (4), 
Xenopki-ys(i),  Megalopltrys(i),  A"<'-".1<*- 
phrys(i),  Pelodytes,  Eeptobrachium,DU- 
eoglossus (1),  Zaphrissa(l),  Latonia(\\ 
Palceobatrackus,  Arthrolcplis,  Grmat- 
cus(3).  t    ,        yt»- 

fl)  Oplstbnecellan  Teneonac ;  rudimentary  ribs  attacbedtntheanterlor  vertebras. 
(7)  IjwuJ  'Jermal  ossifications.    (3)  Mandibular  teeth.   (4)  Opisthoccelian  vertebrae. 

B.  The  Eustachian  tubes  of  the  well-developed  tympanic  cavity 
lave  a  common  median  aperture  in  the  roof  of  the  mouth, 
and  the  pterygoid  bones  extend  beneath  and  form  a 
floor  to  them.  The  tongue  is  wanting.  .The  lungs  are 
attached  to  bronchial  tubes ;  and  the  vertebra)  are  qpisUio- 
ccelous. 

o.  No  teeth. 
Pipa, 
b.  Teeth  in  the  premaxillae  and  maxillav 
Eaciylethra. 

III.  The  Peromixa. 

a.  With  a  tentaculiferous  fossa  on  the  lure  part  of  Ui» 

face. 

Camlio,  Siphonops  (1),  Epicrium. 

b.  Vith  no  tentaculiferous  fossa. 

Bhinatrema. 
(1)  Siphonops  annulalm  has  no  scales 

IV.  The  Labyklnthodonta. 

Amphilamvs,  .  Anthracosuurvi*    Apaitnn, 

Jrchrgosaurus,f  Baplutcs,'  Bairachider- 

peton,  Bolhriccps,f  Brac/iydecles,  Brac/ty- 

ops,*      Capitosaurus*      Chalcosaurus,' 

Cocytinus,   Colosleus.f  Dasiiccps,'  Den- 

drcrpeton,*  Dictyoccphalus,  Dolichosonta, 

Erpctoccphalus*  Eupelor,~*  Enrytltorox,* 

Gonioglypius,'  Bylcrpeton,  Uylcmomus, 

Jchthyerpcton*  Ichthyocampsa,  Kerater 

■peton,*  Labyrinthodon*  Lepidotomurus. 

Lepterpclon,*  Leptophractus,  Loxvtrma.* 

Mastodonsaurus*    Melofaurus*    Mite- 

pias,'  Micropnolis*  Molgophis,\  (Esto- 

eephalusO)T       Ophidcrpcton,\       Osteo- 

phorus*  Pachygonia*  Pa  riostcgus,  Pholv 

tUrpcton,*    Phl'c'hontior,-\    Pteroplax, 

Ptyonius.f     Baniceps,\     Bhinosaurus, 

Sauropleura,*    Trcmatosaurus.f  Tudi- 

tmus,\    Urocordylus,f   Xcstorrhylias,' 

Zy'lOStiUr;      " 

[A  satisfactory  grouping  of  these  genera  has  nut  y*t  been  effected 

and  it  is  possible  that  some  of  the  forms  here  enunciated  may  no; 

be  true  Labyrinthodonts.    To  those  about  the  truly  Labyrinthodoni 

character  of  which  there  seems  no  doubt  a  *  or  a  +  is  attached— 

the  t  denoting  the  serpentiform  genera.     BatracliiderpetoH,  Pario- 

sicgus,  and  Pteroplax  are  remarkable  for  the  incompleteness  of  th* 

jugal  arch,  and  some  other  characters  by  wluch  they  appear   k 

represent  the  Proteidea.      The  true   position   of  HyUrpeUm  ami 

llylonomua  is  sliU  doubtful.]  (T.  H    II. J 


772 


AMPHICTYONY 


AMPHICTYONY,  in  Greeh  Antiquity,  was  an  associa- 
tion of  several  tribes  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  some 
temple  common  to  tht'rn  all,  and  for  maintaining  worship 
within  it.  The  members  were  called  d/x<£«ri'o«s  or  afj.<f>tK- 
Ti'oi'ts,  a  word  which  means  "  the  dwellers  around."  Tho 
second  form  of  the  word  Benfey  supposes  to  have  arisen 
from  a  digammated  u/x^iKTifovc;.  Out  of  the  name  the 
Athenians,  according  to  their  habit,  easily  discovered  the 
founder  of  the  Delphic  Amphictyony,  with  which  they  were 
connected;  and  hence  in  later  times,  by  an  inverse  process, 
t  he  name  was  derived  from  Amphictyon,  one  of  the  fabulous 
kings  of  Attica. 

Similar  religious  confederations  existed  in  Greece  at  a 
very  early  period,  and  there  is  reason  to  believo  that  at  their 
stated  assemblies  they  discussed  questions  of  international 
law  and  matters  affecting  their  political  union  as  well  as 
religious  subjects.  Gradually,  however,  the  political  influ- 
ence of  the  Amphictyonies  died  away.  As  states  of  great 
power  stood  on  an  equality  with  insignificant  tribes  in  the 
number  of  votes,  they  naturally  prevented  the  settlement 
of  important  political  matters  in  such  an  assembly. 
Accordingly,  during  the  flourishing  period  of  Greek  his- 
tory the  Amphictyonies  almost  disappear.  They  are  not 
mentioned  in  Thucydidcs  and  Xenophon.  But  they  appear 
again  in  vigour  in  the  time  of  Philip,  and  become  engines 
by  which  political  parties,  under  pretence  of  religious  zeal 
for  the  interests  of  the  gods,  wreak  their  vengeance  on 
their  rivals  and  antagonists. 

This  is  especially  true  of  the  Amphictyony  of  Delphi, 
the  most  important  of  all  these  associations.  Though  we 
know  better  about  this  confederation  than  about  any  other, 
yet  many  particulars  are  hidden  in  obscurity,  and  consider- 
able doubts  gather  around  others  of  which  we  know  some- 
thing. The  Amphictyony  existed  in  very  early  times,  and 
jEschines  states  that  it  arose  when  the  temple  at  Delphi 
was  first  built.  It  is  more  likely,  however,  that  it  was 
originally  connected  with  Thermopylae  and  the  temple  of 
Demeter  Amphictyonis  which  was  there.  The  Amphic- 
tyony consisted  of  a  unioa  of  twelve  tribes,  each  of  which 
had  a  right  to  two  votes.  These  tribes  were  for  the  most 
part  Thessalian  or  bordering  on  Thessaly ;  and  it  is  probable 
that  the  others,  as  the  Dorians  and  Ionians,  gained  admis- 
sion in  consequence  of  colonies  that  came  to  them  from 
Thessaly. 

There  are  nine  lists  of  the  tribes  that  constituted  the 
Delphic  Amphictyony  in  the  classical  writers  and  in  in- 
scriptions. Of  these  only  one  is  complete,  and  the  rest 
differ  from  each  other  in  some  particulars.  The  one  that 
is  complete  was  found  on  a  Delphic  stone  containing  a 
decree  of  the  Amphictyonic  council  in  regard  to  money  due 
to  the  Delphic  treasury.  On  this  stone  are  given  the  votes 
of  each  tribe,  and  the  final  decision  of  the  council  in  har- 
mony with  the  majority  of  votes  for  one  of  the  opinions 
held.  The  list  is  as  follows : — The  Delphians,  two  votes; 
Thessalians,  two  votes;  Phocians,  two  votes ;  Dorians  from 
Metropolis,  one  vote;  the  Dorians  from  Peloponnesus,  one 
vote;  the  Athenians,  one  vote;  the  Euboeans,  one  vote;  the 
Boeotians,  two  votes;  the  Achaean  Phthiots,  two  votes;  the 
Malians,  one  vote;  the  OEteans,  one  vote;  the  Dolopians, 
one  vote;  the  Perrhaebians,  one  vote;  the  Magnetes,  two 
votes;  the  jEnianes,  two  votes;  the  Locri  Hypocncmidii, 
one  vote;  the  Locri  Hesperii,  one  vote.  The  exact  date 
of  the  decree  recorded  on  the  Delphic  stone  is  matter  of 
dispute,  but  the  most  probable  conjecture  places  it  about 
the  year  130  b.o.  We  have  therefore  clear  testimony  as 
to  the  constitution  of  the  Amphictyonic  council  at  this 
date;  and,  starting  from  this,  we  can  form  some  idea  of  the 
changes  which  took  olace  in  the  members  of  the  council. 
It  is  generally  believed  .that  no  change  took  place  in  the 
tribes  forming  the  league  till  the  time  of  the  second  nacred 


war,  315  B.c.  Of  these  tribes  jEschines  gives  ns  a  list,  with 
the  omission  of  one.  They  are  the  Thessalians,  Boeotians, 
DorihUS,  Ionians,  Perrhaebians,  Mngnetes,  Locri,  GJtcans, 
PhthiU!:,  Malians,  Phocians;  and  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  it  is  tho  Dolopians  who  have  been  by  some  mistako 
omitted.  The  confusions  in  some  of  tho  other  lists  have 
arisen  probably  from  the  ignorance  of  transcribers,  who  did 
not  know  that  tho  ^Enianes  and  GJteans  lived  close  to  each 
other,  and  were  often  comprehended  under  the  same  name, 
and  who  made  two  tribes  of  the  Achaean  Phthiots,  Achaeans 
and  Phthiots.  yEschines  says  that  all  theso  tribes  had 
equal  right  of  voting;  but  the  inscription  on  the  Delphio 
stone  shows  that  the  two  votes  of  one  tribe  might  be 
divided  among  two  different  portions  of  it.  At  the  con- 
clusion of  the  Phocian  war  the  Phocians  were  excluded, 
and  the  Macedonians  received  their  votes;  and  the  vote  of 
the  Lacedaemonians  was  given  to  the  other  Doric  tribes  of 
Peloponnesus.  The  Delphians  also  obtained  votes,  either 
at  this  time  or  after  the  third  sacred  war,  338  B.C.,  by 
some  of  tho  smaller  tribes  that  had  two  votes  being 
restricted  to  one.  In  the  same  way,  and  also  by  the  ex- 
clusion of  tho  Locri  Ozolae,  the  ^Etolians  secured  a  place 
in  the  council  in  338  B.C.,  and  gradually  took  possession 
of  a  great  number  of  votes.  The  Phocians  were  restored 
to  their -place  in  279  B.C.,  on  account  of  their  gallant 
resistance  to  the  Gauls.  Finally,  the  yKtolians  and  Mace- 
donians were  excluded  from  tho  council,  and  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  council  as  given  in  the  Delphic  stone  was 
formed.  The  last  change  mentioned  in  classical  writers  is 
detailed  by  Pausanias,  but  the  passage  is  evidently  cornipt 
Augustus  wished  to  give  votes  to.  Nicopolis,  and  for  this 
purpose  so  altered  the  constitution  of  the  council  as  to 
make- the  votes  thirty  in  number. 

The  objects  of  the  league  are  distinctly  expressed  in  the 
oath  which  the  Amphictyons  had  to  take,  and  which  is 
preserved  in  jEschines's  oration  "  De  Falsa  Legatione."  This 
oath  bound  the  Amphictyons  not  to  destroy  any  of  the 
Amphictyonic  towns,  not  to  turn  away  its  running  waters 
either  in  time  of  war  or  in  time  of  peace;  and  if  any  out 
should  attempt  to  rob  the  temple  of  Delphi  (the  common 
centre  of  the  confederacy),  to  employ  their  hands,  feet, 
tongue,  and  their  whole  power  to  bring  him  to  punishment 
The  humanising  influence  which  this  and  other  enactments 
of  the  confederacy  were  intended  to  exercise,  is  perceptible 
in  the  part  relating  to  war.  The  framer  of  the  law  evi- 
dently regarded  war  only  as  an  unavoidable  means  of 
settling  disputes  between  two  states;  but  it  was  to  be 
carried  on  only  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  the  dispute  to 
a  decision,  and  not  for  destruction  and  devastation.  An- 
other enactment  probably  was  that  the  inhabitants  of  a 
conquered  city  should  not  be  sold  as  slaves.  But  the 
chief  care  of  the  Amphictyons  appears  to  have  been  to 
watch  over  the  temple,  to  punish  those  who  were  guilty  of 
a  crime  against  it,  and  to  reward  those  who  did  anything 
to  increase  its  splendour  and  glory. 

There  is  difficulty  in  determining  how  often  the  Am- 
phictyons met.  But  the  most  liLely  inference  from  the 
somewhat  indefinite  statements  of  ancient  writers  is,  that 
they  went  twice  every  year  both  to  Delphi  and  Ther- 
mopylae, in  spring  and  in  autumn.  There  is  also  some 
difficulty  in  determining  the  relative  positions  of  the  two 
sets  of  officials  named  in  connection  with  the  Amphictyony, 
the  Hieromnemones  and  the  Pylagoroi  or  Pylagorai.  But 
there  can  scarcely  be  a  doubt  that  the  Hieromnemon  was 
the  principal  official.  There  were  as  many  Hieromnemones 
as  there  were  votes;  and  the  Hieromnemones  were*  alone 
entitled  to  vote.  The  assembly  proper  consisted  therefore 
only  of  the  Hieromnemones.  It  is  most  likely  that  the 
Hieromnemones  were  elected  annually  by  lot  In  the  case 
of  the  smaller  states  It  is  probable  that  the  right  to  elect 


AMPHICTYONY 


773 


went  round  by  turns,  while  the  more  important  states  sent, 
their  representatives  every  year.  There  might  be  several 
Pylagoroi  from  e\ch  state.  ^Eschiues  mentions  that  there 
were  on  one  occasion  three  from  Athens.  They  were  elected 
by  vote.  Their  function  seems  to  have  been  to  advise 
ivith  the  Hieromnemon,  to  address  the  assembly  when  any- 
thing relating  to  their  own  state  was  discussed,  and  to  bring 
ill  their  influence  to  bear  on  the  assembly  on  behalf  of  their 
own  state.  The  office  of  Hieromnemon  remained  in  high, 
honour  till  a  late  period.  When  the  Dionysiac  theatre  in 
Athens  was  excavated  in  1862,  a  chair  of  honour  was 
found  with  the  inscription  Upo/jLvrjfj.ovo^,  and  as  it  is  certain 
that  dramatic  exhibitions  took  place  in  this  theatre  in  the 
time  of  the  Antonines,  the  office  of  Hieromnemon  must 
have  existed  at  that  period. 

The  meetings,  however,  were  attended  not  only  by  the 
deputies,  but  by  thousands  of  others  who  flocked  to  Delphi 
or  Thermopylas  for  religious  and  mercantile  purposes,  or 
only  for  the  sake  of  amusement.  This  occasioned  popular 
meetings  (iKKXrja-uu)  distinct  from  those  of  the  regular 
deputies.  But  we  cannot  suppose  that  all  the  Greeks 
indiscriminately  were  allowed  to  take  part  in  those  popular 
assemblies,  which  must  have  consisted  of  visitors  from  the 
states  which  were  members  of  the  Ampk.cfyony 

Wise  and  humane  as  were  the  objects  of  the  Amphic- 
tyons,  yet  wherever  they  actively  interfered  in  the  affairs 
•f  Greece  during  the  historical  period,  we  find  that  they 
were  more  powerful  for  evil  than  for  good;  and  the  holy 
wars  which  were  carried  on  by  them  in  the  defence  of  the 
Delphic  temple  and  the  honour  of  its  god,  contributed  not 
a  little  to  the  demoralisation  of  the  Greeks. 

The  very  first  time  that  the  Amphictyons  interfered  iz 
the  affairs  of  Greece  we  find  them  acting  in  direct  oppo- 
sition to  the  spirit  of  their  institution.  We  allude  to  the 
Crissaean  or  first  sacred  war,  which  broke  out  in  594, 
and  lasted  till  585  b  c.  The  inhabitants  of  Crissa  (or 
Cirrha),  on  the  Corinthian  Gulf,  were  charged  with  extor- 
tion and  violence  towards  the  strangers  who  landed  at 
their  port,  or  passed  through  their  territory  on  their  way 
to  Delphi.  For  this  the  Amphictyons  declared  war 
against  Crissa,  and  it  was  vigorously  carried  on  by  the 
Thessalians  and  Cleisthenes,  the  tyrant  of  Sicyon.  They 
even  pretended  to  have  the  sanction  of  Apollo  to  dedicate 
the  Crissoeans  and  their  territory  to  the  god,  to  enslave 
them,  and  make  their  land  a  waste  for  ever.  The  war  is 
said  to  have  been  terminated  by  a  stratagem  of  Solon,  who 
poisoned  the  waters  of  the  river  Pleistos,  from  which  the 
town  was  supplied.  When  the  town  was  taken,  the  vow 
of  the  Amphictyons  was  literally  carried  into  effect :  Crissa 
was  fazed  to  the  ground,  its  harbour  choked  up,  and  its 
fertile  plain  changed  into  a  wilderness.  Such  was  the 
terrible  vengeance  taken  by  a  body  of  confederates,  whose 
original  object  was  to  prevent  those  very  things  which  they 
now  perpetrated  to  uphold  the  honour  of  the  deity  presid- 
ing over  tbem.  The  second  sacred  war,  which  likewise 
lasted  for  ten  years,  from  355  to  346  B.C.,  was  carried 
on  with  unparalleled  exasperation  for  all  that  period, 
and  nearly  all  the  Greeks  took  part  in  it.  The  Thebans 
had  set  their  hearts  upon  conquering  Phocis,  but  screened 
their  designs  behind  a  charge  preferred  against  the  Locrians, 
alleging  that  they  had  robbed  the  temple  of  Delphi,  because 
they  had  taken  into  cultivation  a  tract  of  land  belonging  to 
the  Delphic  temple.  The  Amphictyonic  council,  before 
which  the  charge  was  brought,  condemned  the  Phocians  to 
pay  a  heavy  fine,  and  to  destroy  the  crops  of  the  sacred 
Selds.  No  sooner  was  this  verdict  pronounced  than  the 
Thebans,  Thessalians,  Locrians,  and  GJteans  took  up  arms 
to  execute  it.  The  Phociaua  wer«  joined  by  Athens  and 
Sparta,  and  took  possession  of  the  temple  of  Delphi  and  its 
treasures,  which  they  were  ouliged  to  employ  in  defraying 


the  expenses  of  tue  war.  The  war  was  carried  on  with 
unexampled  cruelty,  for  even  the  surrender  of  the  dead  for 
burial  was  refused,  and  all  Phocian  captives  were  put  to 
death.  This  war  also  afforded  Philip  of  Macedonia  an 
opportunity  to  interfere-  in  the  affairs  of  Greece.  Being 
invited  by  the  Thessalians  to  co-operate  with  them  against 
the  Phocians,  Philip  and  his  Macedonians  acted  as  the 
champions  of  the  god,  and  defeated  the  Phocians  in  a  bloody 
battle  near  Magnesia.  Three  thousand  captive  Phocians 
were  put  to  death.  The  latter,  however,  remained  un- 
daunted until  at  length  they  were  compelled  by  treachery 
to  surrender.  .  The  Amphictyons  now  excluded  them  for 
ever  from  the  league,  their  arms  and  horses  were  to  be 
delivered  up,  their  towns  to  be  destroyed,  and  the  people 
were  henceforth  to  live  in  small  villages,  and  to  pay  annu- 
ally to  the  god  sixty  talents  (about  £15,000)  until  the 
temple  should  be  completely  indemnified.  Macedonian 
and  Theban  troops  carried  the  judgment  into  execution; 
twenty-two  towns  disappeared  from  the  face  of  the  earth, 
and  the  otherwise  fertile  country  remained  for  many  years 
a  wilderness.  A  third  sacred  war  was  decreed  against  the 
town  of  Amphissa,  because  its  inhabitants  had  taken  into 
cultivation  the  plain  of  Crissa ;  but  in  reality  the  war  was 
brought  about  by  the  venal  on.  itures  who  endeavoured  to 
promote  the  ambitie  is  schemes  of  Philip  of  Macedon,  who 
was  bent  upon  making  himself  master  of  Greece.  This 
war  broke  oui  in  338  B.C.,  and  its  unfortunate  conse- 
quences lea  to  the  catastrophe  whjch  deprived  Greece  of 
her  independence  in  the  battle  of  Chaeronea,  Such  is  a 
brief  outline  of  '\e  history  of  the  Delphic  Amphictyony, 
which  net  only  itself  violated  its  first  principles,  but  is  not 
Known  to  have  ever  raised  its  voice  to  condemn  the  wanton 
destruction  of  other  Amphictyonic  towns,  such  as  Plataeae 
and  Thebes. 

There  were  many  other  confederations  of  a  similar  kind, 
some  of  which,  however,  do  not  bear  the  name  of  Amphic- 
tyonies  in  the  authorities  from  which  we  derive  our  infor- 
mation regarding  them.  The  following  were  among  the 
most  noted : — 

1.  The  Amphictyony  of  Calauria,  an  island  near  Trcezen, 
consisted  of  the  seven  states  of  Hermione,  Epidaurus, 
iEgina,  Athens,  Prasias,  Nauplia,  and  the  Minyan  Orcho- 
menos.  These  states  took  part  in  the  sacrifices  which  were 
offered  up  in  the  temple  of  Poseidon,  situated  on  the  island. 
Sparta  and  Argos  displaced  Nauplia  and  Prasiae  when  these 
lost  their  independence.  It  is  difficult  to  see  what  object 
could  unite  states  so  widely  apart.  Some  suppose  that  the 
tribes  forming  the  league  were  originally  Ionian ;  others, 
that  they  all  were  interested  in  the  defence  cf  seaports 
against  inland  states. 

2.  Amphictyony  of  Ouchestos,  in  the  territory  of  Hali- 
artus  in  Bceotia,  was  likewise  connected  with  the  temple  of 
Poseidon.  As  at  all  other  Amphictyonies,  the  meetings  of 
the  members  were  celebrated-with  various  religious  rites, 
solemnities,  and  public  games.  We  do  not  know  the 
nations  that  constituted  this  league. 

3.  Amphictyony  of  Amarynthos,  in  Euboea,  connected 
with  the  temple  of  Artemis.  We  know  that  the  two  towns 
of  Eretria  and  Chalcis  were  members  of  it,  and  that  there 
existed  an  ancient  treaty  by  which  these  two  cities  pledged 
themselves  not  to  use  against  each  other  any  missiles  thrown 
from  afar. 

4.  Amphictyony  of  Delos,  connected  with  the  temple  of 
Apollo,  was  a  league  formed  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Cyclades  and  the  Ionians  in  the  neighbourhood.  Its  insti- 
tution was  ascribed  to  Theseus.  The  solemnities  connected 
svith  its  meetings  gradually  fell  into  disuse,  until  they  were 
revived  and  increased  in  426  B.C.,  when  the  island  of 
Delos  was  purified  by  the  Athenians.  The  Athenians,  after 
this  time,  regularly  sent  an  annual  embassy  to  Delos,  and 


174 


A  M  T   -  A  JV1   f 


they  also  retained  for  themselves  the  superintendence  of  the 
temple  and  the  administration  of  its  treasures. 

AMPHION,  in  Greek  Mythology,  the  son  of  Zeus  by 
Antiope,.  and  the  husband  of  Niobe,  was  a  musician  of 
such  wonderful  power,  that  at  the  sounds  of  his  lyre  the 
stones  began  to  move,  and  formed  themselves  into  walls 
around  Thebes,  after  his  conquest  of  that  city.  He  was 
killed  by  Apollo  for  assaulting  his  temple ;  or,  as  some 
report,  he  destroyed  himself  in  despair  at  the  slaughter  of 
his  children  by  that  god.  The  famous  Farnese  bull, 
discovered  in  1546,  represents  Amphion  punishing  Dirce 
for  her  treatment  of  his  mother.  There  are  four  other 
mythical  personages  of  this  name. 

AMI'HIOXUS,  a  species  of  fish,  differing  widely  from 
all  other  known  animals.     See  Lancelet. 

AMPHIPOLIS,  a  city  of  Macedonia,  situated  on  the  east 
bank  of  tho  river  Strymon,  about  three  miles  from  the  sea. 
It  was  originally  a  Thracian  town,  known  as  the  'Eto 
0801  (Nine  Roads),  and  was  colonised  by  the  Athenians 
in  437  B.C.,  two  previous  attempts  (497  and  465  B.C.) 
having  been  unsuccessful.  In  424  B.C.  it  surrendered  to  the 
Lacedaemonians  without  resistance,  and  the  Athenians  never 
afterwards  recovered  possession  of  it.  For  his  failure  to  pre-, 
vent  this  disaster  Thucydides  was  banished  from  Athens. 
The  site  of  Amphipolis  is  occupied  by  the  modern  Jeni  Keui. 

AMPHISB^ENA  (from  d/x$t's,  on  both  sides,  and  /?<uVu>, 
to  go),  a  genus  of  animals,  found  only  in  South  America 
and  the  West  Indies,  which,  though  they  have  the  general 
appearance  of  snakes  or  worms,  belong  to  the  order  Lacer- 
tilia,  or  Lizards.  .The  best  known  species  are  the  sooty 
or  dusky  amphisbaena  (A.  fuliginosa),  and  the  rarer  A. 
alba.  The  body  of  the  amphisboena,  from  18  to  24  inehes 
long,  is  of  nearly  the  same  thickness  throughout  The 
head  is  small,  and  there  can  scarcely  be  said  to  be  a  tail, 
the  vent  being  close  to  the  extremity  of  the  body.  The 
animal  lives  mostly  underground,  burrowing  in  soft  earth, 
and  feeds  on  ants  and  other  small  animals.  From  its 
appearance,  and  the  ease  "with  which  it  moves  backwards, 
the  popular  belief  in  the  countries  where  it  prevails  has 
been  that  the  amphisbama  has  two  heads,  and  that  when 
the  body  is  cut  in  two  the  parts  seek  each  other  out  and 
reunite.  From  this  has  arisen  another  popular  error,  which 
attributes  extraordinary  curative  properties  to  its  flesh 
when  dried  and  pulverised. 

AMPHITHEATRE  (from  A/itf  and  6la.TPov)  denotes  a 
theatre  in  which  tho  spectators  were  placed  "  all  round" 
the  stage.  Though  the  word  is  of  Greek  formation,  the 
thing  itself  is  distinctively  Roman,  being  designed  for  those 
cruel  shows  of  gladiators  and  wild  beasts  in  which  that  people 
took  great  pleasure,  and  which  in.  modern  times  are  only  re- 
presented by  the  barbarous  bull-fights  still  popular  in  Spain. 

In  the  present  article  we  do  not  "enter  on  the  considera- 
tion of  the  spectacles  themselves,  but  shall  confine  our- 
selves to  the  buildings,  which  were  devised  to  allow  as 
large  a  number  of  spectators  as  possible  to  enjoy  the  sight 
of  the  show.  In  a  dramatic  representation  it  is  necessary 
that  the  actors  should  be  heard,  and  also  that  their  faces 
should  be  seen,  and  the  audience  has  therefore  to  be 
ari-anged  in  a  semicircle  in  front  of  them;  but  when  men 
fought  with  other  men  or  with  beasts,  thev  could  be  seen 
equally  well  from  all  side3. 

in  Italy,  combats  of  gladiators  at  first  took  place  in  the 
forums,  where  temporary  wooden  scaffoldings  were  erected 
for  the  spectators ;  and  Vitravius  gives  this  as  the  reason 
why  in  that  country  the  forums  were  in  the  shape  of  a 
parallelogram  instead  of  being  squares  as  in  Greece.  Wild 
beasta  were  also  hunted  in  the  circus.  But  towards  the 
end  of  the  Roman  republic,  when  the  shows  increased  both 
in  frequency  and  in  costliness  as  the  city  grew  ia  power, 
special  buildings  began  to  b<t  provided  {or  them ;  aad  Trhea 


the  consolidation  of  peace  under  the  empire  had  secured 
great  material  prosperity  for  the  provinces,  such  as  they 
had  never  enjoyed  when  separated  into  small  states  and 
often  at  war  with  each  other,  tho  example  of  the  capital 
was  followed  by  many  other  towns  in  tho  West;  30  that 
nearly  a  hundred  amphitheatres  have  been  identified,  either 
by  the  existence  of  their  ruins  .or  by  being  mentioned  by 
old  writers.  There  were  even  a  few  in  the  East,  although 
such  cruel  games  were  quite  alien  to  the  elegance  and  re 
finement  of  the  Hellenic  mind. 

From  their  being  so  admirably  adapted  for  enabling  the 
greatest  possible  number  of  people  to  behold  a  spectacle,  it 
is  natural  to  suppose  that  they  would  be  occasionally  used 
for  purposes  different  from  those  usually  intended  by  them; 
and  accordingly  Suetonius  relates  how  Caligula  had  an 
impertinent  poet  burnt  alive  in  the  amphitheatre,  and  how 
Titus  ordered  the  informers,  after  having  been  whipped  in 
the  forum,  to  be  led  through  the  arena,  apparently  that 
they  might  be  exposed  to  the  execrations  of  the  people. 
Criminals  were  also  sometimes  exposed  in  them  to  be  de- 
voured by  wild  beasts,  and  many  of  the  Christian  martyn 
died  in  this  way. 

The  first  amphitheatre  was  that  constructed,  59  B.C., 
by  C.  Scribonius  Curio.  The  only  author  by  whom  it  ia 
described  is  Pliny,  whose  account  of  it  rather  taxes  our 
credulity.  He  tells  that  Scribonius  built  two  wooden 
theatres,  which  were  placed  back  to  back,  and  that  after  th« 
dramatic  representations  were  finished,  they  were  turned 
round,  with  all  the  spectators  in  them,  so  as  to  make  one 
circular  theatre,  in  ^the  centre  of  which  gladiators  fought 
And  this  was  repeated  more  than  once.  Thirteen  years 
later,  Cassar  built  (also  of  wood)  the  first  regular  amphi- 
theatre, and  exhibited  wild  beasts  in  it;  and  sixteen  years 
after,  C.  Statilius  Taurus  built  the  first  one  of  stone,  which 
was  burnt  in  the  great  fire  of  Rome  during  the  reign  of 
Nero.     Probably  the  outside  walls  only  were  of  stone. 

Several  others  were  constructed  under  the  early  em- 
perors, but  they  were  entirely  superseded  and  eclipsed  by 
that  of  Vespasian  and  Titus,  the  vast  ruins  of  which  strike 
the  traveller  with  awe.  Set  on  fire  by  lightning  under 
the  emperor  Macrinus,  it  was  restored  by  Alexander 
Severus,  the  shows  during  the  interval  being  held  (as  of 
old)  in  the  circus.  The  latest  record  of  its  being  used  is 
in  .the  6th  century,  when  Cassiodorus  was  present ;  but 
Bede  in  the  8th  century  speaks  of  the  edifice  as  still  entire. 
During  the  Middle  Ages  many  of  the  stones  of  this,  as 
of  many  other  ancient  buildings,  were  carried  away  for 
building  purposes;  and  among  tho  plunderers  we  regret  to 
have  to  reckon  the  great  Michel  Angelo,  who  worked 
up  a  large  number  of  its  stones  into  a  palace  for  one  of 
the  Roman  noble  families.  As,  however,  the  Colosseum 
had  been  the  scene  of  many  of  the  Christian  martyrdoms, 
Benedict  XIV.,  whose  name  ought  never  to  be  mentioned 
without  an  expression  of  admiration  and  gratitude  for  his 
enlightened  patronage  of  learning  and  antiquities,  took 
advantage  of  this  to  consecrate  the  interior  by  tho  erec- 
tion of  crosses  and  oratories,  thereby  preserving  it  from 
further  depredations.  Of  late  years  considerable  excava- 
tions have  been  made  to  examine  its  substructures.  Its 
name  is  variously  written,  but  on  the  whole  it  would 
seem  that  the  most  correct  orthography  is  Colosseum  (not 
Coliseum),  and  that  it  is  derived  from  its  colossal  size, 
which  far  surpassed  any  former  edifice  of  the  sort.  Many 
of  its  minor  arrangements  are  uncertain,  but  the  main 
features  and  general  plan  are  sufficiently  intelligible. 

The  external  elevation  of  the  Colosseum  consisted  of 
lour  stages,  each  adorned  with  engaged  columns  of  the 
three  orders  of  Greek  architecture.  The  lowest  three  were 
arcaded,  having  each  eighty  columns  and  as  .many  arches. 
These  of  the  basement  story  served  as  entrances:  -seventy 


AMPHITHEATRE 


775 


six  being  numbered  and  allotted  to  the  general  body  of 
spectators,  while  four,  at  the  extremities  of  the  axes  of  the 
ellipse,  were  the  principal  entrances.  The  higher  arcades 
had  a  low  parapet  with  (apparently)  a  statue  in  each  arch, 
and  gave  light  and  air  to  the  passages  which  Burrounded 
the  building.  The  openings  of  the  arcades  above  the 
principal  entrances  were  larger  than  the  rest,  and  were 
adorned  with  figures  of  chariots.  The  highest  stage  was 
much  more  solid,  being  composed  of  a  continuous  wall 
of  masonry,  only  pierced  by  forty  small  square  windows. 
The  object  of  this  may  have  been  to  obtain  the  necessary 
solidity  and  weight  for  steadying  the  poles  which  supported 
the  awning,  and  must  have  had  to  carry  a  severe  inward 
strain.  The  alternate  arcades  were  ornamented  with  metal 
shields.  There  was  also  a  series  of  brackets  to  support 
the  poles  on  which  the  awning  was  stretched. 

The  interior  may  be  naturally  divided  into  the  arena 
and  the  cavca,  with  their  respective  appendages. 


The  arena  was  the  portion  assigned  to  the  combatants, 
and  derived  its  name  from  the  sand  with  which  it  was 
strewn,  to  absorb  the  blood  and  prevent  it  from  becoming 
slippery.  Some  of  the  emperors  showed  their  prodigality 
by  substituting  precious  powders,  and  even  gold  dust,  for 
sand.  The  arena  was  generally  of  the  same  shape  as  the 
amphitheatre  itself,  and  was  separated  from  the  spectators 
by  a  wall '  built  perfectly  smooth,  that  the  wild  beasts 
might  not  by  any  possibility  climb  it.  At  Rome  it  was 
faced  inside  with  polished  marble,  but  at  Pompeii  it  was 
simply  painted.  For  further  security,  it  was  surrounded 
by  a  metal  railing  or  network,  and  the  arena  was  some- 
times surrounded  also  by  a  ditch  (euripus),  especially  on 
account  of  the  elephants.  Connected  with  the  arena  were 
the  dens  from  which  the  beasts  came,  and  the  rooms  where 
the  gladiators  met  before  the  show  began.  In  spite  of  the 
excavations  which  have  been  made,  it  is  not  very  easy  to 
understand  how  all  the  effects  described  by  ancient  authors 
were  produced;  for  after  the  regular  shows  were  ovzt,  the 
arena  was  sometimes  filled  with  water,  and  sea-fights  were 
exhibited  with  ships. 

The  part  assigned  to  the  spectators  was  called  cavea. 
In  the  different  amphitheatres  whose  ruins'  have  been 
examined,  there  are  some  differences  in  the  arrangements, 
but  the  general  features  are  nearly  the  same  in  all  The 
cavea  was  divided  into  several  galleries,  concentric  with  the 
outer  walls,  and  therefore,  like  them,  of  an  elliptic  form. 
The  piaee  of  honour  was  the  lowest  of  these,  nearest  to  the 
arena,  ami  called  the  podium.  The  divisions  in  it  were 
larger,  so  as  to  be  able  to  contain  movable  seats.  At 
Rome  it  was  here  that  the  emperor  sat,  his  seat  bearing 
the  name  of  suggestuiri.  The  senators,  principal  magis- 
trates, vestal  virgins,  the  provider  (editor)  of  the  show, 
and  other  persons  of    note,  occupied  .the    rest    of    the 


podium.  At  Nismes,  besides  the  nigh  officials  of  the 
town,  the  podium  had  places  assigned  to  the  principal 
guilds,  whose  names  are  still  seen  inscribed  upon  it,  with 
the  number  of  places  reserved  for  each.  In  the  Colosseum 
there  were  three  mamiana  or  galleries  above  the  podium, 
separated  from  each  other  by  terraces  (pracincticmei)  and 
walls  (baltei).  The  lowest  was  appropriated  to  the  eques- 
trian order. ,_  Numerous  passages  (vomitoria)  and  small 
stairs  gave  access  to  them;  while  long  covered  corridors, 
behind  and  below  them,  served  for  shelter  in  the  event  of 
rain.  At  Pompeii  each  place  was  numbered,  and  elsewhere 
their  extent  is  defined  by  little  marks  cut  in  the  stone. 
The  spectators  were  admitted  by  tickets  (tessera;),  and  order 
preserved  by  a  staff  of  officers  appointed  for  the  purpose. 

The  height  of  the  Colosseum  is  given  as  from  160  to 
1 80  feet.  The  seats  in  the  interior  do  not  rise  higher  than 
the  level  of  the  third  order  of  the  exterior,  that  is,  about 
half  the  entire  height  of  the  building;  and  this  apparent 
excess  of  height  beyond  what  was  made  available,  has  led 
some  to  suppose  that  there  were  upper  seats  and  galleries, 
of  which  no  trace  now  exists.  The  height,  however, 
appears  to  have  been  necessary  for  the  ventilation  of  the 
building.  When  such  enormous  crowds  were  packed 
closely  together  for  several  hours  at  a  time  on  an  Italian 
summer  day,  with  an  awning  drawn  over  them,  the  atmo- 
sphere would  have  become  quite  pestilential  if  there  had 
not  been  a  considerable  space  overhead,  and  at  least  one 
range  of '  open  arcades,  unencumbered  by  any  galleries  to 
prevent  the  free  circulation  of  air.  Scented  liquids  were 
at  times  squirted  over  the  spectators  from  concealed  tubes; 
but  no  aroma  would  have  compensated  for  the  want  of  air, 
which  the  arcade  all  round  the  building,  above  the  highest 
spectators,  would  supply.  There  may  also  have  been 
another  series  of  openings  serving  the  same  purpose  be- 
tween the  top  of  the  wall  and  the  edge  of  the  awning,  which 
was  supported  upon  poles.  It  has  been  calculated  that  the 
Colosseum  contained  87,000  places,  and  that  besides  these, 
15,000  more  spectators  could  be  admitted.  The  greatest 
length  is  about  612  feet,  and  the  length  of  the  shortest 
nt-ia  of  the  ellipse  about  515  feet.  The  dimensions  of  the 
arena  are  variously  stated  by  different  writers,  some  making 
it  247  feet  by  150,  and  others  281  by  176. 

With  regard  to  the  provincial  amphitheatres,  Maffei,  in 
his  account  of  that  of  Verona,  appears  to  have  unduly 
restricted  their  number,  with  the  object  of  exalting  the 
honour  of  the  one  he  describes.  Besides  the  Colosseum, 
he  would  hardly  allow  any  rains  to  be  entitled  to  this 
name  except  those  at  Verona  and  Capua.  -'''But  subsequent 
writers  have  not  followed  him  in  this  rigorism ;  and  Fried- 
lander,  who  is  the  latest  £nd  most  complete  authority  on 
the  subject,  gives  the  measurements  and  description  of 
fifty-two.  Naturally,  the  early  ones  would  be  of  wood, 
kke  that  erected  by  Atilius  at  Fidenae  in  the  time  of 
Tiberius,  which  gave  way  while  shows  were  being  exhibited, 
on  which  occason  50,000  persons  were  killed  or  injured. 
One  at  Placentia  is  also  mentioned,  which  is  said  to  have 
been  the  most  spacious  then  in  Italy,  and"  to  have  been 
burned  in  the  wars  between  Otho  and  Vitellius  by  the 
inhabitants  of  a  neighbouring  town  whose  envy  it  had 
excited.  Such  disasters,  coupled  with  the  growing  scarcity 
of  wood  and  the  greater  facilities  for  quarrying  stone, 
would  naturally  lead  to  the  construction  of  more  solid 
buildings.  At  the  same  time,  the  progress  of  this  im- 
provement must  have  been  slow,  and  the  building  of  at 
least  the  great  majority  of  the  provincial  amphitheatres  of 
stone  may  be  ascribed  to  the  period  between  the  reign  of 
Vespasian  and  that  of  Constantine,  when  the  establish- 
ment of  Christianity  threw  a  discredit  on  the  cruel  and 
bloody  shows  for  which  these  vast  structures  were  designed. 
Hadrian  is    especially  commemorated  for  the  nuiiieruui 


77G 


AMP-AMP 


buildings  he  caused  to  be  erected  almost  everywhere,  and 
this  is  mentioned  in  connection  with  games  being  held. 

In  constructing  many  of  the  amphitheatres  in  the  pro- 
vincial towns,  advantage  was  taken  of  the  natural  slope  of 
a  hill  to  lessen  the  labour  of  construction;  and  in  some 
cases  a  narrow  ravine  between  two  hills  allowed  of  both 
sides  being  formed  on  the  natural  slopes,  and  of  the  stream 
at  their  feet  being  dammed  up  for  combats  on  the  water. 
The  conformation  of  the  ground  and  the  caprices  of  local 
authorities  have  produced  slight  minor  differences  of  plan, 
but  the  general  description  of  the  Colosseum  will  suffice 
for  all.  For  details  regarding  others  the  reader  may  con- 
sult, in  addition  to  other  authorities,  the  descriptions  given 
in  thi3  work  of  tho  different  towns  where  their  remains  are 
still  found.  HeTe  it  may  be  sufficient  to  name  that  at 
Pompeii,  which  is  probably  better  known  to  most  persons 
by  the  graphic  description  in  Lord  Lytton's  novel  than  by 
any  of  the  illustrated  accounts  that  have  been  published 
of  that  wonderful  town;  that  at  Verona,  which  served  as 
a  basis  to  Maffei's  careful  investigation  of  the  whole  sub- 
ject; those  at  Capua  and  Pozzuoli,  which  almost  rival  the 
Colosseum  in  dimensions;  those  at  Nismes,  Aries,  and 
Frejus  in  France;  that  at  Italica,  near  Seville  in  Spain, 
remarkable  for  the  thickness  of  its  walls  and  the  strength 
of  its  masonry — leading  Florez  to  remark  that  its  ruin  is 
due  not  to  the  injuries  of  time  and  the  weather,  but  to  the 
hand  of  man;  that  at  the  ancient  Thysdrus,  in  the  province 
of  Carthage,  now  called  El-Djemm,  which  alone  resembles 
the  Colosseum  in  having  five  galleries  or  corridors  in  the 
first  storey;  and  that  at  Pola  in  Istria,  whose  external  shell 
— the  internal  fittings,  which  were  probably  all  of  wood, 
having  quite  disappeared — forms  a  striking  object  as  seen 
from  .the  sea. 

A  very  fair  summary  of -the  whole  subject  will  be  found 
in  Smith  s  Dictionary  of  Classical  Antiquities;  and  a  much 
more  minute  and  elaborate  account,  by  C.  Thierry,  with 
good  illustrations,  in  the  Dictionnaire  des  Antiquites  of 
Daremberg  and  Saglio,  which  has  the  further  advantage  of 
giving  numerous  references  to  larger  works  on  the  subject, 
— its  chief  defect  being  one  too  common  in  French  books, 
the  almost  complete  ignoring  of  everything  published  in 
thi3  country,  where  Taylor  and  Cresy's  Architectural  Anti- 
quities of  Jiome,x>{  which  a  second  edition  has  recently 
appeared,  is  entitled  to  special  mention.  Nor  does  it 
notice  that  treasure  of  information  about  Spanish  history 
and  antiquities,  the  Espaiia  Sagrada,  where  (voL  xii. 
p.  228)  will  be  found  the  most  careful  account  of  the 
amphitheatre  at  Italica,  with  several  drawings.  The  fol- 
lowing table,  abridged  from  Friedliinder's  Darstellung  aus 
der  Sitlengeschichte  Rons  (1865,  2d  ed.  18C7),  gives  the 
dimensions,  in  English  feet,  of  a  few  of  the  principal 
amphitheatres  that  havo  been  examined : — 


Entire  Pull  line. 

Arena. 

GreBter 
Ails. 

Shorter 
Ails. 

Greater 
Aila 

Shorter 

Ail-. 

Feet. 
62GJ 
616 
GMi 

567 

651 

513 

505J 

486 

457 

452 

448 

445 

443 

4331 

Feet. 

475 

510J 

843 

468 

289 

4391 

403 

390 

892 

3691 

352 

341 

3931 

3321 

Feet. 
367 
231 

250 
459 

248 

277 

2531 

230, 

228 

2181 

223 

227 

Feet 
216 
176 

150 
197 

1451 
181 

188 
147 
129 
115 
981 
126J 

Pola, 

(o. 

h.  y.) 

AMPHITRITE,  in  Greek  Mythology,  the  supreme  god- 
dess of  the  sea,  Bed  as  such  the  wife  of  Poseidon  (Neptune), 
but,  unliko  him,  so  entirely  confined  in  her  authority  to  the 
sea  and  the  creatures  in  it,  that  not  only  was  her  name 
(from  a/j.<j>l-Tpt<i>,  the  same  root  as  rpvoi)  sometimes  used 
as  au  equivalent  for  that  element,  but  she  was  never 
associated  with  her  husband  either  for  purposes  of  worship 
or  in  works  of  art,  except  when  he  was  to  be  distinctly  re- 
garded as  the  god  who  controlled  the  sea,  though  generally 
his  functions  extended  to  the  whole  watery  element.  She 
was  one  of  the  nereids,  and  distinguishable  from  th'.  others 
only  by  her  queenly  attributes.  It  was  said  that  Neptune 
saw  her  first  dancing  at  Naxus  among  the  other  nereids, 
and  carried  her  off.  But  in  another  version  of  the  myth, 
she  then  fled  from  him  to  the  farthest  ends  of  the  sea, 
where  the  dolphin  of  Neptune  found  her  out.  In  works 
of  art  she  is  represented  either  enthroned  beside  him,  or 
driving  with  him  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  hippocamps  or 
other  fabulous  creatures  of  the  deep,  and  attended  by 
tritons  and  nereids. 

AMPHORA  (from  apipi  and  4>lpn>),  a  large  vessel  used 
by  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans  for  preserving  wine, 
oil,  fruits,  <fcc,  and  so  named  from  its  usually  having  an 
ear  or  handle  on  each  side  of  the  neck,  whence  it  was  also 
called  diola.  It  was  commonly  made  of  earthenware,  but 
sometimes  of  stone,  glass,  or  even  more  costly  materials 
its  usual  form  was  tall  and  narrow,  diminishing  below  to 
a  point.  A  number  of  specimens  of  the  various  kinds 
of  amphora  are  to  be  seen  in  the  Elgin  collection  in  the 
British  Museum.  Homer  and  Sophocles  mention  amphorae 
used  as  cinerary  urns;  and  a  discovery  made  in  1825  at 
Salona  shows  that  they  were  sometimes  used  as  coffins. 
The  amphora  was  divided  lengthwise  to  receive  the  corpse, 
then  closed  and  deposited  in  the  earth,  thus  preserving 
the  skeletons  entire  (Steinbiichel,  Alterthum.,  p.  67).  The 
amphora  was  a  standard  measure  of  capacity  among  both 
Greeks  and  Romans.  The  Attic  amphora  contained  nearly 
nine  gallons,  and  the  Roman  amphora  about  six. 

AMPLITUDE,  in  Astronomy,  is  the  amount  of  deviation 
towards  the  north  or  south  of  a  celestial  object  from  the 
true  east  at  rising,  and  the  true  west  at  setting.  For  the 
fixed  stars  it  is  constant;  for  the  sun  and  planets  it  varies 
with  the  declination.  At  the  equinoxes  the  sun  rises 
exactly  in  the  east,  and  sets  in  the  west  point, — the  am- 
plitude then  is  zero;  at  the  solstices  it  amounts  at  London 
to  39°  44'. 

AMPTHILL,  a  small  neatly-built  market  town  in 
Bedfordshire,  situated  about  8  miles  south  of  Bedford. 
Besides  the  old  parish  church,  it  contains  various  dissent- 
ing chapels,  a  county  court-house,  a  savings  bank,  several 
schools,  and  an  almshouse.  Near  the  town  is  Ampthill 
house,  a  mansion  of  the  late  Lord  Holland,  containing  a 
valuable  collection  of  paintings,  a  library,  and  a  museum. 
The  site  of  the  old  castle  in  which  Catherine  of  Aragon 
resided  while  her  divorce  from  Henry  VIII.  was  pending, 
is  marked  by  a  cross  within  'the  grounds.  The  district  is 
chiefly  agricultural,  but  in  Ampthill  there  is  a  large  brewery, 
and  a  considerable  amountof  straw-plaiting  and  lace-making. 
Population  in  1871,  2220. 

AMPULLA,  a  Latin  word  denoting  a  small  jar  or  flask 
for  holding  liquids.  In  mediseval  church  Latin  it  usually 
signifies  the  vessels  that  contained  the  consecrated  oils,  of 
which  the  three  principal— for  the  catechumens,  for  the 
sick,  and  for  confirmation— were  hallowed  by  the  bishop 
on  the  Thursday  before  Easter.  The  word  has  passed  into 
our  language  in  connection  with  the  coronation  of  the  kings 
of  England,  and  occurs  repeacdly  in  the  coronation  seme*. 
Thus,  in  that  used  for  Qu.  en  Victoria,  we  read  :— "  The 
,  anthem  being  concluded,  the  Dean  of  Westminster,  taking 
the  ampulla  and  spoon  frrm  off  the  altar,  holdetn  Mm* 


AMR  —  A  M  R 


77? 


ready, 'pouring  some  of  the  holy  oil  into  the  spoun,  and 
with  it  the  archbishop  anointtth  the  Queen  in  the  form  of 
a  cross.  .  .  .  Then  the  Dean  of  Westminster  layeth  the 
ampulla  and  spoon  upon  the  altar."  Gildas  mentions  its 
■ise  as  established  among  the  Britons  in  his  time,  and  St 
Uolumba  is  said  to  have  employed  it  in  the  coronation  of 
King  Aidan.  The  most  celebrated  ampulla  in  history  is 
lhat  known  as  la  taiute  ampoule  at  Rheims,  from  which 
the  kings  of  France  were  anointed.  According  to  the 
legend,  which  gained  for  itself  a  secure  place  in  the  national 
belief,  it  had  been  brought  from  heaven  by  an  angel  for 
the  coronation  of  Clovis,  and  at  one  period  the  kings 
of  France  claimed  precedence  over  all  other  sovereigns 
on  account  of  it.  It  seems,  however,  that  Pepin  in  the 
8th  century  was  the  first  French  king  who  was  anointed, 
and  this  in  connection  with  his  baptism  rather  than 
his  coronation.  (See  the  preface  to  the  3d  volume  of 
Mask  ell's  Monumaita  Ritualia .  and  the  authorities  there 
referred  to.) 

AMRAOTI,  a  district  and  city  of  India,  in  the  com- 
missionership  of  East  Berar,  within  the  Haidarab&d 
assigned  districts.  The  district  lies  between  20°  23'  and 
21°7'N.lat.,  and  between  77°  24'  and  78°  13'  E.  long.  It 
is  bounded  on  the  N.  by  the  Elichpur  district;  on  the 
E.  by  the  Wardha  river,  separating  it  from  the  central 
provinces;  on  the  S.  by  the  Basim  and  Wiin  districts;  and 
on  the  W.  by  Akola  district.  The  area  is  estimated  at 
2566  square  miles,  but  the  survey  has  not  yet  been  com- 
pleted The  population  in  1867  was  returned  at  407,276 
souls,  which,  taking  the  ansa  as  given  above,  would  show 
an  average  density  of  158  persons  per  square  mile;  num- 
ber of  males,  212,575;  females,  194,701;  the  proportion 
of  males  to  the  total  population  being  52 '19  per  cent.  The 
district  consists  of  an  extensive  plain,  about  800  feet  above 
sea-level,  the  general  flatness  being  only  broken  by  a  small 
chain  of  hills,  running  in  a  north-westerly  direction,  be- 
tween Amraoti  and  Chandor,  with  an  average  height  of 
from  400  to  500  feet  above  the  level  of  the  lowlands. 
Four  towns  are  returned  as  containing  a  population  ex- 
ceeding 5000  souls — namely,  Amraott,  population  23,410; 
Karinja,  a  considerable  commercial  town,  population 
11,750;  Badnera,  a  town  on  the  Great  Indian  Peninsula 
Railway,  which  intersects  the  district,  population  6876, 
Kolapur,  population  6169. 

AMRITSAR,  a  division,  district,  and  city  of  British 
India,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  the  PanjAb.  The  Amritsar  Division  comprises  the  dis- 
tricts of  Amritsar,  Sialkot,  and  GurdAspur.  It  is  bounded 
on  theN.E.  by  the  Himalayas;  on  the  S.W.  by  the  GujrAn- 
wAlA  and  Lahor  districts;  on  the  N.W.  by  the  river 
Chenab;  and  on  the  S.E.  by  the  river  Bias.  The  total 
population  of  the  division  is  returned  at  2,743,880  souls, 
divided  into  the  following  classes: — Hindus,  659,905; 
Mahometans,  1,401,290;  Sikhs,  352,885;  others,  329,800. 
The  number  of  males  was  returned  at  1,512,480,  and  the 
females  at  1,231,400,  the  proportion  of  males  to  the  entire 
population  of  the  division  being  55  per  cent. 

Amrituah  District  lies  between  30°  40'  and  32°  10' 
N.  lat.,  and  between  74°  40'  and  75°  40'  E.  long.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  N.W.  by  the  river  Ravi,  on  the  S.E 
oy  the  river  Bias,  on  the  N.E  by  the  district  of  Gurdas- 
pur, and  on  the  S.W.  by  the  district  of  Lahor.  Amritsar 
district  is  a  nearly  level  plain,  with  a  very  slight  slope 
from  east  to  west.  The  banks  of  the  BiAs  are  high,  and 
on  this  side  of  the  district  well-water  is  not  found  ex- 
cept at  50  feet  below  the  surface;  while  towards  the 
Ravi  wells  are  less  than  20  feet  in  depth.  The  only 
stream  passing  through  the  district  is  the  Kind  or  Saki, 
which  takes  its  rise  in  a  marsh  in  the  Gurdaspur  district, 
»nd  after  traversing  part  of  th»  district  empties  itself  info 

i—  m* 


the  RAvi.  Numerous  canals  intersect  the  district,  affording 
ample  means  of  irrigation.  The  Sind,  PanjAb,  and  Dehli 
Railway,  and  Grand  Trunk  Road,  which  runs  parallel  with 
it,  afford  the  principal  means  of  land  communication  and 
traffic.  Total  population  of  Amritsar  district,  832,750, 
divided  into  the  following  classes: — Hindus,  138,027; 
Mahometans,  377,135;  Sikhs,  223,219;  others,  94,369. 
The  males  number  465,074,  and  the  females  307,676; 
the  proportion  of  males  to  the  total  population  being  55 -84 
per  cent.  The  principal  tribes  and  castes  in  point  of  num- 
bers' are  as  follow:— -{1.)  JAts,  viz.,  Hindus  and  Sikhs, 
189,065;  Mahometans,  65,964:  total,  255,029.  (2.)  BrAh 
mans,  43,846.  (3.)  Kshattriyas,  39,892.  (4.)  KAshmiris, 
37,456.  (5.)  Aroras,  29,103.  The  total  agricultural  popu- 
lation is  returned  at  417,747.  Area  of  the  district,  203623 
square  miles,  or  1,303,188  acres,  of  which  927,730  acres 
are  under  cultivation,  178,939  acres  are  cultivable,  but 
not  actually  under  tillage,  and  196,519  acres  are  uncul- 
tivable  and  waste.  This  result  gives  156  acres  (of  which 
l'l  1  acres  are  cultivated  and  '21  cultivable)  per  head  of  the 
population,  or  3'12  acres  (2-22  cultivated  and  '42  culti- 
vable) per  head  of  the  agricultural  population. 

The  principal  agricultural  products  of  Amritsar  are  wheat,  barley, 
and  grain  for  the  spring  crop ;  and  rice,  joar  (spiked  millet),  IndiaD 
corn,  moth  (Phaseolus  aconiti/olius),  and  mash  {Phaseolus  radiatus) 
for  the  autumn  crop. .  The  current  settlement  of  the  district  expires 
in  1875-76.  Five  towns  are  returned  as  containing  a  population  ' 
upwards  of  5000  souls — namely,  Amritsar,  population  135,813; 
Jandrala,  6975 ;  MajithA,  6600 ;  Ram  Das,  5855 ;  Bundala,  5287. 
Of  the  foregoing  towns  Amritsar  has  been  constituted  a  first-class, 
and  Jandrala,  Majitbi,  and  Earn  Das  third-class  municipalities. 
Besides  the  regularly-constituted  municipalities,  however,  a  muni- 
cipal income  is  also  realised  at  the  following  ten  places : — Tarn  Taran, 
Fathiabad,  Govindwal,  Naushahri  Pannian,  Verowal,  Jalalabad. 
Attarf,  Chamiari,  Vanniki,  and  Bhallar.  Municipal  revenue  is  in 
all  cases  levied  by  means  of  octroi  duties,  supplemented  in  some 
instances  by  house  rates  and  other  direct  taxation.  The  total 
revenue  of  Amritsar  district  in  1871-72  amounted  to  £113,785,  of 
which  £85,727,  18s.,  or  75  percent.,  was  derived  from  the  land. 
Tho  other  principal  items  of  revenue  were  as  follows : — Distilleries, 
£3677,  14s.  ;  drugs  and  opium,  £3548,  6s.  ;  income  tax,  £1724,  8s; 
stamps,  £13,621,  18s.  ;  local  rates  levied  under  the  provisions  of 
Act  20  of  1871,  £5208,  10s.  The  staple  manufacture  of  Amritsar 
is  woollen  shawls,  in  imitation  of  those  of  Kashmir.  The  value  of 
this  manufacture  in  1871-72  was  estimated  at  £91,742. 

Amritsar  City,  the  divisional  headquarters  and  capital 
of  the  district  of  the  same  name,  is  situated  in  31°  40'  N. 
lat.  and  74°  45'  E.  long.  It  bies  at  an  equal  distance  be- 
tween the  BiAs  and  RAvl  rivers,  is  about  8  miles  in  cir- 
cumference, and  forms  at  once  the  great  trading  centre  of 
the  PanjAb,  and  a  celebrated  seat  of  the  Sikh  retigion  and 
learning.  The  following  description  of  the  town  is  ex- 
tracted from  Thornton's  Gazetteer  (ed  1862): — 

"Amritsar  owes  its  importance  to  a  talao  or  reservoir  which  Kim 
Das,  the  fourth  guru  or  spiritual  guide  of  the  Sikhs,  caused  to  t* 
made  here  in  1581,  and  which  he  termed  Amrita  Saras,  or  the  Fount 
of  Immortality.  It  thenceforward  became  a  place  of  pilgrimage. 
Nearly  two  centuries  afterwards,  Ahmad  Shah,  the  founder  of  the 
Durani  empire,  alarmed  and  enraged  at  the  progress  of  the  Sikhs, 
blew  up  the  shrine  with  gunpowder,  filled  up  the  holy  tank,  and 
caused  kine  to  be  slaughtered  upon  th»  site,  thus  desecrating  the 
spot  On  his  return  to  Kabul,  the  Sikhs  repaired  the  shrine  and 
reservoir,  and  commenced  the  overthrow  of  Mahometan  sway  in 
Hindustan.  The  sacred  tank  is  a  square  of  150  paces,  containing  a 
great  body  of  water,  pure  as  crystal,  notwithstanding  the  multitudes 
that  bathe  in  it,  and  supplied  apparently  by  natural  springs.  In 
the  middle,  on  a  small  island,  is  a  temple  of  Hari  or  Vishnu;  and 
on  the  bank  a  diminutive  structure,  whore  the  founder,  Ram  Das, 
is  said  to  have  spent  his  life  in  a  sitting  posture.  The  temple  on 
the  island  is  richly  adorned  with  gold  and  other  costly  embellish- 
ments, and  in  it  sits  the  sovereign  guru  of  the  Sikhs  to  receive  the 
presents  and  homage  of  his  followers.  There  are  five  or  six  hundred 
akalis  or  priests  attached  to  the  temple,  who  have  erected  for  them- 
selves good  houses  from  the  contributions  of  the  visitors.  Amritsar 
is  a  very  populous  and  extensive  place.  The  streets  are  narrow, 
but  the  houses  in  general  are  tolerably  lofty,  and  built  of  burnt 
brick.     On  the  whole,  Amritsar  may  claim  some  little  architectural 


78 


AMlt-AMS 


superiority  over  tlie  towns  of  Hindustan.  Resides  considerable 
manufactures  of  shawls  and  silks  in  imitation  of  tho  Kashmir 
fabric,  Amritsar  carries  on  a  very  extensivo  transit  trade,  as  well 
as  considerable  roouetarv  transactions,  with  Hindustan  and  Central 
Asia.     Provi  i    for  an  ample  supply  of  water  to  tho  town 

from  the  liAri  Doab  cans],  A  striking  object  at  Amritsar  is  the 
huge  fortress  of  Govindgarh,  built  by  Kanjit  Sinh  in  1609,  ostensibly 
to  protect  the  pilgrims  visiting  the  place,  but  in  reality  to  overawe 
their  vast  and  dangerous  assemblage. 

Amritsar  was  the  first  mission  station  of  the  Church  of 
England  in  the  Panjab.  Tho  census  of  18C8  gives  a 
population  within  municipal  limits  of  43,931.  The  total 
population,  however,  of  the  city  and  suburbs  is  returned  at 
135,813,  of  whom  3477  are  agriculturists,  the  rest  being 
engaged  in  trade  or  other  non-agricultural  pursuits.  The 
town  has  been  constituted  a  first-class  municipality,  the 
affairs  of  which  are  conducted  by  a  committee  of  twenty- 
ei'n'ht  members.  The  municipal  income  is  derived  fr.m, 
octroi  duties,  local  taxes,  house  tax,  &c,  and  amounted  in 
1871-72  to  £19,800,  or  9s.  per  head  of  the  population 
within  municipal  limits.  Since  the  opening  of  the  Panjab 
railway  Amritsar  has  rapidly  become  the  great  centre  of 
trade  in  that  province.  Its  position  on  the  line  and  the 
enterprise  of  its  merchants  promise  also  to  give  it  the  com- 
mand of  the  trade  via  Leh  to  Central  Asia,  which  is  now 
(1874)  being  opened  up.  It  is  the  chief  entrepot  in  the 
Panjab  for  Manchester  goods,  in  return  for  which  it  ex- 
ports to  other  parts  of  India  food-grains,  the  local  manu- 
factures in  imitation  of  the  Kashmir  fabrics,  and  the  costly 
shawls  and  stuffs  which  form  the  staple  of  the  Kashmir 
trade. 

AMRU-IBN-EL-ASS,  or  'Amp,  one  of  the  most  famous 
of  the  first  race  of  Saracen  leaders,  was  descended  of  Aasi, 
of  the  tribe  of  Koreish.  In  his  youth  he  wrote  satirical 
verses  against  tho  person  and  doctrine  of  Mahomet.  His 
zeal-in  opposing  the  new  religion  prompted  him  to  under- 
take an  embassy  to  the  king  of  Ethiopia,  in  order  to  stimu- 
late him  against  the  converts  whom  he  had  taken  under 
his  protection,  but  he  returned  a  convert  to  the  Mahometan 
faith-,  and,  along  with  Khaled,  joined  the  fugitive  prophet 
at  Medina.  When  Abu-Bekr  resolved  to  make  a  new  attack 
upon  Syria,  he  entrusted  Amru  with  a  high  command. 
In  this  he  was  so  successful  that  he  rose  to  the  elevated 
station  of  chief  in  Irak,  when  Khaled  requested  the  attend- 
ance of  all  the  Arabian  generals  before  Damascus.  During 
the  caliphate  of  Omar  he  also  served  in  Palestine  under 
Abu-Obeidah,  taking  the  command  in  the  siege  of  Caesarea, 
which  yielded  to  him  in  July  G38  a.d.  After  the  death  of 
Obeldah,  Amru  assumed  the  chief  command  in  Syria,  in 
which  he  was  confirmed  by  the  caliph,  notwithstanding  the 
opposition  of  Othman.  Soon  afterwards  (639)  he  led  an 
army  of  4000  Arabs  into  Egypt.  During  the  progress  of 
his  march  a  messenger  from  Omar  arrived  with  a  letter 
containing  directions  to  return,  if  he  should  receive  this 
letter  in  the  territories  of  Syria;  but  if  he  should  receive 
it  in  those  of  Egypt,  he  might  advance,  and  all  needful 
assistance  would  be  instantly  sent  to  him.  The  contents 
of  the  letter  were  not  made  known  to  his  officers  until  he 
was  assured  that  the  army  was  on  Egyptian  soil,  so  that 
the  expedition  might  be  continued  under  the  sanction  of 
Omar's  orders.  Having  taken  Pharma,  he  advanced  to 
Misrah,  the  ancient  Memphis,  and  besieged  it  for  seven 
ponths.  Although  numerous  reinforcements  arrived,  he 
tyould  have  found  it  very  difficult  to  storm  the  place  pre- 
vious to  the  inundation  of  the  Nile,  but  for  a  treacherous 
lessening  of  the  forces  of  the  citadel,  which  was  consequently 
taken  by  storm;  and  the  Greeks  who  remained  there  were 
fitber  made  prisoners  or  put  to  the  sword.  On  the  same 
fpot  Amru  erected  a  city  named  Fostat,  the  ruins  of  which 
(ire  known  by  the  name  of  Old  Cairo.  Amru  pursued  the 
Greeks  to  Alexandria,  and  after  an  obstinate  and  bloody 


siege  of  fourteen  months,  the  city  was  taken,  640  A.D.  To 
Amru  has  generally  been  attributed  the  burning  of  the 
famous  Alexandrian  library,  by  command  of  the  caliph 
Omar.  But  with  this  act  of  barbarism,  so  inconsistent 
with  the  character  of  Omar  and  his  general,  he  is  for  the 
first  timo  charged  by  Abul-Faragius,  a  Christian  writer, 
who  lived  six  centuries  later.  It  is  highly  probable  that 
few  of  the  700,000  volumes  collected  by  the  Ptolemies 
remained  at  the  time  ol  the  Arab  conquest,  when  we  con- 
sider the  various  calamities  of  Alexandria  from  tho  time  of 
Ctesar  to  those  of  Caracalla  and  Diocletian,  and  the  dis- 
graceful pillage  of  the  library  in  389  a.d.  under  tho  rule  of 
a  Christian  bishop,  Theophilus  (see  Gibbon,  c.  51).  Amru 
died  0G3  a.i>.  In  a  pathetic  oration  to  his  children  on  his 
death-bed  ho  bitterly  lamented  his  youthful  offenco  in 
satirising  the  prophet,  although  Mahomet  had  forgiven  him, 
and  had  frequently  affirmed  that  "  there  was  no  Mussulman 
more  sincere  and  steadfast  in  the  faith  than  Amru." 

AM11U-EL-KAIS,  an  Arabian  poet,  contemporary  with 
Mahomet.  He  wrote  one  of  the  seven  MoaUakat  (Sus- 
pended), or  poems,  composed  before  the  promulgation  of 
Mahometanism,  which  derived  their  name  from  the  fact 
that  they  were  suspended  in  the  Kaaba  at  Mecca.  He  was 
hostile  to  the  claims  of  the  prophet,  and  wrote  verses 
against  him.  It  is  said  that  his  death  was  occasioned  by 
his  wearing  a  poisoned  shut  presented  to  him  by  the  Greek 
emperor  Heraclius,  to  whom  he  had  gone  to  ask  aid  against 
the  Beni-Asad,  his  own  tribe.  The  story  is,  however,  dis- 
credited by  Abulfcda.  The  Moallakat  of  Amru,  in  the 
original  text,  was  published  by  Lette  at  Leyden  in  1848, 
and  an  English  translation  by  Sir  William  Jones  appeared 
in  1782.  The  edition  of  Hengstenberg  (Bonn,  1823)  con- 
tainsa  Latin  version.  Another  edition,  by  A  mold,  appeared 
at  Leipsicin  1850.  The  edition  of  Baron  MacGuckin  Slans 
(Paris,  1837)  includes  the  miscellaneous  poems, a  translation, 
notes,  and  a  life  of  the  poet. 

AMSANCTI  (or  AMPSANCTI)  VALLIS,  a  valley  with 
a  small  sulphureous  lake  and  cavern  in  the  territory  of  the 
Hirpini,  or  Principato  Ultra  (east  of  Naples),  about  four 
miles  from  the  town  of  Frigento  (Cicero,  Pliny),  or  eight 
from  Gesualdo.  The  spot  can  most  easily  be  visited  by 
railway  from  Ariano,  on  the  Naples  and  Benevcnto  Hire. 
It  is  described  by  Virgil  (jEn.  vii.  563-71)  as  an  outlet  from 
a  cave  giving  access  to  the  infernal  regions  : — 

"  Hie  specus  horrendum,  saevi  spiracula  Ditis, 
Jlonstratur,  ruptoque  iDgens  Acheronte  vorngs 
Pestiferas  aperit  fauces;  quia  condita  Erinnys, 
Invisum  numen,  terras  coelumque  levabat." 

The  modern  name  is  Le  Mofete,  after  the  goddess  Mephitis, 
who,  according  to  Pliny  (N.II.  ii.  1  ),  had  a  temple  here, 
of  which  there  are  no  remains.  The  lake  is  considered  by 
Dr  C.  T.  Ramage  (who  made  a  special  visit  to  it)  as  of 
volcanic  character,  and  appears  to  lie  on  the  edge  of  a 
crater-shaped  valley.  "  The  water,"  he  says,  "  had  a  dark, 
pitchy  appearance,  and  was  thrown  up  occasionally  in 
several  places  to  the  height  of  4  or  5  feet.  At  the  edge 
(of  the  crater)  we  were  possibly  40  feet  above  the  water, 
and  we  did  not  dare  to  descend,  as  the  exhalations  of 
sulphur  were  so  strong  that  we  should  have  been  suffocated 
long  before  we  reached  the  water.  ....  In  fact,  the  whole 
of  this  country  seems  to  be  volcanic,  and  is  constantly 
subject  to  earthquakes."  (See  Nooks  and  Byways  of  Italy, 
by  C.  T.  Ramage,  L.L.D.,  1868;  Swinburne's  Travels,  vol.  i. , 
Murray's  Handbook  for  South  Italy,  1873.) 

AMSDORF,  Nicolaus,  a  Protestant  reformer  of  the 
ICth  century,  was  born,  Dec.  3,  1483,  at  Gross-Zschopa, 
near  Wurzen,  on  the  Mulde.  He  was  educated  at  Leipsic, 
and  then  at  Wittenberg,  where  he  was  one  of  the  first  who 
matriculated  (1502)  in  the  recently-founded  university. 
'  He  soon  obtained  various  academical  honours,  and  became 


A  M  S  —  A  M  S 


77.9 


professor  of  theology  in  1511.  He  joined  Luther  at  the 
very  beginning  of  hi3  great  struggle  (1517);  continued  all 
along  one  of  his  most  admiring  and  determined  supporters; 
was  with  him  at  the  Leipsic  conference  (1519),  and  the 
Diet  of  Worms  (1521) ;  and  was  in  the  secret  of  his  Wart- 
burg  seclusion.  He  assisted  the  first  efforts  of  the  Refor- 
mation at  Magdeburg  (1524),  at  Goslar  (1531),  and  at 
Einbeck  (1534) ;  took  an  active  part  in  the  debates  at 
Schmalkald  (1537),  where  he  defended  the  use  of  the 
sacrament  by  the  unbelieving;  and  (1539)  spoke  out 
strongly  against  the  bigamy  of  the  Elector'  of  Hesse.  After 
the  death  of  the  Count  Palatine,  bishop  of  Naumburg- 
Zeiz,  he  was  installed  there  (Jan.  20,  1542),  though  in 
opposition  to  the  chapter,  by  the  elector  of  Saxony  and 
Luther.  His  position  was  a  painful  one,  and  he  longed  to 
get  back  to  Magdeburg,  but  was  persuaded  by  Luther  to 
stay.  After  Luther's  death  (1546)  and  the  .battle  of 
Miihlberg  (1547)  he  had  to  yield  to  his  rival  Pflug,  and 
retire  to  the  protection  of  the  young  duke  of  Weimar. 
Here  he  took  part  in  founding  Jena  university  (1548); 
opposed  the  "Augsburg Interim"  (1548) ;  superintended  the 
publication  of  the  Jena  edition  of  Luther's  works;  and 
debated  oh  the  freedom  of  the  will,  original  sin,  and,  more 
noticeably,  on  the  Christian  value  of  good  works,  in  regard 
to  which  he  held  that  they  were  not  only  useless,  but  pre- 
judicial. He  urged  the  separation  of  the  High  Lutheran 
party  from  Melanchthon  (1557),  got  the  Saxon  dukes  to 
oppose  the  Frankfurt  Eecess-(1558),  and  continued  to 
fight  for  the  purity  of  Lutheran  doctrine.  He  died  at 
Eisenach,  May  14, 1565,  and  was  buried  in  the  high  church 
there,  where  his  effigy  shows  a  well-knit  frame  and  sharp- 
cut  features.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  will,  of  great  apti- 
tude for  controversy,  and  considerable  learning,  and  thus' 
exercised  a  decided  influence  on  the  Reformation.  Many 
letters  and  other  short  productions  of  his  pen  are  extant  in 
MS.,  especially  five  thick  volumes  of  Amsdorfiana,  in  the 
Weimar  library.  A  small  sect,  which  adopted  his  opinion 
on  good  works,  was  called  after  him ;  but  it  is  now  of  mere 
historical  interest. 

AMSLER,  Samuel,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of 
modern  engravers,  was  born  at  Schinznach,  in  the  canton 
of  Aargau,  in  1791.  He  studied  his  art  under  Lips  and 
Hess,  and  from  1816  pursued  it  in  Italy,  and  chiefly  at 
Rome,  till  in  1829  he  succeeded  his  former  master  Hess  as 
professor  of  copper  engraving  in  the  Munich  academy.  The 
works  he  designed  and  engraved  are  remarkable  for  the 
grace  of  the  figures,  and  for  the  wonderful  skill  with  which 
he  retains  and  expresses  the  characteristics  of  the  original 
paintings  and  statues.  He  was  a  passionate  admirer  of 
Raphael,  and  had  great  success  in  reproducing  his  works. 
Amsler's  principal  engravings  are — "  The  Triumphal  March 
of  Alexander  the  Great,"  and  a  full-length  "  Christ,"  after 
the  sculptures  of  Thorwaldsen  and  Dannecker ;  the  "Burial 
of  Christ,"  and  two  "Madonnas,"  after  the  pictures  of 
Raphael;  and  the  "Triumph  of  Religion  in  the  Arts," 
after  Overbeck,  his  last  work,  on  which  he  spent  six  years. 
He  died  May  18,  1849. 

AMSTERDAM,  or  Amsteldam,  formerly  called  Amstel- 
redam,  capital  of  the  Netherlands,  situated  in  the  province 
of  North  Holland,  is  built  somewhat  in  the  form  of  a  half- 
moon,  on  the  Y  or  Ij,  an  arm  of  the  Zuyder  Zee,  in  52° 
22"  N.  lat.,  and  4°  53'  E.  long.  The  name  Amsterdam 
means  "  the  dam  or  dyke  of  the  Amstel,"  from  a  river 
so  called  which  passes  in  a  north-easterly  direction  through 
the  city, — the  "  dam"  referring  to  the  extensive  and  costly 
system  of  embankments,  canals,  and  sluices  necessary  to 
secure  this  low-lying  city  against  the  encroachments  of  the 
tide.  Towards  the  land  Amsterdam  was  at  one  time  sur- 
rounded by  a  fosse  or  canal,  and  regularly  fortified;  but 
its  ramparts  have  been  demolished,  and  the  twen'.y-oiglit 


bastions  that  formed  part  of  the  defences  are  now  used  v& 
promenades,  or  covered  with  buildings.  Within  the  city, 
four  canals — the  Prinsen  Gracht,  Keizer's  Gracht,  Heercn 


Gracht,  and  the  Singel — extend,  in  the  form  of  polygonal 
crescents,  nearly  parallel  to  each  other  and  to  the  former 
fosse;  while  numerous  smaller  canals  intersect  the  city  in 
every  direction,  dividing  it  into  about  90  islands,  with 
nearly  290  bridges.     Some  of  these  are  of  stone,  but  the 
majority  are  of  iron  and  wood,  and  constructed  so  as  to 
allow  vessels  for  inland  navigation  to  pass  through.    The 
site  of  Amsterdam  was  originally  a  peat  bog,  and  all  its 
buildings  rest  upon  piles  that  are  driven  some  40  or  50 
feet  through  a  mass  of  loose  sand  and  mud  until  they  reach 
a  solid  stratum  of  firm  clay.     This  foundation  is  perfectly 
secure  as  long  as  the  piles  remain  under  water.     In  1822, 
however,  an  overladen  corn  magazine  sank  into  the  mud. 
The  piles  are  liable  to  the  ravages  of  wood-worms  that  are 
supposed  to  have  been  brought  by  vessels  from  foreign 
ports.     The  streets  in  the  oldest  parts  of  the  town  are 
narrow  and  irregular,  but  are  nowhere  without  pavements 
or  footways.     The  houses  frequently  present  a  picturesque 
sky-line,  broken  by  fantastic  gables,  roofs,  chimneys,  towers, 
and  turrets  of  all  forms  and  dimensions.     Four  of  tha 
principal  of  those  towers  have  exterior  galleries  very  near 
the  top,  running  round  them,  from  which,  an  alarm  used 
to  be  blown  in  case  of  fire,  and  a  light  shown  to  indicate 
the  locality  of  the  fire  to  the  citizens,  who  from  the  age  of 
twenty  to  fifty  are  all  enrolled  in  the  fire-brigade  and  civic 
guard.     This  mode  of  signalling  is  now,  however,  super- 
seded by  a  system  of  telegraphic  communication  embrac- 
ing the  whole  city.    Westward  of  the  Anistel,  which  passes 
almost  through  the  centre  of  the  city,  is  the  more  modern 
part,  where  the  houses  are  often  exceedingly  handsome, 
and  the  streets  broad,  and  planted  with  rows  of  large  trees 
between  the  houses  and  the  canals.    The  chief  promenades 
are  the  Vondelspark,  laid  out  and  maintained  by  private 
individuals,  with  the  design  of  its  being  ultimately  pre- 
sented to  the  city ;  and  the  Planteadje  or  Plantation,  part 
of  which  is  occupied  by  the  botanic  and  the  zoological 
gardens,  and  which  is  also  supported  by  private  contribu- 
tions.    Of  the  public  buildings,  the  principal  is  the  palace, 
an  imposing  structure,  built  in  1648,  by  the  architect  Jacob 
van  Kampen,  and  adorned  with  stone  carvings  by  the  cele- 
brated artist  Artus  Quellinus  of  Antwerp.     It  is  supported 
on  13,659  piles,  and  is  282  feet  long,- with  a  breadth  of 
235  feet  and  a  height  of  116,  exclusive  of  a  turreted 
cupola,  which  rises  66  feet  aDove  the  main  building.     It 
was  originally  tho  Stadhuis,  but  was  appropriated  as  a 
palace  by  King  Louis  Napoleon  in  1808.     The  most  mag« 


ISO 


AMSTERDA  M 


nihcent  apartment  in  it  is  the  great  hall,  measuring  120 
feet  by  57,  and  90  in  height,  with  walls  incrusted  with 
white  Italian  marble.  On  the  opposite  side  from  the  palace 
of  the  square  called  the  Dam,  stands  the  Beurs  or  Exchange, 
a  fine  tetraprostylo  Ionic  building,  serving  as  a  front  to  a 
large  quadraugle  with  a  handsome  peristyle  of  the  same 
order.  The  Oude  Kerk,  built  about  the  year  1 300,  has 
some  beautiful  stained  windows  and  a  fine  organ,  as  well 
as  monuments  to  various  celebrated  Dutchmen,  including 
the  naval  heroes  Van  Heemskerk  and  Sweerts.  The  Niewe 
Kerk,  a  much  finer  edifice,  where  the  kings  of  Holland  are 
crowned,  dating  from  1408,  is  remarkable  for  the  carving 
of  its  pulpit,  for  the  elaborate  bronze  castings  of  its  choir, 
and  for  the  monuments  to  the  famous  Admiral  De  Ruyter 
and  Holland's  greatest  poet,  Vondel,  whose  statue  stands 
in  the  park  which  bears  his  name.  There  are  many  other 
places  of  worship  in  Amsterdam,  including  those  belonging 
to  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  the  English  Episcopalians, 
the  Scotch  Presbyterians,  the  Lutherans,  the  Jansenists,  the 
Koman  Catholics,  the  Greeks,  etc.,  and  also  several  Jewish 
synagogues;  but,  as  a  rule,  the  church  architecture  of  the 
town  is  bald  and  uninteresting.  We  may  except,  however, 
the  synagogue  of  the  Shephardim  Jews,  the  equal  of  which 
is  only  to  be  found  at  Leghorn;  the  Moses  and  Aaron's 
Church  (R.C.) ;  and  the  new  Lutheran  place  of  worship, 
which  has  a  green  copper  cupola.  The  Paleis  voor  Volks- 
vlijt  is  a  building  of  iron  and  glass,  440  feet  long  by  280 
broad,  with  a  dome  200  feet  high,  erected  between  1855 
and  1864.  It  is  used  for  industrial  exhibitions,  the  per- 
formance of  operas,  &c,  and  possesses  a  collection  of 
pictures  (copies  ard  some  originals),  as  well  as  a  fine 
garden.  The  Schreijerstoren,  or  "  crier's  tower,"  at  the 
end  of  the  Geldersche  Kade,  where  vessels  left  for  all 
parts  of  the  globe,  was  built  about  1482,  and  got  its  name 
from  the  tears  of  the  sailors  who  kere  bid  their  friends 
farewell.  The  chief  literary  institutions  of  Amsterdam 
are  the  Athenaeum,  the  society  called  "  Felix  Meritis,"  from 
the  first  words  of  the  inscription  on  their  place  of  meet- 
ing; the  society  "  Natura  Artis  Magistra,"  to  whom  the 
zoological  gardens  belong;  the  Royal  Academy  of  the 
Fine  Arts,  and 
the  Seaman's  In- 
stitute. The 
galleries  of  pic- 
tures in  the  city 
are  of  great 
value.  The 
museum  in  the 
Trippenhuis  con- 
tains over  400 
works,  chiefly  of 
the  Flemish  and 
Dutch     schools, 

including  the  Cii?  Arms  ot  Am8terdaD)- 

"Night  Guard"  of  Rembrandt,  whose  statue  may  be  seeW 
on  the  Kaasplein,  opposite  the  house  he  occupied,  and  the 
"  Banquet  of  the  Civic  Guard,"  by  Van  der  Heist;  besides 
nearly  4000  engravings,  and  a  magnificent  numismatic  col- 
lection, considered  one  of  the  finest  in  the  world.  Among 
the  other  collections  are  those  in  the  Museum  Van  der  Hoop 
and  in  the  Fodor  Museum,  that  belonging  to  the  "Arli  et 
Amieiliae"  Society,  as  well  as  several  private  galleries. 
Amsterdam  is  also  remarkable  for  the  number  and  high 
character  of  its  benevolent  institutions,  which  are  to  a  large 
extent  supported  by  voluntary  contributions.  Among  others 
may  be  mentioned  hospitals  for  the  sick,  the  aged,  the  infirm, 
the  blind,  the  deaf,  the  dumb,  the  insane,  widows,  orphans, 
and  foundlings.  There  is  a  noble  institution,  the  Society 
for  the  Public  Welfare,  whose  object  is  to  promote  the 
education  and  improvement  of  all  classes.     It  has  branches 


^>^ 


in  nearly  every  town  and  village  in  Holland.  "Here  la  also 
an  admirable  sailors'  home. 

Amsterdam  is  now  capitally  supplied  with  water  for 
drinking  and  culinary  purposes  from  the  Haarlem  dunea 
Formerly  the  inhabitants  were  dependent  on  the  rain-water 
collected  in  cisterns,  and  the  supply  brought  from  Weesp 
in  large  flat-bottomed  barges.  This,  added  to  the  general 
humidity  of  the  atmosphere  caused  by  the  canals,  made 
Amsterdam  an  unpleasant  place  of  residence  in  summer, 
but  the  exertions  of  the  inhabitants  have  done  much  of 
late  to  counteract  these  noxious  influences.  The  people 
usually  have  a  robust  appearance,  and  the  death-rate  of  the 
city  is  low. 

The  population  (1874)  is  estimated  at  285,000,  of  whom 
about  60,000  are  Roman  Catholics,  and  30,000  Jews,  the 
rest  being  mostly  Protestants  of  various  sects. 

The  accompanying  plan  indicates  the  extent  and  position 
of  the  docks  of  Amsterdam.  The  arsenal  and  the  admiralty 
offices  are  situated  on  the  island  of  Kattenburg,  between  the 
Dijk  Gracht  and  the  Niewe  Vaart.  The  approach  to  the  city 
from  the  Zuyder  Zee  is  intricate  and  dangerous,  owing 
to  the  numerous  shallows ;  and  a  bar  at  the  entrance  U> 
the  Y  compels  vessels  to  unload  part  of  their  cargo  in  the 
roadstead.  These  delays  and  dangers  were  to  a  large 
extent  provided  against  in  1825,  by  the  opening  of  a  canal 
across  North  Holland  from  the  Niewe  Diep,  opposite  the 
Texel,  to  Amsterdam ;  and  a  more  direct  and  capacious 
canal  to  the  North  Sea  is  at  present  in  process  of  con- 
struction. The  following  table  gives  the  chief  shipping 
statistics  for  the  five  years  ending  December  1870: — 


Year. 

Arrival*. 

Departure* 

Vessel*. 

Tonnage. 

Vessels. 

Tonnage. 

18C6 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 

1604 
1466 
1465 
1374 
1297 

420.094 
392,975 
430,799 
425,329 
405,109 

1662 
1560 
1508 
144' 
1341 

423,623 
'.04,717 
421,566 
448,891 
402,933      1 

* 

The  principal  imports  of  Amsterdam  are — coffee,  amounts 
ing  in  1870  to  1,147,240  bags  and  1499  casks;  tea,  in 
the  same  year,  79,573  chests;  sugar,  in  the  same  year, 
273,750,000  lb;  tobacco,  rice,  cotton,  indigo,  timber,  tin, 
hemp,  and  grain.  The  exports  comprise  cheese,  butter, 
madder,  clover,  rape,  linseed  oil,  gin,  and  other  products  of 
Holland,  besides  general  goods  and  manufactures  from 
various  European  countries.  There  is  also  a  largo  export 
trade  in  the  produce  of  the  East  and  West  Indies.  There 
are  two  lines  of  railway,  the  one  connecting  Amsterdam 
with  Haarlem,  Leyden,  and  Rotterdam;  and  the  other 
with  Utrecht,  Arnheim,  and  Prussia.  Amsterdam  has 
sugar  refineries ;  soap,  oil,  glass,  iron,  dye,  and  chemical 
works;  distilleries,  breweries,  tanneries;  tobacco  and  snuff 
factories.  The  cutting  of  diamonds  has  long  been  exten- 
sively practised  in  the  city  by  the  Jews.  Although  no 
Jonger  the  centre  of  the  banking  transactions  of  the  world, 
Amsterdam  is  still  a  place  of  considerable  importance  ii» 
this  respect  The  celebrated  bank  of  Amsterdam,  founded 
in  1609,  was  dissolved  in  1796;  and  the  present  bank  of 
the  Netnerlands  was  established  on  the  model  of  the  Banl 
of  England  in  1814. 

About  the  year  1200  Amsterdam  was  a  small  fishing 
village,  held  in  fief  by  the  lords  of  Amstel,  together  with 
the  surrounding  district,  called  AmstcUand.  Towards  the 
close  of  the  13th  century  it  reverted,  in  consequence  of  the 
complicity  of'  Gysbrecht  Van  Amstel  in  the  murdb. 
Count  Floris  V.,  to  the  counts  of  Holland,  who  gave  it  ^ 
charter  and  other  privileges.  It  was  fortified  in  1482,  and 
soon  rose  to  be  the  most  important  commercial  city  of  the 
Netherlands.  The  early  voyages  to  India,  and  the  union 
of    the   seven  provinces  in   1579,  added   greatly   to   the 


AMS-AMU 


781 


prosperity  of  Amsterdam — so  much  so,  that  it  excited  the 
mpidity  of  the  earl  of  Leicester,  who  made  a  futile  at- 
tempt to  surprise  it  in  1587 ;  and  its  position  was  still 
further  improved  by  the  peace  of  Westphalia  in  1648, 
which  closed  the  navigation  of  the  Scheldt,  and  conse- 
quently ruined  the  trade  of  Antwerp.  Two  years  later, 
the  stadtholder  William  II.  intended  to  surprise  it,  but  the 
bold  attitude  of  the  inhabitants  obliged  him  to  give  up  his 
project.  Amsterdam  suffered  so  severely  from  the  war  in 
the  time  of  Cromwell,  that  more  than  4000  houses  stood 
tenantless ;  and  the  French  occupation  during  the  First 
Empire  inflicted  a  more  permanent  injury  upon  the  city. 
Since  1813,  however,  much  of  its  former  commercial 
influence  has  returned ;  and  the  completion  of  the  above- 
mentioned  canal  will,  no  doubt,  confirm  its  position  as  the 
chief  commercial  city  of  the  kingdom,  its  secondary  place 
as  a  seaport  lately  having  been  due  to  the  difficulty  of 
iccess  to  it  from  the  sea.  Among  the  many  eminent  men 
who  saw  the  light  in  Amsterdam  may  be  mentioned  the 
celebrated  philosopher  Barucb  Spinosa  (1632),  the  flower 
painter  Van  Huysum  (1682),  the  naturalist  Swammerdam 
( 1 637),  and  the  poet  Bilderdyk  ( 1 750).  (See  Caspar  Com- 
melins,  Beschryving  van  Amsterdam,  and  J.  Wagenaar's  work 
bearing  the  same  title.) 

AMSTERDAM,  an  uninhabited  and  almost  inaccessible 
island  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  in  37°  58'  S.  lat,  and  70°  34'  E. 
long.,  about  60  miles  S.  of  St  Paul's  Island,  and  nearly  mid- 
way between  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  Tasmania.  It 
was  discovered  by  Van  Diemen  in  1633. 

AMULET  (in  late  Latin  amuletum,  probably  from  the 
Arabic  hamalet,  a  pendant),  anything  worn  as  a  charm, 
generally,  but  not  invariably,  hung  from  the  neck,  to  pro- 
tect the  wearer  against  witchcraft,  sickness,  accidents,  and 
other  evils,  or  to  deliver  him  from  ills  under  which  he 
labours.  Amulets  have  been  of  many  different  kinds,  and 
formed  of  different  substances,^stones,  metals,  and  strips 
of  parchment  being  the  most  common,  with  or  without 
characters  or  legends  engraved  or  written  on  them.  Gems 
have  often  been  employed  and  greatly  prized,  serving  for 
ornaments  as  well  as  for  charms.  Certain  herbs,  too,  and 
animal  preparations  have  been  used  in  the  same  way.  In 
setting  them  apart 
to  their  use  as  amu- 
lets, great  precau- 
tions have  been 
taken  that  fitting 
times  be  selected, 
stellar  and  other 
magic      influences 

propitious,   and  &&£&£££$&" 

everything  avoided  that  might  be  supposed  to  destroy  or 
weaken  the  force  of  the  charm.  From  the  earliest  ages  the 
Oriental  races  have  had  a  firm  belief  in  the  prevalence  of 
occult  evil  influences,  and  a  superstitious  trust  in  amulets 
and  similar  preservatives  against  them.  There  are  refer- 
ences to,  and  apparently  correctives  of,  these  customs  in 
the  Mosaic  injunctions  to  bind  portions  of  the  law  upon  the 
hand  and  as  frontlets^  between  the  eyes,  as  well  as  write 
them  upon  the  door-posts  and  the  gates ;  but,  among  the 
later  Jews  especially,  the  original  design  and  meaning  of 
these  usages  were  lost  sight  of ;  and  though  it  has  been 
said  that  the  phylacteries  werfl  not  strictly  amulets,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  they  were  held  in  superstitious  regard. 
Amulets  were  much  used  by  the  ancient  Egyptians,  and 
also  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  We  find  traces  of 
them  too  in  the  early  Christian  church,  in  the  emphatic 
protests  of  Chrysostom,  Augustine,  and  others  against 
them.  The  fish  was  a  favourite  symbol  on  these  charms, 
from  the  word  t^u's  being  the  initials  of  'Ir^rovs  Xpicrros 
©«ou  vios  uurrrjp      A  firm  faith  in  amulets  still  prevails 


widely  among  Asiatic  nations.  The  accompanying  wood- 
cut represents  the  boxes  employed  to  hold  written  charms 
worn  by  Arab  women  at  the  present  day.  Talisman,  also 
from  the  Arabic,  is  a  word  of  similar  meaning  and  use, 
but  some  distinguish  it  as  importing  a  more  powerful 
charm.  A  talisman,  whose  "virtues  are  still  applied  to 
for  stopping  blood  and  in  cases  of  canine  madness,"  figures 
prominently  in,  and  gives  name  to,  one  of  Scott's  Tales  of 
t/ie  Crusaders.  A  measure  of  belief  in  amulets  or  charms 
exists,  but  appears  to  be  diminishing,  among  the  unedu- 
cated of  our  own  country  and  time.  (See  Arpe,  JDe  Brodigiit 
Naturx  et  Artis  Operibus  Talismanes  et  Amuleta  dictis, 
Hamburg,  1717;  Ewele,  Ueber  Amulete,  1827;  and  Kopp's 
Pal&ographica  Crittca,  vols.  iii.  and  iv.,  1829.) 

AMURATH  or  Mtjrad  L  was  born  in  1326  A.D. 
(726  a.h.),  succeeded  his  father  Orkhan  as  sultan  of  the 
Ottoman  Turks  in  1 360,  and  died  in  1 389.  He  is  entitled 
to  notice  as  being  the  first  who  led  the  Turkish  arms  into 
Europe,  which  he  quickly  overran  as  far  as  the  Balkan. 
In  1361  he  made  himself  master  of  Adrianople,  where  he 
fixed  his  residence,  built  a  splendid  mosque,  and  otherwise 
added  to  the  architectural  adornment  of  the  city.  The 
first  treaty  of  peace  between  a  Christian  people  and  this 
formidaDle  neighbour  was  struck  in  1365,  when  the  little 
republic  of  Ragusa  put  itself  under  his  protection.  His 
power  becoming  more  and  more  formidable,  Urban  V. 
preached  a  crusade — disastrous,  as  it  proved,  for  the 
crusaders — against  him  •  and  John  Palaeologus,  the  Greek 
emperor,  entered  into  an  alliance  with  him.  He  had  seve- 
ral rebellions  to  contend  against,  but  he  was  invariably 
successful  One  of  his  sons  persuaded  a  son  of  Palaeologus, 
who  had  been  sent  by  his  father  to  learn  the  art  of  war 
under  Amurath,  to  join  him  in  a  revolt ;  but  the  youthful 
conspirators  were  defeated.  Immediate  revenge  was  taken 
by  the  sultan  on  his  own  son,  and  the  young  Palaeologus 
was  sent  back  to  his  father  with  an  imperious  demand  that 
he  too  should  be  punished.  Like  all  great  conquerors, 
Amurath  was  active  in  military  reform ;  he  perfected  the 
discipline  of  the  spakis  (or  cavalry)  and  woinaks  (or  baggage 
corps),  smd  gave  stability  to  the  janissaries,  a  body  of 
troops  that  had  been  first  incorporated  by  his  father.  Of 
literary  culture  he  was  altogether  destitute,  signing  his 
treaties  by  dipping  his  hand  in  ink,  and  impressing  the 
mark  of  three  fingers  together,  with  the  thumb  and  fourth 
finger  at  a  slight  distance  on  each  side.  He  lost  his  life 
at  the  close  of  a  great  battle  at  Kossova,  which  he  had 
successfully  fought  against  Lazarus,  despot  of  Servia,  and 
was  succeeded  by  his  son  Bajazet. 

AMURATH  LL,  the  tenth  emperor  of  the  Turks,  was 
born  about  1404,  and  died  February  9,  1451.  He  suc- 
ceeded Mohammed  L  in  1422.  At  first  he  had  to  contend 
against  a  pretender,  the  pseudo-Mustapha,  who  was  sup- 
ported by  the  Greek  emperor  and  others ;  but  through  the 
assistance  of  an  astute  state  prisoner,  Mohammed  Bey 
(Michael  Ogli),  he  obtained  a  bloodless  victory  over  him. 
He  then  turned  his  arms  against  the  Greek  emperor  him- 
self, but  failed  in  the  siege  of  Constantinople.  Against 
his  younger  brother  Mustapha  ho  was  successful  by  bribes. 
In  April  1429  he  besieged  and  took  Saloniki  (Thcssalonica), 
which  was  under  Venetian  rule,  thus  opening  up  the 
way  for  the  final  subjugation  of  Greece.  He  continued 
almost  without  anyvreverse3  of  fortune  till  1442,  v.hei 
Hunniades  defeated  his  forces  in  the  battle  of  Vasag,  an< 
obliged  him  to  make  peace  with  the  Christian  princes 
The  treaty  was  hardly  concluded  when  his  son  Ala-Eddii 
died.  In  his  grief  he  abdicated  in  favour  of  his  soi 
Mohammed,  a  boy  of  fourteen,  while  he  retired  to  Mag 
nesia  in  search  of  repose.  But  the  Christian  princes  tool 
advantage  of  his  abdication  to  renew  their  attacks,  and  w 
was  called  to  oppose  them,  which  he  did  with  terrible  sue 


782 


A  M  U  — A  M  Y 


cess  in  the  battle  of  Varna,  Nov.  10,  1444,  when  the  king 
of  Hungary,  Ladislaus,  fell.  Having  saved  his  country, 
he  again  gavfe  up  the  reins  to  his  son,  and  returned  to 
Magnesia.  But  the  janissaries  revolted,  and  his  presence 
was  demanded.  Again  on  his  throne,  he  invaded  Albania 
and  Peloponnesus,  but  was  repulsed  by  George  Castriot 
or  Scanderbeg.  He  retreated,  however,  only  to  gain  a 
great  victory  over  his  former  adversary  Hunniades  at 
Cassova  (Oct.  17,  1448),  the  battle  lasting  three  days. 
He  died  at  Adrianople,  Feb.  11,  1451,  from  a  stroke  of 
apoplexy,  according  to  the  most  probable  account  His 
Mussulman  biographers  tell  that  whenever  he  took  a  town 
he  was  careful  to  build  in  it  ajami  (or  cathedral),  a  mosque, 
an  imaret,  a  mtdresseh  (or  ecclesiastical  school),  and  a  iJutn. 
The  mosque  of  Adrianople  is  especially  remarkable.  He 
was  the  first  Ottoman  emperor  who  caused  bridges  of  great 
length  to  be  built ;  and  during  his  reign,  poetry,  juris- 
prudence, and  theology  began  to  flourish  with  promise  of 
the  Augustan  luxuriance  which  they  attained  under  his 
eon  and  successor.  Sultan  Mohammed-Elfatyh. 

AMURATH  IIL,  sultan  of  the  Turks,  born  about  1545, 
succeeded  in  1574  his  father  Selim  II.  The  first  words 
he  addressed  to  his  courtiers  were — "  I  am  hungry  :  give 
me  something  to  eat ;"  and  the  evil  omen  was  fulfilled  in 
the  famines  and  disasters  that  marked  his  reign.  In  1579 
Queen  Elizabeth  of  England  managed  to  gain  his  friend- 
ship, and  obtained  a  favourable  commercial  treaty  for  Great 
Britain.  It  was  under  him  that  the  janissaries  began  to 
feel  their  power,  and  to  hasten  the  ruin  of  the  state  by 
their  revolt.  He  was  superstitious,  feeble,  and  irritable, 
as  well  as  extremely  addicted  to  the  pleasures  of  the  harem. 
He  was  fond  of  dancing  and  music,  and  has  left,  a  few 
literary  trifles.     He  died  Jan.  16,  1595. 

AMURATH  TV.  was  born  about  1611,  and  succeeded 
hi3  uncle  Mustapha  in  1623.  The  chief  event  of  his  reign 
was  the  recovery  in  1 638,  after  thirty  days  of  unremitting 
assault,  of  the  city  of  Baghdad  which  had  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  Persians.  He  disgraced  his  victory  by  re- 
volting cruelties,  slaughtering  30,000  Persians  in  cold 
blood.  So  numerous  and  horrible  are  the  atrocities  recorded 
of  liim,  that  he  stands  pre-eminent  even  among  Turkish 
Neroes.  Some  historians  ascribe  this  feature  of  his  cha- 
racter to  his  almost  perpetual  inebriation.  Be  this  as  it 
may,  he  soon  enfeebled  his  constitution,  and  falling  at  the 
same  time  under  a  superstitious  anticipation  of  death,  he 
died  in  1 640,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-nine 

AMWELL,  a  village  of  Hertfordshire,  in  the  parish  of 
Great  Amwell,  on  a  hill  overlooking  the  Lea,  3  miles 
from  Hertford  and  20  from  London.  Near  it  are  the 
sources  of  the  New  River,  formed  between  1606  and  1612 
in  order  to  supply  London  with  water ;  and  on  a  small 
island  in  the  stream  there  is  a  monument  to  Sir  Hugh 
Myddleton,  through  whose  exertions  this  work  was  carried 
out  Haileybury  college,  formerly  the  property  of  the 
East  India  Company,  is  also  in  this  parish,  which  has  a 
population  of  2245. 

AMYMONE  (Afivfiwvri),  in  Greek  Legend,  a  daughter  of 
Danaiis,  by  whom,  with  her  sisters,  she  had  "been  sent  to 
look  for  water,  the  district  of  Argus  being  then  parched 
through  the  anger  of  Neptune.  Amymone  having  thrown 
her  spear  at  a  stag,  missed  it,  but  hit  a  satyr  asleep  in  the 
brake.  The  satyr  pursued  her,  and  she  called  on  Neptune 
for  help,  who  appeared,  and  for  love  of  her  beauty  caused 
a  spring  to  well  up,  which  received  her  name.  By  Neptune 
she  became  the  mother  of  Nauplius,  the  WTecker.  Amymone 
at  the  spring  is  represented  on  ancient  engraved  gems. 

AMYOT,  Jacques,  a  famous  French  writer,  was  born, 
of  poor  parents,  at  Melun,  October  30,  1513;  found  his 
way — a  pale-faced,  bare-footed,  ill-clad  boy — to  the  "  Col- 
lege de  France"  in  Paris,  and  there  picked  up  a  know- 


ledge of  the  classical  languages,  serving  some  of  the  richci 
students  as  valet  and  composer  of  Latin,  to  enable  him  to 
continue  his  studies.  He  became  M.A.  at  Paris,  and 
doctor  of  civil  law  at  Bourges ;  obtained,  through  Jacques 
Colure  (or  Colin),  abbot  of  St  Ambrose  in  the  latter  city, 
a  tutorship  in  the  family  of  a  secretary  of  state ;  by  the 
secretary  was  recommended  to  the  duchess  of  Berry,  only 
sister  of  Francis  I. ;  and,  through  her  influence,  wa3  made 
professor  of  Greek  and  Latin  at  Bourges.  Here  he  trans 
lofted  the  Theagenes  and  Cliariclea  of  Heliodorus  (1547. 
fol.),  fur  which  he  was  rewarded  by  Francis  L  with  the- 
abbey  of  Bellozane,  and  thereby  enabled  to  go  to  Italy  to 
study  the  Vatican  text  of  Plutarch,  on  whoso  Lives  he 
had  been  some  time  engaged.  On  the  way  he  turned 
aside  on  a  mission  to  the  council  of  Trent  Returning 
home,  he  was  selected  as  tutor  to  the  sons  of  Henry  II., 
by  one  of  whom  (Charles  IX.)  he  was  afterwards  made 
grand  almoner,  and  by  the  other  (Henry  III.)  was  ap- 
pointed commander  of  the  order  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
Pius  I.  piomoted  him  to  the  bishopric  of  Auxerre,  and 
here  he  continued  to  live  in  comparative  quiet,  repairing 
his  cathedral  and  perfecting  his  translations,  for  the  rest  of 
his  days,  though  troubled  towards  the  close  by  the  insub- 
ordination and  revolts  of  Lis  clergy.  He  died  February  6, 
1593,  bequeathing,  it  is  said,  1200  crowns  to  the  hospital  a*. 
Orleans  for  the  twelve  "  deniers  "  he  received  there  when 
"poor  and  naked"  on  his  way  to  Paris.  His  fame  rests 
on  his  vigorous  and  idiomatic  version  of  Piutarch's  Livei 
(1559,  2  vols.),  which  was  translated  intc  English  by  North, 
and  supplied  Shakespeare  with  materials  for  his  Roman 
plays.  His  style  was  greatly  admired  by  Racine  and 
Rousseau,  and  Montaigne  said  of  him,  "  I  give  the  palm, 
and  rightly,  methinks,  to  Jacques  Amyot  over  all  out 
French  writers." 

AMYRAUT,  Moses,  a  pre-eminent  French  Protestant 
theologian  and  metaphysician,  was  born  at  Bourgueil,  in 
the  valley  of  Anjou,  in  1596.  His  family  was  an  ancient 
and  illustrious  one  from  Hagenau,  Alsace.  They  migrated 
to  Orleans  in  the  13th  or  14th  century.  His  father  was  a 
lawyer  of  local  note,  and  designing  Moses  for  his  own  pro- 
fession, on  the  completion  of  his  studies  at  Orleans  of 
humanity  and  philosophy,  he  sent  him  to  the  university  of 
Poictiers.  It  is  recorded  that  there  the  youth  studied 
fourteen  hours  a  day,  and  made  such  swift  progress  that 
he  was  able  to  maintain  theses  and  disputations,  and  to 
take  the  degree  of  licentiate  (B.A.)  of  laws.  On  his  way 
home  from  the  university  he  passed  through  Saumur,  and 
having  visited  Mons.  Bonchereau,  pastor  of  the  Protestant 
church  there,  ho  introduced  him  to  the  renowned  lord  of 
Plessis-Mornay,  governor  of  the  city.  Both  were  struck 
with  young  Amyraut's  ability  and  culture,  and  both  urged 
him  to  change  from  law  to  theology.  Plessis-Mornay,  who 
was  chary  of  laudations,  pronounced  that  "  there  was 
nothing  above  the  grasp  of  his  great  parts."  Returned 
home,  his  father,  after  considerable  hesitation,  gave  consent 
to  the  change  from  law  to  divinity,  with  a  proviso  that  he 
should  reviso  his  philological  and  philosophical  studies,  and 
read  over  Mons.  Calvin's  Institutions,  before  finally  deter- 
mining. He  did  so,  and,  as  might  have  been  anticipated, 
decided  for  theology.  He  thereupon  removed  to  Saumur 
— destined  to  be  for  ever  associated  with  his  name — and 
"sat  at  the  feet  of  the  great  Cameron,"  who  ultimately 
regarded  him  as  his  greatest,  scholar.  He  had  a  brilliant 
course,  and  was  in  due  time  licensed  as  a  minister  of  the 
French  Protestant  Church.  The  contemporary  civil  wars 
and  excitements  hindered  his  advancement.  His  first 
church  was  in  St  Aignau,  in  the  province  of  Maine.  There 
he  remained  two  years.  The  celebrated  Daille,  being  then 
removed  to  Paris,  advised  the  church  at  Saumur  to  secure 
Amyraut  as  his  successor,  praising  him  "  as  abuvo  \jiujseli  " 


A  N  A  — A  N  A 


78?. 


The  university  of  Saumur  at  the  same  time  had  fixed  its 
eyes  on  him  as  professor  of  theology.  The  great  churches 
of  Paris  and  Rouen  also  contended  for  him,  and  sent  their 
deputies  to  win  him,  to  the  provincial  synod  of  Anjou. 
Amyraut  had  left  the  choice  to  the  synod.  He  was 
appointed  to  Saumur,  and  to  the  professor's  chair  along  with 
the  pastorate.  On  the  occasion  of  his  inauguration  he 
maintained  for  thesis  Be  Sacerdotio  Christi.  His  co- 
professors  were  Lewis  Capell  and  Josua  de  la  Place,  who 
were  also  Cameron's  pupUs.  Very  beautiful  was  the  life- 
long friendship  of  these  three  remarkable  men.  They 
remain  associated  still  as  the  joint  authors  of  a  body  of 
divinity  entitled  Th-eses  Salmurienses.  Full  of  energy  in 
every  atom  of  him,  Amyraut  devoted  himself  to  his  labour 
of  love  with  a  fine  enthusiasm  of  love  of  labour.  He 
very  speedily  gave  French  Protestantism  a  potentiality  it 
had  never  possessed  before.  In  1631  he  published  hi3 
Traite  des  Religions,  a  book  that  still  lives ;  and  from  this 
year  onward  he  was  a  foremost  man  in  the  church,  especi- 
ally at  the  natijnal  and  provincial  synods.  One  incident 
in  his  synodical  services  stands  out,  as  the  like  do  in  the 
story  of  Luther  and  of  John  Knox.  Chosen  to  represent 
the  provincial  synod  of  Anjou,  Touraine,  and  Maine  at 
the  national  synod  held  in  1631  at  Charenton,  that 
assembly  appointed  him  their  orator  to  address  the  king, 
and  to  present  to  him  "The  Copy  of  their  Complaints  and 
Grievances  for  the  Infractions  and  Violations  of  the  Edict 
of  Nantes."  Previous  deputies  had  addressed  the  king  on 
their  bended  knees,  whereas  the  representatives  of  the 
Roman  Catholics  had  been  permitted  to  stand.  Amyraut 
consented  to  be  orator  only  if  the  assembly  authorised  him 
to  stand.  There  was  intense  resistance.  Richelieu  himself, 
preceded  by  lesser  dignitaries,  condescended  to  visit  Amy- 
raut privately,  to  draw  him  over  to  kneel ;  but  the 
stout-hearted  orator  held  resolutely  to  equality  with  the 
Roman  Catholics,  and  carried  his  point.  .Standing -in  the 
presence  of  king  and  court,  he  recounted  the  complaints 
and  grievances  of  his  church,  and  charmed  even  his  adver- 
saries with  his  mingled  dignity  of  manner  and  suavity  of 
address.  Long  afterwards  Richelieu  recalled  the  memorable 
incident ;  and  the  "  Oration,"  which  was  immediately 
published  in  the  French  Mercury,  remains  a  historic  land- 
mark in  the  history  of  French  Protestantism.  During  his 
absence  on  this  matter  the  assembly  debated  "  Whether 
the  Lutherans  who  desired  it,  might  be  admitted  into 
communion  with  the  Reformed  Churches  of  France  at  the 
Lord's  Table  1 "  It  was  decided  in  the  affirmative  previous 
to  his  return ;  but  he  approved  with  astonishing  eloquence, 
and  thereafter  was  ever  in  the  front  rank  in  maintaining 
intercommunication  between  all  churches  holding  the  main 
doctrines  of  the  Reformation.  His  defence  against  many 
adversaries  on  the  question  was  published  in  1647 — Be 
Secessions  ab  Ecclesid  Romand  deque  Ratione  Pads  inter 
Evangelicos  in  Religionis  Negotio  constituendce.  Bayle  (s.v.) 
recounts  the  title-pages  of  no  fewer  than  thirty-two  books 
of  which  Amyraut  was  the  author.  These  show  that  he 
took  part  in  all  the  great  controversies  on  Predestination 
and  Arminianism  which  then  so  agitated  and  harassed  all 
Eurdpe.  Substantially  he  held  fast  the  Calvinism  of  his 
preceptor  Cameron ;  but,  like  Richard  Baxter  in  England, 
by  his  breadth  and  charity  exposed  himself  to  all  manner 
of  misconstruction  from  Peter  du  Moulin  and  others  ultra- 
orthodox.  His  La  Befense  de  Calvin  never  was  answered, 
although  superabundantly  replied  to.  The  university  of 
Saumur  became  the  university  of  French  Protestantism. 
Amyraut  had  as  many  as  a  hundred  students  in  attendance 
upon  his  prelections.  Another  historic  part  filled  by 
Amyraut  was  in  the  negotiations  originated  with  Mons. 
le  Goux,  lord  of  Berchere,  first  president  of  the  parliament 
of  Burgundy,  when  exiled  to  Saumur,  for  a  reconciliation 


and  reunion  of  the  Roman  Catholics  of  France  with,  the 
French  Protestants.  Very  largo  were  the  concessions 
made  by  Richelieu  in  his  personal  interviews  with  Amy- 
raut; but,  as  with  the  Worcester  House  negotiations 
in  England  between  the  Church  of  England  and  Non- 
conformists, they  inevitably  fell  through.  On  all  aides 
the  statesmanship  and  eloquence  of  Amyraut  were  con- 
ceded. When  the  king  viaited  Saumur  in  1651,  Amyraut 
declined  to  close  his  church  on  the  Sunday,  but  preached 
a  sermon  that  rang  through  Europe  on  the  text,  "Fear 
God,  honour  the  king."  Amyraut  remained  to  the  end 
one  of  the  most  prominent  names  of  French  Protestantism; 
and  his  Be  V Elevation  de  la  Fog  et  de  I 'Abaissemmt  de  la 
Raison  en  la  Crcance  des  Mystcres  de  la  Religion  (1641) 
gave  him  early  a  high  place  as  a  metaphysician,  which  was 
sustained  by  after  works.  Exclusive  of  his  controversial 
writings,  he  left  behind  him  a  very  voluminous  series  of 
practical  evangelical  books,  which  remain  the  fireside 
favourites  of  the  peasantry  of  French  Protestantism  still 
His  Estat  des  Fideles  apres  la  Mort  has  comforted  many 
mourners ;  his  Sur  UOraison  Bominicale  is  striking  and 
rich ;  his  BuMerite  des  (Euvrcs  and  Traite  de  lajustificntiun, 
weighty  and  powerful;  his  Paraphrases  on  Old  Testa- 
ment and  New  Testament  books  of  Holy  Scripture,  judicious 
and  suggestive — sometimes  penetrative.  His  closing  years 
were  weakened  by  a  severe  fall  he  met  with  in  1657.  He 
died  on  ISth  January  1664.  His  portrait  was  published 
by  his  son,  but  with  no  name  or  inscription  underneath. 
(Bayle,  s.v. ;  Riog.  Univ.,  s.v.;  John  Quick's  Synod,  in 
Gall.  Prform.,  pp.  352-7  ;  ibid.  MS.  leonct  Sacrw  Galli- 
cance;  Life  of  Cameron.)  (a.  b.  g.) 

ANA,  a  Latin  plural  termination  appropriated  to  various 
collections  of  the  observations  and  criticisms  of  eminent 
men,  delivered  in  conversation  and  recorded  by  their 
frieads,  or  discovered  among  their  paper?  after  their  de- 
cease. Though  the  term  Ana  is  of  comparatively  modern 
origin,  the  introduction  of  this  species  of  composition  is 
not  of  recent  date.  It  appears,  from  D'Herbelot's  Biblio- 
thkque  Orientate,  that  from  the  earliest  periods  the  Eastern 
nations  were  in  the  habit  of  preserving  the  maxims  of 
their  sages.  From  them  the  practice  passed  to  the  Greeks 
and  Romans.  Plato  and  Xenophon  treasured  up  and  re- 
corded the  sayings  of  their  master  Socrates ;  and  Arrian, 
in  the  concluding  books  of  his  Enchiridion,  now  lost,  col- 
lected the  casual  observations  of  Epictetus.  The  numerous 
apophthegms  scattered  in  Plutarch,  Diogenes  Laertius,  and 
other  writers,  show  that  it  was  customary  in  Greece  to  pre- 
serve the  colloquially  expressed  ideas  of  illustrious  men.  It 
appe  irs  that  Julius  Caesar  compiled  a  book  of  apophthegms, 
in  which  he  related  the  Ion  mots  of  Cicero  ;  and  Quintilian 
informs  us  that  a  freedman  of  that  celebrated  wit  and 
orator  composed  three  books  of  a  work  entitled  Be  Jocis 
Ciceronis.  We  are  told  by  Suetonius  that  Caius  Melissus. 
originally  the  slave  but  afterwards  the  freedman  and 
librarian  of  Maecenas,  collected  the  sayings  of  his  master; 
and  Aulus  Gellius  has  filled  his  A'octcs  Attica;  with  anec- 
dotes which  he  heard  from  the  eminent  scholars  and  critics 
whose  society  he  frequented  in  Rome. 

But  though  vestiges  of  Ana  may  be  traced  in  the  classi- 
cal ages,  it  is  only  in  modern  times  that  they  have  come  to 
be  regarded  as  constituting  a  distinct  species  of  composi- 
tion, comprising  literary  anecdotes,  critical  reflections,  and 
historical  incidents,  mingled  with  the  detail  of  bon  mot* 
and  ludicrous  tales.  The  term  Ana  seems  to  have  been 
applied  to  such  collections  as  far  back  as  the  beginning 
of  the  15th  century.  Francesco  Barbaro,  in  a  letter  to 
Poggio,  pays  that  the  information  and  anecdotes  which 
Poggio  and  Barthelemi  Montepolitiano  had  picked  up  dur- 
ing a  literary  excursion  through  Germany  will  be  called 
Ana :  "  Quemadmodum  mala  ab  Appio  e  Claudia  gent* 


784 


ANA 


Appiana,  et  pira  a  Mallio  Malliana  cognominata  sunt, 
sic  hajc  literarum  qua?  vestra  ope  et  opera  Gcnnania  in 
ltaliam  deferentur,  aliquando  et  Foggiana  et  Monte- 
politiana  vocabuntur." 

Poggio  Bracciolini,  to  whom  this  letter  is  addressed, 
and  to  whom  the  world  is  indebted  for  the  preservation  of 
so  many  classical  remains,  is  the  first  eminent  person  of 
modern  times  whose  jests  and  opinions  have  been  trans- 
mitted to  posterity.  Poggio  was  secretary  to  five  succes- 
sive popes.  During  the  pontificate  of  Martin  V.,  who  was 
chosen  in  1417,  Poggio  and  other  members  of  the  Roman 
chancery  were  in  the  habit  of  assembling  in  a  common 
hall  adjoining  the  Vatican,  in  order  to  converse  freely  on 
all  subjects.  Being  more  studious  of  wit  than  of  truth, 
they  termed  this  apartment  Buggiale,  a  word  which  Poggio 
himself  interprets  Mendaciorum  Offieina.  Here  Poggio  and 
his  friends  discussed  the  news  and  scandal  of  the  day  ; 
communicated  entertaining  anecdotes ;  attacked  what  they 
did  not  approve  (and  they  approved  of  little) ;  and  in- 
dulged in  the  utmost  latitude  of  satiric  remark,  not  sparing 
even  the  pope  and  cardinals.  The  jests  and  stories  which 
occurred  in  these  unrestrained  conversations  were  collected 
by  Poggio,  and  formed  the  chief  materials  of  his  Facetiae, 
first  printed,  according  to  De  Bure,  in  1470.  This  collec- 
tion, which  forms  a  principal  part  of  the  Poggiana,  is 
chiefly  valuable  as  recording  interesting  anecdotes  of 
eminent  men  of  the  14th  and  15th  centuries.  It  also 
contains  a  number  of  quibbles  or  jeux  de  mots,  and  a  still 
greater  number  of  idle  and  licentious  stories.  Many  of 
these  are  not  original,  some  of  them  being  taken  from 
ancient  authors,  and  a  still  greater  number  from  the 
Fabliaux  of  the  Trouveurs.  On  the  other  hand,  Poggio' 
has  suggested  much  to  succeeding  writers.  Prior's  Hans 
Carvel  and  several  of  Fontaine's  fables  are  from  stories 
originally  related  by  Poggio.  The  Faeetice  forms,  upon 
the  whole,  the  most  amusing  and  interesting  part  of  the 
Poggiana  printed  at  Amsterdam  in  1720;  but  this  collec- 
tion also  comprehends  additional  anecdotes  of  Poggio's  life, 
and  a  few  extracts  from  his  graver  compositions. 

Though  Poggio  was  the  first  person  whose  remarks  and 
bon  mots  were  collected  under  the  name  of  Ana,  the  Sca- 
ligerana,  which  contains  the  opinions  of  Joseph  Scaliger, 
was  the  first  work  published  under  that  appellation,  and 
accordingly  may  be  regarded  as  having  led  the  way  to 
that  class  of  publications.  There  are  two  collections  of 
Scaligerana — the  Prima  and  Secunda.  The  first  was  com- 
piled by  a  physician  named  Francis  Vertunien,  Sieur  de 
Lavau,  who  attended  a  family  with  whom  Joseph  Scaliger 
resided.  He,  in  consequence,  had  frequent  opportunities 
of  meeting  the  celebrated  critic,  and  was  in  the  custom  of 
committing  to  writing  the  observations  which  dropped 
from  him  in  the  course  of  conversation,  to  which  he 
occasionally  added  remarks  of  his  own.  This  collection, 
which  was  chiefly  Latin,  remained  in  manuscript  many 
years  after  the  death  of  the  compiler.  It  was  at  length 
purchased  by  M.  de  Sigogne,  who  published  it  in  1669, 
under  the  title  of  Prima  Scaligerana,  nusquam  aniehac 
edita,  calling  it  prima  in  order  to  preserve  its  claim  of 
priority  over  another  Scaligerana,  which,  though  published 
three  years  before,  had  been  more  recently  compiled.  This 
second  work,  known  as  Secunda  Scaligerana,  was  collected 
by  two  brothers  of  the  name  of  Vassan,  students  of  the 
university  of  Leyden,  of  which  Scaliger*  was  one  of  the 
professors.  Being  particularly  recommended  to  Scaliger, 
they  were  received  in  his  house,  and  enjoyed  his  conversa- 
tion. Writing  down  what  they  had  heard,  particularly  on 
historical  and  critical  subjects,  they  soon  made  up  a  large 
manuscript  volume,  in  which,  however,  th'sre  was  neither 
connection  nor  arrangement  of  any  description.  After  pass- 
ing through  various  hands,  this  manuscript  came  into  the 


possession  of  M.  Daillt5,  who  for  his  own  use  arranged  in 
alphabetical  order  the  articles  which  it  contained.  Isaac 
Vossius,  obtaining  the  manuscript  in  loan  from  M.  Daille. 
transcribed  it,  and  afterwards  published  it  at  the  Hague, 
under  the  title  of  Scaligerana,  site  Excerpta  ex  Ore  Josepln 
Scaliaeri.  This  edition  was  full  of  inaccuracies  and 
blunders,  and  a  more  correct  impression  was  afterwards 
published  by  M.  Daille,  with  a  preface  complaining  of  the 
use  that  Vossius  had  made  of  the  manuscript,  which  he 
declares  was  never  intended  for  publication,  and  was  not 
of  a  nature  to  be  given  to  the  world.  Indeed,  most  literary 
men  in  that  age  conceived  that  tho  Scaligerana,  particu- 
larly the  second,  detracted  considerably  from  the  reputa- 
tion of  tho  great  scholar.  Joseph  Scaliger,  with  more 
extensive  erudition,  but,  as  some  think,  less  genius  than 
his  father  Julius  Caesar  Scaliger,  had  inherited  his  vanity 
and  dogmatical  spirit.  Conversing  with  two  young  students, 
he  would  probably  be  but  little  cautious  in  tho  opinions  he 
expressed,  as  his  literary  errors  could  not  be  detected  or 
exposed.  Unfortunately  the  blind  admiration  of  his  pupils 
led  them  to  regard  his  opinions  as  the  responses  of  an 
oracle,  and  his  most  unmerited  censures  as  just  condemna- 
tions. The  Scaligerana,  accordingly,  contains  many  false- 
hoods, with  much  unworthy  personal  abuse  of  the  most 
distinguished  characters  of  the  age. 

In  imitation  of  the  Scaligaana,  a  prodigious  number  of 
similar  works  appeared  in  France  towards  the  end  of  the 
17th  and  beginning  of  the  18th  century.  At  first  these 
collections  were  confined  to  what  bad  fallen  from  eminent 
men  in  conversation  ;  bat  they  were  afterwards  made  to 
embrace  fragments  found  among  their  papers,  and  even 
passages  extracted  from  their  works  and  correspondence. 
Of  those  which  merely  record  the  conversations  of  eminent 
men,  the  best  known  and  most  valuable  is  the  Menagiana. 
Gilles  Manage  was  a  person  of  good  sense,  of  various  and 
extensive  information,  and  of  a  most  communicative  dis 
position.  For  a  long  period  an  assembly  of  literary 
men  met  once  a  week  at  his  house ;  and  during  his  latei 
years  he  daily  received  critics  and  scholars  as  visitors. 
Much  of  his  time  was  thus  spent  in  conversation ;  and  his 
habitual  associates  were  at  pains  to  record  his  opinions, 
which  were  generally  founded  on  a  correct  taste  and  judg- 
ment, and  were  always  delivered  in  an  interesting  and 
lively  manner.  A  collection  of  his  oral  opinions  was  pub- 
lished in  1693,  soon  after  his  death;  and  this  collection, 
which  was  entitled  Menagiana,  was  afterwards  corrected 
and  enlarged  by  M.  la  Monnoye,  in  an  edition  published 
by  him  in  1715. 

The  Perroniana,  which  exhibits  the  opinions  of  Cardinal 
du  Perron,  was  compiled  from  his  conversation  by  M.  dr 
Puy,  and  published  by  Vossius,  by  the  same  contrivance 
which  put  him  in  possession  of  -the  Scaligerana.  Some 
parts  of  this  collection  are  useful  in  illustrating  the  literary 
and  ecclesiastical  history  of  the  age  in  which  Du  Perron 
lived ;  but  it  contains  many  puerile,  imprudent,  and  absurd 
remarks,  many  of  them  the  interpolations  of  his  friends. 
The  Thuana,  or  observations  of  the  president  De  Thou, 
have  usually  been  published  along  with  the  Perroniana. 
This  collection  is  not  extensive,  and  by  no  means  of  sucb 
value  as  might  have  been  exDected  from  a  man  so  able  and 
distinguished. 

The  Valesiana  is  a  collection  of  the  literary  opinions  of 
the.  historiographer  Adrian  de  Valois,  published  by  his 
son.  M.  do  Valois  was-a  great  student  of  history,  and  the 
Valesiana  accordingly  comprehends  many  valuable  histori 
cal  observations,  particularly  on  the  works  of  Du  Cange. 

The  Fureteriana  (1696)  contains  the  bon  mots  of  M. 
Furetiere  of  the  French  Academy,  the  stories  which  he  was 
in  the  habit  of  telling,  and  a  number  of  anecdotes  and 
remarks  found  in  his  papers  after  his  decease.     This  pro- 


A  JN   A 


78o 


luction,  however,  comprehends  but  few  thoughts,  opinions, 
»r  criticisms  on  books,  consisting  chiefly  of  short  stories, 
ind  containing  numerous  allusions  to  a  violent  quarrel  he 
tad  with  the  French  Academy,  of  which  he  was  a  member, 
concerning  his  Dictionnaire  Universel  de  la  Langue 
Francaise. 

The  Chevraeana  (2  vols.  8vo,  1700),  so  called  from  M. 
Chevreau,  exhibits  more  research  than  most  works  of  a 
similar  description,  and  is  probably  more  accurate,  as  it 
differs  from  the  Ana  proper,  of  which  the  works  described 
tbove  are  instances,  in  having  been  pubNshed  during  the 
life  of  the  author,  and  revised  by  himself.  Among  other 
interesting  articles,  it  contains  a  learned  and  ingenious 
commentary  on  the  works  of  Malherbe,  to  whom  the  French 
language  and  poetry  were  greatly  indebted  for  their  per- 
fection. 

Parrhasiana  (Amst.,  2  vols.  8vo,  1699-1701)  is  the 
work  of  Jean  le  Clerc,  a  professor  of  Amsterdam,  who 
bestowed  this  appellation  on  his  miscellaneous  productions 
with  the  view  of  discussing  various  topics  of  philosophy 
md  polities  with  more  freedom  than  he  could  have  em- 
ployed under  his  own  name.  This  work  is  not  of  the  light 
and  unconnected  description  of  most  of  the  Ana  which 
have  been  above  enumerated,  as  it  contains  much  learned 
philological  disquisition,  and  a  long  dissertation  on  poetry 
and  eloquence.  In  the  first  volume  there  is  a  list  of  his 
published  works,  and  a  bitter  reply  to  all  who  had  censured 
them. 

The  Huetiana  contains  the  detached  thoughts  and  criti- 
cisms of  Huet,  bishop  of  Avranches,  which  he  himself 
committed  to  writing  when  he  was  far  advanced  in  life. 
Huet  was  born  in  1630,  and  in  1712  he  was  attacked  by 
a  malady  which  impaired  his  memory,  and  rendered  him 
incapable  of  the  sustained  attention  necessary  for  the  com- 
pletion of  a  long  or  laborious  work.  In  this  situation  he 
employed  himself  in  putting  his  detached  observations  on 
paper.  These  were  published  by  the  Khbi  d'Olivet  the  year 
after  his  death  (1722),  under  the  name  of  Huetiana, — a 
work  which  is  not,  like  some  other  Ana,  a  succession  of 
bon  mots  or  anecdotes,  but  forms  a  series  of  thoughts  and 
criticisms  on  various  topics  of  morals,  philosophy,  and 
literature.  One  of  the  most  instructive  discussions  to  a 
scholar,  in  this  collection,  is  that  on  the  Latinisation  of 
names  and  surnames.  His  critical  judgments  on  Mon- 
taigne, Rochefoucauld,  and  Tacitus  are  valuable.  But 
were  there  no  other  literary  memorials  of  the  bishop  of 
Avranches,  he  certainly  would  not  derive  high  reputation 
from  the  Huetiana.  It  was  not,  indeed,  to  be  expected 
from  the  circumstances  in  which  the  articles  wefe  com- 
posed, that  they  should  always  display  that  correct  judg- 
ment which  distinguishes  many  of  the  other  works  of  this 
learned  writer. 

The  Casauboniana  presents  us  with  the  miscellaneous 
observations,  chiefly  philological,  of  the  celebrated  Isaac 
Casaubon.  During  the  course  of  a  long  life  that  eminent 
commentator  was  in  the  daily  practice  of  committing  to 
paper  anything  remarkable  which  he  heard  in  conversa- 
tion with  his  friends,  especially  if  it  bore  on  the  studies  in 
which  he  was  engaged.  He  also  made  annotations  from 
day  to  day  on  the  works  he  read,  with  which  he  connected 
his  judgments  concerning  the  authors  and  their  writings. 
This  compilation,  which  was-  styled  Ephemerides,  together 
with  his  Adversaria,  and  materials  amassed  for  a  refutation 
of  the  Ecclesiastical  Annals  of  Baronius,  were  bequeathed 
by  his  son  Meric  Casaubon  to  the  Bodleian  library  at 
Oxford.  These  were  shown  to  Christopher  Wolfius  during 
a  visit  which  he  paid  to  that  university;  and  having  been 
transcribed  by  him,  were  published  in  1710  under  the  title 
of  Casauboniana.  This  collection  consists  of  opinions  con- 
cerning various  eminent  writers,  illustrations  of  passages 


of  Scripture,  and  philological  observations  and  animadver- 
sions on  the  first  thirty-four  years  of  the  Annals  of  Baron 
ius.  The  materials  and  information  which  it  contains  arc 
probably  more  accurate  than  is  usually  the  case  in  works  oi 
the  same  description,  as  they  were  not  reported  by  others, 
but  were  committed  to  writing  by  Casaubon  himself  while 
the  works  on  which  he  commented  remainad  fresh  in  his 
recollection. 

Besides  the  above  a  great  many  works,  under  tho  title 
of  Ana,  appeared  in  France  about  the  same  period.  Thus, 
the  opinions  and  conversation  of  Charpcntier,  Colomesius, 
and  St  Evremond  were  recorded  in  the  Carpenteriana, 
C'olomesiana,  and  St  Evremoniana;  and  those  of  Segrais 
in  the  Segraisiana,  —  a  collection  formed  by  a  person 
stationed  behind  the  tapestry  in  a  house  where  Segrais 
was  accustomed  to  visit,  of  which  Voltaire  declared,  "que 
de  tous  les  Ana  c'est  celui  qui  merite  le  plus  d'etre  mis  au 
rang  des  mensonges  impriines,  et  surtout  des  mensonges 
iusipides."  The  Ana,  indeed,  from  the  popularity  which 
they  now  enjoyed,  were  compiled  in  such  numbers  and 
with  so  little  care  that  they  became  almost  proverbial  for 
inaccuracy.  About  the  middle  of  the  18th  century,  too, 
they  were  sometimes  made  the  vehicles  of  revolutionary 
and  heretical  opinions.  Thus  the  evil  naturally  began  to 
cure  itself,  and  by  a  reaction  the  French  Ana  sunk  in 
public  esteem  as  much  below  their  intrinsic  value  as  they 
had  formerly  been  exalted  above  it. 

Of  the  examples  England  has  produced  of  thi3  species 
of  composition,  perhaps  the  most  interesting  is  the  Wai- 
poliana,  a  transcript  of  the  literary  conversation  of  Horace 
Walpole,  Earl  of  Orford.  That  multifarious  author  spent 
a  great  portion  of  his  time  in  conversation,  and,  possess- 
ing opportunities  of  information  enjoyed  by  few,  was  dis- 
tinguished for  his  resources  of  anecdote,  wit,  and  judicious 
remark.  It  was  suggested  to  him  that  he  ought  to  form 
a  collection  of  anecdotes  and  observations,  but  this  he 
declined,  furnishing,  however,  the  editor  of  the  Walpoliava 
with  many  anecdotes  in  his  own  handwriting.  "  After  his 
death  several  specimens  of  this  miscellany  were  published 
in  the  Monthly  Magazine;  and  being  afterwards  enlarged 
by  the  recollections  of  the  editor  and  the  communications 
of  others,  were  published  in  two  volumes  under  the  title 
of  Walpoliana.  Most  other  works  which  in  this  country 
have  been  published  under  the  name  of  Ana,  as  Baconiana, 
Atterburyana,  <to.,  are  rather  extracts  from  the  writings 
and  correspondence  of  eminent  men  than  memorials  of 
their  conversation. 

There  are  some  works  which,  though  they  do  not  bear 
the  title,  belong  more  strictly  to  the  class  of  Ana  than  many 
of  the  collections  which  are  known  under  that  appella- 
tion. Such  are  the  Melanges  d'Histoire  et  de  Litterature, 
published  under  the  name  of  Yigneul  Marville,  though  the 
work  of  a  Benedictine,  D'Argonne;  and  the  Locorum  Com- 
munium  Collectanea,  ex  Lectionibus  Pkilippi  Melanchthonis, 
— a  work  of  considerable  reputation  on  account  of  its 
theological  learning,  and  the  information  it  communicates 
concerning  the  early  state  of  the  Reformed  Church.  But 
of  those  productions  which  belong  to  the  class,  though 
they  do  not  bear  the  name,  of  Ana,  the  most  celebrated 
are  the  Colloquia  Mensalia  of  Luther  and  Selden's  Table- 
Talk.  The  former,  which  comprehends  the  conversation 
of  Luther  with  his  friends  and  coadjutors  in  the  great  work 
of  the  Reformation,  was  first  published  in  1566.  Captain 
Bell,  who  translated  it  into  English  in  the  time  of  the 
Commonwealth,  informs  us  that,  an  edict  having  been  pro- 
mulgated commanding  the  works  of  Luther  to  be  destroyed, 
it  was  for  some  time  supposed  that  all  the  copies  of  the 
Colloquia  Mensalia  had  been  burned;  but  in  1626,  on  the 
foundation  of  a  house  being  removed,  a  printed  copy  was 
found  lying  in  a  deep  hole,  and  wrapped  up  in  a  linen 


786 


A   JN    A  -    A   JN    A 


cloth.  The  book  translated  by  Bell,  and  again  by  the 
younger  Hazlitt  in  1841,  is  said  to  have  been  originally 
collected  by  Dr  Anthony  Lauterbach,  "  out  of  the  holy 
mouth  of  Luther."  It  consists  chiefly  of  observations  and 
discussions  on  -idolatry,  auricular  confession,  the  mass, 
excommunication,  clerical  jurisdiction,  general  councils, 
and  all  the  po  nts  agitated  by  the  Reformed  Church  in  those 
early  periods.  The  Table-Talk  of  Selden  contains  a  more 
genuine  and  undisguised  expression  of  the  sentiments  of 
that  eminent  man  than  we  find  in  his  more  studied  pro- 
ductions. It  was  published  after  his  death  by  Richard 
Milward,  his  amanuensis,  who  affirms  that  for  twenty 
years  he  enjoyed  the  opportunity  of 'daily  hearing  his  dis- 
course, and  made  it  his  practice  faithfully  to  commit  to 
writing  "  the  excellent  things  that  usually  fell  from  him." 
'Hie  work  contains,  along  with  much  of  a  lighter  kind, 
many  curious  facts  and  opinions  concerning  the  political 
and  ecclesiastical  history  of  the  interesting  period  during 
which  Selden  lived,  and  in  the  important  events  of  which 
he  bore  a  considerable  share.  The  style  of  Selden,  in  most 
of  the  works  published  under  his  own  care,  is  harsh  and 
obscure ;  but  Clarendon  describes  him  as  "  a  clear  dis- 
courser,  possessed  of  the  faculty  of  making  difficult  things 
easy,  and  presenting  them  clearly  to  the  understanding." 
This  t?'lent  for  elucidation  shines  chiefly  in  his  Table-Talk, 
which  is  filled  with  the  stores  of  his  extensive  reading,  de- 
livered without  any  pretensions  to  that  order  and  method 
the  want  of  which  has  been  attributed  to  his  other  pro- 
ductions. Many  more  recent  works,  under  such  titles  as 
Literary  Remains,  Table-Talk,  <fcc,  partake  more  or  less  of 
the  nature  of  Ana,  but  do  not  call  for  separate  notice 

The  most  remarkable  collection  of  Ana  in  the  English 
language — and,  indeed,  in  any  language — is  to  be  found 
in  a  work  which  does  not  correspond  to  the  normal  type 
either  in  name  or  in  form.  In  his  Life  of  Samuel  John- 
ton,  LL.D.,  Boswell  relates  that  to  his  remark,  a  propos  of 
French  literature,  "Their  Ana  are  good,"  Johnson  replied, 
"  A  few  of  them  are  good;  but  we  have  one  book  of  that 
kind  better  than  any  of  them — Selden's  Table-Talk."  Bos- 
well's  own  work  is  incomparably  superior  to  all.  In  worth 
as  a  book  this  has  been  rated,  on  the  high  authority  of 
Carlyle,  beyond  any  other  product  of  the  18th  century, 
and  the  value  it  has  depends  mainly  on  its  Ana.  Its 
interest  arises,  not  from  the  details  it  furnishes  of  the 
events  of  Dr  Johnson's  career,  still  less  from  any  attempt 
at  a  discriminating  estimate  of  his  work  and  character,  but 
from  the  graphic  representation  it  gives  of  his  habitual 
manner  of  life  and  speech.  The  innate  greatness  of 
Johnson  appears,  more  than  in  all  his  writings,  in  his 
portrait,  delineated  with  the  exactness  of  a  sharply-defined 
photograph,  as  he  appeared  to  the  eyes  of  his  admiring 
biographer  in  his  daily  dishabille. . 

■Wolfiua  has  given  a  history  of  the  Ana  in  a  preliminary  discourse 
to  his  edition  of  the  Casauooniana,  published  in  1710.  In  the 
Hipcrtoire  de  Bibliographies  Spiciales,  Curieuses,  et  Instructive*,  by 
Peignot,  there  ia  a  Notice  Bibliographiqw  of  these  collections ;  but 
many  of  the  books  there  enumerated  consist  of  mere  extracts  from 
the  writings  of  popular  authors. 

ANABAPTISTS  (re-baptisers,  from  ivi  and  /Sottt^co), 
a  name  sometimes  applied  indiscriminately  to  all  denomi- 
nations of  Christians  that  deny  the  validity  of  infant  baptism, 
but  restricted  in  general  usage  to  certain  sects  which  became 
prominent  in  Germany  and  elsewhere  at  the  period  of  the 
Reformation.  In  both  cases  the  designation  originates 
with  opponents,  and  is  repudiated  by  the  great  majority  of 
those  to  whom  it  is  applied.  Believing,  as  they  do,  that 
the  baptism  of  infanta  is  no  baptism,  they  naturally  object 
to  a  name  which  implies  that  their  baptism  of  such  persons 
as  may  have  been  baptised  in  infancy  is  a  second  adminis- 
tration of  the  rite.     It  is  therefore  desirable  to  avoid  the 


use  of  the  term  as  descriptive  of  those  who  hold  what  art 
otherwise  known  as  antipaedobaptist  views.     In  its  more 
limited  sense  the  word  has  been  too  long  in  use,  and  it 
too  well  known  to  be  now  discarded,  though  it  is  open  to 
the  further  objection,  in  addition  to  that  already  stated, 
that  it  describes  a  sect  by  one  of  the  least  important  of  its 
distinctive  doctrines  and  practices.      The  Anabaptists  of 
Germany  are    historically   noteworthy,  not   because   they 
insisted  on  re-baptism  as  tho  condition  of  admission  to 
their  communion,  but  because  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Refor- 
mation manifested  itself  in  them  in  a  form  and  mannei 
altogether  peculiar.     Their  views  as  to  the  true  constitution 
of  the  church  and  its  relation  to  the  state,  and  the  efforts 
they  made  to  realise  these  views,  furnish  a  problem,  partly 
theological,'  partly    historical,    of    which    a    satisfactory 
solution  is  not  easy.     To  one  who    looks  merely  at  the 
extravagance  and  lawlessness  which  appear  on  the  surface, 
fanaticism  and  madness  may  furnish  a  sufficient  explana- 
tion of  the  whole  Anabaptist  movement,  but  a  deeper  in- 
sight will  find  many  elements  in  it  that  are  quite  incon- 
sistent with  the  supposition  of  nothing  more  than  bare- 
faced imposture  in  the  leaders,  and  blind  delusion  in  the 
followers.     There  is  an  obvious  genetic,  though  not  histori- 
cal connection  between  the  Anabaptists  and  those  earlier 
sects  (Novations,  Donatists,  Albigenses,  Waldenses)  which 
did  not  practise    infant  baptism.     It  is  more  important, 
however,  to  trace  the  relation  between  the  Anabaptists  and 
the  great  body  of  the  Reformers.     Anabaptism,  as  a  system, 
may  be  defined  as  the  Reformation  doctrine  carried  to  its 
utmost  limit;  the  Anabaptists  were  the  extreme  left  in  the 
army  of  the  Reformers.     It  is  true  that  they  regarded  each 
other  as  in  different  camps ;  but  their  mutual  denunciation* 
cannot  conceal  the  fact  that  even  the  most  peculiar  doctrines 
of  the  Anabaptists  were  to  them  only  corollaries,  illegiti- 
mately drawn,  as  the  more  orthodox  Reformers  thought, 
from  the  fundamental  principle,  common  to  both,  of  the 
independence  of  the  individual  judgment,  and  the  supreme 
importance  of  the  subjective  element,  personal  faith,  in 
religion.     The  connection  of  this  principle  with  their  theory 
of  the  church  and  its  relation  to  the  state,  their  doctrine 
of  the  sacraments,  and  even  their  political  rising,  is  so 
obvious  that  it  need  not  be  dwelt  upon.     The  history  of 
the  Anabaptist  movement  in  its  outward  development  is 
brief  but  eventful     In  1521  their  first  rising  took  place 
at  Zwickau,  under  the  leadership  of  Thomas  Miinzer,  the 
Lutheran  pastor  of  that  place.     (SeeMuNZEB.)    Compelled 
to  leave  Zwickau,   Miinzer  visited  Bohemia,  resided  two 
years  at  Altstadt  and  Thuringia,  and  in  1524  spent  some 
time  in  Switzerland.     During  this  period  he  proclaimed  his 
revolutionary  doctrines  in  religion  and  politics  with  grow- 
ing vehemence,  and,  so  far  as  the  lower  orders  were  con- 
cerned, with  growing  success.     The  crisis  came  in  the  so- 
called  Peasants'  War  in  South  Germany,  in  1525.     In  its 
origin  a  revolt  against  feudal  oppression,  it  became,  under 
the  leadership  of  Miinzer,  a  war  against  all  constituted 
authorities,  and  an  attempt  to  establish  by  force  bis  ideal 
Christian  commonwealth,  with  absolute  equality  and  the 
community  of  goods.     The  total  defeat  of  the  insurgents 
at  Frankeuhausen  (May  15,  1525),  followed  as  it  was  by 
the  execution  of  Miinzer  and  several  other  leaders,  proved 
only   a   temporary   check   to  the  Anabaptist   movement. 
Here  and  there  throughout  Germany,  Switzerland,  and  the 
Netherlands  there  were   zealous   propagandists,   through 
whose  teaching  many  were  prepared  to  follow  as  soon  as 
another  leader  should  arise.     A  second  and  more  deter- 
mined attempt  to  establish  a  theocracy  was  made  at  Miin- 
ster,  in  Westphalia  (1532-5).     Here  the  sect  had  gained 
considerable  influence,  through  the  adhesion  of  Rothmann, 
the  Lutheran  pastor,  and  several  prominent  citizens  ;  and, 
the  leaders,  Johaan  Matthyszoon  or  Matthiesen,  a  baker  of 


ANA-ANA 


787 


Haarlem,  and  Johann  Bockhold,  a  tailor  of  Leyden,  had 
littlo  difficulty  in  obtaining  possession  of  the  town  and 
deposing  the  magistrates.  Vigorous  preparations  were  at 
once  made,  not  only  to  hold  what  had  been  gained,  but  to 
proceed  from  Munster  as  a  centre  to  the  conquest  of  the 
world.  The  town  being  besieged  by  Count  Waldeck,  its  ex- 
pelled bishop  (April  1534),  Matthiesen,  who  was  first  in  com- 
mand, made  a  sally  with  only  thirty  followers,  under  the 
fanatical  idea  that  he  wa3  a  second  Gideon,  and  was  cut 
otf  with  his  entire  band.  Bockhold,  better  known  in 
history  as  John  of  Leyden,  was  now  supreme.  Giving 
himself  out  as  the  successor  of  David,  he  claimed  royal 
honours  and  absolute  power  in  the  new  "  Zion."  He 
justified  the  most  arbitrary  and  extravagant  measures  by  the 
authority  of  visions  from  heaven,  as  others  have  done  in 
similar  circumstances.  With  this  pretended  sanction  he 
legalised  polygamy,  and  himself  took  four  wives,  one  of 
whom  he  beheaded  with  his  own  hand  in  the  market-place 
in  a  fit  of  frenzy.  As  a  natural  consequence  of  such  licence, 
Munster  was  for  twelve  months  a  scene  of  unbridled  pro- 
fligacy. After  an  obstinate  resistance  the  town  was  taken 
by  .the  besiegers  on  the  24th  June  1535,  and  in  January  of 
the  following  year  Bockhold  and  some  of  his  more  pro- 
minent followers,  after  being  cruelly  tortured,  were  executed 
in  the  market-place.  The  outbreak  at  Munster  was  the 
crisis  of  the  Anabaptist  movement.  It  never  again  had  the 
opportunity  of  assuming  political  importance,  the  civil 
powers  naturally  adopting  the -most  stringent  measures  to 
suppress  an  agitation  whose  avowed  object  was  to  suppress 
them.  It  is  difficult  to  trace  the  subsequent  history  of  the 
sect  as  a  religious  body.  The  fact  that,  after  the  Munster 
insurrection,  the  very  name  Anabaptist  was  proscribed  in 
Europe,  is  a  source  of  twofold  confusion.  The  enforced 
adoption  of  new  names  makes  it  easy  to  lose  the  historical 
identity  of  many  who  really-belonged  to  the  Munster  Ana- 
baptists, and,  on  the  other  hand;  has  led  to  the  classifica- 
tion of  many  with  the  Minister  sect  who  had  no  real 
connection  with  it.  The  latter  mistake,  it  is  to  be  noted, 
has  been  much  more  common  than  the  former.  The  Men- 
nonites,  for  example,  have  been  identified  with  the  earlier 
Anabaptists,  on  the  ground  that  they  included  among  their 
number  many  of  the  fanatics  of  Miinster.  But  the  con- 
tinuity of  a  sect  is  to  be  traced  in  its  principles  and  not  in 
its  adherents,  and  it  must  be  remembered  that  Menno  and 
his  followers  expressly  repudiated  the  distinctive  doctrines 
of  the  Miinster  Anabaptists.  They  have  never  aimed  at 
any  social  or  political  revolution,  and  have  been  as  remark- 
able for  sobriety  of  conduct  as  the  Munster  sect  was  for 
its  fanaticism.  (See  Mejotonites.)  Li  English  history 
frequent  reference  is  made  to  the  Anabaptists  during 
the  16th  and  17th  centuries,  but  there  is  no  evidence 
that  any  considerable  number  of  native  Englishmen  ever 
adopted  the  principles  of  the  Munster  sect.  Many  of  the 
followers  of  Miinzer  and  Bockhold  seem  to  have  fled  from 
persecution  in  Germany  and  the  Netherlands  to  be  sub- 
jected to  a  persecution  scarcely  less  severe  in  England. 
The  mildest  measure  adopted  towards  these  refugees  was 
banishiucnt  from  the  kingdom,  and  a  large  number  suffered 
at  the  stake.  It  has  already  been  explained  that  the  appli- 
cation of  the  term  Anabaptist  to  those  English  sects  that 
had  nothing  in  common  with  the  German  Anabaptists 
except  the  practice  of  adult  baptism,  is  unjustifiable.  (See 
Baptists.) 

ANABASIS  (dra/Wi?,  a  march  into  the  interior;  from 
ava,8aiv<i>,  to  ascend),  the  title  given  by  Xenophon  to  his 
narrative  of  the  expedition  of  Cyrus  the  younger  against 
his  brother,  Artaxerxes  of  Persia,  401  B.C.,  and  adopted  by 
Arrian  for  his  history  of  the  expedition  of  Alexander  the 
Great.  (See  Ainsworth's  Trav.  in  Track  of  Ten  Thousand 
Greeks:  Journal  of  Rov.  Geoa.  Soc.  1870,  p.  463.) 


ANACHARSIS,  a  Scythian  philosopher,  who  lived 
about  600  B.C.  His  father  was  one  of  the  chiefs  of  his 
nation,  and  married  a  woman  of  Greece.  Instructed  in 
the  Greek  language  by  his  mother,  he  prevailed  upon  the 
king  to  intrust  him  with  an  embassy  to  Athens.  On  his 
arrival  in  that  renowned  city  he  became  acquainted  with 
Solon,  from  whom  he  rapidly  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the 
wisdom  and  learning  of  Greece.  By  the  influence  of  Solon 
he  was  introduced  to  the  principal  persons  in  Athens,  and 
was  the  first  stranger  who  received  the  privileges  of  citizen- 
ship. After  he  had  resided  several  years  at  Athens,  he 
travelled  through  different  countries  in  quest  of  knowledge, 
and  then  returned  home  filled  with  the  desire  of  instruct- 
ing his  countrymen  in  the  laws  and  the  religion  of  the 
Greeks.  According  to  Herodotus,  he  was  killed  by  his 
brother  Saulius  while  he  was  performing  sacrifice  to  the 
goddess  Cybele.  His  simple  and  forcible  mode  of  expressing 
himself  gave  birth  to  the  proverbial  expression,  "  Scythian 
eloquence."     (Herodot.  iv.  76  ;  Lucian,  Scytha.) 

ANACHRONISM,  a  neglect  or  falsification,  whether 
wilful  or  undesigned,  of  chronological  relation.  Its  com- 
monest use  restricts  it  (agreeably  to  its  etymology,  Avd, 
back,  and  xpoVos,  time)  to  the  ante-dating  of  events,  cir- 
cumstances, or  customs;  in  other  words,  to  the  introduction, 
especially  in  works  of  imagination  that  rest  on  a  historical 
basis,  of  details  borrowed  from  a  later  age.  Anachronisms 
may  be  committed  in  many  ways,  originating,  for  instance, 
in  disregard  of  the  different  modes,,  of  life  and  thought 
that  characterise  different  periods,  or  in  ignorance  of  tne 
progress  of  the  arts  and  sciences  and  the  other  ascertained 
facts  of  history,  and  may  vary  from  glaring  inconsistency 
to  scarcely  perceptible  misrepresentation.  Much  of  the 
thought  entertained  about  the  past  is  so  deficient  in  his- 
torical perspective  as  to  be  little  better  than  a  continuous 
anachronism.  It  is  only  since  the  close  of  the  18th  cen- 
tury that  this  kind  of  untruthfulness  has  jarred  on  the 
general  intelligence.  Anachronisms  abound  in  the  works 
of  Raphael  and  Shakespeare,  as  well  as  in  those  of  the 
meanest  daubers  and  playwrights  of  earlier  times.  In  par- 
ticular, the  artists,  on  the  stage  and  on  the  canvas,  in  story 
and  in  song,  assimilated  their  dramatis  persona:  to  their 
own  nationality  and  their  own  time.  The  Virgin  was 
represented  here  as  an  Italian  contadina,  and  there  as  a 
Flemish  frow;  Alexander  the  Great  appeared  on  the 
French  stage  in  the  full  costume  of  Louis  Quatorze  down 
to  the  time  of  Voltaire ;  and  in  our  own  country  the  con- 
temporaries of  Addison  could  behold,  without  any  suspicion 
of  burlesque, 

"  Cato'3  long  wig,  flower'd  gown,  and  lacquer' d  chair." 

Considerable  difference  of  opinion  has  been  expressed 
regarding  the  legitimacy  of  anachronism,  especially  when 
it  is  introduced  designedly  into  historical  novels.  The 
safe  and  the  just  course  here  appears  to  be  to  "  regard  the 
writer's  end,"  and  not  to  hold  an  author  responsible  for 
historical  accuracy  or  verisimilitude  who  does  not  profess 
to  write  history. 

ANACOLUTHON  is  the  lack  of  grammatical  symmetry 
in  a  sentence,  either  through  the  consequent  taking  an  un- 
expected form  or  being  altogether  suppressed,  the  writer 
or  speaker  desiring  to  present  his  thought  in  another 
aspect,  or  feeling  that  he  has  already  made  his  meaning 
sufficiently  plain.  In  the  case  of  a  man  who  is  full  of  his 
subject,  or  who  is  carried  along  by  the  passion  of  the 
moment,  such  inconsequents  are  very  apt  to  occur.  Of 
Niebuhr  it  is  told  that  his  oral  lectures  consisted  almost 
entirely  of  anacoluthic  constructions.  To  this  kind  of 
licence  some  languages,  as  Greek  and  English,  readily  lend 
themselves  ;  while  the  grammatical  rigidity  of  others,  us 
Latin  and  French  admits  of  it  hut  sparingly.     In   nero 


788 


A  N  A  -  A  N  A 


dotus,  Thucydides,  JSschylus,  Pindar,  and  Plato,  abundant 
specimens  are  to  be  found ;  and  the  same  is  true  of  the 
writers  of  the  Elizabethan  age  in  our  own  language.  The 
following  is  an  example : — "  And  he  charged  him  to  tell 
no  man  ;  but  go  show  thyself,"  <5tc.  (Luke  v.  14). 

ANACONDA,  a  gigantic  snake  of  South  America, 
sometimes  over  30  feet  in  length,  called  the  water-serpent, 
from  frequenting  swamps  and  rivers,  and  preying  on  water 
animals.  Its  colour  is  a  rich  brown,  with  bright  golden 
rings  on  each  side,  and  two  rows  of  large  black  spots  along 
the  back.  The  natives  kill  it  for  an  oil  they  obtain  from 
its  carcase.    It  is  not  venomous,  and  is  said  to  be  harmless. 

ANACREON,  an  Ionian  Greek,  born  at  Teos,  on  the 
coast  of  Asia  Minor,  probably  about  562  B.C.  His  repu- 
tation as  a  lyric  poet  stood  very  high  both  in  his  own  age 
and  in  those  that  followed.  "  The  charming " — "  the 
honey-tongued  " — "  the  swan  of  Teos  " — "  the  glory  of 
Ionia,"  are  some  of  the  epithets  constantly  given  him  by 
ancient  writers.  "  Sing  us  one  of  the  songs  of  Alcaeus  or 
Anacreon,"  cries  one  of  the  guests  in  a  comedy  of  Aristo- 
phanes. "  When  I  hear  the  verses  of  Sappho  or  Anacreon," 
says  the  poet  to  his  friends,  in  the  Symposium  of  Plato, 
"  I  set  down  my  cup  for  very  shame  of  my  own  perform- 
ances." But  though  he  has  given  his  name  to  that  class 
of  light  and  free  lyric  effusions  which  celebrate  the  joys  of 
love  and  wine,  he  is  to  us  moderns  little  more  than  a  name. 
We  can  no  longer  say  of  him,  as  Horace  could,  that  "  time 
has  not  drowned  his  sportive  lays  ; "  and  we  have  to  judge 
of  his  merits  as  a  poet  chiefly  from  the  warm  praises  of 
those  who  had  his  poems  in  their  hands.  Of  the  five 
books  of  lyrical  pieces  by  Anacreon  which  Suidas  and 
Athena?us  mention  as  extant  in  their  time,  we  have  now 
but  the  merest  fragments,  collected  from  the  citations  of 
later  writers.  Those  graceful  little  poems  (most  of  them 
first  printed  from  the  MSS.  by  Henry  Stephens  in  1554), 
which  long  passed  among  the  learned  for  the  songs  of 
Anacreon,  and  which  are  well  known  to  many  English 
readers  in  the  translations  of  Cowley  and  Moore,  are  really 
of  much  later  date,  though  possibly  here  and  there  genuine 
fragments  of  the  poet  have  been  woven  up  in  them.  They 
will  always  retain  a  certain  popularity  from  their  lightness 
and  elegance,  and  some  of  them  are  fair  copies  of  Ana- 
creon's  style,  which  would  lend  itself  readily  enough  to  a 
clever  imitator.  But  an  almost  conclusive  argument 
against  their  genuineness  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  peculiar 
forms  of  the  Ionic  Greek,  in  which  Anacreon  wrote,  are 
not  to  be  found  in  these  reputed  odes,  while  the  frag- 
ments of  his  poems  quoted  by  ancient  writers  are  full  of 
Ionicisms.  Of  the  poet's  life  little  is  known  beyond  a 
few  scattered  notices,  not  in  all  cases  certainly  authentic. 
He-  probably  shared  the  voluntary  exile  of  the  mass  of  his 
fellow-townsmen,  who,  when  Cyrus,  the  Great  was  laying 
siege  to  the  Greek  cities  of  Asia,  took  ship,  and  founded 
a  colony  at  Abdera  in  Thrace,  rather  than  surrender  their 
city  to  Tiia  general  Harpagus.  From  Thrace  he  soon 
removed  to  the  island  of  Samos,  ruled  at  that  time  by  Poly- 
crates,  one  of  the  grandest  of  those  old  "  tyrants  "  who  by 
ao  means  deserved  the  name  in  its  worst  sense.  It  is  said 
that  he  acted  as  Polycrates's  tutor;  that  he  stood  very  high 
in  his  confidence  we  learn  from  so  good  an  authority  as 
Herodotus,  who  represents  the  poet  as  sitting  in  the  royal 
chamber  when  audience  was  given  to  the  Persian  herald. 
In  return  for  such  favour  and  protection,  he  wrote  many 
complimentary  odes  upon  Polycrates  and  his  favourites. 
But  if  an  anecdote  found  in  Stobaeus  is  true,  he  was  no 
mercenary  flatterer.  On  one  occasion  the  "  tyrant "  pre- 
sented him  with  the  sum  of  five  talents.  He  spent  two 
wakeful  nights  in  thinking  of  his  money,  and  then  re- 
turned it  to  the  giver,  saying  that  it  "  was  not  worth  the 
Care  it  cost  him,"     A  cursory  remark  in  the  writings  of 


Maximus  of  Tyre  shows  at  least  the  high  estimation  id 
which  the  poet  was  supposed  to  have  been  held  by  his 
royal  patron.  That  writer  says  that  nut  even  the  warning 
given  to  Polycrates  byAmasis,  king  of  Egypt,  that  his  too 
great  prosperity  would  surely  amuse  the  jealousy  of  the 
gods,  could  make  a  man  doubt  the  stability  of  his  happi 
ncss,  who  had,  like  Polycrates,  the  command  of  the  Ioniaii 
sea,  a  navy  so  powerful,  and  such  a  friend  as  Anacreon 
The  same  authority  tells  us  that  this  companionship  exer- 
cised a  beneficial  influence  over  the  stern  temper  of  the 
tyrant.  Like  his  fellow-lyrist,  Horace,  who  was  one  of 
Lis  great  admirers,  and  in  many  respect  of  a  kindred 
spirit,  Anacreon  seems  to  have  been  made  for  the  society 
of  courts.  On  the  death  of  Polycrates,  Hipparchus,  who 
was  then  in  power  at  Athens,  and  who  inherited  the 
literary  tastes  of  his  father  Pisistratus,  sent  a  special  em- 
bassy to  fetch  the  popular  poet  to  Athens  in  a  galley  of 
fifty  oars.  He  must  have  fully  enjoyed  and  contributed 
much  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  brilliant  circle  with  which 
Hipparchus  had  surrounded  himself,  and  there  he  made 
acquaintance,  amongst  others,  with  the  poet  Simonides. 
When  this  circle  was  broken  up  by  the  assassination  of 
Hipparchus,  Anacreon  seems  to  have  returned  to  his 
native  town  of  Teos.  There,  according  to  a  metrical 
epitaph  ascribed  to  his  friend  Simonides,  he  died  and  was 
buried.  Lucian  mentions  him  amongst  his  instances 
of  the  longevity  of  eminent  men,  as  having  completed 
eighty-five  years.  If  an  anecdote  given  by  Pliny  (Nat. 
llist.  vii  7)  is  to  be  trusted,  he  was  choked  at  last  by  a 
grape-stone ;  but  the  story  has  an  air  of  mythical  adapta- 
tion to  the  poet's  habits,  which  makes  it  somewhat  apocry- 
phal. Anacreon  had  a  reputation  as  a  composer  of  hymns, 
as  well  as  of  those  bacchanalian  and  amatory  lyrics  which 
are  commonly  associated  with  his  name.  Two  short  hymns 
to  Diana  and  Bacchus,  consisting  of  eight  and  eleven  lines 
respectively,  stand  first  amongst  his  few  undisputed  re- 
mains, as  printed  by  recent  editors.  But  pagan  hymns, 
especially  when  addressed  to  such  deities  as  Venus,  Eros, 
and  Bacchus,  are  not  so  very  unlike  what  we  call  "  Ana- 
creontic "  poetry  as  to  make  the  contrast  of  style  so  great 
as  the  word  might  seem  to  imply.  The  tone  of  Anacreon 's 
lyric  effusions  has  probably  led  to  an  unjust  estimate,  both 
by  ancients  and  moderns,  of  the  poet's  personal  character. 
As  Homer  was  accused  of  bibulous  propensities  by  somt. 
because  he  makes  frequent  and  kindly  mention  of  "  thu 
purple  wine,"  so  Anacreon  was  held  to  have  been  u 
thorough  sensualist  because  he  sang  so  persistently  of 
wine  and  love.  But  a  poet  must  not  always  be  judged  bv 
the  flights  of  his  fancy.  The  "  triple  worship  "  of  tho 
Muses,  Wine,  and  Love,  ascribed  to  him  as  his  religion 
in  an  old  Greek  epigram  (Anthol.  iil  25,  51),  may  have, 
been  as  purely  professional  in  the  two  last  cases  as  in  the 
first,  and  his  private  character  on  such  points  was  probably 
neither  much  tetter  nor  worse  than  that  of  his  contem- 
poraries. Athenaeus  remarks  acutely  that  he  seems  at 
least  to  have  been  sober  when  he  wrote ;  and  he  himself 
strongly  repudiates,  as  Horace  does,  the  brutal  character- 
istics of  intoxication  as  fit  only  for  "  barbarians "  and 
"  Scythians "  (Fragm.  64,  Bergk).  His  own  excuse, 
when  charged  with  hymning  the  reigning  beauties  of  the 
day  rather  than  the  orthodox  gods  and  goddesses,  is  said 
to  have  been  made  in  these  words— 

"  But  are  not  these  also  lesser  divinities  J " 

The  best  editions  of  Anacreon  are  thoae  of  J.  F.'  Fischer, 
Leipsic,  1703,  and  L  Bergk,  Leipsic,  1854.     (w.  l.  c.) 

ANADYOMENE  ('AvaSvo^ivp),  an  epithet  of  Aphrodite 
(Venus),  expressive  of  her  having  risen  (i.e.,  been  born) 
from  the  foam  of  the  sea.  In  works  of  ancient  art — e.g., 
in  many  existing  bronze  statuettes — Venus  was  represented 


A  N  A  -^  A  N  M 


789 


under  this  title  as  if  just  emerged  from  the  sea,  ana  in  the 
act  of  wringing  her  tresses.  This  was  the  subject  of  a 
painting  by  Apelles,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  pictures  of 
antiquity,  the  conception  having  been,  it  was  said,  sug- 
gested to  him  by  seeing  Phryne  bathing.  This  painting 
belonged  first  to  the  people  of  Cos,  from  whom  it  was  taken 
to  Rome  by  Augustus  in  part  payment  of  tribute  levied  by 
him.  By  the  time  of  Nero  it  had  become  almost  entirely 
ruined  by  decay. 

ANADYR,  the  name  of  a  gulf  and  of  a  nver  in  the 
north-east  of  Siberia.  The  gulf  extends  from  Cape 
Tchutotskoi,  on  the  north,  to  Cape  St  Thadeus,  on  the 
south,  forming  part  of  the  Behring  Sea ;  while  the  river, 
taking  its  rise  from  a  lake  in  the  Stanovoi  mountains, 
called  Ivashki  or  Ivachno,  about  67°  N.  lat,  and  173°  E. 
long.,  flows  through  the  Tchutchee  country,  at  first  to  the 
west  and  then  to  the  east,  entering  the  gulf  of  Anadyrsk- 
aia,  a  branch  of  the  gulf  of  Anadyr,  after  a  course  of 
about  600  miles.  Anadyrsk  is  the  only  town  on  its  banks, 
and  the  country  through -which  it  passes  is  thinly  popu- 
lated, barren,  and  desolate.  For  nine  months  of  the  year 
the  ground  is  covered  with  snow,  and  there  is  not  sufficient 
pasturage  for  cattle.  Reindeer,  upon  which  the  inhabit- 
ants feed,  are  found  in  considerable  numbers. 

ANAESTHESIA  (o  privative,  a'o-^o-is,  sensation),  a 
term  in  medicine  used  to  describe  a  state  of  insensibility 
to  external  impressions,  either  as  the  result  of  disease  or 
as  induced  artificially  by  the  employment  of  certain  sub- 
stances known  as  anaesthetics. 

In  diseases  of  the  brain  or  spinal  cord  anaesthesia  is  an 
occasional  symptom,  but  in  such  cases  it  is  usually  limited 
in  extent,  involving  a  limb  or  a  definite  area  of  the  surface 
of  the  body.  Complete  anaesthesia  has  been  observed  in 
persons  who  were  in  a  state  of  catalepsy  or  trance. 

The  artificial  induction  of  anaesthesia  by  the  use  of 
drugs  or  the  inhalation  of  vapours  is  a  subject  of  great 
interest,  both  historically  and  from  its  practical  application 
to  the  relief  of  suffering  and  the  treatment  of  disease. 
Although  it  is  mainly  owing  to  the  researches  of  distin- 
guished chemists  and  physicians  of  the  present  century 
that  the  employment  of  anaesthesia  has  come  to  occupy  a 
foremost  place  among  remedies,  there  is  abundant  evidence 
to  show  that  it  is  a  practice  of  great  antiquity.  Besides 
the  mention  by  Homer  of  the  anaesthetic  effects  of 
nepenthe,  and  the  reference  by  Herodotus  to  the  practice 
of  the  Scythians  of  inhaling  the  vapours  of  a  certain  kind 
of  .hemp  to  produce  intoxication,  the  employment  of 
anesthetics  in  surgery  by  the  use  of  mandragora  is  par- 
ticularly alluded  to  by  Dioscorides  and  Pliny.  It  also 
appears,  from  an  old  Chinese  manuscript  laid  before  the 
French  Academy  by  M.  Julien,  that  a  physician  named 
Hoa-tho,  who  lived  in  the  3d  century,  gave  his  patients  a 
preparation  of  hemp,  whereby  they  were  rendered  in- 
Bensible  during  the  performance  of  surgical  operations. 
Mandragora  was  extensively  used  as  an  anaesthetic  by 
Hugo  de  Lucca,  who  practised  in  the  13th  century.  The 
soporific  effects  of  mandrake  are  alluded  to  by  Shake- 
speare, who-  also  makes  frequent  mention  of  anaesthetising 
draughts,  the  composition  of  which  is  not  specified. 

In  the  Medical  Gazette,  voL  xii.  p.  515,  Dr  Sylvester, 
quoting  from  a  German  work  by  Meissner,  published  in 
1782,  mentions  the  case  of  Augustus,  king  of  Poland, 
who  underwent  amputation  while  rendered  insensible  by  a 
narcotic  But  the  practice  of  anaesthesia  had  never 
become  general,  and  surgeons  appear  to  have  usually 
regarded  it  with  disfavour.  When,  towards  the  close  of 
last  century,  the  brilliant  discoveries  of  Priestley  gave  an 
impetus  to  chemical  research,  the  properties  of  gases  and 
vnpours  began  to  be  more  closely  investigated,  and  the 
Wief   was  then  entertained  that   many  of  them  would 


become  of  greaj  medicinal  value.  In  1800,  Sir  Humphrey 
Davy,  experimenting  on  nitrous  oxide  gas,  discovered  its 
anaesthetic  properties,  and  described  the  effects  it  had  on 
himself  when  inhaled,  with  the  *iew  of  relieving  local 
pain.  He  suggested  its  employment  in  surgery  iu  the  fol- 
lowing words  : — "  As  nitrous  oxide,  in  its  extensive  opera- 
tion, seems  capable  of  destroying'  physical  pain,  it  may 
probably  be  used  with  advantage  in  surgical  operations  iu 
which  no  great  effusion  of  blood  takes  place."  His  sug- 
gestion, however,  remained  unheeded  for  nearly  half  a 
century.  The  inhalation  of  sulphuric  eiher  for  the  relief 
of  asthma  and  other  lung  affections  had  been  employed  by 
Dr  Pearson,  of  Birmingham,  as  early  as  1785  ;  and  in  1805 
Dr  Warren,  of  Boston,  U.S.,  used  thig  treatment  in  the 
later  stages  of  pulmonary  consumption. 

In  1818  Faraday  showed  that  the  inhalation  of  the 
vapour  of  sulphuric  ether  produced  anaesthetic  effects 
similar  to  those  of  nitrous  oxide  gas ;  and  this  property  of 
ether  was  also  shown  by  the  American  physicians,  Godman 
(1822),  Jackson  (1833),  Wood  and  Buche  (1834). 

These  observations,  however,  appear  to  have  been  re- 
garded in  the  light  of  mere  scientific  curiosities  and  sub 
jects  for  lecture-room  experiment,  rather  than  as  facts 
capable  of  being  applied  practically  in  the  treatment  of 
disease,  till  December  1844,  when  Dr  Horace  Wells,  a 
dentist  of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  underwent  in  his  own 
person  the  operation  of  tooth  extraction  while  rendered 
insensible  by  nitrous  oxide  gas.  Satisfied,  from  further 
experience,  that  teeth  could  be  extracted  in  this  way 
without  pain,  Dr  Wells  proposed  to  establish  the  practice 
of  painless  dentistry  under  the  influence  of.  the  gas;  but 
in  consequence  of  an  unfortunate  failure  in  an  experiment 
at  Boston,  he  abandoned  the  project.  On  30th  September 
1846,  Dr  Morton,  a  dentist  of  Boston,  employed  the 
vapour  of  sulphuric  ether  to  procure  general  anaesthesia 
in  a  case  of  tooth  extraction,  and  thereafter  administered 
it  in  cases  requiring  surgical  operation  with  complete 
success.  This  great  achievement  marked  a  new  era  in 
surgery.  Operations  were  performed  in  America  in  nume- 
rous instances  under  ether  inhalation,  the  result  being 
only  to  establish  more  firmly  its  value  as  a  successful 
anaesthetic.  The'  news  of  the  discovery  reached  England 
on  17th  December  1846.  On  19th  December,  Mj  Robinson, 
a  dentist  in  London,  and  on  the  21st,  Mr  Liston,  the  emi- 
nent surgeon,  operated  on  patients  anaesthetised  by  ether ; 
and  the  practice  soon  became  general  both  in  Great  Britain 
and  on  the  Continent. 

The  late  Sir  James  Y.  Simpson,  of  Edinburgh,  was  the 
first  to  apply  anaesthesia  by  ether  in  midwifery  practice. 
This  he  did  on  19th  January  1847,  and  he  subsequently 
employed  ether  inhalation  in  numerous  cases  of  both  easy 
and  difficult  parturition,  an  account  of  which  he  published, 
containing  much  important  information.  The'  results  of 
his  trials  showed  that  while  the  anaesthesia  annulled  the 
conscious  sufferings  of  the  patient,  it  in  no  way  interfered 
with  the  muscular  contractions  of  the  uterus  and  the  pro- 
gress of  the  labour,  and  that  it  did  not  injuriously  affect 
the  child. 

These  observations  excited  great  interest  in  the  medical 
world,  and  led  to  the  extensive  employment  of  ether  inhala- 
tion till  November  1847,  when  Simpson  announced  his 
discovery  of  the  anaesthetic  properties  of  chloroform  (the 
trial  of  which  had  been  suggested  to  him  by  Mr  Waldie,  a 
chemist  of  Liverpool),  and  proposed  it  as  a  substitute  for 
sulphuric  ether.  So  convincingly  did  he  demonstrate  the 
great  advantages  of  chloroform,  that  this  substance  speedily 
superseded  the  use  of  ether  as  an  anaesthetic,  and  continues 
to  the  present  time  probably  the  most  widely-used  of  all 
the  agents  employed  in  medicine  for  the  relief  of  humae 
I  suffering. 


790 


A  N  A  —  A  N   A 


As  tho  result  of  furtfisr  investigations  in  this  depart- 
ment of  scientific  research,  in  which  the  labours  of  Dr 
Snow,  Mr  Nunneley,  and  Dr  Richardson  have  been  con- 
spicuous, numerous  other  volatile  organic  fluids  have  been 
found  to  possess  anesthetic  properties.  Several  of  these 
have -been  used  in  surgical  practice,  but  as  yet  none  of 
them  have  been  found  to  possess  such  superiority  as  would 
entitle  them  to  supersede  chloroform.1 
•  There  are  many  who  prefer  ether  as  being  a  safer  anaes- 
thetic than  chloroform,  less  apt  to  depress  the  circulation, 
and  less  apt  to  excite  vomiting;  but  any  advantage  it  has 
in  these  respects  appean,  in  the  estimation  of  surgeons, 
to  be  practically  counterbalanced  by  the  greater  efficiency 
and  facility  of  application  of  the  latter  substance.  Ether, 
however,  continues  to  be  largely  used  in  America. 

When  introduced  by  inhalation  into  the  system,  ames- 
thetic  vapours  act  upon  the  brain  and  sensory  nerves  in 
such  a  manner  as  more  or  less  completely  to  abolish  their 
natural  sensibility.  The  degree  in  which  they  do  this  can 
be  in  large  measure  regulated  by  the  quantity  administered. 
Thus,  taking  the  familiar  instance  of  chloroform,  the 
effect  of  the  inhalation  of  a  small  quantity  (say  less  than 
half  a  drachm)  is  a  feeling  of  exhilaration  or  semi-intoxica- 
tion, accompanied  with  diminished  sensibility  to  pain,  but 
without  entire  loss  of  consciousness.  By  continuing  the 
inhalation  and  increasing  the  quantity,  profound  stupor, 
stertorous  breathing,  fixing  of  the  eyes,  and  muscular 
relaxation  mark  the  occurrence  of  complete  anaesthesia.  In 
many  cases  it  is  desirable  to  produce  merely  the  former  of 
these  conditions,  viz.,  that  of  imperfect  anesthesia;  and  this 
is  the  extent  to  which  chloroform  is  usually  applied  in  un- 
3omplicated  labour.  On  the  other  hand,  in  surgical  opera- 
tions requiring  absolute  stillness  on  the  part  of  the  patient 
the  inhalation  must  be  carried  to  the  extent  of  producing 
total  unconsciousness.  The  state  of  anaesthesia  can  be 
safely  kept  up  for  long  periods  by  continuing  to  apply, 
with  due  caution,  the  anaesthetic  vapour.  Whenever  the 
inhalation  is  stopped,  consciousness  begins  to  return,  and, 
in  most  cases,  is  soon  completely  restored. 

The  importance  to  the  science  of  medicine  of  the  intro- 
duction of  anaesthesia  can  scarcely  be  over-estimated.  By 
the  employment  of  anaesthetics  in  surgery,  not  only  is  the 
work  of  the  surgeon  relieved  of  a  source  of  embarrass- 
ment, and  operations  the  most  difficult  and  delicate  under- 
taken which  otherwise  would  have  been  impossible,  but 
the  death-rate  in  the  worst  cases  has  by  universal  testi- 
mony been  greatly  diminished.  In  no  department  of 
medicine  has  the  use  of  anaesthetics  been  so  extensive,  or 
their  value  so  manifest,  as  in  midwifery.  The  power  of 
ohloioform  in  mitigating  the  pain  attendant  on  ordinary 
labour,  and  in  facilitating  operative  interference  in  cases  of 
difficulty,  is  a  matter  of  every-day  experience  in  the  practice 
of  the  accoucheur.  In  short,  there  is  almost  no  condition 
of  great  physical  suffering  which  may  not  be  alleviated  by 
the  employment,  under  proper  precautions,  of  anaesthetics. 
But  if  the  boon  has  been  great  to  medical  science,  it  has 
been  greater  still  to  mankind  ;  for  not  merely  is  an  incal- 
culabls  amount  of  actual  pain  prevented,  but  the  dread  of 
submitting  to  surgical  operations  is  beyond  measure  lessened 
by  the  thought  that  they  can  be  performed  while  the  sufferer 
is  kept  in  a  state  of  tranquil  sleep. 

Unfortunately,  there  is  no  known  method  of  artificially 
producing  insensibility  which  is  entirely  free  from  risk, 
and  deaths  have  occasionally  occurred  under  the  adminis- 
tration of  anaesthetic  vapours.  Like  all  medicinal  sub- 
stances of  a  poisonous  nature,  the  utmost  care  and  watch- 
fulness are  requisite  in  their  administration.     The  danger, 

Nitrons  oxide  gas  has  been  reintroduced,  and  ia  now  extensively 
»nployed  in  dentistry. 


calerit  paribus,  is  in  proportion  to  the  dose.  It  "is  more 
than  probable  that  many  of  the  fatal  instances  of  anaes- 
thetic inhalation  have  been  the  result  of  carelessness;  and 
it  is  certain  that  by  r.  better  acquaintance  with  the  physn>- 
logical  action  of  the  agents  employed,  and  a  closer  observa- 
tion of  the  indications  of  danger  in  their  use,  the  deaths 
may  be  greatly  diminished.  The  importance  of  this  has 
been  recognised  in  many  large  hospitals,  where  the  adminis- 
tration of  anaesthetics  is  entrusted  to  one  individual  skilled 
in  their  properties  and  uses. 

But  it  is  doubtful  whether  many  of  the  deaths  occurring 
under  anaesthesia  can  justly  be  ascribed  to  that  cause. 
Sudden  deaths  occurring  in  the  course  of  operations  were 
by  no  means  unheard  of  before  anaesthetics  came  to  be 
employed  iu  surgery  at  ell.  Even,  however,  admitting 
that  all  the  reported  cases  of  death  from  anaesthesia  ai  • 
correct,  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  they  are  insignificant 
in  amount,  considering  the  enormous  extent  to  which  the 
use  of  chloroform  and  other  anaesthetic  agents  prevails  io 
all  departments  of  medical  practice. 

The  employment  of  local  anaesthesia  in  surgery  has  tho 
obvious  advantage  of  being  free  from/ risk  to  life.  Many 
means  of  accomplishing  this  have  been  suggested,  the  best 
known  of  which  is  the  method  of  Dr  Richardson,  of  tlio 
application  of  ether  spray  to  the  part  of  the  body  which  it 
is  desired  to  render  insensible.  By  the  rapid  evaporation 
of  the  ether  the  tissues  become  frozen,  and  insensibility  of 
the  part  is  produced.  Since,  however,  the  anaesthesia 
merely  affects  the  superficial  textures,  this  plan  is  only 
available  in  the  minor  operations  of  surgery.       (j.  o.  a.) 

ANAGNI,  a  town  of  Italy,  in  the  province  of  Roma, 
situated  on  a  hill  37  miles  E.S.E.  of  Rome.  It  is  ill-built; 
but  contains  a  cathedral,  of  the  Uth  century,  and  several 
ruins.  Anagni  is  the  ancient  Anagnia,  at  one  time  tlis 
capital  of  the  Hernici,  and  a  place  of  considerable  im- 
portance both  under  the  Empire  and  under  the  popes.  It 
is  still  the  seat  of  a  bishop.     Population,  8220. 

ANAGRAM,  the  transposition  of  the  letters  of  a  word 
or  words,  is  derived  from  the  Greek  aviiypafi /io,  which 
was  used  in  precisely  the  same  sense.  But  the  number  of 
different  ways  in  which  even  a  few  letters  can  be  arranged 
being  very  great  (with  eight  different  letters,  for  instance, 
it  is  1x2x3x4x5x6x7x8  =  40,320),  the  term  ana- 
gram is  generally  restricted  to  such  rearrangements  of  the 
letters'  as  form  other  words,  and  these  usually  words  which 
express  a  meaning.  Camden  (Remains,  7th  ed.,  1674) 
defines  "  Anagrammatisme "  as  "a  dissolution  of  a  name 
truly  written  into  his  letters,  as  his  elements,  and  a  new 
connection  of  it  by  artificial  transposition,  without  addition, 
substraction,  or  change  of  any  letter,  into  different  words, 
making  some  perfect  sence  applyable  to  the  person  named." 
Considering  the  amount  of  labour  that  has  been  spent  (or 
misspent)  in  transpositions  of  this  kind, — in  "torturing 
one  poor  word  ten  thousand  ways," — the  anagrams  that 
display  a  felicitous  perfection  of  "applyable  sence"  are 
remarkably  few.  AmoDg  the  best  are  the  anagrammatic 
answer  to  Pilate's  question,  "Quid  est  Veritas?" — namely, 
"  Est  vir  qui  adest;"  and  the  transposition  of  "  Horatio 
Nelson"  into  "  Honor  est  a  Xilo;"  and  of  "  Florence  Night- 
ingale" into  "Flit  on,  cheering  angel."  James  I.'s  courtiers 
discovered  in  "  James  Stuart  "  "  A  just  master,"  and  con- 
verted "  Charles  James  Stuart  "  into  "  Claimes  Arthur's 
scat."  "  Eleanor  Audeley,"  wife  of  Sir  John  Davies,  is 
said  to  have  been  brought  before  the  High  Commission  in 
1634  for  extravagances,  stimulated  by  the  discovery  that 
her  name  could  be  transposed  to  "  Reveale,  O  Daniel,"  and 
to  have  been  laughed  out  of  court  by  another  anagram  sub- 
mitted by  the  Dean  of  the  Arches,  "  Dame  Eleanor  Davies," 
"  Never  soe  mad  a  ladie."  There  must  be  few  names  that 
could  furnish  so  many  anagrams  as  that  of  "  Augustus  da 


ANA-ANA 


791 


Morgan,"  -who  tells  that  a  friend  had  constructed  about  800 
on  his  name,  specimens  of  which  are  given  in  hi3  Budget  of 
Paradoxes,  p.  82.  The  pseudonyms  adopted  by  authors 
tre  often  transposed  forms,  more  or  less  exact,  of  their 
names;  thus  "  Calvinus"  becomes  "  Alcuinus;"  "  Francois 
Rabelais,"  "  Alcofribas  Nasier;"  "  Bryan  Waller  Proctor," 
"Barry  Cornwall,  poet;"  "Henry  Rogers,"  "  R.  E.  11 
Greyson,"  <fec.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  last  two  are 
impure  anagrams,  an  "t"  being  left  out  in  both  cases. 
"  Telliamed,"  a  simple  reversal,  is  the  title  of  a  well-known 
work  by  "  De  Maillet."  The  most  remarkable  pseudonym 
of  this  class  is  the  name  "  Voltaire,"  which  the  celebrated 
philosopher  assumed  instead  of  his  family  name,  "  Francois 
Marie  Arouet,"  and  which  is  now  generally  allowed  to  be 
an  anagram  of  "  Arouet,  Lj.,"  that  is,  Arouet  the  younger. 
Perhaps  the  only  practical  use  to  which  anagrams  have 
been  turned  is  to  be  found  in  the  transpositions  in  which 
some  of  the  astronomers  of  the  17th  century  embodied 
their  discoveries,  with  the  design  apparently  of  avoiding 
the  risk  that,  while  they  were  engaged  iu  further  verifica- 
tion, the  credit  of  what  they  had  found  out  might  be 
claimed  by  others.  Thus  Galileo  announced  his  discovery 
that  Venus  had  phases  like  the  moon  in  the  form,  "  Haic 
immatura  a  me  jam  frustra  leguntur —  oy,"  that  is, 
"  Cynthia:  figuras  cemulatur  Mater  Amorum." 

ANAHUAC,  the  name  of  the  great  central  plateau  of 
Mexico,  lying  between  15°  and  30°  N.  lat.,  and  95°  and 
110°  W.  long.,  at  an  elevation  of  from  6000  to  9000  feet 
above  the  sea.  Anahuac  comprises  three-fourths  of  the 
territory  of  Mexico,  including  the  capital ;  and  although 
much  of  its  surface  is  level,  many  lofty  mountains  rise  out 
of  the  table-land,  the  highest  of  which  is  Popocatepetl 
(17,720  feet),  an  active  volcano.  The  name  Anahuac  is 
also  used  to  designate  a  much  less  extensive  part  of  the 
table-land,  as  well  as  that  portion  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
which  lies  to  the  south  of  40°  N.  lat.  The  word  itself  is 
said  to  signify  "near  the  water  "  in  the  old  Mexican  lan- 
guage, and  seems  to  have  been  at  one  time  the  name  of 
several  other  places  in  the  ancient  empire  of  Mexico. 

ANALOGY  is  the  name  in  logic  for  a  mode  of  real  or 
material  inference,  proceeding  upon  the  resemblance  be- 
tween particulars  :  speaking  generally,  it  is  that  process 
whereby,  from  the  known  agreement  of  two  or  more  things 
in  certain  respects,  we  infer  agreement  in  some  other  point 
known  to  be  present  in  one  or  more,  but  not  known  to  be 
present  in  the  other  or  others.  It  was  signalised  already 
by  Aristotle  under  the  different  name  of  Example  (n-apa- 
8'iy/ia),  the  word  Analogy  (avaXoyia)  having  with  him  the 
special  sense  of  mathematical  proportion  or  resemblance 
(equality)  of  ratios.  The  earliest  use  of  the  name  in  its 
current  logical  sense  i3  to  be  found  apparently  in  Galen. 
While,  in  popular  language,  the  word  has  come  to  be 
vaguely  used  as  a  synonym  for  resemblance,  the  logical 
authorities,  though  having  generally  the  same  kind  of 
inference  in  view,  are  by  no  means  agreed  as  to  its  exact 
nature  and  ground.  It  has  chiefly  to  be  distinguished 
from  the  related  process  of  Induction,  in  their  conception 
of  which  logicians  are  notoriously  at  variance.  (See 
Induction.) 

Aristotle,  distinguishing  Syllogism  and  Induction  as 
passing  the  one  from  whole  to  part  (any  part),  and  the 
•tber  from  part  (all  the  partsN  to  whole,  notes  under 
each  a  loose  or  rhetorical  form — Enthymeme  under 
Syllogism,  and  Paradigm,  or  Example,  under  Induction. 
Thus,  to  give  his  own  instance,  it  is  an  inference  by 
way  of  example — if  a  war  to  come  of  Athens  against 
Thebe3  is  condemned  because  a  past  war  of  Thebes  against 
Phocis  is  known  to  have  been  disastrous.  Here  the  reason- 
ing, which  may  be  said  to  pass  from  part  to  part,  is 
•esolvel  by  Aristotle  a3  compounded  of  an  imperfect  in- 


duction and  a  syllogism;  the  particular  case  of  Thebes 
against  Phocis  started  from  being  first  inductively  widened 
into  war  between  neighbours  generally,  and  the  particular 
case  of  Athens  against  Thobes  arrived  at  being  then  drawn 
out  by  regular  syllogism  from  that  major.  Example,  or, 
to  speak  of  it  by  its  later  name,  the  inference  from  analogy, 
is  thus  presented  by  Aristotle  as  directly  related  to  induc- 
tion :  it  differs  from  an  imperfect  induction — what  is  now 
often  called  real  or  material  induction  from  particulars 
incompletely  enumerated — only  in  having  it3  conclusion 
particular  instead  of  general,  aud  its  datum  singular  in- 
stead of  plural. 

Kant  and  his  followers,  while  maintaining  a  relation 
between  induction  and  analogy,  mark  the  difference  other- 
wise than  Aristotle.  By  induction,  it  is  said,  we  seek  to 
prove  that  some  attribute  belongs  (or  not)  to  all  the  mem- 
bers of  a  class,  because  it  belongs  (or  not)  to  many  of  that 
class ;  by  analogy,  that  all  the  attributes  of  a  thing  belong 
(or  not)  to  another  thing,  because  many  of  the  attributes 
belong  (or  not)  to  this  other.  In  this  country  Sir  William 
Hamilton  has  adopted  this  view  (Lectures  on  Logic,  voL  ii. 
pp.  165-174),  though  he  differs  from  Kant  in  understand- 
ing it  only  of  the  process  called  applied  or  modified  induc- 
tion,— not  of  the  pure  form  of  reasoning  from  all  the  parts 
to  the  whole,  which,  in  the  manner  of  Aristotle,  he  puts 
on  a  level  with  pure  syllogistic  deduction.  The  relation 
and  difference  of  the  two  processes  may  be  formulated  in 
the  short  expressions  :  One  in  many,  therefore  one  iu  all 
(Induction) ;  Many  in  one,  therefore  all  in  one  (Analogy). 
For  instance,  it  would  be  an  analogical  inference— to  con- 
clude that  a  disease  corresponding  in  many  symptoms  with 
those  observed  in  typhus  corresponds  in  all,  or,  .in  other 
words,  is  typhus  ;  whereas  it  would  be  an  induction — to 
infer  that  a  particular  symptom  appearing  in  a  number  of, 
typhus  patients  will  appear  in  all 

The  view  of  Kant  and  Hamilton  does  not  reach  below 
the  surface  of  the  matter,  if  it  can  be  maintained  at  all. 
In  the  first  of  the  examples  just  given  the  inference  might 
well  be  a  good  induction,  all  depending  upon  the  kind  of 
symptoms  that  are  made  the  ground  of  the  conclusion  ;  mi 
thb  other  hand,  the  second  might  be  a  case  of  mere  aualogy, 
not  to  be  called  induction.  Neither,  again,  is  Aristotle  s 
view  satisfactory,  which  practically  makes  the  difference  to 
depend  upon  the  mere  quantity  of  the  conclusion,  worked 
out  as  particular  for  analogy  by  appending  to  the  induc- 
tion involved  a  syllogism  of  application.  Since  the  univer- 
sal always  carries  with  it  the  particular,  and  cannot  be 
affirmed  unless  the  particular  can,  the  two  processes  be- 
come to  all  intents  and  purposes  one  and  the  same.  If 
the  particular  or  analogical  conclusion  is  justifiable,  it  is 
because  there  was  ground  for  a  good  induction  (only  not 
of  the  pure  sort) ;  if  there  was  no  ground  for  a  good 
induction,  then,  upon  Aristotle's  resolution,  there  can  be 
no  ground  for  the  particular  inference  either.  Should  it 
be  said,  indeed,  that  the  peculiarity  of  the  case  lies  uot 
so  much  in  the  conclusion,  as  in  the  start  being  made  from 
one  particular  instance,  whence  the  process  gets  its  name- 
Example,  that  undoubtedly  will  distinguish  it  from  any- 
thing that  can  seriously  be  called  induction  ;  but  then 
what  becomes  of  the  resolution  that  Aristotle  makes  of  it  I 
That  resolution  can  be  upheld  only  at  the  cost  of  the 
character  of  the  inductive  process. 

The  logician  who  has  done  most  to  elaborate  the  theory 
of  real  or  material  induction,  John  Stuart  Mill,  has  also 
been  able  to  give  an  interpretation  of  analogy,  which, 
without  in  the  least  severing  its  connection  with  induction, 
leaves  it  as  a  process  for  which  a  distinct  name  is  neces- 
sary. According  to  him,  the  two  kinds  of  argument,  while 
homogeneous  in  the  type  of  their  inference,  which  holds 
for  (01  reasoning  from  experience, — namely,  that   thifljn 


792 


ANALOGY 


agreeing  with  one  another  in  certain  respects  agree  also  in 
certain  other  respects, — yet  differ  in  respect  of  their  degree 
of  evidence.  In  both  the  argument  is  from  known  points 
of  agreement  to  unknown ;  but,  whereas  in  induction  the 
known  points  of  agreement  are  supposed  by  due  compari- 
son of  instances  to  have  been  ascertained  as  the  n. 
ones  for  the  case  in  hand  or  conclusion  in  view, — in  other 
words,  to  be  invariably  connected  by  way  of  causation  with 
the  inferred  properties, — it  is  otherwise  in  analogy,  where 
it  is  only  supposed  that  there  is  no  incompatibility  between 
the  inferred  properties  and  the  common  properties,  or 
known  points  of  resemblance,  that  are  taken  as  the  ground 
of  inference.  Thus,  if  by  comparison  of  instances  it  had 
been  ascertained,  or  otherwise  it  were  known,  that  organic 
life  is  dependent  on  the  bare  possession  of  an  atmosphere 
in  planetary  bodies  rotating  upon  an  axis,  then  it  would 
be  an  induction  to  infer  the  presence  of  life  upon  any 
heavenly  body,  known  or  as  yet  undiscovered,  in  which 
these  conditions  should  be  detected.  'With  our  actual 
knowledge,  confined  to  the  case  of  the  Earth,  and  only 
enabling  us  to  say  that  the  absence  of  an  atmosphere  must 
destroy  life,  the  inference  to  such  a  planet  as  Mars,  where 
the  conditions  stated  seem  to  be  present,  is  but  analogical; 
while  to  the  Moon,  which  seems  to  have  no  atmosphere, 
the  inference  has  not  even  this  amount  of  force,  but  there 
is  rather  ground  for  inductively  concluding  against  the 
possibility  of  organic  lifo.  Upon  this  view  it  ceases  to  be 
characteristic  of  analogy  that  the  inference  should  be  to  a 
particular  case  only;  for  the  inductive  conclusion,  when 
the  evidence  is  of  a  kind  to  admit  of  such  being  drawn, 
may  as  well  be  particular;  and,  again,  it  may  equally 
well  happen  that  the  analogical  inference,  where  nothing 
stronger  can  be  drawn,  should  have  universal  application. 
Notwithstanding,  it  will  be  found  in  general  that,  where 
the  evidence,  consisting  of  bare  similarity  of  attributes  in 
two  or  more  particular  instances,  permits  only  of  an  ana- 
logical inference  being  made,  the  extension  in  thought 
takes  place  to  particular  cases  only  which  have  a  special 
interest,  and  the  mind  hesitates  to  commit  itself  to  a 
general  law  or  rule.  Mill,  therefore,  though  he  does  not 
raise  the  point,  is  practically  at  one  with  Aristotle  and  all 
others  who  make  example  or  analogy  to  consist  in  the 
passage  from  one  or  more  particular  cases  to  a  particular 
new  case  bearing  resemblance  to  the  former.  It  is  his 
peculiar  merit  to  have  determined  the  specific  conditions 
under  which  the  passage  in  thought,  whether  to  a  particular 
or  a  general,  acquires  the  authority  of  an  effective  induction. 
Analogy  is  so  much  resorted  to  in  science  in  default  of 
induction,  either  provisionally  till  induction  can  be  made, 
or  as  its  substitute  where  the  appropriate  evidence  cannot 
be  obtained, — it  is  also  much  relied  upon  in  practical  life 
for  the  guidance  of  conduct, — that  it  becomes  a  matter  of 
great  importance  to  determine  its  conditions.  Whether  in 
science  or  in  the  affairs  of  life,  the  abuse  of  the  process,  or 
what  is  technically  called  False  Analogy,  is  one  of  the  most 
besetting  snares  set  for  the  human  mind.  It  is  obvious 
that,  as  the  argument  from  analogy  proceeds  upon  bare 
resemblance,  its  strength  increases  with  the  amount  of 
similarity ;  so  that,  though  no  connection  is,  or  can  be,  in- 
ductively made  out  between  any  of  the  agreeing  properties 
and  the  additional  property  which  is  the  subject  of  infer- 
ence, yet  (in  Mill's  words),  "  where  the  resemblance  is  very 
gTeat,  the  ascertained  difference  very  small,  and  our  know- 
ledge of  the  subject-matter  very  extensive,  the  argument 
from  analogy  may  approach  in  strength  very  near  to  a 
valid  induction.  If  (he  continues),  after  much  observa- 
tion of  B,  we  find  that  it  agrees  with  A  in  nine  out  of  ten 
of  ita  known  properties,,  we  may  conclude,  with  a  pro- 
bability of  nine  to  one,  that  it  will  possess  any  given  deriva- 
tive property  of  A"  (Logic,.b.  iii,  c.  xx,  §  3)      Bat  it  is 


equally  obvious  that  against  the  resemblances  the  ascertain- 
able differences  should  be  told  off.  For  bare  analogy,  the 
differences  in  the  twd  (or  more)  cases  must  as  little  as  the 
resemblances  be  known  to  huve  any  connection, oneway  or 
the  other,  with  the  point  in  question ;  both  alike  must 
only  not  be  known  to  be  immaterial,  else  they  should  fall 
quite  out  °f  the  reckoning.  As  regards  the  differences. 
however,  this  is  what  can  least  easily  be  discovered,  or 
is,  by  the  mind  in  its  eagerness  to  bring  things  together, 
most  easily  overlooked ;  and,  accordingly,  the  error  of 
false  analogy  arises  chiefly  from  neglecting  so  to  con 
sidcr  them.  Thus,  if  the  inference  is  to  the  presence  of 
organic  life  of  the  terrestrial  type  on  other  planetary  bodies, 
any  agreements,  even  when  extending  to  the  detaiti  of 
chemical  constitution,  are  of  small  account  in  the  positive 
sense,  compared  with  the  negative  import  of  such  facts  as 
absence  of  atmosphere  in  the  Moon,  and  excess  of  heat  or 
cold  in  the  inmost  or  outermost  planets.  To  neglect  such 
points  will  not  simply  make  the  analogy  loose ;  but,  as  the 
very  point  in  question  is  concerned  in  them,  the  analogy 
becomes  false  and  positively  misleading.  Still  greater  is 
the  danger  when  the  things  analogically  brought  together 
belong  not  at  all  to  the  same  natural  classes,  but  the 
resemblance  is  only  in  some  internal  relation  of  each  to 
another  thing  of  its  own  kind;  as  when,  for  example,  under 
the  name  of  motives,  particular  states  of  mind  (feelings, 
&c.)  are  supposed  to  determine  the  action°of  a  man,  as  the 
motion  of  a  body  may  be  determined  by  a  composition  of 
forces.  In  such  cases  there  may  be  nothing  to  prevent  the 
drawing  of  a  good  analogy  upon  a  strictly  limited  issue ; 
nay,  there  may  even  sometimes,  in  special  circumstances, 
be  ground  for  drawing  an  inductive  conclusion ;  but  gene- 
rally the  elements  of  difference  are  so  numerous,  and  their 
import  either  so  hard  to  appreciate,  or,  when  appreci- 
able, so  decisive  in  a  sense  opposite  to  the  conclusion 
aimed  at,  that  to  leave  them  out  of  sight  and  argue  with- 
out reference  to  them,  as  the  mind  is  tempted  to  do,  vitiates 
the  whole  proceeding.  What  is  not  sufficient  for  analogy 
may,  however,  be  good  as  metaphor,  and  metaphor  is  of 
no  small  use  for  expository  purposes;  while  (as  Mill  says), 
though  it  is  not  an  argument,  it  may  imply  that  an  argu- 
ment exists. 

The  sense  just  mentioned  of  a  resemblance  of  relation* 
suggests  the  question  how  far  the  common  argument  from 
analogy  and  mathematically  determinate  proportion,  which 
was  originally  called  by  the  name,  are  cognate  processes. 
Undoubtedly  the  common  argument,  proceeding  upon 
resemblance  in  the  properties  of  things,  can  be  made  to 
assume  roughly  the  guise  of  a  proportion, — e.g.,  Earth  : 
Mars  : :  Meu  :  Mars-dwellers,  or  Earth  :  Men  =  Mars  :  Mars- 
dwellers,  the  fact  of  planetary  nature,  or  other  resembling 
attributes  gone  upon,  being  regarded  as  common  exponent. 
Less  easy  is  it  to  interpret  a  determinate  proportion,  with 
numerical  equality  of  ratios,  as  analogy  in  the  common 
sense ;  for  here  the  very  determinateness  makes  all  the 
difference. 

The  name  analogy  is  so  suggestive  to  English  readers  of 
Bishop  Butler's  famous  treatise,  that  a  word,  in  conclusion, 
seems  called  for  on  the  nature  and  scope  of  the  particular 
application  of  the  process  made  by  him.  His  work  is 
entitled  The  Analogy  of  Religion,  Natural  and  Revealed, 
to  the  Constitution  and  Course  of  Nature,  and  consists  in 
an  attempt  to  convince  deists  that  there  are  no  difficulties 
urged  against  revelation,  or  the  system  of  natural  religion, 
which  do  not  bear  with  equal  force  against  the  order  of 
nature  as  determined  by  Providence.  The  argument  is  a 
perfectly  fair  one  'within  the  limits  assigned,  and  Butlei 
must  be  allowed  the  credit  of  very  well  apprehending  the 
logical  conditions  involved  in  it.  In  his  introduction  he 
understates  rather  than  overstates  the  strength  of  his  posi 


A  N  A  —  A  N  A 


793 


tion;  fcr,  on  the  assumption  that  the  system  of  nature  and 
ine  system  of  religion  must  both  spring  from  one  causal 
source,  his  argument  acquires  rather  an  inductive  cha- 
racter. Accordingly,  it  is  interesting  to  see  how,  in  con- 
nection with  his  sense  of  analogy,  he  practically  raises,  in 
his  Introduction,  the  question  which  the  general  theory  of 
inductive  logic,  as  now  understood,  has  first  to  consider, 
— the  question,  namely,  "whence  it  proceeds  that  likeness 
ihould  beget  that  presumptive  opinion  and  full  conviction 
which  the  human  mind  is  formed  to  receive  from  it ; " 
though  he  would  not  take  it  upon  him  to  say  "  how  far 
the  extent,  compass,  and  force  of  analogical  reasoning  can 
be  reduced  to  general  heads  and  rules,  and  the  whole  be 
formed  into  a  system."  (g.  c.  e.) 

ANALOGY,  in  Comparative  Anatomy,  is  equivalent  to 
"similarity  of  function."     See  Anatomy. 

ANALYSIS  means  literally,  in  the  Greek,  an  unloosen- 
ing or  breaking-up,  understood  of  anything  complex  in 
which  simpler  constituents  or  elements  may  thus  be  brought 
to  view.  It  is  this  general  sense  that  must  be  supposed  to 
have  been  present  to  the  mind  of  Aristotle  when  he  gave 
the  name  of  Analytka  to  the  great  logical  work  in  which 
he  sought  to  break  up  into  its  elements  the  complex  pro- 
cess of  reasoning ;  as,  accordingly,  in  the  body  of  the  work 
(Anal.  Prior.  i.  32),  we  find  him  once  using  the  verb 
"  analyse  "  of  arguments,  when  they  are  to  be  presented  in 
"  figure,"  or  brought  to  the  ultimate  formal  expression  in 
which  they  can  best  be  tested  or  understood.  Obviously 
any  more  special  sense  that  may  be  ascribed  to  the  process 
»f  analysis  must  vary  with  the  kind  of  complex  to  be 
resolved.  Mental  states,  material  substances,  motions  of 
bodies,  relations  of  figures,  are  but  a  few  examples  of  the 
complex  things  or  subjects  that  fall  to  be  analysed,  if  there 
is  to  be  any  scientific  comprehension  of  them.  Nor  is  it 
only  that  the  analysis  will  be  into  constituents  differing 
from  each  other  as  much  as  the  complex  subjects  differ ; 
for  the  same  subject  may  be  analysed  in  different  ways, 
and  with  very  different  results,  according  to  the  particular 
aspect  in  which  it  is  considered.  Hence  it  becomes  im- 
possible, or  at  least  very  difficult,  to  describe  the  process  in 
any  terms  fitting  equally  all  the  variety  of  its  applications. 
It  is  from  taking  stand  by  some  particular  application,  and 
either  overlooking  all  others,  or  trying  to  force  them  within 
the  frame  of  the  one,  that  different  writers  have  given  such 
discrepant  accounts  of  the  process — discrepant  often  to  the 
extent  of  being  mutually  exclusive.  The  express  object  of 
the  present  article  will,  on  the  contrary,  be  to  give  an  un- 
prejudiced view  of  the  different  applications  of  analysis  in 
science,  that  one  being  first  and  most  prominently  put  for- 
ward which  was  earliest  recognised  and  practised,  namely, 
mathematical  analysis.  The  other  applications,  selected 
for  their  representative  character,  will,  as  they  follow, 
naturally  suggest  the  consideration  how  far  the  difference 
of  matter  in  the  various  sciences  tends  to  modify  the  nature 
of  the  process  which  is  called  analysis  in  alL 

By  the  side  of  Analysis,  at  the  different  stages,  we  shall 
at  the  same  time  treat  of  the  related  process  called,  after 
the  Greek,  Synthesis,  which  means  a  putting  together  or 
compounding.  If  analysis  and  synthesis  were  merely  re- 
lated to  each  other  as  mutually  inverse  processes,  exposi- 
tory convenience  alone  might  be  pleaded  in  favour  of  the 
parallel  treatment;  but  the  two  are  in  practice  often  em- 
ployed as  strictly  complementary  processes,  in  support  of 
each  other  on  the  same  occasion ;  or,  in  other  words,  the  com- 
position in  synthesis  may  be  a  direct  re-composition  of  the 
principles  or  elements  then  and  there  got  out  by  analysis. 
As  a  matter  of  course,  therefore,  the  foregoing  general 
remarks  apply  also  to  synthesis,  especially  the  remark  as 
to  the  modifying  effect  of  difference  in  the  subject-matter 
worked  with. 


L  Mathematical  Analysis  and  Synthesis. — In  the  Ele- 
ments of  Euclid,  containing  so  many  examples  of  geometri- 
cal propositions  variously  established,  there  is  a  scholion 
near  the  beginning  of  Book  XIII.  which  distinguishes 
two  general  methods  for  the  treatment  of  particular 
questions,  under  the  names  of  Analysis  and  Synthesis.  In 
analysis,  it  is  said,  the  thing  sought  is  taken  for  granted, 
and  consequences  are  deduced  from  it  which  lead  to  some 
truth  recognised;  synthesis,  on  the  other  hand,  starts  from 
that  which  is  recognised,  and  deduces  consequences  there- 
from, till  the  thing  sought  is  arrived  at.  With  more  detail, 
but  some  wavering  in  his  use  of  terms,  Pappus  of  Alex 
andria  (about  380  a.d.)  describes  the  two  processes  at  the 
beginning  of  Book  VIL  of  his  Mathematical  Collections. 
He  appears,  however,  to  regard  synthesis  not  at  all  as  an  in- 
dependent process  to  be  applied  alternatively  with  analysis 
for  the  solution  of  particular  questions  (which  is  the  view 
suggested  by  Euclid),  but  rather  as  a  complementary  pro- 
cess bound  up  with  the  use  of  analysis.  These  are  his 
words  :  "  In  synthesis,  putting  forward  as  done  the  thing 
arrived  at  as  ultimate  result  in  the  way  of  analysis,  and 
disposing  now  in  a  natural  order  as  antecedents  what  were 
consequents  in  the  analysis,  we  put  them  together,  and 
finally  come  at  the  construction  of  the  thing  sought."  The 
two  processes  are  involved  together  in  what  he  calls  the 
twos  draAud/icvos,  or,  as  we  may  call  it,  one  general  Method 
of  Analysis,  the  use  of  which  for  the  solution  of  problems, 
he  says,  has  to  be  learned  after  the  Elements,  having  been 
developed  by  Euclid  himself,  Apollonius  of  Perga,  and 
Aristaeus  the  elder.  In  a  similar  sense,  Robert  Simson, 
its  modern  editor,  speaking  of  the  Euclidean  book  of  Data, 
calls  it  "  the  first  in  order  of  the  books  written  by  the 
ancient  geometers  to  facilitate  and  promote  the  method  of 
resolution  or  analysis."  Beyond  Euclid,  however,  the 
invention  of  the  method  was  carried  back  by  the  tradition 
of  antiquity  to  Plato.  The  philosopher,  whom  we  know 
to  have  been  an  ardent  student  of  geometry,  and  otherwise 
a  discoverer  in  the  science,  is  said  by  Diogenes  Laertius 
(III.  L  19),  to  have  devised  the  method  for  one  Leodamas, 
and  is  further  said  by  Proclus  (Coram,  in  Eucl.,  ed.  Basil, 
p.  58)  to  have  made  much  use  of  it  himself.  Though  the 
report  is  a  loose  one,  it  may  well  be  that  this  method  of 
analysis  was  first  expressly  formulated  by  the  theoretic 
genius  of  Plato,  especially  in  view  of  a  passage  (Eth. 
Nicom.  iii.  5)  in  Aristotle,  which  has  not  been  sufficiently 
noticed,  showing  that  in  his  time,  before  Euclid  was  born, 
it  was  currently  employed  by  geometricians.  Aristotle 
there  compares  the  gradually  regressive  process  of  thought, 
whereby  the  means  of  effecting  a  practical  end  is  discovered, 
to  the  mathematical  way  of  inquiry  upon  a  diagram,  re- 
markingof  both  that  the  last  stage  in  the  analysis  (draAi'o-ei) 
is  the  first  in  the  production  or  construction  (yevlo-n.). 
However  surprising  it  may  be  thought  that  Aristotle  in 
his  logical  works  makes  so  little  of  a  process  which  thus 
must  have  been  familiar  to  him,  the  fact  that  it  was 
familiar  carries  it  back  at  least  to  the  time  of  Plato.  In 
truth  it  must  have  been  practised  earlier  still,  from  the 
very  beginnings  of  scientific  geometry,  though  it  may  have 
had  to  wait  some  time  to  be  formulated. 

Taking  analysis  and  synthesis,  thus  defined,  either  as 
distinct  processes  or  as  conjoined  in  one  method,  called 
analytical,  we  have  next  to  see  how  they  were  brought  to 
bear  by  the  ancients  in  treating  geometrical  questions. 
Propositions  such  as  those  contained  in  the  Elements  fall 
into  two  classes  with  respect  to  the  form  of  their  enuncia- 
tion, namely,  theorems  and  problems.  The  distinction  was 
not  marked  by  Euclid  himself,  nor  is  it  in  any  sense  radi- 
cal, for  either  kind  of  proposition  may  easily  be  trans- 
formed into  tne  expression  of  the  other;  but,  as  commonly 
accepted,  it  amounts  to  this — that  a  theorem,  is  given  oui 


7lJ4 


ANALYSIS 


as  an  assertion  to  be  accepted,  and  has  to  be  shown  true  ; 
a  problem  is  given  out  as  an  act  to  bo  done,  and  has  to  le 
shown  possible.  In  the  case  of  a  theorem,  Euclid  accord- 
ingly, after  enunciating  the  proposition,  proceeds  generally 
to  show,  with  more  or  less  of  construction  on  a  particular 
diagram,  and  working  always  with  filed  definitions,  that 
the  assertion  follows  deductively  from  certain  truths,  either 
assumed  as  evident  (axioms),  or  formerly  proved  therefrom, 
and  seen  to  be  applicable  to  the  present  case  by  inspection 
of  the  figure  as  constructed.  The  grounding  propositions 
are  allowed  by  the  reader  as  they  are  brought  forward, 
though  he  may  for  the  moment  have  not  the  least  idea 
whither  the  author  is  tending,  and  at  the  end  the  con- 
clusion is  accepted,  because  the  successive  premises, 
being  allowed,  have  been  combined  logically.  In  the  case 
of  a  problem,  after  an  express  construction  for  which  no 
reason  is  given,  the  object  is  to  show  that  what  has  been 
brought  to  pass  really  supplies  what  was  sought ;  but  the 
procedure  is  not  different  from  what  it  was  in  the  case  of  a 
theorem,  because  the  object  is  attained  by  showing  again 
that  certain  truths  allowed,  in  their  particular  application 
to  the  figure  constructed,  involve  as  a  conclusion  some 
relation  which  the  figure  is  seen  to  exhibit.  Now  if  this 
is  Euclid's  procedure  in  general — there  is  an  exception, 
afterwards  to  be  noted,  where  he  proves  his  point  in- 
directly— it  is  undeniably  synthetic,  in  any  meaning  that 
can  be  ascribed  to  that  term,  the  result  being  obtained  by 
a  massing  or  combining  of  elements  or  conditions.  But 
on  Euclid's  part  the  process  is  one  of  demonstration,  not  of 
discovery.  Still  less  is  the  reader's  mind  in  the  attitude  of 
discovery:  he  is  led  on  to  a  result  which  is  indeed  indicated, 
but  by  a  way  which  he  does  not  know,  and,  as  it  were,  blind- 
fold. There  must,  however,  have  been  discovery  before  there 
could  be  such  demonstration  -,  or  how  should  the  proposi- 
tion admit  of  definite  enunciation  at  the  beginning!  Thus 
there  is,  in  the  background,  an  earlier  question  of  procedure 
or  method,  and  it  is  this  that  the  ancient  geometricians  had 
chiefly  in  view  when  speaking  of  analysis  and  synthesis. 

Now,  some  propositions  are  so  simple  that  they  must 
have  been  seeD  into  almost  as  soon  as  conceived,  and  con- 
ceived as  soon  as  the  human  mind  began  to  be  directed 
to  the  consideration  of  forms  or  figures ;  in  which  case 
no  method  of  discovery,  to  speak  of,  can  have  been 
necessary.  There  is,  again,  another  class  of  propositions, 
more  complex  though  still  simple,  which  probably  were 
established  by  a  process  of  straightforward  synthesis.  An 
inquirer  must  have  in  his  head  some  knowledge  in  the 
shape  of  principles  more  or  less  fixed,  or  he  would  not  be 
an  inquirer  ;  and  either  the  accidental  combination  of  such 
principles  may  lead  in  his  mind  to  particular  results,  or 
the  first  time  a  particular  question  suggests  itself  to  him,  it 
may  be  seen  at  once  to  involve,  or  to  follow  from,  certain  of 
the  principles.  Many  propositions  in  the  Elements,  giving 
the  most  apparent  properties  of  triangles,  circles,  <tc,  it 
can  hardly  be  doubted,  were  arrived  at  by  this  way  of  dis- 
tovery,  even  when  a  more  elaborate  process  of  synthesis 
was  employed  for  their  formal  demonstration  ;  as,  for  ex- 
ample, in  the  case  of  the  famous  fifth  proposition  of  Book 
I.  But  the  same  process  of  direct  composition  (understood 
always  as  joined  with  inspection)  is  no  longer  applicable, 
or  is  not  effective,  when  the  question  is  of  less  obvious 
properties,  or  of  construction  to  be  made  under  special 
conditions.  To  discover  the  fact  or  the  feasibility  in  such 
cases  is  so  much  the  real  difficulty,  that  the  question  of 
demonstration  becomes  of  merely  secondary  importance. 
And  there  is  even  a  still  prior  question  of  discovery;  for  it 
has  to  be  determined  that  some  points  rather  than  others 
should  be  made  the  subject  of  express  inquiry.  This,  how- 
ever, may  be  left  aside.  To  any  one  engaged  in  geometri- 
cal inquiry,  in  the  constant  inspection  of  figures  for  the 


understanding  of  their  properties  and  mutual  relations, 
questions  must  incessantly  be  occurring — so  incessantly  and 
inevitably  that  it  is  needless,  if  it  were  not  vain,  to  seek 
out  a  reason  for  the  particular  suggestions.  As  in  all 
discovery  to  the  last,  so  more  especially  at  the  first 
stages,  there  is  an  element  of  instinctive  tact  in  the  mind's 
action  which  eludes  expression  ;  and  there  is  also  an 
element  of  what  might  be  called  chance,  were  it  not  that 
those  only  get  the  benefit  of  it  who  are  consciously  on  the 
look-out,  either  generally  or  in  some  special  direction.  A 
particular  question  being  started  by  whatsoever  suggestion, 
how  shall  the  mind  arrive  at  certain  knowledge  regarding 
it  ?  Such,  practically,  is  the  form  which  is  assumed  by 
geometrical  inquiry. 

Besides  the  thing  sought  there  is  nothing  else  given,  or  al 
least  there  is  nothing  else  immediately  given  or  suggested. 
But  the  mind  is  supposed  to  have  some  knowledge  pertain- 
ing to  the  matter — though  not  extending  to  the  particular 
aspect  of  it — in  question,  also  some  knowledge  of  such  mat- 
ters generally.  In  such  circumstances  the  aim  of  the  inquirer 
must  be  to  bring  what  is  sought  into  some  definite  relation 
with  what  is  known.  Direct  composition  or  synthesis  of 
the  known,  with  more  or  less  of  construction,  if  it  led  to 
that  which  is  sought  as  a  result,  would  determine  the  re- 
lation for  the  inquirer,  and  determine  it  in  like  manner  for 
all  who  allow  the  principles  whence  the  conclusion  is  logi- 
cally deduced,  being  thus  at  one  stroke  both  discovery  and 
demonstration.  But  synthesis,  arbitrarily  made,  as  it  must 
be  where  the  question  is  at  all  difficult,  may  fail,  however 
often  it  is  attempted.  Without  a  proper  start  it  avails 
nothing;  and  what  is  to  determine  the  start  1  There 
is  always  one  course  open.  Let  the  objective  itself 
be  made  the  starting-point,  and  let  it  be  seen  whether 
thence  it  may  not  be  possible  by  some  continuous  route  to 
get  upon  known  ground.  In  other  words,  a  thing  sought, 
when  itself  assumed,  may  admit  of  being  brought  into  re- 
lation, upon  some  side  or  other,  with  the  body  of  ascertained 
knowledge.  If  it  can  be  so  brought,  through  whatever 
number  of  steps,  there  is  then  attained  as  a  result  what 
before  it  was  impossible  to  light  upon  as  a  beginning ;  and 
now  nothing  hinders  from  making  the  start  originally 
desired,  and  from  reaching  as  a  proper  conclusion  the 
assumed  beginning,  if  the  path  struck  out  before  is  mea- 
sured over  again  in  the  opposite  direction.  The  course 
thus  becomes  once  more  synthetic,  but  only  becauso  of 
what  was  first  accomplished.  Till  the  point  in  question 
was  made  to  yield  up  its  own  secret  by  a  process  fitly 
called  analysis  or  resolution,  nothing  certain  could  be 
determined.  At  the  analytic  stage,  however,  the  line  taken 
may  be  twofold.  The  proposition,  assumed  at  starting  as 
something  definite  to  work  from,  cither  may  be  held  as 
following  deductively  from  some  other,  which  again  is 
dependent  on  still  another  or  others,  till  one  is  worked  up 
to  that  is  known  to  be  true ;  or  it  may  be  taken  as  itself 
a  premiss  leading  deductively  to  some  other  proposition, 
which  in  turn,  by  one  or  more  steps,  leads  to  a  true  pro- 
position a3  conclusion.  lu  either  case  the  implication  is 
that  a  proposition  must  itself  be  true,  if  by  any  line  of 
formally  correct  logic  it  leads  to  a  proposition  known  -to  be 
true.  And  though  the  expression  must  be  modified  for 
questions  in  the  form  of  problems,  requiring  something  to  be 
done — to  which  form  of  question,  indeed,  the  analytic  pro- 
cess is  peculiarly  applicable — the  point  of  logical  principle 
reihain3  there  exactly  the  same. 

But  is  the  process,  thus  stated  as  it  was  understood  by 
the  ancient  geometricians,  logically  valid  J  In  the  first  of 
the  two  alternative  forms,  it  is  valid :  the  proposition 
assumed  at  starting  will  undoubtedly  be  true,  if  a  proposi- 
tion on  which  it  is  shown  to  be  ultimately  dependent  is 
true.     At  the  same  time,  there  is  in  this  case  no  guarantee 


AW  ALFSIS 


795 


that  the  most  effective  line  f or  establishing  it  has  been  taken, 
in  view  of  the  well-known  logical  principle  that  the  same 
conclusion  may  follow  from  different  premisses.  In  the  other 
form  of  the  process,  where  the  proposition  assumed  is  itself 
used  as  a  preniis3,  the  case  as  to  validity  i3  otherwise.  As 
Aristotle  fii-st  clearly  apprehended  and  showed,  it  i3  quite 
possible  to  reach  a  (materially)  true  conclusioa  by  strict 
logical  deduction  from  premisses  either  one  or  both  false  ; 
and  thus  the  mere  fact  that  the  proposition  assumed  is 
found,  in  combination  with  others,  to  lead  to  a  conclusion 
known  to  be  true,  does  nothing  to  establish  its  own  char- 
acter. Yet  although  the  process  of  analysis  thus  carried 
out  by  way  of  deduction,  as  formulated  by  Euclid  and  (in 
one  of  his  expressions)  by  Pappus,  is  theoretically  faulty, 
through  neglect  or  ignorance  of  Aristotle's  observation,  the 
practice  of  Euclid  is  not  therefore  invalidated.  It  was  his 
habit,  as  Pappus  also  enjoins,  to  follow  up  the  analysis  by 
a  synthesis  consisting  in  a  reversal  of  it,  and  this  would 
effectively  get  rid  of  error ;  since  the  result  of  the  analysis, 
if  it  did  not  follow  from  the  assumed  premiss  by  true  im- 
plication, but  only  accidentally,  could  not  itself,  when  in 
turn  used  as  a  premiss  for  the  synthesis,  be  made  to  yield 
the  original  proposition  as  a  legitimate  conclusion.  In 
order,  however,  to  validate  this  form  of  analysis  it  is  not 
necessary  to  resort  to  the  laborious  expedient  of  retracing 
the  whole  path  synthetically.  As  Duhamel,  in  his  treatise 
Des  Mkhodes  dans  les  Sciences  de  Raisonnement  (pt.  i.  c.  5), 
ha3  pointed  out,  it  is  enough  if,  at  the  different  stages  of 
the  deduction,  the  inquirer  assures  himself,  a3  he  easily 
may  do  where  it  is  the  fact,  that  there  is  perfect  "  reci- 
procity" among  the  propositions  successively  obtained  from 
the  one  first  assumed ;  meaning  that,  in  the  circumstances 
of  the  deduction,  each  may  as  well  follow  from  the  one 
coming  after  as  it  is  fitted  to  yield  that.  And  the  same 
6imple  expedient  suffices  equally  to  obviate  the  less  grave 
defect  above  noted  in  analysis  carried  out  by  regression 
from  consequents  to  conditions,  or  conclusions  to  premises ; 
reciprocity,  if  it  can  be  made  out  here  at  the  different 
stages,  will  guarantee  the  exclusive  validity  of  the  line  of 
reasoning  taken.  So  may  analysis  become  perfectly  inde- 
pendent as  a  method  of  discovery,  and  give  as  much  in- 
sight as  synthesis,  where  this  is  directly  applicable,  does  ; 
while  it  is — what  synthesis  is  not  directly — applicable  to 
every  kind  of  question,  however  complex. 

It  is  unnecessary,  for  the  purposes  of  the  present  article, 
to  enter  further  into  details  respecting  the  methods  anciently 
practised  in  geometry.  Let  it  suffice  to  mention  only  the 
method  of  indirect  proof  known  as  reductio  ad  absurdum, 
employed  sometimes  by  Euclid  in  the  Elements.  This  con- 
forms to  the  type  of  analysis  in  that  it  starts  from  the 
question  to  be  determined,  though  it  is  peculiar  in  follow- 
ing out,  not  the  assumption  itself,  but  what  is  thereby  sug- 
gested as  excluded,  with  the  final  result  that  the  point  in 
question  is  established  upon  the  ruin  of  every  other  sup- 
position. It  is  a  method  of  discovery  as  well  as  a  method 
of  demonstration  ;  while  the  previous  argument  has  shown 
that  analysis,  directly  practised,  may  be  made  a  method  of 
demonstration  by  itself,  besides  being  the  most  potent 
and  unfailing  instrument  of  discovery.  Also  it  was  seen 
before  that  synthesis  may  be  a  method  of  discovery,  though 
it  is  more  frequently  employed  as  a  method  of  demonstra- 
tion in  sequence  upon  discovery  by  analysis.  To  insist 
thus  upon  the  double  character  alike  of  analysis  and  syn- 
thesis, as  practised  in  geometry,  is  of  vital  importance,  be- 
cause of  the  change  in  application  which  the  terms  have 
undergone  among  mathematicians.  In  modern  times 
analysis  has  come  to  mean  the  employment  of  the  alge- 
bfaical  and  higher  calculus,  and  synthesis  any  direct  treat- 
ment of  the  properties  of  geometrical  figures,  in  the  manner 
of  the  ancients,  without  the  use  of  algebraical  notation  and 


transformations.  The  excuse  for  the  change  lies  in  the 
fact  that,  while  the  Greeks  had  only  extremely  undeveloped 
means  of  analysis,  they  gave  the  highest  possible  finish  and 
exactness  to  their  syntbetic  demonstrat'ons  of  geometricaJ 
propositions,  seldom  being  content  to  let  their  discoveries 
rest  upon  the  ground  of  that  analysis  by  which  they  were 
made.  But  tbough  it  has  this  excuse  or  motive,  the  change 
involves  a  misunderstanding,  as  all  mathematicians  allow 
who  have  turned  their  minds  seriously  to  consider  the 
rationale  of  their  practice.  It  is,  in  the  first  place,  clear 
that  only  by  the  process  described  above,  rightly  called 
analysis,  can  anything  be  determined  about  the  more  com- 
plex •  properties  and  relations  of  geometrical  figures ;  hap- 
hazard synthesis  is  of  no  avail.  The  ancients  therefore, 
in  their  geometry,  had  an  analysis.  It  is  next  to  be  re- 
marked that  the  algebraical  solution  of  problems  is  not  so 
exclusively  analytic  in  character  that  it  may  not  in  simple) 
cases  assume  the  form  of  direct  (algebraical)  synthesis ;  and 
in  all  cases,  for  verification,  it  admits  of  being  followed 
up  by  an  exposition  that  is  truly  synthetic.  The  moderns, 
therefore,  in  their  calculus,  are  not  without  their  synthesis. 
Furthermore,  the  ancients,  however  little  progress  they 
made,  comparatively  speaking,  in  the  general  science  of 
calculation,  and  however  their  special  methods  for  the 
resolution  of  geometrical  questions,  even  as  involving  direct 
figured  construction,  still  more  as  applying  calculation,  fell 
short  of  the  variety  and  pliability  of  modern  devices,  yet 
had  their  own  analytical  weapons,  though  they  cannot  be 
specified  here.  For  our  present  purpose  it  is  equally  un- 
necessary to  enter  into  details  as  regards  the  modern 
devices,  whether  belonging  to  the  lower  or  higher  ana- 
lysis, or  as  regards  the  principle  for  applying  them  de^. 
veloped  by  Descartes  and  his  successors ;  but  to  arrogate 
for  these  exclusively  the  name  of  analysis,  it  cannot  be 
too  pointedly  declared,  is  to  lose  sight  of  the  end  in  the 
means. 

II.  Chemical  Analysis  and  Synthesis. — After  mathe- 
matics, chemistry  is  the  science  in  which  application  has 
most  expressly  been  made  of  processes  termed  analysis 
and  synthesis.  In  physics,  regarded  as  the  science  of 
motion,  whether  abstractly  taken  or  as  manifested  actually 
in  natural  bodies,  the  application  i3  universal ;  the  resolu- 
tion and  composition  of  velocities,  motions,  and  forces 
being  fundamental  processes  pervading  the  whole  science 
under  all  variety  of  circumstances.  There  is  nothing, 
however,  in  such  an  employment  of  analysis  and  synthesis 
that  is  not  easily  intelligible  in  the  light  of  the  processes 
as  practised  either  in  the  more  general  science  of  mathe- 
matics, dealing  with  relations  of  quantity  in  number  and 
form,  or  in  the  more  special  science  of  chemistry,  which 
deals  with  those  characteristic  qualities  of  actual  bodies  for 
which  no  definite  expression  in  terms  of  motion  can  be 
found. 

The  concrete  substances  in  nature  are  found  to  be  snch 
that  some  by  no  means  in  our  power  can  be  brought  to 
anything  simpler,  while  others  can  be  broken  up  into  con- 
stituents di  fering  in  character  from  the  original  substances 
and  also  among  themselves.  Hence  a  division  is  made  of 
bodies  into  elements  and  compounds;  elements  being  all 
such  bodies,  not  farther  reducible,  as  are  either  actually 
found  in  nature,  or,  though  not  so  found,  have  emerged  in 
the  manipulation  of  actual  bodies;  compounds,  all  such  as, 
being  actually  found,  are  reducible  to  two  or  more  different 
elements,  or  have  by  artificial  combination  been  constituted. 
The  proces3  of  reduction  to  elements  is  called  analysis; 
the  process  of  re-combination  or  free  combination  is  called 
synthesis.  When  the  analysis  is  carried  out  simply  with 
the  view  of  detecting  what  elements  are  present  in  a  sub- 
stance, it  is  called  qualitative;  and  quantitative,  if  with 
the  further  view  of  determining  the  <lefinite  proportions 


796 


ANALYSIS 


fby  weight)  in  which  the  constituents  are  present  in  a 
definite  quantity  of  the  substance.  There  are  correspond- 
ing varieties  of  synthesis. 

Now  here  the  subject-matter  is  so  manifestly  different 
from  what  it  is  in  mathematics,  that  it  is  idle  to  look  for 
exact  correspondence  in  the  processes  practised  under  the. 
«arae  names  within  the  two  sciences.  In  fact,  however,  the 
correspondence  is  greater  than  .may  at  first  sight  appear. 
Chemical  analysis  of  a  given  substance  is  a  process  of  dis- 
covery real  and  actual,  like  the  analysis  of  a  mathematical 
problem,  and  proceeds  similarly  by  taking  what  is  given, 
and  working  with  it  in  relation  to  other  substances,  to  see 
whether  it  can  be  made  to  yield  up  aught  that  is  already 
known,  or  may  be  regarded  as  fixed  and  certain.  Again, 
just  as  mathematical  synthesis  may  be  a  process  of  inven- 
tion, either  generally,  by  way  of  combination  of  principles, 
or  sometimes  specially,  in  reference  to  particular  questions, 
so  does  chemical  synthesis  give  a  knowledge  of  new  forms 
of  matter,  or  haply  solve  the  question  as  to  the  constitution 
of  particular  substances  in  hand.  Once  more,  the  relation 
of  analysis  and  synthesis  as  two  complementary  phases 
of  one  process  (instead  of  their  being  regarded  as  two 
processes)  is  exhibited  as  plainly  in  chemistry  as  in  mathe- 
matics. It  may  seem  to  be  exhibited  even  more  impres- 
sively, when  the  very  constituents  got  out  by  analysis  of  a 
substance  are  used  in  the  synthesis  to  give  it  being  again. 
This  circumstance,  however,  is  far  from  giving  to  the 
science  of  cheiristry  a  character  of  evidence  superior  to 
that  of  mathematics:  its  inferiority  in  this  respect  is  but 
too  well  marked,  and  has  a  reason  that  at  the  same  time 
explains  what  else  is  peculiar  in  its  application  of  analysis 
and  synthesis.  The  chemist  deals  with  things  known 
only  by  experience,  and  connected  by  way  of  physical 
eausation :  true,  they  are  things  with  which  he  can  freely 
experiment — and  this  gives  to  chemistry  a  prerogative 
character  among  the  natural  sciences — but  the  things  are 
taken  as  they  are  found,  and  experience  is  constantly  dis- 
closing in  each  new  attributes  which  have  simply  to  be 
accepted,  at  least  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge, 
by  the  side  of  the  others.  On  the  contrary,  the  mathe- 
matician deals  rith  things  over  which  he  has  full  power 
of  construction,  and  whose  relations  in  the  fact  of  con- 
structing he  constitutes,  whether  they  are  internal  or  ex- 
ternal relations.  But  positive  construction  carries  with  it 
an  insight  which  is  wanting  in  experiment,  be  the  physical 
conditions  ever  bo  favourable ;  and  thus  analysis  and 
synthesis  have  in  mathematics,  along  with  perfect  freedom 
of  scope,  a  determinateness  far  surpassing  anything  that  is 
attainable  in  chemistry. 

HL  Psychological  Analysis  and  Synthesis. — Passing  for 
the  next  signal  application  of  analysis  from  the  world 
of  matter  to  mind,  we  have  here  a  subject  which  more 
perhaps  than  any  other  calls  for  an  exercise  of  the  pro- 
cess in  order  to  be  scientifically  understood.  Physical 
things  in  their  superficial  relations  lie  to  a  great  extent 
open  to  direct  apprehension,  and,  whatever  deeper  connec- 
tions there  may  be  to  be  traced  out  among  things  the  most 
remote  in  their  nature  as  apprehended,  yet  the  fact  of  their 
separation  in  space  involved  in  our  perception  of  them 
is  already  something  done,  leaving  the  scientific  function 
[analytic  and  synthetic)  to  be  exercised  chiefly  in  the 
ittempt  to  comprehend  them.  Very  different  is  the  state 
if  affairs  in  mind,  where  everything,  as  it  were,  runs 
)r  melts  into  everything  else.  Even  to  lay  hold  of  par- 
acular  mental  phenomena,  with  a  view  to  the  explanation 
>f  them,  implies  already  an  express  scientific  attitude, 
which  must  be  called  analytic. 

Particular  mental  states  being  supposed  to  be  got,  with 
inch  definiteness  of  apprehension  (always  more  or  less 
kupcrfect)  as  the  subject-matter  admits  of,  the  business  of 


the  psychologist  becomes  substantially  one  with  that  of  thf 
physical  inquirer.  Accordingly,  it  is  often  urged  that  com- 
plex mental  states  conform  to  the  two  types  of  mechanical 
and  chemical  composition,  in  the  sense  that  some  are  to 
be  resolved  after  the  manner  of  complex  phenomena  of 
motion,  and  others  by  a  process  analogous  to  that  em- 
ployed in  chemistry  for  the  qualities  of  concrete  substances. 
The  analogy,  however,  especially  in  the  second  class  of 
states,  is  decidedly  loose.  .  Psychological  phenomena  of 
cognition  or  emotion,  held  to  be  developed,  under  general 
mental  laws,  out  of  simpler  states  of  sense,  resemble  chemi- 
cal compounds  only  in  having  a  character  unlike  that  of 
any  of  the  elements  that  go  to  make  them ;  in  particular, 
they  do  not  admit  of  that  actual  resolution  into  their 
elements  which  lends  so  much  evidence  to  the  processes  of 
chemistry.  The  realm  of  nature  supplies  a  far  apter  ana- 
logy in  the  phenomena  of  organic  growth,  more  especially 
as  mental  states  do,  in  fact,  stand  in  direct  relation  with 
states  of  the  bodily  organism.  It  is  as  impossible  to  make 
an  actual  analysis  or  synthesis  of  the  physiological  complex 
of  life  as  of  the  psychological  complex  of  mind;  and  it 
is  only  more  difficult  (the  phenomena  being  undoubtedly 
more  recondite  and  fluctuating)  to  practise  experiments  in 
psychology  than  in  physiology.  But,  at  all  events,  there 
is  no  new  principle  involved  in  the  scientific  treatment 
of  mind;  nor  again  in  the  treatment  of  moral  and  social 
questions,  for  an  insight  into  which  psychological  know- 
ledge is  indispensable. 

IV.  Logical  Analysis  arid  Synthesis. — To  logic,  taken 
in  its  widest  sense  as  the  methodology  of  all  science,  it 
belongs  to  appreciate  the  general  import  of  all  such  applica- 
tions of  analysis  and  synthesis  as  have  now  been  considered. 
There  remains,  however,  a  special  variety  which  is  itself 
entitled  logical  analysis  and  synthesis,  and  which  has  the 
more  carefully  to  be  distinguished  from  the  other  heads, 
because  it  stands  in  an  opposition  to  them  all. 

Logical  analysis  is  the  same  process  as  that  which  is 
otherwise  called  metaphysical  division.  (The  process  called 
logical  division  is  different.  SeeLoGicand  Division.)  Given, 
say,  a  concrete  subject  like  man,  this  may  be  divided 
physically  into  a  number  of  parts  in  space,  or,  as  a  concept, 
metaphysically  into  a  number  of  qualities  or  attributes, — 
metaphysically,  because  none  of  these  has  an  independent 
subsistence  or  physical  existence  apart.  They  are  distin- 
guished in  the  way  of  mental  consideration,  or,  as  it  is 
technically  called,  abstraction;  and,  this  being  a  thought- 
process  or  logical  act,  the  resolution  of  the  given  complex 
into  such  conceptual  elements  gets  the  name  also  of 
logical  analysis.  The  corresponding  act  of  synthesis  pro- 
ceeds by  the  way  that  is  technically  called  determination ; 
thus  the  general  concept  man,  to  take  the  traditional 
example,  has  the  attribute  of  rational  joined  to  the  attri- 
.butes  of  animal,  or  is  determined  by  that  addition,  and 
much  else  has  to  be  added  in  a  similar  way  before  the  par- 
ticular concrete  can  be  determined. 

Now  it  is  evident  that  such  analysis  and  synthesis  have 
an  application  to  any  kind  of  thought  that  the  mind  can 
conceive;  and  thus  logicians,  in  meaning,  as  they  ha^e 
commonly  done,  nothing  more  by  the  names,  have  sig- 
nalised processes  that  are  in  truth  of  no*  small  account  for 
knowledge  in  general  There  is  no  kind  of  scientific 
inquiry,  strictly  so  called,  and  whatever  be  its  scope  and 
method,  that  does  not  involve  at  all  stages  from  the  first 
such  analysis  or  abstract  mental  consideration.  Nay,  it 
may  be  said  that  science,  as  opposed  to  the  natural  experi- 
ence of  things,  or  to  the  artistic  interest  which  centres 
upon  fully  bodied-out  concretes,  is  analysis  in  this  pre- 
sent sense,  everywhere  breaking  up  to  find  community  of 
character  under  the  mask  of  superficial  difference,  and  sift- 
ing out  the  one  from  the  many.     But  when  logicians,  not 


ANA-ANA 


797 


disregarding  the  various  applied  methods  of  the  real 
sciences,  or  consciously  excluding  them  as  lying  beyond  the 
province  of  pure  logic,  would  seek  to  reduce  all  scientific 
procedure  to  this  kind  of  mental  action,  the  attempt  implies 
a  deep  misapprehension.  It  is  one  thing  for  the  mind  to 
have  its  subject  of  inquiry  clearly  and  sharply  defined 
apart  from  what  else  is  given  therewith,  or  again  to  have 
its  existing  knowledge  always  well  in  hand  and  sifted  out 
tD  the  uttermost;  it  is  another  thing  for  the  mind  to  be 
making  advances,  to  be  passing  out  from  the  known  to  the 
unknown,  or  labouring  to  bring  the  unknown  into  relation 
with  that  which  is  known  already.  Condillac  is  the  thinker 
who  has  most  expressly  made  the  attempt  to  bring  all 
scientific  method  back  to  the  conception  of  mere  logical 
analysis,  repeating  it  everywhere  throughout  his  works. 
The  sixteenth  chapter  of  his  unfinished  treatise,  the 
Langue  des  Calcuh,  may  especially  be  noted  in  this 
respect;  the  more  because  he  there  endeavours  to  justify 
his  developed  expression  for  the  procedure  of  all  science — 
that  it  consists  in  a  continued  substitution  of  identical  pro- 
positions— by  the  actual  solution  of  an  algebraical  problem. 
Simple,  however,  though  the  instance  chosen  is,  he  fails 
to  make  good  hi3  view,  appearing  to  prove  it  only  by 
leaving  out  the  step  of  critical  moment 

To  analysis  and  synthesis  in  the  specially  logical  Bense 
is  undoubtedly  related  the  distinction  that  logicians  have 
made  of  analytic  and  synthetic  method.  Without  stepping 
beyond  the  bounds  of  logic  conceived  as  a  formal  -doctrine, 
a  fourth  department,  under  the  name  of  Method  or  Dis- 
posing, may  be  added  to  the  three  departments  regularly 
assigned  —  Conceiving  (Simple  Apprehension),  Judging, 
Reasoning;  and  this  would  consider  how  reasonings,  when 
employed  continuously  upon  any  matter  whatever,  should 
be  set  forth  to  produce  their  combined  effect  upon  the  mind. 
The  question  is  formal,  being  one  of  mere  exposition,  and 
concerns  the  teacher  in  relation  to  the  learner.  How 
should  results,  attained  by  continuous  reasoning,  be  set 
before  the  mind  of  a  learner  ?  Upon  a  line  representing 
the  course  by  which  they  were  actually  wrought  out  t  Or 
always  in  the  fixed  order  of  following  from  express  prin- 
ciples to  which  preliminary  assent  is  required  1  If  the 
latter,  all  teaching  becomes  synthetic,  and  follows  a  pro- 
gressive route  from  principles  to  conclusions,  even  when 
discovery  (supposing  discovery  foregone)  was  made  by 
analysis  or  regression  to  principles;  of  which  expository 
method  no  better  illustration  could  be  given  than  the 
practice  of  Euclid  in  the  demonstrations  of  his  Elements. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  may  be  said  that  the  line  of  dis- 
covery is  itself  the  line  upon  which  the  truth  about 'any 
question  can  best  be  expounded  or  understood,  for  the 
same  reason  that  was  found  successful  in  discovery, 
namely,  that  the  mind  (now  of  the  learner)  has  before  it 
something  quite  definite  and  specific  to  start  from;  upon 
which  view,  the  method  of  exposition  should  be  analytic 
or  regressive  to  principles,  at  least  wherever  the  discovery 
took  that  route.  The  blending  of  both  methods,  where 
possible,  is  doubtless  most  effective;  otherwise  it  depends 
upon  circumstances — chiefly  the  character  of  the  learner, 
but  also  the  nature  of  the  subject  in  respect  of-  com- 
plexity— which  should  be  preferred,  when  one  alone  is 
followed. 

The  question  of  prime  logical,  or  general,  importance 
remaining  is  to  determine  the  relation  of  Analysis  and 
Synthesis  as  methods  of  real  science,  to  the  ground-processes 
of  all  reasoning,  known  since  the  days  of  Aristotle  tinder 
the  names  of  Induction  and  Deduction.  Much  difference 
of  opinion  has  been  expressed  on  this  subject,  not  only 
because  of  the  want  of  agreement  as  to  what  should  be 
called  analysis  and  synthesis,  but  aho  because  of  more 


fundamental  disagreement  regarding  tha  nature  cf  tie 
inductive  and  deductive  processes. 

It  was  remarked  before  as  somewhat  surprising,  that 
Aristotle  himself  did  not  more  expressly  consider  the 
relation,  when  we  have  seen  that  he  was  familiar  with  the 
process  of  geometrical  analysis,  under  the  very  name.  The 
distinction,  however,  upon  which  he  lays  so  much  stress 
throughout  his  works,  between  knowledge  from  principles, 
prior  or  better  known  by  nature,  and  knowledge  of  or  from 
facts,  prior  in  experience  or  relatively  to  us,  has  generally 
been  understood  to  imply  a  connection  of  synthesis  with 
deduction,  of  analysis  with  induction;  so  much  so  indeed, 
that  synthetic  and  deductive  method,  analytic  and  induc- 
tive method,  have  come  to  be  used  respectively  almost  as 
interchangeable  terms.  Nor,  although  Sir  William 
Hamilton  seems  to  wish  to  reverse  the  usual  association  of 
the  tjrms,  when  he  calls  induction  a  purely  synthetic  pro- 
cess, and  declares  it  to  be  erroneously  viewed  as  analytic 
(Metaphysics,  L  p.  102),  is  he  really  at  variance  with  the 
other  authorities ;  his  observation  having  a  special  reference 
which  the  others  also  might  allow.  But  any  such  asso- 
ciation seems  to  rest  upon  a  misconception,  not  to  be 
laid  to  the  charge  of  Aristotle  himself.  In  the  sense  of 
analysis  and  synthesis  for  which  it  is  important  to  deter- 
mine the  relation,  namely,  when  they  are  taken  as  the 
means  of  real  discovery  in  science,  the  true  view  rather  is 
that  they  are  the  different  methods  in  which  reasoning, 
whether  inductive  or  deductive,  must  be  applied  for  dis- 
covering truth,  in  the  form  of  special  or  particular  ques- 
tions. Analysis,  as  well  as  synthesis,  may  proceed  by  way 
of  deduction,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  process  of  mathe- 
matics ;  on  the  other  hand,  synthesis  as  applied  in  chemistry 
is  as  much  an  inductive  act,  being  strictly  experimental, 
as  anything  could  well  be.  Induction  and  deduction  are 
concerned  about  the  relation  of  the  particular  and  general 
in  thought;  analysis  and  synthesis  about  the  relation  of 
the  known  and  the  unknown.  The  two  points  of  view  are 
of  course  related  to  each  other  :  analysis  and  synthesis, 
as  practised  by  the  human  mind,  either  for  purposes  of 
science  or  in  the  affairs  of  life,'  cannot  be  worked  except 
under  those  highest  laws  of  the  relation  between  the  par- 
ticular and  general  in  thought  which  Aristotle's  genius  first 
was  able  to  extract  from  the  instinctive  practice  of  human 
reason.  But  whether  the  processes  are  applied  singly,  or, 
for  greater  assurance,  conjointly,  it  depends  npon  the 
matter  of  the  inquiry  under  which  laws — those  of  induc- 
tion or  those  of  deduction — they  shall  be  worked;  and  in 
any  case  there  is  implied  a  peculiar  intellectual  attitude 
different  from  that  of  mere  formal  reasoning.  It  is  the 
difference  between  the  act  of  finding  out  and  proving.  If 
it  should  ever  become  possible  to  develop  a  logic  of  Dis- 
covery, it  must  consist  in  the  formulation  of  the  processes 
of  Analysis  and  Synthesis,  conceived  in  the  general  sense 
attributed  to  them  in  the  foregoing  article.        (o.  c.  r.) 

ANALYTIC  JUDGMENTS  have  been  distinguished 
under  that  nanie,  in  opposition- to  Synthetic,  since  the  time 
of  Kant.  It  was  necessary,  for  the  purposes  of  his  critical 
inquiry  into  the  principles  of  human  knowledge,  that  he 
should  carefully  determine  the  character  of  those  assertions 
which  metaphysicians  had  so  freely  made  respecting  the 
supernatural,  and  he  found  them  to  be  such  that,  while 
the  predicate  was  added  on  to  the  subject,  not  involved  in 
it,  the  connection  was  affirmed  as  necessary  and  universal. 
He  therefore  called  them,  as  well  as  other  assertions  of  like 
character  in  mathematics  arid  pure  physics,  synthetic  judg- 
ments a  priori,  and  the  aim  of  his  critical  inquiry  came  to 
be  the  determining  of  the  conditions  under  which  such 
judgments  were  possible.  Now,  as  differing  from  these,  he 
noted  two  classes  of  judgments:  (1),  such  as  in  the  predi- 
cate added  indeed  to  the  content  of  the  subiect,  but  oalj 


798 


ANA-ANA 


empirically,  as,  for  example,  Bodies  have  weight,  and  these 
ho  called  synthetic-a  posteriori;  (2),  such  as  were  indeed 
necessary  and  universal,  but  added  nothing  to  the  content 
of  the  subject,  as,  for  example,  Bodies  are  extended,  a:id 
tlicse  he  called  analytic. 

The  general  distinction  of  analytic  and  synthetic  judg- 
ments has  a  value  apart  from  the  specific  character  of  those 
(synthetic)  judgments  in  which  Kant  was  most  interested, 
and  for  the  sake  of  which  mainly  it  was  fixed  by  him. 
Trained  in  the  metaphysics  of  the  Leibnitzo- Wolffian  school, 
which  marked  off  necessary  judgments  from  those  of  simple 
fact  without  considering  the  kinds  of  necessity,  Kant,  when 
he  came,  by  the  route  that  can  be  traced  in  his  earlier 
works,  to  apprehend  the  difference  between  merely  logical 
analysis  and  real  synthesis  in  thought,  applied  it  almost 
exclusively  to  those  judgments  for  which  a  character  of 
necessity  was  claimed.  He  therefore  noticed  traces  of  the 
distinction  in  other  thinkers,  as  Locke,  only  in  so  far  as 
there  was  a  suggestion  also  of  this  special  reference.  In 
truth,  the  general  distinction,  under  a  variety  of  expres- 
sions, was  familiar  to  both  Hume  and  Locke,  and  it  had 
already  been  drawn  by  the  ancients.  The  old  doctrine  of 
the  Predicates,  in  distinguishing  the  essential  predication 
of  genus,  species,  and  difference  from  the  non-essential 
predication  of  property  and  accident,  plainly  involves  it; 
making  besides,  as  between  the  last  two  predicables,  a 
distinction  which  is  very  closely  related  to  that  drawn 
by  Kant  between  the  a  priori  and  a  posteriori  synthetic. 
From  the  nominalistic  point  of  view  it  is  expressed  by  the 
difference  of  Verbal  and  Real  propositions,  as  in  Mill's 
Logic,  and  also  often  in  Locke. 

While  the  synthetic  judgment,  as  the  name  implies, 
brings  together  in  thought  two  distinct  concepts,  each  of 
which  may  be  thought  apart,  the  analytic  judgment  is 
merely  the  explication  of  a  single  concept  in  the  form  of  a 
proposition.  It  is  disputed  what  may  be  the  ground  of 
synthesis  in  different  cases,  but  on  all  hands  it  is  agreed 
that  the  logical  Law  of  Contradiction  is  thecontrolling  prin- 
ciple for  the  explication  of  concepts  already  in  the  mind, 
however  they  may  have  come  there.  Now  the  explication 
may  be  made  either  completely  or  partially,  according  as 
the  whole  or  part  only  of  the  intension  of  the  concept  is  set 
forth:  in  other  words,  the  aim  may  be  to  give  the  definition 
(where,  in  the  full  sense,  that  is  possible),  or  simply  to 
express  any  one  or  more  of  the  contained  attributes.  Pro- 
positions giving  such  partial  explication  are  spoken  of  by 
Locke  as  "trifling;"  and  it  is  true  that,  if  the  concept  is 
supposed  already  in  the  mind,  no  increase  of  knowledge  is 
thereby  obtained.  This  word,  however,  is  unfortunate. 
Not  to  say  that  it  is  equally  applicable  to  definitions,  where 
the  explication  is  only  more  complete,  it  tends  to  keep  out 
of  view  the  fact  that  analytic  judgments,  when  not  arbi- 
trarily formed,  are  themselves — or  rather  the  concepts,  of 
which  they  are  the  explications,  are — the  permanent  result 
or  deposit  of  foregone  real  syiilhesis.  So  much,  indeed,  is 
this  the  case  with  concepts  of  things  in  nature — what  Mill 
calls  natural  kinds — that  in  them  a  constapt  process  of 
accretion  is  going  on ;  new  attributes,  as  they  are  discovered, 
being  taken  up  into  the  essence,  if  they  are  at  the  same 
time  characteristic  and  underived.  Much  also  that  is 
mere  explication  to  one  mind  is  real  information  to  another. 

The  terms  Analytic  and  Synthetic,  thus  applied  to  judg- 
ments, are  so  expressive  in  themselves  that  they  have  now 
come  into  general  use.  It  is,  however,  a  serious  drawback 
to  such  an  association  of  the  terms,  that  it  traverses  what 
is  otherwise  the  consistent  use  of  the  words  analysis  and 
synthesis  in  relation  to  each  other.  As  the  article  Analysis 
has  shown,  there  is  a  synthesis  which,  as  much  as  any 
analysis,  is  purely  logical,  and  there  is  an  analysis  which, 
as  much  as  any  Bynthesis.  is  a  means  of  real  advance  in 


knowledge.  The  terms  Explicative  (Erlauterungturthide) 
and  Ampliative  (Eriveiterungsurtluiic),  also  employed  by 
Kant,  while  not  less  expressive,  are  open  to  no  such  objec- 
tion, (o.  c.  E.) 

ANAM,  o"r  A-NNam,  also  called  ICochin  China,  a  large 
empire  of  Asia,  forming  the  eastern  portion  of  the  Indo- 
Chinese  peninsula.     See  Cochin  China. 

ANASTASIUS  I.,  Emperor  of  Constantinople,  was 
born  at  DyTrhachium  not  later  than  430  a.d.  At  the 
time  of  the  death  of  Zeno  (491),  Anastasius,  though  only 
one  of  the  guards  (sitentiarii)  in  the  palace,  held  a  very 
high  character,  and  was  raised  to.tho  throne  of  the  Romau 
empire  of  the  East,  mainly  through  the  influence  of  Ariadne, 
Zeno's  widow,  whom  he  married  shortly  after  his  accession. 
His  reign,  though  afterwards  disturbed  by  foreign  and 
intestine  wars  and  religious  distractions,  commenced  aus- 
piciously. He  gained  the  popular  favour  by  a  judicious 
remission  of  taxation,  and  displayed  great  vigour  and 
energy  in  administering  the  affairs  of  the  empire.  The 
principal  wars  in  which  Anastasius  was  engaged  were 
those  known  as  the  Isaurian  and  the  Persian.  The  former 
(492-8)  was  stirred  up  by  tho  supporters  of  Longinus, 
the  brother  of  Zeno,  and  resulted  in  Anastasius's  favour; 
in  the  latter  (502-5)  he  was  signally  defeated,  but  the 
provinces  the  Persians  had  won  from  him  were  restored 
on  payment  of  a  ransom.  He  also  suffered  defeat  at  tho 
hands  of  the  Goths  of  Italy,  to  check  whose  incursions  he 
built  the  "  Anastasian  wall,"  extending  from  the  Propontis 
to  the  Euxine.  For  the  support  he  gave  to  the  Eutychians, 
Anastasius  was  anathematised  by  Pope  Symmachus.  The 
latter  years  of  his  reign  were  troubled  by  revolts  in  Con- 
stantinople, excited  by  his  avarice  and  by  his  reputed 
heretical  tendencies.     He  died  in  518. 

ANASTASIUS  II.,  Emperor,  whose  original  name  was 
Artemius,  was  raised  to  the  throne  of  Constantinople  by 
the  voice  of  tin  senate  and  people  in  713  a.d.,  on  the 
deposition  of  Philippicus,  whom  he  had  served  in  the 
capacity  of  secretary.  His  territories  being  threatened 
both  by  sea  and  land,  he  sent  an  army  under  Leo  the 
Isaurian,  afterwards  emperor,  to  defend  Syria ;  adopted 
wise  and  resolute  measures  for  the  defence  of  his  capital ; 
and  equipped  and  despatched  a  formidable  naval  force, 
with  orders  not  only  to  resist  the  approach  of  the  enemy, 
but  to  destroy  their  naval  stores.  The  fleet  mutinied  at 
Rhodes,  and  proclaimed  Theodosius,  a  person  of  low  ex- 
traction, emperor.  After  a  six  months'  reign,  Constanti- 
nople was  taken  by  Theodosius;  and  Anastasius,  who  had 
fled  to  Nicaea,  was  compelled  to  submit  to  the  new  emperor, 
and,  retiring  to  Thessalonica,  became  a  monk  (716).  In  721 
he  headed  a  revolt  against  Leo,  who  had  succeeded  Theodo- 
sius, and  receivingaconsiderableamountof  support,  laid  siege 
to  Constantinople;  but  the  enterprise  failed,  and  Anastasius 
falling  into  Leo's  hands,  was  put  to  death  by  his  orders. 

ANATHEMA  (aviBe^a,  from  avaTidrjiJ.1,  lit.  anything 
offered  up)  is  frequently  used  in  classic  Greek  (in  the  form 
ava.8rj/j.a)  to  denote  things  consecrated  to  the  gods,  and 
deposited  in  a  temple.  In  the  LXX.  it  is  the  equivalent  of 
the  Hebrew  o-iri(  which  denotes  an  offering  devoted  to  God 
absolutely,  and  therefore,  in  the  case  of  a  living  creature, 
put  to  death.  The  idea  of  destruction  or  perdition  thus 
becamo  associated  with  the.  word,  which  gradually  lost  its 
primary  sense  of  consecration.  In  the  New  Testament  it 
signifies  separated  from  the  church  and  accursed,  and  it 
became  the  technical  term  for  a  form  of  excommunication 
at  an  early  date-. 

ANATOLIA  (from  ai'aToA?J,  the  east),  a  name  first 
used  under  the  Byzantine  empire  for  the  country  east 
of  the  Bosphorus.  In  the  form  Anadoli,  it  denotes  o 
modern  Turkish  division  almost  coincident  with  Asia 
Minok,  j  ». 


709 


ANATOMY 


ANATOMY  CAvotoa"?)  means  in  its  literal  sense  the  dis- 
section or  separation  of  parts  by  cutting,  but  in  its 
usual  acceptation  it  is  employed  to  denote  the  science  the 
province  of  which  is  to  determine  the  construction,  the  fonn, 
and  the  structure  of  organised  bodies,  i.e.,  of  bodies  which 
either  are  or  have  been  living.  It  is  therefore  a  depart- 
ment of  the  science  of  Biology.  It  resolves  itself  into 
two  great  divisions — Animal  Anatomy  or  Zootomy,  the 
object  of  which  is  to  investigate  the  structure  of  animals ; 
md  Vegetable  Anatomy  or  Piiytotomy.  the  object  of 
which  is  to  elucidate  the  structure  of  plants.  As  Vege- 
table Anatomy  will  be  treated  of  in  the  article  Botany,  it 
does  not  require  to  be  considered  here.  Animal  Ana- 
tomy, again,  naturally  resolves  itself  into  two  divisions :  one 
in  which  the  construction,  form,  and  structure  of  two  or 
more  animals  are  compared  with  each  other,  so  as  to  bring 
out  their  features  of  resemblance  or  dissimilarity, — this  is 
called  Comparative  Anatomy;  the  other,  in  which  the 
construction,  form,  and  structure  of  parts  in  a  single  ani- 
mal are  cousidered,  which  is  termed  Special  Anatomy. 
The  special  anatomy  of  an  animal  may  be  studied  from 
various  points  of  view:  (a)  with  reference  to  the  succession 
«f  forms  which  it  exhibits  at  various  periods  from  its  first 
appearance  as  an  embryo  to  the  assumption  of  its  adult 
characters ;  this  is  termed  Developmental  or  Embryo- 
logical  Anatomy  ;  (6)  with  reference  either  to  its  form 
and  structure,  or  to  the  investigation  of  the  laws  by  which 
these  are  determined,  termed  Morphological  Anatomy  ; 
(c)  with  reference  to  the  function,  use,  or  purpose  per- 
formed by  a  part  or  structure  in  an  animal,  termed 
Teleological  or  Physiological  Anatomy  ;  (d)  with  re- 
ference merely  to  the  relative  position  of  different  parts  or 
structures,  termed  Topographical  Anatomy;  (e)  with 
reference  to  the  structure  and  general  properties  of  the 
tissues  or  textures  which  enter  into  the  construction  of  the 
parts  or  organs  of  animals ;  to  this  branch  of  study  have 
been  applied  the  terms  General  Anatomy,  Anatomy  of 
Textures,  Histology,  and,  from  the  microscope  being  so 
largely  employed  in  the  examination  of  the  textures, 
Microscopic  or  Minute  Anatomy;  (/)  with  reference  to 
the  changes  induced  by  disease  in  the  organs  or  tissues, 
termed  Morbid  or  Pathological  Anatomy.  From  its 
manifold  aspects  anatomy  forms  the  basis  of  the  Biological 
Sciences.  As  a  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  motion  is  essen- 
tial, and  must  be  constantly  recurred  to  at  every  step 
before  any  true  progress  can  be  made  in  the  investigation 
of  the  physical  sciences,  so  must  the  structure  of  animal 
bodies  be  constantly  appealed  to  by  the  zoologist  in  all 
attempts  at  classification ;  by  the  physiologist  in  all  in- 
quiries into  the  functions  performed  by  the  organs  and 
textures  in  a  state  of  health,  and  into  the  special  adapta- 
tion of  parts  to  particular  uses;  and  by  the  physician  in 
considering  the  alterations  or  disturbance  of  the  functions 
of  parts  in  the  course  of  disease.  To  describe  the  anatomy 
•of  the  multitudinous  forms  of  animal  life  from  these  dif- 
ferent points  of  view  would  require,  not  one,  but  several 
voluminous  treatises,  and  would  much  exceed  the  compass 
of  a  single  article.  Moreover,  it  is  advisable  that  the 
inatomy  of  the  different  classes  of  the  animal  kingdom 
should  be  considered  under  their  respective  heads, — e.g., 
that  of  the  Crabs  under  Crustacea,  that  of  Reptiles  under 
Repttlia,  &c  It  is  intended  to  devote  this  article  more 
particularly  to  the  description  of  the  Special  Anatomy  of 
the  Human  Body  in  a  state  of  health  ;  in  other  words,  to 
make  it  a  short  treatise  on  Human  A_natomy  or  Anthro- 
•otomy,  which,  as  forming  a  department  of  the  general 


science  of  Comparative  Ans>jmy,  is  interesting  not  only 
to  men  of  science  generally,  but,  from  its  intimate  con- 
nection with  the ,.  several  divisions  of  the  art  of  healing, 
and  with  the  study  of  the  functions  of  the  human  body, 
possesses  the  highest  importance  to  the  physician,  surgeon, 
and  ph3'siologist. 

Previous  to  entering  on  the  consideration  of  the  Anatomy 
of  the  Human  Body,  it  umy  be  well  to  take  a  historical 
view  of  the  progress  of  the  science  from  ils  origin  to  the 
present  time. 

HISTORY  OF  ANATOMY. 

In  tracing  the  history  of  the  origin  of  anatomy,  it  may- 
be justly  said  that  more  learning  than  judgment  has  becu 
displayed.  Some  WTiters  claim  for  it  the  highest  antiquity, 
and  pretend  to  find  its  first  rudiments  alternately  in  the 
animal  sacrifices  of  the  shepherd  kings,  the  Jews,  and 
other  ancient  nations,  and  in  the  art  of  embalming  a.( 
practised  by  the  Egyptian  priests.  Even  the  descriptions 
of  wuund3  in  the  Iliad  have  been  supposed  adequate  to 
prove  that  in  the  time  of  Homer  mankind  had  distinct 
notions  of  the  structure  of  the  human  body.  Of  the  first 
it  may  be  said  that  the  rude  information  obtained  by  the 
slaughter  pf  animals  for  sacrifice  does  not  imply  profound 
anatomical  knowledge  ;  and  those  who  adduce  the  second 
as  evidence  are  deceived  by  the  language  of  the  poet  of 
the  Trojan  war,  which,  distinguishing  certain  parts  by 
their  ordinary  Greek  epithets,  as  afterwards  used  by 
Hippocrates,  Galen,  and  all  anatomists,  has  been  rather 
too  easily  supposed  to  prove  that  the  poet  had  studied 
systematically  the  structure  of  the  human  frame. 

'With  not  much  greater  justice  has  the  cultivation  of 
anatomical  knowledge  been  ascribed  to  Hippocrates,  who, 
because  he  is  universally  allowed  to  be  the  father  of 
medicine,  has  also  been  thought  to  be  the  creator  of  the 
science  of  anatomy.  Of  the  seven  individuals  of  the  family 
of  the  Heracleidse  who  bore  this  celebrated  name,  the  second, 
who  was  son  of  Heraclides  and  Phenarita,  and  grandson 
of  the  first  Hippocrates,  was  indeed  distinguished  as  a 
physician  of  great  observation  and  experience,  and  the 
first  who  appreciated  the  value  of  studying  accurately  the 
phenomena,  effects,  and  terminations  of  disease.  It  does 
not  appear,  however,  notwithstanding  the  vague  and  general 
panegyrics  of  Kiolan,  Bartholin,  Le  Clerc,  and  Portal,  that 
the  anatomical  knowledge  of  this  illustrious  person  was 
either  accurate  or  profound.  Of  the  works  ascribed  to 
11  ppoerates,  five  only  are  genuine.  Most  of  them  were 
written  either  by  subsequent  authors  of  the  same  name,  or 
by  i 'tie  or  other  of  the  numerous  impositors  who  took 
advantage  of  the  zealous  munificence  of  the  Ptolemies,  by 
fabricating  works  under  that  illustrious  name.  Of  the  few 
which  are  genuine,  there  is  none  expressly  devoted  to- 
anatomy;  and  of  his  knowledge  on  this  subject  the  only 
proofs  are  to  be  found  in  the  exposition  of  his  physiological 
opinions,  and  his  medical  or  surgical  instructions.  From 
those  it  appears  that  Hippocrates  1  id  some  accurate  notions 
on  osteology,  but  that  of  the  stru>  lure  of  the  human  body 
in  geueral  his  ideas  were  at  once  superficial  and  erroneous. 
In  his  book  on  injuries  of  the  head,  and  in  that  on  fractures, 
he  shows  that  he  knew  the  sutures  of  .the  cranium  and 
the  relative  situation  of  the  bones,  and  that  he  had  some 
notion  of  the  shape  of  the  bones  in  general,  and  of  their 
mutual  connections.  Of  the  muscles,  of  the  soft  parts  iu 
general,  and  of  the  internal  organs,  his  ideas  are  confused, 
indistinct,  and  erroneous.  The  term  <£Ae/?s  he  seems,  in 
imitation  of  the  colloquial  Greek,  to  have  used  gcncraU* 


800 


ANATOMY 


LHISTORt 


to  Bignlfy  a  blood-vessel,  without  being  aware  of  the 
distinction  of  vein  and  artery ;  and  the  term  aprnpla,  or 
air-holder,  13  restricted  to  the  windpipe.  He  appears  to 
have  been  unaware  of  the  existence  of  the  nervous  chords ; 
and  the  term  nerve  is  used  by  him,  as  by  Grecian  authors 
in  general,  to  signify  a  sinew  or  tendon.  On  other  points 
Ids  views  are  so  much  combined  with  peculiar  physiological 
doctrines,  that  it  is  impossible  to  assign  them  the  character 
of  anatomical  facts ;  and  even  the  works  in  which  these 
doctrines  are  contained  are  with  little  probability  to  be 
ascribed  to  the  second  Hippocrates.  If,  however,  we  over- 
look this  difficulty,  and  admit  what  is  contained  in  the 
genuine  Hippocratic  writings  to  represent  at  least  the  sum 
of  knowledge  possessed  by  Hippocrates  and  his  immediate 
descendants,  we  find  that  he  represents  the  brain  as  a 
gland,  from  which  exudes  a  viscid  fluid ;  that  the  heart  is 
muscular  and  of  pyramidal  shape,  and  has  two  ventricles 
separated  by  a  partition,  the  fountains  of  life — and  two 
auricles,  receptacles  of  air ;  that  the  lungs  consist  of  Gve 
ash-coloured  lobes,  the  substance  of  which  is  cellular  and 
spongy,  naturally  dry,  but  refreshed  by  the  air ;  and  that 
the  kidneys  are  glands,  but  possess  an  attractive  faculty, 
by  virtue  of  which  the  moisture  of  the  drink  is  separated, 
<ind  descends  into  the  bladder.  He  distinguishes  the 
bowels  into  colon  and  rectum  (6  dp^ot).' 

The  knowledge  possessed  by  tho  second  Hippocrates 
was  transmitted  in  various  degrees  of  purity  to  the  descend- 
ants and  pupils,  chiefly  of  the  family  of  the  Heracleidae, 
who  succeeded  hiaL  Several  of  these,  with  feelings  of 
grateful  affection,  appear  to  have  studied  to  preserve  the 
written  memory  of  his  instructions,  and  in  this  manner  to 
have  contributed  to  form  part  of  that  collection  of  treatises 
which  have  long  been  known  to  the  learned  world  under 
the  general  name  of  the  Hippocratic  writings.  Though 
composed,  like  the  genuine  remains  of  the  physician  of 
Cos,  in  the  Ionian  dialect,  all  of  them  differ  from  these  in 
being  more  diffuse  in  style,  more  elaborate  in  form,  and  in 
studying  to  invest  their  anatomical  and  medical  matter 
with  tho  fanciful  ornaments  of  the  Platonic  philosophy. 
Hippocrates  had  the  merit  of  early 'recognising  the  value 
of  facts  apart  from  opinions,  and  of  those  facts  especially 
which  lead  to  general  results ;  and  in  the  few  genuine 
writings  which  are  now  extant  it  is  easy  to  perceive  that 
he  has  recourse  to  the  simplest  language,  expresses  himself 
in  terms  which,  though  short  and  pithy,  are  always  precise 
and  perspicuous,  and  is  averse  to  the  introduction  of 
philosophical  dogmas.  Of  the  greater  part  of  the  writings 
:ollected  under  his  name,  on  the  contrary,  the  general 
character  is  verboseness,  prolixity,  and  a  great  tendency 
to  speculative  opinions.  For  these  reasons,  as  well  as  for 
others  derived  from  internal  evidence,  while  the  Aphorisms, 
the  Epidemics,  and  the  works  above  mentioned,  bear 
distinct  marks  of  being  the  genuine  remains  of  Hippocrates, 
it  is  impossible  to  regard  the  book  irepl  $vctios  Avdpunrov 
as  entirely  the  composition  of  that  physician ;  and  it 
app>  ars  more  reasonable  to  view  it  as  the  work  of  some 
one  of  the  numerous  disciples  to  whom  the  author  had 
communicated  the  results  of  his  observation,  which  they 
unwisely  attempted  to  combine  with  the  philosophy  of  the 
Platonic  school  and  the'r  own  mysterious  opinions. 

Among' those  who  a.  med  at  this  distinction,  the  most 
fortunate  in  the  preservation  of  his  name  is  Polybus,  the 
son-in-law  of  the  physician  of  Cos.  This  person,  who  must 
not  be  confounded  with  the  monarch  of  Corinth  immor- 
talised by  Sophocles  in  the  tragic  story  of  CEdipus,  is 
represented  as  a  recluse,  severed  from  the  world  and  its 
enjoyments,  and  devoting  himself  to  the  study  of  anatomy 
and  physiology,  and  to  the  composition  of  works  on  these 
subjects.  To  him  has  been  ascribed  the  whole  of  the  book 
on  the  Nature  of  the  Child  and  most  of  that  On  Man  «• 


both  physiological  treatises  interspersed  with  anatomical 
sketches.  His  anatomical  information,  with  which  wi 
are  specially  concerned,  appears  to  have  been  rude  and 
inaccurate,  like  that  of  his  preceptor.  He  represents  tht 
large  vessels  of  the  body  as  consisting  of  four  pairs  ;  th« 
first  proceeding  from  the  head  by  the  back  of  the  neck  and 
spinal  chord  to  the  hips,  lower  extremities,  and  outer  ankle ; 
the  second,  consisting  of  the  jugular  vessels  (at  <r<payiTiSc?), 
proceeding  to  the  loins,  thighs,  hams,  and  inner  ankle; 
the  third  proceeding  from  the  temples  by  the  neck  to  tho 
scapula  and  lungs,  and  thence  by  mutual  intercrossings  to 
the  spleen  and  left  kidney,  and  the  liver  and  right  kidney, 
and  finally  to  the  rectum ;  and  the  fourth  from  the  fore- 
part of  the  neck  to  the  upper  extremities,  the  fore-part  of 
the  trunk,  and  the  organs  of  generation. 

This  specimen  of  the  anatomical  knowledge  of  one  of 
the  most  illustrious  of  the  Hippocratic  disciples  differs  not 
essentially  from  that  of  Syennesis,  the  physician  of  Cyprus, 
and  Diogenes,  the  philosopher  of  Apollonia,  two  authors 
for  the  preservation  of  whose  opinions  we  are  indebted  to 
Aristotle.  They  may  be  admitted  as  representing  tho 
state  of  anatomical  knowledge  among  the  most  enlightened 
men  at  that  time,  and  they  only  show  how  ruda  and 
erroneous  were  their  ideas  on  the  structure  of  the  animal 
body.  It  may  indeed, 'without  injustice,  be  said  that  tho 
anatomy  of  the  Hippocratic  school  is  not  only  erroneou'?, 
but  fanciful  and  imaginary,  in  often  substituting  mera 
supposition  and  assertion  for  what  ought  to  be  matter  ol 
fact.  From  this  censure  it  is  impossible  to  exempt  even 
the  name  of  Plato  himself,  for  whom  some  notices  in  tha 
Timxus  on  the  structure  of  the  animal  body,  as  taught  by 
Hippocrates  and  Polybus,  have  procured  a  place  '"  tba 
history  of  the  science. 

Amidst  the  general  .obscurity  in  which  the  early  history 
of  anatomy  is  involved,  only  two  leading  facts  may  be 
admitted  with  certainty.  The  first  is,  -that  previous  to 
the  time  of  Aristotle  there  was  no  accurate  knowledjo  of 
anatomy ;  and  the  second,  that  all  that  was  known  was 
derived  from  *he  dissection  of  tho  lower  animals  only.  By 
the  appearance  of  Aristotle  this  species  of  knowledge, 
which  was  hitherto  acquired  in  a  desultory  and  irregular 
manner,  began  to  be  cultivated  systematically  and  with  a 
definite  object ;  and  among  the  services  which  the  philo- 
sopher of  Stagira  rendered  to  mankind,  one  of  the  greatest 
and  most  substantial  is,  that  he  was  the  founder  of  Com- 
parative Anatomy,  and  was  the  first  to  apply  its  facts  to 
the  elucidation  of  zoology.  The  works  of  this  ardent  and 
original  naturalist  show  that  his  zootomical  krcwledgo. 
was  extensive  and  often  accurate ;  and  from  several  of  hia 
descriptions  it  is  impossible  to  doubt  that  they  were 
derived  from  frequent  personal  dissection.  Aristotle,  who 
was  born  384  years  before  the  Christian  era,  or  in  the  first 
year  of  the  99th  Olympiad,  was,  at  the  age  of  39,  requested 
by  Philip  to  undertake  the  education  of  his  son  Alexander. 
During  this  period  it  is  said  he  composed  several  works  on 
anatomy,  which,  however,  are  now  lost.  The  military 
expedition  of  his  royal  pupil  into  Asia,  by  laying  open  tho 
animal  stores  of  that  vast  and  little  known  continent, 
furnished  Aristotle  with  the  means  of  extending  his  know- 
ledge, not  only  of  the  animal  tribes,  but  of  their  structure, 
and  of  communicating  more  accurate  and  distinct  notions 
than  were  yet  accessible  to  the  world.  A  sum  of  800 
talents,  and  the  concurrent  aid  of  numerous  intelligent 
assistants  in  Greece  and  Asia,  were  intended  to  facilitate 
his  researches  in-  composing  a  system  of  zoological  know- 
ledge ;  but  it  has  been  observed  that  the  ntmber^  of 
instances  in  which  he  was  thus  compelled  to  trust  to  the 
testimony  of  other  observers  led  him  to  commit  errors  ir> 
description  which  personal  observation  might  hive  enabieu 
him  to  avoid. 


Hlbi-ORYj 


ANATOMY 


801 


The  first  three  books  of  the  History  of  Animals,  a 
treatise  consisting  of  ten  books,  and  the  four  books  on  the 
Parts  of  Animals,  constitute  the  great  monument  of  the 
Aristotelian  Anatomy.  From  these  we  find  that  Aristotle 
was  the  first  who  corrected  the  erroneous  statements  of 
Polybus,  Syennesis,  and  Diogenes,  regarding  the  blood- 
vessels, which  they  made,  as  we  have  seen,  to  arise  from 
the  head  and  brain.  These  he  represents  to  be  two  in 
number,  placed  before  the  spinal  column,  the  larger  on 
the  right,  the  smaller  on  the  left,  which,  he  also  remarks, 
is  by  some  called  aorta  (aopT-q),  the  first  time  we  observe 
that  this  epithet  occurs  in  the  history.  Both  he  repre- 
sents to  arise  from  the  heart,  the  larger  from  the  largest 
upper  cavity,  the  smaller  or  aorta  from  the  middle  cavity, 
but  in  a  different  manner  and  forming  a  narrower  canal. 
He  also  distinguishes  the  thick,  firm,  and  more  tendinous 
structure  of  the  aorta  from  the  thin  and-  membranous 
structure  of  vein.  In  describing  the  distribution  of  the 
latter,  however,  he  confounds  the  vena  cava  and  pulmonary 
artery,  and,  as  might  ta  expected,  he  confounds  the 
ramifications  of  the  former  with  those  of  the  arterial  tubes 
in  general.  While  he  represents  the  lung  to  be  liberally 
supplied  with  blood,  he  describes  the  brain  as  an  organ 
almost  destitute  of  this  fluid.  His  account  of  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  aorta  is  wonderfully  correct.  Though  he  does 
not  notice  the  cceliac,  and  remarks  that  the  aorta  sends  no 
direct  branches  to  the  liver  and  spleen,  he  had  observed 
the  mesenteric,  the  renal,  and  the  common  iliac  arteries'. 
It  is  nevertheless  singular  that  though  he  remarks  parti- 
cularly that  the  renal  branches  of  the  aorta  go  to  the 
substance  and  not  the  pelvis  («oiAta)  of  the  kidney,  he 
appears  to  mistake  the  ureters  for  branches  of  the  aorta. 
Of  the  nerves  (vevpd)  he  appears  to  have  the  most  confused 
notions.  Making  them  arise  from  the  heart,  which  he 
eays  has  nerves  (tendons)  in  its  largest  cavity,  he  represents 
the  aorta  to  be  a  nervous  or  tendinous  vein  (veupwSTj? 
<f>\ej3s).  By  and  by,  afterwards  saying  that  all  the  articu- 
lated bones  are  connected  by  nerves,  he  makes  them  the 
same  as  ligaments. 

He  distinguishes  the  windpipe  or  air-holder  (api-qpla) 
from  the  oesophagus,  because  it  is  placed  before  the  latter, 
because  food  or  drink  passing  into  it  causes  distressing 
cough  and  suffocation,  and  because  there  i3  no  passage 
from  the  lung  to  the  stomach.  He  knew  the  situation  and 
use  of  the  epiglottis,  seems  to  have  had  some  indistinct 
notions  of  the  larynx,  represents  the  windpipe  to  be  neces- 
sary to  convey  air  to  and  from  the  lungs,  and  appears  to 
have  a  tolerable  understanding  of  the  structure  of  the 
lungs.  He  repeatedly  represents  the  heart,  the  shape  and 
site  of  which  he  describes  accurately,  to  be  the  origin  of 
the  blood-vessels,  in  opposition  to  those  who  made  them 
descend  from  the  head ;  yet,  though  he  represents  it  as 
full  of  blood  and  the  source  and  fountain  of  that  fluid, 
and  even  speaks  of  the  blood  flowing  from  the  heart  to  the 
vefns,  and  thence  to  every  part  of  the  body,  he  says 
nothing  of  the  circular  motion  of  the  blood.  The  diaphragm 
he  distinguishes  by  the  name  Sta^wfia,  and  virolm/ia.  With 
the  liver  and  spleen,  and  the  whole  alimentary  canal,  he 
seems  well  acquainted.  The  several  parts  of  the  quadruple 
stomach  of  the  ruminating  animals  are  distinguished  and 
named ;  and  he  even  traces  the  relations  between  the  teeth 
and  the  several  forms  of  stomach,  and  the  length  or  brevity, 
the  simplicity  or  complication,  of  the  intestinal  tube. 
Upon  the  same  principle  he  distinguishes  the  jejunum 
(7)  vrjems),  or  the  empty  portion  of  the  small  intestines  in 
animals  (to  orepoi/  \emov), the  co?cum(Tv<f>\6v  ti  koI  oyKwSes), 
the  colon  (to  koiXov),  and  the  sigmoid  flexure  (  <rrevwr(pov 
koI  tlXiy/xcvov).  The  modern  epithet  of  rectum  is  the  literal 
translation  of  his  description  of  the  straight  progress  (tv6\i) 
of  the  bowel  to  the  anus  {ttijukt6%).     He  knew '  the  nasal 

1-27 


cavities  and  the  passage  from  the  tympanal  cavity  of  the 
ear  to  the  palate,  afterwards  described  by  Eustachius. 
He  distinguishes  as  "partes  similares  "  those  structures, 
such  as  bone,  cartilage,  vessels,  sinews,  blood,  lymph,  fat, 
flesh,  which,  not  confined  to  one  locality,  but  distributed 
throughout  the  body  generally,  we  now  term  the  tissues  or 
textures,  whilst  he  applies  the  term  "  partes  dissimilares" 
to  the  regions  of  the  head,  neck,  trunk,  and  extremities. 

Next  to  Aristotle  occur  the  names  of  Diodes  of  Carystus, 
and  Praxagoras  of  Cos,  the  last  of  the  family  of  the 
Asclepiadae.  The  latter  is  remarkable  for  being  the  first 
who  distinguished  the  arteries  from  the  veins,  and  the 
author  of  the  opinion  that  the  former  were  air-vessels. 

Hitherto  anatomical  inquiry  was  confined  to  the  examina- 
tion of  the  bodies  of  brute  animals.  We  have,  indeed,  nc 
testimony  of  the  human  body  being  submitted  to  examina- 
tion previous  to  the  time  of  Erasistratus  and  Herophilus  ; 
and  it  is  vain  to  look  for  authentic  facts  on  this  point 
before  the  foundation  of  the  Ptolemaic  dynasty  of  sovereigns 
in  Egypt.  This  event,  which,  as  is  generally  known, 
succeeded  the  death  of  Alexander,  320  years  before  the 
Christian  era,  collected  into  one  spot  the  scattered  embers 
of  literature' and  science,  which  were  beginning  to  languish 
in  Greece  under  a  weak  and  distracted  government  and  an  Alcx»«> 
unsettled  state  of  society.  The  children  of  her  divided  dria» 
states,  whom  domestic  discord  and  the  uncertainties  of  school 
war  rendered  unhappy  at  home,  wandered  into  Egypt, 
and  found,  under  the  fostering  hand  of  the  Alexandrian 
monarchs,  the  means  of  cultivating  the  sciences,  and 
repaying  with  interest  to  the  country  of  Thoth  and  Osiris 
the  benefits  vhich  had  been  conferred  on  the  infancy  of 
Greece  by  Thales  and  Pythagoras.  Alexandria  became  in 
this  manner  the  repository  of  all  the  learning  and  know- 
ledge of  the  civilised  work! ;  and  while  other  nations  were 
sinking  under  the  effects  of  internal  animosities  andjr.utual 
dissensions,  or  ravaging  the  earth  with  the  evils  of  war, 
the  Egyptian  Greeks,  kept  alive  the  sacred  flame  of 
science,  and  preserved  mankind  from  relapsing  into  their 
original  barbarism.  These  happy  effects  are  to  be  ascribed 
in  an  eminent  degree  to  the  enlightened  government  and 
liberal  opinions  of  Ptolemy  Soter,  and  his  immediate  288. 
successors  Philadelphus  and  Euergetes.  The  two  latter 
princes,  whose  authority  was  equalled  only  by  the  zeal  with 
which  they  patronised  science  and  its  professors,  were  the 
first  who  enabled  physicians  to  dissect  the  human  body, 
and  prevented  the  prejudices  of  ignorance  and  superstition 
from  compromising  the  welfare  of  the  human  race.  To 
this  happy  circumstance  Herophilus  and  Erasistratus  are 
indebted  for  the  distinction  of  being  known  to  posterity  as 
th"e  first  anatomists  who  dissected  and  described  the  parts 
of  the  human  body.  Both  these  physicians  flourished 
under  Ptolemy  Soter,  and  probably  Ptolemy  Philadelphus, 
and  were  indeed  the  principal  supports  of  what  has  been 
named  in  medical  history  the  Alexandrian  School,  to  which 
their  reputation  seems  to  have  attracted  numerous  pupils. 
But  though  the  concurrent  testimony  of  antiquity  assigns 
to  these  physicians  the  merit  of  dissecting  the  human  body, 
time,  which  wages  endless  war  with  the  vanity  and 
ambition  of  man,  has  dealt  hardly  with  the  monuments  of 
their  labours.  As  the  works  of  neither  have  been  preserved, 
great  uncertainty  prevails  as  to  the  respective  merits  of 
these  ancient  anatomists;  and  all  that  is  now  known  of 
their  anatomical  researches  is  obtained  from  the  occasional 
notices  of  Galen,  Oribasius,  and  some  other  writers.  From 
the9e  it  appears" that  Erasistratus  recognised  the  valves  of 
the  heart,  and  distinguished  them  by  the  names  of  tricuspid 
and  sigmoid ;  that  he  studied  particularly  the  shape  and 
structure  of  the  brain,  and  its  divisions,  and  cavities,  and 
membranes,  and  likened  the  convolutions  to  the  folds  i  f 
the  jejunum  ;  that  ho  first  formed*  a'  distinct  idea  of  the 


802 


ANATOMY 


[piBTORY. 


Lature  of  the  nerves,  which  he  made  issue  from  the  brain ; 
and  that  he  discovered  lymphatic  vessels  in  the  mesentery, 
first  in  brute  animals,  and  afterwards,  it  is  said,  in  man. 
He  appears  also  to  havo  distinguished  the  nerves  into 
those  of  sensation  and  those  of  motion. 

Of  Herophilus  it'is  said  that  he  had  extensive  anatomical 
knowledge,  acquired  by  dissecting  not  only  brutes  but 
human  bodies.  Of  these  he  probably  dissected  more  than 
any  of  his  predecessors  or  contemporaries.  Devoted  to 
the  assiduous  cultivation  of  anatomy,  he  appears  to  have 
studied  with  particular  attention  those  parts  which  were 
least  understood.  He  recognised  the  nature  of  the  pul- 
monary artery,  which  he  denominates  arlerious  vein  ;  he 
knew  the  vessels  of  the  mesentery,  and  showed  that  they 
did  not  go  to  the  vena  porta;,  but  to  certain  glandular 
bodies ;  and  he  first  applied  the  name  of  twelve-inch  or 
duodenum  (SiuSeKaSdnrvAos)  to  that  part  of  the  alimentary 
canal  which  is  next  to  the  stomach.  Like  Erasistratus,  he 
appears  to  have  studied  carefully  the  configuration  of  the 
brain  ;  and  though,  like  him,  he  distinguishes  the  nerves 
into  those  of  sensation  and  those  of  voluntary  motion,  he 
adds  to  them  the  ligaments  and  tendons.  A  tolerable 
description  of  the  liver  by  this  anatomist  is  preserved  in 
the  writings  of  Galen.  He  first  npplied  the  name  of 
choroid  or  vascular  membrane  to  that  which  is  found  in 
the-cerebral  ventricles;  he  knew  the  straight  venous  sinus 
which  still  bears  his  name  ;  and  to  him  the  linear  furrow 
at  the  bottom  of  the  fourth  ventricle  is  indebted  for  its 
name  of  calamus  scriptorius. 

The  celebrity  of  these  two  great  anatomists  appears  to 
have  thrown  into  the  shade  for  a  long  period  the  names 
of  all  other  inquirers ,  for,  among  their  numerous  and 
rather  celebrated  successors  in  the  Alexandrian  school,  it  is 
impossible  to  recognise  a  name  which  is  entitled  to  dis- 
tinction in  the  history  of  anatomy.  In  a  chasm  so  wide 
it  is  not  uninteresting  to  find,  in  one  who  combined  the 
characters  of  the  greatest  orator  and  philosopher  of  Rome, 
the  most  distinct  traces  of  attention  to  anatomical  know- 
ledge. Cicero,  in  his  treatise  De  Natura  Deorum,  in  a 
short  sketch  of  physiology,  such  as  it  was  taught  by 
Aristotle  and  his  disciples,  introduces  various  anatomical 
notices,  from  which  the  classical  reader  may  form  some 
idea  of  the  state  of  anatomy  at  that  time.  The  Roman 
orator  appears  to  have  formed  a  pretty  distinct  idea  of  the 
shape  and  connections  of  the  windpipe  and  lungs;  and 
though  he  informs  his  readers  that  he  knows  the  alimentary 
canal,  he  omits  the  details  through  motives  of  delicacy. 
In  imitation  of  Aristotle.,  he  talks  of  the  blood  being  con- 
veyed by  the  veins  (vena;),  that  is,  blood-vessels,  through 
the  body  at  large ;  and,  like  Praxagoras,  of  the  air  inhaled 
by  the  lungs  being  conveyed  through  the  arteries. 

Aretaeus,  though  chiefly  known  as  a  medical  author, 
makes  some  observations  on  the  lung  and  the  pleura, 
maintains  the  glandular  structure  of  the  kidney,  and 
describes  the  anastomosis  or  communications  of  the  capil- 
lary extremities  of  the  vena  cava  with  those  of  the 
portal  vein. 

The  most  valuable  depository  of  the  anatomical  know- 
ledge of  these  times  is  the  work  of  Celsus,  one  of  the 
most  judicious  medical  authors  of  antiquity.  He  left, 
indeed,  no  express  anatomical  treatise ;  but  from  the 
introductions  to  the  4th  and  8th  books  of  his  work,  De 
Medicina,  with  incidental  remarks  in  the  7th,  the  modern 
reader  may  form  very  just  ideas  of  his  anatomical  attain- 
ments. From  these  it  appears  that  Celsus  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  windpipe  and  lungs  and  the  heart ; 
with  the  difference  between  the  windpipe  and  oeso- 
phagus (stomachus),  which  leads  to  the  stomach  (venlri- 
cuius) ;  and  with  the  shape,  situation,  and  relations  of  the 
diaphragm.     He  enumerates  also  the  principal  facts  relating 


to  the  situation  of  the  liver,  the  spleen,  the  kidneys,  and 
the  stomach.  He  appears,  however,  to  have  been  unaware 
of  the  distinction  of  duodenum  or  twelve-inch  bowel, 
already  admitted  by  Herophilus,  and  represents  the  stomach 
as  directly  connected  by  means  of  the  pylorus  with  the 
jejunum  or  upper  part  of  the  small  intestine. 

The  7th  and  8th  books,  which  are  devoted  to  the 
consideration  of  thoso  diseases  which  are  treated  by  manual 
operation,  contain  sundry  anatomical  notices  necessary  to 
explain  the  nature  of  the  diseases  or  mode  of  treatment. 
Of  these,  indeed,  the  merit  is  unequal;  and  it  is  .not 
wonderful  that  the  ignorance  of  the  day  prevented  Celsus 
from  understanding  rightly  the  mechanism  of  the  pathology 
of  hernia.  He  appears,  however,  to  have  formed  a 
tolerably  just  idea  of  the  mode  of  cutting  into  the  urinary 
bladder ;  and  even  his  obstetrical  instructions  show  that 
his  knowledge  of  the  uterus,  vagina,  and  appendages  was 
not  contemptible.  It  is  in  osteology,  however,  that  tho 
information  of  Celsus  is  chiefly  conspicuous.  Ho  enume- 
rates the  sutures  and  several  of  the  holes  of  the  cranium, 
and  describes  at  great  length  the  superior  and  inferior 
maxillary  bones  and  the  teeth.  With  a  good  deal  of  caro 
he  describes  the  vertebrae  and  the  ribs,  and  gives  very 
briefly  the  situation  and  shape  of  the  scapula,  humerus, 
radius,  and  ulna,  and  even  of  the  carpal  and  metacarpal 
bones,  and  then  of  the  different  bones  of  the  pelvis  and 
lower  extremities.  He  had  formed  a  just  idea  of  the 
articular  connections,  and  is  desirous  to  impress  the  fact 
that  none  is  formed  without  cartilage.  From  his  mention 
of  many  minute  holes  (mulla  et  lenuia  foramina),  in  the 
recess  of  the  nasal  cavities,  it  is  evident  that  he  was 
acquainted  with  the  perforated  plate  of  the  ethmoid  bone  ; 
and  from  saying  that  the  straight  part  of  the  auditory 
canal  become::  ilexuous,  and  terminates  in  numerous  minute 
cavities  (multa  et  tenuia  J'oramina  diducilur),  it  is  inferred 
by  Portal  that  he  knew  the  semicircular  canals. 

Though  the  writings  of  Celsus  show  that  he  cultivated 
anatomical  knowledge,  it  does  not  appear  that  the  science 
was  much  studied  by  the  Romans  ;  and  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that,  after  the  decay  of  the  school  of  Alexandria, 
it  languished  in  neglect  and  obscurity.  It  is  at  least 
certain  that  the  appearance  of  Marinus  during  the  reign  of 
Nero  is  mentioned  by  authors  as  an  era  remarkable  for 
anatomical  inquiry,  and  that  this  person  is  distinguished 
by  Galen  as  the  restorer  of  a  branch  of  knowledge  which 
had  been  before  him  suffered  to  fall  into  undeserved 
neglect.  From  Galen  also  we  learn  that  Marinus  gave  an 
accurate  account  of  the  muscles,  that  he  studied  particularly 
the  glands,  and  that  he  discovered  those  of  the. mesentery. 
He  fixed  the  number  of  nerves  at  seven  ;  he  observed  the 
palatine  nerves,,  which  he  rated  as  the  fourth  .pair  ;  and 
described  as  the  fifth  the  auditory  and  facial,  which  he 
regards  as  one  pair,  and  the  hypoglossal  as  the  sixth. 

Not  long  after  Marinus  appeared  Ruffus  of  Ephesus,  a  Buftaa 
Greek  physician,  who  in  the  reign  of  Trajan  was  much 
attached  to  physiology,  and  as  a  means  of  cultivating  this 
science  studied  Comparative  Anatomy,  and  made  sundry 
experiments  on  living  animals.  Of  the  anatomical  writings 
of  this  author  there  remains  only  a  list  or  catalogue  of 
names  of  different  regions  and  parts  of  the  animal  body. 
He  appears,  however,  to  have  directed  attention  particu- 
larly to  the  tortuous  couue  of  the  uterine  vessels,  and  to 
have  recognised  even  at  this  early  period  the  Fallopian 
tube.  He  distinguishes  the  nerves  into  those  of  sensation 
and  those  of  motion.  He  kne.v  the  recurrent  nerve.  His 
name  is  further  associated  with  tho  ancient  experiment  of 
compressing  in  the  situation  of  the  carotid  arteries  the 
pneumogastric  nerve,  and  thereby  inducing  insensibility 
and  loss  of  voice. 

Of  all  the  authors  of-  antiquity,  however,  none  possesses- 


HISTOEV.] 


ANATOMY 


803 


bo  just  a  claim  to  the  title  of  anatomist  as  Claudius  Galeuus, 
the  celebrated  physician  01  Perganius,  who  was  born  about 
the  130th  year  of  the  Christian  era,  and  lived  under  the 
reigns  of  Hadrian,  the  Antonmes,  Commodus,  and  Severus. 
He  was  trained  by  his  father  Nicon  (whose  memory  he 
embalms  as  an  eminent  mathematician,  architect,  and 
astronomer)  in  all  the  learning  of  the  day,  and  initiated 
particularly  into  the  mysteries  of  the  Aristotelian  philo- 
sophy. In  an  order  somewhat  whimsical  he  afterwards 
'  studied  philosophy  successively  in  the  schools  of  the  Stoics, 
the  Academics,  the  Peripatetics,  and  the  Epicureans.  When 
he  was  seventeen  years  of  age,  his  father,  he  informs  us,  was 
admonished  by  a  dream  to  devote  his  son  to  the  study  of 
medicine ;  but  it  was  fully  two  years  after  that  Galen 
entered  on  this  pursuit,  under  the  auspices  of  an  instructor 
whose  name  he  has  thought  proper  to  conceal.  Shortly 
after  he  betook  himself  to  the  study  of  anatomy  under 
Satyrus,  a  pupil  of  Quintus,  and  of  medicine  under  Strar 
tonicus,  a  Hippocratic  physician,  and  .<Esehrion,  an  empiric. 
He  had  scarcely  attained  the  age  of  twenty  when  he  had 
occasion  to  deplore  the  loss  of  the  first  and  most  affectionate 
guide  of  his  studies ;  and  soon  after  he  proceeded  to 
Smyrna  to  obtain  the  anatomical  instructions  of  Pelops, 
who,  though  mystified  by  some  of  the  errors  of  Hippocrates, 
is  commemorated  by  his  pupil  as  a  skilful  anatomist. 
After  this  he  appears  to  have  visited  various  cities  dis- 
tinguished for  philosophical  or  medical  teachers ;  and, 
finally,  to  have  gone  to  Alexandria  with  the  view  of 
cultivating  more  accurately  and  intimately  the  study  of 
anatomy  under  Heraclianus.  Here  he  remained  till  his 
twenty-eighth  year,  when  he  regarded  himself  as  possessed 
of  all  the  knowledge  then  attainable  through  the  medium 
of  teachers.  He  now  returned  to  Pergamus  to  exercise 
the  art  which  he  had  so  anxiously  studied,  and  received, 
in  his  twentyrninth  year,  an  unequivocal  testimony  of  the 
confidence  which  his  fellow-citizens  reposed  in  his  skill,  by 
being  intrusted  with  the  treatment  of  the  wounded  gladia- 
tors ;  and  in  this  capacity  he  is  said  to  have  treated  wounds 
with  success  which  were  fatal  under  former  treatment.  A 
seditious  tumult  appears  to  have  caused  him  to  .form  the 
resolution  of  quitting  Pergamus  and  proceeding  to  Rome,  at 
the  age  of  thirty-two.  Here,  however,  he  remained  only  five 
years;  and  returning  once  more  to  Pergamus",  after  travelling 
for  some  time,  finally  settled  in  Rome  as  physician  to  the 
Emperor  Commodus.  The  anatomical  writings  ascribed  to 
Galen,  which  are  numerous,  are  to  be  viewed  not  merely 
as  the  result  of  personal  research  and  information,  but  as 
the  common  depository  of  the  anatomical  knowledge  of 
the  day,  and  as  combining  all  that  he  had  learnt  from  the 
several  teachers  under  whom  he  successively  studied  with 
whatever  personal  investigation  enabled  him  to  acquire. 
It  is  on  thi3  account  not  always  easy  to  distinguish  what 
Galen  had  himself  ascertained  by  personal  research  from 
that  which  was  known  by  other  anatomists.  This,  however, 
though  of  moment  to  the  history  of  Galen  as  an  anatomist, 
is  of  little  consequence  to  the  science  itself ;  and  from  the 
anatomical  remains  of  this  author  a  pretty  just  idea  may 
be  formed  both  of  the  progress  and  of  the  actual  state  of 
the  science  at  that  time. 

The  osteology  of  Galen  is  undoubtedly  the  most  perfect 
of  the  departments  of  the  anatomy  of  the  ancients.  He 
names  and  distinguishes  the  bones  and  sutures  of  the 
cranium  nearly  in  the  same  manner  as  at  present.  Thus, 
he  notices  the  quadrilateral  shape  of  he  parietal  bones ; 
he  distinguishes  the  squamous,  the  styloid,  the  mastoid, 
and  the  petrous  portions  of  the  temporal  bone3 ;  and  he 
remarks  the  peculiar  situation  and  shape  of  the  sphenoid 
bone.  Of  the  ethmoid,  which  he  omits  at  first,  he  after- 
wards speaks  more  at  large  in  another  treatise.  The  malar 
he  notices  under  the  name  of  zygomatic,  .bono ;  and  he 


describes  at  length  the  upper  maxillary  and  nasal  bones, 
and  the  connection  of  the  former  with  the  sphenoid.  He 
gives  the  first  clear  account  of  the  number  and  situation 
of  the  vertebrae,  which  he  divides  into  cervical,  dorsal,  and 
lumbar,  and  distinguishes  from  the  sacrum  and  coccyz. 
Under  the  head  Bones  of  the  Thorax,  he  enumerates  the 
sternum,  the  ribs  (at  irkcvpal),  and  the  dorsal  vertebrae,  the 
connection  of  which  with  the  former  he  designates  as  a 
variety  of  diarthrosis.  The  description  of  the  bones  of  the 
extremities  and  their  articulations  concludes  the  treatise. 

Though  in  myology  Galen  appears  to  less  advantage 
than  in  osteology,  he  nevertheless  had  carried  this  part  of 
anatomical  knowledge  to  greater  perfection  than  any  of  his 
predecessors.  He  describes  a  frontal  muscle,  the  six 
muscles  of  the  eye,  and  a  seventh  proper  to  animals ;  a 
muscle  to  each  ala  nasi,  four  muscles  of  the  lips,  the  thin 
cutaneous  muscle  of  the  neck,  which  he  first  termed 
platysrna  myoides,  or  muscular  expansion,  two  muscles  of 
the  eyelids,  and  four  pairs  of  muscles  of  the  lower  jaw — the 
temporal  to  raise,  the  masseter  to  draw  to  one  side,  and 
two  depressors,  corresponding  to  the  digastric  and  internal 
pterygoid  muscles.  After  speaking  of  the  muscles  which 
move  the  head  and  the  scapula,  he  adverts  to  those  by 
which  the  windpipe  is  opened  and  shut,  and  the  intrinsic 
or  proper  muscles  of  the  larynx  and  hyoid  bone.  Then 
follow  those  of  the  tongue,  pharynx,  and  neck,  those  of  the 
upper  extremities,  the  trunk,  and  the  lower  extremities 
successively ;  and  in  the  course  of  this  description  he 
swerves  so  little  from  the  actual  facts  that  most  of  the 
names  by  which  he  distinguishes  the  principal  muscles 
have  been  retained  by  the  best  modern  anatomists.  It  is 
chiefly  in  the  minute  account  of  these  organs,  and  especially 
in  reference  to  the  minuter  muscles,  that  he  appears 
inferior  to  the  moderns. 

The  angiological  knowledge  of  .Galen,  though  vitiated 
by  the  erroneous  physiology  of  the  times  and  ignorance  of 
the  separate  uses  of  the  arteries  and  veins,  exhibits,  never- 
theless, some  accurate  facts  which  show  the  diligence  of 
the  author  in  dissection. .  Though,  in  opposition  to  the 
opinions  of  Praxagoras  and  Erasistratus,  he  proved  that 
the  arteries  in  the  living  animal  contain  not  air  but  blood, 
it  does  not  appear  to  have  occurred  to  him  to  determine  iu 
what  direction  the  blood  flows,  or  whether  it  was  movable 
or  stationary.  Representing  the  left  ventricle  of  the  heart 
as  the  common  origin  of  all  the  arteries,  though  he  is 
misled  by  the  pulmonary  artery,  he  nevertheless  traces  the 
distribution  of  the  branches  of  the  aorta  with  some  accuracy. 
The  vena  azygos  also,  and  the  jugular  veins,  have  contri- 
buted to  add  to  the  confusion  of  his  description,  and  to 
render  his  angiology  the  most  imperfect  of  his  works. 

In  neurology  we  find  him  to  be  the  author  of  the  dogma) 
that  the  brain  is  the  origin  of  the  nerves  of  sensation,  and 
the  spinal  chord  6f  those  of  motion  ;  and  he  distinguishes 
the  former  from  the  latter  by  their  greater  softness  or  less 
consistence.  Though  he  admits  only  seven  cerebral  pairs, 
he  has  the  merit  of  distinguishing  and  tracing  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  greater  part  of  both  classes  of  nerves  with  great 
accuracy.  His  description  of  the  brain  is  derived  from 
dissection  of  the  lower  animals,  and  his  distinctions  of  the 
several  parts  of  the  organ  have  been  retained  by  modern 
anatomists.  His  mode  of  demonstrating  this  organ,  which 
indeed  is  clearly  described,  consists  of  five  different  steps. 
In  the  first  the  bisecting  membrane — i.e.  the  falx  (iixiviyt 
StxoToixovaa) —  and  the  connecting  blood-vessels  are  removed; 
and  the  dissector,  commencing  at  the  anterior  extremity 
of  the  great  fissure,  separates  the  hemispheres  gently  as  far 
as  the  torcular,  and  exposes  a  smooth  surface  (rijv  xyipav 
tvXwSj;  Trojs  oxxrav),  the  mesolobe  of  the  moderns,  or  the 
middle  band.  In  the  second  he  exposes  by  successive  sections 
the  ventricles,  the  choroid  plexus,  and  the  middle  partition. 


804 


ANATOMY 


[history. 


The  third  exhibits  the  pineal  body  (o-u>fia  Ktovou&h)  or 
conarium,  concealed  by  i  membrane  with  numerous  veins, 
meaning  that  part  of  the  plexus  which  is  now  known 
by  the  name  of  velum  inlcrpositum,  and  a  complete  view 
of  tho  ventricles.  The  fourth  unfolds  the  third  ventricle 
(rls  oAAj;  rpiTTj  sotXia),  the  communication  between  the 
two  lateral  ones,  the  arch-like  body  (cri/ia  i/»aAi8oct8«s) 
fornix,  and  the  passage  from  tho  third  to  the  fourth 
ventricle.  In  the  fifth  ho  gives  an  accurate  description  of 
the  relations  of  the  third  and  fourth  ventricle,  of  the 
situation  of  the  two  pairs  of  eminences,  nates  (y\ovrd)  and 
testes  (SiSu/xi'a  or  op^cis),  the  scolecoid  or  worm-like  process, 
anterior  and  posterior,  and  lastly  tho  linear  furrow,  called 
by  Herophilus  calamus  scriptorius. 

In  the  account  of  the  thoracic  organs  equal  accuracy 
may  be  recognised.  He  distinguishes  the  pleura  by  tho 
name  of  inclosing  membrane  (tyxijv  iire&Kuis,  membrana 
succingens),  and  remarks  its  similitude  in  structure  to  that 
of  the  peritoneum,  and  the  covering  which  it  affords  to  all 
the  organs.  The  pericardium  also  he  describes  as  a  membran- 
ous sac  with  a  circular  basis  corresponding  to  the  base  of 
the  heart,  and  a  conical  apex ;  and  after  an  account  of  the 
tunics  of  the  arteries  and  veins,  he  speaks  shortly  of  the 
lung,  and  more  at  length  of  the  heart,  which,  however,  he 
takes  Some  pains  to  prove  not  to  be  muscular,  because  it  is 
harder,  its  fibres  are  differently  arranged,  and  its  action  is 
incessant,  whereas  that  of  muscle  alternates  with  tho  state 
of  rest ;  he  gives  a  good  account  of  the  valves  and  of  tho 
vessels  ;  and  notices  especially  the  bony  ring  formed  in  the 
heart  of  the  horse,  elephant,  and  other  large  animals. 

The  description  of  the  abdominal  organ9,  and  of  the 
kidneys  and  urinary  apparatus,  is  still  more  minute,  and 
in  general  accurate.  Our  limits,  however,  do  not  permit 
us  to  give  any  abstract  of  them ;  and  it  is  sufficient  in 
general  to  say  that  Galen  gives  correct  views  of  the 
arrangement  of  the  peritoneum  and  omentum,  and  distin- 
guishes accurately  the  several  divisions  of  the  alimentary 
canal  and  its  component  tissues.  In  the  liver,  which  he 
allows  to  receive  an  envelope  from  the  peritoneum,  he 
admits,  in  imitation  of  Erasistratus,  a  proper  substance  or 
parenchyma,  interposed  between  the  vessels,  and  capable 
of  removal  by  suitable  dissection.  His  description  of  the 
orgaas  of  generation  is  rather  brief,  and  is,  like  most  of  his 
anatomical  sketches,  too  much  blended  with  physiological 
dogmas. 

This  short  sketch  may  communicate  some  idea  of  the 
condition  of  anatomical  knowledge  in  the  days  of  Galen, 
who  indeed  i3  justly  entitled  to  the  character  of  rectifying 
and  digesting,  if  not  of  creating,  the  science  of  anatomy 
among  the  ancients.  Though  evidently  confined,  perhaps 
entirely  by  the  circumstances  of  the  times,  to  the  dissection 
of  brute  animals,  so  indefatigable  and  judicious  was  he  in 
the  mode  of  acquiring  knowledge,  that  many  of  his  names 
and  distinctions  are  still  retained  with  advantage  in  the 
writings  of  the  moderns.  Galen  was  a  practical  anatomist, 
and  not  only  describes  the  organs  of  the  animal  body  from 
actual  dissection,  but  gives  ample  instructions  for  tho 
proper  mode  of  exposition.  His  language  is  in  general 
clear,  his  style  as  correct  as  in  most  of  the  Authors  of 
the  same  period,  and  his  manner  is  animated.  Few 
passages  in  early  science  are  indeed  so  interesting  as  the 
description  of  the  process  for  demonstrating  the  brain  and 
other  internal  organs  which  is  given  by  this  patient  'and 
onthusiastic  observer  of  nature.  To  some  it  may  appear 
absurd  to  speak  of  anything  Eke  good  anatomical  descrip- 
tion in  an  author  who  writes  in  the  Greek  language,  or 
anything  like  an  interesting  and  correct  manner  in  a 
writer  who  flourished  at  a  period  when  taste  was  depraved 
or  extinct  and  literature  corrupted, — when  the  philosophy 
.of  Antoninus  and  the  mild  virtues  of  Aurelius  could  do 


little  to  soften  the  iron  sway  of  Lucius  Verus  and  Cora- 
modus  ;  but  the  habit  of  faithful  observation  in  Galen 
seems  to  have  been  so  powerful  that,  in  the  description  of 
materia]  objects,  his  genius  invariably  rises  above  the 
circumstances  of  his  age.  Though  not  so  directly  con- 
nected with  this  subject,  it  is  nevertheless  proper  to 
mention  that  he  appears  to  have  been  the  first  anatomist 
who  can  be  said,  on  authentic  grounds,  to  have  attempted 
to  discover  the  uses  of  organs  by  vivisection  and  experi- 
ments on  living  animals.  In  this  manner  he  ascertained 
the  position  and  demonstrated  the  action  of  the  heart ;  and 
he  mentions  two  instances  in  which,  in  consequence  of  disease 
or  injury,  he  had  an  opportunity  of  oV-serving  the  motions 
of  this  organ  in  the  human  body.  In  short,  without  eulogis- 
ing an  ancient  author  at  the  expense  of  critical  justice,  or 
commending  his  anatomical  descriptions  as  superior  to  those 
of  the  moderns,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  anatomical 
writings  of  the  physician  of  Pergamus  form  a  remarkable 
era  in  the  history  of  the  science ;  and  that  by  diligence  in 
dissection  and  accuracy  in  description  he  gave  the  science 
a  degree  of  importance  and  stability  which  it  has  retained 
through  the  lapse  of  many  centuries.  „ 

The  death  of  Galen,  which  took  place  at  Pergamus  in 
the  ninetieth  year  of  his  age  and  the  193d  of  the  Christian 
era,  may  be  regarded  as  the  downfall  of  anatomy  in  ancient 
times.  After  this  period  we  recognise  only  two  names  of 
any  celebrity  in  the  history  of  the  science — those  of 
Soranus  and  Oribasius,  with  the  more  obscure  ones  of 
Meletius  and  Theophilus,  the  latter  the  chief  of  the 
imperial  guard  of  Heraclius. 

Soranus,  who  was  an  Ephesian,  and  flourished  under 
the  emperors  Trajan  and  Hadrian,  distinguished  himself 
by  his  researches  on  the  female  organs  of  generation.  He 
appears  to  have  dissected  the  human  subject ;  and  this 
perhaps  is  one  reason  why  his  descriptions  of  these  parts 
are  more  copious  and  more  accurate  than  those  of  Galen, 
who  derived  his  knowledge  from  the  bodies  of  the  lower 
animals.  He  denies  the  existence  of  the  hymen,  but 
describes  accurately  the  clitoris.  Soranus  the  anatomist 
must  be  distinguished  from  the  physician  of  that  name, 
who  was  also  a  native  of  Ephesus. 

Oribasius,  who  was  born  at  Pergamus,  is  said  to  have  Oribasim 
been  at   once  the  friend  and  physician  of  the  Emperor 
Julian,    and    to    have    contributed    to-   the    elevation   of  3G1-363 
that  apostate  to  the  imperial  throne.     For  this  he  appears 
to  have  suffered  the  punishment   of   a   temporary   exile 
under  Valens  and  Valentinian ;  but  was  soon  recalled,  and 
lived  in  great  honour  till  the  period  of  his  death.     By 
Le  Clerc,  Oribasius  is  regarded  as  a  compiler ;  and  indeed  387. 
his  anatomical  writings  bear  so  close  a  correspondence  with 
those  of  Galen  that  the  character  is  not  altogether  ground- 
less.    In  various  points,  nevertheless,  he  has  rendered  the 
Galenian  anatomy  more  accurate  ;  and  he  has  distinguished 
himself  by  a  good  account  of  the  salivary  glands,  which 
were  overlooked  by  Galen. 

~  To  the  same  period  generally  is  referred  the  Anatomical 
Introduction  of  an  anonymous  author,  first  published  in 
1618  by  Lauremberg,  and  more  recently  by  Bernard.  It 
is  to  be  regarded  as  a  compilation  formed  on  the  model  of 
Galen  and  Oribasius.  The  same  character  is  applicable  to 
the  treatises  of  Meletius  and  .Theophilus. 

The  decline  indicated  by  the_se  languid  efforts  soon  sunk 
into  a  state  of  total  inactivity ;  and  the  unsettled  state 
of  society  during  the  latter  ages  of  the  Roman  empire 
was  extremely  unfavourable  to  the  successful  cultivation 
of  science.  The  sanguinary  conflicts  in  which  the  southern 
countries  of  Europe  were  repeatedly  engaged  with  their 
northern  neighbours,  between  the  second  and  eighth  cen- 
turies, tended  gradually  to  estrange  their  minds  from 
i  scientific  pursuits  ;  and  the  hordes  of  barbarians  by  which 


HISTORY.] 


ANATOMY 


80.5 


t7,o  Roman  empire  was  latterly  overrun,  while  they  urged 
tuem  to  the  necessity  of  making  hostile  resistance,  and 
adopting  means  of  self-defence,  introduced  such  habits  of 
ignorance  and  barbarism,  that  science  was  almost  univer- 
sally forgotten.  While  the  art  of  healing  was  professed 
only  by  some  few  ecclesiastics  or  by  itinerant  practitioners, 
anatomy  was  utterly  neglected ;  and  no  name  of  anatomical 
celebrity  occurs  to  diversify  the  long 'and  uninteresting 
period  commonly  distinguished  as  the  Dark  Ages. 

Anatomical  learning,  thus  neglected  by  European  nations, 
•is  believed  to  have  received  a  temporary  cultivation  from 
the  Asiatics.  Of  these,  several  nomadic  tribes,  known  to 
Europeans  under  the  general  denomination  of  Arabs  and 
Saracens,  had  gradually  coalesced  under  various  leaders; 
and  by  their  habits  of  endurance,  as  well  as  of  enthusiastic 
valour  in  successive  expeditions  against  the  eastern  division 
of  the  Roman  empire,  had  acquired  such  military  reputation 
as  to  render  them  formidable  wherever  they  appeared. 
After  a  century  and  a  half  of  foreign  warfare  or  internal 
animosity,  under  the  successive  dynasties  of  the  Ommiads 
and  Abbassides,  in  which  the  propagation  of  Islamism  was 
the  pretext  for  the  extinction  of  learning  and  civilisation, 
and  the  most  remorseless  system  of  rapine  and  destruction, 
the  Saracens  began,  under  the  latter  dynasty  of  prince9,  to 
recognise  the  value  of  science,  and  especially  of  that  which 
prolongs  life,  heals  disease,  and  alleviates  the  pain  of 
wounds  and  injuries.  The  caliph  Almansor  combined  with 
his  official  knowledge  of  Moslem  law  the  successful  cultiva- 
tion of  astronomy ;  but  to  his  grandson  Almamun,  the 
seventh  prince  of  the  line  of  the  Abbassides,  belongs  the 
merit  of  undertaking  to  render  his  subjects  philosophers  and 
physicians.  By  the  directions  of  this  prince  the  works  of 
.he  Greek  and  Roman  authors  were  translated  into  Arabic ; 
and  the  favour  and  munificence  with  which  literature  and 
;ts  profess  ors  were  patronised  speedily  raised  a  succession 
of  learned  Arabians.  The  residue  of  the  rival  family  of 
the  Ommiads,  already  settled  in  Spain,  was  prompted  by 
motives  of  rivalry  or  honourable  ambition  to  adopt  the 
same  course  ;  and  while  the  academy,  hospitals,  and  library 
of  Baghdad  bore  testimony  to  the  zeal  and  liberality  of  the 
Abbassides,  the  munificence  of  the  Ommiades  was  not  le33 
conspicuous  in  the  literary  institutions  of  Cordova,  Seville, 
and  Toledo. 

Notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  the  Arabian  princes, 
however,  and  the  diligence  of  the  Arabian  physicians,  little 
was  done  for  anatomy,  and  the  science  made  no  substantial 
acquisition.  The  Koran  denounces  as  unclean  the  per- 
son who  touches  a  corpse;  tho  rules  of  Islamism  forbid 
dissection  ;  and  whatever  their  instructors  taught  was 
borrowed  from  the  Greeks.  Abu-Bekr  Al-Rasi,  Abu-Ali 
Ibn-Siua,  Abul-Cassem,  and  Abu-Walid  Ibn-Roshd,  the 
Rhazes,  Avicenna,  Abulcasis,  and  Averrhoes  of  European 
authors,  are  their  most  celebrated  names  in  medicine ;  yet 
to  none  of  these  can  the  historian  with  justice  ascribe  any 
anatomical  merit.  Al-Rasi  has  indeed  left  descriptions  of 
the  eye,  of  the  ear  and  its  meatus,  and  of  the  heart ;  and 
lbn-Sina,  Abul-Cassem,  and  Ibn-Roshd  give  anatomical 
descriptions  of  the  parts  of  the  human  body.  But  of  these 
the  general  character  is,  that  they  are  copies  from  Galen, 
sometimes,  not  very  just,  and  in  all  instances  mystified 
with  a  large  proportion  of  the  fanciful  and  absurd  imagery 
and  inflated,  style  of  the  Arabian  writers.  The  chief 
reason  of  their  obtaining  a  place  in  anatomical  history  is, 
that  by  the  influence  which  their  medical  authority  enabled 
them  to  exercise  in  the  European  schools,  the  nomenclature 
which  they  employed  was  adopted  by  European  anatomists, 
and  continued  till  the  revival  of  ancient  learning  restored 
the  original  nomenclature  of  the  Greek  physicians.  Thus, 
the  cervix,  or  nape  of  the  neck,  is  nucha;  the  oesophagus 
is  meri ;  the  umbilical  region  is  sumen  or  sumac;  the 


abdomen  is  myrach ;  the  peritoneum  ia  tipliac  ;  and  the 
omentum,  zirbus. 

From  the  general  character  now  given  justice  requires 
that  we  except  Abdallatif,  the  annalist  of  Egyptian 
affairs.  This  author,  who  maintains  that  it  i3  impossible 
to  learn  anatomy  from  books,  and  that  the  authority  of 
Galen  must  yield  to  personal  inspection,  informs  us  that 
the  Moslem  doctors  did  not  neglect  opportunities  of  study- 
ing the  bones  of  the  human  body  in  cemeteries ;  and  that 
he  himself,  by  once  examining  a  collection  of  bones  in  this 
manner,  ascertained  that  the  lower  jaw  is  formed  of  one 
piece ;  that  the  sacrum,  though  sometimes  composed  of 
several,  is  most  generally  of  one ;  and  that  Galen  is 
mistaken  when  he  asserts  that  these  bones  are  not  single. 

The  era  of  Saracen  learning  extends  to  the  1 3th  century  ; 
and  after  this  we  begin  to  approach  happier  times.  The 
university  of  Bologna,  which,  as  a  school  of  literature  and 
law,  was  already  celebrated  in  the  twelfth  century,  became, 
in  the  course  of  the  following  one,  not  less  distinguished 
for  us  medical  teachers.  Though  the  misgovernment  of 
the  municipal  rulers  of  Bologna  had  disgusted  both  teachers 
and  students,  and  given  rise  to  the  foundation  of  similar 
institutions  in  Padua  and  Naples, — and  though  the  school 
of  Salerno,  in  the  territory  of  the  latter,  was  still  in  high 
repute, — it  appears,  from  the  testimony  of  Sarti,  that 
medicine  was  in  the  highest  esteem  in  Bologna,  and  that 
it  was  in  such  perfection  as  to  require  a  division  of  its 
professors  into  physicians,  surgeons,  physicians  for  wounds, 
barber-surgeons,  oculists,  and  even  some  others.  Notwith- 
standing these  indications  of  refinement,  however,  anatomy 
was  manifestly  cultivated  rather  as  an  appendage  of  surgery 
than  a  branch  of  medical  science  ;  and,  according  to  the 
testimony  of  Guy  de  Chauliac,  the  cultivation  of  anatomical 
knowledge  was  confined  to  Roger,  Roland,  Jamerio,  Bruno, 
and  Lanfranc ;  and  this  they  borrowed  chiefly  from  Galen. 

In  this  state  matters  appear  to  have  proceeded  with  the 
medical  school  of  Bologna  till  the  commencement  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  when  the  circumstance  of  possessing  a 
teacher  of  originality  enabled  this  university  to  be  the 
agent  of  as  great  an  improvement  in  medical  science  as  she 
had  already  effected  in  jurisprudence.  This  era,  indeed,  is 
distinguished  for  the  appearance  of  Mondino,  under  whose 
zealous  cultivation  the  science  first  began  to  rise  from  the 
ashes  in  which  ii  Iiad  been  buried.  This  father  of  modern 
anatomy,  who  taught  in  Bologna  about  the  year  1315, 
quickly  drew  the  curiosity  of  the  medical  profession  by 
well-ordered  demonstrations  of  the  different  parts  of  the 
human  body.  In  1315  he  dissected  and  demonstrated  the 
parts  of  the  human  body  in  two  female  subjects ;  and  in 
the  course  of  the  following  year  he  accomplished  the  same 
task  on  the  person  of  a  single  female.  But  while  he  seems 
CC  have  had  sufficient  original  force  of  intellect  to  direct 
his  own  route,  Riolan  accuses  him  of  copying  Galen ;  and 
it  is  certain  that  his  descriptions  are  corrupted  by  the 
barbarous  leaven  of  tie  Arabian  ?chools,  and  his  Latin 
defaced  by  the  exotic  nomenclature  of  lbn-Sina  and  Al- 
Rasi.     He  died,  according  to  Tiraboschi,  in  1325. 

Mondino  divides  the  body  into  three  cavities  (ventres), 
the  upper  containing  the  animal  members,  as  the  head,  the 
lower  containing  the  natural  members,  and  the  middle 
containing  the  spiritual  members.  He  first  describes  the 
anatomy  of  the  lower  cavity  or  the  abdomen,  then  proceeds 
to  the  middle  or  thoracic  organs,  and  concludes  with  the 
upper,  comprising  the  head  and  its  contents  and  append- 
ages. His  general  manner  is  to  notice  shortly  the  situation 
and  shape  or  distribution  of  textures  or  membranes,  and 
then  to  mention  the  disorders  to  which  they  are  subject. 
The  peritoneum  he  describes  under  the  name  of  siphae,  in 
imitation  of  the  Arabians,  the  omentum  under  that  of 
zirbus,  and  the  mesentery  or  eucJtarus  as  distinct,  from 


80G 


ANATOMY 


[lIISTORV 


both.  In  speaking  of  the  intestines  he  treats  first  of 
the  rectum,  then  the  colon,  the  left  or  sigmoid  flexure  of 
which,  as  well  as  the  transverse  arch  and  its  connection 
with  the  stomach,  he  particularly  remarks ;  then  the  circum 
or  monoculus,  after  this  the  small  intestines  in  general 
under  the  heads  of  ileum  and  jejunum,  and  latterly  the 
duodenum,  making  in  all  six  bowels.  The  liver  and  its 
vessels  are  minutely,  if  not  accurately,  examined ;  and  the 
cava,  under  the  name  chilis,  a  corruption  from  the  Greek 
KoiXrj,  is  treated  at  length,  with  the  emulgents  and  kidneys. 
His  anatomy  of  the  heart  is  wonderfully  accurate;  and  it 
is  a  remarkable  fact,  which  seems  to  be  omitted  "by  all 
subsequent  authors,  that  his  description  contains  the  rudi- 
ments of  the  circulation  of  the  blood.  "  Postea  vero 
versus  pulmonem  est  aliud  orificium  venae  arterialis,  quae 
portat  sanguinem  ad  pulmonem  a  corde  ;  quia  cum  pulmo 
deserviat  cordi  secundum  modum  dictum,  ut  ei  recompenset, 
cor  ei  transmittal  sanguinem  per  banc  venam,  qua?  vocatur 
vena  arterialis;  est  vena,  quia  portat  sanguinem,  et  arterialis, 
quia  habet  duas  tunicas ;  et  habet  duas  tunicas,  primo 
quia  vadit  ad  membrum  quod  existit  in  continuo  motu,  et 
secundo  quia  portat  sanguinem  valde  subtilem  et  choleri- 
cum."  The  merit  of  these  distinctions,  however,  he  after- 
wards destroys  by  repeating  the  old  assertion  that  the  left 
ventricle  ought  to  contain  spirit  or  air,  which  it  generates 
from  the  blood.  His  osteology  of  the  skull  is  erroneous. 
In  his  account  of  the  cerebral  membranes,  though  short,  he 
notices  the  principal  characters  of  the  dura  mater.  He 
describes  shortly  the  lateral  ventricles,  with  their  anterior 
and  posterior  cornua,  and  the  choroid  plexus  as  a  blood-red 
substance  like  a  long  worm.  He  then  speaks  of  the  third 
or  middle  ventricle,  and  one  posterior,  which  seems  to 
correspond  with  the  fourth  ;  and  describes  the  iufundibulum 
under  the  names  of  lacuna  and  emboton.  In  the  base  of 
the  organ  he  remarks,  first,  two  mammillary  caruncles,  the 
optic  nerves,  which  he  reckons  the  first  pair ;  the  oculo- 
muscular,  which  he  accounts  the  second  ;  the  third,  which 
appears  to  be  the  sixth  of  the  moderns ;  the  fyurth  ;  the 
fifth,  evidently  the  seventh  ;  a  sixth,  the  nervus  vagus ; 
and  a  seventh,  which  is  the  ninth  of  the  moderns.  Not- 
withstanding the  misrepresentations  into  which  this  early 
anatomist  was  betrayed,  his  book  is  valuable,  and  has  been 
illustrated  by  the  successive  commentaries  of  Achillini, 
Berenger,  and  Dryander. 

1480.  Matthew  de  Gradibus,  a  native  of  Gradi,  a  town  in 
Friuli,  near  Milan,  distinguished  himself  by  composing  a 
series  of  treatises  on  the  anatdmy  of  various  parts  of  the 
human  body.  He  is  the  first  who  represents  the  ovaries 
of  the  female  in  the  correct  light  in  which  they  were 
subsequently  regarded  by  Steno. 

Objections  similar  to  those  already  urged  in  speaking  of 
Mondino  apply  to   another  eminent  anatomist  of  those 

1495,  times.  Gabriel  de  Zerbis,  who  flourished  at  Verona 
towards  the  conclusion  of  the  15th  Century,  is  celebrated 
as  the  author  of  a  system  in  which  he  is  obviously  more 
anxious  to  astonish  his  readers  by  the  wonders  of  a  verbose 
and  complicated  style  than  to  instruct  by  precise  and  faithful 
description.  In  the  vanity  of  his  heart  he  assumed  the 
title  of  Medicus  Theoricus  ;■  but  though,  like  Mondino,  he 
derived  his  information  from  the  dissection  of  the  human 
oubject,  he  is  not  entitled  to  the  merit  either  of  describing 
truly  or  of  adding  to  the  knowledge  previously  acquired. 
He  is  superior  to  Mondino,  however,  in  knowing  the 
olfactory  nerves. 

Eminent  in  the  history  of  the  science,  and  more  distin- 
guished than  any  of  this  age  in  the  history  of  cerebral 
anatomy,  Alexander  Achillini  of  Bologna,  the  pupil  and 
commentator  of  Mondino,  appeared  at  the  close  of  the  15th 
century.  Though  a  follower  of  the  Arabian  school,  the 
assiduity  with  which  he  cultivated  anatomy  has  rescued 


his  name  from  the  inglorious  obscurity  in  which  the 
Arabian  doctors  .  have  in  general  slumbered.  lie  is 
known  in  the  history  of  anatomical  discovery  as  the  first 
who  described  the  two  tympanal  bones,  termed  malleus 
and  incus.  In  1503  he  showed  that  the  tarsus  consists  of 
seven  bones  ;  he  rediscovered  the  fornix  and  the  in  fundi* 
bulum ;  and  he  was  fortunate  enough  to  observe  the  courso 
of  the  cerebral  cavities  into  the  inferior  cornua,  and  to 
remark  peculiarities  to  which  the  anatomists  of  a  future 
age  did  not  advert.  He  mentions  the  orifices  of  the  ducts, 
afterwards  described  by  Wharton.  He  knew  the  ileo-caecal 
valve ;  and  his  description  of  the  duodenum,  ileum,  and 
colon  shows  that  he  was  better  acquainted  with  the  site. 
and  disposition  of  these  bowels  than  any  of  his  predecessors 
or  contemporaries. 

Not  long  after,  the  science  boasts  of  one  of  its  most 
distinguished  founders.  James  Berenger  of  Carpi,  in  the 
Modenese  territory,  flourished  at  Bologna  at  the  beginning 
of  the  16th  century.  In  the  annals  of  medicine  his  name 
will  be  remembered  not  only  as  the  most  zealous  and 
eminent  in  cultivating  the  anatomy  of  the  human  body, 
but  as  the  first  physician  who  was  fortunate  enough  to 
calm  the  alarms  of  Europe,  suffering  under  the  ravages  of 
syphilis,  then  raging  with  uncontrollable  virulence.  Fit 
the  former  character  he  surpassed  both  predecessors  and 
contemporaries ;  and  it  was  long  before  the  anatomists  of 
the  following  age  could  boast  of  equalling  him.  His 
assiduity  was  indefatigable ;  and  he  declares  that  he 
dissected  above  one  hundred  human  bodies.  He  is  the 
author  of  a  compendium,  of  several  treatises  which  he 
names  Introductions  (Isagoga*),  and  of  commentaries  on 
the  treatise  of  Mondino,  in  which  he  not  only  rectifies 
the  mistakes  of  that  anatomist,  but  gives  minute  and  in 
general  accurate  anatomical  descriptions. 
■  He  is  the  first  who  undertakes  a  systematic  view  of  the 
several  textures  of  which  the  human  body  is  composed ; 
and  in  a  preliminary  commentary  he  treats  successively  of 
the  anatomical  characters  and  properties  of  fat,  of  mem- 
brane in  general  (panniculus),  of  flesh,  of  nerve,  of  villus  oi 
fibre  (filum),  of  ligament,  of  sinew  or  tendon,  and  of  muscle 
in  general.  He  then  proceeds  to  describe  with  considerable 
precision  the  muscles  of  the  abdomen,  and  illustrates  their 
site  and  connections  by  woodcuts,  which,  though  rude, 
are  spirited,  and  show  that  anatomical  drawing  was  in  that 
early  age  beginning  to  be  understood.  In  his  account  of  the 
peritoneum  he  admits  only  the  intestinal  division  of  that 
membrane,  and  is  at  some  pains  to  prove  that  Gentilis,  who 
justly  admits  the  muscular  division  also,  is  in  error.  In 
his  account  of  the  intestines  he  is  the  firstwho  mentions  the 
vermiform  process  of  the  caecum ;  he  remarks  the  yellow 
tint  communicated  to  the  duodenum  by  the  gallbladder; 
and  he  recognises  the  opening  of  the  common  biliary  duct 
into  the  duodenum  {quidam  porus  portans  clioleram).  In 
the  account  of  the  stomach  he  describes  the  several  tissues 
of  which  that  organ  is  composed,  and  which,  after  Alman- 
sor,  he  represents  to  be  three,  and  a  fourth  from  the 
peritoneum;  and  afterwards  notices  the  ruga;  of  its  villous 
surface.  He  is  at  considerable  pains  to  explain  the  organs 
of  generation  in  both  sexes,  and  gives  a  long  account  of 
the  anatomy  of  the  foetus.  He  was  the  first  who  recognised 
the  larger  proportional  size  of  the  chest  in  the  male  than 
in  the  female,  and  conversely  the  gTeater  capacity  of  the 
female  than  of  the  male  pelvis.  In  the  larynx  he  dis 
covered  the  two  arytenoid  cartilages.  He  gives  the  lirat 
good  description  of  the  thymus ;  distinguishes  the  obi!qi.6 
situation  of  the  heart;  describes  the  pericardium,  and 
maintains  the  uniform  presence  of  pericardial  liquor.  He 
then  describes  the  cavities  of  the  heart  ;  but  perplexes  him- 
self, as  did  all  the  anatomists  of  that  age,  about  the  spirit 
supposed  to  be  contained.     The  aorta  he  properly  makes 


HISTORY.] 


A  N  A  T  0  M  Y 


807 


to  arise  from  the  left  ventricle ;  but  confuses  himself  with 
the  arttria  venalis,  the  pulmonary  vein,  and  the  vna  arte- 
rialis,  the  pulmonary  artery.  His  account  of  the  brain  is 
better.  He  gives  a  minute  and  clear  account  of  the  vent- 
ricles, remarks  the  corpus  striatum,  and  has  the  sagacity 
to  perceive  that  the  choroid  plexus  consists  of  veins  and 
arteries;  he  then  describes  the  middle  or  third  ventricle, 
the  infundibulum  or  lacuna  of  Mondino,  and  the  pituitary 
gland ;  and  lastly,  the  passage  to  the  fourth  ventricle,  the 
conarium  or  pineal  gland,  and  the  fourth  or  posterior 
ventricle  itself,  the  relations  of  which  he  had  studied 
accurately.  He  rectifies  the  mistake  of  Mondino  as  to  the 
olfactory  or  first  pair  of  nerves,  gives  a  good  account  of  the 
optic  and  others,  and  is  entitled  to  the  praise  of  originality 
in  being  the  first  observer  who  contradicts  the  fiction  of 
the  wonderful  net,  and  indicates  the  principal  divisions 
of  the  carotid  arteries.  He  enumerates  the  tunics  and 
humours  of  the  eye,  and  gives  an  account  of  the  internal 
ear,  in  which  he  notices  the  malleus  and  incus. 

Italy  long  retained  the  distinction  of  giving  birth  to 
the  first  eminent  anatomists  in  Europe,  and  the  glory  she 
acquired  in  the  names  of  Mondino,  Achillini,  Carpi,  and 
Massa,  was  destined  to  become  more  conspicuous  in  the 
labours  of  Columbus,  Fallopius,  and  Eustachius.  While 
Italy,  however,  was  thus  advancing  the  progress  of  science, 
the  other  nations  of  Europe  were  either  in  profound 
ignorance  or  in  the  most  supine  indifference  to  the  brilliant 
career  of  their  zealous  neighbours.  The  sixteenth  century 
had  commenced  before  France  began  to  acquire  ana- 
tomical distinction  in  the  names  of  Dubois,  Fernel,  and 
Etienne ;  and  even  these  celebrated  tpachers  were  less 
solicitous  in  the  personal  study  of  the  animal  body  than  in 
the  faithful  explanation  of  the  anatomical  writings  of 
Galen.  The  infancy  of  the  French  school  had  to  contend 
with  other  difficulties.  The  small  portion  of  knowledge 
which  had  been  hitherto  diffused  in  the  country  was  so 
inadequate  to  eradicate  the  prejudices  of  ignorance,  that  it 
was  either  difficult  or  absolutely  impossible  to  procure 
human  bodies  for  the  purposes  of  science ;  and  we  are 
assured,  on  the  testimony  of  Vesalius  and  other  competent 
authorities,  that  the  practical  part  of  anatomical  instruction 
was  obtained  entirely  from  the  bodies  of  the  lower  animals. 
The  works  of  the  Italian  anatomists  were  unknown ; 
and  it  is  a  proof  of  the  tardy  communication  of  knowledge 
that,  'while  the  structure  of  the  human  body  had  been 
taught  in  Italy  for  more  than  a  century  by  Mondino  and 
his  followers,  these  anatomists  aro  never  mentioned  by 
Etienne,  who  flourished  long  after. 

Such  was  the  aspect  of  the  times  at  the  appearance  of 
Jacques  Dubois,  who,  under  the  Romanised  name  of 
Jacobus  Sylvius,  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  day,  has 
been  fortunate  in  acquiring  a  reputation  to  which  his 
researches  do  not  entitle  him.  For  the  name  of  Jacques 
Dubois  the  history  of  anatomy,  it  is  said,  i3  indebted  to 
his  inordinate  love  of  money.  At  the  instance  of  his 
brother  Francis,  who  was  professor  of  eloquence  in  the 
college  of  Tournay  at  Paris,  he  devoted  himself  to  the 
study  of  the  learned  languages  and  mathematics ;  but 
discovering  that  these  elegant  accomplishments  do  not 
invariably  reward  their  cultivators  with  the  goods  of 
fortune,  Dubois  betook  himself  to  medicine.  After  the 
acquisition  of  a  medical  degree  in  the  university  of  Mont-, 
pellier,  at  the  ripe  age  of  fifty-one  Dubois  returned  to  Paris 
to  resume  a  course  of  anatomical  instruction.  Here  he 
taught  anatomy  to  a  numerous  audience  in  the  college  of 
Trinquet ;  and  on  the  departure  of  Vidus  Vidius  for  Italy 
was  appointed  to  succeed  that  physician  as  professor  of 
surgery  to  the  Royal  College.  His  character  is  easily 
estimated.  With  greater  coarseness  in  his  manners  and 
Language  than  even  the  rude  state  of  society  in  his  times 


can  palliate,  with  much  varied  learning  and  considerablo 
eloquence,  he  was  a  blind,  indiscriminate,  and  irrational 
admirer  of  Galen,  and  interpreted  the  anatomical  and 
physiological  writings  of  that  author  in  preference  to 
giving  demonstrations  from  the  subject.  Without  talent 
for  original  research  or  discovery  himself,  his  envy  and 
jealousy  made  him  detest  every  one  who  gave  proofs  of 
either.  We  are  assured  by  Vesalius,  who  was  some  time  1 
his  pupil,  that  his  manner  of  teaching  was  calculated 
neither  to  advance  the  science  nor  to  rectify  the  mistakes 
of  his  predecessors.  A  human  body  was  never  seen  in 
the  theatre  of  Dubois ;  the  carcases  of  dogs  and  other 
animals  were  the  maleriak  from  which  he  taught;  and  so 
difficult  even  was  it  to  obiain  human  bones,  that  unless 
Vesalius  and  his  fellow-students  had  collected  assiduously 
from  the  Innocents  and  other  cemeteries,  they  must  have 
committed  numerous  errors  in  acquiring  the  first  principles. 
This  assertion,  however,  is  contradicted  by  Riolan,  and  after- 
wards by  Sprengel  and  Lauth,  the  last  of  whom  decidedly 
censures  Vesalius  for  this  ungrateful  treatment  of  his 
instructor.  It  is  certain  that  opportunities  of  inspecting 
the  human  body  were  by  no  mean3  so  frequent  as  to 
facilitate  the  study  of  the  science.  Though  his  mention 
of  injections  has  led  some  to  suppose  him  the  discoverer 
of  that  art,  he  appears  to  have  made  no  substantial  addition 
to  the  information  already  acquired  ;  and  the  first  acknow- 
ledged professor  of  anatomy  to  the  university  of  Paris 
appears  in  history  as  one  who  lived  without  true  honour 
and  died  without  just  celebrity.  He  must  not  be  con- 
founded with'  Franciscus  Sylvius  (De  le  Boe),  who  is 
mentioned  by  Ruysch  and  Malacarne  as  the  author  of  a 
particular  method  of  demonstrating  the  brain. 

Almost  coeval  may  be  placed  Charles  Etienne,  a  younger  Etienca, 
brother  of  the  celebrated  printers,  and  son  to  Henry,  who  1503-64 
Hellenised  the  family  name  by  the  classical  appellation  of 
Stephen  (Sre'^avos).  It  is  uncertain  whether  he  taught 
publicly.  But  his  tranquillity  was  disturbed,  and  his 
pursuits  interrupted,  by  the  oppressive  persecutions  in 
which  their  religious  opinions  involved  the  family  ;  and 
Charles  Etienne  drew  the  last  breath  of  a  miserable  life  in 
a  dungeon  in  1564.  Etienne,  though  sprung  of  a  family 
whose  classical  taste  has  been  their  principal  glory,  does  not 
betray  the  same  servile  imitation  of  the  Galenian  anatomy 
with  which  Dubois  is  charged.  He  appears  to  have -been 
the  first  to  detect  valves  in  the  orifice  of  the  hepatic  veins. 
He  was  ignorant,  however,  of  the  researches  of  the  Italian 
anatomists  ;  and  his  description  of  the  brain  is  inferior  to 
that  given  sixty  years  before  by  Achillini.  His  comparison 
of  the  cerebral  cavities  to  the  human  ear  has  persuaded 
Portal  that  he  knew  the  inferior  cornua,  the  hippocampus, 
and  its  prolongations  ;  but  this  is  no  reason  for  giving  him 
that  honour  to  the  detriment  of  the  reputation  of  Achillini, 
to  whom,  so  far  as  historical  testimony  goes,  the  first 
knowledge  of  this  fact  is  due.  The  researches  of  Etienne 
into  the  structure  of  the  nervous  system  are,  however, 
neithei  useless  nor  inglorious ;  and  the  circumstance  of 
demonstrating  a  canal  through  the  entire  length  of  the 
spinal  chord,  which  had  neither  been  suspected  by  contem- 
poraries nor  noticed  by  successors  till  Sennc  made  it 
known,  is  sufficient  to  place  him  high  in  the  rank  of 
anatomical  discoverers. 

The  French  anatomy  of  the  sixteenth  century  was 
distinguished  by  two  circumstances  unfavourable  to  tho 
advancement  of  the  science,— extravagant  admiration  of 
antiquity,  with  excessive  confidence  in  the  writings  of 
Galen,  and  the  general  practice  of  dissecting  principally 
the  bodies  of  the  lower  animals.  Both  these  errors  were 
much  amended,  if  not  entirely  removed,  by  the  exer- 
tions of  a  young  Fleming,  whose  appearance  forms  a  con- 
spicuous era  in  the  history  of  anatomy.    Andrew  Vesalius, 


808 


ANATOMY 


[nisiou 


a  native  of  Brussels,  after  acquiring  at  Louvain  the  ordinary 
classical  attainments  of  the  day,Jbcgan  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
to  study  anatomy  under  the  auspices  of  Dubois.  Though 
the  originality  of  his  mind  soon  led  him  to  abandon  the 
prejudices  by  which  he  was  environed,  and  take  the  most 
direct  course  for  attaining  a  knowledge  of  the  structure  of 
the  human  frame,  he  neither  underrated  tho  Galenian 
anatomy  nor  was  indolent  in  the  dissection  of  brute 
animals.  The  difficulties,  however,  with  which  the  practical 
pursuit  of  human  anatomy  was  beset  in  France,  and  the 
dangers  with  which  ho  had  to  contend,  made  him  look  to 
Italy  as  a  suitable  field  for  the  cultivation  of  the  science ; 
and  in  1536  we  find  him  at  Venice,  at  once  pursuing 
the  study  of  human  anatomy  with  the  utmost  zeal,  and 
requested,  ere  ho  had  attained  his  twenty-second  year,  to 
demonstrate  publicly  in  tho  university  of  Padua.  After 
remaining  here  about  seven  years,  Vcsalius  went  by  ex- 
press invitation  to  Bologna,  and  shortly  afterwards  to  Pisa; 
'  and  thus  professor  in  three  universities,  he  appears  to 
have  carried  on  his  anatomical  investigations  and  instruc- 
tions alternately  at  Padua,  Bologna,  and  Pisa,  in  the  course 
of  the  same  winter.  It  is  on  this  account  that  Vesaiius, 
though  a  Fleming  by  birth  and  trained  originally  in  the 
French  school,  belongs,  as  an  anatomist,  to  the  Italian, 
and  may  be  viewed  as  the  first  of  an  illustrious  line  of 
teachers  by  whom  the  anatomical  reputation  of  that  country 
was  in  the  course  of  the  sixteenth  century  raised  to  the 
greatest  eminence. 

Vesaiius  is  known  as  the  first  author  of  a  comprehensive 
and  systematic  view  of  human  anatomy.  The  knowledge 
with  which  his  dissections  had  furnished  him  proved  how 
many  errors  were  daily  taught  and  learned  under  the  broad 
mantle  of  Galenian  authority;  and  he  perceived  the 
necessity  of  a  new  system  of  anatomical  instruction,  divested 
of  the  omissions  of  ignorance  and  the  misrepresentations  of 
prejudice  and  fancy.  The  early  age  at  which  he  effected 
this  object  has  been  to  his  biographers  the  -theme  of 
boundless  commendation ;  and  we  are  told  that  he  began 
at  the  age  of  twenty-five  to  arrange  the  materials  he  had 
collected,  and  accomplished  his  task  ere  he  had  completed 
bis  28  th  year. 

Soon  after  this  period  we  find  him  invited  as  imperial 
physician  to  the  court  of  Charles  V.,  where  he  was  occupied 
in  the  duties  of  practice,  and  answering  the  various  charges 
which  were  unceasingly  brought  against  him  by  the 
disciples  of  Galen.  After  the  abdication  of  Charles  he 
continued  at  court  in  great  favour  with  his  son  Philip  II. 
To  this  he  8"">m3  to  have  been  led  principally  by  the 
troublesome  controversies  in  which  his  anatomical  writings 
had  involved  him.  It  is  painful  to  think,  however,  that 
even  imperial  patronage  bestowed  on  eminent  talents-  does 
not  insure  immunity  from  popular  prejudice ;  and  the  fate 
of  Vesaiius  will  be  a  lasting  example  of  the  barbarism  of 
the  times,  and  of  the  precarious  tenure  of  the  safety  even 
of  a  great  physician.  On  the  preliminary  circumstances 
authors  are  not  agreed  ;  but  the- most  general  account  states 
that  when  Vesaiius  was  inspecting,  with  the  consent. of  his 
kinsmen,  the  body  of  a  Spanish  grandee,  it  was  observed 
that  the  heart  still  gave  some  feeble  palpitations  when 
divided  by  the  knife.  The  immediate  effects  of  this  outrage 
to  human  feelings  were  the  denunciation  of  the  anatomist 
to  the  Inquisition ;  and  Vesaiius  escaped  the  severe  treat- 
ment of  that  tribunal  only  by  the  influence  of  the  king, 
and  by  promising  to  perform  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy 
Land.  He  forthwith  proceeded  to  Venice,  from  which  he 
exiled  with  the  Venetian  fleet,  under  Jame3  Malatesta,  for 
Cyprus.  When  he  reached  Jerusalem,  he  received  from 
the  Venetian  senate  a  message  requesting  him  again  to 
accept  the  Paduan  professorship,  which  had  become  vacant 
by  the  death    of   his   friend '  and   pupil   Fallopius. 


His 


destiny,  however,  which  pursued  him  fait,  suffered  him 
not  again  to  breathe  the  Italian  air.  After  struggling  for 
many  days  with  adverse  winds  in  the  Ionian  Sea,  he  was 
wrecked  on  the  island  of  Zante,  where  he  quickly  breathed 
his  last  in  such  penury  that  unless  a  liberal  goldsmith  had 
defrayed  the  funeral  charges,  hi3  remains  must  have  been 
devoured  by  beasts  of  prey.  At  tho  tune  of  his  death  he 
was  scarcely  fifty  years  of  age. 

To  form  a  correct  estimate  of  the  character  and  merits 
of  Vesaiius,  wo  must  not  compare  him,  in  the  spirit  of 
nrodern  perfection,  with  the  anatomical  authors  either  of 
later  timc3  or  of  the  present  day.  Whoever  wou'd  frame  a 
just  idea  of  this  anatomist  nr.ist  imagine,  not  a  bold 
innovator  without  academical  learning, — not  a  genius 
coming  from  a  foreign  country,  unused  to  the  forms  and 
habits  of  Catholic  Europe, — nor  a  wild  reformer,  blaming 
indiscriminately  everything  which  accorded  not  with  his 
opinion  ;  but  a  young  student  scarcely  emancipated  from  , 
the  authority  of  instructors,  and  whose  intellect  was  still 
influenced  by  the  doctrines  with  which  it  had  been  originally  * 
imbued, — a  scholar  strictly  trained  in  the  opinions  of 
the  time,  living  amidst  men  who  venerated  Galen  as  the 
oracle  of  anatomy  and  the  divinity  of  medicine, — exercising 
his  reason  to  estimate  the  soundness  of  the  instructions 
then  in  use,  and  proceeding,  in  the  way  least  likely  to 
offend  authority  and  wound  prejudice,  to  rectify  errors, 
and  to  establish  on  the  solid  basis  of  observation  the  true 
elements  of  anatomical  science.  Vesaiius  has  been  deno- 
minated the  founder  of  human  anatomy;  and  though  we 
have  seen  that  in  this  career  he  was  preceded  with  honour 
by  Mondino  and  Berenger,  still  the  small  proportion  of 
correct  observation  which  their  reverence  for  Galen  and 
Arabian  doctrines  allowed  them  to  communicate,  will 
not  in  a  material  degree  impair  the  original  merits  of 
Vesaiius.  The  errors  which  ho  rectified  and  the  additions 
which  he  made  are  so  numerous,  that  it  is  impossible,  in 
such  a  sketch  as  the  present,  to  communicate  a  just  idea 
of  them. 

Besides  the  first  good  description  of  the  sphenoid  bone, 
he  showed  that  the  sternum  consists  of  three  portions  and 
the  sacrum  of  five  or  six  ;  and  described  accurately  the 
vestibule  in  the  interior  of  the  temporal  bouc.  He  not 
only  verified  the  observation  of  Etienne  on  tho  valves  of 
the  hepatic  veins,  but  he  described  well  the  vena  azygos, 
and  discovered  the  canal  which  passes  in  the  foetus  between 
the  umbilical  vein  and  the  vena  cava,  since  named  ductus 
venosus.  He  described  the  omentum,  and  its  connections 
with  the  stomach,  the  spleen,  and  the  colon ;  gave  the  first 
correct  views  of  the  structure  of  the  pyrorus ;  remarked  thf 
small  size  of  the  coecal  appendix  in  man  ;  gave  the  first 
good  account  of  the  mediastinum  and  pleura,  and  the  fullest 
description  of  the  anatomy  of  the  brain  yet  advanced. 
He  appears,  however,  not  to  have  understood  well  the 
inferior  recesses ;  and  his  account  of  the  nerves  is  confused 
by  regarding  the  optic  as  t!  i  first  pair,  the  third  as  the 
fifth,  and  the  fifth  as  the  seventh. 

The  labours  of  Vesaiius  were  not  limited  to  tho  immediate 
effect  produced  by  his  own  writings.  His  instructions  and 
example  produced  a  multitude  of  anatomical  inquirers  of 
different  characters  and  varied  celebrity,  by  whom  the 
science  was  extended  and  rectified.  Of  these  we  cannot 
speak  in  detail ;  but  historical  justice  requires  us  to  notice 
shortly  those  to  whose  exertions  the  science  of  anatomy 
has  been  most  indebted. 

The    first   that    claims   attention    on    this   account   is  Emtwh 
Bartholomeo  Eustachi  of  San  Severino,  near  Salerno,  who  \l^.' 
though  greatly  less  fortunate  in  reputation  than  Vesaiius, 
divides  with  him  the  merit  of   creating  the  science   of 
human  anatomy.      He  extended  the   knowledge  of   tho 
internal  ear  by  rediscovering  and  describing  correctly  the 


HISTOET.J 


ANATOMY 


809 


tube  which  bears  his  name  ;  and  if  we  admit  that  Ingras- 
6iaa  anticipated  him  in  the  knowledge  of  the  third  bone  of 
the  tympanal  cavity,  the  stapes,  he  is  still  the  first  who 
described  the  internal  and  anterior  muscles  of  the  malleus, 
as  also  the  stapedius,  and  the  complicated  figure  of  the 
cochlea.  He  is  the  first  who  studied  accurately  the  anatomy 
of  the  teeth,  and  the  phenomena  of  the  first  and  second 
dentition.  The  work,  however,  which  demonstrates  at 
once  the  great  merit  and  the  unhappy  fate  of  Eustachius 
is  his  Anatomical  Engravings,  which,  though  completed  in 
1552,  nine  years  after  the  impression  of  the  work  of 
Vesalius,  the  author  was  unable  to  publish.  First  com- 
municated to  the  world  in  1714  by  Lancisi,  afterwards  in 
1744  by  Cajetan  Petrioli,  again-  in  1744  by  Albinus,  and 
more  recently  at  Bonn  in  1790,  the  engravings  show  that 
Eustachius  had  dissected  with  the  greatest  care  and 
diligence,  and  taken  the  utmost  pains  to  give  just  views 
of  the  shape,  size,  and  relative  position  of  the  organs  of 
the  human  body. 

The  first  seven  plates  illustrate  the  history  of  the  kidneys, 
and  some  of  the  facts  relating  to  the  structure  of  the  ear. 
The  eighth  represents  the  heart,  the  ramifications  of  the 
vena  azygos,  and  the  valve  of  the  vena  cava,  named  from 
the  author.  In  the  seven  subsequent  plates  is  given  a 
succession  of  different  views  of  the  viscera  of  the  chest  and 
abdomen.  The  seventeenth  contains  the  brain  and  spinal 
chord  ;  and  the  eighteenth  more  accurate  views  of  the 
origin,  course,  and  distribution  of  the  nerves  than  had  been 
given  before.  Fourteen  plates  are  devoted  to  the  muscles. 
Eustachius  did  not  confine  his  researches  to  the  study  of 
relative  anatomy.  He  investigated  the  intimate  structure 
of  organs  with  assiduity  and  success.  What  wa3  too 
minute  for  unassisted  vision  he  inspected  by  means  of 
glasses.  Structure  which  could  not  be  understood  in  the 
recent  state;  he  unfolded  by  maceration  in  different  fluids, 
or  rendered  more  distinct  by  injection  and  exsiccation. 
The  facts  unfolded  in  these  figures  are  so  important  that 
it  is  justly  remarked  by  Lauth,  that  if  the  author  himself 
had  been  fortunate  enough  to  publish  them,  anatomy 
would  have  attained  the  perfection  of  the  18th  century 
two  centuries  earlier  at  least.  Their  seclusion  for  that 
period  in  the  papal  library  has  given  celebrity  to  many 
names  which  would  have  been  known  only  in  the  verifica- 
tion of  the  discoveries  of  Eustachius. 

nbua.  Eustachius  was  the  contemporary  of  Vesalius.  Columbus 
and  Fallopius  were  his  pupils.  Columbus,  as  his  immediate 
successor  in  Padua,  and  afterwards  as  professor  at  Rome, 
distinguished  himself  by  rectifying  and  improving  the 
anatomy  of  the  bones  ;  by  giving  correct  accounts  of  the 
shape  and  cavities  of  the  heart,  of  the  pulmonary  artery 
and  aorta  and  their  valves,  and  tracing  the  course  of  the 
blood  from  the  right  to  the  left  side  of  the  heart ;  by  a 
good  description  of  the  brain,  and  its  vessels,  and  by  correct 
understanding  of  the  internal  ear,  and  the  first  good 
account  of  the  ventricles  of  the  larynx. 

(Diu3  Fallopius,  who,  after  being  professor  at  Pisa  in  1548,  and 
at  Padua  in  1551,  died  at  the  age  of  forty,  studied  the 
general  anatomy  of  the  boues ;  described  better  than 
heretofore  the  internal  ear,  especially  the  tympanum  and 
i  its  osseous  ring,  the  two  fenestra!  and  their  communication 
with  the  vestibule  and  cochlea ;  and  gave  the  first  good 
account  of  the  stylo-mastoid  hole  and  canaL  of  the  ethmoid 
bone  and  cells,  and  of  the  lacrymal  passages.  In  myology 
he  rectified  several  mistakes  of  Vesalius.  He  also  devoted 
attention  to  the  organs  of  generation  in  both  sexes,  and  dis- 
covered the  utero-peritoneal  canal  which  still  bears  his  name. 
Osteology  nearly  at  the  same  time  found  an  assiduous 
cultivator  in  John  Philip  Ingrassias,  a  learned  Sicilian 
physician,  who,  in  a  skilful  commentary  on  the  osteology 
of  Galen,  corrected  numerous  mistakes.     He  gave  the  first 

1-27* 


distinct  account  of  the  true  configuration  of  the  sphenoid 
and  ethmoid  bones,  and  has  the  merit  of  first  describing  1546. 
the  third  bone  of  the  tympanum,  called  stapes,  though  this 
is  also  claimed  by  Eustachius  and  Fallopius. 

The  anatomical  descriptions  of-  Vesalius  underwent  the  ArsnzL 
scrutiny  of  various  inquirers.  Those  most  distinguished  1530-84 
by  the  importance  and  accuracy  of  their  researches,  as 
well  as  the  temperate  tone  of  their  observations,  were  Julius 
Caesar  Aranzi,  anatomical  professor  for  thirty-two  years  in 
the  university  of  Bologna,  and  Constantio  Varoli,  physician 
to  Pope  Gregory  XILL  To  the  former  we  are  indebted 
for  the  first  correct  account  of  the  anatomical  peculiarities 
of  the  foetus,  and  he  was  the  first  to  show  that  the 
muscles  of  the  eye  do  not,  as  was  falsely  imagined,  arise 
from  the  dura  mater,  but  from  the  margin  of  the  optic  hole. 
He  also,  after  considering  the  anatomical  relations  of  the 
cavities  of  the  heart,  the  valves,  and  the  great  vesoels, 
corroborates  the  views  of  Columbus  regarding  the  course 
which  the  blood  follows  in  passing  from  the  right  to  the 
left  side  of  the  heart.  Aranzi  is  the  first  anatomist  who 
describes  distinctly  the  inferior  cornua  of  the  ventricles  of 
the  cerebrum,  who  recognises  the  objects  by  which  they 
are  distinguished,  and  who  gives  them  the  name  by  which 
they  are  still  known  (hippocampus) ;  and  hi3  account  is 
more  minute  and  perspicuous  than  thut  of  the  authors  of 
the  subsequent  century.  He  speaks  at  large  of  the  choroid 
plexus,  and  gives  a  particular  description  of  the  fourth 
ventricle,  under  the  name  of  cistern  of  the  cerebellum,  as  a 
discovery  of  his  own. 

Italy,  though  rich  in  anatomical  talent,  has  probably  few  Varolii* 
greater  name3  than  that  of  Constantio  Varoli  of  Bologna.  l5ii 
Though  he  died  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-two,  he  acquired 
a  reputation  not  inferior  to  that  of  the  most  eminent  of 
ins  contemporaries.  He  is  now  known  chiefly  as  the 
author  of  an  epistle,  inscribed  to  Hieronymo  Mercuriali, 
OB  the  optic  nerves,  in  which  he  describes  a'  new  method 
of  dissecting  the  brain,  and  communicates  many  interesting 
particulars  relating  to  the  anatomy  of  the  organ.  He 
observes  the  threefold  division  of  the  inferior  surface  or 
base,  defines  the  limits  of  the  anterior,  middle,  and  posterior 
eminences,  as  marked  by  the  compartments  of  the  skull, 
and  justly  remarks  that  the  cerebral  cavities  are  capacious, 
communicate  with  each  other,  extending  first  backward 
and  then  forward,  near  the  angle  of  the  pyramidal  portion  of 
the  temporal  bone,  and  that  they  are  folded  on  themselves, 
and  finally  lost  above  the  middle  and  inferior  eminence 
of  the  brain.  He  appears  to  have  been  aware  that  at 
this  point  they  communicate  with  the  exterior  or  convo- 
luted surface.  He  recognised  the  impropriety  of  the  term 
corpus  callosum,  seems  to  have  known  the  communication 
called  afterwards  .foramen  Monroianum,  and  describes  the 
hippocampus  more  minutely  than  had  been  previously  done. 

Among  the  anatomists  of  the  Italian  school,  as  a  pupil  1534, 
of  Fallopius,  Eustachius,  and  Aldrovandus,  is  generally 
enumerated  Volcher  Coiter  of  Groningen.  He  distin- 
guished himself  by  accurate  researches  on  the  cartilages, 
the  bones,  and  the  nerves,  recognised  the  value  of  morbid 
anatomy,  and  made  experiments  on  living  animals  to  ascer- 
tain the  action  of  the  heart  and  the  influence  of  the  brain. 

The  Fruiefull  and  Necessary  Briefe  Worke  of  John  Halle 
(1565),  and  The  Englisheman's  Treasure,  by  Master  Thomas 
Vicary  (1586),  English  works  published  at  this  time,  are 
tolerable  compilations  from  former  authors,  much  tinged 
by  Galenian  and  Arabian  distinctions.  A  more  valuable 
compendium  than  either  is,  however,  that  of  John  Banister 
(1578),  entitled  The  Historic  of  Man,  from  the  most  approved 
Anathomistes  in  this  Present  Age. 

The  celebrity  of  the  anatomical  school  of  Italy  was 
worthily  maintained  by  Hieronymo  FaLricio  of  Acquapen- 
dente,  who,  in  imitation  of  his  master  Fallopius,  laboured 


810 


ANATOMY 


[history. 


to  render  au.itomical  knowledge  more  precise  by  repealed 
dissections,  and  to  illustrate  the  obscure  by  researches  on 
the  structure  of  animals  in  general.  In  this  manner  he 
investigated  the  formation  of  the  foetus,  the  structure  of 
the  oesophagus,  stomach,  and  bowels,  and  the  peculiarities  of 
the  eye,  the  ear,  and  the  larynx.  The  discovery,  however, 
on  which  liis  sureot  claims  to  eminence  rest  is  that  of  the 
membranous  folds,  which  he  names  valves,  in  the  interior 
of  veins.  Several  of  these  folds  had  been  observed  by 
Fcrnel,  Sylvius,  and  Vesalius;  and  in  1547  Cannani 
observed  those  of  the  vena  azygos  but  no  one  appears  to 
have  offered  any  rational  conjecture  on  their  use,  or  to 
have  traced  them  through  the  venous  system  at  large,  until 
Fabricius  in  1574,  upon  this  hypothesis,  demonstrated  the 
presence  of  these  valvular  folds  in  all  the  veins  of  the 
extremities. 

Fabricius,  though  succeeded  by  his  pupil  Julius  Casserius 
of  Placenza,  may  be  regarded  as  the  last  of  that  illustrious 
line  of  anatomical  teachers  by  whom  the  science  was  so 
successfully  studied  and  taught  in  the  universities  of  Italy. 
The  discoveries  which  each  made,  and  the  errors  which 
their  successive  labours  rectified,  tended  gradually  to  give 
anatomy  the  character  of  a  useful  as  well  as  an  accurate 
science,  and  to  pave  the  way  for  a  discovery  which;  though 
not  anatomical  but  physiological,  is  so  intimately  connected 
with  correct  knowledge  of  the  shape  and  situation  of  parts, 
that  it  exercised  the  most  powerful  influence  on  the  future 
progress  of  anatomical  inquiry.  This  was  the  knowledge 
of  the  circular  motion  of  the  blood, — a  fact  which,  though 
obscurely  conjectured  by  Aristotle,  Neinesius,  Mondino, 
and  Berenger,  and  partially  taught  by  Servetus,  Colum- 
bus, Cresalpinus,  and  Fabricius,  it  was  nevertheless  re- 
served to  William  Harvey  fully  and  satisfactorily  to 
demonstrate. 

Mondino  believed  that  the  blood  proceeds  from  the 
heart  to  the  lungs  through  the  vena  arterialis  or  pul- 
monary artery,  and  that  the  aorta  conveys  the  spirit  into 
the  blood  through  all  parts  of  the  body.  This  doctrine 
was  adopted  with  little  modification  by  Berenger,  who 
further  demonstrated  the  existence  and  operation  of  the 
tricuspid  valves  in  the  right  ventricle,  and  of  the  sigmoid 
valves  at  the  beginning  of  the  pulmonary  artery  and 
aorta,  and  that  there  were  only-  two  ventricles  separated 
by  a  solid  impervious  septum.  These  were  afterwards 
described  in  greater  detail  by  Vesalius,  who  neverthe- 
less appears  not  to  have  been  aware  of  the  important  use 
which  might  be  made  of  this  knowledge.  It  was  the 
Spaniard  Michael  Servet  or  Servetus  (born  in  1509;  burnt  in 
1553),  who  in  his  treatise  De  Trinitatu  Erroribus,  published 
at  Haguenau  in  1531,  first  maintained  the  imperviousness 
of  the  septum,  and  the  transition  of  the  blood  by  what  he 
terms  an  unknown  route,  namely,  from  the  right  ventricle 
by  the  vena  arteriosa  (pulmonary  artery)  to  the  lungs, 
and  thence  into  the  arteria  venosa  or  pulmonary  vein  and 
left  auricle  and  ventricle,  from  which,  he  adds  afterwards, 
it  is  conveyed  by  the  aorta  to  all  parts  of  the  body.1 

1  The  passage  of  Servetus  is  so  interesting  that  our  readers  may 
feel  some  curiosity  in  perusing  it  in  the  language  of  the  author  ;  and 
it  is  not  unimportant  to  remark  that  Servetus  appears  to  have  been 
led  to  think  of  the  course  of  the  blood  by  the  desire  of  explaining  the 
manner  in  which  the  animal  spirits  were  supposed  to  be  generated  : — 
"  VitalU  spiritus  in  sinistra  cordis  ventriculo  suam  originem  habet, 
juvantibus  maxime  pulmonibus  ad  ipsius  perfectionem.  Est  spiritus 
tenuis,  caloris  vi  elaboratus,  flavo  colore,  ignea  potentia,  ut  sit  quasi 
ex  puriore  sanguine  hicens,  vapor  substantiam  continens  aquae,  aeris, 
et  ignis.  Generatur  ex  facta  in  pulmone  commixtione  inspirati  aeris 
cum  elaborato  subtili  sanguine,  quern  dexter  ventriculus  sinistro  com- 
municat.  Fit  autem  commonicatio  haec,  non  per  par  tern  cordis 
medium,  ut  vulgo  creditur,  sed  magno  artificio  a  dextro  'cordis  ventri- 
culo, longo  per  pulmones  ductu  agitatur  sanguis  subtilis  ;  a  pulmonibus 
pr.epar.itur,  flavus  etDcitur,  et  a  vena  arteriosa  in  arteriam  venosam 
teransfunditur.    Deinde  in  ipsa  arteria  venosa,  lnspirato  aev  miscetur 


Though  the  leading  outlines,  not  only  of  the  pulmonary 
or  small  but  even  of  the  great  circulation,  were  sketched 
thus  early  by  one  who,  though  a  philosopher,  was  attached 
to  the  church,  it  was  only  in  his  work  De  Re  Anatomka, 
pul  >li.ilied  at  Venice  in  1559,  that  Columbus  formally  and 
distinctly  announced  the  circular  course  of  the  blood  as  a 
discovery  of  his  own ;  and  maintained,  in  addition  to  the 
iniperriousness  of  the  septnm,  the  fact  that  the  arteria 
venalis  (pulmonary  vein)  contains,  not  air,  but  blood  mixed 
with  air  brought  from  tie  lungs  to  the  left  ventricle  of  the 
heart,  to  be  distributed  through  the  body  at  large. 

Soon  after,  views  still  more  complete  of  the  small  or 
pulmonary  circulation  were  given  by  Andrew  Coesalpinus 
of  Arozzo,  who  not  only  maintained  the  analogy  between 
the  structure  of  the  arterious  vein  or  pulmonary  artery  and 
the  aorta,  and  that  between  the  venous  artery  or  pulmonary 
veins  and  veins  m  general,  but  was  the  first  to  remark  the 
swelling  of  veins  below  ligatures,  and  to  infer  from  it  a 
refluent  motion  of  blood  in  these  vessels.  The  discoveries 
of  Aranzi  and  Eustachius  in  the  vessels  of  the  foetus 
tended  at  first  to  perplex  and  afterwards  to  elucidate  some 
of  these  notions.  At  length  it  happened  that,  between  Harvey 
the  years  1598  and  1000,  a  young  Englishman,  William 
Harvey,  pursuing  his  anatomical  studies  at  Padua  under 
Fabricius  of  Acquapendente,  learnt  from  that  anatomist 
the  existence  of  the  valves  in  the  veins  of  the  extremities, 
and  undertouk  to  ascertain  the  use  of  these  valves  by 
experimental  inquiry.  It  is  uncertain  whether  he  learnt 
from  the  writings  of  Camlpinus  the  fact  observed  by  thai 
author,  of  the  tumescence  of  a  vein  below  the  ligature , 
but  he  could  not  fail  to  be  aware,  and  indeed  he  shows 
that  he  wa3  aware,  of  the  small  circulation  as  taught  by 
Servetus  and  Columbus.  Combining  these  facts  already 
known,  he,  by  a  series  of  well-executed  experiments,  de- 
monstrated clearly  the  existence,  not  only  of  the  small,  but 
of  a  general  circulation  from  the  left  side  of  the  heart  by  the 
aorta  and  its  subdivisions,  to  the  right  side  by  the  vein3. 
This  memorable  truth  was  first  announced  in  the  year  1619. 

It  belongs  not  to  this  place  either  to  consider  the 
arguments  and  facts  by  which  Harvey  defended  his 
theory,  or  to  notice  the  numerous  assaults  to  which  he 
was  exposed,  and  the  controversies  in  which  his  opponents 
wished  to  involve  him.  It  is  sufficient  to  say,  that  after 
the  temporary  ebullitions  of  spleen  and  envy  had  subsided, 
the  doctrine  of  the  circular  motion  of  the  blood  was  admitted 
by  all  enlightened  and  unprejudiced  persons,  and  finally 
was  universally  adopted  as  affording  the  most  satisfactory 
explanation  of  many  facts  in  anatomical  structure  which 
were  either  misunderstood  or  entirely  overlooked.  The 
inquiries  to  which  the  investigation  of  the  doctrine  gave 
rise  produced  numerous  researches  on  the  shape  and 
structure  of  the  heart  and  its  divisions,  of  the  lungs,  and 
of  the  blood-vessels  and  their  distribution.  Of  this  descrip- 
tion were  the  researches  of  Nicolas'  Stcno  on  the  structure 
of  the  heart,  the  classical  work  of  Richard  Lower,  the 
dissertation   of   Pechlin,   the   treatise   of  Vieussens,   the 

et  exspiratione  a  fuligine  expurgatur ;  atqne  ita  tandem  a  sinistro  cordis 
ventriculo  totum  mixtum  per  diastolen  attrahitur,  apta  supellex,  ut 
fiat  spiritus  vitalis.  Quod  ita  per  pulmones  fiat  communicatio  et 
praeparatio,  docet  conjunctio  varia,  et  communicatio  vense  artcriosos 
cum  arteria  venosa  in  pulmonibus.  Confirmat  hoc  magnitudo  insignia 
venae  arteriosE,  quae  nee  talis  nee  tanta  essct  facta,  nee  tantara  a  corde. 
ipso  vim  purissimi  sanguinis  in  pulmones  emitteret,  ob  solum  eoruru 
nutrimentum  ;  nee  cor  pulmonibus  hac  ratione  servirct,  cum  praeser- 
tim  antea  in  embryone  solerent  pulmones  ipsi  aliunde  nutriri,  ob 
mem  branulas  illas  seu  valvulas  cordis,  usque  ad  horum  nativita- 
tem  ;  ut  docet  Galenus,  &c.  Itaque  ille  spiritus  a  sinistro  cordis 
ventriculo  arterias  totius  corporis  deinde  transfunditur,  ita  ut  qui 
tenuior  est,  superiora  petit,  ubi  magis  elaboratur,  pracipue  in  plexu 
rctiformi,  sub  basi  cerebri  sito,  ubi  ex  vitali  fieri  incipit  apimalis, 
ad  proDriam  rationalis  aniinse  rationem  accedens." — Le  Trin.iia.lt. 
uu.  t. 


H:   TORY.] 


A  N  A  T  0  M  Y 


811 


vrork  of  Slalpighi  on  the  structure  of  the  lungs,  several 
fketches  in  the  writings  of  Mayow,  and  other  treatises  of 
less  moment.  Systematic  treatises  of  anatomy  began  to 
assume  a  more  instructive  form,  and,' to  breathe  a  more 
philosophical  spirit.  The  great  work  of  Adrian  Spigelius, 
■/hich  appeared  in  1627,  two  years  after  the  death  of  the 
author,  contains  indeed  no  proof  chat  he  was  aware  of  the 
valuable  generalisation  of  Harvey  ;  but  m  the  institutions 
of  Caspar  Bartholin,  as  republished  and  improved  by  his 
6on  Thomas  in  1651,  the  anatomical-  descriptions  and 
explanations  are  given  with  reference  to  the  new  doctrine. 
A  still  more  unequivocal  proof  of  the  progress  of  correct 
anatomical  knowledge  was  given  in  the  lectures  delivered 
by  Peter  Dionis,  at  the  Jardin  Royal  of  Paris,  in  1673  and 
the  seven  following  years,  in  which  that  intelligent  surgeon 
gave  most  accurate  demonstrations  of  all  the  parts  com- 
posing the  human  frame,  and  especially  of  the  heart,  its 
aurijles,  ventricles,  and  valves,  and  the  large  vessels 
connected  with  it  and  the  lungs.  These  demonstrations, 
first  published  in  1690,  were  so  much  esteemed  that  they 
passed  through  seven  editions  in  the  space  of  thirty  years, 
and  were  translated  into  English. 

The  progress  of  anatomical  discovery  continued  in  the 
meantime  to  advance.  In  the  course  of  the  16th  century 
Eustachius,  in  studying  minutely  the  structure  of  the  vena 
azygos  had  recognised  in  the  horse  a  white  vessel  full  of 
watery  fluid,  connected  with  the  internal  jugular  vein,  on 
the  left  side  of  the  vertebral  column,  corresponding  accu- 
rately with  the  vessel  since  named  thoracic  duct.  Fallopius 
also  described  vessels  belonging  to  the  liver  distinct  from 
arteries  and  veins ;  and  similar  vessels  appear  to  have  been 
noticed  by  Nicolaus  Massa.  The  nature  and  properties  of 
these  vessels  were,  however,  entirely  unknown..  On  the 
23d  July  1622  Gaspar  Asellius,  professor  of  anatomy  at 
Pavia,  while  engaged  in  demonstrating  the  recurrent  nerves 
in  a  living  dog,  first  observed  numerous  white  delicate 
filaments  crossing  the  mesentery  in  all  directions;  nd 
though  he  took  them  at  first  for  nerves,  the  opaque  white 
fluid  which  they  shed  quickly  convinced  him  that  they  were 
a  new  order  of  vessels.  The  repetition  of  the  experiment 
the  following  day  showed  that  these  vessels  were  best  seen 
in  animals  recently  fed ;  and  as  he  traced  them  from-  the 
villous  membrane  of  the  intestines,  and  observed  the  valves 
vith  which  they  were  liberally  supplied,  he  inferred  that 
they  were  genuine  chyliferous  vessels.  By  confounding 
them  with  the  lymphatics,  he  made  them  proceed  to  the 
pancreas  and  liver, — a  mistake  which  appears  to  have  been 
first  rectified  by  Francis  De  le  Boe  The  discovery  of 
Asellius  was  announced  in  1627  ;  and  the  following  year, 
by  means  of  the  zealous  efforts  of  Nicolas  Peiresc,  a  liberal 
senator  of  Aix,  the  vessels  were  seen  in  the  person  of  a 
felon  who  had  eaten  copiously  before  execution,  and  whose 
body  was  inspected  an  hour  and  a  half  after.  In  1629 
they  were  publicly  demonstrated  at  Copenhagen  by  Simon 
Pauli,  and  the  same  year  the  thoracic  duct  wa3  observed 
by  Mentel  for  the  first  time  since  it  was  described  by 
Eustachius.  Five  years  after  (1634),  John  Wesling, 
professor  of  anatomy  and  surgery  at  Venice,  gave  the  first 
delineation  of  the  lacteals  from  the  human  subject,  and 
evinced  more  accurate  knowledge  than  his  predecessors  of 
the  thoracic  duct  and  the  lymphatics.  Highmore  in  1637 
demonstrated  unequivocally  the  difference  between  the 
lacteals  and  the  mesenteric  veins ;  and  though  some  per- 
plexity was  occasioned  by  the  discovery  of  the  pancreatic 
duct  by  Wirsung,  this  mistake  was  corrected  by  Thomas 
Bartholin;  and  the  discovery  by  Pecquet  in  1647  of  the 
common  trunk  of  the  lacteals  and  lymphatics,  and  of 
the  course  which  the  chyle  follows  to  reach  the  blood, 
may  be  regarded  as  the  last  of  the  series  of  isolated  facts 
by  the  generalisation  of  which  the  extent,  distribution,  and 


1654 


165& 


uses  of  the  most  important  organs  of   the  animal  body 
were  at  length  developed.  > 

To  complete  the  history  of  thi3  part  of  anatomical 
science  one  step  yet  remained, — the  distinction  between 
the  lacteals  and  lymphatics,  and  the  discovery  of  the 
termination  of  the  latter  order  of  vessels.  The  honour  of 
this  discovery  is  divided  between  Jolyffe,  an  Englisl 
anatomist,  and  Olaus  Rudbeck,  a  young  Swede.  Tht 
former,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Glisson  and  Wharton, 
was  aware  of  the  distinct  existence  of  the  lymphatics  in 
1650,  and  demonstrated  them  as  such  in  1652.  It  is 
nevertheless  doubtful  whether  he  knew  them  much  before 
the  latter  period  ;  and  it  is  certain  that  Rudbeck  observed 
the  lymphatics  of  the  large  intestines,  and  traced  them  to 
glands,  on  the  27th  January  1651,  after  he  had,  in  the 
course  of  1650,  made  various  erroneous  conjectures  regard- 
ing them,  and,  like  others,  attempted  to  trace  them  to  the 
liver.  The  following  year  he  demonstrated  them  in 
presence  of  Queen  Christina,  and  traced  them,  to  the 
thoracic  duct,  and  the  latter  to  the  subclavian  vein.  Their 
course  and  distribution  were  still  more  fully  investigated 
by  Thomas  Bartholin,  Wharton.  Swammerdam,  and  Biaes, 
the  last  two  of  whom  recognised  the  existence  of  valves ; 
while  Antony  Nuck  of  Leyden,  by  rectifying  various 
errors  of  his  predecessors,  and  adding  several  new  and 
valuable  observations,  rendered  this  part  of  anatomy  much 
more  precise  than  formerly. 

After  this  period  anatomists  %  began  to  study  more 
minutely  the  organs  and  textures.  Francis  Glisson  distin- 
guished himself  by  a  minute  description  of  the  liver,  and  a 
clearer  account  of  the  stomach  and  intestines,  than  bad 
yet  been  given.  Thomas  Wharton  investigated  the  structure 
of  the  glands  with  particular  care ;  and  though  rather 
prone  to  indulge  in  fanciful  generalisation,  he  developed 
some  interesting  views  of  these  organs ;  while  Charleton, 
who  appears  to  have  been  a  person  of  great  genius,  though 
addicted  to  hypothesis,  made  some  good  remarks  on  tho 
communication  pf  the  arteries  with  the  veins,  the  foetal 
circulation,  and  the  course  of  the  lymphatics.  But  the 
circumstance  which  chiefly  distinguished  the  history  of 
anatomy  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  was 
the  appearance  of  Thomas  Willis,  who  rendered  himself  .vuhi 
eminent  not  only  by  good  researches  on  the  brain  and 
nerves,  but  by  many  judicious  observations  on  the  structure 
of  the  lungs,  the  intestines,  the  blood-vessels,  and  the 
glands.  His  anatomy  of  the  brain  and  nerves  is  so  minute 
and  elaborate,  and  abounds  so  much  in  new  information, 
that  the  reader  is  struck-  by  the  immense  chasm  between 
the  vague  and  meagre  notices  of  his  predecessors,  and  the 
ample  and  correct  descriptions  of  Willis.  This  excellent 
work,  however,  is  not  the  result  of  his  own  personal  and 
unaided  exertions;  and  the  character  of  Willis  derives 
additional  lustre  from  the  candid  avowal  of  his  obligations 
to  Wren  and  Millington,  and,  above  all,  to  the  diligent 
researches  of  his  fellow-anatomist  Richard  Lower. 

Willis  was  the  first  who  numbered  the  cranial  nerves  in 
the  order  in  which  they  are  now  usually  enumerated  by 
anatomists.  His  observation  of  the  connection  of  the 
eighth  pair  with  the  slender  nerve  which  issues  from  the 
beginning  of  the  spinal  chord  is  known  to  all  He 
remarked  the  parallel  lines  of  the.  mesolobe,  afterwards 
minutely  described  by  Vicq  d'Azyr.  He  seems  to  have 
recognised  the  communication  of  the  convoluted  surface  of 
the  brain  and  that  between  the  lateral  '■avities  beneath  the 
fornix.  He  described  the  corpora  striata  and  optic  thalami; 
the  four  orbicular  eminences,  with  the  bridge,  which  he 
first  named  annular  protuberance;  and  the  white  mani- 
niiilary  eminences,  behind  the  infundibulum.  In  the 
cerebellum  he  remarks  the  arborescent  arrangement  of  the 
white  and  grey  matter,  and  gives  a  good  account  of  tho 


812 


ANATOMY 


[history. 


internal  carotids,  and  the  communications  which  they 
make  with  the  branches  of  the  basilar  artery. 

About  the  middle  of  the  17th  century  Rt.  Hooke  and 
Nehemiah  Grew  employed  the  simple  microscope  in  the 
minute  examination  of  plants  and  animals;  and  the  Dutch 
philosopher  Leeuwenhoeck  with  great  acutenesa  examined 
microscopically  the  solids  and  fluids  of  the  body,  recognised 
the  presence  of  scales  in  the  cuticle,  and  discovered  the 
corpuscles  in  the  blood  and  milk,  and  the  spermatozoa  in 
the  seminal  fluid.  The  researches  of  Malpighi  also  tended 
greatly  to  improve  the  knowledge  of  minute  structure. 
He  gave  the  first  distinct  ideas  on  the  organisation  of  the 
lung,  and  the  mode  in  which  the  bronchial  tubes  and 
vessels  terminate  in  that  organ.  By  the  microscope  he 
traced  the  transition  of  the  arteries  into  the  veins,  and  saw 
the  movements  of  the  blood  corpuscles  in  the  capillaries. 
He  endeavoured  to  unfold,  by  dissection  and  microscopic 
observation,  the  minute  structure  of  the  brain.  He  Rtudied 
the  structure  of  bone,  he  traced  the  formation  and  explained 
the  structure  of  the  teeth ;  and  his  name  is  to  this  day 
associated  with  the  discovery  of  the  deeper  layer  of  the 
cuticle  and  the  Malpighian  bodies  in  the  spleen  and 
kidney.  In  these  difficult  inquiries  the  observations  of 
Malpighi  are  in  general  faithful,  and  he  may  be  regarded 
as  the  founder  of  histological  anatomy. 

Nicolas  Steno  described  with  accuracy  the  lacrymal 
gland  and  passages,  and  rediscovered  the  parotid  duct. 
Bellini  studied  the  structure  of-  the  kidneys,  and  described 
the  tongue  and  tonsils  with  some  care ;  and  Drelincourt 
laboured  to  investigate  the  changes  effected  on  the  uterus 
by  impregnation,  and  to  elucidate  the  formation  of  the 
fcetus.  The  science  might  have  derived  still  greater 
advantages  from  the  genius  of  Regnier  de  Graaf,  who 
investigated  with  accuracy  the  structure  of  the  pancreas 
and  of  the  organs  of  generation  in  both  sexes,  had  he  not 
been  cut  off  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-two.  Lastly,  Wepfer, 
though  more  devoted  to  morbid  anatomy,  made,  neverthe- 
less, some  just  observations  on  the  anatomical  disposition 
of  the  cerebral  vessels,  the  glandular  structure  of  the  liver, 
and  the  termination  of  the  common  duct  in  the  duodenum. 

The  appearance  of  Frederic  Ruysch,  who  was  born  in 
1 638,  and  became  professor  of  anatomy  at  Amsterdam  in 
1665,  gave  a  new  impulse  to  anatomical  research,  and 
tended  not  only  to  give  the  science  greater  precision,  but 
to  extend  its  limits  in  every  direction.  The  talents  of 
Ruysch  are  said  to  have  been  developed  by  accident.  To 
repel  the  audacious  and  calumnious  aspersions  with  which 
De  Bils  attacked  De  le  Boe  and  Van  Home,  Ruysch 
published  his  tract  on  the  valves  of  the  lymphatics,  which 
completely  established  his  character  as  an  anatomist  of 
originality  and  research.  This,  however,  is  the  smallest 
of  his  services  to  the  science.  The  art  of  injecting,  which 
had  been  originally  attempted  by  Eustachi  and  Varoli,  and 
was  afterwards  rudely  practised  by  Glisson,  Bellini,  and 
Willis,  was  at  length  carried  to  greater  perfection  by  De 
Graaf  and  Swammcrdam,  the  former  of  whom  injected  the 
spermatic  vessels  with  mercury  and  variously  -  coloured 
liquors;  while  the  latter,  by  employing  melted  wax  with 
other  ingredients,  made  the  first  approach  to  the  refinements 
of  modsrn  anatomy.  By  improving  this  idea  of  using 
substances  which,  though  solid,  may  be  rendered  fluid  at 
the  period  of  injecting,  Ruysch  carried  this  art  to  the 
highest  perfection. 

By  the  application  of  this  happy  contrivance  he  was 
enabled  to  demonstrate  the  arrangement  of  minute  vessels 
in  the  interior  of  organs  which  had  escaped  the  scrutiny 
of  previous  anatomists.  Scarcely  a  part  of  the  human 
body  eluded  the  penetration  of  his  syringe ;  and  his 
discoveries  -.vere  proportionally  great.  His  account  of  the 
valves  of  the  lymphatics,  of  the  vessels  of  the  lungs,  and 


their  minute  structure ;  his  researches  on  the  vascular 
structure  of  the  skin,  of  the  bones,  and  their  epiphyses, 
and  their  mode  of  growth  and  union  ;  his  observations  on 
the  spleen,  the  glans  penis,  the  clitoris,  and  the  womb 
impregnated  and  unimpregnated,  were  but  a  limited  part 
of  his  anatomical  labours.  He  studied  the  minute  structure 
of  the  brain ;  he  demonstrated  the  organisation  of  tho 
choroid  plexus  ;  he  described  the  state  of  the  hair  when 
affected  with  Polish  plait ;  he  proved  the  vascular  structure 
of  the  teeth ;  he  injected  the  dura  mater,  the  pleura,  tho 
pericardium,  and  peritoneum ;  he  unfolded  the  minute 
structure  of  the  conglomerate  glands ;  he  investigated  that 
of  the  synovial  apparatus  placed  in  the  interior  of  the 
joints ;  and  he  discovered  several  curious  particulars  relating 
to  the  lacteals,  the  lymphatics,  and  the  lymphatic  glands. 

Meanwhile,  Meibomius  rediscovered  the  palpebral  glands,  1*70. 
which  were  known  to  Casserius  ;  Swammerdam  studied 
the  action  of  the  lungs,  described  the  structure  of  the 
human  uterus,  and  made  numerous  valuable  observations 
on  the  cceca  and  pancreatoid  organs  of  fishes  ;  and  Kcrck- 
ringius  laid  the  foundation  of  a  knowledge  of  the  process 
of  ossification.     John  Conrad  Brunner,  in  tho  course  of  1687. 
experiments  on  the  pancreas,  discovered  the  glands  of  the 
duodenum  named  after  him,  and  Conrad  Peyer  described  1677-8) 
the  solitary  and  agminated  glands  of  the  intestinal  canaL 
Leonard  Tassin,    distinguished   for   original   observation,  1678. 
rendered  the  anatomical  history  of  the  brain  more  accurate 
than  heretofore,  and  gave  particular  accounts  of  the  intes- 
tinal tube,  the  pancreatic  duct,  and  the  hepatic  ligaments. 

That  France  might  not  be  without  participation  in  the 
glory  of  advancing  the  progress  of  anatomical  knowledge, 
the  names  of  Duverney  and  Vieussens  are  commemorated 
with  distinction.  Duverney,  born  in  1648,  and  first  intro-  Dnverwiv 
duced  into  public  life  in  1676  in  the  Royal  Academy  of 
Sciences,  decorated  with  the  honorary  title  of  professor  of 
anatomy  to  the  Dauphin,  and  appointed  in  1679  professor 
at  the  Jardin  Royal,  distinguished  himself  by  the  first 
accurate  account  of  the  organ  of  hearing,  and  by  his 
dissections  of  several  animals  at  the  academy,  supplied 
valuable  materials  for  the  anatomical  details  of  the  natural 
history  of  animals  published  by  that  learned  body.  He 
appears  to  have  been  the  first  who  demonstrated  the  fact 
that  the  cerebral  sinuses  open  into  the  jugular  veins,  and 
to  have  been  aware  that  the  former  receive  the  veins  of 
the  brain,  and  are  the  venous  receptacles  of  the  organ. 
He  understood  the  cerebral  cavities  and  their  rode  of 
communication  ;  distinguishes  the  posterior  pillars  of  the 
vault  from  the  pedes  hippocampi ;  recognises  the  two 
plates  of  tho  septum  lucidum ;  and,  what  is  still  more 
remarkable,  he  first  indicates  distinctly  the  decussation  of 
the  anterior  pyramids  of  the  medulla  oblongata — a  fact 
afterwards  verified  by  the  researches  of  Mistichelli,  Petit, 
and  Santorini.  He  studied  the  ganglions  attentively,  and 
gives  the  first  distinct  account  of  the  formation,  connections, 
and  distribution  of  the  intercostal  nerve.  It  is  interesting 
to  remark  that  his  statement  that  tho  veins  or  sinuses  of 
the  spinal  chord  terminate  in  the  vena  azygos  was  verified 
by  the  more  recent  researches  of  Dupuytren  and  Breschct, 
which  show  that  the  vertebral  veins  communicate  by  means 
of  the  intercostal  and  superior  lumbar  veins  with  the 
azygos  and  demi-azygos.  His  account  of  the  structure  of 
bones,  and  of  the  progress  of  ossification,  i3  valuable.  Ho 
recognised  the  vascular  structure  of  the  spleen,  and  described 
the  excretory  ducts  of  the  prostate  gland,  the  verumontanum, 
and  the  anteprostates. 

One  of  the  circumstances  which  at  this  time  tended 
considerably  to  the  improvement  of  anatomical  science 
was  the  attention  with  which  Comparative  Anatomy  was 
beginning  to  be  cultivated.  In  ancient  times,  and  at 
the  revival  of  letters  the  dissection  of  the  lower  animals 


HISTORY.  I 


ANATOMY 


«rj 


was  substituted  for  that  of  the  human  body;  and  the 
descriptions  of  the  organs  of  the  latter  were  too  often 
derived  from  the  former.  The  obloquy  and  contempt  in 
which  this  abuse  involved  the  study  of  animal  anatomy 
caused  it  to  be  neglected,  or  pursued  with  indifference, 
for  more  than  two  centuries,  during  which  anatomists 
confined  their  descriptions,  at  least  very  much,  to  the  parts 
of  the  human  body.  At  this  period,  however,  the  prejudice 
against  Comparative  Anatomy  began  to  subside ;  and 
animal  dissection,  though  not  substituted  for  that  of  the 
human  body,  was  employed,  as  it  ought  always  to  have 
'  been,  to  illustrate  obscurities,  to  determine  doubts,  and  to 
explain  difficulties,  and,  in  short,  to  enlarge  and  rectify 
the  knowledge  of  the  structure  of  animal  bodies  generally. 

For  this  revolution  in  its  favour,  Comparative  Anatomy 
was  in  a  great  measure  indebted  to  the  learned  societies 
which  were  established  about  this  time  in  the  different 
countries  of  Europe.  Among  these,  the  Royal  Society  of 
London,  embodied  by  charter  by  Charles  II.  in  1663,  and 
the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  Paris,  founded  in  1665 
by  Colbert,  are  undoubtedly  entitled  to  the  first  rank. 
Though  later  in  establishment,  the  latter  institution  was 
distinguished  by  making  the  first  great  efforts  in  favour  of 
Comparative  Anatomy ;  and  Perrault,  Pecquet,  Duverney, 
and  Mery,  by  the  dissections  of  rare  animals  obtained  from 
the  royal  menagerie,  speedily  supplied  valuable  materials 
for  the  anatomical  naturalist  In  England,  Nehemiah 
Grew,  Edward  Tyson,  and  Samuel  Collins  cultivated  the 
same  department  with  diligence  and  success.  Grew  has 
left  an  interesting  account  of  the  anatomical  peculiarities 
of  the  intestinal  canal  in  various  animals ;  Tyson  in  the 
dissection  of  a  porpoise,  an  opossum,  and  an  ourang  outang, 
adduces  some  valuable  illustrations  of  the  comparative 
differences  between  the  structure  of  the  human  body  and 
that  of  the  lower  animals ;  Collins  has  the  merit  of  con- 
ceiving, and  executing  on  an  enlarged  plan,  a  comprehensive 
system,  embodying  all  the  information  then  extant.  With 
the  aid  of  Tyson  and  his  own  researches,  which  were  both 
extensive  and  accurate,  he  composed  a  system  of  anato- 
mical knowledge  in  which  he  not  only  gives  ample  and 
accurate  descriptions  of  the  structure  of  the  human  body, 
and  the  various  morbid  changes  to  which  the  organs  are 
liable,  but  illustrates  the  whole  by  accurate  and  interesting 
sketches  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  lower  animals.  The 
matter  of  this  work  is  so  excellent  that  it  can  only  be 
ascribed  to  ignorance  that  it  has  received  so  little  attention. 
Though  regarded  as  a  compilation,  and  though  indeed 
much  of  the  human  anatomy  is  derived  from  Vesalius,  it 
has  the  advantage  of  the  works  published  on  the  Continent 
at  that  time,  that  it  embodies  most  of  the  valuable  facts 
derived  from  Malpighi,  WLlis,  and  Vieussens.  The  Com- 
parative Anatomy  is  almost  all  original,  the  result  of 
personal  research  and  dissection ;  and  the  pathological 
observations,  though  occasionally  tinged  with  the  spirit 
of  the  times,  show  the  author  to  have  been  endowed  with 
the  powers  of  observation  and  judicious  reflection  in  no 
ordinary  degree. 

About  this  time  also  we  recognise  the  first  attempts  to 
study  the  minute  constitution  of  the  tissues,  by  the 
combination  of  the  microscope  and  the  effects  of  chemical 
egents.  Bone  furnished  the  first  instance  in  which  this 
method  was  put  in  use  ;  and  though  Gagliardi,  who 
undertook  the  inquiry,  had  fallen  into  some  mistakes  which 
it  required  the  observation  of  Malpighi  to  rectify,  this  did 
not  deter  Clopton  Havers  and  Nesbitt,  in  England,  and 
Courtial,  Du  Hamel,  and  Delasone,  and  afterwards  Heris- 
sant,  in  France,  from  resuming  the  same  train  of  investi- 
gation. The  mistakes  into  which  these  anatomists  fell 
belong  to  the  imperfect  method  of  inquiry.  The  facts 
whien  they  ascertained  have  been  verified  by  recent  experi- 


ment, and  constitute  no  unessential  part  of  our  knowledgo 
of  the  structure  of  bone. 

Ten  years  after  the  publication  of  the  work  of  Collin3, 
Henry  Ridley,  another  English  anatomist,  distinguished 
himself  by  a  monograph  on  the  brain,  which,  though  not  free 
from  errore,  contains,  nevertheless,  some  valuable  observa- 
tions. Ridley  is  the  first  who  distinguishes  by  name  tho 
restiform  processes,  or  the  posterior  pyramidal  eminences. 
He  recognised  the  figure  of  the  four  eminences  in  tho 
human  subject ;  he  remarked  the  mammillary  bodies ;  and 
he  discovered  the  sinus  which  passes  under  his  name. 

Raymond  Vieussens,  by  the  publication  of  his  great  work 
on  neurography  in  1684,  threw  new  light  on  the  configura- 
tion and  structure  of  the  brain,  the  spinal  chord,  and  the 
nerves  ;  and  gave  a  description  of  the  arrangement  and 
distribution  of  the  latter  more  precise  than  heretofore.  Of 
the  formation  and  connections  of  the  sympathetic  nervo 
especially  he  gave  views  which  have  been  generally  adopted 
by  subsequent  anatomists.  His  new  arrangement  of  the 
vessels,  published  in  1705,  contains  several  curious  opinions 
His  observations  on  the  structure  of  the  heart,  publish  e  1 
in  1706,  and  enlarged  in  1715,  exhibit  the  first  correct  views 
of  the  intimate  structure  of  an  organ  which  afterwards  was 
most  fully  developed  by  the  labours  of  Lancisi  and  Senac. 

To  the  same  period  belong  the  rival  publications  of 
Godfrey  Bidloo  and  William  Cowper,  the  latter  of  whom, 
however,  stained  a  reputation  otherwise  good  by  publishing 
as  his  own  the  engravings  of  the  former.  Cowper  further 
distinguished  himself  by  a  minute  account  Of  the  urethral 
glands,  already  known  to  Columbus  and  Mery;  a  good 
description  of  the  intestinal  glands,  discovered  by  Brunner 
and  Peyer  ;  and  by  demonstrating  the  communication  of 
the  arteries  and  veins  of  the  mesentery. 

The  anatomical  genius  of  Italy,  which  had  slumbered 
since  the  death  of  Malpighi,  was  destined  once  more  to 
revive  in  Lancisi,  Valsalva,  and  his  illustrious  pupils 
Santorini  and  Morgagni  Valsalva  especially  distinguished 
himself  by  his  description  of  the  structure  of  the  ear, 
which,  in  possessing  still  greater  precision  and  minuteness 
than  that  of  Duverney,  is  valuable  in  setting  the  example 
of  rendering  anatomy  altogether  a  science  of  description. 
Santorini,  who  was  professor  at  Venice,  was  no  unworthy 
friend  of  Valsalva  and  Morgagni.  His  anatomical  observa- 
tions, which  relate  to  the  muscles  of  the  face,  the  brain, 
and  several  of  the  nerves,  the  ducts  of  the  lacrymal  gland, 
the  nose  and  its  cavities,  the  larynx,  the  viscera  of  th<» 
chest  and  belly,  and  the  organs  of  generation  in  the  two 
sexes,  furnish  beautiful  models  of  essays,  distinguished  for 
perspicuity,  precision,  and  novelty,  above  anything  which 
had  then  appeared.  These  observations,  indeed,  which 
bear  the  impress  of  accurate  observation  and  clear  con- 
ception, may  be  safely  compared  with  any  anatomical 
writings  which  have  appeared  since.  Those  on  the  brain 
are  particularly  interesting.  Morgagni,  though  chiefly 
known  as  a  pathological  anatomist,  did  not  neglect  the 
healthy  structure.  His  Adversaria,  which  appeared  between 
1706  and  1719,  and  his  Epistles,  published  in  1728, 
contain  a  series  of  observations  to  rectify  the  mistakes  of 
previous  anatomists,  and  to  determine  the  characters  of 
the  healthy  structure  of  many  parts  of  the  human  body. 
Many  parts  he  describes  anew,  and  indicates  facts  not 
previously  observed.  All  his  remarks  show  how  well  he 
knew  what  true  anatomical  description  ought  to  be.  In 
this  respect,  indeed,  the  three  anatomists  now  mentioned 
may  be  said  to  have  anticipated  their  contemporaries  nearly 
a  century  ;  for,  while  other  authors  were  satisfied  with 
giving  loose  and  inaccurate  or  meagre  notices  of  parts, 
with  much  fanciful  supposition,  Valsalva,  Santorini,  and 
Morgagni  laboured  to  determine  with  precision  the  ana- 
tomical characters  of  the  parts  which  they  describe. 


814 


ANATOMY 


[history. 


The  same  character  is  due  to  VYinslow,  a  native  of 
Denmark,  but,  aa  pupil  and  successor  of  Duverney,  as 
well  aa  a  convert  to  Catholicism,  naturalised  in  France, 
»nd  finally  professor  of  anatomy  at  the  Royal  Gardens. 
His  exposition  of  the  structure  of  the  human  body  is 
distinguished  for  bjing  not  only  the  first  treatise  of  de- 
scriptive anatomy,  divested  of  physiological  details  and 
hypothetical  explanations  foreign  to  the  subject,  but  for 
being  a  close  description  derived  from  actual  objects, 
without  reference  to  the  writings  of  previous  anatomists. 
About  the  same  time  Cheselden  in  London,  the  first 
Monro  in  Edinburgh,  and  Albinus  in  Leyden,  contributed 
by  their  several  treatises  to  render  anatomy  still  more 
precise  as  a  descriptive  science.  The  Osteographia  of  the 
first-mentioned  was  of  much  use  in  directing  attention  to  the 
study  of  the  skeleton  and  the  morbid  changes  to  which 
it  is  liable.  This  work,  however,  magnificent  as  it  was, 
was  excelled  by  that  of  Albinus,  who,  in  1747,  published 
engravings  descriptive  of  the  bones  and  muscles,  which 
perhaps  will  never  be  surpassed  either  in  accuracy  of 
outline  or  beauty  of  execution.  The  several  labours  of 
this  author,  indeed,  constitute  an  important  era  in  the 
history  of  the  science.  He  was  the  first  who  classified 
and  exhibited  the  muscles  in  a  proper  arrangement,  and 
applied  to  them  a  nomenclature  which  is  still  retained  by 
the  consent  of  the  best  anatomists.  He  gives  a  luminous 
account  of  the  arteries  and  veins  of  the  intestines,  represents 
with  singular  fidelity  and  beauty  the  bones  of  the  foetus, 
inquires  into  the  structure  of  the  skin  and  the  cause  of 
its  colour  in  different  races ;  represents  the  changes  incident 
to  the  womb  in  different  periods  of  pregnancy,  and  de- 
scribes the  relations  of  the  thoracic  duct  and  the  vena  azygos 
with  the  contiguous  parts.  Besides  these  large  and 
magnificent  works,  illustrated  by  the  most  beautiful  en- 
gravings, six  books  of  Academical  Annotations  were  the 
fruits  of  his  long  and  assiduous  cultivation  of  anatomy. 
These  contain  valuable  remarks  on  the  sound  structure 
and  morbid  deviations  of  numerous  Darts  of  the  human 
body. 

Albinus  found  a  worthy  successor  in  his  pupil  Albert 
Von  Haller,  who,  with  a  mind  imbued  with  every  depart- 
ment of  literature  and  science,  directed  his  chief  attention, 
nevertheless,  to  the  cultivation  of  anatomical  and  physio- 
logical knowledge.  '  Having  undertaken  at  an  eariy  age 
(twenty-one)  to  illustrate,  with  commentaries,  the  physio- 
logical prelections  of  his  preceptor  Boerhaave,  ho  devoted 
himself  assiduously  to  the  perusal  of  every  work  which 
could  tend  to  facilitate  his  purpose ;  and  as  he  found 
numerous  erroneous  or  imperfect  statements,  and  many 
deficiencies  to  supply,  he  undertook  an  extensive  course 
of  dissection  of  human  and  animal  bodies  to  obtain 
the  requisite  information.  During  the  seventeen  years 
he  -was  pnfessor  at  Giittingen,  he  dissected  400  bodies, 
and  inspected  their  organs  with  the  utmost  care.  The 
result  of  these  assiduous  labours  appeared  at  intervals  in 
the  form  of  dissertations  by  himself,  or  under  the  name  of 
some  one  of  his  pupils,  finally  published  in  a  collected 
shape,  between  1746  and  1751  (Disputationes  Anatomicce 
Selectiores),  and  in  eight  numbers  of  most  accurate  and 
beautiful  engravings,  representing  the  most  important 
parts  of  the  human  body,  e.g.,  the  diaphragm,  the  uterus, 
ovaries,  and  vagina,  the  arteries  of  the  different  regions 
and  organs,  with  learned  and  critical  explanatory  observe 
tions.  He  verified  the  observations  that  in  the  fcetus  the 
testicles  lie  in  the  abdomen,  and  showed  that  their  descent 
into  the  scrotum  may  be  complicated  with  the  formation 
of  congenital  hernia.  Some  years  afteT,  when  he  had 
retired  from  his  academical  duties  at  Gbttingen,  he 
published,  between  1757  and  1765,  the  large  and  elaborate 
work  which,  with  singular  modesty,  he  styled  EUments 


of  Physiology.  This  work,  though  professedly  devoted 
to  physiology,  rendered,  nevertheless,  the  most  essential 
services  to  anatomy.  Haller,  drawing  an  accurato  line  of 
distinction  between  the  two,  gave  the  most  clear,  precise, 
and  complete  descriptions  of  the  situation,  position,  figure, 
component  parts,  and  minute  structure  of  the  different 
organs  and  their  appendages.  The  results  r>'  .evious  and 
coeval  inquiry,  obtained  by  extensive  re ."'  .-',  ho  sedulously 
"verified  by  personal  observation  •  '  XI  though  he  never 
rejected  facts  stated  on  credible  authorities,  he  in  all  cases 
laboured  to  ascertain  their  real  valuo  by  experiment. 
The  anatomical  descriptions  are  on  this  account  not  only 
the  most  valuable  part  of  his  work,  but  the  most  valuable 
that  had  then  or  for  a  long  time  after  appeared.  It  is 
painful,  nevertheless,  to  think  that  the  very  form  in  which 
this  work  is  composed,  with  copious  and  scrupulous 
reference  to  authorities,  made  it  bo  regarded  as  a  compila- 
tion only  ;  and  that  the  autcor  was  compelled  to  show,  by 
a  list  of  his  personal  researches,  that  the  most  learned 
work  ever  given  to  the  physiologist  was  also  the  most 
abundant  in  original  information. 

With  the  researches  of  Haller  it  is  proper  to  notico 
those  of  his  contemporaries,  John  Frederick  Meckel,  J.  N. 
Lieberkiihn,  and  his  pupil  John  Godfrey  Zinn.  The 
first,  who  wa3  professor  of  anatomy  at  Berlin,  described  I74h-ei 
the  Casserian  ganglion,  the  first  pair  of  nerves  and  its 
distribution,  and  that  of  the  facial  nerves  generally,  and 
discovered  the  spheno-palatine  ganglion.  He  made  some 
original  and  judicious  observations  on  the  tissue  of  the 
skin  and  the  mucous  net ;  and  above  all,  be  recognised  the  1753  it. 
connection  of  the  lymphatic  vessels  with  the  veins, — a 
doctrine  which,  after  long  neglect,  was  revived  by  Fohmann 
and  Lippi.  He  also  collected  several  valuable  observa- 
tions on  the. morbid  states  of  the  heart  and  brain.  Lie- 
berkiihn published  in  1745  a  dissertation  on  the  villi 
and  glands  of  the  small  intestines.  Zinn,  who  was 
professor  of  medicine  at  Gbttingen,  published  a  classical 
treatise  on  the  eye,  which  demonstrated  at  once  the  defects  1755 
of  previous  inquiries,  and  how  much  it  was  possible  to 
elucidate,  by  accurate  research  and  precise  description,  the 
structure  of  one  of  the  most  important  organs  of  the  human 
frame.  It  was  republished  after  his  death  by  Wrisberg.  1780. 
About  the  same  time  Weitbrecht  gave  a  copious  and  minuto 
account  of  the  ligaments,  and  M.  Lieutaud,  who  had 
already  laboured  to  rectify  many  errors  in  anatomy,  de- 
scribed with  care  the  structure  and  relations  of  the  heart 
and  its  cavities,  and  rendered  the  anatomy  of  the  blatlder 
very  precise,  by  describing  the  triangular  space  and  the 
mammillary  eminence  at  its  neck. 

The  study  of  the  minute  anatomy  of  the  tissues,  which 
had  originally  been  commenced  by  Leeuwenhoeck,  Malpighi, 
and  Ruysch,  began  at  this  period  to  attract  more  general 
attention;  De  Bergen  had  already  demonstrated  the. 
general  distribution  of  cellular  membrane,  and  showed  that 
it  not  only  incloses  every  part  of  the  animal  frame,  but  forma 
the  basis  of  every  organ, — a  doctrine  whicn  was  adopted, 
and  still  more  fully  expanded,  by  his  friend  Haller,  in* 
opposition  to.  what  was  asserted  by  Albinus,  who  maintains 
that  each  part  has  a  proper  tissue..  William  Hunter  at  the 
same  time  gave  a  clear  and  ingenious  statement  of  the 
difference  between  cellular  membrane  and  adipose  tissue, 
in  which  he  maintained  the  general  distribution  of  the 
former,  and  represented  it  as  forming  the  serous  membranes, 
and  regulating  their  physiological  and  pathological  pro- 
perties,— doctrines  which  were  afterwards  confirmed  by  his 
brother  John  Hunter.  A  few  years  after,  the  department 
of  general  anatomy  first  assumed  a  substantial  form  in  the- 
systematic  view  of  the  membranes  and  their  mutual  con-j 
nections  traced  by  Andrew  Bonn  of  Amsterdam.  In  hia 
inaugural  dissertation  De  Continuationibus  Membranarum, 


HI31 


I] 


A  JN    A  T  O  M  Y 


815 


published  at  Leyden  in  1733,  this  author,  after  some 
preliminary  observations,  on  membranes  in  general  and 
their  structure,  and  an  exposition  of  that  of  the  skin,  traces 
its  transition  into  the  mucous  membranes  and  their  several 
divisions.  He  then  explains  the  distribution  of  the  cellular 
membrane,  the  aponeurotic  expansions,  and  the  perios- 
teum and  perichondrium,  by  either  of  which,  he  shows, 
every  bone  of  the  skeleton  is  invested  and  connected.  He 
finally  gives  a  very  distinct  view  of  the  arrangement  of  the 
internal  membranes  of  cavities,  those  named  serous  and 
tibro-serous,  and  the  manner  of  their  distribution  over  the 
contained  organs.  This  essay,  which  is  a  happy  example 
of  generalisation,  is  remarkable  for  the  interesting  general 
views  of  the  structure  of  the  animal  body  which  it  exhibits  ; 
and  to  Bonn  belongs  the  merit  of  sketching  the  first 
outlines  of  that  system  which  it  was  ressrved  for  the 
genius  of  Bichat  to  complete  and  embellish.  Lastly, 
Boideu,  in  an  elaborate  essay  on  the  mucous  tissue,  or 
cellular  organ,  as  he  terms  it,  brought  forward  some 
interesting  views  of  the  constitution,  nature,  and  exteut  of 
the  cellular  membrane 

Though  anatomy  was  hitherto  cultivated  with  much 
success  as  illustrating  the  natural  history  and  morbid  states 
of  the  human  body,  yet  little  had  been  done  for  the  elucida- 
tion of  local  diseases,  and  the  surgical  means  by  which 
they  may  be  successfully  treated.  The  idea  of  applying 
anatomical  knowledge  directly  to  this  purpose  appears  to 
have  originated  with  Bernardin  Genga,  a  Roman  surgeon, 
who  published  in  1672,  at  Rome,  a  work  entitled  Surgical 
Anatomy,  or  the  Anatomical  History  of  the  Bones  and 
Muscles  of  the  Human  Body,  with  the  Description  of  the 
Blood-vessels.  This  work,  which  reached  a  second  edition 
in  1687,  is  highly  creditable  to  the  author,  who  appears  to 
have  studied  intimately  the  mutual  relations  of  different 
1-26.  parts.  It  is  not  improbable  that  the  example  of  Genga  led 
Palfyn,  a  surgeon  at  Ghent,  to  undertake  a  similar  task 
about  thirty  years  after.  For  this,  however,  he  was  by  no 
means  well  qualified ;  and  the  work  of  Palfyn,  though 
bearing  the  name  of  Surgical  Anatomy,  is  a  miserable 
compilation,  meagre  in  details,  inaccurate  in  description, 
and  altogether  unworthy  of  the  honour  of  being  republished, 
as  it  afterwards  was  by  Antony  Petit. 

While  these  two  authors, however,  were  usefully  employed 
in  showing  what  was  wanted  for  the  surgeon,  others  were 
occupied  in  the  collection  of  new  and  more  accurate  facts. 
Albinus,  indeed,  ever  assiduous,  had,  in -his  account  of  the 
operations  of  Rau,  given  some  good  sketches  of  the  relative 
anatomy  of  the  bladder  and  urethra ;  and  Cheselden  had 
already,  in  his  mode  of  cutting  into  the  urinary  bladder, 
shown  the  necessity  of  an  exact  knowledge  of  the  relations 
of  contiguous  parts.  The  first  decided  application,  however, 
of  this  species  of  anatomical  research  it  was  reserved  for  a 
Dutch  anatomist  of  the  18th  century  to  make.  Peter 
per.  (Damper,  professor  of  anatomy  at  Amsterdam,  published  in 
1760  and  1762  his  anatomico-pathological  demonstrations 
of  the  parts  of  the  human  arm  and  pelvis,  of  the  diseases 
incident  to  them,  and  the  mode  of  relieving  them  by 
operation,  and  explained  with  great  clearness  the  situation 
of  the  blood-vessels,  nerves,  and  important  muscles.  His 
remarks  on  the  lateral  operation  of  lithotomy,  which 
contain  all  that  was  then  known  on  the  subject,  are  exceed- 
ingly interesting  and  valuable  to  the  surgeon.  It  appears,, 
further,  that  he  was  the  first  who  examined  anatomically 
the  mechanism  of  ruptures,  his  delineations  of  which  were 
published  in  1S01  by  Sommering.  Camper  also  wrote  some 
important  memoirs  on  Comparative  Anatomy,  and  he  was 
the  author  of  a  well-known  work  on  the  Relations  of 
Anatomy  to  the  Fine  Arts. 

The  attention   of  anatomists  was  now  directed  to  the 
elucidation  of  the  most  obscure  and  least  explored  parts 


of  the  human  frame — the  lymphatic  vessels  and  the  nerves. 
Although,  since  the  first  discovery  of  the  former  by 
Asellius,  Rudbeck,  and  Pecquet,  much  had  been  done, 
especially  by  Ruysch,  Nuck,  Meckel,  and  Haller,  many 
points,  notwithstanding,  relating  to  their  origin  and  distri- 
bution in  particular  organs,  and  in  the  several  classes  ol 
animals,  were  imperfectly  ascertained  or  entirely  unknown 
William  Hunter  investigated  their  arrangement,  and  pro- 
posed the  doctrine  that  they  are  absorbents ;  and  John 
Hunter,  who  undertook  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  this 
hypothesis  by  experiment,  discovered,  in  1758,  lymphatics 
in  the  neck  in  birds.  As  the  doctrine  required  the  existence 
of  this  order  of  vessels,  not  only  in  quadrupeds  and  birds, 
but  in  reptiles  and  fishes,  the  inquiry  attracted  attention 
among  the  pupils  of  Hunter ;  and  William  Hewson  at 
length  communicated,  in  December  176S,  to  the  Boyal 
Society  of  London,  an  account  of  the  lacteals  and  lymphatic; 
in  birds,  fishes,  and  reptiles,  as  he  had  discovered  and 
demonstrated  them.  The  subject  was  about  the  same  time 
investigated  by  the  second  Monro,  who  indeed  claimed  the 
merit  of  discovering  these  vessels  m  the  classes  of  animals 
now  mentioned.  But  whatever  researches  this  anatomist 
may  have  instituted,  Hewson,  by  comniunicating  his 
observations  to  the  Royal  Society,  must  be  allowed  tc 
possess  the  strongest  .as  well  as  tbe  clearest  claim  to 
discovery.  The  same  author,  in  1774,  gave  tbe  first 
complete  account  of  the  anatomical  peculiarities  of  the 
lymphatic  system  in  man  and  other  animals,  and  thereby 
supplied  an  important  gap  in  this  department.  Hewsoc 
is  the  first  who  distinguishes  the  lymphatics  into  two 
orders — the  superficial  and  the  deep — both  in  the  extremi- 
ties and  in  the  internal  organs.  He  also  studied  tbe 
structure  of  the  intestinal  villi,  in  which  he  verified  the 
observations  of  Lieberkuhn  ;  and  he  made  many  important 
observations  on  the  corpuscles  of  the  lymph  and  blood. 
He  finally  applied  his  anatomical  discoveries  to  explain 
many  of  the  physiological  and  pathological  phenomena  of 
the  animal  body.  Ten  years  after,  John  Sheldon,  anotLer 
pupil  of  Hunter,  gave  a  second  history  and  description  of 
the  lymphatics,  which,  though  divested  of  the  charm  of 
Dovelty,  contains  many  interesting  anatomical  facts.  He 
also  examined  tbe  structure  of  the  villi. 

Lastly,  Cruikshank,  in  1786,  published  a  valuable  Cruik. 
history  of  the  anatomy  of  the  lymphatic  system,  in  which  shank, 
he  maintains  the  accuracy  of  the  Hunterian  doctrine,  that 1'86 
the  lymphatics  are  the  only  absorbents ;  gave  a  more 
minute  account  than  heretofore  of  these  vessels,  of  their 
coats  and  valves  and  explained  the  structure  of  the 
lymphatic  glands.  He  also  injected  the  villi,  and  examined 
them  microscopically,  verifying  most  of  the  observations 
of  Lieberkuhn.  The  origin  of  the  lymphatics  he  maintains 
rather  by  inference  than  direct  demonstration.  To  these 
three  works,  though  in  other  respects  very  excellent,  it  is 
a  considerable  objection  that  the  anatomical  descriptions 
are  much  mixed  with  hypothetical  speculation  and  reason- 
ings on  properties,  and  that  the  facts  are  by  no  means 
always  distinguished  from  mere  matters  of  opinion.  At  the 
same  time  Haase  published  an  account  of  the  lymphatics  of 
the  skin  and  intestines,  and  the  plexiform  nets  of  the  pelvis. 

To  complete  this  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  anatomy 
of  the  lymphatic  system,  it  may  be  added  that  Maso 
who  had  been  engaged  from  the  year  1777  to  1781  in  the 
same  train  of  investigation,  first  demonstrated  to  his 
pupils  several  curious  facts  relating  to  the  anatomy  of  the 
lymphatic  system.  When  at  Florence  in  1782  he  made 
several  preparations,  at  the  request  of  Peter  Leopold, 
Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany;  and  when  the  Royal  Academy  of 
Sciences  at  Paris  announced  the  anatomy  of  this  system 
for  their  prize  essay  appointed  for  March  1784,  Masca°ni 
resolved  on  communicating  to  the  public  the  results  of 


S1G 


ANATOMY 


[history. 


hi*  researches — the  first  part  of  his  commentary,  with  four 
engravings.  Anxiety,  however,  to  complete  his  prepara- 
tions detained  him  at  Florence  till  the  close  of  1785  ;  and 
from  these  causes  his  work  did  not  appear  till  1787. 
These  delays,  however,  unfavourable  as  they  were  to  his 
claims  of  priority  -to  Sheldon  and  Cruikshank,  were  on 
the  whole  advantageous  to  the  perfection  of  his  work, 
which  is  not  only  the  most  magnificent,  but  also  the  most 
complete  that  ever  was  published  on  the  lymphatics.  In 
his  account  of  the  vessels  and  their  valves  he  confirms 
Borne  of  Hewson's  observations,  and  rectifies  others.  Their 
origin  he  proves  by  inference  much  in  the  same  manner 
as  Cruikshank ;  but  he  anticipates  this  author  in  the 
account  of  the  glands,  and  he  gives  the  most  minute 
description  of  the  superficial  and  deep  lymphatics,  both  in 
the  members  and  in  the  internal  organs. 

General  accounts  of  the  nerves  had  been  given  with 
various  degrees  of  accuracy  by  Willis,  Vieussens,  Winslow, 
and  the  first  Monre ;  and  the  subject  had  been  much 
rectified  and  improved  by  the  indefatigable  Haller.  The 
first  example  of  minute  descriptive  neurography  was 
given  in  1748  by  John  Frederick  Meckel,  whose  account 
of  the  fifth  pair,  and  of  the  nerves  of  the  face,  will  long 
remain  a  lasting  proof  of  accuracy  and  research.  The 
same  subject  was  investigated  in  17  05  by  Hirsch,  and  in 
1777  by  Wrisberg.  In  1766  Metzger  examined  the 
origin,  distribution,  and  termination  of  the  first  pair, 
— a  point  which  was  afterwards  very  minutely  treated 
by  Scarpa  in  his  anatomical  disquisitions,  published 
in  1780  ;  and  the  internal  nerves  of  the  nostrils  were 
examined  in  1791  by  Haase.  The  optic  nerve,  which  had 
been  studied  originally  by  Varoli,  and  afterwards  by  Mery, 
Duvemey,  Henkel,  Moeller,  Hein,  and  Kaldschmid,  was 
examined  with  extreme  accuracy,  with  the  other  nerves 
of  the  organ  of  vision,  by  Zinn,  in  his  elaborate  treatise. 
The  phrenic  nerves  and  the  oesophageal  branches  of  the 
eighth  pair  were  studied  by  Haase ;  the  phrenic,  the 
abdominal,  and  the  pharyngeal  nerves,  by  Wrisberg; 
those  of  the  heart  most  minutely  by  Andersch ;  and  the 
origins,  -forrnalion,  and  distribution  of  the  intercostal 
nerve,  by  Iwanoff,  Ludwig,  and  Girardi.  The  labours  of 
these  anatomists,  however,  were  eclipsed  by  the  splendid 
works  of  Walter  on  the  nerves  of  the  chest  and  belly  ; 
and  those  of  Scarpa  on  the  distribution  of  the  8th  pair, 
and  splanchnic  nerves  in  general.  In  minuteness  of 
description  and  in  beauty  of  engraving  these  works  have 
not  yet  been  equalled,  and  will  never  perhaps  be  surpassed. 
About  the  same  time,  Scarpa,  so  distinguished  in  every 
branch  of  anatomical  research,  investigated  the  minute 
structure  of  the  ganglions  and  plexuses.  The  anatomy  of 
the  brain  itself  was  also  studied  with  great  attention  by 
the  second  Monro,  Malacame,  and  Vicq  dAzyr. 

Lastly,  the  anatomy  of  the  gravid  uterus,  which  had 
been  originally  studied  by  Albinus,  Roederer,  and  Smellie, 
was  again  illustrated  most  completely  by  William  Hunter, 
whoso  engravings  will  remain  a  lasting  memorial  of 
scientific  zeal  and  artistic  talent 

The  perfection  which  anatomical  science  attained  in 
the  last  ten  years  of  the  eighteenth  and  during  the  pre- 
sent century  is  evinced  not  only  in  the  improved  character 
of  the'  systems  published  by  anatomists,  but  in  the  enor- 
mous advance  which  has  taken  place  in  the  knowledge 
rf  the  minute  structure  of  the  animal  tissues,  of  the  de- 
velopment of  the  tissues  and  organs,  and  of  the  modifica- 
tions in  form  and  structure  exhibited  by  various  groups 
of  animals. 

The  first  who  gave  a  good  modern  system  was  Sabatier ; 
but  his  work  was  speedily  eclipsed  by  the  superior  merits 
of  the  treatises  of  Sommering,  Bichat,  aud  Portal.  The 
excellent  work  by  Samuel  Thomas  Sommering,  originally 


pubbshed  in  the  German  language,  between  the  years 
1791  and  1796;  then  in  the  Latin  language,  between  thf> 
years  1794  and  1800;  and  in  a  second  edition  in  the 
German  language  in  1800  and  1801,  maintaining  the  high 
character  which  it  first  possessed  for  clear  arrangement, 
accurate  description,  and  general  precision,  was,  between 
the  years  1841  and  1844,  republished  in  eight  volumes  at 
Leipsic  by  Bischoff,  Henle,  Huschke,  Theile,  Valentin, 
Vogel,  and  Wagner,  with  suitable  additions,  and  a  large 
amount  of  new  and  accurate  information.  In  this  edition 
Rudolph  Wagner  gives,  in  the  first  division  of  the  first 
volume,  the  life,  correspondence,  and  literary  writings  of 
Sommering;  and  in  the  second  volume  the  anatomy  of 
the  bones  and  ligament's.  The  third  volume  contains  the 
anatomy  of  the  muscles  and  the  vascular  system  by 
Theile.  Valentin  devotes  one  volume,  the  fourth,  to  the 
minute  anatomy  of  the  nervous  system  and  its  parts,  as 
disclosed  by  careful  examination  by  the  microscope  ;  and 
it  must  be  allowed  that  the  author  has  been  at  great  pains 
to  present  just  views  of  the  true  anatomy  of  the  brain, 
the  spinal  cord,  the  nervous  branches,  and  the  ganglia. 
In  the  fifth  volume,  Huschke  of  Jena  gives  the  anatomical 
history  of  the  viscera  and  the  organs  of  the  senses,  a 
department  which  had  been  left  in  some  degree  incomplete 
in  the  original,  but  for  one  division  of  which  the  author 
had  left  useful  materials  in  his  large  figures  already 
mentioned.  In  the  sixth  volume,  an  entire  and  complete 
system  of  general  anatomy,  deduced  from  personal  obser- 
vation and  that  of  other  careful  observers,  the  materials 
being  in  general  new,  and  in  all  instances  confirmed  and 
rectified,  is  given  by. Prof.  Henle.  The  seventh  volume  con- 
tains the  history  of  the  process  of  development  in  mammalia 
and  man,  by  Th.  L.  W.  Bischoff.  The  eighth  volume 
treats  of  the  pathological  anatomy  of  the  human  body,  by 
Julius  Vogel,  but  contains  only  the  first  division,  relating 
to  the  generalities  of  the  subject.  This,  which  is  probably 
the  most  accurate  as  it  is  the  most  elaborate  system  of 
anatomical  knowledge  up  to  the  date  of  its  publication  in 
1844,  was  translated  into  the  French  language  by  Jourdan, 
and  published  in  1846  under  the  name  of  Encyclopedie 
Anatomique.  The  eighth  volume  was  translated  into  English 
in  the  year  1847. 

The  Anatomie  G&n&rale  of  Bichat  is  a  monument  of  his  Bichat. 
philosophical  genius  which  will  last  as  long  as  the  structure 
and  functions  of  the  human  body  are  objects  of  interest. 
His  Anatomie  Descriptive  is  distinguished  by  clear  and 
natural  arrangement,  precise  and  accurate  description,  and 
the  general  ingenuity  with  which  the  subject  is  treated. 
The  physiological  observations  are  in  general  correct,  often 
novel,  and  always  highly  interesting.  It  is  unfortunate, 
however,  that  the  ingenious  author  was  cut  ofT  prematurely 
during  the  preparation  of  the  third  volume.  The  later 
volumes  are,  however,  pervaded  with  the  general  spirit  by 
which  the  others  are  impressed,  and  are  highly  creditable 
to  the  learning,  the  judgment,  and  the  diligence  of  MM. 
Roux  and  Buisson.  The  system  of  Portal  is  a  valuable 
and  correct  digest  of  anatomical  and  pathological  know- 
ledge, which,  in  exact  literary  information,  is  worthy  of 
the  author  of  the  Histoire  de  I' Anatomie  et  de  la  Chirurgie, 
and,  in  accuracy  of  descriptive  details,  shows  that  M. 
Portal  trusts  not  to  the  labours  of  his  predecessors  only. 
Boyer  published  in  1803  a  complete  treatise  on  Descriptive 
Anatomy.  Cloquet  formed,  on  the  model  of  the  Anatomie 
Descriptive  of  Bichat,  a  system  in  which  he  avails  himself 
of  the  literature  and  precision  of  Sommering  and  the 
details  of  PortaL  An  English  translation  of  this  work 
was  prepared  by  Dr  Knox.  Cruveilhier  published  in 
1834-35  a  good  general  treatise  on  Descriptive  Anatomy, 
which  was  translated  into  English,  and  published  as  a 
part  of  The  Library  of  Medicine.     Cniveilhier's  treatise 


HISTORY.] 


ANATOMY 


817 


has  passed  through  several  editions.  About  the  same 
time  Blandin  published  an  elementary  work  on  Descriptive 
Anatomy,  and  a  useful  treatise  on  Topographical  Anatomy. 
But  the  most  elaborate  system  of  human  anatomy  which 
has  proceeded  from  the  French  school  is  the  great  treatise 
of  Bourgery,  illustrated  by  numerous  large  and  beautifully- 
coloured  plates  of  the  parts  and  organs.  It  consists  of 
two  divisions,  one  on  Medical  and  Physiological  Anatomy ; 
the  other  on  Surgical  Anatomy. 

J.  F.  Meckel  published  between  1815  and  1820  a 
manual  of  Descriptive  Anatomy  which  combines  the 
philosophical  generalisations  of  Bichat  with  the  precise 
description  and  pathological  knowledge  of  Portal  During 
the  succeeding  thirty  years  excellent  systematic  treatises 
in  the  German  language  were  prepared  by  Rosenmullcr, 
C.  F.  P.  Krause,  Frederick  Hildebrand  (the  4th  edition  of 
which  was  edited  in  1830  by  the  eminent  anatomist  E  H. 
Weber), and  Fred.  Arnold.  In  1846  Joseph  Hyrtl  published 
a  system  of  Human  Anatomy,  and  in  the  following  year  a 
manual  of  Topographical  and  Surgical  Anatomy,  both  of 
which,  but  more  especially  the  latter,  have  gone  through 
Eeveral  editions.  Luschka,  the  professor  of  anatomy  in 
Tubingen,  has  prepared  a  valuable  treatise  on  Regional 
Anatomy,  in  which  attention  is  particularly  directed  to  the 
relations  of  the  parts  which  are  of  interest  to  the  phvsician 
and  surgeon.  The  text-book  by  Hermann  Meyer  of  Zurich 
is  also  worthy  of  mention  as  a  work  in  which  the  mechanical 
construction  and  uses  of  parts  are  described  with  great 
care.  Henle's  treatise  on  Human  Anatomy,  the  publication 
of  which  was  commenced  in  1855,  though  the  last  volume 
was  not  completed  until  1873,  is,  however,  the  most 
complete  work  on  the  subject  which  has  as  yet  issued  from 
the  German  press  during  the  latter  half  of  the  present 
century.  It  is  remarkable  not  only  for  the  elaborate 
description  of  the  organs  and  tissaes  of  the  body,  and  the 
ample  references  to  the  labours  of  other  observers,  but  for 
the  number  and  beauty  of  the  wood  engravings. 
British  In  Great  Britain  systematic  treatises  on  Human  Anatomy 

lystematio    were  published  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  present  century- 
uu.toiuL.to   by  Andrew  Fyfe>  Johrj  BeU>  the  tbird  Monro,  and  John 

Gordon,  all  of  whom  were  teachers  in  the  Edinburgh  schooL 
In  London,  Jones  .Quain  prepared  an  excellent  textbook, 
which,  under  a  succession  of  editors,  who-  have  kept  each 
new  edition  on  a  level  with  the  advancing  tide  of  anatomical 
knowledge,  has  been  much  esteemed  not  only  for  the 
clearness  of  its  descriptions,  but  for  the  soundness  of  its 
information  on  the  various  branches  of  human  Systematic 
Anatomy.  The  7th  edition,  under  the  editorial  superin- 
tendence of  Professors  Sharpey,  Allen  .Thomson,  and 
Cleland,  appeared  between  1864  and  1867.  The  passing 
of  the  Anatomy  Act  in  1832,  by  affording  facilities  for 
the  pursuit  of  practical  anatomy,  gave  a  great  stimulus  to 
its  study  in  this  country,  and  to  facilitate  the  acquisition 
of  a  knowledge  of  the  subject  many  text-books  have  been 
published.  The  most  important  are  Harrison's  Dublin 
Dissector,  and  the  well-known  Demonstrations  of  Anatomy  by 
Prof.  Ellis.  The  increased  importance  attached  bysurgeonsto 
a  precise  acquaintance  with  the  knowledge  of  those  regions 
in  which  operations  have  most  frequently  to  be  performed, 
has  led  to  the  production  of  valuable  special  works  on 
their  anatomy.  The  treatise  of  Allen  Burns  on  the  head 
and  neck,  those  of  Sir  Astley  Cooper  and  Sir  W.  Lawrence 
on  hernia,  Morton's  Anatomy  of  the  Surgical  Regions,  the 
excellent  plates  on  Surgical  Anatomy  by  Joseph  Maclise,and 
the  beautiful  drawings  by  Ford  from  the  dissections  of  Prof. 
Ellis,  with  descriptive  letterpress,  are  highly  creditable  to 
British  anatomists ;  whilst  the  treatise  on  hernia  by  Scarpa, 
and  Cloquet's  and  Hesselbach's  works  on  the  same  subject, 
reflect  credit  on  the  Italian,  French,  and  German  schools. 
•'  But  special  treatises  have  also  been  written  on  other 


departments  of  humaa  descriptive  anatomy.  inne\  Sandi 
fort,  and  Barclay  published  works  on  the  muscles  generally , 
and  Sir  Charles  Eell,  in  his  classical  treatise  on  the  Ana- 
tomy of  Expression,  described  with  care  the  attachments 
and  action  of  the  muscles  of  the  face.  Of  late  years  the 
variations  in  the  usually  described  arrangements  in  the 
muscular  system  in  man  have  been  carefully  inquired  into, 
and  numerous  memoirs  have  been  written,  more  especially 
by  M'Whinnie,  Hallett,  W.  Gruber,  John  Wood,  W.  Turner, 
and  M'Alister.  F.  O.  Ward  published  a  work  on  Human 
Osteology  which  is  characterised  by  the  minuteness  and 
accuracy  of  its  description ;  G.  M.  Humphry,  a  treatise  in 
which  the  physical,  physiological,  and  pathological  aspects 
of  the  skeleton  are  dwelt  upon;  and  Luther  Holden,  a  pro- 
fusely-illustrated work  on  the  same  subject,  in  which  the 
surfaces  for  muscular  attachments  are  carefully  delineated. 
Sir  Charles  Bell's  engravings  of  the  arteries,  Tiedemann's 
more  elaborate  plates,  and  Harrison's  admirable  description 
of  these  vessels,  all  deserve  notice.  But  the  most  complete 
work  on  the  Anatomy  of  the  Arteries  which  has  yet  appeared 
is  that  by  Richard  Quain,  which  consists  of  eighty-seven 
large  plates,  with  543  pages  of  descriptive  letterpress. 
It  will  long  continue  a  standard  work  on  the  subject. 

Numerous  treatises  on  the  anatomy  of  the  nervous 
system  have  been  published.  In  Germany  the  brothers 
Wenzel,  Red,  Tiedemann,  Gall  and  Spurzheim,  Arnold, 
and  Reichert  have  prepared  works  on  the  descriptive 
anatomy  of  the  great  nerve  centres,  not  only  in  man  but 
in  various  animals ;  and  by  Tiedemann,  Reichert,  and 
Ecker,  the  development  of  the  brain  has  been  especially 
studied.  ■  In  Italy  the  memoirs  of  Rolando  on  the  anatomy 
of  the  brain,  and  of  Bellingeri  on  the  spinal  cord  and  its 
nerves,  are  of  importance.  From  the  French  school  the- 
writings  of  Serres,  of  Foville,  of  Leurct  and  Gratiolet,  have 
thrown  much  new  light  on  the  structure  of  the  brain.  Ic 
Great  Britain,  Sir  Charles  Bell,  in  his  great  work  on  the 
nervous  system,  developed  and  established  the  truth  of  tho 
separate  nature  of  the  nerves  of  sensation  and  motion. 
In  1836,  and  again  in  1847,  Samuel  Solly  published  an 
instructive  treatise  on  the  anatomy  of  the  brain.  Between 
1830  and  1834  Joseph  Swan  published  a  valuable  series 
of  engravings  in  illustration  of  the  distribution  of  the 
nerves,  and  Robert  Lee  has  especially  investigated  the 
arrangement  and  distribution  of  the  nerves  of  the  heart 
and  uterus.  In  the  Cyclopaedia  of  Anatomy  and  Physiology, 
under  the  editorial  superintendence  of  Dr  Robert  B. 
Todd,  original  memoirs,  not  only  on  human  but  comparative 
anatomy,  by  eminent  writers,  have  appeared,  and  have 
done  much  to  diffuse  a  knowledge  of  anatomical  science. 

The  improvement  which  has  been  effected  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  compound  microscope  during  the  fifty 
years  subsequent  to  1822,  has  contributed  in  no  small 
degree  to  enable  anatomists  to  obtain  more  correct  infor- 
mation on  the  intimate .  structure  of  different  organs 
tissues  of  the  animal  body.  For  the  first  twenty  years  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  opticians  and  instrument-makers 
had  at  intervals  endeavoured  to  render  the  compound 
microscope  at  once  an  instrument  of  greater  power  and 
more  free  from  sources  of  error  and  optical  illusion  than  it 
had  hitherto  been  possible  to  obtain  it.  Two  defects,  how- 
ever, still  adhered  to  the  compound  microscope.  The  instru- 
ment was  not  achromatic;  and  a  considerable  degree  of  spheri- 
cal aberration  uncorrected  rendered  the  image  indistinct. 

Between  1812  and  1815  Professor  Amici  of  Modena 
had  attempted  to  construct  an  achromatic  object-glass  of 
one  single  lens,  but  found  that  this  was  impracticable. 
M.  Se'lliguee  of  Paris,  in  1823,  after  various  trials,  found 
that  this  could  be  done  by  making  the  object-glass  consist 
of  four  achromatic  compound  lenses,  each  of  which  was 
composed  of  two  6inglo  lenses.     This  method  was  carried 


818 


ANATOMY 


[history. 


into  practice  and  improved  by  the  two  MM.  Chevalier  of 
Paris.  About  the  same  time  Dr  Goring  in  London,  with 
the  aid  of  Mr  Tulley  and  Mr  Pritchard,  constructed  com- 
pound microscopes  upon  a  similar  principle. 

By  the  labours  of  these  practical  opticians,  and  the 
suggestions  of  various  scientific  persons,  as  Sir  Juhn 
lJerschel,  Sir  Richard  Airy,  Mr  Barlow,  one  great  defect 
of  the  compound  microscope  was  obviated.  The  effects  of 
spherical  aberration  were  in  the  next  place  overcome  in  a 
very  simple  manner  by  the  experiments  of  Mr  Joseph 
Jackson  Lister,  who  had  early  observed  that  the  combined 
achromatic  object-glasses  devised  by  Selligues  were  fixed  in 
their  cells  with  the  convex  side  foremost,  a  most  improper 
position,  as  it  renders  the  spherical  errors  very  great. 
This  gentleman  found,  after  various  trials,  that  by  placing 
three  or  more  achromatic  glasses  with  their  plane  surfaces 
directed  foremost,  it  was  possible  to  correct  completely  all 
spherical  aberration. 

This  fact  was  made  known  in  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1S30  ;  and  by  its  application  the  compound  microscope  was 
brought  to  a  high  degree  of  perfection  as  an  achromatic 
instrument  in  1831  and  1832,  and  became  the  means  of 
atfording  valuable  assistance  in  anatomical  inquiries.  -The 
use  of  the  microscope  in  anatomy,  which  had  in  the 
times  of  Malpigki,  Lecuwenhoeck,  William  Cowper,  Baker, 
Fontana,  Ilewson,  and  the  second  Monro,  been  much 
cultivated,  but  had  afterwards,  from  the  imperfection  of 
the  instrument  and  the  illusions  to  which  it  not  unfre- 
quently  gave  rise,  been  neglected,  now  became  so  general 
and  so  necessary,  that  since  the  year  1832  minute  struc- 
tural anatomy  has  been,  if  not  created  anew,  at  least 
most  thoroughly  revised.  The  amount  of  knowledge 
has  been  enormously  increased ;  that  which  was  already  pos- 
sessed has  been  rendered  greatly  more  accurate  and  precise. 

It  is  impossible  in  this  place  to  name  the  authors  of  all 
the  valuable  monographs  which  have  appeared  during  the 
past  forty  years,  but  those  who  have  especially  advanced 
the  progress  of  our  knowledge  of  the  minute  structure  of 
the  tissues  and  organs  may  be  referred  to.  Johannes  Muller 
in  1830  published  an  elaborate  commentary  on  the  minute 
structure  of  the  glands,  the  first  work  in  which  the 
anatomy'of  these  organs  was  examined  and  elucidated  in 
a  comprehensive  and  systematic  manner.  Ehrenberg 
explained  the  structure  of  numerous  infusoria,  and  disclosed 
the  peculiarities  of  many  other  structures,  animal,  vegetable, 
and  mineral,  which  had  previously  eluded  the  most 
skilful  researches.  Francis  Kiernan,  in  1833,  gave  the 
first  correct  account  of  the  minute  anatomy  of  the  liver. 
•Schleiden  in  1838,  and  Schwann  in  1839,  published  most 
important  generalisations  on  the  cellular  structure  of 
vegetable  and  animal  organisms.  Martin  Barry  communi- 
cated new  facts  on  the  structure  of  the  ovum  and  on  the 
structure  of  cells  generally.  John  Goodsir  laid  great 
emphasis  on  the  office  of  the  nucleus  in  the  nutrition, 
growth,  and  reproduction  of  cells,  and  on  the  arrangement 
of  the  cells  within  an  organism  into  departments  or 
territories.  Virchow,  by  his  researches  into  the  connective 
tissues,  has  still  further  developed  the  idea  of  the  cellular 
structure  of  the  animal  organism,  and  the  importance  of 
cells  in  the  performance  of  physiological  and  pathological 
processes.  Lionel  Realc  attributed  both  to  the  nucleus  and  to 
the  substance  of  the  cell  immediately  surrounding  it  import- 
ant functional  properties.  Max  Schultze  showed  the  identity 
in  nature  between  the  sarcode  substance  of  the  lower  animal 
organisms  and  the  contents  of  the  cells  in  the  higher  animals, 
and  applied  to  these  substances  the  common  term  proto- 
plasm, which  had  previously  been  introduced  by  Hugo  von 
Mohl  to  designate  a  similar  material  in  the  vegetable  cell 

The  minute  structure  and  development  of  bone  h»s 
been  carefully  investigated  by  J.  Goodsir,  W.  Sharpey,  H". 


Muller,  C.  Gegenbaur,  and  A  Kolliker;  that  of  muscle, by 
Bowman,  Kolliker,  and  Sharpey ;  of  nerve  by  Schwann, 
Rcmak,  Stilling,  Gerlach,  Lockhart  Clarke,  and  Deiters  ; 
of  cartilage  by  Schwann  ano>  Schultze ;  of  the  blood  and 
blood-vessels  by  Henle,  Gulliver,  Quekett,  Paget,  and 
Wharton  Jones  ;  of  the  mucous  membranes  by  Bowman  ; 
of  the  serous  membranes  by  Henle,  Recklinghausen, 
Ludwig,  and  Klein;  of  the  teeth  by  Retzius,  A.  Nasmytb, 
J.  Goodsir,  J.  Tomes,  R.  Owen,  Czermak,  Huxley,  and 
Waldeycr.  The  structure  of  the  lungs  has  been  investigated 
by  Addison,  Raincy,  and  Rossignol;  of  the  kidney  by 
Bowman,  Henle,  and  Schwciggerseidel ;  of  the  liver  by 
Bcale  and  Hering;  of  the  spleen  by  Sanders,  Gray, 
Billroth,  and  W.  Muller  ;  of  the  testicle  by  A.  Cooper, 
Kolliker,  and  Henle ;  of  the  ovary  by  Pfluger  and  Waldeyer  ; 
of  the  thymus  by  A.  Cooper  and  Simon  ;  of  the  stomach 
and  intestines  by  Kolliker,  Brinton,  and  Frey ;  of  the 
placenta  by  Eschricht,  Rcid,  Sharpey,  Goodsir,  Van  der 
Kolk,  Virchow,  Farre,  Priestley,  Rolleston,  Ercolaui,  and 
Turner ;  of  the  organs  of  sense  by  Henle,  Bowman,  His, 
II.  Muller,  Schultze,  Corti,  Reissncr,  and  Deiters. 

The  general  results  of  the  labours  of  these  and  other 
investigators  have  been  from  time  to  time  incorporated 
into  systematic  treatises  on  microscopic  anatomy,  of  which 
reference  may  more  especially  be  made  to  those  prepared 
by  J.  Berres,  F.  Gerber,  A.  Hill  Hassall,  A.  Kolliker,  W. 
Sharpey,  W.  Bowman,  F.  Leydig,  Frey,  and  S.  Strieker. 
Side  by  side  with  these  inquiries  into  the  structure  and 
development  of  the  tissues,  the  evolution  x>i  the  embryo 
out  of  the  fertilised  ovum  has  been  carried  on.  Purkinje, 
Von  Baer,  Coste,  Wharton  Jones,  Valentin,  R.  Wagner, 
Rathke,  J.  Muller,  Prevost  and  Dumas,  Martin  Barry, 
Reichert,  Bischoff,  Kolliker,  Vogt,  Allen  Thomson,  Owen, 
Von  Siebold,  Dujardin,  Milne-Edwards,  Claparede,  Agassiz, 
Huxley,  Kitchen  Parker,  and  Kowalevsky  have  all  contri 
butcd  important  memoirs  on  various  branches  of  embryology. 

Comparative  Anatomy,  which  during  the  1 8th  century  was  Compar* 
diligently  cultivated  by  Daubenton,  Pallas,  Haller,  Buffon,  t,ve 
John  Hunter,  and  the  second  Monro,  has  become  during  the  ani'M>'1>/ 
present  century  a  subject  of  increased  interest,  from  its  inti- 
mate connection  with  the  sciences  of  zoology;  physiology,  and 
geology.     It  has  consequently  been  studied  with  great  zeal 
and  assiduity,  and  multitudes  of  monographs,  as  well  as 
numerous  systematic  treatises  on  the  anatomy  both  of  the 
vertebrata  and  invertebrata,  have  been  published. 

To  name  even  a  tithe  of  the  workers  and  authors  who 
have  added  to  our  knowledge  of  the  facts  of  comparative 
anatomy  would  occupy  considerable  space.  It  may  suffice 
to  .refer  to  those  whose  writings  have  contributed  most 
materially  to  the  advance  of  the  science.  In  France, 
Cuvier,  Dnmeril,  the  Saint-Hilaires,  Blanchard,  De  Blain- 
ville,  H.  and  Alphonse  Milne-Edwards,  Gervais,  and 
Gratiolet;  in  Germany,  Meckel,  Tiedemann,  Von  Baer, 
Spix,  Martius,  Bojanus,  Otto,  Carus,  J.  Muller,  Leuckart, 
Gegenbaur,  and  Haeckel ;  in  Sweden  and  Denmark, 
Retzius  and  Eschricht ;  in  Holland  and  Belgium,  Van  der 
Kolk,  Vrolik,  and  Van  Beneden;  in  America,  Agassiz, 
Wyman,  and  Burmeister;  in  Great  Britain,  E.  Home,  A. 
Carlisle,  R.  Grant,  Richard  Owen,  J.  Barclay,  R.  Knox,  J. 
Goodsir,  G.  Busk,  Rymer  Jones,  W.  B.  Carpenter,  T.  H. 
Huxley,  G.  J.  Allnian,  W.  H.  Flower,  St  George  Mivart, 
and  J.  Murie  are  names  identified  with  one  or  more 
branches  of  the  subject. 

The  investigations  into  the  form  and  structure  of 
animals  have  led  anatomists  to  search  for  parts  in  one 
animal  which  correspond  with  parts  in  other  animals  in 
their  mode  of  development  and  arrangement,  and  to 
evolve  from  their  researches  general  doctrines  of  organic 
forms.  The  conception  entertained  by  Goethe  of  the 
presence  of  a  pre-maxillary  element  in  the  human  upvc 


HUMAN   ANATOMY.] 


ANATOMY 


819 


jaw  because  it  exists  in  other  vertebrates,  and  the  announce- 
ment of  the  theory  of  the  vertebrate  nature  of  the  skull  by 
Goethe  and  Oken,  directed  anatomists  into  a  line  of 
inquiry  which  has  been  productive  of  fruitful  results,  and 
has  exercised  a  great  influence  on  the  progress  and  direction 
of  biological  science.  Gsoffroy  St  llilaire  and  C.  Martins 
in  France;  Spix,  Carus,  Gegenbaur,  and  Haeckel  in  Ger- 
many; and  Owen,  Goodsir,  Humphry,  Huxley,  Parker, 
and  Cleland  in  Great  Britain,  have  all  published  important 
memoirs  in  this  department  of  anatomical  research. 

The  formation  of  anatomical  museums  in  connection 
with  universities,  and  elsewhere,  by  enabling  specimens 
to  be  accumulated  for  observation  and  comparison,  has 
contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  the  progress  of  anatomical 
science.  Pre-eminent  amongst  these  is  the  collection 
originally  formed  by  the  genius,  energy,  and  self-devoted- 
ness  of  John  Hunter,  which,  under  the  fostering  care  of 
the  council  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons  of  England, 
las  been  materially  augmented  in  all  its  departments  by  a 
succession  of  curators — Clift,  Owen,  Quekett,  and  Flower. 
The  aid  which  ha3  been  afforded  to  anatomists  in  the 
publication  of  their  researches,  more  especially  in  providing 
plates  and  other  expensive  means  of  illustration,  by  the 
learned  societies  of  Europe,  and  the  circulation  which  has 
been  given  to  their  memoirs  through  the  Transaction*  and 
Proceedings  of  these  societies,  and  through  the  Journals 
devoted  to  anatomical  and  physiological  science,  have 
materially  contributed  to  the  diffusion  of  a  knowledge  of 
discoveries,  and  to  the  general  advance  of  the  science. 

SPECIAL  ANATOMY  OF  THE  HUMAN  BODY. 

Man,  zoologically  speaking,  belongs 
to  the  Mammalian  class  of  the  Verte- 
brate sub-kingdom,  i.e.,  his  young  are 
brought  forth  alive,  and  nourished 
during  infancy  on  milk  secreted  in 
mammary  or  milk-forming  glands.  In 
common  with  all  vertebrate  organisms, 
he  possesses  a  spine  orvertebral  column 
and  a  skull,  in  which  are  contained 
the  brain  and  the  spinal  marrow,  and 
on  the  ventral  surface  of  the  spinal 
column  are  situated  the  several  sub- 
divisions of  the  alimentary  canal 

But  man  possesses  certain  special  or 
distinctive  anatomical  characters.  The 
most  noticeable,  as  seen  on  an  external 
inspection  of  his  body,  is  his  erect 
position.  He  is,  indeed,  the  only  liv- 
ing creature  that  can  walk  or  stand 
■erect,  i.e.,  with  the  axis  of  the-  spine 
vertical ;  with  the  hip  and  knee  joints 
capable  of  being  fully  extended,  so 
that  the  leg  is  brought  into  line  with 
the  thigh ;  with  the  foot  so  planted 
on  the  ground  that  it  rests  on  the  heel 
behind  and  on  the  roots  of  the  toes 
in  front ;  with  the  upper  limbs  so 
arranged  as  to  act,  not  as  instruments 
of  progression,  but  of  prehension  ;  and 
with  the  head  so  balanced  on  the  top  F,?-„l„T£tegr,*'T"'>!<:  "*" 

.  I       tjoo  through  the  .human 

of  the  spine  that  the  face  and  eyes 
iool:  directly  to  the  front.  His  bones, 
joints,  and  muscles  are  constructed 
and  arranged  so  as  to  enable  him  to 
preserve  the  erect  attitude  without 
fatigue.  In  other  vertebrata  the  axis 
of  the  spine  is  obliqui  or  horizontal, 
»he  hip  and  knee  joints  are  perma- 
nently bent  at  a  more  er  less  acute  angle,  the  limbs  cor- 


bcad  and  trunk.  The 
skull  mul  spine,  dnvkty 
shaded,  and  containing 
the  cerebrospinal  nerv- 
ous axis,  are  dorsal,  or  at 
the  back.  The  aliment- 
ary and  respiratory  tubes, 
seen  In  outline,  are  ven- 
tral, or  at  the  front.  The 
dotted  line  V  represents 
the  vertical  axis  of  the 
trunk. 


responding  to  the  human  upper  extremities,  are,  in  the  form 

of  legs,  wings,  or  fins,  instruments  of  progression,  and  the 

head   13  articulated  with 

the  spine  at  or  near  the 

hinder  end  of  the  skulL 

Owing  to  the  oblique  or 

horizontal  attitude  of  the 

body  in    the    vertebrata 

generally,    and  its    erect 

position  in  man,  the  terms  F'c- 2-— Outline  diagram  ol  a  quadruped  j  the 
.,,1,,'^K     „  IV-         axis  of  the  spine  is  almost  at  right  ancles 

which  are  employed  in  to  the  vertical  dotted  line.  (A/t£  coodS-j 
describing  the  relative  position  of  different  parts  are  not 
used  in  the  same  sense  by  the"  human  and  comparative 
anatomist.  Thus,  parte  which  are  su- 
perior, or  above  other  parts,  in  the 
human  body,  are  anterior,  or  in  front, 
in  other  vertebrata;  and  parte  which 
are  posterior,  or  behind  other  parte 
in  man,  are  superior  to  them  in  other 
vertebrata.  To  obviate  the  confusion 
which  must  necessarily  arise  when  com- 
paring the  human  body  with  that  of 
other  vertebrates,  certain  descriptive 
terms  have  been  recommended  which 
may  be  employed  whether  the  position 
of  the  body  be  erect  or  non-erect.  Thus, 
the  aspect  of  parts  directed  towards  the 
region  where  the  atlas  or  first  vertebra  is 
situated  is  ailantal,  that  directed  towards 
the  sacrum  is  sacral,  that  towards  the,  S}°\  .Ti?of  Tne^!!! 
back  is  dorsal,  that  towards  the  front  Uiespineiieaobiiqneiy 
is  veiltral  or  haemal.  Quite  recently  u°ne. " Um^o<m1i^.-> 
the  term  pros-axial  has  been  introduced  as  equivalent  to 
atlantal,  nnd  post-axial  to  sacraL 

The  body  may  be  considered  as 
divided  by  an  imaginary  plane,  the 
mesial  plane,  into  two  lateral  and 
similar  halves,  a  right  and  left,  so 
that  it  exhibits  a  bilateral  sym- 
metry; and  the  constituent  parte 
are  described  as  being  external  or 
internal  to  each  £>iher,  according  to 
their  Telative  position  to  this  plane. 
For  descriptive  purposes,  also,  we 
may  subdivide  the  body  into  Attat, 
and  Appendicttlajs -portions.  The  . 
Axlal  part  is  the  stock  or  stem  of  / 
the  body,  and  consists  of  the  Head,  ' 
the  Neck,  and  the  Trunk.  The  4^ 
trunk  is  again  subdivided  into  the  Fro.  4  —outline  diagram  of  • 
chest  or  Thorax,  and  the  belly  or  «  VV.*3  of  ■]!;."£ 
Abdomen ;    and    the    abdomen   is    llM  obliquely  to  the  ranto*] 

i_  j  •    •  j    j     *i       it.,     i_j  dotted  line,     (After  Goodsir.) 

again   subdivided    into   the  abdo- 

men  proper  and  the  Pelvis.  The  axial  part  contains 
the  organs  essential  to  the  preservation  of  life.  In  the 
head  is  lodged  the  brain,  from  which  the  spinal  marrow  is 
prolonged  down  the  spinal  canaL  At  the  sides  of  the  head 
are  the  cars,  and  opening  on  to  the  face  are  the  eyes, 
nostrils,  and  moutl  .  Prolonged  down  the  neck  are  the 
gullet  and  windpipe,  with  the  latter  of  which  is  associated 
the  organ  of  voice.  Within  the  chest  lie  the  heart,  lungs, 
and  gullet ;  and  in  the  abdomen  are  contained  the  stomach, 
intestine,  liver,  spleen,  pancreas,  kidneys,  and  other  organs 
concerned  in  the  urinary  and  generative  functions,.  The 
Appendicular  part  forma  the  limbs,  which  do  not  contain 
organs  essential  to  life.  In  man  the  limbs  are  called 
Upper  and  lower — the  former  aio  instruments  of  prehen- 
sion, the  latter  of  progression.  The  subdivisions  of  the 
body  are  not  homogeneous  in  structure,  but  are  built  up  of 
several  systems,  of  organs,  each  system  being  characterised 


820 


ANATOMY 


[skeleton — 


"not  only  by  peculiarities  in  form,  appearance,  and  structure, 
but  by  possessing  special  functions  and  uses.  Thus  the 
bones  collectively  form  the  Osseous  system;  the  joints  the 
Articulatory  system;  the  muscles,  which  move  the  bones 
at  the  joints,  the  Muscular  system;  and  these  several  systems 
collectively  constitute  the  organs  of  Locomotion,  The  blood 
and  lymph  vessels  form  the  Vascular  system ;  the  brain, 
spinal  marrow,  and  nerves,  the  Nervous  system,  with  which 
is  intimately  associated  the  organs  of  Sense ;  the  lungs  and 
windpipe,  the  Respiratory  system ;  the  alimentary  canal, 
with  the  glands  opening  into  it,  the  Digestive  system ;  the 
kidneys,  bladder,  and  urethra,  the  Urinary  system ;  the 
testicles,  spermatic  ducts,  and  penis  in  the  male,  with  the 
ovaries,  uterus,  and  clitoris  in  the  female,  the  Generative  or 
Reproductive  system ;  the  skin,  with  the  hair  and  nails, 
the  Tegumentary  system.  These  various  systems  are  so 
arranged  with  reference  to  each  other  as  to  form  an  organic 
whole. 

Anatomy  of  the  Organs  of  Locomotion. 

The  organs  of  locomotion  consist  of  the  muscles  or  active 
organs,  and  the  bones  and  joints  or  passive  organs.  The 
auatomy  of  the  bones  will  first  attract  our  attention. 
Skeleton.  ,  Osseous  System — Osteology — Skeleton. — The  word 
Skeleton  (from  o-kc'AAoj,  to  dry)  signifies  literally  the  dry  or 
hard  parts  of  the  body.  AVhen  used  in  a  limited  sense  it 
is  applied  merely  to  the  bones,  but  when  used  in  a  wider 
and  more  philosophic  sense  it  comprises  not  only  the  bones 
or  osseous  skeleton,  but  the  cartilages  and  fibrous  mem- 
branes which  complete  the  framework  of  the  body.  The 
first  evidence  of  a  skeleton  in  the  embryo  is  the  appear- 
ance of  membranes  in  many  parts  of  which  cartilage  is 
developed,  and  in  course  of  time  this  cartilage  is  converted 
into  bone.  In  some  animals,  however,  as  in  the  cartila- 
ginous fish,  the  osseous  conversion  does  not  take  place,  and 
the  skeleton  remains  permanently  cartilaginous;  and  in  the 
very  remarkable  fish  called  Lancclet,  or  Ampkiorus,  the 
skeleton  consists  almost  entirely  of  fibrous  membrane. 

The  skeleton  serves  as  a  basis  of  support  for  the  soft 
parts,  as  affording  surfaces  of  attachment  for  muscles  and 
as  a  protection  for  many  delicate  organs.  In  the  ~erte- 
brata  the  osseous  skeleton  is  clothed  by  the  muscles  and 
skin,  and  is  technically  called  an  endo-skeleton.  In  inverte- 
brata  the  skeleton  is  not  unfrequently  on  the  surface  of  the 
body,  and  is  termed  an  exo-  or  dermo-sheleton.  In  some 
vertebrates  {e.g.,  the  armadillo,  tortoise,  and  sturgeon),  in 
aldition  to  the  proper  endo-skeleton,  skeletal  plates  are 
developed  in  connection  with  the  integument,  so  that  they 
possess  a  dcrmo-skeleton  likewise.  In  some  vertebrates, 
also,  a  partial  skeleton  is  formed  within  the  substance  of 
some  of  the  viscera — e.g.,  in  ruminant  animals  a  bone  is 
situated  in  the  heart  ;  in  the  walrus  and  other  carnivora, 
in  rodents,  bats,  and  some  monkeys,  a  bone  lies  in  the 
penis ;  and  in  the  leopard,  jackal,  and  other  carnivora,  a 
cartilaginous  style  lies  in  the  middle  of  the  tongue.  These 
parts  form  a  splanehno-  or  visceral  skeleton.  By  some 
anatomists  the  teeth,  which  are  unquestionably  hard  parts 
of  the  body,  are  also  referred  to  the  splanchno-skeleton, 
though  they  are  special  modifications  of  the  papillae  of  the 
mucous  membrane  of  the'  gum.  In  man,  the  teeth  being 
excluded,  there  is  neither  exo-  nor  splanchno-skeleton,  but 
only  an  endo-skeleton. 

In  each  of  the  great  subdivisions  of  the  body  an  endo- 
skeleton  exists,  so  that  we  may  speak  of  an  Axial  Skeleton 
and  an  Appendicular  Skeleton.  The  Axial  Skeleton  con- 
sists of  the  bones  of  the  spine  and  head,  the  ribs,  and  the 
breastbone;  the  Appendicular  Skeleton,  of  the  bones  of 
the  limbs.  The  number  of  bones  in  the  skeleton  varies  at 
different  periods  of  life.    In  the  adult  there  are  about  200, 


but  in  the  child  they  aro  more  numerous ;  for  in  the  pro- 
cess of  consolidation  of  the  skeleton  certain  bones  originally 
distinct  become  fused  together.  In  Plates  XII.,  XIII., 
and  XIV.,  front,  back,  and  side  views  of  the  entire  skeleton 
are  given,  together  with  figures  of  the  skull  aud  several  of 
its  constituent  bones. 

We  shall  commence  the  description  of  the  Axial  Skele- 
ton by  giving  an  account  of  the  bones  of  the  spine. 

The  Spine,  Spinal  or  Vertebral  Column,  chine,  or  back- 
bone, consists  of  a  number  of  superimposed  bones  which 
are  named  Vertebrae,  because  v; 

they  can  move  or  turn  some- 
what on  each  other.  It  lies 
in  the  middle  of  the  back  of 
the  neck  and  trunk  ;  has  the 
cranium  at  its  summit ;  the 
ribs  at  its  sides,  which  in 
their  turn  support  the  upper 
limbs;  whilst  the  pelvis,  with 
the  lower  limbs,  is  jointed 
to  its  lower  end.  The  spine 
consists  in  an  adult  of  twenty- 
six  bones,  in  a  young  child 
of  thirty-three,  certain  of  the 
bones  in  the  spine  of  the 
child  becoming  ankylosed 
or  blended  with  each  other 
in  the  adult.  These  blended 
bones  lose  their  mobility,  and 
are  called  false  vertebrae ; 
whilst  those  which  retain 
their  mobility  are  the  true 
vertebrae.  In  the  vertebrata 
the  bone3  of  the  spine  are 
arranged  in  groups,  which 
may  be  named  from  their 
position  —  vertebrae  of  the 
neck  or  cervical ;  of  the  chest, 
dorsal    or  thoracic ;    of   the 

loins,  lumbar  ;  of  the  pelvis,  Fl0  ,._n,  AlI^  skeleton.  C„  me 
sacral;  and  of  the  tail,  coccy- 
geal or  caudal ;  and  the  num- 
ber of  vertebrae  in  each  group 
maybe  expressed  inaformnla. 
In  man  the  formula  is  as  fol- 
lows:— C;Di2L5SsCoc4  =  33  bones,  as  seen  in  the  child; 
but  the  five  sacral  vertebras  fuse  together  into  a  single  bone — 
the  sacrum — and  the  four  coccygeal  into  the  single  coccyx. 
Hence  the  sacrum  and  coccyx  of  the  adult  are  the  false, 
whilst  the  lumbar,  dorsal,  and  cervical  are  the  true 
vertebrae. 

The  vertebrae  are  irregularly-shaped  bones,  but  as  'a 
rule  have  certain  characters  in  common.  Each  possesses  a 
body  and  an  arch,  which  enclose  a  ring,  with  certain  pro- 
cesses and  notches.  The  Body,  or  Centrum,  is  a  short 
cylinder,  which  b}'  its  upper  and  lower  surfaces  is  con- 
nected by  means  of  fibro-cartilage  with  the  bodies  of  tho 
vertebrae  immediately  above  and  below.  The  collective 
series  of  vertebral  bodies  forms  the  great  column  of  the 
spine.  The  Arch,  also  called  Neural  Arch,  because  it  en- 
closes the  spinal  marrow  or  nervous  axis,  springs  from  the 
back  of  the  body,  and  consists  of  two  symmetrical  halves 
united  behind  in  the  middle  line.  Each  half  consists  of  an 
anterior  part  or  pedicle,  and  a  posterior  part  or  lamina. 
The  Rings  collectively  form  the  spinal  canal.  The  Pro- 
cesses usually  spring  from  the  arch.  The  spinous  process 
projects  backwards  from  the  junction  of  the  two  laminae, 
and  the  collective  scries  of  these  processes  gives  to  the 
entire  column  the  spiny  character  from  which  has  arisen  tho 


cervical  Yeltcbia*;  Dt3.  the  dorsal; 
LSl  the  lumbar;  Ss.  the  sacral;  Coe^ 
the  coccygeal;  CC,  the  series  of  twelve 
ribs  on  one  side  ;  Ps,  the  prse-sternnm; 
Ma,  the  meso-stcinum;  Xa,  the  xlphl- 
stemum.  The  dotted  line  VV  repre- 
sents the  Tcttica]  axis  of  the  Brine. 


VOL.  I. 


ANATOMY 


PLATE  XII 


s&j. 


ry.J. 


EHCYC10P/€0I*    BRlTANNICA.   H\*T»    E0II10A. 


roi.  i. 


f&  ?. 


ANATOMY 
rtg.i. 


PLATE  XIII. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA    BRITANNICA.   fllKTH    EDITION. 


VOL.  L 


AKATOMY 

Fm  1 


PLATE  XIV. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA    8RITANNICA.   NINTH   EDITION. 


SPINB.J 


ANATOMY 


821 


terra  Spine,  applied  to  it.  Tne  transverse  processes  project 
outwards,  one  from  each  side  of  the  arch.  The  articular 
processes  project,  two. upwards  and  two  downwards,  and 
are  for  connecting  adjacent  vertebrae  together.  The 
Notches,  situated  on  the  upper  and  lower  borders  of  the 
pedicles,  form  in  the  articulated  spine  the  intervertebral 
foramina  through  which  the  nerves  pass  out  of  the  spinal 
canal. 

The  vertebra?  in  each  group  have  characters  which 
specially  distinguish  them.  In  man  and  all  mammals, 
with  few  exceptions,  whatever  be  the  length  of  the  neck, 
the  Cervical  Vertebras  are  seven  in  number.  The  excep- 
tions are  the  three-toed  sloth,  which  has  nine,  and  Hoff- 
mann's sloth  and  the  manatee,  in  which  there  are  only  six. 
In  many  whales  the  seven  cervicals  are  fused  in  the  adult 
into  a  single  bone.  In  man  the  body  of  a  cervical  vertebra 
is  comparatively  small,  and  its  upper  surface  is  transversely 
concave ;  the  arch  has  long  and  obliquely  sloping  lamina? ; 
the  ring  is  large  and  triangular ;  the  spine  i3  short,  bifid, 
and  horizontal ;  the  transverse  process  consists  of  two  bars 
of  bone,  the  anterior  springing  from  the  side  of  the  body, 
the  posterior  from  the  arch,  and  uuiting  externally  to 
enclose  a  foramen,  through  which,  as  a  rule,  the  vertebral 
artery  passes ;  the  articular  processes  are  flat  and  oblique, 
and  the  upper  pair  of  notches  are  deeper  than  the  lower. 
The  first,  second,  and  seventh  cervical  vertebra?  have 
characters  which  specially  distinguish  them.  The  first,  or 
Alias,  has  no  body  or  spine :  its  ring  is  very  large,  and  on 
each  side  of  the  ring  is  a  thick  mass  of  bone,  the  lateral 
mass,  by  which  it  articulates  with  the  occipital  bone  above 
and  the  second  vertebra  below.  The  second  vertebra,  Axis, 
or  Vertebra  d-entata,  has  its  body  surmounted  by  a  thick 
tooth-like  odontoid  process,  which  is  regarded  as  the  body 
of  the  atlas  displaced  from  its  proper  vertebra  and  fused 
with  the  axis.  This  process  forms  a  pivot  round  which 
the  atlas  and  head  move  in  turning  the  head  from  one  side 
to  the  other;  the  spine  is  large,  thick,  and  deeply  bifid. 
The  seventh,  called  Vertebra  prominens,  is  distinguished 
by  its  long  prominent  spine,  which  is  not  bifid,  and  by 
the  small  sue  of  the  foramen  at  the  root  of  the  transverse 
process.  In  the  human  spine  the  distinguishing  character 
of  all  the  cervical  vertebra?  is  the  foramen  at  the  root  of 
the  transverse  process,  but  amongst  mammals  this  is  not 
an  invariable  character,  for  in  the  cetacea  the  transverse 
process  of  the  atlas  is  imperforate,  and  in  the  horse, 
ruminants,  and  many  quadrumana,  the  seventh  cervical 
vertebra  has  no  foramen  at  the  root  of  it3  transverse 
process. 

The  Dorsal  Vertebra?,  more  appropriately  called  costal  or 
thoracic,  are  twelve  in  number  in  the  human  spine  ;  but 
amongst  mammals  they  range  from  eleven  in  the  arma- 
dillo to  twenty-two  in  the  Cape  hyrax  and  Hoffmann's 
sloth.  They  are  intermediate  in  size  and  position  to  the 
cervical  and  lumbar  vertebra;,  and  are  all  distinguished 
by  having  one  or  two  smooth  surfaces  on  each  side  of 
the  body  for  articulation  with  the  head  of  one  or  two 
ribs.  The  arch  is  short  and  with  imbricated  lamina? ;  the 
ring  i3  nearly  circular  ;  the  spine  is  oblique,  elongated, 
and  bayonet-shaped  ;  the  transverse  processes  are  directed 
back  and  out,  not  bifid,  and  with  an  articular  surface  in 
front  for  the  tubercle  of  a  rib ;  and  the  articular  procesres 
are  flat  and  nearly  vertical.  The  first,  twelfth,  eleventh, 
tenth,  and  sometimes  the  ninth,  dorsal  vertebra?  are  dis- 
tinguished from  the  rest.  The  first  is  in  shape  like  the 
seventh  cervical,  but  has  no  foramen  at  the  root  of  the 
transverse  process,  and  has  two  articular  facets  on  each 
aide  of  the  body ;  the  ninth  has  sometimes  only  one  facet 
at  the  side  of  the  body ;  the  tenth,  eleventh,  and  twelfth 
liavc  invariably  only  a  single  facet  on  the  side  of  the  body, 
but  the   eleventh  and  twelfth   have  stunted  transverse 


processes,  and  the  twelfth  has  its  lower  articular  processes 
shaped  like  those  of  a  lumbar  vertebra. 

The  Lumbar  Vertebra?  in  man  are  five  in  number,  but 
amongst  mammals  they  range  from  two  in  the  platypus  to 
eight  in  the  hyrax  or  agouti.  They  are  the  lowest  of  the 
true  vertebra?,  and  also  the  largest,  especially  in  the  body. 
The  arch  has  short  and  deep  lamina?;  the  ring  is  triangular; 
the  spine  is  massive  and  hatchet-shaped ;  the  transverse 
processes  are  long  and  pointed ;  the  articular  are  thick, 
and  strong,  the  superior  pair  concave,  the  inferior  convex, 
and  the  inferior  notches,  as  in  the  dorsal  vertebra?,  are, 
.deeper  than  the  superior.  In  the  lumbal  vartebra?  and  ir 
the  lower  dorsal  an  accessory  process  projects  from  the  bas9 
of  each  transverse  process,  and  a  mammillary  tubercle  fron 
each  superior  articular  process.  In  man  these  are  small  anc 
rudimentary;  but  in  some  mammals,  as  the  kangaroo, 
armadillo,  and  scaly  ant-eater,  the  mammillary  tubercles 
are  large,  and  in  the  baboon,  dog,  cat,  and  beaver,  the 
accessory  processes  are  well  developed.  The  fifth  lumbar 
vertebra  has  its  body  much  thicker  in  front  than  behind ; 
its  spine  is  less  massive,  and  its  lower  articular  procesres 
are  flat. 

The  Sacrum  is  composed  of  five  originally  separate 
vertebra?  fused  into  a  single  bone.  In  the  bandicoot  it 
consists  of  a  single  vertebra,  whilst  it  has  as  many  as  eight 
in  the  armadillo.  The  relative  size  and  completeness  of  the 
sacrum  are  associated  with  the  development  of  the  haunch 
bones  and  of  the  lower  limbs.  In  whales,  where  the  pelvic 
bones  are  rudimentary  and  there  are  no  hind  limbs,  there 
is  no  sacrum.  It  forms  the  posterior  wall  of  the  pelvis,  is 
triangular  in  form,  and  possesses  two  surfaces,  two  borders, 
a  base,  and  an  apex.  The  anterior  or  pelvic  surface  is  con- 
cave, and  is  marked  by  four  transverse  lines,  which  indicate 
its  original  subdivision  into  five  bones,  and  by  four  pairs 
of  foramina,  through  which  are  transmitted  the  anterior 
sacral  nerves.  Its  posterior  surface  is  convex;  in  the 
middle  line  are  tubercles  or  rudimentary  spines,  and  on 
each  side  of  these  are  two  rows  of  tubercles,  the  inner  of 
which  are  the  conjoined  articular  and  mammillary  pro- 
cesses, the  outer  the  transverse  processes  of  the  originally 
distinct  vertebra? ;  in  addition,  four  pairs  of  foramina  are 
found  which  transmit  the  posterior  sacral  nerves  from  the 
sacral  canal,  which  extends  through  the  bone  from  base  to 
apex,  and  forms  the  lower  end  of  the  spinal  canal.  By  its 
borders  the  sacrum  is  articulated  with  the  haunch-bones — 
by  its  base  with  the  last  lumbar  vertebra,  by  its  apex  with 
the  coccyx.  The  human  sacrum  is  broader  in  proportion 
to  its  length  than  in  other  mammals ;  this  great  breadth 
gives  solidity  to  the  lower  part  of  the  spine,  and,  conjoined 
with  the  size  of  the  lateral  articular  surfaces,  it  permits 
a  more  perfect  junction  with  the  haunch-bones,  and  is 
correlated  with  the  erect  position.  Owing  to  the  need  in 
woman  for  a  wide  pelvis,  the  sacrum  is  broader  than  in 
man. 

The  Coccyx  consists  of  only  four  vertebra?  in  the  human 
spine.  It  is  the  rudimentary  tail,  but  instead  of  projecting 
back,  as  in  mammals  generally,  is  curved  forwards,  and  is 
not  visible  externally,  an  arrangement  which  is  also  found 
in  the  anthropoid  apes  and  in  Hoffmann's  sloth.  In  the 
spider  monkeys  as  many  as  thirty-three  vertebra?  are  found 
in  the  tail,  and  in  the  long-tailed  pangolin  the  number 
reaches  forty-six.  Not  only  is  the  tail  itself  rudimentary 
in  man,  but  the  vertebra?  of  which  it  is  composed  are 
small,  and  represent  merely  the  bodies  of  the  true  vertebra?. 
As  there  are  no  arches,  the  ring  is  not  formed,  and  th6 
spinal  canal  does  not  extend,  therefore,  beyond  the  apex  of 
tie  sacrum.  The  first  coccygeal  vertebra,  in  addition  to  a 
body,  possesses  two  processes  or  horns,  which  are  jointed 
with  two  corresponding  processes  from  the  last  sacral 
vertebra. 


822 


ANATOMY 


[skeleton 


The  Human  Spine  is  more  uniform  in  length  in  persons 
of  the  same  race  than  might  be  supposed  from  the  indi- 
vidual differences  in  stature,  the  variation  in  the  height  of 
the  body  in  adults  being  due  chiefly  to  differences  in  the 
length  of  the  lower  limbs.  The  average  length  of  the 
spine  is  28  inches ;  its  widest  part  is  at  the  base  of  the 
sacrum,  from  which  it  tapers  down  to  the  tip  of  the  coccyx. 
It  diminishes  also  in  breadth  from  the  base  of  the  sacrum 
upwards  to  the  region  of  the  neck.  Owing  to  the  pro- 
jection of  the  spines  behind  and  the  transverse  processes 
on  each  6ide,  it  presents  an  irregular  outline  on  those 
aspects;  but  in  front  it  is  more  uniformly  rounded,  owing 
to  the  convex  form  of  the  anterolateral  surfaces  of  the 
bodies  of  its  respective  vertebra?.  In  its  general  contour 
two  series  of  curves  may  be  seen,  an  anteroposterior  and 
a  lateral.  The  antero-posterior  is  the  more  important. 
In  the  infant  at  the  time  of  birth  the  sacro-coccygeal 
part  of  the  spine  is  concave  forwards,  but  the  rest  of 
tho  spine,  except  a  slight  forward  concavity  in  the  series 
of  dorsal  vertebrae  is  almost  straight.  When  the  infant 
begins  to  sit  up  in  the  arms  of  its  nurse,  a  convexity  for- 
wards in  the  region  of  the  neck  appears,  and  subsequently, 
as  the  child  learns  to  walk,  a  convexity  forwards  in  the 
region  of  the  loins.  Hence  in  the  adult  spine  a  series 
of  convexo-concave  curves  are  found,  which  are  alternate 
and  mutually  dependent,  and  are  associated  with  the  erect 
attitude  of  man.  In  the  human  spine  alone  are  the 
lumbar  vertebra?  convex  forward.  A  lateral  curve,  convex 
to  the  right,  opposite  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  dorsal 
vertebrae,  with  compensatory  curve  convex  to  the  left 
immediately  above  and  below,  is  due  apparently  to  the 
much  greater  use  of.  the  muscles  of  the  right  arm  over 
those  of  the  left,  drawing  the  spine  in  that  region  some- 
what to  the  right.  In  disease  of  the  spine  its  natural 
curvatures  are  much  increased,  and  the  deformity  known 
as  humpback  is  produced.  As  the  spine  forms  the  central 
part  of  the  axial  skeleton,  it  acts  as  a  column  to  support 
not  only  the  weight  of  the  body,, but  of  all  that  can  be 
carried  on  the  head,  back,  and  in  the  upper  lirrbs :  by  its 
transverse  and  spinous  processes  it  serves  also  to  give 
attachment  to  numerous  muscles,  and  the  transverse  pro- 
cesses of  its  dorsal  vertebras  are  also  for  articulation  with 
•the  ribs. 

Khanx.  The  Tiioeax,  Pectus.  or  Chest  is  a.  cavity  or  enclosure , 

the  walls  of  which  are  in  part  formed  of  bone  and  cartilage. 
Its  skeleton  consists  of  the  sternum  in  front,  the  twelve 
dorsal  vertebras  behind,  and  the  twelve  ribs,  with,  their 
corresponding  cartilages,  on  each  side. 

«*rnijm.  The  Sternum  or  Breast  Bone  is  an  elongated  bone 
which  inolines  downwards  and  forwards  in  the  front  wall 
of  the  chest  It  consists  of  three  parts — an  upper,  called 
manubrium  or  prae-sternum ;  a  middle,  the  body  or  meso- 
sternum;  and  .a  lower,  the  ensiform  process  or  xiphi- 
sternum.  Its  anterior  and  posterior  surfaces  are  marked 
by  transverse  lines,  which  indicate  not  only  the  subdivision 
of  the  entire  bone  into  three  parts,  but  that  of  the  meso- 
sternum  into  four  originally  distinct  segments.  Each 
lateral  border  of  the  bone  is  marked  by  seven  depressed 
surfaces  for  articulation  with  the  seven  upper  ribs  :  at  each 
side  of  the  upper  border  of  the  pra?-sternum  i3  a  sinuous 
depression,  where  the  clavicle,  a  bone  of  the  upper  limb, 
articulates  with  this  bone  of  the  axial  skeleton.  The 
xiphi-sternum  remains  cartilaginous  up  to  a  late  period  of 
life,  and  from  its  pointed  form  has  been  named  the  ensi- 
form cartilage. 

The  Ribs  or  Costa?,  twenty-four  in  number,  twelve  on 
each  side  of  the  thorax,  consist  not  only  of  the  bony  ribs, 
but  of  a  bar  of  cartilage  continuous  with  the  anterior  end 
of  each  bone,  called  a  costal  cartilage,  so  that  they  furnish 
examples  of  a  cartilajtinous  skeleton  in  the  adult  human 


body ;  in  aged  persons  these  cartilages  usually  become 
converted  into  bone.  The  upper  seven  ribs  are  connected 
by  their  costal  cartilages  to  the  side  of  the  sternum,  and 
are  called  sternal  or  true  rib3 ;  the  lower  five  do  not  reach 
the  sternum,  and  are  named  asternal  or  false,  and  of  these, 
the  two  lowest,  from  being  comparatively  unattached  in 
'front,  are  called  free  or  floating.  All  the  ribs  are  articu- 
lated behind  to  the  dorsal  vertebrae,  and  as  they  are  sym- 
metrical on  the  two  sides  of  the  body,  the  ribs  in  any 
given  animal  are  always  twice  as  numerous  as  the  dorsal 
vertebra?  in  that  animal.  They  form  a  series  of  osseo- 
cartilaginous arches,  which  extend  more  or  less  perfectly 
around  the  sides  of  the  chest  A  rib  is  an  elongated  bone, 
and  as  a  rule  possesses  a  head,  a  neck,  a  tubercle,  and  a 
shaft.  The  head  usually  possesses  two  articular  surfaces, 
and  is  connected  to  the  side  of  the  body  of  two  adjacent 
dorsal  vertebras ;  the  neck  is  a  constricted  part  of  the 
bone,  uniting  the  head  to  the  shaft ;  the  tubercle,  close  to> 
the  junction  of  the  shaft  and  neck,  is  the  part  which  articu- 
lates with  the  transverse  process  of  the  vertebra.  The 
shaft  is  compressed,  possesses  an  inner  and  outer  surface, 
and  an  upper  and  lower  border,  but  from  the  shaft  being 
somewhat  twisted  on  itself,  the  direction  of  the  surfaces 
and  borders  is  not  uniform  throughout  the  length  of  the 
bone.  The  ribs  slope  from  their  attachments  to  the  spine, 
at  first  outwards,  downwards,  and  backwards,  then  down- 
wards and  forwards,  and  where  the  curve  changes  from 
the  backward  to  the  forward  direction  an  angle  is  formed 
on  the  rib.  The  first,  tenth,  eleventh,  and  twelfth  ribs 
articulate  each  with  only  a  single  vertebra,  so  that  only  a 
single  surface  exists  on  the  head :  the  surfaces  of  the  shaft 
of  the  first  rib  are  almost  horizontal ;  those  of  the  second 
very  oblique ;  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  ribs  are  rudi- 
mentary, have  neither  neck  nor  tubercle,  and  are  pointed 
anteriorly.  The  ribs  are  by  no  means  uniform  in  length  : 
they  increase  from  the  first  to  the  seventh  or  eighth,  and 
then  diminish  to  the  twelfth;  the  first  and  twelfth  are 
therefore  the  shortest  ribs.  The  first  and  second  costa. 
cartilages  are  almost  horizontal,  but  the  others  are  directed 
upwards  and  inwards. 

In  its  general  form  the  chest  may  be  likened  to  a  trun- 
cated cone.  Jt  13  rounded  at  the  sides  and  flattened  in 
front  and  behind,  so  that  a  man  can  lie  either  on  his  back 
or  bis  belly.  Its  truncated  apex  slopes  downwards  and 
forwa.ds,  is  small  in  size,  and  allows  of  the  passage  of  the- 
windpipe,  gullet,  large  veins,  and  nerves  into  the  chest, 
and  of  several  large  arteries  out  of  the  chest  into  the  neck 
The  base  or  lower  boundary  of  the  cavity  is  much  larger 
than  the  apex,  slopes  downwards  and  backwards,  and  is 
occupied  by  the  diaphragm,  a  muscle  which  separates  the 
chest  from  the  cavity  of  the  abdomen.  The  transverse 
diameter  is  greater  than  the  antero-posterior,  and  the  antero- 
posterior is  greater  laterally,  where  the  lungs  are  lodged, 
than  in  the  mesial  plane,  which  is  occupied  by  the  heart. 

The  Head  forms  the  summit  of  the  axial  part  of  the 
body.  It  consists  of  two  portions — the  Cranium  and  the 
Pace. 

The  Skull,  or  skeleton  of  tho  head,  is  composed  of  22 
bones,  8  of  which  form  the  skeleton  of  the  cranium,  14 
that  of  the  face.  Except  the  lower  jaw,  which  is  move- 
,.  ble,  the  bones  are  all  firmly  united  by  immovable  joints. 
The  8  bones  of  the  cranium  are  so  united  together  by  their 
edges  as  to  form  the  walla  of  a  box  or  cavity,  the  cranial 
cavity,  in  which  the  brain  is  lodged.  The  box  of  the 
cranium  possesses  a  base  or  floor,  a  vault  or  roof,  an 
anterior,  a  posterior,  and  two  lateral  walls.  The  posterior 
wall  is  formed  by  the  occipital  bone,  which  also  extends 
for  some  distance  forwards  along  the  middle  of  the  base; 
in  front  of  the  basal  part  of  the  occipital  is  the  sphenoid, 
which  also  sends  a  process  upwards  on  each  side  of  the 


8KULL.] 


ANATOMY 


823 


skull;  in  front  of  the  basal  part  of  the  sphenoid  is  the 
ethmoid;  mounting  upwards  in  front  of  the  ethmoid  i3  the 


Flo.  0.— Profile  of  the  skull.  FY,  frontal  bono;  Pa,  parietal;  SO,  supra-occipital ; 
Sq,  squamous-temport'l;  MT,  mastoid-temporal-;  Ty,  tympanic;  St,- styloid* 
temporal ;  As,  sii-sphenoid ;  E,  03  planum  of  ethmoid ;  U  luchrynml ;  N, 
nasal;  Mx,  superior  maxilla;  Jlft,  malar;  Jin,  mandible;  bh.  biLst-hya: ; 
(A,  thyro-hyal;  cA,  cerato-hyal;  em.-  external  meatus;  ct,  coronal  smure; 
/-,  lamudoidal  suture;  £*,  squamous  suture. 

frontal,  which  forms  the  forehead,  and  closes  in  the  front 
of  the  cranial  box;  forming  the  vault  and  side  walls  are 
the  two  parietal  bone3 ;  completing  the  side  walls,  and 
extending  for  a  short  distance  along  the  side  of  the  floor, 
are  the  two  temporal  bones;  the  vertex  of  the  skull  is  at 
the  junction  of  the  two  parietal  bones  with  each  other. 


no.  7, — Section  through  the  skull  Immediately  to  the  right  of  the  mesial  plane. 
The  lettering  as  in  Fig.  6,  with,  In  addition,  110,  basl-occipital ;  E0,  ex-occlp.tal; 
PT,  petrous-temporal;  BS,  basl-spheuoid;  PS,  prc-sphenoid  (the  letters  are  placed 
In  the  sphenoidal  sinus);  OS,  orbito-sphenoid;  ME,  mes  ethmoid;  SC,  septal 
cartilage  of  nose;  V,  vomer;  PI,  palate;  Pt,  pterygoid  of  sphenoid;  A  frontal 
iinus:  Pf,  pituitary  fossa;  fm,  foramen  magnum;  a,  angle;  and  t,  symphysis 
of  lower  Jaw. 

The  fourteen  bones  of  the  face,  which  are  situated  below 
and  in  front  of  the  cranium,  enter  into  the  formation  of  the 
walls  of  cavities  which  open  on  the  front  of  the  face;  thus- 
they  complete,  along  with  the  frontal,  sphenoid,  and  ethmoid,- 
the  walls  of  the  two  orbits  in  which  the  eye-balls  are 
lodged ;  along  with  the  ethmoid  and  sphenoid,  the  walls  of 
the  nostrils;  and  they  form  the  osseous  walls  of  the  mouth. 
As  a  general  rule,  the  cranial  bones  are  expanded,  and  plate- 
like in  form.  The  outer  surface  of  each  bone  assists  in 
forming  the  exterior  of  the  cranium,  and  not  unfrequently 
is  marked  by  ridges  or  processes  for  the  attachment  of 
inu&clea.     The  inner  surface,  again,  is  smooth,  and  pitted 


with  depressions,  in  which  the  convolutions  of  the  brain 
are  lodged,  and  also  marked  by  grooves  for  the  lodgment 
of  dilated  veins  called  blood  sinuses,  and  of  arteries  termed 
meningeal.  The  two  surfaces  of  a  cranial  bone,  dense  in 
structure,  are  called  its  tables,  outer  and  inner,  and  are 
separated  from  each  other  by  bone,  looser  and  more  spongy 
in  its  texture,  called  diploe.  In  some  localities,  more 
especially  in  certain. of  the  bones  which  form  the  walls 
of  the  nostrils,  the  drploe  disappears,  and  comparatively 
wide  interspaces  separate  the  two  tables  which  contain  air, 
and  are  called  air-sinuses.  The  margins  of  the  bones  are 
denticulated,  and  it  is  by  the  interlocking  of  the  denticula- 
tions  of  adjacent  bones  that  they  are  jointed  together,  the 
joints  being  named  sutures.  The  bones  are  pierced  by 
holes  or  foramina,  and  similar  holes  exist  between  the 
adjacent  margins  of  some  of  the  bones.  These  foramina 
are  mostly  situated  in  the  floor  of  the  skull,  and  transmit 
arteries  into  the  cranial  cavity  to  supply  the  brain  and 
the  inner  table  with  blood,  and  veins  and  nerves  out  of 
the  cavity.  The  largest  of  these  holes  is  called  foramen, 
magnum.  It  lies  in  the  occipital  bone,  immediately  above 
the  ring  of  the  atlas;  through  it  the  spinal  marrow  becomes 
continuous  with  the  brain,  and  the  vertebral  arteries  pass 
;to  supply  the  brain  with  biood. 

The  Occipital,  or  bone  of  the  Back  of  the  Head  (Figs.  6  Occipital 
land  7,  and  Plate  XIII. ),  consists  of  four  originally  distinct 
I  pieces  fused  into  a  curved  plate-like  bone.  Its  subdivisions 
are  arranged  around  the  foramen  magnum — the  basilar 
part,  basi-occipital,  in  front;  the  condyloid  parts,  ex-occipi- 
tals,  one  on  each  side ;  and  the  tabular  part,  or  supra-occipital, 
behind.  The  anterior  surface  of  the  supra-occipital  is  sub- 
divided into  four  fossae,  in  the  two  upper  of  which  are 
lodged  the  occipital  lobes  of  the  cerebrum,  in  the  two  lower 
the  cerebellum ;  the  upper  and  lower  pairs  of  fossoe  are 
separated,  by  a  groove  for  the  lodgment  of  the  lateral 
venous  sinus.  The  posterior  surface  is  marked  by  a  pro- 
tuberance and  by  curved  lines  for  the  attachment  of 
muscles;  by  its  margin  the  supra-occipital  articulates  with 
the  parietai  and  temporal  bones.  Each  ex-occipital  has 
6n  its  under  surface  a  smooth  condyle  for  articulation 
with  the  atlas ;  in  front  of  the  condyle  is  a  foramen  which 
transmits  the  last  or  ninth  cranial  nerve,  called  hypoglossal, 
and  behind  it  a  foramen  for  the  transmission  of  a  vein 
sometimes  exists.  The  basi-occipital  articulates  and,  in 
the  adult  skull,  is  fused  with  the  body  of  the  sphenoid 
(Fig.  7).  The  upper  surface  of  the  basi-occipital  is  grooved 
for  the  lodgment  of  the  medulla  oblongata. 

Sometimes  the  part  of  the  supra-occipital  situated  abovo 
the  protuberance  and  upper  curved  line  ossifies  as  an  inde- 
pendent bone,  called  interparietal.  In  some  mammals,  as 
the  sheep,  the  existence  of  an  interparietal  in  the  young 
skull  is  the  rule  and  not  the  exception. 

The  Sphenoid  or  Wedge-shaped  bone  (Fig.  7,  and  Plate  Sphenoid 
XIL),  lies  at  the  base  of  the  skull ;  it  articulates  behind 
with  the  occipital;  in  front  it  is  jointed  to  the  ethmoid  and 
frontal,  and  by  its  lateral  processes  or  wings  to  the  frontal 
parietal,  and  temporal  bones.  From  its  position,  therefore, 
it  binds  together  all  the  bones  of  the  cranium,  and,  more 
over,  articulates  with  many  of  those  of  the  face.  For  con 
structive  purposes  it  is  the  most  important  bono  of  the 
head.  It  consists  of  a  centrum  or  body,  with  which  four 
pairs  of  processes  are  connected.  The  body  has  a  deep 
depression  on  its  upper  surface,  compared  in  shape  to  a 
Turkish  saddle,  in  which  iS  lodged  the  pituitary  body; 
hence  it  is  called  pituitary  fossa.  In  front  of  this  fossa 
is  a  ridge  which  marks  the  place  of  union  of  the  pre-  and 
post-splienoidal  subdivisions  of  the  body  of  this  bone;  the 
body  is  grooved  laterally  for  the  internal  carotid  artery 
and  the  cavernous  blood  sinuses,  and  it  is  hollowed  out  in 
its  interior  to  form  the  sphenoidal  air-sinuses:  these  air- 


824 


ANATOMY 


[skeleton — 


sinuses  are  partially  closed  in  front  by  a  pair  of  small  bony 
plates  called  sphenoidal  spongy  bones,  or  bones  of  Bertin. 
Behind  the  pituitary  fossa  is  a  pair  of  processes  called 
posterior  clinoid,  from  which  the  bone  slopes  back  to  the 
basi-occipital ;  this  slope  is  called  the  dorsum  settee,  and  on 
it  rests  the  pons  Varolii  From  the  posterior  part  of  each 
side  of  the  body  the  great  wings,  or  ali-sphenoids,  pass 
outwards  and  upwards  to  the  sides  of  the  skull,  and  each 
sends  off  a  plate-like  process  to  enter  into  the  formation 
of  the  outer  wall  of  the  orbit.  From  the  anterior  part  of 
each  side  of  the  body  the  lesser  wings,  orbilo-sphenoids, 
pass  outwards,  and  assist  in  forming  the  roof  of  each  orbit; 
each  orbito-sphenoid  ends  internally  in  a  knob-like  process 
called  anterior  clinoid,  and  at  its  root  is  a  foramen  called 
optic,  which  transmits  the  second  nerve,  or  nerve  of  sight, 
into  the  orbit.  From  the  great  wings  on  each  side,  close 
to  its  junction  with  the  body,  a  pair  of  pterygoid  processes, 
called  internal  and  external,  project  downwards,  and  the 
internal  process  ends  in  a  slender  hook  termed  the  hamular 
pTocess.  The  ali-sphenoid  is  pierced  by  foramina  called 
rotundum,  ovale,  and  spinosum,  the  two  former  of  which 
transmit  divisions  of  the  fifth  cranial  nerve,  the  last  an 
artery  to  the  membranes  of  the  brain;  between  the  orbito- 
and  ali-sphenoids  is  a  fissure  which  transmits  the  third, 
fourth,  sixth,  and  first  divisions  of  the  fifth  cranial  nerve 
into  the  orbit ;  and  at  the  root  of  the  pterygoid  processes 
i3  the  vidian  canal,  for  the  transmission  of  a  nerve  of  the 
same  name. 

The  Ethmoid,  or  Sieve-like  bone  (Fig.  7,  and  Plate  XILT., 
fig.  5 ),  is  situated  between  the  two  orbital  plates  of  the  frontal, 
and  in  front  of  the  body  of  the  sphenoid.  It  is  cuboidal  in 
shape,  and  is  composed  of  a  central  portion  and  two  lateral 
masses,  which  are  connected  together  by  a  thin  horizontal 
plate  pierced  with  holes  like  a  sieve,  and  called  cribriform. 
This  cribriform  plate  forms  a  part  of  the  floor  of  the  cranial 
cavity ;  on  it  rest  the  two  olfactory  bulbs,  and  the  branches 
of  the  nerves  of  smell,  called  olfactory  or  first  cranial 
nerves,  pass  from  the  bulbs  through  the  holes  in  thi3  plate 
into  the  nose.  The  central  portion  of  the  bone  is  a  mesial 
perpendicular  plate,  mes-etkmoid,  and  forms  a  part  of  the 
septum  which  subdivides  the  nose  into  the  right  and  left 
nostrils.  Each  lateral  mass  consists  of  an  external  smooth 
plate,  os  planum,  which  assists  in  forming  the  inner  wall 
of  the  orbit ;  and  an  internal  convoluted  part,  called 
superior  and  middle  spongy  bones  or  turbinals,  which  enter 
into  the  formation  of  the  outer  wall  of  the  nostril.  These 
turbinala  are  associated  with  the  distribution  of  the  nerves 
of  smell ,  in  the  toothed  whales,  -where  there  are  no  olfactory 
nerves,  the  turbinals  are  absent,  whilst  in  some  mammals, 
as  the  crested  seal,  they  assume  a  highly  convoluted  form. 
The  lateral  masses  are  hollowed  out  into  air-sinuses,  called 
ethmoidal  cells,  which  communicate  with  the  nostrils  and 
with  corresponding  sinuses  in  the  sphenoid  and  frontal 
bones. 

The  Frontal,  or  bone  of  the  Forehead  (Figs.  6  and  7,  and 
Plate  XIII. ),  consists  originally  of  a  right  and  left  lateral  half, 
united  by  the  frontal  suture  in  the  middle  line  of  the  fore- 
head. As  a  rule,  this  suture  disappears  in  early  life,  and  a 
single  greatly  curved  bone  is  formed.  The  bone  is  convex 
forwards,  to  form  the  rounded  forehead,  and  presents  two 
eminences,  the  centres  of  ossification  of  the  bone  ;  at  the 
root  of  the  nose  is  an  elevation  called  glabella,  extending 
outwards,  from  which,  on  each  side,  is  the  supra-ciliary 
ridge,  corresponding  to  the  position  of  the  eyebrow.  In 
the  crania  of  some  races,  e.g.,  the  Australian,  the  forward 
projection  of  the  glabella  and  supra-ciliary  ridges  is  con- 
siderable ;  and  in  the  well-known  skull  from  the  valley  of 
the  Neander  it  has  reached  a  remarkable  size.  These 
ridges  and  the  glabella  mark  the  position  of  the  air-sinuses 
in  the  frontal  bone.     The  upper  border  of  each  orbit,  which 


ends  internally  and  externally  in  a  process  of  bone  called 
angular,  forms  the  lower  boundary  of  the  forehead.  The 
cerebral  Burface  of  the  bone  is  deeply  concave,  for  tho 
reception  of  the  frontal  lobes  of  the  brain  j  the  concavity 
is  deepened  by  the  backward  projection  of  two  tluJ  plates 
of  bone  which  form  the  roofs  of  the  orbits,  which  plates 
are  separated  from  each  other  by  the  deep  notch  in  which 
the  ethmoid  bone  is  lodged  ;  along  the  margins  of  thii 
notch  may  be  seen  the  openings  into  the  frontal  air-sinuses. 

The  Parietal  bones,  two  in  number  (Figs.  6  and  7,  and 
Plate  XIV.),  form  the  greater  part  of  the  side  wall  of  the 
skull,  and  mount  upwards  to  the  vertex,  where  they  unite 
together  along  the  Line  of  the  sagittal  suture.  Each  bone 
possesses  about  the  centre  of  its  outer  surface  an  eminence, 
the  centre  of  ossification  of  the  bone,  with  which  a  hollow 
on  the  cerebral  surface,  lodging  a  convolution  of  the  parietal 
lobe  of  the  brain,  corresponds.  The  bone  is  quadrilateral 
in  form.  Three  of  its  margins  are  strongly  denticulated, 
for  junction  with  the  occipital,  frontal,  and  corresponding 
parietal ;  the  fourth  is  scale-like,  for  union  with  the  tem- 
poral, and  forms  the  squamous  suture;  near  the  upper 
margin  on  the  cerebral  surface  is  a  groove  for  the  lodgment 
of  the  superior  longitudinal  venous  sinus.  The  anterior 
inferior  angle  articulates  with  the  ali-sphenoid,  aud  is 
marked  by  a  groove  for  the  meningeal  artery;  the  posterior 
inferior  is  grooved  for  the  lateral  venous  sinus,  and  articu- 
lates with  the  mastoid  of  the  temporal. 

The  Temporal  bones,  two  in  number  (Figs.  6  and  7, 
and  Plate  XIV.),  are  placed  at  the  side  and  base  of  the 
skull,  and  are  remarkable  for  containing  in  their  interior 
the  organs  of  hearing.  Each  bone  consists  originally  of 
four  subdivisions — a  equamoso-zygomatic,  a  tympanic,  a 
petro-mastoid,  and  a  styloid — which  in  course  of  time  fuse 
together  to  form  an  irregular-shaped  bone.  Tho  squamous 
part  of  the  squamoso-zygomatic  is  a  thin  plate  which  forms 
that  part  of  the  side  of  the  skull  familiarly  known  as  the 
"  temple."  The  zygoma  extends  horizontally  forwards  as 
a  distinct  arched  process,  to  join  the  malar  or  cheek-bone. 
At  the  root  of  the  zygoma  is  a  smooth  fossa,  called  glenoid, 
which  receives  the  condyle  of  the  lower  jaw,  and  assists  in 
forming  the  temporo-maxillary  joint.  The  tympanic  portion 
forms  in  the  foetus  a  ring,  which  enlarges  subsequently  into 
a  curved  plate  that  forms  the  wall  of  the  external  auditory 
meatus,  or  passage  into  the  tympanum  or  middle  ear.  The 
tympanic  and  squamoso-zygomatic  parts  of  the  bone  fuse 
together;  but  a  fissure,  called  Glaserian,  situated  behind 
the  glenoid  fossa,  marks  their  original  separation ;  in  this 
fissure  the  slender  process  of  the  malleus  (one  of  the  bones 
of  the  tympanum)  is  lodged.  The  petro-mastoid  or  periotic 
part  of  the  temporal  contains  the  organ  of  hearing,  and  is 
complicated  in  its  internal  anatomy.  It  extends  forwards 
and  inwards  along  the  floor  of  the  skull,  and  forms  on  tho 
exterior  of  the  skull  the  large  nipple-shaped  mastoid  pro- 
cess. This  process  is  rough  on  its  outer  surface,  for  the 
attachment  of  muscles,  and  is  hollowed  out  internally  into 
the  mastoid  cells  or  air-sinuses,  which  communicate  with 
the  tympanum  or  middle  ear.  The  petrous-temporal  is 
distinguished  by  its  stony  hardness,  and  has  the  form  of  a 
three-sided  pyramid.  Its  apex  lies  in  relation  to  the  side 
of  the  body  of  the  sphenoid ;  its  base  corresponds  to  the 
tympanic  cavity  and  external  meatus  ;  its  under  surface  i» 
rough,  and  forms  a  part  of  the  under  surface  of  the  skull ; 
its  anterior  and  posterior  surfaces  are  smooth  and  in  rela 
tion  to  certain  parts  of  the  brain.  The  petrous  part  of  the 
bone  is  traversed  by  a  canal  which  transmits  the  internal 
carotid  artery  and  sympathetic  nerve  into  the  cranial 
cavity ;  in  its  posterior  surface  is  a  passage,  internal 
meatus,  down  which  the  seventh  cranial  nerve  proceeds ; 
at  the  bottom  of  the  meatus  the  auditory  part  of  that 
nerve  enters  the  internal  ear,  whilst  the  part  cf  the  nerve 


8KULL.] 


A  N  A  T  0  M  Y 


825 


which  goes  to  the  muscles  of  the  face  traverses  a  canal  in 
the  bone,  called  aqueduct  of  Fallopius,  which  ends  ex- 
ternally, between  the  styloid  and  mastoid  processes,  in  the 
stylomastoid  foramen.  The  styloid  process  is  a  slender  part 
of  the  bone  which  projects  downwards , from  the  tympanic 
plate,  and  is  connected  with  the  small  cornu  of  the  hyoid 
bone  by  the  stylohyoid  ligament.  It  does  not  unite  with 
the  rest  of  the  bone  until  a  comparatively  late  period. 
Between  the  petrous-temporal  and  ex-occipital  is  the 
jugular  foramen,  which  transmits  out  of  the  skull  the 
eighth  cranial  nerve  and  the  internal  jugular  vein. 

The  fourteen  bones  of  the  Face  are,  as  a  rule,  much 
smaller  than  those  of  the  Cranium ;  some  have  the  form 
of  thin  scales,  others  are  more-  irregular  in  shape.  They 
are  named  as  follows :  —  Two  superior  maxillary,  two 
palate,  two  malar,  two  nasal,  two  lachrymal,  two  inferior 
turbinal,  a  vomer,  and  an  inferior  maxilla. 

The  Superior  Maxillre,  or  bones  of  the  Upper  Jaw  (Figs. 
8  and  7,  and  Plate  XIV.),  form  the  skeleton  of  a  large  part 
of  the  face,  and  enter  into  the  formation  of  the  walls  of  the 
cavities  of  the  nose,  mouth,  and  orbit ;  around  them  the 
other  bones  of  the  face  are  grouped.  The  facial  surface 
of  each  bone  presents  in  front  a  large  foramen  for  the 
transmission  of  the  infra-orbital  branch  of  the  fifth  cranial 
nerve,  and  behind,  several  small  foramina  for  the  trans- 
mission cf  nerves  to  the  teeth  in  the  upper  jaw.  On  the 
same  surface  "is  a  rough  process  for  articulation  with  the 
malar  bone.  The  orbital  surface  is  smooth,  forms  the 
floor  of  the  orbit,  and  possesses  a  canal  in  which  the  infra- 
orbital nerve  lies.  The  nasal  surface  forms  a  part  of  the 
outer  wall  and  floor  of  the  nostril,  and  presents  a  hole 
leading  into  a  large  hollow  in  the  substance  of  the  bone, 
called  the  antrum,  or  superior  maxillary  air-sinus.  The 
nasal  surface  articulates  with  the  inferior  turbinal  and 
palate  bones.  The  nasal  and  facial  surfaces  become  con- 
tinuous with  each  other  at  the  anterior  aperture  of  the 
nose,  and  from  them  a  strong  process  ascends  to  join  the 
frontal  bone  close  to  the  glabella ;  this  process  also  articu- 
lates with  the  lachrymal  and  nasal  bones.  The  palatal 
surface  forms  a. part  of  the  bony  roof  of  the  mouth,  and 
presents  La-  front  a  small  hole  (the  incisive  foramen)  which 
communicates  with  the  nose.  In  the  sheep  and  many  other 
mammals  this  hole  is  of  large  size ;  the  palatal  surface  is 
bounded  externally  by  a  thick  elevated  border,  in  which 
are  the  sockets,  or  alveoli,  for  the  lodgment  of  the  fangs 
of  the  teeth ;  internally  this  surface  articulates  by  a  narrow 
border  with  the  other  superior  maxilla  and  with  the  vomer, 
and,  posteriorly,  with  the  palate-bone. 

The  Palate-bone  (Fig.  7,  and  Plate  XIV.)  lies  in  con- 
tact with  the  inner  surface  and  posterior  border  of  the 
superior  maxilla,  and  separates  it  from  the  sphenoid.  It 
is  in  shape  not  unlike  the  capital  letter  L,  the  horizontal 
limb  forming  the  hinder  part  of  the  bony  roof  of  the 
mouth  by  its  lower  surface,  and  the  back  part  of  the  floor 
of  the  nose  by  its  upper.  The  ascending  limb  assists  in 
forming  the  outer  wall  of  the  nose,  and  subdivides  into 
an  anterior,  or  orbital,  and  a  posterior,  or  sphenoidal,  pro- 
cess. At  the  junction  of  the  two  limbs  is  the  pyramidal 
process,  which  articulates  with  the  lower  ends  of  the 
pterygoid  processes  of  the  sphenoid. 

'  The  Vomer  (Fig.  7),  shaped  like  a  ploughshare,  lies 
vertically  in  the  mesial  plane  of  the  nose,  and  forms  a 
Targe  part  of  the  partition  which  separates  one  nostril  from 
tne  other.  It  articulates  above  with  the  under  surface  of 
the  body  of  the  sphenoid  and  the  mes-ethmoid  ;  below 
with  the  palatal  processes  of  the  superior  maxillae  and 
palate-bones;  in  front  with  the  septal  cartilage  of  the  nose, 
whilst  the  posterior  border  is  free,  and  forms  the  hinder 
edge  of  the  nasal  septum. 

The  Inferior  Turbinated  is  a  slightly  convoluted  bone 


situated  on  the  outer  wall  of  the  nose,  where  it  articulates 
with  the  superior  maxilla  and  palate  a  little  below  the 
middle  turbinal  of  the  ethmoid. 

The  Lachrymal  (Fig.  6)  is  a  small  scale-like  bone,  in 
shape  not  unlike  a  finger-nail,  placed  at  the  inner  wall 
of  the  orbit,  and  fitting  between  the  ethmoid,  superior 
maxilla,  and  frontal  bones."-  It  has  a  groove  on  the  outer 
surface,  in  which  is  lodged  the  lachrymal  sac. 

The  Nasal   (Fig.    6)   is   a    thin,   somewhat    elongated 
bone,  which,  articulating  with  its  fellow  in  the   middle 
line,  forms  with  it  the  bony  bridge  of  the  nose  ;  above,  it 
articulates  with  the  frontal,  and  by  its  outer  border  with  • 
the  ascending  process  of  the  superior  maxilla 

The  Malar  bone  (Fig.  6),  irregular  in  shape,  forms  the 
prominence  of  the  cheek,  and  completes  the  outer  wall 
of  the  orbit.  It  rests  upon  the  superior  maxilla ;  by  its 
orbital  plate  it  articulates  with  the  great  wing  of  the 
sphenoid ;  by  its  ascending  process  with  the  external 
angular  process  of  the  frontal ;  by  its  posterior  process  with 
the  zygomatic  process  of  the  temporal,  so  as  to  complete 
the  zygomatic  arch. 

The  Inferior  Maxilla,  Lower  Jaw,  orMandible  (Figs.  6  and 
7,  and  Plate  XIV.,  fig.  9),  is  a  large  horse-shoe  shaped  bone, 
which  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  only  movable  bone  of 
the  head.  It  consists  originally  of  two  separate  halves,  which 
unite  during  the  first  year  of  life  into  a  single  bone  at  the 
symphysis  or  chin.  A  characteristic  feature  ot  the  human 
lower  jaw  is  the  forward  slope  of  the  bone  at  the  chin,  for 
in  other  mammals  the  symphysis  inclines  backwards.  In 
the  upper  border  of  this  bone  are  the  sockets  for  the  lower 
series  of  teeth.  At  the  posterior  end  of  the  horse-shoe 
curve  on  each  side  the  bone  ascends  almost  vertically,  and 
terminates  in  two  processes — an  anterior,  or  coronoid, 
which  is  for  the  insertion  of  the  temporal  muscle,  and  a 
posterior,  or  condyle,  which  is  for  articulation  with  the  glen- 
oid fossa  of  the  temporal  bone.  Where  the  ascending  and 
horizontal  limbs  of  the  bone  are  continuous,  it  forms  the 
angle,  which  is  almost  a  right  angle.  On  the  inner  surface 
of  the  ascending  limb  is  a  large  foramen,  communicating 
with  a  canal  which  traverses  the  bone  below  the  sockets 
for  the  teeth.  In  this  canal  are  lodged  the  nerves  and 
blood-vessels  for  these  teeth. 

The  Hyoid  bone  lies  in  the  neck,  on  the  same  plane  as  Hyoid. 
the  lower  border  of  the  inferior  maxilla  (Figs.  6  and  7).  It 
is  shaped  like  the  letter  U,  and  consists  of  a  body,  or  basi- 
hyal,  from  which  two  long1  horns,  or  stylo-hyah,  project 
backwards.  At  the  junction  of  the  body  and  horns  two 
smaller  cornua,  or  cerato-hyah,  project  upwards,  and  are 
connected  with  the  styloid  processes  of  the  temporal  bones, 
or  stylo-hyals,  by  the  stylo-hyoid  ligaments,  or  epi-hyals. 
The  hyoid  is  the  bone  from  which  the  muscles  of  the 
tongue  arise,  and  it  is  situated  immediately  above  the 
thyroid  cartilage  of  the  larynx,  to  which  it  is  attached  by 
ligaments. 

In  its  general  form  the  Skull  is  ovoid,  with  the  long 
axis  extending  antero-posteriorly,  the  frontal  and  occipital 
ends  rounded,  and  the  sides  somewhat  flattened.  Its 
average  length  in  the  people  of  the  British  Islands  is  a 
little  more  than  7  inches ;  its  greatest  breadth  about  5  J 
inches ;  and  its  height,  from  the  plane  of  the  foramen 
magnum  to  the  vertex,  about  5J  inches.  Its  greatest 
circumference  is  about  21  inches.  The  breadth  of  the 
face  across  the  zygomatic  arches  is  about  5  inches.  The 
average  capacity  of  the  brain  cavity  is  92  cubic  inches. 
The  British  skull  is  dolicho-cephalic  and  orthognathic. 
(See  Anthropology.) 

The  lateral  regions  of  the  skull  are  called  the  temporal 
fossa,  and  give  origin  to  the  temporal  muscles.  Under 
cover  of  each  zvfuu.atic  arch  is  the  zygomatic  fossa.  At 
the  bottom  of  this  is  a  hollow  between  the  superior  maxills 


82(5 


A  N  A  T  0  M  Y 


SKKLETON— * 


and  sphenoid,  called  spheno-maxillary  fossa,  from  which 
the  pterygn-maxUlary  fissure  extends  downwards  between 
the  pterygoid  and  superior  maxillary ;  and  the  spheno- 
maxillary fissure  extends  upwards  into  the  orbit.  The 
orbit  is  a  four-walled  pyramidal  cavity,  with  the  base 
directed  forward  to  the  face,  and  the  apex  backward  to 
the  brain  cavity.  At  the  apex  are  the  foramina  in  the 
sphenoid,  through  which  the  nerve  of  sight  and  other  nerves 
pass  from  the  brain  to  the  eyeball,  muscles,  and  other  soft 
structures  within  the  orbit. 

The  nostrils  open  on  the  front  of  the  face  by  a  large 
opening  situated  between  the  two  superior  maxilke,  and 
bounded  above  by  the  two  nasals.  The  sides  of  the 
opening  pass  down  almost  vertically  to  join  the  tloor,  and 
are  not  rounded  off  as  in  the  ape's  skull ;  from  the  centre 
of  the  floor  a  sharp  process,  the  nasal  spine  of  the  superior 
maxiilaj  projects  forwards,  and  forms  a  characteristic 
feature  of  the  human  skull.  Attached  to  the  sides  of  the 
opening  are  the  lateral  cartilages  of  the  nose,  which  form 
the  wings  of  the  nostrils,  and  so  modify  the  position  of 
their  openings  that  in  the  face  they  look  downwards.  The 
nostrils  are  separated  from  each  other  by  a  vertical  mesial 
partition  composed  of  the  mes-ethmoid,  vomer,  and  triangular 
nasal  cartilage,  the  last-named  of  which  projects  forward 
beyond  the  anterior  surface  of  the  upper  jaw,  and  con- 
tributes materially  to  the  prominence  of  the  nose.  The 
outer  wall  of  each  nostril  presents  the  convoluted  turbinals, 
which  are  separated  from  each  other  by  horizontal  passages 
extending  antero-posteriorly ;  the  superior  passage  or 
meatus  lies  between  the  superior  and  middle  turbinals  of 
the  ethmoid,  and  is  continued  into  the  sphenoidal  and 
posterior  ethmoidal  air-sinuses ;  the  middle  meatus  lies 
between  the  middle  and  inferior  turbinals,  and  is  continued 
into  the  frontal,  anterior  ethmoidal,  and  maxillary  air 
sinuses.  These  sinuses  are  therefore  exteasions  of  the  nasal 
chamber  or  respiratory  passage,  and  correspond  with  the 
air  cavities  which  exist  in  so  many  of  the  bones  of  birds ; 
the  inferior  meatus  lies  between  the  inferior  turbinal  and 
floor  of  the  nose ;  into  its  anterior  part  opens  the  nasal 
duct  which  conveys  the  tears  from  the  front  of  the  eyeball 
The  posterior  openings  of  the  nose  are  separated  from  each 
other  by  the  hinder  edge  of  the  vomer,  and  are  placed 
between  the  internal  pterygoid  plates  of  the  sphenoid. 

The  skull  varies  in  appearance  at  different  periods  of  life. 
In  infancy  the  face  is  small,  about  -Jth  of  the  size  of  the 
entire  head,  for  the  teeth  are  still  rudimentary  and  the 
jaws  are  feeble ;  the  centres  of  ossification  of  the  cranial 
bones  are  prominent;  the  forehead  projects;  the  skull  is 
widest  at  the  parietal  eminences  ;  the  air-sinuses,  and  bony 
ridges  corresponding  to  them,  have  not  formed.  In  the 
adult  the  face  is  about  half  the  size  of  the  head,  and  its 
vertical  diameter  greatly  elongated,  from  the  growth  of  the 
antrum,  the  nose,  and  the  dental  borders  of  the  jaws ;  and 
the  angle  of  the  lower  jaw  is  almost  a  right  angle.  In  old 
age  the  teeth  fall  out,  the  jaws  shrink  in,  their  dental 
borders  become  absorbed,  the  anglo  of  the  lower  jaw,  as  in 
infancy,  is  obtuse ;  the  vertex  and  floor  of  the  skull  also 
become  flattened,  and  the  sides  bulge  outwards, — changes 
due  to  gravitation  and  the  subsidence  of  the  bones  by  their 
owu  weight. 

The  skull  of  a  woman  is  smaller  and  lighter,  with  the 
muscular  ridges  and  projections  due  to  the  air  sinuses  less 
strongly  marked  than  in  a  man,  but  with  the  eminences 
or  centres  of  ossification  more  prominent.  The  more 
feeble  air  sinuses  imply  a  more  restricted  respiratory 
activity  and  a  less  active  mode  of  life  than  in  a  man.  The 
internal  capacity  is  about  10  per  cent,  less  than  that  of 
the  male.  The  face  is  smaller  in  proportion  to  the  cranium; 
the  cranium  is  more  flattened  at  the  vertex,  and  the  height 
is  consequently  not  so  great  in  proportion  to  the  length  as 


in  the  man.     In  the  female  skull,  therefore,  the  infantile 
characters  are  less  departed  from  than  is  the  case  in  the  male. 

Turning  now  to  the  Afpeitdiculah  Skeleton,  we  shall 
consider  first  that  of  tho  Superior  or  Thoracic  or 
Fectoral  Extremity,  or  Upper  Limb.  The  Upper  Limb  i  i .  a 
may  be  subdivided  into  a  proximal  part  or  shoulder,  a  ;- ■"•>'• 
distal  part  or  hand,  and  an  intermediate  shaft,  which  con- 
sists of  an  upper  arm  or  brackium,  and  a  fore-arm  or  anti- 
brachium.  In  each  of  these  subdivisions  certain  bones  are 
found :  in  the  shoulder,  the  clavicle  and  scapula  ;  in  the 
upper  ann,  the  humerus ;  in  the  fore-arm,  the  radius  and 
ulna,  the  bone  of  the  upper  arm  in  man  being  longer  than 
the  bones  of  the  fore-arm ;  in  the  hand,  the  carpal  and 
metacarpal  bones  and  the  phalanges.  The  scapula  and 
clavicle  together  form  an  imperfect  bony  arch,  the  Scapular 
Arch  or  Shoulder  Girdle ;  the  shaft  and  hand  form  a  free 
divergent  Appendage.  The  shoulder  girdle  i3  the  direct 
medium  of  connection  between  the  axial  skeleton  and  tho 
divergent  part  of  the  limb ;  its  anterior  segment,  the 
clavicle,  articulates  with  the  upper  end  of  the  sternum, 
whilst  its  posterior  segment,  the  scapula,  approaches,  but 
does  not  reach,  the  dorsal  spines. 


Flo.  8. — Dlafrrsmmatlc  section  to  represent  the  relations  of  one  shoulder  jrirdle  to 
the  trunk.  V.  a  Dorsal  Vertebra ;  C,  a  Ittb ;  St,  tlie  Sternum  ;  Sc,  the  Scapula ; 
C'r,  the  Coracoid ;  CI,  the  Clavicle ;  M,  the  Mt-niscus  at  its  sternal  end ;  U,  the 
Humerus. 

The  Clavicle,  or  Collar  Bone  (Fig.  9),  is  an  elongated  Clavicle 
bone  which  extends  from  the  upper  end  of  the  sternum 
horizontally  outwards,  to  articulate  with  the  acromion 
process  of  the  scapula.  It  presents  a  strong  sigmoida) 
curve,  which  is  associated  with  the  transverse  and  horizontal 
direction  of  the  axis  of  the  human  shoulder.  It  is  slender 
in  the  female,  but  powerful  in  muscular  males ;  its  sternal 
end  thick  and  somewhat  triangular ;  its  acromial  end, 
flattened  frSm  above  downwards,  has  an  oval  articular 
surface  for  the  acromion.  Its  Bhaft  has  four  surfaces  for 
the  attachment  of  muscles;  and  a  strong  ligament,  con- 
necting it  with  the  coracoid,  is  attached  to  the  under 
surface,  near  the  outer  end,  whilst  near  the  inner  a  strong 
ligament  passes  between  it  and  the  first  rib.  The  clavicle 
is  absent  in  the  hoofed  quadrupeds,  in  the  seals  and  whales, 
and  is  feeble  in  the  carnivora;  but  is  well  formed,  not  only 
in  man,  but  in  apes,  bats,  and  in  many  rodents  and 
insectivora. 

The  Scapula,  or  Shoulder  Blade  (Fig.  9),  is  the  most  Scapula 
important  bone  of  the  shoulder  girdle,  and  is  present  in 
all  mammals.  It  lies  at  the  upper  and  back  part  of  the 
wall  of  the  chest,  reaching  from  the  second  to  the  seventh 
rib.  Its  form  is  plate-like  and  triangular,  with  three 
surfaces,  three  borders,  and.  three  angles.  The  funda- 
mental form  of  the  scapula,  as  seen  in  the  mole,  is  that  of 
a  three-sided  prismatic  rod,  and  its  assumption  of  the 
plate  or  blade-like  character  in  man  is  in  connection  with 
the  great  development  of  the  muscles  which  rotate  the 
humerus  at  the  shoulder  joint.  Its  costal  or  ventral 
surface  is  in  relation  to  the  ribs,  from  which  it  is  separated 
by  certain  muscles :  one,  called  subscapularis,  arises  from 
the  surface  itself,  which  i3  often  termed  subscapular  fossa. 
The  dorsum  or  back  of  the  scapula  is  traversed  from 
behind  forwards  by  a  prominent  spine  (PL  XIV.,  fig.  1,  S), 
which  lies  in  the  proper  axis  of  the  scapula,  and  subdivides 
this  aspect  of  the  bone  into  a  surface  above  the  6pine,  the 


TIPPER  LIMB.] 


ANATOMY 


827 


supra-  or  prce-spxnous  fossa,  and  one  below  the  spine,  the 
infra-  or  post-spinous  fossa.  The  spine  arches  forwards,  to 
end  in  a  broad  flattened  process, 
the  acromion,  which  has  an  oval 
articular  surface  for  the  clavicle ; 
both  spine  and  acromion  are 
largely  developed  in  the  human 
scapula  in  correlation  with  the 
great  size  of  the  trapezius  and 
deltoid  muscles,  which  are  con- 
cerned in  the  elevation  and  ab- 
duction of  the  upper  limb.  The 
borders  of  the  scapula,  directed 
upwards,  backwards,  and  down- 
wards, give  attachment  to  several 
inusclea.  The  angles  are  inferior, 
8upero-posterior,  and  supero-an- 
terior.  The  superoanterior  is  the 
most  important ;  it  is  truncated, 
and  presents  a  large,  shallow,  oval, 
smooth  surface,  the  glenoid  fossa, 
for  articulation  with  the  humerus, 
to  form  the  shoulder  joint.  Over- 
hanging the  glenoid  fossa  is  a 
curved  beak-like  process,  the 
coracoid,  which  is  of  importance 
as  corresponding  with  the  separate 
coracoid  bone  of  birds  and  reptiles. 
The  line  of  demarcation  between 
it  and  the  scapula  proper  is 
marked  on  the  upper  border  of 
the  scapula  by  the  supra-scapular 
notch. 

The  Humerus,  or  bone  of  the 
Upper  Arm  (Fig.  9),isalongbone, 
and  consists  of  a  shaft  and  two 
extremities.    The  upper  extremity 
of  this  bone  possesses    a  convex 
spheroidal   smooth    surface,    the 
head,   for   articulation   with    the 
glenoid   fossa  of  the  scapula ;  it 
is  surrounded  by  a  narrow   con- 
stricted neck,  and  where  the  neck 
and  shaft  become  continuous  with 
each    other,    two   processes    or    tuberosities    are    found, 
to    which   are    attached    the    rotator    muscles    arising 
from  the  scapular  fossae.     Between  the  tuberosities  is  a 
groove  in  which  the  long  tendon  of  the  biceps  rests.     A 
line  "drawn  through  the  head  of  the  humerus  perpendicular 
to  the  middle  of  its  articular  surface,  forms  with  the  axis  of 
the  shaft  of  the  bone  an  angle  of  40°.     The  shaft  of  the 
humerus  is  cylindriform  above,  but  flattened  and  expanded 
below ;  about  midway  down  the  outer  surface  is  a  rough 
ridge  for  the  insertion  of  the  deltoid  muscle,  and  on  the 
inner  surface  another  rough  mark  for  the  insertion  of  the 
coraco-brachialis.     The  demarcation  between  the  cylindri- 
form and  expanded  parts  of  the  shaft  is  marked  by  a 
shallow  groove  winding  round  the  back  of  the  bone,  in 
which  the  musculo-spiral  nerve  i3  lodged.     The   lower 
extremity  of  the  humerus  consists  of  an  articular  and  a 
non-articular  portion.    The  articular  presents  a  small  head 
or  capitellum  for  the  radius,  and  a  pulley  or  trochlea  for 
the  movements  of  the  ulna  in  flexion  and  extension  of  the 
limb.     The  non-articular  part  consists  of  two  condyloid 
eminences,  internal  and  external.    From  the  external,  or  epi- 
condyle,  a  ridge  passes  for  some  distance  along  the  outer 
border  of  the  bone  ;  it  gives  origin  to  the  supinator  and 
extensor  muscles  in  the  fore-arm.     From  the  internal  emi- 
nence, or  epi-trochlea,  a  ridge  passes  up  the  inner  border  of 
tie  shaft  of  the  bone;  this  eminence  give*  origin  to  the 


Fio.  9. — The  Appendicular  Skele- 
ton of  the  Left  Upper  Limb. 
CU  clavicle  :  Sc,  scapula  ;  Ac, 
acromion  process;  Cr,  coracoid 
process  of  scapula;  H,  humerus; 
R.  radius;  U.  ulna;  C,  opposite 
the  eight  carpal  bones;  Mc  op- 
posite the  five  metacarpal  b'>nes; 
P.  pollex.  or  thumb;  II.  Index, 
III.  ml.idle,  IV.  ring,  V. 
little  finger. 


pronator  and  flexor  muscles  in  the  fore-arm.  In  nearly 
two  per  cent  of  the  bodies  examined  in  the  anatomy-rooms 
in  the  university  of  Edinburgh,  a  hooked  process  has  been 
seen  projecting  from  the  shaft  of  the  bone,  about  2  inches 
above  the  epi-trochlea  ;  this  process  is  connected  to  the 
epi-trochlea  by  a  fibrous  band,  so  as  to  form  a  foramen, 
which  has  been  called  svpra-condyloid.  In  these  cases 
the  median  nerve  invariably  passes  through  the  foramen, 
and  not  unfrequently  is  accompanied  by  the  brachial 
artery.  In  the  feline  carnivora  and  some  other  mammals 
a  foramen  constantly  occurs  in  this  part  of  the  humerus, 
through  which,  as  a  rule,  both  nerve  and  artery  proceed, 
though  in  the  common  seal  it  transmits  only  the  nerve. 

Before  describing  the  two  bones  of  the  fore-arm,  the 
anatomist  should  note  the  range  of  movement  which  can 
take  place  between  them.  In  one  position,  which  is  called 
supine,  they  lie  parallel  to  each  other,  the  radius  being  the 
more  external  bone,  and  the  palm  of  the  hand  being 
directed  forwards  ;  in  the  other  .or  prone  position  the 
radius  crosses  obliquely  in  front  of  the  ulna,  and  the  palm 
of  the  hand  is  directed  backwards.  Not  only  the  bones 
of  the  fore-arm,  but  those  of  the  hand  are  supposed  to  be 
in  the  supine  position  when  they  are  described. 

The  Radius  (Fig.  9)  is  the  outer  bone  of  the  Fore-arm,  and  Radius 
like  .all  long  bones  possesses  a  shaft  and  two  extremities. 
The  upper  extremity  or  head  has  a  shallow,  smooth  cup  for 
moving  on  the  capitellum  of  the  humerus ;  the  outer 
margin  of  the  cup  is  also  smooth,  for  articulation  with  the 
ulna  and  annular  ligament;  below  the  cup  is  a  constricted 
neck,  and  immediately  below  the  neck  a  tuberosity  for  the 
insertion  of  the  biceps.  The  shaft  of  the  bone  possesses 
three  surfaces  for  the  attachment  of  muscles,  and  a  sharp 
inner  border  for  the  interosseous  membrane.  The  lower 
end  of  the  bone  is  much  broader  than  the  upper,  and  is 
marked  posteriorly  by  grooves  for  the  lodgment  of  tendons 
passing  to  the  back  of  the  hand  :  from  its  outer  border  a 
pointed  styloid  process  projects  downwards;  its  inner  border 
has  a  smooth  shallow  fossa  for  articulation  with  the  ulna,  and 
its  broad  lower  surface  is  smooth  and  concave,  for  articula- 
tion with  the  scaphoid  and  semilunar  bones  of  the  wrist. 

The  Ulna  (Fig.  9)  is  also  a  long  bone.  Its  upper  end  is  Clna. 
subdivided  into  two  strong  processes  by  a  deep  fossa,  the 
greater  sigmoid  cavity,  which  possesses  a  smooth  surface 
for  articulation  with  the  trochlea  of  the  humerus.  The 
anterior  or  coronoid  process  is  marked  by  an  obnque  ridge 
for  the  insertion  of  the  brachialis  anticus,  whilst  the  pos- 
terior or  olecranon  process  gives  insertion  to  the  largo 
triceps  muscle  of  the  upper  arm.  Immediately  below  the 
outer  border  of  the  great  sigmoid  cavity  is  the  small 
sigmoid  cavity  for  articulation  with  the  side  of  the  head  of 
the  radius.  The  shaft  of  the  bone  possesses  three  surfaces 
for  the  attachment  of  muscles,  and  a  sharp  outer  border 
for  the  interosseous  membrane.  The  lower  end,  much 
smaller  than  the  upper,  has  a  pointed  styloid  process  and 
a  smooth  articular  surface,  the  outer  portion  of  which  is 
for  tb".  lower  end  of  the  radius,  the  lower  part  for  moving 
on  a  cartilage  of  the  wrist  joint  called  the  triangular  fibre- 
cartilage. 

The  Hand  consists  of  the  Carpus  or  wrist,  of  the  Meta- 
carpus or  palm,  and  of  the  free  Digits,  the  thumb  and  four 
fingers.  Anatomists  describe  it  with  the  palm  turned  to 
the  front,  and  with  its  axis  in  line  with  the  axis  of  the 
fore-arm. 

The  Cirpal  or  Wrist  bones  (Fig.  9)  are  eight  in  numbe? 
and  small  in  size :  they  are  arranged  in  two  rows,  a 
proximal, — i.e.  a  row  next  the  fore-arm, — consisting  of  the 
scaphoid,  semilunar,  cuneiform,  and  pisiform ;  and  a  distal, 
— i.e.  a  row  next  the  bones  of  the  palm, — consisting  of  a 
trapezium,  trapezoid,  os  magnum,  and  unciform ;  the  bones 
in  each  row  being  named  in  the  order  they  are  met  with. 


828 


ANATOMY 


[skeleton— 


frum  the  rndi.il  or  outer  to  (lie  ulnar  or  inner  side  of  the 
wrist  It  is  unnecessary  to  give  a  separate  descriptiou  of 
each  bone.  Except  the  pisiform  or  pea-shaped  bone, 
which  articulates  with  the  front  of  the  cuneiform,  each 
carpal  bone  is  short  and  irregularly  cuboidal  in  shape ;  its 
anterior  (or  palmar)  surface  and  its  posterior  (or  dorsal)  being 
rough,  for  the  attachment  of  ligaments ;  its  superior  and 
inferior  surfaces  being  invariably  smooth,  for  articulation 
with  adjacent  bone3;  whilst  the  inner  end  outer  surfaces 
are  also  smooth,  for  articulation,  except  the  outer  surfaces 
of  the  scaphoid  and  trapezium  (the  two  external  bones  of 
the  carpus),  and  the  inner  surfaces  of  the  cuneiform  and 
unciform  (the  two  internal  bones).  Occasionally  a  ninth  or 
supernumerary  bone  may  arise  from  the  subdivision  of  the 
scaphoid,  semilunar,  or  trapezoid,  into  two  pieces ;  more 
rarely  a  distinct  bone  is  found  in  the  human  wrist  inter- 
calated between  the  trapezoid,  os  magnum,  semilunar,  and 
scaphoid,  which  corresponds  in  position  to  the  os  inter- 
medium, found  constantly  in  the  wrist  of  the  orang,  gibbon, 
the  tailed  apes,  and  many  rodents  and  insectivora, 
Mew-  The  Metacarpal  bones,  or  hones  of  the  Palm  of  the  Hand, 

=aTus-  are  five  in  number  (Fig.  9).  They  are  miniature  long 
bones,  and  each  possesses  a  shaft  and  two  extremities. 
The  metacarpal  of  the  thumb  is  the  shortest,  and  diverges 
outwards  from  the  rest :  its  carpal  extremity  is  saddle- 
shaped,  for  articulation  with  the  trapezium ;  its  shaft  is 
somewhat  compressed,  and  its  phalangeal  end  is  smooth 
and  rounded,  for  the  first  phalanx  of  the  thumb.  The 
four  other  metacarpal  bones  belong  to  the  four  fingers  : 
they  are  almost  parallel  to  each  other,  and  diminish  in  size 
from  the  second  to  the  fifth.  Their  carpal  ends  articulate 
with  the  trapezoid,  os  magnum,  and  unciform  :  their  shafts 
are  three-sided  :  their  phalangeal  ends  articulate  with  the 
first  phalanges  of  the  fingers. 
Digits.  The  number  of  Digits  in  the  hand  is  five,  which  is  the 

highest  number  found  in  the  mammalia.  They  are  dis- 
tinguished by  the  names  of  pollex  or  thumb,  and  index, 
middle,  ring,  and  little  fingers.  Their  skeleton  consists  of 
fourteen  bones,  named  phalanges,  of  which  the  thumb 
possesses  two,  and  each  of  the  four  fingers  three.  The 
phalanx  next  the  metacarpal  bone  is  the  first,  that  which 
carries  the  nail  is  the  terminal  or  ungual  phalanx,  whilst 
the  intermediate  bone  is  the  second  phalanx.  Each  is  a 
miniature  long  bone,  with  two  articular  extremities  and  an 
intermediate  shaft,  except  the  terminal  phalanges,  which 
have  an  articular  surface  only  at  their  proximal  ends,  the 
distal  end  being  rounded  and  rough,  to  afford  a  surface 
for  the  lodgment  of  the  nail. 

The  Inferior  or  Pelvic  Extremity,  or  Lower  Limb, 
consists  of  a  proximal  part  or  haunch,  a  distal  part  or  foot, 
and  an  intermediate  shaft  subdivided  into  thigh  and  kg. 
Each    part    has  v 

its  appropriate 
skeleton :  in  the 
haunch,  the  pel- 
vie  or  innomi- 
nate bone;  in  the 
thigh,  the  femur; 
in  the   leg,  the  i> 

tibia  and  fibula  Fro.  10.— Diagrammatic  section  to  represent  the  relations 
..-,        .i  •    -l     i  of  the  Pei/ic  Girdle  to  the  Trunk.    V,  a  sacral  Tertebra ; 

Itne  inign-DOne  n,  the  Ulnm;  P,  the  two  pubic  bonee  meeting  In  front 
in      man      being      at  the  symphysis;  F,  the  femur. 

longer  than  the  leg-bones) ;  in  front  of  the  knee,  the 
patella ;  in  the  foot,  the  tarsal  and  metatarsal  bones  and 
phalanges.  The  bone  of  the  haunch  forms  an  arch  or 
Pelvic  Girdle,  which  articulates  behind  with  the  side  of  the 
sacrum,  and  arches  forward  to  articulate  with  the  opposite 
haunch -bone  at  the  pubic  symphysis.  It  is  the  direct 
medium  of  connection  between  the  axial  skeleton  and  the 
ahaft  and  foot,  which  form  a  freo  divergent  Appendage. 


The  Os  Innominatum,  or  I  launch  bone,  is  a  large  irre- 
gular plate-like  bone,  which  forms  the  lateral  and  auteriol 
boundary  of  the  cavity  of  the  pelvis.  In  early  life  it  con- 
sists of  three  bones — ilium,  ischium,  and  pubis — which 
unite  about  the  twenty-fifth  year  into  a  single  bone. 
These  bones  converge,  and  join  to  form  a  deep  fossa  or 
cup,  the  acetabulum  or  cotyloid  cavity,  on  the  outer  surface 
of  the  bone,  which  lodges  the  head  of  the  thigh-bone  at 
the  hip-joint.  One-fifth  of  this  cup  is  formed  by  the 
pubes,  and  about  two-fifths  each  by  the  ischium  and  ilium. 
At  the  bottom  of  the  acetabulum  is  a  depression,  to  the 
sides  of  which  the  interarticular  ligament  of  the  hip-joint 
is  attached.  From  the  acetabulum  the  ilium  extends 
upwards  and  backwards,  the  ischium  downwards  and 
backwards,  the  pubis  forwards  and  inwards.  In  front  of 
the  acetabulum  is  a  large  hole,  the  obturator  or  thyroid 
foramen,  which  is  bounded  by  the  ischium  and  pubes; 
behind  the  acetabulum  is  the 
deep  sciatic  notch,  which  is 
bounded  by  the  ischium  and 
ilium. 

The  Ilium  (Fig.  10)  in  man 
is  a  broad  plate  -  like  bone. 
In  its  most  simple  form,  as  in 
the  kangaroo;  it  is  a  three- 
sided,  prismatic,  rod-like  bone, 
one  end  of  which  enters  into 
the  formation  of  the  acetabu- 
lum, whilst  the  other  is  free, 
and  forms  the  iliac  crest.  In 
man,  notwithstanding  its  ex 
panded  form,  three  surfaces 
may  also  be  recognised,  cor- 
responding to  the  surfaces  in 
the  ilium  of  the  kangaroo;  and,  as 
in  that  animal,  the  lower  end 
aids  in  forming  the  acetabulum, 
while  the  upper  end  forms 
the  iliac  crest,  which,  in  man, 
in  conformity  with  the  general 
expansion  of  the  bone,  is  elon- 
gated into  the  sinuous  crest 
of  the  ilium.  This  crest  is  of 
great  importance,  for  it  affords 
attachment  to  the  broad  muscles 
which  form  the  wall  of  the  ab- 
dominal cavity.  One  surface  of 
the  ilium  is  external,  and  marked 
by  curved  lines  which  subdivide 
it  into  areas  for  the  origin  of 
the  muscles  of  the  buttock ; 
another  surface  is  anterior,  and 
hollowed  out  to  give  origin  to 
the  iliacus  muscle ;  the  third, 
or  internal,  surface  articulates  fio.  11,-ihe  Appendicular  skeleton 
posteriorly    with   the    sacrum,     ?f  the  }ftl  L""er  H1?"-  .,."•  i!l.um• 

*   ...  •'.,..  'Is,  ischium,    Pb,  pubis,  the  three 

whilst  anteriorly  it  forms  a  part    parts  of  the  innominate  bnne;  f, 

of    thfi  wall  nf    tlio  trim    nplviu        femur;  P,  patella;  Tb,  tibia;   Fb. 
OI    tue  t\  ail  01    ine  true    peiVlS.      fibula;  Tr.  opposite  the  aeventBrsal 

The  external  is  separated  from     bones;  c,  os  caicis,  forming  promi- 

.1  r        i  i       j  nence  of  heel ;  Mt,  opposite  the  five 

the  anterior  surface  by  a  border    metatarsal  bones;  n.  hallux  or 

which  joins  the  antprinr  end  of     Kreat  ,oe;  "•  »''cond.  '"■  i^'"i. 
wmi.ii  juius  me  anterior  enu  oi     ,v   fourlh_  v   flflh  or  ,lrtle  tM_ 

the  Crest,  where  it  forms  a  pro-      The  dotted  line  HH  represents  the 
-„„„   ii,,,        ,      .  •  ■  horizontal  plane,  whilst  the  dotted 

cess,  the  anterior  superior  spine.  „ne  v  „  ln"  „„„  „uh  the  Tert,ca; 
About  the  middle  of  this  border  ««  of tne  »P|ne. 
is  the  anterior  inferior  spine.  Between  the  externaland  inter- 
nal surfaces  is  a  border  on  which  are  found  the  posterior 
superior andinferior  spines;  between  the  anteriorand  internal 
surfaces  is  the  pectineal  border,  which  forms  part  of  the  line 
of  separation  between  the  true  and  false  pelvis. 

The  Pubis  (Fig.  11)  is  also  a  three-sided,  prismatic,  rod- 


Ilium. 


LOWER    LIMB.J 


ANATOMY 


829 


like  bone,  the  fundamental  form  of  which  13  obscured  by 
the  modification  in  shape  of  its  inner  end.  In  human 
anatomy  it  is  customary  to  regard  it  as  consisting  of  a 
body  and  of  two  branches,  a  horizontal  and  a  descending 
ramus.  The  body  and  horizontal  ramus  form  the  funda- 
mental prismatic  rod,  and  the  descending  ramus  is  merely 
a  special  offshoot  from  the  inner  end  of  the  rod.  The 
outer  end  of  the  rod  takes  a  part  in  the  formation  of  the 
acetabulum ;  the  inner  end  is  expanded  into  the  body  of 
the  pubis,  and  ha3  a  broad  margin,  or  symphysis,  for 
articulation  with  the  corresponding  bone  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  pelvis.  The  three  surfaces  are — a  superior,  for 
the  origin  of  the  pectineus  muscle ;  a  posterior,  which 
enters  into  the  wall  of  the  true  pelvis ;  and  an  inferior, 
which  forms  the  upper  boundary  of  the  obturator  foramen. 
The  descending  ramus  is  merely  a  downward  prolongation 
of  the  inner  end  of  the  bone  which  joins  the  ischium,  and 
aids  in  forming  the  side  of  the  pubic  arch.  The  junction 
of  the  outer  end  of  the  pubi3  with  the  ilium  is  marked  by 
the  pectineal  eminence.  The  superior  and  posterior  sur- 
faces are  separated  by  the  sharp  pectineal  line,  which, 
starting  from  the  spine  of  the  pubis,  runs  outwards  to  aid 
in  forming  the  brim  of  the  true  pelvis. 

am  The  Ischium  (Fig.  11),  like  the  ilium  and  pubis,  has 

the  fundamental  form  of  a  three-sided  prismatic  rod.  One 
extremity  (the  upper)  completes  the  acetabulum,  whilst 
the  lower  forms  the  large  prominence,  or  tuber  ischii.  The 
surfaces  of  the  bone  are  internal  or  pelvic,  external,  and 
anterior.  The  pelvic  and  external  surfaces  are  separated 
from  each  other  by  a  sharp  border,  on  which  is  seen  the 
ischial  spine.  The  pelvic  and  anterior  surfaces  are  sepa- 
rated by  a  border,  which  forms  a  part  of  the  boundary  of 
the  obturator  foramen;  but  the  margin  between  the  external 
and  anterior  surfaces  is  feebly  marked.  The  tuberosity, 
a  thick,  rough,  and  strong  process,  gives  origin  to 
several  powerful  muscles :  on  it  the  body  rests  in  the 
sitting  posture ;  an  offshoot,  or  ramus,  ascends  from  it 
to  join  the  descending  ramus  of  the  pubis,  and  com- 
pletes both  the  pubic  arch  and  the  margin  of  the  obturator 
foramen. 

i  By  the  articulation .  of  the  two  innominate  bones  with 

each  other  in  front  at  the  pubic  symphysis,  and  with  the 
sides  of  the  sacrum  behind,  the  osseous  walls  of  the  cavity 
of  the  Pelvis  are  formed.  This  cavity  is  subdivided  into 
a  false  and  a  true  pelvis.  The  false  pelvis  lies  between 
the  expanded  wing"-like  portions  of  the  two  ilia.  The  true 
pelvis  lies  below  the  two  pectineal  lines  and  the  base  of 
the.  sacrum,  which  surround  the  upper  orifice  or  brim  of 
the  true  pelvis,  or  pelvic  inlet;  whilst  its  lower  orifice  or 
outlet  is  bounded  behind  by  the  coccyx,  laterally  by  the 
ischial  tuberosities,  and  in  front  by  the  pubic  arch.  In 
the  erect  attitude  the  pelvis  is  so  inclined  that  the  plane 
of  the  brim  forms  with  the  horizontal  plane  an  angle  of 
from  60°  to  65°.  The  axis  of  the  cavity  is  curved,  and  is 
represented  by  a  line  drawn  perpendicularly  to  the  planes 
of  the  brim,  the  cavity,  and  the  outlet;  at  the  brim  it  is 
directed  upwards  and  forwards,  at  the  outlet  downwards 
and  a  little  forwards.  Owing  to  the  inclination  of  the 
pelvis,  the  base  of  the  sacrum  is  nearly  4  inches  higher 
than  the  upper  border  of  the  pubic  symphysis.  The  female 
pelvis  is  distinguished  from  the  male  by  certain  sexual 
characters.  The  bones  are  more  slender,  the  ridges  and 
processes  for  muscular  attachment  more  feeble,  the  breadth 
and  capacity  greater,  the  depth  less",  the  ilia  more  expanded, 
giving  the  greater  breadth  to  the  hips  of  a  woman  than  a 
man;  the  inlet  more  nearly  circular,  the  pubic  arch  wider,  the 
distance  between  the  tuberosities  greater,  and  the  obturator 
foramen  more  triangular  in  the  female  than  in  the  male. 
The  greater  capacity  of  the  woman's  than  the  man's  pelvis 
likt    afford  greater  room  for  the  expansion  of  the  uterus 


during  pregnancy,  and  for  the  expulsion  of  tho  child  at 
the  time  of  birth. 

The  Femur  or  Thigh-bone  (Fig.  II)  is  the  longest  bone  Feiuut, 
in  the  body,  and  consists  of  a  shaft  and  two  extremities.  The 
upper  extremity  ex  head  possesses  a  smooth  convex  surface, 
in  which  an  oval  roughened  fossa,  for  the  attachment  of 
the  inter-articular  ligament  of  the  hip,  is  found;  from  the 
head  a  strong  elongated  neck  passes  downwards  and  out- 
wards to  join  the  upper  end  of  the  shaft;  the  place  of 
junction  is  marked  by  two  processes  or  trochanters:  the 
external  is  of  large  size,  and  to  it  are  attached  many 
muscles;  the  internal  is  much  smaller,  and  gives  attach- 
ment to  the  psoas  and  iliacus.  A  line  drawn  through  the 
axis  of  the  head  and  neck  forms  with  a  vertical  line  drawn 
through  the  shaft  an  angle  of  30°;  in  a  woman  this  angle 
is  less  obtuse  than  in  a  man,  and  the  obliquity  of  the 
shaft  of  the  femur  is  greater  in  the  former  than  in  the 
latter.  The  shaft  is  almost  cylindrical  about  its  centre, 
but  expanded  above  and  below;  its  front  and  sides  give 
origin  to  the  extensor  muscles  of  the  leg;  behind  there  is 
a  rough  ridge,  which,  though  called  linea  aspera,  is  really 
a  narrow  surface  and  not  a  line;  it  gives  attachment  to 
several  muscles.  The  lower  end  of  the  bone  presents 
a  large  smooth  articular  surface  for  the  knee-joint,  the 
anterior  portion  of  which  forms  a  trochlea  or  pulley  for  the 
movements  of  the  patella,  whilst  the  lower  and  posterior 
part  is  subdivided  into  two  convex  condyles  by  a  deep 
fossa  which  gives  attachment  to  the  crucial  ligaments  of 
the  knee.  The  inner  and  outer  surfaces  of  this  end  of  the 
bone  are  rough,  for  the  attachment  of  muscles  and  the 
lateral  ligaments  of  the  knee. 

The  Patella  or  Knee-pan  (Fig.  11)  is  a  small  triangular  Patelta 
flattened  bone  developed  in  the  tendon  of  the  great  .extensor 
muscles  of  the  leg.  Its  anterior  surface  and  6ides  are 
rough,  for  the  attachment  of  the  fibres  of  that  tendon ;  its 
posterior  surface  is  smooth,  and  enters  into  the  formation 
of  the  knee-joint. 

Between  the  two  bones  of  the  leg  there  are  no  move- 
ments of  pronation  and  supination  as  between  the  two 
bones  of  the  fore-arm  The  tibia  and  fibula  are  fixed  in 
position;  the  fibula  is  always  external,  the  tibia  internal 

The  Tibia  or  Shin-bone  (Fig.  1 1 )  is  the  larger  and  TibU. 
more  important  of  the  two  bones  of  the  leg;  the  femur 
moves  and  rests  upon  its  upper  end,  and  down  it  the 
weight  of  the  body  in  the  erect  position  is  transmitted  to 
the  foot  Except  the  femur,  it  is  the  longest  bone  of  the 
skeleton,  and  consists  of  a  shaft  and  two  extremities.  The 
upper  extremity  is  broad,  and  is  expanded  into  two  tuber- 
osities, the  external  of  which  has  a  small  articular  facet 
inferiorly,  for  the  head  of  the  fibula;  superiorly,  the  tuber- 
osities have  two  smooth  surfaces,  for  articulation  with  the 
condyles  of  the  femur;  they  are  separated.by  an  intermediate 
rough  surface,  from  which  a  short  spine  projects,  which  gives 
attachments  to  the  inter-articular  crucial  ligaments  and 
semilunar  cartilages  of  the  knee,  and  lies  opposite  the  inter- 
condyloid  fossa  of  the  femur.  The  shaft  of  the  bone  is 
three-sided;  its  inner  surface  is  subcutaneous,  and  forms 
the  shin ;  its  outer  and  posterior  surfaces  are  for  the  origin 
of  muscles;  the  anterior  border  forms  the  sharp  ridge  of  the 
shin,  and  terminates  superiorly  in  a  tubercle  for  the  inser- 
tion of  the  extensor  tendon  of  the  leg;  the  outer  border 
of  the  bone  gives  attachment  to  the  inter-osseous  membrane 
of  the  leg.  The  lower  end  of  the  bone,  smaller  than  the 
upper,  is  prolonged  into  a  broad  process,  internal  malleolus, 
which  forms  the  inner  prominence  of  the  ankle:  its  under 
surface  is  smooth  for  articulation  with  the  astragalus;  exter- 
nally it  articulates  with  the  lower  end  of  the  fibula. 

The  Fibula,  or  Splint-bone  of  the  leg  (Fig.  11),  is  a  ftbolt 
slender  long  bone  with  a  shaft  and  two  extremities.     The 
upper  end  "r  head  articulates  with  the  outer  tuberosity  of 


830 


ANATOMY 


[SKELETON -- 


the  tibia.  The  shaft  is  three-sided,  and  roughened  for  the 
origins  of  muscles ;  along  the  inner  surface  is  a  slender 
ridge  for  the  attachment  of  the  interosseous  membrane. 
The  lower  end  has  a  strong  process  {external  malleolus) 
projecting  downwards  to  form  the  outer  prominence  of  the 
ankle,  and  possesses  a  smooth  inner  surface  for  articulation 
with  the  astragalus,  above  which  is  a  rough  surface  for  the 
attachment  of  ligaments  which  bind  together  the  tibia  and 
fibula. 

The  Foot  consists  of  the  Tarsus,  the  Metatarsus,  and  the 
five  free  Digits  or  Toes,  which  is  the  maximum  number 
found  in  mammals.  The  human  foot  is  placed  in  the  prone 
position,  with  the  sole  or  plantar  surface  in  relation  to  the 
ground  ;  the  dorsum  or  back  of  the  foot  directed  upwards  ; 
the  axis  of  the  foot  at  about  a  right  angle  to  the  axis  of  the 
leg  ;  and  the  great  toe  or  hallux,  which  is  the  corresponding 
digit  to  the  thumb,  at  the  inner  border  of  the  foot.  The 
human  foot,  therefore,  is  a  pentadactylous,  plantigrade  foot. 

The  bones  of  the  Tarsus,  or  Ankle  (Fig.  11,  Tr),  are  seven 
in  number,  and  are  arranged  in  two  transverse  rows, — a 
proximal,  next  the  bones  of  the  leg,  consisting  of  the 
astragalus,  os  calcis,  and  scaphoid ;  a  di.stal,  next  the 
metatarsus,  consisting  of  the  cuboid,  ccto-,  meso-,  and 
ento-cuneiform.  If  the  tarsal  bones  be  looked  at  along 
with  those  of  the  metatarsus  and  toes,  the  bones  of  the 
loot  may  be  arranged  in  two  longitudinal  columns, — an 
Duter,  consisting  of  the  os  calcis,  cuboid,  and  the  metatarsal 
bones  and  phalanges  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  toes ;  an  inner 
column  consisting  of  the  astragalus,  scaphoid,  three  cunei- 
form, and  the  metatarsal  bones  and  phalanges  of  the  first, 
second,  and  third  toes.  The  tarsal,  like  the  carpal  bones, 
are  short  and  irregularly  cuboidal ;  the  dorsal  and  plantar 
surfaces  are  as  a  rule  rough  for  ligaments,  but  as  the 
astragalus  i3  locked  in  between  the  bones  of  the  leg  and 
the  os  calcis,  its  dorsal  and  plantar  surfaces,  as  well 
as  the  dorsum  of  the  os  calcis,  are  smooth  for  articu- 
lation ;  similarly,  its  lateral  surfaces  are  smooth  for 
articulation  with  the  two  malleoli.  The  posterior  surface 
of  the  os  calcis  projects  backwards  to  form  the  prominence 
of  the  heeL  With  this  exception,  the  bones  have  their 
anterior  and  posterior  surfaces  smooth  for  articulation. 
Their  lateral  surfaces  are  also  articular,  except  the  outer 
surface  of  the  os  calcis  and  cuboid,  which  form  the  outer 
border;  and  the  inner  surface  of  the  os  calcis,  scaphoid, 
and  ento-cuneiform,  which  form  the  inner  border  of  the 
tarsus.  A  supernumerary  bone  is  sometimes  found  in  the 
human  tarsus,  from  a  subdivision  of  either  the  ento-cunei- 
form, astragalus,  os  calcis,  or  cuboid  into  two  parts.  In 
some  rodents  and  other  mammals  eight  is  the  normal 
number  of  bones  in  the  tarsus. 

The  Metatarsal  bones  and  the  Phalanges  of  the  toes 
agree  in  number  and  general  form  with  the  metacarpal 
bones  and  the  phalanges  in  the  hand.  The  bones  of  the 
great  toe  or  hallux  are  more  massive  than  those  of  the 
other  digits,  and  this  digit,  unlike  the  thumb  or  pollex, 
does  not  diverge  from  the  other  digits,  but  lies  almost 
parallel  to  them. 

Development  and  Homologies  of  the  Skeleton. 

Tt  will  now  be  advisable  to  consider  briefly  the  mode  of  develop- 
ment of  the  skeleton,  and  along  with  the  study  of  its  gcivtsis  tu 
compare  its  several  parts  with  each  other,  in  order  to  tscerrai^  if 
correspondences  in  their  arrangement  and  mode  of  origin  exist,  e;es 
if  they  differ  in  the  function  or  office  which  they  perform.  When 
■two  or  more  parts  or  organs  correspond  with  each  other  in  structure, 
relative  position,  and  mode  of  origin,  we  say  they  are  homologous 
ports,  or  homologuu;  whilst  parts  which  have  the  same  function, 
tut  do  not  correspond  in  structure,  relative  position,  and  mode  of 
origin,  are  analogous  parts,  or  analogues.  Homologous  parts  have 
therefore  a  morphological  identity  with  each  other,  whilst  analogous 
parts  have  a  physiological  agreement.  The  same  parts  may  be 
both  homologous  and  analogous,  as  the  fore-limbs  of  a  bat  and  a 


bird,  both  of  which,  with  the  same  fundamental  type  of  structure, 
are  subservient  to  flight.  In  other  cases  analogous  parts  are  not. 
homologues,  as  is  illustrate)  by  the  wing  of  the  insect,  which, 
though  subservient  to  Might,  is  fundamentally  different  in  structure. 
from  the  wing  of  the  bat  or  bird. 

In  the  germinal  area  of  the  fertilised  vertebrate  ovum  a  longitudi- 
nal groove  appears  which  nr-ks  the  beginning  of  the  cranial  cavity 
and  spinal  canal  of  the  young  embryo.  At  the  bottom  of  this  cranio- 
spinal groove  a  slender  rod  is  formed,  called  chorda  dorsalii  or  nu.'o- 
chord.  Each  side  of  the  groove  then  becomes  elevated  as  a  thin  mem- 
brane, to  meet  behind  to  enclose  a  canal  in  which  the  brain  and  spinal 
marrow  are  developed.  Small  dark  masses,  the  primordial  or  proto- 
vertebra:,  next  form  on  each  side  of  the  chorda  dorsalis.  In  these 
proto-veitebra,  about  the  sixth  or  seventh  week  of  infra-uterine 
life  of  the  human  ovum,  little  masses  of  cartilage  appear,  which 
correspond  in  number  and  position  to  the  future  spinal  vertebral. 
The  part  of  the  cartilage  which  forms  the  body  of  the  future  vertebra 
is  developed  around  the  chorda  dorsalis,  which  it  encloses  in  its 
substance,  whilst  the  cartilaginous  neural  arch  forms  in  the  mem- 
brane which  closes  in  the  spinal  canal.  The  formation  of  these 
cartilaginous  vertebrae  is  completed  in  the  human  embryo  about  the 
fourth  month  of  intra-uterine  life.  The  bodies  of  the  cartila-ginous 
vertebra;  are  connected  together  by  plates  or  discs  of  intervening 
fibro-cartilage,  which  are  also  developed  around  the  chorda  dorsalis. 
After  the  enclosure  of  the  rod-like  chorda  by  the  cartilaginous 
vertebrae^and  the  intervertebral  discs  it  disappears,  no  remains 
being  found  in  the  adult  human  body,  or  in  that  of  the  higher 
vertebrates,  except  perhaps  some  slight  traces  in  the  soft  pulpy 
centres  of  the  inter-vertebral  discs  ;  although  in  the  cartilaginous  fish 
it  remains  as  a  more  or  less  complete  structure  throughout  life. 

In  each  of  the  cartilaginous  vertebra)  bone  begins  to  form  and 
to  spread  beyond  its  original  point  of  formation,  which  is  called 
a  centre  or  nucleus  of  ossification;  the  greater  part  of  the  body  is. 
formed  from  one  of  time  centres,  and  each  half  of  the  neural  arch 
from  another;  whilst  small  ossific  centres  arise  for  the  tips  of  the 
spinous,  transverse,  and  mammillary  processes,  and  a  special  plate 
appears  for  both  the  upper  and  lower  surfaces  of  the  body  ;  thn 
fusion  of  the  various  centres  together  to  form  a  complete  vertebra 
takes  place  between  the  twentieth  and  twenty-fifth  year.  The 
atlas  has  a  separate  centre  for  each  lateral  mass  and  one  for  the 
anterior  boundary  of  the  ring.  The  axis,  in  addition  to  the  ossific 
centres  found  in  the  vertebra  generally,  has  one  or  two  for  the 
odontoid  process.  The  seventh  cervical  vertebra  has  the  anterior 
bar  of  its  transverse  process  developed  from  a  separate  centre.  Each 
coccygeal  vertebra  possesses  only  a  single  centre,  which  represents 
the  body  of  the  bone. 

At  the  time  when  the  cranio-spinal  canal  is  being  closed  in  by 
the  development  of  its  membranous  walls,  the  germinal  layers  of 
the  young  embryo  grow  towards  its  anterior  or  ventral  surface,  and 
meet  in  the  ventral  mesial  line,  so  as  to  enclose  the  cavities  in  which 
tho  thoracic  and  abdominal  viscera  are  developed.  In  the  membranous 
wall  on  each  side  of  the  thoracic  cavity  twelve  cartilaginous  rods, 
the  future  ribs,  are  developed ;  and,  connected  with  the  anterior  end& 
of  the  seven  pairs  of  upper  ribs,  the  cartilaginous  sternum  is  formed 
Each  rib  ossifies  from  one  centre  for  its  shaft,  and  one  each  for  the 
head  and  tubercle.  The  sternum  ossifies  in  transverse  segments, — 
one  for  the  prae-sternum,  one  or  sometimes  two  for  each  of  the  four 
subdivisions  of  the  meso-sternum,  and  one  for  the  xiphi-sternum. 
The  complete  ossification  and  fusion  of  the  different  parts  of  the 
sternum  into  a  single  bone  does  not  take  place  until  an  advanced  age. 

The  axial  part  of  the  skeleton,  formed  by  the  vertebral,  ribs,  and 
sternum,  is  built  up  of  a  series  of  thirty-three  transverse  segments, 
equal  in  number,  therefore,  to  the  bones  of  the  spine ;  so  that  each 
vertebra,  according  as  it  is,  or  is  not,  articulated  with  a  pair  of 
ribs  and  a  segment  of  the  sternum,  constitutes  a  complete  or 
incomplete  transverse  segment.  These  several  segments  are  serially 
homologous  with  each  other,  but  the  homology  is  not  so  complete 
in  some  of  the  segments  as  in  the  others.  In  the  coccygeal,  sacral, 
and  lumbar  regions  of  man  and  most  vertebrates,  only  the  verte- 
bral portion  of  each  skeletal  segment  is  represented,  though  in  the 
abdominal  wall  of  the  crocodiles  abdominal  ribs  and  a  sternum  are 
developed.  In  the  thoracic  region  the  five  lowest  dorsal  vertebra; 
have  five  pairs  of  ribs  developed  in  connection  with  them ;  whilst 
the  seven  highest  vertebra;  have  not  only  their  corresponding  pairs 
of  ribs,  but  also  a  sternum,  which  bone,  however,  has  only  six  trans- 
verse segments.  In  the  cervical  region  seven  vertebrae  are  found, 
but  the  anterior  bar  of  the  transverse  process,  although  fused  with 
the  vertebral  body,  is  homologous  with  a  rib,  for  in  man  it  some- 
times develops  as  a  distinct  movable  rib  in  connection  with  the 
seventh  cervical  ;  and  in  the  crocodiles  small  movable  ribs  are 
regularly  developed  in  connection  with  the  different  cervical  verte- 
brae. The  bodies  and  neural  arches  of  the  vertebra;  are  serially 
homologous  with  each  other;  as  a  rule  this  is  also  the  case  with 
their  processes,  but  the  articular  processes  of  the  atlas  and  the 
superior  pair  of  the  axis,  although  functionally  analogous,  ore  rwf 
homologous  with  the  articular  processes  of  the  other  vertebra? 
with  the  articular  siulaeea  for  the  ribs  on  the  bodies  of  th*   Au^ai 


DEVELOPMENT.] 


ANATOMY 


831 


vertebrae,  for  they  li-?  in  front  of,  ana  not  behind,  the  vertebral 
notches  through  which  the  spinal  nerves  are  transmitted.  The 
development  of  the  odontoid  process  of  the  axis  shows  it  to  be  the 
tody  of  the  atlas  displaced  from  its  proper  bone  and  fused  with  the 
body  of  the  axis. 

The  development  and  homology  of  the  skull  is  a  much  more 
difficult  problem  to  solve  than  that  of  the  spine.  The  chorda 
dorsalis  extends  along  the  floor  of  the  skull  as  far  forward  as  the 
posterior  wall  of  the  pituitary  fossa.  Cartilage  is  formed  around  it, 
without,  however,  the  previous  production  of  proto-vertebne,  and 
this  cartilage  is  prolonged  forward  on  each  side  of  the  fossa,  forming 
two  bars,  the  trabecule  cranii ;  these  bars  then  unite,  and  form  the 
mes-ethraoid  cartilage ;  at  the  same  time  the  cartilage  grows  out- 
wards for  some  distance  in  the  membranous  wall  of  the  skull,  but 
it  does  not  mount  upwards  so  as  to  close  it  in  superiorly,  so  that 
the  cartilage  is  limited  to  the  floor  of  the  skull ;  moreover,  the 
cartilage  is  not  segmented.  The  roof,  side  walls,  and  anterior  wall 
of  the  cranium  retain  for  a  time  their  primordial  membranous  struc- 
ture. This  membrane  is  prolonged  downwards  into  the  face  proper, 
where  it  forms  a  pair  of  maxillary  lobes  or  processes,  which  pass 
forwards  beneath  the  eyes  to  form  the  side  parts  of  the  face,  and 
a  mid-  or  frontal-nasal  process,  into  which  the  cartilaginous  mes- 
ethmoid  extends.  Immediately  below  each  maxillary  lobe  four 
arches,  called  branchial  or  visceral,  arise  in  the  ventral  aspect  of  the 
head,  and  in  each  of  the  three  first  of  these  arches  a  rod  of  cartilage 
is  formed.  The  arches  on  opposite  sides  unite  with  each  other  in 
the  ventral  mesial  line,  but  those  on  the  same  side  are  separated 
from  each  other  by  intermediate  branchial  clefts;  these  clefts  all 
close  up  in  course  of  time,  except  the  upper  part  of  the  first,  which 
remains  as  the  external  meatus  of  the  ear,  the  tympanum,  and  the 
Eustachian  tube ;  whilst  the  interval  between  the  first  visceral  arch 
and  the  maxillary  lobes  forms  the  cavity  of  the  mouth.  Tho  con- 
version of  the  primordial  cartilaginous  and  membranous  cranium 
into  the  bones  of  the  head  takes  place  by  the  formation  in  it  of 
numerous  centres  of  ossification.  The  basi-,  ex-,  and  so  much  of  the 
supra-occipital  as  lies  below  the  superior  curved  line,  are  formed 
from  distinct  centres  in  the  cartilaginous  floor  of  the  skull ;  whilst 
the  part  of  the  supra-occipital  above  the  curved  line  arises  from 
independent  centres  in  the  membranous  cranium,  the  whole  ulti- 
mately fusing  together  to  form  the  occipital  bone.  The  basi-  or 
post-sphenoid,  the  pre-  with  the  orbito-sphenoids,  theali-sphenoid 
with  the  external  pterygoid  and  the  internal  pterygoid,  also  arise 
in  the  cartilaginous  floor,  and  they,  together  with  the  sphenoidal 
spongy  .bones  which  are  formed  in  the  membranous  cranium,  fuse 
into  the  sphenoid  bone.  The  palate  is  apparently  formed  by  ossifica- 
tion of  cartilage  continuous  with  the  bar  in  which  the  internal 
pterygoid  arises.  The  central  plate  and  each  lateral  mass  of  the 
ethmoid  also  arise  in  the  cartilage  by  distinct  centres.  The  inferior 
turbinal  has  also  a*distinct  origin  in  cartilage.  The  petro-ma^toid 
part  of  the  temporal  arises  in  cartilage  from  at  least  three  centres, 
peri-,  pro-,  and  opisth-otic,  and  soon  blends  with  the  squamous 
and  tympanic  elements  which  arise  in  the  membranous  cranium ; 
subsequently  the  styloid  process,  which  is  ossified  in  the  rod  of 
cartilage  in  the  second  visceral  arch,  joins  the  temporal.  The  lower 
end  of  this  same  rod  forms  the  lesser  cornu  of  the  hyoid ;  the  upper 
end  forms  two  small  bones,  the  stapes  and  incus,  situated  within 
the  cavity  of  the  tympanum.  The  cartilage  of  the  third  visceral 
arch  forms  the  great  cornu  and  body  of  the  hyoid  bone.  The  name 
of  Meckel's  cartilage  is  applied  to  the  rod  found  in  the  first  visceral 
arch  ;  its  upper  end  is  ossified  into  the  malleus,  a  small  bone 
situated  in  the  tympanic  cavi  ty ;  whilst  in  the  membrane  sur- 
rounding the  rest  of  the  cartilage  the  lower  jaw-bone  is  formed. 
The  parietal  and  frontal  bones  arise  altogether  in  the  membranous 
vault ;  and  the  nasal,  lachrymal,  malar,  and  superior  maxillae  arise 
in  connection  with  the  bones  which  form  the  face ;  the  vomer  is 
developed  in  the  membrane  investing  the  mes-ethmcid  cartilage. 
The  human  superior  maxilla  represents  not  only  the  superior  maxilla 
of  other  vertebrates,  but  the  pre-maxillary  bone  also ;  but  the  two 
bones  become  fused  together-  at  so  very  early  a  period  that  it  is 
difficult  to  recognise  their  original  independence.  In  the  deformity 
of  hare-lip  and  cleft  palate,  they  are  not  unfrequently  separated  by 
a  distinct  fissure. 

Since  the  time  when  Oken  and  Goethe  propounded  the  theory 
that  the  skull  was  built  up  of  several  vertebrae,  the  vertebral  struc- 
ture of  the  skull  has  led  to  much  discussion  amongst  anatomists. 
Every  one  admits  that  the  skull  is  in  series  with  the  spine,  that 
the  cranial  cavity  is  continuous  with  the  spinal  canal,  and  that  the 
cranial  vault  is  formed  in  the  wall  of  the  embryonic  cerebro-spinal 
canal.  The  skull  also,  like  the  spine,  is  transversely  segmented, 
but  whether  we  regard  these  segments  as  vertebra  or  not  will 
depend  upon  the  conception  we  entertain  of  tM  meaning  of  the 
term  vertebra.  If  with  Owen  we  define  a  vertebra  to  be  "one  of 
those  segments  of  the  endo-skeieton  which  constitute  the  axis  of 
the  body  amd  the  protective  canals  of  the  nervous  and  vascular 
trunks,  then  we  may  support  the  vertebral  nature  of  the  cranial 
segments  on  the  following  grounds: — 1st,  The  presence  of  a  series, 
of  bones  extending  forwards  from  the, foramen  magnunj  along  the 


basis  cranii,  in  6eries  with  the  bodies  of  the  spinal  vertebrae,— -e.g.,. 
the  basi-occipital,  basi-sphenoid,  pre-sphenoid,  mes-ethmoid  (fig.  7); 
2d,  The  presence  of  a  series  of  neural  arches  which  enclose  and 
complete  the  wall  of  the  cranial  cavity,  and  lie  in  series  with  the 
neural  arches  of  the  spinal  vertebra, — e.g.,  the  ex-  and  supra-occi- 
pitals,  which  form  the  neural  arches  of  the  basi-occipital  segment ; 
the  ali-sphenoids  and  parietals,  which  form  the  neural  arches  of 
the  basi-sphenoid  segment;  the  orbito-sphenoids  and  frontal,  which 
form  the  neural  arches  of  the  pre-sphenoid  segment  ;  3d,  The 
presence  of  a  series  of  visceral  arches  of  which  the  mandibular  and 
byoidean  enclose  the  alimentary  and  vascular  canals,  just  as  the 
ribs  enclose  them  in  the  thorax  ;  and  ilh,  The  presence  of  foramina 
between  the  cranial  segments  like  the  inter-vertebral  foramina 
between  the  spinal  vertebra  for  the  transmission  of  nerves,— e.g., 
the  sphenoidal  fissure  and  the  jugular  foramen. 

But  if  we  are  to  regard  a  vertebra  as  a  segment  of  the  axial 
skeleton,  which  in  course  of  its  formation  passes  through  a  definite 
series  of  developmental  changes,  then  the  cranial  segments  cannoi 
be  regarded  as  vertebrae  in  the  same  sense  as  the  spinal  segments; 
for,  1st,  The  chorda  dorsalis  is  not  co-equal  in  length  with  the  basis 
cranii,  as  with  the  bodies  of  the  spinal  vertebras,  so  that  if  the 
basi-occipital  and  basi-sphenoid  segments,  the  bodies  of  which  are 
developed  around  it,  were  to  be  regarded  as  cranial  vertebra,  the 
pre-sphenoidal  and  ethmoido-nasal  would  not  be  morphologically  the 
same,  as  they  are  formed  in  front  of  the  anterior  end  of  the  chorda. 
2d,  Proto. vertebra  are  formed  in  the  spine,  but  not  in  the  basis 
cranii.  3d,  The  spine  is  transversely  segmented  in  its  cartilaginous 
stage  of  development,  but  the  skull  is  not.  ith,  The  transverse 
segmentation  of  the  skull  only  appears  when  the  bones  are  formed, 
but  the  individuality  of  the  segments  becomes  again  concealed  by 
the  fusion  of  the  pre-  and  basi-sphenoids  and  the  basi-occipital  into 
a  continuous  bar  of  bone,  a  condition  which  is  not  found  in  the 
spine  except  in  the  sacro-coccygeal  region.  5th,  The  neural  arches 
in  the  spine  are,  like  the  bodifs,  ossified  in  cartilage,  but  in  the 
cranium  they  are  for  the  most  part  ossified  in  membrane.  These 
differences  in  the  mode  of  development  of  the  spine  and  basis  cranii 
may  be  summarised  as  below : — 

Spine. 

1st  Stage,  2d  Stage,  3d  Stage,  ith  Stage, 

Unsegmented         Proto-vertebrae.        Segmented  Segmented 

chorda.  cartilage.  bones. 

Basis  Cranii. 

1st  Stage,  2d  Stage, 

Unsegmented         Unsegmented 
chorda  in  part.  cartilage. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that,  although  both  skull  and  spine  are 
developed  in  the  walls  of  the  cerebro-spinal  groove,  yet,  to  quote 
the  words  of  Huxley,  "though  they  are  identical  in  general 
plan  of  construction,  the  two  begin  to  diverge  as  soon  as  the  one 
puts  on  the  special  character  of  a  skull  and  the  other  that  of  a 
vertebral  column  ;  the  skull  is  no  more  a  modified  vertebral  column 
than  the  vertebral  column  is  a  modified  skull." 

The  limbs,  at  their  first  appearance,  sprout  like  little  buds  or 
lappets  from' the  sides  of  the  trunk  ;  cartilage  forms  within  them, 
which  assumes  the  shape  of  the  future  bones,  and  as  the  limbs 
grow  outwards,  manifestations  of  joints  appear,  and  the  subdivision 
of  each  limb  into  its  several  segments  takes  place.  The  clavicle, 
which  ossifies  before  any  of  the  other  bones,  begins  to  form,  how- 
ever, in  fibrous  membrane  ;  and  at  a  much  later  period  the  ends  of 
the  bone,  which  are  formed  in  cartilage,  unite  with  the  intermediate 
shaft.  The  scapula  ossifies  from  one  centre  for  its  expanded  plate 
and  spine,  two  small  centres  each  for  the  acromion  and  vertebral 
border,  and  one  for  the  coracoid.  In  many  vertebrates,  more  espe- 
cially birds  and  reptiles,  the  coracoid  is  a  distinct  bone  from  the 
scapula,  bnt  they  articulate  with  each  other  to  form  the  glenoid 
fossa.  Each  of  the  three  rod-like  bones  of  which  the  innominate 
bone  is  composed,  ossifies  from  one  centre  for  the  shaft  of  the  bone, 
and  one  for  each  extremity  ;  in  the  ilium  these  terminal  centres  are 
situated  at  the  crest  and  acetabulum  ;  in  the  ischium,  at  the  tuber 
and  acetabulum  ;  and  in  the  pubis,  at  the  symphysis  and  acetabu- 
lum. Each  of  the  long  bones  of  the  shafts  of  the  limbs  ossifies 
from  a  single  centre  for  the  shaft,  and  one  or  more  centres  for  each 
articular  extremity.  Each  carpal  and  tarsal  bone  ossifies  from  a 
single  centre,  except  the  os  calcis,  which  possesses  an  independent 
centre  for  its  posterior  surface.  The  metacarpal  and  metatarsal 
bones  and  the  phalanges  ossify  each  from  two  centres,  one  for  the 
shaft  and  one  for  one  ol  the  extremities.  In  the  metacarpal  bones  of 
the  fingers  and  the  four  outer  metatarsals,  the  distal  end  is  that  which 
ossifies  independently ;  in  the  metacarpal  of  the  thumb,  in  the  meta- 
tarsal of  the  great  toe,  and  in  all  the  phalanges,  the  proximal  end  is 
that  which  ossifies  independently.  As  the  method  of  ossification  o\ 
the  first  metacarpal  and  first  metatarsal  corresponds  with  that  of  the 
phalanges,  some  anatomists  hold  that  these  bones  are  really  the  first 
pha'anges  of  their  respective  digits,  and  thct  the  bone  which  is  absent 
in  these  digits,  when  compared  with  tht>  other  digits,  is  not  t. 
phalanx,  but  a  mcta-carual  or   tarsal  bone.     When  the  extremity 


3d  Stage,  ilh  Stage, 

Segmented         Unsegmented 

bones.  bones. 


832 


ANA  T  0  U  Y 


of  a  bone  ossifies  from  a  centre  distinct  from  the  centre  from  which 
the  shaft  arises,  it  i3  called  an  epiphysis.  The  epiphysis  is  united  to  the 
shaft  of  the  growing  bone  by  an  intermediate  plate  of  cartilage,  and 
60  long  as  any  of  this  Cartilage  remains  uuossified  the  bone  can 
continue  to  grow  in  length.  1'he  ossification  is  not  completed  in 
the  different  bones  until  from  the  twentieth  to  the  twenty-fifth 
year.  In  the  case  of  the  long  bones,  tho  epiphysis  situated  at  the 
ind  of  the  bone,  towards  which  the  canal  in  the  shaft  which  trans- 
mits the  nutrient  artery  is  directed,  ossifies  to  the  shaft  before  the 
epiphysis  at  the  other  end.  In  the  humerus,  tibia,  and  fibula, 
where  the  canal  is  directed  downwards,  the  epiphyses  at  the  lower 
ends  of  tho  bones  first  unite  with  the  shaft;  whilst  in  the  femur, 
radius,  and  ulna,  where  tbe  canal  is  directed  upwards,  the  ossifica- 
tion first  takes  place  between  the  upper  epiphysis  and  the  slintt. 

All  anatomists  hold  that  the  bones  of  the  shaft  and  distal  part  of 
a  limb  belong  to  the  appendicular  part  of  the  skeleton,  but  there  is 
a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  place  in  the  skeleton  to  waich  the 
bones  of  the  shoulder  girdle  and  haunch  are  to  be  referred.  Owen 
considers  that  the  scapular  and  pelvic  arches  belong  to  the  axiol 
skeleton,  and  are  homologous  with  the  ribs;  the  scapula  and  coracoid 
as  the  visceral  or  rib-arch  of  the  occipital  vertebra,  the  clavicle  of 
the  atlas,  and  tho  innominate  bone  of  the  upper  sacral  vertebra. 
Goodsir  objected  to  this  conclusion  of  Owen's  on  the  ground  that 
the  shoulder  girdle  was  not  in  series  with  the  visceral  arches,  but 
was  developed  outside  the  visceral  wall,  at  the  junction  of  the 
cervical  and  thoracic  regions,  from  which  region  the  upper  limb 
reoeives  its  nerves,  and  not  from  the  occipito-atlnntal  region, 
whence  they  would  have  proceeded  had  it  been  an  appendage  of 
the  rib-arches  of  those  segments.  Owen's  chief  argument  for 
regarding  the  scapula  and  coracoid  as  the  costal  arch  of  the  occi- 
pi?al  vertebra  is  because  in  fish  the  scapula  is  attached  to  the 
occipital  bone  by  a  bone  which  Cuvier  called  the  supra-scapula, 
and  which  he  believed  to  be  homologous  with  the  supra-scapular 
cartilage  of  many  other  vertebrates.  Parker,  however,  lias  recently 
pointed  out  that  the  so-called  supra-scapula  of  a  fish  is  not  homolo- 
gous with  the  supra-scapula  of  a  reptile  or  mammal,  that  it  is  not  a 
cartilage  bone,  but  is  a  splint  or  scale-liko  bone,  developed  as  a 
part  of  the  dermo-skeleton.  Between  the  scapula  and  coracoid  and 
the  innominate  bono,  anatomists  have  long  recognised  homologies 
to  exist ;  the  scapula  is  generally  admitted  to  be  the  homotype 
of  the  ilium  and  tiie  coracoid  of  the  ischium,  so  that  if  these 
elements  of  the  shoulder  girdle  be  not  a  costal  arch,  neither  can 
those  of  the  pelvic  girdle.  The  clavicle  has  by  some  been  re- 
garded as  the  homotype  of  the  pubis ;  but  in  all  probability  the  pubis 
is  homologous  with  the  procoracoid  bone  which  is  found  in  the 
amphibia  and  some  reptiles,  but  is  absent  in  crocodiles,  birds,  and 
mammals;  whilst  the  clavicle  is  represented  in  the  pelvic  girdle, 
not  by  a  bone,  but  by  a  fibrous  band  called  Poupart's  ligament. 
Between  the  bones  of  the  shafts  of  the  limbs  homologies  exist :  the 
humerus  is  the  homotype  of  the  femur,  the  radius  of  the  tibia,  the 
ulna  of  the  fibula  ;  whilst  the  patella  has  no  representative  in  the 
human  upper  limb.  The  scaphoid  and  semilunar  bones  in  the 
carpus  are  homotypes  of  the  astragalus  in  the  tarsus,  the  cunei- 
form is  the  homotype  of  the  os  caleis,  the  cuboid  of  the  unciform  ; 
the  trapezium  of  "the  ento-cuneiform,  the  trapezoid  of  the  meso-, 
and  the  os  magnum  of  the  ccto-cuneiform.'  The  tarsal  scaphoid  is 
not,  as  a  rule,  represented  in  tho  human  carpus,  but  its  homotype 
is  the  os  intermedium,  found  in  many  mammals.  The  carpal 
pisciform  is  a  sesamoid  bone  developed  in  the  tendon  of  a  muscle. 
The  metacarpal  bones  and  phalanges  are  homologous  with  the 
metatarsal  bones  and  phalanges  ;  the  thumb  with  the  great  toe,  and 
the  fingers  with  the  four  outer  toes.  During  the  growth  of  the 
limbs  outward,  and  their  change  from  the  simple  lappet-like  form 
to  their  elongated  condition,  a  rotation  of  the  proximal  segment  of 
the  shaft  takes  place — that  of  the  upper  limb  a  quarter  ofa  circle 
backward,  that  of  the  lower  limb  a  quarter  of  a  circle  forward — to 
produce  in  the  former  case  a  supine  position  of  the  fore-arm  and 
hand,  with  the  thumb  as  the  outermost  digit ;  in  the  latter  case,  a 
prone  condition  of  the»leg  and  foot,  with  the  great  toe  as  the  inner- 
most digit  The  range  of  movement  at  the  radio-ulnar  joints 
enables  us,  however,  to  pronate  th«  hand  and  fore-arm  by  throwing 
the  radius  across  the  ulna,  so  as  to  make  the  thumb  the  innermost 
digit.  In  many  quadrupeds  the  fore-leg  is  fixed  in  this  position, 
so  that  these  animals  wait  on  the  soles  of  both  the  fore  and  hind  feet. 

General  Observations  on  the  Articulator-*-  and 
Muscular  Systems. 

A  Joint  or  Articulation  is  the  junction  or  union  of 
any  two  adjacent  parts  of  the  body.  Most  usually  the  term 
is  employed  to  signify  the  connection  established  between 
contiguous  bones.  It  is  by  the  joints  that  the  various 
bones  are  knit  together  to  form  the  skeleton.  Joints  may 
be  either  immovuble  or  movable. 

The  immovable  joints  are  divided  into  the  synchondroses 


the  nbtous  membrane,  nr  peil- 
oMiimi.  pawnnir  brtween  Hie 
two  bnm  a.  wlikh  clays  the  !'"i 
or  a  lljtitinetit,  and  wlilcn  is 
continuous  wuli  the  Intel post-d 
flbions  mi  in i.i .nir. 

In  old 


Inn  through  a  p.wi- 
cbondrnsls.  6,  6,  t tie 
two  bones;  Sc  the 
Interposed  cartil- 
age :  J,  the  flbtniia 
niembrane  whleh 
plays  the  part  ol  ■ 
ligament. 


L-IOISTa    AN 

and  the  sutures.     A  synchondrosis  is  the  junction  of  two. 

bones  by   tho   interposition   of  an   intermediate   plate   of 

cartilage,    the    fibrous   membrane   or    periosteum    which 

invests  the  buries  being  prolonged  from  one  bone  to  the 

other  over  the  surface  of  the  cartilage.     A  suture  is  the 

connection  of  two  bones  by  the 

interlocking  of  adjacent  toothed   "^^f^^^/jf... 

margins;    the    periosteal    fibrous   '  &&!^*&¥-8p" 

membrane  is  prolunged  from  one 

bone   to  the  other,   and    is  also  fio.  12.— verticil  action  throned, 

iuterposed  between  their  adjacent     ?  c""""  'u'ur''-  ,*•*•  '!"  '"? 

'  a  bunt**;  J.  ojn  tiMle  tl:e  auiure;  /, 

margins.  In  a  young  skull  the 
basi-occipital  and  basi-sphenoid 
are  united  by  synchondrosis,  but 
junction  by  sutures  is  the  mode 
of  union  which  prevails  in  the  bones  of  the  head, 
persons  tbe  sutures  become  obliterated  by  the  ossification 
of    tho    intermediate    fibrous   membrane.  .  '  , 

and  the  bones  are  permanently  fused  "i'^'.^l  l?'^" 
together.  The  cranial  sutures  may  con-  J—  '^  s. ''.*£-: ". 
voniently  be  arranged  in  three  groups  : "~ — ^-^^-a**-*-?*- 
a.  Median  longitudinal,  consisting  of  F'o-11-— Ve".r°ltr^ 
the  frontal  suture,  which  counects  the 
two  halves  of  the  frontal  bone,  aud  the 
sagittal  suture,  betiyeei.  the  two  parietal 
bones ;  6,  Lateral  longitudinal,  consist- 
ing on  each  side  of  the  head  of  the 
fronto-nasal,  fronto-maxillary,  ironto-lachrymal,  fronto- 
ethmoidal,  fronto-malar,  fronto-sphenoidal,  parieto-sphe- 
noidal,  parieto-squamous,  parieto-mastoid  sutures ;  c,  Verti- 
cal transverse,  consisting  of  the  coronal  or  fronto-parietal, 
the  lambdoidal  or  parietooccipital,  the  sphenoido-malar, 
sphenoido-squamous  and  occipito- mastoid  sutures.  As 
the  skull  grows  by  ossification  of  the  cartilage  of  the  base 
and  the  membranous  vault,  the  direction  of  growth 
is  perpendicular  to  the  margins  of  the  bones  and 
the  sutures  and  synchondroses  which  connect  them  to- 
gether. The  growth  of  the  skull  in  length  is  perpen- 
dicular, therefore,  to 

the  basi-cr_anial  syn-  *        ,      //.tri4"^ 

chondrosis  and  the 
vertical  transverse 
group  of  sutures;  its 
growth,  in  breadth, 
to  the  median  longi- 
tudinal group,  and 
in  height  to  the 
lateral  longitudinal 
group.  So  long  as 
any  of  the  cartilage 
or  membrane  be- 
tween the  margins 
of  the  bones  remains 
unossified,  bone  may 
continue  to  form,  and 
the  skull  may  in- 
crease in  size.  It 
sometimes  happens 
that  the  cartilage  or 
membrane  is  pre- 
maturely ossified  in 
a  particular  locality, 
and      the      further  _ 

,        .     ,  .     „  Fl(~  14.— Vertex  view  of  a  boat-shaped  or  itcaphe- 

gTOWtn    01    the   SkUil      cephalic  skull,  showing  the  complete  disappear- 

put  »  stop  to  in  that  1M  of  the  "s""11  eulurc- 
region ;  if  the  brain  is  still  growing,  the  skull  must  increase 
in  other  directions  to  permit  of  the  expansion  of  the 
cranial  cavity,  and  deformities  of  the  skull  are  thereby 
occasioned.  One  of  the  most  usual  of  these  deformities  is 
due  to  premature  closure  of  the  sagittal  suture,  causing 


VUSCI.ES.] 


ANATOMY 


833 


an  amphlarthrodiul  joint.  0,6, 
the  two  bones;  c,  c,  the  plate  of 
cartilage  on  the  articular  sur- 
face of  each  bone  ;  Fc,  the  Inter- 
mediate flbro- cartilage;  I,  I, 
the  external  ligaments. 


stoppage  of  the  growth  of  the  skull  in  breadth,  and,  by 
way  of  compensation,  great  increase  in  its  length,  so  as  to 
produce  a  very  elongated  and  somewhat  boat-shaped 
cranium. 

The  movable  joints  are  divided  into  the  amphiarthrodial 
and  the  diarthrodial  joints.  An  amphiarthrosis  or  half- 
joint  ha3  only  a  feeble  range  of 
movement.  It  consists  of  two 
bones,  each  of  which  has  •  its  j, 
articular  surface  covered  by  a 
plate  of  cartilage,  and  which 
plates  are  firmly  connected  to- 
gether by  an  intermediate  disc  of 

fibro-cartilage.  The  centre  of  this  Fio.  is.-Venicai  section  throng 
disc  is  soft,  or  may  even  be 
hollowed  out  into  a  cavity,  lined 
by  a  smooth  synovial  membrane, 
and  containing  a  little  fluid. 
Ligamentous  bands,  continuous  with  the  periosteum  invest- 
ing the0bones,  invest  the  fibro-cartilage,  and  assist  in  bind- 
ing the  bones  together.  The  best  examples  of  amphi- 
arthrodial joints  are  furnished  by  the  articulations  between 
the  bodies  of  the  true  vertebras. 

A  diarthrosis  admits  of  more  or  less  perfect  movement. 
In  it  the  two  articular  surfaces  are  each  covered  by  a  plate 
of  encrusting  cartilage,  the  free 
surface  of  which  is  smooth  and 
polished ;  between  these  surfaces 
is  a  cavity  containing  a  glairy 
fluid,  the  synovia,  for  lubricating 
the  smooth  surfaces  of  the  cartil- 
age and  facilitating  the  movements 
of  the  joint.  This  cavity  is  en- 
closed by  ligaments,  which  are 
attached  to  the  bones,  and  the 
inner  surface  of  these  ligaments 
is  lined  by  a  synovial  membrane 
which  secretes  the  synovia.  Some- 
times a  plate  or  meniscus  of  fibro- 
cartilage  i3  interposed  between, 
without,  however,  being  attached 
to  the  encrusting  cartilages  of  a 
diarthrodial  joint,  so  as  more  or 
less  perfectly  to  subdivide  the 
cavity  enclosed  by  the  ligaments  into  two  spaces.  The 
articular  surfaces  of  diarthrodial  joints  are  retained  in 
apposition  with  each  other,  some- 
times by  investing  ligaments,  at 
others  by  surrounding  muscles  and 
tendons;  at  others  by  atmospheric 
pressure,  aided  by  the  adhesive ; 
character  of  the  interposed  synovia. 
The  form  of  the  articular  or  mov- 
able, surfaces  varies  very  materi- 
ally in  different  examples  of  these 
joints,  and  the  modifications  in 
form  determine  the  direction  of 
the  movements  of  the  joints.  In 
some,  as  the  carpal  and  tarsal 
joints,  the  surfaces  are  almost  flat, 
so  that  they  glide  on  each  other  ; 
the  movement  is  comparatively 
slight,  and  about  an  axis  perpen 
dicular  to  the  moving  surfaces 
surfaced  joints. 


-  ■  ;    pt?3ijWs 

1   b\m*$ 


Fio.  16. — Vcn  leal  sect  ion  through 
a  diarthrodial  joint.  6,  b,  the 
two  bones ;  c,  c,  the  plate  of 
cartilage  on  the  articular  sur- 
face of  each  bone ;  /,  /,  the  in- 
vesting ligament,  the  dotted 
line  within  which  represents 
the  synovial  membrane.  The 
letter  s  is  placed  In  the  cavity 
of  the-joint 


Fta.17. — Vertical  section  through 
a  diarthrodial  Joint.  In  which 
the  cavity  ^  subdivided  Into 
two  by  an  interposed  fibro-car- 
tilage or  meniscus.  Pc  The 
other  letters  as  in  Fig.  16. 

these  are  called  plane- 
In  other  joints  the  articular  surfaces  may 
be  regarded  as  produced  by  the  rotation  of  a  straight  or 
curved  Line  about  an  axis  lying  in  the  same  plane  ;  these 
are  called  rotation  joints,  and  they  present  various  modifica- 
tions according  to  the  direction  and  relation  of  the  rotat- 
ing line  to  the  a^ia     One  form  of  a  rotation  joint  is  tho 

1-28 


pivot  joint,  in  which  the  movement  takes  place  about  the 
axis  of  one  of  the  bones,  which  is  the  axis  of  rotation  of 
the  joint ;  examples  of  this  joint  are  found  in  the  joint 
between  tho  atlas  and  odontoid  process  of  the  axis  and 
the  radio-ulnar  joint.  Another  form  is  the  ginglymus  or 
hinge  joint,  in  which  the  axis  of  rotation  of  the  joint  is 
perpendicular  to  the  axis  of  the  two  bones ;  the  mova- 
ments  of  the  hinge  are  called  flexion  when  the  angle 
between  the  two  bones  is  diminished,  and  extension  when 
the  angle  is  increased.  An  important  modification  of  the 
ginglymus  is  the  screwed-surfaced  joint,  examples  of  which 
are  found  in  the  elbow  and  ankle ;  here  the  plane  of 
flexion  is  not  perpendicular,  but  oblique  to  the  axis  of  the 
joint.  The  saddle-shaped  and  oblong  joints  are  also  modi- 
fied hinges,  but  allow  motion  about  two  axes ;  in  the 
oblong  both  axes  are  on  the  same  side  of  the  joint ;  but  in 
the  saddle-shaped  there  is  an  axis  of  rotation  on  each  side  of 
the  joint.  The  best  example  of  the  saddle-shaped  is  found 
between  the  metacarpal  bone  of  the  thumb  and  the  trape- 
zium; of  the  oblong  between  the  fore-arm  and  the  carpus. 
In  the  ball-and-socket  joint  a  spheroidal  head  fits  into  a 
cup,  and  rotation  takes  place  about  any  diameter  of  the 
sphere;  the  joint  therefore  is  multi-axial;  the  hip  and 
shoulder  joints  are  the  best  examples.  Some  joints,  in 
which  the  forms  of  the  articular  surfaces  are  more  complex, 
are  called  composite;  in  them  the  movements  of  a  hinge 
and  of  a  ball-and-socket  joint  may  be  combined;  the  knee 
may  be  cited  as  an  example  of  this  form  of  articulation. 
In  a  large  number  of  movable  joints  only  portions  of  the 
opposite  articular  surfaces  are  in  contact  with  each  other 
at  a  given  time  ;  but,  as  the  joint  describes  its  path  of 
movement,  different  parts  of  the  surfaces  come  into  contact 
with  each  other  successively,  and  it  is  not  unusual  to  find 
the  articular  surface  both  of  the  cartilage  and  the  sub- 
jacent bone  mapped  out  into  distinct  areas  or  facets,  which 
are  adapted  to  corresponding  iacets  on  the  opposite  arti- 
cular surface  in  particular  positions  of  the  joint.  When 
the  corresponding  facets  on  opposite  articular  surfaces 
break  contact  with  each  other,  the  space  between  becomes 
occupied  by  synovia,  or  in  some  joints,  more  especially  the 
knee,  by  folds  of  synovial  membrane  enclosing  clumps  of 
fat,  which  have  been  called  synovial  pads.  In  the  simple 
hinge,  in  that  with  screwed  surfaces,  in  the  oblong  and 
composite  joints,  the  principal  ligaments  are  situated  at 
the  sides  of  the  joint,  and  are  called  lateral  ;  they  not  only 
prevent  lateral  displacement  of  the  bones,  but,  by  a 
tightening  of  their  fibres,  check  excessive  movement  for- 
wards or  backwards  during  flexion  and  extension.  In  the 
saddle-shaped  and  ball-and-socket  joints,  the  joint  is  in- 
cluded within  a  bag-like  ligament  called  capsular.  In  the 
pivot  joints  the  cavity  in  which  the  pivot  fits  is  completed 
by  a  transverse  or  a  ring-shaped  ligament. 

The  Muscles  are  the  organs  wliich,  by  their  contraction  iiuscleti 
or  shortening,  move  the  bones  on  each  other  at  the  joints. 
The  muscles  constitute  the  flesh  of  the  body.  They  are  so 
arranged  as  to  be  capable  not  only  of  moving  the  various 
bones  on  each  other,  but  the  entire  body  from  place  to 
place.  Hence  the  muscles  are  organs  both  of  motion  and 
locomotion.  As  they  can  be  brought  into  action  at  tho 
will  of  the  individual,  they  are  called  voluntary  muscles. 
Some  of  the  muscles  are  engaged  in  the  movement  of  other 
structures  than  the  bones,  such  as  the  eye-ball,  tongue, 
cartilages  of  the  larynx,  &c.  About  400  muscles  are 
usually  enumerated,  and  the  names  applied  to  them  express 
either  their  position,  or  relative  size,  or  shape,  or  direction, 
or  attachments,  or  mode  of  action.  The  word  muscle  is 
itself  derived  from  the  Latin  musculus,  a  little  mouse,  from 
a  fancied  resemblance  between  that  animal  and  some  of  the 
most  simply  formed  muscles.  It  is  customary  to  dis- 
tinguish in  a  muscle  a  central  part,  or  belly,  and  two  ex- 


834 


ANATOMY 


[joints  and  muscles— 


• 


■'•' 


^ 


to 


Jt 


tremities,  one  of  whirh  is  the  head  or  the  origin,  the  otLer 
the  insertion.  The  belly  is  the  fleshy  part  of  the  muscle, 
and  possesses  a  dccp-red  characteristic  colour;  it  is  the 
«cti'o  contractile  structure,  the  source 
of  motor  power.  The  two  extremities 
are  called  the  tendons  of  the  muscle, 
or  sinews;  the  tendons  are  bluish- 
white  in  colour,  possess  no  power  of 
contractility,  and  are  merely,  as  it 
were,  the  ropea  by  which  the  belly 
of  the  muscle  is  attached  to  the  bone 
or  other  structure  which  is  moved  by 
its  contraction.  The  term  tendon  of 
origin,  applied  to  one  extremity  of  the 
muscle,  signifies  the  fixed  end  of  the 
muscle,  that  to  which  it  draws  during 
its  contraction ;  as  a  rule  this  is  the 
end  nearest  the  trunk,  the  proximal 
end.  The  term  tendon  of  insertion  is 
applied  to  the  end  which  is  moved  by 
the  contraction ;  as  a  rule  this  is  the 
end  most  removed  from  the  trunk, 
the  distal  end.  Entering  the  sub- 
stance of  each  muscle  is  at  least 
one  artery,  which  conveys  blood  for  its 
nutrition;  this  artery  ends  in  a  net- 
work of  capillary  blood-vessels,  from 
which  a  vein  arises  and  conveys  the 
blood  out  of  the  muscle  again;  an- 
other small  vessel,  called  a  lymphatic, 
also  arises  within  the  muscle,  and 
conveys  the  fluid  lymph  out  of  the 
muscle.  Each  muscle  also  is  pene- 
trated by  a  nerve,  through  which  it 
is  brought  into  connection  with  the 
brain,  so  as  to  be  subject  to  the  in-  fio.i?.— The  rectus  muscle 
fluence  of  the  wilL  The  will  is  the  °f  lb*  th|s" 
natural  stimulus  for  exciting  muscular 
action,  which  action  is  in  many  cases 
so  rapid  that  scarcely  an  appreci- 
able interval  of  time  intervenes  be- 
tween willing  and  doing  the  action. 

The  bones  form  a  series  of  rod-like  levers,  and,  in  study- 
ing the  mode  of  action  of  the  muscles,  the  placj  of  inser- 
tion of  the  muscle  into  the  bone — that  is  to  say,  the  point 
of  application  of  the  power  which  causes  the  movement — 
and  its  relations  to  the  joint,  or  fulcrum,  or  centre  of  motion, 
and  to  the  weight  or  resistance  which  is  to  be  overcome, 
have  to  be  kept  in  view.  The  relative  positions  of  ful- 
crum, point  of  application  of  power,  and  resistance,  are  not 
the  same  in  all  the  bony  levers.  As  a  rule,  the  muscles 
are  inserted  into  bones  between  the  fulcrum  and  the  move- 
able point  of  resistance,  and  nearer  the  fulcrum  than  the 
movable  point,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  muscles  which  bend 
the  fore-arm  at  the  elbow-joint.  Although  from  the  weight- 
arm  of  the  lever  being  in  these  cases  much  longer  than  the 
power-arm,  the  muscles,  as  regards  the  application  of  the 
power,  act  at  a  disadvantage,  yet  the  movement  gains  in 
velocity.  Sometimes  the  muscle  is  inserted,  as  is  the 
case  in  the  great  muscle  which  straightens  or  extends 
the  fore-arm,  at  one  end  of  the  lever,  and  the  fulcrum 
or  joint  is  placed  between  it  and  the  movable  point.  At 
other  times,  as  in  the  case  of  the  chief  depressor  muscle 
of  the  lower  jaw,  whilst  the  muscle  is  attached  to  one  end 
of  the  lever,  the  fulcrum  is  at  the  opposite  end.  When  a 
miv.cle  is  so  placed  that  its  tendon  of  insertion  is  perpen- 
dicular to  the  bone  to  which  it  is  attached,  it  acts  to  great 
advantage;  when  placed  obliquely  or  nearly  parallel,  a  loss 
of  power  occurs.  Many  muscles  at  the  commencement  of 
contraction  !ia  obliquely  to  the  bone3  which  they  move, 


ro  oho* 
the  constituent  parts  of  a 
muscle.  R,  the  fleshy 
belly ;  to,  tendon  of  ori- 
gin ;  ft,  tendon  of  Inser- 
tion; n,  nerve  of  supply; 
a.  artery  of  Bupply ;  c. 
rein ;  7,  lymphatic  vessel ; 
P,  the  patella. 


but  as  contraction  goes  on  they  become  more  nearly  per- 
pendicular, so  that  they  act  with  more  advantage  noir 
the  close  than  at  the  commencement  of  contraction.  If  a 
muscle  passes  over  only  one  joint,  it  acts  on  that  joint  only : 
but  if  it  passes  over  two  or  more  joints,  it  acts  on  them  in 
succession,  beginning  with  the  joint  next  the  point  of 
insertion.  A  given  movement  may  be  performed  by  the 
contraction  of  a  single  muscle,  but  as  a  rule  two  or  more 
muscles  are  associated  together,  and  they  are  not  unfte- 
quently  so  arranged  that  one  muscle  initiates  the  move- 
ment,°  which  is  then  kept  up  and  completed  by  the  rest. 
Muscles  producing  movement  in  one  direction  have  opposed 
to  them  muscles  which  by  their  contraction  effect  the 
opposite  movement;  when  both  groups  act  simultaneously 
and  with  equal  force,  they  antagonise  each  other,  and  no 
motion  i3  produced;  when  a  muscle  is  paralysed  or  divided, 
its  antagonistic  muscle  draws  and  permanently  retains  the 
part  to  its  own  side.  The  rapidity  of  action  of  a  muscle  ia 
proportioned  to  the  length  of  its  fasciculi,  its  power  of 
contraction  to  their  number. 

Each  muscle  is  invested  by  a  sheath  formed  of  connective 
tissue.  In  the  limbs  and  in  the  neck  not  only  has  each 
muscle  a  sheath,  but  a  strong  fibrous  membrane  envelopes 
the  whole  of  the  muscles,  and  assists  materially  in  giving; 
form  and  compactness  to  the  region.  Thismembranc  is  called 
generally  a  fascia  or  aponeurosis,  but  special  descriptive 
names  are  given  to  it  in  the  different  regions — e.g.,  cervical 
fascia,  brachial  aponaurosis,  fascia  lata,  or  fascia  of  the 
thigh.  In  some  localities  muscles  arise  from  the  fascia, 
and  in  others  they  are  inserted  into  it.  The  fascia  is 
separated  from  the  skin  by  a  layer  of  subcutaneous  fatty 
tissue,  and  in  this  layer  muscles  are  in  some  localities  de- 
veloped. In  the  fat  of  the  inner  border  of  the  palm  of  the, 
hand  a  small  muscle,  the  palmaris  hrevis,  is  found,  which 
is  inserted  into,  the  skin  covering  the  ball  of  the  little 
finger ;  at  each  side  of  the  neck,  also,  lies  a  thin  muscle 
called  platysma  myoides,  and  the  muscles  on  the  face  and 
scalp  which  move  the  skin  of  the  face  and  head  belong  to 
the  same  category.  These  muscles  form  the  group  of  sub- 
cutaneous or  dermal  muscles  which,  except  in  the  localities 
above  referred  to,  are  not  represented  in  the  human  body, 
but  are  well  known  in  the  bodies  of  the  mammalia  gene- 
rally as  the  panniculus  camosus. 

In  arranging  the  muscles  for  descriptive  purposes,  either 
a  morphological,  a  topographical,  or  a  physiological  method 
maybe  pursued.  The  morphological  arrangement  is  to  be 
preferred  when  the  object  is  to  compare  the  muscular 
system  in  man  with  that  in  different  animals,  and  the  basis 
of  the  arrangement  should  be  into  muscle3  of  the  axiai, 
the  appendicular,  and  the  axi-appendicular  skeletons,  and 
sub-cutaneous  muscles;  a  topographical  arrangement  is  most 
suitable  for  the  purposes  of  the  practical  surgeon;  a  physic- 
logical  arrangement,  when  the  object  is  to  study  the  action 
of  the  muscles  in  connection  with  the  movements  of  the 
joints.  In  Plates  XV.  and  XVI.,  a  front  and  back  view 
of  the  voluntary  muscles  of  the  body  is  given. 

Joints  and  Muscles  of  the  Axial  Skeleton. 
Tho  Intervertebral  Joints  are  complex  in  construction. 
The  bodies  of  the  true  v  ertehjae  are  connected  together  by 
an  amphiarthrodial  joint :  the  fibro-cartilaginous  plate  or 
intervertebral  disc  is  tough  and  fibrous  in  its  peripheral 
part,  but  soft  and  pulpy  within.  (Fig.  15.)  Remains  of  the 
chorda  dorsalis  are  said  to  occur  in  the  soft  pulp,  and  some- 
times a  distinct  cavity,  lined  by  a  synovial  membrane,  is 
found  in  the  centre  of  the  disc,  which  in  tho  finner  whale 
is  expanded  into  a  Lrge  central  cavity  containing  many 
ounces  of  synovia.  A  diarthrodial  joint  connects  the  supe- 
rior and  inferior  articular  processes  of  adjacent  vertebra;  on 
each  side.    Elastic  yellow  ligaments,  the  ligamenla  sub/lava, 


VOL.  I. 


ANATOMY 


PLATE  XV. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA    BMTANNICA.   NINTH    COITION. 


AXIAL   SKELETON.] 


ANATOMY 


835 


pass  between  their  laminae.  Inter-  and  supraspinous  liga- 
ments connect  adjacent  spinous  processes,  and  in  the  neck 
the  supra-spinous  ligament  forms  a  broad  band,  the  liga- 
mentum  nuchce.  In  those  mammals  which  possess  big 
heads  or  heavy  horns,  this  ligament  of  the  back  of  the 
neck  forms  a  powerful  elastic  band  for  the  support  of  the 
head.  The  joints  between  the  atlas  and  axis,  and  the 
atlas  and  occiput,  are  specially  modified  in  connection  with 
the  movements  of  the  head  on  the  top  of  the  spine.  The 
intervertebral  discs  are  absent,  and  the  range  of  movement 
cither  from  before  backward,  as  in  nodding  the  head,  or 
from  side  to  side,  as  in  looking  over  the  shoulder,  are 
more  extensive  than  between  any  of  the  other  true  vertebrae. 
The  head  rotates  along  with  the  atlas  around  the  odontoid 
or  pivot  process  of  the  axis,  which  is  lodged  between  the 
anterior  part  of  the  atlas  and  a  strong  transverse  ligament 
which  lies  behind  the  odontoid.  Too  great  movement  to 
one  side  or  the  other  is  prevented  by  the  check  ligaments, 
whi.-h  pass  from  the  top  of  the  odontoid  to  the  occipital 
bone,  in  front  of  the  foramen  magnum.  The  nodding 
movements  take  place  between  the  occiput  and  atlas,  and 
are  permitted  by  the  size  and  shape  of  the  occipital  condyles 
and  hollow  upper  articular  surfaces  of  the  atlas.  These 
joints  are  all  diarthrodial.  The  spine  is  flexible  and 
elastic ;  except  in  the  joints  above  referred  to,  the  range 
of  movement  between  any  two  true  vertebrae  is  very  small, 
but  the  sum  of  the  movement  in  the  entire  spine,  owing  to 
the  number  of  bones,  is  considerable.  The  elasticity  of 
the  spine  is  partly  due  to  the  numerous  diarthrodial  joints 
between  its  articular  processes,  but  more  especially  to  the 
discs  of  fibro-cartilage  interposed  between  the  bodies  of 
the  vertebrae,  which  act  like  elastic  pads  or  buffers  to  pre- 
vent shock.  The  spine  and  trunk  may  be  bent  either 
forwards  or  backwards,  or  to  the  right  and  left  side ;  or 
without  being  bent,  the  spine  may  be  screwed  to  the  right 
or  to  the  left,  the  screwing  movement  being  permitted  by 
the  oblique  direction  of  the  articular  processes. 

The  muscles  which  move  the  vertebrae  on  each  other  are 
principally  situated  on  the  back  of  the  trunk.  In  the 
hollow  on  each  side  of  the  vertebral  spines  lies  the  great 
erector  spinse  muscle,  the  fibres  of  which  pass  longitudin- 
ally upwards.  When  both  muscles  act  together,  the  entire 
spine  is  bent  back;  but  when  the  muscle  of  one  side  only 
contraets,  then  the  spine  is  bent  to  that  side.  These 
muscles  also  act  in  raising  the  spine  from  the  bent  to  the 
erect  position,  and  they  are  assisted  by  small  inter-epinal 
muscles,  situated  between  the  spines  in  the  cervical  and 
lumbar  regions.  The  spine  is  bent  forward  by  the  psoae 
and  iongi  colli  muscles;  and  the  straight  muscles  of  the 
abdomen,  inserted  into  the  lower  true  ribs,  assist  in  this 
movement.  The  screwing  movements  of  the  spine  are 
effected  by  a  series  of  muscles,  the  fibres  of  which  pass 
obliquely  between  the  laminae  and  spines  of  adjacent  verte- 
brae, and  are  known  as  the  semispinales,  multifidi,  and 
rotatores  spinae  muscles. 

The  head  is  balanced  on  the  summit  of  the  spine,  and 
is  maintained  in  a  quiescent  position  without  any  appre- 
ciable muscular  action,  but  it  can  be  moved  in  various 
directions  by  the  muscles  inserted  into  its  bones.  The 
nodding  movements  of  the  head  on  the  atlas  are  due  to 
the  posterior  recti,  the  two  superior  obliques,  the  two 
splenii,  and  the  two  complexus  muscles,  which  draw  it 
backwards,  and  the  anterior  recti  and  sterno-cleido-ma«toid 
muscles,  which  draw  it  forwards.  When  the  right  splen/us 
and  greater  posterior  rectus  and  inferior  oblique  act  along 
with  the  left  complexus  and  sterno-mastoid,  the  head  is 
rotated  to  the  right  shoulder ;  the  opposite  rotation  being 
due  to  the  action  of  the  corresponding  muscles  on  the 
other  side  of  the  body. 

In  the  formation  of  the  walls  of  the  abdomen  proper, 


bones  and  joints  play  but  a  small  part.  The  lumbar 
vertebrae  behind,  the  expanded  wings  of  "the  iliac  bone* 
below,  and  the  false  ribs  above,  are  the  only  bones  to  be 
considered.  Three  pairs  of  greatly  expanded  muscles — 
the  external  oblique,  internal  oblique,  and  transverse — lie 
at  the  side3  and  in  front,  and  two  pairs  of  muscles  tb» 
recti  and  pyramidales — are  situated  wholly  in  front.  The 
internal  oblique  and  the  transverse  muscles  are  attached 
above  to  the  ribs,  behind  to  the  lumbar  spine,  below  to  the 
iliac  crest  and  to  a  strong  band,  Pouparf  a  ligament,  extend- 
ing from  the  crest  of  the  ilium  to  the  pubic  spine;  the  ex- 
ternal oblique  has  similar  connections  above  and  below,  but 
is  not  attached  behind  to  the  lumbar  Bpine.  The  muscles 
all  terminate  in  front  in  strong  expanded  tendons,  called 
the  anterior  abdominal  aponeuroses,  winch  blend  together  in 
the  middle  line  anteriorly  to  form  the  band  called  linea 
alba,  which  stretches  longitudinally  from  the  xiphi-  ternum 
to  the  pubic  symphysis.  These  expanded  tendons  enclose 
the  recti  muscles,  which  pass  from  the  pubis  upwards  to 
the  cartilages  of  the  lower  true  ribs,  and  the  pyramidal 
muscles,  which  pass  from  the  pubis  to  be  inserted  into  the 
linea  alba.  The  entire  arrangement  is  admirably  adapted 
for  completing  the  walls  of  the  great  abdominal  chamber, 
and  for  enabling  the  muscles  to  compress  the  ablominal 
viscera,  an  action  which  takes  place  when  the  contents  of 
the  bowels  and  bladder  are  being  expelled  during  defseca- 
tion  and  micturition. 

Bones  and  joints  play  a  more  important  part  in  the 
formation  of  the  walls  of  the  thoracic  than  of  the  abdo- 
minal cavity.  Not  only  are  there  thoracic  vertebrae  behind, 
and  the  sternum  in  front,  but  on  each  side  the  twelve  ribs 
arch  more  or  less  completely  forward  from  the  spine ;  each 
rib  is  articulated  behind  to  one  or  two  vertebrae,  and  the 
seven  upper  ribs,  through  their  costal  cartilages,  articulate 
with  the  sternum. 

The  Costo-vertebral  Joints  are  situated  between  the  head  Co«t»l 
of  the  rib  and  the  vertebral  body;  also,  except  in  the  float-  )oilAa- 
ing  ribs,  between  the  tubercle  of  the  rib  and  the  transverse 
process  of  the  vertebra,  the  joints  being  diarthrodial,  and 
completed  in  the  usual  manner  by  ligaments  and  synovial 
membrane.  The  Costo-sternal  Joints  are  also  diarthrodial 
(except  the  first  costal  cartilage,  which  is  directly  united  to 
the  prae-sternum),  a  capsular  ligament,  lined  by  a  synovial 
membrane,  connecting  the  cartilages  of  the  true  ribs  to  the 
sternum.  The  cartilages  from  the  sixth  to  the  ninth  ribs 
are  also  united  by  ligamentous  fibres. 

The  movements  of  the  ribs  and  sternum  at  the  costo- 
vertebral and  costo-sternal  joints  are  of  the  utmost  import- 
ance in  the  process  of  breathing.  Breathing  or  respiration 
consists  of  two  acts — breathing  in,  or  inspiration,and  breath- 
ing out,  or  expiration.  During  inspiration,  the  air  rushes 
through  the  nose  or  mouth  down  the  windpipe,  and  dilates 
the  air-cells  of  the  lungs ;  together  with  the  expansion  of 
the  lungs  the  walls  of  the  chest  rise,  so  that  the  capacity 
both  of  lungs  and  chest  at  the  end  of  a  full  inspiration  is 
nearly  doubled.  During  inspiration  the  following  changes 
occur  in  the  walls  of  the  chest :  the  ribs  are  elevated  and 
rotated,  the  lower  borders  of  their  shafts  are  everted, 
while  their  surfaces  are  at  the  same  time  rendered  mors 
oblique,  and  the  width  of  the  intercostal  spaces  is  thereby 
increased ;  the  elevation  and  rotation  of  the  ribs  thnw 
the  sternum  upwards  and  forwards,  and  make  the  thoracie 
part  of  the  spinal  column  straighter;  the  diaphragm  is 
depressed,  and  the  anterolateral  walls  of  the  abdomen  are 
thrown  forward.  The  muscles  which  cause  these  move- 
ments are  as  follows : — In  each  of  the  spaces  between 
the  different  ribs  a  pair  of  intercostal  muscles  is  situated  ; 
these  elevate  and  rotate  the  ribs,  and  the  movements  are 
assisted  by  the  levatores  costarura,  and,  in  the  case  of  the 
upper  and  lower  ribs,  by  the  scaleni  and  eerrati  pcttici 


83G 


ANA  T  0  M  Y 


[mUsCLES  OF 


muscles ;  and  by  these  agents  the  transverse  ana  antero- 
posterior diameter  of  the  chest  is  increased.  The  increase 
in  its  vertical  diameter  is  duo  to  the  action  of  the  dia- 
phragm or  midriff,  the  great  muscle  which,  arising  by  its 
circumference  from  the  xiphi-stemum,  sis  lower  ribs,  and 
bodies  of  the  lumbar  vertebra;,  forms  the  floor  of  the  thoracic 
and  the  roof  of  the  abdominal  cavity.  It  constitutes  a 
great  ar^h,  with  its  convexity  directed  to  the  cavity  of  the 
chest.  By  the  contraction  of  its  fibres  the  arch  is  rendered 
less  convex,  and  the  floor  of  the  chest  is  thereby  depressed. 
Under  cireums'.ances  which  require  more  powerful  efforts 
of  inspiration,  the  muscles  which  pass  from  the  walls  of 
the  chest  to  the  upper  limbs  may,  by  taking  their  fixed 
points  at  the  limbs,  act  as  elevators  of  the  ribs.  During 
expiration  the  ribs  are  depressed,  their  lower  borders  in- 
verted, the  width  of  the  intercostal  spaces  diminished,  the 
sternum  depressed,  the  suine  more  curved,  and  the  dia- 


fio.  19— The  concave  abdominal  surface  of  the  diaphragm,  a,  4th  lumbar 
vertebra;  b,  c,  12  h  and  utli  libs;  d,  xiphi-stemum  j  «,/  crura  of  diaphragm ; 
g,  h,  arched  tendons  of  origin  of  diaphragm;  t,  aorta;  /,  oesophagus;  m. 
Inferior  vena  cava;  n,  psoas;  o,  qusdratus  muscle;  qqqu  central  tendon  of 
diaphragm,  into  v/hicli  tbe  muscular  fibres  are  inserted. 

phragm  more  convex.  These  movements  are  principally 
due  to  the  recoil  of  the  elastic  tissue  of  the  lungs  previously 
rendered  tense  by  the  inflation  of  the  air-cells,  and  to  the 
untwisting  of  the  ribs  when  the  inspiratory  muscles  cease 
to  elevate  and  rotate  them.  Muscular  action  plays  but  a 
small  part  in  quiet  expiration,  but  the  expulsion  of  the 
air  from  the  lungs  may  be  facilitated  by  contracting  the 
abdominal  muscles,  which,  pressing  the  abdominal  viscera 
against  the  under  surface  of  the  diaphragm,  force  that 
muscle  upwards. 

The  Temporo-maxillary  Joints  are  the  only  diarthrodial 
articulations  in  the  head.  The  condyle  of  the  lower  jaw  on 
each  side  is  received  into  the  glenoid  fossa  of  the  temporal 
bone ;  each  joint  is  enclosed  by  a  capsular  ligament,  and 
between  the  articular  surfaces  is  a  meniscus,  which  sub- 
divides the  interior  of  the  joint  into  two  cavities,  each  lined 
by  a  synovial  membrane.  The  movements  of  the  lower 
jaw  take  place  simultaneously  at  both  its  articulations 
during  mastication  and  speech,  through  the  action  of  the 
several  muscles  which  are  inserted  into  it.  This  bone  is 
elevated  by  the  temporal  muscles,  inserted  into  the  coronoid 
processes ;  and  by  the  masseterics,  inserted  into  the  outer 
surface,  and  the  internal  pterygoids,  into  the  inner  surface  of 
each  angle.  It  is  depressed  partly  by  its  own  weight  and 
partly  by  the  action  of  the  digastrics  and  genio-hyoids;  in- 
serted close  to  the  symphysis ;  by  the  platysma,  inserted  into 
the  outer  surface  of  each  horizontal  ramus;  and  the  mylo- 


hyoids, into  their  inner  surfaces.  The  elevators  of  the  jaw 
are  much  more  powerful  than  the  depressors,  ior  they  not 
only  have  to  overcome  the  weight  of  the  boue,  but  during 
mastication  have  to  exercise  force  sufficient  to  cut  or  break 
down  the  food  between  the  teeth.  In  carnivorous  animals, 
more  especially  those  which,  like  the  tiger  or  hyama,  crack 
tha  bones  of  their  prey,  these  muscles  attain  a  great  size. 
The  lower  jaw  can  be  projected  in  front  of  the  upper  by  the 
external  pterygoid  muscles,  inserted  into  the  neck  of  the 
bone  on  each  side ;  but  excessive  movement  forward  is 
checked  by  the  action  of  the  stylo-maxillary  ligaments, 
which  pass  from  the  styloid  processes  to  the  angles  of  the 
bone ;  when  projected  forward,  the  jaw  is  drawn  back  by 
the  posterior  fibres  of  the  temporal  muscles.  When  tht 
elevator,  depressor,  protractor,  and  retractor  muscles  are 
successively  brought  into  action,  the  lateral  or  grinding 
movements  of  the  bone,  so  important  in  mastication,  arq 
produced. 

Along  with  the  movements  of  the  lower  jaw  those  of  the 
hyoid  bone  and  larynx  must  be  considered,  for  the  digastrics, 
the  genie-  and  mylo-hyoids,  which  depress  the  lower  jaw, 
act,  when  their  action  is  reversed,  along  with  the  stylo- 
hyoid muscles  in  elevating  the  hyoid  bone  and  larynx, 
which  structures  can  be  depressed  or  drawn  downwards  by 
the  action  of  the  sterno-hyoids,  sterno-thyroids,  thyro- 
hyoids,  and  omo-hyoids ;  the  elevation  of  the  hyoid,  when 
drawn  down  by  its  depressor  muscles,  is  effected  by  the 
elastic  stylohyoid  ligaments  attached  to  its  small  cornua, 
which,  by  their  recoil  when  the  depressor  muscles  have 
ceased  to  contract,  draw  the  bone  up  to  its  former  position. 

Numerous  muscles  are  situated  immediately  beneath  the 
skin  of  the  scalp  and  face.  They  are  not  of  so  deep  red  a 
colour  as  the  muscles  of  the  trunk  and  limbs,  and  whilst 
they  arise  from  one  or  other  of  the  bones  of  the  head,  they 
are  inserted  into  the  deep  surface  of  the  skin  itself.  Hence 
when  they  contract  they  move  the  skin  of  the  scalp  and  face, 
and  as  they  are  the  instruments  through  which  the  various 
passions  and  emotions  are  expressed,  they  are  grouped  to- 
gether as  the  Muscles  of  Expression  (Plate  XV.,  figs.  2  and 
3).  The  occipitc-frontalis,  or  great  muscle  of  the  scalp, 
passes  from  the  occipital  bone  over  the  vertex  to  the  fore- 
head ;  \vhen  it  contracts,  the  skin  of  the  forehead  is  wrinkled 
transversely,  the  eyebrows1  are  elevated,  and  an  expression 
of  amazement  or  surprise  is  produced.  Some  persons  have  a 
greater  power  over  this  muscle  than  others,  and  by  the  alter- 
nate contraction  of  its  occipital  and  frontal  portions  can 
move  the  hairy  sca'p  to  and  fro  with  great  rapidity.  A  pair 
of  muscles,  the  corrugatores  supercilii,  arises  from  the  supra- 
ciliary  ridges,  on  the  frontal  bone,  to  be  inserted  into  the 
eyebrows  :  they  draw  the  eyebrows  downwards  and  in- 
wards, wrinkle  the  skin  of  the  forehead  longitudinally, 
and  contract  with  great  vigour  in  the  act  of  frowning. 
The  auricle  of  the  external  ear  has  three  small  muscles 
inserted  into  it,  one  behind,  the  posterior,  one  above,  the 
superior,  one  in  front,  the  anterior  auricular  muscle :  in 
man,  as  a  rule,  these  muscles  are  feeble,  and  have  little 
action  ;  but  in  many  mammals  they  are  large,  and  by  them 
the  animal  pricks  its  ears  to  detect  the  faintest  sound  of 
danger.  The  eyelids  are  drawn  together,  so  as  to  close  the 
eye  as  in  the  act  of  sleep,  by  the  orbicularis  palpebrarum, 
the  fibres  of  which  lie  in  the  eyelids  and  on  the  borders  of 
the  orbit,  and  surround  the  fissure  between  the-  eyelids. 
This  muscle  is  a  characteristic  specimen  of  the  group  of 
sphincter  muscles,  i.e.,  muscles  which  surround  orifices,  and 
by  their  contraction  close  them.  When  the  upper  fibres  of 
the  muscle  alone  contract,  the  uoper  eyelid  is  depressed, — 
a  movement  which  takes  place  almost  involuntarily  and 
with  great  frequency  during  our  waking  hours,  so  as  to 
wash  the  tears  over  the  exposed  part  of  the  eyeball  and 
keep  it  moia£.      In  expressing  §  "  knowing  wiii."  Ut- 


HEAD   AND  NECK.] 


ANATOMY 


837 


lower  fibres  alone  of  the  orbicularis  contract,  and  the  lower 
lid  is  elevated.  The  elevation  of  the  upper  lid,  as  in 
opening  the  eye,  is  due  to  the  levator  palpebne  superioris, 
which,  arising  withia  the  orbit,  is  inserted  into  the  upper 
eyelid.  Muscles  are  inserted  into  the  framework  of  the 
nostrils  so  as  to  increase  or  diminish  the  size  of  their 
orifices,  and  thus  to  promote  or  impede  the  passage  of  air 
into  the  nose.  The  size  of  the  orifice  is  increased  by 
two  elevator  muscles  inserted  into  the  ala',  or  side  of  the 
nostril ;  and  when  violent  exercise  is  being  performed,  or 
respiration  is  from  any  cause  impeded,  the  nostrils  are 
always  widely  dilated.  One  of  these  elevator  muscles, 
which  also  sends  a  slip  down  to  the  upper  lip,  and  is  con- 
sequently called  the  common  elevator,  is  the  muscle  by 
the  contraction  of  which  a  sneer  is  expressed.  A  partial 
closure  of  the  nostril  can  be  effected  by  small  muscles 
which  depress  and  compress  the  ate  of  the  nose  :  in  man 
these  muscles  are  rudimentary  as  compared  with  the  seal 
and  other  aquatic  mammals,  in  which  a  powerful  sphincter 
muscle  closes  the  nostrils  in  the  act  of  diving.  The  lips 
can  be  elevated  or  depressed  so  as  to  close  or  open  the 
mouth ;  they  can  be  protruded  or  retracted,  or  the  corners 
of  the  mouth  can  be  drawn  to  one  side  or  the  other,  by 
the  action  of  various  muscles  which  are  inserted  into 
these  movable  folds  of  the  integument.  The  orbicularis 
oris  is  a  sphincter  muscle,  the  fibres  of  which  lie  both 
in  the  upper  and  lower  lip3;  by  its  contraction  the 
mouth  is  closed  and  the  lips  pressed  against  the  teeth, 
as  when  a  firm  resolution  is  intended  to  be  expressed. 
The  mouth  is  opened  by  the  elevator  muscles  of  the  upper 
and  the  depressors  of  the  lower  lip ;  it  is  transversely  elon- 
gated by  the  zygomatic  and  risorius  muscles,  which  pass  to 
its  corners,  and  which  are  brought  into  action  in  the  acts 
of  smiling  and  laughing.  But  the  muscles  of  the  lips  also 
play  an  important 
part  in  connection 
with  the  reception 
of  food  into  the 
mouth,  and  with 
the  act  of  articula- 
tion. 

The  cavity  of 
the  mouth  forms 
the  commence- 
ment of  the  ali- 
mentary canal, 
and  is  lined  by  a 
soft  mucous  mem- 
brane. In  it  the 
teeth  and  tongue 
are  situated,  and 
into  it  the  secre- 
tion called  saliva 
is  poured.  It 
opens  behind  into 
the  pharynx.  The 
side  walls  of  the 
mouth  are  called 
the  cheeks,  and 
into  the  formation 
of  each  cheek  a 
flattened  quadrila- 
teral muscle,  the 
buccinator,  enters. 
This  muscle  is  at- 
tached above  and 
below  to  the  upper 
and  lower  jaw- 
bones, behind  to 
constrictor  muscle 


Fio.  50.— Profile  of  check  and  pharyn*.  a,  buccinator ; 
6,  tensor;  e,  levator  palatl;  d,  «,/,  superior,  middle, 
and  Inferior  constrictors;  g,  tbyro-hyold;  A,  hyo- 
glo&sus;  I,  mylo-hyoid;  m,  crlco-thyroid ;  n,  stylo- 
pharyngeal o,  stylo-glossus;  q,  fibrous  band  which 
gives  origin  to  buccinator  and  superior  constrictor; 
1,  glosso-pharyngeal  nerve;  2,  superior  laryngeal 
artery ;  3,  superior  laryngeal  nerve ;  4,  Its  branch  to 
crico- thyroid;  5,  Inferior  laryngeal  nerve  and  artery. 

a   fibrous   band,   to  which  the   upper 
is  also  connected,  so  that  the  walls  of 


the  mouth  and  pharynx  are  continuous  witrt  each  otiier, 
whilst  in  front  the  buccinator  blends  with  the  structures  in 
the  lips.  It  compresses  the  cheeks,  and  drives  the  air  out 
of  the  cavity  of  the  mouth  as  in  playing  a  wind  instru- 
ment j  hence  the  name,  "  trumpeter's  muscle." 

The  aperture  of  communication  between  the  mouth  and 
pharynx  is  named  the  isthmus  of  the  fauces.  It  is  bounded 
below  by  the  root  of  the  tongue,  on  each  side  by  the  tonsils, 
and  above  by  the  soft  palate.  The  soft  palate  is  a  structure 
which  hangs  pendulous  from  the  posterior  edge  of  the  hard 
bony  palate.  From  its  centre  depends  an  elongated  body, 
the  uvula,  and  from  each  of  its  sides  two  folds  extend,  one 
downwards  and  forwards  to  the  tongue,  the  other  down- 
wards and  backwards  to  the  pharynx.  These  folds  are 
called  the  anterior  and  posterior  pillars  of  the  fauces  or 
palate.  Between  the  anterior  and  posterior  pillar,  on  each 
side,  the  tonsil  is  seated.  The  soft  palate  and  its  pillars  are 
invested  by  the  mucous  lining  of  the  mouth  and  pharynx, 
and  contain  small  but  important  muscles.  The  muscles  of 
the  soft  palate  and  uvula,  termed  the  elevators  and  tensors,, 
raise  and  make  them  tense  during  the  process  of  deglutition. 
The  muscles  of  the  posterior  pillars,  or  palato-pharyngei,  by 
their  contraction,  approximate  the  walls  of  the  pharynx  to 
the  soft  palate  and  uvula,  whilst  the  muscles  of  the  anterior 
pillars,  or  palato-glossi,  diminish  the  size  of  the  fauces. 

The  pharynx  is  a  tube  with  muscular  walls,  lined  by  a  Musclea  «f 
mucous  membrane,  which  communicates  above  and  in  front  pharyui. 
with  the  cavities  of  the  nose,  mouth,  and  larynx,  whilst 
below  it  is  continuous  with  the.  oesophagus  or  gullet.  It 
serves  as  the  chamber  or  passage  down  which  the  feed 
goes  from  the  mouth  to  the  oesophagus  in  the  act  of 
swallowing,  and  through  which  the  air  is  transmitted  from 
the  nose  or  mouth  to  the  larynx  in  the  act  of  breathing. 
It  lies  immediately  behind  the  nose,  mouth,  and  larynx, 
and  in  front  of 
the  five  upper 
cervical  verte- 
brae. Its  length 
is  from  4J-  to  5\ 
inches;  its  widest 
part  is  opposite 
the  back  of  the 
mouth.  The  prin- 
cipal muscles  in 
its  walls  are  call- 
ed the  constric- 
tors, and  are 
named,  from 
above  down- 
wards, superior, 
middle,  and  in- 
ferior. They  are 
arranged  in 
pairs,  and  arise 
from  the  cartil- 
ages of  the 
larynx,  from  the 
hyoidbone,lower 
jaw,  and  internal 

Pterygoid  pro-  F[(j  j,  _|nterl0r  of  ,ne  ^i7sryn*,  teen  by  opening  It* 
cess -of  the  sphe-  posterior  Tall,  a,  a,  Eustachian  tube:  6,  6,  tensor;  e, 
_  ,;j,  -inj  (iL.  levator  palatl;  ilcvolor  uvula";  e,«,  pnlatopharynceir"; 
UOlU,  williil/  me     j  palatoglossus ;  g,  K  t.  Uie  three  constrictors;  {,  f,  u»n- 

superior    also    «"«• 

springs  from  the  fibrous  band  to  which  the  buccinator  is 
attached ;  their  fasciculi  curve  backwards  to  the  middle  Line 
of  the  posterior  wall  of  the  pharynx,  to  be  inserted  into  a 
tendinous  band  which  extends  longitudinally  along  this 
wall  of  the  tube. 

The  action  of  the  muscles  of  the  moutn,  paiate,  and 
pharynx  may  now  be  considered  in  connection  with  th# 


838 


A  N  A  T  O  A I   K 


[JOINTS   AND   MUSCLE3 — ■ 


process  of  deglutition  or  swallowing.  When  the  food  is 
received  into  the  mouth,  it  is  moistened  by  the  secretion  of 
the  salivary  and  other  buccal  glands,  and  is  broken  down 
by  the  grinding  action  of  the  molar  teeth.  The  buccinator 
muscles  press  it  from  between  the  gums  and  the  cheek, 
and,  along  with  the  movements  of  the  tongue,  aid  in  col- 
lecting it  into  a  bolus  on  the  surface  of  that  organ.  Dur- 
ing the  process  of  mastication  the  palato-glossi  contract  so 
as  to  close  the  fauces.  When  the  bolus  is  sufficiently  tritu- 
rated and  moistened,  the  palato-glossi  relax,  the  tip  of  the 
tongue  is  pressed  against  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  and  by  a 
heave  backward  of  that  organ  the  bolus  is  pressed  through 
the  posterior  orifice  of  the  mouth  into  the  pharynx,  where 
it  is  grasped  by  the  superior  constrictor  muscles,  and  forced 
downwards  by  them  and  the  other  constrictor  muscles  into 
the  oesophagus,  and  thence  into  the  stomach.  As  both 
the  nose  and  larynx  open  into  the  pharynx,  the  one  imme- 
diately above,  the  other  immediately  below  the  orifice  of 
the  mouth,  it  is  of  great  importance  that  none  of  the  food 
should  enter  into  these  chambers,  and  obstruct  the  respira- 
tory passages.  To  guard  against  any  accident  of  this  kind, 
two  valvular  structures  are  provided, — viz.,  the  soft  palate 
and  the  epiglottis, — which,  whilst  leaving  the  orifices  into 
their  respective  chambers  open  during  breathing,  may 
effectually  close  them  when  deglutition  is  being  performed. 
As  the  bolus  is  being  projected  through  the  fauces  into  the 
pharynx,  the  soft  palate  and  uvula  are  elevated  and  made 
tense,  and  at  the  same  time  the  wall  of  tho  pharynx  is 
brought  in  contact  with  it  by  the  contraction  of  the  palato- 
pharyngei;  the  part  of  the  pharynx  into  which  the  nose  opens 
is  thus  temporarily  shut  off  from  that  into  which  the  mouth 
opens.  If  laughter,  however,  be  excited  at  this  time,  the 
tension  of  the  soft  palate  is  destroyed,  and  part  of  the  food 
may  find  its  way  upwards  into  the  nose.  The  closure  of 
the  larynx  by  the  epiglottis  is  due  partly  to  the  depression 
of  that  valve  and  partly  to  the  elevation  of  the  larynx. 
The  backward  heave  of  the  tongue  relaxes  the  ligaments 
•which  connect  the  front  of  the  epiglottis  to  that  organ,  and 
enables  the  small  epiglottidean  muscles  to  depress  the 
valve.  The  elevation  of  the  hyoid  and  larynx  is  due  to  the 
action  of  the  mylo-hyoid,  digastric,  and  genio-hyoid  muscles, 
which  pass  from  the  lower  jaw  to  the  hyoid,  and  of  the 
thyro-hyoid,  which  pass  from  the  hyoid  to  the  thyroid 
cartilage  of  the  larynx;  preliminary  to  their  action,  the 
lower  jaw  must  be  fixed,  which  is  done  by  the  closure  of 
the  mouth  prior  to  the  act  of  swallowing.  The  aperture  of 
the  larynx  is  thus  brought  into  contact  with  the  depressed 
epiglottis,  which  is  adapted  more  exactly  to  the  opening 
by  a  change  in  its  form  due  to  the  projection  of  a  cushion- 
liko  pad  from  its  posterior  surface.  By  these  ingenious 
arrangements  the  adaptation  of  a  single  chamber  to  the 
very  different  functions  of  breathing  and  swallowing  i3 
effectually  provided  for. 

Joints  and  Muscles  of  tiie  Upper  Limb. 

The  upper  limb  is  jointed  to  the  trunk  at  the  sterno- 
clavicular articulation.  This  is  a  diarthrodial  joint:  the 
bones  are  retained  together  by'  investing  ligaments;  a 
meniscus  is  interoosed  batween  the  articular  surfaces;  so 
that  the  joint  possesses  two  synovial  membranes.  A  strong 
ligament,  which  checks  too  great  upward  movement,  con- 
nects the  clavicle  and  first  rib.  The  two  bones  of  the 
shoulder  girdle  articulate  with  each  other  at  the  diarti 
acromioclavicular  joint ;  but,  in  addition,  a  strong  ligament, 
which  checks  too  great  displacement  of  the  bones,  passes 
between  the  clavicle  and  coracoid.  The  movements  of  the 
upper  limb  on  the  trunk  take  place  at  the  sternoclavicular 
joint,  and  consist  in  the  elevation,  depression,  and  forward 
and  backward  movement  of  the  shoulder.  The  movements 
el  th«  acromioclavicular  joint  occur  when  the  scapula  is 


rotated  on  the  clavicle  in  the  act  of  elevating  the  arra. 
above  the  head.  Tho  muscles  which  cause  these  movej 
ments  are  inserted  into  the  bones  of  the  shoulder  girdle; 
the  trapezius  into  the  clavicle,  acromion,  and  spine  of  the 
scapula;  the  rhomboid,  levator  anguli  scapula;,  and  serratua 
magnus  into  the  vertebral  border  of  the  scapula;  the 
pectoralis  minor  into  the  coracoid;  and  tho  subclavius  into 
the  clavicle.  Elevation  of  the  entire  shoulder,  as  in 
shrugging  the  shoulders,  is  due  to  the  contraction  of  the 
trapezius,  levator  scapula;,  and  rhomboideus;  depression 
partly  to  the  weight  of  the  limb  and  partly  to  the  action  of 
the  subclavius  and  pectoralis  minor;  movement  forward  to 
the  serratus  and  pectoralis;  and  backward  to  the  trapezius 
and  rhomboid.  In  rotation  of  the  scapula  on  tho  clavicle, 
the  inferior  angle  of  the  scapula  is  drawn  forward  by  the 
serratus  and  lower  fibres  of  trapezius,  and  backward  by  the 
levator  seapulie,  rhomboid,  and  lesser  pectoral. 

The  Slioulder  Joint  is  a  ball-and-socket  joint,  the  ball 
being  the  head  of  the  humerus,  the  socket  the  glenoid  fossa 
of  the  scapula.  A  large  capsular  ligament,  which  fa 
pierced  by  the  long  tendon  of  the  biceps  muscle,  and  lined, 
by  a  synovial  membrane,  encloses  the  articular  ends  of 
the  two  bones,  and  is  so  loose  as  to  permit  a  range  of 
movement  greater  than  takes  place  in  any  other  joint  in 
the  body.  ,  The  muscles  which  cause  these  movements  are 
inserted  into  the  .humerus ;  the  supra-spinatus,  infra- 
spinatus, and  teres  minor  into  the  great  tuberosity;  the 
sub-scapularis  into  the  small  tuberosity;  the  latissimus 
dorsi  and  teres  major  into  the  bottom  of  the  bicipital 
groove;  the  pectoralis  major  into  its  anterior  border;  the 
coraco-brachialis  into  the  inner  aspect,  and  the  deltoid, 
which  forms  the  fleshy  prominence  of  the  shoulder,  into 
the  outer  aspect  of  the  shaft.  Abduction  and  elevation  or 
extension  of  the  arm  outwards  at  the  shoulder  joint  are 
due  to  the  supra-spinatus  and  deltoid;  adduction  or  de- 
pression, to  the  coraco-brachialis,  latissimus,  and  teres 
major,  assisted  by  the  weight  of  the  limb;  movement  for- 
wards and  elevation,  to  the  anterior  fibres  of  the  deltoid, 
pectoralis,  and  subscapularis;  backward  movement  to  tho 
latissimus  and  teres;  rotation  outwards  to  the  infra-spinatus 
and  teres  minor;  rotation  inwards  to  the  subscapularis, 
pectoralis,  latissimus,  and  teres.  A  combination  of  abduo- 
tion,  movement  forwards,  adduction,  and  movement  back- 
wards, produces  the  movement  of  circumduction.  Certain 
movements  of  the  upper  limb,  however,  take  place  not 
only  at  the  shoulder  joint,  but  between  the  two  bones  of  the 
shoulder  girdle ;  for  in  elevating  the  arm,  whilst  the  supra- 
spinatus  and  deltoid  initiate  the  movement  at  the  shoulder 
joint,  the  farther  elevation,  as  in  raising  the  arm  above  the 
head,  takes  place  by  the  trapezius  and  serratus,  which 
rotate  the  scapula  and  draw  its  inferior  angle  forward.  The 
free  range  of  movement  of  the  human  shoulder  is  one  of 
its  most  striking  characters, 
so  that  the  arm  can  be  moved 
in  every  direction  through 
space,  and  its  efficiency  as  aD 
instrument  of  prehension  is 
thus  greatly  increased.  The 
movement  of  abduction,  or 
extension,  which  elevates  the 
arm  in  line  with  the  axis  of 
the  scapula,  is  characteristi- 
cally human,  and  a  distinct  Fl0  22._ outline  «kp.teh  of  human  im- 
articular  area  is  provided  on     ""="»«•    T*"  articular  a™  rot  ™m- 

i  r  plcte  extemion  lie*  to  the  right  o/ tin 

the  head  of  the  humerus  lor    dotted  ime.  (4/<«-  oooaur.i 
this  movement. 

The  Elbow  Joint  is  the  articulation  between  the  humerus, 
radius,  and  ulna :  the  great  sigmoid  cavity  of  the  ulna  to 
adapted  to  the  trochlea  of  the  humerus,  and  the  cup  of 
the  radius  to  tho  capitellnm.     The  joint  is  endusea  by  a 


ANATOMY 


PLATB  XVI« 


(VCYU0P40IA    B8ITAOIC*.    MIOTH    EDIII8I. 


UPPEE   LIMB.J 


ANATOMY 


839 


capsular  ligament  lined  bj  a  synovial  membrane,  which  is 
subdivided  into  anterior,  posterior,  internal,  and  ex- 
ternal bands  of  fibres.  Flexion  and  extension  are  the 
two  movements  of  the  joint,  and  the  range  of  movement  is 
limited  by  the  locking  at  the  end  of  flexion  of  the  coronoid 
process  into  the  coronoid  fossa  of  the  humerus,  and  at  the 
end  of  extension  of  the  olecranon  process  into  the  olecranoid 
fossa.  The  elbow  joint  is  a  hinge  with  screwed  surfaces ; 
the  path  described  by  the  hand  and  fore-arm  is  a  spiral,  so 
that  during  flexion  they  are  thrown  forwards  and  inwards. 
The  muscles  which  cause  the  movements  are  inserted  into 
the  bones  of  the  fore-arm.  The  flexors  are  the  brachialis 
anticus,  inserted  into  the  coronoid  of  the  ulna ;  the  biceps, 
which  forms  the  fleshy  mass  on  the  front  of  the  upper  arm, 
into  the  tuberosity  of  the  radius ;  the  supinator  longus  into 
the  styloid  process  of  the  radius.  The  only  extensor  is  the 
triceps  anconeus,  which  forms  the  fleshy  mass  on  the  back 
.  of  the  upper  arm,  and  is  inserted  into  the  olecranon. 
lata  cm'  The  Radio-ulnar  Joints  are  found  between  the  two  bones 
»wn.  of  the  fore-arm.  The  head  of  the  radius  rolls  in  the  lesser 
sigmoid  cavity  of  the  ulna,  and  is  retained  in  position  by 
a  ring-like  ligament  which  surrounds  it ;  the  shafts  of  the 
two  bones  are  connected  together  by  the  interosseous 
membrane,  their  lower  ends  by  a  capsular  ligament  and  a 
triangular  fibro-cartilage  or  meniscus.  The  radius  rotates. 
round  an  axis  drawn  through  the  centre  of  its  head  and 
the  styloid  process  of  the  ulna;  rotation  of  the  fore-arm 
and  hand  forward  is  called  pronation, — rotation  backwards, 
supination.  The  supinator  and  pronator  muscles  are  all 
inserted  into  the  radius  :  the  supinators  are  the  longus  and 
brevis  and  the  biceps ;  the  pronators  are  the  teres  and 
quadratus.  Where  delicate  manipulation  is  required  the 
fore-arm  is  semi-flexed  on  the  upper  arm,  for  the  cup- 
shaped  head  of  the  radius  is  then  brought  into  contact 
with  the  capitellum  of  the  humerus,  and  the  rotatory 
movements  of  the  bone  can  be  performed  with  greater 
precision. 
1st.  The  Wrist  or  Radio-carpal  Joint  is  formed  above  by  the 

lower  end  of  the  radius  and  the  triangular  meniscus,  below 
by  the  upper  articular  surfaces  of  the  scaphoid,  semi-lunar, 
and  cuneiform  bones.  An  investing  ligament,  lined  by  a 
synovial  membrane,  and  subdivided  into  anterior,  posterior, 
internal,  and  external  bands  of  fibres,  encloses  the  joint. 
It  is  the  oblong  form  of  hinge-joint,  and  possesses  two 
axes,  a  long  and  a  short ;  around  the  long  axis  movements 
occur  which  bend  the  hand  forwards,  or  bring  it  in  line 
with  the  fore-arm,  or  bend  it  backwards ;  around  the  short 
axis  the  hand  may  be  moved  towards  the  radial  or  ulnar 
margins  of  the  fore-arm.  The  flexors  forward  are  the 
palmaris  longus,  inserted  into  the  palmar  fascia ;  the  flexor 
carpi  radialis  into  the  metacarpal  bone  of  the  index;  the 
flexor  carpi  ulnaris  into  the  pisiform  bone;  the  extensors 
and  flexors  backwards  are  the  longer  and  shorter  radial 
extensors  inserted  into  the  metacarpalbones  of  the  index 
and  middle  fingers,  and  the  ulnar  extensor  into  the  meta- 
carpal bone  of  the. little  finger;  the  flexors  and  extensors 
of  the  fingers  have'  also  a  secondary  action  on  the  wrist 
joint.  The  ulnar  flexor  and  ulnar  extensor  of  the  wrist 
draw  the  hand  to  the  ulnar  side,  and  the  radial  flexor  and 
extensor,  together  with  the  extensors  of  the  thumb,  draw 
the  hand  towards  the  radial  border  of  the  fore-arm. 

The  Carpal  and  Carpo-metacarpal  Joints  are  constructed 
thus  : — The  articular  surfaces  are  retained  in  contact  by 
certain  ligaments  passing  between  the  dorsal  surfaces  of 
adjacent  bones,  by  others  between  their  palmar  surfaces, 
and  by  interosseous  ligaments  between  the  semi-lunar  and 
cuneiform,  semi-lunar  and  scaphoid,  os  magnum  and  unci- 
form, os  magnum  and  trapezoid;  lateral  ligaments  also 
attach  the  soaphoid  to  the  trapezium,  and  the  cuneiform  to 
the  unciform.     Similarly,  the  trapezuid,  os  magnum,  and 


unciform  are  connected  to  the  metacarpal  bones  of  tin 
fingers  by  dorsal,  palmar,  and  interosseous  ligaments,  and 
the  metacarpal  bones  of  the  fingers  have  a  like  mode  of 
union  at  their  carpal  ends ;  further,  a  transverse  ligament 
extends  between  the  distal  ends  of  the  metacarpal  bones  of 
the  fingers,  and  checks  too  great  lateral  displacement  The 
range  of  movement  at  any  one  of  these  carpal  joints  is  very 
slight,  but  the  multiplicity  of  joints  in  this  locality  con- 
tributes to  the  mobility  of  the  wrist,  and  makes  the  junction 
between  the  hand  and  fore-arm  less  rigid  in  its  nature. 
The  metacarpal  bone  of  the  thumb  is  not  jointed  to  the 
index,  and  has  a  distinct  saddle-shaped  articulation  with 
the  trapezium,  invested  by  a  capsular  ligament,  so  that  its 
range  of  movement  is  extensive. 

The  Metacarpophalangeal  and  Inter-phalangeal  Jointt 
are  connected  by  lateral  ligaments  passing  between  the 
bones,  and  by  an  arrangement  of  fibres  on  their  dorsal  and 
palmar  surfaces. 

In  studying  the  muscles  which  move  the  digits,  it  will 
be  advisable,  on  account  of  the  freedom  and  importance  of 
the  movements  of  the  thumb,  to 
examine  its  muscles  indepen- 
dently. These  muscles  either 
pass  from  the  fore-arm  to  the 
thumb,  or  are  grouped  together 
at  the  outer  part  of  the  palm, 
and  form  the  elevation  known 
as  the  ball  of  the  thumb  ;  they 
are  inserted  either  into  the 
metacarpal  bone  or  the  pha- 
langes. The  thumb  is  extended 
and  abducted,  i.e.,  drawn  away 
from  the  index,  by  three  ex- 
tensormusclesdescending  from 
the  fore-arm,  and  inserted  one 
into  each  of  its  three  bones, 
and  a  small  muscle,  specially 
named  abductor  pollicis,  in- 
serted into  the  outer  side  of 
the  first  phalanx :  its  bones 
are  bent  on  each  other  by  a 
long  and  short  flexor  muscle  ; 
it  is  drawn  back  to  the  index 
by  an  adductor  muscle  ;  and 
the  entire  thumb  is  thrown  fln  i^ueepmusci 
across  the  surface  of  the  palm 
by  the  opponens  pollicis, 
which  is  inserted  into  the 
shaft  of  the  metacarpal  bone. 

The   four   fingers   can    be 
either  bent,  or   extended,   or 
drawn  asunder,  i.e.,  abducted 
adducted.      The  ungual  phalanges  can   be  bent  by  the 


Mho  palm  of 
the  band.  1.  abductor  poinds  eat 
short ;  2,  opponent ;  3  and  4.  sua*. 
diTislons  of  flexor  breeia;  6.  ad- 
ductor; 6,  C,  tendon  of  Ion- flexor 
pollicis;  7,  abductor  of  the  little 
linger:  8,  ahort  flexor; 9,  opponenn 

10,  tendon  of  flexor  carpi  ulnarte; 

11.  tendon   of   lone    supinator;     H 
transverse  metacaipal  ligament 

or  drawn  together,  «.«., 


Fto.  24.— Tendons  attached  to  a  flnjter.  o.  the  extensor  tendon;  k,  deep  flexor. 
C  Bupcrficiiii  flexor;  d.  a  lumbrical  muscle;  c  an  Interosseous  muscle; 
/,  tendinous  expansion  from  the  lumbrical  and  Interosseous  muscles  joining 
the  extensor  tendon. 

action  of  the  deep  flexor  muscle,  the  four  tendons  of  which 
are  inserted  into  them  ;  the  second  phalanges  by  the  super- 
ficial flexor,  also  inserted  by  four  tendons,  one  into  each 
phalanx ;  these  muscles  descend  from  the  front  of  the  fore- 
arm into  the  palm  in  front  of  the  wrist,  where  they  are 


840 


ANA  T  O  M  Y 


(joints  and  MUSCLES 


9*cro-ihac 

|OUlt. 


enclosed  in  a  canal  by  a  strong  band,  tlic  anterior  annular 
ligament,  and  their  surfaces  are  invested  by  a  synovial 
membrane,  which  facilitates  their  movements  to  and  fro 
beneath  that  ligament ;  as  they  pass  downwards  in  front  of 
the  fingers  they  are  enclosed  in  a  strong  fibrous  sheath 
lined  by  a  synovial  membrane,  and  the  tendon  of  the  super- 
ficial flexor  is  pierced  by  the  deep  flexor,  so  that  the  latter 
may  reach  the  third  phalanx  into  which  it  i3  inserted. 
Four  rounded  muscles,  the  lumbricales,  arise  in  the  palm 
from  the  deep  flexor  tendons,  turn  round  the  radial  borders 
of  the  first  phalanges,  and  are  inserted  one  into  the  extensor 
tendon  on  the  dorsum  of  each  finger ;  these  muscles  bend 
the  first  phalanges  on  the  metacarpal  bones,  but  from  their 
insertion  into  the  extensor  tendons  they  also  extend  the 
second  and  third  phalanges  on  the  first ;  as  they  are  much 
used  in  playing  stringed  instruments,  they  have  been  called 
"fiddlers'muscles."  Thefingers  are  extended  or  straightened 
by  muscles  inserted  into  the  back  of  the  second  and  third 
phalanges  ;  the  extensor  muscles  descend  from  the  back  of 
the  fore-arm, — one,  the  common  extensor,  subdivides  into 
four  tendons,  one  for  each  finger,  but  in  addition  the  index 
and  little  have  each  a  separate  extensor  muscle,  the  tendon 
of  which  joins  that  of  the  common  extensor.  The  index 
finger  possesses  more  independent  movement  than  the 
other  digits — hence  its  more  frequent  use  as  a  "  pointer;" 
the  extensor  tendons  of  the  little  and  ring  fingers  are 
usually  united  together,  so  that  these  digits  are  associated 
in  their  movements.  Abduction  and  adduction  of  the 
fingers  are  caused  by  seven  small  muscles  situated  in  the 
intervals  between  the  metacarpal  bones, — hence  called 
interossei ;  four  of  these  lie  on  the  back  of  the  hand,  three 
on  its  palmar  surface ;  they  are  inserted  into  the  sides  of 
the  first  phalanges,  and  either  pull  the  fingers  away  from  a 
line  drawn  through  the  middle  finger  or  approximate  them 
to  that  line.  Too  great  abduction  is  checked  by  the  trans- 
verse metacarpal  ligament.  The  human  hand  is  a  perfect  in- 
strument of  prehension;  not  only  can  the  individual  fingers' 
be  bent  into  hooks,  but  the  thumb  can  be  thrown  across  the 
front  of  the  palm  so  that  it  can  be  opposed  to  the  several 
fingers,  and  objects  can  therefore  be  grasped  between  it  and 
them ;  but  further,  this  power  of  opposing  the  thumb  permits 
objects  to  be  held  in  the  palm  of  the  hand,  which  may  be 
hollowed  into  a  cup  or  made  to  grasp  a  sphere.  The 
movements  of  the  joints  are  indicated  on  the  surface  of 
the  palm  by  tegumentary  folds, — an  oblique  fold  for  the 
thumb,  and  two  oblique  folds  for  the  metacarpo-phalangeal 
joints  of  the  fingers ;  the  joints  of  the  second  and  third 
phalanges  are  also  marked  on  the  surface  by  folds. 

Joints  and  Muscles  of  the  Lower  Limb. 

The  innominate  bones  are  connected  to  the  spinal  column 
by  the  sacro-iliac  joints  and  the  sacro-sciatic  ligaments. 
The  Sacro-iliac  Joint  is  between  the  side  of  the  sacrum  and 
the  internal  surface  of  the  ilium,  the  articular  surfaces  of 
which  bones  are  covered  by"  cartilage,  and  connected 
together  by  short,  strong  ligaments.  The  sacro-sciatic 
ligaments  stretch  from  the  side  of  -the  sacrum  and  coccyx 
to  the  spine  and  tuberosity  of  the  ischium.  The  two 
innominate  bones  are  atao  connected  together  at  the  pubic 
symphysis,  which  is  an  amphiarthrodial  joint.  The  sacro- 
iliac joints  and  pubic  symphysis  permit  only  slight  move- 
ment; .that  at  the  former  is  around  an  imaginary  axis, 
drawn  transversely  through  the  second  sacral  vertebra,  which 
allows  the  base  of  the  sacrum  to  be  thrown  forward  and  its 
apex  backward  in  -the  stooping  position  of  the  body;  but 
too  great  movement  backward  of  the  apex  is  checked  by 
the  sacro-sciatic  ligaments.  As  the  weight  of  the  trunk, 
or  of  what  may  be  carried  in  the  arms  or  on  the  back,  is 
transmitted  through  the  haunch-bones  to  the  lower  limbs, 


the  sacro-iliac  ligaments  require  to  be  of  great  strength, 
because  the  sacrum,  and  with  it  the  entire  trunk,  are  sus- 
pended by  them  on  the  two  innominate  bones. 

The  II ip  Joint  is  a  ball-and-socket  joint;  the  ball  is  the 
head  of  the  femur,  and  the  socket  the  cup-shaped  acetabu- 
lum in  the  haunch  bom,  the  depth  of  the  cup  being  in 
creased  by  a  ligament  which  is  attached  around  the  brim. 
A  large  capsular  ligament,  which  is  especially  strong  in 
front,  encloses  the  articular  surfaces.  The  ligament  is 
lined  by  a  synovial  membrane,  which  also  invests  the  neck 
of  the  thigh  bone.  Within  the  joint  is  the  round  or  sus- 
pensory ligament  attached  to  the  head  of  the  thigh  bone 
and  to  the  sides  of  the  depression  at  the  bottom  of  the 
acetabulum.  Whilst  the  hip  joint  possesses  considerable 
mobility,  it  has  much  moro  stability  than  the  shoulder, 
owing  to  the  acetabulum  being  deeper  than  the  glenoid 
fossa,  and  the  greater  strength  and  tension  of  the  fibres  of 
its  capsular  ligament.  The  muscles  which  move  the  thigh 
at  the  hip  joint  are  situated  either  behind  the  joint,  where 
they  form  the  fleshy  mass  of  the  buttock,  or  at  the  front 
and  the  inner  side  of  the  thigh.  They  are  inserted  either 
into  the  femur  or  fascia  lata,  and  the  great  and  small 
trochanters  serve  as  their  principal  surfaces  of  attachment. 
The  thigh  can  be  bent  on  the  abdomen  by  the  action  of 
the  psoas,  iliacus,  and  pectineus,  which  lie  in  front  of  the 
joint ;  it  can  be  extended  or  drawn  into  line  with  the 
trunk  by  the  gluta.-us-maximus  and  medius ;  it  can  be 
abducted  or  drawn  away  from  the  opposite  thigh  by  the 
glutaeus  maximus,  medius,  and  minimus,  which  muscles 
are  of  large  size,  and  form  the  fleshy  mass  of  the  buttocks. 
It  can  be  adducted  or  drawn  to  touch  its  fellow,  or,  if 
slightly  bent,  drawn  in  front  of  its  fellow,  by  the  adductor 
longus,  brevis,  and  magnus,  which  muscles  are  inserted, 
into  the  linea  aspera,  and  form  the  fleshy  mass  on  tho 
inner  side  of  the  thigh  ;  and  by  the  pectineus  and  quad- 
ratus  femoris.  It  can  be  rotated  outwards  by  the  obturatur 
and  gemelli  muscles,  the  gluta;us  maximus.  p/j  if  oralis,  and 
quadratus  femoris;  and  rotated  inwards  by  the  glutanis- 
medius,  minimus,  and  tensor  fascial  femoris.  In  standing 
erect  the  hip  joints  are  fully  extended,  and  the  mechanical 
arrangements  in  and  around  these  articulations  are  such 
a3  to  enable  them  to  be  retained  in  the  extended  position 
with  but  a  small  expenditure  of  muscular  power.  As  the 
weight  of  the  body  in  the  erect  attitude  falls  behind  the 
joints,  the  strong  anterior  fibres  of  their  capsular  liga- 
ments are  made  tense,  and  the  extended  porition  of  the 
joints  is  preserved.  So  long  as  the  centre  of  gravity  falls 
within  the  basis  of  support  of  the  body,  ie.,  the  space 
between  the  two  feet  when  standing  on  both  legs,  the  body 
will  not  fall.  If  the  body  is  made  to  lean  forward,  then 
the  capsular  ligament  is  no  longer  tense,  and  the  glutaeal 
muscles  are  put  in  action  to  re-extend  the  trunk  on  tho 
thigh,  and  prevent  it  from  falling  forward  ;  if  the  body  is 
made  to  lean  to  one  side  or  the  other,  the  round  ligament 
is  made  tense,  or  the  strong  ilio-tibial  band  of  the  fascia, 
lata  of  the  thigh,  which  stretches  from  the  ilium  to  the 
tibia,  is  put  on  the  stretch,  and  falling  sideways  is  pre- 
vented. When,  in  standing  erect  either  on  one  or  both 
feet,  the  balance  of  the  body  is  disturbed,  then  various 
muscles  both  of  the  trunk  and  lower  limb  are  brought  into 
action  to  assist  in  preserving  the  erect  position.  In  the 
erect  position  the  weight  of  the  trunk  is  transmitted 
through  the  acetabula  to  the  heads  of  the  thigh-bones,  but 
the  position  and  connections  of  the  round  b'gameut  enable 
it  to  suspend  that  portion  of  the  trunk  the  weight  of  which 
is  thrown  upon  it,  and  to  distribute  the  weight  over  the 
head  of  the  femur. 

The  Knee  is  the  largest  and  most  complicated  joint  in 
the  body.  It  consists  of  the  femur,  tibia,  and  patella. 
The  patella  moves  up  and  down  the  trochlear  surface  of 


L0WKK.LIS1B.] 


ANATOMY 


841 


the  femur,  whilst  the  condyles  of  tb'o  femur  rull  upon  the 
semilunar  cartilages  and  articular  surfaces  of  the  tibia. 
A  powerful  investing  ligament  encloses  the  articular  sur- 
faces. This  ligament  is  subdivided  into  bands,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  joint — the  internal  and  external  lateral  liga- 
ments— a  posterior  and  an  anterior.  The  anterior  extends 
from  the  patella  to  the  anterior  tubercle  of  the  tibia,  and 
serves  both  as  a  ligament  and  as  the  tendon  of  insertion  of 
the  extensor  muscles  of  the  leg.  Within  the  investing 
ligament  two  interarticular  or  crucial  ligaments  pass  from 
the  inter-condyloid  fossa  to  the  upper  surface  of  the  tibia ; 
and  interposed  between  the  tibia  and  femoral  condyles  are 
two  menisci,  which  from  their  shape  are  called  the  semi- 
lunar cartilages.  The  synovial  membrane  not  only  lines 
the  investing  ligaments,  but  covers  the  front  of  the  femur 
for  some  distance  above  the  trochlea,  and  forms  folds  or 
pads  within  the  joint  itself,  which  in  certain  movements 
are  interposed  between  the  articular  surfaces  of  the  bones. 
The  movements'at  this  joint  are  those  of  flexion  and  exten- 
sion. The  flexors  are  the  three  great  muscles  on  the  back 
of  the  thigh,  called  the  ham-strings ;  they  all  arise  from 
the  ischial  tuberosity,  and  are  inserted — the  biceps  into 
the  head  of  the  fibula,  the  semi-tendinosus  and  semi-mem- 
branosus  into  the  upper  end  of  the  tibia.  The  extensors 
form  the  fleshy  mass  on  the  front  and  outer  side  of  the 
thigh ;  one  muscle,  the  rectus,  arises  from  the  ilium — the 
others,  the  vasti,  from  the  shaft  of  the  femur ;  and  they  are 
all  inserted  by  a  powerful  tendon  into  the  patella,  and 
through  the  anterior  ligament  of  the  knee  into  the  tibia. 
The  patella  is  indeed  a  sesamoid  bone,  developed  in  the 
tendon  of  these  muscles  (Fig.  18).  The  knee  can  be  bent 
so  that  the  calf  can  touch  the  back  of  the  thigh,  and  in 
this  position  the  pateHa  is  drawn  down  in  front  of  the 
joint,  as  in  kneeling.  The  articular  surface  of  the  patella 
is  divided  into  seven  areas  or  facets,  and  in  passing  from 
the  bent  to  the  extended  position  of  the  joint,  these  facets 
come  successively  into  contact  with  the  articular  surface  of 
the  femur,  until,  when  the  leg  is  fully  extended  on  the 
thigh,  the  whole  of  the  patella  is  raised  above  the  femoral 
trochlea,  except  the  lowest  pair  of  narrow  facets.  It  is  in 
order  to  provide  a  smooth  surface  for  the  patella  in  this 
position  that  the  synovial  membrane  of  the  joint  covers 
the  front  of  the  lower  end  of  the  femur.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  flexion  a  slight  rotation  inwards  of  the  leg 
and  foot  takes  place  through  the  action  of  the  sartorius, 
gracilis,  and  semi-tendinosus,  which  are  inserted  close 
together  into  the  tibia ;  whilst  the  extensor  muscles  cause, 
at  the  completion  of  extension,  a  slight  rotation  outwards 
0.  the  leg  and  foot.  The  movements  of  flexion  and  exten- 
sion are  not  simply  in  the  antero-posterior  plane,  but 
along  oblique  paths  which  are  determined  by  the  screwed 
configuration  of  the  femoral  condyles.  In  complete  exten- 
sion of  the  leg  the  joint  is  "  screwed  home ;"  and  as  this 
position  is  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  the  erect 
attitude,  the  lateral,  the  posterior,  and  the  anterior  crucial 
ligaments  are  then  all  tense,  to  prevent  displacement  of 
the  bones.  The  muscles  which  rotate  the  leg  and  foot 
inwards  initiate  the  act  of  flexion  by  unlocking  the  joint. 

The  Tibio-fibular  Joints  are  found  between  the  upper 
rand  lower  ends  of  the  bones,  and  in  addition  a  strong 
interosseous  membrane  fills  up  the  interval  between  their 
shafts.  The  movement  between  the  two  bones  is  almost 
inappreciable. 

The  Ankle  Joint  is  formed  by  the  convex  upper  and  the 
lateral  surfaces  of  the  astragalus  fitting  into  the  concavity 
fornied  by  the  lower  end  of  the  tibia  and  the  two  malleoli. 
An  investing  ligament,  lined  by  synovial  membrane, 
encloses  the  joint ;  the  lateral  portions  of  this  ligament 
form  distinct  bands,  and  are  much  stronger  than  the 
anterior  and  posterior  fibres.      A  diarthrodial  joint  also 

1—28* 


exists  between  the  astragalus  and  os  calcis,  between  which 
bones  a  powerful  interosseous  ligament  passes.  Between 
the  astragalus  and  scaphoid,  and  the  os  calcis  and  cuboid, 
important  diarthrodial  joints  are  found,  which  are  enclosed 
by  ligamentous  bands.  The  remaining  tarsal  bones  are 
connected  together  usually  by  dorsal,  plantar,  and  inter- 
osseous ligaments,  and  a  similar  mode  of  union  is  found 
between  the  distal  row  of  tarsal  bones  and  the  metatarsals, 
except  between  the  great  toe  and  ento-cuneiform,  whero 
there  is  no  interosseous  ligament.  The  four  outer  meta- 
tarsals are  also  connected  at  their  proximal  ends  by  distal,1 
plantar,  and  interosseous  ligaments;  and  further,  a  trans- 
verse metatarsal  ligament  passes  between  the  distal  ends 
of  all  the  metatarsal  bones.  The  metatarsal  bones  articu- 
late with  the  phalanges,  and  the  phalanges  with  each  other, 
in  a  similar  manner  to  that  described  in  the  corresponding 
bones  of  the  hand. 

At  the  ankle  joint  movements  of  flexion  and  extension 
take  place.  The  dorsum  of  the  foot  is  bent  towards  the 
front  of  the  leg  by  the  direct  action  of  the  muscles  on  the 
front  of  the  leg,  more  especially  the  tibialis  anticus,  inserted 
into  the  ento-cuneiform  and  metatarsal  of  great  toe,  and 
the  peroneus  tertius,  inserted  into  the  metatarsal  of  little 
toe ;  the  opposite  movement,  the  so-called  extension  of  the 
foot,  is  due  to  the  action  of  the  gastrocnemius  and  soleus, 
the  great  muscles  of  the  calf  of  the  leg,  which  are  inserted 
by  the  Tendo  Achillis  into  the  posterior  prominence  of  the 
os  calcis  or  heeL  This  movement  is  made  at  every  step  in 
walking  or  running,  and  the  great  size  of  the  calf-muscles 
is  in  relation  to  their  use  in  the  act  of  progression.  The 
foot  cannot,  however,  be  drawn  so  far  back  as  to  be  brought 
into  direct  line  with  the  leg.  In  standing  erect  the  foot  is 
at  right  angles  to  the  axis  of  the  leg,  the  astragalus  is 
locked  in  between  the  two  malleoli,  and  the  fibres  of  the 
lateral  ligaments  are  tense,  so  as  to  check  movement 
forwards  or  backwards,  and  prevent  displacement 

Between  the  several  bones  of  the  tarsus  a  certain  amount 
of  gliding  is  permitted,  more  especially  between  the  os 
calcis  and  cuboid  and  the  astragalus  and  scaphoid,  60  that 
it  is  possible  to  invert  or  evert  the  foot,  it.,  to  raise  its 
inner  or  outer  borders  from  the  ground.  The  inversion  is 
performed  by  the  tibialis  anticus  and  by  the  tibialis 
posticus,  which  latter  is  inserted  into  the  scaphoid  bone ; 
the  eversion  by  the  peroneus  longus  and  brevis  muscles, 
situated  on  the  outer  side  of  the  leg,  the  tendons  of  which 
pass  behind  the  outer  malleolus, — the  brevis  to  be  inserted 
into  the  metatarsal  bone  of  the  bttle  toe,  the  longus  into 
the  plantar  surface  of  the  metatarsal  bone  of  the  great  toe. 
The  individual  toes  are  bent  on  the  sole  by  the  action  of 
the  flexor  muscles  inserted  into  the  plantar  surface  of  the 
phalanges,  and  they  are  straightened  by  the  extensor 
muscles  inserted  into  their  dorsal  surfaces ;  the  toes  also 
can  be  drawn  asunder  or  abducted,  and  drawn  together 
or  adducted,  chiefly  by  the  action  of  the  interossei 
muscles.  The  hallux  or  great  toe  is  the  most  im- 
portant digit;  a  line  prolonged  backwards  through  it  to 
the  heel  forms  the  proper  axis  of  the  foot,  and  the  sole 
chiefly  rests  upon  the  pads  of  integument  situated  beneath 
its  metatarso-phalangeal  joint  and  the  heeL  The  hallux 
is  much  more  restricted  in  its  movements  than  the  thumb: 
the  configuration  of  its  tarso-metatarsal  joint  and  the 
attachment  of  the  transverse  metatarsal  ligament  prevent 
the  great  toe  from  being  thrown  across  the  surface  of  tho 
sole  as  the  thumb  is  thrown  across  the  palm  in  the  move- 
ment of  opposition ;  an  object  can,  however,  be  grasped 
between  the  hallux  and  second  toe  by  the  action  of  its 
adductor  muscles,  and  persons  can  be  trained  to  write  with 
a  pen  or  pencil  held  in  this  position. 

The  act  of  walking  consists  in  the  movement  forward* 
of  the  trunk  by  the  alternate  advancement  of  the  lower 


842 


A  N  A  T  O  M  Y 


[anatomy 


limbs.  Suppose  a  person  to  be  standing  erect,  with  one 
leg  a  little  in  advance  of  the  other ;  the  body,  being 
inclined  slightly  forwards,  is  pushed  in  advance  by  the 
extension  of  tho  hindmost  limb,  so  that  the  weight  falls 
more  and  more  upon  the  advanced  leg,  which  at  the  same 
time  is  shortened  by  bending  the  knee  and  ankle.  The 
heel  of  the  hindmost  limb  being  then  raised  by  the  action 
of  the  muscles  of  the  calf,  the  toes  press  against  the  ground 
so  as  to  push  the  trunk  so  far  in  front  of  tho  advauced 
limb  as  to  be  no  longer  safely  supported  by  it;  the  hind- 
most limb  is  then  raised  from  the  ground  by  muscular 
action,  and  allowed  to  swing  forward  by  its  own  weight, 
but  guided  by  the  muscles,  until  the  toes  touch  the  ground 
in.fronfof  the  opposite  limb.  A  step  has  now  been  made, 
and  the  limbs  are  in  a  corresponding  but  opposite  position 
from  that  in  which  they  were  when  the  step  commenced : 
a  repetition  of  the  act  constitutes  another  step,  and  so  tho 
alternate  action  continues.  At  one  moment  in  each  step 
both  feet  touch  the  ground  at  the  same  time,  i.e.,  when 
the  hind  foot  presses  against  the  earth.  The  act  of  running 
consists  in  a  repetition  of  the  movements  of  walking  per- 
formed with  so  much  greater  rapidity  that  the  feet  never 
touch  the  ground  at  the  Rame  moment;  the  heels  also  are 
never  brought  to  the  ground.  The  propulsive  action  is 
also  greatly  increased  by  the  extension  of  the  hip  and  knee 
joints,  so  that  a  succession  of  small  leaps  on  to  alternate 
feet  takes  plica  In  leaping  from  the  standing  position 
the  joints  ot  both  lower  limbs,  previously  flexed,  are  suddenly 
and  simultaneously  extended,  and  the  body  is  projected 
forwards  with  a  rapid  impulse. 

Development  and  Homologies  of  the  Voluntary  Muscular  System, 

The  voluntary  muscles,  like  the  bones  and  joints  with  whirh 
aiey  are  so  intimately  associated,  are  developed  out  of  the  middle 
of  the  three  layers — the  meso-blast — into  which  the  germinal  area 
or  blastoderm  of  the  young  embryo  is  divided.  The  muscles  of  the 
axial  skeleton  are  capable  of  subdivision  into  a  group  situated 
outside  the  endo-skelcton,  i.e.,  between  it  and  the  integument — 
which  muscles  have  recently  beem  called  epi-skelctal — and  a  group 
lying  on  the  ventral  surface  of  the  vertebral  bodies  and  within  the 
rib  arches,  which  have  been  termed  the  luemal  or  hijpo-skclclal 
muscles.  The  epi-skeletal  muscles,  like  the  vertebra  themselves, 
ire  developed  within  the  proto-xierUbroz,  but  it  is  not  known  if  the 
hypo-skeletal  group  have  the  same  origin.  In  fishes  the  epi- 
skeletal  muscles  preserve  their  fundamental  arrangement  with  but 
little  modification.  They  are  disposed  in  transverse  segments  or 
myotomes,  which  equal  in  number  the  vertebrae.  These  myotomes 
are  separated  from  each  other  by  bands  of  fibrous  tissue,  the  inter- 
muscular septa.  In  man  and  the  higher  vertebrates  the  simple 
transversely  segmented  arrangement  is  to  a  large  extent  lost.  Traces 
are  preserved,  bowever,  in  the  interspinales  and  intertransversales 
muscles,  situated  in  the  intervals  between  the  spines  and  transverse 
processes  of  some  of  the  vertebral  segments  ;  in  the  external  inter- 
oostals  and  in  the  recti  abdominis  muscles,  in  the  last-named  of 
which  tendinous  bands  subdivide  the  muscle  into  several  transverse 
eegments.  More  usually,  the  intermuscular  septa  either  are  not 
formed  or  disappear,  and  adjacent  myotomes  become  blended  into  a 
continuous  mass  of  muscle.  In  some  instances  the  fibres  of  this 
muscle  run  longitudinally,  and  the  entire  mas3  subdivides  longi- 
tudinally into  separate  and  distinct  parallel  muscles,  as  is  seen  in 
the  subdivision  of  the  great  erector  spina?  into  the  sacro-lumbalis, 
musculus  accessorius,  ccrvicalis  ascendens,  longissimus  dorsi,  trans- 
versalis  cervicis,  trachelo-mastoid,  and  spinalis  dorsi  muscles.  In 
other  instances  the  muscles  run  obliquely  ;  some  on  the  back  of 
the  body  pass  obliquely  from  bolow  upwards  and  outwards,  as  the 
gplenius  and  obliquus  inferior ;  others  obliquely  from  below,  up- 
wards and  inwards,  as  the  complexus,  obliquus  superior,  semi- 
spinal is,  multifidus  and  rotatores  spinas ;  others  again,  as  the  external 
and  internal  oblique  muscles  of  the  abdomen,  extend  obliquely  from 
behind  forwards  to  the  ventral  mesial  line. 

Of  the  hypo-skeletal  group  of  muscles,  the  internal  intercostals  dis- 
play the  transverse  segmentation.  As  a  rulo,  however,  the  muscles 
of  this  group  extend  longitudinally,  andform  the  pra-vertebrai  group, 
named  anterior  recti,  longi  colli,  and  psoae  ;  though  the  diaphragm, 
triangulares  sterai,  transversi  abdominis,  and  levatores  ani,  wjiich 
lie  in  relation  to  the  inner  surfaces  of  the  ribs  and  visceral  cavities, 
are  not  longitudinal,  but  are  specially  modified  in  arrangement  for 
functional  reasons.  The  plane  of  demarcation  between  the  hypo- 
and  "riskelotal  groups  of  muscles,  where  they  form  together  the 


w  lis  of  the  Cleat  visceral  cnamDere, — the  thorax  and  abdomen, — 
is  marked  oil  by  tho  position  and  course  of  tho  intercostal  scries  of 
spinal  nerves. 

The  muscles  of  the  appendicular  skeleton  are  either  limited  to 
the  limbs  (purely  appendicular,  therefore),  or  pass  from  the  axial 

Sart  of  the  body  to  the  limb  (axi-appcndicular).  The  axi-appen- 
icular  grcap  are  undoubt«ll)  prlnngutions  of  the  axial  system  of 
muscles.  They  are  in  the  uppci"  limb  derived  from  the  epi-skelctal 
subdivision,  and  form  the  trapezius,  rhomboid,  levator  anguli 
scapula;,  htissimus  dorsi,  serrntus  magnus,  greater  and  smaller 
ilk,  and  subclavius  muscles  of  «nch  superior  extremity.  In 
the  lower  limb  they  are  in  part  derived  from  the  hypo-skeletal 
subdivision,  and  form  the  psoas  and  piriformis;  and  in  part,  as  the 
gluteus  maximus,  from  the  epi-skeletal  subdivision.  It  ia  not 
Improbable  that  the  purely  appendicular  muscles  are  also  prolon- 
gations of  the  axial  system,  and  that  as  the  limbs,  in  their  develop- 
ment from  their  fundamental  bud-like  lappets,  undergo  both  a 
transverse  and  a  longitudinal  segmentation,  so  the  muscular  mass, 
prolonged  into  them,  ditrereutiates  both  transversely  and  longi- 
tudinally into  a  motor  apparatus,  fitted  for  the  performance  of  the 
special  functions  of  each  extremity. 


Anatomy  of  the  Textures   ok  Tissues. 

Introductory. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  description  of  the  other  organic 
systems  of  which  the  human  body  i3  built  up,  it  may  be 
well  to  enter  iuto  the  consideration  of  the  minute  or 
microscopic  structure  of  its  constituent  parts.  These  parts 
may  primarily  be  divided  into  fluids  and  solids.  The  fluids 
are  the  blood,  the  lymph,  the  chyle,  the  secretions  of  the 
various  glands,  and  of  the  serous  and  synovial  membranes. 
The  solids  form  the  framework  of  the  several  organic 
systems,  and  assume  different  appeal  aucPS'  in  different 
localities.  Sometimes  they  are  arranged  in  compact  solid 
masses,  as  in  cartilage ;  at  others  they  are  elongated  into 
fine  threads  or  fibres,  as  in  muscle,  tendon,  nervo ;  si 
others  they  are  expanded  into  thin  membranes,  as  in  the 
fasciae  or  aponeuroses,  the  serous,  synovial,  and  mucous 
membranes ;  at  others  they  are  hollowed  out  into  distinct 
tubes  for  the  conveyance  of  fluids,  as  in  the  blood-vessels, 
the  lymph  and  chyle  vessels,  and  the  ducts  of  glands.  To 
the  solids  of  the  body,  whatever  their  form  may  be,  the 
general  name  of  Tissues  or  Textures  is  applied.  Each 
organic  system  may  be  regarded  as  in  the  main  composed 
of  a  tissue  or  texture  peculiar  to  and  characteristic  of  it- 
self. Thus,  the  bone3  are  essentially  composed  of  the 
osseous  tissue,  the  muscles  of  the  muscular  tissue,  the 
nervous  system  of  the  nervous  tissue,  fibrous  membranes  of 
the  fibrous  or  connective  tissue,  <fcc.  But  though  the- 
essential  constituent  of  each  organic  system  ia  a  tissue 
peculiar  to  that  system,  yet  in  most  localities  certain  other 
tissues  are  mingled  with  that  which  is  to  be  regarded  as 
the  characteristic  texture  of  the  part.  In  a  muscle,  for 
example,  not  only  ^is  the  muscular  tissue  present,  but 
mingled  with  it  are  connective  tissue,  nerve  tissue,  blood- 
vessels, and  lymph- vessels.  A  gland  also  not  only  consists 
of  its  proper  tissue,  the  secreting  cells,  but  of  more  or  less 
connective  tissue,  nerves,  blood  and  lymph  vessels,  and 
gland  ducts.  Indeed,  there  are  few  localities  in  which, 
along  with  the  proper  tissue  of  the  part,  blood  and  lymph 
vessels,  nerves  and  connective  tissue,  are  not  found ;  and  to 
a  part  built  up  of  two  or  more  tissues  the  name  of  an 
Organ  is  applied.  Thus  the  muscular  system  consists  of 
the  series  of  organs  which  we  call  the  muscles,  the  gland- 
ular system  of  the  several  organs  called  glands,  and  so  on. 
Each  tissue  and  each  organ,  into  the  construction  of  which 
that  tissue  enters  as  'the  characteristic  texture,  possesses 
not  only  distinctive  structural,  but  also  distinctive  functional 
properties.  Thus  the  muscular  tissue  is  characterised  by 
the  property  of  contractility,  and  the  muscles,  of  which 
it  forms  the  essential  texture,  are  organs  of  motion  or 
locomotion ;   the   osseous   tissue   is    characterised   by   its 


raxruBBs.] 


ANA  T  O  M  Y 


843 


lewdness  and  atrenrtb,  and  tbe  bones,  of  which  it  forms 
the  essential  texture,  are  organs  of  protection  and  support. 
But  the  study  of  the  textures  embraces  an  inquiry  not 
only  into  the  special,  structural,  and  functional  properties 
of  each  tissue  and  organ — into  the  special  part  which  each 
plays  in  the  animal  economy — but  the  consideration  of 
their  properties  as  living  structures.  It  would  be  out  of 
j>Laco  in  this  article  to  enter  into  a  discussion  of  the  mean- 
ing of  the  term  Life,  or  Living,  or  to  attempt  an  analysis 
of  the  various  definitions  of  the  term  which  have  been 
suggested  from  time  to  time  by  different  philosophers, 
which  will  naturally  find  a  place  in  the  article  Physiology. 
It  will  suffice  for  our  present  purpose  to  adopt  the  old 
Aristotelian  definition,  and  to  speak  of  Life  as  the  faculties 
of  self-nourishment,  self-growth,  and  self-decay.  All  the 
tissues,  over  and  above  the  special  properties  which  they 
possess,  have  the  power  of  growing  and  of  maintaining 
themselves  in  full  structural  perfection  and  functional 
activity  for  a  given  period  of  time.  After  a  time  they 
begin  to  exhibit  signs  of  diminished  perfection  and  activity, 
they  degenerate  or  decay ;  ultimately  they  die,  and  the 
entire  organism  of  which  they  form  the  constituent  parts 
is  resolved  by  the  outrefactive  process  into  more  6imple 
forma  of  matter 

Central  Considerations  on  Cells. 

The  simplest  form  of  organic  matter  capable  of  ex- 
libiting  the  phenomena  of  life  is  called  Cyto-blastema  or 
Protoplasm.  It  possesses  a  viscous  or  jelly-like  con- 
sistency. Under  the  highest  powers  of  the  microscope  it 
seems  to  be  homogeneous,  or  dimly  granulated,  like  a 
sheet  of  ground  glass.  Not  only  can  it  assimilate  nutri- 
•ment  and  increase  in  size,  but  it  possesses  the  power 
of  spontaneous  movement  and  contractility.  It  enters  in 
a  very  important  manner  into  the  structure  of  the  bodies 
of  the  lower  animals.  The  elongated  processes,  or  pseudo- 
podia,  to  which  Dujardin  applied  the 
name  of  sarcode,  which  the  Rhizopoda 
can  project  from  their  surface  into  the 
surrounding  medium,  and  again  with- 
draw into  their  substance,  consist  of 
protoplasm,  and  may  be  cited  as  fur- 
nirhing  excellent  examples  of  its 
motive  and  contractile  power.  From 
the  recent  researches  of  Haeckel  it 
would  appear  that  protoplasm  is 
capable  of  forming,  without  the  super- 
addition  of  any  other  structure,  inde- 
pendent organisms,  which  stand  at 
the  lowest  grade  of  organisation,  and  from  their  extreme 
simplicity  are  named  by  him  Monera.  To  the  group 
Monera  belong  the  genera  Protanioeba,  Protogenes,  and 
Eathybius.  Of  these,  Bathybius  is  that 
■which  has  attracted  most  attention.  It  has 
teen  regarded  a3  a  layer  of  soft  slimy  un- 
differentiated protoplasm  covering  the  bot- 
tom of  the  deep  sea,  and  capable  of  exhibit- 
ing the  phenomena  of  contractility,  growth, 
Assimilation  of  food,  and  reproduction. 
Doubts,  however,  have  been  expressed  re- 
garding the  nature  of  this  Bathybius,  so 
that  it  cannot  now  be  cited  as  so  definite 
in  organism  as  the  freely-swimming  Pro-  Fio.  26.— a  simple 
tamceba  and  Protogenes.  Haeckel  has  re-  oSm&b.  °K 
ferred  these  simple  organisms  to  a  sub-  protopium  ceii- 
Lingdom  of  Protist £,  which  he  considers  SiciwS'V;  on- 
to Iib  on  the  confines  of  both  the  animal  ckoiua. 
and  Vegetable  kingdoms.  To  a  mass  of  protoplasm,  whether 
it  forms,  as  in  one  of  these  Protist.e,  an  independent 
©rg.niism  ot  i»  merely  a  portion  of  the  substance  of  the 


Flo.  25  —  Undifferentiated 
cytode  m&ss  of  proto- 
plasm. 


boay  of  a  higher  organism,  he  has  given  the  general  nam* 
of  a  Cytode.  Sometimes  a  cytode  is  a  naked  clump  of 
soft  protoplasm,  without  a  trace  of  differentiation  either 
on  its  surface  or  in  its  substance,  as  in  the  freely-moving 
Monera ;  at  others  the  peripheral  part  of  the  cytode 
hardens,  and  differentiates  into  a  more  or  less  perfect 
envelope,  as  in  the  genera  Protomonas  and  rrotumyxa. 
So  far  back  as  1861,  Lionel  Beale  had  described,  uuder 
the  name  of  germinal  matter  (BiojAatm),  minute  living 
particles  of  vegetable  protoplasm,  and  in  18G3  he  demon- 
strated the  presence  of  extremely  minute  particles  of  living 
matter  in  the  blood.  More  recently  Strieker  has  also 
called  attention,  in  the  bodies  of  the  higher  animals,  to 
minute  detached  clumps  of  protoplasm  which  exhibited 
the  phenomena  of  life. 

As  a  rule,  however,  in  both  vegetable  and  animal 
organisms  the  specks  or  clumps  of  protoplasm  assume 
definite  shapes,  and  show  evidence  of  an  internal  dif- 
ferentiation. In  the  midst  of  a  minute  clump  of  tLia 
substance  a  sharply-defiued  body  called  a  nucleus  is 
found,  which  differs  from  the  surrounding  protoplasm 
in  not  being  contractile;  and  sometimes  a  minute  speck, 
or  nucleolus,  exists  within  the  nucleus.  "When  a  definite 
clump  of  protoplasm  contains  a  nucleus  in  its  interior, 
whether  a  nucleolus  be  present  or  not,  it  is  called  a 
Nucleated  Cell  Cells  are  definite  anatomical  and 
physiological  units,  and  exhibit  all  the  phenomena  of 
life.  Some  of  the  lowest  organisms  consist  merely  of  a 
single  cell,  others  of  two  or  more  cells  united  together, 
and  these  are  called  uni-  or  multi-cellular  organisms. 
Cells  also  enter  in  the  most  material  manner  into  the 
constitution  of  the  textures  of  all  the  higher  forms  of 
plants  and  animals.  Not  unfrequently  the  peripheral 
part  of  the  protoplasm  of  the  cell  differentiates  into  a 
distinct  investing  envelope,  technically  named  a  ceil  vndl 
or  cell  membrane. 

In  the  earlier  periods  of  investigation  into  the  minute 
structure  of  cells  it  was  believed  that  a  ccD  wall  was  con- 
stantly present,  and  that  each  cell  was  a  minute  micro- 
scopic vesicle  or  bladder,  which  in  its  typical  shape  waa 
globular  or  ovoid,  but  Capable  of  undergoing  various  modi- 
fications both  in  form  and  chemical  composition.  The 
material  enclosed  by  the  cell  wall  was  termed  the  cell  con- 
tents, and  either  in  the  midst  of  these  contents  or  in  con- 
tact with  the  cell  wall  was  the  nucleus,  which  might  or  rnuht 
not  contain  a  nucleolus.  Schwann  believed  that  the  cell 
wall  was  the  most  active  constituent  of  the  cell,  i.e.,  pos- 
sessed the  power  not  only  of  producing  chemical  and 
physical  changes  in  its  own  substance  and  in  the  cell 
contents,  but  of  separating  materials  from  the  surrounding 
media, — of  secreting  them,  as  it  were,  into  the  interior  of 
the  celL  In  this  manner  he  accounted  for  the  formation 
in  some  cells  of  fat,  in  others  of  pigment,  in  others  of  the 
characteristic  secretiop  of  glands,  and  so  on. 

It  was  then  maintained  by  John  Goodsir  that  the 
nucleus  was  the  part  of  a  cell  which  in  all  probability  was 
concerned  in  separating  and  preparing  its  characteristic 
cell  contents,  and  in  its  nutrition.  Martin  Barry  and 
Goodsir  also  contended  that  the  reproduction  and  multi- 
plication of  cells  were  due  to  self-division  of  the  nucleus, 
which  was  thus  the  source  of  successive  broods  of  young 
cells.  They  gave  to  the  nucleus,  therefore,  an  importance 
in  the  economy  of  the  cell  greater  than  bad  previously 
been  assigned  to  it. 

As  the  investigations  into  cell  strncture  became  more 
extended,  it  was  ascertained  that  a  cell  wall  was  by  no 
means  always  present;  that  in  many  of  ths  cells  in  which 
it  had  been  supposed  to  exist  it  could  not  satisfactorily  be 
demonstrated,  and  that  in  others,  more  especially  in  youLg 
actively-growing  cells,  no  trace  of  an  investing  envelop* 


844 


ANATOMY 


[anatomy 


OTUIT: 


Cell 

s-*ne-is 


Ci'iJd  be  observed  Hence  Die  importance  of  tLe  cell  wall  as 
<in  essential  coinpt  nent  of  a  cell  was  still  further  diminished ; 
and  Leydig  then  defined  a  cell  to  be  a  little  mass  composed 
of  a  soft  substance  enclosing  a  central  nucleus. 

But  a  most  important  advance  in  our  conceptions 
of  the  essential  structure  of  a  cell  was  made  when 
Briicke  pointed  out  that  the  contents  of  cells  not  unfre- 
quently  possessed  the  property  of  spontaneous  move- 
ment and  contractility,  and  when  Max  Schultze  deter- 
mined that  the  contractile  substance  termed  sarcode, 
which  forms  so  large  a  part  of  the  bodies  of  the  lower 
animals,  was  analogous  and  apparently  homologous  with 
the  contents  of  young  actively-growing  animal  and  vege- 
table cells,  before  a  differentiation  of  these  contents  into 
special  secretions  or  other  materials  had  taken  place.  As 
the  term  "protoplasm"  had  been  introduced  by  Von  Mold 
to  express  the  contents  of  the  vegetable  cell,  which  under- 
goes changes  in  the  process  of  growth,  it  was  adopted  by 
the  animal  histologist;  and  Max  Schultze  suggested 
that  a  cell  should  be  denned  to  be  a  nucleated  mass 
of  protoplasm, — a  definition  which  is  adopted  in  this 
article.  Now,  as  protoplasm,  whether  it  occurs  along  with 
a  nucleus  in  the  form  of  a  cell,  or  in  independent  clumps 
or  cytodes,  exhibits  not  merely  the  property  of  contrac- 
tility, but  the  power  of  growing  and  maintaining  itself,  it 
is  regarded  as  the  functionally  active  constituent  of  the 
cell.  And  thus  our  conceptions  as  to  the  part  of  the  cell 
in  which  its  functional  activity  resides  have  passed  through 
three  phases.  In  the  first,  the  cell  wall ;  in  the  second,  the 
nucleus;  in  the  third,  the  protoplasm  cell  contents,  or  cell 
•ubstance,  has  been  regarded  as  the  active  constituent,  not 
only  as  regards  it9  nutrition,  but  the  reproduction  of 
young  cells.  But  though  the  protoplasm  can  of  itself 
perform  these  offices,  yet  there  can  be  no  doubt,  as  Barry 
and  Goodsir  were  the  first  to  show,  that  the  nucleus  of  the 
cell  plays  a  part  not  ^infrequently  in  the  multiplication  of 
cells  by  self  ^division. 

One  of  the  most  characteristic  cells  is  the  mammalian 
ovum.  In  it  a  cell  wall  exists,  known 
as  the  zona  pellucida  or  vitelline 
membrane ;  within  this  envelope  is 
the  granular  yelk  or  cell  contents, 
in  the  midst  of  which  is  imbedded 
the  nucleusor  germinal  vesicle,  which 
in  its  turn  contains  the  nucleolus 
or  germinal  spot.  _  The  granules  of  r'w7l^°^or' zltP?{. 
the  yelk  are  a  special  metamorphosis 
of  the  protoplasm  cell  substance. 

Schwann  made  the  important 
generalisation  that  the  tissues  of  the  animal  body 
are  composed  of  cells,  or  of  materials  derived  from 
cells,  "  that  there  is  one  universal  principle  of  develop- 
ment for  the  elementary  part  of  organisms,  however 
different,  and  that  this  principle  is  the  formation  of 
cells."  The  ovum  is  the  primordial  or  fundamental  cell,  or 
germ-cell,  from  which,  afteT  being  fertilised  by  the  male 
sperm,  the  tissues  and  organs  of  the  animal  body  are 
derived.  Within  the  fertilised  ovum  multiplication  of 
cells  takes  place  with  great  rapidity.  It  is  as  yet  an  un- 
settled question  how  far  the  original  nucleus  of  the  ovum 
participates  in  tkis  process  of  multiplication;  but  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  protoplasm  cell  contents  divide, 
first  into  two,  then  four,  then  eight,  then  sixteen  segments, 
and  so  on.  Each  of  these  segments  of  protoplasm  con- 
tains a  nucleus — is,  in  short,  a  nucleated  cell,  and  the 
plasm  of  these  cells  exhibits  the  property  of  con- 
tractility. The  ovum  or  germ-cell  is  therefore  the  imme- 
diate parent  of  all  the  new  cells  which  are  formed  within 
it,  and  mediately  it  is  the  parent  of  all  the  cells  which, 
In  the  subsequent  processes  of  development  and  growth, 


lucid*:  P.  protoplasm  of 
J^eUc :  #  nucleus,  or  (Ter- 
minal reside;  AT,  nucleolus, 
or  germinal  spot. 


are  descended  I  rum  those  produced  by  tne  segmentation 
of  the  yelk.  The  process  of  development  of  young  celle 
within  a  parent  cell,  whether  it  occurs  in  the  ovum  or  in 
a  cell  derived  by  descent  from  the  ovum,  is  called  the 
endogenous  reproduction  of  cells.  But  cells  may  multiply 
by  a  process  of  Jissian — 1>.,  a  constriction,  gradually  deep- 
ening, may  take  place  in  a  cell  until  it  is  subdivided  intq 
two ;  the  nucleus  at  the  same  time  participating  in  the 
constriction  and  subdivision.  A  third  mode  of  multipli- 
cation of  cells  is  by  budding :  little  clumps  of  protoplasm 
bud  out  from  the  protoplasm  of  the  parent  cell,  become 
detached,  and  assume  an  independent  vitality.  If  a 
nucleus  differentiates  in  the  interior  of  such  a  clump,  it 
becomes  a-  cell ;  if  it  remains  as  a  mere  clump  of  proto. 
plasm,  it  is  a  cytode. 

These  various  methods  of  multiplication  are  all  con- 
firmatory of  Schwann's  generalisation  of  the  descent  of 
derivation  of  cells  from  pre-existing  cells.  But  as  the 
nucleated  cell,  either  with  or  without  a  cell  wall,  is  not,  in 
the  present  state  of  science,  regarded  as  the  simplest  and 
most  elementary  unit  capable  of  exhibiting  vital  pheno. 
mena,  and  as  these  phenomena  can  be  displayed  by  indi- 
vidual  clumps  of  protoplasm,  without  the  presence  of  a 
nucleus,  some  modification  of  the  doctrine,  as  regards  the. 
formation  of  the  tissues  from  nucleated  cells,  seems  to  b< 
necessary.  For,  although  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  al] 
the  tissues  are  mediately  derived  from  the  ovum  or  funda- 
mental cell,  and  that  most  of  the  tissues  are  derived 
directly  from  nucleated  cells,  yet  there  is  reason  to  think 
that  a  differentiation  of  a  cytode  clump  of  protoplasm  into 
tissue  may  take  place,  so  that  the  direct  formation  of  such 
a  tissue  would  be,  not  from  a  nucleated  cell,  but  from  the 
more  simple  cytode.  Hence  a  more  comprehensive  gene- 
ralisation, to  which  observers  have  gradually  been  led 
from  the  consideration  of  numerous  facts,  has  now  been 
arrived  at, — that  the  tissues  and  organs  of  the  body,  what- 
ever may  be  their  form  and  composition,  are  formed  of 
protoplasm,  or  produced  by  its  differentiation ;  and  that 
the  protoplasm  itself  is  derived  by  descent  from  the  proto- 
plasm substance  of  the  primordial  germ-cell.  Some,  in- 
deed, have  contended  that  protoplasm,  cells,  and  their 
derivatives  can  arise  by  a  process  of  precipitation  or 
aggregation  of  minute  particles  or  molecules  in  an  organic 
infusion,  and  that  living  matter  may  be  thus  spontane- 
ously generated.  But  the  evidence  which  has  been 
advanced  in  support  of  this  hypothesis  is  by  no  means 
satisfactory  or  conclusive,  whilst  the  correctness  of  the 
theory  of  the  direct  descent  of  protoplasm  from  pre-exist- 
ing living  protoplasm  is  supported  by  thousands  of 
observations  made  by  the  most  competent  inquirers. 

In  the  process  of  conversion  of  protoplasm  into  the 
several  tissues,  there  takes  place  a  differentiation  of  form 
and  structure  (i.e.,  a  morphological  differentiation),  and  of 
composition  (i.e.,  a  chemical  differentiation),  as  the  result 
of  which  a  physiological  differentiation  is  occasioned, 
whereby  tissues  and  organs  are  adapted  to  the  performance 
of  special  functions.  Hence  arise  the  several  forms  of 
tissue  which  occur  in  the  human  body  and  in  the  higher 
animals.  Many  of  the  tissues  consist  exclusively  of  cells 
which  present  in  different  parts  of  the  body  characteristic 
modifications  in  external  configuration,  in  composition,  and 
in  properties,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  fatty  tissue,  pigmentary 
tissue,  and  epithelium.  Other  tissues,  again,  consist  partly 
of  cells,  and  partly  of  an  intermediate  material  which  sepa- 
rates the  constituent  cells  from  each  other.  Here  also  the 
cells  present  various  modifications;  and  the  intermediate 
material,  termed  the  matrix  or  intercellular  tubslance, 
varies  in  structure,  in  composition,  and  in  properties 
in  the  different  textures,  as  h  seen  in  the  connective 
cartilaginous,  osseous   and  muscular  tissues 


JF.XTURES.J 


ANATOMY 


845 


It  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  devise  a  classification  of  the 
tissues,  based  on  their  structural  characters,  which  shall 
be  in  all  respects  logically  perfect ;  but  a  convenient  basis 
of  arrangement  for  descriptive  purposes  may  be  found  by 
dividing  them  into  those  which  consist — 1st,  of  cells  sus- 
pended in  fluids  ;  2d,  of  cells  placed  on  free  surfaces  ;  3d, 
of  cells  imbedded  in  solid  tissues. 

1st  Group. — Cells  Suspended  in  Fluids. 

The  fluids  of  the  body  which  have  cells  or  other  minute 
solid  particles  suspended  in  them  are  the  blood,  the  lymph, 
and  the  chyle.  Sometimes  cells  are  found  floating  in  the 
secretions  of  glands. 

The  Blood. — The  blood  is  the  well-known  red  fluid 
which  circulates  throughout  the  blood-vascular  system. 
A3  its  composition  and  general  properties  will  be  described 
in  the  article  Physiology,  the  solid  particles  only,  which 
are  suspended  in  the  liquor  sanguinis,  will  be  considered 
here.  If  a  drop  of  human  blood  be  examined  under  the 
microscope,  crowds  of  minute  bodies,  the  blood  corpuscles, 
or  blood  globules,  may  be  seen  in  it.  These  present  two 
different  appearances,  and  are  distinguished  by  the  names 
of  red  and  white  blood  corpuscles. 

The  red  corpuscles,  which  are  by  far  the  more  numerous, 
are  minute  circular  discs,  slightly  concave  on  both  surfaces. 
Their  average  diameter  is  about  33V  5th  of  an  inch,  and 
their  thickness  about  Jth  of  that  measurement;  hence  they 
are  not  spheres,  as  the  old  name  blood  globules  would  imply. 
They  are  non-nucleated.  Single  corpuscles  have  a  faint 
fawn-coloured  hue,  but  collectively  they  give  to  the  blood 
its  characteristic  red  colour.  This  colour  is  due  to  the 
presence  in  the  corpuscles  of  the  substance  termed 
hcemoglobin.  It  has  been  estimated  by  Vierordt  and 
Welcker  that  5,000,000  red  corpuscles  are  present  in 
every  cubic  millimetre  of  healthy  human  ilood.  The 
red  corpuscles  in  the  blood  of  all  mammals,  except  the 
tribe  of  camels,  are  circular  bi-concave  discs ;  but  in  these 
exceptional  mammals  they  have  an  elliptical  outline.  In 
all  manjmals  the  red  corpuscles  are  non-nucleated,  though 
appearances  of  nucleation  have  been  seen  in  exceptional 
individual  cases;  for  EoOeston  saw  a  nucleated  appearance 
in  a  small  proportion  of  the  dried  red  blood  corpuscles  of 
a  two-toed  sloth;  and  Turner  observed  in  a  proportion  of 
the  red  blood  discs  of  a  Hoffmann's  sloth  an  appearance 
pf  a  central  nucleus. 

In  all  bird3,  reptiles,  and  amphibia  the  red  corpuscles 
are  oval  or  elliptical,  and  in  each  corpuscle  an  oval  or 
elliptical  nucleus  is  situated.  In  all  fishes  they  are  nu- 
cleated and  also  elliptical  in  form,  except  in  some  of  the 
Cyclostomata,  which 
possess  circular  discs. 
In  the  elliptical  nu- 
cleated corpuscles  the 
surfaces  are  not  bi- 
concave, but  have 
central  projections, 
which  correspond  in 
position  to  the  nu 
cleus  (2,  4,  5,  Fi 
23).  The  red  co 
puscles  vary  mate- 
rially in  size  in  dif- 
ferent vprteVirati  Fl°-  8a_ L  ni  crposctfi  of  homan  blond  ;  2,  red 
lMeu"  veneoraia,  corpuscles  of  blood  of  common  fowl,  seen  on 
and  these  Variations  tl,e  »»r'«e  and  edeeways:  3,  red  corpuscles  of 
,  1  .         frog;  4.  of   Squalut   iquatina;    5,    of    Lophittt 

nave  Deen  especi-  piseatoriui;  6,  corpuscles  of  ine  blood  of  5  Mor- 
ally studied  by  Gul-     t"00- 

liver.  He  has  found  them  to  vary  in  mammals  from  an 
average  diameter  of  5T'i5th  of  an  iuch  in  the  elephant,  and 
j J,,th  in  Orycleropus  capensis,  to  ni^th  in  Tragulus 
jauanicus.  and  he  concludes  that  the  smallest  blood  discs 


occur  in  the  small  species  of  an  orfler  or  family,  the  largest 
in  the  large  species.  In  birds  they  are  larger  than  in 
mammals,  and  vary  in  length  from  an  average  of  TI>SS  inch 
in  Casuarius  javanicus  to  ^jVjth  in  Linarict  minor.  In 
reptiles  they  are  still  larger,  and  vary  in  length  from  an 
average  of  ^^th  in  Anguis  fragilis  to  tjji'q  'n  Lacerta 
viridis.  In  amphibia  the  largest  corpuscles,  according  to 
Gulliver,  are  about  T£T  inch  in  length  in  Proteus  and 
Siren,  though  Riddell  states  that  in  Amphiuma  tridactylum 
they  are  ^d  larger ;  whilst  the  smallest,  as  in  the  common 
frog,  average  in  length  -j-jVj  inch.  In  cartilaginous  fish 
the  corpuscles  are  larger  than  in  osseous.  In  Lamna  cor- 
nubica  Gulliver  found  their  long  diameter  to  be  ?^3  inch  ; 
while  in  the  Salmonidae,  which  have  the  largest  blood  discs' 
among  osseous  fish,  the  long  diameter  in  the  salmon  and 
common  trout  is  only  about  -j-fVo"  incn- 

The  white  or  colourless  corpuscles  are  comparatively  few' 
in  number  in  the  healthy  human  blood.  Welcker  has 
estimated  the  normal  relative  number  as  one  white  to 
335  red ;  in  pregnant  and  menstruating  women  the  pro- 
portion is  increased  to  about  1  to  280.  In  some  forms  of 
disease  the  proportion  is  so  very  materially  increased  that 
they  appear  to  be  almost  as  numerous  as  the  red.  They 
are  rounded  in  form,  finely  granulated  or  mulberry-like  in 
appearance,  and  nucleated — the  nucleus  becoming  more 
distinct  after  the  addition  of  acetic  acid ;  moreover,  they 
are  larger  than  the  red  corpuscles,  their  average  diameter 
being  from  2-jI5':tn  t0  sAti'-h  °f  an  iicb-  Corpuscles  of 
a  similar  form  are  found  in  the  blood  of  all  vertebrata. 
They  do  not  vary  so  much  in  size  in  different  animals  a3 
do  the  red  corpuscles.  In  Triton,  according  to  Gul- 
liver, their  average  diameter  is  -j-jVo-thi  whilst  in  Herpestet 
griseus  they  are  not  more  than  ^Vf  inch.  The  white 
blood  corpuscles  are  minute  nucleated  clumps  of  proto- 
plasm ;  they  are  therefore  minute  cells.  It  is  very  doubt- 
ful if  they  possess  a  cell  wall,  the  evidence  being  against 
rather  than  in  favour  of  its  presence. 

The  red  blood  corpuscles  in  all  vertebrata,  except  the 
mammalia,  are  nucleated  clumps  of  protoplasm  ;  they  are 
therefore  minute  cells.  In  mammals,  owing  to  the  ab- 
sence of  a  nucleus,  they  do  not  accord  with  the  definition 
of  a  cell  adopted  in  this  article,  and  they  are  not  therefore 
morphologically  identical  with  the  red  corpuscles  in  other 
vertebrates.  What  their  precise  homology  may  be  is  some- 
what difficult  to  say,  owing  to  the  obscurity  which  prevails 
as  to  their  exact  origin.  If  they  are  merely  clumps  of 
specially  modified  protoplasm,  budded  off  from  the  white 
corpuscles,  then  they  are  cytodes.  If,  as  some  have  sup- 
posed, they  are  the  nuclei  of  the  white  corpuscles,  specially 
modified  in  composition,  then  they  are  free  nuclei.  If, 
again,  they  are  the  white  corpuscles,  the  cell  substance  of 
which  has  undergone  a  special  differentiation,  and  the 
nucleus  has  disappeared,  then  they  are  potentially  cells, 
though  no  nucleus  is  visible.  Whatever  may  be  their  exact 
homology,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  non-nucleated 
mammalian  red  corpuscle,  and  that  part  of  the  nucleated 
red  corpuscle  which  lies  outside  the  nucleus,  are  function- 
ally identical  with  each  other ;  the  protoplasm  having 
undergone  a  special  chemical  differentiation  into  haemo- 
globin, a  proximate  principle  characterised  by  containing 
iron  as  its  essential  constituent.  The  action  of  water, 
spirit,  acids,  alkalies,  various  gases,  heat,  cold,  and  electri- 
cal currents,  on  the  red  corpuscles  has  been  studied  by 
several  observers,  and  the  conclusion  has  been  reached  that 
the  corpuscles  consist  of  a  "  stroma,"  with  which  the 
colouring  matter  is  blended,  but  from  which  it  may  be 
separated  without  the  stroma  affording  any  evidence  of  the 
presence  of  an  investing  envelope  or  membrane.  Whet 
blood  is  drawn  from  the  vessels  the  red  corpuscles,  in  about 
half  a  minute,  run  together  into  piles,  like  rouUaux  of  coins 


«4(j 


A  N  A  T  0  M  Y 


[anatomy  or 


I  Fig.  29),  which  arrange  themselves  into  irregular  meshes. 
n  inflammatory  diseases,  and  in  the  blood  of  pr< 
women,  the  piles  of  corpuscles  form  mon  and  at 

the  same  time  sink  rapidly  below  the  surface  of  the  fluid, 

a  as 


Ma.  29.— 1,  red  corpuaclea  of  healthy  human  Wood;  2,  red  corjiptcles  beginning 
to  form  roultaus;  3.  mcsh-llke  arrangement  In  healthy  blood;  4.  nitsh-hke 
arranguaeat  In  buify  blood,  where  the  niesht-a  are  larger  than  la  healthy 
Ulood. 

ao  as  to  cause  the  "buffy  coat"  seen  in  the  blood  coagulum. 
In  the  healthy  blood  of  horses  a  buffy  coat  is  formed  as  a 
natural  condition  of  the  coagulation. 

One  of  the  most  curious  properties  possessed  by  the 
living  white  blood  corpuscle  is  that  of  protruding  delicate 
processes  from  its  circumference,  which  processes  may, 
change  their  shape,  or  be  again  withdrawn  into  the  sub- 
stance of  the  corpuscle,  which  then  resumes  its  former 
circular  outline.  These  processes  resemble  the  satcode 
prolongations  which  Amoeba  and  other  Khizopods  can  pro- 
ject from  various- parts  of  their  circumference;  and  as  a 
white  blood  corpuscle,  like  an  Amozba,  can  by  the  move- 
ments of  the  processes  change  its  position,  the  term 
"amoeboid  movements"  has  been  applied  to  the  pheno- 
mena in  question.  Like  an  Ammba,  also,  a  white  corpuscle 
can  by  these  movements  include  within  its  substance 
minute  particles  of  solid  matter  which  it  may  come  in 
contact  with  in  its  path  Thirty  years  ago  W.  Addison 
stated  that  the  white  blood  corpuscles  could  pass  through 
the  walls  of  the  blood-vessels  into  the  .surrounding  tissue, 
where  they  formed  mucus  corpuscles,  and,  under  certain 
pathological  conditions,  the  corpuscles  of  pus  or  inflam- 
matory "lymph.  The  passage  of  white  blood  corpuscles 
through  the  wall  of  the  capillaries  was  seen  in  1846  by 
A.  Waller;  and  though  for  many  years  his  observations 
were  ignored,  yet  the  mor§  recent  inquiries  of  Cohnheim 
and  others  into  the  subject  have  anew  directed  attention 
to  them.  It  is  now  generally  admitted  that  the  migration 
of  these  corpuscles  from  the  blood  through  the  wall  of  the 
capillaries  into  the  tissues  does  take  place,  and  that  they 
may  then  "  wander "  to  and  fro,  owing  to  the  mobility  of 
their  contractile  protoplasm.  These  migrated  corpuscles 
aio  also  believed  to  play  an  important  part  in  many 
j  hysiological  and  pathological  processes. 

But  the  blood  contains,  in  addition  to  the  red  and  white 
corpuscles,  still  more  minute  particles,  which  are,  however, 
inconstant  in  number.  Minute  globules  have  been  de- 
scribed by  Beale  and  Max  Schultze,  whica  are  probably 
detached  fragments  of  protoplasm  budded  off  from  the 
white  corpuscles;  and  Zimmermann  has  described,  as 
elementary  corpuscles,  minute  particles,  which  are  appar- 
ently derived  from  broken-up  red  corpuscles. 

In  the  very  young  embryo  the  blood  corpuscles,  like 
;.iilary  blood-vessels  themselves,  are  formed  by  special 
differentiation  of  certain  of  the  cells  of  the  embrjo,  and 
these  young  corpuscles  seem  to  have  the  power  of  mu  tiply- 
ing  by  fission.  At  first  they  are  colourless,  but  afterwards 
assume  a  red  colour.     Even  in  mammals  the  earliest  red 


blood  corpuscles  are  nucleated  ana  larger  thou  the  future 
red  discs,  but  as  development  goes  on,  non-nucleated  red 
corpuscles  appear,  and  as  their  number  increases,  both 
absolutely  and  relatively  with  the  progress  of  the  foetus,  in 
course  of  time  all  the  nucleated  red  corpuscles  have  dis- 
red,  and  are  replaced  by  the  non-nucleated  discs.  In 
adults. the  red  corpuscles  are  believed  to  be  derived  from 
the  white  corpuscles,  though  the  exact  process  of  meta- 
morphosis has  not  been  satisfactorily  ascertained.  It  is 
also  believed  that  red  corpuscles  may  be  new-formed  in  tlio 
spleen,  and  Neumann  has  recently  stated  that  the  red 
marrow  of  the  bones  may  serve  as  a  centre  of  origin  for 
the  red  blood  corpuscles.  In  the  fcetus  the  liver  apparently 
serves  as  a  centre  of  origin  for  the  white  corpuscles,  but  its 
blood  corpuscle  forming  function  ceases  at  the  time  of 
birth.  Throughout  extra-uterine  life  the  spleen  and  the 
lymphatic  glands  are  without  doubt  organs  of  formation 
of  the  colourless  corpuscles,-  those  produced  in  the  lymph- 
atic glands,  under  the  name  of  lymph  corpuscles,  being 
mingled  with  the  blood-stream  where  the  fluid  lymph  flows 
into  the  venous  system.  When  mixed  with  the  blood,  the 
lymph  corpuscles  become  the  white  blood  corpuscles. 

Corpuscles  are  also  found  in  the  blood  of  the  inverte- 
brata.  They  are  as  a  rule  colourless,  but  R.  Wagner 
pointed  out  that  in  the  Cephalopods  they  are  coloured' 
They  are  sometimes  round,  at  others  oval  or  fusiform,  and 
in  worms  and  insects  have  even  branched  processes.  They 
are  always  nucleated. 

The  Lymph  and  Chyle. — The  lymph  is  the  fluid  found 
in  a  subdivision  of  the  vascular  system  namui  the  lymph 
vascular  system.  It  is  transparent  and  colourless,  and  con- 
tains numerous  corpuscles  floating  in  it,  which  correspond, 
in  appearance,  structure,  and  the  possession  of  the  pro- 
perty of  amoeboid  movements,  to  the  white  corpuscles  of 
the  blood  The  lymph  corpuscles  are  formed  in  the  glands 
situated  in  the  course  of  the  lymph  vessels,  and  are  carried 
away  Lorn  the  glands  by  the  etream  of  lymph  which  flows 
through  them. 

The  chyle  is  a  milky  fluid  found  during  the  period  of 
digestion  in  the  delicate  lacteal  vesseh)  which  pass  from  the 
walls  of  the  intestine.  The  lacteals  join  the  lymphatics  at 
the  back  of  the  abdomen  to  form  the  thoracic  duct  in 
which  the  lymph  and  chyle  become  mingled  together.  The 
chyle  contains  corpuscles  similar  to  the  lymph  corpuscles, 
which  are  apparently  derived  from  the  lymph  glands  in 
the  mesentery,  through  which  the  chyle  flows  on  its  way  to 
the  thoracic  duct.  The  fluid  of  the  lymph,  the  chyle,  and 
the  blood,  in  which  the  corpuscles  are  suspended,  is  some- 
times described  as  a  fluid  intercellular  substance.  Cor- 
puscles possessing  the  type  of  structure  of  the  lymph 
corpuscles,  are  named  lymphoid  cells  or  leucocytes. 

Cells  are  also  met  with  floating  free  in  the  secretions 
formed  in  the  interior  of  some  of  the  glands.  They  are 
more  particularly  found  in  the  secretion  of  mucus  from 
the  mucous  glands,  and  of  saliva  from  the  salivary  glands. 
They  are  "round,  colourless,  nucleated  corpuscles,  not  unlike 
the  white  corpuscles  of  the  blood,  and  have  been  detached 
from  their  original  position  in  the  gland  follicles. 

2d  Group. — Cells  placed  on  Free  Surfaces. 

By  the  term  free  surface  is  meant  a  surface  which  is  not 
blended  with  or  attached  to  adjacent  structures,  but  is  frea 
or  separable  from  them  without  dissection.  Every  free 
surface  is  covered  by  one  or  more  layers  of  cells.  Some- 
times these  cells  are  named  an  Epithelium,  at  others  an 
Endothelium.  By  the  term  Epithelium  is  meant  the  cells 
situated  on  free  surfaces  which,  are  exposed  either  directly1 
or  indirectly 'to  the  air.  By  the  term  Endothelium  is 
meant  the  cells  situated  on  free  surfaces  which  are  not  ex* 
posed  either  directly  or  indirectly  to  the  air. 


TEXTURES.] 


ANATOMY 


iithe-  epithelium. — The  free  surfaces  osvered  by  an  epithe- 

■o"-  lium  are  the  skin  and  the  membranes,  named,  from  the 

character  of  their  secretion,  mucous  membranes.  The 
neons  Mucous  Membranes  line  internal  passages  and  canals,  and 
9m"  are  continuous  at  certain  orifices  with  the  skin, — e.g.,  the 

ttues°  mucous  membrane  of  the  alimentary  canal  opens  on  the 
surface  at  the  mouth  and  anus ;  the  respiratory  mucous 
membrane  opens  on  the  surface  at  the  nostrils,  and  is 
continuous  in  the  pharynx  with  the  alimentary  mucous 
membrane — it  is  also  prolonged  through  the  Eustachian 
tube  into  the  tympanum,  and  is  continuous  through  the 
nasal  duct  with  the  conjunctiva;  the  genito-urinary  mucous 
membrane  opens  on  the  surface  at  the  orifice  of  the  urethra 
and  vagina.  Mucous  membranes  also  line  the  ducts,  of  the 
various  glands  which  open  on  the  surface  either  of  the  skin 
or  the  several  mucous  membranes.  The  epithelial  cells  are 
as  a  rule  arranged  in  layers  or  strata,  and  the  shape  of  the 
cells  is  -by  no  means  uniform  in  the  different  layers.  The 
cells  of  the  deeper  strata  are  usually  smaller,  softer,  more 
rounded,  and  more  recently  formed  than  those  of  the  super- 
ficial strata,  though  sometimes,  as  in  the  bladder,  conjunc- 
tiva, and  some  other  mucous  surfaces,  they  may  be  irregular 
in  form  and  size,  or  even  elongated  into  short  columns. 
The  celk  next  the  free  surface  have  a  tendency  to  be  shed, 
and  their  place  is  then  taken  by  the  cells  of  the  deeper 
layers,  which  become  modified  in  form  as  they  approach 
the  surface.  The  form  of  the  cells  of  the  superficial  layer 
varies  in  different  localities,  which  has  led  to  a  division  of 
epithelium  into  groups  bearing  appropriate  names.  Epithe- 
lium is  distinguished  further  by  being  devoid  of  blood- 
vessels, i.e.,  it  is  non-vascular;  and  also,  with  some  excep- 
tions, devoid  of  nerves,  i.e.,  non-sensitive. 

The  epithelial  cells,  whether  arranged  in  one  or  several 
strata,  rest  upon  a  subjacent  tissue,  which,  from  its  rela- 
tion to  the  cells,  may  be  called  sub-epithelial.  The  sub- 
epithelial tissue  is  a  delicate  modification  of  the  fibrous 
form  of  connective  tissue,  to  be  subsequently  described,  and 
in  it  the  nerves  and  the  blood  and  lymph  vessels  of  the 
skin  and  mucous  membranes  ramify;  hence  it  i3  sometimes 
described  as  a  fibro-vascular  tissue  or  corium.  It  was  for 
a  long  time  believed  that  between  the  deeper  surface  of 
the  epithelium  and  the  corium  a  homogeneous  continuous 
membrane,  named  by  Bowman  a  basement  membrane, 
intervened.  Bowman,  however,  himself  admitted  that  in 
some  of  the  localities  where  this  membrane  was  theoreti- 
cally supposed  to  exist  it  could  not  satisfactorily  be  demon- 
strated ;  and  the  general  opinion  of  anatomists  now  is,  that 
a  distinct  separable  membrane  docs  not  intervene  between 
the  epithelium  and  the  fibro-vascular  corium,  but  that  the 
cells  of  the  former  rest  directly  upon  the  surface  of  the  latter. 
The  corium  is  also  the  seat  of  the  numerous  glands,  with  the 
blood  and  lymph  vessels  and  the  nerves  belonging  to  them, 
found  in  connection  with  both  the  skin  and  the"  mucous 
membranes  ;  and  the  epithelial  lining  of  the  g'ands  is  con- 
tinuous at  their  orifices  with  the  epithelial  investment  of 
the  corium.  The  surface  both  of  the  skin  and  mucous  mem- 
branes is  usually  more  or  less  undulated — somct::::es  it  is 
thrown  into  strong  folds  or  rugs,  at  others  it  is  elevated  into 
minute,  frequently  conical,  processes,  named  in  some  locali- 
ties papilla?,  in  others  villi;  but  in  all  these  cases  the  epithe- 
lium is  prolonged  as  a  continuous  covering  over  the  undulat- 
ing free  surface.  The  free  surface  of  all  mucous  membranes 
is  kept  moist  by  the  secretion  or  mucus  which  lubricates  it. 
Tessellated,  pavement,  scaly,  or  squamous  epithelium  is 
situated  on  the  free  surface  of  the  mucous  lining  of  the 
mouth,  pharynx,  oesophagus,  vestibular  entrauce  to  the 
nose,  ocular  conjunctiva,  and  entrance  to  the  urethra  and 
vagina.  It  forms,  under  the  special  name  of  the  homy 
layer  of  the  cuticle  or  epidermis,  the  superficial  investment 
of  the  skin.     Its  cells  are  nucleated  flattened  scales,  varying 


847 

Those  in  the  same 


} Scaly  epithelium  from  the 

mucous  membrane  of  tlie  mouth. 


in  diameter  from  5J  jth  to  -n^^th  inch, 
layer,  being  in  contact  by  their 
edges,  form  a  tessellated,  pave- 
ment-like arrangement,  whilst 
the  cells  in  adjacent  layers  have 
their  flattened  surfaces  in  con- 
tact with  each  other.  Sometimes 
the  cells  have  jagged,  serrated 
edges,  or  fluted  surfaces,  and 
usually  they  contain  scattered 
granular  particles.  In  the  forma-  F,i, 
tion  of  this  epithelium  a  morpho- 
logical differentiation  of  the  protoplasm  of  the  rounded 
cells  of  the  deeper  strata  into  flattened  scales,  and  at  the 
same  time  a  chemical  differentiation  of  their  soft  contents 
into  a  horny  material,  have  occurred. 

Columnar  or  cylindrical  epithelium  i3  situated  on  the 
free  surface  of  the  mucous  lining  of  the  alimentary  canal 
from  the  oesophageal  orifice  of  the  stomach  to  the  anus,  it 
is  prolonged  into  the  ducts  of  various  glands  which  open  on 
the  alimentary  mucous  membrane ;  it  covers  the  mucous 
lining  of  the  urethra  and  the  mucous  membrane  of  the 
gall  bladder.  Its  cells  are  elongated,  cylindrical  columns, 
about  rJ-fth  inch  long,  placed  side  by  side  like  a  row  of 
palisades,  and  with  their 
long  axes  perpendicular  r~S~Y-y*y  V"? 
to  the  surface  on  which 
the  cells  rest.  Some- 
times the  cells  are  uni- 

f~_~.1..     ^L'-JJ 1  .     „+  Fio.  31. — Columnar  epithelium.    A,  sfrfe  vtew 

formly  cylindrical  ;  at  of  „  ^p  of  cemV  B,  ,arger  free  tnd  „, , 
other    times    they    are    g™°p  o'  ceii>;  c.  a  striated  columnar  ceil 

.      ,    , .     J  .  .  from  intestinal  villus. 

compressea  at  the  sides; 

at  others  they  vary  in  circumference, — the  broader  end, 
lying  next  the  surface,  being  rounded  or  polygonal; 
the  deeper  extremity  being  narrower  and  more  pointed. 
The  nuclei  are  distinct,  and  the  cell  contents  are  finely 
granular.  Usually  this  epithelium  forms  only  a  single 
layer  of  cells.  The  columnar  cells  which  cover  the  intes- 
tinal villi  have  a  clear  space  at  their  broad  free  ends, 
which  is  often  streaked  with  fine  parallel  lines.  Inter- 
mingled with  the  cells  of  the  columnar  epithelium  of  the 
alimentary  canal  are  small  goblet-shaped  cells. 

Ciliated  epithelium  is  situated  on  the  free  surface  of  the 
nasal  mucous  membrane,  which  extends  into  the  air-sinuses 
within  the  cranial  bones,  into  the  nasal  duct  and  lachry- 
mal sac,  into  the  Eustachian  tube  and  tympanum  ;  on  the 
free  surface  of  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  windpipe  as 
far  as  the  terminal  branches  of  the  bronchial  tubes;  on 
the  mucous  surface  of  the  uterus  and  Fallopian  tubes  ;  on 
the  mucous  lining  of  the  commencement  of  the  vas  deferens, 
and  on  the  lining  membrane  of  the  ventricles  of  the  brain 
and  central  canal  of  the  spinal  cord.  It  generally  cousista 
of-  columnar  cells,  which  have  at  their  free  ends  extremely 
slender,  soft,  pellucid,  hair-like  processes,  or  cilia.  These 
cilia  are  specially  differentiated  at  the 
free  ends  of  the  epithelium  cells  from 
which  they  project.  Beale  states  that 
the  soft  bioplasm  (protoplasm)  of  the 
body  of  the  cell  is  prolonged  along  the 
axis  of  each  cilium,  whilst  the  peri- 
phery possesses  the  firmer  consistence  fio.32.— ciliated  epithelium 
of  formed  or  differentiated  material  «u*> 

During  life  these  processes  move  rapidly  to  and  fro 
in  the  fluid  which  moistens  the  surface  of  the  mem- 
brane on  which  this  form  of  epithelium  is  situated.  In 
the  human  body  the  cilia,  are  not  more  than  from  jiVn^ 
to  j7VTJtn  mcn  m  length ;  but  in  various  marine  in. 
vertebrata  they  are  both  longer  and  stronger.  Sometimes, 
as  in  the  lining  membrane  of  the  cerebral  ventricles  and 
central  canal  of  the  spinal  cord,  the  (ells  carrying  the  cilia 


848 


ANATOMY 


[anatomy  of 


■re  either  spheroidal  or  cylindrical;  but  as  the  cavities  lined 
by  these  cells  are  shut  off  from  the  air,  the  cells  ought  rather 
to  be  referred  to  the  endothelial  than  the  epithelial  series 
of  structures.  Cilia  occasion  currents  in  the  fluid  in  which 
they  move,  and  play  an  important  part  in  the  economy  of 
many  animals;  in  some  of  the  invertebrata  they  serve  as 
organs  of  locomotion,  in  others  they  propel  currents  over 
respiratory  surfaces,  and  in  others  aid  in  bringing  food 
within  the  animal's  reach. 

Spheroidal  or  glandular  epithelium  is  situated  on  the  free 
surface  of  the  follicles  or  ultimate  secreting  apparatus  of 
glands,  and  the  commencement  of  gland  ducts.  The  cells  are 
often  spheroidal  in  form,  though  not  unfrequently  they  are 
polyhedral.  Theircontentsarespeciallydifferentiated  intothe 
secretion  of  the  particular  gland  in  which  they  are  situated. 

The  epithelial  cells  of  a  Secreting  Gland  rest  upon  a  sub- 
epithelial tissue.  Not  unfrequently  this  tissue  has  the 
appearance  of  a  membrane;  it  represents,  indeed,  the  base- 
ment membrane  of  Bowman,  and  is  called  manbrana  pro- 
pria. Deeper  than  this  apparent  membrane  is  a  delicate 
connective  tissue  in  which  the  blood  and  lymph  vessels  and 
the  nerves  of  the  gland  -ramify.  The  anatomical  structures 
necessary  for  secretion  are  cells,  blood-vessels,  and  nerves- 
The  blood-vessels  convey 
the  blood  from  which  the 
secretion  has  to  be  derived ; 
the  cells,  as  Goodsir  showed 
by  a  variety  of  proofs,  are 
the  active  agents  in  separat-  ^  S3_^  po,yhcdrll  e,and  «Us  (rora 

ing  the  Secretion  from  the     the  liver ;  B,  spheroidal  gland  cella  from 

blood ;  the  nerves  regulate  the  Mi*v*' 
the  size  of  the  blood-vessels,  and  therefore  the  amount  of 
blood  which  circulates  through  the  gland,  and  perhaps  also 
exercise  some  direct  influence  on  the  activity  of  the  cells. 
The  connective  tissue  and  the  membrana  propria  are  merely 
supporting  structures  for  the  ceils,  vessels,  and  nerves.  All 
secreting  glands  hav-3  the  same  general  type  of  structure, 
though  they  differ  from  each  other,  as  will  be  pointed  out 
when  the  individual  glands  are  described,  in  the  degree  of 
complexity  in  which  their  constituent  parts  are  arranged. 

Transitional  epithelium  is  the  name  applied  to  epithelial 
cells,  situated  on  some  free  surfaces,  which  possess  transi- 
tional forms  either  between  the  columnar  and  tessellated 
epithelia,  or  the  columnar  and  spheroidal.  The  epithelium 
of  the  mucous  lining  of  the  bladder  is  transitional  between 
the  columnar  and  scaly  varieties ;  and  in  many  glands 
the  continuity  of  the  epithelial  layer  from  the  spheroidal 
epithelium  of  the  gland  follicles  to  the  columnar  epi- 
thelium of  the  ducts  is  preserved  by  the  interposition  of 
intermediate  transitional  forms  of  cells. 

The  epithelial  surfaces  of  the  upper  part  of  the  mucous 
lining  of  the  nose  and  of  the  back  of  the  tongue  are 
specially  modified  in  connection  with  the  senses  of  smell 
and  taste  localised  in  those  regions,  as  will  afterwards  be 
considered  when  their  anatomy  is  described. 

Endothelium. — The  free  surfaces  covered  by  an  endo- 
thelium are  the  serous  membranes,  the  inner  surface  of 
the  walls  of  the  lymph  and  blood  vessels  and  of  the  heart, 
the  synovial  membranes  of  the  joints  and  of  synovial 
bursse,  the  free  surface  of  the  osseous  and  membranous 
labyrinth  of  the  internal  ear,  and  the  free  surface  of  the 
ventricular  cavities  of  the  brain  and  central  canal  of  the 
spinal  cord.  The  tubes,  canals,  and  cavities  lined  by 
an  endothelium  are  shut  off  from  all  communication  with 
the  external  atmosphere.  The  cells  of  the  endothelium 
are  arranged  so  as  to  give  perfect  smoothness  to  the  sur- 
face which  they  cover.  •  In  the  blood  and  lymph  vessels 
this  smoothness  of  surface  is  in  order  to  facilitate  the  flow 
of  the  blood  and  lymph  in  the  course  of  the  circulation. 
The  serous  and  synovial  membranes  are  found  covering 


the  surfaces  01  parts  which  .move  on  cacn  other,  and  the 
smoothness  of  their  respective  surfaces,  by  permitting  free- 
dom of  movement,  diminishes  the  friction. 

Each  Serous  Membrane  consists  of  a  portion  which  invests 
the  viscus  or  organ,  named  the  visceral  layer,  and  a  portion 
which  lines  the  walls  of  the  cavity  in  which  the  organ  is 
situated,  named  the  parietal  layer.  Between  these  two 
layers  is  the  so-called  serous  cavity,  the  wall  of  which  is 
formed  by  the  smooth  surfaces  of  both  the  parietal  and  the 
visceral  layers.  The  serous  membranes  are  as  follows: — The 
two  pleural  situated  in  thd  cavity  of  the  chest,  one  invest- 
ing each  lung,  and  lining  the  interior  of  that  part  of  the 
thoracic  cavity  in  which  the  lung  is  situated;  the  pericar 
dium,  which  invests  the  heart,  and  lines  the  bag  in  which 
the  heart  is  contained;  the  peritoneum,  which  invests  the 
abdominal  viscera,  and  lines  the  abdominal  cavity ;  and 
the  arachnoid  membrane,  which  invests  the  brain  and  spinal 
cord,  and  is  regarded  by  many  as  lining  the  dura  mater,  which 
encloses  these  important  organs.  The  smooth  free  surfaces 
of  the  serous  membranes  are  moistened  by  a  limpid  fluid, 
or  scrum,  which  facilitates  their  movement  on  each  other, 
just  as  the  free  smooth  surfaces  of  the  synovial  membranes 
are  lubricated  by  the  viscid  synovia  which  they  secrete. 

Endothelial  cells  form  usually  only  a  single  layer,  and  are, 
as  a  rule,  flattened  scale-like  cells,  arranged  after  the  manner 
of  a  tessellated  epithelium.  Endothelium,  like  epithelium, 
is  non-vascular,  and,  so  far  as  is  known,  non-nervous. 

The  endothelial  cells  rest  upon  a  sub-endothelial  tissue, 
consisting  of  a  delicate  modification  of  the  fibrous  form  of 
connective  tissue.  Here,  as  in  the  surfaces  covered  by 
epithelium,  a  basement  membrane  was  at  one  time  sup- 
posed to  intervene  between  the  cells  and  the  connective 
tissue ;  but  it  is  now  believed  that  the  cells  are  in  direct 
contact,  by  their  deeper  surface,  with  the  connective  tissue 
itself.  In  the  serous  membranes  and  in  the  coats  of  the 
larger  blood-vessels  elastic  fibres  are  present  in  considerable 
numbers  in  the  sub-endothelial  tissue,  which  serves  as  the 
framework  of  support  for  the  blood  and  lymph  vessels  and 
the  nerves  of  the  part.  In  the  serous  membranes  the  lymph- 
vessels  are  very  abundant  in  the  sub-epithelial  tissue,  where 
they  form  a  layer  parallel  to  the  free  surface  of  the  mem- 
brane, from  which  short  vessels  pass  vertically  to  open  by 
minute  orifices  into  the  serous  cavity.  The  serous  mem- 
branes are  attached  by  the  sub-endothelial  connective  tissue 
to  the  organs  which  they  invest. 

The  endothelium  of  the  Serous  Membranes  consists  of 
irregular  and  squamous  cells,  the  edges  of  which  may  be 
smooth  or  slightly  serrated.  The  cells  are  closely  adapted 
to  each  other  by  their  edges,  so  as  to  form  a  continuous 
smooth  layer,  which  forms 
the  free  surface  of  the  serous 
membrane.  Scattered  irre- 
gularly over  this  surface  are 
the  minuteorifices,  OTstomata, 
which  open  into  lymphatic 
vessels.  The  cells  which  sur- 
round the  stomata  differ  in 
form  and  appearance  from 
the    ordinary    endothelium;  F,°-  1^~,En,1°lf'.eli'11  "lta  fr0™  """ 

J  >      peritoneal  serous  membrane.     Three 

they    are    smaller,     and     are      stomata  may  be  seen  sun  ounded  by 

polyhedral,  their  contents  are    l^Tlln  ™CZT  fflgS'tSS 

granular,  and   the  nucleus  is      marks  the  position  of  a  vertical  lvm- 
, .  '  .  phatic  vessel    (A/ltr  Elein.t 

more  distinct. 

The  endothelium  lining  the  Lymphatic  Vessels  consists 
of  flattened  cells,  which,  instead  of  having  an  irregular 
shape,  are  elongated  spindles,  slightly  sinuous  in  outline. 
The  endothelium  of  the  lymphatics  is  continuous  with 
that  of  the  serous  membranes  through  the  stomata,  so  that 
the  cavities  of  the  serous  membranes  are  now  regarded  as 
great  lymph-sacs. 


TEXTURES.! 


ANATOMY 


849 


The  endothelial  lining  of  the  Blood  Vessels  corresponds 
in  general  characters  with  that  of  the  lymphatics.  In  the 
small  blood  capillaries  the  cells  are  fusiform ;  in  those  of 
larger  size,  more  irregular  :  in  the  veins  they  are  broader, 
more  irregular,  and  less  distinctly  fusiform  than  in  the 
arteries.  The  endothelial  covering  of  the  endocardial 
lining  of  the  heart  consists  of  a  layer  of  flattened  cells 
with  irregular  outlines.  The  endothelial  lining  of  the 
blood-vascular  system  is  continuous  with  that  of  the 
lymph-vascular  system,  where  the  thoracic  duct  and  other 
large  lymph-vessels  open  into  the  great  veins,  and  thus  a 
continuity  of  surface  is  established  between  the  serous 
membranes  and  the  lining  membrane  of  the  blood-vascular 
system  through  the  lymphatics. 

The  endothelium  of  the  Synovial  Membranes  is  formed 
of  roundish,  or  polygonal,  or  tessellated  cells,  arranged  after 
the  manner  of  a  stratified  epithelium.  Not  unfrequently 
processes  of  the  sub-endothelial  vascular  connective  tissue 
covered  by  the  endothelium  project  into  the  cavities  of 
joints  and  synovial  bursae.  They  have  been  called  synovial 
fringes,  and  contribute  to  the  formation  of  the  synovia 
which  lubricates  the  surfaces  of  a  synovial  membrane. 

The  endothelium  of  the  Cerebral  Ventricles  and  Central 
Canal  of  the  spinal  cord  is,  as  already  stated,  formed  of 
spheroidal  or  cylindrical  cells,  possessing  cilia  on  the  free 
surface.  The  endothelial  lining  of  the  osseous  labyrinth 
consists  of  flattened  scales,  whilst  the  membranous  laby 
tinth  possesses  a  layer  of  polygonal  cells. 

3d  Group. — Cells  imbedded  in  Solid  Tissues. 

The  cells  which  are  imbedded  in  the  solid  tissues  are 
either  grouped  together  in  considerable  masses,  or,  as 
not  unfrequently  happens,  are  more  or  less  separated  by 
an  intermediate  matrix  or  intercellular  substance.  The 
matrix  substance  varies  in  its  character  in  different  tissues, 
and  sometimes  is  so  abundant  as  to  obscure  the  cells. 
The  textures  which  are  constructed  on  this  plan  are  of 
great  importance,  and  constitute  by  far  the  larger  propor- 
tion of  the  tissues  not  only  of  the  human  body,  but  of  the 
bodies. of  animals  generally.  Sometimes  these  tissues  are 
elongated  into  delicate  threads  or  fibres,  at  other  times  they 
are  expanded  into  thin  membranes,  at  others  they  form 
6olid  masses  of  considerable  thickness. 

Connective  Tissue. — By  the  term  connective  tissue  is 
meant  a  group  of  tissues  which,  though  the  members  of 
the  group  differ  in  various  respects  from  each  other,  both 
in  naked  eye  and  microscopic  characters,  yet  agree  in  the 
property  of  binding  or  connecting  together  other  tissues 
or  parts  of  the  body,  and  in  serving  as  a  supporting  frame- 
work for  more  delicate  tissues.  This  group  of  tissues  is 
the  most  extensively  diffused  of  all  the  textures,  for  there 
is  no  organ  in  the  body  which  does  not  contain  one  or  other 
of  its  forms.  The  following  varieties,  based  on  modifica- 
tions in  their  appearance  and  structure,  may  be  recognised. 

a.  Neuroglia.  This  name,  which  means  nerve  glue,  has 
been  applied  by  Virchow  to  the  delicate  tissue  in  the  cen- 
tral organs  of  the 
nervous  system, 
and  of  the  retina, 
which  supports 
the   nerve   cells, 


nerve  fibres,  and 
blood-vessels  of 
those  parts.  Mi- 
croscopically it 
consists  of  small 
round  or  ovoid 
corpuscles,  im- 
bedded in  a  soft 
undifferentiated  protoplasm.  -A  form  of  tumour,  named 


Fio.  85.— Section  of  die  white  mutter  of  the  cerebrum 
The  neuroglia,  iioito  fibres,  and  capillary  blood-vessels 
are  represented. 


Glioma,  is  sometimes  produced  by  the  excessive  growth  in 
the  brain  or  retina  of  this  variety  of  connective  tissue. 

b.  Retiform  connective  tissue  constitutes  the  stroma  or 
supporting  framework  of  the  lymphatic  and  other  glands 
which  possess  the  adenoid  type 
of  tissue.  It  also  forms  the  middle 
subdivision  of  the  enamel  organ 
of  the  teeth.  It  consists  of  stel- 
late branching  cells,  the  branches 
of  which  blend  with  each  other, 

and  form  a  delicate  anastomosing  Fin.  30.— itctiturm  connecti™ 
network  or  reticulum.  In  the  tissuc  rrom  a  |/mP|lalic  ei»n<L 
lymph  glands,  the  colourless  lymph  corpuscles  are  set  in 
the  meshes  of  this  network.  In  the  solitary  and  Peyer's 
glands  of  the  alimentary  canal,  in  the  tonsils,  the  back  of  the 
tongue,  the  posterior  wall  of 
the  nasal  partof  the  pharynx, 
the  palpebral  conjunctiva,  the 
thymus  gland,  the  pulp  and 
Malpighian  bodies  of  the 
spleen,  colourless  lymph-like 
corpuscles  are  also  included  in 
themeshcsofareticulum.  The 
name  adenoid  or  lymphoid 
tissue  is  sometimes  employed 
in  describing  this  type  of 
structure,  and  in  some  forms 
of  disease  the  tissue  increases 
in  certain  localities  so  largely  fie-  37.— Lymphoid  cells,  included  in  .» 

in  n„nnt;tn  no   +~  t .     n        reticular    mesh    of    connective    tissue 

in  quantity  a3  to  form  well-    lrom   a  lymphoid    tumour  of   the 
defined  lymphoid  tumours.       mediastinum. 

c  Gelatinous  or  mucous  connective  tissue  (Sckleimgewebe), 
forms  the  connective  tissue  of  the  embryo,  the  vitreous 
humour  of  the 
eye-ball,  and  the 
jelly  of  Wharton, 
which  invests  the 
blood-vessels  of 
the  umbilical 
cord.  It  is  soft 
and  jelly-like  in 
consistency.  Mi- 
croscopically it 
consists  of  round- 
ed, or  spindle- 
like, or  stellate 
cells,  imbedded 
in  a  soft  gela- 
tinous intercel- 
lular substance. 
Sometimes  the  intercellular  substance  is  in  part  differenti- 
ated into  short  delicate  fibres.  Under  some  pathological 
conditions,  this  form  of  tissue  increases  largely  in  quantity 
in  some  parts  of  the  body,  and  forms  a  kind  of  tumour 
named  Myxoma. 

d.  Fibrous  connective  tissue  presents  four  modifications 
in  appearance.  It  may  be  soft  and  delicate,  with  the 
fibres  short  and«but  faintly  marked,  as  in  the  sub-epithelial 
tissue  of  the  skin  and  mucous  membranes.  It  may  be 
loose,  flocculent,  and  filamentous,  and  may  contain  small 
spaces  or  areola:  (when  it  is  called  areolar  tissue),  which  is 
well  seen  in  the  subcutaneous  tissue  of  the  adult,  and  in 
the  omenta.  ■  It  may  be  expanded  in  the  form  of  a  fibrous 
membrane,  as  in  the  fasciae  or  aponeuroses,  and  the  threads 
or  fibres,  strong  and  well  marked,  sometimes  run  parallel, 
sometimes  cross  each  other  at  various  angles.  It  may  bo 
collected  into  rounded  or  flattened  bands,  as  in  tendons  and 
ligaments,  where  it  forms  the  tendinous  and  ligamentous 
tissues.  Here  also  the  threads  or  fibres  may  be  distinctly 
recognised  and  seen  to  run  in  parallel  bundles,  so  as  to 


Fig.  38.— Gelatinous  connective  tissue.  Thefuslfonn  si  1 
stellate  cells,  and  the  paitial  differentiation  Into  fibres 
of  the  intercellular  substance,  are  shown. 


S50 


A  N  A  T  0  M  Y 


[anatomy  ok 


White 
fibrous 

tissue. 


connect  together  the  two  structures  between  which   the 
tendon  or  ligament  passes. 

In  the  fibrous  form  of  connective  tissue,  both  cells  and 
intercellular  substance,  the  latter  of  which  is  differentiated 
into  fibres,  may  be  recognised.  The  cells  are,  as  a  rule, 
cither  elongated,  or  fusiform,  or  caudate,  or  stellate  branches  1 
rells,  and  are  familiarly  known  as  the  connective  tissu: 
corpuscles.  In  these  cells  the  nucleus  is  round  or  oval,  and 
usually  well  marked.  It  is  surrounded  by  granular  proto- 
plasm, but  it  is  very  doubtful  if  the  protoplasm  is  invested 
by  a  cell  wall.  Not  unfrequently,  more  especially  where  the 
cells  are  stellate,  the  delicate  branched  protoplasm  processes 
of  adjacent  cells  appear  to  blend  at  their  extremities  with 
each  other,  and  fo»m  an  anastomosing  network.  In  tend- 
ons the  cells  are  arranged  in  linear  rows,  which  lie  parallel 
to  the  long  axis  of  the  tendon  itself.  In  adults  these  cells 
are  flattened,  but  in  younger  tendons  they  are  mon 
gcmal  in  form.  There  seems  reasoi.  to  think,  indeed,  as 
Thin  has  shown,  that  the  bundles  of  connective  tissue  are 
invested  by  a  layer  of  flattened  cells.  The  wide  dif- 
fusion of  the  connective  tissue  throughout  the  body,  and 
the  great  importance  of  its  cellular  elements,  have  been 
especially  dwelt  on  by  Virchow  as  sources  of  origin  of  the 
new  cell  forms  which  arise  in  various  pathological  processes. 
The  intercellular  substance  consists  of  fibres,  which  are 
not  uniform  in  shape,  and  are  divided  into  the  two  groups 
of  white  and  yellow  fibres. 

The   white  fibres  of   connective  tissue   constitute  the 
most  common  form,  and  make  up  the  great  bulk  of  most 
ligaments,  tendons,  and  fibrous  membranes. 
They  consist  of  excessively  delicate  filaments, 
varying  from  7TiTo-th  to  TT$TTth  inch  in 
thickness,    which    are    united    together    in 
bundles  or  fasciculi  of  variable  size.      The 
bundles,  as  well  as  the   filaments  of  which 
they  are  composed,  have  a  wavy  course,  and 
the  filaments    in    each    bundle    lie    almost 
parallel   to  et.ch   other.      The  bundles  also 
in  some  cases  are  parallel,  though  in  others 
they  cross  at  various  angles.     Not  only  the  '^ 
filaments  in  each  bundle,  but  the  bundles  " 
themselves,  are  cemented  together ;  the  firm- 
ness of  the  adhesion  varies  in  the  different  *>°  »<— FucfcoJi 
modifications  of  the  fibrous  connective  tissue,    °!  "wnncrti™ 
being  much   more   decided  in  the  tendons,     tlssne- 
ligaments,  and  fasciae,  than  in  the  lax  areolar  tissue. 

The  yellow  fibres  of  connective  tissue,  named  elastic 
fibres,  from  their  elasticity,  make  up  the  mass  of  the  liga- 
mentum  nucha?,  the  ligamenta  sub-flava,  and  the  yellow 
elastic  coat  of  the  arteries.  They  are  also  found,  mingled 
with  the  white  fibres,  in  the  fibrous  membranes,  the  skin, 
mucous  and  serous  membranes,  the  areolar  tissue,  in  ten- 
dons, and  some  ligaments.  In  the  liga- 
menta sub-flava  and  nuchas  the  yellow 
fibres  are  arranged  in  bundles,  the  in- 
dividual fibres  of  which  are  comparatively 
broad,  with  a  distinct  dark  outline.  They 
branch,  and  their  branches  readily  break 
across,  and  the  broken  end  then  curls 
upon  itself.  Their  diameter  is  about 
j-sV^th  inch.  In  the  coats  of  the  arteries 
the  elastic  fibres  form  an  anastomosing 
network.  When  mingled  with  the  white 
fibres  they  are  much  finer,  and  sometimes 
do  not  exceed  TiH7tn  incl>  in  diameter. 
They  possess,  however,  a  distinct  and  de- 
finite outline;  they  branch  and  occasion- 
ally anastomose;  and  the  individual  fibres,  possessing  a  ring- 
like, spiral,  or  twisted  course,  are  wound  around  the  bundles 
of  the  white  fibres.  The  white  fibres  yield  gelatine  on  boil- 


[O.  40.  —  Fasciculus 
of  fibres  of  yellow 
elastic  tissue  from 
ligamcntum  nucha;. 


ing,  but  the  elastic  fibres  do  not.  The  white  fibres  sweE  up 
and  become  so  transparent  under  the  action  of  acetic  acid 
as  to  be  no  longer  recognisable.  The  yellow  fibres,  again, 
are  not  affected  by  that  reagent  Quckctt  pointed  out  that 
the  clastic  fibres  of  the  Lgamentum  nuchae  of  the  giraffe 
were  marked  by  transverse  striae,  and  M.  Watson  has  seen 
a  similar  appearance  in  the  elastic  pericardiac  ligament  of 
the  elephant.  These  transverse  striae  are  apparently  cracks 
in  the  fibre;  and,  as  Beale  ha3  shown,  are  not  unfrequently 
seen  in  the  elastic  fibres  in  beef  and  mutton  which  have 
passed  through  the  alimentary  ca 

Bearing  on  the  mode  of  nutrition  of  the  tendons,  and 
other  fibrous  forms  of  connective  tissues,  the  existence  of 
plasma,  or  juice,  canals  has  been  described,  along  which, 
not  blood,  but  the  liquor  sanguinis  is  supposed  to  flow. 
Virchow  conceived  that  the  connective  tissue  corpuscles 
formed  an  anastomosing  network  for  this  purpose.  Briicke 
believed  that  delicate  channels  or  lacunae  existed  between 
the  bundles  of  connective  tissue,  whilst  ltccklinghausen 
maintained  that  serous  canaliculi  were  situated  in  the 
homogeneous  substance  which  connects  the  fibrous  fasciculi 
and  lamellae  of  the  connective  tissue  with  each  other. 
These  lacunae  or  canaliculi  are,  in  all  probability,  the  root- 
lets of  origin  of  the  lymphatic  system  of  vessels.  There 
can  indeed  be  no  doubt,  as  the  recent  injections  of  Ludwig 
and  Schweigger-Seidel  have  shown,  that  tendons  and  fasciae 
are  well  provided  with  lymph  vessels,  for  they  have  in- 
jected in  them  a  minute  net- 
work, consisting  in  part  of 
polygonal  meshes,  and  in  port 
of  vessels  running  longitudin- 
ally and  parallel  to  the  con- 
nective tissue  bundles,  and 
the  walls  of  these  vessels  were 
formed  of  endothelial  cells. 
Recklinghausen  and  others 
have  recently  described  cor- 
puscles in  the  connective  tissue 
which  resemble  in  size  and 
appearance  the  white  cor- 
puscles of  the  blood  and 
lymph.  These  corpuscles  are  believed  to  move  about  in 
the  juice  canals  already  referred  to,  and  it  is  possible  that 
they  may  have  migrated  into  the  tissue  through  the  walla 
of  its  nutriont  blood- vessels. 

The  vascularity  of  the  connective  tissue  varies  in  differ- 
ent localities.  The  periosteum  and  perichondrium  are  very 
vascular;  but  their  numerous  vessels  are  concerned  in  the 
nutrition  not  merely  of  these  fibrous  membranes,  but  of 
the  bone  and  cartilage  which  they  invest.  The  sheath  of 
connective  tissue  which  invests  a  tendon  is  more  vascular 
than  the  substance  of  the  tendon  itself.  As  a  rule,  it  may 
be  stated  that  the  fibrous  connective  tissues  are  not  highly 
vascular,  and  that  the  nutritive  changes  which  take  place  iu 
them  after  their  growth  is  completed  are  not  very  active. 

The  mode  of  development  of  the  connective  tissue  has 
been  much  discussed  by  anatomists,  and  various  views  have 
been  advanced  as  to  the  changes  which  lead  to  its  pro- 
duction. It  is  now,  however,  generally  admitted  that  it 
arises  from  the  embryonic  cells  by  a  special  morphological 
heinical  differentiation  of  their  protoplasm,  but  the 
degree  to  which  this  differentiation  may  proceed  varies  with 
the  particular  form  of  the  texture.  In  the  neuroglia  the 
tissue  is  apparently  a  simple  nucleated  protoplasm.  In  the 
retiform  connective  tissue  the  cells  have  assumed  a  stellate 
shape,  and  their  branches  anastomose.  In  the  gelatinous 
and  fibrous  forms  an  intercellular  matrix  is  extensively  pro- 
duced, and  exhibits  a  differentiation  into  fibres.  In  these 
last-named  forms,  which  are  the  most  characteristic  varie- 
ties of  the  tissue,  the  cells  of  the  embryo  change  thi  u  'una. 


Flu.  si. —  Connective  tissue  of  the 
omentum  of  the  foetus,  showing  the 
characteristic  fuslfonu  corpuscle*. 
A  capillary  blood-reset]  crosses  the 
fifrure,  and  near  It  are  scvcial  blood 
corpuscles  which  have  prouabl/ 
migrated  from  the  vessel. 


TEXTURES.] 


ANATOMY 


Hoi 


and  assume  a  fusiform,  caudate,  or  stellate  shape ;  and, 
subsequently  a  delicate  fibrillated  structure  appears  between 
them,  which  assumes  the  characters  of  the  bundles  of 
■white  fibrous  tissue,  and  by  separating  the  cells  from  each 
other  forms  the  fibrous  intercellular  matrix.  It  has  been 
much  disputed  whether  these  white  fibres  take  their  rise 
immediately  from  the  peripheral  portion  of  the  cells  by  a 
direct  differentiation  of  their  protoplasm,  or  whether  this 
protoplasm  is  not  in  the  first  instance  converted  into  a 
homogeneous  matrix  in  which  the  fibrous  differentiation 
then  occurs.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  fibres  are 
formed  by  a  metamorphosis  of  the  protoplasm  of  the  cells ; 
whether  the  metamorphosis  takes  place  directly,  or  through 
the  intermediate  stage  of  a  homogeneous  matrix,  is  a 
secondary  question,  and  in  all  probability  both  modes  of 
conversion  take  place  at  different  times  and  in  different 
localities.  As  the  differentiation  into  fibres  progresses,  the 
tissue  becomes  firmer  and  tougher,  and  the  proportion  of 
the  cellular  to  the  fibrous  element  diminishes.  Hence,  say 
in  a  young  tendon,  the  rows  of  connective  tissue  cells  are 
not  only  closer  together,  but  are  much  more  readily  seen 
than  in  an  adult  tendon,  in  which  the  increased  production 
of  fibres  obscures  the  cellular  element. 

The  mode  of  origin  of  the  yellow  elastic  fibres  has  also 
been  much  discussed.  At  one  time  it  was  believed  that 
they  were  derived  from  nuclei,  and  on  this  supposition  they 
were  named  nuclear  fibres.  But  from  more  recent  observa- 
tions there  is  reason  to  believe  that  they  are  produced,  like 
the  white  fibres,  by  a  special  differentiation  of  the  proto- 
plasm of  the  embryonic  cells,  or  of  a  homogeneous  matrix 
derived  from  that  protoplasm.  In  such  localities  as  the 
ligamentum  nuchae,  where  the  fibres  are  both  large  and 
numerous,  the  whole  of  the  cell  protoplasm  appears  to 
become  converted  into  elastic  tissue.  In  tendons,  and  those 
parts  where  these  fibres  are  slender  and  scanty,  and  coil 
round  the  bundles  of  white  fibrous  tissue,  they  apparently 
arise  from  a  differentiation  of  the  protoplasm  on  the  sur- 
face only  of  the  formative  embryonic  cells. 

Adipose  Tissue. — The  adipose  or  fatty  tissue  varies  in 
its  amount  in  different  individuals.  It  is  especially  found 
in  the  marrow  of  the  .bones ;  as  a  layer  beneath  the  skin, 
differing  in  thickness  in  different  individuals;  and  collected 
in  the  cavity  of  the  abdomen  in  the  folds  of  peritoneum, 
known  as  the  mesentery  and  omenta,  in  which,  and  indeed 
in  the  other  localities  where  it  occurs,  it  is  intimately 
associated  with  the  connective  tissue.  It  consists  of  cells, 
which  vary  in  size  from  jj-jth  to  5JTth 
inch,  usually  ovoid  or  spherical  in  form, 
though  when  collected  into  masses  they 
may  be  laterally  compressed.  These  cells 
are  sometimes  isolated,  though  most 
isually  arranged  in  rows  or  clusters  to 
lobules  of  fat.  The  number  of  cells 
i..  n  given  lobule  varies  with  f,he  size 
of  the  lobule.  The  distinctive  contents 
of  these  cells  is  a  minute  drop  of  oil, 
which,  when  examined  by  transmitted 
light,  presents  a  bright  appearance;  but 
when  seen  by  reflected  light,  looks,  as  F,8-^07aVu£a1"lld 
Monro  primus  described  it  long  ago,  like 
a  cluster  of  pearls.  Each  fat  cell  possesses  a  distinct  wall,  as 
can  be  readily  demonstrated  by  digesting  these  cells  in  ether, 
when  the  oil  is  dissolved  out  and  the  membranous  wall 
remains.  The  nucleus  of  the  fat  cell  is  more  difficult  to 
demonstrate,  and  when  seen  is  found  attached  to  the  inner 
surface  of  the  cell  wall.  In  the  fat  of  old  persons,  and  in 
specimens  of  this  tissue  which  have  been  removed  from 
the  body  for  a  length  of  time,  a  stellate  group  of  acicular 
crystals  is  not  unfrequently  to  be  seen  in  the  interior  of 
the  cell,  which  consists  either  o<   margario  or  margaric 


acid,  one  of  the  constituents  of  human  fat.  The  lobulea 
of  fat  cells  are  included  between  bundles  of  the  areolar 
variety  of  connective  tissue,  which  form  their  supporting 
framework.  But  in  addition,  they  are  more  or  less  per- 
fectly surrounded  by  a  network  of  capillary  vessels,  which 
not  only  serves  to  convey  to  them  blood  for  their  nutrition, 
but  aids  in  retaining  them  in  position. 

The  close  anatomical  relation  between  the  adipose  and  the 
connective  tissue  points  to  a  genetic  relationship  between 
them.  It  has  now  been  ascertained  that  the  first  stage  in 
the  formation  of  a  fat  cell  consists  in  the  appearance  of 
extremely  minute  drops  of  oil  in  the  protoplasm  of  the  con- 
nective tissue  corpuscles  of  the  part ;  as  these  run  together 
larger  drops  are  produced,  a  cell  wall  at  the  same  time- 
differentiates  from  the  peripheral  part  of  the  protoplasm, 
and  as  the  cell  becomes  distended  with  oil,  by  the  conver- 
sion into  fat  of  its  substance,  it  swells  out  into  a  spherical 
or  ovoid  cell.  Klein  has  recently  shown  that  the  fatty 
tissue  of  the  omentum  and  mesentery  is  formed  by  the 
production  of  oil  drops  within  the  branched  cells,  which 
form  the  reticular  tissue  that  supports  the  lymphoid  cells 
found  so  abundantly  between  these  folds  of  peritoneum. 

Pigmentary  Tissue. — In  some  parts  of  the  body  a 
yellow,  brown,  or  black  pigment  is  found  in  the  interior  of 
cells,  which  gives  to  the  tissue  and  organ  a  characteristic 
colour.  In  the  coloured  races  of  mankind,  and  in  certain 
parts  of  the  body  of  the  white  races,  pigment  is  produced 
in  the  cells  of  the  cuticle  or  epidermis,  more  especially  in 
the  cells  of  the  deeper  strata  or  rete  Malpighi.  In  the  con- 
nective tissue  corpuscles,  also,  more  especially  in  the  dermis 
of  fish,  amphibia,  and  reptiles,  pigment  is  found  in  con- 
siderable abundance.  The  choroid  coat  of  the  eyeball  owes 
its  dark  brown  or  black  colour  to  the  presence  of  pigment 
in  the  interior  of  the  cells.  The  $&g£&B)4&&&Ml±> 
pigment  cells  of  the  choroid  are 
usually  polyhedrons,  5  or  6-sided, 
and  are  arranged  to  form  a  mosaic 
pattern.  In  the  centre  is  a  nu-  ria  «.— c™ip  of  6-si.irj  .-hop 
cleus,  and  the  cell  substance  is 

occupied  by  numbers  of  minute  brown  granules.     In  Uir 
connective   tissue   on  the   outer  surface 
of  the  choroid,  the  pigment  is  contained 
in  stellate    cells.     In  the  skin   of  fishes 
and  amphibia,  the  stellate  pigment  cells 
branch  and  subdivide  so  as  to  form  highly 
complex  patterns,  and  the  cells  are  crowd- 
ed with  brown  or  yellow  granules.     The 
production  of  pigment,  either  in  the  in 
terior  of   epidermal   cells,   in  the   poly- 
hedral  cells   of  the   choroid,  or  in   the 
stellate   connective   tissue   corpuscles,    is 
owing  to  a  special  metamorphosis  or  dif- , 
ferentiation  of  the  protoplasm  substance  *N™V  cot 'ir.™"i 
of  these  cells.  .ki„  oi  a  couw,. 

Cartilaginous  Tissue. — By  the  term  cartilage,  ot 
cartilaginous  tissue,  is  meant  a  group  of  tissues  which, 
though  usually  found  in  the  form  of  plates  or  bars,  yet 
differ  in  various  aspects  from  each  other,  both  in  naked  eye 
and  microscopic  characters.  They  agree,  however,  in 
forming  solid  textures,  opaque  when  seen  in  mass,  I  ', 
in  thin  slices,  translucent,  pearly,  or  bluish  white,  firm  in 
consistence,  but  easily  cut  with  a  knife,  endowed  with 
considerable  elasticity,  and  yielding  chcn>' 
Cartilage  is  of  greater  importance  in  die  foetus  nnd  in  Hit 
immature  condition  of  the  body  than  in  the  adult,  for  in 
early  life  the  bones  are  in  a  great  measure  formed  of  it. 
Aa  development  and  growth  proceed,  a  considerable  pro- 
portion of  the  cartilage  becomes  converted  into  bone,  and 
is  called,  therefore,  temporary  cartilage,  whilst  the  remain- 
ing portion  continues  as  cartilage  throughout  life,  and  is 


Fio.  U-StcllnH  DlCi 


852 


ANATOMY 


ASATOMY    OP 


termed  permanent.  The  following  varieties  of  cartilage, 
based  on  modifications  in  structure  and  appearance,  may  be 
recognised 


Celluiar  cartilag 


Cells  with  matrix  substance. 


Matrix  homogeneous. 
(Hyaline  cartilage.) 


Matrix  fibrous. 
(Fibro-cartilage.) 


White  fibro-cartilage. 


I  ellow  fibro-cartilage. 


T":a.  45. — Cells  of  the  chorda  dor- 
ial  s  of  the  lamprey. 


The  Cellular  or  Parenchymatous  Cartilage  does  not  exist 
in  the  adult  human  body.  It  occurs,  however,  in  the 
human  embryo,  in  the  embryos  of  all  the  vertebrata,  and 
ii  the  larval  stage  of  development  of  the  tunicata,  as  the 
slender  rod  named  chorda  dorsalis  or  notochord.  In  all 
the  higher  vertebrata  the  chorda  dorsalis  disappears  as 
development  advances,  but  in  the  lWer  vertebrates  it  per- 
sists throughout  life  as  a  more  or  less  perfect  stru:ture.  In 
the  lamprey  and  myxine  it  forms  a  continuous  rod  in  the 
vertebral  region.  In  fish  gene- 
rally, but  more  especially  in  the 
cartilaginous  group,  it  forms  a 
jelly-like  mass,  occupying  the 
concavities  between  the  bodies 
of  the  vertebrae.  The  cells  lie 
in  contact  with  each  other. 
They  are  comparatively  large  in 
size,  are  sometimes  rounded,  but 
more  usually  compressed  late 
rally.  The  nucleus  is  often  very 
distinct,  though  at  other  times  more  difficult  to  detect, 
and  the  cell  wall  is  well  marked.  Sometimes  a  little  inter- 
cellular substance  is  found.  By  some  anatomists  the  chorda 
dorsalis  is  regarded  as  a  variety  of  connective  tissue,  and 
not  of  cartilage 

The  cartilaginous  framework  of  the  ear  of  some  small 
mammals — as  the  mouse,  the  bat,  and  the  rat — is  formed  of 
cellular  cartilage,  the  cells  of  which 
are  smaller  in  size  than  those  of  the 
chorda  dorsalis,  irregularly  poly- 
gonal, and  closely  packed  together 
so  as  to  form  a  solid  tissue. 

The  Hyaline  Cartilage  consfsts 
of  cells  imbedded  in  a  pellucid  or 
hyaline  matrix,  which,  under  some 
conditions,  however,  may  assume 
a  dimly  granulated  appearance.  The 
xiphoid  and  costal  cartilages,  the  encrusting  cartilages  at 
the  articular  ends  of  the  bones,  the  cartilages  of  the  nose, 
those  of  the  windpipe,  except 
the  epiglottis  and  coruicula 
laryngis,  belong  to  this  var- 
iety, as  also  the  temporary  car- 
tilages. In  hyaline  cartilage 
the  cells  are  ovoid  or  poly- 
gonal, or  even  fusiform,  and 
sometimes  flattened,  the  flat- 
tened form  of  cell  being 
found  next  the  surface  of  the  F,°'  «-***■  ™*  "*':"^ 
cartilage.  They  lie  singly,  or  in  groups  of  two,  or  three, 
or  four ;  sometimes  they  are  arranged  in  linear  series,  at 
other  times  they  arc  irregularly  grouped  together.  The  cell 
contents  are  dimly  granular,  with  a  well-defined  nucleus 
containing  a  nucleolus.  Not  unfrequently  two  or  more 
nuclei  are  present  in  a  cell ;  and  in  old  cartilage  the  con- 
tents are  often  coarsely  granular,  or  even  infiltrated  with 
drops  of  oil.  'Eeidenhain  has  shown  that  powerful  induc- 
tion shocks  cause  contraction  of  the  protoplasm  of  the  cells 
towards  the  central  nucleus.  The  cells  be  in  cavities  in 
the  matrix  substance,  and  the  part  of  the  matrix  which 
forma  the  immediate  wall  of  the  hollow  is  named  the 


Flo  46.— Cells  of  i!it  ciuill.igl- 
nocs  framework  of  the  car 
of  the  mouaa 


Two  or  more  cells  may  sometime1?  lie 


Flo.  43.— Ycitldl  section 
through  an  encrusting 
cai Hinge.  R.  the  bfin» 
on  which  tho  cartilage 
rests. 


capsulo  of  the  cell, 
in  the  same  hollow, 

The  matrix  of  hyaline  cartilage  is  usually  homogeneous. 
In  some  animals  the  matrix  appears  to  have  a  concentric 
arrangement  around  the  cells,  and  Rollett  has  stated  that 
by  the  use  of  dilute  sulphuric  acid  or  chromic  acid  the 
matrix  may  be  made  to  split  up  into  concentric  layers. 
Sometimes  the  matrix  appears  granulated,  a  change  which 
is  very  apt  to  occur  in  sections  of  cartilage  which  have 
been  removed  for  some  time  from  the  body.  In  the  costal 
cartilages  of  old  persons  the  matrix  becomes  fibrous;  and 
it  is  by  no  means  uncommon  to  find  in  advanced  age  these 
bars  of  cartilage  converted  into  bone. 

In  the  articular  or  encrusting  cartilages  the  arrangement 
of  the  cells  is  quite  distinctive.  If  a  vertical  p'ection  be 
made  through  a  plate  of  this  carti- 
lage, the  cells  next  the  bone  are 
seen  to  be  arranged  in  parallel  rows 
perpendicular  to  the  surface  of  the 
bone  on  which  the  cartilage  rests; 
the  cells  are  smaller  than  those  of  the 
costal  cartilage,  oblong  in  form,  and 
the  adjacent  rows  are  separated  by 
intermediate  hyaline  matrix.  Near 
the  free  surface  of  the  cartilage  the 
cells  are  flattened,  placed  parallel  to 
the  plane  of  the  surface,  and  so 
closely  packed  together  that  the 
proportion  of  matrix  is  much  re- 
duced. In  the  intermediate  parts 
of  the  cartilage  the  cells  lie  irregularly  in  the  matrix,  and 
are  rounded  in  form.  It  was  from  the  study  of  the 
changes  which  take  place  in  articular  cartilage  in  disease 
that  Goodsir  was  enabled  to  establish  the  production  of 
new  cells  by  the  multiplication  of  the  normal  pre-existing 
cells  of  the  cartilage, — an  observation  which  formed  the 
starting-point  of  the  modern  doctrine  of  cellular  pathology. 

Fibro-cartilages  are  divided  into  white  and  yellow. 
Wjiile  fibro-cartilage  may  form  the  connecting  medium 
between  the  articular  surfaces  of  an 
amphiarthrodia]  joint,  as  in  the  inter- 
vertebral discs;  or  it  may  form  plates  in 
the  interior  of  joints,  as  in  the  semi- 
lunar cartilages  of  the  knee  and  other 
menisci  in  diarthrodial  joints;  or  it  may 
extend  around  the  margin  of  the  socket 
of  a  joint,  as  in  the  cotyloid  ligament  of 
the  hip;  or  it  may  invest  the  surfaces  of 
bones  over  which  tendons  have  to  play, 
as  where  the  tendons  of  the  peronei 
muscles  play  in  the  groove  on  the  back 
of  the  external  malleolus.  In  the  intervertebral  discs, 
which  give  the  best  illustrations  of  the  structure  of  white 
fibro-cartilage,  the  cells  are  ovoid  in  form  and  distinctly 
nucleated.  Sometimes  two  or  three  are  grouped  together, 
but  not  unfrequently  they  occur  singly.  They  are  sepa- 
rated from  each  other  by  short  fibres.  In  these  discs  the 
fibrous  matrix  is  always  stronger  and  more  distinct  in  the 
peripheral  than  in  the  central  part.  The  other  forms  of  white 
fibro-cartilage  are  transitional ,  between  the  true  cartilage 
and  connective  tissue,  i.e.,  the  cells  possess  the  characters 
of  cartilage  cells,  whilst  the  fibrous  matrix  approximates  to 
the  matrix  of  the  connective  tissue. 

The  yellow  elastic  fibro-cartilagcs  are  the  epiglottis,  the 
cornicula  laryngis,  the  cartilaginous  framework  of  the  auricle 
of  the  human  ear,  and  the  cars  of  mammalia  generally, 
and  the  cartilaginous  wall  of  the  Eustachian  tube.  The 
cells  are  rounded  or  ovoid,  distinctly  nucleated,  ard  usually 
arranged  singly  or  in  pairs.  The  matrix  its  distinctly 
fibrous;  the  fibres,  which  form  a  close  intersecting  cct- 


o.  4*.  —  w  ti  1 1  e 
flbro-carlilngc  of 
an    lr.:c7TtruhroJ 

disc. 


TEXTURES.] 


ANATOMY 


853 


■work,  branch  and  sometimes  anastomose.  They  resist  the 
action  of  acetic  acid  like  the  yellow  fibres  of  connective 
tissue;  and  Donders  has  described  a  continuity  between 
them  and  the  elastic  fibres  of  the  connective  tissue,  which 
forms  the  investing  perichondrium  of  this  form  of  cartilage. 
The  yellow  fibro  cartilage  has  no  tendency  to  ossify. 

The  bars  and  plates  of  cartilage, — except  the  encrusting 
hyaline  cartilages,  and  the  interarticular,  marginal,  and  in- 
vesting white  fibro-cartilages, — are  surrounded  by  a  fibrous 
nembrane  or  perichondrium.  In  the  adult  human  body 
jartilage  is  not  penetrated  by  blood-vessels,  but  is  nourished 
by  the  vessels  which  ramify  in  its  investing  perichondrium. 
In  the  foetus,  however,  and  in  the  large  masses  of  cartilage 
which  are  found  in  the  skeletons  of  the  cetacea  and  of  the 
cartilaginous  fishes,  the  cartilage  is  permeated  by  canals  in 
which  blood-vessels  ramify.  In  the  encrusting  cartilages, 
the  cartilage  is  nourished  by  the  blood-vessels  of  the 
synovial  membrane  of  the  joint,  which,  in  the  case  of  the 
articular  cartilage,  form  a  vascular  ring  around  its  margin ; 
and,  both  in  it  and  in  the  forms  of  white  fibro-cartilage 
that  do  not  possess  a  perichondrium,  by  the  vessels  of 
the  bone,  to  which  these  cartilages  are  as  a  rule  attached. 
In  the  movable  joints,  after  the  child  has  begun  to  use  its 
limbs,  the  synovial  membrane  is  not  continued  over  the 
free  surface  of  the  articular  cartilage,  but  stops  at  its 
margin  along  the  line  of  the  vascular  ring.  In  the  foetus, 
however,  it  has  been  stated  that  both  blood-vessels  and 
synovial  membrane  are  prolonged  over  the  free  surface  of 
the  articular  cartilage. 
«relop-  In  the  development  of  hyaline  cartilage  the  contents  of 
°.'  ot  the  embryonic  cells  of  the  part,  where  the  cartilage  is  to  be 
a*e'  produced,  become  clear,  and  a  cell  wall  differentiates  around 
the  exterior  t)f  the  cell.  The  nuclei  in  the  cells  divide  and 
subdivide,  so  that  a  multiplication  of  the  cells  by  endo- 
genous reproduction  takes  place.  Hyaline  matrix  sub- 
stance then  appears  between  the  cells,  and  is  concentrically 
arranged  around  them;  it  is  believed  to  be  formed  by  a 
special  conversion  of  successive  layers  of  the  cell  proto- 
plasm into  a  substance  which  yields  chonarine  on  boiling. 
The  fibro-cartilages,  both  white  and  yellow,  but  especially 
the  latter,  yield  but  little  chondrine  on  boiling,  for  the 
fibrous  matrix  of  the  white  fibro-cartilage  is  a  gelatine- 
yielding  substance,  like  the  white  fibres  of  connective 
tissue,  whilst  the  fibres  of  the  yellow  fibro-cartilage  partake 
of  the  nature  of  elastic  tissue.  The  fibro-cartilages,  there- 
fore, form  a  group  which  links  together  the  connective  and 
'cartilaginous  tissues. 

Osseous  Tissue. — The  osseous  tissue,  or  bone,  is  that 
■which  constitutes  the  hard  framework  of  the  skeleton. 
Each  bone  consists  of  a  hard,  more  or  less  dense,  tough, 
and  but  slightly  elastic  material.  The  elasticity  of  the 
bones  is  more  marked  in  young  than  in  adult  and  aged 
persons.  From  differences  in  their  external  configuration, 
bones  are  divided  into  long  or  cylindrical,  e.g.,  femur; 
short,  e.g.,  carpal  or  tarsal  bones;  flat  or  plate-like,  e.g., 
scapula;  irregular  bones,  e.g.,  vertebrae.  These  variations 
in  shape  do  not,  however,  involve  differences  either  in 
composition  or  minute  structure.  Bone  consists  chemically 
of  an  earthy  and  an  animal  substance  intimately  blended 
together.  The  earthy  matter  forms  about  two-thirds  of 
it,  and  consists  chiefly  of  phosphate  of  lime,  which,  from 
its  abundance  in  bone,  is  frequently  called  "bone  earth." 
Carbonate  of  lime  and  a  small  proportion  of  soda  and 
magnesia  salts  are  also  present.  The  hardness  of  bone  is 
due  to  the  presence  of  the  earthy  matter.  The  animal 
matter  forms  the  remaining  third,  and  yields  gelatine  on 
boiling;  it  imparts  elasticity  and  toughness  to  the  bone, 
and  binds  together  the  particles  of  earthy  matter. 

Bone  presents  two  different  structural  characters  to  the 
naked  eye.     The  outer  part  of  a  bone  is  its  hardest  part, 


and  forms  a  dense  external  Shell,  technically  called  the 
compact  tissue.  The  interior  of  a  bone  is  much  less  firm, 
and  is  made  up  of  thin  delicate  plates  or  bare,  or  trabecles, 
which  intersect  each  other  at  various  angles,  and  form  a 
lattice-like  arrangement,  technically  called  the  spongy  or 
cancellated  tisme.  The'  plates  and  bars  of  the  spongy 
tissue  are  continuous  with  the  inner  surface  of  the  compact 
tissue.  Iu  the  long  bones  the  interior  of  the  shaft  is  hol- 
lowed into  a  canal,  named  the  medullary  canal,  the  walls 
of  which  are  formed  by  the  compact  tissue,  and  the  can- 
cellated tissue  is  found  only  at  the  articular  ends  of  these 
bones;  the  thickness  of  the  compact  tissue  in  a  long  bone 
is  always  greater  at  the  centre  of  the  shaft  than  at  or  near 
the  articular  ends. 

If  the  outer  surface  of  the  compact  tissue  of  a  long  bone 
and  the  wall  of  the  medullary  canal  be  examined  with  a 
pocket  lens,  they  will  be  seen  to  be  riddled  by  multitudes 
of  minute  orifices,  which  are  the  mouths  of  minute  tubular 
passages  or  canals  that  traverse  the  compact  tissue.    These 
passages  are  named  Haversian  canals,  and  their  arrange- 
ment may  be  studied  by  making  thin  sections  through 
the  compact  tissue,  and  submitting  these  to  microscopic 
examination,  when  they  will  be  seen  to  pass  longitudinally 
or  very  obliquely  through  its  substance,  so  as  to  terminate 
by  rounded  orifices  cither  on  its  outer  surface,  or  on  the 
inner  surface,  which  forms  the  wall  of  the  medullary  canaL 
These  canals  are  connected  together  at  intervals  by  short 
transverse  or  oblique  canals.     Owing  to  these  communica- 
tions the  dense  osseous  tissue  is  permeated  by  an  anasto- 
mosing network  of  canals,  which,  as  they  contain  blood-1 
vessels,  may  be  named  vascular  canals.     These  canals  ar« 
circular  in  section,  and  vary  in  diameter  from  about  y^tb 
to  -r515!Jta  inch.      They  not  unfrequeutly  are   dilated  at 
the  inner  end,  where  they  open  into  the  spaces  of   the 
cancellated  tissue.  The  compact  tissue  of  all  bones  possessel 
a  system  of  canals  similar  to  those  found  in  the  long  bonesj 
but  when  bone  occurs  in  the  form  of  very  thin  plates  the 
canals  may  be  absent.    In  addition  to  the  Haversian  canals, 
irregular  spaces,  named  Haversian  spaces  by  Tomes  and 
De  Morgan,  may  also  be  seen  in  sections  through  the  com- 
pact tissue.     They  are  met  with  not  only  in  young  but  in 
adult  bones,  and  are  regarded  as  produced  by  absorption 
of  the  bone  in  those  particular  localities.     In  thin  sections 
through  bone,  more  especially  when  the  Haversian  canals 
are  transversely  divided,  the  dense  tissue  or  matrix  of  tLe 
bone  which  surrounds  the  canals  is  seen  to  be  arranged  in 
concentric  rings,  as  if  it  were  built  up  of  a  series  of  lamella; 
superimposed  on  each  other.     These  lamellae  do  not  at  all 
times  form  complete  circles,  and  the  number  which  sur- 
round a  canal  may  vary  from  two  or  three  to  half  a  dozen; 
they  are  sometimes  called  the  Haversian  lamellae.     Other 
lamellae  lie  in  relation  to  the  periosteal  surface  of  the  bone, 
and  are  called  peripheral  lamellae  ;  whilst  others  again  are, 
as  it  were,  intercalated  between  adjacent  Haversian  systems 
of  lamellae,  and  are  named  intermediate  or  interstitial.     It 
has  been  pointed  out  by  Sharpey  that  a  bone  lamella, 
after  the  earthy  matter  has  been   dissolved  out  by  the 
action  of  an  acid,  is  made  up  of  multitudes  of  fine  trans- 
parent fibres,  which  intersect  each  other  and  form  a  net- 
work.    But  he  has  further  shown  that  the  lamellae  are 
perforated  by  fibres,  or  bundles  of  fibres,  which  pass  through 
them  either  perpendicularly  or  obliquely,  so   as  to  bolt 
adjacent   lamella?  together.     With  a  little  care,  the  per- 
forating fibres  of  Sharpey  may  be  drawn  out  of  the  holes 
or  sockets  in  which  they  arc  lodged. 

When  thin  sections  through  a  macerated  and  dried  bone 
are  examined  under  the  higher  powers  of  the  microscope, 
the  lamellated  matrix  is  seen  to  exhibit  a  very  peculiar 
appearance,  which  is  characteristic  of  the  osseous  tissue. 
Between    the    surfaces    of    adjacent    lamellae    irregularis 


354 


ANATOMY 


[anatomy  or 


the 


elongated  spaces,  called  lacuna,  are  to  be  seen  in  con- 
siderable numbers ;  these  lacuna?,  like  the  lamella?  be- 
tween which  they  aro  situated,  have  a  concentric  arrange- 
ment  around   tho    Haversian    canals.     Tho   lacuna?,    the 

lamella;,  and  the  Haver-  r  •zLa^i.^t^XHt^ LJSXfJiiiri— 
sian  canal  which  they  -ffn&flbaS 
surround,  aro  sometimes 
named  a  Haversian  sys- 
tem. From  the  ends  and 
sides  of  any  one  of  theso 
lacunae  very  minute 
branching  canals,  termed 

«ina/lWt,prOceed,which  Flo.  M -Transverse  section  through  .he 

'£     ,  .       pact  tissue  Of  the  shaft  of  a  Ion,*  t  one. 

penetratethe  lamellseand      Haversian    canals,    lamell-c,    lacunss, 

anastomose  with  the  MD'ulcuJ'  'ro  5hown- 
canaliculi  proceeding  from  adjacent  lacuna;,  whilst 
canaliculi,  springing  from  the  sides  of  those  lacuna?  which 
lie  nearest  to  the  Haversian  canal,  open  on  the  wall 
of  the  canal  itself.  The  lacunae  average  in  length 
TH^7th  inch,  and  their  transverse  diameter  is  about 
iiVitth  inch  ;  the  canaliculi  vary  from  ttu  Truth  *°  Tnr}"!FiTth 
inch  in  diameter.  When  examined  in  a  dried  bone  by 
transmitted  light,  the  lacunas  look  like  solid,  black  bodies, 
and  the  canaliculi  seem  to  be  processes  branching  off  from 
them,  hence  they  were  erroneously  called  by  the  earlier 
observers  bone-corpuscles.  But  if  a  little  turpentine  be 
added  to  the  section,  the  fluid  displaces  the  air  which 
the  lacuna?  and  canaliculi  contain  in  the  dried  bone, 
renders  the  part  more  transparent,  and  affords  a  satisfac- 
tory demonstration  that  they  are,  in  a  macerated  and  dry 
bone,  not  solid  bodies,  but  a  minute  system  of  spaces  and 
anastomosing  little  canals;  and  that  all  those  which  lie  in 
the  same  Haversian  system  not  only  freely  communicato 
with  each  other,  but,  eitlfer  directly  or  indirectly,  with  Qui 
Haversian  canal  which  they  surround. 

But  a  macerated  and  dried  bone,  such  as  one  sees  in 
museums  and  in  articulated  skeletons,  and  the  structure  of 
which  has  just  been  described,  is 
a  bone  which  has  been  deprived 
of  several  soft  tissues  by  the  pro- 
cess of  putrefaction,  which  tis- 
suesareof  theutmost  importance 
in  the  economy  of  the  bone  in  tho 
living  animal.  A  living  bone  is 
a  complex  organ, andamacerated 
bone  is  only  the  skeleton  of  a 
living  bone.  It  is  essential, 
therefore,  in  studying  the  struc- 
ture of  bone,  that  the  attention 
should  not  be  limited  to  the  ap- 
pearances presented  by  the  macerated  bone,  but  that  the 
arrangement  and  structure  of  its  soft  tissues  should  be  con 
sidered.  The  soft  tissues  of  a  bone  are  the  periosteum  and 
iU  prolongations,  the  marrow, 
the  minute  masses  of  nucleated 
protoplasm  which  occupy  the 
lacuna?  of  the  bone,  the  blood  and 
lymph  vessels,  and  the  nerves. 

The  Periosteum  is  a  strong 
fibrous  membrane  which  invests 
all  the  exterior  of  a  bone,  except 
where  the  encrusting  cartilage 
is  continuous  with  its  articular 
end.  It  is  subdivided  into  two 
layers :  a,  a  firm  external  fibrous 
layer,  consisting  of  bundles 
of  connective  tissue,  which  de- 
cussate with  each  other  in 
various    directions,    and    amidst 


r'to.  51.  —  Longitudinal  %scction 
through  the  compact  tissue  of  a 
long  bone,  to  slio.v  the  passage 
of  blood-\  csscls  from  tho  peri- 
osteum P,  Into  the  Daveriiun 
canals  II  II. 


Fio.  52,--Seclon  fnrmigh  the  peri- 
osteum and  compact  tl&suc  of  a 
J'oung  bone.  S  P,  superficial  fibrous 
ayer  of  periosteum;  1>  P,  docpei 
cellular  layer  prolonged  into  II  II. 
the  wide  Haversian  canals ;  V, 
a  vessel  of  the  periosteum  e71ie1li.fi 
a  canal 


which    a    network    of 
small  blood-vesseb    is  freely  distributed   prior  to   their 


passage  into  the  Havc~?[an  canals ;  6,  a  softer  internal 
layer,  which  is  especially  well  marked  in  young  growing 
bones.  This  soft  layer  partly  consists  of  very  delicate 
connective  tissue,  in  which  rounded  or  oval  cells  are  found, 
which  give  off  slender  processes  at  various  points  of  their 
periphery,  and  partly  of  larger  granular  cells,  which  lie 
next  the  bone  itself.  Processes  of  the  soft  inner  layer  are 
prolonged  into  the  Haversian  canals,  in  which,  as  Goodsir 
pointed  out,  a  layer  of  cellular  substance  lies  between  tho 
wall  of  tho  canal  and  its  contained  blood-vessel,  so  that 
these  canals  are  not,  as  in  macerated  bones,  empty  passages, 
but  are  tilled  up  by  the  blood-vessels  and  the  cellular  layer. 

The  J  farrow  occupies  the  medullary  canal  of  a  long 
bone  arid  the  spaces  in  the  cancellated  tissue  of  bone3 
generally.  It  occurs  in  two  furms,  red  and  yellow 
marrow.  Red  marrow  is  found  in  the  bones  of  the  foetus 
generally,  and  in  the  cancelli  of  the  plate-like,  short,  and 
irregular  bones  at  a  more  advanced  period.  It  consists 
principally  of  large  many-nucleated  masses  of  protoplasm, 
the  myeloid  cells  of  Kolliker  and  Robin,  lying  in  a  very 
delicate  areolar  tissue,  and  supplied  by  a  network  of 
capillary  blood  vessels.  It  contains  little  or  no  fat.  Yel- 
low marrow,  again,  is  composed  of  fat  cells  lying  in  a 
delicate  areolar  tissue  with  accompanying  blood-vessels. 
The  areolar  tissue,  which  supports  the  marrow  cells,  lines 
the  medullary  canal  and  cancelli,  and  is  named  the  medul- 
lary membrane,  or  the  endosteum. 

In  the  fresh  bone  the  lacuna?  are  not  empty  spaces  as  in 
the  macerated  bone.  They  are  filled  up  by  nucleated  clumps 
of  protoplasm,  and  are  therefore,  as  Goodsir  was  tho  first 
to  show,  the  seats  of  Little  masses  of  nucleated  cells,  which 
cells  are  the  true  bone-corpuscles.  The  protoplasm  of  these 
cells  is  apparently  prolonged  into  the  canaliculi  Hence 
the  hard  part  of  the  osseous  texture  has  within  it  a  system 
of  nucleated  cells,  some  of  which  occupy  the  lacuna?  ar.d 
canaliculi,  while  others  form  a  lining  to  the  Haversian  canals. 

The  blood-vessels  of  a  bone  are  abundant.  It  receives 
its  arteries  partly  from  the  small  arteries  which  ramify  in 
the  periosteum,  the  fine  branches  of  which  enter  the 
Haversian  canals,  and  form  within  them  an  anastomosing 
network  of  capillaries ;  partly  through  a  special  artery 
which  enters  the  nutrient  canal  in  the  bone,  to  be  distri- 
buted chiefly  to  the  marrow;  partly  through  small  arterie3 
which  enter  openings  in  the  compact  tissue  near  the 
articular  extremities.  The  veins  of  bones  are  also  abun- 
dant. In  the  cancellated  tissue  they  are  large,  and  leave 
the  interior  of  the  bone  partly  through  foramina  situated 
near  the  articular  ends,  and  partly  by  a  vein  which  accom- 
panies the  artery  that  traverses  the  nutrient  canal.  In 
the  plaU-like  bones  of  the  skull  the  veins  lie  in  distinct 
channels  in  the  diploe,  and  in  the  bodies  of  the  vertebra? 
the  veins  pass  out  through  large  holes  in  the  posterior 
surface.  Bones  possess  lymph-vessels,  but  their  exact 
mode  of  arrangement  has  not  yet  been  ascertained.  Fine 
nerve3  have  been  traced  into  bones  accompanying  the 
arteries  which  enter  the  nutrient  and  Haversian  canals. 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  a  bone,  hard  and  dense 
though  its  texture  seems  to  be,  is  yet  hollowed  out  by 
spaces,  passages,  and  canals  which,  under  the  several 
names  of  medullary  canal,  cancellated  spaces,  nutrient 
canal,  Haversian  canals,  Haversian  spaces,  lacunae,  and 
canaliculi,  are  occupied  by  blood-vessels  or  other  soft  tis- 
sues. By  the  penetration  of  blood-vessels  into  the  bone, 
blood  is  conveyed  not  only  to  the  medulla,  but  into  the 
very  substance  even  of  the  compact  tissue ;  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  nucleated  masses  of  protoplasm  which 
occupy  the  lacuna?  and  canaliculi,  and  line  the  Haversian 
canals,  are,  as  Goodsir  long  ago  pointed  out,  centres  con- 
cerned in  the  nutrition  of  the  matrix  substance  of  the 
bono   in   their   immediate   neighbourhood.      These  nelk. 


TEXTURES.] 


ANATOMY 


855 


together  with  the  periosteum,  the  medulla,  and  their  blood- 
vessels, are  active  agents  in  the  development,  growth,  and 
nutrition  of  the  osseous  tissue. 

In  the  description  of  the  development  of  the  skeleton, 
it  was  stated  that  the  bones  are  formed  by  ossification  in 
cartilage  and  fibrous  membrane,  so  that  bones  are  pro- 
duced by  secondary  changes  in  a  pre-existing  material. 
TLo  mode  of  production  of  the  osseous  tissue  in  the  car- 
tilaginous and  fibrous  tissues  will  now  be  considered,  and 
it  should  be  clearly  understood  at  the  outset  that,  in  normal 
ossification,  bone  is  not  formed  by  a  mere  calcification  of 
the  matrix  of  the  pre-existing  tissue,  and  a  conversion  of 
the  cartilage  or  connective  tissue  corpuscles  into  bone 
corpuscles;  but,  as  the  researches  of  Sharpey,  Bruch, 
H.  Muller,  Loven,  and  Gegenbaur  have  made  known,  is 
due  to  a  development  of  new  corpuscles,  which  Gegenbaur 
has  named  osieo-blasts,  accompanied  by  an  abundant  forma- 
tion of  blood-vessels. 

When  the  process  of  ossification  in  temporary  cartilage 
begins,  a  change  takes  place  in  the  arrangement  of  its  cells 
at  the  centre,  or  point,  or  nucleus  of  ossification.  The  cells, 
instead  of  preserving  their  irregularly  scattered  arrange- 
ment in  the  matrix,  are  now  collected  into  longitudinal 
parallel  rows,  not  unlike  what  was  described  in  a  pre%'ious 
section,  in  the  deeper  cells  of  encrusting  cartilage.  In  each 
row  the  cells  lie  with  their  long  axes  transverse,  and 
apparently  multiply  by  a  process  of  fission.  The  cells  at 
the  end  of  the  rows  which  lie  nearest  the  centre  of  ossific 
change  swell  out  and  become  more  rounded.  Calcification 
of  the  matrix  substance,  which  separates  not  only  the 
parallel  rows  of  cells,  but  also  the  cells  in  the  same  row, 
from  each  other,  then  takes  place,  which  calcification  in- 
» ludes  also  the  capsules  of  the  cartilage  cells.  A  general 
rpacity  of  the  cartilage  is  the  result  of  this  calcification, 
find  the  further  progress  of  ossification  is  rendered  obscure. 
Tt  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  dissolve  out  by  an  acid  the 
calcareous  matter,  in  order  to  follow  the  steps  of  the  process. 

Spaces  or  canals  now  form  in  the  ossifying  cartilage, 
into  which  blood-vessels,  continuous  with  the  vessels  of 
the  perichondrium,  are  prolonged.  These  spaces  are  lined 
by  concentric  layers  of  small  rounded  cells,  not  unlike  lym- 
phoid cells  in  size  and  appearance,  and  form  the  medullar!/ 
ipaces  of  fcetal  cartilage,  whilst  the  cells  and  blood-vessels 
form  the  medulla.  Respecting  the  source  of  origin  of 
the  cells  of  this  medulla,  there  have  been  difficulties  in 
arriving  at  a  correct  conclusion.  Some  have  believed 
them  to  be  descended  from  the  cartilage  cells,  though  no 
demonstration  of  their  derivation  from  this  source  has 
ever  been  obtained.  Henke  conceived  that  they  might  be 
blood  corpuscles  migrated  from  the  blood-vessels  within 
the  spaces.  But  the  recent  observations  of  Stieda  seem 
satisfactorily  to  show  that  the  layers  of  medulla  cells,  are 
continuous  with  similar  layers  beneath  the  perichondrium, 
which  layers  are  prolonged  along  with  the  blood-vessels  into 
the  medullary  spaces  as  they  form  in  the  ossifying  cartil- 
age. But,  whatever  be  their  derivation,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  these  cells  undergo  certain  modifications  which 
are  of  the  utmost  importance  in  the  further  stages  of  tl  e 
ossific  process.  A  few  become  elongated  into  fusiform  or 
stellate  corpuscles,  like  those  of  connective  tissue ;  others 
have  oil  drops  fqrming  in  their  interior,  and  become  the 
cells  of  yellow  marrow;  others  become  the  corpuscles  of 
red  marrow ;  others,  again,  which  form  the  osteo-blasts, 
properly  so-called,  are  the  direct  agents  in  tae  production 
of  the  osseous  tissue  itself. 

The  formation  of  the  medullary  spaces  in  cartilage  is 
owing  to  an  absorption  of  the  calcified  cartilaginous  tissue. 
K  oilier  points  out  that  the  absorption  is  effected  through 
the  agency  of  colossal,  many-nucleated  cells  (myeloplaxes), 
which  he  beheves  to  be  derived  from  the  osteo-blastic  cells 


of  the  medulla  already  described,  so  that  a  destruction  of 
the  calcified  cartilage  precedes  the  formation  of  the  proper 
osseous  tissue.  As  the  absorption  of  the  cartilage  goes  on, 
an  irregular  series  of  medullary  spaces  communicating 
more  or  less  freely  with  each  other  is  produced.  But 
along  with  the  destructive  changes  in  the  cartilage  the  pro- 
duction of  the  new  osseous  tissue  takes  place.  Certain  of 
the  cells  of  the  medulla  are  arranged  in  layers  around  the 
walls  of  the  medullary  spaces,  and  undergo  an  important 
change  both  in  composition  and  shape.  They  become 
granular,  their  protoplasm  hardens  from  the  periphery 
towards  the  nucleated  centre  of  the  cell,  so  as  to  give 
origin  to  the  dense  matrix  substance  of  a  bone  lamella . 
but  the  nucleus,  and  the  protoplasm  immediately  investing 
it,  do  not  harden, 
— they  form  the 
soft  contents  of  the 
lacunas  and  canaliculi. 
A  second  layer  of 
osteo-blastic  medulla 
cells  then  passes  ,'  JZfijS 
through  a  similar 
metamorphosis,  and 
a  second  lamella 
formed.  By  a  repeti-  \y; 
tion  of  this  process 
around  the  walls  of  •/! 
the  several  medullary  jB 
spaces,  the  lamellae  of 


the  bone  are  produced.  Fi(j  M  ^e^thr,,^'a'r0it«!bone  to  Utatfnu 

Hence  it  Would  appear  its  development  B,  B,  the  dense  osseous  tissue. 
In  which  the-  lacunas,  with  their  Bolt  nncr-atcd 
contents,  may  he  seen.  M,  M,  the  medullary 
tissne  in  the  medullary  spaces.  OB,  OB  layei 
of  osteo-blastic  cells  of  the  medulla,  nest  the 
osseous  tissue,  some  of  which  In  places  are 
obviously  becoming  included  In  it.  V,V,  trans- 
versely divided  blood-vessels,  surrounded  by 
medulla  cells,  situated  in  medullary  spaces  which 
axe  assuming  the  form  of  Haversian  can-ils. 


that  the  dense  solid 
matrix  of  the  osseous 
tissue  is  produced  by 
a  special  hardening  of 
the  protoplasm  of  the 
osteo-blastic  cells  in 
the  medullary  spaces,  and  as  layer  after  layer  of  these 
cells  is  ossified  successive  lameite  are  produced.  The  per- 
sistence, however,  of  the  nucleus  of  each  osteo-blast,  and 
of  a  small  portion  of  its  investing  protoplasm,  preserves 
within  the  hard  matrix  a  certain  amount  of  soft  material, 
which  being  destroyed  when  a  bone  is  macerated,  leaves 
the  lacunary  and  canalicular  system  already  described. 
The  formation  of  successive  lamella?  diminishes  the  size  of 
the  medullary  spaces,  which  then  form  the  Haversian 
canals.  The  vascular  and  cellular  contents  of  these  canals 
are  therefore  the  remains  of  the  contents  of  the  medullary 
spaces  of  the  fcetal  cartilage,  and  are  continuous  with  the 
deeper  layer  of  the  periosteum. 

So  long  as  any  cartilage  remains  in  a  foetal  or,  young 
bone  the  process  of  replacement  of  the  cartilaginous  tissue 
by  the  proper  osseous  tissue  goes  on,  until  none  of  the 
cartilage  is  left,  except  the  thin  layer  of  encrusting  cartil- 
age at  each  articular  extremity.  Bones  grow  in  length  by 
an  ossification  in  cartilage  ;  and  a  provision  for  their 
longitudinal  increase  is  furnished  up  to,  and  even  beyond 
the  age  of  puberty,  by  the  plate  of  cartilage  which  separ- 
rates  the  epiphysis  from  the  shaft  of  a  bone.  The  ossifica- 
tion of  this  plate  of  cartilage  marks  the  period  when 
growth  ceases  in  the  long  axis  of  the  bone.  But  bones 
also  grow  in  thickness,  and  this  addition  to  their  girth 
takes  place  by  an  ossification  of  material  situated  at  their 
circumference.  It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  a 
bone  is  invested  by  a  fibrous  membrane,  the  periosteum, 
which  fulfils  for  it  the  same  purpose  as  does  the  peri- 
chondrium for  the  cartilage.  On  the  deeper  surface  of  the 
periosteum,  i.e.,  next  the  bone  itself,  are  csteo-blastic  cells, 
similar  to  those  which  lie  in  the  medullary  spaces  of  the 
fatal  cartilage.     These  cells  p-iss  through  a  similar  series 


85(5 


ANATOMY 


[anatomy  oj 


of  changes,  and  produce  successive  layers  of  new  bone  at 
the  periphery.  The  importance  of  the  periosteum  as  a 
centre  of  origin  of  new  bono>has,  indeed,  long  been  recog- 
nised by  both  surgeons  and  pathologists.  The  parts  of  this 
membrano  in  which  the  special  bonc-p'oducing  power 
resides  is  the  deep  layer  of  osteo-blastic  cells,  whilst  the 
blood-vessels  furnish  the  pabulum  for  their  nutrition.  If 
strips  of  periosteum  be  removed,  along  with  the  cells  of 
the  deeper  osteo-blastic  layer,  from  a  bone,  and  transplanted 
to  other  parts  of  the  living  body,  bone  will  continue  to  be 
produced  by  their  agency. 

The  intra-membranous  ossification  of  bone  was  first 
recognised  by  Ncsbitt,  and  has  been  worked  out  in  most 
of  its  details  by  Sharpey,  Kolliker,  and  Gegenbaur.  The 
tabular  bones  of  the  skull  offer  the  best  illustration  of 
this  mode  of  ossification.  Shaqiey  has  pointed  out  that  a 
network  of  minute  spicula  of  bone  forms  in  the  membrane, 
and  extends  in  radiating  lines  from  the  centre  of  ossifica- 
tion towards  the  circumference  of  the  bone.  The  ossify- 
ing tissue  consists  of  fibres,  of  multitudes  of  granular  cor- 
puscles or  osteo-blasts,  and  of  blood-vessels.  The  osteo-blasts 
invest  the  fibres,  but  as  the  investing  osteo-blastic  cells 
calcify,  from  the  periphery  towards  the  nucleus,  they  assume 
a  stellate  configuration,  and  pass  through  a  series  of  changes 
similar  to  those  described  in  the  intra-cartilaginous  mode 
of  ossification.  The  fibres,  which  are  in  the  first  instance 
soft,  also  calcify,  and  contribute  to  the  formation  of  the 
bone.  Here,  however,  as  in  the  intra-cartilaginous  ossifica- 
tion, the  active  agents  in  the  ossific  process  are  the  osteo- 
blastic cells.  The  lamellated  structure  is  due  to  ossifica- 
tion of  successive  layers  of  these  cells,  and  the  formation 
of  the  lacunae  and  canaliculi  is  owing  to  the  persistence  of 
their  nuclei  with  a  small  proportion  of  unossified  investing 
protoplasm.  The  increase  in  thickness  of  a  membrane 
bone,  like  that  of  a  cartilage  bone,  takes  place  through 
ossification  in  a  deep  periosteal  layer  of  osteo-blasts.  Hence 
it  follows  that,  though  the  tissue  which  precedes  the 
appearance  of  bone  in  the  skeleton  is  not  uniformly  the 
same,  in  some  cases  being  membrane,  in  others  cartilage, 
there  is  an  identity  in  the  ossific  process  in  the  two  forms 
of  pre-existing  tissue,  in  both  of  which  the  osteoblastic 
cells  are  the  active  agents  in  ossification.  The  chemical 
differentiation  which  takes  place  in  the  protoplasm  of  the 
osteo-blasts  during  bone-formation  is  not  merely  a  calcifica- 
tion, but  a  coincident  production  of  a  gelatine-yielding 
substance,  within  which  the  minute  calcareous  particles  are 
deposited. 

Stress  has  been  laid  by  some  anatomists,  in  discussing 
the  homologies  of  the  several  bones  of  the  skeleton,  on  the 
differences  met  with  in  the  place  of  their  formation.  Thus, 
it  has  been  supposed  that  a  bone  originally  developed  in 
cartilage  cannot  be  homologous  with  one  originally  de- 
veloped in  membrane,  and  that  a  fundamental  morpho- 
logical distinction  should  be  drawn  between  cartilage  bones 
and  membrane  bones.  But  when  it  is  considered  that, 
though  the  place  of  formation  may  vary,  the  method  of 
formation  is  the  same  in  all  localities,  it  does  not  appear 
that  so  much  importance  should  be  attached  to  the  distinc- 
tion between  cartilage  and  membrane  bones  as  it  has  some- 
times received.  Moreover,  the  differences  between  these 
two  varieties  of  bones  are,  during  the  growth  of  the  bone, 
still  further  diminished,  for  in  both  cases  increase  in  thick- 
ness takes  place  in  the  same  kind  of  pre-existing  tissue, 
and  in  the  same  way,  viz.,  by  ossification  of  the  de*j) 
periosteal  layer  of  osteo-blasts. 

In  the  description  of  the  development  of  bone  in  the 
foetus  and  young  person,  the  formation  of  medullary  spaces 
was  referred  to.  But  the  production  of  spaces  in  bone  is 
by  no  means  limited  to  its  early  stages  of  growth.  The 
medullary  canal  in  a  long  bone  can  scarcely  be  said  to 


exist  in  the  bones  of  an  infant's  limbs.  The  hollowing 
out  of  the  shaft  of  a  long  bone  into  a  large  canal,  and  tho 
enlargement  of  the  spaces  of  the  cancellated  tissue,  goes  on 
not  only  up  to  the  period  of  adult  life,  but  even  to  ad- 
vanced years ;  so  that  in  an  old  person  the  relative  size  ol 
this  can;  i  is  greater  than  in  the  prime  of  life.  The  Haver* 
sian  spaces  also,  as  Tomes  and  De  Morgan  pointed  out, 
are  produced  by  the  absorption  of  the  lamellae  of  the 
osseous  tissue  surrounding  the  Haversian  canals,  and  the 
production  of  these  spaces  is  constantly  going  on  during 
the  life  of  the  bone.  The  air-sinuses  in  the  cranial  bones 
are  also  formed  by  the  absorption  of  the  diploe,  and  con- 
sequent separation  of  the  two  tables  of  the  skulL  Bones, 
therefore,  are  organs  which  are  continually  undergoing 
change.  During  growth  additions  are  being  made  to  their 
length  and  thickness,  and  additional  lamellae  are  being 
formed  in  the  walls  of  the  Haversian  canals.  At  the  same 
time  a  hollowing  out  of  spaces  in  their  interior  is  going 
on,  so  that  an  increase  in  weight  commensurate  with  their 
growth  does  not  take  place.  The  interstitial  absorptivo 
changes,  whether  occurring  during  growth  or  after  growth 
is  completed,  are  due,  as  Kolliker  has  shown,  to  the  action 
of  many-nucleated  colossal  cells  which  line  the  walls  of  the 
spaces  where  absorption  is  going  on,  which  cells  he  has 
named  oslcoklasts.  The  development  and  configuration 
of  a  bone  is  therefore,  as  has  been  well  expressed  by 
Kolliker,  the  product  of  the  formation  of  osseous  tissue  by 
the  agency  of  the  osteo-blasts,  and  of  its  absorption  or 
destruction  by  the  action  of  the  ostco-klasts. 

From  the  fact  that  osseous  tissue  may  be  produced  either 
in  the  cartilaginous  or  in  the  fibrous  tissues,  and  that  all 
three  contribute  to  the  formation  of  the  skeleton,  it  is 
evident  that  these  tissues  are  closely  allied.  To  express 
this  alliance  they  have  all  been  grouped  together  under  the 
common  term  connective  substances. 

Muscular  Tissue. — The  muscular  tissue  is  that  which 
is  actively  concerned  either  in  the  movement  of  parts  of 
the  body  on  each  other,  or  in  the  movement  of  the  entire 
body  from  place  to  place ;  it  is  the  active  agent,  therefore, 
both  in  motion  and  locomotion.  It  forms  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  general  mass  of  the  body,  is  the  essential 
constituent  of  the  muscles  or  flesh,  and  enters  into  the 
formation  of  the  walls  of  the  hollow  viscera.  It  consists 
structurally  of  threads  or  fibres,  some  of  which  are  distin- 
guished by  being  marked  with  transverse  stripes  or  striae ; 
others  have  no  such  markings.  Hence  it  is  customary  to 
divide  the  fibres  of  the  muscular  tissue  into  transversely 
striped  fibres  and  non-striped  fibres.  As  a  rule,  the  striped 
fibres  are  collected  together  to  form  those  muscles  which 
are  under  the  influence  of  the  will,  so  that  both  the  muscles 
and  the  fibres  of  which  they  are  composed  are  called  volun- 
tary. One  important  exception  to  this  rule  is,  however, 
met  with,  for  the  muscular  fibres  of  the  heart,  though 
transversely  striped,  are  involuntary  ;  the  will  exercises  no 
control  over  the  action  of  the  heart.  The  non-striped  fibres, 
and  the  muscles  into  the  construction  of  which  they  enter, 
are  in  no  instance,  however,  subject  to  the  influence  of  tho 
will ;  so  that,  without  exception,  they  may  be  named  in- 
voluntary. 

The  Non-striped  or  Involuntary  fibre,  sometimes  called 
pale  or  smooth  muscular  fibre,  enters  into  the  forma- 
tion of  the  walls  of  the  hollow  viscera — e.g.,  stomach, 
intestines,  bladder,  uterus — of  the  walls  of  the  air-tubes, 
gland-ducts,  blood  and  lymph  vessels,  of  the  skin,  and 
various  mucous  membranes.  The  fibres  are  usually  col- 
lected into  bundles  or  fasciculi,  which  arc  not  aggregated 
together  into  such  compact  red  masses  as  in  the  voluntary 
muscles,  but  are  of  a  paler  red  colour,  and  are  set  farther 
apart,  and  often  cross  and  interlace  with  each  other  in  the 
walls  of  the  tubes  and  hollow  viscera,  in  which  this  forn> 


TEXTURES.] 


ANATOMY 


»f>7 


of  muscle  js  found.  The  fasciculi  are  separated  from  each 
other  by  a  delicate,  areolar  connective  tissue,  ox  perimysium. 
The  size  of  the  fasciculi  varies  in  different  localities;  in  the 
hollow  viscera  they  are  so  large  that  their 
arrangement  can  be  observed  with  the  naked 
eye;  but  in  the  skin,  the  walls  of  gland- 
ducts,  &c,  they  can  only  be  seen  with  the 
aid  of  the  microscope.  If  a  fasciculus  be 
carefully  torn  up  with  needles  it  can  be 
resolved  into  its  constituent  fibres,  and 
the  number  of  the  fibres  varies  with  the 
size  of  the  fasciculus.  The  non-striped 
fibres  are  pale  and  almost  colourless,  with 
6oft,  ill-defined  outlines,  from  jjS5th  to 
T"b'55*u  'ncQ  m  diameter;  they  are  rounded 
in  form  or  laterally  compressed,  and  are  so 
easily  flattened  by  artificial  pressure,  that 
they  have  erroneously  been  regarded  as  flat 
or  ribbon-shaped  fibres.  When  digested  Fl°, 54TA'  B.fasd; 
lor  a  few  hours  in  dilute  nitric  or  hydro-  muscular  fibre;  n, 
chloric  acid,  and  sometimes  even  without  "rm^l™^™ 
any  reagent,  the  fibres  may  be  resolved  into  MgMj  mugniati. 
elongatedfusiform  cells — the  contractile  fibro-cells  of  Kolliker 
— which  vary  in  length  from  j|7th  to  ^^-jth  inch,  and 
vhich  taper  off  usually  into  attenuated  ends.  In  the 
middle  of  each  cell  is  a  characteristically  elongated,  rod- 
shaped  nucleus,  and  sometimes  the  substance  of  the  cell  is 
finely  granular,  or  even  faintly  longitudinally  striped.  No 
tell  wall  or  sarcolemma  can  be  distinguished.  In  some 
localities,  as  was  pointed  out  by  Lister  in  the  minute 
arteries  in  the  web  of  the  frog's  foot,  isolated  contractile 
fibro- cells  are- wound  spirally  around  the  wall  of  the 
vessel; 

The  Transversely  Striped  fibre  is  the  characteristic  tissue 
of  the  voluntary  muscular  system,  and  is  found  wherever 
energetic  movements  are  to  be  performed.  In  these  muscles 
the  fibres  are  collected  together  in  fasciculi,  which  bundles 
usually  lie  parallel  to  each  other,  and  extend  from  the 
tendon  of  origin  to  the  tendon  of  insertion.  Each  muscle 
is  invested  by  a  membranous  sheath  formed  of  connective 
tissue,  the  perimysium  externum,  which  sheath  gives  off 
processes  that  dip  into  the  substance  of  the  muscle,  so  as 
to  form  delicate  partitions  between  the  fasciculi,  and  from 
these  partitions  still  more  slender  prolongations  of  connec- 
tive tissue,  named  perimysium  internum,  pass  between  the 
fibres.  The  number  and  size  of  the  fasciculi  vary  with 
the  size. and  texture  of  the  muscle  ;  in  some,  as  the  deltoid 
and  glutoeus  maximus,  the  fasciculi  are  large  and  coarse ; 
whilst  in  others,  as  the  gracilis  and  omohyoid,  they  are 
much  finer.  The  number  of  fibres  in  a  fasciculus  varies 
with  its  length  and  thickness,  and  the  fibres  which  are 
adjacent  to  each  other  in  a  fasciculus  lie  parallel 
The  striped  fibres  are  cylindrical  or  laterally  com- 
pressed; they  usually  taper  off  at  their  extremities,  and 
apparently  do  not,  even  in  muscles  with  long  fasciculi, 
exceed  1£  inch  in  length.  The  transverse  diameter  of  the 
striped  fibres  varies,  in  different  localities  in  the  human 
body,  from  T^Trtb  to  ^Vs1"  mc''>  according  to  the  measure- 
ments of  Kolliker.  Much  wider  differences  in  diameter 
are  found  in  the  animal  series,  in  insects  the  fibres  "being 
of  extreme  minuteness,  whilst  in  cold-blooded  animals 
they  are  much  larger  than  in  man  and  mammals. 

If  a  fibre  be  carefully  separated  from  a  fasciculus,  and 
examined  microscopically  by  transmitted  light,  transverse 
stripes  may  be  readily  seen  to  extend  across  it  from  side 
to  side.  These  transverse  stria?  are  not  mere  surface 
marks,  but,  as  Bowman  pointed  out,  pass  through  its 
entire  thickness,  and  lie  parallel  to  each  other.  The  stria- 
tion  is  due  to  the  structure  of  the  fibre,  which  consists 
of  dark   and  light  bands  or  discs,  alternately  dark  and 


light.  The  discs  differ  in  optical  properties,  for,  as 
Briicke's  observations  show,  the  light  discs  refract  light 
singly — are  isotropic;  whilst  the  dark  discs  refract  light 
doubly,  and  consist  of  an  anisotropic  substance.  Busk 
and  Huxley  described  in  1853  a  dark  line 
passing  across  the  light  disc,  so  as  to  sub- 
divide it  into  two  halves ;  and  this  appear- 
ance has  also  been  figured  by  Sharpey, 
Krause,  and  others.  It  is  believed  to  be  duo 
to  the  presence  of  a  strongly  refracting  stripe 
in  the  middle  of  the  feebly  refracting  disc. 
More  recently  Hensen  has  directed  attention 
to  a  slender,  feebly  refracting  stripe  passing 
transversely  across  the  strongly  refracting 
disc,  so  as  to  subdivide  it  also  into  two 
halves.  In  addition  to  the  transverse 
striae,  the  fibres  not  unfrequently  show 
markings  which  extend  longitudinally,  but 
these  are  irregular  in  position,  do  not  cor- 
respond to  the  whole  length  of  the  fibre,  or 
necessarily  pass  through  its  entire  thickness. 

The  transverse  and  longitudinal  mark-  y.'rseiy  itri|«d 
ings  indicate  that  a  muscular  fibre  has  a  muscujiu' abrc- 
disposition  to  split  up  transversely  or  longitudinally 
into  smaller  particles.  The  transverse  subdivision  of 
the  fibre  is  promoted  by  digesting  a  piece  of  muscle 
for  some  hours  in  dilute  hydrochloric  acid.  If  the 
fibres  be  then  examined,  gaps  or  fissures  will  be  seen 
to  extend  transversely  into  the  substance  of  the  fibre  ; 
and,  if  the  digestion  has  been  sufficiently  prolonged,  the 
fissures  have  extended  completely  across  the  fibre,  and 
have  subdivided  it  into  a  multitude  of  plate  or  disc  shaped 
bodies — -the  muscular  -fibre  discs.  These  discs  are  tho 
strongly  and  feebly  refracting  discs  already  described,  and 
the  transverse  diameter  of  each  disc  corresponds  to  that  of 
the  fibre  from  which  it  has  been  derived.  The  longitudinal 
marks  in  the  fibre  are  best  seen  by  digesting  a  piece  of 
muscle  in  strong  spirit  of  wine,  or  in  a  solution  of  chromic 
acid.  If  a  fibre  so  treated  be  teased  out  with  needles,  and 
the  thin  covering  glass  be  smartly  tapped,  the  fibre  will 
split  up  longitudinally  into  multitudes  of  minute,  elongated 
threads — the  muscular-fibre  fibrillar.  A  fibrilla  may  be 
regarded  as  equalling  in  length  the  fibre  of  which  it  formed 
a  part,  and  like  the  fibre  is  transversely  striped ;  but  its 
breadth  is  not  definite,  and  depends  upon  the  minuteness 
with  which  the  fibre  has  been  split  up  in  the  longitudinal 
direction.  If  in  the  same  fibre  the  processes  of  transverse 
and  longitudinal  splitting  were  to  go  on  simultaneously, 
then  the  fibre  would  be  resolved  into  an  immense  multi- 
tude of  rectangular  particles — the  sarcous  elements  of 
Bowman.  If  these  particles  be  regarded  as  the  ultimate 
subdivisions  of  the  fibre,  then  the  discs  may  be  conceived 
to  be  built  up  of  a  number  of  these  particles,  possessing 
similar  optical  properties,  arranged  side  by  side,  so  as  to 
occupy  the  entire  diameter. of  the  fibre  in  any  transverse 
plane:  whilst  the  fibrilla?  are  built  up  of  the  partides 
arranged  end  to  end,  so  as  to  correspond  to  the  entire 
length  of  the  fibre ;  but  in  this  longitudinal  arrangement, 
particles  with  different  optical  properties,  the  one  singly 
refracting,  the  other  doubly  refracting,  alternate  with  each 
other  with  the  utmost  regularity. 

Another  view  of  the  structure  of  muscular  fibre-  has  just 
been  advanced  by  E.  A.  Schafer.  He  describes  the  dark, 
or,  as  seen  in  a  living  fibre,  the  "  dim  discs,"  as  traversed 
by  multitudes  of  excessively  fine,  dark,  rod-shaped  particles, 
parallel  in  their  direction  to  the  fibre  itself,  which  extend 
into  the  contiguous  bright  discs,  near  the  middle  of  which 
each  muscle  rod  ends  in  a  knob-like  extremity,  and  the 
series  of  knobs  form  a  line  of  minute  dark  dots,  passing 
transversely  across  each  bright  disc.     The  muscle  rods  are 


858 


A  N  A  T  0  M   V 


[nervous 


imbedded  in  a  "ground  substance,"  that  forms  tho  alter- 
nating dim  and  bright  discs,  which  substance  he  believes 
to  be  anisotropous,  whilst  the  muscle  rods  are  isotropous. 
lie  regards  the  ground  tubstance  as  the  true  contractile 
part  of  the  fibre. 

Each  transversely  striped  fibre  is  invested  by  a  homo- 
geneous membrane,  the  sarcolemma  or  myolcmma,  which 
is  so  transparent  as  to  allow  the  characteristic  transverse 
stria;  to  be  distinctly  seen  through  it.  The  sarcolemma  is 
so  closely  incorporated  with  the  periphery  of  the  fibre,  that 
its  isolation  and  demonstration  as  a  distinct  membrane  are 
attended  with  some  difficulty,  but  when  water  is  added  to 
a  living  fibre  it  is  absorbed,  and  elevates  the  sarcolemma 
from  the  sarcous  contractile  particles.  If  acetic  acid  be 
added  to  a  muscular  fibre  the  transverse  striae  become  less 
distinct,  and  a  number  of  oval  bodies  come  into  view. 
These  are  especially  to  be  seen  next  the  periphery  of  the 
fibre  in  relation  to  the  inner  surface  of  the  sarcolemma, 
though  some  apparently  lie  deeper  in  the  substance  of  the 
fibre.  These  bodies  have  long  been  known  as  the  nuclei 
of  the  striped  fibre.  More  recent  investigations  have,  how- 
ever, showu  that  each  nucleus  lies  in  a  little  finely-dotted 
protoplasm,  which  often  extends  in  a  fusiform  manner 
beyond  the  ends  of  the  nucleus.  These  nuclei,  with  their 
investing  protoplasm,  have  the  anatomical  characters  of 
nucleated  cells,  and  are  called  the  muscle  corpuscles. 

Some  peculiar  modifications  of  the  striped  muscular  fibre 
are  met  with  in  certain  localities.  As  a  rule,  this  form  of 
fibre  does  not  branch ;  but  in  the  muscles  of  the  tongue 
and  lip,  and  other  muscles  of  the  face,  these  fibres  usually 
branch  prior  to  their  insertion,  and  the  branches  taper  off 
to  finely  attenuated  ends.  In  the  heart  also  the  fibres 
branch  ;  and  the  branches  of  adjacent  fibres  anastomose, 
so  that  the  muscular  wall  of  this  organ  consists  of  a  com- 
pact network  of  fibres.  The  individual  fibres  are  smaller 
than  those  of  the  voluntary  muscles,  the  transverse  stria- 
tion  is  much  less  distinct,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  au  investing 
6arcolemma  be  present. 

Some  difficulty  has  been  experienced  in  determining  the 
exact  mode  of  connection  of  the  fibres  of  tho  belly  of  a 
ruusclc  with  those  of  its  terminal  tendons.  By  some  it  has 
been  supposed  that  the  fibres  of  the  one  are  directly  con- 
tinued into  those  of  the  other ;  whilst  Weismann  has  de- 
scribed the  muscular  fibre  as  terminating  in  a  sharply- 
defined,  rounded,  or  pointed  extremity,  to  which  the  fibres 
of  the  tendons  are  closely  apposed. 

Both  the  striped  and  non-Striped  forms  of  muscle  are 
well  provided  with  blood-vessels,  which  ramify  in  the  sub- 
stance of  the  muscle  lying  in  the  areolar  connective  tissue 
that  separates  the  fasciculi  and  fibres,  from  each  other. 
Tho  capillaries  form  an  elongated  network,  the  principal 
Btranda  of  which  lie  parallel  to  the  muscular  fibres,  but 
never  penetrate  the  sarcolemma.  Hence,  though  the  belly 
of  a  muscle  is  a  highly  vascular  organ,  its  individual  fibres 
are  extra-vascular.  The  vascularity  of  the  fleshy  belly  is 
much  greater  than  that  of  the  terminal  tendons  of  attach- 
ment, and  the  nutritive  changes  are  much  more  active  in 
it  than  in  them. 

The  contractile  fibro-cells  of  the  non-striped  muscular 
fibre  are  formed  by  the  gradual  elongation  of  the  rounded 
celbj  of  the  middle  germinal  layer  of  the  embryo  into 
spindle-shaped  cells,  the  oval  nuclei  at  the  same  time  be- 
coming elongated,  so  as  to  assume  a  rod-shaped  form. 
Usually  the  spindle  cells  which  be  in  tho  same  linear  series 
become  cemented  together  into  the  smooth  fibres  of  this 
form  of  muscle. 

The  mode  of  development  of  the  striped  fibro  is  more 
difficult  to  follow  out,  and  various  statements  have  been 
made  as  to  the  successive  stages  of  its  formation.  Schwann 
believed  that  a  fibre  was  built  up  of  lis    mbryonic  cclL  of 


the  part,  which  arranged  themselves  in  linear  series,  coalesc- 
ing with  each  other  at  their  surfaces  of  contact;  thct  the 
cor.tcnts  of  the  cells  then  became  transversely  striated,  and 
that  the  cell  walls  formed  the  sarcolemma.  Savory  and 
Lockhart  Clarke  maintained  that  a  formation  of  blastema 
took  place  around  free  nuclei,  and  that  this  blastema 
gradually  assumed  the  etriated  character.  Remak,  KblJikcr, 
Wilson  Fox,  and  Frey  have,  however,  by  studying  the 
earliest  stages  of  development  in  the  very  young  embryo, 
established  the  fact  that  the  striped  fibres  are  developed  from 
the  cells  of  the  embryo,  though  not  in  tie  manner  described 
by  Schwann.  Tho  process,  briefly  stated,  is  as  follows : 
The  embryonic  cells  elongate,  the  nucleus  may  remain 
single,  but  more  usually  it  divides  and  subdivides,  so  that 
many  nuclei  appear  in  the  interior  of  the  elongated  cell. 
The  nuclei  lie  in  linear  series,  and  may  cither  be  separated 
from  each  other,  or  two  or  more  may  be  in  contact,  and 
they  may  lie  cither  near  the  periphery  of  the  elongated 
cell,  or  in  its  axis.  With  this  multiplication  of  the  nuclei, 
the  cell  increases  in  length  and  assumes  the  form  of  a  fibre. 
The  cell  protoplasm,  both  in  the  single  and  many-nucleated 
fibres,  then  differentiates  into  the  sarcous  particles  of  the 
transverse  stria},  and  as  this  progresses  the  fibre  assumes 
its  characteristic  striped  appearance.  The  whole  amount  of 
the  protoplasm  docs  not,  however,  assume  the  transversely 
striped  appearance,  for  a  small  quantity  remains  around 
each  nucleus  and  forms  with  it  a  muscle  corpuscle.  Tho 
differentiation  of  the  protoplasm  occasions  an  anatomical 
and  chemico-physical  change  in  the  fibre,  and  confers  on 
it  the  property  of  energetic  contractility.  W.  Engelmann 
has  endeavoured  to  show  that  the  opaque  anisotropic  discs 
of  the  fibre  are  those  in  which  the  power  of  contractility 
resides,  and  that  the  clear  isotropic  discs  possess  only  elastie 
properties.  The  mode  of  development  of  the  sarcolemma  is 
still  somewhat  obscure.  By  some  it  is  regarded  as  the  wall 
of  the  embryonic  cell,  which  has  become  metamorphosed 
into  a  muscular  fibre  ;  by  others  it  is  regarded  as  a  special 
differentiation  of  the  protoplasm  at  the  periphery  of  the 
fibre  taking  place  at  the  time  when  the  transverse  striae 
are  being  formed ;  whilst  by  others  it  is  considered  to  be 
a  special  modification  of  connective  tissue  formed  around 
the  fibre.  In  the  development  of  the  muscular  fibres  of 
the  heart,  the  cells  of  the  embryo  heart  branch  and  anasto- 
mose, and  the  nuclei  multiply.  By  the  transverse  striation 
of  the  protoplasm  of  these  cells  the  branched  muscular  fibres 
of  the  heart  are  produced. 

La  the  growth  of  a  muscle  the  individual  fibres  increase 
in  size,  so  that  they  are  bigger  in  the  adult  than  at  the 
time  of  birth.  The  observations  of  Budge,  Weismann,  and 
Beale  show  that  new  fibres  may  also  form  in  a  muscle. 
Weismann  believes  that  this  increase  may  be  due  to  a 
longitudinal  splitting  of  a  pre-existing  fibre  ;  but  Beale 
maintains  that  the  new  fibres  are  produced  in  the  muscle 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  original  fibres  of  the  part. 

Nervous  System. 

The  Nervous  System  consists  of  a  number  of  organs 
which  are  named  respectively  Nerve  Centres,  Nerves,  and 
Peripheral  End-organs.  The  largest  and  most  important 
Nerve  Centres  are  the  brain  and  spinal  cord,  which  together 
constitute  the  cerebro-spinal  nervous  axis,  and  are  lodged 
in  the  cranial  cavity  and  spinal  canal.  But,  in  addition, 
numerous  small  bodies,  usually  oval  in  form,  technically 
culled  ganglia,  are  situated  in  the  axial  part  of  the  body, 
and  form  smaller  nerve  centres.  The  Nerves  are  white 
<;ords  which  traverse  the  different  regions  of  the  body,  both 
axial  and  appendicular,  for  a  greater  or  less  distance,  for 
the  purpose  of  connecting  together  the  other  sub-divisions 
of  the  nervous  system,      Tlio  Peripheral  End-organs  axe 


8YSTEM.] 


A  K  A  T  O  11  T 


859 


minute  structures  connected  with  the  peripheral  extrem- 
ities of  the  nerves.  These  end-organs  are  situated  in  the 
skin  and  other  organs  of  sense,  in  the  glands,  blood-vessels, 
and  muscles.  The  nerves  establish  communications  and  con- 
duct nervous  impulses,  either  between  different  nerve  centres, 
or  between  nerve  centres  and  peripheral  end-organs,  so  as 
to  associate  together  in  their  action  parts  of  the  nervous 
system  often  widely  separated  from  each  other.  Nerves, 
therefore,  are  internuncial  structures.  When  a  nerve  con- 
nects two  nerve  centres  together  it  is  intercentraL  When 
a  nerve  connects  a  nerve  centre  with  a  peripheral  end- 
organ,  and  conducts  impulses  from  the  centre  to  the 
end-organ,  it  is  a  centro-peripheral  or  centrifugal  ncrv'e. 
When  a  nerve  connects  a  peripheral  end-organ  with  a 
centre,  and  conducts  impulses  from  the  end-organ  to 
the  centre,  it  is  a  periphero-central  or  centripetal  nerve. 
Owing  to  the  different  directions  in  which  impulses  are 
conducted  by  nerves,  the  varying  nature  of  their  end- 
organs,  and  the  functional  differentiation  of  the  nerve 
centres,  or  portions  of  the  nerve  centres  in  which  their 
central  extremities  terminate,  nerves  vary  so  in  their 
functions,  that  a  classification  of  the  nerves,  based  upon 
their  functional  properties,  has  been  proposed.  Of  the 
centro-peripheral  nerves,  those  which  end  in  the  muscles 
are  motor  nerves ;  those  which  end  in  the  muscular  coat 
o:  the  blood-vessels  are  vaso-motor  nerves ;  whilst  some 
physiologists  have  named  nerves  which  they  believe  to 
terminate  in  connection  with  the  secreting  cells  of  a  gland, 
secretory  nerves;  and  others,  which  they  believe  to  terminate 
in  the  tissues  and  to  be  concerned  in  the  regulation  of  their 
nutrition,  trophic  nerves.  It  should  be  stated,  however, 
that  it  is  not  yet  absolutely  determined  that  the  secreting 
cells  of  glands  and  the  cell  elements  of  the  tissues  have 
special  nerves  terminating  in  connection  with  them  for  the 
purpose  of  exercising  a  direct  influence  over  secretion  and 
nutrition.  Should  these  special  nerves  be  non-existent,  then 
the  secretory  and  nutritive  functions  would  be  influenced 
solely  by  the  vaso-motor  nerves,  which  regulate  the  size  of 
the  blood-vessels  and  the  amount  of  blood  which  flows 
through  a  part  in  a  given  time.  Of 'the  periphero-central 
nerves,  those  which  arise  in  the  end-organs  in  the  skin, 
terminate  in  a  nerve  centre,  and  excite  in.  it  the 
sense  of  touch,  are  nerves  of  common  sensation;  those 
which  arise  in  the  end-organs  in  the  eye,  ear,  nose,  and 
tongue,  and  excite  in  their  appropriate  nerve  centres  the 
sensations  of  sight,  sound,  smell,  and  taste,  are  nerves  of 
special  sense ;  whilst  nerve3  which  conduct  impulses 
from  peripheral  end-organs  to  a  nerve  centre,  and,  instead 
of  exciting  in  the  latter  a  sensation,  have  the  impulses 
reflected  to  motor  nerves,  are  reflex  or  excito-niotory 
nerves. 

The  nerve  centres,  nerves,  and  peripheral  end-organs  are 
arranged  in  two  groups  or  systems — a  Ccrebro-spinal  and 
a  Sympathetic.  The  Cerebro-spinal  nervous  system  con- 
sists of  the  brain  and  spinal  cord,  the  nerves  which  arise 
from  or  terminate  in  these  large  centres,  the  small  ganglia 
connected  with  these  nerves,  and  the  end-organs  at  their 
peripheral  terminations.  The  Sympathetic  nervous  system 
consists  of  the  sympathetic  ganglia,  with  their  nerves  and 
end-organs. 

Nervous  Tissue. — The  several  parts  of  the  nervous 
system  ,iro  not  uniform  in  colour,  some  being  white, 
others  grey*  .  The  nerves,  at  least  those  of  the  cerebro- 
spinal system,  are  invariably  white,  and  white  masses, 
variable  in  size,  are  met  with  in  the  brain  and  spinal  cord.; 
they  constitute  the  white  matter  of  the  nervous  system. 
In  the.  nerve  centres,  both  of  the  cerebro-spinal  and  sym- 
pathetic systems,  grey  matter  is  found,  sometimes  in  con- 
siderable quantities'.     This  grey  colour  is  so  characteristic, 


that  it  may  be  regarded  as  marking  the  position  of  a.nervi 
centre. 

The  nervous  system  possesses  a  characteristic  form  of 
tissue — the  nervous  tissue — which  in  part  consists  of  fibres 
(Nerve  Fibres), and  in  part  of  cells  (Nerve  Cells).  The  nerve 
cells  are  found  in  the  grey  matter — that  is,  in  the  nerve 
centres— and  sometimes  also  in  the  peripheral  end-organs. 
The  nerve  fibres  constitute  the  nerves,  enter  into  the  nerve 
centres,  and  pass  into  the  peripheral  end-organs;  they  form 
the  white  matter.  But  in  addition  to  the  characteristic 
nervous  tissue,  the  nervous  system  also  contains  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  connective  tissue,  numerous  blood- 
vessels, and  some  lymph  vessels. 

Nerve  Fibres. — Nerve  fibres  are  of  two  kinds  :  a,  the 
white,  medullated,  or  dark-bordered  fibres,  which  are  the 
characteristic  fibres  of  the  cerebro-spinal  nervous  system, 
though  they  do  also  sparingly  occur  in  the  sympathetic 
system ;  b,  the  pale,  non-medullated,  or  gelatinous  nerve 
fibres,  which  are  the  characteristic  fibres  of  the  sympa- 
thetic nervous  system. 

Medullated  Nerve  Fibres. — To  examine  the  structure  of 
these  fibres,  a  portion  of  a  cerebro-spinal  nerve  may  be 
selected.  In  the  first  place,  it  will  be  seen  to  be  invested 
by  a  sheath  of  connective  tissue,  the  perineurium,  which 
gives  off  processes  that  pass  into  the  nerve,  and  subdivide 
it  into  fasciculi  or  funiculi.  Each  fasciculus  is  in  its  turn 
composed  of  nerve  fibres,  which  are  separated  from  each 
other  by  bundles  of  delicate  connective  tissue,  prolonged 
from  the  perineurium,  in  which  the  nutrient  blood- 
vessels of  the  nerve  ramify.  The  size  of  a  nerve  is  in 
relation  to  the  number  and  size  of  its  fasciculi,  and  the 
size  of  a  fasciculus  is  in  relation  to  the  number  of  its  fibres. 
The  fibres  and  the  fasciculi  lie  parallel  to  each  other  in  the 
same  nerve ;  but  as  nerves  branch  at  intervals,  the  more 
external  of  the  fasciculi  diverge  from  the  main  stem  to 
form  the  branches.  In  the  white  matter  of  the  brain  and 
spinal  cord  the  nerve  fibres  are  not  arranged  in  such 
definite  fasciculi  as  in  a  distributdry  nerve,  and  the  con- 
nective tissue  between  the  fibres  is  the  soft,  delicate  form 
called  neuroglia. 

A  medullated  nerve  fibre  is  an  elongated  cylinder,  which, 
when  examined  in  the  body  of  a,  living  animal,  or  im- 
mediately after  removal  from  the  living  body,  consist* 
apparently  of  a  soft,  homogeneous,  or  glassy-looking  sub- 
stance enclosed  within  a  limiting  membrane.  When  ex- 
amined some  time  after  death,  or  after  the  addition  of  re- 
agents, such  as  water,  spirit,  ether,  collodion,  acetic  acid,  etc., 
it  loses  its  homogeneous  aspect,  and  the  following  struc- 
tures can  be  distinguished  in  it :  A  (Fig.  56),  a  delicate  trans- 
parent investing  membrane, 
—  the  so-called  tubular  or 
primitive  membrane,  or  neuri- 
lemma ;  C,  a  delicate  thread, 
extending  along  the  axis  of 
the  fibre, — the  axial  cylinder 
or  central  band  of  Kemak  ; 
B,  a  substance  which  lies  be- 
tween the  primitive  mem- 
brane and  the  axial  cylin- 
der,— the  white  substance  of 
Schwann,    or 

sheath.  Within  the  external 
outline  of  the  fibre,  formed  by 
the  investing  membrane,  is  a 
second  line,  not  quite  parallel 
to  the  first,  and  the  presence 
of  these  two  lines  gives  to 
the  fibre  a  characteristic  double-contoured  appearance.  Th( 
investing  membrane  is  a  perfectly  pellucid,  homogeneout 
structure,  with  nuclei  arranged  at  intervals  in  it.     It  i/ 


| 


the    medullary  FlJ105winK     he  double  contour. 


1.  Medullated  nerve  fibre*, 
2.  A 
similar  fibre  in  which  A  is  tbe  pri 
mitivc  membrane.  B  the  medullary 
sheath,  0  the  axial  cylinder,  pro- 
truding beyond  the  broken  end  *if 
the  fibre.  3.  Transverse  section 
through  lhe  medullated  fibres  of  * 
nerve,  showinc  the  axial  cylinder  In 
aach  tii.ie.  Between  the  fibres  Ut)« 
inteifibrous  connective  tissue. 


yoo 


ANATOMY 


[nervous 


believed  to  be  absent  from  the  nerve  fibres  in  the  Drain 
and  spinal  cord,  as  well  as  at  the  peripheral  terminations  of 
many  nerves.  The  medullary  sheath  is  a  fatty  and  albu- 
minous substance,  which  refracts  the  light  strongly.  Not 
unfrcquently  it  collects  into  little  ball-like  masses,  and 
Bometimes  causes  irregular  bulgings  on  tho  fibre,  and  pro- 
duces a  knotted,  varicose  appearance;  at  other  times  it 
becomes  granular,  and  makes  the  fibre  opaque.  By  gentle 
pressure  it  can  bo  squeezed  out  of  tho  broken  end  of  a 
fibre.  The  axial  cylinder  is  a  pale,  grey,  cylindriform  band, 
usually  about  one-third  or  one-fourth  the  diameter  of  tho 
fibre,  which  possesses  more  tenacity  than  the  medullary 
sheath,  and  not  unfrcquently,  as  in  Fig.  56,  2,  projects  for 
some  distance  beyond  the  broken  end  of  a  fibre.  Mas 
Schultze  showed  that  it  is  not  homogeneous,  but  exhibits  a 
very  delicate  longitudinal  fibrillation,  and  at  the  ends  of  the 
nerves  these  primitive  fibrillar  may  separate  from  each  other. 

Although  from  its  great  delicacy  the  axial  cylinder  can- 
not be  seen  in  the  living  fibre  of  a  cerebro-spinal  nerve, 
yet  there  are  many  reasons  for  regarding  it  as  a  structure 
existing  in  the  living  nerve,  and  not  the  product  of  a  post 
mortem  change.  It  is  the  part  of  a  fibre  which  first  appears 
in  the  course  of  development,  the  medullary  sheath  and 
primitive  membrane  being  secondary  investing  structures, 
superadded  as  development  proceeds.  It  forms  not  un- 
frcquently the  only  constituent  of  a  nerve  fibre  at  its 
central  and  peripheral  terminations,  and  is  therefore  the 
part  of  the  fibre  which  is  anatomically  continuous  with  the 
nerve  cell,  or  with  the  peripheral  end-organ.  As  it  is  the 
solo  constituent  of  many  nerve  fibres  at  their  terminations, 
and  of  all  nerve  fibres  in  the  earlier  stage  of  development, 
and  as  it  forms  the  medium  of  connection  between  them 
and  tho  structures  in  which  they  terminate,  it  is  obviously 
of  primary  importance,  both  anatomically  and  physiologi- 
cally, and  is  believed  to  be  tho  part  of  the  fibre 'directly 
concerned  in  the  conduction  of  impulses;  whilst  the 
investing  structures  serve  the  purpose  of  insulating  mate- 
rials. Lister  and  Turner  pointed  out,  in  1859,  that  essential 
differences  in  chemical  composition  existed  between  the 
axial  cylinder  and  the  medullary  sheath ;  the  former  being 
unaffected  by  chromic  acid,  though  the  latter  is  rendered 
opaque  and  browii,  and  concentrically  striated  under  its 
influence;  while,  on  tho  other  hand,  the  axial  cylinder  is 
stained  red  by  an  ammotriacal  solution  of  carmine  with 
great  facility,  although  the  medullary  sTieath  is  unaffected 
by  it  They  further  showed  that  these  differences  in  the 
mode  of  action  of  chromic  acid  and  carmine  might 
advantageously  be  employed  in  the  demonstration  of  tho 
structure  of  nerve  fibres.  Ranko  has  subsequently  stated 
that  the  axial  cylinder  possesses  an  acid,  and  the  medullary 
sheath  an  alkaline  reaction. 

Medullated  nerve  fibres  vary  materially  in  diameter  in 
different  parts  of  the  nervous  system.  In  tho  brain,  for 
instance,  they  are  sometimes  as  fine  as  the  ig{ fgth  inch; 
whilst,  in  the  distributory  nerves,  fibres  of  T*Visth  of  an 
inch  in  diameter  may  be  seen  ;  though  it  should  be  stated 
that,  evsn  in  the  nerves  of  distribution,  fibres  of  great 
minuteness  are  often  placed  in  the  same  bundle  with  those 
of  the  largest  size.  Nerve  fibres  do  not  branch  in  their 
course,  but  only  at  their  central  or  peripheral  terminations, 
and  much  more  frequently  at  the  latter  than  the  former. 

Non-nudullated  Nerve  Fibres. — These  fibres,  which  are 
characterised  by  the  absence  of  a  medullary  sheath,  are 
chiefly  found  in  the  sympathetic  nervous  system,  but  they 
occur  also  in  the  cerebro-spinal  system.  The  fibres  of  the 
olfactory  nerve  are  non-medullated,  so  also  are  the  peri- 
pheral terminations  of  the  cerebro-spinal  nerves,  and  indeed 
all  nerve  fibres  in  the  first  stage  of  their  development.  In 
Pelromy:on  it  has  been  stated  that  all  the  nerve  fibres  are 
distinguished  by  tho  absence  of  a  medullary  sheath. 


This  form  of  ncrvt  n  ts  of  pate  grey,  translucent, 

flattened  bands,  the  uoV^th  to  rxiW1  >nch  'n 
diameter.  They  usually  appear  ns  if  homo- 
geneous or  faintly  granular ;  but  Schultze 
showed  that,  when  carefully  examined,  they 
present  a  delicate  fibrillated  appearance,  like 
that  seen  in  the  axial  cylinder  of  a  medul'ated 
nerve ;  so  that,  liko  that  cylinder,  thej'  aro 
supposed  to  be  composed  of  multitudes  (>f 
extremely  delicate  primitive  fibrillar  imbedded 
in  a  finely  granulated  material.  Sometimes 
these  fibres  consist  solely  of  this  fibrillated 
material,  at  other  times  they  are  invested  by 
a  sheath  similar  to  the  primitive  membrane 
of  a  medullated  fibre.  Nuclei  are  also  found 
both  in  the  substance  of  the  fibre  and  in 
relation  with  the  primitive  membrane.  The  fic.  B7.  —  Nou 
presence  of  multitudes  of  fibres  in  the  sym-  n"'<1  °"  *' c ' 
pathetic  nervous  system,  formed  either  en-  from  ti.e  »vu  > 
tirely,  or  almost  entirely,  of  a  material  ^m'.c"c  '"" 
precisely  similar  in  structure  to  the  axial 
cylinder  of  a  medullated  fibre,  and  by  which  the  proper 
function  of  the  fibre  can  alone,  therefore,  be  exercised,  i3, 
of  course,  an  additional  argument  to  those  previously 
advanced,  in  favour  of  the  existence  of  the  axial  cylinder 
as  a  normal  constituent  of  the  fibre,  and  of  its  functional 
importance. 

Nerve  Cells. — Nerve  cells  constitute  an  important  division 
of  the  nervous  tissue.  They  are  the  characteristic  structures 
in  the  nerve  centres,aresusceptible  to  impressions,  or  nervous 
impulses,  and  are  the  texture  in  which  the  molecular  changes 
occur  that  produce  or  disengage  the  special  form  of  energy 
named  nerve  energy,  the  evolution  of  which  is  the  distinc- 
tive mark  of  a  nerve  centre.  The  central  extremities  of  tho 
nerve  fibres  He  in  relation  to,  and  are  often  directly  con- 
tinous  with,  the  nerve  cells.  It  was  at  one  time  thought 
that  nerve  cells  were  globular  in  forr"  ;  but  it  is  now  gene- 
rally understood  that,  though  the  body  of  the  cell  is  not 
unfrcquently  globular,  two  or  more  processes  or  poles 
project  from  it,  and  are  continuous  with  its  substance. 
Nerve  cells  are  distinctly  nucleated  ;  the  nuclei  are  usually 
large,  and  contain  one,  and  often  two  nucleoli.  The  cell 
substance  is  granular,  and  not  unfrcquently  brown  or 
yellow  pigment  is  collected  around  the  nucleus.  A  cell 
wall  is  sometimes  apparently  present,  though  at  others  it 
cannot  be  demonstrated.  The  nerve  cells  in  the  grey 
matter  of  the  brain  and  spinal  cord  are  imbedded  in  the 
neuroglia.  In  the  smaller  nerve  centres,  as  the  syinpatl  iut  ic 
ganglia  and  the  ganglia  on  the  posterior  roots  of  the 
spinal  nerves,  *»he  nerve  cells  are  surrounded  by  a  capsule 
of  connective  tissue.  Friintzel,  Kolliker,  and  others,  have 
described  this  capsule  as  lined  by  an  endothelium  formed 
of  flattened  cells ;  and  it  should  be  stated 
that  Ranvier  has  described  a  similar  endo- 
thelium in  relation  to  tho  connective  tissue 
investment  of  the  cerebro-spinal  nerves. 
It  is  not  improbable  that  these  endothelial 
cells  form  the  walls  of  delicate  capillary 
rootlets  of  the  lymphatic  vascular  system. 
Nerve  cells  from  which  two  poles  or  pre 
cesses  proceed  are  called  bipolar.  Charac- 
teristic specimens  of  these  cells,  as  was  first 
pointed  out  by  Robin  and  R.  Wagner,  may 
be  recognised  without  difficulty  in  the  gan- 
glia on  the  posterior  roots  of  the  spinal 
nerves  of  fishes,  and  it  is  probable  that  f'^ ^^^[JJ 
similar  cells  exist  in  the  corresponding  nerve  abrca  con- 
centres in  other  vertebrates.  These  cells  !h0"2p*n*ailgaogooo 
usually  possess  a  globular  body,  though  o'  a  «kate. 
sometimes  it  may  bo  elongated;  and  from  opposite  points 


SYSTEM.] 


ANATOMY 


8(51 


nerve  celL  SI, 
straight  nerve  fibre; 
Sp.  spiral  nerve 
fibre;  C,  capsule  of 
connective  tissue 
around  nerve  cell. 
{Afttr  Dealt.) 


of  the  surface  of  the  body  a  strong  process  is  given  off, 
which  is  directly  continued  ».ik>  a  n  ir  n  fibre.  The  axial 
cylinder  of  the  fibre  is  cont'iiuou*  with  vhe  cell  substanco, 
and  Schultze  has  shown  that  both  exhibit  a  delicate  fibril- 
lated  structure.  The  medullary  sheath  ai  d  the  primitive 
membrane  are  also  usually  continued  from  the  fibre  over 
the  nerve  celL  Hence  these  bipolar  cells  x^em  to  be,  as 
Schultze  expressed  it,  nucleated  enlargements  of  the  axial 
cylinder. 

A  remarkable  modification  of  the  bipolai  nerve  cell, 
carefully  studied  and  described  by  Lionel 
Beale,  is  found  in  the  sympathetic  ganglia 
of  the  frog.  The  cells  are  pear-shaped, 
and  from  the  narrow  end  of  the  pear  two 
nerve  fibres  arise,  one  of  which,  called  the 
straight  fibre,  forms,  as  it  were,  the  stalk 
of  the  pear ;  whilst  the  other,  or  spiral 
fibre,  Winds  spirally  round  the  straight 
fibre,  and  then  passes  away  from  the  cell 
;n  the  opposite  direction.  Both  fibres  are 
nucleated,  and  at  their  origin  consist, 
apparently,  of  axial  cylinder  substance 
only ;  but  in  their  course  they  may 
acquire  both  a  medullary  sheath  and  a 
primitive  membrane.  The  straight  fibre 
passes  into  the  interior  of  the  cell  sub- 
stance, and  Arnold  and  Courvoisier  be- fio.  sd.  — Pyrifo 
lievi  that  they  have  traced  it  into  the 
nucleus ;  but  the  spiral  fibre  apparently 
arises  nearer  the  periphery  of  the  cell. 
The  pyriform  cells  are  invested  by  a  dis- 
tinct capsule  of  connective  tissue.  The 
nerve  fibres  of  these  pyriform  cells,  although  they  both 
arise  close  together  from  one  end  of  the  cell,  represent  its 
poles.  Should  one  of  the  poles,  either  in  this,  or  in  the 
bipolar  form  of  nerve  cell  described  in  the  preceding 
paragraph,  be  from  any  cause  removed  or  not  developed, 
then  the  cell  would  be  unipolar ;  and  if  both  poles  were 
absent  it  would  be  apolar. 

In  other  localities,  as  in  the  sympathetic  ganglia  of  man 
and  many  other  vertebrates,  and  in  the  several  subdivisions 
of  the  cerebro-spiual  nervous  axis,  the  nerve  cells  have  more 
than  two  .poles  or  processes  projecting  from  them.  Cells 
of  this  kind  are  called  multipolar,  and  in  many  localities 
they  present  characteristic  forms.  In  the  grey  matter  of 
the  spinal  cord,  more  especially  in  its  anterior  horn,  they 
give  rise  to  numerous  processes,  and  have  a  stellate  or 
radiate  form.  In  the  grey  matter  on  the  surface  of  the 
convolutions  of  the  cerebrum  they  are  pyramidal  in  shape. 
The  apex  is  directed  to  the  surface  of  the 
convolution,  the  base  towards  the  white 
matter.  The  processes  arise  from  the 
base,  apex,  and  sides  of  the  pyramid. 
In  the  grey  matter  on  the  surface  of  the 
cerebellum  the  body  of  the  celi  is  almost 
globular.  From  that  aspect  of  the  cell 
which  is  directed  towards  thewhite  matter  fio.co.— Multipolar  ceil 
a  slender  central  process  arises;  from  the  {£Ech™XnTc,' 
opposite  or  peripheral  aspect  of  the  cell  capsule  of  connective 
two  strong,  many-branched  processes  ex- 
tend for  a  considerable  distance.  In  the  human  sympa- 
thetic ganglia,  again,  the  stellate  form  of  cell  prevails,  and 
the  existence  of  a  capsule  of  connective  tissue  around  the 
individual  cells  can  be  recognised.  The  processes  which 
arise  from  a  multipolar  nerve  cell,  as  a  rule,  divide  and 
subdivide  as  they  pass  away  from  the  body  of  the  cell, 
until  at  last  they  give  rise  to  branches  of  extreme  tenuity. 
These  branching  processes  apparently  consist  exclusively  of 
cell  protoplasm,  and  have  been  called  protoplasm  processes. 
Oerlach  has   described   the  protoplasm  processes  of  the 


multi-polar  nerve  cells  of  the  brain  and  spinal  cord  as 
forming  an  excessively 
minute  network,  from 
which  minute  medullated 
nerve  fibres  arise;  and  F. 
Boll  conceives  that  a  simi- 
lar arrangement  occurs  in 
the  cells  of  the  cerebellum. 
One,  at  least,  of  the  pro- 
cesses of  a  multipolar 
nerve  cell  does  not  branch, 
but  becomes  directly  con- 
tinuous with  a  nerve  fibre, 
and  has  been  named  the 
axial  -  cylinder  process. 
This  process  was  first  re- 
cognised byDeiters  in  the 
cells  of  the  spinal  cord ; 

but    Hadlich   and   Kosch-  Fic.Cl.— Multipolar  cell  from  the  grey  ma'tci 

..      «    ,  .  j  of  anterior  coinu  in  the  spina]  cord.     AC, 

enniKOtt     nave    Since    ae-     non-bianchedaxiaKyllnderprocessiUiectljr 

scribed  the  central  process  continuous  »M> »  nen  e  fibre, 
of  the  cells  of  the  cerebellum  as  continuous  with  a  medullated 
nerve  fibre;  and  the  latter  observer  has  pointed  out,  that 
from  the  base  cf  a  pyramidal  nerve  cell  in  a  cerebral  con- 
volution a  process  may  be  traced  directly  into  a  nerve  fibre 
Hence  it  would  appear  that  the  multipolar  nerve  cells  may 
have  two  modes  of  union  with  nerve  fibres — one  directly 
through  the  passage  of  the  non-branched  axial-cylinder  pro- 
cess into  a  fibre,  the  other  through  the  origin  of  fibres  from 
the  minute  network  in  which  the  branched  protoplasm 
processes  terminate.  The  branched  processes  of  adjacent 
aerve  cells  may  also  blend  with  each  ol  ler,  so  as  to  form 
iin  anastomosing  cell  network,  though  Ihese  anastomoses 
are,  in  all  probability,  not  so  frequent  as  was  at  one  time 
supposed.  Schultze  has  pointed  out  that  not  only  the 
protoplasm  substance  of  the  body  of  a  multipolar  nerve 
cell,  but  both  the  non-branched  and  branched  processes, 
possess  a  fibrillatcd  structure  similar  to  thai  described  by 
him  in  the  axial  cylinder  of  the  nerve  fibres. 

Peripheral  End-Organs  or  End  Bodies. — Nerve  fibres  at 
their  peripheral  extremities  terminate  in  connection  with 
peculiar  structures,  named  end-bodies,  terminal  bodies,  ox  peri- 
pheral end-organs,  which  are  situated  in  the  several  organs  of 
the  body.  The  motor  nerves  end  in  the  voluntary  and  in- 
voluntary sriuscles;  the  vaso-motor  nerves  end  in  the  mus- 
cular coat  of  the  blood-vessels;  the  sensory  nerves  end  in 
the  skin,  mucous  membranes,  and  organs  of  special  sense; 
and  it  has  been  stated  that  secretory  nerves  terminate  in 
connection  with  the  ultimate  cell  elements  of  the  secreting 
glands.  These  end-organs  possess  certain  structural  pecu- 
liarities, which  are  by  no  means  uniform  in  the  different 
parts,  so  that  the  end-body  connected  with  the  peripheral 
termination  of  a  &erve  is  distinctive  of  the  organ  in  which 
it  is  situated.  It  will  be  a  matter  of  convenience  to  defer 
the  consideration  of  the  peripheral  end-bodies  in  the  skin, 
organs  of  special  sense,  coats  of  the  blood-vessels,  and  the 
several  glands,  until  these  parts  are  described.  In  this 
place  the  mode  of  termination  of  the  motor  nerves  in  the 
voluntary  and  involuntary  muscles,  of  the  sensory  nerves 
in  the  mucous  membranes,  and  of  the  ending  of  the  nervc3 
in  the  remarkable  bodies  .named  Pacinian  corpuscles,  will 
alone  be  examined. 

After  a  nerve  has  entered  a  voluntary  muscle  it  ramifies 
in  the  connective  tissue,  which  lies  between  the  fasciculi, 
and  at  the  same  time  divides  and  subdivides  into  smaller 
branches.  These  branches  interlace  with  each  other  and 
form  plexuses,  from  which  slender  nervous  twigs,  often 
consisting  of  only  a  single  medullated  nerve  fibre,  pro- 
ceed, which  ramify  in  the  connective  tissue,  separating  the 
individual  muscular  fibres  from  each  other.     The  siu^'lu 


8G2 


AN  ATOMY 


[nkuvous 


nerve  fibres  in  their  turn  branch,  accompanied  by  a 
splitting  of  the  axial  cylinder,  and  theso  branches  usually 
lose  the  medullatcd  character.  The  mode  of  termination 
of  theso  very  delicate  branches  has  been  a  subject  of  much 
dispute.  Beale  described  them  as  forming  a  minute  net- 
work, situated  on  the  exterior  of  the  sarcolemma,  but  in 
contact  with  it,  and  the  fibres  of  this  nervous  network  were 
distinctly  nucleated.  Other  observers  have,  however, 
described  peculiar  bodies,  called  motorial  end-plates,  at 
the  extremity  of  these  nerves.  These  end-plates  consist 
of  a  clump  of  richly  nuolpated  protoplasm,  somewhat  oval 
or  perhaps  irregular  in  form,  into  which  the  axial  cylinder 
of  the  nerve  fibre  penetrate.  The  exact  position  of  these 
end-plates  in  relation  to  tho  muscular  fibres  is  difficult  to 
determine.  Krause  holds  that  they  lio  outside  tho  sarco- 
lemma, but  adherent  to  it;  whilst  Kiihne,  Margo,  and 
Rouget  maintain  that  tho  end-plate  lies  within  the  sarco- 
lemma, and  that  the  nervo  fibre  has  to  pierce  that  mem- 
brane before  it  can  enter  tho  end-plate.  After  the  axial 
cylinder  has  entered  the  end-plate  it  subdivides  into  very 
minute  branches.  Each  muscular  fibre  has  apparently 
only  a  single  end-plate,  and  consequently  only  a  single 
axial  cylinder  in  connection  with  it. 

In  the  non-striped  muscles  the  nerves  are  distributed  in 
the  connective  tissue  which  separates  the  fasciculi  from 
each  other.  Here  they  form  plexuses,  which  in  some  loca- 
lities, as  in  the  myenteric  plexus  of  Auerbach  in  the  mus- 
cular coat  of  the  intestines,  have  collections  of  nerve  cells, 
forming  microscopic  ganglia  lying  in  them.  From  these 
plexuses  fibres  arise  which  subdivide  into  delicate  non- 
medullated  fibres  possessing  nuclei.  These  delicate  fibres 
form  still  finer  plexuses,  which  in  their  turn  give  origin  to 
minute  fibres,  which  pass  between  the  muscular  fibre  cells 
to  form  a  still  more  minute  intra-muscular  network. 
Frankenhauser  maintains  that  the  delicate  nerve  fibrils 
which  arise  from  this  terminal  network  penetrate  the 
muscular  fibre  cells,  enter  the  nucleus,  and  terminate  in 
the  nucleolus;  but  Arnold  considers  that,  after  having 
entered  the  nucleus,  the  fibril  again  gives  off  a  filament, 
which  passes  out  of  tho  cell  to  join  tho  intra-muscular 
plexus;  the  ending  of  the  nerve,  therefore,  within  the 
nucleus  is  only  apparent,  and  is  rather  to  be  regarded  as 
tho  nodal  point  of  a  fine  intra-nuclcar  plexus. 

The  termination  of  the  sensory  nerves  in  the  mucous  mem- 
branes has  been  especially  studied  in  the  conjunctiva,  the 
mucous  membrane  of  the  soft  palate,  &nd  the  glans  of  the 
penis  and  clitoris.  In  these  parts  Krause  discovered  oval  or 
globular  end-bodies, which  consisted  of  a  soft, homogeneous 
substance  invested  by  a  nucleated  capsule  of  connective 
tissue.  A  nerve  fibre  piercc3  tho  capsule  and  terminates  in 
the  interior  of  the  end-body,  which  forms  a  bulbous  enlarge- 
ment at  the  end  of  the  nerve,  and  is  called  tho  end-bulb. 
After  the  nerve  has  entered  the  end-bulb,  it  may  consist 
only  of  tho  axia'  cylinder  and  terminate  in  a  pointed 
extremity,  or  it  may  twist  upon  itself  and  form  a  coil 
within  tho  end-bulb.  When  the  structure  of  the  skin  is 
described,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  ending  of  the  nerves  in 
the  cutaneous  papillae  bears  a  general  resemblance  to 
their  termination  in  the  end-bulbs  of  a  mucous  mem- 
brane. 

But  in  certain  of  th".  mucous  membranes  delicate  nerves 
have  been  traced  into  the  layer  of  epithelium,  situated  on 
tho  free  surface  of  the  membrane.  Petennoller  described 
nerve  fibres  continuous  with  tho  nerves  of  the  cornea  pass- 
ing into  the  layer  of  conjunctival  epithelium  on  tho  front 
of  the  cornea.  Klein  recognised  an  intra-epithelial  nervou3 
network  in  the  same  locality.  Chrschtschonovitsch  traced 
nun  -  medullated  nerve  fibres  proceeding  from  a  sub- 
epithelial network  into  the  deeper  epithelial  layers  of  the 
vaginal  mucous  membrane,  »nd  similar  nerve  fibres  have 


been  seen  by  Elin  to  end  in  tho  epithelial  investment  of 
the  mucous  membrane  of  tiie  mouth. 

Connected  with  the  sensory  nerves  in  some  localities  are 
the  remarkable  bodies  named  the  Corpuscles  of  Tacini, 
which  wore  the  first  terminal  organs  discovered  in  connec- 
tion with  the  peripheral  distribution  of  the  nerves.  ThcRO 
corpuscles  have  been  found  attached  to  tho  nerves  which 
pas3  to  the  skin  of  the  fingers  and  toes,  to  tho  nerves 
which  supply  the  skin  of  the  neck  and  arm,  to. the  inter- 
costal nerves,  to  the  nerves  of  the  joints,  to  the  nerves  of 
the  periosteum,  to  the  nerves  of  the  genital  organs,  and 
to  the  mesenteric  nerves.  In  cats  they  arc  often  extremely 
abundant  both  in  the  mesentery  and  omenta.  A  Faciciaa 
0 


t'io.  C2.— 1.  Nerves  oftino  nnjrer  wlt!» 
tlic  Tacinlnn  Corpuscle*  attached. 
2.  a  Pacinian  corpuscle  X  8fi0]  o. 
Stalk  or  peduncle;  ft,  nerve  HoM  in 
stalk;  c,  external  layers  of  cnpsule; 
«\  Inner  layers;  f,  non-mcdulluted 
nerve  fibre  In  tho  central  core;  f% 
bmncliInK  of  Irrminul  end  ol  ncrfo- 
fibre,    (from  A.  Kollittr.) 

corpuscie  can  be  seen  by  the  naked  eye,  and  looks  like  :i 
minute  grain  from  -^th  to  ,yh  inch  long.  It  is  elliptical 
in  form,  and  may  either  be  sessile  or  attached  to  the  nerve 
stem  by  a  slender  stalk.  Examined  microscopically,  it  is 
seen  to  consist  of  numerous  layers  of  connective  tissue 
concentrically  arranged,  which  form  its  capsule,  and 
surround  a  central  core.  Numerous  connective  tissue  cor- 
puscles may  be  seen  in  the  concentric  layers,  and  Hoyer 
has  recently  shown  that  an  endothelial-like  appearance  exists 
on  the  inner  surface  of  the  corpuscle.  Entering  one  polo 
of  the  corpuscle  is  a  nerve  fibre  which  extends  along  the 
arial  core  for  a  considerable  distance,  and  usually  termi- 


SYSTEM.] 


ANATOMY 


8fl3 


nates  in  &  slight  bulbous  enlargement.  'The  nerve  fibre 
parts  with  its  perineurial  sheath  after  it  enters  the  Pacinian 
corpuscle;  and  as  it  lies  in  the  core  it  loses  its  medullary  sub- 
stance, so  that  its  terminal  part  consists  only  of  the  axial 
Cylinder.  Sometimes  the  nerve  fibre  dividesinto  two  branches 
within  the  corpuscle.  Capillary  blood-vessels  are  distributed 
to  the  concentric  layers  of  the  Pacinian  corpuscle. 

The  mode  of  origin  of  the  nervous  tissue  in  the  course 
of  development  of  the  embryo  is  still  involved  in  some 
obscurity.  It  is,  however,  believed  that  the  nervo  cells  are 
.derived  from  the  embryo  cells,  which  multiply,  and  the 
young  cells  then  grow  and  assume  characteristically  granular 
and  finely  fibrillated  contents.  Processes  or  poles  then 
appear  at  the  periphery  of -the  cells,  which,  according  to 
the  observations  of  Bcale,  connect  adjacent  cells  together. 
As  the  growth  of  the  part  goes  on,  the  cells  are  more 
widely  separated  from  each  other,  and  the  anastomosing 
processes  in  consequence  become  considerably  elongated, 
and  form  the  axial  cylinder  of  the  nerve  fibre.  In  the  course 
of  time  the  medullary  sheath  and  the  primitive  membrane 
may  form  around  this  axial  cylinder  so  as  to  insulate  it. 
The  exact  mode  of  formation  of  the  medullary  sheath  is 
not  properly  understood;  but  it  is  believed  that  the  primi- 
tive membrane,  and  the  perineurial  connective  tissue,  are 
derived  from  those  surrounding  embryonic  cells  which 
differentiate  into  connective  tissue.  Of  the  two  originally 
contiguous  cells  from  which  the  nerve  •fibre  is,  as  it  were, 
i>pun  out,  one,  as  Hensen  conceived,  may  form  a  cell  iii  a 
nerve  centre,  the  other  may  differentiate  into  a  peripheral 
end-organ.  In  the  tail  of  the  tadpole  the  formation  and 
growth  of  nerve  fibres  have  been  studied  by  Kolliker  and 
others,-  and  it  has  been  seen  that  the  terminal  part  of  a 
fibre  may  have  fusiform  or  tri-radiate  cells  connected  with 
it,  the  processes  of  which  cells  gradually  differentiate  into 
nerve  fibres.  The  young  cerebro-spinal  nerve  fibres  are 
distinctly  nucleated,  and  correspond  in  appearance  and 
structural  characters  to  the  uon-medullated  nerve  fibres  of 
the  adult.  If  in  a  young  or  adult  person  a  nerve  be  cut 
across,  its  conducting  power  is  destroyed;  but  after  a  time 
it  reunites,  and  its  function  is  restored.  ■  The  part  of  the. 
nervo  which  lies  between  the  place  of  section  and  its 
peripheral  extremity,  undergoes,  as  Waller  pointed  out, 
degenerative  changes.  To  how  great  an  extent  the  de- 
generation affects  the  various  constituents  of  each  fibre,  it 
is  difficult  to  determine;  for  whilst  some  experiments 
would  seem  to  show  that  only  the  medullary  sheath  broke 
up  iiito  granular  particles  and  was  absorbed,  in  others  both 
it  and  the  axial  cylinder  disappeared.  In  process  of  time, 
however,  these  parts  may  be  reproduced,  and  the  nerve 
then  recovers  its  functional  activity. 

Descriptive  Anatomy  of  the  Ceeebso-spixai 
Nervous  System. 

In  this  section  the  anatomy  of  the  Brain  and  Spinal 
Cord,  and  of  the  numerous  distributory  Nerves  which  arise 
from  them,  will  be  described.  The  brain  and  spinal  cord 
are  the  largest  and  most  important  of  all  the  nerve  centres. 
They  occupy  the  cranial  cavity  and  spinal  canal,  and  are 
continuous  with  each  other  through  the  foramen  magnum 
Jn  the  occipital  bone.  As  the  arrangement  of  the  struc- 
tures which  compose  the  brain  and  spinal  cord  is  extremely 
complex,  and  as  the  names  applied  to  the  several  parts  ere 
numerous  aud  often  very  arbitrary,  it  may  bo  well,  before 
commencing  a  detailed  description,  to  make  a  few  general 
observations  on  their  mode  of  development. 

Development  of  the  Cercbro- Spinal  Nervous  Axis. — Tho  brain  and 
spinal  cord  are  developed  in  the  cranio-spinal  groove  of  the  embryo, 
and  appear  originally  as  a  thin  hand  extending  along  the  whole 
length  of  this  groove.  About  the  time  when  tho  walls  of  the 
groove  meet  posteriorly  to  complete  the  cranio-spinal  cavity,  tho 
margins  of  this  hand  become  elevated,  Lend  backwards,  and  meet, 


8yst;ia. 


80  that  the  originally  simple  band  becomes  converted  intoacylindri-  Develop 
form  cerebrospinal  lube.     In  \he  walls  of  this  tube  the  nervous  ment «« 
structures  of  the  brain  and  epinal  cord  are  formed,  whilst  the  axis  cecebrw 
of  the  tube  forms  a  central  canal.     In  the  part  which" becomes  the  spinal 
Spinal  Cord  the  central  canal  persists  as  the  central  canal  of  the 
spinal  cord,  and  around  it  a  layer  of  ciliated  cylindrical  endothelium 
is  developed.     Outside  this  layer  a  mass  of  grey  matter  containing 
nerve  cells  is  formed,  which  is  subsequently  divided  into  two  lateral 
crescent-shaped  masses.     Outside  the  grey  matter  white  matter  if 
produced,  which  ultimately  becomes  arranged  in  the  form  of  longi- 
tudinal columns  of  nerve  fibres.     With  the  formation  and  growth 
of  these  columns  and  of  the  internal  grey  matter,  a  longitudinal 
mesial  fissure  appears  on  the  anterior  and  another  on  the  posterior 
surface  of  the  cord,  which  gradually  increase  in  depth  until  the 
cord  is  almost  completely  divided  into  two  lateral  halves.     At  the 
bottom  of  the  anterior  median  fissure  tho  nerve  fibres  of  the  anterior 
commissure  are  developed,  and  at  the  bottom  of  the  posterior  median 
fissure  those  of  the  posterior  commissure.     These  commissures  unite 
the  two  halves  of  the  cord  together. 

The  upper  or  cerebral  end  of  the  cerebro-spinal  tube  becomes 
the  Encephalon,  or  Brain.  At  first  the  cerebral  part  of  the  tube  is 
uniform  in  appearance  with  the  spinal  part,  but  it  soon  expands 
into  three  vesicular  dilatations  —  the  primary  cerebral  vcsiclci. 
These  vesicles,  named  (from  before  backwards)  anterior,  middle, 
and  posterior,  are  separated  from  each  other  by  constrictions,  and 
as  the  development  progresses  the  vesicles  bend  on  each  other  and 
on  the  upper  end  of  the  spinal  cord.  As  each  vesicle  is  an  expan- 
sion'of  the  cerebro-spinal  tube,  it  is  necessarily  hollow,  and  the 
space  in  its  interior  is  continuous  with  tho  central  canal  of  the 
spinal  cord.  In  the  walls  of  the  vesicles  the  nervous  structures  are 
produced,  which  form  the  several  subdivisions  of  the  encephalon. 

The  posterior  cerebral  vesicle  bends  first  forwards  from  the  up|«r 
end  of  the  spinal  eord,  and  then  backwards ;  the  part  which 
bends  forward  becomes  the  medulla  oblongata;  that  which  bends 
backward  the  cerebellum,  whilst  the  pons  is  developed  at  the  angle 
where  these  two  parts  are  continuous  with  each  other;  the  central 
hollow  forms  the  central  canal  of  the  medulla  oblongata  and 
the  dilated  space  called  the  fourth  ventricle.  In  the  medulla 
oblongata  shallow  anterior  and  posterior  median  furrows  then  appear 
continuous  with  those  in  the  cord,  and  each  lateral  half  dilleren- 
tiates  into  grey  matter  and  into  a  longitudinal  arrangement  of  nerve 
fibres  continuous  with  the  corresponding  structures  in  the  cord.  A 
large  proportion  of  these  fibres  are  continued  upwards  through  the 
pons  as  its  longitudinal  fibres.  The  cerebellum  consists  at  first  of 
a  central  lobe,  and  in  the  lower  vertebrates  its  development  does 
not  proceed  beyond  this  stage;  but  in  mammals,  including  man, 
a  lateral  lobe  or  hemisphere  is  superadded  on  each  side,,  and  with 
the  growth  of  these  lateral  lobes  numerous  transverse  fibres,  which 
connect  the  two  hemispheres  together,  are  developed  in  the  pons. 
Tho  cerebellum  is  alsj  connected  below  with  the  medulla  oblongata 
by  the  pair  of  restiform  bodies,  or  inferior  peduncles,  end  above 
with  the  corpora  quadrigemina  by  the  pair  of  superior  peduncles. 

The  middle  cerebral  vesicle  bends  forwards  from  the  posterior 
vesicle.  In  its  roof  the  optic  lobes  are  formed ;  in  its  floor  the 
crura  cerebri;  whils't  the  central  hollow  becomes  the  aqueduct-  of 
Sylvius.  At  first  the  optic  lobes  form  a  single  structure,'  but  a!  cut 
the  sixth  month  of  embryo  life  a  median  furrow  divides  this  struc- 
ture into  two  lateral  halves  (the  corpora  bigemina), .  and  in  the 
lower  vertebrates  the  development  does  not  proceed  beyond  this 
stage :  Hit  in  the  seventh  month  of  embryo  life  of  the  human  foetus 
each  lateral  half  is  subdivided  into  two  by  a  transverse  fissure,  so 
that  four  bodies  (the  corpora  quadrigemina)  afe  produced.  The 
crura  cerebri  form  the  two  ccrebnl  peduncles,  which,  diverging 
from  each  Other,  pass  upwards  to  the  hemisphere  of  the  cerebrum. 
They  consist  almost  entirely  of  nc/ve  fibres  continuous  with  tho 
longitudinal  fibres  of  the  pons,  a  few  of  which  go  to  the  corpora 
quadrigemina,  but  the  greater  number  ascend  to  the  cerebrum. 

The  anterior  cerebral  vesicle  beads  downwards  from  the  middle 
vesicle.  The. posterior  part  of  this  vesicle  forms  at  first  a  simple 
hollow  sac,  but  subsequently  divides  into  tho  two  optic  thalami, 
one  on  each  side  of  the  central  hollow,  which  hollow  becomes 
the  third  ventricle.  _  This  ventricle  is  prolonged  downwards  intt 
a  funnel-shaped  process,  the  infundibulum,  which  is  connected 
with  the  pituitary  body,  or  hypophysis  cerebri,  lodged  in  the  pitui- 
tary fossa  in  the  sphenoid  bone,  whilst  posteriorly  it  is  continuous 
with  the  aqueduct  of  Sylvius.  In  its  uppi-r  and  posterior  wall  th« 
pineal  body,  or  epiphysis  cerebri,  is  developed,  and  from  this  body 
two  white peduncles  run  forwards  on  the  sides  of  the  optic  thalami. 
Immediately  below  these  peduncles  the  transverse  fibres  of  the 
posterior  commissure  are  developed,  which  pass  between  the  two 
optic  thalaiui.  Tho  anterior  wall  of  this  ventricle  is  closed  in  by. 
tho  lamir.a  cinerca  or  lamina  tcrminalis,  and  behind  it  are  formed 
the  transverse  nerve  fibres  of  tho  anterior  corAmissure,  and  the 
vertical  fibres  of  the  anterior  pillars  of  the  fornix.  These  fornix 
fibres  pass  to  the  base  of  the  brain,  and  form  the  corpora  albicanlia, 
prior  to  entering  the  optic  thalami,  The  posterior  part  of  the  antcrio 
Vesicle  gives  olf  from  each  side  a  Qask-shaDcd  prolongation,  thj 


SG4 


ANATOMY 


[nervous 


primary  optic  reside.  The  stem  of  the  prolongation,  at  first  hollow, 
becomes  solid,  and  forma  the  optic  nerve  and  trad,  whilst  the 
txpanded  distal  end  forma  the  nervous  elements  of  the  retina. 

The  antero-lateral  part  of  the  anterior  cerebral  vesicle  is  prolonged 
forward  es  two  hollow  processes,    the  hemisphere  vesicles,   which 
becomo  the  cerebral  hemispheres,  and  are  separated  from  each  other 
by  a  median  longitudinal  fissure ;  whilst  the  hollow  in  tho  iiitirinr 
of  each  forms  the  lateral  ventricle.     In  the  floor  of  each  hemisphere 
reside  is  developed  a  large  grey  mass,  striated  with  bundles  of 
nerve  fibres,  the  corpus  striatum,  which  lies  immediately  in  front 
and  to  the  outer  sido  of  the  optic  thalamus;  a  curved  band,  t lie 
iosnia  semicircularis,  is  formed  along  the  junction  of  the  thalamus 
fcith  the  corpus  striatum,  and  at  the  inner  and  anterior  end  of  this 
band,  immediately  behind  the  anterior  pillars  of  the  fornix,   the 
two  lateral  ventricles  become  continuous  with  each  other  and  with 
the  third  ventricle  through  tbc/bromen  of  Monro.     The  roof  and 
tido  walls  of  each  hemisphere  vesicle  form  a  grey  expansion  or  mantle, 
Irhicb.  is  at  first  smooth,  but  subsequently  becomes  divided  into 
iobes  and  convolutions,  separated  from  each  other  by  fissures.     A 
tcep  gap  or  fissure  now  appears  on  the  inner  wall  of  each  liemi- 
jphere  vesicle,  and  is  bounded  above  by  a  longitudinal  band  of 
libros,  which,  continuous  anteriorly  with  the  anterior  pillar  of  the 
fornix,  joins  its  fellow  in  the  middle  line  to  form  the  body  of  the 
ornix,  and  then  again  diverging  from  its  fellow  passes  backwards, 
lownwards,  and  forwards  as  the  posterior  pillar  of  the  fornix  or  the 
ixnia  hippocampi.     A  transverse  arrangement  of  fibres  then  forms 
(n  each  hemisphere  vesicle,  above  the  plane  of  the  fornix,  which, 
reaching  tho  mesial  plane,  joins  its  fellow,  connects  tho  two  hemi- 
ipheres  together,  and  forms  the  corpus  callosum.     In  the  hinder 
part  this  corpus  rests  upon  the  upper  surface  of  the  fornix,  but  more 
anteriorly  it  lies  some  distance  above  the  fornix,  and  then  bends 
lown  in  front  of  \t.     Hence  thero  is  enclosed  between  the  fornix 
and  the  antero-inferior  part  of  the  corpus  callosum  two  thin  layers 
of  grey  matter,  one  belonging  to  the  inner  surface  of  each  hemisphere 
vesicle,  and  called  the  septum  lucidum.     between  those  two  layers 
Is  a  narrow   epace,    the  fifth  ventricle,   which,   unlike   the   other 
ventricles,  is  not  derived  from  the  cerebro-spinal  tube,  but  is  merely 
a  portion  of  the  longitudinal  median  fissure  shut  in  by  the  develop- 
ment of  the  corpus  callosum  and  fornix.     Each  hemisphere  vesiclo 
also  gives  off  from  its  anterior  part  a  hollow  process,  which  expands 
in  front  into  a  bulbous  dilatation,  named  the  olfactory  bulb,  from 
which  the  nerves  of  smell  arise,  whilst  the  stalk  of  the  bulb  solidifies 
and  forms  the  olfactory  peduncle. 

Owing  to  the  great  development  of  the  mantle  of  tho  hemisphere 
vesicles  in  the  human  brain,  and  the  size  and  complexity  of  tho 
convolutions,  these  parts  of  tho  hemispheres  grow  forward  so  as  to 
overlap  the  olfactory  bulbs  and  peduncles,  and  backward,  so  as  to 
conceal  not  only  the  corpora  striata  and  optic  thalami,  but  also  t lie 
corpora  quadrigemina,  crura  cerebri,  cerebellum,  pons,  and  medulla 
oblongata,  so  that  when  the  human  brain  is  looked  at  from  above, 
none  of  these  structures  can  be  seen.  It  is  only  whon  the  brain  is 
turned  over  and  its  base  exposed  that  the  medulla,  pons,  cerebellum, 
and  crura  are  visible ;  and  before  the  corpora  quadrigemina,  optic 
thalami,  and  corpora  striata  can  be  exposed,  portions  of  tho  hemi- 
sphere substance  must  be  removed.  The  great  growth  of  the  hemi- 
sphere vesicle  leads  also  to  a  great  expansion  of  the  central  hollow 
or  lateral  ventricle,  which  is  prolonged  forwards,  backwards,  and 
downwards  as  tho  anterior,  posterior,  and  descending  cornua.  In  tho 
descending  cornu  is  a  projection,  tho  hippocamus  major,  along  which 
the  taenia  hippocampi  of  the  fornix  runs ;  in  the  posterior  cornu  is  a 
imaller  eminence,  the  hippocampus  minor;  and  at  the  junction  of 
these  two  cornua  is  a  third  elevation,  the  eminentia  collateralis. 

Immediately  investing  the  spinal  cord  and  encephalon  a  vascular 
membrane,  tho  pia  mater,  is  developed,  processes  from  which  dip 
into  the  fissures  between  the  two  halves  of  the  cord  and  between 
fhe  cerebral  convolutions.  A  broad  band,  tho  velum interporitum, 
which  possosses  two  marginal  fringes,  the  choroid  plexuses,  is 
(dmittcd  into  the  lateral  ventricle  through  the  gap  or  fissure  in 
the  inner  wall  of  each  hemisphere  vesicle.  This  fissure  is  bounded 
ibove  by  tho  arch-shaped  fornix,  with  its  taenia  hippocampi.  When 
;he  two  hemispheres  are  in  situ,  and  the  two  halves  of  the  fornix  are 
|oined  together  to  form  tho  body  of  that  structure,  the  fissure,  with 
^ts  contained  velum  interpositum,  passes  across  the  mesial  plane 
rom  one  hemisphere  to  tho  other,  having  the  fornix  and  taeniae  for 
its  roof,  and  the  optic  thalami  and  corpora  quadrigemina  for  its  floor; 
it  is  known  as  the  great  transverse  fissure  of  the  cerebrum. 

Membranes  of  Brain  and  SriNAL  Cord. — These  nerve 
:entre3  are  invested  by  three  membranes  or  meninges, 
which  lie  between  them  and  the  bones  that  form  tho  wails 
of  the  cranial  cavity  and  spinal  canal.  The  membraues.  ate 
named  dura  mater,  arachnoid  mater,  and  pia  mater 

Dura  mater. — The  most  external  membrane,  named 
d-tirn  from  its  firmness,  consists  of  a  cranial  and  a  spinal 
subdivision.     The  cranial  part  is  in  contact  with  the  inner 


tablo  of  the  cranial  bones,  and  is  adherent  along  the  lines 
of  the  sutures  and  to  the  margins  of  the  foramina,  which 
transmit  tho  nerves,  more  especially  to  the  foramen  mag- 
num. It  forms,  therefore,  for  these  bones  an  internal 
periosteum,  and  the  meningeal  arteries  which  ramify  in  it 
are  the  nutrient  arteries  of  the  inner  table.  As  the  growth 
of  bone  is  more  active  in  infancy  and  youth  than  in  tho 
adult,  the  adhesion  between  the  dura  matcrandthecrani.il 
bones  is  greater  in  early  life  than  at  maturity.  From  tho 
inner  surface  of  the  dura  mater  strong  bands  pass  into  tho 
cranial  cavity,  and  form  partitions  between  certain  of  the 
subdivisions  of  the  brain.  A  vertical  longitudinal  mesial 
band,  named,  from  its  sickle  shape,  falx  cerebri,  clips  between 
the  two  hemispheres  of  the  cerebrum.  A  smaller  sickle- 
shaped  vertical  mesial  band,  the  falx  cerebelli,  attached  to 
the  internal  occipital  crest,  passes  between  the  two  hemi- 
spheres of  the  cerebellum.  A  large  band  arches  forward 
in  the  horizontal  plane  of  the  cavity,  from  the  transverse 
groove  in  tho  occipital  bone  to  the  clinoid  processes  of  tho 
sphenoid,  and  is  attached  laterally  to  tho  upper  border 
of  the  petrous  part  of  each  temporal  bone.  It  separates 
the  cerebrum  from  the  cerebellum,  and,  as  it  forms  a  tent- 
like covering  for  the  latter,  is  named  tentorium  cerebelli. 
Along  certain  lines  the  cranial  dura  mater  splits  into  two 
layers,  to  form  tubular  passages  for  tho  transmission  of 
venous  blood.  These  passages  are  named  the  venous  blood 
siriuses  of  the  dura  mater,  and  they  aro  lodged  in  the  grooves 
on  the  inner  surface  of  the  skull  referred  to  in  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  cranial  bonea     Opening  into  these  sinuses  are 


FlO.  G3. — Dura  mater  and  cranial  sinuses.  1,  Ffltx  cerebri;  2,  tentorium-  3,  •. 
superior  longitudinal  all. us;  4,  lateral  sinus;  6,  Interna]  Jugular  vein;  6,  occt- 
pltnl  sinus;  6',  torcular  llcro|>)illi ;  7,  Infe-'or  longitudinal  sinus;  K,  veins  of 

.  Galen;  9  and  10,  superior  and  Inferior  petr.t-al  sinus;  11,  cavernous  sinus  ;  12, 
Circular  slous,  which  conncctB  the  two  cavernous  sinuses  together ;  13,  ophthal- 
mic vein,  from  U,  the  eyeball ;  14,  crista  gall]  of  ethmoid  hi. no. 

numerous  veins,  which  convey  from  the  brain  the  blood 
that  has  been  circulating  through  it;  and  two  of  these 
sinuses,  called  cavernous,  which  lie  at  the  sides  of  the  body 
of  the  sphenoid  bone,  receive  the  ophthalmic  veins  from 
the  eyeballs  situated  in  the  orbital  cavities.  These  blood 
sinuses  pass  usually  from  beforo  backwards :  a  superior 
longitudinal  along  the  upper  border  of  the  falx  cerebri  as 
far  as  the  internal  occipital  protuberance;  an  inferior 
longitudinal  along  its  lower  border  as  far  as  the  tentorium, 
where  it  joins  the  straight  sinus,  which  passes  back  as  far 
as  the  same  protuberance.  One  or  two  small  occipital 
sinuses,  which  lie  in  the  falx  cerebelli,  also  pass  to  join  the 
straight  and  longitudinal  sinuses  opposite  this  protuberance ; 
several  currents  of  blood  meet,  therefore,  at  this  spot,  and 
as  Herophilus  supposed  that  a  sort  of  whirlpool  was 
formed  in  the  blood,  the  name  toradar  Ilerophili  has 
been  used  to  express  the  meeting  of  these  sinuses.  From 
the  torcular  the   blood   is  drained   away  by  two  large 


SYSTEM.] 


ANA  T  O  M  Y 


8G5 


sinuses,  named  lateral,  which  curve  forwards  and  down- 
wards to  the  jugular  foramina  to  terminate  in  the  internal 
jugularveins.  In  its  course  each  lateral  sinus  receives  two 
petrosal  sinuses,  which  pass  from  the  cavernous  sinus  back- 
wards along  the  upper  and  lower  borders  of  the  petrous 
part  of  the  temporal  bone. 

The  spinal  part  of  the  dura  mater  hangs  loosely  in  the 
Bpinal  canal.  It  does  not  form  a  periosteum  for  the  vertebrae, 
but  i3  separated  from  their  bony  rings  by  loose  fat  and  a 
plexus  of  veins.  It  gives  off  no  bands  from  its  inner  surface, 
and  it  does  not  split  into  two  layers  for  the  lodgment  of 
venous  blood  sinuses.  The  spinal  dura  mater  forms  a  tubu- 
lar envelope  for  the  spinal  cord  and  the  origins  of  the  spinal 
nerves.  It  extends  from  the  fcramen  magnum,  where  it  is 
continuous  with  the  cranial  dura  mater,  to  the  lower  end  of  the 
sacral  canal,  ends  below  in  a  funnel-shaped  prolongation,  and 
is  pierced  laterally  J}y  the  roots  of  the  several  spinal  nerves 
in  their  passage  outwards  to  the  intervertebral  foramina. 

Both  the  cranial  and  the  spinal  parts  of  the  dura  mater 
consist  of  a  tough,  fibrous  membrane;  somewhat  flocculent 
externally,  but  smooth,  glistening,  and  free  on  its  inner 
surface.  The  inner  surface  has  the  appearance  of  a  serous 
membrane,  and  when  examined  microscopically  is  seen  to 
consist  of  a  layer  of  squamous  endothelial  cells,  similar  to 
those  drawn  in  fig.  34.  Hence  the  dura  mater  is  some- 
times called  a  fibro-serous  membrane.  The  dura  mater  is 
well  provided  with  lymph  vessels,  which  in  all  probability 
open  by  stomata  on  the  free  inner  surface.  Between  the 
dura  mater  and  the  subjacent  arachnoid  membrane  is  a  fine 
space  containing  a  minute  quantity  of  limpid  serum,  which 
moistens  the  smooth  inner  surface  of  the  dura  and  the 
corresponding  smooth  outer  surface  of  the  arachnoid.  It 
is  regarded  as. equivalent  to  the  cavity  of  a  serous  mem- 
brane, and  is  named  the  arachnoid  cavity,  or,  more 
appropriately,  the  sub-dural  space. 
Rchnoid  Arachnoid  mater. — The  arachnoid  is  a  membrane  of 
rane.  great  delicacy  and  transparency,  which  loosely  envelopes 
both  the  brain  and  spinal  cord.  It  is  separated  from  these 
organs  by  the  pia  mater;  but  between  it  and  the  latter 
membrane  is  a  distinct  space,  called  sub-arachnoid.  The 
sub-arachnoid  space  is  more  distinctly  marked  beneath  the 
spinal  than  beneath  the  cerebral  parts  of  the  membrane, 
which  forms  a  looser  investment  for  the  cord  than  for 
the  brain.  At  the  base  of  the  brain,  and  opposite  the 
fissures  between  the  convolutions  of  the  cerebrum,  the 
interval  between  the  arachnoid  and  the  pia  matter  can, 
however,  always  be  seen,  for  the  arachnoid  does  not,  like 
the  pia  mater,  clothe  the  sides  of  the  fissures,  but  passes 
directly  across  between  the  summits  of  adjacent  convolu- 
tions. The  sub-arachnoid  space  is  subdivided  into  numerous 
freely  .tommunicating  loouli  by  bundles  of  delicate  areolar 
tissife ,  which  bundles  are  invested,  as  Key  and  Retzius  have 
6hown,  by  a  layer  of  squamous  endothelium.  The  space 
contains  a  limpid  cerebrospinal  fluid,  which  varies  in  quan- 
tity from  2  drachms  to  2  ounces.  The  fluid  is  alkaline,  of 
sp.  gr.  TODS,  contains  a  little  albumen,  and  a  substance 
which,  as  Turner  pointed  out,  reduces  blue  oxide  of 
copper  to  the  state  of  yellow  sub-oxide.  The  arachnoid 
membrane  is  made  up  of  delicate  connective  tissue. 
The  free  surface  next  the  sub-dural  space  is  smooth, 
like  a  serous  membrane,  and  covered  by  a  layer  of  squam- 
o-ia  endothelium.  This  layer  is  reflected  on  to  the  roots 
of  the  spinal  and  cranial  nerves,-and,  when  they  pierce  the 
dura  mater,  it  becomes  continuous  with  the  endothelial 
lining  of  that  membrane.  As  the  arrangement  and  struc- 
ture so  closely  correspond  with  what  is  seen  in  the  serous 
membranes,  many  anatomists  regard  the  arachnoid  as  the 
visceral  layer  of  a  serous  membrane,  and  the  endothelial 
lining  of  the  dura  mater  as  the  parietal  layer,  whilst  tho 
f  ub-dural  space  is  the  intermediate  cavity. 

1—29 


When  the  skull  cap  is  removed,  clusters  of  granular 
bodies  aro  usually  to  be  seen  imbedded  in  the  dura  mater 
on  each  side  of  the  superior  longitudinal  sinus;  tlio.-e  are 
named  the  Pacchionian  bodies.  When  traced  through  the 
dura  mater  they  are  found  to  spring  from  the  visceral  or 
proper  cerebral  arachnoid.  The  observations  of  Luschka 
and  Cleland  have  proved  that  villous  processes  invariably 
grow  from  the  free  surface  of  that  membrane,  and  that  when 
these  villi  greatly  increase  in  size  they  form  the  bodies 
in  question.  Sometimes  the  Pacchionian  bodies  greatly 
hypertrophy,  occasion  absorption  of  the  bones  of  the  cranial 
vault,  and  depressions  on  the  upper  surface  of  the  brain. 

Pia  mater. — This  membrane  closely  invests  the  wh-.h 
outer  surface  of  the  brain.  It  dips  into  the  fissures 
between  the  convolutions,  and  a  wide  prolongation, 
named  velum  interpositum,  lies  in  the  interior  of  the 
cerebrum.  With  a  little  care  itr  can  be  stripped  off  the 
brain  without  causing  injury  to  its  substance.  The  pia 
mater  invests  the  spinal  cord,  and  is  more  intimately 
attached  to  it  than  to  the  brain,  for  not  only  does  it  semi 
prolongations  into  the'  anterior  and  posterior  fissures  of  the 
cord,  but  slender  bands  pass  repeatedly  from  its  inner 
surface  into  the  columns  of  the  cord.  Hence  it  cannot  be 
stripped  off  tho  cord  without  causing  injury  to  its  sub- 
stance. The  pia  matter  is  prolonged  on  to  the  roots  both  of 
the  cranial  and  spinal  nerves,  and  on  to  the  filum  terminalo. 
This  membrane  consists  of  a  delicate  connective  tissue,  in 
which  the  arteries  of  the%brain  and  spinal  cord  ramify  and 
subdivide  into  small  branches  before  they  penetrate  the 
nervous  substance, 'and  in  which  the  veins  conveying  the 
blood  from  the  nerve  centres  lio  before  they  open  into  the 
blood  sinuses  of  the  cranial,  dura  mater   and  the  extra-  < 

dural  venous  plexus  of  the  spinal  canal.  The  arteries 
which  pass  from  the  pia  mater  into  the  brain  and  spinal 
cord  are  invested  by  a  loose  sheath,  which  has  been  de- 
scribed as  forming  the  wall  of  a  peri-vascular  lymphatic 
vessel ;  but  Key  and  Retzius  have  shown  that  the  space 
between  the  blood-vessel  and  the  sheath  opens  into  the  sub- 
arachnoid space,  and  contains  cerebro-spinal  fluid.  A  net- 
work of  lymph  vessels  ramifies  rroely  in  the  pia  mater.  It 
is  also  well  provided  with  nerves,  which  arise  from  the 
posterior  roots  of  the  spinal  nerves,  from  some  of  the 
cranial  nerves,  and  from  the  carotid  and  vertebral  plexuses 
of  the  sympathetic.  The  epi-cerebral  and  epi-spinal  spaces 
described  by  His  as  existing  between  this  membrane  and 
the  brain  and  spinal  cord  are  in  all  probability  artificial 
productions. 

In  the  spinal  canal  a  slender  fibrous  band  projects  from  Ligamen 
the  pia  mater  covering  the  side  of  the  cord,  and,  pushing  turn  dent; 
the  arachnoid  membrane  in  front  of  it,  is  attached  by  culatum 
about  twenty-two  pairs  of  denticulated  processes  to  the 
inner  surface  of  the  dura  mater.     It  is  named  ligamentitn 
denticulatum,  and  its  teeth  alternate  with  the  successive 
pairs  of  spinal  nerves. 

SriNAL  Cord. — The  Medulla  Spinalis,  or  Spinal 
Cord,  occupies  the  spinal  canal,  and  extends  from  the 
foramen  fnagnum  to  opposite  the  body  of  the  first  lumbar 
vertebra.  In  the  early  fcetus  it  equals  in  length  the  canal 
itself ;  but  as  the  spinal  column  grows  at  a  greater  pro- 
portional rate  than  the  cord,  tho  latter,  when  growth  has 
ceased,  is  several  inches  shorter  than  the  column.  The  cord 
is  continuous  above  with  the  medulla  oblongata,  whilst  it 
tapers  off  below  into  a  slender  thread,  the  fitum  terminate, 
which  lies  in  the  axis  of  the  sacral  canal,  and  is  attached 
below  to  the  back  of  the  coccyx,  or  to  the  fibrous  mem- 
brane which  closes  in  below  the  sacral  canaL  The  length 
of  the  cord  is  from  15  to  18  inches.  It  approaches  a 
cylinder  in  shape,  but  is  flattened  on  its  anterior  and  pos- 
terior surfaces,  and  presents  two  enlargements  which  have 
a  greater  girth  than  the  rest  of  the  cord.      The  upper. 


8CG 


ANA  T  O  M  Y 


[nervous 


Called  tlio  cervical  or  brachial  enlargement,  extends  from 
opposite  the  third  cervical  to  the  first  dorsal  vertebra,  and 
from  it  arise  the  nerve3  which  supply  the  upper  limbs ;  the 
lower,  called  the  crural  or  lumbar  enlargement,  is. opposite 
the  last  dorsal  vertebra,  and  supplies  with  nerves  the 
lower  limbs.  The  cord  is  almost  completely  divided  into 
right  and  left  lateral  halves  by  two  fissures,  named'  re- 
spectively anterior  and  posterior  median  fissures,  which  do 
not  quite  reach  the  centre  of  the  cord,  for  at  the  bottom  of 
the  anterior  fissure  are  the  transverse  fibres  of  the  anterior 
white  commissure,  and  at  the  bottom  of  the  posterior  fissure 
he  fibres  of  the  posterior  grey  commissure.  By  these  com- 
missures the  two  halves  of  the  cord  are  united  together. 
The  fibres  of  tho  posterior  commissure  surround  a  canal, 
called  tho  central  canal,  which  extends  along  tho  whole 
length  of  the  cord,  and  even  passes  into  the  upper  end  of 
the  filum  terminale.  This  canal  is  lined  by  a  ciliated 
columnar  endothelium,  and  expands  superiorly  into  the 
cavity  of  the  fourth  ventricle.  Each  lateral  half  of  the  cord 
is  subdivided  into  three  columns  by  two  depressions,  which 
mark  the  points  of  emergence  of  the  roots  of  tho  spinal 
nerves.  The  anterior  nerve  roots  pass  through  the 
antero-lateral  depression  or  fissure,  and  between  it  and  the 
antero-median  fissure  is  the  anterior  column  of  tho  cord. 
The  posterior  nerve  roots  pass  through  tho  postero-lateral 
fissure,  and  between  it  and  the  postero-median  fissure  is 
the  posterior  column,  whilst  between  the  anterior  and 
posterior  nerve  roots  lies  the  lateral  column.  In  the 
cervical  region,  the  part  of  the  posterior  column  which  lies 
next  tne  postero-median  fissure  is  marked  off  by  a  fissure 
into  a  email  internal  or  postero-median  column.  The  sub- 
division of  each 
lateral  half  of  the 
cord  into  the 
columns,  and  the 
arrangement  of  its 
nervous  tissues,  are 
well  seen  in  trans- 
verse sections 
through  its  sub- 
stance. The  cord 
is  composed  of 
white  and  grey 
matter.   The  white 

matter  is  external,  Fjo.  G  I.— Transverse  section  through  the  spinal  cord, 
nrwl    f-irms  flip  no-      AK,antero-median,  and  PF,;iostei-o-mcdian  fissures; 

lumns  of  the  cord. 
The  grey  matter  is 
surrounded  by  the 
white,  and  has 
in  each  lateral 
half  of  the  cord  a  crescentic  shape.  The  horns  of  the 
crescent  are  directed  towards  the  fissures  of  emergence  of  the 
nerve  roots ;  the  anterior  horn  is  rounded ;  the  posterior 
long  and  narrow.  The  proportion  of  grey  matter  to  the 
white  varies  in  different  parts  of  the  cord.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  filum  terminale  there  is  scarcely  any 
white  matter;  but  the  white  matter  increases  in  amount 
from  below  upwards,  so  that  its  absolute  quantity  is  greatest 
in  the  cervical  part  of  the  cord.  The  grey  crescents  are 
thicker  in  the  upper  and  lower  enlargements  than  in  the 
intermediate  part- 

The  cord  contains  both  nerve  fibres  and  nerve  cells.  The 
external,  columnar,  white  part  of  the  cord  consists  of  nerve 
fibres,  with  a  supporting  reticular  framework  of  connective 
tissue  and  blood-vessels  derived  from  the  pia  mater.  Well- 
formed  Etellate  connective  tissue  corpuscles  lie  in  this  sup 
porting  framework.  The  nerve  fibres  of  the  various  columns 
extend  longitudinally,  and  lie  parallel  to  each  oth^r,  so  that 
in  transverse  sections  through  the  columns  the  fibres  are 


PC.  posterior,  LC,  lateral,  and  AC,  anterior  columns; 
AR.  anterior,  and  Pit.  posterior  nerve  roots;  C, 
central  canal  of  cord,  with,  its  columnar  endothelial 
lining.  The  pia  mater  is  shown  investing  the  cord, 
sending  processes  into  the  anterior  and  posterior 
fissures,  as  well  as  delicate  prolongations  into  the 
columns.  The  crescentic  anangement  of  the  grey 
matter  is  shown  by  the  darker  shaded  portion. 


transversely  divided.  The  individual  fibres  vary  much  in 
diameter,  but  in  all  the  axial  cylinder  and  medullary  sheath 
can  be  distinctly  Been.  Wherever  the  nerve  roots  enter 
into  the  cord,  the  fibres  of  these  roots  pass  transversely  or 
obliquely  in  their  course  inwards  to  the  grey  matter. 
Horizontal  fibres  are  also  found  in  the  white  anterior  com- 
missure, and  a  similar  appearance  can  be  seen  in  the 
posterior  commissure.  Horizontal  fibres  have  also  been 
traced  from  the  lateral  columns  into  the  adjacent  part  of 
the  grey  matter. 

The  grey  crescentic  portion  of  the  cord  contains  con- 
nective tissue,  blood-vessels,  nerve  fibres,  and  nerve  cells. 
The  nerve  fibres  in  the  grey  matter  arc  numerous ;  and 
whilst  some  possess  a  medullary  sheath,  others  consist 
only  of  the  axial  cylinder ;  they  divide  and  subdivide, 
and,  as  Qerlach'has  shown,  form  a  narrow -meshed 
network  of  extremely  minute  fibres.  The  nerve  cells  are 
multipolar,  and  are  chiefly  collected  in  the  anterior  and 
posterior  horns  of  each  crescent.  The  cells  of  the  an- 
terior cornu  are  large,  distinct,  and  stellate,  and  form 
a  well-defined  group  of  nerve  cells.  Those  of  the  pos- 
terior cornu  are  smaller  in  size,  more  elongated  in  shape, 
but  with  stellate  branched  processes.  They  are  not  so 
distinct  as  in  the  anterior  horn,  owing  to  the  connective 
tissue  with  its  corpuscles  being  so  abundant.  This  tissue 
is  best  marked  at  the  tip  of  the  posterior  horn,  where  it 
forms  the  substantia  gelatinosa  of  Kolando.  Lockhart 
Clarke  has  described  an  intermedio-laleral  group  of  nerve 
cells  situated  at  the  outer  side  of  the  grey  matter,  about 
midway  between  the  anterior  and  posterior  horns,  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  cervical  portion  of  the  cord,  and  in  the 
thoracic  part  between  the  brachial  and  crural  enlargements. 

The  course  of  the  fibres  in  the  cord  and  their  relations 
to  the  nerve  cells  should  now  be  considered.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  of  the  longitudinal  fibres  some  ascend 
from  below  upwards,  and  conduct  either  excitd-motory 
impulses  to  the  regions  of  the  spinal  cord  itself,  or  sen- 
sory impulses  to  the  brain.  Other  longitudinal  fibres  again 
descend  from  tho  brain  and  higher  regions  of  the  cord  to 
the  lower,  and  conduct  motor  and  vasomotor  impulses 
from  above  downwards.  The  horizontal  and  oblique  fibres 
of  an  anterior  or  motor  nerve  root  enter  the  grey  matter  of 
the  anterior  cornu,  and  seem  to  have  the  following  arrange- 
ment :  some  become  directly  continuous  with  the  axial  cylin- 
drical processes  of  the  nerve  cells;  others  pass  into  the  an- 
terior commissure;  others  extend  as  far  as  the  grey  matter 
of  the  posterior  horn.  The  nerve  cells  of  the  anterior  cornu 
give  origin,  therefore,  directly  to  nerve  fibres  by  their  un- 
branched  processes.  Gerlach's  observations  show  that  the 
branched  processes  of  these  cells  become  continuous  with 
the  network  of  extremely  minute  fibres  already  described 
in  the  grey  matter;  from  this  network  medullated  fibres 
appear  to  arise  which  leave  the  grey  matter;  some  enter  the 
lateral  column, "and  ascend  as  the  fibres  of  this  structure; 
others  pass  as  fibres  of  the  anterior  commissure  to  the 
opposite  side  of  the  cord,  and  ascend  as  the  anterior  column 
of  that  side.  The  anterior  and  lateral  columns,  therefore, 
are  constantly  receiving  accessions  of  fibres  from  the 
enclosed  grey  matter. 

The  fibres  of  a  posterior  or  sensory  nerve  root  on  entering 
the  cord  subdivide  into  two  bundles;  one  does  not  enter  the 
gTey  matter,  but  applies  itself  to  the  posterior  column,  of 
which  it  furms  some  of  the  vertical  fibres.  These  fibre3 
may  ascend  to  the  brain,  or  they  may  at  some  higher  point 
in  the  cord  enter  the  grey  matter  of  the  posterior  horn.  The 
other  bundle  of  posterior  root  fibres  at  once  enters  the 
posterior  horn  of  grey  matter.  The  connections  and  ulti- 
mate arrangement  of  these  fibres  in  the  grey  matter  have 
not  been  satisfactorily  made  out.  Gerlach  states  that,  as 
they  frequently  subdivide  on  entering  the  grey  matter,  if 


SYSTEM.] 


ANATOMY 


H(u 


is  possible  they  may  form  the  fine  nerve  fibre  plexus  of' the 
grey  substance ;  but  a  direct  continuity  between  them  and 
the  axial-cylinder  processes  of  the  cells  of  the  posterior 
horn  does  not  seem  to  have  been  observed.  From  the 
plexus,  formed  by  the  much  subdivided  processes  of  these 
cells,  fibres  arise,  which,  forming  the  fibres  of  the  pos- 
terior commissure,  pass  both  in  front  of  and  behind  the 
central  canal  to  the  opposite  side,  where  they  ascend  towards 
the  brain,  "  partly  in  the  vertical  fasciculi  of  the  posterior 
enrnua  and  partly  in  the  posterior  columns." 

The  structure  of  the  spinal  cord  shows  it  to  be  both  a 
nerve  centre  and  a  conductor  of  nervous  impulses.  The 
nerve  cells  in  its  gTey  matter  give  rise  either  directly, 
or  through  the  delicate  plexus  formed  by  their  branching 
processes,  to  nerve  fibres,  which  may  either  pass  out  of 
the  cord  as  the  anterior  and  posterior  roots  of  the  spinal 
nerves,  or  may  ascend  to  the  brain  as  the  columns  of  the 
cord.  Hence  the  cord  is  anatomically  continuous,  on  the 
one  hand,  through  the  nerves  which  arise  from  it,  with  the 
peripheral  end-organs  in  the  skin,  and  muscular  system  in 
which  those  nerves  terminate;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is 
continuous  with  the  brain.  It  serves,  therefore,  to  conduct 
the  impulses  of  touch-sensation  from  the  skin  upwards 
to  the  brain,  and  the  motor  impulses  from  the  brain 
downwards  to  the  muscles.  But  further,  the  cord  is  the 
great  nerve  centre  concerned  in  reflex  excito-motory 
actions.  It  must,  also,  be  remembered  that  the  two  halves 
of  the  cord  are  anatomically  continuous  with  each  other 
through  the  nerve  fibres  of  the  commissures,  so  that  it  acts 
as  a  single  organ,  and  not  as  two  organs.  Experiments 
have  shown  that  sensory  impulses  are  conducted  upwards 
through  the  cord,  not  by  that  half  from  which  the  nerves 
arise  that  have  been  excited,  but  by  the  opposite  half  of 
the  cord,  which  is  obviously  due  to  the  crossing  of  the 
fibres  of  the  posterior  commissure.  Motor  impressions 
are,  however,  conducted  downwards  by  that  half  of  the 
cord  from  which  the  nerves  arise  that  pass  to  supply  the 
muscles  to  be  moved. 

The  spinal  cord  is  well  supplied  with  blood  by  numerous 
arteries,  which  terminate  in  a  diffused  cap'illary  network. 
The  capillaries  are  much  more  numerous  in  the  grey  matter 
of  the  cord  than  in  the  white  columns, 
spina.  Origin,   Akrangement,   and   Distribution   of  the 

**"*'  Spinal  Nerves. — The  spinal  cord  gives  origin  to  thirty- 
one  pairs  of  Spinal  nerves,  which  pass  out  of  the  spinal 
canal  through  the  intervertebral  foramina.  These  nerves 
are  arranged  in  groups,  according  to  the  region  of  the 
spine  through  the  foramina  in  which  they  proceed. 
There  are  eight  pairs  of  cervical  nerves;  the  first  or 
sub-occipital  emerges  between  the  occipital  bone  and  the 
atlas,  the  eighth  between  the  seventh  cervical  and  first 
dorsal  vertebrae.  Twelve  dorsal  or  thoracic  nerves  pass  out 
on  each  side  in  relation  to  the  dorsal  vertebrae :  five  pairs 
of  lumbar  nerves  in  the  region  of  the  loins;  five  pairs  of 
sacral  nerves  through  the  sacral  foramina;  and  one  pair 
of  coccygeal  nerves  through  the  lowest  openings,  in  the 
spinal  canal.  Each  spinal  nerve  arises  by  two  roots,  an 
anterior  and  a  posterior,  from  the  side  of  the  cord.  These 
roots  are  distinguished  from  each  other  both  anatomically 
tnd  physiologically.  The  posterior  root  has  a  swelling  or 
ganglion  on  it,  whilst  no  ganglion  exists  on  the  anterior 
root  .  The  posterior  root  consists  of  sensory  nerve  fibres, 
i.e.,  of  fibres  which  conduct  impulses  from  the  periphery 
into  the  nerve  centre;  whilst  the  anterior  root  is  composed 
of  motor  nerve  fibres,  -ie.,  of  fibres  which  conduct  im- 
pulses from  the  centre  to  the  periphery.  The  ganglion  is 
situated  on  the  posterior  root,  as  a  rule,  in  the  interverte- 
bral foramen ;  but  the  lower  sacral  nerves  have  the.  ganglia 
on  their  posterior  roots  in  the  spinal  canaL  These  ganglia 
Contain  bipolar  nerve  cells,  and  the  nerve  fibres,  >"-3  they 


pass  through  each  ganglion,  are  apparently  connected  with 
the  poles  of  the  cells.  The  roots  of  the  spinal  nerves  vary 
in  direction  and  length.  Those  of  the  cervical  nerve:! 
are  short,  and  run  almost  horizontally  outwards  to  their 
respective  intervertebral,  foramina;  those  of  the  dorsal  are 
longer  and  more  oblique;  whilst  the  roots  of  the  lumbar 
and  sacral  nerves,  owing  to  the  cord  ending  much  above 
the  foramina  through  which  the  nerves  proceed,  are  very 
long,  and  form  a  leash  of  nerves  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
spinal  canal,  which  surrounds  the  filum  terminate,  and,  fror.i 
its  general  resemblance  in  arrangement  to  the  hairs  of  a 
horse's  tail,  has  been  named  cauda  equina. 

The  anterior  nerve  root  joins  the  posterior  immediately 
outside  the  ganglion,  and  by  their  junction  a  spinal  nerve 
is  formed.  This  nerve  contains  a  mixture  of  both  motor 
and  sensory  fibres,  and  is  compound  therefore  in  function. 
Almost  immediately  after  its  formation  the  nerve  separates 
into  two  divisions,  an  anterior  and  a  posterior,  and  each 
division,  bike  the  nerve  itself,  contains  both  motor  and 
sensory  fibres. 

The  Posterior  Primary  Divisions  of  the  spinal  nerves, 
smaller  than  the  anterior,  are  distributed  both  to  tho 
muscles  and  skin  on  the  back  of  the  axial  part  of  the  body. 
Their  general  arrangement  i3  as  follows :  each  division; 
with  some  three  or  four  exceptions,  subdivides  into  an 
internal  and  an  external  branch.  In  the  back  of  the  ncc!' 
and  the  back  of  the  upper  part  of  the  chest,  the  external 
branches  of  these  nerves  supply  the  deep  muscles;  the 
internal  branches  pierce  the  muscles  close  to  the  spines 
of  the  vertebrae,  and  end  in  the  skin;  the  internal  branch 
of  the  second  nerve,  called  great  occipital,  and  that  oi 
the  third  cervical,  pass  to  the- skin  over  the  occipital  bone. 
In  the  back  of  the  lower  part  of  the  chest  and  of  the  loins, 
the  internal  branches  supply  the  deep  muscles,  the  external 
branches  pass  to  the  skin,  those  of  some  of  the  lumbar 
nerves  extending  as  far  as  the  skin  of  the  buttock. 

The  Anterior  Primary  Divisions  are  not  so  uniform 
either  in  arrangement  or  distribution  as  are  the  pos- 
terior. They  supply  the 
front  and  sides  of  the  axial 
part  of  the  neck  and  trunk, 
and  the  extremities.  The 
anterior  divisions  of  the 
twelve  thoracic  nerves  have 
the  most  simple  arrange- 
ment. Each  nerve,  called 
from  its  position  an  inter- 
costal nerve,  runs  out- 
wards, immediately  below 
the  lower  border  of  a  rib, 
and  gives  origin  to  three 
series  of  branches,  named 
communicating,  muscular, 
and  cutaneous.  By  the 
Communicating  branch 
each  intercostal  nerve  is 
connected  with  an  ad- 
jacent ganglion  on  the  thoracic  portion  of  the  sympathetic 
system.  By  the  Muscular  or  motor  branches  these  nerves 
supply  the  intercostal  muscles,  the  levatores  coftarum,  and 
the  triangularis  sterni,  whilst  the  lower  intercostal  nerves 
run  forwards  and  downwards  into  the  wall  of  the  abdomen, 
and  supply  the  two  oblique,  the  transverse,  rectus,  and 
pyramidahs  muscles.  The  skin  of  the  sides  of  the  thorax 
and  abdomen  receives  its  nervous  supply  from  the  Lateral 
Cutaneous  branches,  whilst  the  skin  on  the  front  of  tho 
trunk  is  supplied  by  the  Anterior  Cutaneous  terminations  pf 
these  nerves.  The  lateral  cutaneous  branches  of  the  second 
and  third  intercostal  nerves  are  comparatively  large  in  size, 
and  assist  in  the  supply  of  the  skin  of  the  inner  sidocf 


[O.  65. — Diagram  of  the  aiTsngcment  of  s 
pair  of  thoracic  spinal  nerves.  SC.  spinal 
cord;  AR,  anterior  nerve  root;  PR,  pos- 
terior root,  with  Its  ganglion;  PD,  i  ■*- 
terior  primary  division  ;  AD,  anteilor 
primary  division,  or  Intercostal  nerve; 
SG,  sympathetic  ganglion,  with  the  com- 
municating brandies  between  it  and  the 
anterior  division;  M,  muscles,  with  the 
motor  branches  entering  them ;  IX, 
lateral  cufancous,  and  AC,  anterior 
cutaneous  nerves. 


mz 


ANA  T  O  M  Y 


[nebvous 


the  upper  arm;  hence  they  are  called  intercosto-humcral 
nerves. 

In  the  regions  of  the  neck,  loins,  and  pelvis,  the  anterior 
divisions  of  the  spinal  nerves  do  not  pass  simply  outwards 
to  their  distribution.  In  each  region  adjacent  nerves  in- 
terlace with  each  other,  and  form  what  is  technically  called 
a  nervous  plexus.  AYhen  a  branch  arises  from  a  thoracic 
nerve,  it  contains  fibres  derived  from  that  nerve  only ;  but 
■when  a  branch  arises  from  a  plexus,  it  may  contain  fibres, 
not  of  one  only,  but  of  two  or  more  of  the  nerves  which, 
by  their  interlacement,  form  the  plexus.  Hence  the  parts 
which  are  supplied  by  these  branches  are  brought  into  con- 
nection with  a  greater  number  of  nerves,  and  consequently 
with  a  greater  extent  of  tne  spinal  cord  or  nerve  centre, 
than  are  the  parts  which  receive  branches  from  a  single 
nerve  only.  These  plexuses  are  especially  found  in  con- 
nection with  the  nerves  which  supply  the  extremities, 
where,  owing  to  the  complexity  of  the  muscular  move- 
ments, the  co-ordination  of  these  movements  through  the 
nervous  system  is  rendered  necessary. 

The  anterior  divisions  of  the  eight  cervical  nerves'  are 
arranged  in  two  plexuses,  named  cervical  and  brachial 

The  Cervical  plexus  (PI.  XVII.)  is  formed  of  tho  four 
upper  cervical  nerves,  which  make,  by  interlacement  with 
each  other,  a  series  of  loops  in  front  of  the  transverse 
processes  of  the  cervical  vertebrae.  Arising  either  directly 
from  these  nerves,  or  from  the  plexus  which  they  form,  are 
communicating,  muscular,  and  cutaneous  branches.  The 
Communicating  branches  connect  these  nerves  with  the 
large  superior  cervical  ganglion  of  the  sympathetic  Bystem, 
also  with  the  vagus,  accessory,  and  hypoglossal  cranial 
nerves,  and  with  the  descending  branch  of  the  hypoglossal 
The  Muscular  branches  supply  the  anterior  recti  muscles 
of  the  neck,  the  levator  scapula;,  the  posterior  scalenus, 
the  diaphragm,  and  in  part  the  sterno-mastoid  and  trape- 
zius. The  branch  to  the  diaphragm,  or  the  phrenic  nerve, 
is  the  .most  important  (PI.  XVII.  <p) ;  it  springs  from  the 
third,  fourth,  and  fifth  cervical,  and  passes  down  the  lower 
part  of  the  neck,  and  through  the  thorax,  to  supply  its 
own  half  of  the  diaphragm.  The  Cvtaneous  branches  are 
as  follows: — the  occipitalis  minor,  to  the  skin  of  the 
occiput  j  the  auriculo-parotidean,  to  the  skin  over  the 
paroUd  gland  and  the  adjacent  part  of  the  auricle ;  the 
transversalis  colli,  to  the  skin  of  the  front  of  tho  side  of 
the  neck;  the  supra-clavicular  nerves,  to  the  skit:  of  the 
lower  part  of  the  side  of  the  neck,  and  upper  part  of  the 
chest. 

The  Brachial  plexus  (PL  XVII.  1,  2,  3,  4)  is  formed 
of  the  four  lower  cervical  nerves,  and  of  the  larger  por- 
tion of  the  first  intercostal,  called  also  first  dorsal  nerve. 
It  is  of  large  size,  and  is  principally  for  the  supply 
of  the  upper  limb.  Its  exact  mode  of  arrangement 
presents  many  variations,  but  the  following  is  not  un- 
frequently  found : — The  fifth  and  sixth  nerves  join  to 
form  a  large  nerve,  which,  after  a  short  course,  is  joined 
by  the  seventh ;  in  this  manner  the  upper  cord  of  the 
plexus  is  formed.  The  eighth  cervical  and  the  first 
dorsal  then  join,  to  form  the  lower  cord  of  the  plexus. 
These  cords  then  pass  behind  the  clavicle  and  subclavius 
muscle  into  the  axilla,  where  they  become  modified  in 
arrangement.  From  each  a  large  branch  arises,  and  these 
two  branches  then  join  to  form  a  third  cord.  These  three 
cords  have  special  relations  to  the  axillary  artery  :  the  one 
Vhichlies  to  its  outer  side  is  named  the  outer  cord  ;  that  to 
the  inner,  the  inner  cord;  that  behind,  the  posterior  cord. 
These  nerve3  and  the  cords  formed  by  them  give  origin  to 
communicating,  muscular,  cutaneous,  and  mixed  branohes. 
The  Communicating  branches  join  the  middle  and  in- 
ferior cervical  and  first  thoracic  ganglia  of  the  sympathetic 
syutcuL     Tho  Muscular  brunches  Bupply  the  scaleni,  lon<rus 


colli,  rhomboid,  and  subclavius  muscles;  the  cupra  and 
infra-spinatus  muscles,  through  a  branch  called  supra- 
scapular ;  the  serratus  magnus,  through  the  posta-ior 
thoracic  branch ;  the  greater  and  lesser  pectorals,  through 
the  two  anterior  thoracic  branches ;  and  the  subscapu- 
laris,  teres  major,  and  latissimus  dorsi,  through  the  thret 
subscapular  branches.  The  Cutaneous  branches  arise  from 
the  inner  cord,  and  are  the  lesser  internal  cutaneous, 
which  ends  in  the  skin  of  the  inner  side  of  the  upper 
arm,  and  joins  the  intercosto-humeral ;  and  the  internal 
cutaneous,  which  not  only  sends  branches  to  the  skin  of 
the  upper  arm,  but  supplies  the  skin  of  tho  inner  side 
of  the  forearm,  both  on  its.  anterior  and  posterior  surfaces. 
The  Mixed  branches  are  large  and  very  important: — 
a,  The  Circumflex,  from  the  posterior  cord,  supplies  the 
deltoid  and  teres  minor  muscles,  the  skin  over  tho  del- 
toid, and  the  shoulder  joint,  b,  The  Musculo-Spiral,  also 
from  tho  posterior  cord,  supplies  tho  triceps  and  anconeus, 
the  supinator  longus  and  extensor  carpi  radialis  longior 
muscles ;  and  by  its  external  cutaneous  branch,  the  skin  of 
the  outer  side  of  the  back  of  the  forearm.  It  then  divides 
into  the  radial  and  posterior  interosseous  branches.  The 
radial  passes  through  the  forearm  to  the  hand,  and  supplies 
the  skin  on  the  back  of  the  thumb,  index  and  middle  digits, 
and  radial  side  of  the  ring  digit.  The  posterior  interosse- 
ous supplies  the  muscles  on  the  back  of  the  forearm  and  the 
articulations  of  the  carpal  joints,  c,  The  Musculocutane- 
ous branch  of  the  outer  cord  of  the  plexus  supplies  the 
biceps,  brachialis  anticus,  and  coraco-brachialis  muscles, 
and  ends  in  an  external  cutaneous  branch,  which  supplies 
the  skin  of  the  outer  sido  of  the  forearm,  both  in  front  and 
behind,  d,  The  Ulnar  nerve  arises  from  the  inner  cord, 
passes  through  the  upper  arm,  and  enters  the  forearm  be- 
tween the  inner  condyle  and  olecranon,  where  it  supplies 
the  elbow  joint.  Here  it  may  easily  be  compressed,  when 
a  pricking  sensation  is  experienced  in  the  course  of  its  dis- 
tribution. In  this  spot  it  is  popularly  called  the  "  funny 
bone."  In  the  forearm  the  ulnar  nerve  supplies  the  flexor 
carpi  ulnaris  and  inner  part  of  the  flexor  profundus  digi- 
tonmi  muscles.  In  the  hand  it  supplies  the  muscles  of  the 
ball  of  the  Little  finger,  the  two  inner  lumbricales,  the  inter- 
ossei  muscles,  and  the  adductor  and  deep  part  of  the  short 
flexor  of  the  thumb.  It  also  supplies  a  dorsal  cutaneous 
branch  to  the  back  of  tho  hand,  and  the  back  of  tho  little 
and  of  the  ulnar  side  of  the  ring  digits.  Palmar  cutaneous 
branches  are  also  given  to  the  palm  and  the  palmar  aspects 
of  the  same  digits,  e,  The  Median  nerve  arises  by  two  roots, 
one  from  the  inner,  the  other  from  the  outer  cord  of  the 
plexus.  It  enters  the  forearm  in  front  of  the  elbow  joint, 
supplies,  either  directly  or  through  its  anterior  interosseous 
branch,  all  the  flexors  and  pronators,  except  thoso  supplied 
by  the  ulnar ;  is  continued  to  the  hand,  where  it  supplies 
the  abductor,  opponens,  superficial  part  of  the  short  flexor 
of  the  thumb,  and  two  outer  lumbrical  muscles.  It  also 
supplies  a  palmer  branch  to  the  skin  of  the  palm,  and  gives 
digital  cutaneous  branches  to  the  thumb,  index  atid  middle 
digits,  and  radial  side  of  the  ring  digit. 

The  Lumbar  plexus,  of  large  size,  is  situated  at  the  back 
of  the  abdominal  cavity  in  the  region  of  the  loins,  and  is 
formed  by  the  four  upper  lumbar  nerves,  which  form  a 
series  of  loop-like  interlacements  in  front  of  the  transverse 
processes  of  the  lumbar  vertebrae.  It  gives  origin  to  com- 
municating, muscular,  cutaneous,  and  mixed  branches. 
The  Communicating  branches  join  the  four  upper  lumbar 
ganglia  of  the  sympathetic  system.  The  Muscular 
branches  supply  the  quadratua  lumborum  muscle,  and 
give  branches  to  the  psoas.  The  Cutaneous  branches  are 
named — a,  Ilio-hypogastric,  which  gives  an  iliac  branch  to 
the  skin  of  the  buttock,  and  a  hypogastric  branch  to  the 
okin  of   the   abdomen   abova   the   pubio   symphysis;    V 


VOL.  I. 


ANATOMY 

Waves  of  t/u.  FaJo  and,  Tfumai 


PLATE  XYLT. 


CKCYCIOP^DIA    BRITAJIHICA.  NINTH    EDITIOH. 


SYSTEM.] 


A  N  A  T  0  U   1 


ms 


Ilioinguinal,  which  supplies  the  skin  of  the  groin;  this 
nerve  is  by  some  said  to  send  a  branch  to  the  internal 
oblique  muscle ;  c,  External  Cutaneous,  which  supplies  the 
skin  on  the  outer  aspect  of  the  thigh.  The  Mixed  branches 
are  as  follows  : — a,  Genito-crural,  which  supplies  the  cre- 
uiaster  muscle,  and  a  cutaneous  branch  to  the  skin  of  the 
groin,  b,  Anterior  Crural,  a  large  nerve  which  enters  the 
thigh  by  passing  behind  Poupart's  ligament,  and  supplies  the 
great  extensor  muscles  of  the  knee-joint,  and  also  the  sar- 
torius,  the  psoas-iliacus  and  the  pectineu3,  which  act  as 
flexors  of  the  hip-joint;  it  gives  off  the  following  cutaneous 
branches : — An  internal  cutaneous  to  the  skin  of  the  inner 
side,  a  middle  cutaneous  to  the  skin  of  the  middle  of  the 
front  of  the  thigh,  and  the  long  saplienous  nerve,  which 
supplies  the  skin  of  the  inner  side  of  the  knee-joint,  the 
inner  side  of  the  leg  and  the  foot,  c,  Obturator  nerve,  which 
leaves  tbo  pelvis  through  the  obturator  foramen,  and  sup- 
plies the  obturator  externus  and  adductor  muscles  of  the 
thigh,  and  sends  a  branch  to  the  pectineus;  it  also  supplies 
the  hip  and  knee  joints,  and  not  unfrequently  gives  a 
branch  to  the  skin  of  the  lower  part  of  the  inner  side  of 
the  thigh,  d,  An  Accessory  Obturator  nerve  is  sometimes 
present,  which  goes  to  the  pectineus,  to  the  hip-joint,  and 
aiju  joins  the  obturator  nerve. 


fro.  W-— Lumbar,  sacral,  and  sacro-coccygea.  plexuses.  DXII,  the  lowest  thoracic 
nerve  of  the  intercostal  series;  I.I  to  IV,  the  nerves  of  the  lumbar  plexus:  V, 
the  fifth  lumbar,  with  8,  the  lurabo-sacral  cord;  SI  to  IV,  sacral  nerves  eyine 
to  form  the  sacral  plexus;  V  and  CI,  the  aacro-coccygeal  plexus;  o,  chalo  of 
ganglia  of  the  sympathetic  system,  showing  thocommunlcatlng  branches  with 
the  spinal  nerves;  c,  the  last  of  these  ganglia,  callerl  coccygeal  gangiion.  or 
ganglion  impar;  o,  position  of  solar  plexus;  I.  ilio-hypngastric  nerve;  2.  Ilio- 
inguinal; 3,  external  cutaneous;  4,  genito-crural;  6,  anterior  crural;  6, 
obturator;  7,  superior  glutxdl. 

The  Lumbosacral  Cord  is  formed  of  the  fifth  lumbar 
nerve  and  of  a  branch  from  the  fourth  lumbar.  It  joins  the 
sacral  plexus.  Before  the  junction  it  gives  origin  to  a  com- 
municating and  a  muscular  branch.  The  Communicating 
joins  the  fifth  lumbar  ganglion  of  the  sympathetic.  The 
Muscular  branch,  named  the  superior  glutaeal  nerve,  sup- 
plies the  gluteus  medius  and  minimus  and  the  tensor  fascia? 
femoris  muscle. 

The  Sacral  plexus  is  situated  in  the  cavity  of  the  pelvis, 
»uJu  tho  largest  of  all  the  plexuses.     It  is  formed  by  the 


junction  of  the  lumbo-sacral  cord,  the  first,  second,  third, 
and  partof  the  fourth  sacral  nervcs,and  appears  as  aflattened 
mass  in  front  of  the  sacrum.  It  gives  origin  to  com- 
municating, muscular,  and  mixed  branches.  The  Com- 
municating branches  join  the  upper  sacral  ganglia  of  the 
sympathetic  system.  The  Muscular  branches  supply  the 
upper  fibres  of  the  glutaeus  maximus,  the  pyriformis, 
gemelli,  quadratus  femoris,  and  obturator  interims 
muscles.  The  Mixed  nerves  are  as  follows : — a,  l'udic, 
which  supplies  the  muscles  and  skin  of  the  external  organs 
of  generation,  b,  Small  Sciatic,  which  supplies  not  only  the 
lower  fibres  of  the  glutaeus  maximus  muscle,  but  the  skin  of 
the  buttock,  the  back  of  the  thigh,  of  the  popliteal  space, 
and  of  the  leg ;  it  also  gives  a  long  pudendal  branch  to 
the  skin  of  the  perineum,  c,  Great  Sciatic;  this  is  tho 
largest  nerve  in  the  body.  It  leaves  the  pelvis  through 
the  great  sciatic  foramen,  and  passes  down  the  back  of  the 
thigh,  when  it  divides  into  external  and  internal  popliteal 
branches.  Before  dividing  it  supplies  the  hamstring 
muscles,  and  gives  a  branch  to  the  adductor  magnus. 
The  external  popliteal  branch  gives  offsets  to  the  knee- 
joint,  passes  down  the  outer  side  of  the  leg,  supplies  the 
peronei  longus  and  brevis,  gives  off  the  communicant 
peronei  branch  to  the  skin  of  the  outer  side  of  the  back  of 
the  leg,  and  ends  as  the  external  cutaneous  nerve  for  the 
dorsum  of  the  foot  and  the  dorsal  surfaces  of  all  the  toes, 
except  the  outer  side  of  the  little  and  the  adjacent  sides  of 
the  great  and  second  toes.  The  internal  popliteal  branch 
gives  offsets  to  the  knee-joint,  and  supplies  the  communi- 
cant tibialis  nerve,  which  joins  the  communicans  peronei. 
and  forms  with  it  the  external  saphenous  nerve  that  paf  jts 
to  the  outer  side  of  the  foot  and  little  toe.  The  internal 
popliteal  also  supplies  the  muscles  of  the  calf  and  the 
popliteus  muscle,  and  is  prolonged  downwards  as  the 
posterior  tibial  nerve.  The  anterior  tibial  passes  to  tht 
front  of  the  leg,  supplies  the  tibialis  anticus,  peroneus  ter- 
tius,  and  extensor  muscles  of  the  toes,  and  terminates  as  the 
cutaneous  digital  nerve  for  the  adjacent  sides  of  the  great 
and  second  toes.  The  posterior  tibial  nerve  passes  down 
the  back  of  the  leg,  supplies  the  tibialis  posticus  and  long 
flexors  of  the  toes,  gives  off  a  cutaneous  branch  to  the 
skin  of  the  heel,  and  terminates  by  dividing  into  the 
internal  and  external  plantar  nerves.  The  internal  plantar 
nerve  supplies  the  skin  of  the  sole  and  sends  digital  branches 
to  the  skin  of  the  great,  second,  third,  and  tibial  side  of  the 
fourth  toes ;  it  also  supplies  the  abductor  pollicis,  flexor 
brevis  digitorum,  flexor  brevis  pollicis,  and  two  inner 
lumbrical  muscles.  The  external  plantar  nerve  supplies 
digital  branches  to  the  skin  of  the  little  and  fibular  sides 
of  the  fourth  toes,  and  branches  to  all  the  muscles  of  the 
sole  of  the  foot  which  are  not  supplied  by  the  internal 
plantar  nerve. 

The  Sacro-Cocrigeal  is  the  smallest  plexus  belonging  to 
the  anterior  divisions  of  the  spinal  nerves.  It  is  formed  by  a 
part  of  the  fourth  sacral,  the  fifth  sacral,  s.nd  the  coccygeal 
nerves.  It  lies  in  front  of  the  last  sacral  and  the  first  coccy- 
geal vertebras,  and  gives  origin  to  communicating,  visceral, 
muscular,  and  cutaneous  branches.  The  Communicating 
branches  join  the  lower  sacral  and  the  coccygeal  ganglia  of 
the  sympathetic  system  ;  the  Visceral  pass  to  the  pelvic 
plexus  of  the  sympathetic,  and  through  it  to  the  bladdei 
and  rectum ;  the  Muscular  to  the  levator  ani,  coccygeus, 
and  sphincter  ani  externus  muscles ;  the  Cutaneous  to  the 
skin  about  the  anus  and  tip  of  the  coccyx. 

The  Brain. — By  the  term  Brain  or  Encephalon  is 
meant  all  that  part  of  the  central  nervous  axis  which  is 
contained  within  the  cavity  of  the  skull.  It  is  divided 
into  several  parts,  named  medulla  oblongata,  pons,  cere- 
bellum, and  cerebrum.     The  medulla  oblongata  is  directly 


870 


ANATOMY 


[nervous  system  — 


continuous  with  the  spin;J  cord  through  tho  foramen 
magnum.  The  cerebellum  lies  above,  and  immediately 
•"ekmd  the  medulla  oblongata,  with  which  it  is  directly 
continuous.  The  pons  lies  above  and  in  front  of  the 
medulla,  with  which  it  is  directly  continuous.  The  cere- 
brum is  the  highest  division,  and  lies  above  both  pons  and 
cerebellum,  with  both  of  which  it  is  directly  continuous. 
Several  figures  of  the  brain  are  given  in  Plate  XVIIL 

The  Medulla  Oblongata  rests  upon  the  basi-occipitaL 
It  is  somewhat  pyramidal  in  form,  about  1^  inch  long,  and 
1  inch  broad  in  its  widest  part.  It  is  a  bilateral  organ,  and 
is  divided  into  a  right  and  a  left  half  by  shallow  anterior 
and  posterior  median  fissures,  continuous  with  the  corre- 
sponding fissures  in  the  spinal  cord ;  the  posterior  fissure 
ends  above  in  the  4th  ventricle.  Each  half  is  subdivided 
into  elongated  tracts  of  nervous  matter.  Next  to,  and 
parallel  with  the  anterior  fissure  is  the  anterior  pyramid 
(PL  XVIIL  figs.  1  and  2,  P).  This  pyramid  is  continuous 
below  with  the  cord,  and  the  place  of  continuity  is  marked 
by  the  passage  across  the-fissure  of  three  or  four  bundles  of 
nerve  fibres,  from  each  half  of  the  cord  to  the  opposite 
anterior  pyramid;  this  crossing  is  called  the  decussation,  of 
the  pyramids.  To  the  side  of  the  pyramid,  and  separated 
from  'it  by  a  faint  fissure,  is  the  olivary  fasciculus,  which 
at  its  upper  end  is  elevated  into  the  projecting  oval-shaped 
olivary  body  (PI.  XVIII.  figs.  1  and  2, 0).  Behind  the  olive, 
and  separated  from  it  by  a  faint  groove,  is  the  strong  tract 
named  rcstiform  body;  as  it  ascends  from  the  cord  it 
diverges  from  its  fellow  in  the  opposite  half  of  the  medulla 
oblongata.  By  this  divergence  the  central  part  of  the 
medulla  is  opened  up,  and  the  lower  half  of  the  cavity  of 
tho  4ih  ventricle  is  formed.  Internal  to  the  restiform  body 
is  the  posterior  pyramid,  which  is  continuous  with  the 
postero-median  column,  and  bounds  the  postero-median 
fissure.  Where  the  restiform  bodies  diverge  from  each 
other,  there  also  the  posterior  pyramids  diverge  outwards 
from  the  sides  of  the  postero-median  fissure.  At  the  upper 
part  of  the  floor  of  the  4th  ventricle  a  longitudinal  tract  of 
nerve  fibres,  the  fasciculus  teres,  ascends  on  each  side  of 
its  median  furrow  (Fig.  68,  7).  Slender  tracts  of  Derve 
fibres,  the  arciform  fibres,  arch  across  the  side  of  the  medulla 
immediately  below  the  olive ;  and  white  slender  tracts 
emerge  from  the  median  furrow  of  the  4th  ventricle,  pass 
outwards  across  its  floor,  and  form  the  striae  medullares  or 
acoustical,  the  rootsof  origin  of  the  auditory  nerve  (Fig.  68,8). 

The  medulla  oblongata,  like  the  spinal  cord,  with  which 
it  is  continuous,  consists  both  of  grey  and  white  matter. 
But  the  exterior  of  the  medulla  is  not  so  exclusively  formed 
of  white  matter  as  is  the  outer  part  of  the  cord,  for  the 
divergence  from  each  other  of  the  restiform  bodies  and 
posterior  pyramids  of  opposite  sides  opens  out  the  central 
part  of  the  medulla,  and  allows  the  grey  matter  to  become 
superficial  on  the  floor  of  the  4th  ventricle.  The  nerve 
fibres  which  enter  into  the  formation  of  the  pyramids  and 
the  other  tracts  just  described,  are  partly  continuous  below 
with  the  columns  of  the  spinal  cord,  and  are  prolonged 
upwards  either  to  tho  pons  and  cerebrum,  or  to  the  cere- 
bellum, or  they  partly  take  their  rise  in  the  medulla 
oblongata  itself  from  the  cells  of  its  grey  matter.  As  the 
medulla  is  a  bilateral  organ,  its  two  halves  are  united 
together  by  commissural  fibres,  which  cross  obliquely  its 
mesial  plane  from  one  side  to  the  other,  and  as  they  decus- 
sate in  that  plane,  they  form  a  well-marked  mesial  band 
or  raphe.  Further,  the  medulla  is  a  centre  of  origin  for 
several  pairs  of  the  more  posterior  encephalic  nerves,  and  for 
the  vase-motor  nerves.  In  the  passage  upwards  through 
the  medulla  of  the  columns  of  the  cord,  a  re-arrangement 
of  their  fibres  takes  place  ;  just  as  in  a  great  central  railway 
station,  the  rails,  which  enter  it  in  one  direction,  intersect 
And  we  rearranged  before  they  emerge  from  it  in  the  opposite 


direction.  The  fibres  of  the  posterior  median  column  of 
the  cord  are  prolonged  upwards  as  the  posterior  pyramid. 
The  fibres  of  the  posterior  column  of  the  cord  are  for  the 
most  part  prolonged  upwards  into  the  restiform  body, 
though  some  fibres  pass  to  the  front  of  the  medulla  to 
participate  in  the  decussation  of  the  anterior  pyramids. 
The  lateral  column  of  the  cord  divides  into  three  parts : 
o,  the  greater  number  of  its  fibres  pass  inwards  across  the 
anterior  median  fissure,  to  assist  in  forming  the  anterior 
pyramid  of  the  opposite  side,  so  as  to  produce  tho  decussation 
already  referred  to ;  b,  others  join  the  rcstiform  body ;  c, 
others  form  the  fasciculus  teres  situated  on  the  floor  of  tie 
4th  ventricle.  The  ante- 
rior column  of  the  cord 
also  divides  into  three 
parts :  a,  some  fibres 
form  the  arciform  fibres 
and  join  the  restiform 
body ;  b,  others  assist  in 
the  formation  of  tho 
olivary  fasciculus ;  c, 
others  are  prolonged  up- 
wards in  the  anterior 
pyramid  of  the  same 
side  (Fig.  67). 

The  anterior  pyramid 
consists  partly  of  fibres 
of  the  anterior  column 
of  the  cord  of  the  same 
side,  partly  of  decus- 
sating fibres  of  the  ante- 
rior commissure,  partly 
of  decussating  fibres 
from  the  posterior  co- 
lumns and  posterior  cor- 
nu  of  grey  matter,  but 
principally  of  the  decus- 
sating fibresof  thelateral 
column  of  the  opposite 
side  of  the  cord.  The 
fibres  of  the  anterior 
pyramid  are  prolonged 
through  the  pons  to  the 
cerebrum.  Owing  to 
the  decussation  of  the 
lateral  columns  of  the  cord  in  the  formation  of  the  pyramids, 
the  motor  nerve  fibres  from  one-half  of  the  brain  arc  trans- 
mitted to  the  opposite  side  of  the  t.ord,  so  that  injuries 
affecting  one  side  of  the  brain  occasion  paralysis  of  the 
motor  nerves  arising  from  the  opposite  half  of  the  cord. 
The  olivary  fasciculus  is  formed  partly  of  fibres  of  the 
anterior  column  of  the  same  side,  and  partly  of  fibres 
arising  from  the  grey  matter  of  the  olive.  It  is  continued 
upwards  through  the  pons  to  the  cerebrum.  The  restiform 
body  is  formed  principally  of  fibres  of  the  posterior  column 
of  the  same  side,  but  partly  of  fibres  of  the  lateral  column, 
and  also  of  the  arciform  fibres  from  the  anterior  column, 
and  from  the  grey  matter  of  the  superior  and  inferior 
olives.  As  the  restiform  body  is  continued  upwards  to 
the  cerebellum,  and  forms  its  inferior  peduncles,  the  arciform 
fibres  have  been  called  by  Solly  the  superficial  cerebellar 
fibres  of  the  medulla.  Through  the  restiform  body  the 
cerebellum  is  connected  with  the  posterior,  lateral,  and 
anterior  columns  of  the  cord  as  well  as  with  the  olivary 
nuclei  in  the  grey  matter  of  the  medulla  oblongata.  The 
posterior  pyramid  consists  of  the  posterior  median  column 
of  the  cord,  and  is  prolonged  through  the  pons  to  the 
cerebrum.  The  fasciculus  teres  is  formed  of  a  small  part 
of  the  lateral  column  of  the  cord,  and  is  also  prolonged 
through  the  pons  to  the  cerebrum. 


Fig.  67. — Diagrammatic  dissection  of  the  me- 
dulla oblongata  and  pona  to  show  the  course 
of  the  fibres,  a,  supet  ficial,  <f,  deep  transverse 
fibres  of  the  pons;  6,  6,  anterior  pyramids 
ascendiugat  t/  through  the  pons;  c,  c.olivaiy 
bodies;  ef,  olivary  fasciculus  in  the  pons; 
dy  d,  anterior  columns  of  cord;  «,  Inner  part 
of  the  right  column  Joining  the  anterior 
pyramid ;  /  the  outer  part  going  to  the 
olivary  fascicules:  ff,  lateral  column  of  cordi 
A,  the  part  which  decussntea  at  t  the  decussa- 
tion of  the  pyramids;  1,  the  part  which  joins 
the  resllfortn  body  ;  m,  that  which  forms  the 
fasciculus  teres;  n,  arciform  fibres.  1  and  2, 
sensory  and  motor  roots  of  fifth  nerre; 
3,  sixth  nerre;  4.  portlo  dura;  0,  portio 
Intermedia;  6,  portio  mollis  of  seventh  nerve; 
7,  glosso-pbaryngeal ;  8.  pneumo-gastric  ;  9, 
spinal  accessory  of  eighth  nerve  ;  10,  hypo- 
glossal nerve. 


VOL.  1. 


ANATOMY 

Tfe  Snan.  F<9  $ 


PLATE  XVIIL 


„    -     Itbres    of  Cortma,  Radiata, 
£IICYCLOP*OIA    BRHANNICA,   NINTH    EDITI0* 


BRAIN. 


A  N  A  T  0  M  Y 


^7! 


The  grey  matter  of  the  medulla  oblongata,  which  contains 
numero'is  multipolar  nerve  cells,  is  in  part  continuous  with 
the  grey  matter  of  the  Spinal  cord,  and  in  part  consists  of  in- 
dependent masses.  As  the  grey  matter  of  the  cord  enters  the 
medulla,it  loses  its  crescentic  arrangement.  The  posterior 
cornua  are  thrown  outwards  towards  the  surface,  lose  their 
pointed  form,  and  dilate  into  rounded  masses  named  the 
arey  tubercles  of  Rolando,  whilst  portions  are  prolonged 
into  both  the  posterior  pyramid  and  the  restiform  body. 
The  grey  matter  of  the  anterior  cornua  and  of  the  intermedio- 
Jateral  tracts  loses  its  continuity,  and  becomes  subdivided 
into  numerous  small  masses,  owing  to  being  traversed  by 
bundles  of  nerve  fibres,  which  give  rise  to  a  network  termed 
formatio  reticularis,  in  the  meshes  of  which  the  groups  of 
nerve  cells  are  contained.  In  the  lower  part  of  the  medulla 
a  central  canal  continuous  with  that  of  the  cord  exists,  but 
when  the  restiform  bodies  and  posterior  pyramids  on  the 
opposite  aides  of  the  medulla  diverge  from  each  other,  the 
central  canal  loses  its  posterior  boundary,  and  dilates  into 
the  cavity  of  the  4th  ventricle.  The  grey  matter  in  the 
interior  of  the  medulla  appears,  therefore,  on  the  floor  of  the 
ventricle;  that  which  corresponds  to  the  anterior  cornua 
being  situated  immediately  on  each  side  of  the  median  fur- 
row, whilst  that  which  is  continuous  with  the  grey  tubercles 
of  Rolando  and  the  posterior  cornua  is  some  distance  ex- 
ternal to  it.  This  grey  matter  forms  collections  of  nerve 
cells,_which  are  the  centres  of  origin  of  several  important 
encephalic  nerves. 

Of  the  independent  masses  of  grey  matter  of  the  medulla, 
that  which  forms  the  corpus  dcntatum  within  the  olivary 
body  is  the  most  important,  and  constitutes  the  nucleus  of 
the  inferior  olive.  It  is  folded  on  itself  in  a  zig-zag  or 
denticulated  manner,  and  forms  a  sort  of  capsule  open  on 
the  inner  aspect,  through  which  openings  a  bundle  of  nerve 
fibres  from  the  interior  of  the  capsule  proceeds.  These 
fibres  aid  in  the  formation  of  the  olivary  fasciculus,  and  as 
Deiters  and  Meynert  have  pointed  out,  in  part  arch  across  the 
mesial  plane  and  join  the  restiform  body  on  the  opposite  side, 
whilst  some  apparently  join  the  posterior  pyramid.  The 
nerve  cells  of  the  olive  are  multipolar  and  flask-shaped,  and 
in  all  probability  give  origin  to  the  nerve  fibres  proceeding 
from  the  interior  of  the  capsule.  Separated'  from  the  inner 
part  of  the  olive  by  a  layer  of  reticular  substance  is  a  smaller 
grey  mass,  called  by  Stilling  nucleus  olivaris  accessoriug. 
Crossing  the  anterior  surface  of  the  medulla  oblongata, 
immediately  below  the  pons,  in  the  majority  of  mammals 
is  a  transverse  arrangement  of  fibres  forming  the  trapezium, 
which  contains  a  grey  nucleus,  named  by  Van  der  Kolk 
the  superior  olive.  In  the  human  brain  the  trapezium  is 
concealed  by  the  lower  transverse  fibres  of  the  pons,  but  when 
sections  are  made  through  it,  as  L.  Clarke  pointed  out,  the 
grey  matter  of  the  superior  olive  can  be  seen.  Meynert 
dtates  that  its  nerve  cells  give  origin  to  some  fibres,  which 
run  straight  backwards  to  the  restiform  body  of  the  same 
side,  and  to  others  which  pass  across  the  mesial  plane  to 
;he  opposite  corpus  restiforme. 

■  The  Pons  Varolii  or  Bridge  (PL  XVHI.  figs.  1 ,  2,  3,  N) 
is  cuboidal  in  form :  its  anterior  surface  rests  upon  the 
Jorsum  selta  of  the  sphenoid,  and  is  marked  by  a  median 
longitudinal  groove ;  its  inferior  surface  receives  the  pyra- 
midal and  olivary  tracts  of  the  medulla  oblongata ;  at  its 
superior  surface  are  the  two  crura  cerebri;  each  lateral 
surface  is  in  relation  to  a  hemisphere  of  the  cerebellum, 
and  a  peduncle  passes  from  the  pons  into  the  interior  of 
each  hemisphere ;  the  posterior  surface  forms  in  part  the 
upper  portion  of  the  floor  of  the  4th  ventricle,  and  in  part 
is  in  contact  with  the  corpora  quadrigemina. 

The  pons  consists  of  white  and  grey  matter ;  the  nerve 
fibres  of  the  white  matter  pass  through  the  substance,  of 
the  nons.  cither  in  a  transverse  or  a  longitudinal  direction. 


The  transverse  fibres  go  from  one  hemisphere  of  tha 
cerebellum  to  that  of  the  opposite  side  ;  some  are  situated 
on  the  anterior  surface  of  the  pons,  and  form  its  superficial 
transverse  fibres,  whilst  others  pads  through  its  substance 
and  form,  the  deep  transverse  fibres.  The  transverse  fibres 
of  the  pons  constitute,  therefore,  the  commissural  or 
connecting  arrangement  by  which  the  two  hemispheres  of 
the  cerebellum  become  anatomically  continuous  with  each 
other.  The  longitudinal  fibres  of  the  pons  ascend  or  pass 
vertically  upwards  from  the  medulla  oblongata,  ad  consist 
of  the  fibres  of  the  anterior  pyramids,  olivary  fasciculi, 
fasciculi  teretes,  and  posterior  pyramids.  They  leave  the 
pons  by  emerging  from  its  upper  surface  as  fibres  of  the 
two  crura  cerebri.  The  pons  possesses  a  median  raphe 
continuous  with  that  of  the  medulla  oblongata,  and  formed 
like  it  by  a  decussation  of  fibres  in  the  mesial  plane. 

The  grey  matter  of  the  pons  is  scattered  irregularly 
through  its  substance,  and  appears  on  its  posterior  surface  : 
but  not  on  the  anterior  surface,  which  is  composed  exclu- 
sively of  the  superficial  transverse  fibres.  It  is  traversed 
both  by  the  longitudinal  and  deep  transverse  fibres,  which 
form  a  well-defined  formatio  reticularis.  To  a  portion  of 
grey  matter,  containing  nerve  cells  charged  with  dark 
pigment,  the  name  of  locus  cceruleus  is  applied.  The  locus 
lies  on  the  floor  of  the  4th  ventricle,  close  to  the  entrance 
to  the  aqueduct  of  Sylvius,  and  serves  as  the  origin  of  the 
sensory  root  of  the  5  th,  and  perhaps  of  the  posterior  root  of 
the  4th  cranial  nerve.  The  nerve  cells  of  the  pons  are  multi- 
polar and  stellate.  The  pons  acts  as  a  conductor  of 
impressions  through. its  nerve  fibres,  and  as  a  centre  of 
origin  of  nerve  fibres  from  nerve  cells.  Meynert  states  that 
some  of  the  fibres  of  the  crura  cerebri  end  in  the  nerve 
cells  of  the  pons,  which  cells  again  give  origin  to  fibres 
that  pass  outwards  to  the  cerebellum. 

The  Cerebellum,  Little  Brain,  or  After  Braqj  (PL 
XVIII.  fig.  2,  c),  occupies  the  inferior  pair  of  occipital  fossae, 
and,  along  with  the  pons  and  medulla  oblongata,  lies  below 
the  plane  of  the  tentorium  cerebelli.  It  consists  of  two  hemi- 
spheres or  lateral  lobes,  and  of  a  median  or  centrallobe,  which 
in  human  anatomy  is  called  the  vermiform  process.  It  is 
connected  belowwith  the  medulla  oblongata  by  the  two  resti- 
form bodies  which  form  its  inferior  peduncles,  and  above  to 
the  corpora  quadrigemina  of  the  cerebrum  by  two  bands, 
which  form  its  superior  peduncles;  whilst  the  two  hemi- 
spheres are  connected  together  by  the  transverse  fibres  of  the 
pons,  which  form  the  middle  peduncles  of  the  cerebellum. 
On  the  superior  or  tentorial  surface  of  the  cerebellum  the 
median  or  vermiform  lobe  is  a  mere  elevation,  but  on  its 
inferior  or  occipital  surface  this  lobe  forms  a  well-defined 
inferior  vermiform  process,  which  lies  at  the  bottom  of  i  deep 
fossa  or  vallecula  ;  this  fossa  is'  prolonged  to  the  posterior 
border  of  the  cerebellum,  and  forms  there  a  deep  notch 
which  separates  the  two  hemispheres  from  each  other;  in  this 
notch  the  falx  cerebelli  is  lodged.  Extending  horizontally 
backwards  from  the  middle  cerebral  peduncle,  along  the 
outer  border  of  each  hemisphere  is  the  great  horizontal 
fissure,  which  divides  the  hemisphere  into  its  tentorial  and 
occipital  surfaces.  Each  of  these  surfaces  is  again  sub- 
divided by  fissures  into  smaller  lobes,  of  which  the  most 
important  are  the  amygdala  or  tonsil,  which  forms  the 
lateral  boundary  of  the  anterior  part  of  the  vallecula,  and 
the  flocculus,  which  is  situated  immediately  behind  the 
middle  peduncle  of  the  cerebellum.  The  inferior  vermiform 
process  is  subdivided  into  a  posterior  part  or  pyramid  ;  an 
elevation  or  uvula,  situated  between  the  two  tonsils  ;  and 
an  anterior  pointed  process  or  nodule.  Stretching  between 
the  two  flocculi,  and  attached  midway  to  the  sides  of  the 
nodule,  is  a  thin,  white,  semilunar-shaped  plate  of  nervous 
matter,  called  the  posterior  medullary  velum. 

The  whole  outer  surface    of  thi  owsMlira  powaw 


872 


ANATOMY 


[nervous  system— 


characteristic  foliated  or  laminated  appearance,  due  to  ita 
subdivision. into  multitudes  of  thin  plates  or  lamellae  by 
numerous  fissures.  The  cerebellum  consists  both  of  grey 
and  white  matter.  Tho  grey  matter  forms  the  exterior  or 
cortex  of  the  lamellae,  and  passes  from  one  to  the  other 
across  the  bottoms  of  the  several  fissures.  The  white 
matter  lies  in  the  interior  of  the  organ,  and  extends  into 
the  core  of  each  lamella.  When  a  vertical  section  is  made 
through  the  organ,  the  prolongations  of  white  matter 
branching  off  into  the  interior  of  the  several  lamellae  give 
to  the  section  an  arborescent  appearance,  known  by  tho 
fanciful  nameof  arbor  vi'te(PL  XVIII.  fig.  3,c).  Independent 
massss  of  grey  matter  are,  however,  found  in  the  interior 
of  the  cerebellum.  If  the  hemisphere  be  cut  through  a 
little  to  the  outer  side  of  the  median  lobe,  a  zig-zag  arrange- 
ment of  grey  matter,  similar  in  appearance  and  structure 
to  the  nucltus  of  the  olivary  body  in  tho  medulla  oblongata, 
and  known  as  tho  corpus  dentatum  of  the  cerebellum,  is 
seen ;  it  lies  in  the  midst  of  the  white  core  of  the  hemi- 
sphere, and  encloses  white  fibres,  which  leave  the  interior 
of  the  corpus  at  its  inner  and  lower  side.  Stilling  has  de- 
scribed, in  connection  with  the  anterior  end  of  the  in- 
ferior vermiform  process,  which  projects  forwards  into  the 
valve  of  Vieussens,  and  aids  in  the  formation  of  the  roof 
of  the  4th  ventricle,  two  grey  masses,  named  roof  nuclei. 
They  possess  flask-shaped  nerve  cells  like  those  of  the 
corpus  dentatum.  The  white  matter  is  more  abundant  in 
the  hemispheres  than  in  the,  median  lobe,  and  is  for  the 
most  part  directly  continuous  with  the  fibres  of  the 
peduncles  of  tho  cerebellum.  Thus  the  rcstiform  or  inferior 
peduncles  pass  from  below  upwards  through  the  white  core, 
to  end  in  the  grey  matter  of  the  tentorial  surface  of  the 
cerebellum,  more  especially  in  that  of  the  central  lobe ;  on 
their  way  they  are  connected  both  with  the  grey  matter  of 
the  corpus  dentatum  and  of  the  roof  nuclei.  The  superior 
peduncles,  which  descend  from  the  corpora  quadrigemina  of 
tho  cerebrum,  reach  the  grey  cortical  matter,  more  especially 
»n  the  inferior  surface  of  the  cerebellum,  though  they  also 
form  connections  with  the  corpus  dentatum.  The  middle 
peduncles  form  a  large  proportion  of  the  white  core,  and 
their  fibres  terminate  in  the  grey  matter  of  the  foliated 
cortex  of  the  hemispheres.  But,  in  addition  to  these 
peduncular  fibres,  which  connect  the  cerebellum  to  other 
subdivisions  of  the  encephalon,  its  white  matter  contains 
fibres  proper  to  the  cerebellum  itself.  The  fibres  propria 
have  been  especially  described  by  Stilling  ;  some,  which  he 
nas  termed  the  median  fasciculi,  lie  near  the  mesial  plane, 
and  connect  the  grey  matter  on  the  tentorial  aspect  of  the 
middle  lobe  with  that  of  tho  inferior  vermiform  process, 
whilst  others  cross  directly  the  mesial  plane  to  unite  opposite 
and  symmetrical  regions  of  the  hemispheres.  Further,  the 
auditory  nerve  was  said  by  Fovillo  to  derive  some  of  its 
fibres  of  origin  from  the  cerebellum  ;  the  connection  of  this 
nerve  with  the  cerebellum  has  been  strongly  insisted  on  by 
Meynert,  ai/.l  this  anatomist  has  also  ascribed  a  cerebellar 
origin  to  a  portion  of  the  sensory  root  of  the  5th  cranial 
nerve. 

The  grey  matter  of  the  cortex  is  divided  into  two  well- 
defined  layers,  an  external  grey,  and  an  inner  rust  coloured 
layer  of  about  equal  thickness.  The  rust  coloured  layer  is 
distinguished  by  containing  multitudes  of  so  called  "  gran- 
ules," the  well-defined  nucleus  in  which,  as  described  by 
Strachan,  is  invested  by  a  small  quantity  of  branched 
protoplasm.  These  "granules"  are,  therefore,  minute 
stellate  cells.  Where  the  rust  coloured  layer  joins  tho 
grey  layer  the  characteristic  nerve  cells  of  the  cerebel- 
lum, named  the  corpuscles  of  Purkinje,  are  situated.  A 
slender  central  process  arising  from  each  cell  enters  the 
rust  coloured  layer,  and,  as  the  observations  of  Hadlich 
and   Koscheunikoff  show,  becomes   continuous  with   the 


axial  cylinder  of  a  medullated  nerve  fibre ;  for  the  nerve 
fibres  of  the  white  core  enter  this  layer,  divide  into  minute 
fibres,  and  ramify  amidst  the  granules.  From  the  oppo- 
site aspect  of  each  cell  two  peripheral  processes  arise, 
and  ramify  in  an  antler-like  manner  in  the  external  grey 
layer.  Obersteiner  and  Hadlich  maintain  that  the  finer 
branches  of  these  processes  curve  back  towards  the  rust 
coloured  layer,  where,  according  to  Boll,  they  form  a  net- 
work of  extreme  minuteness,  from  which  it  is  believed 
that  nerve  fibres  may  arise.  The  substratum  of  the  grey 
layer,  in  which  the  branched  processes  of  the  cells  of 
Purkinje  lie,  consists  of  a  very  delicate  neuroglia,  in  which 
scattered  corpuscles  are  imbedded ;  but,  in  the  outer  part 
of  this  layer,  delicate  supporting  connective  tissue-like 
fibres  are  also  met  with. 

Tho  Fourth  Ventricle  is  the  dilated  upper  end  of  the  ccn-  Fourth 
tral  canal  of  the  medulla  oblongata.     Its  shape  is  like  anVentricu 
heraldic  lozenge.     Its  floor  is  formed  by  the  gicy  matter  of 


Fin.  68.— Floor    of    the  fotuth  ventricle    and    adjacent  structures.    1,  pine 
gland;    2.  the  nates,  and  3,  the  testes  of  the  corpora  quadrigemina;   4,  4 
middle   peduncles,    .\  0,  superior  peduncles,  9,  9,  inferior   peduncles  of  tb» 
cerebellum;  6,  6,  valve  of  Vieussens  divided;  7.  7,  fasciculi  teretes;  8.  8,  root* 
of  the  aartlrory  nerves;  9',  corpus  dentatum;  10,  10,  posterior  pyramids;  11, 
calamus  scilptorlus. 

the  posterior  surfaces  of  the  medulla  oblongata  and  pons; 
its  roof  partly  by  the  inferior  vermiform  process  of  the  cere- 
bellum, the  nodule  of  which  projects  into  its  cavity,  and 
partly  by  a  thin  layer,  called  valve  of  Vieussens,  or  anterior 
medullary  velum ;  its  lower  lateral  boundaries,  by  the  diver- 
gent restiform  bodies  and  posterior  pyramids ;  its  upper 
lateral  boundaries,  by  the  superior  peduncles  of  the  cere- 
bellum ;  the  reflection  of  the  arachnoid  membrane  from  the 
back  of  tho  medulla  to  the  inferior  vermiform  process  closes* 
it  in  below,  but  allows  of  a  communication  between  its  cavity 
and  the  sub-arachnoid  space  ;  above,  it  communicates  with 
the  aqueduct  of  Sylvius,  which  is  tunnelled  through  the  sub- 
stance of  the  corpora  quadrigemina.  Along  the  centre  of 
the  floor  is  the  median  furrow,  which  terminates  below  in 
a  pen-shaped  form,  the  so-called  calamus  scriptorius. 
Situated  on  its  floor  are  the  fasciculi  teretes,  striae  acous- 
ticae,  and  deposits  of  grey  matter  described  in  connection 
with  the  medulla  oblongata.  Its  endothelial  lining  is  con- 
tinuous with  that  of  the  central  canaL 

The  Cerebrum  or  Great  Brain  lies  above  the  plane 
of  the  tentorium,  and  forms  much  the  largest  division  of 
the  encephalon.  It  is  customary  in  human  anatomy  to 
include  under  the  name  of  cerebrum,  not  only  the  convo- 
lutions, the  corpora  striata,  and  the  optic  thalami,  developed 
in  the  anterior  cerebral  vesicle,  but  also  the  corpora  quadri- 
gemina and  crura  cerebri  developed  in  the  middle  cerebral 
vesicle.  The  cerebrum  is  ovoid  in  shape,  and  presents 
superiorly,  anteriorly,  and  posteriorly  a  deep  median  long^u,- 


BRAIN.] 


A  In!   A  T  OBI   ^ 


873 


dinal  fissure,  which  subdivides  it  into  two  hemispheres. 
Inferiorly  there  is  a  continuity  of  structure  between  the 
two  hemispheres  across  the  mesial  plane,  and  if  the  two 
hemispheres  be  drawn  asunder  by  opening  out  the  longi- 
tudinal fissure,  a  broad  white  band,  the  corpus  callosum, 
may  be  seen  at  the  bottom  of  the  fissure  passing  across  the 
mesial  plane  from  one  hemisphere  to  the  other.  The  outer 
surface  of  each  hemisphere  is  convex,  and  adapted  in  shape 
to  the  concavity  of  the  inner  table  of  the  cranial  bones ; 
its  inner  surface,  which  bounds  the  longitudinal  fissure,  is 
flat  and  i3  separated  from  the  opposite  hemisphere  by  the 
fabx  cerebri;  its  under  surface,  where  it  rests  "on  the 
tentorium,  is  concave,  and  is  separated  by  that  membrane 
from  the  cerebellum  aad  pons.  From  the  front  of  the  pons 
two  strong  white  bands,  the  crura  cerebri  or  cerebral 
peduncles,  pass  forwards  and  upwards  to  enter  the  optic 
thalami  in  their  respective  hemispheres.  Winding  round 
the  outer  side  of  each  crus  is  a  flat  white  band,  the  optic 
tract.  These  tracts  converge  in  front,  and  join  to  form 
the  optic  commissure,  from  which  the  two  optic  nerves  arise. 
The  crura  cerebri,  optic  tracts,  and  optic  commissure  enclose 
a  lozenge  shaped  space,  which  includes — a,  a  grey  layer, 
called  pous  Tarini,  which,  from  being  perforated  by  seve- 
ral small  arteries,  is  often  called  locus  perforatus  posticus; 
b,  two  white  mammillae,  .the  corpora  albicantia  ;  c,  a  grey 
nodule,  the  tuber  cinereum,  from  which,  d,  the  infundi- 
bulum  projects  to  join  the  pituitary  body.  Immediately  in 
front  of  the  optic  commissure  is  a  grey  layer,  the  lamina 
iinerea  or  lamina  terminalis  of  the  3d  ventricle;  and 
between  the  optic  commissure  and  the  inner  end  of  each 
Sylvian  fissure  is  a  grey  spot  perforated  by  small  arteries, 
the  locus  perforatus  anticus. 

The  peripheral  part  of  each  hemisphere,  which  consists 
of  grey  matter,  exhibits  a  characteristic  folded  appearance, 
known  as  the  convolutions  or  gyri  of  the  cerebrum.  These 
•convolutions  are  separated  from  each  other  by  fissures  or 
sulci,  some  of  which  are  considered  to  subdivide  the  hemi- 
sphere into  lobes,  whilst  others  separate  the  convolutions 
in  each  lobe  from  each  other.  In  each  hemisphere  of  the 
human  brain  five  lobes  are  recognised :  the  temporo-sphe- 
noidal,  frontal,  parietal,  occipital,  and  the  central  lobe  or 
insula.  Passing  obliquely  on  the  outer  face  of  the  hemi-. 
sphere  from  before,  upwards- and  backwards,  is  the  well- 
marked  Sylvian  fissure,  which  is  the  first  to  appear  in  the 
development  of  the  hemisphere.  Below  it  lies  the  tem- 
poro-sphenoidal  lobe,  and  above  and  in  front  of  it,  the 
parietal  and  frontal  lobes.  The  frontal  lobe  is  separated 
from  the  parietal  by  the  fissure  of  Rolando,  which  extends 
on  the  outer  face  of  the.  hemisphere  from  the  longitudinal 
fissure  obliquely,  downwards  and  forwards  towards  the 
Sylvian  fissure.  About  two  inches  from  the  hinder  end 
of  the  hemisphere  is  the  parieto-occipitdl  fissure,  which, 
commencing  at  the  longitudinal  fissure,  passes  down  the 
inner  surface  of  the  hemisphere,  and  transversely  outwards 
for  a  short  distance  on  the  outer  surface  of  the  hemi- 
sphere; it  separates  the  parietal  and  occipital  lobes  from 
each  other. 

The  Temporo-Sphenoidal  Lobe  presents  on  theouter  surface 
of  the  hemisphere  three  convolutions,  arranged  in  parallel 
tiershom  above  down  wards,  and  na.medsupe7-ior,middle,and 
inferior  temporo-sphenoidal  convolutions.  The  fissure  which 
.separates  the  superior  and  middle  of  these  convolutions  is 
called  the  parallel  fissure.  The  Occipital  Lobe  also  con- 
sists from  above  downwards  of  three  parallel  convolutions, 
named  superior,  middle,  and  inferior  occipital.  The 
Frontal  Lobe  is  more  complex ;  immediately  in  front  of  the 
fissure  of  Rolando,  andforming  indeed  its  anterior  boundary, 
is  a  convolution  named  ascending  frontal,  which  ascends 
obliquely  backwards  and  upwards  from  the  Sylvian  to  the 
.longitudinal  fissure.     Springing  from  the  front  of  this  con- 

1— 2»" 


volution,  and  passing  forwards  to  the  anterior  end  of  the 
cerebrum,  are  three  convolutions,  arranged  in  parallel  tiers 
from  above  downwards,  and  named  superior,  middle,  and 
inferior  frontal  convolutions,  which  are  also  prolonged  on 
to  the  orbital  face  of  the  frontal  lobe.  The  Parietal  Lobe 
is  also  complex;  its  most  anterior  convolution,  named 
ascending  parietal,  ascends  parallel  to  and  immediately 
behind  the  fissure  of  Rolando.  Springing  from  the  upper 
end  of  the  back  of  this  convolution  is  the  postero-parietal 
convolution,vrhich,  forming  the  boundary  of  the  longitudinal 
fissure,  extends  as  far  back  as  the  parieto-occipital  fissure; 
springing  from  the  lower  end  of  the  back  of  this  convo- 
lution is  the  ,  supra  -marginal  convolution,  which  forms 
the  upper  boundary  of  the  hinder  cart  of  tho  Sylvian 


Fig.  70. 

Figs.  69  and  70.— Profile  and  vertex  views  of  cerebrum.  Fr.  the  fiootal  lobct 
Par,  parietal;  Oc,  occipital ;  Ts.  temporo-sphenoidal  lobe ;  55,  Sylvian  vls<uiv  ; 
RR,  fissure  of  Rolando;  PO.  parieto-occipital  fissure;  IP,  intra -parietal  fivtan  ; 
PP.  Parallel  fissure ;  SF  and  IF,  supero- and  tnfero-frontal  fissnva;  1,1,1, 
Inferior,  2,  2,  2,  middle,  and  3,  3,  3,  superior  frontal  convolutions;  4.  4, 
ascending  frontal  convolution  ;  5,  5,  5.  ascending  parietal,  6',  pustero-parietaC 
and  6,  6.  angular  convolutions ;  A,  supra-marginal,  or  convolution  of  the  parietal 
eminence;  7,  7,  superior.  8,  8,  8,  middle,  and  9,  9,  9,  inferior  temporo- 
sphenoidal  convolutions;  10,  superior,  11,  middle,  and  12,  inferior  occipital 
convolutions;  a,  p,  y,  i,  four  annectent  convolutions. 

fissure ;  as  this  gyrus  occupies  the  hollow  in  the'  parietal 
bone,  which  corresponds  to  the  eminence,  it  may  appro- 
priately be  named  the  convolution  of  the  parietal  eminence. 
Continuous  with  the  convolution  of  the  parietal  eminence 
is  the  angular  convolution,  whichliends  round  the  posterior 
extremity  of  the  Sylvian  fissure.  Lying  in  the  parietal  lobe 
is  the  intra-parielal  fissure,  which  separates  the  convolution 
of  the  parietal   eminence  from  the  postero-parietal  con 


67* 


A  JN   A  T  O  M  Y 


NErtVOUS   SYSTEM — 


Tolution.  The  occipital  is  connected  with  the  parietal  lobe 
by  two  annedent  or  bridgirg  gyri,  which  bridge  across  the 
transverse  external  part  of  the  parieto-occipital  fissure  ;  the 


Fio.  71. — Side  view  of  the  Brain  in  the  6kuU.1 

depth  and  extent  of  this  fissure  vary  in  different  brains  in 
proportion  to  the  size  of  these  bridging  convolutions.  The 
superior  annectent  gyrus  passes  between  the  postero-parietal . 
and  the  superior  occipital  convolutions,  whilst  the  second  an- 
nectent gyrus  connects  the  middle  occipital  with  the  angular 
gyrus.  Two  annectent  gyri  also  pass  from  the  inferior  occi- 
pital convolution  to  the  lower  convolutions  of  the  temporo- 
sphenoidal"  lobe.  These  lobes  of  the  cerebrum,  though 
named  after  the  bones  which  form  the  vault  of  the  skull,  are 
not  exactly  co-terminous  with  them.  The  frontal  lobe  not 
only  lies  under  cover  of  the  frontal  bone,  but  extends  back- 
wards under  the  anterior  part  of  the  parietal ;  for  the  fissure 
of  Rolando,  which  forms  its  posterior  boundary,  lies  from 
1  £  to  2  inches  behind  the  coronal  suture.  The  occipital  lobe 
is  not  limited  to  the  upper  tabular  part  of  the  occipital 
bone,  but  extends  forwards  under  cover  of  the  posterior 
part  of  the  parietal,  for  the  parieto-occipital  fissure  lies 
about  |  inch  in  front  of  the  apex  of  the  lambdoidal  fissure. 
The  temporo-sphenoidal  lobe  not  only  lies  under  the 
squamous-temporal  and  great  wing  of  the  sphenoid,  but 
passes  upwards  under  cover  of  the  lower  part  of  the  parietal, 
for  the  Sylviaaiissure  passes  from  below  obliquely  upwards 
and  backwards  across  the  line  of  the  squamous  suture  near 
its  middle.     The  area  covered  by  the  parietal  bone  so  far, 

1  The  above  view  of  the  brain  in  situ  shows  the  relations  of  the  sur- 
face convolutions  to  the  regions  of  the  skull.  R,  fissure  of  Kolando, 
which  separates  the  frontal  from  the  parietal  lobe.  TO,  parieto-occi- 
pital fissure  between  the  parietal  and  occipital  lobes.  SS,  fissure  of 
Sylvius,  which  separates  the  temporo-sphenoidal  from  the  frontal  and 
parietal  lobes.  SF,  MF,  IF,  the  supero-,  mid-,  and  infcro-frontal  sub- 
divisions of  the  frontal  area  of  the  skull ;  the  letters  are  placed  on  the 
superior,  middle,  and  inferior  frontal  convolutions ;  the  inferior  frontal 
region  is  separated  from  the  middle  frontal  by  the  frpntal  part  of  the 
curved  line  of  the  temporal  ridge;  the  mid-  from  the supero-frontal  by 
an  antero-posterior  line  through  the  frontal  eminence.  SAP,  the  supero- 
antero-parietal  area  of  the  skull ;  S  is  placed  on  the  ascending  parietal 
convolution,  AP  on  the  ascending  frontal  convolution.  IAP,  the  infero- 
anteroparietal  area  of  the  skull;  I  is  placed  on  the  ascending  parietal,  AP 
on  the  ascending  frontal  convolution.  SPP,  the  supero-postero-parietal 
ares,  of  the  skull ;  the  letters  are  placed  on  the  angular  convolution. 
1PP,  the  infero-postero-parietal  area  of  the  skull  ;  the  letters  are  placed 
ou  the  mid-temporo-sphenoidal  convolution;  the  temporal  ridgeseparates 
the  supero-  and  infero-parietal  regions  from  each  other;  a  vertical  line 
arawn  through  the  parietal  eminence  separates  the  antero-  and  postero- 
parietal  regions.  X,  the  convolution  of  the  parietal  eminence,  or  supra- 
marginal  gyrus.  0,  the  occipital  area  of  the  skull ;  the  letter  is  placed 
on  the  mid-occipital  convolution.  Sq,  the  squamoso'iemporal  region 
of  the  skull ;  the  letters  are  placed  on  the  mid-temporo-sphenoidal  con- 
volution. AS,  the  alisphenoid  region  of  the  skull ;  the  letters  are 
placed  on  the  tip  of  the  supero-temporo-sphenoidal  convolution.  The 
black  linee  mark  the  boundaries  of  different  cranial  regions. 


then,  from  being  co-terminous  with  the  parietal  lobe  of  the 
cerebrum  is  trenched  on  anteriorly  by  the  frontal,  poste- 
riorly by  the  occipital,  and  inferiorly  by  the  temporo- 
sphenoidal  lobe.  The  convolutions  of  the  parietal  lobe 
itself  are  grouped  around  the  parietal  eminence,  and  in  the 
interval  between  it  and  the  sagittal  suture.  The  inner 
table  of  the  cranial  bones  is  an  almost  exact  mould  of  the 
convolutions  of  these  lobes  ;  but  this  is  not  so  with  the  ex- 
terior of  the  skull,  the  configuration  of  which  is  modified 
by  the  formation  of  ridges  and  processes  for  the  attachment 
of  muscles,  by  variations  in  the  thickness  of  the  diploe, 
and  by  the  development  of  the  frontal  and  mastoid  air- 
sinuses.  Hence  the  outer  surface  of  the  skull  does  not 
correspond  in  shape  to  the  outsido  of  the  brain. 

The  Central  Lobe  of  the  hemisphere,  more  usually  called 
the  insula  or  island  of  Reil.  does  rot  come  to  the  surface 
of  the  hemisphere, 
but  lies  deeply  within 
the  Sylvian  fissure, 
the  convolutions 
forming  the  margin 
of  "which  conceal  it. 
It  consists  of  four  or 
five  short  convolu- 
tions, which  radiate 
from  the  locus  per- 
forates anticus,  situ- 
ated at  the  inner 
end  of  the  fissure. 
This  lobe  is  almost 
entirely  surrounded 
by  a  deep  sulcus, 
which  insulates  it 
from  the  adjacent 
convolutions.  It  lies 
opposite  the  upper 
part  of  the  ali- 
sphenoid, where  it 
articulates  with  the 
parietal  and  •  squa- 
mous-temporal. 

Convolutions  also 
exist  on  the  inner 
surface  of  the  hemi- 
sphere, and  on  the 
under  surface  which 
rests  on  the  tento- 
rium, but  these  have 
no  relation  to  the  bones  of  the  cranial  vault.  They  may 
be  studied  in  connection  with  the  corpus  callosum  or 
great  transverse  commissure,  which  connects  the  two 
hemispheres,  and  with  certain  fissures  situated  on  theso 
surfaces  of  the  hemisphere.  The  small  convolutions  which 
lie  behind  the  internal  part  of  the  parieto-occipital  fissure 
form  the  inner  convolutions  of- the  occipital  lobe,  or  the  occi- 
pital lobule  (Fig.  73).  Those  which  lie  immediately  in  front 
of  the  same  fissure  belong  to  the  inner  face  of  the  parip* 
lobe,  and  form  the  quadrilateral  lobule.  It  is  custoraa., 
however,  to  name  the  convolution  which  extends  forwards 
from  that  fissure  along  the  margin  of  the  longitudinal 
fissure  to  the  anterior  end  of  the  hemisphere,  and  which 
then  turns  back  to  the  locus  perforatus  anticus  as  the 
marginal  convolution.  This  is  separated  by  a  fissure  called 
calloso-marginal,  from  the  callosal  convolution  or  gyrus 
fornicalus,  which,  commencing  at  the  locus  perforatus  an- 
ticus, turns  round  the  anterior  end  of  the  corpus  callosum, 
extends  parallel  to  its  upper  surface,  and  then  turns  round 
its  posterior  end.  It  is  separated  from  the  corpus  callosum 
by  the  callosal  fissure,  at  the  bottom  of  which  the  grey  matter 
of  the  gyrus  fornicatu3  termintes  in  a  well-defined  edge. 


Flo.  72— OrMtal  surface  of  the  left  frontal  lot... 
end  the  bland  of  Kell ;  the  tip  of  the  temporo- 
sphenoidal  lobe  has  been  removed  to  display  ths 
latter.  17,  convolution  of  the  margin  of  t lie  longi- 
tudinal fissure;  0,  olfactoiy  Assure,  over  which 
the  olfactory  peduncle  and  lube  are  situated ; 
Tit,  tri-radiate  Assure ;  1"  1'",  convolutions  on  tlie 
orbital  surface;  1,  1,  1, 1,  under  surface  of  Infero- 
frontal  convolution;  4,  under  surface  of  ascend- 
ing frontal,  and  6,  of  ascending  parietal  convolu- 
tions; C,  central  lobe  or  Insula. 


BRAIN.  | 


ANATOMY  875 

The  callosal  convolution  encloses  the  corpus  callosum  [  the  sunace  of  tlio  corpus  callosum  a  few  Circs  the  stria! 
ithin  the  -concavity  of  its  arch,  and  from  its  direction  is     Iwjitudiuales,  run  in  the  anteroposterior  or  longitudinal 


He.  T-i.— Convolutions  of  the  inner  and  tentorial  surfaces  of  the  left  hemi- 
sphere. •',  t,  i,  calloso-marcinal  fissure;  /,  (,  calcarine  assure;  m,  m,  hlppo- 
campal  fissure;  n,  n,  collateral  fissure;  PO,  partcto-occipital  fissure;  17,  17, 
marginal  convolution;  18,  18,  gyrus  foinicatus;  IS',  quadrilateral  lobule; 
13,  hippocampal  cyrus;  19',  its  recurved  end;  25,  occipital  lobule;  9,  9,  infe- 
rior temporo-sphenoidal  convolution. 

appropriately  called  fornicatus  (arch-shaped).  The  pos- 
terior end  of  the  callosal  convolution  curves  downwards 
and  then  forwards,  under  the  name  of  gyrus  hippocampi, 
to  the  tip  of  the  inner  surface  of  the  temporo-sphenoidal 
lobe.  This  gyrus  is  separated  anteriorly  by  a  narrow 
curved  fissure  called  hippocampal  fissure,  from  a  white 
band, 'the  taenia  hippocampi,  which  band  possesses  a  free 
curved  border,  round  which  the  pis.  mater  and  choroidal 
artery  enter  the  lateral  ventricle  through  the  great  transverse 
fissure  of  the  cerebrum.  The  hippocampal  fissure  is  con- 
tinuous round  the  posterior  end  of  the  corpus  callosum 
with  the  callosal  fissure,  and  at  the  bottom  of  the  hippo- 
campal fissure  the  grey  matter  of  the  gyrus  hippocampi 
terminates  in  a  well-defined  dentated  border  (fascia  den- 
tata).  The  hippocampal  fissure  on  this  surface  of  the 
hemisphere  marks  the  position  of  an  eminence  in  the  de- 
scending cornu  of  the  ventricle  called  hippocampus  major. 
The  gyrus  hippocampi  is  separated  posteriorly  from  the 
adjacent  temporo-sphenoidal  convolution  by  a  fissure,  named 
collateral,  which  marks  the  position  on  this  surface  of  the 
hemisphere  of  the  collateral  eminence  in  the  interior  of  the 
ventricle.  From  the  lower  end  of  the  parieto-occipital 
fissure  an  offshoot,  called  the  calcarine  fissure,  passes  almost 
horizontally  backwards  in  the  occipital  lobe,  which  fissure 
marks  on  this  surface  of  the  hemisphere  the  eminence  named 
calcar  avis,  or  hippocampus  minor,  in  the  posterior  cornu  of 
the  ventricle. 

If  a  horizontal  slice  be  removed  from  the  upper  part  of 
each  hemisphere,  the  peripheral  grey  matter  of  the  convo- 
lutions will  be  seen  to  follow  their  various  windings,  whilst 
the  core  of  each  convolution  consists  of  white  matter  con- 
tinuous with  a  mass  of  white  matter  in  the  interior  of  the 
hemisphere.  If  a  deeper  slice  be  now  made  down  to  the 
plane  of  the  corpus  callosum,  the  white  matter  of  that 
structure  will  be  seen  to  be  continuous  with  the  white 
centre  of  each  hemisphere.  The  corpus  callosum  doe3  not 
equal  the  hemispheres  in  length,  but  approaches  nearer  to 
their  anterior  than  their  posterior  ends  (PI.  XVIII.  fig.  3, 
B.)  It  terminates  behind  in  a  free  rounded  end,  whilst  in 
front  it  forms  a  knee-shaped  bend,  and  passes  downwards 
and  backwards  as  far  as  the  lamina  cinerea.  If  the  dissec- 
tion be  performed  on  a  brain  which  has  been  hardened  in 
spirit,  the  corpus  callosum  is  seen  to  consist  almost  entirely 
of  bundles  of  nerve  fibres,  passing  transversely  across  the 
mesial  plane  between  the  two  hemispheres  ;  these  fibres 
may  be  traced  into  the  white  cores  and  grey  matter  of  the 
convolutions,  and  apparently  connect  the  corresponding 
convolutions  in  the  opposite  hemispheres.  Hence  the 
corpus  callosum  is  a  connecting  or  commissural  structure, 
which  brings  the  convolutions  of  the  two  hemispheres  into 
anatomical  and  physiological  relation  with  each  other.    On 


Flo.  74.— To  show  the  right  ventricle  and  the  left  half  of  tne  corpus  caUosom 
a.  transverse  fibres,  and  6,  longitudinal  fibres  of  corpus  callosum;  c,  anteiior. 
and  d.  posterior  cornua  of  lateral  ventricle;  e,  septum  lucidum;  /,  corpus 
striatum  ;  g,  taenia  semicircular^  ;  h,  optic  thalamus;  t,  choroid  plexus;  1.  tenia 
hinpocampi;  r/i,  hippocampus  major;  n,  hippocampus  minor;  o,  eminent:*  col- 
lateralis, 

direction.  If  the  corpus  callosum  be  now  cut  through  on 
each  side  of  it3  mesial  line,  the  large  cavity  or  lateral 
ventricle  in  each  hemisphere  will  be  opened  into. 

The  lateral  ventricle  is  subdivided  into  a  central  space 
or  body,  and  three  bent  prolongations  or  cornua ;  the 
anterior  cornu  extends  forwards  and  outwards  into  the 
frontal  lobe ;  the  posterior  cornu  curves  backwards, 
outwards,  and  inwards  into  the  occipital  lobe;  the  de- 
scending cornu  curves  backwards,  outwards,  downwards, 
forwards,  and  inwards,  behind  and  below  the  optic  tha- 
lamus into  the  temporo-sphenoidal  lobe.  On  the  floor  of 
the  central  space  may  be  seen  from  before  backwards  the 
grey  upper  surface  of  the  pear-shaped  corpus  striatum,  and 
to  its  inner  and  posterior  part  »  small  portion  of  the  optic 
thalamus,  whilst  between  the  two  is  the  curved  flat  band, 
the  tamia  semicircularis.  Eestiug  on  the  upper  surface  of 
the  thalamus  is  the  vascular  fringe  of  the  velum  interposi- 
tion, named  choroid  plexus,  and  immediately  internal  to 
this  fringe  is  the  free  edge  of  the  white  posterior  pillar  of 
the  fornix.  The  anterior  cornu  has  the  anterior  end  of  tho 
corpus  striatum  projecting  into  it.  The  posterior  cornu 
has  an  elevation  on  its  floor,  the  hippocampus  minor,  and 
between  this  cornu  and  the  descending  cornu  is  the  eleva- 
tion called  eminentia  collaterals. 

Extending  down  the  descending  cornu  and  following 
its  curvature  is  the  hippocampus  major,  which  terminates 
below  in  a  nodular  end,  the  pes  hippocampi  ;  on  its  inner 
border  is  the  white  tania  hippocampi,  continuous  above 
with  the  posterior  pillar  of  the  fornix.  If  the  tenia  bo 
drawn  on  one  side  the  hippocampal  fissure  is  exposed,  at 
the  bottom  of  which  the  grey  matter  of  the  gyrus  hippo- 
campi may  be  seen  to  form  a  well-defined  dentated  border 
(the  so-called  fascia  dentata).  The  choroid  plexus  of  tho 
pia  mater  turns  round  the  gyrus  hippocampi,  and  enters  the 
descending  cornu  through  the  great  transverse  fissure  be- 
tween the  tenia  hippocampi  and  optic  thalamus.  The 
lateral  ventricle  is  lined  by   a   cylindrical   endothelium*,, 


876 


ANATOMY 


|_NERYOTJ8  system— 


which  is  in  many  parts  ciliated,  and  which  rests  on  a  layer 
of  neuroglia.  This  lining  is  continuous  through  the  fora- 
men of  Monro  •with  that  of  the  third  ventricle,  which 
egain  is  continuous  with  the  lining  of  the  fourth  ventricle 
through  the  aqueduct  of  Sylvius.  A  little  fluid  is  con- 
tained in  the  cerebral  venti  cles,  which,' under  some  patho- 
logical conditions,  may  increase  greatly  in  quantity,  so 
as  to  occasion  considerable  dilatation  of  the  ventricular 
cavities. 

If  the  corpus  callosum  be  now  divided  about  its  middle 


Pio.  75. — A  deeper  dissection  of  the  lateral  ventricle,  and  of  the  velum  Inter- 
position, a,  under  surface  of  corpus  callosum,  turner]  back ;  6,  6,  posterior 
pillars  of  the  fornix,  turned  back ;  c,  e,  anterior  pillars  of  the  fornix ;  d,  velum 
interposltum  and  veins  of  Galen;  t,  fifth  ventricle;  /,  /,  corpus  striatum; 
(7.  £7.  tsnia  eemlcircularis;  h,  A,  optic  thalamus;  A,  choroid  plexus;  /.  tsnla 
hippocampi;  m,  hippocampus  major  In  descending  cornu;  n,  hippocampus 
minir;   o,  eminenlla  collateral!!. 

oy  a  transverse  incision,  and  the  posterior  half  of  this 
structure  be  turned  back,  the  body  of  the  fornix  on  which 
the  corpus  callosum  rests  is  exposed.  If  the  anterior  half 
of  the  corpus  callosum  be  now  turned  forward,  the  grey 
partition,  or  septum  lucidur.:,  between  the  two  lateral  ventri- 
eles  is  exposed.  This  septum  fits  into  the  interval  between 
the  under  surface  of  the  corpus  callosum  and  the  upper 
surface  of  the  anterior  part  of  the  fornix.  It  consists  of 
two  layers  of  grey  matter,  between  which  is  a  narrow  ver- 
tical mesial  space,  the  fifth  ventricle.  If  the  septum  be 
now  removed,  the  anterior  part  of  the  fornix  is  brought 
into  view. 

The  fornix  or  arch  is  an  arch-shaped  band  of  nerve  fibres 
extending  in  the  antero-posterior  direction.  Its  ante- 
rior end  forms"  the  anterior  piers  or  pillars  of  the  arch,  its 
posterior  end  the  posterior  piers  or  pillars,  whilst  the  inter- 
mediate body  of  the  fornix  forms  the  summit  or  crown  of 
the  arch.  It  consists  of  two  lateral  halves,  one  belonging 
to  each  hemisphere.  At  the  summit  of  the  arch  the  two 
lateral  halves  are  conjoined  to  form  the  body;  but  in  front 
of  the  body  the  two  halves  separate  from  each  other,  and 
form  two  anterior  pillars,  which  descend  in  front  of  the 
third  ventnclj  to  the  base  of  the  cerebrum,  where  they 
form  the  corpora  c'Mcantia,  and  then  enter  the  substance 
of  the  optic  thalamus,  Behind  the  body  the  two  halves 
diverge  much  more  from  each  other,  and  form  the  posterior 
pillars;  each  of  which  curves  downwards  ind  outwards 
into  the  descending  cornu  of  the  ventricle,  and,  uiidsr  the 


name  of  tamia  hippocampi,  forms  the  free  border  of  the 
hippocampus  major.  If  the  body  of  the  fornix  be  now 
divided  by  a  transverse  incision,  its  anterior  part  thrown 
forwards,  and  its  posterior  part  backwards,  the  great  traus- 
verse  fissure  of  the  cerebrum  is  opened  into,  and  the  velum 
interpositum  lying  in  that  fissure  is  exposed. 

The  velum  interpositum  is  an  expanded  fold  of  pia  mater, 
w  hich  passes  into  the  interior  of  the  hemispheres  through 
the  great  transverse  fissure.  It  is  triangular  ia  shape;  its 
base  is  in  a  line  with  the  posterior  end  of  the  corpus  callosum, 
where  it  is  continuous  with  the  external  pia  mater ;  its 
lateral  margins  are  fringed  by  the  choroid  plexuses,  which 
are  seen  in  the  bodies  and  descending  cornua  of  the  lateral 
ventricles,  where  they  are  invested  by  the  endothelial 
lining  of  those  cavities.  Its  apex,  where  the  two  choroid 
plexuses  blend  with  each  other,  lies  just  behind  the 
anterior  pillars  of  the  fornix.  The  interval  between  the 
apex  and  these  pillars  is  the  aperture  of  communication 
between  the  two  lateral  ventricles  and  the  third,  already 
referred  to  as  the  foramen  of  Monro.  The  choroid  plexuses 
contain  the  small  choroidal  arteries,  which  supply  the  cor- 
pora striata,  optic  thalami,  and  corpora  quadrigemina;  and 
the  blood  from  these  bodies  is  returned  by  small  veins, 
which  join  to  form  the  veins  of  Galen  (Fig.  75).  These  veins 
pass  along  the  centre  of  the  velum,  and,  as  is  shown  in  Fig. 
63,  open  into  the  straight  sinus.  If  the  velum  interpositum 
be  now  carefully  raised  from  before  backwards,  the  optic 
thalami,  thif  d  ventricle,  pineal  gland,  and  corpora  quadri- 
gemina  are  exposed. 

The  optic  thalamus  is  a  large,  somewhat  ovoid  body 
situated  behind  the  corpus  striatum,  and  above  the  cms 
cerebri.  Its  upper  surface  is  partly  seen  in  the  floor  of 
the  body  of  the  lateral  ventricle,  but  is  for  the'  most  part 
covered  by  the  fornix  and  velum  interpositum.  Its  postero- 
inferior  surface  forms  the  roof  of  the  descending  cornu  of 
the  ventricle,  whilst  its  inner  surface  forms  the  side  wall 
of  the  third  ventricle.  At  its  outer  and  posterior  part  are 
two  slight  elevations,  placed  one  on  each  side  of  the  optic 
tract,  and  named  respectively  corpus  geniculatum  internum 
and  externum. 

The  third  ventricle  is  a  cavity  situated  in  the  mesial 
plane  between  the  two  optic  thalami  Its  roof  is  formed 
by  the  velum  interpositum  and  body  of  fornix;  its  floor, 
by  the  pons  Tarini,  corpora  albicantia,  tuber  cinereum, 
infundibulum,  and  optic  commissure  ;  its  anterior  bound 
ary,  by  the  anterior  pillars  of  the  fornix,  anterior  commis- 
sure, and  lamina  cinere'a  ;  its  posterior  boundary,  by  the 
corpora  quadrigemina  and  posterior  commissure.  The 
cavity  of  this  ventricle  is  of  small  size  in  the  living  head, 
for  the  inner  surfaces  of  the  two  thalami  are  connected 
together  by  intermediate  grey  matter,  named  the  middle 
or  soft  commissure;  but  in  taking  the  brain  out  of  the 
cranial  cavity  this  commissure  is  usually  more  or  less  torn 
through,  and  the  cavity  is  consequently  enlarged.  Imme- 
diately in  front  of  the  corpora  quadrigemina,  the  white 
fibres  of  the  posterior  commissure  pass  across  between  the 
two  optic  thalami.  If  the  anterior  pillars  of  the  fornix  be 
separated  from  each  other,  the  white  fibres  of  the  anterior 
commissure  may  be  seen  entering  the  two  corpora  striata. 

The  pineal  body  is  a  reddish  cone-shaped  body,  enveloped 
by  the  velum  interpositum,  and  situated  upon  the  more 
anterior  pair  of  the  corpora  quadrigemina.  From  its  broad 
anterior  end  two  white  bands,  the  peduncles  of  the  pineal 
body,  pass  forwards,  one  on  the  inner  side  of  each  optio 
thalamus.  Each  peduncle  joins,  along  with  the  taenia 
semicircularis,  the  anterior  pillar  of  the  fornix  of  its  own 
side.  In  its  structure  this  body  consists  of  a  vascular 
stroma  of  connective  tissue,  in  the  meshes  of  which 
lymphoid  cells  are  contained.  Branched  corpuscles  are 
also  found  not  unlike  nerve  cells-     Amylaceous  and  gritty 


BRAIN.] 


ANATOMY 


877 


calcareous  particles,  constituting  the  brain  sand,  are  also 
found  in  it.  Usually  it  is  hollowed  out  into  two  or  more 
email  cavities.  The  function  of  the  pineal  body  is  not 
understood,  but  both  it  and  the  pituitary  body,  which 
possess  a  certain  structural  correspondence,  are  usually 
referred  to  the  type  of  the  ductless  glands. 

The  corpora  quadrigemina  or  opdc  lobes  are  situated 
behind  and  between  the  two  optic  thalami,  and  rest  upon 
the  posterior  surface  of  the  crura  cerebri  The  division 
into  two  lateral  halves  is  marked  by  a  shallow  longitu- 
dinal fissure,  and  the  subdivision  of  each  half  into  an  an- 
terior and  a  posterior  eminence,  by  a  shallow  transverse 
fissure.  The  anterior  pair  of  eminences  are  called  nates; 
the  posterior,  testes.  From  each  testis  a  strong  white 
band,  the  superior  peduncle  of  the  cerebellum,  passes  back- 
wards to  the  cerebellum,  and  stretching  between  the  pair 
of  peduncles  is  the  valve  of  Vieussens  or  anterior  medullary 
velum.  The  corpora  quadrigemina  are  tunnelled  in  the 
antero-posterior  direction  by  the  aqueduct  of  Sylvius,  which 
opens  anteriorly  into  the  third  ventricle  immediately  below 
the  posterior  commissure,  and  posteriorly  into  the  fourth 
ventricle  under  cover  of  the  valve  of  Vieussens.  It  is 
lined  by  a  cylindrical  ciliated  endothelium. 

Internal  Structure  of  the  Cerebrum.- — The  cere- 
brum is  composed  both  of  grey  and  white  matter ,  the 
general  relations  of  these  two  forms  of  nerve  matter  to 
each  other  may  be  seen  by  making  sections  through  the 
cerebrum.  The  determination,  however,  of  their  minute 
structure,  and  of  the  relations  and  connections  of  the 
nerve  fibres  to  the  nerve  cells  is,  owing  to  the  delicacy 
of  the  organ,  one  of  the  most  difficult  departments  of  ana- 
tomical study.  Several  anatomists  have  endeavoured  to 
trace  out  the  course  of  the  nerve  fibres  in  the  organ,  and 
though  our  knowledge  is  by  no  means  complete,  yet  many 
important  facts  have  undoubtedly  been  ascertained.  These 
facts,  have  been  summarised,  and  numerous  valuable  addi- 
tions made  to  them  by  Meynert  in  a  recent  elaborate 
memoir,  which  has  been  frequently  consulted  and  made  use 
of  in  writing  the  following  description. 

The  Grey  Matter  of  the  cerebrum  is  disposed  in  three 
great  groups :  a,  The  grey  matter  of  the  cortex  of  the  hemi- 
spheres ;  6,  the  grey  matter  of  the  great  ganglia  of  the  base 
of  the  cerebrum ;  c,  the  central  grey  matter  which  forms 
the  wall  of  the  cerebral  end  of  the  cerebro-spinal  tube. 

a,  The  grey  matter  of  the  cortex  of  the  hemisphere  forms 
the  superficial  part  of  the  convolutions,  and  is  known  as 
the  great  hemispherical  ganglion,  but  in  some  localities,  as 
at  the  loci  perforati  antici  and  the  septum  lucidum,  it  has 
received  distinctive  names.  When  a  convolution  is  divided 
vertically  the  grey  matter  is  seen  to  be  confined  to  the 
surface  and  to  enclose  a  white  core.  The  grey  matter 
presents  a  laminated  appearance,  and  as  a  rule  •  consists  of 
five  or  six  layers,  which  are  composed  of  the  characteristic 
pyramidal  nerve  cells  of  the  cortex  of  the  cerebrum,  of  nerve 
fibres,  of  matrix  or  neuroglia,  and  of  blood-vessels.  The 
most  superficial  layer  consists  of  neuroglia,  in  which  nerve 
fibres  extend  parallel  to  the  surface  of  the  convolutions. 
In  the  deeper  layers  are  found  the  pyramidal  nerve  cells, 
which  lie  with  their  long  axes  vertical  to  the  surface  of 
the  convolutions,  and  which  contain  angular  nuclei.  From 
the  observations  of  Lockhart  Clarke,  Arndt,  Cleland,  and 
Meynert,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  pyramidal  nerve 
cells  vary  in  relative  size  and  in  numbers  in  the  different 
Jayers  of  the  grey  cortex,  and  that  the  largest  sized  pyra- 
midal cells  lie  in  the  third  and  fourth  layers.  L.  Clarke 
stated  that  the  cells  of  all  the  layers  of  the  posterior  or 
occipital  lobe  were  small  and  of  nearly  uniform  size,  whilst 
in  the  convolutions  anterior  to  it  numerous  cells  of  a  much 
larger  kind  were  found ;  but  though  it  is  undoubtedly  true 
that  large  pyramidal  cells  are  found  in  the  frontal  lobe  in  i 


considerable  numbers,  and  that  the  greater  number  cf  the 
cells  of  the  occipital  lobe  are  small  and  nearly  uniform  in 
size,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  recognising  in  the  occipital 
lobe  a  small  proportion  of  cells,  quite  equal  in  magnitude 
to  the  largest  cells  of  the  frontal  lobe,  interspersed  amongst 
the  smaller  pyramidal  cells.  The  nerve  fibres  which  ascend 
into  the  grey  matter  from  the  white  core  of  the  convolution 
radiate  into  its  several  layers,  and  are  apparently  continuous 
with  the  basal  axis-cylinder  processes1  of  the  nerve  cells. 
According  to  Cleland,  the  elongated  apices  of  the  cells, 
which  are  directed  to  the  surface  of  the  convolution,  are 
continuous  with  the  nerve  fibres  situated  in  the  superficial 
layer  of  horizontal  fibres.  Immediately  subjacent  to  the 
large  pyramidal  cells  numerous  small,  irregularly  shaped 
nerve  corpuscles,  like  those  of  the  internal  granule  layer  of 
the  retina,  form  the  so-called  granule  layer  of  the  grey  matter. 
Fusiform  cells,  which  give  off  lateral  processes,  are  found 
in  the  deepest  layer  of  the  grey  matter,  and  i  form  the 
claustral  layer  of  Meynert.  Gerlach  has  described  here, 
as  in  the  spinal  cord,  a  network  of  extremely  minute  nerve 
fibres,  with  which  the  branched  lateral  processes  of  the 
nerve  cells  are  apparently  continuous.  The  neuroglia  con- 
tains multitudes  of  small  rounded  corpuscles.  In  it  also 
are  found  small  stellate  cells,  provided  with  minute  branched 
processes,  which  cells,  as  Meynert  states,  are  so  pellucid, 
that  in  the  healthy  brain  they  seem  to  be  only  free  nuclei ; 
it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  these  cells  belong  to  tho 
neuroglia,  or  are  nerve  cell  elements.  The  grey  cortex  of 
the  cerebrum  is  much  more  vascular  than  the  white  matter. 
The  arteries  derived  from  the  pia  mater  pass  vertically  into 
it,  and  end  in  a  close  polygonal  network  of  capillaries ;  but 
it  is  also  traversed  by  the  arteries,  which  terminate  in  the 
capillary  network  of  supply  for  the  white  matter. 

In  the  grey  matter  of  the  cortex  of  the  occipital  lobe 
eight  layers  have  been  described  by  Clarke  and  Meynert. 
The  increase  in  number  is  due  to  the  intercalation  of  two 
additional  granule  layers,  which  coalesce  and  form  a  dis- 
tinct white  band  in  the  grey  matter,  owing,  as  Meynert 
states,  to  the  absence  of  pigment  in  the  cells  of  the  granule 
layers. 

The  grey  matter  of  the  cortex  of  the  island  of  Eeil  and 
of  the  convolutions  bounding  the  Sylvian  fissure  contains  a 
very  large  proportion  of  fusiform  cells.  They  form  the  chief 
constituent  of  the  grey  claustrum,  situated  deeper  than  the 
grey  matter  of  the  island,  and  separated  from  the  outer  part 
of  the  corpus  striatum  by  a  thin  layer  of  white  matter. 
Fusiform  cells  also  occur  abundantly  in  the  nucleus  amyg- 
dala?, a  grey  mass  situated  below  the  corpus  striatum, 
which  in  some  sections  seems  as  if  isolated,  but  in  reality 
is  continuous  with  the  grey  matter  of  the  inferior  temporo- 
sphenoidal  convolution. 

The  grey  matter  cf  the  cortex  of  the  gyrus  hippocampi 
and  of  the  hippocampus  major  is  apparently  destitute  of 
both  the  granule  and  claustral  layers  of  cells.  Its  super- 
ficial layer  has  been  named  the  nuclear  lamina,  and  contains 
small  and  scattered  nerve  corpuscles.  Next  this  lamina 
lies  the  striatum  reticulare,  in  which  the  apices  of  the 
numerous  pyramidal  cells  of  the  third  layer  branch  and 
again  unite  to  form  a  delicate  network.  Deeper  than  tne 
pyramidal  cells  is  a  thick  layer  of  so-called  "granules,' 
which  A.  B.  Stirling  recognised  some  years  ago  as  liko 
the  granules  of  the  rust  coloured  layer  of  the  cerebellum  ; 
like  them  they  consist  of  a  well-defined  nucleus  invested 
by  delicate  branched  protoplasm.  The  grey  matter  of  the 
two  layers  of  the  septum  lucidum,  though  included  be- 
tween the  corpus  callosum  and  fornix,  is  yet  in  the  same 
plane,  as  the' grey  matter  of  the  cortex  of  the  inner  surface 
of  the  hemispheres,  but  is  cut  off  from  it  by  the  develop 
ment  of  the  transverse  fibres  of  the  corpus  callosiu.\. 
The  grey  matter  of  the  locus  perforatus  anticus  contain* 


378 


ANATOMY 


[nervous  bystbx- 


clustere  of  minute  granules  and  a  compact  arrangement  of 
small  nerve  cells. 

6,  The  great  ganglia  of  the  base  of  the  cerebrum  are  the 
corpora  striata,  the  optic  thalami,  the  corpora  geniculata, 
the  corpora  quadrigemina,  and  the  locus  niger  in  each  crus 
cerebri. 

The  corpus  striatum  cerebri  consists  of  two  masses  of 
prey  matter  separated  from  each  other  by  numerous  stria; 
of  white  fibres,  which  ascend  from  below  upwards  through 
its  substance.  The  upper  mass  of  grey  matter  projects 
into  the  lateral  ventricle,  and  is  called  the  intra-',  entricular 
portion  or  nucleus  caudatus.  The  lower  extra-ventricular 
portion  or  nucleus  lenticulans  forms  the  outer  and  lower 
part  of  the  corpus  striatum,  and  is  separated  by  the 
claustrum  from  the  island  of  Reil:  Multipolar  nerve  cells 
are  found  in  both  the  caudate  and  lenticular  masses,  and  in 
the  Litter  cells  of  large  size  have  been  seen.  Tho  optic 
thalamus  forms  an  almost  continuous  mass  of  grey  matter 
traversed  by  nerve  fibres,  which  are  not,  however,  collected 
into  definite  strue.  The  nerve  cells  in  the  grey  matter  are 
both  multipolar  and  fusiform.  The  external  corpus  geni- 
culatum  consists  of  alternate  layers  of  grey  and  white 
matter,  due  to  the  zig-zag  folding  of  the  grey  matter;  the 
nerve  cells  are  multipolar,  and  contain  pigment  In  tho 
internal  corpus  geniculatum  the  cells  are  smaller  in  size 
and  fusiform.  The  grey  matter  of  the  corpora  quadrigemina 
consists  of  two  distinct  masses.  One,  the  zonular  layer, 
lies  near  the  surface,  and  contains  small  multipolar  nerve 
cells;  the  other,  the  Sylvian  or  central  layer,  lies  at  the  sides 
of  the  Sylvian  fissure  and  belongs  to  the  grey  matter  of  the 
wall  of  the  cerebro-spinal  tube,  and  serves  as  a  centre  of 
origin  for  the  roots  of  both  the  3d  and  4th  cranial  nerves. 
The  grey  matter  of  the  crus  cerebri  occupies  the  centre  of 
the  cerebral  peduncle.  Its  cells  are  multipolar,  and  contain 
dark  brown  or  black  pigment,  so  that  the  name  locus  niger 
is  applied  to  this  collection  of  nerve  cells. 

c,  The  central  grey  matter  of  the  cerebrum  is  in  series 
with  the  grey  matter  of  the  floor  of  the  4th  ventricle  and 
the  grey  matter  of  the  spinal  cord.  It  is  situated  around 
the  Sylvian  aqueduct,  and  at  the  sides  and  floor  of  the  third 
ventricle,  which  form  the  cerebral  portion  of  the  cerebro- 
spinal tube.  That  which  is  situated  in  relation  with  the 
aqueduct  of  Sylvius  forms  the  Sylvian  or  central  layer  just 
described  in  the  corpora  quadrigemina.  That  which  lies  in 
relation  to  the  third  ventricle  forms  the  middle  or  soft  com- 
missure, and  the  well-defined  grey  layer  which  covers  the 
inner  wall  of  each  optic  thalamus;  also  the  grey  masses 
situated  at  the  base  of  the  brain  between  and  in  front  of  the 
crura  cerebri,  viz.,  the  pons  Tarini,  tuber  cinereum,  lamina 
cinerea,  infundibulum,  and  the  grey  matter  of  the  pituitary 
body.  By  some  anatomists  the  grey  matter  of  the  pineal 
body  is  referred  to  the  same  category,  but  Arnold  has  pointed 
out  that  it  is  separated  by  its  peduncle  from  the  soft  com- 
missure ;  and  Meynert  is  disposed  to  regard  it  as  a  ganglion 
of  origin  of  the  tegmentum.  Both  the  pituitary  and  pineal 
bodies  contain,  besides  the  nervous  matter,  structures  of 
the  type  of  the  glands  without  ducts. 

The  White  Matter  of  the  cerebrum  consists  of  tracts  or 
fasciculi  of  nerve  fibres,  of  which — a,  some  connect  the  cere- 
brum with  the  lower  divisions  of  the  encephalon;  b,  others 
connect  the  two  hemispheres  together ;  c,  others  connect 
different  structures  in  the  same  hemisphere;  d,  others  serve 
as  root3  of  origin  for  the  more  anterior  encephalic  nerves. 

a,  The  tracts  of  fibres  which  connect  the  cerebrum'  with 
the  lower  divisions  of  the  encephalon  are  called  peduncular 
fibres.  The  largest  of  these  peduncles  are  the  two  crura 
cerebri  or  cerebral  peduncles.  Continuous  below  with  the 
longitudinal  fibres  of  the  pons  they  ascend  into  the  optic 
thalami  and  corpora  striata,  and  their  fibres  are  named  the 
peduncular  fibres.     From  the  corpora  striata  and   optic 


thalami  fibres  radiate  into  the  convolutions  of  the  lobes  ol 
the  hemisphere  and  form  the  corona  radiata.  To  some 
extent  the  fibres  of  tho  corona  are  directly  continuous  with 
those  of  the  cerebral  peduncles,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  a  larire  portion  of  the  peduncular  fibres  terminate  in 
the  grey  matter  of  the  ganglia  of  the  base  of  the  cerebrum, 
and  that  a  still  larger  number  arise  from  their  nerve  cells 
to  aid  in  the  formation  of  the  corona  radiata.  The  direct 
continuity,  therefore,  of  many  of  the  peduncular  fibres  with 
those  of  the  corona  is  broken  or  interrupted  by  the  inter- 
position of  the  cerebral  ganglia,  which  Meynert  has  named 
ganglia  of  interruption.  The  peduncular  fibres  and  those 
of  the  corona  constitute  the  cerebral  portion  of  the  projection 
system  of  fibres  of  Meynert,  a  term  devised  to  express  that 
they  conduct  upwards  to  the  grey  cortex  of  the  hemispheres 
sensory  impulses  derived  from  the  external  world,  tho 
image  of  which  is  projected  upon  the  cortex.  But  it  should 
also  not  be  forgotten  that  many  of  the  fibres  of  this  system 
conduct  motor  impulses  downwards  to  be  propagated  along 
the  motor  cranial  and  spinal  nerves.  The  peduncular  fibres 
of  the  crura  cerebri  are  arranged  in  two  groups,  named 
respectively  crusta  and  tegmentum,  which  are  separated 
from  each  other  by  the  nerve  cells  of  the  locus  niger.  The 
crusta  forms  the  superficial  or  anterior  part  of  the  crus, 
Its  fibres  are  in  greater  part  continuous  with  the  longi- 
tudinal fibres  of  the  pons  derived  from  the  anterior 
pyramids  of  the  medulla;  but  it  receives  additional  fibres 
from  the  grey  matter  of  the  locus  niger,  and  from  tho  cells 
of  the  Sylvian  layer  in  the  corpora  quadrigemina.  Some 
of  the  fibres  of  the  crusta  pass  directly  upwards  as  radiating 
fibres  to  the  grey  cortex  of  the  occipital  and  temporal  lobes, 
but  the  larger  number  terminate  in  the  nucleus  caudatus 
and  nucleus  lenticularis  of  the  corpus  striatum.  From 
these  nuclei  a  great  mass  of  fibres  radiates  into  the  cortex 
of  the  fronto-parietal  lobes,  more  especially  the  frontal,  but 
a  few  also,  bearing  the  special  name  of  stria  cornea,  pass  to 
the  grey  matter  of  the  apex  of  the  temporal  lobe  ;  fibres 
also  enter  the  convolutions  of  the  insula.  In  addition  to 
the  radiating  fibres,  the  grey  matter  of  the  corpus  striatum 
gives  origin  to  fibres  of  the  middle  root  of  the  olfactory 
peduncle,  and  to  connecting  fibres  with  the  grey  matter  of 
the  septum  lucidum.  The  tegmentum  forms  the  posterior 
or  deeper  part  of  the  crus  cerebri.  Its  fibres  are  continuous 
with  the  longitudinal  fibres  of  the  pons  derived  from  the 
olivary  fasciculi,  fasciculi  teretes,  and  posterior  pyramids 
of  the  medulla.  A  few  of  the  fibres  of  the  tegmentum 
enter  the  corpora  quadrigemina  and  corpora  geniculata,  but 
the  great  majority  enter  the  optic  thalami,  in  the  grey  matter 
of  which  many  evidently  terminate,  though  some  may  pass 
through  into  the  cortex  of  the  hemispheres  as  fibres  of  the 
corona  radiata.  But  the  grey  matter  of  the  thalamus  gives 
origin  to  numerous  radiating  fibres  :  those  which  arise  in 
its  posterior  part  radiate  into  the  occipital  and  temporal 
lobes,  whilst  those  proceeding  out  of  its  anterior  part  radiate 
into  the  frontal,  parietal,  and  temporal  lobes,  and  the  insula. 
In  the  optic  thalamus  the  fornix  arises.  Its  fibres  emerge 
from  the  under  surface  of  the  thalamus,  form  the  corpus 
albicans,  and  then  pass  backwards  as  the  upper  boundary 
of  the  great  transverse  fissure  to  end  as  the  taenia  hippo- 
campi in  the  gyrus  hippocampi ;  hence  this  convolution  has 
a  special  connection  with  the  optic  thalamus  through  the 
fornix  In  the  corpus  albicans  the  fibres  of  the  fornix  are 
arranged  in  loops,  in  the  concavities  of  which  nerve  cells 
are  situated.  The  optic  thalamus  also  gives  origin  to  the 
middle  root  of  the  optic  tract.  Owing  to  the  connections 
of  the  locus  niger,  nucleus  caudatus,  and  nucleus  lenticu- 
laris with  the  crusta,  Meynert  has  named  them  the  ganglia 
of  the  crusta;  whilst  the  optic  thalami,  corpora  quadrige- 
mina, and  geniculata  are  the  ganglia  of  the  tegmentum. 
The  comparison  of  the  human  brain  with  those  of  different 


BRAIN.] 


A  N  A  T  0  M  Y 


87& 


mammals  has  shown  that  the  development  of  the  hemi- 
spheres bears  a  direct  relation  to  the  size  of  the  crusta  and 
it3  ganglia,  whilst  the  development  of  the  hemispheres  is 
in  inverse  relation  to  the  size  of  the  tegmentum  and  its 
ganglia. 

The  superior  peduncles  of  the  cereDellum  connect  that 
organ  with  the  cerebrum.  They  arise  in  the  grey  matter 
of  the  vermiform  process,  ascend  to  the  corpora  quadri- 
gemina,  and  some  fibres  are  even  prolonged  apparently 
into  the  tegmentum,  and  through  it  doubtless  into  the  optic 
thalamus. 

b,  The  fibres  which  connect  together  the  two  hemispheres 
are  called  commissural  fibres.  The  largest  of  these  com- 
missures is  the  corpus  callosum,  which,  as  has  already  been 
described,  connects  corresponding  convolutions  in  the 
opposite  hemispheres.  As  its  fibres  lie  on  a  plane  superior 
to  those  of  the  corona  radiata,  the  two  systems  of  fibres 
intersect  with  each  other  on  their  way  to  the  convolutions. 
The  anterior  commissure,  though  often  described  as  con- 
necting the  two  corpora  striata,  yet,  as  Spurzheim  pointed 
out  half  a  century  ago,  passes  through  these  bodies  to  the 
convolutions  around  the  Sylvian  fissure,  and  gives  a  root 
of  origin  to  the  olfactory  nerve.  The  posterior  commissure 
passes  into  the  two  optic  thalami ;  some  of  its  fibres  are 
said  to  extend  into  the  tegmentum,  and  others  into  the  sub- 
stance of  the  hemisphere. 

c,  The  tracts  which  connect  different  convolutions  in  the 
same  hemisphere  are  named  arcuate  fibres,  ovfibra  propria. 
The  arcuate  fibres  are  situated  immediately  beneath  the 
inner  surface  of  the  cortex  of  the  hemispheres,  and  connect 
together  the  grey  matter  of  adjacent  convolutions.  In 
eome  localities  they  are  strongly  marked,  and  have  received 
special  names. 

The  fascicilus  uncinatus  passes  across  the  Sylvian  fissur.e, 
traverses  the  claustnim  and  amygdala,  and  connects  the 
convolutions  of  the  frontal  with  those  of  the  temporo- 
gphenoidal  lobe.  The  fillet  of  the  gyrus  fornicatus  extends 
longitudinally  in  that  convolution,  immediately  above  the 
corpus  callosum,  from  its  anterior  to  its  posterior  ends,  and 
connects  two  different  parts  of  its  grey  matter  together. 
The  longitudinal  fibres  of  the  corpus  callosumy  or  nerves 
of  Lancisi,  also  connect  the  anterior  and  posterior  ends  of 
the  callosal  convolution.  The  longitudinal  inferior  fasci- 
culus connects  the  convolutions  of  the  occipital  with  those 
of  the  temporal  lobe.  Longitudinal  fibres  lie  on  the  inner 
surface  of  the  septum  lucidum,  and  extend  into  the  gyrus 
fornicatus. 

The  corpora  quadrigemina  are  connected  with  the  optic 
thalami  by  nervous  tracts  called  brachia,  and  smaller  tracts 
also  connect  the  thalami  with  the  corpora  geniculata.  The 
peduncles  of  the  pineal  gland  connect  that  body  with  the 
fornix,  and  are  probably  continued  into  the  optic  thalamus. 
The  taenia  semicircularis  is  also  at  one  end  apparently  con- 
nected with  tho  optic  thalamus,  but  its  posterior  termination 
if.  not  well  ascertained.- 

The  great  cerebral  ganglia  and  the  central  masses  of  grey 
matter  are  centres  of  origin  for  sensori-motor  nerves.  The 
hronispherical  ganglia,  again,  are  the  parts  of  the  brain 
associated  .with  the  intellectual  processes.  The  question 
has  often  been  put,  Are  not  the  individual  convolutions 
distinct  organs,  each  endowed  with  special  properties  ?  and 
various  arguments  based  on  physiological,  pathological,  and 
anatomical  grounds  have  been  advanced  in  support  of  this 
proposition.  In  connection  with  the  anatomical  branch  of 
the  argument  it  may  be  stated  that  the  convolutions  possess, 
not  only  in  man,  but  in  all  animals  with  convoluted  brains, 
great  regularity  both  in  position  and  arrangement ;  but 
specialisation  of  form  is  not  in  itself  a  sufficient  test  of 
specialisation  of  function.  A  gain,  though  the  convolutions 
Lave  definite  forms  they  are  not  disconnected  from  each 


other,  for  the  grey  matter  form?  a  continuous  layer  over 
the  whole  surface  of  the  hemisphere.  Hence  a  group  of 
cerebral  convolutions  differs  from  a  group  of  muscles,  each 
member  of  which  is  undoubtedly  a  distinct  organ,  for  each 
muscle  is  isolated  from  those  around  it  by  a  definite  invest- 
ing sheath.  As  regards  internal  structure,  evidence  has 
already  been  given  that  all  the  convolutions  are  not  con- 
structed on  precisely  the  same  plan,  and  it  has  also  been 
pointed  out  that  the  convolutions  are  not  all  connected  in 
the  same  way  with  the  great  cerebral  ganglia.  These 
structural  modifications  unquestionably  point  to  functional 
differences  in  the  several  parts  in  which  they  are  found. 
But  further,  special  connections  through  the  arcuate  fibres 
are  established  between  certain  convolutions  and  not  be- 
tween others,  and  it  is  possible  not  only  that  particular 
combinations  of  convolutions  through  an  interchange  of 
internuncial  fibres  may  condition  a  particular  state  of 
intellectual  activity,  but  that  these  combinations  associate 
various  convolutions  together  in  the  performance  of  a  given 
intellectual  act,  just  as  in  the  muscular  system  several 
muscles  are  as  a  rule  associated  together  for  the  performance 
of  a  given  movement.  A  clue  to  the  special  functions  of 
the  convolutions  may  perhaps  be  obtained  by  studying 
their  connections,  just  as  the  action  of  the  members  of 
a  group  of  muscles  is  ascertained  by  examining  the  direc- 
tion of  their  fibres  and  the  attachment  of  their  terminal 
tendons. 

Mass  a-ND  Weight  of  the  Brain. — The  human  brain 
is  absolutely  bigger  and  heavier  than  the  brain  of  any 
animal,  except  the  elephant  and  the  larger  whales.  It  is 
also  heavier  relatively  to  the  bulk  and  weight  of  the  body 
than  are  the  brains  of  lower  animals,  except  in  some  small 
birds  and  mammals.  Considerable  variations,  however, 
exist  in  the  size  and  weight  of  the  human  brain,  not  only 
in  the  different  races  of  mankind,  but  in  individuals  of  the 
same  race  and  in  the  two  sexes.  The  heaviest  brains  occur 
in  the  white  races.  The  average  weight  of  the  aduk  Euro- 
pean male  brain  is  49  to  50  oz.,  that  of  the  adult  female 
44  to  45  oz.  ;  so  that  the  brain  of  a  man  is  on  the  average 
fully  10  per  cent,  heavier  than,  that  of  a  woman.  The 
greater  weight  of  the  brain  in  man  as  compared  with  woman 
is  not  in  relation  merely  to  his  greater  bulk,  but  is  a  funda- 
mental sexual  distinction ;  for,  whilst  there  is  a  difference 
of  1 0  per  cent,  in  the  brain  weight,  the  average  stature  of 
women  is,  as  Thurnam  has  calculated,  only  8  per  cent,  less 
than  that  of  men.  Dr  Boyd  states  that  the  average  weight 
of  the  brain  in  the  newly  born  male  infant  is  11  '67  qz.;  in 
the  female  only  10  oz.  The  exact  age  at  which  the  brain 
reaches  its  maximum  size  has  been  variously  placed  at  from 
the  3d  to  the  8th  years  by  different  authors ;  but  it  con- 
tinues to  increase  in  weight  to  25  or  30,  or  even,  40. 
After  60  the  brain  begins  to  diminish  in  weight ;  in  aged 
males  the  average  weight  is  about  45  oz.>  in  females  about 
41  oz.  In  some  cases  the  adult  brain  considerably  exceeds 
the  average  weight.  The  brains  of  several  men  distinguished 
for  their  intellectual  attainments  have  been  weighed  :  the 
brain  of  Cuvier  weighed  64 J  oz. ;  of  Dr  Abercrombie,  G3 
oz.;  of  Professor  Goodsir,  57 J  oz.;  of  Spurzheim,  55  oz. ; 
of  Sir  J.  Y.  Simpson,  54  oz.  ;  of  Agassiz,  53'4  oz. ;  and  of 
Dr  Chalmers,  53  oz.  But  high  brain  weights  have  also  been 
found  where  there  was  no  evidence  of  great  intellectual 
capacity.  Peacock  weighed  four  male  brains  which  ranged 
from  62-75  to  61  oz.;  Boyd,  a  specimen  of  6075  oz.;  and 
Turner  has  recorded  one  of  a  boy  aged  fifteen  which 
weighed  60  oz.  In  the  brains  of  the  insane  high  brain 
weights  have  also  been  observed.  Bucknill  met  with  a 
brain  in  a  male  epileptic  which  weighed  64§  oz. ;  Thurnam, 
one  which  weighed  62  oz. ;  and  in  the  West  Riding  Asylum, 
out  of  375  males  examined,  the  weight  of  the  brain  in  30 
cases  was  55  oz.  or  upwards,  and  the  highest  weights  were 


880 


ANATOMY 


[nervous  system— 


CI  oz.  in  a  case  of  senile  dementia,  60i  oz.  in  a  case  of 
dementia,  and  60  oz.  in  one  of  melancholia.  No  case  has 
as  yet  been  recorded  of  the  weight  of  the  brain  in  a  woman 
possessing  intellectual  eminence;  but  Boyd  met  with  a 
woman's  brain  as  high  as  55-25  oz.,  and  many  instances  of 
upwards  of  50  oz.  in  women  where  there  was  no  evidence  of 
high  mental  endowment.  Skae,  in  a  female  monomaniac, 
observed  a  brain  which  weighed  61i  oz.;  and  of  300 
females  examined  in  the  West  Riding  Asylum  the  weight 
of  the  brain  in  26  cases  was  50  oz.  or  upwards,  the  highest 
weights  being  56  and  55  oz.  in  two  cases  of  mania.  The 
size  and  weight  of  the  brain  do  not  therefore,  per  se,  give 
an  exact  method  of  estimating  the  intellectual  power  of  the 
individual,  and  a  high  brain  weight  and  great  intellectual 
capacity  arc  not  necessarily  correlated  with  each  other.  It 
seems  certain,  if  the  human  brain,  even  amongst  the  most 
uncultivated  peoples,  falls  below  30  oz.,  that  this  low  weight 
is  not  merely  incompatible  with  intellectual  power  and 
activity,  but  is  invariably  associated  with  idiocy  or  imbe- 
cility ;  so  that  the  human  brain  has  a  minimum  weight 
below  which  intellectual  action  is  impossible.  Amongst  the 
more  cultivated  races  the  minimum  weight-limit  of  intelli- 
gence is,  however,  in  all  probability  higher  than  30  oz.  It 
has  been  placed  by  Broca  at  32  oz.  for  the  female,  and  37  oz. 
for  the  male  brain  ;  and  Thumam's  numbers  are  almost  the 
same.  To  how  low  a  weight  the  brain  in  the  microcepha- 
lous idiot  may  fall  is  well  shown  in  a  case  recorded  by  Theile, 
where  it  weighed  only  106  oz.,  in  Gore's  case  of  10  oz.  5 
grs.,  and  in  Marshall's  case,  8 J  oz.  But  instances  are  not 
wanting  in  which  the  brains  of  idiots  have  exceeded  even 
50  oz.  Langdon  Down  observed  the  brain  of  a  male  idiot 
aged  22,  which  weighed  59 1  oz.;  and  J.  B.  Tuke  has 
recently  met  with  a  brain  of  60  oz.  in  a  male  idiot  aged  37, 
the  capacity  of  whose  cranium  was  110J  cubic  inches.  In 
the  West  Biding  Asylum  tables  the  brain  weights  in  10 
idiots  were  not  less  than  34  oz.,  and  in  5  cases  exceeded  40 
oz.  As  yet  the  opportunities  of  weighing  the  brain  in  the 
coloured  races  of  men  have  been  but  scanty.  But  from  a 
very  extensive  series  of  observations  made  by  Barnard  Davis, 
not  on  the  brains  themselves,  but  on  the  cubic  capacities  of 
crania,  from  which  an  approximate  estimate  of  the  brain 
weight  may  be  obtained  with  a  fair  measure  of  accuracy, 
the  following  facts  are  derived : — The  average  weight  of 
the  male  brain  in  the  African  races  is  45'6  oz.;  of  the 
female  brain,  427  oz. :  the  average  weight  of  the  male 
brain  in  the  Australian  races  is  42  8  oz. ;  of  the  female 
brain,  39  p2  oz.:  the  average  weight  of  the  male  brain  in 
the  Oceanic  races,  46'5  oz. ;  of  the  female  brain,  43  oz. 
The  conclusions  which  may  legitimately  be  drawn  from  an 
analysis  of  Barnard  Davis's  observations  are  as  follows  : — 
1st,  That  the  average  brain  weight  is  considerably  higher 
in  the  civilised  European  than  in  the  savage  races ;  2d, 
That  the  range  of  variation  is  much  greater  in  the  former 
than  in  the  latter ;  3d,  That  there  is  an  absence,  almost 
complete,  of  specimens  heavier  than  54  oz.  in  the  exotic 
races,  so  that  the  higher  terms  of  the  series  are  not  repre- 
sented ;  4th,  That  though  the  male  brains  are  heavier  than 
the  female,  there  is  not  the  same  amount  of  difference  in 
the  average  brain  weight  between  the  two  sexes  in  the 
uncultivated  as  in  the  cultivated  peoples. 

No  reliable  determinations  have  as  yet  been  made  of  the 
exact  proportion,  as  regards  bulk  and  weight,  which  the 
convolutions  bear  to  the  corpora  striata,  optic  thalami,  and 
corpora  quadrigemina,  but  data  are  obtainable  of  the  rela- 
tive weight  of  the  pons,  cerebellum,  and  medulla  to  the 
entire  encephalon.  Between  the  ages  of  20  and  70  the 
ratio  of  weight  of  the  pons,  cerebellum,  and  medulla,  to  the 
entire  brain,  is  as  13  to  100,  and  this  relative  weight  is 
virtually  the  same  in  both  sexes. 

Origin.   Arrangement,   and    Distribution   op  the 


Encephauo  Nerves. — Several  pairs  of  nerves,  called 
Cranial  or  Encephalic,  arise  from  the  under  surface  oi 
base  of  the  encephalon,  and  pass  outwards  through  foramina 
situated  in  the  floor  of  the  cranial  cavity.  Continental 
anatomists  usually  enumerate  twelve  pairs  of  cranial  nerves; 
but  because  in  one  locality  two  of  these  nerves  lie  together 
and  pass  through  the  same  foramen,  and  in  another  spot 
three  of  these  nerves  emerge  together  from  the  skull,  British 
anatomists  have  restricted  the  number  to  nine  pairs. 
These  nerves  are  numbered  from  before  backwards,  in  the 
order  in  which  they  are  seen  at  the  base  of  the  brain. 
The  names  applied  to  the  individual  nerves,  and  their 
numerical  designations,  according  to  both  the  Continent^} 
and  British  methods,  are  given  in  the  following  table : — 


Olfactory  Nerves, 1st 

Optic  Nerves 2d 

Oculo-motor  Nerves, 3rd 

Trochlear  Nerves, 4th 

Trifacial  or  Trigeminal  Nerves,...     5th 

Abducent  Nerves, 6th 

Facial  Nerves  (Portio  dura), 7th 

Auditory  Nerves  (Portio  mollis),      8th 

Glosso-pharyngeal  Nerves, 9th 

Pneumogastric  Nerves  (Vagus),      10th 

Spinal  Accessory  Nerves,  11th 

Hypoglossal  Nerves 12th 


pair 


II     1 


British. 
1st  pair 
2d  „ 
3rd  „ 
4th  „ 
6th  „ 
6th  „ 

7th  „ 

8th  „ 
9th  „ 


These  nerves  may  be  arranged  in  three  groups  according 
to  the  presence  or  absence  of  motor  and  sensory  fibrea 

First  group. — Sensory  nerves,  or  nerves  of  special  sense: 
a,  olfactory,  the  nerve  of  smell ;  b,  optic,  nerve  of  sight; 
c,  auditory,  nerve  of  hearing. 

Second  group.  —Motor  nerves  :  a,  oculo-motor,  the  prin- 
cipal nerve  of  supply  for  the  muscles  of  the  eyeball;  b, 
trochlear,  the  nerve  for  the  superior  oblique  muscle ;  e, 
abducent,  the  nerve  for  the  external  rectus  ;  d,  portio  dura, 
the  nerve  for  the  facial  muscles  of  expression ;  e,  spinal 
accessory,  the  nerve  which  gives  a  motor  root  to  the 
pneumogastric,  and  supplies  the  sterno-mastoid  and  tra- 
pezius muscles ;  /,  hypoglossal,  the  nerve  for  the  muscles 
of  the  tongue. 

Third  group. — Mixed  nerves  :  a,  trifacial,  distributed  to 
the  muscles  of  mastication,  the  skin  of  the  face,  various 
mucous  membranes,  and  to  the  anterior  and  lateral  surfaces 
of  the  tongue,  where  it  may  play  the  part  of  a  nerve  of  the 
special  sense  of  taste ;  b,  glosso-pharyngeal,  distributed  to 
the  mucous  membrane  of  the  pharynx,  to  certain  palato- 
pharyngeal muscles,  and  to  the  mucous  membrane  of  the 
back  of  the  tongue,  where  it  acts  as  a  nerve  of  the  special 
sense  of  taste;  c,  the  pneumogastric,  conjoined  with  the 
internal  division  of  the  spinal  accessory,  is  distributed 
to  several  muscles,  mucous  membranes,  :uid  internal 
organs. 

The  consideration  of  the  1st  group  of  cranial  nerves 
may  appropriately  be  deferred  until  the  organs  of  sense, 
in  which  they  terminate,  are  described.  The  anatomy  of 
the  motor  nerves  i3  as,  follows  : — 

The  Oculo-motor  or  third  nerve  springs  out  of  the  inner 
surface  of  the  eras  cerebri  When  its  fibres  are  traced  into 
the  cms,  some  are  seen  to  pass  to  the  nerve  cells  of  the 
locus  niger,  whilst  others  sink  into  the  corpora  quadri- 
gemina, and  extend  as  far  as  the  Sylvian  group  of  large 
nerve  cells.  The  nerve,  after  it  has  emerged  from  the 
cms,  runs  forwards  in  the  outer  wall  of  the  cavernous 
sinus,  and  enters  the  orbit  through  the  sphenoidal  fissure. 
It  supplies  the  levator  palpebrae  superioris,  the  superior, 
inferior,  and  internal  recti  muscles,  and  the  inferior  oblique. 
It  contributes  the  short  or  motor  root  to  the  ciliary  ganglion, 
and  through  it  influences  the  iris  and  ciliary  muscles  within 
the  eyeball.  It  also  communicates  with  the  cavernous 
plexus  of  the  sympathetic 


CEANIAL  NEEVE9.] 


ANATOMY 


88) 


The  Trochlearis  or  fourth,  the  smallest  cranial  nerve, 
lies  at  the  outer  side  of  the  crus  cerebri.  When  traced 
backwards  to  its  origin  it  is  seen  to  sink  into  the  valve  of 
Vieussens,  where  it3  fibres  divide  into  three  roots :  one 
decussates  across  the  valve  with  a  root  of  the  corresponding 
nerve  on  the  opposite  side;  another  passes  backwards  to 
the  locus  cseruleus;  the  third  sinks  into  the  corpora  quadri- 
gemina  and  reaches  the  Sylvian  group  of  nerve  cells,  from 
which  the  third  nerve  also  arises.  The  fourth  nerve  runs 
forward  in  the  outer  wall  of  the  cavernous  sinus,  entera 
the  orbit  through  the  sphenoidal  fissure,  and  ends  in  the 
superior  oblique  muscle.  It  also  communicates  with  the 
cavernous  plexus  of  the  sympathetic. 

The  Abducent  or  sixth  nerve  springs  out  of  the  groove 
between  the  lower  border  of  the  pons  and  the  anterior 
pyramid  of  the  medulla  oblongata.  Its  roots  sink  deeply 
into  the  pons,  and  arise  from  a  nucleus  of  grey  matter  at 
the  floor  of  the  fourth  ventricle,  common  to  it  and  the  portio 
dura.  The  sixth  nerve  runs  forward  in  the  inner  wall  of 
the  cavernous  sinus,  enters  the  orbit  through  the  sphenoidal 
fissure,  and  ends  in  the  external  rectus  muscle.  It  com- 
municates with  the  carotid  plexus  of  the  sympathetic. 

The  Portio  dura  or  motor  facial  portion  of  the  seventh 
nerve  springs  out  of  the  groove  between  the  lower  border 
of  the  pons  and  the  restiform  body.  Its  roots  sink  deeply 
into  the  pons,  and  whilst  some  of  its  fibres  arise  from  a 
grey  nucleus,  at  the  floor  of  the  fourth  ventricle,  common 
to  it  and  the  sixth  nerve,  othera  ascend  from  a  nucleus 
which,  according  to  Meynert,  lies  just  on  the  outer  side  of 
the  superior  olivary  body,  and  others  again  decussate 
across  the  median  raphe  of  the  pons.  An  accessory  por- 
tion, called  portio  intermedia,  which  is  said  to  arise  from 
tha  lateral^  columns  of  the  cord,  joins  the  portio  dura. 
The  portio  dura  enters  the  internal  auditory  meatus  in  the 
petrous-temporal  bone  along  with  the  auditory  nerve;  but 
at  the  bottom  of  the  meatus  it  leaves  that  nerve  and  enters 
the  aqueduct  of  Fallopius  along  which  it  is  conducted 
through  the  bone  to  emerge  at  the  stylo-mastoid  foramen. 
When'  in  the  aqueduct  it  forms  a  knee-shaped  bend,  and 
expands  into  a  small  ganglion,  which  is  joined  by  the 
great,  small,  and  external  petrosal  nerves,  and  through  the 
external  petrosal  it  communicates  with  the  sympathetic. 
The  portio  dura  gives  off — a,  a  minute  branch  to  the  sta- 
pedius muscle  ;  b,  the  chorda  tympani,  which,  entering  the 
tympanum,  passes  across  tha,t  cavity,  emerges  through  the 
Glaserian  fissure,  and  joins  the  lingual  branch  of  the  fifth 
nerve,  which  it  accompanies  as  far  as  the  submaxillary 
ganglion ;  it  gives  a  branch  to  the  ganglion,  and  one  to 
the  lingualis  muscle.  After  the  portio  dura  has  passed 
through  the  stylo-mastoid  foramen  it  gives  off — c,  the  poste- 
rior auricular  branch  to  the  occipital  belly  of  the  occipito- 
frontalis  and  to  the  retrahens  aurem  muscle,  and  d,  the 
digastric  branch  to  the  posterior  belly  of  the  digastric  and 
etylo-hyoid  muscles  ;  and  then  runs  forwards  through  the 
parotid  gland  to  the  face,  where  it  breaks  up  into  numerous 
(e)  facial  branches  to  supply  the  facial  muscles  of  expres- 
sion and  the  buccinator  muscle.  The  facial  is  also  the 
secretory  nerve  for  the  salivary  glands.  Through  the 
chorda  tympani  it  influences  the  secretion  of  the  submaxil- 
lary and  sublingual  glands,  and  through  the  connection 
between  its  lesser  petrosal  nerve  and  the  auriculotemporal 
in  the  otic  ganglion  it  influences  the  parotid  gland. 

The  Spinal  Accessory  is  the  lowest  division  of  the  eighth 
nerve.  It  springs  out  of  the  side  of  the  medulla  oblongata, 
and  from  the  lateral  column  of  the  cervical  part  of  the 
spinal  cord  as  low  as  the  fifth  cervical  nerve :  its  roots 
arise  from  the  intermedio-lateral  group  of  nerve  cells  in 
the  cord,  and  from  a  nucleus  of  grey  matter  in  the  floor  of 
the  fourth  ventricle.  The  spinal  fibres  of  origin  enter  the 
skull  through  the  foramen  magum,  join  the  fibres  from  the 


medulla,  and  leave  the  cranial  cavity  through  the  jugular 
foramen.  This  nerve,  purely  motor  in  function,  is  sub- 
divided into  two  parts,  an  internal  and  an  external  The 
external  passes  obliquely  outwards  across  the  side  of  the 
neck,  pierces  the  sterno-mastoid,  and  ends  in  the  trapezius, 
both  of  which  muscles  it  supplies.  The  internal  joins  the 
pneumogastric  nerve,  of  which  it  forms  the  motor  or  acces- 
sory root,  and  is  distributed  along  with  it. 

The  Hypoglossal  or  ninth  nerve  springs  out  of  the  groove 
between  the  anterior  pyramid  and  olivary  body  of  the 
medulla  oblongata,  .in  series  with  the  anterior  roots  of  the 
spinal  nerves.  Its  roots  pass  through  the  medulla  to  the 
floor  of  the  fourth  ventricle,  to  arise  from  the  nerve  cells 
in  two  nuclei  of  grey  matter  situated  close  to  the  median 
furrow.  This  grey  matter  is  in  series  with  the  anterior 
cornua  in  the  spinal  cord.  The  nerve  passes  out  of  the 
skull  through  the  anterior  condyloid  foramen,  and  arche3 
across  the  side  of  the  neck  to  the  tongue,  to  end  in  glossal 
branches  for  the  supply  of  the  intrinsic  and  extrinsic 
muscles  of  the  tongue.  It  also  gives  off — a,  the  descendens 
noni  branch,  which,  after  been  joined  by  the  communicantes 
noni  from  the  cervical  plexus,  supplies  the  omo-hyoid, 
sterno-hyoid,  and  sterno-thyroid  muscles ;  b,  the  thyro-hyoid 
branch  to  the  thyro-hyoid  muscle ;  c,  the  genio-hyoid 
branch  to  the  genio-hyoid  muscle.  It  communicates  in  the 
neck  with  the  sympathetic,  vagus,  lingual  branch  of  the 
fifth,  and  cervical  plexus. 

The  group  of  mixed  nerves  will  now  be  considered. 

The  Trifacial  or  fifth  is  the  largest  cranial  nerve.  It 
springs  by  two  distinct  roots  out  of  the  side  of  the  pons. ' 
The  smaller  or  motor  root  arises  from  the  nerve  cells  of  a 
nucleus  of  grey  matter  situated  in  the  back  of  the  pons, 
near  the  floor  of  the  upper  part  of  ■  the  fourth  ventricle. 
The  larger  or  sensory  root  has,  according  to  Meynert,  a 
complex  origin — a,  from  a  nucleus  of  grey  matter  in  tLe 
pons  to  the  outer  side  of  the  origin  of  the  motor  root ;  b, 
by  descending  fibres  which  arise  from  nerve  cells  in  tho 
substance  of  the  corpora  quadrigemina,  from  the  grey 
matter  of  the  locus  csruleus,  and  from  the  longitudinal 
fibres  of  the  pons  ;  c,  by  ascending  fibres  which  apparently 
arise  from  the  grey  tubercle  of  Rolando  ;  d,  probably  by 
fibres  which  traverse  and  embrace  the  superior  peduncle  of 
the  cerebellum.  As  the  large  sensory  root  of  the  fifth  lies 
on  the  petrous  bone  it  expands  into  the  Gasserian  ganglion, 
which  resembles  in  structure  the  ganglion  on  the  posterior 
root  of  a  spinal  nerve.  From  this  ganglion  three  largo 
branches  arise,  named  respectively  the  1st,  2d,  and  3d 
divisions  of  the  ganglion. 

The  1st  or  Ophthalmic  division  is  the  upper  sensory  nerve 
of  the  face,  and  divides  into  three  branches,  which  pass 
out  of  the  cranial  cavity  through  the  sphenoidal  fissure.  By 
its  lachrymal  branch  it  supplies  the  lachrymal  gland,  and 
the  outer  part  of  the  skin  and  conjunctiva  of  the  upper  eye- 
lid ;  by  its  frontal  branch,  the  inner  part  of  the  skin  and 
conjunctiva  of  the  upper  lid,  and  the  skin  of  the  forehead; 
by  its  oculo-nasal  branch,  it  gives  long  ciliary  nerves  to  tho 
eyeball,  and  a  nasal  nerve  to  the  mucous  membrane  of 
the  nose,  and  the  skin  of  the  side  of  the  nose.  From  the 
oculo-nasal  nerve  arises  the  long  or  sensory  root  of  the 
ciliary  ganglion,  which  lies  in  the  cavity  of  the  "orbit,  and 
which  receives  also  a  motor  root  from  the  third  nerve,  and 
a  root  from  the  sympathetic.  This  ganglion  gives  origin  to 
the  short  ciliary  nerves  for  the  eyebalL 

The  2d  or  Superior  Maxillary  division  is  the  senso  y 
ner^e  for  the  middle  part  of  the  face.  It  leaves  the  skull 
by  the  foramen  rotundum,  passes  across  the  spheno-maxillaiy 
fissure,  then  lies  in  the  canal  in  the  floor  of  the  orbit,  froffl 
which  it  smerges  on  the  face  through  the  infra-orbitT 
foramen  as  the  infra-orbital  nerve.  It  gives  off  a  small 
orbital  branch  to  a  small  part  of  the  skin  of  the'  temple. 


882 


•A  N  A  T  0  M  Y 


[.VF.RVOUS 


and  tbat  over  the  check  bone ;  denial  branches  to  {he  teeth 
in  the  upper  jaw ;  paljiebral  branches  to  the  skin  and  con- 
junctiva of  the  lower  eye-lid ;  nasal  branches  to  the  skin 
and  mucous  membrane  of  the  nose ;  labial  branches  to  the 
nkin  and  mucous  membrane  of  the  upper  lip.  It  also 
gives  off,  when  in  the  sphenomaxillary  fossa,  splieno- 
palatine  branches,  which  form  the  sensory  root  cf  the 
spheno-palatine  or  Meckel's  ganglion.  This  ganglion  receives 
a  motor  root  through  the  great  petrosal  nerve  from  the 
knee-shaped  bend  of  the  portio  dura,  and  a  sympathetic 
root  from  tho  carotid  plexus,  which  runs  along  with  the 
great  petrosal,  and  forms  with  it  the  vidian  nerve.  The 
ganglion  gives  origin  to — <i,an  orbital  branch,  which  supplies 
a  layer  of  non-striped  muscular  fibres,  described  by  H. 
Miiller  and  Turner  as  developed  in  connection  with  the 
periosteum  of  the  orbit,  where  it  covers  the  spheno-maxillary 
fissure  ;  b,  -upper  nasal  and  naso-palatint  branches  to  the 
mucous  membrane  of  the  nose  and  hard  palate ;  c,  descend- 
ing palatine  branches  to  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  hard 
and  soft  palate;  d,  pterygopalatine  to  the  mucous  mem- 
brane of  the  upper  part  of  the  pharnyx. 

The  3c?  or  Inferior  Maxillary  division  passes  out  of  the 
skull  through  the  foramen  ovale,  and  as  it  does  so  is  joined 
by  the  motor  root  of  the  5th.  By  the  junction  a  mixed 
nerve  is  formed,  which  is  the  sensory  nerve  for  the  lower 
part  of  the  face,  and  the  skin  of  the  temple,  and  the  motor 
nerve  for  the  muscles  of  mastication.  Immediately  after 
passing  through  the  foramen  this  nerve  divides  into  a 
small  and  large  division,  in  each  of  which  motor  and 
sensory  fibres  are  found.  The  small  division  supplies  motor 
masticatory  branches  to  the  massetcr,  temporal,  external, 
and  internal  pterygoid  muscles  ;  but  further  it  gives  off  a 
long  buccal  branch,  which,  though  often  described  as  the 
motor  nerve  for  the  buccinator  muscle,  is  really  a  sensory 
nerve  for  the  skin  and  mucous  membrane  of  the  cheek. 
The  sensory  nature  of  this  nerve  is  proved,  not  only  by 
physiological  and  pathological  experiments,  but  by  tracing 
its  fibres  through  the  buccinator  muscle  to  the  mucous 
membrane.  Turner  has  also  recorded  two  cases  in  which 
the  long  buccal  nerve  arose  as  a  branch  of  the  sensory 
superior  maxillary  nerve.  The  large  division  separates 
into  three  branches — a,  auriculotemporal,  which  ascends  to 
supply  the  parotid  gland,  the  skin  of  the  auricle,  external 
meatus,  and  temple,  and  the  temporo-maxillary  joint ;  6,  in- 
ferior dental,  which  enters  the  dental  canal  in  the  lower  jaw, 
and  supplies  the  lower  set  of  teeth  and  the  skin  and  mucous 
membrane  of  the  lower  lip;  it  also  gives  off  a  mylo-hyoid 
branch  to  the  mylo-hyoid  and  anterior  belly  of  the  digas- 
tric muscle;  c,  lingual  or  gustatory,  which  runs  forward 
along  the  side  of  the  tongue  to  end  in  the  filiform  and 
fungiform  papi.'loe  of  its  mucous  membrane.  The  lingual 
branches  are  sensory  nerves  of  touch,  though  some  physiolo- 
gists believe  that  they  are  also  nerves  of  taste.  Connected 
with  the  branches  of  the  inferior  maxillary  division  are 
two  small  ganglia,  which,  like  the  ciliary  and  spheno-pala- 
tine ganglia,  are  of  a  greyish  colour,  contain  nerve  cells, 
and  receive  roots  from  motor,  sensory,  and  sympathetic 
nerves.  The  submaxillary  ganglion  lies  under  cover  of  the 
mylohyoid  muscle,  and  receives  a  root  from  the  motor 
chorda  tympani  nerve,  a  root  from  the  sensory  lingual,  and 
a  sympathetic  root.  It  gives  branches  to  the  sub-maxillary 
and  sublingual  salivary  glands.  The  otic  ganglion  lies  close 
to  the  Eustachian  tube,  and  receives  a  root  from  the  mus- 
cular nerve  to  the  internal  pterygoid,  a  root  from  the 
sensory  auriculotemporal,  and  a  sympathetic  root.  It  also 
receives  the  smalt  petrosal  nerve,  by  which  it  is  connected 
to  the  knee-shaped  bend  of  the  portio  dura  and.  to  the 
glosso-pharyngeal  nerve.  It  supplies  the  tensor  tympani 
and  tensor  pulati  musclea  The  branches  of  the  three  divi- 
sions jol  the  fifth  cranial  warn,  which  uass  to  the  skin  ol 


tho  temple,  forehead,  and  face,  freely  communicate  with 
the  branches  of  the  portio  dura,  which  supply  the  muscles 
situated  in  those  regions. 

The  Glosso-plutryngeai  or  uppermost  division  of  the  eighth 
nerve  springs  out  of  the  side  of  the  medulla  oblongata 
between  the  olivary  and  restiform  bodies;  its  roots  arise 
from  two  small  masses  or  nuclei  of  grey  matter  in  the  Hoof 
of  the  4th  ventricle.  The  nerve  passes  out  of  the  skull 
through  the  jugular  foramen,  where  it  possesses  two  small 
ganglia,  named  jugular  and  petrous.  It  then  passes 
across  the  side  of  the  neck  and  gives  off  carotid  branches, 
which  run  along  the  internal  carotid  artery;  pharyngeal 
branches  to  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  pharynx;  tonsil- 
itic  branches  to  the  tonsil  ond  soft  palate;  glossal 
branches  to  the  base  of  the  tongue  and  the  circumvallate 
papilla',  which  branches  are  unquestionably  nerves  of  the 
special  sense  of  taste;  muscular  branches  to  the  stylo- 
pharyngeus  and  perhaps  the  constrictor  muscles.  Through 
the  jugular  and  petrous  ganglia  the  nerve  communicates 
with  the  vagus  and  sympathetic.  The  petrous  ganglion 
gives  off  the  tympanic  branch  or  nerve  of  Jacolison,  which 
enters  the  tympanic  cavity,  supplies  its  mucous  membrane, 
and  gives  off  three  communicating  branches — one  to  the 
sympathetic;  a  second  to  the  great  petrosal,  and  through  it 
to  the  knee-shaped  bend  of  the  facial ;  a  third  to  the  small 
petrosal,  and  through  it  to  the  otic  ganglion. 

The  Pneurnogastric  or  Vagus  is  the  middle  subdivision 
of  the  eighth  cranial  nerve.  It  springs  out  of  the  side  of  the 
medulla  oblongata,  between  the  olivary  and  restiform 
bodies ;  its  roots  arise  from  a  nucleus  of  grey  matter  in 
the  floor  of  the  4th  ventricle,  which  nucleus,  along  with 
those  for  the  glosso-pharyngeal  nerve,  is  in  series  with  the 
posterior  cornu  of  grey  matter  in  the  spinal  cord.  It  goes 
through  the  jugular  foramen,  is  joined  by  the  inner  divi- 
sion of  the  spinal  accessory  which  is  its  motor  root,  then 
passes  down  the  side  of  the  neck,  enters  the  thorax,  reaches 
the  outer  wall  of  the  cesophagus,  accompanies  that  tube 
through  the  diaphragm,  and  terminates  in  the  wall  of  the 
stomach.  The  left  nerve  lies  on  a  plane  anterior  to  the 
right :  it  crosses  in  front  of  the  arch  of  the  aorta,  and  is  dis- 
tributed to  the  anterior  wall  of  the  stomach,  whilst  the  right 
nerve  supplies  the  posterior  wall.  Each  nerve  possesses 
high  in  the  neck  two  enlargements,  named  upper  and  loiver 
ganglia.  The  branches  of  the  vagus  are  numerous  and  im- 
portant. The  upper  ganglion  gives  origin  to  the  auricular 
branch,  which  traversing  a  small  canal  in  the  petrous  tempo- 
ral bone,  is  distributed  to  the  skin  of  the  back  of  the  auricle. 
The  lower  ganglion  gives  origin  to — a,  the  pharyngeal 
branch,  which  forms  a  plexus  with  the  glosso-pharyngeal 
and  sympathetic  nerves,  from  which  the  muscles  of  the 
pharynx  are  supplied  ;  6,  the  superior  laryngeal,  which 
divides  into  ah  external  branch  to  supply  the  crico-thyroid 
muscle,  and  an  internal, which  pierces  the  thyro-hyoid  mem- 
brane, and  supplies  the  mucous  lining  of  the  larynx  and  the 
mucous  covering  of  the  epiglottis.  The  trunk  of  the  nerve 
gives  origin  to — a,  the  recurrent  laryngeal  branch,  which  on 
the  right  side  turns  round  the  subclavian  artery,  and  on  the 
left  round  the  arch  of  the  aorta,  and  ascends  to  the  larynx  to 
supply  its  intrinsic  muscles  except  the  crico-thyroid  ;  b, 
cardiac  branches,  which  arise  from  the  nerve  partly  in  tb\j 
neck  and  partly  in  the  chest,  and  join  the  great  cardiac 
plexus  for  the  heart ;  c,  pulmonary  branches,  which  arise 
in  the  chest,  pass  into  the  substance  of  the  lungs,  and  forn. 
along  with  the  sympathetic  an  anterior  plexus  in  front  of, 
and  a  posterior  plexus  behind  the  root  of  the  lung ;  d, 
esophageal  branches,  which  supply  the  coats  of  the 
cesophagus  ;  e,  gastric,  branches,  which  supply  the  coats 
of  the  stomach,  and  give  important  offshoots  to  the  great 
solar  plexus  of  the  sympathetic  situated  at  the  pit  of  the 
stomach. 


SYSTEM.] 


ANATOMY 


383 


Descriptive  Anatomy  of  the  Sympathetic  Nervous 
System. 

The  Sympathetic  Nervous  System  consists  of  a  pair  of 
gangliated  cords,  situated  one  on  each  side  of  the  spinal 
column  ;  of  three  great  gangliated  prevertebral  plexuses 
situated  in  the  thoracic  and  abdominal  cavities ;  of  nume- 
rous smaller  ganglia  lying  more  especially  in  relation  with 
the  thoracic  and  abdominal  viscera ;  of  multitudes  of  fine 
diatributory  nerves. 

Each  Gangliated  Cord  of  the  sympathetic  extends  along 
the  side  of  the  spine  from  the  base  of  the  skull  to  the 
coccyx.  In  the  neck  it  lies  in  front  of  the  transverse 
processes  of  the  vertebra? ;  in  the  thorax,  in  front  of  the 
heads  of  the  ribs  ;  in  the  abdomen,  on  the  sides  of  the  verte- 
bral bodies;  and  as  it  descends  in  front  of  the  sacrum  it 
approaches  its  fellow,  so  that  in  front  of  the  coccyx  the  two 
are  united  in  a  single  ganglion,  the  ganglion  impar  (Fig. 
C6,  c).  Each  cord  consists  of  a  number  of  ganglia  united  into 
a  continuous  cord  by  intermediate  nerves.  As  a  rule,  the 
ganglia  equal  in  number  the  vertebras  of  the  region.  Thus, 
in  the  sacral  region  there  are  five  ganglia,  in  the  lumbar 
five,  and  in  the  thorax  twelve ;  but  in  the  neck  there  are 
only  three,  named  superior,  middle,  and  inferior;  of  these 
the  superior  is  very  large,  and  represents  without  doubt 
Beveral  smaller  ganglia.  From  the  superior  cervical  ganglion 
the  cord  is  prolonged  upwards  by  an  ascending  or  cranial 
offshoot  through  the  carotid  canal  into  the  cranial  cavity, 
and  forms  a  plexus  around  the  internal  carotid  artery,  both  in 
the  carotid  canal,  named  the  carotid  plexus,  and  in  the  inner 
wall  of  the  cavernous  sinus,  named  the  cavernous  plexus. 
Through  branches  derived  either  directly  or  indirectly  from 
these  plexuses  the  sympathetic  roots  for  the  ciliary  and 
spheno-palatine  ganglia,  described  in  connection  with  the 
fifth  nerve,  are  derived. 

From  the  gangliated  cord  and  its  ascending  or  cranial 
prolongation  a  communicatiiig  and  a  distributory  series  of 
branches  are  derived. 

By  the  Communicating  branches  this  portion  of  the 
sympathetic  is  connected  with  most  of  the  cranial  and 
with  the  anterior  divisions  of  all  the  spinal  nerves,  so  as  to 
bring  the  cerebro-spinal  and  sympathetic  systems  into  close 
anatomical  and  physiological  lelation  with  each  other. 
It  is  important  also  to  observe  that  each  communicating 
branch  contains  not  only  non-medullated  nerve  fibres  from 
the  sympathetic  system  to  the  cerebro-spinal  nerves,  but 
inedullated  fibres  from  the  cerebro-spinal  to  the  sympa- 
thetic, so  that  a  double  interchange  takes  place  between 
the  two  systems.  The  cranial  prolongation  of  the  sympa- 
thetic and  the  superior  cervical  ganglion  communicate  with 
the  3d  and  4th  nerves,  the  Gasserian  ganglion  of  the  5th,  the 
6th,  the  portio  dura  of  the  7th,  the  glossopharyngeal  and 
pneumogastric  of  the  8th,  and  the  9th  cranial  nerves,  and 
with  the  anterior  divisions  of  the  four  upper  cervical  spinal 
nerves.  The  middle  cervical  ganglion  communicates  with 
the  5th  and  6th  cervical  nerves,  the  inferior  cervical  gan- 
glion with  the  7th  and  8th  cervical  nerves,  the  twelve 
thoracic  gangtia  with  the  series  of  intercostal  nerves,  the 
five  lumbar  ganglia  with  the  series  of  lumbar  spinal  nerves, 
the  sacral  and  coccygeal  ganglia  with  the  sacral  nerves  and 
the  coccygeal  nerve. 

The  Distributory  branches  of  the  gangliated  cord  are  as 
follows: — a,  Pharyngeal  branches  from  the  superior  cervical 
ganglion,  which  join  the  pharyngeal  branches  of  the  glosso- 
pharyngeal and  pneumogastric  nerves,  to  form  the  pharyn- 
geal plexus,  which  supplies  the  muscles  and  mucous 
membrane  of  the  pharynx,  b,  Articular  branches  from  the 
upper  thoracic  and  the  lumbar  ganglia  to  the  articulations 
between  the  adjacent  vertebra?,  c,  Pulmonary  branches  from 
the  3d  or  4th  thoracic  ganglia,  which  join  the  posterior 


pulmonary  plexus,  d,  Vaso-motor  branches  or  nervi  m&lles, 
which  supply  the  muscular  coat  of  the  arteries  :  those  which 
arise  from  the  cranial  prolongation  of  the  superior  cervical 
ganglion  supply  the  internal  carotid  artery  and  its  branches 
to  the  brain  and  eyeball :  those  which  arise  from  the 
superior  cervical,  ganglia  itself  supply  the  external  carotid 
artery  and  its  branches;  from  the  branch  accompanying 
the  facial  artery  the  submaxilliary  ganglion  derives  its 
sympathetic  root;  from  that  accompanying  the  middle 
meningeal  artery  the  otic  ganglion  derives  its  sympathetic 
root :  the  vaso-motor  nerves  which  arise  from  the  middle 
cervical  ganglion  supply  the  inferior  thyroid  artery,  and  pass 
to  the  thyroid  gland :  the  vaso-motor  branches  of  the  inferior 
cervical  ganglion  supply  the  vertebral  and  basilar  arteries  and 
their  several  branches,  which  pass  to  the  spinal  cord  and 
the  hinder  part  of  the  encephalon.  Vaso-motor  nerves  alad 
arise  from  the  thoracic  ganglia,  which  pass  to  the  thoracic 
aorta,  from  the  lumbar  ganglia  to  the  abdominal  aorta,  and 
from  the  sacral  ganglia  to  the  middle  sacral  artery ;  tht 
ganglion  impar  gives  branches  to  a  peculiar  vascular  struc- 
ture, named  the  coccygeal  body,  developed  in  connection 
with  the  end  of  the  middle  sacral  artery  ;  a  body  of  similar 
structure,  called  inlercarotic  body,  situated  in  the  angle  oi 
bifurcation  of  the  common  carotid  artery,  receives  branches 
from  the  superior  cervical  ganglion,  e,  Cardiac  branches 
from  the  superior,  middle,  and  inferior  cervical  and  the  1st 
thoracic  ganglia,  which  pass  into  the  thorax  to  join  the  pre- 
vertebral cardiac  plexus.  /,  Splanchnic  branches  as  follows : 
great  splanchnic  nerve,  by  the  union  of  branches  from  the 
thoracic  ganglia,  the  3d  to  the  10th  inclusive ;  it  pierces  the 
cms  of  the  diaphragm,  and  passes  to  the  prevertebral  solar 
plexus  ;  small  splanchnic  nerve,  also  to  the  solar  plexus 
from  the  10th  or  11th  thoracic  ganglia  ;  smallest  splanchnic 
nerve,  from  the  12th  thoracic  ganglion  to  the  renal  plexus. 
g,  Hypogastric  branches,  from  the  lumbar  and  sacral  ganglia 
to  the  prevertebral  hypogastric  plexus. 

The  Prevertebral  Cardiac  plexus  (PI.  XVII.  c)  is  situated  Gangliated 
at  the  base  of  the  heart,  and  is  divided  into  a  superficial  Prever- 
part,  which  lies  in  the  concavity  of  the  arch  of  the  aorta,  Jje™ae4_ 
and  a  deep  part  between  the  aorta  and  trachea.  It  receives 
the  cardiac  branches  of  the  pneumogastric  and  the  cervical 
ganglia  of  the  sympathetic.  It  contains  collections  of 
nerve  cells  and  a  dense  plexiform  arrangement  of  nervo 
fibres.  It  gives  off  branches  to  the  heart,  which  wind 
around  the  surface  of  that  organ  and  penetrate  its  muscular 
substance :  on  these  branches  minute  ganglia  are  found 
which  regulate  its  rhythmical  movements.  Through  these 
branches  and  the  cardiac  plexus  the  heart  is  brought  into 
connection  with  both  the  cerebro-spinal  and  sympathetic 
systems  of  nerves.  The  sympathetic  apparently  regulates 
its  contraction,  for  when  this  nerve  is  stimulated  the  action 
of  the  heart  is  accelerated.  The  pneumogastric  again  exer- 
cises an  inhibitory  or  restraining  influence  on  the  contrac- 
tions of  the  organ,  for  when  this  nerve  is  irritated  the 
activity  of  contraction  is  diminished,  but  when  divided  it 
is  greatly  increased.  The  cardiac  plexus  also  sends  offsets 
to  the  anterior  and  posterior  pulmonary  plexuses  for  the 
supply  of  nerves  to  the  lungs. 

The  Prevertebral  Solar  or  Epigastric  plexus  is  situated  at 
the  pit  of  the  stomach  around  the  cceliac  axis,  a  branch  of 
the  abdominal  aorta.  It  receives  the  great  and  small 
splanchnic  nerves  from  the  thoracic  ganglia  of  the  sympa- 
thetic, and  some  of  the  terminal  branches  of  the  pneumo- 
gastric nerve.  It  contains  large  collections  of  nerve  cells, 
which  form  the  two  semilunar  ganglia,  and  a  dense  plexi- 
form arrangement  of  nerve  fibres.  It  gives  origin,  either 
directly  or  indirect]},  to  numerous  plexiform  branches, 
which  accompany,  and  are  named  after,  the  abdominal 
aorta  and  its  various  branches  given  off  to  the  wall's  and 
viscera  of  the  abdomen  oroper.     In  this  manner,  not  only 


884 


A  N  A  T  O  M   V 


[oiiuANB  OV  .SC.NSK — 


do  tlie  arteries  which  supply  the  abdominal  viscera  receive 
their  vaso-motor  nerves,  h^it  the  muscular  and  mucous 
coats  of  the  stomach,  intestines,  gall  bladder,  bile  ducts, 
ureters,  and  seminal  ducts,  and  the  glandular  structures  of 
tlio  liver,  pancreas,  kidneys,  spleen,  a..d  supra-renal  cap- 
sulcs.  It  is  important  also  to  observe  that  these  plexuses 
of  distribution  not  unficquently  contain  small  ganglia, 
and  the  branches  which  supply  the  muscular  coat  of  the 
stomach  and  intestines  have  minute  microscopic  ganglia, 
with  stellate  nerve  cells  lying  amidst  them.  The  distribu- 
tion of  the  pneumogastric  nerve  to  the  stomach,  and  its 
connection  with  the  solar  plexus,  enables  that  nerve  to 
stimulate  its  peristaltic  contraction,  and,  according  to  some 
experimenters,  that  of  the  small  intestine  also ;  but  the 
precise  action  of  the  sympathetic  on  these  organs  is  still  a 
disputed  question. 

The  Prevertebral  Hypogastric  plexxis  is  situated  in  front 
of  the  last  lumbar  vertebra.  It  receives  branches  from  the 
lumbar  ganglia  of  the  sympathetic,  and  from  the  plexus 
surrounding  the  abdominal  aorta.  It  divides  into  two 
parts,  which  lie  one  on  each  side  of  the  rectum,  and  are 
called  the  pelvic  plexuses  ;  these  plexuses  are  joined  by 
branches  from  the  sacral  ganglia  of  the  sympathetic,  and 
from  the  .  3d  and  4th  sacral  spinal  nerves,  and  contain 
sinan  gangliform  collections  of  nerve  cells.  From  the 
pelvic  plexuses  numerous,  plexiform  nerves  arise,  which 
accompany  the  internal  iliac  artery  and  its  branches  to  the 
walls  and  viscera  of  the  pelvis,  and  are  named  after  them. 
These  nerves  not  only  supply  the  vaso-motor  nerves  for 
these  blood-vessels,  but  also  the  muscular  coat  and  mucous 
membrane  of  the  bladder,  rectum,  and  urethra,  besides 
the  prostate  gland  in  the  male,  and  the  \iterus  and  vagina, 
and  in  part  the  ovary,  in  the  female ;  in  connection  with 
their  distribution  to  these  viscera,  minute  ganglia  are 
found  lying  amidst  the  nerves  the  nerve  cells  in  which 
act  undoubtedly  as  centres  of  reinforcement  for  the  origin 
of  additional,  nerve  fibres. 

From  the  distribution  of  the  branches  of  the  gangliated 
cord  of  the  sympathetic,  and  of  the  gangliated  prevertebral 
plexuses,  it  will  be  seen  that  this  nerve  is  especially  related 
to  the  blood-vessels  and  to  the  viscera .  contained  within 
the  great  cavities  of  the  body.  As  the  cerebro-spinal  sys- 
tem is  engaged  in  the  supply  of  nerves  to  the  voluntary 
muscles,  the  sympathetic  is  the  medium  of  supply  for  the 
involuntary  muscular  apparatus,  both  in  the  coats  of  the 
vessels  and  in  the  walls  of  the  hollow  viscera.  But 
though  the  vaso-motor  nerves  branch  from  the  sympathetic 
ganglia,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  they  have  no  con- 
nection with  the  cerebro-spinal  system.  The  communicat- 
ing branches  between  the  sympathetic  ganglia  and  the 
anterior  divisions  of  the  spinal  nerves  establish  a  connection 
between  them  and  the  cerebro-spinal  nervous  axi3.  By 
recent  experiments,  the  tract  of  transmission  of  the  vaso- 
motor fibres  has  bceh  traced  along  with  the  anterior  roots 
of  the  spinal  nerves,  through  the  lateral  columns  of  the 
cord  to  the  medulla  oblongata,  in  which  the  vaso-motor 
nerve  centre  lies  a  little  to  one  side  of  the  mesial  plane, 
above  the  calamus  scriptorius.  In  the  distribution  of  the 
sympathetic  to  the  glandular  viscera,  not  only  is  it  im- 
portant to  attend  to  their  terminations  in  the  muscular 
coat  of  the  blond-vessels  of  the  glands,  but  the  termina- 
tion of  the  nerves  in  connection  with  the  secreting  cells 
themselves  must  be  taken  into  consideration.  The  com- 
munications between  the  cerebro-spinal  and  sympathetic 
systems,  not  only  through  the  spinal  nerves,  but  also 
through  the  pneumogastric,  are  to  be  kept  in  mind  in  con- 
nection with  the  effects  produced  by  varying  mental  con- 
ditions on  the  secretions  of  the  glands. 


Ougans  of  Sense. 

Tho  organs  of  sense  aro  the  organs  through  the  interme 
diatiou  of  which  the  mind  becomes  cognisant  of  the  appear- 
ance and  properties  of  the  various  objects  in  tho  external 
world.  These  organs  aro  severally  named  nose,  eye,  car, 
tongue,  and  skin.  For  the  excitation  and  perception  of  a 
sensation  three  sets  of  structures  are  necessary :  o,  a 
peripheral  end-organ ;  6,  a  sensor)'  nerve  ;  c,  a  central 
organ.  The  peripheral  end-organ  is  the  part  of  the  appa- 
ratus to  which  the  stimulus  necessary  for  the  production  of 
the  sensation  is  applied.  This  stimulus  causes  nervous 
impulses  to  be  propagated  from  the  end-organ  along  the 
fibres  of  the  sensory  nerve  to  the  central  organ,  in  which 
that  nerve  terminates  at  its  central  extremity.  These  ner- 
vous impulses  occasion  molecular  changes  in  the  nerve  cells" 
of  the  brain,  and  the  mind  becomes  conscious  of  a  sensation. 
The  shape  and  construction  of  each  organ  of  sense  is  adapted! 
to  the  application  of  the  stimulus  required  for  the  produc- 
tion of  the  particular  sensation  to  which  the  organ  is  sub- 
servient. Bach  organ  of  sense  possesses  its  own  character- 
istic form  of  end-organ.  The  touch  corpuscles  of  the  skin, 
the  end  bulbs  found  in  several  mucous  membranes,  and  the 
Pacinian  corpuscles,  are  the  end-organs  occurring  in  their 
several  localities;  they  have  the  peripheral  ends  of  the 
sensory  nerves  terminating  in  their  substance,  and  the 
axial  cylinder  of  the  nerve  fibre  ends  in  their  interior. 
The  rods  and  cones  of  the  retina,  the  rods  of  Corti  in 
tho  cochlea,  the  olfactory  cells  of  the  nose,  and  the  gus- 
tatory bodies  in  the  tongue,  are  the  end-organs  belong- 
ing to  their  several  organs  of  sense ;  the  sensory  nerve 
fibres  which  terminate  in  relation  with  them  have  rx>t 
yet,  however,  been  traced  into  actual  continuity  with 
their  substance.  A  stimulus,  whatever  may  be  its  nature, 
applied  to  any  organ  of  sense  can  excito  only  that  kind  of 
sensation  for  the  production  of  which  the  organ  is  subser 
vient.  Thus  a  stimulus  applied  to  the  eye,  whether  it  bo 
the  natural  stimulus  of  the  waves  of  light,  the  mechanical 
stimulus  of  a  blow,  or  an  electric  stimulus,  can  only  excite 
the  sensation  of  light.  Stimuli  applied  to  the  ear  can  only 
excito  the  sensation  of  sound,  and  in  like  manner  with  the 
other  senses.  In  studying  the  anatomy  of  tho  organs  of 
sense  the  arrangement  of  numerous  accessory  structures, 
which  assist  either  in  conducting  stimuli  or  in  modifiying 
their  effects,  the  arrangement  and  structure  of  the  peripheral 
end-organs,  and  the  origin,  course,  and  distribution  of  the 
sensorv  nerves,  will  have  to  be  considered. 

The  Nosb  or  organ  of  smell  is  a  large  cavity  situated  in  Nosti. 
the  face,  between  the  orbits,  above  the  mouth,  and  below 
the  cribriform  plate  of  the  ethmoid  bone.  It  communicates 
by  the  anterior  nares,  or  nostrils,  with  the  external  atmo- 
sphere, by  the  posterior  nares  with  the  pharynx,  and  through 
it  with  the  larynx,  trachea,  and  lungs..  It  is  the  proper 
entrance  to  the  respiratory  passage,  is  accessory  to  the  pro- 
duction of  the  voice,  aids  in  the  sense  of  taste,  and  forms 
one  of  the  most  important  features  of  the  face.  It  is  sub- 
divided into  a  right  and  a  left  chamber  by  a  vertical  mesial 
partition,  the  septum  nasi,  so  that  the  nose  is  a  double 
organ  in  the  same  sense  as  the  eyes  or  cars  are  double. 
The  walls  of  the  cavity  of  the  nose  are  formed  partly  of 
bone  and  partly  of  cartdage.  The  osseous  walls  are  referred 
to  on  page  82C.  The  cartilages  form  the  point,  tho  ala?,  and 
a  part  of  the  septum  nasi.  The  mesial  or  septal  cartilage  is 
triangular  in  shape,  and  fits  into  the  interval  between  the 
vomer,  the'iesial  plate  of  the  ethmoid,  and  the  nasal  spine 
of  the  superior  maxilla.  Anteriorly  and  inferiorly  its  border 
is  free,  projects  on  to  the  face,  and  forms  the  columna  of 
the  nose.  The  lateral  cartilages  form  the  tip  and  aire. 
On  each  side  is  an  upper  lateral  cartilage  attached  by  its 


VOL.  I. 


ANATOMY 

Organs    of   Sense 


PL  A  TE  XIX. 


Ncn-es    of  £jebatt 


ENCYCLOPEDIA    BRUANNICA.    NJNTH    EDITION 


Auditory    Hervt    in  lahyrtnth. 


NOSE.] 


A  N  A  T  O  M   Y 


885 


outer  margin  to  the  free  edge  of  the  nasal  bone  and  supe- 
rior maxilla,  whilst  by  its  inner  it  is  continuous  with  the 
anterior  border  of  the  septal  cartilage.  The  lower  lateral 
cartilage  curves  inwards  upon  itself,  touches  its  fellow  in 
the  mesial  plane  at  the  tip,  and  forms  the  anterior  and 
lateral  boundary  of  the  orifice  of  the  nostril  It  is  con- 
nected by  fibrous  membrane  above  to  the  upper  lateral 
cartilage,  and  behind  to  the  anterior  edge  of  the  superior 
maxilla.  In  this  membrane  two  to  five  small  cartilaginous 
plates,  called  the  epaclal  cartilages,  are  often  found 
imbedded.  The  skin  of  the  nose  which  covers  the  lower 
lateral  cartilages  contains  numerous  sebaceous  follicles, 
which  open  by  comparatively  large  orifices  on  the  surface. 
It  is  closely  connected  to  these  cartilages,  and  to  the 
muscles  of  the  alse.  The  lower  lateral  cartilage  forms  the 
wall  of  the  vestibule  or  entrance  to  the  nasal  chamber,  and 
the  vestibule  is  lined  by  a  prolongation  of  the  integument, 
which  13  studded  with  numerous  short  hairs  or  vibrissa;. 
Each  nasal  chamber  is  lined  by  a  mucous  membrane  called 
the pituitary  or  Schneiderian.  This  membrane  is  prolonged 
into  the  meatuses  and  the  air  sinuses  which  open  into 
them;  posteriorly  it  is  continuous  with  the  mucous  lining 
of  the  pharynx,  and  anteriorly  it  blends  with  the  cutaneous 
lining  of  the  vestibule.  The  pituitary  membrane  is  thick 
and  soft,  and  diminishes  the  size  of  the  meatuses  and  the 
openings  of  the  air  sinuses  as  seen  in  the  skeleton.  The 
mucous  membrane  is  divided  into  a  respiratory  and  an 
olfactory  region.  The  respiratory  region  corresponds  to  the 
floor  of  the  nose,  to  the  inferior  turbinated  bone,  and  to 
the  lower  third  of  the  nasal  septum.  It  is  covered  by  a 
ciliated  columnar  epithelium,  and  contains  numerous  race- 
mose glands  for  the  secretion  of  mucus  or  pituita.  It  is 
also  vascular,  and  the  veins  which  ramify  in  it  have  a 
plexiform  arrangement.  The  mucous  lining  of  the  air 
sinuses  is  also  ciliated,  but  almost  devoid  of  glands,  except 
in  the  antrum,  in  which  region  the  glands  sometimes  dilate 
into  cystic  tumours. 

The  olfactory  region  is  the  seat  of  distribution  of  the 
olfactory  nerve  and  of  its  peripheral  end-organs.     It  corre- 
sponds to  the  roof  of  the  nose,  to  the  superior  and  middle 
turbinals,  and  the  upper  frds  of  the  septum. 
The  mucous  membrane  is  thick,  soft,  easily 
destroyed,  of  a  yellowish  brown  colour,  and 
blended  with  the  periosteum.     When  vertical 
section.1,  through  this  membrane  are  examined 
microscopically  the  tubular  glands  discovered 
by  Bowman  may  be  seen  in  its  vascular  con- 
nective tissue  layer.     These  glands  contain 
roundish  secreting  cells  with  yellowish-brown 
pigment-stained  contents.     The  epithelium  is 
cylindrical,   but  not  usually  ciliated,  though 
patches  of  ciliated  epithelium  cells  are  said 
to  occur  in  man.     Long,  slender,  and  even 
branched  processes  proceed  from  the  deeper 
end  of  each  cell  towards  or  even  into  the  sub- 
epithelial connective  tissue.     The  cells  usually 
contain  pigment  granules.  Between  the  epithe- 
lium cells  the  characteristic  olfactory  cells  of 
Schultze  are  situated.    Each  olfactory  cell  con-  ^"-^f""™ 
sists  of  a  globular  or  fusiform  body,  from  which  olfactory  mu- 
two  long  processes  arise  :  one,  the  peripheral  £J^C    ^JJjI 
process,  passes  vertically  between  the  adjacent  uieiium    ceil; 
cylindrical  epithelium  cells  to  the  free  surface   c'cii;  e,  its  pai- 
of  the  mucous  membrane:  in  amphibia,  rep-  f^ercae'n;tr8a"dT{: 
tiles,  and  birds  it  projects  beyond  the  plane  ncosa  process, 
of  the  epithelium  as  a  simple  hair-like  struc-  W«- &»««"•> 
ture,  or  subdivided  into  several  slender  "olfactory  hairs;" 
in  fish  and  mammals,  man  inclusive,  it  ends,  without  form- 
ing a  hair  like  prolongation,   on   the  general  plane  of  the 
mucous  surface.    Ths  second  or  central  process  of  the  olfac- 


tory cell  extends  towards  the  sub-epithelial  connective 
tissue  :  it  is  finer  than  the  peripheral  process,  and  has  not 
nnfrequently  a  varicose  appearance  like  a  nerve  fibre. 

In  the  description  of  the  developmentof  the  brain  (p.  864), 
the  origin  of  the  olfactory  bulb  and  peduncle  from  the 
hemisphere  vesicle  was  referred  to.     In  the  adult  brain  the 
olfactory  peduncle  is  in  contact  with  the  under  surface  of 
the  frontal  lobe.     It  is  a  white  band,  which  divides  in 
front  of  the  locus  perforatus  anticus  into  three  so-called 
roots  of  the  olfactory  nerve.     The  external  or  long  root 
passes  outwards   across  the  .Sylvian  fissure  to  the  gyrus 
hippocampi,  and  perhaps  also  to  the  insula :  a  few  fibres 
are   continuous    with  the  anterior  commissure;  but  in 
mammals,  where  the   olfactory   peduncle  forms  a  good- 
sked  lobe,  it  receives  many  fibres  from  the  commissure. 
The  middle  or  grey  root  contains  white  fibres   which 
proceed   from  the    corpus   striatum.      The   internal    ot 
short  root  has  been  traced  into  the  anterior  end  of  the 
gyrus   fornicatus;  hence   the   inner  and  outer  roots  of 
.the  olfactory  peduncle  are  connected  with  the  anterior 
and  posterior  extremities  of  the  arch-shaped  gyrus.     The 
olfactory  bulbs  rest  on  the  upper  surface  of  the  cribri- 
form  plate   of  the   ethmoid,  one   on   each  side   of  the 
crista  galli.     The  bulb  consists  both  of  grey  and  white 
matter,  and  sometimes  retains  the  central  cavity  lined  by 
a  ciliated  epithelium.      The   grey   matter  contains  fusi- 
form and  pyramidal  nerve  cells  imbedded  in  neuroglia  (the 
stratum  gelatinosum  of  L.  Clarke).      Between  it  and  the 
central  cavity  is  the  white  matter  formed  of  nerve  fibres 
interspersed  with  "granules,"   similar  to  those  seen   in 
the  rust  coloured  layer  of  the  cerebellum.     Between  the 
grey  matter  and  the  surface  is  the  stratum  glomerulosum  of 
Meynert,  which  apparently  consists  of  coils  of  the  olfactory 
nerve  fibres  with  interspersed  "granules."    The  olfactory 
nerve  fibres  form  the  first  pair  of  cranial  nerves  or  nerves  of 
smell;  they  leave  these  glomeruli  in  from  15  to  25  bundles, 
and  enter  the  roof  of  the  nose  through  the  holes  in  the  cribri- 
form plate  (PI  XIX.  figs.  1,  2);  they  lie  in  grooves  in  the 
bones  of  the  olfactory  region,  and  form  a  network  from  which 
bundles  of  fine  non-medullated  fibres  arise  that  enter  the 
mucous  membrane  and  run  between  the  glands  into  the 
epithelial  layer.     These  nerves  have  a  varicose  appearance, 
and  though  their  terminations   have  not  been  precisely 
ascertained,  it  is  believed  that  they  are  connected  with 
the  central  processes  of  the  olfactory  cells,  which  cells  are 
therefore  regarded  as  the  peripheral   end-organs   of  the 
olfactory  nerve  fibres.     The  mucous  membrane  of  the  noso 
also  receives  branches  from  the  1st  and  2d  divisions  of  the 
5th  cranial  nerve.     Their  mode   of  termination  in  that 
membrane  is  not  known,  but  they  are  associated  with  the 
sense  of  touch,  and  not  with  the  special  sense  of  smelL 

The  Eyeball,  globe  of  the  eye,  or  organ  of  vision,  is  a  EyebaB 
complex  optical  apparatus  situated  in  the  cavity  of  the 
orbit,  imbedded  to  a  large  extent  in  loose  fat,  and  with 
several  muscles  attached  to  it.  Its  form  approximates  to 
the  spheroidal,  but  it  actually  consists  of  segments  of  two 
spheres,  the  posterior  of  which  is  the  larger. 

The  eyeball  consists  of  three  coats  or  tunics,  which 
enclose  three  translucent  refracting  media.  The  first  or 
external  coat  consists  of  a  posterior,  white,  opaque  part, 
the  sclerotic,  which  corresponds  in  its  area  with  the  posterior 
larger  segment  of  the  ball,  and  of  an  anterior,  translucent 
part,  the  cornea,  which  corresponds  in  its  area  with  the 
anterior  smaller  segment  of  the  -eyeball  Piercing  the 
sclerotic  coat  is  the  optic  nerve,  which  enters  the  globe 
about  £th  inch  to  the  nasal  or  inner  side  of  its  antero- 
posterior axis.  The  second  or  middle  coat,  or  tunica 
vasculosa,  consists  of  a  posterior  part  or  choroid,  the  area 
of  which  corresponds  almost  exactly  with  the  sclerotic; 


886 


A  N  A  T  0  M  Y 


[organs  of  sense — 


this  coat  possesses  anteriorly  numerous  folds,  the  ciliary 
pi  ocesses,  which  are  continuous  with  the  iris,  a  structure 
which  lies  behind  the  cornea.  The  third  or  internal  or 
nenrous  coat  is  named  the  retina,  and  in  it  the  optic  nerve 


r*fo\  77.— T^scrammoMc  section  through  the  ercoaX  O,  conjunctiva;  to,  corned, 
be,  selenitic;  ch,  choroid;  pc,  ciliary  piocesses;  mc,  ciliary  muscle;  0,  oj»tic 
nerve;  K,  retina;  1.  ins;  aq,  aotciior  chamber  of  aqueous  humour;  L,  lens; 
V,  vitreous  body ;  /,  zonule  of  £inn,  the  ciliary  process  beliiR  removed  to  sbovr 
R;  p,  renal  01  1'etit ;  ft*,  yellow  (pot.  'ihc  dolled  line  behind  the  cornea  re* 
■presents  ita  posterior  epithelium. 

terminates.  The  enclosed  refracting  media  occupy  the 
axis  of  the  globe,  and  are  named  from  before  backwards 
the  aqueous  humour,  crystalline  tens,  and  vitreous  body. 

The  Sclerotic  coat,  called  from  its  white  appearance  the 
white  of  the  eye,  is  a  firm,  unyielding  fibrous  membrane, 
which  forms  the  posterior  fths  of  the  outer  coat  of  the 
eyeball.  It  is  thicker  behind  than  in  front,  and  where 
pierced  by  the  optic  nerve  it  has  a  cribriform  structure,  as 
the  bundles  of  nerve  fibres  do  not  pass  through  one  large, 
but  several  small  openings.  The  sclerotic  consists  of  the 
white  fibrous  form  of  connective  tissue,  intermingled  with 
a  small  proportion  of  elastic  fibres.  The  bundles  of  white 
fibres  lie  in  two  directions;  some  pass  in  the  meridian  of 
the  globe  from  the  optic  nerve  towards  the  cornea,  others 
lie  parallel  to  its  equator.  The  sclerotic  is  joined  by 
accessory  fibres  behind,  derived  from  the  perineurium  of 
the  optic  nerve,  where  the  nerve  pierces  it ;  and  in  front 
from  the  tendons  of  the  recti  and  obliqui  muscles,  which  are 
inserted  into  it.  In  the  cctacca  the  sclerotic  possesses  extra- 
ordinary thickness.  In  fish  and  amphibia  it  consists  largely 
of  cartilage,  and  in  birds  a  ring  of  bone  is  developed  around 
its  anterior  margin.     It  is  the  protecting  coat  of  the  eyeball. 

The  Cornea  forms  the  translucent  anterior  Jth  of  the 
outer  coat  of  the  eyeball.  It  is  almost  circular  in  form, 
and  is  blended  at  its  circumference  with  the  anterior  border 
of  the  sclerotic.  Its  anterior  surface  is  convex,  and  covered 
by  the  conjunctival  epithelium.  The  forward  projection 
of  the  cornea  is  always  greater  in  young  than  in  aged 
persons.  Its  posterior  surface  is  concave,  and  bounds  the 
chamber  in  which  the  aqueous  humour  is  contained  :  if  the 
chamber  be  punctured,  and  the  humour  evacuated,  the 
cornea  loses  its  translucency,  its  tension,  and  its  forward  con- 
vexity, and  becomes  flaccid  and  opaque.  It  has  considerable 
thickness,  and  can  be  readily  split  up  into  laminse.  When 
antero-posterior  sections  are  made  through  it  and  the 
epithelium  on  its  anterior  and  posterior  surfaces,  four 
distinct  series  of  structures  may  be  seen,  viz.,  the  anterior 
rpithsiium,  the  proper  tissue  of  the  cornea,  the  posterior 
elastic  lamina,  and  the  posterior  cpi-(endo)-thelium. 

The  anterior  epithelium  of  the  cornea,  often  called  the  con- 


junctival epithelium,  is  stratified.  The  deepest  layer,  which 
lies  next  the  cornea,  is  formed  of  elongated  cells,  which  lie 
vertically  to  the  plane  of  the  surface  of  the  cornea.  The 
more  superficial  layers  are  squamous  cells,  often  with  fluted 
surfaces  and  serrated  or  spinous  edges.  Tho  intermediate 
layers  are  irregular  in  shape,  and  often  possess,  as  Cleland 
pointed  out,  long  digitate  processes,  which  interlock  with 
those  of  the  adjacent  cells. 

The  proper  tissue  of  the  cornea  is  a  modified  form  of 
connective  tissua  When  examined  fresh  it  appears  as  if 
perfectly  homogeneous,  but  after  a  time,  and  more  espe- 
cially if  hardened  in  alcohol,  chloride  of  gold,  and  othei 
reagents,  it  is  seen  to  consist  of  cells  and  an  intercellular 
matrix.  The  cells  consist  of  two  kinds, — those  which 
belong  to  the  cornea,  and  those  which  have  migrated 
into  it.  The  proper  cornea  cells  or  cornea  corpuscles  were 
first  seen  by  Toynbee,  and  have  been  carefully  studied 
by  numerous  subsequent  observers.  They  are  large  stel- 
late, flattened  cells,  and  lie  with  their  surfaces  parallel  to 
the  surfaces  of  the  cornea  ;  they  possess  many  branching 
processes,  and  the  processes  of  adjacent  cells  anastomoso 
to  form  a  cell  network.  They  consist  of  nucleated  masses 
of  protoplasm,  which  Kiihne  showed  to  be  contractile,  and 
are  apparently  destitute  of  a  cell  wall.  In  vertical  sections 
through  the  cornea  the  corpuscles  seem  as  if  shaped  like 
elongated  spindles.  The  migrating  cells  of  the  cornea  were 
first  seen  by  Von  Recklinghausen.  They  resemble  white 
blood  corpuscles,  and  possess  active  amoeboid  movements, 
so  that  they  can  wander  through  the  corneal  tissue.  In  a 
healthy  cornea  they  have  migrated  out  of  the  marginal 
blood-vessels;  but  in  an  inflamed  cornea,  where  their  num- 
ber is  greatly  increased,  they  are  in  part  white  corpuscles 
derived  from  the  blood,  and  in  part  produced  by  prolifera- 
tion of  the  proper  cornea  corpuscles.  The  intercellular 
matrix  of  the  cornea  consists  of  a  laminated  substance,  the 
lamellae  being  arranged  parallel  to  the  surfaces  of  the  cornea. 
The  lamellae  consist  of  fasciculi  of  extremely  delicate  fila- 
ments ;  immediately  under  the  anterior  epithelium  the 
fasciculi  decussate  with  each  other,  and  at  the  circumference 
of  the  cornea  the  fasciculi  run  into  the  connective  tissue  of 
the  sclerotic.  Bowman  described  a  translucent  structureless 
layer  or  anterior  elastic  lamina  between  the  conjunctival 
epithelium  and  the  cornea  proper,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  this 
layer  exists  as  a  constant  arrangement.  Bowman  and 
other  observers  have  injected  tubular  spaces  in  the  cornea 
which  are  apparently  situated  between  the  lamellse.  The 
exact  nature  of  these  spaces  is  somewhat  doubtful,  but 
Thin  believes  them  to  be  lymph-vessels  traversing  its  sub 
stance,  for  he  has  seen  an  endothelial  lining  similar  to  the 
endothelial  cells  of  the  lymphatics.  It  is  probable  that 
these  spaces  serve  as  the  channels  for  the  migrating  cor- 
puscles to  wander  through.  Thin  also  describes  the  proper 
cornea  corpuscles  as  lying  in  lacunas,  which  communicate 
with  each  other  and  with  the  lymph-vessels.  The  posterior 
elastic  lamina  forms  a  distinct  translucent,  structureless 
layer  adherent  to  the  back  of  the  proper  tissue  of  the  cornea, 
from  which  it  may  be  stripped  off  without  much  difficulty. 
When  torn 'across,  the  edges  curl  inwards  towards  the 
corneal  tissue.  It  is  from  2-5V0-  to  37rV7  th  inch  thick,  and 
resists  the  action  of  various  reagents.  This  lamina  thins 
off  at  its  circumference  and  splits  into  fibres,  which  become 
continuous  with  the  pectinate  ligament  of  the  iris. 

The  posterior  epithelium  of  the  cornea,  also  called  the 
endothelium  of  the  aqueous  humour,  forms  a  single  layer  of 
polygonal  cells  on  the  back  of  the  posterior  elastic  lamina. 
It  is  continuous  with  the  endothelial  covering  of  the  pec- 
tinate ligament  and  of  the  anterior  surface  of  the  iris. 

The  cornea  is  not  in  the  adult  traversed  by  blood-vessels, 
though  in  the  foetus  a  layer  of  capillaries  lies  near  its 
anterior  MjrfacG.     In  the  adult,  however,  the   margin  a- 


EYE.J 


ANATOMY 


887 


the  cornea  13  penetrated  by  a  zone  of  capillary  loops'  derived 
from  the  arteries  of  the  conjunctiva  ;  these  loop3,  according 
to  Lightbody,  are  invested  by  perivascular  lymph  spaces. 
The  venous  canal  of  Schlemm  runs  round  the  circumference 
of  the  cornea,  at  the  junction  of  its  deeper  layers  with  the 
sclerotic.  Leber  states  that  it  is  not  a  simple  canal,  but 
a  plexiform  arrangement  of  veins.  The  nerve3  of  the 
cornea  first  seen  by  Schlemm  have  been  carefully  examined 
by  recent  observers.  They  arise  from  the  ciliary  nerves, 
and  enter  the  margin  of  the  cornea  in  from  twenty  to  forty 
fasciculi,  which  nln  from  the  circumference  to  the  centre 
and  to  the  anterior  surface  of  the  cornea,  and  give  off 
numerous  branches.  The  nerve  fibres  soon  lose  their 
medullary  sheath,  and  branch ;  adjacent  branches  then 
communicate,  and  form  plexuses  which  possess  nuclei  at 
the  points  of  intersection  of  the  nerves.  From  these 
plexuses  delicate  branches  again  arise,  some  of  which 
penetrate  between  the  cells  of  the  anterior  epithelium, 
whilst  others  end  in  the  proper  tissue  of  the  cornea. 
Kiihne  stated  that  the  terminal  fibres  ended  in  the  cornea 
corpuscles,  but  this  statement  has  not  been  confirmed. 

The  Choroid  coat  forms  the  largest  portion  of  the  middle 
coat  of  the  eyeball.  It  lies  immediately  internal  to  the 
sclerotic,  and  extends  as  far  forward  as  the  corpus  ciliare, 
or  annulus  albidus,  where  it  forms  the  ciliary  processes ;  it 
is  pierced  posteriorly  by  the  optic  nerve.  It  has  a  deep 
black  colour,  from  the  numerous  pigment  cells  it  contains, 
and  is  abundantly  provided  with  blood-vessels  and  nerves. 
The  Corpus  ciliare,  or  annulus  albidus,  is  a  greyish-white 
ring  which  surrounds  the  anterior  border  of  the  choroid 
close  to  the  junction  of  the  sclerotic  and  cornea.  It  consists 
of  two  portions — an  external,  the  ciliary  muscle,  which  lies 
next  the  sclerotic,  and  an  internal,  the  ciliary  processes 
(Plate  XIX.  fig.  4).  These  processes,  about  80  in  number, 
are  folds,  separated  from  each  other  by  furrows  which 
extend  forwards  in  the  meridional  direction  as  far  as  the 
Lis,  and  form  collectively  a  zone-Like  plated  frill  around 
the  circumference  of  the  iris.  On  the  one  hand,  they  are 
continuous  with  the  vasculo-pigmentary  structures  of  the 
choroid  ;  on  the  other,  with  the  vasculo-pigmentary  struc- 
tures of  the  iris. 

The  Iris  is  a  circular,  flattened  disc-shaped  diaphragm, 
situated  behind  the  cornea,  in  front  of  the  crystalline  lens, 
and  bathed  by  the  aqueous  humour.  By  its  circumference 
or  ciliary  border  the  iris  is  not  only  continuous  with  the 
ciliary  processes,  but  is  connected  by  fibres,  termed 
ligamentum  pectinatum,  with  the  posterior  elastic  lamina  of 
the  cornea.  The  his  is  the  structure  which  gives  the 
characteristic  colour  to  the  eye — blue,  grey,  brown,  hazel, 
as  the  case  may  be.  It  is  perforated  at,  or  immediately  to 
the  inner  side  of,  its  centre  by  a  circular  aperture,  the 
pupil,  the  size  of  which  is  regulated  by  the  contraction  or 
relaxation  of  the  muscular  tissue  of  the  iris. 

The  structure  of  the  several  divisions  of  the  middle  coat 
will  now  be  considered.  Tl  e  Choroid  coat  has  its-  inner  or 
anterior  surface  formed  by  a  distinct  pigmentary  layer  of 
hexagonal  pigment  cells  (Fig  43).  In  the  eyes  of  Albinos, 
though  the  cells  are  present,  they  contain  no  pigment  In 
many  mammals  also,  the  pigment  is  absent  from  the'  inner 
surface,  so  that  the  choroid  possesses  a  beautiful  iridescent 
lustre,  the  tapetum  lucidum.  In  ruminant  animals  and  in 
the  horse  the  iridescence  is  due  to  the  reflection  of  the  light 
by  the  bundles  of  the  connective  tissue  stroma,  but  in  cats 
from  polygonal  nucleated  cells,  which  Schultze  states  con- 
tain double  refracting  crystals.  Next  the  inner  pigmen- 
tary layer  is  the  lamina  vitrea,  the  elastic  layer  of  Kolliker. 
It  forms  a  translucent  membrane,  described  by  some  as 
structureless,  but  by  Kolliker  as  faintly  fibrous,  which  is 
intimately  connected  with  the  stroma  of  the  choroid.  The 
stroma   consists   of  a   plexiform  arrangement  of   bundles 


of  connective  tissue,  in  the  intervals  between  which  nume- 
rous stellate  pigment  cells  are  situated,  which  give  to  the 
entire  thickness  of  the  choroid  its  black  appearance.  This 
stroma  connects  the  outer  surface  of  the  choroid  with  the 
inner  surface  of  the  sclerotic,  and  forms  the  lamina  fusca. 
Ramifying  in  the  stroma  are  the  blood-vessels  and  nerves. 
The  vessels  of  the  choroid  are  arranged  in  two  layers.  Next 
the  lamina  vitrea  is  a  plexiform  capillary  layer,  the  meshes 
of  which  are  so  minute,  and  the  vessels  so  compacted  to- 
gether, as  to  give  the  appearance  of  avascular  membrane,  long 
known  as  the  membrana  Ruyschiana.  The  capillaries  radi' 
ate  like  minute  stars  from  the  terminal  twigs  of  the  choroidal 
arteries  and  veins.  The  choroidal  arteries  and  veins  form 
a  layer  external  to  the  capillaries,  i.e.,  next  the  lamina  fusca. 
The  arteries  are  the  short  posterior  ciliary  branches  of  the 
ophthalmic  artery,  which  pierce  the  sclerotic  close  to  the 
entrance  of  the  optic  nerve,  and,  running  forwards  in  a  tor 
tuous  manner,  divide  dichotomously  before  ending  in  the 
capillaries.  The  veins  of  the  choroid  are  arranged  in  a 
series  .  of  remarkable  whorls,  named  the  vence  vorlicosce, 
which  receive  the  blood  not  only  from  the  capillaries  of  the 
choroid  proper,  but  from  thpse  of  the  iris  and  ciliary  body ; 
they  discharge  their  blood  by  means  of  from  4  to  6  veins 
into  the  ophthalmic  vein.  The  ciliary  muscle  is  the  greyish 
white  structure  which  forms  the  outer  part  of  the  ciliary 
body.  It  was  at  one  time  called  the  ciliary  ligament,  but 
its  muscular  nature  was  discovered  almost  simultaneously 
by  Bowman  and  Briicke.  It  consists  of  smooth  involuntary 
muscle,  the  fibres  of  which  are  arranged  in  two  layers. 
The  outer  and  thicker  part  of  the  muscle  consists  of  fasci- 
culi, which  arise  close  to  the  canal  of  Schlemm,  i.e.,  opposite 
the  junction  of  the  sclerotic  and  cornea,  and  radiate  from 
before  backwards  in  the  meridian  of  the  eyeball,  between 
the  ciliary  processes  and  the  sclerotic.  The  inner  part  of 
the  muscle  forms  a  ring-like  arrangement  of  fasciculi  close 
to  the  circumference  of  the  iris,  and  is  often  called  the 
annular  muscle  of  Miiller.  Iwanoff  has  shown  that  in 
long-sighted  persons  (hypermetropic)  the  annular  muscle 
is  strongly  developed  ;  whilst  in  short-sighted  (myopic) 
eyes  its  fasciculi  are  very  feeble.  The  Ciliary  Processes 
have  on  their  inner  surface  a  black  pigmentary  layer  of 
cells  continuous  with  that  of  the  choroid.  The  vitreous 
layer  is  also  present,  but  according  to  H.  Miillsr  is  no 
longer  smooth  but  reticulated.  The  stroma  does  not  con- 
tain so  large  a  proportion  of  stellate  pigment  cells  as  in 
the  choroid.  The  arteries  have  been  carefully  studied  by 
Leber;  they  are  the  long  posterior  ciliary  branches  of  the 
ophthalmic,  and  the  anterior  ciliary  branches  of  the  muscu- 
lar branches  of  the  ophthalmic.  They  pierce  the  sclerotic 
run  forwards,  and  at  the  auterior  border  of  the  ciliary 
muscle  form  by  their  anastomoses  the  circulus  artei-iosus, 
which  gives  origin  to  the  arteries  for  the  ciliary  processes 
and  the  iris.  The  arteries  for  the  ciliary  processes  ate 
short,  and  divide  into  tortuous  branches,  which  frequently 
anastomose,  and  form  highly  complex  vascular  plexuses, 
from  which  arise  veins  that  join  the  venae  vorticosae. 
Before  the  long  ciliary  arteries  contribute  to  the  formation 
of-  the  arterial  circle  they  send  branches  to  the  ciliary 
muscle,  and  recurrent  branches  to  the  anterior  part  of  the 
proper  choroid  coat. 

The  iris  has  its  anterior  surface  covered  by  a  layer  of 
cells  continuous  with  the  endothelium  of  the  aqueous 
humour.  This  layer  is  continuous  at  the  pupillary  border 
with  a  thick  layer  of  cells  filled  with  black  pigment  granules, 
the  uvea,  which  covers  the  posterior  surface  of  the  iris,  and 
is  continuous  at  its  ciliary  border  with  the  pigmentary  layer 
of  the  ciliary  processes.  The  connective  tissue  stroma  of 
the  iris  also  contains  stellate  pigment  cells.  The  variations 
in  colour  of  the  iris  in  different  eyes  depends  upon  the  dia- 
tribution  and  amount  of  the  pigment  in  the  uvea  and  the 


888 


a  tf  A  T  0  M  V 


[ORGANS  OF  SENSfc — 


etellato  cells:  in  dark-coloured  eyes,  both  are  filled  with 
dark  pigment  granules ;  whilst  in  light-coloured  eyes  the 
stellate  cells  of  the  stroma  are  either  devoid  of  pigment  or 
only  faintly  coloured.  The  iris  contains  numerous  fasciculi 
of  involuntary  or  non-striped  muscular  fibro  arranged  in 
two  directions.  Circularly  arranged  fibres  surround  the 
aperture  of  the  pupil,  and  form  the  sphincter  muscle,  by 
the  contraction  of  which  the  size  of  the  pupil  is  diminished. 
Smooth  muscular  fibres  also  radiate  from  the  pupillary  to 
the  ciliary  border  of  the  iris  and  form  the  dilatator  muscle. 
The  muscular  nature  of  these  fibres  in  the  human  iris  was 
long  disputed,  but  was  satisfactorily  demonstrated  in  1852 
by  Lister.  Jeropheef  has  also  described  circular  fasciculi 
surrounding  the  ciliary  border.  In  birds  and  reptiles  the 
muscular  tissue  of  the  iris  consists  of  transversely  striped 
fibres.  The  arteries  of  the  iris  arise  from  the  circulus 
arteriosus,  and  run  radially  forwards  towards  the  pupil, 
where  they  anastomose  and  form  the  circulus  iridic  minor. 
They  possess  relatively  thick  external  and  muscular  coats. 
The  capillaries  form  a  plexus  not  so  compact  as  that  of  the 
choroid  coat.  The  veins  of  the  iris  end  in  the  vena;  vorti- 
cosaa.  In  the  fcetus  the  pupil  is  closed  in  by  a  delicate 
membrane,  membrana  pupillaris,  into  which  the  blood- 
vessels of  the  iris  are  prolonged.  This  membrane  disap- 
pears by  absorption  during  the  later  months  of  embryo  life. 
The  nerves  of  the  middle  coat  of  the  eyeball  are  the  long 
ciliary  branches  of  the  ophthalmic  division  of  the  5th  and 
the  short  ciliary  branches  of  the  ciliary  ganglion  (PL  XIX. 
fig.  7,  \).  They  pierce  the  sclerotic  near  the  optic  nerve, 
and  run  forward  in  the  lamina  fusca  of  the  choroid.  They 
give  off  branches  to  the  choroid  which  form  in  it  a  plexus 
in  which  H.  Miiller  found  nerve  cells.  From  this  plexus 
delicate  branches  pass  to  the  muscular  coat  of  the  choroidal 
arteries.  The  ciliary  nerves  then  enter  the  ciliary  muscle, 
and  form  plexuses  with  interspersed  nerve  cells,  from 
which  branches  pass  to  the  muscular  fibres.  Other  branches 
of  the  ciliary  nerves  enter  the  iris,  and  form  plexuses,  from 
which  branches  proceed  to  the  muscular  tissue. 

The  Retina  is  the  delicate  nervous  coat  of   the  eyeball 
which  lies  immediately  internal  to  the  choroid,  and  extends 


FIR.  78—  niacrammatlc  section  throuch  the  retina  to  show  the  several  laj-ers 
which  arc  numbered  as  In  the  teit  CI,  the  radial  flbreB  of  the  supporting  con- 
nective tissue. 

from  the  plice  of  entrance  of  the  optic  nerve  as  far  forward 
as  the  ciliary  processes,  where  it  forms  a  jagged  border,  the 
oi  a  serrata.  In  the  living  eye  it  is  translucent  and  colour- 
less, -but  shortly  after  death  it  becomes  grey  :  it  is  soft  and 
so  easily  torn  that  it  is  difficult  to  display  it  in  a  dissection 
without  injury.  Its  inner  or  anterior  surface,  concave 
forwards,  is  moulded  on  the  vitreous  body,  and  presents 
the  following  appearances  : — Almost  exactly  in  the  antero- 
posterior axis  of  the  eyeball  is  a  transversely  oval  yellow 
spot,  about  ^th  inch  in  its  long  diameter,  which  amongst 
mammals  is  found  only  in  man  and  apes,  though,  as  Knox 
and  Hulke  have  shown,  it  exists  in  reptiles ;  in  the  centre 
of  this  spot  is  a  depression,  the  fovea  centralis  ;  about  Jth 
inch  to  the  inner  side  of  the  yellow  spot  is  a  slight  elevation, 
the  papilla  optica,  which  marks  the  disc-like  entrance  of 
the  optic  nerve  into'  the  retina ;  here  the  fibres  of  the  nerve 
radiate  outwards  and  forwards  to  the  ora  serrata,  and 
branches  of  the  arteria  centralis  retina  accompany  then. 
The  retina  is  highly  complex  in  structure,  and  consists 


of  nerve  fibres  and  cells,  of  peripheral  end-organs,  of  con- 
nective tissue,  and  of  blood-vessels,  arranged  in  several 
layers.  Max  Schultze,  who  is  tho  chief  authority  on  the 
subject,  recognises  ten  layers,  but  includes  among  these  the 
layer  of  hexagonal  pigment  cells  just  described  as  the  inner 
pigmentary  layer  of  the  choroid.  If  this  layer  be  omitted, 
nine  layers  may  then  be  recognised,  and,  following  Schultze, 
be  named  from  before  backwards  as  follows: — 1.  Mem- 
brana limitans  interna;  2.  Layer  of  optic  nerve  fibres  ;  3. 
Layer  of  ganglion  cells ;  4.  Internal  granulated  (molecular^ 
layer;  5.  Internal  granule  layer;  C.  External  granulated 
layer ;  7.  External  granule  layer ;  8.  Membrana  limitans 
externa;  9.  Bacillary layer  (Fig.  78). 

Tho  nervous  elements  of  the  retina  will  first  be  con- 
sidered. The  optic  nerve  fibres  (2),  where  they  pierce  the 
sclerotic,  as  a  rule  lose  the  medullary  sheath,  and  radiate 
outwards  as  non-medullated  fibres  from  the  optic  disc  to  the 
ora  serrata  immediately  behind  and  parallel  to  the  mem- 
brana limitans  interna.  These  fibres  vary  greatly  in  size, 
and  are  frequently  varicose.  When  any  of  the  optic  nerve 
fibres  retain  the  medullary  sheath  the  retina  is  there  ren- 
dered opaque.  Immediately  behind  the  nerve  fibres  is  the 
layer  of  ganglionic  nerve  cells  (3).  These  ells  are  either  bi- 
polar or  multipolar.  In  the  Living  eye  the  cell  substance 
is  hyaline  and  the  nucleus  transparent,  but  after  death  the 
substance  both  of  the  body  of  the  cell  and  the  processes 
assumes  a  fibrillated  appearance,  like  the  axial  cylinder  of 
an  optic  nerve  fibre.  One  process,  the  central  process, 
extends  into  the  layer  of  optic  nerve  fibres ;  and  another, 
the  peripheral,  into  the  internal  granulated  layer.  The 
internal  granulated  layer  (4)  contains  the  branching  pro- 
cesses of  the  nerve  cells,  some  of  which  apparently  become 
continuous  with  an  arrangement  of  excessively  fine  fibrils, 
probably  nervous  in  their  nature.  These  fibrils  are  inter- 
mingled with  a  delicate  plexus  of  connective  tissue.  The 
internal  granule  layer  (5)  contains  numerous  fusiform 
nucleated  enlargements,  the  so-called  internal  granules, 
arranged  in  superimposed  strata ;  from  each  fusiform 
enlargement  a  fibre  proceeds  in  two  directions,  one  centrally 
into  the  internal  granulated  layer,  and  one  peripherally  into 
the  external  granulated  layer.  These  fibres  possess  vari- 
cosities, and  resemble  the  optic  nerve  fibres.  The  external 
granulated  layer  (6)  is  very  thin,  and  consists  of  an  ex- 
panded network  of  minute  fibres,  with  nuclei  situated  at 
the  points  of  intersection  of  the  fibres.  Krause  has  called 
it  the  membrana  fenestrata.  The  external  granule  layer 
(7)  contains  numerous  fusiform  nucleated  enlargements, 
the  so-called  external  granules,  arranged  in  superimposed 
strata  :  from  each  enlargement  a  fibre  proceeds  in  two 
directions,  one  centrally  into  the  external  granulated  layer, 
and  one  peripherally  through  the  membrana  limitans  externa 
to  the  bacillary  layer,  where  it  becomes  continuous  with 
the  anterior  end  of  either  a  rod  or  a  cone,  as  the  case  may 
be.  Hence  these  fibres  of  the  external  granule  layer  are 
called  by  Schultze  rod  and  cone  fibres,  and  the  external 
granules  are  nucleated  enlargements  of  these  fibres.  These 
fibres  possess  varicosities  like  those. of  the  internal  granule 
layer. 

The  bacillary  layer  (9)  or  membrane  of  Jacob  consists 
of  multitudes  of  elongated  bodies  arranged  side  by  side 
like  rows  of  palisades,  and  vertically  to  the  surfaces  of 
the  retina..  Some  of  these  bodies  are  cylindrical,  and 
are  named  the  rods  of-the  retina  ;  others  flask -shaped,  and 
named  the  cones  of  the  retina :  the  rods  equal  in  length 
the  entire  thickness  of  the  bacillary  layer ;  the  cones  are 
shorter  than  the  rods,  and  are  interspersed  at  regular 
intervals  between  them  ;  the  apex  of  each  cone  is  directed 
towards,  but  does  not  reach,  the  plane  of  the  posterior  or 
choroidal  surface  of  the  retina.  The  posterior  or  outer  end 
of  each  rod  rests  against  the  pigmentary  lay^r  of  the  choroid. 


EVE.] 


ANATOMY 


889 


The  anterior  or  inner  ends  of  both  rods  and  cones  are  con- 
tinuous with  the  rod  and  cone  fibres  of  the  external  granule 
layer,  as  already  described.  Each  rod  and  cone  is  sub- 
divided into  an  outer  strongly  refractile  and  an  inner  feebly 
refractile  segment.  By  the  action  of  various  reagents  the 
outer  segments  both  of  the  rods  and  cones  exhibit  a  trans- 
verse striation,  and  ultimately  break  up  into  discs.  Hensen 
has  described  a  longitudinal  striation  in  the  outer  segments, 
and  Ritter  has  stated  that  both  in  the  outer  and  inner 
segments  of  the  rods  an  axial  fibre  exists.  Max  Schultze 
lias  also  seen  the  inner  segments  of  both  rods  and  cones 
longitudinally  striped  on  the  surface.  Modifications  in  the 
relative  numbers  and  appearances  of  the  rods  and  cones 
have  been  seen  in  the  eyes  of  various  vertebrata.  In  birds, 
for  example,  the  cones  are  much  more  numerous  than  the 
rods,  whilst  the  reverse  is  the  case  in  mammals  generally. 
In  the  cartilaginous  fishes  the  cones  are  entirely  absent ;  so 
also,  as  Schultze  has  shown,  in  the  bat,  hedge-hog,  and 
mole  ;  whilst  in  reptiles  the  bacillary  layer  is  exclusively 
composed  of  cones.  In  all  the  vertebrata,  except  the 
mammalia,  the  twin  or  double  cones  described  by  Hannover 
probably  exist.  In  the  amphibia,  lens-shaped  bodies  have 
been  described  in  the  inner  segments  of  the  cones.  The 
rods  and  cones  are  the  peripheral  end-organs  in  connection 
with  the  fibres  of  the  optic  nerve,  and  their  apparent  rela- 
tion to  these  fibres  is  as  follows : — The  optic  nerve  fibres 
are  continuous  with  the  central  processes  of  the  ganglion 
cells  of  the  retina,  the  peripheral  branching  processes  of 
which  pass  into  the  internal  granulated  layer,  where  they 
may  possibly  become  continuous  with  the  central  processes 
of  the  inner  granular  layer.  The  peripheral  processes  of 
the  inner  granular  layer  eater  the  external  granulated  layer, 
but  it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  or  not  they  become  con- 
tinuous with  the  central  processes  of  that  layer.  There 
can,  however,  be  no  doubt  that  tho  peripheral  processes  of 
this  layer  are  directly  continuous  with  the  rods  and  cones 
of  the  bacillary  layer.  The  entire  arrangement  is  sometimes 
called  the  radial  nervous  fibres  of  the  retina. 

In  addition  to  the  nervous  structures  just  described,  the 
retina  contains  a  delicate  supporting  connective  tissue  like 
the  neuroglia  of  the  brain  and  spinal  cord.  Not  only  does 
it  lie  between  the  fibres,  cells,  and  so-called  granules  in  the 
several  nervous  layers,  aud  form  in  them  a  radial  arrange- 
ment of  supporting  fibres,  but  it  constitutes  the  two  limitary 
membrai^  of  the  retina.  The  membrana  limitans  externa 
(8)  is  excessively  thin,  and  appears  in  vertical  sections 
through  the  retina  as  a  mere  line  between  the  bacillary  and 
external  granular  layers,  continuous  on  the  one  hand  with 
the  connective  tissue  which  passes  for  a  short  distance  be- 
tween the  rods  and  cones,  and  on  the  other  with  the  connec- 
tive tissue  framework  of  the  external  granule  layer. 

The  membrana  limitans  interna  (1)  covers  the  anterior 
surface  of  the  retina,  and  lies  next  the  vitreous  body ;  its 
posterior  surface  blends  with  the  radial  arrangement  of 
connective  tissue  between  the  optic  nerve  fibres,  but  its 
anterior  or  hyaloid  surface,  as  J.  C.  Ewart  has  recently 
6Qown,  possesses  a  mosaic  appearance,  like  that  of  a  layer 
of  squamous  endothelium. 

The  yellow  spot  exhibits  some  structural  differences  from 
the  rest  of  the  retina.  It  owes  its  colour  to  the  presence 
of  yellow  pigment  deposited  in  the  more  anterior  layers  of 
the  retina.  Except  at  its  central  depression,  the  fovea 
centralis,  it  is  thicker  than  the  surrounding  parts  of  the 
retina  ;  but  it  is  much  softer,  a  condition  which  is  due  to 
the  almost  complete  absence  of  the  layer  of  optic  nerve 
fibres,  and  a  diminution  in  the  amount  of  the  supporting  con- 
nective tissue;  the  membrana  limitans  interna  is,  however, 
felatively  stronger  In  the  fovea  centralis  itself  the  rods  of 
the  bacillary  layer  have  entirely  disappeared,  and  are 
replaced  by  cones  which  are  distinguished  by  their  close 


arrangement,  and  the  more  slender  form  and  increased 
length,  especially  of  their  outer  segments.  The  external 
granule  layer  is  well  marked,  and  the  central  fibres  belong- 
ing to  it,  instead  of  passing  vertically  forwards,  incline  very 
obliquely  or  almost  horizontally  outwards  to  the  internal 
granule  layer,  which,  together  with  the  layers  anterior  to  it, 
is  so  thin  as  almost  to  have  disappeared  In  the  yellow  spot 
surrounding  the  fovea  the  bacillary  layer  is  also  composed 
of  cone3  which  are  not,  however,  so  slender  or  so  long  as 
at  the  fovea  itself.  The  layer  of  nerve  cells  and  the  inner 
part  of  th3  external  granule  layer  are  thicker  than  in  the 
rest  of  the  retina.  The  yellow  snot  is  the  part  of  the 
retina  most  sensitive  to  light. 

At  the  ora  serrata  or  anterior  border  of  the  retina  the 
nervous  layers,  including  the  rods  and  cones,  cease  to 
exist.  The  radial  connective  tissue  and  internal  limiting 
membrana  are  present ;  from  the  radial  tissue  a  layer  of 
cells  is  prolonged  forward  in  contact  with  the  deep  surface 
of  the  ciliary  processes  as  the  pars  ciliaris  retina?. 

The  retina  is  supplied  with  blood  by  the  arteria  centralis, 
which,  traversing  the  axis  of  the  optic  nerve,  reaches  the 
retina  at  the  optic  disc.  In  the  retina  it  branches  dicho- 
tomously  in  the  nerve  fibre  layer,  avoiding  however  the 
yellow  spot,  and  its  terminal  twigs  reach  the  ora  serrata. 
The  capillaries  form  in  the  more  anterior  layers  of  the 
retina  a  distinct  network,  which  does  not  enter  the  external 
granule  and  bacillary  layers,  but  penetrates  the  yellow 
spot,  though  not  the  fovea  centralis.  The  blood  is  conveyed 
from  the  retina  by  the  central  vein  which  accompanies  the 
artery  in  the  optic  nerve,  and  opens  either  into  the 
ophthalmic  vein  or  directly  into  the  cavernous  sinus.  The 
veins  and  capillaries  of  the  retina  have  been  described  by 
His  as  comphtely  invested  by  perivascular  lymphatic 
sheaths,  whilst  the  arteries  only  possess  such  sheaths  for  a 
limited  part  of  their  course. 

The  Optic  Nerve  itself  passes'from  the  orbit  through  the  Nerve  ol 
optic  foramen  into  the  cranial  cavity,  where  it  arises  from  siSllt- 
the  optic  commissure.  This  commissure  is  a  flattened  band 
formed  by  the  junction  of  the  two  optic  tracts.  Each  tract 
winds  backwards  around  the  tuber  cinereum  and  cms 
cerebri  to  arise  from  the  optic  thalamus,  corpora  quadrige- 
mina,  and  geniculata ;  and  some  observers  also  state  that 
it  derives  fibres  from  the  tuber  cinereum  and  lamina  cinerea. 
In  the  commissure  an  interchange  takes  place  between  the 
fibres  of  opposite  nerves  aud  tracts,  so  that  not  only  does 
an  optic  nerve  contain  fibres  derived  from  the  tract  on  its 
own  side,  but  from  the  opposite  tract,  and  it  has  even  been 
stated  that  fibres  pass  across  the  commissure  from  one  optic 
nerve  to  the  other,  and  from  one  optic  tract  to  the  other. 

The  Aqueous  Humour  is  a  limpid  watery  fluid,  containing  Refracting 
a  little  common  salt  in  solution,  which  occupies  the  space  nicdia. 
between  the  cornea  and  the  front  of  the  crystalline  lens 
In  this  space  the  iris  lies,  and  imperfectly  divides  it  into 
two  chambers,  an  anterior  and  a  posterior,  which  commu- 
nicate with  each  other  through  the  pupiL  The  anterior 
chamber,  of  some  size,  is  situated  between  the  iris  and 
cornea  ;  but  as  the  iris  is  in  contact  with  tho  front  of  tho 
lens,  the  posterior  chamber  is  reduced  to  a  mere  chink 
between  the  circumference  of  the  iris  and  that  of  the  lens. 

The  Crystalline  Lens  is  situated  behind  the  iris  and 
pupil,  and  in  front  of  tho  vitreous  body.  It  is  a  trans- 
parent bi-convex  lens,  with  its. antero-posterior  diameter  Jd 
less  than  the  transverse,  its  posterior  surface  more  convex 
than  the  anterior,  and  with  its  circumference  rounded  It 
consists  of  a  capsule  and  the  body  of  the  lens  enclosed  by  the 
capsule.  The  lens  capsule  is  a  transparent,  smooth,  struc- 
tureless, and  very  elastic  membrane,  about  twice  as  thick 
on  the  anterior  as  on  the  posterior  surface  of  the  lens.  It 
is  non-vascular  in  tho  adult,  though  in  the  foetus  a  branch 
of  the  central  artery  of   the  retina    which   traverses   the 


I  ■ 


uo 


A  IN   A  T  O  1M    \ 


[organs  of  sesse- 


vitroous  humour,  ramifies  in  its  posterior  portion.  A 
single  layer  of  polygonal  cells  lies  between  the  body  of  the 
lens  and  the  anterior  portion  of  the  capsule.  The  lens  body 
is  softer  at  its  periphery  than  in  its  centre.  It  is  built  up 
of  concentric  layers,  and  on  both  the  anterior  and  posterior 
surfaces  lines  are  to  be  seen  radiating  from  the  centr.il  pole 
of  each  surface  towards  the  circumference  of  the  body. 
The  radiated  pattern  varies  in  different  animals.  In  the 
human  foetus  there  are  usually  three  lines,  but  in  the  adult 
they  are  more  numerous.  The  lines  on  one  surface. do  not 
lie  immediately  opposite  those  on  the  other,  but  are  inter- 
mediate. By  the  action  of  strong  spirit  and  other  reagents 
the  body  of  the  lens  can  be  split  up  from  the  periphery 
towards  the  centre  in  the  direction  of  these  lines,  so  that 
they  mark  the  edges  of  apposition  of  its  concentric  lamina?. 
Each  lamina  consists  of  numerous  hexagonal  fibres  about 
IsVi!tn  mc^  "ide,  which  extend  from  one  surface  to  the 
other  over  the  circumference  of  the  lens,  so  that  a  fibre 
which  begins  at  the  polar  end  of  a  radius  on  the  one  surface 
terminates  at  the  circumferential  end  of  a  radius  on  the 
opposite.  The  edges  of  the  fibres  are  sinuous  in  man,  but 
denticulated  in  many  animals,  especially  fishes,  so  that  the 
fibres,  not  only  in  the  same,  but  in  superimposed  layers, 
are  closely  interlocked.  The  lens  fibres  are  nucleated,  a 
structural  fact  which  gives  a  clue  to  their  true  nature,  and 
they  are  now  regarded  as  peculiarly  modified  elongated 
cells.  Babuchin  states  that  he  can  trace  the  transition  from 
the  cells  of  the  layer  between  the  lens-body  and  capsule 
to  the  proper  lens  fibres.  The  lens-body  is  non-vascular 
and  non-nervous.  The  surfaces  of  the  lens  become  more 
flattened  in  old  age,  and  its  substance  hardens  and  is  less 
transparent. 

The  Vitreous  Body  is  much  the  largest  of  the  refracting 
media,  and  occupies  the  largest  part  of  the  space  enclosed  • 
by  the  tunics.  Anteriorly  it  is  hollowed  out  to  receive 
the  posterior  convexity  of  the  lens,  but  posteriorly  it  is 
convex,  and  ths  retina  is  moulded  on  it.  It  is  as  trans- 
lucent as  glass,  jelly-like  in  consistency,  and  when  punctured 
a  watery  fluid  drains  out.  Its  minute  structure  is  difficult 
to  ascertain,  but  as  it,  like  the  subcutaneous  tissue  of  the 
embryo,  contains  rounded,  stellate,,  and  fusiform  cells,  it  is 
customary  to  refer  it  to  the  gelatinous  form  of  connective 
tissue;  concentric  lamellae,  and  even  a  radiated  arrangement 
of  fibres,  have  also  been  described.  It  has  been  customary 
aLo  to  consider  it  as  invested  by  a  delicate  structureless 
membrane,  the  hyaloid  membrane  ;  but  this  is  now  regarded 
as  belonging  to  the  retina,  where  it  is  known  as  the  mem- 
brana  limitans  interna.  Almost  opposite  the  ora  serrata  a 
membrane  springs  from  the  vitreous  body,  passes  forwards 
for  some  distance  in  relation  to  the  deep  surface  of  the 
ciliary  processes,  but  separated  from  them  by  the  pars 
ciliaris  retinae,  and  then  inclines  inwards  to  become  attached 
to  the  anterior  surface  of  the  capsule  of  the  lens  close  to  its 
circumference.  It  is  so  closely  connected  at  its  origin  with 
the  membrana  limitans  that  it  is  difficult  to  recognise  it  as 
a  distinct  membrane.  It  is  named  the  suspensory  ligament 
of  the  lens,  or  zonule  of  Z inn,  and  contains  fibres,  which  run 
in  the  meridional  direction.  Where  it  leaves  the  vitreous 
body  a  narrow  space  is  enclosed  between  it  and  that  body, 
which  space  surrounds  the  circumference  of  the  lens,  and 
is  called  the  canal  of  Petit.  From  the  relation  of  the 
suspensory  ligament  to  the  ciliary  processes  it  has  a  plicated 
Eurface,  and  when  these  processes  are  torn  away  from  it  a 
portion  of  the  pigment  of  the  processes  is  often  left  behind, 
so  that  the  zonule  is  sometimes  named  the  ciliary  processes 
of  the  vitreous  body. 

The  Eyeball  is  an  optical  instrument,  constructed  on  the 
plan  of  the  camera  obscura.  The  sclerotic  forms  the  wall 
of  the  chamber.  The  choroid  represents  the  black  lining 
lot   absorbing   the   surplus    rays   of    light.     The   cornea, 


aqueous  humour,  leua,  and  vitreous  body  are  the  trans- 
lucent media  which,  like  the  glass  lens  of  the  camera 
obscura,  bring  the  rays  of  light  to  a  focus.  The  retina  is 
the  sensitive  plate  on  which  the  optical  picture  is  thrown. 
In  considering  the  relation  of  the  retina  to  the  visual  rays, 
it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  place  of  entrance  of 
the  optic  nervo  is  insensible  to  light,  and  that  the  most 
sensitive  part  of  the  retina  is  the  yellow  spot,  with  its 
fovea  centralis,  where  the  optic  nerve  fibres  are  absent,  but 
where  the  bacillary  layer  reaches  its  maximum  size.  It  is 
clear,  therefore,  that  tho  rods  and  cones  of  this  layer,  and 
not  the  optic  nerve  fibres,  are  the  structures  in  the  retina 
-which  are  .stimulated  by  the  light;  and  it  is  probable, as 
was  suggested  many  years  ago  by  Goodsir,  that  these  rods 
and  cones  are  impressed  by  the  light,  not  as  it  enters  the 
eye  directly,  but  as  it  is  reflected  backwards  from  tho 
choroid  along  their  axes.  The  iris  is  the  diaphragm  which, 
by  opening  or  closing  tho  pupil,  admits  or  cuts  off  the 
rays  of  light.  •  The  ciliary  muscle  represents  the  adjusting 
screw  of  the  camera ;  through  its  attachment  to  the  ciliary 
processes  and  their  relation  to  the  suspensory  ligament  of 
the  lens,  it  is  able  to  act  upon  the  lens  and  modify  the 
curvature  of  its  anterior  surface  ;  for  when  the  eye  is  to  be 
accommodated  to  the  vision  of  near  objects  the  anterior 
surface  of  the  lens  becomes  more  convex  than  when  distant 
objects  are  being  examined. 

It  has  already  been  stated  on  p.  8C4  that  the  retina  is  Develop 
formed  in  the  primary  optic  vesicle,  which  grows  forwards  ment  tt 
to  the  integument.  By  the  involution  and  growth -of  the 
skin  at  this  spot  a  hollow  is  produced  at  the  front  of  the 
vesicle,  which  gradually  deepening  forms  a  pouch,  the 
secondary  optic  vesicle,  in  which  the  involuted  part  of  the 
skin  is  lodged.  From  the  included  sub-epidermal  tissuo 
the  vitreous  body  is  derived ;  from  the  included  epidermis, 
the  lens ;  whilst  the  cornea  sclerotic  and  iris  are  produced 
by  the  subcutaneous  connective  tissue.  The  optic  nerve 
and  retina  are  formed  from  the  primary  optic  vesicle  and 
its  peduncle,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  bacillary  layer  is  a 
special  development  of  its  internal  epithelial  lining.  The 
choroid  coat  again  is  derived  fiom  the  pia  mater.  Hence 
the  eyeball  is  compounded  A  structures  derived  partly  from 
the  integument  and  partly  from  the  embryo  brain. 

Accessory  Parts  to  the  Eyeball. — In  relation  to  the 
eyeball  several  accessory  parts  are  found. 

The  Eye-Brows  are  projections  of  the  integument,  from 
which  short,  stiff  hairs  grow. 

The  Eye-Lids,  or  palpebrce,  are  two  movable  curtains,  Eyelid*, 
an  upper  and  a  lower,  which  protect  the  frsnt  of  the  globe. 
Between  each  pair  of  lids  is  a  horizontal  fissure,  the  palpe- 
bral fissure.  From  the  free  margins  of  the  two  lids  project 
short  hairs,  the  eye-laskes  or  cilia;  the  upper  set  curve 
downwards  and  forwards,  the  lower  set  upwards  and  for- 
wards ;  they  also  protect  the  front  of  the  globe.  Each 
eye-lid  consists  of  skin ;  of  the  fibres  of  the  orbicular 
sphincter  musclo ;  of  a  thin  plate  of  fibre-cartilage,  the 
tarsal  cartilage,  to  the  inner  end  of  which  a  fibrous  band, 
the  tendo  palpebrarum,  is  attached,  this  tendon  springing 
from  the  ascending  process  of  the  superior  maxilla ;  and 
of  the  conjunctiva.  Between  the  conjunctiva  and  the  tarsal 
cartilage  is  a  layer  of  glands,  the  Meibomian  glands ;  each 
gland  consists  of  a  short  duct,  which  expands  at  its  sides 
into  small  sacculi..  The  sacculi  contain  short  columnar 
cells ;  these  secrete  a  sebaceous  material,  which  escapes 
through  the  orifice  of  the  duct  at  the  border  of  the  eye-lid. 

The  Conjunctiva  is  a  mucous  membrane,  which  forms  the 
posterior  layer  of  the  eye-lid,  and  is  reflected  on  to  the 
anterior  part  of  the  sclerotic.  At  the  inner  angle  of  junc- 
tion of  the  eye-lids  is  a  soft  reddish  elevation  of  tie 
conjunctiva,  the  caruncula  lachrymalis,  and  immediately 
external  to  it  is  a  vertical  fold,  the  plica  semilunaris,  the 


EAR.] 


ANATOMY 


891 


rudiment  of  the  third  eye-lid,  or  membrana  nictitans,  so 
(veil  developed  in  birds.  The  palpebral  conjunctiva  has 
small  papillae  scattered  over  its  surface ;  its  epithelium  is 
stratified,  with  scaly  cells  on  the  free  surface  and  elongated 
cells  in  the  deepest  layer.  In  the  sub-epithelial  tissue  are 
small  branched  mucous  glands,  which  are  .numerous  in  the 
caruncula.  Little  masses  of  adenoid  tissue  (p.  849)  with 
lymphatic  vessels  are  also  found  in  it,  and  the  conjunctiva 
of  the  front  of  the  eyeball  is  thinner  than  the  palpebral  part. 
It  is  not  glandular,  and  its  nerves  terminate  in  end-bulbs 
(p.  862).  The  palpebral  conjunctiva,  and  in  part  that  of 
the  eyeball,  receive  their  blood-vessels  from  those  of  the 
eye-lids,  but  the  portion  of  the  conjunctiva  next  the  cornea 
is  supplied  by  the  arteries  of  the  sclerotic  coat. 

The  Lachrymal  Apparatus  is  engaged  in  the  secretion 
of  the  tears,  and  in  conveying  them  away  from  the  front 
of  the  globe.  The  lachrymal  gland  occupies  a  depression 
in  the  outer  part  of  the  roof  of  the  orbit.  It  is  smaller 
than  an  almond,  is  sub-divided  into  lobules,  and  belongs  to 
the  group  of  compound  racemose  glands.  It  consists  of 
the  ramifications  of  short  ducts,  which  terminate  in  small 
sncculi.  The  wall  of  each  sacculus  consists  of  a  delicate 
membrana  propria,  and  the  cavity  contains  the  polyhedral 
secreting  cells.  Outside  the  membrana  propria  is  a 
cipillary  network  derived  from  the  lachrymal  artery,  but 
(iiannuzzi  and  Boll  have  recently  described  a  space  between 
this  network  and  the  membrana  propria  which  they  believe 
to  be  continuous  with  the  lymphatic  system.  Pfliiger  has 
described  nerves  as  terminating  in  connection  with  the 
secreting  cells.  The  excretory  ducts  of  the  gland  are  from 
six  to  eight,  and  open  on  the  back  of  the  upper  eye-lid. 
The  tears  are  washed  over  the  surface  of  the  globe  by  the 
involuntary  wink- 
ing of  this  lkl. 
When  the  secre- 
tion is  increased 
in  quantity,  in 
the  act  of  crying, 
the  tears  flow  over 
the  cheek,  but  in 
ordinary  circum- 
stances they  are 
conveyed  away  by 
two  slender  tubes, 
the  lachrymal 
canals,  which  open 
by  minute  orifices, 
the  puncta  lachry- 
media,  one  at  the 

inner   end    of   the   fia .79.— Lachrymal  canals  and  dart.  I.  orblcnlarmuscle: 

freeborderof  each       2-    lQchrymal  canal;   8,  punctura;   4.  caruncula;   6, 

...  „,,  lachrymal  sac ;  6,  lachrymal  duct :  7,  angular  artery. 

eye  -  lid.       These 

tubes  open  at  their  opposite  ends  into  a  small  reservoir, 
the  lachrymal  sac,  situated  in  a  hollow  in  the  lachrymal 
boue.  From  this  sac  a  duct,  the  nasal  or  lachrymal  duct, 
proceeds  which  opens  into  the  inferior  meatus  of  the  nose, 
and  here  the  tears  mingle  with  the  mucous  secretion  of 
that  cavity. 

Muscles  of  the  Eyeball. — The  sclerotic  coat  of  the  eyeball 
has  six  muscles  inserted  into  it.  Four  of  the  muscles  are 
called  recti,  and  are  situated,  one  superior,  one  inferior,  one 
external  to,  another  internal  to,  the  globe.  They  all  arise 
from  the  rim  of  bone  which  bounds  the  optic  foramen ;  the 
external  and  internal  muscles  are  inserted  \  ertically  into  the 
sides  of  the  sclerotic,  but  the  superior  and  inferior  recti 
have  oblique  insertions  into  its  upper  and  lower  aspects. 
The  other  two  muscles  are  called  obliqui.  The  superior 
oblique  arises  along  with  the  recti,  passes  to  the  inner  end 
of  the  upper  border  of  the  orbit,  where  its  tendon  goes 
through  a  pulley,,  and   is.  directed  back   to  bo  inserted 


obliquely  into  the  upper  and  outer  part  of  the  sclerotic 
The  inferior  oblique  arises  from  the  lower  border  of  the 
orbit,  passes  outwards  and  upwards  to  be  inserted  obliquely 
into  the  sclerotic.  These  muscles  roll  the  eyeball  in  the 
orbit,  and,  without  entering  into  a  minute  analysis  of  their 
actions,  their  office  may  be  stated  generally  as  follows  : — 
The  internal  rectus  rolls  it  inwards,  the  external  outwards, 
about  its  vertical  axis ;  the  superior  rectus  rolls  it  upwards, 
the  inferior  downwards,  about  its  transverse  horizontal  axis, 
though  from  the  obliquity  of  their  insertions  they  give1  it 
at  the  same  time  a  slight  inward  or  outward  movement  an 
the  case  may  be  ;  the  superior  and  inferior  oblique  roll  the 
globe  around  its  anteroposterior  or  sagittal  axis,  the  superior 
upwards  and  outwards,  the  inferior  downwards  and  out- 
wards. 

Periosteal  Muscle  of  the  Orbit. — The  periosteum  of  the 
orbit  contains,  as  H.  Miiller  and  Turner  have  described,  a 
layer  of  non-striped  muscular  fibre  in  the  part  which  covers 
over  the  spheno-maxillary  fissure.  In  man  it  is  rudimen- 
tary, but  in  the  sheep,  deer,  elephant,  4c,  where  the 
osseous  wall  of  the  orbit  is  deficient,  this  muscle  forms  a 
well-defined  structure.  It  has  been  suggested  that  it  acta 
as  a  protractor  muscle  of  the  globe. 

The  Eae,  or  organ  of  hearing,  is  a  complex  acoustic  ap- 
paratus, situated  in  connection  with  the  temporal  bone. 
It  is  divided  into  three  parts,  named  external,  middle,  and 
internal  ear. 

The  External  Ear  consists  of  the  pinna  or  auricle  and  nxtanu 
the  external  auditory  meatus.  The  auricle  is  the  oblong  ear 
convoluted  body  situated  at  the  side  of  the  head.  Ita 
incurved  outer  border  is  named  the  helix.  Within  this  lies  a 
curved  ridge,  the  anti-helix,  in  front  of  which  is  a  deep 
hollow,  the  concha,  which  leads  into  the  external  meatus. 
The  concha  is  bounded  in  front  by  a  prominence,  the 
tragus,  and  behind  by  a  smaller  prominence,  the  anti-tragus ; 
below  the  anti-tragus  is  the  lobule,  which  forms  the  most 
depending  part  of  the  auricle.  The  framework  of  the 
auricle  is  formed  of  yellow  elastic  fibro-cartilago  invested 
by  integument,  except  the  lobule,  which  consists  merely  of 
a  fold  of  integument  containing  fat  Attached  to  the  car- 
tilage are  not  only  the  three  auricular  muscles  referred  to  od 


Fio.  80.— The  ear  as  seen  In  section,  a,  helix;  \  antl-trsgus:  e.  antl-halli :  «t 
concha;  e,  lobule;  /.  mastoid  process;  g,  portio  dura;  A.  styloid  process;  *, 
Intern  A  carotid  artery;  /,  Eustachian  tube;  mp  tip  of  petrous  process;  «,  exter- 
nal auditory  meatus;  o,  membranl  tympanl;  j>.  tympanum;  1,  points  to  tnal- 
leus;  2,  to  incus;  3.  to  stapes;  4,  to  cochlea;  5,  6,  7,  the  three  ecmlclrculaf 
canals;  8  and  9,  portio  dura  and  portio  mollis. 

page  836,  but  also  certain  smaller  muscles  called  the  proper 
muscles  of  the  pinna.  Thus  the  greater  muscle  of  the  helix 
is  placed  on  its  anterior  border  ;  the  lesser  muscle  of  the 


892 


ANATOMY 


[organs  of  sense — 


helix  is  situated  where  it  arises  out  of  the  concha  ;  the 
muscle  of  the  tragus  lies  on  the  front  of  that  prominence  ; 
the  muscle  of  the  anti-tragus  is  placed  on  the  back  of  that 
prominence ;  the  transverse  muscle  on  the  pusterior  or 
cranial  surface  of  the  auricle. 

The  External  Meatus  leads  from  the  bottom  of  the  concha 
into  the  temporal  bone,  and  is  separated  from  the  tympanum 
or  middle  ear  by  the  membrana  tympani.  It  is  a  crooked 
passage  one  and  quarter  inch  long,  inclined  at  first  forwards 
and  upwards,  then  downwards  and  inwards.  The  wall  of 
the  outer  end  of  the  passage  is  formed  of  fibro-cartilage 
continuous  with  the  cartilage  of  the  auricle,  whilst  that  of 
the  deeper  end  is  formed  of  the  plate-like  tympanic  part 
of  the  temporal  bone.  The  passage  is  lined  with  integu- 
ment continuous  with  the  skin  of  the  auricle,  in  which  are 
situated  numerous  hairs,  together  with  ceruminous  glands 
which  secrete  the  well-known  yellow  "  wax." 

The  Tympanum,  or  Drum,  or  Middle  Ear,  is  a  chamber 
irregularly  cuboidal  in  form,  situated  in  the  temporal  bone 
between  the  bottom  of  the  meatus  and  the  internal  car. 
The  outer  wall  is  formed  of  the  membrani  tympani,  which 
inclines  obliquely  downwards  and  inwards  at  the  bottom 
of  the  external  meatus,  at  an  angle  of  55°  to  the  axis  of 
the  meatus,  whilst  tho  membranes  in  the  two  ears  form 
with  each  other  an  obtuse  angle  of  130°  to  135°.  The  tym- 
panic membrane  is  attached  to  a  groove  at  the  bottom  of 
the  meatus,  and  is  concave  on  its  outer,  convex  on  its  inner 
surface.  It  consists  of  three  layers  :  an  external  tegumen- 
tary,  continuous  with  the  skin  of  the  meatus,  which  con- 
tains no  hairs  or  glands ;  an  internal  mucous,  continuous 
with  the  mucous  lining  of  the  tympanum ;  and  an  inter- 
mediate membrana  propria,  which  consists  of  unyielding 
fibres  arranged  both  radially  and  circularly.  The  radial 
fibres  radiate  from  the  point  of  attachment  of  tho  handle 
of  the  malleus.  The  membrana  propria  is  usually  said  to 
be  destitute  both  of  nerves  and  vessels,  but  Kessel  states 
that  nerves,  blood,  and  lymph  vessels  exist  in  it  as  well  as 
in  the  mucous  and  tegumentary  layers.  Immediately  in 
front  of  the'  membrana  tympani  is  the  Glaserian  fissure. 
The  inner  wall  separates  the  tympanum  from  the  labyrinth, 
and  presents  the  following  appearances  :  a  rounded  elevation 
or  promontory  caused  by  the  first  turn  of  the  cochlea,  on  ' 
the  .surface  of  which  promontory  are  grooves  for  the 
lodgment  of  the  tympanic  plexus  of  nerves  ;  above  tho 
promontory  is  an  oval  opening  closed  in  by  a  membrane, 
the  fenestra  ovalis,  which  corresponds  with  the  vestibule  ; 
behind  and  below  the  promontory  is  a  round  opening  closed 
in  by  a  membrane,  the  fenestra  rotunda,  which  corresponds 
with  the  tympanic  passage  in  the  cochlea.  The  floor  of 
the  tympanum  is  a  narrow  chink  between  the  inner  and 
outer  walls  ;  and  the  roof  is  formed  by  the  anterior  surface 
of  the  petrous-temporal  bone.  At  its  anterior  wall  the 
tympanum  opens  into  the  Eustachian,  tube,  a.  canal  which 
communicates  with  the  nasal  compartment  of  the  pharynx 
immediately  behind  the  inferior  turbinal.  The  wall  of  the 
tympanic  end  of  this  tube  is  formed  of  bone,  that  of  the 
pharyngeal  end  of  a  curved  plate  of  hyaline  cartilage, 
which  is  connected  to  the  bone  by  fibro-cartilage ;  its 
pharyngeal  orifice  is  dilated  into  a  trumpet-shaped  mouth  ; 
through  this  tube  the  ciliated  mucous  membrane  of  the 
nasal  part  of  the  pharynx  is  prolonged  into  the  tympanum. 
Tho  cartilaginous  wall  of  the  tube  does  not  completely 
surround  it,  but  is  completed  by  a  fibrous  membrane,  and 
a  layer  of  .voluntary  muscle,  named  by  Kiidinger  the  dila- 
tator tubae.  Above  the  tympanic  orifice  of  the  Eustachian 
tube  is  a  fine  canal,  through  which  the  tensor  tympani 
muscle  enters  the  .tympanum.  At  its  posterior  wall  the 
tympanum  communicates  with  the  air-siuuses  in  the  mastoid 
temporal ;  here  also  is  found  a  small  hollow  eminence, 
the  pyramid,  through  a  hole  at  the  apex  of  which  the  ten- 


don of  the  stapedius  muscle  passes  ;  and  a  foramen  which 
transmits  the  chorda  tympani  nerve. 

The  tympanic  cavity  contains  three  small  bones,  named 
malleus,  incus,  and  stapes,  arranged  so  as  to  form  an 
irregular  chain,  stretching  across  the  cavity  from  the  outer 
to  the  inner  wall. 

The  Malleus  or  hammer  is  the  most  external  bone.  In 
it  may  be  recognised  a  head  separated  by  a  constricted  neck 
from  an  elongated  handle.  Close  to  the' junction  of  tho 
neck  and  handle  along  slender  process  projects  downwards 
and  forwards  to  be  inserted  into  the  Glaserian  fissure,  and 
near  the  root  of  the  long  process  a  short  process  project') 
outwards.  By  its  handle  the  malleus  is  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  centre  of  the  membrana  tympani ;  by  its  head 
it  articulates  with  the  incus ;  whilst  ligamentous  fibres 
pass  from  it  upwards,  forwards,  outwards,  and  backwards 
to  the  tympanic  walls. 

The  Incus,  or  anvil-shaped  bone,  possesses  a  body  and 
two  processes  ;  on  the  anterior  surface  of  the  body  is  a 
saddle-shaped  hollow  in  which  the  head  of  the  malleus  fits; 
the  short  process  projects  almost  horizontally  backwards, 
and  is  attached  by  a  ligament  to  the  posterior  wall  of 
the  tympanum ;  the  long  process  extends  at  first  down- 
wards and  then  inwards,  to  end  in  a  rounded  projection, 
named  os  orbiculare,  through  which  it  articulates  with  the 
stapes. 

The  Stapes,  or  stirrup-shaped  bone,  possesses  a  head  and 
neck,  a  base  and  two  crura ;  the  head  articulates  with  the 
os  orbiculare  of  the  incus ;  from  the  constricted  neck  the 
two  crura  curve  inwards  to  the  base,  which  is  attached  to 
the  fenestra  ovalis.  The  joint  between  the  malleus  and 
incus  is  diarthrodial  and  saddle-shaped,  and  the  articular 
surfaces  are  enclosed  by  a  capsular  ligament.  The  joint 
between  the  incus  and  stapes  is  also  diarthrodial,  and  pos- 
sesses an  investing  capsular  ligament.  Toynbeo  and  Rild- 
inger  have  described  the  base  of  the  stapes  and  the  margin 
of  the  fenestra  ovali3  as  each  invested  by  hyaline  cartilage. 
Between  these  plates  elastic  fibres  extend  in  a  plexiform 
manner,  and  the  intervals  between  them  are  occupied  by 
fluid  ;  the  joint  seems,  therefore,  a  modified  amphiarthrosis. 
The  bones  are  moved  on  each  other  at  these  joints  by  small 
muscles.  The  tensor  tympani  arises  from  the  apex  of  the 
petrous  temporal,  and  the  cartilage  of  the  Eustachian  tube 
enters  the  tympanum  at  its  anterior  wall,  and  is  inserted 
into  the  malleus  near  the  root.  The  laxator  tympani 
muscle  arises  from  the  spine  of  the  sphenoid,  and  tho  car- 
tilage of  the  Eustachian  tube  enters  the  tympanum  through 
the  Glaserian  fissure,  and  is  inserted  into  the  neck  of  tho 
malleus.  The  stapedius  arises  within  the  pyramid,  enters 
the  tympanum  through  the  .hole  at  its  apex,  and  is  inserted 
into  the  neck  of  the  stapes.  The  tympanum  is  lined  by  a 
mucous  membrane  continuous  with  that  of  the  Eustachian 
tube,  which  invests  the  tympanic  ossicles,  ligaments,  and 
muscles,  and  is  prolonged  backwards  so  as  to  line  tho 
mastoid  air-sinuses.  The  epithelium  covering  this  mem- 
brane, where  it  lines  the  floor  and  the  adjacent  part  of  the 
anterior,  posterior,  and  internal  walls,  consists  of  ciliated 
columnar  cells ;  but  the  epithelium  covering  the  roof,  the 
promontory,  the  membrani  tympani,  and  the  tympanic 
ossicles,  is  tessellated.  In  the  sub-epithelial  connective 
tissue  the  blood  and  lymph  vessels  and  nerves  of  the 
tympanum  ramify.  Kessel  has  recently  described  in  it 
certain  peculiar  bodies,  which  consist  of  a  central  axial 
band  with  a  series  of  capsules,  possessing,  a  fibrillar  struc- 
ture, arranged  concentrically  around  the  axis  ;  the  function 
of  theso  bodies  is  not  known. 

The  formation  of  the  auriclo  and  external  meatus  is  well 
adapted  for  collecting  and  transmitting  sound-vibrations 
inwards  to  the  middle  ear  and  labyrinth.  These  vibrations 
strike  the  membrana  tympani,  and  are  propagated  by  tha 


EAR.] 


ANATOMY 


893 


chain  of  bones  across  the  tympanic  cavity  to  the  labyrinth. 
The  pressure  of  the  vibrations  on  the  tympanic  membrane 
forces  that  membrane  inwards,  so  that  its  inner  surface 
presses  on  the  handle  of  the  malleus,  the  effect  of  which  is  to 
rotate  the  hammer  about  its  axis;  but  by  the  ligamentous 
attachment  of  the  malleus  to  the  tympanic  walls  and  to  the 
incus,  and,  as  Helmholtz  has  shown,  by  the  interlocking  of 
cog-like  ■  processes  connected  with  the  articular  surfaces  of 
the  two  bones,  the  range  of  movement  is  so  limited  that  the 
pressure  on  the  malleus  is  transmitted  through  the  incus 
upon  the  stapes,  which  presses,  therefore,  on  the  mem- 
brane of  the  fenestra  ovalis,  bo  that  the  movements  of 
the  membrana  tympani  txe  thus  transmitted  to  fluid  within 
the  labyrinth.  The  tensor  tympani  muscle  tightens  the 
tympanic  membrane  by  drawing  the  handle  of  the  malleus 
inwards,  and  still  further  adapts  the  structures  for  the 
transmission  of  sound- vibrations.  An  antagonistic  muscle, 
the  laxator  tympani,  has  also  been  described.  There  is 
some  difficulty  in  determining  the  action  of  the  stapedius, 
bat  if,  as  is  probable,  it  draws  the  stapes  from  the  fenestra 
ovalis,  it  will  diminish  the  pressure  of  the  chain  of  bones 
on  that  membrane. 

The  Internal  Ear,  named  the  Labyrinth,  from  its  com- 
plex construction,  is  the  part  of  the  ?uditory  apparatus  in 
which  the  nerve  of  hearing  is  distributed,  and  where  the 
peripheral  end-organs  are  situated.  It  is  imbedded  in  the 
petrous  bone,  and  is  divided  into  three  parts,  viz.,  vestibule, 
semicircular  canals,  and  cochlea,  each  of  which  consists  of  an 
osseous  and  a  membranous  portion  (PL  XIX.  figs.  8,  9, 10). 

The  Vestibule  lies  immediately  internal  to  the  tympanum, 
between  it  and  the  bottom  of  the  internal  auditory  meatus  ; 
behind  it  are  the  semicircular  canals,  and  in  front  is  situated 
the  cochlea.  It  ia  the  part  of  the  labyrinth  which  first 
appears  in  animals,  and  is  therefore  the  most  constant  part 
of  the  organ.  In  the  myxinoid  fishes  a  single  semicircular 
canal  is  superadded  to  the  vestibule,  in  the  lamprey  two 
canals,  but  in  other  fishes  and  in  the  higher  vertebrates  three 
canals  exist.  In  amphibia,  reptiles,  and  birds  the  cochlea 
is  small  and  rudimentary  in  comparison  with  its  develop- 
ment in  mammals.  The  osseous  vestibule  is  an  ovoid 
chamber  about  £th  inch  in  diameter.  In  it3  outer  or 
tympanic  wall  is  the  fenestra  ovalis  ;  in  its  inner  are  small 
auditory  foramina,  which  transmit  from  the  internal 
meatus  the  vestibular  branches  of  the  auditory  nerve  ; 
behind  these  holes  is  the  opening  of  a  minute  canal,  the 
aqueduclus  vestibuli ;  its  anterior  wall  communicates  with 
the  scala  vestibuli  of  the  cochlea,  and  into  its  posterior 
wall  open  the  five  orifices  of  the  three  semicircular  canals. 

The  Semicircular  Canals  are  named  superior,  posterior, 
and  external.  The  superior  and  posterior  are  sometimes 
called  the  vertical  canals,  and  the  external  the  horizontal 
canal,  but,  as  Crum  Brown  has  shown,  the  superior  and 
posterior  lie  in  planes  equally  inclined  to  the  mesial  plane 
of  the  head,  and  the  external  is  in  a  plane  at  right  angles 
to  the  mesial  plane.  Further,  the  canals  in  the  two  ears 
have  definite  relations  to  each  other ;  for  whilst  the  superior 
canal  of  each  ear  is  nearly  parallel  to  the  posterior  canal 
of  the  other,  the  external  canals  in  both  ears  lie  nearly 
in  the  same  plane.  The  canals  are  bent,  forming  nearly 
§ds  of  a  circle,  and  would  have  had  six  openings  into 
the  vestibule  had  not  the  contiguous  ends  of  the  superior 
and  posterior  blended  together  to  open  by  a  common  orifice. 
The  opposite  end  of  each  of  these  canals  and  the  outer  end 
of  the  external  canal  dilate  close  to  the  vestibule  to  twice 
their  usual  diameter,  and  form  an  ampulla.  The  osseous 
vestibule  and  semicircular  canals  are  lined  by  a  periosteum 
invested  by  a  tessellated  endothelium,  and  contain  a  little 
fluid,  the  perilymph.  In  this  fluid  the  membranous  laby- 
rinth is  suspended. 

The  membranous  vestibule  is  formed  of  two  small  sac- like 


dilatations,  the  walls  of  which  are  directly  continuous  with 
each  other,  though  the  cavities  are  separated  by  an  inter- 
mediate partition.  The  upper  and  posterior  dilatation, 
named  utricultis,  is  larger  than  the  lower  and  anterior, 
named  sacculus.  The  sacculus  is  continuous  with  the 
ductus  cocklearis  of  the  membranous  cochlea,  and  both 
sacculus  and  utriculus  communicate  by  slend  ;  tubes  with 
a  short  diverticulum  lodged  in  the  aqucductus  vestibuli,  to 
which  the  name  of  ductus  vestibuli  may  be  given.  The 
membranous  semicircular  canals  are  about  Jd  the  diameter 
of  the  osseous.  Their  walls  are  continuous  with  that  of 
the  utriculus,  and  they  open  by  five  orifices  into  it.  Each 
has  an  ampulla  within  the  ampulla  of  the  osseous  canaL 
Both  the  sacculus  and  utriculus  are  in  places  attached  to 
the  periosteal  linings  of  the  osseous  vestibule,  and  delicate 
ligamentous  bands  connect  the 
membranous  semicircular  canals 
to  the  periosteal  lining  of  the 
tubes  in  which  they  are  con- 
tained. The  wall  of  the  mem- 
branous vestibule  and  canals  con- 
sists of  a  delicate  fibrous  mem- 
brane lined  by  a  tessellated  endo- 
thelium. The  inner  part  of  this 
membrane  has  a  vitreous  or  hya- 
line lustre,  and  gives  origin  in  the 
canals  to  short  papillae  which  pro- 
ject into  the  lumen.  The  mem- 
branous vestibule  and  canals  are 
distended  with  the  fluid  endo- 
lymph.  The  sacculus,  utriculu.n, 
and  ampullae  are  specially  modified 
in  connection  with  the  peripheral 
termination  of  the  vestibular 
branches  of  the  auditory  nerve. 
The  membranous  wall  forms  in 
each  of  these  dilatations  a  project- 
ing ridge,  the  crista  acousli&i,  to 
which  -  calcareous  particles,  the 
otoliths,  which  may  be  either  amorphous  or  crystalline, 
are  adherent.  The  endotheliil  investment  of  the  crista 
is  elongated  into  columnar  ceL's,  and  intercalated  between 
them  are  fusiform  cells,  the  auditory  cells,  each  of  which,  as 
Schultze  and  other  observers  liave  described,  possesses  a 
peripheral  and  a  central  process.  The  peripheral  process 
projects  beyond  the  plane  of  the  free  surface  of  the  endo- 
thelium into  the  endolymph  as  the  auditory  hair,  whilst 
the  central  process  extends  into  the  sub-endothelial  tissue, 
where  the  nerve  plexus  belonging  to  the  terminal  branches 
of  the  auditory  nerve  ramifies,  and  with  which  it  is  probably 
continuous.  These  auditory  cells  are,  therefore,  the  peri- 
pheral end-organs  of  the  vestibular  branches  of  the  auditory 
nerve,  and  their  general  arrangement  is  not  unlike  that  of 
the  olfactory  cells  of  the  nose. 

The  Cochlea  is  by  far  the  most  complex  part  of  tho 
labyrin'h.  It  is  about 
}th  inch  long,  and 
shaped  like  the  shell 
of  a  common  snail ; 
its  base  lies  near  the 
internal  meatus,  and 
its  apex  is  directed 
outwards.  The  osse- 
ous cochlea  is  a  tube 
wound  spirally  two 
and  a  half  times  round 
a  central  pillar  or 
modiolus.  Both  the  pillar  and  the  tube  diminish  rapidly 
in  diameter  from  the  base  to  the  apex  of  the  cochlea. 
The  tube  ia  imperfectly  divided  into  two  passages  by  e 


Fio  81.— <l  columnar  cell 
covering  the  crista  acov$t*~at 
p.  peripheral,  and  e,  cectr* 
processes  of  auditcry  cells, 
n.  nerve  fibri  s.  {JJttr  Hud 
ivger.) 


Fio.  62. — Diagram  of  the  membranous  labyril  th. 
DC,  ductus  cochlearts;  dr.  ductus  reunicns;  3, 
eucculus;  U,  utriculus;  dv.  ductus  vestibuli; 
SC,  semicircular  canals.    {Afttr  Waldeytr.) 


894 


ANATOMY 


[oRfl.vNS   OP   SKXftE — 


plate  of  bone,  the  ossecus  spiral  lamina,  which,  springing 
from  the  modiolus,  winds  spirally  around  it,  and  pi 
into  the  tube.  'When  the  membranous  cochlea  is  in  its 
place  the  division  is  completed  by  a  membrane,  the  vie m- 
branous  spiral  lamina,  or  basilar  membrane,  which  bridges 
across  the  interval  between  the  free  edge  of  the  osseous 
epiral  lamina  and  the  outer  wall  of  the  tube,  to  which 
it  is  attached  by  the  spiral  cochlear  ligament.  These 
passages  are  called  scala  tympani  and  scala  vestibuli. 
But  another  membrane,  the  membrane  of  Heissner,  also 
arises  from  a  denticulated  spiral  crest,  limbus  or  crista 
spiralis,  attached  to  the  vestibular  border  of  the  free  edge 
of  the  osseous  spiral  lamina,  and  extends  to  the  spiral  liga- 
ment at  the  outer  wall  of  the  tube,  on  the  vestibular  aspect 
of  the.basilar  membrane,  so  as  to  enclose  a  passage  between 
it  and  the  basilar  membrane,  called  scala  intermedia  or 
ductus  cochlearis.  The  membrane  of  Reissner  is  formed 
of  delicate  vascular  connective  tissue,  with  an  endothelial 


Fin.  8S.—  Transverse  section  through  the  tube,  of  the  cochlea,  en,  modiolus;  0. 
outer  wall  of  cochlea;  SV.  scala  vestibuli;  ST,  acala  tympani;  DC,  ductus 
vmhlearls;  mH  membrane. of  Riissncr;  6m,  basilar  membrane;  cs,  crlota 
spiralis;  i',  spiral  ligament ;  sg,  spiral  ganglion  of  auditory  nerve;  oc,  organ  of 
of  Corti 

layer  on  each  of  its  two  surfaces.  The  scala  tympani  or 
lower  passage,  widest  at  the  base  of  the  cochlea,  begins  at 
the  inner  wall  of  the  tympanum,  into  which  it  would  have 
upened  through  the  fenestra  rotunda,  had  not  the  fenestra 
been  closed  up  by  a  membrane.  The  scala  vestibuli  or 
upper  passage,  also  widest  at  the  base,  communicates  with 
the  cavity  of  the  osseous  vestibule.  At  the  apex  of  the 
cochlea  these  .two  scalae  communicate  with  each  other 
through  a  small  hole,  the  helicotrema.  As  the  scala  vestibuli 
opens  into  the  osseous  vestibule,  the  perilymph  is  continued 
into  it,  and  through  the  helicotrema  into  the  scala  tympani. 
The  ductus  cochlearis  is  the  membranous  cochlea,  and  its 
walls  are  formed  of  the  basilar  membrane  next  the  scala 
tympani,  of  the  membrane  of  Reissner  next  the  scala 
vestibuli,  and  of  the  spiral  ligament  next  the  wall  of  the 
cochlea,  which  connects  the  two  membranes  together.  It 
follows  the  spiral  windings  of  the  coch.'ea,  terminates  at  the 
apex  of  the  spiral  in  a  closed  end,  whilst  at  the  'base  it 
communicates  with  the  sacculus  of  the  membranous  vesti- 
bule by  a  slender  tube,  the  canalis  reuniens  ;  hence  the 
membranous  cochlea  contains  endolymph.  The  termina- 
tion of  the  cochlear  branches  of  the  auditory  nerve  and  the 
arrangement  of   the  peripheral  end-organs   in  relation  to 


them  are  to  bo  looked  for  in  the  basilar  membrane.  These 
parts  have  been  repeatedly  investigated  and  described  iu 
elaborate  monographs,  tho  titles  of  which  are  given  as  ao 
appendix  to  Waldeyers  article  on  the  cochlea  in  Strieker's 
Handbuch  der  Lchre  von  den  Geweben,  Leipsic,  1872.  The 
general  results  only  of  these  investigations  will  be  given 
here,  and  the  original  memoirs  may  be  referred  to  for 
further  details. 

On  the  surface  of  the  basilar  membrane  directed  to  the 
ductus  cochlearis  a  remarkable  arrangement  of  cells  exists, 
which  presents  an  appearance  that  has  been  compared  with 
the  key-board  of  a  pianoforte,  and  has  been  named  the  organ 
ofCorti ;  it  consists  of  the  following  parts: — Some  of  these 
cells,  distinguished  by  their  elongated  curved  form,  aro 
arranged  in  two  groups,  an  inner  and  an  outer.  The  cells 
of  tho  inner  group  rest  by  a  broad  foot  on  the  inner  part  of 
the  basilar  membrane,  close  to  its  attachment  to  the  spiral 
lamina,  project  obliquely  forwards  and  outwards,  and 
expand  into  a  dilated  head  :  tho  cells  of  the  outer  group 
also  rest  by  a  broad  foot  on  the  same  membrane,  incline 
forwards  and  inwards,  and  fit  into  a  depression  in  the  head 
of  the  cells  of  the  inner  group  :  these  two  groups  of  cells 
form  the  rods  or  pillars  o/Corti,  and  by  their  juxtaposition 
arch  over  an  excessively  minute  canal  enclosed  between 
them  and  the  basilar  membrane,  which  may  be  named  tho 
canal  of  Corti.  The  inner  rods  are,  however,  more  numerous 
than  the  outer,  and  Pritchard  has  shown  that  the  rods 
increase  in  length  from  the  base  to  the  apex  of  the  cochlea. 
Immediately  internal  and  almost  parallel  to  the  inner  group 
of  these  rods,  and  adjacent  therefore  to  the  crista  spiralis, 
is  a  row  of  compressed  conical  cells,  which  possess  at  theii 
anterior  ends  short  stiff  hair-like  processes;  they  are  the 
inner  hair  cells  of  Deiters.  Immediately  external  and 
almost  parallel  to  the  outer  gToup  of  rods  are  four  or  five 
rows  of  hair  cells,  the  outer  hair  a  lis,  which  are  attached 
by  their  bases  to  the  basilar  membrane,  whilst  from  the 
opposite  extremity  a  brush  of  hairs  projects  through  the 
reticular  membrane.  The  outer  hair  cells  are,  according  to 
Waldeyer,  relatively  of  large  size  in  man.  The  reticular 
membrane  of  Kbllikcr  is  a  delicate  framework  perforated 

SV  «iR 


Fio.  84. — Vertical  transverse  section  through  the  basilar  membrane  end  orgas  of 

t:m.  cs,  st,  Ac,  as  In  fig.  83;  {,  Inner  hair  cell;  ir.  Inner,  and  or,  outer 

rod  of  Cortl;  o,  outer  hair  cells;  tp,  supporting  cells;  en,  cochlear  nerve;  «, 

canal  ot   Corti;  rm,  reticular  membrane;  mr,  membiana  tecturta.    {Adapted 

from  Waldeyer,) 

by  rounded  holes.  It  extends  parallel  to  the  basilar  mem 
brane  from  the  inner  rods  of  Corti  to  the  external  row'ot 
outer  hair  cells,  and  through  the  holes  in  it  the  hairs  of  the 
latter  project.  It  obviously  acts  as  a  support  for  the 
anterior  ends  of  these  cells,  and  binds  together  these 
important  elements  of  the  organ  of  Corti.  The  interval 
between  the  outer  hair  cells  and  the  spiral  ligament  is 
occupied  by  cell3  of  a  more  or  less  columnar  form,  the 
supporting  cells  of  Hensen.     Covering  over  the  organ  of 


TONGUE.] 


A  N  A  T  0  M  Y 


89fj 


Corti,  and  separating  it  from  the  endolymph  of  the  ductus 
cochlearis,  is  the  membrana  tectorial.,  which  springs  from 
the  crista  spiralis  close  to  the  attachment  of  the  membrane 
of  Reissner,  passes  outwards  superficial  to  the  membrana 
reticularis,  and  ends  externally  at  the  spiral  ligament. 

The  origin,  course,  and  distribution  of  the  auditory  nerve 
in  the  labyrinth  will  now  be  considered.  The  auditory 
uerve  is  the  portio  mollis  of  the  seventh  cranial  nerve.  It 
appears  at  the  base  of  the  brain  at  the  lower  border  of  the 
pons  Varolii.  Traced  to  its  origin  its  roots  wind  round  the 
restiform  body  to  the  floor  of  the  4th  ventricle,  where  they 
form  the  striaa  acoustica;,  and  sink  into  the  grey  matter  of 
the  floor.  Some  of  the  fibres  arise  from  an  inner,  others 
from  an  anterior  collection  of  nerve  cells,  whilst  others  again 
are  connected  with  the  cells  in  the  restiform  body,  and 
probably  with  the  flocculus  of  the  cerebellum.  Where  the 
nerve  emerges  at  the  lower  border  of  the  pons  it  contains 
a  cluster  of  nerve  cells.  The  auditory  nerve  passes  down 
the  internal  meatus,  and  divides  into  a  vestibular  and  a 
cochlear  division.  The  vestibular  division  enters  the  vesti- 
bule, and  divides  into  five  branches  for  the  sacculus,  utricu- 
lus,  and  three  ampulla?  of  the  membranous  semicircular 
canals.  Each  branch  enters  a  crista  acoustica  and  forms  a 
plexus,  in  the  meshes  of  which  nerve  cells  are  imbedded. 
From  this  plexus  fine  non-medullated  fibres  arise,  which 
enter  the  layer  of  cells  on  the  surface  of  the  crista,  where 
they  anastomose  and  form  a  very  delicate  plexus,  from 
which  fibres  spring  that  in  all  probability  join  the  central 
processes  of  the  auditory  cells. 

The  cochlear  division  enters  a  canal  in  the  axis  of  the 
modiolus,  and  gives  off  lateral  branches,  which  pass  into 
the  canals  situated  in  the  osseous  spiral  lamina.  Here  they 
radiate  outwards  to  the  membranous  spiral  lamina,  and 
have  connected  with  them  collections  of  nerve  cells  forming 
the  spiral  ganglion.  Beyond  the  ganglion  they  form  a  flat 
plexiform  expansion,  from  which  delicate  nerves  pass 
through  a  gap  in  the  edge  of  the  osseous'  lamina  into  the 
organ  of  Corti.  In  this  organ  the  nerves,  as  Gottstein  and 
Waldeyer  have  described,  are  arranged  in  two  groups  of 
fibres ;  the  inner  group  become  continuous  with  the  deep 
end  of  the  inner  hair  cells ;  the  outer  group  pass  across 
the  canal  of  Corti  and  end  in  the  outer  hair  cells.  Hence 
these  cells  are  the  peripheral  end-organs  of  the  cochlear 
branch  of  the  auditory  nerve,  or  the  auditory  cells  of  the 
cochlea. 

The  perilymph  of  the  labyrinth  is  set  in  vibration  by  the 
movements  of  the  tympanic  ossicles  and  the  fenestra  ovalis; 
motion  is  thus  communicated  to  the  membranous  labyrinth 
and  the  endolymph  which  it  contains.  The  auditory  hairs 
and  cells  would  thus  be  set  in  motion,  and  the  vestibular 
branches  of  the  auditory  nerve  would  be  stimulated  to  con- 
duct sound-impulses  to  the  brain.  The  movements  of  the 
perilymph  in  the  scala  tympani  and  of  the  endolymph  in 
the  ductus  cochlearis  would  set  in  vibration  the  basilar  mem- 
brane, and  the  auditory  cells  resting  on  it,  by  which  the 
cochlear  branches  of  the  auditory  nerve  would  be  stimulated 
to  conduct  sound-impulses  to  the  brain.  It  has  been  custom- 
ary for  physiologists  to  regard  the  vestibule  as  the  part  of 
the  labyrinth  by  which  -sound  or  mere  noise  is  determined ; 
the  cochlea,  as  the  part  which  determines  variations  and 
degrees  of  sound,  as  musical  notes  or  harmony ;  the  semi- 
circular canals,  as  determining  the  directions  from  which 
sound  proceeds.  But  within  the  last  two  years  experiments 
and  arguments  have  been  advanced  almost  simultaneously 
by  Crum  Brown  and  Mach  in  favour  of  the  view  that  the 
semicircular  canals  act  as  peripheral  end-organs  for  the  sense 
of  rotation,  by  which  sense  the  axis  about  which  rotation 
of  the  head  takes  place,  the  direction  of  that  rotation,  and 
its  rate,  are  determined. 

In  the  account  of  the  development  of  the  skeleton,  p. 


831,  it  wa3  stated  that  the  external  meatus,  tympanum, 
and  Eustachian  tube  are  the  remains  of  the  first  branchial 
cleft  of  the  embryo,  that  the  tympanic  ossicles  are  formed 
in  the  first  and  second  visceral  arches,  and  that  the  petrous 
bone  is  ossified  in  the  cartilaginous  basis  cranii.  The 
membranous  labyrinth  apparently  arises  as  an  invagination 
of  the  integument  at  the  upper  end  of  the  second  branchial 
cleft.  The  invaginated  fold  then  closes  in  to  form  a  shut 
sac,  the  primary  auditory  vesicle.  Out  of  this  vesicle  the 
three  divisions  of  the  labyrinth  are  successively  produced, 
and  become  enclosed  by  the  petrous  cartilage,  which  when 
ossified  forms  the  osseous  labyrinth.  The  epidermal  invest- 
ment of  the  invaginated  tegumentary  sac  becomes  trans- 
formed into  the  special  cell  structures  within  the  mem- 
branous labyrinth,  and  the  sub-epidermal  connective  tissue 
forms  its  fibrous  wall.  The  cochlear  and  vestibular  nerve? 
form  at  the  same  time  as  the  labyrinth,  and  become 
connected  through  the  trunk  of  the  auditory  nerve  with  the 
brain. 

The  Tongue,  situated  on  the  floor  of  the  cavity  of  the 
mouth,  is  the  chief  organ  provided  for  the  excitation  of 
the  special  sense  of  taste,  but  the  under  surface  of  the  soft 
palate  participates  to  some  extent  in  this  property.  The 
tongue  is  also  highly  endowed  with  the  sense  of  touch. 
The  structures  concerned  in  the  excitation  of  taste  and 
touch  are  situated  in  the  mucous  membrane  which  envelopes 
the  tongue.  The  tongue  is  also  a  muscular  organ,  and 
plays  an  important  part  in  articulation,  mastication,  and 
deglutition.  Its  shape  is  flattened  from  above  downwards, 
so  that  it  presents  an  upper  surface  or  dorsum  and  a  lower 
surface.  Its  posterior  part  is  broad,  forms  the  base  or  root 
of  the  organ,  and  is  attached  to  the  hyoid  bone.  Its  ante- 
rior extremity  or  tip  is  more  or  less  pointed,  and  its  lateral 
margins  or  sides  are  rounded. 

The  muscles  connected  with  the  tongue  are  arranged  in 
pairs,  and  form  three  distinct  groups,  viz.,  accessory,  extrin- 
sic, and  intrinsic  muscles.  The  accessory  muscles  are  the 
stylo-hyoid,  digastric,  mylohyoid,  genio-hyoid,  omo-hyoid, 
sterno-hyoid,  and  thyro-hyoid,  already  referred  to  on  page 
836,  which  act  upon  the  hyoid  bone,  and  thus  indirectly  are 
concerned  in  the  movements  of  the  tongue.  The  extrinsic 
muscles  pass  from  adjacent  parts  into  the  substance  of  the 
tongue,  and  are  as  follows  : — The  stylo-glossus  arises  from 
the  tip  of  the  styloid  process  and  the  stylo-maxillary  liga- 
ment ;  it  runs  forwards  :ilong  the  side  of  the  tongue  to  the 
tip.  The  hyo-glossus  is  divided  into  three  parts  ;  a,  basi- 
glossus,  which  arises  from  the  body  of  the  hyoid ;  b,  ceratc- 
glossus,  from  the  great  cornu  of  the  hyoid  ;  c,  chondro- 
glossus,  from  the  small  cornu  of  the  hyoid.  The  fibres 
from  these  origins  ascend  into  the  side  of  the  tongue.  The 
genio-hyo-glossus  arises  from  the  upper  tubercle  of  the 
symphysis  of  the  lower  jaw,  its  fibres  radiate  into  the  sub- 
stance of  the  tongue  along  its  whole  length  from  base  to 
tip ;  this  muscle  is  separated  from  the  corresponding  muscle 
of  the  opposite  half  of  the  tongue  by  a  mesial  septum  of 
fibrous  tissue.  The  palato-glossus  arises  in  the  substance  of 
the  soft  palate,  and  descends  to  the  tongue  in  the  anterior 
pillar  of  the  fauces.  The  intrinsic  muscles  lie  in  the  sub- 
stance of  the  tongue  itself,  and  are  as  follows  : — The  lingua- 
lis  superior  (noto-glossus),  consisting  of  longitudinal  fibres, 
which  extend  from  the  base  to  the  tip  beneath  the  mucous 
membrane  of  the  dorsum  ;  the  lingualis  inferior,  consisting 
of  longitudinal  fibres,  which  extend  from  the  base  to  the  tip 
along  the  under  surface  lietween  the  hyo-glossus  and  genio- 
hyo-glossus  ;  transversa  inusculai  fibres,  which  spring  from 
the  mesial  fibrous  septum  ajid  curve  outwards  and  upwards 
to  the  sides  of  the  tongue;  vertical  fibres,  which  pass  through 
the  substance  of  the  tongue  from  the  dorsum  to  the  under 
surface.     The  extrinsic  and  intrinsic  musdes  can  not  jdIj 


896 


A  N  A  T  U  M  Y 


[organs  of  SENSE — ' 


move  the  entire  torttmn  within  tho  cavity  of  the  mouth, 
protrude  it  between  me  lips,  and  again  retract  it,  but  can 
modify  its  form ;  thus  the  dorsum  can  be  flattened,  made 
convex  or  concave,  the  margins  can  bo  raised  or  depressed, 
and  the  tip  elevated  or  depressed. 

The  mucous  membrane  of  the  tongue  forms  a  part  of  the 
general  mucous  lining  of  tho  mouth ;  it  covers  the  dorsum, 
tip,  sides,  and  under  surface ;  is  reflected  from  the  under 
surface  to  the  floor  of  the  mouth,  where  it  forms  thafrovnum 
or  bridle  of  the  tongue,  and  is  reflected  also  from  the  base 
to  the  epiglottis  as  the  frcena  of  the  epiglottis,  as  well  as 
over  the  tonsils  and  anterior  palatine  pillars.  This  mem- 
brane has  its  free  surface  elevated  into  multitudes  of  fine 
processes,  called  the  papillae  of  the  tongue,  some  of  which 
are  simple,  others  compound.  The  simple  papillae  are 
situated  on  the  back  part  of  the  dorsum  and  the  under  sur- 
face of  the  mucous  membrane,  as  well  as  scattered  between 
the  compound  papillae;  they  arc  simple  conical  elevations 
of  the  membrane.  The  compound  papillae  are  arranged  in 
three  groups,  named  filiform,  fungiform,  and  circumvallate 
papillae.  The  filiform  papilla!,  elongated  and  thread-like, 
are  the  smallest  and  most  numerous,  and  cover  the  dorsum 
in  front  of  the  circumvallate  papillae.  The  fungif/rm  or 
club-shaped  are  scattered  over  the  anterior  and  middle 
parts  of  the  dorsum,  and  at  the  tip  and  sides.  The 
circumvallate  papilla,  seven  to  twelve  in  number,  form  a 
V-shaped  figure  on  the  dorsum  towards  its  base  ;  a  depres- 
sion in  the  mucous  membrane,  called  foramen  caecum, 
marks  the  apex  of  the  V.  Theso  are  the  largest  papillae ; 
each  is  sunk  in  a  vallum  or  trench-like  depression  of  the 
mucous  membrane,  which  isolates  it  from  the  surrounding 
surface.  The  compound  character  of  these  papillae  is  due 
to  each  having  projecting  from  it  numerous  small  secondary 
papillae.  The  epithelial  covering  of  the  filiform  papillae  is 
characterised  by  the  peculiar  modification  which  the  tessel- 
lated epithelium  of  the  mouth  has  undergone;  the  cells 
have  become  cornified  and  elongated  into  dense,  imbricated 
brush-like  processes.  In  the  carnivora  the  epithelium  is  so 
hardened  as  to  form  sharp  spines,  with  the  points  turned 
backwards,  which  give  to  the  tongues  of  these  animals  a 
rough  prickly  character.  In  the  fungiform  and  cifcumval- 
late  papillae  the  inequalities  between  the  secondary  papillae, 
which  project  from  them,  are  filled  up  by  the  tessellated 
epithelium,  so  that  the  surface  of  the  compound  papilla? 
has  a  smooth  appearanca     Both  the  simple  and  compound 


Flo.  S5.— Section  throoKh  a  gnatatory  lamella  of  the  rabbit'a  tonpie.  0.  gusta- 
tory bulbs  situated  In  En,  the  epithelial  layer  of  the  mucous  membrane;  V.  capil- 
lary blood-vessels  In  tho  sub-epithelial  connective  tissue.  (From  a  preparation 
by  A.  B.  Stirling.) 

papilla  are  highly  vascular;  the  lingual  artery  not  only 
supplies  the  muscular  substance  of  the  tongue,  but  gives 
off  fine  branches  to  the  mucous  membrane.  These  branches 
end  in  capillaries,  which  form  simple  loops  in  the  simple 
papilla;,  but  in  the  compound  papillae  the  capillaries  are  so 
multiplied  that  each  secondary  papilla  has  a  capillary  loop 
within  it.  The  tongue  is  provided  with  several  nerves. 
The  hypo-glossal  nerve  supplies  its  muscular  structure,  but 


Fio.  86.— i.  anperfletal 
com- iinc  cells  ol  • 
gustatory  bulb;  0, 
jrustatoiy  cell,  with 
p,  Ita  peripheral,  and 
c,  ita  central  protest 


the  inferior  ling-ralis  apparently  receives  a  branch  from  the 
chorda  tympani  of  the  facial.  The  lingual  branch  of  th* 
fifth  is  distributed  to  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  anterior 
two-thirds  of  the  tongue :  it  breaks  up  into  minute  branches, 
which  enter  the  fungiform  and  filiform  papillae,  but  their 
exact  mode  of  termination  has  not  been  precisely  ascertained, 
though  end-bulbs  and  gustatory  bodies  are  said  to  have 
been  seen  in  connection  with  some  of  the  terminal  branches. 
The  glossal  branch  of  the  glossopharyngeal  is  distributed 
to  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  root  of  the  tongue  and  of 
the  circumvallate  papillae.  In  ijonnection  with  its  terminal 
branches  peculiar  flask-shaped  organs,  called  gustatory  bulbs 
or  bodies,  have  recently  been  described  by  Loven,  Schwalbe, 
and  Engclmann,  in  the  sides  of  the  circumvallate  papilla;. 
These  have  been  found  in  large  numbers  in  lamcllated 
folds  of  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  posterior  part  of  the 
side  of  the  rabbit's  tongue,  which  folds  may  appropriately 
therefore  be  called  gustatory  lamello?.  When  sections  are 
made  through  one  of  these  folds,  or  through  a  circumval- 
late papilla  and  the  trench  which  surrounds  it,  numerous 
flasksbaped  gustatory  bulbs  may  be  6een 
in  the  epithelium,  which  covers  the  side 
of  the  papilla  and  the  opposite  side  of 
the  trench.  The  bottom  of  each  flask  is 
next  tho  sub-epithelial  tissue,  whilst  its 
short  neck  opens  on  the  surface  by  a 
mouth,  the  gustatory  pore  ;  similar  bodies, 
though  in  much  smaller  numbers,  have 
also  been  seen  in  the  fungiform  papillae. 
Each  gustatory  body  consists  of  two  diffe- 
rent forms  of  cells,  named  covering  cells 
and  gustatory  cells.  The  covering  cells 
are  elongated,  nucleated  spindles,  which, 
arranged  in  layers,  form  the  envelope  of 
each  gustatory  bulb,  and  reach  from  the  bottom  to  the 
mouth  of  tho  flask ;  they  enclose  the  gustatory  cells. 
The  gustatory  cells  are  attenuated,  homogeneous,  and 
highly  refractile  cells,  which  possess  an  elliptical  nucleated 
body  with  two  processes,  a  central  and  peripheral.  These 
cells  occupy  the  axis  of  the  gustatory  bulb.  The  peri- 
pheral process,  broader  than  the  central,  sometimes  ends 
in  a  short  hair-like  tip,  which  almost  reaches  the  gus- 
tatory pore ;  the  central  process  extends  to  the  base  of 
the  flask,  and  often  divides  into  small  branches.  This 
process  is  varicose,  and  not  unlike  the  axial  cylinder 
of  a  nerve  fibre.  The  branches  of  the  glossopharyngeal 
nerve,  which  are  distributed  to  the  back  of  the  tongue, 
enter  the  circumvallate  papillae,  and  form  a  minute  plexus, 
with  groups  of  nerve  cells  interspersed  in  it,  from  which 
bundles  ioth  of  medullated  and  non-medullated  fibres  pass 
to  the  basis  of  the  gustatory  bulbs ;  and  it  is  believed  that 
the  finest  non-medullated  fibres  are  continuous  with  the 
peripheral  processes  of  the  gustatory  cells,  which  are  there- 
fore regarded  as  the  peripheral  end-organs  of  the  nerve  of 
taste,  and  by  the  excitation  of  these  bodies  gustative  or 
taste  sensations  are  produced.  As  the  glosso-pharyngeal 
is  the  nerve  distributed  to  the  circumvallate  papillae,  where 
these  gustatory  bulbs  are  especially  found,  it  is  therefore 
the  special  nerve  of  taste  ;  but  as  these  bulbs  have  also 
been  sparingly  seen  in  the  other  papillae,  where  the  lingual 
nerve  is  distributed,  that  nerve  probably  acts  in  a  minor 
degree  as  a  nerve  of  taste,  though  its  special  function  is 
undoubtedly  that  of  a  nerve  of  touch.  The  gustatory 
bulbs  are  not  penetrated  by  blood-vessels,  but,  as  Fig.  85 
shows,  the  vascular  sub-epithelial  tissue  is  prolonged 
upwards  along  the  sides  of  the  bulbs  almost  as  far  as  the 
plane  of  the  gustatory  pore.  Key,  Beale,  and  other 
observers  have  described  special  modifications  of  the 
epithelium  in  connection  -with  the  terminations  of  the  gusta- 
tory nerves  in  the   frog.     Tho  mucous  membrane  of  the 


AKIN.] 


ANATOMY 


897 


tongue  contains  numerous  email  tubular  or  branched 
glands,  more  especially  on  the  dorsum  near  its  root,  which 
secrete  mucus.  Depressions  also  occur  in  this  part  of  the 
mucous  membrane,  around  the  walls  of  which  groups  of 
lymphoid  cells  are  collected  in  the  sub-epithelial  connective 
tissue,  which  have  an  arrangement  closely  resembling  the 
structure  of  the  adjacent  tonsils,  and  form  an  example  of 
adenoid  tissue. 

,  The  Skht,  or  Integument,  invests  the  entire  outer  surface 
of  the  body,  and  contains  structures  by  the  excitation  of 
which  the  properties  of  things  are  determined  by  the  sense 
of  touch.  The  skin  also  contains  accessory  structures,  as 
the  nails,  hairs,  sebaceous  glands,  and  sweat  glands.  The 
skin  consists  of  a  non-vascular  cuticle  or  epidermis,  and  of 
a.  vascular  and  sensitive  corium,  or  cutis  vera. 

The  Cuticle,  Epidermis,  or  scarf  shin,  forms  the  outer 
covering  of  the  skin,  and  protects  the  cutis.  It  is  a 
laminated  structure,  and  consists  of  numerous  layers  of 
cells  superimposed  on  each  other.  As  these  cells  cover 
a  free  surface  exposed  to  the  air,  they  belong  to  the  epithe- 
lium group.  The  thickness  of  the  cuticle  varies  in  diffe- 
rent localities  from  -r^th  to  j-J^th  inch  ;  where  the  skin 
is  frequently  exposed  to  pressure,  as  in  the  soles  of  the 
feet,  the  cuticle  is  the  thickest  and  hardest ;  and  the 
hands  of  those  accustomed  to  manual  labour  have  a  hard 
»nd  horny  cuticle.  The  increase  in  thickness  in  these 
localities  is  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  highly  sensi- 
tive cutis  from  injury.  The  outer  surface  of  the  cuticle  in 
many  parts  of  the  body,  especially  the  palm  of  the  hand  and 
the  fingers,  is  marked  by  ridges  and  furrows  ;  the  ridges 
indicate  the  position  and  arrangement  of  the  papilla?  of  the 
cutis,  whilst  the  furrows  are  due  to  the  sinking  of  the 
cuticle  into  the  spaces  between  the  rows  of  papilla?.  The 
mouths  of  the  sweat  glands  open  on  the  surface  of  these 
ridges.  The  cuticle  is  divided  into  two  strata.  The  super- 
ficial horny  stratum  consists  of  layers  of  flat,  polygonal  scales 
like  a  tessellated  epithelium;  the  cells  in  the  superimposed 
layers  firmly  adhere  to  each  other  by  their  surfaces,  and  in 
vertical  sections  this  stratum  presents  a  fibrous  appearance ; 
but  the  cells  may  be  readily  isolated  by  digestion,  in  a  caustic 
alkali.  The  deeper  or  mucous  stratum,  or  rete  Malpiykii, 
lies  next  the  cutis,  and  closely  follows  the  undulations  of 
its  papillary  surface.  The  cells  forming  the  layer  next  the 
cutis  are  columnar  in  shape,  those  in  the  layers  immediately 
succeeding  are  rounded  or  cubical,  whilst  those  next  in 
order  are  polygonal,  and  not  unfrequently  possess  pointed 
processes  or  prickles  projecting  from  them,  hence  the 
name,  prickle  cells,  employed  by  Schultze.  The  cells  which 
lie  next  the  horny  stratum  assume  the  scale-like  form.  It 
is  in  the  cells  of  the  mucous  stratum  that  the  colouring 
matter  of  the  skin  is  found,  which  in  the  fair  races  of  men 
forms  the  isolated  coloured  spots  called  freckles  and  moles, 
but  in  the  dark  races  the  pigment  granules  are  uniformly 
distributed  through  the  celL  of  this  stratum.  The  super- 
ficial cells  of  the  horny  stratum  of  the  cuticle  are  continually 
being  shed,  so  that  the  cells  of  the  deeper  layers  gradually 
approach  the  surface,  and  new  cells  are  continually  being 
formed  in  the  deeper  part  of  the  rete  Malpighii.  The 
cuticle  is  closely  adherent  to  the  cutis  in  the  healthy  living 
skin,  but  on  the  application  of  a  blister,  or  when  putrefac- 
tion sets  in  after  death,  it  separates  from  it. 

The  Cutis  vera. — When  the  cuticle  is  removed  the  surface 
of  the  cutis  is  seen  to  be  studded  with  multitudes  of  minute 
elevations,  the  papilla?  of  the  skin.  These  papilla?  are 
either  simple  conical  structures,  or  compound  with  two  or 
three  branches.  They  are  largest  in  the  palm  and  sole, 
being  from  i-J-jth  to  yj-wth  of  an  inch  high,  and  are  arranged 
in  ridges,  but  more  usually  they  are  much  shorter  and 
irregularly  distributed.     The  cutis  is   formed  of  connec- 

1—30 


)no.  87. — Vertical  section  through  the  akin  and  sutcuu. 
Leous  tisane,  hi,  horny  stratum,  an  J  rm.  rete  Malplght 
of  cuticle;  pp.  papille  of  cutis;  (,  a  touch  corpuscle. 
with  n,  a  nerve  fibre ;  6c,  a  blood  and  Ic,  a  lymph 
capillary;  et,  -connective  subcutaneous  tissue;/,  fat 
lobule;  i,  a  sweat  gland  with  its  duct. 


tive  tissue,  in  which  stellate  connective  tissue  corpuscles 
and  elastic  fibres  are  abundant.  The  deeper  surface  of  th« 
connective  tis- 
sue of  the  cutis 
is  reticulated, 
and  is  continu- 
ous with  the 
bundles  of  con- 
nective tissue 
that  form  the 
areolar  subcu- 
taneous tissue. 
In  the  papillae 
themselves  the 
fibres  of  the 
connective  tis- 
sue are  not  so 
well  marked, 
and  the  surface 
of  the  papillae 
possesses  more 
of  a  homoge- 
neous aspect, 
which  gives 
rise  to  the  ap- 
pearance de- 
scribed as  a 
basement 
membrane. 
The  cutis  is 
highly  .vascu- 
lar ;  the  small  arteries  which  go  to  the  skin  give  off  branches 
to  the  lobules  of  fat  in  the  subcutaneous  tissue,  then  pene- 
trate the  cutis,  and  form  a  plexus  from  which  capillaries 
arise,  which  enter  the  papilla*,  and  form  vascular  loops  within 
them.  The  lymphatic  vessels  of  the  skin  are  numerous; 
they  form  a  plexus  in  the  cutis,  which  lies  beneath  the 
vascular  plexus,  forms,  as  Neumann's  injections  show,  a 
network  around  both  the  sebaceous  and  sweat  glands,  and 
gives  off  capillary  loops  into  the  papillae.  The  nerves  of 
the  skin  are  the  cutaneous  branches  both  of  the  spinal  and 
of  certain  of  the  cranial  nerves,  the  origin  and  distributiou 
of  which  have  already  been  described.  They  run  through 
the  subcutaneous  tissue,  and  enter  the  deep  surface  of  the 
cutis,  where  they  divide  into  branches.  As  these  pass  Kerv 
towards  the  papilla?  they  unite  to  form  a  nerve  plexus,  touei 
from  which  smaller  branches  arise  to  enter  the  papillae, 
and  terminate,  more  especially  in  the  skin  of  the  palm  of 
the  hand,  fingers,  and  sole,  which  are  the  surfaces  most 
sensitive  to  touch  impressions,  in  the  tactile  or  touch 
corpuscles.  ,  The  touch  corpuscles  discovered  by  Wagner 
and  Meissner  are  the  peripheral  end-organs  of  the  nerves 
of  touch.  They  may  be  single  or  compound ;  are  usually 
ovoid  inform,  not  unlike  a  minute  fir  cone;  and  are  trans- 
verse1 y  marked,  from  the  transverse  direction  of  the  nuclei 
of  fusiform  cells  which  form  an  investing  capsule.  Each 
single  corpuscle  and  each  division  of  a  compound  corpuscle 
is  penetrated  by  one,  and,  according  to  Thin,  by  never 
more  than  one,  medullated  nerve  fibre,  but  the  exact  mode 
of  termination  of  the  axial  cylinder  of  the  fibre  has  not 
been  ascertained.  Virchow  and  other  German  observers 
have  stated  that  the  papilla?  which  contain  capillaries  do 
not  contain  nerves  or  touch  corpuscles,  and  vice  versa  ;  but 
Dalzell  and  Thin  have  shown  that  certainly  tne  majority 
of  papillae  that  conUin  nerve  fibres  and  touch  corpuscle* 
are  also  vascular  papillae.  Non-medullated  nerve  fibre* 
ascend  to  the  surface  of  the  cutis,  and,  according  to  Lan- 
gerhans,  pass  into  the  rete  Malpighii  between  the  cells  of  thq 
mucous  layer. 

Sails. — On  the  back  of  the  last  phalanx  of  each  thumb. 


898 


ANATOMY 


[organs  OP  SE.nSB. 


hnger^  and  toe  is  situated  a  firm  horny  curved  plate,  the 
nail  Each  nail  rests  on  a  bed,  the  sin  face  of  which  is 
formed  of  the  cutis,  which  also  overlaps  the  side  and  root 
of  the  nail ;  thus  the  nail  fi^s  into  a  groove  formed  of  the 
cutis  something  after  the  manner  in  which  a  watch-glass 
fits  into  its  rim.  A  nail  is  merely  a  special  modifica- 
tion of  the  cuticle,  the  cells  of  the  superficial  stratum  01 
which  are  more  horny,  harder,  and  more  firmly  adherent 
to  each  other  than  in  the  cuticle  proper.  Deeper  than  the 
horny  stratum  is  the  rete  Malpighii  of  the  nail,  the  cells  of 
which  are  soft,  as  in  the  cuticle  itself.  The  cutis  forming 
the  bed  of  the  nail  is  studded  with  papillae,  which  are 
arranged  in  almost  parallel  rows,  and  are  highly  vascular. 
Naib  grow  both  in  length  and  thickness  :  the  increase  in 
thickness  is  due  to  the  formation  of  nerve  cells  on  the  bed 
of  the  nail ;  the  increase  in  length  takes  place  through  the 
formation  of  nail  cells  at  its  root,  and  as  the  nail  is  thus 
slowly  pushed  forward  it  requires  to  bo  cut  at  intervals. 
At  the  root,  sides,  and  below  the  free  border  of  the  nail  the 
cuticle  is  continuous  with  the  substance  of  the  nail  itself. 

Hair. — Projecting  from  the  surface  of  the  skin  are  multi- 
tudes of  elongated  cylindrical  horny  structures,  the  hairs. 
In  the  skin  of  "the  scalp,  the  armpits,  and  the  pubis,  they 
are  long  and  numerous ;  but  in  the  eye-brows,  eye-lasbes, 
vibrissa  of  the  nostrils,  and  surface  of  the  body  generally, 
they  are  short..  They  are  stronger  and  thicker  in  the  skin 
of  man  than  of  woman,  more  especially  on  the  cheeks, 
lips,  and  chin.  Hairs  do  not  grow  from  the  skin  of  the 
palms  and  soles,  the  back  of  the  ungual  phalanges,  and  the 
surface  of  the  "upper  eye-lids.  Each  hair  is  partially  em- 
bedded in  a  depression  of  the  skin,  called  a  hair  follicle.  The 
deeper  end  of  the  follicle  is  somewhat  dilated,  and  has  in  it  a 
papilla,  the  hair  papilla.  The  wall  of  the  hair  follicle  is 
formed  of  the  constituent  structures  of  the  skin  ;  the  outer 
part  of  the  wall  belongs  to  the  cutis,  and  has  been  described 
as  arranged  in  three  layers,  the  external,  middle,  and  inner 
layer  of  the  hair  follicle.  The  external  and  middle  layers  are 
formed  of  connective  tissue,  with  blood-vessels ;  whilst  the 
inner,  sometimes  called  the  vitreous  layer,  is  transparent 
and  homogeneous,  and  continuous  with  the  so-called  base- 
ment membrane  of  the  cutis.  The  inner  part  of  the  wall  of 
the  hair  follicle,  or  the  root-sheath,  belongs  to  the  cuticle, 
and  consists  of  two  layers,  the  outer  and  inner  root-sheaths. 
The  outer  root-sheath  is  continuous  with  the  rete  Malpighii, 
and  consists  of  cells  similar  to  those  of  that  stratum.  The 
inner  root-sheath  is  continuous  with  the  horny  stratum  of 
the  cuticle,  and  consists  of  elongated  scale-like  translucent 
cells  in  which  no  nuclei  can  be  seen. 

A  hair  possesses '  a  root,  a  shaft,  and  a  tip ;  the  root  is 
embedded  in  the  hair  follicle,  whilst  the  shaft  and  tip  form 
the  free  projecting  part  of  the  hair.  In  the  human  hair 
the  substance  of  the  hair  is  composed  of  &  fibrous-looking 
horny  material,  which  by  the  action  of  strong  sulphuric  acid 
is  resolved  into  elongated,  closely  compacted,  fusiform  cells, 
which  in  coloured  hairs  contain 'pigment  granules.  In  the 
thicker  hairs  the  cells  in  the  axis  of  the  hair  are  polygenal, 
contain  air,  and  form  a  central  pith  or  medulla.  The  hair 
b  invested  by  imbricated  scale-like  cells,  which  form  the 
hair  cuticle.  In  different  animals  the  size  and  relative  pro- 
portion of  the  cells  of  the  cuticle,  medulla,  aud  fibrous  part 
of  the  hair  present  many  modifications.  The  wool  of  the 
sheep  has  its  cuticle  scales,  with  well-defined  serrated 
margins,  so  that  the  hair  of  this  animal  is  well  adapted  for 
felting  into  cloth  ;  in  the  bat,  also,  the  cuticle  cells  are 
large  and  strongly  serrated.  The  bristles  of  the  pig,  again, 
have  the  fibrous  part  of  the  hair  largely  developed.  In 
the  deor  tribe  the  hair  consists  of  polygonal  medulla-like 
eells,  which  contain  air.  The  root  of  the  hair  dilates  at  ite 
deeper  end  into  a  bulb  which  embraces  the  hair  papilla, 
it  is  softer  in  texture  than  the  shaft,  so  that  the  cellular 


structure  of  the  hair  is  more  easily  demonstrated.  Nert 
the  papilla  the  cells  are  like  those  of  the  rete  Malpighii, 
but  when  traced  onwards  to  the  shaft  they  are  seen  to 
become  differentiated,  both  in  structure  and  composition, 
into  the  proper  hair  cells.  The  root  is  enveloped  in  a  special 
sheath,  termed  the  sheath  of  Huxley,  composed  of  nucleated 
cells,  which  sheath,  in  the  more  superficial  part  of  the 
follicle,  blends  with  the  internal  root-sheath.  The  hair 
papilla  bears  to  the  hair  the  same  relation  as  a  papilla  of 
the  cutb  has  to  its  investing  cuticle,  so  that  a  hair  is  to  be 
regarded  as  a  specially  modified  cuticular  structure.  The 
human  hair  papilla  is  vascular,  but  no  nerves  have  been 
traced  into  it.  In  the  tactile  hairs  of  the  mammalia,  how- 
ever, nerves  have  been  traced  into  their  papillae. 

The  bristles,  feathers,  claws,  hoofs,  the  homy  envelope  of 
the  horn  cores  in  the  hollow  horned  ruminants,  and  various 
tegumentary  spines  and  scales,  present  in  many  animals, 
are,  like '  hairs  and  nails,  special  modifications  of  the 
tegumentary  system. 

Each  hair  follicle  has  opening  into  it  the  excretory  duct 
of  a  small  gland,  named  a  sebaceous  gland.  This  gland 
consists  of  the  excretory  duct,  and  of  from  two  to  twenty 
grape-like  saccular  expansions  which  open  into  the  duct. 
The  wall  of  the  sacculi  and  of  the  duct  is  continuous  with 
the  vitreous  layer  of  the  outer  wall  of  the  hair  follicle. 
Capillary  blood-vessels  are  distributed  on  the  outer  wall  of 
the  sacculi.  The  sacculi  are  almost  entirely  filled  with 
polygonal  cells  containing  drops  of  fat,  which  cells  are 
continuous  with  the  epithelial  lining  of  the  gland  duct  and 
the  cells  of  the  outer  root-sheath.  These  glands  secrete  a 
fatty  material,  which  lubricates  the  surface  of  the  hair. 
Sometimes  a  small  parasite,  called  Acarus  follictdorum,  is 
found  in  a  sebaceous  gland. 

Some  years  ago  Kolliker  described  one  or  two  bundles 
of  smooth  muscular  fibres  extending  from  the  wall  of  the 
hair  follicle  to  the  deep  surface  of  the  cutis;  these  muscles, 
named  arrectores  pili,  by  their  contraction  erect  the  hairs, 
that  is,  cause  them  to  become  more  prominent,  and  produce 
the  condition  of  skin,  called  cutis  anserina  or  goose  skin, 
well  known  to  occur  when  cold  is  apf  bed  to  the  surface  of 
the  body. 

Hairs  are  developed  about  the  4vh  month  of  embryo  life, 
within  depressions  in  the  cutis,  which  form  the  future  hair 
follicles,  filled  with  cells  similar  to,  and  continuous  with, 
those  of  the  rete  Malpighii  A  papilla  forms  at  the  bottom 
of  this  depression,  around  which  the  cells  become  arranged 
in  a  bulbous  expansion.  The  cells,  in  line  with  the  bulb, 
elongate  and  harden,  and  group  themselves  so  as  to  form 
the  shaft  of  the  young  hair,  which  at  this  stage  b  com- 
pletely buried  within  the  follicle.  A  rapid  production  of 
new  cells  takes  place  at  the  bulb,  the  hair  consequently 
increases  in  length,  and  b  pushed  outwards  through  the 
superficial  horny  stratum  of  the  cuticle,  which  had  closed 
in  the  mouth  of  the  depression  or  follicle  in  which  the  hair 
is  produced.  At  the  same  time,  the  more  external  cells 
within  the  follicle  are  pushed  outwards  towards  its  wall, 
and  form  the  celb  of  the  root^sheath.  When  a  hair  b 
pulled  out  of  its  follicle  the  cells  of  the  root-sheath  are 
drawn  out'  along  with  it.  A  new  hair  will  be  developed 
at  the  bottom  of  a  follicle  from  which  the  hair  has  been 
shed  as  long  as  celb  continue  to  be  formed  around  the 
papilla.  When  the  growth  of  celb  ceases  within  the  hail 
follicles  then  permanent  baldness  is  the  result. 

The  sebaceous  glands  are  developed  as  bud-like  offshoots 
from  the  hair  follicles,  filled,  like  the  follicles  themselves, 
with  celb  continuous  with  those  of  the  rete  Malpighii 
Instead  of  the  celb  it)  theso  buds  differentiating  into  a 
hair,  they  become  filled  with  fatty  particles,  and  the  wall 
of  the  bod  ««um»  the  characteristic  sacculated  form  of 
the  gland. 


VOL.  J. 


ANATOMY 


PL  A TE  XX 


Hy.2 


F'S  I 


F:;i  J 


ENCYCLOPEDIA    BRITANNICA.    NINTH    EDITION 


VA&tUiAU    SYSTEM.] 


ANA  T  0  M  Y 


899 


Sweat  Glands,  or  sudoriparous  glands,  are  found  gene-ally 
distributed  throughout  the  skin,  but  are  ni06t  abundant  in 
the  palms  and  soles,  where  they  number  2500  to  3000  in 
each  square  inch.  In  the  skin  of  the  back,  again,  there 
are  only  between  400  and  500  in  the  square  inch.  Each 
gland  consists  of  a  ball-like  body  lying  in  the  subcutaneous 
tissue,  from  which  a  tubular  duct  proceeds  through  the 
skin  to  open  on  its  free  surface.  The  ball  is  composed  of 
a  convoluted  tube  continuous  with  the  tubular  duct,  and 
terminfting  in  a  blind  end.  The  wall  of  the  gland  tube 
consists  of  a  delicate  nucleated  membrane  lined  by  columnar 
necreting  cells.  It  is  surrounded  by  connective  tissue 
•ontaining  capillary  blood-vessels.  As  the  gland-duct 
pierces  the  cutis  it  passes  between  the  papilla?;  in  its  course 
through  the  cuticle  it  pursues  a  spiral  direction,  and  has  its 
walls  formed,  not  of  a  distinct  membrane,  but  of  the  cuticle 
cells  themselves.  The  epithelial  lining  of  the  duct  is 
continuous  with  the  celte  of  the  rete  Malpighii  of  the  cuticle. 
In  the  axilla  and  groin  the  sweat  glands  are  much  larger 
than  in  the  skin  generally.  The  sweat  glands  arise  as 
flask-shaped  pouches  of  the  rete  Malpighii  projecting  into 
the  cutis,  which  in  course  of  time  become  elongated  into 
tubes,  and  the  cells  contained  in  which  become  the  secreting 
•ells  of  the  gland.  « 

Vascular  System. 

The  human  body  and  the  bodies  of  all  the  more  highly 
organised  animals  are  traversed  by  numerous  tubes  or  pipes, 
technically  called  Vessels,  some  of  which  in  man  are  nearly 
an  inch  in  diameter,  others  so  small  as  to  require  a  micro- 
scope for  their  examination,  others  again  of  every  interme- 
diate size.  In  connection  with  the  vessels  is  a  central  organ, 
the  Heart  The  heart  and  the  vessels  collectively  constitute 
the  Vascular  System.  Of  these  vessels  some  contain  blood, 
and  form  the  Blood-vascular  system  ;  others  contain  lymph, 
and  .form  the  Lymph-vascular  system.  The  lymph-vascular 
system  is  not  independent  of  the  blood-vascular  system, 
but  communicates  with  it  at  several  points.  The  vascular 
system  is  a  hydraulic  apparatus,  possessing  a  pump,  pipes, 
and  valves.  The  heart  is  the  pump,  which  works,  not  by 
the  movements  of  a  piston,  but  by  the  contraction  of  its 
muscular  walls  ;  the  vessels  are  the  pipes,  which  convey 
the  contained  fluid,  and  they  are  provided  in  certain  locali- 
ties with  valves  for  modifying  its  flow. 

Blood-Vasctjlak  System. — The  movement  of  the  blood 
in  the  blood-vascular  system  is  called  the  circulation  of  the 
blood.  In  the  lower  Vertebrata  the  heart  is  a  single  organ, 
and  the  blood  flows  from  it  through  the  vessels  back  again 
into  the  part  of  the  heart  from  which  it  had  proceeded, 
forming  a  simple  circulation.  In  man  and  the  higher  ver- 
tebrates the  heart  is  a  double  organ,  i.e.,  it  consists  of  a 
right  and  left  portion,  intimately  united  to,  but  not  directly 
communicating  with,  each  other.  The  blood  which  flows 
from  its  right  side  passes  through  vessels  which  traverse 
the  lungs,  and  is  conveyed  to  the  left  side  of  the  heart  ; 
whilst  the  blood  which  flow3  from  the  left  side  passes 
through  vessels  which  traverse  the  body  generally,  and  is 
conveyed  to  the  right  side  of  the  heart.  This  is  called  a 
double  ciradation  ;  that  which  appeilains  to  the  lungs  is 
the  pulmonic  circulation ;  that  which  appertains  to  the 
I  body  generally  is  the  systemic  circulation.  The  vessels 
which  carry  the  blood  away  from  the  heart  are  called 
arteries;  those  which  convey  it  back  to  the  heart  are  veins. 
The  arteries  and  veins  do  not  communicate  directly  with 
each  other,  but  through  the  intermediation  of  a  network 
of  extremely  minute  vessels,  the  capillaries.  Hence,  both 
in  the  pulmonary  and  systemic  circulation,  the  blood  in  its 
p:issage  from  the  arteries  into  the  veins  must  go  through 
capillaries.  The  blood  which  flows  from  th6  left  side  of 
the  heart  into  the  systemic  arteries  is  pure  or  arterial  blood ; 


as  it  traverses  the  systemic  capillaries  it  parts  with  certain 
of  its  constituents  to  nourish  the  organs  and  tissues,  and 
as  it  receives  from  them  waste  products  it  becomes  impure 
blood  ;  in  which  condition  it  flows  back  to  the  right  side  ui 
the  heart  by  the  systemic  veins  as  venous  blood ;  hence 
the  right  side  of  the  heart  is  often  called  the  venous  side. 
The  blood  which  flows  from  the  right  side  of  the  heart 
along  the  pulmonary  artery  is  this  impure  blood  ;  as  it 
traverses  the  pulmonary  capillaries  it  is  purified  by  the 
action  of  the  air  in  the  lungs,  and  is  changed  into  arterial 
or  pure  blood,  in  which  condition  it  flows  back  by  the 
pulmonary  veins  to  the  left  side  of  the  heart,  which  conse- 
quently is  called  the  arterial  side.  The  object  of  the 
pulmonary  circulation,  therefore,  is  to  reconvert  into  pure 
blood  the  blood  which  has  been  rendered  impure  during  iu 
passage  through  the  systemic  capillaries. 

The  I/cart. — The  heart  is  a  hollow  muscle  contained 
in  the  cavity  of  the  chest,  and  enclosed  within  a  bag  called 
the  Pericardium.  The  pericardium,  with  its  enclosed  heart 
occupies  the  space  called  mediastinum,  between  the  twe 
lungs  ;  it  lies  therefore  behind  the  sternum,  and  in  front  of 
the  spinal  column,  but  projects  more  to  the  left  than  to  the 
right  side  of  the  mesial  plane.  The  bag  of  the  pericardium 
is  formed  externally  of  a  strong  fibrous  membrane,  which  is 
attached  below  to  the  central  tendon  of  the  diaphragm,  but 
blends  above  with  the  sheaths  of  the  great  vessels  which  pass 
to  and  from  the  heart.  When  the  bag  is  cut  open  its  inner 
surface  is  seen  to  possess  a  smooth  glistening  serous  aspect, 
for  it  is  lined  by  a  layer  of  squamous  endothelium,  which 
layer  is  continuous  with  the  serous  membrane  that  invests; 
tHe  heart,  and  forms  the  visceral  layer  of  the  pericardium. 
The  continuity  of  the  serous  lining  of  the  bag  with  the 
serous  investment  of  the  heart  takes  place  where  the  great 
blood-vessels  pierce  the  fibrous  bag. 

The  heart  lies  obliquely  from  above  downwards,  from 
right  to  left,  and  from  behind  forwards.     For  descriptive 


Flo.  88.— The  Thoracic  Viscera. 

••  In  this  diagram  the  lnnga  are  turned  to  the  aide,  end  the  pertaarHhjjn  rs 
moved  to  disj.lay  the  heart.  <i,  upper,  <r\  lower  lobe  of  left  lung;  o,  upper. 
V,  middle,  f,  lower  loba  of  right  lung;  c,  trachea;  ct,  arch  of  aorta-  a 
superior  vena  cava;  /,  pulmonary  artery;  g.  left,  and  ft,  right  auricle;  «,  njhl. 
and /,  left  ventricle;  m,  inferior  vena  cava;  n,  descending  aorta;  1,  Innominate. 
artery;  3,  right,  and  4,  left  common  carotid  artery;  3,  right,  and  5,  left  into. 
elavian  artery;  6,  6,  right  and  left  Innominme  vein;  7  and  9,  left  and  neat 
internal  Jugular  reins;  8  and  10,  left  and  right  snnclavlan  veins;  \\.  12.  13,  led 
pulmonary  artery,  bronchus,  and  vein  ;  14.  16,  16,  right  pulmonary  areockaa? 
artery,. and  vein;  17  aad  IS,  lea  and  right  coronary  arteries. 

purposes  it  may  be  regarded  as  possessing  a  base,  »n  apex, 
an  anterior  and  i  posterior  surface,  a  right  and  Jeft  border. 
The  base  lies  backwards,  upward.-.  ?.nd  to  the  right,  opjioeite 


900 


ANATOMY 


[vASCCUU 


the  4  th  to  the  8th  dorsal  vertebrae.  Tho  apex  is  directed 
forwards,  downwards,  and  to  the  left,  opposite  to  the  inter- 
val between  the  5th  and  Gth  left  ribs.  The  heart  has  on 
its  surface  grooves  which  indicate  its  division  internally 
into  four  chambers,  two  in  its  right  half,  two  in  its  left 
half.  The  right  chambers  are  the  right  auricle  and  right 
ventricle.  The  left  chambers  are  the  left  auricle  and  left 
ventricle.  All  these  chambers  are  lined  by  a  smooth 
membrane,  the  endocardium,  which  is  continuous  on  the 
one  hand  with  the  lining  membrane  of  the  veins,  on  the 
other  with  the  lining  membrane  of  the  arteries. 

The  Bight  Auricle  occupies  the  right  part  of  the  base  of 
•the  heart.  It  consists  of  a  large  dilated  portion,  the  sinus 
vennsus,  and  of  a  small  ear-shaped  appendage,  the  auricula. 
Its  muscular  wall  is  smooth  internally,  except  in  the  auri- 
cula and  adjacent  anterior  wall  of  the  sinus  venosus,  where 
It  is  thrown  into  parallel  ridges  like  the  teeth  of  a  comb, 
and  named  musculi pectinati.  Into  the  sinus  venosus  open 
the  great  systemic  veins  or  venas  cavae.  The  superior  vena 
cava  conveys  to  the  auricle  the  systemic  blood  that  has 
been  circulating  in  the  body  above  the  diaphragm  ;  it  opens 
by  a  patent  mouth  into  the  upper  and  back  part  of  the 
sinus  venosus.  The  inferior  vena  cava  conveys  to  the 
auricle  the  blood  that  has  been  circulating  in  the  parts  of 
the  body  below  the  diaphragm  ;  it  opens  into  the  lower  and 
back  part  of  the  auricle,  and  at  its  mouth  is  a  rudimentary 
valve,  the  Eustachian  valve.  Close  to  its  orifice  is  the 
mouth  of  another  large  vein,  the  coronary  venous  sinus, 
which  also  possesses  a  small  valve.  Several  minute  open- 
ings, the  foramina  Thebesii,  scattered  over  the  inner  wall 
of  the  auricle,  are  the  mouths  of  small  veins  ramifying  in 
the  wall  itself.  Through  these  various  orifices  the  venous 
blood  pours  into  the  auricle,  and  then  flows  into  the  right 
ventricle  through  a  large  orifice  of  communication  between 
them.  The  right  auricle  is  separated  by  a  partition,  the 
auricular  septum,  from  the  left  auricle.  On  the  surface  of 
this  septum  is  a  depression,  the  fossa  ovalis,  surrounded  by 
a  raised  border,  the  annulus  ovalis,  with  which  border  the 
inner  end  of  the  Eustachian  valve  is  continuous.  Before 
the  birth  of  the  child  the  septum  is  perforated  by  a  hole, 
called  foramen  ovale,  through  which  the  blood  flows  directly 
into  the  left  auricle, , but  this  foramen  is  obliterated  after 
the  birth  of  the  child. 

The  Right  Ventricle  forms  the  right  border,  a  large  part 
of  the  anterior  surface,  but  only  a  small  part  of  the  posterior 
surface  oi  the  heart.  It  is  shaped  somewhat  like  a  flattened 
cone,  its  apex  being  directed  downwards  towards  the  apex 
of  the  heart,  its  base  to  the  corresponding  auricle.  The 
inner  surface  of  its  wall  is  very  irregular,  owing  to  the 
muscular  bundles  being  elevated  into  strong  ridges,  called 
columnar  cameo?.  Two,  or  it  may  be  three,  of  these  fleshy 
columns  project  like  nipples  or  big  papilla;  into  the  cavity  of 
the  ventricle,  and  are  called  musculi  papillares.  Attached 
to  the  free  apex  of  each  papillary  muscle  are  several  fibrous 
threads,  the  chorda;  tendinew,  which,  by  their  opposite  extre- 
mities, are  connected  to  the  segments  of  a  large  valve  situ- 
ated around  the  opening  between  the  right  auricle  and 
ventricle.  The  right  auriculo-ventricular  opening, situated  at 
the  base  of  the  ventricle,  is  sufficiently  large  to  admit  three 
fingers,  and  possesses  a  valve  which  consists  of  three  large 
pointed  segments  or  cusps  (hence  the  name  tricuspid  given  to 
|t),  between  which  three  small  intermediate  cusps  lie.  One 
of  the  large  cusps  lies  opposite  the  anterior  wall  of  the  ven- 
tricle, another  opposite  the  posterior,  whilst  the  third  is 
between  the  auriculo-ventricular  and  pulmonary  openings. 
The  cusps  are  flattened  triangular  folds  of  membrane  con- 
pected  by  their  bases  around  the  opening  ;  when  the  valve 
[a  not  in  action  the  apex  of  each  cusp  hangs  pendulous  in 
\he  ventricle  :  one  surface  is  smooth,  and  looks  to  the  cavity 
of  »hp,  rentricle,  the  other  surface  is  rouyh  and  directed  to 


its  wall ;  to  this  rough  surface,  to  the  apex,  and  to  the  edge* 
of  the  cusp,  the  chordae  tendinese  are  attached.  As  the 
musculi  papillares,  from  which  the  chordae  tendineae  sprin-', 
lie  opposite  the  intervals  between  the  cusps,  the  chordae 
tendiueae  from  any  given  papillary  muscle  divide  them- 
selves into  two  groups,  one  for  each  of  the  two  cusps 
between  which  it  is  situated.     Attention  has  recently  beoo 


Flo.  89.— Cavities  of  the  right  side  of  the  Heart 

o.  superior,  and  6,  Inferior  vena  can  i  e,  arch  of  aorta ;  d,  pulmonary  artfrri  t 
right,  and  /  left  auricular  appendage;  g.  f«ssa  ovalU:  A.  Eustachla.  .valtn 
*.  month  of  coronary  vein;  I.  m,  n,  cusps  of  the  tricuspid  valve;  o,  o,  i  opU- 
lary  muscles;  p,  semilunar  valve;  o,  corpus  Arantll ;  r,  lunula. 

drawn  by  Rolleston  to  a  band  which  passes  from  the  base 
of  the  anterior  papillary  muscle  to  the  septal  wall  of  the 
ventricle.  As  it  prevents  over-distension  of  the  ventricle, 
he  has  named  it  the  moderator  band.  The  base  of  this 
ventricle  forms  to  the  left  and  in  front  of  the  auriculo- 
ventricular  opening,  a  funnel-shaped  prolongation,  the  conuc 
arteriosus,  from  which  the  pulmonary  artery  arises,  through 
the  intermediation  of  a  strong  fibrous  ring.  Surrounding 
the  mouth  of  this  artery  is  a  valve  called  semilunar,  which 
consists  of  three  semilunar  segments.  Each  segment  is 
attached  by  its  convex  border  to  the  artery  where  it  springs 
from  the  ventricle.  The  opposite  border  is  free,  and  pos- 
sesses at  its  centre  a  minute  nodule,  the  corpus  Arantii, 
from  which  slender  threads  curve  outwards  at  the  free 
border  and  in  the  substance  of  the  valve  to  strengthen  it. 
A  thin  lunated  portion  lies  immediately  within  the  free 
border.  One  surface  of  the  valve  is  convex,  and  directed 
to  the  lumen  (i.e.,  the  space  contained  by  the  walls)  of  the 
artery;  the  other  is  concave,  and  directed  to  the  wall  of  the 
artery,  and  between  it  and  the  wall  is  a  pouch  named  sinus 
of  Valsalva.  The  pulmonary  artery  extends  upwards  and 
to  the  left  for  about  1J  inch,  and  then  divides  into  tw^ 
branches,  one  for  each  lung.  The  right  ventricle  is  com 
pletely  separated  from  the  left  by  the  ventricular  septum, 
which  passes  obliquely  from  left  to  right,  and  from  before 
backwards,  so  that  it  forms  the  posterior  wall  of  the  right 
ventricle  and  the  anterior  wall  of  the  left. 

The  Left  Auricle  occupies  the  left  part  of  the  base  of 
the  heart,  and,  bike  the  right  auricle,  consists  of  a  dilated 
sinus  venosus  and  an  ear-shaped  auricula.  Its  muscular 
wall  forms  a  smooth  surface  internally,  except  in  the 
auricula,  where  the  ridge-shaped  musculi  joectinali  occur. 
Opening  into  the  sinus  are  the  orifices  of  the  four  pulmonary 
vetns,  two  from  the  right,  two  from  the  left  lung :  these 


SYSTEM.] 

orifices  are  without  valves.  At  the  lower  part  of  tha 
auricle  is  the  large  orifice  of  communication  between  it 
and  the  ba3e  of  the  left  ventricle. 

The  Left  Ventricle  forms  the  left  border,  the  apex,  a 
large  part  of  the  posterior  surface,  but  only  a  small  part 
of  the  anterior  surface  of  the  heart.  It  is  conical  in  form, 
its  apex  is  at  the  apex  of  the  heart,  the  base  at  the  corre- 
sponding auricle.  As  in  the  right  ventricle,  the  inner  surface 
of  its  wall  is  elevated  into  fleshy  columns,  two  of  which 
project  like  nipples  into  the  cavity  and  form  musculi 
papillares,  which  have  chordae  tendinece  connected  with 
them.  The  'eft  auriculo-ventricular  opening  is  large  enough 
to  admit  two  fingers.  It  possesses  a  valve,  which  consists 
of  two  large  pointed  segments  or  cusps,  between  which  two 
small  intermediate  cusps  lie,  hence  it  is  called  the  bicuspid 
valve ;  and  as  these  cusps  are  placed  one  in  front  of  the 
other  like  the  segments  of  a  bishop's  mitre,  the  name  mitral 
valve  is  often  given  to  it.  The  cusps  agree  in  shape,  general 
arrangement,  and  mode  of  attachment  with  those  of  the 
tricuspid  valve,  but  they  are  stronger;  and  as  the  more 
anterior  segment  Kes  obLiquely  between  the  auricular  and 
aortic  orifices,  both  its  surfaces  are  smooth.  From  the  base 
of  this  ventricle  the  great  systemic  artery  or  aorta  arises 
through  the  intermediation  of  a  strong  fibrous  ring.  The 
mouth  of  the  aorta  is  surrounded  by  a  three  segmented 
semilunar  valve,  similar  to  the  semilunar  pulmonary  valve, 
but  with  thicker  and  stronger  segments,  and  possessing 
more  strongly  marked  sinuses  of  Valsalva.  The  base  of 
each  ventricle  has  therefore  two  openings  in  it,  one  for 
communication  with  the  auricle,  the  other  with  the  great 
artery  arising  from  the  ventricle.  The  auriculo-ventricular 
openings  are  .the  most  posterior,  and  almost  in  the  same 
plane";  the  aortic  opening  lies  in  front  of  the  interval 
between  the  two  auriculo-ventricular,  and  the  pulmonary 
opening  is  in  front  of  the  aortic. 

The  walls  of  the  cavities  of  the  heart  are  formed  of 
striped  muscular  fibre,  over  the  contractions  of  which  the 
will  exercises  no  control.  The  fibres  are  collected  into 
fasciculi,  which  have  a  reticulated  arrangement,  and  the 
fibres  themselves  branch  and  again  unite  to  form  a  compli- 
cated network.  The  fibres  of  the  walls  of  the  auricles  are 
distinct  from  those  of  the  ventricles,  so  that  the  auricular 
and  ventricular  compartments  are  connected  together,  not 
by  an  interchange  of  muscular  tissue,  but  by  an  intermediate 
ring-like  arrangement  .of  fibres  of  connective  tissue.  The 
muscular  fasciculi  of  the  auricles  are  arranged  in  two  strata. 
The  deeper  stratum  consists  of  fibres  proper  to  each 
auricle,  some  of  which  run  obliquely  in  the  wall,  others 
form  the  musculi  pectinati,  surround  the  auricula,  and  are 
prolonged  in  rings  into  the  coats  of  the  venae  cavae  and 
pulmonary  veins,  whilst  fibres  extend  longitudinally  and 
obliquely  along  the  wall  of  the  coronary  venous  sinus.  The 
superficial  stratum  consists  of  fasciculi,  which  run  obliquely 
from  one  auricle  to  the  other  on  both  the  anterior  and 
posterior  surfaces,  and  are  said  to  be  prolonged  into  the 
auricular  septum. 

The  muscular  wall  of  the  ventricles  is  much  thicker  than 
that  of  the  auricles,  and  the  wall  of  the  left  ventricle 
is  about  three  times  thicker  than  the  right.  The 
fibres  vary  in  their  direction  in  different  parts  of  the 
thickness  of  the  ventricular  walls.  The  superficial  ex- 
ternal fibres  run  obliquely  from  above  downwards,  and 
from  right  to  left,  and  on  the  anterior  surface  of  the  ven- 
tricles dip  into  the  anterior  ventricular  groove  to  enter  the 
septum,  whilst  on  the  posterior  surface  they  extend  across 
the  posterior  ventricular  groove ;  at  the  apex  of  the  heart 
they  turn  inwards  in  a  whorl-like  manner,  and,  as  was 
known  to  Lower  and  Gerdy,  become  continuous  with 
superficial  fibres  on  the  inner  wall  of  the  ventricle;  at  the 
bnse  of  the  ventricles  they  turn  round  the  border  of  the 


ANATOMY 


901 


auriculo-ventricular  openings,  and,  as  Pettigrew  haa  shown, 
become  continuous  with  these  superficial  internal  fibres, 
which  run  in  the  reverse  direction.  The  internal  fibres  are 
also  prolonged  into  the  musculi  papillares,  the  chords 
tendineae  springing  from  which  serve  therefore  as  tendons 
of  insertion  for  these  muscles.  If  the  substance  of  the 
wall  be  now  dissected  the  fibres  situated  in  the  centre  of 
the  wall  are  seen  to  lie  ia  the  horizontal  plane.  Various 
anatomists  have  described  these  fibres  of  the  ventricles  as 
arranged  in  layers.  Lower  recognised  two  layers  spirally 
crossing  each  other  ;  Haller,  three ;  Wolff,  three  in  the  right 
and  six  in  the  left  ventricle.  Pettigrew  at  one  time 
believed  he  could  dissect  nine  layers,  but  has  subsequently 
reduced  the  number  to  seven — three  external,  a  fourth  or 
central,  and  three  internal.  He  conceives  that  the  fibres 
of  the  three  external  layers  run  in  a  spiral  direction  from 
left  to  right  downwards,  the  first  layer  being  more  vertical 
than  the  second,  and  the  second  than  the  third,  whilst  the 
fibres  of  the  fourth  or  central  layer  are  horizontal  The 
three  internal  layers  also  run  spirally,  but  in  the  reverse 
direction  from  the  external,  with  which  they  become  con- 
tinuous both  at  the  base  and  apex.  The  subdivision  of  the 
ventricular  wall  into  such  precise  and  determinate  layers 
as  is  implied  in  the  descriptions  of  Pettigrew  is,  however, 
to  some  extent  an  artificial  procedure.  There  can  be  no 
doubt,  as  his  dissections  so  beautifully  show,-  that  the 
direction  of  the  fibres  in  the  ventricular  wall  varies  at 
different  depths ;  but  owing  to  the  reticulated  arrangement 
of  the  fibres,  not  only  are  those  connected  together  which 
lie  in  one  of  the  so-called  layers,  but  they  also  anastomose 
with  the  fibres  in  the  layer  contiguous  to  it  on  either 
aspect.  Hence  when  one  layer  is  peeled  off,  that  imme- 
diately subjacent  exhibits,  not  a  smooth  face,  which  it 
would  have  done  had  the  definition  of  the  layers  been  dis- 
tinct, but  a  rough  appearance,  due  to  the  tearing  through 
of  intermediate  connecting  muscular  fibres.  Owing  to 
these  connections  the  substance  of  the  wall  of  the  ventricle, 
as  Henle's  dissections  show,  may,  with  the  exception  of 
the  superficial  internal  and  external  fibres,  be  split  up  into 
lamellae,  which  extend  either  horizontally,  obliquely,  or  in 
an  arched  manner  through  the  wall  between  its  two  sur- 
faces ;  and  the  surfaces  of  those  lamellae  are  not  parallel  to 
the  wall  of  the  ventricle,  but  are  directed  upwards  and 
downwards. 

Except  at  the  fibrous  rings,  where  both  the  white  and 
yellow  fibres  are  distinct,  the  connective  tissue  of  the  heart 
is  small  in  quantity.  The  endocardial  lining  consists  of 
connective  tissue  with  elastic  fibres,  with  a  layer  of  endo- 
thelium on  the  free  surface ;  and  Schweigger-Seidel  has 
also  described  smooth  muscular  fibres  in  it.  Hence,  as 
Luschka  has  stated,  the  endocardium  represents  not  merely 
the  inner  coat  of  the  blood-vessels  but  all  the  structures  of 
the  vascular  wall  Purkinje  described  fibres  beneath  the 
endocardium,  which  are  now  regarded  as  imperfectly  formed 
striated  muscular  fibres.  The  valves  are  folds  of  the  endo- 
cardium, enclosing  fibres  continuous  with  those  in  the 
fibrous  rings :  the  cuspidate  auriculo-ventricular  valves 
receive  fibres  from  the  chordae  tendineae. 

The  heart  is  well  supplied  with  blood,  not  by  the  blood 
which  flows  through  its  cavities,  but  by  two  special  coro- 
nary arteries  which  ramify  in  its  walls,  and  end  in  nume- 
rous capillaries  lying  between  the  fibres.  7rom  these 
capillaries  the  coronary  veins  arise,  which  join  to  form  the 
coronary  venous  sinus.  Lymphatic  vessels  occur  both  in 
the  endocardium  and  pericardium,  and  apparently  ramify 
in  the  muscular  wall.  The  nerves  of  the  heart  have  been 
dissected  especially  by  Scarpa,  Remak,  Lee,  and  Pettigrew, 
and  numerous  small  ganglia  described  in  connection  with 
them  (see  p.  883). 

The  blood  flows  along  the  great  veins  into  the  auriclca. 


902 


ANATOMY 


[vascular  srsTEH 


and  is  forocd  by  the  contraction  of  their  muscular  walls 
through  the  auriculo-ventricular  openings,  the  valves  of 
which  open  outwards,  into  the  ventricles.  When  the  ven- 
tricles are  distended  their  muscular  walls  contract  and  force 
the  blood  into  the  arteries — the  right  ventricle  into  the 
pulmonary  artery,  the  left  into  the  aorta — the  valves  at  the 
mouth  of  each  artery  opening  outwards  to  allow  of  the 
free  passage  of  the  fluid.  To  prevent,  during  the  ventricular 
contraction,  the  regurgitation  of  blood  into  the  auricles,  the 
auriculo-ventricular  valves  are  floated  away  from  the  sides 
of  the  ventricle  across  their  respective  openings,  and  by  the 
apposition  and  slight  overlapping  of  their  edges  temporarily 
close  the  openings.  The  tilting  upwards.of  the  valves  into 
the  auricles  is  prevented  by  the  contraction  of  the  musculi 
papillarcs,  and  their  connection  with  the  cusps  of  the  valve 
through  the  chordae  tendineae.  PettigTew  has  shown  that 
casts  of  the  ventricular  cavities,  more  especially  of  the  left, 
have  the  form  of  a  double  cone,  spirally  twisted  from  right 
to  left,  and  has  described  the  blood  as  forced  in  spiral 
streams  against  the  under  surface  of  the  segments  of  the 
valve,  which  are  twisted  and  wedged  into  each  other  so  as 
to  prevent  regurgitation.  The  propulsion  of  the  blood  into 
the  arteries  distends  the  elastic  walls  of  those  tubes  ;  but 
when  the  ventricular  contraction  has  ceased,  the  elastic  wall 
recoils,  and  the  blood  is  propelled  onwards  in  the  circula- 
tion. The  regurgitation  of  the  blood  into  the  ventricles  ia 
prevented  by  the  closure  of  the  semilunar  valves,  the  seg- 
ments of  which  are  thrown  across  the  arterial  orifices 
through  the  pressure  exercised  on  the  column  of  blood  in 
the  lumen  of  the  artery  and  in  the  sinuses  of  Valsalva, 

The  Arteries. — These  vessels  were  named  arteries  by  the 
older  anatomists,  on  the  supposition,  now  known  to  be 
erroneous,  that  they  contained  air.  The  term  ia  now 
omployed  to  express  a  blood-vessel,  which,  arising  either 
directly  or  indirectly  from  the  heart,  conveys  blood  away 
from  that  organ.  Arteries  divide  and  subdivide  into  smaller 
vessels  in  their  course,  and  to  the  individual  branches 
descriptive  names  are  applied.  Some  of  these  names 
express  the  position  of  an  artery,  as  subclavian,  axillary ; 
others,  the  organ  in  which  it  is  distributed,  as  pulmonary, 
hepatic  ;  others  a  peculiarity  in  its  course,  as  circumflex, 
coronary.  The  branches  of  arteries  may  be-either  collateral 
or  terminal.  The  collateral  branches  arise  from  the  sides 
of  the  parent  artery  either  at  an  acute,  a  right,  or  an  obtuse 
angle.  Terminal  branches  arise  at  an  acute  angle  by  the 
bifurcation  of  the  parent  artery,  which  is  the  most  common 
form,  or  by  the  breaking  ■  up  of  the  artery  into  a  cluster 
of  branches.  Branches  which  arise  either  from  the  same 
artery  or  from  different  arteries  may  be  distributed  in  a 
common  locality,  may  there  unite  together,  and  form  what 
js  called  an  inosculation  or  anastomosis,  so  that  the  blood 
from  one  artery  may  thus  flow  from  it  into  another.  The 
most  common  anastomosis  is  by  the  formation  of  loops 
between  adjacent  branches,  but  sometimes,  as  when  the  <vo 
vertebral  arteries  join  to  form  the  basilar,  a  convergence 
of  two  almost  straight  arteries  takes  place ;  and  in  other 
cases,  as  where  the  two  anterior  cerebral  arteries  are  joined 
together  by  the  anterior  communicating,  a  connecting 
branch  passes  transversely  across  the  mesial  plane.  A  more 
complex  form  of  anastomosis  is  when  an  artery  (and  a 
similar  arrangement  i3  sometimes  found  in  veins)  rapidly 
subdivides  into  numerous  branches,  which  may  again  join 
to  form  a  trunk  either  with  or  without  the  formation  of  a 
plexus.  This  is  called  a  rett  mirabile,  an  arrangement  not 
uncommon  in  the  cetacea,  in  the  internal  carotid  arteries 
of  ruminants,  in  the  mesenteric  arteries  of  the  pig,  in  the 
arteries  of  the  limbs  of  the  sloths  and  lemurs,  and  in  the 
arterial  Bystera  of  fishes.  The  only  examples  of  a  rete  in 
the  human  body  are  the  convoluted  Malpighian  tufts  of  the 
kidney  and  the  arterial  distribution  in  the  coccygeal  body. 


The  distribution  of  the  pulmonary  artery  will  be  con- 
sidered in  the  anatomy  of  the  lungs.  That  of  the  aorto 
will  now  bo  briefly  described. 

The  Aorta  (11  Lte  X  X.  figs.  2,  3,  a)  lies  in  the  cavities  of  the  Aorta, 
thorax  and  abdomen, and  arises  from  the  base  of  the  left  ven- 
tricle. It  ascends  forwards,  upwards,  and  to  the  right  as  far 
as  the  level  of  the  second  right  costal  cartilage,  then  runs 
backwards  and  to  the  left  to  reach  the  left  side  of  the  body 
of  the  4th  dorsal  vertebra,  and  then  descends  almost  verti- 
cally to  reach  the  left  side  of  the  body  of  the  5  th  dorsal  ver- 
tebra. It  forms,  therefore,  an  arch,  well  known  as  the  arch 
of  the  aorta,  which  arches  over  the  root  of  the  left  lung,  and 
which  has  attached  to  its  concave  surface  a  fibrous  cord, 
known  as  the  obliterated  ductus  arteriosus,  which  connects 
it  with  the  left  branch  of  the  pulmonary  artery.  The  aorta 
continues  its  course  downwards  in  close  relation  to  the 
bodies  of  the  lower  dorsal  vertebrae,  then  passes  through 
an  opening  in  the  diaphragm,  enters  the  abdomen,  and 
descends  in  front  of  the  bodies  of  the  lumbar  vertebrae  as 
low  as  the  4th,  where  it  is  usually  described  as  dividing 
into  the  two  terminal  branches,  the  common  iliac  arteries. 
At  the  angle  of  bifurcation,  however,  a  long  slender 
artery,  called  the  middle  sacral,  is  prolonged  downwards  in 
front  of  the  sacrum  to  the  end  of.  the  coccyx.  In  animals 
with  long  tails  this  artery  can  be  recognised  as  a  direct 
continuation  of  the  aorta,  prolonging  it  downwards  in  front 
of  the  caudal  vertebra;,  whilst  the  iliacs  are  seen  to  bo 
collateral  branches ;  but  in  man,  where  the  coccyx  is  rudi- 
mentary, and  the  lower  limbs  largely  developed,  the  iliac 
arteries  which  supply  those  limbs  are  so  big  as  to  obscure 
the  true  signification  of  the  middle  sacral  artery,  and  appear 
themselves  to  be  the  terminal  branches  of  the  aorta.  The 
branches  which  arise  directly  from  the  aorta'  may  be 
arranged  in  four  groups. — 1st,  Branches  for  the  supply  of 
the  viscera  of  the  thorax  and  abdomen  proper ;  2d,  branches 
for  the  walls  of  the  thorax,  abdomen,  and  pelvis;  3d, 
branches  for  the  head,  neck,  and  upper  limbs ;  4th,  branches 
for  the  lower  limbs,  pelvic  walls,  and  viscera. 

The  branches  of  the  aorta  which  supply  tho  viscera  of  Visceral 
the  thorax  are  the  coronary,  the  oesophageal,  the  bronchial,  breaches, 
and  the  pericardial.  The  coronary  arteries,  two  in  num 
ber,  are  the  first  branches  of  the  aorta,  and  arise  opposite 
the  right  and  left  segments  of  the  semilunar  valve,  from 
the  wall  of  the  aorta,  where  it  dilates  into  the  sinuses  of 
Valsalva.  The  mouths  of  these  arteries  are  closed  by  the 
opening  outwards  of  the  aortic  valves  during  the  ventricular 
contraction.  The  elastic  recoil  of  the  aorta  following  that 
contraction  not  only  closes  the  aortic  valves,  but  drives  the 
blood  into  the  coronary  arteries.  These  arteries  break  up 
into  branches  in  the  muscular  walls  of  the  heart,  and  the 
sudden  turgescence  of  its  walls,  which  results  from  the  fill- 
ing of  these  vessels,  is,  according  to  Briicke  and  Garrod, 
the  cause  of  the  dilatation  of  the  ventricular  cavities. 

The  bronchial  arteries  are  two  in  number ;  one  accom- 
panies each  bronchial  tube,  and  supplies  the  tissues  of  the 
lung. 

The  esophageal  arteries,  three  or  four  in  number,  supply 
the  coats  of  the  oesophagus. 

The  pericardial  branches  are  very  small  arteries  which 
supply  the  back  of  the  bag  of  the  pericardium. 

The  branches  of  the  aorta  which  supply  the  viscera  of 
the  abdomen  arise  either  singly  or  in  pairs.  The  single 
arteries  are  the  coeliac  axis,  the  superior  mesenteric,  and  the 
inferior  mesenteric,  which  arise  from  the  front  of  the  aorta ; 
the  paire  are  the  capsular,  the  two  renal,  and  the  two 
spermatic  or  ovarian,  which  arise  from  its  sides.  The 
single  arteries  supply  viscera  which  are  either  completely 
or  almost  completely  invested  by  the  peritoneum,  and  tho 
veins  corresponding  to  them  are  the  roots  of  the  vena 
portee.     The    pairs  of   arteries  supply   viscera   developed 


ARTERIES.] 


ANATOMY 


903 


behind  the  peritoneum,  and  the  veins  corresponding  to  them 
are  rootlets  of  the  inferior  vena  cava. 

The  coeliac  axis  is  a  thick,  short  artery,  which  almost 
immediately  divides  into  the  coronary,  hepatic,  and  splenic 
branches.  The  coronary  artery  subdivides  into  an  oesoph- 
ageal branch  for  the  lower  end  of  the  oesophagus,  and  a 
fastric  branch  for  the  coats  of  the  stomach.  The  liepatic 
artery  ends  in  the  substance  of  the  liver ;  but  gives  off  a 
tyslic  branch  to  the  gall  bladder,  a  pyloric  branch  to  the 
stomach,  a  gastro-duodenal  branch,  which  divides  into  a 
superior  pancreatico-duodenal  for  the  pancreas  and  duode- 
num, and  a  right  gastro-epiploic  for  the  stomach  and 
omentum.  The  splenic  artery  ends  in  the  substance  of  the 
spleen  ;  but  gives  off  pancreatic  branches  to  the  pancreas, 
vasa  brevia  to  the  great  end  of  the  stomach,  and  a  left 
gastro-epiploic  to  the  stomach  and  omentum. 

The  superior  mesenteric  artery  gives  off  an  inferior 
pancreatico-duodenal  branch  to  the  pancreas  and  duodenum  ; 
about  twelve  intestinal  branches  to  the  small  intestines, 
which  form  in  the  substance  of  the  mesentery  a  series  of 
arche3  before  they  end  in  the  wall  of  the  intestines ;  an 
ileocolic  branch  to  the  end  of  the  ileum,  the  caecum,  and 
beginning  of  the  colon  ;  a  right  colic  branch  to  the  ascend- 
ing colon ;  and  a  middle  colic  branch  to  the  transverse  colon. 

The  inferior  mesenteric  artery  gives  off  a  left  colic 
branch  to  the  descending  colon,  a  sigmoid  branch  to  the 
sigmoid  flexure  of  the  colon,  and  ends  in  the  superior 
luxmorrhoidal  artery  which  supplies  the  rectum.  The 
arteries  which  supply  the  coats  of  the  alimentary  tube 
from  the  oesophagus  to  the  rectum  anastomose  freely  with 
each  other  in  the  wall  of  the  tube,  or  in  its  mesenteric 
attachment,  and  the  anastomoses  are  usually  by  the  forma- 
tion of  arches  or  loops  between  adjacent  branches. 

The  capsular  arteries,  small  in  size,  run  outwards  from 
the  aorta  to  end  in  the  supra-renal  capsules. 

The  renal  arteries  pass  one  to  each  kidney,  in  which 
they  for  the  most  part  end,  but  in  the  substance  of  the 
organ  they  give  off  small  perforating  branches,  which  pierce 
the  capsule  of  the  kidney,  and  are  distributed  in  the  sur- 
rounding fat. 

The  spermatic  arteries  are  two  long  slender  arteries, 
which  descend,  one  in  each  spermatic  cord,  into  the  scrotum 
to  supply  the  testicle.  The  corresponding  arteries  in  the 
female,  called  the  ovarian,  do  not  leave  the  abdomen  ;  they 
supply  the  ovaries. 

The  branches  of  the  aorta  which  supply  the  walls  of  the 
thorax,  abdomen,  and  pelvis,  are  the  intercostal,  the  lumbar, 
the  phrenic,  and  the  middle  sacraL 

The  intercostal  arteries  arise  from  the  back  of  ,the 
thoracic  aorta,  and  are  usually  ten  pairs.  They  run  down 
the  sides  of  the  vertebral  bodies  as  far  as  the  commence- 
ment of  the  intercostal  spaces,  when  each  divides  into  a 
dorsal  and  a  proper  intercostal 
branch ;  the  dorsal  branch 
passes  to  the  back  of  the  thorax 
to  supply  the  deep  muscles  of 
the  spine  ;  the  proper  inter- 
costal branch  runs  outwards 
in  the  intercostal  space  to 
supply  its  muscles,  and  the 
lower  pairs  of  intercostals  also 
give  branches  to  the  diaphragm 
and  wall  of  the  abdomen. 

The  lumbar  arteries  arise 
from  the  back  of  the  abdominal 
aorta,  and  are  usually  four 
pairs.  They  run  down  the 
sides  of  the  lumbar  vertebrae, 
and  divide  into  a.dorsal  branch,  which  supplies  the  deep  mus- 
<-ies  of  the  back  of  the  loins,  and  an  abdominal  branch 


Flo.  90.— Diagram  of  a  pair  of  Inter- 
costal arteries.  Ao,  the  aorta  ti  ans- 
verscly  divided,  giving  off  at  each 
tide  an  Intercostal  artery;  PR,  the 
posterior  or  dorsal  branch;  AB.  the 
anterior  or  proper  intercostal 
branch ;  IM,  a  transverse  section 
through  the  internal  mammary 
artery. 


which  runs  outwards  to  supply  the  wall  of  the  abdomen. 
The  distribution  of  the  lumbar  and  intercostal  arterier 
exhibits  a  transversely-segmented  arrangement  of  the  vas- 
cular system,  similar  to  the  transversely-segmented  arrange- 
ment of  the  bones,  muscles,  and  nerves  met  with  in  these 
localities,  but  more  especially  in  the  thoracic  region. 

The  phrenic  arteries,  two  in  number,  pass  to  supply  the 
under  surface  of  the  diaphragm. 

The  middle  sacral  artery,  as  already  stated,  is  rather  th« 
continuation  of  the  aorta  than  a  branch.  As  it  runs  down 
the  front  of  the  sacrum  it  gives  branches  to  the  back  cf  the 
pelvic  walL 

The  statement  has  frequently  been  made  that  the  visceral 
and  parietal  branches  of  the  aorta  do  not  anastomose  with 
each  other.  Injections  made  by  Turner  have,  however, 
shown  that,  both  in  the  thoracic  and  abdomiual  cavities, 
slender  anastomosing  communications  exist  between  the  two 
sets  of  branches.  In  the  abdominal  cavity  a  wide  mefbed 
plexus  of  small  arteries,  named  by  him  sub-  or  extra  yrrir 
toneal  plexus,  lies  in  the  fat  outside  the  peritoneum.  It  com- 
municates, on  the  one  hand,  with  the  perforating  branches 
of  the  renal  arteries  and  with  slender  branches  of  the  capsu- 
lar, spermatic,  colic,  and  pancreatic  arteries,  and  in  the  re- 
gion of  the  diaphragm  with  the  hepatic  artery.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  communicates  with  the  phrenic  arteries,  the  lower 
intercostals,  the  lumbar  branches  of  the  aorta,  and  with  the 
ilio-lumbar,  circumflex  ilii,  and  epigastric  branches  of  U13 
iliac  arteries,  which  also  go  to  the  wall  of  the  abdomen. 
In  the  pelvis  also  the  visceral  superior  haemorrhoidal  artery 
anastomoses  with  the  middle  and  lateral  sacral  arteries. 
The  extra-peritoneal  plexus  supplies  the  fat  and  lymphatio 
glands  lying  outside  the  peritoneum,  and  it  also  gives  origin 
to  vasa  vasorum  for  the  coats  of  the  aorta  and  vena  cava. 
This  plexus  may,  when  the  visceral  branches  of  the  aorta 
are  obstructed,  aid  in  an  important  manner  in  carrying  on 
the  circulation.  In  a  subject  examined  by  J.  Chiene,  in  the 
dissecting  room  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  where  the 
coeliac  axis  and  the  superior  and  inferior  mesenteric  arte.ies 
were  obliterated  at  their  origins,  the  blood  flowed  into  these 
arteries  and  the  viscera  they  supplied  through  a  great 
enlargement  of  the  arteries  of  this  plexus.  In  the  thoracio 
cavity  a  similar  plexus,  named  the  exlra-pleural  plexus,  lies 
between  the  pleura  and  pericardium,  which  communicates 
on  the  one  hand  with  the  internal  mammary  arteries,  and 
on  the  other  passes  in  front  of  the  root  of  the  lung  to  joiii 
the  bronchial  system  of  vessels.  Another  portion  of  this 
plexus  joins  on  the  one  hand  the  intercostal  arteries  near 
the  dorsal  vertebras,  and  on  the  other  passes  to  the  lung 
at  the  back  of  its  root. 

The  branches  for  the  head,  neck,  and  upper  limbs  arise 
as  three  large  arteries  from  the  transverse  part  of  the  aorta ; 
they  are  named  arteria  innominata,  left  common  carotid, 
and  left  subclavian.  The  arteria  innominata  is  the  largest ; 
it  passes,  upwards  and  to  the  right,  to  the  root  of  the  neck, 
and  then  divides  into  the  right  common  carptid  and  the 
right  subclavian.  The  carotid  arteries  supply  the  two  sides 
of  the  head  and  neck ;  the  subclavian  arteries  the  two 
upper  extremities. 

The  subclavian  artery  is  the  commencement  of  the  great 
arterial  trunk  for  the  upper  limb.  It  passes  across  the  root 
of  the  neck  and  under  the  clavicle,  when  it  enters  the  arm- 
pit, and  becomes  the  axillary  artery  ;  by  that  name  it 
extends  as  far  as  the  posterior  fold  of  the  axilla,  when  it 
enters  the  upper  arm,  takes  the  name  of  brachial  or 
humeral  artery,  and  courses  as  far  as  the  bend  of  the  elbow, 
where  it  bifurcates  into  the  radial  and  ulnar  arteries. 
From  the  subclavian  part  of  the  trunk  the  following 
branches  arise  : — a,  Vertebral,  which  enters  the  foramen  at 
the  root  of  the  transverse  process  of  the  6th  cervical 
vertebra,  ascends  through  the  corresponding  foramina  in 


1)04 


A   X   A  T  O  M  Y 


[vAs«T-nn 


the  vertebrae  above,  lies  in  a  groove  on  the  arch  of  the 
atlas,  and  enters  the  skull  through  the  foramen  magnum, 
where  it  joins  its  fellow  to  form  the  basilar  artery  ;  it 
gives  off  muscular  branches  to  the  deep  muscles  of  the 
neck,  spinal  branches  to  the  spinal  cord,  meningeal  branches 
to  the  dura  mater,  and  an  inferior  cerebellar  branch  to  the 
under  surface  of  the  cerebellum.  The  basilar  artery, 
formed  by  the  junction  of  the  two  vertebrals,  extends  from 
the  lower  to  the  upper  border  of  the  pons  Varolii ;  it  gives 
off  collaterally  transverse  branches  to  the  pons,  auditory 
branches  which  accompany  the  portio  mollis  to  the  internal 
.  ear,  inferior  cerebellar  branches  to  the  under  surfaco  of  the 
cerebellum,  whilst  it  breaks  up  into  four  terminal  branches, 
viz.,  two  superior  cerebellar  to  the  upper  surface  of  the 
cerebellum,  and  two  posterior  cerebral  which  supply  the 
tentorial  aspect  of  the  tcmporo-sphenoidal  lobes,  the  occi- 
pital lobes,  and  the  posterior  convolutions  of  the  parietal 
lobes,  b,  Thyroid  axis,  which  immediately  divides  nto  the 
inferior  thyroid,  the  supra-scapular,  and  the  transverse 
cervical  branches  ;  the  inferior  thyroid  supplies  the  thyroid 
body,  and  gives  off  an  ascending  cervical  branch  to  the 
muscles  of  the  neck  ;  the  suprascapular  supplies  the  mus- 
cles on  the  dorsum  scapulas  ;  the  transverse  cervical  sup- 
plies the  trapezius  and  the  muscles  attached  to  the  vertebral 
border  of  the  scapula,  c,  Internal  mammary,  supplies  the 
anterior  surface  of  the  walls  of  the  chest  and  abdomen, 
and  the  upper  surface  of  the  diaphragm,  d,  Superior  inter- 
costal supplies  the  first  intercostal  space,  and  by  its  deep 
cervical  branch  the  deep  muscles  of  the  back  of  the  neck. 

The  axillary  artery  supplies  long  and  short  thoracic 
branches  to  the  wall  of  the  chest  and  the  pectoral  muscles ; 
an  alar  thoracic  branch  to  the  fat  and  glands  of  the  axilla  ; 
an  acromial  thoracic  to  the  parts  about  the  acromion  ; 
anterior  and  posterior  circumflex  branches  to  the  shoulder 
joint  and  deltoid  muscle  ;  a  subscapular  branch  to  the 
muscles  of  the  posterior  fold  of  the  axilla. 

The  brachial  artery  supplies  muscular  branches  to  the 
muscles  of  the  upper  arm ;  a  nutrient  branch  to  the 
humerus  ;  superior  and  inferior  profunda  branches  and  an 
anastomotic  to  the  muscles  of  the  upper  arm  and  the  region 
of  the  elbow  joint. 

The  ulnar  artery  extends  down  the  ulnar  side  of  the 
front  of  the  fore-arm  to  the  palm  of  'the  hand,  where  it 
curves  outwards  towards  the  thumb,  and  anastomoses  with 
the  superficial  volar  and  radial  index  branches  of  the  radial 
artery  to  form  the  superficial  palmar  arterial  arch.  In 
the  fore-arm  the  ulnar  gives  off  the  interosseous  arteries, 
which  supply  the  muscles  of  the  fore-arm  and  give  nutrient 
branches  to  the  bones ;  two  recurrent  branches  to  the  region 
of  the  elbow ;  carpal  branches  to  the  wrist  joint :  in  the 
hand  it  gives  a  deep  branch  to  the  deep  muscles  of  the 
hand,  and  from  the  superficial  arch  arise  digital  branches 
to  the  sides  of  the  little,  ring,  and  middle  fingers,  and  the 
ulnar  border  of  the  index  finger. 

The  radial  artery  extends  down  the  radial  side  of  the 
front  of  the  fore-arm,  turns  round  the  outer  side  of  the 
wrist  to  the  back  of  the  hand,  passes  between  the  1st  and 
2d  metacarpal  bones  to  the  palm,  where  it  joins  the  deep 
branch  of  the  ulnar,  and  forms  the  deep  palmar  arterial 
arch.  In  the  fore-arm  it  gives  off  a  recurrent  branch  to  the 
elbow  joint ;  carpal  branches  to  the  wrist  joint ;  and  mus- 
cular branches,  one  of  which,  named  superficialis  voice, 
supplies  the  muscles  of  the  thumb  and  joins  the  ulnar 
artery  :  in  the  hand  it  gives  off  a  digital  branch  to  the 
thumb,  and  one  to  the  radial  side  of  the  index,  interosseous 
branches  to  the  interosseous  muscles,  perforating  branches 
to  the  back  of  the  hand,  and  recurrent  branches  to  the 
wrist. 

The  common  carotid  artery  runs  np  the  neck  by  the  side 
of  the  v.  indpipo,  and  on  a  level  with  the  upper  border  of 


the  thyroid  cartilage  divides  into  the  internal  and  external 
carotid  art. 

The  internal  carotid  artery  ascends  through  the  caro.tid 
canal  in  the  temporal  bone  into  the  cranial  cavity.  It 
gives  off  an  ophthalmic  branch  to  the  eyeball  and  other 
contents  of  the  orbit,  and  then  divides  into  the  anterior 
and  middle  cerebral  arteries.  The  middle  cerebral  artery 
extends  outwards  into  the  Sylvian  fissure,  and  supplies 
the  island  of  lleil,  the  orbital  part,  and  the  outer  face  of 
the  frontal  lobe,  the  parietal  lobe,  and  the  temporo-sphe- 
noidal  lobe  ;  it  also  gives  a  choroid  branch  to  the  choroid 
plexus  of  the  velum  interpositum.  The  anterior  cerebral 
artery  supplies  the  inner  face  of  the  hemisphere  from  the 
anterior  end  of  the  frontal  lobe  as  far  back  as  the  internal 
parieto-occipital  fissure.  At  the  base  of  the  brain  not  only 
do  the  two  internal  carotids  anastomose  with  each  other 
through  the  anterior  communicating  artery,  which  passes 
between  their  anterior  cerebral  branches,  but  the  internal 
carotid  on  each  side  anastomoses  with  the  posterior  cerebral 
branch  of  the  basilar,  by  a  posterior  communicating  artery. 
In  this  manner  a  vascnlar  circle,  the  circle  of  Willis,  is 
formed,  which  permits  of  freedom  of  the  arterial  circula- 
tion by  the  anastomoses  between  arteries  not  only  on  the 
same  side,  but  on  opposite  sides  of  the  mesial  plane.  The 
vertebral  and  internal  carotid  arteries,  which  are  the 
arteries  of  supply  for  the  brain,  are  distinguished  by  lying 
at  some  depth  from  the  surface  in  their  course  to  the  organ, 
by  having  curves  or  twists  in  their  course,  whereby  the 
force  of  the  flow  of  blood  is  retarded,  and  by  the  absence 
of  large  collateral  branches.  Further,  as  the  ophthalmic 
artery  is  a  branch  of  the  internal  carotid,  the  circulation 
in  the  eyeball  is  in  sympathy  with  that  in  the  brain. 

The  external  carotid  artery  ascends  through  the  upper 
part  of  the  side  of  the  neck,  and  behind  the  lower  jaw  into 
the  parotid  gland,  where  it  divides  into  the  internal 
maxillary  and  temporal  branches.  This  artery  gives  off 
the  following  branches  : — a,  Superior  thyroid  to  the  larynx 
and  thyroid  body ;  4,  Lingual  to  the  muscles  and  mucous 
membrane  of  the  tongue,  and  to  the  sublingual  gland  ;  c, 
Facial  to  the  face,  palate,  tonsil,  and  sub  maxillary  gland  ; 
d,  Occipital  to  the  sterno-mastoid  muscle  and  back  of  the 
scalp ;  t,  Posterior  auricular  to  the  back  of  the  ear  and  the 
adjacent  part  of  the  scalp ;  /,  Superficial  temporal  to  the 
scalp  in  front  of  the  ear,  and  by  its  transverse  facial  branch 
to  the  back  part  of  the  face ;  g,  Internal  maxillary,  giving 
muscular  branches  to  the  mudries  of  mastication,  meningeal 
branches  to  the  dura  mater,  dental  branches  to  the  teeth, 
and  other  branches  to  the  nose,  palate,  and  tympanum  ;  h, 
Ascending  pharyngeal,  which  gives  branches  to  the  pharynx, 
palate,  and  tonsils. 

The  common  iliac  artery,  after  a  short  course,  divides  Iliac 
into  the  internal  and  external  iliac  arteries.  The  internal  »)'•*< 
iliac  enters  the  pelvis  and  divides  into  branches  for  the 
supply  of  the  pelvic  walls  and  viscera,  including  the  organs 
of  generation,  and  for  the  great  muscles  of  the  buttock. 
The  external  iliac  descends  behind  Poupart's  ligament  into 
the  thigh,  where  it  takes  the  name  of  femoral  artery.  The 
femoral  descends  along  the  front  and  inner  surface  of  the 
thigh,  gives  off  a  profunda  or  deep  branch,  which,  by  its 
circumflex  and  perforating  branches,  supplies  the  numerous 
muscles  of  the  thigh  ;  most  of  these  extend  to  the  back  of 
the  liijib  to  carry  blood  to  the  muscles  situated  there.  The 
femoral  artery  then  runs  to  the  back  of  the  limb  in  the 
ham,  where  it  is  called  popliteal  artery.  The  popliteal 
divides  into  two  branches,  of  which  one,  called  anterior 
tibial,  passes  between  the  bones  to  the  front  of  the  leg,  and 
then  downwards  to  the  upper  surface  of  the  foot ;  the  ether, 
posterior  tibial,  continues  down  the  back  of  the  leg  to  the 
sole  of  the  foot,  and  divides  into  the  internal  and  external 
plantar  arteries ;  branches  proceed  from  the  external  plan*1 


SYSTEM.] 


ANATOMY 


905 


tar  artery  to  the  sides  of  the  toes,  and  constitute  the  digital 
arteries.  From  the  large  arterial  trunks  in  the  leg  many 
branches  proceed,  to  carry  blood  to  the  different  structures 
in  the  limb. 

The  'wall  of  an  artery  consists  of  several  coats.  The 
outermost  is  the  tunica  adventitia,  composed  of  connective 
tissue ;  immediately  internal  to  this  is  the  yellow  elastic 
coat ;  within  this  again  the  muscular  coat,  formed  of  invol- 
untary muscular  tissue,  the  contractile  fibro-cells  cf  which 
are  for  the  most  part  arranged  transversely  to  the  long  axis 
of  the  artery ;  in  the  larger  arteries  the  elastic  c  *.  is  much 
thicker  than  the  muscular,  but  in  the  smaller  arteries  the 
muscular  coat  is  relatively  strong ;  the  vaso-motor  nerves 
terminate  in  the  muscular  coat.  Internal  to  the  muscular 
coat  is  the  elastic  fenestrated  coat,  formed  of  a  smooth  elastic 
membrane  perforated  by  small  apertures.     Most  internal  of 


(Flo.  91. — Diagram  nf  the  sttucture  of  an  artery.  A.  tunica  adventitia;  E,  elastic 
coat;  M,  muscular  coat;'  F,  fenestrated  coat;  Eu,  endothelium  continuous  with 
the  endothelial  wall  of  C,  the  capillaries. 

'all  is  a  layer  of  endothelial  cells,  which  form  the  free  surface 
over  which  the  blood  flows.  The  arteries  are  not  nourished 
by  the  blood'  which  flows  through  them,  but  by  minute 
vessels,  vasa  vasorum,  distributed  in  their  external,  elastic, 
and  muscular  coats. 

The  Capillaries. — These  are  tne  minute  tubes  which  con- 
nect together  the  terminal  branches  of  the  arteries  and  the- 
rootlets  of  the  veins.  They  vary  in  diameter  in  different 
localities  from  y^uth  to  js^^th  inch.  They  are  arranged 
in  more  or  less  compact  networks,  which  lie  in  the  interstices 
between  the  tissues  of  the  part  or  organ.     The  vascularity 


,«».  95  —Capillary  Network  In  the  Web  of  the  Foot  of  the  Frog  (4.  Thomson). 

of  a  tissue  depends  upon  the  relative  proportion  of  the 
capillaries  that  it  contains.  Some  tissues,  as  adult  cartilage, 
the  cornea,  epithelium,  and  endothelium,  are  destitute  of 
capillaries,  i.e.,  are  non-vascular.  The  capillary  wall  is  very 
simple  in  structure ;  in  the  smallest  capillaries  it  consists 
merely  of  a  layer  01  endothelial  cells,  continuous  with  the 
endothelial  lining  of  the  arteries  and  veins ;  in  the  larger 
capillaries  a  delicate  tunica  adventitia  is  superadded.     The 


transition  from  a  capillary  to  a  small  artery  or  a  small  vein 
is  marked  by  the  development  of  a  muscular  and  an  elastic 
coat  in  the  wall  of  the  blood-conveying  tube. 

The  Veins. — The  veins  convey  the  blood  from  the  peri- 
phery back  to  the  heart,  and  in  their  course  incieasein  size, 
by  junction  or  anastomosis  with  each  other.  In  most  of 
the  veins  delicate  valves  are  found,  each  of  which  consists 
of  two  semicircular  segments,  and  a  pouch-like  dilatation 
of  the  wall  of  the  vein  is  opposite  each  segment  When 
the  blood  flows  along  the  veins,  the  valves  lie  against  the 
wall  of  the  vessel,  but  if  pressure  be  applied  to  a  vein  so 
as  to  obstruct  the  onward  flow  of  the  circulation,  then  the 
blood  p""-  .o  into  the  pouch  between  the  wall  of  the  vein 
and  the  valve  adjacent  to  the  seat  of  pressure,  when  the1 
valve  closes  so  as  to  stop  regurgitation.  The  valves  are' 
found  especially  in  those  veins  where  the  circulation  is 
likely  to  be  interfered  with  either  by  the  pressure  of  the 
muscles  on  the  veins  during  their  action,  or  by  the  pres- 
sure of  blood  caused  by  gravity,  and  are  usually  seated 
at  the  points  of  confluence  of  veins.  They  are  absent 
in  the  veins  of  the  lungs,  of  the  brain,  and  of  several  of 
the  abdominal  viscera.  Some  of  the  veins  lie  in  the  sub- 
cutaneous fat,  and  are  called  superficial  veins,  others  lie 
amidst  the  muscles,  and  form  the  deep  veins.  The  deep 
veins  accompany  the  arteries  and  are  named  after  them ; 
the  superficial  veins  do  not  accompany  arteries  ;  frequent 
anastomoses  take  place  between  the  superficial  and  deep 
veins. 

The  veins  are  arranged  primarily  into  two  groups — the 
Pulmonary  veins  and  the  Systemic  veins.  The  distribution 
of  the  pulmonary  veins  will  be  given  in  the  anatomy  of  the 
lungs. 

The  Systemic  veins  consist  of  the  coronary  venous  system ; 
of  the  system  of  the  superior  vena  cava ;  of  the  system  of 
the  inferior  vena  cava ;  and  associated  with  the  inferior 
vena  cava  is  the  portal  venous  system.  The  arrangement 
of  the  coronary  vein  has  been  described  in  the  anatomy 
of  the  heart. 

The  system  of  the  Superior  Vena  Cava  consists  qf  both 
superficial  and  deep  veins,  and  is  arranged  as  follows  : — 

The  superficial  7eins  of  the  hand  commence  at  the  tips 
and  sides  of  the  fingers,  from  which  they  proceed  along  the 
back  of  the  hand,  beneath  the  skin  of  which  they  may  be 
distinctly  seen.  They  then  ascend  along  the  fore-arm,  form- 
ing three  large  veins  :  the  radial,  on  the  outer  side ;  the 
ulnar,  on  the  inner ;  and  the  median,  in  the  middle  of  the' 
front  of  the  fore-arm.  At  the  bend  of  the  elbow  the  median' 
divides  into  two  branches,  of  which  one  joins  the  radial 
to  form  the  cephalic,  the  other  joins  the  ulnar  t6  form  the 
basilic  Into  one  or  other  of  the  two  branches  of  the 
median  the  surgeon  generally  makes  an  opening  when  he 
is  desirous  of  drawing  blood  from  the  patient.  The  cephalic 
and  basilic  veins  terminate  by  joining  the  deep  or  axillary 
vein.  The  communications  between  the  superficial  and 
deep  veins  are  not,  however,  confined  to  the  poiat  of  ter- 
mination of  the  former,  but  occur  at  various  parts  of  their 
course. 

The  deep  veins  of  the  hand  commence  at  the  tips  of  the 
fingers,  and  pass  as  digital  veins  up.«the  sides  of  the  fingers 
to  the  palm  of  the  hand,  where  they  form  an  arch  cop 
responding  to  the  arterial  arch  of  the  palm ;  from  this  they 
extend  upwards  along  the  front  of  the  fore  arm,  as  far  as 
the  bend  of  the  elbow,  closely  accompanying  the  arteries  of 
the  fore-arm,  and  receiving  from  the  muscles  numerous 
small  branches  corresponding  to  the  small  arteries  sent  to 
those  muscles.  At  the  bend  of  the  elbow,  two  brachial 
veins  result  from  the  junction  of  these  different  veins  of  the 
fore-arm,  which  pass  up  the  inner  side  of  the  upper-arm, 
closely  accompanying  the  brachial  artery  as  far  as  the 
armpit,  where  they  join  to  form  a  single  large  vein,  th* 


90G 


ANATOMY 


[vascular 


axillary.  They  receive  in  their  course  many  small  brandies 
from  the  muscles.  The  axillary  vein  also  receives  tho 
cephalic  and  basilic  veins.  Thus,  a  single  large  trunk  con- 
veys away  all  the  blood  that  has  been  circulating  through 
tli3  upper  limb.  This  largo  veiu  passes  as  the  subclavian 
vein  behind  the  clavicle,  and  reaches  the  lower  part  of  the 
side  of  the  neck,  where  it  is  joined  by  the  large  veins  that 
return  the  blood  from  the  head  and  neck. 

The  veins  that  return  the  blood  from  the  inner  and  outer 
parts  of  the  head  and  neck  are  called  the  external  and 
internal  jugular  veins.  The  external  is  the  smaller,  and 
may  commonly  be  seen  beneath  the  skin  on  the  sido  of  the 
neck.  It  returns  the  blood  that  has  been  circulating  on 
the  outer  part  of  the  head,  and  must  be  regarded  as  a 
superficial  vein.  The  internal  jugular  returns  the  blood  that 
lias  been  circulating  on  the  faco,  in  the  brain,  and  cranial 
blood-sinuses,  and  in  the  deeper  parts  of  the  neck.  It 
accompanies  the  carotid  artery,  and  must  thus  be  regarded 
as  a  deep  vein.  By  the  junction  of  tho  jugular  and  sub- 
clavian veins  at  the  root  of  the  neck  a  large  brachiocephalic 
vein  on  each  side  is  formed;  these  gradually  converge,  join, 
and  form  a  single  trunk,  the  superior  vena  cava,  which, 
after  a  short  course,  enters  the  upper  part  of  the  right 
auricle  of  the  heart.  The  veins  corresponding  to  the  inter- 
costal arteries,  which  run  between  the  ribs,  do  not  open 
directly  into  either  the  superior  or  inferior  vena  cava,  but 
pass  to  form  the  azygos  vein,  which  begins  in  the  cavity  of 
the  abdomen,  then  enters  the  cavity  of  the  chest,  and,  as  it 
courses  upwards,  gradually  increases  in  size  by  receiving 
the  various  intercostal  veins,  until  it  finally  terminates 
by  joining  the  superior  vena  cava. 

The  system  of  the  Inferior  Vena  Cava  consists  of  both 
superficial  and  deep  veins,  and  is  arranged  as  follows : — 
The  superficial  veins  of  the  foot  are  separated  from  the 
deep  veins  by  the  strong  membrane  or  fascia  which  binds 
down  the  muscles.  They  commence  by  very  fine  branches 
arising  from  the  capillaries  of  the  skin.  On  the  back  of 
the  foot  the  digital  veins  proceeding  from  the  skin  of  the 
toes  form  an.  arch,  from  the  inner  side  of  which  a  vein, 
called  the  long  saphena,  arises.  This  passes  upwards  along 
the  inner  side  of  the  leg  and  thigh,  increasing  consider- 
ably in  size  in  its  course,  owing  to  the  number  of  veins 
joining  it  from  the  extensive  surface  of  the  skin  of  the 
limb.  It  terminates,  at  the  upper  part  of  the  thigh,  by 
passing  through  a  hole  in  the  fascia,  and  joins  the  femoral 
vein.  From  the  outer  side  of  the  same  arch  arises  the 
external  saphenous  vein,  which  runs  up  the  back  of  the 
leg  to  the  ham,  and  pierces  the  fascia  to  join  the  popliteal 
vein.  The  deep  veins  begin  both  on  the  back  of  the  foot 
and  in  the  sole.  Those  which  arise  on  the  back  of  the 
foot  form  the  anterior  tibial  veins,  and  accompany  the 
anterior  tibial  artery  ;  they  receive  a  considerable  number 
of  branches  in  their  upward  course,  which  proceed  from 
the  great  mass  of  muscles  lying  on  the  outer  side  of  the 
leg.  The  veins  which  begin  in  the  sole  of  the  foot  accom- 
pany the  plantar  arteries,  and  then  pass  upwards,  along 
the  inner  side  of  the  ankle-joint,  to  reach  the  back  of  the 
leg,  along  which  they  ascend  as  the  posterior  tibial  veins, 
closely  accompanying  the  posterior  tibial  artery,  and  receiv- 
ing in  their  course  numerous  small  veins  that  proceed  from 
the  muscles  of  the  calf  of  the  leg.  At  the  upper  part  of 
the  leg  the  anterior  tibial  veins  pass  to  the  back  of  the  leg, 
and  join  the  posterior  tibial  veins.  The  large  popliteal 
vein,  formed  by  their  junction,  ascends  behind  the  knee- 
joint,  lying  in  the  ham,  along  with  the  popliteal  artery. 
It  leaves  the  upper  part  of  this  space,  and,  passing  to  the 
inner  side  of  the  thigh,  ascends  as  the  femoral  vein  along 
with  the  femoral  artery  as  far  as  Poupart's  ligament,  when 
it  enters  the  cavity  of  the  abdomen.  At  the  upper  part 
of  the  thigh  it   receives   the  profunda  vein,  correspond- 


ing to  the  deep  artery  of  the  thigh,  which  conveys  bacb 
tho  blood  that  has  been  carried  by  that  vessel  to  the 
numerous  large  and  important  muscles  of  the  thigh.  The 
femoral  vein  is  also  joined  at  this  spot  by  the  long  saphena 
vein.  When  the  femoral  vein  enters  the  cavity  of  the 
abdomen  it  becomes  the  external  iliac  vein.  The  external 
iliac  vein  receives  the  smaller  veins  which  ramify  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  walls  of  the  abdomen,  as  well  as  the  large 
internal  iliac  vein,  which  corresponds  to  the  internal  iliac 
artciy,  and  by  their  junction  the  common  iliac  vein  ie 
formed.  The  two  common  iliac  veins  gradually  converge, 
and,  about  the  level  of  tho  last  vertebra  of  tho  loins,  juii 
to  form  a  single  largo  vein,  the  inferior  vena  cava.  The 
inferior  vena  cava  ascends  at  the  back  of  the  abdominal 
cavity  lying  on  the  right  side  of  the  aorta.  Several  veins 
open  into  it ;  some  corresponding  with  the  parietal  branches 
of  the  abdominal  aorta,  others  with  the  capsular,  renal,  and 
spermatic  arteries.  The  greater  number  of  the  veins  pro- 
ceeding from  the  organs  contained  in  the  cavity  of  tho 
abdomen  do  not  open  directly  into  the  vena  cava,  but  form 
a  large  vein  called  portal.  The  vena  cava  passes  through 
the  diaphragm,  enters  the  cavity  of  the  chest,  and  terminates 
by  opening  into  the  right  auricle  of  the  heart. 

The  Portal  system  of  veins  is  formed  by  the  vein* 
which  proceed  from  the  large  and  small  intestines,  from 
the  stomach,  pancreas,  and  spleen  ;  they  form  tho  inferior 
mesenteric,  superior  mesenteric,  splenic,  and  gastric  veins, 
which  join  together  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  pancreas 
to  form  the  portal  venous  trunk.  The  portal  vein  then 
ascends  to  the  under  surface  of  the  liver,  which  it  enters 
at  the  portal  transverse  fissure.  In  the  substance  of  the 
liver  it  subdivides  into  branches  just  like  an  artery,  and 
the  finest  branches  terminate  in  the  lobules  of  the  liver  in 
a  plexus  of  capillaries.  From  this  plexus  the  rootlets  of 
tho  hepatic  veins  arise,  which  joining  together  form  the 
large  hepatic  vein,  which  opens  into  the  inferior  vena  cava 
before  it  pierces  the  diaphragm.  Retzius  has  pointed  out 
that  an  extra-peritoneal  venous  plexu3  exists  in  the  abdo- 
minal cavity,  which  connects  the  rootlets  of  the  portal  vein 
with  those  of  the  veins  of  the  parietes  of  the  abdomen. 

The  wall  of  a  vein  possesses  the  same  number  of  coats 
as  that  of  an  artery,  but  the  coats  are  thinner.  Veins  are 
also  extensively  provided  with  valves,  which  are  absent 
from  the  arteries  except  at  the  mouths  of  the  aorta  and 
pulmonary  artery. 

Lymph-Vascular  System. — This  subdivision  of  theLyvph 
vascular  system  consists  partly  of  small  tubes  or  vessels, tios- 
the  lymph  vessels,  and  partly  of  collections  of  lymphoid  or 
adenoid  tissue  (p.  849),  the  lymph  glands.  The  lymph 
vessels  or  lymphatics  are  tubes,  with  delicate  transparent 
walls,  which  convey  the  fluid  called  lymph  and  chyle. 
They  arise  in  the  tissues  and  terminate  by  joining  the 
venous  system,  so  that  their  contained  fluid  flows  towards 
the  heart.  They  resemble  veins  in  having  a  course  from 
periphery  to  centre;  in  possessing  valves,  which  are  generally 
two  in  number  and  semilunar  in  shape  ;  in  being  divided 
into  a  superficial  and  a  deep  set — the  superficial  lymphatics 
being  situated,  like  the  superficial  veins,  in  the  subcutaneous 
tissue  ;  the  deep  lymphatics  accompanying  the  arteries  and 
deep  veins.  Lymphatics  differ,  however,  from  veins  in 
possessing  in  their  course  glandular  enlargements,  in  having 
thinner  coats,  in  being  almost  uniform  in  size,  and  not 
uniting  into  larger  "vessels  as  they  pass  onwards  in  their 
course.  As  a  rule  they  are  like  fine  threads,  and  their 
main  trunk,  the  thoracic  duct,  is  not  bigger  than  a  crow- 
quilL  The  lymph-vessels  are  divided  into  lacteal  or  chyle 
vessels  and  lymphatics  proper. 

The  lacteal  or  chyle  vessels,  named  from  the  milk-liko 
chyle  which  they  contain,  arise  in  the  minute  processes 
called  intestinal  villi,  which  Droject  from  the  free  surfac* 


VOL.  I. 


ANATOMY 

Lymphatic   Vascular  System 


PLATE  XXI 


EUCYCLOP-tBU    BRITtNNICA.    NINTH    EDITION 


SYSTEM.] 


ANATOMY 


907 


■or  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  small  intestine  into  the 
lumen  of  the  bowel  The  lacteals  from  adjacent  villi  form 
a  network  in  the  submucous  coat  of  the  intestine,  from 
which  larger  lacteals  arise,  which  pierce  the  muscular  coat, 
and  then  run  between  the  folds  of  the  mesentery  to  the 
posterior  wall  of  the  abdomen,  where,  opposite  the  body  of 
the  first  lumbar  vertebra,  they  join  the  deep  lymphatic 
vessels  of  the  abdomen  to  form  the  thoracic  duct. 

The  lymphatic  vessels  proper  correspond  so  closely  in 
their  distribution  in  the  extremities  and  in  the  head  and 
■neck  with  the  veins  of  those  parts,  that  a  special  descrip- 
tion of  their  arrangement  is  not  necessary,  the  more  so  as 
a  general  representation  of  these  vessels  is  given  in  Plate 
XXL  The  superficial  and  deep  lymphatics  of  the  lower 
limbs  enter  the  abdominal  cavity,  and  are  joined  by  the 
lymphatics  of  the  pelvis.  They  ascend  in  front  of  the 
bodies  of  the  lumbar  vertebra,  join  the  lacteal  vessels  to 
form  the  thoracic  duct,  the  place  of  junction  being  marked 
by  a  dilatation  of  the  duct  called  receplaculum  c'tyli.  The 
thoracic  duct  passes  through  the  opening  in  the  diaphragm 
which  transmits  the  aorta,  ascends  in  front  of  the  bodies 
of  the  dorsal  vertebra?,  receives  in  its  course  the  deep 
lymphntics  of  the  left  half  of  the  chest,  reaches  the  root  of 
the  neck  on  the  left  side,  is  joined  there  by  the  deep  and 
superficial  lymphatics  of  the  left  upper  limb  and  left  side 
of  the  head  and  neck,  and  opens  into  the  great  veins  at  the 
angle  of  junction  between  the  left  internal  jugular  and  sub- 
clavian. This  duct  conveys,  therefore,  the  chyle  during 
digestion,  and  the  lymph  contained  in  the  lymph-vessels 
below  the  diaphragm  and  in  the  lymph-vessels  situated  to 
the  left  side  of  the  mesial  plane  in  the  parts  of  the  body 
above  the  diaphragm.  The  lymph-vessels  on  the  right  side 
of  the  supra-diaphragmatic  parts  of  the  mesial  plane  do  nut 
join  the  thoracic  duct,  but  converge  to  the  root  of  the  neck 
on  the  right  side,  where  they  join  to  form  the  right  lym- 
phatic duct,  which  opens  into  the  angle  of  junction  of  the 
right  internal  jugular  and  subclavian  veins. 

The  mode  of  origin  of  the  lymph-vessels  has  long  been 
&  vexed  question  amongst  anatomists.  The  lacteal  vessels 
were  at  one  time  supposed  to  arise  by  open  mouths  on  the 
free  surface  of  the  intestinal  villi,  and  this  idea  has  been 
revived  in  a  modified  form  by  some  recent  observers,  who 
conceive  that  the  lacteals  are  continuous  with  a  network 
formed'  by  the  anastomoses  of  processes  proceeding  from 
tlje  deep  ends  of  the  goblet  cells,  the  mouths  of  which  cells 
open  on  the  free  surface  of  the  villus.  The  lymph-vessels 
proper  are  in  some  localities  continuous  with  the  serous 
cavities  (p.  848) ;  in  others  they  arise  within  the  textures 
and  organs.  The  most  minute  lymph-vessels,  called  lymph- 
capillaries,  like  the  blood-capillaries,  have  walls  formed  of 
a.  single  layer  of  elongated  endothelial  cells.  These  capil- 
laries take  their  rise  in  the  connective  tissue  of  a  part  or 
organ,  and  probably  spring  from  spaces,  or  juice-canals, 
between  the  bundles  of  the  connective  tissue,  which  bundles 
are  invested  by  an  endothelial  layer  of  cells.  The  juice 
canals  are,  therefore,  a  network  of  minute  canals,  situated 
outside  the  blood-vessels,  which  allow  the  lissues  to  be 
permeated  by  a  nutrient  juice  derived  from  the  blood. 

In  some  localities,  as  the  brain  and  eyeball,  the  blood- 
vessels have  been  described  as  enclosed  in  tubular  spaces, 
called  peri-vascular  ca7ials,  in  which  cells  like  the  corpuscles 
of  the  lymph  have  been  seen,  and  which  are  believed  to  be 
continuous  with  the  lymphatic  system.  The  researches  of 
Ludwig  and  some  of  his  pupils  into  the  minute  structure 
of  the  lachrymal  gland,  the  glands  of  the  skin,  and  the 
testis,  have  shown  that  lymph-capillaries  lie  in  close  rela- 
tion to  the  secreting  structures  of  these  glands. 

The  coats  of  the  lymph-vessels  resemble  in  structure 
those  of  the  veins,  but  they  are  thinner  and  more  trans- 
parent.    The  valves  are  small  and  numerous. 


The  lymphatic  glands  are  small  bodies,  varying  in  size 
from  a  pea  to  an  almond,  situated  in  the  course  of  the 
lymph- vessels  in  several  regions  of  the  body.  Tliey  are 
found  especially  in  the  groin,  armpit,  mesentery,  back  of 
the  abdomen,  roots  of  the  lungs,  and  side  of  the  neck  (Plate 
XXI.)  Entering  one  end  of  each  gland  are  lymph-vessels, 
named  vasa  afferentia,  and  emerging  from  the  opposite  end 
of  the  gland  are  the  lymph-vessels  named  vasa  efferentia. 
Each  gland  is  invested  by  a  capsule  of  connective  tissue, 
which  sends  processes  into  the  substance  of  the  gland  to 
divide  it  into  compartments;  it  consists  of  adenoid  tissue, 
and  the  meshes  of  its  retiform  connective  tissue  contain 
multitudes  of  lymph  corpuscles.  Each  gland  is  permeated 
by  a  network  of  minute  canals,  which  are  continuous  with 
both  the  vasa  afferentia  and  efferentia;  the  gland,  therefore, 
is  traversed  by  a  stream  of  lymph  which  washes  the  lymph 
corpuscles  out  of  the  meshes  of  the  reticulum,  and  in  this 
manner  these  corpuscles  find  their  way  into  the  lymph.  The 
lymph  glands  are,  therefore,  centres  of  origin  for  the  lymph 
corpuscles.  The  collections  of  adenoid  tissue,  forming  the 
solitary  and  Peyer's  glands  of  the  intestine,  and  found  in 
the  tonsils  and  other  localities  (p.  849),  are  also  without 
doubt  centres  of  formation  for  the  lymph  corpuscles. 

Blood- Vascular  Glands. — Intimately  associated  witn  Blood 
the  vascular  system  are  certain  organs  to  which  the  names  vascul»» 
of  blood-vascular  glands,  or  glands  without  ducts,  are  clands-- 
applied.  These  organs  are  the  spleen,  the  thyroid  gland, 
the  thymus  gland,  the  suprarenal  capsules,  and  portions  of 
the  pituitary  and  pineal  glands.  The  Spleen  is  situated 
in  the  cavity  of  the  abdomen  between  the  stomach  and  the 
diaphragm.  It  is  invested  by  peritoneum,  and  has  a  fibre 
elastic  coat  in  which  involuntary  muscular  fibre-cells  are 
formed.  This  coat  sends  multitudes  of  fine  trabecular  into: 
the  interior  of  the  organ,  which  subdivide  it  into  numbers 
of  minute  compartments,  in  which  the  red,  highly  vascular 
spleen  pulp  is  contained.  This  pulp  consists  of  collectiona 
of  small  spherical  masses  of  adenoid  tissue,  forming  the 
Malpighian  corpuscles,  of  the  terminal  branches  of  the 
splenic  blood-vessels,  and  of  the  lymph-vessels,  together  with 
numerous  cells,  some  of  which  are  red  blood  corpuscles, 
others  lymph  corpuscles,  others  contain  pigment  granules 
or  fat,  others  contain  in  their  interior  numerous  blood  cor 
puscles.  The  arteries  of  the  spleen  in  part  end  in  capil- 
laries from  which  the  veins  arise,  but  more  frequently  thej 
open  into  lacunae  or  blood  spaces,  which  give  origin  to  th« 
veins.  The  Thymiis  gland,  best  seen  in  infancy  and  child- 
hood, lies  in  the  cavity  of  the  thorax  near  the  base  of  the 
heart.  It  consists  of  two  lobes,  each  of  which  is  composed 
of  lobules  of  adenoid  tissue,  to  which  numerous  lymph: 
vessels  may  be  traced.  In  the  adult  it  is  converted  into  a 
mass  of  fat.  The  Thyroid  gland  is  situated  in  the  neck  a) 
the  front  and  sides  of  the  windpipe.  It  consists  of  multi- 
tudes of  minute  closed  follicles,  each  of  which  is  lined  bj 
a  layer  of  cells.  The  Suprarenal  capsules,  two  in  number, 
lie  in  the  abdomen  one  above  each  kidney.  They  contain 
cells,  some  of  which  are  arranged  in  columns,  others  in  a 
reticulated  manner,  and  are  well  provided  with  blood- 
vessels, nerves,  and  lymphatics. 

Development  of  the  Vascular  System. — The  vascular 
system  is  formed  in  the  middle  or  mesoblast  layer  of  the 
early  embryo.  The  cells  of  the  mesoblast  lose  their  origi- 
nal spherical  form  and  become  stellate,  the  processes  of 
adjacent  cells  unite  together  and  form  a  network,  and  the 
nuclei  rapidly  increase  in  numbers.  The  peripheral  part 
of  the  protoplasm  of  the  stellate  cells  differentiates  into  a 
wall  of  nucleated  protoplasm,  and  forms  the  wall  of  the 
blood-vessels,  whilst  the  central  part  of  the  protoplasm 
liquefies,  and  the  nuclei  contained  in  it  become  the  biood- 
corpusclca  If  the  vessel  remains  as  a  capillary,  its  waij 
assumes  merely  the  character  of  a  single  layer  of  endo- 


908 


ANATOMY 


thelia)  cells;  but  if  it  becomes  an  artery  or  a  vein,  a  further 
differentiation  of  the  mesobrast  cells  into  the  muscular  and 
elastic  coats  and  the  tunica  adventitia  takes  place.  "  The 
heart  appears  immediately  below  the  head  in  the  form  of 
a  collection  of  cells  in  the  splanchnopleure  layer  of  the 
mesobla6t.  It  is  believed  that  these  cells  form  in  the  first 
instance  a  solid  mass,  the  central  part  of  which  liquefies 
to  form  blood  and  blood-corpuscles,  whilst  the  peripheral 
cells  form  the  wall  of  a  tube.  The  heart  tube  now  presents 
two  constrictions,  which  indicate.its  division  into  an  auricle, 
a  ventricle,  and  a  bulbus  arteriosus.  The  single  ventricle 
then  subdivides  into  two  by  the  gradual  growth  of  the 
septum  from  the  apex  to  the  base,  and  about  the  eighth 
week  of  emhryo-life  the  right  and  left  ventricles  are  com- 
pletely separated  from  each  other.  A  septum  then  begins 
to  form  in  the  originally  siugle  auricle,  but  its  growth  ia 
not  completed  until  after  the  birth  of  the  child,  so  that 
during  foetal  life  the  cavities  of  the  right  and  left  auricles 
communicate  with  each  other  through  a  hole  in  tho 
septum,  mimed  foramen  ovale.  The  primitive  aorta?,  right 
and  left,  arise  from  the  ductus  arteriosus,  and  extend  up- 
wards to  the  1st  pair  of  visceral  arches,  into  which  they 
pass  and  arch  backwards  to  the  sides  of  the  spiual  column, 
where  they  form  the  dorsal  aorta?  Four  additional  pairs 
of  arterial  arches  then  spring  from  the  primitive  aortaj 
below  the  1st  pair,  and  the  whole  are  enumerated  from 
above  downwards  as  the  1st,  2d,  3d,  4th,  and  5th  pairs  of 
vascular  arches.  Each  arch  communicates  behind  with 
the  dorsal  aorta  of  its  own  side.  The  two  dorsal  aortaj 
then  approximate  and  blend  with  each  other  to  form  .the 
descending  thoracic  and  the  abdominal  aorta.  A  longitu- 
dinal septum  also  forms  within  the  bulbus  arteriosus  itself, 
*chich  divides  it  into  two  vessels  :  the  one,  the  ascending 
aorta,  becoming  continuous  with  the  cavity  of  the  left  ventricle 


iVASCTJJ.AH  SYSTEM 

and  with  the  1st,  2d,  3d,  and  4th  pairs  of  vascular  arches 
the  other,  the  pulmonary  artery,  becoming  continuous  witb 
the  cavity  of  the  right  ventricle  and  with  the  5th  pair  o( 
vascular  arches.  The  4th  left  vascular  arch  enlarges  tc 
form  the  transverse  part  of  the  arch  of  the  aorta,  and  tht 
left  subclavian  artery  springs  as  a  collateral  branch  from  it 
The  4th  right  arch  forms  the  innominate,  and  the  com- 
mencement of  the  right  subclavian  artery.  The  3d  paij 
of  arches  form  the  two  internal  carotid  arteries ;  each  com 
mon  carotid  is  formed  from  the  part  of  the  primitive  aorto 
which  connects  the  3d  and  4th  arches  with  each  other 
whilst  the  external  carotid  is  an  enlargement  of  that  part 
of  the  primitive  aorta  which  runs  upwards  from  the  3d  to 
the  1st  visceral  arch.  From  the  5th  left  vascular  arch, 
which  is  now.  continuous  with  the  pulmonary  artery,  two 
collateral  tranches  arise,  which  proceed  one  to  each  lung, 
and  form  the  right  and  left  pulmonary  arteries,  whilst  the 
terminal  part" of  this  arch  joins  the  end  of  the  transverse 
part  of  the  arch  of  the  aorta,  and  forms  the  ductus  arteriosus. 
During  foetal  life,  the  lungs  being  inactive,  tho  blood  ol 
the  right  ventricle  which  passes  into  the  pulmonary  artery 
almost  entirely  flows  through  the  ductus  arteriosus  iuto  tht 
aorta.  But  when  the  chdd  is  born,  and  the  lungs  come 
into  play  as  respiratory  organs,  then  the  blood  of  the  right 
ventricle  flows  iuto  the  lungs  through  the  right  and  left 
pulmonary  arteries,  and  the  ductus  arteriosus,  being  no 
longer  required,  shrivels  up  into  a  slender  fibrous  cordj 
The  capillaries,  veins,  and  lymphatics  are  also  produced  h/ 
a  histological  differentiation  of  the  cells  of  the  mesoblaslj 


In  order  to  complete  the  exposition  of  the  subjcct,1oe 
Digestive,  Respiratory,  Reproductive,  and  Urinary  systems 
of  organs  have  still  to  be  considered.  These  will  be  dealtwitb 
in  detail  under  other  headings  in  the  succeeding  volume* 

Alphabetical  Contents) 


Abdominal  muscles.  835. 
Achlllinl.  806. 
Adipose  [Issue,  851. 
Albinus,  814. 
Alexandrian  school.  601. 
Amphiarthroses,  833. 
Ankle.  830,  s  II. 
Aorta,  902. 
Appendicular     skeleton, 

826. 
Arabian  school,  803. 
Arachnoid  mater,  865. 
Arnntl,  809. 
Aretajus,  80* 
Aristotle.  800. 
Arm,  827:  Joints.  839 
Arteries.  902. 
Articulation,  832. 
Ascllius.  81 1. 
Axial  skeleton.  820. 
Berenger,  606. 
Bargen.  814. 
Bichat,  816 
Blood,  845;  circulation  of, 

899. 
Blood-vascular 

907. 
Bono,  851 
Bonn,  814. 
Bruin.  804.    669; 

of,  879 
Breast-bone.  822 
Birathing.  835. 
Bologna  school,  805 
Camper,  815. 
Capillaries.  905. 
Carpal  bones.  827 ,  Joint*. 

839. 
Cartilage.  851. 
Cells,  843. 
Cvlsus.  802 
Corcttcllum,  87L 
Ccrebro- spinal    Dtrrcs, 

863. 
Cerebrum.  872:  IntaroaJ 

structure  of,  877  - 


glands. 


•eight 


Cervical  vertebra:,  820 
Check.  625. 
Chcselden,  815. 
Chest,  822. 
Chyle,  846. 
Circulation    of    blcod. 

899. 
Clavicle.  826. 
Coccyx,  821. 
Collar  bone,  826. 
Collins.  813. 
Columbus,  809. 
Comparative    anatomy 

799,  813,  818. 
Corpuscles,  645. 
Cortl,  organ  of,  894. 
Cowper,  813. 
Cranium,  822. 
Cruikshaiik,  815. 
Cuticle,  897. 
Definitions.  799. 
Deglutition.  838. 
Development.    830. 

853.  858.  86:1   9117. 
Dinrthroses.  833. 
Digits.     828;    Jalnts    of. 

Dinni's,  811. 
Dorsal  vertebrae  821. 
Drum  of  ear,  892. 
Dubois,  807. 
Dora  mater.  8<:4. 
Duvcrney,  813. 
Ear.  891. 
Elbow  joint,  8-tH 
Endothelium,  848. 
English  school.  617. 
Epn  helium,  847. 
Eiaslstrutu*.  801. 
Ethmoid  bone,  824. 
Etiennc,  807. 
Eustarhlus,  80S. 
Expression,    muscles  of, 

836. 
Eyeball,    885;    muscle* 

#91. 


842. 


Eyelids.  890. 
Fabrtclua.  809. 
liuv,  825. 
I  'allnpius,  809. 

Fat,  851. 

Femur.  829. 

Fibrous  t  issuea,  850. 

Fibula,  829. 

Fiddlers'  muscles.  840. 

Fingers,  828;   Joints   of. 

839. 
Foot,  830:  Joints  of.  841, 
Forehead.  824. 
French  school.  807,  816. 
Frontal  bone,  624. 
Galen.  60^ 
(ienga,  815. 
German  school.  817. 
Gllsson,  811. 
Graaf,  812. 
Hsir,  899/ 
Hallcr,  8I4> 

Hand,  827:  Joints  of.  839. 
Harvey.  810. 
Haunch.  828. 
Head,    622:    Joints  and 

muscles.  836. 
Hearing.  895. 
Heart,  899 
Hcnlc,  817. 
Hwophlltn.  802. 
Hswson.  815. 
Hip  Joint.  640. 
Hippocrates.  799. 
History.  799. 
Humerua,  837. 
Hunter,  J.  615. 
Hunter.  W.  614. 
Hyoid  bone.  825. 
Ilium.  828 
Ischium.  829. 
Jaw,  825. 
Joints,  832. 

I> 829,  840. 

Lachrymal     bonfi, 
.  gland,  89L 


895: 


Lnctcals,  906, 

Leaping,  842.  N^ 

Lceuweiihoeok.  812. 

Llcutaud,  814. 

Life,  843. 

Limb,  lower,  828:  Joints 
and  muscles,  840:  up- 
per, 626;  joint*  and 
muscles,  836. 

Lister,  J.  J.,  818. 

Locomotive  organs.  820. 

Lumbar  vertebrae  821. 

Lymph,  840. 

Lymphatics,  906 

Malar  bone.  825. ' 

Malplghl.812. 

Moilnus.  809. 

Marrow.  854. 

Mascagnl,  815. 

MoxUla,  825 

Meckel,  814.  816,  81T.      J 

Medulla  oblongata,  670 

Metacarpus.  828. 

Microscope.  817. 

M. in. lino,  805. 

Monro.  815. 

Morgugm   BlS, 

Moulh.  837. 

Minims        membranes, 
847. 

Muscles,  833. 

Muscular  tissue,  856. 

Museums.  819. 

Nails,  897. 

Neck.  821. 

Nerves,  cerebrospinal, 
863. 

Nervous  system.  S58; 
sympathetic,  681 

N.is.'.  v.>5.  884. 

Nostrils.  820 

No.  k.  811. 

Occipital  bone.  823. 

Olfactory  nerve.  885. 

Optic  nerve.  889. 

Orlbaslus,  804. 


Dsseotu    system,    820 : 

•  tissue.  833. 

Ovum,  844. 

Pacinian  corpuscles,  602. 

1'ulute,  825. 

Polfyn,  8(6. 

Parietal  bone,  821 

Patella,  829. 

Paul!,  611. 

Pecquet.  81 1. 

Pelvis,  829. 

Periosteum,  854, 

Perspiration.  899. 

Pharynx,  837. 

Pin  muter,  8C6. 

Pigment,  851. 

Plexus,  nervous,  8CS, 

Polybus,  800. 

Pons  Varolii,  671 

Portal  vein.  906. 

Protoplasm,  84a 

Pubis,  628. 

Cjunin,  817. 

Itudius.  827. 

Respiratory  muscles,  635. 

Ketina,  888. 

Kihs.  822. 

lUdley,  813. 

Pullus,  802. 

Punning.  H42 

Jtuysi  h,  BIS, 

Sacrum,  821. 

Santiniiil.  HI3. 

Scapula.  82C. 

Scarpa.  816. 

Secreting  glands.  848. 

Sense  organs.  884. 

St  urns  !iioiMl!ianaa,s348. 

Servetua,  810. 
Shin,  829 

Shoulder.  826;  Joint,  838 
Sight,  889. 
Skeleton,  820. 
Skin,  847,  897 
Skull,  629. 

Swell  &te 


SUmmerlng.  816. 
Special  anatomy,  819 
Sphenoid  bone,  823. 
Spinal- cord,  605;  nerve*. 

8G7. 
Spine,  820:  mnscles,  «6 
Splint  bone,  829. 
Slono,  612. 
Sternum.  822. 
Sutures.  832. 
Swallowing.  838. 
Sweat  glands,  899. 
Tarsus,  830. N 
Taste,  896. 
Temporal  bone.  824. 
Tcmiiuology,  799. 
Thigh,  829. 
libia,  829. 
Tissues,  842 ;  connect Ke 

849. 
Toes.  830. 
Tongue,  89J 
Tonsil.  837 
Touch.  897. 
Tympanum,  892. 
Ulna.  827. 
Uvula.  637. 
Valsalva.  813. 
Vaiollus,  609 
Vascular    system.    Bfl$ 

development,  907 
Veins,  905. 
Vertebra;,  820. 
VesaliuB,  607. 
Vleussens,  613. 
Voluntary   muscles,  ftsty 

Involuntary,  856, 
Vomer,  825 
Walking.  B4L 
Wslter,  816. 
Wealing,  811. 
Wharton.  811. 
Willis,  811. 
Winslow,  814. 
Wrist.  827;  Jolni^S* 
Zioa  814, 


KUt  OT  VOLUMI  FIBST, 


For  Reference 

Not  to  be  taken  from  this  room 
STACK 


X SOUTWfW BE010HA1.  UBBAflYF Ag"™ 
llllllf" 


lllllll 

D     000  379  198     5 


